《Lure O' War (The Old Realms)》 Prelude - Sayings
Prelude - Sayings
I.
Let me tell thee about Gods. There is Uher, Gods-father Giver of life and High Magisters The latter, most are less happy about. There¡¯s Tyeus, the warrior priest Whom the Lorians love. Luthos, the fool The patron of vagabonds, and luck. Allegedly. Naossis the Red. Neither male nor female Goddess of whores and pleasure Much loved by all. And Ora, the Silent Bringer of the Fading Light Only loved by Assassins and his Silent Servants. These are the Five Whom most people pray to II. For there are more those of the Old Realms. The Old Gods of the Zilan, the Gish and the Folk Like Abrakas, the Abhorrent Whom sailors still keep in their minds. Nesande, Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. Holder of Magic and forbidden practices, Now lost to us all. And Eodrass, The Wyvern God Whom no man alive, knows anything about. - Roads of Soteras, volume IV Gods Chapter, -prologue (2nd paragraph was censored in all subsequent editions) Soteras, circa 68 NC
¡®War is a slothful beast Slow to awaken, Difficult to understand. Once it does though, It has a mind of its own, And cannot be stopped.¡¯ - Lord Sirio Veturius Circa 206 NC The Fall Of Heroes
Next time I say, we flip a bloody coin, Ye do it for me Pretty¡­ - Dante Blackwood¡¯s Last words, to an unknown Gish ranger, during the battle of Hellfort''s pass (Cofol name Teid-Riden) Circa 189 NC
Of treachery, the faithful had spoken Ancient Zilan Elegy
I can¡¯t name the road, nor speak of the sea, Shades have no tongue, and all dead sound alike; to the Servants of the Fading Light. - A Silent Sernant''s coded greeting 2nd era circa 8 NC
1. Almost, a full explanation
The Old Realms ~ACT I~ A hint of Magic
Glen Almost a full explanation
The veritable forest of masts gave him pause. Some bigger, tall as a four story building, others much like the one on the dinghy that¡¯d helped him escape Shroudcoast, with enough coin to buy himself the grandest Barque in Castalor¡¯s Westport. Strangely he hadn''t had the chance to enjoy any of his riches, and it had been months since then. Most masts remained wrapped or half-hidden behind typically white sails, or variants of it. This was the largest port the young man had ever seen in his life. Much bigger than Bayspell on Cliffson Cay, both in size, ships present and in its market. Whores also; remarkably cheap, he thought, eyeing a well-endowed Issir woman yelling her charges for services rented, standing next to a rather boisterous tavern, for the time of day. The painted woman, hair cut short, smiled invitingly, showing two rows of teeth that had their best days far behind. Glen, never hang on such trivial minutiae being his motto, returned the gesture, with a grin of his own. Well practiced, and rather confident. A hard cuff on the side of his head, send him stumbling on the rough cobblestone street and put a stop to that. ¡°The fuck¡­?!¡± Glen wailed, pride hurting more than his head and got up slowly. ¡°Keep it up and there¡¯s another comin¡¯ fast,¡± Emerson replied gruffly. ¡°I want none o¡¯ that.¡± ¡°Of what?¡± The young former thief protested, feigning ignorance. ¡°Ye know.¡± ¡°What¡¯s gotten into you?¡± Glen asked him. ¡°Wine went up the wrong pipe or somethin¡¯?¡± He¡¯s thinking about the gold, he thought, more nervous than his face revealed. His thespian skills well polished by now. Hopefully. Worst, he¡¯s about to tell me how he¡¯d figured me out. Glen sighed, looking around them. The whore had found a client by this time and was negotiating a couple of extra stuff, but other than that, there were enough escape routes around, for an honest thief to make a run for it. "Don¡¯t play it smart. But aye, I¡¯m all tensed up inside. Can¡¯t figure the matter of the coin out, so there¡¯s truth in what ye noticed, I reckon,¡± Sir Lennox said, sending a cold shiver down his spine. It¡¯s a pity, Glen thought, looking at him sadly, we had to part this way. Adding theatrically in his mind. We could¡¯ve been friends. ¡°Ye listening to me?¡± The knight grunted, snapping him out of his reverie. ¡°Yep, sure. Wit¡­ almost all ears.¡± His pun wasn¡¯t well received, by a frowning Sir Lennox. ¡°Anyhow, what Nard told me made sense¡­¡± Oh, crap, Glen thought. ¡°There¡¯s no way, so much coin goes missin¡¯, without anyone lookin¡¯.¡± Luthos cock, fell from rot. ¡°So¡­¡± Glen started, dragging the word, not wanting to answer. ¡°So your father, somehow¡­ found himself the coin,¡± Emerson explained. ¡°You mean, as in he stole it?¡± Glen asked surprised, although he knew that wasn¡¯t the case. ¡°What? Nay, ye fool. He got it legitimately, was my meaning,¡± Sir Lennox snapped. ¡°If he¡¯d stolen it, then someone would¡¯ve been lookin¡¯. Do you want me to repeat it?¡± ¡°When you say¡­ legitimately¡­¡± Glen started unsure. ¡°Like a payment,¡± He glanced towards the cackling whore sourly. ¡°For services rented. Do ye get it now?¡± Ah. Right. There ye go! Thank you Luthos, haha! ¡°No¡­ ahm, yes. YES. You are right!¡± He yelled, clenching both fists in righteous triumph. ¡°It was there all along, for us to bloody see!¡± And just like that, everything is explained fully. Right? ¡°Lower you darn voice lad. What¡¯s the matter wit you?¡± ¡°Apologies,¡± Glen said quickly, still grinning. Excitement oozing out of him in waves. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. For a friendship that was to continue. The gods had casted their vote decisively. Sir Lennox sighed, seeing him daydreaming again. ¡°Stay with the girl. Keep your heads down. I need to go see a man about a job.¡± ¡°The girl? Where¡­¡± Glen asked and then he saw her standing there, by the weathered streetlight. Barely recognized her truth be told, fully wrapped up in Zestari¡¯s fancy cloak, but for that disapproving pout, when he pointed a finger and called her out. ¡°Hey, Lith! Come here girl!¡± ¡°Behave,¡± Emerson warned, rolling his eyes at his shenanigans. I¡¯m out of the woods, Glen thought with a shrug, too elated to calm down. Got the gold, a ship to Raoz and no one¡¯s the wiser. ¡°Ahm. Don¡¯t worry about it. Hey, when you say job. What do you mean?¡± He asked, the already walking away knight and he answered him without turning his head. Sounding in as bad a mood, as the day he¡¯d met him. ¡°Mercenary.¡±
Lith, standing tall and mysterious, though no taller than him, made a signal with her head, towards a less crowded part of the cobblestone street running parallel to the docks; where rows upon rows of cases laden with supplies, were stacked twice his height. Glen frowned unsure of her intentions, his mind leaning on the lewder side, but not willing to risk saying it out loud. ¡°You want us to have some privacy?¡± He asked all mannish, left brow raised to the heavens. ¡°To talk,¡± Lith explained, voice neutral. ¡°Twas what I implied,¡± Glen countered readily and followed her in a shaded narrow corridor. ¡°You know, I¡¯ve held a spot for ye in the ship,¡± He told her, the moment she stopped and turned to face him, only her chin and mouth visible. ¡°A journey to Raoz,¡± Lith said in that strange singing accent. ¡°Exactly. I hoped¡­ you¡¯d like to come with us,¡± Suddenly less certain, whether the exotic female would join them or not. ¡°We have an agreement. Do we not?¡± ¡°Sure¡­ yes,¡± He agreed, not remembering giving assent on anything. Ah, yes. ¡°You will get me a leather armour. Or something.¡± ¡°What you want,¡± Lith corrected him. ¡°You shall have.¡± Glen grinned. ¡°Even better,¡± He could ride with that. ¡°If you help me,¡± Lith elaborated further patiently, and lowering her voice to an enticing whisper. ¡°Have mine fulfilled.¡± The meaning clear, much as our young thief understood it. Glen smacked his lips interested, then glanced right and left at the confines of their ¡®private¡¯ spot to make sure they were indeed alone, wishing he hadn¡¯t. He got a glimpse of that elusive dwarf watching them, head popping out behind a case full of onions and recoiled in shock. Glen let out a small yelp, his mood completely ruined, and the small creature mirrored him, as if it was as astounded as he was. ¡°There¡­ he is!¡± He jumped towards the case and the sneaky creature, missed it for a hair, but bumped a case with a shoulder, the whole row shaking this way and that as if ready to come down on their heads. Until Lith put a hand on it that is, and the row stopped dancing as if by magic. ¡°STOP! YOU LITTLE SHIT!¡± Glen yelled next at the top of his lungs, unwilling to let the sneaky bastard get away. Incensed with him for spoiling their special moment. The dwarf rolled on the ground like a ball of hay, turned a corner still rolling, with Glen hot on his trails, until he found a hole between two rows of supply boxes, too small for the young man to follow and disappeared inside. ¡°Fuck,¡± Glen exclaimed, doubled over his knees and breathing hard. ¡°How does he do that?¡± ¡°You asked, If I will come with you earlier,¡± Lith said standing behind him, voice calm and disinterested as if nothing had happened and he turned his sweaty, flushed face her way. ¡°Why query, on what you already know?¡± Apparently, she was still on their earlier conversation. He hadn¡¯t gotten her tone wrong. The whole dwarf episode, slipping past her like it was nothing. That was pretty stoic, Glen supposed. Some even went so far as to think it a quality trait. Being stoic that is, like let¡¯s say, a tree? Some men liked that in their women. Glen didn¡¯t. He also genuinely didn''t know, what in the slovenly fuck was she talking about? He said as much. ¡°I didn¡¯t?¡± He replied, wiping the sweat off his face with a sleeve. Eyes still on the alert for the small creature. ¡°You have my arrowhead.¡± Glen felt it in his coat¡¯s pocket. The corpse¡¯s coat technically. A fucking great coat it was. He glanced to the skies, genuinely moved. Father, thank you. ¡°I do,¡± He replied to the expecting alien girl. Lith stooped near his face, as if to kiss him. ¡°Why, did I give it to you?¡± Glen felt his knees weaken. ¡°Ye did?¡± He asked, not really paying attention to anything, but her mouth. Luthos, those are some pretty potent teeth. Crafton had some horror stories, about foolish sailors visiting the wrong brothel and putting their cocks, where you ain¡¯t supposed to. He coughed hard, to flush the disturbing image out of his system. ¡°Aye. I did. You thought it was from someone else?¡± Lith answered, oblivious to his plight. No you didn¡¯t. It was that damn dwarf for Luthos sake! Wait¡­ Oh, ye gotta be bloody kidding me! ¡°Nah. See it now. You''re in the right,¡± He said yielding to her, now everything obvious. Pulling back to clear his head some. Glen decided right then and there, to be more guarded around her. Being all misty eyed, horny and confused, could get him in big trouble down the line. ¡°Apologies,¡± He offered, much as Sir Lennox always did, when he was in the wrong. ¡°You are welcome, Glenavon,¡± Lith said politely, with a small bow of her hooded head. Glen grimaced, a last look about them, revealing nothing. With a deep sigh, he made another step back from the alluring Zilan and asked, all business, wanting to clear the air between them. ¡°So¡­ let me get this straight. All this time¡­ the fuckin¡¯ dwarf, works for you?¡± 2. Best merc company, in town
Jinx Best merc company, in town
Maybe a small cut, Jinx thought. Just a tad more force here and the skin will pierce. Make him all pliable. More receptive to reason. Seeing him pale and sickly in color, she decided it would also do wonders, for his complexion. Hmm. Maybe here? Clack¡­ ¡­went her elbow locking up, her wrist snapping. Ouch. It was an old archer injury. Well that, or she got it playing tie my tits up with that Lorian girl. Was it¡­ Moira? ¡°ARGH! UHER, YE CUT ME!¡± The cashier cried out, head banging on the small window, as he tried desperately to pull away from her. Blood run down his neck, right under the left ear, where her blade had nicked him. A bit. ¡°Put some pressure on it,¡± Jinx advised him, the rest of the wagers behind her in line taking a step back. ¡°It will get better soon.¡± ¡°I¡¯m injured, you crazy bitch!¡± The pale man snapped, hand painted red to the wrist. ¡°Pfft. Tis nothing.¡± ¡°I¡¯m bleeding!¡± ¡°And I bet on the fourth. Twas yer fuckin¡¯ fault,¡± Jinx insisted, giving him a pass on the bitch part. The guy was injured. ¡°You wrote it down all wrong.¡± ¡°Someone call the guards!¡± The cashier shouted. ¡°Arrest her!¡± ¡°Arrest me?¡± ¡°Yes. You!¡± ¡°Are ye trying to rip me off?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, what you¡¯re talking about! Uher, I¡¯m bleeding badly here!¡± ¡°ADMIT IT!¡± She snapped and made to grab him again, but he pulled away in full panic, retreating further inside his small enclosed office. Some of the taller men made to come near, but she snapped her head around, red rim on her eyes growing, all fired up and they paused, to talk it over instead. ¡°Hey¡­ girl,¡± One of them said. Bushy brows, black hair, all unruly and not washed for a month. At least. Jinx puffed a pink curl out of her eye, smarting something fierce, twisting the side of her mouth upwards. ¡°Yes?¡± She responded politely. Caught him unawares. ¡°Ahm¡­ well¡ª¡± He started unsure. ¡°Bet two gold on four,¡± Jinx deadpanned. ¡°Gentle Gustav something, or other.¡± ¡°Which race?¡± The man asked with a frown. ¡°Second of this morning.¡± He nodded impressed. ¡°Ye got good odds there. Big surprise. Horse looked half-dead, at start.¡± Jinx pointed a thumb behind her shoulder. ¡°That cunt wrote me name wrong.¡± The man, scrunched his nose. Seeing she was in the right. ¡°So he won¡¯t pay.¡± ¡°Aye.¡± A couple of the others appeared to come around now. ¡°Did that to me as well, the other day,¡± One of them said. ¡°Yeah, sneaky fucker,¡± Said another, the general mood taking a turn against the cashier. ¡°There¡¯s a coin box,¡± Jinx explained, seeing them coming around. ¡°Just under there. I get in from that small window, you boys help me out after. Keep my earnings, the rest is yours. Swear it, on my tits.¡± Five times out of ten, this crap didn¡¯t work, as people saw through her. But she got a good roll.
Soren made to grab her coin purse next she tossed it up, but she flicked his large mitt away with one hand, caught it with the other. ¡°Hey!¡± The large Northman griped. ¡°Where did ye get dis much coin?¡± ¡°Dante paid me,¡± She replied, moving out of his reach, in the small room their Captain had rented. Probably the cheapest he could find. ¡°Didn¡¯t give me as much, I can tell,¡± Soren said thoughtfully. ¡°I sucked his cock yesterday,¡± Jinx blurted, with a smack of her lips. ¡°There, now ye know.¡± ¡°She¡¯s lying,¡± Zola ratted her out from her bed, shoulder still bandaged, but mostly healed. You wouldn¡¯t know it, had you heard her complaining earlier. ¡°No I¡¯m not.¡± ¡°You lie all the time Pretty.¡± ¡°She does?¡± Soren asked, too thick to remember, what they had for dinner yesterday. Beans and sausages. Stale for the most part, mouldy in others. Curtesy of the venue. ¡°Zola, I think you need to change those dressings honey,¡± Jinx offered syrupy, turning her attention on the lying down Issir. ¡°I can have it done in no time. Just undress for me, while I send Soren to buy wine.¡± ¡°Why not order from the tavern?¡± Soren asked, with a frown. As stated afore, yesterday¡¯s meal forgotten. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°Tis not that good,¡± Jinx reminded him, adding with a suggestive look at the bountiful Issir woman. ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡°Think I¡¯ll shoot a bolt, through your teeth,¡± Zola replied dead serious, which Soren found terribly funny for some reason. It was at that very moment that Dante Blackwood, all dashing in his fine leather armour, red belt with large silver buckle gleaming, sole Captain of the¡­ somewhat depleted, Gallant Dogs company; entered the already crowded room.
¡°You¡¯re late,¡± Zola said, diluting the effect of his somewhat grand entrance. ¡°City guard had blocked East Street,¡± Dante explained sounding worn out, looking to sit down himself. Zola was in one bed, Soren sat at the head of the other, with Jinx opposite him. No one moved to create space, or even offered; so the man gave up. ¡°Took me two hours to sort through the bloody mess. Some scoundrel or other, robbed the clerk at the racetrack, injured the man; was the word.¡± ¡°Well, this city¡¯s gone to hell, no surprise,¡± Jinx agreed, scratching around her non-existent nose with a finger. She had an itch there, since morning. ¡°Yeah,¡± Dante said. ¡°Still, the sheer gall¡­ bah, anyways. Rejoice brothers!¡± The latter delivered, with a patent toothy grin over his well-groomed goatee. ¡°High Magister Kelholt is dead?¡± Jinx probed hopefully. She hated that prude racist pig. Dante blinked once surprised, himself a religious man, weather permitting; then stilled his blue eyes on her, a warning to pay attention. ¡°Now, I know we are somewhat well off, after our last job¡ª¡± He never got to finish his sentence. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Kinda runnin¡¯ low on coin meself,¡± Soren, the large Northman blurted. ¡°Are you jesting now? The twins are dead!¡± That was Zola, sounding mad. ¡°And I got fucked up bad,¡± She added, pointing at her bandaged shoulder. Jinx said nothing. It came as a small shock to all. Dante sighed deep and long, as if the weight of the world was on him. ¡°Zola, I meant financially, of course¡­¡± He put some timbre in, to say the next part. ¡°¡­we lost some of our people. But are they gone really? Hmm?¡± Jinx rolled her eyes at his knowing stare. ¡°They¡¯re not¡­ not as long as we remember them.¡± ¡°For fuck¡¯s sake Dante,¡± Zola griped. ¡°I liked Cessara.¡± You did? Jinx thought, more than a little jealous. ¡°Liked her as well,¡± Their Captain, nudged the conversation forward next. ¡°Perhaps not as much as you, but¡­ financially, we got out well,¡± Soren made to speak, but Dante stopped him raising a hand, finger waggling theatrically his way. The red-bearded man closed his mouth and the Captain continued. ¡°So when the opportunity arose to make even more, or about the same, for a much easier job, I took it.¡± ¡°Wait,¡± Jinx said, when he finished to a bunch of blank stares. Dante waved her to continue. ¡°You got a contract, is that it?¡± ¡°Yes, that is correct.¡± ¡°I¡¯m too hurt to take another job Dante!¡± Zola snapped getting up, dark face all flushed. ¡°You¡¯re not that hurt.¡± Zola set her jaw. ¡°I am.¡± ¡°It¡¯s an easy one, an escort job for a rich kid,¡± Dante explained, pacing the small room up and down, each time having to pause briefly, to wiggle himself past a not convinced Zola. ¡°We take a boat, stay in said boat for a month? Doing probably nothing, but look at the drink and write poems¡ª¡± ¡°Fuck,¡± Jinx added, getting a middle finger as a response from Zola. Dante just went along with it, experienced orator that he was. ¡°The whole crew, if so you please and that¡¯s about it really. Thirty gold Eagles. Plus what I paid you, for the Zestari job. That¡¯s a lot of coin,¡± He finished with a hand raised; thumb, mid and index finger rubbing at the tips knowingly. Soren grunted, preparing to speak, Jinx thought. Or fart. ¡°You¡¯re low on coin,¡± Dante noted sourly. ¡°Aye.¡± ¡°I gave you, five gold Eagles two days ago.¡± ¡°Castalor is a bloody expensive city,¡± The Northman explained, the matter troubling him. ¡°Actually, it¡¯s not. And I¡¯m paying for this fine room.¡± ¡°Paying? Fine?¡± Zola snapped. ¡°It only has two beds!¡± ¡°I¡¯m staying elsewhere with Pale and Pretty¡­¡± Dante attempted to fix the numbers, pausing as he couldn¡¯t. ¡°I only need a bathtub,¡± Jinx helped him out, with a grin. ¡°Yes, Uher helps us, can we move on now?¡± Dante asked, too eager to wrap it up. If it ain¡¯t the money, Jinx thought, it¡¯s the money. Who has that much coin these days? ¡°So concluding, this much drawn out affair, I accepted the contract, so we¡¯re going on¡­ a pleasant journey.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s the kid?¡± Jinx asked, what the others haven¡¯t figured out yet. Their Captain took a cavernous breath in, sucking half the air out the room, it seemed. Stalled, as long as he could, savoring it. Then he replied, much as the female Gish expected. ¡°Glen.¡±
¡°The lad is a murderer!¡± Zola snapped, after the initial shock passed. ¡°Aye, never liked him,¡± That was Soren, but it was doubtful, he meant Glen. ¡°What about the Zilan?¡± Jinx asked, thinking ahead. ¡°She wasn¡¯t mentioned. I assume, she¡¯s long gone,¡± Dante explained. ¡°Sir Lennox told me, the lad¡¯s Grandfather sent a ship for him. You know he¡¯s loaded, now perhaps there¡¯s some uncertainty with him being a bastard and all, but who are we to judge, right?¡± ¡°So we escort him to Raoz?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the long and short of it Pretty.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the catch?¡± Dante crossed his arms. ¡°No catch. I thought about it, pressed the knight hard, but it¡¯s just an escort contract.¡± ¡°Why us?¡± Zola asked, coming around to the prospect of an easy job. Their Captain shrugged his shoulders. Adding hopefully. ¡°We¡¯re the best in town?¡± ¡°Aye, that¡¯s right!¡± Roared Soren, proud goofy smile on his face. Zola stared at Jinx. ¡°I¡¯ve heard worse,¡± Whisper Jinx said, with a shrug. They both had a great laugh about it.
Much later, their bags packed, as they travelled with everything they owned in tow, in the time-tested manner of mercenaries this world over, Dante cornered her outside their cheap tavern and inn. ¡°It¡¯s a risk,¡± He started. ¡°A small one.¡± ¡°Thought it wasn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Well yeah. Still I won¡¯t lie that business with the Zilan around, worries me,¡± The man explained. ¡°A little, was my meaning.¡± ¡°People might hang all of us, if they find her,¡± Jinx agreed. Dante snorted. ¡°It can¡¯t be that bad. Who cares these days? Remember my grandfather saying how he went on a hunt for one. Forty, fifty years back. Found nothing. The world moved on, I suppose.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± ¡°Bah, look at you. No one bothering Jinx, right?¡± ¡°The High Magister would,¡± She noted remembering. ¡°It was just a query, the man was curious,¡± Dante laughed it off, ¡°Who cares what you believe? Sure, it¡¯s foolish not to give a pray to Uher, once in a while. But no one will go on a crusade or purge. These things are in the past Pretty.¡± ¡°I¡¯m tellin¡¯ ye, man¡¯s a sadist.¡± Dante shook his head disappointed. ¡°I know this world Pretty. No King will allow this, it will disturb commerce, peace and the Uher loving people around the realm,¡± He paused, thinking it over. ¡°Along the non-believers, I suppose.¡± A wolf waits for his chance, Jinx thought not convinced. Especially, if he dresses in sheep¡¯s clothes and religious paraphernalia, Pale appeared with their horses, Jinx¡¯s the most laden of them all. Soren and Zola right behind him, arguing about a missing axe, or something. ¡°You didn¡¯t seem particularly interested in the coin earlier,¡± Dante said out of the blue. So you noticed, Jinx thought, with a naughty grin, feeling a little touched. ¡°Knowing your likes, thought you¡¯d appreciate us coming into such a good deal,¡± The man continued, angling for a compliment. Such a sweetheart he is, our captain. Jinx stooped and patted his leather sleeve gently, feeling solid muscle underneath. ¡°Aww, Dante dear. I¡­¡± She started warmly. Then added to her voice a teasing whisper. ¡°¡­just came about some extra of my own, is all.¡± Leaden motherfucker, almost broke me back, hauling it. 3. Thirty gold Eagles
Ralnor (aka Larn) (aka Dar Eherdir) Thirty gold Eagles
Dar neighed once, desert mud caked on his mane and body a washed out brown, same as his legs. From a distance and in the dark, man and horse appearing as one thing. Ralnor chewed the dried cube slowly, moving it around in his mouth, letting moisture liven the taste. The guards at the gates were caught being busy during their shift change, just before sunset, and one merchant not wanting to wait for a fresh customs official to arrive and missed him completely. No one would remember seeing him enter later. One. He tied the reins himself, a special knot that allowed Dar to free himself, should the need arise; choosing the closest inn¡¯s stable. Left him there and rented a room, in the one right next to it. Big Sparrow, the sign wrote. Walked another city square, into the City¡¯s largest brothel, the Blue Maiden, straight to a powdered patron talking with a young wench, sitting in the best coach in the large hall, to ask for the Whoremonger. ¡°Show some skin love,¡± The man said in city common, lips painted a rich ruby color, cheeks shagging despite efforts to mask it with makeup. ¡°Can barely see your face.¡± Ralnor raised a gloved fist, turned it around and opened it, a gold Eagle shining inside. The man¡¯s eyes almost popped out their sockets. ¡°Sheesh, take that away. You want to go home after, I hope,¡± The patron said. ¡°What¡¯s with people bringing gold to my pleasure house?¡± My brothel was his meaning. ¡°You¡¯re him.¡± ¡°Guilty. Let me make this, more comfortable,¡± The man said and called for a tray. Two scantily clad girls brought him wine and fruits, along with a comfy armchair. The latter was for Ralnor, but he declined. ¡°I¡¯ll stand.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not here for my girls, or my boys,¡± The Whoremonger decided, popping half an orange in his mouth, juices running down the sides. One of the half-naked girls wiped him, with a soft cloth and a giggle. She¡¯d a lot of tender meat on her, Ralnor noticed, making a note to count his cubes after, see if he would need¡­ more supplies for his journey. ¡°What are you after mister¡­?¡± ¡°Larn.¡± Ralnor said dryly. ¡°Right. I¡¯m Hama. Yes, my father was a Cofol. It¡¯s shocking, given my complexion,¡± Mistaking his silence for surprise. ¡°I¡¯m all ears Larn.¡± ¡°A girl was here, some time back. A month.¡± Ralnor explained. ¡°She had a lot of gold Eagles on her.¡± ¡°Rarely seen outside a bank, or in a noble scion¡¯s hand,¡± Hama droned, pointing at the girl in his lap. ¡°She¡¯s a silver, for the night. Best one I got. For a gold, you get four for a whole week, or two. And I would be robbing you blind.¡± ¡°You want the coin?¡± Larn placed it on the table between them, without waiting for his answer. ¡°No girl came through with gold on her.¡± He stared in his light brown eyes. ¡°Someone did.¡± ¡°Only a Northman, hair red as wine,¡± He pointed at the double doors leading upstairs. ¡°Big head touching that casing, but that was a couple of days back.¡± One. ¡°A merchant.¡± ¡°A mercenary.¡± Ralnor watched for a while, the girl¡¯s hand massaging the Whoremonger¡¯s neck expertly. ¡°He¡¯s gone.¡± He said, distracted. ¡°Aye. They usually do, once the coin runs out.¡± ¡°Anyone else?¡± ¡°High Judge¡¯s son,¡± Hama replied, with a small smile. ¡°But I have a feeling, you¡¯re not interested in him.¡± ¡°Was he alone?¡± He probed, ignoring his opinion. ¡°Four of them. All known families in Castalor.¡± Turned out, he was in the right. No shame there. Ralnor smacked his lips, not pleased. Finding a mercenary, was not easy. They rarely stayed in one place. Not to mention, the small chance that Zestari would even hire one, in the first place. ¡°Anything else?¡± Hama asked, his hand hovering over the gold coin. Ralnor checked the girl on his lap. Eighteen perhaps, almond eyes, plump lips, and a generous bust, you needed two hands to handle proper. There was potential there, he thought. ¡°Not this time,¡± He decided and Hama cupped the coin, with a satisfied smile.
The Port worker spat on the ground, eyes heavy, still half asleep. He pushed himself off the porch, next to the Customs warehouse, brushing his face to rouse himself. ¡°Was waiting for Dang¡­ the port guard,¡± He murmured. ¡°Went to get some water, asked me to watch out, in his stead.¡± ¡°Probably drunk himself to death,¡± Ralnor suggested, and the bulky man laughed hard at that. Truth brings joy to people; sometimes. He¡¯d also gotten the wrong man. ¡°Wanted to ask him¡­ Dang,¡± He started, watching the man slowly coming about. ¡°If a tall Northman, with red hair, a mercenary for all intent and purposes, boarded any ships last couple of days.¡± ¡°Only one I saw, left yesterday, aboard the Marquette. A Barque.¡± This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Ralnor pressed his lips into a thin line frustrated. The Issir worker seeing his reaction, scratched his unshaven jaw, with a sturdy finger, eyes searching about them. The port was mostly dark, the hour late, but there were lights here and there, where ships were still loading or unloading for the morning. ¡°Listen, I don¡¯t see Dang coming back and me thinks, he might¡¯ve given me the shaft,¡± He said talking fast, but keeping his voice low. ¡°Ye pay me a meal¡­ and a drink, I tell ye where to ask for the passenger¡¯s list.¡± ¡°How much is a meal?¡± The man thought about it, trying to decide how much he could lie, and get away with it. ¡°Four coppers. Silver, if ye have it.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give you two. Silver Eagles.¡± ¡°Wow, yeah. It works. Gratitude, milord.¡± Ralnor waited for him to calm down. ¡°Name the place,¡± He said, when he did. Dar snorted hard, to clear his system. They¡¯d travelled a lot these past days. Down the coast, the Fall still hot and the desert dry, but for a downpour a couple of days back. It lasted not even an hour, but caught them in the open and drenched them proper. Ralnor counted the contents of his food bag, as Dar followed the path towards the nearing houses of Deadmen¡¯s Watch. He¡¯d another good and fresh piece of flesh, wrapped in his horse¡¯s bag, curtesy of a thug that thought to ambush him, in the middle of the night. Lone rider, coming from Castalor, probably half-asleep on his mount. He could see, why the man thought it a good idea. Just had to shoot first, ask questions later. Even a rock is a better weapon, than nearing an opponent, you don¡¯t know, he thought appraising the man¡¯s performance. Not that it mattered for him now. Some lessons, you only got to have once. You either passed them. Or you didn¡¯t. Life being the price. Five cubes of flesh, he counted. Plus the one, he had last night. One.
The Sergeant-at-arms eyed him with suspicion. The docks were small, with only a small merchant ship and a couple fishing boats moored. There were people about though, a good colorful crowd, for such a small place. Lots of guards as well. ¡°Lose the hood,¡± He ordered him, not in the mood and Ralnor pushed it back, revealing his face. ¡°Rats got your ears?¡± The mustached brute asked, steel vambraces protecting his arms to the elbow, good chainmail the rest of his torso. ¡°When I was young.¡± ¡°Must¡¯ve hurt a ton,¡± The Sergeant laughed hard at that, a couple of his men joining. ¡°At least you¡¯re not a Cofol. A Lorian then?¡± ¡°From Asturia.¡± ¡°Reckons, lots of arse fucking up there, Naossis temple, but a boat trip away.¡± The Island of Valeria, was his meaning. Seeing he failed to insult him, the man frowned. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°A Northman traveling with a Cofol. Maybe a month back.¡± The Sergeant snorted. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°She owes me money.¡± ¡°Figures, was she a whore? They can take a mean cock, them Cofol bitches. Right?¡± Ralnor stared at the opening on his collar, where the mail stopped and his neck started, soft skin dancing, as the man chuckled, greatly amused. ¡°Did you see her? Or your men?¡± The man cleared his throat annoyed. ¡°Listen mister Lern, or whatever the fuck is your name. This lad you¡¯re looking for, I want to question as well. Have a captain missing, a local lad named Phel. Last seeing traveling with a mercenary company, a gang more like.¡± ¡°Was the Cofol, with them?¡± ¡°Who cares? Maybe? A couple of them had hoods on, like you. Middle of summer, that¡¯s suspicious, if you ask me.¡± He stopped, puffing hard. ¡°Anyways, most of them came back. Phel missing, couple of Issir fighters as well, but the hooded ones weren¡¯t. Had a Lorian, older guy and a boy wit them, story goes.¡± The knight. So Zestari had come back? With him? ¡°Where did they go?¡± ¡°Left, afore I had the chance to ask a single question.¡± He cursed once, the latter bothering him. ¡°But they bought horses. Said they were riding for Castalor. Good luck finding them there.¡± Oh, but they left Castalor already, Ralnor thought. Heading for Raoz. The old knight and a boy. A Lorian mercenary captain and his right hand. A killer, pale as death. A Northman, as tall as giant. An Issir woman, carrying an injury. And a tattooed girl with no nose, the man had said. Pink hair and a dirty look in her eye. Stooping so as not to be heard from the others, he¡¯d added. People say, it was a Gish. Head nodding, as if they¡¯d shared a rare moment. A Gish, Ralnor thought, not very impressed. But no Zestari. She never returned. Else he¡¯d knew, by now. Who came back in her stead? One.
Five cubes of cured flesh, plus the one he ate, in the night. Five mercenaries boarding, plus one that goes missing.
He omitted a number. A verse, was not there. That was twice in a row, he¡¯d lost the count. ¡°They paid with gold,¡± The Sergeant said, watching him weirdly now. Sensing perhaps, Ralnor would have better luck finding them, than him and his men. ¡°Phel, was my half-brother. A good man. I¡¯d pay to get them fuckers.¡± If you can help me, was his meaning. But the man couldn¡¯t remember the name and without it, one couldn¡¯t call on the Silent Servants. Know the name, and we will listen. ¡°Anything else?¡± He asked, a hint of a smile on his thin lips, the numbers slowly lining in place. But for one. He missed one, from before. Three verses, where he should have counted four. Without them, Ralnor couldn¡¯t close the door. How did the verses go? He asked silently, keeping the frustration off his face. The question returning again and again, until the man answered it. ¡°Stable boy hid and overheard them talking. They got paid thirty gold. Five pieces each.¡± To betray her. The numbers told him what happened.
Thirty pieces of cured flesh, minus one. Thirty arrows in a quiver, minus two, if made of Wyvern¡¯s bone. Thirty days in a month; not for this, but the one before it. Thirty gold eagles, to put a knife in his daughter¡¯s back.
4. Always stand, on good ground (1/2)
Nattas Always stand, on good ground
The King¡¯s council met at the old central hall, inside the Palace. Its austere aesthetics, aged and moldy, bare of adornments stone walls, but for the ancient Alden shields and coat of arms; was highlighted by the heavy but simple, rectangular oaken table that was placed right at its center. Four meters in length, one and a half in width, it reserved a spot for King Alistair at its head, the other end held by High Magister Appius Gordian. On the right hand of the King, was Lord Hunter Holt, his old Shield and Marshal of Regia. On the left, the Master of Treasure and King¡¯s cousin, Lord Doris Alden. Next to Lord Holt, sat the boisterous Admiral Stan Brakis, Regia¡¯s Master of Sea. Lord Storm Nattas, had the misfortune of seating next to Lord Alden, the man persistent on learning whether he¡¯d found something, with Lord Nattas equally adamant, in his vagueness. Also present, but standing some distance from the council, next to the King¡¯s guard, was the formidable, with his square jaw, muscular frame and piercing blue eyes, Sir Demos Alden, eldest son of Lord Doris. First Disciple of Tyeus, Aulus Ventor, was also seating next to the High Magister. Storm had copied King Alistair¡¯s sour expression, almost to the letter, watching as honorable Lord Holt finished his lengthy opening statement, turned into a series of complaints, after the King gave his own brief speech. ¡°¡­for this, I must again protest and remind those present of my family¡¯s long service and love¡­ because it matters, for the army and its institutions. I suggest this should be taken into account. Considered, before any such decision is made. I nominate, my son Sir Rupert Holt for the position, who can¡¯t be present unfortunately, as he¡¯s recovering in Asturia.¡± ¡°You had effective command of the Legion for five years, Lord Holt,¡± Lord Doris Alden said, with a smirk, tapping his ring covered fingers on the table. ¡°Since Lord Lennox, stepped down. It helped rebuild the road to Asturia and it was a great help to all the people there, even cut through the Gray Mountains smartly, to open yourself another way to Cartagen. All this is commendable. But surely, someone other than a Holt, can have the honor.¡± Lord Holt, raised his white brows insulted and the King had to step in, to stop him from adding fuel to a quarrel that started years back, when King Alistair picked Queen Miranda -an Alden from Aegium- to replace late Queen Vasia Davenport, who had died giving birth to young Jeremy, seventeen years to the day. Storm sighed, saddened at the memory. His friendship with the late Queen well known. The Holts wanted one of their maidens as the next Queen of Regia, blamed Lord Doris for sponsoring his at the time very young sister to his cousin. ¡°Enough,¡± King Alistair ordered, looking worse than the previous time, Storm had seen him. His old resolve was there though, which was promising. ¡°The decision has been made.¡± ¡°My King,¡± Lord Holt said, with a small bow of the head, old sun burned face blank. ¡°Lord Demos, shall command the Legion,¡± The King announced, one of his king¡¯s guard slapping the young man on the back, a gesture Storm caught out the corner of his eye. It wasn¡¯t surprising, he thought. Queen Miranda may be away in Cartagen, but she knows how to lure a decision out of her cousin. She has all the tools, Storm thought, a stirring in his groins. Aldens are nothing, if not persistent. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. And fuckin¡¯ ambitious. ¡°Lord Brakis,¡± The King said, moving on. ¡°Last time we talked, it was back more than half a year now, is it not? You should make an effort to visit the capital Admiral. It¡¯s a fine city, we spent a fortune building it,¡± Lord Brakis snapped his head up, caught unawares, tried to find a reason to explain himself, found nothing, so he just remained frozen, eyes gawking, like a fish. ¡°As I was saying,¡± King Alistair continued. ¡°You assured me that there were five new galleons, already in the works, at the naval yard in Ilirium. Uher praise you, those designs were a real beauty. But I¡¯m bereft of news, since then. Now, seeing you¡­ I¡¯m worried. Has the work finished?¡± Admiral Brakis cleared his throat, thick neck spilling out his striking purple doublet. He¡¯d a strong, vibrant voice, excellent for singing a gallant song, on the bridge of a ship fighting a storm, Storm thought with the tiniest of smirks, or cursing Abrakas, before you head straight for the ocean¡¯s bottom. ¡°Work¡­ has moved on famously, my King,¡± He mumbled, saying nothing. King Alistair caught Storm¡¯s smirk, before he wiped it from his face and paused, his cold eyes staying on Lord Nattas. ¡°Are any of the ships finished?¡± He asked, voice half hiss, half a restraint rumble. Seeing Admiral Brakis not answering, he added sounding tired. ¡°Give me a number Admiral.¡± ¡°One,¡± The man said, shoulders shagging. Looking at his tied hands on the table. ¡°How many on the whole, without the heavy transports?¡± ¡°Twenty, but two¡­ three of them, are in for repairs. We had problems with supplies, my King,¡± He answered him quickly, clearing his throat once more. Someone should offer this man some wine, Storm thought. ¡°Is the problem solved?¡± ¡°Nay, it is not.¡± ¡°I see,¡± The King said thoughtfully. ¡°You need half of that number, you¡¯ve just told us, in Cartagen; hunting the pirates stealing your supplies. I assume it was pirates,¡± King Alistair proceeded counting out loud, so they could listen. ¡°Leaving us eight warships for the straits, and I¡¯m being generous. Should we even consider entering them?¡± ¡°Absolutely not, my King,¡± Lord Brakis replied. ¡°We must guard the coast of Regia. Leave the Shallow Sea to Kaltha¡¯s navy.¡± What about the western approaches though? Storm thought, who will stand guard there? ¡°You need many more ships for that Admiral. Not an easy thing, to produce¡­ Hmm? What do you say Lord Doris?¡± The Master of Treasure, consulted the papers stacked in front of him. ¡°It is unfathomably expensive at this time. We need more iron, more bronze and we have to import good timber from Kaltha. Perhaps, if we finish our infrastructure program, our roads. Let¡¯s say in five or ten years. Then we could do, much more.¡± ¡°Unfathomably expensive,¡± King Alistair repeated. ¡°Hear that Lord Nattas?¡± Storm got up from his chair. ¡°Aye, my Lord.¡± ¡°Are we doomed then?¡± The King asked, perhaps teasing, his mood unclear. ¡°We stand, on good ground,¡± Storm answered, opting to go positive and regretting it the next moment. The King kept his eyes on him. ¡°We will talk, after this meeting is over.¡± ¡°As you wish. My Lord,¡± Storm agreed, with a small bow. ¡°We gave you a seat in the Council, Lord Nattas. I suggest you make use of it,¡± The King said, eyes gleaming with amusement. ¡°It might take us a while. 5. Always stand, on good ground (2/2)
An idiot is caught reminiscing of past days and savoring, not without merit, another man¡¯s misfortune, thought Regia''s Master of Silence Lord Nattas, fittingly seething in silence, a tick bothering his left eye. Now what does this buffoon go and do, when confronted with a potentially trouble inducing query? Does he opt for stalling? Does he give himself any wiggle room to maneuver? Nah. Even Abrakas can¡¯t help the fool, who puts his head in the guillotine¡¯s lunette, to check on its blade¡¯s bloody sharpness from below. Fuck are you expecting to happen? The God himself, pulls the fuckin¡¯ lever and has a great laugh about it. The meeting was still in full swing in the meantime and Storm turned his attention to it, since it was his bloody job. ¡°¡­I give it a month for the main body to start moving,¡± Lord Holt was saying, still in a pensive mood, after the King¡¯s earlier announcement. ¡°Let¡¯s say forty days to reach Cartaport, then loading the men, animals and equipment onto the transports¡ª¡± ¡°The men will walk,¡± The King said, interrupting him. Lord Holt frowned. ¡°Sir, with all the respect,¡± He looked at a map, he¡¯d opened on the table, a marker in hand. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of walking to Alden.¡± ¡°Sir Demos!¡± The King snarled and the young man rushed towards the big table, almost at a full sprint. He stopped at attention, standing all straight, fist thumbing his chest once and thundered. ¡°King Alistair, at your service, Sir!¡± It was impressive. ¡°Commander Demos,¡± The King started. ¡°Let me congratulate you, on the position. At your age and we should check on that, I believe it¡¯s quite the record.¡± ¡°Thank you, King Alistair. It is.¡± Demos replied, sounding grateful. Storm would much have preferred him being cocky, or a right idiot. Take the onus off him sort of speak. Abrakas, you realize no one in here gives a shit about you, but faithful Lord Nattas, right? The King smacked his lips, playing with his ring while examining the young man¡¯s posture. ¡°At ease Commander,¡± He said finally, somewhat in a better mood. ¡°Now and on the matter at hand, can you bring the Legion from Cartagen to Alden?¡± ¡°Of course, King Alistair.¡± ¡°Do you need sea transports to do it?¡± ¡°The men will walk, Sir,¡± Demos replied, with no hesitation. ¡°For two months at least,¡± Lord Hold said disgusted. ¡°You expect them to fight after that?¡± ¡°No. I expect them to walk to Alden,¡± King Alistair said, as calm as a cucumber. ¡°That¡¯s all.¡±
The matter of the Legion set aside, conversation moved towards economics, a raise in taxes for the Nobles was mentioned and after some brief, but colorful consideration, summarily dropped; with the general agreement that it was a poor idea. With the meeting winding down and the King looking tired, but also satisfied, seeing the Kingdom in some semblance of order, the discussion turned to matters less internal. Storm waited patiently for them to finish, listening to every suggestion and proposal, trying to figure out motives, or hidden gains, behind the person making it. It seems, putting aside, Storm thought, the matter of King Antoon deciding to fight the Khanate out the fuckin¡¯ blue and the Khan behaving much worse, getting in diplomatic chaos with a kingdom, over a woman¡¯s feelings, just like any other meeting. Other than the fact, Regia has already lost one of the King¡¯s sons, due to the dispute. He caught out the corner of his trained eye, High Magister Gordian, a hawkish man of keen intellect, not as fanatic as his mentor, High Magister of Uher and Grand Inquisitor of the Golden Spears, Rinus Kelholt, but a close second; watching Lord Holt talking with the King with a longing and attentiveness uncharacteristic of a chaste man, Storm turned his attention to a conversation, he¡¯d disregarded at the outset, as unimportant. ¡°¡­we know his father was crazy, up and left the army in the middle of a rebellion. Abandoned us in the field Sir.¡± ¡°I was there,¡± King Alistair replied dryly. ¡°You don¡¯t have to remind me.¡± ¡°All I¡¯m saying,¡± Lord Holt continued. ¡°Perhaps the answer lies there. No reason to look for something else, My King.¡± Alistair¡¯s gaunt face and piercing blue eyes, made the stare he gave him formidable. ¡°The High King of the three Kingdoms,¡± He said, voice low, but extremely intense. ¡°Is incapable. Is that what you¡¯re suggesting, Lord Holt?¡± ¡°Insane my Lord," The brave man replied. ¡°The hour is late, Lord Holt. Let us leave the matter and adjourn this meeting.¡± Storm sensed Gordian getting up, before the man talked. ¡°King Alistair,¡± The high ranking, priest of Uher said, voice neutral. ¡°There¡¯s another way to look at the argument.¡± The King turned his eyes on him, not in the best of moods. ¡°There¡¯s no argument. Lord Holt¡¯s idea, was dismissed.¡± This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. But the priest insisted. ¡°We are assuming, King Antoon is a fool¡ª¡± The King stopped him, with a wave of his hand. The Hall turned silent. Alistair glanced towards the two busy scribes, seated well out of sight. They had stopped writing and were focused on the heated exchange, uncertainty painted on their faces. ¡°No one is making this assumption, Magister Gordian,¡± The King said, nodding for them to leave the room. They did, picking up their considerable baggage, consisting of parchments, scrolls, quills, along with several small bottles of ink, with measured as much as well-practiced precision. It was a silent pantomime that greatly impressed Lord Nattas. ¡°Continue Magister Gordian, but be forewarned, my patience is running thin.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know,¡± Gordian begun, seemingly unaffected. Storm wondered, what his play was here; because the man wanted something. ¡°What the king of Kaltha knows. Rumors are circulating though.¡± ¡°What rumors?¡± Alistair asked intrigued. ¡°There has been a resurgence, well known in our theological circles¡­¡± Storm sat back on his seat surprised. ¡°¡­perhaps the Khan, more precisely his son¡¯s wife, are non-believers, your Majesty.¡± What? Lord Nattas turned his head to stare at the leering High Magister. ¡°What are you saying, Gordian?¡± The King asked interested. ¡°Demon worshippers,¡± The man explained. ¡°Dark Foul Acts practitioners, monster loving¡­¡± he paused for effect, before adding. ¡°Flesh-eating Cannibals.¡± Storm¡¯s jaw almost hit the table. The reactions around him, being much in the same vein. ¡°Good gods,¡± Admiral Brakis said, wisely not picking sides. ¡°Uher¡¯s curse you!¡± That was Lord Doris. Himself a devout follower of the Five. Much as his cousin. ¡°You¡¯re saying,¡± King Alistair said, voice grave and Storm tried to find a non-suspicious way to steer the conversation to something else, another matter. Any matter, but the shrewd High Magister, had picked his timing expertly. Talking now, could out himself as a non-believer, a fact mostly known by very few select individuals. None of them, present. And for what? Abrakas? He hadn¡¯t helped him at all. Unless being a crippled man, living in a state of constant fear, was a gift. Hear that? Oh, abhorrent beast of the depths. I¡¯m your only follower in here, just about ready to abandon you. You better do something. ¡°The Khanate¡¯s Heir is a convert, to the old Gods?¡± King Alistair asked. ¡°If his wife is a practitioner, as it is rumored,¡± Gordian continued undaunted, ¡°Then damn right, I¡¯m saying it. Probably that foul Prince, the one that slew brave Ralph, was one as well, why else¡ª¡± ¡°ENOUGH!¡± King Alistair roared and Storm jumped back, almost falling from the seat, his leg numb. ¡°I don¡¯t want my son discussed in this instance, priest.¡± ¡°Apologies, my Lord,¡± Gordian said hastily. The King rubbed his face with his hands, taking a moment to collect himself. No one spoke in the meantime. Lord Doris giving the High Magister an acerbic stare. ¡°So King Antoon, having found¡­ through Duke Winfield about this, prepares for war¡­¡± The King paused expecting an answer, which the priest provided. ¡°To defend the faith, my Lord. Defend the Five.¡± ¡°How are we to respond?¡± ¡°I understand, we can¡¯t readily offer military assistance,¡± High Magister Gordian said. ¡°But High Magister Kelholt,¡± An Issir, Storm added. ¡°Suggested we mobilize the believers, root out the bad actors from within our midst.¡± ¡°That¡¯s preposterous.¡± That was Storm. Blurting out, at another inopportune time. Abrakas, you piece of slimy turd, I¡¯m risking my fuckin¡¯ neck here. ¡°Lord¡­ Nattas?¡± Gordian asked, eyeing him much like one would, a dead and rotting worm in his cup of expensive wine. ¡°You have something to add?¡± ¡°You want to have a crusade,¡± Storm said, getting up himself, a bloody ordeal for his hurt leg, so as to not look up to him. The pain, cathartic. ¡°Begin a purge, of non-believers. Thinning our ranks of soldiers, men and women that could pick up a spear, and fight for Regia,¡± Gordian made to speak, but Storm raised his index finger to stop him. He hadn¡¯t finished. ¡°You do that with the suggestion of an Issir priest, your former mentor, just before a major conflict, even war, breaks out. As I said, even if you are right, High Magister. Your proposal, is preposterous.¡± ¡°Hear, hear,¡± Admiral Brakis said, banging the table. King Alistair¡¯s mouth crooked in a rare grin. Even Lord Doris seemed impressed. ¡°Lord Nattas,¡± Gordian started, interrupting his elated moment. ¡°Your family¡¯s Crest, is a Kraken, if I¡¯m not mistaken. Actually that brooch, you¡¯re wearing, I think I see it.¡± Abrakas, the abhorrent, frequently appeared as one. ¡°It¡¯s a Squid,¡± Storm croaked, despite an effort to save it at the last minute. ¡°Are you sure? Because it looks to me¡­¡± ¡°Positive,¡± This time, he did better. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you in the Temple here. The Dome is such, a beautiful place¡­ And you¡¯ve been in Alden for some time now. Do you not favor Uher, Lord Nattas? Or Tyeus?¡± He added pointing at Disciple Ventor, the stoic man completely unimpressed, with the proceedings. Storm gulped down nervously. He¡¯d no plan nor words prepared, to convince a fanatic he was one of their lot. Of all he had carefully planned, that could help him stand on firm ground before this meeting, this wasn¡¯t one them. And try as he fucking did, Storm couldn¡¯t think of a distraction, having just gone all in, to prevent this foolishness, plunge the Kingdom into chaos. ¡°If you¡¯re suggesting, Lord Nattas should pray to Uher, High Magister,¡± King Alistair noted, speaking unexpectedly, still a smirk on his lips. ¡°Then you are in for a surprise. He¡¯ll never do it, and if you want to know why, you should ask Flavia Vindex. She slept in his quarters last night. Right here, in my bloody palace.¡± Storm let a breath he¡¯d panicky held escape him. Thank you, Abrakas. And Parkor, for forcing me out of my house. ¡°Priestess Vindex,¡± Gordian said slowly, every word poisonous. ¡°A follower of Naossis. I always thought you a degenerate, Lord Nattas. I guess, you¡¯ve proven me right.¡± Nattas wet his dry lips, in urgent need of at least a couple of goblets of wine. The larger variant. ¡°Just serving the Five, dear Gordian, with exceptional gusto,¡± He replied, finding his form, his tone mocking and Disciple Ventor let out a weird chuckle, his stoical veneer breaking down. Hah, Storm thought surprised. No wonder, he rarely speaks. Darn fool, sounds like a chicken, having the runs. 6. Good memories
Lucius Good memories
The second month of autumn, of 188 NC, brought more rainy days than clear skies. Especially for those moving towards the Northern territories of the kingdom, following the banks of the Canlita Sea. All though in reality a closed lake, its rather brackish waters and gargantuan size, had earned her the rather more impressive moniker. Shared by both the kingdoms of Kaltha on its north side and Regia on its south, it had one fully populated island. Tiny Valeria, nobility¡¯s favored destination. The most famous vacation haven throughout the Jelin continent, with its sandy beaches, rich forests and the Academy of Senses. The only temple of the Five, fully dedicated to the Goddess of pleasure, Naossis the Red. Already almost a month on the road, Lucius and his group had made it to Vinterfort in six days, kept up the pace as they followed the Legion-built cobblestone road, to reach Aldenfort on the banks of Canlita Sea in another score of days. From there they traveled, making regular stops, the weather painting the journey unpleasant, but not difficult. Islandport, the small village-port opposite Valeria Island, was their next brief stop and after that it was a straight shot for Asturia, assuming the stone bridge still stood over the mighty Framtond River, one of the bigger sources of water for Canlita, along with the much farther away icy Picker¡¯s River, coming down from the disputed Crull mountainous lands. The sky roared again, the thunder making the expansive dark green waters on their left shoulder, dance an angry tempo; the chill manageable, but there. No rain came down though, which was fortunate. Lucius saw the commotion, just as the first buildings of Islandport appeared, not a kilometer away. The carriage had stopped in the middle of the road and he waited patiently, for Post Antinor and Faust Vistict to work it out, with the enraged redhead, the clever merchant and driver Generidus watching them, but wisely keeping his mouth shut. Roderick, moved a worn out Butter next to Stormbolt and made a sound with his tongue, probably working on the gap in his teeth again. ¡°She wants us to test the woods for fresh meat,¡± He explained. Zofia. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with the provisions we got from Aldenfort?¡± Lucius asked tiredly. His back bothering him. They were riding since early morning and the sun was ready to set. ¡°Fresh meat,¡± Roderick repeated. ¡°Apparently, the salted stuff is too spicy for the lass.¡± ¡°She likes the wine,¡± Lucius commented. ¡°Spicy or not.¡± ¡°True that.¡± ¡°Perhaps, I need to talk with her,¡± Lucius offered and Roderick gave him a stare, wrinkled mouth crooked a strange way. You¡¯ll make matters worse, given your history. Was what the look meant. ¡°I¡¯ll better do it,¡± Roderick said instead, kicking with his legs, so Butter would move forward.
¡°There¡¯s¡­ two¡­ people, with red hair. Waiting, in the courtyard. Seem angry as all hell,¡± A teenage Ralph said breathlessly, pausing on every word to breathe, since he¡¯d run up the stairs. His eyes ogling big as saucers, as if he¡¯d seen a dragon. In the flesh. ¡°The boy¡¯s armour¡­ has fur on it.¡± Being the summer, it was strange, but not enough to interrupt him, when he was busy. Lucius paused, putting his quill in the inkpot, a large stain on the page he was wrestling with for the last hour. ¡°I was working on something,¡± He said sourly. ¡°What are you writing?¡± Ralph stooped over his shoulder interested, pushing him to see his drawing. He did it on purpose. ¡°A new crest, for my shield,¡± Lucius replied all tensed, failing to sound serious, while shoving him away. He was three years his senior and an accomplished knight. Didn¡¯t have to explain himself to a boy. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with the old one?¡± ¡°It¡¯s like our father¡¯s,¡± He explained, to his nosy younger brother. ¡°Looks like an Alden tiger.¡± ¡°Mine¡¯s different, see there?¡± The good part was lost behind the stain and he puffed frustrated. ¡°Better stick with the old style,¡± Ralph mocked him, knowing how to twist his cords. ¡°Just my opinion, you don¡¯t have to be so uptight about it.¡± Lucius got up, a dour look on his face. ¡°What do you want?¡± His tone cautionary. ¡°Came to warn you,¡± His brother said, all ominous. Catching him by surprise. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ¡°About what?¡± ¡°Heard Roderick speaking with pop¡¯s.¡± Lucius frowned. ¡°You¡¯ve eavesdropped on the King of Regia?¡± Ralph shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Yeah. Gonna rat me out? I¡¯m working for you.¡± ¡°No, you¡¯re not,¡± Lucius snapped, ¡°You¡¯re just being your usual curious self.¡± Ralph looked outside his first floor window. Impressively large, it let the sun come in and offered a view of the gardens, a major highlight of the King¡¯s Palace in Cartagen. ¡°Well, you should be as well,¡± The interest in his brother¡¯s clever eyes palpable. So much so, it compelled Lucius to approach the open window and see for himself. ¡°Why is that?¡± Lucius asked, trying to discern the faces of the two people, the King and Roderick were talking with. ¡°Now I¡¯m useful, huh?¡± Ralph and it turned into blackmail. ¡°How about oiling this curious cat? I have to see a man, about a horse. A good one.¡± ¡°You¡¯re confusing the meanings again,¡± Lucius said rolling his eyes. ¡°Are you not, the heir of Regia?¡± His brother asked, all pompous. Challenging. Unafraid. ¡°So?¡± Lucius snapped ready for a fight. Ralph, pointed at one of the two newcomers. His father seeing him from below, made a grimace of disapproval that didn¡¯t deter the young man in the least. ¡°See that busty redhead? The girl, is my meaning.¡± Ralph said smugly. ¡°That¡¯s your wife.¡±
¡°What¡¯s on yer mind?¡± Roderick asked him later, after they convinced Zofia to get back on the carriage and moved into Islandport. The village was busy, its four spacious taverns full. A surprising number for such a small place. According to the locals, the summer brought throngs of people in. Noble scions, merchants, pleasure seekers and vagabonds, looking for an easy coin. When the weather turned to winter, the place emptied, but still many made the trip and stayed for a few days to unwind, even later in the season. Mainly from Asturia nearby and Tollor of the Issir Lakelords, right from across the sea, the village and the Island a much quieter place to rest, than the large cities. You wouldn¡¯t know it, being here now, Lucius thought looking at the packed tavern. ¡°Random stuff,¡± He replied vaguely. ¡°Seen yer face, must¡¯ve been something serious,¡± Roderick noted, staring at his glass of local wine, trying to discern whether anything was moving in there. It wasn¡¯t a great vintage. ¡°Reminiscing of the past.¡± ¡°Ralph, ye mean?¡± ¡°Aye, old things. Nothing important,¡± Lucius replied, tasting his wine. ¡°They make it here as well. The glass. On the island,¡± He added. ¡°Ayup. Them priestesses can work magic wit their hands,¡± The old man commented, adding with a small pause. ¡°But they make shitty wine.¡± ¡°Hah, yeah. Zofia likes it at least,¡± Lucius said with a chuckle, pointing at the inebriated redhead, arguing with a couple of local merchants about prices. ¡°It¡¯s good to like stuff my Lord,¡± Roderick said. ¡°Good memories as well, can help.¡± ¡°Not much of those,¡± Lucius reply came out bitter, more that he¡¯d preferred to. ¡°Not about Ralph. Lots of good memories in there.¡± ¡°Aye,¡± Roderick said simply, sensing him turning gloomy. ¡°I miss him, is all,¡± He managed to say. The loss looming large. Ache making it difficult to breathe, the place darkening. ¡°Same here lad,¡± Roderick replied, his words comforting, pulling him back. He watched the Northern girl get in a man¡¯s face, skin all flushed, eyes flaming, teeth showing in a gnarl, alike a tigress.
¡°It was agreed in seventy four, not my doing, but I had to take it.¡± King Alistair snarled, the memory still infuriating. ¡°I won a war and instead of a Duchy, I got a brazen maiden.¡± Sounding deeply insulted, as if they gifted him a lame horse. ¡°I don¡¯t even know her.¡± ¡°What¡¯s to bloody know? You mount her, seal the marriage. Regia gets a claim on the Duchy. Half the timber of Kaltha, the best half, is cut in Sovya.¡± King Alistair explained, as if it was that simple. Recent loss of his mother gnawing at him from the inside. They were all affected, but none more, than King Alistair. ¡°Father¡ª¡± ¡°You want your brother to do it? Is that it?¡± The King asked, his patience running out. ¡°He offered, to save you. Because you¡¯re overthinking stuff. You will let a boy, do a man¡¯s job, son?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t,¡± Lucius croaked, pride hurt. ¡°The woman is your responsibility now,¡± his father said. Words he had to repeat to Lucius years later. Signaling the end of their talk. Macia, not much older than him, waiting all this time for them to finish. Tigress eyes glaring and taunting, in the same stare. ¡°Dear wife, I welcome you to the family,¡± He had said barely managing the words, face as red as her hair. For Regia.
¡°He knew what to do, my brother did,¡± Lucius said, casting the memory aside, his mouth bitter. ¡°Without pause, on instinct,¡± He added, words lost in the tavern¡¯s ruckus. ¡°He did. That much is true,¡± Roderick agreed, somehow catching them, sadness in his old eyes. ¡°Now would doing that, been in the right? That, I can¡¯t tell ye, lad.¡± He added and they both got a laugh out of that. Raised a toast next, they both did, the moment sober. For Sir Ralph Alden, the bravest of the brave, who knew what to do and died almost touching, what he most wanted. 7. Things not talked, in the King’s council
Nattas Things not talked, in the King¡¯s council
The King¡¯s council wrapped up close to midnight. The High Magister folded in the end, after a promise from the King to take the matter under consideration. Admiral Brakis was the first to take his leave right after him. Appearing relieved to exit the old palace relatively unscathed. The Navy man shook Lord Nattas hand before leaving with enthusiasm. So much so that Storm wondered, if there was meaning in the gesture. None other bothered talking with him, Lord Doris and his son being the last to depart. King Alistair called for a servant and sent him to prepare the throne room, catching Lord Nattas by surprise. The King took his leave soon after not saying anything and left him wondering, whether he should go to his quarters as well. Flavia had departed that morning to return to her Academy, for a festival of sorts, having overstayed her welcome and probably taxing the King¡¯s patience aplenty. He didn¡¯t expect anything to come from the affair, as Storm had gotten more information out of her, than sex. There was quite a bit of that as well, since the Priestess considered it vulgar to sleep without performing for the Goddess, every night. Lord Nattas had found nothing wrong with the practice and obliged her, with deserving devotion. It was at that point that a sergeant of the King¡¯s Guard nudged Storm, -meaning, while he reminisced of lewd acts of debauchery- and informed him he had an audience, with the King of Regia. The throne room had more light, than the last time Storm had visited it, a couple of weeks back. The fireplace was burning and send warmth to the cold walls, and enough candles were lit to chase away most of the old building¡¯s shadows. King Alistair wasn¡¯t on the throne, but sat relaxed on a chair, next to the scribe¡¯s table, drinking from a gold goblet, which Storm assumed knowing him, had water. He¡¯d the crown of Regia in his left hand and placed it on the covered table, when he heard Storm approaching. He offered him the other seat with a gesture and Lord Nattas took it, with a small bow of the head. ¡°The first crown Lucius the first made,¡± The King said, his voice informal. ¡°Had lead in it. Made his head hurt so much, he had it melted down and replaced with this one,¡± He smacked his lips, examining the contents of his goblet. ¡°Somedays, I think he left the lead in as a joke, for his heritors.¡± Storm wasn¡¯t going to comment on that. ¡°You are not from Regia originally,¡± King Alistair continued. ¡°Is that correct?¡± Oh, you know that, Nattas thought, not liking this line of talk. But I could counter, a couple of hundred years back, very few Lorians were. ¡°I believe myself a man of Regia, to the bone,¡± Storm said, keeping his voice steady. Speaking to the King alone, -that is, with six hawkish King¡¯s Guard in the room, watching your every fuckin¡¯ move- anyway a thing like that didn¡¯t happen every day. When it did, one should take care not to blurt out some idiocy or other. It¡¯s a short trip from the throne room to the executioner¡¯s blade. All it took was an order from the man questioning him. ¡°But my family owned property near Flauegran,¡± He added, what the king probably knew. ¡°Your father lost it. A gambling bet wasn¡¯t it?¡± The King queried, still relaxed. A great contrast from how he was, during the council¡¯s meeting. Storm wasn¡¯t gonna fall for that trick though. ¡°That is correct, my Lord,¡± He cleared his throat, the memory painful. ¡°Worked the stables for the Davenports after that, a favor since he¡¯d served with the King¡¯s father, in his youth.¡± ¡°Not much of a favor,¡± King Alistair commented, watching him. Well, the King of Lesia, had promised his father Storm would squire under a Lorian lord, and become a Knight. His accident took care of that. All his efforts to come back falling short, his limp too much an obstacle for a career, even in the army. ¡°It was my fault,¡± Storm replied with difficulty. ¡°Queen Vasia brought you here.¡± ¡°Aye, she did, my lord.¡± Abrakas, protect her spirit. ¡°Ever wondered, why I gave you the position, Lord Nattas?¡± The King asked and Storm sat back in his chair, his mouth dry. A cup of water looking mighty alluring at that moment. I¡¯m loyal? He thought, but dared not say it. ¡°Queen asked me,¡± King Alistair said, accepting a second gold goblet from a servant Storm didn¡¯t hear entering. He placed it on the table in front of Storm, with a grimace. Probably the memory of his late wife, troubling him. ¡°At first I thought, she had you as a lover.¡± Storm in the process of pouring wine from a carafe into his goblet, apparently the King wasn¡¯t having water, another bloody shocker, coughed nervously almost spilling most of it on his pants and an amused King Alistair. ¡°Then I realized, she was right,¡± He continued, a glint in his eyes. ¡°You are a clever guy, perhaps more than anyone else. But that isn¡¯t your biggest talent. Do you know what that is, Lord Nattas?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, my Lord.¡± ¡°You are a coward,¡± Storm blinked stunned, but kept his composure, but for a tremor starting in his good leg. ¡°Your first thought and last, is survival. Trust me, in your position, it¡¯s a quality.¡± ¡°Thank you, my Lord,¡± He croaked, fear bringing tears in his eyes. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. ¡°Don¡¯t thank me. Serve Regia. Honor my dead wife. Help my son keep this crown on his head, when my time comes. What we say here, cannot be talked about in the council.¡± ¡°Of course, my King.¡± King Alistair got up and went to stand in front of the fireplace. He watched the flames for a time. Face tense and gaunt, his stare intense. ¡°Lord Doris informed me,¡± the King started, his voice tired. ¡°You¡¯ve taken upon yourself, a task I¡¯ve given him.¡± Storm in the process of getting up from his chair, collapsed on it again. Think for fuck¡¯s sake! He urged himself and failing that he turned to prayer. Abrakas, give helping hand, you foul beast! ¡°I wanted to help, my Lord,¡± There, the truth, he thought. More or less. More less, than the other way around. ¡°There¡¯s a reason, I keep things from you, Lord Nattas,¡± The King said, turning to stare at him. ¡°Your job is to learn from others.¡± ¡°Of course, my Lord. I took the opportunity, since I believe, I¡¯m able to see through deception, easier than most.¡± Storm said quickly. Alistair fiddled with his great ring in silence, as if measuring his answer. ¡°Is the boy useful?¡± He finally asked, wrong-footing Lord Nattas again. ¡°Young Veturius?¡± He asked unsure. ¡°He¡¯s not that young.¡± Storm nodded eagerly, in agreement. ¡°I believe¡­ he¡¯s extremely intelligent. He helped illuminate, several obscure parts.¡± ¡°Was what Gordian asked, a way out of the treaties?¡± The King of Regia queried angrily, not partial to his jabbering. Ah. That was it then, Storm thought relieved, finally clear what was bothering the King. ¡°Absolutely not,¡± He replied readily, finding his rhythm. The quiver in his leg ending. ¡°Why confront him?¡± Alistair asked, raising a brow. I believe in the Old Gods. Hear that? You stinking, old goat of a deity? ¡°I don¡¯t like him,¡± Storm deadpanned in form. ¡°I believe he works for Kaltha.¡± There wasn¡¯t a single untruth in his reply, other than a small omission, voiced in silence. This time the King stood back astounded. It was surprisingly, Storm¡¯s rare moment of candor that swayed him.
¡°So you believe, his idea holds no merit?¡± King Alistair asked him a little later, after they had returned to the small writing table and the King¡¯s excellent wine, Storm much more relaxed now, but still vigilant. ¡°I don¡¯t think it is his idea, in the first place, my Lord,¡± He replied. ¡°That is Kerholt speaking though our High Magister. But it is not without merit.¡± ¡°Continue.¡± ¡°If what the Duke discovered and we assume here, King Antoon learned about it; was that the Prince¡¯s consort is a non-believer, I see no reason for him to escalate.¡± ¡°Sending the army to Raoz is just a reaction. A reaction to the Khan deciding to take the Duchy, simple as that, is your meaning?¡± The King said, legs stretched, hand supporting his jaw. ¡°Aye. No need for something else. He had to give up his sister. Refuse the ultimatum,¡± Storm put everything in order. ¡°It is what happened behind the scenes that¡¯s strange.¡± ¡°Explain.¡± ¡°Lord Bach was spooked. I know how to read people, can discern a scared man, as you aptly mentioned earlier, it is my talent.¡± King Alistair pressed his lips into a thin line, his patience running thin. So Storm got back on track. ¡°Gordian touched on the matter, the Heir¡¯s consort is the key to all this. Not in the way, he tried to paint it though.¡± ¡°Even if she worships the Old Gods, it doesn¡¯t matter,¡± The King translated, finding the thread. ¡°Because it doesn¡¯t annul the treaties. You suspect, Antoon is willing to go to war on Cofol ground, because he fears¡­ what, Lord Nattas?¡± What we learned, Lord Bach had said. It shouldn¡¯t be. That wild story is true. Storm had sat back in his chair, eyes unfocused. A shiver running down his spine. No. No way. It can¡¯t be. ¡°Lord Nattas?¡± The King of Regia asked intrigued. ¡°You found something.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± Storm said quickly, snapping out of it. He couldn¡¯t tell the King¡­ this theory. Nah, this craziness could land him in the dungeons, even worse¡­ he could share the fate of that foolish historian. He forced himself onwards, speaking while trying to find something to say, as much ingenious as totally obscure, to buy himself more time. Digging himself in a bigger hole, without realizing it. ¡°What we know about the consort, as I said¡­ she¡¯s the key, but we know so very little. Nothing really¡ª¡± ¡°Brakis said, she¡¯s from Dan,¡± King Alistair said, stopping him cold. ¡°Heard it from his son.¡± Storm shook his head surprised, sweat on his forehead. Abrakas mouldy cockhead, rots in a fuckin¡¯ jar. ¡°I have no idea where that is,¡± He admitted, his hard earned confidence going down the drain. ¡°Neither do I,¡± Alistair replied, surprisingly nonchalant about it. ¡°And I¡¯m the King. I ask and people tell me. There¡¯s no such thing, nor such place.¡± ¡°I could find out,¡± Storm volunteered still in shock, before he could stop himself. Stood over his grave and jumped right in, the fool that he was. Lessons left unlearned. ¡°You should,¡± The King of Regia agreed, deathly serious. ¡°It is your job.¡± 8. If ye make it
Kalac, son of Duham If ye make it
Ye go south then, the old ranger had suggested. Hug the Charmed Heights and follow the thin strip of arid land that is the border, between the unending Cofol Steppe and the Great Desert. Keep at it, minding your water, until you spot the Kraken¡¯s Spine Peaks on the horizon. If ye make it there, Vapi Arn Ria and its springs will provide for the weary and the brave alike. If ye make it.
His horse, dark brown turned to an ashen yellow, neighed pathetically, froth and blood in his mouth. Kalac, who¡¯d raised the animal since he was a boy, touched its burning mane to give it courage. Tarn, son of Badal, coming up behind him, leading another twenty riders pulled at the reins of his mount, face covered in dust, lips cracked and bloody, the column coming to a stop, in the middle of the desert. ¡°Where¡¯s the scout?¡± Kalac asked, his voice dry. The cloth covering the lower part of his face, turned solid and heavy with caked dirt, cracking as if falling apart. ¡°Run ahead over ¡®em dunes,¡± Tarn replied, mostly empty water flask in hand. He shook it once, but didn¡¯t drink. ¡°Reckon, it¡¯s him raising ¡®em clouds,¡± The man pointed in the distance and Kalac sat back on the richly decorated saddle, to see for himself. Someone was coming alright. Kalac cried a sharp order, four of the men pulling arrows from the twin heavy quivers, attached on the sides of their sturdy Steppe horses, in the time-tested manner of the horselords. The rest spread about, tired horses obeying after some urging and a lot of cursing. Tarn, who had the better eyes, called it off a couple of minutes later. That was Nimra their scout in the end. Riding hard, billows of thin sand half-hiding him. Riding too hard, Kalac thought, eyes glancing towards the afternoon sun above them. The giant sphere¡¯s shine blinding. The scout raised a hand, waved it in a circle above his head, again and again. A heavy roaring sound gathering behind the rise, giving enough context to his gesture. ¡°ARM YOURSELVES!¡± Kalac shouted, heart thumping wildly in his chest and kicked his legs, to get his horse moving. Kind Eyes he called it, which was the foremost thought the young man had, when he met the animal for the first time. That was the way. No one could give Kind Eyes a different name, nor would he ever listen to another, but the one the man who first rode him, had called him. He tied the reins on his saddle¡¯s bone pommel, freeing his hands to use the bow. Guided the animal with his legs as they burst ahead, the men following him. A dust cloud raising and quickly engulfing them all. The column cut to the right, the onrushing scout to the left, still waving his hand like mad, a look of despair on his face, much as Kalac could see it amidst the haze. It worried him, but the rush of the gallop made it hard to think clear and by the time he did, the first Cataphract surged over the top of the ridge, long lance in hand. Horse and man covered from head to toe in metal. ¡°STEEL TIPS!¡± Kalac bellowed a warning, his throat raw, Tarn repeating it from behind. He switched arrows, legs kicking Kind Eyes hard, the poor animal cutting away from the danger. Another five came after the first one, who had continued after the scout, missing them closing in. Those following saw them turning hard, to avoid crashing into the heavier armoured opponents and went after them, just as the first arrows started flying. Kalac saw one break on a conical helm, another bouncing off a horse¡¯s scaled armour, as he led his riders towards the base of the large sand dune in a sharp angle. This forced the charging down the slope heavy cavalry to correct their course, losing momentum. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. They there going to take the turn first, it seemed. If ye make it, the old ranger had said. A horse neighed, voice strangled and horrible, two, three bodies behind him. Kalac turned, took aim at the leading Cataphract and fired in two seconds, before glancing back to see his man getting up dazed, his hand broken. One moment Alem was there, the next he got skewered right through the torso, lance breaking in half, not taking the weight and the armoured horse ran over his broken body, finishing him off. He¡¯d missed. Kalac reached for another arrow, his men rounding the base of the rise fast, but with their time running out. He turned to his second, in the mind to split the men and circle around, put the heavy cavalry in the middle. Finish them off from afar. There was no more thin, watery sand underfoot. His tired horse¡¯s hooves thundering on sturdier ground. A Steppe, he thought in despair. We veered too far. Curse the Old Gods. All of them. ¡°Kalac!¡± Tarn yelled on his back and he turned, another arrow nocked, saw him pointing at the Cataphracts falling back, their charge spent. Deliverance. Fear the loss that comes gently, an old warrior used to say, face lit from the fire, open sky over their heads, his father smoking his pipe, still alive. For it can kill you, in yer sleep.
¡°These are the Neesen Mountains in the distance,¡± Tarn said an hour later. They had managed to lose their slower pursuers, but things weren¡¯t looking good. They¡¯d lost a man and the scout was nowhere to be seen. His second checked on the rough drawing again, the parchment torn in several places. ¡°Much as I make of it.¡± ¡°Why is the Khan¡¯s cavalry patrolling so far?¡± Tyeusfort was at least a week away and over the distant mountains. ¡°Can¡¯t tell ye,¡± Tarn wiped his mouth, with a gloved hand. ¡°They can¡¯t be alone and these weren¡¯t any plain border guards. That was solid Imperial riders we faced, gold Chariots on their crests.¡± ¡°Doing what? Huh? What are they doing here Tarn?¡± ¡°Guarding the supply caravans for those working on Eikenport?¡± The man guessed. A merchant had given them this information, gone back four months now, learned it while dealing in the large city of Yin Xi-Han. Kalac and his warband had steered clear from Yin, opting to travel undetected from the other side of Desert Lake, the last body of clear water before the Great Desert started. ¡°That¡¯s still too strange, no one but us has ventured so far,¡± Kalac said, his mouth bitter. The last bit of his water he¡¯d given to his horse. To keep it alive. Most of his men did the same. ¡°Way I see it, we have two options,¡± Tarn said. A grimace of pain revealing, what he thought of them. ¡°Either swing back, take a crack at finding the Kraken¡¯s Spine, or we stay in the Steppe, save the horses. More chances to find a waterhole here I reckon, than back in the desert.¡±
That is where your journey ends, if ye ask me. After that it¡¯s either the Desert again or the Central Steppe, mayhap cross half the realm if yer keen on it and fight Lorians in Raoz, or chance the acid rivers all the way down to the cursed Jade Lake, find yourself the door to ancient Wetull. Ah, I see it now. Ye want to become a legend? Kalac, son of Duham, the feared. Be warned young Warlord, for no free Horselord ever returned to the lands of Eodrass. None that I know off anyway and I¡¯ve seen three of my horses, breathe their last. No one. Not since the demons died.
¡°We know there¡¯s an army and heavy cavalry in Tyeusfort,¡± Kalac said, looking at his tired men. Measuring their resolve. Would they follow him? Should he come clear? ¡°Whatever the reason, where there¡¯s Cataphracts, archers are near. I say, we move south. Straight down. Make for Jadefort. Or even Dia. Test our teeth, on what we find there.¡± ¡°Jadefort? Isn¡¯t that abandoned?¡± Tarn queried, showing his surprise. ¡°Maybe it is,¡± Kalac replied. ¡°Maybe it isn¡¯t. But we can fight whatever they have stationed there, or outright take it, for our own.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t hold a fort Kalac,¡± A man said, but he couldn¡¯t figure out, who he was. ¡°We don¡¯t need to hold it forever. Just till, we get our strength back.¡± ¡°And Dia?¡± Another asked. Belec, judging by the voice. ¡°There would be soldiers there aplenty. It¡¯s a royal castle. They might try to lick us, something fierce.¡± ¡°When is the last time, you heard of a Prince coming this far? You expect to find elites in the back end of the realm?¡± Kalac asked them, raising his voice. An attempt to shame them. ¡°Eikenport I can understand, but even that is still a bloody ruin for the most part. At least you can see the Lorians across the sea, right? But thither?¡± He made a dismissive gesture. ¡°Nothing to see or fear thither, but the Pale Mountains and ruins. I shan¡¯t be scared of rocks.¡± ¡°There¡¯s Wetull there also though, just behind them,¡± Tarn pointed, crooking his ruined mouth. ¡°Gods only know what lies there.¡± He added with a frown. A legend, Kalac thought, eyes burning. If ye make it. 9. Gish cures for seasickness
Glen Gish cures, for seasickness
There is a lot of rope on a ship. As much, Glen thought, seeing sailors moving about placing more of it, made in heavy coils, under masts and next to toolboxes, as any other material aboard, other than freakin¡¯ wood. The problem with rope was, other than the occasional need for it when a person is confronted with a difficult climb up a window or an estate¡¯s high wall, it wasn¡¯t useful for anything else. Not so much. Not so thick. ¡°Never knew, Lord Reeves had a grandson,¡± Captain Aron Gray said, deep voice breaking through the ship¡¯s noise and the sound of the waves. He¡¯d long white hair, caught at the nape and a same color rich beard that covered half his face and neck. Eyes black and intense, but his appearance refined, his leather navy coat of excellent quality. ¡°And I know the man and his son as well¡­ knew him I suppose, the latter.¡± ¡°His mother died in childbirth,¡± Sir Emerson explained. ¡°But Glenavon recognized him afore he died, as his own.¡± Glen nodded, by now well trained in this particular deception. ¡°You¡¯re a Gray from Greywood?¡± The knight asked, steering the conversation away. He knew these sort of details about the nobility, all the known names and families, pretty well. Glen had to give him that at the very least. ¡°Aye. You caught it right Sir Knight. My family left when the Issirs claimed the place. Moved to Raoz, to live among Lorians.¡± The captain replied politely. ¡°Why not Regia?¡± ¡°Regia was plunged into a civil war then. Raoz seemed the better place to raise a family.¡± ¡°Someone should gather all these personal stories,¡± the knight said, ¡°Make a history out of them. More people should learn how the Lorian Kingdoms were birthed. It would be illuminating.¡± Aron shrugged his shoulders, eyes on the dark blue expanse and the distant mist over the waves coming from the south. ¡°Nobody cares to stir the pot and disturb the High King,¡± He replied, his meaning obscure, but still borderline treasonous. ¡°If the nobles aren¡¯t willing to risk their necks, why should the people? It¡¯s the fools that get hung.¡± Glen thought it an excellent point. And another usage for rope, he hadn¡¯t thought of. The last part, also a solid piece of advice. Don¡¯t be a bloody fool.
¡°What do you mean?¡± Glen asked the Knight, after they squeezed through the narrow quarter-deck hatch to reach their shockingly small cabin. He¡¯d found more room inside a water barrel. Glen shuddered at the memory. Twas it a close call. ¡°It¡¯s a big ship! What do they use, the rest of all that space for?¡± ¡°A merchant ship,¡± Sir Emerson said, repeating his previous answer. ¡°Most of it, is cargo holds. No surprise there." Seeing him getting ready to sit on the bunk, he added. "You shall take the upper bed.¡± Glen grimaced, seeing how close his head would be to the ceiling. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°You¡¯re more nimble,¡± The knight paused, seeing his expression. ¡°What is the matter with you? Feeling sick?¡± He was, terribly so. The floor under his feet had started dancing. ¡°Is this normal?¡± Glen asked, green in the face. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± The knight answered, not looking much better himself and quickly followed him outside. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
The captain explained to Sir Emerson that they would face some weather, but nothing untoward, until they make the turn and cut through the Krakentrap Straits. All straight sail from there, the man said, towards the Shallow Sea. Glen heard some of that, busy puking down the poop deck, until by the fourth time the young man realized he¡¯d nothing more to expel, his stomach empty. He raised his head, face and hair moist, eyes smarting from the seawater and put his back on the rail, to take a couple of deep breaths. ¡°It helps,¡± The huge Northman said, looking almost as wretched as he did, long red hair covering half his face, the rest of it lost, under his impressive beard. ¡°Breathin¡¯ hard.¡± He thought about it some, small eyes narrowing. ¡°And ale. But I haven¡¯t found it¡­ yet.¡± ¡°Yeah, thanks,¡± Glen said, pulling slowly away, until his shoulder touched another warm body and recoiled in panic. Two red-rimmed eyes stared at him, tiny holes where a nose should¡¯ve been, shaded by an explosion of pink curls and accompanied by the naughtiest grin, Glen had ever seen on a woman. ¡°Boo.¡± The weird girl said mockingly. ¡°The fuck¡­ how did you pop up¡ª¡± Whisper Jinx used the pinkie on her left hand to clear something lodged in her front teeth, and finger-flicked his nose once with her right, a tap with no strength on it to stop him talking. ¡°There will be no fucking,¡± She said, voice firm. Glen blinked once, dumbfounded. His nose smarting, but not more than his pride. ¡°What does this have to do¡ª¡± ¡°Are you sick now?¡± She asked casually. Glen paused, face flushed, lock of wet hair in his eyes. He pushed it back with a hand and breathed once easy, the sickness gone. ¡°No. What does this¡ª¡± ¡°You can thank me now,¡± Jinx replied. ¡°For what?¡± Glen exploded, not getting it. Her constant interruptions infuriating. ¡°Are you insane?¡± She stopped mid turn, as she was just about ready to leave and stared in his face. ¡°My ways are better, than his,¡± Jinx explained, pointing to her nostrils. ¡°Ye just have to get smacked once right there, when you¡¯re small. No Gish, ever gets seasick again. Second best treatment actually.¡± ¡°A Gish?¡± Glen asked, wanting to smack her hard in the face. Right at the nostrils. ¡°Island people. Very social,¡± Jinx droned. ¡°What¡¯s the other treatment?¡± Glen asked, with a tired sigh. ¡°Fucking,¡± The Gish deadpanned and sauntered away. A seething Glen watched Jinx sway her arse all they way to the bottom of the quarter deck¡¯s stairs. ¡°I¡¯m not small,¡± He murmured sourly, to no one in particular. ¡°Yeah, she¡¯s right at that, little fella,¡± The big man said. ¡°Although Zola believes, Pretty lies all the time. Um. So ye may have a point there.¡± Glen stared at him blankly for a good while. ¡°Who the hell decided, to call her Pretty?¡± He finally asked, still frustrated. Soren shrugged his shoulders. ¡°I¡¯d hump her. Plenty of meat on that arse, considering her size.¡± Right. Glen pushed that mental image away. An awkward moment later, he decided to wrap up their bizarre conversation. ¡°Well, I¡­ ahm. I will see if there¡¯s anything to eat,¡± He blurted out, after a couple of false starts. Apparently puking, had raised his appetite somewhat. Nothing much and he mostly said it, to get rid of the big man. ¡°Hah, that¡¯s a great idea,¡± Soren agreed, smacking him on the back once. Hand as big, as a spade. No strength there though, same as Jinx earlier, but he did sent Glen tumbling, almost over the rail and into the sea. The Northman let out a roaring laugh at that. ¡°Yeah,¡± He said, mind made up. ¡°Little guy, all right.¡± ¡°You used too much force!¡± Glen growled, holding onto the rail, heart beating wildly in his chest. ¡°Nah.¡± ¡°You¡¯re too fuckin¡¯ tall!¡± ¡°Compared to what?¡± Soren asked troubled. ¡°Normal people?¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± ¡°You know I¡¯m right.¡± Soren sighed, after he paused long to think it through. ¡°I can¡¯t figure stuff out, when I¡¯m hungry. Especially numbers,¡± He said, sounding embarrassed. And nonsensical. ¡°Wanna check the kitchen? I¡¯m certain, we¡¯ll find one thing we like.¡± Glen offered, seeing he wasn¡¯t getting anywhere with him. ¡°Sure,¡± Soren replied, a pleased smile on his puke covered face. ¡°But I¡¯ll need more than one.¡± 10. Clash at Krakentrap Straits (1/2)
Jinx Clash at Krakentrap Straits
A scorching hot gush of wind, came from the south. Waves rose under it, broke on the Marquette¡¯s bow, as she gracefully powered through them. Then another came, followed by even more, but strange as it may sound, the storm raged too far away to touch them proper. It had originated below Crab¡¯s Talons, a twisting menace kilometers tall and travelled bound southeast, crossing the Scalding Sea at its mid-point. What their ship faced was nothing more, but the disturbance left behind by the phenomenon. It rocked the Marquette and its crew though. Captain Gray, one eye on his rudder man, the other on the ship¡¯s carpenter running around to check nothing had come apart from the strain, kept his composure admirably. Some of its passengers did find it hard to cope, while others, remained completely unbothered by the raging brines''. Where is it? Jinx thought, turning her torso just enough to avoid the frowning Fox Drachen trying to retie a part of the fore staysail that had gone loose, under the orders of the aforementioned Master Udolf Nebula, the ship¡¯s carpenter. The next moment she ducked under it, as the loose part came back, howling alike Death¡¯s scythe, Fox Drachen still holding on to it for dear life. A huge wave followed. It washed out anything not nailed down on the upper deck. Jinx nimbly rode through it, a hand grabbing firm the line securing the inner jib and following it upwards, small feet sliding here and there, angry sea underneath, as she climbed the bowsprit. Her eyes set on the foremast stays just ahead. A way to reach the skies, discreetly. If you had the skill. Is it there? The Gish thought, eyes glancing up. Yer secret spot. ¡°SHIP AHOY!¡± The lookout cried, from atop the mainmast across her. Right as Jinx after dangling from the wire like a jungle monkey, -for way too fuckin¡¯ long- reached the end of the line, muscles burning and half-blind. She found purchase for her shoulder on the foremast, drenched but not cold and tried to recover, not minding the topgallant sail rocking the sturdy hardwood mast. That¡¯s a nice spot, Whisper thought with a grin, keeps me all warm and moisty. Turning her head she looked up, towards the last part of the foremast, where the second lookout spot was located. Another four meters of straight climb or so, Whisper thought, then yelled, loud enough to be heard above the angry elements. Her voice grating and as annoying, as she could manage. ¡°Just so ye know! If I fall and break my head¡­ it¡¯s on you!¡± Jinx spat down, mostly brackish water with a bit of spittle in it and wiped the hair off her face with one hand, the other keeping her on the rocking mast, before continuing in the same vein. ¡°Not kiddin¡¯¡­ yer fuckin¡¯ fault!¡± The winds had mellowed somewhat, the Marquette sailing hard away from the worst, as Jinx waited impatiently for an answer. But one didn¡¯t come, much to her frustration. ¡°You¡¯re an annoyin¡¯ cunt,¡± Pretty murmured, looking to discern with smarting eyes, what the lookout had spotted earlier. Sometimes you¡¯d see a sail in the white froth. A ship, when none was there. Lithoniela dropped in front her, a slight bend of the knees easing her into a graceful landing. She had Zestari¡¯s hood on, keeping her face obscured. Must love that cape something fierce, Jinx thought, seeing the Zilan¡¯s eyes turn a cool blue. ¡°What do you want Gish?¡± Lithoniela hissed, sounding annoyed. ¡°How come, you¡¯re not as sweet to me, as ye are wit Glen?¡± Whisper probed, content she¡¯d guessed her hiding spot on the ship correctly. ¡°He¡¯s got even less tits than me.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve come all this way,¡± The Zilan said not amused, her answer hitting a sore spot. ¡°To trade insults?¡± ¡°It¡¯s called a joke mistress,¡± Jinx taunted, trusting the tight space and height, were enough to keep things from escalating. Also the fact she¡¯d her back on the foremast, the Zilan but a solid kick away from falling to the abyss below. The Marquette¡¯s hardwood deck, was her meaning. Lith¡¯s lips split showing her teeth, sensing her intention. But said nothing. ¡°How did ye know I was comin¡¯ and climbed to the top?¡± Jinx asked curious, going another way. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Your smell.¡± ¡°Huh? I¡¯m all washed up for ye!¡± And salted. ¡°It¡¯s different.¡± Jinx nodded, the rocking around them easing gradually as the storm moved away, sails mostly full, but the winds not as hard. The danger averted. But for the fact that the ship, a tiny white spot on the horizon, was still following them. ¡°What do you want?¡± Jinx asked her, after they watched the ship approach them slowly for a while. Most of the crew casting glances at it as well, but still carrying on with their tasks. ¡°From the boy. What¡¯s so special about him?¡± ¡°We have an agreement,¡± Lith replied after a time. ¡°Wit him? Hah. He¡¯s as much a noble, as I¡¯m a virgin,¡± Jinx jested. ¡°Human castes are irrelevant. And only fools will trust the word of a Gish maiden.¡± ¡°Ouch, thanks for the vote of fuckin¡¯ confidence,¡± Jinx grimaced. ¡°You come at me all high an¡¯ mighty, are ye? How many lovers had you, oh, ye gracious blue maiden?¡± ¡°None of your concern, Gish.¡± Lith hissed. ¡°It¡¯s Pretty, my moniker. So ye better use it mistress,¡± Jinx retorted, a little pissed at her dismissive tone. ¡°Pfft,¡± Came the Zilan¡¯s answer, which infuriated her even more. ¡°Ye know, the elders talked about yer kind,¡± Jinx said, knife in her hand. ¡°Don¡¯t be a fool,¡± Lith warned her. ¡°You¡¯re too young to fight me, Pretty.¡± Jinx snorted, but put the knife away. ¡°Who said anythin¡¯ about fightin¡¯?¡± She replied, smirk back on her lips. ¡°Was thinkin¡¯ more a shove, see if ye drop all the way down. Doubt ye can fly proper, without yer beasts.¡± ¡°Do you wish to try?¡± Lith asked, steel in her voice. Whisper shook her head, putting her threat aside. She was just getting the measure of the Zilan. For later. At one point, you and me will dance, blue cunt, Jinx thought. Then either kill each other, or fuck. ¡°They used to come, yer people did, to the Isles. In ships first, the legend goes, then on their beasts. Left ¡®em free, to sate their hunger on the Gish. Their elites huntin¡¯ for those that hid, waiting for when the waters would rise.¡± ¡°Old stories.¡± ¡°Ever been? To the Isles?¡± Lith puckered her mouth, her face dark. She¡¯d kissed that long and hard, Jinx thought. There¡¯s a thought, to make a girl¡¯s skin crawl. ¡°Once,¡± The Zilan replied. ¡°A long time ago.¡± ¡°Our elders said, they took many Gish wit ¡®em, when they left,¡± Jinx continued reminiscing. ¡°No one ever saw ¡®em again. Those younger, the elders say, were eaten; others killed for sport in the dens, to keep the Wyvern God happy.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t judge those above your station, Gish. Your knowledge is limited, child.¡± ¡°Is that what ye think?¡± Jinx replied. ¡°Ye know, why nobody ever defended yer kind? Huh?¡± Lith made a gesture with her hand, not wanting to hear it. ¡°Nobody ever liked you. They were just glad, you were gone. Realm is a better place now.¡± ¡°You had a part in this, your cursed race, always mischievous, untrustworthy. Treasonous,¡± Lith hissed, eyes a venomous yellow. ¡°Pray you¡¯re not judged, Gish. Not as harsh, as my kin. For it is not¡­ pretty. And it will last forever.¡± ¡°IT¡¯S CLOSING!¡± The lookout¡¯s yell, interrupted their staring contest. Below their feet, the crew ran to their stations to watch the Barque come into view behind them, open sails full, as it cut through the waves. Right hand of their bow, the mass of land that was the Krakentrap Straits loomed large. ¡°Will we make it in first?¡± Captain Gray asked, eyes glued on the ship following them. ¡°Not in this angle, we won¡¯t.¡± Cleveland Louis the ship¡¯s navigator said, with a grimace. His lined face a horror to look at. ¡°REGIA¡¯S COLORS!¡± The lookout cried out, tied securely on the mainmast. ¡°Thank Abrakas,¡± Captain Gray said relieved, ¡°Master Emery!¡± He called for his quartermaster, ¡°Strike the colors, good man!¡± The flag of Raoz, was his meaning. ¡°Aye, captain,¡± Came his reply. Sailors all around him rejoicing at the news. Some of the Gallant dogs joining in with smiles. Jinx -now down on the deck- was just about ready to get a taste of the festivities, when she was stopped, the Zilan¡¯s gloved hand on her shoulder. Wiry fingers made of steel. ¡°Gish,¡± Lith asked, face hidden under the hood. ¡°Can you see the man on the forecastle? The one with the patch on his eye? Everyone else is keeping out of sight.¡± ¡°So?¡± Jinx asked, eyes squinting to find him, the distance almost four full ship¡¯s length away. A good a hundred and twenty meters at least. No big deal for a Gish, even less so for a Zilan. ¡°What about him?¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Glen asked, worry in his voice, forcing his head between them to see for himself, what they were talking about. His instincts more akin to a burglar, than a knight, Jinx thought. ¡°Is that an iron hanger, in his hand?¡± Lith insisted, her common still rusty, but then Pretty saw it too. A fuckin¡¯ boarding hook. She opened her mouth to warn Captain Gray, but Glen beat her to it, eyes wide as saucers and a dread too big to measure, consuming him from the inside. ¡°PIRATES!¡± The boy cried his lungs out. One word was all that was really needed, to get everyone¡¯s attention. 11. Clash at Krakentrap Straits (2/2) Part II
The crew of the Marquette was around twenty five strong, but not all of them were fighters. Good, that is. There comes a point though, when you have to fight. Whether you can, or not. ¡°Listen up,¡± Captain Aron Gray said, looking at them with sad eyes. ¡°Not everyone is going to make it. Let¡¯s get this out of the way. But we ain¡¯t losing this ship. Cut down anyone that jumps aboard, any way ye can. Keep this in mind though, pirates don¡¯t take prisoners.¡± That¡¯s a bunch of crap, Jinx thought busy dipping her arrows into a freshly opened bottle of poison. A mixture of her own, made out of red frogs spit and rat droppings, with a bit of cayon massed leaves added in. Mostly a paralytic; though it did the job, just not as well her mainstay, a yellow-green mix she produced from the bark of the Upas tree. Rare to find, and lasting not as long, when bottled. Ten times as deadly though. So there was that. ¡°They take prisoners,¡± She murmured seeing Dante, warming up his muscles, sword in hand. Soren right next to him, was munching on something, with pieces of puke still stuck in his red beard. ¡°If they¡¯re valuable, or pretty,¡± Soren laughed hard at that, so Jinx showed him her mid finger in response. ¡°Fear not, Pretty,¡± Dante said, a merchant¡¯s smile on his face. ¡°This is but a nuisance. We¡¯ve faced much worse. Right?¡± ¡°When?¡± Soren asked. ¡°That wolf¡¯s pack was nasty,¡± A rare comment from Pale. ¡°Basically they were mountain dogs, a bit well fed, I think,¡± Jinx noted unsure, the incident a couple of years in the past already, in the woods near Midlanor. Cessara and Kirk were still alive then. ¡°Bah, not even close!¡± Dante responded theatrically, sword cutting an eight in the air. ¡°Go on a journey, he says,¡± Zola whined across from him, arming her crossbow. Her stare acerbic. ¡°Do nothing for a month and get paid,¡± Dante gave her a hurt look, which pissed the Issirian even more. ¡°Cut this shit out, else I''ll shoot you in the face.¡± It worked like a charm. ¡°Okay, myself, mister Victor Hook and the Captain will hold this gangway, Glen and the big guy will stay back, block anyone that pushes through. You Ladies, find a good position and keep those arrows away from me,¡± That was Sir Emerson Lennox, their employer for the trip. Dante¡¯s easy contract. ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Jinx said with a grin, ¡°I¡¯m a good shot.¡± The knight frowned. ¡°I¡¯ll worry, just the same.¡± ¡°What about the sailors?¡± Asked Glen, green in the face. Either from another case of seasickness, or a heavy case of the jitters. Jinx would bet good coin on the latter. ¡°They¡¯ll fight it out on the upper deck. Pray they hold firm, or we¡¯ll sleep wit ¡®em fishes. Same way they¡¯ll pray we do well and they don¡¯t get flanked,¡± Replied the knight casually, explaining everything, which was fuckin¡¯ impressive. He was clad in his armor and pulled an oiled chainmail coif over his head, to complete the look. And that was that.
The first pirate that landed on the rails, Jinx shot in the shoulder. He staggered, then yanked it out angry. Eyes mad, over a heavy beard laden with jewelry, the man raised his cutlass and let rip a garish bellow of defiance. Sir Emerson¡¯s blade cut away his hand turning it into a cry of pain, before Soren¡¯s axe split his head in two, dousing everyone near in blood, brains and pieces of bone and put a stop to that too. ¡°STAND BACK!¡± The Knight yelled at the Northman, pushing him away, just as another two landed between them. Four more, right after that. Everything turning to chaos. Zola¡¯s bolt punched through a Cofol¡¯s chest clean through, killing the one standing behind him as well, striking him below the jaw. Dante dodged a hairy Northman into Pale¡¯s blade and ducked under an axe swing to cut a Lorian, wearing a fancy plate on his chest, above the knee. The Pirate cursed his late mother and got him with his axe, as he tried to jump away; axe¡¯s blade badly set, unwittingly turning at the last the deathly cut, to a hard whack on his shoulder. Down their captain went just as well, with a cry of pain matching that of his opponent¡¯s. Jinx had managed to nail him through the wrist. It forced the man to drop the weapon and dance around howling obscenities. The Gish rolled on the hardwood floor of the forecastle, catching out the corner of her eye, Lith kill a man with Zestari¡¯s short blade, use him as a shield right after, to approach the next one. The pirate, a sturdy Issirian, with an impressive white mustache dangling in fury, hacked away at his dead colleague ardently, pieces of him falling off. A hand here, piece of skull there. A couple of bloody fingers landing near Jinx. Blood splattering the deck, until Lith let go of the mutilated corpse stepping aside and pushed the entire length of her blade into his eye. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Ouch, Jinx thought. Down the man went, just as five raiders, well armoured with leather and some metal pieces, mainly on their chests, broke through Gray¡¯s crew and moved to flank them. ¡°GLEN!¡± The knight, busy fighting two wild eyed pirates, bellowed at the dumbfounded young man standing to the side. ¡°STOP ¡¯EM LAD, OR WE¡¯RE DEAD!¡± Glen parried the first cutlass away and almost got skewered by a nasty steel hook sharpened at the edges, the man coming after him had instead of a hand. Jinx flying over them saw everything, just before she let go of the line, she¡¯d cut and used to jump over the forecastle¡¯s rails. Could¡¯ve used it to swing over the whole upper deck and escape the worse, but she didn¡¯t. Most people get killed attempting something that flamboyant. Jinx raised her knees slightly, bowstring drawn, to aim at the man flanking Glen, in the seconds her insane drop lasted. She fired, then tossed her bow down, drawing a long dagger in the same breath. Blade out, just as she landed on the hardwood deck. Blood spurted out her nostrils, the force of the impact too great. Jinx¡¯s knees hurting, but holding. The Gish had rolled forward anyway to ride the momentum, ending up between the legs of the man with the wicked hook. The pirate, stared in astonishment at the pink haired girl sprouting out from underneath him, lips split to show her bloody teeth. It lasted not even a second, a hook raised to gauge her eyes out, but Jinx beat him to it, punching the dagger into his jewels. ¡°Fuck,¡± A disgusted Glen cried, as the man let out a groan of immense agony and doubled over, maimed for life. As much of it, as he has left in the tank anyway, thought Jinx, wiping the blade and going for her bow, a sharp pain in her spine almost sending her down as well. The cost of her acrobatics, more than she¡¯d initially thought. ¡°WATCH OUT!¡± Glen cried out, scaring the piss out of her, pointing at a large raider, instead of giving her a fuckin¡¯ hand. He was one of the five that had broken through. The big man run towards her, a nasty axe in hand, his eyes mad with bloodlust and rage that oozed out of him in waves. Probably the hook¡¯s fuckbuddy, Jinx thought, moaning something fierce, as she rolled out of the mini orc¡¯s way. The Northman went for Glen next instead of turning, which was a blessing from Luthos himself; but left her facing a dangerous blond-haired, leather clad woman. Her blue eyes painted black with ink just as her mouth, seeming skilled as fuck, which was vile Abrakas giving Jinx the middle finger. She¡¯d a cutlass and a dagger in hand and watched Jinx frantically hobbling for her bow, before dashing forward and kicking her hard in the back. The same back, she¡¯d hurt in her mad drop. Seemed a right stupid idea now. ¡°Oomph...¡± Jinx groaned and went down like a sack laden with rocks. Having no control on her body, she smacked her head on a barrel twice her size, the cut bleeding down her face alike her nostrils. A stunned Jinx, turned and sat on her arse to watch the pirate woman approach her, all sassy on her slightly heeled boots, but still angry as all hells. ¡°The fuck are ye?¡± She snapped, square jaw clenching, seeing Whisper more clear now. ¡°What manner of bloody freak¡­?¡± Jinx tried to spit on the woman¡¯s tall fancy boots; too dazed, she fumbled the whole thing and most of the bloody spittle landed on her own leather vest. There it is then, Pretty thought. No fancy ending for ye, girl. ¡°A fuckin¡¯ cunt,¡± She said miserably, running out of options. The female pirate snorted, shook her black mane and raised that nasty cutlass to take her head. Only to stagger back a couple of steps, coughing blood. She¡¯d an arrow right between her breasts. She made to cut it away with the cutlass, wonder on her face, but another struck her almost at the same spot, this one punching through to the fletchings¡¯, steel tip bursting out of her back. ¡°A cunt¡­¡± The woman muttered coughing up a splash of blood that landed on her boots, just before her eyes emptied and she collapsed lifeless on the ship¡¯s deck. Yeah, Jinx thought, watching Lith casually walking on the thin gangway rail, an image right out of a gypsy¡¯s circus performance. Her back straight, putting one foot in front of the other, without looking, while shooting arrows one after the other with mechanical precision. Landing more times on people, than she missed. Which was once, sort of. A shot to send a tossed knife into the sea and save Glen, still duking it out against the man with the axe. Less damaged than her, Jinx thought sourly, a jolt of pain coming out of nowhere, when she tried to move. Well, her back mainly and her bleeding head. When did I fuckin¡¯ hurt that? So Jinx stayed where she was, next to that barrel and watched as Lith put the fear of Uher, into the remaining pirates. Yeah, she thought again, agreeing with the dead pirate lady. A blue cunt, all right.
¡°Well, that went well, I suppose,¡± Dante announced pleased, an hour later. Seeing as he was only slightly maimed himself, it made sense to him. Also the fact, Jinx supposed, the remaining pirates surrendered, when their ship cut and run, seeing their leader fall. That would be the pirate lady. Words not well received understandably, by the shock shelled crew of the Marquette. ¡°We need to fix the ship, but before that, move through the straits,¡± Aron Gray announced, giving the mercenary a nasty look. ¡°It can¡¯t wait, I¡¯m afraid. We licked ¡®em good today, but they may be back, with reinforcements on the morrow.¡± ¡°What about the men we lost?¡± One of the surviving crew asked, sounding angry. Jinx grinding her teeth walked away, her body hurting with every small step, not really interested in the debate that started right after. Ye can¡¯t fix stuff wit fighting, she thought. Either before, or after. All you can do is survive. Lust after revenge, if you¡¯re a fool, or seek redemption, for things ye did in yer past. If you¡¯re a bigger fool. She stopped before the Zilan, silently picking through her used arrows, keeping the better ones or less damaged on a different pile. Lith had a tear on her cape, but that was the extent of her injuries. ¡°I can mend that,¡± Jinx offered, her mouth bitter and too tired to make light of their species notorious frugality. Old jokes, nobody really cared about anymore. Lith stopped her work, raised a still hooded head and examined her for a moment. ¡°You should keep it straight. Preferably on a soft bed,¡± She said, eyes a pale gold. ¡°Yeah,¡± Jinx replied, looking about them. ¡°Gratitude, for before. I was probably a gonner.¡± The Zilan nodded, going back to her work. ¡°I owed you, a life,¡± She whispered softly, when Jinx turned to limp away. Yeah, the Gish thought, crooking her mouth. Figured as much. 12. A new plan
Glen A new plan
Glen blinked once then rubbed his eyes, right hand still numb from trying to defend against the pirate brutes¡¯ attacks. Thank Luthos, for father¡¯s blade and the Knight¡¯s teachings, he thought, and examined again, what appeared to be a bloody piece of flesh, with a bit of hair still attached to it. Uh. After checking around that no one was looking, Glen kicked it over the deck¡¯s lip and into the sea. ¡°You¡¯re okay there lad?¡± Emerson asked, almost catching him in the act and turned him around to see him proper. ¡°Ye did good, stopped ¡®em right when it was needed.¡± ¡°Aye, for a moment I thought we were finished,¡± Glen replied, casually accepting the praise, while trying to flatten his unruly hair with his palm. The sea air and moisture had turned them all wiry, a right mess. ¡°The girl saved us, I reckon. Both of them,¡± Sir Emerson noted continuing. ¡°We lost nine sailors, Captain Gray says. The ship took some damage also. So it was a close call.¡± ¡°Well, at least we made it into the straits. Right?¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t think, we are out the woods yet?¡± Glen asked, seeing him thinking it. ¡°Reckon we are. They came from the Pirate Reefs more like, don¡¯t see them returning anytime soon,¡± The knight replied. ¡°Thought Regia kept them away from the straits,¡± Glen had heard the sailors mention it the other day. ¡°They are. Or used to. It seems the Navy has its mind on other plans now.¡± ¡°You mean like¡ª¡± But Emerson stopped him from finishing his sentence. ¡°Best not to talk about it out in the open, lad.¡± The way Glen saw it, politics was a bit like thieving; lots of whispering away from prying ears, the constant need of secret planning and untruths. A whole lot of them.
¡°Whoa there! You look like a corpse,¡± Glen told a wallowing Jinx. She was the most hurt from their group¡­ well, he thought, calling them that is pretty reasonable, right? ¡°Fuck would ye know?¡± Pretty mumbled, dark red circles under her eyes, even her voice sounding tired. ¡°Almost killed meself to save yer worthless arse!¡± ¡°Wow! Wait a fuckin¡¯ minute there!¡± Glen replied insulted. ¡°I remember myself risking life and limb to save you!¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± The Gish, raised a pink brow. ¡°What did ye do?¡± Yelled really loud? ¡°All I could,¡± He said instead, leaving it vague. ¡°Must¡¯ve been very little.¡± ¡°Who can tell? Battle is a blur now¡­ so many things happened,¡± Glen threw a bunch of random stuff in, to appear more legitimate. ¡°You know, ye can¡¯t con a conman right?¡± Jinx asked him sourly. ¡°You are not even that good, kid.¡± What? Haha, you foolish small girl¡­ wait a god darn minute here¡­ ¡°I¡¯m not a kid,¡± Glen defended himself incenced. ¡°Nor that easy to read through also.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know where she is,¡± Jinx said eyeing him cooly to make her point. ¡°Who?¡± Glen asked crooking him mouth, playing at innocence. ¡°Kid, I¡¯m hurt. Leave me the fuck alone,¡± Jinx replied and kicked him out of the blue, her leg catching him in the stomach, doubling him over. ¡°Gah!¡± Glen cried almost puking out, what he¡¯d wolfed down with Soren, not ten minutes earlier. Getting ambushed by pirates, also worked him up quite an appetite. ¡°Eh, it¡¯s my bloody fault,¡± He protested, red in the face. ¡°I came here to check¡ª¡± ¡°Oh, for cunt¡¯s sake, she¡¯s atop the foremast,¡± Jinx snapped, cutting him off. ¡°Here a word of advice. Don¡¯t go up there, you¡¯ll kill yourself.¡± Glen glanced up, trying to see between the Marquette¡¯s open full sails. ¡°I can make that. Easy,¡± He decided after a contemplating moment. Jinx eyed him suspiciously. She¡¯d a smell on her, weirdly exciting, but Glen just couldn¡¯t make out what it was. ¡°Are ye sure you¡¯re a squire kid?¡± The female Gish asked, her voice taunting. ¡°Because nothin¡¯ I¡¯ve seen ye do so far reminds me of one.¡±
Glen was just about ready to start climbing the railing ladder, when he caught part of the conversation between the knight and the Captain of the Marquette, Aron Gray.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. ¡°¡­we are currently sailing understrength. Now I don¡¯t trust the scumbags frequenting Deadmen¡¯s Watch, as much as I can throw them, so I won¡¯t get anyone from there. On the other hand, we can¡¯t reach Raoz without help. So I plan on stopping in Colant¡¯s Refuge, hire some local lads from thither.¡± This can¡¯t be good, Glen thought, changing priorities. He approached the two older men, a look of interest on his face. ¡°So you¡¯ll stop at Whitford,¡± Sir Emerson said and seeing Glen listening in, he added. ¡°Where were you living lad? The name of the place escapes me.¡± ¡°Shroudcoast,¡± Glen answered, voice neutral. ¡°But Whitford is the bigger town. More hands for hire there,¡± He added to help the captain and himself. Also, truer words had never been spoken on that deck. ¡°It¡¯s also on our way,¡± The captain agreed, combing his beard with a hand. ¡°I was hoping to get in touch with your man,¡± Emerson said, a little miffed he lost his chance. ¡°Get your side of the story strengthened.¡± ¡°Why is that?¡± The Captain asked. ¡°It¡¯s not important,¡± The Knight replied, wanting to end this line of questions right away. ¡°Aye, it¡¯s unfortunate,¡± Glen agreed, pretending he was sad. ¡°But we can try again, when our situation is not as desperate.¡± ¡°Hah, the young lord has a sound mind, Sir Knight,¡± Captain Gray said with a chuckle. ¡°Ye can tell, he¡¯s of fine Reeves stock.¡± The best, Glen thought. In fact, I don¡¯t think there¡¯s ever been a Reeves like me. Like ever. ¡°We shall revisit the matter at a later time,¡± Emerson said in his turn with a frown. Probably not as convinced as the captain. ¡°Reaching our destination, must take priority.¡±
¡°You¡¯re a lord?¡± One of the chained pirates asked, stopping him from resuming his search for the Zilan. The whole ¡®search¡¯ thing not a big deal really, just a casual check on her wellbeing. A small attempt to brag, about his¡­ well, substantial involvement. Surely Glen had done as much as everybody else. Captain Dante for example had spent most of the fight on his back and too dazed to continue, allegedly. Hailed himself a right hero now to everyone listening. ¡°Did I caught that right?¡± The man had a black leather patch over his eye and Glen remembered Lith talking about him, before the fight started. ¡°My grandfather is the Lord of Altarin,¡± Glen said, trying to stand a little straighter against the tallish, but rather thin Lorian. ¡°We can work for ye,¡± the man said, showing him his teeth in a unsettling smile. He¡¯d at least four gold ones in there and a couple of gaps, with no teeth at all. ¡°Pay our debt. Aye, we are pretty skilled, ye see.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­¡± Glen started, noticing the rest of the wretched men watching him with hawkish eyes. ¡°Well, what can you do exactly?¡± ¡°Dig. Really deep,¡± One of them said, all serious, long blond hair running down his ring-covered ears, round bald spot on the top of his head bleeding from a cut. ¡°Ahm.¡± ¡°Get rid of yer enemies, milord,¡± Another chipped in. ¡°Or friends.¡± ¡°See ye get, what you¡¯re owed,¡± A third said. ¡°Hypothetically.¡± ¡°We¡¯re cheap,¡± Added a fourth honestly, a short but muscular Issir, his eyes a pale green. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ a lot of skills. Quite diverse,¡± Glen agreed, not sure how to get them off his back. Granted, you¡¯re going to need some muscle in a gang, but his life had taken a different turn now. Hopefully. Even more, he was kinda too rich already to be a fully committed criminal. ¡°All of ¡®em skills, be gone to waste,¡± The first man said, his words dripping misery. ¡°If yer captain, takes us to the authorities.¡± The punishment for piracy was hanging, so Glen could see, where the man was coming from. It was a frequent punishment for heavy thievery as well. Something Glen -adding up his most recent score- surely qualified for as well. The thought dried the spit off his mouth. ¡°I don¡¯t think, I can help,¡± He decided, turning to move away. ¡°Ye can sire. If ye takes us to Altarin,¡± The man said desperately. Glen turned on his heel. ¡°How?¡± ¡°A high Lord, can have our sentence change,¡± The pirate explained, adding looking at him with that sole cunning eye of his. ¡°If his grandson, asks for it.¡±
The Marquette didn¡¯t stop at Deadmen¡¯s Watch. She traveled through the night, men working double shifts, to cross the Krakentrap Straits and reach the Shallow Sea. Three days later, Soren found him staring at the huge opening, returning him to familiar waters. Sort of speak. ¡°What are ye thinking Glen?¡± The Northman asked. ¡°Ye seem troubled.¡± ¡°Just stuff. My life is a little complicated at the moment.¡± ¡°Ye should drink more. Ale, if ye find it. It helps a lot.¡± ¡°Ahm, yeah. I don¡¯t think it does,¡± Glen said, glancing at huge Northman. The man was almos seven feet tall. ¡°Plus, I¡¯m not really allowed.¡± ¡°Is it a squire thing?¡± Soren inquired, appearing startled. ¡°Aye, it is.¡± ¡°Pfft, you¡¯re a young Lord!¡± He put his spade-size hand on his shoulder, locked his eyes on him. Glen thought for a moment, he was gonna shove him over the rail and into the dark sea. ¡°Ye can do whatever ye want,¡± The Northman said instead, staring the former thief meaningfully. As if he just told him the biggest secret in the world. Glen greatly relieved the danger was over, scrunched his face trying to find a counter to his ¡®big¡¯ argument. ¡°Being a young Lord, as you say, is a lot of work Soren.¡± ¡°Are young Lords, not allowed to drink whatever they want?¡± The Northman asked, probably having a point somewhere there, thought Glen couldn¡¯t see it. ¡°Of course.¡± Soren shrugged his huge shoulders. ¡°There ye are then. Be a young Lord. It¡¯s better than you are now. Right?¡± Glen looked at him for a long moment, in a mild stage of shock. Huh. Gods darn it. ¡°You know,¡± Glen said, his mind working overtime. ¡°You¡¯re not exactly in the wrong here, my friend.¡± ¡°Haha, that¡¯s a good one,¡± Soren guffawed, a big smile on his face. ¡°Being wit them fools for almost a year, no one called me his friend,¡± He opened his large hand and spat on it. The splotch huge and spreading. Offered it for a handshake. Glen stared at his hand, then at the big man¡¯s grinning face, undecided. The moment dragging. Find allies for your cause, came a strange thought, its meaning obscure, much as he understood it. But it felt important. So Glen shook the Northman¡¯s hand. Put a new plan in the works. 13. A Crows ambition
Gust A Crow''s ambition
Common people said, if one stood atop Blackcrow¡¯s Pillar, the massive tower most signifying the city of Scaldingport, which was built at the heights of the Patience Plateau; he could see on a clear day, both Toe and Tongue, the two thin peninsulas that hugged the famous Veer¡¯s Gulf. The safest natural harbor in the Scalding Sea. Scholars on the other hand offer, Gust thought, fingers tapping the stone parapet and square jaw clenching, making the scar he had there more pronounced; it was Toe Peninsula people were seeing each time, reflected over the waters, due to the presence of atmospheric vapors. Or some other blasted crap. Gust didn¡¯t believe any of them. People lied as much as they breathed and scholars were people as well, too weak to work the fields. Or pick up a blasted blade. He pushed back from the tower¡¯s parapet, hearing boots approaching behind him. Crossing his gloved arms over his chest, right where the big silver crow was engraved on his black polished chestplate, he turned to face the robed Issir approaching him. Mael stood out of sword¡¯s reach and frowned, deep dark-skin a pale white, where his old neck injury was; looking about the empty uppermost level of the Tower. ¡°You¡¯ve sent the guards down,¡± He noted, voice appreciative. ¡°Don¡¯t want a man, standing behind me with a blade,¡± Gust replied brusquely. ¡°Your father¡¯s man.¡± ¡°Exactly.¡± Mael, now in his late forties, but still impressive physically, chainmail worn under the grey Disciple of Tyeus robes, almost as tall as Gust and even heavier, pulled his lips back showing him his teeth. ¡°Don¡¯t antagonize the man, in his own castle,¡± He said simply. ¡°And show up in time, when you¡¯re called by your Lord.¡± ¡°Sure. Has uncle arrived?¡± Gust replied returning the man''s glare unbothered. ¡°As I explained,¡± Mael droned. ¡°They¡¯re expecting you.¡±
Scaldingport¡¯s castle main hall, an elongated room ending where the Lord¡¯s throne stood, was mostly empty. Well-lit by the many candleholders, placed on the four rectangular tables by its walls, it needed a moment for any visitor to orientate himself. The room had no windows, but the unreachable crow¡¯s hole, a small opening at the wall behind the throne and it reminded Gust of the insides of a mausoleum. Old swords and shields hanging from its old walls, a couple of black crows flapping their wings, mixed in. The tomb¡¯s owner, Lord Ruud De Weer, a man in his late seventies, clad in a dark blue and expensive velvet doublet, under a polished chainmail shirt tied at the front, raised a white brow seeing them enter. His gaunt face, sunken black eyes and sickly thin beard, somehow masquerading his real strength. Tall and wiry, he could still wield a sword, the last of his generation still living, fighting and fucking, as the man frequently and shamelessly boasted. ¡°Here he is then,¡± His father announced, voice grating on his nerves. ¡°The pride of Scaldingport, our greatest joy and hope. Fucking late as always, but at least he made it this time. Right, Lord Treasurer?¡± Lord Mikkel De Weer, his younger brother by twenty years and the High Treasurer of Kaltha, gave a small nod of agreement to his words. Shorter and fuller, well-shaved, long hair oiled and brushed back, he had his father¡¯s eyes and a sharp mind for numbers. Gust noticed without surprise, he was the only man in the room without a single piece of armour on. ¡°What was it then?¡± Lord Ruud asked and seeing he wasn¡¯t going to answer, opting to find a seat across from him and next to his uncle, in the table they¡¯d set near the throne, he added. ¡°By all means, have some of my wine son, take your fucking time.¡± Gust drained his silver cup before answering him. ¡°As you well know, I couldn¡¯t travel,¡± His father raised his brows in fake surprise. ¡°I was recovering from a hurt leg, in Colle.¡± The city of Colle was his meaning. ¡°You got that at Whitenail Peak, or was it the Boar Mountains?¡± Lord Ruud noted, pouring himself a cup of wine. Hand still steady, but for a minor tremor at the end, probably an act on his part.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. ¡°Yes, it was unfortunate, a boar unhorsed me.¡± ¡°Lots of them over there most folk say, good hunt probably,¡± His father agreed, tasting the wine with a grimace. ¡°Other¡¯s will argue, attempting a hunt with a tourney looming is foolhardy, hmm? What do you say, Lord Treasurer? Have you fallen asleep on us?¡± Lord Mikkel cleared his throat, before answering. ¡°It wasn¡¯t a smart decision on Sir Gust¡¯s part.¡± Right, Gust thought. Fuck you too, uncle. ¡°Hah! There it is then, another one thinks the same thing, my son,¡± His father continued theatrically, ¡°Eh, what¡¯s done is done. We¡¯ve all been young once. Your brother was there after all. Fought brave, but lost in the blasted final. Among other things, them being the Princess hand, cunt and tits, he lost his fucking eye too,¡± He barely managed to hold a chuckle in, before adding more serious. ¡°That darn fool! Right, Lord Brother?¡± ¡°He fell for the Cofol¡¯s trick, brother.¡± His uncle replied calmly. Lord Ruud smacked his lips and stared at his cup of wine for a moment. Gust knew there was meaning in the charade, a reason he called for them to come in Scaldingport. Ruud De Weer, rarely left the city, held no public office for years now and avoided meeting with more than one person at a time. He liked to rule from afar. Those who survive until the end, he frequently said, when Gust was young, will dictate my son, who the heroes and who the cowards were. No one will be able to contradict their version of history. You know why? They will all be dead, Gust thought, just as his father answered. ¡°Antoon, insulted us twice in his young tenure as High King,¡± Lord Ruud started, no theatrics this time and Gust stooped to listen. ¡°First he picked that skinny Van Durren cunt to be his Queen, a fucking disaster,¡± The girl being his father¡¯s favorite prospect for Gust slipping his mind. ¡°Then he goes ahead and offers his sister as a prize, manages to hand her over to a blasted Cofol of all fucking things, your idiot brother maimed in the process.¡± ¡°King Alistair lost a son,¡± Gust pointed, keeping his cool and changing the subject somewhat, not that he cared for that pompous Sir Ralph, or his brother, but you count everything on the scale, before the chest is closed. ¡°He did, must¡¯ve hit him right hard,¡± Lord Ruud agreed, malice in his voice. ¡°Still, you are right, another mistake.¡± ¡°Antoon is a fool,¡± That was the King¡¯s own High Treasurer, his priorities clear. ¡°He shouldn¡¯t lead Kaltha,¡± Lord Ruud continued. ¡°He¡¯s dragging us in a war with the Khanate. The first Division ordered to gather in Caspo O¡¯ Bor. Under Joep Van Durren, Lord of Badum. Heard word, the second is coming from Midlanor, under Lord Anker.¡± ¡°The Est Ravns agreed to this?¡± Asked Gust surprised. ¡°Who knows?¡± His father stared at both of them for a moment. ¡°Everyone wants to gain more, than what he has. War can bring a lot of gains, if you¡¯re on the right side. It can also ruin you and yours.¡± ¡°It is a defensive move, according to him,¡± Lord Mikel explained, being present in the High King¡¯s council, he¡¯d more knowledge on the matter. ¡°Bah! Defensive move my arse!¡± His father snarled, hitting his hand on the table. ¡°The Khan will see it differently. I would! Then he will send an army to crash him, gain Raoz in the process.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that easy to break into Rida,¡± Gust countered. ¡°And with reinforcements, I don¡¯t see the Khan winning easily. He¡¯ll have to cross the desert to reinforce his own armies by land, with winter coming and the northern routes closed, no other ports facing the Shallow Sea¡­ as I said, not easy at all.¡± It was the reason the Cofols had stayed on the other side of Eplas continent for so many years. Distances were too great and the routes a horror to travel on. Elements and rebel warbands roaming the desert uncontrolled, for the most part. ¡°War isn¡¯t about winning,¡± His father insisted. ¡°Antoon can¡¯t fight the Khan alone, he will need the Issir Lords backing him and the other two kingdoms falling in line.¡± ¡°You think they won¡¯t?¡± Gust asked, refilling his empty cup, interest piqued. ¡°King Alistair lost a son to the Cofols. Knowing his reputation and the strength of his rule, the whole of Regia will rise, if he calls for revenge. If Regia goes to war, Lesia will follow.¡± ¡°Which is why Antoon, made the move. Also the reason, I believe something else is brewing in the background and that fucking snake is hiding it,¡± Lord Ruud replied. ¡°I know you don¡¯t like reading son. Hunting and jousting, is preferable to a young man. Fucking as well, the latter I enjoy immensely myself, I admit.¡± Gust gulped down slowly, trying to keep his tempers checked, the latter was the reason his late mother took her own life, when he was only five. ¡°But let me tell you about us Issirs,¡± His father continued undaunted, nasty smirk on his wrinkled face. ¡°We were pirates once, aye¡­ ye won¡¯t hear that talked about in any Lord¡¯s place or ball. Issirian noble men and women, hah! All lies. Read your Histories son. We lived off plunder and rape. Killing things. Taking what another man had. We relished in it. It was fucking glorious.¡± He paused, old eyes shining with excitement, before continuing with equal fervor. ¡°Lorians? Pfft¡­ were bloodthirsty brigands, the whole darn lot of them. You think the Cofols are bad? Hah! All men are. Women too, right cunts. Whoring is in their blood. If a war breaks out, it won¡¯t be pretty and it won¡¯t go away. Nah, it won¡¯t go away,¡± He took a big breath and another sip from his cup, ending his tirade. Gust cleared his throat, with a glance at his silent uncle. ¡°Do you think, we should stay out?¡± He asked his father, not getting his meaning. ¡°We can¡¯t,¡± came his reply. ¡°I don¡¯t have the fucking time and I don¡¯t trust you younger lads not to mess it up.¡± ¡°So what do you suggest? What do we do?¡± Gust asked grinding his teeth, the insult cutting deep. Lord Ruud turned his eyes to the wall, over the banners and shields, where a couple of crows were watching them. Small beady eyes, full of wisdom and malice. Standing in judgement. ¡°We do as crows do, the world over,¡± his father replied, gleam still in his eyes. ¡°Watch them kill each other and feed on their corpses. A divided kingdom ruled by fools, dies of bravery first.¡± 14. Dottore’s orders (1/2)
Nattas Dottore¡¯s orders Part I
You could hear Cartagen waking up in the distance, Nattas thought. Those living near the King¡¯s Palace and in the famed White District, a place where typical later Lorian architecture was more prominent; with its spacious villas, the white terraces bedecked with flower gardens and hugging the edges of the aptly named Green Plateau; they will hear the distant buzz much later, the heights of the Plateau shielding them. The city was built on its slopes, spilling almost to the banks of the great Mabindon River, with its three branches reaching Cartaport twenty kilometers away. Bordering the White District, on the East side of the city, opposite the river and the King¡¯s Baths, was the Merchant District. While not as expensive to live there, or as prestigious, it was a far better choice, than opting for the sprawling People¡¯s District at the mouth of the City, next to the majestic, as much as stinking busy and rumpus to the point of insanity, Hippodrome. Of course not as expensive, doesn¡¯t equal cheap, Nattas thought, a sour expression marring his tanned face. He¡¯d given an arm and a leg to purchase the villa he was living in. So much so, he¡¯d fallen in debt for several years, forcing him to eat and socialize with the plebs, to make ends meet. The large balcony he now stood on, watching the sun behind him bringing slowly the city to life, was freshly clean, the white marble with rosy details, mainly in the two columns keeping the roof from falling on his head, gleaming like crystal. He brought the older style tall glass of wine to his lips and tasted it. An excellent vintage of expensive Flauegran, a special delivery just for him, a memento from the lands where his family was uprooted from and an indulgence of a man of prominent culture and taste. ¡°It is a wonderful sight, Lord Nattas,¡± Cartagen¡¯s large library¡¯s newest scholar said, a smile on his face. He was sitting across from him, a small marble table between them. Sirio Veturius, had followed Storm to Regia¡¯s Capital at his insistence and was now busy scribbling into his parchments. ¡°Well, it is but a small indulgence,¡± Also a necessity, as owning property in Cartagen was expected of all aspiring lords wanting to climb the social ladder, or stay on it, for as much as fuckin¡¯ possible, thought Storm. ¡°Excellent choice,¡± Sirio replied. Then wearing his historian¡¯s cap. ¡°Cartaport was at first chosen as the site to build the new city, but King Lucius¡¯ the First horse got spooked and ran up the gentle slope, it is said. The King and his men ran after it and when they stopped and stared at the view, they changed their mind.¡± ¡°That horse had expensive tastes,¡± Was Lord Storm¡¯s taciturn comment. ¡°Some animals do,¡± The young man replied cryptically. Storm turned to investigate his meaning and caught Sudi walking towards them, crossing his second story lounge, with his dirty boots still on. ¡°Boss,¡± Sudi started, before he¡¯d time to admonish him for his bucolic manners. ¡°I got news.¡±
The Issir placed a wrapped object in front of him and looked around for another rattan chair to sit on, a grin creeping up his face when Sirio offered him the one he was sitting on. ¡°I need to finish this part today,¡± The young man explained calmly. ¡°Yes, go do your job, dear Veturius,¡± Storm said, keeping his tone polite. The moment he was out of earshot, Lord Nattas turned to his man frustrated. ¡°Couldn¡¯t it wait? So I can at least enjoy my first morning here in peace!¡± They had left Aldenport almost a month back, sailed around the coast of Regia to reach Cartaport, an uncomfortable journey Storm vehemently hated, but it was a much better one, than what he had endured trying to reach Riverdor in the summer. ¡°Tryin¡¯ to keep you informed. Better to know, than be surprised down the line,¡± Sudi repeated something Storm had said to him, on many occasions. Nattas stared at the wrapped up object, he¡¯d left in front of him in silence. Then he reached for his glass of wine and waved for Sudi to speak his piece.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°Your nephew is much better, Utnas reports,¡± His man started. Great, starting with the lukewarm news, I see. ¡°So he¡¯s walking about?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Still in my house?¡± ¡°Aye.¡± Storm cleared his throat, deciding not to say something he might regret down the line. ¡°Continue,¡± He hissed. ¡°The man that recovered the message for King Antoon, was the son of the knight originally tasked to deliver it. No major surprises there.¡± ¡°He was traveling with his father?¡± Storm probed. ¡°No. Word is, he¡¯s probably a bastard. Living on the Free Isles. Or used to.¡± Storm scoffed, having another sip of wine. ¡°That¡¯s fuckin¡¯ convenient; right where his ship sunk. You said, used.¡± ¡°Aye, he boarded a ship headed to Raoz,¡± Sudi scratched his head, before adding. ¡°Accompanied by a sizable number of men and women.¡± ¡°You mean, like circus dancers?¡± ¡°Nay, warriors.¡± ¡°Ah, do you get the fuckin¡¯ difference?¡± Storm snapped at him irritated. ¡°What kind?¡± ¡°Mercenaries, amongst them a Knight,¡± Sudi continued, keeping his cool. ¡°Given what happened to his father, I¡¯d say that is a wise move on his part. Smart lad,¡± Nattas commented. ¡°There¡¯s talk, people went missing in Castalor,¡± Sudi moved ahead not minding his comment, as if reading from a script. ¡°Drunkards?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, but amongst them was a high ranking Port Custom¡¯s official, a port¡¯s guard and a port worker. On the same night,¡± Sudi explained. ¡°A serial killer?¡± He chanced, looking to refill his glass. Made a point not to offer his man any. There was wine in the kitchen if Sudi wanted to wet his gullet, a whole barrel of it. Cheap as hell and you could buy it in bulk. An excellent vintage for the help and his lackeys. ¡°Word on the street is, it was the Silent Servants. The Guild, not the priests,¡± Sudi said, the subject making him uncomfortable. It didn¡¯t exactly fill Nattas with confidence. His killer being on the loose still. The distinction thin, as a lot of people suspected the priests of Oras as being part of the same brotherhood of death lovers, or death bringers. As stated, the distinction thin. ¡°You think they will try to get to me again?¡± He asked, matter worrying him more, with every passing moment. ¡°Like another blatant attempt at assassination?¡± ¡°Probably. If I had to bet coin, I¡¯d say for certain.¡± ¡°How much coin are we talking here?¡± ¡°I bet it all, chief. Clear as day,¡± Sudi said with a shrug. Vile Abrakas rotten cock! ¡°You could be wrong though,¡± He insisted, hope still not snuffed out. ¡°Nah. Don¡¯t think I am.¡± Fuck. God darn it! Abrakas, you piece of decayed shit, if something happens¡ª ¡°As I said,¡± Sudi cut into his prayers and cursing, all packaged together. ¡°I was working on that, chief.¡± ¡°You did?¡± Nattas asked surprised. He¡¯d sweat on his forehead. ¡°Aye, so I brought ye this,¡± The wrapped up object was his meaning. Storm glared at it, for a long moment. Then slowly opened it up, using a careful finger. A small vial appeared, tiny almost. Black cork keeping it hermitically closed, its contents a weird pale purple, with shades of gold in it. Storm smacked his lips once, drained his wine in a go and then raised his eyes, to stare at his expecting lackey. ¡°What the fuck, is this thing?¡± He queried, in a non-nonsense kind of way and Sudi replied with an almost evil smirk. ¡°That¡¯s poison, chief. Worst there is.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s it for?¡± Nattas probed, not amused in the least. Sudi shrugged his shoulders, as if it was clear. ¡°For ye, of course.¡± 15. Dottore’s orders (2/2) Titus Balbus appeared to agree with Storm¡¯s final assessment. ¡°It¡¯s clear to me as well. Sudi is trying to kill you, Boss,¡± He said, in his rich booming voice. ¡°There!¡± Storm snarled. ¡°I should have you flogged right now or even killed. I¡¯m leaning heavily on the latter,¡± Lord Nattas paused to suck some air in as he was turning blue in the face. ¡°I knew you¡¯ll betray me one day. You piece of dry shit, shame on you!¡± He thundered finally. Titus nodded in agreement, his many days vacationing on his coin in Cartagen guarding the woman, having done wonders for his skin, Lord Nattas noted sourly. He made a note to cut the soldier¡¯s salary in half. ¡°Just hear me out, before killing me,¡± Sudi said, raising his hands in mock surrender. He seemed surprisingly cool about the whole thing. ¡°You¡¯ll see, it makes sense.¡± ¡°It does?¡± Storm asked, lips pressed into a thin line. ¡°How does me poisoning myself help in not being assassinated?¡± It sounded ever more foolish saying it out loud. Outrageous even. Was he taking him for a fool? ¡°You will follow the Dottore¡¯s orders, to the letter,¡± Sudi paused and pulled a small piece of paper from a pocket he had on the side of his long tunic. Proceeding to read from it, but having some difficulty. ¡°One¡­ fourth of a small spoon, every morning. Plenty of water and fruits, but nothing bitter. Or another variety of toxins,¡± He finished more confident. ¡°Evidently,¡± Storm sneered. ¡°Aye. Says it clear,¡± Sudi replied, not catching his tone or pretending he didn¡¯t. ¡°Right there,¡± He showed them his scratching¡¯s on the small piece of paper. Nigh impossible to read. ¡°See?¡± He finished with a small grin. Storm snorted and stared at him blankly. Titus standing on his right side, made an impressive effort not to laugh. The sound escaping sounding like a weak fart. ¡°You paused a bit at the start,¡± Storm noted, determined to get to the bottom of this, for better or worse. For Sudi that is. ¡°Linking it with your earlier ¡®to the letter¡¯ comment, I¡¯m justifiably concerned.¡± ¡°Well, I wrote it on my leg so¡­ Was in a bit of a hurry as well, but it¡¯s clear to me, it says four,¡± Sudi explained, squinting his eyes hard, to read the tiny scribblings. No man or god, could ever hope to read those with any amount of certainty. Abrakas the abhorrent could use it more like to wipe his hairy black arse, instead of reading it. ¡°You would at least agree, getting the amount right is important?¡± Nattas asked, tone mocking. ¡°Perhaps, but it is a small difference, whether it¡¯s a four or¡­ ahm.¡± ¡°Nine?¡± Storm offered, only half joking. ¡°Aye, could be¡­¡± Fuck¡¯s sake. ¡°What¡¯s the name of this dottore?¡± He asked, seeing he was getting nowhere. ¡°Baro. Numerius Baro,¡± Sudi replied, still trying to read the instructions. Lord Nattas let out a deep disappointed sigh, then turned to the former soldier. ¡°Will she escape or run away, if you come with us?¡± He asked. Maja, the merchant¡¯s fianc¨¦, was his meaning. The young woman, possibly implicated in the attempt to have him murdered in Alden some month¡¯s back and still held in his villa, was a matter he hadn¡¯t had the time to address yet. Properly. Titus frowned. ¡°Like jumping the wall? Where would she go?¡± ¡°I take that as a firm no, while holding you solely responsible, in the event she does,¡± Storm decided. ¡°You¡¯re coming with us. Let¡¯s go visit this Dottore.¡±
Dottore Numerius Baro, was a small bodied Lorian with short and greatly thinning blond hair, auburn eyes and a straight nose on an elongated face. He wore white and blue robes and had a silver ring on his right hand¡¯s middle finger, the yellow stone on it pretty impressive. He looked around once for a way out, found none, as they had him cornered in the alley behind his house in the Merchant District. ¡°Hello Doc,¡± Sudi said pleasantly, keeping the hold he had on the man¡¯s collar firm. ¡°You were leaving?¡± Storm, having just caught up with them, asked. ¡°Is it a bad time for a visit?¡± ¡°No, of course not!¡± The man replied, eyes ogling in panic, when he recognized Lord Nattas. ¡°I live alone¡­ was going to the restaurant.¡± ¡°Which one?¡± Storm asked. ¡°I happen to live a couple of blocks that way myself, so I know the area.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± The Dottore replied, with a failed smile, ¡°But I like to walk around, enter any venue that catches my eye.¡± ¡°Even if it isn¡¯t a restaurant?¡± Storm probed, not convinced.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. ¡°I eat light,¡± Numerius said, then started crying, a good amount of tears running down his cheeks. ¡°Please don¡¯t kill me, it is not my time. I beg you, Lord Nattas,¡± He said as fast as he could. ¡°I studied under Dottore Marcus, he can vouch for me.¡± ¡°Epolonius?¡± Titus asked. It was the Palace¡¯s Dottore that was last seen in Riverdor for the tournament. ¡°The same,¡± Numerius said, wiping his eyes. Storm frowned, taken aback from his outburst. It didn¡¯t last very long. ¡°You admit it then? It was a ruse, to murder me?¡± Each word fueling his rage even more. ¡°What?¡± Numerius asked startled. ¡°Of course not! Why would I?¡± How could Storm know that? ¡°You got paid?¡± He chanced. ¡°I didn¡¯t get a single coin, my lord. I told your man, if it doesn¡¯t work, no payment was needed,¡± The Dottore seemed much better now. ¡°You mean, if I¡¯m dead,¡± Nattas asked, narrowing his eyes. ¡°No, I mean¡­ if no attempt is made,¡± The Dottore explained, trying to stand a little straighter. Titus glanced at Nattas bored. ¡°I can knife him in the kidneys, throw him in the river,¡± He offered casually. ¡°Uher¡¯s heaven¡¯s no!¡± Numerius cried, eyes ogling terrified. ¡°Wait,¡± Nattas told Titus, then turned to the sweating Dottore Baro. ¡°What happen¡¯s if an attempt was made?¡± He asked interested. ¡°To you? Nothing. You¡¯ll built resistance to small doses of the poison for a month or two,¡± Numerius explained quickly, eyeing with scared eyes the visibly bored Titus who was humming some sort of pirate song. It went something like, ¡®Seven merry menfolk, wearin¡¯ a bloody blindfold¡¯, so Storm assumed that¡¯s what it was. ¡°When the attempt is made, the usual amount assassins¡¯ use will not even bother you. Perhaps a visit to the lavatory, worst case,¡± Baro finished in the meantime. Storm scratched his groomed goatee with his hand, thinking on his words. ¡°One fourth of a small spoon,¡± He started. ¡°Ninth,¡± The Dottore corrected him, with a frown. ¡°A fourth would kill you.¡± That fuckin¡¯ idiot! Sudi pulled away and out of his reach smartly. ¡°If you¡¯re wrong, Titus will kill you and then Sudi. Impalement for both,¡± Nattas decided, after a long deliberation on whether to go ahead with it or not. It sounded reasonable and potentially deadly on the same hand. It wasn¡¯t an easy decision. ¡°Wait!¡± Sudi snapped. ¡°How it is my fault, if he¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°You suggested it,¡± Nattas explained, deathly serious. ¡°Putting my arse on the line in the process; so it¡¯s only fitting you take the iron cock, wit a fuckin¡¯ smile.¡±
Storm spend the rest of the day expecting to drop dead any moment, but other than a mild disturbance of the bowels, he was fine. A bit tired perhaps, so he spent the night relaxing, keeping Sudi near, in case he lapsed into a coma. ¡°My stomach is a mess still,¡± He complained, just as Maja came outside to join them on his balcony. The warm nights of Cartagen, were keeping her thinly dressed, which was pleasant to look at in the moonlight. ¡°You can put some honey into your wine, helps the bowels,¡± Maja offered, with a pleasant smile on her freckled face. It created dimples on her cheeks, very stimulating to look at, Storm noticed, a stir in his pants. ¡°It¡¯s a Flauegran bottle,¡± He said, trying not to sound angry. ¡°Oh, can I have some?¡± She asked, not noticing his tone and Sudi, who was drinking from a cheap carafe what the servants had, stared at her surprised. ¡°Sure,¡± Storm replied and the Issir¡¯s eyes narrowed, his anger palpable. ¡°Sudi, go get her a glass and leave us.¡± ¡°Are you sure, you don¡¯t need me? And there are glasses on the table,¡± His man said, then offered lamely. ¡°I can wait downstairs.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t,¡± Storm explained and Maja bit her lip all naughty, catching his meaning. She sashayed her way to the empty glasses and helped herself to some wine. ¡°Sirio was talking with a King¡¯s man earlier,¡± His man insisted interrupting his visual stimulus, as if intent to ruin his evening. ¡°What about?¡± Storm hissed, his patience pushed to its limit. ¡°He didn¡¯t say, but I heard gossip in the docks today,¡± Sudi continued, Storm keeping his eyes on the blushing blonde, drinking his wine in a voracious manner, some of it spilling and running down the sides of her lips. ¡°Antoon¡¯s men left with the fleet, from Caspo O¡¯ Bor.¡± Oh, crap. God darn it! Abrakas, I just need one day. One! His face fell, Maja catching his expression frowned, a crime to see it on her face, he thought, surprising himself. He wasn¡¯t a poetic man. ¡°Where¡¯s our scholar?¡± He asked tired. ¡°Is he asleep?¡± ¡°Still writing I reckon,¡± Sudi replied, a satisfied smirk on his lips. ¡°Shall I call on him?¡± Lord Nattas let out the biggest of sighs and nodded. ¡°Call our scholar Sudi. Let us get this over with.¡±
¡°Six thousand men,¡± Sirio informed him, almost an hour later. The night half spend over a map of the Realm, eyes hurting from the flickering lights of the oil lamp, stomach a right mess and his cock as hard, as it was furious. ¡°First Royal Foot, plus a thousand cavalry. Thirty heavy transports, five Barques¡¯ as escort, under Lord of Badum, Joep Van Durren. They are expected to reach Raoz in three weeks. Another one for the Khan to learn about it, if we¡¯re fortunate. After that, we will have to wait for his response.¡± ¡°Gods, he just can¡¯t help himself,¡± Storm said, rubbing his tired eyes. ¡°Maybe he can¡¯t,¡± Sirio noted, checking on his papers. ¡°We don¡¯t have evidence for that, dear Sirio,¡± Storm insisted. ¡°It is suicide to bring the King a wrong report on this, trust me.¡± ¡°If we eliminate all other logical explanations,¡± The young man said, ¡°Then the unlikely, becomes the most likely.¡± Storm smiled at his stubbornness. ¡°War is a slothful beast, difficult to rouse, but once you do¡­ once we do,¡± Lord Nattas shook his head disappointed. ¡°Best to work on preventing it, my friend.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve taken the Dottore¡¯s advice?¡± Sirio asked, without looking at him, busy writing something on a piece of parchment. ¡°I did. Time will tell, if I made the right choice,¡± Storm commented. ¡°And history,¡± Sirio added, with a smile of his own, finishing what he was writing. ¡°Since we are a part of it, Lord Nattas.¡± ¡°Aye, you¡¯re right, I suppose,¡± Storm replied with a nod. ¡°What are you working on?¡± ¡°Keeping notes,¡± Sirio explained. ¡°Like Dottore¡¯s orders, so I don¡¯t forget them. What you said before for instance. I liked a lot.¡± Storm snorted, staring at the mostly sleeping city. Where had the day gone? He yawned something fierce and reached for the almost empty bottle, to refill his cup for a last time. ¡°Stick around, young Veturius,¡± Lord Nattas said, eyes drowsy. ¡°It may surprise you to learn that I may have more, where it came from.¡± 16. "Heard talk, in a tavern" (1/2)
Sir Lucius Alden "Heard talk, in a tavern" Part I
Half a mountain of stone had been used the locals said, on the construction of the bridge over the Framtond River. It bore its very name, which was of course what the famous Adventurer that first crossed it in a dare a hundred and fifty years back, was called. Ebenezer Framtond had a statue of him standing in Asturia¡¯s main square, well over ten meters tall and crudely made out the same stone the bridge was built with. The Holts, the family that ruled most of these lands, had long claimed they were related to him, a fact difficult to prove or disprove since the adventurer had been lost without leaving any family behind, but the legend of his many travels both in the North and over the Pale Mountains deep into the far south of Eplas.
¡°PULL! Haven¡¯t ye eaten yer bloody fill?¡± Galio Veturius cried out, booming voice cutting over the uproar of the angry waters. Mamercus Sorex, one of the six men doing the pulling, cursed his lineage back to his most famous ancestor with gusto. The former Legion man, answered his former colleague in the same vein and with equal enthusiasm. The tempers flared dangerously for a moment, before calmer heads prevailed and everyone resumed their efforts. It was grueling work. Lucius leading most of the laden animals away, stood to watch as the men managed to slowly push and pull the carriage over the stone bridge with was swamped with mud, stones, broken branches and debris. Six meters wide at the top, but thrice that at its base, it was an impressive barrier that could regulate the flow of water under its eight great archways, most of the season. If the rains came early though or were too numerous, the river found its way over it, slowly raising its levels, making crossing the bridge extremely dangerous, but necessary. If you wanted to continue towards Asturia. ¡°Bah! That¡¯s it for today, I reckon.¡± Roderick yelled, approaching him. Soaked to the bone by the deluge that had started the previous night and hadn¡¯t stopped for the whole day, he was barely standing. ¡°It took everything out of the lads.¡± ¡°We will make camp on higher ground,¡± Lucius explained, drenched himself from head to boots, despite the heavy coat he had on. The ground flashed around them scaring the horses, the thunder drowned out by to the noise made of the pregnant river. The skies blacker than Ora¡¯s heart. ¡°They will want to visit the city,¡± his loyal man noted. ¡°The merchant will. Get us what we need,¡± Lucius grimaced, seeing Zofia helping pull the carriage out of the mud and onto sturdier ground. ¡°The less people knowing about our party, the better.¡± ¡°It won¡¯t be easy hiding her,¡± Roderick agreed with a nod. ¡°Or you. People will know eventually.¡±
¡°Not if we keep the Hammer Mounts on our right flank, avoid the Ruinall River and pass outside Anorum, towards the mountain passes,¡± Lucius said to him later, when the man probed him on the matter again. The rain had stopped just before night came, which was a blessing. Lucius sat near one of their camp fires, still trying to dry his leather gloves on a flat rock, after he beat them on it frustrated, in an attempt to get the water out faster. ¡°That¡¯s bandit country, with the occasional roaming warband mixed in,¡± Roderick replied, teeth probing a piece of salted meat carefully. ¡°They won¡¯t attack an armed escort,¡± Lucius insisted. ¡°Unless they are certain of the prize.¡± ¡°We could contact the Redmonds,¡± Zofia said plopping down across from them. The fire making the silver rim of her eyes shine in the darkness. ¡°They will help us.¡± ¡°They will want us to hand you over, which we can¡¯t do,¡± Lucius said defensively. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°It¡¯s what my father ordered.¡± ¡°They can give us escort, help us through their lands,¡± Zofia insisted. ¡°No lass, they won¡¯t,¡± Roderick said. ¡°You¡¯re a relative, but they¡¯d rather rot in Ora¡¯s hell, than help Lord Lucius.¡± ¡°Because of Macia?¡± Zofia asked, looking at him. ¡°Part of it.¡± ¡°Which part?¡±Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. But he wasn¡¯t going to answer that. ¡°They can¡¯t be trusted,¡± Lucius said brusquely and added not liking her stare. ¡°I won¡¯t risk it. We will get you to your father ourselves and he will agree to our terms.¡± Zofia chuckled at his words, her laugh a taunt. ¡°Beyond the mountains your world ends, Sir Lucius,¡± She said. ¡°You may find my father, a difficult man to convince. The North is a fierce mistress.¡± ¡°We will see about that.¡± ¡°Aye, my lord. We will see,¡± The redhead replied still taunting. ¡°If we get there.¡±
Post Antinor waved at them, standing just outside the wooded canyon¡¯s entrance, his words missed. Seia being closer to him, turned her horse and galloped fast towards their caravan that had stopped, waiting for the scout¡¯s report. Two weeks after they left Asturia behind, almost two months into their journey and with the last days of autumn in front of them, rains had turned more sporadic, replaced by chilling winds coming from the approaching mountains. On their right flank they had followed the Hammer¡¯s Mounts southwards to where they touched Uher¡¯s Throne Heights, the wooded canyon plugging the split between them, as they turned gradually towards the North. ¡°The tracks go into the woods,¡± Seia said, short black hair hidden under a well-worn leather cap. A patrol from Anorum had informed them earlier in the morning of a warband sighting on their path. The city was built near the sources of Ruinall River, which was shadowing their left flank and there was some debate, whether they should spend the night there. And then continue their journey towards Gudgurth Fort the next day, more directly. ¡°City is filled with Northmen, now that the Legion isn¡¯t around,¡± Lucius replied, to Roderick¡¯s unasked question. ¡°They will get a good look at us. Can we chance it?¡± ¡°We can¡¯t outrun them anyway,¡± Roderick pointed. ¡°How many?¡± Lucius asked their guide¡¯s wife. ¡°More than ten horses. People, I can¡¯t tell,¡± She replied. ¡°They won¡¯t attempt anything, without the numbers,¡± Roderick said. ¡°Aye. Can we stay in the open though? This wind could pick up,¡± Lucius grunted, his beard full blown by now, making him look older. ¡°I say, we go to Anorum then. Rest up, warm our bones. Leave early on the morrow,¡± He stared at the ex-legion guys smirking at his words. ¡°I mean it, before first light,¡± He added gruffly. ¡°Aye, milord,¡± Galio said, eyeing them both. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure they wake up.¡±
Anorum, a town built by the First Lorian Legion around its permanent main camp, had straight cobblestone roads running next to mostly simple one story buildings, military in style and architecture. The most impressive of them being the Legion¡¯s headquarters¡¯, a square three-story high tower at the center of the Castrum, which was fittingly the biggest building in the whole town. It had as many taverns outside the camp as houses and it was bristling with activity, despite most of its core citizens not present. The Lorian Legion had departed the previous week, taking five thousand soldiers, one thousand cavalry and almost four thousand of its engineering and supporting personnel with it. Half the town, the locals told them, was on the move.
¡°Hey lass, how about having a drink wit us?¡± A sturdy Nord asked Zofia, big cup of ale in hand, later in the evening. Lucius had a hard time convincing her to retire upstairs, in the room she shared with Canutia. His latest effort ending with the woman slamming her cup down, spilling most of its contents on the table. ¡°You¡¯re buying?¡± Zofia turned her head sideways to look at him, under her red locks. ¡°Sure, if yer selling,¡± The large man said with a grin, copper-colored beard dancing under his mouth. He¡¯d a well-worn chainmail on, large sword strapped at his waist. ¡°She¡¯s not. We were ready to retire,¡± Lucius said frustrated, getting up. The man stared at him for a moment, surprise in his eyes. ¡°Is she yer wife?¡± He asked. ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± Zofia replied, before he¡¯d time to come up with an answer. ¡°Then I don¡¯t see, how is it any of yer business,¡± The Northman said, looking at Lucius all serious. ¡°She¡¯s under my care. I would appreciate you dropping the matter,¡± Lucius explained, sounding firm, but civil. ¡°You would appreciate¡­¡± The Northman clicked his tongue, glancing towards his friends, four of them. They occupied a table at a corner of the inn¡¯s tavern. ¡°Yer awfully well-mannered for these parts mister. What if I don¡¯t?¡± ¡°Hey,¡± Zofia said, getting up between them. ¡°He¡¯s right, I gotta go.¡± ¡°Nah, I think you should stay lass,¡± The man said. ¡°Just keep quiet and let me handle this.¡± Zofia blinked, as if he¡¯d slapped her in the face. She stared at the empty cup in her hand and then raised her head, eyes all furious. ¡°Zofia¡­¡± Lucius tried to say, but she wasn¡¯t in a listening mood. She made a step forward into the personal space of the stupefied man and without pause slammed the heavy cup on his head, breaking it into pieces. ¡°The fuck ye think you are!¡± Zofia snarled, the man holding his head, blood on his fingers. ¡°No one tells an O¡¯ Dargan to keep quiet!¡± She kicked him hard below the knee and he staggered away towards his worried friends. ¡°Come here ye lily livered turd!¡± ¡°Zofia!¡± Lucius snapped, grabbing her by the shoulder to stop her, from going after him. Most of the tavern had stopped their talks and looked at her now, hair spilled down, eyes wild and flushed face furious. ¡°You made your point,¡± he explained, when she turned to snarl at him. Lucius removed his hand slowly. ¡°Aye,¡± Roderick was heard from behind him. ¡°She did. Loud and bloody clear.¡± ¡°Get the others down,¡± Lucius said quickly, seeing the patrons whispering to each other all interested. ¡°We leave now.¡± ¡°It¡¯s quite the chill outside,¡± Roderick pointed, tongue lodged in the gap at his teeth. ¡°The night young.¡± ¡°We¡¯re leaving, just the same,¡± Lucius replied, voice strained and left a silver to pay for their drinks. ¡°Before the news spread.¡± 17. "Heard talk, in a tavern" (2/2) Stormbolt neighed loudly, vapors shooting out of its nostrils and large snout bumping Lucius¡¯ shoulder, as he kept leading him up the narrow path. They had left the cobblestone road and veered near the edge of the basin, basically following the lightly wooded ridge of the mountain range. The night was extremely cold and the chilly wind picked up at random intervals, making standing still even for a moment quite the ordeal. Wrapped in their winters coats, or heavy hooded capes, and with woolen cloths covering faces, or anything exposed, they did the best they could to get some distance between them and the town, traveling all night essentially. An hour before sunrise, Post Antinor informed Lucius that the paths ahead of them weren¡¯t suitable for the carriage and they had to return on the main road, if they wanted to continue using it. The road being more a euphemism, as it was now nothing more than a sloping muddy track, especially since they had already started going up the heights. The terrain and nature changing all around them, much as they could see it. ¡°No one followed us that we saw,¡± Roderick said, lines around his eyes deep, alike canyons. ¡°Might as well get back on it and on the saddle, make some distance until the Fork.¡± The great mountain range split somewhere in the distance, a road inviting them northeast towards Sovya and the coast, cutting through the Howling Pass, the other leading straight north towards Gudgurth Fort. ¡°We don¡¯t know, where those we tracked yesterday are though,¡± Lucius replied, rubbing the warm belly of Stormbolt, as much a comfort for him, as it was for the horse. ¡°I don¡¯t see another way. Zofia might hop on a saddle,¡± Roderick said, distant wolf howl accompanying his words. ¡°Canutia and the merchant can¡¯t. We need the carriage.¡± ¡°Sergeant Veturius!¡± Lucius barked, too cold to argue the matter further. ¡°Aye, milord!¡± ¡°Give word, we¡¯re turning for the road. Keep your eyes open,¡± Lucius ordered wanting to get everything moving without delay, make up the time moving fast up the paths and find a more favorable spot for a campsite. They would need one to survive the night. Every night, from here on out. Stormbolt neighed again, large head half-lost in white vapors, agreeing. They found their first white slopes, just before reaching the Fork. The skies dark above them but quiet. The morning sun barely visible behind the black and blue clouds. The path they followed, showing some signs of people using it, tracks and animal droppings all around, but the boulders right and left empty and silent, but for the howl of distant predators. ¡°That¡¯s a direwolf, I reckon,¡± Roderick explained, frost gathering on his beard, making him look almost ancient. ¡°Ayup, woods are full wit them,¡± Gallio agreed, having less lines on his unshaven face, not helping him look much younger. Lucius turned on his saddle to watch the carriage pulled by a couple of horses, move slowly over the hard mud, the line of mules laden with their supplies following it. Better for it to be cold, than snowing, Lucius thought. For this path at least. Aye, a good thing, since it made it easier for the animals. The veteran sergeant had paused with him, as they waited for the rest of the men and beasts to pass them by, but didn¡¯t resume after them, when they did. He just stood on his horse, gloved hands crossed over the horn of his saddle; his head turned east, towards the thick pine trees hiding the narrow path cut through the mountains, leading towards the strong burg called Yepehir. ¡°Ye could listen to the wind howling through the rocks and trunks,¡± Gallio said, hearing him approach. ¡°Somedays we couldn¡¯t even discern, if it was a real one from a beast, or just the air playing tricks on us.¡± ¡°Was it about this time of year?¡± Lucius asked staring at the distant woods, plugging the chasm between the steep mountain sides. Gallio grimaced, glancing about them. ¡°Second month of winter it was and we¡¯re a couple of weeks from the first now. So close, but still quite the difference, milord,¡± The old legionnaire said, patting the mane of his horse to get it moving after their caravan. ¡°A couple of lads died from cold, while standing in the shieldwall, swords stuck frozen in their hands.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry to hear it,¡± Lucius offered, seeing the man hurting at the memory. ¡°Brave men all. Patriots.¡± ¡°Aye, milord,¡± Gallio said. ¡°It helps them, aye it does¡­ to hear ye saying it.¡± If the road leading up the mountains was poor, the one heading towards Gudgurh Fort through the mountain pass was terrible. Barely wide enough for the carriage and on uneven terrain, cut through rocks and woods, without much visibility and facing towards the elements. Mainly the northern frigid wind blasting on their faces non-stop, from the start of their second day on the mountain. Lucius decided to look for a campsite as soon as possible, since despite their good effort in covering the distance and the time of year, the winter seemed to have come early.
Assuming they have another season up here, he thought, watching the ex-legion guys building a fire, using a mix of their dry wood with branches picked from the surrounding area. Wet, it caused a very thick white smoke to rise and it was difficult to lit or provide enough warmth. ¡°Someone¡¯s coming,¡± Tertius Cantilius said. He was one of the younger recruits Roderick had brought with them. Tertius had taken the first watch. Lucius glanced at the dark sky, guessed they had a couple of hours before sunset. ¡°Can you make them out?¡± Bryn Bowens, the Northman and Generidus bodyguard asked. ¡°Post is tracking them since the turn, up the path,¡± The man replied, blowing on his hands to warm them up. ¡°So they are coming from Gudgurh, ye reckon?¡± Roderick asked, approaching them. ¡°I don¡¯t know, they may.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Lucius decided, checking on their two large fires, built in an opening between the trees, near the rough path. The carriage and their animals behind them in a semi-circle. ¡°Everyone check around us for any surprises. Galio with your guys, keep the supplies secure and the lasses out of harm¡¯s way.¡± ¡°Aye, milord.¡± ¡°I will check on them myself,¡± Lucius said and seeing Roderick¡¯s frown, he added. ¡°Get Faustus and Hostus ready. Young Tertius will watch my back.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s prudent,¡± Roderick protested, but Lucius stopped him, raising a gloved hand. ¡°Have to keep them far from the fire and the carriage. Can¡¯t have them spotting Zofia, or Canutia. Not before knowing their intentions,¡± He explained. ¡°So what if they do?¡± ¡°Do as I say. I will stand at the edge of the road, if they follow it. It¡¯s far enough from the campsite,¡± He answered patiently. ¡°They can see our numbers, but not much more.¡± ¡°You assume, they don¡¯t know,¡± Roderick said, with a grimace. Lucius kept his eyes on the rough path, deciding not to answer. A side bordered by rock, the other by the sparse tall pines. The first man, long black hair sprouting under a conical helm, wild beard adorned with silver and gold beads and a heavy pelt thrown on his back, appeared fifteen minutes later. He was leading his horse by the reins, two men right behind him doing the same. A tall, lanky man, face painted white, but for around the mouth and eyes. Wearing fur and leather armour, twin axes on his back. The third, heavyset and as tall, carrying a greatsword, wore chainmail under a heavy fur coat that reached his knees.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°Greetings,¡± Lucius said eyeing them approach slowly, not in any kind of hurry. The wind still blowing all around them, the cold biting. ¡°Greetings there stranger,¡± The first one replied, with a smile. White teeth flashing, amidst his beard. ¡°We¡¯ve seen the fire.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome to approach,¡± Lucius replied, ¡°We don¡¯t have much to share, but warmth.¡± ¡°Tis enough, I reckon. Name is Oscar Numbers,¡± The man said, stopping a couple of meters from him. He glanced at their camp. ¡°Quite a host, ye have. Are you merchants?¡± ¡°Name¡¯s Sir Lucius. We were hoping to make a deal at Kas,¡± The young lord offered, his words close to the truth. ¡°A knight?¡± Oscar raised his thick brows. ¡°Haven¡¯t seen one, in a while,¡± He pointed back over his shoulder with a thumb. ¡°Intent on followin¡¯ the Screamin¡¯ Road, I see. Why not headin¡¯ for Yepehir, or Kadrek? Road¡¯s much better there this time o¡¯ year.¡± ¡°Better prices at Kas,¡± Lucius lied, eyeing the painted man. ¡°Hah. Might ye got it right there,¡± Oscar agreed, with a grimace. ¡°That¡¯s Eccentric Asmund, ye eyein¡¯ and the small lad next to him, Clarence Toothless,¡± Clarence gave a grin, showing him why he got his moniker. ¡°Good lads.¡± ¡°Nice to meet you both,¡± Lucius said, a little uneasy still, despite the relatively calm discussion. ¡°You could warm yourselves in our fire.¡± ¡°That will be great,¡± Oscar replied, with a shake of his head. ¡°But we have our own fire, up the mountain. There¡¯s a cut in the rock, protects ye from the wind. Good spot for a campsite.¡± ¡°I see, good to know,¡± Lucius said, sensing Tertius move next to him. ¡°What brought you down the path?¡± He asked, feeling his fingers numb, despite the warm gloves he wore. ¡°The smoke,¡± Oscar replied, much as Lucius expected him. ¡°Curiosity.¡± The latter word more ambiguous, than he would¡¯ve preferred given the circumstances. Having the numbers though, eased him a bit, which was in hindsight a mistake. You are talking for a while now, his mind warned him. ¡°What about?¡± Lucius asked, expecting another generic response. ¡°My brother heard talk, in a tavern,¡± The Northman started, voice hoarse, ¡°An absurd story really, about an O¡¯ Dargan travelin¡¯ wit Lorians, this side of the mountain paths,¡± He made a gesture with his hand, as if dismissing the whole thing. ¡°Then I came here to check on yer fire and met a Lorian knight in the bloomin¡¯ flesh.¡± Lucius took a step back, hand on his pommel. ¡°I advise you, to walk back up the trail,¡± He warned them. Oscar smacked his lips, eyes darting right and left into the gloomy surroundings. ¡°I hate to apprise ye Sir Knight,¡± The Northman said, a touch of sadness in his voice. ¡°We ain¡¯t followin¡¯ yer counsel.¡± Lucius fingers wrapped around the pommel of his longsword and made to pull it out, mouth open to warn his people. Oscar caught him with a shoulder, as he rushed the space between them, locking his arm and shoving him back, cutting his warning in half. Lucius backhanded him hard, catching Oscar at the jaw breaking a tooth and got the man of off him. He made to get his sword out again, an axe whistling over his head barely missing, or so he thought, stopping him. Tertius groaned hit on the shoulder, the blade splitting his clavicle and throwing him down. ¡°TO ARMS!¡± Lucius roared, grabbing the bleeding young man by the arm, intent on pulling him away from danger, but got clipped himself below the shoulder blade by the greatsword¡¯s tip and he had to let go. His backplate holding, but denting bad. Dodging another attack from Oscar¡¯s sword this time, Lucius found the space he needed, to get his own blade out. Behind him from the campsite, sound of heavy fighting reached his ears. The big man waved his greatsword around in a wide arc attempting another swing, but Lucius blocked it with his own blade this time and sent it towards the onrushing Asmund, the painted man armed with his other axe. Asmund had to jump out of the way, blocking Oscar from flanking him, bastard-sword in hand. Lucius sidestepped to dodge the returning greatsword, then moved forward and tested the big man¡¯s armour against his blade. It bit deep in his right arm, the man¡¯s hold on the greatsword lost and blood pouring out freely. Lucius raised his sword to cut him across the chest, but slipped on the mud and snow, botched the whole thing. Stumbling away, he checked on the kneeling barely conscious Tertius, red painting his chainmail and cursed. Asmund came at him again, axe in a downward cut aiming for his leg. Lucius pulled it away, ground rough under his boots and flicked his sword catching the man at the mouth, above his jaw. The blade split his lips, broke his teeth and chopped a part of his nose off along with most of the soft bone there, maiming him something fierce. Asmund staggered, a hand on his bloody face, more painting the snow under his feet and Lucius moved in, his blade coming down slantwise too fast for the injured man to dodge. The edge caught his hand, as he held it on his face and chopped it off clean, the cut piece flying away spraying a red mist over both of them. His scream dying, when Lucius kicked him hard in the chest and sent him sprawling down. ¡°Curse ye!¡± Oscar growled, seeing his men out of the fight and stooping vengefully opened Tertius¡¯ neck with a dagger, the torrent of blood almost reaching Lucius feet, who watched the young man collapse, grinding his teeth. ¡°Now we¡¯re even, Lorian,¡± The Northman said, evil smile on his face and a gap where his tooth was missing. His lips bloody. Lucius walked towards him, eyes intense and his blood boiling. Oscar saw him charging and raised both his weapons, in a counter stance. One leg kept back a bit, torso turned and intent to block with his sword, then use the dagger to attack the knight, when the latter was committed. But Lucius Alden, having picked up a real sword when he was six, unhorsed a man at ten, killed a mature blacktiger at fourteen and won a Royal Tournament, before his eighteenth named year, wasn¡¯t easy to beat in a swordfight. Some would say, he was perhaps the best with a sword in all the three kingdoms. Perhaps an exaggeration. Lucius flipped the sword in his hand, stopped expertly before the turn was completed and lunged from afar aiming for the Norhman¡¯s head. Oscar moved forward to block, the attack coming from further away, than he expected and Lucius turned his sword inside the moment their blades touched, aiming for the coming dagger. The bigger blade pushed the smaller one down and rode its length moving forward with sparks flying, splitting the thin guard and severing Oscar¡¯s thumb, before he¡¯d time to pull his hand away. His thumb dangling by a strip of skin, bleeding copiously, the dagger dropped. ¡°Arggh!¡± The Northman groaned, trying to jump away and retaliate with his own sword. A wild furious slash across Lucius chest, never materialized. The heir of Regia continued completely focused, his moves a choreographed work of art, one attack following the other. A half remise building on his last effort, cutting upwards in a semi-circle that caught the man under the left armpit with the tip of his blade, right where his mail left an opening. The potentially fatal deep wound followed -after taking a step back to block with his steel vambrace Oscar¡¯s desperate slash- with a forceful downward cut of his own that opened the rings of Oscar¡¯s mail and bit deep into his chest. Always in rhythm, the whole sequence lasting less than five seconds. Lucius stepped away from the collapsing brigand, breathing heavy. Asmund holding onto his maimed bleeding hand ran towards his horse, the big man following soon after. Moving fast the young knight hurried to the motionless Tertius to check on him, cursing when he saw the white of his eyes. Grinding his teeth, heart heavy with worry and grief, Lucius walked towards their camp. The sounds of fighting fewer now than at the start. Lucius feared the worst seeing the first corpse, near the first campfire. A Northman. Thank Uher, the knight thought, when he kneeled and turned him around to check. ¡°They stopped,¡± Generidus said, coming out of the carriage his face pale. ¡°Gods! You¡¯re injured, Lord Alden.¡± ¡°Nay, it¡¯s not mine,¡± Lucius replied, getting up. ¡°Tertius is dead,¡± He said, the crease on his forehead deep. ¡°Savages,¡± The merchant commented. ¡°Where¡¯s Zofia?¡± Lucius asked, but he heard men moving and turned, before the merchant had the time to answer him. It was Roderick and Galio, leading the rest of his men. Lucius couldn¡¯t see, if anyone was missing at first, but the redhead was walking amongst them, carrying what looked like a big battle-axe in her hand. ¡°Lass ran out of the carriage,¡± The loyal hand, explained. A bleeding cut above his right eyebrow, forcing him to pause to wipe it with a finger. ¡°We went after her and fell on them before they had time to surprise us proper. They broke pretty fast.¡± ¡°How many?¡± Lucius asked, after he let a breath he had held leave his chest. How many did we lose? Was his meaning. ¡°Faustus got another scar, no surprise there. Nothing else,¡± Roderick replied, examining his face. ¡°But seeing ye, I guess the lad wasn¡¯t so lucky.¡± ¡°Nay, we were not,¡± Lucius replied, mouth bitter. ¡°They knew about her. Used birds more like.¡± ¡°I reckoned as much.¡± ¡°We shall burry Tertius proper and we move on, first thing,¡± Lucius said brusquely. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of it,¡± Roderick said, with a nod. ¡°You get your rest.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll help. He died watching my back,¡± Lucius replied in a non-nonsense kind of way. And that was that. 18. Old thief’s greed
Glen Old thief¡¯s greed
¡°That¡¯s Whitford?¡± Soren asked, wood toothpick in his mouth. He worked it this way and that, making sucking noises under Glen¡¯s scrutiny, before he spat it out with a grimace. ¡°Don¡¯t seem like much,¡± He added, turning his large head to watch Jinx walking past them -mischievous smirk on her lips- her fit thighs dancing to the rhythm of her alluring backside. Twas quite the sight all right, Glen thought, joining the Northman in silent appreciation. ¡°Well, what did you expect?¡± The young man replied, louder than he needed; faking innocence, when she glared at them with a snap of her pink head. ¡°It¡¯s just a village.¡± They had arrived at Whitford six days after they crossed the Krakentrap Straits. Captain Gray immediately went to work trying to recruit more members to his crew and undertaking the much needed repairs for the Marquette, leaving the rest of them free to explore the village. While bigger than Shroudcoast and on the opposite edge of Colant¡¯s Refuge, Whitford was just a small community of around seven hundred people, give or take a few. It had a decent inn, a meager, but working market, another tavern near its small port and no other large ship moored at the time the Marquette arrived, but for its many fishing boats. ¡°Ever been here?¡± The Northman asked, long red hair caught at the nape with a leather string. ¡°Sure, a couple of times, maybe more,¡± Glen said thinking of the one time he made the journey on foot. It took him a whole day of walking to get rid of a couple of iron pots, some tools and a silver necklace. Decent profit that, he thought with a small smile. One silver, seven coppers. ¡°Nice roasted fish fillet at the inn. Most times fresh.¡± ¡°This sounds darn nice,¡± Soren murmured, licking his lips. ¡°What sounds nice?¡± Dante asked them, putting a hand on their shoulders. He had to make a considerable effort to Soren¡¯s. ¡°Fresh fillet,¡± Soren replied, already salivating. ¡°Roasted,¡± He said adding as if to reinforce it even more. ¡°Fish food.¡± ¡°Right. Well, on that note mister Aron Gray decided to leave the matter of the¡­ prisoners, to us,¡± Dante said, well-groomed shirt tacked in and clean, not a hair out of place on his head. ¡°As in, we will get paid to watch them, turn them in when we get to Altarinport for profit. Fantastic little deal. So I want you, to get back on the ship and stay watch over them.¡± ¡°Wait. Why me?¡± The Northman griped, seeing the prospect of a warm meal slipping through his big fingers. ¡°You¡¯re more guard material than the girls.¡± Dante explained, not batting an eye. ¡°I mean, it should¡¯ve been obvious.¡± ¡°How about Pale?¡± Soren asked with a frown. ¡°I want them alive,¡± The Captain of the Gallant Dogs deadpanned, not intending to give in an inch. It was a strong argument.
Glen caught sight of Lith talking with the dwarf, a small surprise since he didn¡¯t know that little shit had boarded the Marquette, the two of them half-hidden behind the stables bordering Whitford¡¯s market. He moved towards the unlikely couple, bumping onto people perusing the various merchant tables, determined to get a closer look at the little rascal. The crowd pretty decent, despite being late in the morning. One of them too young to be either blind, or blind drunk, almost knocking Glen on a stand selling lettuces, as he went past him. A pretty good effort. The young man felt his chest on instinct and then his coat¡¯s side pockets, before snapping his head, when he realized his new coin purse was missing, and crying out words, he never expected to voice out loud. Ever. ¡°THIEF!¡± Glen boomed, righteous indignation oozing out of him, the dastardly youth freezing and glancing back with gawking eyes, hearing his exclamation. Surprise turning to horror, when he pointed an accusing finger on him. ¡°THERE! DON¡¯T LET HIM, GET AWAY!¡± The youth bolted to a side alley, not willing to oblige him and Glen, a smile on his face, run after the smaller boy, some of the others initially following after them, but quickly giving up. The two young¡­ thieves, being way faster than them. The thief knew the back alleys sandwiched between Whitford¡¯s houses well enough and he made a fake right turn, as if to run towards the forest, but Glen -who knew Whitford¡¯s alleys equally well- didn¡¯t bite and jumped on him, when the youngster immediately turned to go back towards the busy market and disappear. They rolled on the ground, a mess of hands, feet and all else jumbled in, mud and dog shit smearing their clothes. They fought for a bit -a wild affair- before the thief kicked his ankle, then his stomach to push him off. He got up, a cursing Glen shoving him from behind to the side wall. Down the little thief went, but just as fast got up again, with Glen smacking him hard on the face, when he tried to jump away; laying him down proper. Best punch Glen had thrown in a while. ¡°Gah!¡± The little shit cried, hand on his bleeding nose, as Glen stooped over him. ¡°You broke muh nose! HELP!¡± ¡°Give my purse back,¡± Glen warned, in his best imitation of Sir Lennox¡¯s threatening voice. ¡°I don¡¯t have it! Arrgh!¡± His denial, turning to a howl of pain, when a smirking Glen, grabbed his bleeding nose and pressed hard. Twisting a bit at the tail end of it. ¡°Give it up.¡± ¡°Okay! Just let go!¡± Glen released his grip, wiping his fingers on the kid¡¯s dirty clothes. Younger than him, probably fourteen, with a freckled face, messy brown hair and red swollen eyes. The latter probably from all the crying. He counted his coins, to make sure nothing was missing. Liko, which was the little thief¡¯s name, watching him from the side, all curious. ¡°Is that a gold Eagle?¡± Liko asked with a sniffle, trying to wipe his smeared face using a sleeve. ¡°Are you rich?¡±The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Never seen one?¡± Glen asked him, square coin in his hand. ¡°No. Why it has that shape?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t know, gold ones are like that.¡± ¡°Can I have it?¡± The thief asked hopefully. ¡°No.¡± ¡°How about a silver?¡± Glen started laughing. ¡°Are you a thief or a beggar?¡± He asked, looking his way. ¡°I¡¯m hungry. Haven¡¯t eaten in two days,¡± The kid explained and the smile faded on Glen¡¯s face. He looked around them, but it wasn¡¯t a busy alley. Not many of those in Whitford. ¡°Where are you staying?¡± He asked getting up. ¡°The street?¡± Liko replied unsure, on what Glen meant. ¡°Unless Crafton, gets us a place in the stables. Which he won¡¯t do, unless we bring him something.¡± Glen nodded, knowing how it went. Then helped him up, grabbing his shoulder to steady him, when Liko staggered on his feet still dazed. ¡°Is the old man around?¡± He asked, a moment later. You didn¡¯t run far from Shroudcoast it seems, Glen thought. ¡°Crafton? Aye,¡± Liko said surprised. ¡°Ye know him?¡± ¡°You ask too many questions, kid,¡± Glen replied. ¡°Come, let me get you something to eat. Then we will talk a bit about Crafton.¡±
¡°Is that you, Liko?¡± Crafton asked, walking slowly towards them, leaving the table he was sitting, at the tavern next to Whitford¡¯s docks. His retreating red hair, now more grey than Glen remembered them. His clothes worn out and his tall frame, all skin and bones. The last months probably hadn¡¯t been easy for the old thief. ¡°Got anything good?¡± He asked reaching across the street, the oak trees shading them a bit from the onlookers. Crafton¡¯s eyes went over Glen¡¯s face and longsword, staying on his coat now dirty, but clearly expensive and his boots. Well, the corpse¡¯s technically. Father¡¯s, Glen repeated the correction, drilling the detail into his head. ¡°Is there a problem¡­?¡± The man paused unsure at first. ¡°Is that you Glen?¡± As if he¡¯d seen a ghost. He glanced around them and back towards the tavern. ¡°Hello Crafton,¡± Glen said, a hard look in his eyes. ¡°Long time, no see.¡± Crafton smiled nervously, yellow teeth shown. His heart not in it. ¡°Thought you were dead, lad.¡± ¡°Ye know him?¡± Liko asked surprised. ¡°How?¡± ¡°He tried to have me killed,¡± Glen explained, hand resting on the pommel of his sword confidently. Crafton took a step back worried at his words. ¡°That¡¯s not true,¡± He said, gulping down. ¡°Twas all her, don¡¯t ye put that on me boy!¡± ¡°I ain¡¯t your boy.¡± ¡°Ye know, I always meant good for ye,¡± Crafton insisted, sweat on his forehead. ¡°It¡¯s Glenavon, my name. Glenavon Reeves,¡± Glen said and Crafton frowned. ¡°Since when?¡± He asked, narrowing his eyes, an attempt to see the angle. ¡°Since always. Right, uncle Crafton?¡± Glen replied, staring him down. The old thief licked his lips, thinking on it. ¡°What ye got there lad?¡± Crafton asked, that greedy gleam, back in his eye. ¡°Glen,¡± He corrected him. ¡°Just like my father.¡± ¡°Yer father,¡± Crafton clicked his tongue, looking at a fascinated Liko watching them, his eyes as big as saucers. ¡°Who was he then?¡± ¡°Sir Reeves, was the son of Lord Reeves, of Altarin,¡± Glen explained. Crafton whistled, a smirk on his lips. ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Aye, but you knew that, right Crafton?¡± ¡°My, my¡­ what do you know¡­?¡± He paused, rubbed his face with a hand hard, as if to jog his memory. ¡°Aye, it¡¯s all coming back now. Your mother was¡­ a local wench¡ª¡± ¡°Your late sister,¡± Glen patiently corrected him, not offended. Crafton nodded, agreeing to the small amendment. ¡°Aye, my sister¡­ Evelyn¡ª¡± ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± Crafton shrugged his shoulders, faraway look in his washed out blue eyes. ¡°A girl I liked in me youth. Up North.¡± ¡°Go on,¡± Glen probed him, not wanting to hear it. ¡°So yer father and her, they¡­ had a thing¡ª¡± ¡°Married. You witnessed it,¡± Glen pushed. Grafton creased his nose. ¡°They won¡¯t buy that.¡± ¡°They will, he wrote a letter, naming me his heir.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s the letter?¡± ¡°Destroyed, but not afore you read it,¡± Glen said confidently, the lies well-rehearsed by now. ¡°Bah, I can barely string two words in common. Numbers I can do better,¡± Crafton complained, not seeing it flying. ¡°You don¡¯t have to write it, just say you read it,¡± Glen insisted. ¡°Say to whom?¡± Crafton asked, narrowing his eyes. ¡°Sir Lennox. My grandfather, over in Altarin.¡± ¡°Ye want me to lie to a Lord? Are ye insane lad?¡± Crafton took a step back. ¡°Name¡¯s Glen Reeves,¡± Glen repeated steel in his voice, hand on the pommel of his sword. ¡°My grandfather will know of it. You will vouch on what we just said,¡± Crafton grimaced, not swayed, but not eager to taste his skill in the long blade. Glen sighed, fishing his purse out of a pocket. Pulled the strings open -all a show- searched for a bit and got a gold Eagle out. It¡¯s glint catching the old thief¡¯s eye. ¡°I will pay you, for your services,¡± He explained and watched the greed surface on Crafton¡¯s face. ¡°I will do it,¡± Liko said quickly surprising them. ¡°For half the amount,¡± The boy added, to appear reasonable. ¡°Shut up kid,¡± Crafton cut him off. ¡°There¡¯s considerable risk involved, in what you¡¯re suggesting Glen.¡± ¡°There is, but the payment will make up for it.¡± ¡°What about that Cofol bitch? What if she gets involved?¡± Crafton asked. ¡°I had to disappear myself for a while.¡± ¡°She¡¯s dead,¡± Glen said, with a grimace. ¡°Ye don¡¯t have to worry about her.¡± ¡°Dead? Who killed her?¡± Crafton asked, but then seeing his face took another step back. He¡¯d fear in his eyes. ¡°What happened to you son?¡± He asked worried. It was Luthos doing. Glen crossed his hands on his chest. He caught out the corner of his eye the knight approaching them, coming probably from the Marquette. ¡°I want an answer Crafton. It has to be now. This is a onetime offer, take it, or I¡¯ll find someone else.¡± The old thief made to refuse, never partial to dangerous schemes, if it involved him, but then his eyes went to the Marquette, the fancy Barque the talk of the small village and the sound of spurs coming from the approaching knight, clad in his armour, before settling on the square gold coin Glen made a show of dropping into his purse. Crafton let out a deep sigh, glancing at the gawking and expectant Liko. ¡°Inasmuch as¡­¡± He started and Glen let a gratified smirk settle on his lips. In the end, greed always trumps fear. 19. An extra passenger, or two
Emerson An extra passenger, or two
Emerson could see the sun coming out of the clouds, felt it warm on his face, as it chased away the shadows created by the Marquette¡¯s sails. Wanting to avoid it, he walked near the forecastle¡¯s rail and spotted Dante returning, with Soren in tow. ¡°Need any help, Sir Knight?¡± One of the chained pirates asked. One-eyed, more gold than teeth in his mouth. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Emerson asked and the man glanced towards his colleagues, before answering. ¡°Stiles.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the other one?¡± ¡°Just Stiles. Having a moniker is more trouble, than it¡¯s worth,¡± The pirate¡¯s reply came surprisingly thought-out. ¡°That so Mr. Stiles?¡± Emerson probed. ¡°And jumping on a ship to raid it, isn¡¯t?¡± ¡°Pearly Rose picked the job, Sir Knight,¡± He made Uher¡¯s circle over his forehead once, then kissed the hollow of his fist to honor the departed. His face solemn. ¡°I just did, what I was told.¡± ¡°Pearly¡­ Rose,¡± Emerson repeated, not swayed by his theatrics. ¡°Aye, Rose Atterton. Our late Captain.¡± ¡°She was from Lesia?¡± ¡°Dokamna. A good portion of the crew was,¡± Stiles explained, always looking for an angle. ¡°Where are you from, Sir Knight?¡± ¡°Was born in Ballard Castle, my family has property around Cediorum,¡± Emerson said and Stiles whistled impressed. ¡°You know the old Lord Lennox?¡± He asked, just as Dante pushed an unwilling Soren up the stairs. The Northman protesting frustrated on every step. ¡°I do, Mr. Stiles. Now, if ye excuse me¡­¡± The knight started. ¡°I can help, Sir Knight,¡± Stiles insisted, now more desperate. It¡¯ll be a pity to hang my talents, was his meaning. Emerson nodded in understanding. He couldn¡¯t begrudge him for that. ¡°And I would help you as well, Mr. Stiles. If I could,¡± The knight said and he meant it.
¡°Where¡¯s the rest of them?¡± Emerson grunted. The mercenary captain had him waiting on the ship for far longer, than what was necessary. ¡°I¡¯m paying ye for everyone, Mr. Blackwood.¡± ¡°Who needs the others?¡± Dante replied, giving the Norhman¡¯s broad back a hard smack. ¡°Look at this specimen, Sir Lennox! Soren is enough.¡± The Knight grimaced not particularly thrilled, but also short on time. ¡°I¡¯m holding you responsible for them, Mr. Blackwood. Anything untoward happens, it goes out of your share.¡± ¡°I¡¯m trusting Soren with my very life, Sir Knight,¡± Dante replied, all serious. Emerson didn¡¯t much believe him. ¡°Ye do?¡± Soren asked surprised. Obviously having trouble buying it as well, Sir Lennox thought. ¡°Of course,¡± Dante replied readily, as if that could sway anyone! Nevertheless the Northman grinned for some reason convinced. Uher help us, the knight thought. Shaking his head, Emerson left them and went to locate Glen. Leaving him alone for long, usually spelled trouble.
Glen was standing in the shade across the tavern, talking with a skinny older man, a young boy watching their exchange from the sides. It must have been a riveting talk, judging by the youth¡¯s expression, Emerson thought. ¡°Sir Emerson,¡± Glen said, weird smile on his face, before he¡¯d time to greet the stranger. ¡°We¡¯re in luck it seems. I run upon Mr. Hailey.¡± Emerson frowned, his black eyes set on the man. Mr. Hailey, laughed nervously and tended his right hand. ¡°Name¡¯s Crafton Hailey, Sir Emerson.¡± The knight shook his hand. ¡°Nice to make your acquaintance, Mr. Hailey,¡± He glanced towards the kid watching him with interest. ¡°Who might you be?¡± ¡°Liko,¡± The kid said with a small bow of the head. ¡°It¡¯s my nephew,¡± Crafton explained, seeming on the edge for some reason. ¡°When he told me, Glen was here¡­ I couldn¡¯t believe it.¡± Emerson rubbed his forehead with a hand. ¡°I¡¯m a little surprised you are here Mr. Crafton. I was given the impression you lived in Shroudcoast.¡± ¡°I did, tis true,¡± Crafton said, something about him, making the knight uncomfortable. ¡°But I came here to find better work.¡± ¡°What happened to the butchery?¡± ¡°The owner died,¡± Crafton replied fast. ¡°Business closed.¡± ¡°Sorry to hear it,¡± Emerson looked around them, the place looking deserted, as it was lunch time. Not much work around anyway, other than what the Marquette had provided and fishing¡­ perhaps a lot of that, Emerson thought.Stolen novel; please report. ¡°Ah, tis all right. I¡¯m used to hard work,¡± Crafton boasted. ¡°You¡¯re a Northman.¡± ¡°Aye, I am. Maza Burg originally.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that in Fetya?¡± Emerson asked, intrigued. The place quite afar from Colant¡¯s Refuge. ¡°It was, forty years ago,¡± Crafton chuckled. ¡°Haven¡¯t been back since.¡± Emerson looked towards the tavern thoughtfully. ¡°I was thinking of having something to eat. Glen as well,¡± He started, decision made. ¡°How about joining us Mr. Crafton? On my coin of course.¡± Fish dishes were all the rage in Whitford it seemed. Nothing else of note was served in the small tavern. Emerson pushed his plate away, when he finished. His esteemed company, enjoying theirs with the enthusiasm of someone tasting fish for the first time. Perhaps an island thing, Emerson decided. ¡°So, how did ye come to know Glen¡¯s father?¡± He asked, after they had their fill, Liko wiping what was left in his plate, with a big slice of fresh bread. Crafton downed a cup of warm ale, before answering. ¡°That was years back,¡± He said, glancing towards a rather quiet Glen. ¡°Through Evelyn.¡± ¡°Is that Glen¡¯s mother?¡± Emerson asked. ¡°She was,¡± Crafton replied, face falling at the memory. ¡°My sister.¡± The knight sat back on his chair. ¡°I didn¡¯t know that.¡± ¡°Aye, tis difficult to talk about her,¡± Crafton said, sounding sad, with good reason. ¡°Left us too soon, she did. Ora¡¯s keep her poor soul safe.¡± Emerson nodded, giving him a moment to collect himself. ¡°So you¡¯re¡­ Glen¡¯s uncle in a sense.¡± ¡°Aye. His father asked me to take care of him and I did. Much as I could.¡± ¡°Because he was a bastard?¡± ¡°Not true.¡± Crafton said, surprising him. ¡°Watched Sir Reeves, proclaiming her his wife, three times. What Gods witness, men can¡¯t change.¡± The knight smacked his lips and glared at Glen. ¡°You could¡¯ve told me that,¡± He said with a grunt of disapproval. ¡°He didn¡¯t know,¡± Crafton defended him. ¡°Not until recently. Did Glen no good, since Sir Reeves, left him here.¡± Emerson grimaced. He didn¡¯t understand Sir Glenavon¡¯s reasons for abandoning his child. But it was very difficult for him to contemn a dead man and a friend. ¡°Why would he do that?¡± He asked Crafton. ¡°What did he say to you?¡± Glen¡¯s uncle frowned, stared at their table for long. ¡°The problem¡­ was with his family,¡± He finally said. ¡°Lord Reeves? Why? Because of his mother¡¯s station?¡± Crafton crossed his arms, on his chest. ¡°He didn¡¯t say, if it was Lord Reeves the problem, or someone else,¡± He said defensively. ¡°Glenavon had a half-sister, so it can¡¯t be her,¡± Emerson said, thinking about it out loud. ¡°Lord Reeves had bequeathed his lands anyway, to his brother. He had a male heir.¡± ¡°Maybe the marriage was the reason?¡± Glen offered. ¡°Nah, that was later. Anyway, it was known that Lord Reeves had an affair and a child out of wedlock, since the very start. It went on well after he married his current wife and had a child wit her as well. A daughter,¡± Emerson paused, trying to remember, what else Sir Glenavon had told him. It wasn¡¯t much. ¡°Could the old Lord, change his decision?¡± Glen asked, finding apparently this part of the conversation, easier to comment on. His argument sound though. ¡°It may cost him some prestige, but he could. As long as he¡¯s alive, a lord can change a decision,¡± Emerson replied, tapping his fingers on the table. Eyes stilled on Crafton. ¡°There was a letter,¡± He said and the man across from him blinked nervously. ¡°He means the one, we found in the box,¡± Glen cut in. ¡°Ah, aye,¡± Crafton said, sounding numb. Emerson narrowed his eyes, not liking his expression. ¡°The box¡­ ahm, these past months have been very difficult. Bodies washing ashore, the Cofols¡­¡± He stalled not making much sense. ¡°What bodies?¡± Emerson asked. ¡°He means, from the wreckage,¡± Glen said. Where his father died. Emerson scrunched his mouth this way and that, frustrated he brought up the subject in front of the young man. ¡°What happened to the box?¡± Crafton asked, while Emerson wallowed in his thoughts, Glen¡¯s uncle still sounding confused as well, or something. ¡°I got it, I have it,¡± Glen explained and it was as if a lighting jolt went through Crafton livening him up. ¡°Yes, I remember now,¡± He said, sitting up straighter. ¡°I remember it all.¡± Good grief, Emerson thought. What happened here? ¡°So the letter? Ye saw it?¡± The knight probed him again. ¡°I did, Sir Emerson.¡± Crafton replied confidently this time. ¡°Ye can vouch, it named Glen his heir?¡± ¡°It did, in the event of his death, if I remember it correctly,¡± Crafton started, then paused eyes closed, as if he could see the scroll in front of him, for a good moment before continuing. ¡°At the time, I thought nothing of it, since his¡­ father was in good health, but now it¡­ all comes back¡­ aye, very clear.¡± ¡°Where there any lands or properties named in there? Any other details?¡± Emerson asked, when he finished. ¡°Not that I recall. These past months, were a big strain on my nerves, I think,¡± Crafton said, looking to refill his cup. Liko, had fallen asleep on his chair, head resting on the table, hair spilling into his empty plate. Emerson exhaled slowly and stooping pulled the plate away. ¡°I¡¯m afraid, we¡¯re going to need ye in person Mr. Crafton,¡± He said, sounding tired. ¡°In person?¡± Crafton asked, sounding worried. ¡°What does this mean?¡± ¡°It means, you¡¯ll have to make the journey wit us,¡± Emerson explained patiently. ¡°Help Glen, if needed. Answer his grandfather¡¯s questions.¡± ¡°In Raoz,¡± Crafton droned, his eyes haunted. ¡°Yeah, what¡¯s the problem?¡± Glen snapped, irritated for some reason. Emerson could understand the older man¡¯s hesitation. Inconveniencing nobles or high lords, could have severe repercussions for simple people. Still it had to be done. ¡°His grandfather knows about him already. It is not a dangerous journey, Mr. Hailey. I shall offer assistance to any potential problems,¡± He offered. ¡°What about my nephew?¡± Crafton asked. ¡°Where¡¯s his mother? Or father?¡± Emerson checked to see, if the kid had fallen off the chair. ¡°His father got drown in a storm. Mother run off with an Issir sailor,¡± Crafton replied. ¡°Last year.¡± ¡°Why would she leave¡­?¡± Emerson trailed his words. ¡°Most girls here do it, first chance they get. Boys as well. Not easy living on the island, or raising a kid,¡± Crafton explained. ¡°It¡¯s not easy anywhere, Mr. Crafton,¡± Emerson said and moving fast, put a hand on a slipping off his chair Liko, stopping him from falling and breaking his head on the tavern¡¯s floor. The knight closed his eyes and breathed deeply once, putting everything in order in his head. Finding no way around it, he sighed. ¡°The kid can come as well,¡± He relented. They had the space, might as well use it, he thought. ¡°Get your affairs in order, Mr. Crafton. The Marquette sails for Altarinport on the morrow.¡± 20. Named man (1/3)
Dirk Named man
Dirk leapt from end to end, breaking branches, hands and legs flailing mad, pine needles biting his face, snow sludge propelling him forward, when he landed. Boots slipping, heart banging in his chest and the river at last in shaggin¡¯ sight. Too bloody far though. Tyeus curse them. A Northman bellowed, voice coming much closer. He got up, knees hurting, breathing scratchy and eyes blurry. Pushed himself forward, ice covering his red beard and boots sinking in the snow, one stride at a time. Faster, ye shaggin¡¯ fool! Dirk urged himself as he left the mass of woods behind. The man could hear the Northmen coming down the heights from Maza Burg, anger had their blood boilin¡¯ right proper, and they howled like beasts. It was a right stupid notion, from the fuckin¡¯ get go, he thought cutting towards Lud River¡¯s pregnant waters. Aart was at fault. Clear as day. It was all his doing, he thought. Never trust a plan that begins wit what if. Dirk grunted, jaw clenched and his lips split, bleeding down his chin. Tap-tap-tap. What the gory crap? He snapped his head back, hearing light boots running on icy muck and saw the woman coming at him with a spear twice her height. Dirk made to go faster, stepped on a piece of rotten wood buried in the firm sludge, right boot slipping on it and almost went down. Turned his head, caught the fierce smirk on the woman¡¯s face, closing the distance, eyes mad and hands grasping the shaft of the spear hard enough to make the knuckles turn white. Pointed straight for his torso. Can mail and a bit of leather, stop a spear? It seemed unlikely. Fuck, Dirk cursed, right hand going for his axe, the sturdy weapon strapped on his back. Mind undecided, preferring him to use his shield, or just make a run for it. But he¡¯d lost his shield during the initial scrap and the woman was faster than him. Two more Northmen lurched out the trees, in the second he had to decide. If ye are going to die, far better to stare what kills ye in the bloody eyes. He couldn¡¯t remember, who¡¯d said that. Not that it mattered. In the end, much as the rest of his day, the decision was made for him.
¡°I shan¡¯t have it,¡± Floris Vanzon, Lord of Krakenhall, Kaltha¡¯s Master of Sea and Warden of the North, had said. The first title given as compensation, according to the rumors, for managing the worst chunk of land in the whole kingdom. As with all things the latter, had as much truth woven in it, as lies. The large man had black skin, turned grey where his wrinkles cut it deep, mostly around his mouth and pale green eyes. His throne barely holding his weight, belly expanding from his neck down huge, alike a whale¡¯s. Krakenhall¡¯s Warden¡¯s tower, hadn¡¯t a single room large enough to be used by a council, but since Lord Vanzon didn¡¯t keep one, decisions were taken inside the throne room, dominated by the large fireplace. ¡°Can¡¯t we ask the King to reconsider?¡± His firstborn Aart Vanzon asked him. Tall, with piercing green eyes, white hair flowing down his back, Aart looked more Issirian, than anyone else in the room. ¡°Bah, he¡¯s made up his mind,¡± Floris said, with a grimace. ¡°Navy is already in place and Midlanor has its men marching.¡± ¡°What does he need the crews for? How are we supposed to maintain half the fuckin¡¯ fleet?¡± That was Dier, his second son, standing next to Captain Baker Morris, of the Black Skulls company. ¡°The King believes, since our half of the fleet is moored for the winter, it¡¯s not useful to him. He intends to use the crews, to support the main fleet operations.¡± Dirk repeated, what they had told him. He had it in writing as well, but no one really bothered reading stuff up North. It was why he had to make the journey in the first place. Worn himself out to the bone, almost two months on the road, back and forth. ¡°Madness,¡± Floris snarled, fist hitting the armrest in furry. ¡°First he refuses to give help, because of the games, then turns around and decides on having war with the bloody Khan! That young fool, has lost his mind!¡± ¡°Dissuading force, he called it milord,¡± Dirk added, not wanting to leave anything important out. Again, there were written orders in the scrolls he brought with him. He sighed, resting on the balls of his feet, while the Lord and his sons talked it out amongst themselves. Almost dozed off for a minute. ¡°¡­five hundred swords almost,¡± Aart was saying, when Dirk came around, ¡°Everyone on horseback, if needed, although that would make it too big a force to hide.¡± Hide? He wondered, having missed the first part of his argument. ¡°Captain Morris?¡± Lord Vanzon asked the mercenary he employed almost exclusively. ¡°More than a hundred men, all ready and eager milord,¡± The middle aged fighter said. A Lorian from Lesia originally, he¡¯d lived all his life among the Issirs of the North, slowly building up his warband ¨Cmercenary company according to him- and eventually becoming Lord Vanzon¡¯s right hand man of sorts.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Floris smacked his lips, nodding for a Northern girl, a slave in all but the name, to bring him a fresh bottle of wine. ¡°Sending these many men around Lud River, in order to reach them¡­¡± He pushed himself up, surprisingly lissome given his bulk, paused for the pretty girl to refill a silver goblet he held and walked towards a wall, holding a map of his domain. ¡°If we do send them to Ludriver Castle, they¡¯ll have to cross three bridges, or get lucky and spot a natural crossing in its lesser branches. Fat chance for that. The river, is already completely unpassable.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t support such a large number of men, on the other side of Lud River,¡± Baker Morris pointed. ¡°They would get cut off, with winter upon us. Get wiped out.¡± ¡°Still, with most of them out in force to hunt¡­¡± Lord Floris, just couldn¡¯t let go. ¡°Antoon has stripped us of almost three thousand idle hands father,¡± Dier said, himself fixated on the missing crews, already marching towards Sallowhall. ¡°I just don¡¯t see us having the numbers to get at the O¡¯ Dargans this season, or even the summer.¡± ¡°Jarl David, probably knows it,¡± Lord Floris said, eyeing the slave girl with suspicion. ¡°Is why, he didn¡¯t call off the hunt. He¡¯ll bring supplies in, leather for armour, use the time to arm himself proper, or even call the warbands up. Might even put us on the back foot, if that idiot Antoon fuck¡¯s it up, or gets us into a real war. Tyeus curse him!¡± That¡¯s it then. Dirk thought. Might as well, think about a good inn to rest, eat and have a good ole shaggin¡¯. His eyes resting on the blushing girl. Lots of meat on ¡®em thighs, he thought, a leer on his lips. ¡°The timber is cut already, left in place till the end of winter,¡± Aart said out the blue and Dirk, a creature of instinct, people called ¡®Devious Dirk¡¯ for good reason, perked up. ¡°What if we make a crossing ourselves?¡± Lord Floris narrowed his eyes. ¡°What do you mean, son?¡± ¡°Roll them in, down the slope as we do. But not towards the road, the other side. Into the river, but we keep ¡®em from floating down. It can be done, if we tie ¡®em together. All at once, to make a barrier,¡± Dirk blinked once stunned, the suggestion ludicrous and extremely dangerous. ¡°It will never hold,¡± His father pointed, trying to put some sense into him. ¡°Lud ain¡¯t Redford or even Umlen, not on its main branch. There¡¯s too much water coming down, it will wash everything out of its path.¡± ¡°If it holds for an hour, my men will cross using ropes,¡± Aart insisted. Then what? Dirk asked silently. What will ye do after that? ¡°Cross Lud River,¡± Lord Florin said. ¡°Use the bridges to return?¡± ¡°Aye. By the time they figure out what happened, we will be at the Montfoot Bridge.¡± ¡°How do you cross its leg?¡± ¡°It can be done, it¡¯s six meters from bank to bank. We¡¯ll have ropes,¡± Aart explained, obviously having done his homework. Dirk gulped down nervously. ¡°Moment we reach the Bridge, we¡¯re in Crull country, Wolvesbane Castle is right there.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t trust them to help us,¡± Lord Floris said. He tasted his wine, appearing uncertain. ¡°The Northmen won¡¯t know that,¡± Aart added. ¡°It will keep them on their side of the river.¡± The Northmen don¡¯t give a crap about any of that, Dirk thought worried. And if we can cross a small river branch, so can they. ¡°It¡¯s a solid plan, I believe,¡± Lord Floris decided. ¡°What do you think, Mr. Morris?¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s a great plan, milord,¡± The mercenary droned, opting for the better paying decision. No it¡¯s shaggin¡¯ not, ye lying sycophant! No good plan, ever started with what if. Dirk closed his eyes frustrated.
Dirk got his axe out, nasty sharp blade dented a bit, where he¡¯d hit that guard and turned to face the woman proper. One eye on her, the other on the two fighters charging towards them, yelling at the top of their lungs. He made a step forward to get into position, not an easy thing to block a spear with a batleaxe and felt his stomach faltering, as that wicked point came at him. At the last moment, he lost it and threw himself to the side, rolled away, tense as a virgin in her wedding night, expecting the spear skewering him at any moment. But it didn¡¯t, the woman missing him. Dirk landed on his feet, made to rise immediately, right boot losing purchase underneath and went down right away, his helm banging on the ground, mud in his face. Too panicked to draw breath. The woman cursed his manhood, swinging around, with Dirk desperately trying to get some distance between them, moving on all fours. A turtle faster than him surely. The spear¡¯s tip passed next to his ear, a hiss and bang¡­ as the wooden shaft connected with his helm. He swung his axe back blindly, a wide arc and it connected on something. She screamed her voice cracking at the end, as Dirk turned axe in hand, teeth clenched to the point of breaking and swung again. The woman raised her head, since she¡¯d stooped to put a hand on her bleeding leg, saw the axe coming and ogled her eyes in panic, her face a horror mask. The blade caught her above the eyebrows, sliced through bone and cut the left portion of her skull clean off. It landed two meters from them, the shape of a small plate, bloody grey matter covered in vapors and long blond hair still attached to the other side. ¡°Ah,¡± Dirk gasped looking at her still standing, with spear in hand, part of her head missing and staring at him, shock in her eyes. Darn pretty those eyes, he finished his thought, as the woman collapsed on her face, without a sound. Another Northman, clad in mail and sword in hand, taking her place. ¡°Is that ye, Devious Dirk?¡± The man called hate oozing out of him in waves, as he slowed down, sparing a worrying glance to the dead but still bleeding woman. His friend trying to circle around his back, while the first talked him up. ¡°Ye got the wrong man,¡± Dirk said, stepping over the woman, to put her body between him and his opponent. ¡°Mat the Plank, saw ye put me house to the torch,¡± The man growled, his face haggard over his thick beard, scrunching his mouth this way and that. ¡°Killed my baby boy ye did.¡± Dirk grimaced, switching hands on his axe, used his right to get his longsword out. ¡°Twas an accident, was goin¡¯ for yer wife,¡± He taunted, sucking a deep breath in -all greedy-, forced smile on his torn lips; not because Dirk was a monster, though he probably was, but because the man was itching to kill him anyway. No way around that. Dirk¡¯s taunt just helped put him a bit more on edge, hoping for a mistake. The other part of that coin was that, if he was going to get fucked up, better to go quick due to his opponent¡¯s fury. Rule of the trade, number two. You don¡¯t want to get tortured. ¡°Ye piece of vile shit!¡± The Northman cried out, when his insult registered, murder in his eyes and charged him. 21. Named man (2/3)
It took them a day and the better part of two whole nights, to get Aart¡¯s plan working. That is, the plan worked fine in theory, the trunks and cut timber didn¡¯t. They didn¡¯t stay put. Not all of them. Not for long. Some stayed attached creating a bridge or sorts to walk on gingerly, icy water splashing over men, tied with ropes and each other. Others didn¡¯t and got washed away by the river, forcing men walking over them to plunge into black waters, cursing and crying as they tried to swim across, or pull their way to safety. Four got drown in the shaggin¡¯ process, half of them too tangled in the rope that was to save them and help them reach the shore, Dirk reckoned. When the morning came, no one was in the mood to celebrate, what was quite a feat of courage and perhaps ingenuity. The makeshift bridge was long gone by then and the road to Ludr wide open. So they walked in silence. ¡°I see four guards, in front of the gates,¡± Aart said hours later, everyone that had made it standing in the woods outside the walls of the Burg. ¡°We charge them, force our way in.¡± ¡°Where are the mercs?¡± Dirk asked, not liking having to sprint in full battle gear, after walking in mostly wet clothes for six hours, in the freezing cold. ¡°Keeping the road open, for our return,¡± Their leader replied. ¡°How they do that?¡± ¡°Keeping an eye, on the passages towards Maza,¡± Aart explained, not really answering him though. ¡°How is that keepin¡¯ the road open?¡± Dirk wondered aloud, the distance to the bridges huge, Maza Burg and the Northmen sandwiched between them. Aart snorted at his worries, unsheathed a javelin from his back, hefted it once in his right hand and then hurled it, hard as he could, towards the armed guards. Himself charging after it. His idea of starting a scrap, almost as foolhardy, as his plans. The guard ducked and Dirk¡¯s blade got him on his twin-horned helm, chopping one of them away. His opponent turned and made to raise his round shield, but Dirk put a hand on it and pushed down hard. He downed the axe in his other hand next, but the man pulled away dropping the shield. Dirk stooped to pick it up, but got a kick on the side of the head with a heavy boot and went down, axe slipping through his fingers. ¡°Gah!¡± Dirk yelled rolling away, shoulder popping in and out in the same shaggin¡¯ tumble and the pain blinding. The guard raised his sword, right connivin¡¯ bastard had followed Dirk over all other blasted targets, blade catching the light of the fires and shining in the gloomy cold afternoon. One second the blade was there, Death¡¯s scythe high over Dirk¡¯s head, the other gone; a scalding red mist spraying his face and the maimed man squeaking like a pig facing the slaughter. Thankfully it ended fast. ¡°Ye are a lucky man Curd!¡± A warrior boomed over his face, giving him a helping hand and a fresh coating of spittle. ¡°Darn fool died goin¡¯ after you and glory.¡± Dirk spat down himself, what was mostly the dead man¡¯s blood, a bit of mud and horse manure mixed in. ¡°Where¡¯s Aart?¡± He asked picking up his axe and that shield. Iron finishing, hardwood at its core and a good leather strap to keep it on his shoulder. ¡°He¡¯s fixin¡¯ to burn the houses, flush them out proper,¡± The man replied, deep cut on his cheek half frozen, half bleeding. ¡°They went up the heights,¡± Aart explained a part of Ludr burning behind them. Mostly near the walls. ¡°Too many of them, but no warrior worth his salt.¡± ¡°Take some prisoners, and let¡¯s get back,¡± Dirk said, and pointed at some of the women and children, their leering men had pushed out of a house. ¡°There¡¯s coin to be made here!¡±Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! ¡°Haha! Devious fuckin¡¯ Dirk,¡± Aart yelled for all to hear, ¡°Wants to make more coin, but we¡¯re here to avenge my brother!¡± Oh, for fuck¡¯s sake. ¡°They are stallin¡¯ ye Aart!¡± He yelled in his face, hoping to break through the thick layer of stupidity. ¡°They can see the fires from Maza Burg, especially if night falls. See that dark closin¡¯ in? That¡¯s the night fallin¡¯¡­ We need to pull out¡­ NOW!¡± ¡°Bah! I ain¡¯t leavin¡¯ without more of them dead,¡± Aart snapped looking around for potential victims. Finding none, he stabbed a thin woman through the heart, the rest of the prisoners charging him en masse, with a cry of vengeful anguish. It was a bloody, messy affair. Halfway through, the bulk of Ludr¡¯s citizens, hearing and seeing them butchering prisoners and families in plain sight, got out of their makeshift defenses that were blocking the main road and charged at them with everything they had. Dirk would have died to a pitchfork, but for that shield. When he stopped hacking at the guy that had almost killed him, Dirk realized he was fighting an old man, no hair, or teeth, one foot in the grave, even before he went to work on him. The fight had spread, and turned into a gory brawl, lasting just under half an hour. In the end, you can only kill so much, before numbers push the bloody needle the other way. They got out of the burning Ludr, much as they had come in. Well, sort of, if ye wanna keep it real. Running they were that much was true, but this time the other way around; their mood much worse, than what it was coming in. Their clothes at least had all dried up. Stayed that way, until they reached the river.
The man had to jump over the woman¡¯s body to reach him, his attack announced well ahead for Dirk to block it with his own sword and push the sharp blade away. Dirk raised his axe to cut him across the face, but sensed the man behind him coming and pulled away. Dirk managed half a step and got bodied by the first and went down, which was lucky¡­ as his friend, had another even better chance to cut him, now all wasted. Dirk turned his legs one way, whacked him with the flat of his axe¡¯s blade the other and got free from him. Made to suck some air in, deep through the nose, his head light without it and thick mucus and blood clogging up his pipes. Coughing it all up next and spat a fat blob of phlegm on the man¡¯s face at the tail end of it, ruining his charge. ¡°Gah! Ye nasty bastard!¡± The man cried disgusted, wiping his face and his friend always sneaky coming at him from the side, wicked custom sword in hand. Dirk parried his sword cut aside, testing the man¡¯s defense with his axe in turn. His opponent jumped away, a nimble fucker and probably less tired than him. Then Dirk had to duck under a furious attack from the first man, boots slipping in the sludge almost being the death of him. He heard more cries coming from the woods. More Northmen. Finding his footing again, now under constant assault from the first man, Dirk blocked a wild swing with his blade, sparks raining on his skin and his strength waning fast. He turned it aside and cut the sweating Northman across the chest with the axe. The blade bit the chainmail, split it diagonally, ruining the leather underneath, but not cutting deep enough. The man groaned and jumped back rattled, losing his sword, feet tripping over the woman¡¯s corpse and going down, giving Dirk a rare and probably his last opening of the day. He swung around, caught the second man sneaking up on him again and taunted him. ¡°HERE!¡± Dirk yelled, but the man paused undecided. He was gonna wait for his friend to get up. Dirk would¡¯ve done the same thing in his place. So Dirk flicked his axe high, caught it as it came down mid-shaft, the man¡¯s eyes growing in terror and tossed it, going all in with the throw. The axe traveled like a Legion scorpio¡¯s bolt, going end over end and landed at the right side of his torso, as the man had turned hard in an attempt to avoid it. The blade disappeared in him, going through, mail, leather bindings, skin and ribs with a loud crunching thud. Dirk pushed forward keeping the initiative, his mood much improved and finished him off, with a well place cut below the ear. He raised his left hand to keep the spraying blood off his eyes, felt something hard piercing through his armour and turned with a cry of panic to avoid it. He wasn¡¯t fast enough. The point of the spear exploded out of his sides, blood shrieking out of him, ears popping and the pain paralyzing. ¡°Arrgh!¡± The first man cried in triumph, as Dirk turned hard pale as death, left fist grabbing the spear¡¯s shaft holding it in place, as it turned with him. The man, just about ready to pull back the weapon and disembowel him, lost his footing, the shaft he held pushing him to the side and down. Dirk¡¯s sword coming right after. He got him below the elbow, splitting the bone and left his hand ruined. The man groaned, a drawn out heart-wrenching affair and clasped his arm trying to stop the bleeding, the almost cut away piece, daggling lifeless. He tried to put it back in place, his eyes wild, teeth grinding in desperation and his screams coming faster, as his knees gave out on him. Dirk followed him suit, letting out a moan of his own, as he snapped the spear shaft to shorten it near his wound. He was losing blood fast. At the edge of the woods he had originally come from, men appeared -younger men mostly, full of vigor and stamina; lots of them. All armed. All after his blood. Kill yerself a named man, Dirk thought, will fix ye up for life, is what these lads believe. The way of the North sucked everyone in, himself included in his youth. He spat down, more blood than saliva this time, glanced at the injured man breathing heavy on his knees, a pool of blood gathering around him. Dirk thought about the poor bastard''s kid, who had its life snuffed out, because of Aart¡¯s stupid plan and a King¡¯s greed. He turned his eyes around and looked at the still distant Montfoot Bridge, half-hidden behind the first snowflakes falling. Pure white and plump as his palm. Maybe the Northmen will stop there. They hadn¡¯t in the first leg, but rather and much as Dirk had expected, swam right across after them. Run for it, he decided. 22. Named man (3/3)
He could feel the broken shaft tearing at his inwards, as he run towards the beam bridge, snow falling thicker with each painful stride. Dirk didn¡¯t look back once, giving it all to the mad dash down the river¡¯s slope. He reached the banks breathing hard, exposed skin covered in vapors as the temperature dropped even more. Across the hardwood-timber made bridge he went, logs creaking under his boots. Over it and to the other side, the sound of men behind him lessening, which was a good thing, but going towards the road and the castle to cut him off, which wasn¡¯t. So he kept going away from it, aiming for the hardwood, white-barked trees clogging up a split amid the mountain range. An hour later, perhaps a bit more and it wouldn¡¯t surprise him at all, if it was not-even half o¡¯ that, Dirk realized dark had fallen. He could see shapes still, make out the taller trees, everything else covered in a white blanket. The distant lights of the castle lost in the distance. Dirk needed to find cover and light a fire. Survive the night. Getting discovered was a problem, dying from his wound and exposure to the elements a bigger one. Even Northmen don¡¯t hunt in the shaggin¡¯ dark. A broken trunk lodged sideways between a massive granite boulder and another tall tree, its branches the size of Dirk¡¯s torso, roots hard as steel binding everything together, provided the roof he searched for, as rock and wood became one solid structure. It barely stopped the wind coming in, but beggars can¡¯t be choosers. Working frantically in the dying light, the tired man cleared the small space of thorns, cones and pine needles. He moved broken branches around, creating a small pile he attempted to lit using the flint and the blade of his sword. Dirk would¡¯ve used the axe, but he left that inside a dead Northman back at the Montfoot Bridge. His fingers clumsy, muscles tired and his wound still bleeding, it took him a god-awful time to create a small fire. Dirk cried from joy like a madman, when the first flame licked his face. Night had come in the meantime and hunger along with it, but Dirk put everything out of his mind and worked on his wound instead. He pushed and pulled at the small piece of shaft, groaning and crying at the same time. Cursing the gods, old and new. Fingers all bloody and slipping, on the verge of fainting, but not willing to give up, until he pulled the dead woman¡¯s broken spear out of him. The next part even harder to manage. Looking at the red hot piece of wood, Dirk took a couple of quick panicked breaths, trying to think of his mother¡¯s face, right angry, when he realized that he couldn¡¯t. Ye just have to do it, he thought. Cauterize the wound, or die. And so he did and howled like an animal, before passing out.
The morning of the other day, assuming he hadn¡¯t gone out for more than that, found him waking up to the sound of a real animal, gnawing at his boot to reach his flesh underneath. The Direwolf¡¯s yellow eyes stared back at him all hate, when he opened his, a low growl coming out of its black snout. ¡°Let go of my fuckin¡¯ foot!¡± Dirk growled and kicked its massive head, putting everything he had in it. It was like kicking a wall. Wit fur on it. The Direwolf jumped away, almost destroying his makeshift shelter in the process, stopped dazed to let out a menacing snarl his way and then raising its head up, howled long and hard. Oh, no ye don¡¯t. Dirk found his sword and got up to follow the predator outside. He could barely walk, but he wasn¡¯t dead. He was hungry though. The cold slapped him in the face so hard, he almost went down on his knees, the white hurting his eyes and his teeth rattling. The Direwolf showed him his fangs as a warning, but Dirk grinding his teeth stood his ground and stared back at him just as menacing. Was he scared? Yeah. But the wolf wouldn¡¯t let him go and more of his friends would soon come to in for the kill. In the same vein Dirk couldn¡¯t let the animal go as well. ¡°I just want a meaty leg, same as you,¡± Dirk said and swung catching one of its paws, before it had time to dodge. The beast growled and snapped at him, the flat of Dirk¡¯s blade pushing it back. He swung again, opened a gash in its belly three hands in length that bled a lot.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. They circled each other, painting the snow red. Dirk attacked again, knowing he was running out of strength and his spear wound had already started leaking anew. He wounded the beast three more times, before slipping his blade past its ribs and into its black heart, stopping it. It wasn¡¯t a one-sided affair. Dirk lost two fingers on his left hand, in the bloody process. Light the fire again. Mind your ruined hand. Eat your fill. It took Dirk another day to get back on his feet. Face pale and haggard, he cut through the snow, now almost knee deep, following a small path between the trees and chewing on a piece of half cooked half-burned meat. He moved away from the river and the castle. There was no way around that. The place was crawling with Northmen. Finding a Crull patrol would have been his best option. It was surprising, he¡¯d seen no signs of them. It would have helped them and him a lot, especially during the scrap. So he moved towards their lands, staying far from the main road. Unfortunately for him, everything around was pretty much disputed. All the lands from Fenford Burg to Kas and the wilds between them and Eaglesnest. But move deep enough into Crull land, he thought and you¡¯ll run onto them at some point. As luck would have it, Dirk fell upon Northmen instead.
The first man, long black hair sprouting under a conical helm, wild beard adorned with silver and gold beads and a heavy pelt thrown on his back, turned to his friend and asked with a smirk. ¡°Almost didn¡¯t see ye, ain¡¯t that right, Eccentric?¡± The tall, lanky man with the fur and leather armour, face painted white but for the eyes and mouth, nodded in agreement. ¡°He¡¯s almost frozen solid, I reckon,¡± He pointed. ¡°I would appreciate some help,¡± Dirk said, not seeing many options in front of him. He was too tired to run, too injured to fight and if the temperature dropped a bit more, another night outside, would surely kill him. ¡°Are ye hurt?¡± The first man asked, not much concern in his voice. ¡°Aye, direwolf almost got me, a couple of days back,¡± Dirk replied, through his teeth. ¡°Ye coming from Wolvesbane castle,¡± The man noted, a small smile on his lips, Dirk didn¡¯t like at all. ¡°Ye look like a Crull to me.¡± ¡°Aye, he does,¡± Eccentric, the painted man, agreed. ¡°Not a Crull, don¡¯t mind my skin,¡± Dirk¡¯s mother was a Northern girl, gods rest her soul. ¡°Are ye lads in a warband?¡± ¡°Ye didn¡¯t answer me query. Either because yer lyin¡¯, or perhaps ye don¡¯t know,¡± The man said. ¡°What¡¯s yer name?¡± ¡°What¡¯s yours?¡± Dirk snapped and a nasty smile appeared on the man¡¯s lips. ¡°Oscar Numbers,¡± He spat between his legs, branches breaking up and moving all around an alarmed Dirk. ¡°This here is Eccentric Asmund,¡± Oscar added. ¡°Feral Benton¡¯s brother?¡± Dirk asked, his mouth dry. The wild clang of shields on his back returning, the echo bouncing inside the walls of his head. Don¡¯t see ye getting out the circle lad, the old Northman had said. But you¡¯ll have to, if ye want a name fer yerself. ¡°Same,¡± He snorted, eyeing the rest of his men getting out of the trees around them, ¡°Stood right behind him and watched ye kill Black Trunk Evans, back in seventy nine. They were callin¡¯ ye Devious Dirk then.¡± Dirk smacked his lips, hand on the pommel of his sword relaxing. ¡°O¡¯ Dargan took the castle a week back now, it must be. Routed the Crulls all the way back to Eaglesnest. Secured a foothold on both sides of the river,¡± Oscar explained, ¡°Reckon ye were with Vanzon¡¯s men,¡± He breathed once deep, mouth pressed tight in a grimace. ¡°Are ye gonna fight, Dirk?¡± It was a stupid plan, Dirk thought a bitter frown on his face, drawing his sword out and throwing it, between Oscars¡¯ legs. ¡°I¡¯m too injured to fight ye Oscar. I reckon, I¡¯ll surrender.¡± He said raising his hands, the left maimed and still bleeding. Oscar grunted, not pleased. ¡°You¡¯ll get better, I¡¯m sure. Right Eccentric?¡± ¡°Seems fine to me. Should be,¡± The painted man replied, with a nasty grin. ¡°That¡¯s Devious Dirk right there.¡± ¡°Hah, there¡¯s the spirit we will built on. Ruthlessness,¡± Oscar laughed, slapping his thigh pleased. ¡°Now, we have some road to cover, until we reach Kas. Devious Dirk, I hope ye enjoy walking. We¡¯ve no horses to spare.¡± Dirk didn¡¯t, but it was a lot of walking to Kas. A lot healing to be done, until then. He¡¯d beaten the odds before. One thing at a time. Get well enough first, he thought. Then we¡¯ll get out of the shaggin¡¯ circle again. 23. No borders here, milord (1/2)
Lucius No borders here, milord
The water came from a long crack in the flat rock that was standing on their left flank, crystalized at its edges, but flowed freely in between to cut the path they were following right across and disappeared into the trees on the other side. It appeared black on the snow covered ground. The wind rushing through the canyon making it difficult to hear one another. ¡°They call it the Screamin¡¯ Road,¡± Roderick yelled, a heavy blanket over his shoulders, sitting atop Butter, the poor horse¡¯s snout covered in snow and icicles forming under its nostrils. The man pointed a gloved hand ahead, the path lost behind torrents of snow blasted their way and the almost constant thick mist of the mountains. ¡°We follow that, whatever that is, we find Kas at the end of it.¡± Lucius patted Stormbolt¡¯s mane, cleaning some of the frost off him. ¡°We will be coming down the mountains to reach Kas, right where White Forest starts.¡± ¡°You want us to turn back, leave her at Gudgurth Fort?¡± He meant Zofia. ¡°We can¡¯t do that. How are the men?¡± Lucius had made a conscious effort to get to know most of them, after what happened with young Tertius. He wasn¡¯t successful, the men remaining guarded around him. ¡°Much as expected,¡± Roderick and seeing him staring, he added raising his voice to match the ruckus of the wind. ¡°If yer asking, whether they¡¯ll mutiny, or not. Well¡­ I wouldn¡¯t get out of my armour anytime soon.¡± ¡°You¡¯re jesting!¡± Lucius snapped and Roderick chuckled, seeing him getting all worked up over it. Lucius kicked his legs to push Stormbolt forward, the horse denying him much to his surprise, letting out a nervous neigh. He tried again frustrated, but the horse stilled his legs and shook his large head right and left, in distress. ¡°Lucius!¡± Roderick yelled on his back and he made to turn, a large shadow coming at him from above. Something kicked him hard in the chest and pushed him off the saddle and to the hard ground. Lucius saw two huge canines snap in front of his face, as he landed on his back, the wind pushed out of his chest. He turned and rolled to the side, blood thumping in his ears, the black Direwolf jaw¡¯s closing on his vambrace and pulling savagely to tear his right arm away. Growling much like the beast did, Lucius went with the flow, letting it drag his whole body three-four meters away and punched it right in its yellow eye with his left, when it stopped winded. The Direwolf howled in pain and let go of his hand. Lucius got his sword out, all around him chaos unfolding, as beasts came out the frozen bushes and white-barked trees to attack anything in sight. Horses, mules and people. ¡°Lord Alden!¡± A man cried, forcing him to snap out of it. He half-turned, saw the beast lurch at him and caught it in the air, his blade cleaving one of its front legs off, hot blood splashing his crimson armor, under the engraved tiger¡¯s head. The Direwolf howled miserably and backed away hobbling, another taking its place. Before Lucius had time to react a flaming arrow struck the beast at its engorged neck and lit it on fire. The Direwolf turned this way and that, rolled on the snowed ground, trying to smother it, but couldn¡¯t. Lucius left it in its agony and went to help the others, passing next to the two former Legion men, Galio had brought him. Mamercus had another lit arrow loaded, aiming at a beast devouring one of their mules and Kaeso right next to him, casually dipping another into a small tar covered bucket. ¡°Naphtha,¡± The shifty man told him, more gold teeth in his smirk, than common ones. ¡°Special recipe, to light fat on fire.¡± ¡°You mean their fat?¡± Lucius probed intrigued, seeing another beast flame up and running away. ¡°Ahm, it wasn¡¯t meant for animals, milord,¡± The man explained and gave Mamercus another one. ¡°We kinda improvised.¡± The Direwolves were beaten back, or more accurately pulled back, when they realized that fire was in the menu. As suddenly, as they that appeared, they were gone. They left a couple of wounded behind. Two dead horses and a mule. The latter was half eaten alive. Luckily, as Zofia explained, they were after the animals. ¡°They don¡¯t favor human meat that much,¡± The redhead explained, all flushed for having the chance to give them a lesson on the local attractions. ¡°But they¡¯re have been cases of them feasting on foolish hunters, more than once.¡± ¡°How much is more than once?¡± One of the men asked. It was young Arrun, Lucius noticed. A sound query. ¡°Two-three times¡­ a month,¡± Zofia explained with a shrug. ¡°At some point and given the numbers,¡± Roderick commented. ¡°Ye got to bring up to date, what ye think they like, or not, my lass.¡± Zofia curled one side of her lip upwards, white teeth showing underneath, alike a wolf. Not liking his comment at all. Lucius thought it funny, the tension of the encounter washing off of him.
Having lost the day by the time the wounded were patched up, the hurt animals butchered, meat salted and placed in barrels, Lucius decided they should make camp, a little further up the path at the east side of the split. Five large boulders placed one next to the other, cracked and broken as they¡¯d tumbled down the slopes years back, gave some protection from the elements, the ground solid for the carriage to park on. The mountain created some real caves further ahead, one or two large enough to have a small hunting party sleep in them, or a pack of wolves, but Lucius thought, testing the men in another encounter with the beasts so soon, was unwise.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. An hour in, night bringing even more cold and the eerie quiet of the heights, their fire burning bright, Post pulled him aside and pointed towards the mountain side, where the caves were visible earlier. ¡°There are people there,¡± The hunter informed him. ¡°I¡¯ve sent Seia to check them out.¡± ¡°How do you know?¡± Lucius asked, tired eyes not making anything out in the dark. ¡°You can¡¯t see them, standing so close to our fire,¡± Post explained. ¡°If ye move to the edge of the camp, you¡¯ll see the mist turn right orange, on that slant.¡± ¡°Northmen?¡± He asked. They hadn¡¯t seen them, since the scrap almost ten days back. ¡°We know, they are ahead of us,¡± Post said, eyes shining in the flames, ¡°They know, we stopped at the Fort, but left immediately. Word, probably spread by now.¡± ¡°They will risk hurting the Jarl¡¯s daughter?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know, who likes the Jarl around these parts. Remember, milord. We¡¯re still in Sovya,¡± The guide said. Lucius puffed hard, white vapors covering his bearded face. ¡°That¡¯s Crull land, well, disputed more like,¡± He wasn¡¯t sure himself. ¡°No borders here, milord. No law, but the one the blade commands,¡± Post replied cryptically and went to wait for his wife to return. ¡°I say we hit them,¡± Bryn said, left hand bandaged, where a beast had taken a liking at him. ¡°Else they¡¯ll ambush us on the morrow, in the open.¡± ¡°Are ye gonna volunteer?¡± Faustus asked, thick brows connected in the middle of his forehead with no skin showing and part of his nose missing, on what was an earlier injury. Bryn grimaced. ¡°I would, had I had me arm working proper.¡± ¡°Ye favor the left?¡± Faustus probed, not convinced. Lucius decided to stop a quarrel from starting. ¡°I will go, take Roderick with me and Hostus,¡± The spear wielding veteran fighter nodded. Roderick on his part not liking Lucius idea at all. ¡°We can¡¯t have ye risking life and limb in the bloody dark,¡± He grunted. ¡°I¡¯ll do it just the same,¡± Lucius snapped brusquely, his words enough to silence the loyal hand. For a time, that is. ¡°What if there are a score of them, in there?¡± Roderick whispered an hour later. It had stopped snowing and the winds had ceased, thank Uher. The cold piercing their leather coats, the night sky lit by Ora¡¯s Eye, the blue borders of Nesande¡¯s moon barely visible right behind it. The morning light still hours away. Lucius had left his armour plate and spurs behind and wore a sturdy leather armour instead to make less noise. The rocks they walked on were covered in broken ice and hardened snow that creaked under their boots, the sound carrying up the slopes. The Heir of Regia half-turned to answer him, saw a man coming down the slope, axe in hand and closed his mouth. The man kept walking down, till he spotted them coming up the other way and stopped, boots sliding on thin ice for a moment. ¡°Who goes there?¡± The man boomed, his voice carrying over the mountain sides, all a ruse to warn his friends, Lucius thought, looking about them. Four of them had gotten up from where they were watching their ascent, behind the lip of the rock and in front of one the larger caves. One of them Lucius recognized right away. Bulky, right arm heavily bandaged, where he¡¯d cut him days back. ¡°Ask Clarence, he knows us!¡± Lucius yelled his response, remembering the Northman¡¯s name, keeping the sword ready in his hand, as he didn¡¯t expect it to work. The man frowned, made to look back, but got a javelin right through his chest. Hostus even less assured than him, being the culprit. His scream cut in half, blood bubbling out the sides of his mouth the Northman dropped, gravity pulling him down, head hitting a rock and popping like a watermelon. The sudden explosion painting a pinkish red everything around him in a three meter radius. ¡°BASTARDS KILLED SHANE!¡± One of the Northmen bellowed and hurled a throwing axe towards them, as they rushed up the slippery slope. Roderick swatted it away using the flat of his blade, cursing the man¡¯s female relatives with gusto. Lucius, a tense grin on his lips, reached the lip first and jumped over it. Went under a wild swing from a spear, opening the wielder¡¯s thigh from crotch to knee. Parried a clumsy sword cut from Clarence, the man using his left hand with no power behind it. Roderick coming up behind him, stopped one of the sneaking Northmen from taking his head, the old fighter¡¯s brutal attack chopping the man¡¯s arm clean off above the elbow. Hostus finished him off with his spear, steel tip right through the mouth, he had opened to scream in pain. All done, in less than a minute. Roderick went after the retreating big man and Lucius paused, recognizing the strange figure standing in the entrance of the cave, one hand in a sleeve -what was left of it- the other carrying an axe and face painted white, but for the eyes and mouth. ¡°Sir Lucius,¡± Eccentric Asmund spat, grinding his teeth. ¡°Had ye waited, we would¡¯ve come for you.¡± ¡°Give it up, Asmund,¡± Lucius said, keeping his sword lowered. ¡°It¡¯s over.¡± ¡°No it¡¯s not,¡± The painted man replied, hate in his eyes. ¡°Ye killed Benton¡¯s brother, ye cursed Lorian. He¡¯s coming for ye.¡± Lucius sighed, seeing out the corner of his eye, an out of breath Roderick returning. Clarence Toothless, whatever he lacks in¡­ the mouth department, has in spades in agility it seems, he thought. Asmund taking advantage of him being temporary distracted, moved faster than he¡¯d anticipated, axe blade gleaming in the moonlight. He made a step back raising his sword, realizing halfway through the move, he couldn¡¯t block it. Darn it! Tyeus will, be done, Lucius thought. Roderick roared a belated warning, Hostus standing right behind him grunted unable to help and Asmund¡¯s eyes grew twice their size elated, seeing him slow to react. Lucius cursed and started to turn his torso, axe blade reaching him too fast for that, right over his sword hand, grazing his shoulder and missing his head completely in a stunning turn of events. CLANG! The sound of the axe landing on the granite rocks, underneath their feet. Lucius blinked his muscles all frozen, surprise on his face, when he saw a meat hook sprouting out of Asmund¡¯s neck, the wound bleeding and grotesque. The painted man made a scratching noise, trying to speak or breathe, eyes turning to the white, before he collapsed unceremoniously on the ground. An ashen-faced Issirian with copper-colored hair and thin as a board, stepped out of the large cave¡¯s shadows, iron cuffs heavy on his hands, one of them missing a couple of fingers. ¡°Had to grab whatever was near,¡± The man croaked in an attempt to explain, barely standing upright. ¡°Told myself, I had to get out the shaggin¡¯ circle tonight.¡± 24. No borders here, milord (2/2)
¡°He¡¯ll live,¡± Galio announced, after Canutia worked on the Issir¡¯s wounds and he had a lot of those. The worst being the one to his side, a spear thrust that went clean through him. He¡¯d patched it up very roughly days back, but now Canutia had cleaned it up again and stitched the leaking parts proper. ¡°Has a fondness for yer wine, milord.¡± ¡°Can he talk?¡± Lucius asked, he¡¯d walked nervously up and down all this time, in front of the carriage turned to infirmary, waiting for her to finish. ¡°I would, had I imbibed as much as he did, milord,¡± The old sergeant replied. Lucius nodded and climbed up the small stairs to enter the warm confines of the carriage. Canutia, bowed her head and exited leaving him alone, with the injured former prisoner. He decided to cut to the chase. ¡°I¡¯m Sir Lucius Alden,¡± The man grimaced, hearing his words and sat up straighter on the bench. ¡°Surely¡­ not the Heir to Regia?¡± He asked, voice low-pitched and gravelly. ¡°The same,¡± Lucius replied and watched him press his cracked lips together, deep in thought. ¡°What¡¯s yours? Why were you held by the Northmen?¡± The man cleared his throat once, using the remaining fingers on his left hand to scratch his beard. ¡°It¡¯s Dirk Curd, Lord Alden. Worked under Lord Vanzon,¡± He said after a moment. ¡°I must say, seeing ye here, ahm¡­ is unexpected.¡± ¡°I aim to reach Ludr, before the worst of the winter sets in,¡± Lucius explained confidently. ¡°You said Lord Vanzon, your name seems familiar. You were in Riverdor, back in the summer.¡± ¡°Aye, I was. Watched some of the tourney,¡± Dirk said, bending his fingers on his maimed hand again and again, as if to make sure, they were still working. ¡°My sympathies for yer brother.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Lucius grunted, not wanting to talk about it. ¡°You didn¡¯t answer my query.¡± ¡°I was captured, is all,¡± Dirk offered, playing it down. ¡°Why tortured and not killed?¡± ¡°It was on the cards, my lord. They just wanted to make the most of it,¡± He paused, face hardening at the memory, before adding. ¡°I guess they bit more, than they could chew. Lucky for me.¡± ¡°I owe you my life,¡± Lucius said getting up. ¡°I do not take this lightly, Mr. Curd.¡± Dirk shook his head, not agreeing. ¡°It was Luthos that saved us both, Lord Alden. Or some other god.¡± ¡°Just the same, you¡¯re welcome to join us, Mr. Curd. I shall reward you, when my mission is completed.¡± ¡°What is the mission, if I may inquire, Lord Alden?¡± Dirk asked him. Lucius considered not telling him, but after some thought, decided to go ahead with it. They¡¯ve lost a man recently. Gods were giving, same as they were taking away. ¡°You¡¯ll swear faith to me and mine, Mr. Curd?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not really an asset, Lord Alden. Not where yer going.¡± Lucius narrowed his eyes. ¡°Is that your answer?¡± Dirk cracked a pained smile. ¡°I¡¯m yer man, Lord Alden. If you¡¯ll have me,¡± He said, a hint of razz in his voice that perplexed Lucius. He wasn¡¯t used to sellswords hesitating joining his banner. On the other hand, he hadn¡¯t really recruited any of his men alone before, but for Galio. The rest of them were his father¡¯s people. Even Roderick. ¡°Have some wine, Mr. Curd,¡± He told him. ¡°As I try to explain, our mission.¡± ¡°Ye have O¡¯ Dargan¡¯s daughter here?¡± Dirk had gained most of his color, the warmth inside the carriage and the wine helping. Lucius nodded. ¡°How did ye capture her?¡±You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. ¡°I didn¡¯t,¡± Lucius replied calmly. ¡°Found her in Riverdor.¡± ¡°Why not give her up to the High King¡¯s men?¡± ¡°She asked for Regia¡¯s protection, my father gave it.¡± ¡°King Antoon, won¡¯t be happy hearing it. Nor Lord Vanzon,¡± Dirk commented. ¡°He won¡¯t hear it and Lord Vanzon should know, we don¡¯t attack women to avenge a man¡¯s crime,¡± The injured man on the process of drinking from his goblet, almost drown on it. Had to cough up most of it. Tears in his eyes. Lucius realized, the man was laughing. ¡°You find my words amusing?¡± ¡°Am I permitted to explain?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Dirk smacked his lips, placing his goblet on the wooden shelve secured on the carriage¡¯s wall, before answering. ¡°There¡¯s a war going on, my Lord. A real one. No tourney rules are applied.¡± Lucius blinked once, uncertain on his meaning. ¡°You mean, Lord Vanzon went ahead and attacked the O¡¯ Dargan¡¯s?¡± Dirk frowned deeply and rubbed his face hard with both hands, as if to rid himself of it. He wasn¡¯t successful. ¡°He did, but Jarl David took Wolvesbane Castle from the Crulls, before that using a ruse. Declared the start of the hunt and fooled everyone. Lord Vanzon believing the campaign season over¡­ sent his son over the Lud River with a sizeable force to¡­ attack Ludr. It wasn¡¯t the success we¡¯d imagined.¡± ¡°What happened?¡± Lucius asked him. ¡°We were cut off, most of the force destroyed between the river¡¯s smaller legs,¡± Dirk replied, tensing up. ¡°No prisoners?¡± ¡°Other than me, I don¡¯t know.¡± Lucius was appalled at the barbarism. ¡°Why would Lord Vanzon attack in the winter, without reinforcements?¡± ¡°None were coming, per our High King.¡± That foolishness with the Khan. Antoon had his eye on Raoz and there was danger, he¡¯d lose most of his Northern territories. Except Sovya, but could they be trusted not to rebel again, if the worst happened? Lucius grabbed his jaw with a hand, deep in thought. An all-out conflict changed his plans somewhat, but still this was not Regia¡¯s war and his father wanted the O¡¯ Dargan¡¯s kept on a leash and out of their lands. ¡°Stay in Kas for the winter, Lord Alden,¡± Dirk advised him. ¡°Everything beyond that is no man¡¯s land. You can¡¯t negotiate with the Northmen. Not when they smell blood.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see about that,¡± Lucius said getting up.
Roderick tackled him, the moment he climbed down the carriage. Pushed him hard behind it to avoid the eyes of the men. ¡°Unhand me!¡± Lucius gasped furious, but seeing the old man¡¯s eyes, he paused. ¡°What are ye doin¡¯ boy?¡± Roderick barked as angry, as he ever remembered him, just like he did, when they were young. Him and Ralph, always getting in trouble. ¡°Are ye tryin¡¯ to kill yerself? Is that it?¡± ¡°Calm down, you old fool!¡± Lucius snapped, his cheeks burning. ¡°Don¡¯t give me none o¡¯ that! Running uphill, no thought in mind! Almost getting killed, in the back end of nowhere and for what?¡± Roderick took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. ¡°The darn wench? Or is it Ralph? Ye think being a fool, will bring him back?¡± He added, placing a hand on his shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s not that,¡± Lucius snapped and pushed his hand away. ¡°What is it then? The young lad? He knew, what he was getting into.¡± ¡°Part of it,¡± Lucius wiped his mouth, the cold gnawing at him, after the warmth of the carriage. ¡°I don¡¯t want people dying under my watch. That¡¯s all.¡± ¡°Boy, you¡¯re to be the King of Regia. Not a chair general training troops outside a city. Men will die because of you. All the time. Ye get that? You¡¯ve a kingdom to run. A bloody throne to return to. I¡¯ll put ye there, if it¡¯s the last thing I do, ye know why?¡± Lucius was taken aback at his outburst. ¡°Why?¡± He croaked. ¡°Yer father is my family. I know how it sounds,¡± The old hand said, voice firm, as it always had been. ¡°You asked me once, why I didn¡¯t want to be a knight. That¡¯s it. I have no kids of my own, had no time for that, serving your father for all my life. I get to watch ye grow though, yer brothers as well,¡± He turned his eyes towards their camp, half-hidden by the bulk of the carriage. Breathed once deep, cold air not bothering him. ¡°This for me, is reward enough.¡±
The morning found them on the road again. The first month of winter nearing its end, the winds bringing even more clouds, more snow and the North engulfing everything it touched in its icy embrace. They followed the Screaming Road through the split in the rocky sinister mountains, unnamed white giants standing tall around them, ancient as the land they stood on, untamed, savage and free. It opened up as they started coming down from the heights, the cold bitter and unforgiving, not giving up an inch and equally stubborn as they were. A week, or thereabouts before reaching the walled city of Kas, the trees turned white, as if made of ice. The White Forest sprawling in the distance, at the mouth of the canyon they were following. The last city of the Duchy of Sovya and a safe haven, almost within their grasp. Everything above there, although no one could really tell, where there started, was Fetya. A host of forty camped next to the main road, was blocking their way. Banner moving in the wind above them, the square shape resembling that of the Legion, the letter L written on it. Dirk Curd standing behind him, eyes squinting to make out more details, scrunched his jaw this way and that, as if he¡¯d tasted something sour. ¡°That¡¯s the Numbers banner,¡± He said voice hoarse and barely heard over the wind blasting on them from all sides. Adding, when he saw Lucius, not grasping it at first. ¡°I guess, he brought the whole band wit him.¡± 25. Toss of a coin
Glen Toss of a coin
Marquette¡¯s bell kept ringing at monotonous intervals, as it entered the gulf, then crossed it sailing smoothly at two thirds speed and approached Altarinport, very early in the morning of the second month of autumn 188 NC, almost a month into their journey. A day¡¯s ride from the city of Altarin, the aptly named Altarinport was almost an extension of it. While nowhere near as secure as the much larger Rida¡¯s port, it was the second most important port situated on the continent of Eplas facing the Shallow Sea, along with Ri Yue-Tu, though the latter was located much further up north and it wasn¡¯t open for the whole season due to ice. Build with a fusion of the stout Issirian stone masonry, the marble obsessed Lorian touch and the rounded limestone soft lines that was indicative of the later Khanate designs, the small town supporting the port was said to be a diminutive Altarin or Rida, cities that both sported the same characteristics and similar architecture. At least six men-at-arms were waiting for them, the moment Glen jumped ashore. Plus a seventh, this one a sturdy mid-aged man of Lorian origins, a full set of black hair turned almost completely grey and cut short, clad in well-oiled mail and plate armor, with a Barbute helm kept in hand, a beautifully carved stallion decorating its top. ¡°Let me do the speakin¡¯,¡± Emerson said, putting a hand on his shoulder to stop him. Glen nodded and moved aside making a show of it, the older warrior¡¯s eyes staying on him for longer that he deemed necessary. Glen assumed a stern, noble stance, much as he understood it, eyes ahead, chest out and arms pressed tight to the sides. ¡°Relax kid, just let them get it over with,¡± Jinx teased, just as Emerson started their introductions.
¡°Sir Arno,¡± Emerson explained, Solomon Arno already frowning secure in his certainty of not liking his answer in advance. ¡°Young Glen, is my squire. Without wanting to insult Lord Reeves, or you, I want to ensure he reaches Altarin safe and under my care. Whether the Lord will wish him released from his pledge to me, it is something I will have to hear in person and consider. It was his father¡¯s desire I believe, to take the oath and become a knight.¡± Well, Glen thought, watching Sir Solomon Arno argue his case, in the normal and boring manner of the privileged. The whole knighting thing, is greatly exaggerated. ¡°I will accompany the young man, per my orders Sir Lennox,¡± Sir Solomon decided stiffly and Sir Emerson agreed with a polite grunt of his own. ¡°I shall not oppose, ye following us along Sir Arno.¡± ¡°Is that it?¡± Jinx asked scratching the area between her small nostrils carefully. ¡°Can we visit the town now? I have to pee,¡± Seeing the shocked looks on their faces, she added. ¡°What? Tis true!¡±
Glen waited for the last of the men to disembark, before pulling Captain Blackwood aside. ¡°What is it lad?¡± The mercenary asked, the back injury that had excused him from labor duties during most of their journey, miraculously not present anymore. ¡°I have to visit the port Master.¡± ¡°About that,¡± Glen started, keeping an eye on the doings of Crafton and that little thief Liko. ¡°I need the prisoners brought to Altarin.¡± ¡°You need¡­ why is that?¡± Dante asked. ¡°I can get the same price for their heads here.¡± ¡°We may go a different way,¡± Glen replied, keeping it as vague as possible. ¡°You wish them, tortured?¡± Dante probed raising his brows more humored, than disgusted. ¡°What¡­ no. Of course not! I may ask for their release, actually,¡± He cleared his throat a couple of times, while a stunned Dante digested his words. ¡°Make use of them, another way.¡± ¡°They¡¯re pirates, you know¡­ cutthroats?¡± The mercenary pointed, all civil. ¡°What about them?¡± Sir Emerson asked. He¡¯d managed to sneak up on them, after ridding himself of the tedious Sir Solomon. ¡°The young lord, wishes the pirates released,¡± Dante said slowly, as if to point out the absurdity of his request. Order, Glen thought.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. My coin, my prisoners. ¡°We can¡¯t decide that ourselves, Glen,¡± Sir Emerson said, with a frown. ¡°I understand, you may want to be lenient on them¡ª¡± ¡°I want them brought to Altarin,¡± Glen repeated. ¡°Listen young man, I was promised a good profit, if I kept them in line. I did,¡± Dante had made a great deal of effort to keep civil this time, the matter clearly bothering him a lot. ¡°How much per head?¡± Glen asked, becoming more and more acquainted, with how the grown-ups world worked. ¡°Half a silver,¡± Dante replied readily, all his discomfort melting away. ¡°Four silver Eagles, for all of them,¡± Glen said. ¡°Lad, what are ye doing?¡± Sir Emerson asked. Dante jumped at the opportunity. ¡°Yes, plus guarding duty¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯m already paying you, for that,¡± Glen cut him off. ¡°I¡¯m keeping them alive, until Altarin,¡± He explained to the scowling knight.
¡°What if your grandfather refuses yer request? Ye haven¡¯t yet secured, whether he¡¯ll take you in the family, or not,¡± Sir Emerson kept pestering him all the way to the western town gates. They faced to the direction of Altarin, following the banks of Teid River. The big river had its sources at the distant Northwall Heights. The extended mountain range was a natural barrier between the Khanate¡¯s Northern territories and the Duchy. ¡°It is just a request,¡± Glen insisted. ¡°It¡¯s not insulting, I think. We¡¯re in a foreign land, are we not?¡± ¡°Ye are worried, they¡¯ll try something else?¡± Another attempt on his life, was his meaning. ¡°Are you not? Those ruffians back in Castalor. Somebody sent them,¡± Glen said and he watched Sir Emerson taking it in. Reaching to what he believed was the reason for his act of kindness. ¡°They asked for clemency. Promised ye loyalty. You mistake their words as sincere, lad. Ye don¡¯t want them hanged because you¡¯re merciful, I understand that. Shows yer character. But they are criminals, never to be trusted,¡± The knight went on, Glen not really listening. Hell, he was a criminal. Was he trustworthy? Glen believed he was. To himself, first and foremost. He wanted more people on his side, in case things took a turn for the worse. Sure, it didn¡¯t seem likely now. But Luthos had a nasty sense of humor.
¡°So we¡¯re not going to Altarin?¡± Zola asked sounding troubled, the prospect of getting back on a ship, not pleasing. She¡¯d unbuttoned the top of her tight leather shirt, showing a good amount of cleavage, which was very distracting to Glen. That Issir woman is very easy on the eyes, he thought appreciatively, Jinx giving him a wink, catching his stare. Glen ignored her and returned his attention on the mercenaries¡¯ animated discussion. ¡°What? Why not?¡± Soren protested, surprise all-over his flushed face. Dante sighed, under the watchful eyes of Jinx, the pink haired girl strangely quiet during their exchange. ¡°The contract is up,¡± He explained to the rest of the Gallant Dogs gathered around him, the majority of their ¡®travelling party¡¯ already on their horses. That would be Sir Lennox and Sir Arno, the six men-at-arms, Crafton, with a grinning Liko sitting in front of him, the hooded Lith and even the still chained pirate prisoners. ¡°The young lord is safe and on the way to meet his family. We can stay in Altarinport for a couple of days, take the next ship to Issir¡¯s Eagle, and enjoy the Capital.¡± ¡°Not much here to do,¡± Soren complained. ¡°And the Issirs hate us Northmen.¡± ¡°Pale, what do you think?¡± Dante asked. ¡°Where do you stand?¡± Mr. Victor Hook shrugged his shoulders, which could have gone either way, Glen thought. ¡°I¡¯ll take it, as a yes to my proposal,¡± Dante readily clarified, what to the rest wasn¡¯t as clear. ¡°That¡¯s two aye¡¯s and two nay¡¯s,¡± He stared at Jinx for the deciding vote. Pretty glanced at Glen watching them, mischievous smile on her mouth. ¡°Ye want us comin¡¯ along, sweet cheeks?¡± She teased, giving him the dirtiest of gazes. ¡°We have a good thing going, but I ain¡¯t paying ye no thirty gold for keeping me company,¡± He said blushing fiercely, but pushing through despite it. He wasn¡¯t gonna let her manipulate him. ¡°How much, to keep ye company?¡± Jinx purred, like a cat in heat. ¡°A gold a day. For the whole crew.¡± ¡°Pfft, milord yer cheap,¡± Jinx blew a pink curl off her face. ¡°I pass. Better flip a coin Captain.¡± ¡°Why chance it?¡± Zola complained, not wanting Luthos involved. With good reason, Glen thought. ¡°Not liking this, Captain,¡± Pale said gravely, thinking along the same lines. ¡°Can¡¯t we make her vote? Beat her up a little?¡± Soren asked, giving Jinx a glare. The Gish raised a thin middle finger in response. ¡°Oh, for fuck¡¯s sake,¡± Dante gasped, getting a round silver Eagle out of a pocket. Glanced at it once and then tossed it high up in the air, the coin catching a sunray and shining like a small star, before he caught it deftly, with his right hand. ¡°Heads we leave,¡± He announced all pompous, giving it the flair that he was most famous for. Then opened his palm, for them to see. Luthos chuckled. It was tails. 26. Things learned on the road
Jinx Things learned, on the road
There was something in her bloody boot. It hurt, when she walked, bothered her, even while riding on the saddle. A nagging ache that drove her insane. Jinx puffed hard, decision made and raised a lithe left leg over her horse¡¯s head, then crossed it over her right thigh on the saddle. She let the animal follow the others on its own for a while and went on to remove her worn-out leather boot. It wasn¡¯t easy, boot sole and foot practically glued together, but Jinx was nothing, if not determined to get it done. Her foot got freed some time later, the fact she was still standing weirdly cross-legged on the saddle, a feat worth of note unto each own. Jinx smiled and let the sun wash over her face, before raising the boot and looked inside for the culprit. Seeing nothing, she smacked it once with the other hand. Naught had come out, but a cloud of powdery dirt. Piss on that then. The Gish, tongue logged firmly in the right side of her mouth and small rosy tip protruding just a tad, went to work on her dirty toes next. One at a time she pressed them apart, deft finger digging in, until she found the tiny pebble stuck between her big toe and the one next to it that wasn¡¯t as big, and flicked it away. The nagging ache gone for good. ¡°Are you gonna put that away?¡± Dante asked her a couple of minutes later, give or take a couple of minutes more. Eh, whatever¡¯s. Her head tossed back, enjoying the sun on her face, back arching and the cool air tickling her naked sole alike a lover, while still in that same acrobatic pose. Jinx opened a foggy eye, small tear running down her cheek and the sudden light smarting. The rhythmic movement of her mount had almost lulled her to sleep. ¡°Just lettin¡¯ it breathe, ye know?¡± She said, eyeing his mouth forming a naughty smirk, just like he always did. ¡°It¡¯s what the rest of us want as well, Pretty. I hope, it doesn¡¯t come as big a surprise to you, eh?¡± Dante jested, face all serious and Jinx chuckled standing up straight, right hand massaging her stiff neck. ¡°You hate my foot. Is it the toes?¡± She teased. ¡°I can have ¡®em shortened for ye.¡± Dante laughed in turn, the matter as silly as anything they¡¯d discussed, over the many years they had known each other. Half of Jinx¡¯s life really. ¡°You got your wish,¡± He said, after sobering up. ¡°No, I didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Hated going back to Kaltha,¡± Dante insisted, bringing his mount closer to hers. They were almost at the end of their long procession, following the cobblestone road west, towards Altarin. The Teid River visible over their right shoulder, insects buzzing, birds chirping and the sun strong for the time of year. ¡°For some reason, you don¡¯t feel safe there.¡± ¡°It¡¯s called instinct, your reason. I listen to it,¡± Jinx retorted, with a pout. ¡°Is that a woman thing?¡± Dante asked, raising a brow. ¡°A Gish¡­ thing,¡± She replied. ¡°Right,¡± He lowered his voice. ¡°You trust Glen all of a sudden?¡± ¡°It has nothing to do wit trust and ye know very well, I believe he¡¯s lying.¡± ¡°Then what?¡± ¡°Luthos has his eye on him, or some god, I think,¡± Jinx said and Dante grimaced in disbelief. ¡°Is this about him besting the Cofol?¡± He glanced around them, but their exchange seemed to have gone unnoticed. ¡°The¡­ girl did her in, Pretty. Not Glen, I was there.¡± ¡°Fighting,¡± Jinx corrected it for him. ¡°While I stood and watched the whole thing, from where I¡¯d hid,¡± Dante pulled back from her, visibly upset. ¡°Well, thank you for being honest, I guess.¡± ¡°Fighting that¡­ girl, was a mistake boss. Akin to suicide,¡± She added, not wanting to say anything more. Cessara and Kirk are dead for it. Dante nodded, the frown on his face deepening. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen anything special from her. Aiming sure, but I¡¯ll pick you anytime over our blue-haired demon.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not that good,¡± Jinx replied. ¡°I don¡¯t know her class. All of them had one. A calling. Or more, if she¡¯s of the Royal line. She could be centuries old.¡± ¡°Bah! I can¡¯t¡­ The books don¡¯t mention this at all.¡± ¡°The Gish have their oral history, Dante. I trust it more,¡± Jinx insisted. ¡°It was a foolish gamble.¡± Dante puffed his cheeks out frustrated. ¡°I know Zestari was not a good employer. It¡¯s on me, you¡¯re right. But the last two contracts, gave me¡­ gave us, quite the purse, Pretty. Knowing you, you have those sacks filled to the brim,¡± He paused and watched the road for a moment, before continuing. His next words, two hurried queries. ¡°Why not vote for it? Leave it to chance?¡± ¡°I said, I think he¡¯s watched over by a god,¡± She explained. ¡°I¡¯m not sure. So I let Luthos decide for me and he did,¡± Jinx glanced his way. ¡°Unless ye fixed the flip. For me.¡±This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Dante let out a deep sigh. ¡°I did,¡± He said sounding troubled. ¡°To protect you.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter then?¡± Jinx asked, not getting it. So a reluctant Dante, had to make it clear. ¡°It didn¡¯t work.¡±
Zola was riding her mount in front of her, long white hair all made into thin cornbraids, caught in turn at the nape. Her Oval face the color of warm chocolate and lips generous, but not as much as her bosom. There sweaty skin gleamed under the sun at her exposed cleavage. ¡°Pretty,¡± Zola said warningly, cutting her reverie short. ¡°Something on your mind?¡± Yer tits. ¡°Talked to Dante,¡± Jinx said instead to keep it civil in front of the boys, pushing her horse to walk alongside hers. ¡°And now my head hurts.¡± ¡°He wanted us on a boat, back to Kaltha,¡± Zola droned, apparently familiar with the subject. ¡°Yeah, he told me as much.¡± ¡°He did? Well,¡± That double-dealing son of a dick! ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡°Honey, we made good coin these couple of months,¡± Zola said. ¡°And this, getting paid to walk him home, or whatever,¡± She hooted, ¡°I¡¯ll do that gladly, than go exploring the Blasted Lands, with a crazy and murderous Cofol on tow!¡± ¡°Aye,¡± Jinx nodded. She realized her leg was still crossed over the saddle, but the discomfort was gone. Up went her leg over the horse¡¯s head and then down as she returned to riding in a normal stance. Zola eyeing her shenanigans, suspicion on her pretty face. ¡°I know, you¡¯re impressed, even aroused.¡± Jinx said, her voice a purr. ¡°It is perfectly normal.¡± ¡°Fuck are you talking about?¡± Zola snapped. ¡°Both of us wanting to visit Altarin was a sign,¡± Jinx insisted. ¡°Sign of what, you crazy cunt?¡± ¡°Yer falling under my spell bad,¡± Jinx explained seriously. ¡°I¡¯m notoriously difficult to resist,¡± Her words hanging between them for a good moment, before Zola let out a roaring laugh that spooked their horses and caused a number of stares thrown their way from the men. ¡°Perhaps your best yet¡­ yeah, haha!¡± She said, tears in her eyes. ¡°I¡¯m serious,¡± Jinx pressed on calmly. ¡°My skillset is expansive and diverse. I please both heart and cunt.¡± ¡°Dear gods,¡± Zola gasped still chuckling. ¡°I¡¯m afraid to ask on the difference.¡± ¡°Ye shouldn¡¯t, tis simple really. I¡¯m excellent both in fuckin¡¯ and makin¡¯ love,¡± Jinx replied thoughtfully. ¡°Right,¡± Zola wiped the tears off her face. ¡°See, every time we talk, you turn it into something like this,¡± She sighed. ¡°You can¡¯t applaud yourself, Pretty. Another must praise you, for it to count. You get that, right? Ah, and there¡¯s something ye lack,¡± The Issir paused, hearing her shocked gasp. Zola gave her a side-glance, saw her standing there flabbergasted and added. ¡°It makes all this¡­ not working for me. Diverse skillset, or not.¡± ¡°How can you be sure?¡± Jinx asked her, then added accusingly. ¡°Did ye watch me perform? Hmm? Was it wit that whore in Castalor?¡± She sighed. ¡°I was coming down wit something!¡± Zola thought about it for a time. ¡°No,¡± The Issir replied, after she did. Another quiet moment ensued, a frustrated Jinx unable to let go. It was like having a pebble stuck between her toes all-over again. ¡°The fuck do I lack?¡± She hissed not long after. Zola¡¯s retort coming without any hesitation. ¡°A cock.¡±
Sir Solomon Arno watched her pull alongside him, uneasiness apparent in his stance. ¡°Miss Jinx,¡± The knight said stiffly, avoiding her face. ¡°I¡¯m a Gish¡­ from the Sinking Isles,¡± Whisper Jinx deadpanned. ¡°Ahm¡­ Well, I haven¡¯t had the¡­ pleasure,¡± Sir Solomon replied, after a couple of false starts. ¡°Thought¡­ no offense, your lot only existed in the stories.¡± ¡°Not many of us around these parts?¡± Jinx asked with a smile, letting the insult slide. The Gish had thick skin as a species. There¡¯s no way around it, if ye want to sleep under the water. ¡°On Eplas? Not that I know. Are there many on Jelin?¡± The knight asked. ¡°How should I know?¡± Jinx replied in kind. ¡°We don¡¯t keep track of each other.¡± Sir Solomon sat back on his sturdy stallion. ¡°I apologize for my words Lady Jinx,¡± He said, looking straight ahead. ¡°Ah, don¡¯t get your tits in a wringer about it,¡± Pretty had already shrugged it off, but Sir Solomon blinked a couple of times stunned at her coarse language. ¡°I won¡¯t,¡± He said after a time. ¡°I understand you work for young Lord Reeves. I was a friend to his father.¡± ¡°Ahm, well it didn¡¯t start that way,¡± Jinx replied. ¡°A Cofol hired us to find his father, but we fell on him and Sir Emerson instead.¡± ¡°A Cofol?¡± ¡°Aye, turned out she¡¯d murdered him. Glen killed her for it, I reckon,¡± Whisper Jinx explained. ¡°Gave us a contract after that and here we are.¡± ¡°Oras curse her,¡± The knight said frowning. ¡°I didn¡¯t know Sir Glenavon had a son. It¡¯s quite a shock to all of us.¡± Jinx nodded, seeing Glen¡¯s back a couple of horse¡¯s lengths away, almost at the start of their small convoy of men and animals. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for yer friend,¡± She said to the wallowing knight and went to talk to the boy.
The cunning young man, more muscle on him, than what he had a couple of months back, saw her approaching and turned to greet her, a mess of hair hiding his eyes. ¡°I see yer making the rounds,¡± He said in his shifty tone, more a vagabond than any noble scion Jinx have ever known. ¡°Strange ye noticed,¡± She replied. ¡°Learned anything of note?¡± Glen asked vaguely, as if that could fool her. ¡°I don¡¯t have a cock,¡± Jinx deadpanned and watched him squirm on his saddle. ¡°Can I borrow yours? Yer not using it anyway. Right?¡± ¡°For fuck¡¯s sake,¡± Glen cursed, all red in the face. ¡°Can¡¯t you be serious for a moment?¡± Jinx sighed. Everyone and their stupid hidden agendas. As if the world cared, as if it mattered in the long run. ¡°It won¡¯t be easy, whatever yer plans are,¡± She told him cryptically, her voice kept low -more an attempt to piss him off- and seeing the Zilan perking up out of the corner of her eye, she added, putting a plan of her own in motion. ¡°Especially wit her around.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°It¡¯s easy to cover for yerself Glen, if you¡¯re focused. Much harder, when yer attention is split. At some point, ye have to let her go.¡± The last words intentionally almost a whisper, Glen barely got. Lith, riding well ahead of them, pulled at the reins abruptly and stopped her horse. Waited for them to reach her and proceeded riding by their side after that. Her jaw clenched, sensual lips pressed into a thin line. That is a hunter¡¯s gift, Jinx thought, with a satisfied smirk. No other way to get it. Unless the blue cunt, is fuckin¡¯ royalty. 27. Trust no one
Elsanne Trust no one
Elsanne felt the floor dance under her naked feet, the sizzling soapy water making it slippery on top of that and she almost went down. She extended her hands and touched the wet walls of her narrow cabin panicked, to keep her balance. Uher, this is ridiculous. ¡°Loes!¡± She called and the door opened, her maid entering barely visible amidst the vapors, a big towel in her hands. Elsanne stepped naked from the corner, she¡¯d commandeered and turned into a private bath and walked tentatively into the soft towel. ¡°How did you know?¡± She asked tying it around her chest. ¡°Half the ship is puking. The pirates too,¡± Loes replied and they both giggled at that. ¡°Is the corridor empty?¡± Elsanne asked, when they calmed down a bit. ¡°The road to your room is clear, Princess,¡± Her maid teased. ¡°But this is a ship full of cutthroats. Never to be trusted.¡± ¡°Race you to it?¡± Elsanne teased, grabbing the handle. ¡°Just keep the towel on,¡± Loes droned. ¡°You¡¯re getting top heavy.¡± ¡°What?¡± Elsanne snapped, with a frown. ¡°Run Princess,¡± Loes urged her, deathly serious. ¡°It¡¯s a busy corridor.¡± It wasn¡¯t, but still they moved quite fast and locked themselves into Elsanne¡¯s quarters. According to their rather prickly Captain, never in the history of pirating had a crew member so much space, like her person. Scandalous, he called it. ¡°Don¡¯t lace it to the top, for Uher¡¯s sake!¡± Elsanne complained, as Loes heaved and pulled at the laces, face flushed, the fight with her almond colored slim-fit shape shirt unending. ¡°I can¡¯t breathe!¡± ¡°Too much stuff is showing!¡± Loes insisted, not willing to let go. Elsanne stooping, checked for herself. ¡°I¡¯ll throw a cloak on top, that blue velvet one,¡± She relented. ¡°Maybe loosen up the top knot a bit?¡± Loes recoiled in horror at the suggestion. Right. Thank Uher, I can survive on half-breaths. There was a knock on their door. ¡°We are busy!¡± Loes snarled, already in the process of looking for her fancy cloak. ¡°Who is it?¡± Elsanne asked, dragging her words, to buy her time. ¡°Your husband,¡± Prince Radin was heard outside the door. ¡°Ahm, I don¡¯t think we¡¯ve officially, tied the knot¡­¡± ¡°Your brother gave me your hand, in front of the whole Riverdor,¡± The Prince droned, not liking being made to wait. ¡°I¡¯m expected to live in your quarters.¡± ¡°Surely, you can¡¯t anticipate me to fulfil my wifely duties,¡± Elsanne continued all polite, throwing the soft light cloak Loes handed her, over her shoulders. ¡°In the middle of this awful sea storm?¡± You could hear the Prince¡¯s sigh, through the door. ¡°I just want to talk with my wife,¡± He said subdued. Aww, that was kind of sweet, she thought blushing. It took her a good minute to beat it out of her system and give him permission to enter.
¡°I thought you were too injured to walk about dear,¡± She said, signing for him to sit on a lone chair. The Prince rolled his eyes and collapsed on it. ¡°That was two weeks ago.¡± Elsanne sighed pretentiously. ¡°Time flies, when in good company. Right Loes?¡± ¡°Can she step out of the room?¡± Radin asked, for some reason not looking that well. His mood worsening by the second. ¡°Are you seasick? There¡¯s a bucket, I used it to wash my feet earlier¡­¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. ¡°I¡¯m fine. But I want us to talk in private,¡± The Prince insisted, less frustrated than before. Was it her comment? Elsanne slowly hid her naked feet, under the long chemise. ¡°Just talk?¡± She asked, thin white eyebrow raised for emphasis. ¡°Yeah, on my word,¡± He retorted. ¡°Loes, please wait outside,¡± Elsanne ordered her frowning maid. ¡°I¡¯ll need the chair,¡± She countered and the Prince jumped up shaking his head. He carried it outside for her himself. Elsanne thought it was very kind of him.
Prince Radin didn¡¯t talk, when the door closed leaving them alone, in the absurdly small cabin. He didn¡¯t say anything, even after Elsanne pouted self-consciously not liking being ignored for so long. She played with one of her gold rings, the floor dancing under her naked feet, small diamonds catching the oil lamp¡¯s light and shining brilliantly. The air thick and difficult to breathe. ¡°We¡¯ll make a stop at the reefs,¡± Her husband said, just after she¡¯d convinced herself that he wouldn¡¯t, his penciled eyes the color of gleaming coal. ¡°It would be the last before Eikenport.¡± ¡°The Reefs?¡± She probed. ¡°The pirates have a¡­ base of operations there,¡± Radin explained. ¡°Ahm, are we just friendly with them?¡± She wasn¡¯t stupid. If he wanted to talk politics, or inform her on etiquette, Elsanne wanted to know where they stood. We¡¯re in this together, she repeated his words in her head. ¡°The Khan came to an agreement with them¡­ it¡¯s been, almost a decade.¡± Radin explained, after a thoughtful pause. ¡°My brother, isn¡¯t aware of this.¡± ¡°No, I believe he¡¯s not.¡± Elsanne sat back on her elbows on the small divan, letting her toes show under her chemise. Her back was hurting and the Prince kept his eyes on her face all the time, so she wasn¡¯t worried. ¡°What was the agreement?¡± She asked, returning his stare. Prince Radin smacked his lips. ¡°Immunity. The freedom to stay in one place, provided they didn¡¯t attack the Khan¡¯s ships.¡± ¡°The Khanate, has no fleet on this side of the Scalding Sea,¡± Elsanne pointed, what was common knowledge to the lowest court assistant. ¡°That is true.¡± She shook a wayward curl out of her face. ¡°I don¡¯t understand, what he gains from this.¡± ¡°No Issirs, or Lorians approach Eikenport. None have for decades. The pirate reefs, as we call them, are standing between Castalor and Eikenport.¡± ¡°An old, ruined port. Destroyed ages ago,¡± Elsanne said, recalling what she knew of the distant city port. ¡°A port, we slowly rebuilt anew,¡± Prince Radin added. ¡°A place I wish to have under my control.¡± ¡°Your control?¡± ¡°I was given Dia Castle, as a fourth son,¡± He explained. ¡°I rebuilt part of Jadefort, which allowed me to rule over the Jade Lake. It is not enough.¡± Elsanne nodded. He wanted more. It was good that he was ambitious, exciting even, but that didn¡¯t explain, why she was here. Prince Radin seeing her pondering on it, guessed correctly. It was impressive and a little arousing. ¡°The Issirs will fight us for the Duchy. You being here, secures a third option and the freedom coming from my people, distrusting you,¡± Elsanne stared in his handsome exotic face dumbfounded. Her earlier feelings crashed. ¡°That¡¯s not very romantic,¡± She¡¯s blurted out, her blush darkening her skin even more. ¡°You don¡¯t want them near, Princess. It¡¯s a gift, not a curse.¡± Says you, but still, not¡­ very appealing, Elsanne thought, narrowing her eyes. ¡°Is this why your¡­ mentor, elected to remain ashore?¡± She asked, genuinely not happy with his explanation. ¡°Because it was strange, how he just disappeared,¡± The last word dying on her lips, as the Prince moving fast, covered the distance between them in the blink of an eye and fell on her, trapping a stunned Princess of Kaltha underneath him. Elsanne, face flushed and murder in her eyes, made to open her mouth, but Prince Radin put a finger on her lips stopping her for the second time, since she¡¯d met him. He looks¡­ furious, Elsanne thought, as much scared, as surprised. She was expecting lust, not anger. Radin lowered his head, her jade eyes gawking large with panic and heart beating wild in her chest; kept moving closer, missing his chance for an open kiss, another surprise and whispered in her small ear his breath tickling. ¡°Never speak of him again.¡± Elsanne blinked, in a state of complete shock. ¡°Why?¡± She croaked, when he removed his hand. ¡°There are three sides in Khanate politics, Princess,¡± Radin said, voice barely registering. He¡¯d a wicked mouth though, clean breath and teeth, Elsanne had to give him that. ¡°The Khan, myself and the Heir. More really, but these are the ones of note.¡± ¡°The Heir to the Khanate doesn¡¯t see, eye to eye with his father?¡± Elsanne asked breathlessly. Having his whole body pressing on her on the small sofa, was terribly distracting. A lot of her parts were tingling something fierce. ¡°I liked it, how you assumed my differences with him, are to be expected,¡± He said with a smile, giving her a little more breathing room. ¡°But to answer your query, aye. My bigger brother, will only do her bidding. The man you mentioned, is her right hand. That woman, is extremely dangerous and has an agenda of her own. What will come of it, is still undetermined.¡± ¡°The one the Duke offended. That is his wife,¡± Elsanne noted, slowly putting the pieces together. ¡°We will never talk about this again, not freely, not without taking precautions,¡± Prince Radin said getting up and freeing her in the process. ¡°Do not assume my words, when in their presence are sincere. She¡¯s a monster and the man that saved us, is one as well.¡± Elsanne sat up straight and examined his face. ¡°What are you saying, Radin?¡± She asked, using his name for the first time, a sudden chill on her skin, where her cloak had fallen back. The Prince returned her stare, with an appreciative grin and stooping, always nimble her husband was, planted a kiss on her soft lips. His answer, a warning. ¡°Henceforth, trust no one.¡± 28. Flucht’s seventh page
Wim Luikens Flucht¡¯s seventh page
It is said that when Reinut the Great, reached the far end of the Great White Mountain Range, the spine of Jelin as people call it, extending from Jelin¡¯s Edge to almost the banks of the Canlita Sea and right at the knee of mighty Comorego River, he stopped and declared his journey over. There amidst the Greywood Forest and the river, where Midlanor now stands, everything the Issirs had brought with them, was deposited. Not much was left, that much is true and what they called the Grand Archive, the Lorians mocked as a glorified ancient warehouse. Midlanor, the city aimed to be the last and the edge of a great man¡¯s empire, grew around the sturdy two-story dark-stone building. Eventually, the Issirs crossed the mountains and attacked the north adding more territory to their kingdom, making Midlanor more a city in the center of Kaltha, which was strangely what its name meant, in the old tongue. ¡®In the middle¡¯. Flucht¡¯s journal, was discovered in 178 NC, almost two centuries after the man died, rotting away under piles of old armour and rusting relics. Eelco Flucht, had been Reinut the Great¡¯s quartermaster according to the old King himself, or the closest advisor according to the scholars that took it upon themselves to make sense of what happened. Two buildings shade the Grand Archive in Midlanor. The Seat of Uher on its eastern side, a church resembling a square barbican with large stained glass windows, and a round tower with no windows at all on its west, the famed Tower of Spears. It was impossible to read for the most part, as it was written in an old style scripted shorthand, no one could initially figure out. The parts more easy to deduce too cryptic, or delving on matters very difficult to measure, even comprehend and especially after the older generation had passed away. It was eventually relegated to a mere curiosity. Rogier Rosman, a self-proclaimed but popular Master Alchemist, working for the Order of the Golden Spears, is rumored to have made a critical breakthrough. It was neither in the theological field as his colleagues expected, nor in history, but in science of all things. Agents were dispatched to silence the curious man and prevent his findings reaching the light of day. He fled, hidden by his supporters, the word was.
There, color is almost right, Wim Luikens noticed, bald spot on his head an angry red and sweating, thick glasses making his eyes look huge, as he measured his concoction again. The mixture appearing a thin yellowish-white in the glass tube as it slowly settled into liquid again. He¡¯d used animal fat boiled with purple crystal, left to mature for three days and nights, to create a glycerin syrup, what cooks used for sweetener, according to the third page. In that he introduced green mold for another three days, after which he added in turn, two measures of spirit of niter and one spoon oil of vitriol. All instructions found in page number seven. Hmm, it¡¯s true then, just like diaphanous snow. When the chemical reaction ends, wait for the color to turn clear, the page read, the scientist writing it two centuries in the past, precise in his instructions, his peculiar numeric-based shorthand that so confused historians and theologians, pretty clear to one of Rosman¡¯s brightest student¡¯s. Infinity symbol, for as long as it takes. A dot, for do not stir. A minus before the Sun, for keep it from the heat. Sighing deeply, Wim raised his head from his alchemy desk, towards the small window of his cell. The sun already up, a whole night spent watching the slow process unfold, but his body didn¡¯t feel tired. Approaching the locked heavy door he knocked, to have the guard come to the small opening. ¡°Inform the Grand Inquisitor, if you please,¡± Wim said, his youthful voice at odds with his decrepit appearance. ¡°What should I say?¡± The Gold Spear¡¯s soldier asked brusquely. ¡°I have it,¡± Wim said simply.
Maas Vellers, Inquisitor of the Order, the man standing next to the large office table, had clenched his square jaw so hard, his teeth grinding, Wim could hear bones crackling. Rinus Kelholt on the other hand, remained calm in his comfortable seat, hands crossed in front of him, gold and white robs giving his emaciated face a dignified posture.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°I can provide demonstration,¡± Wim added and made to produce the small vial he¡¯d kept in an internal pocket of his tunic. Maas snapped violently his way and backhanded him hard in the face, almost throwing him down. ¡°That is enough,¡± Kelholt ordered, voice impassionate. Wim tasted blood on his lips. He licked it slowly, savoring the iron in the taste. This time he brought the vial out carefully and showed it to the two men. ¡°What is this?¡± Maas growled, having already convinced himself that Wim was a charlatan. Kelholt cleared his throat, his composure unchanged. Wim wasn¡¯t fooled, as the old man was the worst predator of the two. ¡°I don¡¯t see Uher¡¯s Light, child,¡± The High Magister and Grand Inquisitor of the Order of the Golden Spears, said. ¡°It needs, some type of reaction. A stimulus, if you prefer,¡± Wim explained as fast as he could. ¡°In order for it, to¡­ produce what was described in the incident.¡± ¡°A prayer?¡± Kelholt chanced, only half-joking. ¡°Fire would be my first guess,¡± The young alchemist replied. ¡°Guess?¡± Maas crooked his mouth. Not very tall, but muscular and nimble, he could kill Wim with one hand. ¡°He¡¯s mocking us, milord.¡± ¡°What would be the second?¡± Kelholt probed, disregarding his man¡¯s words. Wim stared at the door behind him. It led outside Rinus Kelholt¡¯s pretentiously austere office, the man being one of the richest in Kaltha, to what was essentially an internal yard of the Barbican. He took a step back, then another one, Maas narrowing his eyes. ¡°Ahm,¡± Wim started glancing, first at the fuming Inquisitor Vellens and then the remarkably serene, High Magister. ¡°If your excellency kneels under his table. Take cover, is my meaning. I will provide demonstration.¡± ¡°Why would we¡­¡± Maas barked, but Kelholt, showing great agility for his age, pulled him back, just as Wim tossed the small vial towards the sturdy, iron reinforced door. He hoped for a flash of sorts, perhaps a show of lights with a bit of a bang. Something to prove his value to the leadership of the Order. Something to save his neck. The small vial traveled the small distance fast, but not too much for his eyes to miss its flight, and broke on the hardwood surface of the door, creating a blast that knocked him clean off his feet and on the back wall of the office. A very big blast. The explosion was so huge and unexpected, its power so immense, Wim fainted on impact. When he came about seconds¡¯ or hours later, smoke and debris everywhere inside the room, deaf and bleeding from the ears, Wim realized there was no door anymore. No wall, but rumble and Maas was standing over him blood on his face, one hand bend the wrong way, bone protruding grotesquely under his skin, and murder in his eyes. ¡°Killed two people, you piece of shit!¡± The Inquisitor spat just as his hearing returned and smacked him hard enough to bang his head on the wall behind him and brake his glasses. Wim went down, another bleeding wound on the back of his balding head, too dazed to defend himself. Mass stooped and put a boot on his neck, unsheathing a dagger with his good hand, intent on killing him right then and there. Wim coughed and tried to get away, tears in his eyes, when he felt the cold blade on his neck. ¡°Stop this nonsense!¡± A disheveled solemn faced Kelholt ordered, saving him at the last minute. ¡°He killed our people!¡± Maas protested vehemently, unwilling to spare him. His broken hand probably fueling his hatred. Kelholt walked towards them and put a hand on the man¡¯s shoulder. His voice serene again and dignified, despite the smoke and ruckus all around them. ¡°It was unfortunate. But I saw it with my own eyes, child,¡± The Grand Inquisitor said, his conviction absolute. ¡°That was Uher¡¯s Light.¡±
Whatever his breakthrough may have been, it went out in the second month of winter of 183 NC, with a loud bang. It is said the light of Uher fell on the hapless man, turned night into day and leveled a city block, leaving nothing but rumble in its place. With him gone and his research pulverized or melted, depending on which report one reads, Flucht¡¯s journal was lost as well, but for a few highly coveted pages, allegedly. Rumored to be seven in number, only one of them whole. Till this day, none has been retrieved. Speculation on what was on it, on the very nature of the weapon as wild, as are its presumed many appearances, in the hands of despicable alchemists and their abhorrent deeds and experiments, in the massacres that followed. Lord Sirio Veturius Chapter III The Magic of Science Circa 221 NC (Posthumous release)
29. If ye bleed for it (1/2)
Kalac If ye bleed for it
The arid land of the Central Steppe ended abruptly, when the first Palm trees appeared. The scenery and the ground beneath their feet had changed. Dragontoe River, which was in reality three smaller rivers becoming one that in turn poured into Jade Lake, was flanked by the Raun River to the Northeast and created a marshy, bamboo infested zone, with patches of Palm trees mixed in between. It was believed that if one followed the tepid waters to their sources, he could perhaps discover the ancient passage over the Pale Mountains that lead to Wetull proper. Officially no people made the journey, but despite what was assumed in the mainland continents of Eplas, or Jelin, this wasn¡¯t an unpopulated area. ¡°The fort is rebuilt,¡± Their scout Nimra, son of Akenat, reported. He¡¯d managed to catch up with them, three days after their scrap with the Khan¡¯s cavalry. The small built man almost killed his horse in the process. "For the most part,¡± He added. Kalac smacked away a huge insect savoring his blood and stared at the barely visible behind the giant-trunked bamboo forest structure. They¡¯d crossed the first two legs of Dragontoe River a day back, opting to avoid the only man-made path reaching this far. The road coming from the distant Eikenport, used three bridges to go over Raun and Dragontoe, reached Jadefort from the other side, than the one they were now standing on and ended in Dia Castle, the last hold of the Khanate this side of Eplas. ¡°What does that mean? For the most part?¡± Tarn asked, while Kalac examined the square tower behind the brick walls in silence. ¡°There¡¯s no wall, on the side facing the lake,¡± Nimra explained. ¡°Been there?¡± Belec asked. ¡°Aye, cursed place.¡± ¡°Is the water foul?¡± Kalac queried. ¡°Aye, it is. Plants as well. Irritate the skin. I wouldn¡¯t let our animals touch them,¡± Nimra replied. There was vegetation all around them, the shade a welcomed relief after weeks under the sun, flowers of many colors, and fruits green and red, with yellow mixed in. Strawberries large as oranges that smelled of sulfur. ¡°Nobody eats or drinks anything, without making sure, it is not poisoned!¡± Kalac announced to his men, turning on his saddle. ¡°It goes for the horses too. Eyes open people!¡± ¡°What about the fort?¡± Tarn asked, sweat on his sunburned forehead. ¡°There¡¯s at least two crews of workers, might even be slaves, but I couldn¡¯t tell for sure,¡± Nimra chipped in, before he¡¯d time to answer. ¡°We hit the guards, cut them from their horses. Use arrows to start, sabers to finish them off,¡± Kalac decided, having a sip of his water. There was more, all around them, but they couldn¡¯t trust it and their horses seemed hesitant to taste it. ¡°Split in two groups, one will draw them out, the other will hide behind in the thicket until they commit, rush the fort through the opening. Mind the tower for scorpions, or archers. They are not expecting us. Make the most of it!¡± ¡°What about the workers?¡± Tarn asked, as cheers followed his words, the men eager for action and plunder.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. ¡°They are mostly living in huts outside the fort, probably waiting for supplies, to continue work,¡± Nimra had spent the better part of the previous day, watching them. ¡°Spare them, if they are slaves,¡± Kalac replied, face hardening. ¡°Slay the Khan¡¯s men.¡± Tarn nodded, face grim. He didn¡¯t like it, but they were at the end of their tethers. They needed a win to survive. They had to earn it. This was the law of the steppe. Every young warrior learned that, heard it from his battle-scarred elders, as they herded together tightly, humans and beasts alike under the stars, the campfire¡¯s gleam on their eyes.
You¡¯re free, as long ye can ride. A Horselord don¡¯t need to breathe, don¡¯t need to eat, or drink, Ye are allowed to live younglin¡¯, if ye bleed for it.
The Khan¡¯s patrol, bringing clean water to Jadefort from a natural spring, situated near the lake and the bridge crossing it, slowed down seeing the riders approaching them. Four guards, white hardened leather armour worn over cotton tunics and five people, four Cofols and a Lorian manning the carriage with the barrels. Three of them women. Kalac sucked a deep breath in through his nose and held it. ¡°Who goes there?¡± One of the Cofol guards bellowed, as Kalac allowed Kind Eyes to move at a gentle trot towards them. ¡°Caravan from Eikenport,¡± Kalac yelled back to be heard, armed bow held low before him, strong sun on his back. The bearded Cofol narrowed his eyes, as he couldn¡¯t make out his weapons and armour. ¡°When did you cross the bridge?¡± He asked, suspicion clear in his voice. Kalac raised his bow and send an arrow through his neck, instead of answering. A perfect shot. He kicked his legs next and charged, bow now secured on its saddle, long saber in hand, as the man dropped gurgling incoherently, drowning in his own blood, two more of his colleagues following him, nailed through heads and torsos multiple times. The fourth, eyes wild with fear, fumbled with his spear, as Kalac charged him galloping like a madman, hooves digging the soft ground and heart beating, just like his mount¡¯s. He reached him in a breath, blade coming down with tremendous force, splitting the shaft in two, slicing through armour and the hapless guard, from neck to navel. Kind Eyes crashed into the guard next, man and horse weighting almost a ton and he heard his opponent¡¯s bones crack, the man going one way, his spilt inwards the other, dousing Kalac in foul smelling gore. One of the workers in the carriage sitting at its front, with an outraged cry got up and went for her bow. She raised it deftly and fired, showing great skill, as Kalac wholly engrossed in his task, rode through the momentum of his charge, towards the slow moving target. The Horselord heard it more, than saw it coming. He ducked right and under it acrobatically, left hand holding him on the saddle, felt it fly angry over his left shoulder, body almost all out and slashed with his right, catching her below the knee. The saber cleaved through flesh and bone, blood spattering him in the face, severed leg tumbling away and the woman screaming her lungs out, as she fell from the carriage. Her snapping, when she landed. Kalac pulled hard at the reins to turn around the moment he got back on the saddle, his horse¡¯s legs slipping on the ground and the blood thumping in his ears. But it was all over. They had killed them all. Tarn reached him a moment later, jaw tensed, arm painted red to the elbow. Pointed towards the fort¡¯s outer walls. ¡°Here they come,¡± He said and Kalac allowed himself to breathe for the first time, since he charged that first guard. 30. If ye bleed for it (2/2) Part II ¡°LET THEM FIRE FIRST!¡± Kalac cried out, his eyes on the parapets, just as the first volley of arrows whistled above the line of soldiers, aimed at them. The moment they were on the air he kicked his legs and Kind Eyes charged again. It wasn¡¯t much more than a hundred meters to the yellow-brick walls, another thirty after the turn to reach the opening, but still too bloody distant. All ten of his men escaped that first volley, and charged in an oblique line towards the soldiers forming up to block their path. No cavalry, but shield carrying spearmen. Kalac was worried about the archers on the parapets more, but he had to trust Belec and Nimra to deliver. Make the distraction count. Unless there was cavalry coming. The distance loomed large, when he dashed forward, the archers reloading and firing an arrow every other second and the soldiers, while slow to react to their charge, expecting them to flee given their numbers, they did start pushing the butts of their spears into the soft ground. An arrow grazed his face, peeling the skin off his left cheek, as he crossed the field in a breath. He veered right putting the line of spears, between him and the archers above, aiming for the last soldier in the single file formation, every rider behind him following his lead, aligned behind him now. The spearheads turned, people scrabbling to adjust and move to block them, the soldier everyone was going for, ogling his eyes in panic. FLEE! Kalac screamed inside, the whole charge lasting mere seconds, from start to finish.
If ye stay firm in a charge, ye¡¯ll win it. It¡¯s that first time that¡¯s difficult.
The soldier dropped his weapons to dive out of the way, as Kalac, teeth clenched so hard he felt them cracking in his mouth, jumped his horse as if he was in the Circus, man and animal launching in the air, ground and dust clouds covering everything, the man stooping to avoid the horse¡¯s hooves screaming over his head. Tarn following right behind him, separated the head from his shoulders, with a brutal downward cut. The rest of their formation turned oblique again and pivoted, a well-drilled maneuver this, to hit the soldiers from the sides.
Kalac slashed a man¡¯s face away, got a spear thrust in his thigh, grabbed it with his left hand, as it retreated and pulled hard, weapon and soldier stumbling forward, the latter trying to block his blade, with his neck. The blade won. Kind Eyes twisted and turned almost throwing him, neighed maddened and deathly scared, blood on his snout and raised on two hind legs, taking an arrow intent for him in the belly. Kalac jumped from the saddle, landed on two feet and yelped almost going down, the pain on his leg immense, the blood painting his pants dark. A tall Cofol charged him with a spear and he parried it away with his saber, then jumped to the side, cursing and groaning in the same breath. The soldier made to rush him again, got his left hand chopped clean off by one of his men thundering by, the horse knocking him on his back. It was chaos. People screaming panicked, or horribly maimed, others cursing the gods and praying at the same time, animals neighing blind and deaf with fear. Death a salvation. The clanging of weapons and the whistle of arrows a constant clamor. The soldiers broke and run, the five of the dozen that were still alive and four of his ten riders, charged their exhausted horses after them. Another one of his men was standing three meters from Kalac and that was it. The other four were lying dead and ruined, somewhere on the ground. Moving as fast as he could on a bad leg, grinding his teeth, he rushed towards the opening.
Kalac reached it just in time to witness the man standing next to Tarn, probably Dulen, but he could have been mistaken, get skewered through the chest, the two meter heavy bolt, nailing him on his saddle, killing his horse in the process. Tarn turned his head one way eyes wild, saw Belec busy killing the archers, then the other and spotted Kalac limping his way, all the while the man before the entrance of the tower, reloaded one of the two Scorpion artillery pieces there. More heavy-crossbow, than artillery piece, but that wasn¡¯t a detail Kalac was interested in at the moment. Tarn tossed him his own bow and an arrow, then turned and charged his horse on the frantically working the lever soldier, saber in hand. Kalac caught the bow in the air with one hand, arrow with the other. Nocked it, as a bellowing Tarn was stopped short of his target, a bolt ripping through his horse¡¯s chest and disappearing inside, the man flying off the saddle and crashing down four meters away.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Kalac aimed, blocking everything out, but his target. The soldier was already in the process of putting another bolt in, when he saw him and turned the lethal machine his way. He released true before him and put an arrow in his brain, through his right eye. The next moment the flat of a blade, turned mid-air due to his opponent rushing his slash, in a desperate attempt to save his colleague, got a solid hit on the side of his helmet, mashing his right ear and threw him dazed on the ground. ¡°MOVE!¡± Tarn yelled from where he¡¯d fallen and Kalac rolled away on instinct and pure adrenalin, dust in his eyes, trying to avoid his opponent¡¯s killing blow. He got a kick in the stomach next that knocked the air out of his lungs, managed to get his saber out, only to lose it, when his opponent swatted it away, with a curse. Kalac half-dodged half-leapt for his blade, but the man beat him to it and kicked his right hand away. He missed his head in turn, the blade striking the ground, not even an inch away. Kalac, muscles screaming, blood in his mouth, tried to get to it with his left, managed to touch the handle, before his opponent¡¯s sword came down, got him below the wrist and went clean through flesh and bone. He screamed something fierce and pulled his maimed left arm away, the wide arc spraying blood everywhere, even on his opponent¡¯s face. He took his chance and kicked him as hard he could, rage turned to strength, with no skill involved, right at the knee. Kalac felt it snap under his boot, the knee-bones splintering, the man howling desperate and doubling down, just as the Horselord lost his consciousness and collapsed on his own knees.
¡°Kalac!¡± Tarn screamed in his face, a moment later, or a thousand, deathly worried. ¡°Thank the Gods!¡± ¡°Where¡¯s my horse!¡± He snapped at him. ¡°He¡¯ll live! It¡¯s ye I¡¯m worried about. You¡¯ve lost too much blood!¡± He looked at the ruin of his left hand, wrapped up, but still bleeding, then at a frowning Belec holding the red hot iron and nodded. Kalac did break two of his teeth biting on the piece of hard leather, Tarn pushed in his mouth. He didn¡¯t remember much after that.
He woke up later in the day and almost went down, when he tried to stand. Kalac didn¡¯t recognize the room he was in, but it didn¡¯t take him long to realize he was inside the tower. Grinding his teeth, chipped ones hurting his tongue, he started walking towards the heavy door. Mouth bitter, as if poisoned and head heavy, but nothing hurting as much as the wound on his hand. The men had cleaned and dressed it, but this wasn¡¯t an injury that would heal anytime soon. Or ever. He was maimed, never to hold a bow again. The thought fueling his resolve, as he slowly descended down the narrow stairs, until he reached the first floor. One of his riders guarding the entrance, recoiled as if he¡¯d seen a ghost. ¡°Open the bloody door!¡± Kalac ordered him, rage in his voice.
They had captured the fort in the end. Six of the Khan¡¯s soldiers had surrendered, alongside nine slaves. The soldiers were still in their armour, but for one who was wearing a blacksmith¡¯s apron. Belec had them standing in a straight line. ¡°Where is he?¡± Kalac asked a grim faced Tarn. ¡°He¡¯s dead. Belec got him from the parapet,¡± The man replied. ¡°But you had him hurt badly. You saved my life, Kalac, son of Duham. The fort is yours.¡± Kalac wiped his mouth grimacing, the pain gnawing at him, impossible to ignore. Decision made, he grabbed Tarn¡¯s saber and unsheathed it before the man had a chance to react. Walked up to the first soldier and slashed his neck open. The others recoiled and tried to get away, but his men stopped them, using their own spears as deterrent. He watched the first soldier slowly bleed away and then walked towards the next in line. ¡°Kalac,¡± Tarn said, standing behind him. ¡°You have to arm them, to make challenge. This is not the way.¡± Kalac raised his maimed hand. ¡°Who wants to fight me?¡± He growled, but no one seemed eager to try. ¡°They are rats,¡± Kalac said turning to face Tarn again. ¡°We don¡¯t have to feed them and I don¡¯t want them as slaves. We have aplenty.¡± ¡°I can help,¡± A man said. Kalac turned to see, who it was. ¡°I can help, with your hand,¡± It was the man with the apron. ¡°Are you a dottore?¡± Kalac asked, steel in his voice. ¡°I am not. I¡¯m a blacksmith. A very good one. I can make you a new one.¡± ¡°Make what? Speak clear you fool!¡± Kalac roared, the pain driving him insane. ¡°Or I¡¯ll cut ye next!¡± The Cofol bravely, took a step forward. He wasn¡¯t very tall and his head was too round for a Cofol, the eyes standing too far apart, but he was solidly built, his arms heavy with muscle and his voice showed his conviction. ¡°I can make you a new hand,¡± The man said, adding when he saw Kalac thinking it through. ¡°Even make it, so you can use it. Hold a sword, or use the bow.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re lying, I¡¯ll take both your hands, as punishment,¡± Kalac warned him. The man nodded, losing some of his color. ¡°If you spare the men, I¡¯ll make it out of iron, or bronze.¡± The Horselord, glanced towards his men listening to their exchange. ¡°You heard the man!¡± He roared and tossed the saber to Tarn, who snatched it deftly out of the air, visibly relieved. ¡°He makes me a hand I can use and I will spare them. On my word, as Kalac, son of Duham!¡± The men roared back their agreement, praising him for their recent success and his bravery. When the sun set over the horizon, they lamented for those lost. Feasted and rejoiced on their plunder, food, wine and slave flesh alike. The fires burned bright into the night, the skies black above their heads and the large lake near them, eerie quiet. Neither birds, nor animals disturbing its still surface. Everything growing around its jade colored waters withered and sickly. As if nature itself was dying. 31. Second of your name
Glen Second of your name
Altarin wasn¡¯t as big as Castalor. It didn¡¯t have its ports for instance and there were less Issirs present here, its population mostly made out of Lorians and some Desert people. The latter were Cofols that preferred living just outside the borders of the Khanate, or were just fucking spies, as Jinx in her cynical manner described. The city itself much as Altarinport, a montage of three cultures, with stone, brick and marble making up for neat, colorful and well maintained neighborhoods. Built on the south bank of Teid River and facing the distant mountains, it lacked fortifications. The Lord¡¯s residence, a two story walled manor reached via a spacious paved avenue that crossed Altarin at its mid-point, being the most secure structure Glen spotted, along with the barracks at the other end of the city. The mercenaries and the rest of their entourage, chained pirates included, were led to one of the two smaller buildings situated behind the walls flanking the main; Glen and Sir Lennox following Sir Solomon Arno inside the impressive black stone and green marble manor.
There was a large mahogany table before the occupied Lord¡¯s throne, several smaller but comfortable chairs hugging it, quite a few goblets and a beautiful engraved silver carafe on its surface. Glen thought he could secure a fat purse for it, even at this market. ¡°Lord Reeve¡¯s,¡± Sir Solomon made the introductions. ¡°Sir Laurel,¡± The thin and wiry built young man wearing plate armour and spurs narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing Glen. ¡°Sir Lennox,¡± The Lord of Altarin and the Duke¡¯s Shield, Elliot Reeves said. Over sixty, he¡¯d short cut white hair, a well-groomed white beard and sported a darker-shade of amber eyes than Glen, another bizarre coincidence. ¡°I take it, the young man is Glenavon?¡± ¡°Aye, my Lord he is,¡± Replied the knight. Glen, having played out the scene in his mind a good number of times, stepped forward stiffly and bowed his head deep. ¡°Lord Reeves, it is an honor to make your acquaintance!¡± His voice climbing up an octave at the last part, ruining it a bit. The old man examined him silently for a moment, the hint of a smile on his mouth, before turning to Sir Emerson. ¡°I welcome you to Altarin, Sir Lennox. I understand, you were on good terms with my son.¡± ¡°Thank you, Lord Reeves,¡± Emerson grunted, as much polite with Lords, as he was with the common people. ¡°Unfortunately, I couldn¡¯t provide help this time.¡± The old Lord nodded once in understanding. ¡°Nephew,¡± Lord Reeves said to the frowning younger knight watching their exchange, Sir Laurel. ¡°Leave us please. While it is a family occasion, matters of state will be discussed. Everyone else, clear the room.¡±
The moment everyone had cleared out but for Sir Solomon, who had quietly stayed back to guard the doors a good distance from them in the large hall, Lord Reeves got up, walked towards the table and helped himself to a goblet of white wine from the fancy carafe. He refilled the silver goblet once more, before speaking. ¡°You can approach, Sir Lennox. You too young man,¡± Lord Reeves stared at the contents of his goblet before continuing. ¡°It¡¯s a local vintage, vines make this yellow-green small grape, of excellent taste. Please have a cup with me, Sir Lennox. Young Glenavon as well.¡± Glen made to move towards the table, but Emerson stopped him putting a hand on his chest. ¡°He doesn¡¯t hold wine that well, my Lord,¡± He said, to the watching Lord Reeves. What? Glen narrowed his eyes, furious with the knight stabbing him in the back. ¡°Why is that?¡± Lord Reeves asked curious. ¡°He lived with his uncle, a Northman,¡± The knight explained, as if anyone would believe that! ¡°He is more partial to ale, I think,¡± Sir Emerson added. Well that was better, but still not good enough, Glen thought still miffed. ¡°A Northman,¡± Lord Reeves repeated, examining Glen more carefully now that he was standing closer to him. ¡°Approach young man,¡± The old man said, apparently he wasn¡¯t standing close enough, adding just as he started moving. ¡°I want to have a good look at you.¡±
¡°You got your father¡¯s hair and my eyes,¡± Lord Reeves murmured, rough hand touching Glen¡¯s face. ¡°The rest, must be your mother¡¯s,¡± he added after a thoughtful pause. The old Lord and also his Grandfather, Glen supposed. Glen gulped down slowly, trying to keep still and avoid sweating too much. He managed the first, failed miserably at the second. ¡°Where is she now?¡± Lord Reeves asked dropping his hand, but keeping his eyes on his face. ¡°She died, giving birth¡­ to me,¡± Glen croaked. It wasn¡¯t a lie technically. Lord Reeves scrunched his mouth, more wrinkles appearing on his face. ¡°I see. You are a bastard then?¡± ¡°Sir Glenavon had taken her as a wife, my Lord,¡± Emerson intervened. ¡°Her brother, can vouch for it, as he was a witness to the event.¡± ¡°Where is he?¡± ¡°Here, with the others,¡± Emerson replied readily. ¡°We were attacked by pirates on our journey, forced to stop at Bayspell. I found him there and convinced him to follow us to Altarin. He wasn¡¯t easily swayed.¡± Lord Reeves raised a thick white brow. ¡°Why is that?¡± ¡°I believe he feared inconveniencing you, my Lord.¡± The old Lord laughed at his words. ¡°I can believe that. Where is he from?¡± ¡°Fetya. But he hasn¡¯t been there in years,¡± Emerson replied. ¡°Perhaps Sir Glenavon thought it was unwise politically to bring a Northern wife here. After she died, well¡­¡± Lord Reeves let out a deep sigh and went to refill his goblet a third time. ¡°He didn¡¯t want to repeat, what his father had done to him is your meaning, Sir Lennox,¡± He said, his tone neutral. ¡°I never married his mother. I couldn¡¯t. My father had arranged for me to marry a child, at the time. After she died, it took me a long time to recognize him, despite Glenavon living here. When I did, I had already bequeathed most of my lands to my brother and I suppose, my nephew that was just here,¡± Lord Reeves smiled. ¡°I guess he¡¯s rather nervous, I might decide to take everything back.¡±This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Sir Emerson didn¡¯t comment to his long diatribe, preferring to taste the local wine. He made a grimace, when he did, which was strange as the wine was excellent according to Glen. He¡¯d managed to gulp down his, when no one was looking. Its effects already making him woozy.
¡°When did you see him last?¡± Lord Reeves asked, snapping Glen out of his euphoric state. He licked his lips, before answering, the taste of the wine strong and a little bitter. ¡°Ahm, I found him¡­ on the shore,¡± He answered trying to remember the ¡®correct¡¯ version of events. ¡°Wait, when was this? You mean after he left to deliver the message?¡± The old Lord snapped, with a frown. ¡°Aye. Bodies washed out on the beach. I went to see what was going on, lots of people came to the island that day, strangers and Cofols. Though I didn¡¯t know that at the time.¡± ¡°Cofols?¡± ¡°Assassins,¡± Sir Emerson explained. ¡°After I talked to him¡ª¡± Glen didn¡¯t manage to finish, as he was interrupted again. It was messing up with his rhythm getting stopped every time and ye gotta have that, to lie properly. ¡°He was alive?¡± Lord Reeves asked, interest piqued. ¡°Barely. I believe he was poisoned, but still managed to get to a boat and reach Shroudcoast,¡± Glen replied as confident as he could, making it up as he went along. ¡°What did he say?¡± ¡°Not much, wanted me to have this returned,¡± He retorted readily, offering the shield-shaped gold badge to the old man. The Lord of Altarin took it slowly in his hand, shock in his face and eyes misty. ¡°What happened to their ship?¡± Lord Reeves asked no one in particular, his eyes on the gold badge, a thumb caressing it gently. ¡°A Cofol assassin got to him and the ship,¡± Lord Emerson answered, seeing Glen pretending to be sad, to get the most out of the gold trinket. Not that the knight knew he was doing it. ¡°Admitted as much, when she cornered us later. They were looking for his body.¡± ¡°I tried to get help¡­ but the moment they saw the Shield, they tried to kill me,¡± Glen continued the knight¡¯s words, milking it for all it was worth. Half of it true, the rest made up. ¡°I circled to the shore, got his body¡­ on the boat and escaped into the sea.¡± ¡°Where is his body now?¡± Lord Reeves asked quietly, securing the badge on the right side of his tunic. Glen sighed, unsure what he¡¯d told the knight about this part. ¡°I buried him near a clear water spring. At the beach, where I washed out.¡± ¡°He means the Lazuli Peninsula,¡± Sir Emerson helped. ¡°I got lost,¡± Glen added, lowering his head. ¡°Sailed way out of course.¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t your fault,¡± Lord Reeves decided, old wrinkled face grim. ¡°We need to find him and bring his body back. But it can¡¯t be done right now.¡± Glen nodded, unsure if he could find the grave again. ¡°You said she admitted it later,¡± Lord Reeves asked the knight. ¡°Sir Glenavon, sent word asking for assistance, when he reached Kaltha,¡± Emerson said. ¡°The same people trying to kill Glen after murdering your son, hunted me down as well. I also run to Lazuli Peninsula, but from Castalor. I almost didn¡¯t make it, as they were intent on covering their tracks and steal that letter,¡± He pointed at the sweating young thief. ¡°Met him where Oakenfalls once was. Knew who he was, the moment I laid eyes on Sir Glenavon¡¯s sword. Watched him carve the words on it myself. This story surprised many that heard it, but it is true on my word of honor, my Lord.¡± Lord Reeves nodded, accepting it. ¡°What happened next?¡± He asked, wanting to learn more details. ¡°That Cofol assassin followed us there, with some hired blades. Probably it was me that led them to that plaguin¡¯ place, for that I¡¯m not as sure. The boy killed her in the scuffle, other people were lost as well, like my squire.¡± ¡°So you¡¯ve taken Glenavon in his stead. Was that the reason?¡± Lord Reeves queried. ¡°It¡¯s what his father wanted. Him as well,¡± Sir Emerson replied. ¡°You know, I prefer him under one of my people,¡± Lord Elliot said, staring him intently. ¡°You¡¯re the Lord of Altarin and his closest kin, should ye accept him,¡± Emerson said simply, crossing his hands on his chest. ¡°I wanted him to reach here safe. I owed it to his father and my friend. On yer word, I shall consider my duty fulfilled.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t take it the wrong way. I appreciate your help, Sir Lennox,¡± Lord Elliot pointed. The knight nodded. ¡°As I said, it is your call, Lord Reeves. Your decision and yours alone.¡± The old Lord rubbed his forehead with a hand, then signed for them to sit on the table. He took one chair for himself, the frown on his face easing for a moment, as he watched Glen sitting next to him. ¡°I¡¯m an old man,¡± Lord Reeves started. ¡°Only thing I wish for right now, was for my daughter to be here and spend the day talking with you about your father,¡± He turned towards the knight sitting across from him. ¡°But I can¡¯t. Time is precious. I know you delivered Glenavon¡¯s message to the High King.¡± ¡°We did. To an official, a good friend of mine,¡± Sir Emerson replied. ¡°Well, that¡¯s what I was informed happened. No point in rehashing it, and I¡¯m growing rather tired,¡± He paused, glanced at the silver carafe and then at Glen. The old Lord caught him with his cheeks puffed out and smiled warmly for the first time. ¡°Pour me another cup Glenavon. Meeting you, was a welcome surprise young man. Gods give same as they take. I guess, you¡¯re the second of your name now.¡±
¡°Did you ever come to find out,¡± Lord Reeves asked sometime later. Sir Solomon had joined them at the large table. ¡°What was in the letter the Duke sent?¡± ¡°We haven¡¯t,¡± Sir Emerson replied. ¡°Though I inquired. Several times.¡± The Duke¡¯s Shield stared at his right hand man deep in thought. Glen, a little tipsy, stared his way as well, found nothing of note. ¡°Antoon agreed to send the first Royal Foot to Rida. It will arrive in the next couple of weeks. Elements have landed already,¡± Lord Reeves said. ¡°Has the Khan declared war?¡± Sir Emerson grunted. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± Lord Elliot Reeves¡¯ nonchalant reply, stunned him. ¡°It doesn¡¯t? Why would the Duke, or the High King for that matter, wish to escalate this further?¡± ¡°There is no other way.¡± Sir Emerson snorted, pushing back on his chair. ¡°I know your family holds power in Lesia,¡± Lord Reeves said seeing him seething in silence. ¡°The Duke, whom I serve, is a vassal to Kaltha. I want your word, what I will say to you now, won¡¯t reach them.¡± The knight narrowed his eyes, not liking it. Glen on his part, had almost fallen asleep, the politics boring to him. ¡°If it involves Lesia, I can¡¯t make that promise, Lord Reeves,¡± Sir Emerson replied. ¡°It does, in a sense. It involves everyone in the three Kingdoms, Sir Lennox,¡± He smacked his lips, face a little red from all the wine he¡¯d consumed. ¡°But perhaps it doesn¡¯t matter. Soon there will be war.¡± ¡°Wishing for war, is not sound, Lord Reeves,¡± Sir Emerson warned. The old man shrugged his shoulders. ¡°I don¡¯t. A Zilan visited Rida in the start of summer,¡± He started, missing the Knight¡¯s shocked expression. ¡°She asked for the Duke¡¯s title and his lands.¡± ¡°A Zilan. That¡¯s¡­ impossible. Was she¡­¡± Glen couldn¡¯t understand at first, why the knight was so stupefied, having missed parts of their conversation. The parts he didn¡¯t miss still hadn¡¯t registered fully. ¡°She was. Imagine this, Sir Lennox. The Heir to the Khanate, the next great Khan, will have her as his Queen consort,¡± Lord Reeves filled in the blanks he left and Glen perked up, suddenly all curious. Have who, as his Queen consort? ¡°We can¡¯t have that. Antoon can¡¯t allow it,¡± Lord Reeves continued, his voice tense. ¡°This land, his rule, the treaties. If a Zilan rules on Eplas, they don¡¯t exist.¡± ¡°Was he certain though? It was a Zilan?¡± The knight asked in disbelief. ¡°A follower of Nesande. A vile witch, for all intents and purposes. My brother was there, but couldn¡¯t confirm it initially. She used a spell, even dark magic, but it didn¡¯t work on the Duke. I can¡¯t tell you why, but he saw through her evil. The only thing he regrets is letting her leave, with her head still attached to her shoulders.¡± A Zilan? Glenavon the second thought shocked, almost dropping from his seat. Our Lith? Luthos cock caught in a vise! Then remembering more of the conversation, he almost recoiled in horror. What in slovenly fuck¡¯s sake, is a Queen consort? 32. No con is that long
Emerson No con is that long
Suddenly, everything made sense. Every small little thing falling in its place. Neatly and with grace, the way only truth could. The Cofols hunting them, Lord Molders not wanting to speak about it and the High King electing to give up his sister, than confronting the Cofol Prince publicly. He couldn¡¯t. Nine times out o¡¯ ten, his late father used to say; an animal refusing to attack ye is lame, or plaguin¡¯ scared. Glen stopped suddenly and fell behind them. They were walking down one of the long corridors of the manor to their assigned quarters, following a servant and Sir Arno. Emerson turned, saw him scrunching his face this way and that, before opening his mouth to ask whatever it was bothering him, unable to hold the question in. ¡°I don¡¯t believe it,¡± Glen said. ¡°If she was working for them all along, then why risk her life, helping us?¡± Emerson had reached him in the meantime, Sir Solomon and the old servant, watching the young man surprised. ¡°Who is she, young lord?¡± The servant asked, but Emerson put a hand on Glen¡¯s chest, to stop him from answering. ¡°Now is not the time,¡± He told him sternly and added throwing a glare at the curious servant. ¡°He has been on the road for months. Answered enough questions already, I reckon. I¡¯d like to get to our rooms now.¡± ¡°Of course, Sir Knight,¡± The man said, face turned pale.
¡°Where are the others?¡± Emerson asked, minutes later, when they reached their bedrooms, via the hall facing a warm and spacious common room, on the second floor of the manor. ¡°They are staying in the East House, next to the stables, Sir Knight,¡± The servant replied. ¡°What about our prisoners?¡± Glen blurted out, before he¡¯d time to stop him. His question piqued Sir Solomon¡¯s interest this time. ¡°We called for a sergeant-at-arms to come and take them,¡± The grey-haired knight replied. ¡°It will be swift our Lord¡¯s justice, rest assured. By their admission and crimes, there¡¯s nothing to be said really. Their sentence for proven piracy, well established. They¡¯ll hang in Altarin¡¯s main square, two days from now.¡± ¡°Can the Lord stay that order?¡± Emerson asked quickly, not because he thought it unfair, but because he wanted to prevent Glen from saying something, they couldn¡¯t take back, or explain away. ¡°You wish them tortured?¡± Sir Solomon asked, appalled and a little disappointed. ¡°No, Sir Arno. I don¡¯t. But the young Lord paid for their delivery and I¡¯d like to see his wishes fulfilled on the matter,¡± He replied brusquely. The man took a step back surprised. ¡°I understand,¡± He relented, after a thoughtful pause. ¡°What are his wishes, Sir Knight?¡± ¡°He will speak on the matter, with Lord Reeves,¡± Emerson said matter-of-factly. Sir Solomon grimaced, not liking it. ¡°Lord Reeves asked not to be disturbed for an hour,¡± He said through his teeth. ¡°But there will be a private dinner served later, to which young Glenavon is of course invited.¡±
Emerson grabbed young Glenavon the second, by the collar and pushed him against the wall of their large room, the moment the door closed behind them. ¡°Gah?¡± Glen cried out, trying to breathe, eyes ogling scared and his face all flushed and sweating. ¡°What did we say about mentioning her, lad?¡± Emerson grunted after a tense moment. He released his grip on him and Glen dropped down on jelly legs. ¡°I didn¡¯t?¡± He croaked.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Ye would have, had I not stopped ye.¡± ¡°Did you hear, what he said?¡± Glen asked, fighting back. ¡°I was surprised, weren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Of course I was! Don¡¯t be an idiot!¡± Emerson snapped, but caught himself and breathed once deeply to calm down. ¡°We must never mention her. Ever. It is a death sentence, considering how things are right now. The High King is willing to fight the Khan over her, they¡¯ll kill us without batting an eye. Trust me on this one.¡± ¡°He¡¯s my grandfather,¡± Glen said, sounding deflated. ¡°Aye, lad. He is. Don¡¯t put him in this position.¡± ¡°You think she lied?¡± Glen asked, a moment later. ¡°Probably,¡± Emerson replied, clenching his jaw. He used a hand to brush his beard, deep in thought, before adding. ¡°But what ye said earlier, makes sense. She could have killed us twice over all this time, helped herself to the letter, but didn¡¯t. Do you know why?¡± He asked with a deep sigh. ¡°She plays the long con?¡± Glen replied, always distrusting of people. Emerson couldn¡¯t blame him, with all that had happened. ¡°No con is that long, lad,¡± He replied with a grimace. ¡°I think, that was another one. Another of her kind, Uher help us.¡± The possibility gave him grave concern. Glen cleared this throat. ¡°Another¡­ advisor to the Khan?¡± ¡°Not advisor ye fool! His spouse more like. They can have three or four of them. Though the Cofols are a bit loose on the terms, their depravity well documented,¡± Emerson snapped, before explaining it for him. ¡°When you say loose¡ª¡± Glen insisted, for some reason stuck on the matter, so Emerson had to stop him dead, with a glare. ¡°Not a word,¡± He warned and a sulking Glen had to agree.
A well-rested Lord Reeves raised his eyes to stare at the young man, over his lavish dinner table, a couple of hours later. It was a gamble, Emerson knew it, but he had to offer Glen something, before he snapped and put everyone else in danger. It will take a good deal of time, for him to learn the pitfalls of public life, he thought. Especially, with a war looming over all their heads. ¡°My Lord,¡± He started but the Lord of Altarin stopped him with a wave of his hand. ¡°Let him speak his mind, Sir Lennox.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like them spared,¡± Glen said, sounding nervous. ¡°My Lord.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Lord Reeves asked. ¡°They asked for clemency and I believe they can repay their debt to society, another way.¡± Emerson crossed his arms surprised at his thought out answer. ¡°What would that way be, young Glenavon?¡± Lord Reeves asked, examining him carefully. ¡°Help us, in whatever mission, or difficulty, we¡¯ll face next,¡± Glen replied readily. Lord Reeves nodded and turned towards the guard standing by the doors of the first floor¡¯s public room. ¡°Bring them in,¡± He ordered. Emerson grimaced, unsure on what the old Lord¡¯s intentions were, as the eight miserable looking former pirates entered. Mr. Stiles leading their lot. ¡°Are these the men then?¡± Lord Reeves asked Glen, after he stared their way for a brief moment. ¡°Aye, my Lord,¡± Glen answered quickly. ¡°My grandson,¡± Lord Reeves started, after hearing his reply. ¡°Has asked for clemency for your crimes. He¡¯s young, but has a good heart, which is to be commented,¡± One of the pirates smiled at his words, the others looking relieved but for Stiles who had, what was probably, a permanent distrusting scowl on his face. ¡°Won¡¯t you agree?¡± ¡°Aye milord!¡± Several of them eagerly murmured, looking towards a blushing Glen. ¡°Young Glenavon, your mercy is hereby noted,¡± Lord Reeves said, steel in his voice. ¡°Sergeant these men are pirates and murderers. My decision stands. Take them away.¡± The guard saluted and turned to lead them away. Glen stepped forward and Emerson frowned knowing he couldn¡¯t stop him in front of his grandfather. ¡°Wait sergeant,¡± Lord Reeves said, seeing him trying to think of something to say. ¡°Young Glenavon, you wish to object?¡± ¡°Ahm¡­ I¡¯d like a more lenient punishment, my Lord, or an amendment, if you so wish,¡± A scared Glen muttered. ¡°Not all should perish, at the very least.¡± The latter words struck rather strange to Emerson. His whole speech, was peculiar. ¡°You have a favorite?¡± His grandfather asked, with a small smile. ¡°I don¡¯t really¡­¡± ¡°Pick one, young Glenavon,¡± Lord Reeves said and Emerson narrowed his eyes, furious at the old man¡¯s game. ¡°The one you pick, shall live his life as your slave, in the Eplas custom. The others will face their fate.¡±
Glen gulped down nervously, a tremor in his right leg visible to all at first. But it went away gradually, face changing, even hardening; the lad turning into a man, before the Knight¡¯s very eyes. Glen turned his head towards the demoralized pirates, as a thoroughly surprised Emerson observed and pointed a thin finger on one of them. ¡°Spare him,¡± Glen said, voice firm and commanding, to his rather shocked audience. It was Stiles, the one he picked. The man accepted his salvation stoically, managing to not bat an eyelash, while his former colleagues were dragged outside and to their doom, by the guards. Their screams and curses for this betrayal, falling on him and the young Reeves scion alike. 33. Sometimes its better, to just say no
Jinx Sometimes it''s better, to just say no
Bubbly bubbles floated to the surface of the stone horse trough. A fine trough this is, Jinx thought pushing more air out her lungs, lips flapping and disturbing the clear water. Her eyes open, since they weren¡¯t smarting under water and her mind relaxed in her post orgasmic euphoria. Doing nothing was very high in her priorities and one of the main reasons for making the journey to Altarin. The less the danger, the happier the Gish were this world over. A long shadow stepped over her, tall and mysterious he could have been, but Dante¡¯s extravagant silver belt buckle, let that particular cat out the fuckin¡¯ bag. Jinx raised her wet pink mess of a head out of the water and felt the tickle on her exposed nostrils turn galling, for a moment. ¡°Hello Pretty,¡± Dante said, teasing gleam in his eye. ¡°Took me a while to find you.¡± ¡°Hmm, I was here the whole time,¡± Jinx replied, reluctantly stepping out of the trough, water pouring down the stable¡¯s hard-packed ground and the chill making the fine hair on her hands rising. ¡°Mind putting something on?¡± Dante asked with a smirk. ¡°There are young kids running around the premises.¡± ¡°Pfft, kids these days are practically the worst perverts,¡± Jinx replied, finding the dirty vest she¡¯d haphazardly thrown away earlier and putting it on. She made a show of it, teasing grin on her lips. ¡°I told you to burn that,¡± Dante remarked, with a grimace of fake disgust. ¡°And decent women put their pants on first, for the love of Uher.¡± ¡°Not any women, I know,¡± Jinx deadpanned, with an ¡®aha¡¯ following swift, when she located her leather pants. She showed him her fit backside, stooping deftly to pick them up. ¡°Hence the decent part, Pretty.¡± ¡°Uhm.¡± ¡°Right, how was the water?¡± The Captain of the Gallant Dogs asked with an eye-roll. ¡°Cool, ye know me, can¡¯t have enough moisture!¡± ¡°The rooms were pretty decent. Even had warm water,¡± He noticed. ¡°Ahm, yeah. Zola wanted to use the bath barrel alone,¡± Jinx replied with a frown. ¡°That woman is like really selfish, ye know?¡± Dante cleared his throat and pointed a thumb out the open manor stable¡¯s doors. ¡°You are going to want to see this,¡± He said, all serious. Jinx wouldn¡¯t, much preferring to stay in the trough, but she did him the small favor, since most men can turn right crazy, if they go without a good ole shag for too long. Most men, or women.
They watched the guards taking the prisoners back to town, every single one of them looking dejected and plain miserable, much as you would expect from people walking to their doom, with chains around their necks and legs. ¡°Well, seems our young lord failed to convince his grandfather,¡± Dante Blackwood said. ¡°I knew it was a foolish endeavor.¡± Jinx pushed her wet hair back. ¡°Perhaps.¡± Dante whipped his head her way. ¡°Fuck that¡¯s supposed to mean? You disagree?¡± ¡°Oh come on, the kid did the right thing,¡± Jinx replied. ¡°Saving cutthroats, and wasting coin¡­ pfft! Pretty, you can¡¯t be serious!¡± Dante exclaimed theatrically. Not that he convinced her. ¡°It¡¯s hypocritical to execute people that surrendered, chief,¡± Jinx pointed. ¡°Then turn around and cry bloody murder, if they do the same.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not the same thing!¡±This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. ¡°Ahm, yeah it fuckin¡¯ is. But we do it all the time just the same,¡± Jinx said, noticing Glen and the Knight exiting the main building of the large manor, accompanied by several armed guards. Dante smacked his lips frustrated, trying to find a way to turn it around. Jinx seeing him all flustered smacked his arm once, forcing him to snap out of it, adding for good measure. ¡°Don¡¯t be a fuckin¡¯ cunt.¡±
¡°That¡¯s a pirate right?¡± Jinx whispered out the side of her mouth, as Glen and his esteemed company stopped before them and the manor¡¯s stable¡¯s. The Lord of Altarin had an amused look on his wrinkled face that made him appear senile somewhat. Sir Solomon wore his natural scowl, so Jinx thought nothing of it. ¡°Aye. He saved one at least,¡± Dante replied subdued, through his merchant grin. ¡°Lord Reeves,¡± Sir Emerson said, with a grunt. ¡°Let me introduce to you, Captain Blackwood, of the Gallant Dogs Company and Whisper Jinx,¡± Jinx saw he wanted to add something more, but came up empty. ¡°I¡¯m a Ranger mostly,¡± She said, helping him with a wink that wasn¡¯t well received by the frowning Knight. Good thing I¡¯ve left the cunt part out, Jinx thought. ¡°Captain Blackwood,¡± Lord Reeves said stepping forward. ¡°I offer you my gratitude for keeping my grandson safe. I understand, it wasn¡¯t an easy journey.¡± ¡°Thank you, my Lord,¡± Dante said, with a sharp bow of the head. ¡°It wasn¡¯t, but we pride ourselves as being consummate professionals. We simply refuse to fail.¡± Jinx almost drowned, trying to swallow her chuckle at the hyperbole and Glen watching her turn blue in the face, started smirking like an idiot. ¡°That is, excellent to hear Mr. Blackwood,¡± Lord Reeves replied. ¡°You are paid for the whole month is my understanding. I¡¯d like to extend your contract, for the rest of the year.¡± Jinx narrowed her eyes. ¡°Work for you, my Lord?¡± Dante asked, already in business mode. ¡°Work for my grandson. Same as now,¡± The old Lord explained. ¡°The Duke has requested the majority of Altarin¡¯s troops to head for Rida and I can¡¯t simply spare the men to keep him safe. Altarin comes first, you understand.¡± ¡°Of course, my Lord,¡± Dante replied readily. ¡°We will just need to secure a permanent spot for our animals, but the rooms we currently have are adequate.¡± Jinx watched the Lord¡¯s face harden and felt a knot in her stomach. What do you want, ye old prick? Lord Reeves sensing her glare, turned his eyes her way. Glen¡¯s eyes on an older face. An old, completely different face, Jinx thought. Even the nose, not that she ever cared about that stupid part of the human anatomy, was totally different. All wrong. ¡°Sir Arno told me, there¡¯s a Gish in my home,¡± Lord Reeves said, his voice anything but weak. ¡°I¡¯ve heard about your kind, but you milady are the first one I see up close. It is an unexpected treat for my old eyes.¡± Was that a fuckin¡¯ compliment? Or a veiled threat? Either way, I ain¡¯t suckin¡¯ yer old cock, mister, Jinx thought with a scowl, but kept it civil under Dante¡¯s imploring stare. ¡°Lots of us around, milord,¡± Jinx hissed through her teeth, a shrug almost saving it. ¡°We just like to keep to ourselves.¡± Lord Reeves smiled, showing a good number of teeth for his age. ¡°Still a novelty. Much of that popping about, these days. Having said that, Mr. Blackwood,¡± He said turning towards Dante, ¡°How large is your company?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve lost some people, my Lord. This is all the men we have, but we can do the job, with no problem,¡± Dante replied, putting as much confidence as he could in to his words. Jinx was certain the two men were talking about something completely different. ¡°Whatever that number may be,¡± Lord Reeves said. ¡°Forty of my guards are already at the place to provide help. I was thinking of giving the command to Sir Solomon, but I don¡¯t believe now and after talking with him for some time, Sir Lennox would want to leave young Glenavon to make the journey, unescorted.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t,¡± Sir Emerson said simply. Jinx turned towards Glen, with a silent query. He shrugged his shoulders. Are ye fuckin¡¯ kiddin¡¯ me? ¡°There are many avenues for the Khan to reach Rida,¡± Lord Reeves continued, from where he¡¯d stopped. ¡°The least favorable is through the narrow Hellfort pass. Seeing as we are almost in the winter, I think it unlikely. Still, measures must be taken to secure the place and the bridge over Teid River,¡± He paused, took a deep breath and let it out slowly. ¡°It is not a dangerous mission Mr. Blackwood. But I want Glenavon, to prove his worth as a Reeves. Repair the fort and prepare it for winter, keep the bridge in our hands. Rule just as a Lord should. Will you help him then, Mr. Blackwood? As a personal favor to me and the Duke of Raoz?¡± Fuck me¡­ There was no such thing, as a not dangerous mission, she thought. The moment you heard those words, something sinister was afoot. Ye rat-faced duplicitous old prick! Hope ye die drownin¡¯ in yer blood! Jinx stared at Dante, but his stunned expression told her the man had nothing. Just say no, ye bloody fool! Jinx urged him, forgetting all she¡¯d said before, about doing the right thing and helping others. Dante scrunching his mouth this way and that, took his time to answer, his eyes almost desperate. One part of him not wanting any involvement in a possible war, the other weighing in the value of a Lord¡¯s favor for any fledging mercenary company. A company, could become an army. The power as great, as the profits. If we lived through it. ¡°I will be honored to help, Lord Reeves. Happy to provide assistance to the Duke of Raoz,¡± Dante answered a moment later, Glen¡¯s smile reaching his ears, all an adventure to him, but Jinx¡¯s instincts were screaming for her to ride her horse out of Altarin. As fast as fuckin¡¯ possible. 34. She could be yours
Gust She could be yours
Jan cursed, lips split where he¡¯d backhanded him; teeth all bloody and came at him again. Gust blocked with his blade, absorbed the force, letting the man approach and head-butted him brutally when he did, the pointy top of his helm landing on the nose-guard. It bend backwards, breaking Jan¡¯s nose and sent him staggering back all dazed. Gust followed it with a downward slash that the stunned man barely pushed away with his sword. Sir Gust came back without giving him time to breathe, not that he could with his windpipes drowned in blood, caught the flat of his blade and sent it away. Jan opened his mouth to yield, but Gust would have none of that, so he kicked him savagely in the chest and dropped him flat on his back. He walked over him slowly, breathing heavy through his closed helm, and his whole body drenched in sweat under the scorching plate armour he had on. ¡°Milord!¡± One of his guards pleaded and Gust turned to see who it was, spotted Mael standing right next to the scared man, hint of a leer on his mouth and frowned. He lowered his sword, rage slowly seeping away. ¡°Are you finished?¡± Mael asked, holding a set of the same grey robes he wore in his hands. Gust took another breath, glanced at the unconscious Jan under him and nodded. The Disciple of Tyeus walked to him, stopped at arm¡¯s length, not to repeat Jan¡¯s mistake and tossed the robes of his Order to him. ¡°Put them on. Hide the blade and lose the helmet,¡± Mael said casually, as if reading from a list. ¡°We have visitors.¡±
¡°Who is it?¡± Gust asked twenty minutes later, as they were walking towards Scaldingport¡¯s Castle, the grey robes of his Order hiding his armour. ¡°One of Lord Bach¡¯s creatures. Primus Molders,¡± His man replied. ¡°They came to complain?¡± ¡°Your father doesn¡¯t know. He hasn¡¯t admitted him yet,¡± Mael said, voice neutral. ¡°When did he arrive?¡± Gust asked surprised. ¡°Two days ago,¡± Mael saw his stare and shrugged his shoulders. ¡°I didn¡¯t know, till today.¡±
Lord Ruud De Weer decked in his blue velvet and chainmail shirt, was talking with a short, but bountiful servant girl. He stopped when they entered and send her away with a swat at her plump buttocks. ¡°Nothing surer to shrivel a man¡¯s cock,¡± Lord Ruud started, his voice grating to Gust¡¯s ears. ¡°But a couple of entitled warrior monks¡­¡± He made air quotes on the word monk, a smirk on his rucked face. ¡°Bursting into his fuckin¡¯ hall. Right Son?¡± ¡°Good Morning father,¡± Gust murmured through his teeth. ¡°I hope your cock recovers.¡± ¡°Hmm. It did, when I made you. Still haven¡¯t decided though, if it was worth the bother,¡± Lord Ruud spat, glaring at a stoic Mael that wisely kept his mouth shut. ¡°I take it you have word on our visitor?¡± ¡°Keeping a messenger from the King waiting¡­¡± Gust sighed. ¡°I understand we don¡¯t like the goat-fucker, but still¡­ shouldn¡¯t we listen to what he has to say? You know, for diplomacy¡¯s sake?¡± Lord Ruud narrowed his eyes, not liking his tone. ¡°It¡¯s insulting,¡± He finally snarled after a hateful stare. ¡°What are we to get? Hmm? Aye, he needs us now. First Foot is crossing to Rida, another coming down from Midlanor soon to join them. He needs our men. Spears and swords to fight for him.¡± ¡°We can work with that.¡± ¡°Bah, what a bunch of crap! Work with what? With whom? A lackey?¡± His father sat back on his throne, his eyes drifting towards the Crows feasting on his leftovers, the table a mess. ¡°We¡¯ve talked about this. The decision has been made.¡± ¡°You said, he is one of Lord Bach¡¯s men,¡± Gust tried another way. ¡°I didn¡¯t,¡± Lord Ruud¡¯s glare at Mael enough to kill a lesser man. ¡°But do finish yer thought son.¡± ¡°It is unusual, is my meaning,¡± Gust explained. ¡°What did uncle Mikkel say on the matter?¡± ¡°My brother went to Issir¡¯s Eagle. Hasn¡¯t sent word since. Also strikes me as peculiar, now that you mentioned it.¡± ¡°Could it be, it¡¯s not official business?¡± Gust probed and his father scratched his thin beard with his fingers thoughtfully for a time. ¡°A conspiracy?¡± He offered. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know.¡± Gust replied, his answer honest. ¡°Lord Bach wants our help to overthrow the mad King?¡± Lord Ruud said, tasting the words in his mouth. ¡°Hmm, I wouldn¡¯t put that cock sucking idiot above it,¡± He smiled, decision made. ¡°Let us receive the fool and son, ye need to sport a limp. Help me sell this.¡±
Lord Molders seemed well rested and not particularly bothered with being put on ice for two straight days. ¡°Lord De Weer,¡± The Primus bowed his head. ¡°Sir Gust.¡± ¡°Lord Molders,¡± Lord Ruud started, a pained look on his face. ¡°I must apologize for keeping you waiting. It was our best room in this humble old Castle. I hope that dining and drinking on my coin has mellowed your stay somewhat. Unfortunately, grave trouble has befallen my family, as you well know.¡± ¡°It was no bother, my Lord. I hope your son makes a good recovery,¡± Primus Molders had a strained smile on his lips.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°He won¡¯t,¡± His father deadpanned. ¡°He lost an eye. It¡¯s gone. Rotted away too fast for my crows to have a go at it. I wouldn¡¯t call him blind, but I¡¯m just glad he¡¯s a boy. He can, kind of work around it, right? It would have been a harder sell, if it was my daughter. Though I suppose some would shag a one-eyed maiden. Hah!¡± He chuckled at that, no one else finding his words amusing, or joining. ¡°The High King knows we can¡¯t help at this time,¡± Gust said, breaking the awkward silence that followed. ¡°Exactly, this fool got run over by a boar, he can barely walk,¡± His father chipped in. ¡°And I¡¯m with one foot in the grave. Now, I¡¯d take that sword of mine and lead our troops tomorrow, don¡¯t be mistaken. But I just don¡¯t think it¡¯s prudent.¡± ¡°My Lords,¡± Primus Molders said, keeping his emotions hidden. Gust could clearly see the man wasn¡¯t buying, what they were selling. ¡°I¡¯m here on behalf of Lord Sigurd.¡± Gust glanced at his father and saw the look on his face. Was he right? Was there a plot afoot? ¡°Is the King uninformed of your visit, Primus Molders?¡± Lord Ruud asked. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know. I came straight from Castalor.¡± The man replied, without answering. ¡°Why not use a bird? We have many. Look at ¡®em over there, they are eating at my fuckin¡¯ table!¡± The Primus kept his eyes on his father. ¡°What I have to share is sensitive, Lord De Weer. It would be unwise to leave a trail,¡± He said, keeping his voice neutral. Gust decided, he didn¡¯t like him at all. Too blasted sneaky. Men like him liked to attack a man from behind. He respected their cunning, but still despised them. ¡°Is Lord Bach sleeping with the High Queen?¡± His father joked, giving them the time to think on it some more. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t blame the man. In fact I readily admit on having a thought or two about her myself. Never acted on the matter though. More fool me, I suppose.¡± ¡°The Queen of Kaltha¡¯s honor is not in question,¡± Primus Molders murmured, trying to keep his tempers checked. ¡°Lord Sigurd believes it would be unwise for Scaldingport to remain neutral in this conflict.¡± Lord Ruud stooped on his throne and stared at him, his voice serious. ¡°We¡¯re not neutral. We follow the King¡¯s rule. We just can¡¯t help right at this time. Son, am I speaking in the old tongue?¡± ¡°No father, I understand you perfectly.¡± Gust droned in turn. ¡°The High King¡¯s army will protect Rida,¡± Primus Molders said. ¡°Enough lords back him and Regia has ordered the Legion to move towards the coast.¡± ¡°Raoz isn¡¯t just Rida,¡± Lord Ruud corrected him. ¡°And since so many lords help the king, why strip Scaldingport from its men and force my firstborn, who is still recovering by the way, risk his neck?¡± ¡°Lord Sigurd, understands your grievances¡ª¡± Primus Molders started, but couldn¡¯t finish. ¡°Lord Sigurd, is not my king!¡± Lord Ruud snapped angrily. Molders gulped down, a little paler in the face, but he bravely pushed on. A man that couldn¡¯t go back empty handed, Gust thought. ¡°He understands the De Weers have been wronged unwittingly, hoped for a remedy to all our problems.¡± Molders said. ¡°Bah! Unwittingly he says!¡± He father snarled. ¡°Next, you¡¯ll tell us, he wanted us to win the tourney in Riverdor. Hmm? As if we don¡¯t know, what his preferences are. As if we are fools, to be taken advantage of. Lying to a lord is punished by death in my lands, Primus Molders.¡± He ended his words with a stern warning. ¡°What is the remedy?¡± Gust asked raising his voice to cut through the man¡¯s shock at his father¡¯s words. Molders took a deep breath, desperately trying to collect himself. Not easy with his father glaring at him, murder in his eyes. ¡°Save the Princess,¡± The man said, licking his dry lips once. ¡°The army will hold the forts, as the Khan would never attack from the southern Merchant Path, or from the North and Altarin. Prince has taken the Princess, either at Hi Yil Castle, or Eikenport. Since Prince Radin claimed he was from Jade Lake, then it must be Eikenport.¡± ¡°You want us to attack Eikenport? From the sea?¡± Gust asked stunned. ¡°Lord Sigurd believes a daring thrust from land, would help both Kaltha and the Princess.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t the Princess, a part of Kaltha as well?¡± He father asked, remarkably calm, after his outburst. ¡°Princess Elsanne was given to the Khanate, under false pretenses,¡± Primus Molders explained. ¡°We simply couldn¡¯t refuse the demand at the time.¡± That wasn¡¯t how Gust knew things had gone, but still¡­ ¡°Save the Princess,¡± Gust said, a smirk on his mouth. ¡°Save the Princess,¡± Primus Molders repeated, staring at him meaningfully. ¡°You want us to campaign down the Merchant Path, through the fuckin¡¯ desert, while the army rests in Raoz?¡± His father growled, not pleased at all, at the prospect. ¡°There¡¯s nothing there,¡± Primus Moldelrs insisted, keeping his eyes on Gust, who felt the excitement building up. The cunning man playing on it. ¡°Put the Cofols that took your brother¡¯s eye to the sword. Claim the Princess of Kaltha as prize of your conquest. Lord Sigurd didn¡¯t want you earning her hand Sir Gust, you have that correct. That¡¯s the truth and he was in the wrong for it,¡± Molders continued probably mixing in truth and lies equally. ¡°Whatever the past may be, we are here in the present. Take her back, Sir Gust. And she¡¯ll be yours by the ancient Issir rites and lawfully in the eyes of Gods and men. A great reward for anyone, my Lord.¡± She could be yours, was his meaning, Gust thought. The likelihood of another shot at the young beauty, while still uncertain, good enough to make the prospect of success thrilling. He could almost taste her in his mouth. Feel her on his skin. Hear her. Lord Ruud sat back on his seat, a frown on his wrinkled face. His black eyes calculating. Gust knew how his father¡¯s mind worked and wasn¡¯t surprised when he next talked. ¡°We want a dowry, if we succeed,¡± His father said. ¡°Will the king agree?¡± ¡°Lord Sigurd will ensure he does, if you succeed, my Lord.¡± The man replied quickly. ¡°Accept responsibility, if he doesn¡¯t.¡± Not the King. Did it matter? Gust didn¡¯t think so. It made things, more interesting for sure. The prize though¡­ it was always her. There¡¯s the blasted road, as his father always said. It may be narrow, it may be long, but eventually a road will take you, where you want to go. ¡°A dowry of our choosing.¡± His father added leering, his mind following the same thread. Primus Molders narrowed his eyes. ¡°What would that be, my Lord?¡± Gust looked at his father and the old man appeared genuinely pleased for the first time in years. His frequent sexual escapades excluded of course. ¡°Lord Sigurd will have to put his sign on it,¡± Lord Ruud replied. ¡°I would prefer the King¡¯s, but I can wait for that. Tell your precious Lord Sigurd, Scaldingport will help, if he agrees to help us in turn.¡± Primus Molders pretended to think about it for a time. They all knew it was all a show. He couldn¡¯t go back empty handed. So eventually Lord Bach¡¯s man gave in. 35. Bloody Ridge (1/4)
As you come down the mountains, the Screaming Road reaches that narrow valley, where Kas was built back when Sovya was free to guard the entrance to the true North amidst the white-bark trees, and with its longhouses all behind sturdy walls. In this place where all northern roads lead, The Tiger¡¯s myth was born. - Lord Sirio Veturius Circa 206 NC The Fall of Heroes Chapter II (Lucius the third, Northern campaigns, Battle of Bloody Ridge, 2nd Month of Winter, 189 NC)
Lucius Bloody Ridge
The sun was still hidden behind the dark violet clouds. It would come out from behind them once in a while, just enough to make the snow-covered terrain appear blinding white to their eyes and then disappear again, leaving everything in a dull shade of white-grey. It was the wind though, icy and sharp as a knife that hurt them the most. ¡°They grabbed ¡®em woods near the road and have a clear view up the slopes,¡± Their ranger Post Antinor reported, teeth rattling and exposed skin burned black from the cold. He¡¯d most of his face wrapped in cloth fortunately. ¡°They know we¡¯re here. This here split in the mountains, is where the road leads and they know it.¡± Lucius, now in his dark red Alden armour, heavy leather cape thrown over his shoulders, its rich fur frozen on his neck, nodded agreeing. ¡°We could try to outrun them,¡± Roderick said, seeing him pondering on it. ¡°But we would have to leave the carriage and some animals behind.¡± Not everyone could make it, was his meaning. ¡°They¡¯ll see us, the moment we step over the ridge, milord,¡± Galio said, clad in his lamerall Legion armour, small steel plates worn out but serviceable. ¡°Unless we wait for the night. I don¡¯t counsel it. Not without makin¡¯ camp. Weather up here, is worse than down there, milord.¡± Lucius grunted in frustration. They had them trapped. Should we turn back? He wondered. How much time could he afford to lose, before returning the girl became irrelevant in the grand scheme of things? ¡°I can talk to them,¡± Zofia offered, clear voice surprising him. He turned and watched her approaching them with sure steps, her eyes greeting him in turn. ¡°They will listen to me, probably.¡± ¡°What does this mean?¡± Roderick growled, everything about her, grating on his nerves. ¡°I¡¯ve heard about the Benton Numbers Warband,¡± Zofia replied, tiny red spots on her pale cheeks more pronounced. ¡°They don¡¯t work for my father, but they won¡¯t make an enemy of the O¡¯ Dargans.¡± ¡°Bah, no. I can¡¯t risk you,¡± Lucius said exasperated. It wasn¡¯t his quest to just abandon her near the North. He had to get her back home safe, negotiate with her father after that. ¡°They might lie outright. It is better, if I went to speak to them myself.¡± ¡°Out of the question!¡± Roderick snapped. ¡°I will go, if it comes to that.¡± ¡°No one should go,¡± Dirk intervened, hoarse voice rattling like chains inside a dungeon. ¡°If they know you killed Benton¡¯s brother, they will be no talk, milord.¡± ¡°You are awfully sure they do,¡± Roderick said, voice full of suspicion. ¡°How do ye know?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± Dirk replied. ¡°Can ya chance it? What if ye are wrong?¡± Lucius glanced towards the ridge, then his eyes followed the rocks on both sides of the path, sparse trees here and there and the granite walls rising after that. ¡°You have any suggestions on what we should do, Mr. Curd?¡± He asked him. ¡°We all heard, what we can¡¯t.¡± ¡°Send a horse, a saddled one, down the path,¡± The Issir hybrid replied readily. ¡°Towards their camp. Cut it first, so it bleeds. Maybe send a packed mule alongside it. Cut that as well.¡± ¡°Why on Uher¡¯s arse, should we do that?¡± Roderick asked, glaring at him. ¡°He want us to set a trap,¡± Lucius replied, not very keen on the idea himself. ¡°An ambush.¡± He added crooking his mouth. ¡°Call it a surprise, if ye like,¡± Dirk explained, with a smirk. ¡°We do that, they sent a group to investigate, what happened to us.¡±Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. ¡°Splitting them up is a sound idea, milord,¡± Sergeant Veturius said thoughtfully. ¡°But I can¡¯t see it helping us in the end.¡± ¡°Better to fight a smaller host, you¡¯ve bloodied already, than a fresh one,¡± Dirk insisted casually, as if he didn¡¯t care either way. Lucius wasn¡¯t convinced he was honest, but dismissed his fear. The Issir had saved his life, why betray them now? Why the hells not? ¡°A surprise might work,¡± He decided, too cold to stand exposed for much longer. Or stand idle worrying about it. ¡°Run me through the details, Mr. Curd,¡± He caught sight of Roderick glaring at him, but they had to act. Winter was upon them.
An hour later Lucius stood watch as Galio and Dirk argued about which animal to maim and how. Nobody wanted to back down, despite both of them knowing, it didn¡¯t matter much. Roderick was silent, left side of his mouth sucked in, where he missed that tooth. The wind blowing on their backs, right through hide and armour, reaching their bones. They needed fire, or this night will be their last, Lucius thought, a grimace of pain on his bearded face. ¡°I¡¯ve no other option,¡± He explained, although Roderick hadn¡¯t ask him to do so. Lucius just felt, he had to. ¡°Fighting is not what I want, old man.¡± ¡°I know,¡± Roderick replied, voice lost in the wind¡¯s howling. ¡°This is yer father¡¯s doin¡¯ and his fear that caused this.¡± ¡°How so?¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t want ye in Regia,¡± Roderick continued. ¡°Opted to send ye as far away as possible, everything to stop ye from avenging Ralph¡¯s death. Everything to prevent ye from going to fight Cofols in Eplas and die there.¡± Lucius snorted. ¡°We can beat the Cofols back, old hand.¡± ¡°Bah, Reinut didn¡¯t even attempt it. Thought better to have them as allies, but it doesn¡¯t matter now, does it? We¡¯re here in this accursed place.¡± Lucius clenched his gloved hand into a fist and slowly opened it again, testing it. ¡°We can¡¯t hold whatever¡¯s left of them, even if the ambush is successful. They¡¯re too many. The moment our shieldwall fails, we¡¯re all dead,¡± He said, voice grave. Roderick grunted, stared once more towards the near ridge and nodded. ¡°That we are, I reckon. I¡¯ll get the shields out, just the same.¡±
¡°The moment they show up,¡± Lucius yelled to be heard over the elements. ¡°Post and those with a bow, will take out any archers. Target those with light armour next, or spears,¡± He paused, skin burning, and the cold cutting him right through. The men were gathered around him, faces grim and hurting, bodies stiff and half frozen, while still breathing. There was determination there and fear. Even pride, Lucius supposed. Galio the only one of them, with a smile on his face. If they died here, in the middle of nowhere; no bard will sing their praises, no one will know, if it was bravery that did them in, or cowardice. No one but them. They would. ¡°When they fall, we might have a bit of time to catch our breath. It won¡¯t be long, before the rest of them come at us. Nonus and Canutia will push the carriage further up the path, light a fire and give us a fallback point. We won¡¯t though,¡± He stared in their eyes, voice hoarse from all the yelling. He wanted to say something more inspiring, but he couldn¡¯t think of anything. ¡°We won¡¯t back down. We¡¯ll break them, right here!¡± ¡°AYE!¡± Galio thundered, Mamercus and Caeso following him, booming voice scaring whatever beast ventured near them away, the others following, their cry reaching the dark heavens above. ¡°FOR LUCIUS!¡± No, Lucius thought, face tense and eyes smarting. For Regia.
The first Northman appeared at the ridge, an hour after the wounded animals went galloping down, maddened with fear and pain. A scout, he had his bow out, but didn¡¯t have the chance to use it. Post nailed him in the chest, arrow going through hide and stopping at his heart. He fell from his saddle; the next one, this one on foot, opening his mouth to warn the others and dying before he could, blood pouring out his mouth; He got an arrow through his neck, and another stuck in his right leg. Young Arrun, Faustus and Hostius rushed the other two, the third still breathing, turning tail and running back down the path. Kaeso went after him, long dagger in hand and Faustus using his spear killed the first and turned to help the others finish off his friend. The Northman fought bravely, despite being cornered, wielding axe almost cutting Arrun down, before Faustus got him with the spear through the knee and brought him down. He stepped away for Arrun to finish him off. Lucius run towards the ridge and arrived just as Kaeso appeared, coming back the other way, blood on his lamellar armour. ¡°He was a bleeder,¡± The ex-Legion man explained to a hard-breathing Lucius. ¡°Are there more?¡± Lucius asked. ¡°The camp is up in arms, milord,¡± Kaeso replied and that was that. Soon, Lucius thought, a shiver down his spine. ¡°Leave them, rest yourselves! Everyone gets a spear but for the scouts and Zofia,¡± He didn¡¯t want her involved at all, but he didn¡¯t have the time to convince her. Locking her up was an option he considered, but had to disregard for diplomatic reasons. ¡°Where do you want the horses?¡± Roderick, who had followed him, asked. ¡°Keep them back, on the side,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°You should stay out of the line,¡± Roderick argued. ¡°I¡¯ll keep them near, just in case.¡± Lucius turned to admonish him, but stopped himself. There was no time. Galio, shield in hand, was examining the terrain, a frown on his face. ¡°Where?¡± Lucius asked him, knowing what he was looking for. ¡°Ten meters after the ridge,¡± The former Legion sergeant decided. ¡°Ten men can form there, block the path, if your lordship can hold our sides wit the Northman.¡± ¡°Do we have ten?¡± ¡°No milord, we have eight. Leaving Mr. Curd, yerself and lady Zofia out.¡± ¡°I can take two, keep them from flanking you,¡± Lucius said confidently. ¡°They might have another two at their back, or more, milord.¡± Push right through you, was his meaning. ¡°I won¡¯t let them past me, Galio,¡± Lucius insisted clenching his jaw, the insult hurting his pride, although that wasn¡¯t the old sergeant¡¯s intention. The veteran nodded with his head, perhaps understanding him more. His eyes misty, old memories mixed in with new. Glories past and horrors all a blur. ¡°Then they won¡¯t milord,¡± Head held high, cheek guard barely holding where he¡¯d mend it. ¡°Tis as simple as that.¡±
Benton Numbers knew something was wrong the moment he saw the shieldwall barring his approach and the frozen bloody corpses of his scouting party. He could count the men opposing him in his fingers, which was a good thing. Still they looked professional the lot of them, men you don¡¯t frequently see out here in the wilds, well armoured, their shields sturdy and held high. It was a problem this and an unwelcome surprise. But he could also see the red and the black tiger painted on them, the Regia colors and knew he¡¯d found his man. Light snow started falling from above, poured a fresh coat of white over the flinty and mud-covered ground. The strong wind stopped, the Gods holding their breath, giving them a rare moment of peace, just before the men roared wild, weapons raised high and shattered it. The snow turned red. 36. Bloody Ridge (2/4)
Twenty warriors charged over the ridge, all but two on foot. Horned helms and braided horse-tails dancing as they run, long elaborate beards in various shades of red, more dark than light, over hardened leather armours, or dressed in chainmail. Some held axes, others swords and spears, or even both. A few shields mostly on the second row. Their boastful roars hurting their ears. Galio¡¯s order cut through the noise. ¡°STEADY!¡± Lucius breathed once, cold air and snow plugging his nostrils, and his head throbbing. He loosened his right shoulder once, and set his heater shield proper, guige hanging loose, Bowen¡¯s curse next to him barely registering, his muscles snapping all tense and the blade resonating before turning still in his hand. The first Northman he pushed aside with his shield, the axe the man was holding bouncing back and slamming his owner in the face breaking his teeth, and Lucius sidestepping, attacked the one coming behind him. A hard swing, parallel to the ground at shoulder height, an executioner¡¯s crude move, no one would praise in a tourney. The red-haired fighter never saw what happened. His friend went down, Lucius appeared in his place, clad in his crimson Alden armour, snarling tiger¡¯s glaring eyes carved on his chestplate. The next moment his head was separated from his shoulders, a torrent of blood shooting upwards and Lucius had moved to his friend standing next to him, now attacking Bowen with a spear. Lucius let go of his shield and cut down hard, sword held with both hands, taking the man¡¯s left leg off at the knee. Down he went with a squeal of panicked agony and Bowen took his chance, cutting his own opponent across the face savagely, when he risked a backwards glance. Not a minute into the attack, with the majority of their force locked on the shieldwall, Numbers right flank had cracked open.
Lucius turned his head towards the lip of the ridge while the fight raged, their side holding with Bowen¡¯s help. He stared at the man with the riveted spangenhelm watching them, almost fifty meters away, brawny arms crossed on his chest. The man saw him as well and raised a spiked warhammer high. Darn it! ¡°Post get here!¡± Lucius yelled back towards the treeline, as another wave of warriors jumped into view behind the man and started running towards them. The scout run holding his bow, Seia following him. ¡°FIRE AT THEM! FAST AS YOU CAN!¡± He charged the side of the shieldwall himself, right where Bowen was already duking it out with two Northmen, the rest of that first wave furiously hacking at their locked shields and defending, not always successfully, against the spear thrusts coming their way by Lucius¡¯ people. Half of them were maimed already, but Lucius had no idea how many people they¡¯d lost themselves. As long as the wall is there, he thought slashing at the ribs of the first Northman he encountered opening him up like a trout. The man went down on his side and he kicked his face in, jumping on him to attack the next.
Everything turned into a blur. Snow falling, flakes as large as his hand, mud under his feet and the blood mixed with filth, turning black. He cut a warrior down, chest covered with bones, not all of them from animals, gore painting his arm to the elbow. Ducked under an axe swing, used his shield to stop another, small finger breaking and the pain shooting up his brain almost blinding. The adrenaline fueling his resolve, he dropped the shield again, and punched his opponent in the face with his hurt hand, breaking his nose and another finger. Growling like a madman, he parried a spear away, steel tip grazing his sides, and opened the man from neck to navel in the return, his inwards spilling on his boots. A warhammer caught him on the left shoulder, the plate bending, but holding. He stumbled back, arm useless and almost went down. Lucius stepped over a slain man, mouth hanging open grotesquely, face mauled; friend or foe he couldn¡¯t tell and pirouetted away from the furious attacks the warrior unleashed on him. ¡°DIE YE FIENDISH BEAST!¡± Numbers snarled attacking again and again. Lucius parried and dodged as best as he could, but he was forced back, his hand tiring, until perhaps for the same reason, his opponent stopped, appearing as wretched as he was and stepped back. That¡¯s him, Lucius thought, breathing heavy, his heart thundering and his whole body hurting from the exertion. He opened his mouth to taunt him into attacking again, but the Northman turned back and started slowly walking away, back towards the ridge, most of his men following. Those that could and they were a lot of them. Lucius felt a steel shield on his back and chanced a glance, saw Galio¡¯s strained bloody face, cheek guard gone, fever in his eyes and a smile on his cracked lips. ¡°Milord, kindly step behind the wall,¡± The sergeant offered surprisingly polite in his baritone voice. ¡°So we can advance.¡±
This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°GAH!¡± Lucius groaned, when Roderick pushed his shoulder back in, almost biting his tongue clean off. He had set his two broken fingers crudely before that, wrapped them together and cut a hole in his glove to fit them through. His stomach could only hold water. ¡°That¡¯s that then,¡± Roderick spat and sat down next to him. Almost everyone sitting down where they stood, when they realized, there won¡¯t be another attack right away. ¡°Do you think, they¡¯ll wait for the snow to bury us?¡± He asked, touching a loose tooth with his tongue. He didn¡¯t even remember getting hit in the face. ¡°We just licked ¡®em good,¡± Roderick replied, deep cut on his right hand bandaged. ¡°So they¡¯ll talk about it some, try to come up with a better plan.¡± ¡°Is there one?¡± ¡°It will come down, to another attack, the way I see it.¡± Lucius smacked his lips, saw Faustus get up and walk back a few feet to pay his respects to Hostus, still laying where he¡¯d fallen and his face fell. ¡°Not the time,¡± Roderick stopped him, when he tried to get up himself. ¡°Next time they come, they won¡¯t back down. Keep your mind on this. Focus on how to win and leave the mourning for those that knew him better.¡± ¡°You did.¡± Lucius said looking at him. ¡°Aye, thirty fuckin¡¯ years. Grew up together wit Hostus, we did. Right son of a bitch he was, but ye could count on him in a nasty pickle,¡± The last words spoken in a soft and mellow tone, a compliment much as the old man could give it.
¡°They hold the ridge, but they ain¡¯t moving,¡± Post reported, skin cracked and bleeding where the frostbite had set. ¡°They¡¯ll wait for us to go to them, I reckon.¡± Lucius cursed, the pain stopping him from clenching his fists proper. They couldn¡¯t march on them, he thought walking slowly towards the men and greeting them one by one. Roderick always following behind, a permanent frown on his face. Realized he knew all their names by now, months on the road. Bryn Bowens the Northman, the bodyguard cleaning his axe. Faustus, standing over the snow covered corpse of Hostus, a couple of fresh injuries added to the ones he carried already, hair more white than grey. Young Arrun next to him, face strained and eyes wild from the horrors he¡¯d seen, now a proper veteran. The odd couple Post and Seia, going further up ahead to watch the Northmen, stopping to touch heads in a tender moment. The Ex-Legion guys Mamercus and Kaeso, clad in their worn out lamellar armour, taunt hard faces almost identical, going over the dead and looting weapons and valuables, the old sergeant Galio watching them a scowl on his face. But they couldn¡¯t wait them out as well. Not without making camp. They needed fire. Could they retreat towards the carriage? He stopped before Nonus Generidus the merchant, pot belly almost gone now that constant shiver still there. A long cleaver in his hand. ¡°Thought I told you, to wait with Canutia,¡± Lucius told him and the man fixed the cloth covering his face before answering. It hadn¡¯t stopped snowing, but less was coming down now, than before. ¡°She send me. Kicked me out of the carriage,¡± The merchant explained. ¡°No place for a man, cowering with the women, she said.¡± ¡°Zofia isn¡¯t with her and she¡¯s all woman,¡± Lucius noted with a rare smile. ¡°Said the same bloody thing. Canutia would give you the same answer, had you asked her, I think,¡± Nonus replied, a shiver almost doubling him over. The weather will kill him soon, Lucius thought. It will kill us all, if we stay. ¡°What answer is that?¡± He probed instead. ¡°She¡¯s an O¡¯ Dargan.¡± ¡°Tyeus curse her, what does this mean?¡± Lucius asked surprised. Nonus pressed his eyes close, the white hurting him. They had a lot of red in them, when he opened them up again. ¡°I asked the same thing. Apparently she knows fuck all about cooking,¡± The merchant said and Lucius could tell he was smiling. An odd thing considering their situation. ¡°But she¡¯s handy with a blade.¡± Yeah, Lucius thought searching for the redhead. Spotted her arguing with Dirk Curd the hybrid, skin all flushed and her leather vest unbuttoned, the heavy coat nowhere to be seen. Her leather pants muddied so much, they¡¯d changed color. Waiting wasn¡¯t an option, he decided. They had to fight.
¡°Have ye lost yer fuckin¡¯ mind?¡± Roderick grunted moments later. ¡°We will do the same thing,¡± Lucius explained. ¡°Form up and march on them in a line. We will stop at half an arrow¡¯s throw, open up on them.¡± ¡°And charge?¡± Dirk asked, maimed fingers reminding Lucius of his own injury. ¡°No we won¡¯t,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°We¡¯ll stand firm. Force them, to come at us.¡± ¡°What if they don¡¯t?¡± Roderick asked and Mamercus explained it for him, Kaeso smirking next to his colleague, wearing three different gold rings and a heavy gold chain around his neck. ¡°Well,¡± Roderick said pensively, after he¡¯d heard their plan. ¡°I told the boys, I wasn¡¯t coming back to Regia anyway. Just hope I die before ye Mamercus. I ain¡¯t buryin¡¯ yer nasty arse.¡±
The naphtha lit arrow smacked the Northman standing guard in the face and lit his head on fire. Three went up in flames, before a furious Benton walked up their lines and sent everyone charging down on them. Lucius saw him for a moment, standing back and talking to a heavily armoured Northman on horseback, mail hauberk with steel plates on his shoulders, large two-handed sword on his back. It was strange to him that the Warband leader so set on revenge, had chosen to remain behind. Even stranger was his foul weirdly satisfied smirk, much like his dead brother¡¯s, when he spotted Lucius due to his distinct knight armour. Well that, and the sound of men fighting down the valley. A lot of men. The latter was lost as the Northmen came crashing on them and Lucius forgot about it for a time. Above their heads, hidden behind the dark clouds, the Sun moved slowly towards midday. At least it had stopped snowing. 37. Bloody Ridge (3/4)
Dirk Into the circle again (Bloody Ridge III)
Into the shaggin¡¯ circle again, Dirk thought eyes stilled on the ridge, Hostus, himself part of their Shieldwall on his left, the O¡¯ Dargan spawn on his right. Gods were laughing at him. Nasty bastards they were, the lot of them. ¡°Heard talk of a mixed-blood,¡± Zofia said in his ear. ¡°Serving Lord Vanzon for years. A named man, his heart black as Ora¡¯s, a right killer.¡± Dirk turned to glare at her, eyes drifting down her exposed neckline, young skin rosy where the cold touched it, stirring his senses. Not a good thing before a bloody scrap, to have your mind wander. ¡°Say what ye want to say woman,¡± He spat, angry with himself. ¡°You may have fooled Lord Lucius,¡± Zofia hissed, herself quite angry for some reason. ¡°But I don¡¯t trust a half-Issir bastard.¡± ¡°I fooled no one. Is he yer Lord then? That what you¡¯ll tell yer father?¡± Dirk snapped, but she kept her poise, a smirk on her lips. ¡°Worry about yerself Curd,¡± She said menacingly. ¡°Why hide yer status, if you are on our side?¡± Dirk snorted and turned to see the first Northman, riding a famished horse coming at them. Their war cries, covering his words. ¡°There are no sides, ye stupid noble wench.¡± Not for the common people. Unless you are at the top and ye look down.
The rider got an arrow in the face, just below his right eye. It broke his cheekbone and flushed it out. It dangled before his ruined face when he dropped, Dirk silencing his cries with his axe. The scared horse kicked with its hind legs, a spear thrust piercing his chest, caught another Northman barreling behind him on his shield, split it in two and catapulted the man back five meters. Leaving him senseless on the frozen ground. Dirk smacked a horned helm with the flat of his blade, a sword almost taking his right arm off the next moment. He pulled back, tripping on his feet, Zofia stopping the short but broad-shouldered warrior with a blade through the gut. The man locked up for a breath, then turned and glared at her. He¡¯d a dagger in his hand, somehow he¡¯d gotten it out and hurled it, putting all his strength behind. Zofia swatted it out of the air, fast as a viper and slashed him again across the chest. She cried out in righteous fury, when he died, eyes flushing excited, blood on her face. Fuck. She is beautiful, Dirk thought impressed. Then a blade cut part of his mail off at the shoulder, peeling the skin and flesh under it and he jolted away, heart beating erratically. He tried to parry with his axe, but his opponent had a spear and pushed it away. Got him again in the left arm. Dirk sidestepped again out of harm¡¯s way and the man turned to attack Zofia, who at that moment was helping Hostus at the edge of their wall. Dirk made to yell a warning, stopped, started walking towards them instead, axe in his hand. A black heart, she¡¯d said, but it hadn¡¯t bother him. It was that half-Issir jab that¡¯d stayed with him growing up. Half-Northman was the other part, she hadn¡¯t mentioned. Equal parts they were, in his mind. But they wouldn¡¯t have him, unless it was for a punching bag. A fool to spit on. Every day, since his mother had died.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Vanzon at least, had given him a place to stay. Coin in his purse. Curse ye to Ora¡¯s hell, Dirk thought walking towards them. ¡°WATCH OUT!¡± He yelled, but Zofia didn¡¯t hear him in the rumpus of battle. Hostus looking his way, saw his expression, eyes growing when he saw the warrior charge on Zofia¡¯s back, spear in his hands. The old warrior moved swiftly, grabbed her left shoulder and shoved a surprised Zofia to the side, the spear missing her midriff by a hair. Zofia screamed in horror seeing Hostus getting skewered through the chest in front of her. The Northman warrior cursed, pulled hard to get his weapon back, but it was stuck firm and Hostus took it with him, when he collapsed on his back. Dirk jumped on the disarmed warrior, just as he tried to get a nasty long-bladed dagger out, batted the side of his helm with the flat of his axe. Once and he heard a crack, behind the clanging of metal. Twice and something gave, steaming blood on his frozen fingers. The man dropped on his knees with a whimper, still carrying Dirk on his back and a furious Zofia pushed her sword through his chest savagely, almost killing Dirk in the process. He could hear the Gods laughing over their heads.
¡°Fuck is the matter wit ye?¡± Dirk growled shoving her onto a frozen tree trunk, sometime later. Zofia hissed and smacked him hard in the face splitting his lip with a silver ring she wore. ¡°It¡¯s your fucking fault!¡± She spat. ¡°How he made it past you?¡± Dirk licked the blood off his lip, letting his own calm down, before answering. ¡°He cut me,¡± He finally said. ¡°I yelled a warning, Hostus heard it. You didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Bullshit! You¡¯re lying!¡± ¡°Why would I? What¡¯s in it for me?¡± ¡°How should I know? Fame? Coin?¡± Zofia replied flushed, red hair spilling over her eyes. Yeah, Dirk thought. A right beauty. But you can¡¯t fool around with a woman that can have you killed over a word. More so, if she¡¯s O¡¯ Dargan¡¯s daughter. ¡°I need no fame,¡± Dirk replied with a grimace. ¡°Got enough of it already.¡± ¡°Devious Dirk,¡± Zofia spat, finally putting two and two together. ¡°Hoped it wasn¡¯t you.¡± Dirk shrugged his shoulders as if he didn¡¯t give a darn about her opinion, but his mood worsened. ¡°Praise the Gods twas me back then. The real me and not the monster in the stories,¡± He said through his teeth, blood trickling down his jaw, darkening his red beard. ¡°Not the other Dirk, or you¡¯ll be dead now.¡± ¡°Pfft,¡± Zofia hissed dismissively. ¡°I lost enough time talking to yer likes. There¡¯s a fight coming. We¡¯ll let the truth decide yer fate after.¡±
A man is fucked from the time he¡¯s born, Dirk thought bitterly, feeling the snowflakes melt on his face. He gives it his all to stay alive, fights every shaggin¡¯ day, breaking his bones. But in the end, he¡¯s always in the fuckin¡¯ circle. Shields all around barring his escape, enemies on his back, death¡¯s blade coming at him from the front. Lucius finished his speech, whatever good it did them. They knew what they had to face and his plan, well¡­ might as well spit against the wind. A blind man can¡¯t lead, nor one who knows naught about the land he¡¯s in. Only heroes opt to fight against such odds. The young heir must have read a lot of gallant tales back in his palace. In the North gallant people, usually ended up dead. Feral Benton had sent his men charging down, but he¡¯d stayed back. Revenge be damned. He¡¯d a reason for it of course, the way Dirk saw it. The Numbers warband had refused the Jarl¡¯s summons repeatedly in the past, but unless his eyes fooled him that was Twotrees Mcloud standing on that stallion, Gutrender sword on his back impossible to miss. Last time he¡¯d checked, Twotrees was ¡®Mad Wolf¡¯s¡¯ right hand man. Sam the ¡®Mad Wolf¡¯ wouldn¡¯t sent Twotrees Mcloud anywhere by himself. Where there was one, there were more. If he was here, the O¡¯ Dargans had reached Kas and Benton had struck a deal with them. It appeared Sir Lucius, for all his glorious talk of bravery and everlasting fame, had bitten off more than he could chew. It was every man for himself now. 38. Bloody Ridge (4/4)
Here¡¯s my blade, Bless it and it shall cut through rock Here¡¯s my heart, Take it and it shall fight to its last beat Here¡¯s my soul, Offer it in battle and it shall be forever free - First prayer to Tyeus One of the three sacred Knight oaths
Lucius (Bloody Ridge IV)
His shield caught a spear, tip breaking through hardwood, splinters raining on his helm¡¯s face-cover and Lucius stepped to the side, his blade dancing up slicing the Northman¡¯s arm from elbow to wrist. He took a step and his boots slipped on the sludge, knees buckling, and the shield heavy and unwieldy, messing up his balance. Lucius cursed, run the blade on the outer metal finishing, as he retreated a couple of steps, severing the spear-shaft to get rid of the extra weight. On his right hand, the shieldwall shuddered as if it was alive, men yelling, fear and pain all mixed in. Bowen on his left, stopped an axe with his, turned it aside and slashed viciously at his opponent¡¯s unprotected chest. The Northman fell, another taking his place, two more opting to test Lucius mettle. He needed to decide this part of the fight fast. Create another opening as before, now¡­ before it was too late. Lucius jumped ahead leading with his shield, his eyes split between the fighters he faced and the chaos further on his right. The Northman with the spear, black braided beard covering his chest, attempted a thrust, but Lucius turned it aside with his shield expecting it, parried the sword slash his friend tried with his own, turned defense into an attack in the blink of an eye and cut the young man across the face, deep enough to see his brains spill out. The spear wielding warrior recoiled in fright, and Lucius advanced on him, giving the panicked man no time to recover. The man slipped and went down, mud watery under their feet. He jumped up as fast as he could, but Lucius opened a deep wound on his thigh, bashed his head with his shield and sent him right back down unconscious. Or dead. He opened his mouth and sucked in greedily as much cold air as he could, through the face slits. Air tasted of blood, oil and iron. His whole body hurting and tired, throbbing fingers in his left hand driving him mad. Before Lucius could take another breather Bowen squeaked miserably on his back and he turned just in time to see him getting a dagger through the ribs, all the way in, damn mail failing him. The bodyguard pushed his opponent away with a cry of defiance and dropped on one knee, left hand desperately trying to stop the blood from pouring out. Lucius rushed to his aid, but had to stop boots slipping in the sludge, a huge warrior with a double battleaxe barring his way. Chest bare and painted white, no helm but a wild mess of long red hair. The heir of Regia cursed and made to charge him, stopped again shocked, when an arrow struck the big Northman below the ear and went out the other way, his eyes bleeding, before he collapsed on his face. ¡°Milord! HELP THE WALL!¡± Post cried, running towards Bowen short sword in hand, bow on his back. Lucius nodded and moved there to help, the mass of men clashing before him impossible to tell apart. Galio''s booming voice was what guided him proper.
A warrior bumped onto him, weapons clanging, shields breaking, people crying, the noise maddening, ringing in his ears a constant. Lucius turned to attack him, saw a bloody mess instead of a face and pushed him away. Gasped scared when Galio stopped a thrown axe intending for his chest with his spear. The ex-sergeant broke its business end in the process, cursed the gods something fierce and used the broken part to kill a young warrior that had grabbed Lucius shield in the same breath. The man fell still holding the edge of the shield in a death grip. Lucius let go of his shield, the guige dragging until he cut it away. Kicked a Northman at the back of his knee, but not before the tall and wiry warrior smashed his axe on Arrun¡¯s helm splitting it in two. The young man stumbled back, blood on his face, but Mamercus took his place, stabbing the Northman in the right eye, blade going in to the hilt. The wall would hold. Roderick pulled him from the shoulder hard and turned him around, fury in his eyes. ¡°GET BACK TO YER PLACE!¡± He yelled in his face. ¡°THEY WILL FLANK US!¡± Lucius nodded snapping out of the battle haze that had consumed him, the last ten minutes a blur in his mind. The old man was right. It wasn¡¯t a proud moment.
He reached them just in time to see three Northmen overwhelm the desperately defending merchant. The poor man armed with a cleaver. Bowen had bled out, glassy eyes staring at the dark skies and Post was laying a couple of meters away, his chest cut open, lungs exposed and bleeding, his breath coming out fast and short, a strange look of wonder on his frost-cracked face. Nonus lost his arm, the blade biting him at the elbow and his shriek matched Seia¡¯s that had just realized Post was deathly wounded. Lucius saw her out of the corner of his eye, dropping her bow and running towards them, face haunted. Here¡¯s my blade, Lucius thought lips pressed tight and attacked the first warrior, an upwards cut that took his arm off completely at the shoulder. Down his blade went, ruin following it, feet dancing forward past the howling man, always in rhythm, his anger fueling every slash and every cut. The second tried to block with a sword, but Lucius bounced his blade on his, and slashed his nose guard clean off, most of the fleshy part along with it. He sidestepped to avoid a spear to the gut, grabbed the shaft with his left hand and pulled weapon and man forward on his expecting sword. Pushed almost half the length of his blade through the Northman¡¯s lips, breaking teeth, severing his tongue, and splitting his brain in two, when it exited out the back of his head.
¡°They broke!¡± Roderick yelled running where he¡¯d stopped to watch Seia cry her eyes out over Post¡¯s dead body. ¡°Lucius¡­ God damn it! SNAP OUT OF IT SON!¡± ¡°How many did we lose?¡± Lucius asked him, his soul hurting. Roderick sighed, sparing a glance at the mourning scout. ¡°Arrun got his bell rang, but he¡¯s fine. Same as the girl¡ª¡± ¡°What happened?¡± Lucius snapped, trying to locate Zofia in the chaos. ¡°Stopped a hammer wit her head¡­ it¡¯s a glancin¡¯ wound,¡± Roderick explained seeing him, lose his color. ¡°She¡¯s just out for the count.¡± He pulled him back, when he started going towards the spot where she¡¯d fought. ¡°Lucius we need to decide what to do, ye hear that?¡± Roderick said. ¡°That¡¯s more men fighting down there. We either leave¡ª¡± ¡°We won¡¯t.¡± Lucius stared at the broken Northmen running as fast they could towards the ridge. Running a misnomer. Most could barely walk. ¡°We ain¡¯t leaving,¡± Lucius added brusquely. ¡°Bring the horses here.¡± ¡°What are you saying?¡± Lucius grabbed him by the collar and pulled him near his face. ¡°Bring the horses, old man. It¡¯s an order.¡±The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
¡°Easy boy,¡± Lucius whispered over Stormbolt, less than five minutes later, the stallion snorting loudly excited at what was coming. ¡°We will go on a ride now. You won¡¯t fail me and I won¡¯t fail you.¡± ¡°Lucius!¡± Roderick atop Butter hissed, his plan not agreeing with him. ¡°SPEARS IN HAND!¡± Lucius roared to the rest of his men, circling with his horse around them at a slow trot. Galio and his two legionnaires, Faustus, face grim, bleeding from several places and Dirk, the half Northman. Six riders all, with Roderick. Canutia was tending to the merchant and Seia was to stay with the unresponsive Zofia. The latter gnawing at him from the inside. ¡°I¡¯LL LEAD AT THE TIP AND YOU¡¯LL FOLLOW!¡± ¡°Bah! Damn ye boy,¡± Roderick said as he reached him and tossed him his heavy warspear. ¡°THROW THEM OFF THE RIDGE!¡± Lucius roared, Stormbolt rising high on his hind legs and neighing as angry as he¡¯d ever remembered him.
When you charge, spear in hand, horse and man become one. You can feel the beast¡¯s heart, same as your own. You can feel, what it feels. Everything else diminishes. Lucius went through the retreating Northmen like a hot blade through butter. He killed three before he scaled the ridge, everyone behind him tearing at their foes with surprising precision, following his lead. At the top of the ridge they stopped, the Kas valley opening up before them. A host of at least a hundred Northmen before its walls, facing a smaller one coming from the west road, leading to Eaglesnest. From their banner colors and skin they looked Issirs for the most part. Benton Numbers remaining warriors were attacking them from the rear. ¡°They have them boxed in,¡± Roderick commented, breathing heavy. ¡°Almost half of Benton¡¯s men are there. Is why they didn¡¯t have the numbers to break us, I reckon.¡± ¡°Aye,¡± Lucius said and kicked his legs to force Stormbolt down the slope. ¡°Lucius, we can¡¯t¡­¡± Roderick tried to stop him grabbing at his horse¡¯s reins, but he whacked his hand away. ¡°If they finish them, they¡¯ll turn on us, old man. All this¡­ would be for naught,¡± He explained, seeing his hurt eyes. ¡°We have one chance to win this all.¡± ¡°Lucius, for the love of Uher!¡± Roderick pleaded desperate now. ¡°Think of Regia son. Yer father!¡± It¡¯s all I¡¯m thinking of. He closed his eyes, breathed deep through the nose and then slapped his face-cover to close it. Once more, he thought, patting Stormbolt¡¯s frost covered mane. For Regia.
¡°Victory is before us men of Regia! CHARGE!¡± Lucius bellowed, his voice carrying over the frozen slopes, down the valley, reaching the men fighting there, well before they did.
The Northern lore says that when Lucius, third of his name, came down the Bloody Ridge, with only six men on his back, the Gods rode with him. Seven men, became seven hundred. An exaggeration for sure, but still such an effect his sudden charge on the Northmen backs had that their lines disintegrated.
The second row of warriors forming the shieldwall that blocked the Issir forces, turned hearing cavalry on their backs and scrabbled to form up again, men and shields moving frantically. Whatever spears they had were brought to the front, or back depending which side one picked, the whole line split in two, the front buckling under the pressure of the hapless defenders that attacked seeing their chance, giving it their all. ¡°Go boy!¡± Lucius cried thundering down on the mass of warriors, half a horse ahead of the rest of his men that rode their animals hard to keep up with him. He rode like a madman for their left edge, Tyeus incarnate; as if he¡¯d committed to strike them there; but turned hard towards the center seconds before he reached them, losing some speed, enough for the rest of his men to synch up with him. The men never keen on taking a charge head on, despite that being the only way one could be successful, when faced with one; broke a breath before their spears touched them. Making it worse. They fell on them almost at the same time, seven wide. Lucius spear disappeared inside a torso, his own shoulder almost popping out and he let it go, Stormbolt jumping over a warrior the next moment, hooves smashing the hapless man¡¯s face in. Warriors were hurled away right and left, spines breaking, hands and legs splintering, at least a dozen of them killed outright. Someone cried that Sovya had come and panic set in, but Lucius was too busy to judge the bigger picture. He kicked a Northman at the side of his helm, sent him sprawling on a Issir warrior that stared at him as if he¡¯d seen a ghost, before slitting the man¡¯s throat with a razor sharp dagger, showing great professionalism. Lucius grunted and unsheathed his blade, turning the horse this way and that amidst the chaos. He couldn¡¯t find a target as he was now surrounded by Issirs and some Lorians. The latter were even more shocked to see him. His knight¡¯s armour making him stand out. ¡°STAND AND FIGHT!¡± A man was yelling somewhere up front. ¡°YOU DARN BASTARDS!¡± Probably Benton, he thought and kicked his legs wanting Stormbolt to reach him. ¡°Lucius!¡± Roderick cried from where he¡¯d ended up, his chainmail painted in gore, but not as much as Butter, the poor horse seeming terrified. His words reached the men around him, proving their suspicions correct and another chorus started, spreading like wildfire. ¡°LUCIUS IS HERE!¡± ¡°REGIA SAVES US!¡± Lucius forced his way to the edge of the line and realized the fighting had stopped the moment Benton¡¯s front had collapsed. A good three meters separated Northmen and Issirs now and the men looked to pull back even more. He saw Benton foaming at the mouth trying to get his men to return to the line, but it was a losing cause, as they¡¯d lost too many already. Another man stood out, this one on a large horse, the same he¡¯d seen up on the ridge earlier this day, talking with Benton. The impressive warrior noticed him as well. It wasn¡¯t difficult to spot Lucius as men were constantly patting him on the back, calling out his name and petting Stormbolt in a state of jubilation around him, and he pushed his horse to the front. The Northman stared at Lucius long before speaking. ¡°Who are you knight of Regia?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Sir Lucius Alden,¡± Lucius replied, pushing his face-cover up. ¡°How shall I address you?¡± The Northman brought a big hand up and stroke his long red beard. ¡°Name¡¯s Twotrees Mcloud,¡± He said in the common tongue, voice deep, his accent heavy. ¡°Didn¡¯t expect to find the heir of Regia, so far north.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to find Fetya¡¯s men, on Sovya¡¯s lands,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°All is North up here, Sir Lucius.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have to disagree, Mr. Mcloud.¡± Twotrees frowned at his words, stared at the men standing next to Lucius. ¡°These are Black Skulls men,¡± He said, contempt in his tone palpable. ¡°Baker Morris¡¯ mercenaries. They don¡¯t belong here.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know him, nor do I care about it. Will you leave the field?¡± Mcloud stared at the darkening skies this time. ¡°Day is almost gone,¡± He said. ¡°Reckon we move to our camp.¡± ¡°Where is that?¡± Lucius probed. ¡°Up North,¡± The man replied with a smile. ¡°No!¡± Benton snarled stepping from behind a row of warriors, eagerly watching the exchange. ¡°We had a deal Twotrees!¡± Most appeared less than pleased with his words. ¡°You want to fight, through the night?¡± Mcloud asked him. ¡°Your men run. I don¡¯t see how you can help Feral Benton. That was the deal.¡± Benton grimaced, and checked around him, eyes narrowed. He realized, there was no support to his plea. ¡°This bastard killed my brother,¡± He said bitterly. ¡°You could always fight him, if he agrees to it,¡± Twotrees replied sympathetically. ¡°His brother ambushed my people,¡± Lucius explained. ¡°Brought it on himself. I owe this man nothing.¡± ¡°He did it to save the O¡¯ Dargan¡¯s girl, ye southern fiend!¡± Benton snapped and made to come at him unsuccessfully. No one wanted him starting something, so late in the day. ¡°What do ye mean?¡± Mcloud asked with a frown, his interest piqued. ¡°I¡¯m bringing her home,¡± Lucius explained. ¡°You have¡­ what¡¯s her name? Do ye even know it?¡± Mcloud asked, suspicion all over his hardened face. ¡°Zofia. She¡¯s back at our camp.¡± Hopefully still breathing. ¡°Give her to us,¡± The warrior offered. ¡°I can¡¯t do that,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°I was tasked to return her to her father. I aim to do just that.¡± Twotrees stared at him, as if he didn¡¯t believe his words, but seeing he was serious, threw his head back and laughed hard. ¡°You¡¯ll never reach her father, Sir Lucius,¡± He said, now serious. ¡°As a matter of fact, how about we settle it here now.¡± ¡°What do you propose?¡± Lucius asked, his mouth dry. Things had taken a turn for the worst. ¡°We fight it out. The old way.¡± ¡°You and me?¡± ¡°It¡¯s Benton ye¡¯ve wronged,¡± He stared at the fuming brigand. ¡°Allegedly.¡± ¡°I win, you take your men, over the border,¡± Lucius said confidently. ¡°I get free passage to her father.¡± ¡°You win, I¡¯ll retreat to Fenford Burg and wait for orders,¡± Twotrees countered, measuring his words. ¡°Whether you¡¯ll make it to Ludr, or not, is none of my business. If you lose, I¡¯ll let your men go, but I will keep the girl. She¡¯s a pain in the arse, but I guess it will make the old man happy.¡± Lucius turned his head and looked back, saw Roderick close his eyes, despair written all over his face. He was cold and tired. His back hurt and the sun was almost gone. Thinking about it, wouldn¡¯t help anyone, much less himself. Better do it while you can move your muscles, he thought and jumped off his horse. Twotrees stare held as much surprise, as admiration. ¡°I will fight him,¡± He said simply and watched Benton¡¯s smirk growing. ¡°In the circle?¡± The Northman inquired, just to be certain. Lucius shrugged his shoulders, the pain making him flinch. Every eye was set on him. Friends and foes waiting for confirmation. ¡°In the circle,¡± He replied his tone nonchalant, despite the nervousness he felt. And that was that. The battle of Bloody Ridge, was to end with a duel to the death. 39. Ora’s mark is forever
Ralnor (aka Larn) (aka Dar Eherdir) Ora¡¯s mark is forever.
Green and white. More white than green, and old rust. The fat carrion fly hid behind the bleached white teeth, avoided one that was pure gold, disappeared for¡­ four seconds, Ralnor counted and came out an empty eye socket. It flew briefly, staying masterfully inside the gibbeting cage and then returned to the rotting body. Not much flesh was left on it, the best parts already eaten away, and the rest on their way to petrification. A waste, Ralnor thought. Dar¡¯s irritated flapping alerting him and he turned his head to the busy street. People were hurrying to their work, the crowd of decent size, Lorians were a good portion of it, a lot of Issirs as well, very few Cofols and mixed breeds. A lot of that apparently. Nobody paying any attention to him, or looking his general way, but for a short old woman that quickly lost interest and walked away. A man on his horse, a traveler, pausing to admire the view, before entering the town¡­ was it suspicious? Hmm. He clicked his tongue and the horse slowly started down the road leading inside Altarin proper. Left the rotting corpses behind. Seven they were. Ralnor kept the number, to see if it was important.
He entered the large busy stable belonging to a tavern, right next to the Golden Bird inn, went straight through and exited out the back, traveled four blocks chancing the numbers and left Dar to a smaller stable there. Walked the distance back to Golden Bird, entered from a side door, but not before pausing to check, who shadowed him. Because someone was. Ralnor could feel their eyes on his back. The alley was empty, shadows everywhere and the sun fighting a losing battle. Where are you? He asked the shadows, but nothing breathed. A professional. Interesting. He pushed the door open, the man behind the counter reading from a scroll, lifted his eyes to check who it was. Ralnor walked towards him, a maid getting up her chair on his right hand, small-nose, cute eyes and long chestnut hair, braided into a fancy ponytail. Practical, but for the touch of vanity, Ralnor thought. Seven steps it was, door to counter. The man cleared his throat, put the scroll he was reading down, numbers and quantities on it, oil-colored eyes on a Lorian face. Mid thirty. A bit of Cofol mixed in there as well. Perhaps a quarter, Ralnor decided. One fourth. ¡°Hello there¡­¡± The innkeeper greeted him, tending a hand, but Ralnor flicked a coin on the table instead of taking it. He sent it spinning on the polished surface, reaching the edge fast, before making a sharp turn and returning to the middle. The innkeeper put a palm on it and stopped it. ¡°I take it traveler, you want more than a room?¡± ¡°Why traveler?¡± Ralnor asked him, playing along. ¡°There¡¯s a lot of road on that cape,¡± The man explained, his words as old as the guild, a small smile on his lips, when he glanced under his palm, to check on the coin. ¡°A bit of sea as well.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t name the road, nor speak of the sea,¡± Ralnor droned, voice barely audible. ¡°Shades have no tongue, and all dead sound alike.¡± ¡°To the Servants of the Fading Light,¡± The innkeeper added. ¡°Welcome to the Golden Bird, traveler.¡± Ralnor nodded, sensing the woman pretending to be a maid, relax behind him. ¡°Where¡¯s Kise?¡± He asked taking a key the man offered him. ¡°Dead. Four summers back,¡± He replied with a small grimace. ¡°Poison in the wine, or just the wine. Name¡¯s Dean Kutas. I was asked to run the inn.¡± There it was again, he thought. Four. ¡°The girl?¡± He probed, working the numbers in his mind. ¡°Mezera, she helps out,¡± Dean explained. ¡°Pfft,¡± Mezera snorted. ¡°Slaving more like. Got a name handsome?¡± Ralnor smacked his lips and turned to stare in her eyes. She took a cautious step back, the smile wiped off her face. ¡°Wow. It¡¯s okay. I¡¯m gonna¡­go clean your room, now.¡± ¡°That would be number seven.¡± Dean said, as she run up the stairs leading to the second floor two at a time, showing quite a bit of agility. Ralnor found it interesting. ¡°Anyone else in town?¡± He asked, when Mezera disappeared up the stairs. ¡°Huh? No one but you. It¡¯s Altarin. Not much to see here.¡± ¡°Were they bandits?¡± Dean narrowed his eyes. ¡°Ah, you mean¡­ no, pirates. No one important though, from what I learned.¡±You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. ¡°Why not hang them in Altarinport then?¡± Ralnor asked patiently. This well was empty of useful information, it seemed. ¡°Well, who knows? That¡¯s the usual. I have a bit of gossip about it though, if yer keen to listen,¡± Dean said, with a glance back at his scroll. Ralnor sighed, the sound of something breaking coming from above. ¡°She hates cleaning,¡± Dean Kutas explained self-consciously. ¡°What¡¯s the gossip?¡± ¡°Lord Reeves has a grandson apparently, brought them as a gift is the word,¡± Dean replied and Ralnor flinched surprised. The well apparently not quite empty. ¡°The old man didn¡¯t much like it, who takes a pirate as a slave? Hanged them all the next day, but for one.¡± ¡°How do you know?¡± Ralnor asked, the detail interesting. ¡°Well, half the city saw them leaving, about a month back. Spotted him still breathing. Mezera did, that is.¡± Ralnor licked his lips, tasting the road on them. ¡°Where were they going?¡± He asked, voice neutral, despite his blood screaming excited and Dean raising a brow knowingly, told him.
Not a day¡¯s rest, he thought, patting Dar¡¯s long snout with a gloved hand, several hours later. A distant thunder announcing the coming of a night storm. Later though, the night is still too young, he decided. There was light coming from the entrance of the small stable. The torches were burning bright enough to illuminate much of its interior, especially near the entrance, but left the back walls near the exit dark and drown in shadows. Ralnor pulled the reins to get Dar out of its stall, dropped them when the horse started moving and walked behind its large body. The horse snorted, made a couple of steps towards the dark opened door, before stopping. Raised his large head and shook its mane in a warning. Ralnor following behind it, dropped to one knee, something whistling over him, too crude to be a bolt and took out one of the torches on the other side. He was moving the next moment. One heartbeat and he rolled into a shadow, another to climb up a beam and touch the ceiling. Three to find the opening, the hatch left unlocked, a clue he missed. He pushed it to reach the tiled roof, his soft leather boots making almost no sound as he run across it. Almost. Ralnor didn¡¯t pause when he reached the edge, a tile breaking when he leaped to the building across the street, arms flailing wild, and his feet kicking at the air. Almost made it, but for the difference in height; this being a two story house. It¡¯s not easy to calculate, much less elect properly, when running in the blind to escape an assassin¡¯s blade. His hand grabbed a window door, its hinges snapping a moment later, but it was momentum enough to adjust, walk vertical the remaining two meters up the wall, as nibble as a lizard and reach the roof. The small-statured killer pretending to be an old woman, snickered in glee from where he waited for him, when Ralnor almost collapsed with bated breath on the cold tiles. He¡¯d a thin silver pipe in his right hand and he lit it with an oval firestone. Ralnor hadn¡¯t seen one of those in almost two hundred years. ¡°Dar Eherdir,¡± The assassin said mockingly, in the old tongue. Ralnor could see him now, as his eyes adjusted to the dark, thinning washed out pink hair, and gaunt painted nose-less face. He brought his left hand back, fingers touching a throwing blade, but decided not to use it. Allowed himself to breathe deeply instead. He¡¯d recognized the aromatic smoke. Burning blue-veined Redleaf was a delicacy he¡¯d dabbled with himself in his youth, but only one other assassin had the audacity to carry with him on the job. ¡°Dar Vranga,¡± He hissed, too surprised to even utter the words, his trained heart losing a beat. ¡°You tried to kill me.¡± ¡°Just call me Flix,¡± The Gish assassin said, blowing smoke out his nostrils. ¡°I knew you¡¯ll dodge.¡± ¡°You are not dead,¡± Ralnor said. ¡°I¡¯m almost there,¡± Flix replied nonchalantly. ¡°If the Gish lived as long as you, we would rule the realm, twice over.¡± ¡°Are you here to collect?¡± Ralnor asked, the whole meeting unsettling. ¡°Always selfish you were,¡± Flix said, drawing at his pipe, eyes closed. ¡°Dar Nym¡¯s best apprentice.¡± ¡°Where have you been?¡± He asked. ¡°Is he alive?¡± Flix corrected it for him, in the manner of his species. ¡°I assumed he went down, when Goras burned.¡± ¡°Ah, Goras is gone alright, Elauthin as well,¡± The Gish said, with a shrug. ¡°Nureria still stands though, for the most part.¡± ¡°How could you possibly know?¡± Ralnor hissed, hearing the names of the old places hurting him, more than he ever expected. ¡°I never left,¡± Flix replied. He got up with a grimace of pain and emptied his spent pipe. ¡°Some of us never did.¡± ¡°Lies. You¡¯re lying Gish.¡± Flix put the engraved pipe in a pocket of his female tunic and pressed his lips tight. ¡°Silent Servants is a two words title for a reason, Dar Eherdir. You like the first part, made a guild of it. Left the other part out though, which is a little hypocritical. Who do you serve now?¡± ¡°I serve the Fading Light.¡± ¡°Are you? Ora¡¯s mark is forever, is it not? Ye teach it differently now?¡± ¡°I kept the faith alive. What did you do?¡± Ralnor snapped, not liking being questioned by an ancient lackey. ¡°Where is she then? Is she still breathing?¡± Flix asked, again steering the conversation towards the truth. Ralnor¡¯s hand went for his blade again. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I lost her,¡± He lied. ¡°Why the sudden interest now?¡± ¡°Have you stopped looking?¡± Flix enquired, dodging his query. I never had to look, you fool. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Is that what you¡¯re doing here?¡± ¡°It¡¯s another matter this, or it isn¡¯t,¡± Ralnor retorted cryptically with a sigh, and let the blade rest again. ¡°The trail has gone cold centuries ago anyway, Dar Vranga. It¡¯s perhaps time we moved on. Is that why you are here?¡± The Gish laughed annoyingly, replying much as he had earlier. ¡°I¡¯m here on another matter as well, unless I¡¯m not. Fortunately this trail is still warm.¡±
Climbing down from the roof, was less eventful than jumping on it from across the street. Ralnor found Dar waiting for him, where he had left him. An hour later he was on the road again. The small delay due to him wanting to send two messages, before he left Altarin behind. Everything was convoluted. The numbers all wrong. Ancient doors had suddenly cracked open, old enemies and dangers had risen from their slumber. One message went to the Desert Lake and the city of Yin Xi-Yan, the other to Dia Castle. One message for a mark he¡¯d spared, before the world had burned; the other for the pupil he¡¯d created, after it did. The numbers not matching, showing how dire was the situation. Ora¡¯s mark is forever. He didn¡¯t mince his words. Both missives were short. Both were warnings. 40. Gift of Blend
Fikumin Gift of Blend
Vegetables, mostly fresh and mouldy cheese that was once, mostly yellow. A couple of old marshmallows, his last two. A bit of stolen butter from Dante¡¯s supplies and biscuit bread, now stale. Dry salted pork, also stolen from their mules, hard as his boot¡¯s old leather sole and not as flavorful. Fikumin smiled at the memory. The next moment he bit down hungrily, eyes watering at the taste. Almost a great hoagie, he thought chewing slowly, bits and pieces dropping from his mouth. He could hear parts of their group¡¯s conversation in the background, but he was at least thirty meters from them, hidden behind tall bushes and silver-barked Birch trees right at the river¡¯s banks, their vibrant orange egg-shaped leaves creating a canopy that offered him a decent enough shade, so he quickly gave up and tuned them out. Fikumin kept chewing slowly, before swallowing his meal, enjoying the serenity of the spot. Much better than staying near the road, he thought, his eyes following the flow of the river¡¯s waters, listening to the insects buzzing all around and the birds flying over his head. He got up to have some water, made one step forward and heard a branch snapping not two meters from where he was, thank you Luthos, so he turned tail and rushed inside a tall bush, hoagie still in hand. The boy and the Gish appeared a moment later, Glen sporting a frown on his face and Jinx appearing bored out of her wits. ¡°I saw her slipping away, then puff¡­ gone,¡± Glen said, sounding annoyed. ¡°How does she do that?¡± ¡°It should¡¯ve told ye something,¡± Jinx replied, turning to look towards his spot, so Fikumin had to roll away and run behind a tree trunk. He breathed once, trying to calm down. ¡°Tell me what?¡± Glen asked. ¡°She wanted to be left alone?¡± ¡°For what reason?¡± ¡°How should I know? Take a piss, make a bigger deposit?¡± She thought about it some. ¡°Finger her blue cunt?¡± ¡°For fuck¡¯s sake Whisper!¡± Glen retorted in shock. ¡°Call me Pretty. And I stand by me words.¡± ¡°Bullshit, you¡¯re trying to excuse¡­ the fuck are ye doing now?¡± Fikumin heard the Gish walking on the other side of the tree he was hiding behind and started climbing upwards in panic, after he secured the hoagie in his mouth. It was quite a feat reaching the thick branch at its mid-point, without falling and breaking his neck, but its leafy twigs hid him from the ground decently. ¡°I heard something,¡± Jinx said. ¡°Not her.¡± ¡°An animal?¡± Glen chanced, sounding disappointed. ¡°Hmm.¡± ¡°The fuck does that mean?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t mean anything.¡± Glen sighed exasperated. ¡°I¡¯m going back,¡± He decided. ¡°This is pointless.¡± ¡°Uhm,¡± Jinx murmured, not as sure. ¡°Yer doing it again!¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t hear that?¡± Jinx asked him. ¡°This scratchy sound?¡± Fikumin stopped chewing, his eyes ogling as he tried to swallow, a large piece of pork almost killing him, as it went down. ¡°I don¡¯t hear shit!¡± Glen snapped, all furious. ¡°Pfft, let¡¯s go. Yer deaf on top of fuckin¡¯ worthless,¡± Jinx replied. ¡°Don¡¯t be all sad about it, might give ye a pity fuck to get her out of yer mind.¡± Fikumin chanced a look at the unlikely duo walking away, moving a small branch out of the way.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. ¡°You will?¡± Glen asked, pretending he didn¡¯t care either way. ¡°Nah,¡± Jinx replied casually, figuring him out.
A long fit leg touched the branch Fikumin was standing on, the moment they disappeared from sight. Another one coming to rest next to it, a moment later. Wet and naked, water running down and creating dark spots under the well-shaped feet. The branch barely moving, when she did. Fikumin raised his eyes slowly, taking in her perfect thighs, the color of her mound same as that of her long hair. The way her flat stomach rippled, when Lithoniela stooped over him, round breasts dancing and her lips crooked in a naughty smile, he probably imagined, but it was enough to cause a certain part of his body to wake up. ¡°What are you eating?¡± She asked, sitting next to him, unbothered by her nakedness. ¡°A hoagie?¡± He croaked trying to hide his erection and almost falling from the branch in the process. The pretty Zilan wrinkled her small nose. ¡°I¡¯m not that hungry,¡± She decided with a sigh. Fikumin nodded and glanced at the direction of their camp. ¡°They are my allies,¡± Lithoniela added, guessing what he was thinking. ¡°Are they?¡± She thought about it some. ¡°Most of them. Though I can¡¯t walk naked before them, or show my face. They don¡¯t have your restraint.¡± ¡°Ahm, I could hunt a rabbit, make a stew,¡± Fikumin offered quickly with a blush and she laughed throaty at that. ¡°The day I¡¯ll eat something cooked,¡± Lithoniela said, when she came around. ¡°Fikumin shall be named king of all the Folk.¡± Her stomach made a sound, probably not agreeing with that and Fikumin stared at his half-eaten meal thoughtfully. ¡°There¡¯s some cheese in it,¡± He offered after a quiet moment. ¡°Dante¡¯s?¡± She probed. It seemed everyone knew about the mercenary¡¯s stash. ¡°Ayup.¡± ¡°Give me a small piece.¡± Fikumin dug out the biggest piece he could find. It was a bit chewed on the top, but other than that, it was perfectly fine. She didn¡¯t seem to mind at all and gulped it down in one go. Fikumin found it very impressive. Also extremely arousing. But it was neither as impressive, nor as exciting as her using the Gift of Warmth to dry herself up, before climbing down. Or watching her braid her long hair into an elaborate bun, so they won¡¯t give her away. That was pretty interesting too.
An hour later, he stood next to her, the fully dressed now Zilan towering over him and watched as their caravan prepared to resume their journey. They were still hidden behind the trees, but they were about to join them. ¡°What¡¯s in Hellfort?¡± Fikumin asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know yet.¡± She replied, raising the hood to cover her head. ¡°But Glen does?¡± ¡°Glen is looking for treasure.¡± Fikumin nodded. It was a noble undertaking. ¡°What about the dagger?¡± Lithoniela took a sharp breath, and let it go slowly. It gave her time to think about it some. ¡°It will force him down a path,¡± She said after a time, mouth tense. ¡°Place power in his hands, or kill him in the process.¡± ¡°Hardly sounds like a prize.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not.¡± Lithoniela agreed. ¡°He did find it though. Everyone thought it lost, since Reinut last wielded it. It will create chaos and that will bring opportunity. Whether it is for good, or bad. I don¡¯t know.¡± Fikumin raised his eyes. ¡°Is that what you want?¡± But the Zilan didn¡¯t answer. She never did, when he probed on her intentions. Lithoniela opened her cape instead and he walked between her legs. Then moving like one, they got out of the trees and headed for the caravan. One could see his small legs under the cape, if he looked carefully, but no one did. The same was true for the bulge at the front, but again no one did. There was a spell that made things difficult to notice, Lithoniela had explained to him back in Castalor. She called it the Gift of Blend, one of the three main spells one learned, to master the greater Gift of Stealth. ¡°Has anyone ever mastered it?¡± He asked her, his voice a whisper, when they were back on her horse. ¡°Very few had in the past. It was never something one would advertise,¡± Lithoniela replied in the old tongue. ¡°Not that it matters now. All of them are gone.¡± ¡°You are not,¡± Fikumin said, parting the cape to see the road. He saw a lot of the horse¡¯s head, but not a sliver of road. It didn¡¯t let that deter him. He was Fikumin Flintfoot, the fastest of the Folk. Dealing with problems was his specialty. ¡°Since I found you and I wasn¡¯t even looking, we will find more of your kind. I¡¯m a priest of Luthos, luck is on my side. You¡¯re a Zilan, luck is in your blood.¡± ¡°Can luck make something, out of nothing?¡± She hissed now angry, ending their talk. Fikumin heard Luthos laughter rang all around them and shook his head at her shortsightedness.
The Zilan was skeptical and it remained so, despite his efforts to convince her during their ride. Whether it was luck or not, their journey was uneventful and they reached the wooden bridge that lead across the Teid River, two days later. Some locals greeted them as they passed by, but no Zilan, much to Fikumin¡¯s chagrin. It will be some time yet, before they''d meet one in the flesh. Although had they being given the option at that time, they¡¯d probably chosen not to. 41. Forty shields
Best ye think about it some lad, Tis Logan ¡®The Gray¡¯ Barrett, yer talkin¡¯ to Saw him wit me own eyes hold the shield When Feral Benton fought the Bloody Tiger Afore the walls of Kas. - An unnamed Northman Circa 198 NC
Sir Lucius Alden Forty shields
A black skull was painted on the banners. Set in a white background it wasn¡¯t easy to discern from afar, but it was cleanly and rather artistically drawn, Lucius decided, now that he could see it proper. The mercenaries had managed to escape the failed attack on Ludr, crossed the smaller rivers losing a good number of men, all this new information for Lucius and then realizing Wolvesbane Castle had fallen, they¡¯d rushed towards Eaglesnest and salvation. According to what they had told them, the Crull force gathered there learning what happened patched them up, and send them towards Kas to block the eastern approach to their capital. They in turn retreated up the mountains to wait for the Northmen closer to their city. The mercenaries had managed to surprise Mcloud¡¯s men initially, but Feral Benton¡¯s sudden appearance from the ridge had put them in a death vise, trapping them between their forces. They were doomed, but for Lucius¡¯ last minute heroic charge. The Black Skulls had regrouped very fast again, showing great resilience and were now ready to force-march back where they had come from. Hoping to find the road open, or even catch the Northmen in a trap themselves, if that failed. It always marveled Lucius how people had the ability to go from utter despair to overconfidence in the span of a single day. All the above of course were very interesting details and insight on local politics and conflicts, but didn¡¯t help the young Heir at all unfortunately, not at the moment. He glanced at the sky, avoided Roderick¡¯s sour face and stilled his eyes on the rest of the men, he¡¯d taken with him on this quest. Those that were still alive that is. ¡°Warriors will create an enclosed space wit their shields,¡± Galio explained, taking his stare as a question. Lucius supposed that it was. ¡°It don¡¯t have to be a circle, but it¡¯s what they call it.¡± ¡°Anything else?¡± Lucius focused his attention on Dirk Curd. While the man had made a remarkable recovery, placing him near Zofia during the fight had perhaps been a mistake, he thought. He¡¯d done plenty of those. ¡°Finish it quickly. He¡¯ll have more friendly shields than ye,¡± The mixed blood Issir replied. Lucius nodded. A prolonged fight wasn¡¯t on his mind anyways. He was hurting allover, since they¡¯d been fighting since morning. ¡°Have you ever fought in there?¡± He asked, still vague on what to expect. ¡°I have, but it¡¯s been a long time since,¡± Dirk wasn¡¯t keen on discussing it for some reason. ¡°We¡¯ll have six shields between us,¡± Galio said. ¡°Another four Lorians, decided to stay and help. So that¡¯s a round ten.¡± ¡°Can they leave their commission?¡± Lucius probed, moved at their gesture. ¡°They rather fight wit Regia, milord,¡± The ex-sergeant replied, sounding almost offended.
Twotrees Mcloud waited for them to approach a rather flat opening, almost fifty men near him, another fifty watching from further away. People were coming from Kas as well and gathering at the near soft slopes, now that the fight had stopped. Women and children mixed in. They were probably watching them from the walls. The fact they hadn¡¯t come out to help the mercenaries against their fellow Northmen, very telling, Lucius thought with a grimace, his face hurting from the cold. ¡°Lord Alden,¡± Mcloud said, his accent heavy. ¡°We are drawing quite the crowd, but the hour is late. Shall we begin?¡± Lucius stared at Feral Benton, wild hair hidden under a studded hard-leather helm, leather armor over chainmail, almost as tall his brother, but wider at the shoulders. He¡¯d a Warhammer in his right hand and talked to a shorter wiry girl with fiery red hair cut very short, her eyes a striking blue that pierced through him, when she caught his stare. ¡°Maybe I should fight him,¡± The fiery young woman spat, all bravado. ¡°He¡¯s too pretty and shiny to last with ye brother.¡± The whole darn family is here it seems, Lucius thought, responding to her taunt with a nod. ¡°I won¡¯t fight a woman, but I will fight your brother,¡± The latter he said to the expecting and slightly amused Mcloud, the large Northman easily towering over all of them. ¡°Right, with Faye¡¯s permission, you can choose weapons, or bar them from this bout,¡± Twotrees announced to the cheers of the Northmen and the unease of most of his own men. Lucius glanced back, lips pressed tight. They all seem outraged, but for Dirk Curd that is. He didn¡¯t have time to worry about the mixed blood. ¡°No swords!¡± Benton announced stepping forward. Lucius frowned, still stunned by the turn of events.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°What manner of crap is this?¡± Roderick was heard on his back. Twotrees glared at him, while two Northmen brought a couple of spears in the center that was left open and stabbed them into the muddy ground. At the same time men carrying shields had formed around Benton and Lucius. Most of them were Northmen, looking none too friendly. ¡°Lord Alden, has the chance to bar a type of weapon as well,¡± He explained, under the murmur of the crowd, now creating another bigger circle outside the one Lucius was standing in. ¡°It is how it¡¯s done,¡± He added, his eyes on the two spears. Lucius unsheathed his sword, walked towards the side his men were standing, shields in front of them and gave it to a furious Roderick. ¡°He¡¯s lighter than ye,¡± The loyal hand warned, but Lucius had made his decision already. Galio standing two shields away, tossed him his Legion issued warhammer and Lucius snatched it out of the air. Roderick opened his mouth to protest, but he put a hand on his shoulder and stopped him. ¡°Get the sword to my father and all our people back to Regia. Whatever it takes, Roderick,¡± He told him brusquely, though he softened it at the end where he¡¯d mentioned his name. A rarity in all the years he¡¯d known him, despite for all intents and purposes the old man being like a father to the young Heir. Lucius turned on his heel to approach his expecting opponent, walking fast not to let the emotion sap at his strength. If I don¡¯t make it, was his meaning.
Faye had taken a shield and her place in the circle, leaving them alone. Twotrees, himself not part of the circle, had jumped on his horse to have a better view of what was going on. ¡°No weapon change milord?¡± He asked seeing his steel war hammer, thick brows raised. ¡°No change,¡± Lucius replied, closing his fingers on the handle. ¡°Don¡¯t want to drag this any further,¡± Benton shook his head right and left in disbelief. Twotrees glanced towards the darkening skies. ¡°Ye have less than an hour. The first man dead, before the sun sets, loses. Forty shields are bearing witness people!¡± He thundered, booming voice silencing the murmurs of the crowd. ¡°Ye may begin.¡± Benton charged him before the last word left his mouth.
Lucius twitched away, the war hammer coming at him with a scream, spike missing his shoulder by an inch. He jumped away, boots slipping in the mud, saw Benton running at him with a roar, the heavy weapon swinging again for his head and rolled away almost banging his helm on a shield. He turned, tried to swing himself, but missed and Benton downed his war hammer clipping the front of his plate as he jumped back. The shield stopped him mid move and then pushed him forward, a faceless Northman cursing his dead mother behind his back. Lucius stumbled forward, saw Benton swinging upwards and blocked with his weapon, almost losing the grip on impact. Lucius was pushed again on to the shield, the boss clanging on his back and a fist catching the side of his face, sending his head spinning. He kicked blindly, caught part of a shin and then jumped to the side, Benton groaning and cursing in the same sentence. He rolled again the moment he landed, sludge mixed with blood in his mouth, his face cover slits clogged in mud. Lucius opened it and breathing heavy, tried to find his bearings, all the advice he¡¯d gotten earlier seeming absurd now. Benton moving light on his foot, or just less tired, since he¡¯d barely fought all day, came at him again, full of confidence. The crowd roared with him, the vast majority on his side. Lucius spat between his legs, tongue touching his split lip and parried away his opponent¡¯s first wild swing. Benton stepped back to gather momentum, but Lucius advanced and forced him to attack with an ineffective half swing, which he deflected easily and reached him before he¡¯d time to swing again. Benton tried to head butt him as he advanced, but Lucius lowered his steel helm, heard the man¡¯s teeth breaking on his conned top, his muffled cries shocking the crowd. The Northman stumbled back blood on his mouth, and swung high with his war hammer, aiming for his head. Lucius ducked under it the last moment, the iron head catching him between the shoulder blades, his backplate twisting and the force so great, it send him to his knees. ¡°Fuckin¡¯ southern fiend,¡± Feral Benton cursed, spitting blood and a huge gap where his front teeth were. ¡°This is wher¡¯ ye die.¡± He came at him again, not giving him time to stand on his feet, giving it his all in the charge. Lucius, his knees shaking, parried a death blow to his face and send it away, Benton¡¯s shoulder catching his chest and lifting him clean off his feet. He flew backwards a shield banging him harder than it was needed, when he landed. He thought his hurt back broke for a moment and panicked. Benton reached him, just as the feeling returned, the Northman now breathing heavy and skin flushed the shade of blood, where there was none and swung low, trying to break his knee cap. Lucius tried to move his leg out of the way, the spike slashing him just below catching his left greave. It went through plate, clipping the bone and cracking it, the pain almost blinding him. Lucius growled maddened and dodged to the side to avoid the powerful killing blow, his knee barely holding and moving on it, making it worse. Benton missed him for a breath, his war hammer striking the shield behind his back with such force, it split in half and pulverized the arm of the astounded Northman holding it, covering them both in wood splinters and blood. People screamed all at once, the uproar seeming like an earthquake that made his teeth rattle, as Lucius staggered a step away, turned on his good leg and swung at the spent Benton, putting most of his weight behind it. He got him at the top of his right shoulder, where his armour was strengthened with iron over the leather. Little good did it do him. The war hammer landed full force, the head wrapping the metal, melting the leather and fractured the scapula in at least a hundred pieces. The Northman lost his weapon, his right hand turning useless and crashed on a fresh shield that had replaced the one he¡¯d broken earlier with a heart wrenching cry. Lucius, himself barely standing on his feet, his left knee bleeding and his bone moving worryingly as he walked, approached the shaking Benton, as fast as he could. Which wasn¡¯t fast at all. The noise all around the young Heir had reached a crescendo. The crowd cursing his lineage enraged, his own men situated on the other side of the circle, than the one he was now, yelling drowned out encouragements and a couple of mean looking rocks landing near him. Benton saw him approaching and snapped out of his agony, the adrenaline masking the pain somewhat. He stooped and grabbed his war hammer with the left hand, the right dangling useless and rubbery. The wounded Northman still dangerous, made to swing at him as he hobbled the last meter to reach him, but Lucius was expecting it and parried it away. His war hammer moved right to left for the block and returned in a backhand, starting low and rising. ¡°NOOO!¡± A distraught Faye screamed somewhere to his right, her voice cutting through the uproar, just as the steel spike connected with Benton¡¯s square jaw and kept going pulverizing everything in its path, turning his face into a horror show. Lucius painted in gore, let go of the handle, the war hammer staying sunk in Benton¡¯s now unrecognizable face and pulled away from him. The Northman had died upright, his muscles locking and he stayed like that for a slow moment as Lucius, back hurting, knee buckling and too shocked to think straight stumbled into the center of the crumbling circle. The crowd had erupted mostly in anger, but he couldn¡¯t understand what was going on around him. The shields dropped somewhere to his right and Faye dashed out of the chaos, bastard sword in hand. She run furious towards him, tears on her face and murder in her eyes. Lucius his ears ringing and too tired to even lift a hand, not that he could fight without a weapon; watched as she approached light on her feet, but as deadly as Tyeus Valkyries. Everything slowing down, as if he was dying. Faye reached him in two seconds, or twenty, raised that nasty blade of hers to cut him down, but was knocked out of her feet by a large horse that charged between them at the last moment. The woman crashed four meters away landing on her head and stayed down, out for the count. Damn, that must¡¯ve hurt, Lucius thought. The last thing he saw before fainting, was a fearsome looking Twotrees Mcloud standing on top of that horse, tall as a mountain that huge greatsword of his, looking small in his hand. It was all blackness after that. 42. A Queen’s offer (1/2)
One could cross the Great Acid Lake, If he keeps heading straight south never veers, or stops to listen to Ticus¡¯ songs A month¡¯s travel it shall be, depending on your skill and you¡¯ll observe the mist covering the waters Where the Eplas land ends, where famed Elauthin once stood, Now gone, melted into the rock, or sunk in the Fizzing Depths For the enduring adventurer can overcome anything, If he but defeats his fear, the vapors will open up And there in the waters, just beyond Elauthin¡¯s ruins Nureria and its ghosts¡­ Shall appear. Beyond Elauthin Epilogue Ebenezer Framtond Circa 78 NC
Nattas A Queen¡¯s offer
Perhaps it was the soft rustling of his bedroom¡¯s long curtains that roused him out of his heavy slumber. The morning Cartagen sun that rushed in chasing away the darkness, another strong candidate for being the culprit. He¡¯d preferred the light whiff of rosewater with a hint of frankincense being the reason, but it was probably a blend of all the above. At least it wasn¡¯t Abrakas hairy arse, Nattas thought opening his eyes. He stared at his painted ceiling, a couple of spots darker were moisture had eaten away at the large drawing. A Kraken coming out of the sea. He¡¯d need to repaint the whole thing at some point. Put something else in its place, less risqu¨¦ considering the current fucking climate¡­ A shadow blocked the light coming in and he tensed up, his head rising to see who was in the room with him. He expected the worst, having already decided he was bound to go out like that, slain naked in his bed under a painting of the Old Gods, with his cock equaling in hardness the loathsome killer¡¯s blade. Well that, or I would end up dead, poisoned by my own fuckin¡¯ hand and covered in vile Abrakas shit! The killer was standing in front of the window, back half turned and looking outside, curly hair almost blond and reaching her shoulders. The thin Lorian summer dress she wore, showing him the curves on her body engulfed in a golden radiance. Ah, his poetic brain was in full swing again, he thought getting up, minding not to make too much noise. Not an easy thing considering his leg barely worked, when he got out of bed. Nattas needed time for his muscles to wake up and he decided not to rush it, silently taking in the distracted woman. Maja was dressed pretty light for the season, but everyone did in the south and Storm had nothing against it. ¡°Lord Nattas!¡± Maja gasped noticing him standing behind her in all his naked glory. At full fuckin¡¯ mast. Storm kept his eyes on her unperturbed, as the blush reached the roots of her hair. ¡°Miss Maja,¡± He replied, one eye on her freckled face, the other on her swaying nipples, clearly visible under the flimsy material. ¡°Do you enjoy the view?¡± ¡°Gods. No¡­ ahm, yes!¡± She answered, her head snapping forward, as if she suddenly found the view of the King¡¯s Baths in the distance enthralling. Maja cleared her throat. ¡°I like this side of the house better,¡± She added, sounding embarrassed. Probably at the lame excuse. ¡°I do as well,¡± Storm said with a smile, looking around for his tunic. Not finding it, he decided to pick a fresh one from his closet. It was made of light blue cloth with satin details, much more appropriate that what she was wearing. An odd choice of clothing for a morning visit to his bedroom, and he was a careful man around women he hadn¡¯t paid for their services. But not paranoid. Not completely paranoid. ¡°I should change,¡± Maja said quickly, her profile exquisite to gawk at. To think I had once thought her freckles unsavory, of all fuckin¡¯ things, Storm shook his head disappointed with his younger and foolish self. Wish I could darling, he thought. ¡°Don¡¯t do it on my account,¡± Storm said instead, with a slightly creepy smirk. Creepier than he¡¯d preferred. ¡°Ahm, a¡­ court¡¯s officer came,¡± Maja muttered uncomfortable, while opting to stay under the sun¡¯s revealing light. Nattas wasn¡¯t fooled, but he was forced to pay attention¡­ ¡°It¡¯s for you,¡± ¡­to the small scroll with the King¡¯s seal, she¡¯d pushed into his hand. He licked his lips slowly, and stared at the inoffensive piece of parchment as one would a sleeping rattlesnake. King Alistair was in Alden, last time he¡¯d checked. ¡°The King is not here,¡± He murmured aloud, trying to think through all the implications of a sudden summon to the palace grounds, so early in the day. Maja shrugged her cute shoulders, the sight of her dancing breasts less alluring now for whatever reason. It was as if that small scroll had sucked the life out of him. Storm glanced down his tunic, where his shriveled cock was and sighed. ¡°There¡¯s breakfast in the kitchen,¡± The woman said and there was something in her eyes Storm couldn¡¯t figure out. He¡¯d preferred it to be some kind of lust of sorts, or even disappointment, but knew deep inside that it wasn¡¯t. Lord Nattas had an eye for talent and brains. Maja had more of the latter, than she let on. ¡°Is there no one else here?¡± Storm asked, keeping his voice casual.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. She pushed a wayward blond curl behind her right ear before answering. ¡°Mr. Sudi and young Sirio are having breakfast. In the kitchen.¡± ¡°He¡¯s not that young,¡± Storm replied sourly. ¡°And no one bothered to bring me this? They sent you instead?¡± ¡°I volunteered, my Lord. It kind of¡­ seemed important to rouse you,¡± Maja¡¯s voice trailed, unsure on the right answer. Right. ¡°You know I noticed, you haven¡¯t asked about your fianc¨¦e lately,¡± Storm said casually and watched her flinch as she¡¯d seen a ghost. She did manage to turn it around though, calm herself down and answer him like a well drilled diplomat. The woman was learning faster than a fresh Legion cadet. Now that is fucking impressive. Storm felt his cock spring to life with renewed enthusiasm. And extremely arousing. ¡°Something happened?¡± The woman probed, not as convincing this time, or as eager. As if she had realized, he was on to her. Still rotting in a hole last time I checked, Nattas thought, annoyed with the question, despite forcing it out of her. His mood had soured again. ¡°I have no news,¡± Storm said with a cold smirk. ¡°In my line work, it¡¯s probably for the best.¡±
By the time he¡¯d reached the kitchen at the back of the villa, his stomach was a mess. Nattas stormed inside, bile in his throat and caught Sudi drinking from his good wine. The shifty lackey, gulped down the rest of his cup and got up abruptly. Sirio sitting next to him, staring slightly amused. ¡°I was ready to go out,¡± Sudi said. ¡°Stay,¡± Nattas ordered with a grimace of pain, too hurt to make a scene. He collapsed on an uncomfortable seat, he ought to break apart and throw in the fireplace first thing. But for the fact, it wasn¡¯t made for him and the expense of ordering a new one. ¡°I should probably go as well,¡± Sirio said slowly getting up, several books in his hands. ¡°Plenty of research to do on the matter we¡¯ve talked about.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like an update,¡± Storm told him through clenched teeth. Sudi poured him a generous cup of wine. It would probably mess him up even more to drink it, but he just couldn¡¯t resist. ¡°Can it wait?¡± The historian asked. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll stay.¡± Sudi opened his mouth to say something probably extremely annoying, so Storm cut him before he managed a single sound. ¡°You can get the fuck out.¡±
¡°Bad night?¡± Sirio inquired, with a small smile. Storm sighed again, and stared at the small scroll in his hands; broke the seal with another sigh and read the calligraphic script for a quiet moment. His stomach growled while he did, so he reached for the first piece of food near him and put it in his mouth. Cold lamb from yesterday. A little spicy and less soft than he¡¯d remembered it. He washed it down with some wine and swallowed, bile, meat and wine going all down. ¡°That bad?¡± The young historian probed, all curious. ¡°Queen Miranda, would like to grace her with my presence during lunch,¡± He explained. ¡°Eating with the Queen, sounds harmless enough,¡± Sirio started, before noticing his face and adding. ¡°Or not.¡± ¡°She doesn¡¯t like me,¡± Storm said simply. ¡°How do you know?¡± ¡°Her predecessor was my friend,¡± Lord Nattas explained. ¡°Women are strange,¡± Sirio droned, as if he knew what he was talking about. Storm had never seen him look at a woman twice. ¡°Queens are worse,¡± He replied, pushing the thoughts aside. ¡°And twice as deadly.¡± Sirio selected a book from his pile and opened it at a hitherto inserted bookmark a little melodramatically. Lord Nattas narrowed his eyes at his shenanigans. ¡°A new book?¡± He probed after a long moment. ¡°Well, it¡¯s actually rather old,¡± Sirio answered, without raising his eyes from the page. ¡°But pretty well known I suppose.¡± Storm snorted getting a glimpse of the title at the leather-bound book¡¯s spine. ¡°Beyond Elauthin,¡± He said shaking his head. ¡°Are you fucking kidding me?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the original,¡± The young historian explained. ¡°The man was a charlatan. I figured that one out, when I was a kid,¡± He stared at him disappointed. ¡°Most of us have.¡± ¡°An explorer and famous adventurer,¡± Sirio insisted, his skin flushing. Did he have a crush on him? Storm wondered. ¡°For the most part,¡± The young historian added, seeing his stare. ¡°Is that so? What about the other?¡± ¡°Probably a charlatan,¡± Sirio relented with a small smile. Abrakas help us. We¡¯ve run out of sources, even the absurd ones and turned ourselves to a charlatan¡¯s tales? ¡°Does he write anything about this country, or city?¡± Storm asked. The country of Dan, was his meaning. ¡°No. But he mentions¡­ there¡¯s a passage, he¡¯s standing at the edge near some ancient ruins, or others, were the Fizzing Depths separate Wetull lands from the Reefs, waiting for the mist to clear.¡± Sirio read the paragraph and then turned the book to let Storm have a look at it. There was a drawing on the page of a dagger of sorts, rather crude, but clear enough and it had letters written underneath it, if one could read the foreign script that is. Lord Nattas puffed hard, the burning in his stomach immense. ¡°He¡¯s seen people¡ª¡± ¡°Ghosts,¡± Sirio interrupted him. ¡°The Ghosts of Nureria, he calls them. Scared him enough to abandon his mission.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Storm smacked his lips frustrated. He put a finger on the page and traced the ancient looking script slowly. ¡°Excuse me, if I don¡¯t trust his words. It¡¯s the same man that traveled to the North in an attempt to cross the mountains and got eaten by Direwolves more like. Only Asturians believe this crap.¡± ¡°No one knows what happened to Ebenezer Framtond, my Lord. But the man traveled his whole life. Both continents,¡± Sirio replied, then pushed Storm¡¯s hand aside slowly, traced the strange letters of the drawing himself. ¡°He found this only, partially written on a platinum pillar, inside a ruined temple,¡± He sighed, as if recalling it from memory. ¡°As for the golden city of Elauthin¡­ it was gone, nothing in its place but ruins and sunken earth. His words and I believe him. This is proof though that it was there.¡± ¡°Hmm. Well I don¡¯t,¡± Storm said and stared out of the kitchen window. He needed to get going. ¡°What does it say? I assume you can read it¡­ whatever that language is.¡± ¡°Imperial Wetull script, is extremely difficult to decipher as no one speaks it,¡± Sirio explained, well in his element now. ¡°But this was easy and Ebenezer was well-versed in their tongue. It simply reads, ruler dawns between rivers, and right under it, offer to Elauthin.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t make any sense, and I¡¯m being rather lenient, my friend,¡± Storm warned him, not liking this teasing. ¡°Give me your opinion.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not mine,¡± Sirio said defensively. ¡°You either pick a translation, or you don¡¯t.¡± There was more than one. Great. ¡°What¡¯s the difference?¡± ¡°Not much changes, other than it is just a name,¡± Sirio glanced at the page. ¡°Dawn between rivers, reads also Baltoris in their language. A female name. So it¡¯s, Queen Baltoris, offer to Elauthin.¡± A damned dagger and ghost people. ¡°That¡¯s her name?¡± He guessed it could¡¯ve been much worse. Like Abrakas arsehole, or Nesande¡¯s cunt. ¡°Yep.¡± Young Veturius agreed, oblivious to his thoughts. ¡°A platinum pillar to memorialize a Zilan Queen¡¯s present,¡± Storm murmured thinking aloud. ¡°To the golden city.¡± Sirio added and seeing him grimacing in pain added. ¡°You are not pleased?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t use it. Any of this, I need to find where this Dan is, my friend. Not sit here and wonder, what the fuck made that dagger valuable enough to warrant a bloody plaque three centuries ago,¡± Storm replied getting up. ¡°I¡¯m running out of time.¡± ¡°Surely you are not expected to solve this in a month!¡± Sirio protested, sounding worried. Lord Nattas nodded in agreement, just to calm him down. In reality, he probably had even less time. That is, if he didn¡¯t poison himself to death first. 43. A Queen’s offer (2/2)
The King¡¯s Palace in Cartagen was the apogee of early Lorian architecture and the realization of famed King Lucius the first, grant vision for the Kingdom of Regia. Heavily influenced by the Imperial era he¡¯d heard about in his youth and helped destroy as a man, the King poured so much marble and gold into what was to be a Barbican originally that in the end the walled huge building complex Lord Nattas entered an hour later, came to be known as the Palace of the Hundred Windows. Whether there were so many he didn¡¯t know. Storm paused to catch his breath, since climbing up the many marble steps to reach the columned acropolis guarded entrance had tired him to the point of derision. Autumn was always mild in Cartagen and even the approaching winter wasn¡¯t expected to bring more than a heavy rain once in a while. Perhaps a bit of chill as well, but all that was far into the future, far as Lord Nattas was concerned. At the moment the noon sun was burning his tanned skin. He took another deep breath, wiping his sweat with a silk cloth, while resting on his cane, the eyes of the Royal Guard watching him either filled with pity, or disbelief at the golden brooch he wore, marking him as an unlikely member of the King¡¯s Council. It was doubtful he was recognized either way. Cartagen wasn¡¯t Novesium, or even Alden. Nattas sighed and with a slight nod of the head, he went past the Guards and walked under the grant marble entablature to enter the King¡¯s Palace. ¡°The King¡¯s Master of Silence. Lord Nattas,¡± Demeter Deco the Queen¡¯s Chamberlain announced, after letting Storm pensively stare out one of the many floor to ceiling columned windows for a very long half hour. He entered walking stiffly, sweat under his armpits, the long rectangular cedar table holding the lunch he¡¯d apparently just missed, situated before the marble throne, dominating the long room. A striking blue cover embroidered with the Alden tiger in silver, was being cleaned by two servants, the Queen sitting at the top of the table facing the double doors that closed behind him. She wore a white gown, vertical blue thin lines matching the table¡¯s cover, silver decorating her deep v-shaped neckline and wore three platinum and gold chains on her neck that intertwined to create a single necklace, named after the two prominent rubies attached to it. The Tigress Eyes. Queen Miranda had the clear face and square jaw of all the Aldens, a straight nose and striking blue-silver eyes that could make a man squirm in lust, or fear. More fear, than lust, Storm thought and executed one of his patented deep bows that would probably destroy his back one of these days and leave him a proper cripple. ¡°Your Grace,¡± He said as the Queen untied her long blond hair and left them fall on her shoulders. She checked her painted white nails once and then the table, before apparently satisfied, set her hands on it and looked at the already uncomfortable and hurting Storm. ¡°You missed lunch,¡± Queen Miranda said, sounding concerned and uncomfortable. ¡°Was my missive, unclear Mr. Nattas?¡± Storm would have rolled his eyes, or slapped her, but knew better than that. So he took the mockery and ridicule with a straight face. ¡°Apologies, your Grace,¡± You evil bitch had me waiting outside, while you feasted. ¡°It wasn¡¯t easy for me to reach the grounds.¡± ¡°A member of the King¡¯s Council should be punctual, especially one as long at his position, as you,¡± Miranda cautioned him, but kept it civil, as if she was willing to forgive him this once. Storm swallowed, feeling a vein throbbing on his temple. ¡°I shall strive to move faster,¡± He managed to say, failing to show any enthusiasm. ¡°You live very near, are you not?¡± ¡°Actually I¡¯m not, your Grace,¡± Not that she didn¡¯t know, he thought. ¡°Though right now, I hope I was.¡± Miranda shook her head, hint of a smile forming. Sometimes it was easy to forget, she wasn¡¯t even thirty, Storm thought. Queen Miranda was actually twenty six, just like Lucius. ¡°Well, I hoped to discuss it over dinner,¡± She said after collecting herself. ¡°But it seems I may have to chance a favor.¡± There¡¯s a weird fucking turn of phrase, he thought. ¡°I serve Regia,¡± Storm replied tensely, moving his weight on his good leg, a mere second before his swollen limb gave and collapsed in front of her. His cane had saved them both from a very embarrassing scene. ¡°You served a Queen once,¡± Miranda started, watching him squirm in discomfort pitilessly. There were at least ten free chairs between them, Storm Nattas noticed and he was still fucking standing. They had red velvet cushions on and comfortable sloped backs. These were some really good chairs and his fury for not being allowed to rest his tired legs was growing with each ticking second. ¡°You hold this position for many years now.¡± ¡°Eleven, your Grace.¡± ¡°She appointed you there quite young. I heard it was scandalous,¡± Miranda raised a perfect brow questioningly. ¡°The King made the decision, your Grace,¡± Storm corrected her stiffly. And her name was Queen Vasia. It¡¯s choleric little you that spreads all this refined claptrap! ¡°I heard another¡­ more lewd story,¡± Miranda insisted and almost managed a blush, while playing with her necklace. ¡°It makes a girl wonder.¡± Keep your fuckin¡¯ eyes to her face, Storm urged himself. It¡¯s a ruse. Abrakas kindly offer a helping hand here, ye lily livered rotten turd! ¡°She was a friend,¡± He said with difficulty. ¡°And a very generous patron.¡± ¡°Unfortunate she died shortly after,¡± Miranda added, giving up on seduction. ¡°On childbirth,¡± Storm breathed once deeply. ¡°Queen Vasia gave three sons to King Alistair. I honor her memory.¡± ¡°As we all of course,¡± She replied with a flinch, her eyes turning cold. ¡°It¡¯s a difficult time for us.¡± ¡°It is, your Grace.¡± ¡°Sir Lucius decided on adventuring, and the King stays in Alden for whatever reason. I am left to handle the kingdom as well as the royal family¡­ it is not an easy task, lord Nattas.¡± ¡°I will help the Queen of Regia,¡± Storm said simply. He didn¡¯t mean it, but it was impossible to refuse.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Miranda sat back on her comfortable chair. She puckered her well-shaped lips once and then looked around, fake surprise allover her pretty face. ¡°You must be awfully tired, lord Nattas. Walking all this way, in this dreadful heat. You are allowed to sit, in my presence.¡± ¡°Your Grace, is exceptionally kind,¡± Storm replied, forced smile on his mouth and reached for the seat nearest to him. He almost collapsed onto the sturdy armchair.
¡°Wine?¡± The Queen offered. A servant had appeared next to her and filled an engraved glass chalice with extreme precision. ¡°I will partake, your Grace,¡± Storm said wiping the sweat off his face with a fine cloth that smelled of roses. There was one neatly folded next to every cutlery set. He put it down, when the austere servant approached him to fill a silver goblet and the frocked man snatched it away, as if he was afraid Nattas would steal it. A spiteful Storm wished him a slow death from cockrot, despite the thought crossing his mind. ¡°You know secrets, Lord Nattas,¡± Queen Miranda said, snapping him out of his trance. He tasted his wine before answering. It burned his throat, too sweet and sparkly for his likes, but he kept the discomfort off his face. You don¡¯t insult the Queen¡¯s wine and expect to get away with it. ¡°Fewer than I¡¯d prefer, your Grace,¡± He croaked, her next query as surprising. ¡°Is Prince Kasper engaged?¡± ¡°That information hasn¡¯t reached my ears, your Grace,¡± Storm replied after a thoughtful pause. He stomach protested and he put his goblet down deciding that was enough. ¡°I believe, he isn¡¯t.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not sure.¡± Ahm, no? ¡°I haven¡¯t heard anything, and something usually bubbles to the surface,¡± They both stared at their cups for a moment. It was rather awkward. ¡°It¡¯s a new vintage,¡± The Queen explained, sounding troubled. ¡°It¡¯s nicely sweet, is it not?¡± ¡°I found it excellent, your Grace.¡± It was a truth of sorts. Between having to drink piss and this, he¡¯d go for her wine. She smiled pleased and waited for him patiently to have some more. Storm forced himself to drink slowly, his eyes watering and his mouth turning all gluey. ¡°So I was thinking,¡± The Queen continued, as Storm moved on his chair, his stomach getting worse with every passing second. ¡°To force the issue. I understand Lucius is unmarried,¡± widowed, Nattas translated. ¡°but with the Princess of Kaltha gone¡­¡± She trailed her words, looking at him knowingly. Storm had no idea, what she was angling for and his discomfort reached new levels. ¡°She isn¡¯t dead, your Grace.¡± He managed to voice, fresh sweat on his forehead. He¡¯d flog Sudi for his idiotic suggestion upon his return, Lord Nattas decided. Then disembowel that cursed conniving Dottore. Slowly. For a whole week. ¡°Eh, isn¡¯t it the same thing?¡± Queen Miranda asked, sounding genuine. No it isn¡¯t ye lecherous cunt! ¡°You want to learn, if Prince Kasper is to be wed?¡± He asked, adding quickly when she raised a brow at his slipup. ¡°Your Grace.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± He¡¯s like ten? ¡°Ahm, I will find out, your Grace.¡± ¡°I want more than that, lord Nattas,¡± The Queen said, her tone changing abruptly. ¡°I want you to make sure, when he does¡­ his choice is agreeable to us.¡± Right. Storm smacked his lips and moved forward placing his elbows on the table. He should have seen this one coming. ¡°You want him to pick Lady Sylvie.¡± The girl was barely six years old. ¡°That is what we want.¡± Queen Miranda agreed. ¡°Does the King¡ª¡± ¡°The King will decide, what is best for his only daughter.¡± There was steel in her voice now, all pretense gone. The King will decide, what is best for Regia, not you, he thought. ¡°There are may be a war soon,¡± Storm said instead, keeping his composure. ¡°What do I care about war? Regia is allied to Kaltha. That won¡¯t change.¡± You don¡¯t know that, Storm thought, now worried. If Alistair refuses to help the High King tensions will rise. Antoon would rather cut little Casper¡¯s cock off, than letting him marry little Silvie. And if the treaties were voided, the alliance would be severed as a result. Friends will turn enemies, in the blink of an eye. ¡°I will make enquires,¡± He said, trying to avoid her stare. ¡°But the King must be informed.¡± ¡°You offered to serve me earlier, Lord Nattas,¡± No I didn¡¯t you fucking cunt! ¡°Will you back away from your word now?¡± Storm licked his dry lips. He felt sick, whether it was from the ¡®treatment¡¯ he had and Storm was making sure he kept his doses at a bare minimum, or the dreadful Queen¡¯s wine, he didn¡¯t know. Regia¡¯s Master of Silence, was certain for one thing though. This talk hadn¡¯t helped him at all. ¡°I will look into it, your Grace.¡± The Queen appeared pleased from his reply. ¡°Make it happen, lord Nattas.¡± She ordered and seeing his discomfort added, sounding quite frustrated. ¡°And don¡¯t look so down for Uher¡¯s sake. Serving me is in your best interests.¡±
Storm puked whatever he had in his stomach a mere block from the palace. He reached his own villa drenched in sweat and green in the face, huge dark circles under his eyes. Titus frowned when he saw him collapse on a couch next to the door. ¡°You don¡¯t look too well,¡± The former adventurer, among other things, noticed. Sharp as a fuckin¡¯ skinning knife! ¡°I may need a dottore,¡± Storm hissed. ¡°You too? Is it a bug?¡± Titus asked. ¡°Fuck should I know?¡± ¡°Baro is upstairs.¡± ¡°The Dottore?¡± Storm croaked, raising his head, eyes red and gleaming with fever. ¡°Ye know another?¡± Storm threw him his cane, aiming for his head. It was a bad throw, he had to begrudgingly admit, no real strength behind it. They both stared at it awkwardly, until it stopped rolling on the tiles, a couple of meters from the couch. ¡°Why is he here?¡± Storm asked finally. Titus shrugged his broad shoulders. ¡°Sudi collapsed earlier,¡± He explained. ¡°I don¡¯t think he¡¯s going to make it.¡± Storm dry retched, when he tried to speak under the eyes of the unimpressed mercenary. ¡°Bring me some water, you stupid fuck!¡± Nattas snapped, as soon as he felt better. The latter a misnomer, if there ever was one. ¡°And bring that idiot Baro down right now! I¡¯m more important than that drunken idiot!¡± ¡°Sudi didn¡¯t pass out boss,¡± Titus clarified, getting up to fetch him a carafe with water, under Storm¡¯s intense glare. ¡°He¡¯s in a bloody coma. Dottore Baro said, he was poisoned and not by the stuff he''s being giving you.¡± It took a dragging moment for Lord Nattas to realize what his man was saying. Then that last part hit him, like a carriage laden with bricks. 44. Lord’s Burrow
Princess Elsanne Eikenaar Lord¡¯s Burrow
¡°KEEP IT STEADY!¡± Elsanne gasped at the cry coming from the quarterdeck. It was their captain. She could see him in the light of the two moons, Ora¡¯s Eye and Nesande¡¯s Shade, a thin man wearing a green tunic, yellow sash matching the color of his ship. He had his eyes set on the narrow shallow cut between the rocks, the whole crew armed with long hardwood oars coordinating to propel the ship forward. The Pirate Reefs, black basalt rocks sprouting out of the sea, were looming large right and left. So close, one could touch them with a spear. There was almost no wind here, the narrow passage between them barely large to fit their ship. She couldn¡¯t tell if they were making any progress at all. ¡°This is scary,¡± Loes whispered standing on her right and Elsanne glanced at her profile. ¡°It is.¡± Loes turned her head. ¡°Did something happened?¡± Oh, yes. Very much so. ¡°No, nothing,¡± Elsanne replied, her voice always low. ¡°Your Grace, appeared pretty flushed, when we were called outside,¡± Her maid noted. Elsanne closed her eyes and smelled the sea, bitter and cold. The memories came, sweaty skin and hot passionate shadows dancing in the cabin¡¯s candlelight. Her body reacted violently, breath cut short and nipples hardening. She remembered the feeling of his hands on them and inhaled, suddenly all lightheaded. Her bodice felt constricting and she placed a hand to calm her wild heart, thundering in her chest. ¡°Princess?¡± Elsanne opened her eyes, felt her mouth dry and wetted her lips, stalling for time. ¡°I won¡¯t give account,¡± She said finally, voice hoarse. ¡°What happens between a husband and wife, stays between them.¡± ¡°Well that¡¯s true¡­ for the most part,¡± A voice said and Elsanne snapped her head over her left shoulder, to see who had snuck up on them, quite shocked. Selussa gave her a wink. She was resting on the rails same as they, her leather man¡¯s trousers fitting her snuggly. ¡°You have something to say?¡± Elsanne asked, in a frozen manner. Selussa threw her head back and laughed hard, tears in her eyes. ¡°Oh, my¡­¡± She gasped a moment later, Elsanne already contemplating to shove her overboard and into the murky waters. It was dark, everyone pretty busy guiding the ship through the narrow straits. The Cofol woman raised a hand to stop her, fingers kept close and straight, as if she¡¯d read her mind. ¡°Apologies Princess.¡± She said and Elsanne narrowed her eyes. ¡°No, I¡¯m sincere. It¡¯s just, I thought you knew.¡± ¡°Know what?¡± ¡°The Prince might take another wife, or two. It¡¯s the custom.¡± ¡°He won¡¯t,¡± Elsanne said. If he values his life that is. Selussa scrunched her mouth. ¡°Ahm, it¡¯s challenging to satisfy a man, or woman by¡ª¡± ¡°He won¡¯t.¡± There was enough steel in her voice to force the Cofol woman to back away. ¡°Okay then,¡± She relented and paused unsure, as if thinking about a way to make amends. ¡°There was a volcano here once, under the sea,¡± Selussa started, apparently she¡¯d found something. ¡°Where we are going to make our stop, it¡¯s called Lord¡¯s Burrow and it¡¯s beautiful in the light of day, bizarre to see it in the night. A town built on water, it seems.¡± ¡°LEFT! FULL RUDDER!¡± Wayland Dawson roared and they grabbed the rails startled, as the ship turned violently, everything around them creaking, oars scrapping and men cursing. ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Selussa yelled as the basalt rocks around them moved away, the straits opening up and fresh wind rapped their faces.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°There¡¯s a town here?¡± Elsanne asked in disbelief, watching the small docks coming to life in the distance. Selussa laughed again, though this time she found her less annoying. ¡°Ayup, a pirate haven,¡± The Cofol said, when she came about. ¡°Great black market, pretty nasty taverns and enough cock to satisfy yer needs Princess,¡± Selussa caught her livid stare and added with a shrug. ¡°Or not.¡±
Wayland smiled showing her two rows of yellow teeth, half of them encased in gold. Elsanne returned his smile with a nod, walking gingerly on the wooden platform of the docks that seemed to have sprouted out the sides of the reefs. The whole town was built on platforms and you needed either small boats, or to chance the narrow bridges to go from one building to another. It was a web of interlocked platforms and lines, quarterdecks turned into balconies, even whole ships beached and turned into buildings with openings for windows and doorways. She approached their captain gawking around her with interest. He was talking to an older male pirate and a younger woman probably a pirate as well, Elsanne supposed no one would bother with the term here, before a tavern aptly named ¡®The Purser¡¯. The older man, had a trimmed long beard, a full set of white hair caught at the nappe and the face of a Lorian. He wore a good quality red redingote, tall black riding boots and had at least eight rings on his fingers, mainly gold, a couple of big silver loops on his ears. The woman that bore a passing resemblance to him, had her eyes painted almost black, same as her hair and was armed to the teeth, under her long coat. ¡°¡­hear that? The weather is turning, no ships worth of note my dear,¡± The old man was saying, as she approached. ¡°Pfft. Not what I learned. The ¡®Serpentine¡¯ said a fast Barque escaped him at the straits, ducked into Castalor,¡± The woman replied. ¡°Was he drunk?¡± Wayland sneered. ¡°Can ye talk some sense to Rose for me?¡± The older man asked their captain. Wayland raised his hands. ¡°I ain¡¯t gettin¡¯ mixed up in this Pete, tried it once afore and was kicked in ¡®em jewels hard enough to learn me lesson.¡± ¡°Hah! Sweet talkin¡¯ me, ain¡¯t gonna help ye get in my pants again, Yellow Dawson,¡± The woman replied with a big grin. ¡°Ye slept wit me bloody daughter?¡± The man asked dumfounded. ¡°Twas a fuck,¡± She replied with a frown. ¡°There was no sleepin¡¯ involved.¡± Wayland saw her listening in, mouth half agape and cleared his throat, a bit of color on his pale face. ¡°Gentlemen and ehem¡­ lasses, allow me to introduce to you, the Princess of Kaltha, Lady Elsanne,¡± He pointed to the old man first and then his daughter apparently. ¡°This here old buccaneer, is ¡®Red¡¯ Pete Atterton, the commodore of this lovely place, our mayor if ye prefer and the beauty next to him, none oth¡¯r than Pearly Rose, his daughter.¡± ¡°Well, Abrakas damns us all,¡± Pete Atterton exclaimed impressed and bowed his head once. ¡°Princess, I never thought Issirian royalty will grace us, or this place. Any royalty,¡± He paused as if to think about it. ¡°And if it ever did, it would come for me head more like.¡± ¡°Nice to make your acquaintance, Mr. Atterton,¡± Elsanne replied with a small courtesy, deciding to keep her manners. ¡°The Princess is wed to Prince Radin,¡± Wayland explained, eager to show his knowledge to his colleagues. ¡°Will the Prince of the Khanate also grace us with his presence?¡± Pete asked and clearly amused added. ¡°Your Grace?¡± ¡°He¡¯s still recovering on our ship, I¡¯m afraid.¡± Elsanne answered politely. ¡°That would be my ship,¡± Wayland corrected her and she threw him a spiteful glance that fetched a fresh round of laughter from everyone. Elsanne joined them with a blush. ¡°Well then,¡± Pete Atterton said, when they calmed down. ¡°I won¡¯t hold ye more and I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll want to see the sights, such as they are. I will see me daughter safe to her ship and join ye both for lunch later, if that¡¯s alright. I shall be honored greatly, if thee accept,¡± He stopped and shook his head in disbelief. ¡°An Eikenaar in Lord¡¯s Burrow, Abrakas be praised. Now I¡¯ve seen bloody everything.¡± ¡°That would be lovely,¡± Elsanne replied and caught a group of Cofols approaching from their ship. They had spent the night there, not wanting to disembark in the dark. This was a pirate port after all. ¡°By the way, Mr. Atterton. Why Lord¡¯s Burrow?¡± The old pirate stopped and pulled at his beard for a moment, his eyes examining her face, as if to commit it in memory. ¡°It might please ye to learn this, or not. Politics change how we see people, even history. Truth is yer family had a hand in namin¡¯ this little place Princess.¡± Elsanne looked around her. She counted at least four pirate ships in the small natural port, but there was space enough in this large enclosed opening in the middle of the reefs for many more. But she knew nothing about any Issir ships ever using it, or even crossing in the Scalding Sea. Leave the Lorians to handle it, her brother always said. Who then? ¡°What was the Lord¡¯s name?¡± The Princess of Kaltha asked him and the old pirate answered her readily, hint of pride in his voice. ¡°Only one pirate we¡¯ve ever called a Lord. Strange moniker this to give. I know ye family don¡¯t like hearin¡¯ it, but tis what it is,¡± Elsanne took a step back, a chill running down her spine. What was he talking about? She thought more shocked, than afraid. ¡®Red¡¯ Pete seeing she hadn¡¯t figured it out, made it clearer for her. ¡°Lord Reinut,¡± He said voice rising and a couple of pirates exiting the tavern stopped, when they heard his name and offered a hoarse prayer to Abrakas to keep him, a mark of respect for her most famous ancestor that caught her again by surprise. Their voice traveled down the docks and pirates ceased whatever work they were doing to cheer thunderously. The raucous sound traveling up and down the many platforms, reverberating on the former decks, turning into a pandemonium that made the approaching Cofols stop and watch them amazed. None more than Elsanne herself. The sound traveled through her and she felt it rattling her very bones. Abrupt and grandiose, as much as violently passionate, it was a fitting tribute to the infamous ¡®Lord¡¯ Reinut. The biggest pirate of them all. 45. The final say
Glen The final say
The first day, of the first winter month, last of the Imperial year 3200 (188 NC), our small procession stopped afore the single arched bridge across Teid River. Teid had a width of twelve meters from bank to bank, not deep enough for anything than flat-bottomed fishing boats to float on it, treacherous for anyone foolish enough to swim across its currents and had its sources somewhere on the Northwall Heights, the natural border separating the Duchy of Raoz from the cold part of the Cofol Steppe and the freezing lands of the sparsely populated north side of Eplas. It was a very windy morning¡­
Glen, wild hair blowing in the cold wind, saw Emerson raising his right hand to bring everyone to a halt and made to pull Val¡¯s reins to stop her, but the well-mannered mare beat him to it and halted on her own accord. Jinx found it extremely amusing and let out a strange chuckle, teeth rattling from the cold. Glen threw her a warning glare. ¡°What?¡± She replied. ¡°Ye know fuck all, about horses!¡± ¡°Whoa,¡± Dante called behind them, as one after the other the men came to a full stop before the wooden bridge. A farmer crossing it stopped, reins of his mule in hand and looked at them all curious. ¡°Keep it quiet ye two,¡± Emerson warned them and turning on his saddle, faced the silently watching local. ¡°Greetings good man, we¡¯re looking for Hellfort Castle. We come from Altarin.¡± ¡°If ye cross the bridge and follow the dirt road, towards the gorge, ye¡¯ll see it on yer left, up the slope,¡± The weary man said. Glen noticed his mule was laden with tools, mostly axes. ¡°Gratitude, we¡¯ll be on our way then,¡± Emerson replied with a nod. ¡°Ye go first good man.¡± Glen narrowed his eyes, the fertile and wood-covered bank they were currently on, turned into unforgiving mountainous and mostly barren land on the other side of the bridge. Darn ye Luthos! ¡°Why built the castle there?¡± He whined frustrated, the moment the knight pushed his horse towards the bridge, after the farmer. Dante snorted hearing him. ¡°Guard the bridge I suppose and block the road passing through the gorge,¡± He said gruffly, too dirty to be in a good mood. ¡°Hah! Our captain, the fuckin¡¯ strategist!¡± Jinx guffawed and Soren joined in, then Zola and even Stiles. Victor Hook¡¯s uncomfortable stare prevented Glen from mirroring them. Jinx riding next to him, smacked him once on the shoulder playfully. Although she put a whole lot of power behind it. Like a ton more. Liko found it extremely funny. ¡°Pale¡¯s got no teeth for smiles, Glen,¡± The female Gish jibed, stupid grin on her noseless face. Glen rubbed his stinging shoulder, too frustrated to reply, as one after the other everyone passed by him, the last one being Lith. The Zilan paused her horse without command, the reins disappearing inside her closed cape, apparently tied to her torso, or something. She was busy fixing arrowheads on premade shafts, everything placed neatly before her on the saddle and nothing spilling down. A miracle of balance. ¡°You need armour,¡± Lith repeated her mantra and Glen shook his head annoyed. ¡°Are you getting heavier?¡± Glen retorted, before he¡¯d time to think it through. ¡°I am not.¡± She hissed, all indignant. ¡°How did ye pull the reins, without holding them?¡± Glen asked, readily switching to a more neutral subject, getting much the same answer. ¡°I didn¡¯t,¡± Lith replied and moved away. For fuck¡¯s sake. ¡°Master Glen,¡± Stiles, the last of their procession, said. ¡°Enough! Just Glen is bloody fine! And more healthy,¡± Glen snapped and the sneaky former pirate, grimaced and scratched his head as if thinking about it. ¡°Not for me,¡± He finally replied. ¡°I advise ye to find out, why the old man send us here, Master Glen. It¡¯ll be healthier for ye as well.¡±
Hellfort Castle stood two kilometers to the west of the bridge, less than one from the gorge splitting the vast Northwall Peaks mountain range in two, where it bended to head for Raoz¡¯s coast. Its washed out grey and weather beaten granite walls enclosed a typical Lorian internal yard for the most part and a single square tower built almost to hug the west side of the narrow canyon. Hellfort¡¯s Pass as the locals called it, followed the chasm all the way to Snake¡¯s Spine, where the land started rising again blocking the way, and turned towards the frozen coast until it reached the last working port on Eplas side of the Shallow Sea, the Cofol stronghold of Ri Yue-Tu.
Glen squinted his eyes and wiped his dripping nose, the strong wind blowing from the gorge not helping at all. There were people working near the castle, carts and carriages unloading supplies and materials, the road leading to its gates under construction. ¡°Well, this sure fell short from what I expected,¡± Dante commented. ¡°There¡¯s¡­ a wall missing,¡± Glen added. ¡°Tis a hole, I reckon,¡± Jinx corrected it for him. ¡°A crack gone bad more like,¡± Emerson decided and he approached one of the workers, a grizzly man working with a shovel, naked from the waist up, his muscles swelling and the wind not bothering him at all. ¡°There,¡± The man said and tossed the shovel to one of the three younger men watching him closely. ¡°Ye dig ¡®em rocks out, clean it up proper. Fifty meters straight. Then we backfill it anew with the slates we cut yesterday.¡± ¡°Why clean it up, if we are to fill it again?¡± One of them asked grumpily. ¡°I¡¯ll pretend ye didn¡¯t ask that son,¡± The older man said and seeing Emerson approach paused to examine his armour, before talking. ¡°Who might ye be?¡± ¡°Tis Sir Lennox a knight of Lesia, at your service, my good man,¡± Emerson delivered his patented greeting with a grunt. That last part needed more work, Glen thought, blowing his hands to warm them up. ¡°Greetings Sir Knight. Name¡¯s Decanus Marcus Saunio,¡± The man said, picking up a tunic from a pile of cut rocks and putting it on. ¡°Though I suppose, retired now.¡± ¡°You were in the Legion?¡± Emerson asked him. ¡°True that, got discharged five years back now. Was serving with the second engineering cohort, under Prefect Placus Durio,¡± Marcus explained, while keeping an eye on the men working on the road. ¡°Ye can say I followed Centurion Habitus to Raoz, been working for the Lord of Altarin since.¡± ¡°Wait, Spurius is here?¡± Emerson asked, surprise on his face. ¡°Ayup,¡± Marcus pointed at a short but wide-shouldered man, barking instructions to a group of workers, the shiny segmented armour he wore making him appear even wider to Glen¡¯s eyes. ¡°That¡¯s his retired arse right there. Hey, Centurion!¡± He bellowed, almost toppling a startled Glen from his horse.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. ¡°What? Is that you Saunio?¡± Spurius barked back. ¡°I¡¯m plaguin¡¯ busy!¡± ¡°Who bloody cares?¡± Marcus retorted. ¡°We ain¡¯t in the fuckin¡¯ army, Habitus! There¡¯s a knight here, fixing to talk to ye.¡±
¡°Praised be Tyeus,¡± Spurius said, when he approached. Emerson had jumped off his horse, everyone following his example. They locked hands, a grin on their faces. ¡°Lord Emerson, in the bloody flesh!¡± The knight pulled back, a little uncomfortable. ¡°It¡¯s just Sir Emerson now, Spurius.¡± The ex-legion man, gray hairs covering his head cut short, but for his sideburns that covered his cheeks, whistled. ¡°I bet there¡¯s more to that story.¡± ¡°Not for sharing in public.¡± ¡°Most good stories are like that.¡± Emerson nodded in agreement. Spurius glanced towards Glen and grimaced as if he¡¯d seen a ghost. ¡°We were expecting orders from Lord Reeves,¡± He said, his eyes never leaving the young man¡¯s face. Emerson gave him a small rolled up scroll, which he quickly opened breaking its seal and read it. Snorted loudly after that, checked around for any onlookers and then turned to Glen, who¡¯d sunk now inside his coat¡¯s raised collar to protect himself from the biting northern wind, only part of his nose and eyes showing. ¡°You¡¯re Sir Glenavon¡¯s son,¡± Spurius said, not an ounce of doubt in him. The young man nodded and almost squealed scared, when the ex-Centurion grabbed him in a tight bear hug, Glen¡¯s face massing on his chest armour. ¡°My condolences about yer father lad.¡± The strong man said in his ear and Glen sniveled pitifully unable to breathe proper, or answer. But it worked fine just the same.
¡°What happened to the castle?¡± Emerson asked an hour later, sun full above their heads, the wind somewhat lessened and the temperature rising. They stood inside the castle¡¯s large yard, various workers and soldiers running about, bringing supplies and materials inside. They were to assist with repairing the weathered and broken stone buildings first thing on the morrow. Lord Reeves¡¯ orders were pretty clear on that. Glen slurped his hot soup down, while he listened to Spurius Habitus answer. The Gallant Dogs were pressed into service helping on the repairs, much to their disappointment. It was more like fury, Glen thought with a smirk, eyes gawking when he saw Lith standing on top of the tower twenty meters above their heads, her cape flapping in the gentler wind as she examined the clear skies. The part of it that hadn¡¯t collapsed that is, he thought, the huge crack revealing its torn up insides, visible on the other side. A moment later he gasped shocked. There was a small creature standing next to her left foot, which Glen recognized instantly. Luthos stinking cock caught in a vise! ¡°There you are,¡± He said leaving his bowl on the wooden bench and getting up. ¡°Stay,¡± Emerson grunted. ¡°We may need your input, Glen.¡± Glen smacked his lips. I can see the sneaky dwarf clearly darn it! He thought frustrated. ¡°About what?¡± He snapped. ¡°A decision must be made,¡± Spurius Habitus explained. ¡°Hellfort was never rebuilt after the earthquake of sixty-nine. Was left as it was. A small garrison of ten soldiers to inspect the caravans, such as they were and to help the locals.¡± ¡°How many of them live near?¡± Emerson asked, but Glen decided the whole matter was completely pointless. He could see the creature out of the corner of his eye, talking animated with Lith. The fuck they were talking about? ¡°Ten ¨C twelve farmhouses, on this side of Teid River.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not even a village,¡± Emerson commented, the matter troubling him. ¡°Will they help?¡± ¡°With provisions, a couple of animals, grain. Not much else,¡± Spurius replied. ¡°Can you finish the repairs in time?¡± ¡°You have a time then?¡± The knight sighed pensively. ¡°I don¡¯t. Nobody does. We may don¡¯t see action at all, most believe it anyway.¡± Spurius laughed good-naturedly. ¡°Quite a dilemma,¡± He said, stilling his eyes on him. ¡°It¡¯s on you then, young lord. Ye get to say, what we should do.¡± What? ¡°What do you mean?¡± Glen asked, suspicion written all over his flushed face. ¡°You¡¯re an ex-Centurion of the bloody Legion!¡± ¡°Of the engineering cohort,¡± Spurius explained, smirk on his face. ¡°There¡¯s a difference.¡± ¡°How about him?¡± ¡°He¡¯s a not a Reeves. You are, my young lad. Are you not?¡± Fuck. God Darn it! ¡°Of course!¡± He snapped angry. Spurius Habitus showed him the scroll and Glen pretended he could read it. Some of it he understood, but not much. ¡°It¡¯s Lord Reeves¡¯ order. You have the final say,¡± Spurius said. ¡°What¡¯s the dilemma?¡± Glen asked giving up. They had him over a barrel, it was the long and short of it, he thought seething from the inside. Emerson grunted, either in agreement, or not. ¡°We either repair the castle for the winter,¡± The knight explained, as if no part of the plan was affable to him. ¡°Or prepare defenses, much as we can, to stop a potential Cofol excursion through the pass.¡± Glen licked his lips stunned. The conversation had gone in a direction, he didn¡¯t expect. What this had to do with him? ¡°An excursion.¡± He murmured. ¡°An attack was my meaning,¡± Emerson elucidated, what he¡¯d dreaded. Luthos help me. Now. ¡°How¡­ are we sure, do we know for certain, there will be an¡­ attack?¡± He finally asked tripping over his tongue, his mind working overtime to find the correct answer. ¡°No. We don¡¯t,¡± Spurius said. There, salvation! ¡°We don¡¯t know,¡± The knight grunted. ¡°It could come on the morrow.¡± Oh, for slovenly fuck¡¯s sake! ¡°How bad is the winter?¡± He asked, going another way. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t worry about it, but for the North wind snaking its way in from the gorge, it¡¯s pretty tame,¡± Spurius said. ¡°We have tents aplenty.¡± Tents? An image of a naked Marcus Saunio shoveling snow to dig them out, came to his mind. It was very disturbing. ¡°Centurion Habitus, served twenty years outside Yepehir,¡± Emerson said in words, what he¡¯d suspected. He breathed once deep, felt their eyes on him all tense and expecting, then exhaled slowly puffing his cheeks out. ¡°Repair the tower, start with the wall first,¡± Glen said, sitting up straighter. ¡°But I want to know, if someone is coming from the pass, as soon as possible.¡± Spurius glanced towards Emerson, the knight¡¯s frown mellowing somewhat. ¡°Will the mercenaries help?¡± Spurius asked his old friend. ¡°They will,¡± Glen answered for him. ¡°They¡¯re paid for the year.¡± ¡°We could drill the men,¡± The former legionnaire offered, watching him now with renewed interest. ¡°They can hold a spear and dig, not much else. It might take time. At least a month.¡± ¡°Find the time then,¡± Glen said. Always have another plan, in case your first one falls apart. Don¡¯t get caught with yer cock in hand son, as Crafton always touted. ¡°Can anyone do it?¡± ¡°Decanus Marcus can.¡± Spurius offered readily. ¡°I thought he was an engineer?¡± Glen asked, taken by surprise. ¡°In the Legion,¡± The man expounded with a knowing smirk and that was that.
It would take us a month to finish patching up the hole on Hellfort¡¯s outer wall. Another to build a wooden staircase to reach the second floor. Lithoniela didn¡¯t like the latter, as it forced us downstairs and near the sharp eyed Gish and the rest of the humans. Being young and na?ve, I always thought her fears of being discovered inflated. When it finally happened, it wasn¡¯t because of the pink-haired Ranger¡¯s keen senses, or even magic. War strips away everything in the end. Fikumin Flintfoot Jarl of all the Folk, First Servant of the Onyx Wyvern - Chapter II (Prologue) An Adventurer¡¯s Tale Circa 251 NC
46. The Painted God & a dead Wyvern’s bone (1/2)
Aelrindel (aka Lenar) The Painted God & a dead Wyvern¡¯s bone
Nesande¡¯s Shade pale blue light danced on the dark surface of Utari, a name the locals rarely used anymore, preferring instead the rather trite Desert Lake to describe the big natural body of water and oasis that marked the end of the desert and the start of Cofol Steppe on this side of Eplas. An explosion of green welcomed by all weary travelers and merchants. The lights of Yin Xiyan could be seen amidst the thick copse of what was predominately palm trees, lessening as the time grew late. A narrow section of land resembling a horned viper¡¯s fang, penetrated almost to the center of the lake creating a bridge of sorts and providing access to its deepest part, but most locals avoided it at all costs. Utari wasn¡¯t a safe place, and delving into its insect infested, serpent teeming depths was deemed a suicide. The Sinya Nore never learned to communicate with nature, she thought. Another feebleness of their species. Swimming slowly keeping her head out of the water, she let the moonlight touch her face, the sounds of a thousand creatures around her vibrant. Constant. Many songs, many tongues, and countless stories were shared in the cover of darkness. Lenar forced her essence to expand, down into the murky depths and their secreted horrors and out in the direction of the dark banks of the lake and its lurking predators. The sounds became clearer, the rustling of trees, the click and chirps of birds and the hushed breathing of creatures watching her. Her skin started glowing, hands slowly treading the water that warmed up lightly. She allowed the soft current to lead her back, towards the spot she¡¯d picked at the edge of the natural bridge and reaching it walked out, her naked feet stepping lightly on the slush that quickly dried up, feeling the half-rotten and half-dry leaves underneath, massaging her soft soles. ¡°Mmm, you¡¯re grumpy,¡± Lenar murmured a little surprised and run her hands over her breasts, down her ribs gathering the moisture and making a small delicate sphere of it. The sheer jellylike sphere hovered for a moment at the tip of her index finger, illuminating her face as it shined like a tiny blue moon and then dissolved turning into white vapor. The desert Nimra growled low, and long, not impressed at the display. Branches snapped as it moved, his scent driving all other animals away. Hungry yellow eyes appeared in the dark, a snarling mouth stinking of carrion snapping, when the large feline raised its maned head above the foliage. Another growl, elongated white fangs menacing, as the beast stepped into the opening. The black long-toothed Nimra lion loved hunting under the moonlight. Lenar sat down cross legged with a sigh, stooped forward to her leather bag, pulled a large cut of crusty flatbread out and tossed it towards the approaching beast. It landed inches before his sniffing nose startling the Nimra, and managed to bounce once more, before he stopped it with a clawed paw. Sniffed it a couple of times, gave it a good lick and snarled unhappy. ¡°Yeah,¡± Lenar agreed, with a pout. ¡°I know. I would kill for a piece of bloody flesh right now.¡± The Nimra roared angry at her words, mouth opening impossibly wide, incisors the size of small daggers and then attempted a half-hearted lunge, landing on three legs, two small puncture wounds keeping her front left raised. ¡°Does it hurt?¡± Lenar asked getting up and moving near the large predator. The Nimra let out a pained growl. She glanced up towards the canopy, saw a night owl watching the scene unfolding amidst the petioles and smiled at the wily bird¡¯s suggestion. ¡°Why the ibis?¡± Lenar inquired, finding the long legged bird wading near the bank behind them. The black beaked bird felt her reaching out and tried to break away, but froze in its place when she took control of its mind. Walking awkwardly it got out of the water and approached them on shaking legs. The Nimra started breathing quickly, watching it with feverish eyes. ¡°Shh¡­ let me see this,¡± Lenar whispered and extended her left hand, long fingers touching the lion¡¯s foreleg where the oozing small holes were. A snake bite gone bad. She closed her eyes, felt the bitter blood, the poison potent and putrid. Her essence created an invisible line that became a bridge to take it inside herself, heart racing and her eyes glowing an impressive orange, when she opened them again to stare into the beast¡¯s eyes.
Nesande stopped time.
¡°Alurae¡­¡± Lenar sang in the Gods tongue and Nimra let out a thunderous scared growl, everything living, or not, around them reacting violently, rodents running away, serpents hissing, a sudden gush coming from the desert rapping at the trees and even the dark lake¡¯s current changing direction for a second. The next, she set her eyes on the stupefied ibis, standing not a meter from them now and whispered.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Iorwen.¡± The Ibis collapsed on the ground, spasms twitching its body this way and that. It didn¡¯t last long and everything returned to normal, when it gave up and turned still. Lenar inhaled sharply and pulled her hand away, the tips of her fingers black, the healed Nimra¡¯s tongue lapping at her naked navel, her whiskers tickling her skin and a question in her big yellow eyes. ¡°You can¡¯t eat it silly,¡± She said with a tired smile, lightly petting his large black head between the ears. ¡°It¡¯s poisoned.¡±
Wulan¡¯s face was filled with worry, when she returned to her private quarters in the palace, two hours later. Lenar walked by her without a word, dirty feet leaving a trail behind for the servants to clean up in the morning, the tiles cool and the incense burning suffocating for a brief moment. ¡°The guards were notified of your absence,¡± Wulan said, closing the door behind them. ¡°Who told them?¡± Lenar asked lying gracefully on a richly decorated divan, a goblet of white wine in her hand. No one had seen her leaving the grounds. ¡°Sahand came looking for you,¡± Her servant explained. ¡°I couldn¡¯t keep him out.¡± ¡°The Prince Heir is here?¡± Lenar asked with a light frown. ¡°Arrived earlier, wasn¡¯t much pleased, you were missing.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t much pleased, he was fucking those bags of flesh in Rin Anpur,¡± Lenar pointed. ¡°Since when do you care, where he puts his cock?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± ¡°Then what?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want them giving him a child,¡± Lenar explained. ¡°You were certain, they wouldn¡¯t,¡± Wulan said surprised. Lenar nodded, getting up. She sensed him coming, the line connecting them brighter than all the rest she¡¯d cast around the palace and clearly visible, if one paid attention. Or knew how. ¡°I still am, but spells are fragile things,¡± The Moon of Dan said and set her half full goblet on the table. Her hair changed color, just as the wine drained, the cobalt blue fading and turning white, her face mellowing up, cheeks flushing and ears retracting. A warm smile on her breathtaking face. All an illusion, but for the last part. ¡°I thought you run away,¡± Prince Sahand said, getting through the side door. Tall and fit, his thin trimmed beard complimenting his Cofol face and olive-colored eyes. White robes smelling of horse and road, a square piece of black wood hanging from a leather string on his neck, next to his large gold and ivory pendant depicting the Scythed Chariot of house Radpour proudly. Rightly so, as it was this lethal instrument of war that¡¯d helped his ancestors break the Horselords hold on the steppe almost two hundred years ago. Something isn¡¯t right, Lenar thought, her smile cracking, feeling physically ill. Poisoned. ¡°You¡¯ve changed color to your hair,¡± Sahand whispered, before taking her in his arms. ¡°Father will be surprised,¡± He added, as Lenar heard Wulan gasping behind her. ¡°The Khan is here?¡± Lenar croaked taken aback. ¡°He brought the whole palace with him.¡± ¡°Mistress,¡± Wulan said sounding alarmed. ¡°Leave us,¡± Lenar ordered her brusquely, long nails tracing the man¡¯s chest and the skin underneath. ¡°I need my spouse¡¯s attention, rather desperately.¡± Sahand laughed and found her wet lips, kissed them passionately, as hungry as the Nimra lion, hands traveling under her chemise daring and equally exploring as her own. Feverish. Each searching for something different though. Lenar found it, just as her back hit the soft mattress, the large man following on top. The Prince Heir tore her shrill chemise away, and she retaliated cutting the leather cord of his strange amulet, the black wood melting the palm of her hand like a piece of burning coal. The pain unbearable and shocking enough to shove the man away with one hand and toss the damned thing on the wall behind her head, with the other. ¡°Bah!¡± Sahand gasped from where he¡¯d landed three meters away from her bed. His royal arse bruised, along with his ego, but not nearly enough to content, or even curtail her fury. Not a crude wooden amulet then. ¡°Where did you get it?¡± Lenar hissed, large putrid yellow eyes glowing, rows of sharp teeth showing, but the man was now blind to them. He just stared back numb at her, a hurt look on his face. ¡°SPEAK NOW!¡± Not a witch¡¯s vile hex on it. Just a tiny piece of a dead Wyvern¡¯s bone. 47. The Painted God & a dead Wyvern’s bone (2/2)
The morning sun came from the east, touched the highest peaks of Khan¡¯s Lament, leaving behind it the fertile basin of Raoz and the Shallow Sea, turned a blinding white over the Great Desert and washed over the vast Cofol Steppe from the Torn Earth gulf and the bordering mist veiled Wetull, all the way to the plains of Rin Anpur and the endless frozen forests that hid the road to Dan. It made the dark waters of Utari turn a shade of turquoise, same as the walls of Yin Xiyan¡¯s palace building, its three golden domes shining their light over the city, from the grant bazaar, to the imperial barracks. The giant white and gold flag of the Khanate unfurled slowly, its staff reaching twenty meters in height and its fly almost half that; it dwarfed the flags and banners of the Imperial commanders already residing in the city barracks buildings. A rare occasion this was, as the flag signified the Great Khan was present in this remote edge of the kingdom, his visit the first, in almost twenty years. Lenar, the white satin shawl that Wulan brought covering her head, gasped in her effort to breathe, before the entrance to the great hall. She hadn¡¯t slept at all, her mind worrying over Sahand¡¯s words and the fragmented memories of a very long life. Was it a mistake going forward with her plans? How much punishment was enough? she thought. How many years of waiting in exile, was too many? A man returned from the south, Sahand had said. His father knew him from his youth and the almost disastrous campaign beyond the Vapi Arn-Ria River back in 161 NC. The Great Khan had almost died then after he fell from his chariot, but a wise man from the mysterious Plague Isles, a chain of islands lost in the Haze Sea west of Eplas, had saved him in the battlefield. That same man almost thirty years later visited the aging Khan and his family in Rin Anpur and offered them gifts from his gods, amongst them these ¡®Charms of good luck¡¯, as he called them. I can¡¯t understand what spooked you so, Sahand had complained later, after all his attempts at getting her to sleep with him had failed. Oblivious to him there was much to worry about that damned copper-skinned demon worshipper being the first. The people of Aken were notoriously secretive, as much as untrustworthy. To think one had helped the Khan out of the goodness of his heart was idiotic. To believe the cunning soothsayer had decided to return to civilization after all these years for memory¡¯s sake, almost pitiable. Especially if his gifts, interfered with her spells. Where did he find the bone? Lenar thought. Who told him, how to use it? She had to fix this. Make everything right again if she could, or ask for help. Where was Ralnor? She hadn¡¯t seen him since the summer. The bronze gong located on the roof of the palace sounded three times. The doors before her opened and Lenar exhaling slowly walked inside to meet the leader of the Cofols in person.
The closest a visitor was allowed to get to the old man in the snow-white graceful robes, sitting on the raised on a platform alabaster throne, was twenty meters; unless he was a member of the royal family, or one of his closest advisors. The Khan never spoke directly to his subjects and was seen rarely, after he ascended to the throne. Lenar stopped, allowing the herald, an obese eunuch in his third decade with the smooth face of a youth, to announce her and bowed a covered head to the expecting Khan, when the effeminate man finished. ¡°I¡¯m honored to meet a descendant of Radpour up close,¡± Lenar said in a courteous manner, using the Horselords tongue fluently. The Khan squinted his eyes, slightly amused, the line of the old injury showing under his jaw. Ten wooden steps below his feet, those seated on the chairs normally intended for his advisors looked at each other, but mostly the uncomfortable Prince Sahand, who was amongst them. Prince Atpa, his younger brother and third son of Khan Burzin Radpour, black penciled eyes cold and calculating, snickered. ¡°Meh, thought you already have,¡± He taunted, to the fury of his older brother and the discomfort of decorous Saam Phanti, first Advisor to the Khan. The other man present, old grey tunic leaving his chest naked, but hidden under several bone ornaments, taller than everyone present didn¡¯t react at all. He kept his snake eyes on her face, skin of his arms painted white, as was half of his face from the nose down to his neck and part of his chest. The rest of his hairless skin had the red-copper color of an Aken. He raised a cocky bony brow, when Lenar attempted to set his blood on fire using the heat from the nearby braziers, his initial smugness turning to mild panic, when he realized she could do it, but for that tiny piece of cursed bone they all wore. A gush of wind blew in the big hall, the coals left from the night turned a bright hot red inside the braziers, flames jumping out for a brief instant, before dying out. The Khan raised his hand to stop the murmuring of the people present at the periphery, mainly city dignitaries standing near the walls of the hall. The Hundred, the Khan¡¯s bodyguards raising the total number present to around a hundred fifty. Everyone wanted to see the Khan of course, but low key also catch a glimpse of the Moon of Dan in the flesh. ¡°Lady Lenar,¡± Saam Phanti said, getting up. ¡°The Khan is pleased to meet his son¡¯s spouse at long last.¡± ¡°Thank you, First Advisor Phanti,¡± Lenar replied, her eyes staying on the frowning disciple of the nameless Painted God. ¡°Right,¡± Phanti said, with a glance back towards the silently watching them Burzin. ¡°You haven¡¯t visited Rin Anpur in so long, it seems your Grace was determined to force his Majesty to visit the provinces, in order to see you. Quite callous, some might say.¡± His weak smile at the end taking the sting out of his words, but only barely. ¡°Is that what happened?¡± Lenar asked undaunted. ¡°Of course not. His Majesty does wish to hear your input, on another matter though.¡± Prince Atpa snickered. ¡°I will strive to be truthful, First Advisor Phanti.¡± ¡°Excellent, now¡ª¡± ¡°For fuck¡¯s sake, ask her about what happened in Raoz already!¡± Prince Atpa snorted, a yelp escaping his lips when Sahand lunged and grabbed him by the collar of his grey-leather doublet, a dagger in hand. ¡°Fuck you!¡± Atpa spat. ¡°Say one more word and I¡¯ll gut you like a pig,¡± Sahand warned him, fury in his eyes. Lenar thought she might have pushed him a bit too much and reached out again trying to sooth her lover, before it was too late. The old Khan beat her to it. ¡°Enough!¡± Burzin ordered and his sons stopped immediately and pulled away from each other. ¡°Phanti, finish while we¡¯re still breathing, if you please.¡± ¡°Yes, your Majesty.¡± A chagrined advisor replied. ¡°Good,¡± Burzin said and turned to her. ¡°Here¡¯s a question to start the herd moving. What were you doing in Raoz, Lenar of Dan?¡± This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.
¡°I just wanted to see the rest of Eplas,¡± Lenar started adjusting the hem of her long dress. ¡°Visit, what should be the Great Khan¡¯s domain, per Radpour¡¯s wishes.¡± Burzin tilted his chin upward. ¡°You claim to know my ancestor¡¯s heart?¡± Oh yes, I very much do. ¡°Only what is plain for all to see, your Majesty.¡± She answered instead. The lines on the Khan¡¯s face grew, wrinkles spreading to his mouth, when he pressed his lips tight. ¡°Warning King Antoon wasn¡¯t in the Khanate¡¯s interests,¡± Saam Phanti pointed out. ¡°The Duke insulted her!¡± Sahand exploded, face darkening. ¡°It wasn¡¯t her fault.¡± ¡°Who sent Prince Radin to Riverdor?¡± The First Advisor inquired. ¡°He volunteered. A reaction seemed proper,¡± Sahand replied, his tone defensive. ¡°He killed King Alistair¡¯s son in a senseless duel. Forced the High King to give up his sister,¡± Phanti counted with his fingers, his obviously well-rehearsed points. ¡°Now Kaltha has army crossing the Shallow Sea, reinforcing the Duke.¡± ¡°Bah, who cares? It was the second son,¡± Sahand said dismissively, not noticing his younger brother¡¯s scowl. ¡°And he won her in a tourney, which is their fucking custom!¡± ¡°What about the army?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that what we wanted?¡± Sahand asked, looking at his father. ¡°Force a battle on our own ground, alleviate the warlords concerns?¡± ¡°Chubin Amin hasn¡¯t answered our call,¡± Phanti said. ¡°The Greenwhale Peninsula will follow his lead. We can¡¯t go east and leave the west in turmoil.¡± ¡°Pfft, he answers to the Khan, is he not?¡± Sahand got up frustrated. ¡°Perhaps he shouldn¡¯t be the War Leader.¡± ¡°Stripping him of the position, won¡¯t help alleviate his concerns,¡± Phanti scolded him. ¡°You want us to make war on two fronts?¡± The Prince Heir grunted not liking his tone. Lenar decided to intervene. ¡°A quick win will bring them around.¡± Burzin cocked his head. ¡°Explain.¡± ¡°Smash Kaltha¡¯s forces and the Horselords will fall in line.¡± ¡°There are no Horselords anymore, but for the few bandits roaming the wilderness,¡± Phanti said sounding frustrated. Lenar thought, she¡¯d probably touched a nerve there. ¡°Has the army reached Xuski Fort?¡± The Khan asked casually, moving past the prickly matter. ¡°It has, your Majesty.¡± Phanti replied tensely, shifting his weight from one foot to another. ¡°How about Nout? Is he still en route?¡± That was his second son, Prince Nout, the ¡®Gold Leopard¡¯. ¡°Just passed Whitemont Peaks, your Majesty,¡± Phanti droned. ¡°Can he campaign in the middle of winter?¡± Burzin inquired with a frown. ¡°The mountains block the worst of the weather and it¡¯s rarely snowing in Raoz,¡± His First Advisor replied assuredly. ¡°But speed is of the essence.¡± ¡°A quick win.¡± The Khan droned. ¡°So say we all,¡± Apta touted and everyone laughed, the tension breaking inside the hall. The conversation moved away from her, although she wasn¡¯t dismissed. So Lenar remained standing, but breathed out more easily now, until she locked eyes with that cursed spawn of Aken that is. The shaman answered her stare with a smirk, his hand clasping the blackened bone on his chest tightly. What the fuck do you want? She thought. ¡°Do you still kill babies to make your paints?¡± Lenar asked all of a sudden, keeping her tone firm, but indifferent. ¡°Only Zilan babies,¡± The man replied not missing a beat, despite his voice cracking, eyes blinking and his forked tongue showing. It was a procedure done to their young and not a characteristic of his species. ¡°Alas, not many of them around these days.¡± Lenar almost took the bait. She blinked slowly. ¡°Suharto is eccentric,¡± Burzin intervened. Apparently he was listening in. ¡°But a fine healer.¡± ¡°I thought the Painted God, loved his carcasses,¡± Lenar said and Suharto squirmed and got up from his chair. The man towered over her and he stunk of rot and decaying bones. Rather aptly, she thought not backing away. ¡°What do they call him? The Demon of Bones right? Wouldn¡¯t want him around.¡± ¡°Only a witch would say that,¡± Suharto hissed, suspicion all over his boney face. So you¡¯re not sure? Did my words shock you? She thought, crossing her arms over her chest, lips splitting into a wide toothy grin. Suharto didn¡¯t react at all, proving her theory correct. Lenar rejoiced so much realizing her spells were holding up to such a decree, she almost started glowing right then and there. ¡°Hah, you¡¯re not wrong,¡± The Khan said, wrinkled mouth cracked in a rare naughty smile. ¡°We all think that privately,¡± Lenar flinched taken aback, her brief joy dying out in less than a second. ¡°Which is why I brought him here, to root out all these nasty rumors. We can¡¯t have them poisoning the minds of people,¡± Burzin explained further to the Shaman¡¯s smug delight, making her mood tank even more.
Yin Xiyan was buzzing under her balcony. On her left the grand bazaar was full, caravans unloading cargo and supplies from the capital. Goods and food via the Khanate Gulf and the port of Shao Nalan. Most caravans followed the Hath Kirk River to its source to reach Yin Xiyan. The source being the Utari Lake. Lenar turned towards the green expanse hiding its turquoise waters, feeling the sun on her skin. If one drew a straight line from the Desert Lake, aiming east towards the coast, he¡¯d find the city of Rida at the end of it. Should I give it up? She thought, feeling a chill despite the heat rising around her. But then all would have been in vain. Everything¡­
¡°Everything hinges on this sweet little sorceress now,¡± Reinut preached, deft fingers writing his name on her naked thigh, long white hair caught at the nappe, silver earrings catching the last of the sun rays, black skin sweaty and smelling of passionate lovemaking. ¡°Crossing Merodras sapped at our strength. Nobody wants to fight. We need a win, I need a win here. Now. Or I¡¯m done.¡± She turned to look at him, eyes glowing a warm gold, her song soothing his worries. ¡°I can pass through the Hoplites, but they¡¯ll know,¡± Aelrindel whispered in his ear, as he teased the peaks of her breasts with his lips. ¡°You can¡¯t fool a Wyvern, it will be suicide even if you succeed.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give you Rida, from Eastward Forest to Queen¡¯s Oasis,¡± Reinut haggled, the stubble rough on her skin, her need maddening. ¡°And from Teid River to Northwall Heights, everything in between.¡± ¡°Mmm,¡± Aelrindel murmured. ¡°Is that a yes?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll never win,¡± Aelrindel breathed, faraway look in her eyes. ¡°You¡¯ll be the death of me. They¡¯ll hunt me down till the sun stops rising from the east.¡± ¡°What if I did though? Win that is. What if my word was law?¡± Reinut asked all serious. ¡°Foolish human,¡± Aelrindel responded softly. ¡°The realm will never bow to a pirate, or a banished witch, they fear the Empire too much. The Wyverns even more. Rightly so.¡± ¡°Because you can¡¯t fool a Wyvern,¡± Reinut parroted her earlier words. ¡°No more than once and very briefly.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The Pirate Lord pursed his lips. Amber colored eyes still scheming for another angle, although he¡¯d already found the answer to his problems.
Lenar pulled away from the open balcony and walked towards her quarters, where Sahand was sleeping after their lunch. The flapping of small wings stopped her and she looked back over her shoulder. There was a bird on the rails, black beady eyes staring back at her. She went outside again, reached carefully and picked up the bird. It took her less than a moment to find the small scroll inside the leather pouch. Lenar unfurled it with a frown on her face and read the tiny scribbled letters. At first the missive appeared incomprehensible, even cryptic. But then of course as luck would have it, Ralnor¡¯s warning made perfect sense.
The hunt lasts as long as its mark does.
48. Dubious alliances
Ralnor (aka Larn) (aka Dar Eherdir) Dubious alliances
He put the last of his cured flesh cubes in his mouth and worked at it with his molars, listening to the river flowing towards Altarin. Dar neighed annoyed from where he¡¯d left him to graze, an opening amidst the trees. Less than an hour into his journey, the horse had started complaining. He¡¯d a cut on his right hoof, where it was missing a shoe. Neither the cut, done by a sharp blade, nor the missing shoe, was an accident. Whoever did it, wanted to delay him. Keep him in the city even. Ralnor had tied the horse¡¯s hoof, after cleaning it and turned back to find a blacksmith. He lost a day doing it and spend the night outside the city to avoid unnecessary eyes watching him. Problem is, eyes have a tendency to wander outside the city as well. Ralnor got up, swallowed the well-chewed up piece of flesh and walked towards his horse. He took the roundabout way, paused behind a tree trunk, ducked in a bush and walked into a shadow, not two meters from the small bodied person watching Dar and his fake campsite. A minute passed. Then another. His visitor wasn¡¯t moving. He felt the familiar burning in his arm and turning around touched a leafy bush, glanced once more at the back of the stooped over foe and whispered. Nhyvar. The shadows expanded rapidly around him, a large black moving sphere that reached the unsuspecting female and engulfed her. Ralnor felt the bush¡¯s stems rotting with his left hand, small branches wilting, then turning to ash and let them go. Walked behind her, a needle point knife in his other hand. He made to pull her long hair back, kept in a fancy ponytail and punch his blade in her brain through an ear, but recognized the pattern of her braids despite the blackness surrounding them and stopped at the last second. Nellaon. ¡°What in¡­¡± Mezera gasped surprised, sensing someone standing so close to her the moment the thick shadows retracted and then almost jumped out of her skin, when he felt his blade touching her ear. ¡°STOP!¡± She cried jumping away, right into the opening where Dar was watching them perturbed. He found her reaction amateurish. You never run for cover, where there¡¯s none. Ralnor looked around them with a sigh, found no other danger and put the knife away.
Mezera had a haunted look on her face, the shock hadn¡¯t gone away yet and her hands were shaking. ¡°By Ora¡¯s black heart,¡± She murmured. ¡°This dampness is killing me.¡± Ralnor cocked his head and stared with cold eyes. ¡°You hurt my horse.¡± Mezera looked up worried. ¡°Huh? No¡­ I didn¡¯t!¡± ¡°Someone did.¡± ¡°Not me!¡± Ralnor narrowed his eyes. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± ¡°Looking for you!¡± ¡°Lower your voice.¡± She stared at him confused for a moment, before realizing what he meant. ¡°Apologies.¡± ¡°Are worthless,¡± Ralnor told her getting up. ¡°We have to move.¡± You can¡¯t hide, while attempting to educate a toddler. ¡°Yeah,¡± Mezera replied, following his example. ¡°This place sucks.¡±
An hour later, Ralnor found himself back in the Golden Bird inn, staring at a bowl of warm vegetable soup, the sound of Mezera slurping her portion grating to his nerves. He pushed himself back on his chair, felt solid wall against his spine and checked the empty inn in silence, the light of the oil lamp Dean Kutas had left on the counter keeping the place and their table in semi-darkness. ¡°How did ye do that?¡± Mezera asked, wiping her lips with a towel. ¡°Before.¡± This delay was unnecessary, he thought. Still someone had messed with his things. Was it the Gish? Had he wanted him dead, he would¡¯ve tried again. Used a crossbow and a bolt with a poisoned tip. ¡°I¡¯ve heard talk of¡­ some of us, knowing this trick,¡± Mezera continued. ¡°Some of us?¡± Ralnor asked. ¡°You know¡­¡± His silence was deafening. ¡°Well, Dean said¡ª¡± ¡°The man running the inn,¡± Ralnor interrupted. To the ground. ¡°Aye.¡± She nodded. ¡°Not my fault, if he¡¯s wrong.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s the missive?¡± He asked not amused. She¡¯d told him an answer had arrived, while he was busy patching up his horse. Mezera searched the opening of her bosom with a hand and pulled out a clearly opened and read message, the small paper damp and torn in a couple of places. ¡°I thought, you were gone.¡± She opened her mouth to apologize, seeing him not convinced, but his stare turned into a glare and that stopped her cold. Ralnor snatched the parchment away, wrinkling his nose. He read it under the scrutiny of the girl. Stopped, took a deep, deep breath and read it again.
I name thee my vengeance. Burn the trail. Leave nothing.
¡°What does it mean?¡± Mezera asked, when she realized, he wasn¡¯t going to talk. Ralnor smacked his lips and checked outside the inn¡¯s window. Two, three at the most, hours of night left. Not enough time. Could he afford to lose another day? She was spooked of course and wanted to lash out, since despite her many talents, Aelrindel was never practical in her schemes. Elaborate plans are always more difficult to materialize and being talented didn¡¯t mean one was smart. She was alive today, thanks to him. You don¡¯t shake the hornets¡¯ nest, when you¡¯re on borrowed time. Not like she did. Someone is bound to notice. ¡°Is it a contract?¡± Ralnor almost rolled his eyes at the term. ¡°Do you know the city?¡± He asked taking her by surprise. ¡°I thought you¡¯d ask, if I killed anyone before,¡± Mezera replied. ¡°I almost did once. Enough to earn me an apprenticeship.¡± We must work with the tools at hand, Ralnor thought saddened, shaking his head. And expect shoddy work from those left in charge of mundane tasks. ¡°I take it as a yes,¡± He said. ¡°Find me a good rope. At least ten meters.¡± ¡°What¡¯d ye need that for?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll find out,¡± Ralnor replied, cursing himself for not killing her next to the river and got up.
The manor was dark in the distance for the most part, its tall outer walls blocking anyone from entering the grounds surrounding it, unless he wanted to use the guarded main entrance. There were at least four armed guards standing watch, large torches lighting the exposed place up, at least four that he could see. He had no idea, when the next change of the guard was, nor the time to find out.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Are you sure?¡± He asked her and Mezera stooped next to him on the east side of the entrance nodded. ¡°Follow me. Bring the rope,¡± Ralnor ordered and started walking towards the tall stone wall, before she¡¯d time to protest. Which she did. ¡°Wait. This darn thing weights a ton!¡± Ralnor grunted instead of a reply, while examining the rough surface of the four meter sturdy stone wall. There was enough cope for him to stand on, if he made it up there. ¡°How will you secure it?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll climb and drop it on the other side.¡± Provided it¡¯s long enough. ¡°How are ye gonna climb that?¡± Painfully. ¡°Just toss it, when I call you.¡± Ralnor hissed and took a couple of steps back. Paused looking at the wall, glanced towards the lit entrance and then at the moons on the night sky and sighed. He walked another three meters back, took a deep breath and held it, under the curious eyes of the Guild¡¯s apprentice. Then he dashed forward running at full speed. The first couple of meters were normal, but then as he picked up momentum, gravity and mass started working against him. The pressure pushed back as much as he was pushing forward, the faster he went, the harder the Realm tried to hold him back. It all happened in less than two seconds. A meter before he met the stone wall head on and probably died after breaking most of his bones, Ralnor realized he wasn¡¯t going to make it. Damn you for this, he cursed. Ar¡¯iorve. The ancient command turning to a panicked gasp on his lips, as he leaped like an incect, the spell catapulting him upwards at least three full meters, but still not high enough to get him over the wall. Without a proper medium all spells were lessened. Ralnor had to burn a quarter of his blood to even attempt it. The sturdy rock wall came at him with a vengeance and he half kicked both his legs out mid-air to avoid cracking his head like an egg, knees scrapping the rough surface the next moment, hands flailing mad in the attempt to grasp the cope and pull himself up, before he run out of momentum. ¡°Fuck.¡± Mezera exclaimed, when he collapsed on the foot wide cope, breathing heavy and drenched in sweat, his left hand shaking and burning to the point of madness. Ralnor coughed up a splat of black blood between his knees and looked down, glowing silver eyes wild. ¡°Toss me the bloody rope. Hold one end tight,¡± He spat, barely getting the words out.
After securing it on the other side, using a loose heavy branch he stumbled upon in the dark, Ralnor moved towards the two story manor as fast as he could, without alerting the rare diligent patrol that preferred walking their route, instead of waiting it out, cup in hand. He ducked behind a fig tree, trunk huge and sticky, rotten fruit making a mess of his boots, before testing one of the first floor barred windows. The first one was locked and it was the same story four windows down the long eastern manor wall, the time slipping through his fingers like water and his left arm still throbbing, the hunger building up inside, in step with his frustration. Ralnor climbed the last large window, deciding he had enough, stood on its head on his toes and leaped upwards and to the side light as a feather, enough to grab the bottom rail with his hand, his shoulder straining, swung once and clasped at the rails proper with both hands. Pulled himself up and breathed relieved, when he heard the flapping of curtains through the cracked open balcony door. Inside the manor proper, he moved without pausing, a couple of throwing knives in hand, jumping from shadow to cover, when he heard noise. Soon though he just walked fast and with less care, as other than a cook, up early to start making breakfast, everyone else seemed fast asleep. There was a second hall before the main bedroom and the better rooms on the west side of the manor. There he paused seeing light and hearing people talk. ¡°¡­never trusted him,¡± One of them was saying. ¡°He¡¯s trying to pull the same trick again.¡± ¡°Your father wants you in Rida just the same,¡± The other answered. Much older than the first. ¡°I should stay. This here is my heirloom, Duncan,¡± The younger man countered. Ralnor exhaled slowly. The Reeves¡¯ spawn hadn¡¯t traveled to Hellfort after all, he thought. Dean had lied, the girl too. He thought about the injury to Dar. Not a coincidence. But why keep me here? Something else is afoot. If there was one thing plaguing the Silent Servants Guild since its inception, it was conspiracies. All guilds, Ralnor supposed, deciding to finish the job, as fast as he could. Ralnor chanced a look behind his back for any sign of the murderous girl, saw nothing but an empty dark corridor and with a grunt of frustration, he made to enter the well illuminated by a chandelier room. Paused mid-stride, seeing a man wearing a well-polished chainmail shirt, coming through the door to enter the corridor. Several things happened simultaneously next, in the space of precious few moments. ¡°Just move to the end of it, it¡¯s a fucking huge cupboard,¡± The young man called behind Duncan¡¯s back. ¡°You won¡¯t miss it.¡± The assassin feverishly glanced to his right and saw nothing but empty wall, then to his left and saw himself reflected on a large mirror, dark leather outfit covered in dirt, mud on his weathered cape, face pale half-hidden by the hood and dark circles under his eyes. He looked like shit. The man walked into the corridor, while he pondered all that and came upon him, as the conflicted assassin¡¯s time had run out. Using another spell now wasn¡¯t an option, as he would probably pass out and promptly killed on the spot, before even pronounced a thief, or hanged, after getting thoroughly tortured, before Altarin¡¯s gates alongside the other ruffians, if the weather didn¡¯t allow for further ¡®festivities¡¯ that is. Duncan paused with a gasp, almost tripping on his own feet, eyebrows rising in shock, but recovered quickly and made to unsheathe his sword, only to realize he held an empty bottle of wine in his good hand and opt for a loud curse instead. Even that he didn¡¯t manage, as he¡¯d two knives buried in his chest and blood in his lungs. ¡°Gah!¡± The man said dropping the bottle on the floor and stumbling back, darn thing had to break apart and raise a ruckus of epic proportions! ¡°You fool! What did you do?¡± The young man cried angry from the well-lit hall, as a deft Ralnor danced forward shortsword in hand and followed Duncan as he retreated back inside the room, the sudden light blinding to the assassin¡¯s eyes. A mistake forced upon him due to luck of time. ¡°Duncan what the fuck man?¡± The young man said, sounding doubly worried now. Duncan was dying where he stood, blood leaking out of the sides of his mouth and down his chin, but he was too damn slow doing it, so Larnor, stepped to the side and stabbed him once more, right below the bump at his throat.
¡°What? Hells are you, fiend!¡± The wiry, but well-armoured man, cried out, when Duncan went down with a loud bang that shook the whole floor. That¡¯s fucking plate, the assassin noticed with a grimace, reaching for his one-handed battle axe. ¡°Are you Lord Reeve¡¯s grandson?¡± He asked evenly, walking towards him. ¡°What? I¡¯m Sir Laurel Reeves!¡± The young knight snapped. Then barked as loud as he could, unsheathing his longsword rather confidently. ¡°GUARDS!¡± The assassin ducked under the sword and stabbed him in the ribs once, his shortsword¡¯s blade scrapping the plate. He had to step away to avoid a spiked sword butt to the face, retaliated with a solid downward cut above Laurel¡¯s elbow, found arm plate underneath his sleeve as well and cursed, then laughed when he heard bone breaking. ¡°Arggh! Stand back!¡± Laurel cried out, trying to get away, sword arm dangling useless, and with Larnol circling him like a hungry wolf. ¡°Where is the grandson?¡± ¡°The¡­ he¡¯s not here! For Uher¡¯s sake, I¡¯m not him!¡± Someone called from downstairs, probably a servant waking up. ¡°Defend yourself,¡± Larnor said feinting another attack with the axe and Laurel tried to raise his injured arm still holding the sword and shield himself against an attack that never came, as the deft assassin covered the distance between them in the blink of an eye and punched his shortsword in his face savagely, just below the nose. It went in to the hilt, blood pouring out to cover the grotesque wound and he had to step away to avoid getting covered in it. He breathed once to calm himself down and watched Sir Laurel die right next to his friend, all the while listening to the sounds of the manor waking up. Ralnor could see the door of the main bedroom, at the other end of what was, for all intends and purposes, the large manor¡¯s second floor dining hall. Everything, Aelrindel had said in her righteous fury, always hasty to react; a lover¡¯s betrayal and her broken heart still unhealed, eons later. I name thee my vengeance. Dar Eherdir. Ralnor sighed and stooped to retrieve his blade. He had to step on the dead knight¡¯s body to do it and it wasn¡¯t easy dislodging it from the horrific wound. Then with the sound of people sounding the alarm coming from downstairs, walked without hurrying towards the still closed main bedroom door.
Half an hour later, the sky a murky red and darkness retreating fast all around him, an exhausted Ralnor reached the part of the outer wall, where he¡¯d left the rope and climbed up, Mezera guffawing when he appeared on top of the rounded cope. ¡°Hah! Thought they got your arse!¡± ¡°Move away, so I can jump down,¡± Ralnor hissed, too tired and in no mood for small talk. ¡°The guards run inside, quite worried. What the fuck happened? Hey! Wait¡­¡± Ralnor moved past her without answering, kept walking, avoiding the main road leading to the city proper, opting to use a number of short alleys instead, in a roundabout way; until he reached the Golden Bird, just as the sun came up and engulfed Altarin in its warm embrace. Mezera always hot on his trail all this time, saw him heading for the stables and groaned. ¡°Don¡¯t you ever sleep?¡± Ralnor paused and examined her cute and slightly round face. Lots of Lorian mixed in, with her Cofol heritage, he thought. He looked at his boots next, saw blood on them and frowned. ¡°The city will be closed shut in an hour. Two at the most. People will be understandably upset. A great misfortune has befallen their city,¡± He explained, searching for a good spot to clear it, without raising suspicion. ¡°If you plan on staying, go to sleep.¡± ¡°And if I don¡¯t?¡± Mezera asked, eyes gleaming on the prospect of a life filled with adventure. Late night, or morning¡­ massacres. ¡°Find a horse.¡± Dubious alliances. ¡°Hah! Right away, boss!¡± Decisions leading to great calamities¡­ to put it mildly.
¡°Hey, what did you need the rope for? You made it up there without it,¡± Mezera asked less than hour later, after they¡¯d cleared the city gates without any problems. ¡°There was no purchase on that wall. Or any lever of sorts. Not for a grappling hook,¡± Ralnor grunted, not fond of talking while on the road. ¡°And we left the rope back there because¡­¡± Ralnor glanced at the sky above their heads, the sun blinding. He repositioned the hood of his cape to protect his eyes and decided that perhaps, it wasn¡¯t too late for her to learn. ¡°When they find it,¡± He started, patting Dar¡¯s mane and the horse responded with a snort. ¡°They¡¯ll assume it is how I got inside.¡± Mezera nodded and for a couple of minutes a blissful as much as coveted silence accompanied them. It wasn¡¯t to last unfortunately. ¡°When you said they,¡± The girl said, sounding troubled. ¡°I have a feeling, ye don¡¯t mean the city guards.¡± ¡°There¡¯s hope for you still, Mezera.¡± ¡°Thanks, I think.¡± ¡°First lesson,¡± Ralnor started, glancing her way. ¡°I¡¯m all ears,¡± She replied, her tone upbeat. ¡°Excellent,¡± Dar Eherdir said, his tone deathly serious. ¡°Don¡¯t say another word, until we reach Hellfort. Show me, you¡¯re worthy of my time.¡± Mezera blinked taken aback, but auspiciously for her, kept that cute mouth shut and Ralnor sheathed the small blade he¡¯d gotten out unseen, with a half-relieved half-disappointed sigh. While the assassin saw some potential in her and was still missing a pupil, he also realized that some pretty good cuts of meat, had unfortunately just gone off the menu.
49. Those are never good odds
Jinx Those are never good odds
Chug. A nervous tick appeared on Jinx¡¯s face. It caused her right eye to blink involuntarily, which is super annoying, when a girl tries to aim her freakin¡¯ bow! Chug. Went the chain on Soren¡¯s axe, every time it touched the shoulder plates he¡¯d put on that morning. ¡°Fuck are ye doin¡¯?¡± The Gish hissed, out the left side of her mouth. Chug. ¡°Nothin¡¯,¡± The large Northman replied. ¡°Well, it must be somethin¡¯,¡± Whisper snapped and glanced his way, caught him shifting his weight from one foot to the other, guilty as all sin, before he stopped and stared back defensively. ¡°What?¡± Soren protested, wild red beard now reaching his belly. ¡°Me legs were gettin¡¯ numb, from all this standin¡¯ around!¡± Jinx puffed her cheeks out frustrated. ¡°Tis called wait in ambush, for a fuckin¡¯ reason, ye stupid dork!¡± ¡°It can¡¯t hear us,¡± Soren doubled up and shifted his weight again. Chug. Jinx turned her head around, saw the giant stag looking straight at where they were hidden, not even thirty meters away and cursed inwardly. Her left arm came up, raising her bow, the right pulling the bowstring back, arrow nocked in place. The stag snorted loudly and turned its head around, hind legs propelling it towards the thicker part of the redwood forest dominating the south bank of Teid River. ¡°Run ye cunt!¡± Jinx bellowed, seeing her arrow flying wild over her target and dashed after it, with Soren moving surprising fast for such a large man, following her a couple of strides behind.
At first. ¡°WAIT!¡± The Northman yelled not five minutes later, voice coming out strangled, as they run through the giant trunks following the now mostly unseen stag¡­ well, Jinx was following it all right, but the big Northman had fallen behind the smaller ranger. Whisper Jinx swung her pink head back without slowing down, fit legs lightly touching the muddy ground and threw him a furious glare. ¡°Yer supposed to run after it, ye stupid fuck!¡± ¡°It run to the river,¡± Soren replied, his breath coming out rugged and stopped. Jinx kept on running for another ten meters or so, before using a trunk the size of a small house to stop her momentum, like seasoned rangers oft tend to do. Truth is that in her mind she¡¯d drawn it entirely differently. What happened in reality was that she misjudged the distance for a handbreadth, or stepped on a cone and ended up banging the side of her head on the rough trunk and blanking out.
The stag was chewing her hair, square teeth scrapping at her skin, a hard hoof pressed on her chest, mashing at her poor nipple. ¡°Are ye dead?¡± The stag asked, sounding worn out from their run, or just terribly aroused. ¡­wait a god¡¯s darn minute! Jinx coughed up and opened her red-rimmed eyes, saw a flushed Soren sweating over her face, large paw on her chest for purchase and raised her left knee in retaliation without overthinking it. She caught him between the legs strategically, the man doubling down and crashing over her, which wasn¡¯t as thought out, she had to begrudgingly admit.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Awk, crap!¡± Soren groaned, while she desperately pushed and shoved to get out from under his Orcish body. ¡°GET OFF ME!¡± Jinx yelled, when she realized it was futile, the throbbing on her hurt head maddening. ¡°I can¡¯t move me leg!¡± Soren gasped, grabbing her by the collar and shoving her away from him. ¡°Fuck is the matter with you?¡± Jinx rubbed the bleeding knob with a palm in silence, tears in her eyes. ¡°Are ye hurt badly?¡± Soren asked, sounding worried. ¡°Tis nothin¡¯, stepped on a cone,¡± Jinx explained. ¡°It looked pretty bad from wher¡¯ I was,¡± Soren said, walking with difficulty towards a fallen piece of trunk, a hand between his legs. ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Jinx replied, moving her jaw this way and that, each crack making her flinch in pain, just as the large stag came out of the foliage it was nibbling three meters from where she was, still resting on her hurt behind. There was a huge redwood tree there, its roots as big as trunks made a split and left room enough for the leafy scrub to grow. Fuck. ¡°Hey, you,¡± Jinx greeted the large animal, with an unconvincing grin. The stag, enough bone on those antlers to make herself five hundred arrowheads and a couple of good knives, lowered its majestic head its nostrils expanding and charged her.
Jinx jumped to her right, legs wildly kicking the mud underneath, almost made it out of the onrushing animal¡¯s way, but it caught her left leg with a sharp forked tine, solid bone going through her calf and lifted her clean off of the ground. She wished she¡¯d hadn¡¯t run after it then, feeling her flesh getting torn apart, but it was late for that now. The stag swung his head mighty hard to get rid of its riotously shrieking foe and succeeded in dislodging her, in what turned out to be an impressive toss. Jinx went flying through the air straight at the gap between the giant redwood¡¯s roots. The Gish wished she¡¯d stayed on Jelin then, but it was kind of late for that as well. Jinx crashed with a strained yelp, momentum dragging her through snapping braches and prickly needle leaves, a bitter bug lodging angry in her throat and stayed feet over head for a moment, before gravity pulled her down inside the dark and dump opening. ¡°Gaak,¡± She retched, realizing that pesky bug had gone down her gullet kicking and screaming, but nothing came back up.
Soren found her half an hour later, laid miserably on her back in the dark hole, still in the same position she¡¯d landed. The Northman was covered in blood and sludge from the head to his boots, a broken tine half a spear in length lodged between plates at his right shoulder and what looked like grey pieces of flesh on his beard. ¡°I¡¯ve been callin¡¯ ye,¡± The Northman complained, helping her stand on her legs. A leg more like, as the other had a piece of tine in it as well and wouldn¡¯t take her weight proper. Or at all, Jinx decided, jumping like a uniped to get out of the hole between the large roots. An ordeal on to itself, especially with Soren blocking the way. ¡°Where¡¯s the bloody stag?¡± Jinx groaned through her teeth, realizing she was stuck alongside the sweaty stinking Orc, frustration mixing in with pain. ¡°Most of it is back there,¡± Soren replied, pointing behind his back with a stubby thumb. ¡°The head and some other parts, I¡¯m not as sure.¡± ¡°The head?¡± Jinx frowned. She tried to shove him out of her way, as the space between the roots, even with most of the bush covering it broken up, or simply gone, was still very narrow for her to maneuver on one leg. ¡°It kept moving it,¡± The Northman explained, wiping the bloody blade of his large axe on his pants. ¡°Difficult to get it in one blow.¡± Right. Jinx shook her still hurt head and snaked her way out of the enclosed space, she had almost died in. The mere thought filling her with even more anxiety all of a sudden. Her back scrapped hard one of the large ancient roots, as the Gish fought panicky to get out as fast as she could; The canopy of the roughly hundred meters in height tree, almost unseen from the ground, did not allow for much light to come down. So at first, whatever it was she had dislodged from its place, remained indecipherable, but for the dull sound it made, when it hit the ground and rolled casually outside the hole. Jinx hobbled after it, with the big Northman deciding to follow this time, sporting a curious look on his face. ¡°What is it?¡± Soren asked, seeing her stoop down to pick it up, dangerously balancing on one shaky leg like a bird. Jinx lifted the strange ovoid rocky sphere, greatly surprised at its weight, as its scaled surface made it look like an extremely large cone at first, but as she brought it closer to her face, the small canyon-like cuts between the hard as rock scales gleamed taking in the inadequate light, a bizarre phosphoresce green color amidst the otherwise onyx black scales; that reminded her vividly of the poisonous pulp she created from crushing the Upas tree hard bark. ¡°God darn it, Pretty,¡± Soren exclaimed with a whistle. ¡°Tis sure lookin¡¯ like a big motherfuckin¡¯ egg this.¡± It was rare for Soren to be right about anything, Jinx thought and wished this was the case here, looking back at the chasm her eyes squinting and lips pressed tight. The young Gish wasn¡¯t sure if that fool being right this time was either a good, or a very bad thing. She gave it a fifty-fifty chance. In Jinx¡¯s world, those were never good odds.
50. The Legion is moving
Lorian Legion Command structure Circa 75~193?* NC As established by King Titus Alden (29-65+ NC) : Total strength Around 9000. Military personnel: 5900 (300 engineers-1200 cavalry) Attached Civilian personnel: around 3000 (Various professions, like blacksmiths, carpenters, nurses, whores etc.) : Cohorts¡¯ strength 1st Cohort (Regia): 2000 Legionnaires (2x1000 centuries) 400 Scout Cavalry 1x Prefect of the first Cohort 1x Optio of the first Cohort 2x Centurions of the first Cohort 4x Decanus of the first Cohort (Attached units) 1st Engineering Cohort: 100 Legion Engineers 1x Centurion (first Engineer Cohort) 1x Decanus (first Engineer Cohort) : 2nd Cohort (Lesia)*: 1200 Legionnaires (2x600 centuries) 400 Scout Cavalry 1x Prefect of the second Cohort (Placus Durio) 1x Optio of the second Cohort (Potis Durio) 2x Centurions of the second Cohort 2x Decanus of the second Cohort (Attached units) 2nd Engineering Cohort: 100 Legion Engineers 1x Centurion (second Engineer Cohort) 1x Decanus (second Engineer Cohort) : 3rd Cohort (Various)*: 1200 Legionnaires (2x600 centuries) 400 Scout Cavalry 1x Prefect of the third Cohort 1x Optio of the third Cohort 2x Centurions of the third Cohort 2x Decanus of the third Cohort (Attached units) 3rd Engineering Cohort: 100 Legion Engineers 1x Centurion (third Engineer Cohort) 1x Decanus (third Engineer Cohort) :This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. Officers Lord Commander (later Legatus)*: Sir Demos Alden (circa 188 NC) 3x Prefects of Cohort 3x Optio of Cohort 9x Centurion of Cohort (3x Eng) 11x Decanus of Cohort (3x Eng) 3x Dottore of Cohort 1x Supply Sergeant (Baggage train) 3x Leaders of Horse (Scouts) : Standards A Gold Sculpted Tiger & Boar, Placed on top of a pole 1st Cohort (Roaring Tiger square banner) 2nd Cohort (Charging Boars banner) 3rd Cohort (various) *(Before Lucius¡¯ the third''s widespread reforms, after the Battle of the Turncoats and the split in doctrine)
Potis Durio The Legion is moving
People called the series of canyons and brittle limestone mountains starting where the Lorian Plains met the Tricorn Heights and reaching almost the faraway Andatelia city, at the easternmost edge of Jelin continent, the Stonemaze Peaks. Impossible to traverse on horse, devoid of potable water and teaming with ruffians and brigands, it split the Lorian controled part of Jelin in two, forcing those wanting to go from Cartagen to Asturia to take the long way around. King Alistair thought it impractical for people to first travel west, in order to go east and decided to remedy the matter permanently. Or perhaps it was Lord Holt that wanted his city reaching the coast directly. Whomever it was, Potis thought, watching the crack growing at the side of the boulder they had collapsed yesterday, under the constant clanging bedlam of hammers striking metal, he¡¯d decided that the best way to do it, was building a road. The cracked part moved slowly inch by inch, the men working at it hard with chisels and splitting wedges, while vocally urging it along. Optio Potis squinted his eyes, the sun over his head blinding and noticed the whole vertical slope behind them, also sliding sneakily towards the ledge they¡¯d dug out at the sides of the hard limestone. Surely he was imagining things, he thought at first. Until he didn¡¯t. Oh, crap. ¡°IT¡¯S COMING DOWN!¡± He yelled at the top of his lungs. His throat hurting, adrenaline surging in his veins and waking him up. A terrible noise started, part of it a roar, the rest something ineligible, but loud enough to reach even the workers working on paving the road a couple of kilometers back and almost at the base of the mountain. The men jumped from atop the cracked boulder, leaving tools behind, ankles turning when they landed on the rough terrain, knees bleeding and ears ringing as the noise had reached new heights and continued increasing. Potis decided it was time to retreat himself, when he saw the dust clouds rising from the torn apart ground, quickly covering everything up; stones, sharp rocks and huge boulders following right behind them. The Optio dashed down the quarried but unfinished wide road, nailed boots hitting the ground hard, his feet propelling him forward, half his Cohort running beside him. Behind them, but hidden in thick dust clouds, the slope slowly came down, bringing along enough material to completely fill up the once narrow canyon the Legion¡¯s engineers had widened and turned into a part of their road. Optio Potis Durio made it down that day. It would take them at least two days to locate all the men lost in the disastrous collapse, but for three. Those they never found as they¡¯d gotten buried under the rocks. Whatever little was left of them. Several days later, traumatized though miraculously unharmed, but for one of his army-issued boots still missing in the mad rush to escape being pulverized, he¡¯d never recovered, a solemn-faced Potis vowed along with the rest of the survivors, to immediately start working on reopening this part of the road. Haul away the bigger boulders and clear the debris anew, find whatever was left of their lost colleagues if they could and finish the cursed road, using their darn swords to cut through the Stonemaze Peaks, if it came to that. His uncle Prefect Placus Durio, another respected member of the Durio family, especially inside the Legion¡¯s circles, listened to him without interruptions, tiny sad smile on his lips, as an enthusiastic Potis explained how they should tackle the problem and solve it once and for all, bringing all the engineering Cohorts together, to work on the common cause.
¡°It is a good plan, nephew,¡± The senior Durio said, resplendent in his officer¡¯s well-polished segmented Legion-type armour. ¡°One matter though, vast enough to make all this mute, has unfortunately surfaced.¡± The young officer sat back surprised. ¡°Whatever it is, surely you can push our request through, right?¡± He asked his uncle. ¡°I¡¯m afraid. I cannot.¡± Tyeus calloused toe! ¡°What¡­ Why?¡± Potis snapped, slamming his fist on the table and making it jump, almost spilling the inkpot onto his uncle¡¯s maps and official reports. They were inside a larger tent, well prepared for an officer, but as with everything in the Legion, if you wanted something to stay in its place, you had to nail it down. ¡°I will overlook your outburst,¡± Placus Durio said slowly, fixing the mess he¡¯d made of his stuff. ¡°You¡¯re hurt, but you must grow out of it. Posthaste is my advice.¡± ¡°Some good people died,¡± Potis sniffled a little ashamed now, his face turned a deep red. ¡°Aye, they did, and more will, the way I see this going,¡± Placus offered, voice softer now. For a long minute no one said anything and Potis thinking the meeting was over, wiped his eyes and nose with a sleeve, deciding to go back to his unit. Prefect Placus stopped him before he exited his tent. A finality in his words, lots of sadness and even fear mixed in. ¡°The Legion is moving.¡± At first Potis thought they were given another project, perhaps due to the recent change in overall command, but seeing his uncle¡¯s face and being a Durio, the young Optio quickly realized, what had prevented him from carrying out what he ought to for those lost and left buried under the rumble. Only one thing could outshine, or even cancel completely, such a noble undertaking by the Legion. One word that trumped all others. A three lettered word. War.
51. The Witch’s dagger
Glen The Witch¡¯s dagger
There, Glen thought, tip of his tongue sticking out the corner of his mouth and moved in for the ¡®kill¡¯. He made one step forward, sword coming down like a cleaver at the same time, but Emerson kicked his instep before it touched the ground and send his foot right back, tripping him up. Glen¡¯s swing went wild and the grizzly knight parried it away, lashing again before the young man could recover. ¡°Arggh! You fucker!¡± Glen groaned mightily, dropping to his knees and clasping at his torn sleeve, more scared than injured. Emerson neared him, his jaw clenched in disapproval and smacked him once upside the head. ¡°Pick that sword up.¡± ¡°What was that for?¡± Glen complained, rubbing the sore spot with a hand. ¡°For language unbecomin¡¯ a noble scion.¡± ¡°You cut me!¡± ¡°Does it bleed?¡± Emerson asked, pulling back. ¡°No? But this¡­ is ruined. That¡¯s my only coat!¡± ¡°You¡¯ll mend it. Pick that sword up, we ain¡¯t finished yet.¡± ¡°Great.¡± Glen murmured, getting up. His pants were covered in mud and he saw a couple of workers snickering at him. ¡°Do you favor helping, to carry ¡®em rocks back from the quarry?¡± Emerson asked, noticing the face he made. ¡°Because ye complained about it plenty, yesterday.¡± Glen licked his lips, thinking about it. Wiped his hands and pushed a wayward curl out of his forehead, thinking about it some more. ¡°Well?¡± Emerson inquired, seeing him stalling. ¡°How about hunting? I could go with Jinx tomorrow, instead of Soren,¡± He suggested picking the sword from where he¡¯d dropped it. ¡°He¡¯s plenty strong. I would say, the man is built for lifting large stones.¡± He thought it a solid argument. Emerson smacked his lips, looking at him. ¡°Ever hunted anything before?¡± ¡°How hard could it be?¡± ¡°Harder than ye finishing your lessons,¡± Emerson replied. ¡°So that is a no on ye going huntin¡¯ as well. Now let me look at that blade.¡± Glen puffed out disappointed, but offered him the blade. ¡°That was a good opening ye had there, but you announced it too early,¡± Emerson said, while examining his ¡®father¡¯s¡¯ sword. ¡°Ye keep using it like a club, ruining the edge¡­ look at this,¡± He sighed and showed him the nicks at the edge, ¡°This is¡­ Uher helps us, this weapon needs sharpening.¡± Anything to avoid getting cut, or smacked again, Glen thought, his decision made. ¡°Can we do it now?¡± Glen asked eagerly. ¡°Well, sure¡­ there¡¯s a belted grinding wheel, inside the castle,¡± Emerson said, still examining the gouges on the blade. ¡°Might as well, go right now. I have seen wood axes lookin¡¯ better than this.¡±
Inside the yard, Glen stared fascinated at the sparks the grinding stone produced, every time the Knight pressed the blade to it. ¡°Always work on the same side evenly. Roughly at a thirty degree angle,¡± Emerson explained, his eyes focused on the blade. ¡°When we finish, we¡¯ll use a bit of fine honing oil, I saw some neatsfoot back there and that whetstone, I gave ye.¡± ¡°Are all blades that sensitive?¡± Glen asked. ¡°More or less, if you use ¡®em poorly. So you don¡¯t.¡± ¡°What about Netherscourge?¡± That was the famed sword Reinut had given to the Order of the Golden Spears. Almost everyone knew about it. ¡°That¡¯s made of Wetull steel, it¡¯s different,¡± Emerson explained, stopping to check on the sharpness of the blade. ¡°How?¡± ¡°The¡­ Zilan, had their way wit metals,¡± He glanced his way, then at Lith. She was inspecting a part of the wall they had rebuilt the previous month from the inside. Not completely, but almost three meters in height. On an unrelated note, Glen hadn¡¯t managed to catch the elusive dwarf despite his efforts. He¡¯d appeared sporadically, but at very inopportune times for him. ¡°You think¡­ she might know how to make one?¡± Their Lith was Glen¡¯s meaning. ¡°I don¡¯t think so. Maybe ye ask her, see what she says,¡± Emerson replied. ¡°So what then? Is the recipe lost, or something?¡± Glen asked, returning his attention on the Knight, finishing up on the grinding wheel. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Some say their secret hides in the melting process, or perhaps some other element they were using, we don¡¯t know about,¡± He shrugged his shoulders getting up. ¡°A blacksmith would gush more about it, I reckon. In the end, it doesn¡¯t matter to us. We will work wit the tools at hand.¡± ¡°Are there a lot of them left?¡± ¡°King Alistair has Endariel, I think. Some more, may lurk about. Why the interest? Are ye fixing on getting¡¯ one for yerself?¡± Emerson asked. I don¡¯t see why the fuck not, Glen thought greedily. ¡°I don¡¯t see how I could,¡± He answered instead. ¡°You could steal one, I suppose,¡± The Knight jested. That¡¯s actually not a half-bad idea. ¡°Hah, no way it will be easy though, right?¡± Glen guffawed, a smile on his face. Emerson grunted, not as amused as the young thief. ¡°Fetch me the honing oil, lad.¡± He said in a non-nonsense kind of way, ending their conversation on ancient named swords.
Half an hour later, with the hard-working men, tiredly heading for a lunch break, Emerson stopped to discuss with Spurius Habitus and Sergeant Rolas Pontus, the man in charge of Hellfort¡¯s normally stationed guard, easily discerned from those Lord Reeves had sent by their more worn out armor and uniforms. The topic was where they were in their repairs. Glen had to force himself to follow their conversation, his mind set on talking with Lith as soon as it was possible. ¡°Don¡¯t rebuild anymore of the outer wall,¡± The knight suggested. ¡°Leave that part and fix the rest of the wooden barracks inside the yard.¡± ¡°The tower¡¯s staircase is finished, the first floor as well,¡± Spurius said, keeping his hands tied behind his back. ¡°We won¡¯t stay in the tower for the winter, nor will we finish it in time,¡± Emerson grunted. ¡°So leave that too.¡± Spurius glanced towards Glen, but the young man just scratched the side of his nose without speaking. He¡¯d nothing to offer in reality, but the ex-centurion took it as him agreeing with the Knight. ¡°Fine,¡± He relented. ¡°What do you want to do?¡± Emerson pointed at the mouth of the cleft between the escarpments, splitting the Northwall Heights mountain range in two. What the locals simply called the Hellfort Pass. ¡°You fear they will come still, why?¡± Spurius asked. Emerson looked at the slowly watching them sergeant. ¡°How long since the last caravan came through?¡± Rolas blinked, not expecting the question. ¡°Since before you came Sir Lennox,¡± He replied tensely. ¡°Relax sergeant. I just want information. You told me not many come down this road the other day.¡± ¡°That is correct Sir,¡± Rolas blurted, Emerson cracked a half-smile that went away as soon as it appeared. ¡°One or two per week, less in the winter. Mostly those not wanting to pay the heavy tolls in Rida.¡± The cheap bastards, Glen thought with a grin. ¡°Do you charge them at all?¡± The sergeant blushed, which was funny as all hells Glen decided, greatly enjoying this part of the conversation. ¡°Not all the times.¡± Hah, that¡¯s a nice turn of phrase! ¡°Right,¡± Emerson grimaced. ¡°So that makes it more than a month, since someone came through.¡± Spurius cleared his throat. ¡°What are you thinking?¡± He asked the knight. ¡°I¡¯m thinking we might want to close it for the winter.¡± The old centurion blinked. ¡°Close the pass.¡± ¡°Ye heard me right. Can you built a wall?¡± ¡°That¡¯s more than a hundred meters from east to west,¡± Spurius pointed. ¡°Not much more,¡± Emerson countered.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. ¡°It depends on the wall,¡± His old friend haggled. ¡°Stone would be great.¡± ¡°We only have enough stockpiled for the foundation,¡± Spurius replied. ¡°Unless you want us to bring down half the quarry in a month.¡± ¡°How about wood? Lots of redwood on the other side of the river.¡± Spurius nodded. ¡°Wood we can manage. Don¡¯t expect the walls of Yepehir, but we can manage a three-four meter barricade. Perhaps we¡¯ll put beams every five meters, leave parapets, if we have the time.¡± ¡°How much time?¡± Spurius Habitus frowned, glanced at Glen, who stared back at him with the calm assurance befitting a lord and sighed. ¡°A month¡­ if we hurry.¡± ¡°Will the winter be a problem?¡± Emerson inquired. ¡°It will be cold and windy, but it rarely snows this side of the mountains. I hope the Gods keep it the same this year.¡± Spurius replied. ¡°Then that¡¯s what we will do, right young lord?¡± The knight was looking at him and Glen froze for a moment, unsure what had happened. Fortunately he snapped out of it fast. ¡°It¡¯s¡­ ahm, a great plan, Sir Lennox. I approve it,¡± Glen said formally, under the amused stare of Emerson. ¡°What if we don¡¯t hold them?¡± Rolas asked and Glen frowned. This was a legitimately important question. ¡°We retreat,¡¯ Emerson replied and turning to the old Centurion asked. ¡°Can you spike the bridge?¡± ¡°As in bring it down?¡± Spurius probed. Glen perked up at that. Bring the bridge down? What madness was this? ¡°If need be.¡± ¡°I can remove some of the piers, weaken the floor beams, while leaving enough to use it sparingly.¡± How about safely? Glen thought with a glare at the old engineer. ¡°We must be able to collapse it quickly,¡± Emerson insisted, set firm on destruction. ¡°It can be done. All you need is a couple of men with sledgehammers pounding exactly where I tell them,¡± Spurius explained with a shrug, as if it was nothing. ¡°Alright. If the worst happens, we can evacuate most of our people through the bridge, bring it down after to delay the Cofols for¡­¡± He trailed after the last word unsure. ¡°A week?¡± Spurius suggested. Upon a second examination, Glen found their plan fantastic. ¡°Some will need to stay and defend Hellfort,¡± Emerson added, always set on hanging on the details. ¡°You mean trapped in there,¡± Spurius said. ¡°With no way to escape.¡± ¡°How about through the mines?¡± Emerson probed. ¡°They¡¯ll still be trapped.¡± Spurius countered. ¡°But in the dark. You¡¯re set on holding Hellfort?¡± ¡°Aye, they won¡¯t leave a castle on their back,¡± Emerson explained. ¡°It will buy our people time.¡± ¡°What about those that will remain in the castle?¡± Glen asked understandably worried for his person and not satisfied with the knight¡¯s answer. ¡°The important thing is to keep you safe milord,¡± Spurius answered, with a knowing stare. You? What in the slovenly fuck is this buffoon saying? Glen thought perplexed at first. Ah. Me. Yes. YES! It was the right thing to do. ¡°We can¡¯t have you fall into their hands. Not in case of war.¡± Spurius continued and Glen nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly. ¡°We can surrender after they make it across,¡± Emerson said and Spurius scoffed at that, although Glen thought it was the rational thing to do. ¡°You assume they¡¯ll take prisoners my friend.¡± The old centurion shook his head tiredly. ¡°What does this mean?¡± Glen asked. ¡°Nothing, we¡¯ll deal wit it, when it¡¯s proper,¡± Emerson replied brusquely, putting an end to their meeting.
Lith had finished staring at the rebuilt part of the wall and Glen tackled her before she could disappear again into thin air. She did that frequently. ¡°What do you seek Glenavon?¡± She asked in her singsong voice. ¡°We were discussing various plans,¡± Glen started, looking around the hooded female for the elusive dwarf. ¡°You will defend the pass,¡± Lith said, before he¡¯d time to finish. ¡°Basically yes. If it comes to that.¡± ¡°Is there time to build a stone wall?¡± ¡°Nope, but we will go with wood, so yes,¡± Glen said, not liking her disapproving pout. ¡°It will not hold.¡± ¡°We have a plan for that too.¡± Lith stared back towards the river, more than a kilometer away. ¡°A horse can outrun any man,¡± The Zilan announced simply, as if he didn¡¯t know that! ¡°Right,¡± Glen blinked once, under her intense stare. Her eyes had turned a bluish silver and it was very distracting. ¡°Where is the dwarf?¡± ¡°What do you want with him?¡± She inquired annoyingly. ¡°Nothing. You don¡¯t have to worry, I can keep a secret.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe you can.¡± What? ¡°Of course¡­ listen, this is ridiculous, I haven¡¯t outed you, have I?¡± Glen said a little frustrated. ¡°Not for lack of trying.¡± Right. For a long moment, he stared at his dirty boots not sure how to answer that. Lith broke the silence first. ¡°You¡¯ll need armour, Glenavon.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Glen replied, scratching the back of his head. ¡°One of the soldiers has an old set. He agreed to give it to you after lunch, for a silver,¡± The Zilan said. ¡°That sounds¡­ cheap.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a leather armour, studded. It might stop a blade.¡± Still sounds cheap. ¡°Thanks, I guess,¡± He looked at his sword belt, the sheath worn on his left side to accommodate the dagger. ¡°I may need a better sword as well.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with this one?¡± Lith asked calmly. ¡°Nothing. Well, the old man roughed it up somewhat. We fixed it, but still¡­¡± ¡°A better blade,¡± Lith said, looking in his eyes hypnotically. ¡°A Wetull blade,¡± Glen droned. ¡°Heard, it holds up better.¡± Lith crossed her arms over her chest. ¡°Imperial steel is superior, Glenavon.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m sayin¡¯ girl.¡± Lith hissed at the term. ¡°Where will you find it?¡± ¡°I was hoping you had the recipe.¡± ¡°You want me¡­¡± She sighed. ¡°It was a guild secret. You need an Imperial blacksmith for that.¡± ¡°Anyone around these days?¡± Glen asked with a grin. ¡°Very few survived the Fall.¡± ¡°And I guess they all died by now.¡± Lith said nothing. ¡°No kids to pass down the secrets? Some forgotten text wit instructions?¡± Glen smacked his lips disappointed. ¡°Did anything of note survived at all? Like Netherscourge?¡± Lith looked around them, spotted Jinx returning from her hunt, large leather bag on her back and sporting a visible limp. Soren was right behind her, a little banged up as well, the carcass of a giant Stag laden on a cart, pulled by both their horses. Wow, Glen thought impressed. That¡¯s quite a bloody find! ¡°The leader of the Queen¡¯s guard carried Netherscourge,¡± Lith whispered her voice haunted. He had to strain his ears to hear her. ¡°The brave Velanoris. Reinut looted it from his dead body.¡± Glen took a step back. ¡°Ahm, sorry about that.¡± Lith shrugged her shoulders. ¡°It¡¯s in the past.¡± ¡°A story you heard?¡± ¡°All stories are out there, Glenavon,¡± Lith replied. ¡°All you have to do is listen.¡± ¡°Yes, you¡¯ve mentioned that before,¡± Glen said. ¡°Are there any more?¡± ¡°Most Imperial steel blades were looted the same way,¡± Lith explained. ¡°Those that have them, will not part with them willingly.¡± The last she delivered in a warning tone. Glen sighed, seeing there weren¡¯t going anywhere. His stomach growled. Lith actually smiled at that. It made his knees weaken a bit, but he overcame it quickly. ¡°You said most.¡± ¡°I did,¡± Lith replied that smile gone. ¡°Where are the rest?¡± The young thief asked. Lith turned her head and looked at what was the south. It was remarkable she could get her bearings so fast, he thought impressed. ¡°Still where they were dropped,¡± She rejoined sadly. ¡°And no one looks for them?¡± Glen pressed on, overcome by greed. ¡°They do.¡± ¡°Wait, they are not in the blasted lands?¡± ¡°They are,¡± She droned. Luthos weathered cock! ¡°Lith,¡± Glen started, trying to calm himself down. ¡°No one goes there.¡± ¡°Many do, every year,¡± The Zilan replied coolly. ¡°In search of named blades, and all kinds of treasures.¡± ¡°They do? The market would¡­ have been flooded with artifacts!¡± The black market was his meaning. Lith shrugged her shoulders indifferently. ¡°Almost no one returns.¡± ¡°But some do. I mean I did, right?¡± Glen said and looking down, he got the ancient dagger out. ¡°How about this?¡± ¡°This is not Wetull steel, as you call it, Glenavon,¡± Lith pointed, staring at the black blade, as if it was alive. ¡°It wasn¡¯t made by a blacksmith. Be warry of its influence.¡± ¡°Who made it?¡± ¡°No one knows for sure,¡± Lith said in common. ¡°And it wasn¡¯t made per se. It is difficult to explain it plainly. Some say a witch willed it, using dark magic. It was created as a gift. Reinut wielded it last.¡± Glen snorted in frustration. He was unable to understand what she was saying. Her words coming out jumbled. ¡°So no one knows?¡± That was the only thing he¡¯d gotten from her gibberish. Lith raised a thin eyebrow. ¡°I just told you.¡± ¡°Yes, I got it. You don¡¯t know what it is. To me it looks like some kind of glassy rock.¡± Lith chuckled softly. It was a beautiful sound. ¡°No, it is not,¡± She said this time in the old tongue. ¡°What is it then?¡± A frustrated Glen asked, fingers tight on the dagger¡¯s handle and the Zilan told him. ¡°It¡¯s an Aniculo Nappa.¡± Glen gawked at her numbly. Lith looked at the dagger still in his hands and sighed a bit frustrated. ¡°It won¡¯t let you understand,¡± She explained, although Glen felt even more confused. ¡°You must order it. Ask Glenavon and it will obey.¡± ¡°Ask what?¡± A confused Glen queried. ¡°Say you want to know.¡± ¡°I want to know,¡± Glen droned and Lith repeated her words again. This time, he understood her just fine. ¡°It¡¯s a Wyvern¡¯s talon.¡±
52. Conspiracy proper
Nattas Conspiracy proper
Darkness and the stench of vomit greeted him, when he woke up. The putrid taste of piss in his mouth, teeth hurting and his gums bleeding. Storm groaned, when the aching in his stomach turned to burning. He opened his eyes panicked, saw more of the same black and shades of it all around, with spots of red breaking the monotony and nothing more. He had died in his sleep, was his first thought. Perished callously, and his eyes melted away from poison into nothingness. Whether he was brought down by an uncouth and unwashed ruffian, or some Royal cunt, made little difference to him. Dead was dead. A richly watered fuckin¡¯ stone won¡¯t suddenly up and sprout a darn vine. Rotting corpses also couldn¡¯t think, or feel shit, far as he knew. The latter thought brought him some clarity. A blind man, could still live. He would live poorly of course and oft snickered upon. Stumbling like a fool and pissing outside the chamber''s pot; but life, even a miserable one, was a much preferable condition to be in, for someone who thought himself a corpse not ten minutes ago. Oh, vile Abrakas hear me now, give much needed help here, he prayed fervently, tears running down his cheeks. Make it bloody fast, for fucks sake! Don¡¯t you need eyes to shed tears? He brought a heavy hand up, felt wet cloth on his face and snatched it away with a pathetic moan, when light came in from an open door into the dark room. Nattas cursed, turned to his right, and reached the end of what was apparently his bed. He dropped down, a clumsy blind fall, landing with his shoulder. ¡°HELP!¡± Storm had banged the back of his head on a half barrel used for bathing, at the tail end of that cry, and the cold water in it splashed out and made a mess of his hair and shirt. He used more of it to clean up his face, silently cursing Abrakas in the dark and then collapsed on his arse, too tired to even speak. Titus, broad naked chest chiseled, as hairy as an unshorn ram and probably proud of it, found him there five minutes later. ¡°You called boss?¡± The ex-mercenary and former pirate asked, not an ounce of legitimate concern in his deep voice. ¡°I did,¡± Nattas croaked. ¡°Had I been under fucking assault, I would be long dead by now.¡± ¡°You seem better.¡± ¡°Actually I¡¯m not.¡± Storm hissed. ¡°Where¡¯s that snake of a Dottore?¡± ¡°He¡¯s tending to Sudi,¡± Titus replied coming inside, a candle-holder in hand. ¡°He¡¯s not looking that well.¡± He went to a drawer and quickly lit some more, illuminating the room proper, under Lord Nattas angered scrutiny. ¡°I¡¯m way more important than him,¡± He said, unable to hold back. ¡°Help me to the edge of the bed first, then call that charlatan here.¡± ¡°Numerius said¡ª¡± Nattas didn¡¯t let him finish his sentence. ¡°You¡¯re on a first name basis with that prick?¡± ¡°The Dottore saved your life,¡± Titus said, helping him sit on the bed. ¡°Call him here. Now.¡± Storm insisted. Titus clenched his jaw not happy. ¡°You work for me remember?¡± He reminded him. ¡°Sure. I will call him,¡± The man relented and turned to walk away. ¡°For fucks sake move a little faster and sent a servant up right after.¡± Storm shouted at his back. ¡°I need a fresh set of clothes.¡±
Dottore Baro had dark circles under his eyes, and his skin appeared a sickly yellow. He¡¯d probably didn¡¯t sleep all night. Storm looked outside his window and grimaced. Most of the night. ¡°What is this?¡± He asked him seeing the man produce what looked like a large metalic syringe, needle protruding from the evil apparatus perfectly capable of pleasuring a young mare. ¡°I need to take some of your weakened blood,¡± Baro explained tiredly. ¡°Speed your recovery along.¡± ¡°You want to bleed me out, to help me live,¡± Storm put it in the right context for him. ¡°More or less.¡± Nattas ogled his eyes frustrated and a little scared. ¡°You can¡¯t be serious!¡± ¡°The poison is diluted enough. This procedure will help make fresh blood and weaken it even more,¡± He tried to stick that needle into his left forearm, but Nattas pulled it away. ¡°You¡¯ve done this before?¡± ¡°Your grace was the first to follow my treatment.¡± The first idiot, Storm translated. ¡°Didn¡¯t your fucking treatment work?¡± ¡°Of course. You¡¯ve become adept enough to poison, so the attempt failed,¡± Baro explained and sneakily went for his arm again. ¡°Stop!¡± ¡°My lord, it will speed up your recovery,¡± Dottore Baro protested.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°Titus, if he tries to stick anything in me, cut off his hand,¡± Storm ordered, deathly serious. ¡°Gods! This¡­ is insane. Lord Nattas, I¡¯m trying to help you here!¡± Baro cried out, but took a cautionary step back now. ¡°Titus¡­¡± ¡°You want me to cut it at the elbow, or the whole thing?¡± The man probed for further instructions. ¡°Well¡­¡± Storm puffed his cheeks out. ¡°Might as well take it all off, no reason to turn all frugal for him, right?¡± ¡°Fine! No blood extraction,¡± Dottore Baro snapped, face paler than a moment ago. ¡°My lord, I declare you healed.¡±
An hour later, a somewhat ¡®healed¡¯ Lord Nattas watched the sun coming up sitting in his favorite spot, a silent Titus occupying the seat next to him in his veranda. It almost brought fresh tears to his eyes seeing this simple miracle of nature unveiled. Much anger as well, for his elusive would be assassins. ¡°I thought it was her at first,¡± He said to the silent ex-mercenary, the term somewhat incorrect, since the man was technically working for him as an extremely well-paid enforcer, which was a similar profession in his eyes. More or less. ¡°The Queen?¡± Titus asked, when he didn¡¯t finish his thought. ¡°Aye.¡± ¡°What changed your mind?¡± Nattas snorted. ¡°I don¡¯t know. How about Sudi dying from the same poison?¡± ¡°He might make it still,¡± Titus said through his teeth. ¡°Bah, better we prepare for the worst.¡± ¡°The attempt was made here,¡± Titus said. ¡°Is your meaning.¡± ¡°Of course it was made here!¡± Nattas snapped. ¡°Under your fucking nose, I might add!¡± ¡°Nobody came to the house boss,¡± The man said defensively. ¡°Was it the cook then? Where¡¯s Lametha?¡± ¡°Preparing food.¡± Storm grunted. ¡°Great, let her finish what she started!¡± ¡°Baro will taste it for poison. He looked everything up.¡± Titus continued disregarding his outburst. ¡°And?¡± ¡°It was a bottle of Flauegran.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t we pay them?¡± Storm probed, a little shocked at the revelation. ¡°Of course we did,¡± Titus replied. ¡°Did you skim off the top too much?¡± Storm countered, not convinced. ¡°Sudi handled it. I don¡¯t think it was the bloody merchant,¡± Titus retorted patiently. ¡°Lametha has been with me for a decade, since her husband died,¡± Storm murmured, thinking it through. He eyed a fresh bottle of wine on their table, but decided to abstain. Poured himself some water instead and tasted it tenderly, looking for strange flavors, before drinking some. This is what it come down to, he thought bitterly, gulping down, his throat sore. Afraid to eat and drink, next it¡¯ll be no whoring, or gambling. Might as well be a monk and be done with the whole thing! ¡°Shame on you to think it, milord,¡± The middle-aged woman said, bringing them both a plate of eggs and boiled vegetables. Storm hadn¡¯t seen her arriving. He cleared his throat, a little ashamed and stared at the grey haired bountiful Lorian woman apologetically. ¡°Lametha dear, I was defending you. Titus had to probe, it¡¯s his job,¡± He lied without batting an eyelid. ¡°Well, Titus should know better,¡± She replied, giving the shocked man a scornful look. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for the meal, but there was nothing more in the kitchen. I¡¯ve sent your girl to the market early, since Titus had to stay here, but she hasn¡¯t returned yet.¡± ¡°My girl¡­¡± Storm trailed his words perturbed. ¡°Seen her coming out yer room, milord,¡± Lametha explained and gave him a naughty wink. Storm frowned and stared at Titus for help. ¡°She means Maja, you know the girl you¡¯re fucking?¡± His man said with a smirk. ¡°Language mister Titus!¡± Lametha said with a chuckle. Storm took a deep breath and let it out slow. ¡°I¡¯m not¡­ sleeping with her, Lametha.¡± ¡°Hmm, well no decent lady walks into a man¡¯s room dressed like that, milord,¡± She insisted, putting air-quotes on the ¡®dressed¡¯. No decent girl, Lord Nattas thought his frown deepening. He sat back on his seat, feeling a cold shiver running down his spine. You know something, he¡¯d asked her, back in that tavern. Maja had replied that she¡¯d heard him say it. But they were sitting too far apart. She was chatting away with her ¡®fianc¨¦¡¯, who apparently never thought about since. The hooded assassin had approached the couple and him, mere moments before the attack. In fact now that Storm run the whole incident back from memory, he was certain¡­ the man hadn¡¯t said a word.
¡°We don¡¯t really know another¡¯s soul my dear. Not really. Not ever. There are few men one can trust in this life, I¡¯m afraid.¡± ¡°You must believe me lord Nattas.¡± She was looking at him now with renewed interest. Survival is a great aphrodisiac. ¡°Why?¡± He asked her. ¡°Please lord Nattas. You must help me!¡± Almost desperate now. ¡°What did the man look like? You¡¯ve seen or heard something.¡± ¡°I¡­ he said.¡± She hesitated. ¡°Yes?¡± Lord Nattas probed with a smile. ¡°You¡¯ll pay for his brother my lord.¡±
Cursed wench had never answered his most important question, he thought his soul hurting. ¡°Find the woman,¡± He hissed and Titus realizing at last what had happened, got up abruptly. ¡°Bring her here!¡± Storm growled, his anger exploding out of him in waves. Shaken at the betrayal and irate for the idiotic romantic feelings, he¡¯d allowed her to bring out of him. Mainly the latter.
Titus returned hours later, a seething Nattas gazing at the King¡¯s Baths at the distance, cup of lukewarm water in his hand and his face dark. Maja had disappeared. Titus had checked in the market and then sent mounted agents to Cartaport with her description and an order to arrest her on sight. ¡°She won¡¯t leave on a ship, boss.¡± ¡°You presume, this was all done with no plan,¡± Storm said slowly, clenching his left fist. ¡°But there was planning involved and patience. Enough of it to catch us with our pants down. They wanted this second attempt to succeed, making the first not some random hit gone wrong. It was all a ruse and I was saved, by that crazy Dottore!¡± Thank you Abrakas. Fuck you for putting me through all this. ¡°You¡¯re thinking assassins,¡± Titus seemed worn out. ¡°I¡¯m thinking someone wants me out of the coming festivities,¡± Storm replied and moved from the rails. He walked inside, but paused at the doors to add. ¡°He wants it bad.¡± ¡°Why?¡± His man asked. ¡°Because I don¡¯t want a war ruining everything,¡± Storm explained, with a bitter smile. ¡°It appears things have gotten serious.¡± ¡°What will you do?¡± Lord Nattas sighed a deep sigh, the weight of the world on his shoulders. ¡°I think I¡¯m going to arrange a royal wedding,¡± He replied calmly, much to the amusement of his paid lackey. On that last note, Storm also decided to take King Alistair¡¯s advice and hire more men. The days of him being frugal were long gone.
53. Reveal of sorts (1/2)
Slew mothers in their sleep, cut till their bellies burst ¡®n opened. Burned the crops and blinded the young When the Wyvern woke up Of treachery the faithful had spoken An ancient Zilan Elegy
Glen Reveal of sorts
Marcus Saunio¡¯s shirt could barely fit the hale man, despite leaving it half-unbuttoned at the front, the cold not bothering him at all; the former Decanus of the Lorian Legion appearing as intimidating dressed, as when he was not. He patted a well-used leather cuirass with the flat of his palm a couple of times, seeing him approach, his muscles taunt on that shirt and thinning grey hair revealing a rugged scar on the top of his head. ¡°Ah, young lord Reeves,¡± The man said with a booming voice. Probably a requirement for serving in the bloody Legion, Glen thought. ¡°I have something for ye.¡± ¡°Is this the armour?¡± Glen asked sitting down across from him, in one of the many four legged crude tables the men had built, in what they called the mess hall, but was in reality just a large pavilion with unfinished half walls made of wood. ¡°Hardened leather cuirass,¡± Marcus explained. ¡°You¡¯ll need shoulder armor with that and another harness other than the one ye have on. I counsel ye use plate armor on ¡®em pads.¡± ¡°Where can I find plate?¡± ¡°You make it, young lord,¡± Marcus pointed at the smoke coming from the refurbished blacksmith¡¯s forge. ¡°Or ye repair a broken one.¡± Glen scrunched his nose looking at the poorly conditioned leather cuirass. It may stop a knife Lith had told him. He wasn¡¯t as optimistic. ¡°You have any?¡± He asked and Marcus let out a roaring laugh, a hand reaching low to grab a couple of rusty and mangled pieces of plate, he¡¯d kept hidden under the table. ¡°As much as you want. Enough to make a profit even, if ye know how to work the hammer,¡± Marcus said and seeing his frown added, big smile on his rugged face. ¡°Twas a joke. Tis still a silver, ye can keep the shoulder pads either way.¡± Glen paid him from his pouch and gathered the armor parts to walk away, a little unsure where everything went, or even if they fitted him. Not even a couple strides later, he paused and turned his head back. ¡°Don¡¯t I need a helm, or something?¡± Marcus frowned and looked up, silver coin between his teeth to test it. ¡°What for?¡± ¡°What else?¡± Glen retorted. ¡°Fight.¡± Hopefully staying alive, while doing it. ¡°Yer committed in fightin¡¯?¡± The notion appeared ludicrous to the former Legion man. Committed was a far stronger word than what he¡¯d use, but he also couldn¡¯t leave everything to chance and Luthos. Glen sighed. ¡°Any reason why I shouldn¡¯t have a helm, just the same?¡± His eyes wandered on the man¡¯s balding spot unwittingly and Marcus caught him staring, before he¡¯d time to look away. ¡°You¡¯ll need a helm,¡± He said after a moment¡¯s thought. ¡°I¡¯ll look around.¡± ¡°Gratitude,¡± Glen thanked him, a little embarrassed. ¡°No need for any of that, young lord,¡± Marcus replied and pointing at his head, he added that wicked grin back on his lips. ¡°As I¡¯ve said many a times to the lads wonderin¡¯, tis a trade. What I¡¯m losing in bloody hair, I¡¯m gainin¡¯ in face.¡±
The young man working the forge, wasn¡¯t there and Glen had to cross the Castle¡¯s yard to reach the kitchen, now partly occupied by the Gallant Dogs company, who had spilled out from their assigned barrack next to it, and into that building as well. Victor Hook, hands painted in blood to the elbow, dirty apron in similar condition, was busy cutting up the large stag Jinx had brought back with a cleaver, the giant head set on another table next to him. The mercenary spared him a glance, as he walked by still carrying his armour and went back to work. Glen entered the kitchen and almost bumped on Liko. The thief was sitting on a large table, with a big pile of muddy potatoes on one side and a bucket of peeled ones on the other. He¡¯d paused peeling off one and gawked instead further inside, where a prone on a hay mattress Jinx, fit backside naked as the day she was born, was receiving treatment on her injured leg by a pissed Zola. Glen stopped beside the youngster and pretended he was searching for a spot to set his stuff down. The arse on that girl, he thought approvingly, repeating Soren¡¯s words, while listening in to their heated exchange. He could sort out two jobs at the same time. Glen was talented like that. ¡°¡­at the very least, ye can be gentler, is all I¡¯m sayin¡¯,¡± Jinx was droning. ¡°I had to pull it out, my hand slipped you idiot!¡± Zola snapped all furious. ¡°Up my arse?¡± Jinx wondered, not appearing too bothered over the incident, but in a teasing mood. ¡°Although I can understand, it isn¡¯t easy to resist¡ª¡± ¡°What? I had to hold on to something! Who gets undressed to have her foot looked up?¡± Zola defended herself exasperated. Glen glanced towards Liko and the kid shrugged his shoulders, brought a half-peeled potato to his mouth and took a big chunk out of it. He started chewing at it slowly, while pretending to work on the rest. Glen sighed and asked, what everyone in there wanted to know. ¡°Pull what out?¡± Zola turned a frustrated head his way. ¡°She had a broken piece of antler in her calf. Only half was sticking out!¡± Luthos cock rotting in jar, Glen recoiled at the unnecessary detail. ¡°Is that Glen?¡± Jinx asked curious. ¡°Hey Whisper,¡± Glen said, making some room on the table to leave his stuff. ¡°I bought some armour from Marcus.¡± ¡°Ye did?¡± Jinx asked. She turned her body around and got up, a rising leg almost smacking her colleague on the head, while giving them a good view between her thighs. Zola hissed and pushed her away. ¡°You¡¯ll need more stitches there,¡± She advised her. ¡°And for fucks sake put some pants on!¡± ¡°Glen wanted to see,¡± Jinx replied and looked around for her leather pants. ¡°I saw nothing,¡± Glen replied readily and Zola shook her head. ¡°You two are cut from the same cloth, milord,¡± The Issir said. ¡°Trust me. It ain¡¯t a fucking compliment.¡± Glen narrowed his eyes and his stare followed her going out of the kitchen, for a moment greatly impressed at the view offered, up until he caught Liko looking equally engrossed, mouth hang open and cuffed him once upside the head to nip it in the bud. ¡°What was that for?¡± The young thief protested, pieces of food flying out of his mouth. ¡°I want none o¡¯ that,¡± Glen replied in his best Emerson imitation. ¡°Ye were¡ª¡± Glen glared at him, hand raised menacingly and Liko stopped. ¡°Finish yer job,¡± He advised him, then looking at the pile left he added. ¡°I want this table cleared before I leave here.¡±
A dressed Jinx, offered him a cup of wine on a corner of the kitchen building, soon after. With the large oven being outside, the crude wooden structure was largely empty inside, but for the mattresses, she and Zola probably used to sleep on, a couple of tables with chairs Victor had pulled outside to work on the Stag and a large half-barrel doubtless for washing up next to their sleeping spots. ¡°Ye plan on wearing that?¡± Jinx asked, when he showed her his ¡®new¡¯ armour. ¡°Aye, though I wish I could mend it first.¡± ¡°You? Better ask the blue cunt.¡± ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake Pretty!¡± Glen snapped. ¡°Can you be a little more discreet?¡± The annoying Gish puffed a pink curl out of her eye, thinking about it. ¡°Sure.¡±If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°It¡¯s dangerous¡­ you know, people finding out,¡± Glen explained, not trusting her word. ¡°Ye have a plan, for when they do?¡± ¡°What? No, do you?¡± Jinx puffed her cheeks out. She appeared troubled and it caught Glen by surprise. ¡°No.¡± She finally said. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Nothin¡¯.¡± Bullshit. ¡°Are you hurt?¡± Glen asked, taking a sip from the wine she¡¯d offered him. He spat it right out. ¡°The fuck? That¡¯s like cold piss!¡± ¡°Yer point being?¡± Jinx asked, gulping down hers with gusto. ¡°Is yer gullet too refined? Tis bloody good wine this!¡± ¡°Trust me,¡± Glen replied. ¡°It isn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Got anythin¡¯ better hidden in yer bags?¡± She asked defensively. ¡°Nope.¡± Jinx poured him another cup. Glen stared at the mixture for a moment, before trying it again. He grimaced, jaw clenching this way and that, as he gulped it down. It burned all the way to his stomach. ¡°Bah, I guess one can get used to the taste,¡± He relented. ¡°Guess one can,¡± Jinx agreed, with the hint of a smile. ¡°Cheers on yer new armour, milord.¡± A couple of cups later, Glen¡¯s opinion on the local wine had greatly improved. Feeling all warmed up inside, he pulled the dagger out of his sword harness and showed it to a rosy cheeked Gish. ¡°You know what this is?¡± Glen asked. ¡°A fancy dagger? Where did ye find it?¡± ¡°Back in Oakenfalls. Look at it closely.¡± ¡°I like the handle. Could fetch ye good coin in the market,¡± Jinx agreed with a naughty wink. ¡°No. Well, yes it would,¡± Glen sighed at the distraction. ¡°Look at the blade.¡± ¡°Is that some kind of rock? How do ye sharpen it?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± Glen sighed in frustration. ¡°Lith says it¡¯s a wyvern¡¯s talon.¡± The Gish bit the inside of her cheek thoughtfully. ¡°You found it in the ruins.¡± ¡°Aye.¡± Whisper Jinx blinked once. Her eyes were all focused after she did. ¡°It don¡¯t look like a talon.¡± She countered, sounding subdued. ¡°Well¡­ aye, it doesn¡¯t,¡± Glen had to begrudgingly admit. Not that he had any idea how a proper talon would look. Which probably was what bothered Jinx. Or not. ¡°How would she know?¡± Jinx asked tiredly going another way and Glen thought she looked paler all of a sudden. ¡°I didn¡¯t ask.¡± He admitted. ¡°Put it away,¡± Jinx said. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like it,¡± She replied and set her cup down. ¡°I need some air.¡± A perturbed Glen watched her walking away for a moment. ¡°The fuck was that?¡± He asked no one in particular and Liko answered, cheeks full to the point of bursting, from where he was still sitting. Glen had forgotten about him completely. ¡°The what?¡± Glen inquired, not getting what the young thief had just said. ¡°I said, she¡¯s like that,¡± Liko repeated gulping down. ¡°Ever since she brought that egg back.¡± Which of course made absolutely no sense to him.
He had to dodge Emerson on the way out of the castle. ¡°You want to ride Val over the bridge?¡± The Knight grunted, not convinced. He had to start upping his game soon, Glen decided. He¡¯d gotten complacent around these people. On the other hand he couldn¡¯t help it really. He went from having no family, or friends, to traveling with a large group of rather colorful characters, he¡¯d now gotten used to. Glen admired the old Knight. His sturdiness, sense of honor and duty. A man easy to look up to. Not enough to tell him the truth, but it was good knowing he had him in his corner. He¡¯d helped him, kept him alive, through a difficult stretch. Glen had learned next to him. He¡¯d learned from everybody truth be told. Every day. The flamboyant well-traveled Dante and the big-boned lustful Northman. Even the strange and oft annoying Jinx, after he got to know her some, was someone he could talk to for hours. Maybe Zola was right, they were cut from the same cloth. Did he have to lie about everything? These were his friends, such as one could find in this world. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to stay idle afore the meal is ready,¡± He explained. ¡°Lith went that way earlier. I want to escort her back, before the sun sets.¡± Emerson stared him for a moment. His rugged face, a familiar one by now. ¡°She ain¡¯t exactly a lass in need,¡± The Knight said thoughtfully. ¡°But she shouldn¡¯t stay out late, I agree.¡± ¡°Ye do?¡± Glen gasped in surprise, not expecting his answer. ¡°Aye, she¡¯s one of us,¡± Emerson replied. ¡°You be careful crossing and don¡¯t stay in ¡®em woods too late. Bring her right back.¡± ¡°I will,¡± Glen said with a grin and kicked his legs to send Val into a trot.
Glen pushed the mare hard reaching the bridge in no time, went over it at a slower pace, a little self-aware of the angry waters rushing underneath the sturdy beams and opened up again when Val¡¯s hooves touched the ground, following the narrow path leading inside the forest. The giant redwood trees were thicker next to the river bank, creating a canopy over his head, where their branches intertwined to stop the fading afternoon light from reaching all the way down. He searched for tracks on the trail for a while, but found nothing that could help him. Half an hour later Glen reached the end of the path and turned back, the river on his left side, but hidden behind trunks the size of Hellfort¡¯s kitchen. Oh boy, he thought. I should have thought this through. ¡°We ain¡¯t gonna find her,¡± He told Val and the mare snorted without stopping her grazing. He listened for a while to the sounds of the forest and then jumped from the saddle, to head towards the sound of the river. Glen walked carefully, hobnailed jackboots sinking in the soft ground, moving branches and bushes out of the way. Insects buzzed over his head, birds chirping loud and the light dancing between the leaves barely illuminating his path. Glen stubbornly rounded a large moss-covered trunk, and had to literary climb on a fallen one right after, only to stop and sit down on top of it, when he realized he could see the river again. He sighed tiredly, reached for his flask of water, and cursed loudly when he realized he¡¯d left it back with Val. Thanks Luthos. A horse was staring at him from the river bank¡¯s edge. It moved its ears one way, then the other and then returned on doing whatever it was horses were doing, when by themselves. ¡°Lith?¡± Glen said, searching around him. Then towards the darkening canopy over his head. He stood up on the fallen trunk and tried to reach the branch of another tree right next to it, but it was too tall for him. Cursing, since he wanted to make it higher up to a better vantage point and that thick branch would have been excellent, Glen looked about him for a way to climb up the tree, but came up empty. I could attempt a leap, he thought, stabbing with his foot the fallen trunk he stood on. Run on this and jump to the tree. But then I¡¯d have to grab on to something, or find some purchase, or I would slide all the way down. It was at least three meters the drop. People have been maimed falling from lesser heights. A rope would have been useful, he decided, patting himself for anything useful. Found the dagger and unsheathed it. Used it to stab at the trunk for a while, but Glen quickly realized, he wasn¡¯t going to cut any steps on it anytime soon. Where is she? He wondered, frustration boiling inside him. Lith was probably chuckling hidden somewhere near him. Do Zilan even chuckle? He thought, deciding that they did, before focusing his attention on the dagger again. Where is she? Glen asked it again. Show me. ¡°Show me.¡± He said aloud in common, but it came out way differently, without him becoming conscious of it. The dagger struggled to materialize his desire, realized it couldn¡¯t, so it used a long forgotten spell instead. Cenaeda.
A Wyvern stirred.
His left hand went completely numb. A dense ray of light separated from all the others, bounced on a fresh cone, slipped through needle shaped leaves and reached the thick branch he¡¯d wanted to climb onto before giving up. The empty space above the branch got disturbed alike the surface of a quiet lake, when a tossed pebble touches it and even the air felt like liquid for a brief second. The next, Lith appeared on that branch, unblemished naked skin glowing like the morning sun, a look of wonder on her beautiful face and that elusive dwarf sitting right next to her, equally surprised, a large piece of what looked like cheese in his hand. ¡°Damn,¡± Glen thought, before everything turned black. He collapsed on the big trunk, its girth the only thing that saved him from a potentially lethal drop to the ground below.
He dreamed of a fortress. It wasn¡¯t any he¡¯d seen before and it was different than the one he¡¯d hallucinated that first time. Four flat top pyramids were fortifying its flanks, another twice as big in mass and height right at its heart made of gold and red stone. It shown brilliantly in the light of the morning sun, so much his eyes hurt and he had to look away. Walls wide enough for a carriage to move on enclosing everything, as tall as the pyramid-towers on each of its sides. Glen stood at the top of the biggest one, breath caught in his chest and stared in awe at the sprawling red road, looking thin as a quill¡¯s line on paper from above, leading from the gold pyramid to the giant twin gates over five kilometers away. The floor danced under his feet, a mighty roar tearing at his eardrums and a sinister shadow descended from the skies on him. Glen gasped in fear, something foul grabbing him by the neck and cold bony fingers pressing viciously, until he felt his windpipes crash and blood clogging in his mouth. Bring her here. He coughed and just like that it all oozed out, a putrid mix of black blood and gluey lime-colored poison, his eyes burning and the grand fortress crumbling slowly into nothingness all around him. Gone were the walls and the towers. Everything around melting away and dissolving. The giant doors swung open, just as he collapsed to his knees and a woman walked in, long blue hair blowing in the violent gush of the fortress coming down, face hidden behind a silver mask, her hands and royal dress splattered in blood. She turned his way, horror in her familiar eyes and screamed a series of orders in a foreign tongue. Only she wasn¡¯t talking to him. A delirious Glen felt the heat rising behind his back, the shadow towering over him, his clothes burning, skin and bones falling away and realized he didn¡¯t belong there. Not in that place, or at that time. He had to get out. Now for the love of the Goddess. The blackness returned and he welcomed it this time. Anything was better than returning to that nightmare. Anything¡­ Glenavon please. Yes, he thought. That¡¯s my name.
¡°Glenavon!¡± Lith yelled standing over him when he woke up, coughing his lungs out and feeling like he¡¯d just eaten a rotten rat whole. ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± He croaked, although he wasn¡¯t. He¡¯d trouble moving his hand for starters. Although sense was slowly returning. Glen looked around them and realized they were still inside the forest as far as he could tell. Because he couldn¡¯t see much in the pitch black. Luthos mouldy balls! ¡°How long was I out?¡± He asked and a short creature stepped forward to answer. Glen thought, his head was disproportionate to his body. Like way bigger. ¡°Five hours,¡± Fikumin said, large eyes examining his face. ¡°You,¡± Glen croaked. ¡°Greetings, lord Glenavon,¡± The dwarf replied, with a deft bow of that gigantic head. ¡°It is nice to meet you finally.¡±
54. Reveal of sorts (2/2)
Glen eyed the gnomish creature full of suspicion. He expected him to vanish any moment now, taking advantage of the dark. Speaking of the darn dark¡­ ¡°I have torches in Val¡¯s bags,¡± He offered. Glen was still waiting for the feeling to return to his left arm to get them himself. ¡°We won¡¯t stay,¡± Lith replied, coming back from where she¡¯d disappeared to. ¡°Before we leave, you need to tell me how you did it.¡± Glen pursed his lips. He glanced towards the dwarf, Fikumin food something, Lith had said, but he wasn¡¯t really paying attention during that first moments since the incident. Apparently Lith had healed him back, or something. Fikumin returned his stare, a hand searching in a pocket of his baggy tunic, before pulling a half-eaten piece of yellow cheese out and pushing it into his cavernous mouth. ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything,¡± Glen replied with a shake of his head at the weird spectacle. Lith, fully dressed now, approached him menacingly, face hidden in the dark, but for her glowing softly white-gold eyes. Glen was still sitting with his back at the big redwood tree trunk, he had fainted on top of earlier. ¡°You used a spell,¡± Lith said, measuring her words. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure getting knocked unconscious isn¡¯t any spell¡ª¡± ¡°You make light of what happened?¡± The Zilan hissed cutting him off midsentence, taking him by surprise. ¡°Wow, wait a god darn minute there!¡± Glen fired back. ¡°I told ye. I didn¡¯t do anything. One moment I was looking for yer arse, the next I woke up and saw him,¡± Fikumin raised a short arm in greeting. Lith blinked, large eyes turning a shade of green. ¡°You were looking¡­¡± She trailed, unsure how to continue. ¡°Looking for you,¡± Glen explained quickly. ¡°Why not say it thus?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a bloody expression!¡± Soren is using it all the fucking time! Lith cocked her head to the side. ¡°You¡¯re stalling Glenavon,¡± She glanced towards the barely visible in the darkness Fikumin and the dwarf shrugged his small shoulders. Glen had the sneaky feeling, he was the only one inconvenienced by the night. ¡°How did you do it? I won¡¯t ask again.¡± Was that a freaking threat? ¡°I told you. I couldn¡¯t find you, got frustrated and asked the dagger to do it for me,¡± Glen explained, slowly getting back on his feet. The young man wasn¡¯t going to tell them about the nightmare, most of it he didn¡¯t remember anyway, and whatever was left he kind of wished it went away as well. ¡°That¡¯s the long and short of it.¡± Lith took a step back. ¡°You will lie to me?¡± She quizzed, her voice exuding indignation. What? The fuck ye think ye are? ¡°It¡¯s not a lie,¡± He said instead, opting for a diplomatic approach. ¡°The dagger can¡¯t do that.¡± ¡°Ahm, you¡¯re wrong girl.¡± Lith grabbed him by the collar with one hand and slammed his back on the trunk. One moment she was two meters away, the other the Zilan was breathing an inch from his face. ¡°You¡¯ll lie even after I warned you not to?¡± She jeered, sounding doubly mad. Glen snatched her wrist with his good hand and made to push it away, realized he couldn¡¯t, her grip solid as rock and sighed pensively. ¡°It¡¯s not a lie Lith,¡± He said, deciding that calling her a girl earlier was a step too much, ¡°I¡¯m telling the truth. I asked and it found you.¡± The Zilan let him go with a frustrated hiss. ¡°Stop it Glenavon,¡± She shook her head. ¡°Using a spell like that, it¡¯s¡­ you could¡¯ve died, or left a cripple.¡± ¡°Lith, I don¡¯t know any spells, a couple of hours ago, I wasn¡¯t sure magic existed,¡± Glen said. ¡°Most believe it doesn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Can I see the dagger?¡± Fikumin asked and turned to look his way, paused unsure for a moment and then lowered his eyes. The creature was barely taller than his knee. ¡°It can¡¯t be it, Fikumin,¡± Lith said sounding exhausted. ¡°How do you know?¡± Glen asked, remembering Jinx¡¯s words. He offered the weapon to the dwarf, while Lith seemed to ponder on her answer. If she is holding back, Glen thought. Then I can¡¯t trust her. The fact he was holding back as well, escaping him. ¡°I told you, it was a gift,¡± Lith started walking back and forth nervously, the dark not bothering her. Glen could barely see anything and the forest had started looking extremely sinister. ¡°It was given to placate¡­ a queen, by a sorceress. It happened a very long time ago. It is a fairly well-known story.¡± ¡°First time I¡¯m hearing it.¡± ¡°A story of my people,¡± Lith explained. ¡°If it can¡¯t do magic, how do you explain what happened?¡± Lith let out a frustrated sigh. ¡°You talk about things, you can¡¯t possibly understand.¡± ¡°Explain then, so I can,¡± Glen urged her, watching out of the corner of his eye Fikumin return, holding a torch in one hand, the dagger in the other. ¡°You know what it does already. You knew since the start,¡± Lith said, her tone troubled. ¡°It helps me understand your language.¡± ¡°It speaks all tongues,¡± Lith explained, confusing him further. ¡°The Queen thought it a useful tool.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Lith sighed, crossed her hands on her chest and stared at the blackness of the canopy above their heads. ¡°Lith?¡± Glen probed her again. ¡°How is understanding all tongues, such a prominent gift for a Zilan Queen? You had no problem, learning common in four months!¡± She grimaced, the memory either too personal, or too difficult to divulge. Glen remembered the woman in his nightmare. Was it her back then? He wondered. Could it be? But the place seemed so alien, the memory ancient¡­ he shook his head, pushing the dream away and clenched his left fist hard, trying to wake up the muscles.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°Aniculo Laebae,¡± Fikumin said simply in the first language, large eyes glowing in the light of the torch as he examined the dagger. He didn¡¯t understand him, but Glen had heard the first word spoken before and raised a questioning brow to a pouting Lith. ¡°The Wyvern¡¯s Tongue,¡± She said yielding to his query and seeing he still hadn¡¯t figured it out, the Zilan added uncomfortably. ¡°The name was chosen for a reason, Glenavon.¡±
¡°Aha-ha-ha,¡± Glen laughed, when she finished, tears in his eyes. ¡°You almost got me there for a freakin¡¯ moment!¡± He could accept a bit of magic helping him understand what she was sprouting when frustrated, even conjuring a spell to counter hers whether she liked it, or not. A dagger could maybe do that, if it was made by a fuckin¡¯ witch, Glen decided. But sitting here and believing it could make some gods¡¯ damn beast from eons past, speak in any fuckin¡¯ tongue, was a bridge too bloody far for him. Glen had to draw a line somewhere¡­ ¡°There¡¯s nothing amusing to this tale, Glenavon,¡± Lith said, the light creating shadows that danced on her face and her tone foreboding. ¡°What you did up there, cannot happen again. It shouldn¡¯t have happened in the first place. Using the living to channel, forcing a spell when you¡¯re not allowed to, is a forbidden practice. Lost to the ages, before the Folk and first people came to be. Dangerous. Evil. Next time, it might take more than your arm. Next time, it could be permanent. The empire banned those practicing it for a reason.¡± ¡­but I could be flexible, strategic even, he thought, not paying much attention to her winded elucidation. He¡¯d learned that from Emerson and from a lifetime of crime in the streets. ¡°No more magic stuff,¡± Glen relented, ending their conversation. Until he learned more that is. That last part he left out.
They took the path back out of the forest soon after. No one was in a talkative mood. Lith led the way, with Fikumin lost somewhere inside her cape, a trick Glen should have figured out ages ago, but he¡¯d time to learn her secrets, he thought. His left hand was slow to recover, but it was better now, than what it was an hour back, which was promising. Two men with torches trying to dislodge what looked like a hapless rider trapped under his horse forced them to stop, when they reached the main road leading west towards the bridge. Lith jumped from her horse and approached on foot, when one of them waved his torch and called for help. ¡°Darn animal just gave out under him,¡± One of them said, unshaven face over a roughly patched up mail. ¡°We can¡¯t pull him out. Lend us a hand lads.¡± ¡°Let me see for myself,¡± Lith said. Glen jumped down from Val as well and walked towards the clearly dead mount. It had a large wound on its hind leg that had bled out, a black pool gathering where it¡¯d fallen. ¡°The man isn¡¯t moving,¡± Lith said, still stooped over. Glen couldn¡¯t see him from where he was standing. ¡°He¡¯s just hurt badly from the fall,¡± The other stranger explained. A thin and lanky Lorian wearing leather armour that had seen better days. Glen hadn¡¯t seen them before and he knew what most of the locals looked by now. All forty seven of them. ¡°Give her your torch,¡± The first man said, with a shifty smirk. ¡°So she can see better.¡± Glen felt a shiver run down his spine and took a step back, a warning lodged in his throat. The man sensed him hesitating and turned his way. ¡°Are you lord Reeves?¡± He asked before Glen could decide whether he should warn Lith. What if he was wrong? He dropped his hand to his side, fingers tensely touching the handle of his sword. The whole situation had come out of the left field and he was still too rattled from earlier, to fully trust his instincts. ¡°Who¡¯s asking?¡± He asked, stalling for time and searching for a plan that didn¡¯t involve him running away. He couldn¡¯t just abandon her. ¡°Names Petaerson,¡± The shifty man explained, light of the torch making his face distort this way and that with each word. ¡°We were paid to find ye.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Glen inquired, seeing the other man offer Lith his torch out of the corner his eye. ¡°Word is out ye¡¯ve gone missing,¡± The man explained, with a friendly smile. He was missing in a sense, was the truth of it, he thought. It was a good excuse to give for waiting for them to show up in the middle of the night. Genius even, if delivered properly. But this man was clearly lying. Glen took a cautionary step back and unsheathed his sword, just as the ruffian¡¯s friend struck Lith in the chest with the torch, an explosion of burning splinters covering the Zilan that tried to dodge, but was tripped over by a third assailant and struck again on the head. Petaerson went for his sword as well, using the torch to keep him away. It wasn¡¯t the first time this ruffian had fought a man by the side of the road. This was bad. Glen lunged forward aiming for his head, but Petaerson ducked under it, almost got him with the torch right on the face, managing instead to blind him for a second. The young man stumbled back, his eyes stinging and panic setting in, as the experienced ruffian advanced on him confidently. Glen blocked a blade aimed for his gut, got smacked on the right shoulder with the torch, burning splinters landing on the side of his head and parried the return away at the last moment, his un-maimed ear a hot cauldron of pain, half his hairs there singed. ¡°Fuck,¡± Glen cried, swinging with his blade blind, but his opponent smartly stayed away. Glen looked towards Lith saw her on her knees, a sword blade touching her neck and cursed again. At least she¡¯d gutted the man with the torch, he thought, sidestepping to keep the shifty Petaerson in his sights. The man seeing him more focused now grimaced and pulled back. ¡°Kill the wench,¡± Petaerson ordered and retreated towards his friend, torch illuminating the unlikely pair. ¡°I need some help here.¡± ¡°No!¡± Glen yelled, but all he could do was watch impotent, as the third ruffian pulled the hood back to reveal Lith¡¯s cobalt head and exotic face. ¡°What the hell is this thing?¡± The man standing over her said shocked. Several things happened in quick succession after his words. Lith opened a mouth full of gnarly teeth and bit hard on the hand holding the sword, Petaerson rushed to his aid, with Glen running after him, but still too far to offer assistance. The man tried to pull his hand away and managed it with a heart-rending cry, losing a huge chunk of flesh and his sword in the process. Petaerson, a good three meters ahead of Glen, dropped the torch and charged at full sprint, his blade aimed at Lith¡¯s turned back, while she leaped on the retreating brigand going for his face this time. The bleeding ruffian went down, with the Zilan on top of him, but managed to put his fist in her mouth, before she¡¯d time to savage his face. Little good it did him. The man¡¯s scream pierced Glen¡¯s ears, who¡¯d succeeded to close the distance from Petaerson in the meantime, after sprinting faster than he ever had in his life. He reached him just as the ruffian raised his sword to plunge it into a frenzied Lith¡¯s back. ¡°Uh,¡± Petaerson said, more a gasp than a word and dropped his sword, before Glen had the time to swing at him. The ruffian shuddered, his legs buckling and collapsed on his back, two crossbow bolts stuck in his chest. What in the slovenly fuck, just happened? Glen wondered, as he rushed to pull Lith away from the third man, now missing several fingers from his right hand. The Zilan snarled at him, mouth and gnarly teeth covered in blood, eyes glassy and unfocused. ¡°SHE¡¯S¡­ TAKEN ME HAND!¡± The wounded man cried miserably. ¡°Lith, snap out of it!¡± Glen yelled greatly worried, whatever the fuck it was, and seeing she wasn¡¯t responding, he slapped her once in the face. Hard. ¡°KILL THAT BEAST YE FOOL!¡± ¡°What¡­ Glenavon?¡± Lith stammered coming about and Glen grabbed her in a tight hug, breathing a sigh of relief. ¡°It¡¯s okay. You¡¯re fine.¡± He whispered in her pointy ear and felt her relaxing in his arms. ¡°HAVE YE LOST YER¡ª¡± His voice was cut off suddenly, with a gurgling sound. Glen remembered the crossbow bolts and turned slowly, pushing Lith back. A man wearing a hooded cape, tight-fit black leather armour underneath, was kneeling over the wounded ruffian. The dead ruffian. He smacked his thin lips once, slightly pointy chin showing in the light of the half-out torch. Glen noticed the bloody blade in his hand and went for his sword alarmed. ¡°There¡¯s no need for that,¡± The newcomer said, singsong voice carrying so many accents it was impossible to pinpoint its origin. ¡°This man was a wanted criminal, working for the Cofols.¡± It made sense, Glen thought. ¡°Gratitude for the assistance¡­¡± ¡°Name¡¯s Larn,¡± The man introduced himself readily. ¡°I¡¯m a bounty hunter of sorts.¡± Glen let out the breath he was holding. He could hear more people shouting in the distance. Voices and lights coming from the bridge. Lith behind him, pulled the hood over her head, under Larn¡¯s intense scrutiny. Had he seen her? Glen wondered. ¡°It appears there¡¯s a search for you, milord,¡± The bounty hunter said and stood up, but not before meticulously cleaning his blade on the dead ruffian¡¯s clothes. ¡°As luck would have it, I was here at the right time,¡± He pressed his lips into the thinnest of smiles. ¡°Your secret, is safe with me.¡±
55. One (Reveal Proper)
Ralnor (aka Larn) (aka Dar Eherdir) One (Reveal Proper)
Mezera half-twisted on the saddle, curious look on her face, when they finally turned towards the river. Redwood trees were clattered on either side of the well-trotted path, olive-green and black, shadows under them dark and foreboding. The bridge visible further ahead, people working on it, too disciplined to be local farmers. Some of the latter still came and went from time to time, their carts bouncing and jolting on the rough terrain carrying felled trees, crudely cut; others produce, mostly vegies and grain. Over the bridge they went, one cart at a time, making a whole show of it. Ralnor grunted, a grimace of pain marring his pale face, Mezera¡¯s eyes questioning. People always assumed they needed to learn more, he thought pressing his knees to force Dar move forward. More about themselves, more about others. Uncover secrets and find long lost connections to stories that shaped the Realm. Someone wrote it in a book so it must be true, their plague festered dictum, carved on their foreheads with a blunted razor. Well, you know who you are, unless you¡¯re lying to yourself and learning what was once hidden is always one part a blessing, three parts a curse. Dar rode casually towards one of the carts waiting its turn to cross the bridge, a family of three clustered around their cart, the couple in their thirties, their daughter half of that. The man paused counting sacks of grain seeing him approach, thick black brows raising in question. ¡°Greetings,¡± Ralnor said in common, turning Dar¡¯s head away from the cart. ¡°Can¡¯t the bridge hold the weight, good man?¡± ¡°Are you a merchant?¡± The farmer asked looking behind Ralnor, back where Mezera waited. ¡°You have carts coming?¡± ¡°On the return trip,¡± He replied. ¡°Thinking on leading a caravan laden with ivory from Que Kila,¡± Ralnor put the facsimile of a smile on his lips. ¡°Think the damage will be repaired by then?¡± The woman, sunburned face half-hidden under her rough winter coat, frowned at that. Her daughter¡¯s blue Lorian eyes shone excited, but for another reason. Something primal stirred in him and he had to fight hard to suppress it. ¡°Not much of a damage. More like the lord¡¯s order. Is that in the Khanate?¡± Her father asked, trying to measure him up. Has he sensed something? Ralnor sat back on the saddle, knowing he appeared too road weary, for a rich merchant. So it might be just that. ¡°Greenwhale Peninsula,¡± He explained. ¡°It might take a couple of years, but I¡¯ve staked everything I owned into this.¡± ¡°There might be trouble wit the Khanate soon, is the word,¡± The man said, hint of pity in his voice. ¡°Not a good time to travel that way.¡± ¡°Is that so? Never had trouble with them.¡± ¡°Neither did I, but things are changing,¡± The farmer glanced at the slow moving row of carts. ¡°Might want to come back after noon, it eases up a bit. In the afternoon is even better.¡± Ralnor gave a nod with his head. ¡°I appreciate the talk.¡± The farmer shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. May Luthos bring ye fortune stranger.¡±
Ralnor returned to where Mezera waited, nervously working on a stale piece of hardtack. He heaved a sigh reaching her and made to stretch his tired muscles, grimacing in pain while doing it. Dar snorted probably as tired as he was and still recovering from his injuries, though Ralnor had the excuse of overtaxing himself back in Altarin as well. Was that a draw? He wondered mildly amused, before jumping from the saddle, Mezera¡¯s eyes drilling his skull all the time and her patience wearing thin. She needs to work on that some more, Ralnor decided. Same as he needed to learn dealing with his hunger better. Later though. That was the answer to both counts. ¡°You can speak.¡± ¡°For real?¡± Mezera asked. Ralnor remained silent. ¡°Right. Well¡­¡± She puffed her cheeks out unsure. While her cape and boots were dirty from the road, her face was surprisingly clean. Youthful skin unblemished. Ralnor licked his lips. ¡°What are we doing here?¡± Mezera asked, finally finding her mojo. Everything, Aelrindel hissed. ¡°We¡­ are not doing anything,¡± Ralnor said. While the sorceress¡¯ wishes were important, Zestari had pointed him this way first. She was the reason, Ralnor had come here. This is where the trail, he had been following since the summer had led him. ¡°You are here to watch, listen and learn. Next question.¡± Mezera grinned. ¡°I can ask anything I want?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s Faerith K¡¯lael?¡± Mezera queried undaunted. ¡°Ora is the Fading Light. In the old tongue, that¡¯s his name.¡± ¡°Come on¡­ not what I mean. It¡¯s you. Am I right?¡± Mezera pressed, excitement oozing out of her. Ralnor sighed at the foolishness of people. ¡°You think, I¡¯m leading the guild?¡± ¡°I overheard Dean Kutas mention him after you left,¡± Mezera explained. ¡°Thought he meant you.¡± ¡°Faerith K¡¯lael was in Altarin?¡± Ralnor asked, the detail troubling. That explained the injury to his horse and Dar Vranga¡¯s sudden re-appearance after two hundred years. Partially. Why would the leader of the Silent Servants meet with the old Imperial assassin though? Why do it, without informing him? Was this Dar Nym manipulating events from afar? ¡°I don¡¯t know. It sure spooked Dean though,¡± Mezera said, biting her lower lip. ¡°What does this mean?¡± ¡°Nothing.¡± Nothing good probably. Perhaps a random conspiracy brewing in the ranks. Not easy to run a guild that revolved around murder. Killing is a devious profession at its core. Just like thieving, there was no honor among assassins. Or trust. ¡°So what now?¡± His pupil asked. ¡°Now we wait,¡± Ralnor replied, eyes stilled on the path leading west through the woods. It ended before the mountains and it was used by the locals for hunting and woodcutting mostly. It run parallel almost to the river and if you followed it back the other way it led to Altarin. ¡°Best you gather some wood for the night and prepare camp.¡± ¡°What will you do?¡± Mezera retorted, not liking being relegated to menial chores. ¡°Gather, same as you,¡± Ralnor replied dispassionately. Only it¡¯ll be information.
There was of a lot of soldiers parked in that small corner of Raoz. He counted over fifty, but there were others as well, fighters and rangers. Not many, but amongst them he spotted the Northman from Castalor and the Knight. A Gish of all things was present as well. A young one, but still worth keeping an eye on. Reeves turned out to be an unassuming and rather shifty looking young noble. He spent his time training and following around a woman wearing Zestari¡¯s cape. One woman returned. Not the same though. Ralnor tried to approach her several times, but she kept her distance and moved with ease out of sight, when opportunity arose. It was impressive and troubling. Another assassin? Something was off with that woman. Something was off with young Reeves as well. He expected something different. Perhaps the old Lord was at fault, he thought, on the return trip. He crossed the now mostly empty bridge and checked it for damage. He found out that work had been done on the structure all right, but not to strengthen it. The opposite. Another weird happenstance. Then again, it was perhaps not so strange this last part. The soldiers were working on a barricade across the mouth of Hellfort¡¯s Pass after all. In the end Aelrindel¡¯s arrogance had started an avalanche, it seemed. Foolish it was, thinking she could steer it. Utter madness, her childish belief that no one would notice. Half an hour later Ralnor grunted in annoyance seeing the camp Mezera had set up at the side of the path. ¡°What? It¡¯s a good spot. We can watch anyone coming and going,¡± She protested, when he kicked her fire to put it out. ¡°Same as they can.¡± Ralnor snapped, his mood worsening. ¡°Pack up your horse. We¡¯ll move further up the path.¡±
Ralnor found a clearing a hundred meters down the path, left their horses there and picked another spot close enough, but deeper in the forest for their camp. He left a frustrated Mezera there and climbed the tallest tree he could find, an arduous effort, without pause despite his muscles protesting, until he cleared the canopy. Ralnor rested his tired body on the thick branch seventy meters above the ground, reminiscing of his youth and the hunts in Nesande¡¯s Garden, the ancient forest surrounding the Great Acid Lake. I could climb twice that height then, Ralnor thought, a bitter smile on his lips and in less than half the time. He let his eyes roam over the vast green expanse, the view majestic and rewarding, the thin white pillars of smoke popping here and there, above the tree-line marking the various campsites of people like himself. Those that didn¡¯t want to be seen from the road. The closest camp fire, not even a hundred meters from where they¡¯d left their horses. Ralnor smacked his lips and with a last look at the sprawling nature that was singing seductively to him, he started his long climb down. At the bottom of the huge redwood tree the assassin rested for another half an hour and then headed towards their neighbors.
Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°Where have you been?¡± Mezera asked him hours later, when he returned. Ralnor too hungry and too tired to answer her, lowered the hood over his eyes and slept amidst the roots of an old tree.
The old Lord was wearing a loose tunic and had a shortsword in his right hand, when he entered. He was sitting on his bed, the sheets still ruffled from sleep. ¡°Who sent you?¡± Lord Reeves asked, when he realized, who his night visitor was. ¡°Does it matter?¡± Ralnor replied, stopping a couple of meters from him. Voices could be heard coming from downstairs. ¡°I guess it doesn¡¯t,¡± The old man said, rubbing his face to push away his drowsiness. ¡°You won¡¯t come out of this alive.¡± ¡°It won¡¯t help you,¡± Ralnor noted. ¡°I could fight you.¡± ¡°I can make it quick,¡± Ralnor countered. Lord Reeves nodded. ¡°Was it my brother?¡± He asked resigning to his fate. A practical man, Ralnor thought. ¡°What if it was him?¡± He inquired curious. ¡°I need a favor,¡± Lord Reeves asked, his face dark. ¡°Before you do, whatever is¡­¡± ¡°All you have to do is ask,¡± Ralnor droned, his interest piqued. If Ora agrees, a servant will answer and his name revealed. Did the old man know the code? But Lord Reeves asked for something different. ¡°There¡¯s a parchment in this drawer. Allow me to do this,¡± He said and walked there putting his shortsword down. At first Ralnor worried the man was stalling for time, but he unlocked the small cupboard with a key he had on his neck and pulled a scroll out. He poured some wax on it from a candle and pressed his signet ring on it, his hands trembling as he did. Lord Reeves removed the ring and left it on the open scroll, after he finished. ¡°It¡¯s done. Uher help us all,¡± The old Lord said and Ralnor standing behind him, pushed a long thin steel nail, he¡¯d gotten out in the meantime, into his right ear and then his brain, killing him instantly. Ralnor retrieved his weapon calmly, spent a brief moment to read the scroll and then used the half opened window of the master bedroom, to avoid the guards running up the stairs. Almost a flawless job.
The next morning found him stalking a Gish and that brute Northman hunting a giant Stag and almost killing themselves in the process. Ralnor deliberated whether he should finish them both off on their way back to the bridge, just for killing that magnificent animal, but decided it wouldn¡¯t gain him anything other than a brief moment of satisfaction. And some pretty decent cuts of fresh meat. On a second thought, it perhaps worth the risk? ¡°What happened?¡± Mezera who had just returned from her task queried, seeing his sour expression. ¡°What did they say?¡± He deflected, not wanting to talk about it. ¡°Well, they¡¯re fine wit the coin and waiting for your signal, but want to have a round wit me as well.¡± Ralnor narrowed his eyes. ¡°What did you say?¡± Mezera shrugged her shoulders. ¡°I said it could be arranged, if I got half what ye paid them,¡± Ralnor turned her way surprised and she chuckled. ¡°After they finished the job.¡± It was half-clever, he supposed. ¡°Did they buy it?¡± He asked curious. Mezera made a twirl on her heels that ended with a nimble curtsy, her head almost touching the ground. ¡°What do ye think?¡± She teased looking up, with a naughty smirk.
Ralnor heard the horse coming and ducked in the shadow of a dim green redwood tree, its bark covered with mosh that smelled of earth. Mezera gasped seeing him disappear, but thankfully stayed low. The hooded woman pulled at the reins and stopped her mount, head turning to stare his way. Ralnor pressed his lips tight, frustrated. You can¡¯t see me. Move on. He reached for his small crossbow as the moment dragged, the woman frozen in place. Ralnor reached with a hand for a root sprouting out of the trunk, the ground torn and raised at that point, his eyes and weapon aimed on the woman. A different one returned. One. A moment later he felt ridiculous for doubting his stealth abilities and pulled his hand back. The woman clicked her tongue and the horse moved forward and disappeared into the thick woods in the direction of the river. ¡°Who was she?¡± Mezera asked him, when he got out of cover and returned to her hiding spot. ¡°She¡¯s one of the targets,¡± Ralnor explained, still shaken from the encounter. ¡°What did she do?¡± ¡°She and her friends, killed your predecessor.¡± ¡°Why did you let her go?¡± Mezera probed accusingly. ¡°If we kill one of them, the rest will be warned,¡± Ralnor explained, as they walked towards the path they were stalking for the past several hours. ¡°It will be more difficult to get to them.¡± Mezera agreed. ¡°Will we get another chance?¡± ¡°There¡¯s not much game on the other side of Teid River. Not with all the farm houses,¡± Ralnor said giving his small crossbow to her. ¡°So sooner all later, they all cross the bridge, to enter the woods.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need that?¡± She asked. ¡°I have another. Can you use it?¡± ¡°Aye. I¡¯m a great shot,¡± Mezera replied with a grin, as she examined the compact weapon. ¡°Only shoot what I tell you to,¡± Ralnor ordered with a grunt of dismay at her boast. ¡°Never hesitate.¡±
The young Reeves appeared soon after, apparently following the woman. Mezera gave Ralnor a knowing stare, when they saw him following her trail into the woods. A romantic fling with a hired blade. His old man is probably turning in his grave, he thought, as the hours ticked away, with no sign of them returning. Ralnor counted the numbers again to ease his troubled mind.
One life, for the daughter he¡¯d lost. One death, for the life he owed Oras. One boy, to be the Lord¡¯s only heritor.
He was missing a clue. A verse short from an answer, the meaning vague and indecipherable. Oras was keeping silent. ¡°There¡¯s something off about her,¡± He murmured his worry spilling out of him for some reason and Mezera¡¯s trained ears heard him. ¡°I want her bow, when you¡¯re done wit her,¡± She replied with a wink. ¡°What about it?¡± He asked, surprised at her words. ¡°I could see it from where I was. It¡¯s a beautiful white wood, all engraved,¡± Mezera explained. ¡°If it¡¯s from old Yew, then it¡¯s way better than this thing.¡± How have I missed this? He wondered. Was there a spell in play here? ¡°How can you tell?¡± ¡°My father scouted for the Khan for a moon. Brought home one,¡± She said, a touch of sadness in her voice. ¡°Can¡¯t make ¡®em anymore, he told me. Not since the empire fell and the roads to the ancient forests were closed.¡± Ralnor blinked once and pushed the memories away. Pushed everything away. ¡°What did you do with it?¡± He asked, his tone coarse. ¡°Had to sell it after he died,¡± Mezera replied, wiping something out of her eye. ¡°Used the coin to buy my entry into the guild.¡± Ah, people are insane. First they sell something precious to realize their dreams, only to spend the rest of their lives lusting after what was lost. Ralnor snorted and got up. Enough was enough, he decided. He chanced another look at the darkening sky. ¡°Are you okay?¡± He asked his new pupil, seeing her glum expression.
One life, for the daughter he¡¯d lost.
His quest already fulfilled. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m fine.¡± She replied bravely. ¡°They are late,¡± Ralnor said, not trusting her that she was. ¡°There¡¯s a way to get rid of them without raising suspicion.¡±
Petaerson didn¡¯t like the idea of killing their only horse, even after Ralnor explained to him that they could gain two fresh ones out of the bargain. Mezera surprisingly managed to convince him though, just as Ralnor had surrendered to the idea of finishing the job himself and use their dead bodies as d¨¦cor for an ambush gone wrong. ¡°He really likes me,¡± She said later, taking her position beside him at the side of the path leading inside the forest, less than twenty meters away from the three outlaws. ¡°He¡¯s got a certain roguery in him, you know?¡± The dark hid them well, not that it was important. It wasn¡¯t their ambush. ¡°Don¡¯t get too attached.¡± He warned her. ¡°Uhm.¡± Came her childish reply. ¡°We¡¯ll see.¡±
¡°They started searching for them,¡± Ralnor said after an hour of watching from a distance the trio discuss how they were going to spend their coin and teasing Petaerson on letting them share Mezera¡¯s body in an egalitarian manner. ¡°You think something happened?¡± ¡°I think the boy is love-struck.¡± ¡°Heh. Makes sense then.¡± Ralnor glanced at the moons over their heads. ¡°Yeah. It does,¡± He said, just as the couple appeared out of the woods. The woman was leading them, not much of a surprise, Ralnor thought and Petaerson put his plan in action immediately. Ralnor stood up and walked slowly towards the light and the group listening in to their exchange. Mezera followed his example, crossbow in hand. It was going to be easy. The woman approached the man pretending to be out for the count to check on him and Petaerson went after the boy, leaving the other two outlaws to deal with his hooded companion. Ralnor raised his crossbow, just as the action exploded, his eyes watching intensely, close but still unseen in the almost complete darkness. Nothing went as easy as he expected. The Reeves scion managed to avoid getting killed immediately, through sheer luck, as his skills were lacking and the woman¡­ Well, she avoided the worst through instinct, got hit hard in the back of the head, but rolled her body forward absorbing much of the blow. Dropped to her knees and punched the length of Zestari¡¯s shortsword in the belly of one of the assailants, while having the presence of mind to whisper her surrender right after, avoiding getting decapitated by the dying man¡¯s friend. For some fucking reason. You can¡¯t stop a man intent on killing you, with just a soft word, he thought, frustration oozing out of him in waves. Not without the darkest magic and another fresh body for the trade. One word. Only you could, was the truth of it. Some bloodlines could stop a man, or woman on command. Their song pure and strong. Their rare essence perfectly attuned with nature. These bloodlines were also lost; severed, never to be seen again, under mountains of burning lava, scalding waters and a grieving Wyvern¡¯s wrath. Or so the tales would have you believe. Ralnor started walking fast towards the unfolding scene and the light, without realizing it. Petaerson ordered the woman killed per Ralnor¡¯s agreed upon orders and his man pulled her hood back, snapping out of his earlier stupor, shattering a myth and proving two hundred years of the Realm¡¯s history false. I need a favor, Lord Reeves had said and Dar Eherdir had allowed him to ask for it. All the numbers arranged in place neatly. But the answer still obscure.
One life, for the daughter he¡¯d lost. One death, for the life he owed Oras. One boy, to be the Lord¡¯s only heritor. One royal brood, the beast mother spared.
What will you do now?
¡°Shoot Petaerson!¡± Ralnor roared, decision made. He fired while on the move, nailing the paid brigand in the chest, another bolt already nocked in place a second later. Mezera hesitated and Ralnor fired another one in the blink of an eye. Dropped the crossbow next and approached unseen by the couple, his disbelieving eyes on the woman, face bloodied and feverish, her song powerful and her pleasure at the feast so immense, Ralnor felt completely sated himself for the first time in years. Everything, the Moon of Dan had ordered in her righteous fury, marking them all for death. Gifting them to the Fading Light. Oras was a stubborn, wrathful god. But no Zilan could ever harm an Elderborn. The sorceress will have to settle this time. When she sees the bigger picture, Aelrindel will understand, Ralnor thought while he wiped his blade on the man¡¯s clothes, certain in his conviction and overlooking that hope never favored killers, who owed the god of death twice over.
56. A loss, he couldn’t spare
Lucius A loss, he couldn¡¯t spare
The sky was a dark deep blue, almost black. He felt the cold wind on his face, lashing angry like a slave master¡¯s whip, the earthy smell of mud and animals. The stale stench of excrement. People sobbing, excitement mixing with grief and the latter with fear. People alike strange shadows, coming and going, some silent, others bellowing. PULL HIM AWAY! FASTER YE FOOL! Lucius felt gloved hands on his body, they hurriedly lifted him up and carried him away. WATCH THAT LEG! WHERE¡¯S CURD? PUT YER BACK TO IT! They bumped onto men and women running the other way and he turned his head, eyes blurry, looked where the circle of shields had been, saw an unresponsive Faye helped up, her face bloodied. BRING THAT HORSE AROUND! He was pushed on a saddle, a man climbing behind him, hands on his waist. In the distance Lucius saw torches light up the walls. People waiting before the gates, more inside piled on the narrow streets. ¡°Get ¡®em out of the bloody way, Galio!¡± Roderick roared in his ear, voice hoarse and tired, laced with fear. ¡°Ye heard the man,¡± Galio was heard further ahead. ¡°Use yer swords, if ye have to!¡± The people parted as they moved slowly through the gates, curious women and children mixed in with the men, the latter more guarded, their eyes cold over their long beards. Who¡¯s the red warrior? A girl asked. He cracked Benton¡¯s skull open wit his hands, a boy said; a touch of awe in his voice. Feral lost? An old timer wondered. Darn idiot fought without his axe, his friend replied. That¡¯s the Crimson Knight of Regia, another boy declared, all serious. Lucius closed his eyes for a moment, his body shutting down from exhaustion and when he opened them again, the night was almost gone outside and Kaeso was wiping the blood off of his hurt leg. He tried to seat up on the bed, greatly surprised when he realized that they were inside an actual room, a fireplace burning on one stone wall, a barred window on the other. ¡°How bad is it?¡± Lucius asked, not recognizing his own voice. ¡°We set the bone,¡± The thin man replied looking up. ¡°Braced the leg. It was below the knee, so that¡¯s a gift in a sense.¡± ¡°Can I step on it?¡± Lucius snapped, the pain returning while the man talked. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t counsel it, milord.¡± Lucius grimaced and tried to move his back, it hurt him between the shoulder blades something fierce and he groaned frustrated. ¡°Where¡¯s Roderick?¡± He asked next, just as Galio entered, bringing a plate of food and a cup. There was meat in that plate, Lucius noticed, lots of it, but not much else. ¡°It¡¯s venison and warm ale,¡± The old sergeant explained, offering him the plate. ¡°Not much wine in the inn, unless they keep it for better company.¡± Lucius narrowed his eyes at the affront. ¡°Roderick went to get the others?¡± He asked harder than he¡¯d preferred to, his wounds a constant bother. Galio nodded. ¡°Told me to make sure nothing happened to ye, milord. Had me swear it, he did,¡± Sounding hurt the old hand believed he wouldn¡¯t. Lucius sighed and accepted the cup, when the sergeant next offered it. Gulped it down in one go, not bothering with the taste. It burned his throat and made his eyes water, but woke him up proper.
A couple of hours later, the morning sun hidden behind the clouds, much as Lucius could see it behind the blinds, he¡¯d managed to move to the edge of the bed, closer to the fire. The heat reaching him pleasant after weeks on the road. ¡°The Northmen warriors departed after the fight,¡± Galio reported, his second retelling of the previous day¡¯s events. ¡°Headed north into ¡®em woods. I guess one could see a path there, if he¡¯d set his mind on it, milord. But it will take him time.¡± ¡°What¡¯s taking Roderick so long?¡± Lucius asked impatiently. Kaeso mostly silent on his chair next to the door smacked his lips, as if to say something, but opted to keep his mouth shut instead. Lucius cursed himself. The bodies. He had to bury the dead, afore returning with the injured. ¡°That was the first time I charged on a host of men, milord,¡± Galio said to break the awkward silence that followed. ¡°Most times I was on the receiving end. I much preferred it, I reckon.¡± ¡°Tyeus favored us,¡± Lucius replied, looking at the glowing embers. Kaeso snorted and he turned his head to glare at him. ¡°There was no luck involved,¡± The ex-legionnaire said, returning the stare. ¡°Not out there, milord. That was all you.¡± Lucius grunted, not wanting to hear it, but the man pressed on. ¡°Been in a few scraps, some won, some lost. The sergeant over there, probably in twice as many. Good leaders win the day, milord.¡± ¡°Aye,¡± Galio agreed, gleam in his eye. ¡°Lad is in the right, milord. Needs a kick in the bum for running his mouth, but he¡¯s right. We only had one chance of winning and you took it, milord.¡± Lucius puffed his cheeks out, blood rushing to his face, the praise making him uncomfortable, when his plan had almost lost them all, but the door to his room swung open and saved him from the difficult moment.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! The gods rectified that by throwing him a curve ball out of pure spite, right away.
Roderick¡¯s face looked haggard, his wrinkled cheeks sunk in and he¡¯d black circles under his eyes. The frost on his coat melted and turned to vapors as he went to stand across from Lucius, the heat from the fireplace dousing his front, the two ex-Legion men and the Heir to Regia on his back. A silence had followed his entrance, a sense of foreboding gripping the men, no one daring to ask, what had spooked the old hand so. The moment dragged and Roderick with a glance towards a spare chair, finally decided to move. He grabbed it, placed it next to the fireplace and sat down with a grunt, this time facing his silent and expecting companions. ¡°What happened?¡± Lucius asked, seeing him hesitating, fists clenching and unclenching nervously. ¡°Bah,¡± Roderick gasped, scrunching his jaw once, before deciding there was no point in holding anything back. ¡°We found Bryn Bowens and Post, when we got there. Had Faustus and the four mercenaries that joined us after the charge with me,¡± He glanced at Galio for a moment, before continuing. ¡°Hostus further back, where we¡¯d left him. All dead, frozen solid,¡± He grimaced, gulping down nervously, before continuing. ¡°Nonus had died next to the carriage, Seia a couple of meters from him,¡± Lucius sat up straight on the bed, ignoring his pain. ¡°They were dead?¡± He asked, stunned at the news. ¡°Like the others. Flesh turned to ice, hard as rock. The blood as well,¡± Lucius made to interrupt him, but the old hand stopped him with a wave. ¡°Let me tell it, lad,¡± Lucius nodded. ¡°Arrun was still in the carriage unconscious. Zofia and Canutia were missing.¡± ¡°What? Have Benton¡¯s men run up the ridge after the duel?¡± Lucius snapped angry. Zofia was missing? ¡°Did she run away?¡± He asked, trying another way. ¡°It¡¯s what I thought at first,¡± Roderick replied. ¡°Northmen came back, killed the others and the girls run away,¡± He sighed a deep sigh, the alternative grating. ¡°Then I remembered Zofia was hurt worse than Arrun, so she couldn¡¯t run anywhere. Canutia could and she did, came back when she heard us digging up their graves and told us the rest.¡± Lucius clenched his fists hard, the pain from his broken fingers hammering the insides of his skull, the rage slowly building up. ¡°What did she say?¡± He snapped, hoarse voice coming out like a lion¡¯s roar. ¡°Speak old man!¡± ¡°A man rode into camp, she said. Woman is in shock Lucius, half dead from cold. Scared out of her wits.¡± ¡°WHAT MAN?¡± Lucius growled, madness in his stare. ¡°The half-breed,¡± Roderick replied, without batting an eyelid at his outburst. ¡°Canutia said, he killed Seia and Nonus. Didn¡¯t chase her, when she run away. Tied Zofia on a horse instead and left.¡±
Lucius was staring at the flames, both hands on the pommel of his longsword, tip nailed on the floorboards, the weapon turned into a cane to take the weight off his leg. The atmosphere inside the inn¡¯s best room, according to the owners, tense and heavy enough to cut with a blunted knife. ¡°Why would Curd betray me?¡± Lucius asked the men present. What was left of the original host, he¡¯d taken with him to this foolhardy journey. Canutia and four former Black Skull mercenaries waited downstairs, drinking and feasting on his coin. Faustus, Mamercus and Kaeso were with him, along with Roderick and Galio. The young Arrun as well, still recovering from his head injury. Post Antinor and Seia Tutor his wife, were buried side by side on the Ridge. Bryn Bowens, Hostus Vindex and the merchant Nonus Generidus near them. They¡¯d lost young Tertius Cantilius much earlier. The North had them now, their frozen bodies thrown inside shallow graves, no markings on them. Every one of them weighting on Lucius¡¯ conscience. Zofia taken captive by Dirk Curd being the biggest blow. The one loss, he couldn¡¯t spare. ¡°No one can say for sure, milord,¡± Galio replied, always brave to step up first. ¡°He saved my life,¡± Lucius said unable to wrap his mind around the man¡¯s action. ¡°He was sworn to Lord Vanzon. Zofia might have seemed a big prize for him,¡± Roderick noted. ¡°I would¡¯ve rewarded him. He knew that,¡± This didn¡¯t make any sense to him. ¡°Perhaps he thought, returning the girl wasn¡¯t in his best interests,¡± Kaeso pointed. ¡°Speak clearly!¡± Lucius snapped. ¡°Bringing a Vanzon¡¯s sworn guy along, when we reached the O¡¯ Dargans. There¡¯s bad blood here, milord.¡± ¡°He was under my protection. The Jarl would never touch a man sworn to me,¡± Lucius said. ¡°Whatever was his motive,¡± Roderick intervened. ¡°We need to decide what to do. Sir Lucius, you need to decide.¡± ¡°Nothing to decide. We will find her,¡± Lucius replied simply. ¡°Curd is heading for Krakenhall, if he has half a brain,¡± Roderick insisted. ¡°He¡¯ll bring her wit him.¡± ¡°We will go there then,¡± Lucius said. ¡°Lucius, there¡¯s a war going on. If we head there, we need to cross through Crull land, while an invasion by Northmen is underway. If the Jarl is gunning for Eaglesnest, we might have to walk through their warcamp. In the middle of winter.¡± Lucius stared at him hard. ¡°I¡¯m getting her back Roderick.¡± ¡°Yer standing on one leg, lad,¡± Came his retort. ¡°You ask me to wait for it to heal? While she¡¯s out there?¡± Roderick sighed and glanced at the men watching their exchange. ¡°Curd has to travel with an injured woman through hostile terrain. The Crulls might help, or they might not. Too much on their fuckin¡¯ plate, I reckon. The O¡¯ Dargans have taken Ludriver¡¯s bridges. He might be stuck, or get captured. Either way, he¡¯ll have to wait for snows to fall first. Move again when frost sets in.¡± ¡°How long is that?¡± Lucius asked. ¡°Three weeks, maybe four. Four five meters of snow will fall,¡± Galio replied. ¡°After that we need to move through the forest crossings fast, afore they¡¯ll get frozen solid. It''ll block everything, trees, stone and ground will turn into one thing. Ice here is like rock and ye have to break it with a pickaxe to open up the paths again.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t counsel it, milord,¡± Mamercus said. ¡°Better to journey earlier and in the blind during the snowstorms, than open up roads in Fetya. Not even the Legion can do that during the ice season.¡± Roderick hang his balding head low in despair, Kaeso shrugged his shoulders more partial to the idea, Faustus kept a neutral stance and Galio stood up, ready to follow orders. Whatever these orders may be. Lucius breathed once, a grimace of pain ruining it towards the end and stared at his hands wrapped around his sword¡¯s pommel before speaking. ¡°Two weeks,¡± The Heir to Regia said, his tone resolute, a map of the provinces in his head showing him the road they had to follow. ¡°But we push ahead hard after that.¡± He meant it.
After convalescing for two weeks from his injuries at Bloody Ridge, Lucius and his small entourage will head west from Kas next, a strange decision still un-deciphered till this day, following the flat land between the mountains, Fenford Burg on their right, Eaglesnest on their left. Make a hard northeastern turn, when they touch the road towards Wolvesbane Castle, cut west again through the forest and cross that narrow strip of land between Ludriver¡¯s legs the locals called Stag¡¯s Doab at that time, but was to become famous soon by what is now commonly referred to as Winter¡¯s Carnage in the North, or as historians aptly cite it, the infamous Battle of the Bridges. - Lord Sirio Veturius Circa 206 NC The Fall of Heroes Chapter III Prologue (Lucius the Third, Northern Campaigns, Prelude to the Battle of the Bridges, Either late 3rd or early 4rth Month of Winter, 189 NC)
57. A loveless arrangement
Nattas A loveless arrangement
There¡¯s nothing more wholesome, Lord Storm Nattas thought, ebony cane gripped tight in his hand as he navigated, what the ship¡¯s architect had pompously proclaimed a boarding ramp no doubt, but was in reality nothing but a couple of rotting wooden planks nailed together haphazardly, intent on tripping a cultured person like himself, right into the port¡¯s abyss underneath. Nothing more gratifying than being able to breathe without salt burning up your nostrils and walk on ground that stays put under your fuckin¡¯ feet, if you make it through the ramp of death that is. Titus paused and turned to help him over and Nattas followed the man through the host of workers rushing to unload the ship, the two armed guards falling in line behind them. Storm managed to make it to Aldenport¡¯s main road, before stopping sweating like a pig over its funeral pyre. Three weeks after the attempt on his life, he still hadn¡¯t recovered fully, although the reason for this break was less sinister. He was exhausted from the journey. ¡°The office is there,¡± Titus said, face bronzed from staying on the ship¡¯s deck for the duration, something about reminiscing of the old days. Storm had paid little attention to his words, buried to his neck as he was, with much more important business. He breathed once deep, the air damp, but not as salty for once. Of course it stunk of horse manure and human excrement, with rotting produce added to the mix, the rains making sure the stench reached the whole of the small port village. Foul atmosphere aside, the pause had helped him get his bearings again. ¡°Boss?¡± Titus probed, probably thinking Storm had died on his feet, only but a second away before he collapsed face first in a pool of muck. Here he lies, the people passing him by would say, pity in their eyes, Lord Storm Nattas. He may be covered in shit now and stiff as a board¡ª ¡°I know where the office is,¡± He said gruffly, the sound of a thunder over their heads making him flinch at the end of it. ¡°They have horses ready.¡± ¡°Tell them to prepare a carriage for fuck¡¯s sake!¡± Nattas snapped, all tense from the scare. ¡°You wanna wait, while they do?¡± Titus inquired. In the rain was his meaning. Storm pressed his hurting eyes closed. They had turned an irritated red after weeks at sea and were swollen alike a begging dog¡¯s, tearing up every time he closed them. He was the hardest working public servant in the whole continent bar none, Storm decided and then signaled for Titus to move on.
Lord Nattas house in the city of Alden was a street behind the Dome of the Five, a small two story building, the second floor reserved for him, but was nothing more than a small bedroom and a study, the first for the kitchen and the staff, which he had never gotten around to hire. So Storm had favored Mercos bakery across the street for his meals, until he finally had allowed his nephew to use the space to sleep, after he gotten back to his feet. Parkor, pale and weakened from his own dance with death, sipped from his aromatic tea silently, while the young man¡¯s uncle perused the reports and messages that were arriving from his agents. The pile of scrolls growing by the hour. Mundane stuff for the most part, but he was expecting more soon. Storm had a full schedule ahead of him for the day. A meeting with the King at the Palace after noon, being the highlight. He had to navigate the latter, better than he had the boarding ramp the previous day. ¡°How was Cartagen?¡± Parkor asked unable to keep quiet any longer. ¡°Noisy.¡± Dangerous. ¡°You visited the Hippodrome?¡± ¡°Never gotten around to it,¡± Storm replied, raising his eyes from the scroll he was reading. ¡°Perhaps I will take you there, when I return.¡± It was a vague enough promise. Parkor¡¯s smile was strained, his lung still hurting him. Storm could respect that, himself living in constant pain for years. ¡°That will be great. But I think it will be better to expose those trying to kill you first, uncle,¡± He said surprising him. ¡°They will be brought to justice,¡± Storm said simply, a little moved. ¡°Fear not, dear nephew.¡± There was a knock on the door of his study. ¡°Titus is here,¡± Utnas announced, after cracking the door open to check. Storm rolled his eyes. ¡°Let him in.¡± ¡°Move away so I can pass, you fool!¡± Titus protested and shoved the large Cofol outside. ¡°Stand there and guard the bloody door!¡± Lord Nattas sighed. ¡°Any news?¡± He asked Titus and waited until the man realized there was no spare chair for him to sit on inside the small study. ¡°This came from Issir¡¯s Eagle, via Riverdor,¡± Titus begrudgingly said, giving him the small scroll, when the fact that he was going to stand for the duration of their meeting, became apparent. Storm hadn¡¯t yet forgiven the hired muscle for almost having him killed on his watch a second time. He broke the wax seal on the scroll and unfurled it. After two weeks of back and forth with his people, Lord Bach had answered.
¡°What does, entertain the idea, means?¡± Parkor asked, when he read them part of the reply. ¡°The High King is favorable,¡± Storm explained. ¡°Why not say it outright?¡± Titus queried, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. ¡°He needs assurances.¡± ¡°About the girl?¡± Titus probed with a chuckle. ¡°No you fool, not about Silvie!¡± Storm snapped furious, the fact that this cutthroat had even considered it, unfathomable to him. ¡°From King Alistair.¡± ¡°Ah. It makes sense.¡± Titus replied with a shrug. Abrakas surely you had reason for sparing him. How about you reconsider? I¡¯ll eat the cost of hiring a new one.
The officer of the King¡¯s guard, playing the role of a herald, announced him with the enthusiasm of someone new at the job. It seemed the Queen was holding on to her servants and palace entourage with fanatic vigor. A dog with a bone, Storm thought, just before he bowed deeply, a tight smile plastered to his face when he spotted Lord Doris sitting at the King¡¯s table. Alistair himself, crown of Regia on his shaven head, was glancing at the papers his treasurer was presenting one by one, dropping them on a pile before him, when he finished. ¡°Lord Nattas,¡± The king said, without looking at him. ¡°We¡¯ll wrap this up shortly.¡± Storm almost bit his tongue off to avoid a caustic reply. He resigned remaining on his feet instead, half his weight resting on his cane, while the two Aldens walked through the expenses of the winter, already causing problems in some of the provinces and the cost of keeping ten thousand people fed and entertained while on the road. ¡°¡­they¡¯ll pick up the fresh recruits bunch at Two Rivers Castle, then be outside Novesium next month.¡± Lord Doris reported, what was not in the papers. ¡°The weather?¡± The king asked. ¡°Better the further south they go. Keeping them near the shore is a sound delaying strategy.¡± Alistair grunted, reaching for his gold goblet. A servant poured water in it, while the King kept his eyes on Lord Nattas, still waiting for them to finish. ¡°It is not a delaying strategy,¡± Alistair said. ¡°I want them near the transports, should the need arise.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Doris replied quickly. ¡°Sit down Lord Nattas. You seem ready to collapse,¡± The king snarled, his eyes always on him as he hurried to put his arse on the nearest armchair. ¡°Perhaps your extracurricular activities should be toned down. Vices take a toll. A healthier lifestyle will help you work more for me and live longer.¡±Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. ¡°Your Majesty,¡± Storm croaked chastised. ¡°An attempt was made on my life.¡± ¡°Another?¡± The King inquired sitting back. ¡°Weren¡¯t you in Cartagen?¡± ¡°I was. And yes, another. They used poison this time. The fact I¡¯m here today is nothing short of a miracle.¡± ¡°I will leave you alone with Lord Nattas,¡± Doris said getting up. ¡°If I may suggest and I could be mistaken, so I apologize in advance Lord Nattas. I believe you should distance yourself from wayward women either way. They ruined men of sturdier moral fiber than you.¡± He managed to deliver his verbal diarrhea with a straight face, the tiniest of grins on his mouth. Storm responded with a grimace instead of a smile at his words. ¡°Thank you, cousin. We¡¯ll finish it later,¡± King Alistair intervened, a hint of razz in his voice. Storm watched the Lord Treasurer walking away until he disappeared out of a side door, thinking it was almost eerie how easily Lord Doris had identified the culprit, without any additional knowledge. Perhaps one of those weird coincidences, he decided, filing the detail away. The idea seemed ludicrous at first glance, even for his paranoid mind.
King Alistair downed the contents of his goblet and waved to an unseen servant, an elderly Lorian named Cyrus that had served him for as long as Storm remembered. The dignified man brought an engraved bottle of red wine to their table and refilled the King¡¯s goblet in silence. ¡°Have you found out who it was?¡± Alistair asked him, when Cyrus walked away. ¡°A woman,¡± Storm replied. ¡°But she escaped.¡± ¡°How did she manage to get close to you?¡± Lord Nattas sighed. ¡°She was involved in the previous attempt. I had her under guard at my place. She proved more cunning than I believed.¡± ¡°Your place has a dungeon?¡± ¡°No, your Majesty. You¡¯re right, it was a mistake,¡± Storm backtracked quickly. ¡°Do you need any help to locate her? We can notify the captains of the guard in every city, have her picked up on sight.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think she will try again.¡± King Alistair, aged face appearing tired and cheekbones more pronounced than he remembered him, tasted his wine deep in thought. ¡°It is better to make certain, than hope about it, Nattas.¡± ¡°Yes, your Majesty. I have taken steps to ensure her apprehension.¡± ¡°I wish you fortune then,¡± The king said and put the goblet on the table, before him. ¡°Now, what did you learn?¡± His eyes had hardened. ¡°Where is this Dan, Lord Nattas?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no mention of it anywhere, my Lord,¡± Storm replied without hesitation. ¡°But I suspect, it might be a remnant of the Empire.¡± Alistair grimaced, his jaw clenching hard at his words. ¡°On Eplas? A colony is your meaning?¡± He probed. Lord Nattas had to lie here. Convincingly. ¡°I don¡¯t believe it¡¯s more than a city. A place where some of them might have survived,¡± Storm paused seeing the look on the King¡¯s eyes. ¡°I don¡¯t have concrete proof of that, your Majesty.¡± ¡°But you do have something. Where on Eplas?¡± ¡°There¡¯s only one place the Khanate¡¯s reach isn¡¯t firm, besides the Duchy,¡± Storm explained. ¡°Wetull proper?¡± The King interrupted him. Well, there is that of course. ¡°With the exception of the blasted lands. I believe it is located in the north.¡± Alistair reached for his goblet. ¡°No one lives there, they tell me. Unlike ours, people stayed away it seems.¡± Go big, or go home. ¡°That is the perception. A small colony could have survived there,¡± Storm sighed. ¡°It doesn¡¯t mean they are flesh and blood Zilans still breathing. Perhaps former slaves, fanatics of the old ways, but humans.¡± Hopefully. ¡°And the Khan decided to ally with them. Why?¡± ¡°Magic,¡± Storm said simply. ¡°The Khan is rather loose on the matter, is the word.¡± ¡°People are not,¡± The King pointed. ¡°And he is no fool. If it¡¯s magic he wants, why make it formal?¡± ¡°There¡¯s another answer,¡± Storm said slowly. ¡°He doesn¡¯t know,¡± The King answered, picking up his meaning. ¡°Antoon though seems certain something is off, or perhaps he just knows more from the Duke.¡± ¡°Antoon believes a Zilan has the Khan¡¯s ear,¡± Nattas said. ¡°He wants a war to stop the word from spreading. Dismiss it as lies and propaganda, if it does. But I could be mistaken, my Lord.¡± ¡°Do you think we should get involved?¡± The King asked him, his tone measured. ¡°If there was a way to avoid it, without breaking from the High King, it would be preferable,¡± Storm offered, taking the opportunity. ¡°If I¡¯m not restrained from the treaties anymore, I see no reason to help him. Lesia will think the same.¡± ¡°It might be a long time, before we know for certain,¡± Nattas said, treading carefully. The King stopped him raising his left hand, the fingers of his right rapping at the table¡¯s surface. ¡°I want to know what Antoon knows, Lord Nattas. More about this Dan and the Prince¡¯s consort, or whatever she is. The High King wants a war, but I won¡¯t send Lorians to die on Eplas,¡± He paused, breathed once to calm himself down, then added. ¡°Unless he gives up a Duchy.¡± ¡°Raoz?¡± Storm probed, a little surprised. ¡°Bah, what do I care about Raoz? I want Sovya, the whole of it,¡± King Alistair snarled, stooping forward. ¡°Give me Sovya and Regia will have enough arms and ships in five years, to push anything Kaltha sends at us back into the sea. Kaltha or anyone else.¡± ¡°Lesia will want a piece of it, your Majesty,¡± Storm pointed. ¡°King Davenport, will do as he is told. We control the Legion now,¡± Alistair replied dismissively. ¡°What about the rest of the north, my Lord?¡± Nattas probed, not liking where the conversation was going. ¡°There¡¯s heavy turmoil right as we speak. Lucius reported as much from Gudgurth Fort. The Northmen don¡¯t believe in borders.¡± ¡°Your people should stop reading my mail, Nattas,¡± The King scolded him. ¡°But you are correct, Lucius wrote as much. He also wrote that they will reach Kas soon, with no further problems.¡± Predicting future troubles is like gambling, Nattas thought, a nervous tick appearing on his left eye. Nine times out of ten, you¡¯re wrong. ¡°Perhaps I misread the situation, my Lord,¡± Storm relented, with a bow of the head. ¡°I trust Lucius to convince the Jarl,¡± The King elucidated, sensing his reluctance. ¡°People love him, wherever he goes. He¡¯s a bloody hero. I don¡¯t like it in a King, but as a diplomat my son is better than any one of us. Sovya will love him again as well. He will bring the North into Regia¡¯s lap, mark my words.¡± They will never forget the slain girl, and he¡¯s an outsider thrown to the wolves, Storm thought, but kept his mouth shut. Lucius wasn¡¯t to blame, but he blamed himself and that people would take as guilt. That and the secrecy surrounding the end of his marriage. To keep a secret, sometimes one had to take the hit, with a fucking smile on his face.
¡°You¡¯ve met with the Queen,¡± King Alistair said, his tone indecipherable, forcing him out of his reverie. ¡°I did, your Majesty,¡± Storm replied carefully, taken by surprise at the turn of subject and more than a little worried. ¡°She praised you in a letter,¡± The King added, lip curled in amusement. ¡°That¡¯s both my wives you¡¯ve charmed now, Nattas.¡± Storm almost choked on his own spit. Protest your innocence, he thought, as sweat appeared on his forehead. Don¡¯t be too obvious about it. ¡°It was but a brief meal, my Lord!¡± It had come out wrong, too much fear in it. ¡°What was served?¡± The King tested, half-joking half-serious. More serious than he¡¯d preferred. Abrakas you piece of shit! Storm had no idea. ¡°I¡­ ahm, I arrived late, your Majesty,¡± He croaked, stumbling through his words. ¡°So no meal?¡± Storm hang his shoulders, eyes on the table. ¡°No. But we talked,¡± He cleared his throat once; twice more when the first attempt failed, then continued. ¡°About Prince Kasper.¡± King Alistair sat back and rubbed his jaw with a hand, intrigued at his words. Thank you. Oh, Vile One. ¡°Explain.¡± ¡°The Queen thinks and it is my opinion as well, a marriage might help us here,¡± He paused, Alistair raised a grey eyebrow urging him to continue. ¡°Well, it will alleviate Antoon¡¯s fears and allow you to stall the Legion and keep Regia out of the war.¡± ¡°An alliance though marriage, in case the treaties are voided,¡± The King said. ¡°Will help Antoon, but it won¡¯t help me. What if I want to break with Kaltha on the morrow?¡± Storm blinked. ¡°Ahm, Lady Silvie will give us a claim to Kaltha through her children.¡± ¡°It will give Antoon one to Regia before that,¡± Alistair pointed, not amused. ¡°Breaking the engagement is something I can take, but a marriage¡­ that paints me as a villain.¡± ¡°We can claim she can¡¯t procreate, if the need arises, my Lord,¡± Storm offered. ¡°You wish me to declare my only daughter barren, Lord Nattas?¡± King Alistair queried warningly. ¡°It sounded that you did.¡± ¡°Of course not, your Majesty,¡± Storm bowed his head chastised. ¡°I prefer to marry her to a Davenport. Secure Lesia. My wife will not like it, but she¡¯ll understand.¡± Alistair said, looking away at the thought of the Queen. No she won¡¯t, Storm thought. And you know it. ¡°Antoon will entertain an offer,¡± He said instead. ¡°He will?¡± The King narrowed his eyes. ¡°He¡¯s desperate. Hmm.¡± ¡°Not easy to push a country to war, on a whim. People don¡¯t know,¡± Storm added. ¡°Even if they did, would they care? He has no support.¡± ¡°An engagement.¡± King Alistair murmured, thinking out loud. ¡°He¡¯ll want it public, to secure it¡¯s binding to the eyes of the populace,¡± Storm cautioned. ¡°It won¡¯t be though,¡± The King continued, a gleam in his eyes. ¡°If the news break out that the treaties are null and void¡­ even if it¡¯s a year, even two. Perhaps sooner. Silvie is too young to consummate.¡± ¡°Aye, she is.¡± Storm droned. King Alistair brought the goblet to his mouth. ¡°He might ask for something more though. How soon can you know?¡± ¡°My people are in touch with Lord Bach¡¯s agents,¡± For the past three weeks, Storm thought. ¡°I can have an answer by morrow.¡± The King put the empty goblet down and pushed back on his chair, eyes stilled on a map of the continent that showed the Shallow Sea and part of Eplas as well. His mind working hard in an effort to predict the future events, account for bad luck, a strained treasury and treachery, or just plain incompetence. The many threads creating a web that veiled most of the paths. He weighted what was left against a Queen¡¯s wrath and with a grunt, gave a relieved Lord Nattas the go ahead. Thus it was decided Prince Kasper Eikenaar and Lady Silvie Alden were to be married, although the potential couple wouldn¡¯t hear about it for another month and only lay eyes on one another for the first time, in two.
58. The righteous man will know
Emerson The righteous man will know
Small shimmering disks of bright orange fire were bobbing over the bridge and beyond it, as people searched the dark and yelled the young Reeves name. This bizarre dance of lights made the cold night come alive in a strange manner. Emerson had stayed back, since he didn¡¯t know the terrain at all and Spurius had insisted that his people would locate the wayward couple faster, without the knight slowing them down. He¡¯s having fun under a tree, grass up his arse. We¡¯ve been there ourselves my friend, the aged ex-Centurion had said, a smile on his face. It hadn¡¯t alleviated the Knight¡¯s fears, who knew Glen had made powerful enemies through no fault of his own, other than his blood of course. So he stayed near the bridge and watched the search continue impotent, despite Spurius best efforts to elevate his spirits. Ye make a mistake, it¡¯s on ye to fix it, his father used to say. Or if ye can¡¯t, patch it up best ye can and accept responsibility. Don¡¯t expect to enjoy the remedy and an apology should hurt aplenty, or it¡¯s no plaguin¡¯ good. The knight pressed his tired eyes close hard, the memory too vivid in his mind, much as his sister¡¯s cries. What becomes of me now? Lila had lamented, her sweet face distraught, Wiscan¡¯s bloody severed head in her hands. A fit of anger had stripped his sister from the father of her child, but made her the Lady of Balard Castle in the process and one the richest women in Lesia. The man was a conniving opportunist that had dishonored her, but taking his life was too harsh a punishment, especially over her protests. Emerson had bequeathed his title to his pregnant sister after that, but never felt it was apology enough and had left Lesia many years back, to fix other people¡¯s mistakes and heal himself in the process. The righteous man will know, when the debt is paid. He¡¯ll know when to back down and when to ask for help himself. He will know to listen and set aside his pride, his father always preached. In his heart, he would know. ¡°Where is she from?¡± Spurius asked him, interrupting his gloomy thoughts. ¡°The woman.¡± ¡°The plains of Cofol,¡± Emerson replied, crooking his mouth, the lie tasting bitter. ¡°Doesn¡¯t sound, or look like a Cofol,¡± His old friend said. ¡°Not that anyone has seen her proper and it¡¯s been months. I don¡¯t know how she does it, but I can understand the lad being smitten with her. Her face could turn a king¡¯s head.¡± ¡°She¡¯s a great scout,¡± Emerson grunted, as if that explained any of it. ¡°Whatever she may be, this has to end. Lord Reeves will put a hard stop to it, if the lad doesn¡¯t,¡± Spurius pointed with a sigh. ¡°Glen will do the right thing,¡± Emerson replied through his teeth and seeing commotion from the west path, the one leading into the redwood forest, moved to intercept the coming riders.
Glen¡¯s face appeared filled with strain, but otherwise he stood unhurt on Val¡¯s saddle. It was Lith that had blood on her face, a large burn on the front of her cape. Emerson rushed to them and Glen seeing him approach breathed a sigh of relief and pulled at the reins. ¡°What happened?¡± The knight asked. ¡°We¡¯re fine,¡± Glen assured him and Emerson saw another two riders following right behind them. A man and a woman. The man was armed to the teeth, Emerson counted two swords, an axe and a crossbow at the first glance, among several daggers. His face that of a Lorian, if a little narrower, much as he could see him under the hood he had on. ¡°That¡¯s Larn, a bounty hunter,¡± Glen introduced the couple. ¡°The woman is Mezera, his wife. They saved our lives.¡± Emerson nodded. ¡°I¡¯m Sir Lennox, a Knight¡¯s Errant. Glen is my squire. Gratitude for the assistance.¡± Larn return the nod. ¡°Think nothing of it, Sir Knight.¡± Emerson turned to Glen. ¡°Let¡¯s move you to the castle. Is she badly hurt?¡± Lith hadn¡¯t said a word and appeared out of it for some reason, he noticed. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Glen looked at the people slowly gathering around them. ¡°We need to get her inside.¡± ¡°Head straight for Dante. We¡¯ll use their rooms.¡± Emerson said stepping away from Val. He glanced towards the silently observing the scene couple. ¡°You¡¯re welcomed to Hellfort, Mr. Larn. We¡¯ll see about finding you some quarters.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t inconvenience yourself Sir Knight,¡± The bounty hunter rejoined, his voice a mixture of accents. ¡°We can sleep under the moons.¡± He thought his counter ludicrous, the chill hurting his bones already. ¡°I will have to insist, Mr. Larn,¡± Emerson grunted. ¡°It¡¯s the least I could do.¡±This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
Jinx spotted them return and got out of the kitchen, an oil lamp in hand. She¡¯d stayed back due to her hunting injury and still walked with a bit of difficulty. ¡°Hah,¡± The Gish guffawed. ¡°I knew they were¡­ wait, what¡¯s the matter wit her?¡± ¡°Who¡¯s in there?¡± Emerson asked brusquely. ¡°Liko, Zola is still out, lookin¡¯ for them,¡± Jinx replied. ¡°Give us the place. Get the boy out and guard the door,¡± The knight ordered and went to help the Zilan climb down her mount. ¡°I can do it myself!¡± Lith hissed, all indignant. ¡°Go on then, the kitchen is empty,¡± Emerson replied, with a grimace. ¡°You want us to have a look at yer injuries?¡± ¡°Just the Gish will suffice,¡± Lith said, a little subdued, perhaps for her outburst. ¡°Sure, Princess,¡± The knight replied mockingly and Lith threw him a glare, before walking away stiffly. Emerson watched her disappear into the dark entrance with a frown. He sensed Glen standing on his side and repeated his earlier question, without turning to look his way. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°We were ambushed in the woods,¡± Glen replied, his voice detached. Almost alien. Emerson turned to examine his face and was shocked to see how pale the young man was. ¡°Who were they?¡± ¡°Cofol agents. They got paid to attack us.¡± ¡°They said that?¡± Emerson queried, taken aback. ¡°Larn said it. He was tracking them.¡± Glen explained with difficulty, as if something was bothering him. The knight crossed his arms deep in thought. Why would the Cofols ambush Glen? Retaliation? Who would tell them? And more importantly, how would they know where he was? It didn¡¯t make any sense. ¡°What else did he say?¡± ¡°Larn? Not much. It was luck he found us.¡± ¡°Aye,¡± Emerson murmured, looking back in an attempt to locate the bounty hunter, but failed to find him in the dankness of the yard. They needed more torches lit, he decided. And guards posted inside the castle. Perhaps another patrol at the barricade¡ª ¡°She ate that man¡¯s hand,¡± Glen blurted out, interrupting his thoughts. Emerson narrowed his eyes. ¡°What are ye saying boy?¡± The knight asked although deep down, he already knew. ¡°Lith,¡± Glen replied with difficulty, his face scrunching this way and that, horror trying to break to the surface. ¡°I had to stop her,¡± He turned to look at Emerson, his eyes haunted. ¡°That¡¯s not her blood.¡±
Emerson burst through the kitchen door sword in hand. Jinx, sitting cross-legged on her hey mattress, raised a pink eyebrow seeing him glaring around, all flushed and furious. ¡°Where is she?¡± The Knight grunted. ¡°She¡¯s gone.¡± ¡°Gone where?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t ask.¡± ¡°Ye allowed her to leave the room?¡± Emerson admonished her, but quickly he felt silly towering over the small-bodied woman and he sheathed his sword. ¡°She wasn¡¯t injured. Not seriously,¡± Jinx replied, an annoying grin on her face. ¡°What¡¯s with the blade, Sir Lennox?¡± Emerson clenched his jaw. ¡°Did ye plaguin¡¯ know? Has she done it before?¡± He asked her accusingly, the words laden with guilt. Every question addressed to himself in the same breath. Jinx chuckled, finding the situation amusing for some reason. ¡°Stop it! This isn¡¯t a joke Whisper!¡± ¡°Oh, but it is,¡± Jinx replied still grinning, getting up. ¡°You can¡¯t fix it, Sir Knight. Better keep that sword sheathed, next ye she her. Or you may put us all in trouble.¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Emerson grunted. ¡°I¡¯m saying, you knew. We all did, sort of. We are all to blame, for bringing her along.¡± ¡°Of course I didn¡¯t. I thought it a myth, for Uher¡¯s sake!¡± The knight protested furius. ¡°Wild tales and nothing more. I would never have allowed her near Glen, had I suspected something this vile!¡± Jinx smacked her lips after he finished, then started hobbling towards the exit, moving slower than an asthmatic snail. ¡°Where are ye going?¡± He snapped and the Gish paused and looked at him behind a pink curtain of hair. ¡°I need to talk to Glen. Explain things, much as I can,¡± Jinx said simply. ¡°We need to keep this quiet. Knowing him, he may go off any minute, if he¡¯s left unsupervised. Then we¡¯ll have a real problem. I prefer to talk now, than fight later. How about you?¡± Darn it. Emerson took a step back, his initial anger retreating. The Gish was right, they¡¯d signed up for this; all of them had. Himself first and foremost. He was the most responsible for the mess. ¡°I will come wit you,¡± He decided brusquely. ¡°I should be the one to explain.¡± ¡°Tsk-tsk, better not dear Sir,¡± Jinx said. ¡°Let me have a go at it. It needs a special touch.¡± The Knight frowned. The righteous man will know. ¡°Is it a Gish thing?¡± He asked, his voice coming out tired. ¡°Yes, I can help.¡± She corrected it for him. ¡°I don¡¯t trust you Whisper,¡± Emerson had to admit begrudgingly, using a hand to rub the back of his neck hard, but he couldn¡¯t see any way around it. The Gish grinned, it reached her ears. ¡°Ye will soon. And I won¡¯t hold it against ye.¡±
59. Never fully, nor forever
Glen Never fully, nor forever
Lith snarled, cavernous mouth like a lion¡¯s, bloody sharp teeth snapping when he tried to reach for her. Glen pulled his hand away with a cry of fear, a veil pulled from his eyes. The young man stumbled coming out of his reverie, heart thundering in his chest, only to realize he had rounded the kitchen building in the meantime, walking like an automaton and was now standing next to its back wall, where the small door leading to the repaired part of the castle¡¯s outer fortifications was.
A Wyvern crawled closer.
Glen reached for his sword, when he noticed Lith walking towards the castle¡¯s walls, her back turned to him. The Zilan paused sensing his presence and looked his way, golden eyes glowing alike a leopard¡¯s in the dark, a clear warning. ¡°Do not judge her harshly, Glenavon,¡± Fikumin said out of nowhere, breaking the tension. Glen had missed him completely, but the small-statured creature posed no threat and he allowed his hand to relax on the pommel. His whole reaction was out of character in the first place, he thought. What are you doing? ¡°Why?¡± He asked, watching the Zilan melt in the shadows. ¡°She doesn¡¯t,¡± Fikumin replied, a smile on his bearded face. More beard than face. ¡°Lithoniela believes there¡¯s a great fortune in your future.¡± His words intrigued him. Glen scrunched his nose, then pinched the base hard with thumb and index finger. ¡°You mean, like treasure?¡± He probed, but Fikumin was gone. Luthos curse you! ¡°Was that one of the Folk?¡± Jinx¡¯s annoying voice asked, coming from behind him. This had to stop. ¡°Hah, a Northern dwarf judging from all the rusty hair.¡± Glen turned his head to glare at her. ¡°Stop sneaking up on people!¡± Jinx limped her way towards the kitchen¡¯s wall and pressed her back on it. ¡°Pfft, I can barely walk,¡± She sneered. ¡°And I only sneak up on yer arse. Ye have a hearin¡¯ problem, I think. There¡¯s a remedy, but it¡¯s gonna hurt¡ª¡± ¡°Whisper!¡± Glen snapped. ¡°I don¡¯t care.¡± ¡°Now that¡­ hurts.¡± Jinx said with a pout. Glen¡¯s sighed, shoulders shagging deflated. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°I thought you knew,¡± Jinx said, little finger digging in her right ear for something. She checked it and grimaced not finding whatever it was, she was searching for. ¡°Know what?¡± Glen exploded, her delaying tactics grating to his nerves. ¡°I guess, you¡¯re not braver than ye look,¡± Whisper Jinx said. ¡°You just didn¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Uh? Fuck does that mean?¡± ¡°You¡¯re right Pretty,¡± Jinx corrected it for him, pissing Glen off even more. ¡°No you¡¯re not and I had enough of this,¡± He rubbed his face with both hands hard and turned to stare at the dark battlements for a long moment. Can you befriend a creature like that? He thought. Haven¡¯t I already done it? Was it a mistake? Could she turn on us, like the mad dog in Sir Emerson¡¯s story? ¡°You know her, Glen.¡± He stared at the small-bodied Gish. Jinx appeared nervous. That¡¯s a fuckin¡¯ first, Glen thought. ¡°Do I really?¡± ¡°Ye travelled wit her, more than I have,¡± Jinx said softly. ¡°Has she ever hurt ye?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know she could do that¡­ but nay, she hasn¡¯t.¡± ¡°They all can,¡± Jinx explained. ¡°It¡¯s how they are.¡± ¡°Monsters. Just like in the stories,¡± Glen said, his voice cracking. ¡°Is that what she is?¡± ¡°Our Lith is a Zilan,¡± Whisper replied simply. ¡°They need to consume the living for their songs to flourish. To cast more potent forms of magic. Flesh is a great shortcut. Gish flesh in the beginning, until they found out humans tasted better.¡± Glen puffed his cheeks out. Her words disturbing. ¡°The tales were right then. It¡¯s the same thing.¡±The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°No, it¡¯s not,¡± Jinx said. ¡°It¡¯s an indulgence, not a necessity. It¡¯s how their society was structured. Nothing was forbidden at first. The Empire eventually banned those that used Nesande¡¯s gifts this way. Some Gish believe, those reforms were responsible for their collapse. It fractured them beyond repair, between those that went along and those that refused to conform. It was a queen¡¯s vanity that she knew better and years of internal strife that brought them down and not Reinut. You can¡¯t control magic, not more than ye can control nature, or people, or even beasts. Never fully, nor forever.¡± ¡°What do you believe?¡± Glen asked feeling a little numb, as he didn¡¯t expect Whisper of all people, to give him a diatribe on the matter and greatly surprised at her revelations. Then again, Jinx wasn¡¯t exactly human herself, right? He thought, eyeing the pink-haired girl with suspicion. ¡°Gish love fucking,¡± Jinx answered his question with brutal honesty. ¡°And all vices really. Shiny things to play wit and fun,¡± She looked at her feet self-consciously. ¡°We are very social. Difficult to resist.¡± Glen rolled his eyes, not falling for it. ¡°Right,¡± He smacked his lips. ¡°I admit, I¡¯m a little confused.¡± ¡°You¡¯re aroused, it¡¯s natural¡ª¡± ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake Pretty! It¡¯s not that!¡± Glen blasted her. ¡°I meant about what to do with Lith.¡± Jinx started laughing, but stopped when she saw the rage in his eyes. ¡°You can¡¯t do anything wit her. Any other Zilan perhaps, but not her, if I have her judged correctly. I know ye want to and it¡¯s eating ye from the inside,¡± Glen narrowed his eyes warningly. ¡°Do ye even know how old she is?¡± ¡°Twenty?¡± He chanced. Jinx scoffed. ¡°Thirty¡­ five?¡± Glen probed unsure. I mean she looks great for it, he thought. She burst out laughing. ¡°I hope ye like older women,¡± The Gish said after a while, just as Glen contemplated whether he should smack her once right at the nostrils to shut her up. ¡°I do, but ye should know they come wit baggage.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have a problem¡­¡± Glen started, pausing to think about it. ¡°How much older?¡± Jinx shrugged her shoulders, then glancing at the door, she started hobbling that way. ¡°Where are you going?¡± Glen asked. ¡°You¡¯re fine now, yes?¡± Jinx asked glancing back. ¡°Sure. But we haven¡¯t finished!¡± ¡°I need to piss real bad right now. Want me to do it here?¡± She probed. ¡°It will make a mess, I was holdin¡¯ back to talk to ye.¡± ¡°What? Of course not!¡± Glen gasped, standing back, a little flushed. ¡°Thanks,¡± Jinx replied with a toothy grin. ¡°It burns when I do it outside.¡±
Emerson had the face of someone that had just lost a relative, when he found him half an hour later. I should get some sleep at some point, Glen thought, but with all that had happened, he didn¡¯t feel drowsy yet. ¡°You¡¯re okay there lad?¡± The knight asked, when he joined him in front of the large fire-pit set outside the barracks. ¡°Yeah. Lots to think about,¡± Glen answered, warming his hands over the burning logs. ¡°Talked wit Jinx some?¡± Emerson probed. ¡°Huh? Yeah, I did actually,¡± Glen said, a little surprised he knew it already. ¡°How did it go?¡± The knight just wouldn¡¯t let it go. ¡°Fine. Ye know Whisper.¡± ¡°What did ye talk about?¡± Emerson appeared determined to find out. Glen tried to remember how the conversation had ended. Parts of it still vivid in his mind. Like pissing outside and old but otherwise fine women. ¡°She told me a bit about the Empire,¡± Glen replied instead. ¡°Uhm, good. That¡¯s good,¡± The knight said nervously. ¡°Lots of good stories there, some of them plaguin¡¯ wild.¡± ¡°Did you know about Lith?¡± Glen asked him, his tone harder than he¡¯d preferred it. Emerson shook his head denying it, coiled alike a spring. ¡°No. Didn¡¯t believe it. I told ye back then, I knew about ¡®em from the histories, but I always thought all this talk about godless cannibals a bunch of falsehoods. Still have difficulty accepting it, after knowing her some.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Glen murmured softer now. ¡°We were attacked after all. Perhaps she lashed out scared,¡± Emerson nodded finding logic in his words and visibly relaxed his stance. Healed me some before that, Glen continue his thought. Did that trigger it somehow? He should have asked Jinx, but if he¡¯d done that, Glen would have had to explain his dubious use of that spell earlier. I couldn¡¯t do that. Not before knowing more about it. He had the words at the tip of his tongue; there, but not there. Glen stared at the glowing embers and the sprouting bright flames mesmerized. The warmth sipping into his very bones, the calling strong to make more of it. A maddening whisper, not alike a faint song, alluring as much as taunting. Dangerous like a Zilan¡¯s hunger. The need almost the same. The heat grew stronger, black embers turning a bright white and the flames started rising, red tongues darting right and left, ready to leap out of the fire-pit. All it needed was an order. One word.
A Wyvern¡¯s eye opened. A yellow slit in a sea of burgundy.
Glen. Huh? ¡°Glen,¡± Emerson said, rough gloved hand grasping at his shoulder firmly. ¡°Go get some sleep son.¡± ¡°Aye,¡± He replied pulling away from the almost extinguished flames, his mouth dry and bitter. Glen walked slowly towards their assigned barrack, caught sight out the corner of his eye, of a man watching him half-hidden under the tower¡¯s shadow, where the dark was even deeper and the torches light couldn¡¯t reach¡­ Nor Glen should have been able to see. The stranger, more shadow than a real person, gave him a slight nod of acknowledgment with his head and faded into black. One moment the eerie figure was there, the next he¡¯d disappeared without any fanfare. Just a hint of magic.
60. Carnage at the Bridges (1/4)
Lucius Carnage at the Bridges Part I (The color of frozen dirt & blood)
The snow reached so high after they came off the mountain trail, it swallowed Stormbolt to his ears and the blanket covered horse pulled back scared, vapors shooting out of its nostrils and backtracked, leading with its hind legs. ¡°Whoa!¡± Lucius commanded holding its reins firm. ¡°Easy boy.¡± ¡°Gotta pull to the side!¡± Roderick yelled and pointed with a gloved hand. ¡°Reach ¡®em slopes.¡± Lucius sat up on his saddle to see better and nodded. Roderick raised his hand and waved to the men following them single file. ¡°Down. We¡¯ll lead the animals further up!¡± ¡°We expect us to climb?¡± Faustus complained. His face covered with snow, eyebrows white and thick with it. ¡°Just do as yer bloody told!¡± Roderick barked. ¡°Galio one of your guys takes the mules.¡± ¡°Kaeso!¡± Galio boomed twice as loud and Lucius looked worried at the cliffs surrounding them. ¡°Ye heard the man!¡± ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake sergeant!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t give me no bloody lip boy!¡± Lucius climbed down shaking his head and led Stormbolt to the side of the path slowly, the snow reaching his chest. The terrain turned rougher, but the slope held less snow and he managed to pull the horse out of the path. They walked the rest of the way. It took them three hours to reach Stag¡¯s Doab, the edge of the flat-land forested area between the two smaller legs of Ludriver.
Lucius breathed hard through the cloth wrapped around his face, skin wet and cold. The weather had turned for the worst, after the heavy snowfalls of the previous weeks. The temperature lowered even more and the icy winds blasting from the North, had turned the packed snow harder and made everything crunchy and dangerous underfoot. ¡°Is that a warcamp?¡± Roderick asked, squinting his hurting eyes. Lucius nodded, black smoke rising from the sparse woods covering the snow covered terrain to their north. Not as much soft snow here though, he thought, stabbing his boot hard down to test it. He turned his head to the other side, looked up the slowly rising slopes leading towards Eaglesnest. Smoke from many fires blackening the sky that way as well. Another warcamp, almost as large. ¡°You think that¡¯s the Crulls?¡± He asked of the latter, slapping his gloved hands to increase circulation, the pain on his leg flaring up. ¡°Aye. Wanna head that way?¡± Roderick replied, skin turned almost black where the cold had ravaged his wrinkled face. A man came out of the snowed foliage to their left, before he¡¯d time to answer him, a long spear in his hands. Tall, but thin and haggard looking, leather armour hidden under a heavy coat. ¡°Who goes there?¡± The Black Skulls warrior inquired. ¡°That¡¯s Sir Lucius Alden,¡± Roderick snapped. ¡°Fuck are you?¡± ¡°Brim Solomon, milord,¡± The man replied, taken aback by the reprimand. ¡°Were you at Kas?¡± Lucius asked, looking at the bushes moving behind the warrior, indicating more men were present. ¡°No, milord. I wasn¡¯t. We guarded the path, per Captain Morris orders.¡± ¡°How many men?¡± Lucius probed. ¡°Less than forty. But some of the main group returned,¡± Brim replied eagerly. ¡°Some?¡± That was Roderick. ¡°Around eighty, but I could be mistaken. Lots of wounded.¡± Lucius stared at the men that had appeared now, rising from behind their cover. ¡°Anyone else willing to speak?¡± He asked authoritatively. A middle aged, mail clad warrior stepped forward, pushing aside a couple of weathered warriors. He¡¯d a Black Skull sawn to the right side of his coat, kept open at the front despite the cold, perhaps to more easily reach for his sword. ¡°Sir Lucius. I¡¯m honored to meet the Heir to Regia in the flesh,¡± The Lorian said, a faint Northern accent to his voice, but the rest of it marking him as being born in Lesia. He approached and tended a hand. ¡°Name¡¯s Baker Morris. Ye have my gratitude for helping us at Kas.¡± Lucius grimaced at the needless tribute, but shook his hand. ¡°You¡¯re welcomed Mr. Morris. What were you doing in Kas?¡± ¡°We were trying to reach the ridge, circle around the mountains. Make it to Northwatch Fort,¡± He crooked his mouth. ¡°Then return to Lord Vanzon¡¯s lands via a safer route.¡± ¡°You¡¯re pretty far from there still,¡± Lucius noticed. ¡°Aye. O¡¯ Dargan brought half the North over those bridges,¡± Morris explained. ¡°That¡¯s him in ¡®em woods.¡± ¡°The Jarl is here?¡± Lucius asked, a little surprised. ¡°That old dog? Nah. That¡¯s ¡®Gangly¡¯ Steven¡¯s banner right there, his firstborn,¡± The mercenary Captain started coughing hard, almost doubling over and Lucius cast a side glance towards Roderick. ¡°Apologies,¡± Morris said, when he came around, seeming worse for wear. ¡°We¡¯re almost two months on the road.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you head out, towards Eaglesnest? That¡¯s the Crulls right there, behind you; not a kilometer away is my guess.¡± ¡°We did, milord,¡± Morris explained, voice turning hoarse. ¡°Sir Hein sent us right back out to support his men. He wouldn¡¯t take no for an answer.¡± Lucius stared about them. ¡°He has men on the flanks.¡± ¡°I ain¡¯t particular in the finer details, milord,¡± Morris replied. ¡°Even if I was, we ain¡¯t in a position to refuse them. Not if we want to reach Krakenhall.¡± Ah, there¡¯s that of course, Lucius thought, testing the ground again with his boot. Much better terrain this, he decided. ¡°I was with a man,¡± He started, watching the mercenary closely. ¡°Dirk Curd. We lost him in the snowstorms. I hoped, he would make it here, at the very least.¡± ¡°Devious Dirk?¡± Morris grimaced. ¡°Aye, he traveled through here, about a week back. I¡¯d thought that vulture dead, but there¡¯s no killing him, I suppose. Lads told me, he was heading for Krakenhall as well. Ye¡¯ll be better served to talk with the Crulls for more though. And perhaps consider turning back, milord.¡± He stared at the darkening sky, the smoke clouds of the opposing warcamps blocking the sun, the moment the wind had stopped. ¡°There might be some reckonin¡¯ here, ye¡¯ll want to avoid.¡±This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. ¡°Thank you, Mr. Morris, for the words and the advice. I wish you fortune,¡± Lucius said and jumped deftly on the saddle, the pain on his leg grating. He kept it off his face though, a stubborn clench of his jaw the only indication. ¡°May Luthos guide ye as well, Sir Lucius,¡± The man replied, sounding sincere and even a little moved. ¡°Through all ¡®em pending struggles.¡±
The Crulls warcamp was a sprawling mess of tents and haphazardly thrown together defenses, huge firepits burning dry and wet wood logs alike, the smoke burning your eyes and the air thick and difficult to breathe. A warrior carrying twin axes on his back stopped them before entering, the approach from the mountain paths, almost completely unguarded. Or so it appeared. There were at least three thousand men packed around those fires, Lucius noticed, as the man led them to the biggest tent, the ground under their feet cleared and black. Hard as rock. ¡°Stay with our horses,¡± Lucius ordered Galio and the man nodded, eyes nervously scanning the many armed men watching them parade through their camp, all curious. Lucius pushed aside the hide opening, the smell of sweat and leather strong, when he walked inside with Roderick in tow, the sudden burst of warmth coming from the two braziers, placed on the side walls of the tent, thwarting. He removed the covering from his face and loosened his heavy coat¡¯s bindings, under the eyes of the three men present. Mixed bloods, skin raging from black to grey, hair a blend of red and white. Eyes a washed out blue for all of them. Two of the men wearing plate armor on their chests, chainmail underneath. The three-headed eagle prominently painted on them. The third, an older man, wore plain leather armour, hardened and iron rivet reinforced, had his white hair reaching his shoulders, much as the other two. He was the only one sitting behind a nicely crafted mahogany table. The brightly red lacquered furniture at odds with the adjacent atmosphere inside the large tent. ¡°He¡¯s armed,¡± The taller of the two spat, red hair over a black-skinned Issir face. The other man, grey-skin and white hair on a younger face moved to intercept him, when Lucius decided to approach the men. ¡°Stay back!¡± Roderick barked, over his shoulder. ¡°Else I cut ye down boy!¡± The mixed-blood Issir, not a surprise since the Crulls had been intermarrying with the Northmen for almost two centuries, clenched his jaw in anger. ¡°It¡¯s alright Hein,¡± The older man said, heavy accent marking him more a Northman, than an Issir, despite the color of his skin. ¡°See the coat of arms on him? That¡¯s a knight of Regia.¡± ¡°That¡¯s Sir Lucius Alden,¡± Roderick grunted, still eyeing the younger man. ¡°Heir to the Kingdom of Regia. King Alistair¡¯s firstborn.¡± He went overboard there, Lucius thought and pressed a smile on his lips, barely forming it. His beard now fully grown and rich, covering half his face. ¡°Well, then¡­¡± The older said looking around. ¡°I¡¯m afraid ye catch us, unprepared, Lord Alden.¡± He smacked his lips, nodded to the younger man to fetch a couple of goblets and a bottle of wine from a chest and created some room on that fine table, pushing some of the maps and reports aside. ¡°The hot-blooded one is Sir Hein, Lord Alden,¡± He explained, signing for them to approach him. ¡°The tall one, is Sir Reggy, my firstborn,¡± He tended a firm hand over the table. ¡°I¡¯m Lord Bart Crull. I¡¯ve fought alongside yer father,¡± Lord Bart glanced at Hein returning with the bottle and added. ¡°Sir Hein, dueled wit yer brother in Riverdor and lost.¡± The young knight offered a filled goblet. ¡°Beat me fair and square,¡± He said, as Lucius tasted the strong wine to hide his emotions. ¡°A great fighter. I¡¯m sorry for yer loss, milord.¡± ¡°Appreciate the kind words, Sir Hein,¡± Lucius managed to say, the memory of his late brother, the last thing he wanted haunting him with so much on the line. But he couldn¡¯t just push everything away. This wasn¡¯t how things worked in real life. Lord Bart seeing his discomfort grimaced. ¡°Yer father is well, I take it?¡± He asked, an obvious attempt to steer the conversation away. ¡°King Alistair, is as sturdy as ever,¡± Lucius said, breathing out. ¡°Pleased to hear it,¡± A small smile on the old lord¡¯s face. ¡°Tell him I sent him my regards, next ye see him.¡± ¡°I shall do that, Lord Bart.¡± The Lord of Eaglesnest, stared at the crude maps in front of him for a moment, deep in thought. ¡°Now, Lord Alden. I can¡¯t really offer much in the field, but should you continue to Eaglesnest, there will be quarters for you and yer men.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not here sightseeing, I¡¯m afraid, Lord Bart,¡± Lucius corrected him, keeping his tone even. ¡°I¡¯m looking for a man, named Dirk Curd. You might know him, as Devious Dirk.¡± He caught the stare exchanged between the old lord and Sir Reggy and stood back. Roderick behind him, shifted his weight from one foot to the other in tensed silence. ¡°Ah, Devious Dirk,¡± Lord Bart said, thumb rapping on the table¡¯s surface. ¡°Is it about the girl?¡± Lucius narrowed his eyes. ¡°She¡¯s here, Zofia.¡± Lord Bart snorted, another look exchanged between him and the frowning knight. ¡°O¡¯ Dargan¡¯s spawn is a prisoner, Lord Alden.¡± What? Lucius thought surprised. He quickly run through his mind all the possible routes available to him, before replying. ¡°I was tasked with escorting her, back to her father,¡± He started, voice clear and steady, not to betray his nervousness. ¡°My father wanted to negotiate a deal with Fetya.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure he did,¡± Lord Bart replied. ¡°And it is a noble assignment, for a knight¡ª¡± ¡°Curd took her from my camp using a ruse, Lord Bart,¡± Lucius interrupted him. ¡°I formally request, the girl to be released to my care.¡± ¡°However,¡± Lord Bart continued, disregarding his words. ¡°I¡¯ve already struck a deal for her, I¡¯m afraid.¡± Lucius blinked. ¡°Curd couldn¡¯t negotiate¡ª¡± ¡°But he did, Lord Alden,¡± Lord Bart cut him off abruptly, lips pressed tight. ¡°He struck a deal wit me. I need the girl.¡± ¡°Regia wants her returned immediately,¡± Lucius replied sternly, his blood boiling. ¡°I AM AT WAR!¡± Lord Bart growled, eyes firing up and smashed his fist on the table knocking one of the goblets down and spilling its contents on the ground. Red on black, Lucius noticed taking a step back. The color of frozen dirt and blood. ¡°Lucius,¡± Roderick said on his back, as he desperately tried to calm himself down, clenching and unclenching his own fists. He breathed once, sucking air through the nose and let it all out slowly, under the intense glare of the old lord and his sons. Find another way, his mind urged him feverishly. Don¡¯t let this devolve into chaos. You¡¯re inside a freaking warcamp! ¡°What do you need her for?¡± He chanced. Lord Bart sat back on his chair surprised. ¡°Father,¡± Sir Hein tried to say, plead in his voice, but he stopped him raising a hand. ¡°There will be an exchange on the morrow, a meeting of sorts before that to iron it out, at the marsh next to Wolvesbane Castle, near the river,¡± Lord Bart said. ¡°Is that the Montfoot leg?¡± Lucius asked. ¡°We call it the Montfoot Bridge here, Lord Alden. That part. Ye see, everythin¡¯ else, branches, legs and all, from hither to the accursed Abrakas Stone, are parts of the same Grand Ol¡¯ River.¡± Ludriver was his meaning, Lucius thought, a shiver running down his spine. Welcome to the goddamn North.
Old Lord Bart Crull had decided to stop the Northmen¡¯s advance there, the story goes. Provoke a fight, between the Grand Ol¡¯ River¡¯s easternmost branches and push ¡®Gangly¡¯ Steven O¡¯ Dargan¡¯s warriors back into its freezing waters. When he saw the Northmen though and their camp, he changed his mind. For the Jarl had given his firstborn almost six thousand men, (others say five thousand and five hundred) their ranks swollen with warbands responding to his call of freedom and the chance at the heavy plunder sure to follow. At least a couple of thousand more rushed from the nearby forts and burgs to provide for this ¡®city on the move¡¯. Those remained on the Northern side, just beyond the Montfoot Bridge, under ¡®Twotrees¡¯ McCloud and crossed it every day to carry supplies over to the men and the nearby, still not fully operational, Castle. Of the main body¡¯s six thousand warriors, ¡®Gangly¡¯ Steven had sent a thousand of them to guard his right flank out west, under Logan ¡®Gray¡¯ Barret and maintain control of the Midriver Bridge. Another five hundred, or a thousand, were send to Wolvesbane Castle to keep it under Fetya¡¯s control and to guard in turn the Montfoot Bridge further in the East. Those were as well, even though split by the river, part of Twotrees McCloud¡¯s command. It was a convoluted plan, what Lord Bart had set out to do; hotly disputed till this very day, almost twenty years later. The details vague, those involved either exonerated from history, or painted the most despicable of villains. In retrospect nobody won that day, as much as they had lost. - Lord Sirio Veturius Circa 206 NC The Fall of Heroes Chapter III (Lucius the Third, Northern Campaigns, Battle of the Bridges, Either late 3rd or early 4rth Month of Winter, 189 NC)
61. Carnage at the Bridges (2/4)
Lucius Carnage at the Bridges Part II (Screams in the wind)
Lucius glanced towards Roderick and the gaunt faced man, pressed his mouth in deep disapproval, turning old wrinkles into canyons. I can¡¯t turn back now old man, he decided. ¡°Have the Northmen agreed to a truce until then?¡± He asked the silently watching him Lord Bart Crull. ¡°For a day. Morrow that is,¡± The lord of Eaglesnest replied. ¡°Why would they though?¡± ¡°They¡¯ve been on campaign for over three months now,¡± Sir Reggy answered instead of his father. ¡°Sleeping in the mud wears thin on you, after a time.¡± Lucius wiped the sweat off of his forehead, the heat inside the tent almost suffocating. ¡°So you return O¡¯ Dargan¡¯s daughter and they stop.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a fool, Lord Alden,¡± Bart said, staring at a map he had in front of him showing troops positions. ¡°They¡¯ll never give up their gains without a fight.¡± ¡°Or for a girl.¡± Lord Bart grimaced. ¡°I¡¯m willing to talk.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll give up Wolvesbane Castle? That might do it,¡± Lucius probed, knowing it meant the Northmen would have a foothold in his territory, to use as a springboard for any future raids. ¡°The Castle is burned up. They put it to the torch,¡± The Crull patriarch said. ¡°But it can be rebuilt.¡± Lucius frowned, the reveal troubling. ¡°Why would they do that?¡± ¡°Retaliation,¡± He shrugged his shoulders. ¡°For what Lord Vanzon did to Ludr. What does it matter? They are savages my Lord, looking for an excuse to pillage and destroy. Yer father knew that well.¡± What did Vanzon do? Lucius wondered, ignoring his jab. A raid gone bad? Curd had mentioned something, but the man had been vague on the details. ¡°What will happen to her?¡± Lucius asked, still trying to find a way to get Zofia back, without getting too involved in local politics, and insert himself in a foreign kingdom''s affairs. Although he just couldn¡¯t see, how he could stay neutral and succeeding. ¡°If they accept the exchange; that is the woman for them retreating behind the river, she¡¯ll be with her father before the month ends.¡± ¡°And if they don¡¯t?¡± Lucius asked sternly. ¡°When the truce ends, we¡¯ll fight,¡± The aged Lord replied, something in his voice sounding off to the young Heir, but he couldn¡¯t place it, or figure out, what it was. ¡°What will happen after that it¡¯s anyone¡¯s guess.¡± ¡°When is the meeting?¡± Lucius asked. ¡°Early on the morrow.¡± ¡°Can I see her?¡± ¡°The woman?¡± Lord Bart, stared at his sons briefly. ¡°I can¡¯t chance it, my Lord. She¡¯s kept under lock and key. Ye lordship could escort her to the exchange, I suppose.¡± Lucius stood back, not expecting the suggestion. ¡°What are the terms?¡± ¡°Lucius,¡± Roderick protested. ¡°Captain Morris mercenaries will take her there,¡± He pointed at a spot between Wolvesbane Castle and the Montfoot Bridge. "I¡¯ll have more men watching from a discreet distance. They¡¯ll meet wit the Northmen, talk, surrender the girl, or not.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll trust mercenaries for this?¡± Lucius inquired, sensing Roderick seething behind him, not liking the idea at all. ¡°They work for me. Their contract is binding, Lord Alden,¡± Bart explained, a faint smile on his lips. ¡°It¡¯s how it is.¡± ¡°I thought they worked for Lord Vanzon,¡± Lucius probed. ¡°Yer lordship was misinformed. I bought them out.¡± Lord Bart countered, a nervous tick appearing on his left eye. Lucius nodded, not too convinced that he did, but unable to protest the matter further. ¡°You want me to accompany them,¡± He noted instead. Lord Bart stared at his creased hands, placed in front of him on the table, part of the map visible underneath. His answer coming surprisingly steady, Lucius thought. ¡°If ye so wish, Lord Alden. I found out early, ye can¡¯t keep a knight from fulfilling his quest.¡± Almost pleased.
They found Galio and the rest of their group, now consisting of Faustus, Kaeso and Mamercus, with injured Arrun, Canutia and the four mercenaries staying in Kas with the carriage and most of the animals for the winter. Lucius had decided to have them wait there, partly in case they had to return, but more so because he wanted to move faster and keep the woman out of harm¡¯s way. ¡°That¡¯s a bad idea,¡± Roderick griped, when they took the spots reserved for them near a hastily prepared fire pit, set up by Galio and the rest of the men. ¡°I don¡¯t like ¡®em Crulls. Lord Bart wasn¡¯t yer father¡¯s favorite, despite what that old fart said.¡± ¡°I need to make sure, Zofia is safe,¡± Lucius replied, pulling his heavy coat around him, the cold biting again after they left the commander¡¯s tent. ¡°If they make the exchange and she gets to reunite with her family, we will follow them and talk to her father. It¡¯s the best I can do.¡± Roderick sucked the side of his cheek in and perused the warriors walking around the camp for a while. He let it go audibly before speaking, his voice guarded. ¡°That¡¯s not what worries me. That¡¯s a lot of men angry and in great discomfort, freezing their arses off in this goddarn wilderness. A great number of ¡®em doin¡¯ the same exact thing in ¡®em woods. I don¡¯t see them packin¡¯ and going home, without letting some of this pent up frustration out. My point is, what happens if they don¡¯t agree to it?¡± ¡°You think, Lord Bart will need to give them more than the girl.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you?¡± Lucius nodded, trying to sit better on the cut log, he was using for a stool. ¡°I think he will have to eventually. But since they agreed to a truce, it means they are willing to talk.¡± ¡°Truces break all the time. Sometimes for no reason,¡± Roderick said. ¡°Not with Zofia¡¯s life on the line. Her brother will think it twice.¡± ¡°I would have preferred it, if the Jarl was here.¡± Lucius could agree with that and staring across the fire, where Galio was sitting, the old soldier¡¯s eyes examining the comings and goings of the camp, he asked. ¡°You think the Crulls can dislodge them?¡±This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. ¡°Lord Bart has to take the flanks, cut them off the bridges, milord. He needs to hold the center though and I don¡¯t know if what he has here is enough,¡± The sergeant replied, as if he had thought it through already. ¡°I would have expected him to gather more men. The Northmen¡¯s camp seemed bigger,¡± Lucius agreed. ¡°He might have left them back at Eaglesnest. Guard his rear,¡± Roderick suggested. ¡°If he loses here,¡± Lucius countered. ¡°That might come back to haunt him.¡± ¡°Aye that¡¯s a good point, plus where¡¯s the other son?¡± Roderick agreed with a frown. ¡°Sneaky fellow, hair a bright orange, Bas was the name I think. Remember him from the tournament. Whispering to his brother¡¯s ear.¡± ¡°Was he a knight?¡± Lucius probed. ¡°Maybe he left him at the rear.¡± ¡°Nah. He wasn¡¯t,¡± Roderick replied. ¡°And I wouldn¡¯t trust him to guard the women and children. That lad was a right killer. Every single one of them bastards are, but for Sir Hein.¡± ¡°Hmm. It¡¯s a little strange,¡± Lucius agreed, the fire lulling him to sleep, despite it being still too early. Not that they could see the sun over their heads. ¡°Why send the mercs with Zofia?¡± ¡°That whole keeping his men back, didn¡¯t sit right wit me,¡± Roderick commented. ¡°Yeah,¡± Lucius agreed. ¡°And them breaking their contract with Vanzon,¡± He shook his head in disbelief. ¡°They can¡¯t do that. No one will hire them again.¡± ¡°Aye,¡± Mamercus said, from where he was sitting. ¡°This sounds weird, milord.¡± ¡°Anyways, I¡¯ll catch some sleep,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°Wake me up as early as possible, Roderick.¡± The young Heir added and lowering his head until his chin touched his chest, he closed his eyes.
The sky had turned red, sun half-hidden behind pregnant clouds, when the next day came. A cold wind blew through the trees at the distance, swept over the plains and the marshes at the banks of the two rivers and froze the snow solid, turning the ground into stone. Lucius turned on his saddle, eyes sweeping over the lines of the Black Skulls mercenary company, heavily depleted from months of fighting and their near destruction under the Ridge. Around a hundred of them, perhaps a bit more, some still sporting wounds and their equipment worn out. He stopped to gaze at the figure of Zofia, wrapped in a heavy blanket, her face hidden under a hood and a touch of red hair visible underneath. She stood slumped next to Captain Morris, the man seeming even worse than he did the day before, his skin turning a sickly yellow and his eyes sunken under his iron nasal helm. ¡°That¡¯s a sorry lot,¡± Roderick commented, himself reedy and rucked as if he¡¯d aged ten years overnight, or hadn¡¯t slept at all. ¡°They are standing out of arrow¡¯s reach,¡± Lucius replied, with a final glance towards the woman. He meant Lord Bart¡¯s men, what appeared to be almost a thousand of them. A shocking number that had appeared on their rear, an hour after they had left the camp. Led by Sir Reggy, the knight visible atop his horse. ¡°But they seem able to move fast, I suppose.¡± ¡°That might deter the Northmen from slaughtering us outright and grabbing her,¡± Roderick said, crunching his mouth this way and that. ¡°Gods willing.¡± The Northmen, a host of almost five hundred, coming from Wolvesbane¡¯s Castle, armed and covered with thick coats made of wolf hides, were waiting for them to approach. The bridge barely visible in the background, streams of people and carts streaming behind the warriors, laden with supplies. Plenty of women and children mixed in, along some escorting warriors, created a caravan heading west towards the woods and the O¡¯ Dargan main army, to take advantage of the truce. Lucius blew at his hands, the humidity reaching everyone¡¯s bones and the night¡¯s cold unwilling to retreat and tried to make out the leading group of Northmen waiting. Three of them on horses. One warrior Lucius recognized immediately, the giant two-handed sword giving him away. ¡°That¡¯s McCloud,¡± He told Roderick and the old hand snorted. ¡°Can¡¯t say if that¡¯s good, or bad my Lord,¡± Roderick replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Lucius stopped his horse, ten meters from the Northmen and waited for the mercenaries to approach behind them on foot. The marshy terrain underneath had frozen overnight, mud turning hard and brittle. Stormbolt¡¯s iron hooves were heard clopping as it backtracked a little, before letting out a loud drawn out neigh, shooting white steam out of its nostrils. ¡°Whoa, boy,¡± Lucius eased him, as the large number of armed men reached them and stopped with a vibrant murmur escaping the men¡¯s mouths. ¡°There¡¯s more Northmen over the river,¡± Roderick commented. ¡°They might cross, the moment the last cart is inside the forest.¡± ¡°Aye,¡± Lucius replied and raised his face cover to greet Twotrees McCloud. The Northman seemed to recognize him and visibly relaxed on his horse, sharing words with the boy holding the reins. The ¡®boy¡¯ being Faye, her short bright red hair and striking blue hate-filled eyes giving her away on a second glance. Great, Lucius thought and turned on his saddle to look at Captain Morris, almost shocked to see the man visibly shaking. Was he ill? Why not stay behind? ¡°I can talk to them,¡± Lucius offered. ¡°I know the tall warrior. McCloud. Just let me handle this, Morris.¡± The mercenary Captain took a deep breath, a violent cough shuddering him whole and then gave him a look of despair. Although it wasn¡¯t just that, Lucius realized. ¡°Ye should have gone to Eaglesnest, milord,¡± Morris said, his voice despondent and Lucius sat back mystified at his strange behavior. He¡¯d have thought the experienced fighter would have more of a backbone, since it was fear that he read into his eyes. ¡°The Northmen asked us to send the girl over,¡± One of the mercenaries reported. The company¡¯s sergeant far as Lucius had managed to learn during their brief journey. The man had run the small distance to McCloud¡¯s group and returned, his face all flushed behind his unkempt beard. ¡°Tell them they need to clear their people, beyond the bridge,¡± Morris replied nervously. One of the Northmen had approached and the two men begun talking with each other, an uneasy feeling creeping up on the young Heir. Lucius glanced towards Roderick, but the old hand was watching the conversation unfolding to his left, so he glanced back towards Morris again, saw nothing there but the haunted look of a dead man walking and then his eyes were set on Zofia. She was shaking from the cold, despite being covered with a blanket, heavy hood over her head and Lucius could hear whispering. The woman was praying. Stormbolt shook his head, sensing his unease, but moved when Lucius squeezed his knees lightly and approached the Captain and his hostage. Lucius could see her chin, lips pressed tight now and her eyes shadowed by the hood. He realized, he couldn¡¯t really tell, if it was her. ¡°Where did we meet?¡± Lucius asked her casually, looking down and most of the nearby mercenaries stopped their murmuring to listen in. ¡°Milord,¡± Captain Morris said, but he stopped him with a wave of his right hand. ¡°Let her speak.¡± ¡°We met in Cartagen, my Lord,¡± She replied, her voice naught but a whisper. ¡°They will not retreat, Captain. They say, this land is Fetya now,¡± The sergeant reported anxiously, standing next to a solemn looking Northman warrior, about five meters from them. Both opposing forces quieted down to listen. Captain Morris wiped his blueish lips with a gloved hand. ¡°Is that their final word?¡± He asked his voice cracking, but loud enough to be heard. ¡°It is,¡± The Northman replied with a smirk. ¡°Send us Zofia now and we will declare this dance is over. Well, until the spring that is.¡± ¡°Very well.¡± Morris said stiffly, still looking at the confused Lucius. ¡°Captain, I request permission to deliver the prisoner!¡± The sergeant asked on que, clearly relieved there wouldn¡¯t be a fight. ¡°You can¡¯t,¡± Lucius said snapping out of it and reaching pushed the woman¡¯s hood back, spilling her red hair down, for all to see. Pretty face, small nose and sky-colored eyes, Lucius thought, with a furious look to the deflating mercenary captain. This wasn¡¯t Zofia. ¡°Captain? Can I deliver the prisoner¡­¡± The sergeant droned in the background, as Lucius focused on a distraught Morris. ¡°Where is she?¡± He barked angry as all hells, Stormbolt turning his head excited, the animal''s whole body following. Lucius had to pull hard at the reins to stop his stallion from trampling the mercenary over. Roderick spun his head, the moment he heard his words; ghastly surprise on his face, turning to alarm in the span of a second. ¡°Lord Bart wanted my Black Skulls and Vanzon¡¯s help,¡± Morris blurted out, sweat beads on his sickly pale forehead turning to ice, as soon as they formed. ¡°He offered the girl in exchange, milord.¡± ¡°Ora''s hell does that mean?¡± Lucius lashed out, not wanting to accept the implications of the captain¡¯s words, a murmur rising from the lines of the men in front of him, more coming from behind. But it was the wind, blowing over the distant treeline carrying screams and the clanging of sharpened blades on armour, though greatly muffled and distorted, still unmistakable to the experienced ear¡­ that unveiled, what had happened. ¡°We need to go!¡± Roderick grunted fear in his voice, seeing him reeling on the saddle, his eyes going from the crying redhead to Morris and then to the leading Northman group. Twotrees had a frown on his face, alarmed at that same distant clamor brought by the wind. It was as if thousands of men were clashing, more than a kilometer away. ¡°For Uher¡¯s sake, Lucius!¡± ¡°Give us Zofia!¡± Twotrees McCloud bellowed, steel in his voice, before he¡¯d the chance to answer and not two feet from him Morris cursed Uher, pulled a long thin knife from his waist and sliced the woman¡¯s neck open. Burgundy blood gushed out, it splashed Stormbolt¡¯s broad chest as he reared up in panic and almost threw Lucius down. The Northmen roared as one in disbelief, most of the mercenaries looking stupefied at the woman collapsing in a pool of her own blood, gasping in vain, while spasms racked her body. "What did you do?" ¡°Apologies milord,¡± Morris said. ¡°Vanzon, has my family.¡± ¡°THEY KILLED HER!¡± Someone yelled, behind him. ¡°AVENGE LUDR!¡± ¡°THEY BROKE THE TRUCE!¡± Yelled another and Lucius pulling hard at the reins, finally saw Lord Bart¡¯s plan fully. He''d used the time earned from a quiet flank under the flag of truce, to sneak attack both in the center and perhaps on the other flank with everything he had, catching the Northmen out of position, their lines riddled with civilians. In the time they¡¯ve spent figuring out the ruse of the poor slain girl impersonating Zofia¡­ The Battle of the Bridges had begun.
62. Carnage at the Bridges (3/4)
It is widely accepted now that Lord Vanzon, enraged at the loss of his older son Aart, assaulted the Midriver Bridge first and right at dawn, or thereabouts, breaking the truce everyone had agreed upon the previous day. He used more than two thousand fresh recruits for it, drawn from Krakenhall¡¯s Navy crew reserves and around eight hundred of his own fighters. This haphazardly patched together force was amassed at Ludriver Castle, crossed the massive stone Ludriver Bridge over the main branch of the river the previous day, took the northeastern route without pausing to rest and reached Midriver Bridge late in the evening before the battle. They burst out of the foggy frozen marshes like Ora¡¯s demons and overwhelmed Logan ¡®Gray¡¯ Barret¡¯s patrols on their side of the river. A large portion of them attacked the bridge defenders next and caught them somewhat by surprise. Logan¡¯s force was a thousand strong, situated last and westernmost in the line of supply coming from the forces beyond the Montfoot Bridge and hadn¡¯t yet gotten bogged down with civilians and laden carts drawn by beasts of burden, so early in the morning. Due to this fact and Logan¡¯s known level-headed approach to campaigning, the men were ready and rushed to defend the shieldwall holding back almost a thousand Issir fighters of the first wave. In half an hour, a hundred Issirs were slain for less than half the amount of Northmen and slowly but surely, they were beaten back, losing another fifty injured or drown in the river¡¯s freezing waters. Lord Vanzon¡¯s forces attacked twice more without pause to give time for the defenders to recover. The second assault lasted longer, the casualties heavy on both sides, but again Logan¡¯s now properly forewarned fighters, proved impossible to dislodge and push away from the bridge. The Issir cadets, poorly trained for prolonged land battle, were hurled back and butchered in great numbers, when they tried to run away. At the tail end of what was to be a magnificent and heroic win for Logan ¡®Gray¡¯ Barret, surely sang for years around fires, when people would recount his story, the Crull force appeared on their rear. Bas Crull, the youngest son of Lord Bart, had managed to slip with eight hundred men undetected in the dark, through the lulled into a false sense of security Northmen patrols of their army¡¯s main body and flank them, crawling like wraiths at the edges of the forest in the ice-covered mud, hugging the east bank of the river the whole night and lay in wait half-frozen for their chance. He lost fifty men due to the cold, before the fight even started. Some poor souls turning into solid blocks of ice overnight. When they charged on the preoccupied with the battle on the Bridge Northmen though, Bas knew he¡¯d won the roll of the dice. Logan split his force in half to face this new danger, managed to block them from overwhelming his force briefly, but not twenty minutes into the assault, Lord Vanzon sent his regular fighters in from the other side and they assaulted the worn out men left to defend the Bridge again ferociously. Some say it was Vanzon¡¯s men that broke through first, others credit Bas. Whatever the case may be, Logan knew he¡¯d lost and tried to pull his remaining men back, in a fighting retreat towards the main body. Alas, what started as an organized and coherent withdrawal, turned quickly into a bloodbath and more Northmen were killed running away, than fighting back. Logan himself was presumed lost, along with the majority of his force. Two hours after dawn, the Jarl¡¯s men had lost Midriver Bridge and the flank was open. Lord Sirio Veturius Circa 206 NC The Fall of Heroes Chapter III (Lucius the Third, Northern Campaigns, Battle of the Bridges, Either late 3rd or early 4rth Month of Winter, 189 NC)
Lucius Carnage at the Bridges Part III (A matter of choice)
¡°THIS WASN¡¯T ZOFIA!¡± Lucius bellowed, his voice hoarse, but loud enough to be heard from most of the men near him and the closest of the Northmen. He turned to the bewildered rider that had approached to deliver McCloud¡¯s demands and stared him in the eyes sternly. ¡°Go tell Twotrees, I Lucius Alden, vouch for this. This man,¡± He pointed at the clearly sick and trembling Morris, his voice rising even more, as most had quieted down to hear him. ¡°Has just killed an innocent woman! What have you got to say, in your defense?¡± The Captain of the Black Skulls swallowed, with a grimace of pain, his shoulders sinking. ¡°Just do, what ye got to do, milord.¡± Lucius turned Stormbolt and walked him near the mercenary. ¡°Baker Morris, by the power bestowed upon me, by the Five and the crown of Regia, I sentence you to death,¡± He announced without an ounce of pity and unsheathing his sword, swung it hard and caught him bellow the chin almost taking his head off. Morris dropped to his knees, blood spurting in gushes and died drowning in his own blood. The mercenaries recoiled at the violence, some reaching for their weapons, but most were too numb from the events to react. A collective murmur rose though from both camps. ¡°My lord,¡± The sergeant tried to say, but he stopped him with an impatient wave, sensing his own people led by Roderick flanking him. ¡°You¡¯ve been lied to,¡± Lucius growled staring at the agitated mercenaries. ¡°Led here to be slaughtered like cattle, just like this woman. Sold out from your Captain and Lord Bart. Your contract is null and void. I¡¯m offering you, a new one. You know who I am. Work for me. If this is not what you want, you¡¯re free to fight for Lord Bart and pray the Northmen over there don¡¯t kill you all, before his men arrive.¡± ¡°Lucius,¡± Roderick whispered, after the men started groveling with each other. ¡°What is your plan, son?¡± ¡°Lord Bart wanted us killed as well,¡± Lucius replied, his jaw clenched hard. His mind working desperately to work out a solution. In the distance Sir Reggy watched, but hadn¡¯t started to move yet. He had ten minutes, fifteen at the most, he thought, as his eyes set on the Sergeant. ¡°Sergeant, you¡¯re in charge of the company,¡± He barked and the man snapped out of the lively conversation he had, with several of the older mercenaries, mostly revolving about their pay and not their slain commander. ¡°Milord, I¡¯m not the senior¡ª¡± ¡°Who then?¡± Lucius snapped, cutting him off. Everyone was listening now. ¡°That would be Jake Tanner, but he was killed in Kas. I don¡¯t know,¡± The man stumbled through his words, under the scrutiny of his colleagues. ¡°Perhaps a vote¡ª¡± ¡°There¡¯ll be no vote. Veturius!¡± Lucius ordered furious. ¡°Milord!¡± The old sergeant replied, standing protectively on his right flank atop his own horse. ¡°Galio Veturius, I hereby reinstate your rank in the Legion,¡± Lucius said brusquely. ¡°Since this isn¡¯t the Legion, I name you Captain of these men, effective immediately. Any objections?¡±Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. ¡°None, milord!¡± Captain Veturius replied lively, booming voice covering the few protests from the mercenaries. ¡°What are your orders, sir?¡± ¡°Keep them in line,¡± Lucius retorted and turned his horse. ¡°I¡¯m going to talk with the Northmen.¡± Roderick caught up with him, Galio already putting the fear of Uher into the mercenaries, while he explained they were commandeered by the Heir of Regia and any objection to his command would be a direct insult to him and King Alistair. ¡°What do you need them for?¡± The old hand asked through his teeth. ¡°There¡¯s a war going on. It just caught up with us, whether we like it, or not,¡± Lucius replied, taking a deep breath, his eyes on Twotrees McCloud, talking with his own men. Everyone seemed on edge and worried about what was happening on the main camp. Lucius remembered the caravan of supplies and civilians, he witnessed earlier and frowned. This isn¡¯t going to be easy. In fact, he wasn¡¯t sure, if they were going to make it at all. ¡°We need men and to pick a side.¡± ¡°You will side with the Northmen?¡± Roderick¡¯s glare, didn¡¯t deter him. ¡°Bart gave Zofia to Lord Vanzon. Harbored the killer that abducted her and broke the truce today. In the same breath, he sent us here to get killed amidst the chaos. Am I wrong?¡± Roderick crooked his mouth, as if he¡¯d tasted something sour. ¡°Yer father¡ª¡± ¡°My father isn¡¯t here, old man,¡± Lucius cut him before he¡¯d finished. ¡°I promised to return the girl, it¡¯s true. But I¡¯ve promised to right wrongs, before that, when I took my oaths. These men are criminals. I can¡¯t condone this!¡± Roderick sighed. ¡°Aye, they are. I reckoned they were, long before ye came here, Lord Alden. You¡¯ve just made them your enemies.¡± Lucius scoffed at his words. ¡°They were my enemies from the start. King Alistair wanted Fetya on Regia¡¯s side. If I failed Zofia and she¡¯s gone, I shan¡¯t fail him in that.¡± He pulled at the reins to stop Stormbolt, before the expecting and imposing figure of Twotrees McCloud. ¡°You¡¯ll have my back, old man?¡± He asked out of the side of his mouth. Roderick sighed deeply and shook his weathered head, before replying. ¡°Wit my dying breath, Lucius.¡±
Twotrees had tied his long hair back, rich lion¡¯s mane having grey spots here and there and had plate covering his broad chest, forearm guards spiked at the elbow. His dark-green colored eyes questioning over a scrunched square jaw. Man and horse stood a head above everyone else in that small group of Northmen, the shortest of them being a seething Faye, atop her brown mare. ¡°Lord Alden, ye claimed Zofia was wit you,¡± The named warrior said, his tone cautionary. ¡°Ye are here today, yet she is not apparently. Care to explain?¡± ¡°Dirk Curd betrayed me and grabbed her from my camp, after the duel,¡± Lucius replied keeping his eyes on the larger man. ¡°This poor soul wasn¡¯t her, as you rightly noticed. All this was a ruse set up by Lord Bart. He fooled me, same as you.¡± ¡°Is Zofia dead then?¡± Twotrees McCloud probed, with a smack of his lips. ¡°Devious Dirk ain¡¯t exactly known for his mercy.¡± ¡°The truth of it is, I don¡¯t know. On my word of honor, McCloud. Bart used her to recruit Vanzon into this fight. I believe they are attacking your army, right as we speak,¡± Lucius replied and the mounted Northmen closer that heard him, repeated his words back to their friends, until their camp was almost in uproar. ¡°Quiet them down! Send a man to call on those guarding both sides of the Bridge,¡± McCloud ordered one of his lieutenants and the man galloped back to calm the riled up lines of fighters. Then he turned to Lucius again. ¡°A ruse ye say, and it makes sense. Why are they not attacking?¡± ¡°I bought off their contract. They were aggrieved by their previous employer,¡± Lucius explained. ¡°How about Bart¡¯s men? I can see them from here,¡± Twotrees noted, crooking his mouth. ¡°They¡¯ll go for this Bridge. They¡¯re just waiting for an opportunity. If they manage to take them both, Stag¡¯s Doab will turn into a giant trap,¡± Lucius warned him. ¡°I must help the main army,¡± McCloud said. ¡°He¡¯s lying!¡± Faye snapped, unable to keep calm much longer. ¡°Do not trust him.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not lying,¡± Lucius hissed, furious at the insult, glaring at her. ¡°Your hatred is blinding you woman!¡± ¡°Aye, hatred it is. Ye killed both me brothers,¡± Faye replied, youthful face difficult to be mistaken for a boy¡¯s from up close. ¡°Ye expect me to bed yer arse, milord?¡± ¡°Faye for fuck¡¯s sake, shut yer mouth girl!¡± Twotrees barked at her. ¡°It was a duel,¡± Lucius defended himself, although he could understand the young woman¡¯s side very well. Ralph had died in a duel and he hated the Cofol Prince for it. ¡°Your brother pressed for it.¡± ¡°Bah,¡± Faye grunted and clicked her tongue to turn her horse away. ¡°Right,¡± McCloud said with a grimace. He glanced towards the scarce trees that later turned into a forest, white trunks sprouting out of the hard ground, with more density about a hundred meters from the south bank of the Montfoot and its Bridge. ¡°Well, I must take those men and try ¡®n help Gangly Steven, or failing that keep this corridor open for them to retreat.¡± Lucius looked back towards the still silently watching Issirs of Sir Reggy. More than four hundred meters away. They hadn¡¯t moved at all, which meant they were waiting for the Northmen to choose. Stay and defend the bridge, or move west following the bank of the river and enter the edges of the forest to provide a route of escape for the main army and its civilians. ¡°You need to defend the bridge,¡± He advised and Twotrees snorted as a reply. ¡°The army is lost, McCloud.¡± ¡°These are my friends, Lord Alden,¡± Twotrees replied, a harshness that wasn¡¯t there previously in his voice. ¡°Brothers and sisters, wives and offspring¡¯s. I will split the force here, take half wit me and help Gangly Steven and ¡®Gray¡¯ Logan break out.¡± He stooped to the side and spat down. ¡°It is what it is.¡± ¡°The moment you leave, Reggy will attack,¡± Lucius argued desperately. ¡°The men will hold,¡± Twotrees insisted. No they bloody won¡¯t! ¡°Ah,¡± Lucius cried out in frustration. Roderick saw him reeling, eyes scanning the terrain and the faces of the men standing in line waiting for them to finish their talk. Turned around and examined Galio¡¯s mercenaries as well, less in number and of questionable morale, but fresh and experienced troops. ¡°My Lord,¡± Roderick said, understanding what he was thinking, ¡°Ye need more men.¡± ¡°They just might be enough,¡± Lucius replied, decision made. ¡°Captain Veturius!¡± He bellowed, voice cracking at the end, his throat tired and the bitter cold not helping. ¡°Bring the men here, post haste!¡± ¡°Lord Alden, what is the meaning of this?¡± Twotrees asked him suspiciously. ¡°This is me, helping your arse,¡± Lucius retorted in a non-nonsense kind of a way. ¡°Tell the men you¡¯ll leave behind to answer to me. The more you leave the better. I will hold the bridge for you.¡± McCloud and a couple of his lieutenants were taken aback at the offer. Lucius sighed seeing their window of opportunity rapidly closing. ¡°Do it now, and get surprised later. Time is of the bloody essence! Remember, warn Gangly to retreat as soon as possible. Forget honor. This is not a battle we can win.¡± ¡°LORD LUCIUS IS IN CHARGE!¡± Twotrees bellowed unsheathing that great sword of his, the blade a striking silver and raised it high. ¡°Rest of you follow me!¡± ¡°Tell them to create an inverted crescent, a hundred meters from the bridge,¡± Lucius told Roderick the moment they pulled away to go meet with Calio¡¯s mercenaries that approached them on foot. ¡°Leave the center to the Northmen, let our men guard the flanks.¡± ¡°What are you going to do?¡± Roderick asked. ¡°Find myself a cavalry, or a lot of fleet-footed fighters,¡± Came Lucius tensed reply. ¡°I think Reggy must have figured out, what is going on by now.¡± As if on que, Sir Reggy¡¯s forces started moving, stiffly at first as if the men¡¯s limbs were numb from the morning cold, but they¡¯d gotten their rhythm back a few strides in and the whole mass of a thousand men, a hundred at the front and ten lines in, marched on the mixed Northmen, Lorian and even Issir forces, Lucius and his friends were a part of.
Lord Bart¡¯s forces led by Sir Hein Crull attacked the main Northern camp early in the morning. The skies had a red color at first, turned a deathly purple, when the clouds thickened. Some say the sun never came up. They took advantage of the confusion, carts laden with supplies amidst the lines, unprepared fighters with their spouses, companions, even hapless children caught by surprise and cut a bloody swath through the warcamp. As soon as the Northmen fought back though, Sir Hein pulled his men in a brilliant maneuver. Not everyone subscribes to this version of events. Others believe ¡®Gangly¡¯s¡¯ men fought back heroically and pushed the attackers out of their camp. This gave time to the civilians to retreat hastily towards the Montfoot Bridge. This again, is disputed. More than two hundred Northmen were killed on that first assault, half of that Issirs, but the battle quickly turned into a bloody scrap amidst the trees, a disorganized melee that gave the Northmen the upper hand due to their savagery, at least until brave Bas Crull appeared on their western flank. Around the same time on the east flank of the huge battlefield, sprawling the entirety of Stag¡¯s Doab from river to river; Twotrees McCloud, in another bizarre decision, left the traitor Lucius of Regia in charge of a meagre force to hold the vital Montfoot Bridge and took as many men with him as he could, to break that fool ¡®Gangly¡¯ Steven O¡¯ Dargan out of the trap, he¡¯d fallen into. The tales of bravery and savagery that followed are remembered till this day. Lady Sanne Crull, the ¡®Crone of Eaglesnest¡¯ Lost Victories Circa 200 NC
63. Carnage at the Bridges (4/4)
Lucius Carnage at the Bridges Part IV (Equal trade)
Uher keeps us, Lucius prayed seeing the first line of Issir warriors smash on the Northmen¡¯s shieldwall. People yelled, fighters were shoved back onto the shields of their friends, weapons clanging as they struck metal and a savage and wild racket filled the air, mixed in with fear and the smell of piss. He kicked his legs on the stirrups and galloped behind the mass of friendly troops towards the edge of the line where half the mercenaries stood, Galio barking orders to those armed with javelins to stay back and wait for their chance, else he¡¯d kill them with his bare hands. It was a weird sort of encouragement. Stormbolt neighed and made to rear, scared from the ruckus and the smell of blood, head veering left hard as the animal tried to turn away, black eyes wide as saucers and thick froth covering its mauve lips. Lucius kept his hold on the reins firm and led the horse where his ¡®cavalry¡¯ waited for him. Twenty in all. ¡°That¡¯s all the horses,¡± Roderick yelled appalled at the number, voice hoarse. ¡°Not even half of them wit spears!¡± ¡°Can you charge?¡± Lucius asked the first Northman, hefting a long shafted axe. ¡°Don¡¯t have to,¡± The man replied, a grin on his mouth and red-beard dancing underneath. ¡°How about you?¡± The young Heir probed the next one in line. A youth looking barely fifteen, hefting an old sword tight. ¡°No, milord. But I can fight!¡± He declared all proud, not a single strand of hair on his face. Goddarn it, Lucius thought, realizing most of the rest were his age. ¡°Roderick, pull some mercenaries from the line. With spears. Anyone that¡¯d squired in his youth.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not giving up my horse!¡± Faye snapped and he spotted her round almost shorn red head, popping up behind the boys. ¡°Keep it,¡± Lucius yielded with a grunt. ¡°Just do what I say.¡± ¡°Twotrees is a fool for trusting ye,¡± Faye spat with a glare. Oh boy. ¡°I¡¯ll make you an offer,¡± Lucius countered. ¡°What kind?¡± The fiery young woman asked, suspicion written all over her pretty face. It troubled Lucius that he¡¯d noticed it. The pretty part. He sighed and saw Roderick and Butter returning with half a dozen spear carrying warriors following him on foot. ¡°Help me win this today,¡± Lucius told the scowling Faye, hint of a smile on his lips. ¡°Hate me tomorrow.¡± Faye blinked, taken aback. ¡°Listen up!¡± Lucius said rising up on the saddle, loud enough to be heard above the clamor of battle at the center of their line, further to his left. ¡°Lord Bart wants us all dead. Northmen and Black Skulls alike. We bury our differences here, today!¡± He pointed at the quivering lines of Issirs encouraging their colleagues to move forward, half of it shoving, the rest curses. The tail end of their formation had started reforming, as one line and then a second were pulled to assault the Northmen¡¯s flank, guarded by the Black Skulls. A hundred each. ¡°There¡¯s the real enemy,¡± Lucius yelled at the top of his hurting lungs now, passion in his voice, and the last part a proper tiger¡¯s roar. ¡°BURY THEM INSTEAD!¡±
The moment the first four lines of Issir warriors made contact with the Northmen¡¯s shields, almost six hundred men of their long column following behind them, were left without a target. Men started spilling out of the remaining six lines mostly towards the burned out and unprotected Wolvesbane Castle on their eastern flank. Those running up the slight slope to reach it, forgetting about the battle raging behind them, were locals for the most part. Men that had run away from their home almost a month back, when Gangly¡¯s warriors had arrived. Sir Reggy Crull realizing the danger of losing control of his men, pulled the last two lines out of the column, around two hundred men, split them up equally and ordered them to charge the Northmen¡¯s, by now fixed in place shieldwall, from both sides. Half-way there, the two new groups of Issirs were assaulted en route, by Black Skull mercenaries coming out of the Northmen¡¯s folding outwards flanks. Sir Reggy had lost track of them after the start of the battle, but had assumed erroneously they had fled, after being left leaderless, beyond the river. It proved to be a costly, but reasonable oversight; in a day almost all other Lord Bart¡¯s pre-battle plans had worked.
¡°Lucius!¡± Roderick growled seeing him stalling, an eye on the chaos unfolding where the shieldwall stood, a hundred men in length and almost three lines deep, the other beyond it, where Faustus¡¯ group of mercenaries were waiting for his message to reach them. He¡¯d tasked young Philon and his mount with the job. ¡°NOW!¡± Lucius ordered, seeing the mercenaries on the other flank looping around the shieldwall they¡¯d hidden behind until now, with Galio repeating his order twice as loud, and the first javelins already flying towards the onrushing detached Issir force a second later. ¡°RIDERS ON ME!¡± Lucius bellowed and clicked his tongue to start Stormbolt going. He galloped in an oblique route watching Galio and the mercenaries counter-charge their opponents over his left shoulder. His heart thundered wild in his chest, the rhythm of his stallion¡¯s hooves on the icy terrain alike drums of war, ears ringing and the cold while present, momentarily forgotten. Here¡¯s my sword, Lucius thought as he led Stormbolt the final meters before reaching the disorganized rear of their enemies. His heavy warspear broke on impact, sharp tip and half-a-shaft going through a soldier¡¯s torso from the side, penetrating his mail armour under his left armpit, lifting the hapless man up off of his feet and carrying him briefly, while traveling through his vital organs and exiting out of the other. The man disappeared under Stormbolt¡¯s hooves, when the shaft broke and Lucius hurled the part he¡¯d still held, on a short man hefting a nasty halberd five meters away, kicking his legs to force Stormbolt to power through. The short, yellow-teethed Issir, saw the projectile coming for his head and made to swat it away with his cumbersome weapon, one panicked eye on the charging right behind it Lucius.
Men collided with each other, swords stopping on shields, or slipping through and biting armour and flesh. People started screaming almost immediately, limbs were severed, faces mauled and blood started painting the ground under their feet. The Issirs not expecting the charge, reeled back shocked, losing almost fifty men in less than five minutes, especially on their west flank, which was nearest to the woods and Lucius riders caught them on the sides, when they tried to run towards Wolvesbane Castle.
Lucius swung his longsword in an outwards arch, blade starting low facing the ground and ending up painted a bright red pointing to the heavens. It sliced his opponent open from groin to chest, the wound catastrophic. The man, mouth opening and closing in stunned silence, felt his bloody inwards spill down between his legs, pieces of his lungs on top of the steaming gory mess. Stormbolt galloped right past him strong, pushing two Issirs aside and to the ground, another losing an arm at the elbow, as Lucius broke through their retreating lines the rest of the riders on his back. Most of them that is. ¡°LET THEM RUN!¡± Lucius bellowed to those still with him, amidst the chaos behind Sir Reggy¡¯s main body of soldiers still duking it out at the shieldwall. ¡°Roderick take them and charge their backs, before they collapse our wall!¡± He ordered and turned his horse the other way, where he¡¯d caught sight of Sir Reggy¡¯s entourage. ¡°What are you goin¡¯¡ª¡± Roderick cried on his back, but Lucius was already pushing Stormbolt into a fast gallop away from them. Sir Reggy saw him breaking through and pushed his helm cover down, the sculpted eagle wings on both sides of his helm shaking as if coming alive, when he kicked his legs to come at him. One of his mounted men tossed him a warspear and he caught it with a hand deftly without pause. Oh crap, Lucius thought and pulled at the reins and came to a stop, seeing the crucial flaw in his plan. He looked about him, saw that several bodies lay here and there, most in dark pools of cooling blood, not all of them completely dead and not a spear in sight. ¡°Hey Alden!¡± Faye yelled from behind him and he turned on the saddle to glare at the young woman approaching on her bloodied mare. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Lucius inquired, frustration radiating off of him in waves and the redhead tossed him the warspear she carried with a snort, putting an end to that. He caught it with his left hand, almost losing the grip, his broken fingers not yet fully healed. Faye Numbers raised a crimson brow, not impressed. ¡°Helpin¡¯ yer arse win,¡± She said matter-of-factly, just before Sir Reggy charged him.
Reggy came at him riding fast, bobbing on the saddle and Lucius turned his torso hard the last moment, the steel tip of the spear punching through his plate, cutting his quilted woolen gambeson, then his flesh and opening a wound at his side a handbreadth in size. Lucius growled in pain, his body almost toppling from the saddle as Stormbolt blasted past his opponent, his own spear striking the armoured knight at the left shoulder destroying the plate there, but failing to drop him. Lucius clenched his teeth hard, tasting blood in his mouth, saw a blade coming at him through the cover slits and ducked his head on instinct, catching it at the conned hardened part of his helm. He felt the ring to his very bones, eyes tearing and the ground dancing underneath. Stormbolt cut left hard on his own and charged the third rider from the side. The man saw him coming and pulled hard at the reins, while trying to turn his body and spear towards him. The shaft banged his horse right at the ear, the attempt an utter failure and Lucius who¡¯d traversed the last ten meters completely out of it, came about just in time to raise his spear, before horse and rider crashed on his stupefied opponent. The steel tip caught the unlucky squire right in the face, next to the nose-guard and exploded out the back of his head, but it was the sound of his poor horse¡¯s ribs breaking, when Stormbolt crashed on it, impossibly loud over the clamor of battle that sickened Lucius the most. ¡°Gah,¡± Lucius coughed and slipped down from the saddle, as the tremendous impact had rattled him and he was bleeding from the side a good deal. He landed on his good leg and almost went down right there, but saw Faye taking on an injured Reggy and his squire by herself and put a fist on the hard ground to stop himself. He lifted his visor to breathe and slowly got up and unsheathed his sword. He patted the rattled Stormbolt once on the shoulder for comfort and walked slowly towards the mounted group fighting it out, his left leg dragging a little. ¡°Sir Reggy!¡± Lucius called out and spat once to clear his mouth. ¡°Here¡¯s your prize!¡± The injured knight, left shoulder painted red, the plate there wrapped and torn, turned his way. ¡°Lucius Alden,¡± Lord Bart¡¯s firstborn said and pulled away from Faye, leaving her to his squire. ¡°Why in Uher¡¯s name are ye helping the Northern scum?¡± ¡°Cut the crap,¡± Lucius admonished him. ¡°You knew. Where¡¯s Zofia?¡± Sir Reggy tried to move his left arm, but a shudder stopped him. He climbed down from his horse though, sword in his other hand. ¡°O¡¯Dargan¡¯s spawn,¡± He spat, vitriol in his voice. ¡°Antoon ordered her arrested, Lucius.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t answer to him,¡± Lucius replied, testing his sword blade. ¡°Nor do I wage war on women. Where is she?¡± ¡°You¡¯re a fool and a traitor,¡± Sir Reggy said. ¡°I should¡¯ve killed ye in the camp.¡± ¡°You can still try,¡± Lucius taunted and stepped away from his furious surprise attack aimed for his uncovered face, his knee smarting, but holding. The blade missed him and Lucius snapped his catching the knight on the chest, scrapping his plate and pushing him back. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. Sir Reggy recovered with a curse and went for his head again, but Lucius pushed the blade aside, parried the return and sidestepping to the right, attacked Sir Reggy¡¯s exposed leg. The sharp blade cutting through mail and his hard-leather pants, just where his plate ended. ¡°Aargh, curse you!¡± Sir Reggy cried and hobbled away. Lucius advanced on him without replying, set on finishing this quick. He parried a half-hearted attack away, and opened another wound on Sir Reggy¡¯s right wrist disarming him. ¡°Yield,¡± Lucius demanded, resting his blade below his opponent¡¯s chin. Sir Reggy slapped it away. ¡°You lying scum! Pretendin¡¯ you¡¯re holier than thou,¡± He pushed his face cover up, fury in his eyes. ¡°Everyone knows you killed yer own wife! And this¡­¡± He looked about the battlefield. ¡°Huh, you¡¯re on the losing side.¡± You think ye won? Macia had said. That it is over? Lucius turned his head left, saw Roderick amidst the rattled Issirs, mercenaries on his side. The Northmen pushing forward, the shieldwall holding, but the Issirs too many to dislodge. Despite their losses and the fact many had broken and run away towards Wolvesbane Castle, enough were left to continue what was now a bloody brawl, with no more cards to play. It could go either way, he thought, pushing the rotten memories aside. Faye was standing in his field of view, a strange look on her face. He expected hatred, but it looked more like disgust. She heard him, Lucius thought and it hurt him that look in her eyes. ¡°I didn¡¯t kill¡ª¡± Lucius started to say and Faye¡¯s eyes opened wide with fear. He turned on instinct, the dagger Sir Reggy had produced catching him on the vambrace; sparks flying as it scratched the metal. Lucius sword reached the knight first on the return, before his dagger made it half way. The edge sliced open Sir Reggy¡¯s neck; nothing but a simple flick of the wrist and the knight dropped to his knees, blood pouring down his chest, painting the plate red. People came out of the woods right at that moment. Women and children first, coming in large groups, some warriors following right behind. Then came the Issirs. Hundreds of them.
Lord Vanzon''s men pouring through Midriver Bridge attacked the main army the stories say, at Gangly Steven¡¯s great surprise. Bas Crull though went straight for the other bridge, following the retreating civilians. His men broke into smaller groups and slaughtered indiscriminately everything in their path. Just before the forest gave away to the frozen marsh of the Montfoot, Twotrees McCloud tried to stop him, but gotten overwhelmed instead, as Bas forces while disorganized at the time, were five times the size of his and was smashed. What had started as a fiercely contested battle now turned into a senseless slaughter. The Northmen broke and run, with some fighting to the bitter end. This panicked crowd of civilians and warriors, with remnants of the main force mixed in, burst out the forest, running for their lives towards the last hope they had to escape a merciless enemy. The Bridge on the Montfoot.
¡°They¡¯re pulling away, milord!¡± Galio reported and Lucius watched as most of the remaining Sir Reggy¡¯s force gathered near Wolvesbane Castle, giving the defenders a much needed breather. The Issirs had retreated the moment word of Reggy Crull¡¯s death had spread, but hadn¡¯t left as the Northmen, still outnumbered at least three to one, couldn¡¯t give chase and the Issirs could see their own soldiers appearing at the edges of the forest, hunting the retreating Northmen. ¡°They¡¯ll come back,¡± Lucius said, walking stiffly before what remained of the Black Skulls company. He¡¯d split his force again, the moment he got a breather. They had retreated towards the bridge¡¯s mouth and Lucius had arranged the Northmen to guard the southeastern approach to it, coming from Wolvesbane Castle, now firmly under the control of Lord Bart¡¯s men. The rest, mostly the sixty or so mercenaries, he had them face obliquely towards Stag Doab¡¯s woods, leaving a five meter wide corridor on their right flank, bordering the pregnant waters of Montfoot, for the survirors to pass through and head for the bridge inside this hundred meters in breadth semi-circle. The battlefield had shrunk spectacularly in less than an hour. ¡°We should get over the Montfoot,¡± Roderick suggested. They were all on foot and had left Mamercus back to guard their animals, next to the wooden bridge¡¯s south end. ¡°They¡¯ll kill them all Roderick,¡± Lucius said, wiping his blade with a piece of dirty cloth. ¡°The more we save here, the stronger our position.¡± Roderick shook his head. ¡°Ah, son. They¡¯ll kill us too, if ye give ''em the chance.¡± Lucius nodded and walked away, heading towards what remained of his ¡®cavalry¡¯ force at the end of their loose shieldwall, now on foot as well, since most of their mounts had been slain. All the animals, were either over the bridge already, or dead. Faye stood there, watching as people burst out of the trees and run desperately towards the opening in the Black Skulls line and salvation. They were slow and injured, some bleeding and other¡¯s missing body parts. Issir fighters were hot on their trail, sometimes a few meters behind them, the only thing giving hope the sheer numbers their enemies had to kill, in order to get them. So for every six or seven people that got butchered in front of their eyes, a couple manage to escape. ¡°KEEP IN POSITION!¡± Galio barked and his booming clear voice, shaded the horrific song of carnage momentarily. It was performed in front of the unable to help their own, but silently watching warriors of Lucius¡¯ force and it had its own relentless rhythm, its own disgusting smell and its own nightmarish voice. It belonged to many people of different ages and vastly different souls, but it sounded strangely the same at their final moments. Ora¡¯s voice, someone whispered from the ranks and Lucius touched Faye¡¯s shoulder in a comforting manner seeing her shiver violently. She turned her head, tears creating dark dirty lines on her face as they run freely down her cheeks. ¡°Ye promised me a win,¡± She said simply, with a sniffle. ¡°This was lost, the moment Gangly agreed to a truce,¡± Lucius explained tiredly, dropping his hand. ¡°I¡¯m just trying to save as many as I can.¡± ¡°I cursed Benton for not siding with the Jarl for so long,¡± Faye Numbers lamented. ¡°All of my life I did. Free the North, I told him. Everyday. Danced like a little girl, when he told me he¡¯d agreed to join the Jarl¡¯s cause. Nothing sounded better in my ears,¡± She flashed him a bitter, as much as forced smile. ¡°Never pictured dyin¡¯ here, next to the fuckin¡¯ Heir of Regia.¡± Her grief washed over him, thick as a dark shroud and he had to step back and draw a deep desperate breath, the cold air hurting going down. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Lucius said, his words sounding hollow to his ears. So sighing, he added all serious, his words binding to the gods. The fool that he was. ¡°You won¡¯t die here.¡±
The Issir grabbed the woman¡¯s hair, the child she held dropping with a scream to the frozen mud. He run her through with a bastard sword, the blade worn out from all the use that day and reached for the child wailing from the shock. Lucius reached him, running out of their broken line and severed his left arm below the elbow, his blood spaying out and mixing with that of the butchered mother. The man wailed twice as loud in turn and tried to pull away, but Faye stabbed him in the neck viciously with a dagger and then kicked him down. Another soldier appeared, sword and round shield in hand. A Northern design, probably a spoil he¡¯d picked up from a corpse, it seemed to him. Two more right behind the Issir. A group of around ten of them approaching. Lucius charged the man with the shield, got his blade blocked and had to jump back to avoid getting his own arm chopped off. Faye attacked from the side, slipped her sword¡¯s blade in, and got the man between the ribs. He howled and twisted away, his leather armor ruined and bleeding profoundly. Out of the fight, but his friends joining swiftly, the moment he stepped away. Lucius stopped a sword coming for her head, turned it aside and cut the man savagely in the face on the return. The other blocked Faye¡¯s tired swing, punched her in the face, splitting her lips, kneed her in the stomach next, all professional and made to take her head, when she doubled over with a pained wail. The knight stopped him, pushing the fatal blow away, sidestepped to avoid the Issir soldier¡¯s angry retaliation and almost got a dagger in the gut by the cunning man. Lucius cursed and parried the dagger one way, the coming sword the other, managing to attack in the tail end of that same move, a devastating fast combo that left the Issir soldier stupefied and quite dead at the end of it. ¡°Are you hurt?¡± He asked stooping over the young woman and Faye signed with a hand that she was. Lucius looked towards the bloody brawl on his right, the corridor they¡¯d kept open for almost half an hour now non-existent. Then back towards the larger group approaching from the woods, behind the dozen or so enemy soldiers already on them. He grabbed Faye¡¯s arm and pulled her back retreating towards the still fighting mercenaries. At the other end of their shrinking lines, the Northmen, fighting back the ferocious attacks of Sir Reggy¡¯s returning force, now driven with renewed vigor seeing the tide had turned, buckled from exhaustion and their mounting losses. When they break, Lucius thought with a shiver. It will happen fast. Roderick reached him a moment later and pushed them both towards the bridge. ¡°Leave now,¡± The old hand said, voice coming out strangled. ¡°While there¡¯s time.¡± ¡°We should pull the Northmen back as well,¡± Lucius argued. ¡°No time for that son,¡± Roderick countered. ¡°Galio will give the signal the moment we finish off this group. The next one is two hundred men strong. There¡¯s no beating that.¡±
¡°ARROWS!¡± Kaeso yelled a warning, seeing half the force; -led by a strange Issir with a painted white face, in a manner Lucius recalled seeing before, orange and white hair braided and tied at the nappe in a bun- stop and reaching for the bows, they all carried on their backs. The rest continued their fast trot towards them. ¡°SHIELDS UP!¡± Galio boomed turning around, half of the retreating mercenaries still carrying one, turning with him. Lucius heard the whistling, an angry sharp sound and ducked on instinct, a shaft breaking on his shoulder guard and splinters rattling his helm. Faye running beside him stumbled and went down, an arrow right through her thigh. ¡°Fuck!¡± She cried, frantically trying to dislodge it and failing. ¡°Leave it!¡± Lucius growled and pulled her up, wrapping her right arm around his shoulders for support. The bridge still twenty meters away, some people still running over it, the rest of the civilians left behind, when the mercenaries pulled back, jumping in the frozen waters and sinking straight for the bottom as the current was too great, an act of pure desperation to avoid a worse death, at the hands of Bas Crull¡¯s rangers. ¡°I want that bridge!¡± The man himself yelled to be heard by his men. ¡°The warrior that kills the red Knight, I¡¯ll name my brother!¡± With a wild roar, his rangers charged as one. Galio ordered Kaeso back towards Mamercus, the men with him to form a wall. ¡°Galio, head for the bridge now!¡± Lucius barked at the aged ex-legionnaire, his voice hoarse and tired, with a look over his shoulder. His leg could barely support both his weight and Faye¡¯s. He could feel it buckling, despite moving as slow as a pregnant turtle. ¡°That¡¯s an order, Captain!¡± Galio puffed out hard, glanced once at the onrushing Issirs and then at the hapless remaining mercenaries tasked to be their rearguard. The men giving him glances of pure despair, some pleading, others terrified, while few even nodded in understanding. ¡°They won¡¯t hold,¡± Roderick grunted and stopped in his tracks. His tired, gaunt face, almost unrecognizable. The loyal hand had aged spectacularly during these past months. ¡°On their own, they bloody won¡¯t.¡± ¡°They will,¡± Lucius insisted, though he didn¡¯t much believed it. ¡°Galio, I won¡¯t say it again!¡± ¡°Aye, milord!¡± Galio replied and started after them. Lucius turned to continue the final meters towards the bridge, but Roderick stayed behind, a resigned look on his face. ¡°Roderick, what are you doing?¡± Lucius asked, doom lacing his words, because he knew. The old hand, sucked his wrinkled cheek in once, where a tooth was missing, he¡¯d never gotten around fixing. Let it go audibly the next moment and looked at Lucius long and hard for another. ¡°Remember who you are, son. Always,¡± Roderick said, a touch of melancholy in his voice. ¡°Live for ye first, then Regia. See that you make it back in one piece and if ye see yer father, tell him I died on my feet.¡± No, darn it! ¡°Roderick¡­ for fuck¡¯s¡ª¡± Lucius protested irate, voice breaking as emotion clogged his throat, but the old man stopped him nonetheless, before he could finish. ¡°I want none o¡¯ that lip, boy. I taught ye better,¡± He admonished and pointed at Bas Crull¡¯s rangers that had stopped and were nocking fresh arrows now, the moment they saw the less than thirty men had formed a shieldwall to bar their approach. ¡°We¡¯ll charge ¡®em cowardly ruffians. Lick ¡®em proper,¡± He snorted and shook his head at the absurdity of it all. ¡°May Luthos guide ye, through the pending struggles, Lucius. It was the greatest of gifts seeing ye grow, to become the man ye are.¡± You won¡¯t die here, Lucius the Third had promised his companion to be and the Gods listened to his plea for a trade, magnanimous on one hand, cruel with the other and stripped the young Heir of something equally valued in return.
Bas Crull¡¯s rangers reached first at the bridge, the stories say, when that desperate breakout attempt from the remnants of the Black Skulls company failed. Half of them turned around and charged the remaining Northmen fighting with Sir Reggy¡¯s men, causing their collapse and complete annihilation. The other half gave chase across the bridge, but were stopped dead the moment they set foot on the other side by the regrouped escaped Northmen and a forward detachment of ¡®Mad Wolf¡¯s¡¯ own men, still force-marching hard from Ludr to reconnect with Twotrees McCloud. In the brief battle across the Montfoot, the Rangers were routed and almost killed to a man, or woman. Bas Crull watched it all happen from across the freezing waters, now filled with stiff corpses coming from almost all ages and races. The frozen dead will float all the way down to Ludriver proper, hundreds of kilometers away for the rest of winter. Whether it was common sense, or grief for the loss of his older brother that made him decide to not make another attempt at a crossing, it isn¡¯t clear to this day. The Northmen had to retreat to Maza Burg either way, carrying the wounded, as the weather turned freezing, when late afternoon approached. The Battle of the Bridges saw almost five thousand Northmen dead, from either blade or cold by the end of that day, more than a thousand of them being civilians. Among them famed names, like Logan ¡®Gray¡¯ Barret who was presumed lost, or the Jarl¡¯s firstborn ¡®Gangly¡¯ Steven O¡¯ Dargan, who was surely dead, since his head decorated Lord Bart¡¯s hall in Eaglesnest, before that week was over. It must be noted here that rumors the Heir to the throne of Regia had died in the battle circulated immediately, along outright vile accusations of him betraying the Issir Lords and siding with the Northmen. The latter spread like wildfire and caused friction between the two Kingdoms, then in the midst of securing a permanent alliance between them that would replace the Old Treaties. Whether it was the reason for the events that followed, or an excuse to fan the flames of treachery that led to the Battle of the Turncoats, it is unknown. Black Skulls lost two thirds of its effective force at the time (sources cite seventy out of hundred and twenty fighters) and disbanded, most of the surviving men entering Lucius entourage, or honor guard, though that happened much later. The Crull¡¯s losses amounted to a thousand seven hundred, along with Lord Bart¡¯s firstborn Sir Reggy. Lord Vanzon lost more than two thousand men, the majority of them fresh recruits and had to retreat towards Krakenhall in turn. Such were the losses on all sides, it would take more than a year for any meaningful large battle to occur. The war though, never really stopped henceforth. Lord Sirio Veturius Circa 206 NC The Fall of Heroes Chapter III -Epilogue- (Lucius the Third, Northern Campaigns, Battle of the Bridges, Either late 3rd or early 4rth Month of Winter, 189 NC)
64. Ni Netela
Lithoniela Ni Netela
Cin, Minue Elain o Run Lithoniela; Ni Netela.
The silver medal used to read. The calligraphic intricately engraved letters blackened now, the fire and time having ruined, what once was polished and perfect. The shine had faded long ago and its surface, she now felt with the tips of her fingers, had turned rough, where a chain was once attached. The small hole leaving the sun rays pass through, creating a yellow dot on the water¡¯s surface. If one were to glance at it, without knowing what it was, he¡¯d mistake it for an old worn-out coin. Lithoniela touched that bright small round mark with a long finger and recreated the phrase on the water¡¯s surface, as if her finger was a quill. It stayed there, a blackboard made of water, as the day it was made, not by an engraver¡¯s tool, but a Queen¡¯s magic. The memories found the thread and resurfaced, the nature around her charitable and the Goddess sated from the offering. The latter, a shadow souring her mood and turning the moment bitter. The shadow grew, the redwood tree so near the river, bend and half rotten, but tall enough to shade everything under it, accepting the familiar intrusion and adding it to its own. Fooled by the mummer¡¯s trick. The shadow breathed, because it was alive, the illusion holding, when she turned her head and casted the ¡®Seers Eye¡¯, Glen had so foolishly used without permission the other day, using the old Imperial word for reveal. Cenaeda. Nothing happened. The shadows remained, the energy flowing back into the tree via the exposed half-rotten root, she¡¯d touched with her bare foot, when Lithoniela let go of the thread, ending her spell. Lithoniela stood up gracefully and gathered her boots. She wore them one at a time, taking her time, feeling the eyes of the intruder on her all along. Old eyes, they were. The gaze strong and impossible to mistake, as she¡¯d felt it again not long ago. She¡¯d mistaken him for a stray then. A hapless survivor, horribly maimed, forced to live among the Sinya Nore and pretend he was something, other than what he was. His ruse wasn¡¯t out of need then, or necessity, Lithoniela decided finishing up. It was a skill. One of old Nym¡¯s pupils. The lowest of the low. Still though, sworn servants to the Goddess¡¯ son. Her youngest. Perhaps not cherished, as much as her only daughter, nor forgiving, as much as both her other prideful and older sons. For he was silent and gloomy. Always running from the light.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Bound he was, Oras and his servants, to the Goddess and her Queen. The one sitting on the throne of Wetull. The Empress of the Realm. ¡°That is what you gave,¡± Lithoniela said, in the old tongue. ¡°What you lost to take the vow. He must have liked you, very much.¡± The shadow stirred and like a thin fabric released, it collapsed and dissolved into the giant redwood shades, the man behind it appearing in its place. He smelled of death and foul magic. Lithoniela swallowed slowly and forced herself to stay still. A part of her wanted to run, a mix of shyness and fear behind it, the other cried for her to touch him. Taste his memories and the flesh they were written on. The longing so great, it sent a quiver down her loins. She gasped, unable to hold it in and the Zilan assassin smiled. ¡°Apologies,¡± He said, his Imperial unpracticed, the accent rough, almost uncivilized. ¡°I was stunned, when I realized¡­ who you were.¡± ¡°I never visited Elas Study,¡± Lithoniela whispered, feeling apprehension at the mention of the vaunted place, where the Tower of Shadows stood. The island of Nureria. ¡°Nor I remember you from elsewhere.¡± If he was insulted, he hid it well. The man stepped away from the tree, the step noiseless. A taunt, the flaunting of his power ruining the well maintained veneer of indifference he¡¯d managed in her presence and betrayed the sacrilegious source of his power. Lithoniela realized she was out of practice, unready to wrestle with one of her kind, if it came to it. The years living alone and aimless, dragging her down. ¡°It still remains. I sensed no thread, nor sacrifice. Smooth as a trade, the rest of us can only dream of,¡± Larn said, pointing at the surface of the river. The waters flowing constantly, but what she¡¯d written still visible on them. ¡°Only the royal line, could indulge themselves with art, without fear of injury,¡± He paused, as if unsure how much to say. ¡°When Goras crumbled into the sea¡­ the palace went with it, they say. The Queen entered Oakenfalls alone in the end,¡± Larn¡¯s silver eyes examined her in a ravenous manner, his need as great, but more vulgar. ¡°Perished there she did, leaving nothing of hers behind.¡± Lithoniela clenched her fist around the medal tightly. She felt the forest awaken around them, sensing her turmoil. Every sound became clearer, every color brighter and the shadows retreated. Larn stepped back, his face now clearly visible; from the narrow chin, completely hairless face and plucked eyebrows, to the horribly maimed ears. Cut with a blunted blade and with his own hand, as with all parts of flesh, one offered to the God of Death. Pain and suffering, being the real offering. ¡°Who do you serve?¡± Lithoniela asked, keeping the disgust from her voice. ¡°I serve the Fading Light,¡± Larn replied. ¡°And perhaps you. If you wished it.¡± ¡°You follow the old ways,¡± Lithoniela pointed, with a small hesitation. ¡°Nym didn¡¯t.¡± Larn smiled again, an unnerving routine obviously unpracticed. ¡°Same as you, mistress,¡± He replied knowingly and Lithoniela felt her stomach turn at the intimate turn and the shame, knowing he¡¯d seen her fouling herself so. ¡°Despite what your mother preached.¡± Thee, are the foremost star of dawn, Lithoniela, the Queen had written on the medal, she had pried from her melted fingers, a hundred and ninety years ago.
Ni Netela.
My daughter.
END OF ~ACT I~ A hint of Magic
65. How to dodge hard labor
The Old Realms ~ACT II~ The Allure of War
Glen How to dodge hard labor
There was a darn chasm, a couple of fingers wide, between two planks of wood, just where his head was resting. The barrack¡¯s wall Lord Reeves¡¯ soldiers had constructed, was poorly made, and it blasted a steady stream of cold air right in his face. It also let the morning sun in. Woke him up proper. Being used to sleeping in worse conditions back home, however far that home may now be, didn¡¯t mean he wasn¡¯t fond of having an apt roof over his head. And walls. A proper bed. A sleeping tunic. The latter apparently was a thing, according to Dante. Grandson of a noble Lord my arse, he thought shaking his head and pushed with his elbows to get up from his hay mattress, failing a couple of times, being as he was stiff as a board. The level of comfort the improvised cot provided, barely above sleeping on the hard ground outside. And not as fresh smelling. After sighing and yawning at the same time, not an easy feat to accomplish, Glen got up and rubbed his cold face hard with his hands. He reached for a cup of water on a crude sideboard next and drunk to quench his thirst, only remembering to check, whether anything foul had dived in it to die during the night, after he had half of it downed already. Damn it. Another yawn and he ducked to check under the space left between the sideboard¡¯s legs, for his leather bag, containing most of his gold. Pleased everything was there, he pushed it back under the furniture, dropped a pair of worn boots in front of it, put on his sword, secured the dagger, dusted off his coat with a couple of slaps and turned to walk out of the barracks to start another day. Hopefully less crazy than the one before it. Stiles walking fast and a little stooped forward almost run him over and forced a panicked Glen to jump back inside the barracks with a manly yelp. For the most part. ¡°Umph, watch out!¡± Glen cried out, his heart jumping to his throat. ¡°Hell are ye going?¡± ¡°Apologies, milord,¡± The former pirate replied, with a small bow of the head. ¡°Came as soon as I could.¡± ¡°Uh? Has anything transpired?¡± Glen asked, recovering enough to switch into his lord persona and pushed him out of the way, to check outside at the relatively quiet yard. ¡°I hoped you¡¯d know,¡± Stiles replied, readily. ¡°So ye could tell me.¡± Glen smacked his lips, then turned his head to eye him suspiciously. ¡°Weren¡¯t you supposed to help with putting the big supports up at the barricade?¡± He probed. ¡°Correct, milord,¡± Stiles deadpanned. ¡°Before coming here, to see what¡¯s up.¡± Right. ¡°Well, I can¡¯t fault you for skipping on hard manual labor,¡± Glen started. ¡°Thank you, milord,¡± The former pirate agreed, interrupting him. Glen snorted. ¡°Is breakfast ready?¡± ¡°Crafton will know,¡± Stiles retorted. ¡°Crafton? Haha,¡± It wasn¡¯t surprising the old thief was another proponent of skipping hard labor, he thought with a grin. ¡°Might as well check on him soon then. Not a good thing leaving that old fart alone in there.¡± ¡°Why is that, milord?¡± Stiles asked curious. Glen stared at him for a long moment without talking. Pushed a curl back while he did and grimaced a bit annoyed, when it dropped in front of his eyes again. Then shrugged his shoulders. ¡°No reason,¡± He said and turned intent on walking towards the kitchen, without any more blunders. Three strides in, he heard someone trying to get his attention. ¡°Psst.¡± The fuck? He cursed, not seeing anyone, but a couple of guards by the Castle yard¡¯s entrance, almost forty meters away. ¡°Psst.¡± Glen swung around and examined the barrack he¡¯d just exited. The door left open, since he¡¯d forgotten to close it and Stiles probably wasn¡¯t as accustomed with them, having spent most of his time on a boat. Or he was just as lazy. ¡°Milord? The kitchen is that way,¡± Stiles pointed with a hand, as if Glen was an idiot. He opened his mouth to admonish him for presuming it, but was rudely interrupted, his mouth left gapping. ¡°Psst.¡± This time he caught sight of a bright pink lock of hair, blowing in the light wind. Jinx was hiding behind the corner of the building. ¡°I can see you,¡± Glen hissed, fuming. ¡°I¡¯m over here, milord.¡± Stiles said, confused. Glen sighed and whipped his head towards him. ¡°Move on, Stiles. I will be there shortly.¡± ¡°Yes, milord.¡±
¡°Mmm¡­ fuck,¡± Jinx purred alike a feline in heat, ruining it a bit at the end. ¡°Got my rocks off a little, I think. Ye sounding all manly, when ye order him around. It messes me up inside.¡± Glen blushed.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Well¡­¡± ¡°No seriously,¡± Jinx insisted, stretching out like a cat. ¡°Truth is, I¡¯ve been working on it,¡± Glen admitted, with a smirk. ¡°Ordering people around?¡± Her answer rubbed him the wrong way. That and her mocking him part. ¡°Okay, the fuck do you want Whisper?¡± He said with a grunt. She made a face, half a pout and half a wink. Jinx always confused the two, or was doing it on purpose to throw him off. Glen sighed. ¡°I assume you called for a reason.¡± ¡°I was being subtle,¡± Jinx protested. ¡°It was still annoying as fuck. Why you did it?¡± She looked at the barracks, he and Emerson slept in. ¡°There¡¯s no space in the kitchen.¡± Glen stared at her numbly, not getting where she was going with this. ¡°No space¡­ for sleeping?¡± He chanced, seeing her urging him with her eyes. ¡°Nah.¡± Glen decided to go another way. ¡°Washing?¡± ¡°I sleep in a bath-barrel.¡± Glen blinked. ¡°You do?¡± ¡°Ayup.¡± The Gish said and licking her palm a couple of times, used it to flatten the wayward curl off Glen¡¯s face. He pulled back, ogling his eyes angry. ¡°What in Luthos father¡­¡± He protested. ¡°Abrakas,¡± Jinx corrected it for him. ¡°Uh?¡± Glen gasped, in total confusion. ¡°It is not safe,¡± Whisper Jinx explained. ¡°The kitchen. I need a place to put some of my stuff and I thought of ye,¡± She grinned at the end of it, all mischief. Glen narrowed his eyes suspicious, a little apprehensive, though his hair seemed well combed now and out of his face, so he should give her that at the very least. ¡°What kind of stuff?¡± He asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest. Jinx scratched something between her small nostrils with a finger. ¡°A box I made.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve constructed a box?¡± Glen asked. She puffed her cheeks out. ¡°Let¡¯s say I took it from the armory.¡± ¡°You stole a box from the armory?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what I said.¡± ¡°Is it not the same¡­ argh, whatever. There¡¯s no space in the barracks.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a small one.¡± Glen sighed exasperated. ¡°Whisper, for real. There¡¯s no space¡ª¡± ¡°Put it next to your coins,¡± Jinx suggested, all innocent. ¡°How do you¡­¡± Glen looked about them, for any witnesses. ¡°How big is it?¡± He relented.
The wooden box had a padlock on it, a big well-used iron thing, but it wasn¡¯t too large for her to carry from the kitchen to his barrack. A distance of twenty meters. Mostly square and about a foot in height, it probably was used initially to store slingers ammunition, which was most of the times, plain lead bullets. ¡°Alight then,¡± Glen said, seeing as the pink-haired girl wasn¡¯t going to say anything else. ¡°It may fit behind it. Have at it and I¡¯ll show you where to place it exactly.¡± ¡°Bah, I can¡¯t,¡± Jinx replied. ¡°I¡¯m too hurt to carry it around.¡± ¡°You were walking fine, just a minute ago!¡± Glen snapped, seeing where this was going. She slapped his shoulder with a toothy grin. ¡°Twas for exercise, silly!¡± Jinx pointed a small finger at the suddenly looking pretty large strongbox to a frustrated Glen. ¡°I have a medical condition.¡±
¡°Luthos balls! Fuck have ye put in?¡± Glen complained, his knees shaking as he carried the nasty and apparently heavily laden strongbox across the yard. ¡°Stuff,¡± Jinx walking next to him replied. ¡°Mine mostly.¡± Glen shook his head, breathing heavy as they reached the door and walked in. He made to drop the damn thing behind the sideboard, after he moved it with a knee, but Jinx stopped him with a panicked shriek. ¡°DON¡¯T! Do it gently.¡± Glen snorted. The girl was insane, there was no doubt about it. Lith is for all intends and purposes a cannibal, he thought, placing the box gently down. And Whisper has shit for brains. ¡°There,¡± He declared, tired from all the heavy lifting and a little envious of Stiles that was probably eating his fill at the kitchen diner. I should have never let that little shit go ahead without me! Fuck was I thinking? Furthermore, I should have tasked him with carrying the darn box. ¡°I¡¯ll go grab something to eat.¡± ¡°What¡¯s gotten in to ya?¡± Jinx inquired, taking the worn out boots he¡¯d used to hide his bag and moving them to the side, to better conceal her stupid box. ¡°Is it the blue cunt?¡± He almost drowned in his spit at her verbal diarrhea. Whisper sounded like the worst drunken sailor half the times, a nasty and very cheap port whore the others. ¡°Ye okay, Glen?¡± ¡°Uhm, I¡¯m fine,¡± He explained. ¡°And so you know, I¡¯m fine.¡± ¡°Ye are?¡± She asked, red-rimmed eyes opening wide. ¡°Told ya, I am. The fuck is in that box? Yer coins?¡± Glen snapped at her, for trying to muddy the waters and steer the conversation away. ¡°What? No, silly. I have my gold wit me,¡± Jinx replied readily, dodging his question again. ¡°You do? All of it?¡± He probed not buying it. Jinx sighed and looked at her feet, all ashamed. ¡°It was too much.¡± ¡°Yep,¡± Glen said. ¡°Ye oversold it. Knew you were lying from the start.¡± ¡°Do noble humans, learn lying at a young age?¡± Jinx asked all innocent. ¡°Ye seem pretty good at it.¡± ¡°You know what?¡± The young man said, giving up. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me. I don¡¯t wanna know.¡± He turned his back to her face and walked outside the barrack. It wasn¡¯t much of a surprise that Jinx walked fast after him a moment later, no sign of a limp to her, but plenty of sass. ¡°You¡¯re shook from seeing her eat that man,¡± The Gish started, as they both headed for the kitchen. It was too cold to eat at the open mess hall, though some of the soldiers were still using it. Glen hang his head. ¡°She didn¡¯t eat that man, Whisper. Not whole, is my meaning. Just a couple of fingers and a bit of his arm. I know how this sounds, but there¡¯s a difference.¡± Was there? Well¡­ he decided, a certain measure should be used, when dealing with such matters. Stealing a coin after all, wasn¡¯t the same as stripping up the whole joint. Chairs, doors and the bolts holding them up. ¡°Are you sure?¡± Jinx asked, jumping in front of him to slip first through the half opened and thankfully still attached door and almost tripped him over. ¡°Because the bodies were missing plenty of parts. More than a couple of fingers.¡± ¡°What?¡± Glen asked sitting down, on the only table located near the door. The one Liko was using the other day. ¡°How do you know? And you¡¯re wrong by the way. No one was missing any parts. Nice try.¡± Jinx retrieved a bottle of wine from under a stool, with a suspicious cover on it, shook it to see, if it held anything and satisfied it apparently did, uncorked it and drank straight from the bottle. ¡°I went back and checked, while ye slept.¡± She said, between loud thirsty gulps. ¡°And I¡¯m not wrong. Someone cut ¡®em up pretty bad, took the missing parts wit¡¯ him,¡± Whisper raised a pink brow suggestively. ¡°Or wit her.¡± Oh, for fuck¡¯s sake. Glen closed his eyes, not wanting to delve into the macabre before having a meal, especially to entertain her crazy theories and hallucinations. Jinx smacked her lips, seeing him puffing his cheeks out, when his stomach growled angry, the moment dragging and stooped over the table, her breath smelling of wine and a very wet cat¡¯s hide, of all darn things. It was strangely arousing. ¡°There¡¯s the bread,¡± The Gish said pointing a thin finger. ¡°The knife to cut a piece of Stag meat from yesterday, right next to it,¡± And seeing him scowling, none pleased, she added with a shrug. ¡°What? We offer no fuckin¡¯ room service, in this here venue.¡±
66. There are no coincidences.
Jinx There are no coincidences.
The Gish curved her waist backwards on the stool, raised an injured leg impossibly high and straight, in an astounding display of gymnastics and positioned it heel first, on the table Glen was returning with his plate. She wiggled her toes inside the boot, to test it with a frown, when she felt it hurt a bit still. ¡°Do you mind moving it away?¡± Glen asked, knifing a piece of his cold steak and bringing it to his mouth. ¡°I need to stretch it fully. Give me a minute,¡± Jinx explained. She didn¡¯t actually, but teasing him came pretty natural to her, so she just did it. It probably also helped him learning to deal with annoying situations, or something to that extent. Glen remained, many months since they¡¯d first met, a strange young man. Jinx had never bumped onto a noble scion that could pass for a vagabond just as easy, or a burglar. Not that she had a problem with it, some of her best acquaintances were thieves. Could she trust him though, let him in on what she had found in the woods? Probably not, then again who else she could tell? Dante? Maybe Zola? Speaking of the curvy Issir¡­ ¡°Damn,¡± Glen cursed, his eyes watering. ¡°Think I loosened a fuckin¡¯ tooth,¡± He spat the half-chewed piece of meat into his plate. ¡°Who cooked this? Might as well start chomping the sole of yer boot!¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t,¡± Jinx replied and moved her boot away, just in case. ¡°Ye should soften it up first. It turned really hard overnight.¡± ¡°Twas better?¡± Glen asked, cutting a smaller piece with the knife. ¡°Ahm, well¡­ a bit yeah, I suppose.¡± ¡°This is overdone, uneatable,¡± Glen pointed, with a grimace. ¡°And I¡¯ve had a rat once,¡± He paused seeing her raising an eyebrow. ¡°A small one.¡± Jinx shrugged it off. Small ones are tasty little buggers, if yer in a pinch, she thought. ¡°Wanna soak it in wine?¡± She offered him the almost empty bottle. ¡°Crafton said, it was well done, so ye might have a point there.¡± ¡°No thanks. Crafton isn¡¯t a cook. Luthos is having a laugh right now.¡± ¡°Hmm, ye sure? Because when Pale asked him to help with butchering the Stag, he offered to cook it instead,¡± Jinx remembered, standing up. ¡°What did ye say he used to do back home?¡± ¡°He was a butcher,¡± Glen deadpanned and dropped the knife frustrated. ¡°Is there anything else?¡± ¡°Soldiers have salted pork rations.¡± ¡°Oh, gods no. I might as well start fasting,¡± Glen moaned. ¡°The farmers sometimes bring eggs after noon,¡± Jinx offered. ¡°Soren goes through them pretty fast.¡± ¡°You mean to tell me Soren had fresh eggs for breakfast?¡± He appeared super frustrated at that. It was kind of funny, she thought. ¡°Where did he cook them?¡± Glen asked, looking around for leftovers. ¡°He didn¡¯t,¡± Jinx replied and added before he¡¯d time to process the information. ¡°I¡¯m not lying about the bodies by the way.¡± ¡°Huh? Oh, come on Whisper,¡± Glen protested, getting up himself. ¡°Told you, I was there.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re right, someone else did it,¡± She insisted. ¡°It¡¯s weird. Is it not?¡± ¡°Fine, it is. Want me to start looking around for someone collecting body parts? I have lots on my plate now, to deal wit this kind of ghoulish crap,¡± He stared at his plate frustrated for a brief moment and then kicked the table hard, toppling it and managed to send everything crashing down with a loud ruckus. The plate rolled away from them like a wheel and stopped on the opposite wall of the kitchen, clattering for a good while, before settling. ¡°I¡¯m going to leave now,¡± Jinx said, realizing his mini-tirade was over and everything had stopped rolling. ¡°Okay,¡± Glen replied, a little numb. ¡°I can stay a bit, if ye want to vent some more,¡± She offered, to be a good friend to him and because it was kind of funny, seeing him breaking stuff. ¡°Just go. Leave now,¡± Glen dismissed her, flushed an unhealthy red and fuming, a hand pointing at the door; all an act probably, since Jinx knew he cared. So she forgave him for being a dick.
Jinx spent the next hour searching the Castle for the bounty hunter and his spouse, wanting to get his version of events, or just get a second look at him, since the couple had literally vanished after that first night. Finding no one, but the ruffian Stiles hiding behind the middle barrack building, pretending to search for rats of all things, Jinx gave up and walked down the sloped road towards Hellfort¡¯s Pass and the almost finished barricade. Dante was there talking with Zola, the Issir standing suspiciously close to their captain, her lips on his right ear almost. The fuck? Jinx thought, greatly pissed at this blatant intimacy and headed straight for them. Dante caught her approaching out of the corner of his eye, mad as all hells and instinctively pushed Zola away from him, switching to his patent merchant¡¯s grin as a precaution. ¡°Pretty, good¡­ late morning!¡± Dante greeted her and she gave him the prize of her middle finger for the lame attempt at a dodge. ¡°We were¡ª¡± Zola tried to say, before she cut her off, finishing it for her. ¡°What were ye talking about?¡± ¡°The barricade, it¡¯s almost finished,¡± Zola explained unconvincingly. ¡°How would ye know? You¡¯re not a builder honey,¡± She inquired furious at the blatant lie.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. ¡°Come on, Pretty!¡± Dante intervened to ensure the potential fight never started. ¡°Everyone can tell this thing is almost done. Right?¡± ¡°Ye couldn¡¯t apparently. And how exactly her sucking at yer earlobe, was gonna remedy that?¡± Jinx pointed putting her hands on her waist. ¡°Shut up, Whisper. I don¡¯t owe ye an explanation. You should grow the fuck up,¡± The Issir woman hissed, all furious now that their deception was revealed for the world to see. ¡°Wow, ye had to go there,¡± Jinx retorted. ¡°Not very mature of ye.¡± Zola threw her arms up in frustration. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m going to grab something to eat, this is stupid.¡± She announced, because that was what grownups did, when they run out of things to say. ¡°Try the Stag steak!¡± Jinx yelled at her back, as she walked away sassily. ¡°It¡¯s all dried up like yer cunt!¡± Dante sighed a deep sigh, half of it was relief for dodging the worst, the other pure desperation. Just to be sure though, he steered the conversation away. ¡°So, how¡¯s that leg, partner?¡± ¡°Better,¡± Jinx replied not in the mood. ¡°Yer attempt at deflecting, is thinner than a whore¡¯s tunic, dear captain.¡± ¡°Something is bothering you. I know you since you were a kid Pretty,¡± He said, always perceptive when cornered and equally manipulative. Jinx had to begrudgingly admit that it was a quality he possessed in abundance. She stared at the soldiers finishing up the over two meters tall barricade for a long moment; to collect her thoughts before answering. ¡°Someone cut up the bandits that attacked Glen the other day,¡± Dante gave her a confused glance. ¡°I¡¯m talking three arms and a leg here, gone.¡± ¡°Another gang?¡± Dante chanced, with a frown. ¡°The woods are full probably.¡± ¡°My instincts say, this was no gang.¡± ¡°You¡¯re worried,¡± Dante said, treading carefully. ¡°This isn¡¯t where you wanted to be.¡± Jinx puffed her cheeks out. ¡°Sweetie, I¡¯m serious.¡± ¡°Okay, what you want me to do about it?¡± He relented. ¡°Find that bounty hunter, or his wife. Tell Emerson.¡± ¡°You think they¡¯re involved?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know them. They just popped out of nowhere, in the middle of fuckin¡¯ nowhere,¡± She returned his stare. ¡°I don¡¯t believe in coincidences.¡±
The water spilled out of the barrel, when she lowered herself in it, splashing down the kitchen¡¯s floor. It will turn it into mud and smear her feet later, but Jinx didn¡¯t care about later, the cold water¡¯s embrace soothing on her skin and the familiar silence under it healing. The Gish could remain submerged for a good while, their lungs powerful and well-adjusted to help her species survive the different seasons of their isles. Abrakas loved them the most, their elders said and raised the sea level every year, swallowing their lands and drowning the careless ones, all in an attempt to keep them in his bottomless embrace forever. Jinx having travelled the world, a journey that had started by chance and almost ended in disaster; had seen what she had seen and knew enough now, to call bullshit on that whole story. Abrakas didn¡¯t give a shit, about anything, or anyone. There were no coincidences. A lie had killed the twins, when they went after Glen, greed had joined them to the young noble everyone and their darn mother wanted dead and bad luck in the toss of a coin, had made sure they¡¯d followed him here, with the chance of war barreling down on them. A gang of Cofol paid thugs, knew he always followed Lith, the bounty hunter had said. Ambushed him on the return trip. How would he know that? Jinx wondered, seeing bubbles reaching the water¡¯s surface, distorting the curious face of the boy watching her greedily from above. Liko jumped away scared out of his wits, when the Gish kicked her legs and burst out suddenly, his arms flailing mad as he went down on his arse, water splashing over him and making a mess on the ground. Liko¡¯s eyes gawked impossibly wide, when Whisper Jinx stepped out of the barrel nimbly, feeling quite comfortable, but for her exposed nipples that started hurting something fierce, when the air gushing in from the open door touched them. ¡°I didn¡¯t see anything!¡± The boy scrambled to save himself, when she turned to look at him, none pleased. ¡°Are ye blind?¡± Jinx countered, with a smirk. ¡°No. Yes, I am!¡± Liko nodded enthusiastically with his head. His groveling nigh comical. ¡°Bring me my pants,¡± Whisper ordered, reaching for the vest herself, now well drenched in dirty water. ¡°And close that darn door!¡±
¡°Apologies, Lady Jinx,¡± Liko kowtowed, a minute later, or ten. ¡°Cut that Lady crap,¡± Jinx admonished him, with a smile at the end to soften it up. ¡°Just Whisper will suffice.¡± ¡°What will?¡± Liko whispered, all conspiratorial. Abrakas, go fuck yerself wit a rotted paddle. ¡°Whisper Jinx. It¡¯s my name,¡± She said with a sigh. ¡°What? Liko is a right stupid one, but ye don¡¯t see me makin¡¯ a fuss about it!¡± ¡°I thought ye drowned,¡± Liko explained, a moment later, while she licked what was left inside that bottle, Glen had almost broken earlier. ¡°Was tryin¡¯ to decide on what to do, when ye popped out of the barrel.¡± ¡°Please, that¡¯s not what ye were doin¡¯,¡± Jinx scoffed. ¡°But don¡¯t worry about it.¡± Liko grinned, pleased he gotten off easy. ¡°Can I come watch again, when¡ª¡± Her stare, turned into a glare. ¡°Never.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°How did ye sneak up on me, by the way?¡± Jinx asked, to break the awkward silence that followed. ¡°I¡¯m sneaky?¡± Liko replied with a toothy grin and a shrug. ¡°Like Glen.¡± ¡°Right. You¡¯re Crafton¡¯s kid?¡± ¡°Nephew,¡± Liko replied quickly. A lie if there ever was one, Jinx thought intrigued. ¡°Hmm, say¡­ have ye caught a whiff of that bounty hunter at all?¡± She asked, working her mind around the boy¡¯s words, but not seeing a connection. Other than Crafton trying to scam Glen out of some of his gold. That was a lot of gold as well, what he¡¯d carried wit him. It made sense, but not a lot. Glen was no fool. There were no coincidences. None. ¡°He went towards the bridge, then across it; saw the woman more than him, which was weird,¡± Liko replied, pleased to be helpful. The talented little rascal, Jinx thought, his next words snapping the Gish out of her reverie violently. ¡°Just after Glen¡¯s ranger left early this morning, like she always does.¡± Zestari gave her weird vibes, since the start. The armed to the teeth man, had that same aura on him. It was perhaps a Gish thing, being able to see those things. Ye can never trust a Zilan.
67. Two contracts
Ralnor (aka Larn) (aka Dar Eherdir) Two contracts
Lithoniela¡¯s song turned sour at his words, her face displaying her discomfort, despite the effort to hide it. Had he overstepped, in his eagerness? Was there something, he¡¯d missed? Ralnor wondered, giving the royal brood the time to recover her composure. ¡°What do they call you?¡± Baltoris¡¯ daughter asked, when she did. ¡°If I answer, a contract will open,¡± He replied. ¡°A service will be rendered. Is that your wish?¡± ¡°I wish to know, what they call you,¡± Came her retort, all indignant. ¡°Name¡¯s Ralnor, mistress.¡± Lithoniela hissed in annoyance. Ah, the privileged, he thought. Always impatient. Ever rush in their wants. ¡°Why is the Lord¡¯s heir important?¡± He asked instead and watched as she turned guarded, her eyes glowing like sapphires. A vain indulgence, almost childish. ¡°Glen isn¡¯t any Lord¡¯s heir,¡± Lithoniela said, appearing certain in her ignorance. ¡°He¡¯s not important,¡± The latter a lie. Oh, but he is, Ralnor thought. The boy has talents, or secrets you probably keep hidden. ¡°Why stay with him then?¡± He tried again. ¡°I trust him. Can I trust you to be discreet, Ralnor?¡± She replied, her tone measured. She dreaded discovery. He could understand that. How times have changed. ¡°Of course, mistress,¡± Ralnor appeased her, with a small curtsy, repeating his words from the other day. ¡°You have nothing to fear.¡±
The bridge was to be a final point of retreat. A way to delay the Khan¡¯s men from crossing into Raoz proper and Altarin. It wasn¡¯t a bad plan, Ralnor thought, mulling it over hours later, patting Dar¡¯s head, before leaving him to graze in peace. All they have to do is lose, to find out, if it will work. He walked inside the small copse, the trees on this side of the river, younger and smaller in size and sat down before the put out fire. Mezera watched him, as he placed a small piece of flesh in his mouth and savored it. ¡°I roasted a chicken,¡± The woman said, a little apprehensive and quite ignorant. ¡°There¡¯s enough left.¡± ¡°It loses much of the flavor,¡± He explained, not talking about her chicken. ¡°Where did you find it?¡± ¡°Bought one, from a farmer.¡± ¡°Do not spend anymore coin,¡± He cautioned her. ¡°Fine. What about the ranger? Was she the one that killed my predecessor?¡± Mezera asked. ¡°You haven¡¯t earned the spot yet,¡± Ralnor explained, after swallowing. ¡°And it¡¯s complicated.¡± ¡°What does this mean?¡± ¡°Not every job is straightforward, child,¡± He said and added, his eyes set on the glowing embers, his mind wandering. ¡°Sometimes you have to improvise.¡± Or outright stray away.
¡°The land is shaking,¡± Dar Minue Mol had said, lipless mouth giving him a perpetual grotesque sneer. ¡°There¡¯s smoke coming out of Goras Nest as well. You can see it from the city. The Elderborns decided to stay though, for political reasons. Many believe all this will blow over, when the Queen gets rid of the raiders.¡± ¡°What does old Nym think?¡± Ralnor asked, the smell of redleaf burning, brought by the faint gush of wind, a sinister warning; the First Servant wasn¡¯t sent alone. ¡°They burned Eikenport to the ground next,¡± The assassin replied, the report a rehearsed sales pitch, for an offer still vague. Probably a lie as well, ¡°Steered clear from the interior, their force spent. They only have one way to go and the Queen of queens will catch them before the Lazuli Peninsula. The Horselords will pin them there, or force them into the desert. Either way this will be over, before the year is out.¡± Ralnor looked around the campfire, flames now turned to embers that glowed a bright red. The night dark, but for the lights coming from the distant Wotcheki Castle and the moons above. He could hear the river, but nothing else. The accomplice had either wised up, or he¡¯d imagined it. ¡°What does Nym say?¡± He probed again, to stall for time. ¡°Reinut had help.¡± There it is then, Ralnor thought. ¡°Who would do it?¡± He asked, although the answer was obvious. Queen Baltoris would never be satisfied, until everyone was brought to heel. ¡°Dissenters. Those unwilling to let go of the old ways. Those that lost the most,¡± Minue Mol said, seemingly unbothered from the change in Ralnor¡¯s demeanor. ¡°Edlenn¡¯s acolytes.¡± ¡°The First Priestess is dead for centuries Mol.¡± ¡°Still, people favor her teachings.¡± Ralnor stared into the assassin¡¯s gleaming eyes coolly. Mol favored his right hand, where the scimitar was, but enjoyed killing you in his mind first and left the actual act for his partners. One of them probably lurking around in the dark ready to move on him, when the signal was given. ¡°You can¡¯t bind magic, old friend. It doesn¡¯t matter anyway, our great Empress of the whole Realm, won that argument,¡± He argued, softening it at the end on par with his well-studied character. Dar Minue Mol¡¯s smile grew, or so it appeared; it was always difficult to tell it apart from a grimace of rage.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. It made him the more dangerous. ¡°Some say, Dar Eherdir wasn¡¯t pleased,¡± The First Servant pointed. ¡°Edlenn was your patron. Brought you to the temple, before the Fading Light won you over.¡± ¡°She saved many children, of lesser bloodlines,¡± Ralnor countered, maintaining his composure. ¡°You weren¡¯t much different than me, as I recall. Does that make me a traitor?¡± Mol breathed the night air in silence, holding his reply. ¡°Nym doesn¡¯t think so,¡± He finally said, his eyes on the embers. ¡°There was a disagreement though. Many believe you left the circle, to continue in the old ways. A compromise had to be reached, to alleviate some of the concerns.¡± ¡°What does he want?¡± Ralnor asked tiredly and Dar Minue Mol revealed, what they needed from him. The Empress¡¯ orders. Sever the witch¡¯s bloodline, Dar Eherdir. Come back. Let the Old Ways die. Do this, and Nym assured me, she¡¯ll forgive your transgressions.
¡°So you¡¯ll just forgive her?¡± Mezera probed not willing to let go, returning him to the present. As if he could do that. This was not how things worked. Ralnor closed his eyes. ¡°She did it for him,¡± He said patiently. But why? Another whim? ¡°So now we go after that lordling?¡± Mezera pressed. ¡°I want you to stay away from him and especially the Gish,¡± He warned her. Mezera scoffed. ¡°Pfft. I don¡¯t fear that pink haired freak.¡± ¡°You should. We will wait for a better opportunity,¡± He said and sat back more comfortably against the trunk, intending to catch some sleep. ¡°Like what?¡± ¡°War.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t possibly believe the Cofols will come through the Pass, right?¡± Mezera asked, sounding stunned. ¡°Rida is the other way!¡± ¡°You assume the Khan wants only Rida,¡± Ralnor said and with a final look at their campsite, he added, steel in his voice. ¡°Pour some water onto the embers. Do not breathe another word, until morning.¡± Sleep returned him to the land of dreams.
Aelrindel downed the contents of the silver goblet with long eager gulps, some of it spilling out of the corners of her mouth. A crimson color painting the thin material of her tunic, her delectable body clearly visible underneath, in the light of the many wall-lamps of her bedroom. Beautiful the brood of Edlenn was, her resemblance to her late ancestor uncanny. I can see you, child, whispered the golden-eyed old Priestess many years ago, her voice clear in his head, as if he was in Elauthin again. Ralnor reeled, the shock too great and it took him a moment to get his bearings back. The disturbance was carried by the large dresser¡¯s shade like a wave. Come forth. Aelrindel turned her head, her long cobalt hair dancing and stared right at him. Ralnor saw fear into those eyes, hidden from her voice that followed, so different from the memory. ¡°You¡¯ll kill an Elderborn? Is that your gratitude?¡± She asked the shadows and Ralnor stepped out of them to answer her. ¡°If the Queen of queens wills it.¡± ¡°I see,¡± Aelrindel replied, her face darkening. Remarkably she¡¯d kept her poise. ¡°No birds are coming from Goras anymore, is the word. This was asked of you some time ago. Perhaps, while her and I, were still talking.¡± ¡°It has taken me this long to decide,¡± He lied, but some of her words were surprising onto their own. ¡°You¡¯ve spoken to the Empress?¡± ¡°She asked for me. Needed a way to talk to the Wyvern,¡± Aelrindel replied quickly, seizing her chance, perhaps even starting a spell. Not that it mattered. She was already dead. ¡°I made a talisman for her, in exchange for her pardon. It¡¯s been two years now.¡± She¡¯ll forgive your transgressions, Mol had said, appealing to his practical side. Well known his character was to his brethren inside Nym¡¯s Circle. Easy to exploit. Ralnor stepped back from the memory, with a frown. ¡°If Baltoris used the Wyverns, then she has won by now.¡± The land can be rebuilt. Why would Baltoris break her word? Opt to murder an Elderborn? What would stop her, from doing it again? What does a life of a killer is worth? ¡°No she hasn¡¯t,¡± Aelrindel crooked her lips in a smile full of smug satisfaction, but then her eyes strayed on the empty goblet, she still held in her hand troubled. The smile faded, when she realized what had happened. ¡°I¡¯ve been with you for days,¡± Ralnor explained, suddenly unsure about everything. ¡°When you go out to visit the frozen river, whilst you sleep and drown in your nightmares. What have you done, Aelrindel?¡± She clenched her jaw, some of that hatred bubbling to the surface. ¡°I fought back,¡± Aelrindel said, her voice but a whisper. ¡°For Edlenn and those like her that perished. For those that run, stripped of their station. For the Old Ways and even you, for I can hear your name now. The Goddess whispers it, all you have to do is listen. Is the Goddess in the wrong, Dar Eherdir?¡± That was unexpected, he thought. ¡°You¡¯ve helped Reinut,¡± Ralnor said, reaching for the small vial, he¡¯d kept in an inside pocket, on his vest. ¡°I didn¡¯t start this,¡± Aelrindel explained and he believed her. ¡°All this destruction came from the Gods, for she had abandoned the ways. The pirate took advantage of the chaos. He saved me in a sense. You will fault me for reacting to her deception?¡± Ah, politics, he thought, shaking his head in deep disappointment. And romance. The worst bloody combo. How many had died for a highborn¡¯s whim this time? How many to satisfy a hyper inflated ego? How many will die the next time? Aelrindel closed her left fist, the light coming from the lamps growing, the shadows retracting. Ralnor sighed. ¡°Don¡¯t.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± Aelrindel retorted lively. ¡°Do you know how I found you?¡± He asked, catching her by surprise. She started to argue immediately. ¡°The Queen¡ª¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be a fool, she was on campaign for months,¡± He cut her off. ¡°No one has seen her in fact, for more than a year. Wetull has turned to ashes the word is, no one knows what¡¯s left standing, who is in charge there. Or if anyone really is. You might as well be the last of the old lines and he knew that, I suppose.¡± ¡°What are you saying?¡± Aelrindel asked, sounding haunted now. Ralnor tossed her the small vial and she caught it on instinct. She almost dropped it, when his answer came next. ¡°Reinut told me, where to find you.¡± And while the antidote kept her alive, Aelrindel had never healed from that day.
The woods woke up, after he did. Birds and animals, still numb from the night¡¯s cold, came alive. Some complaining, others happy. Ralnor placed another log into the fire and watched as it caught and blossomed. Ora¡¯s was a cruel, stubborn god. Sadistic in his zeal to get what he wanted. Everything had come full circle. Two contracts. Two lives he¡¯d now spared, perhaps selfishly. Two lives, he owed and the God would never let go. Ralnor unfortunately had to intervene back then and he had to do it again now. It was a flaw in his character this, the assassin admitted. A humble boy from the slums, trying to keep what was never his from perishing forever. Nurture it and for what? A small reward down the line. Alike a dog. Had he made a mistake back then? He clenched his lips into a thin line, just as Mezera stirred and woke up from her slumber. ¡°Damn,¡± She gasped, her teeth rattling. ¡°I can¡¯t feel my bloody hands!¡± ¡°Give it a minute,¡± Ralnor counseled her, deciding he wasn¡¯t just a servant anymore. There was an opportunity here, to decide the future of a whole race. He would. Neither some misbegotten queen, nor a foolish sorceress. Not their offspring, but him. ¡°And everything will become as it once was.¡± As much an advice for her, as for himself. 68. Why, thank you dear
Glen Why, thank you dear
There was despair in that voice. Even a little panic. ¡°PULL HARDER, YE LILY LIVERED MONKEY!¡± Stiles bellowed, veins popping on his neck and both hands on the side fastener. ¡°HE¡¯S TOO FAT!¡± Liko replied almost as loud and deeply affronted, hanging desperately from the shoulder leather strands to put more weight on them, feet barely touching the ground. ¡°No, I¡¯m not!¡± Glen protested, sounding strained and full of indignation. ¡°Yes, ye are. Ye eat too fuckin¡¯ much!¡± Liko accused him, voice dripping vitriol. ¡°ENOUGH!¡± Emerson thundered, putting a stop to the spectacle. ¡°It¡¯s tight enough, Mr. Stiles.¡± ¡°I second that,¡± Glen agreed and the knight cast him a glare to keep his mouth shut. ¡°Everybody leave,¡± Emerson ordered them and his helpers walked out, but for Zola who stayed back, what looked like a pair of leather pants in her hands. ¡°Let me have a look at it, lad.¡± Glen turned this way and that, the better for him to look and the knight examined the bindings and the straps of hardened leather one by one. He slapped hard at the pieces of plate on his chest, riveted on the leather at the top front of the cuirass. A later addition to his rebuilt armor. Satisfied, he handed Glen a pair of mail brigandines for his upper arms and helped him secure them at the shoulders. The vambraces came as a last piece, mostly plate over hardened leather, or so the former thief thought. ¡°Put them on as well. I¡¯ll run and fetch you, two plate-reinforced shoulder pads from the blacksmith,¡± Emerson said, sounding satisfied with how everything had gone. Glen could barely turn his torso, or breathe, the thick gambeson he had underneath as heavy and cumbersome as the leather armour. Wearing them both would be exhausting, he thought. ¡°These are padded leather pants,¡± Zola said, just as the knight turned to head out. ¡°Mine, but haven¡¯t worn ¡®em much.¡± Glen frowned at her words. Surely she¡¯s kidding. ¡°Gratitude, Lady Zola.¡± That was Emerson. Carrying out a blatant act of sedition. ¡°Wait,¡± Glen objected, but the knight had already gone out, so he turned at the bountiful Issir woman that approached him with an alluring leer, pants in hand. ¡°I¡¯m not wearing, no fuckin¡¯ woman¡¯s pants!¡±
¡°They don¡¯t fit!¡± Glen protested, the tight pants stuck on his thighs. ¡°Let me see,¡± Zola offered, but he stopped her turning away and putting his hand out, palm opened. ¡°I need no help for this, woman!¡± He warned her. ¡°Pfft. Is it the open breeches? I¡¯ve seen what ye got there lad, many a times,¡± Zola snickered and slapped his hands away, to try for herself, standing behind him. It was futile. ¡°Are ye sure you wore that?¡± Glen asked, puffing hard, her breasts pushing on his back distracting. Ever? ¡°I did, so stop fidgeting. Suck yer stomach in and breathe out. Push yer junk out of the way,¡± She advised and tried again, pulling with all her might, before he¡¯d time to process it in his brain. The pain was immense, but Zola managed to pull the pants up all the way this time. ¡°Arggh,¡± Glen growled miserably the next second and doubled down, hands between his legs. ¡°Oh, my god, have ye lost yer mind?¡± ¡°There,¡± Zola declared, standing back to examine her work. ¡°Stop crying and push yer cock to the left side,¡± She advised with an evil smirk. ¡°Yer not wearing a tunic.¡± ¡°This is madness,¡± Glen protested, still in considerable discomfort and made to wipe his face with a sleeve, almost peeling his nose off with the gruff iron vambrace. ¡°Fuck, dammit!¡± He cried and stumbled back, just as Jinx popped her pink head through the door to look inside, as curious as a hungry cat. ¡°What did I miss?¡± The Gish asked, with a toothy grin and watched him shifting his weight from one foot to the other, in embarrassed silence, to alleviate some of the discomfort. ¡°Glen¡¯s a little too well-endowed for my pants,¡± Zola explained, as ambiguous an explanation as Glen had ever heard. Jinx burst right in, her interest piqued. ¡°Nonsense,¡± She decided, after a small pause, looking him up and down. ¡°Yer lying,¡± Glen narrowed his eyes, understandably taking it personal, but Zola was faster to respond. ¡°No lie,¡± She offered him an all knowing smile that brought some color on his cheeks. ¡°There¡¯s a lot of man in the boy,¡± Zola added and walked away towards the door pushing a dumfounded Jinx out of the way. ¡°I appreciate the help, Zola,¡± Glen said, his voice steady, chest pushed out and feeling taller, than a minute ago. ¡°Any time, milord,¡± Came her reply, before she walked outside. Her words heartening and full of future promise, such as only an older woman could offer and a younger man appreciate. ¡°Fuck are ye doing?¡± Jinx hissed, almost in his ear, snapping him out of his reverie. ¡°Are ye serious?¡±This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it ¡°Huh?¡± Glen snapped angry, stumbling back to avoid her spittle getting him in the face. ¡°Twas a compliment!¡± ¡°Yer a darn fool,¡± Whisper retorted, grimacing as if she¡¯d swallowed something sour. ¡°Don¡¯t go about thinking there¡¯s more than that to her words. Her addiction to cock is legendary!¡± Glen stared at her silently after that outburst. Then at his boots. Smacked his lips at the end of it and took a deep breath. In through the nose and out the mouth. ¡°I honestly can¡¯t see anything wrong with that,¡± He replied at last at the gawking expectant Jinx. ¡°What?¡± The young man queried, seeing her recoil in horror. ¡°It¡¯s the god¡¯s darn truth!¡±
Half an hour later they stood afore the newly constructed barricade, the opening where the door would be, the latter an euphemism, blasting cold air through that blew Glen¡¯s hair back and chilled his ears something fierce. ¡°Right then,¡± Former Decanus of the Legion Marcus boomed, staring at the young man standing next to a still miffed Jinx, trying to keep his teeth from rattling and failing. ¡°You¡¯re okay there, milord?¡± ¡°F..ine, do¡­ go on, Mr. Saunio,¡± Glen managed to say. ¡°Armour seems a nice fit, milord,¡± The hale man pointed with a smile. Glen nodded, a tear traveling back towards his sideburns slowly. ¡°Are we finished, Spurius?¡± Emerson asked, not one for small talk. The former Centurion snorted, looking at the almost a hundred meters long wall of logs. ¡°If yer asking if it will stop an army, I¡¯ll counter ye need an army for that,¡± He replied. ¡°Want us to close it up? We can bar the cover from the inside.¡± ¡°How fast can you do it?¡± Emerson probed. ¡°Less than five minutes,¡± He looked through the three meter wide opening, the pass extending as far the eye could see, the mountain slopes cut vertical, the rock walls on each side intimidating. ¡°Reckon it¡¯s fast enough.¡± ¡°Aye,¡± Emerson agreed and turned to stare at the rest of the people present. Dante standing with his back on the barricade, next to the opening to better avoid the draft, the only one the knight couldn¡¯t see. ¡°We need to know, what¡¯s coming. If it is at all,¡± He said, crooking his mouth in a grimace, the cold getting to him probably, Glen thought with a shiver. It shook him to his core. ¡°Ye should¡¯ve worn yer coat,¡± Jinx said, fur leather jacket leaving only her eyes showing and her small forehead. ¡°I know,¡± Glen replied, hearing bits and pieces of the discussion, between Emerson and the soldiers. ¡°Thought we would just look at the damn thing from afar, or something.¡± Like from the castle walls for instance, he thought. Over a fire. Cup of hot tea in hand. ¡°Plus ye wanted to showcase yer new armour,¡± Jinx added. ¡°Yeah,¡± He reluctantly admitted, eyeing her sturdy jacket suspiciously. ¡°Where did ye get that?¡± ¡°Had it all the time,¡± The Gish lied. ¡°No, ye didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Hmm, ye might be right,¡± Jinx relented, raising a pink brow. ¡°I found it, a couple of days ago.¡± ¡°You found it?¡± Glen asked, turning his head. ¡°Remember those bandits, or whatever,¡± Jinx looked at him suggestively. ¡°What was that?¡± Glen asked, stooping towards her a bit. ¡°I told ye,¡± She replied firmly, shoving him back. ¡°No you didn¡¯t. I heard nothing!¡± Glen protested. ¡°I whispered,¡± The Gish clarified. ¡°Not my fault ye have a hearin¡¯ problem.¡± Luthos shriveled cold balls! ¡°You took it from their corpses?¡± He asked with a sigh, a bit weirded out, before catching himself. He was being hypocritical here, if he was being honest. Jinx though, didn¡¯t have to know. ¡°Their camp,¡± Jinx explained patiently. ¡°Tracked their footprints back there. Found their stuff. The jacket was in a sack.¡± Glen narrowed his eyes, not convinced this was the whole story. ¡°What else?¡± He probed. ¡°Couple of coins,¡± Jinx said dismissively. ¡°They had visitors though, so they probably were part of a bigger gang.¡± ¡°Hmm, we better keep our eyes open. Maybe form bigger hunting parties,¡± He thought out loud. Jinx patted him on the arm a couple of times excited for thinking of her safety probably, the metal ringing loud. She¡¯d a really heavy hand for such a small bodied girl. ¡°Lord Reeves, we would like yer input,¡± Emerson said, his tone patient, but cautionary. ¡°If you¡¯ve finished wit Lady Jinx.¡± Glen cleared his throat and turned to face the expecting men. He slapped his hands and arms hard to return circulation, making a show of it and stalling for time, while assuming a solemn austere look, to hide the fact he¡¯d no idea, what to give his input to. ¡°We decided to send a scouting party,¡± Emerson helped him, seeing through his shenanigans. ¡°Through Hellfort¡¯s Pass.¡± Why in Luthos name¡­ ¡°When you say through,¡± He started, realizing his nose had frozen up, unbeknownst to him. He was afraid to move the darn thing for fear of it breaking. ¡°How far are we talking about?¡± ¡°Do you intent on taking it upon yerself, milord?¡± The knight asked, a little surprised. Well, not what I was suggesting, Glen thought, painted into a corner out of the blue. Then again, it beats training all day, assuming one remembers to dress for the cold. ¡°I can do a scout mission,¡± He said nonchalantly. Once a fool, twice the idiot. ¡°It might be a long trip,¡± The knight warned. ¡°Assuming you don¡¯t run onto company.¡± Glen returned his knowing stare silent. The moment dragged, turning awkward, Marcus glancing towards a frowning Spurius, who shrugged his shoulders wanting no part of it. Everyone was waiting for him to decide, the pressure mounting, the cold biting and unforgiving. I¡¯m bound to lose body parts fast here. Not to mention I stepped into a hole. Still I can¡¯t exactly backtrack now, without losing face. He opened his mouth to accept the assignment, the knight¡¯s frown showing his skepticism, even amazement for his newfound courage, when Jinx stooped and whispered in his frozen ear, stopping him dead. ¡°He means Cofols, milord. The army.¡± Pretty explained. Oh, crap. Ahm, dodge. Say something you fool! ¡°Perhaps a more prudent approach is needed,¡± Dante commented from the wall, his Common perfectly delivered and Emerson after shaking his head at the deflated and on the verge of panicking Glen, turned towards the mercenary Captain, who finished his words poignantly, crossing his hands over his chest. ¡°Or a more seasoned scout.¡± Emerson snorted. ¡°You¡¯re volunteerin¡¯ Mr. Blackwood?¡± ¡°Good grief, no,¡± Dante replied with a shudder, the suggestion ludicrous to him. ¡°Jinx is the best option here.¡± ¡°Fuck you very much, love,¡± Jinx said all sugary and Dante deadpanned, not batting an eyelid. ¡°Why, thank you dear.¡±
69. Luthos idea of good fun
Glen Luthos idea of good fun
To state the wind blowing through Helfort¡¯s Pass was darn cold, was to not do it justice, he thought. There was dust carried within, clouds of it billowing up the walls bordering the cut between the mountains and also tiny pebbles, snow, or even ice that whipped Glen¡¯s face hard, as he squinted his eyes to better see further away. ¡°Looks empty!¡± He yelled, more a guess and Jinx half-turned her head, bright pink atop all that fur and yelled right back at him, none pleased. ¡°There¡¯s a turn a couple of kilometers ahead!¡± ¡°Is it long?¡± He inquired, not perturbed by her hysterics. ¡®The Pass? Aye,¡± Jinx replied, much calmer now. ¡°Ye need a day to walk it and then yer at Snake¡¯s Spine and ye better come right back then, or turn towards the desert, if yer smart.¡± Glen nodded, his ¡®father¡¯s¡¯ coat over all that armour making him toilsome, but stopping the wind from reaching his bones. ¡°You¡¯ll be okay?¡± He asked, offhandly and looking away, to avoid appearing all sad. ¡°Ayup, don¡¯t worry about it,¡± Came her reply, sniffing out his undertone. Sharp as a fuckin¡¯ razor. ¡°Stay away from that bounty hunter.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Yer not stupid, Glen,¡± Jinx said and he threw her a glare now. ¡°What did your instinct tell ye?¡± He thought about it some, remembering the ambush wasn¡¯t pleasant, since he had to relive Lith turning into a monster and he didn¡¯t want that. ¡°Everything was¡­ staged. I thought that at first,¡± Glen said, looking back towards the opening of the foreboding barricade. The shadow coming alive that night inside the yard, was another disturbing memory. ¡°Where do you think he went?¡± ¡°He never left,¡± Jinx replied, with a snort. ¡°Get back behind the barricade. Stay in the open,¡± Adding after a pause. ¡°Keep that cock in yer pants.¡± Glen blinked at the latter. ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake Pretty!¡± He admonished. ¡°Oh, shut up. Just stay alive, until I get back,¡± Came her retort. ¡°Aye, mom.¡± ¡°Ye want a smack on the nose?¡± ¡°Do you?¡± ¡°Pfft, yer too stupid to survive, it seems,¡± Whisper turned on her heel and walked towards her mount. The beast towering over her, but she reached the saddle deftly, almost with no effort. ¡°It may be, but I ain¡¯t that easy to kill!¡± Glen yelled at her back and she shook her head, before clicking her tongue to gallop away. Well, that wasn¡¯t half-bad, far as retorts go, Glen thought, with a shiver and a grin. He started walking slowly towards the gate, the new armour weighing him down, but thankfully the wind blowing on his back propelled him forward nicely. A soldier saluted, as he went by, another giving him a nod, which he returned stiffly, standing a little straighter. Val snorted, when he jumped on her saddle and turned her towards the castle. Glen stopped at a crude stand selling potatoes and small pickled cucumbers in jars, the wretched farmer doing a double take when he noticed him, which the young man found weird. ¡°Do you have any eggs perchance?¡± He asked, the sight of the man¡¯s yellow teeth, when he grinned to soften his denial, unsettling. ¡°No, milord. But these pickles are excellent. A family recipe. Fried, spiced and soaked in vinegar and not brine, and left just the right amount of time¡ª¡± ¡°Give me a jar,¡± Glen said stopping him. ¡°How much is it?¡± ¡°Ahm, a copper?¡± The farmer replied, with a glance at a pretty girl standing beside him, probably his daughter. Hello there, Glen thought quite interested. ¡°I¡¯ll give ye a silver, if you keep some fresh eggs for me tomorrow,¡± Glen offered, with a confident smile at the long-haired blond girl, in the thick blue dress. She returned it, a gleam in her eye and pushed her father away from the stand. ¡°I can have yer eggs, milord,¡± She reassured him. ¡°Worry not about it.¡± ¡°Kacie, don¡¯t go botherin¡¯, his lordship!¡± Her father scolded her. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s no bother,¡± Glen replied, stooping to give her the silver Eagle. ¡°I¡¯ll be seein¡¯ ye,¡± He promised her accepting the jar, Kacie¡¯s blush reaching the roots of her hair, when their fingers touched briefly. Glen remembered her father watching them and cleared his throat, standing up straighter; then assuming his well-rehearsed noble fa?ade, the voice matching it, he added. ¡°You too, dear sir.¡±
There was commotion on the castle¡¯s gate, when he approached atop Val, the soldiers scrambling to take positions, standing at attention of all fuckin¡¯ things, when he slow-trotted before them. Well, Glen thought, this could be a prank, but if Jinx went and did anything stupid, I¡¯ll have her locked up and feed her all the pickles. He stared at the jar silently for a moment. I ought to taste them first, he decided. Not exactly a punishment, if yer giving her a delicacy. ¡°Here he is,¡± Zola said, a hint of taunt in her voice. ¡°Our Lord Reeves.¡± She was standing just outside the kitchen¡¯s door, on the left from him, with Dante and Soren on his right. ¡°Who¡¯s he?¡± Soren asked, greatly confused, bushy copper brows raised.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Glen,¡± Dante replied, with a calculating smirk. ¡°Ha-ha,¡± The Northman guffawed, finding it hilarious for whatever reason. Glen offered Zola the jar, he still held in his hands. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Soren inquired, now all serious. ¡°Pickled cucumbers,¡± Glen replied and seeing Zola¡¯s amused look, added. ¡°In vinegar.¡± ¡°Ah,¡± Dante exclaimed, appreciating the difference. ¡°I¡¯ll take it then, milord,¡± Zola said, with a wink. Damn, Glen thought, all warmed up inside. It must be the armour. I¡¯m on a fuckin¡¯ roll today!
There was a knight standing next to Sir Emerson, his back turned towards Glen, the aged warrior eyeing him as the young man walked the small distance from the kitchen to meet them. The knight turned hearing him approach, Barbute helm in hand, full set of grey hair cut short, over a familiar face. Sir Solomon Arno looked tired and his cape was drenched in caked mud from the road, a hardness in his eyes that wasn¡¯t there before. ¡°Glen,¡± Emerson started, a little strained and Glen stopped in his tracks catching something in the man¡¯s voice. ¡°There¡¯s some news from Altarin.¡± Not good news was his meaning. Fuck, have they found out about me? He thought, trying to swallow and failing. Lie first, then cry, if that fails. Luthos give helping hand here! Sir Solomon stepped forward dramatically, his jaw clenched and raised his hand; Glen thought he was going to smack him in the face, steel gauntlet knocking his teeth out and flinched, a scared yelp lodged in his throat. The knight tapped once his plated chest though, in a salute, followed by a smart bow of his dignified head. ¡°Lord Reeves,¡± Sir Solomon said, his voice measured and to the point. ¡°I hereby inform you, on the untimely passing of your grandfather.¡± He¡¯d a scroll in his other hand, which he slowly unfurled. Glen blinked, in stunned silence. Sir Emerson put a hand on his shoulder comforting, while the young former thief tried to process, what exactly had happened. The latter interrupted, when Sir Solomon started reading from his now opened scroll. ¡°Hear and obey,¡± He started, loud enough to be heard by everyone inside the small castle¡¯s yard.
City of Altarin, Second month of winter, Year 189 of the New Calendar. Blessed be the Five. This is the last Will and Testament of Elliot Reeves, fourth of his name, Lord of Altarin, Duke Gideon Winfield¡¯s of Raoz, first Shield and his grace¡¯s Marshal of Arms. I, Elliot Reeves, son of Duncan, being sound of mind and body, declare the following to be witnessed and realized by my subjects, in the event of my passing. All my earthly possessions and titles, landed estate and properties owned by my person, are to be bequeathed to one Glenavon Reeves, henceforth to be known as the second, firstborn of my legitimized late son Glenavon Reeves, effective immediately. Furthermore he, Glenavon Reeves, second of his name, henceforth to be also known as Lord of Altarin and its provinces, is to preserve a third of that income and provide the use of my manor in the city of Altarin to his aunt Lady Isla Reeves, for as long as she draws breath¡­
What in the slovenly fuck, just happened? Glen thought, mouth hanging. He tried desperately to assume a proper expression, fully aware that people were staring, while Sir Solomon continued reading from the scroll, his voice coming out almost incomprehensible to his ears. He made a step back, just as the knight finished, bowed deeply and before Glen had time to run away, approached him ceremoniously, his aged face solemn, lips pressed in a scowl and offered him a gold signet ring, with a stallion engraved on it. Glen took it numb and turned it this way and that, too stunned to speak, his mouth locked and his head spinning, on the verge of full blown panic. Sir Solomon¡¯s thunderous voice brought him violently out of his stupor. Sir Emerson joining him a moment later, Soren¡¯s thunderous roar topping both of them, his surprise equaling the young man¡¯s. ¡°All Hail, the Lord of Altarin!¡± ¡°HAIL LORD REEVES!¡± ¡°THE LORD OF ALTARIN?¡± The rest of the soldiers present in the yard, around thirty of them, quickly caught up and created an enthusiastic rumpus of epic proportions, as a terrified Glen tried desperately to ride through the emotions and the shock of the moment, his knees shaking and barely standing upright. Emerson realizing he was about to collapse, grabbed him by the elbow and pulled him inside their barrack, with Sir Solomon following right behind them.
¡°Drink,¡± Emerson told him, putting a cup of wine in his shaking hands. ¡°Huh, it¡¯s¡­¡± Glen started to say, but the Knight stared him intently, before nodding. He gulped down the contents without further protests, some of it spilling on his coat. ¡°My lord,¡± Sir Solomon said, as he finished and wiped his mouth with a sleeve. ¡°You must return to Altarin post haste.¡± ¡°Ahm, well¡­¡± Glen mumbled, still too confused to form a coherent thought. ¡°Explain to him, what happened,¡± Emerson grunted, not pleased for whatever reason. Glen trusted the knight though and turned to Sir Solomon quizzing. ¡°What happened?¡± Glen asked not exactly sure, what he was looking for. Emerson stooped well into his personal space, to help him with that. ¡°To his grandfather,¡± The knight said. ¡°Yes,¡± Glen agreed, crossing his arms on his chest, hopping Sir Emerson took the hint and backed off. ¡°What happened to my grandfather, Sir Solomon?¡± The latter he delivered accusingly. Sir Solomon Arno grimaced, none happy to divulge the information, but unable to refuse a direct command. He smacked his lips once, a sadness returning to his eyes, before replying gravely. ¡°Lord Reeves was murdered in his sleep.¡± A tick appeared on Glen¡¯s right eye, the words too ominous, on a day that didn¡¯t need any more surprises. ¡°When you say murdered,¡± He started, taste of wine in his mouth turning bitter. ¡°An assassin,¡± The knight deadpanned. ¡°Sir Laurel was murdered as well.¡± Him Glen didn¡¯t much like, but he nodded troubled at the news. What he was supposed to say now? He wondered, casting a side glance at the frowning Emerson. ¡°Have we¡­ found out the culprit?¡± He finally asked, seeing the knight wasn¡¯t going to help him there. Sir Solomon snorted, a grimace distorting his face, the failure probably a personal stain on his honor. When he finally opened his mouth to answer him, the sound of thunderous galloping and much yelling coming from the yard, stopped him dead. ¡°What in Uher¡¯s name?¡± Emerson exclaimed, before rushing outside. Glen went after him, all curious and Sir Solomon left behind, mouth still hanging open, sighed and followed them back out. ¡°Speak out lad!¡± Marcus barked, right hand firmly grasping at the reins of the soldier¡¯s horse to calm it down. It was one of the sentries posted at the barricade, Glen noticed, recognizing the young soldier from before. ¡°Lady Jinx returned,¡± The soldier gasped, all flushed and tense from riding like a madman from his post to report. Haha that was bloody fast! I bet she rode for a bit to pass the time and came right back. Glen thought with a smirk, slipping the gold ring on his middle finger, now that no one was paying attention to him. ¡°What did she find?¡± Emerson asked, steel in his voice forcing Glen to return to the conversation unfolding before him. ¡°Khan¡¯s banners,¡± The hapless man replied, scared shitless. ¡°The whole darn Pass is flooded wit soldiers!¡± And with that everyone present turned as one and looked at him expectantly. Glen closed his eyes, his heart sinking to his stomach. Trouble loves her fuckin¡¯ company, he thought, despair oozing out of him in waves, and Luthos idea of good fun, left much to be desired.
70. Half a wedding…
Nattas Half a wedding¡­
The roasted beef tenderloin tasted splendidly. Cut in even stripes and left to marinate in wine for a night, it was served with a variety of vegetables. The fried peppers and medium onions crunchy enough to satisfy his palate and be the highlight. ¡°Do you want some garum with your potatoes, Lord Nattas?¡± Mercos asked and Storm paused mid-chewing to glance at the small vial, the heavy-set man held in his hand. The baker shook it once, making its contents dance inside and Storm swallowed almost killing himself in the process. ¡°I¡¯ll pass, dear Mercos,¡± He gasped, eyes watering. ¡°Too much oregano, for my stomach.¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s fine,¡± Mercos replied, taking it in stride. ¡°I¡¯ll leave you to it then. Have to keep an eye on the missus up front,¡± He smiled at that, a couple of teeth missing, ruining it somewhat and Storm nodded reaching for his cup. The bakery, he was sitting in the open, but walled garden behind the building, only another table in that small space serving as a private restaurant, didn¡¯t have a famous wine collection, so he¡¯d brought a bottle from his own cellar. Thoroughly tested beforehand, for any surprises. He sipped a cautious amount, licking his lips. The sun above his head pleasant, after the other day¡¯s downpour and the carpenters¡¯ at last quiet, after they¡¯d finished preparing their wooden pavilions in Alden¡¯s central square, right in front of the Spring Gardens. The latter had kept him awake for several days and a few nights, with their songs and their incessant hammering. Storm closed his eyes lulled in a delightful stupor that ended abruptly, when he heard the sound of heavy boots coming from the bakery¡¯s garden door. Titus burst outside, paused blinking at the sun and seeing him stare back annoyed, rushed to sit on the free chair at his table. ¡°City is fuckin¡¯ booming,¡± The sellsword commented reaching for a cup. He filled it up to the brim and downed it, thirsty as a dog fresh out of the Khanate¡¯s desert, burping loudly at the end. ¡°Damn, that¡¯s some good wine, chief.¡± Storm, still silent, but for a nervous tick at the corner of his right eye, breathed once deep to calm himself down. ¡°Any particular reason, you¡¯re interrupting my meal?¡± He asked warningly. ¡°Several,¡± Titus replied undaunted, reaching to refill his cup. Storm raised his cane and smacked his hand away, not hard enough to break it at the wrist, as was his intention, but Titus groaned and pulled it away at the very least. ¡°Continue,¡± Storm urged him and his man did, with an angry frown. ¡°I¡¯m running since morning to have everything ready,¡± He complained, as if Storm didn¡¯t pay him an arm and a leg for doing exactly that. ¡°The city is bursting at the seams, too many Issirs to count and visitors from pretty much everywhere.¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t heard a single thing, to excuse your bursting in here,¡± Storm commented. ¡°It may sound as a jest, but it isn¡¯t. I¡¯m of the mind to call the guards and throw your arse in the oubliette. Leave you there for a year. Way fucking better return for my coin, I think.¡± ¡°What? Come on, chief! It¡¯s not my fault Sudi, is vacationing on your coin!¡± Titus protested, his mustache dancing on his upper lip annoyingly. Storm decided to aim for his mouth the next time and put more force behind it. ¡°Leave Sudi out of it. Now, please give your fucking report, while the sun is still up!¡± Titus sighed at the unfair abuse, eyed the bottle of Flauegran sadly for a moment, then replied sounding dejected. ¡°The Queen is here.¡± Miranda, Storm thought alarmed, standing up. And little Silvie. It was almost time.
¡°State your name and reason for visiting,¡± The palace clerk droned, not lifting his head from his papers. The table he sat behind, just outside the main Hall¡¯s doors, a new addition to the place; the man himself, a fresh import from Cartagen. ¡°I¡¯m Lord Nattas, here to see the Queen,¡± Storm hissed through his teeth, his new doublet, too narrow at the chest, forcing him to stand stiffly. ¡°Her majesty is to inspect the central pavilion at noon,¡± The clerk replied. ¡°No appointments are scheduled, before that.¡± Abrakas strike this fool down! ¡°Can you just announce me? I¡¯m part of the King¡¯s darn council!¡± ¡°Sir, please lower your voice.¡± The clerk retorted clearly not impressed, in a monotonous voice that infuriated him even more. ¡°My voice is low enough, for the abuse!¡± ¡°You¡¯re forcing me to call the guards, sir.¡± You slimy, rat-faced cunt! The doors opened before he¡¯d exploded and her majesty Queen Miranda of Regia, walked out, with a small girl, the spit image of her following right after, the carved ivory doll of a knight in her hand. Storm bowed sharply, despite his back protesting and the jolt of pain down his leg. ¡°Your Grace,¡± He said ceremoniously and the Queen paused, a rare smile on her artfully painted lips. It made her look her age that smile, he thought, swallowing nervously. ¡°Dear Lord Nattas,¡± Miranda gushed, taking him by surprise, mainly because it reached her eyes. ¡°We are delighted, you are here.¡± ¡°Why, thank you, your Grace,¡± Storm replied, the clerk glaring at the intimacy displayed. He ought to have the man removed, he decided. That little shit is untrustworthy and too entitled to know his fucking place. ¡°This is Silvie,¡± The Queen said, presenting the little girl, dressed in a miniature gown that was the exact copy of what Miranda had on, with the addition of a white cape. ¡°Silvie this is our friend, Lord Storm Nattas.¡± ¡°Hello,¡± Silvie said shyly, cute blue eyes avoiding his. ¡°Pleased to make your acquaintance, Lady Silvie,¡± Storm answered with a warm smile. ¡°Lord Nattas, will you accompany us outside?¡± The Queen asked and the clerk almost groaned in frustration behind them. Sealing his fate. ¡°It will be my honor, your Grace,¡± Storm readily replied, with a smirk.
It wasn¡¯t a long walk down the hallway leading to the exit, facing the square, but it was long enough for him. Storm Nattas soldiered on, the smile on his face permanent. Luckily, Lady Silvie kept the young Queen from breezing the distance and forced a more humane pace, much to his relief. ¡°We are pleased,¡± Miranda said, her voice lowered to almost a pleasant whisper. This was twice she¡¯d praised him in a row and Storm realized she smelled of roses. Literally. ¡°Your efforts in making this possible, haven¡¯t gone unnoticed, Lord Nattas.¡± ¡°Thank you, your Grace,¡± Storm replied rigidly, trying to think of anything else, than the way her tight and scandalously thin Lorian gown, a gold and blue low cut front and back design hugged her body, or her long blond curls swaying back and forth on her naked back. Abrakas you accursed ¡®n vile deity, give helping hand here! ¡°What were Antoon¡¯s terms?¡± The Queen asked, stopping before the guarded exit to Alden¡¯s central square. There was worry in her blue-silver eyes, Storm thought mesmerized, before mentally slapping himself. It¡¯s a fuckin¡¯ trick you imbecile! Not to mention the shortest way to the gallows. ¡°They asked for Aldenfort,¡± Nattas said with a grimace, placing both his hands on his cane, then flinching violently, when little Silvie bumped on it by accident and almost brought him down face first, in front of Queen and guards. Gods darn it! ¡°Silvie,¡± The Queen warned, while he managed to stabilize himself again. ¡°Apologies,¡± The girl said, then asked all curious. ¡°Why you have this?¡± Storm cleared his throat, the nearest guard eyeing him suspiciously, hand on the pommel of his longsword. ¡°It¡¯s fine, Lady Silvie,¡± He said quickly, with a fake grin. ¡°I have a bad leg, it helps me walk.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve seen you without it,¡± Miranda commented, an obvious slip of the tongue, but before Storm had the time to wonder about it more, she added hastily. ¡°We were asking about the marriage terms before.¡± Ah. Of course. He almost forgot, she was a mother. Politics tend to do that to people. Lustful minds were equally guilty as well. ¡°Five years,¡± He addressed the thorny issue and the Queen paled a bit, glancing at her daughter interrogating one of the flustered guards about his dirty boots. ¡°I had to strong arm Lord Bach about it, your Grace. His first offer, was three.¡± ¡°We understand,¡± The Queen replied sounding hollow, even pained. She bit her lower lip, goosebumps appearing on her skin, her hands clenched into fists. She is probably chilled to her bones in that dress, Storm thought, seeing some of her reasoning clearer now. High Queen Nienke was attending the event herself after all. This isn¡¯t vanity, Storm realized, but duty. ¡°I hoped she¡¯d have more time,¡± Miranda added, her voice again dropping to a whisper.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Miranda was fourteen, when she became Queen of Regia. Assuming Lord Doris hadn¡¯t lied about her age, as were the rumors circulating. Whatever her real age was at that time, the marriage had been consummated within a year and the matter never brought up again. Knowing King Alistair, Storm doubted he¡¯d waited that long. ¡°King Antoon insisted, in the need for an heir,¡± Storm said uncomfortably and she nodded, with a small exhale. It was, what it was. ¡°We have a carriage waiting, Lord Nattas,¡± The Queen of Regia announced, her tone formal again, the young woman under the title vanishing and Storm bowed his head low in respect. Their time was over.
¡°People say, the High Queen is pregnant,¡± Titus commented much later, after a tiring day that saw him standing still for two hours as its highlight, while a tailor put his finishing touches on a dark-blue velvet redingote, he intended to wear on the morrow. ¡°Why is that?¡± Storm asked, massaging his leg at the thigh, where it hurt him the most. ¡°Her tits are huge, for starters,¡± The man said. ¡°For her figure that is.¡± ¡°Is this your expert opinion?¡± Storm inquired. ¡°I assume you thought about it long and hard, while busy doing¡­ what is it I pay you for?¡± Titus snorted. ¡°People notice, is all I¡¯m saying.¡± Storm sighed. ¡°What¡¯s the other reason?¡± He asked, glancing at the amount of reports he had to go through, before catching some shuteye. Was no one else in the bloody kingdom doing any work? Storm wondered, greatly pissed. ¡°Huh?¡± Titus grunted, taken aback. ¡°You said for starters,¡± Storm said, taking the first scroll out of the pile on his office. ¡°Usually it means, more is coming.¡± ¡°Hah, aye it does.¡± ¡°Well?¡± Titus scratched his nose, before answering. ¡°She banned alcohol from her quarters, first thing.¡± ¡°Maybe she hates wine?¡± Storm chanced. Titus shuddered at the thought. ¡°Who does? Nay, she¡¯s a drinker all-right, ever heard of an Issir wench that isn¡¯t?¡± Titus knowledge of Issir women ended with the whores he had visited on every port apparently, Storm thought. ¡°Just not at this time, since she¡¯s expecting obviously,¡± His man finished his diatribe on alcoholism and pregnancies with the sureness of a drunk scholar. ¡°I take it, these are just palace rumors. Best avoid spreading them further,¡± Storm retorted putting an end to the matter and started reading the report, at the less than adequate light of the oil lamps. ¡°Shit,¡± He said after reading the first couple of lines. ¡°What?¡± Titus probed, raising a thick brow. ¡°Elliot Reeves was murdered,¡± Nattas replied. ¡°Is that¡­¡± ¡°Aye. His son was the man with the Duke¡¯s Shield, back in the summer.¡± ¡°You think it¡¯s the Cofols causing trouble?¡± Titus asked and Storm puffed his cheeks out, trying to see the reason behind such a blatant attack, but was interrupted by a knock on his door. ¡°Yes!¡± He snapped and one his new guards stepped inside. ¡°You are summoned in the palace, sir,¡± The drowsy man reported. Storm narrowed his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s the middle of the fucking night,¡± He growled and the hired guard shrugged his shoulders, as if it made no difference to him. ¡°Do you want me to send the King¡¯s man away?¡± Abrakas, what the unholy fuck! The king¡¯s¡­ Had that weasel of a clerk, opened his mouth on him? ¡°Of course not! I will be right there,¡± Storm hissed and pushed himself up furiously, the chair toppling behind him. The guard blinked at the bang, but otherwise maintained his professionalism. ¡°You can go now,¡± Storm told him. ¡°Chief?¡± Titus probed, the moment the man was outside the door, seeing him scrunching his jaw this way and that, consumed with rage. ¡°You remember that sailor you handled back in Novesium?¡± He asked out of the side of his mouth. ¡°That was Sudi.¡± Abrakas cock rots in a bloody jar! ¡°I have a job for you,¡± Storm relented, shaking his head in despair, decision made. ¡°But you got to be discreet.¡±
Storm Nattas entered the palace grounds for the second time that day, having not slept at all and feeling less eager to do it, than he had the previous time. Expecting to meet with King Alistair, he was surprised, when Sigurd Bach of all people tackled him before the throne room. His Issir counterpart appearing worn out and thinner than he remembered him. ¡°Lord Nattas, I asked the King¡¯s permission to talk with you, before tomorrow,¡± Sigurd said quickly, seeing him frown the moment he realized it was him. ¡°Which King?¡± Storm asked, in a mocking manner. ¡°Ah, that would be King Alistair,¡± He replied, with a cunning smile, playing along. ¡°Alas he had to retire for the night. Can¡¯t blame him. His lovely Queen is here,¡± Nah, make that smile lecherous, Storm thought, his words unnerving him. ¡°There¡¯s talk, Queen Nienke is with child,¡± He retaliated, with a condescending smirk of his own. Sigurd grimaced, the subject thorny. ¡°It is too early to know for sure.¡± This was all Kaltha¡¯s Master of Silence could divulge, before abruptly dropping the matter.
They had found a small uncomfortable table and a couple of stools to sit on, just outside the throne room. The narrow hall leading to it, had a couple of night torches lit and that was it. The table was the same that -hopefully now taken care of- clerk had used earlier that day. It was undignified and ridiculous, conducting business in the semi-darkness, he thought, placing his hands on the table in front of him and staring at Lord Bach¡¯s face expectantly. Storm wasn¡¯t going to talk first. ¡°I heard about your accident,¡± Sigurd started, choosing a roundabout way. ¡°It was an assassination attempt,¡± Storm corrected him. ¡°How horrible. But they failed, thank the Five,¡± Sigurd sympathized unconvincingly. ¡°Aye. You didn¡¯t have anything to do with it perchance?¡± He asked him, softening it with a smile at the end. ¡°Bah, you jest!¡± Sigurd laughed it off. ¡°You¡¯re my friend, Lord Nattas.¡± Right. We fucking love each other. ¡°So¡­¡± Storm scratched an eyebrow with a finger, deciding to speed it along, as the night wasn¡¯t going to get any younger. ¡°¡­what is going on, Sigurd? I thought we agreed on the terms already.¡± ¡°We have,¡± Sigurd said. ¡°But the High King received an alarming report yesterday.¡± Storm made an effort to stand straighter, but failed; the small stool only good enough for some of his arse, the rest of it hanging and in serious discomfort, not helping on the matter. Was this about Altarin? He thought, keeping his mouth shut. ¡°There was a big battle in the North. A place called Stag¡¯s Doab,¡± Sigurd continued, looking at him expectantly. Storm had no idea where that was. ¡°The Jarl beat back Lord Vanzon and crossed Lud River to attack Eaglesnest with a very big army.¡± Storm stared at his hands for a moment. ¡°Ahm, there¡¯s always something happening in the North, Sigurd,¡± He said finally, not seeing how it affected him, or Regia. ¡°Lord Bart made a stand there, Storm. Together with Lord Vanzon, they managed to win a great victory at a huge cost, amidst the bridges,¡± Sigurd explained. ¡°Pushed them back beyond the river.¡± ¡°Congratulations, I suppose,¡± Storm replied wanting to finish up their talk, not seeing a connection, or anything that should keep him awake at this late time. Obviously there was one somewhere, else why would Lord Bach even bother him with it? But he couldn¡¯t grasp it. ¡°Lorb Bart Crull reported some disturbing news,¡± Sigurd pressed on, as if he didn¡¯t listen to his reply. ¡°But let me ask you this first. Where is Sir Lucius?¡± It was like someone had poured a bucket full of ice on his nape. Storm frowned and almost toppled over the stupid stool from the shock. Why mention Lucius? He thought, thinking feverishly on the reasons Lord Bach had, to bring him up on the conversation. ¡°Lucius is traveling north, towards Sovya,¡± Storm said, as Sigurd listened to him patiently, clearly knowing something, he didn¡¯t. ¡°For personal reasons.¡± ¡°It somewhat confirms Lord Bart Crull¡¯s report then,¡± Sigurd replied. ¡°What was the report?¡± Nattas inquired, not liking the turn their talk had taken. ¡°During the battle,¡± Sigurd started, recounting what he¡¯d read. ¡°Sir Lucius bribed and assumed command of a mercenary company, used the men to attack Sir Reggy¡¯s command, killing him in the process. Almost turned the battle against the High King¡¯s men, causing many casualties. Lord Bart is justifiably incensed.¡± It took Storm a full minute to recover enough to speak. His mouth had went completely dry in the meantime. ¡°Lucius fought with the Northmen?¡± Nattas asked, when he came about. ¡°That¡¯s absurd.¡± Was it though? Had something happened? What would make him take such action? ¡°I thought the same thing,¡± Sigurd agreed. ¡°But why would Lord Bart lie?¡± ¡°He went insane, over the loss of his firstborn,¡± Storm deadpanned. What did you do Lucius? ¡°What personal reasons?¡± Sigurd asked instead and Storm realized that the cunning man knew already and he was just stringing him along. ¡°I haven¡¯t talked to Lucius in months, Sigurd,¡± Nattas said. ¡°The loss of his brother hit him hard.¡± ¡°It seems that way,¡± Lord Bach agreed, using a palm to rub his extended forehead, his bald skull gleaming in the light of the torches. ¡°There was the matter of his wife as well. Duke Redmond¡¯s daughter. A Northern lass.¡± ¡°I will not discuss Sir Lucius late wife with you, Sigurd,¡± Storm warned him. ¡°Of course not, but perhaps there¡¯s a reason there for his actions,¡± Lord Bach said. ¡°Yours as well.¡± Storm shifted on the stool nervously, opting not to answer. ¡°Apparently the girl we were looking for in the summer. Remember her?¡± Sigurd continued, hint of a smirk on his mouth. ¡°Turns out, she was with Sir Lucius all along.¡± Lord Nattas took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Sigurd had relaxed on his seat, waiting for his answer. This was a negotiation, in the end. He was talking to him, because King Alistair would have had him killed at the blink of an eye, for calling his son a traitor. ¡°Whatever that report says is false,¡± He started and Sigurd frowned. ¡°There was a battle, people died. I wouldn¡¯t doubt that. What you didn¡¯t answer, is what was Lucius doing there?¡± Storm raised his hand to stop Lord Bach from interrupting him. ¡°Why would him saving a girl, an innocent girl as I understand it, bring all these crazy stuff you just said to pass?¡± ¡°He sided with the rebels!¡± Sigurd snapped, and he was truly angry now. ¡°Not if he was attacked by the Crulls,¡± Storm contended, undeterred by his outburst. ¡°I don¡¯t trust them. No one does. Where¡¯s your proof? I prefer to hear Lucius side of the story.¡± ¡°Pfft. Good luck with that. There¡¯s word he was killed on the retreat,¡± Sigurd said dismissively. What? He stood up, his knees be damned. ¡°Show me the report,¡± He said, his eyes piercing. ¡°It¡¯s just rumors, my friend.¡± It¡¯s been two weeks, since Lucius last missive. Close to three now. ¡°You want me to tell King Alistair this? Before tomorrow?¡± Storm asked, all thought of sleeping the rest of the night gone. Sigurd got up himself. ¡°King Antoon, wants to go through with the wedding,¡± He said, not pleased he¡¯d gotten less than he¡¯d hoped for. ¡°Such as it is,¡± Sigurd grimaced, his eyes turning glassy for a moment, as if lost in a painful memory, before adding. ¡°Better to have half a wedding, he said yesterday. Than fight an ally.¡± Especially, if you can¡¯t afford to fight that ally at that moment, Storm thought. ¡°I suggest you keep Lord Bart¡¯s mouth shut then,¡± He warned his counterpart. ¡°The man lost a son, Storm,¡± Sigurd pointed. He may talk was his meaning. ¡°Pray, King Alistair don¡¯t lose another one,¡± Nattas cautioned him, regretting the ominous words the moment they left his mouth. Storm knew the gods were always listening, always eager to prove foolish people right. And turn an offhand remark, into a ruinous prophecy. 71. & three funerals
Nattas ¡­& three funerals
The noise coming from the gathered crowd increased with every passing second. Mostly excited murmurs, with some noted exceptions. ¡°CURSE THE MURDERER!¡± An Issirian yelled, shaven head awash with sweat. ¡°DOWN WIT THE FIVE!¡± Bellowed another, a Lorian. ¡°JUSTICE FOR MIDLANOR!¡± Yelled a third, also part of their strong group of around fifty that had gathered near the border between the Spring Gardens and the Guardtower, with more spilling through the East Gate. The crowds around the three pavilions were growing fast and from all sides, with the city guards doing their best to keep them away from the square. Almost sixty regular men-at-arms had lined up before this more ¡®unruly¡¯ group, probably drawn from the Guardtower that loomed over them and the central square, the lethal Scorpions manned at its parapets aimed at the crowd. The city of Alden had been flooded with curious visitors, merchants, nobles and other dignitaries coming from the three Kingdoms, the relatively quiet city almost overwhelmed, despite the efforts put into keeping the security as high as possible, for the event. ¡°What¡¯s their problem?¡± Nattas asked the palace guard, one of the many tasked with keeping open the way from the palace to the main wooden pavilion, where the royals would be seated. The morning had found him wake and increasingly frustrated, after his unsuccessful attempts during the remainder of the evening to reach King Alistair. The guard, resplendent in his well-polished rubicund steel segmented cuirass, the gnarling Alden tiger engraved on his plated chest, eyed the troublemakers under the brim of his helm. ¡°Old gods¡¯ sympathizers,¡± The man said. ¡°There¡¯s unrest since yesterday, due to the Grand Inquisitor¡¯s presence.¡± Storm stroke his goatee with a hand troubled. ¡°I didn¡¯t know¡­ there was such a support,¡± He commented finally. ¡°What did Kelholt do?¡± ¡°Rooted out a coven of witches in Midlanor, is the word,¡± The palace guard replied, sweat on his forehead, the morning chill countered by the strong sun over their heads. ¡°You don¡¯t say,¡± Storm said alarmed and even more bewildered at the brazen protest. You¡¯d think, people would lay low and not stir up the waters even more. ¡°In what manner?¡± ¡°Why, he burned them alive of course, milord. Rightly so,¡± The man replied, with a frown. ¡°Why not take your seat in the pavilion?¡± Storm blinked, taken aback. He forced himself to nod in agreement and moved ahead to answer the guard¡¯s query, before giving himself away like an idiot. ¡°I need to speak to the King before we are seated.¡± Separately was his meaning. ¡°The King will move straight for his place at the table, milord.¡± ¡°Aye, I¡¯ll take my chances, just the same,¡± Storm replied. ¡°I couldn¡¯t yesterday and it¡¯s a matter of some import.¡± He added to make his point. ¡°He stayed in the Queen¡¯s quarters,¡± The guard said, with a meaningful stare. Nattas pressed his lips to the thinnest of smiles. ¡°A known fact evidently,¡± He said, seeing Parkor approaching behind the much taller Titus out of the corner of his eye.
Every inch of space surrounding Alden¡¯s Central Square with a view of the royal pavilions and much of the Spring Gardens facing them was filled with curious spectators, with people even climbing up the cinnamon trees, or standing upon barrels and stands to have a better vantage point. The buzz coming from the crowd and the still protesting sympathizers, whatever the fuck that meant, incredible in volume and Storm could feel it to his bones. ¡°There¡¯s the king,¡± Titus said, looking at the palace¡¯s stairs. ¡°The other king.¡± Lord Nattas watched as King Antoon¡¯s procession walked before them, highlighted by Queen Nienke, the dark-skinned beauty wearing a yellow and orange colored gown, decorated with many small eagles made of diamonds, several thin straps hugging her naked shoulders, keeping everything together somehow. Her royal bosom nigh impressive it had to be said. Titus stared at him knowingly and Nattas almost rolled his eyes at his idiocy. The Issir Herald announced the High King with the pompous manner of a religious fanatic slobbering at Uher¡¯s feet and with enough vigor to cut through the noise. ¡°Hear, hear. His Royal highness, Antoon Eikenaar. Second of his name. Lord Protector of the Issirs, the Lorians and the Northmen. Foremost King of the three Kingdoms and shield of the Realm,¡± He paused emphatically before adding, ¡°Her Royal grace, High Queen Nienke. Royal Heir, Prince Kasper. Lord of Issir¡¯s Eagle.¡± And on and on he went, mentioning the lesser nobles present, the venerable Albert Van Durren, Lord of Riverdor and the High King¡¯s Shield being the most notable amongst them. Storm followed with his eyes the large group of Issirs trying to settle, on one of the three long rectangle oaken tables reserved for them in the main pavilion. Regia would sit directly across from them, a measured ten long strides, with the two main participants and their chaperones staying in the inner and much smaller table. The amount of preparation that had gone on perfecting the seating arrangement absurd. Lord Nattas had gotten a spot at Regia¡¯s side, the last seat at the large table facing the Guardtower, with King Alistair being at the head at the other side, near his daughter and the Queen, who were to be seated at the smaller table, like their counterparts. ¡°Parkor thought he saw our Maja earlier,¡± Titus said out of the blue, stooping into his personal space. He smelled of stale wine and sweat. ¡°Where?¡± Storm asked absentmindedly, not giving much credence to his nephew¡¯s fantasies. ¡°An alley, behind the tower,¡± Titus replied, grooming his mustache with two fingers. ¡°He hadn¡¯t seen her since the first attempt,¡± Storm shook his head disappointed. ¡°That¡¯s more than half a year back, for crying out loud!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll never forget her face,¡± Parkor said stubbornly, looking half-dead despite having a good night¡¯s sleep. ¡°She almost killed me once.¡± Well, she hadn¡¯t truth be told, not you. Then again, Abrakas is as despicable a deity as they come, Storm decided. If you were the real target of the first attack, then we¡¯ve no idea what¡¯s going on. ¡°It will be almost absurdly insane, for her to hide here,¡± Titus noted the obvious. ¡°Aye,¡± Storm agreed and that was that.
Storm saw King Alistair approach with his entourage and asked the palace guard to let him pass, intending to intercept him before he reached his seat. The man moved out of the way and Storm walked fast as he could, his leg swollen from the lack of rest hurting him on each stride. Were it not for his cane, he¡¯d never have made it. One of the King¡¯s Royal bodyguards blocked his approach, stepping in front of him. A mountain of steel, smelling of oil and sweat. ¡°I¡¯m Lord Nattas,¡± Storm yelled, the ruckus of the crowds surrounding them driving him insane, after Antoon waved at them. A number of boos and curses mixed in as well, coming from the group of troublemakers. ¡°I need to speak to the King. Let me pass.¡± ¡°After the ceremony,¡± The huge man said, face hidden behind his helm¡¯s cover. ¡°You know the drill, milord. The King of Regia, will arrive right after the High King. It was on every message board in the city.¡± ¡°Is that you, Sir Drusus?¡± Storm asked recognizing his voice. ¡°It¡¯s nigh important to talk with him, right now.¡± ¡°Apologies, milord¡ª¡± ¡°Let him pass, Sir Drusus,¡± King Alistair snarled, a night with his wife barely mellowed him up it appears, Storm thought nervously, the place too public to afford the luxury of a blunder. ¡°The man can barely stand upright.¡± The king added and Sir Drusus moved his considerable bulk out of the way. Storm made the last meters towards the Aldens, Lord Doris and his wife were present, along with the Queen of course and little Silvie. Lord Nattas kept his eyes on the gaunt face of King Alistair. ¡°For Uher¡¯s sake speak, before the Herald starts blabbering again,¡± Alistair spat impatiently. ¡°My lord, have you had news from Lucius?¡± Storm asked, cutting to the chase. Lord Doris narrowed his eyes, hearing him and Queen Miranda frowned sensing something was amiss. King Alistair¡¯s scowl remained unchanged. ¡°Canutia sent word, about a week back,¡± The King replied, his eyes piercing. ¡°He left her at Kas,¡± He paused to listen to the ruckus coming from the protesters annoyed. ¡°Not much else was mentioned. I expect word from him soon. Having to inform you of this, reflects poorly on your person, Lord Nattas.¡± Storm cleared his throat nervously. ¡°There was a battle near Wolvesbane Castle,¡± He said hastily. ¡°Lord Bach said Lucius got mixed up in it. On the side of the O¡¯ Dargans.¡± ¡°What¡¯s this drivel?¡± King Alistair snarled and the Queen flinched, her face turning pale. ¡°When did he say this?¡± ¡°Last night. I couldn¡¯t¡ª¡±You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. ¡°What happened?¡± The king cut him angry. ¡°Speak up, Nattas!¡± Storm blinked and stepped back. Queen Miranda placed her hand on King¡¯s Alistair arm to soothe him, but he moved it away incensed. ¡°Has anything happened to Lucius?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, my Lord,¡± Storm managed to say. ¡°Lord Bart Crull accused him of killing his son in battle, according to what Lord Bach told me. This could be a lie, but they know about the girl.¡± ¡°Baah! Curse her!¡± Alistair growled, clenching his jaw, trying to contain his rage. Little Silvie hugged her mother¡¯s leg, everyone around them shifting uncomfortable, realizing something was afoot. ¡°And that Crull is a snake, always has been. If he harmed Lucius, I¡¯ll raze Eaglesnest to the bloody ground!¡± ¡°My King,¡± The Queen said, worry in her voice palpable. ¡°There¡¯s people watching¡ª¡± ¡°We can ask Duke Redmond. Send a missive to him, for a report on Sir Lucius whereabouts,¡± Lord Doris interrupted her. His sister threw him a glare, but retained her composure. ¡°Antoon doesn¡¯t wish to press the matter, my Lord,¡± Storm said in his turn. ¡°Either he doesn¡¯t believe Lord Bart, or his need of this alliance is greater.¡± King Alistair focused his attention on him. ¡°We need to learn, whether Lucius is well, first and foremost,¡± He said, crooking his mouth. ¡°What do you propose, Lord Nattas? You had the most time to think on this,¡± The latter, an accusation. Storm glanced at the crowd surrounding them, then at the pavilion where the Issirs had already settled and lastly at Prince Kasper sitting nervously next to his mother at the center table, a bouquet of flowers in his hands. Lord Nattas wished he was in another place then, but it was too late for that now. ¡°Assuming Lucius is fine,¡± He started, his eyes returning to the nobles waiting for his answer, half of them probably expecting him to make a catastrophic blunder and rid them of his distasteful presence. ¡°Antoon will take the potential of an alliance over a lord¡¯s hurt feelings, even if they are justified. He can¡¯t go another way at this time, with half the army in Raoz,¡± He swallowed, pressure building in his ears, before adding. ¡°But you can, my King. However I caution against it.¡± King Alistair grunted, just as the Herald begun announcing him to the delight of the crowd. Most of the crowd that is. He pressed his lips into a thin line, stared at his brother, who nodded for the less expensive choice and set his shoulders straight, when he made his decision. Almost a head taller than Storm, clad in his crimson Alden plate armour, the polished silver pommel of his famed blade strapped on his waist, the King of Regia cut an arresting figure, even in a crowd. ¡°Let¡¯s get it over with,¡± He spat, just as the Herald finished his introduction. A marriage then, instead of war. Lord Nattas exhaled a breath he didn¡¯t know he¡¯d kept and caught the appreciation in the Queen¡¯s eyes as she walked past him, holding Lady Silvie¡¯s hand. He stayed behind, as the royals moved towards their own table, a fist massaging his throbbing leg, the sounds of the growing crowd muted and a weird sinking feeling taking its place, instead of satisfaction for a job well done. He felt himself plummeting towards some unknown depths, the waters black all over him. It lasted a long moment. The next Titus and Parkor¡¯s approach interrupted the dream and brought him to the present. Storm rubbed his tired and red eyes with the back of his hand, the lack of sleep weighing on him and then slowly walked towards the pavilion, with the help of his cane.
¡°Ah, that¡¯s bloody great!¡± Sir Rupert Holt enthused, his zest palpable. There was shade inside the pavilion at least, but Sir Rupert Holt sitting on his left side, splendidly recovered from his summer injury and wider at the waist, than Storm remembered him, even without his armour; had his spread elbows set on the table, leaving little room for Storm¡¯s platter and kept claiming every desert that came near their spot, using the aforementioned exclamation. He had to move his chair further out towards the corner and try as he did to at least savor the roasted lamb served, his appetite wasn¡¯t there and Storm had to settle for a bottle of half-decent wine, he guarded from the young knight with religious fervor. At least he could see both Queens from his angle, seated a good twenty meters away and despite the unbearable brouhaha from the thousands watching them eat from afar, heed to the exchanges between the two youngsters. They were next to each other, the initially guarded Prince Kasper, now greatly interested in the young and more temperamental Silvie. The highlight was when he offered her an elaborate bouquet of pink roses, five of them and a deep red, representing the blessings of the Five and Silvie squealing happy gave the Prince in her turn, the doll carved like a knight, she was carrying around since yesterday. ¡°There¡¯s the spirit!¡± Lord Van Durren, face flushed and veins popping, announced greatly impressed, for whatever the fucking reason and Queen Nienke, raised her hands high, much to the delight of the men present, but for the High King himself and clapped theatrically with her ring covered hands a couple of times, before taking the doll away from her son. Queen Miranda cut a rose and placed it on her daughter¡¯s head, under her small tiara, while the lords around the table, expressed their delight at the good omen loudly, hands tapping the table, for a favorable union. Even the two Kings nodded, by then kept mostly silent during the earlier proceedings, but for a brief speech each of them gave at the start, reciting the terms of the agreement in excruciating detail, down to the time and manner of the first coupling and the number of witnesses present, since no one could trust the kids to do it right, as Kelholt callously noted. Queen Miranda would have probably slit his throat on the spot, after he finished talking, if she could hide a knife on her even more revealing royal gown, she¡¯d chosen for the occasion and wasn¡¯t as devout, a follower of the Five. King Alistair found nothing wrong with it, which wasn¡¯t a big surprise. The King had his mind elsewhere that much was obvious and plain for Storm to see, the constant abuse coming from the insistent group, mainly towards the Grand Inquisitor, grating to the King¡¯s nerves as well. On everyone¡¯s nerves. Storm pushed back on his chair, goblet in hand, when everyone started laughing with the royal children¡¯s antics. His eyes wandered the chaos surrounding them, kept away by the many armed guards. Titus and Parkor sitting on the smaller pavilion behind him, almost five meters away, seemed engrossed in their talk and he watched them for a bit, sipping at his third cup of wine. This must end soon, else I¡¯ll fall asleep right here, he thought. So many open matters still to attend though. Firstly he should locate Lucius, not an easy task to do in the Northern winter, and get his side of the story. Find out more about the mysterious bride from Dan next, another headache this, even more difficult to heal and finally, discover who was trying to kill him, an equally pressing matter in his mind. You can¡¯t do shit, if you¡¯re dead. He sighed, downed the rest of his wine and placed the goblet on the table, avoiding Sir Rupert¡¯s arm, with a grimace of disdain. Storm remembered Parkor¡¯s words from earlier and turned his head towards their table again, his attention drawn to the black mass of the Guardtower. The majority of the soldiers stationed there had been drafted to keep the protesters at bay and they had done just that with no problems. A single man-at-arms was still standing guard at the entrance door, right at the base of the tower. The man probably asleep on his halberd, the sun boiling him slowly in all that armor. Something was still nagging him. These were real assassins sent after him. Maja was one of them. Everything about her a lie. Everything. It¡¯ll be absurdly insane to hide here, Titus had rightly said, but for the fact that she wasn¡¯t really hiding, if Parkor had seen her behind the tower. A shiver went down his spine, despite this being the hottest time of the day. Storm¡¯s eyes went to the sole guard at the base of the tower, the man still standing in the exact same position he¡¯d been before. Frozen. Storm raised his eyes that feeling of doom returning tenfold, up the blackened old stone, the small sealed openings at its sides, searching them one by one, eyes rising higher towards the flat top and the parapets equipped with the Scorpions. All of them pointed towards the crowds surrounding the royal pavilions, but for one. All of them had no one manning them, every single guard on that top missing, but for one. This Scorpion was aimed directly at them. Abrakas, ye vile despicable monster! The fuck have you done? Lord Nattas wished he could be elsewhere then, but it was too late for that. Storm opened his mouth to cry a warning, but before he could manage a single word, the protesters chose that moment to charge the men-at-arms lined up before them, as if they had been given a signal from above. Half the world changed, in the span of five minutes.
Sir Rupert jumped on his feet, the moment he saw several protesters break through the line of soldiers, shoving Lord Nattas on the hard ground, the warning still lodged in his throat. Sir Drusus, at the other edge of the table, moved surprisingly fast as well; he¡¯d a leg over it, before even half that first minute run out. He rushed towards the table Queen Miranda stood watching Lady Silvie talking all serious, with a smiling Prince Kasper and stopped protectively in front them. The soldiers forming the line recovered and closed their ranks, keeping the bulk of the protesters from reaching the pavilion in the next. During that time most of the lords and nobles at the tables reached for their swords, some pushing their wives to the side, with few hiding behind them for lack of weapon and courage. TWANG Storm rolled on the ground, his own cane smacking him on the chest, tables screeching, chairs toppling over, plates breaking and people gasping and cursing in alarm. Someone yelled for an end to the madness, but Storm, his hand bleeding and head spinning knew, there was no end in sight. WHOOSH Something went over him at the start of that third minute, the piercing sound so hideous, it scared him to his core. A loud thud, just as he turned his head back to see for himself and Sir Drusus was hurled over the Queens table like a ragdoll, skewered through the torso with a two meter bolt. The large man went feet over head, flew over the young royal couple and both their mothers, blood spraying everyone and his armour wrapped, completely unrecognizable. He landed three meters behind the table in a broken bleeding heap. Fuck me, Storm cursed. ¡°PROTECT THE QUEEN!¡± Alistair barked to his bodyguards, the armoured men slow to react to the new threat, himself kicking the table and sending it forward to bar the approach of the first armed protesters. Almost killing Storm in the process at the end of that third minute. Lord Nattas stumbled back to avoid the corner of the table decapitating him, saw the King of Regia charging his way, silver sword in hand, the blade gleaming in the sun something fierce and panicked. He made to jump away, but tripped on his own cane instead and dropped on a smarting knee with a groan of undulated misery. Storm heard heavy boots running towards him from the other side and twisted desperately, grabbing his cane as a sword to defend himself. The Issir, sturdy chainmail armor underneath his long cape, reached him in two strides and downed his sword, cutting his cane in two and opening a wound on his cheek, from nose to ear. Storm yelped, gulping his own blood and jumped away his knee buckling, when he landed, this time defenseless. The ruffian, clenched his teeth in the pretense of a smile and went in for the kill. That is, his legs did and a small part of his torso above his hips. The rest toppled backwards, blood, guts and organs spilling out, his heart visible and still beating wild, on the upper part that was the first that hit the ground. TWANG ¡°THE TOWER!¡± Storm warned loud as he could, vomit mixed with blood in his throat bubbling up. King Alistair paused, famed Endariel painted red in hand and stared upwards dismayed, where Lord Nattas had pointed. Whether he saw the bolt that killed his daughter, Storm never found out. WHOOSH Went the Scorpion, as that final minute started. Storm turned his head horrified as the shadow flew over him again, time slowing down. He wish he hadn¡¯t, but it was too late for that as well. He saw it all. Queen Miranda was gasping voicelessly in shock and covered in blood from head to toe. Queen Nienke much in the same state, had kneeled under the table both hands covering her belly, but brave Prince Kasper slipped away, rushed the small distance and hugged protectively a crying blood-spattered little Silvie that was left standing there, to shield her from the worst. Condemning them both. No, Gods no! Curse you vile fiend, Lord Nattas thought, wishing he turned blind, before the sickening thud that scarred his soul forever. A frantic Miranda started screaming, just as that fifth minute ended.
72. Leopard in the fog (1/5)
Let me tell you, precious younglings, how the tale of Duath Erin I Menel started. Aye, the Shadow on the Sky. Whom people now also call, the King beyond the Pale Mountains. Where no one dares venture near, years after the man himself has vanished. Let me tell you, how it could have ended. Not in some grand palace, or a nobleman¡¯s estate. Not in a temple, dressed in liturgy¡¯s garb. Not in a famed city, or some infamous battlefield. Not even from Luthos touch of luck. Let me separate the vilest of lies from the truth, But keep some of it obscure, much as he would have preferred; for we all started as simple creatures once, young as much as foolish, fallible as much as imperfect. Through calamity cometh the biggest glory, you¡¯ll find out. Through sorrow the grandest pleasure. Greed always blinds a thief¡¯s heart, But what that heart holds dear, is never truly known, until its time comes. Its innermost desires ever lurking hidden, even from a friend. - Fikumin Flintfoot Jarl of all the Folk First Servant of the Onyx Wyvern Foremost Shield, of the King beyond the Pale Mountains Chapter I (First page) An Adventurer¡¯s Tale Circa 250 NC
Jinx Leopard in the fog -Battle of Hellfort¡¯s Pass- Part I (A glorious end)
"DON''T SHIFT ABOUT YE LAZY CUNT!¡± Jinx snarled frustrated, a leg dragging, blood trickling down her boot, making a splashing sound on every agonizing stride. Zola hissed an equally frustrated reply at the abuse and the injustice of it all, the Issir¡¯s wound making it impossible to go any faster, on her own. So she had to carry her on her back. Gish are strong, she mused. But not as strong as fuckin'' mules. Behind them Kacie screamed her lungs out, a second later. A gut-wrenching cry that forced the Gish to glance back, although she didn¡¯t want to. The girl had dropped to her knees, blood on the side of her face, not her own though, her father¡¯s. The man himself thrown aside, legs and arms all a mess, after the warhorse trampled him over, a grotesque wound on his chest gaping and his ruined lungs easy, even for a blind ranger, to spot. The Cataphract too.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Tall for a Cofol and clad in segmented armour, same as his horse that gleamed in the sun. The man pulled at the reins, the animal frothing at the mouth, after the charge, glanced at the despondent girl once and then towards them, still fifty meters away, rushing towards the bridge. The latter more than twice that away and as for the rushing part? Ye can¡¯t outrun a fuckin¡¯ horse, like the blue cunt had said, Jinx thought, despair setting in. ¡°Get Zola over the bridge,¡± Dante ordered and stopped himself, breathing heavy and his face drenched in sweat. ¡°Fuck are ye sayin¡¯?¡± Jinx snapped, almost tripping over her feet. ¡°I have a shield. Reckon I¡¯ll try to stop him.¡± ¡°You? Ye think, yer some gods darn hero?¡± ¡°Wow, thanks for the vote of fuckin¡¯ confidence,¡± Dante replied sourly. ¡°Twas no vote,¡± Jinx deadpanned. ¡°Can you just do as you¡¯re told for once, Pretty?¡± He said, half-frustrated, half-pleading. Jinx let out a sigh, licked her lips, a drop of sweat burning her right eye and stared at the distant bridge through the haze. There was a pile of cut redwood boards and trunks, about half-way to it, tall as her. ¡°Can you really stop him?¡± She queried and Dante burst out laughing, the strain breaking through in the end. ¡°I¡¯ve got no fucking idea, darling. But if you got another plan, I¡¯m all ears,¡± was his answer and Jinx nodded having none, then pushed herself to continue towards the pile of boards twice as fast. ¡°Let me down ye fool!¡± Zola hissed and Jinx hearing the warhorse trotting again, glanced back, her mouth dry and not in the mood to answer her. Dante had parked in the middle of the path, looking as gallant as she¡¯d ever remembered him and twice as foolish. His shield in one hand, sword in the other, the clouds of smoke and heavy fire in the distance, framing the approaching Cataphract, in an ominous manner. Fuck, Jinx cursed and pushed herself to the limit, darn Zola weighing a ton to support, not that she could tell her that. Here and now. They reached the tall pile of boards, just as the trot turned to a full charge for the last few meters, the ground shaking under her feet and Jinx dumped Zola unceremoniously behind them and turned bow in one hand, the other fishing for an arrow, to catch the tail end of it. If someone had asked her that morning, how she imagined this afternoon would turn out, Whisper Jinx would have probably given a ton of different answers, some funny, most a bit kinky, but surely not this. This was a nightmare. Dante sidestepped at the last moment, to give himself time and the reach to use his sword, but the lance broke on his shield ruining it and hurled him away, so Jinx missed, whether he did or not. The Cataphract wailed something fierce, blood on his left thigh and pulled hard on the reins to stop his warhorse and turn it around, a long sabre already in hand. Jinx released, aiming for the only thing she could hurt at that moment, not fully covered in armour. Her arrow caught the hapless horse a hair below the square opening of the Chamfron, bone tip plunging right through, that black eye spilling out, before going straight into the animal¡¯s brain. It went down on its forelegs with an agonizing neigh and died there, bringing its rider down a moment later. Jinx went for another arrow, just as the enraged Cofol got up, the killing of his horse hurting him more than his own injury and stared at her, with hate-filled eyes. It was the only human thing Jinx could see, all else hidden behind his visor shaped like a face-mask. The engraved smile on it hideous. The man cursed and started her way, with a freaked out Jinx drawing a blank from her quiver, as that darn thing had gone empty. Better go all in girl, she thought, not trusting her shaking legs to run away. ¡°Ye fuckin¡¯ cunt!¡± Jinx taunted the onrushing Cofol knight, reaching for her shortsword. The Cofol growled incensed and swung at her head, but Whisper wasn¡¯t going to stand there and check whether she could bounce it off her forehead, or not. So she dodged left, stabbed him in the ribs instead and rolled away. Her blade slipped between the plates, but stopped at the chainmail the Cofol had underneath, causing little damage. Perhaps a bruised rib tops, she thought frustrated, rolling again, mud covering her clothes and her wound slowing her down. Might as well kick him in ¡®em jewels next time. ¡°How much armour have ye got on, huh?¡± She taunted to infuriate him some more, when another of her sneaky jabs found steel plate. The Cofol snarled something erotic to her in his ridiculous tongue and kicked her viciously, catching her arse end as she rolled out of the way. It was a bloody good kick, right at the fuckin¡¯ cunt, Jinx thought. The Gish howled loud as she could, because she was scared as fuck, landing face first, drool, mud and blood, clogging her nostrils and revealing the absurdity of her plan. The Cofol grabbed a still screaming Whisper by the hair and lifted her right up, as if she was weightless; plenty of hair got torn right off her scalp, because she wasn¡¯t, the new pain snapping her back to the grim reality, as he turned her head, to have a better look at her. A stupid pebble in her eye forced her into a silly wink, reflected on that well-polished face-mask and when the man recoiled shocked, she headbutted him hard, face on plate. Stupidest idea ever hatched by a Gish, since the Great Nyx himself tried to have sex with a Zilan huntress, using a flesh-eating plant for extra stimulus and the fool only lost a cock in the bloody process! ¡°Oi-ouch!¡± Jinx moaned wretchedly, head bouncing right back, cut on her forehead bleeding profoundly, but at least the stunned Cofol let go of her hair and dropped her down. Whisper landed on shaky legs, knees buckling and she fell back on her arse, too dazed to even speak, her face numb and her teeth hurting. The man stumbled back, but found his footing in a short moment, shook his head once to get his bearings and seeing her at his feet, raised his sword to cut her in half and rid himself of the trouble. Whisper went from, fuck I¡¯m fully dead; straight to hah, I¡¯m saved ye cunt! in the time it takes to draw a good breath. Fast. A pale-faced Dante, appearing out of nowhere, had stabbed him under the armpit with his longsword, blade going in half-way into the Cofol¡¯s chest, ruining his lungs and Dante left it there, when the man faltered away to collapse on his knees, a couple of meters away. ¡°Fuck where ye?¡± Jinx snapped, trying to get up still quite dazed and fully bleeding, but Dante pressed his lips tight in response, before going down on his knees himself. He¡¯d half a meter of lance sticking out of his torso, just below the left side of his chest, the steel tip of it protruding out his back. Jinx¡¯s shoulders dropped, all anger gone. She knelt beside him frantically, her own pain forgotten and tried to pull the broken shaft out with both hands. Dante pushed her away weakly. ¡°Leave it,¡± The Captain of the Gallant Dogs said, froth gathering where his wound was, the chainmail torn, the blood slowly painting it a bright red. ¡°Darn thing punched through the shield. I should have dodged earlier.¡± Jinx glanced back towards the castle where the battle was raging, then further away where the barricade was still burning, saw the three armoured riders heading their way and breathed deeply, despair returning tenfold. He was too heavy to carry. Not both of them. ¡°Get over that bridge, Whisper. Don¡¯t ruin this for me. And for fuck¡¯s sake use it, to build up the company. Seriously, reckon I did something glorious here,¡± Dante pleaded and she turned to look at him, handsome face all pale, lips turning white from blood loss, on that wicked mouth. He smiled to hide his pain and Jinx felt tears rolling down her eyes. ¡°Do you trust me?¡± The man asked, same words he¡¯d used that day and she grimaced a wail lodged in her throat, her fists clenched and arms shaking. ¡°Darling, you¡¯ll be all right.¡± No I won¡¯t, she thought. ¡°What about you?¡± Jinx asked miserably, because deep down she knew, wiping her face from tears and blood, making a mess of it. Dante stared longingly over where the bridge was, still too far away and the river flowing all angry, covering all other sounds. She had to stoop closer, to listen to his words. ¡°Well, next time I say¡­ we flip a bloody coin,¡± Dante Blackwood muttered, voice oddly colored by a hint of his famous razz, his face relaxing at the tail end of it, his eyes turning glassy. ¡°Ye do it for me, Pretty.¡±
73. Leopard in the fog (2/5)
Glen Leopard in the fog -Battle of Hellfort¡¯s Pass- Part II (Murky discourse)
Earlier that day... Now what? Glen mused, nervously fiddling with the ring on his finger. Surely we aren¡¯t going to fight the Khan¡¯s fuckin¡¯ army, right? He glanced towards Sir Emerson, saw him none pleased and immediately turned his eyes on Marcus, the robust soldier returning his stare with a determined grin. Sir Solomon looked sick with worry and Dante and his mercenaries were edgy, to say the least. Lots of old men, Glen thought, inside this yard. ¡°Milord,¡± Sergeant Rolas Pontus droned, himself not in his prime as well. ¡°My men will follow your command.¡± ¡°Aye,¡± Centurion Spurius said, not to be outshined from a subordinate. ¡°It goes without saying, for the Gallant Dogs,¡± Dante added, with a shrug of his shoulders. ¡°We are kind of attached to the hip by now, Lord Glen.¡± ¡°We are?¡± Soren frowned, giving Glen an onceover. Zola gave him a smack on the arm to quiet him down. ¡°Listen,¡± Glen started, puffing his cheeks out, completely out of his depth and in no mood to go about fighting anything and anyone, right when things were beginning to look good for him. ¡°Do we even know what they want?¡± ¡°Young Lord is correct,¡± Spurius agreed. ¡°We need to find out more.¡± Well, Glen thought, that wasn¡¯t where I was leading¡­ ¡°Maybe try talking to them first,¡± He tried again and Sir Emerson nodded in agreement. ¡°Stall for time,¡± He grunted, much to Spurius enthusiasm. ¡°Prep as much arrows and javelins we can in the meantime.¡± Which wasn¡¯t again, what Glen meant. ¡°Who would talk with them?¡± Dante queried. ¡°I would do it,¡± Emerson replied. ¡°Meet them beyond the barricade.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t talk for Altarin, with Lord Reeves present,¡± Sir Solomon intervened, not happy with him. Glen grimaced, since he didn¡¯t have a problem with Emerson assuming the heavy lifting. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t mind,¡± He started and Sir Solomon clapped once energetically, proud smile on his face. ¡°Lord Reeves agrees!¡± The Knight from Altarin beamed. Huh? ¡°It¡¯s settled then. We talk with them, see where to go from there,¡± Emerson yielded, staring at Glen a little surprised. ¡°The sooner the better. Prep the horses and a truce¡¯s flag gentlemen. Dante you¡¯re coming as well.¡± ¡°Aye, Sir Lennox,¡± The Gallant Dogs Captain replied, without much enthusiasm, with everyone dispersing to spread the news. Glen remained behind, a little puzzled with the outcome of their talk. ¡°What the fuck just happened?¡± He wondered aloud and Soren standing next to him, produced an egg from a pouch on his waist and cracked it on his teeth. He then sucked it all down and burped once thunderously, before replying, dead serious. ¡°Apparently, we¡¯re attached at the hip.¡±
¡°When you say an army,¡± Glen asked ten minutes later a wild-eyed and bluish from the cold, shivering Jinx, while he waited for Pale to finish up sharpening his sword. ¡°How many are we talking about?¡± ¡°A lot. More than us, for sure.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see them attacking the barricade,¡± Glen said. ¡°Not while getting shot in the face.¡± He wouldn¡¯t was his meaning. ¡°I saw a lot of bowmen,¡± Whisper pointed, warming her hands over the fire pit. ¡°No end of carts following at the rear.¡± ¡°The Cofols don¡¯t like charging a fixed position,¡± Zola agreed, securing her wooden quiver on a shoulder. She¡¯d packed at least thirty bolts in there earlier. ¡°Then again, no one ever fought them since ancient times.¡± ¡°So why did they come through here?¡± Glen queried curious on the strategy. ¡°Why not send their cavalry straight for the Rida plains. Much better ground over yonder, if yer coming from the desert.¡± The latter he¡¯d heard from Marcus earlier. ¡°They probably did,¡± Victor Hook said, giving him his blade. ¡°Only free approach though is through the Sadofort, else they have to cross Yeriden.¡± It was the most Glen had ever heard him speak at once. He sheathed his sword, thinking on the man¡¯s words. ¡°So you¡¯re set on fighting?¡± Zola asked him. ¡°Not an easy thing.¡± What? ¡°That¡¯s Lord Reeves¡¯ orders,¡± Soren pointed to help him out, much as he understood it. ¡°Nothing Glen could do.¡± The last part making it clear he¡¯d no clue himself. Zola blinked in stunned silence, but Jinx chucked one of her leather gloves, smacked the tall Northman in the face hard. ¡°Glen¡­ is Lord Reeves, shit for brains!¡± She guffawed hysterical. Soren stared at her unfazed. ¡°Pfft. Yer clearly lying.¡± ¡°How am I lying? Yer truly stupid. Are ye not?¡± Emerson walked in, just as the verbal fight turned physical. Soren charged Jinx, but she ducked under his arms and kicked a chair his way tripping him over. The large man went down, breaking the chair in several pieces, but grabbed the broken part of a leg and hurled it deftly at her, before the knight had the time to intervene, caught a still giggling Jinx on the chest and doubled her over in turn with a cry of pain, a bit too strong to be believable, Glen thought. Not everyone caught on her though. ¡°That¡¯s enough!¡± Emerson thundered, none pleased with the now laughing Northman. ¡°Have you no shame? She¡¯s half the size of you Soren!¡± ¡°I¡¯m all woman though,¡± Jinx pointed rubbing a hand on her tits. ¡°This plaguin¡¯ ends here,¡± Emerson continued, casting a glare her way and then to everyone present. ¡°We¡¯ve a serious situation on our hands. Get your heads straight. Well?¡± He was looking at him now expectantly, the latter question for him apparently. Was he supposed to say something? It was nigh awkward. ¡°Well what?¡± Glen protested, a little uncomfortable. ¡°I was against them fighting from the start.¡± Sir Emerson rolled his eyes, almost on the verge of despair. ¡°Val¡¯s outside. Get on her, milord,¡± The knight grunted. ¡°We need to get moving.¡±
There were so many clouds on the sky that the sunlight coming through, barely illuminated the narrow canyon path, the shades thick and dark. The wind though had died down since morning almost completely. That was something at least, Glen thought, the cold still felt strongly from the moment they entered Hellfort¡¯s Pass.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°If the wind don¡¯t pick up,¡± Sergeant Rolas said standing about three meters behind them on a mule, himself fully familiar with the local climate. ¡°They¡¯ll be heavy fog on the morrow. Even later tonight.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take it over this cold,¡± Glen replied and Val agreed with a snort, shooting vapor from her nostrils. Duke neighed in turn, suddenly nervous and Emerson, who knew his horse better, pointed a gloved hand further ahead of them. ¡°Here they come,¡± The knight said.
Glen couldn¡¯t tell how many the Cofols were. At least fifty of them were mounted scouts, well ahead of the rest of their host. They all carried composite bows, their staves wrapped in birch bark and double-quivers on either side of their saddles, all dressed in white-painted leather armour. Seeing the white flag Dante carried on his mount, they stopped and sent a rider back into their ranks. Ten minutes later three different riders appeared. Clad in atypical scaled armour like knights, with thick chainmail covering their warhorses almost fully, down to the plate Chamfron on their large heads, but for one of them, who had his warhorse covered in rich leopard hides sewn together over its body armour. This last rider wore a gold face-mask depicting a leopard and not a silver one, with the slightly freakish face of a smiling man, like the other two. ¡°Imperial Heavy Cavalry,¡± Sir Emerson murmured, so only Glen could hear as the impressive trio approached them, with a scout following holding a truce-flag as well. ¡°Cataphracts.¡± ¡°Why Imperial?¡± Glen asked. ¡°The Empire had outfitted them first, drawing from the old Horselords and the Cofols kept the term, since then. See those engraved chariots on their shields and quivers? Only the Zilan ever fielded them alongside the Cataphracts, though the Khan is rumored to still have possession of many.¡± Glen puffed his cheeks out, warry of the approaching knights, or whatever they were called. They seemed to carry a ton of weapons on those horses. Long lances and wicked sabres, composite bows and even war-hammers. ¡°How many are there?¡± He asked, feeling more intimidated the closer they got. ¡°I reckon they¡¯re not that common, like knights,¡± Emerson replied with a grunt, eyeing one of the Cofol ¡®knights¡¯ taking the lead. ¡°It¡¯s an elite group, usually follows royalty around.¡± Adding with a pause. ¡°Don¡¯t say anything untoward.¡± Stupid was his meaning. ¡°State your names, for the Prince,¡± The metallic smiling man said in common, coal black eyes piercing behind the face-mask, his tone less than friendly. If Glen wanted to be honest here, the man sounded insulted. Prince? What the slovenly fuck is going on here? Emerson got everything sorted in a sentence. ¡°I¡¯m Sir Emerson Lennox of Lesia, this is Lord Reeves of Altarin and that dashing lad over there, is Captain Blackwood, of the Gallant Dogs. Does yer Prince have a name?¡± The Cataphract recoiled at the presumed insult. Glen had no idea what was considered bad manners near royalty. Himself being a nobleman, for about half a day. Tops. The ¡®Leopard¡¯ kicked his legs to push his horse forward and stopped next to his man, yellow-green eyes taking in each one of them before speaking. ¡°I¡¯m Prince Nout.¡± Rather laconically, leaving his man to take over again with a wordless sign. Knot? What kind of name is that? Glen wondered, a slight grin on his lips that seemed to infuriate the Cataphract even more. ¡°Prince Nout,¡± Emerson started, in his non-nonsense voice. ¡°You can¡¯t move this army in Raoz.¡± ¡°Sir Emerson,¡± The Cataphract replied. ¡°The mighty Khan decreed the Duchy part of the Khanate. There¡¯s no part of the Khanate, the Khan¡¯s army can¡¯t go.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t allow that. The Duke of Raoz is a vassal of the King of Kaltha,¡± Emerson explained, not missing a beat. ¡°The High King will not give up land and titles here.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s the High King then? I see you,¡± The Cofol said. ¡°The Prince will allow you and the people of Altarin, to leave unharmed and return to Kaltha, if you so wish.¡± ¡°This is their home, where they were born,¡± Emerson insisted. ¡°Where is the honor in driving people away?¡± ¡°Well, this isn¡¯t your home, Sir Lennox. Nor their land. It¡¯s the Khan¡¯s domain. The Prince is magnanimous, but won¡¯t be taken advantage of. You have until the morrow to vacate the tower and Altarin. If you don¡¯t and you choose to stay, then the Gold Leopard will feast on your bones tomorrow.¡± Luthos balls caught in a vice. Apparently their talk was over. Sir Emerson clenched his jaw and Glen could hear him grinding his teeth from where he was. Prince Nout paused, when the Cataphracts turned to leave their meeting and stared at him. ¡°I thought Lord Reeves, was an older man,¡± The Prince said, his voice even, rather cultured and not unpleasant to the ear. ¡°He was killed,¡± Glen replied and the Prince sat back on his rich ivory saddle surprised. ¡°My father too, so here I am.¡± ¡°Here you are,¡± Prince Nout droned and gave him a slight appreciative, but unexpected nod with his head.
Kacie beamed at him on the return trip, still loitering next to her father¡¯s stand and Glen returned it, despite feeling unease with how things were going. ¡°This is madness,¡± He told Sir Emerson, the moment they were back inside the castle. ¡°Aye, it is,¡± The knight agreed, crooking his mouth. ¡°We need to send word to Altarin for reinforcements.¡± ¡°What happens until then?¡± Glen asked, understandably worried. ¡°We hold them. You¡¯ve seen the men on the wall.¡± ¡°There¡¯s more men on the other side of it,¡± Glen countered, not willing to let go. Like, a lot more. ¡°Not easy to walk onto a fixed position,¡± Emerson argued stubbornly. ¡°Fancy saddles, or not.¡± He walked away after that, to pick up any slackers, as he said it and organize the men into groups with specific roles for the coming struggle. Glen hadn¡¯t reconciled with the struggle part at all. Jinx saw him sulking outside the stable and approached, mischievous gleam in her eye. ¡°I¡¯m not in the mood,¡± Glen warned her. ¡°Wasn¡¯t lookin¡¯ for a hump,¡± Whisper deadpanned. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°Live out the year?¡± Glen puffed out hard, his lips flapping alike a horse¡¯s, her quip hitting a nerve. ¡°Aye,¡± That was all he could say in response. ¡°Same here.¡± ¡°Ask to be the messenger,¡± Jinx suggested, her head sank low in her furry coat. ¡°Ye¡¯ll need a ranger for that.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve no idea where Altarin is.¡± True that, he thought. ¡°Plus I¡¯m not keen in gettin¡¯ skull-fucked tomorrow,¡± The Gish added, deathly serious. ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake, Pretty!¡± Glen snapped at her, more angry than shocked. He was getting used to her, was the long and short of it. Well that, and he was more than a little worried with their chances. ¡°Ye just realized, you can¡¯t leave,¡± Jinx noted, perceptive as always. ¡°Aye,¡± Glen admitted, looking at the tips of his boots. ¡°The optics are terrible, as Dante said.¡± He¡¯d discussed briefly with him on the return trip. ¡°He¡¯s not wrong, on the optics,¡± Jinx agreed, searching in her pockets for something. ¡°If ye ask me though. Screw the optics. We should run for that bridge, fast as we can.¡± She had a small scroll in her hand and offered it, her eyes hidden behind a pink curtain. Glen took it and gave it a curious look. ¡°Don¡¯t open it now,¡± Jinx said, looking at the wall of the stables, all ominously. ¡°Only if something happens to me.¡± ¡°Why not? Is it a love letter?¡± Glen asked, mid-unfurling it. ¡°Why would I give ye one, after I¡¯m dead?¡± ¡°How should I know? You¡¯re weird?¡± Whisper sighed pensively, then gave him a good hard kick in the shin, right above the end of his boot that almost sent him face first, in a hefty pile of horse manure next to the stable¡¯s door. ¡°Arggh!¡± Glen cried hopping around on a good leg. ¡°Have ye lost yer fuckin¡¯ mind?¡± ¡°No love letter. No fuckin¡¯.¡± ¡°Fine.¡± ¡°Sent someone with a fast horse, first thing,¡± Jinx advised him and walked away, giving her arse an extra wiggle on purpose. Glen shook his head at her shenanigans and opened the scroll to read what she had scribbled inside. He¡¯d no idea, what the three short lines of text meant, Jinx¡¯s hand-writing atrocious, the only word he ¡®recognized¡¯ being the common scribbling for ¡®egg¡¯, spelled wrong.
The fog came very early in the morning. Thick and heavy and hanging not even a meter above ground, it made it difficult to breathe and almost impossible to see beyond five meters. Not that you could even without it, Glen thought, rubbing his eyes to beat his drowsiness back. The sun had come up supposedly, but you wouldn¡¯t know it staring in the abyss in front of them. They were torches lit on the wooden parapets, the five steps to reach them a chore, if ye did it more than a couple of times in a row and the men manning them silent, but tense. Very much awake. ¡°Everyone wit a bow, don¡¯t fire before I give signal!¡± Marcus barked, after the last of the teams were set up. ¡°Those wit a javelin same thing. If ye are better wit a bow, than a javelin, give it up and get yourself a bloody bow!¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t I get one too?¡± Glen asked and Soren gave him a strange look. ¡°I meant either bow, or javelin,¡± Glen explained. ¡°Ye know how to use one?¡± ¡°No. How hard can it be?¡± ¡°Well, I have another axe, if yer keen on learnin¡¯ fast,¡± The Northman offered. Glen opened his mouth to explain the difference between a throwing weapon and whatever Soren used, but one of the lookouts stopped him, his warning piercing the relative silence of Hellfort¡¯s Pass. ¡°THEY¡¯RE COMIN¡¯!¡± ¡°Where?¡± Emerson asked rushing there, but not seeing anything. He was standing almost next to him, but a good fifty meters from where Glen was. The young eagle-eyed lookout, a local lad; turned and bellowed twice as loud, almost in the knight¡¯s face. ¡°FROM WALL TO WALL!¡± Glen would¡¯ve burst out laughing then, but that daft sucker was right.
74. Leopard in the fog (3/5)
Glen Leopard in the fog -Battle of Hellfort¡¯s Pass- Part III (The price of greed)
Dante, back pushing against the vertical boards and squatted down on the runway behind the crude crenelated parapets, grabbed his arm and pulled him down. ¡°I can¡¯t see them!¡± Glen hissed, dropping next to him, his sword too big to put down, so he held it on his knees. ¡°No point in looking,¡± Dante said and Soren sitting on his other elbow, grunted in agreement. ¡°HOLD YER FIRE!¡± Marcus thundered, loud enough to be heard across the whole barricade. ¡°NOBODY SHOOTS TILL I GIVE ORDER!¡± ¡°You see something?¡± Glen probed Jinx, the short girl had to stand on her toes to see above the barrier. ¡°I¡¯m not Lith!¡± She snapped tensed, then mellowing up. ¡°Too much fog.¡± ¡°Fine!¡± Glen retorted and Zola started laughing finding it funny, but she had to stop as well, as Marcus exploded livid. ¡°WHO SHOT THAT?¡± He roared furious. ¡°DORAS!¡± A voice replied. ¡°YE FUCKIN¡¯ RAT!¡± Doras presumably carped. ¡°YE WANT ME TO STICK THAT BOW IN YER ARSE LAD?¡± Marcus queried for all to hear. ¡°TWAS A MISTAKE SARGE!¡± Glen cracked a smile and made to get up again, but Dante put a hand on his shoulder and kept him down, just as a strange sound started, multiplied by the enclosed walls of the Pass. A weird buzzing, always increasing in volume ominously. ¡°FIND COVER!¡± Came Marcus¡¯ warning. Just before the arrows started falling. Thousands of them, they made a whistling sound when they neared, right afore breaking on the wooden parapets, or sticking on them. TAK TAK TAK Repeated in ad nauseam. Fuck, Glen thought teeth rattling, seeing the nasty projectiles falling everywhere. Some of the locals standing under the barricade, run for cover, as a good number of arrows flew over the three meter high parapets and dropped behind on the open ground. ¡°THEY¡¯RE COMING!¡± Someone yelled the next moment and the buzzing was replaced with the noise of many men approaching them. ¡°HOLD IT!¡± Marcus bellowed, as the tension reached a new level. Glen twisted one way, then the other, too anxious to sit still. ¡°They bring something along,¡± Zola said, stooped behind her crossbow, her arse as fine a vision as one could find amidst the chaos. ¡°What thing?¡± Dante queried and got up to chance a glance. ¡°Square big shield, of sorts,¡± Jinx explained. ¡°A big one, right in the middle of their formation.¡± Ah, that¡¯s fuckin¡¯ great, Glen thought, just as Marcus ordered the defenders to let loose with everything they got. Arrows, javelins and a lot of rocks. The battle of Hellfort¡¯s Pass had begun.
Jinx popped behind her cover and loosed an arrow, ducking behind a merlon immediately after, to avoid getting skewered from the angry reply thrown back at them. Glen, his back against the adjoining merlon, chanced a glance, saw the bloated leather flask coming and gasped dodging it the last moment. It went over the crenel and splattered next to a farmer holding a large stick and a butcher knife standing below them. ¡°Fuck was that?¡± Glen asked and popped his head from behind the merlon, just in time to see a Cofol get skewered by one Zola¡¯s bolts, a perfect shot right at his chest. ¡°It¡¯s all over the wall,¡± Zola hissed, squatting to pull the lever to rearm her weapon. ¡°Aye,¡± Jinx agreed. ¡°They have runners hurling it, from behind that big shield of theirs.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Glen asked, the battle a stalemate up until this point, with each side content on firing at any visible target from a relative safe distance. The square two meters high and five in length wooden construct, the Cofols had pushed to the middle of the Pass and parked about twenty meters from their barricade, gave some of them the ability to approach even more, but it was costly, judging by the number of dead bodies piled where it ended. Glen had expected ladders, or ropes like the pirates had used, but none of the Cofols had any. Probably they hadn¡¯t expected a wall built so fast. We could be here awhile, he thought. ¡°Some kind of black fluid,¡± Jinx replied to his earlier question and pointed at a black pool of the stuff, where the flask had landed. ¡°Stinks like a motherfucker.¡± ¡°Fuck,¡± Dante cursed, a little uncommon for him. He looked down, saw Liko loitering, a large helmet on his head and shouted loud enough to get his attention. ¡°Tell everyone you see, to bring up water!¡± ¡°Water?¡± Liko queried, readjusting the helm to look up. ¡°JUST DO AS YOU¡¯RE TOLD!¡± Dante snapped at him and turned to a frowning Glen. ¡°Find Emerson, or Marcus. Repeat what you heard. Move, milord!¡± At first he thought the Gallant Dogs captain had gone mad, but as he run to the center of the barricade, ducking for cover on every stride, what Dante had feared came to be. Explaining why the Cofols hadn¡¯t bothered building ladders.
There was a pause before the next mass volley of arrows. These were great in volume and came at regular intervals, about a minute apart, to give the chance to the probably over a thousand archers standing further back to reload and release en masse. It had taken them twice that long this time and Glen was almost next to Marcus, when the familiar scary buzzing started again. ¡°ARROWS!¡± Marcus bellowed, right at the center of the wall, above the sealed and barricaded gate. Glen looked up over the crenel and realized the thick fog had turned a strange yellow-red instead of white-gray across the whole Pass. The buzzing sound increased, an angry whistling multiplied tenfold from the echo to turn into a beast¡¯s roar. For a moment Glen thought he saw it moving in the haze, large scaly head, big as a tower and that cavernous mouth wide open, breathing fire on them. Luthos stinking taint!
TAK TAK TAK A huge tongue of flame jumped over the parapets, burning splinters dousing anyone near, part of the runway already soaked in that black oily substance igniting in turn and splitting the defenders line in at least three large sections. Darn it, Glen cursed and twisted around to head back, the flames erupting next to Marcus almost engulfing him. Something whistled next to his ear and he ducked instinctively, boots sliding on the wet planks, the lit arrow smacking a hapless soldier in the face, not a foot from where he was and pushed him screaming over the runway, the fall short but lethal. ¡°WATER!¡± Marcus yelled to the locals watching from below and some rushed to help, buckets in hand already. Glen got up, the flames all over the wall lighting the defenders up and glanced towards the dark Pass. The mist had turned red again. Everything around him had that same color, or variants of it. The wall was burning fully, mostly from outside and perhaps not everywhere with the same intensity, but it was bad. ¡°It¡¯s bad,¡± Jinx declared, as she¡¯d read his mind, when he reached their spot on the wall, the flames not as heavy there. She¡¯d discarded that furry coat of hers, the morning chill not a problem anymore. Obviously. Glen wanted to laugh at that, but he¡¯d enough wits about him, to realize this wasn¡¯t going well; Soren, part of his beard badly singed some-fuckin¡¯ how, agreed with a grunt.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡°This ain¡¯t good.¡± ¡°No shit genius!¡± Jinx hissed, nailing a Cofol that tried to add more fuel to the fire, right through the neck. Glen looked the other way, saw Sir Emerson rushing down the stairs two at a time, Spurius right behind him. The knight spotted Glen on the wall and immediately pointed to the slopped road leading to the Castle. ¡°What?¡± Glen asked. ¡°DANTE GET HIM DOWN HERE NOW!¡± Emerson growled, just as another volley of arrows descended upon them. Glen ducked panicked, Dante¡¯s raised shield saving them both, as at least three burning projectiles were broken on it. ¡°LIKO WHERE¡¯S THAT WATER?¡± Dante yelled and a moment later Liko pushed up the stairs, bucket in hand, most of the water spilling out and on him. Everywhere across the barricade, people were hurrying to bring as much buckets of it they could manage. Dante grabbed the one Liko had brought and splashed water on his shield, emptying the rest on the smoking runway. This is fuckin¡¯ pointless, Glen realized. The inside of the wall was smoking, adding to the thick fog, the air bitter and the sturdy vertical boards crackling and hissing. The Cofols kept peppering them with more and more burning arrows at regular intervals, their reserves inexhaustible seemingly. ¡°Down,¡± Jinx ordered and all but shoved him towards the stairs. Glen stumbled down, the Gish jumping over him and landing expertly before he managed that last step, her knees bending to absorb the worst of the impact. The rest of the Gallant Dogs following suit moments later. ¡°You¡¯re okay?¡± Glen asked, lifting a scowling Whisper up and she spat a blob of phlegm down to clear her mouth, before replying dead serious. ¡°Think I just crap in me pants,¡± Seeing his stunned stare, she added. ¡°Just a bit.¡±
¡°THE MOMENT THE GATE¡¯S DOWN,¡± MARCUS thundered to the twenty soldiers¡¯ hurdled around him. ¡°THEY¡¯LL TRY TO COME THROUGH, BUT WE¡¯LL STOP THEM BOYS!¡± ¡°AYE!¡± The soldiers replied, banging at their shields. They were lined up five meters from the gate in a v-formation. Glen watching them from further back started coughing, his eyes watering from the thick smokes coming from the inferno that was their barricade. ¡°Listen up,¡± Emerson said to the rest of them. ¡°This ain¡¯t gonna hold them long. We¡¯re gonna lick them once, but then we¡¯ll retreat towards the castle, make a stand there.¡± ¡°What about the civilians?¡± Dante asked, at least fifty of them were still trying to put out the fire, using buckets they filled from barrels brought from the river earlier. It was futile. The distance to refill those barrels too great to make a difference. ¡°Captain Blackwood, you¡¯re in charge of their safety,¡± Emerson decided after a small thought. ¡°Gather everyone up, from here and the castle and hurry them across the bridge. Women and children first.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have enough horses,¡± Zolla noted. ¡°Use ours,¡± Emerson deadpanned. ¡°Post haste Captain.¡± The gate came down just as he finished his words.
¡°STEADY!¡± Marcus yelled, just as the first Cofol soldiers came out of the destroyed and still burning gate. The fog had lifted somewhat as the hours ticked away, but the smoke clouds from the hundred meters long fiery barricade, kept the visibility near the mouth of the Pass low. ¡°JAVELINS!¡± The unlucky first twenty or so that jumped out of the smoking crater were skewered from javelins hurled at them from point-blank range, bolts and arrows. One managed to get hit from all three variants, managing only a couple of strides, before dropping dead. Then another twenty attacked, carrying shields and swords, managed to withstand the fresh barrage of projectiles and reached the shieldwall, the soldiers had formed. The clash was ferocious, but with more and more pushing from behind, the line buckled and eventually broke. Emerson who had held a reserve of around twenty soldiers back, turned to Glen, eyes wild and face blackened from the smoke and barked for him to get over the bridge, before charging into the melee with his force. Glen glanced towards the road leading to the river and then the other way at the slopped path heading for the castle. His gold was back there. Can¡¯t just abandon it, he thought. In front of him the contest had turned into a bloody scuffle, Emerson¡¯s charge pushing the Cofols back and stopping all but one of them. The Cofol broke through, blood spattered on his leather armour and the spear he held broken in half. Glen moved without thinking it through, closed the distance with the disoriented soldier fast and by the time he realized the idiocy of what he was doing, it was too late to back away. The Cofol, long braided hair caught at the nappe, twisted around on instinct, saw him approaching and hurled the broken part of his spear, aiming for his head. The long shaft came at him, managing a full rotation mid-flight and Glen ducked to avoid it, a fine plan in theory, much more difficult to execute in the field. The shaft missed his head, but smacked him on the left shoulder hard, tripping him up and numbing his arm to his fingers. Glen groaned, boots slipping in the mud, left arm dangling useless, but managed to find his footing not a meter from his opponent and attacked immediately with a simple upward slash. The Cofol soldier pulled away from the blade, unsheathed a sword he carried at his waist, a little surprised at the clumsiness of his attack. He tested him with a side cut, but Glen who¡¯d recovered from his initial shock, was fully committed now and too scared to do anything half-arsed. He parried the soldier¡¯s blade away and attacked immediately with savage downward cut of his own that separated the man¡¯s exposed sword arm from the rest of his body, right at the elbow. The Cofol¡¯s severed limb, still holding the sword, landed between them. His opponent recoiled from the mind-blowing pain, a manic cry escaping his clenched teeth, in a sense mirroring Glen, who had also jumped back shocked and wild-eyed, the blood spraying out of his opponent¡¯s grotesque wound turning his stomach. Emerson found him moments later, still watching the man slowly bleeding away and pushed him back, grabbing him by his throbbing shoulder. ¡°Move ye fool!¡± The knight ordered him. ¡°What are you standing there for?¡± ¡°What happened?¡± Glen asked coming about, more from the pain, than the knight¡¯s words. ¡°They broke. It bought us some time,¡± Emerson grunted. ¡°You need to leave now! We¡¯ll set another shieldwall further up the slope, but you need to leave, boy!¡± ¡°Aye, I will,¡± Glen replied. ¡°I just need to get some stuff first.¡± ¡°What stuff?¡± ¡°It won¡¯t take long,¡± He explained and started hoofing it towards the slope ahead of the men.
Soren and ¡®Pale¡¯ were coming down on foot leading at least twenty animals, mostly laden mules and horses, with several having children on their saddles. A long row of civilians followed, walking slowly towards the bridge. Glen found Jinx getting ready to leave in the yard, Zola and Dante with her, along with Kacie and her father. ¡°Where were you?¡± Whisper asked, seeing him coming towards them huffing and puffing, after his uphill trot. Darn armour was weighting a ton. Glen sucked a couple of quick breaths in, sweating alike a pig under his thick gambeson and all that leather, but remembered to throw the farmer¡¯s daughter a corny smile before answering, with half-a-truth. ¡°Had to help Emerson beat the Cofols back at the wall, Pretty,¡± Jinx curled her upper lip to call bullshit, Kacie raised her brows impressed and sweet Zola made a cooing sound that took Dante by surprise, before he wrestled back control of the situation. ¡°Right. Will milord vacate the yard soon? We have to go,¡± Dante said pointing at the last of the people leaving. ¡°I will,¡± Glen replied and glanced at Jinx. ¡°I need to get some of my things first.¡± ¡°Soren has my box and your satchel,¡± She replied, sensing where he was going with this. ¡°Val is outside the stable. Can¡¯t miss her. Yer deaf, not fuckin¡¯ blind hopefully.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give it another look, just in case,¡± Glen insisted, riding through her taunt. He didn¡¯t want to leave anything to chance and a fortune in gold to an unwashed Cofol. ¡°Follow ye right after.¡± ¡°You sure?¡± Whisper queried, for some reason sounding troubled. Perhaps it was a Gish thing. ¡°Hurry it up.¡± ¡°Just leave, I¡¯ll catch up wit you, in no time.¡± Glen said and Dante not set on waiting around any longer than necessary nodded. ¡°That¡¯s it then. Down the slope gents and lasses,¡± He said vibrantly, a man who¡¯ve seen danger many a times and lived to tell a well-embellished tale. ¡°On the bloody double.¡± Adding as an afterthought. ¡°We¡¯re almost out of it.¡± Almost, being rather important in this instance.
Glen checked under the sideboard for any leftover coins, found a hidden sack with some clothes and random stuff he¡¯d pilfered the past months, cutlery and tools amongst it and satisfied he¡¯d gotten everything of value out of the barracks, turned to leave it behind. The sun had come up for good being almost noon, the heavy fog that had made their life difficult since early morning, mostly gone, but the thick clouds kept the light to a minimum. The light that escaped, created heavy shadows, some of them dancing on the barracks back walls, others remaining still, mostly near the door. Glen headed for the exit, worried about the knight and the soldiers he¡¯d come to know pretty well. Defending the castle was foolish, he decided. He should order Emerson to retreat to the bridge. Glen could do that, since he outranked him. Glen outranked everyone basically.
Gurae¡­ The Wyvern hissed.
A stride before stepping outside, his now mostly fine left arm, flamed up again and turned a shade of black, just as a thin shadow next to the door turned into a man with no face. Glen felt a blade punching through his armour, opening the skin expertly and sliding between two ribs, aiming for his heart. Everything happening unrealistically slow, as if under a spell. Glen jolted to the side and away from the butchering blade, the wound going wide instead of deep, the blood pouring out of him like wine, from a broken barrel. The time returning to normal again. ¡°Fascinating,¡± Larn murmured, turning from a shadow to a man again, as Glen stumbled and went down next to the door, the wall on his back the only thing keeping his torso upright. ¡°How did you do it? You dodged.¡± The assassin stooped above him and watched hawkishly as the young man desperately tried to speak, but failed. Fuck, he thought, completely freaked out with the unexpected assault. I need help. I should have gone wit them, He thought miserably, trying to staunch the bleeding with a hand, the other utterly useless, but failing. ¡°What¡¯s your secret boy?¡± Larn asked him, with that strange accent of his. ¡°Where did you learn that?¡± Glen wanted to tell him to go fuck himself with one of the burning boards, while begging for help at the same time, but all he managed, was to spray blood down his chin and neck. Luthos ye son of a whore! I don¡¯t fuckin¡¯ deserve this! ¡°You killed Zestari,¡± Larn explained, sounding all reasonable, sensing his voiceless query. ¡°Actions have consequences, spawn of Reeves. It was a killing blow, what you dodged. So take pride in that. You earned precious little time to reflect on your crimes.¡± Go suck a bag of dicks, Glen¡¯s swollen eyes replied. Larn stepped back, hearing the sounds of boots approaching. ¡°I thought about sparing you, but she wouldn¡¯t have moved on, whilst you still breathed. I doubt we will meet again,¡± Larn said, thin mauve lips split into a freakish smile that reminded him of Lith and taking another step back, he was gone. The light coming from the door dimmed, the colors turning gray and dull. The sounds of people returning, quietening down. Everything grinding to a stop. A welcomed blessing, Glen thought slipping out of consciousness, as it had also taken, most of the pain away.
75. Leopard in the fog (4/5)
Fikumin Leopard in the fog -Battle of Hellfort¡¯s Pass- Part IV (Not all, is politics)
In the end, his little field trip was worth it, Fikumin thought, looking around the underground expanse with a goofy smile. Just don¡¯t fall into the darn water. The torch¡¯s light danced on the cave¡¯s ceiling above him. It caught on the large quartz veins, visible between the larger slate-rock sections and in some instances even dressed the shadows, in as many colors as one would see on a rainbow. These veins run down from the ceiling to the cavern¡¯s floor and walls, like a giant beast¡¯s spine. Sparkling and mostly white, alike old bones. Wow, look at that! Fikumin thought, using a small mallet to break away a small protruding piece of quartz. He brought it closer to his face and grinned manically, when he spotted the thin gold vein gleaming amidst the crystal-rock. There¡¯s gold in here. He looked down for another broken piece, using the tip of his boot to push a moss covered rock aside, found a single flower underneath it. It sprang upwards as if it was alive. Not just any flower this, he thought, doubly impressed. Wow. Praised be Luthos! Fikumin pocketed this new find and with a deep sigh and a last look at the ominous black waters running through the dark underground cave, almost a proper river extending as far as his eyes could see, he turned around to climb up to reach the mines, the cool morning breeze on his back.
It took almost two hours of crawling the only a meter-wide chasm at some points, the natural tunnel caused by the earthquake that had cracked the mountain rock, for Fikumin to finally return to the barred entrance. It was located near the southwest corner of Hellfort¡¯s tower, where the wounded stone structure touched the vertical mountain side. Fikumin slipped under the small opening in the planks with ease, blinked once to adjust his eyes and then run fast towards the commotion before the barracks. Stiles and a couple of the castle¡¯s old garrison guards, Rolas Pontus amongst them, were talking animatedly; their argument appearing serious enough, for Stiles to rush inside one of the barracks incensed at the end of it. Just as he was closing in, the sprightly dwarf caught out of the corner of his eye, Lithoniela retreating behind the kitchen building, on the opposite side of the yard and changed direction at the last moment to head that way. He ducked under an abandoned cart, produce still on it, as if its owner had left it in a hurry, the smell of smoke bothering him and glued himself to the kitchen¡¯s wall, before the corner Lithoniela had disappeared behind, not a moment ago; popped his head to check first, afore making the turn, as he¡¯d clearly heard her speaking with someone else. In the old tongue.
¡°¡­can¡¯t make the journey, mistress,¡± Larn the Zilan was saying, as Fikumin found cover behind a large enough bucket, not even three meters from the two of them. ¡°I can heal him,¡± Lithoniela insisted, a concerned frown marring her perfect face. ¡°We just have to get him out of there, Larn.¡± ¡°Injury is too serious, you¡¯ll get exposed, even if you pull it through. Such strong magic in the open,¡± He countered. ¡°They¡¯ll turn on you. Blame you, for their misfortune, mistress. This is a lost cause.¡± ¡°I will not have him perish here!¡± Lithoniela hissed taking offense and Larn grimaced. ¡°If the boy¡¯s that important, he doesn¡¯t need your assistance,¡± The Zilan offered and Fikumin blinked surprised. Was Glenavon injured? Larn assumed a hurt expression. ¡°But your people do.¡±Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! ¡°My people,¡± Lithoniela droned, repeating his words. ¡°Yes, there are more, waiting for a slither of hope. A chance at salvation. You can be that hope. You can be their salvation.¡± ¡°More like yourself.¡± If he was insulted, Larn hid it well, Fikumin thought. ¡°Zilan like me,¡± Larn agreed, continuing undaunted. ¡°Like you Lithoniela. I¡¯ve seen you with my own eyes. Felt your spirit in my soul. We are the same.¡± ¡°Followers of the Old Ways,¡± She said sounding bitter. ¡°We were all once. Who will take his place, for him to live? Aye, you need it to heal him, as you admitted. It was your mother that tore our people apart, mistress,¡± He told her, returning her glare unafraid. ¡°But you can bring whatever is left together. Heal us all.¡±
¡°You heard that,¡± Lithoniela said quietly, after he¡¯d left her. Fikumin got up from behind the bucket and walked slowly towards her. He could see, she was troubled. ¡°Is it true? What he said, about more of your kind surviving?¡± Fikumin asked her, the black clouds of smoke reaching the castle bothering him. ¡°Exiles, is what he meant. Still set in the Old Ways.¡± ¡°The Folk always believed it was needed to unlock the mystic paths,¡± Fikumin said, treading carefully. ¡°Since when do the Folk dabble in magic?¡± ¡°All species do, Lithoniela,¡± He replied calmly, not wanting to insult her. ¡°None as fruitfully as your kind though.¡± ¡°Because we eat the living.¡± She completed his sentence, with an angry pout. Sentient ones, Fikumin translated. ¡°In a sense,¡± He said simply. ¡°It started that way, but turned into a nasty habit pretty quickly,¡± Lithoniela started, just when he¡¯d thought, she¡¯ll drop the matter like all the other times. ¡°Then into a sickening need and after that a horrible addiction. Magic became an excuse to justify horrendous acts of barbarism against all species. All life. The thrill of the hunt consumed the greatest minds, it brought ruin.¡± She paused, her fists clenched tight to suppress the memories. ¡°My mother put an end to this downward spiral of our society, pulled our people back from the darkness and sacrificed a huge part of our magic in exchange. It wasn¡¯t an easy decision. These people, hated her for it. Perhaps, I can find the middle ground.¡± Larn had sold her a dream. ¡°It sounds more like politics, than creed,¡± Fikumin noted. ¡°Everything in life, is politics,¡± Lithoniela murmured, looking away. Not everything, Fikumin thought. ¡°Can you heal Glenavon?¡± He asked, after giving her a moment. ¡°Is what he said true?¡± Do you have to kill someone to do it? She nodded. ¡°I don¡¯t know, it might come to that.¡± There it is then. ¡°They won¡¯t accept it Lithoniela. Dark magic, any magic¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care what they think!¡± She snapped. ¡°Then why you haven¡¯t talked to Glenavon, since that day?¡± He countered and the Zilan recoiled, as if she¡¯d seen a rattlesnake. The dwarf reached with his hands, for his crude baggy tunics¡¯ inside pockets, searched them for a bit and then emptied them out. Rummaged quickly through the weird contents, ate a piece of dry meat he found absentmindedly, returned the quartz rock in his pocket and picked a bluish moss-covered thick-petal flower from the rest of the small pile, tiny red veins visible on it, its broken stem a solid black. ¡°Is that Alphirim Lothe?¡± Lithoniela asked, voice revealing her awe, as she immediately recognized it. ¡°Where did you find it?¡± ¡°Luthos led me to it,¡± Fikumin replied, wrapping it gently in a cloth. The rest of the pile was mostly junk, so he didn¡¯t bother picking them up again. ¡°Used gold to lure me near, but didn¡¯t know why at the time.¡± Lithoniela glanced towards the kitchen¡¯s corner, hiding them from the soldiers returning in the yard, then back the other way leading to the outer wall, where Larn had headed to earlier. She was torn between two decisions, each road offered, potentially barring the other. Each decision saving something valuable, even precious, while potentially killing something equally important outright. Not all, is politics, Fikumin thought with a sad smile, reaching to touch her gloved hand softly. His own road now clear, perhaps for the first time, since he¡¯d started his journey. ¡°I can turn it into a potion,¡± The dwarf said simply and watched the whirl-mill of emotions on her face, gold eyes turning misty at the end of it. ¡°Fikumin, I can¡¯t ask you to stay,¡± Lithoniela said softly, sounding unsure, perhaps even a little ashamed. ¡°This place is a deathtrap,¡± He felt her fingers clench his hand tight. ¡°But I want you to.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to ask,¡± The dwarf replied with a shrug, keeping his own emotions from his face. ¡°And I may know a way out.¡±
76. Leopard in the fog (5/5)
Emerson Leopard in the fog -Battle of Hellfort¡¯s Pass- Part V (The sane thing to do)
There were so many arrows stuck on the ground, behind the burning barricade, it looked like some type of weird tall grass had sprouted overnight, when the fog cleared enough for them to see. They were clearly facing a much too powerful enemy here, to win with trickery, Emerson thought and Spurius old face, tainted black but for the eyes, grimaced reading him. ¡°Mayhap we should retreat to the bridge as well,¡± His old friend offered. There¡¯s gallantry and honor in life, but there¡¯s plaguin¡¯ stupidity as well, was his meaning. At this point, seeing the soldiers pulling back, carrying their injured friends, he couldn¡¯t agree more. Emerson smacked his lips and eyed Sir Solomon for a long moment, the sweaty knight, his helm held in hand, looking none younger, or less fumed, than any of them. ¡°You mind riding to Hellfort, see everyone out of it?¡± He asked him, when the man turned to glare his way, not likening the attention. ¡°Abandon the castle,¡± The Knight of Altarin growled, the words painful. ¡°Spare yer countrymen,¡± Emerson countered. ¡°We¡¯ve sent warning to the city. Help might be on the way. We can meet them on the other bank of the river.¡± Sir Solomon stared at the row of civilians heading towards the bridge, bringing with them what they could. Soren and Victor Hook were leading one such group, Emerson noticed, while waiting for the other knight¡¯s decision. ¡°I will get my horse,¡± Sir Solomon relented finally, clenching his jaw, rigid as a board.
¡°It¡¯s the right call,¡± Spurius said, after ordering Marcus to direct the injured towards the river, the healthy soldiers creating a line anchoring at the end of the path leading up the slope, towards the castle. ¡°Not if they catch us on the move.¡± ¡°Why delay it then?¡± Spurius queried and Emerson glanced at the last civilians heading away in the distance, the river over a kilometer away. A small group coming down the slope and the castle as well. The rest of the mercenaries with Dante and Jinx among them and a couple of civilians. No Glen though. What are ye doin¡¯ lad? Emerson narrowed his eyes, a tang of worry in his heart. He turned to the soldier holding Duke¡¯s reins intent on riding up there and drag him down himself, but a group of riders got out of the smoking and destroyed gate back at the barricade, a good three hundred meters from them and stopped him. A very large group. ¡°Here they are,¡± Spurius said, standing on his left shoulder, just as another even larger group emerged. Mounted archers all of them. Over two hundred, they pulled away from the smoke, leaving the space open to yet another group. ¡°Good grief,¡± The former Centurion commented. ¡°PULL THEM BACK!¡± Emerson bellowed a warning to Marcus. ¡°UP THE SLOPE!¡± ¡°YE HEARD HIM LADIES! ON THE BLOODY DOUBLE!¡± The sergeant echoed. Spurius got ready to argue, but he saw what Emerson had noticed amidst the ever growing numbers of mounted archers. The latter had pooled left and right from the mouth of the Pass, their center now filling up with shinning, scale armour wearing Cofol Knights. Cataphracts. Well over a hundred of them, Emerson guessed, turning to Marcus, his heart beating wild. They needed to leave the flat ground fast. The battle had decided their next stand for them. ¡°UP THE SLOPE NOW!¡± The knight thundered and run for his horse.
Emerson blasted through the open castle gates on Duke, five minutes later, with the rest of the soldiers retreating fast behind him, still further back. He spotted Rolas barking orders to his small group of castle guards and headed his way initially, but caught out of the corner of his left eye Sir Solomon getting out of their barracks, face haunted and stooped like an old man, so he turned the horse to reach him instead. He jumped off the saddle, his knees hurting when he landed, just as the other knight sat down on an upturned wooden case left on the sidewalk. Collapsed on it, more like. ¡°What¡¯s the matter wit you?¡± Emerson asked him that feeling of worry returning tenfold. ¡°Lord Reeves,¡± Sir Solomon managed to say, looking at his bloodied hands. Stiles greeted him with a grimace, when he burst through the open door of the barrack they shared with Glen. There was a big pool of blood next to the door, the young man sitting in the middle of it, his eyes closed and pale as a corpse. No. Gods no. Emerson knelt next to him and searched for a pulse frantically, his mouth dry. ¡°He¡¯s hanging on,¡± The ex-pirate said, just as despair started setting in. ¡°Did all I could to patch up the wound. Lost too much blood.¡± ¡°What happened?¡± Emerson grunted, grinding his teeth. ¡°Got knifed in the lung,¡± Stiles replied and the knight could see where the armour had yielded to the blade. Uher curse ye! ¡°Who did this?¡± The former pirate shook his head sadly. ¡°Was tendin¡¯ to Val outside the stable. Last I saw him, he entered in here unscathed.¡± An assassin roaming Hellfort? Emerson wondered, stroking Glen¡¯s messy hair. How did I miss that? That bounty hunter came to mind and he stood up furious. ¡°He needs a dottore,¡± Stiles said, himself sounding devastated. Perhaps because his well-being was tied to the young Lord¡¯s. ¡°A darn good one.¡± The Cofols were going to take the castle, before the day was over. Emerson knew that. It was also obvious they wanted the Reeves family killed off. The constant attempts on his life, the murder of his father and grandfather, all painting a clear enough picture. ¡°They can¡¯t find him,¡± Emerson started, realizing he¡¯d no plan, or even a glimpse of an idea, on how to prevent that. ¡°Else, even if he lasts that long, he¡¯s doomed.¡± They all were, in a sense. ¡°I shall fall here then, with Lord Reeves,¡± Sir Solomon announced returning, a grim look on his aged face. ¡°I vow before all Gods, to gladly die next to him.¡± ¡°I¡¯d rather save him, Sir Solomon,¡± Emerson said stiffly, not liking all this sanctimonious talk. ¡°If there¡¯s a way.¡± ¡°There is,¡± A voice said in common. Emerson turned to see who it was; saw no one, but a bewildered Stiles staring at the knight¡¯s feet and narrowed his eyes frustrated. ¡°Who plaguin¡¯ said that?¡± He grunted, then lowered his eyes to see for himself, what it was the former pirate had found that piqued his interest so. Sir Solomon spoke first, surprise turning to anger. ¡°Is that a bloody dwarf?¡± The knight asked, his hand dropping to the handle of his sword. Emerson remembered Glen¡¯s wild stories back in Castalor. He entertained the idea then, not really much believing it, but the short chubby creature standing not a foot from him, appeared to be just that. Or a small child with a long earth-colored beard that reached his knees, a grand mustache under a prominent nose, on par with his large head and in stark contrast to the rest of his body. That was too much hair, for any kid Emerson had ever seen. ¡°Stay that blade, Sir Solomon!¡± He snapped at the wild-eyed knight. ¡°I prefer the name Folk meself. Less bigoted a term,¡± The dwarf said all serious, manly voice surprising Emerson even more and small arms crossed on his chest, as he stared them all down; sort of plaguin¡¯ speak. ¡°Name¡¯s Fikumin Flintfoot by the way.¡± ¡°Hah,¡± Stiles guffawed, breaking the uncomfortable tension that followed his words. ¡°For a moment, I thought I¡¯d gone crazy!¡±
¡°Good grief, Sir Lennox!¡± Solomon Arno protested. ¡°You can¡¯t allow this thing treating Lord Reeves!¡± Emerson scrunched his jaw, eyes pausing on the deathly pale Glen and the dwarf checking on his wound, before returning on the incensed knight.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Do you have an alternative at the ready, Sir Solomon?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°You heard me!¡± Solomon grimaced. ¡°I was tasked to protect Lord Reeves,¡± He said, voice cracking at the end. The fact he failed him left unsaid. ¡°The Cofols will break through those gates,¡± Emerson said much softer, his mouth dry. ¡°They brought an army ready to fight and we have a meager force here,¡± He breathed once deep, seeing the dwarf looking around and finding a laden burlap sack, rummaging quickly through its contents. ¡°We are trapped and even if we surrender, he¡¯s not walking out of this.¡± Or any of us, he thought. ¡°Bah,¡± Sir Solomon grunted and run his fingers through his greying hair. ¡°I can¡¯t just trust¡­ what if he¡¯s lying?¡± ¡°What''s the worst he could do?¡± Emerson bitterly countered, adding. ¡°Can you find Marcus and bring him here?¡± ¡°What do you want him for?¡± He pointed at Fikumin, at that time examining a small bowl he¡¯d found inside the sack. A black-marble mortar and pestle on a second glance. What in Uher¡¯s name? ¡°We need to give him time,¡± He told Sir Solomon, shaking his head at all the bizarre stuff happening, but willing to take a step back and give it a shot. Emerson couldn¡¯t assent all was lost, nor could he give up on trying to save Glen¡¯s life. Not after everything that plaguin¡¯ happened. The boy deserves better. ¡°But we can¡¯t direct the siege from here.¡±
¡°Is there a way out?¡± He asked the dwarf, when the knight run away to find Marcus. ¡°Possibly.¡± ¡°I need more than that, mister Fikumin!¡± Emerson grunted. ¡°We will have to move him,¡± The dwarf explained, adding some of the water Stiles brought him in the mortar, but drinking most of the wine, remembering to pour some of it in as well, in the end. Fikumin kept grinding at the mixture as he continued. ¡°Slowly and through difficult terrain, in the dark.¡± Emerson blinked in surprise, as with the fog gone and the skies clearer, the late morning sun illuminated the yard outside more than adequately. ¡°Where are you taking him?¡± ¡°The mines,¡± Fikumin answered simply and used his finger to apply some of the poultice on the cleaned up wound. Stiles had helped him remove Glen¡¯s armour earlier. ¡°We¡¯ll need a good head start, Sir Knight.¡± Emerson nodded and hearing boots approaching turned to greet a sweaty Marcus. The ex-legion sergeant stepped inside, frowned seeing Glen on death¡¯s door and then his eyes opened wide in shock at the sight of Fikumin. ¡°What in Tyeus arse¡ª?¡± ¡°He¡¯s a real dwarf,¡± Stiles explained, as if he was an expert on the matter and seeing the hale man¡¯s rugged face contorting in bewilderment, he added with a quick glance at the scowling Fikumin. ¡°But we can¡¯t call him that.¡±
¡°I put our supplies to the torch,¡± Spurius said hours later, the afternoon sun still strong over their heads, smoke clouds covering the castle¡¯s yard and almost everything inside burning from wall to wall. ¡°The way they hurry and with that numbers of animals, they must ¡®burn¡¯ through ¡®em faster than a rat does a piece of fresh cheese.¡± Emerson nodded, lips pulled back in a grimace of a smile, skin on his neck chafed where the gambeson met the chainmail. He¡¯d drank the last of his water a while back and had no stomach for a final meal, even with cheese in it. He thought of Glen, pale and with one foot in the grave, awkwardly secured on Marcus¡¯ back and probably still trapped in the mines; that is unless a dwarf, of all plaguin¡¯ things, had decided to speak a lick of truth for the first time in his life, according to the tales at least, while relatively sober. Then his mind wandered to his years growing up in Lesia and training in his father¡¯s castle yard. Much bigger than this one, lemon trees offering shade and two water wells providing clean water for everyone. Emerson recalled his mother¡¯s soft knitted shirt, the one she had gifted him when he put his first set of armor on and his little sister¡¯s laughter. The knight had worn out that shirt long ago and the last time he¡¯d laid eyes on his sister, she was crying her eyes out utterly heartbroken. These memories Emerson would rather forget. He spat down, mouth bitter and dry, making a mockery of it and unsheathed his father¡¯s blade, seeing the first riders coming through the broken down Hellfort¡¯s gates. This battle, was almost over. ¡°You want my shield?¡± Spurius probed, a resigned look on his aged, soot covered face. ¡°It¡¯s been ages since I used one.¡± ¡°Reckon they won¡¯t charge inside the yard,¡± Emerson replied and as if on que, some of the Cofols jumped off their saddles. ¡°Them slant-eyed devils care about ¡®em horses something fierce.¡±
Sir Solomon got skewered through the chest with a three meters long lance, as if to prove him wrong not long after, the experienced knight killing the onrushing Cataphract in the process, with a slash that went under the rim of his helm. The Cofol rode painting his white armor a deep red for a while, his horse enraged, tongue hanging and frothing at the mouth, before he slipped from the saddle into a heap on the ground. The Hellfort¡¯s defenders cheered at that, but the Cofol knight¡¯s friends broke through with a decisive mass charge soon after, the less than thirty soldiers left trying to create another shieldwall, behind the now lost castle walls, too beaten up to hold them back. The survivors that weren¡¯t slaughtered outright, dispersed into smaller groups inside the yard, all of them surrounded; most fighting it out to the last. Emerson himself, retreated towards the mine¡¯s gaping mouth, keeping the Tower on his left shoulder with a wounded Spurius and seven soldiers following him. Rolas Pontus with another three brave souls covered their final retreat, but caught an arrow right through the neck and died drowning in his own blood before their eyes. ¡°ARROWS!¡± Spurius bellowed and some of the soldiers managed to raise their shields to stop some of them. The Cofols, ever practical and even-keeled, lined up less than twenty meters from them and fired again.
At least twenty armed men charged after the volley to finish them off, under the thunderous cheers of their watching comrades. At least a thousand of them had flooded the castle¡¯s yard. Emerson glanced towards Spurius, five arrows caught on his shield, with two going through wood and metal sheet, to see if he was still standing. The Centurion cursed, a splinter opening a cut on his cheek, signaling he was fine and Emerson stepped forward, going over a pincushioned and bleeding out soldier. The first Cofol went for the man standing next to him, Emerson couldn¡¯t recall his name much as he tried, yielding a nasty spear with both hands. The knight cut him on the left thigh and messed his aim up, but the man still managed to fatally wound the soldier on the side. Emerson ducked under a scimitar, the charging mounted-scout now on foot, losing his balance and meeting the knight¡¯s rising blade with his neck. He parried a spear away and into a Cataphract¡¯s sabre, saving the soldier still standing on his other shoulder, then punched hard the irate Cofol with the warspear right at his nose-guard, caving the narrow metal inwards and sending what was left of the poor man¡¯s broken bones in his brain. The Cataphract slashed at him savagely from the side, but he caught it on the vambrace, darn thing riding the metal down, sparks flying all over and opening a wound at his wrist. Emerson jumped back out of reach, caught sight of Spurius getting a dagger under the armpit and stumble down with a groan, four Cofol rangers surrounding him like starving hyenas and landed on a wild-eyed scout, a deep cut splitting his ruined face in two equal parts right at the nose, the gap bleeding profoundly. Emerson shoved the injured Cofol back, turned the Cataphract¡¯s lunge down and kicked a charging howling ranger at the knee, breaking it with a sickening crunch that doubled him down and stopped his attack dead. The knight retreated a step, then another two and felt vertical rock from the mountain on his back, the mass of the tower thirty meters away to his right. He realized he was the last one standing, everyone else either slain, or too injured to stand. There it is then, Emerson thought, sweat burning his eyes, the helm fused on his head and the handle of his sword slippery with his own blood. Hope ye make it out my boy, not much else I can do. His eyes measured his opponents, at least thirty on the front line, mostly mounted-scouts now on foot carrying scimitars, long dagger wielding Cofol rangers reaching for their bows again and the Cataphract that had been hunting him since the start of the scrap. ¡°Wanna take a crack at it, lad? Ye¡¯ve been itchin¡¯ for a taste all day,¡± Emerson taunted him in common and the armoured man charged the few meters separating them with a growl, sabre gleaming in the sun. Emerson¡¯s rising sword beat the blade away, cut diagonally on the return, sharp edge cutting through scaled armor, but stopping sort on the chainmail shirt underneath. The Cataphract recoiled, the smirking face engraved in silver on the visor remaining frozen, but for the fear in his eyes. Emerson stepped forward, turned the man¡¯s defensive slash towards the ground and slashed upwards himself splitting that face-mask in two, the Cofol¡¯s pale sweaty face revealed underneath immediately painted red, his desperate howl of pain increasing tenfold, when he realized the tip of Emerson¡¯s blade had taken out his right eye. The Cataphract stumbled back on weak knees, hand on his face and a one of the scouts charged behind him, the rest momentarily stunned at the turn of events. Emerson twisted to defend himself, breathing heavy though the slits of his helm, one eye on the onrushing nimble scout, the other on his fast recovering friends and the still mounted Cataphract that had appeared behind them, gold leopard mask tainted in dark tar, but clearly visible. The lightly-armored scout got a handbreadth of steel in his gut, Emerson riding it sideways to lengthen the wound, before pulling the sword out, spilling the man¡¯s inwards out. He then turned to finish off the still groaning injured Cataphract kneeled a couple of meters from him, his hapless opponent desperately trying to put his spilled eye back in and failing, before the rest of the Cofols got their shit together. Something punched him in the chest, hard as a mule¡¯s hinder kick a mere stride in, his boots sliding backwards in the mud. Then another came, darn prickly thing a couple of fingers bellow it. Emerson stopped and stared at the Cofol rangers, now in the process of nocking fresh arrows to their bows about ten meters from him, since they¡¯d retreated instead of coming forward. In a sense, twas the sane thing to do, he thought not begrudging them that, tasting blood in his mouth and more trickling down his belly under his armour. ¡°ENOUGH!¡± The gold Leopard barked, voice drowned in righteous indignation. A fainting Sir Emerson, who sort of had convinced himself, it wasn¡¯t half-a-bad thing to die, wit a clear sky over yer head, almost missed, what was the end of the battle.
While hotly disputed by the Khanate¡¯s scholars, it is highly possible that Prince Nout surprised the Duke¡¯s forces, if any were present, broke through Hellfort¡¯s Pass, burn the fort itself to the ground and crossed Teid River in less than a week. It is unclear whether he defeated Lord Reeves at some point during that time or not, as the elderly Lord of Altarin was reportedly murdered days before this battle happened and probably never left the city. It could be, this was one of his descendants, another hotly contested subject till this day, who was present and killed during the castle¡¯s brief siege. A couple of famed knights died in that battle, amongst them Sir Solomon Arno and presumably Sir Emerson Lennox, former Lord of Balard¡¯s Castle in Lesia. Dante Blackwood, first Captain of the notorious Gallant Dogs company, fell during the battle as well, fighting on the Duchy¡¯s side. ¡®Ye do it for me, Pretty,¡¯ the much-repeated and celebrated tavern toast of all mercenaries today, is according to popular belief, naught but his last words to an unknown Gish ranger. Whatever the case may be, the famed Gold Leopard had managed complete surprise and now stood before two open roads according to the intelligence of the time. One leading south towards the mighty Yeriden and Rida; Redwood Forest on his army¡¯s east flank, the bountiful Raoz open plains on his west, and the other straight down, following the Teid River, towards the city of Altarin. Prince Nout, true to his moniker, would surprise all and sundry again in the second month of Spring 189 NC, in what most historians denote as the first battle of the War, since they like to pretend that everything before that didn¡¯t happen; in a little place called Esterlams Crevice across the Threeriver Bridge. - Lord Sirio Veturius Circa 206 NC The Fall of Heroes Chapter V -Prologue- (Prince Nout Radpour, ''The Leopard loose in Raoz'', Battle of Hellfort¡¯s Pass, Late second month of winter, 189 NC.)
77. All hail the captain
Jinx All hail the captain (Aftermath I)
Zola cried out incensed, when Whisper positioned the Issis woman¡¯s arm over her shoulder to drag her faster towards the bridge. Still in shock, with her ears ringing from the adrenalin pumping in her veins, and the loss of Dante, coupled with the physical exertion making matters worse, the small-bodied Gish hurried the distance to the lip of the wooden bridge, head glancing back to the three scale-armour clad Cataphracts trotting their way and closing in fast. ¡°Leave me be, you fool!¡± Zola protested breathing heavy, right leg dragging behind, and the arrow still stuck on it hurting with every stride she took. ¡°Save your fucking self!¡± ¡°Arggh!¡± Jinx growled manically instead of a reply, pushing herself even harder, knees shaking and her vision blurring from the effort. Pale appeared on the bridge¡¯s deck, sword and dagger in hand, just as her boot crossed over, the river¡¯s waters rushing angry underneath. ¡°Captain?¡± Victor Hook asked, wrinkles around his mouth even more pronounced than she remembered them that morning and Jinx shook her head right and left, tears pouring out and flying all over at the memory. Pale didn¡¯t say a word, nor blink at that. He just sheathed his dagger, grabbed her by the shoulder and shoved them both past him, with an annoyed grimace. ¡°Crafton is comin¡¯ to help. He¡¯s right behind me,¡± He said simply, eyes stilled on the approaching Cataphracts, their stance now cautious, seeing an armed man waiting for them on the bridge, instead of two fleeing injured women. ¡°I counsel ye hurry ¡®em legs Pretty.¡± ¡°Victor,¡± Jinx said, gulping down as much cool air as she could, doubled over tired knees. Crafton had taken a still protesting Zola on his shoulders and was hurrying ahead, already across the middle of the bridge. ¡°Ye can¡¯t fight ¡®em all.¡± Pale spat once over the decking and into the frothing waters, his eyes always on the three Cataphracts that jumped from their horses, not comfortable charging over a bridge that was missing most of its support piers, the floor boards loose and creaking over the onrushing waters. His voice that familiar hoarse, with a touch of sadness laced in. ¡°Reckon not. It¡¯s about delayin¡¯ ¡®em this part. Not winnin¡¯ pink cheeks,¡± The former outlaw turned mercenary said, sparing her a look, lips split to show a couple of yellow teeth, the rest missing, in what was his first smile in years. ¡°Ye do well, ¡¯memberin¡¯ that.¡±
¡°BLOW THE PIER!¡± Crafton yelled, half-sprinting the last couple of meters dragging Zola with him, showing surprising agility for his age. Jinx thought it funny at first, Soren¡¯s stupefied reaction to them ¡®running¡¯ towards him adding to the matter, but then she glanced back the other way and her face fell. Pale was duking it out with two Cofols at the mouth of the wooden bridge, the third armed with a bow standing back, trying to find a good enough angle to skewer him with an arrow. ¡°DO IT!¡± Crafton bellowed irate at the undecided Northman. ¡°DO WHAT?¡± Pale pushed a lunge to the side in the meantime, the blade bouncing off the decking, and stabbed a Cataphract at the base of his neck, below the helm. He took a step back, and his opponent fell face first on the floor, blood spurting out a meter high. Managed to block a cut, using both sword and dagger, just as Jinx reached the end of the bridge, stumbling forward from the momentum, arms flailing mad to regain her balance, but mostly failing. ¡°Hit it wit the sledgehammer for pity¡¯s sake!¡± An exhausted Crafton admonished the large Northman. ¡°YE COULD¡¯VE SAID THAT!¡± Soren retorted loud enough to hurt Jinx¡¯s ears and swung the sledgehammer with all his might at the weakened and pre-cut lip of the pier dislodging it. Jinx reached solid ground with a tumble, legs twirling end over end, glided another meter or so to find her footing and glanced back with bated breath, just as a loud creaking sound erupted from the fatally wounded wooden bridge. Pale had kicked the Cataphract between the legs and pushed him back hard, but got an arrow right through his midsection in return from his friend. He tossed the dagger the archer¡¯s way to stop him from firing another and dashed the other way fast as he could, managed to reach the center line in the retreat, when the whole structure started shaking, as if it was coming alive. The once straight bridge started bending, forming a loop that followed the current of the pregnant river. ¡°RUN VICTOR!¡± Jinx, her face wet with fresh tears, bellowed as loud as she could in order to be heard, above the sounds of boards creaking and breaking, railing turning to splinters, or simply disintegrating, as whole sections of the bridge¡¯s deck came apart, all adding to the thunderous clamor of massive amounts of water flowing underneath. It was like a huge mountain was coming down. Pale raised his head and looked her way, when her words reached his ears, right behind him the Cataphracts scrambling like mad to get off the collapsing bridge, lips split apart in what was either the start of an answer, or the end of a resigned sigh. Then he was gone and fifty meters of bridge went along with him, turning to grey froth, black-green waves and undefinable debris that got swallowed up in an instant. Oh, fuck me, Jinx thought recoiling, as if she just got hit in the stomach. All other sounds had seized, other than the river breathing. It was loud and garish, but to her it sounded the same as silence. Deafening and tasting of the macabre.
¡°Where¡¯s Dante?¡± Soren asked her, half an hour later. A group of the survivors had gathered on the side of the road, leading to where the bridge over Teid River once stood. Most were too shell-shocked to even move, but few had already left in an attempt to reach Altarin as soon as possible. Jinx glanced at Zola, the Issir had her back on the trunk of a tree and both hands on her face, shoulders shaking, before answering. ¡°He didn¡¯t make it.¡± She almost didn¡¯t recognize her own voice. ¡°What about Glen?¡± Soren probed, still carrying that sledgehammer he¡¯d used on the bridge earlier, saving them and killing Pale in the process. Jinx closed her eyes almost in despair, the recent events too hurtful to even consider. ¡°I don¡¯t know, where he is,¡± She replied, trying to remember where she¡¯d seen him last. Back at the fort. Where was Glen? Soren scrunched his face, not liking her answer. A part of his beard was missing, the left side up to his sideburns, singed away by the fire that had destroyed the barricade and it made him look plain weird, Jinx thought.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°He made it out,¡± Liko said, skin almost black from the fumes and dirt he¡¯d gathered during the day. ¡°Glen is smart.¡± ¡°Aye, he is.¡± That was Soren, with the vote of confidence. Jinx had no idea, if smarts were enough to get Glen out of the Fort, or across the river. The amount of smarts also in consideration. She got up and walked towards Zola, sat down beside her and looked straight ahead, the woman¡¯s sniffling making her uncomfortable. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Jinx offered after a while. ¡°What for?¡± Zola asked, her voice a whisper. ¡°Dante.¡± ¡°It was his decision, Pretty.¡± ¡°I should have stayed and helped,¡± Jinx said sighing. Zola scoffed at her words. ¡°How? Then we¡¯d all be dead. You think he¡¯d preferred that?¡± ¡°I can take care of myself.¡± Jinx watched as Soren gave the sledgehammer to Liko, the weight of the tool dragging the boy down, when he attempted to swing it aiming for the large man¡¯s knee. It was a miracle he missed. They had to move on somehow, she thought, returning to the problems at hand, Zola¡¯s next words almost inaudible. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Dante wanted you to save me,¡± Zola repeated, her words. ¡°He knew you¡¯ll be fine.¡± Jinx stared at her friend, all serious. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have left you back, Zola. You know how I feel, even if ye pretend you don¡¯t.¡± The Issir closed her eyes and pushed her head on the trunk behind her. ¡°You are so thick sometimes, Whisper.¡± ¡°I weigh less than ye, honey.¡± Jinx teased, but it came out a bit lame. ¡°Gods you¡¯re selfish.¡± ¡°How is that selfish?¡± Zola let out a big sigh, as if she''d run out of patience. ¡°We were fucking,¡± She said simply, at the end of it. Jinx blinked and swallowed slowly, trying to find something witty to say, but finding nothing. Zola opened an eye and stared at her sour expression. ¡°I wanted to tell you, but he didn¡¯t let me. You know why?¡± ¡°Twas an onetime thing?¡± Jinx chanced, not in the mood for more details. ¡°Nay, it wasn¡¯t. He didn¡¯t want you hurt,¡± Zola explained patiently. ¡°You can take care of all crazy things, Whisper. But emotionally, you¡¯re still a kid.¡± ¡°And you¡¯re a cunt,¡± Jinx said, through her teeth, wanting to punch her in the face. ¡°Whisper, you¡¯re proving my point¨C¡± ¡°Oh, fuck you honey,¡± The Gish cut her frustrated and jumped up. ¡°I loved him as much as you and knew him for way longer, than yer patronizin¡¯ arse!¡± Zola opened both her eyes and glared at her. ¡°You¡¯ve no idea, what you¡¯re talking about.¡± ¡°Oh, I do. I¡¯ve sucked as much cock as you, Zola,¡± Jinx said, looking around to avoid seeing her face. She didn¡¯t want to start ugly crying in the middle of this particular conversation. ¡°But I tried to keep it, outside the Company.¡±
Soren saw her approach, fuming like a well-used burning stove in winter and moved to intercept her, a question in his eyes. ¡°Not in the mood, big guy,¡± Jinx hissed. ¡°For what?¡± Soren asked, with a frown. Jinx puffed out, the side of her mouth curling upwards, to push an annoying curl out of her left eye. ¡°It¡¯s a fuckin¡¯ expression,¡± She elucidated. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°Crafton wants to come wit us,¡± The Northman explained. ¡°The kid as well.¡± ¡°How is this my concern?¡± ¡°The captain is dead.¡± Jinx snorted, his words a slap in the face. She scratched her forehead for a long moment with a finger, under Soren¡¯s intense scrutiny, while thinking about it. ¡°Am I the longest servin¡¯ now?¡± Soren shrugged his shoulders. She was apparently. All hail the new fuckin¡¯ captain! ¡°Okay, so what do ye want?¡± ¡°Crafton wants to come wit us,¡± The Northman repeated. A tick appeared on Jinx¡¯s right eye and she had to smack it right, too much force turning it into a stinging slap that made her ear ring. ¡°Arggh!¡± She cried, the pain another shock to her system. ¡°Are you okay?¡± ¡°Aye!¡± ¡°So Crafton¡ª¡± Soren started again, but she stopped him, her voice coming out a screech. ¡°What¡­ can he do?¡± Soren scratched the unburned side of his beard thoughtfully. ¡°Cook?¡± Good grief. ¡°Nah, it ain¡¯t that,¡± She corrected him. ¡°He¡¯s good wit numbers,¡± Soren offered, with a grimace. He¡¯s probably a thief is why, Jinx thought eyeing the unsavory duo, Glen had brought into the fold. The thought of him, souring her mood even more. Come on ye deaf n¡¯ stupid fuck, she urged him. Show yerself, I need some help here! ¡°Fine,¡± She relented. ¡°He can join. You¡¯ll fix the paperwork later.¡± ¡°What paperwork?¡± Soren asked, rather confused. Jinx smacked her lips. ¡°We¡¯ll talk about this later.¡± ¡°Sure thing boss,¡± Soren replied, relief evident and turning gave a thumbs up to the expecting duo. An excited Liko started running around screaming his delight at the news and it would take them a good half hour to calm him down. By that time Jinx had already a plan forming in her head on how to lead the Gallant Dogs forward. Whatever was left of it anyway, she thought with a sad smirk, her eyes on Glen¡¯s leather satchel and the box containing the huge egg she¡¯d found. First order of business was rather simple really. Since there was no way in Uher¡¯s Hells, Whisper Jinx was going to assume responsibility for everything happening from here on out, this needed to be done. ¡°What is?¡± Soren asked and Jinx flinched scared out of her tits, not realizing she was talking aloud all this time. She cleared her throat a couple of times, glaring at Zola and blinking surprised, when Liko winked at her, big toothy grin on his mouth, but for a couple of gaps, before replying with her chest pushed out, assuming Dante¡¯s nonchalant manner. Using a fine blend of half-truths and outright lies. ¡°Gallant Dogs will never abandon a contract,¡± Captain Jinx said. ¡°So in light of this, we must do our outmost, to find Glen.¡±
78. But for Luthos wicked will...
Fikumin But for Luthos'' wicked will... (Aftermath II)
Ah. There it is, Fikumin thought, small feet moving fast, boots tapping the rocky terrain lightly, the sound taken by the echo of the cave and multiplying, as if an army of the Folk were marching, deep in the bowels of Northwall Heights. Solid rock over his head, thick quartz veins embellishing the walls on his right shoulder, the dark underground river flowing on his left. The light of his torch shined on the embedded crystals, bouncing off and making the shadows move, as if they were alive. Stiles jumped up, when he heard him approach and looked on nervously at the bobbing light nearing them, Glen¡¯s sword in hand. ¡°Is that ye dwarf?¡± The former pirate asked, squinting his eyes to cut through the darkness. ¡°You know of another?¡± Fikumin retorted, reaching them. Marcus guffawed at that. The hale ex-legion sergeant was still carrying Glen on his back, the young lord unconscious, but looking better than he did, when Fikumin had left them to search ahead earlier. Looking better didn¡¯t say much, as he hadn¡¯t yet escaped the danger. ¡°Never thought, I¡¯ll meet one in the first fuckin¡¯ place,¡± Stiles griped, with a grimace. ¡°I¡¯ve found a way, but you need to watch yer step,¡± Fikumin said, wanting to get them moving. ¡°How deep is the river?¡± Marcus asked him later, well into their long journey through the cave. ¡°It¡¯s what is in it that worries me,¡± He replied, pausing to examine an interesting rock, before hurrying behind him. ¡°Fuck does that mean?¡± Stiles asked, his tone alarmed. ¡°How should I know?¡± Fikumin retorted. ¡°Yer a bloody expert?¡± ¡°Not of these caves, I¡¯m not.¡± ¡°Fuck are we followin¡¯ ye then?¡± Fikumin stared his way, thick brows meeting on his forehead. ¡°You didn¡¯t want to stay at the Fort.¡± ¡°Damn right I didn¡¯t,¡± Stiles admitted. ¡°I ain¡¯t no fool.¡± ¡°They might get a deal done,¡± Marcus said. He¡¯d fallen behind again, as he carried the biggest load. ¡°The Cofols might let them go.¡± ¡°Hah, why would they do that?¡± Stiles queried. ¡°They wouldn¡¯t,¡± Fikumin commented. They¡¯d reached a turn, the cave splitting into two large tunnels. One following the river acting as its banks, hopefully leading to an exit at its source and the other heading another direction. He made a gesture for them to stop. ¡°Rest up a bit here.¡± Stiles stared around them, found nothing he could sit on and collapsed on his arse, setting the burlap sack he was carrying next to him. Marcus followed him soon after, but he took the time to lay Glen down carefully, before sitting down himself. ¡°How¡¯s he?¡± Stiles asked, mildly concerned. ¡°Still breathing,¡± Marcus replied, checking up on Glen¡¯s injury. ¡°It takes some effort though.¡± ¡°The potion he ingested works slowly,¡± Fikumin explained, getting ready to prepare some more. ¡°But I might up the dose.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wit his hand?¡± Stiles probed, eyeing him as he started lightly mixing up in the mortar using the pestle. Glen¡¯s left hand had turned a sickly dark-grey color. It looked like dead flesh and while it gradually seemed to recover as well, it was very slow. ¡°He casted a spell,¡± Fikumin said. ¡°Despite being warned not to.¡± ¡°Are ye jesting, dwarf?¡± Marcus snapped angry. ¡°Glen is a bloody wizard?¡± That was Stiles, himself way more open-minded. Fikumin stared them both down, all serious. ¡°Do you know what caused this then?¡± He asked them. They didn¡¯t. The dwarf smacked his lips and nodded. ¡°That¡¯s it then for me,¡± and seeing Stiles opening his mouth to ask again, he added. ¡°And no, Glen isn¡¯t a wizard.¡± Which makes him using spells, all the more strange.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.
Stiles was slowly chewing on a piece of salted pork and part of a biscuit, after soaking them both with water from his flask. He paused seeing Marcus, sitting cross-legged next to him, drinking from a leather flask similar to his own and narrowed his eyes, oozing suspicion. ¡°Is that wine?¡± The former pirate asked. Marcus raised a brow, mid-swallowing. ¡°Why ye ask?¡± ¡°Can I have some?¡± Stiles insisted. ¡°I didn¡¯t say it was,¡± Marcus countered, not convincingly. ¡°Ye didn¡¯t say it wasn¡¯t.¡± Marcus sighed and seeing no way out of this, he offered him the flask. Fikumin watched him drink for a while, or more accurately, until a frustrated Marcus smacked his thigh hard and forced him to stop. ¡°Abrakas tits!¡± Stiles protested and Marcus frowned, still in the process of prying the flask out of his hands. ¡°Abrakas had no tits, ye fool.¡± ¡°How would ye know?¡± ¡°Ye hear things, in the Legion,¡± Marcus replied taking his flask. He shook it a couple of times and grimaced seeing there wasn¡¯t much left. ¡°I had this saved for the road,¡± He griped. ¡°Where do ye think, we are?¡± Stiles retorted, reinforcing it with a shrug of the shoulders. He reached inside a pocket next, found another piece of meat and put it in his mouth, careful to find his best teeth at the back end of it. Fikumin¡¯s stomach growled seeing him and got up from the still unconscious Glen¡¯s side, to find something for himself in their dwindling food supplies. He was reaching for the lit torch when Stiles, his mouth full of food, was heard again. ¡°Damn that was some pretty strong wine,¡± The former pirate said. ¡°Bah, I¡¯ve had stronger stuff,¡± Marcus commented dismissively, but an awed Stiles was looking beyond the light of their torches, secured with flat rocks on the ground, where the cave forked and the mouth of the new tunnel was now lit up as well. Fikumin got up slowly, narrowing his eyes, torch in hand. ¡°Well, if it ain¡¯t yer wine,¡± Stiles droned, a weird expression on his face. ¡°Then that¡¯s two bloody dwarves standing there, looking pissed as all hells,¡± He pointed a dirty finger, where Fikumin was looking. ¡°And one of ¡®em has tits.¡±
The red bearded dwarf, rich facial hairs split in the middle right below his chin, creating two elaborately braided tails that reached his knees, cast a side glance to his partner, the blond-haired dwarf with the tits and without a beard and she responded with an angry snort. As fine a wench this was as Fikumin had seen, in a god darn while. ¡°We seek passage,¡± He started in the old tongue and stepped forward to approach them. ¡°Through your mountain.¡± The male dwarf frowned. ¡°How did you get in?¡± He queried, strong baritone voice belonging to a man five times his size at least. ¡°We came through the split in the earth, caused by the earthquake,¡± Fikumin replied. ¡°The human mines.¡± ¡°Aye, that¡¯s correct. I¡¯m Fikumin Flintfoot.¡± ¡°Hmm. Name¡¯s Norec Trollfall,¡± Norec said, examining him closely, much as Fikumin did in turn. He wore chainmail over his tunic and had a war hammer strapped on his back, as big as him. ¡°This is Lorfouna Koboldtoe.¡± Fikumin offered her a toothy grin, but her frozen stare put a stop to that. He cleared his throat awkwardly and looked back where Stiles and Marcus where waiting, bewilderment on their faces. ¡°I¡¯ll appreciate, if you allow me and my friends to use your tunnels,¡± He finally said to the two members of the Folk. ¡°You¡¯re from the North,¡± Norec noted. ¡°Was born beyond the Nor Maze Heights on Jelin.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a long way for a dwarf to travel,¡± Lorfouna pointed and she¡¯d a huskiness in her voice that set his blood on fire. Fikumin blushed and shrugged his shoulders to hide it. ¡°I¡¯m an adventurer,¡± He looked into her grey-blue eyes proudly. ¡°The fastest of the Folk,¡± Lorfouna raised a mocking brow at that. ¡°And a Priest of Luthos,¡± Norec added, ending their little moment. Fikumin turned his way, a little surprised. ¡°What gave me away?¡± He asked. Norec pointed where they¡¯d come from, almost a day back now, if he kept the time right. ¡°Mines are sealed. Humans collapsed the entrance yesterday. We went there to investigate,¡± Norec said, with a smirk. ¡°Only chance for you to get out, was to find us in our return trip,¡± He eyed him knowingly. ¡°Before you starved to death.¡± ¡°I found the tunnel,¡± Fikumin insisted. ¡°Which road would you have taken?¡± Lorfouna asked, hint of a smile on her pretty face. ¡°Reckoned I¡¯d follow the river,¡± Fikumin replied readily and Norec scoffed at that. ¡°And you would¡¯ve all been dead,¡± He added matter-of-factly. But for Luthos wicked will, was his meaning.
Stiles scrunched his jaw this way and that, a few white hairs laced in his short black beard standing out, appearing fully agitated, when he returned to them. ¡°Hells were ye sayin¡¯ back there?¡± He queried, unable to keep it in. ¡°They know the way out of the caves,¡± Fikumin informed them, disregarding his question. ¡°Sounded like gibberish to me!¡± Stiles insisted fully worked up. ¡°We were talking in Imperial.¡± ¡°The fuck is that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s an older language,¡± Fikumin explained patiently. ¡°What do they want in return?¡± Marcus asked, focusing on the important stuff. Fikumin sighed, glancing at the couple waiting for them to get ready. ¡°We¡¯ll found out soon, I suppose.¡± He said and then helped Marcus put Glen on his back again. At least the young man had more color on his cheeks, Fikumin thought, throwing the burlap sack over his own shoulder. But Glen needed to come round from his slumber sooner rather than later. The fact he hadn¡¯t yet, was cause for grave concern. Each passing day lowering the chance, he¡¯d ever wake up at all.
79. & the gods perverted pleasure
Fikumin & the gods perverted pleasure (Aftermath III)
The tunnel went on for hours, fake splits and exits abound right along the way, the dark only beaten back by their burning torches. There was sulfur mixed with lime in the ones Norec had handed to them, the fumes almost toxic, it burned your eyes something fierce. They finally reached another large cave; this one had its walls smoothed over and smaller caves dug in and turned into lodgings. More buildings at the center of the huge cave were made out of stone, cut into even square pieces, sometimes two stories high. A small town built inside the mountain, Fikumin thought, admiring the architecture of the biggest of those structures Norec and Lorfouna led them to. Various statues of prominent members of the Folk carved out of stone, build taller than any dwarf Fikumin had ever seen, some armed with weapons, others carrying tools of trade, were standing on each side of the large hall and they were staring at them behind thick stony brows, as they approached the throne of their white haired, armour-wearing leader. For all intends and purposes, he thought. The huge throne was made of finely ornamented stone, there was plenty of it around, but the old dwarf had also a small gold stool in front of it, to rest his legs and help him climb up. ¡°Is that a golden stool?¡± Stiles asked, breaking the awed silence, while Norec talked with the old dwarf in hushed overtones. ¡°Be quiet. Don¡¯t ask anything stupid,¡± Fikumin warned the former pirate and most recently a slave of Lord Reeves. ¡°It¡¯s a legitimate query!¡± Stiles protested, but in a subdued voice. The old dwarf leader, set his dull olive eyes on them. He¡¯d a long pendant, whole thing made out of silver, hanging from his neck; the square tool and a set of compasses engraved on it. A symbol of the Masons Guild. ¡°Me name is Ostruki Graycloak, Master Fikumin,¡± He said, nothing frail in his baritone voice, long white beard dancing under his chin. ¡°We haven¡¯t had a dwarf from Jelin visit us, in a hundred and thirty years,¡± He pointed to one of the statues on their right. The big dwarf was depicted ready to strike, braided beard in a thick tail sprouting down his square chin, steel helm on his head hiding his face, plate armor underneath and a prominent warhammer in hand. ¡°Not since Dubrot Snowguard came here, wit that fool Ebenezer Framtond in tow, before they journeyed to Wetull and nobody heard from ¡®em ever since.¡± ¡°They made it back,¡± Fikumin replied, the mention of the noble Northern dwarf shocking and he examined with renewed interest his statue and the famed Snowguard, his warhammer. A gift from a Zilan Queen, the ancient dwarf still carried with him when he went missing, along with his now celebrated friend. A weapon for a king, he thought. Lost in history. The reason for their journey to the lands of Wetull vague and mysterious, almost ridiculed, if one were to believe the gossip of the time. ¡°They tried to find another way to reach the lands of the Wyvern, is the word,¡± He said, a lump in his throat, the story as fresh in his mind as the first time he¡¯d heard it forty years back, a mere youngling then. ¡°A manner to avoid the Plague Isles and the servants of the Painted God. Find Mistland in the end of it, by circumnavigating the Realm,¡± He sighed, the eyes of Ostruki Graycloak and the other dwarves present, following his words with interest. ¡°He chose Kadrek, in the Duchy of Sovya as his unlikely starting point, and that was around seventy nine mind you; anyway, they sailed straight east into the Great Dark Ocean and the unknown, and this time got lost for good in the attempt.¡± ¡°As I said,¡± Ostruki pointed, hint of smirk on his lips. ¡°A foolish notion.¡± Fikumin shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Perhaps.¡± He said finally, not wanting to outright disagree with him. ¡°Perhaps, your friend will wake up as well,¡± Ostruki said, all serious now. ¡°Have you more potion?¡± ¡°Nay, I don¡¯t,¡± Fikumin replied, clenching his jaw. No more of the healing flower was found, despite his thorough searches of the caves. ¡°Bah, we have lots of it,¡± Ostruki answered the latter for him, greatly enjoying their conversation. ¡°Our people are very diligent in gathering everything they find.¡± There it goes, Fikumin thought with a glance at his waiting behind him friends. They had left Glen outside the big hall to the care of Lorfouna. Marcus frown showing his concern, with Stiles more interested in the riches below Ostruki¡¯s feet.
¡°Well?¡± Stiles asked him an hour later, after they¡¯d just about finished a good meal under the watchful eyes of Norec. ¡°Fuck were ye talking about?¡± Fikumin sighed, combing his long beard with his fingers. ¡°They will provide healing for Glenavon and supplies,¡± He started, treading carefully. ¡°A way out of the mountain and into the plains.¡± ¡°The plains?¡± Marcus probed. ¡°The northernmost source of Yeriden.¡± The great river had three of those and these tributaries, large enough to be named rivers of their own, met up at a place called Esterlams Crevice, near the large stone Threeriver Bridge. ¡°It¡¯s easier to head towards the plains, than travel towards Rida.¡± ¡°How far do their tunnels reach?¡± Marcus asked impressed. ¡°I reckon the whole mountain range.¡± ¡°Wow, ¡®em little fellows sure love diggin¡¯.¡± Stiles decided, slurping down the rest of his meat soup, straight from the bowl. He used a piece of crusty bread to wipe whatever was left inside clean, before pushing back on his chair satisfied. ¡°Pretty impressive cooks as well, I¡¯m half in the mind to find meself a dwarf lass and settle down.¡± Fikumin started coughing almost drowning in his own spit, Marcus thunderous laugh impressive enough for Norec to crack a wide smile himself, after checking around for any sign of Lorfouna. ¡°Anyway,¡± Fikumin said, when everyone calmed down. ¡°They prefer the plains, as they used to trade with the Cofols since the days of the Empire.¡± He explained. ¡°It makes sense,¡± Marcus retorted. ¡°I didn¡¯t even know they were real.¡± ¡°People know of us in the North,¡± Fikumin said. ¡°Alas, the three kingdoms are quite bigoted in their dealings with the Folk.¡± To put it mildly. ¡°And the Cofols aren¡¯t?¡± ¡°They are, but not as much. The Horselords never cared for our mountains.¡± Marcus frowned at that, but he couldn¡¯t really find a counter, himself quite bigoted and gave up with a shrug of his massive shoulders. ¡°You said used,¡± The ex-sergeant noted next, showing surprising perception. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°The Khan moved his army closer to the border and the mountains,¡± Fikumin replied. ¡°Sent a host through Hellfort¡¯s Pass as we well know,¡± Marcus nodded at that. ¡°More are heading towards Yeriden¡¯s tributaries intending to either cross into Raoz, or go south and attack from the desert. More soldiers, more mounted patrols, forced the bandit rebels and warbands of the steppe to retreat in turn. Some headed north into the frozen forests, few headed south across the desert to Gods know where and others came here¡ª¡± ¡°To the Northwall Heights,¡± Marcus murmured, sensing where he was going with this. ¡°What do they want Fikumin?¡± ¡°A trade, as all Folk do this world over,¡± He replied, with a grin that found no warmth in the experienced sergeant¡¯s face. ¡°They want the road, such as it is, opened again.¡±The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Wait,¡± Stiles intervened, finally realizing what they were talking about. ¡°What does this have to do wit us?¡± In a manner of speaking. ¡°All ¡®em supplies ¡®n good will,¡± Marcus answered, spitting under their table after clearing his teeth thoroughly. ¡°Don¡¯t come for free.¡± ¡°A trade is a trade and a deal,¡± Fikumin added, phony smile plastered all over his own face. The well known motto of all the respected Guilds since their inception. ¡°Can¡¯t be broken, once ye shake on it.¡± Marcus nodded in agreement, finding no fault in that, but Stiles, himself akin wit more unsavory guilds that frowned upon such commitments, stood up to protest vehemently; his words telling. ¡°That¡¯s fuckin¡¯ bullshit!¡±
A week later found them on the other side of Northwall Heights, after they¡¯d traveled non-stop through a maze of tunnels and at least another two small dwarf villages. The mountain range shaped like a scythe had its bend here, steeps slopes to the west and south, the woods thick until they reached the Snake¡¯s Spine and its forbidding walls of risen earth. They were set on heading the opposite way to the southwest, climb up those slopes, find the bandits without having to cross the mountains, reach a solution of sorts ¨Cas much a darn hard quest, as it was vague, if ever there was one- and return to pick up Glenavon, who Ostruki had agreed to help nurse back to health, if it was possible. Just waking the boy up would be a victory at this point, Fikumin thought walking fast, but watching Lorfouna out the corner of his eye keeping up with him with ease, parts of her hair blowing backwards under her steel nasal helmet. ¡°Eyes to the front master Fikumin,¡± She warned. ¡°You need to remember the way back.¡± ¡°Was just admiring your crossbow,¡± He replied with a grunt, turning a bit red in the face. ¡°It¡¯s like yours,¡± She murmured with a frown. ¡°I¡¯ve made ¡®em both.¡± ¡°Excellent craftsmanship, was my meaning.¡± And so they walked, Stiles complaining for more breaks and getting none, Marcus keeping a silent comfortable rhythm despite wearing the most armor of them all, his years in the Legion helping him and the three dwarves being in an unsaid competition, over who was the fastest. Forty hours of grueling climbing over rocky terrain, they¡¯d left behind the last of the trees and their damp rotten leaves, all kinds of colors there, but mostly vivid purple and burning orange turning to a dull grey, when they reached the plateau. Norec called for a break at last, much to Stiles delight and Fikumin who was leading them for the last couple of hours collapsed on his arse with a groan, having outdone himself in the effort. Losing wasn¡¯t an option. ¡°Hmm, it wasn¡¯t a brag then,¡± Lorfouna hummed, plopping down next to him. Her skin sweaty despite the chill, flushed a deep red contrasting to the blond hairs that made her freckles pop even more. Damn it, Fikumin thought and looked away, but deep down he was excited just being near her. ¡°Witch¡¯s cat got yer tongue?¡± She teased, her voice though earthy, the finest tune to his ears. Fools are the darlings of reason. ¡°I¡¯ll never lie to you,¡± Fikumin blurted, before he could stop himself.
Luthos chuckled.
¡°Just me? Hmm, what made the boy sick?¡± Lorfouna asked. ¡°An assassin¡¯s blade.¡± ¡°No blade can do that to flesh.¡± And love-struck dwarves are the biggest fools of all. ¡°That¡¯s the Lord of Altarin,¡± Fikumin croaked not wanting to lie to her, so soon after his boast. Forgetting he already did. ¡°He has many enemies.¡± ¡°You¡¯re his friend then?¡± Lorfouna sat back on her elbows, and stared at the setting late afternoon sun. ¡°A northern dwarf traverses the Shallow Sea, makes friends wit big Lorian Lords and agrees to open the trade route for us again.¡± She sighed and removed her helm. ¡°We might have to fight for our lives soon.¡± Let¡¯s hope we don¡¯t, he thought, his lips saying something else. ¡°If it comes to that.¡± Lorfouna threw back her golden head and laughed at his sureness. It was a rich laugh this, as only a Folk could deliver, vibrant and unashamed. ¡°Fikumin Flintfoot,¡± She said, working his name in her mouth, one syllable at a time, so Fikumin would know she was flirting with him. And he could court her, in turn. Fikumin wished the moment could last forever, but the Gods find their own perverted pleasure in making sure, all fools get put in their places. ¡°Ayup,¡± Marcus said interrupting the two of them, getting up on his feet, a touch of steel in his voice. He pointed at the five men coming down the slope armed to the teeth. ¡°That¡¯s a ruffian¡¯s face, if I ever saw one,¡± And seeing Stiles all tensed up next to him, he added not wanting to sour an ally before a scrap. ¡°No offense my lad.¡± Stiles weather beaten face scrunched into a grimace, a little surprised at the sentiment; then with a grunt and a nod of the head answered nonchalantly. ¡°I¡¯ve been called worse.¡± And that was that.
Three Cofols wearing leather armour led the group, armed with sabres and bows, a Lorian clad in a rusty chainmail following them, two swords strapped on his waist. The last man, or woman, was hidden behind a roomy cloak, a hood covering the head and was tall, at least by a head over the rest of them. The Cofol leading, worn out leather armour patched up in several places, face narrow, a thin goatee accentuating a pointy chin, stopped seeing the dwarves in the group and brought his hand to the handle of his sword. Moved it away right after, when Lorfouna raised her armed crossbow and pointed it to his chest. ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± Fikumin whispered to her, as Marcus stepped ahead to greet the newcomers. ¡°Where are ye goin¡¯ lads?¡± The ruffian blinked. ¡°We¡­ have camp near here.¡± ¡°Where is that?¡± Marcus probed, a little too aggressively for Fikumin¡¯s likes. ¡°At the mouth of the plateau,¡± The Cofol answered after a glance back to his hooded friend. There was a foul aura emanating from him that made Fikumin uncomfortable and his fingers clenched on his crossbow, he hadn¡¯t armed yet. Reaching for a bolt now, would have been nigh awkward, so he stilled his eyes on the aloof character standing further back from the rest of them, a large wooden staff on his right hand, the exposed naked arm painted white to the wrist. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of walkin¡¯ ye did there,¡± Marcus replied. ¡°We have horses,¡± The Cofol smiled nervously. ¡°You are friendly with the Folk?¡± ¡°Yer not?¡± The ruffian shrugged his shoulders. ¡°There may have been problems¡ª¡± ¡°You murdered two merchants last month!¡± Lorfouna snapped, cutting him off and Fikumin flinched surprised. ¡°Taken their baby!¡± What? Fikumin turned to glare at her. This wasn¡¯t a detail Ostruki had shared. A strange omission as it was extremely difficult for the Folk to procreate, and no one took it lightly. Losing a youngling was devastating for a tribe. The hooded man clicked his tongue, to stop the first Cofol from answering. ¡°Ye can fix this now,¡± Marcus started, measuring his words. He was wearing his segmented Legion armour and he was easily the biggest warrior present, at least in size. ¡°First order of business would be to return that baby,¡± He gave them a glare. ¡°Hearing you took it in the first place, was nigh disturbin¡¯.¡± ¡°What if we don¡¯t?¡± The hooded man asked, his voice shrilling and unsettling, the sounds coming out all wrong. Fikumin gulped down nervously and reached for that bolt. ¡°Grogoceq, this is not the place,¡± One of the Cofols said, shaved head sweating despite the coolness of the plateau. Fikumin glanced towards Lorfouna at the mention of the name, saw fury, but no recognition on her pretty face and then turned his eyes on the hooded man again, realizing Grogoceq was staring at him with interest. There are no coincidences, he thought remembering the talk he had with Ostrukin. Darn you Luthos. ¡°Listen to yer colleague,¡± Stiles urged the lanky man, as Fikumin, his heart full of dread, got a bolt out of his quiver and pressed it in the crossbow. The Aken pushed his hood back revealing his face and Fikumin heard a collective gasp escape the lips of his friends. Those snake eyes warned him to put his crossbow down, half of his face, from the nose down to his neck, painted white, his bald skull the color of red-copper. He couldn¡¯t do that of course. Fikumin Flintfoot was a well-read dwarf, a lover of history and the great adventures of the past. Dreamed of becoming one since he was a youngling. The first book every aspiring adventurer always reads of course, was Beyond Elauthin and in there, the accursed Aken were described, with the most disturbing of details. ¡°They killed it!¡± Fikumin snarled through clenched teeth, loud enough for everyone to hear and raising his crossbow fired, aiming for Grogoceq¡¯s chest. Alas, the solution to their quest wasn¡¯t going to be diplomatic.
80. I’ll take that as a yes
Glen I¡¯ll take that as a yes. (Aftermath IV)
Clink. Came a mysterious sound that broke the silence. Metal hitting metal softly. Gold striking gold. Glen gasped and opened his mouth to suck air in desperately, heartbeat erratic, mouth tasting equally bitter and sweet, with a touch of mint, of all fuckin¡¯ things, still left on his hurting gums. He opened his eyes as well, the ceiling a burgundy red above his head, impossibly high, a very light blue pattern decorating its edges and the painted eye at its middle. The bed was grand, the mattress soft and the sheets made of white satin, with a thin red detail at the rim. The young man lurched upwards, kicking everything away, dizziness making his head swirl and felt something touch his right hand, where his ring was. He tried to raise said hand, limbs still numb from his slumber and what was apparently a coin left in his palm, looking like a squarish beautiful Eagle, slipped through his fingers and dropped on the floor. Clink. The coin went solving a mystery and started rolling away. Damn it, Glen thought fully confused and jumped from the bed to run after it. The little shiny thing rolled with purpose on the grey marble tiles, reached a door and went down three steps, with a still drowsy Glen right behind it. Oh, for slovenly fuck¡¯s sake! The speedy coin raced down the long hall, the walls decorated with frescos, the art hauntingly beautiful as much as familiar. From detailed scenes of life¡¯s pleasures, hunting and romance, boisterous dances and carnivals, to exotic pets like leopards and the sinister cousins of Dragons, the Wyverns. The colors garish and vibrant. Creative and sensual. Where had he seen this art before? Glen wondered, as he forced his sleeping legs to hurry up and catch that darn slippery coin. The latter burst out of the double doors serving as an exit, bounced on the tiles of the wide path leading away from the palace he¡¯d awaken into, green grass on both sides of it, with marble columns set on regular intervals decorating it and headed straight for the tall granite temple shaped like a flattop pyramid, remarkably maintaining its speed. Glen wasn¡¯t going to let it go. Clenching his teeth stubbornly the young man gave it his all, quickly cut into the lead, until he was but a step behind and almost got it before they both reached the many steps of the temple, the columned entrance large at their end, the head of a beast engraved at the transom, all too freakin¡¯ familiar and the coin still leading, hit the first step and lost most of its momentum. Clink. It launched in the air with what was left, reaching almost to his face and Glen caught it with his left hand, the skin on it a dull grey and the veins showing underneath. What in all hells happened here? He wondered, not remembering this particular injury, but having no answer at the ready, Glen opened his fist to admire the precious find instead. There was no Eagle on it. The coin heavy, the intricate details on the rim there, but the rest of it bland. He bit on it to make sure, almost breaking a good tooth in the attempt. It was gold. It was like the coins, he¡¯d found back home, but there was no Eagle engraved on it. Why? Where did you come from? He asked it very troubled, but then he heard noise coming from inside the temple and realizing the coin wasn¡¯t about to tell him its life¡¯s story, he rushed up the many steps to enter inside, a journey he¡¯d done before, wanting to see who it was. A couple minutes later and ten strides inside the huge main hall of the temple, the walls bare, the roof high over his head, he paused rather disappointed. Also even more confused, since having awaken fully now, all that running after the coin helping, Glen realized he¡¯d absolutely no idea, where in Luthos arse he was. He had an idea and a memory, but that couldn¡¯t be. Glen heard someone walking behind him, sound of boots on the tiles coming from the entrance. It stopped his pondering on this fresh mystery, hands patting on his sides frantically trying to locate his nasty injury and failing, another oddity, since that was the last thing the young thief remembered. Where the hell¡­ Glen thought bewildered and twisted around, only to see the impressive Issir warrior clad in heavy chainmail, coming towards him, gait nigh determined, his lips pressed into a thin line. ¡°Hey¡­ fella,¡± Glen pleaded a little apprehensive, and absent another plan, tried to get out of the way fast as he could; but alas the man continued head on, like a carriage with no breaks let loose down a steep slope. He reached him before a dumbfounded Glen could avoid him and as the young thief flinched expecting a hilarious collision, the man went right through him and into the center of the temple, leaving him behind doubly stunned. And feeling a tad violated. Luthos cock caught in a vise! Glen opened his mouth to admonish the intruder, though still uncertain on what about, the experience too bizarre and otherworldly to all, but a drunken sailor; saw him stooped amidst the wreckage at the center of temple, searching frenziedly for something and closed it back up again. The temple was in ruins, a fact he¡¯d completely missed at first. Somehow they¡¯d walked onto another floor above the main, part of the wall missing high over his right shoulder, the gaping hole huge and letting the sun pour in. That explains why everything felt so familiar, he thought, attributing his mistake to still being drowsy and confused. Glen approached the well-armed Issir to see for himself, what it was he was looking for and inquire given the opportunity about that trick he¡¯d pulled on him earlier. Hell of a dodge, Glen decided and clearing his throat, he choose the polite way. The young man had learned that from Crafton and a life of crime. ¡°Dear Sir, wow¡­¡± Glen started in common. ¡°Ahm, allow me to say, ahm that¡­ was one hell of a trick.¡±
¡°Ah, found ye,¡± The Issir said pleased, talking to himself, as if he hadn¡¯t heard him. And Jinx says, I¡¯ve bad ears! ¡°Hey, mister¡­¡± Glen tried again, stopping next to the older man, but it was pointless, the stranger couldn¡¯t still hear him for some reason, or other; so he moved back a little to give him space, when the man got up holding his dagger. Glen¡¯s dagger. Or one that looked just like the one he¡¯d found. The young thief reached for it on instinct, found it still sheathed on his waist and sighed deeply in relief. How many of those darn things are there? He wondered, as the Issir turned the onyx-black blade this way and that, greed in his eyes turning to worry, when the light dimmed around them. Glen looked up towards the hole, expecting to see the sun hidden behind heavy clouds, saw nothing of the sort, the blown apart opening twice as big, but did hear something coming down all right, the wind picking up and blowing on his face. Something huge, it made the floor dance and crack under their feet, when it landed. The tremors shook the walls and debris exploded all around and even on them, a tremendous ruckus followed by the distinct flapping of wings and the disconcerting smell of sulfur. The Issir warrior recoiled in terror, stumbled again through a stunned Glen in panic, eyes ogling at something stirring in the dust cloud that¡¯d filled the ruined temple¡¯s large room, as he tried to get away. The young thief stared at the figure emerging from the haze, now lit by the sun coming in, more curious than scared, although he was plenty scared as well. It was a man. Not much taller than Glen, slick black hair combed back nicely, over a tanned Lorian face with nothing striking on him really, other than his large eyes that is. The sclera all black alike the night sky, no visible iris and the pupil an elliptical bright emerald green. Fine, the eyes were plenty striking. Wow, Glen thought with a shiver. That¡¯s weird as fuck! ¡°It wasn¡¯t my doing!¡± The Issir moaned sounding desperate, apparently thinking the exit was too far away, to make a run for it. Why he believed that, Glen didn¡¯t know. ¡°Part of it was,¡± The man said calmly, in perfect common. His voice a raspy baritone. ¡°Perhaps, the biggest part.¡± ¡°Nay,¡± The Issir argued turning around to face him. Glen noted he was taller and more muscular than the weird ¡®Lorian¡¯ with the sore throat. Also armored and had still the dagger in his hand. ¡°You¡¯re wrong. I¡¯ve no magic worth a lick, no power but the strength of my will and the skill of my sword. This¡­ isn¡¯t my doing,¡± He showed him the blade. ¡°Nor this is mine.¡± ¡°It is not,¡± The second man agreed. ¡°My fight was wit her,¡± The Issir continued, finding his composure. Glen was impressed. He looked scared to death not a minute ago, could see the fear still lingering in the warrior¡¯s eyes. Glen couldn¡¯t fault him for lying his arse out, the freak with the nasty eyes was creepy as all hells. ¡°I lay no claim in the lands of Eodrass!¡± Lith had talked about something similar at one time, he recalled. ¡°What do you seek then?¡± ¡°What I won fair.¡± ¡°What you won,¡± The strange ¡®Lorian¡¯ droned, his voice gravelly, but also cultured in a weird way. ¡°Was a throne.¡± The Issir nodded, apparently content with the latter and glanced at the ceremonial dagger in his hand. Flipped it once expertly and sighed. He then let it drop on the ground, next to another gaping hole, almost as big as the one on the wall. This part of the room Glen also remembered well. Which made the whole experience he was a part of, quite ridiculous. What is this crap? ¡°It was what I wanted,¡± The Issir said simply. The strange man scoffed at that. ¡°A throne you¡¯ll have then, as long as you can keep it,¡± He decreed and the Issir bowed his head respectfully and retreated, the fear still in his eyes, towards a staircase Glen didn¡¯t recall climbing up. The strange ¡®Lorian¡¯ walked to where the dagger had fallen and stooped nimbly to pick it up. He moved confidently to the opposite wall, from the one that was destroyed and stopped next to an open armoire, still having weapons in it, under Glen¡¯s curious scrutiny. The man kneeled and pulled a small strongbox from behind it, opened it carefully in turn and placed the dagger inside. Closed the lid and pushed it back behind the armoire to hide it, before rising up, an unsettling smile on his odd face.
I need to get out of here, Glen thought not feeling comfortable keeping company to this weird misshapen man and started walking towards the staircase the Issir had disappeared to earlier, minding not to make any sound. Of course, the fact that these people couldn¡¯t see him for some reason, was bloody helpful, on top of being extra creepy, but still he took no chances. ¡°Nenderu,¡± The man announced out of the blue, raspy voice like rattling chains murdering the relative silence, his hands crossed on his chest, head bowed low and staring at the pile of debris scattered on the wrecked floor. Is he fucking talkin¡¯ to himself? Glen paused and looked back to listen. ¡°Turlas and sweet Ovinet.¡± His voice carrying a sadness that was palpable.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°No one should lose a child,¡± He continued that impromptu monologue, a touch of rage in his guttural wordings. ¡°The culprit¡¯s blame cannot be absolved. Nor ever forgiven.¡± Glen let a breath escape his dry lips, the fact that he was standing inside the temple at Oakenfalls clear to him now. It was the same, only less damaged, not as ruined by time. I hadn¡¯t waken up after all, he decided sadly. This was a memory, or a vision of the past. A thread connecting, or more like revealing to him the dagger¡¯s story. A dream even. It wasn¡¯t his. Glen had arrived here, long after all these events had already played out. Why would I have such a dream though? ¡°You¡¯re almost dead,¡± The man replied, deep hoarse voice startling him out of his gloomy thoughts. Glen let out a gasp of bewilderment realizing, he was staring right at him now, those freakish eyes pitiless. His answer another shock. What?
¡°You can see me?¡± Glen inquired, putting a hand on his leg to stop it from shaking. Dead? Eat a bag of dicks, ye freak! ¡°All the time,¡± The man replied, after an awkward pause, as if he could hear him. ¡°Then why not show it earlier?¡± He shrugged his shoulders. ¡°His story was written. No point disturbing it. You¡¯re following different threads of time.¡± Glen blinked, not really understanding, what he was talking about. ¡°Are you a god?¡± ¡°Are you Luthos fool?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not an answer!¡± ¡°Yet, it very much is.¡± Glen breathed deep once, then let it all out flapping his lips alike a horse, while thinking about it. ¡°How bad is it?¡± My injury, was his meaning. The man had the hint of a smirk at the corner of his mouth, hearing his question. ¡°There¡¯s that self-serving vagabond swimming to the surface.¡± ¡°Hey, you don¡¯t know me!¡± ¡°Best thief,¡± The man recited, as if from memory. ¡°Nothing to pride about.¡± The words disturbingly familiar. ¡°What magic is this?¡± Glen asked uncomfortable with how the conversation was going. ¡°I¡¯ve told you many a times,¡± He replied, hands clasped behind his back. ¡°And as many times you¡¯ve forgotten.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never seen you before in my life,¡± Glen countered, narrowing his eyes. ¡°Nor have I ever talked to you.¡± The man sighed, smacked his lips once and stared at the frescos on the wall behind the young man. Glen turned his head to see for himself, saw nothing in the drawing, but excellently represented and artistically augmented male and female fully unclad Zilan, being naughty with themselves and cast a glance at the solemn man a little embarrassed. For five minutes, almost total silence fell inside the devastated room. Every second awkward, each moment dragging and Glen¡¯s anxiety increasing. He glanced at the armoire to get his mind off things, not remembering it whole, when he¡¯d stumbled upon the dagger. Was there a forgotten weapon inside? He thought, interest piqued. Something valuable, perhaps even legendary? The man sighed and turned his black eyes on him. ¡°You¡¯re disturbingly shallow. So much so, it might even be a skill.¡± Glen narrowed his eyes. Was that a fuckin¡¯ insult? ¡°Are ye goin¡¯ to answer me? I have time to waste,¡± He snapped, all fired up. ¡°No you don¡¯t,¡± The man replied. ¡°And I¡¯m waiting for you to decide.¡± ¡°Decide what?¡± ¡°What do you seek?¡± This was a trick question. Deflect. ¡°What do you seek?¡± He turned the query on him, with a smug smirk. ¡°Vengeance,¡± The man replied simply, the word reverberating on the empty room. ¡°What¡¯s stoppin¡¯ you from getting it?¡± ¡°I need an instrument to implement it.¡± There it is then, Glen thought, big smile on his face. ¡°Someone like me.¡± The man blinked and gave him a look of real surprise. Then he burst out laughing, the sound of rocks coming down a mountain more like, thunderous and terrifying, it made the whole structure vibrate to the point of collapse. It lasted but few seconds, his neutral expression returning immediately after. ¡°Of course not. That is ridiculous,¡± He replied, sounding almost insulted. Glen blinked, taken aback. ¡°Wait,¡± He scratched his head, genuinely troubled. ¡°What am I doin¡¯ here then?¡± The man smacked his lips, but Glen could tell his patience was running thin. ¡°You¡¯re almost dead,¡± He explained, again. ¡°In order for you to survive, someone must die in your place.¡± ¡°When you say die¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s a spell. How things work.¡± ¡°Right. Can I think about it?¡± ¡°You¡¯re running out of time.¡± Glen cleared his throat. ¡°Can I pick an animal instead?¡± He haggled. ¡°If you were a hog yes.¡± ¡°So?¡± ¡°You can¡¯t.¡± ¡°Can I ask for something else?¡± He countered, not wanting to give up. ¡°You don¡¯t wish to be saved?¡± ¡°I want that, very much,¡± Glen replied quickly, to get it out of the way. ¡°But, I can also help, with yer problem?¡± The man shook his head, almost at the end of his wits. ¡°Luthos noticing you, was the only thing you had going. It was a prank on me. Finding the dagger, dragged your sorry arse through the finish line and kept you alive barely,¡± He paused and grimaced, before continuing. ¡°You won¡¯t remember any of this anyway.¡± ¡°I still have the dagger,¡± Glen insisted, unwilling to let go of the opportunity. If this was a god, any fuckin¡¯ god, beggars shan¡¯t be choosers, he wasn¡¯t going to leave him without a good deal. If it was a dream and he was delirious, then he had nothing to lose. ¡°And you still need someone to help you.¡± ¡°I have Ovinet¡¯s offspring! What need have I of you?¡± The man growled mightily and Glen almost had a heart attack. He felt piss trickling down his pants, but kept his eyes straight and his face indifferent, hoping the man wouldn¡¯t notice. Thankfully, Glen had riled him up too much. ¡°Uvrycres,¡± The man rasped, a deep frown marring his face. ¡°Where¡¯s¡­ he?¡± Glen probed carefully. ¡°She hid him, sensing the end was near.¡± Find a kid, Glen thought. Bah, I¡¯ve done harder things. ¡°I¡¯m plenty good at finding hidden stuff. I¡¯ll take that quest, on top of you saving me, for a prize.¡± The man was staring him almost disgusted at his stupidity. ¡°You have no idea, what you¡¯re talking about. I¡¯m not particular in charity.¡± ¡°I found your dagger,¡± Glen countered. ¡°Luthos might help me again.¡± ¡°Well, it wasn¡¯t mine,¡± The man replied, sounding skeptical. ¡°Though it¡¯s made of a kin¡¯s soul.¡± ¡°Bone,¡± Glen corrected him. He blinked once more astounded at his astuteness, Glen hoped, low-key wishing he¡¯d kept his darn mouth shut. ¡°You presume to counsel me boy?¡± Or not. ¡°All men make mistakes,¡± He countered unable to help himself, with one of Emerson¡¯s expressions and the ¡®Lorian¡¯ with the freakish eyes stood back, as if he just realized something that should have been apparent from the start. ¡°You pitiable fool,¡± He said, hoarse voice coming out a terrifying whisper now. ¡°What you see, isn¡¯t all of me.¡± No reason to hold back now. ¡°Where¡¯s the rest of it?¡± Glen queried, feeling a lump stuck at his throat, but the man had moved away from him now. In the blink of an eye, he was standing twenty meters away on the far side of the room, right under the gaping hole and though his head barely reached the lower end of it, everything turned a shade darker. As if the sun was blocked and the opening closed. There was that smell of sulfur in the air again, the rustling of wings and the scratching of sharp talons on the polished marble floor. Fuck me. ¡°I¡¯ll take that as a yes,¡± The voice said and dark became a pure onyx black.
There was vomit in his nose. It had clogged everything up. More in his mouth, pieces of rotten flesh mixed in and blood. Glen puked everything out, retching multiple times, his eyes stinging and only stopped, when he toppled and fell from the cot, landing on the stone floor with a loud thud. He shook his head, wiped some of the stuff from his mouth, then did the same for his hands using the floor and looked about the room with swollen eyes. There was a torch burning on the wall, the place tiny, three meters by two and the cot he slept on, made for a short kid. Everything was made of sturdy rock. He stood up and almost went back down, his knees shaking and weak. What the fuck, has happened to me? The blade, the pale-faced son-of-a-goat¡­ Ah. He spat something nasty to the rather messed up and stinking floor, still in way a better condition than the bed, or his puked on clothes, just as the wooden door opened wide and a short girl came in, wearing a dress that sported a disturbingly low cut at its front. This girl had breasts the side of melons, ripe and mature enough to give every wench in Bayspel a run for her money. Wow, Glen thought, fully uncomfortable, but not enough to look away. ¡°Lord Reeves!¡± The girl said a deep blush painting her cheeks. Her voice had a huskiness in it, quite unexpected as well, as much as disturbing. ¡°You¡¯re¡­ ehm, up.¡± ¡°Well, yes¡­¡± Glen started, pausing when a bearded kid walked in and stood next to the girl, a deep frown on his face. The mystery revealed. Creating a ton of questions in its stead. Like what the holy slovenly fuck¡­ ¡°You¡¯re dwarves!¡± He shouted accusingly, pointing with a finger, then chuckled like a madman, fully relieved. ¡°I thought you were a kid haha!¡± The bearded dwarf snorted at his outburst and shook his head right and left a couple of times, before turning serious again. ¡°Of course we are. That¡¯s me wife, Buveala. Put some pants on, milord, if ye please. Yer cock is showin¡¯.¡± Glen looked down to check. Yep, the man was right. ¡°Sorry,¡± He apologized and turned around quickly to find his pants, taking care to avoid the puke puddles. ¡°What happened? Didn¡¯t expect ye before lunch,¡± Buveala asked her husband, while he silently got into a pair of pants, too large to be his. He was missing all his stuff and had no idea where the hell he was. That is, other than some disturbing bits and pieces of a nightmare he¡¯d rather forget. ¡°Ostruki Graycloak dropped dead an hour ago,¡± The male dwarf explained and Glen almost tripped over his own feet at the news. Surely not, he thought, but then his eyes located the Wyvern¡¯s Tongue at the head of his bed and he felt a cold shiver run down his spine. Luthos, this is all yer god darn fault!
¡°Milord?¡± Buveala asked. ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Can you walk?¡± Was this a trick question? ¡°Yes?¡± She smiled, a grown woman¡¯s smile. ¡°That¡¯s wonderful! A piece of good news, to counter the bad.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry for yer loss,¡± Glen said stiffly. ¡°Bah, Ostruki was an old goat,¡± She explained. ¡°And it got nothing to do wit yer lordship.¡± Glen licked his lips, tasted vomit on them and scrunched his nose at the foulness. ¡°I¡¯ll have a bath barrel prepared,¡± Buveala offered readily and with a wink her husband missed, she turned and sashayed away, which was equally disturbing and arousing to the young former thief. ¡°Thank you,¡± He croaked and looking at the aforementioned husband, the dwarf eyeing him all suspicious, he added. ¡°I¡¯ll repay yer kindness.¡± The male dwarf snorted at that. ¡°There¡¯s no need. Master Fikumin traded for it, milord,¡± He explained. Whatever the fuck that meant.
81. The void left behind
Fikumin The void left behind (Aftermath V)
The moment ye step foot on Eplas, trouble will come knockin¡¯ youngling, Bodmulir Blunthorn used to say. It ain¡¯t the good stuff, ye need to worry yerself about. Not even the bad. Fear not of Queens and monsters, but of the evil hidden behind half-words and vague warnings. For there are Realms beyond our own and some tales are real.
Grogoceq swung his staff sideways and smack the Cofol standing next to him in the upper part of his arm, the bolt reaching him in the meantime and going through his chest. Literally. The pungent smell of charred bones reached Fikumin¡¯s nostrils, as chaos erupted all around him. The Aken jumped nimbly backwards, his cloak flapping loud, alike empty sails filling with air and the Cofol stumbled forward mouth opening and closing in a voiceless cry, before going down. The Lorian carrying the two sabres charged Marcus, the two remaining bandits going after Stiles and the dwarves. Lorfouna fired and punched a bolt through the Cofol¡¯s round shield, violently snapping his arm back and nailed everything on his shoulder. The man growled in pain, his attack ruined and pulled hard to dislodge shield and bolt, but Stiles rushed him fast as a rattlesnake and forced him to retreat. Fikumin went for another bolt, his hand shaky, while moving to the side to leave room for Norec to charge ahead and meet the final bandit, hefting his angry warhammer. He jumped over the unmoving Cofol, searching for Grogoceq and found him standing further back now assessing the situation. How is he unharmed? He wondered, glancing back to the body of the ruffian that had collapsed for no apparent reason at the start of the fight. What¡¯s going on here? ¡°FIKUMIN!¡± Lorfouna bellowed a warning and he raised his large crossbow on instinct to block the sneaky Aken¡¯s attack. Grogoceq caught it on the body with his staff and hurled it away. Without thinking Fikumin ducked under the long weapon again, evading a returning swing from his much taller opponent. He trundled again further away, to avoid the reach of his weapon. ¡°Ah, luck of the Folk,¡± Grogoceq noted, his voice a sinister hiss, left hand clasped on one of his many strands of differently-colored bones, hanging from his neck. That pungent smell came again, twice as vile and a petrified Fikumin realized it for what it was. The worst of stories, coming to life. The last part ironic as all hells. ¡°BONEMANCER!¡± Fikumin boomed and rolled this time towards his crossbow, the quiver hitting him on the back of the head. Lorfouna almost ten meters away from them and in the process of nailing a bolt into Grogoceq¡¯s back paused, her eyes opening in alarm. Behind her the previously incapacitated Cofol had risen up, soulless eyes unblinking. Fikumin found his crossbow at the end of his tumble, turned reaching for a fresh bolt, saw the danger and opted to warn her, while frantically trying to reload. All for naught. Grogoceq was on him again and put a stop to it with another swipe of his staff. Fikumin managed to dodge adroitly, the weapon missing his face, but it grazed his chest and cut his warning short. The Priest of Luthos cursed, as an alarmed Lorfouna twisted around to face the reanimated bandit, running her chest through his sword for her trouble. ¡°NO!¡± Fikumin cried out, seeing the nasty blade exploding out her back, the blood garishly red, all other colors fading. Grogoceq attacked him again, to take advantage of his shock, but Luthos pushed him out of harm¡¯s way once more, the staff hitting the rocky terrain and bouncing back. Fikumin pulled the lever back, standing on one knee at the end of his flip, feeling his whole body hurting and aimed it at the tall Aken that twirled his long staff around expertly, three meters from him, forked tongue wetting his ashen lips and his revolting eyes mocking him to try it again. And see, if it worked better this time.
Luthos chortled in delight.
The grieving dwarf fired without hesitating. His bolt flew high and to the side, missed a flinching Grogoceq¡¯s body by at least a foot and nailed the unsuspecting Lorian, duking it out with Marcus not two meters behind him, right though the neck killing him instantly. The ex-sergeant turned to assess the situation cool as a cucumber in Spring, just as the pungent smell of burning bones permeated the air again and the Aken that had blinked out of existence for the briefest of moments, reappeared two bodies to his right, a smug smile on his painted face. A second after that, smile still plastered on his lips that forked tongue flapping, Grogoceq¡¯s severed head hit the ground and rolled over, leaving a bloody trail behind, all the way to where Fikumin stood, rearmed crossbow on his hands. Fikumin put a bolt through the Bonemancer¡¯s right eye and stopped it dead.
¡°FUCK JUST HAPPENED?¡± Stiles bellowed, voice filled with astonishment, as Fikumin rushed to where Lorfouna had fallen, blood bubbling out her mouth, whole body convulsing, desperately trying to cling to life and losing the battle, just as he desperately clasped her bloodied hand tightly in his. Those extraordinary grey-blue eyes turned frozen, staring into the abyss and the last sound she made, was a short pained sigh.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. ¡°Move away!¡± Norec cried out and shoved him to the side. Fikumin stumbled away distraught, tears welling in his eyes, the world around him a gloomy horrible place. Marcus stopped him after a couple of shaky strides and pulled him to the side like a ragdoll, Norec¡¯s dismayed curses behind him, adding to his misery. ¡°What was this?¡± Marcus asked, steel in his voice. ¡°Look over there!¡± Fikumin shook his head and used a sleeve to wipe his eyes. ¡°She¡¯s gone,¡± He griped miserably. ¡°I tried to warn her¡­ I was too slow.¡± ¡°Snap out of it lad!¡± Marcus barked in his face. ¡°Fikumin,¡± He added softer now, seeing him coming about. ¡°What happened to him?¡± Fikumin looked at the bandit that had collapsed first, before returning to life and slay Lorfouna. The latter hurt him like a dagger to the gut. He gasped for air desperately, the ex-sergeant eyeing him, a nervous tick marring the side of his face, as his patience was running thin. The Cofol had dropped dead the moment Marcus had decapitated Grogoceq, breaking the spell. Stiles was standing over the corpse murmuring in disbelief, the Cofol¡¯s face emaciated, sunken eyes milky, the flesh completely rotten and his skin a dark grey. The stink of decay so powerful it turned his stomach and stooping to the side, he puked its contents between his short legs. ¡°Good grief,¡± Marcus commented, not looking much better himself. ¡°That¡¯s a Golem,¡± Fikumin explained, spitting the foulness out of his mouth, though he couldn¡¯t do anything about the stench of death. ¡°A construct.¡± ¡°What manner of magic is this?¡± Fikumin glanced at the lifeless Lorfouna and Norec, healing potion in hand, still trying to revive her and shook his head, suddenly too tired and empty. ¡°Not of our Realm,¡± He croaked. ¡°Like dark magic?¡± Marcus probed unsatisfied. ¡°I don¡¯t know. The Aken were rumored to practice it and they are not from Eplas, or Jelin for that matter.¡± The ex-legionnaire frowned. ¡°What in Tyeus¡¯ arse is an Aken?¡± Fikumin pointed at Grogoceq¡¯s severed head, still nailed to the ground with his bolt. ¡°Bullshit,¡± Marcus commented. ¡°I¡¯ve seen these painted freaks before.¡± ¡°I have as well,¡± Stiles added. ¡°You¡¯ve seen humans, believing in the Aken God,¡± Fikumin explained tiredly. ¡°This thing either came from the Plague Isles, which is rare enough and strange,¡± He grimaced, not wanting to delve into the other possibilities. ¡°Or?¡± Marcus insisted, himself very interested to know more. Fikumin grunted, pressed his eyes closed, wished he wouldn¡¯t have to open them again and with a sigh replied matter-of-factly. ¡°We need to burn the bodies.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Stiles inquired, a cut on his cheek bleeding, but he didn¡¯t seem to mind it. ¡°To be sure.¡± ¡°Of what?¡± Marcus snapped angry. ¡°Speak dwarf!¡± Fikumin smacked his lips, regaining some of his composure. ¡°Are there bones missing from the dead?¡± ¡°Bones?¡± Marcus scrunched his nose confused. ¡°Fingers, toes¡­ have ye looked?¡± Fikumin probed. ¡°That freak was missing two,¡± Stiles said and seeing everyone staring him surprised at his conviction, he added defensively. ¡°Checked for jewelry. What? Ye don¡¯t think it proper?¡± Damn it, Fikumin cursed. ¡°Burn the bodies, sergeant. Burn everything,¡± He ordered and seeing Norec¡¯s red-rimmed eyes glaring at him, he added with a clench of his haw. ¡°Hers as well.¡± Speaking her name again, would kill him. ¡°There¡¯s not much wood layin¡¯ about,¡± Marcus said, arms crossed on his chest. Fikumin shrugged his shoulders indifferently. His face had hardened. ¡°We¡¯ll cut off their heads, if we can¡¯t. Crush ¡®em bones to a pulp.¡± ¡°By Abrakas swollen tits,¡± Stiles retorted, recoiling at his words. ¡°Ye fuckin¡¯ dwarves are right vicious little buggers!¡±
It was an arduous, gruesome job, dealing with the dead bodies. Easy to propose, difficult to realize. They ended up using Norec¡¯s warhammer for the deed and a couple of sharpened blades that got dull really fast. The crunching of bones and the flesh melting under their blows stomach-turning. The smells and murky blood scarring their psyche and blackening their souls. Stiles was the one to destroy poor Lorfouna¡¯s head, the act too grisly for anyone else to consider, but even the callous former pirate looked sick to his core, after he finished. An hour later, they took the long road back, no one in the mood for words. They were too traumatized to even take a bite for the whole day. The second night, their road camp set near the noisy forest at the base of the plateau, Stiles sat next to him and stared into the flames for long, before speaking. ¡°How did ye know?¡± He asked. ¡°I was taught for many years,¡± Fikumin replied. ¡°I¡¯m of the Folk. It is how we do. The elders will gather the few younglings and try to teach them, as much as they can about the history of the Realms. Most tend to listen,¡± He added ominously. ¡°Calamity waits, those who forget.¡± ¡°The history of the kingdoms,¡± Stiles guessed and Fikumin snorted in difference. ¡°There were kingdoms before Kaltha, Lesia and Regia. Before the Khanate,¡± He explained. ¡°An empire ruled these lands forever almost.¡± ¡°What about that thing?¡± ¡°The Queen of Queens, didn¡¯t allow anyone to venture there, beyond the haze waters. They guarded the land, kept everything out. Battles were fought against the horrors, but they stopped them, losing only the Plague Isles. All these happened well before our time. They were at war with the Aken of Mistland the stories say,¡± He closed his eyes to remember those obscure details better. ¡°For a thousand years at least. Probably for much longer. Long before the humans appeared in the picture.¡± ¡°What brought that thing here?¡± Stiles asked soberly. Fikumin sighed deeply and opened his eyes to stare into the dancing bright flames of their campfire. ¡°Opportunity,¡± He finally said, words coming out with difficulty. ¡°The Empire''s Fall left a void, I reckon.¡± Evil can smell weakness. ¡°Aye, it makes sense,¡± Marcus agreed, speaking over his other shoulder; the large man had sat next to him totally unnoticed. ¡°And everyone ''n their dog, is fixin¡¯ to fill it.¡± His last sentence saying the quiet part out loud.
82. A quest for Ostruki
Glen A quest for Ostruki
I can touch this roof wit my blasted hand! Glen griped, looking around perplexed. He still had trouble accepting being inside a mountain, of all fuckin¡¯ places, and in what was apparently, a dwarf settlement. I mean, what? He had some more ale from the silver goblet, the craftsmanship excellent and steal-worthy. Buveala, wearing a new dress with a more modest neckline, gave him a polite stare and Glen returned it uncomfortably, remembering their earlier meeting. Avras, her mate or husband, couldn¡¯t keep still for the life of him. ¡°We¡¯re gonna be late,¡± He repeated for the eighth time in an hour. For Ustruki¡¯s funeral, Glen added, his mind returning to the disturbing dream. I need to keep everything clear in my head. This seems god-darn important, he thought nervously. Write it down. There¡­ that¡¯s a bloody good idea! He got up from the small chair, his knees banging on the low table. Damn mini everything! Glen looked around him for something to write it on, saw a quill on a corner counter across from him and went to fetch it. The short roofed hall right below his room, had four tables with chairs and it looked like a kid¡¯s restaurant. ¡°Is there a paper somewhere?¡± He asked the couple that were just about to leave for the funeral. ¡°Like a parchment?¡± Buveala probed. ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°Over the counter, my supplies list. It has a couple of vellums un-scribed.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Glen replied politely and reached for the stack. ¡°Is this a¡­ restaurant of sorts?¡± ¡°Whisperwing is the biggest inn, in Brightos.¡± She beamed, all proud. Glen glanced at the straight carved in rock ceiling. ¡°It¡¯s impressive,¡± He said lamely. ¡°So polite he is, right?¡± Buveala grinned, looking at her scowling husband. ¡°Yer the first real Lord, I¡¯ve hosted here, milord.¡± Glen decided not to comment on that last part.
Right, Glen thought with a comical frown, staring at the blank parchment, quill in hand. Where to begin? The kid. Ah. Uvrycres. How the fuck do ye spell that darn thing? ¡°Ou...vre¡­cres.¡± He looked at his scribblings, covering almost half the page and frowned some more. You don¡¯t have to write everything down, he reasoned. Just a bit. The other names¡­ which I don¡¯t all remember. Fine, let¡¯s just concentrate on the important stuff. Save the kid right? Uhm. Why? Glen realized he didn¡¯t know enough words, to write much of anything down and paused again, the time dragging. Okay, forget the why. Perhaps it was a trade, for healing him. Did that dwarf die because of him? Well, surely that¡¯s a stretch. Still possible though. Perhaps an unlucky complication? Luthos messing wit me? Was I even injured? He patted himself, then pulled his shirt up and looked for that thin white injury mark, where Larn¡¯s blade had scarred him. Sure enough, it was there. Let¡¯s not dwell on this as well, he decided. Put a mark next to the name, to save some space. A symbol. Hmm? Why make these pages so god-darn small? Like, what the fuck? Glen puffed out hard, flapping his lips and letting it drag audibly for a moment. The sound of cheers coming from outside the inn interrupted him. He rolled up his recollection of the events, all one word of it and put the quill in its place, before getting up to go check, what all the fuzz was about. ¡°USTRUKI IS FULLY DEAD. BLESSED THE GODS BE!¡± A black-bearded angry dwarf shouted, to a small crowd gathered in the village¡¯s square. Wait, Glen thought. ¡°LAYING BEREFT OF LIFE, A CORPSE!" "TURNED TO STONE! A BLOCK OF PLINTH!¡± The one standing next to him added pompously, twice as loud. ¡°AYE!¡± Came the crowd¡¯s thunderous reply. What in Luthos crooked knee is this? ¡°GONE AND NOT A DAY TOO SOON!¡± A girl screamed deliriously eager. Huh? ¡°HURRAH!¡± Several others agreed, much to Glen¡¯s surprise. Most of them were heavily inebriated, as far as he could tell. ¡°WELL, GOOD RIDDANCE!¡± Another guffawed, mouth filled with teeth, beer froth on his brown beard. ¡°THAT¡¯S RIGHT!¡± Rejoined the crowd, in what was apparently a pattern. ¡°That¡¯s bloody strange, is what it is,¡± Glen said aloud and caught out of the corner of his left eye, a blond mustached dwarf watching him. He¡¯d no beard worth a lick on him and stood on stubby short legs, a good head shorter than the others. ¡°I SAY THAT OLD GOAT DESERVED NO BETTER!¡± A short dwarf, Glen thought and started laughing in tandem with the rest of the crowd. The jubilation in the small square palpable, as much as weird. ¡°Hey,¡± The dwarf asked him. He¡¯d a gold sphere in his small hand and wore a satchel over his shoulder, long clasp reaching his knees. ¡°You wanna play?¡± What? ¡°Fuck that¡¯s supposed to mean?¡± Glen retorted, eyeing the weird dwarf frustrated. He¡¯d well over three times his size and felt emboldened. The dwarf backed away surprised. Showed him the small gold ball and seeing him frown perplexed, used his other hand to pull another one out of his satchel. ¡°I¡¯M GLAD HE FINALLY KICKED THE BUCKET!¡± ¡°Ye need to make it roll and try to strike the other from ten feet,¡± The dwarf explained defensively. ¡°Hit the ball?¡± Glen asked looking to see, if that smart-arse was pulling his leg. ¡°Ayup,¡± He put one down and walked about ten short steps away, the other clenched in his hand. ¡°It takes some skill.¡± Glen raised an eyebrow. The dwarf stopped and hurled the sphere missing the target for a hair. He grimaced, frustrated from the tips of his boots to his impressive mustache. ¡°Damn it!¡± Right. ¡°Gimme that,¡± Glen said and bending at the waist grabbed one of the two gold spheres, leaving the other there. It was heavier than he expected. ¡°Is there lead in it?¡± He probed, looking it up close curious. ¡°No, only gold.¡±If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. It makes sense, Glen thought and walked to the correct spot, the realization of what the dwarf had said hitting him like a hammer between the eyes, when he stopped. ¡°Wait, when ye say gold,¡± He probed, examining the sphere in his hand, with renewed enthusiasm. ¡°You mean dipped in it right?¡± ¡°Nay, I mean gold,¡± The dwarf explained. ¡°What does iron mean, when you say it in yer tongue?¡± Glen blinked once unsure. ¡°Iron?¡± ¡°See? It¡¯s the same.¡± The young former thief smacked his lips, not liking his jeering. Eyed his target, lips pressed tight. ¡°I strike it,¡± He said matter-of-factly. ¡°Ye tell me, where you found it.¡± That was four Eagles worth of gold in there. Assuming the kid wasn¡¯t lying. ¡°The sphere?¡± ¡°Yep.¡± ¡°Ahm, sure.¡± Glen nodded once, then took a step forward, stooped adroitly and hurled the sphere. It hit the stony ground and rolled true, striking the other dead on. Perfect, on the first attempt no less. If they ever gave trophies for this silly game, then he should get one before the games even started. Let everyone else compete for the honor of being second after him. ¡°YES!¡± Glen hollered in triumph, thoughts of future ball-game glories still fresh in his mind, clenched fist raised high and a manic smile plastered on his flushed face. ¡°Haha, ye saw that?¡± He asked the scowling dwarf and crossing his hands on his chest proudly, waited for him to go get his ridiculously expensive toys back. His head hang in shame. ¡°What yer doing wit Arrock?¡± An approaching Buveala asked, a grin on her pretty face. ¡°Twas a sphere,¡± Glen explained patiently. ¡°Not a rock.¡± Buveala blinked and then bit her lip, placed a hand on the short dwarf¡¯s head and messed his hair a bit. ¡°This is Arrock, a youngling. Still hadn¡¯t gotten his full name.¡± Glen stared at the dwarf kid livid, his lips pressed tight, a thick vein throbbing on his right temple. ¡°Do you know where the gold is?¡± He asked Arrock accusingly. The youngling shook his head right and left that he didn¡¯t. Stupid kid, he cursed and seeing Buveala¡¯s questioning stare, he added casually, deciding to be the better man. Lying of course was his first and outmost priority, much as adults habitually do. ¡°It was a nice game. Difficult to master. I was of the mind to make a couple of balls for myself and take ¡®em home.¡± The last part not coming out as nice, as he would have liked. ¡°Where¡¯s home, milord?¡± Buveala asked all interested, not minding his word salad, but thankfully Avras came to his rescue, since that was a thorny subject as well. ¡°Master Fikumin has returned,¡± Her husband announced soberly. ¡°They had trouble.¡±
¡°Lord Reeves,¡± Marcus said, right side of his jaw angling, face turning less squarish and his beard peppered with grey hairs. He¡¯d sprouted way too much hair in such a short time, Glen thought, answering with a nod that turned into a frown, when he heard the man¡¯s query. ¡°Yer well?¡± ¡°Ahm, not a hundred percent,¡± Glen replied. ¡°Still all things considered, I can still move pretty darn well.¡± ¡°The dwarves helped then?¡± I¡¯ve no idea. Probably not. ¡°I¡¯m sure they did their part,¡± He said and looking to change the subject. ¡°Can you believe there¡¯s¡­ a whole dwarf village under the mines? Like inside the freakin¡¯ mountain! Look!¡± He pointed out the open door, to the dwarves talking with Fikumin, their faces grim. Then again, Glen decided, ¡®em shorter people are pretty weird. Jinx came to mind. ¡°Hah,¡± Stiles seated in an uncomfortable tiny stool guffawed annoyingly. ¡°Aye,¡± Marcus agreed and paused unsure for whatever reason. ¡°Guys, it¡¯s pretty strange,¡± Glen insisted and not seeing much enthusiasm, other than the pirate¡¯s silly grin, he decided to move on. ¡°Where¡¯s Emerson?¡± Marcus grimaced, he¡¯d dark circles under his eyes, probably road weary. ¡°Sir Emerson and others, stayed at the fort to buy us time.¡± Glen waited for him to say something more, but the man remained silent, looking at him pensively. What the slovenly fuck is going on here? ¡°So¡­¡± He said, seeing no desire in him to elaborate. ¡°¡­we must go and inform him of what we found. Right?¡± Marcus smacked his lips and stared at his dirty boots. Stiles just snorted. Glen sighed. ¡°Hey, let¡¯s go save them!¡± He urged them raising his fist, getting even less enthusiasm than before. ¡°Milord,¡± Marcus started, visibly uncomfortable. ¡°Sir Emerson stayed back that¡¯s true,¡± Glen nodded a little impatiently, as the man took his time. ¡°Thing is, the mines are very far and it¡¯s been three weeks almost, since the battle.¡± Glen blinked in surprise and stood back. ¡°I woke up here, it can¡¯t be more than two days now, three tops.¡± ¡°You were out for more than two weeks afore that milord,¡± Marcus explained. ¡°We traveled most of that time through the tunnels. Whatever was Sir Emerson¡¯s fate, we can¡¯t change it now.¡± That¡¯s¡­ no, Glen thought, a feeling of unease coming over him. ¡°You¡¯re saying Hellfort fell to the Cofols?¡± ¡°Aye, milord.¡± Glen wetted his lips. ¡°You¡¯ve buried the man already sergeant? Is that what yer telling me?¡± He lashed out. ¡°Milord, I don¡¯t think the Cofols were looking for prisoners.¡± ¡°How do ye know?¡± Glen snapped angry. The knight couldn¡¯t be dead. He scratched his head hard, nails digging in his scalp. Bullshit. The man was indestructible for fuck¡¯s sake! The fact that he wasn¡¯t difficult to accept. Too painful. ¡°Apologies, milord.¡± Marcus said sadly. Glen took a deep breath to fight back the despair. He realized his fist was clenched so hard it hurt his knuckles and crossed his arms on his chest to combat that too. Don¡¯t get beat from grief or fear, Emerson¡¯s advice bubbled up. I want none o¡¯ that. Fuck! Glen cursed inwardly, twisting this way and that. ¡°Milord,¡± Stiles started, but he cast him a glare to shut him up. ¡°We don¡¯t know,¡± He croaked, a twitch in his right eye starting. ¡°If he¡¯s killed. We ought to find what happened to him.¡± ¡°Ye got to let go lad,¡± Marcus advised, adding with a frown. ¡°Milord should think about Altarin first.¡± Who cares about plaguin¡¯ Altarin? ¡°I will not abandon my friends, sergeant.¡± ¡°The dead need no help, milord. The people in Altarin might face an invasion soon.¡± ¡°He needs to get back there first,¡± Stiles pointed. ¡°Easier said than done.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know, if he¡¯s dead, or not. I also don¡¯t care about yer opinion,¡± He said, through his teeth. This wasn¡¯t a fuckin¡¯ democracy! Who do they think we are? The Gish? ¡°I want to make sure, is what I¡¯m saying. I also want to know where Lith disappeared to and warn her about Larn.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s he?¡± Stiles probed, almost falling down the small stool, as he attempted to switch position. ¡°The bounty hunter,¡± Glen explained, looking at them. ¡°The one that tried to kill me.¡±
¡°Haven¡¯t seen him, since that first day,¡± Marcus said, sounding skeptical. ¡°Are ye sure?¡± ¡°No I imagined it,¡± Glen replied scornfully. ¡°Of course I¡¯m bloody sure!¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way to go back,¡± Stiles explained. ¡°The entrance is closed. The Dwarves know of another way out though. We made the journey already, so they ain¡¯t lying.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± Glen relented. ¡°We use that. Circle back for survivors and then we may go to Altarin, if it¡¯s still standing.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t leave without fulfilling our end of the bargain,¡± Fikumin said and Glen flinched, as he hadn¡¯t seen him getting in. He¡¯s pretty easy to miss. The former thief stared down the small bearded creature. ¡°Wow,¡± He finally said, after examining him for a bit. ¡°Ye look like a day¡¯s old shit, Fikumin. Seriously. Fuck happened to you?¡± The dwarf creased his mouth, lips almost touching the tip of his large nose. ¡°I need to talk with Lord Reeves,¡± He said to the others. ¡°Give us the room.¡± Marcus frowned not keen on taking orders from him, but he shrugged it off and made a gesture to Stiles. ¡°Okay little guy,¡± Glen said his tone condescending, when the two of them walked out of the inn. ¡°What is there to talk about?¡± ¡°You milord,¡± Fikumin replied, narrowing his eyes. ¡°Me?¡± ¡°Yes you. How are you alive? You were almost gone, when we left you,¡± He glanced outside, as if to check if anyone was eavesdropping. Glen thought the dwarf had gone nuts at first, before remembering he was actually right. ¡°They told me, it was done overnight. How?¡± A guy wit creepy eyes might have killed Ostruki to save me? ¡°I got better?¡± Glen said instead. Fikumin wasn¡¯t amused. ¡°A miracle?¡± Glen chanced and Fikumin had enough of his smartassery. ¡°Ye used magic,¡± There was a hefty dose of accusation in his tone. ¡°I was in a coma?¡± Glen dodged, like an expert. ¡°I meant before,¡± Fikumin countered. Glen grunted not liking being interrogated. No thief worth his salt likes questions. ¡°Listen¡­ friend,¡± He started, measuring his next words that turned into a thinly veiled warning. ¡°I didn¡¯t use magic, so drop it.¡± Fikumin scoffed totally unimpressed. ¡°Pfft. Spare me your bullshit. What happened to your hand?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve no idea what yer talking about,¡± He lied shamelessly, pulling back quickly changing topic to steer the conversation away. ¡°Where¡¯s Lith?¡± ¡°She asked me to save you,¡± Fikumin replied, but before Glen could get properly surprised at that, the dwarf added. ¡°Lithoniela went to find her people.¡± What? ¡°Her people?¡± Fikumin sighed and shook his head. ¡°She left with Larn.¡± His answer a slap in the face. ¡°Larn?¡± ¡°He¡¯s a Zilan.¡± Luthos cock caught in a plaguin¡¯ vise. Glen felt his knees weaken and he had to stumble towards the counter and grab it for purchase. ¡°We need to find her,¡± He managed to say, through his shock. ¡°We have something to do before that,¡± The dwarf countered. ¡°Something? We need to find Lith Fikumin! Larn tried to kill me!¡± ¡°A quest, for the dwarf that died,¡± Fikumin said matter-of-factly, keeping his composure. Ostruki? ¡°That motherfucker is dead!¡± And not particularly well-liked. But Fikumin wouldn¡¯t budge. ¡°It matters naught, milord. Your word must be your bond. Else you¡¯re neither a Lord, nor a knight.¡± Good grief, a noble dwarf. Way shorter than the knight, but twice as obnoxious! ¡°What kind of quest?¡± A despondent Glen croaked finally and Fikumin, stubby hand pulling at his long beard, told him.
83. Sinister liaisons
Nattas Sinister liaisons
The young Queen had stopped screaming. Nattas, his ears still ringing and eyes ogling at the mayhem, stood semi-paralyzed as everyone rushed about, the High King¡¯s people hurrying to pull a shell-shocked pregnant Nienke away, knights and Lords of the Realm reappearing now that the threat was over and the crowd had dispersed in panic. Most of the city¡¯s guards had run after the stranglers and delivered some heavy-handed justice, whether they deserved it, or not. Some of the nobles appeared angry they missed their chance to shine slaughtering some civilians, but others just looked relieved. Until word of what had happened spread. Storm glanced at the distraught and bloodied Miranda getting pulled away from the body of her dead daughter almost violently, her mouth opening and closing, but no words coming out. The horror in her eyes cut Lord Nattas deep and filled him with shame. Also something else, much deeper. A dangerous sentiment he tried to squash fast as he could. Storm had a long litany of problems before even going down that particular path. The mess of this day will have serious repercussions for years, he decided, his mind adding in an attempt to cope with the tragedy, the only way Storm knew. I need a good whore to sink my cock into. Though this being Alden and all, I¡¯ll probably have to settle for a middlin¡¯ one. Yeah.
¡°No luck chief,¡± a tired-looking Titus announced, interrupting his thoughts of cheap whores and brutally murdered royal children. ¡°Searched the whole darn tower, found none of ¡®em. They were gone, before we got there.¡± It figures. Storm stared into the hired blade¡¯s eyes. ¡°How?¡± He asked simply. Titus shrugged his broad shoulders. ¡°I¡¯ve no clue. We run up the stairs from the only entrance. Every one left behind to guard the tower was dead.¡± ¡°Give me a number of casualties,¡± Storm snapped impatiently. ¡°Five, plus the soldier standing guard at the entrance.¡± ¡°Why had the commander emptied it?¡± ¡°Chief, he tried to help with the uprising,¡± Titus replied. ¡°That¡¯s enough men to guard an empty tower. I don¡¯t think he was involved.¡± Lord Nattas smacked his lips frustrated, a sharp jolt of pain on his cheek making him flinch. He put his fingers to check and they came back bloody. ¡°You need to have that cut checked out,¡± Titus advised him. ¡°I don¡¯t think the Dottore¡¯s cure works for all infections.¡±
Three hours later the square had emptied of people, the dead removed and the only sign left behind, of what was to be a glorious event turned into a nightmare, were the still standing deserted pavilions and a lot of broken chairs. It wasn¡¯t an easy affair, picking up the pieces. The aftermath was overshadowed, not by the untold grief from both Kings and their Queens for the loss of their offspring, although there was plenty of that, but the rather trivial matter of the coming burial. King Alistair wanted Silvie to be buried in Alden next to his second son, while High King Antoon wanted his murdered son and his future wife to be, to travel to Issir¡¯s Eagle and stay together in their final resting place. Be together in death, since they were robbed of that in life, Antoon had said in a touching final word. Lord Storm Nattas found the High King¡¯s proposal rather romantic, but he kept his mouth shut for the entire argument. The whole rotten dispute was highly tasking for Miranda especially, the callousness and gall of the nobles to quarrel over the still warm corpse of her little girl near revolting to her. The most notable incident came at the end, when Kelholt in the pretense of breaking the stalemate and finally taking the dead children inside before they started rotting, gave a fiery speech and an impressive call for vengeance and Uher¡¯s holy retribution to the blasphemous unbelievers that had caused this. It caught the royals¡¯ attention, the timing perfect, Storm had to begrudgingly admit and the Grand Inquisitor ended his speech with a smug smirk on his face, his final words a terrible warning. Only the vile blood of monsters can wash away the raped innocence, Kelholt had declared and Storm could read a room, or a city square, well enough to know the man speaking against this insanity, would be the first one to lose his head. If he was fortunate.
¡°Ah, here¡¯s Nattas,¡± King Alistair said, voice menacing. ¡°Take a seat Lord of Whispers, while we finish up here.¡± The King¡¯s face had hardened even more, but there was no sorrow in his eyes. Only pure, undulated hate. Alistair was always a rigidly unforgiving man. This new tragedy hadn¡¯t mellowed him up at all. Quite the contrary. Storm took a seat at the council¡¯s table inside the palace building, his eyes on the leathery High Magister of Uher, Appius Gordian; the other man present inside the room. Storm had a less than jovial relationship with him and after what had happened with Kelholt earlier, the pious man¡¯s presence near the King of Regia was troubling to say the least. ¡°I¡¯ve tried to warn your Majesty,¡± Gordian continued, after casting him a glance full of disgust. Storm hadn¡¯t time for a bath, or a change of clothes and he was odorous and bloody that much was true. He was also working hard, this being the second day he hadn¡¯t slept at all, trying to flush out the culprits and didn¡¯t appreciate it at all. ¡°These old gods¡¯ fanatics have been encroaching everywhere. A cancerous scab that must be excised, or burned away for the kingdom to heal.¡± Storm placed both of his hands on his new cane, listening to the King¡¯s answer. ¡°Which Gods?¡± Alistair asked, more a snarl. ¡°What does it matter?¡± Gordian replied. ¡°My King, is Abrakas a better god just because sailors favor him? Is Nesande benevolent? Why? Because old women rub ointments on legs to combat gout? I don¡¯t think so.¡± ¡°We killed those¡­¡± The King paused, a crack in his hard demeanor visible for a tiny moment, before stubbornly pushing forward. ¡°Those responsible for what happened, are dead.¡± ¡°Not all, your majesty.¡± Fuck you. You slimy, slithering piss-poor excuse of a worm! Abrakas, strike this fool down! King Alistair had his eyes on Storm, his lips pressed into a thin line. ¡°Is the city searched?¡± ¡°Locked up,¡± Nattas replied with no hesitation. ¡°We¡¯re going house to house, your Majesty.¡± ¡°The High King demanded the culprits delivered to Kaltha,¡± Alistair replied, clenching his jaw so hard, it made his whole face distort. ¡°They murdered his firstborn and heir. He isn¡¯t in a forgiving mood.¡± The last a warning. Alistair wasn¡¯t in a forgiving mood either. For some reason, the blame seemed to have focused on him. Storm cleared his throat, the glee in Gordian¡¯s eyes unnerving and nodded with difficulty. ¡°I will get to the bottom of this, your Majesty.¡± ¡°Burn the scab, my King,¡± Gordian advised. ¡°Kaltha will go ahead and burn their symbols, punish those practicing magic severely.¡± Storm knew Gordian used the word burn literally in this context. ¡°They won¡¯t just come out and admit it!¡± Alistair snarled angry. ¡°How are we to tell?¡± Gordian took a step back, a little pale in the face, but determined. Don¡¯t do it, Storm thought. ¡°My people can for the most part, your majesty,¡± Gordian replied. ¡°Better to be wrong, than let the rot slip away.¡±Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. A few innocent killed was something Gordian could live with apparently. Storm had no problem with that, but he knew very well that few could turn many in the blink of an eye, the number ever growing until no one was safe. Himself included.
No one had bothered putting the man together. The insurrectionist, one of twenty lying dead in the small yard behind the palace, was still split in two equal parts, the damage done by the King¡¯s legendary sword darn right impressive. The man had half his torso and legs placed right next to his head and what was left of the rest of his body. It was bizarrely horrifying and fascinating at the same time. The man next to him, was painted white from his nose down to his ankles and naked much like the rest of them. None of the others sporting the same decorations. ¡°You don¡¯t believe, what Gordian is selling,¡± King Alistair standing on his left shoulder commented. He¡¯d taken Storm outside to show him the slain attackers. ¡°That¡¯s Kelholt¡¯s words coming out of his mouth, your majesty.¡± ¡°What are they then? If not religious fanatics, then what? You¡¯ve seen them protesting, since yesterday.¡± Assassins were behind this. Perhaps even the guild. One of them, I let escape and she killed your daughter for all intends and purposes. ¡°I have,¡± Storm breathed deeply, feeling the start of an ulcer in his stomach. ¡°But it¡¯s not something they¡¯ve done in the past. However many they are, they realize laying low is the better strategy. Why come out and provoke¡­ attack a royal event?¡± King Alistair clasped his hands behind his back and silently examined the corpses laid before them in two rows. The blood had drained, most of them had frozen in time and their grey-white skin made them all look alike, both Issir and Lorians. ¡°I wanted another son,¡± Alistair said, sounding strained for the first time. ¡°But one cannot help himself¡­¡± He exhaled, lined face darkening. ¡°Silvie was a lovely girl.¡± The King of Regia said simply, letting some of his pain show unwittingly. ¡°Aye, she was,¡± Storm replied, a lump in his throat. ¡°I fear for the Queen,¡± Alistair continued. ¡°It¡¯s a heavy blow, so soon after we lost Ralph.¡± Storm feared for the old King as well, but couldn¡¯t speak of it in front of him and just nodded, before adding. ¡°She¡¯s an Alden, your majesty. I believe the Queen will survive this tragedy.¡± Alistair grimaced. ¡°Don¡¯t marry an Alden lass, Lord Nattas. Gods help you, if you fall for one,¡± He cautioned him; it was a jest, as much as a warning. Storm frowned, but went along with it, with half a smile. ¡°I don¡¯t believe I¡¯ll have the chance, your majesty.¡±
Luthos raised a naughty eyebrow.
King Alistair stared him for a bit, before smacking his lips. ¡°No. I don¡¯t believe you will.¡± Abrakas ye foul, disgusting deity. I almost had a heart attack here! ¡°Which accursed god is this?¡± The King of Regia asked, pointing at the painted insurrectionist. ¡°I¡¯ve spotted one of them, years back I believe. It was during a campaign.¡± Storm looked at the painted stiff with narrowed eyes. He¡¯d a large wound in his gut. Red on white. Shaved skull and a Lorian face. ¡°It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve seen one of them, your majesty,¡± He replied honestly, much as he hated it. ¡°That¡¯s no old god, I know of.¡±
The guard caught up with him, just as Storm was ready to leave after his meeting with the King was over, using the back exit located in the palace¡¯s gardens. He paused to stare at the young man with red-rimmed, tired eyes. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°You are summoned in the Queen¡¯s quarters, Lord Nattas,¡± The guard said stiffly. Storm smacked his lips and eyed him suspiciously. What manner of trap is this? Abrakas is that yer doin¡¯, ye piece of dried shit? ¡°I heard she was indisposed," He noted cautiously. ¡°What should I report?¡± The man droned, disregarding his query. Storm sighed. ¡°Can I change? I¡¯ll need to freshen up,¡± It¡¯d come out worse than he intended. The guard frowned, but then shrugged his shoulders indifferently. ¡°After last call then,¡± He said. ¡°Isn¡¯t that a little late in the evening?¡± Storm jested, but it wasn¡¯t well received. ¡°Use this door,¡± The guard said simply and turned heel to walk away, leaving Lord Nattas staring at his back a little numb and thoroughly confused. I need to be careful around her, Storm decided on the way back to his apartment. Titus accompanied him, but sensing his mood remained silent for the duration of the short trip.
Lord Nattas pressed his back on the chair, to alleviate some of the pain. A bath and a meal in Mercos¡¯ place had restored some of his strength, after the strenuous last couple of days and the lack of sleep, had creeped up on him the moment he allowed himself to relax. The wine had helped of course. He needed to rest a bit, but he¡¯d a meeting with the Queen later. A weird call and quite unexpected. Perhaps she wants to be personally apprised on the searches, he thought. Kept in the loop. Nothing sinister in this. Storm let his jaw rest on his chest, his eyes closing on their own. Everyone was searching for the culprits, but it was mostly pointless. No one had seen those on the tower, operating the Scorpion. Taking a small respite, isn¡¯t the worst idea, Storm decided. Else I¡¯ll just drop like a rock at some nigh inopportune time. Storm didn¡¯t expect the woman responsible to stick around. She¡¯s long gone by now. Her mission accomplished, he thought and allowed sleep to take over. For half a minute. ¡°You are a hard man to kill, Lord Nattas,¡± Maja¡¯s sultry voice breathed in his ear, the touch of cold blade on his neck. All of Storm¡¯s drowsiness run away screaming and he turned fully alert in an instant. ¡°But surviving a lethal blow, also removes Ora¡¯s mark.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t scream,¡± Nattas croaked, deathly scared. ¡°Hmm, I know you won¡¯t.¡± Think you fool! Ah. The mark. ¡°No mark,¡± He said quickly. ¡°Your¡­ contract is fulfilled.¡± Maja pulled the blade away and slapped the back of his head once. ¡°You¡¯re smart, when scared shitless.¡± ¡°You want to escape the city,¡± Storm said, vowing to pull her innards out her cunt, first chance she gave him and glanced her way. Maja had her blond hair tied back at the nappe and wore a tight leather vest and pants. There were at least three knives on her, Storm could count, sheathed on a weapon¡¯s girdle, the female assassin wore on her waist. But although her pretty freckles were there, Storm realized this was a different woman. Older even. ¡°Don¡¯t be an idiot,¡± Maja retorted, stepping back. ¡°I wanted to know how you did it.¡± How did you survive? Was her meaning. ¡°Who put the contract on me?¡± Storm countered, finding his balance again, after the initial scare, thoughts of revenge turning into a way to gain much needed knowledge and Maja chuckled at that. Her eyes turned cold though. ¡°You¡¯re not that smart. Stop pushing your luck,¡± She said, measuring her words. ¡°What had you said to me back then? We don¡¯t know a man¡¯s heart truly dear Storm, or a woman¡¯s.¡± ¡°Is the guild involved?¡± Maja raised a thin brow mockingly. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I want to hire you,¡± Storm replied quickly, thinking on his feet. ¡°You need a name for that.¡± ¡°How do I get a name?¡± ¡°You offer something that could kill you in return,¡± Maja replied, looking him up and down, all curious. ¡°Or just know it.¡± ¡°I used a dottore¡¯s remedy to beat your poison.¡± He admitted. She pouted her mouth. ¡°Yeah, I had my suspicions.¡± ¡°Well?¡± Storm asked her hopeful. ¡°That¡¯s not enough, dear Storm.¡± Nattas looked at his cane frustrated, Maja scoffed. ¡°Don¡¯t be an idiot. No remedy can stop a blade from cutting your throat.¡± ¡°You could have killed me ten times over,¡± Storm started. ¡°But you didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°I wanted it to be seen as an accident,¡± She explained, sitting on the table in front of him. ¡°Another attempt so soon¡­ well, it didn¡¯t go as planned.¡± Storm was certain, this wasn¡¯t the only reason. What else though? ¡°Something that could kill me,¡± Storm murmured, wanting to find out as much as he could. ¡°Not exactly a bargain.¡± ¡°Well?¡± Maja asked using his own words, side of her mouth curled up into a smile. For fuck¡¯s sake. ¡°Abrakas protects me,¡± He said simply, too tired to play around with her for much longer. Maja nodded, as if she wasn¡¯t surprised at all and jumped down lithely. Before Storm could flinch away, she stooped near his face, her lips almost touching the wound on his cheek and whispered. ¡°Ask for Faerith K¡¯lael and a Silent Servant will come forth,¡± The Assassin whispered, her voice as much chilling, as sensual to his overwhelmed senses. ¡°What does this mean?¡± Storm squawked taken aback. ¡°Is that you?¡± Maja stood up straight and examined his face for a long moment. ¡°Oras serves the Gods of this Realm and its people,¡± She said simply and Storm realized her accent had changed. Even her face looked slightly different, the light coming from the many torches Mercos had lit up for him avoiding it somehow, dancing around its edges and shadows had started pooling under her feet. What in Abrakas rotted piss is this? A stunned Lord Nattas wondered, Maja¡¯s last words echoing the bakery¡¯s backyard, when she was gone. Lost, in a sea of shadows. ¡°He serves no other God,¡± The Assassin had said, shedding light to one of his queries unbeknownst to him. ¡°And no other people.¡±
84. An astute man, keeps his affairs to himself
Nattas An astute man, keeps his affairs to himself
¡°FILTHY IMBECILE!¡± Lord Storm Nattas was beside himself with righteous rage. ¡°YOU MORONIC BUFOON!¡± Titus attempted to defend himself. ¡°Chief, I saw no one comin¡ª¡± ¡°BLIND N¡¯ THICK-SKULLED RAT!¡± Storm bellowed, frothing at the mouth and hurled his cane hard as he could, aiming for that big head of his. Titus raised an arm and jumped back, the staff bouncing off it and smacking him bellow the left ear. ¡°Gah!¡± Titus groaned rubbing hard at the spot, already turning an angry red. ¡°Ghief, for fuck¡¯s sake. You¡¯re overreacting!¡± ¡°I had a blade on my throat!¡± Storm barked back. ¡°Yer throat seems fine!¡± Titus countered. ¡°You sound disappointed.¡± Nattas retorted, voice dripping venom. Titus stepped back and stooped to pick up Nattas expensive rosewood cane. ¡°All I¡¯m saying, is you appear rather unscathed, considering¡ª¡± ¡°Give that back,¡± Storm ordered him. ¡°So I can smack you again.¡± ¡°I saw no woman leaving,¡± Titus insisted, still holding on to Lord Nattas¡¯ property. A fact that didn¡¯t sit well with Storm, among all the other things that kept piling up. ¡°Especially Maja,¡± The large man finished lamely. Nattas smacked his lips and eyed the spot where she had stood earlier. ¡°She was right there,¡± He started, reaching for his goblet. ¡°That¡¯s three times now, you tried to have me killed Titus¡ª¡± ¡°Bullshit, I had nothing to do wit the second attempt! It was all Sudi¡¯s fault!¡± His man protested. ¡°Sudi drank the poison to save me!¡± Storm, sort of defended, his loyal hand. Now loyal was perhaps too strong a word, but still it was the kind of staunchness one looks for in a subordinate. ¡°Bah!¡± Titus guffawed throwing his arms up. ¡°He was enjoying yer wine collection for months!¡± The latter validating Storm¡¯s reservation. That son of a wayward pussy! ¡°Is he in on it?¡± Storm probed, determined to reach to the end of this and cut the rot off. Excise the decaying parts off of his inner circle. Kill it whole, if he have to. ¡°What? For Uher¡¯s sake, the man¡¯s a scoundrel, but innocent!¡± Unlike you, Storm thought, narrowing his eyes. ¡°So you admit to the fact?¡± He insisted, voice icy. ¡°No I bloody don¡¯t. There¡¯s no fact in what yer saying, Chief!¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you just assumed responsibility¡ª¡± ¡°I assumed nothing!¡± The former pirate turned hired blade, protested vehemently. ¡°Surely yer jesting!¡± That was twice in a row he¡¯d interrupted him. There was something brewing here. Storm tasted Mercos¡¯ wine in thoughtful silence. Sighed once but deeply, when he finished pondering on his next move and yelled at the end of it. ¡°GUARDS!¡±
¡°What did he do?¡± Parkor asked seeing the two guards dragging a protesting Titus away. Storm grimaced and eyed his nephew suspiciously. ¡°He let Maja slip inside and almost had me killed again.¡± ¡°Wow. She was here?¡± ¡°Yeah. It was a close call.¡± ¡°Wait, how did that bitch get away though? We were standing at the entrance!¡± Parkor wondered and looked about the walled backward. She fucking disappeared. ¡°Climbed the wall, I reckon,¡± He said instead, the three meter stone wall looking mighty impressive from where he was standing. ¡°What did she use?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve no bloody idea,¡± He admitted. ¡°But I made a deal with her.¡± Parkor stood back surprised. ¡°A deal? She¡¯s a murderer!¡± Storm frowned. What was this constant questioning of his decisions?
Sirio Veturius, looking tired and worn out from his journey, all but collapsed on the armchair in front of his house¡¯s office desk. Storm had returned there, as the night came over the city of Alden. Lord Nattas, himself without sleep for more than two days and nights, returned his eyes on the scowling Secundus Sorex, the leader of his armed guards. ¡°Where did you put him?¡± Lord Nattas asked, as Sirio placed a heavy leather satchel he carried on his shoulder, next to the armchair and turned to listen to the man¡¯s reply. ¡°In yer cellar, milord.¡± ¡°What about that room across the kitchen we don¡¯t use?¡± ¡°The cellar has a padlock, milord.¡± Storm frowned. ¡°Well, it is kind of dark, I suppose.¡± ¡°Plenty of room as well,¡± Secundus added with a nasty smirk. ¡°Right,¡± Storm cleared his throat, a little unsure about locking Titus up, after he calmed down from his earlier encounter. Seeing Sirio¡¯s questioning stare, he attempted an explanation. ¡°We placed Titus, ahem¡­ under house arrest that is¡­ in my house, since he doesn¡¯t own one,¡± The young historian, he¡¯d added to his staff, raised a querying eyebrow. ¡°He¡¯s¡­ a suspect in another assassination attempt.¡± Sirio sat back worried. ¡°What happened? I just came from Aldenport,¡± He paused unsure. ¡°It was horrifying hearing the news about the Heir¡¯s vile assassination, as much as disappointing for I have missed it.¡± ¡°Lady Silvie also perished in the attempt,¡± Storm pointed. ¡°Of course, an equal loss.¡± Storm wasn¡¯t certain, if Sirio was being truthful. He sighed and glanced at the still waiting Secundus. ¡°There was a Sorex accompanying Sir Lucius to Fetya,¡± Storm said and noticed Sirio had gotten a blank vellum out of his satchel and placed it on the table. He then reached for one of Lord Nattas¡¯ many quills only pausing, when he sensed Storm¡¯s stare. Sighing Storm nodded it was okay for him to use one and Sirio quickly scribbled something on his parchment. ¡°Milord?¡± Secundus asked politely. ¡°Yes!¡± He snapped annoyed at the interruption. ¡°You asked about me brother¡­¡± The man said. ¡°Ah, the man with Sir Lucius,¡± Storm retorted, remembering his query. ¡°I was wondering about that.¡± ¡°Anything else, milord?¡± ¡°Nothing else, good man. Leave him there for the whole evening. No food, or water. Lock the rest of the house down as well.¡± ¡°It shall be done. I¡¯ll take my leave sire,¡± Secundus replied with a bow of the head.
¡°Rigid man,¡± Sirio commented, when the hired sword left them alone. His meaning vague per usual. ¡°He comes highly recommended.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t believe Titus was involved back in Cartagen?¡± Sirio asked. ¡°Not really. Still he¡¯s incompetent enough. I shudder to admit, I¡¯m missing Sudi.¡± ¡°Is he faring any better?¡± ¡°Well, he¡¯s not dying,¡± Storm commented. ¡°So there¡¯s that.¡± ¡°Was it Maja? I would have rather asked for your version of the events, but I understand your heart may not be in it.¡± Lord Nattas reached for a half-full bottle of Flauegran he always kept in a drawer. Poured himself a generous dose, spilling some out the rim of his silver goblet. He wiped the spillage with the sleeve of his new, but rather ruined now doublet. ¡°I haven¡¯t slept in days. Living off wine and a single meal for all that time,¡± He started with a grimace of distaste. ¡°Maja was behind the attack on the Royal children¡ª¡± ¡°Half a wedding,¡± Sirio interrupted him with a smile. ¡°I apologize. It is what I will call this attempt to bind the two kingdoms for posterity. In my book.¡± Storm smacked his lips, thinking about it. ¡°And three funerals,¡± He said and Sirio wrote it down. ¡°Anyway, she also visited me here, well¡­ actually across the street at Mercos place. Put a knife on my throat.¡± ¡°Interesting she didn¡¯t follow through,¡± Young Sirio pointed. ¡°Guild rules apparently,¡± Storm explained. ¡°You get to make your attempt all right, but if you succeed and the victim survives some-fuckin¡¯-how, then that¡¯s it. The contract is up. I got lucky in a sense.¡±This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. ¡°You were prepared.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what luck is, my friend.¡± ¡°You mentioned the guild,¡± Sirio pressed on, always thirsty for more details. ¡°I know the Merchants guild, even the Mason¡ª¡± ¡°A dwarf runs it, the latter,¡± Storm cut in and an astounded Sirio run a hand through his surprisingly well combed hair, for a man that was on a ship for ten days that is. ¡°Met him once, about six years back.¡± ¡°A dwarf,¡± Sirio droned. ¡°There are lots of them,¡± Storm pointed at the quill the young historian still had in his hands. ¡°They made these for example. Fantastic crafters and builders.¡± ¡°Kept hidden,¡± Sirio noticed, glancing at the thin, but beautifully engraved writing tool. ¡°You know there¡¯s men that prefer pleasuring a cock,¡± Storm replied pointedly and Sirio blinked in shock. ¡°But you won¡¯t see them advertising it in Alden¡¯s square, for much the same reason.¡± ¡°The realm is bigoted,¡± Sirio said, a bit of more color on his cheeks. ¡°Unfair and full of greedy hypocrites." ¡°Our realm is. An astute man, keeps his affairs to himself, dear friend.¡± Lord Nattas advised. Storm would repeat that same advice to Sirio years later, the words almost unchanged, just before he died.
¡°I can accept a Masons Guild, run by a dwarf, but assassins? Or even thieves?¡± Sirio continued their discussion moments later. ¡°I made a deal with her,¡± Storm said, hoping for a better reaction from the young man. ¡°And by the way, killing and stealing man learned, before building a single darn thing.¡± Whoring as well. ¡°Why would you do that?¡± Sadly people just couldn¡¯t grasp the bigger picture. ¡°Because there¡¯s a purge coming,¡± Lord Nattas replied, his face darkening. ¡°And I don¡¯t believe the uprising was spontaneous. Not with assassins in the mix. Someone paid for a contract on me, wanted the young heir dead and it was no bloody protester.¡± ¡°Who stands to gain from that?¡± Sirio inquired. ¡°Queen is pregnant. The High King still very young. I know it¡¯s a tragedy, but still¡­¡± ¡°Kaltha needs a boy,¡± Storm said matter-of-factly. ¡°Infants die easier than teens and the King, well¡­ the King just started a difficult war and might not be there to see another son grow up.¡± Sirio narrowed his eyes. ¡°You have news,¡± He said simply. Storm nodded and reaching on his desk, tossed him a scroll he¡¯d read earlier. Sirio Veturius unfurled it and read the report. ¡°The Prince is headed for Altarin?¡± Sirio asked, himself reaching to write down Storm¡¯s reply, so he won¡¯t forget it. Lord Nattas scoffed at the words, downed the rest of his wine and obliged him, his tone cautionary. ¡°The Leopard,¡± Regia¡¯s Master of Silence said. ¡°Is loose in Raoz.¡± Where he would appear next, naught but a guess.
The garden behind the palace was covered in darkness, but the sky was clear over his head and the moons illuminated the old building. Storm entered through a back door left open, an expecting servant leading him to the guard from earlier, stationed outside the Queen¡¯s chambers. The octagonal room, was large and its ceiling high. It had three great windows covered with drapes, on the wall facing the garden and the grand royal bed, half-hidden under the white mosquito net, was across from them, an antique ornate table with comfortable armchairs right at its center. It was relatively well lit by at least four large oil lamps, one for each wall. Miranda wearing a thin silk tunic that pooled at her legs and a red shawl around her shoulders, was sitting alone when they entered. She supported her head with her ring-adorned hands, long blond curls loose and hiding her expression. ¡°Leave us,¡± She said simply, voice hoarse and haunted and the guard paused stiffly, as if in silent protest at the order, before bowing and turned heel to leave the room. Do not make any mistakes. Keep it professional. ¡°Your Grace,¡± Storm started. ¡°I apologize for the hour.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about appearances, Lord Nattas,¡± Miranda replied. I shall worry just the same. ¡°I shall strive not to, your Grace,¡± Storm agreed, keeping the thought to himself. The moment dragged after he did, breaking only when Miranda gasped and her breathing turned rugged, the intakes coming faster and faster, face still hidden behind her hair. When Storm saw her shoulders shaking, he realized she was crying and the moment turned awkward. He endured her heart-rending mourning in silence, for what appeared to be forever it seemed, but it was less than five minutes. Lord Storm Nattas was still standing, before a perfectly fine and vacant set of chairs, on tired legs, almost all his weight resting on the cane. His mind on something else entirely. Because it affected Storm greatly, seeing her vulnerable side. It was understandable and perfectly normal given what had transpired, but also perverted and arousing that she was even giving him a glimpse of it. Almost forbidden. Without a doubt, a calculated dangerous opening. Why would she do it? Storm thought, torn between his feelings of sympathy for the young distraught mother, his lust for a beautiful woman and the fear of the repercussions, if any of it came out the open. In a world of secrets, Lord Nattas knew very well that nothing remained hidden forever.
¡°It¡¯s so chilly in Alden,¡± Miranda said, when she came about. She¡¯d pushed her hair back and clasped them in place expertly, with a beautiful ivory barrette that probably worth as much as a small house in the city she¡¯d just mentioned. Storm had started sweating, despite the breeze coming from one of the open floor to ceiling windows, but nodded in agreement. ¡°It¡¯s a cold month, your Grace.¡± ¡°I grew up in Aegium,¡± Miranda continued, her famous blue-silver eyes swollen and hazy, a heavy dose of nostalgia in her hoarse voice. Storm felt his cock stir in his pants and bit the inside of his mouth hard enough to draw blood, to combat the perilous yearning away. ¡°The Scalding Sea made some days so hot, the water boiled in its bowl by itself. It was torture to endure it inside our home. So I used to run away and spent my time near the sea, playing with the sand and getting blisters on my naked feet, until I was discovered by my sitters and got beaten up for my troubles with a hairbrush,¡± She stared at him and Storm gulped down nervously, as no word he could utter was safe now. The Queen hadn¡¯t revealed yet, what she wanted. ¡°I couldn¡¯t walk for a week,¡± She said after a moment of silent contemplation. ¡°Then I was back at it. I¡¯m an Alden. I won¡¯t be denied.¡± ¡°It is a lovely city, your Grace,¡± Storm agreed, although he didn¡¯t like it. The brothels in Novesium are famous for a fuckin¡¯ reason. ¡°Ever been to Aegium, Lord Nattas?¡± ¡°A couple of times, your Grace.¡± ¡°I never liked Alden,¡± She admitted, a small grimace following his answer. ¡°It¡¯s old and smelly. It has dead people, buried under our feet. Under this very palace. In the dark, it¡¯s so cold¡­¡± A tear run down her cheek and she wiped it away casually with a graceful hand. Her voice turned into a whisper, face contracting violently, as if in horrible pain and her fists clenching so hard, the knuckles turned white. ¡°I can¡¯t let them put her there¡­ not my little girl. I can¡¯t¡­¡± Storm took a step back, his cane dragging on the tiled floor, the rawness of the emotion coming out of her too great to withstand. A callous fellow, he found himself tearing up as well, which was ridiculous and quite unprofessional for a man of his station. He couldn¡¯t help it, her pain affected him too much. ¡°Your Grace,¡± He struggled to say, scrunching his mouth this way and that. ¡°I believe the High King will built a garden in Issir¡¯s Eagle, if my sources are correct.¡± They won¡¯t bury her in the catacombs, was his meaning. ¡°I won¡¯t see her again, Lord Nattas,¡± Miranda whispered with finality. Storm wetted his dry lips, unsure how to help her. ¡°My condolences, your Grace. It¡¯s a real tragedy.¡± ¡°I caused this,¡± She said, her voice hardening. ¡°No. Your Grace did not,¡± Storm cleared his throat. ¡°Those that did, are responsible and the Gods will judge them.¡± Miranda raised her head and stared in his soul. ¡°Fanatics. Followers of the Old Gods,¡± She said and got up from her seat to approach him. Storm tensed up, as she came near in her elegant manner, silk tunic flowing over her fit body. Miranda stopped well inside his personal space and stooping traced the silver brooch he wore on the right side of his doublet with a well-shaped finger. ¡°I¡¯ve seen them,¡± She said, pulling away. ¡°Heard their stories, witnessed sailors pray to them. Why would they kill my baby, Lord Nattas?¡± They wouldn¡¯t, he thought, quite shocked at her gesture. ¡°Your Grace,¡± Storm started and paused, no lie coming to mind. ¡°Everyone tells the King they did. Kelholt and Gordian speaking with one voice. The Five demand justice, they say,¡± She paused, a small pout on her lips. ¡°I want justice.¡± Storm bowed his head. ¡°I will strive to find the culprits, your Grace.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± The Queen murmured, examining his face. Storm tried to remain calm under her scrutiny, his nervousness spilling out. She was standing so close, the moment dragging and he could smell the oils she¡¯d used in her bath on her skin. Wild roses and jasmine extract. Abrakas ye vile, un-redeeming monster! Stop it. You are going to get me killed. Be gone demon! ¡°I didn¡¯t like you at first. You have an abhorrent reputation,¡± Miranda said finally, side of her mouth curling upwards. ¡°Rumor is, you were sleeping with the Davenport girl.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t, your Grace,¡± Storm defended himself. ¡°It is nothing but a bad gossip, a vile accusation. The thought of it makes me shudder.¡± He added truthfully, alas thinking about the Queen¡¯s curves, while he did it. The Queen standing in front of him that is. Abrakas help me. Wait¡­ Miranda narrowed her eyes at his outburst. ¡°Then I met you privately in Cartagen,¡± She continued. She changed her mind. Why? ¡°You don¡¯t believe they did it,¡± Miranda noted. Storm opened his mouth to answer, deny the whole thing and walk the party line, but she moved ahead interrupting him. ¡°I don¡¯t believe they would. I know they won¡¯t.¡± ¡°Ahm, your Grace¡­¡± He had nothing. ¡°Who did it, Lord Nattas?¡± Storm gasped, his knees shaking a bit. It took an enormous effort from him to stabilize himself enough, calm down and attempt a reply, with no idea where to go. Will she consider, his opinion? Was it a trap to out him and have him executed? Was the King behind it? Why though? Why all this theatre? It didn¡¯t feel like a lie. Heard their stories, witnessed sailors pray to them, the Queen had revealed earlier, after reciting a tale from her youth to a stranger, she used to dislike. An offer of peace. An opening of a tortured and hurting soul. No one prays to the Old Gods in the fuckin¡¯ open. Most of all though, it was a cry for justice. Gods telling him, he couldn¡¯t sit this one out. Oh, you horrible bastard of a deity. All of you! Miranda stood back seeing his expression change. ¡°I had to come closer. Find a way, any type of pretext,¡± She started, pausing as if unsure they were spied upon. ¡°To make sure it is what it looked like.¡± A Kraken. ¡°It isn¡¯t,¡± Storm croaked, the lie pathetic and obvious, terrified and excited at the same time. Twice his secret was brought to light in a single day now. A mere coincidence, if one believed in them. Nattas didn¡¯t. ¡°The God will understand,¡± The young Queen said simply, calmer now, as if a weight had lifted off her shoulders. ¡°But will he help me avenge my daughter, dear Storm? Bring me the real killers¡¯ heads?¡± Storm desperately wanted to believe her. He also desired to hug her tightly and bury his face in her golden curls, consequences be damned. Oh, for fuck¡¯s sake. ¡°He¡¯s the vilest of Gods, your Grace,¡± He managed to say and Miranda nodded in understanding. You can be sure for one thing with Abrakas followers. They were no fools. ¡°But he¡¯s wrathful enough to make it happen.¡±
To love, is to feel pain. Desire fulfilled, comes with a price. What the heart wants, walks afar from reason. It simply is. An astute man, keeps his affairs to himself, dear friend. Or he dies because of it. Lord Sirio Veturius Circa 207 NC The Fall of Heroes Chapter IV (Lord Storm Nattas, The Last Letter, -final paragraph- Unknown date.)
85. Never trust a dwarf?
Glen Never trust a dwarf?
¡°NO. FOR THE LOVE O'' UHER! DON¡¯T!¡± There never was such a cry of despair, in all recorded history... ¡°DON¡¯T DO IT!¡± ...of all the Realms; in this world, or any other. ¡°AARGGH!¡± The blister on his big toe, was the size of his thumb that time he¡¯d closed a heavy door on it, in order to leg it fast -loot in hand. It stood grotesquely swollen and full of pus, darn thing all but exploding, when Marcus touched it with his dagger. Making a mess that reeked to high heavens. And hurt alike getting kicked on the front teeth. Repeatedly. ¡°GOD DARN IT!¡± Glen cursed, amidst squealing loud as he could, his exclamations of pure ¨Cas much as exaggerated- agony reverberating over the distant tree line and tried once more to take his foot away from the ex-legionnaire¡¯s murderous calloused hands, but failed. ¡°Keep still, milord,¡± Marcus insisted, a clench in his jaw the only sign of effort on his part, his huge arms unflinching and not giving him an inch to get away. ¡°We must empty it fully and then burn the excess away.¡± Glen shut his mouth and gawked him horrified. ¡°Burn the whole toe?¡± ¡°Tie it up, is the better option,¡± Fikumin intervened. ¡°I have a salve.¡± Glen, shocked grin on his sweaty face, pointed at the dwarf desperately. A man grasping at a wayward board, before going under. ¡°He has a salve!¡± Marcus sighed, a little disappointed. His shoulders shagged. ¡°Ah, well¡­ we burn ¡®em things away in the Legion,¡± He gripped. ¡°Worked pretty darn well.¡± Good grief. Glen stared him intensely, emphasizing every word. ¡°Let go. Of the foot.¡± Marcus returned the stare stubbornly for a while, but then he reluctantly let his foot drop and got up. He paused for a brief moment, a look of disgust on his rugged face and then shaking his head, turned heel and walked away. Stiles managed to hold it in until the hale soldier was far enough away from their campfire and then burst out laughing so hard he slipped from a rock he¡¯d used as a seat and fell flat on his arse, still chuckling like he was crazy. ¡°Best shit I¡¯ve seen in me life,¡± The former pirate announced self-consciously to justify his outburst, when he got wind no one else had joined in. Glen being the most incensed of them all. ¡°Right,¡± Norec said, long beard dancing underneath his mouth, in an attempt to change the subject. ¡°The lesson here is, Lord Reeves; always give yer feet the time to adjust before a stroll¡ª¡± ¡°We¡¯ve been walkin¡¯ for two fuckin¡¯ days! Twas no stroll!¡± Glen blasted him outraged, which cracked up Stiles again. The young thief had folded his leg to look at the damage done to it from up close, in the meantime. There is so much blood¡­ and yellow nasty stuff? ¡°The gist of me words was, it takes time, milord,¡± The dwarf insisted, unwilling to let go. ¡°Surely the distance from Altarin wasn¡¯t that much different.¡± Glen had enough of this nonsense. ¡°I had a bloody horse!¡± Poor, sweet Val. Left behind, leaving me walking alike a beggar. The injustice of it all monumental in his mind. His missing coins being the worst, in a long litany of bad things and what was slowly eating him up the most, from the inside. Surely Jinx won¡¯t spend it all, he mused pensively, in a futile attempt to find some solace. She¡¯s such a small girl, barely eats a thing! Stiles, when he questioned him about it though, had been adamant. Coin¡¯s gone, milord, Glen¡¯s man-servant had declared, whatever the fuck that meant, a sad look on his face and his conviction absolute. Ye ain¡¯t seein¡¯ it again. Fikumin interrupted his gloomy thoughts, the look on Glen¡¯s face reflecting his inner fury. He¡¯d a suspicious looking leather pouch on his stubby hands, the outside of it oily and smelling funny. ¡°What!¡± He snapped at him. ¡°It might sting a bit,¡± One of the two dwarfs of their small group explained, all serious. It turned out, the small bastard with the enormous head, could lie with a straight fuckin¡¯ face, like the best of the whole lot.
His bandaged foot wouldn¡¯t fit the corpse¡¯s boot. His boot. Glen had earned the right on them pretty conclusively in his mind. He¡¯d assumed a ton of responsibilities in the trade, taking on the dead man¡¯s mess and doing the best he possibly could, under the circumstances. Paying dearly, in coin and blood. A shit ton of coins and¡­ well, almost all his blood for the horrid affair. He wanted to help his friends and he had to give them up as well, which on top of everything else stung a whole lot, since Glen hadn¡¯t many friends to begin with. Being without a family all his life, his friends were family to him. No distinction. Glen sighed still staring at his dirty boot, his legs too tired to change position, or try again. The fire had turned to embers, the dark sky clear over their heads and the wind whistling through the distant trees heading straight for the mountain slopes in front of them. The night was chilly, but here in the shallow between the rock walls, it was bearable under a woolen blanket. Assuming you had one near. Which he didn¡¯t. Ah, well¡­at least we have fire and protection. Stiles, who had taken the first watch of the evening snorted loud, apparently being on a second look, fast asleep. For fuck¡¯s sake. ¡°Let him rest,¡± Fikumin said sitting next to him in front of the fire. ¡°How¡¯s the toe?¡±Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. ¡°Still sore.¡± ¡°Ye should¡¯ve let me burn it away,¡± Marcus retorted, sitting on the other side, a cup of ale in hand. ¡°Rid yerself of the trouble.¡± ¡°You know people can¡¯t walk well, if they''re missin¡¯ a toe, right?¡± Glen countered. ¡°Horses can plenty well.¡± ¡°Not on two feet!¡± Marcus grimaced, not seeing the difference. Glen rolled his eyes in despair and turned to Fikumin. ¡°Is no one sleeping?¡± ¡°Norec is. He¡¯s next,¡± The dwarf replied. Norec loud snoring coming from the back, a testament to that. ¡°I don¡¯t trust him,¡± Marcus explained, pointing at their also sleeping guard. ¡°Look at him. The man¡¯s a skunk.¡± Right. ¡°So¡­ you told me back in Brightos, we have to clear out some bandits?¡± Glen asked Fikumin, the small-bodied creature¡¯s mouth lost amidst all that facial hair and that gargantuan nose of his. Luthos help the poor shod! Glen shuddered at the ugliness of it. Perhaps his head is so big to counterbalance the whole structure and keep it upright. A measure to avoid stooping forward all the time under the weight. ¡°Cofols,¡± The dwarf said, scowling at Glen¡¯s shameless scrutiny. ¡°And other races mixed in, even an Aken.¡± ¡°Another one?¡± Marcus probed worried and Glen twisted his head back and forth intrigued. ¡°Not necessarily,¡± Came Fikumin¡¯s reply. ¡°What does that mean?¡± Marcus retorted, twice as worried. ¡°Grogoceq might reappear,¡± The dwarf droned. Glen puffed his cheeks out, ballooning them away and turned his face into that of a frog¡¯s, unable to figure out what they were talking about. ¡°We cut his head off, crashed it wit a warhammer!¡± Marcus tried again, counting with his fingers the actions taken to avoid it. What? ¡°Bones were missing,¡± Fikumin insisted. Bones? ¡°There were no bones left,¡± Marcus countered. ¡°Kill the mage, end the magic.¡± Wait, wait¡­ wait. ¡°If a bone is missing, a Bonemancer can make a body of it. Use it as his own,¡± Fikumin elucidated making the matter even weirder. The fuck? ¡°Grogoceq was present Fikumin!¡± Marcus grunted unhappy. "Killed him meself!" Glen puffed out hard, flapping his lips and raised a hand to intervene. You¡¯d assume, as he was between them, he¡¯d succeed to ask for clarification, but the young thief was summarily ignored by both of them. ¡°Own the bone, and the flesh will turn unto what you wish,¡± Fikumin insisted, apparently the expert on the matter. ¡°A construct has no will of its own.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no such magic, dwarf!¡± ¡°Yet you¡¯ve seen it, wit your very eyes!¡± ¡°HEY!¡± Glen exploded cutting their quarreling. Stiles flinched across from them waking up, drool on the side of his mouth. ¡°Is my shift over?¡± The drowsy man asked, looking about him surprised. ¡°Yeah,¡± Marcus lampooned with a scowl. ¡°Ye can go right back to sleep now.¡±
Glen sighed deeply, the misery oozing out the pores of his skin in waves. ¡°What is an Aken, Fikumin?¡± The dwarf opened his mouth to answer, but he stopped him raising his index finger high, mimicking Dante, then added another finger to the total and continued. ¡°Why are we on the hunt for a Bonemancer?¡± ¡°Can I answer?¡± ¡°Sure. Two fingers. Two queries,¡± Glen said nonchalantly. Adding with a knowing stare. "Equal number of answers." Unless of course it¡¯s the middle finger. Then it¡¯s not. Haha. ¡°The Aken live on the Plague Isles,¡± Fikumin started after a roll of his eyes, which earned another glare from Glen. ¡°The Zilan and the Folk used to live there in the ancient times. Then the Aken arrived from another Realm according to the stories. Another continent.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no such thing, friend,¡± Glen noted, voice dripping with sarcasm. ¡°Beyond the Haze Sea there is. If ye travel straight southwest between the Plague Isles and the Blasted Lands of Wetull you¡¯ll find it within a year. It¡¯s called Mistland. The Old Realms are many, Glen.¡± Glen blinked. Gave a side glance to a frowning Marcus and then grinned wide, after he passed his tongue over his front teeth. This story was preposterous. Everyone knew there was only two continents in the Realm. Some islands here and there, Jinx came to mind again, but that was it. ¡°He came from there?¡± ¡°Aye. The Khanate has dealings with them. They trade with the Aken for years now. The Aken of the Plague Isles that is.¡± ¡°Do they have ships then?¡± Glen probed, smug grin still on his face. ¡°They didn¡¯t have a fleet, when the Empire was around. They never left their places, as far as I know, up until now,¡± Fikumin replied. ¡°While their religion has spread somewhat, no one wants them around, or on their ships. Of course all this, is what I was told decades ago, as a youngling.¡± ¡°So if no ships are coming. Did he swim then?¡± Give the man a medal, that¡¯s some record for sure! ¡°It¡¯s not funny, milord.¡± ¡°Yet, I¡¯m laughing.¡± He grinned some more for emphasis. ¡°We did fight the darn thing,¡± Marcus commented, sounding troubled. ¡°And killed it, from what I hear.¡± ¡°Aye, we did.¡± ¡°So¡­ what are we talking about? What this have to do wit Ostruki and his quest?¡± Fikumin stood up and smacked his lips. ¡°If the Aken came to Eplas, then this isn¡¯t a local bandit problem. We solved it already, if it was,¡± The dwarf said, his tone solemn. ¡°Nor it¡¯s a dwarf only problem though. They came here to hunt, emboldened by the turmoil that¡¯s spreading.¡± So yer lied about it, Glen scowled at the untrustworthy creature, but chose to ask him the more important question instead. ¡°Hunt what?¡± ¡°Young bones. Enslave souls still malleable to turn into their likeness,¡± Fikumin paused his face darkening. ¡°Ye need a baby to make an image of yerself, mold the flesh¡­ there was a youngling missing. I haven¡¯t stopped thinking about it. This is evil of old, milord. Personified.¡± Luthos fermented balls, rot in a jar. Glen wet his lips and changed position nervously. ¡°What are ye saying, Fikumin?¡± The dwarf pushed his chest out and stood tall¡­ of sorts. ¡°I¡¯m an adventurer,¡± Fikumin Flintfoot declared proudly, voice enthused with righteous indignation. ¡°Yer a Lord, soon to be a Knight of the Realm. This is our calling, Glen. One we cannot deny.¡± Glen gulped down, his throat hoarse, as if he¡¯d swallowed a bucket full of gravel. Dodge. ¡°Surely, we need to warn people!¡± He croaked, the whole affair sounding insanely dangerous. ¡°Like way more people.¡± A couple of thousand at least, just to be sure. Hells an army, sounds even better! ¡°We need to find out what they want and a way to stop them first.¡± ¡°Over that mountain,¡± Glen pointed with his head, the whole idea absurd. ¡°I don¡¯t know, it might take us a good while.¡± The latter sounding like he was talking about twenty years. At the bare minimum. ¡°How fuckin¡¯ big is Eplas?¡± Glen probed and Fikumin shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Too big, I reckon. And there¡¯s a war going on, if ye noticed. Can we at least bring Dante and Jinx here?¡± Emerson would¡¯ve been right perfect for this job too. ¡°We need to send a bird to Altarin for that. Brightos has none. Assuming back to Altarin is where they went,¡± Fikumin paused here and shared a stare with Marcus, before adding. ¡°Or if they are still alive.¡± That last part didn¡¯t sit well at all with Glen, no wonder everyone says ye can never trust a dwarf; or was it a Gish? Who the fuck cares? All of ''em short limb people are sneaky as all hells! So he answered appropriately to this big-headed, boulder-nosed and lying piece of shit of a creature. Stopping at each word for extra emphasis. ¡°Suck. A Big. Bag. Of dicks.¡± Yeah.
86. Erlis pendant, a kiss and the key to a grave (1/3)
Jinx Erlis'' pendant, a kiss and the key to a grave Part I
The two moons of the Realm popped up again on the night sky, the moment the Gish turned the large building¡¯s corner after Calm Pollock. The lithe man, an Issir and a professional ¡®fence¡¯ of sorts; also an in-between for the vaunted Thieves Guild in Altarin and the local ruffians, but mostly the dangerous Vibrant Horns that controlled the underworld in the city, moved almost plastered to the walls to minimize exposure. It could have worked, but for her Gish¡¯s eyes. It was a boring job this. Jinx had picked it though from the message board, firstly because there wasn¡¯t much else with the Cofols raiding the countryside, or worse rumored to be outside the city¡¯s gates, and secondly, because it seemed safe. Find Elris Valwarin¡¯s famed family pendant, it wrote. Stolen by a dastardly thief, believed to be Shifty Walker. Now ¡®Shifty¡¯ was a thief alright and Jinx knew him, kind of. Was he dastardly enough to warrant such a public smear on his character? He probably was. Calm Pollock stopped in the midst of a dark alley, forcing Jinx back into her chase. Well, it was supposed to be a shadowing of sorts, but it had turned into a pursuit, since Pollock moved pretty fast for a human. Jinx stayed on him without problem that much was true, but Soren and Zola got lost somewhere in the market, not ten minutes back. Either that, or they were fuckin¡¯ like rabbits to spite her. ¡°Damn it,¡± The man said, as if he heard her mental groan. ¡°Didn¡¯t see ye hiding there.¡± ¡°It would¡¯ve been nigh awkward, if ye had,¡± Walker answered him, bursting out of the shadows. Dressed in a black tunic and pants, hood over his head, he could¡¯ve been anyone, but Jinx remembered the voice. Ye couldn¡¯t miss that Lesia accent of his. ¡°You have it then?¡± Calm asked nervously. ¡°Are ye alone?¡± ¡°Yeah, sure.¡± ¡°Meet me behind Frank¡¯s place in an hour,¡± Came Walker¡¯s reply. ¡°Why not do it now?¡± Calm Pollock protested. ¡°I can hear yer people approaching.¡± ¡°My people? Haha. I told no one else¡ª¡± But Walker had dived back into the shadows in the meantime, leaving him standing impotent in the middle of the dark alley. Had he heard her? Jinx wondered, ready to hurry after the thief this time, when heavy boots were heard approaching behind her and stopping close enough to smell the first man¡¯s odor. Onion soup and ale, mixed in with strong goat cheese. A brave choice for an evening meal, unless yer plannin¡¯ on sleeping on yer lonesome, she thought turning around to see who it was, a mischievous grin on her lips. ¡°What do we have here, lads?¡± The man said, big head resting on a gigantic torso. His shorter ¨Cfor the body-, but pretty muscled hands making him appear stretched on all directions. ¡°Do ye mind turning around?¡± Jinx said without batting an eyelash. ¡°I came here to pee. Real bad.¡± ¡°In the fuckin¡¯ alley?¡± The second man asked, shorter and thinner than the first, only four teeth in his mouth. ¡°I like open spaces. Helps wit the flow,¡± Whisper deadpanned, knowing each second passing was giving Walker the chance to get further away. Give him enough time, she thought, and he¡¯ll leave Eplas altogether. Good luck finding him then. The third man of the group scowled, or so she thought, but said nothing. It was the first guy that reacted. His eyes turning right mean. ¡°What¡¯s that on yer face wench?¡± Ah, darn it, Jinx mused, taking a precautionary step back, to better use her weapons. Ye had to be a cunt and go there. Her back bumping onto the approaching Pollock, returning from his meeting. ¡°Darn it!¡± He griped stumbling away to avoid her. Then seeing who the men were, turned angry in the blink of an eye. ¡°You stupid fucks, are louder than hungry cats in the market. I could hear yer lot from over there!¡± He paused looking at the half-smirking Jinx, squinting his eyes a couple of times. ¡°You brought a fuckin¡¯ girl? Have you lost yer mind?¡± Give a point to Walker. You two-timing bastard, Jinx thought, going for her bow. A rough calloused hand stopped that particular move, grabbing her by the shoulder and she went with the flow, the man pulling her back ¨Ca bit surprised at the complete lack of resistance-, while Jinx twisted around, fast as a fit feline, knee raised high. ¡°That¡¯s it Big Osbert,¡± A man said, voice filled with glee. ¡°Naosis tits!¡± A second exclaimed rather shocked. ¡°She¡¯s got pink hair!¡± ¡°Oh, that must¡¯ve hurt,¡± A third man noted, when her knee massed Osbert¡¯s family jewels and doubled him over. Jinx casually poked him with a finger in the right eye, almost popping it out and sidestepped lithely leaving him groan in misery. ¡°Get her Fourteeth Chane!¡± Calm Pollock bellowed at her back and the tooth-lacking man stepped forward to block her escape. A hand clasping the handle of a machete, he had sheathed on his leather belt, in an attempt to pull it out. ¡°Shame?¡± Jinx taunted, slapping his wrist down and re-sheathing the weapon. Ducked under an incoming fist, folding in two at the waist, a hand planted firm, her forehead almost kissing the dirt on the road, left foot staying put and the right rising to deliver a devastating overhead kick that caught Fourteeth right in the mouth. Whisper is the Queen of lithesome girls¡¯ mother-fucker! ¡°Gah!¡± Chane went and recoiled to get away, blood on his face, as Jinx rolled where the last man waited that earlier sour look still on his Lorian face. ¡°Brokth me tuth!¡± Fourteeth squealed at her back, understandably incensed at the loss, adding with malice. ¡°Slit her throath, Sour Hopper.¡± Oh, for fuck¡¯s sake. Can¡¯t ye cunts pick better names? Who comes up wit this crap? ¡°Catch dis,¡± Jinx said and hurled an arrow she¡¯d managed to get out on her half back-flip earlier. Good girls have two hands for a reason. Hopper saw it coming -flying true, Jinx rushing him right behind it, an angry pout on her lips and a pink halo over her noseless face and hesitated before raising an arm to deflect it. He smacked the arrow on the alley¡¯s wall and looked to see where the girl had gone, but got an elbow on the ribs before he found out, then a shoulder and he was thrown on his back. Jinx stepped on his forehead, when he attempted to get up and used it as a springboard to jump over him, back of said head bouncing off the cobblestone road and the girl¡¯s chuckle grating to his rattled nerves, as he watched her impotent running away.
Soren saw her coming out of the alley, fast as a leopard having the runs, and frowned, mouth opening to ask something silly and time-consuming. ¡°Shut it,¡± Jinx said and twirled around him to get behind his huge body. ¡°And stay still.¡± ¡°Fuck¡¯s wrong with you?¡± Zola inquired, looking freshly fucked herself, which pissed Jinx to no end, given all that had happened in the two weeks, since they¡¯d come back to Altarin. Before she could answer her, Calm and the roughed up ruffians appeared looking extra motivated and twice as mad, than she¡¯d left them seconds ago. ¡°Hells she went?¡± Osbert asked, eye swollen and red, tears running freely down his unshaven cheeks. ¡°Hey! You,¡± Calm barked, seeing Soren standing tall, not four meters from them. ¡°Did you see¡­ a rather weird girl running away?¡± ¡°What weird girl?¡± Soren asked and Jinx plastered on his broad back, hoped the dark was enough to hide her from them. Assuming the Northman didn¡¯t fuck everything up.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°She hath pinkh hair,¡± The man formerly known as Fourteeth griped. Soren smacked his lips and tensed up. Say no, ye stupid bull! ¡°Yeah,¡± Soren replied and Jinx almost drown on her spit. ¡°She run to the market.¡± Okay that works as well. ¡°Hells,¡± Calm replied, all pissed. ¡°Hurry up lads! We''ve got to catch her!¡±
¡°Can¡¯t believe they bought it,¡± Jinx said a minute later, the danger averted. ¡°Right then, what the fuck happened?¡± Zola asked. ¡°Where were you?¡± Jinx corrected it for her. ¡°What that¡¯s supposed to mean?¡± Came her loaded reply. ¡°Girls come on, let¡¯s all be friends,¡± Soren intervened wanting to avert the incoming quarrel. ¡°I think ye know,¡± Jinx taunted. ¡°I was following our mark, but ye two conveniently left me on my own!¡± ¡°You were movin¡¯ too fast!¡± ¡°It¡¯s called stayin¡¯ close!¡± ¡°Bah!¡± Zola exclaimed frustrated throwing her arms in the air. It made her tits bounce and while Jinx was angry, she found it distracting as fuck. ¡°Is this because I slept with him?¡± ¡°Well, it was either him, or Crafton. Assuming ye don¡¯t lick yer chops for young Liko. You kinda run out of cock.¡± Zola licked her lips on que, a nervous tick appearing on her left eye. ¡°You just can¡¯t take no, for an answer,¡± She said slowly, playing the victim card. As if she could fall for that! ¡°Look in the mirror dear.¡± ¡°It was the one time, Whisper,¡± Zola said, sounding drained. ¡°That I caught you.¡± Jinx deadpanned. ¡°Uher curse you! I was grieving!¡± The Issir woman retorted. ¡°Pfft, and I wasn¡¯t?¡± Whisper sneered and glanced towards Soren, the big man visibly uncomfortable with their conversation. ¡°You have to grow up, Pretty,¡± Zola answered tiredly. But Jinx set her jaw stubbornly at that. ¡°I¡¯ll do whatever the fuck I want, dear.¡± The curvy Issir woman shook her white head right and left, gave a good look around them and stepping forward, got into her personal space. Jinx tensed up, fearing a slap in the face, or worse, but got a full kiss on the lips instead, Zola¡¯s plump mouth massing hers, a current running up and down her spine and curling her toes upwards. Zola pulled away, when Jinx tried to slip her tongue in there and took a step back to examine the Gish''s flushed face for a long moment. Jinx swallowed, still tasting her on her lips. ¡°It doesn¡¯t mean a thing this,¡± The older woman finally said. ¡°What we did,¡± She pointed at an uncomfortable, or aroused Soren, Jinx¡¯s overcharged brain couldn¡¯t tell with any certainty. ¡°Don¡¯t mean a thing. It¡¯s just sex, Pretty.¡± ¡°Sex is nice,¡± Was all she could say. ¡°Sure it is. It is also a choice, you shouldn¡¯t force on people. I know Gish value it, but humans don¡¯t. Not unless there¡¯s something more involved,¡± Zola continued and licking her lips frowned. ¡°Have you eaten fish?¡± ¡°Mila,¡± Jinx replied, avoiding her eyes. I ate her cunt. ¡°What kind of a fish¡ª¡± Soren exclaimed, confusion in his voice. ¡°She¡¯s that whore,¡± Zola replied disgusted. Then bending spat on the ground. ¡°For fuck¡¯s sake, Pretty!¡± ¡°Ye could¡¯ve asked!¡± Jinx snapped grinning manically. ¡°Hey, it¡¯s just sex, dear.¡± Zola rolled her eyes and started walking away. Whisper rushed after her, with Soren right behind them. The big man heard talking to himself nigh impressed. ¡°Wow, Mila is a fish. Who would¡¯ve thought? That¡¯s some odd shit right there!¡±
¡°Frank¡¯s Place,¡± Zola noted half an hour later, reading the label. Jinx had led them in front of the store where Walker¡¯s meeting would take place soon. ¡°It¡¯s a jewelry workshop,¡± She explained casing their surroundings. ¡°They are supposed to meet behind it.¡± ¡°Behind the building?¡± ¡°Ahm, I¡¯m not sure,¡± Jinx replied, the tension between them making her uncomfortable. The feeling of Zola¡¯s lips on hers still vivid in her memory. Burned in and playing on a loop. ¡°The meeting kinda went sideways, what wit Calm wanting to double-cross ''Shifty'' ¡®n all.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s Shifty?¡± Soren asked scratching the regrown part of his beard, the difference between the two parts making him look pretty darn funny. ¡°The Thief.¡± The big Northman nodded. "It figures." ¡°Is he in the Guild?¡± Zola inquired, rolling her eyes at his stupidity. ¡°That was the gossip, back in Midlanor,¡± Jinx replied. ¡°And you know him, how?¡± Didn''t fuck him, if yer asking. ¡°Well, he helped me move some stuff.¡± The kind ye can¡¯t sell over the counter. Zola frowned, a dimple forming on her left cheek. ¡°Will he give us the pendant?¡± ¡°Ahm, probably not. It worth a try.¡± Although it probably didn''t, but Jinx kept this part for herself. ¡°Why do we need this job again?" Zola inquired. "You have Glen¡¯s money.¡± ¡°You do?¡± Soren cut in interested. ¡°Can I have some?¡± Leading the Gallant Dogs sucked arse, Jinx thought, hanging her pink head. ¡°No. You can¡¯t,¡± Whisper hissed, when she came around. ¡°Forget about the coins.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Zola insisted callously. ¡°The boy is dead.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know that, Zola.¡± ¡°The Cofols burned the fort, Pretty. He¡¯s gone.¡± Jinx sighed. This woman''s heart, was made of stone. ¡°We don¡¯t give up on a mission. And Glen is a good friend.¡± ¡°Since when?¡± Zola scoffed, unwilling to let the matter drop. ¡°Just because he talks to you? Come on.¡± Wow, just don¡¯t say anything. Keep it in. ¡°Glen is alright,¡± Soren said. ¡°I like him.¡± ¡°Shut up big guy,¡± Zola snapped. ¡°I just stated a darn fact¡ª¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care!¡± ¡°We are not using Glen¡¯s coins period,¡± Jinx said matter-of-factly, ending the debate.
Luthos sat this one out. It''s a universally known fact that most Gish''s plans suck arse hard. Pun intended.
Jinx banged on the Jewelry¡¯s door not five minutes later. She waited for another minute, give or take a couple of seconds and when no answer came, the Gish raised her fist to try again. The answer coming at the last moment, as it oft does. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± A guarded voice asked from the inside. ¡°We¡¯re closed.¡± ¡°We¡¯re customers,¡± Jinx countered. ¡°Then come back in the morning.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a matter of... ehem, urgency.¡± ¡°And this ain¡¯t a dottore¡¯s house, last I checked.¡± ¡°I think you¡¯ll want to hear us, Frank.¡± ¡°Do I know you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a friend of Shifty,¡± Whisper replied pointedly. There was pause and then a lock was heard clunking and the door cracked half-open. A bespectacled mid-aged Lorian, eyed them suspiciously. ¡°Walker is a god-darn thief,¡± He stated, pretending to be affronted. ¡°He steals everything that isn¡¯t nailed down, every time he comes over!¡± Or perhaps not? Hmm. Jinx cleared her throat. ¡°We¡¯re not that good friends,¡± She chanced. Frank, the jeweler, frowned. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°Can we come inside?¡± ¡°You lads are pretty well armed, for a social visit.¡± ¡°We¡¯re no thieves, Mr Frank.¡± ¡°You look like it, unnamed lass.¡± Jinx puffed her cheeks out frustrated. ¡°This is Zola and Soren. My name is¡­ Jinx. We¡¯re part of the Gallant Dogs.¡± Pretty much the whole outfit. ¡°Is that a new gang? Good grief,¡± The man griped. ¡°I pay good coin to you jackals. Leave me alone!¡± ¡°We¡¯re a mercenary company. Here to¡­¡± Think, Jinx ogled her eyes trying to come up with an idea. Something plausible. ¡°¡­we¡¯re here to make an order.¡± ¡°We are?¡± Soren asked dumbfounded. Frank¡¯s eyes though lit up, like the stars on the night sky. ¡°Custom jewelry are a costly affair,¡± He started, looking them up and down with renewed interest, before adding. "I dare say, the costliest." Oh Glen, sorry buddy, she thought. This lasted not even five minutes. ¡°We have the coin,¡± Jinx hissed, curling her lip upwards in an attempt at a smile, more a snarl. Frank, not minding the minutiae, cracked a big smile himself, showing a good number of gold teeth and one made of platinum. ¡°Well then,¡± He said warmly, his demeanor changing in an instant and opened the door to his workshop wide. ¡°You should¡¯ve started with that.¡±
87. Erlis pendant, a kiss and the key to a grave (2/3)
Jinx Erlis'' pendant, a kiss and the key to a grave Part II
¡°We¡¯re basically looking to have a badge made. Something to wear around the neck of sorts,¡± Jinx started, making it up as she went along. Soren frowned as much as a thick-browed man could, but Zola elbowed him in the kidneys just in time, to prevent him from asking something truly embarrassing. ¡°A gold badge,¡± Frank, now standing behind his counter said, opting for the most expensive order. ¡°Well, ahm¡­ was thinkin¡¯ something non discreet, like iron?¡± ¡°Gold is great,¡± Soren blurted out and Zola started chuckling. Frank pointed to the Northman all business. ¡°There¡¯s a lad, who knows his jewelry,¡± His eyes telling Whisper to better sit this one out. ¡°Ain¡¯t nothing better than gold, my good friend.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± Soren beamed, deeply moved at the kind words. Luthos is having a great time right now. ¡°Yes, well¡­ we are looking for three¡ª¡± ¡°Crafton should get one,¡± Zola intervened and Jinx threw her a hateful glare. ¡°Liko as well,¡± Soren added, still grinning. ¡°We should make one for all our friends, right?¡± Oh, for fucks sake. ¡°So, that would be five,¡± The Gish started again, Frank cutting in before she could finish. ¡°I have to make a special mold, depending on the engraving¡­ better to round it up, for all parties involved,¡± That would be his party mostly. ¡°Let¡¯s say ten. You¡¯re a big enterprise, I¡¯m sure. It¡¯s not polite, leaving people out in these matters,¡± He stared at her pensively. ¡°Alas, it creates division.¡± ¡°Aye!¡± That was Soren. Jinx narrowed her eyes. ¡°How much is this going to cost?¡± ¡°Eight silver for the work.¡± Okay, that wasn¡¯t incredibly steep. ¡°And you¡¯ll provide the gold,¡± Frank continued undaunted. ¡°If no gold is provided, I will have to procure it,¡± He eyed her behind his glasses. ¡°And you will cover the additional cost.¡± Ye nasty cunt, Whisper Jinx thought, in the mind to slit his throat open with her dagger, keep the gold to herself. She kinda wanted information though. ¡°Ahm, so for ten badges you¡¯ll need¡­¡± She murmured riffling through the contents of a heavy leather purse, she¡¯d produced. All kinds of coins in there, tons of copper, some silver, but not a single gold coin to save her life. Where had her money gone? Ah. It was that darn dog race! Stupid arse-sniffer much¡¯ve been drugged! ¡°Two gold Eagles, or three Dinars. The gold variant. For the work,¡± Frank patiently explained. ¡°Right, hmm¡­¡± Whisper put that purse in an inside waist pocket of her leather vest, popped a couple of buttons open and reached inside her inner shirt, under the scrutiny of those present. ¡°Apologies,¡± She said, a little self-conscious at all the attention. ¡°I keep the good stuff between the girls,¡± Jinx chuckled nervously, at Frank¡¯s raised eyebrow. ¡°Sometimes ye get hit there, you know and it hurts a lot. Not as much as getting¡¯ smacked on the tit that¡¯s right agony, but it¡¯s pretty uncomfortable.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take your word for it,¡± Frank commented keeping it professional, while she produced a second equally heavy purse, secured with a cord around her neck. ¡°How much coin you carry on ye, Pretty?¡± Zola asked stunned. ¡°Not too much,¡± Jinx lied and turned to Frank, two of Glen¡¯s square coins in hand. She placed them on the counter and Frank picked one of them up and brought it close to his face. ¡°Good grief,¡± The jeweler gasped, nigh impressed. ¡°Where did you get these?¡± Jinx narrowed her eyes. ¡°It¡¯s from my dowry,¡± She deadpanned, Soren¡¯s pained moan coming from the back. Frank, twisted his nose this way and that, glasses dancing and pushed the other towards her. ¡°One will suffice,¡± The jeweler replied. ¡°You don¡¯t see them much these days.¡± ¡°Why is that?¡± Frank, pushed the rim of his glasses up surprised. ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± ¡°Heard different things,¡± Jinx lied. ¡°Well, these were blank originally, only the edges had this pattern,¡± He showed her. ¡°Imperial coin, not minted anywhere these days, a Zilan currency of a more refined era, just like their jewelry.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Jinx nodded. ¡°So, the Realm¡¯s Banks and that¡¯s a Mclean & Merck engraved Eagle right there, have repurposed them for decades, at double the normal gold Eagle value, but they are slowly getting out of circulation,¡± Frank continued his diatribe. They had ripped Glen off, Jinx thought blinking.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. Hard. ¡°They are pretty rare,¡± He added, dropping the coin in a drawer and locking it. ¡°Okay then,¡± Whisper started. ¡°So what¡¯s the damage on the gold?¡± ¡°Depends on the quality, but keep in mind, with what¡¯s going on, it could take a while to get it from my supplier.¡± ¡°How long?¡± Frank shrugged his shoulders. Jinx looked at the square gold coin still on the counter. ¡°Can we use this?¡± ¡°Hah,¡± Frank guffawed. ¡°Sure, that¡¯s as good as you¡¯ll get.¡± Jinx kept her eyes on him, keeping her silence. The jeweler frowned. ¡°You¡¯re serious?¡± ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°How many of these you have?¡± Jinx snorted, then glanced behind her, where Soren and Zola pretended to be uninterested to their conversation, failing spectacularly and smacked her lips, tip of her tongue parked before her front teeth. She reached inside her purse again, Frank¡¯s eyes grew wide and a vein started throbbing on his left temple at the sight of the gold stack that had appeared on the counter. ¡°Will that be enough?¡± Whisper queried coolly. ¡°One badge per,¡± Frank managed to say, looking at all that gold. ¡°One per,¡± Jinx agreed with a smirk. ¡°And the whereabouts of Shifty Walker.¡± Frank pulled back from the counter. ¡°I don¡¯t know where he is,¡± He replied defensively. ¡°He has a meeting in a couple of minutes, behind your store.¡± It was one hell of a coincidence in her book. ¡°Bah, I¡¯ve no idea what yer talking about.¡± ¡°And I can pretend, I don¡¯t know about the coins true value,¡± Jinx countered. Frank paused amidst launching a fresh denial and frowned thinking about it. ¡°So when I say two¡­¡± The man started. Whisper separated a coin from the pile. ¡°I understand two,¡± She finished it for him. ¡°I¡¯m foreign, shit happens.¡± ¡°Right, a Gish,¡± Frank agreed with a nod, snatching the coin off the counter, before she changed her mind. ¡°You hate math, I suppose.¡± Jinx narrowed her eyes, half suspicion and half a desperate need to piss. She clasped her thighs together to reign it in, discomfort on her flushed face. ¡°I just need a concept,¡± The jeweler said, taking a blank vellum out and placing it on the counter, next to the pile of gold coins. ¡°Uh?¡± Jinx snapped, looking around for a place to do her business. ¡°What to engrave on the badge,¡± Frank explained patiently. ¡°I¡¯ll mold it, but we need to agree on a theme.¡± ¡°Right, ahm¡­¡± ¡°The name of your gang?¡± ¡°Mercenary company.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take your word for it,¡± Frank deadpanned. ¡°The name?¡± ¡°The Gallant Dogs,¡± Jinx said, through clenched teeth, feeling something trickling down her leg. For fuck¡¯s sake! ¡°So a canine¡­ head.¡± ¡°Hey!¡± Soren barked from behind. ¡°For that much coin, we want the whole dog, mister!¡± ¡°A dog,¡± Frank repeated. ¡°A prime idea.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± The Northman beamed. ¡°A wild dog, like the ones we fought,¡± Zola added dreamily, not to be outshined on the artistic department, everyone seeming ready to keep firing up ideas, until Jinx urinated all over herself before them. ¡°Is there a back door?¡± She asked, the busy writing down ideas jeweler. ¡°Why?¡± He asked without looking up. What the fuck? ¡°I need to use the girl¡¯s room?¡± ¡°There no such thing here,¡± The man replied a little affronted. ¡°Hahaha!¡± Soren exploded, finding it hilarious. ¡°Okay,¡± Whisper said with difficulty. ¡°A boys thingy?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a workshop, not an Inn!¡± Frank was fired up now and ready to go on a tirade, annoyed at the interruption. Jinx stopped him raising a hand, small beads of sweat on her forehead. ¡°So¡­ a back door?¡± Frank snorted, then pointed with a hand. ¡°Straight behind the staircase, you can¡¯t miss it.¡±
Naossis tits, I almost lost it in there, Jinx thought, letting it rip, while sitting down in the empty alley behind the workshop, a hand keeping her pants from the golden stream, the other wiping the tears of joy from her eyes. She sighed, the night cool on her naked arse, the feeling of fullness retreating, leaving only pleasure behind. Nothing better than peeing outside, Jinx mused. Well, unless ye do it in water, the time-tested Gish way. Then again being so horny out of the blue, or from just peeing, is ridiculous even for me. Although abnormal was the better word. Fuck. ¡°Had I known,¡± Shifty Walker said, his Lesia accent perfect. ¡°The treat I was about to receive; darling, I would¡¯ve dressed up for the occasion.¡± Oh, that¡¯s just great. Jinx raised her head and caught a glimpse of him stepping out of the shadows. He always picked the darkest spots to stand. Short, barely taller than her, his red-rimmed eyes gleaming in the dark. The scent of his lust smacked her right on the nostrils and made the flow of her piss wither and die. ¡°Hey Alix,¡± Jinx said and tried to get up, but the male Gish stopped her putting a hand on her shoulder, after covering the distance as fast as a leopard. ¡°It¡¯s the perfect spot, darling,¡± Alix ¡®Shifty¡¯ Walker whispered knowingly. ¡°Give me a sec, to shed these garbs.¡± ¡°Get that claw off me!¡± Jinx snapped, half panicked she¡¯d almost agreed with him. ¡°Goddess, I know it¡¯s my steely flesh thee prefer¡ª¡± ¡°No, I fuckin¡¯ don¡¯t!¡± Whisper bellowed, pushing him away, although she was more than a little aroused as previously established. The reason for it at least now clear. Gish tend to make everyone around them horny. ¡°You¡¯re in pain,¡± Alix agreed, voice smooth and sugary. He then lowered it to barely above a whisper in order to add; the emphasis strong. ¡°I can make yer need¡­ go away.¡± He¡¯d a whole pelvic move associated with the words, coming right after them, which he demonstrated shamelessly. Shifty was always lissome, she had to give him that. Jinx closed her eyes in despair, then remembering she had her cunt on full display, stooped fast and pulled her pants up, ill at ease. ¡°I¡¯m here on business,¡± She announced matter-of-factly. The male Gish blinked once, his expression changing. ¡°You¡¯re here to meddle wit my business,¡± He corrected it for her, in their species¡­ well, time tested manner.
88. Erlis pendant, a kiss and the key to a grave (3/3)
Jinx Erlis'' pendant, a kiss and the key to a grave Part III
¡°Pfft, yer business my arse,¡± Jinx cackled nervously, buttoning up her pants. ¡°Everyone knows ye stole Varwarin¡¯s pendant, it¡¯s on every god-darn board!¡± ¡°I was betrayed,¡± Alix replied, sounding troubled and reaching with a hand, got a pink curl out of her face casually. ¡°Someone in the Guild leaked it.¡± ¡°Who knew?¡± Jinx asked, pushing his hand away. ¡°No one. Well everyone, I reckon,¡± Walker relented. ¡°We¡¯re thieves. Always sniffing around on each other¡¯s business.¡± ¡°Right. There¡¯s that. How much does it worth?¡± ¡°How much is Elris paying to get it back?¡± Alix countered. ¡°His man said ¡®richly rewarded¡¯.¡± The male Gish raised a thick pink brow. A shade darker than Whisper¡¯s. ¡°That¡¯s vague.¡± ¡°It¡¯s an easy job. Wanna split up the prize? Sixty-forty.¡± Ladies get the bigger share. ¡°Was that yer plan?¡± Alix probed with a seductive grin. Jinx¡¯s plan was stealing it from him, given an opportunity. ¡°It wasn¡¯t fuckin¡¯ you, if yer asking.¡± ¡°Haha, darling stop lying to yerself,¡± Alix teased and stooped into her personal space, his voice lowering an octave. ¡°Give in to yer urges.¡± Jinx pushed him back with both hands, almost sending him down, but the thief recovered nimbly and stood up straight a couple of meters away. He raised his right hand, Jinx¡¯s leather purse dangling from two fingers. Ye slimy cunt, Whisper cursed. ¡°Ah. What¡¯s this then?¡± Alix announced theatrically, quickly perusing its contents, a smug smile on his lips. ¡°Hmm, darling there¡¯s not much here. Ye need someone to treat ye proper.¡± ¡°Give it back.¡± Jinx warned him. ¡°What for?¡± Walker asked, but tossed her the purse just the same. Jinx caught it out of the air and returned it to her pocket. ¡°You have the other one.¡± Whisper patted her chest alarmed and let out a sigh of relief finding Glen¡¯s coins still there. She turned her eyes on the smirking Gish. ¡°If ye take my stuff again, I¡¯ll kick you in the balls.¡± ¡°Mmm, yer mind is filthy, Goddess,¡± Alix replied and glanced inside the door leading inside the workshop. ¡°Who you got there?¡± ¡°Friends.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a diverse choice of lovers, Jinx.¡± ¡°They are not¡­ we work together,¡± She replied defensively. ¡°The Gallant Dogs,¡± Alix said, his tone sarcastic. ¡°Aye.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t this,¡± He paused unsure. ¡°Can we even call it a quest uh? Anyway, isn¡¯t it a little beneath a mercenary company?¡± ¡°We recently came into some problems.¡± ¡°Dante¡¯s plan?¡± Alix asked with a knowing stare. ¡°Dante¡¯s dead. The Cofols killed him near Hellfort,¡± Jinx answered, a lump in her throat. ¡°Apologies,¡± Walker frowned and looked at his boots. ¡°He was kind of a dick though,¡± He added, recovering his wit. Jinx cracked a sad smile, remembering their captain. ¡°True,¡± She sniffled, made to wipe her nose with the back of her hand and Alix, moving fast offered her a blue silk handkerchief. Jinx examined it impressed by its softness. The pattern on it, in white detail, just beautiful. It even had initials on it. ¡°Who¡¯s SV?¡± She probed, not really wanting to give it back. ¡°Sabrina Valwarin,¡± Alix replied casually and seeing her querying raised brow, added with a shrug. ¡°It was right there. Leaving it, would¡¯ve been a crime.¡±
¡°So why meet wit Pollock¡¯s men then?¡± Jinx asked, picking up her bow. She¡¯d left it at the back-wall of Frank¡¯s workshop and could feel Alix¡¯s lustful eyes on her behind, when she bend at the waist to get it. ¡°How do you¡­ ah, of course, Goddess is being playful,¡± The male Gish replied, trying to derail the conversation again. ¡°Was that you, back there?¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t me alone. Pollock had brought muscle. Answer the question.¡± ¡°The Vibrant Horns,¡± Walker said, dodging again. ¡°A brutal bunch, not much brains, but they¡¯re dangerous.¡± ¡°Alix, if you¡¯re trying to sell¡ª¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t,¡± The thief said simply. ¡°Selling it was never the first option.¡± Jinx crossed her arms on her chest. ¡°What¡¯s going on, Shifty?¡± Walker sighed and looked attentively to the end of the back alley, the Gish couple were standing into. Altarin had quieted down considerably as the night had taken its hold, but one could still hear a drunken customer, or other, milling about at the front of the building and the busy street that also held a bakery, a brothel, an inn and a clothing store going by the crafty name ¡®Vance¡¯s Silks¡¯ that had, despite what one might expect, strictly male clientele. Pretty had an eye on a pair of silk pants herself, a truly gorgeous pink color on them, but the owner was guarding his wares like a hawk and she hadn¡¯t had the chance to try them on yet. ¡°You know people say, ye can¡¯t cross the Pale Mountains?¡± The Guild¡¯s thief finally said, the query at the end of it delivered, with a hint of razz. ¡°I heard it; don¡¯t see why ye¡¯ll want to, when there¡¯s a route from the sea,¡± Whisper said, shaking her head. Alix will go the roundabout way it seems, before getting to it. ¡°They are not Gish, darling. People are afraid of rocks and water,¡± Alix replied. He¡¯d sneakily cut the distance between them once more and Jinx felt the warm palm of his hand, rest on her fit arse¡¯s left cheek, all casual. ¡°Get to the point, Alix,¡± Jinx warned him, swatting his mitt away. ¡°Well, Framtond did wit his crew. Found the way that is. Reinut before him.¡± ¡°Wow, ye went way back now.¡± ¡°I did,¡± Walker clicked his tongue and gave her a naughty wink. Jinx rolled her eyes. He wasn¡¯t going to stop flirting, it wasn¡¯t an option for him. ¡°One of them was Elris ancestor, according to him. He brought treasure back in Altarin, left Ebenezer Framtond continue his endless adventuring and retired a very rich man.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a nice story.¡± ¡°It gets better.¡± ¡°The Pendant?¡± Jinx guessed. ¡°Aye. Word is Reinut used a secret underground path to escape Wetull, sealed off the tunnels, when he made it across, leaving a good number of his men trapped inside and one of his famed Issir commanders. No one found the entrance again, but for Framtond that is, who called it ¡®Ingram¡¯s Grave¡¯ in his book.¡± That didn¡¯t sound ominous at all, Whisper thought sulking. No sane Gish likes strolling under the earth. ¡°Framtond and Erlis¡¯ ancestor, I venture,¡± Jinx opted to point out instead, wanting to speed this along, before hormones got the better of her. ¡°Aye,¡± Alix said and as if on que, went for a sneaky peck. Whisper dodged with her head, found the thief¡¯s hand waiting for her cheek, index finger caressing her right ear and hissed in frustration. Walker¡¯s eyes stayed on her, oozing understanding. ¡°We can talk about it more, Goddess, or we can make sweet love under these moons and turn this dull night into somethin¡¯ unforgettable.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s talk,¡± Jinx croaked, twisting away from him. ¡°What do you want to know?¡± Walker asked, a little disappointed. ¡°You think there¡¯s treasure there?¡± ¡°Everyone knows there¡¯re untold treasures in the Blasted Lands.¡±The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°It¡¯s a foolish endeavor,¡± Jinx pointed. ¡°And you¡¯re a thief.¡± Alix chuckled. ¡°Who isn¡¯t?¡± Touch¨¦. ¡°What does the pendant do?¡± The thief shrugged his shoulders. ¡°I¡¯ve no clue. Erlis boasted, to a number of prominent people at an event last month, that it can unlock the entrance. Open a way to all those riches. The audience was impressed enough to talk about it some more.¡± ¡°What changed? Why meet wit Pollock?¡± Alix grimaced. ¡°War. Traveling through Raoz, let¡¯s say, isn¡¯t that safe now.¡± ¡°You hoped to reach the Pale Mountains? Wow, that¡¯s a journey and a half, Alix. How about a ship?¡± Jinx probed, a little impressed. ¡°I¡¯m of means darling, but I ain¡¯t a mogul. Anyway no ship is leaving Altarinport, with all that¡¯s happened.¡± Jinx stood back, a small pout forming on her mouth. Alix noticed it. ¡°The undisputed goddess of passion and feminine splendor has an idea? I knew you¡¯ll have something. Ye always do. What is it? Where have yer journeys brought ye?¡± Jinx cleared her throat, blushing furiously at the lavish praise. While expecting it, remaining unaffected wasn¡¯t always easy. A Gish will eventually wear down your defenses. She opened her mouth to tell him, about ancient square gold coins, pirates and naval battles, dwarfs and Zilans, a Wyvern¡¯s egg and the shiftiest Lord¡¯s scion, she ever called a friend, but saw Osbert¡¯s bulk appearing at the end of the alley, a large spiked club in hand and turned all this, into a sharp warning. ¡°Those cunts are back!¡±
¡°Run darling!¡± Shifty shouted in response and she glanced back, caught him running the other way and into Calm Pollock¡¯s cutlass. ¡°STAY N¡¯ HELP ME YE CUNT!¡± Jinx blasted him and loosed an arrow on the onrushing Osbert. She nailed him through the forearm, because he parried with it, the large man howling in pain. ¡°NOT MY PLAN!¡± Alix fired back, dodging Calm¡¯s swing, cursing right after that realizing their attackers had blocked the other end as well. Jinx reached for another arrow sidestepping, the alley too narrow to maneuver freely, Hopper almost catching her with a dagger. The blade went over her shoulder, bounced off of a wall and landed between her legs. Whisper raised her bow, arrow nocked, but Sour put a hand on it that solemn pensive look still on his face. Jinx cursed and let go of her bow, stooped to grab the dagger instead. Heard someone coming as she did and caught sight of Osbert charging her like a bull. Fuck me standing. Sour jumped out of the way, her bow still in his hands, his orcish friend grazing him enough to catapult the smaller man on the brick wall, head first. There was a crack and a pained moan and then all Jinx could see was Big Osbert¡¯s stupid enraged face. A crashing thud and all air was knocked out of her, feet losing the ground, head thrown back and arms flailing mad as she was hurled away like a ragdoll. Again. This is utterly ridiculous, Jinx thought mid-flight, seeing the world from above, before landing on Calm¡¯s back and take him down, the man in the process of skewering Alix in the ribs. The male Gish was busy defending against Fourteeth Chane and managed to miss the whole thing. ¡°Gah!¡± Whisper groaned, legs pointing upwards, right on Calm¡¯s neck, face almost buried in the man¡¯s buttocks. The stench devastating. She kicked and scratched to get away from him, untangling turning into a hilarious ordeal and got punched between the tits, when she finally did, by an infuriated Osbert. Glen¡¯s coins digging into her flesh and her skin splitting at the impact. ¡°Arggh!¡± Jinx cried fully mad now, landing on her poor back again; the hard road full of fuckin¡¯ pebbles! ¡°Ye stupid cunt!¡± ¡°That¡¯s for me eye,¡± Osbert said, voice dripping with malice. ¡°Twas an accident!¡± Jinx snapped, getting her dagger out with one hand, the other assessing the damage with a manic scowl. ¡°Have ye no shame, fightin¡¯ a girl?¡± ¡°Yer no girl, freak,¡± The Orc said, the sound of the workshop¡¯s door slamming open interrupting his stupid smirk. ¡°Did ye just call my friend a freak?¡± Soren asked stepping out, a mountain of flesh himself and twice as muscled as Osbert, nasty war axe in hand. ¡°Apologize, or else.¡± ¡°You! Ye work wit that freak?¡± Osbert growled and made to swing his club with his right arm, the other still having Jinx¡¯s arrow stuck through it. A whoosh was heard, something zapping above Soren¡¯s armoured shoulder, the bolt nailing Osbert right in the chest and all but disappearing inside it. Soren frowned and looked behind his broad back. ¡°What?¡± A pissed off Zola was heard. ¡°I just saved yer arse, dear!¡±
Big Osbert collapsing on the cobblestone road and the thud that ensued, paused the hostilities. Zola coming out of the workshop to stand on Soren¡¯s side, armed crossbow in hands, helping as well. ¡°What is this?¡± Calm griped getting up, a hand on his hurt spine. ¡°You¡¯ve killed a member of the Vibrant Horns, you stupid fucks!¡± ¡°You attacked us first,¡± Jinx replied, still rubbing her chest. ¡°The Gallant Dogs don¡¯t take kind to threats Pollock.¡± ¡°How do ye know my name?¡± He asked frowning. ¡°This is Horns territory, ye stupid wench.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a Gish,¡± Jinx replied, walking the small distance to pick up her bow from the hands of the unconscious Hopper. ¡°Working for Lord Reeves,¡± She paused to let her words sink in. ¡°Who I believe, owns the city.¡± ¡°The old Lord is dead,¡± Calm countered, narrowing his eyes. Behind him Fourteeth eyed Shifty and the thief shrugged his shoulders. ¡°The new one isn¡¯t,¡± Whisper replied with a smug smirk, hoping Glen hadn¡¯t kicked the bucket. ¡°The Dogs work for him. This¡­ is over.¡± Calm scrunched his mouth this way and that and glanced at Soren once, before pointing a finger at an amused Walker. ¡°This man is a thief and a known scoundrel. He stole Elris Valwarin¡¯s pendant.¡± ¡°No I didn¡¯t,¡± Shifty protested, looking affronted. ¡°Yer spreadin¡¯ lies, sir.¡± ¡°What? Didn¡¯t you ask for a meetin¡¯ to talk about it?¡± Calm Pollock snapped angry. ¡°To see what you knew about the deed!¡± Alix exclaimed and looking towards Jinx winked once. ¡°Everyone knows yer shady dealings Calm. It is time to come clean.¡± ¡°Bah!¡± Pollock snarled, in frustration. ¡°This isn¡¯t over. I will report to Erlis and he¡¯ll have word wit this Lord Reeves!¡± ¡°Tell him about yer dealings wit the Vibrant Horns as well,¡± Alix taunted. ¡°That will go well I¡¯m sure.¡±
¡°Hahaha,¡± A delighted and much relieved Alix exploded, the moment they returned to Frank¡¯s store, after Pollock and his goons left taking Sour with them, but leaving Osbert for the rats. ¡°That was a brilliant tale, goddess! Brilliant!¡± ¡°Who the hells is this guy?¡± Zola asked, sounding miffed. ¡°That¡¯s Shifty,¡± Frank replied, without raising his head from his sketching, ¡°Stay clear, or he¡¯ll rob you blind.¡± ¡°The thief?¡± Zola exclaimed, raising her brows. Her expression turning to wonder, when Alix pushed his hood back to reveal his pinkish head. ¡°Is that a Gish?¡± ¡°Alix Walker, at yer service milady,¡± He announced proudly, gliding the distance between them and all but swallowing a stunned Zola¡¯s hand in his. Shifty brought it to his mouth and kissed it ardently, taking care to touch every knuckle with his lips. ¡°Yer ebony magnificence, all but blinded poor me, dear.¡± ¡°Aww,¡± Zola cooed, fluttering her lashes all warmed up. ¡°You are very kind, Mister Walker.¡± ¡°Why do ye look like, Pretty?¡± Soren asked, not likening Shifty¡¯s attention to Zola, nor her reaction to his advances. Are ye fuckin¡¯ kiddin¡¯ me wit this? ¡°He doesn¡¯t,¡± Jinx protested vehemently, more than a little jealous herself. ¡°He has no tits, for starters!¡± ¡°Even if I did, they would be put to shame at the presence of such firmness,¡± Alix threw her another wink and turning to a still flushed Zola, added, his voice lowering an octave. ¡°Or opulent bountifulness.¡± Oh, for Goddess sake! ¡°Enough!¡± Jinx barked, wanting to put an end to this, before it turned into an orgy, or a brawl. ¡°We have a shitstorm in our hands!¡±
¡°Let me get this straight,¡± Zola started, after Jinx managed a half-arsed explanation of what had occurred earlier. ¡°He¡­¡± ¡°Alix,¡± Walker corrected her, with a knowing stare. Zola cleared her throat, her gleaming eyes drifting down the ¨Cstraight-standing chest pushed out- thief¡¯s torso, before continuing. ¡°Alix, ahm¡­ has the pendant.¡± ¡°I do. Onyx deity.¡± ¡°He does,¡± Jinx said, cutting in whatever that was. ¡°But it¡¯s not useful to us, unless we want to up and go search for a treasure in the other end of the Realm.¡± Soren frowned at her words and even Frank, still busy drawing, paused and lifted his head up. Zola licked her lips slowly eyeing a smirking Alix and Jinx seeing this going completely the wrong way sighed deeply. ¡°Guys, we can¡¯t exactly traverse the land freely. There¡¯s a war going on and all this, is but a story told over cocktails during a fancy dinner.¡± ¡°You know of a way, goddess,¡± Alix said, but of course he didn¡¯t stop there. ¡°Share with us, yer knowledge, so we can then indulge ourselves in carnal ecstasy. The night beckons.¡± Zola flushed up even more, Soren reached for his war axe, but it was Frank that put everything in context. ¡°Not in my workshop, you won¡¯t.¡± ¡°Another venue, can be easily arranged,¡± Alix countered, unwilling to give up that easy. ¡°We may have a boat,¡± Jinx blurted out, running out of options. ¡°In Altarin?¡± Alix probed, interest piqued. ¡°A ship, in Altarinport. Lord Reeves ship.¡± The male Gish blinked, not expecting the answer. ¡°You know Lord Reeves¡¯ heir? It wasn¡¯t a ruse?¡± He asked, kneeling before her. ¡°Goddess, thee are magnificent!¡± Jinx scratched her head a little embarrassed at the display. ¡°Well, it¡¯s no big deal,¡± She paused and returned the thief¡¯s stare. ¡°Other than¡­ we need to find him first.¡± ¡°The Lord is missing?¡± The Gish said, getting up. ¡°Kind of.¡± ¡°Are the Gallant Dogs to search for him then?¡± Alix asked, looking at their group. ¡°We haven¡¯t agreed¡­¡± Zola started, with Soren talking over her, an excited grin on his face. ¡°Aye, we made badges for everyone!¡± ¡°Badges?¡± Shifty inquired, eyeing the jeweler. ¡°They are not made yet,¡± The crafter replied. ¡°Are the gold coins for them?¡± Alix asked, having spotted the pile in front of him. He probably had the moment they got inside, which explained part of his behavior, Jinx thought. ¡°The coins, will be the badges,¡± Frank replied simply and opening his drawer dropped the pile inside, locking it. ¡°Gold badges,¡± Alix gasped in shock, sucking air hard through his tiny nostrils and turned his red-rimmed eyes on Jinx. ¡°What do I have to do, to get one?¡± Other than stealing it, was his meaning. ¡°Join the Gallant Dogs,¡± She deadpanned. ¡°Risk life ¡®n limb on shitty missions, spit in the face of danger and follow questionable plans until yer last breath. My plans.¡± There is no way, Shifty Walker, of all fuckin¡¯ people, will ever do it, she thought. And as frequently goes with plans hatched by the Gish, this world over, she was dead wrong.
89. The world has changed
Aelrindel The world has changed
The Realm sang for her to wake up, from the large open window leading outside. Birds and trees, flowers and the sandy wind coming from the desert, all in perfect sync. Lenar moved to oblige them, sliding over to the side of the big bed, until she reached the edge and planted both her feet on the lush white carpet underneath. She paused there for a few moments, drowsy eyes on her almost perfectly round breast, now freed from her sheer nightgown, the nipple on it swollen, where the Prince had worked it with his teeth. The skin around it a shocking and unhealthy angry dark-red, almost black. Lenar hissed in frustration and got up to walk towards the balcony. Exited pushing aside the heavy drapes, the strong sun washing over her lithe body, the rich aroma of the lavish flower garden, arranged in large marble containers, intoxicating. From light-purple almost pink geranium, to potunias, naughty bougainvillea and even lush white night-jasmine. ¡°Alurae.¡± Lenar said, as her fingers dug into the soft flower soil, wanting to repair the damage. Her skin flamed up, a sheen of sweat damping her flimsy clothes, the sound of someone approaching, stopping her at the very last moment. She pulled away frustrated and looked to see, who the intruder was. ¡°What happened?¡± Wulan asked -always perceptive- and Lenar proceeded to show her, turning around fully. Her servant stared at the damaged flesh with keen eyes, then at Lenar¡¯s dirty fingers and finally the beautiful mini flower garden behind her. ¡°It will heal,¡± She declared simply. ¡°His seed was strong, it seems.¡± ¡°How do you know?¡± Lenar hissed, not fully trusting her judgement. ¡°I enjoy copulating, way more than you, Mistress. Passion and pain are entwined.¡± Which of course wasn¡¯t an answer at all. ¡°Just let my flowers live, Mistress. Please, I just finished this bunch,¡± Wulan pleaded, seeing her not convinced. ¡°Hmm.¡± Wulan reached, carefully covered the soft exposed mount and rearranged the strap to keep everything in place, under the Zilan female''s scrutiny. ¡°Are you thinking of it right now? Copulating?¡± Lenar probed curious. ¡°Yes, Mistress,¡± Wulan replied, her eyes lowering to the floor. ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± Lenar advised and with a last look towards the colorful flower arrangement, she added. ¡°I shall visit the lake.¡± ¡°Mistress, is it wise?¡± ¡°It¡¯s either that, or I¡¯ll start killing servants, starting with your friends in the kitchen.¡± The thought of tender flesh making her mouth water, the dark need never too far away. Wulan sighed, understanding the stakes. ¡°Lake it is then, Mistress,¡± She droned.
Lenar hoped to avoid any preying eyes on her way out of Yin Xiyan¡¯s palace and she was successful for the most part, using a light long cloak as cover and barely any magic. Barely, because upon reaching the narrow dirt road leading to Lake Utari, she put a guard to sleep with a song, the man collapsing on the second verse and almost impaling himself on his spear. Dance not, o¡¯ sweet honey-dipped fairy, over the fire¡¯s might Let go ¡®n sleep in thine gentle embrace, o¡¯ summer¡¯s night Obviously this could have gone better. Lenar left him behind and walked the usually empty path, the small road not preferred by the locals, this part of Desert Lake considered too dangerous. The terrain changed as she approached the thick copse, the throngs of palm trees turning everything green around her and the dry sandy path turning to muddy soil. Where it ended, two figures were standing in the middle of it, barring her from reaching the lake¡¯s emerald waters.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. One of them was Suharto, probably the last person Lenar wanted to meet up close and personal. The other strangely, was another Aken, of all accursed things, as if one wasn¡¯t¡­ one too many. The Shaman noticed her approach and signed for his colleague to stop talking. Both of them stood tall, their elongated bodies awkward and ungraceful. The second Aken, was missing at least two fingers Lenar could see, from his left hand, the rest of them clasped on his long staff. A nigh disconcerting detail. Well, for a lesser Zilan perhaps. ¡°I felt your approach from afar, your Grace,¡± Suharto hissed, the words coming out jumbled, his accent atrocious. Bullshit you did. ¡°It¡¯s a sunny day,¡± Lenar replied with a hint of razz, stopping three meters away from them. Close enough. Proceeding to add, her tone unchanged. ¡°The road empty of other people and I¡¯m hardly small in size.¡± Though graceful aplenty. ¡°Wit, is the sin of the privileged,¡± Suharto retorted. She could barely understand his mumblings. ¡°And the living,¡± Lenar deadpanned, just the same. ¡°Are Aken deprived of it?¡± Whether she meant wit, or life, left purposefully vague. The second male Aken, narrowed his snake eyes, nostrils expanding as he sucked air in with greed. Tasting her scent. ¡°What do you think?¡± Suharto asked him and his atrociously ugly friend grunted, a forked tongue wetting his mauve lips. Deep red, dancing over a jaw painted white. ¡°She has magic, sire,¡± The man hissed. ¡°How interesting.¡± ¡°Grogoceq agrees, your Grace,¡± Suharto said, with a twisted smirk. ¡°Hah, as if this thing¡¯s word matters.¡± Lenar taunted, opening her hands wide and letting her essence spread towards the lake. Reaching out, she sang and the lake¡¯s inhabitants heeded to her call. ¡°Is he even real?¡± ¡°He¡¯s my best student,¡± Suharto spat insulted. ¡°You¡¯re in over your head, your Grace,¡± He patted the blackened bone hang from his neck. ¡°Your silly spells, won¡¯t work on us.¡± ¡°Pfft, you poor sod,¡± Lenar replied undaunted, ¡°You haven¡¯t seen my spells yet, nor you¡¯re aware of who you¡¯re talking to,¡± Grogoceq snarled and raised his staff, the lengthy weapon not sufficiently long to reach her, but the sinuous man seemed fast enough, to cut into the distance. ¡°And as for my song, well¡­ that wasn¡¯t for you.¡± Suharto narrowed his eyes, just as Nimra¡¯s low menacing growl coming from behind them, alarmed both her opponents to the danger and the fact she wasn''t there without allies of her own. ¡°Do you think, she¡¯ll let you take her bones?¡± Lenar asked them and Grogoceq seemed to seriously consider it, before the older Aken stopped him, with a click of his tongue. ¡°How?¡± Suharto inquired turning to her. ¡°There¡¯s no spell¡ª¡± ¡°That you know of,¡± Lenar cut him, her voice turning serious. Her real form shedding the illusion, silver eyes shining brighter than the sun. ¡°Outing me to the Khan, would be nigh ruinous for your plans, Aken.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a¡­¡± Suharto mumbled stumbling back, Nimra¡¯s growl, reverberating at the edges of the copse they were standing, a reminder to keep still. ¡°How?¡± ¡°Not everyone was killed,¡± Lenar replied with a shrug. ¡°Does this make you sad?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a reasonable person.¡± ¡°This, I find hard to believe, but I¡¯ll allow it for expediency.¡± ¡°You wish no retribution then?¡± Suharto asked, more than a little surprised. For what? Most of the blame, lies with me. You overrate your role in it. As for your reptile schemes, they were always squashed by the Empire. No Zilan ever worried about your degenerate species. Dangerous, but not too worrisome. Other than the fact, there was no Empire anymore, which of course made things, a little more complicated. ¡°Enlighten me, why I should.¡± The Aken shaman offered her another malformed smirk. ¡°I misspoke. You shouldn¡¯t. Our businesses aren¡¯t at odds, your Grace.¡± Now that was worrying, she thought. ¡°What business is that?¡± Lenar probed, steel in her voice. ¡°Trivial,¡± Suharto downplayed it. ¡°A mere attempt at seeing the Realm in my waning years. Bask at its potential, peacefully.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a war going on, right now,¡± She countered. ¡°Not our war, not at this point,¡± Suharto replied, with another worried glance at the watching Nimra lion. She was close enough to reach them with a leap. ¡°We shall let you and... ehem, your friend, indulge in thy afternoon swim, your Grace.¡± The latter a veiled warning. The slip of the tongue done on purpose. Next time she¡¯ll meet with them, they would be better prepared. This was planned ahead of time and while she boasted plenty to rattle them, the Aken were never that brazen, nor brave to begin with. Cunning was their biggest strength and vile death magic. Seeing both of them here on Eplas, meant the world as she knew it, was changing. Even worse, it perhaps had changed already. And Aelrindel had missed it.
90. No grease off his brow
Glen No grease off his brow
There¡¯s one thing, you don¡¯t want waking ye up, one word, yer not likening to hear, when yer out camping under the stars, not a care in the world. Perhaps one of two things, or even three, second being a ruffian¡¯s rusted blade, the other the stench of a fuckin¡¯ Wyvern, but whatever the case may be, or the order of them, it¡¯s important enough to mention here, and to make ye jump up scared shitless, just like the others. No distinction. ¡°WOLF!¡± That was Stiles, with the late night hysterics. Glen gasped and forced his eyes open, blackness all around, but for some stars on the sky, even those partially dimmed, under the almost full moon''s luminesce. Both of them. The young man stumbled half-blind to his knees, searching for his sword, fingers knocking the leather sheath away once, before getting a grip on it, jaw gleaming wet from drool and heart thundering wild in his chest. Luthos offer fuckin'' assistance! ¡°Where?¡± He bellowed more scared than angry, trying to get his bearings, the only other light coming from the almost out campfire. ¡°THERE!¡± Stiles shouted, twice as scared as him. Glen got to his feet, the others scrabbling to wake up all around. ¡°WAS EATIN'' ME BLOODY FOOT!¡± Good grief, Luthos cock got cockrot! Glen squinted his eyes to catch a glimpse of the moving predator, hands clasping the handle of the longsword so hard, the knuckles hurt. He heard the animal trotting, which was weird, and then something jumped over the campfire straight at him, which was right scary, a big mass of pelt, black eyes gleaming on a black head, with two large horns protruding. What in the... Fuck it. The young thief swung with all his might in the beast¡¯s general direction, not really aiming and felt the blade connect with a thud and biting it deep. It was followed by a desperate wail of pain that teared at the stillness of the night, as the animal went flying over his left shoulder and crashed down. BAA! More a hapless bleat, than a menacing howl. BAAA! Wait. ¡°The fuck was that!¡± Glen snapped infuriated, steaming blood all over his coat and face. Marcus, the one closer to the thrashing animal, stooped over to finish it off, dagger in hand. ¡°A stray ram, I reckon,¡± He said. Glen blinked and looked at Stiles with hate filled eyes. The former pirate frowned and sensing he was in trouble, attempted to defend himself. ¡°Look at its head! LOOK! All black ¡®n shit!¡± ¡°It¡¯s a god-darn sheep!¡± Glen blasted him, all the tension from violently waking up, spilling out. ¡°Ye stupid coward! Who gets scared by a plaguin¡¯ sheep?¡± He added, although Glen had gotten plenty scared himself, not a minute ago. ¡°That¡¯s unlike any sheep I know!¡± Stiles insisted, not convinced. ¡°It has hooves and no plaguin¡¯ fangs!¡± Glen fired back, wanting to strangle the fool, for scaring the living crap out of him. Stiles approached, still guarded, the dead animal and looked at it with suspicious eyes. He let out a sigh of relief, when he finished his brief examination. It was bloody obvious, this was no wolf. It never was, nor will it ever be. ¡°Apologies, I¡¯ve been sailing for ten straight years, milord,¡± He said, bowing deeply. It took Glen a hot minute to translate ''sailing'' into common. ¡°That¡¯s the lamest excuse I¡¯ve ever heard,¡± Marcus commented, beating Glen to the punch. Stiles turned on him. ¡°What? I can name ten different fish, afore any animal¡ª¡± ¡°I thought ye were a pirate,¡± Marcus countered. "Not a fisherman." ¡°I resent yer innuendo sir! We frequently went on fishin¡¯ runs¡ª¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m not buying that,¡± The ex-sergeant cut him off mid-sentence. Glen sighed and used a sleeve to wipe some of the sheep¡¯s blood from his face. In a sense Stiles incessant twaddle had defused his anger. ¡°Right,¡± He glanced at the night sky, hoping to discern the time, but failed as he knew fuck all about celestial¡­ navigation, or something. ¡°Sleep¡¯s out of the question, I guess.¡± Marcus grunted and pointed at the carcass. ¡°I¡¯m skinnin¡¯ that proper,¡± He said. ¡°And preparing a roast.¡± Glen frowned at first, but then his stomach growled alike a real wolf and he licked his lips coming around to the idea. ¡°Stiles, you¡¯ll eat the leftover dry pork and biscuit,¡± Glen ordered his manservant, who immediately attempted to protest eagerly. In all likelihood, because there was more mold than meat, on that stuff. ¡°Milord, I¡¯d also like to partake¡ª¡± But Glen would have none of that. Ye mess up, ye pay the piper. ¡°Nonsense, we can¡¯t have ye dive into red meat so soon,¡± He declared with a sly smirk. ¡°Better to be safe Stiles, than sorry.¡± ¡°Measure thrice, but cut once,¡± Norec agreed, with Marcus adding another nugget of wisdom. ¡°Hasty climbers, have abrupt falls.¡± Glen whipped his head and glared at him. ¡°What does that even mean?¡± Marcus shrugged his broad shoulders. ¡°It¡¯s a Legion dictum, milord; of the engineerin¡¯ corps.¡± And that was that.
A week into their journey the group broke out of Norhwall Heights, the wind picking up, but the cold lessening. On their right stood a barren plateau, the mountain spine continuing on their left and straight ahead the land opened up as far as the eye could see. An endless dry grassy plain, the land flat, with not even a single tree visible for miles. The Cofol Steppe dominated the center of Eplas, the water sources scant and much sought after. While there were caravans following the few roads, most of the expanse was empty savage space, where once upon a time the Horselords rode free. ¡°Good grief,¡± Glen, his coat collar raised and buttoned high to combat the blasting wind, griped. ¡°Now what, mister Fikumin?¡± The dwarf standing next to him, his head just over Glen¡¯s left knee, snorted. The sound produced by that nose, thunderous. ¡°It¡¯s obvious, the Aken escaped us.¡± ¡°Or ye know, he¡¯s fully dead,¡± Glen retorted, with a grimace. ¡°Not surprising, if ye consider you pulverized his head, after ye killed him!¡± That part of their story, never sat right with him. ¡°A task, no one enjoyed,¡± Norec commented, with a scowl. That dwarf was a barrel of laughs, Glen thought shaking his head. Empty. ¡°Right then,¡± He noted, checking about him, before spotting the pirate hiding behind Marcus. ¡°Stiles!¡± ¡°Ye need me, Milord?¡± ¡°No, I called to see if yer sleepin¡¯ on yer feet again!¡± ¡°Not recently, milord.¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough!¡± Glen barked, grinding his teeth. ¡°We need a bloody horse,¡± He explained to speed this along, pausing to think about it some under everyone¡¯s scrutiny, before adding. ¡°Make that several. That¡¯s a lot of¡­ ground to cover on foot.¡± As a matter of fact, he refused to walk another meter. ¡°Where yer goin¡¯ to find a mount?¡± Marcus probed. ¡°Ahm, a town?¡± Glen turned to Fikumin. ¡°Where¡¯s the nearest town, dwarf?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Fikumin deadpanned. Glen blinked. ¡°You don¡¯t? Is this a joke?¡± ¡°No Lord Reeves, it¡¯s not.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t ye Lord Reeves me, ye sneaky piece of shit¡ª¡± ¡°Milord,¡± Marcus interrupted him. Glen turned his head to the veteran, furious. ¡°Next he¡¯ll tell us, he has no clue where we are!¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t visited Eplas before,¡± Fikumin admitted, looking at them. ¡°It changes naught.¡± Huh? ¡°Of course it does!¡± Glen exploded, his eyes watering, the wind blasting in them. ¡°Fuck! What the hells are we doing here? What is this shit?¡± ¡°Milord,¡± Marcus cut in again and a vein popped on Glen¡¯s temple, his knees weakening, as if he just had an aneurysm. ¡°WHAT?¡± He blasted the ex-sergeant. The man pointed a finger towards the plateau. ¡°There¡¯s smoke rising over there,¡± He explained. ¡°It could be a village, I reckon.¡± Glen couldn¡¯t see anything, through the tears. Small pieces of cut grass and dirt kept bombarding his red eyes, all but blinding him. ¡°You sure? Well, ahm¡­¡± He managed to say, trying to wipe his face and failing again, lowered his neck even more under the raised collar of his coat, leaving only the top part of his unruly head showing. A trick he¡¯d learned from Jinx. It was surprisingly quiet in there and Glen felt safe. ¡°Is there another plan, milord?¡± The man tacitly inquired a moment later, realizing the young thief wasn¡¯t going to speak again. There wasn¡¯t.
The best thing these dwellings had going for them was being round. It was an unusual choice and that was just about it. They had no windows, but for an opening on their thatch roofs that let the smoke come out. The doors were narrow, crudely made, the walls out of mud and a bit of stone. Everything a washed out brown, the color of sickly gold. The village had one dirt road running through its middle point sort of, and the number of dwellings that was around twenty, were all different from each other, both in size and architecture. The latter an euphemism, if there ever was one. Glen puffed his cheeks out, looking over his raised collar, less than impressed. Shroudcoast was a grant city in front of this, he mused gloomy.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Stiles standing next to him, raised a hand holding a cut of roasted lamb from the other day, a white piece of bone still attached and chewed on it carefully. Seeing his glare, he paused unsure. ¡°It¡¯s almost stale,¡± He obviously lied. ¡°Have at it,¡± Glen replied, not in the mood to start another row with him. ¡°Let me do the talkin¡¯,¡± Marcus said from the front of their group, Fikumin standing next to him, with Norec bringing up the rear. One of the Cofols that watched them approach, broke out of their group to talk to them. He¡¯d a woolen cap on his head, his grey hairs thinning and wore leather armour that was once decent. ¡°Where are ye fellas going?¡± The man asked in passable common. ¡°Greetings,¡± Marcus replied, a good head taller than the local and twice as big, he looked nigh intimidating. ¡°We¡¯re adventurers good people¡­ is there a name for this place?¡± ¡°Refuge Moon,¡± The man replied. ¡°I¡¯m Sameer, son of Talwar.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Marcus Saunio, former Decanus of the Legion,¡± Marcus introduced himself. Damn, Glen thought. All this time I thought the man was a mere sergeant, haha. ¡°Is that a Folk you have there?¡± Sameer queried. ¡°Haven¡¯t seen one, in a long minute.¡± ¡°Fikumin Flintfoot, is our guide,¡± Marcus explained. ¡°That so? Well, it¡¯s yer team, I suppose,¡± Eyeing the rest of them, all curious. ¡°Ye lads walked from¡­¡± ¡°Altarin,¡± Marcus replied. ¡°We had horses, but they didn¡¯t make it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a big journey,¡± Sameer commented, looking back towards the group of unsavory Cofols watching them like hawks. ¡°Ye have done lots of adventuring, I reckon.¡± ¡°We¡¯re looking for horses, if ye had any to spare.¡± ¡°We have a troop o¡¯ them, lots of horses on the plains,¡± Sameer remarked. ¡°Ye plan on payin¡¯ for the trouble?¡± ¡°Depends on the price,¡± Glen intervened, being fresh out of coins kind of forced his hand. Sameer shrugged his shoulders, scrunching his mouth. ¡°Are ye the leader then, lad?¡± ¡°Are you?¡± Glen countered. ¡°No leaders here. On the plains, all men are free.¡± ¡°I thought this is Khanate land.¡± There was a murmur from the men at the back. ¡°We¡¯re Horselords, young lad. Not Khan¡¯s lackeys.¡± ¡°Name¡¯s Glenavon.¡± ¡°Planning on payin¡¯ for the horses, Glenavon?¡± Sameer inquired. ¡°We¡¯re a small community here, plagued by bandits. Both Khan¡¯s men and others.¡± ¡°We¡¯re no bandits,¡± Glen replied confidently, without batting an eyelash. ¡°All bandits claim that,¡± Sameer replied. ¡°But the moment we turn our head, they knife us in the back and steal our animals.¡± ¡°How recent was this?¡± Fikumin queried, with a frown. Sameer spared him a glance. ¡°Just yesterday, they stole Banspal¡¯s herd.¡± ¡°Aye! They did,¡± Banspal presumably, called from the back. A thin man covered in old leathers, skin not much different from his weather-beaten face. Glen narrowed his eyes, not likening where this was going. ¡°When ye say herd,¡± Marcus probed sounding oblivious. ¡°Ye mean, yer horses?¡± ¡°I mean our cows and our sheep,¡± The man corrected him and Glen flinched though he expected it, catching out of the corner of his eye Stiles stop chewing on the roast and putting the incriminating piece in a side pocket. It was impressive how the former pirate kept his composure, but not as impressive as him swallowing whole, what he had in his mouth.
¡°Wow,¡± Glen exclaimed, his being the better overall reaction, from their small group. ¡°Who would do that?¡± His expertise on the topic of lying your arse off, showing. ¡°Hmm,¡± Marcus murmured, scratching his short beard genuinely uncomfortable, with Stiles just staring with a wet, ogling eye, as if he was appalled with the dastardly deed. Was that idiot crying? Glen wondered, fighting to keep the worry from his own face. ¡°We killed your outlaws!¡± Fikumin boomed breaking the awkward spell, with a sledgehammer. Sameer frowned and regarded the small creature, all astounded. ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. We buried their bodies, up on them mountains.¡± The group of men behind Sameer murmured their disbelief. ¡°You lot, caught them?¡± One of them asked. ¡°When was this?¡± That was probably Banspal, taking a closer look. Son of a whorin¡¯ goat, is going to blow this whole thing wide open, Glen thought and decided to intervene. ¡°We caught a group of them,¡± He explained stepping forward, despite not really wanting to get involved. Never divulge information, but for the fear of imminent torture, or as Lith had said. Stand back and learn to listen. ¡°When?¡± ¡°A couple of weeks back.¡± Banspal grimaced. ¡°Lost several good animals since then.¡± ¡°Maybe another group?¡± Stiles managed to say and everyone turned to look at him. ¡°Ye know, another group of cutthroats?¡± He attempted to elucidate under the unwanted scrutiny. ¡°Hmm,¡± Sameer thought about it, with Banspal remaining unconvinced. ¡°Excuse me words, but ye look like a brigand yerself son.¡± Someone hidden at the back picking it up. ¡°Damn right he does!¡± ¡°Never harmed a fly in me life!¡± Stiles protested, oozing righteous indignation, his unshaven jaw gleaming still greased with the hapless ram¡¯s fat. ¡°He¡¯s right,¡± Fikumin said, although Glen¡¯s manservant clearly wasn¡¯t. ¡°Yer adventurers, as you said,¡± Sameer noted, curling his lip upwards. ¡°Hence all the weapons.¡± ¡°It is true. There was an Aken leading them,¡± Fikumin continued, strong voice forcing the small crowd, gathered around them by now, to listen. ¡°We¡¯re on the lookout for it. Him that is.¡± Sameer smacked his lips and glanced towards his friends. ¡°An Aken ye say?¡± He asked. ¡°Fuck is an Aken?¡± Probed a young boy, with the hard face of a killer. ¡°Is that like the Folk?¡± Asked another and not to be seen as a bigot he added, a little self-consciously. "Ye know them little people.¡± ¡°Fikumin is a dwarf,¡± Glen stepped in to clear it up, before this devolved into chaos. "Norec, the other small guy, too." ¡°Aye,¡± Marcus added. ¡°On the other hand, an Aken is a lanky thing¡­ with copper skin, snake-like eyes and a forked tongue.¡± ¡°Copper skin,¡± Sameer repeated, none of the other details troubling him apparently. ¡°Reddish gold, was my meaning.¡± ¡°He¡¯d most of his body painted white,¡± Fikumin added and got a reaction from the villagers. Horselords, or whatever the hells these people were. ¡°Like Qanuq?¡± The boy said. Who the fuck was he? Glen wondered. ¡°The man¡¯s a priest, what¡¯s this drivel?¡± Another man stepped forward, himself coated to just below the jaw in badly smeared white paint. Obviously a human. Wow. We have an imitator. Is this going to turn into a trend? What¡¯s next? People wearin¡¯ cat ears and meowin¡¯ under windows? ¡°What¡¯s he preaching?¡± Marcus asked, looking at them all tense, his hand dropping to his sword handle. ¡°Didar, son of Gulian, has it correct,¡± Sameer said. ¡°Ye claim, the priest has something to do wit it?¡± Fikumin narrowed his eyes, constant frown turning more vicious, as the small crowd erupted with wild speculations. Then the men and few women parted and a thin man, wearing a long woolen tunic, his hand carrying a long staff appeared standing at the back. Long nose, round rodent eyes and incisors large enough to belong to a camel. Or a gigantic rat. Looking nigh uncomfortable at all the attention. Is that an Aken? Glen wondered, a little amused and less than impressed. Haha, he just looks like the other painted dude! Man looks just about to faint from scare. ¡°The Painted God, has no need of yer animals,¡± Qanuq managed to croak, returning the stares of the people surrounding him. Who? Haha! Luthos hairy ears, dis is nigh ridiculous! ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± Didar bellowed, supporting the claim. ¡°Tell him priest!¡± He added, although it was obvious the priest wanted nothing of the sort. ¡°What is he called?¡± Glen probed, greatly enjoying the turn in their fortunes. ¡°Surely he has a name!¡± ¡°He shall remain nameless, boy,¡± Qanuq retorted, sounding strained and nervous. ¡°That¡¯s Lord Reeves for ye,¡± Glen snapped back and the crowd¡¯s buzz grew at the revelation. ¡°Yer claims¡­ are just that,¡± The priest tried to get back at him weakly. ¡°I just asked for the god¡¯s name,¡± Glen answered playing to his audience, in his best Dante¡¯s imitation. ¡°When ye want to speak of Uher, ye don¡¯t pray to a god in general. Else anyone could pop up and ye don¡¯t want that!¡± ¡°Aye!¡± The easily swayed young boy said. ¡°The Lord is right!¡± Damn right I am. ¡°How do ye know, he¡¯s a Lord?¡± Banspal the sheep herder argued, always the one to spoil everyone¡¯s good time and Glen eyed him warningly. ¡°It¡¯s the god-darn truth,¡± Marcus declared and put an end to that, in a non-nonsense kind of way. ¡°Lad is the Lord of Altarin.¡± Qanuq blinked and took a step back, seeing the tide turning against him and Glen seizing the momentum, pointed an accusing finger on him, a set of wild eyes glaring over the rim of his collar, and even those partially hidden behind a mess of hair; then shouted to the heavens above and all the Gods listening. ¡°ARREST THIS FOOL!¡±
His words getting a lukewarm reaction from the gathered onlookers. At best. ¡°Milord?¡± Marcus inquired, as they were outnumbered heavily here. ¡°Get on wit it!¡± Glen barked, seeing the moment slipping away. ¡°Wait!¡± Qanuq protested. ¡°I had nothing to do with all this!¡± Glen whipped his head towards him. ¡°Confess scoundrel!¡± ¡°Nothing to do wit what, Qanuq?¡± Sameer asked, pressing his lips into a thin line. ¡°We didn¡¯t take your animals!¡± The priest croaked. ¡°We?¡± Banspal queried, narrowing his eyes. ¡°The priest is telling the truth!¡± Didar protested, but nobody paid any attention to him. ¡°Where is the Aken, priest?¡± Fikumin¡¯s baritone voice inquired. Qanuq sighed pensively. ¡°I said all I wanted to say. Proceed wit caution, or endure the wrath of the Painted God.¡± Yeah, it was a poorly delivered threat. ¡°Arrest the priest,¡± Sameer ordered, more mad than intimidated and a determined Marcus stepped forward, getting his sword out. Qanuq gestured with a hand, looking defeated. ¡°There¡¯s no need for violence.¡± ¡°Ye give up?¡± Marcus grunted and the priest nodded, looking truly scared. Thank you, Glen thought and pushed the hair out of his eyes. ¡°Can we go inside now? Rest our feet, while we deal wit this in a non-violent manner?¡± He asked those present. This blasted wind in going right through me for fuck¡¯s sake! ¡°Take him to my house,¡± Sameer agreed with a nod. ¡°Ye lads are welcomed to join us around the fire.¡± There ye go.
¡°We could start wit the fingers,¡± Stiles suggested fully invested to the task at hand not twenty minutes later, with Glen trying to warm up, all but glued over the crude fireplace located in the middle of Sameer¡¯s homestead. Wait what? ¡°I can use them pokers,¡± Marcus argued, eyeing the one Glen had in his hand to work on the embers. ¡°Seen ¡®em used aplenty in the Legion.¡± ¡°Wait a god-darn minute!¡± Glen protested to those present inside the large and mostly undecorated large dwelling. More a stable, than a house, if one was being honest about it. ¡°We said non-violently, right?¡± ¡°Milord, did mention it,¡± Stiles said, wanting to slither his way back into Glen¡¯s good graces. ¡°He won¡¯t talk,¡± Marcus countered, Sameer agreeing with him with a nod of his head. Glen turned to a visibly anxious Qanuq. ¡°You will though. Talk that is, right?¡± He asked the priest and the man grimaced and licked his lips, thinking about it for a breath, before replying. ¡°I¡¯ve said, all I was¡ª¡± ¡°There,¡± Marcus declared vindicated, cutting into his answer. Glen sighed and stared at the iron poker he held in his hand. ¡°Listen, friend¡­¡± He started, in an attempt to reason with him. ¡°¡­they are going to do it. These people, are right vicious.¡± We¡¯re talking crashin¡¯ skulls enthusiasts, limb dismembering monsters here. Stiles beamed at the praise, with Fikumin throwing Glen a glare. The priest gulped down nervously, a tick appearing on his right eye. ¡°I shall not divulge my God¡¯s wishes.¡± Don¡¯t be a plaguin¡¯ idiot! ¡°See now, I don¡¯t think ye know them. This god¡¯s wishes,¡± Glen replied, a little disappointed. ¡°You don¡¯t know his name, ye got nothing going for you man. I respect yer fanaticism, but it¡¯s pretty pointless.¡± Qanuq bravely set his jaw, sweat on his forehead showing his inner turmoil. Glen smacked his lips and looked at Fikumin. The dwarf glared back unmoved. Marcus shrugged his shoulders and Stiles wiped at long last the incriminating grease off his jaw, with a sleeve, apparently not overly bothered about torturing a man. Glen turned to Sameer. ¡°Yer the leader here,¡± He told him and the Cofol stood back with a frown. ¡°There are no leaders in Refuge Moon,¡± Sameer repeated his mantra again and eyed Glen expectantly. ¡°To hurt a man outside of battle, even outright maim him, is a Lord¡¯s order, milord,¡± The Cofol said. ¡°And a Lord should give it.¡± You know, I¡¯m glad I ate yer ram, Glen thought, looking at him with hatred. Ye conniving, duplicitous ¡®n slanted eyed sheep-fucker. ¡°Lord Reeves?¡± Marcus inquired, after he cracked his broad neck this way and that. Glen blinked and stared at the iron poker again, darn thing right heavy in his hand. ¡°Ahm¡­ right,¡± The former thief mumbled, his mouth turning bitter at the thought of what he was about to order. He looked first to Stiles and then to the ex-legionnaire. Decanus, he corrected himself. ¡°Let¡¯s¡­ not do, ehem¡­ something too permanent here,¡± Was all he could manage to say lamely. Marcus grunted in understanding. Then his face hardened, a feat easily accomplished by the veteran, and pointed a calloused thick finger his way. ¡°Hand over the poker, milord.¡±
91. Trial by fire (1/2)
Glen Trial by fire Part I
This local alcoholic brew hits ye like a mule¡¯s hind legs, Glen decided, finishing his second cup of Kaki-ju, or Kaju, a favored drink on Eplas made out of fermented rice, honey and the jade leafed Ju flower rumored to be highly poisonous, per Sameer. They bought it from caravans coming from the distant Greenwhale Peninsula, first making the long journey to Rin-An-Pur and then across the Steppe towards Raoz. Numbs yer limbs right proper. On an unrelated note and talking about legs¡­ ¡°Hold it still there, ye cretin!¡± Marcus barked all riled up, a couple of meters from where Glen had retreated to refill his cup with Kaju. ¡°He keeps kickin¡¯ me wit it!¡± Stiles protested, not appreciating being put on the spot like that. His job was to keep Qanuq¡¯s right leg straight, the priest himself tied up on a crude wooden chair, for Marcus to work on the foot with the red hot iron poker. What the work amounted to, Glen had no idea, but he was about to find out it seemed. Stiles turned and put both hands on the shin holding it between his thighs, all but sitting on Qanuq¡¯s knee, the man cursing him and Marcus found his chance to burn at the priest¡¯s big toe. He applied the hot poker on the exposed part, just as Glen was about to gulp the strong drink down. Several things happened at once at that very moment. Qanuq, understandably objecting to it, pushed and pulled with all his might, Stiles slipped back, the foot moved and Marcus already committed to the task missed his mark, but not by a lot. Fuck, Glen thought spitting out everything. ¡°GAAH!¡± Qanuq wailed in mind-numbing agony, kicking desperately with the other leg to dislodge Stiles off of him. ¡°Darn it!¡± That was Marcus, seeing the catastrophe coming. Stiles fell backwards onto Qanuq¡¯s lap, his weight pushing the tied up priest and toppling him over, along with the chair. They all went down, the chair breaking apart, Stiles landing on a thrashing Qanuq and the strong smell of roasted lamb dominated a speechless Sameer¡¯s house. ¡°ARGH! God¡¯s help me!¡± Qanuq wails turned desperate. ¡°Fuck¡¯s wrong wit him?¡± Stiles protested, getting a knee between the legs from the priest and then abruptly pushed to the side by an onrushing Marcus. ¡°Lost the darn poker!¡± The ex-Decanus yelled, stooping to pick it up, but failing for some reason. ¡°What the hell happened?¡± Glen blasted, almost getting around to his senses after the shock, a sickening feeling in his stomach. Hells is that smell? ¡°TAKE IT ¡®WAY!¡± A wildly thrashing Qanuq begged and Marcus glanced to Glen, with a dejected grimace. ¡°Went between ¡®em toes ¡®n stuck there,¡± The ex-legionnaire explained, getting a blank stare from the young thief. What? Surely he¡¯s jesting. ¡°Suits him fine!¡± Stiles spat, still massaging his tender parts. ¡°Let him suffer!¡± ¡°Is that his flesh burning?¡± Glen inquired rhetorically, rushing closer to see for himself, immediately wishing he hadn¡¯t. ¡°Ayup,¡± Marcus replied, the damage impossible to put into words. ¡°ARGH!¡± Qanuq agreed from the floor, still kicking and trying to untangle himself from the broken up chair. ¡°Get it off him, for cryin¡¯ out loud!¡± Glen ordered, a hand on his mouth to keep the puke in. ¡°It¡¯s fused to the bone, milord.¡± Wow. ¡°Hahaha!¡± That was Stiles, exploding in malicious joy. ¡°Good grief,¡± Sameer managed to say, as Qanuq¡¯s cries turned desperate. ¡°Do whatever is necessary for fuck¡¯s sake!¡± An equally distressed Glen ordered him, the flesh dissolving before his eyes, the skin bloating and popping as more of the foot was getting eaten away. Melting, to be more accurate. He hadn¡¯t seen anything more horrific in his life.
The whole village had learned what happened inside an hour. Those that didn¡¯t hear it from the Priest¡¯s wails, they sniffed it in the air and found out anyway. Glen stumbled to the door of Sameer¡¯s round homestead and supported himself to its casing, a sickly white color on his face and quite rattled. His stomach turned into a knot. Marcus came to him a bit later, the young thief looking blankly outside and at the faces of the Cofol women and children that had now appeared and were standing in small groups, at a distance from the men. ¡°Detached the poker,¡± Marcus reported, scrunching the left side of his mouth in distaste. ¡°Along wit a couple of toes.¡± Luthos helps us. ¡°Ye cut his toes off?¡± Glen asked tiredly. ¡°Milord, there wasn¡¯t anything left,¡± Marcus explained. ¡°Most of the foot is intact, for what¡¯s worth.¡± ¡°Did he ever talk?¡± Glen inquired, incredulous at the damage. ¡°Well, does screamin¡¯ count?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not funny¡­ Decanus. This was whole thing is distasteful, to say the least.¡± ¡°Never said it was, milord,¡± Marcus replied, combing his greying hair with a hand. ¡°But it was yer order.¡± Is this how it¡¯s goin¡¯ to go then? Glen stared at him for a moment without speaking. Then his face hardened. ¡°Ask him again. If he doesn¡¯t know, we have to let him go.¡± Pay him to keep his mouth closed about this mess. Why not just kill him? His mind argued. A voice in it, at least. What? Glen frowned at the unexpected alien and vicious thought. ¡°Milord, that¡¯s not how torturing works,¡± Marcus explained patiently, not privy to his inner turmoil. But arriving at a similar path. ¡°He talks, or else.¡± Glen stood back alarmed. ¡°Ye can¡¯t be serious.¡± ¡°As serious as the plague, milord.¡± Well, that¡¯s just bloody great. That¡¯s what we need right now, another dictum from the fuckin¡¯ Legion! ¡°I¡¯ll talk to him myself,¡± Glen decided. ¡°Ye want me to throw the poker in the fire?¡± Marcus asked. Glen glared at him, before realizing the man was serious. The young former thief cleared his throat and with a glance at his own boots replied matter-of-factly. ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary.¡±
Qanuq looked more flushed than pale, but whatever his coloring was though, he didn¡¯t look good. His right foot all wrapped up in dirty rags that served as bandages. The stare he threw at him was a mixture of fear and deep hatred. ¡°I need to know, priest,¡± Glen said simply, standing a couple of feet away from him. Out of spitting distance. ¡°Why?¡± Qanuq queried through clenched teeth. ¡°Why do you need to know?¡± He didn¡¯t. It was all Fikumin¡¯s plan this, and that accursed dwarf had managed to drag him down with it. Right into the gutter.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. That¡¯s how infamy is born, Glen thought. It begins, when ye start torturing priests over a couple of missed sheep and a ram ye ate yourself. Qanuq narrowed his eyes, lips pressed to keep another wail of pain in. Then glanced at his foot stretched on the crude mattress that was Sameer¡¯s bed and his tensed face relaxed. ¡°Yer goin¡¯ to have me killed.¡± You won¡¯t kill me, Zestari had said. Glen was taken aback at the memory. ¡°Ahem¡­ was fixin¡¯ to let ye go, if you told me,¡± He managed to mumble. And perhaps kill you, since my mind is acting up on me again, like that time wit Larn¡¯s woman. ¡°Who are you, Lord Reeves? Why so much interest in my God?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve no interest in yer god. Grogoceq is evil. He deals in necromancy and he must be stopped.¡± That¡¯s what the dwarf had told him anyway. ¡°Pfft, never saw him practice it,¡± Qanuq dismissed it and added with difficulty. ¡°The man left for Yin Xiyan several weeks back.¡± Hmm. ¡°Where¡¯s that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a big city, milord. Deep in the desert.¡± Right. ¡°Is it far?¡± ¡°Quite far from here.¡± Glen frowned. ¡°Who killed that dwarf youngling then?¡± ¡°How should I know? What does yer dwarf say?¡± Qanuq replied tensely and Glen didn¡¯t know whether he spoke the truth or not. Which was frustrating, in a day a lot of frustrating things had happened, with more coming on the horizon.
¡°He¡¯s lying,¡± Marcus was adamant, when he told him not ten minutes later. They were standing in front of Sameer¡¯s house, the whole population of Refuge Moon gathered to glare at them. You¡¯d think us trying to find their missing herd and punish the culprits, would mean something to these people! Other than the fact of course, the culprits could very well be us, Glen thought with a shake of his head at the irony. ¡°Everybody¡¯s lying, Decanus.¡± Crafton¡¯s words. ¡°We fought that darn thing, milord!¡± Stiles protested. ¡°Twas no lie.¡± ¡°Perhaps he¡¯s right,¡± Fikumin said, with Norec grunting his agreement. The other dwarf of their small company wasn¡¯t talkative at all. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Glen exploded. ¡°Not everyone can be right! That¡¯s not how it works!¡± ¡°A Necromancer can make a construct of himself, milord,¡± The dwarf explained. Glen blinked, the detail ludicrous the first time he¡¯d heard it, even more so now, under the sun and the blasted wind! ¡°Using a youngling,¡± He said measuring his words. ¡°Using young bones,¡± Fikumin corrected him and shrugged his shoulders. ¡°That¡¯s all I know.¡± Glen grimaced, the vein started acting up on his temple again and the crowd parted in front of them to let Didar, son of Gulian walk towards them. He¡¯d a determined look on his Cofol face, olive colored eyes enraged and he was clad in old and weathered leather armor. ¡°Lord Reeves,¡± The man called loud enough for everyone to hear. ¡°I want a ruling from the gods, yers ¡®n mine!¡± What in the slovenly fuck is this now? Glen sighed and glanced towards a frowning Marcus. Then at Stiles, the pirate seeming dumfounded and finally at Fikumin. The dwarf returned his stare without saying a word. Which didn¡¯t help Glen at all. ¡°What is he talking about?¡± He asked running out of options and Sameer stepped forward, looking all serious. ¡°A trial by fire, milord.¡± The crowd reacted with a loud murmur at his words. Were they going to burn them in retaliation? Was this where they were heading? Glen took a step back, found the wall of Sameer¡¯s homestead blocking further retreat that way and grimaced, his hand dropping to his sword¡¯s handle. Then realizing they were just too many villagers to claw their way out of, he sighed. Even the grandest hero would have paused, facing this livid¡­ provincial crowd, he reasoned. Granted some of them were women, even children. But still, a kid can poke you in the eye wit a stick, when yer not looking. Pluck that darn thing out right proper. ¡°Can someone explain, please? In plain common?¡± He asked instead and Marcus after clearing his throat, did exactly that.
¡°A duel?¡± Glen snapped angry. "Do these people think we¡¯re on a tour, here at their pleasure, or something? We¡¯re no troupe and this ain¡¯t a plaguin¡¯ fair! Duel for what?¡± ¡°It¡¯s common, throughout the lands, milord. In all realms really,¡± Sameer defended the stupid proposal. ¡°And it¡¯s not optional.¡± What? Is that shit for brains, keep addin¡¯ stuff on the fly? ¡°What do you mean?¡± Besides there was no such thing as ¡®not optional¡¯ in Glen¡¯s world. ¡°Ye can¡¯t refuse.¡± ¡°Me?¡± Glen wondered aghast. I can refuse right now ye dork! ¡°You,¡± Didar cut in, still standing further away. ¡°I challenge you!¡± Luthos balls squashed in a vise! ¡°For what?¡± He spat back. ¡°Torturing an innocent man!¡± Didar bellowed, as if they couldn¡¯t hear him. Rehashing what was obviously a miscalculation. Accident even! ¡°Burned his whole foot to the fuckin¡¯ bone!¡± Didar continued his tirade, frothing at the mouth. And just like that, the crowd was in on it proper. The angry murmur rising and eyes turning on them right vicious. God darn it. ¡°What happens, if I lose?¡± Glen asked gulping down, a little surprised at the hostility. Especially to his person. It was after all, Fikumin¡¯s idea. ¡°Means ye were wrong,¡± Didar replied, adding with a smug smirk. ¡°And ye get to die.¡±
¡°Let me see yer armour,¡± Marcus said, while he soaked at the hatred thrown his way by the decent crowd that had appeared. Refuge Moon had turned out being larger, than he earlier had thought. Glen opened his arms and the veteran checked the bindings on his leather vest, especially the iron shoulder pads attached to it. Marcus paused looking at the spot where Larn¡¯s blade had penetrated the armour and grimaced. ¡°Ye should get this mended.¡± ¡°Aye,¡± Glen replied. ¡°Or find myself a better armour, something akin to what ye have on.¡± ¡°Ye have to join the Legion first, lad.¡± ¡°You slipped there, Decanus,¡± Glen noticed with a grin. Marcus stood back and scratched his short beard for a moment. ¡°Aye, reckon I did, milord.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Glen placated him, not wanting to appear like a vain noble prick. ¡°Ye knew me, before I was one.¡± Marcus nodded and glanced at the Cofol getting ready across from them. The crowd had cleared out the dirt road, giving them enough room to kill each other at their leisure, but kept watch at the edge of the large circle, so Glen couldn¡¯t make a late run for it. ¡°Pick the sword,¡± The veteran advised. ¡°Run him through. Don¡¯t joke around.¡± ¡°What else there¡¯s to p¡ª¡± ¡°Lord Reeves,¡± Sameer interrupted him. ¡°Will you come forward, if ye please?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Glen said and rearranged the sheath of his sword on his waistband. The Cofol noticed it and added a little apprehensively. ¡°Didar asked the duel to preclude swords, milord.¡± Glen narrowed his eyes at his words. Preclude? ¡°Why is that?¡± He asked, keeping emotion from his face, not to appear an utter fool. ¡°Milord, is probably excellent wit it,¡± The Cofol explained. Well, I¡¯m not exactly sure I would go that far, Glen thought. Although he was in a sense, top of his class. Of one. ¡°So what¡¯s yer problem then?¡± He asked instead, genuinely curious. Sameer frowned, not expecting the question. ¡°Yer opponent isn¡¯t, milord.¡± Glen didn¡¯t have a problem wit that. Although apparently, everyone thought he should have. ¡°I understand yer a squire,¡± Sameer continued. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want ye to break yer vows, winning wit no honor.¡± Glen blinked, deep in shock. It took a superhuman effort on his part not to explode in rage and call shenanigans on the whole thing. ¡°Thank you, for considering it,¡± He croaked with difficulty and the oblivious Cofol elder nodded in respect. ¡°I tried to talk him out of it,¡± Sameer said, sounding embarrassed. ¡°Obviously yer lordship is not at fault here.¡± ¡°The gods shall decide that Sameer!¡± Didar barked. ¡°Not some foreign Lord!¡± Right. Let Luthos have fun and see what comes out of it. Glen smacked his lips eyeing the dagger Didar had on his waist. A typical straight blade on it, though smaller than the Wyvern¡¯s Tongue. ¡°Are ye any good wit the dagger?¡± He asked him and the enraged man frowned taken aback. ¡°Ahm¡­ I¡¯m decent I suppose,¡± Didar stared at the war hammer he held in his hand. ¡°Ye can either bar a weapon, or choose one, milord.¡± ¡°I got no war hammer at the ready, but I have a dagger,¡± Glen explained and a murmur came from the crowd listening to their exchange. ¡°It¡¯s a ceremonial thing really, a family heirloom.¡± Didar nodded and stared towards Sameer. ¡°Surely, yer lordship can borrow a weapon from yer people,¡± Sameer said. ¡°Ye don¡¯t have to fight him wit a knife, milord.¡± The knife, is a cutthroat¡¯s weapon, Sir Emerson always told him. Glen puffed his cheeks out and reaching got the black-bladed dagger out. ¡°My lord, what are ye doing?¡± Marcus protested from his back. ¡°Norec has a mace.¡± Sameer smiled, a little unsure. ¡°Fighting Didar wit a knife, puts you at a disadvantage, milord.¡± ¡°That so?¡± Glen asked him. Because the way the young thief saw it, he had way better armour on and he was younger than his opponent. ¡°Well, while yer noble self, trained in swords and shields, Didar played wit his knives, all his life,¡± Sameer explained. Well¡­ friend, Glen thought, looking at him unimpressed. Ye got the whole thing wrong. Sorry. ¡°I hereby choose this rather unfamiliar weapon, to preserve my honor,¡± He announced loudly instead, managing to avoid chuckling and ruining his performance. The crowd listening in, gasped nigh impressed at the show of gallantry, some of the slanted-eyed ladies giving him some very naughty stares, full of promise. A couple of them, of excellent stock as Dante would say and Sir Emerson would cuff Glen upside the head about. Even Marcus and most of all Fikumin, stood back silent as if left utterly speechless. Didar frowned, thin brows making his eyes ogle a little funny, then tossed the war hammer away and reached for his own dagger. ¡°Ye noble bloods, are right stupid,¡± The Cofol said and came at him, blade swinging.
92. Trial by fire (2/2)
Glen Trial by fire Part II
Glen, caught unawares and still in pre-duel gloating stance, tried to dodge out of the way, but rattled as he was by his opponent¡¯s swift attack, he failed. So the young man raised an arm to meet the suddenly lethal looking blade, -more a prayer, than a parry- and caught the dagger on his vambrace with a clank, the blade sliding upwards and almost taking out his right eye.
Kill this foolish worm!
Wait, what? Who''s this? The young former thief attempted to retaliate on instinct, but Nidar pulled back a step and then went for the young thief¡¯s throat almost catching him again off-guard. Glen stooped under the blade, darn thing almost ridding him of what was left of his ear and then rolled on the hard road to get away, the terrain somehow turning to limestone tiles under his feet, when he reached the end of it. What in the¡­
A pair of large eyes, the sclera black with no visible iris and the crescent pupil gleaming an emerald green, stared at him unsympathetically. Immediately after, a disturbing as much as familiar hoarse voice, its tone equally pitiless, admonished the slowly standing up young man. This isn¡¯t the village¡¯s square. ¡°What are you doing?¡± The ¡®strange¡¯ Lorian roared. Glen hesitated looking about him surprised and more than a little scared. ¡°Ahm, I was just fighting a duel,¡± He paused unsure and returned the freak¡¯s stare. Other than the eyes, he didn¡¯t appear particularly dangerous, nor was the man armed. ¡°Who are ye? Fuck¡¯s is this place?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a square.¡± Okay. Glen checked his ear to see, if Nidar got to it and sighed in relief, when he realized it was fine. ¡°You are trying to get yourself killed again,¡± The man noted, raspy voice coming out like a drawn out hiss. ¡°So soon, after I saved you. Why?¡± Glen frowned, having forgotten that part and details of it returned fuzzy and dreamlike. There was more to it obviously, but he couldn¡¯t remember it. ¡°Why save me?¡± He probed, still looking around what was either the largest square ever constructed, since he couldn¡¯t see any other building bordering it on any side, or a gigantic flat prairie some lunatic had paved over. ¡°Ye promised me, we¡¯ll find her child,¡± The man explained, although he didn¡¯t appear overly pleased to do it. ¡°For some odd reason, I foolishly entertained the idea.¡± A kid? ¡°I don¡¯t remember that.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a scroll in your pocket. It has its name on it,¡± The man explained, his patience running thin. There was a scroll there indeed. What was written on it, almost indecipherable; whomever wrote it, he thought, is probably illiterate. Then he found a second smaller scroll, with more scribblings on it, equally unreadable. This scroll he remembered. Jinx¡¯s handwriting was different than his, but not prettier. Ah. It all makes sense now. To be fair, his writing was pretty decent, considering this was probably the first word he¡¯d ever written on paper, he thought. Glen puckered his brows. ¡°Hey, were that ye in my head before? Talkin¡ª¡± The man crossed his arms on his chest and glared at him. ¡°We¡¯re in your head in a sense, right now.¡± ¡°No, I meant out there. Offering¡­ advice ¡®n shit¡ª¡± ¡°Offering¡­ shitty advice?¡± The man repeated, trying to make sense of his mumblings. ¡°Something like that.¡± ¡°No.¡± Glen blinked. ¡°Are ye sure? Because ye just did earlier.¡± ¡°Yet, I didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°I clearly heard yer talking¡ª¡± ¡°What did I say?¡± The stranger cut him. ¡°Ahm, kill him?¡± The man pressed his lips into a thin line and Glen thought a shadow came over him, but looking up he saw the sun still up on the sky. So that was weird. ¡°Were you holding the dagger?¡± The stranger finally asked him. An odd question. ¡°Aye. I have it on me all the time.¡± The man shook his head. ¡°That was Gimoss, the Dead.¡± Glen stared at him blankly. Nobody talked for a long moment, the eerie silence of the expanse around them unnerving. ¡°So, who¡¯s he?¡± Glen asked, seeing the man wasn¡¯t going to be forthcoming. ¡°We have talked about this thief. Many a times.¡± ¡°We have?¡± ¡°You have a piece of him with you all the time,¡± The weird man reluctantly answered. ¡°What part of this, is so difficult to understand?¡± Glen cleared his throat and looked at the dagger¡¯s curved handle. It was shaped like a Wyvern, its body being the grip, the pommel its head and its open wings making the guard. ¡°Why they call him the dead?¡± He queried. ¡°Because he¡¯s dead,¡± The stranger deadpanned. Great. ¡°How is he talkin¡¯ then?¡± Glen insisted and seeing the man¡¯s discomfort at repeating it, he added. ¡°Tell me again.¡± ¡°A Dragon¡¯s bone has a piece of his soul in it, alike all living things.¡± Again with that bone thing.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. ¡°I thought this was a Wyvern.¡± ¡°It is you fool. There¡¯s no reason to separate them. Wouldn¡¯t you call a Cofol, human?¡± The man retorted with a raspy growl. Some people wouldn¡¯t, Glen thought. ¡°Why am I here?¡± He asked, seeing the man wasn¡¯t going to say anything else. ¡°You¡¯re not,¡± The man replied with a cruel smirk, ¡°you¡¯re on Eplas fighting a duel.¡± And just like that, he was back in Refuge Moon.
An incredulous Glen rolled on the terrain trying to get away, with Didar kicking him in the back, his boot catching the young thief on the kidney and sending him sprawling down. The crowd erupted, either in fear, or delight. Glen couldn¡¯t exactly tell, busy as he was, trying to stay alive. He sidestepped when Didar came at him again, blade grazing his ribs, the armour saving him. Glen slashed him across the face in retaliation, but the Cofol ducked under it, tried to knife him in the gut, failing in turn as Glen used his iron vambrace to block it. Since he¡¯d used the arm holding the Wyvern¡¯s Tongue, he threw an uppercut with his left that caught the still stooped Didar right below the jaw and hurled his head back. ¡°GAH!¡± The Cofol cried out, lips split and a couple of teeth missing. One of Glen¡¯s fingers was bent the wrong way. The pain so great, it brought tears in his eyes. Didar spat down, a mixture of saliva, blood and what was clearly a tooth and glared at him. ¡°Ye don¡¯t fight like a Knight.¡± ¡°Had a diverse upbringin¡¯. Wanna give up?¡± Glen retorted through clenched teeth, trying to move the hurting finger, but failing. ¡°Nah,¡± Didar said and charged again, dancing on his feet, to throw him off-balance. It was a great tactic, if you knew what you were doing and your opponent hadn¡¯t seen a fight in his life. Glen though, while not an expert, had seen and fought his fair share traveling with the Knight, for close to six months now. Follow yer opponent¡¯s weapon and the arm that handles it, Sir Emerson preached and Glen, while opposing the older man¡¯s methods, was subconsciously paying attention to those lessons. Greedily absorbing every detail. All plaguin¡¯ else, is just dressing. Didar¡¯s upper shoulder flinched tensing before he reached him, betraying his attack. Glen moved to intercept, but misjudged the coming blade, the sharp tip slipping past his blocking arm and striking him at the shoulder pad, as Glen balked away at the last moment. He cursed inwardly, but seeing his opening, swiftly pushed ahead past Didar¡¯s defenses and pressed the tip of his dagger just under the man¡¯s exposed cartilage. Hah! ¡°YIELD!¡± Glen bellowed, stopping shy from slicing his throat. Didar gasped and recoiled away, his jaw and mouth covered in blood, with more pouring out of the horrendous wound on his neck. He apparently had pressed on with his attack. What the fuck? Glen shuddered and pulled the stained dagger back. How did this happen? Didar huffed and gurgled in front of him, unable to answer, both hands on his neck trying to stop the blood from spilling out and failing. His face had turned a worrying grey-white color. The crowd around him engulfed in stunned silence. ¡°Help this man!¡± Glen barked, himself staying where he was. ¡°This is over!¡± Sameer, mouth hanging open, responded sounding awed and troubled in the same breath. ¡°Milord, he hasn¡¯t yielded.¡± Glen all but rolled his eyes in front of them. ¡°Man¡¯s dying ye plaguin¡¯ fool!¡± He yapped and finally someone from the slowly coming around crowd run to assist the thrashing Cofol. The murmur of the rest of them turning angry. ¡°Lord Reeves won!¡± Marcus declared, cutting through the increasing noise like an angry drill sergeant and a woman on the front row, let out a scream and feinted abruptly. She toppled over, her head shockingly bouncing off the hardened road, but a few of them, men and children amongst them cheered. Those that didn¡¯t, were less than inclined to protest the muscular soldier¡¯s verdict. ¡°The gods,¡± Marcus stated with finality, eyeing the more unruly of the bunch. ¡°Have spoken.¡± Which gods the man was referring to, Glen hadn¡¯t the faintest idea.
¡°Argh!¡± Glen moaned, when Stiles pulled his finger to set it proper. The former pirate ducked under a fist he threw him to retaliate, and lithely avoided a kick that tried to trip him over. ¡°You piece of shit,¡± Glen griped. ¡°I think ye made it worse!¡± ¡°It¡¯ll feel better, milord. Though I will council ye to partake the rest of that Kaju, just to be sure,¡± Stiles replied, wisely keeping his distance. ¡°It wasn¡¯t broken.¡± ¡°Sure felt that way!¡± ¡°Sometimes it does,¡± Stiles countered, looking outside the open door of Sameer¡¯s house. They¡¯ve commandeered it, while Marcus and the dwarfs were talking horses with the locals. It was for the better he remained out of sight, since killing Didar hadn¡¯t exactly helped Glen¡¯s popularity. The poor Cofol had died to his injury, despite the efforts to save him. The worst in all this mess, was that Glen had no intention to kill the man, nor fight him in the first place. Hells even torturing and eventually maiming Qanuq was an accident. A fluke more, than skill. It was the dagger. It had acted up again. He looked about him for something to write on. Glen needed to remember what the strange man had told him. Whether it was a feverish dream, or some unlikely ability he¡¯d developed, what the stranger had said made sense. The dagger had a will of its own it seemed. ¡°Ever heard of magic weapons?¡± He asked Stiles. ¡°Like yer dagger?¡± Huh? ¡°How do you know about it?¡± Stiles shrugged his shoulders. ¡°It¡¯s a weird thing, milord. Noticed it right away on the ship. It made sense to pick it for the duel.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m not sure I know what it does.¡± ¡°What is it made off?¡± Stiles asked taking it in his hand from the table Glen had dropped it on. ¡°Wyvern¡¯s bone, according to Lith.¡± ¡°Yer ranger? How does she know?¡± Stiles queried, giving him the blade. Glen took it and placed it on his waistband. ¡°I have no idea.¡± ¡°You think she died at the siege?¡± Stiles asked. His manservant was suddenly full of questions. ¡°We don¡¯t know, anyone died there,¡± Glen replied a little frustrated. ¡°You¡¯re right, milord. Still, perhaps ye should make sure.¡± ¡°Fikumin wants us to chase this Bonemancer.¡± Stiles stared at him all serious. ¡°Fikumin, is not in charge, milord.¡± Glen had to agree with that. He got up with another glance at his swollen middle finger, just in time as Sameer, followed by Marcus rushed inside the homestead. ¡°Let¡¯s ask, Lord Reeves then,¡± The Cofol elder was saying, with Marcus grunting in disapproval, scrunching his mouth this way and that. Glen smacked his lips. This was going to be something awful again, he decided. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s about Qanuq, milord,¡± Sameer explained. Oh crap, don¡¯t tell me his foot got infected and he died as well! ¡°What happened?¡± Glen growled, fearing the worst. ¡°Well, he can¡¯t stay here!¡± ¡°Okay, fine. Move him to another house then.¡± Like Didar¡¯s for example. ¡°I mean here, as in Refuge Moon, milord,¡± Sameer elucidated. ¡°You won the duel. The man is guilty.¡± Right. ¡°The Gods have spoken,¡± Glen repeated Marcus¡¯ words from earlier. ¡°Exactly. We don¡¯t trust him.¡± Glen puffed his cheeks out and glanced at Marcus for help. The scowl on the soldier¡¯s face alarmed him. ¡°What are you proposing, friend?¡± He asked, crossing his hands on his chest. The swollen finger protruding. ¡°Take him with you.¡± Glen stared at his boots and exhaled slowly, to let the man¡¯s words sink in. ¡°You want us¡­¡± He started to say unable to make sense of the request and Sameer added quickly over Marcus¡¯ disapproving grunt. ¡°Take the priest wit you, milord. He brought us bad luck.¡± ¡°Hahaha!¡± Stiles guffawed seeing Glen¡¯s expression. The former thief threw him a glare that was also a warning to shut his mouth and turned to the leader of the locals. ¡°What will it cost you?¡± Sameer frowned not expecting the question. Then took a step back, when he realized what Glen was proposing. Haggling perhaps being the closer word. ¡°Yer friends picked five horses, milord,¡± The Cofol said, the number too great in his eyes. ¡°Perhaps we agree ye don¡¯t pay for two o¡¯ them.¡± The man had erroneously assumed, Glen intended to pay him anything in the first place. ¡°Six,¡± Glen countered readily to Sameer¡¯s shock and added to put the matter into the proper context. ¡°The Priest can¡¯t walk.¡± ¡°Bah! That¡¯s absurd!¡± Sameer protested, throwing his hands in the air. ¡°Let¡¯s say three, if ye take six animals, milord. How about it?¡± Glen snorted and glanced at the troubled Marcus. ¡°Six horses,¡± He repeated. ¡°For taking the Priest off yer hands and Sameer,¡± He added, a touch of steel in his voice. ¡°It¡¯s non-negotiable.¡± Glen was fresh out of gold coins and what he had, the young man wasn¡¯t about to spend enriching the local Cofol populace. ¡°This is high robbery, milord. Excuse me words, but it is.¡± He was right of course. Qanuq barely worth an old mule with arthritis. But being a thief for most of his life, Glen saw this exchange under a completely different light. To him, this was a glorious deal.
93. The man from Atetalerso & a whore’s coin
Lear Hik The man from Atetalerso ¡®n a whore¡¯s coin
A coin is never free, nor without value. It worth its weight in gold, Plus commission.
Thus read the label over the cashier¡¯s desk, the girl manning it clean and lean, smart eyes checking each new customer out, while busy scribbling down orders and filling out new scrolls with what was written on older ones. An impressive skill indeed, Lear thought and pushed his tired legs out, well-used leather riding boots, he never gotten around replacing, getting a disapproving stare from the uptight clerk. Lear pointed a finger at the badge he had secured on his jacket, a simple gold piece of ornament with the initials MM engraved on it. Same as the one she had on, though a silver one. Impressive, he thought, since getting above bronze needed some serious work done for the Bank. Mayhap her filing system is godlike, he decided, offering a kind smile at her angry pout. Pretty girl, Lear thought. ¡°There¡¯s a rule,¡± She said disdainfully, loud enough to be heard by the good upper crust people of Cediorum present this early in the day. The cashier pointed a finely manicured finger at the entrance. ¡°Refrain from entering with used footwear. It¡¯s a mahogany floor.¡± But for the ten foot pole up her arse. ¡°You don¡¯t want me taking these off, sweetheart,¡± He teased and she rolled her eyes with disgust, a frowning customer taking her mind off him. Unfortunately.
Then on the third year, blessed be the Five; that is three years, as counted with the New Calendar freshly established at the time, two men from the distant shores of Lesia, born before it was a kingdom, now located in the easternmost edge of Jelin, both former employees of the Imperial Banking system, now defunct, decided enough was enough. Wolstan Mclean and Liudolf Merck came together to reintroduce, or offer again their services to the neither expecting, nor pleased with their initiative populace. The Realm needed coins to rebuild, was their mantra. Kings needed loans to make their dreams come true, their excuse. Grand ambitions always have a cost and come with interest, Wolstan used to preach to those questioning the ethics of charging for something free, his many sayings appearing now on plaques inside all of Mclean & Merck Bank buildings. Smaller ambitions have a smaller cost, but come with analogous interest as well. And on and on it went. The first building was raised in Atetalerso, a small town mostly known then for being the mid-point for those traveling to the three most recognizable of Lesia¡¯s kingdom cities. The grant port of Cediorum, the Capital Armium and the famous Flauegran. The city of the wine Barons. Since then, almost every city on Jelin had an office and what was once a bank had turned into an economic empire of its own. People say, had Wolstan and Liudolf not died from old age, they would have taken over the Realm eventually. Not with conquest, but outright buying it.
The heavy door, across the lesser tellers¡¯ offices, located right at the other end of the public lobby he was told to wait, cracked open and Keird Calcote popped his blond head out to look for him. Lear raised a hand, but he was far enough for the Bank¡¯s agent to spot immediately and he didn¡¯t want to shout, not to annoy the pretty cashier any further. ¡°Ah!¡± Keird said, loud enough to draw a few stares, ¡°There you are! Please join us, good man!¡± In the local Director¡¯s office was his meaning. Lear frowned. This being the main building of the Bank of Trust in Cediorum, the biggest of its kind in the whole Realm, it made the sighing before getting up Lear, a little apprehensive. Which was a problem and it came as a surprise. He hadn¡¯t left the wilds to come work for a bank to feel apprehensive, or the like. But if there was one thing Lear trusted, it was his instincts. He didn¡¯t know whether Wolstan covered the topic in his many words left behind and didn¡¯t much care. You better heed to a warning, son, his father always said. It¡¯s the only thing in life worth a lick.
President of Bank operations, Robart Holt, stood tall behind his rather plain desk. Thin, but well dressed in a fine silk redcoat, a gold signet ring on his right hand and a fine quill on his left, was busy scribbling on a parchment, when Lear entered and sat down on the only spare armchair in front of him. The other occupied by his boss, Keird Calcote. The young agent appearing quite feverish at the news. ¡°That is an exorbitant amount, dear Holt,¡± He said, continuing an argument Lear wasn¡¯t privy on yet. Holt, a distant relative to the famous family of Lorians from Regia, frowned. His hawkish eyes and long nose gave him an ascetic look, he probably used aplenty in his business dealings. ¡°I¡¯ve done the math again, Calcote,¡± Robart replied. ¡°The High King hinted at the amount in writing.¡± ¡°A lazy clerk¡¯s mistake?¡± Robart scoffed at his words. ¡°He wants to pay for twenty thousand troops. Secure funding upfront, his words.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a lot of men,¡± Keird admitted, sounding uncomfortable. ¡°There¡¯s a war going on,¡± Robart droned. ¡°I thought, this was a preventive measure,¡± Keird countered, well-groomed blond goatee dancing under his mouth. ¡°Semantics. Your know Kings and politicians.¡± Everyone agreed to that. ¡°So this makes,¡± Keird did the math himself. ¡°Eighteen gold, per soldier. Ahm, for¡­¡± ¡°A year,¡± Robart helped him. ¡°Yes. So eighteen per year¡­¡± ¡°Twenty, with our commission, plus expenses,¡± Robart again elucidated the finer details. ¡°Of course. Twenty per year for twenty thousand soldiers,¡± Keird paused, then blinked. ¡°Two hundred thousand,¡± He whistled nigh impressed and Lear changed position on his chair, an itch on his left ear maddening. He made to scratch it, keeping quiet, but rather interested himself at the amounts discussed. ¡°For a year¡¯s worth of army,¡± Robart again, polished the number. ¡°You think, it will last longer than that?¡± His boss probed. ¡°Well, the Khan pays in dinar and cuts his own coin, so¡­ who¡¯s to know what he has in reserve.¡± ¡°Does he pay them?¡± Keird asked. ¡°Only the upper class,¡± Holt replied. ¡°Why pay, if you can order someone to do the job for free?¡± Keird shuddered at the thought. ¡°Barbarians.¡± ¡°They say the same thing, about us.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t keep slaves, Director Holt,¡± Keird pointed. The argument lame, to Lear¡¯s eyes. ¡°That¡¯s just another name for those that owe you,¡± Robart Holt replied, agreeing with him. ¡°Bah, whatever. How much does the High King hint he¡¯ll need?¡± Keird asked and Robart, glancing towards Lear for the first time, but not acknowledging him, took his time before answering. ¡°One million, gold Eagles.¡± ¡°Good grief!¡± Keird gasped pushing back on his armchair. Lear blinked, his mouth hanging open at the number. ¡°All thirty four tons of it,¡± Robart continued, after looking at his papers. ¡°Delivered by an armored merchant ship, inside a year. Might as well, charter the whole darn thing. Hence the expenses I mentioned.¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.
¡°Will the bank pay?¡± Keird asked, sounding awed. Lear was as well and he wasn¡¯t ashamed for it. This was a mind-numbing sum of money. Robart licked his lips slowly. ¡°We don¡¯t have that much coin at hand. We could go with silver, but this creates other problems. We might have to though.¡± ¡°Can we mint new ones?¡± ¡°We can place an order, buy a couple of gold mines and completely exhaust what we have,¡± Robart smacked his lips. ¡°Still, it¡¯s too much, too soon.¡± Keird sat back on his chair and eyed the director. ¡°We¡¯re going to allow the loan,¡± He finally said, just realizing it. Lear looked up surprised, as he hadn¡¯t gotten that idea from their conversation. Robart Holt sighed deeply and nodded much to his bewilderment. ¡°Five percent commission, since the High King has an agreement apparently dating a couple of centuries back; means fifty thousand gold Eagles in the Bank¡¯s coffers, Calcote,¡± He explained his reasoning. Lear cleared his throat nervously at the numbers thrown around. ¡°Wolstan will rise from his grave and fire us all, or worse, if we fuck this up.¡±
The conversation devolved into mathematics, history of imperial coinage making an appearance, his superiors going at it with enthusiasm and Lear almost drifting off, until Keird brought him in again, mentioning a name he¡¯d heard before. ¡°Brad Copeland got that last bunch right?¡± Keird said and Lear sat back feeling drowsy, to pay attention. ¡°It¡¯s what, six months now?¡± ¡°Eight,¡± Robart replied. ¡°Copeland cleaned them up. But he was careful and probably used the Thieves Guild to disappear.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t they catch him eventually?¡± ¡°He was executed on Collant¡¯s Refuge of all fucking places,¡± The Director replied. ¡°A place called Shroudcoast, but not for this reason. The coin was never recovered.¡± ¡°Surely we searched¡ª¡± ¡°We did,¡± Robart pointed to Lear. ¡°Your man I believe made an effort.¡± ¡°I looked everywhere,¡± Lear replied, not likening his tone. ¡°Man was killed, beheaded. There was no coin in his room and nothing but a single piece of gold that was found outside the window of his inn.¡± ¡°Someone brought it in?¡± Robart asked, a hint of razz in his voice. ¡°There was a reward for it,¡± Lear returned his stare. ¡°Two gold coins, for each one found.¡± ¡°Those coins worth more than that,¡± Robart mentioned with a smirk. Lear nodded. ¡°They didn¡¯t know that.¡± ¡°Why throw it out of a window?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think he did,¡± Lear replied with a grimace. ¡°I don¡¯t believe the coins were with him.¡± ¡°An accomplice? The Thieves Guild?¡± ¡°Nah, they wouldn¡¯t stay on the job, with that much heat on it.¡± ¡°Who then, mister Hik?¡± Robart asked again, this time mentioning his surname. A thief, Lear thought. Not with the guild. ¡°Someone clever enough to disappear, without leaving any trace. A master at his craft without a doubt,¡± He said instead and Robart narrowed his eyes, as if tasting his words to see their worth and then extended a closed fist over his desk theatrically. What¡¯s this? Robart opened his fist and two coins fell down, bounced once on the parchment covered desk, rolled and then stopped catching the sun coming from the large iron barred window behind the Bank¡¯s director. One was round and elaborate in design and engravings, the common gold Eagle widely circulated and much coveted by all. The other was larger, much larger and perfectly square. Plain, to the untrained eye. Lear let the breath he held out and took it in his hand. ¡°Not the one I found on the island,¡± He finally said. ¡°No mister Hik, it is not,¡± Robart replied. ¡°This was given to a brothel¡¯s patron, in Castalor.¡± ¡°Someone paid a whore, with this?¡± Keird asked, greatly intrigued himself. ¡°Someone paid a whore with this, because he didn¡¯t know what it was worth.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t make any sense,¡± Lear said. ¡°Why mister Hik?¡± ¡°You assume, it was the same person, who made the brothel call,¡± Lear explained. ¡°A Northman,¡± Robart pointed. Lear grimaced. ¡°Nah. There was no Northman on the island at that time. It¡¯s a very small village, director Holt.¡± Or was there and he missed him? A man gone, before Lear arrived. ¡°The Northman was a mercenary, mister Hik,¡± Robart insisted. ¡°Working for someone else.¡± ¡°Who was he working for?¡± Lear queried and felt that tang of worry returning. Keird, sitting next to him, cleared his throat. ¡°Well, it¡¯s why I called you in, my good man. We might need your expertise again.¡± ¡°What expertise does the Bank need?¡± Lear Hik asked tiredly, because he knew. ¡°You were a celebrated bounty hunter, before becoming an agent, mister Hik. The Bank would like to rent your services again, as the former,¡± Robart Holt pointed that tiny smirk on the corner of his mouth unnerving him, despite speaking the truth, much as he knew it. Lear had been a bounty hunter in his youth, no question about it. But that was a long time ago and you can¡¯t get back on the saddle just like that, hence the warning. He sighed and scratched that itch with a finger, before nodding at the Director. On the wall above the austere looking man there was a plaque, dark-red wood encased in gold rim and the engraved letters a calligraphic bright silver. When in doubt, Wolstan Mclean advised him from the grave.
Take a deep breath & double your commission.
Lear thought, to Hells with it. What¡¯s the worst that could happen?
A score of days later they disembarked in Castalor¡¯s Westport. It was a quiet journey, the Scalding Sea kind, if you discount the last couple of days and their journey would have been even more pleasant, had Keird left Marion in Cediorum. The young couple just couldn¡¯t keep their hands from each other and given the fact Marion, a tall brunette with striking green eyes, was dressed too flimsy for a ship full of ogling sailors and carried a set of fine lungs on her slender body, she loved to put to good use during their all-night long coupling sessions, everyone else¡¯s nights were livened up considerably. And not in a good way. ¡°It¡¯s chilly,¡± Marion said, pressing her body on a frowning Keird. ¡°Isn¡¯t it darling?¡± ¡°It¡¯s early Spring dear and we¡¯re practically in the North.¡± No, we¡¯re not, Lear thought and opened his stride. ¡°Can I have your coat, love?¡± ¡°Of course, honey.¡± Ah, to be young and freshly married again, Lear thought, stopping before the Blue Maiden, the place relatively quiet, perhaps due to the early hour. Been there, done that. Regretted half of it. ¡°Who paints marble columns gold?¡± Marion asked, squinting her pretty eyes to read the sign. The sun was strong, despite her complaining about the weather. Of course, compared to living near the beach at Cediorum, with the Scalding Sea boiling everything during the day and the woman making the journey wearing the latest fashion in Lesia, it didn¡¯t come as a surprise. Lear could discern the color and shape of her undergarments through the sheer material of her dress and his eyes had their best days behind them. ¡°It¡¯s not a hotel,¡± Keird said, leaving it at that, with a glance towards Lear to take over. ¡°Better stay here, while I speak to the owner,¡± Lear obliged him. ¡°Nonsense. We won¡¯t stay in the dreadful sun.¡± ¡°It will warm ye up,¡± Lear teased her. ¡°What that¡¯s supposed to mean, Mister Hik?¡± She retorted, none pleased. Lear grimaced. ¡°Nothing. I misspoke.¡± He shouldn¡¯t have done that. Somewhere along the way, Lear had lost his touch with women. ¡°Oh, come on! She¡¯s jesting, haha!¡± Keird intervened, to prevent an argument from sprouting. ¡°Lead the way, my friend.¡±
¡°A brothel?¡± Marion queried, scandalized. ¡°I thought this was official business, love.¡± ¡°It is,¡± Keird replied, all flustered. ¡°Though it¡¯s Lear¡¯s expertise¡¯s this part, dear.¡± ¡°Lear has expertise in brothels?¡± She didn¡¯t sound particularly surprised. ¡°Stay here,¡± Lear advised them both. ¡°Don¡¯t order anything. It comes with a girl, or a boy.¡± Marion blinked shocked, but by the time she came around, he''d moved away and missed her answer.
The whoremonger was sitting on a comfortable divan, a short table in front of him, and had the powdered face of an Issir, shagging cheeks and lips painted a rich ruby color. A scantily dressed young woman that could give Marion a good run for her money, was cutting small pieces out of a peeled orange and was feeding him, sitting on his legs. The man saw him approach, leather armour and boots, under a good greatcoat and frowned, his slightly slanted eyes narrowing even more. ¡°You¡¯re very early, love,¡± He said, licking the corner of his lips with the tip of his tongue. ¡°And overdressed. You want me to refuel the fireplace?¡± Lear stopped him with a wave of his hand, used the other to open his coat and show him the gold badge he wore on the right side of his chest. ¡°You¡¯ll have to come closer, love,¡± The man quipped. ¡°It seems impressive.¡± Lear sighed, not likening the humor, so early in the day. The girl was also very distracting and probably prone to gossip. Gossip, is usually bad in this line of work. And sometimes a blessing. ¡°I¡¯m here on Mclean & Merck business,¡± Lear said tiredly, wanting nothing more but to spend a little coin and have some fun with the girls. Taste the local wine. Even sing a song. He¡¯d been there of course and done that aplenty. Kept the receipts. The whoremonger lost whatever color he had under all that powder and pushed the young whore off his lap. Although never in any danger, she gasped melodramatically, as experienced women oft do, but left them alone without further complains. ¡°The man from Atetalerso,¡± The brothel¡¯s owner said, wiping his mouth with a cloth. ¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting you so soon.¡± Lear sighed deeply, looked about him, spotted a short feathery stool and sat on it. His feet were killing him and this darn thing, had nothing to support his back. ¡°The Bank found your coin interesting,¡± He said simply. The story behind it, was his meaning. Back on the saddle, Lear thought not happy about it and hearing Marion¡¯s cackle behind his back, his aged face hardened, the lines on it deepening. Some from weather, others from war, but the most he¡¯d gotten on the job. Both those visible and the ones that weren¡¯t. Even his voice, sounded different. ¡°Now,¡± Lear Hik said ominously, getting in role. ¡°Where is that whore that earned it?¡± Gods help her.
94. The well-endowed Dogs & Jinx’s box
Jinx The well-endowed Dogs & Jinx¡¯s box
You¡¯re a bad, bad lassie, Hoarse Fix used to say, breath stinking of boiled seaweed; though truth be told, Jinx always called him ¡®Later¡¯ and it kinda stuck in the Gish manner, much to the old man¡¯s chagrin. Anyway, this was back when she was visiting his underwater cave to steal stuff, and show him her toes for rusted coppers, because the old Gish had a thing for them. Toes that is. Like Abrakas, the vile. Also fingers and earlobes. The younger, the better. It was disgusting, not because she was a kid at the time, the Gish don¡¯t really much care about that stuff and some of the big-nosed people, who preach that they do, only remember their outrage, when it is convenient for them and nigh inconvenient for their enemies. Ye know what? Fuck Fix Later, she decided. Good riddance. On the topic of preferences now, Whisper liked lips herself. Their softness and taste. Always different from person to person. How they felt, when she was kissed, or when she was doing the kissing. She smiled at the fond memory, Zola¡¯s face glowing warmly in the lewd dream, the sentiment making her toes curl upwards and bubbles escaped her parted lips and reached the surface. The water moved warming up with her, one hand reaching for that spot in need of desperate attention. Oh, come on, she whined, missing it the first time and popped one eye open to check on the untimely mishap. Whisper didn¡¯t want to open her eyes and ruin the mood of this precious personal time, nor did she need to usually. Finding where important parts of her own anatomy were, was all but instinctive to her, unless the young Gish was too frustrated and blind drunk. Or had an audience. Alix gave her a thumb¡¯s up, distorted face beyond the water¡¯s surface urging her to continue. ¡°Ye fuckin¡¯ cunt!¡± Jinx yelled, bursting out of the barrel, a generous portion of the water coming out with her, an explosion really, almost splashing on the manically smirking Alix Walker. The male Gish managed to avoid the worst, jumping off the table they had used as vantage point to spy on her bath-barrel, but Liko for whatever reason didn¡¯t move at all. The water drenched him from top to bottom, perhaps a sage thing, since the boy reeked habitually and the dumbfounded teen took it even in his gaping mouth and started coughing immediately, desperately refusing to look anywhere, but at her tits. ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake, spit it out!¡± Whisper admonished him. ¡°There¡¯s piss in it, kid.¡± It helped wit infections. ¡°Haha!¡± Alix burst out laughing, while Liko stooped to spit the foul bathwater down. ¡°The Goddess¡¯ nectar should be savored!¡± He declared and Whisper rolled her eyes, looking around for her clothes. Somebody had moved them. The culprit easier to spot than a fly in yer goat milk. ¡°Shifty¡­¡± ¡°I had them aired,¡± The newest member of the Gallant Dogs explained with a seductive smile, adding in a deeper voice. ¡°This heavenly figure¡­ needs no garbs.¡± Jinx pushed her right leg forward. ¡°This leg¡­ will kick ye in the cock.¡± ¡°Ye noticed?¡± Alix countered, taking a step back just in case. ¡°Get it off my face, Walker. I¡¯m not in the mood,¡± Whisper warned him and he reluctantly buttoned up his breeches, manhandling that impressive rod of his for a while, before hiding it. ¡°Allow me to disagree, Pink Divinity. Ye appear in just the right mood,¡± Alix insisted, unwilling to give up. ¡°Aye!¡± Liko agreed with enthusiasm, bobbing his head up and down. ¡°Shut yer mouth kid,¡± Jinx snapped, with a glare. ¡°I mean it literally as well. There ye go. Now keep it closed, there¡¯s flies ¡®n stuff flyin¡¯ about, ye might not be as eager to swallow.¡± Whisper Jinx smacked her lips frustrated, at his comic efforts to conform to her orders and then remembered, Alix hadn¡¯t brought her clothes yet. ¡°Ah,¡± Shifty Walker exclaimed, realizing she¡¯d figured it out and shook his dark-pink head right and left, sad as a hungry dog. ¡°The kid blew it.¡± ¡°I have a poison that makes ye shit all day, not always from the arse¡­¡± Jinx hissed and Alix threw his arms up in mock surrender and went for her clothes, leaving her to wait awkwardly with Liko. ¡°Was it his idea? Comin¡¯ here?¡± Jinx asked out of the corner of her mouth, when the Gish was out of sight. ¡°Ahm, nope,¡± Liko replied. ¡°He wanted to find out, where ye keep yer gold; but I proposed spying on ye instead, to keep him from it.¡± The young boy glanced at her naked tits again and Jinx allowed him to stare freely. He¡¯d earned it.
Ah, sweet Spring is upon us, she thought, eager to get out. Actually it had arrived already, flowers blooming, all those diverse scents released around her and people started being less rigid in their affairs and clothing. Gish loved the better weather as well. Sunny days most of all. It warmed the water and when yer growing up on the Sinking Isles, ye better like getting wet and learn to sleep in it. Chilly waters are a nightmare to sink into. ¡°Lady Jinx,¡± Crafton said, tackling her before she¡¯d the time to step outside their inn to enjoy all the aforementioned stuff. Walk the market, flirt aplenty and take another crack at the races. ¡°Yes!¡± Whisper snapped, a little annoyed. ¡°What is it?¡± The aged Northman had several scrolls in his arms and a ledger, of all fuckin¡¯ things, and pointed at a table, right at the corner of the Inn¡¯s restaurant, of sorts. ¡°If ye have the time, I¡¯d like to show ye the progress on the Company¡¯s finances and future plans.¡± The Gallant Dogs was the mysterious company the man was referring to. Jinx blinked, her mouth twitching one way, chin the other and eyed the scribblings on the first document he¡¯d produced for her. The handwriting even worse than hers. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± ¡°Mostly numbers, apologies for the few mistakes,¡± Glen¡¯s uncle explained. ¡°I haven¡¯t used a quill in ages.¡± She could¡¯ve figured that last part out herself. Jinx had used one recently as a matter of fact, but not for writing. Although, art was produced just the same, she thought leering at the vivid memory. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± Whisper replied nonchalantly, coming about, realizing Crafton was still there, with no intention of leaving. ¡°The Dogs are illiterate top to bottom.¡± ¡°All things can be learned,¡± Crafton argued. There was meaning there, somewhere, Jinx thought itching to wrap this up quickly and head outside. ¡°Is there a short version?¡± ¡°Ye asked me to prepare for a possible southern expedition,¡± Crafton paused, old eyes lighting up, before adding excited. ¡°A treasure hunt.¡± Jinx smacked her lips, used a finger to scratch around her tiny nostrils, clean anything found there in the process and then took the scroll Crafton still held for her. She raised an eye from the mess scribbled on the parchment and stared at the blissful man. ¡°Ye know, nothing is set in stone. It is probably just a myth, the pendant a cheap thing in need of a story to bolster its worth.¡± ¡°Have ye seen it?¡± Crafrton asked. ¡°Aye. It¡¯s made of iron, shaped like an ankh, like the staff that these Uher fanatics carry around. It¡¯s not very impressive,¡± Jinx explained. ¡°Still a clue,¡± Crafton insisted, unwilling to let go. ¡°Just keep yer head on yer shoulders,¡± Whisper advised him, then glanced at the numbers again. ¡°A supply mule for every two members of the Dogs?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a long journey, even if we use a ship.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m still working on the ship. I¡¯ll need Glen¡¯s help there,¡± Jinx explained. ¡°Of course. It¡¯s his ship,¡± Crafton replied with conviction. ¡°Well, I haven¡¯t read the will yet, nor am I privy to the finer details on his assets¡ª¡± ¡°The Lord of Altarin takes everything,¡± Crafton declared greedily. Wow there, partner! ¡°Hey, lets ease it up a little. We don¡¯t know that,¡± Jinx sighed. ¡°What¡¯s having you so excited with all this?¡± Crafton frowned and took a step back. ¡°I hadn¡¯t the chance to plan such a large ¡®n legit operation before,¡± He replied measuring his words, which was weird, since Jinx¡¯s query was pretty simple. ¡°Lots of shady dealings in the meat business?¡± ¡°Ahm, well¡­¡± Crafton tripped over his tongue, taken by surprise. ¡°Ye were a butcher,¡± Jinx reminded him, narrowing her eyes. Crafton nodded. ¡°Yes, but as all folk, I had my hand in a couple of other dealings. People trusted my skills to organize a decent escapade.¡± ¡°Say, like a robbery?¡± ¡°What? No¡­ I was talking about market opportunities,¡± The man countered, visibly upset. No ye weren¡¯t. ¡°Anything else, mister Crafton?¡± ¡°We have to hire more men,¡± He replied, after recovering his wits somewhat. ¡°Perhaps, of better quality than Mister Walker.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong wit him?¡± She probed, to see where he was going with this. ¡°Well, other than the fact, he¡¯s a thief?¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t we all?¡± Jinx deadpanned, without batting an eyelash. Crafton pressed his lips all tight, but prudently refrained from commenting. There was a story here, Jinx thought. A pretty curious story. ¡°Men that could fight was my meaning,¡± He finally said. ¡°I¡¯ll think about it. Anything else?¡± ¡°The badges are ready,¡± The man reported and it took Whisper Jinx a hot minute to understand what he was talking about. Ah.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Oh crap, I should¡¯ve cancelled it! Darn it!
No sooner than she thought that, the door of their inn, aptly named Cheap Liaisons, burst open, either from a kick, or a man of enormous strength, almost breaking from its hinges and Jinx heard Soren¡¯s voice protesting. The Northman being the apparent culprit. ¡°Thought it got stuck again!¡± He yelled entering, a gold badge hanging from his neck, eye-catching to say the least. ¡°It wasn¡¯t stuck the last time,¡± Zola replied coming up behind him. ¡°It¡¯s called locked, dear.¡± ¡°Bah!¡± Soren griped, then seeing Jinx and Crafton watching then, still stunned and half-pissed, he smiled broadly. ¡°Hey, check out my badge, Pretty!¡± Jinx closed her mouth and tried to gather her thoughts, his pleased outburst catching her unawares. Everyone else getting into it in the meantime. ¡°He should have made it, with a clasp,¡± Zola complained, hers hanging from a leather cord down her impressive bust. ¡°Frank wanted extra compensation for that,¡± Crafton explained, eyeing Jinx, afore adding. ¡°The man¡¯s a crook.¡± Yer preachin¡¯ to the choir! ¡°Wait,¡± She intervened, finding her chance. ¡°Where are the rest of them?¡± ¡°I have ¡®em here,¡± Soren replied, smile still on his face and produced a small wooden box from his satchel. Whisper Jinx took the small box, opened it and examined its contents thoughtfully for a brief moment. Then glared at the big Northman. ¡°Where¡¯s the rest of them?¡± Soren frowned. ¡°What you mean?¡± Jinx showed him the half empty box. ¡°Well I have mine here,¡± Soren said, sounding troubled. ¡°Yep, same,¡± Zola added, with a taunting smile. Jinx eyed Crafton and the former ¡®butcher¡¯ allegedly, shrugged his shoulders. ¡°I keep mine under lock and key,¡± He said simply. Of course. ¡°Liko and Walker got one as well,¡± Soren further elaborated. ¡°Liko? Do you have any idea how much dis shit worth?¡± Jinx all but growled. Soren narrowed his eyes, not likening her tone. ¡°Can¡¯t put a price tag on friendship, boss,¡± He said affronted. Jinx blinked, taken by surprise yet again and stunned into stupidity for a brief second, but before she¡¯d time to give the oversized doofus the tongue-lashing, he so rightly deserved, Crafton put a hand on her shoulder, which Whisper Jinx didn¡¯t much appreciate and said, his tone diplomatic. ¡°How about ye try yours, Captain? I have a cord fixed for ye.¡± Jinx looked at the leering older Northman, behind a pink curtain of hair. Then at the badge offered, a leather cord going through the small hole left open, above the engraved portion of it. ¡°Nobody takes another from here,¡± She relented, giving the box to Crafton and accepting the badge in return. She pushed it over her head and then raised the oblong emblem to check on it. ¡°What do you think?¡± Crafton probed, his smile disconcerting. Too much rotten teeth in it. Whisper snorted and pushed her unruly hair back with a hand. ¡°The cord is too long,¡± She started. Or made for a taller person. ¡°I¡¯ll shorten it for ye,¡± Crafton replied quickly. ¡°Is that a dog?¡± Jinx continued, narrowing her eyes, not exactly sure on what she was looking at, the engraved surface of the badge facing her. ¡°Ayup,¡± That was Soren, beaming like an idiot, just about ready to start a diatribe on the why. Jinx raised a hand, index finger pointing to the ceiling to stop him. ¡°I know the symbolism,¡± She stated. ¡°What¡¯s that between its hind-legs?¡± It better be a tail. An awkward silence ensued, no one really wanting to take the first crack at explaining the bizarre illustration. ¡°Well,¡± Crafton said, an unlikely man to speak first, since Jinx thought he was neither brave, nor artistic enough to know what was going on. ¡°Frank wanted to portray both instances of the Company¡¯s name. We had the dog nailed down¡ª¡± ¡°You wanted the Gallant?¡± Jinx queried, cutting him off, as she couldn¡¯t really see the connection. ¡°Aye!¡± Soren thundered, apparently much more versed than her in arty matters. Crafton grimaced and then let out a deep sigh, all an act, before he threw the Northman under the carriage. ¡°It was Mister Soren¡¯s idea.¡± ¡°Frank agreed!¡± Soren protested, raising his voice even more. ¡°Frank¡¯s a crook!¡± Crafton reminded him, just as loud. Jinx closed her eyes and all but growled at the top of her lungs. And she had quite a voice in her. ¡°FUCK IS THAT THING?¡± Soren frowned and puffed his cheeks out, long half-burned beard dancing underneath. ¡°It¡¯s a cock.¡± Huh? ¡°An artistic depiction of it,¡± Crafton hurried to elucidate, seeing Jinx¡¯s incredulous expression. ¡°What¡¯s gallant? It¡¯s not some kid,¡± Soren insisted, his ¡®logic¡¯ all over the place, while Whisper stared at the engraved image with new eyes, doubly flabbergasted at the audacity of putting such a thing on a badge. ¡°The virile man. The manly hero,¡± Crafton worked overtime to sell Soren¡¯s idea, apparently agreeing with him. Jinx glanced at Zola, but she shrugged her shoulders indifferently. ¡°I like the vulgarity of it,¡± She said, all serious. ¡°Thought you would as well.¡± ¡°It¡¯s almost as big as its leg!¡± Jinx protested. ¡°Some dogs, are well endowed,¡± The Issir woman said matter-of-factly. The Gallant Dogs, was her meaning. Adding with a naughty wink that rushed Whisper¡¯s blood to her head. ¡°The other dogs steer clear from them.¡± Yeah, Jinx thought coming around to it, feeling lightheaded and quite flushed all of sudden.
A voice coming from the open window, interrupted her daydreaming and brought her back to the present abruptly. ¡°I told ye, I will come back, you bitch!¡± A familiar voice. Calm Pollock had returned. Jinx checked out of their window. And he brought friends. ¡°We have a problem,¡± She said quickly to the others, pointing a thumb outside. ¡°Come out, or we¡¯ll tear this shit to the ground!¡± Calm thundered angry. ¡°How many?¡± Crafton asked. ¡°What? No ye won¡¯t!¡± That was their innkeeper, probably the one that had ratted them out. ¡°Twenty? Too many,¡± Jinx replied and moved to bar their door. Then the window. She sighed. They wouldn¡¯t last a minute. ¡°YOU HAVE FIVE MINUTES!¡± Calm raged at the top of his lungs, from the middle of the street. I¡¯ll take that, Jinx thought. ¡°Did ye get the horses?¡± She asked turning to a troubled Crafton. ¡°Yep, but I haven¡¯t found a good deal for the¡ª¡± She stopped him right there. ¡°Forget the mules. Does yer window face the stables?¡± ¡°Aye, but we need the mules, chief.¡± For fuck¡¯s sake. ¡°Forget. The darn. Mules!¡± Alix chose that moment to appear all flustered. ¡°Keep yer calm, lads. There¡¯s some nasty people out on the street,¡± He announced and seeing everyone already had it figured out on their own, quickly added keeping his legendary cool. ¡°So what¡¯s the plan, Goddess?¡± ¡°We run for it,¡± Jinx deadpanned, trying to appear unruffled under pressure, much as legit leaders do. She hadn¡¯t had the time to eat, brush her teeth, or even breathe, since getting up this morning. Even her ¡®session¡¯ was cut short. ¡°Ye look delectable, when worried,¡± Alix retorted, not missing a bit. ¡°Twice that in the morning.¡± A Gish eventually, will get in yer pants, Whisper thought, blushing to the roots of her hair.
The roof of the stable was almost three meters under the second story window. Apparently, some thatch and a lot of planks that may or may not hold her weight. Oh, darn it. Whisper hated heights. ¡°Grab my box!¡± She half-shrieked half-asked, seeing Alix coming through the door, his hood covering his head for some fuckin¡¯ reason. ¡°We need to jump!¡± ¡°There¡¯s a box¡­¡± The male Gish started, red-rimmed eyes narrowing, taking his bloody time to think it through and Jinx all but groaned in frustration, pointing with a finger. ¡°Under the bed!¡± Liko, who was the first to jump down, stood upright and gave her a thumbs up, then stabbed down with his foot at the dubious built roof a couple of times, to demonstrate its sturdiness. The creaking sound produced from the dodgy construction terrifying. ¡°YER TIME IS UP BITCH!¡± Calm bellowed from the front of their building, the gathered crowd cheering their approval, not that they knew what they were cheering for, or whom. Jinx snapped her head back and glared at Alix. ¡°Get the box! Hells are ye doing?¡± ¡°It¡¯s too freakin¡¯ heavy!" ¡°Put yer back to it, for fuck¡¯s sake!¡± "I''LL PLUCTH ALL YER TE¡¯TH OUTH!" That was Fourteeth, assuming the moniker hadn''t changed. The man just couldn''t let go. ¡°What about the bag?¡± Alix asked, huffing and puffing trying to hold on to Jinx¡¯s medium sized box, while she prepped herself up for the drop. Glen had no problem carrying it, she thought, before Alix''s query registered. Hmm. ¡°What bag?¡± ¡°There¡¯s one¡­ let me get it,¡± Walker said, putting the box down and stooping under the bed. ¡°Leave the bag, Shifty!¡± Jinx hissed. Zola landing nimbly in the meantime, using the window next door and calling for Soren to make the jump next. Crafton had made it to the street already with Liko. The old man knew how to leave a building in a hurry, she thought intrigued. ¡°There might be loot in it!¡± The male Gish protested rifling through the contents like a maniac, his greed immense. Was that her bag? Shit. ¡°What in Nesande¡¯s tits is this?¡± Alix exclaimed getting up, holding something in his hand. There it is, Jinx thought. Being wondering where it had disappeared to. Out of all the freakin'' moments, ye could''ve sprouted out, ye chose dis one. She walked there, snatched the leather bag away and then made an attempt to take her ¡®tool¡¯ from Walker¡¯s hands, but the thief dodged the attempt. So Whisper kicked him hard right at the shin instead, almost doubling him over. ¡°GAH!¡± Alix protested hobbling about comically on one leg. ¡°Why did ye do that for, beautiful?¡± ¡°Give it to me,¡± Jinx ordered, more than a little flustered. ¡°What is it?¡± This is Luthos doin¡¯ for sure! ¡°Better ye don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Hah! Now I want it doubly. Should I guess?¡± He teased flipping it once and catching it with the other hand. ¡°Looks like a thief¡¯s blackjack to me, dear.¡± Jinx sighed, her shoulders shagging. Ye don¡¯t get to call other people hypocrites, then turn around ¡®n hide yer dirty laundry under Liko''s bed. ¡°UP THE BLOODY STAIRS!¡± Pollock yelled from inside the inn. They were running out of time. Out wit it girl. ¡°It¡¯s a wooden phallus,¡± She blurted, nigh embarrassed. Alix Walker blinked, taken by surprise. A second later he tossed her the crude love instrument and Jinx deftly caught it mid-air and hid it in her bag again. ¡°Get the box, but be careful with it,¡± She ordered the still shaken Gish. They had to move.
¡°What do you have inside the box, Goddess?¡± Alix asked her again a couple of minutes later, the drop from their inn¡¯s window a great success, for her and Alix that is. Soren went straight through the roofing, breaking a couple of beams and shattering the old planks, ending up on the stable¡¯s floor, but miraculously and despite the ruckus and considerable damage to the building, he was unharmed. ¡°What do you think?¡± She taunted, the former member of the Thieves Guild. Come to think of it, can anyone quit these things? Jinx didn¡¯t know that. ¡°I¡¯m gonna guess wrong again aren¡¯t I?¡± ¡°What¡¯s yer guess?¡± ¡°Your hidden gold, magnificent Divinity.¡± ¡°There¡¯s gold, not much though.¡± ¡°Thing weighs a ton!¡± Alix argued and moved it this way and that to hear what was inside, a hand already holding a long iron needle to pop the lock open. Jinx stopped him, putting a hand on his elbow. ¡°Shifty, put that back,¡± Whisper ordered, steel in her voice. Walker looked at her, a little desperate. ¡°It¡¯ll only take a second, Goddess. Tis a simple lock.¡± ¡°Never open it. I mean it Shifty,¡± She warned him, fully serious. The male Gish puffed his cheeks out frustrated, but yielded. ¡°The fuck ye got in there?¡± He asked, helping her climb on the horse, his voice lowering an octave for the next part. ¡°Tell me yer secrets.¡± It¡¯s an egg. ¡°Do as I say and I might tell ye,¡± Jinx replied instead and seeing the gleam in his eyes, corner of his wicked mouth rising seductively, she added to slow him down. ¡°One day, Alix. But not today.¡±
95. The Celestial Opal of Lai Zel-Ka (1/2)
Glen The Celestial Opal of Lai Zel-Ka Part I -A merchant''s offer-
The priest moaned again, a pitiful cry of misery that strained Glen¡¯s nerves and he was already at the end of his wits due to the leather saddle, that worthless scoundrel had offered with the horses, for a good chunk of his coin. Wrongly set and thin as a whore¡¯s tunic, it allowed the horse¡¯s bones to dig through it and attack his nether parts, every fuckin¡¯ step. It¡¯s probably not even a real saddle, he thought glancing back towards the pained Qanuq with hate filled eyes. The man¡¯s constant moaning reminding him of what they had done. The memory sickening and guilt ridden. ¡°Can someone make him stop?¡± He hissed out of the corner of his mouth and Stiles riding next to him nodded in understanding and pulled at the reins to turn his mare. What had that fool understood though? ¡°Wait!¡± Glen snapped, stopping his own mount. ¡°Where are ye going?¡± Stiles cleared his throat, the rest of their group stopping their horses curious. None more relieved, than the injured Qanuq. ¡°To do milord¡¯s bidding,¡± His manservant replied, looking shifty as all hells. Glen snorted, not likening the look on the dwarfs¡¯ faces. Marcus could care less it seemed. He had it up to his eyes, with all that holier than thou attitude, these short big nosed creatures had. ¡°I don¡¯t believe you¡¯ve understood me, Stiles.¡± ¡°Ye want him to stop,¡± Stiles droned. ¡°Milord.¡± Yes. ¡°I want the man treated, if possible.¡± ¡°Some call it treatment, milord,¡± The former pirate replied, faking sadness and pointed at his dagger. ¡°Even humane.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want him killed, Stiles,¡± Glen explained louder, looking at the frowning duo of dwarfs. ¡°Can¡¯t we do something, to alleviate his pain?¡± ¡°Ain¡¯t no treatment, going to put ¡®em toes back,¡± Marcus mused, after thinking it through. ¡°Of course, I wasn¡¯t talking about¡­¡± He cleared his throat, searching for the word. ¡°¡­ Re-attaching his toes, Decanus¡ª¡± ¡°Marcus will suffice, milord.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Glen puffed out, frustrated at the interruption, the sun over their heads blinding and hot enough, to remind him of the Free Isles summer. ¡°Surely something can be done.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a salve,¡± Fikumin started and Glen turned to him. ¡°Go on.¡± ¡°I need to get in a cave.¡± Glen stared at the mountain range extending on their left side and to the East. They had the steppe on their right and they were heading straight South and the desert, following the spine of the mountain visible in the distance. It was far away. ¡°Is there another way?¡± Fikumin shrugged his shoulders. ¡°We could change the bandages.¡± ¡°Hah! There, do that!¡± Glen exclaimed, rather pleased at the quick solution. ¡°It won¡¯t help him heal faster, nor stop the pain, milord,¡± Fikumin said and Norec snorted, in disgust. ¡°Will it be better?¡± Glen countered, not wanting to admit defeat. ¡°In a sense.¡± ¡°Stiles!¡± He barked, although he didn¡¯t have to. ¡°You want me to slit his throat?¡± The pirate asked patiently and Glen coiled like an asp on that darn stupid saddle to glare his way. ¡°What? Is that what ye got from our talk?¡± ¡°Wasn¡¯t really payin¡¯ attention, milord.¡± Glen let out a pained sigh. ¡°I want ye to change his bandages.¡± Stiles incredulous look brought a roar of laughter out of the Decanus and even Glen, though still seething then, thought it rather amusing. They say, when people laugh, gods get jealous. While not fair to apply it in this instance, folks also decree that gods are anything, but fair.
Sameer had offered them six horses in the end. Four mares and a couple of stallions, the sturdy, though smaller variant of the kind abundant in the Steppe. There was of course the large and famed black stallions of the Great Desert, but the Khan''s cavalry had a huge price tag on them and it wasn¡¯t easy to find one outside the bigger cities. Speaking of cities, there was no Cofol city near Raoz, but smaller villages near water sources, nothing though on this side of the mountains. The roads followed these few oasis, traveled through long empty kilometers of steppe and later desert, the paths themselves nowhere near the cobblestone the Lorians used on Jelin. Eplas was a huge place, but deceptively empty for the most part. The biggest cities located, with the exception of Yin Xiyan that stood at the border between the Cofol Steppe and the Great Desert, otherwise marked by Hath Kirk River and the Desert Lake Oasis, much further to the West and beyond the Khanate Gulf, mainly the Greenwhale Peninsula. The name given to it, due to its distinct shape probably. Or perhaps there are a ton green whales there, Glen thought, eyeing the attempts by Stiles to fix Qanuq¡¯s injury. He wouldn¡¯t know of course. The young former thief hadn¡¯t seen any type of whale in his short life, neither green, nor red. Nor did he know much else about the continent he found himself stranded. Raoz, though on Eplas, still followed Lorian and Issir customs, for the most part. ¡°Where are we heading Glenavon?¡± Fikumin asked, interrupting his thoughts. ¡°To Rida.¡± ¡°We should go West, after the Aken.¡± Glen stared at the bearded creature. ¡°There¡¯s a war going on, dwarf. People are actively trying to kill me.¡± ¡°Lithoniela asked me to help you,¡± Fikumin frowned. ¡°The Knight and the others, died so you can live, Glenavon.¡± Glen grunted in frustration. ¡°We don¡¯t know that. We don¡¯t know they are dead,¡± He stare turned into a glare. ¡°Ye want me to throw myself¡­ everyone here, to the wolves. How is that going to help us find yer Aken?¡± ¡°How is going to Rida, help you in finding the others?¡± Glen opened his mouth to explain to his annoying companion, he was in fact the one calling the shots, but Stiles frustrated gasp prevented him. ¡°What happened?¡± He probed, turning their way. They had stopped to let the horses graze and attend to the priest¡¯s wound. Endless grass all around them, with not a tree in sight. The road, a well-trotted wide path, maintained more by wild animals, horses, buffalos and the nifty antelopes, than man. Marcus stood up and scrunched his jaw, looking troubled. ¡°Rot set in,¡± He murmured. ¡°Or something close to it.¡± Glen didn¡¯t like the sound of that. ¡°What does it mean?¡± ¡°Might have to cut off more of the foot.¡± ¡°YER NOT TAKIN¡¯ MY FOOT!¡± Qanuq all but screamed, deathly scared at the suggestion. Marcus glanced his way. ¡°The pain will get worse lad.¡± ¡°I can take it!¡± ¡°Then ye¡¯ll die from blood poisoning.¡± Glen puffed his cheeks out distressed. The problems kept mounting up and he¡¯d no idea how to deal with them. ¡°Stiles?¡± He chanced, having nothing to offer himself. ¡°We can cut it at the ankle, leave the stump¡ª¡± ¡°NO!¡± Qanuq protested, eyes ogling wide. If he was thin before, the man appeared half-dead now, Glen thought. Eyes sunken, skin leathery and pale, a constant shake on his emancipated arms. The Priest¡¯s begging turned desperate. ¡°Please my Lord, I beg you, don¡¯t let them take my foot please!¡± Good grief. Glen gulped down, unsure on what to do and a little annoyed everyone else seemed to expect him to make the decision. ¡°Clouds from Northwest,¡± Norec announced from atop his own mount. The young man narrowed his eyes confused. ¡°It¡¯s going to rain?¡± He chanced. ¡°Someone is coming, milord,¡± Marcus explained, his head turned that way, to see for himself. ¡°Bringing a lot of animals.¡± Oh, for slovenly fuck¡¯s sake. The last thing we need now is the Cofol army appearing!
If that was the army, then they had caught up with its rear end. The supply train, as Emerson had called it on a day he had one cup of wine too many, wher¡¯ soldiers go to forget their sorrows amidst the cooks, the crooks and the whores that love their coin ¡®n hate their guts. The carriages and wagons were large, almost twice the size of any wagon Glen had ever seen, which made them kind of huge in a sense, around twenty of them in a long row and drawn by slow moving oxen. There were guards leading and following the wagons, hard Cofol men armed with bows and swords.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°See the flags, over each wagon?¡± Stiles murmured, almost giving him a heart attack, as he¡¯d approached him without Glen noticing. ¡°What of them?¡± The flags were unfurled and flapping in the constant Steppe wind, most of them depicting an ashen white Capricorn, but others a Dogfish, a Mermaid and a couple of monsters, or animals Glen didn¡¯t recognize. ¡°They¡¯re sigils, milord.¡± ¡°How the fuck, could ye possibly know that?¡± Stiles bit his lower lip. ¡°Had a mate, a Cofol. Told me all about ¡®em.¡± Glen snorted, at the useless detail. ¡°What does it mean?¡± ¡°Khan¡¯s army carries his symbol. The Scythed Chariot,¡± Stiles gave him a side glance. ¡°Only a few families of the old Cofol lines, are allowed to display their own. Anyway it¡¯s what she told me.¡± ¡°Right. Where¡¯s she now?¡± Glen asked him, the information not as useless as he¡¯d originally thought. ¡°Yer ranger killed her milord,¡± Glen frowned hearing the sadness in the callous man¡¯s voice. ¡°Aboard yer ship.¡± The young former thief sighed, feeling a little guilty about that as well. ¡°Attacking us was a bad idea, Stiles.¡± ¡°Twas milord. But it wasn¡¯t my idea, nor was it hers,¡± His manservant replied, making him feel even worse about the whole thing. ¡°I¡¯ll need to talk to them,¡± Glen said to stop this uncomfortable conversation from ruining his mood even more and Stiles nodded, scarred face looking much as it usually did. ¡°A word of counsel, milord,¡± The former pirate offered, in a toneless voice. ¡°Keep yer own family name, out of the conversation.¡± Glen wasn¡¯t sure, if that was as good an advice, but Marcus approached at that moment, relief on his face and solved a riddle, creating a new one. ¡°That¡¯s a merchant caravan,¡± The former Legion Decanus, of the engineering corps, informed him. ¡°Heading to Rida.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ good news,¡± Glen said and seeing the man¡¯s expression, added. ¡°Is it not?¡± Marcus grimaced, all that previous relief, a misdirection apparently. ¡°They said, they¡¯re aiming for Yeriden¡¯s mid tributary, milord. Which is the roundabout route,¡± He reported. ¡°Reason is, the northernmost is blocked by Khan¡¯s main army.¡±
The Caravan stopped to prepare for the night, the wagons circling and creating an inner ring of safety, everything done with a rhythm and tenacity that resembled a well-rehearsed dance. Every action measured by the drivers and the many slaves. A detail that troubled Glen, not familiar with the custom. The fact he¡¯d a slave himself, never crossing his mind. ¡°They seem rather happy considering,¡± He commented, accepting a refreshment from a cute girl, with chocolate skin and warm eyes. Fikumin hidden under his coat snorted. The sound coming out as a loud fart. ¡°Shut yer mouth, dwarf!¡± Glen hissed, just as another slave appeared, silver collar on his neck looking nigh expensive to lead them further inside, the huge tent. More than ten had been erected inside the inner circle, this one apparently belonging to the leader of the caravan, or whatever the hell it was called. ¡°Mean Chakara,¡± The old Caravan Master introduced himself a moment later, answering him that query and Glen tried to reply respectfully. ¡°My name¡¯s Gle¡­ Glenavon. This is¡­ Mister Marcus and my manservant Stiles.¡± ¡°Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Master Glenavon,¡± The old Cofol said, face weather-bitten but healthy, a thin mustache on his upper lip greying, alike his short hair. ¡°Your injured man is being looked after.¡± ¡°Gratitude, Master Chakara,¡± Glen quickly replied, not pleased with himself. Too much stuttering in his voice. ¡°We will compensate you, for the assistance.¡± ¡°Ahm, let¡¯s not dwell on that, before having a cup,¡± Mean Chakara replied, with a casual smile. ¡°Do you partake in wine?¡± ¡°Sure¡­ yes. That¡¯s an excellent idea.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the custom.¡± Not where I¡¯m from. But he quickly bobbed his head. ¡°Of course, apologies.¡± Mean Chakara made a grimace and looked over Glen¡¯s shoulder. Glen resisted the temptation to glance behind his back. ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s his first time on Eplas proper,¡± A cultured voice said. The Caravan Master nodded and cleared his throat, whole demeanor of his body changing. ¡°Master Glenavon,¡± He said measuring his words, just as a figure walked past them to sit behind the short table, on a sturdy and large leather pillow that was apparently the Cofol¡¯s version of a stool. ¡°You¡¯re in the presence of Phon-Iv Sopat,¡± Mean announced and the richly dressed young man waved his ring-adorned hand to cut it short; He¡¯d a clear face, skin a rich yellow and the standard Cofol eyes not as pronounced, but penciled a deep black, much as his lips. You could mistake him for a woman in the dark, if he wasn¡¯t well-built and taller than Glen. ¡°It¡¯s his tent and caravan.¡± ¡°Ah, dear Chakara,¡± Phon stopped him, with a pretentious smile. ¡°I just own the larger portion of it, no need to embellish.¡± ¡°Apologies, your excellency. I shall lash a slave of your choosing ten times, for the slip of the tongue.¡± What? ¡°Bah! We don¡¯t have to go that far, dear,¡± Phon replied, noticing Glen¡¯s reaction. ¡°Let one of mine, take your place and make it a modest five lashes.¡± ¡°It shall be done,¡± Mean agreed and bowing deeply, left them alone. He opened a door cut in the wall, previously unseen and disappeared inside. ¡°It is a large tent,¡± Phon explained, always watching Glen¡¯s reactions. ¡°But not the biggest. I believe the Khan has a larger one.¡± Only the Khan, has a bigger tent, Glen translated, the shifty man¡¯s hidden boast. ¡°You¡¯re not impressed,¡± The Cofol merchant noticed. ¡°Perhaps you are not as humble, as you tried to portray yourself.¡± Glen cleared his throat, completely out of his element and his companions weren¡¯t any help as well. But for the dwarfs of course. They had remained hidden, Norec somewhere inside the camp and Fikumin, well¡­ he was just standing between Glen¡¯s legs, hidden behind his long coat and had managed to remain unseen somehow. It would be for the best, if he remained silent as well. ¡°We¡¯re just adventurers.¡± Phon chuckled, showing his delight. ¡°I love adventurers,¡± He gushed, which made Glen even more uncomfortable. ¡°Read about them, in my youth. Even tales of Jelin, much as they are fanciful.¡± Glen nodded, himself not as well read, but having the knowledge of many a tales, told in taverns by drunken sailors and women of questionable morals and hygiene, nobody was ever bothered by. ¡°You can have your man leave,¡± Phon said coming about. ¡°I¡¯m rather harmless.¡± An understatement, if there ever was one. ¡°Marcus, Stiles,¡± Glen said. ¡°Wait outside, if you please.¡± ¡°Are ye sure about it, my lad?¡± Phon raised a trimmed eyebrow, interest piqued. ¡°I¡¯m sure, Marcus.¡±
¡°Your slave, is rather unruly,¡± Phon commented. ¡°Marcus works for me, but he¡¯s not a slave,¡± Glen retorted. ¡°Ah, of course. So you pay him?¡± Ahm, nope? ¡°He¡¯s a friend.¡± ¡°And the other man, is also a friend?¡± ¡°A manservant.¡± Phon pouted and looked at the cups left on the short table in front of him. ¡°A slave and a friend,¡± He finally said, reaching for a silver cup filled with wine. ¡°Have I got it right?¡± Glen grimaced. ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°Is it typical for Lorian men¡­ you¡¯re Lorian, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m from the Free Isles.¡± ¡°Ah, the Free Isles. I had some dealings there. The port of Bayspel.¡± Glen nodded, now in much surer ground. ¡°I know of it well.¡± ¡°Of course, Glenavon,¡± He sipped at his wine and offered him another cup. ¡°Please, it is a rather good year. I can vouch for it.¡± ¡°Ye can?¡± Glen replied and reached for a cup. ¡°It¡¯s my own vintage.¡± ¡°Is that what you do, ahm¡­ Master Sopat?¡± Glen queried. Phon smiled, appearing amused. ¡°Gods, you really never heard of my family. This is, extremely refreshing. I must show you to Sen. She¡¯ll be delighted.¡± Glen cleared his throat, not likening his tone at all. The wine was excellent though, so he sipped some more, taking care not to overdo it, the knight¡¯s instructions on the back of his mind. ¡°Is she yer wife?¡± Phon chuckled, a naughty look on his eyes. ¡°People have suggested it,¡± He admitted. ¡°I can take another, why not do it like the Empire did, right?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not really¡­¡± ¡°She¡¯s my sister,¡± Phon explained. He sighed pensively. ¡°Alas, we are still looking for a match for her.¡± Is she a troll? Like super ugly, or maybe she looks like him? That would drive any suitors away in a fuckin¡¯ hurry! Phon was still on the subject though. The matter troubling him. ¡°She was to be Prince Sahand¡¯s third wife. We could work with that,¡± The meaning of the latter ambiguous. ¡°But circumstances changed, let us say.¡± The strange Zilan appeared, Glen thought, remembering the story Sir Emerson¡¯s friend had told them in Castalor. Ruined your family¡¯s plans. ¡°So what does yer family deal with, friend?¡± Glen asked, wanting to milk him for information, while distracted. ¡°Gems.¡± Glen perked up at the short answer. ¡°As in rubies?¡± ¡°Well, opals and amethysts mainly,¡± Phon replied, in business mode. ¡°Are you a fan yourself?¡± He examined the large gold ring, Glen wore on his middle finger, with interest. Glen clasped his hands in front him to hide it. ¡°I like gems,¡± He said simply. ¡°Who doesn¡¯t, am I right?¡± Phon chuckled, but it never reached his eyes. His whole demeanor changed in an instant. ¡°You¡¯re heading to Rida?¡± The gem merchant asked him, adding before Glen could answer. ¡°But where are you coming from, Mister Glenavon?¡± He suspects something, Glen thought. Dodge. ¡°It is not set in stone,¡± He croaked, having nothing at the ready. ¡°Wherever trouble leads you?¡± Phon touted a familiar saying. Glen frowned and the well put man added, seeing his expression. ¡°It¡¯s a quote. Framtond¡¯s, if I¡¯m not mistaken.¡± ¡°Ah, thought it familiar,¡± Glen said quickly, increasingly nervous. Fikumin touched the inside of his knee to comfort him. Either that, or to stop it from shaking. He realized Phon was examining him thoughtfully and the silent moment dragged. ¡°Is it politics, or crime?¡± The astute man finally asked. ¡°What you are running from?¡± ¡°Nothing is clear anymore,¡± Glen replied honestly. Phon got up from his pillow, much to the young former thief¡¯s relief, as it wasn¡¯t comfortable staring down on him and walked to a corner of the large room. He stared at the drawings covering the linen walls of the tent, his back turned on Glen for a while, before replying. ¡°Khan¡¯s war,¡± The gem merchant said simply and turned to look at him. Glen nodded, keeping it as vague as possible. ¡°That¡¯s a signet ring, you¡¯re wearing, Glenavon.¡± So he noticed. Keen eyes for jewelry indeed. Phon sighed, deep in thought. Glen had a hand on his dagger, just in case this turned tits up. ¡°The Gold Leopard, is in Raoz then,¡± Phon noted. The man in Hellfort¡¯s Pass, Glen thought, remembering the Cataphract.
¡°I left Lai Zel-Ka, two years ago,¡± Phon started and seeing his surprise, he added. ¡°It¡¯s a city-port on the Greenwhale Peninsula. Where the Cofols always lived.¡± ¡°I thought they roamed the Steppe,¡± Glen said. ¡°That¡¯s the Horselords, the Khan¡¯s ilk. Much as he dencounces it,¡± A tick had appeared on the merchant¡¯s face and it took him considerable effort to keep the rage brewing from his voice. ¡°Raised above their station, either by necessity, or stupidity. You can¡¯t put the Jinni back in the bottle, Glenavon. A long gone empire¡¯s sins, is thus forced upon us.¡± The meaning of the latter confusing to Glen. But it seemed the Khan had his own problems back home that much, he could discern. ¡°I can get you to Rida, if that¡¯s where you¡¯re going,¡± Phon said a moment later, having recovered his composure. ¡°But I want something in return.¡± ¡°What makes you certain, your caravan will make it through?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll wait the war out in Queen¡¯s Oasis, near Sadofort, Glenavon,¡± Phon replied that smirk back on his face. ¡°We were going to Rida. The plan changed, when we heard the news.¡± Oh, boy. This is going to get me killed. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°Ah, you¡¯re too impatient,¡± Phon said, plopping himself down on the leather pillow. He stared at the unmoving Glen a little amused. ¡°You prefer standing?¡± Glen smacked his lips, eyeing the weird and alien furniture. It was a miracle the man could stay on top of it and not toppling over on his head. Many a injuries have ensued, attemptin¡¯ less precarious acrobatics. ¡°As a matter of fact, I do,¡± He deadpanned.
96. The Celestial Opal of Lai Zel-Ka (2/2)
Glen The Celestial Opal of Lai Zel-Ka Part II -The mark of the Capricorn-
The young former thief, could sense Fikumin¡¯s disapproval oozing out of every pore of his small body, even before the scowling dwarf opened his mouth. ¡°You should¡¯ve refused.¡± ¡°Yeah, I thought about it,¡± Glen replied, looking about the dark camp, for anyone listening in. Ye can never be too careful. As for dark, that is but for the fire pits burning outside every tent. ¡°Do ye know, why I didn¡¯t?¡± ¡°You have stratagem prepared?¡± The dwarf guessed. Ahm, no? I was just scared. ¡°Yes,¡± Glen lied, a little disappointed he hadn¡¯t thought about it earlier. His answer now sounding pedestrian. ¡°I wanted to know more.¡± Then again thinking about it, wouldn¡¯t have helped me to actually produce a scheme worth the risk. ¡°So, you¡¯ll break your word?¡± There was scorn in the words, Glen didn¡¯t appreciate at all. ¡°I never gave him my word, dwarf.¡± And my word, is easily breakable. Historically. ¡°Why sent you to the Duke? Seems strange for a Cofol to do that, during wartime,¡± Fikumin insisted, always difficult to please, much less fool. Which was a bit strange, since Glen thought the dwarf was the biggest fool of them all. A noble one, but a fool nonetheless. ¡°You assume the merchant, likes the Khan.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t?¡± ¡°I can read between the lines,¡± Glen replied smugly. ¡°What if there is nothing there?¡± Huh? ¡°What do you mean?¡± Fikumin puffed his lips out, big nose swelling, almost hiding his eyes. It was nigh disconcerting. The whole construct that was the dwarf¡¯s head, could explode at any moment! ¡°Nothing. We can always read the letter and learn,¡± Fikumin relented, looking at him for confirmation. Phon wanted a letter delivered to the Duke of Raoz, the moment Glen made it into the city of Rida. Making it the second time, he was to carry a letter of some import to someone that could have him killed with an order. Then again, the first letter he kind of¡­ appropriated unwittingly, perhaps a bit of luck was involved, or the opposite of luck, come to think of it. All Glen wanted at the time, was to steal the corpse¡¯s clothes. The bag was right there. What was he supposed to do? Leave it to get soaked in salt water, or even worse found and taken, by some unsavory scoundrel? Who would have warned the king then? Yep. Look where doing the right thing landed me, he thought with a sigh. What this elusive right thing was, not important enough detail to dwell on. Fikumin, who expected an answer from him, rolled his eyes and walked away fuming to the tip of his great beard, managing to disappear behind a barrel two strides in. His ability to get lost in a hurry uncanny.
While there was meager illumination inside the caravan¡¯s circle after the last call, outside of it the land was a sinister black, but for the two moons shinning their light from the sky, the expanse endless on all sides and the constant gush of wind foreboding. ¡°It gives me the creeps,¡± Glen murmured, looking at the surrounding emptiness, crammed in the space between two of the smaller carriages and Stiles, who was standing a couple of strides behind him, grunted in response. ¡°Ye don¡¯t think so?¡± Glen asked turning his head to glance at his manservant. ¡°Oh, I do milord,¡± Stiles replied. ¡°It reminds me of the sea, in the night.¡± ¡°A sea of grass,¡± Glen thought aloud, finding poetry in the former pirate¡¯s words, a fact that surprised him greatly. ¡°That¡¯s deep, Stiles.¡± ¡°Thank you, Milord. Though it¡¯s the shallows one must be warry of.¡± Great. Now I regret praising ye. Stiles was being a smartarse that much was clear. ¡°So how¡¯s the Priest?¡± He asked, to cut his manservant down to size. ¡°They had to excise the infected parts,¡± Stiles replied nonchalantly. ¡°Scrap the bone clean at places. Glen blinked in horror at the superfluous detail. ¡°Is that¡­ was the damage too great?¡± ¡°Better to take the foot off, if ye ask me,¡± Stiles retorted. ¡°Plenty of lads had it done, put a stick, or a hook in its place,¡± He shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Got the job done just fine. Milord.¡± ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure the priest doesn¡¯t have pirating in his future plans.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s a decent living.¡± ¡°Not for those ye kill while raiding,¡± Glen deadpanned. ¡°True, milord,¡± Stiles replied and seeing Glen narrowing his eyes, he added quickly. ¡°The priest¡¯s is better I believe, fast asleep.¡± ¡°That sounds¡­ encouraging?¡± ¡°Sleeping? They gave him a potion for that. Went right out.¡± ¡°What manner of potion?¡± Glen asked, quite interested in the exotic medicines of the land. ¡°Milk, I reckon. Unless my Cofol is worse than I thought.¡± Glen smacked his lips, unsure what to make of the information. He glanced at the many oxen and several cows noisily grazing in the relative quiet of the camp and sighed. ¡°Cow milk?¡± He chanced, looking at his manservant. Stiles frowned. ¡°From poppies, milord.¡± Glen nodded, as if he knew what the man was talking about. ¡°I see,¡± He simply said, although he couldn¡¯t see anything. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll have a look around.¡± When unsure, quit talking. ¡°Outside the camp, milord? Is it prudent?¡± Why wouldn¡¯t it be¡­ ¡°I¡¯ll just jump over the yoke¡ª¡± ¡°I believe it¡¯s called a ¡®tongue¡¯, milord,¡± Stiles interrupted him and Glen paused, one leg over the darn thing to glare his way. ¡°I¡¯ll have dinner when I return,¡± He said ominously and Stiles tried to protest. ¡°Dinner? It¡¯s past the time¡ª¡± But Glen cut him off. ¡°Ye know what? And wine, yes. I¡¯ll have a bottle of wine as well. The one Phon gave me,¡± He added with a smirk. ¡°See to it, Stiles.¡± The last part, half an order, half a threat. Stiles got the message, loud and clear. He bowed his unwashed head in mock respect. ¡°Of course, milord.¡± Glen watched him leave, dragging his legs, taking his stench with him, rather pleased with himself. The fact nobody, himself included, had washed any of their parts for weeks, completely escaping him.
There was something terrifying in staring at the open Steppe. As if the sky dived and touched the flat land, the seam blurring in the darkness, the pale moonlight creating shadows of the tall grass, in some places, as tall as a man. The shadows danced with the wind, all noises dulled and the caravan behind him, slowly quieting down as well. At first he thought it another shadow, standing still to his right, head raised upwards staring at the blackness of the night sky. Slim and almost to his height, wearing that scandalous slave girl¡¯s outfit he¡¯d gotten a glimpse of under a short tan cloak, thin silk straps holding the silver fish-tail shaped cups on her chest, long ebony hair made in many thin braids that flowed down her head, as if alive. The wind made them dance, a beautiful haunting picture that framed her face, beads interwoven in those braids, hundreds of them, catching that moonlight and gleaming like a white viper¡¯s scales. A round face and chin, a graceful upturned nose and eyebrows trimmed and penciled arching over her opal-colored eyes. The woman heard his gasp and turned to see who it was. The slant on those eyes not as pronounced as the Cofols Glen had met before, a myriad different colored spots in them, blue and green and shades of gold, as if they were real gems and not made of flesh. Wow. Even If Lith¡¯s face was symmetrically beautiful, this exotic woman could give her a run for her money, Glen thought, remembering to close his mouth and keep his eyes on the young woman¡¯s face and away from the mounds of flesh spilling out of her thin cloak. It was an impossible task. Suitable for celibate paragons of virtue and gallant heroes. Glen, was none of that. The Cofol woman frowned and tried again, seeing that her first query, delivered in her native tongue had gone unanswered. He¡¯d no idea, what she was talking about. ¡°Apologies¡­ I don¡¯t speak Cofol,¡± Glen blurted in common, trying not to grin and appear completely creepy. The woman looked around them, a hint of worry on her face now and he tried to alleviate her fears. ¡°I¡¯m with the caravan.¡± There¡¯s a word she knew. She examined his clothes and face, pouted and asked him something again in Cofol. As if he could learn their darn tongue in a couple of minutes. Not very bright are you? Glen thought, deciding it wasn¡¯t so big a deal, then almost slapped himself right there remembering the dagger. The moment he put his hand on the handle of his strange weapon, the woman gasped and jumped away alarmed. ¡°Don¡¯t fear,¡± Glen said and she froze in place, those exquisite eyes opened wide as saucers. ¡°I¡¯m Glen.¡± ¡°What¡¯s a Glen?¡± The woman asked and there it is, he thought, that elusive magic, a big grin on his face. Coupled with a modest shadow that had appeared recently, it gave him quite a devilish look. It was a poor intro though. Like, what the fuck man? Try again. Use more words. And put her on the back foot, he counseled himself. ¡°It¡¯s my name. Short for Glenavon,¡± He waggled his eyebrows, his fixed grin turning into a smug smirk unwittingly. ¡°Your secret is safe wit me, milady.¡± He was on a roll. The day, well¡­ night, taking a turn for the better. Luthos hand for sure. ¡°It is?¡± The woman asked, probably too overwhelmed in his presence to form coherent thoughts. Because there¡¯s also skill involved, he thought. And lots of plaguin¡¯ presence. ¡°You don¡¯t want to be found out,¡± He explained confidently. She clasped her arms on her chest, a high crime, if ever there was one, covering her exposed flesh and the tip of her tongue touched her lower lip. Her teeth, white little pearls, clean as rain water. Glen realized he was gawking at her like a hawk and pulled back. ¡°Why do you think that?¡± Came her query, with another glance behind her back and the now mostly quiet camp. Ah. There ye go. ¡°You¡¯re not allowed outside,¡± He had elucidated to her calmly the night peaceful. ¡°You¡¯re someone¡¯s slave,¡± although he couldn¡¯t see a collar on her. Maybe they take it off, Glen mused. Maybe she¡¯s ¡®that kind¡¯ of slave. His young mind drifting, imagining the young woman taking that collar off, then her top; down her naked bejeweled navel his eyes had drifted, following the route of his lewd thoughts, her frustrated hiss stopping him. ¡°Everyone is someone¡¯s slave, Lorian,¡± the young woman had told him. ¡°Not me,¡± Glen replied confidently. ¡°I¡¯m from the Free Isles by the way.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s¡­¡± The woman started to say, then stopped, her eyes narrowing looking over his shoulder. ¡°What?¡± Glen asked, a little troubled at her bewilderment.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. ¡°I heard someone,¡± She explained. Glen turned his head and checked at what was the outside perimeter of the camp. The wagons created a barrier that wasn¡¯t easy to overcome, or fight through it. Plus, there are guards posted, he thought, seeing one of them waving his hand recognizing him. Glen waved back, sensing the young slave girl hiding behind his body and the guard, a good twenty meters from where they stood, gave a head nod and continued his patrol. ¡°Nothing to worry about,¡± He said, turning to face the woman and once again Glen was awed at the medley of colors enclosed in her expressive eyes. No real opals, he¡¯d seen¡­ or stolen, ever came close to this. A treasure, he thought stooping closer and the sneaky arrow whistled over his head, missing it, tip lit on fire and shining bright. It hit the side of a carriage, next to a wheel and went out. Move. Glen dashed to the right, left arm extending back to grab the young woman¡¯s hand and drag her with him. She snatched his forearm, as if reading his thoughts and followed him, as he run stooped towards safety. The sound of numerous hooves, probably muffled out, but clear enough now they were closer and because they were so many, forced him to look back. ¡°Horselords,¡± The slave girl, breathed in his ear, her flesh smelling of jasmine oils and despite the tension of the moment, half his attention went to his throbbing cock. Only his fear of getting skewered by the charging riders, snapping his head on straight. ¡°RAIDERS!¡± Glen bellowed, putting everything he had in it. His voice teared at the stillness, broke through the wind and was heard over the camp. ¡°TO ARMS!¡±
More arrows fell to where they were standing a moment ago, some setting the grass on fire, his wild call alarming the camp and waking up the rest of the guards. It also pinpointed their new position and the first of the arriving riders, turned and headed their way. Oh, crap. Glen unsheathed his sword, thought about it, the charging men looking dangerous as all hells and glanced back to see, if they could make it back inside the perimeter. ¡°They¡¯re coming!¡± The young woman screamed right in his ear, blowing his eardrums off. ¡°RUN!¡± A dazed Glen barked and shoved her away with a hand, left palm massing a breast that darn sliver metallic plate on them, outright cutting him. She stumbled away with a pained indignant cry, leaving him just enough time to get his own head out of the way of an upward cut, delivered by the first arriving rider. The sabre missed his neck for a breath, slashing at his chest armour, as Glen dodged right, landed on his knee, found a sturdy rock amidst a sea of plaguin¡¯ grass, the pain jolt hitting him like a hammer and howling alike a bitch poked through her arse with a scorching iron, rolled again to avoid a maddened horse¡¯s hooves. Horse and man jumped over him, his whole life flying before his haunted eyes, dust and half the prairie raining down on his head. The woman screamed in her tongue and he didn¡¯t need the dagger¡¯s help to realize she was in danger. As if Glen wasn¡¯t. Fuck it, he decided. Save yerself. He¡¯d done all he could. The third of the riders pulled at the reins and paused seeing him getting up, probably mistaking the panic in his eyes for rage and then went for his bow. Nocked an arrow, before Glen could decide on a counter, the woman somewhere to his left shrieking as if she was getting raped, or pulled apart at the limbs, guards barking orders and arrows flying right and left, others lit, others not. Chaos. ¡°Don¡¯t do it!¡± Glen yelled at the undecided Cofol rider, fresh out of ideas and the warrior perked up hearing his cry in common. Huh? It worked? The Cofol rider spat down the next moment disgusted and released his arrow, answering him that question. Glen tried to cut it out of the air with his sword, a fantastic, as much as celebrated move in theory and in tales told in taverns of bad repute, but nigh difficult to accomplish in the field. So he failed. The arrow flew past his blade smacked the right side of his chest, as he flinched at the last moment, the bone tip going through everything and piercing his skin below the nipple superficially. It stayed stuck there. Glen groaned, his day going from bad to worst in the span of a couple of minutes and pulled it out, while charging himself towards the stationary rider, sword in hand. The Cofol saw him coming fully mad now, after tossing his arrow away and recoiled in fear. He went for another arrow, turning his horse with his knees, but fumbled the whole thing, the horse denying him and realized he was running out of time. So he went for his sabre instead. The young thief, more scared than injured, reached him in four large strides, dodged a downward slash and retaliated full force aiming for the rider, but catching the horse¡¯s head instead below the left ear. Opening a wound that reached its mouth. The poor animal neighed, the wound grotesque, its tongue flapping, bloody froth on his teeth and black eyes scared beyond measure and got on its hind legs first tossing the hapless rider, then started kicking right and left trying to get away from him. Glen managed to get under a murderous hoof, rolled under the horse¡¯s belly to the other side, looked up when he stopped and saw the Cofol dead next to him, his face caved in, mouth, nose and eyes all mixed up in a bloody pulp and flinched horrified, puke lodged in his throat. For fuck¡¯s sake. The young man stumbled away coughing up his lungs and whatever he¡¯d in his stomach and came face to face with another Cofol horselord¡­ whatchamacallit, the man¡¯s goatee reaching his belly, bone armour covering his chest. ¡°Cursed Lorian,¡± The unmounted warrior spat in broken common and slashed at him with a nasty sabre. Glen parried it away and then blocked the return as well, his opponent¡¯s skill in the long blade, or on foot questionable. Glen cut him above the knee next and the man pulled away with a yelp of pain, hatred in his eyes. ¡°Let¡¯s talk about this,¡± Glen urged him, spiting pieces of leftover puke stuck in his teeth. The Cofol didn¡¯t want to talk about it and came at him again with a roar telegraphing his attack. Glen stepped out of the way, turned his blade inside out, much as Emerson had shown him and slashed him across the throat. He turned his head away not to look at the man bleeding away and saw the last of the Cofols, saber in hand glaring at him, his other hand wrapped around the girl¡¯s braids savagely. Glen made to charge him, all fired up after his recent successes, but his opponent grunted and put the blade against the panicked woman¡¯s throat, forcing him to stop. ¡°It¡¯s true then,¡± The man said, older than the others, grey hair braided and caught at the nape. ¡°You fight for her. A Lorian.¡± For slovenly fuck¡¯s sake, Glen thought shaking his head. I¡¯m not a fuckin¡¯ Lorian! And I had forgot she existed up to a minute ago. ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± He offered simply, despite shaking all over. ¡°Yer lying. You protect the Capricorn spawn.¡± ¡°Dude, I¡¯ve no idea what you¡¯re talking about. She¡¯s just a slave.¡± ¡°She wears the fish tail. You¡¯re lying,¡± The man countered. What is this bullshit? ¡°Let her go man. Your raid failed.¡± ¡°We came for her. The raid was a distraction,¡± The older Cofol said and threw her a hateful look. ¡°If I¡¯m to die here, she follows me to the great plains.¡± Glen couldn¡¯t reach him in time. He thought about throwing the sword, but despite being about a mere three strides away, botching the whole thing and skewering the hapless woman, would make for a ghastly tale. No bard will ever tell that story, he thought and felt his left hand flaring up in a worrying familiar manner. Everything below the shoulder deadening and sweltering at the same time. Luthos sat on a blasted bear trap. ¡°No,¡± He croaked and both the young woman and her captor glanced at him. Gods, her gaze could stop a lion dead in its tracks, he thought, just as the Cofol snorted and went for the kill. Don¡¯t do it, Glen urged the dagger panicked, trying to remember if he knew how to control it, quickly realizing he didn¡¯t. Fuck. Don¡¯t use my bloody hand! He screamed internally, before blacking out.
¡°You are a special kind of idiot,¡± The freak with the Dragon eyes hissed. ¡°Truly.¡± ¡°Ah, fuck¡­¡± That was all he could muster; before the strange man clicked his tongue and the young thief was back at the Caravan site again.
Inside a large tent and not in the field, with someone manhandling his private parts. Glen looked down alarmed and a little hopeful, only to realize he was held upright by Stiles and Marcus, his coat all buttoned up, despite it being hot as all hells. The fuckin¡¯ dwarf cozying up between his legs again. ¡°Let go,¡± He started to say, but Marcus stopped him. ¡°Milord, what happened?¡± Glen smacked his lips, felt the wound smarting on his chest and tasted puke in his mouth. ¡°What happened?¡± He threw the veteran''s query back at him. Two can play this fuckin'' game! ¡°You stopped the raid, saved the caravan,¡± Marcus explained. ¡°They tried to sneak inside but you killed them. We found you passed out, yesterday.¡± That¡¯s a lot of time missed, Glen thought, pushing them away. ¡°We thought ye died,¡± Stiles explained. ¡°But twas a glancing wound.¡± ¡°What were you doing outside the perimeter?¡± Marcus grunted. Glen raised both hands to stop their interrogation. ¡®There was a girl,¡± He started, but again he wasn¡¯t allowed to finish. ¡°Phon wants to talk with you,¡± Marcus said. ¡°The Caravan Master is dead.¡± What? ¡°Anyone else?¡± ¡°No, we were very lucky,¡± Marcus replied. ¡°Though the man died of a heart attack, is the word.¡± Glen sighed pensively. He checked on his left arm next, found it just as he¡¯d left it and sighed again deeper this time. ¡°Well,¡± He said looking about. ¡°I guess this could have gone way worse.¡± Forgetting that when unsure, it¡¯s better to keep your peace.
¡°There¡¯s the man,¡± Sopat announced, the moment they got outside the tent. ¡°An unlikely hero, we had in our midst,¡± He added watching closely and the whole caravan gathered around him, cheered loudly his name. Glen, the Lorian! Good grief. Guards and merchants in the mix, slaves and drivers. Even the oxen joined in. It was a cerebral moment that lasted about half a minute. ¡°That¡¯s him,¡± One of the guard¡¯s declared, a different tone in his voice and Glen, well trained to spot trouble, saw the problem almost immediately. There was a particular young woman standing next to Phon, one of three. They had their heavily painted faces hidden behind a shrill white veil, a long shawl over their heads and all wore that provocative silver top under their short white cloaks. It looked like a slave¡¯s outfit, but wasn¡¯t. Glen had never seen so much gold and riches adorning any woman, or man before. And he could never mistake the young woman¡¯s exquisite opal eyes, however covered she was, or painted, for someone else¡¯s. ¡°I saw him last night, master Sopat,¡± The guard continued, pointing an accusing finger at him. ¡°With your sister.¡± Are ye freakin¡¯ kiddin¡¯ me? Sen raised a perfectly penciled eyebrow, when he glared at her. ¡°Is this true?¡± Phon inquired feigning ignorance, all a theater, as this was obviously staged in advance. ¡°It¡¯s true that I saved her,¡± Glen replied, staring back at him. The murmur coming from the gathered crowd was one of shock and disbelief. Most of the guards bearing the Capricorn sign on their armour, reached for their weapons. It was apparently, the wrong answer. Fuck you Luthos.
¡°Stay back lad,¡± Marcus grunted stepping forward, hand on his sword¡¯s handle. Where? Glen thought, way ahead of him. We¡¯re surrounded by bloody wagons! ¡°Now,¡± Phon said, loud enough to be heard above the crowd. ¡°I find myself mired in a dilemma,¡± He eyed his sister a little frustrated. Glen couldn¡¯t tell, if that was also an act. ¡°My guest saves the day, then turns around and defiles my sister.¡± No I didn¡¯t, ye piece of perfumed shit! ¡°What am I to do?¡± Phon continued, over the crowd¡¯s angry response. Glen caught out the corner of his eye Stiles retreating towards the wagons, knife in hand. ¡°Sen-Iv Sopat is a celebrated beauty. Her worth, an enormous fortune,¡± He looked about him pensively. ¡°Whatever I make out of this trip, will be for naught. I¡¯m left with two choices.¡± ¡°SKIN HIM!¡± The crowd roared with one voice. Most of them that is. Someone suggested the ¡®Pits of Fu De-Gar¡¯, whatever the fuck that meant. There was vitriol in there and a deep perverted expectation of violence. The change in their demeanor dramatic. Glen took a cautionary step back shocked. That¡¯s not a fuckin¡¯ choice, he thought, gulping down nervously, looking for a way out. Cutting through a group of veiled women, standing behind an old Cofol merchant, the safest route. Then what? There¡¯s nothing out here for miles! ¡°Or skin his favorite slave,¡± Phon softened it somewhat diplomatically and Glen realized the shifty merchant was looking for a deal. What manner of a deal¡­ ¡°The Celestial Opal, was to be a royal wife,¡± The man said pensively and this quieted the crowd. ¡°The story well known.¡± Glen glanced towards Sen and the famed beauty apparently, rolled her eyes catching him by surprise. ¡°My family was pressured to arrange another match, as her good years were wasted away, but I stalled, looking for something of equal station,¡± He turned to Glen now, his eyes holding no warmth. ¡°What am I to get for a spoiled treasure, Glenavon? You¡¯ve caused me great harm.¡± You can¡¯t put the Jinni back in the bottle, was his meaning. ¡°How is killing me, compensation enough?¡± Glen asked, keeping his voice steady, despite his inner turmoil. Everything is hanging by a thread here. ¡°Killing you, or your slave,¡± Stiles gasped horrified at that. ¡°Restores my honor.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the other option?¡± Glen probed, not completely against throwing Stiles under the proverbial wagon, but looking for a better deal. Phon shook his head at his query. He had his eyes penciled a marine blue this day. Made him appear rather ghoulish, Glen thought. ¡°You buy, what you sampled,¡± The man finally replied callously. ¡°But alas, Sen-Iv is way above your station.¡± The last bit he delivered with the tiniest of smirks, left corner of his painted mouth curling upwards. ¡°I may be,¡± Glen started and Sen¡¯s eyes grew alarmed, sensing something was afoot. She doesn¡¯t know, Glen realized, ye poor thing, but he couldn¡¯t stop now. It was a gruesome death for Stiles, if he did. ¡°The Lord of Altarin,¡± His revelation stunning the gathered crowd to total silence. ¡°The Lord of Altarin, is a good starting point,¡± Phon surprisingly said, his hawkish eyes never leaving Glen¡¯s face, their talk before all those people bizarre, until Glen realized they were all standing witness. The cunning Sopat had indeed staged this magnificently. ¡°Milord,¡± Marcus said warningly, but it was too late. ¡°I¡¯m still young,¡± Glen deadpanned. Younger than yer sister. ¡°What¡¯s the Lord of Altarin¡¯s innermost desire then?¡± Phon asked theatrically and more than sixty pairs of eyes turned on Glen to hear his response. Your heart¡¯s desire, Lith had told him and now Glen was forced to reveal it, although he¡¯d no idea what that was. Retire in the country with the merchant¡¯s delectable sister was out of the question, though a welcomed outcome. Getting another pile of gold, or an equal amount in coins, sounded a little shallow, though the finest and more feasible of all ideas. He couldn¡¯t tell them about the dagger and his imaginary talks with a deity, or a monster. They¡¯d probably let Stiles live and skin him in his stead.
Luthos perked up.
So Glen went with the first thing he remembered. Something implied, but never mentioned during his talks with the alluring Zilan. A faint memory of it, from his talks with a strange creature in his dreams. ¡°A throne of gold,¡± Glen had said. The same answer, Reinut the Great had given to Eodrass, two centuries in the past.
Forced to pay for a heroic deed that concealed his true character, those early years, He opted to save a tainted soul, a meaningless slave in all but the name, Binding himself to a foreign mate, a woman of a different culture, And revealed in front of those lucky to stand witness, That which was hidden in the Onyx Wyvern¡¯s heart. The truth of his greed, impossible to measure, or suspect at the time. Neither peace, nor war, no mere plunder, women and riches, could ever satisfy it, But the whole plaguin¡¯ Realm. - Fikumin Flintfoot -The evil dwarf- Jarl of all the Folk First Servant of the Onyx Wyvern Foremost Shield, of the dreaded King beyond the Pale Mountains - Chapter II (Final paragraph) An Adventurer¡¯s Tale unofficial edition Circa 253 NC
97. Sen-Iv’s legendary dowry
Glen Sen-Iv¡¯s legendary dowry
The moment they stepped inside Sopat¡¯s gigantic tent, Marcus grabbed his elbow and turned him around, deep frown on his face making him look nigh intimidating. ¡°Whatever ye think yer doin¡¯ lad?¡± Much uglier than a bald old mule too. Glen breathed once deeply, waited for his legs to stop shaking and then rustled deathly serious. ¡°Let go. Of the arm.¡± ¡°Bah! Lording over people got in yer young head,¡± Marcus snapped and released his steel grip, the elbow hurting and still numb where he¡¯d grabbed him. ¡°It comes wit the fuckin¡¯ job,¡± Glen retorted, taking a precautionary step back. He had no intention of fighting it out with the large veteran in close quarters. ¡°What¡¯s gotten into you?¡± ¡°Seriously?¡± Marcus glared at him. ¡°You just agreed to help the Cofols against the High King!¡± Glen frowned. ¡°No. I didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°You said it, afore gods and people!¡± Oh, boy. ¡°Listen, friend¡ª¡± ¡°For what?¡± Marcus cut him off livid. ¡°Owning another slave? What¡¯s wrong wit ye?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve taken Sen as a wife,¡± Glen explained patiently, the fact he¡¯d done it, hadn¡¯t really sink in yet. ¡°And saved Stiles skin.¡± Literally. ¡°Gratitude, milord,¡± Stiles thanked him, still standing near the entrance of the tent and checking on the crowd¡¯s reactions. A wise precaution. ¡°Bargaining Altarin, to save a cutthroat, nobody likes.¡± ¡°Hey!¡± Stiles protested. ¡°I¡¯m plenty likable.¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t a bloody joke!¡± Marcus snapped at him. ¡°Altarin is a vassal to Kaltha,¡± He turned to stare at Glen, the young man was sucking the inside of his cheek nervously. ¡°Ye can¡¯t change that with words, Lord Reeves. Not for one Cofol wife, or ten.¡± Glen sighed. ¡°I won¡¯t fight the High King, Marcus.¡± ¡°Yet you said, yer after his throne.¡± ¡°A throne of gold.¡± Marcus glanced towards Stiles, but he nodded as if he was agreeing with what Glen was saying, firmly in the young man¡¯s camp. ¡°What''s the fuckin¡¯ difference?¡± Marcus grunted, turning his eyes on Glen. ¡°The Wyvern¡¯s Seat, is made of gold. Everyone knows that, even that sack of shit!¡± The latter intended for Stiles, who took it in stride, opting to be the larger man. Or fearing the larger man more like. Glen hadn¡¯t thought of that and he could see where a misunderstanding could perhaps derail the whole scheme. ¡°Never mentioned that though,¡± He insisted, crossing his arms on his chest. ¡°Phon asked what I wanted and I just gave an answer.¡± ¡°That wasn¡¯t any answer, my lad. That darn merchant, thinks he bought Altarin and a claimant. He¡¯ll run to the Khan wit it!¡± Glen shook his head right and left, seeing where the old soldier was mistaken. ¡°Phon doesn¡¯t like the Khan. He hates his guts,¡± He stared at the corpse¡¯s boots, well-worn and traveled by now, for a brief moment, before adding. ¡°Plus the Khan¡¯s son insulted his family.¡± ¡°Much like ye did,¡± Marcus countered. ¡°Didn¡¯t stop him from bargaining away his sister!¡± ¡°No. I did not. I would never force myself on a woman,¡± Glen replied clenching his jaw. Ye just find the coin and pay her, like normal folk do. ¡°And I didn¡¯t have much of a choice in the matter.¡± ¡°May I interrupt?¡± Phon-Iv Sopat asked coming through the tent¡¯s opening, cultured voice tired from the talking he¡¯d done to sell, what he¡¯d staged. Glen eyed him not particularly pleased. ¡°Marcus made his point,¡± He said and the veteran taking the hint grunted. ¡°Move outside, Stiles. I¡¯ve trouble breathin¡¯ in here.¡± Phon walked past Glen, heavy perfume clogging the young man¡¯s airways and went to find that leather pillow to sit on. He literally collapsed on it. Glen noticed the gem merchant¡¯s eyes were tired and he could spot the dark circles despite the makeup he had on. ¡°What a night,¡± Phon said, looking for a clean cup to pour himself some wine. ¡°Followed by an equally rousing morning.¡±
¡°You¡¯re not pleased,¡± Phon said, after an awkward pause. ¡°I would¡¯ve thought you won the bargain.¡± ¡°Wasn¡¯t lookin¡¯ for one,¡± Glen countered. ¡°Yet you sought her out in the dead of night,¡± Phon pointed calmly. ¡°That¡¯s not what happened! I thought she was a slave¡ª¡± ¡°Spare me the lewd details, if you please,¡± Phon stopped him, sipping from the cup. ¡°It carries the same penalty, sampling another man¡¯s slave.¡± ¡°Skinning him?¡± Glen taunted. ¡°That¡¯s pretty civilized.¡± ¡°Buying the used property out,¡± Phon replied with a frown. ¡°I just didn¡¯t think you could,¡± He sighed. ¡°I wanted to silence the guard, but eventually he would¡¯ve talked. Spread the gossip and lead to the same result.¡± ¡°Only then, I would¡¯ve been long gone,¡± Glen added, what the merchant had left out. ¡°No way to restore the family¡¯s honor, or get something out of it. A bad deal, all around,¡± He explained and Glen returned his knowing stare blankly. ¡°So what do you want?¡± ¡°Not Altarin, as your friend fears,¡± He shrugged his shoulders. ¡°But I expect the Sopat family to control all business at its port. A trade route to Jelin, reserved solely for our goods. First choice, if that¡¯s not possible. A private port, not controlled by the Khan.¡±This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Wait, Glen thought, a little surprised. That¡¯s not that unreasonable. Something was tying the savvy merchant¡¯s hands. Something, or someone. Unless¡­ ¡°What if he wins the war?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll support your claim on the titles,¡± Phon smiled smugly. ¡°Having my sister at your side, no one will ever question it and the Khan will go along with it.¡± ¡°The Horselords came for her,¡± Glen pointed, still searching for that elusive detail Phon was holding back. ¡°Not everyone appears to like yer family.¡± Phon sat up straighter on that pillow, a dangerous move he pulled off with the grace of a man that has spent hours apparently sitting on fluffy, overstuffed cushions and lived to tell the tale. Glen could respect that. ¡°They told you that,¡± He said, the slight pout on his mouth reminding Glen of his sister. San the eyes, the symmetry and the ripe breasts the size of small melons. ¡°It doesn¡¯t come as a surprise.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t?¡± ¡°The caravan is on the road for two years,¡± Phon explained with a shrug. ¡°News travel fast, even in the Steppe, Glenavon.¡± ¡°Why not going after you then?¡± Glen asked not buying whatever the man was selling. ¡°Sometimes I wonder. Are you pretending ignorance?¡± He stared at the silver cup for a moment. There were garnets on it, shaped like a Capricorn and it had a gold finish at the rim. A nigh lootable item. ¡°Sen-Iv¡¯s dowry is immense, Glenavon. Taking her would be a huge boon for the Rebels.¡± Glen perked up at the mention of a dowry. Poor folk usually got nothing, other than perhaps a couple of starved chicken, more bones on them than meat, or an old goat way past his prime, when they tied the knot. That was their norm. ¡°How big¡­ is immense?¡± He probed, playing it cool, but probably failing. ¡°Haha, I almost wish this is an act,¡± Phon grinned. ¡°Mountainous. As in a literal mountain of gems, where the Livai River has its source. They call it the opal mountain for a reason¡­¡± ¡°I got the picture,¡± Glen stopped him, gulping down nervously. ¡°I don¡¯t believe you do,¡± Phon insisted. ¡°Sen¡¯s price as an asset is worthy of a king, Glenavon. She can fuel, a man¡¯s bigger ambitions, if he has them,¡± He looked at him strangely. ¡°You said you do.¡± Ah. Here it is. ¡°You want to help the Khan fight the High King?¡± He turned the question on him. ¡°I don¡¯t have two pennies to spare on the Khan. The question is, do you?¡± Phon raised a brow. ¡°Will my sister sit on a gold throne, Glenavon?¡± ¡°It may not be the High King¡¯s,¡± Glen replied, just as a covered Sen entered the room from a hidden side opening. Was she listening in? Is this a plaguin¡¯ culture thing? ¡°But your sister, will have her throne.¡± The fact he left the gold part out, not an omission. There were no other gold thrones, or thusly constructed chairs of any kind on the market that he knew of. Phon nodded pleased and glanced at an aloof Sen that went to stand next to him. She had that cloak tied up to her neck, Glen noticed, a little disappointed. ¡°I¡¯ll prepare the papers,¡± The merchant announced. ¡°Cross the T¡¯s and dot the I¡¯s, care not to miss any important detail.¡± Wait. Phon looked up. ¡°Something amiss?¡± He probed, noticing his hesitation. Aye. ¡°You didn¡¯t really fear a mere rumor, didn¡¯t ye?¡± Glen inquired, avoiding to look towards the striking female. Which of course really means, the young man kept her greedily in his peripheral vision all the time, a skill most thieves acquire early on in their careers, else they find themselves at the end of a noose. Pissing and defecating at the same time, while they wait to die miserably. ¡°There¡¯s a mind in there, dear,¡± Phon told his sister. ¡°Not just brawns.¡± The latter part could be easily contested, Glen thought. ¡°Well?¡± He probed the stalling merchant. ¡°I love my sister, Glenavon,¡± Phon declared, smiling at her mocking eyebrow. Sen hadn¡¯t said a word since coming in. ¡°Not enough to bed her, alas.¡± Glen thought it a good thing, apparently the merchant wasn¡¯t of the same opinion. ¡°She told me you saved her life. Empire law dictated upon a time, her life is yours. But we¡¯re not living under their laws anymore.¡± Hinting the Lorians and the Issirs still did. Each continent had kept something of the Zilans they liked it seemed, dismissing the rest. Glen was an islander, so he moved on. ¡°She told the truth,¡± Glen said, no modesty behind his words. ¡°Slain three warriors,¡± The merchant continued, as if he didn¡¯t hear him and Glen focused on Sen-Iv¡¯s exquisite eyes, the gleam in them containing half the colors of the rainbow; turning ravenous, the creature living underneath her tame lavish exterior, a savage beast. ¡°The last with a dagger¡­¡± Phon sighed and glanced at his sister. ¡°Moving with the speed of an arrow. Your shadow as large as a beast of the ancient myths. She¡¯s impressed obviously and perhaps exaggerating.¡± Huh? Glen narrowed his eyes. ¡°What else did she say?¡± It was weird talking in front of her, as if she wasn¡¯t there. But when in a strange land, ye follow the crowd, he decided. Phon asked her something in Cofol, Glen missed and he quickly clasped his fingers around the ancient dagger secured at his waistband. A move the alert woman caught. ¡°Don¡¯t you want him to know? He¡¯s practically family,¡± Phon said and now Glen could understand him. ¡°He¡¯s not family, brother. Men can be unforgiving. Men like him,¡± Sen replied, her opal eyes set on Glen¡¯s listening face. A tick appeared at the corner of his eye, the effort to pretend he didn¡¯t understand their words enormous and taking a toll on him. ¡°Are avaricious and cruel masters,¡± The woman finished. ¡°Two of the Prince¡¯s wives are dead, Sen,¡± Her brother insisted. ¡°Within a month. Rumor is that witch is behind it, despite it appearing to be natural!¡± Glen¡¯s left eye had almost closed, the tick too severe and he felt it tearing up. ¡°He can understand our tongue,¡± Sen warned him, in her whispering tone. ¡°Speak it, like a native.¡± Her brother pulled back and turned to stare at Glen alarmed. ¡°What witch?¡± Glen asked him and Phon¡¯s face paled under all that makeup. ¡°Where did you learn our dialect, Lord of Altarin?¡± The merchant asked. ¡°This wasn¡¯t common Cofol, this isn¡¯t¡­ you can understand me. Do you?¡± Glen sighed, realizing that even if he hadn¡¯t slipped up just now, the jig was up. The woman knew. ¡°Aye. I can, master Sopat.¡± Phon whistled, extremely impressed. Then a smile formed on his painted a garish mauve lips and glanced at his sister. ¡°How in Luthos name¡­ you are right.¡± ¡°Right about what?¡± Glen intervened. ¡°My first thought was to have you and the guard killed, quietly,¡± Phon explained, not looking too embarrassed about it. ¡°And since, I would¡¯ve never used a lash on the Celestial Opal, I¡¯d have sold your slaves to the pits of ¡®Fu De-Gar¡¯ and have my problems solved.¡± There¡¯s your something, Glen thought. Also, what in Luthos fart, are these ¡®pits of fudegar¡¯ everyone keeps mentioning? ¡°She talked me out of it,¡± Phon admitted. ¡°I council against harming her for her spirit, Glenavon. Sen was always a little unruly, but knows her place, when it matters.¡± Glen blinked at the callousness of the man¡¯s logic. The Cofol had a bad reputation. A backwards society clinging to the ancient ways of a dead Empire and the brutality of the vaunted Horselords of the past, but this was too much. ¡°I would never harm a woman,¡± Glen said simply. ¡°Or keep a slave.¡± Although he had in fact killed one, with his own hand. In his mind, this wasn¡¯t the same thing. Phon burst out laughing at his absurd declaration initially, then frowned greatly worried, stopped laughing outright and glanced at his sister. Sen rolled her eyes and taking a small step forward put a small well shaped hand on her brother¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Sweet Phon-Iv,¡± She sang in her subdued, extremely alluring tone. ¡°Lord Glenavon, is jesting,¡± Sen-Iv turned her famed eyes on the frowning Glen next and added. ¡°He knows, we¡¯ll keep thousands working at my mines,¡± The young man stood back in shock, Sen pouted under her thin veil not expecting it, lowered her eyes and added. ¡°But he¡¯ll keep me first amongst all of them. His most precious possession. The foremost of his treasures.¡± First amongst his slaves was her meaning. Glen wished then, he¡¯d let them skin Stiles alive and be done with it.
98. The price of a donkey
Glen The price of a donkey
¡®Luthos balls, caught in a bear trap, Ripped clean off, in the attempt to stand ¡®n clap¡¯ - Carved in plain Common on a platinum plaque, above the vaunted iron gates, of the Tenebrous Castle -Zilan name ¡®Morn Taras¡¯- Sinya Goras (New Goras) (Circa 245 NC)
Phon-Iv Sopat stilled his eyes on the young man¡¯s face waiting for his reaction and sensing nothing coming, since Glen was left numb by his sister¡¯s answer, he shrugged his shoulders and produced a scroll from an ornate box decorating his table. Opened it in front of him, dipped an ivory quill in an ink vial and signed it. ¡°Well then,¡± The gem merchant announced when he finished reading it a final time. ¡°I believe everything is here, all it needs is your signature and Altarin¡¯s seal, Glenavon.¡± ¡°It¡¯s Lord Reeves,¡± Glen pointed getting out of his hazed state. The fact that Sen wasn¡¯t talking again getting on his nerves. ¡°Of course,¡± Phon replied, his tone condescending. Glen stared down at the painted merchant. Was he being fooled? ¡°I wish to talk to your sister,¡± The young man said and Phon puckered his mouth, brows meeting in the middle of his forehead. He glanced her way and then at Glen. ¡°What is there, to talk about?¡± Phon quizzed, putting the quill down, next to the scroll he¡¯d just signed. ¡°I want to talk to your sister,¡± Glen repeated, more sternly. Bullshit time, is over. When ye bluff, go big, or shut the fuck up. Glen¡¯s second most important rule. Or third, since pilfering as much loot as possible, before skedaddlin¡¯ out of a joint, could be also slotted there. He was flexible like that. Phon-Iv blinked stunned, his face contorting and the Cofol gem merchant, had to clench his jaw to keep his temper in check. ¡°By all means, Lord Reeves¡ª¡± ¡°Alone,¡± Glen interrupted him. Phon narrowed his eyes. That¡¯s right cowfucker, I¡¯m the one tying the knot here! I ain¡¯t buying no god darn cow! ¡°That¡¯s¡­ not the custom. Not before a deal¡ª¡± Glen cut him off midsentence again. He enjoyed doing that, as much as he hated being done to him. Yeah. ¡°I won¡¯t sample the goods, Sopat. I give ye my word of honor.¡± Cheapest odds he¡¯d ever staked on. Phon grimaced at the term thrown back at him, his face turning constipated and even unsure. It took him a good minute of silently staring at his rather pointed soft leather boots, to finally give in. ¡°Of course, my Lord. I shall stand outside.¡± Just get the fuck out, Glen urged him with a glare. And take yer stupid pillow wit ye.
Sen-Iv followed her brother¡¯s undignified exit with her expressive eyes, the same ones she turned on a grinning Glen, a fine eyebrow raised in query. ¡°Everyone, is someone¡¯s slave,¡± Glen recited her words of last night, returning her stare. Getting no reaction. Might as well, talk to that wall, he thought. ¡°By the way dear, I meant what I said about the slaves.¡± Sen-Iv moved at that, a slender hand loosened her cloak and let it fall off her shoulders. It pooled at her sandals, but a taken aback Glen wasn¡¯t looking at her feet. Much... Was that rings she wore on her toes? Good grief! Her inner outfit reached just under the knee and left her midriff exposed, large pink jewel adorning her navel, secured with a web of silver strands that connected to her white provocative top. The cleavage on it, left little to the imagination and offered everything else freely. The Cofol woman walked towards him a moment later, her whole body coming alive in peculiar places, stopped before a gawking Lord Reeves, reached with an insanely bejeweled arm -from her painted blue and white nails up to her elbow- and tied her fingers behind Glen¡¯s neck. The young former thief grinned silly finding his wits, despite the wild beating of his heart, the woman¡¯s intentions clear as day and stooped to assist her. Sen-Iv¡¯s plump azure painted lips came at him, the color reminding him of Lith at a nigh inopportune moment, tip of that pink tongue teasing and her breath caressing his unshaven cheek as she dodged his mouth at the last possible second, to whisper in his ear. The strangest sensual words. ¡°Sign the contract.¡± Huh? Glen smacked his lips, doubly stunned at the unexpected outcome and glared at the side of Sen-Iv¡¯s face and part of her ring adorned left ear. She made to pull away sensing his intentions, but he grabbed her elbow, the numerous silver and gold bracelets the Cofol woman wore, impossible to count and making the grip difficult. He might have hurt her a little there. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Glen asked, after he let her go and she walked gracefully at the table her brother had vacated, searched for the scroll he¡¯d left there and stared at him again, when she found it; all serious. ¡°Sign the contract, Glenavon.¡± Was this about legitimacy? Fear of gossip? Glen wondered with a frustrated sigh. ¡°He won¡¯t know a thing. Whatever we do, it won¡¯t matter anyway,¡± He added quickly, realizing she wanted to interrupt him midsentence, years of brutal conditioning preventing her from calling out his fallacy. As he was about to find out. ¡°I can¡¯t speak against my master,¡± Sen-Iv blurted, a mountain of frustration behind her calm outer veneer. Glen stood back, as if he was slapped in the face. Fuck. ¡°What do you want me to do?¡± He relented. Sen-Iv closed her eyes in despair. ¡°Sign the contract. Please.¡± She had that quill in her hand, used the tip of her tongue to wet it once, dipped it in the ink vial next and offered it to him. Famed opal eyes all but begging. You¡¯re being played, his instincts warned him, but the opening at the center of the cloth ceiling, was small and the octagonally shaped room, while large for a tent, had three braziers burning aromatic herbs, or incense and it was slowly suffocating him. The scantily dressed young woman, offering a breath of fresh air and a quick way out. Glen took the quill, his grip on it awkward and stared at the scribblings on the expensive parchment. This wasn¡¯t Common. Sen-Iv sensed his hesitation and placed her warm hand over his and guided it at the right spot. Glen blinked hard trying to make out, what was written on the paper, but he failed. ¡°I¡¯ve never signed,¡± My name before. ¡°This manner of contract,¡± He managed to save it at the last possible moment and Sen bit lightly at her lower lip thoughtfully. Then capped his hand decidedly, thumb and index finger guiding the quill judiciously and Glen went along with it. Sen-Iv scratched his initials at the bottom of the page and stroke a line over them. ¡°Your signet ring,¡± She then said, in her whispery voice. Glen was convinced everyone in this caravan was spying on everyone else religiously. Was this a Cofol thing? An ear behind every door, or wall and perhaps an upturned cup to go along wit it. By the time Glen remembered, he in fact had the ring on his finger, too dazed and aroused to think clearly, Sen had gone to a brazier, filled a small bronze cup with hot wax and returned. Seeing he¡¯d figured it out, she let the slightest smile touch her lips and poured its contents next to his simple signature. Glen stabbed down, the large gold ring secure on his knuckle, with a grin of his own, the Altarin stallion raised on his hind legs depicted on the impression and the letter R, for the Reeves family. There, he thought and turned to what was apparently his alluring wife. Wow¡­ that was pretty darn easy, to get the hang of, he realized and not to miss any more time, dragged her closer, Glen¡¯s left arm snaking its way around her narrow waist, effectively trapping the pliable Sen between the table and his body. ¡°You can say no,¡± Glen offered, the stillness getting to his nerves. ¡°Outright refuse even, or say what you want.¡± Sen-Iv nodded, neither excited, nor accommodating. At least she smells nice, Glen thought gazing in her eyes and her tits are pretty soft to the touch. ¡°Phon sent a bird to the Khan yesterday,¡± Sen told him in excellent common, without moving away from his rather wandering hands. ¡°Looking for a better deal. If the Khan find¡¯s out a Reeves still lives, then she will too.¡± The witch was her meaning. Wait¡­ wait, wait. Glen pulled away abruptly, his fingers getting tangled in the strands hanging from her top and almost tearing the whole flimsy thing off. Sen grabbed his arm to stabilize it, her grip solid for such a slender creature, then carefully untangled each of Glen¡¯s fingers, without damaging the expensive material, her eyes never leaving his face. In the process of doing that, she also rearranged a majestic and fleshly orb that had popped out, without batting an eyelash. Although her voice had turned a tad huskier now and she¡¯d way more natural color on her cheeks, observing first hand Glen¡¯s blatant interest at her exposed tan-powdered and pierced nipple. What in the slovenly fuck was that? ¡°Is it covered?¡± Sen inquired, making it sound casual. ¡°It is. Regrettably,¡± Glen deadpanned glumly and his Cofol wife couldn¡¯t keep her chuckle in. It just poured out of her. Her laughter, a marvel in its own right. Luthos balls, caught in a bear trap. He couldn¡¯t remember how the famous saying went, such was his bewilderment. Ah, yes. And then he did. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.
Marcus looked as if he¡¯d eaten something foul, the cats had fooled around with for days and then abandoned to rot away in the desert sun. Aged face all tensed up, jaw scrunching this way and that, trying to keep from yelling at a gloomy faced and troubled Lord Reeves. ¡°What happened?¡± Glen puffed his cheeks out as he habitually did, then checked to see, if the Sopats¡¯ were still inside their tent, the rest of the caravan starting preparations to resume their journey first thing in the morning. Scratched his forehead with a dirty middle finger, gold ring gleaming in the afternoon sun and tried to put his unruly hair in some semblance of order, failing spectacularly in the latter. ¡°I got myself a Cofol wife,¡± He started and Marcus stood back and narrowed his eyes, not missing Glen had specified needlessly what they both knew. ¡°A girl bred in the Peninsula,¡± The aged veteran commented. ¡°What was that?¡± Glen asked. ¡°Gossip, from the poorer caravan folk,¡± Marcus elucidated. ¡°Ye don¡¯t seem particularly upbeat about it.¡± Right. ¡°There might have been¡­ some unforeseen complications,¡± Glen said, wiping his hands at the sides of his well-traveled coat. ¡°If Stiles got the chop, don¡¯t worry about it. He shan¡¯t be missed.¡± ¡°What? No, god darn it!¡± Glen snapped. ¡°Phon wanted privileged rights on Altarinport,¡± He explained and Marcus crossed his muscled arms, before his chest. ¡°Ye don¡¯t control the port, milord.¡± ¡°Yet. The old man named me heir.¡± ¡°True. Also true, is that people contest claims all the time. Even getting nasty about ¡®em,¡± Marcus countered. ¡°And ye ain¡¯t there to defend yours.¡± Glen frowned. He hadn¡¯t thought of that possibility. ¡°Anyways,¡± He continued. ¡°That¡¯s not the problem.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not?¡± Marcus queried, a little surprised. ¡°Ye know Cofol girls are like horses for these people, right? Hope yer not expecting this perfumed one, to be any different.¡± Glen sighed and stared at the old soldier dejectedly. ¡°You¡¯ve a very bigoted view of people, friend.¡± ¡°Perhaps, but I¡¯m also right on this one.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not. That¡¯s not the problem,¡± Glen patiently corrected him and spotted Fikumin¡¯s large head spying on them behind a wagon¡¯s wheel. ¡°Get the horses ready. Find a couple of more, if possible. We might have to leave in a hurry.¡± ¡°Huh? Whatever you mean lad? When?¡± ¡°I mean this night,¡± Glen looked at him sternly. ¡°Grab Stiles and get on wit it, Decanus.¡± I need to speak to a dwarf.
¡°How¡¯s the stratagem going, Lord Reeves?¡± Fikumin mocked him. ¡°The Aken is gaining more and more ground each day.¡± ¡°Forget about the Aken, dwarf,¡± Glen admonished him, stooped over the wheel, as if he was checking on it. ¡°The Khan knows I¡¯m here.¡± ¡°It comes as no surprise. How did he found out?¡± ¡°Phon, he might¡­ are there birds here?¡± ¡°Every second carriage has them at the back,¡± The dwarf pointed with a stubby finger. ¡°See? Easy to spot.¡± Glen grimaced. ¡°Can we send one to Altarin?¡± ¡°Not for free, milord. Do you have the coin?¡± Glen didn¡¯t, after he¡¯d paid for everyone¡¯s ¡®saddles¡¯. ¡°Hoped to see if Jinx made it there, or Emerson and the others.¡± Fikumin shook his head. ¡°Not gonna happen. Do you think the Khan might try something?¡± ¡°Phon wants a better deal,¡± Glen said. ¡°If he can find one. The problem is the ¡®better¡¯ deal for the Khan, might be to have me killed.¡± ¡°So, your plan is?¡± Fikumin probed. There was only one plan. ¡°Make a run for it.¡± ¡°What happened with the raiders?¡± Fikumin asked him, instead of nodding in agreement. ¡°Huh? Haven¡¯t ye heard what I just said?¡± Glen snapped. ¡°I reckoned, it¡¯ll come to that,¡± The dwarf replied not fazed. ¡°How did you kill those raiders, Lord Reeves?¡± I¡¯m a fabulous fighter? Wait, was he accusing him of something? Glen frowned. ¡°I don¡¯t like yer tone, friend,¡± He warned him. ¡°You¡¯ve used magic again,¡± Fikumin pressed on, sharp like the skinning knife, Phon wanted to use on Stiles. The annoying dwarf narrowed his eyes, oozing suspicion, small eyes lost behind his bushy brows. There was a lot of hair on that face. Glen showed him his hands with a triumphant smirk. ¡°I didn¡¯t.¡± The dwarf shook his head saddened, far from convinced. ¡°So you went there. Ah, Glenavon, you¡¯re on a dangerous path, young man.¡± Glen wasn¡¯t of the same opinion. ¡°I did what I had to do, friend.¡± ¡°How? Lithoniela said you couldn¡¯t.¡± ¡°I used the Wyvern¡¯s Tongue,¡± Glen deadpanned. ¡°The same one ye wise older guys said, it wouldn¡¯t work.¡± Fikumin took a step back. ¡°The Caravan Master,¡± He said after a moment¡¯s thought. ¡°That¡¯s the dark arts you¡¯re dabbling with, Glenavon.¡± ¡°I thought he died of a heart attack,¡± Glen evaded, not likening the dwarf¡¯s preaching tone. ¡°Luthos help us,¡± Fikumin exclaimed, looking him all strange. ¡°How many?¡± Huh? ¡°How many has the dagger killed, Lord Reeves?¡± Fikumin insisted. How should I know? Zestari, he thought. Does she count? ¡°You used it in the duel,¡± Fikumin said, doing some counting of his own. ¡°In the fort, to escape Larn¡¯s blade. Ostruki died, before you got better¡ª¡± ¡°Hey,¡± Glen cut him off. ¡°You¡¯re way off there!¡± Although the dwarf wasn¡¯t. ¡°Give me the dagger,¡± Fikumin ordered him. Glen drew a deep breath and set his jaw. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Every time you use it, something bad happens,¡± Fikumin insisted. ¡°Can¡¯t you see this?¡± ¡°I¡¯m still alive,¡± Glen replied, the dwarf¡¯s words disconcerting. ¡°What?¡± He asked seeing the anger in the small creature¡¯s eyes. ¡°Did she die because of it?¡± Fikumin snarled through his teeth. ¡°Who?¡± ¡°Lorfouna,¡± It almost killed the dwarf to say her name and Glen took a step back, not expecting it. ¡°That was not me, Fikumin.¡± ¡°How do you know?¡± Glen didn¡¯t, but he couldn¡¯t tell him that. Feeling guilty, or unsure is better than getting killed for revenge. So he lied instead. Instinctively. ¡°I know how the dagger works,¡± He declared, after taking a big breath. ¡°But now is neither the time, nor the place to explain it to you.¡±
¡°Is that a baby mule?¡± Glen asked, the moons had ducked behind a cloud and you could cut the darkness with a knife, or your hand. It was almost pitch black. ¡°Nay, milord,¡± Stiles replied, pulling hard at the reins to get the stubborn animal through the opening they¡¯d created between two smaller wagons. If possible, before the patrol made their rounds and returned. ¡°It¡¯s a donkey.¡± Ye don''t say. ¡°Where did ye found a donkey?¡± Glen guffawed and attempted to pet it, almost losing an arm in the process. ¡°What the fuck?¡± The donkey showed him two rows of enormous teeth and then threw its large head back and let out the loudest bray ever heard in the Cofol steppe. HEE-HAW! ¡°Good grief!¡± Glen cried jumping away. ¡°Stop this thing!¡± HEE-HAW! ¡°What in Uher¡¯s arse are ye doing?¡± Marcus protested looking back. ¡°He¡¯ll wake up the whole camp!¡± HEE-HAW! Went the donkey, giving Glen the stink eye. Ye four-legged sack of shit! ¡°Leave it! Let¡¯s get the hells out of here!¡± ¡°What about the girls?¡± Stiles protested, still trying to dislodge the braying donkey. Glen stared at him incredulous. ¡°What girls?¡± He snapped and then pulled back horrified and glared further ahead, where Sen-Iv waited for them atop her mare. Looking nigh uncomfortable. ¡°Iskay and Ninan,¡± She said looking at the head of her horse troubled about something and Glen could barely understand her over the sounds coming from the excited donkey. HEE-HAW! ¡°Fuck are they?¡± ¡°My servants, husband,¡± Sen replied, even more subdued than before. ¡°What did she say?¡± Glen snarled at Fikumin, who was riding the same horse with Norec, right next to her. ¡°Your slaves, Lord Reeves,¡± Fikumin said, his tone mocking. ¡°You might want to get that donkey moving fast.¡±
Let¡¯s get something straight about donkeys. They are not fast animals. They can trot, but they won¡¯t. They¡¯ll pick their own rhythm, infuriating mules and horses alike and keep at it until they decide to stop, for any number of reasons. Without permission. When they stop, you get to stop with them and pretend you like it. ¡°For slovenly fuck¡¯s sake,¡± Glen blurted, eyes red from the lack of sleep and looked back over his shoulder. ¡°What now?¡± ¡°It stopped again, milord,¡± Stiles assigned to look after the girls, reported. ¡°What for?¡± ¡°Getting all that grass out, milord.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°It¡¯s crapping the lawn,¡± Marcus elucidated, smacking his lips, looking even worse than Glen. ¡°It might take a while.¡±
And it did. Enough time for Phon and his small team of riders to catch up with them. The gem merchant looked absolutely livid, but managed to greet them pushing his horse forward, quite diplomatically. ¡°Lord Reeves,¡± He said, looking towards his sister briefly. ¡°I could¡¯ve offered a comfortable carriage for Sen-Iv.¡± ¡°She likes riding,¡± Glen deadpanned, although Sen obviously didn¡¯t. ¡°So given the opportunity, I respectfully decline yer offer.¡± ¡°What the reason for this?¡± Phon asked through his teeth. ¡°You,¡± Glen replied, glaring at him. Phon had brought six guards with him, which was a lot, but he didn¡¯t believe the merchant had the stomach to fight them. ¡°The Khan might decide to finish what he started, Sopat.¡± ¡°Glenavon, I promised to back your claims, speak on your behalf¡ª¡± Glen stopped him with a wave of his hand. ¡°What if you fail?¡± He had to look up as Phon was mounted and not on his pillow. The change a little confusing for Glen. Although, the saddle on his horse was a garish gem-covered thing that must have worth a fortune in gems. Painted yellow, blue and white. Phon-Iv couldn¡¯t hide a grimace of frustration. ¡°It¡¯s why ye wrote to him,¡± Glen pressed on. ¡°To gauge his reaction, in case this goes tits up,¡± Phon blinked, at Jinx¡¯s favorite expression. ¡°Only that would be pretty final for me, friend. We made our deal, but I never promised you to stay with the caravan.¡± ¡°Bah!¡± Phon exclaimed, looking at their group for a while. ¡°You¡¯ve appropriated animals from the Caravan, Glenavon. How am I supposed to explain that?¡± Glen was right about him. He wasn¡¯t looking for a fight. ¡°We will pay for the horses and the mules.¡± ¡°What about the donkey?¡± Phon probed and Glen almost rolled his eyes. ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°You have the coin?¡± The merchant asked. He didn¡¯t. ¡°You can have the castle,¡± Sen-Iv murmured. Glen whipped his head her way. What castle? ¡°What was that dear?¡± Phon perked up. ¡°You can have the castle,¡± Sen repeated, barely louder than before. For the donkey? ¡°That sounds reasonable,¡± Her brother commented. Are ye fuckin¡¯ kidding me? ¡°Wait,¡± Glen stepped in. ¡°You¡¯re not getting a castle for a couple of animals.¡± ¡°Animals you took, Lord Reeves. I¡¯m being rather generous with the word here.¡± ¡°Take them back,¡± Glen retorted. ¡°Let him have it,¡± Sen said, coming to stand next to him, all wrapped up in her cloak. ¡°You don¡¯t want him as an enemy, husband.¡± Glen sighed. Sen had absolutely no idea how to bargain for stuff. ¡°Listen, dear¡­ we¡¯re not givin¡¯ him a castle,¡± He started, but Phon interrupted him, ogling his eyes. ¡°Are these dwarfs?¡± The gem merchant asked, sounding incredulous. Right, they kept themselves hidden with the caravan. ¡°Yes, they are. Master Fikumin and Master Norec,¡± Glen introduced them, having forgotten their full names already. ¡°Are they with the guild?¡± The gem merchant asked, extremely interested. Glen had absolutely no idea. ¡°I am,¡± Norec replied stepping forward, looking unhappy per usual. ¡°Hah, nice to meet you, both of you,¡± Phon-Iv said, his demeanor changing. ¡°I¡¯m a long standing member of the Merchant¡¯s Guild myself. I would love the opportunity to talk business with your¡­ friends, if you have the time, Lord Reeves.¡± Glen scrunched his nose right and left, returning his stare blankly. Then glanced towards Stiles and the two slave girls watching the donkey relieving itself, taking its bloody time and already too tired to even stand upright, he rubbed his eyes hard to fight drowsiness and then stared silently at his dirty boots. ¡°Lord Reeves?¡± Phon probed him annoyingly again. ¡°Fine,¡± Glen replied with a sigh that turned into a yawn. ¡°But yer not getting a castle, for a plaguin¡¯ donkey.¡± Especially this one. The way that thing traveled, by the time they reached Rida, Glen would probably be an old man with no teeth and a back problem. And that was Glen being frugal on the consequences.
99. The Springs of Winter (1/2)
Lucius The Springs of Winter Part I (All praise the dead heroes)
What need have I of a short blade? Or of a shield, if I face my foe, Wit a long one What need have I then, of last words to say, if I¡¯m remembered by my deeds, the battles ¡®n duels in the circle today, I¡¯ll be remembered till the Realm¡¯s last day. - Northern tribes¡¯ funeral elegy, and strangely, a coming of age song
There it was. The dream again. Playing in a loop. Sometimes clear and concise¡­
¡°ARROWS!¡± Kaeso yelled a warning, seeing half the force; -led by a strange Issir with a painted white face, in a manner Lucius recalled seeing before, orange and white hair braided and tied at the nappe in a bun- stop and reaching for the bows, they all carried on their backs. The rest continued their fast trot towards them. ¡°SHIELDS UP!¡± Galio boomed turning around, half of the retreating mercenaries still carrying one, turning with him. Lucius heard the whistling, an angry sharp sound and ducked on instinct, a shaft breaking on his shoulder guard and splinters rattling his helm. Faye running beside him stumbled and went down, an arrow right through her thigh. ¡°Fuck!¡± She cried, frantically trying to dislodge it and failing. ¡°Leave it!¡± Lucius growled and pulled her up, wrapping her right arm around his shoulders for support. The bridge still twenty meters away, some people still running over it, the rest of the civilians left behind, when the mercenaries pulled back, jumping in the frozen waters and sinking straight for the bottom as the current was too great, an act of pure desperation to avoid a worse death, at the hands of Bas Crull¡¯s rangers. ¡°I want that bridge!¡± The man himself yelled to be heard by his men. ¡°The warrior that kills the red Knight, I¡¯ll name my brother!¡± With a wild roar, his rangers charged as one. Galio ordered Kaeso back towards Mamercus, the men with him to form a wall. ¡°Galio, head for the bridge now!¡± Lucius barked at the aged ex-legionnaire, his voice hoarse and tired, with a look over his shoulder. His leg could barely support both his weight and Faye¡¯s. He could feel it buckling, despite moving as slow as a pregnant turtle. ¡°That¡¯s an order, Captain!¡± Galio puffed out hard, glanced once at the onrushing Issirs and then at the hapless remaining mercenaries tasked to be their rearguard. The men giving him glances of pure despair, some pleading, others terrified, while few even nodded in understanding. ¡°They won¡¯t hold,¡± Roderick grunted and stopped in his tracks. His tired, gaunt face, almost unrecognizable. The loyal hand had aged spectacularly during these past months. ¡°On their own, they bloody won¡¯t.¡± ¡°They will,¡± Lucius insisted, though he didn¡¯t much believed it. ¡°Galio, I won¡¯t say it again!¡± ¡°Aye, milord!¡± Galio replied and started after them. Lucius turned to continue the final meters towards the bridge, but Roderick stayed behind, a resigned look on his face. ¡°Roderick, what are you doing?¡± Lucius asked, doom lacing his words, because he knew. The old hand, sucked his wrinkled cheek in once, where a tooth was missing, he¡¯d never gotten around fixing. Let it go audibly the next moment and looked at Lucius long and hard for another. ¡°Remember who you are, son. Always,¡± Roderick said, a touch of melancholy in his voice. ¡°Live for ye first, then Regia. See that you make it back in one piece and if ye see yer father, tell him I died on my feet.¡± No, darn it! ¡°Roderick¡­ for fuck¡¯s¡ª¡± Lucius protested irate, voice breaking as emotion clogged his throat, but the old man stopped him nonetheless, before he could finish. ¡°I want none o¡¯ that lip, boy. I taught ye better,¡± He admonished and pointed at Bas Crull¡¯s rangers that had stopped and were nocking fresh arrows now, the moment they saw the less than thirty men had formed a shieldwall to bar their approach. ¡°We¡¯ll charge ¡®em cowardly ruffians. Lick ¡®em proper,¡± He snorted and shook his head at the absurdity of it all. ¡°May Luthos guide ye, through the pending struggles, Lucius. It was the greatest of gifts seeing ye grow, to become the man ye are.¡±
The last sight Lucius had of Roderick, was the old man punching a mixed-blood in the face with the bloody stump of his right arm, surrounded by Bas Crull¡¯s rangers. Then the heir to Regia was on the bridge, half-dragging half-carrying Faye wit him. The stubborn woman urging him to let her stay and die with her people. Old were the bridge¡¯s boards, soaked and frozen over. They creaked and shook as they walked on them, every new stride a different torture. Behind them the rangers finally broke through, having killed the men standing on the shieldwall to the last and started after them. Lucius, followed by Galio and the remnants of his mercenaries, mainly the wounded, kept barking orders teeth bare and clenched in a grotesque manic smile of despair. Mamercus appeared with the horses the moment they managed to cross the old bridge, behind him rows upon rows of civilians running for their lives, towards the trees opposite the Montfoot¡¯s northern bank. ¡°Get the wounded moving!¡± Lucius ordered him and helped Faye on his horse. ¡°You¡¯re getting on that horse, milord,¡± Galio told him sternly. It was shocking to hear the old soldier giving orders to him. It was blatantly obvious, Galio had decided to stand his ground this time and it was also telling, of how dire their circumstances were. Lucius looked back beyond the icy river at the Rangers forming up to assault them. Then at the faces of the mercenaries, their eyes haunted and desperate. ¡°You¡¯ll need time to make it to safety,¡± He croaked, not recognizing his own voice. ¡°I¡¯ll hold them here¡ª¡± ¡°Wit all due respect milord,¡± Galio cut him, sounding and looking embarrassed, he had to do it. ¡°It¡¯ll serve these men more, if ye stayed alive. I vowed to the old man to get ye back whatever the cost. While I matter not, don¡¯t let Roderick¡¯s sacrifice be for naught.¡± Lucius all but growled in frustration, but most of the men surrounding him agreed with the veteran. With the Rangers coming over the bridge, he had to act fast. ¡°Pull the men to the trees! Form up those that can hold a shield!¡± He ordered Galio and jumped on Stormbolt, with a grimace of pure undulated pain, and squeezed himself in front of Faye. ¡°Hurry the wounded and the horses before them!¡± ¡°Leave me. I¡¯ll challenge Bas, even if it¡¯s the last thing I do,¡± A pale-faced Faye hissed in his ear. Lucius turned on the saddle and stared at her boyish profile. ¡°You¡¯re not dying here, woman,¡± He told her again, although at that very moment, Lucius wasn¡¯t certain of anything. ¡°We¡¯ll hold at the trees, give time to your people, to slip into the woods.¡± Behind them, the first of Bas¡¯ rangers crossed the bridge, their blood boiling after smashing anything the Northmen had thrown at them. Arrows started falling around the meagre force Galio had managed to scrape, from the pool of the less wounded, around fifteen dead-eyed mercenaries being the bulk of them. Lucius had run out of men and maneuvers and the horrible howling coming from the woods they approached, while harried by the more advanced light units of the Crulls, chilled his blood. It rung over the white-barked trees, rustled through the snow covered branches and made the frozen ground under their feet tremble. It grew, with each passing second, many voices joining and the terrifying ruckus coming ever closer. If this was a pack of beasts, Lucius thought shivering, then they number in the hundreds. He pulled at Stormbolt¡¯s reins, the loyal horse lame from riding hard all day and twisted on the saddle to see Faye laughing like a mad-woman, tears in her striking blue eyes. In front of them the howling stopped as suddenly, as it had started. ¡°Have you taken leave of your senses?¡± Lucius queried, trying to find a way around this new development. He¡¯d sent those civilians into those woods, he thought incensed, doomed them all. Then a Northman burst out of the tree line, nasty curved axe in his hands, chainmail hidden underneath a crudely made fur coat, helm made of grey steel and shaped like a direwolf¡¯s head. The imposing warrior was as tall as Twotrees and he stopped there, gave a look about him to assess the situation and then opening his muscled arms, let out a thunderous howl. What in Tyeus name¡­ ¡°That¡¯s Mad Wolf, Alden,¡± A cackling Faye informed him, and jumped off the saddle. Almost a hundred warriors followed the younger O¡¯ Dargan out of the woods, with more heard approaching right behind, still hidden in the forest. ¡°Where in all gods are you going?¡± Lucius asked, a barely standing Faye. ¡°I¡¯m goin'' to hunt wit the pack, Alden,¡± She replied and that was that.
Same nightmare every night. Sometimes clear and concise, Others times, dark and foreboding¡­
The land had a blue-white color, as if Ora¡¯s eye had closed on the sky. It lighted the dark night from below. It made the people appearing taller than they really were, the bloody boots on their legs showing clearly, but their faces lost in the darkness, devoured into its sinister depths. The dead were looking at him. Thousands of them, standing in rows, upon rows, like an army on parade day. Some wore armour Lucius recognized, others were dressed like legionnaires, but there was no letter L carved on their armoured chests, but the head of a tiger. It looked like the Alden tiger, but it had its mouth open this one, as if it was snarling mad. Strangely, the young heir thought he knew the beast from somewhere. Then Lucius remembered it. He¡¯d painted that tiger himself, when he was younger. Ralph had laughed at the depiction, the memory of their conversation still vivid in his overwhelmed mind. Roderick in turn had cuffed him once upside the head and told him to apologize to his ancestors. Both of them were dead now. ¡°You¡¯ll kill many more,¡± Roderick said, as if to mock his thought, or perhaps warn him, standing on his right shoulder. Lucius turned his eyes on the loyal hand and almost recoiled in horror. The old man¡¯s milky eyes returned his stare defiantly. His wounds set by rot. ¡°All ¡®em lads you see over yonder and those at the back ye don''t, whose faces ye will never remember.¡± "What''s this?" Lucius croaked. "This is where you''ll go, son. Next we meet, we''ll both be dead. Or I may be lying."You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. Lucius took a step back and looked away ashamed. ¡°I failed you.¡± ¡°Only if you stop killing yer enemies,¡± Roderick growled, the army of the slain joining in a thunderous, inhuman roar and a gasping Lucius woke up drenched in sweat, inside what appeared to be a wooden cabin.
¡°Milord, I thought ye had a fever,¡± Galio said, his weather-beaten face was well-shaven, but showing not a day younger. Lucius mouth felt bitter and despite the fire burning in the fireplace, the cabin was cold. He cleared his throat, before turning his red-rimmed eyes on the recently promoted Captain. Recently being, over a month back. ¡°I¡¯m fine, Captain Veturius,¡± Lucius said and planted both feet on the dirt floor. ¡°Where are the others?¡± ¡°They headed to the river again, milord.¡± Of course. It was to be expected. ¡°Did we find more of our own?¡± He asked, although he¡¯d no stomach for the answer. ¡°A couple, though men are looking more for plunder these days,¡± Galio replied crooking his mouth. ¡°Put a stop to it,¡± Lucius ordered him. ¡°Aye, milord,¡± Galio droned. He could sense the old soldier didn¡¯t agree with his order. ¡°Anything more?¡± ¡°O¡¯ Dargan is back. He wants to talk with you,¡± Galio reported. Lucius expected that as well. ¡°Any news of Zofia?¡± ¡°Nothing, milord.¡± ¡°Thank you, Captain.¡± Galio raised his right fist on his chest in salute and turned around. Lucius stopped him, before he could exit the modest cabin. ¡°Wait, Captain.¡± The ex-legionnaire looked back surprised. ¡°Milord?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll need a right hand man,¡± Lucius explained with difficulty. ¡°To replace Roderick.¡± ¡°A squire? Milord, I can check on the mercenaries,¡± Lucius stopped him raising his hand. ¡°I don¡¯t plan on playing tournaments for a while, Captain. What I need is someone, to offer me advice,¡± Challenge my decisions was his meaning. ¡°When it¡¯s needed. I was thinking of you.¡± Galio stood up straighter. ¡°I¡¯m a soldier, milord. You only have to give the order.¡± Lucius smacked his lips and got up from the crude bed to face him. ¡°And will you challenge my orders, Captain?¡± He asked him. ¡°Never! Milord.¡± That wasn¡¯t what Lucius was looking for and the veteran soldier realized it and hang his head in shame. ¡°Apologies.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s fine, Captain,¡± Lucius stopped him. ¡°How about Faustus?¡± ¡°He¡¯s was killed, milord.¡± Lucius frowned, embarrassed he¡¯d forgotten it. ¡°How did it happen?¡± ¡°Nobody knows, milord. But his side got trapped on the retreat. Were slain to a man.¡± ¡°Mark the names of those that had fallen, Captain. I will compensate their families, upon my return to Regia. My father will agree.¡± ¡°Of course, milord.¡± ¡°What about¡­ ahm, your legionnaires?¡± He probed, scraping the barrel, as he wasn¡¯t particularly fond of them. They were cunning scoundrels according to Roderick. A mere notch above cutthroats. Lucius also realized at this time, his dislike came from the old man¡¯s opinion of them and not his own. ¡°They work together, milord.¡± ¡°Fine, ask them both.¡± ¡°Of course, milord.¡± ¡°Wait,¡± Lucius sighed frustrated. ¡°What do you think of them?¡± Galio pressed his lips tight, unsure how to answer. ¡°Just tell me the unvarnished truth, Captain.¡± ¡°They will get the job done, milord,¡± The veteran managed to say. ¡°Anything else?¡± Lucius inquired, raising a brow. ¡°Out with it, Captain.¡± ¡°Bah, they rarely follow orders, milord,¡± Galio blurted, sounding appalled. Lucius nodded. ¡°Perfect,¡± He said, much to the Captain¡¯s surprise. ¡°Inform them, they got the job. I wish to speak to both as soon as possible.¡± ¡°Of course, Milord. What shall I tell the O¡¯ Dargan¡¯s people?¡± Faye entered the cabin at that very moment. Her hair a bit more grown, the red mess still nowhere near feminine. ¡°I will be right there,¡± Lucius said and dismissed him.
¡°Haven¡¯t seen you in a while,¡± He told the silently watching him putting on his overcoat woman. ¡°Did ye miss me, Alden?¡± Faye Numbers taunted. ¡°Not particularly.¡± ¡°Hah. Yer wit iced me bones. How¡¯s the leg?¡± ¡°How¡¯s yours?¡± Lucius retorted. ¡°I can walk,¡± Faye responded, the tiniest of smirks on her lips. ¡°Me too.¡± Their banter had started a little awkwardly, but it was now becoming a welcomed routine for Lucius. ¡°Are ye going to meet wit Mad Wolf?¡± She asked, out of the blue. ¡°You think, I shouldn¡¯t?¡± Lucius stared at her. She shrugged her shoulders as if it didn¡¯t matter either way, the mail ringing when it moved. Faye wore chainmail even when sleeping. ¡°Are ye lookin¡¯ for more advisors?¡± She teased, raising a red brow. Lucius licked his lips thoughtfully. ¡°You were listening.¡± ¡°Is it not allowed, Alden?¡± He rolled his eyes at the mocking use of his surname. ¡°My name is Lucius.¡± ¡°Are ye not an Alden? And ye haven¡¯t answered my query.¡± Yes, Faye. Because I was trying to dodge it, politely. Lucius sighed. ¡°Faye, you vowed to have me killed.¡± He couldn''t just forget it. Truth was Lucius could let it go, but he wasn''t sure Faye had that same capacity. What if she got angry? Yes he enjoyed her company, while they both convalesced from their wounds, but that was then. She was a very volatile woman. Faye Numbers pouted at that, then hang her head. Red spots on her cheeks darkening. Her eyes dropping on her short sword, fastened on her waist. She¡¯d another, a longer blade, on her back. ¡°Because of what ye did,¡± She finally murmured accusingly. ¡°I won¡¯t begrudge you for it,¡± Lucius replied and he meant it, wearing his sword and opening the crude door to step outside. ¡°But trusting you, wouldn¡¯t be wise.¡± Had one told Sir Lucius these same words about her, years into the future, he¡¯d have him beheaded on the spot.
Maza plateau stood on the North side of the Peaks that shared its name, protected by the ice coming from the Norther Sea by the much shorter heights that also hid the road leading to Fetya¡¯s capital and largest city Ludr. It was said one could see the city at the distance, lodged west of the main branch of Lud River, if he dared climb the frozen rocky slopes. Many did, strange as it may sound, as in the night the fires burning could be spotted from there, which was truly awe inspiring. The hot Springs of Maza was what prompted the early settlers to construct the burg on the plateau originally and then its position overlooking Lud River and its three lesser branches to the East. Sam O¡¯ Dargan stood on a flat boulder at the center of the burg, the small square packed with warriors, hunters and plain civilians, the huge rock allowing him to have a good view over everyone, much as everyone could see him in turn. He¡¯d his head uncovered this time, famed wolf¡¯s helm held by a young warrior, standing next to him, blood-red long hair unbraided flowing down his square face, the beard he sported hiding most of it, but not the scarred portion of his face. Three long lines were clearly visible there, reaching just below his left eye that was all white. He was listening to an older warrior, nodding with his head, indifferent to the bitter cold wind. Much as everyone else, Lucius thought, still shivering unaccustomed to the cold outside the apparently, not that cold modest cabin, he was given as quarters inside the burg. ¡°They found ¡®Gray¡¯ Barret frozen stiff on a trunk, Mad Wolf,¡± The warrior reported, in heavy Northern dialect, but Lucius, who¡¯d spent months in the company of Zofia, had polished his academic knowledge of the tongue and could understand most of it. ¡°Was he dead?¡± Sam O¡¯ Dargan asked him, his voice guttural, probably from another injury. It made him sound beastly and intimidating, the iron skulls he wore on his shoulders playing to the illusion. ¡°Twas what the men thought, so they poked him wit a spear,¡± The crowd gasped at that. ¡°Barret came around and jumped them, almost killed a young hunter.¡± ¡°What did he say?¡± ¡°Not a word,¡± The warrior replied. ¡°The medicine man said, icy water burned his throat right through. He won¡¯t speak again, Mad Wolf. Words that is.¡± ¡°Not a great loss then,¡± Sam commented over the murmurs of the crowd and Lucius noticed Faye had parked right beside him, still looking miffed from his earlier words. A couple of those present chuckled, but Sam¡¯s joke didn¡¯t land well. It seemed Barret carried favor with the locals. The warrior frowned at the crowd¡¯s reaction and stooping produced a giant two-handed sword from an equally large leather carrier bag. Lucius recognized it immediately. It was McCloud''s sword. ¡°Is that Gutrender?¡± Sam O¡¯ Dargan queried, his demeanor changing, a hint of sadness in his rasping voice. ¡°Aye, Mad Wolf,¡± The warrior replied, much to the dismay of the crowd and offered him the large and unwieldy weapon. ¡°Hunters snuck over the river, searched the woods and found it lodged amidst the roots of a tree.¡± ¡°They left it there?¡± Sam asked him not convinced, turning the blade this way and that. ¡°They had Twotrees nailed on that same tree, milord,¡± The warrior replied choking up, hard face under that brown-red beard contorting. ¡°What was left of him¡­¡± ¡°They cut him up?¡± He growled. The warrior looked down. ¡°Wolves got to him sire. Worked their way up, until they could reach him no more,¡± He sighed and pressed his mouth tight, as if he¡¯d just swallowed poison. ¡°It was done on purpose,¡± He added. Sam O¡¯ Dargan recoiled at the revelation and stood a moment silent, his eyes closed in prayer. Or so Lucius thought. ¡°What need have I of a short blade?¡± Mad Wolf asked hoarsely, his whole body shaking at the words. The crowd caught up, as if expecting it and roared repeating his words. Warriors and hunters, men and women, children and Faye, who stepped forward with tears in her eyes. ¡°Or of a shield, if I face my foe?¡± Sam O¡¯ Dargan asked the crowd, visibly overcome with emotion. ¡°WIT A LONG ONE!¡± The crowd soared in response, the atmosphere, despite the bitter cold, turning spiritual and electrifying. ¡°What need have I then, of last words to say? ¡°IF I¡¯M REMEMBERED BY MY DEEDS¡± The Maza Burg crowd resounded ecstatically, some throwing their arms up, fists clenched pointed at the sky, blades bashing on shields and Lucius found himself bellowing with the rest of them at the top of his voice. Each verse touching to the fibers of his being. ¡°AND THE BATTLES ¡®N DUELS IN THE CIRCLE TODAY¡± The crowd¡¯s deafening roar reverberating on the frozen slopes and peaks surrounding the plateau, multiplying tenfold, resembling a crackling thunderous landslide descending upon them. ¡°I¡¯LL BE REMEMBERED TILL THE REALM¡¯S LAST DAY!¡± It was a cleansing five minutes that did his soul a world of good. Faye turned all flushed, when Sam raised Twotrees McCloud famed sword high and gave him a broad smile that lit up her face, followed by a solid punch on the shoulder that rattled his teeth something fierce. ¡°Is that part of the ritual?¡± Lucius yelled to be heard over the cheerfully mourning crowd, massaging the sore spot. ¡°That was me fulfilling my vows afore the gods!¡± Faye replied, just as loud, still smiling. Pleased as if she had figured everything out. Lucius frowned and stood back, just in case she used a dagger next time. ¡°I barely felt that,¡± He taunted her, perhaps unwisely, but he couldn''t help himself. Teasing her reminded him of home. Faye took it in stride though. ¡°Guess I missed my chance,¡± She retorted, with a shrug. Okay, Lucius thought. That last part was weird. The ruined face of Sam O¡¯ Dargan, stopped him from looking more into the young woman¡¯s behavior. The Mad Wolf had approached them, moving swiftly through the crowd. Looking him up close, Lucius realized he wasn¡¯t much taller than him, though he¡¯d a bit more muscle on. ¡°I heard yer banter,¡± Sam said, in his raspy voice. ¡°It came as a welcomed surprise. Name¡¯s Sam, but people call me the Mad Wolf, for some reason,¡± He laughed at the latter, it came out a howl. ¡°I¡¯m Sir Lucius Alden,¡± Lucius introduced himself, breaking the awkward moment. ¡°I owe you a debt for saving us at the bridges.¡± Sam O¡¯ Dargan puffed his cheeks out and glanced towards a giddy Faye. ¡°Is he for real?¡± He asked her and the woman shrugged her shoulders. ¡°Reckon he is Mad Wolf.¡± ¡°Every northern city from here to Ludr,¡± Sam O¡¯ Dargan said matter-of-factly, turning to Lucius, ¡°And as far as Bloden Port, sings about how ye saved the North during the great Winter Carnage. It spreads like wildfire. I owe you, Sir Lucius and not the other way around.¡± Lucius flinched, nigh uncomfortable with the needless praise. As far as he saw things, he¡¯d made a mess of his mission, lost Zofia, failed his father, Regia and had his old mentor killed. ¡°I respectfully disagree, Master O¡¯ Dargan,¡± He declared stiffly. ¡°I urge you, to reconsider.¡± Sam stood back, eyebrows raised in shock, not expecting a second rebuke. Faye seeing his surprise, shook her head. ¡°He¡¯s an Alden,¡± She explained to the stupefied heir of Jarl David. ¡°Ye might¡¯ve trouble convincing him.¡±
100. The Springs of Winter (2/2)
The Springs of Winter Part II ¡°Because of what ye did¡±
Sam O¡¯ Dargan filled another tall silver cup, with the hot pale liquid and placed the bottle near the firepit, inside the longhouse they had retreated to, after the gathering at Maza Burg¡¯s square. He then glanced towards a seated Lucius and asked in that raspy voice of his. ¡°Have ye ever tried mead, Lord Alden?¡± ¡°I believe I have recently,¡± Lucius replied. Sam placed the cup on the wooden table in front of him and sat on the opposite side, closer to the fire. ¡°I partake in wine religiously myself,¡± The heir to Regia added. ¡°Haha. Not easy to find in the North. Not at this time, perhaps in the summer,¡± He pointed at the silver cup placed in front of Lucius. ¡°It¡¯s fermented honey for the most part and a selection of expensive spices. Give it a try.¡± Lucius tasted the lukewarm drink. ¡°Is that cinnamon?¡± He probed and Sam nodded pleased. ¡°Aye, it is. We smuggle it via Sonya. These good-for-nothings east Northerners never stopped dealing it.¡± ¡°What does King Davenport do?¡± Lucius asked sipping from the fast cooling alcoholic beverage. ¡°Making a lot of coin turning a blind eye, I reckon. Much as he always did,¡± Sam O¡¯ Dargan commented and Lucius nodded in turn. ¡°High King be damned,¡± The second son of Jarl David added meaningfully, looking at him. There it is then, Lucius thought, putting his cup on the table, having performed the customary ¡®guest rights¡¯. Politics at last. He wasn¡¯t looking forward to it, but some things needed to be discussed and agreed on. ¡°Regia always supported Kaltha,¡± Lucius started and Sam grimaced, his scarred face contorting. ¡°King Alistair hasn¡¯t changed that,¡± Yet, he wanted to add, but couldn¡¯t. He was the one pushing for a war with the Khanate and now, months later, here he was stranded in the North, having attacked the High King¡¯s men, without consulting with his father first. All in an effort to save this man¡¯s sister? Was that the reason? The crushing guilt of what had happened, the tragedy with his late wife? A sense of right and wrong possibly. Perhaps it was as simple as that. ¡°Ye used Vanzon¡¯s mercenaries to attack the Crulls at the Bridges,¡± Sam pointed. ¡°The end result, was what you describe,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°There were things that had happened before that. It made the decision the right one.¡± ¡°At the time,¡± Sam added. ¡°No. I stand by it, even now,¡± Lucius insisted. ¡°There are rumors Zofia¡­ was killed before the fight broke out,¡± Sam said, clenching the cup tight with his hand, right eye narrowing in anger. ¡°It is not true. A woman was killed, but not Zofia. I was there, when it happened.¡± ¡°Where is she then?¡± Sam asked, frowning. ¡°My father, could use some good news.¡± Lucius sighed. ¡°I was tasked by King Alistair to return her, seek some kind of agreement, for the wars to come.¡± ¡°Numbers got in the way,¡± Sam pointed. ¡°He did.¡± ¡°His brother claimed something different.¡± ¡°I fought Benton for it,¡± Lucius countered. ¡°The truth came out, before gods and men alike.¡± Sam O¡¯ Dargan nodded, a little impressed. ¡°Aye, it did. I would¡¯ve accepted yer word, you¡¯re the heir to bloody Regia, but doubted you on the inside. I can¡¯t now, yer in the right. ¡®Gray¡¯ Barret was there, holding a shield. He told us what happened.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry for what happened to him,¡± Lucius said, remembering his name from the square. ¡°He was at the Bridges.¡± Sam sipped at his mead. ¡°Aye. Don¡¯t worry about it, he was a nasty man before that, can¡¯t see that change anytime soon. Better men than him, were lost that day,¡± The latter affecting him and he stilled his eyes on the fire for a time deep in silence. ¡°My condolences for your brother,¡± Lucius said, after giving him a moment to regain his composure. ¡°I¡¯ve lost mine recently, so I can understand your pain.¡± Sam O¡¯ Dargan cleared his throat. ¡°Everyone thought I would be dead, before my brother became Jarl. Saving the North of a potential problem,¡± He smiled bitterly. ¡°People fear me, Sir Lucius, but don¡¯t much like me, like they did my brother.¡± ¡°Do they like your father?¡± Lucius probed. ¡°Haha,¡± The Mad Wolf guffawed, his laughter a howl, or much close to it. ¡°I see what ye did there, Sir Lucius,¡± He added, some of the tension leaving his face. ¡°Any news of Zofia?¡± Lucius asked and all that anxiousness came back. There was no other way around it. The young heir needed information. ¡°Nothing,¡± Sam crooked his mouth, the lines of his scar expanding. ¡°How come they used her as a ruse?¡± ¡°A man promised to serve me, kidnapped her from my camp, after the battle at the Ridge.¡± ¡°What¡¯s his name?¡± Sam asked. ¡°A mixed-blood Issir,¡± Lucius replied and Sam stood back alarmed. ¡°Dirk Curd.¡± ¡°Devious Dirk.¡± ¡°You know him?¡± Sam clenched his jaw. ¡°Numbers said he¡¯d caught him, after what they¡¯d done at Ludr.¡± ¡°What did they do?¡± Lucius asked intrigued. ¡°A raid. They crossed Lud River and attacked the city. Only there were no warriors there,¡± Sam explained, sole blue eye looking at the engravings of his cup, a light tremor on his left hand the only sign of the rage he kept bottled up inside. ¡°They killed the old they found, a few convalescing warriors, then the women and the children. Locked those that surrendered in their homes and set them on fire. Burned most of them alive inside.¡± Lucius gulped down that ache in his stomach returning. ¡°How many?¡± Sam O¡¯ Dargan shook his head right and left a couple of times to overcome his emotion, blood-red mane coming alive. ¡°Over a thousand. Two hundred children. A lot of warriors lost their kids that day, Sir Lucius.¡± Lucius closed his eyes and nodded with his head, appalled at the atrocities committed by the High King¡¯s men. Was the king to blame here though? Vanzon ruled semi-autonomous, being as he was so far from the rest of the kingdom. Then there was Curd. ¡°What do you know of Dirk?¡± ¡°He¡¯s a named warrior. Killed three men in the circle and many more, serving the Lord of Krakenhall,¡± Sam sipped from his wine and grimaced. ¡°If he has Zofia¡­ I¡¯m afraid she¡¯s gone.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know that,¡± Lucius protested. ¡°You don¡¯t know Devious Dirk, Lucius,¡± Sam countered. ¡°He¡¯ll kill everyone else, before ye got to him. Zofia included, if he hasn¡¯t already.¡± ¡°She¡¯s the only leverage he has, O¡¯ Dargan!¡± Lucius snapped losing his temper, then immediately made a sign to the man sitting before him and reached for his forgotten cup of mead. Downed its contents in a go, some of it spilling out the sides of his mouth, under the amused stare of Sam O¡¯ Dargan. ¡°Apologies, for the outburst,¡± Lucius said, when he finished his cup. ¡°I gather Zofia, made an impression?¡± Lucius worked on an itch at the tip of his nose, before replying. ¡°Aye, she did. But it matters not in the grand scheme of things. I was tasked with a job,¡± He continued, returning the Mad Wolf¡¯s stare, all serious. ¡°I intend to finish it. Win or lose.¡± ¡°Using the mercenaries again.¡± ¡°Aye.¡± ¡°Were your mercenaries involved?¡± Sam asked casually. In the raid was his meaning. Lucius pressed his lips tight. ¡°I don¡¯t believe they were. Is this going to be a problem?¡± ¡°Depends on what you intent to do, Sir Lucius.¡± ¡°Do you intent to save your sister?¡± Sam O¡¯ Dargan pulled back, with a deep frown. ¡°I need to hurt the Issirs. Zofia will have to take a back seat.¡± ¡°In the middle of winter?¡± Lucius inquired taken aback. ¡°How will you cross Lud River? It keeps flowing is the word.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the truth,¡± The Mad Wolf stood up and walked towards the firepit. Reached with a hand, caught a burning coal and flipped it once in the air, caught it again and then drop it in the embers. ¡°Part of the Northern Sea freezes over though.¡± Lucius narrowed his eyes at the absurdity of the plan. ¡°Has anyone done it before?¡± Sam grinned at that, a wolfish smile if there ever was one. ¡°The icebergs sail west for warmer waters, wiser men than me preach. We only need one to head west,¡± He started wiping his hand on his rough hide pants. ¡°In theory, if one hops on it beyond Abrakas Rock, he¡¯ll reach Krakenhall in a week.¡± ¡°You¡¯re insane,¡± Lucius said and got up himself. ¡°Is there a map of Lud River?¡± ¡°Vanzon tried going over the river, it didn¡¯t end well for him,¡± Sam countered. ¡°Vanzon raided Ludr and lost his men because your hunters caught him on the return trip.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been keeping busy Lord Alden,¡± Sam O¡¯ Dargan commented. ¡°But you can¡¯t bridge Lud River, the current is too great.¡± ¡°Is that so? But you can sail on an iceberg to Krakenhall, get yourself cut off, without supplies and die surrounded by your enemies. Bring me a map of the area, it¡¯s always better to make the crossing closer to your lines.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll help us then?¡± Lucius returned his stare sternly. ¡°I said, I shall look at a map, O¡¯ Dargan.¡±
The cold outside the longhouse smacked him in the face hard and he had to stop and collect himself, while closing his overcoat proper. Galio, his own clothes frosted over standing outside, looked at him expectantly. ¡°Where¡¯s Mamercus and Kaeso?¡± Lucius asked him. ¡°Over here, milord,¡± Kaeso called, wrapped in a woolen blanket. Mamercus who had worn another cloak made of hides over his normal one, just nodded with his head. Lucius looked at them both, the cold going right through him. ¡°Let¡¯s continue this in the cabin,¡± He said, before his teeth started rattling. ¡°Wise choice, milord,¡± Kaeso agreed and Galio shook his head in despair. ¡°Speak your mind Captain,¡± Lucius told him, as they all hurried towards his modest cabin. The woman owning it, had moved in with her sister that had recently lost her husband.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! ¡°This won¡¯t end well, milord,¡± The experienced soldier replied and Kaeso started laughing at his words, with Mamercus simply shaking his head, much as their Captain had previously. ¡°What is it, Kaeso?¡± Lucius queried narrowing his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s already fucked up, milord. Our circumstances,¡± Kaeso replied. ¡°Way I see it, things can only get better.¡±
Lucius sat on the only chair inside the cabin, the whole structure a simple four meters by three, made out of cut logs, with enough room for a crude bed and small table. He noticed the fireplace had gone out and Galio went to take care of it. ¡°Right,¡± He started not exactly happy no one had volunteered to help the Captain, but he wanted to get this over with. ¡°You¡¯ve served in the Legion for ten years.¡± ¡°Mamercus did,¡± Kaeso replied, still covered with that blanket. Truth be told, it wasn¡¯t much warmer inside. ¡°I only served eight years, milord.¡± ¡°You were dismissed?¡± ¡°Aye.¡± ¡°The reason?¡± ¡°I had a disagreement wit an officer. Milord,¡± Kaeso replied and the archer Mamercus rolled his eyes. ¡°Care to elaborate, mister Kaeso?¡± Lucius asked patiently. Kaeso sucked on his teeth, thinking about it. ¡°Can I refuse, milord?¡± ¡°You cannot.¡± ¡°Ah, well in that case¡­ it was a pair of gauntlets, Milord Alden.¡± Lucius pressed hard with three fingers a spot on his forehead, to alleviate a headache. ¡°A pair of gauntlets,¡± He repeated unsure, if he¡¯d heard him correctly. ¡°Aye. Heavy, steel things, fit for a knight. Jeremiah Cart had them on, when he died,¡± Kaeso explained and Lucius glanced at Mamercus for a reaction, but he got none from the other ex-legionnaire. ¡°And he was?¡± The heir to Regia probed. ¡°Jeremiah? An outlaw, milord,¡± Kaeso explained. ¡°The second Century was tasked with eliminating his warband. That is second Century, of the second Cohort, milord.¡± ¡°Go on,¡± Lucius said, his patience running thin. ¡°We did, so Mamercus here brought him down with an arrow and I managed to get closer and finish him off, took his gauntlets off him as spoils, milord.¡± ¡°The officer disagreed?¡± ¡°He wanted them for himself, milord.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it customary, the officers to have first pick of the spoils, Mister Kaeso?¡± ¡°On an official Legion order, milord,¡± Kaeso replied. ¡°This wasn¡¯t. I told him so and he took offense.¡± Lucius stared at Mamercus. ¡°Where do you, come in?¡± ¡°He tried to run him through,¡± Mamercus replied calmly, as if he was ordering dates at the market. ¡°So I took offense wit him, Lord Alden.¡± ¡°Did you kill him?¡± Lucius asked, with a frown. ¡°Shot him once,¡± Mamercus replied. ¡°Through the eye. He didn¡¯t make it.¡± Lucius stood back appalled. ¡°They let you go?¡± ¡°It was self-defense, milord,¡± Kaeso intervened. ¡°There were witnesses.¡± ¡°They threw us out of the Legion. Lost our pay and our pension,¡± Mamercus said monotonously. ¡°It was, punishment enough.¡± ¡°You were lucky,¡± Lucius noted. ¡°Twas my meaning, Lord Alden,¡± Mamercus deadpanned. Lucius sat back on his chair and stared at both of them. ¡°What happened to the gauntlets?¡± ¡°Sold them, to return to Alden, milord,¡± Kaeso admitted. ¡°Why Alden?¡± ¡°We knew the old man was there. Reckoned he¡¯d help us find work,¡± Mamercus explained. ¡°And here you are,¡± Lucius said. The ex-legionnaire shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Here we are, Lord Alden.¡± ¡°I want an honest opinion from you,¡± Lucius explained, getting up. There was a knock on the cabin¡¯s door. ¡°When I ask for it,¡± He continued. ¡°I expect to get one, but when I¡¯ve decided on an order, or action, there will be no disagreements.¡± ¡°Aye, milord,¡± Kaeso replied. Lucius glared at Mamercus. The man shrugged his shoulders. ¡°As you wish, Lord Alden.¡± Lucius smacked his lips, a little unsure, if he was doing the right thing. ¡°Come in!¡± He barked a moment later and Galio entered carrying a load of dry wood for the fireplace. ¡°Were you waiting outside all this time?¡± Lucius asked the old officer. ¡°Aye, milord.¡± Good grief. ¡°Help him with the load, for Uher¡¯s sake!¡± He ordered his two slow moving advisors. The term sounding ridiculous to his ears.
There was a narrow snow covered ¡®road¡¯ leading towards the frozen slopes of the mountains engulfing the Maza plateau. Stormbolt followed it, frost on his mane and vapors shooting out of his nostrils. The path circled upwards and ended at an opening, the road ahead barred by a thick fog, the clouds stopping the sun light from reaching them. The moment they made the turn, the temperature had risen, as if they¡¯d approached an active volcano. Lucius glared at Faye¡¯s back. ¡°Are ye luring me into a trap woman?¡± She chuckled in response. ¡°I was being serious,¡± Lucius murmured looking about him, as they cut through the fog, following the now unseen path. ¡°If I had yer men stay at the bottom,¡± Faye said, glancing back. ¡°Yer worry might have been legitimate.¡± ¡°What is this place?¡± Lucius asked, noticing green bushes and trees without frost on them. Not a surprise, since he could feel the difference in temperature himself. The moist in the air heavy, it soaked his overcoat. Faye pulled at the reins of her mount and then jumped down lithely, without answering. ¡°I thought we were going to see the road to Ludr from the top,¡± Lucius griped, climbing down himself, his boots sinking in the mud. ¡°Why would I want to show ye that?¡± Faye asked, a little surprised. ¡°Tis but a line, now covered in show.¡± Still it was important to familiarize himself with the local topography. ¡°Common sense?¡± He insisted. ¡°Hmm, that¡¯s not what ye need, Alden.¡± What? ¡°What do you mean, woman?¡± Faye turned, half-lost in the fog and grinned. ¡°Tell yer men to stay here and watch the horses.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you just say I¡¯m to worry, if you ever asked me that?¡± Lucius queried, genuinely confused. ¡°I did.¡± ¡°Well?¡± Faye pointed behind her with a thumb. ¡°That¡¯s the hot springs of Maza,¡± She explained that grin on her lips. ¡°I¡¯m fixin¡¯ to take a dive in them, Alden. Thought it more decent, not to have ''em watch.¡± Lucius frowned not expecting that last part and Kaeso snickered behind him. ¡°I should stay back as well,¡± He declared. ¡°How are ye gonna see the springs then?¡± Faye asked. ¡°I won¡¯t get in, if ye don¡¯t. Scared to follow me into the fog, Alden?¡± Was she teasing him? What was this? ¡°Fine. Stay here,¡± Lucius asked his two advisors. He hadn¡¯t yet decided on a more official name and they were rather long in the tooth to name them squires. ¡°Keep your eyes open.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t see two feet, milord,¡± Kaeso countered. ¡°Was I not clear, mister Sorex?¡± Lucius asked Mamercus and he nodded. ¡°Ye were, Lord Alden.¡± There, Lucius thought and followed a fast moving Faye through the fog. Eventually they¡¯ll come around. Just don¡¯t get yourself knifed in this bloody mist.
The springs created three small lakes, perhaps ponds was the closer word, Lucius decided, the biggest the length of a house, the waters bubbling at certain places and the visibility depending on the freezing wind that had picked up and pushed all that heat coming out away, ruining the illusion somewhat. The whole place was alive though, as if they had been transported from the North to a tropical oasis, surrounded by ice. ¡°How warm is the water?¡± Lucius asked, rather impressed with the mysticism and beauty of the place. ¡°Warm enough,¡± Faye replied and stooped to remove her boots. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s prudent¡ª¡± ¡°Ye want me to help yer lordship, wit yer boots?¡± Faye cut him, looking up. ¡°No.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the problem then? Because I¡¯m going in,¡± Faye smiled, appearing carefree. ¡°Haven¡¯t washed properly in a month.¡± Lucius sighed and looked around for a rock to sit on. He found a decently flat one and started removing his boots. Faye in front of him, loosed the cord tying her leather pants and let her drop, skin on her long legs a pale white underneath and hairless. The spot where the arrow had gone through, an angry red around the stiches. ¡°It¡¯ll leave a mark,¡± Lucius commented and turned around, when she went to remove her undershirt. ¡°It¡¯ll have company,¡± Faye replied and then he heard the splash, as she went in. ¡°Are ye gonna join me?¡± She asked, spitting water. The Northern girl could stand on her toes touching the bottom. The water caressing her jaw. ¡°It¡¯s not as shallow further in,¡± She explained. Lucius sighed and looked about him, then at his feet, naked toes sunk in the lukewarm mud. The feeling rather pleasant. ¡°I want nothing untoward,¡± He warned the chuckling woman and then started removing his clothes fast. You don¡¯t want to get caught by a gush of icy wind, he thought, hesitating when he reached his breeches. Lucius wasn¡¯t prude around women. But it had been a long time. ¡°Ye can stay where ye are, Alden,¡± Faye teased. ¡°I rather enjoy the view.¡± ¡°Move aside,¡± Lucius ordered her and jumped inside the bubbling pond. The water warmer than he expected it, almost hot and strange to the taste. He sunk once and then pushed the hair off his face, after he rubbed it clean. ¡°Hah,¡± He laughed overcome with enthusiasm, enjoying the luxury of a relaxing warm bath, after months on the road. ¡°That¡¯s really great! Flawless. It worth¡¯s all manner of praise!¡± ¡°It does,¡± Faye replied groggily, keeping a couple of feet away from him. ¡°What?¡± Lucius asked, easily walking on the rocky surface of the pond, the water just reaching his muscular shoulders. The young heir had lost whatever little fat he¡¯d carried these past months, the journey and all that riding and hardships leaving his body chiseled like the god Tyeus. ¡°Listen you were in the right. Just wish we had something like this in Regia! Haha,¡± He dipped his head again reaching back and allowing himself to sink, coming back up a moment later. Faye waited for him, when he resurfaced, having closed the distance, a strange look in her eyes. Don¡¯t tell me, you got mad¡­ She stooped fast, as if not to regret it and planted her mouth on his, the tips of her soft breasts brushing against his chest. Lucius made to pull away, his mind numb, but his hands grabbed her shoulders instead and steadied them both. He felt the slippery skin underneath, cool but warming up, her taste as unique as overwhelmingly similar. It unbarred the floodgates of memory. He opened his eyes and Faye¡¯s hair grew in an instant, lush red curls dropping to her naked shoulders, her eyes a shade of green now, with touches of gold. The tigress eyes stared back at him. Desire turned to lust, before drowning in bottomless hatred.
¡°Ye cut him down!¡± Macia screamed, sounding hysterical and pushed him away. ¡°I curse ye lineage, Lucius Alden. I curse you, all gods as my witness!¡± ¡°He tried to have me killed, woman!¡± Lucius snapped and tried to grab her arm, but she slipped away, put a table between them. ¡°Pulled a blade on me¡ª¡± ¡°Ye callous monster! Yer a trained ''n bred killer,¡± She hissed, her eyes feverish. ¡°He didn¡¯t stand a plaguin¡¯ chance! A kid, over words,¡± Macia started crying at that and it shocked him, as he hadn¡¯t seen her cry again. Not in this manner and not as hard. Not for him. Lucius clenched his jaw and pushed his long hair back with a hand. ¡°He was old enough, to bed you.¡± ¡°Aww,¡± Macia purred looking up, her face a mess. ¡°He did more than that, husband.¡± I¡¯m wit child, she¡¯d told him, three months back. I feel it. It¡¯s a boy. Everyone rejoiced at the news, most of all his father. King Alistair had a spring in his step since then. As if he¡¯d found again, what he¡¯d lost when Lucius¡¯ mother died. ¡°You¡¯re lying,¡± Lucius gasped not wanting to believe it, but the truth was staring him in the face and what remained was laying outside his summer villa, in a pool of his own blood. His face had hardened then and put sentiment aside. ¡°Even if you¡¯re not,¡± The heir to Regia had said. ¡°The boy will be an Alden. When the term is over, you¡¯ll never see him again.¡±
Macia¡¯s rage filled eyes turned into the striking smoky blue of Faye''s, silently pulling away from him. Lucius could still taste her on his lips. Faye, not Macia. His wife was dead. ¡°Is it Zofia?¡± Faye asked, now a good three feet away again, a resigned tone in her voice. ¡°Difficult to best an O¡¯ Dargan,¡± She laughed at that, but it never reached her eyes. Neither will you, Macia whispered in his ear and despite the noise coming from the springs, he could still remember the sound of the dagger cutting through soft skin. Lucius pushed the horrific memory away, a grimace distorting his handsome face. ¡°Yer wife,¡± Faye said, recalling the words of Sir Reggy Crull. She shook her head sadly, then sighing set her shoulders straight. ¡°Nigh impossible to compete wit a ghost.¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t me,¡± Lucius said hoarsely, emotion clogging his throat. ¡°I didn¡¯t kill her,¡± His eyes blurred, so he had to look away and tried desperately to take a deep breath, to get his wits back. Faye¡¯s hand touched his right shoulder, then her forehead. ¡°What did they say ye did?¡± Faye Numbers queried, her breath burning his skin. ¡°It was best for Regia,¡± Better to have a killer as heir, King Alistair had decreed, not an ounce of pity in his voice, when he¡¯d learned the news, than a darn fool. ¡°I believe ye, Alden,¡± Faye whispered and pulled away again. ¡°It was clever, keeping the men away,¡± Lucius said, after a contemplating long interval. No one had said a word, as if by a silent agreement. Nothing more needed to be said about the matter. Well, actually¡­ one more thing. ¡°Why did you do it?¡± Lucius asked her, when they had dried up their bodies enough, to wear their clothes. Each more comfortable now, around the other. The kiss, was his meaning. His eyes drifting on those luscious lips unwittingly, before he caught himself. How haven¡¯t I noticed that before? Lucius wondered. ¡°Because of what ye did,¡± Faye replied affectionately, tiniest hint of a smile back on that mouth. And it was clear what she meant.
101. Fear those that practice em other two
Princess Elsanne Eikenaar ''Fear those that practice ''em other two''
She could feel the scorching wind blasting over the deck, drying up what the sea soaked. An endless cycle, the waves lessening two days into their journey, after the tornado moved away. The sun, unfathomably hot for the time of year making the waters around them turn a striking turquoise, extending beyond the horizon and giving them visibility for miles. SHIP AHOY! Elsanne glanced upwards and saw the boy hanging from the lookout, half in, half out, fifteen meters above deck. He pointed a bronzed hand to the East and Captain Wayland left the helm to his second ¡®Lucky¡¯ Trifton and run to portside long spyglass in hand. ¡°Cheerly, mister Trifton!¡± Wayland ordered examining the coming vessel. ¡°It¡¯s a Brigantine.¡± The latter he said to Byron ¡®Crafty¡¯ Vail, his quartermaster that had approached in the meantime. ¡°Is there going to be a fight?¡± Loes asked, not thrilled with the excitement and freshly cleaned after she¡¯d puked all that lard soup they had for breakfast. ¡°Mister Wayland said no one can catch the ¡®Corsair¡¯s Gold¡¯, Loes,¡± Elsanne parroted what she had overheard the other day. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t worry.¡± ¡°THEY TURNED!¡± The boy boomed from the lookout. ¡°They saw us,¡± Wayland commented, with a grimace. ¡°Awfully fast that bugger,¡± Byron added a moment later, looking on from his own spyglass. ¡°Easy now, mister Trifton!¡± Wayland ordered, surprising everyone. ¡°Captain?¡± Carver asked, cutlass in hand. He¡¯d the face of Byron, his brother, on a thinner body. ¡°I know its lines, son,¡± Wayland replied and then walked towards the crew manning the sails. ¡°Furl the main!¡± He ordered. ¡°We¡¯ll let her catch us.¡± ¡°You sure Cap?¡± Byron asked, still looking at the approaching ship through his glass. ¡°Aye,¡± Wayland Dawson retorted, crooking his mouth. ¡°That¡¯s ¡®the Bouquet¡¯, Rose¡¯s ship.¡±
An hour later Elsanne, Prince Radin and the Cofols, along with most everyone from their ship, had gathered on the deck to watch ¡®The Bouquet¡¯ arriving. But for Loes, she¡¯d turned green the moment they¡¯d cut speed and rushed starboard to puke her guts out away from the pirate crew¡¯s mocking eyes. ¡°I don¡¯t see her, captain,¡± Byron commented, sucking on the gap he had on his front teeth. Elsanne squinted her eyes to catch a glimpse of ¡®Pearly¡¯ Rose Atterton, but couldn¡¯t make her out, the crew of ¡®The Bouquet¡¯ appearing worn out and several amongst them sporting injuries. At least four bodies, she could see, laid immobile on the deck, one of them tied up. ¡°They¡¯ve been licked something fierce,¡± Wayland replied, worry evident in his voice. He grabbed a line and yelled to be heard from the ship that had parked on their portside, no more than three meters away. ¡°Where¡¯s Rose?¡± ¡°Is that ye ¡®Yellow¡¯ Dawson?¡± One of them asked, putting his hands on the rails of the main deck. ¡°No it¡¯s me broth¡¯r I don¡¯t have,¡± Wayland spat angry. ¡°On me bloody ship!¡± ¡°Apologies, captain,¡± The man replied. ¡°Used me head more than me dottore recommends I¡¯m afraid. ¡° ¡°That¡¯s ¡®Striker Preston¡¯, lad¡¯s dumber than a rock,¡± Byron commented, all serious. ¡°Is that ye Barnett?¡± Wayland yelled, after giving his man a look of frustration. ¡°Damn ye lad, where¡¯s Rose?¡± Elsanne could hear the fear in the captain¡¯s voice and she felt it herself in her stomach. She had taken a liking on the dashing pirate lady and her father. ¡°Pearly is gone, ¡®Yellow¡¯ Dawson,¡± Barnett replied, oozing misery. ¡°We lost her.¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Wayland hang his head and Elsanne heard him gasping desperately. ¡°What happened?¡± He asked a sobering moment later. ¡°Where the fuck is that lily-livered prick Stiles?¡±
¡°That seems rather unfortunate,¡± Prince Radin noted, their group standing separately, but watching the pirates talking aboard ¡®The Corsair¡¯s Gold¡¯ quarterdeck. ¡°I hope it doesn¡¯t delay our journey further. You disagree my dear?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be callous, husband,¡± Elsanne admonished him. ¡°I want us to get back, whilst I¡¯m still young, wife!¡± He protested, softening it with a smile. Elsanne gave him a good shove to shut him up. ¡°Hey, I¡¯m injured!¡± ¡°Apparently not enough,¡± She retorted and turned her attention on the heated discussion taking place a couple of feet away. ¡°¡­twas the Marquette. Reeves ship, ¡®Yellow¡¯ Dawson,¡± Barnett insisted. ¡°There¡¯s no doubt about it.¡± ¡°Ferrying mercenaries,¡± Wayland droned, not convinced. ¡°Amongst ''em a Gish and a Ranger that used ¡®quick-draw¡¯, a magic spell. Are ye fuckin¡¯ kidding me?¡± ¡°Lads heard her whispering in the old tongue. Twas a spell,¡± Barnett insisted. ¡°I¡¯ve watched her shoot forty arrows in a minute, captain. Twas a spell.¡± ¡°Bah!¡± Wayland exclaimed disgusted and then rubbed his rugged face hard with both hands. ¡°Abrakas curse us all.¡± ¡°There was a knight on that ship, as well,¡± Barnett added, looking at the disbelieving faces of his colleagues. Wayland Dawson perked up at that, his distraught eyes turning right vicious. ¡°A knight?¡± Sounding nigh interested. ¡°Aye.¡± ¡°Was the ship heading to Altarinport?¡± ¡°I believe so, aye,¡± Barnett replied. ¡°Rose thought the same.¡± Wayland turned his head and looked at them, mainly Prince Radin. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Radin asked, not likening the pirate captain¡¯s stare. ¡°Where¡¯s yer man?¡± Wayland asked accusingly. ¡°The one with the dead eyes.¡± ¡°He had other commitments, captain,¡± Radin replied frowning. ¡°Why?¡± Wayland smacked his lips. ¡°Ye got us mixed up, in untoward business, yer highness,¡± His expression hardening, before he added. ¡°And got Rose killed, is the long and short of it.¡±
The pleasant mood on their ship took a hit for the worst, after the rest of the crew learned what had happened. While hardened men and women, the pirates openly mourned the loss of their famed colleague, emptying the ship¡¯s holds of beer and wine and sharing it among each other. It was followed by raucous singing and a string of stories that spoke of ¡®Pearly¡¯ Rose¡¯s life and many adventures. Almost everyone had something to say. Some of the stories right scandalous, or completely unbelievable, others outright awe-inspiring. Elsanne listened to them for hours and when the battered and mostly drunk crew of the ¡®Bouquet¡¯ left the next day, heading for Lord¡¯s Burrow to bring her father the news of her untimely demise, she approached the silent staring over the horizon Captain and stood next to him. ¡°My condolences for your loss,¡± Elsanne said politely. ¡°I sense she meant a lot to you.¡± Wayland Dawson snorted. ¡°Whoever did this to ye, must be hang from the foremast.¡± ¡°I beg your pardon?¡± Elsanne said taken aback, not expecting a rebuke. Wayland grimaced. ¡°No offence, Princess. But ye don¡¯t belong wh¡¯re yer headin¡¯.¡± ¡°I married a Prince, Mister Dawson,¡± Elsanne replied, taking offense. ¡°Ye are much more princely, than he¡¯ll ever be,¡± He gave her an onceover. ¡°And closer to a throne, the way I see it.¡± Elsanne crossed her arms on her chest. ¡°I¡¯m not really. In five years my nephew will be of age. No one will give me a second thought after that.¡± ¡°That¡¯s one life,¡± The pirate observed callously. ¡°He has three in front of him. As I said, Princess, yer claim is more important.¡± Elsanne frowned and stared at the calm sea of the last several days for a long moment, pondering the older man¡¯s words. ¡°What did you mean earlier?¡± She asked the silent pirate captain. ¡°Ye are not supposed to make friends in our line of business,¡± Wayland explained, taking a roundabout route. ¡°Or even love, much as yer allowed. But ye do, yer grace, just the same. Ye make friends, ye make lovers despite the things ye are forced to do, in order to survive. When the days slow down, or the night comes, ye think about all the things ye¡¯ve done. It can mess ye up.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve chosen to be pirates,¡± Elsanne pointed. ¡°Some of us did, others didn¡¯t. Life was chosen for them. Anyways, this life comes with baggage. Ye either go along wit it, or ye die. Ye plunder, ye sell slaves and kill people.¡± ¡°All horrible things.¡± ¡°Which is worst ye think?¡± Elsanne shrugged her small shoulders. ¡°Stealing is the lesser evil, I suppose. The other two are way worse.¡± Dawson agreed with a nod, then let a breath he held out and turned his eyes on the endless horizon again. His voice though tired and even a little sad, clear enough to be heard over the waves. ¡°Fear those that practice ¡®em other two, Princess of Kaltha. Not out of fear, nor for survival, but out of perverted greed and a vile tradition, they enjoy too much to let go.¡±
102. The Lords of Jade Lake (1/2)
Elsanne The Lords of Jade Lake Part I (Two Hornets)
The sun was setting over Eplas, when the ¡®Corsair¡¯s Gold¡¯ broke through the clouds and saw land. It lay flat, the large natural port inviting and the waters calm, but for the sinister pointy heights far to the south that marked the great barrier of the vaunted Pale Mountains. The impassable land border between Ancient Wetull and the rest of Eplas. Eikenport itself, one could easily miss alltogether. No large structures were visible, no towers guarding the approach to its harbor and the city beyond it appeared abandoned. Smoke columns though, rising in several places were the sign that people still lived in the ruined city. Wayland ¡®Yellow¡¯ Dawson, stood next to her on the rails of the quarterdeck, early the next morning and after they''d spent the night staring at the dark ruined city, leaving his second to prepare the ship for docking on a newly rebuilt part of the port. The final approach always nerve-wrecking in a difficult harbor, but not this one, as he¡¯d explained to her earlier. With all its faults, Eikenport was a good location to build an anchorage. ¡°That¡¯s Felmond River,¡± The experienced buccaneer, a moniker he¡¯d preferred, informed the Princess of Kaltha. ¡°It comes from the Neseen Mountains, deep in the desert. The last good water source, on this side of the continent.¡± ¡°What about the Lake?¡± ¡°Neither Jade Lake, nor Dragontoe River have clean water, Princess,¡± Wayland glanced at her profile. ¡°You can drink it, but there¡¯s a chance ye¡¯ll get sick.¡± ¡°That¡¯s... promising,¡± Elsanne commented deictically. Like not at all. ¡°Haha, aye it¡¯s a strange place, as you¡¯ll find out,¡± Wayland agreed and scratched his rough beard for a while, his weather-beaten face had aged spectacularly in the last week. He sighed, whatever he was thinking about troubling him. ¡°What is it, Mister Dawson?¡± Elsanne inquired politely. Whatever the man¡¯s sins were, she had enjoyed his company and for the most part the journey on his ship. While not exactly how she¡¯d originally imagined it, Elsanne¡¯s dream of seeing the rest of the Realm held significant appeal still to the young woman. ¡°Ah, just wanted to say some parting words, Princess,¡± Wayland replied, a little moved. ¡°It¡¯s not every day a man like myself get to meet a noble-blood, deserving of the moniker. None more deserving than yerself.¡± Elsanne blushed at the praise. ¡°Gratitude for the kind words, Mister Dawson.¡± ¡°Wish I could offer more, Princess,¡± He grimaced, searched about himself, found something in a pocket of his heavy frock coat, the yellow sash striking on his waist and offered it to her. It was a large iron button, or coin. It had a skull carved at its middle, the mouth open in what appeared to be a grotesque smile. ¡°Ahm,¡± Elsanne said unsure, not wanting to insult him. ¡°The Laughing Skull will tell any brother, or sister, yer a friend of the pirates, Princess,¡± The man explained. ¡°They¡¯ll offer ye help, next time ye need it,¡± He shrugged his shoulders. ¡°In any tavern, and at any port. Just show it, Princess.¡± ¡°Thank you, Mister Dawson,¡± Elsanne said much moved at the gesture and hugged him, at the surprise of those present, none more than Captain Wayland himself.
The first impression Elsanne had from Eikenport and Eplas was underwhelming. The city itself razed almost to the ground in most places. Ancient hills of rumple and tall glass walls, remnants of what was once villas and buildings that reminded her of Jelin architecture mixed in with structures completely alien. Sloped pyramids and smaller mastabas now collapsed, all roads starting at the port, build radial from it in a semi-circle, or a half-wheel, its spokes extending to the edges of the ruined city. ¡°What happened?¡± Elsanne asked, breathing heavy and constantly fanning herself almost delirious, as the heat blasting on them from the moment they stepped foot ashore was mind-numbing. Prince Radin puffed out, himself not immune to the scorching winds coming from the Great Desert and gave her a curious stare. ¡°Surely you know your family¡¯s history, dear.¡± ¡°I know Reinut lost his fleet at Eikenport,¡± Elsanne replied with a glare. ¡°That¡¯s correct,¡± Radin said with a smile, checking up on their luggage being loaded on the carriages by his guards and at least twenty workers. A local official working for him had brought them the two enclosed wagons, after a five hour wait. The weather had turned hotter as the day progressed. ¡°How does destroying a fleet, spills out and dooms a city?¡± She asked, wiping the sweat off her face. Loes had collapsed in the middle of the street on a box and was slowly melting away, a look of despair on her pretty face. ¡°The crews were stationed there, or something,¡± Radin explained. ¡°The details are murky and what¡¯s written, well¡­ it¡¯s rather fanciful.¡± ¡°What¡¯s written?¡± ¡°The Empress had brought her Wyverns,¡± Radin replied and seeing her raised brow, shrugged his shoulders indifferently. ¡°When she realized, watching from above, the crews had escaped, she let them loose on the city itself, killing friends and foes alike.¡± Elsanne placed a hand on a destroyed wall, the stone bricks turned to hard glass, lukewarm to the touch and sharp at its points. ¡°They did this¡­¡± She murmured impressed, as much as terrified. ¡°To the buildings and people,¡± Radin commented, watching her reaction with interest. ¡°Most of them that is.¡± ¡°What happened to the rest?¡± Elsanne queried pulling her hand away. ¡°They ate them, dear,¡± Radin replied casually. ¡°The Zilan and their pets kept the same diet.¡±This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°That¡¯s horrifying,¡± Elsanne gasped, having difficulty breathing. Then remembering her lessons frowned. ¡°Why hadn¡¯t she used them against Reinut then?¡± ¡°I can only offer theories, dear wife. It¡¯s a heavy subject, for the hour.¡± ¡°Do you intent on helping them load our stuff?¡± She asked him innocently. ¡°Don¡¯t be absurd,¡± Came his pointed reply. ¡°Then, we have time.¡± Radin sighed, at her insistence. ¡°Fine. I don¡¯t know much.¡± He started, looking for his flask of water. Radin had some, poured the rest over his head and let out a sigh of relief. ¡°Gods, this I haven¡¯t missed. Where was I? Ah, yes. Well, to make a long story short; Reinut had disembarked his raiders near Goras, sacked the city and put it to the torch, the whole affair. By the time the Empress learned what had happened and came back, he was gone.¡± ¡°How did he escape without a fleet?¡± Elsanne asked, that part always bothered her. ¡°Nobody really knows. He didn¡¯t swim around Crabs Talons that¡¯s for sure, although people have suggested it. Through the Pale Mountains is the most likely answer.¡± ¡°Is there a way to cross them?¡± ¡°Not that I know off. Then there¡¯s the Acid Lake, Merodras River and its beasts. I¡¯m surprised he even made it out alive.¡± ¡°What happened to her Wyverns?¡± Elsanne asked. ¡°Why not bring them to Lazuli Peninsula, is where you¡¯re going with this, right?¡± Radin teased her, with a smile. ¡°She couldn¡¯t, or she made a mistake. Remember the volcanoes went off at that time, there was mayhem within the empire.¡± As if flying beasts would stick around to get burned to ash. Elsanne pouted, not buying it. She had subconsciously sided with the Queen. ¡°Why would she make a mistake?¡± ¡°She set a trap for Reinut. They are¡­ were vain creatures. A large host of warriors had disembarked at Shifton River, where Tirifort today stands, force-marched through the desert to hit Reinut from the back, while he sieged Oakenfalls and the Queen of Queens. It was a good plan.¡± ¡°But for the Horselords treachery,¡± Elsanne pointed, narrowing her eyes. ¡°Or Reinut¡¯s acumen to cut a deal. Kudos to your ancestor, right?¡± Radin countered. ¡°Anyway, my ancestors destroyed the relief army, Reinut won the siege, put everyone to the blade.¡± ¡°The rest is history,¡± Elsanne added, looking at him. ¡°There¡¯s other things to talk about wife,¡± Her husband¡¯s naughty smirk was bursting with lewd promises and she felt her core flame up even more, the dress she wore restricting her to the point of torture. ¡°By the way, dear,¡± Radin added, seeing her sweating profusely, completely flustered. ¡°You might want to make a change in your wardrobe.¡±
A day later, they had reached Laun River, one of the two birthed out of Jade Lake. Its waters a distinct yellow-green, darker at places and the stink of brimstone making her eyes water. They crossed the stone bridge over it as fast as they could and made camp amidst the bizarre Oasis that hugged the large lake, its banks now visible to the east. ¡°You¡¯ll get used to it,¡± Radin said, seeing her having trouble standing. The heat and hardship of the climate, multiplied by the suffocating humidity of the environment taking a toll on the Princess. ¡°Can we see the lake?¡± Elsanne croaked, staring at a slave cooling her with a large fan, the boy himself to the point of collapse. ¡°And let this poor thing rest a bit?¡± Radin frowned. ¡°He¡¯s a slave, dear. As for the lake, while it¡¯s cooler there, ahm¡­ this part is better crossed posthaste.¡± Elsanne glowered at him and then stared at their men clearing the area around their camp of plants and cutting down small trees and even uprooting most of the vegetation. ¡°Are there snakes?¡± She asked, the idea of facing one as exciting as terrifying. ¡°Plenty,¡± Radin deadpanned. ¡°But it¡¯s the plants I fear the most.¡± ¡°The plants?¡± ¡°Those yellow-orange ones are poisonous,¡± Radin explained, pointing at the local flora, all serious. ¡°The green and white, have flesh eating cavities hidden, camouflaged as rotted palm trunks, or roots. Yes, like this one,¡± Radin grimaced, seeing her jump away from a suspicious piece of wood on the ground. ¡°Flesh-eating cavities?¡± Elsanne droned, her eyes ogling with bewilderment. Radin snorted, unsheathed his sword and run the suspicious looking root through. Mercifully, it turned out it was, what it looked like. Dead wood. The Prince smacked his lips, opting to be cautious and stabbed it again and again, before elucidating on her previous query. ¡°Mouths.¡±
This was the biggest hornet Elsanne had seen in her life. Larger than both her thumbs placed side by side, loud as a kid making scaring noises with his mouth, while hidden in a cellar and incredibly persistent. ¡°HELP!¡± She screamed, seeing the monster approaching again. ¡°Hajot get it, for fuck¡¯s sake!¡± Radin griped and turning to her, he repeated his earlier instructions. ¡°Close the drapes dear, to keep it out this time.¡± Elsanne thought about poking him in the eye. ¡°It¡¯s ungodly hot, dear!¡± She screeched instead. Radin sighed pretentiously. Oh, you¡¯re getting a poke in the eye smarty mouth. ¡°Here, take this off. You¡¯re wearing too much stuff¡ª¡± Elsanne ducked under his hands, not that she objected getting fondled like last night, but she was sweaty, probably smelly and they were basically in public! Sort of. ¡°I can¡¯t breathe,¡± She insisted, also true, keeping him away with both hands. Radin pushed against her, slipped an arm through her defenses, found the top knot of her bustier and pulled it hard and rather expertly for a man, before she could smack his hand away. ¡°Everything okay, Princess?¡± Loes asked from the front seat of the carriage, where they had exiled her earlier. ¡°Fine, Loes,¡± Elsanne replied, keeping the loose top closed with one hand, using her left shoulder and arm to keep her husband¡¯s hands and body away, almost shoving him onto the wall of the enclosed carriage. ¡°Wardrobe malfunction.¡± ¡°You wish me to come inside?¡± She asked, rather alarmed. Oh, poor thing. We¡¯re way past that part. ¡°I can manage, thank you.¡± ¡°Hajot reported the Hornet has been slain, Princess,¡± Loes said. Good riddance, she thought and reaching opened the drapes wide, to let more air in. In came the cool air and another two hornets buzzing angry as all hells and probably close family to the recently deceased. Elsanne jumped to the door in pure panic, pushed it open, almost breaking the latch and jumped outside, managing to land on her feet and hands, to the bewilderment of their guards and the mustached driver, who recovered quickly and clicked his tongue bringing the slow moving carriage to a full stop. Hajot, dashing atop his horse, gave her a slight bow with his head and Elsanne opened her mouth to thank him, when she caught out of the corner of her eye Loes, making a series of grimaces, winks and warning signs with her eyes. Elsanne kept her jade eyes on Hajot, a light flushing on her ebony cheeks barely noticeable, the guard¡¯s face remaining remarkably cool, while she used both hands to return the two now open parts of her bustier top in the right position. Loes jumped down the next moment and moving fast alike a seasoned professional, produced a silver clasp pin out of a fold of her own dress and secured both parts, leaving a daring opening at the top and lower portion of it, quite roomy and pleasant. A startled Elsanne breathed freely for the first time in days. ¡°Damn it, wife,¡± Radin griped, stepping out of the carriage, a couple of large welts on his face and looking pretty unsteady. ¡°I told you to keep those darn drapes closed!¡±
103. The Lords of Jade Lake (2/2)
Elsanne The Lords of Jade Lake Part II (The man with the bronze hand)
¡°Jadefort¡¯s wall ain¡¯t finished yet,¡± Hajot reported, after they had crossed the second bridge, this one over the Dragontoe River, its three smaller tributaries having the shape of a claw, Jadefort built to protect the last two bridges over them, right at the proverbial knuckle. The Oasis had turned into a buzzing jungle since yesterday, but this part of it was cleared out, the ground flattened and the sun blasting on their heads unobstructed. At least you can breathe much easier, Elsanne surmised, looking curiously out of her window at the abandoned small fort. ¡°Kuntur is spending my dinar, with nothing to show for it,¡± Prince Radin commented and walked on foot near the leader of his guards, to see for himself. ¡°No one stopped you?¡± ¡°No patrols that I noticed.¡± ¡°Worker crews?¡± ¡°None outside the walls, or their huts.¡± ¡°What in Uher¡¯s name are they doing? What¡¯s this, a fucking vacation?¡± Radin sounded angry. ¡°Perhaps they stopped? It¡¯s too hot today,¡± Elsanne offered and most men present frowned, with a couple of them snickering. Was her Cofol so bad? She wondered. Elsanne had worked diligently to improve her knowledge of the language and could converse in Cofol with the Prince pretty easily now. ¡°Most of the workers are slaves, wife,¡± Radin explained, as if he was talking to a gullible child. Elsanne narrowed her eyes annoyed. ¡°Don¡¯t confront him in front of his men, Princess,¡± Loes advised her, whispering as if they were captives themselves. ¡°What are you afraid of?¡± Elsanne snapped at her. ¡°I¡¯ve heard things, from Tobro,¡± The boy slave with the gigantic fan. ¡°You might want to work slowly on this.¡± ¡°Define slow¡­ Things have to change here, Loes.¡± ¡°We may find this more difficult, than it appeared back home, Princess.¡± Elsanne grimaced and thought to rebuke her maid, but commotion coming from outside forced her to turn her attention away. Hajot pointed to a group riders coming from the site of the other bridge, the one leading to Dia and by the time Elsanne twisted her head that way, another group had appeared coming from the west side of the fort. These were a lot of riders. All of them armed. ¡°Are they Kuntur¡¯s men?¡± The Prince asked. ¡°Some of the saddles are ours, Bloodfang,¡± Hajot commented, alarm in his voice, just as Elsanne jumped out of the carriage to have a better view of the newcomers. ¡°I council ye stay back, my Lord.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a good day!¡± One of the newcomers boomed, his voice a metallic gruff, clear as the sound of steel striking rock. ¡°You¡¯re trespassing on Prince Radin¡¯s lands!¡± Hajot barked back angry. ¡°Where the hell are our men?¡± Her husband wondered aloud and seeing her approach ogled his eyes terrified. ¡°Get back on the carriage!¡± Radin ordered her, just as the leader of the newcomers snarled back his answer. ¡°Yer talking to the Lord of Jade Lake, Khanite scum!¡± Elsanne blinked in shock at the hatred in his voice. ¡°Fuck, they¡¯re Horselords,¡± Radin cursed and retreated towards his wife. ¡°Arm yourselves!¡± Hajot barked to the rest, Elsanne having no clue what was going on, pausing unsure and looking around her, as the rest of the guards rushed to the front to defend the Prince. ¡°Get back up, for fuck¡¯s sake!¡± Radin bellowed, coming her way furious. Hell is your problem? ¡°IS THE PRINCE HERE?¡± The Horselord called out louder than anyone else. ¡°Are ye hidin¡¯ Radpour?¡± ¡°Take your horses and leave the fort, fiend!¡± Hajot retorted. The man, clad in mail under his intricate bone armour, one hand in a gleaming bronze lifelike gauntlet resting on the saddle, the other naked pointed a thumb the fort¡¯s way. ¡°I¡¯ve won the Fort wit my blood. Claimed the land between the rivers¡ª¡± ¡°You¡¯re not the Lord here!¡± Hajot cut him off. ¡°Ye¡¯ll fight me for it? Are ye the Prince?¡± ¡°My Lord?¡± Hajot asked turning his head to look at her husband. ¡°Ah, there he is,¡± The Horselord noted nastily. ¡°Which of the lot are ye?¡± ¡°The Lord of Jade Lake. My people call me Bloodfang,¡± Radin replied, standing tall. ¡°You have a name, son of the plains?¡± The Horselord stood back surprised at the polite term. ¡°I¡¯m Kalac, son of Duham.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have the men to enforce your demands, Kalac,¡± Radin told him diplomatically. ¡°I have men enough now, to kill yer guards, yerself and take yer women, Prince.¡± Uher help us, is he insane? Elsanne thought glaring at the brute. ¡°Your win will be short-lived, Kalac,¡± Radin countered. ¡°Much like yer life, Prince,¡± The brute deadpanned, a smile appearing on his ascetic and sun-scorched face. Radin glanced at his guards, all six of them, then at the mounted warriors, at least a dozen Elsanne could count, all of them with arrows ready on their curved bows and grimaced frustrated. ¡°What are your terms for the duel?¡± He queried, both Elsanne and Hajot reacting together. ¡°Huh? What¡¯s this madness?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll fight him, my Lord.¡± Elsanne turned her head towards the gallant guard. ¡°No, you won¡¯t.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not fully healed, my Prince,¡± Hajot explained, not looking at her. Radin sighed and glanced at the gaunt Horselord. ¡°They seem pretty worn out,¡± He reasoned, then smacked his lips and nodded at his man. ¡°What will it be, Prince?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t heard your terms, Kalac.¡± ¡°You win, my men leave.¡± Radin nodded, a little pale in the face. What happens, if we lose? Elsanne wondered, very interested to hear the rest of the agreement. ¡°Hajot will fight you, or your best man.¡± Kalac pressed his lips tight. ¡°No deal.¡± What? ¡°I was injured in a tourney, Kalac,¡± Radin reasoned, and freshly married, Elsanne would have added, her husband clearly uncomfortable that he appeared weak before his men and the Horselords. ¡°You¡¯ll seek glory, fighting an injured warrior?¡± Kalac raised his bronze hand high. ¡°Kalac has only one arm made of flesh, Prince of Rin An-Pur,¡± His smirk right evil. Several of the Horselords cheered at his words. ¡°Sounds like you¡¯re the one fearing my man, Kalac,¡± Radin replied readily and the murmur of the riders turned angry. Kalac nodded. ¡°I shall kill yer man first, then fight ye, Prince Radin. These are my terms,¡± He announced for all to hear and then turned his horse to talk with his second in command. Elsanne gulped down, numb to her toes. ¡°I can take him, my Prince,¡± Hajot reassured, remarkably calm considering the circumstances. ¡°Give him my good helm!¡± Radin ordered and put a hand on his man¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I know you will.¡± Elsanne never found out, if he believed it.
¡°Stop this,¡± The Princess of Kaltha urged her husband, as the two men glared at each other mounted on their horses. Hajot had a shining steel spangenhelm on, his face hidden behind a mask depicting a hideously smirking face, with openings at the eyes and mouth. Can he even see, under that? She wondered. ¡°You¡¯re gonna get him killed.¡± ¡°Close your mouth!¡± Radin snapped at her, his handsome face contorting furious. ¡°There¡¯s nothing I can do!¡± ¡°You¡¯re the Lord here,¡± Elsanne hissed through her teeth, deeply insulted he¡¯d yelled at her in front of everyone. ¡°Order him to stand down, Radin.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t,¡± He replied, clenching his jaw. ¡°Learn your fucking place, wife!¡± ¡°Learn yours!¡± Elsanne shouted back at him. ¡°I ain¡¯t your slave!¡± ¡°Here they go,¡± Their driver commented, interrupting their staring match.
Hajot, clad in brilliant segmented mail, charged his stallion towards his smaller opponent. Both Kalac and his horse were smaller in size. The flat field wasn¡¯t meant for a tourney, but it was straight enough to allow them to stand about twenty meters apart. They crashed in the middle of it, Hajot turning his torso and snapping with his war spear towards the Horselord, in a move it reminded her of Radin, when he¡¯d faced De Weer back in Riverdor. Then they were apart again and she couldn¡¯t figure out, if someone had been hurt, or not. Elsanne puffed her cheeks out, her haphazardly closed top almost popping right open and spilling the goods out for all to gawk on. Not that anyone was looking at her, so she put a hand on to keep everything secure, as the two opponents, turned their mounts around and charged again. The horses neighed and snorted, tongues hanging, hooves digging in the soft ground, the ever increasing sound of their trot turning violent and the crowd watching cheering in ecstasy, especially the gathered Horselords. It was breathtaking watching two fearsome riders clash with each other so close to the action. Hajot appeared to be more focused this time, Elsanne had her eyes on him, but suddenly flinched and raised his spear point high, just before he met Kalac for the second time. Elsanne snapped her eyes on the Horselord, caught the tail end of his impossible jump off the saddle, had the man climbed on it mid-charge? She wondered, and watched him crashing on the Cofol knight, managing to just avoid his spear.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. AAWW! Went the crowd as both fighters tumbled down on the ground, Hajot hard on his back and Kalac bouncing off him to crash a couple meters away, without his spear. Hajot shook his masked head and jumped on his feet, his opponent slow to get up, left arm daggling useless and that bronze fake hand of his, appearing too heavy to lift. ¡°KALAC THE FEARED!¡± The Horselords thundered with one voice, sending a shiver down Elsanne¡¯s spine, as Hajot slowly approached their leader, who stepped back nimbly, pushed his wild hair off his face first and then used his good hand to unsheathe his sabre. Hajot raised his spear above his head with two hands, flipped it once around expertly, his left hand extending forward at the end of it and the right securing the long shaft behind his nappe. Dancing on the balls of his feet, reminiscent of Prince Radin during his duel with Ralph at the tourney, he closed in on the oddly unfazed Horselord. Elsanne gasped, her attempt at drawing breath failing and her vision blurred. Loes clasped her right hand with hers so hard, she felt her bones crack. Kalac moved, the moment Hajot committed, spear swinging around high alike a greatsword, in what was a feint, the Horselord dodging it by simply twisting his neck to the side. Hajot pulled the war spear all the way back, still holding it high, feinted again and attacked mid-move with a downward thrust, aiming for Kalac chest. The Horselord raised his useless arm and grabbed it before it plunged into him fully. The steel tip on it actually did penetrate quite a bit, shattering the bone armour and tearing at the mail underneath, before sinking into flesh. All of the above happened in the less than ten seconds. ¡°What in Uher¡¯s name?¡± Radin exclaimed in shock. Hajot put his hand on the Horselord¡¯s rising blade right at its mid-point, the tip of it aimed at his unprotected stomach, tried to stop it from moving forward, the curved edge slashing through his hard-leather gauntlets, blood painting the still moving blade. ¡°Argh!¡± Hajot cried out, understanding that he had to kill Kalac before he spilled his guts out and pushed with everything he had to break through the Horselord¡¯s grip on his spear. ¡°Come on!¡± Radin hissed, eyes ogling in desperation. But the spear wouldn¡¯t budge. The grip on it with the bronze hand solid, the reason for it becoming apparent to everyone that looked closer at it. ¡°Fingers closed on the shaft,¡± Their driver said awed, at what he was witnessing. ¡°That¡¯s fuckin¡¯ unnatural!¡± Unnatural, or not, the simple fact of it was that Hajot failed to shove more of his spear into Kalac and the sinewy Horselord, his hardened face remaining apathetic, slowly cut through the Cofol knight¡¯s fingers first, hand next and run the length of his blade through the hapless man¡¯s stomach. All the way. ¡°NOOOO!¡± Elsanne screamed recoiling in horror, seeing the nasty end of it exploding out of the gallant guard¡¯s back, the blood a striking red on the white armour, Loes fainting and collapsing next to her, under the elated Horselords triumphant cries.
You could hear a pin drop, in the smooth clearing before Jadefort¡¯s brick walls. Radin was shaking with silent rage, the rest of their guards stupefied at the outcome of the duel, while their driver was trying to help an unresponsive Loes to her feet and Elsanne just looked on, as if entranced, at the bloodied Horselord snatch the spear tip out of his chest and then, using a cruel boot, removing his sword from the slain Hajot, proceeding to wipe blood and entrails using his leather pants, with the ease of a professional butcher. Kalac took a deep breath at the end of it, sent a hard stare to his grinning men and turned his pitiless eyes on Prince Radin. No. ¡°I believe, ye owe me a duel,¡± He announced, without bothering being polite this time. Radin grimaced, his face dark and unreadable. ¡°You¡¯ll have your duel,¡± He said, through his teeth. ¡°THERE¡¯LL BE NO DUEL!¡± That was Elsanne, her furious cry turning into a crone¡¯s screech at the tail end of it, having had enough of this nonsense. Radin glared at her, looking unhappy, the rest of the Cofols snapping out of their gloominess and looking even less pleased than the Prince. The Horselords gasped collectively in turn, most of them noticing her for the first time, as she bravely pushed forward and approached Kalac, trying to keep her eyes away from the body of Hajot that was laying still, in a pool of his own blood. Collapsing like Loes will ruin this for sure. Kalac raised his wild brows either impressed, or taken aback, eyes a dark brown, face marred with scars and deep lines from exposure to the desert sun, even outright burned at places. ¡°Who might ye be?¡± He asked in that characteristic gruff voice that send a shiver from the base of her neck, down to her toes. ¡°The Princess of Kaltha,¡± Elsanne blurted out, fast as she could, fearing she¡¯d lose her courage and become the laughing stock of the crowd. A feat she¡¯d probably already accomplished. ¡°Wife,¡± Radin called from behind her, sounding tired. ¡°Come back here.¡± Kalac looked her up and down intrigued. He then cast his eyes on Prince Radin. ¡°Ye made a slave of an Issirian Princess?¡± ¡°I¡¯m no one¡¯s slave!¡± Elsanne exploded, her anger fueling her courage. ¡°Yer his consort,¡± Kalac replied, not convinced, but slightly amused. ¡°I¡¯m his wife!¡± ¡°Was my meaning,¡± The Horselord smacked his lips and glanced at his men, gauging their mood. He¡¯d a gleam in his eye, Elsanne didn¡¯t like, but wanted to exploit. ¡°Ye have a counter offer, Princess of Kaltha?¡± The last part he¡¯d said, with a heavy dose of razz, getting a lewd snicker out of his men. So you want to keep them entertained, Elsanne thought. She¡¯d absolutely no idea what were the dynamics between them, nor the time to find out. This man needed a win and she¡¯d grown up in a palace. Elsanne was privy to more backroom deals by the time she was ten, than she had dolls to play with and dresses to ruin. ¡°I do, if you agree there won¡¯t be another duel.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the offer?¡± Kalac queried, without agreeing to anything, half-amused half-interested. Whether it was to what she had to say, or her personally, Elsanne didn¡¯t care. ¡°You get to keep, what you won with blood,¡± She said, remembering his words. The crowd, both Cofols and their¡­ wilder cousins, exploded in uproar hearing her. Some yelling, others outright laughing, even belittling her, but a good amount of men cheered, mostly Horselords. Kalac took notice of the latter. ¡°Jadefort and the land between the bridges,¡± Kalac noted. ¡°What about today?¡± Elsanne had to force herself, not to look at the lifeless body of Hajot. Keep your eyes straight girl, think of¡­ she couldn¡¯t think of anything. ¡°What do you want?¡± She croaked. Kalac snorted. ¡°Supplies, food for our horses. What ye carry in those carriages.¡± ¡°That¡¯s absurd,¡± Radin intervened. ¡°There will be no deal¡ª¡± ¡°We agree,¡± Elsanne announced, cutting him off, much to the surprise of the Prince¡¯s guards. Kalac stood back and examined them both in silence for a couple of moments. He pressed his right hand on the still bleeding wound on his chest, while he thought about it, then casually licked the blood off his fingers. Elsanne noticed his fake hand daggling useless, the bronze part of it rigid, naught but a piece of metal that shouldn¡¯t have moved earlier. Or come alive. The whole event bizarre. But apparently, all an illusion. ¡°Yer husband will never agree, Princess,¡± Kalac said finaly. ¡°He will.¡± ¡°He¡¯ll send an army here, the moment I let ye go.¡± ¡°That will make me angry,¡± Elsanne deadpanned. ¡°I don¡¯t believe he¡¯ll enjoy that.¡± This time she got a laugh out of almost everyone, but her husband. Kalac shook his head, appearing impressed. He looked towards Prince Radin. ¡°Give me yer woman and I¡¯ll take my men and leave. Ye can have the fort.¡± Wait what? ¡°Forget it,¡± Radin said, in his no nonsense kind of way. Thank you husband. Kalac snorted. ¡°Then I¡¯ll take her deal, Prince. Leave us the wagons, yer man¡¯s weapons ¡®n horse and ye may go.¡± Radin glared at him, letting his hatred show. ¡°Don¡¯t expect me to honor a deal with a murdering thief, Kalac!¡± He spat incensed. Kalac nodded calmly, surprisingly not insulted by his outburst. ¡°Ah, spawn of Radpour,¡± He replied pragmatically. ¡°I know ye won¡¯t.¡±
¡°Can you ride, dear?¡± Radin asked her, no warmth in his voice. Are we not together now, husband? Elsanne thought sadly, pushing his hands away to climb on her mount. A mare, with goofy eyes. She patted her sweaty mane with a hand softly and got lost in her thoughts. ¡°Will you honor the deal?¡± She asked him an hour later, after they left the last bridge behind them, the jungle around them a crazy kaleidoscope of colors and sounds, no one had the stomach to enjoy. The death of Hajot had ruined everyone¡¯s mood, but none was as affected as she was. Probably. ¡°I shall have his head, but not before cutting his tongue and taking his eyes out,¡± Came the Prince¡¯s pointed reply. ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate him.¡± Radin laughed at her advice. ¡°Insulting me, will not give you any leverage in the future.¡± ¡°Do I need one?¡± Elsanne countered. ¡°There¡¯s only so much patience I can do,¡± Radin replied, keeping his eyes upfront. ¡°Eventually you will need my favor, wife. You are not in Kaltha anymore.¡± Right, she thought, looking at her mare¡¯s long head. As if I hadn¡¯t figured that one out myself.
Dia castle was three times the size of Jadefort, built to resemble a typical Jelin castle, with four towers guarding its corners, tall brick walls and a courtyard that was more a garden, the large clean water pool and spring in the middle, ending that resemblance. It was orderly though and the area surrounding it cleared of jungle and the rest of the local flora to a point. If one stood at the top of the south square tower, Radin explained later in the day, trying to mend the bridges between them, he could easily spot in the distance, the strikingly tall peak called Ovinet¡¯s Nest, dominating the mountain range. ¡°Who was Ovinet?¡± Elsanne asked, eager to keep the conversation going. ¡°If I may answer, Prince Radin,¡± A plump effeminate man said, coming to greet them, when they reached her quarters, after they navigated the pleasant flower garden. The majority of the buildings were located at the periphery of the garden, which reminded her of Lorian architecture. The man¡¯s penciled blue eyes, not those of a Cofol, but of a Northman unexpectedly, were kept on her face while he waited for the Prince¡¯s answer. Radin nodded with a smile, so the man wearing, what Elsanne was certain was a woman¡¯s green silk tunic, stepped forward gracefully, bowed his head and answered. ¡°The Queen¡¯s Wyvern.¡± ¡°Thank you, Mister¡­¡± ¡°The name is Jasi, Mistress. I¡¯m not worthy of further adornments.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t believe him,¡± Radin cut in. ¡°Nothing runs in here, without his say so.¡± ¡°Thank you, Jasi,¡± Elsanne repeated not buying it, having lost account on the number of slaves her husband was keeping. Another three women, one dressed more provocatively than the other, were standing behind the¡­ well-rounded Jasi and hadn¡¯t said a single word since they¡¯ve arrived. ¡°Where¡¯s Kuntur?¡± Her husband asked looking displeased, while Elsanne tried desperately to find some kind of excuse to greet the rest of the staff. ¡°Master Kuntur, was called to Tyeusfort last month, my Prince,¡± Jasi replied, a little too sultry for Elsanne¡¯s likes. She eyed him suspiciously, wishing Loes had recovered enough to be present. She knew how to root out trouble. ¡°On what business?¡± ¡°The Khan decreed we should offer some assistance to the main army.¡± Radin all but snarled, not believing his ears. ¡°He took my men?¡± ¡°Not everyone, my Prince.¡± ¡°What¡¯s left then?¡± Radin asked, raising a hand to stop him from answering too quickly. ¡°Other than the guards needed for the castle.¡± Jasi sighed deeply, crossed his hands over his bouncy chest and adopted the melancholiest expression the Princess of Kaltha had ever seen. ¡°Alas, my dear Prince Radin,¡± The effeminate man replied. ¡°The castle¡¯s guard, is what¡¯s left.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a Horselord¡¯s raiding party occupying Jadefort right now! You hear that you darn eunuch!¡± Radin blasted him, as if he was responsible for this. ¡°They killed Hajot before my wife¡¯s eyes!¡± Elsanne clasped her hands in front of her now seemingly rather modest bustier, due to the amount of female flesh on display and glanced around those present to gauge their reaction to the Prince¡¯s admission. The ¡®slave¡¯ comment from Kalac had rattled her pretty badly. Jasi hid whatever surprise he might have felt, behind a polite smile and another well-practiced bow, two of the slave girls followed his lead as well, hiding with giggles their relative shock, which is to be expected, Elsanne supposed and the third young woman paled, her Cofol golden skin turning a sickly yellow, her slanted eyes narrowing and despite the effort to produce some kind of a smile, she failed miserably. The reason plain as day to Elsanne¡¯s female mind. Radin had a lover. We can work around that, the Princess thought, faking she wasn¡¯t livid. ¡°Ah, dear wife,¡± Prince Radin said, as an afterthought, perhaps ready to apologize. ¡°I almost forgot. Vynia, step forward girl, for Uher¡¯s sake.¡± The woman with the deleterious stare did. She wore two pieces of cloth on her, if one was being generous, a good amount of jewelry and her open sheer white tunic, not helping mediate the lewd spectacle. Like at all. Similarly to the whores at Issir¡¯s Eagle, she decided, returning the glare. ¡°Elsanne,¡± Radin continued oblivious to what was happening, or just a plain idiot. ¡°This is lovely Vynia, my first wife.¡± The Princess of Kaltha blinked, but said nothing. Jasi¡¯s heavily painted eyes opened wide in realization and the fleshy eunuch took a precautionary step back, while a dumbfounded Elsanne, was lost¡­ in a whir-mill of happy thoughts, of sorts. Radin had a wife. Lovely? First? You piece of giant royal shit! And you, I¡¯m going to gouge your eyes out with a spoon! Are you freaking kidding me?
104. The Imperial Blacksmith ¡®Water may be King in the desert, Darkness yer finest companion, when pursued, But once entombed ¡®n left for dead, any door will suffice.¡¯ - Ancient Horselords saying, Unknown date.
Laitae ea Gimoss, in ulce Maetar, In noltare o in Lae. SRH 2096 ¡ª -Loose translation- ¡®Praise be Gimoss, the evil Artist, The teacher of the way.¡¯ - Three letter abreviation of the word ''SIRACH'' meaning, (This day) or (created), 2096 - (Presumed) Zilan crafter''s prayer, Engraved on the Gold Throne of Kaltha -
Kalac The Imperial Blacksmith
The water felt cool on his burning face and held no taste, when it went down his hoarse throat. Feeling his strength returning, he pushed away the scaly root that had encroached on his position, using his boot. The white bellied root, as fat as his thigh, retreated with a slow hiss, mouth made of hard bark splitting to show the poisonous thorns inside, as large as a viper¡¯s fangs. This was the biggest that had come out of the Lake, he thought. Right where they¡¯d dropped the dead bodies, more than a month back. It always returned to the spot, looking for a fresh feast. Whether it was offered, or snatched in an ambush, the root didn¡¯t care. ¡°Ye may get yer chance,¡± Kalac said and watched it retreat into the shallow part of the Lake, under the large flat helophytes covering its surface. Mostly a type of white-orange water lilies that burned through your skin, if you broke their stem. Having regained his strength after the duel and bandaged his chest, Kalac returned from the spot he hang around, mostly to avoid facing the men that had grown weary of the inhospitable Oasis. Sick as well, men and animals alike, mostly from foul water. You had to boil everything, even the rare rain water, just to be sure. Those that didn¡¯t, paid a heavy price. In that vein, the fact they had kept the workers alive, had been a blessing. They knew the land and could forage for supplies. They also showed them the road to Dia and how to avoid the patrols. No slave, truly loves his master. With exceptions of course. Tarn watched him coming through the opening in the walls, walking beside Kind Eyes, the horse shot from the morning¡¯s effort. The rest of the Horselords spread inside the fort, but for a patrol led by Nimra, watching the bridge. The slaves had prepared dinner from the Prince¡¯s supplies, everyone pleased to indulge in rarities, like cheese and wine. Even Sirach, appeared satisfied and greeted him with a slight nod, as Kalac approached the table Tarn and Belec had reserved for him, the spot shaded by the tower this time of day. ¡°How¡¯s the Lake?¡± Tarn asked. ¡°An Asp¡¯s nest is safer,¡± Kalac replied, crooking his mouth and sat down, placing both his hands on the table. Flesh and Metal. The bronze hand banging on the wooden surface, as he couldn¡¯t control it yet, despite training it every day. It was three times heavier than his right hand. ¡°Why not ask me direct, Tarn?¡± He taunted. ¡°Did Badal had a daughter?¡± Tarn grimaced at the insult. Belec who overheard his words guffawed, almost dropping a slave woman he¡¯d in his lap down. The cook¡¯s helper. ¡°Aye, one wit no tits and a cock!¡± Belec managed to say, the woman smacking him with a large wooden ladle a couple of times in retaliation. ¡°He wasn¡¯t much disappointed,¡± Tarn said, deciding to let it slide. ¡°But at least I managed not to get beat up by a woman,¡± He retorted and Belec shrugged his shoulders indifferently. ¡°Didn¡¯t feel a thing.¡± His reply earning him another smack, he barely dodged with an elbow. Tarn shook his head, not buying it and turned his desert eyes on Kalac. ¡°The men are in a good mood,¡± He said to justify opting to question him in a roundabout way. Kalac nodded. ¡°Still,¡± Tarn continued, forcing him to stare his way again. ¡°Some ask, why let the Prince go?¡± ¡°Thought you¡¯ve just answered that,¡± Kalac noted, reaching for a wine bottle. ¡°Is it any good?¡± ¡°It burns the throat and helps with infections,¡± Tarn replied readily, alike an experienced caravan merchant. ¡°I take it, ye tasted it?¡± ¡°Put hairs on my tits,¡± Tarn deadpanned and they laughed freely at that, Belec¡¯s wild roar outshining them both, as some of the tension accumulated in the past several weeks and from the morning¡¯s events, got expelled and their hardened faces relaxed. ¡°Will ye answer, Kalac, son of Duham?¡± Tarn probed, when they came about.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°Got the supplies and wagons, without losing a man, or mount,¡± Kalac said simply. ¡°That ye did,¡± Tarn replied looking at some of their men, well fed and rested, fooling around with their horses. ¡°But ye could¡¯ve gotten glory everlasting, by slaying a Prince of Rin An-Pur.¡± ¡°I could, but I chose not to.¡± ¡°Why? We¡¯ll face him, with thrice the numbers, or more, pretty soon. I¡¯m certain.¡± ¡°Killing him, would¡¯ve brought the soldiers here just the same, Tarn,¡± Kalac pointed and sniffed the wine once, before placing it on the table. He brought a large plate of thin slices of meat, bread, cheese and boiled beans in front of him instead. ¡°Led by a commander we won¡¯t know and probably, way less insulted.¡± ¡°That¡¯s one reason, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°One reason, aye,¡± Kalac droned, thinking of the dark-skinned, white-haired Issir beauty. It wasn¡¯t common to find one in the plains, much less a jade-eyed Princess that had Reinut¡¯s blood in her veins. He brought a slice of meat in his mouth and chewed on it. ¡°Ye thinking of the woman,¡± Tarn said, reading him with ease. ¡°An Issir slave, is a slave just the same.¡± ¡°Not bred,¡± Kalac pointed. ¡°An unbroken slave, is as useful as a wild horse in the market. Even less obedient.¡± Tarn stood back on his stool and stared at him thoughtfully. ¡°Yer fixin¡¯ to take her? Ye won¡¯t win her over another way, Kalac,¡± He sighed, burned skin turned into scab around his mouth, cracking. ¡°What use is she, even if ye did?¡± ¡°We found no way through the mountains, Tarn. We can¡¯t stay here forever,¡± Kalac explained, grimacing at the sweetness of the cheese he¡¯d tasted. ¡°The Princess of Kaltha, is a door.¡± ¡°A door to where?¡± ¡°We won¡¯t know, until we¡¯ve opened it,¡± Kalac replied. ¡°What was that meat? Camel?¡± ¡°Bacon. A domesticated Jelin pig, is what they use. Apparently they bred them like chicken.¡± ¡°Is there more?¡± Kalac probed, getting another thin slice in his mouth. ¡°Men favor it, so it won¡¯t last,¡± Tarn noticed with a smile, watching him savor the treat. ¡°How will ye open the door, son of Duham?¡± Kalac smacked his lips and eyed the bottle of red wine thoughtfully. ¡°I¡¯ll give her what she most needs,¡± He said and reached for it. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Tarn asked, much intrigued. ¡°Freedom,¡± Kalac replied simply and drunk from the bottle, the thick liquid burning down his esophagus and tasting of foreign grapes and lush green fields, fat pigs could graze at will.
¡°Where¡¯s Sirach?¡± Kalac asked the Cofol slave worker, sitting on the table the blacksmith occupied earlier. ¡°Back at his forge, great Kalac.¡± Kalac pressed his lips tight at the needless praise to avoid a presumed punishment and glanced at the small hut the smith used, his wagon parked outside. The forge along with the bellows compact enough to fit onto his wagon, were designed by him, as most of his other tools. With a sigh, the Horselord started that way. Sirach was probably around fifty, perhaps even younger, though extremely fit and wide enough at the shoulders, to give pause to any foe, his mixed-blood characteristics making him barely look like a Cofol. If Kalac had to guess, he¡¯d say the man looked more like two quarters Lorian, one Cofol and another part he wasn¡¯t sure what it was. He¡¯d black eyes, the pupils¡¯ red, due to him working the forge since he was a kid, according to the man himself, though Kalac didn¡¯t believe that. Nor did he care about the smith¡¯s lineage enough to press him about it. ¡°Ah, Kalac, the Feared,¡± Sirach greeted him, getting out of his hut, a shiny new bronze goblet in his hands. The craftsmanship on it exquisite. ¡°It appears your moniker, wasn¡¯t just words.¡± ¡°Nor was yer boast, a false promise, Master Sirach,¡± Kalar countered eyeing the goblet intrigued. ¡°I take it, everything worked?¡± Sirach replied and noticing his interest tossed him the goblet. Kalac caught with his good hand mid-air and glanced at it. ¡°Ye know it did,¡± He said, admiring the engraved scenes on the sides of the goblet. The four seasons were depicted. Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring. ¡°There was a delay, almost had me killed,¡± He added, his chest wound still leaking through his bandages. ¡°I told you, there¡¯s a chance it might not be a hundred percent,¡± The blacksmith explained. ¡°For that, better material was needed.¡± ¡°Another hand?¡± Sirach had thrown his severed limb into the forge, along with the metal. ¡°Better metal, gems and other ingredients,¡± Sirach elucidated, managing to reveal nothing. ¡°Anyway, I said almost,¡± Kalac said, with a shrug. ¡°Which is good enough for me. Ye have fulfilled yer part of the deal smith, so I shall fullfil mine. Yer people and you, are free.¡± Sirach nodded, a small smile on his lips. ¡°They are not my people, Kalac. They are just people.¡± ¡°Ye get to call them, however ye like henceforth,¡± Kalac deadpanned. ¡°By the way, what does this thing do?¡± He asked, giving him back the pretty goblet. ¡°It¡¯s just a cup,¡± Sirach replied, all serious. ¡°Thought of using it, to taste the Prince¡¯s wine.¡±
Sirach savored the Prince¡¯s wine alright. He brought a table and placed it outside his hut, stretched his legs, putting his back on the brick wall and even offered Kalac a toast using another identical goblet, since the first he¡¯d gifted to the Horselord earlier. ¡°How many did ye make?¡± Kalac asked him, rather impressed and slightly drunk. ¡°Bah, I just made a mould,¡± Sirach clarified humbly. ¡°Hoped to craft a couple out of silver, or gold, at some point.¡± ¡°We got some of the Prince¡¯s gold dinars.¡± ¡°Haha, best you keep those, son of Duham,¡± Sirach replied, with a broad smile. ¡°What will you do now? Are ye still intent on crossing the Pale Mountains?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure. Radpour will come for me, before that.¡± ¡°He probably will.¡± ¡°Aye,¡± Kalac agreed, staring at the engravings in the light of the pit Sirach had burning. ¡°Ye put yer mark on it,¡± He murmured, checking on his bronze hand, the arm moving awkwardly, when he tried to lift it, the weight on it too great. ¡°SRH 189. What¡¯s the number?¡± Sirach stared at him over his bronze cup, half his face hidden in the dark. ¡°It¡¯s the year, son of Duham. It changed a couple of weeks ago.¡± ¡°And yer name,¡± Kalac said, with a nod. ¡°Like an artist. It makes sense.¡± ¡°Yes it does, I suppose,¡± Sirach replied and stared across the yard, either at the barely visible brick wall, or the hidden faraway peaks beyond it. ¡°What changed your mind?¡± Kalac frowned. ¡°We can¡¯t find a safe route through the jungle and the slopes are un-scalable.¡± ¡°Yet you¡¯ve searched stubbornly for weeks,¡± Sirach commented, showing great perception. Kalac took a deep breath. ¡°Are you going back to the Prince?¡± ¡°I came here to find a way,¡± Sirach stopped abruptly, grimaced and put his goblet on the table. ¡°Much like you, I suppose. The Prince wanted a new armor made, I foolishly refused.¡± ¡°Why, ye did that?¡± Kalac probed, deciding he¡¯d enough of the wine as well. The taste wasn¡¯t agreeing with him. ¡°A sense of pride,¡± He laughed bitterly at that. ¡°Radpour decided to press the issue and make sure I couldn¡¯t refuse the next time.¡± ¡°Ye made his armor.¡± ¡°The helm you brought was part of it. And no, it¡¯s just fancy armor friend,¡± Sirach commented. ¡°So, dear Kalac fear not, for I will not join the Prince. I thought about following you instead.¡± ¡°I take risks, smith,¡± Kalac pointed. ¡°Ye may not be safe, riding wit us.¡± ¡°Nobody is safe, Kalac. Now tell me, what changed your mind.¡± Kalac sighed and rapped his fingers on the table. ¡°Radpour has taken a Princess of Kaltha as consort.¡± Sirach turned and stared at him for a long moment. ¡°The crazy king left one boy and a girl behind, Kalac,¡± The blacksmith said. ¡°There¡¯s only one Princess. Why would they give her to him, when the Khan marches on Raoz?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Kalac replied, a little shaken at the news. The door cracking open. Sirach kept watching him, mulling it over, hint of a smile on his lips, his shaven head gleaming in the light of the fire. ¡°Reinut¡¯s brood, walks on Eplas,¡± Sirach finally said interrupting his thoughts and this time there was something sinister in his voice. ¡°The last time his blood touched this land, an empire fell.¡± And half the Realm burned, Kalac thought, a shiver running down his spine, despite the warm winter night.
105. Whatever fate has in store for us
Elsanne Whatever fate has in store for us
¡°She proposed what?¡± Elsanne snapped, head twisting around sharp enough to make her neck hurt and her breasts bounce all over the place, inside her loose nightgown. The material on it too thin to even be considered a garment, but still the heat of this cursed place was making her sweat like a very fat pig every night for the past two months. Two months of hell. There was no working around the chasm that she had encountered in her personal life. Elsanne had slowly turned into a paranoid creature, she barely recognized, suspecting every single slave of malice and there were more than a lot of them. Those she trusted were counted in the fingers of one hand. Not the guards, not Radin, especially not him. She glared at the man, the Prince extremely frustrated as she hadn¡¯t let him touch her much during this period. And we just came out of winter, she thought. Even her sense of time, was corrupted. Nothing was familiar, nothing. ¡°Vynia suggested, very magnanimously I might add, to share your bed with us, offering hers in return. A way to come together, as a loving family.¡± Elsanne blinked, a vein throbbing on her temple ominously. ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you not to talk with her?¡± ¡°Come on, wife. Be reasonable.¡± ¡°I inform you, this was me being reasonable, husband,¡± Elsanne countered, then puffed a white curl out of her face and glared at him. ¡°Now, just to be clear. Why would I want her anywhere near my bed?¡± ¡°You¡¯re reading too much into¡ª¡± She stopped him raising her hand. ¡°Tell her, if I find her anywhere near my bedroom, I¡¯ll slit her throat with your silver dagger.¡± The Prince frowned. ¡°Good grief, stop this nonsense!¡± ¡°Ahm, no¡­ I won¡¯t.¡± ¡°Elsanne seriously, this has gone¡­ wait, what dagger?¡± ¡°The one with the four rubies on the handle.¡± ¡°Where did you find¡ª?¡± ¡°The armory. Stop changing the subject!¡± She snapped cutting him off again, before he¡¯d the chance to finish. ¡°I¡¯m not¡­ how in Uher¡¯s grace, did you manage to get into the armory? The place is fucking locked!¡± Elsanne blinked at the language. ¡°I used a key,¡± She admitted. ¡°Who gave¡­?¡± Jasi. ¡°I found it in the laundry.¡± Radin sighed desperately. ¡°The Prince¡¯s consorts are not allowed in the armory, sweet wife.¡± ¡°I was only there for a second. Nobody noticed,¡± She deadpanned. ¡°Now, inform your slutty other wife, her offer is rejected.¡± ¡°Elsanne! I¡¯ve had enough of this! Vynia is an innocent soul, stop attacking her!¡± Radin barked losing his temper. ¡°Pfft. I¡¯ve met whores more decent than her.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve never met a whore in your life, wife.¡± He¡¯d a point there, but still, a case could be made for Vynia. ¡°This conversation is over,¡± She announced and then looked towards the door of her bedroom knowingly, hoping he¡¯ll get the message and trot away. ¡°I will decide that, dear,¡± Radin warned her, his patience running thin. The truth of it was, had he not the problem of the Horselords occupying Jadefort, he¡¯d probably focused all his attention on her. But he just couldn¡¯t. With no men to spare, let alone risk in an attack on the raiders, he¡¯d entered a humiliating truce with them, after days spent hypothesizing on possible, traps, ambushes, night assaults and the like, before coming to the conclusion the best he could do was bid his time and wait for more men to arrive. Or the war to end soon. Two months later no one had, so soon turned into a fallacy and despite his efforts to recruit men from the other Forts, the promise of plunder and the big battles coming, outshined hunting down elusive Horselords in the arse end of the Khanate. The not so elusive Horselords in turn, had demanded supplies twice per month to stay on their side of Dragontoe and stop raiding towards Dia. Elsanne would have asked for gold in their stead, or say Vynia. Have her take one for the team, she thought. Or several. She doesn¡¯t seem to mind crowds. Is Radin expecting an answer to that? Haha. Here¡¯s your darn answer! ¡°Don¡¯t expect me to obey anytime soon. And don¡¯t dear me, you duplicitous snake!¡± She blasted him and the Prince closed his eyes, having reached his limit for the day. ¡°What about the second part of her offer?¡± Radin countered wearily. ¡°We could use her bed, spare yours the indignity, that¡¯s reasonable.¡± ¡°Have you lost your mind? Why would I want to sleep with your other wife? In her bed, or any bed?¡± ¡°I meant us together. It is common practice! Helps alleviate pressure. My big brother has three wives! The Gold Leopard four!¡± You have a lovely family, of perverts. Or you¡¯re lying. ¡°Haha! That¡¯s your bloody argument? Hmm, let me ponder on it then!¡± The Princess pouted, pretending she did, for a brief moment. ¡°Bah, it¡¯s a no again. Sorry.¡± ¡°She¡¯s an excellent lover, wife,¡± Radin said, going another way. Elsanne flinched, the lewd image of them together stomach turning and went about searching her bedroom frantically, looking into drawers, pulling stuff out and even going under her bed. ¡°Naossis arse, what are you doing?¡± The Prince yelled after a couple of moments, sounding exasperated. ¡°I can¡¯t find the darn dagger!¡± She yelled back at him, then gave him a rare, as much as completely phony smile. ¡°Just keep talking, while I look for it?¡±
Jasi had a short sheer tunic under an exquisite, gold with red details, open front light-silk robe, Elsanne would have loved to get her hands on. Or his soft white-leather open toe sandals, his pedicured toes painted a deep red that she also loved, but didn¡¯t work as well, with her darker complexion. ¡°Princess, I couldn¡¯t help but overhear the Prince,¡± The eunuch started, trending carefully. ¡°Bits and pieces really.¡± The Prince had just stormed out of her bedroom and with Elsanne¡¯s quarters being near the kitchen and the armory, quite afar form anyone else¡¯s, she called bullshit on his excuse. Everyone was eavesdropping in this castle. With no exceptions. ¡°Where is Loes?¡± ¡°Ahm, I believe she¡¯s looking over the cleaners, Princess.¡± Elsanne narrowed her eyes, Jasi taking it the wrong way and trying again. ¡°Your Grace,¡± Elsanne raised a thin white brow. ¡°Great Mistress,¡± He corrected himself yet again. ¡°Enough.¡± ¡°Of course, mistress.¡± That great part, was short-lived, she thought. ¡°Vynia wants to share a bed, with me and Radin,¡± She finally said, walking nervously towards the barred window, the meshed curtain on it letting the sun pour inside her large bedroom, but thankfully, not most of the nasty mosquitos that had started appearing lately. ¡°Aww, that¡¯s so¡­¡± Jasi started to say, caught the furious tick appearing on her left eye, for what it really was and changed his tune mid-sentence. ¡°¡­unfathomably uncomfortable. How rude!¡± ¡°Disgusting!¡± Elsanne erupted and Jasi nodded, overcome with enthusiasm. ¡°Undoubtedly, young mistress.¡± Elsanne glared at him. Was he playing along with her? ¡°Great Princess,¡± The eunuch added quickly, to boast the praise, Elsanne¡¯s angry pout unnerving him completely, sweat droplets appearing on his forehead, small eyes ogling nervously, trying to find something more to enhance it, but failing. ¡°Of Kaltha.¡± He added with a small shaky voice. ¡°He thinks talking with her, will help our relationship flourish,¡± Elsanne said moving on, repeating her husband¡¯s words. ¡°As if I haven¡¯t talked with her aplenty!¡± ¡°When was that mistress?¡± Jasi queried quite interested, wiping his forehead with a perfumed linen handkerchief. ¡°We greet each other at dinner,¡± Elsanne said. ¡°Every darn day.¡± If anyone else was standing in front of the Princess, but the experienced eunuch, he would¡¯ve rolled his eyes so hard, the white would¡¯ve shown. ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s not such a bad¡ª¡± ¡°I want her removed,¡± Elsanne blurted out, cutting him off mid-sentence. ¡°What were you saying?¡± Jasi cleared his throat, pressing the hankie on his plump chin. ¡°It¡¯s a daring idea, mistress.¡± Right? Have her sold away, or something? It doesn¡¯t have to be all bad. Vynia could find a better home that will appreciate her whoring skills more? ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s comforting you¡¯re of the same mind too,¡± Elsanne murmured. ¡°Can we convince my husband though? Is this a thing, I don¡¯t know¡­ do people solve thus, problems like I face here?¡± Jasi looked at her silently for a moment. ¡°It will be better, if your husband didn¡¯t know, mistress.¡± Elsanne frowned. ¡°How¡¯s that going to work? I mean, won¡¯t he notice?¡± ¡°Of course. But it will be too late by then, mistress.¡± Right, there¡¯s that of course. ¡°Hey, you can¡¯t cry over spilt milk,¡± Elsanne noted and it was Jasi¡¯s turn to frown deeply. ¡°I would use the black tea she favors, mistress,¡± He countered, probably not familiar with the phrase, or on a completely different topic. Hold on a second here. ¡°You would have her poisoned?¡± Elsanne asked, more than a little shocked. ¡°Removed, had a better ring to it, mistress. If I¡¯m allowed to observe,¡± Jasi replied, with a small smile. ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant Jasi,¡± Elsanne hissed. ¡°You have an evil mind. I see Horselords in your future,¡± She said ominously, reminding him of her threat, that first week they came to knew each other well. ¡°I pray the mistress is mistaken in her prediction,¡± The eunuch whispered with a shudder. ¡°The mistress doesn¡¯t think so.¡± Jasi abruptly prostrated himself on her feet, soft hands grabbing her naked ankles, his forehead almost banging on the yellow-marble floor. ¡°Apologies, your Grace!¡± The eunuch cried out miserably, eyes set on the floor and heavy sobs quaking his plump body. ¡°Please spare your loyal servant!¡± All-Gods help me. ¡°Get up you fool!¡± Elsanne hissed, trying to free her feet from his grip and almost toppling backwards. ¡°Let go!¡± ¡°Yes, I will go immediately, mistress,¡± Jasi said, sounding better than what he did a second before and quickly got up. ¡°Stop right there!¡± Elsanne ordered the fast retreating eunuch. ¡°I haven¡¯t finished with you!¡±Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. ¡°Apologies, mistress.¡±
¡°First of all, I want you to know I appreciate your assistance with the key,¡± Elsanne started to help him calm down a bit. ¡°Although, I seem to have misplaced the dagger.¡± Jasi remained stoically silent. Hmm. ¡°Right. Well, I really need help here, Jasi and you know this place better than me.¡± The eunuch brought the hankie to his face again and worked around his makeup to remove the moisture expertly. ¡°The Prince values you, mistress Elsanne, more than anyone else.¡± ¡°Why need does he have of another wife then?¡± ¡°Because he can, mistress. That¡¯s the law,¡± He frowned, plump face darkening. ¡°And for pleasure, I suppose.¡± Elsanne narrowed her eyes. ¡°Marriage isn¡¯t about pleasure Jasi, but creating heirs.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what you were taught, mistress. It comes as no surprise really, since your customs, offered your Grace no competition for your husband¡¯s affection, other than a list of duties to perform. Vynia was taught differently, especially with her coming from the Peninsula.¡± ¡°Taught how to be a whore,¡± Elsanne noted, her voice dripping poison. ¡°Do Issirs hate brothels?¡± Jasi queried, a little surprised. ¡°You line leads all the way back, to a fearsome and rather renowned for his prowess on the subject pirate, mistress.¡± Elsanne puffed out frustrated. The Eikenaars, didn¡¯t particularly enjoy being reminded of that. Truth be told, she didn¡¯t have a problem with it, up until now. ¡°Uher purged those sins ages ago, Jasi. You¡¯re thinking of Lorians.¡± ¡°Uher¡¯s light burns all sinners alike,¡± The eunuch droned. ¡°Yet, people still sin aplenty. Perhaps there are five gods for a reason, mistress Elsanne.¡± And some would argue several more. The Princess sighed, exasperated she couldn¡¯t win this argument. Court rule, number one. When all else fails, threaten and people will back off. ¡°You¡¯re not being helpful. You must secretly want to meet our friendly neighborhood raiders.¡± Jasi took a step back alarmed. ¡°I¡¯d rather swallow a bucket of Arsenic, mistress.¡± The revelation, there was a bucket of it available in the first place, the most worrying detail. ¡°Well?¡± ¡°Vinya is waiting outside. Talking with her, might offer needed solution, mistress.¡± Elsanne crossed her arms on her chest. ¡°You were told to talk me into it, didn¡¯t you?¡± Ah, husband. You¡¯re as cunning as a one-eyed fox. Jasi bowed his head almost to his waist, showcasing amazing agility. ¡°Ordered by the Prince, mistress.¡± ¡°You wouldn¡¯t want to displease him,¡± The Princess mocked him. ¡°I couldn¡¯t, even if I wanted. I¡¯m not allowed,¡± Jasi replied simply. ¡°By the way, pleasing men isn¡¯t what I¡¯m eager for, mistress.¡± ¡°You could¡¯ve fooled me,¡± Elsanne said, staring pointedly at his crotch. Jasi paled a bit, his brow furrowing. ¡°That part wasn¡¯t my decision, mistress.¡± Of course it wasn¡¯t. That poor soul¡­ Elsanne had already regretted her callous comment. ¡°That was uncalled for, Jasi,¡± She mumbled, a little embarrassed. The eunuch¡¯s penciled eyes opened wide not expecting her half-apology. ¡°Thankfully, I can still be of use, great mistress.¡± ¡°Oh, I thought¡­ nothing worked.¡± ¡°A sad fact for the most part, but there are many other ways to satisfy a lover thoroughly, blessed mistress.¡± Elsanne frowned. ¡°But where do you find¡­¡± Jasi bit his lip, while she figured it out mid-sentence. ¡°¡­no, you didn¡¯t. You did? Good grief Jasi! The girls?¡± ¡°I¡¯d rather not talk about it, mistress.¡± The Princess stood back, greatly impressed and doubly curious. ¡°Should I sent Vynia in?¡± Jasi queried calmly a moment later, as if nothing of importance had happened. Oh, what the hells, she thought. Might as well, try that too. ¡°Fine. Leave the dagger though.¡± The second part, rattling the eunuch. ¡°I gather, denying I have it, is pointless,¡± Jasi noted, sad she could read him that well. ¡°Pretty much,¡± Elsanne deadpanned. ¡°Put it on top of the small drawer.¡±
¡°Mistress Elsanne, honored wife of Prince Radin¡ª¡± Vynia started the moment she walked in, clad in a long blue tunic with a high modest neckline, her long hair braided on a bun and adorned with various gems. Elsanne raised her hand to stop her. ¡°Please, for Uher¡¯s sake.¡± The woman bowed her head. ¡°I was told to obey your command, mistress Elsanne,¡± She blurted in fluent common. Better, than her Cofol was still, despite her enormous effort to learn their tongue as best as she could. That is better, but not by much. Elsanne sighed and thought to offer her some of the banana cream desert she had for breakfast, or a cup of juice, then decided there was no need. ¡°And you agreed?¡± She asked her. Vynia didn¡¯t even bat an eyelid. ¡°Of course.¡± Elsanne sighed. ¡°You¡¯re his wife too,¡± The notion still ridiculous in her mind. ¡°Don¡¯t let him treat you like a slave, Vynia.¡± Silence. ¡°I mean it,¡± Elsanne insisted. ¡°I don¡¯t know how to answer mistress Elsanne,¡± The confused woman blurted out. ¡°Just Elsanne, will suffice, or Princess I guess, since I am one,¡± Elsanne puffed out. ¡°You and I, are of equal stature here,¡± The absurdity of it, more difficult to swallow than Jasi¡¯s poison, but it was the truth. ¡°If you think so, Elsanne,¡± Vynia replied. She was pretty, Elsanne thought. Her skin a light gold color, dark eyes, not as slanted as Radin¡¯s and rich black hair. A round face, perfectly made up and a well-shaped body she usually offered for everyone to gawk at, but had opted not to this time. Probably out of respect, or not to offend her. How considerate. ¡°It wasn¡¯t your idea to share a bed,¡± Elsanne surmised. ¡°That was Radin again.¡± ¡°The Prince¡¯s wishes are my own,¡± Vynia argued, quite convincingly. ¡°What you want should matter,¡± Elsanne hissed. ¡°Isn¡¯t obeying your husband, what comes first in your lands?¡± ¡°Sure, but an Issir doesn¡¯t have another wife, or two! Do you see the difference?¡± Vynia blinked. ¡°How can one woman be enough?¡± ¡°It isn¡¯t sometimes. Men look elsewhere, that¡¯s true.¡± As did women of course. ¡°How is that any better, Elsanne?¡± The Princess pressed her lips tight. Vynia was thoroughly brainwashed, a fanatic, or she was great actor, willing to toe the party line to the bitter end. ¡°Jasi said, you came from the Peninsula. How is it? I heard stories of Greenwhale and its ports, but you must know so much more!¡± Vynia glanced out of the meshed drapes. ¡°There¡¯s not much, I could tell you. I was born into the famed Le-Takin family, in the Grand city port of Ani Tane, where the great whale¡¯s mouth is, or as the poets write, where Tani River empties its seed into the Wetull¡¯s Straits.¡± Elsanne loved hearing her voice. There was a rhythm in it, the words coming at the right time, never missing a bit and always colored right, for maximum effect. ¡°It sounds lovely,¡± She offered truthfully. ¡°I never saw any of it,¡± Vynia admitted, her cheeks flushing a deep red. ¡°Never left our house until I was sixteen.¡± The Princess knew a thing or two about the matter. Not to that extent though. ¡°Where did you meet Radin?¡± Elsanne asked, changing the subject. ¡°My father lost an arena bet at Fu De-Gar,¡± Vynia replied, staring at her leather sandals. ¡°It was a big bet, so absent enough coin to settle, he avoided the dishonor by giving me to the Prince.¡± Elsanne stared at Vynia¡¯s painted a pale pink toes along with her for a moment. The moment dragged, both women thinking of their lives up to this point and Elsanne decided to break it, any way she could. ¡°Have you seen the view from the towers?¡± She asked her. With the clearing of the winter months¡¯ fog and the hotter days of Spring; at least visibility had increased around Dia castle. Vynia looked at her unsure. ¡°No, I haven¡¯t.¡± ¡°How long have you been here?¡± ¡°It will be four years this summer.¡± She was older than her. Good grief. ¡°So even when the Prince was off, you stayed here?¡± Vynia nodded. And never left the castle. This is wrong, she decided. Elsanne smacked her lips and set her jaw. ¡°We will go now. On the south one, to see if we can spot Ovinet¡¯s Nest at the distance.¡± Vynia cracked a sad smile. ¡°It is not allowed, Elsanne. They won¡¯t let us up.¡± It wasn¡¯t allowed to get into the armory as well. Got a key for it now. And a dagger. She eyed the expensive weapon, still on the drawer, where Jasi had left it and sighed. Oh, girl. Nothing is ever easy. ¡°They will,¡± She finally said, much to Vynia¡¯s amusement. ¡°It¡¯s a fine day, we will go now.¡± She started towards the door determined, but Vynia stopped a stride in. ¡°What is it?¡± Elsanne asked. Why is she blushing again? She didn¡¯t seem the type yesterday. ¡°I¡¯ll have to borrow some undergarments. It¡¯s windy today,¡± The Cofol woman replied. Elsanne blinked and then stared into Vynia¡¯s hypnotic eyes numbly. The woman had come prepared for every other possibility, what was she afraid off? Wait. Oh, for Uher¡¯s sake! ¡°You¡¯re not wearing anything under that, do you?¡± She asked and Vynia nodded shyly, holding her stare, until Elsanne realized what was going on and snapped out of it. She pointed a manicured finger to her wardrobe, turning her head away. ¡°Help yourself,¡± Adding after a small pause. ¡°Don¡¯t touch my red bustier.¡±
The guard posted outside the south tower, blinked a couple of times seeing the two women approach him chuckling and then snapped to attention, his jaw clenched under his conned helm. ¡°Open the door for us,¡± Elsanne ordered him and heard Vynia¡¯s shocked gasp. ¡°You¡¯re not allowed¡ª¡± ¡°Do you know who I am?¡± ¡°The Prince¡¯s¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯m the Princess of Kaltha,¡± Elsanne interrupted him again. ¡°You¡¯ll refuse my command?¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t informed¡­ I can¡¯t allow you inside the tower,¡± The guard, a young man of twenty years replied, visibly anxious. ¡°You know, we are the Prince¡¯s wives,¡± Elsanne said. ¡°Is this what you want us to say to Prince Radin, when we see him next? We weren¡¯t allowed to see the view, because of you?¡± ¡°The view?¡± The guard droned. ¡°From above, I hear its lovely,¡± Elsanne added. ¡°A real treat.¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s a ten minute climb,¡± She stared into his worried and rather lovely, honey-colored eyes with intent. ¡°I¡¯ll never forget.¡± The young guard gulped down, looked right and left to the empty yard and then moved out of the way.
¡®Ovinet¡¯s Nest¡¯ peak stood towering over the mountain range, a colossal and natural yellowish-grey granite pillar, all two kilometers of it reaching for the blue heavens above them, the tallest portion piercing the low clouds and disappearing inside. Though quite far away, it was still quite clear on the horizon, as was the thick jungle standing between them and the naked mountains. Wow, that¡¯s quite something, Elsanne thought impressed at the breath-taking view and felt Vynia¡¯s hand clasp hers tightly. ¡°It¡¯s beautiful,¡± The young Cofol woman murmured, ¡°Thank you, Princess. I will never forget this.¡± The fool means it, she thought moved at her words and wiped a tear from her eye. I¡¯m supposed to hate you, why are you making this so difficult? ¡°This is worth, whatever fate has in store for us,¡± Elsanne whispered in Vynia¡¯s ring-covered ear with a giggle, her own mood much improved. Alas, she was wrong.
Jasi was waiting for them, when they got back down half an hour later, the helical staircase difficult to navigate on their heeled sandals and rather dark, despite the small opening on the walls. The eunuch greeted them both with a slight nod of the head and then quickly moved away from the sun towards the shade of the garden¡¯s trees. ¡°Is the Prince here so soon?¡± Elsanne asked, noticing the muddied horses. Radin had left earlier to renegotiate the deal with the Horselords and the trip back and forth to the bridge was at least a day and a half. ¡°A rider came from Tyeusfort,¡± Jasi started explaining, before pausing, the two women stopping alongside him and stared at the Princess, letting his uncertainty show. ¡°The Prince finally found his men?¡± Elsanne jested with a small chuckle, the matter had all but consumed Radin these past months, but Vynia, her woman¡¯s intuition far stronger, pressed Elsanne¡¯s hand she still held hard, letting her fear spill through. ¡°This is a week¡¯s old news, Princess,¡± Jasi explained and Elsanne felt a tang of worry in her chest. "A merchant reported on the marriage celebration in Alden to his family back home. The prince¡¯s man sent both a bird and a fast rider this way. The bird didn¡¯t make it, but the rider did.¡± Young Kasper had gotten engaged to King Alistair¡¯s baby girl, a political move Elsanne expected knowing her brother, especially with a war going on. Elsanne wished, she had been there, but Regia was months away now, much like Kaltha. ¡°The children made a royal mess of things?¡± Elsanne guessed, the eunuch¡¯s constipated face troubling her, Vynia clutching her hand desperately and quite inappropriately, this been a public place. ¡°The children were killed, Mistress Elsanne,¡± Jasi murmured, crooking his mouth this way and that and she felt herself empty immediately, her eyes blurring and her breath dying in her throat. Vynia started crying, her makeup running down her face and Elsanne moving like an automaton, under Jasi¡¯s inquiring eyes, had to console the distraught woman, until her slaves run out of their rooms to take her away.
That¡¯s one life, Wayland Dawson had said months back and the Gods were listening.
¡°Princess,¡± Jasi tried to say, but she stopped him and walked away, towards her quarters, across the luscious garden. She couldn¡¯t smell the flowers, couldn¡¯t discern the different colors of the blooming nature, nor hear the pond¡¯s myriad creepy-crawlies creating a great rumpus as the day moved slowly towards noon. Her mind and body had shut down on their own, all in an effort not to think. To avoid admitting what she¡¯d just learned. In a way, the Princess of Kaltha had been conditioned like that. You have to be able to take a punch in the face, in order to rule sweetheart, her late father had told her once. Girls can¡¯t, so your brother, will take it for you. Elsanne stopped as Loes, stationed outside her bedroom, run to tell her the news, fresh tears in her swollen eyes. ¡°I know,¡± She croaked, not giving her the chance to speak. ¡°Leave me.¡± Loes bobbed her head and Elsanne entered her quarters alone and barred the door behind her. Walking mechanically, she closed the windows, barring those too and pushing the stupid drapes away. She then approached her polished bronze mirror and the drawer that still had the expensive dagger on it. Elsanne looked at herself in the mirror, long white hair perfectly caught at the nappe, her face strained, but much as she remembered, licked her lips once tasting raspberry paint and breathed once deep. In through the nose, out through her mouth. ¡°Little Kasper is dead,¡± She informed herself in the mirror and waited for the waves of sorrow to flood her empty body right back in. When the pain came a second later, the distraught woman in the slightly distorted mirror¡¯s surface, screamed like a senseless wraith until her knees gave out and she collapsed on them, wishing for oblivion. The nature around her, the castle and the jungle, the ancient lake and the silent mountains; everything, old and new, flesh and spirits, in this Realm and all the others, recognized her vile bloodline and rejoiced at her agony. They prayed to the biggest God of them all, to deny her request and Eodrass always watching from afar, agreed and didn¡¯t allow her any sleep for three straight days and as many nights.
106. Honesty goes both ways
Glen Honesty goes both ways
Luthos lost a thumb, In the attempt to climb a glass-spiked wall. Made a mess of his knee, when he came to and begun to crawl. ¡ª Written under a drawing of a dwarf pissing standing up, On the south wall of the Dome of the Five, in the city of Alden (circa 191 NC)
Stiles is lookin¡¯ suspicious as fuck. He tried to walk fast past him, but Glen tackled the former pirate swiftly moving twice as fast; his mood, already deteriorating at a steady pace for the last couple of weeks on the road, taking another dip seeing him munching on something, he quickly swallowed almost killing himself in the process. Given that Iskay and Ninan, the slave girls, hadn¡¯t finished preparing the meal yet, the young ¡®Lord¡¯ was understandably livid. ¡°What was that?¡± Glen asked angrily. Stiles sucked on his yellow teeth to clean them up best he could, while he lied without shame. ¡°Nothing, milord.¡± Ye lying piece of shit. ¡°Have ye stolen from the supplies again? Was it ye, all along?¡± ¡°I reject the accusation, milord!¡± Stiles protested, looking guilty as all hells. ¡°Is that a yes?¡± ¡°No, milord. The opposite.¡± Hah! ¡°It¡¯s too late to change it now. The truth will come out! What was it?¡± ¡°A biscuit,¡± Stiles admitted. ¡°Where did ye find it?¡± Glen probed, taken aback, as they were fresh out of those. He¡¯d rifled through their supplies looking for something edible himself, while everyone else was asleep. Had he missed it? ¡°Phon¡¯s man brought it for his sister, milord.¡± Ah. They were moving so slow these past weeks, the caravan was able to keep up with them and Phon was visiting frequently to see his sister and talk with the dwarfs about business opportunities. Glen didn¡¯t agree with any of this, but he couldn¡¯t will the women and that darn donkey to move any faster. It was a slow moving nightmare. ¡°Just the one?¡± He probed, eyeing pretty Sen using a brush to clean a blanket she¡¯d placed down as a carpet, stools on top of that, framing a small ivory table. Whatever dust she brushed away, was coming right back, since despite the time spent traveling, they were still in the wilderness of the fast drying up Steppe. ¡°A box of them, milord. I gave it to yer wife,¡± Stiles explained. The term pissing Glen off, as he¡¯d gotten all the vinegar from the arrangement, but none of the sugar, since despite Sen being outwardly docile and meek, he couldn¡¯t get anything done with her. That woman was a fiend. A viper wearing a sheep¡¯s skin. Sen turned sensing his eyes and smiled at him broadly, cute dimples on her cheeks nigh perfect, the smile turning naughty at the tail end of it and full of promises. All a fuckin¡¯ trap, but still he waved back like an idiot at her. Glen sighed. She was pretty darn convincing, he had to give her that. Tempting like Naossis and perhaps twice as talented in seduction. Apologies Goddess. I¡¯m too weak to wait and between us two, tis better to go for the tit in hand, right? ¡°Sen needs a place to stay,¡± He murmured and Stiles standing next to him gawking shamelessly at his wife blinked and turned his head to look at Glen. ¡°Like a house? Milord.¡± House sounded ungodly expensive. ¡°Well, a small one perhaps. In a city,¡± Glen grimaced. ¡°She keeps subtly hinting at it, crying even at night.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not easy sleeping under the stars, milord. Wit no roof over yer head,¡± Stiles commented, sounding rather emotional about it. They¡¯re faking it, ye darn idiot! Glen had no problem sleeping outside. And I¡¯m a god darn Lord of the Realm, for fuck¡¯s sake! ¡°Anyways,¡± Glen continued. ¡°It doesn¡¯t have to even be a house, a room at an inn, could suffice.¡± ¡°It¡¯s rather costly renting in this market, milord,¡± Stiles commented. Glen eyed him. ¡°It is, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Aye, milord. Waste of good coin.¡± Damn it, Glen thought, even this fool sees the truth of it! ¡°Still I have to find her something,¡± Glen sighed. ¡°First I need to find the coin of course.¡± ¡°Damn shame Jinx took off wit yer gold, milord,¡± Stiles added sadly, never missing an opportunity to accuse someone else of mischief. ¡°She didn¡¯t. I got knifed and left behind, Stiles. Jinx probably thinks I¡¯m dead.¡± Fuck, he thought. What if she spends everything? Then what? Pfft, the problems, just keep piling up! ¡°I have to find work,¡± Glen blurted. Scope out the next town, or Rida for a good score. ¡°What about yer wife¡¯s gold, milord?¡± ¡°Her brother controls the funds,¡± Glen replied. ¡°He promised to release some to her, but I don¡¯t trust him to keep out of my business and I don¡¯t want him near her.¡± ¡°So what manner of job, milord?¡± Stiles asked. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll have to check a bit first,¡± Glen said absentmindedly, still thinking about a way to get access to Sen¡¯s fortune, without her brother finding out. ¡°We could always try the fields out, it¡¯s close to the season¡ª¡± Glen whipped his head and glared at him. ¡°Are ye fuckin¡¯ serious?¡± ¡°Milord?¡± Stiles queried, stumbling back a step. ¡°Apologies, ye talked about finding a job and I assumed¡ª¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t talking about digging ditches, or plowin¡¯ the god darn fields, for Luthos sake!¡± ¡°Of course, milord.¡± Luthos give patience! ¡°I was meaning, finding opportunities, Stiles,¡± Glen explained patiently. The man puckered his mouth, his wild beard all over the place, hairs hard like nails, what little skin shown, burned to a crisp, first by salt, then the sun. ¡°Like what, milord?¡± Glen had enough. ¡°Ye know what? How about ye offer an idea for once? Huh? Give something to the fuckin¡¯ conversation Stiles and don¡¯t expect everything offered on a darn plate from me!¡± He puffed out hard, realizing he¡¯d screamed a bit at the end and people turned to watch them. It wasn¡¯t a good look. ¡°Apologies, milord. Thing is, only skill I learned in me life is plundering,¡± Stiles said, giving him a small bow. Glen perked up at that. ¡°Is there coin in it?¡± He asked quite interested. ¡°Plunderin¡¯ milord? Aye. Well, ye need to think about location, I suppose and have luck. Good information, also helps a lot,¡± Glen was nodding him along, while Stiles talked. ¡°Like all schemes,¡± He added and Stiles frowned. ¡°There¡¯s a chance people might get hurt, milord.¡± ¡°People die all the time building roofs, or selling cabbages,¡± Glen deadpanned. ¡°They do?¡± ¡°Sure, but yer not hearing about it,¡± Glen added, looking at him knowingly. ¡°Ahm.¡± ¡°What is it Stiles? Yer don¡¯t agree?¡± The former pirate, licked his lips and stared at his boots. ¡°Speak, ye fool!¡± Glen snapped. ¡°Ye¡¯ll need a ship of sorts, milord,¡± Stiles blurted out. ¡°And it ain¡¯t gonna be easy, bringing yer slaves along.¡± Glen frowned and stared towards Sen again. Were those silver spoons she put on that table, are ye fucking kidding me? ¡°You know I¡¯m wholly set against slavery, Stiles,¡± Glen informed his slave, tone of his voice deathly serious. ¡°I don¡¯t condone it, nor will I suffer it for long.¡± He¡¯d memorized the whole thing. Stiles blinked, shocked at his outburst, or the irony of it and turned his head towards the pit, Glen following his eyes to where the two slave girls where busy preparing their meal. Ninan that is, as the redhead Iskay was busy feeding the animals, or pretending she did, to avoid work. The heavy-bosomed Ninan, long brown hair caught in a bun, was stooped over the big iron cauldron and worked a ladle hard. It had beans, lard and pieces of dried pork meat in, the latter to soften up some as it was almost un-eatable. The long green tunic she wore, had an opening that had started up modest in the morning, but now standing over the cauldron as she was, it had increased spectacularly, its illustrious contents spilling out, but for a tiny portion still covered that hang on for dear life, from a piece of garment and part of a fat dark brown nipple. Good grief.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. Glen gulped down, spotting out of the corner of his eye Stiles gawking, equally amazed at the massiveness displayed here and cleared his throat to get his attention. A couple of times at least. ¡°I have to let them go, Stiles,¡± Glen said, the moment his manservant took his mystified eyes off the plump Cofol girl. ¡°Milord!¡± Stiles protested, a look of horror on his face. ¡°What of your wife?¡± Uh? Luthos lost a thumb, trying to climb a plaguin'' wall. ¡°What of her?¡± Glen asked standing back, as he didn¡¯t expect such a reaction, or the conversation to turn in that direction. ¡°The girls help her through this difficult time,¡± Stiles explained, suddenly a lot more eloquent than he¡¯d ever been in the past. ¡°They clean, wash her, talk to her about woman stuff.¡± ¡°Woman stuff?¡± Glen repeated, in mocking tone, to hide his ignorance on the matter. What in the slovenly fuck was that? ¡°Aye, also they cook, milord,¡± They both glanced towards Ninan at that, the conversation almost getting derailed completely. ¡°Listen Stiles, yes they help, but still¡ª¡± Stiles put his hand on Glen¡¯s elbow interrupting his chain on thought. Glen glared at him for touching his person and the former pirate snatched his hand back, speaking as fast as he could, sounding desperate. ¡°Ye¡¯ll doom them, milord. Send ¡®em to their death. Two girls alone in the Steppe, bah! We¡¯re practically in the desert already! They¡¯ll get enslaved right back I bet ye, or raped, killed even. There are all manner of scoundrels about us and gods only know, but surely as many brigands and their likes! Might as well cut their throats now and spare ¡®em the torment, milord.¡± It was an impressive tirade, Glen had to give him that. And he did. ¡°This was the first convincing argument ye made,¡± Glen said and Stiles slightly flushed and sweaty, stared at his worn boots a little apprehensively. ¡°I¡¯ll take it under consideration.¡± ¡°Why, thank you, mil¡¯rd.¡± Glen sighed, pleased he got some work done for the day, although it was still early morning and then sniffed at the air long, before smacking his lips and turned to a seemingly still overwhelmed Stiles. The thought of losing the girls so soon, had almost crashed his spirit. ¡°That stew, or whatever, smells rather fine,¡± Lord Reeves casually observed. ¡°Cooking is a much sought after skill.¡± ¡°Aye, it is, milord,¡± A relieved Stiles replied.
His horse had a nervous tick it did, with its ear. The left one. It kept turning it in an arc, as if to listen for sounds coming from the arid terrain around them, miles upon miles of the same flatness extending to their west, the same mountain range to their east. Worried for a danger hidden in plain sight. The horse¡¯s worry, mirroring his. It troubled Glen, not being certain about those near him. Making new friends had liven up his life, opened up his world, helped him travel the Realm, from one continent to another, but what did he really know? He mused, glancing towards Sen-Iv riding alongside him, a pained expression on her face. What was real? What did he know, of these new people? Bound to him by contract. An arrangement to avoid a scandal, was something alien to him and what he got out of the deal, while alluring, didn¡¯t let him relax enough to enjoy it. Perhaps even on purpose. ¡°The sun is setting,¡± Marcus reported, much like he always did, every single day, at the exact same time. A man married to a schedule, to stuff arranged in a specific order, dependable and real, but loyal to a Lord that was not. Glen missed the old knight. He still expected him to pop out of nowhere and give him the business. Emerson was rough around the edges, but he had Glen¡¯s back from the first moment he saw him. All based on a lie as well, but the knight would never question him, if he fucked something up. The former Decanus might. ¡°We will stop for the night,¡± Fikumin said, Norec just grunting as he always did, his mood pensive. The dwarfs were a mystery. Lith trusted Fikumin obviously, had tasked him to keep Glen safe and away from magic. The latter a bother. Another problem was, Lith wasn¡¯t there, a fact he regretted, as he missed her company as well, such as it was. The mystery behind her, worth exploring. Perhaps even as much as his spouse, which apparently in Cofol, was just another name for a slave. ¡°You will stay wit me,¡± Glen told Sen-Iv and whatever she thought of it, never reached her perfectly made up face. ¡°Let the girls sleep alone.¡±
¡°That¡¯s the second split in the mountains,¡± Fikumin said, standing near the small pit, at the center of their camp, while their cots were prepared. ¡°We will reach it tomorrow. Phon will go ahead and take the next one, then on to Queen¡¯s Oasis. If we want to follow him, then we don¡¯t need to have this talk.¡± Glen sighed. ¡°We won¡¯t follow him.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°It is better to reach Rida on our own.¡± ¡°Then tomorrow, we must cut east towards the mountains,¡± Fikumin said. ¡°Follow the second of Yeriden¡¯s tributaries either to the Threerivers Bridge, or attempt a crossing somewhere else along the river.¡± ¡°Is it possible?¡± Glen asked, not familiar with topography. He had looked at a map Phon had, but it was like trying to read Cofol. Backwards. ¡°Small boats make the crossing, up and down the river. Rafts really. Not enough to carry an army across, but a party our size? Aye, I think it is. The bridge though is probably quicker.¡± ¡°The Khan¡¯s army is gunning for that bridge,¡± Glen replied. ¡°The Duke, if he has half a brain will try to stop him there. That¡¯s a lot of angry soldiers gathered in one place, the majority probably chomping at the bit to kill me.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know that, Glenavon.¡± ¡°We will avoid the bridge,¡± Glen decided. ¡°Sneaking in, is the better choice.¡± Also the one, he was the most comfortable with.
Sen-Iv had prepared two sleeping spots side by side, when he reached her. The girls had moved their cots next to her and Stiles, now standing guard on the other side of the fire, had his spot on Glen¡¯s side. ¡°Tell them to move,¡± Glen ordered her. ¡°It helps me sleep well, having them close, husband,¡± Sen-Iv whispered and Glen grimaced, not wanting to play the same game again. ¡°You won¡¯t need the second cot, Sen.¡± No god darn reaction at all. ¡°Of course,¡± She replied. Glen sighed and found his spot, used her blanket to make a pillow and lay his head on it, staring at the night sky. Sen-Iv came to stand over him, opal eyes dark, much as her face, the fire behind her. ¡°What are you waiting for, Sen?¡± Glen asked. ¡°Husband, should I undress¡ª¡± ¡°Stop that!¡± Glen hissed and raised his head to give her a glare. ¡°I have a name I prefer and¡­ you may not.¡± ¡°Forgive me, Glenavon.¡± A tick appeared on Glen¡¯s left eye, the eyelid quivering and he had to grind his teeth not to yell at her in front of the others. Most seemingly sleeping, but probably eavesdropping under the covers. He could allow a Zilan and a dwarf to call him with the dead¡¯s man name, but not her. ¡°Glen,¡± He said through his teeth. ¡°Try to remember it, Sen. You¡¯re trying my patience.¡± Sen-Iv bit her lower lip, gave him a slight nod of the head and lowered herself next to him. Glen had left almost no room for her on the crude cot. He left her sitting on her knees, as he examined her barely visible face. ¡°You are not my wife, Sen,¡± Glen explained, getting no reaction out of her. ¡°I don¡¯t enjoy the term used as it whispers of intimacy, when we¡¯re bind by a contract instead, I shouldn¡¯t have signed. What a wife means to normal¡­ to my people, is something different. We¡­ don¡¯t have that, yet. I have no idea, if we are ever going to get there.¡± Might as well, turn around and talk to that rock next to the donkey, he thought, seeing her frozen expression. ¡°What I¡¯m trying to say, is that I don¡¯t trust you,¡± Glen continued talking alone, as he found it rather cathartic. ¡°I have friends, I trust, because they had my back. I don¡¯t know you and I can¡¯t learn about you, if you¡¯re not talking.¡± ¡°What should I say, Glen?¡± Sen-Iv said, in her whispery voice. ¡°See what ye did there? That¡¯s exactly what the problem is.¡± ¡°You can have as much intimacy as you wish.¡± Glen shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s not what intimacy is. I don¡¯t want a wife, or even a lover that can¡¯t say no, Sen. I don¡¯t need to. I mean, I wouldn¡¯t mind to see what you have under there some more. All of you is perfect and you know it, but it comes with baggage. I don¡¯t like that in a lover and if I¡¯m desperate to fornicate, the moment I find some coin, I can get all that in Rida.¡± Ah, the last part, I shouldn¡¯t have said, he thought grimacing, but glancing at Sen, it was as if she was listening to him talking about paint drying on a wall. Slow, boring and without surprises. Good grief. ¡°Apologies,¡± He said just the same. ¡°I wasn¡¯t likening you to a prostitute.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no prostitute that can do what I can, Glen,¡± Sen-Iv replied calmly. There was a hint there of something sinister, but he could¡¯ve been mistaken. Push harder. ¡°Well, many a families were wrecked back home¡ª¡± ¡°Not where I¡¯m from,¡± Sen-Iv stopped him. ¡°Let me guess why. I can have as many wives as I can,¡± Glen countered and got a pout out of the stoic woman. ¡°Or slaves, right?¡± ¡°If you have me,¡± Sen-Iv said. ¡°You¡¯ll never want another wife, or a slave.¡± Hah, that must¡¯ve hit a nerve. ¡°But I could,¡± Glen taunted her even more. ¡°And I probably will.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Glen snorted. ¡°Yer lying.¡± ¡°It is what I believe,¡± Sen replied, an exceptional dodge. Almost perfect. ¡°I want the truth, Sen. Unvarnished, as you feel it. It¡¯s how I like my friends. It¡¯s why I fight them. It is also why I trust them.¡± ¡°You already have everything.¡± ¡°No I don¡¯t,¡± Glen sighed and looked at the cool night surrounding them. Stiles was stooped over his sword, across from them, blanket over his shoulders and Glen could see his face over the fire. ¡°I¡¯m not asleep, milord,¡± Stiles said. ¡°Were ye listening?¡± ¡°Tried not to, milord.¡± ¡°Well, keep up the good work,¡± Glen retorted rolling his eyes. He looked at Sen still waiting on her knees and sighed, then moved his arse to leave her some more room. Patted the spot next to him. ¡°Plant it here, while ye still can.¡± Sen blinked, taken aback. ¡°Did ye see where I pointed?¡± Glen asked, suspecting what had happened. ¡°I missed it.¡± Ah. ¡°I left ye room on the blanket,¡± He told her with a grin. ¡°Don¡¯t freak out. A kiss I might ask for goodnight, the heavy stuff I prefer not to do with an audience.¡± ¡°Gratitude, milord.¡± Marcus grunted. Oh, boy. Sen-Iv made herself comfortable next to him, her arms very cold, but when Glen tried to give her a little bit of the blanket, he¡¯d over his legs, she cupped his head with both her hands, palms covering his ears and dragged it up and towards her face. I should stop her, Glen thought, leaving it at that. Sen¡¯s face grew as she approached him, exotic eyes gleaming and unreadable, much as her expression. Then her lips touched his forehead, a blatant miss that confused him at first, roused him next, when they run a moist path from the root, down the bridge of his nose and freaked him out last, when her pearly teeth caught the soft tip and held it, while she stared into his eyes. There was as much lust in that stare, as ferocity and it was the latter that unnerved him. ¡°I will never hurt you, Glen,¡± Sen said, releasing her grip on his hapless nose. ¡°But if its honesty you seek, then the contract we have, leaves it to my discretion, whether I¡¯ll comply with your demand, or not.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a demand,¡± Glen croaked, still shook and judging by the state of his cock, quite affected by her foreplay. Sen-Iv rested her cheek on his shoulder, using a hand to pull the blanket over both their bodies. The night lowered the temperature in the Steppe, especially if the winds picked up. ¡°And I¡¯m not just another slave you picked in the market,¡± She replied, her whispery voice clear and now that she could hear her, so near his ear, extremely soothing. ¡°I can be your wife. I can be your friend and I will be your lover, but if it¡¯s honesty you most want, then I would like that as well, from you.¡± Glen frowned, snapping out of the euphoria and tried to move, but she¡¯d snaked up her body on him, her right leg trapping his and he couldn¡¯t. ¡°What do you want to know?¡± He asked, just to see what had her interested in him at last. ¡°How did you do it?¡± Sen-Iv asked. ¡°Did what?¡± ¡°How did you understand me that night?¡± Ha-ha. I ain¡¯t telling you that girl, Glen thought, with a grin. But I can lie, wit the best of them. ¡°I¡¯m a fast learner dear. It¡¯s a skill,¡± He teased her and Sen teased him back in her tongue, her words beautiful and completely indecipherable. Luthos lost a thumb, in the attempt to climb a glass-spiked fuckin'' wall. Glen blinked, caught in a trap. He glared at her, but he¡¯d one hand under his head and the other snuggled against her soft breast, a whole wide palm of it and nowhere near his dagger.
A chuckling Luthos added, Made a mess of his knee, when he came to and begun to crawl.
¡°I¡­ don¡¯t know, what that means,¡± He was forced to admit, a little flustered. ¡°It means, you never did learned it, Glen,¡± Sen-Iv replied in common, with a rare precious chuckle. ¡°And it¡¯s not a skill. It never was.¡± ¡°Heh, fine¡­ you caught me,¡± Glen made a face and pinched her where it would hurt, right at the ring. ¡°Don¡¯t ever do this again,¡± He warned her and Sen narrowed her eyes, remarkably unfazed other than that, but for her breath coming out a bit heavier now. ¡°I¡¯m serious, woman!¡± Glen hissed, the others be damned. ¡°Only if you promise me you will,¡± Sen-Iv deadpanned, sounding twice as serious as he did and as loud. Glen scrunched his unshaven face this way and that, until he figured out, what her waken up at last. Sen raised a thin brow mockingly, as if to let him know, he had figured out that part of their relationship perfectly. Right, Glen thought with a shudder and more scared, than intrigued. Now what?
Three things the fake Lord Reeves learned that night about her. He knew nothing about Cofol women, whether they were free, slaves, or anything in between, especially this Cofol woman that shared his bed. Sen-Iv was extremely clever and not a fool. Sen-Iv was way more experienced than him as far as copulating was concerned and not just because she was four years older. And lastly, hurt and pain for this strange woman wasn¡¯t torment, but pleasure. Fine, that¡¯s four blasted things.
107. The soft Spring of War -Prelude- (1/2)
Glen The soft Spring of War -Prelude- Part I
If the Cofol Steppe and desert were open flat dull country, or at times monochromatic, the valleys leading to the Yeriden Basin, were peppered with multicolored fruit trees, from plums, pears and olives to oranges and lemons further east, at times creating small lush smelling forests, in the otherwise similarly flat terrain. The land dried up, if one traveled south and moved away from the mighty river and its tributaries, turning again into a fine yellow-grit desert, until the Queen¡¯s Oasis waters sprouted out of the gold sands, just before the south mountain routes the lonely Sadofort guarded. Speaking of routes, the one unfairly given the moniker ¡®Merchant Path¡¯ was still used, the old Imperial built coast avenue once leading to the ruins of Oakenfalls, before heading straight down towards the old Xi Yil Castle, from where legendary Radpour is rumored to have started his one-thousand day journey across the Great Desert that brought his chariots to Rin An-Pour. The buzzing of flies, hornets, bees and other blood-sucking, sting-enamored bugs was the icing on the cake, as far as Glen was concerned. While Sen-Iv might have looked at everything with happy eyes, after the blandness of the road and harshness of climbing the soft slopes leading to the canyon, the same that had brought them into Raoz proper again, after almost two months on the road, Glen knew that by returning to civilization hassle-free times were over. Problems loomed large ahead. Enemies, not in the spirit of angry debtors, or livid fathers, but honest to god real assassins. He had to set himself straight, be on his best game and make no mistakes here. Aye. Be one step ahead of everyone else, anticipate every minutiae and plan accordingly at least a day ahead. Even two¡­ ¡°How much?¡± He asked, eyes ogled in utter shock, snapping out of his reverie and Marcus who had never found a grimace he didn¡¯t like, crooked his mouth up and down, the nicks and cuts where he¡¯d dry shaved himself with a sharpened dagger, still bleeding. A procedure so barbaric, Glen had opted to leave it to a professional barber. Provided he¡¯d any coin left, when they finally reached Rida. ¡°A gold per head, milord. Half that for the animals, with the exception of the donkey. That¡¯s one gold Eagle as well.¡± What? ¡°Leave that darn thing behind!¡± Glen bellowed, incensed beyond reason. They were gonna get stranded in the bloody middle of bugs ¡®n frogs country, before even starting their final approach to Rida. ¡°Even then, do you have the coin, milord?¡± Marcus queried. ¡°Fifteen gold,¡± Glen repeated glaring at him. ¡°To let us climb on a couple of pieces of wood, he tied together once ten years back and never bothered to repair and then drag us across the river. A thirty minutes job. One hour tops!¡± He sighed livid. ¡°And how it is fifteen with eight people, when two of them are dwarfs for all that¡¯s holly! Don¡¯t they get a discount, or something?¡± ¡°Potato-potato, milord. The man has a fixed commission for himself,¡± Marcus explained patiently. ¡°Hah! Tell him to stick that potato up his arse!¡± Glen yelled loud enough for the smirking ruffian watching them from his stupid raft to hear; with the even stupider label that read ¡®cheap crossings¡¯, adding with his voice dripping righteous indignation. ¡°And let¡¯s just call it highway robberies, since that¡¯s what it plaguin¡¯ is!¡± Glen could smell a nasty crook the moment that ruffian got close. And he could tell a thief from across the stinkin¡¯ Yeriden! No one talked for a couple of minutes, the animals lashing with their tails, snorting and farting, flies buzzing annoyingly, that is until a palm caught them flat-footed on a nappe and squashed them dead. ¡°I can¡¯t swim,¡± Stiles blurted out, finally breaking the stalemate. ¡°Huh? You were a god-darn pirate!¡± Glen growled angry, as he was contemplating the idea, the tributary a mere eighty meters from bank to bank. The slave girls whipped their heads towards his affronted manservant surprised and a little angry. ¡°On a ship, milord,¡± Stiles corrected him, devastated his apparent ¡®secret¡¯ was out. ¡°There was no swimming involved.¡± Oh, boy. ¡°Right,¡± He said grimacing and eyed the pregnant waters again, then the man waiting by the large raft, a smug smirk on his provincial face. Fuck. I have to use that dagger to shave myself. Half an ear can be explained away, a butchered up face¡­ not so much. I guess Sen will get to sleep a couple of days in the streets. Rain season seems rather mild this year, thank the gods. No biggie. ¡°Will he accept stones?¡± Sen-Iv asked and most didn¡¯t even hear her, since she had relapsed into whispering mode again. ¡°What was that dear? Stones?¡± Glen cracked a smile. ¡°Yer joke probably got murdered in translation.¡± Sen produced a tiny purse from an inside pocket, the cloak shouldn¡¯t have. On a second read of the situation, it was Iskay the redhead that had given it to her from behind. That redhead was sneaky. ¡°Diamonds,¡± Sen-Iv said. This time everyone heard her, despite the noise coming from the river. Glen stared at the tiny purse intrigued. ¡°Show me one, Sen.¡± She opened it, taking her bloody time, pulling at the tiny cords extra carefully and then used a well-shaped thumb and index finger to fish one out. The small gleaming crystal sparkling as if breathing. God darn it. That¡¯s a fuckin¡¯ diamond! ¡°How many of those do ye have in there?¡± Glen asked, trying to keep his cool, but failing. Sen-Iv frowned, as if thinking about it, whether it was an act, or just for their entertainment Glen had no idea, before answering. ¡°Around fifty.¡± There were a couple of loud gasps, Glen being amongst them, a ¡®get the fuck out¡¯ from Marcus and an actual whistle from Stiles, following her admission. ¡°Are you sure?¡± Glen asked, still numb at the amount of wealth carelessly carried around, next to a deep-flowing and sloped riverbank. Imagine dropping that. The horror. ¡°It might be forty eight exactly,¡± Sen answered, a little embarrassed. ¡°I rounded it up.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± Glen told her soothingly and jumped near to hug her shoulders with an arm, while snatching the purse away with the other. ¡°You don¡¯t actually carry this on you all the time right?¡± Sen bit her lip, in a very distracting manner and nodded. She was. ¡°Why would you risk¡ª?¡± ¡°To fix my costume,¡± She replied hanging her pretty head, adding in a breathless whisper. ¡°The one I wore that day, to help you sign the contract.¡±This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. ¡°Right,¡± Glen replied, loud enough to cover the curious murmurs that erupted at the revelation. That was too much information. ¡°Those were real diamonds.¡± ¡°They tend to fall off,¡± Sen explained. ¡°And I need to have the costume ready, in case I¡¯m present at a Valimae Lilt, since we¡¯re so near the sea.¡± ¡°The fuck is that?¡± Glen blurted, busy looking inside the purse and the sparkling beauties. ¡°Ahm, it¡¯s a dance, Glen,¡± Sen replied, genuinely shocked he wasn¡¯t aware of it. Why? Glen wondered. Is it because I¡¯m an islander? ¡°Women are supposed to take part in it, for good fortune.¡± Right. Glen glanced at their group, listening in to their conversation rather engrossed and saw the same surprise on everyone¡¯s faces, but for the two dwarfs. Norec looked unhappy to even be there and stared miserable at the river and Fikumin rolled his eyes, large nose covering his mouth almost, before replying. ¡°It¡¯s an old Empire custom, the three kingdoms moved away from it, Glenavon.¡± ¡°Why is that?¡± Glen asked keeping a diamond and binding the cords tight, to secure the rest, before placing the purse in one of the many inside pockets of his own coat. ¡°It¡¯s a lively dance to vile Abrakas and Goddess''s daughter Naossis,¡± Fikumin explained, casting a scornful glance at a glaring Sen-Iv. ¡°The Cofols of Greenwhale, are enthusiastically tolerable to the worst of old rituals and habits, as you¡¯ve come to realize.¡±
Grimaldi Dato agreed to get paid in a diamond, plus a striking ruby Sen just happened to have in a small gems box, she carried around as well. Glen called him a reprehensible thief to his face and all but swam across right then and there, but no one else wanted to follow and Grimaldi holding all the cards and rafts in that spot, the second raft steered by his oldest son Sireno, a young Lorian that looked as much a crook as his old man, finally got what he wanted. ¡°We should use both rafts,¡± Glen complained, walking back and forth while the rest were loading their animals and tied them up on the rail of the crude raft, its lower portion made of a hollow yellow wood, they called bamboo. ¡°For the price.¡± ¡°Two rafts,¡± Grimaldi repeated his favorite quote of the past twenty minutes. ¡°Twice the commission,¡± A big toothy grin at the end of it. ¡°Double the price. Or you can swim.¡± Marcus shrugged his shoulders and only Norec appeared mildly annoyed at this brigand of a captain of sorts. The latter questionable as they were gonna pull at the long rope tied at the other bank to make the crossing, so not much actual piloting was needed. The whole business in fact, appeared to Glen to be nothing more, than a clever scheme to legally rob honest folk off their purse. ¡°Everyone is a plaguin¡¯ crook,¡± Glen commented, thinking out loud and the girls started laughing, thinking it funny for some reason. Stiles nodded vindicated, or absolved and Marcus just grunted. Even Sen-Iv usually restrained, had loosened up enough to allow herself half a smirk in public. ¡°It takes one,¡± Grimaldi deadpanned, after they had had their fill. ¡°To know one, Mister Glen.¡± Glen frowned and went to answer him, but caught riders approaching out of the corner of his eye, from the site of the unseen large stone bridge, about five kilometers away. He¡¯d missed the sound of the hooves due to the river being this close. ¡°That¡¯s a big group,¡± Grimaldi commented greedily eyeing them. ¡°Hop aboard lads, my son will take care of them. You too Mister Glen, there¡¯s plenty of room left. I told ye, we won¡¯t need the second raft.¡± Glen grunted, boots half sunk in the muddy shallow water and walked towards the edge of the raft, now packed with animals and people, intent to climb aboard. Easier said, than done. Stiles gave him a helping hand, the former pirate¡¯s face tensing up as he pulled him hard. Glen huffed and puffed, cursing in between like a drunken sailor and finally managed to get on the unstable floating vessel that had as much resemblance to Reeve¡¯s ship, as a rock has with an old turd. They were both round and hard sometimes, but not always and in this particular case, they both kinda floated above water. Floated used loosely in this instance. ¡°Water is coming up!¡± Glen shouted at their Captain, taking his time to raise the anchor. ¡°Too much load on the raft,¡± Grimaldi explained casually, his face flushed from the effort. ¡°Nothing critical yet!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t feel reassured Mister Dato!¡± Glen retorted, eyeing the water splashing on his boots. Over his left shoulder the riders grew in size as they neared; about twenty of them advanced to their ragtag dock and the four huts afore it, at a steady but slow trot he could now hear, along with the sounds made by their mounts. Their snorts and neighs coming rugged and at short intervals. As if the animals were spent already. Were they coming from the bridge? Why not cross there? Glen paused and turned to look at them more closely, the warning coming from his honed instincts impossible to ignore. Or perhaps he was already on edge. ¡°Can you make out their armour?¡± Marcus asked, sucking at his teeth nervously. ¡°Not yet. Help him with the anchor,¡± Glen ordered him. The lead riders came to about fifty meters from the huts and cut their speed, seeing the few locals watching them, then as if given an order half of them charged ahead in a wave, the rest following at a steady trot, while reaching for their bows. Because they all had one. Glen had seen their likes again at Hellfort and felt acid burn his stomach.
Despite numerous survivors giving their personal accounts on the battles coming before the siege of Rida, it is difficult to piece together where the conflict started, what was a skirmish and what wasn¡¯t. Spread out into a large territory, between the Yeriden tributaries and fought for at least two days that we know of, it is now widely accepted by most scholars that it was Prince Nout that used Esterlams Crevice to cross Yeriden and flank the Duke¡¯s forces, right when they had the win within their grasp. The initial rushed and failed feint on the first day of the battle, done by his older brother Prince Sahand, either an elaborate ruse, or a sign that the Khan¡¯s forces were operating on a different timetable and had different goals. - Lord Sirio Veturius Circa 206 NC The Fall of Heroes Chapter VII -Prologue- (Duke Gideon of Raoz, ¡®The Siege of Rida¡¯, A ¡®feint¡¯ near Threeriver Bridge and the battle of Esterlams Crevice -Day one- Last month of Spring, 189 NC)
¡°Get us out of here, Captain!¡± He anxiously ordered Grimaldi, who¡¯d just managed to get the stone anchor out of the water with the help of Marcus. Grimaldi raised his head and looked at the group coming towards the locals and frowned. It wasn¡¯t a full blown charge, as their horses seemed shot, but it was close. ¡°Hurry up ye fool!¡± Glen blasted him and looked about the five by four floating raft for cover. There was nothing there, he realized. ¡°What¡¯s gotten into ¡ª¡± Grimaldi tried to say, but then arrows whistled as they fell out of the sky, their initial approach hidden by the sounds of the pregnant river. Two of the locals went down immediately, another got nailed at his groin and doubled over with a scream that chilled their blood, but the rest missed, with a couple striking water a foot from the raft. ¡°MOVE GOD DARN IT!¡± Glen bellowed and went to pull at the ropes to get them moving himself, with Marcus following. That seemed to get Grimaldi out of it and the captain shoved him away, to start tugging at the rope. The moment their raft started moving away from the bank, the next volley came and the first Cofol scouts fell on the stunned locals like wraiths. Glen saw no other details of what was happening on the river¡¯s shore as one arrow hit Sireno, the young man still standing dumbfounded on his own raft, going through his right thigh. He groaned grabbing it and stumbled forward, just as another three arrows reached Glen¡¯s raft. Two of them finding deck this time. Fuckers found the range. ¡°Son!¡± Grimaldi yelled seeing the young man plummeting head first on the deck of his own raft, now left behind them at the docks, with another two arrows on his chest. ¡°No! GODS NO!¡± The dismayed captain let go of the rope, reached the protective but simple wooden rail, under Glen¡¯s incredulous glare, went over it and right into the flooded river, trying to get back to help his child. A horrible idea, thankfully Glen hadn¡¯t attempted earlier. The current too great, pulled him further away in an ever increasing looping arc from the shores, until he gave up and went under. Glen and his friends watched him drown silently, all in the space of a couple of minutes. Even less than that. Good grief. We¡¯re all gonna die. ¡°GET MY SHIELD LAD! STILES GET OVER HERE!¡± Marcus barked taking charge of the deteriorating situation, snapping him out of his despondency, just as another volley came from the approaching second group of scouts. Glen ducked and went for the boxes with their supplies, arrows hitting the flooded deck of the raft, some breaking, others getting stuck. He rolled, brackish water splashing him in the face, put his hand on the large square Legion shield and lugged it out of the tied up bundle. ¡°PULL!¡± Glen turned and rushed back to Marcus and Stiles, the two of them heaving hard, veins popped on their necks and turning fast a dark shade of red. He gave the shield to Stiles who turned and wore it on his back as he was standing last in the line. Glen went to sit in front of them both, but Fikumin stopped the former thief putting a hand on his knee. Norec was standing right next to him. ¡°Help the women,¡± The dwarf told him, returning his glare. Huh? Glen turned just as one of their mules, coughed up blood and whined pathetically, before dropping on its knees, five arrows skewering its back. ¡°PULL!¡± Marcus barked again. Glen had to move and he did. ¡°Get cover at the horses!¡± He yelled to the girls, feverishly checking at their animals binds himself, the raft shaking right and left, up and down, the river roaring under their feet, their mounts snorting and neighing scared, Marcus always barking, keeping the tempo as they reached the middle of the river and fresh arrows dropping right and left, rattling his frayed nerves. ¡°PULL!¡± Almost all the Cofol scouts had lined up at the bank and were firing arrow after arrow towards them. Thankfully, they were slowly, but steadily moving away from them now. At the same time they were a very big target of course. So in the next half hour, they lost another two animals, a horse and a mule, before they reached the other bank; all of them exhausted, even Glen and the women that hadn¡¯t done much pulling, other than helping right at the final meters, when Stiles had collapsed totally shattered. ¡°They are gonna use the other raft,¡± Marcus growled, and tried to spit down, before realizing he¡¯d a dry mouth. ¡°Aye,¡± Glen agreed, puffing his cheeks out and seeing no other way around it, he started untying the animals. ¡°Sen get the girls to spread the supplies around. You¡¯re are riding with me. The girls will get your mare,¡± Glen ordered them quickly, while the rest were catching up their breath, trying to recover from the effort. He checked on their remaining animals thoughtfully and then added. ¡°Leave the donkey behind.¡± Glen had had enough with it and the sinister animal turning its large head around, stupid mouth all big teeth and mauve lips, agreed letting out a dissonant, as much as vindictive deafening bray. HEE-HAW! Glen vowed that day, to never again allow Stiles steal animals unsupervised.
108. The soft Spring of War -Prelude- (2/2)
Glen The soft Spring of War -Prelude- Part II (The Knight of Raoz)
Sen-Iv screamed next to his ear, her nails digging in the soft flesh under his collar, pulling it back and almost tearing everything away, just as he was stooping forward to follow the horse¡¯s momentum as it jumped over the wooden fence, the animal landing on its front legs. Glen felt the impact on his battered back and groaned. The horse snorted wild in response, kicked with its hind legs down and then charged ahead again, through the short-heighted and neatly arranged in rows lemon trees. The small fruits hanging from the branches smacking him in the face and chest, hard as solid stones. Stones that exploded on impact like small melons. Filled with poison and slimy hard pits. ¡°GOD FUCKIN¡¯ DARN IT!¡± Glen cursed ducking under a meaty branch, laden with enough fruit to stone a man to death and turned the horse right and to the small path again, joining the others. ¡°Do you see them?¡± He asked the awkwardly riding Marcus and the man swung his head around to catch a glimpse of their pursuers. ¡°Think they probably paused at the fence!¡± Marcus yelled seemingly in a lot of pain, his voice hoarse but loud and clear, not that the young former thief understood him. ¡°They took offense?¡± Glen grimaced. ¡°ARE YE FREAKIN¡¯ KIDDIN¡¯ ME?¡± The small path they followed moved them away from Lilyana Fort, as the road leading to it was blocked with more Cofol scouts. How they¡¯d managed to appear behind the Duke¡¯s lines a mystery to Glen, but he didn¡¯t much ponder on it, as he knew they had the fresher horses then, but only for another ten minutes. That was three hours ago. ¡°Whoa!¡± Glen yelled and pulled at the reins to stop his horse. He glanced back and caught Sen-Iv wiping her red eyes carefully with a hankie, her make up a mess. ¡°Were ye crying?¡± ¡°It got in my eyes,¡± She explained. ¡°You were going very fast.¡± Which was the whole point pretty eyes! ¡°Right,¡± he murmured. ¡°Why are you stopping, milord?¡± Stiles queried, approaching on his mare. ¡°Has anyone actually seen them after we took the turn?¡± Glen asked the others. Nobody had. Well, the dwarfs were still trying to bring the slave girls back, as they missed his que to make a stop and kept riding for about two hundred meters. At least. Either that, or they were making a run for it, in general. Glen sighed and wiped some of the bitter juice from his face with a hand. While it had cleaned the sludge of the road he carried on him proper, it¡¯d messed up his eyes something fierce. Sen was right in that. ¡°I don¡¯t think they¡¯re following us,¡± He said and accepted a linen hankie Sen gave him to clean the rest of it. ¡°Their horses were shot, since before the attack.¡± ¡°Now what?¡± Marcus asked. ¡°We circle back and try the Fort again?¡± ¡°Nay, we find the main road,¡± Glen replied, pocketing the hankie. ¡°See if we can reach Rida by morrow.¡±
Rida was more than a day away as a matter of fact. The roads clogged with people trying to get away from the Cofol hordes and the Duke¡¯s angry soldiers, either because they had missed the battle that was raging near the river crossings, or for the remote possibility they¡¯d get called in as well. The very first thing Glen could see, when they approached the outer walls of the city, was a portion of the famous flat top red pyramid, now enclosed on all sides by tall defensive walls and parapets, it¡¯s terrace turned into a palace for the Grand Duke of Raoz. The large castle stood atop Bellaem as Fikumin kindly informed him, a modest hill at the center of the city, oriented towards the main branch of Aye-Riden, or Yeriden as the locals pronounced it. The massive stone arched bridge built over it was ancient as well. It ran over the river channel, more than six hundred meters wide at that particular point, utilizing the three small islands to secure its gargantuan stone pillars and a lot of Zilan architecture. It had a secure draw-bridge at its mid-point, easily defensible for anyone foolish enough to attack piecemeal, across water. The massive bridge connected Rida with Altarin via a direct route in peacetime, but it was now closed for the public. You could see it extending through the morning mist, if you climbed a tower over the north wall of Rida. Seeing that the city itself was packed with people, the lines on the west gate they now approached stretching back at least a hundred meters, Glen wasn¡¯t in the mood for sight-seeing. He needed to find a place to leave Sen and the slave girls, while he visited the Duke and tried to get himself some kind of deal, or even plain information about what had happened back at Hellfort and Altarin. The guard at the gates, one of eight, looked haggard and at the end of his tether. ¡°Kindly stick to your lanes and wait for your turn. NEXT! Yes, you sir,¡± He bellowed, voice gruff and eyed him casually at first, then with more interest, when he spotted Sen-Iv and the slave girls and finally utter bewilderment, when his eyes were set on the two dwarfs that had decided not to hide under the girls dresses, as Iskay had suggested. Glen would have picked that option, without a second thought, but feigned outrage when asked about it. ¡°I¡¯m Glen Reeves. It¡¯s my name,¡± He declared, to the stupefied guard. Glen almost made a mess of the whole thing there due to his nervousness. ¡°Seeking entrance to the city.¡± ¡°Reeves as¡­¡± ¡°Lord Reeves, was my meaning,¡± Glen added and the guard perked up. ¡°You¡¯re coming from Altarin, milord?¡± It was a legitimate query. ¡°In a roundabout way,¡± Glen grinned, absent a more legitimate answer. ¡°What news, milord, if I¡¯m permitted,¡± The guard asked, after signaling for his colleagues to open the road for them through the glaring crowd. ¡°Have faith, friend,¡± Glen replied supportively. ¡°I can¡¯t say much more.¡± There. Just ease into it, don¡¯t be too anxious. They don¡¯t know shit. ¡°Of course, milord. THE LORD OF ALTARIN, coming through!¡± The guard barked to those slow to move out of the way, mostly families with small children, distraught women and old men. Most did speedily, the few that had opted to resist were just as swiftly convinced to change their mind. Good gods, Glen thought shaking his head, leading his group away from the gate as fast as he could. They¡¯re not exactly friendly.
Glen eyed the two-storied inn, located near the Rida¡¯s large harbor, its marble columned entrance having a huge plaque over it, with the ominous ¡®A King¡¯s Fortune¡¯ written on it with gold letters. ¡°Stiles, I thought you said, it was a ¡®suitable¡¯ establishment?¡± He asked perturbed. ¡°Aye milord. Asked around, it¡¯s the best in this part of the city.¡± Glen snorted. ¡°Do you have the coin for it?¡± ¡°Alas milord, I¡¯m but a servant,¡± Stiles replied sadly. ¡°My services still unpaid.¡± ¡°And thus, they shall remain, my friend,¡± Glen replied and looked about him at the different buildings on the large street leading to the docks. ¡°What are you looking for, lad?¡± Marcus queried, sharp as the knife he¡¯d used on his face. Glen narrowed his eyes, having Sen-Iv glued on him was very distracting even through his armor. ¡°A bank,¡± He finally replied. ¡°Stiles, kindly leg it to that market I see over yonder and ask about one.¡±
The bank was built like a barrack. A square grey building, made out of granite, three stories high and occupying a street corner by itself. Big, ominous and well¡­ sturdy, Glen supposed glancing at the double lettered logo written on top of the iron reinforced entrance. The interior well-lit and aired, the many windows barred, but open to let the morning wind in, six cashier spots at the far side of it and a large welcoming information desk smack at its middle, the young woman manning it clean cut and rather easy on the eyes. ¡°Welcome, to McLean and Merck,¡± The blond girl said, her accent reminding him of Sir Emerson, when he was being polite. ¡°What can I assist you gentlemen with, this morning?¡± Glen cleared his throat and glanced at Stiles a little amused at the term, but the former-pirate was looking around him thoughtfully and missed it. ¡°I¡¯d like to make an exchange.¡± ¡°Can I have your name?¡± The woman asked, her bronze badge had the Bank¡¯s logo on it and a neat square parchment pinned under it reading ¡°Flora¡±, in a nice female script. ¡°I¡¯m Floronia Puviana.¡± Ah. Of course. ¡°It¡¯s Reeves. I have a number of gems¡ª¡± ¡°Apologies, Mister Reeves. What do you prefer the exchange to be in?¡± ¡°I¡¯d prefer gold coins.¡± Flora gave him a well-practiced smile and pointed at the cashier cubicles. ¡°That would be the number six, director Apus Similis. First, from where you are standing.¡± Glen cleared his throat. ¡°Gratitude, Miss Flora.¡±
Apus had a huge bald spot on his head, covered expertly with hair he took from the sides. While it hid the bald spot for the most part, it missed a round portion of it right at the top that made his head look weird and egg like. His drooping cheeks and chin devastating to his looks. ¡°Yes?¡± He asked nervously, looking up from his notes. One of the books open in front of him massive. ¡°I¡¯d like to exchange gems for gold coins,¡± Glen repeated, already getting bored with what at first he¡¯d been excited with. This being his first time, setting foot inside a bank that is. He¡¯d envisioned making an entry in this type of venue at some point, but for less legitimate reasons. ¡°Don¡¯t we all?¡± Apus commented and sighed, returning to his reading. An uncomfortable silence ensued, until the bank official raised his eyes and saw him still standing there. ¡°You¡¯re serious.¡± ¡°Aye,¡± Glen hissed, not likening his attitude. ¡°What kind of gems?¡± Apus inquired reaching for a scroll that had tightly packed scribblings and numbers on it. ¡°Diamonds,¡± Glen replied, carefully placing one diamond he¡¯d taken out of his purse in the meantime, on Apus Similis generous desk. ¡°The rate is twelve point five, gold Eagles,¡± Apus replied, glancing at it unfazed. ¡°Thirteen gold dinars.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take Eagles.¡± Apus stared at him for a moment. ¡°Your name?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Glen Reeves,¡± Glen said tiredly. ¡°Any relation to the known family?¡± A question asked innocently, but holding weight, Glen didn¡¯t miss. ¡°The late Lord was my grandfather,¡± Glen explained and Apus stood up straighter on his chair, his eyes flickering towards the gold ring he wore on his finger. ¡°My condolences, Lord Reeves,¡± Apus said, his voice changing. ¡°I wasn¡¯t notified, you were in the city.¡± By whom? Glen wondered. Does the bank run an information agency? ¡°I just arrived.¡± ¡°Evidently. You wanted to exchange the diamond for gold Eagles, am I correct?¡± ¡°Aye. What¡¯s with the half gold in the price?¡± Glen asked him curious. ¡°The current rate is fifteen gold Eagles per medium diamond such as the one you have there, the Bank keeps two point five from that, as commission,¡± He pointed to a plaque over his head for validation, the text on it Glen couldn¡¯t read, since half the words he hadn¡¯t seen before. ¡°I see,¡± Glen replied although he couldn¡¯t see shit. ¡°I will call for Caelus to appraise it now, Lord Reeves. It would only be a moment. Caelus!¡± He called, looking back towards a series of doors behind the cubicles. One of them opened and a bespectacled man walked out, looking confused as all hells. ¡°Ahm, I have more than one,¡± Glen added nervously. ¡°Caelus will take all you have. There¡¯re no worries,¡± Apus soothed him with a professional smile, Glen didn¡¯t appreciate at all. ¡°Can¡¯t he appraise them here?¡± He asked. ¡°Haha¡­ oh, you¡¯re serious, my Lord?¡±This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Alike the plague,¡± Glen hissed, narrowing his eyes. ¡°I ain¡¯t giving him fifty diamonds and let him walk out of this room!¡± Apus blinked and stared at his desk. There was a lot of scrolls and books on it. ¡°Fifty¡­¡± He repeated, staring at an ogling Caelus. ¡°Forty seven, to be exact,¡± Glen admitted. ¡°But you have them on you?¡± Glen placed the small purse on the desk before them, opened it and let them glance at its sparkling contents. ¡°Caelus,¡± Apus said, after a sober look at the small fortune. ¡°Get your tools here. You¡¯ll use my desk.¡± ¡°Director, I can¡¯t up and¡ª¡± ¡°Caelus, that¡¯s over five hundred gold Eagles worth of diamonds over there!¡± Apus smiled apologetically to Glen and then glared at his frustrated employee, who hang his head and went to bring his tools from the back. ¡°It will only be a minute,¡± Apus reassured Glen and started picking up stuff to make room for the bank¡¯s appraiser. ¡°I didn¡¯t know ye have to appraise these things,¡± Stiles commented in Glen¡¯s ear. ¡°Well, you do wit coins as well,¡± Glen replied, already an expert on banking affairs. ¡°I suppose yer right, milord,¡± Stiles agreed.
¡°Excellent,¡± Apus decided, after reading Caelus report, the man had gone through each diamond in turn, painstakingly examining them with a strange monocle, its tip protruding like a cat¡¯s cock from his left eye. The director patted a couple of times, a medium sized box made out of rosewood, with the bank¡¯s logo engraved in gold on its sides, and then slid it towards a bored out of his wits Glen. They were already more than an hour inside the bank. Glen flicked the lid open and stared at the neatly stacked piles, arranged in rows. A beautiful sight, the former thief thought. All above board as well. ¡°I see ye given me the rounded ones,¡± He noticed and Apus frowned. ¡°It¡¯s the standard gold coin, offered at our bank, Lord Reeves.¡± ¡°I had another¡­ let me show you,¡± Glen told him and produced one of the few larger square coins he still had. Apus frown grew and even Caelus that was busy gathering his measuring tools to return to his desk paused and looked over the director¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Ahm, this¡­ can I have it?¡± Apus said, intrigued. ¡°I¡¯m gonna ask for it back,¡± Glen said and gave him the coin. ¡°Yes, ah¡­ well, this is interesting,¡± Apus murmured examining it this way and that, even giving it a soft bite, followed by an apologetic smile. ¡°It¡¯s legit, Lord Reeves. Where did you find it?¡± ¡°Twas a gift,¡± Glen replied, narrowing his eyes. ¡°I will make an offer for it.¡± ¡°I prefer to keep it, for sentimental reasons,¡± Glen deadpanned. ¡°It is within your rights, Lord Reeves,¡± The director responded, seeming rather disappointed. ¡°Why is it of interest to you?¡± ¡°Bah, just a collector¡¯s motivation. Let¡¯s just say¡­ they are not in circulation anymore, for starters,¡± Apus elucidated, taking his quill to write something on a piece of parchment. ¡°They were used up until eighty years ago, but since then most have been taken out for practical reasons.¡± ¡°What reasons?¡± Glen queried. ¡°I see you¡¯re interested,¡± Apus replied. ¡°They are repurposed Imperial coins, Lord Reeves. As in the bank gathered them and returned them in circulation for a good number of years, but eventually, since no one was minting them anymore, they were slowly taken out and then replaced by the more common variant you have there. Whatever is left, let¡¯s just say, it exists in the bank¡¯s vaults.¡± Well, he was wrong about that last part and as for the rest of his explanation¡­ Words, upon words, Glen thought, looking at him sweating nervously. Why? ¡°What do they worth?¡± He asked calmly. Apus sighed. ¡°Ah, you figured out the other reason, Lord Reeves. They created confusion, you are right.¡± I am? ¡°What manner?¡± ¡°Well, they are four times the value of a normal gold Eagle,¡± Apus explained and Glen flinched, the revelation shocking. ¡°It¡¯s a weight and gold purity per gram issue, to put it in layman¡¯s terms.¡± No way. Fuck. God fuckin¡¯ darn it! ¡°Lord Reeves?¡± ¡°Hand me the coin!¡± Glen barked, fuming. ¡°Of course,¡± Apus said quickly. Glen pocketed it and stooping grabbed his box, the darn thing weighting more than he thought, so turning around he handed it to Stiles. Then with a courtly nod, to a curiously watching him Apus Similis, turned heel and walked straight out of the bank. ¡°Have a great day, Lord Reeves!¡± Flora said a little too enthusiastically, big smile on her face inviting, as he rushed to the exit livid, with a faltering weighed-down Stiles in tow. ¡°Gratitude for selecting McLean & Merck for your business!¡± Apparently, news traveled fast inside banks as well.
These rooms had cost me an arm and most of my left leg, Glen thought sourly, watching as Sen-Iv probed and smacked the mattress, squeezed the pillows and checked for oil inside the oil-lamps, a permanent pout on her pretty face. ¡°What?¡± He growled, when she let out a deep-deep sigh and collapsed on the bed. ¡°This place is awful,¡± Sen blurted out, then catching the murderous look in his eyes added softly. ¡°For the price.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± Glen grimaced and walked to the door, stopped there and turned to look at her. ¡°I have to visit the Duke, it might go well, or not.¡± ¡°Why would it not go well?¡± Sen asked. ¡°Leave my brother¡¯s plans out of it.¡± Yer brother¡¯s plans are the least of my problems. ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to mention him,¡± Glen replied. ¡°The man has Cofols breathing down his neck, can¡¯t see him being agreeable for a partnership.¡± ¡°If he asks about me, don¡¯t be a fool,¡± Sen-Iv advised him. ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to risk my neck for you, if you¡¯re worrying about it,¡± a miffed Glen retorted. ¡°I won¡¯t worry, if you don¡¯t.¡± Right. Hells does that even mean?
It took Glen almost an hour to reach the palace¡¯s gates, the walls surrounding the base of the giant pyramid taller than the outer walls of the city, which in turn hadn¡¯t appeared particularly impressive to Glen and almost at the level of those at Castalor, noting here that Rida was twice as big in population and size. The pyramid itself, was made of huge one ton pieces of red rock that resembled granite, iron-rich as the officer in charge explained with the ease of a tourist guide, and beautifully cut in identical square parts, seamlessly sewn together as if by magic. It reached almost three hundred meters in height, from its base to the flat terrace, probably a bit more since the palace buildings were added there. With the sides counted at two hundred and fifty meters it was the biggest building Glen had ever entered. It was also cold and dark, despite many torches burning in its long corridors, mostly hollow at its middle, the sloped internal walls menacing to stare at and had an ungodly amount of stairs one needed to climb to reach the top. When he did, thoroughly exhausted and demoralized, Marcus put a hand on his shoulder to encourage him. ¡°Remember milord, this existed before the Dukes of Raoz, came to be.¡± Glen stared at the former Decanus of the Legion unsure. ¡°Yeah,¡± He finally said, seeing Marcus had said his piece and wasn¡¯t going to elucidate further. A well-groomed man in his forties, with clever eyes and a face that reminded him of the older Reeves, was waiting for them outside the throne room, the two guards posted there, wearing the Duchy¡¯s coat of arms. The red stallion. Here goes, Glen thought. ¡°Great nephew Glenavon,¡± The man said, a look of disbelief in his eyes, despite his considerable effort to hide it, under a pleasant clerk¡¯s smile. ¡°I thought the worst.¡± Red flag number one, Glen thought hesitating. ¡°I barely made it,¡± He finally said, opting to speak truthfully, but as vague as possible. ¡°Hellfort has fallen, I¡¯m afraid.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the rumor. How is Sir Solomon?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t think he made it.¡± ¡°But you were there. Were you not?¡± The man, Sir Laurel¡¯s father for all intents and purposes, queried appearing suspicious. ¡°I was, but got injured severely. This man got me out,¡± Glen replied, with a grimace. ¡°Condolences for Sir Laurel, ahm¡­ I had the fortune of talking with him briefly.¡± The man pulled back, the topic painful. He licked his cracked lips once to gather himself and sighed. ¡°A tragedy. Our family¡­ and I want you to know, I Victor Reeves, consider you a part of this family Glenavon,¡± His eyes dropped to his hands, noticing the ring he wore and froze. ¡°Lord Reeves sent me a letter,¡± Glen said calmly and reaching he produced it from an inside pocket. ¡°It is rather detailed.¡± ¡°That¡¯s his will then?¡± Victor croaked, the news devastating. ¡°It is,¡± Glen replied simply, looking at him. Yep, that¡¯s a snake coiled in the lawn. Victor took a step back, his face a mask. ¡°The Duke will see you now, Lord Reeves,¡± He announced in a professional tone. ¡°Why,¡± Glen retorted with a grin. ¡°Thank you Uncle.¡±
Duke Gideon was an imposing man once, but years and recent troubles had eaten away at him it appeared. Still much of his former imposing figure remained, especially as he sat on his throne, inside the rather impressive hall. The window leading to the balcony extraordinary massive, its drapes drawn for the light to come in. ¡°You can see the harbor from up here,¡± Duke Gideon said getting up and walking towards him slowly. Glen had paused unsure, after he¡¯d entered, as Victor didn¡¯t follow him inside, perhaps under orders. He stopped in front of him and Glen had to stare up to meet the Duke¡¯s eyes. He was a tall man. ¡°I¡¯m Glen Reeves,¡± He blurted out nervously, attempting a laughably bad curtsy. ¡°Your Grace.¡± Gideon stared at him a little amused, for a long moment. ¡°Sir Glenavon¡¯s son,¡± He said, as if he had difficulty believing it. ¡°A secret apparently.¡± He took to his death. ¡°Apologies, your Grace.¡± ¡°What are you apologizing for?¡± The Duke stopped him. ¡°It¡¯s on him, not on you. How did the old man take it?¡± He face fell at the mention of his grandfather. ¡°You have my sympathies lad.¡± ¡°Gratitude, my Lord.¡± ¡°Speak Glenavon, is that what they call you?¡± ¡°Aye, your Grace. Though back home, they called me Glen,¡± He stumbled through this part and while it was perhaps amusing to the old Duke, the novelty would eventually wear off, he thought. Snap out of it. ¡°Good grief,¡± Gideon said. ¡°Hope you¡¯ll grow out of it.¡± ¡°I will, your Grace.¡± ¡°What did the old man say, when he found out?¡± The Duke asked him, and ushered him towards a cupboard, where a servant had left a bottle of wine and a couple of finely made silver goblets. ¡°He was pleased, I think,¡± Glen replied. ¡°I believe he suspected it, your Grace.¡± Duke Gideon, took a sip from his cup and nodded. ¡°It won¡¯t surprise me, if he did. Your grandfather was sharp as a knife. A good man. Aye. To your grandfather,¡± Gideon raised his cup and Glen followed him suit fast, gulping down half of it. ¡°Now, Lord Reeves, I¡¯d love to learn more about you, but the timing of your visit is sensitive. Time waits for no one, young Lord,¡± The Duke said, looking at the contents of his cup. ¡°What can you tell me of our situation?¡± Glen gulped down nervously, cold sweat appearing on his forehead. Truth and lies, mix ¡®em up! Don¡¯t fuck this up, he urged himself.
¡°You have no idea what happened to Sir Solomon?¡± The Duke asked ten minutes later, after he¡¯d given him an embellished tale of the battle of Hellfort and his unlikely escape through the mines with the help of the dwarfs. He could have avoided the last part, but the dwarfs were seen and it would be difficult to explain away. ¡°They stayed in the fort to buy us time, your Grace.¡± ¡°Ah, good men. And Lord Lennox you say? You were his squire, were you not?¡± ¡°Aye, I was. I hope¡­ perhaps they managed to live through it, your Grace,¡± The Duke put a large hand on his shoulder. ¡°My lad, you have to be strong now. This is no time to get sentimental.¡± I was being hopeful? Glen thought with a frown. ¡°He told me, Sir Emerson¡­ he¡¯d given up his title,¡± Glen said after a moment. Gideon waved his hand. ¡°King Davenport, never agreed to it, nor did his uncle. They let him, believe it. Helped him in his road to penance. Emerson was a rare type of knight, my lad.¡± Glen stared at his boots. He hadn¡¯t lost hope to find the old knight yet, despite what all these people seem to believe. ¡°Where do you think the Cofols are?¡± The Duke asked him. ¡°They didn¡¯t go to Altarin.¡± Glen perked up. ¡°I thought they would.¡± The Duke showed him a map on the wall above the cupboard. The Duchy and part of the Steppe drawn on it. Altarin, even Hellfort, but not the dwarf villages. All in all, it wasn¡¯t too detailed, but he could understand some of the landmarks on it. ¡°The Cofols crossed the river,¡± He said. ¡°They tried, but they were beaten back,¡± The Duke replied. ¡°We caught them flatfooted and pushed them back away from the bridge.¡± ¡°They were after us for a while,¡± Glen insisted. ¡°Small numbers, I¡¯ve dispatched a part of First Foot to deal with them,¡± He showed him on the map. ¡°They are trapped. We hold Sadofort to the south, and despite their effort they couldn¡¯t take Lilyana Fort.¡± ¡°I think Prince Nout is coming here,¡± Glen said. ¡°Rida?¡± ¡°He¡¯ll try to cross the river, like the scouts we¡¯ve met,¡± Glen replied and stared at the map long. ¡°I have people scouting the road from here to Altarin, the Prince vanished in the woods,¡± The Duke countered. ¡°There aren¡¯t rafts enough to ferry a meaningful force across even if he attempts it. Then what? No supply train, a river on his back. The numbers you¡¯ve given me aren¡¯t enough to take the city, young Reeves.¡± Aye, Glen thought. They aren¡¯t. Assuming the Prince heads for Rida. If the Khan¡¯s main army was truly beaten at the bridge, then Prince Nout would be cut off and annihilated. Will he risk it though? Glen wondered, trying to remember the shining Cataphract with the leopard skins. ¡°Everyone notices the view,¡± Duke Gideon said, snapping him out of his reverie. He¡¯d moved away from the wall, towards the roomy balcony and stared outside, a frown on his face. ¡°Something my father built as an afterthought,¡± He chugged the rest of his wine down. ¡°Here I am, hoping to avoid losing it all.¡± ¡°Fear will beat you, before yer opponent,¡± Glen blurted out, before he¡¯d time to control himself. The Duke laughed hard at his words. ¡°Was that Emerson¡¯s teachings? Haha, ah that stupidly brave son of a bitch, pardon my language lad.¡± ¡°I¡¯d use stubborn, your Grace,¡± Glen countered with a grin. ¡°Aye, that too, heh,¡± The Duke snorted, looked at his hands and then at the handle of his sword. A beautiful ivory piece, fully engraved, ending at the pommel, with a garnet the size of a lemon. ¡°You still wanna be a knight lad?¡± The Duke asked him. ¡°My¡­ Lord,¡± Glen stumbled through his words. ¡°I hoped to find, Sir Emerson¡ª¡± ¡°He¡¯s probably dead,¡± Gideon cut him, with a grimace. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of death, surrounding me Glenavon. Friends and allies, dropping like flies. You¡¯ve lost most of your family, but your aunt and while I love my daughter in law, she ain¡¯t carrying your name.¡± Glen gulped down unsure where this was going. ¡°You¡¯re supposed to be on your knees, boy,¡± The Duke of Raoz noted, all serious and approached him, sword in hand. Fuck me, Glen thought horrified. What did I do wrong? Luthos hairy arsehole, ye set me up ye piece of shit of a god! ¡°Kneel boy!¡± The Duke thundered and came to stand above him, as he collapsed on his shaking knees. Jig is up, Glen thought despaired, ye done fucked up like an idiot. ¡°Here¡¯s my blade,¡± Gideon said solemnly, the sword looming over Glen¡¯s head huge and too fucking sharp. ¡°You¡¯re are supposed to repeat them words,¡± The Duke growled, looking at him like Death¡¯s incarnate. ¡°Cry about it later.¡± Wait¡­ way, wait a plaugin¡¯ minute here! No way. ¡°Here¡¯s my blade,¡± Glen said with a small voice. ¡°Louder god darn it!¡± ¡°HERE¡¯S MY BLADE!¡± Glen droned, as loud as he could, not completely sure what the hells was going on, but deliriously happy he hadn¡¯t been decapitated just yet. ¡°Bless it and it shall cut through rock,¡± The Duke said. ¡°BLESS IT AND IT SHALL CUT THROUGH ROCK?¡± What in the holiest slovenly fuck? ¡°Here¡¯s my heart,¡± Gideon said and lifted his blade from his left shoulder and moved it to his right. ¡°HERE¡¯S MY HEART!¡± Glen roared, teeth gnarling in a manic half-smile, half-camouflaged cry of deliverance, having figured out what was going on at last. ¡°Take it and it shall fight to its last beat.¡± ¡°TAKE IT AND IT SHALL FIGHT TO ITS LAST BEAT!¡± Yeah! Haha, oh my god, I¡¯m gonna faint. Don¡¯t for fuck¡¯s sake, hold on! The Duke moved the flat of his blade on his left shoulder again. ¡°Here¡¯s my soul.¡± ¡°HERE¡¯S MY SOUL!¡± ¡°Offer it in battle and it shall be forever free,¡± Gideon said, hint of a smile on his mouth. ¡°OFFER IT IN BATTLE AND IT SHALL BE FOREVER FREE!¡± Glen yelled, as loud as he could, his voice carrying inside the large hall and escaping outside, through the large open floor to ceiling window. The Duke put one of his fingers in his mouth, bit at a crude squarish ring he had on and pulled it out with his teeth, keeping the blade on his shoulder. He made his left hand into a fist, the ring in it and looked at him all serious. ¡°I Grand Duke Gideon of Raoz, with the power bestowed upon my person, by High King Antoon, witness this. Gods witness this. Arise, Sir Glenavon Reeves, second of your name, Lord of Altarin, a sacred Knight of Raoz, and of the Three Kingdoms. May you serve Tyeus, until your last breath,¡± He said ceremoniously and lifted the blade off his shoulder slowly. ¡°This is yours,¡± The Duke of Raoz said, and opening his fist dropped the ring into Glen¡¯s shaking hands. ¡°I was anointed over forty years ago to Tyeus, apologies, if you favor another deity.¡± Glen stared at the warrior priest depicted on the large ring, still in complete shock. Gideon shook his head and walked towards his goblet of wine. ¡°You better stand up soon son,¡± The Duke said hint of razz in his voice. ¡°Your aunt wants an audience,¡± There was a gleam in his eye now, a little unexpected. Satisfied perhaps? ¡°I wager she¡¯s dying to talk with you,¡± Gideon added cryptically and poured himself another cup of wine. 109. Fluffy things, bring the worst of luck
Jinx Fluffy things, bring the worst of luck
The little fox blinked, pink tongue hanging out of its mouth, ears moving front and back trying to catch that elusive sound that spelled trouble. Its tail, lush and fluffy, arching at the middle, the hairs on it raised and a brilliant red, catching the light from the large disk coming up on the sky. Spring wasn¡¯t over yet, but the days smelled of summer. They spoke of hunt and sex, of fun and danger. The thread connecting them all, a lively excitement. Gish adored the warmer weather. The way nature mellowed and opened up, bringing joy to all things and also trouble, in all packages. The fox was right. Although those darn things always brought her the worst of luck. Ayup, Jinx thought, jumping from the large branch and landing on her feet, making no sound at all. Almost. The small animal twisted its neck around and stared at the curled up girl. Snorted once and then turned its canine head towards the west and deeper into the forest. ¡°What have ye got there girl?¡± ¡®Pretty¡¯ Jinx whispered and followed in the fox¡¯s tail, as it zig-zagged from bush to bush and from one fallen trunk to the next. The woods covering most of Altarin¡¯s valley reached the base of Northwall¡¯s mountain range, and followed it along towards Yeriden. While thick and old, there were paths through the forest, but not enough for an army to cross, unless it cut a road through the trees, or had local help. At least that¡¯s what people thought. As all things, it wasn¡¯t something tested, but more of a belief, strong enough to turn into reality. Then reality comes along, Jinx mused, seeing the numerous recently cut stubs the little fox had found. ¡°Makes people, look right stupid.¡± She put a hand on a stub, looked for moisture and found none. The wood felt harsh and dried up, where the axe had cut it. Old, she thought. At least a month. Jinx looked to the north where the slowly reclaimed by the forest avenue stood and then turned to stare south, where that new road was leading. In another month, the forest would have covered everything, leaving no trace but rotten stubs. No felled trunks, Jinx noticed walking towards the opening. What did you do, wit all that wood Prince? The little fox hissed, standing right behind her. It had circled around to surprise Jinx, but now as the Gish stood up straight, to return the small predator¡¯s stare, the red fox reconsidered the whole thing and whined softly in an attempt to ask for a truce. It was a terrible plan, but luckily for the fox, Whisper wasn¡¯t out hunting. ¡°Yeah,¡± Jinx agreed and gave it a wink, pink curl covering her eyebrow. ¡°I¡¯ve done stupid things too, sister. Move along now.¡±
¡°Are you sure?¡± Crafton asked three days later, while showing Liko the letters. ¡°He might have headed northwest to find the rest of the Khan¡¯s army.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I want to check the woods again, Crafton,¡± Jinx repeated, casually smacking away Alix¡¯s paw from her right arse cheek. ¡°See if they cut towards Rida or are they going further up.¡± ¡°There¡¯s the road to Rida,¡± Zola pointed with a finger, as if Whisper was blind. ¡°It goes straight there, fine cobblestone, two carts wide¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯m aware,¡± She hissed. ¡°If he was heading to Rida Jinx, we would have seen them already,¡± Zola explained with a sigh. ¡°So just relax a bit. What happened in Altarin wasn¡¯t your fault, no one is hunting us. We¡¯re out¡­ of the woods. No need to get right back in them, asking for trouble.¡± ¡°What do you think Soren?¡± Jinx asked with a grimace, not wanting Zola¡¯s lecture. ¡°About the woods?¡± The Northman asked, looking confused. ¡°About the whereabouts of the Cofols,¡± Jinx elucidated patiently. ¡°Haven¡¯t seen one, since the Fort,¡± Soren replied. ¡°If they catch us in the open, we¡¯re dead,¡± Jinx insisted, looking at them. ¡°We have to know, and it¡¯s open country and fields from here on.¡± ¡°The land dries up, cruel Goddess,¡± Alix informed her. ¡°But it is indeed, mostly flat.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve traveled this part?¡± ¡°On business alas,¡± The male Gish replied and gave her a lewd wink. ¡°But not all hope, is lost, lissome Divinity.¡± There ye go, she thought. This isn¡¯t a company, but a circus troupe that can¡¯t find a coin to save its life! ¡°One scouting mission to our west flank, and if nothing is there, we ride hard for Rida,¡± Jinx announced, looking at all of them for support. She got nothing of the sort, as even Alix was skeptical, except for Liko that is, who stood up and yelled something ineligible, raising his fist, which was in a sense rather cute, but completely useless. So Captain Jinx, had to pull rank.
The trees were thinning out the closer one got to Rida, the ground ever-slopping towards the road and the Shallow Sea, further to the east. Jinx turned her eyes to the south, were the mighty Yeriden split the land in two unequal parts. Only the mist clouds, appearing heavy on the distant horizon, revealing the still unseen river. Grunting annoyed, she glanced towards the road, where Crafton waited, small Liko standing next to him. Liko raised a hand to greet her from afar and Jinx snorted. ¡°Satisfied?¡± Zola said, sounding bored out of her tits and Whisper Jinx rolled her eyes, having had enough of her bitchy attitude. ¡°You know, girlfriend,¡± She said and heard a branch snapping to her right. Whisper twisted around alarmed, caught out of the corner of her eye Alix going for his shortsword and spotted the two Cofol scouts coming out of a bunch of taller bushes, the nearest two trees, now at least five meters apart. The scouts saw them as well, slanted eyes opening as wide as it was possible and went for their bows. Jinx was mirroring their movements, less than twenty meters away, while walking sideways to get away from her horse and draw their fire away from her friends. ¡°TAKE COVER!¡± Zola screamed. The three of them fired, almost a second apart. Jinx released first, her arrow nailing the closest scout under the armpit and then dived for the ground, landing on her right shoulder, her hand gathered to her chest, in order to protect her bow. The Gish rolled nimbly, the scouts¡¯ arrows missing her completely and nocked a fresh one -in one fluid motion- when she stopped. This time Jinx aimed for the Cofol scout that was still standing. The other one had collapsed to the ground, left leg still caught at the stirrup.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! The remaining scout flinched on his saddle, pulling at the horse¡¯s reins hard and Jinx missed, her shot flying wild. Man and horse swung around and bolted for the bushes, his earlier dodge more an effort to get away. ¡°Damnit!¡± Jinx cursed and rushed to her own mount. She jumped on the saddle, landing harder than she¡¯d preferred and hurting her loins. ¡°I¡¯m going after him!¡± Jinx informed the others with a grimace of pain. ¡°WHISPER!¡± Alix yelled at her back, as she burst forward after the scout. Through the tall bushes she went, the small branches rapping at her legs and the scout opening the distance with each second. Up the slopping, soft ground. Jinx cursed and grinded her teeth, when the man twisted on the saddle, holding on with his thighs and spotting her following him, raised his bow and fired an arrow her way. ¡°Ye fuckin¡¯ cunt!¡± Jinx cursed and cut hard to the right, her horse snorting frustrated and a low tree branch almost taking her head clean off. She ducked under it, teeth cutting her tongue that started bleeding. The trees started coming closer again, the path narrowing and shrubbery hiding one trap after another. Then just as fast as the forest had surrounded her, it opened up again, hundreds of felled trees creating a small castle¡¯s lawn, seeded with protruding stubs. Jinx jumped the horse over a nasty one and then pulled hard at the reins to make it stop. About fifty meters away, what looked like a heavy-laden cart, quickly disappeared into the thickening forest, just across the artificial opening she¡¯d found herself into. A couple of riders had stayed behind, probably waiting for the two scouts, one of them a shining Cataphract that wore that freakish mask on his face. The scout that had led Jinx there, started yelling to warn them about her and the Cataphract stood up on his saddle and turned to stare at Jinx. This sucks bad girl. Stay where ye are, Jinx urged him and turned her horse around, twisting her neck to keep him in her field of view. The Cofol Knight reached for his saddle-bags and pulled a crossbow out, he then proceeded to load shrewdly. God darn it, Jinx cursed inwardly and kicked her legs to get her horse moving. The animal snorted and neighed unhappy, but moved at last and Jinx clicked her tongue to push it to go faster. Through the stubs again, her heart beating wild and the edge of the opening closing in with each passing second. One. Two. Three. Jinx swung her head around and saw the Cataphract starting hard after her, but never saw the bolt that had landed a second before that. She heard her horse protesting weakly first, not five seconds later, and just as they broke through to the thickest part of the woods, its pained neigh turned into a gurgle. And hot blood, sprayed her in the face. Then she knew. Oh, for fuck¡¯s sake!
Whisper Jinx found herself tumbling down through the thick bushes, after she¡¯d flew briefly yet again. One tumble and she saw a rattlesnake coiling an inch from her face, Jinx¡¯s head pointing towards the ground as she flew over it, both her legs directed to the heavens. Another and she ripped her leather pants, left leg tearing away completely, her hands flailing mad to stop the momentum. A tree trunk did, hard and soft at places, wet and smelling of mold and fox droppings. Jinx spat down, mud and blood stuck in her teeth and looked about her dazed. ¡°Whoa,¡± She said, not believing she hadn¡¯t broken anything important. Jinx made to get up and look for her bow, almost going right back down again, her feet rubbery. She tried to puke, but failed and when she looked back up again -tears in her eyes- a black stallion showed her his large teeth, froth covering its mouth. ¡°I know you,¡± The smiling metal mask spat, the man wearing it standing tall atop the stallion. ¡°You were at Hellfort.¡± Jinx stood up herself, looking tiny in front of the large horse and smacked her thighs to clean some of the mud and rotten leaves off. In the process Whisper smacked her naked thigh so hard, she flinched. ¡°It wasn¡¯t me,¡± Jinx said, with a pained grin. ¡°I¡¯ll never forget your face,¡± The Cofol told her in common. ¡°You killed Terkan.¡± Run, her brain advised. Where? ¡°Twas an accident,¡± Jinx admitted with a sigh and glanced behind her back. ¡°Are you gonna run, ye pink wench?¡± The Cataphract asked, sounding very angry, much as Whisper understood him and she did. Run that is.
Never let a Gish run away from you in a forest. Or a city with many turns and alleys. They are fast, nimble and can turn on a dime. Now which Gish had sprouted these nonsense, Jinx didn¡¯t know, as she turned right hard a minute later, jumped over a thorny bush that scratched her naked leg something fierce and bumped her shoulder on a sturdy tree trunk, almost going down. She glanced back, saw the Cataphract always hot on her tail, nasty saber in hand and hissed in frustration. Jinx burst out of the thick part of the woods, not really wanting to, but she couldn¡¯t exactly find her bearings with the large horse breathing down her neck. The moment she stepped on clearer ground, Jinx dashed for the biggest tree she could find, aiming to hide behind it, or something. The horse snorted, too close for comfort and she heard it charging behind her, as the open ground favored it more. This sucks so bad, Jinx whined and looked back again, the Cataphract coming at her, like an avalanche, man and horse covered in mail and probably weighing a ton. She wasn¡¯t going to make it to the tree. Oh, crap! Jinx felt the horse¡¯s stinking breath on her neck and dashed in total panic to the left, away from the Cofol knight¡¯s weapon. Scraped her knee bad, as she rolled, catching a glimpse of the horse stopping and turning hard, hooves sliding in the grass and neighing incensed at the near miss. ¡°There are no more trees to hide,¡± The Cataphract noted, breathing hard. ¡°Yield and I¡¯ll sell you as slave. After I¡¯ve had my fill with you.¡± Jinx stood up and puffed her cheeks out. Her knee hurt badly. ¡°Ye promise?¡± She asked. The man pushed his horse closer and loomed large over her. ¡°I¡¯ve never had a Gish. Yer kind is nigh impossible to catch.¡± Jinx released the breath she was holding and smiled a cat¡¯s smile. She¡¯d seen Zola appear from the thick part of the forest. They¡¯d probably followed her, missed her trail and had circled back towards the road. ¡°It should¡¯ve told ye somethin¡¯,¡± Whisper said coyly. ¡°Huh?¡± The man grunted and twisted his torso to his right, either because he¡¯d caught something in Whisper¡¯s expression, or his horse warned him. The bolt Zola had fired, missed his broad back and struck him right at his plate-covered elbow, bounced off of it, as luck would have it and almost skewered Jinx¡¯s neck, missing her for a hair. Jinx flinched and cursed at the same time -a much delayed reaction- while the man let out a groan of pain and swung his horse around hard, right hand daggling useless. He¡¯d lost his sword. Move, Whisper urged herself and jumped towards him, Soren charging towards them atop his horse, but still too far away. The Cataphract sensed her coming and stooped to backhand her, but missed, Jinx reaching him in a brief second and stabbing him at the thigh. Her short blade stuck on the mail shirt initially, but as she put her weight on it, slipped without causing serious damage and struck the saddle¡¯s gullet, turning in her hand and dropping between the horses legs. Oh, fuck me in the arse! Jinx whined, just before the returning reinforced gauntlet, caught the side of her jaw and sent an almost senseless Whisper crashing down.
Sheesh, a mule would¡¯ve packed less of a punch wit a fuckin¡¯ kick, Jinx thought, a tooth loose in her mouth, jaw bent the wrong way and bleeding from a couple of places simultaneously. She tried to move, legs and hands all over the place, gulping down blood and bits of either grit, or broken teeth. The Cataphract glanced at the coming Northman and snorted, not impressed. He reached at the saddle and unsheathed another sword, this one a longsword, then turned his warhorse, with another glance her way. ¡°Hey, cunth!¡± Jinx yelled at him, raising her bloodied head, tongue swollen and her jaw moving funny, just as he was ready to gallop away. ¡°Ye cock suckher!¡± The Cataphract clicked his tongue to start his horse forward, but turned his head again her way, just as the animal started moving. Soren was no more than twenty meters away now and closing, but since he was carrying a battleaxe, perhaps the Cofol didn¡¯t really consider him a serious threat. Or it was Jinx¡¯s jeer that had struck a nerve. ¡°I¡¯ll see you again Gish,¡± The Cataphract said ominously and then Zola¡¯s bolt went right through his helm, like a long nail on a plank, with a clanging sound that hurt Jinx¡¯s ears. The armoured warrior slid down from his saddle slowly, losing his grip on that Lorian type longsword he held and collapsed on a heap on the ground. The warhorse walked a couple of meters on its own, then came to a stop and started grazing. ¡°Nah, I don¡¯t think ye will,¡± Jinx retorted with difficulty and let her head rest back down. She then tried to spit whatever it was clogging her mouth, but whatever Whisper sent up, came right back down and made the mess on her face worse. Just before Jinx slipped into unconsciousness, she thought of that fox again. Damn fluffy things, always brought her bad luck. Aww, but they are so god darn cute!
110. The soft Spring of War -Leopard at the Gates- (1/3)
Glen The soft Spring of War -Leopard at the Gates- Part I (The indulgence of noble folk)
Lady Isla Reeves was tall for a woman, but elegant. If you had to describe her with one word, that would have been it. She¡¯d her long dark brown hair caught in a loose bun and wore a beautiful red-gown with gold details at its bell-shaped sleeves, with a black satin bodice over it, modestly open at the front to showcase the swelling of her breasts. She turned to look at him, when he entered this smaller chamber. The long table at the middle hinting this was used for official dinners and it wasn¡¯t her private quarters, while the two large windows on the south wall, offered another angle at the city of Rida from above. Isla Reeves resembled her grandfather only in the eyes and her chin, her rotund face pleasant and unblemished, with a straight nose complementing her high girlish cheeks. Glen guessed she was around twenty-five, almost a decade younger than his ¡®father¡¯. ¡°Do approach, dear Lord Reeves,¡± Lady Isla said, in a refined feminine voice. Rather agreeable to his ears. ¡°Unless you wish to forgo with the etiquette, in which case, you¡¯ll have to call me Isla,¡± She kept her amber eyes on him, as he walked to her a bit awkwardly and still rattled after his meeting with Duke Gideon. ¡°Lady Isla,¡± Glen said with a small bow of the head. His best of the day no less, and he almost patted himself on the back for that. ¡°Gratitude. I¡¯ve grown up away from the court.¡± ¡°You have, but other than these dreadful clothes, I wouldn¡¯t have guessed it,¡± She replied, left side of her mouth rising in a half-smile. Glen frowned, these being his best and only set of clothing he owned. Only set of armor and boots. Whatever he¡¯d stolen from the corpse basically, but for the armor. Lady Isla moved, while he was distracted and reaching, placed a soft and rose-smelling palm on his right cheek, her fingers tracing the lines on his face and nose. The gesture intimate and weird, or so it appeared to him, not because Glen minded having a fine woman touching him, but because this was his ¡®aunt¡¯. He had to keep that in his mind at all times. ¡°You look nothing like Glenavon,¡± Lady Isla noted softly, examining his face with purpose. ¡°But you have the Reeves eyes,¡± She pulled her hand back. ¡°Which I suppose, gave you points with my father.¡± ¡°As do you,¡± Glen said with difficulty. Isla was well into his personal space and she made it difficult for him to keep a clear head. ¡°I don¡¯t question his decision, Lord Reeves¡ª¡± ¡°Glen, will suffice,¡± He corrected her, a little more sternly, than he¡¯d preferred to. Lady Isla flushed from her exposed long neck to her face and stepped back, a folding handheld fan in her hands, she used to cool off, while looking at him with renewed interest. ¡°Apologies,¡± Glen said quickly. ¡°My manners, need refinement.¡± ¡°Your father was like that,¡± Lady Isla replied. ¡°It¡¯s as if he stepped into you just now¡­¡± She trailed her words, eyes glassy and stared away for a moment to collect herself. ¡°It¡¯s difficult to accept, I¡¯ll never see him again. It¡¯s been a year, but it still hurts.¡± More than yer father¡¯s death? ¡°You were close then?¡± He asked instead. Lady Isla breathed once deeply and turned her eyes on the young Lord Reeves. ¡°That¡¯s a question, I can¡¯t answer in here,¡± She whispered coolly. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I understand,¡± Glen murmured taking her que, glancing about the empty room. Then again, with so many doors around them ¨Ceight in his latest count- one could never be certain, there were no eavesdroppers. Why would they spy on her though? Or perhaps it¡¯s me. ¡°Eventually, you¡¯ll hear about it, Glen,¡± Lady Isla said wryly. Ah. Whoa! ¡°I¡¯d like to meet your mother,¡± Lady Isla continued, her gaze had changed now and a strange fervor -hidden before- surfaced. ¡°Glenavon¡¯s secret wife.¡± Glen cleared his throat, too much weird signaling and obscure bits of information thrown at him all at once and after all that had transpired earlier with the Duke, the young man felt overwhelmed, as he hadn¡¯t had the time to process anything yet. ¡°She died giving birth to me,¡± He managed to say, Isla¡¯s stare on him turning uncomfortable and even her nervous fanning, holding now a different meaning. She¡¯s a fine grown woman, ye couldn¡¯t begrudge his¡­ Darn it! He cursed inwardly, stop it ye fool! Fuck is the matter wit you? ¡°Then she wasn¡¯t around,¡± Isla thought out-loud. ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s the reason he never mentioned her to me,¡± She kept her eyes on his for a moment, before adding. ¡°Or my father.¡± ¡°You can have the manor in Altarin,¡± Glen said, in an attempt to change the subject. ¡°Aww, sweet young Glen,¡± She replied with a bitter smile, folding the small fan and putting it away. ¡°I never much cared about it and I have this feeling, most of us will never make it out of Rida.¡± The last part taking Glen by surprise.
Marcus fought to keep up with him as he dashed down the stairs of the Pyramid, his many attempts at initiating a conversation shut down by Glen, with mostly grunts, followed by ¡®later¡¯. The official at the base stopped him and waited patiently for him to catch his breath. Glen was covered in sweat and probably smelled like unwashed feet, but the man kept everything professional. ¡°The Duke has some quarters, readied for you, my Lord,¡± The well-groomed man in uniform announced. ¡°Well, I¡¯m grateful,¡± Glen replied and smacked his lips, mouth dry and tasting of wine. ¡°But I have a wife staying at an inn, near the harbor. I wish to see her.¡± ¡°The Lord is married,¡± The official droned, cataloguing the detail for later. ¡°And tired,¡± Glen said, fighting to keep it civil.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°The rooms will be available, in your return, Lord Reeves,¡± The man relented and stepped out of their way.
¡°Lad, ye have to tell me what happened,¡± Marcus implored him, on their long return trip to ¡®The King¡¯s Fortune¡¯. The fact they had to drag their horses on foot after a while -due to the amount of traffic in the busy streets- not helping. ¡°The Duke knighted me,¡± Glen said, stopping at a market stall to catch his breath. ¡°He did? Well, that¡¯s great news,¡± Marcus replied, not sounding too enthusiastic, while looking him up and down. ¡°What?¡± Glen snapped, not likening the scrutiny. ¡°Why did he do it?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Marcus shrugged his broad shoulders. ¡°Thinking on the reason for it.¡± ¡°He felt bad, about the old man¡¯s murder, I suppose,¡± Glen pushed a thick lock of hair off his face. He needed a haircut and a shave. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s not how it¡¯s done normally,¡± Marcus insisted. ¡°He didn¡¯t know you. Rushing to knight you seems¡­¡± ¡°Suspicious?¡± Glen added, since the ex-Decanus didn¡¯t finish his thought, a frown marring his scarred face. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know, lad.¡± ¡°You just hinted at it,¡± Glen insisted. ¡°Nah, just thought it weird is all.¡± Glen puffed his cheeks out and then pushed the air to the front, in order to balloon the upper side of his mouth, turning into a frog-like creature. Marcus gave him the time to think looking away, by now well-versed in Glen¡¯s peculiar facial expressions, when in contemplating mode. ¡°I think my father was sleeping with my aunt,¡± The young man finally said, after letting all the air go. Marcus did a double take. ¡°Milord? Surely ye don¡¯t mean his sister?¡± ¡°Half-sister,¡± Glen said, looking around them, but while seven out of ten people close by, were sneaky as all hells and probably crooks, no one stood out enough. Yet. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ well, noble folk tend to mix it up wit themselves,¡± Marcus supposed and Glen raised a brow. ¡°Ever heard the saying, ¡®keep it in the family¡¯?¡± Glen hadn¡¯t. He¡¯d heard another though. If ye wanna lose yer purse, spend time in the market. ¡°Anyway,¡± The young knight continued. ¡°We need to get moving, Marcus. There are at least four people fixin¡¯ to rob us blind, closing in from all sides.¡± Marcus looked around, a frown on his face. ¡°How can ye tell, lad?¡± He asked perturbed and Glen responded nonchalantly, with a smug shrug. ¡°Tis a family secret.¡±
Sen-Iv looked like an oasis in the desert. Fine-smelling and fresh out of the still scented water of her bath barrel, her long black hair curling and her wet chemise giving him a fantastic view of her breasts. She looked even more attractive without her makeup on, also her face was off and as a matter of fact, Glen had thought he¡¯d entered the wrong room, for a brief moment. ¡°Glen,¡± Sen whispered, stepping back to allow him entry. ¡°You¡­ are smelling, something awful.¡± Yep, that¡¯s her, Glen decided and burst in, leaving muddy prints on the floor. ¡°Ye always answer yer door like that?¡± Glen griped and went to seat on their bed, Sen-Iv moving faster than a leopard cutting him off and shoving him towards the barrel. ¡°What are ye doing woman?¡± He protested, turning around to glare at her. ¡°Punish me, if you wish, but dear husband you need a bath,¡± Sen replied, standing her ground. ¡°I¡¯m not gonna¡­¡± Glen groaned in frustration. ¡°I spent half a day walking, in order to get here.¡± ¡°What happened to your horse?¡± Sen-Iv asked, while untying his breeches. ¡°Well, there was too much traffic. It was either walk, or run people over,¡± Glen explained, looking at her taking his sword and dagger. She went and placed them on the floor, along with his shirt. ¡°Most Lords, wouldn¡¯t think twice about it,¡± Sen commented, with a smile and tried to push his leather pants down. ¡°Are these fused¡­ they won¡¯t budge.¡± ¡°Yeah, Zola gave them to me,¡± Glen said, looking at her efforts with interest. Mostly her fleshy tits moving under her thin chemise. ¡°Zola is¡­ a friend?¡± Sen-Iv asked, stepping back, her tone indifferent. ¡°Yeah. She¡¯s wit the Gallant Dogs,¡± Glen explained, frowning as he remembered his missing friends. ¡°I hope they made it out safe.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t get them off,¡± Sen said troubled. ¡°How do you do it?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± Glen explained. ¡°Haven¡¯t removed them since.¡± Sen nodded and glanced at the bath barrel. ¡°What?¡± Glen asked. ¡°I need to change into dry clothes, can you manage it? Or should I call on the girls?¡± She explained. ¡°To do what?¡± Glen queried narrowing his eyes. ¡°Help you bathe, dear,¡± Sen-Iv replied without batting an eyelash. Glen blushed. ¡°I need no help, woman!¡± ¡°That¡¯s nice,¡± Sen said, unperturbed to his outburst. ¡°This is a very small bath for three people.¡± It took Glen a full minute to realize what his Cofol wife meant.
¡°WHO IS IT?¡± Glen barked at the third annoying knock, submerged up to his neck into the lukewarm soapy water, his eyes glued on a naked Sen, sitting cross-legged on the bed across from him and slowly plucking invisible hairs off her right shin, with a bejeweled silver tweezer. ¡°It¡¯s Stiles, milord.¡± ¡°What do you want?¡± He snapped, livid at the interruption. ¡°There¡¯s some commotion to the streets, milord.¡± ¡°So what?¡± Glen asked, as Sen-Iv gave him a side glance and went to work on her other leg. He¡¯d more important stuff to do, than dealing with whatever it was that had Stiles rattled. ¡°Can I come in, milord?¡± Stiles probed. ¡°It¡¯s not looking good.¡± ¡°I¡¯m taking a bath, you fool!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll throw something on,¡± Sen-Iv informed him and stood up. No, damnit! ¡°Milord?¡± Stiles was heard perturbed. Luthos balls caught in a bear trap! ¡°Come in, ye fiend!¡± Glen relented with a growl, gulping down some of the bath water that had started smelling rather bad and tasted even worse.
¡°Milord,¡± Stiles glanced at the cloaked Sen and then at him, still relaxing in his barrel. Glen wasn¡¯t going to get out, until his toes started freezing. This was a fantastic activity, he¡¯d never thought of trying in the past. At least to this level. Not that he could, seeing he¡¯d rarely stayed in a room, before this year. ¡°Are you well?¡± Huh? ¡°Stiles, people of my station,¡± Glen started, assuming a haughty look. ¡°Clean up themselves after a journey and don¡¯t walk about covered in shit. Isn¡¯t that right, Sen?¡± ¡°My master is correct,¡± She replied in her whispery voice. Stiles dumbfounded expression showed his ignorance of finer etiquette. ¡°It¡¯s alright, don¡¯t worry about it. You can use the barrel, after I¡¯m done,¡± Glen said, now in a generous mood. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°Ahm, there¡¯s¡­ word on the streets,¡± Stiles mumbled, snapping out of it. ¡°People are rioting.¡± ¡°Why are they¡­ what¡¯s the word?¡± Glen asked and tried to stand up, his feet sliding on the sludge at the bottom of the barrel and failing. ¡°Marcus went to find out, milord,¡± Stiles explained. ¡°I¡¯ll be down in a minute,¡± Glen said with a sigh. Well, the next minute was spend in an awkward silence, until Glen finally broke it. ¡°Come over here and help me get out of the barrel, Stiles.¡±
111. The soft Spring of War -Leopard at the Gates- (2/3)
Glen The soft Spring of War -Leopard at the Gates- Part II (A lord¡¯s posting)
On the last month of Spring 189 NC, the Khan¡¯s main force poured out of the mountain valleys and followed Yeriden¡¯s first tributary all the way into the fertile Rida plains, where two of the mighty river¡¯s branches merged. The second, or mid-tributary, split again six kilometers to the south, creating a thin lush and green strip of land that Prince Sahand Radpour, who¡¯d just arrived from Desert Lake and the military center of Yin Xiyan to take charge of the main army, didn¡¯t much favor as a spot. The Third tributary traveled southwest back to its sources and was met -about halfway there- with yet another even smaller river, coming from Queen¡¯s Oasis, parallel to Khan¡¯s Lament Peaks. The Prince Heir, thinking that crossing two rivers and a smaller third one -in order to bypass the sturdy Threeriver Bridge and hit Rida from the south- was neither practical, nor wise, opted for a direct approach. His first order though was a ¡®reconnaissance in force¡¯, a scouting mission down this roundabout route, while he waited for the slow-moving massive army to set up a permanent camp. The scouting force, around five hundred men strong, reached Threeriver Bridge early the next morning and either because they hadn¡¯t understood their orders, or wanting the glory of taking a more famous landmark, attacked the Raoz¡¯s force that guarded the bridge. The scouts routed the small force and half of them crossed over in pursuit of the Duke¡¯s fleeing men. The other half, finally came to their senses, realized they were in the wrong place and decided to follow their original plan, heading five kilometers to the south in search for smaller river docks and crossing spots. This force butchered everyone they came across without mercy, -mainly civilians, merchants and even whole families, as they couldn¡¯t per orders take slaves- secured every raft available and went over the mid-tributary. Without delay the riders reached the third tributary later that day, attacked the private docks of the Dato family, killed everyone there too and crossed to the other side, entering the main Rida plains, directly behind Lilyana Fort. The small scouting force ¨Cnow completely exhausted, men and beasts barely standing upright- reached the Fort itself very late that evening, hoping for a quick victory that would have potentially allowed them to reunite, with their friends holding the Threeriver Bridge. As luck would have it, the situation had changed since the early morning hours dramatically. It is written in military records of the time that Joep Van Durren, Lord of Batum and commander of High King¡¯s First Foot, was informed that Cofols had taken the bridge while inspecting his troops around six in the morning. Other accounts say that Lord Joep was sleeping, or in the midst of a rich breakfast, when Sir Henry Winfield, the Duke¡¯s son and commander of Raoz¡¯s army, entered his tent and insulted him for his lethargy. The two men almost came to blows, calmer heads preventing an embarrassing duel and the insulted Lord Joep agreed to assist the livid Sir Henry, who in the meantime had reacted to the sight of his men running for their lives abandoning the bridge, sending all his heavy cavalry to charge at the Cofol scouts and retake it whatever the cost. Sir Henry left to join the rest of his waking up and gathering army, leaving Lord Joep to get his own larger force moving. Birds were sent to Duke Gideon and Rida immediately and the Duke learning of the early morning¡¯s events ordered Lord Joep to keep a part of his force back as reserve and wait for further instructions. Lord Joep, now fully awake, ordered his firstborn Sir Robert Van Durren to reposition closer to the Lilyana Fort with half his force and led the rest after Sir Henry. The Duke¡¯s son arrived at the Threeriver Bridge well before noon that first day, with the rest of Raoz¡¯s army in tow ¨Caround three thousand men-at-arms, with sellswords mixed in- and found out that his heavy cavalry ¨Cnumbering around four hundred- had already smashed through the Cofol scouts, killing most of them and retaken the bridge. Sir Henry went over the river and sent a scouting force of his own to learn of the Khan¡¯s army position. When the scouts came back, he learned the Prince was in the process of building a war camp and that while part of his supply train was there, much of his force wasn¡¯t. The young knight seeing his opportunity, ordered his army to prepare for battle, which they did eagerly and then force-marched them on the Cofol¡¯s still under construction camp, without waiting for Lord Joep to arrive, with his own more substantial force. He did sent a missive to him though to cover his flanks, as there was word that a part of the Prince¡¯s raiders had headed southwest following the mid-tributary. In a day of chaotic rushed decisions and dodgy planning, Sir Henry¡¯s boldness almost won a fifteen year war in a day. The soldiers of Raoz force-marched across the plains reached the Prince¡¯s camp in the late afternoon and attacked without delay, despite the men being on their last legs. The Cofols themselves tired from the long journey across the desert and the climb over the mountains were slow to react. Their slaves and workers hard at work to build the camp did though. They run for their lives abandoning equipment, supplies and other valuables behind. Their panic caused a huge uproar, increased tenfold by the soldiers of Raoz entering the big camp. Big is an understatement, for the Khan¡¯s army¡¯s camp was massive in size. Well over three kilometers in length and three or four wide in the most conservative estimates ¨Csources claim as high as twice that number- it sprawled like a small city before the forest. Sir Henry¡¯s men fueled by pride and righteousness managed to burn about a third of it and cause huge casualties to the slow moving and unready Cofols. But Sir Henry¡¯s force was weary from having traveled a huge distance to fight an hour before dawn and slowly it lost steam. The men stopped moving forward and as more and more Cofols entered the fight coming from all sides, Sir Henry realized he was about to be trapped and lose everything. He ordered a general retreat and the men obliged orderly, managing to clear the burning parts of the camp and reach the open plains an hour later. Sir Henry marched his men further away to avoid a Cofol retaliating attack and ordered them to prepare a hastily-built night camp. Lord Joep reached that camp and found the tired but intact force of Sir Henry, early the other morning, bringing with him two thousand five hundred spears, a thousand men-at-arms and eight hundred cavalry. A force of four thousand and three hundred men. This potent force, plus Sir Henry¡¯s men, a combined total of seven thousand seven hundred men, was what a livid Prince Sahand encountered, when he charged his five thousand strong cavalry across the plains, before the sun had even come up fully on the sky, an hour later. The Prince was beside himself with rage, as during Sir Henry¡¯s initial attack, his spouse Lady Lenar, then commonly celebrated as the Moon of Dan, had almost gotten herself killed amidst the chaos. The Cofol cavalry crashed on the spears of the First Foot without hesitation -Lord Joep had them positioned at the tip of his army¡¯s formation- and almost broke through. They might have even succeeded in the second attempt, as they retreated with heavy casualties and prepared to charge again the decimated row of soldiers, but Sir Henry -leading the High King¡¯s heavy cavalry- counter-charged them from their left side and caused mayhem to their ranks. The Prince perceiving the catastrophe unfolding and with most of his army still behind him in the valley, or not yet out of the forest, sent his mounted-archers wing to delay and harass the High King¡¯s men, while ordering the rest of his force to fall back towards their still smoking camp. Sir Henry seeing blood, went after the horse archers and fleeing remnants of the Prince¡¯s medium cavalry, unwittingly dragging with him almost all of Raoz¡¯s riders. In the chaotic pursuit the Duke¡¯s son managed to lose two men for every archer he killed. Realizing the Cofols attrition-based strategy, a worrying for his flanks Lord Joep ¨C the Threeriver Bridge now kilometers behind him- rode in front of the soldiers ranks and raised his sword high, ordering a general attack. Like a colony of giant ants the soldiers moved forward at a slow trot after the retreating Cofols and Sir Henry. Reached the site of the camp again, just as Sir Henry -his force decimated and injured at the thigh- was fighting for his life surrounded by circling mounted archers and Cofol soldiers on foot carrying long spears. Lord Joep led the charge on foot himself, running beside his men, through the smoking, or burning tents, the blackened corpses and still moaning injured men and women. The battle in the Cofol camp lasted well-over an hour and the Cofols had to retreat yet again, this time abandoning the burning camp completely. They run to the forest and Lord Joep, now in total control of both armies, since Sir Henry had collapsed earlier, ordered his men to stop the pursuit and retreat. It was a wise decision, as the bulk of the Khan¡¯s army -his vaunted heavy Cataphracts and scythed chariots included- would arrive at the burning camp two hours later. Lord Joep didn¡¯t know that, nor had any way to guess the real size of Prince Sahand¡¯s army. He retreated in good order, although his own men were exhausted beyond the point of no return, towards their night camp at first and then, after a brief stop there, he decided to embrace the Duke¡¯s original defense plan, and put the river and the bridge between him and the Khan¡¯s army. Lord Joep had reinforced Sir Henry that day, stopped the Prince¡¯s attack and then won a great battle, saving whatever was left from their cavalry and Sir Henry. Alas the last part of his plan, while logical and perfectly sound, would undone all that he had managed, later that second day.
A woman was running after a man holding a bucket with apples, a manic smile on his face, another had collapsed against a wall, her dress torn, left breast bleeding from a cut and beyond her, three men were punching each other incensed, over the ownership of a goat. The rest of the crowd was as disorderly, people running, or rushing about mindlessly, animals laden with supplies led by families towards the city¡¯s gates, stalls turned over and produce spilt in the streets. Everyone was screaming, as if doom was descending upon them, their cries of despair contagious and nerve-wrecking. Glen was stunned at what he was seeing unfolding. While contemplating whether he should retreat back to his room and lock the door, Marcus reached him, his hand bleeding at the knuckles. ¡°What in Luthos arse, is goin¡¯ on?¡± Glen asked him, moving aside to let a mule go past him. ¡°There¡¯s word the Cofols took the bridge,¡± Marcus explained, wiping his bloody fist on his leather pants. ¡°That happened yesterday,¡± Glen explained, shaking his head. ¡°The Duke¡¯s men took it back. These retards have lost it, good grief!¡± ¡°They are at it again,¡± Marcus insisted. ¡°A guard confirmed it, at the harbor¡¯s gates.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve gone there?¡± ¡°Aye.¡± ¡°Are there ships in the port?¡± Glen probed, thinking ahead. ¡°Some freighters mostly and some lighter merchant ones. Why?¡± Marcus asked. ¡°Well,¡± Glen started and spotted six guards walking their way, delivering a heavy-handed justice to anyone nearing them. Even those that behaved civilly. ¡°I was thinking¡­¡± The guards, a mustachioed sergeant-at-arms leading them, stopped before them and stared his way with intent. ¡°¡­we should relocate,¡± Glen continued, the eyes of the sergeant following his words, waiting for him to finish. ¡°Yes!¡± He barked, letting his ire show. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°Lord Reeves?¡± The sergeant inquired formally and Glen panicked for a moment thinking he was about to be arrested and thrown in the dudgeons. ¡°I¡¯m him,¡± Glen croaked, sweating profusely. The sergeant pulled a scroll out of a satchel he carried and offered it to a frowning Glen. ¡°My Lord, these are the Duke¡¯s orders,¡± The sergeant announced energetically and loud enough for everyone to hear. Glen pressed his lips into a thin line and snatched the scroll from him. He unfurled the small vellum after breaking the wax seal, making quite the show of it, the sweat running down his neck ruining his performance somewhat and checked the neatly written script for a moment. He¡¯d absolutely no idea what was written in it, the script too calligraphic and with too many unknown words to make sense of. ¡°Right,¡± He said smacking his lips and glared at the sergeant. ¡°Anything else?¡± ¡°No, my Lord,¡± The man replied and saluted. Glen sighed and stared at Marcus, but the ex-Decanus kept his eyes straight, watching the unruly crowd pleading to the gods for assistance. The atmosphere chaotic. Glen sighed and then noticed the Sergeant was still standing at attention, waiting for his orders. Good luck wit that, he thought.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. ¡°What are your orders sergeant?¡± He asked him, absent anything shrewder. Thankfully it worked. ¡°Escort you to Yeriden¡¯s Bridge, my Lord,¡± The sergeant replied. ¡°I believe it¡¯s written in the Duke¡¯s order.¡± ¡°Of course it is!¡± Glen snapped at him. ¡°I was checkin¡¯ to see, if yer up to date, sergeant!¡± ¡°Apologies, my Lord,¡± The reprimanded officer replied, a little red in the face. ¡°Right then,¡± Glen said again and stared at Marcus for help. The hale man shrugged his shoulders offering little assistance to a frustrated ¡®Lord Reeves¡¯. ¡°Ahm, I will follow yer lead, sergeant.¡±
That¡¯s just bloody great, Glen thought, as they cut through the panicked crowd, what has gotten into the Duke, ordering me around? Well, the Duke could order him around, obviously, but Glen had hoped to slip through the cracks sort of speak, escape any duties the old fool might had for him. It took them an hour almost to reach the banks of Yeriden, the gates of the harbor on their right and the large street leading to the mist covered massive bridge, relatively free of civilians. There was a large contingent of guards posted there though, two carriages barring the approach to the mouth of the bridge for everyone. ¡°Stop right there!¡± One of the guards barked, as he could barely see them, the mist heavy and slow to lift that day. ¡°The bridge is closed.¡± ¡°It¡¯s sergeant Ottis, with the Lord of Altarin. Sir Glenavon Reeves,¡± The sergeant announced and the guards perked up at that, all ten of them standing up. ¡°He¡¯ll be taking over.¡± He turned towards a frowning Glen and made a sign with his hand the way was open. ¡°If your lordship, would like to say a few words,¡± Sergeant Ottis said, looking at him knowingly. ¡°It would help the lads.¡± Glen sucked air through his nose hard and held it, while pretending to stare at the gathered around him guards. He slowly turned red in the face, eyes ogled outwards, as try as he did, nothing of substance came to mind. ¡°Men,¡± Lord Reeves finally said, slowly letting the breath he held out. ¡°We shan¡¯t be ruled by panic.¡± The guards nodded along agreeing with him, for whatever reason and feeling emboldened, he added. ¡°Proceed as if it¡¯s just another day. Now, I¡¯d like to see the bridge.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll walk you to the mid-point gates, Lord Reeves,¡± Ottis volunteered with a sharp salute. ¡°That was pretty inspiring words there, lad,¡± Marcus noted, as they walked slowly on the stone-tiled roadway, the parapets right and left more than two large carriages apart. This was a big bridge, Glen thought and tried to see the river below, but failed as the mist was still too thick. ¡°It¡¯s a twenty meter drop, my Lord,¡± The sergeant explained and Glen pulled back from the stone rail panicked. ¡°Better ye keep your distance.¡± ¡°Why, thank you sergeant Ottis,¡± Glen replied, a little pale in the face. ¡°Is the mid-point far?¡± ¡°Another three hundred meters, my Lord,¡± The sergeant replied casually. Get the fuck out, Glen thought impressed and more than a little scared. Has anyone¡­ ever, repaired this thing?
The mid-point gates incorporated a barbican, built like an enormous pier, straight up from a small islet spouting out of Yeriden. Its base made of solid rock-blocks and reaching thirty meters in height and ending in a tower, eight meters above the roadway and the parapets. The opening left at its middle almost four meters wide, a five meter roofed corridor from gate to gate. The outer massive portcullis made of thick, heavy iron bars and its sturdy grille could barely fit a grown man¡¯s head in. The inner one, was similar in size, but appeared newer. Both were closed, but Glen could see through the slits the six meter in length drawbridge raised and barring entry from anyone approaching from Altarin. Attacking through the Yeriden¡¯s Bridge is indeed a right suicide, Glen decided, more than a little relieved at the assignment. ¡°What¡¯s the number of guards posted here?¡± Glen asked, the well-mannered sergeant. ¡°Normally fifty, Lord Reeves,¡± Ottis replied. ¡°In five shifts, so it¡¯s a comfortable posting.¡± ¡°Call me Glen,¡± Glen urged him, forgetting himself, mostly because he kind of liked the young man. Ottis, a Lorian with a groomed light-brown mustache, and clever eyes, seemed to be in his mid-twenties. Ottis blinked, taken aback. ¡°Sir Glenavon,¡± He stumbled through his words. ¡°You honor me sire.¡± Ah, well¡­ Glen puffed his cheeks out, unsure what to say. ¡°How many are posted now?¡± Marcus intervened, to help him work through his issues. Ottis turned to him. ¡°That would be thirty, not counting myself and you, Sir Marcus,¡± He¡¯d wisely left Glen outside the fighting force. ¡°I ain¡¯t no knight, lad,¡± Marcus corrected him, in his usual directness and Ottis even blushed a little this time. ¡°Hey, was a Decanus in the Legion,¡± Marcus added, to help him out. ¡°I shall keep it, in mind,¡± Ottis replied and with a brisk salute, he left them to examine the guards posted inside the small barbican. ¡°I don¡¯t like the look of things, lad,¡± Marcus commented, the moment Ottis was out of earshot. ¡°Well, a simple posting seems a small price to pay,¡± Glen replied, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, his worn out boots very uncomfortable after a while. ¡°I¡¯ll need new clothes and shoes. New armor,¡± He told Marcus and the ex-Decanus snorted. ¡°You don¡¯t agree, Marcus?¡± Glen queried. ¡°Ye¡¯ll have to pay to get new things, lad,¡± The hale man explained, with another grimace. ¡°So it¡¯s not whether I agree, or not, but more if yer willin¡¯ to part wit yer coin.¡±
The main branch of Yeriden kept increasing in size and width, as it calmly flowed through the fertile soft-soiled basin, gathering water due to the way Raoz¡¯s sloped ground had formed, reaching well over six hundred meters near Rida -where the bridge was built ages ago- and over a kilometer and a half at its delta, where it poured into the Shallow Sea. While you could navigate it with river boats, flat-bottom ships and even barques, the banks were difficult to build upon, due to the softness of the soil. Coming from Altarin, one should follow the large road leading to the old Imperial Bridge and most merchants and caravans went for that route. Another way was to travel from Altarinport, take advantage of the usually peaceful sea and then sail up the delta, until you reached Rida¡¯s large harbor. It was faster and more expensive, but a good number of people picked it. The westernmost part of Altarin¡¯s plains was dominated by the big Redwood Forest. Perhaps the largest in Raoz, it followed the mountain range until it almost touched Yeriden. Almost, because the closer one came to the mighty river, the softer the soil became. The large Redwood trees -some reaching as much as fifty meters in height- couldn¡¯t support themselves and toppled over, even if they somehow managed to sprout near it. The forest thinned and eventually disappeared completely, a lush noisy vegetation taking its place. A huge marsh in reality, locals just called ¡®the marshes¡¯ in plural, was an untamed, snake-ridden and usually unapproachable wilderness, a patch of land bordering most of Yeriden¡¯s First Tributary and about five hundred meters of the mighty river himself. The mud poured into the river at that spot, marshy waters and loose soil mixing up, just beyond the spot where the three tributaries converged, but on the opposite bank. While it was close enough to the bridge to cause some concern, the land on the other bank wasn¡¯t as bad and one could easily spot someone trying to attempt a crossing there and laugh as the fool slowly sunk into the deep boggy mud, a sopping quicksand trap, big enough to swallow a whole army and eat through metal. The deleterious marshes invasion of Yeriden at that spot, stopped about fifteen, or twenty meters from the opposite bank, the thick, gluey, black corrosive sludge, slowly washed away by the clear water, coming down from the mountains. The locals had named that particular protrusion, Esterlams Crevice. Prince Nout, an ardent student and scientist since a very young age, knew all this, as did most of the other Khanate strategists. So when he had proposed his plan to a stunned war-council, he was almost laughed out of the room. The Khan though, now unsure about his apparent Heir¡¯s loyalties, paid attention to his younger son. He gave his permission, but a very small force, for such an undertaking. Prince Nout, a pragmatist with a sharp mind, didn¡¯t balk at the challenge. He took the meagre force of a hundred Cataphracts and around two thousand horse-archers and left immediately for Xuski Fort at the edges of the Khanate steppe, where he spent a whole year preparing an army based on the Lorian Legion¡¯s, city on the move doctrine, with a huge emphasis on engineers and crafters. He brought all those with him, five hundred engineers in total and over three thousand slaves as workforce, a thousand carts and four thousand animals, stripping the large barricaded city almost bare. After he broke through Hellfort¡¯s Pass and destroyed Hellfort, he managed to rebuild the bridge across Teid River in five days, putting his highly skilled workforce to the test. The Prince then headed straight into the Redwood Forest, cutting down a straight and narrow road, working his men with such brutality that by the time he reached Yeriden three months later, more than half of his workers were dead. Knowing his flanks were secure, as Altarin appeared paralyzed after the death of both Lord Reeves and his successor, Prince Nout set about utilizing the massive quantities of fine redwood he¡¯d gathered creating raft-like platforms, men working diligently night and day and after one point even most of his riders lending a hand. Simple constructions, three meters wide and ten meters in length ¡®Nout¡¯s Platforms¡¯ numbered in the hundreds by the time the young Prince got the message that the Khan¡¯s main army had started pouring out of the mountain valleys and into the forests, between the tributaries. Prince Nout¡¯s army broke out of the woods, it had remained hidden for that last part of their journey and entered the marshes the next day. They set about creating another road, this time over the boggy terrain. Three days later they had reached Esterlams Crevice and half his army was sick and dying. Knowing he¡¯d one chance only to make it work, Prince Nout asked his brother to create a diversion and give him the chance to use his rafts to cross that last part of the river. Whether the message reached Prince Sahand, or not, it is still disputed, with some even suggesting Prince Nout took a guess and got lucky. Whatever the case may be and whether Luthos was involved, or not, the Gold Leopard, now covered in putrid mud and with boils all over his body, came out of the misty river and attacked Lord Joep¡¯s guards like an evil spirit. Retaking the bridge allowed him to cross over and manage a surprise assault -very late in the night- on the exhausted force Lord Joep had saved earlier and almost delivered to safety. In the battle that followed, fought in the dark, with torches and oil lamps used as both weapons and tools, Prince Nout almost gotten himself killed twice, but managed to fight the High King¡¯s stunned army to a standstill, as they had no idea, who, or in what force had attacked them. When the light returned, Prince Nout¡¯s men gathered around him and were barely a thousand. A pitiful force Lord Joep, while badly battered and having lost countless soldiers during the night fight, could overcome had he attacked immediately. He didn¡¯t, trying instead to dress up the ranks, raise morale and secure mounts ¨Cthe High King¡¯s army lacked severely in that department after the previous two days of fighting- in order to create a flanking cavalry force. While Lord Joep was busy with all that, the Khan¡¯s main army appeared in front of the still smoking Cofol camp. Rows upon rows of warhorses. Five thousand infantry, eight thousand archers, three thousand horse-archers, a thousand and three hundred medium cavalry, a thousand gleaming masked Cataphracts and three hundred scythed chariots drawn by four horses each. Eighteen thousand and six hundred men, were much more than what Lord Joep had hoped to face that day. It is said that when the first mass volley of arrows was released, it blocked out the sun.
It was a difficult day and an even worse night, not because the military cot Glen was offered was bad in any way, but because it wasn¡¯t easy to relax, or enjoy a good shuteye, when you have a young beautiful wife at walking distance, yet too far to touch. Also the sounds of a city worrying of what the morrow would bring and all the looting that had exploded during the night, didn¡¯t help at all. Being away from Sen-Iv though, weighted more in Glen¡¯s mind. If one had to measure it to a hundred, perhaps ninety to ten in favor of the Cofol woman. When the news of Lord Joep¡¯s defeat reached the city, chaos ensued. Those that had opted to stay behind the walls, now questioning the soundness of that decision. Duke Gideon ordered the gates closed and guards posted on the walls, but didn¡¯t sent for Glen, probably still shocked and mourning for his son. Everyone had hang their hopes on the younger Van Durren, Sir Robert and the rest of his First Foot, who was either near the cut off Lilyana Fort, or rushing towards the city. The whole plan, the Duke had hatched, had collapsed within three days and even the Second Foot¡¯s arrival next month, now seemed impossibly late. ¡°What¡¯s the commotion?¡± Glen asked, getting up from the hay mattress. Marcus handed him a cup of water. ¡°A guard spotted people coming from the bridge,¡± Marcus explained, while he slurped greedily at the cool liquid. Fuck. ¡°More Cofols?¡± Glen asked and tried to find his dagger. He spotted it on the table and went to pick it up. ¡°Too far to tell, but everyone is jumpy.¡± ¡°Aye. Any news from the front?¡± Glen asked, following him outside the small room, the Barbican¡¯s inner corridors narrow and the ceiling low, making the trip outside claustrophobic. ¡°We¡¯re losing,¡± Marcus commented. Down the narrow stairs they went, the tiles slippery, everything around them soaked and wet. The walls, the floors and even the roadway. The morning mist thick, but quickly breaking, as a light breeze blew luckily, just as Glen and Marcus exited the tower and walked towards the morning guard posted at the narrow space over the gates. The young Lord walked to the edge of the battlements and put his hands on the crenel to look over the raised drawbridge. ¡°I don¡¯t see anything!¡± He yelled at the guard and the young man offered him quickly a slim metallic spyglass, made of bronze. Glen put it in his eye clumsily, almost blinding himself and flinching, switched to the other eye, leaving the hurt one, now tearing up, slowly come around on its own. ¡°Well?¡± Marcus asked, hint of a smile on his mouth. Glen wiped the tears off with the back of his hand and sighed. ¡°I can¡¯t¡­ I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Here, let me have a look, milord,¡± Marcus asked politely. ¡°You know what? I think I see something,¡± Glen said, looking again through the narrow field of view, now realizing he had to lower it from the sky and point it to a spot he wanted enhanced. Suddenly a giant horse¡¯s head appeared in front of him and he almost dropped the spyglass over the parapet. He checked again more carefully and the dark grey of the roadway was replaced by a fuchsia red, so bright it hurt his eyes. What in Luthos hairy arse? Glen looked again, caught sight of a horse¡¯s ear too large to be naught but an illusion, then what looked like a giant long beard and there it was that red again, but it was a striking pink now, he¡¯d never mistake for anything else. Oh, good lord. ¡°What happened?¡± Marcus asked, seeing him shaking uncontrollably, incredibly excited. ¡°Lower the drawbridge!¡± Glen ordered the guard, ignoring the ex-Legion man. ¡°Lord Reeves, we have orders¡ª¡± But Glen stopped him unsheathing his sword. ¡°Drop the plaguin¡¯ drawbridge!¡± He barked at the ogling guard, beside himself. ¡°Lad, put that down, have ye lost yer mind?¡± Marcus grunted, his jaw contorting in disbelief. Glen turned and stared at him, big grin on his face. ¡°Pretty is here, Marcus.¡± ¡°Who?¡± Marcus asked, standing back. Are ye serious? ¡°Jinx,¡± Glen explained patiently, shoving the stunned guard towards the gate mechanism. ¡°That Gish? Back in Hellfort?¡± ¡°Ah, yes,¡± Marcus at last got it and then narrowed his eyes. ¡°How is she here?¡± ¡°Who the fuck cares?¡± Glen retorted, the last part coming out a bit like a squeal and started down the stairs leading to the bridge¡¯s deck, clearing them two and three at a time. Thankfully for him and those tied to his fate, our young thief didn¡¯t break his head, when he tripped and fell down the final eight of them and there was a closed door to bar him from tumbling out of the building, over the adjoining stone rail and squashing like a bug onto the rocky islet underneath. Luthos had his hands full that morning.
112. The soft Spring of War -Leopard at the Gates- (3/3)
Glen The soft Spring of War -Leopard at the Gates- Part III (The one fool that checks all the boxes)
Glen watched extremely nervous at first, as the large drawbridge was lowered slowly. The thick chains rattling and creaking ominously, but though rattled himself had Glen managed to push everything away and keep his wits about him a moment later. The drawbridge came down with a bang, connecting the two parts of the ancient bridge again. Five figures came out of the mist and walked over the drawbridge to reach the mid-point gates. Five figures and six horses. Glen exhaled, his fists clenched tight, Marcus staring with that permanent frown of his and most of the guards behind him confused and on high alert. There¡¯s Soren, Glen noticed, when the small group and animals approached them and stopped a couple of meters away, seeing the armed men waiting for them. Lovely Zola and young Liko. Crafton, him he didn¡¯t much care for, but still a familiar face. Jinx wore a black cloak on, dark light-armor underneath, instead of light brown one and her hair were combed back and greased with oil. What in hallowed slovenly fuck, is goin¡¯ on here? Whisper had pink fur on her face. The starts of a beard. ¡°Who the fuck are you?¡± Glen asked, pointing with a finger, the guards behind him reaching for their weapons with a collective gasp. ¡°Alix Walker,¡± The male version of Jinx replied, opening his arms like a snake-oil salesman. ¡°At yer service, me handsome Lord.¡± Huh? ¡°Wait,¡± Zola said awed. ¡°Is this¡­¡± ¡°HAHA!¡± That was Soren, throwing his head back and letting it rip. ¡°THAT¡¯S SMALL GLEN! WIT A BIT OF BEARD!¡± Glen glared at the big dumb Northman -barely standing upright through his uncontainable mirth- while touching his unshaven face unwittingly. ¡°I¡¯m not small you idiot!¡± And that¡¯s a pretty good growth for my age. His words amusing the red-bearded Northman even more. ¡°GLEN!¡± Liko cried out deliriously happy and rushed to jump on him. Glen pulled back, but the boy grabbed his arms and started rattling him back and forth. ¡°I told you, he wasn¡¯t dead!¡± He yelled at the others and turning to him, added through a big grin. ¡°I knew ye¡¯ll get out, Glen.¡± Glen ruffled the boy¡¯s hair with a smile of his own, after he managed to reclaim his arms. ¡°Thanks, buddy.¡± ¡°Good seeing, ye milord,¡± Crafton added, sounding a little moved. Then again the old motherfucker is an excellent liar. ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Zola said diplomatically, glancing at the nervous crowd behind the young Lord Reeves. ¡°The Lord of Altarin, in the flesh.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± Glen said to the soldiers, turning around. ¡°These are my friends. I vouch for them. Let them through.¡±
¡°What¡¯s wrong with Jinx?¡± Glen asked, staring at the propped up on the saddle unresponsive female. ¡°She took a hit,¡± Crafton said. ¡°Been out for a couple of days.¡± ¡°I should find a Dottore,¡± Glen murmured, very worried. ¡°What happened to her face?¡± ¡°The lissome Goddess will be alright, gallant Lord,¡± Alix told him standing uncomfortably close. Glen turned and glared at him. ¡°Who are you again?¡± ¡°Alix Walker¡ª¡± Glen raised his hand to stop him. ¡°First. Back the fuck away! More. Another step. There,¡± He turned to Crafton. ¡°What¡¯s the story?¡± ¡°Jinx brought him in for a mission,¡± The old Northman explained, with a sign there was more to it, he¡¯d tell him privately. ¡°She knows the where ¡®n what¡¯s about him. I try to keep away and so should you.¡± Right. ¡°Okay,¡± Glen said and turned to the expecting sergeant Ottis. ¡°Sergeant, these people were with me at Hellfort. I aim to debrief them, but you¡¯ll have to hold the fort for me. Can I trust you to do that Sergeant Ottis?¡± Ottis stood up straighter. ¡°Aye, Sir Glenavon!¡± Glen nodded, barely holding a surprised yelp in, as he didn¡¯t expect the sharp salute. ¡°I will return to ¡®The King¡¯s Fortune¡¯ inn, sergeant. Anything happens, ye¡¯ll find me there. You are henceforth my liaison here. Any questions?¡± ¡°None, sire.¡± Well, there it is, Glen thought, I¡¯m getting pretty good at this ruling thing. Ye basically have to order people around, sounding serious and offer a good word here and there.
¡°Did I hear it right, Glen?¡± Zola asked him on the way back to the inn, through the streets of Rida. The crowds had dispersed, but you could see some of them walking about with fear in their eyes. ¡°It¡¯s Sir Glenavon now?¡± ¡°SIR GLEN!¡± Liko bellowed, scaring a couple of them even more. Glen glanced at the bountiful Issir woman. Zola¡¯s face had hardened since the last time he¡¯d seen her back at Hellfort. ¡°The Duke knighted me a couple of days back. Ahm, where¡¯s Dante Zola? And the others?¡± ¡°Dante was killed,¡± Zola sighed and stared away from him for a while. Glen frowned and looked at Liko prancing beside him, chest pushed out and grinning like a maniac. He returned his eyes on Zola. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I really liked him,¡± Glen said. ¡°Yeah,¡± Zola gasped and Soren walking next to her, put a large hand on her shoulder to comfort her. ¡°We lost Pale as well, during the retreat.¡± ¡°I had to bring the bridge down,¡± Soren took over from her. ¡°Victor didn¡¯t make it over in time.¡± Good grief, Glen thought. That¡¯s pretty depressing news. It was hard to believe those people were dead. It seemed too sudden. ¡°What about Sir Emerson?¡± ¡°Nobody has seen him, Glen. Not since we last saw ye both at the Fort,¡± Soren said. ¡°You think he got out?¡± Glen asked hopefully. ¡°Can¡¯t see how,¡± Crafton walking behind them said. ¡°Unless he used yer way lad.¡± Nah, he hadn¡¯t, Glen thought and felt a weight dropping on his shoulders.
Pat, the inn¡¯s owner, glanced over his round glasses as they entered the dinner area. Recognizing Glen, he went back to his reading and the young Lord took over. ¡°Okay guys, grab those tables and put them together,¡± Glen ordered them. ¡°Everyone, take a seat and pour yourselves a drink on me!¡± ¡°That¡¯s more like it,¡± Soren said and found himself a seat, next to Zola. ¡°Stiles,¡± Glen said, seeing the drowsy man getting out of his first floor room. ¡°Aye, Milord,¡± Stiles looked miserable for some reason. ¡°We¡¯ll put Jinx in yer room,¡± Glen said and went to help Marcus carry the unresponsive girl inside. Marcus grunted insulted and carried her himself with relative ease, inside Stiles room. ¡°Milord,¡± Stiles asked. ¡°We don¡¯t have the rooms to¡ª¡± ¡°Oh, for fuck¡¯s sake man,¡± Glen stopped him and reaching he got a gold coin out of his bursting new purse. ¡°Rent us a couple of more.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe two rooms will cover¡ª¡± Stiles insisted, but he stopped him again, this time raising a palm, fingers closed tight. Glen got another gold coin out. ¡°Get two more.¡± ¡°Right away, milord,¡± Stiles finally agreed, with a pretentious bow. Glen hobbled to where the others had seated and collapsed on a chair himself. Walking from the bridge to the inn, had taken them over an hour on half-empty streets. His feet were killing him. ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re alive, Glen,¡± Zola said and the warmth in her voice was touching. Glen cleared his throat and stared at his friends for a long moment. ¡°It¡¯s good seeing ye all again,¡± He finally said, in a rare truthful admission. ¡°I thought ye had an open road to that bridge, what the hells happened?¡± ¡°The Cofols caught up with us,¡± Zola replied, pushing a loose thin braid over her ear. ¡°Dante decided to die a hero¡­ I guess he did.¡± Glen stared at the row of bronze goblets on their table. ¡°Patt!¡± He barked loudly. ¡°Aye, Lord Reeves?¡± Came the owner¡¯s bored reply. ¡°Bring us a bottle of good wine,¡± Glen ordered him. With the coin he was throwing his way, Glen expected way better service at his venue. ¡°Well, my lord¡­ I¡¯ve common local wine and a bottle of Flauegran,¡± Patt said unsure. ¡°Fine, bring that!¡± Glen urged him, who¡¯d no knowledge of labels and brands to bother. ¡°Of course, my Lord.¡± ¡°Hahaha!¡± Soren guffawed delighted at the prospect of finer wine. Even Liko started banging on the table with enthusiasm and Glen had to calm everyone down. ¡°Is that Glen?¡± Jinx said, in a weak voice. Glen whipped his head around and there she was, covered in a sheet, the unruly pink mess on her head reaching her shoulders now, shorter than he remembered her and¡­ ¡°What the fuck happened to yer face?¡± Glen asked getting up from his chair. ¡°Smashed a gauntlet wit it,¡± Jinx replied, her cheek and jaw swollen and a dark mauve color. ¡°Damnit Pretty,¡± Glen said, her flippancy as stupid as always, but she¡¯d covered the distance between them and hugged him tight in the meantime -quick as ever- pressing her face on his neck, most of that pink hair teasing his nose. ¡°Thought a fool like ye wouldn¡¯t make it. But couldn¡¯t get myself to accept it,¡± She whispered and Glen hugged her back a little awkwardly, but deeply moved. ¡°Yeah, twas a close call,¡± He murmured. ¡°It¡¯s nice seeing ye again.¡± ¡°Mmm,¡± Whisper hummed. ¡°Ye smell really nice. Yer clothes stink, but yer not.¡± ¡°Well,¡± Glen said blushing. ¡°I might¡¯ve used a bath barrel.¡± Jinx pulled back and stared in his eyes hypnotically. ¡°Where did ye get lavender oil ¡®n cardamom seeds?¡± ¡°Ahm,¡± Glen had no idea what those where. Jinx stumbled back and he caught her arm to stabilize her. ¡°Are you okay?¡± ¡°A bit rattled,¡± Whisper replied and Alix was next to her the next moment, slipping a nibble hand around her waist to pull her way. ¡°Injured Divinity, must rest,¡± The male Gish said and guided Jinx to a chair. Glen stopped him before he could sit next to her. ¡°Take yer bloody hands off her!¡± Alix pretended ignorance. ¡°Lord Reeves?¡± ¡°Find another chair,¡± Glen warned him, then shoving him out of the way, sat down next to a pale and extra swollen Jinx. ¡°This look bad,¡± He noted, with a grimace. ¡°I couldn¡¯t let him go,¡± Jinx replied, staring at her dirty hands. ¡°He killed Victor.¡± Glen drew a deep breath and stared at everyone hanging their heads saddened. ¡°Okay, listen up. We will find a way out of the city, first chance we get. You should rest here for a bit and then¡ª¡± ¡°Oh, MY GODS!¡± Liko screamed and jumped on the table, sending cups flying everywhere and almost toppling the thing over. Glen put a hand on the moving table and glared at the gawking little thief. ¡°Fuck is the matter wit ye!¡± He scolded him and Liko pointed a finger behind him towards the second floor stairs. ¡°There¡¯s a dwarf over there!¡± Blinked once and after checking again, he added twice as astounded. ¡°TWO O¡¯ THEM!¡± Oh, boy.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.
¡°Sit down ye fool!¡± Glen ordered him, standing up. He waited for Fikumin to approach them, Norec following looking extremely sad per usual. Fikumin stopped a couple of meters from their table and Soren got up, because he couldn¡¯t see anything, but the arm the dwarf raised in his standard greeting. ¡°Right, this is Fikumin¡­ ahm something,¡± Glen made the introductions. "And Norec, his friend.¡± ¡°Wow,¡± Jinx murmured, looking at them. ¡°Knew about ye, is that yer lover?¡± ¡°He is definitely not,¡± Fikumin replied, deeply affronted. ¡°Is that yours?¡± Jinx blinked. ¡°Of course not!¡± ¡°Yet!¡± Alix intervened. ¡°But there¡¯s a spark there, my sturdy friend,¡± Adding, his voice lowering an octave. ¡°Ever growing.¡± Huh? ¡°No, there¡¯s not!¡± Jinx argued blood rushing to her face and Glen glared at the male Gish. ¡°What did I say?¡± He asked him, while Jinx and Fikumin tried to solve their problem throwing different insults to each other. Liko in the meantime, had walked next to the dwarf and after measuring his height to his, grinned, then stood with his chest puffed out and stared at him mockingly. ¡°No touching, Lord Reeves,¡± Alix replied, with a shifty grin. Ah, this fellow is too sneaky, Glen thought. ¡°And none o¡¯ that,¡± Glen added, looking at him warningly.
¡°So the dwarfs, helped me travel through the mountain,¡± Glen finished telling his story, on how he escaped from Hellfort. The bottle of Flauegran, helping everyone calm down. The fruity rich aroma of the wine, coupled with its sweetness, making it the best wine Glen had ever tasted. ¡°You said, ye were injured,¡± Crafton noted. ¡°It happened right after we talked,¡± Glen said looking at Whisper. ¡°I was ambushed inside the barracks by Larn.¡± ¡°I never trusted him,¡± Jinx said. ¡°He is a Zilan,¡± Glen said and stared at Marcus, sitting on another table with Stiles but listening in. ¡°Like our Lith.¡± ¡°It makes sense,¡± Whisper said, using a long pink tongue to taste her wine. ¡°She knew about him.¡± Glen frowned. ¡°I don¡¯t believe she did. Larn tricked her.¡± ¡°Pfft,¡± Jinx tried to make a face, but pain prevented her. ¡°Lord Reeves is correct,¡± Fikumin intervened, getting everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°I heard Larn lying to her about your injury. Stopped her from healing you outright.¡± ¡°How could she heal him outright?¡± Marcus asked. ¡°Even accepting she was a Zilan?¡± The dwarf stared at Glen for a long moment, before replying. ¡°With magic.¡± There was a murmur, as everyone recoiled at that. Well, almost everyone. Glen didn¡¯t for starters move a muscle. Jinx couldn¡¯t, even if she¡¯d have wanted to and Liko had just found it super interesting and stared with his mouth hanging open. Alix narrowed his eyes, but said nothing. All others, but mostly Marcus appeared rattled. ¡°Lad, you knew about her and brought her at the Fort,¡± He said, anger in his voice. Glen sighed and got up, paused as the wine had gone straight to his brain and he felt wobbly, then stared at the hale soldier. ¡°Lith will never hurt me, or any of my friends, Marcus,¡± He said. ¡°She had her chance and didn¡¯t do it. Saved me instead, isn¡¯t that right, Whisper?¡± ¡°Yep, give this man a cookie,¡± Jinx jested. ¡°That bounty hunter did,¡± Marcus insisted, unwilling to let go. ¡°He wasn¡¯t a bounty hunter,¡± Glen said. What¡¯s your secret boy? Larn had asked. ¡°I believe he is an assassin. And not some poorly paid ruffian from the docks. Not him. His skills were beyond the normal. I believe, Larn is the same villain that had killed my grandfather and perhaps even my father. Zestari worked for him.¡± The silence was suffocating, with everyone contemplating his revelations. ¡°You think the guild is involved?¡± Alix probed carefully, breaking the eerie quietness. ¡°What do you know of the guild?¡± Glen asked him, curious about it himself. ¡°What guild?¡± Soren asked, rather confused, licking his lips and Zola placed her dark-skinned small hand on his larger one. A very intimate gesture, Glen noticed. ¡°The Silent Servants,¡± Alix said. ¡°Are they assassins?¡± Liko asked, as much scared, as awed. The male Gish, glanced at Whisper and she shrugged her shoulders, leaving it to him to say as much as he believed prudent. ¡°They are,¡± Alix replied finally and reaching in an inside pocket got a square piece of parchment out. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Glen asked. ¡°This? Just a piece of parchment,¡± Alix explained and showed it to them. ¡°In order to order a hit on someone, ye have to know a servant¡¯s name. To know a name, Ora¡¯s must be favorable and allow ye to see it.¡± ¡°See it where?¡± Glen asked, although he¡¯d figured that part out. ¡°On a piece of paper, or in your mind,¡± Alix replied. ¡°How do you know all those things?¡± Fikumin asked him. ¡°Norec suspected it, when I told him about the Zilan, but you Gish¡­ how do ye know, um?¡± ¡°Shifty is in the Thieves Guild,¡± Jinx said and returned his hurt stare. ¡°What? Oh, they were goin¡¯ to find out eventually, ye shit for brains. Plus you¡¯re a member of the Gallant Dogs now.¡± Wait¡­ what? ¡°He is?¡± Glen asked, a little surprised and very mad. ¡°Are ye serious? A fuckin¡¯ thief!¡± Liko got up from his chair, walked to where he was sitting and stopping in front of Glen, placed a large square badge in front of him. Glen turned it around and frowned seeing the clear depiction of the dog standing, a large cock dangling between its hind legs that should have belonged to a horse, or a donkey. ¡°The fuck am I looking at?¡± He asked them confused. ¡°Every member of the Gallant Dogs, gets a badge, Glen,¡± Liko explained to him and showed him his, tied with a cord from his neck. Glen licked his lips and turned the badge this way and that feeling it. ¡°Is this gold?¡± He asked Pretty and she frowned, as if she didn¡¯t understand the question. ¡°Where did ye found it Whisper?¡± ¡°I made them,¡± Jinx replied defensively and raised her knees on the chair to hug them. Haha, Glen chuckled, as if anyone will ever believe that! Checking about him though, it seemed everyone did. Luthos plucked the god darn cat! ¡°Where did ye find the gold?¡± He asked, suspicion creeping in him and fear. ¡°Wait, you mean¡­ does everyone,¡± He yelled, getting up livid. ¡°Does everyone have one of those?¡± ¡°Aye,¡± Most of them said. Are ye freakin¡¯ kiddin¡¯ me? ¡°Fine, everyone with one, raise yer bloody hand!¡± Glen growled. ¡°Just one hand will suffice, Liko!¡± The large number of hands still depressing as all hells, even when the boy lowered one of his.
¡°How could you do this?¡± Glen yelled at Jinx and she curled up even more, turning into a ball almost, which made him feel guilty and then he realized the others were looking at him all strange, even disapprovingly. So Glen stopped, cleared his throat a couple of times, assumed a mellower expression and turned to the round thing that was Jinx. ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± He said with difficulty, the words painful. ¡°Really?¡± Whisper said, perking up. Glen sighed and noticed the atmosphere in the room had relaxed a bit. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s¡­ just gold, Pretty,¡± Gods I¡¯m dying inside, Glen thought, but I have to be the bigger person here. Plus she¡¯s injured and looking very down at the moment. Furthermore the others seem to favor a more generous approach. So plenty of reasons. ¡°We have three more,¡± Jinx said, behind a pink curtain of hair. How she had managed to fit her whole body on that small chair, Glen didn¡¯t know. But it was pretty extraordinary. The fact that she had given the equivalent of forty gold Eagles, to create a lewd piece of jewelry -a detail Glen wanted to never have to remember again, or being reminded of- was on the other hand, completely ludicrous. ¡°Okay, we will give Marcus one,¡± Glen said. Stiles kept looking at him in the hopes to get one also, but he wasn¡¯t going to fall for such a cheap trick. ¡°Ahm, the Captain must decide, who will join, Glen,¡± Jinx said. ¡°No offence, Marcus.¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t accepted yet,¡± The hale man deadpanned. ¡°My job is to take care of Lord Reeves, not play the mercenary.¡± ¡°Who is the captain?¡± Glen asked and the Gallant Dogs looked at Whisper. ¡°Seriously?¡± ¡°Why?¡± Jinx argued, perking up. Glen shook his head. ¡°Nothing.¡± ¡°Well, it must be something,¡± Whisper said, raising her head and narrowing her eyes. ¡°I¡¯m going to hire you,¡± Glen told her and she relaxed a bit. ¡°Well, we are kind of busy,¡± Jinx said after a thoughtful moment, probably playing difficult to get. ¡°We are?¡± Soren cut in surprised, vindicating his suspicion. Although Soren, rarely understands what is happening. So there¡¯s that. ¡°We have that thing,¡± Whisper explained interrupting his thought process, looking at the Northman knowingly. Huh? ¡°What thing?¡± Glen asked, not likening being left out. ¡°It¡¯s a Gallant Dogs thing, milord,¡± Soren explained and Glen almost rolled his eyes. He smashed the badge Liko had given him on the table. ¡°That was¡­ honorary,¡± Jinx explained without batting an eyelash, making it up as she went along obviously. ¡°Ye are not part of the¡­ core decision making¡­ process.¡± ¡°Yer just made that up, Whisper!¡± Glen blasted her. She pouted, riding through the pain to get her message across. ¡°No, I didn¡¯t.¡± Glen had to almost respect that. Almost. ¡°Yes, ye bloody well did. I could literary, hear yer fuckin¡¯ thoughts!¡± Nobody talked for a long moment, almost everyone waiting for them to reach some kind of an agreement. Fikumin broke the stalemate, being unfamiliar with how things worked in the company. ¡°If its adventure you guys deal with, I might be able to help.¡± ¡°Really, dwarf?¡± Glen scolded him. ¡°Yer supposed to be on my corner!¡± ¡°Ahm, I believe everyone here is, Glenavon,¡± Fikumin replied simply.
¡°Here¡¯s the rest of your gold,¡± Whisper said and gave him his satchel. ¡°How many are in there?¡± Glen asked her, feeling the weight of the bag. ¡°Ye don¡¯t know?¡± Whisper asked, raising a pink eyebrow. Glen checked about them. The others were still talking with each other back at the inn¡¯s dinner. Jinx had brought the company¡¯s stuff into Stiles room. Well, what was once Stiles room, Glen supposed. ¡°Never counted them,¡± He admitted. ¡°How many do ye have on ye?¡± Jinx asked him casually. ¡°About a dozen?¡± ¡°Ye had that coat pockets filled and the old boots¡ª¡± ¡°How do you know¡­ oh, well; I spent most of it, like a fool,¡± Glen admitted. ¡°Three hundred and ninety eight,¡± Whisper said. ¡°Minus about twenty¡­ five-ish, I had to spend on projects.¡± Glen blinked. Shocked at the amount and pissed at her generosity with his coin. ¡°Each worth four Gold Eagles, Pretty,¡± He informed her and her shocked look gave him a bit of satisfaction. ¡°That piece of dried shit!¡± Jinx cursed, quite livid. ¡°Who?¡± ¡°Mother-fuckin¡¯ cunt!¡± ¡°Okay relax a bit, it¡¯s not that important,¡± Glen tried to calm her down. Jinx always had the dirtiest mouth of them all. ¡°Rat-faced cock-suckin¡¯ bastard!¡± Glen reached into his coat and got his purse out. He placed it on the bed in front of her. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Jinx said and reaching she opened it up. Tried to whistle seeing the gold inside, but failed and moaned in pain instead. ¡°Fuck!¡± Glen sighed and snatched the purse from her. ¡°I came around some gold again.¡± ¡°Seriously?¡± Jinx stared at him shocked. ¡°What is it wit you and gold coins?¡± ¡°Well, twas diamonds. I just changed them to Eagles,¡± Glen explained, rubbing the back of his head. ¡°Where in Nesande¡¯s tits did ye find diamonds?¡± Jinx asked, thoroughly astounded.
Glen knocked on the door of his room on the second floor of their inn. There was rustling from the inside, some furniture moved about, then the door cracked open and Iskay snaked out of the crack, paused seeing Jinx, a little ruffled, but quickly recovered, smiled and then bowed deeply, slammed the door closed behind her and run downstairs. ¡°Okay,¡± Whisper said. ¡°I¡¯ll pretend I didn¡¯t see that.¡± ¡°She¡¯s a¡­ servant,¡± Glen explained, still not sure how to break the news to her. ¡°Works for the hotel?¡± Jinx queried indifferently. ¡°Not really,¡± Glen said. ¡°It will make for an awkward meeting wit the manager,¡± Jinx noted. ¡°Was she any good?¡± ¡°Ahm, you see¡­ Whisper,¡± Glen started, but the door opened and he turned his head, saw Sen-Iv appear naked as the day she was born, only part of her body not oiled, her famed opal eyes. She¡¯d a mischievous smile on and her hand reached for his collar, hauled him to her and then her mouth was on the numb young thief¡¯s lips, naughty tongue teasing his, before retracting full of promises. ¡°Sweet Glen,¡± Sen-Iv whispered in a passionate voice. ¡°You left me a Lord, came back a Knight,¡± She stared in his eyes meaningfully. ¡°I think my master, needs a special reward.¡± All Glen had managed to understand was ¡®reward¡¯ and his eyes beamed. ¡°Who the fuck is she?¡± Jinx asked behind his back, then shoved him inside the room. Sen-Iv retreated glaring at the small-bodied girl and then at Glen, who was coming back down from the shock and the scare. ¡°I¡¯m gonna need a couple of minutes,¡± Glen said, raising a hand to stop both women from speaking. ¡°Sen¡­ dear. Please put some clothes on.¡± ¡°Not on my account!¡± Jinx said wryly. ¡°Are those rings hurtin¡¯ yer nipples, love?¡± Sen-Iv shook her head right and left slowly, keeping a remarkable calm face about the whole affair and went to pick up a thin cloak to throw on, leaving oiled impressions on the floor, from the door to her bed. Although, if one wants to speak truthfully, neither Glen, nor Whisper, were looking at her feet. ¡°Damn,¡± Jinx blurted out, unable to keep it in. Glen glared at her and she shrugged her shoulders. ¡°Right,¡± Glen said. ¡°Whisper this is Sen-Iv, my wife. Sen-Iv this is Whisper Jinx, a friend,¡± Finally getting to the real reason he¡¯d forgiven her for the gold earlier. ¡°A friend,¡± Sen-Iv said, returning to them, now covered up. She pulled her oiled hair back and tied them at her nappe. ¡°Nice to meet you, Lady Jinx.¡± ¡°Wait,¡± Whisper smacked her lips, her grin turning into a grimace of pain. ¡°You¡¯re serious?¡± ¡°Yeah, Whisper. I am. Can you not be childish about it?¡± Glen asked her. ¡°I¡¯m not childish, just shocked.¡± ¡°Whisper, for fuck¡¯s sake!¡± ¡°Ahm, sure,¡± Jinx replied and gave Sen-Iv her hand. ¡°Nice to meet you Sen-Iv.¡± ¡°You are a Gish,¡± Sen noticed, taking her hand a little awkwardly. ¡°I¡¯ve met some of you, in Fu De Gar.¡± Jinx smile was deleterious. ¡°No ye didn¡¯t,¡± She replied. ¡°You¡¯ve met slaves, honey. And so ye know, when it comes to the Gish, there¡¯s only one Jinx.¡± ¡°Whisper come on!¡± Glen intervened. ¡°Don¡¯t be hostile to her, for fuck¡¯s sake!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± Whisper replied. ¡°Sen wasn¡¯t insulted, were you?¡± She asked her. ¡°I wasn¡¯t,¡± Sen-Iv droned. ¡°A girl from the Peninsula. Ye can¡¯t get any more Cofol than that,¡± Whisper muttered bitterly, clicking her tongue and then she glanced at Glen. ¡°How much of a fool are ye?¡± Lord Reeves crossed his arms on his chest and returned her glare pissed. ¡°Oh, crap. Yer even more foolish than I thought!¡± ¡°And ye have shit for brains! Social creatures my arse!¡± Jinx stopped his diatribe on the Gish race. ¡°There¡¯s Cofols gunning for the city,¡± She explained to him deliberately, as if he was an idiot. ¡°People will look for someone to blame, when disaster strikes and you¡­ ye lovable fool, ye went ¡®n checked all the fucking boxes for ¡®em.¡± Glen opened his mouth to reply, but a knock on their door stopped him, not that he had anything to say. Whatever the case was though, Glen was going to throw some words out there hoping something would stick, until he figured how to fix, what Jinx had told him. Later, I will fix everything later, he decided and opened the door. Marcus narrowed his eyes seeing Glen¡¯s company, a grimace distorting the ex-legionnaire¡¯s scarred face. There is too much oil on the plaguin¡¯ floor, Glen thought. ¡°This isn¡¯t what it looks¡ª¡± ¡°Prince Sahand has just arrived at the gates, lad,¡± Marcus interrupted him, steel in his voice. ¡°They are asking for a Lord to speak wit him and the Duke ordered you to do it. Everyone else of note, is either dead, or missing in action.¡±
113. So ye don’t have to find out
Whisper Jinx So ye don¡¯t have to find out
Whisper Jinx had her face caved in almost, the rest of her head hurting and she¡¯d a boil on her arse from too much riding on a hard saddle that had just popped and stung her something fierce. The last thing she wanted was put some sense into someone like Glen, who had less sense in him than most other people, depending on the time of day, or month. Come to think of it he was like a girl, during her bleeding time. Irrational. On the other hand, she couldn¡¯t let him chop his own head off, out of whatever bullshit code the freshly minted young Knight thought he needed to serve. ¡°Can I talk wit him for a moment?¡± She asked the solemn faced, bull of a soldier that was Marcus. ¡°They are waiting for him,¡± Marcus warned her, rigid as an old board. ¡°Ye are working for him,¡± Jinx corrected it for him and the tall bully stepped back with a grimace. ¡°What is it, Whisper?¡± Glen asked her, looking properly worried at least. ¡°Ye can¡¯t go there.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have much of a choice.¡± ¡°The Cofols tried to kill you, or someone in their camp,¡± Jinx noted, looking at him thinking it through. Damn, she thought. Glen has gotten taller. What kind of bullshit is this? That patch of hair on his face is laughable though. Haha. ¡°I know that,¡± Glen replied, puffing his cheeks out troubled. ¡°I¡¯m open to ideas, Whisper.¡± Jinx glanced at the silently watching them through the open door Sen-Iv. ¡°Fuck ¡®em. Don¡¯t go,¡± She advised Glen. ¡°Let¡¯s make a run for it. We can use the bridge, head back to Altarin.¡± ¡°We¡¯re too many to escape unnoticed,¡± Glen replied and scratched his jaw nervously. ¡°It will be difficult to explain, if we¡¯re caught, Pretty.¡± They¡¯ll hang us all, was his meaning. ¡°The moment they see you, all bets are off Glen,¡± Jinx insisted. ¡°Not under a truce flag.¡± ¡°What do you hope to accomplish? Is there a plan?¡± ¡°Not really. I¡¯ll take their terms and inform the Duke.¡± ¡°Whatever deal you make, the Duke will not honor it. He¡¯ll throw ye to the wolves without a second thought, just to save face,¡± Jinx tried again and Glen exhaled, looking worn out. ¡°He¡¯s going to wait them out, stall, until the High King sends reinforcements. He needs logs to keep the fire goin¡¯. Don¡¯t be his firewood, Glen.¡± ¡°Lad, they are waiting downstairs. Set yer priorities straight,¡± Marcus grunted approaching them again. ¡°Ye know what big guy?¡± Jinx said glaring at him. ¡°Yer such a big cunt.¡± Marcus pressed his lips tight, a thick vein popping on his forehead. ¡°And you¡¯re no Lady,¡± He grunted. Huh? ¡°I need to go,¡± Glen said and grabbed Marcus¡¯ huge arm to pull him away. ¡°I couldn¡¯t care less!¡± Jinx yelled at their backs as they followed the corridor leading to the stairs. Fuck. Jinx put her hands on her waist and stared around her frustrated, caught sight of Sen-Iv watching her, behind a serene frozen face and all but bristled. ¡°Ye know what?¡± Jinx hissed, getting back inside the slippery room. The image of Sen-Iv opening the door dripping in it, flashed before her eyes and Jinx felt the blood rushing to her brain all at once. She paused, took a deep-deep breath and let it all out at once. Sen hadn¡¯t moved an inch from her position. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you stop him?¡± Jinx asked her. ¡°Seeing him there would make them want to take the city even more,¡± She sighed. ¡°They are trying to have him killed for the last year almost. They killed his father, murdered that old scumbag in Altarin and then went after him. I met him because a crazy assassin hired us to track him down. In Lazuli Peninsula of all fuckin¡¯ places. Do you get that? That¡¯s part of the Blasted Lands for many. A no go zone.¡± Sen-Iv blinked, but kept her silence. ¡°We went there and it didn¡¯t go that well, then off to Castalor, Altarin after that. Hellfort, to stop an army wit fifty soldiers, where they almost got him proper. That was a real shitshow. Lost some good friends there,¡± She stared at the striking Cofol woman. ¡°Yer gonna get him killed.¡± ¡°He¡¯s no fool,¡± Sen said, looking at her intensely. ¡°Ye don¡¯t have to be a fool to get killed.¡±The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°You assume the Duke will betray him.¡± ¡°The Duke doesn¡¯t give a rat¡¯s arse about Glen!¡± Jinx snapped at her. ¡°Wake up girl. He has bigger problems you know? Like yer kind murdering his people?¡± ¡°This is the Khan¡¯s war,¡± Sen-Iv countered. ¡°And no wife would ever let her husband march to his death, without batting an eyelash,¡± Jinx walked towards her and stopped at arm¡¯s length. ¡°But ye ain¡¯t a wife to him, aren¡¯t ye? How much did it cost that fool?¡± ¡°Very few men can buy me, Lady Jinx,¡± Sen-Iv said matter-of-factly. ¡°Glen isn¡¯t one of them.¡± ¡°How about women?¡± Jinx deadpanned. Sen rolled her eyes, a rainbow of colors in them. ¡°I have a contract with Lord Reeves,¡± She explained coolly. ¡°Some things are just above your station Gish.¡± ¡°Pfft, as if I believe that crap! What does he get out of it?¡± Jinx scoffed. ¡°Other than the bloody obvious?¡± Sen-Iv didn¡¯t seem insulted and Whisper Jinx was impressed. ¡°Perhaps you don¡¯t know him as well as I,¡± The Cofol woman said simply. Why, because you¡¯ve fucked him? He¡¯s plaguing eighteen girl. He¡¯ll fuck a pretty dog! ¡°Whatever ye think ye know, won¡¯t help him out there,¡± Jinx told her instead to keep it civil. Sen-Iv sighed deeply and looked at her ring-covered hands, she had tied up on her flat tummy. A couple of sparkling pieces in them, caught Jinx¡¯s eye. Their radiance almost magnetic. ¡°The Khan wasn¡¯t behind the assassination attempts,¡± Sen-Iv blurted out finally. ¡°Despite his cruelness, he¡¯s a Horselord at heart.¡± Hmm. ¡°Ye can¡¯t know that, love,¡± Jinx said eyeing her suspiciously. ¡°What¡¯s yer secret?¡± ¡°My family has connections,¡± Sen-Iv whispered. ¡°What a bunch of crap,¡± Whisper retorted. ¡°Who was behind it?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. If I had to guess, Prince Sahand¡¯s newest spouse,¡± Sen-Iv replied regaining her casual voice. ¡°There are rumors, she¡¯s a witch.¡± Jinx blinked, then smacked her lips. ¡°First, I find it hard to believe, what yer saying, but I will not reject it outright, since I was cozying up wit a Zilan cunt for months,¡± She paused to get a good breath in, Sen-Iv watching her stunned, despite her efforts to keep calm. ¡°Second, I want to inform ye that if the city falls, or something nasty happens and Glen gets the blame for it, ye¡¯ll be next on the chopping block.¡± Sen-Iv stood back, her mask of indifference cracking. ¡°They¡¯ll never harm me, I¡¯m too valuable¡ª¡± ¡°Listen love, allow me to put it in simple words for ye. Read my lips. They¡¯ll gang-rape and skull-fuck you, until ye¡¯ll bleed from all orifices, if the Cofols sack the city. Then hang yer arse, by yer entrails. Or worse. Even if they lose and the locals come on top. People feel aggrieved if attacked and killed. Aggrieved folk don¡¯t give a shit about coin, or a foreign cunt¡¯s status.¡±
Alix tried to tackle her at the base of the stairs, so Jinx jumped on the wooden rail, walked the three meters to the edge alike a circus acrobat, but for the mauled face and then jumped lithely down. Alix started clapping from behind her and Jinx turned and gave him double middle fingers for his troubles. ¡°I have to protest!¡± Alix shouted. ¡°Where¡¯s Crafton?¡± Jinx asked, ignoring him. ¡°What need have you of that old sack of wrinkles?¡± The male Gish pointed, quickly catching up with her. ¡°Or that obnoxious slave owner?¡± Jinx stopped and turned to glare at him. ¡°Glen is not a slave owner.¡± Alix sucked his lower lip in and then let it go. ¡°He looks just the type, Goddess.¡± ¡°Because you don¡¯t know him. He was duped into this. Glen has his flaws, but he¡¯s no monster, Alix.¡± ¡°Fine. How was he duped?¡± Shifty relented. ¡°Gold, sex, some other vague reward,¡± Jinx counted them with her fingers. Alix pulled at his left earlobe self-consciously. ¡°Thought ye were talking about Lord Reeves.¡± Jinx shook her head. ¡°I was Shifty. And you¡¯re right. Glen is very much like you in a sense,¡± She shot her right arm out, to stop him from closing the distance between them. ¡°But way less annoying,¡± Jinx added wryly.
Crafton looked at his notes again. ¡°You want to leave the city,¡± He said. ¡°Ahm, we have a good thing going here, captain.¡± ¡°Glen¡¯s gonna find himself in the shit very soon,¡± Crafton flinched at that. ¡°I see you have yer reservations.¡± ¡°Well,¡± Crafton said, thinking about it. ¡°Have you heard, something?¡± ¡°Like that?¡± Jinx queried examining his untrustworthy face. ¡°Something I should know Crafton?¡± ¡°Not that I recall, ma¡¯am,¡± The old Northman replied. ¡°But I will look into other options.¡± ¡°We need a fast way out.¡± ¡°The bridge? Glen controls it, for the time being,¡± Crafton offered, showing the remarkable insight of a genuine vagabond. ¡°Ye were never a butcher,¡± Jinx mused and Crafton smacked his lips and looked around them. Everyone else was resting at their rooms, or waiting for Glen to return from the West Gates. ¡°Does it matter?¡± Crafton finally said, looking at his hands on the table. ¡°Does Glen know?¡± She asked. Crafton smiled, yellow teeth showing. ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate him, captain. He might surprise you. Gods know, he done that plenty to me.¡± ¡°Ye haven¡¯t answered, Mister Crafton,¡± Jinx insisted. ¡°You know how it is, ma¡¯am,¡± He replied that smirk still on his lips. ¡°Ye want a way out, I¡¯ll look to find ye one. Ye want to know more about Glen, ye¡¯ll have to ask him, or fuck him.¡± Uhm. Jinx stooped closer to his face and stared into the Northman¡¯s eyes for long. ¡°If I find out, ye are naughty wit me, or the Gallant Dogs, Mister Crafton,¡± she hissed through her teeth, the warning clear despite the whole of her face hurting, head throbbing and being mad as all hells. ¡°I¡¯ll skin ye slowly and push yer cock into yer arse, one inch for every hour, using the blood as lubricant. I¡¯m tellin¡¯ ye this, so ye don¡¯t have to find out, or fuck me.¡±
114. A bag of bones
Ralnor A bag of bones
In the old days, creatures came out of the sea looked like people, but such people no one had ever seen they walked ¡®n watched still behind every reef, then caused much mischief _ Ancient Zilan lullaby Unknown date Such a waste of perfectly fine flesh. The man had died staring at the dark branches over his head. Or perhaps, he¡¯d opted in those agonizing final moments, to glance for a final time at the sky and then died wallowing in disappointment. Rot had set in a day later at the most, turned those eyes milky, the bugs getting at them next, leaving two sinister black caverns behind. The smell putrid and stomach-turning and the Issir laid next to him -once a friend, or foe- didn¡¯t fare, or smelled, any better. ¡°I think, I¡¯m gonna puke,¡± Mezera gasped, standing way back at the edge of the forest, the funeral pyres still smoking behind her. Several of them, small burning mounts sprouting at regular intervals, inside the remnants of the Prince¡¯s war camp. ¡°Stay with her,¡± Ralnor advised, a little annoyed. ¡°I don¡¯t know where she went.¡± Vanity and lack of intelligence make for horrible partners, he thought and pressed further inside the woods. Perhaps someone had survived the fight, then remained hidden in the chaos that followed and hopefully died more recently. Ralnor found more corpses as he moved through the trees. Mostly Cofols, but there were Issirs and Lorians mixed in. Dragged by their mounts, too injured to regain control, until they dropped and bled out, before getting eaten by predators. The dead had decomposed fast, their soft flesh melted away, or consumed, whatever was left un-eatable. The forest would claim the remains inside a month, leave nothing behind, but rusting armor and bloody weapons. Forty three corpses later, Ralnor reached an opening. A stream running amidst the tall trees, narrow enough he crossed it with a stride and found the first set of armor, neatly arranged in a pile. He kneeled and checked the weapons, looked around him for tracks and finding what he was looking for, he followed it. Over the stream to the other side and into the woods again. Ralnor found a second set of armor and a third. Lorian weapons. Riders of Raoz. What were you doing so far into the woods? Why not ride the other way, or towards the river? What happened to the horses? At first he thought, the moldy disgusting pile was excrement. The stench so horrible that even him, well-versed and older that most trees in this part of the woods recoiled. Ralnor gasped, his eyes watering and it took him a long moment to recover enough, to stoop again and examine the rotting pile of flesh. Soft and gluey, a shocking green and blue amidst the crimson, the soil under it sick and vile. The strips of rotted flesh long, a palm wide and one rather long slice, even holding the remains of a decomposing nipple. No animal has done this, he thought getting up. And no animal had dared approach since, to claim this meal. The sound of a small fire crackling alarmed him, although he was already tensed. Near, perhaps twenty meters, even less. Ralnor moved through the trees, the canopy above him thick and the light lessening with each stride. He proceeded without hurrying, the forest eerie silent, as if it was holding its breath. Or it stood traumatized. Ralnor went into the thick shadow of an oak tree, when another small clearing appeared suddenly, the fire burning at its middle bright. He¡¯d touched the moist trunk with a palm, to cast the spell, taking care to make no noise. Not that he could, the skill being second nature to him, having learned to move silently, when he was still a youngling. Brass and fearless. Easily duped and fascinated by the stories of the Realm. The stories Edlenn loved most of all. In the old days, the dead sorceress used to say, before the wars, creatures came out of the sea. They looked like people, but they were not.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. The Issir man, broad back naked and wearing a loincloth, turned slowly and looked his way. Ralnor licked his lips, but kept his calm. The Lorian standing two feet to the Issir¡¯s right, got up from his spot and turned his head towards him as well. Ralnor reached for his curved shaft hatchet and released it from its sheath. They can¡¯t see you, he repeated to his worrying brain. No spell was cast. To counter his. The third man didn¡¯t turn. He kept clearing something with a thin long knife and then threw it in a large leather bag, he had next to his right leg. He appeared very tall and lanky, despite seating on an upturned flat rock. The man had a hood over his head hiding his eyes. Ralnor could see his pointy jaw clench as he worked diligently with his hands. Breathing slowly, the two men still staring in his general way, Ralnor backed away, deciding this wasn¡¯t worth the risk. He wasn¡¯t a youngling anymore, and while curious, the whole incident had rattled him. Never start a fight, when distracted, or unsure and Lithoniela materializing in front of him, proved the dictum correct. She frowned sensing him so near, regal face spilling some of her annoyance in it, but quickly regained her aloof composure and froze in place, when Ralnor came out of the shadows a finger on his lips, urging her to keep quiet. ¡°I have no meal to offer,¡± the man wearing the hood said, without looking up. Lithoniela raised a cobalt eyebrow Ralnor envied, as they both turned towards the fire and the three men. The one that had spoken, threw whatever it was he worked on into the leather bag and reaching closed it shut this time. ¡°Who are you?¡± Lithoniela asked, despite Ralnor¡¯s grimaces of annoyance. There was no way they had been spotted, he thought furious, nor any reason to engage. ¡°A visitor,¡± the man said, his words coming out swishing and incoherent, his common almost ineligible. ¡°Step into the light, weary travelers.¡± ¡°Were you at the battle?¡± Lithoniela asked moving towards the opening, Ralnor grinding his teeth at the folly of nobility. ¡°We arrived after it. One sows the fields first,¡± The man said. Lithoniela walked through the two still eerie standing men and stopped in front of him. Ralnor, sharp hatchet still in hand, eyed the Issir, waiting for a reason to cut him down. The man shrugged his shoulders slowly, turned and walked near his friend. They both sat down, in the spots they held, when Ralnor had first reached their creepy camp, in the middle of nowhere. ¡°Do you know if Prince Sahand¡¯s wife traveled with him?¡± Lithoniela asked, as if she was interrogating a guard at her palace. ¡°Mistress,¡± Ralnor grunted, livid she was giving away information, without getting anything in return. ¡°Ah, there it is,¡± the man swished and Ralnor could see his skin was white, from the mouth, down to his neck. Painted. ¡°Are you her friends then, or enemies?¡± You see, Edlenn used to say turning the worms he¡¯d gathered into flowers, they could walk and talk. But they weren¡¯t individuals. Each was as the other, despite their differences and sometimes there was none. They thought the same and served one master. Or so we thought. Ralnor turned his attention on the two men, now watching him with their dead eyes. One of them smiled and a second later his friend followed. ¡°We would like to see her,¡± Lithoniela explained, not realizing to whom she was talking to. There were no monsters in the Palace, or her cradle, Ralnor thought, taking a step back. Not when a Wyvern was guarding it. ¡°I pray you do Zilan,¡± the man replied and used that long knife to stir the fire. His arm impossibly long and veiny, painted white as well. ¡°Don¡¯t be alarmed,¡± he added, seeing her stunned at the revelation. ¡°As I said, we¡¯re visitors,¡± with that he grabbed his heavy loaded bag, the contents clattering inside and stood up. Well over two heads taller than Lithoniela and Ralnor. ¡°I shall leave you the fire,¡± the Aken hissed, snake tongue slipping in and out of his mouth. He set his eyes on the incredibly tensed Ralnor, his fingers clenching the hatchet so hard, his knuckles had turned white. ¡°The past is long dead, pupil of Nym.¡± Hmm.
¡°What was that?¡± Lithoniela asked, when the three men disappeared into the woods, heading towards the river. ¡°Was that an Aken?¡± Ralnor let the breath he was holding out and collapsed on the flat stone the creature was resting on. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have said anything,¡± he finally said, putting the hatchet away. ¡°Not a word. Why are you people talking so much?¡± ¡°I asked him where your friend was,¡± Lithoniela replied with a frown. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°It was a risk, what if they attacked us?¡± ¡°We are not at war with them, Ralnor,¡± she noted and then grimaced. ¡°This forest is sick, I don¡¯t like this. Too much death.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Ralnor replied and got up. ¡°Better get back then.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never met an Aken before,¡± Lithoniela told him, on the return trip. The experience somehow had lifted her spirits. An unexpected positive out of the encounter, since Ralnor have had enough of her mourning over the loss of the Reeves spawn. Whatever there was Lithoniela had thought, she¡®d seen in him, it wasn¡¯t enough to save the young noble. Of course she¡¯d kept those details private and Ralnor hadn¡¯t earned her trust enough to press her to learn them. In a sense she was very much like Aelrindel in this. They couldn¡¯t hide their belief he was inferior, a lesser person. It spilled out of them, in little signs and tells, subtle looks and the way their songs wavered unsure, when he was around. That and they perhaps feared his profession and skill-set a little. Hmm. ¡°What do you think, he had in that bag?¡± The daughter of Baltoris asked, her eyes turning a pale blue to entice the answer out of him. While a childish attempt, Ralnor, a very solidary creature, felt flattered. And then he admonished himself for selling out so easily. Ralnor sighed, his inner turmoil probably a byproduct of the dangerous encounter, his partner hadn¡¯t even sensed, or felt remotely threatened by and replied with one word. ¡°Bones.¡±
115. The soft Spring of War -Crack on the wall- (1/3)
Glen The soft Spring of War -Crack on the wall- Part I (An eerie familiar name)
It must be stated here again that Prince Nout¡¯s deteriorating condition didn¡¯t stop him from getting into a heated argument with his older brother, over his decision to head straight for Rida, without securing his flanks first. Despite Prince Atpa¡¯s ¡®Army of the Desert¡¯ approaching Sadofort from the southwest, there was a massive open corridor to the southeast, down the ¡®Merchant Path¡¯ and Hiyil Castle. The old enlarged brick fort guarding the road to Lazuli Peninsula once upon a time, now had been relegated to a policing center for the caravans heading for Tirifort and Eikenport. It couldn¡¯t prevent reinforcements from reaching Rida, as the territory it was responsible for was vast, unguarded desert and kilometers upon kilometers of empty coastline. It just didn¡¯t have the numbers. While a force under an ambitious noble named Kuntur-Ki Tsuparin, scion of the famed Tsuparin family of the Arena Masters of Fu De-Gar, second son of Dekerut-Ki ¡®The Cruel¡¯ Tsuparin and brother to general Karit-Ki ¡®The White Scorpion¡¯, was rushing up the coastal road from Eikenport and could reach Hiyil Castle sometime in the summer, there was a window of opportunity there for Sir Robert to escape the noose, regroup and if he received reinforcements threaten the Khan¡¯s main army. Prince Nout wanted the Van Durren spawn to remain trapped in Raoz and seeing his brother was set on heading to Rida, he asked for the scythed Chariots, now useless in a siege and five hundred riders to pin the Issir Knight and force him towards Sadofort and Prince Atpa¡¯s approaching army. The Prince Heir begrudgingly agreed to save face, as Nout¡¯s daring night assault, has handed him a famous victory on a silver platter. Thus his younger brother, still very ill from his ordeal at the swamps, but no less determined to finish the war that summer, left later that evening. They had to tie him up on his warhorse, to prevent him from toppling over. They both had agreed that Kuntur could reinforce Hiyil Castle and act as a blocking force, to prevent any landings from the High King¡¯s armies, if Sir Robert was neutralized. The Gold Leopard had once again read the strategic situation perfectly and applied the correct remedy to fix a potential problem, missing out on what no intelligence, or insight, could ever have provided him. An ambitious Issir family¡¯s backroom deals. Lord Sirio Veturius Circa 206 NC The Fall of Heroes Chapter IX (Sir Gust De Weer, -Crows in the Desert- Miracle at Endless Dunes, Summer 189 NC)
Most people were looking at him as if he was something alien and he couldn¡¯t blame them. Disbelief and confusion, even a little bit of hatred. The simple people didn¡¯t know who he was, nor were interested in learning the details. All they could see was that with the High King¡¯s force knocked back and the Duke losing Sir Henry, the fate of their city fell on the shoulders of a young man, the Lord of Altarin apparently, who instead of leading the defense of his own city and avenge his grandfather¡¯s death, had run to hide in Rida. ¡°Phon¡¯s man asks, if he should have Qanuq escorted back to us, milord,¡± Stiles reported and Glen stared at him, unable to figure out what the hells he was talking about. Then he remembered. Ah. ¡°He sent a bird?¡± ¡°He has a local working for him, milord,¡± Stiles explained, pulling at the bindings of the plate the Duke¡¯s guards had given him. A single piece of plate covering his chest, from the neck down to his waist and another for his back. Glen had refused the heavy iron gauntlets and the great-helm. He was feeling weighted down already and he had to remove his old armor to put this one on. At least it looked fairly new, he supposed. ¡°Tell him no, I can¡¯t deal with this right now.¡± ¡°I will, milord.¡± Glen sighed and looked at the warhorse they had brought for him. It was covered in mail making it cumbersome, but it was a magnificent beast. A dark brown shinny mane, long and finely groomed with expressive dark honey-colored eyes. ¡°What¡¯s its name?¡± He asked one of his escort guards. ¡°Outlaw, Lord Reeves,¡± The experienced man frowned. ¡°It was meant as a jest, but it stuck. He¡¯s a good horse, though the Duke never used it. Its father won twenty duels in Midlanor and Riverdor for the De Weers.¡± Glen had no idea who those people were. ¡°It¡¯s a decent name, I suppose,¡± He stared at the guard. ¡°The Duke is very generous.¡± ¡°Aye, my Lord.¡± ¡°Give me a hand then, sergeant,¡± Glen said with a grunt and Marcus, who was standing behind him moved faster than everyone else and all but lifted him on the saddle. Right, Glen thought a little embarrassed, staring at the open West Gates. Luthos, since ye have been slacking lately, I¡¯ll need all that leftover luck back today. ¡°Let¡¯s see what these people have to say,¡± He announced loudly and after the initial shock, most of the guards cheered and even chuckled finding it funny, although Glen had been dead serious.
One could see the Prince¡¯s army constructing siege machines, both catapults and trebuchets and starting the process of digging in around the soft slopes Rida stood upon. While his force was large, the Prince couldn¡¯t hope to assault Rida from all sides and most of his army had covered the west and south approaches, leaving the river side and the east covered by screens of fast riders. Glen glanced at the walls behind him as they descended towards the flat fields surrounding the city. The land quickly dried up the further south one went, as despite the massive river¡¯s presence, the desert encroached every year closer to the sloped plateau and no amount of waterworks, or narrow canals could stop it. Yeah, Glen decided, sitting up straighter on his horse. Everyone needs reinforcements it seems. ¡°Can he take the city?¡± Glen asked Marcus, who was riding next to him, the sergeant carrying the truce colors leading their procession. The ex-legionnaire, of the engineering corps, scrunched his jaw this way and that mulling it over. Then stooped, spat down a solid amount of material and grunted. ¡°Ayup.¡± Glen was expecting a lot more words than that. ¡°What about the walls?¡± ¡°Upper side is mudbrick at places,¡± Marcus explained. ¡°The old wall was more solid, but never got repaired properly, I reckon. Not everywhere. While attacking up the slope, gives the Duke¡¯s men more height to work wit, it¡¯s a gentle one.¡±The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°It¡¯s a big city,¡± Glen countered. ¡°The city won¡¯t fight on the walls,¡± Marcus replied. ¡°These guards and the men Sir Henry lost the other day will, them former won¡¯t now, I reckon. Without ¡®em, that¡¯s a lot of wall to cover.¡± ¡°How long?¡± Glen asked, feeling more depressed with each new piece of information. ¡°A week to set up the machines, unless they have engineers aplenty. Another to pound at the weaker spots, create a hole. Then they will come.¡± ¡°That seems too fast,¡± Glen griped, eyeing the Cofols contingent, about fifty of them. Cataphracts amongst them, their armour and masks shinning in the late afternoon sun. Richly dressed officers and bodyguards, slaves carrying refreshments mixed, men and women. The Prince stood straight on a white stallion, wearing white leather pants and polished chain armor, with a strikingly red cape, embroidered gold lines running the length of it. ¡°Not when yer at the receiving end of it,¡± Marcus commented. ¡°The Duke can drag it out, make a second stand at the palace, a better place to fight it out, if ye ask me, but the city populace might revolt, if they are left to the Cofols and turn against him.¡± ¡°What will happen then?¡± Marcus snorted, managing a grimace of distaste Glen hadn¡¯t seen before. ¡°Bunch of nasty stuff,¡± The hale soldier rustled finally.
¡°Who is coming before the exultant Prince Heir? Who will plead with the triumphant son of the Eternal Khanate?¡± The Cofol official asked, gold scepter in his hand striking the ground, the Prince¡¯s entourage letting out a sonorous exclamation, led by his slaves, the women and men wearing that jewel-adorned costume under their shrill cloaks, their hands thrown up, palms at a sharp angle, as if they were holding an imaginary load, or even the sky. One of the women stood side saddle atop a beautiful ashen descrier, her tanned small feet encased in gleaming silvery, tall and strappy heeled-sandals that reached a hand above her ankles. The silver-looking straps on them, on a second look by a distracted Glen, made out of white-silk strands and interwoven glass beads. Diamonds. No other part of her body was clearly visible, since she was covered from head to below her knees by a long white spider-weaved veil, weighted down by small colorful gems at its hem. Glen realized he was holding the ancient dagger in his hand, having unsheathed it unwittingly.
Kill her¡­
¡°Sir Glenavon Reeves, Lord of Altarin, shall be Duke Winfield¡¯s liaison,¡± The guard sergeant announced, not bothering to climb down his horse, earning a mean stare from the Cofol official. What the hells? Glen wondered in the meantime, returning the dagger in the fine leather sheath, he¡¯d gotten out of the Gates armory. What was that? ¡°Which Reeves is that?¡± The Prince asked him, in well-spoken common. Glen forced himself to concentrate on the task at hand, still rattled and glancing constantly at his hands, now kept tied on the horn of his hard-leather military saddle. ¡°His grandson,¡± He replied looking at Prince Sahand, both men facing each other on top of their horses about two meters apart, as the Cofol official and the sergeant had moved away. ¡°Hmm, I was told he was lost,¡± Sahand commented, his voice really pleasant to the ear. He¡¯d a handsome face, a trimmed beard, expertly penciled -a shade of dark blue- olive-colored eyes and a well-built warrior¡¯s body under his expensive armor. ¡°Not everything we hear is true,¡± Glen quipped finding his rhythm, but then he felt a jolt running through him and he flinched, just as the Prince nodded with the hint of a smile, agreeing with him.
Seize the chance, you fool!
¡°Not everything indeed,¡± The Prince repeated a bit impressed and apparently completely oblivious of Glen¡¯s turmoil, the young man reeling on the saddle as another jolt of current almost threw him off the saddle. He grabbed at his saddle with all his strength, his jaw clenched hard, teeth grinding and his head spinning. Glen thought he smelled burned incense. He was going mad surely at the most inopportune moment, driven insane in the middle of the fucking negotiation¡ª
SLAY THE WITCH!
The voice roared and Glen snapped his head and caught sight of the veiled woman looking at him, which wasn¡¯t strange, as he was one the two most important people present, the other being¡­ her husband? Wait¡­, he thought. Another familiar female voice echoing in the membranes of his brain.
Wake her¡­ wake the Wyvern.
Why now? Glen wondered. ¡°Lord Reeves,¡± Prince Sahand started. ¡°The Duke lost, let¡¯s not drag this out more that it¡¯s needed. Had he been naught but a coward, the Duke would have come to face his vanquisher today and given up the city.¡± That¡¯s her, Glen thought, trying to find a way to balance quite a number of problems, like fighting to keep the insane voice in his head silent, understand what was happening to him, listen carefully to the Prince¡¯s words and keep his eyes discreetly on the veiled woman. It must be. The Zilan female Emerson and Glen had learned about months back, almost a year now. The Heir¡¯s spouse that Duke Gideon had insulted presumably. You came to see it for yerself, Glen thought, another jolt raking his body, but he felt less surprised now, as he could sense, it couldn¡¯t really harm him. Similar to a lightning-bolt falling nearby, or right next to him that caused no damage. ¡°Let us avoid needless loss of life, Lord Reeves. I¡¯ll be magnanimous. Surrender Rida and with it Raoz, convince Duke Winfield to give up, before the sun sets and I shall not enslave its citizens. These are my words,¡± Prince Sahand finished and stood back on his horse. Glen licked his dried lips slowly, the sun burning his forehead and sweat beads forming, a couple of them trickling down the edge of his brows annoyingly. ¡°What will happen to the Duke?¡± He asked, trying to keep his voice calm and professional. Prince Sahand frowned, his nostrils expanding and then turned on the saddle and stared towards his spouse. The veiled woman came forward, her mount following an unheard command, since she wasn¡¯t even holding the reins as Glen noticed. Horses will never tell on me, Lith¡¯s voice reminded him. ¡°Winfield¡¯s life is forfeited,¡± The woman announced, in a clear singing voice, standing next to the Prince. It didn¡¯t hold Lith¡¯s color, Glen realized. It was more sensual, her timber stronger. ¡°The Duke won¡¯t accept that,¡± He told them both truthfully. ¡°If you really want to avoid bloodshed, you should give him an out.¡± Prince raised his brows surprised at his courage. Although it wasn¡¯t courage, as much as Glen actually trying to find a way to solve this diplomatically. Before Prince Heir could respond though, the woman moved again and approached Glen even more, her horse covering the distance between them without hurrying and came to stand this time, next to his own mount. ¡°Winfield¡¯s life is forfeited,¡± The aloof woman repeated again staring straight at him. Glen realized his right hand was on his dagger again. Fuck is going on here? ¡°I heard ye the first time,¡± He retorted defensively, forcing himself to let go of the weapon, before everyone took it the wrong way and attacked him, returning her veiled stare, only to realize she wasn¡¯t looking at his face now, but lower. ¡°Where did you get this?¡± The veiled woman gasped and there was a craving mixed with pain laced in her tone now, her words colored like a lullaby. Glen cleared his throat, realizing her face under that intricate web of strands was hauntingly beautiful. She probably knows as much as Lith. ¡°I found it,¡± He croaked, fully aware that on top of her husband, there was a literal army watching him gawk at the Khanate¡¯s Heir spouse. ¡°Why him? Why now?¡± The woman probed. ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± Glen replied. ¡°I was talking to Gimoss,¡± She hissed. ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± Glen quizzed, seriously confused. The woman pulled back, her demeanor changing in an instant. She reached for the reins and turned her horse around, her mouth moving as she did. Her words a condemnation. ¡°You are lying.¡± There wasn¡¯t an ounce of doubt in her voice. Damnit. The veiled woman reached her spouse, gave him a silent look and then continued until she reached the first line of officers that parted and let her through, closing back up, behind her. ¡°You heard Lady Lenar,¡± Prince Sahand said, forcing a dumbfounded Glen to turn his eyes on him. ¡°Give up the city and Duke Gideon, or everyone¡¯s life, is forfeited.¡± What? ¡°That wasn¡¯t¡­¡± Glen tried to say, but the Prince had turned away from them, his people slowly following after him. ¡°The fuck is this bullshit?¡± Glen asked turning to Marcus. Marcus grimaced and then stared at the sun above their heads, probably gauging how much time they had, until sunset. ¡°She wants blood,¡± The ex-legionnaire replied. ¡°Reasoning with the Prince won¡¯t help us.¡± Ye should¡¯ve worked more on the woman was his meaning. Although Glen¡¯s mind worried on their way back to solve a different mystery. Well, several as a matter of fact, but mainly what troubled him was¡­ Who in Luthos crooked toe was Gimoss? The name both eerie familiar, as much as completely foreign. The worst plaguin'' combination.
116. The soft Spring of War -Crack on the wall- (2/3)
Glen The soft Spring of War -Crack on the wall- Part II (Noble or not. Makes no difference.)
There wasn¡¯t enough time to entertain another solution, Glen realized. These ego-driven fools had painted themselves into a corner. The Duke¡¯s old face ¨CGideon Winfield was in his sixties- had hardened, since the news his son had been lost reached him, a couple of days back. The grey hairs on his unshaven cheeks the only other difference. Well, that and the unfriendly welcome, Glen supposed. ¡°They told me, you all but offered the city to the Prince, on a bloody platter, Lord Reeves!¡± The Duke spat, shedding with any pleasantries. ¡°Whatever gave you the idea, it was yours to part with?¡± Glen blinked, not expecting the personal tone of the accusation and had to rearrange the whole strategy he¡¯d set up on his mind, on the way to the pyramid. Any way, he could. Deflect. ¡°That¡¯s not what happened, Duke Winfield.¡± ¡°People heard you. They were standing next to you! You¡¯ll deny it?¡± Create division. ¡°Then you know, what the Cofols want?¡± Gideon narrowed his eyes, grey brows meeting in the middle of his forehead. ¡°What do they want?¡± Hah. They didn¡¯t tell him the full story. Of course. Keep him on the back foot. ¡°Only one¡¯s opinion matters, Duke Winfield. That would be the Prince¡¯s wife and she wants you dead,¡± Glen started. ¡°Have these ruffians, told ye that?¡± ¡°I know what she wants. That demon will get what¡¯s coming for her.¡± Alright. ¡°She¡¯s calling the shots, Duke Winfield. She is here,¡± Glen continued. ¡°At the meeting?¡± ¡°Aye. There will be no agreement, she want¡¯s you dead. She wants everyone killed.¡± Duke Gideon got up from his throne and walked towards the large open balcony. The sky red above their heads, the city swallowed in the increasing darkness, despite the first lights that were slowly appearing, one after the other. ¡°Do you know what she is, Reeves?¡± Gideon asked him, staring at his city. ¡°A Zilan, Duke Winfield,¡± Glen replied without hesitation. Gideon turned his way. ¡°How¡­ ah, but you¡¯ve read my letter,¡± He said, with a glare. ¡°The High King¡¯s man, hinted at it,¡± Glen countered, shedding with formalities as well. ¡°After I delivered your letter.¡± Risking life and limb in the plaguin¡¯ process! ¡°Finishing a job, your father had failed at.¡± ¡°Died in the attempt is the better term, me thinks. Killed, I believe, walking into a trap,¡± Glen deadpanned, returning his glare. Duke Gideon took a deep breath and crossed his arms on his chest. ¡°Where are you going with this, young man?¡± ¡°They knew about the letter, his assassins were pretty forthcoming,¡± Glen explained, keeping his calm, despite his nervousness. He couldn¡¯t falter now. Someone in the Duke¡¯s circle wanted him buried. ¡°Bah, people found out. The Cofols expected it,¡± Gideon argued. ¡°It¡¯s quite a different matter, knowing a response was coming from you and having the time to intercept and sink a barque. That takes time and resources. They were informed,¡± Glen insisted. ¡°Probably even before my father set sail.¡± ¡°By whom? You think someone in my court is working with that monster?¡± Glen shrugged his shoulders. ¡°I don¡¯t know your court. Even so, I do have a suspect, but I can¡¯t accuse someone without hard evidence.¡± ¡°No sane person, whatever his motives, will ever side with a monster, Reeves,¡± The Duke said, after a moment¡¯s deliberation. ¡°Assuming they knew what she was. No, I don¡¯t think they would,¡± Glen agreed. ¡°But how many know of it?¡± ¡°No, you¡¯re mistaken. Even¡­ who would willingly, side with the Cofols?¡± Gideon sighed and pressed at the bridge of his nose with two fingers, to relieve a mounting headache. ¡°I should have killed her, when I had the chance. I regret it now.¡± It wouldn¡¯t have made the Prince less likely to invade. ¡°When will reinforcements be here?¡± He asked changing the subject. ¡°I wrote to the High King again. Est Ravn is dragging his bloody feet,¡± Gideon griped and walked back inside his throne room. ¡°Perhaps a month. Van Durren is keeping them honest, as long as he doesn¡¯t get himself killed. He can¡¯t help us alone. I fear, we might not have a month.¡± ¡°You should evacuate the civilians to Altarin,¡± Glen proposed. ¡°Why would I want to do that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s easier to defend an empty city,¡± Glen said. ¡°Ah, you¡¯re clever, but not ruthless enough, lad. I¡¯ve recruited about two thousand militia in a week. There¡¯s roughly three thousand guards inside Rida, half of them decent troops, with those extra two thousand soldiers from the local militia, I have a chance. But they won¡¯t stay and fight, if their families are safe on their way to Altarin.¡± Glen stared at his old boots. ¡°I¡¯ll return to my post,¡± He finally said, after a moment and Gideon nodded. ¡°There¡¯s about fifty or so guards in the harbor. Pick them up, add them to yours. You hold the bridge and the harbor for me, Reeves,¡± Duke Gideon ordered him. ¡°If the Cofols make it in, I¡¯ll retreat here and draw them on these walls. It will give you a good chance to hit them in the back.¡± ¡°Sounds like a good plan,¡± Glen commented and with that he turned heel to leave him. A fine plan, he thought walking down the stairs to meet up with Marcus, who had stayed at the entrance of the pyramid turned into a citadel. To get me killed, when all those Cofols smash onto those walls, bounce back pissed as all hells and come at me.
Glen walked behind the officer, the stairs leading to the first floor of the Pyramid, made of that same red stone, well-polished and a bit worn out at places and also relatively dark, despite lit torches mounted on the wall every ten steps, or at every turn. He could see the massive open space at the middle, as he descended, administrative buildings and barracks arranged neatly at the open bottom floor, as badly lit as those darn stairs. At the base of the massive staircase that warped around the sides of the ancient structure, two guards stood, clad in their chain and plate armour, the crest of the city of Rida engraved on them.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The officer leading him paused seeing them and then murmuring under his breath, walked straight towards the two. ¡°What¡¯s this? Is that you Tucker?¡± ¡°Aye, captain,¡± Tucker, the older of the two said and Glen stopped a couple of meters behind the captain apparently, waiting for him to get everything sorted out, while he pondered on his discussion with Duke Gideon and the one he had earlier, with the Prince and his Zilan spouse. There were a number of things Glen needed to straighten out urgently as well. First and foremost, finding a way to get out of the city, without everyone finding out. Jinx had the correct idea on instinct, but on the finer details this needed serious planning and time to find the better solution. ¡°On who¡¯s order?¡± The captain asked, sounding frustrated. ¡°Someone higher up,¡± Tucker explained. ¡°I was just with the Duke,¡± The captain sighed and shook his head. Glen smacked his lips, returning the stare from the older soldier. With another sigh the captain, turned on his heel to face him. ¡°Lord Reeves, it seems there¡¯s been a change in plans,¡± He said. ¡°Sergeant Tucker and Evans will escort you, back to your post. Here¡¯s the orders for the men at the Harbor. I¡¯m to report to the Duke.¡± Glen took the scroll and secured it under his front plate, with a nod of his head. ¡°I guess you¡¯re heading up again, captain Hank,¡± He said remembering his name and the Captain shook his head sadly. ¡°This stairs will be the death of me,¡± The officer said and ogled his eyes not in a grimace of frustration, but a genuine death reflex, as a hand¡¯s worth of blade burst out of his neck, the blood splattering the wall of the staircase and Glen¡¯s chest. Move. Glen stepped back, his heels meeting the start of the stairs, a hand reaching for his sword. Tucker pushed the hapless Hank forward, the bleeding and thrashing man collapsing on his knees and pulled hard to get his shortblade out. ¡°Get him!¡± He barked at the sluggish Evans and the second guard came at Glen unsheathing his longsword. Oh, that¡¯s just great. ¡°GUARDS!¡± Glen yelled, loud as he could, his voice reverberating inside the Pyramid, the vastness of this central area right at its heart, carrying it away and distorting it. He¡¯d his sword out as well and sidestepped away from the stairs, Evans¡¯ blade slashing at the spot he occupied up until recently with full force, but not too expertly. Not that Glen got that immediately. He was busy, trying to find a way out, before he was cornered completely and killed. Evans turned with a curse and rushed him again, while Tucker at last got his shortsword out of Hank¡¯s neck, the captain miraculously still breathed of sorts and stooping he helped himself to the dying man¡¯s longsword as well. Glen parried another thrust from Evans to the side, found an opening to cut him down, but missed it, too stunned to act in time. Before Glen could admonish himself proper for fucking it up, the guard came at him again with a high strike, aiming for his head and this time Glen parried the blade back correctly by raising his and cut diagonally in the same move, opening up Evans¡¯ face from right eye, to left ear. A devastating wound that sliced up the skin, crashed the skull-bones underneath, up to his forehead, split the bridge of his nose, pulverizing an eye and sent blood, skin, flesh and pieces of brain, to rain on the approaching Tucker. ¡°Ah, ye son of bitch!¡± Tucker cursed and then recoiled seeing his friend walk a couple of meters blindly, his chest drenched in blood and smash on the staircase wall, before collapsing pretty close to -a now staring blankly at Glen- captain Hank. Glen gulped down and reached for his dagger, tense face turning into a merciless mask the moment he touched it, the shock of the attack that made his heartbeat erratic, just a moment earlier, wearing off. His whole body that had flooded with adrenaline, relaxed now, as he returned his assailant¡¯s hateful stare.
Unworthy challenge.
¡°Who sent you?¡± Glen asked him, ignoring the voice. Tucker blinked, then wiped his mouth, with the back of the hand holding the shortsword and charged him at the tail end of that move, trying to catch him off guard. Glen blocked the sword cut, with his own long blade and then twisted away to avoid a stab of the short one. Tucker swung wild, turning himself, but the young Lord ducked under it, then beat the equally wild swing of the shortsword, punching his own dagger in Tucker¡¯s exposed thigh. It went in to the hilt. Wow, he thought impressed, stepping back and stared at the still holding both weapons Tucker, resting his own sword on the swell of his shoulder pad. ¡°Mmh,¡± Tucker groaned and stumbled, before catching himself. He dropped his sword and tried to pull the dagger out of his thigh, eyes ogling, and desperate face drenched in sweat, while Glen was watching him patiently and a little curious, feeling like himself again.
Cut him some more.
¡°Shut the fuck up,¡± Glen barked, to the voice in his head and Tucker glanced at him, looking desperate himself. ¡°Ora¡¯s curse ye, what are you?¡± He growled, the blood pouring from the severed artery in his leg freely and flooding the red floor under his feet. ¡°Who sent you?¡± Glen repeated his query, although Tucker had asked a legitimate one of his own. He couldn¡¯t begrudge him that. ¡°Aye,¡± Tucker said simply, the shortblade clattering on the red granite-like floor, as his hand had stopped working. ¡°I¡¯m done,¡± and he collapsed face first on it next.
¡°They attacked him!¡± Marcus, drenched in sweat from climbing all those stairs back, growled at the livid Duke. ¡°Milord. I¡¯ve seen the end of it. Yer guards can confirm it.¡± ¡°Tucker was yielding Captain Brins sword, my Lord,¡± The sergeant of the guard repeated, face all tensed up, glancing towards a scowled Glen. That would be Hank, the former thief thought. I need to start remembering people¡¯s full names. ¡°What was Tucker doing here? He wasn¡¯t on duty,¡± The Duke asked, clenching the cup in his hand, as if he wasn¡¯t certain whether to break it, or throw it at one of them. ¡°He was sent to kill me,¡± Glen replied edgily. ¡°Apparently your court, isn¡¯t very loyal, Duke Winfield.¡± The Duke stilled his eyes on him. ¡°Lord Reeves, I don¡¯t particularly enjoy your tone as of late. As a matter of fact, I find interesting your cantor. Taking my charity for weakness, will lead you down an unpleasant path, young man.¡± ¡°I want no charity,¡± Glen retorted, not batting an eyelash. He had enough of beating around the proverbial bush. If he cowered now, next stop was the hangman¡¯s noose. ¡°Tell him, what you told us!¡± He barked at the sergeant and the man recoiled, not wanting to be put on that spot. ¡°Out with it, sergeant!¡± The Duke snapped, twice as angry as Glen and probably not half-faking it, like the former thief. ¡°Tucker is in the Chamberlains detail,¡± The sergeant blurted out. ¡°It¡¯s his man.¡± Duke Winfield stood back, his face dark. He glared at Glen, who shrugged his shoulders, the revelation coming as no surprise to him and then with a grunt turned to the unlucky sergeant of the guards again. ¡°Where¡¯s Lord Reeves? The senior one.¡± ¡°In his quarters sire,¡± The man said quickly. ¡°He didn¡¯t even bother checking out, what all the fuzz was about? Three people are dead inside the palace, for Ora¡¯s sake!¡± The Duke snarled. ¡°Have him brought here!¡± He ordered the rest of his guards.
Victor Reeves had probably expected this night to end very differently, Glen thought, returning the older man¡¯s venomous glare. ¡°Lord Reeves, one of your men, has just cut down captain Brins and tried to assassinate your nephew, what do you know about it?¡± The Duke asked solemnly, now sitting on his throne and after having a couple of goblets of wine downed back to back. ¡°I¡¯m gravely concerned.¡± Victor closed his eyes and after a moment, turned to look at the Duke. ¡°The boy is lying sire,¡± He said calmly, despite the sweat drenching his face. ¡°The boy is the Lord of Altarin and a Knight. Perhaps you want to rephrase your statement, old friend. Sir Glenavon might take offense and I¡¯ll have to oblige him.¡± ¡°He¡¯s an impostor!¡± Victor snapped and glared at Glen. ¡°Sir Glenavon¡­ the real one, had no son! It¡¯s a made up story, my Lord!¡± ¡°ENOUGH!¡± The Duke yelled, slamming a fist on the arm of his throne. ¡°You¡¯re digging a bigger grave for yourself Victor!¡± He sighed and stared at the worried Chamberlain. ¡°I¡¯ve known you for all your life. You wanted Altarin, it¡¯s not much of a secret, but life won¡¯t always give to us, what we want old friend. Your late brother, Uher rests his soul, has accepted Sir Glenavon, gave him his ring. It¡¯s over, Victor. You just couldn¡¯t let it go.¡± ¡°Ask him what happened with my father,¡± Glen said and the Duke grimaced. ¡°He wasn¡¯t your father,¡± Victor hissed, turning towards him. ¡°You may have fooled the old man and even the Duke, but you¡¯re a cutthroat, a parasite¡ª¡± ¡°WAS IT YOU?¡± The Duke growled, standing up. ¡°Answer his question, Victor!¡± The Chamberlain grimaced, letting his hatred show clearly, but then his shoulders relaxed and pulling his lips back into what was either half-a-smirk, or half-a-snarl, replied measuring his words. ¡°The gods shall judge you all soon. I¡¯ve nothing more to say.¡± ¡°No Victor, you¡¯re mistaken,¡± The Duke said, looking at the senior Reeves with solemn eyes and Glen could hear real sorrow in his voice. ¡°I will judge you. Take him to the dudgeon!¡± He ordered his guards.
¡°Are you alright there lad?¡± Marcus asked later, on their return trip towards the harbor. It was in the middle of the night, the coming dawn no more than three hours away, the city of Rida mostly quiet, and the streets almost empty. ¡°I was fortunate,¡± Glen replied, not wanting to talk about it. ¡°Sometimes family can turn on us,¡± Marcus insisted, erroneously thinking Glen was shook, because Victor had tried to have him killed. While uncomfortable and scary that was then, Glen had moved on, as he had other problems to reflect on and Victor, despite what Marcus believed, wasn¡¯t family. ¡°Do you think, he was working with the Cofols?¡± He asked, changing the subject. ¡°Difficult to believe it, but possible, I guess.¡± ¡°Why difficult?¡± Glen asked. ¡°He¡¯d a good position and until you¡¯ve showed up, he was set to inherit a title. Why throw it all away?¡± Marcus wondered. ¡°Well, if the Prince takes the city, then all you said go poof¡­ unless he¡¯d a contingency plan on the side,¡± Glen explained. Marcus turned on the saddle to stare at him. ¡°Milord, only a crook would think like this. Lord Reeves is a nobleman.¡± ¡°Hah, so being a scheming murdering bastard is palatable, but treason¡­ nah, he draws a line?¡± He shook his head, at the absurdity of it all. ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s a bona fide crook for me and probably a traitor. Noble or not. Makes no difference.¡±
117. The soft Spring of War -Crack on the wall- (3/3)
Glen The soft Spring of War -Crack on the wall- Part III (The bare minimum of knowledge)
Glen patted Outlaw¡¯s mane and the horse snorted in response, bumping his large head on the former thief¡¯s shoulder. ¡°You¡¯re a beautiful horse,¡± Glen said warmly and Outlaw returned his stare exhaling loudly. ¡°Yeah, you are. Don¡¯t let anyone tell ya otherwise.¡± He looped the reins once at the stall and walked out of the stable, located behind their inn. A woman carrying a basket and holding a small girl¡¯s hand -around ten years old- that looked like her younger self, stopped to watch him pass. ¡°Apologies milord,¡± The woman said, finding her courage. ¡°Do you know, if there are ships leaving the city?¡± Glen paused and looked at them both. ¡°I heard yer man saying, you were stationed at the docks,¡± She explained, taking his silence for annoyance. ¡°Only merchants are still loading, all other ships are private,¡± Glen replied and watched as the small girl went to hide behind her mother¡¯s dress. ¡°Will they take passengers, milord? For work?¡± The small girl popped her head to look at him all serious. Glen rubbed a hand on his unshaven face and then sighed. ¡°You¡¯ll need coin, I¡¯m afraid,¡± He said and the woman nodded, as if she¡¯d expected it. ¡°Gratitude, milord,¡± She said and turned to leave. For what? Glen thought. ¡°Wait,¡± He called on her. The woman stopped, now visibly worried. She wasn¡¯t old, he realized, just worn out. ¡°How many are you?¡± ¡°Just my Kelly. My husband went out wit Sir Henry, it¡¯s a month now,¡± She pulled her daughter closer and the small girl hugged her leg. ¡°I don¡¯t expect he¡¯ll be back.¡± Yeah. Glen reached for his purse, pulled a couple of gold coins out, smacked his lips and then added a couple of more. He offered them to the young mother and she grabbed his hand, thanking him intensely and even started kissing it, as if he was a Priest of Uher. Glen had to physically push her away, embarrassed at her histrionics. ¡°One should be enough for both of you. The rest, help ye make a start,¡± He said, trying to keep his emotions in check. ¡°Tell the captain, Lord Reeves sent you.¡± ¡°Uher keep¡¯s ye, milord,¡± The woman repeated again and Marcus who¡¯d watched the whole thing intervened. ¡°Ye better hurry up, lassie,¡± The hale solder said. ¡°I¡¯m heading back there now. If ye have anything worth taking wit you, we can use my horse.¡± Another five minutes of tearful celebration ensued, before the young mother had calmed down enough to get moving. Glen stood at the entrance of King¡¯s Fortune and watched them, until they took the turn and headed towards Rida¡¯s Harbor Gates. Only then did he realize, he hadn¡¯t asked for her name.
Jinx¡¯s door was half opened and Glen pushed it and walked in, pausing, when he found her room empty. Stiles was guarding Sen supposedly, having moved to the upper floor and the others were at the market, or sleeping, with the exception of Liko and Crafton that had work in the Harbor and the dwarfs, no one had seen in days. There was a large water barrel inside Jinx¡¯s room that wasn¡¯t there, when Stiles occupied it and the floor was drenched, water pooling amidst muddy footsteps, leading to the barrel. Glen looked about him, found a towel, next to Whisper¡¯s stinking vest. He kicked the vest away and grabbing the towel, lobbed it confidently inside the barrel with a loud plop. If there ever was a tourney of chucking things inside barrels, he¡¯d win first place easy, Glen thought with a smug grin. Jinx¡¯s pink head exploded out of the barrel with a shriek, making an even bigger mess at the floor, but Glen had retreated a step in time and came out of it unscathed. For fuck¡¯s sake. ¡°What?¡± Jinx asked, red-rimmed eyes narrowing. ¡°Uh, I thought it was Alix again.¡± Glen didn¡¯t want to hear any details of that encounter. ¡°Use the towel,¡± He advised her. ¡°Yer tits are showing.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t pretend ye don¡¯t like ¡®em,¡± Whisper retorted, but covered herself up with the soaked towel. She didn¡¯t seem to mind it. ¡°I do, but I¡¯m kinda pressed for time,¡± Glen explained honestly. ¡°I think they¡¯re a bit bigger now,¡± Jinx said, pressing on them above the towel. ¡°You seem bigger too.¡± ¡°I noticed,¡± Glen grunted. ¡°Have ye seen Fikumin?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t seen ye in days. What the hells happened?¡± ¡°Whisper, I was busy working. Where¡¯s Fikumin?¡± ¡°Is that the dwarf? Who knows? Hey, what did ye mean working?¡± She probed, getting out of the barrel, managing to keep the short towel over her chest. Glen walked to her bed, grabbed a pair of leather pants and tossed them to her. ¡°Do you want to turn around?¡± Jinx asked raising a brow. ¡°Not really,¡± Glen replied, without flinching. ¡°Are all Gish as enamored wit water?¡± ¡°I thought ye were gonna ask, if all of us have my color,¡± Whisper replied, snaking into her pants. A sight worth walking all the way from the docks and back. Twice. ¡°I assumed they don¡¯t,¡± Glen said wryly. ¡°Hmm. Liars get their pants on fire,¡± Jinx teased and walked to where she kept her weapons in a pile and plucked a short knife out, she then casually sheathed in a back pocket. ¡°Okay, I¡¯m intrigued, what do ye want the dwarf for?¡± ¡°Something serious,¡± Glen retorted, his patience running out. ¡°I was worried, Glen,¡± Whisper protested. ¡°What did she say?¡± Glen snorted. ¡°You mean Sen? I haven¡¯t talked to her. What did ye do?¡± ¡°Nothing. You know me, I¡¯m enthusiastic,¡± She played it down. That sounds serious as fuck. ¡°Right. Well,¡± He looked about the room. ¡°Since I don¡¯t believe Fikumin is hiding in here, I¡¯ll leave ye to it.¡± ¡°Wait, I¡¯ll come wit you,¡± Jinx said and stooped to get her bow from the pile. ¡°Whisper, I¡¯ll check on Sen and then probably return to the harbor. We are organizing a defense there.¡± ¡°Bullshit. I don¡¯t believe yer working for the Duke,¡± Jinx snapped. ¡°It isn¡¯t a choice, Pretty. This title comes with responsibilities.¡± ¡°Hah, ye almost had me convinced,¡± She shook her head, then noting his solemn expression, she added. ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll come help ye ¡®organize¡¯ your soldiers.¡± Glen sighed and scratched the right side of his forehead with his thumb. His eyes glanced at the pile of weapons Jinx usually carried in a large sack and then at the large familiar box. He thought about asking her, if it was the same she had him carry inside Hellfort, but the handle of a longsword caught his interest and walking there, bend his knees and pulled it out of the pile. He took a deep breath, to calm himself down. ¡°What is it?¡± Jinx asked. ¡°Where did you get this?¡± Glen croaked. ¡°Ahm, I found it?¡± It was like reliving a scene. Glen flipped the sword in his hand and turned it towards a perplexed Whisper Jinx. ¡°That¡¯s Emerson¡¯s blade.¡± He¡¯d cleaned and sharpened that thing too many times, to ever forget it. ¡°Nah, it can¡¯t be. Here, give it to me,¡± She said looking worried now, but Glen raised the point to her chest stopping her from approaching. ¡°Glen¡­ ye don¡¯t have to deal wit this now.¡± It doesn¡¯t mean anything, he thought, feeling his arms go numb. ¡°Where did you find it?¡± Glen repeated slowly. Whisper puffed out exasperated. ¡°A Cataphract had it. The one I killed. Well Zola did technically,¡± She sighed and seeing him deflate with each passing second, she pushed the blade out of the way to give him a hug. Glen stopped her raising his left hand. The last thing he wanted, was to break down at this point. ¡°I¡¯m okay,¡± He said, with a grimace. ¡°It¡¯s just a sword. It doesn¡¯t mean anything.¡± The knight was imprisoned. It wasn¡¯t good, but it could be fixed, he thought and grunted seeing Jinx wiping her eyes. ¡°Fuck are you doing? Snap out of it!¡± He barked and Whisper started crying, but at least turned her head away. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I can¡¯t help it,¡± She managed to say, between sniffles. ¡°I can feel ye¡­ it¡¯s a Gish thing.¡±
Glen sucked a deep breath in, then let it out slowly. He waited a couple of extra moments, to get his bearings back, but then stopped himself again, just as he was about to knock on Sen-Iv¡¯s closed door. What in Luthos clogged ears are ye doing? He turned the knob and pushed the door open, using too much force, the whole thing slamming on the wall and all but coming down its hinges. Iskay who was working on Sen-Iv¡¯s hair, weaving gems in her braids, let out a high pitched scream, turned and seeing him bursting in, more confused, than angry, rushed to prostrate herself before him, her forehead almost banging on the floor.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°Master Reeves! Apologies, it won¡¯t happen again!¡± Huh? Glen blinked, mouth hanging open and then stooped to help the redhead to her feet, but Sen-Iv beat him to it. ¡°Iskay, leave us.¡± ¡°Yes, mistress!¡± The girl replied getting up and with another deep bow that must have crashed her back, dashed out of their room. Glen cleared his throat, rattled by the whole incident and Sen-Iv walking slowly, went to the door and closed it, giving him the time to come out of it. ¡°You should¡­ tell her, not to do that again,¡± Glen finally said and Sen that had stopped at arm¡¯s length, nodded with her head. ¡°I will need to beat it out of her,¡± She said calmly. ¡°But it will be done.¡± What? ¡°No. Are you insane?¡± Glen snapped, then took another deep breath. ¡°I will tell her myself.¡± ¡°As you wish, Glen.¡± Right. ¡°I was¡­ the Duke needs me to hold the bridge and the harbor for him,¡± He explained and Sen-Iv listened to him carefully. ¡°I had to sleep there.¡± ¡°He expects you to fight for him?¡± Sen-Iv asked. ¡°Aye. Truth is, I¡¯m looking for a way out, should things turn ugly here. I sent a message to Altarin. I¡¯ll have¡­ my ship brought here.¡± ¡°That sounds wise,¡± Sen-Iv commented. Then with a deliberate pause added. ¡°Especially after the Duke didn¡¯t help you defend your city.¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s not why¡­ but it¡¯s a legitimate reason, I suppose.¡± ¡°Your reasons, are yours, Glen. What the people know, can be something different.¡± ¡°That¡¯s pretty sneaky of you, Sen.¡± Sen-Iv smiled, lighting up the room. ¡°Is that good? Being sneaky?¡± ¡°Sometimes it is,¡± Glen replied and touched one of her gold hanging earrings. ¡°Is this a real ruby?¡± ¡°It is.¡± Damn. ¡°You know that people might cut that lovely ear off, just to get their hands on it, right?¡± He told her, with a smile. ¡°Even walking you to the docks, might be a problem.¡± Sen-Iv sighed and standing on her toes touched his lips with hers softly. ¡°Just warn me beforehand,¡± She said, looking at his blushed face, a little surprised at his reaction. ¡°And I will take everything off.¡±
Glen waited for Jinx to locate the dwarf in Sen-Iv¡¯s room, the young woman perceptively leaving him to his thoughts. Though she did seat across from him on the small wall table, in front of her bed. While the young Lord spent those first minutes thinking of her last proposal, his mind slowly drifted on matters that were troubling him these past days, since Victor had tried to have him killed. Probably not the first time, Glen decided. He reached and finding the handle, unsheathed the ancient dagger, the silvery metal shaped in the body of a wyvern, gleaming in the light coming from the open window. The blade black, but glassy, looking nothing like bone. It¡¯s a magic dagger, he¡¯d told Emerson back then. But the truth was, he didn¡¯t know. Lith had told him once that a witch had made it as a gift and not an ancient weapon smith. Another Zilan, knew it wasn¡¯t his right away. One more truth of course was, the fact that since he¡¯d gotten it, Glen hadn¡¯t always been himself. It was subtle, but he could feel it. It came and went. Like the voice and the dreams. But were they the same? Now¡¯s yer fuckin¡¯ time to speak, Glen thought, but of course he got no answer back. He was slowly turning insane. He turned the dagger around, flipped it once in the air, caught it and then stabbed it in one fluid move on the surface of the table, Sen-Iv¡¯s scared gasp, bringing him back to the present. ¡°Apologies,¡± He said and flashed her one of his patent grins. ¡°This looks ancient,¡± Sen-Iv commented, recovering remarkably fast. ¡°Was this what you used that night?¡± ¡°I found it in some ruins,¡± Glen told her. He intended to have this talk with Fikumin, since he was the one most concerned about it from the start, but he wanted to talk to someone about it. Could he trust Sen-Iv? The simple answer was no. Then again¡­ ¡°The Blasted Lands. Lady Jinx told me about your adventures in the Lazuli Peninsula,¡± Sen-Iv said. ¡°Whatever brought that up?¡± Glen asked curious. ¡°She thought the Duke might betray you.¡± ¡°The Chamberlain did, and he was family no less.¡± ¡°What did he do?¡± Glen pouted his mouth, unsure whether to say or not. Oh, what the hell, she¡¯s for all intends and purposes my wife. Just the bare minimum though. Ye never know. ¡°He tried to kill me. Two of his men.¡± Damn this woman can¡¯t be surprised by anything, he thought, watching her mulling it over in her head, maintaining her serene expression. ¡°Was it his idea?¡± She asked him finally. ¡°You think¡­ someone put him up to it?¡± ¡°The Prince¡¯s spouse¡­¡± Sen-Iv started, this time appearing a little stressed. ¡°Is here,¡± Glen interrupted her. ¡°I¡¯ve met her.¡± Sen-Iv stood back on her chair, a little paler in the face. Well, that¡¯s strange. ¡°People say, she¡¯s a witch,¡± Sen-Iv replied. ¡°Prince Sahand had two other wives before her. They are both dead now. It happened this year.¡± ¡°Were they¡­ older women?¡± Glen probed, not sure how this made the Prince¡¯s current spouse a practitioner of magic. ¡°They were not. Younger than me at least¡­¡± She paused, the matter thorny for some reason. Glen had no problem with her age. The young Lord barely knew how old he was exactly. ¡°Rumor is, the moment it was learned they were with child, they both collapsed within a day.¡± ¡°Childbirth can be tricky¡ª¡± ¡°They didn¡¯t die at childbirth,¡± Sen-Iv interrupted him, sounding a little spooked. ¡°They just died, when the news broke. Tragedy strikes once, it¡¯s strange and unfortunate. Twice in a year, had people talking.¡± ¡°I see,¡± Glen said, staring at the dagger still stuck on the table. ¡°You were to be the Prince¡¯s third spouse. Is that why you¡¯re interested in her?¡± Sen-Iv sighed and looked at him. ¡°You talked with her.¡± ¡°I did.¡± ¡°What do you think?¡± Glen thought back to the meeting. He was preoccupied with the murderous voice in his head for starters. Then he had a case of the shakes¡­ or something. He stared at the dagger again. ¡°What is it?¡± Sen-Iv asked. ¡°You keep staring at it. Why?¡± A witch. Kill the witch, the strange voice had suggested. No. No way. This is ridiculous. ¡°It¡¯s nothing,¡± Glen decided. ¡°She¡¯s strange. But I know why. Don¡¯t worry about her.¡± ¡°You know why,¡± Sen-Iv droned, keeping her opal eyes on him. ¡°Yeah, I do,¡± Glen said and reaching, he pulled the dagger out and sheathed it again. ¡°I¡¯ll head back to my post, but I will keep you informed.¡± The young Lord got up, although he would have preferred to jump into bed with her. He would have done it without a second thought, but for the army camped outside the city¡¯s walls, building their machines without a pause, every day and every fucking night. ¡°I remembered where I¡¯ve seen it before,¡± Sen-Iv told him, just as he was about to get out. ¡°The blade.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve seen it before?¡± Glen asked and turned to look at her. The woman¡¯s beauty gave him pause again. Damn. ¡°You mean the craftsmanship?¡± ¡°No, I mean the blade,¡± Sen-Iv replied. ¡°The material. Not on a weapon, but on charms.¡± ¡°Is that like pendants? Are they valuable?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t think so. Merchants bring them back from time to time, from the Plague Isles. This is what I learned.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s that?¡± Glen queried perturbed. ¡°Beyond the Haze Sea,¡± Sen-Iv replied. ¡°Usually they are made into small charms, people carry around to honor their God there. A merchant will buy anything at least once, to gauge its selling potential. I thought it a volcanic stone at first. But seeing yours, I don¡¯t know, it¡¯s too hard and strangely cut for a stone. Glassy, but light doesn¡¯t reflect on it.¡± Yeah, probably because it is not, according to Lith. ¡°What¡¯s the name of their God?¡± Glen asked, thinking of Gimoss. Sen-Iv shrugged her shoulders. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I just remember seeing them in the palace at Rin An-Pour. I found it strange, but as I said, not valuable.¡±
The Khan¡¯s army finished constructing three trebuchets in less than a week, along with half a dozen catapults. Making use of Nout¡¯s engineers, had considerably sped up the whole process. The first of these big siege engines was pushed up the gentle slope, to within four hundred meters from the west gates and then fired a sixty kilos rock on the walls, producing a lot of noise, but causing little damage. It also traveled backwards killing two of the men operating it and injuring another. It kept going gaining momentum and smashed two carts carrying ammunition up the slope, until finally it stopped, leaving a path of destruction behind. The Prince wasn¡¯t pleased at the attempt, but despite his fury, his men secured the other machines better, fixed their counterweights and fired again and again, trying to find the range. The first shot making any meaningful damage destroyed a parapet and dropped just behind the wall. Ten shots after that a sixty kilos boulder ¨Cor a hundred- flew clean over the walls of Rida, traveled true for half a kilometer, although that is heavily disputed and squashed to a pulp, a boy riding atop a brown goat, or a girl, in the middle of a street. Again the story appears fanciful, not because it could have been a small-bodied man, or a like-sized woman atop that hapless goat, but for the reason that the man claiming he witnessed the whole thing, was reportedly a known blind bard. Despite the many controversies in the accounts, huge projectiles did hit Rida¡¯s walls and caused much damage, with some probably spilling inside the city.
Back to the barracks, Glen thought gloomy, staring in Outlaw¡¯s earnest face. ¡°Stiles, has Jinx returned?¡± He asked the former pirate. ¡°Ahm, she hasn¡¯t milord,¡± Stiles replied. He¡¯d shaved his face, leaving a large curling mustache on it. It made him look weird and more shifty than usual. Although that hadn¡¯t been his intention probably, Glen thought. ¡°Well, tell her¡ª¡± KA-BOOM The sound was sudden and traveled over the city, stopping people on their tracks confused and scared. A silence followed it, everyone looking about them, while a few of the merchants stopped working and started gathering their produce immediately. KA-BOOM That sound again, this time louder, birds shot up from the rooftops and the people at last reacting screaming. Panic broke out. Most run to their houses, others hoofed it for the docks, or towards the East Gates, as it was obvious the explosion-like ruckus was coming from the other side. Oh, that¡¯s just great. ¡°They started?¡± Glen asked and watched the panic spreading out all around them, in disbelief. ¡°I thought the machines weren¡¯t finished!¡± ¡°They probably use whatever is available, milord,¡± Stiles said, looking worried himself. ¡°We¡¯re on the other side of the walls Stiles,¡± Glen snapped at him. ¡°Get yerself together!¡± ¡°Aye, Milord,¡± Stiles replied and four blocks of houses away and at the start of the street, where they were standing, a large two storied building shook violently, the loud volume bursting their ears, its wooden rooftop exploding outwards and then the whole structure caved in itself, turning into rumple. The whole affair over in less than a minute. Almost immediately a huge plume of smoke had risen, hiding much of the street from their eyes. ¡°Abrakas helps us,¡± Stiles mumbled, looking pale. ¡°Tell Sen to get ready to leave,¡± Glen ordered him, snapping out of the shock, while the panic around them turned into an uproar of epic proportions. ¡°Inform Jinx, she¡¯s hired and her job is to protect her.¡± ¡°Go where, milord?¡± Stiles asked, looking worried at the sky. ¡°Stiles snap out of it!¡± Glen barked. ¡°It was a fluke, they are aiming at the wall for fuck¡¯s sake! You will bring everyone at the docks.¡± ¡°The docks,¡± Stiles droned, appearing not convinced, the screaming and panic of the people running around them, rubbing off him. ¡°Get Sen-Iv ready first and then meet me at the docks,¡± Glen repeated and jumped on Outlaw. The horse neighed once, a little spooked at all the commotion, but kept Glen on the saddle. It would have made for a terrible exit, if the young Lord tumbled over and went down. ¡°What do you hope to do, milord?¡± Stiles asked. ¡°Find us a big escort,¡± Glen replied and clicked his tongue to get the horse moving. And get myself on a ship, even I have to take it by force.
118. Tales from Rida (I/3)
Glen Tales from Rida Part I (The right decision) Siege of Rida -Day eleven-
¡°GET THAT WAGON SET RIGHT!¡± Marcus barked to the tired soldiers, pushing the laden with debris open carriage, in order to block the street. There was a lot of debris around and smoke, since half the city was burning. Glen glanced towards the abandoned docks behind him, then at the smashed harbor gates beyond their barricade. ¡°Are they coming?¡± Stiles asked him, looking now more like the pirate he¡¯d been, when Glen had first met him. Perhaps fatter now, as the man never missed a meal. ¡°Just some scouts,¡± Glen commented, wiping his face, the smoke blowing their way for the past hour. ¡°The bulk of their forces have surrounded the palace.¡± ¡°You think your ship will come?¡± Glen grimaced. By the time he¡¯d returned to the harbors five days ago, all ships had set sail already. The news that the bombardment had started, enough to convince even the most fanatic amongst them. They¡¯ve left behind tons of merchandise, rotting produce and a lot of people that had opted to head towards the bridge next, or even try the east gates. When the Cofols had broken through the destroyed West Gates, the Duke had pulled the bulk of his guards towards the walled palace, leaving the rest of the city to face the Khan¡¯s horde. Thankfully most of them had followed the Duke¡¯s soldiers. But not all. Some had attacked the small force Glen had gathered around the streets leading to the harbor and slowly had pushed them back. The fact they still lived, had more to do with being deemed not a priority target by the Cofols, than their defense. The latter had brought some of the catapults inside the city intending to attack the Duke¡¯s walls, but unfortunately had used one of them to bring down Glen¡¯s gates. It took them two days and nights. The Cofols were anything, but idlers, he thought, spitting down to clear his mouth. He had brought everyone into the harbor, confiscating the first floor of the central customs building and turning it into barracks. Glen was trapped, but for a small alley starting behind the Customs Building that led -through the only part of the town not burning yet- to the now unguarded East Gates. Unless the Marquette came. ¡°They will be here,¡± Glen said. ¡°What, if they are not?¡± Stiles insisted. ¡°We¡¯ll work that struggle, when we face it,¡± Glen deadpanned and walked towards the finished portion of the barricade, blocking the last part of the street, before the more open loading area of the docks and the square before the Customs Building. ¡°Have they moved from the gate?¡± He asked Marcus and the ex-legionnaire glanced over the barricade. A mash of debris, boards, bricks and the laden carriage, its wheels now broken. ¡°Not really. They are taking a licking from the Duke it seems.¡± ¡°They destroyed the city Marcus,¡± Glen noticed. ¡°Not yet, milord. But they will,¡± He replied. ¡°Getting that scorpions off the East Gates could come in handy, the way they¡¯re hanging around ¡®em pillars.¡± ¡°How many men, to do it?¡± Glen asked. ¡°What ye got here,¡± Marcus grimaced, then grunted. ¡°I don¡¯t see them holding more than a couple of minutes, if the barricade comes down.¡± Glen couldn¡¯t begrudge them that. He wouldn¡¯t do it either. ¡°We¡¯re not dying for a pile of rumple, Marcus.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll hold ye to it, lad,¡± Marcus replied. ¡°Even the desert gives us better odds.¡± ¡°Not with Sen and the girls coming along,¡± Glen sighed. ¡°We¡¯re too big a group.¡± At least he¡¯d gathered every horse he¡¯d found, stripping the stables bare and had supplies on three mules ready to go. The biggest problem being, where to and how to stay ahead of a force that seemed to have brought all the horses on Eplas, in Rida. Glen saw Ottis using a spyglass to look over the crudely constructed barricade and approached him. The sergeant had a bandage on his left arm, where an arrow had nicked him during their retreat. ¡°How is the arm, sergeant?¡± Glen asked him. ¡°It¡¯s annoying, my Lord, but I¡¯m glad it missed my face,¡± He replied and some of the guards listening in guffawed at that. Most of the guards left behind were young and either didn¡¯t have family, or their families have left through the bridge and headed hopefully for Altarin. Glen didn¡¯t know, if the Cofols were controlling the bridge over Yeriden now and it didn¡¯t really matter. While less than a kilometer away, there was no way to reach it. Glen turned to face them, some were standing behind the barricade, but most were resting in the shade provided, by one of the half-collapsed buildings street-facing wall. Just over twenty soldiers, as most had opted to head to the bridge escorting their families, when it became obvious they couldn¡¯t hold the Cofols back and Glen had agreed to it. You can¡¯t force a man to fight, if he doesn¡¯t believe in it, or his mind is elsewhere. Perhaps a real Lord could, by threatening their lives, he thought. Whether it would work, or not, it¡¯s debatable. ¡°Hey, listen up,¡± He said, trying to sound as nonchalant as he could. ¡°We¡¯ve enough horses back there as ye know, all saddled up. There¡¯s no need to panic. The moment I see this is untenable, we¡¯ll make a run for it, towards the East Gate.¡± The men perked up at that, with a few glancing at each other a little surprised. ¡°But we won¡¯t make it easy for them right?¡± Glen continued and most cheered this time. ¡°Now keep your heads down and rest up as much as you can. Things can change in a moment¡¯s notice.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll not let you down, milord,¡± Ottis told him and Glen nodded uncomfortably. It¡¯s one thing to play the commander for fun, totally different to try it during a real conflict. He¡¯d no idea if he was doing a good job militarily, nor did he care and his primary goal since the siege¡¯s start, was to save himself, his friends and as many people as he could from getting killed, or worse, for no reason. ¡°That¡¯s some strange crap,¡± Marcus said and Glen glanced his way. The hale man was watching the Cofols moving about at the collapsed gates leading to the harbor, about three hundred meters away, from their own position in the bombarded street. ¡°What is it?¡± He asked him standing next to him. ¡°One of ¡®em just climbed atop that broken column, the one still standing.¡± Glen narrowed his eyes trying to see, what the ex-Decanus had spotted, amidst the smokes coming from the burning parts of the city. Ottis, who came to stand next to him, offered him his spyglass. ¡°Thank you, sergeant,¡± Glen said and accepted the bronze instrument, shaped like a thin tube. ¡°You¡¯re welcome, my Lord,¡± The sergeant replied politely. Glen put the narrow part near his right eye, more careful this time, and pointed it towards the debris of the Harbor Gates. The iron doors had collapsed inwards, taking the right decorative stone column down, along with the upper portion of the gates, but the left one still stood, almost three meters in height and a meter in diameter, missing its top part. How the heck, did ye climbed that? The Cofol wore leather armour, covered in dust and had an equally dirty cloak on his back, blowing with each gush of wind all about him. Glen raised the spyglass to the Cofol¡¯s face and all but dropped it, when Larn glared back at him. ¡°Fuck.¡± ¡°Milord?¡± Ottis probed, a little shocked at the obscenity. ¡°That¡¯s him,¡± Glen said and raised the spyglass again to make sure, but found no one climbed on the broken column now. What in all hells? Did he just jumped down? He turned to Marcus. ¡°The¡­ bounty hunter from Hellfort. He¡¯s here.¡± ¡°Well then,¡± That was all Marcus offered. ¡°Who¡¯s he?¡± Ottis queried. ¡°An assassin, probably working for the Cofols,¡± Glen replied and frowned. ¡°Almost certainly.¡± ¡°They seem rattled now,¡± Marcus observed. ¡°Better get the lads up, sergeant. Lord Reeves might have given them a target.¡±
What was that? He thought hearing the strange noise. ¡°Pssst.¡± Glen stopped in his tracks and swung around, trying to find who it was. ¡°Over here,¡± Jinx¡¯s voice said, coming from above. Glen raised his eyes and spotted the Gish sitting on the top of the Customs Building, her legs daggling over the edge. ¡°The fuck are ye doing up there?¡± Glen snapped, already too tensed up by the sudden reappearance of the Zilan assassin. ¡°I¡¯m keeping track of the port,¡± She explained. ¡°There¡¯s a ship circling about for the last hour.¡± ¡°A ship?¡± ¡°Yep. Big thingy wit sails ¡®n stuff?¡± ¡°Couldn¡¯t you just shout out to inform me?¡± Glen griped, his neck hurting from having to strain, to talk to her. ¡°A shout might carry to the Cofols Glen. They might decide to attack us then.¡± ¡°Whisper the assassin is here, for crying out loud! They will attack either way!¡± ¡°Toss me a torch,¡± Jinx decided standing up, perilously close to the edge of the roof. ¡°Stiles!¡± Glen barked, watching taken aback, as the small bodied girl started climbing towards the upper ridge of the tiled roof, expecting her to slip and tumble down her death at any moment. She has some fine burglar skills, he thought, when Jinx made it there and stood up to take a better look at the unseen from where Glen stood vessel. ¡°I think they saw the fires burning and are spooked!¡± Jinx yelled, looking down her face hidden behind a sea of pink. ¡°You don¡¯t have to shout now!¡± Glen yelled back at her. ¡°Ye climbed a bloody roof, not a mountain!¡± ¡°Here milord,¡± Stiles said, holding two sticks he¡¯d dipped in oil. Glen frowned and glared at him. ¡°I made two o¡¯ them.¡± The hells does he expect, Glen thought. A bloody medal? ¡°I can¡¯t just toss it up there ye fool,¡± He blasted him and then yelled livid. ¡°Jinx!¡± ¡°Up here!¡± Whisper screamed back at him, the ¡®e¡¯ dragging for fake effect, as Whisper apparently found the whole situation hilarious. Glen shook his head on the verge of despair and then looked up again, his neck protesting. ¡°Drop a rope down, Pretty. Remember to keep hold of one end, else we¡¯ll spend the rest of the day here arguing about it.¡± Until the Cofols broke through the barricade that is and butchered every single one of them.
¡°They¡¯re dropping anchor!¡± Jinx yelled, still manically waving her half-burning half-smoking torches, jumping up and down the now fully burning rooftop of the Customs Building, she¡¯d previously set on fire. The Marquette was staying clear from the docks, it seemed, Glen decided. ¡°They are sending a boat!¡± Jinx reported, her throat hoarse from all the screaming and smoke she¡¯d inhaled for the past half hour.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. They¡¯ve seen Whisper at least. ¡°They brought another catapult, lad!¡± Marcus yelled from the barricade and Glen puffed his cheeks out, sitting on top of three large wooden containers, trying to think, but already under immense pressure. He could see the boat approaching, two rowers and a man steering it. It would be an hour, before they got ashore. Out the corner of his eye, Glen saw Sen-Iv approaching followed by Iskay, Ninan and Stiles. Three, he counted, makes it six. Can this boat carry more than ten? Safely across the port? Twelve is pushing it. Him and Jinx. Soren and Zola. Marcus, fuck Stiles and Crafton, but then again, he couldn¡¯t just throw them to the wolves. Little Liko, for sure. Even the dwarfs. They were too many. Glen groaned frustrated and jumped down, his knees bending to absorb the landing absentmindedly. Sen-Iv raised her brows impressed, then frowned seeing his troubled expression and took a deep breath herself. ¡°There¡¯s a boat coming,¡± Glen started and Sen blinked once, her striking eyes watching him intensely. ¡°You¡¯ll get on it,¡± Jinx climbed down from the burning roof in the meantime, opting to clear the final five meters or so, with a daring gymnast¡¯s double summersault to one-up him, landing awkwardly with a grimace of pain, she quickly changed to a large frenzied grin. ¡°Along with the girls¡­¡± Glen smacked his lips and glared at Stiles, then at the limping Gish that approached them. ¡°Zola, Soren and Jinx.¡± ¡°And you,¡± Sen-Iv said simply. ¡°I need to get the rest of us out, Sen.¡± ¡°These people are not important,¡± She stopped, to hide her frustration. ¡°The girls will stay back.¡± Glen grabbed her by the elbow and led her a couple of meters away from the others. ¡°The girls will face the worst fate,¡± He hissed angry and seeing she was distressed and on the verge of collapse, took a deep breath and continued as composed as he could. ¡°Jinx will make sure you make it to Altarin,¡± He stopped, pulled the old Lord¡¯s ring out of his finger and pressed it into her soft hands. ¡°The ship is yours, as are the men on it. You will rule in my name.¡± Sen-Iv looked at him sternly. She¡¯d managed to recover her composure, but for a fresh wrinkle on her forehead, nothing betraying her inner turmoil. ¡°I will not go to Altarin, Glen. My place is with you.¡± ¡°Sen, I intend to try something insane,¡± Glen explained. ¡°I need to know, everyone that matters is safe.¡± ¡°I need to know, you¡¯ll be safe,¡± Sen-Iv replied and stepping forward rushed into his arms. ¡°And you have a way out, if your plan fails,¡± She whispered in his ear. Gods she smells so fucking good, Glen thought, pressing his mouth on her small ear, a little desperately, before he caught himself and pulled back. He stared at his wife¡¯s face soberly, fighting to keep his head firmly at the task at hand. ¡°I¡¯ll make a break for it, down the merchant path,¡± He explained to her, leaving the worst part out. ¡°They¡¯ll patrol the roads leaving the city,¡± Sen countered. ¡°It¡¯s better to cut through the desert. More dangerous also.¡± ¡°You have a plan,¡± Glen said looking at her. ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± Sen-Iv replied earnestly. ¡°But I can bring your ship to a southern port, if that¡¯s where you¡¯re heading.¡± Glen sighed and glanced towards the others silently watching them talk. ¡°What¡¯s the next relatively safe harbor?¡± It¡¯s not that his plan, had anything going for it, if he made it out of Rida. ¡°You¡¯ll need to make it across the desert and follow Cofol controlled paths, Glen.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll make it. We don¡¯t have time Sen and I need ye on that boat. If that¡¯s the only way, you¡¯ll get on it, then fire away.¡± He¡¯d urged the troubled woman and Sen, after a small pause, had answered. ¡°Eikenport. It¡¯s mostly abandoned.¡±
Marcus stood back, the grimace distorting his face, almost turning him to a different person. ¡°You should be on that boat, lad,¡± He said brusquely, but Glen raised a hand to silence him. ¡°Can you make the scorpions work?¡± The young Lord repeated, flinching when a boulder struck a half-collapsed wall behind them, rattling the street. ¡°I¡¯ll need all the men here,¡± Marcus grunted. ¡°And an hour.¡± ¡°They¡¯ll need an hour as well,¡± Glen agreed. ¡°So I¡¯ll ask for a parley.¡± ¡°Have you lost yer mind?¡± Marcus barked and a murmur was heard from the soldiers, listening in. ¡°You heard yer orders Decanus,¡± Glen said, clenching his jaw. ¡°Make it happen.¡± Marcus took a deep breath and then let it all out, to vent his frustration. His next words came out a growl. ¡°Ye heard him ladies! The fuck are ye staring at? Anyone not on his horse, when I get onto mine, will get a kick in the arse!¡±
¡°Wow,¡± Jinx said, sounding impressed. ¡°He sure lit up a fire in their pants! Hehe,¡± Glen threw her a glare. ¡°I need ye on that boat, Whisper.¡± ¡°Yeah, I heard ye earlier,¡± She replied. ¡°I can refuse the contract, ye know. There¡¯s not much room in the boat for my stuff.¡± Glen closed his eyes. ¡°I want ye safely out of Rida, woman!¡± He blasted her. Jinx blinked, then stared at her small boots. ¡°Is it a good plan? Alix¡¯s vote of confidence doesn¡¯t count, so ye know.¡± ¡°Not sure. It depends,¡± Glen replied, staring over the barricade the Cofols reloading their catapults, the angle and narrowness of the street making it difficult to get a good shot at them. But it was only a matter of time, before they figured it out. ¡°On what?¡± She probed annoyingly. ¡°Whether she still wants me dead,¡± Glen replied. ¡°You have a strange effect on women, Glen,¡± Whisper noticed, with what was either a jealous pout, or a snigger of approval. ¡°Any other nuggets of wisdom?¡± He retorted wryly. Jinx sighed, looked about them for anyone listening and finding no one, since Marcus had already pulled out the soldiers, she whispered. ¡°I need ye to take my egg.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I need ye¡­ to take my egg,¡± Jinx repeated blushing. Glen stared at her numbly for a long moment. A rock soared over their heads in the meantime, flew over the docks and splashed into Yeriden. ¡°I need an answer Glen. Tis important,¡± Jinx insisted. ¡°Whisper, I¡­¡± He sighed giving up. ¡°I¡¯ve no idea, what yer talking about.¡± Glen didn¡¯t dare, even attempt to explore, what the Gish¡¯s cryptic words meant. ¡°Oh crap! I haven¡¯t told ye,¡± Jinx said, slapping her forehead hard enough to tear up. She stumbled on shaky legs, then grabbed her knee and hobbled a couple of meters away moaning. ¡°Are you okay?¡± Glen asked her with a smile. ¡°Tis nothing,¡± Jinx reassured him and walked gingerly his way. ¡°Early morning cramps,¡± She explained, although it was almost noon. ¡°Let me guess,¡± Glen indulged her. ¡°You have an egg.¡± ¡°Aye, haha,¡± Jinx grinned, wiping the tears from her face. ¡°I do. I need ye to take it wit you, else I¡¯ll bring a mule and leave Soren behind.¡± ¡°Why Soren?¡± ¡°I like the girls more?¡± Glen shook his head. He couldn¡¯t believe what bothered the Gish, in the middle of a real crisis. ¡°I¡¯ll take your egg wit me,¡± He relented, feeling silly even as he uttered the words. ¡°Great! It¡¯s in that box,¡± Jinx explained. ¡°Ye don¡¯t have to open it, and I¡¯ll take it off yer hands, when we meet in Eikenport. You shouldn¡¯t open my sack also.¡± There¡¯s a sack? Wait¡­ ¡°What box?¡± Then he remembered. ¡°That thing weighted a ton! The fuck you have in there?¡± ¡°Nothing much,¡± Jinx defended herself. ¡°Tis a big egg.¡± ¡°How big?¡± Jinx pouted and showed him with her hands. ¡°Are ye pulling my leg Whisper? This is ridiculous.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t forget to bring it with you,¡± Jinx advised him, disregarding his outburst. ¡°It¡¯s very valuable.¡± The plaguin¡¯ egg? Are ye freaking kidding me? Glen threw his arms in the air, wanting to end this frustrating talk. ¡°Fine, good grief! Now get yer arse out of my face!¡±
Alix looked so much like a male Jinx, Glen thought of punching him in the face. Right between his stupid nostrils. ¡°This is very exciting,¡± Alix Walker said, standing up straighter on his saddle. Glen glanced back on Stiles standing on the opening, they¡¯d created to get them through and frowned, when Fikumin¡¯s head appeared next to his leg, to check on the street. ¡°Are you sure about the route?¡± Glen asked the Gish, holding the white flag of truce. ¡°Checked it again last night,¡± Alix replied, with a shrug. ¡°How did ye get out?¡± ¡°Climbed over the black iron fence, through the garden, used the rough brick corner of the villa, to go up two stories, down another two at the other side,¡± Alix explained with the aura of a professional schooling an amateur and pointed at a left turn, between two collapsed buildings. ¡°Six houses that way.¡± ¡°Is that the fish guy?¡± Glen asked, who¡¯d considered making an attempt that way in the night, but dismissed it since¡­ well, not everyone could climb up a wall alike a cat burglar. ¡°Ayup. Make a right, down a straight side road, left again to meet the main road leading to the East Gates,¡± Alix replied, eyeing him approvingly. ¡°How far to the gates?¡± ¡°Ten-fifteen minutes. Ever charged yer horse, milord?¡± Alix asked with an annoying smirk. ¡°There¡¯s an assassin, next to the Cofol officer,¡± Glen said, disregarding his taunt. ¡°Jinx said, ye know about Silent Servants.¡± Alix¡¯s face sobered up and glanced at the shadowy, hooded figure of Larn, waiting for them to approach. ¡°Only what I heard in the guild. Don¡¯t turn yer back on him.¡± ¡°He¡¯ll attack me, under the flag of truce?¡± Glen asked him, not wanting another problem, on top of everything else. The sight of his friends leaving on the boat had hit him hard, despite the efforts he¡¯d made to mask it up. Some details of it comical, such as Jinx slobbering on his arm making a mess of it either unwittingly, or just wiping up her face and Soren refusing to enter the boat, fearing it might topple over. Others sobering, like Sen-Iv making a loop on her chain, to wear his ring on her neck alongside her Capricorn family pendant and the slave girls crying desperately in front of the Marquette¡¯s stunned crew. Was there a better way? Glen thought and Larn raised a bald brow, his face almost inhuman now that he could examine him under fresh eyes. Another Zilan, walking amongst them. This one definitely a monster. Where¡¯s Lith? Glen wanted to ask him. Is she still alive? Is she behind all this destruction? Was she working with them all along? Your heart¡¯s desire, Lith had said to him. If you help me bring back hope, for my people. I can now see yer people, Glen thought bitterly. But what I see darling, I don¡¯t like at all.
The leading Cofol officer, wearing a yellow long cape, a black centaur holding a bow carved on his armor -right at his chest- the rest of it beautiful white leather, reinforced with steel chain. His horse wore a variation of it, but it had a Sagittarius prominently displayed as well. Glen had remembered it from the zodiac signs, Sen-Iv had taught him. ¡°I¡¯m Naret-In Amin,¡± The Cofol officer announced in common. He was around twenty, perhaps a little older. Youthful face, strong jaw, piercing black eyes, not as slanted as the common Cofols and also surprisingly, he didn¡¯t wear too much makeup. ¡°You raised the truce colors. With whom am I speaking?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Sir Glenavon Reeves, Lord of Altarin,¡± Glen replied, keeping Larn in his field of view. ¡°Duke Winfield, had ordered me to defend the harbor. In light of your successes in the previous days and the situation in general, I find it senseless to continue.¡± Naret nodded. ¡°The harbor is worthless to the Prince, at this moment. What are your terms?¡± ¡°As long as the option is there, ships may still reinforce the city. One brought supplies just today, as you may well know.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you leave with it, Lord Reeves?¡± Naret asked. ¡°Are you married Lord Amin?¡± Glen countered again and the Cofol sat back on his expensive and richly decorated saddle impressed. ¡°Once.¡± ¡°Then you have yer answer,¡± Glen replied simply. Larn grimaced, either surprised himself, or out of anger. ¡°I want my men to be spared and the same treatment for myself,¡± Glen added, as confidently as he could muster. Naret glanced towards the silently watching Larn. ¡°I can¡¯t free them, Lord Reeves. Nor yourself,¡± The Cofol officer said. ¡°I understand. I ask for an hour to inform my men,¡± Glen said coolly. ¡°And you¡¯ll surrender the harbor?¡± ¡°I want your word of honor, my men won¡¯t be harmed. You promise me that and you¡¯ll have the harbor, within the hour.¡± Naret sighed. ¡°Well, in that case, I¡¯ll accept Lord¡ª¡± ¡°No.¡± Larn had stooped forward and glared at him. ¡°Master Ralnor, these are excellent terms¡ª¡± Larn stopped him again, raising a gloved hand. ¡°Surrender now. Drop your sword and climb down your horse.¡± ¡°Master Ralnor, I can¡¯t condone this!¡± Naret-In exploded. ¡°He¡¯s under the colors of truce! You¡¯ll have us lose men charging a barricade, when they have asked to surrender?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a ploy,¡± Larn hissed, looking at him disgusted. ¡°You¡¯re being played. Your father will be made a fool over this deal.¡± Naret¡¯s cheeks flamed up and the Cofol officer turned his horse towards the assassin and his own dark grey mount. ¡°Leave my father out of this, Master Ralnor. I don¡¯t take orders from your mistress.¡± Larn sighed, as if the young officer was talking nonsense. ¡°Do as you please,¡± He relented, giving Glen a smirk, as if to tell him he had him figured out. ¡°Lord Reeves,¡± A flushed Naret said, turning around. ¡°I accept your terms¡ª¡± He paused, put a hand on his neck, a thin red line running slowly down his white armour, splitting that impressive Sagittarius right in the middle. Naret stared shocked at his fingers and let out a pained gasp, when he realized they were painted red as well. ¡°Run!¡± Alix yelled, but Glen was already twisting away, while pulling hard at the Outlaw¡¯s reins to turn him around. ¡°HE KILLED LORD AMIN!¡± Larn bellowed, keeping his eyes on them, while backpedaling with his horse, so as to place the bleeding-out Naret and his stallion between them. A moment later he avoided -with an annoyed hiss- a small knife Alix had hurled against him. Reaching calmly, Larn got out a crossbow, armed it and fired at Alix who was galloping after Glen. The Gish though dodged the bolt, ducking on pure instinct. Behind them amidst the stunned Cofol lines, who¡¯d missed what had transpired, a frenzied clamor started rising, as every able bodied warrior jumped on his horse to come after them. So in a sense, the plan had worked.
119. Tales from Rida (2/3)
Aelrindel Tales from Rida Part II (Sing me a song)
Siege of Rida -Day seven- Lirue ni o linn, her mother crooned.
The crown of its head had blackened, the rest of it a salient cerulean color, but for its upper tail feathers that were a deep yellow. The bird¡¯s beady eyes black and unresponsive. Aelrindel pushed its beak open with her index finger and pouted unhappy. She turned to stare at her mother watching from her spot, under the green-leafed palm tree, dry fronds shaped into a natural stool and the old tree¡¯s shade keeping the strong sun away. Edlenn, her gorgeous face radiating warmth, a soft glow all around her, just as she always had been, when they visited Nesande¡¯s Garden, cast her head to one side and sighed. The high priestess of Nesande had stopped humming that tune she was singing all morning. ¡°You¡¯ve taken too much again, Aelrindel,¡± She admonished her, in a soft melodic voice. ¡°It¡¯s dead,¡± She admitted and stared at the stupid bird with hatred. ¡°I will try again.¡± ¡°And you¡¯ll kill another one,¡± Her mother replied. ¡°How can it help you ni Netela, if it¡¯s dead?¡± Turlas flew above them, before she could think of an answer that sonorous trumpet announcing his coming from afar, as he headed for his nest and little Aelrindel turned her silvery eyes to the sky, both excited and terrified, to catch a glimpse of him. The magnificent, gleaming red-gold scales, turned black in an instant, time moving forward and then the wall of her tent was torn apart, huge horse and armoured rider crashing through her belongings, the giant tent caving on its south side, the many night wrought-iron fire pits setting it ablaze. Aelrindel burst out of her tent with a shriek, the camp in a state of chaos, slaves screaming scared, soldiers cursing and Knights roaming freely about. Death was everywhere. But this was the present. An Issir stumbled her way, as she tried to find her bearings, blinded by the bright torches and the explosions, as flames were shooting out of almost every large tent. She paused, realized her feet were bare, thorns and rocks hurting underneath and hissing put her hand on the man¡¯s wrist. The soldier turned and made to raise his sword, but she pressed until his iron vambraces gave and caved in crashing his forearm. The man screamed blinded by pain and a mounted Knight heard him and turned towards them, even managing to spot her amidst the general chaos. The Lorian, kicked his legs and pushed the stallion into a charge, the light of the fires making him radiate from foot to head alike the Goddess¡¯ son Tyeus, his helm gleaming like a small sun. ¡°Alurae,¡± Aelrindel said in the old tongue, letting go of the still groaning and thrashing soldier¡¯s pulverized arm and snatched him, before he¡¯d a chance to react, by the throat. Even the pandemonium of the battle raging all around them, couldn¡¯t completely mask the onrushing horse¡¯s wild gallop, but she was too angry to let the fear penetrate her psyche. ¡°Cante nae calae,¡± Aelrindel spat, without hesitation and the trapped screaming man¡¯s face turned to ash, while a huge ball of fire erupted from the charging Knight¡¯s helm, first shooting out of the narrow eye slits and mouth opening, and a moment later, when the helm cracked and exploded, it engulfed half his torso. The blowback of the spell, had almost killed the Moon of Dan on the spot, but in her dreams, she¡¯d walked away without a scratch, but the minor inconvenience of having to protect herself from direct sunlight, for a couple of days.
¡°Mistress,¡± Wulan whispered, worry evident in her voice. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be here. He won¡¯t come.¡± ¡°Silence,¡± She hissed, the heat unbearable, not because of her mending injuries, but the fact they were standing in the middle of a flat field, for almost an hour. Aelrindel would have gone completely naked for the rest of the day, if not for the gossip following everything the Prince and his entourage did. She glanced at her feet and found her shoes lovely, though a bit too much for an open event such as this. Then again, the majority of her clothes and footwear, the Duke¡¯s brutes had destroyed, when they¡¯d burned her tent. ¡°Who is coming before the exultant Prince Heir? Who will plead, with the triumphant son of the Eternal Khanate?¡± The Prince¡¯s Herald announced pompously and Aelrindel glanced bored out of her wits at the slow moving, low level lording, Winfield had sent in his place. Youthful looking, his hair longer and too unkempt, than what perhaps was favored in a Lorian court and also unruly, curling too much at the edges. A dark-brown color, exposure to the sun had lighten up at many spots. Tanned and well-built, but on the slimmer side. Wearing simple plate armor and uncomfortably tight leather pants, with a pair of worn out boots underneath. He was young, she decided, despite that spoof of hair on his square jaw and cheeks, but also quite appealing in a roguish manner, those piercing amber eyes of his, examining the crowd listening in to their exchange, in a calculative manner. Aelrindel almost dropped from her saddle, when she heard this young man was in fact, the old Lord Reeves¡¯ spawn. His grandson. Her horse moved on its own, interpreting her confused thoughts on the matter as an order to approach and brought her closer to Sahand, before she¡¯d the change to regain command. The Prince himself, was enjoying playing the conquering general for his people, despite almost losing them the battle that first day and having Aelrindel killed, when he failed to protect his camp. Aelrindel had reached with a spirit thread to touch the young Reeves, before she¡¯d time to control herself. Her spell was pushed away, before she¡¯d time to ¡®taste¡¯ him though. Nothing but a glimpse of many nights under the stars, the belly of a mountain and a ship. A pirate¡¯s eyes and a brigand¡¯s life. Somewhere afar, her mother started singing again. With her heart drumming in her chest, breath drown in a blend of hope and hatred, she tried again and again. Each time pushed back, despite her efforts. Was she too weak, to cast such a simple spell? The young Reeves looked at her, as if too warn her to stay back. Such brass, she thought, and hearing his response, Aelrindel decided to stop torturing herself and solve the young nobleman¡¯s riddle. Are you but a precious fool of a human? She thought. Sent to spoil my fun? ¡°Winfield¡¯s life is forfeited,¡± Aelrindel told him and reaching with her hand inside the leather bag secured on her saddle, burned through all the sandalwood seeds and frankincense resin she had available, in the hopes to protect her body from harming itself. Two of her fingers turned black nonetheless. Nur Na Ni. Sir Glenavon didn¡¯t even blink. ¡°The Duke won¡¯t accept that,¡± He told her earnestly, brushing her domination spell off. ¡°If you really want to avoid bloodshed, you should give him an out.¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. No. A perturbed Aelrindel, approached him even more and stopped so close, she could discern the dark circles of worry under his eyes, from the first stress wrinkles. This isn¡¯t a noble scion¡¯s face, her instinct¡¯s told her. ¡°Winfield¡¯s life is forfeited,¡± She repeated, searching his common armor and clothes with curious eyes, for the device that protected him and felt it first, before seeing it sheathed on his waist. Edlenn hummed in the background.
The Queen of Queen¡¯s plopped down carelessly on the felled trunk, luscious cobalt hair a mess from flying over the Pale Mountains. She adjusted the curved sheath housing Black Eirkor, her famed war sword, armor painted black and a reddish-gold, the segmented metal strips mirroring Ovinet¡¯s scales, the beast¡¯s inhuman dragon eyes locked on Aelrindel, either amused¡­ Or hungry. ¡°She¡¯s expecting,¡± Baltoris commented touching the giant head, over the cavernous nostrils. ¡°We might have a new Wyvern soon, sorceress. Isn¡¯t this a great occasion?¡± She added with the hint of a smile. Aelrindel said nothing. You can only lie to a Wyvern once. ¡°You asked for clemency, daughter of Edlenn,¡± The Empress of the Realm said, her tone changing. ¡°Yet you still follow the Old Ways.¡± ¡°Only to work with my incantations, Great Mistress,¡± She replied, then looking into the beast¡¯s red irises swimming in that sea of jade, Aelrindel added. ¡°I¡¯ve never killed for pleasure.¡± Ovinet snorted and the ground shook, when her giant head moved. Twice as tall as the Queen, from the edge of her door sized jaws to the base of her foot-long horns, it made Baltoris appear small, when she was herself taller than Aelrindel. ¡°I can¡¯t understand her,¡± The Queen commented. ¡°Yet you claim that you can,¡± She added looking at her nervous face and time moved backwards again. His unshaven cheek roughed up her ribcage, moist lips tracing each one ritualistically, until she had to stop him, begging at first and then using both her hands, when it didn¡¯t work, his rich and unkempt white hair, smelling of salt and sea. ¡°These don¡¯t look like bones,¡± Reinut remarked, raising a thick white brow, pointing at what had been left for her to cut off of the massive corpse of Gimoss. The experience as foul and disturbing as the big wyvern had been when alive. ¡°They took all the bones,¡± She explained, hearing Zargatoth¡¯s words repeated in her mind. ¡°So I¡¯ll use his talons.¡±
¡°Why him? Why now?¡± Aelrindel probed, snapping back to the present. Why couldn¡¯t you stay dead? ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± Sir Glenavon replied. ¡°I was talking to Gimoss,¡± The sorceress hissed. ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± Sir Glenavon quizzed, appearing confused. Was this an act? Of course it is. He¡¯s playing you again. ¡°You are lying,¡± She spat, as much angry, as scared. Prince Sahand stared at her confused as she retreated, but Aelrindel, by now barely able to stand on her saddle and with her left hand a hot cauldron of pain, didn¡¯t even have the patience to talk with him. Let the Prince and his men figure it out. All Aelrindel cared for now, was to learn the story behind young Reeves.
Later that day, as if the Goddess was listening to her, Ralnor¡¯s chilly presence returned, his dark shadow waiting in her new tent. Smaller than her previous one, but since she didn¡¯t want to stay with the Prince, Aelrindel didn¡¯t bother complaining, or asking for something bigger. There simply wasn¡¯t one available. Ralnor appeared ragged, for his standards. Then again, she hadn¡¯t seen him for almost a year. Endlessly living on the road, had slowly wore the legendary assassin down. ¡°I walked the fields of your vengeance,¡± Ralnor noted, examining her injured but by now wrapped in soft cloth fingers, with perverted interest. ¡°Heard tales of men bursting into fire. Is that wise?¡± ¡°You failed,¡± Aelrindel said simply, putting her feet down and sitting on the edge of her bed. Hard and uneven, despite the many cushions. It was probably better for her back to sleep inside the forest and she seriously considered it. ¡°The Reeves boy lives.¡± Ralnor paused and then put down her leather satchel, containing the burned incense. He¡¯d moved so fast, she missed it. Dar Eherdir, despite appearances hadn¡¯t lost his touch. ¡°You met a Reeves. There are more in Rida.¡± ¡°His grandson. The Lord of Altarin in the flesh. He seemed very much alive,¡± Aelrindel pointed and getting up, grabbed her bag and hid it inside a large wooden container. ¡°It¡¯s a large family, sorceress. Some brat stepped up and awarded himself the title.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± Ralnor stared at her intensely. It made her uncomfortable. ¡°The boy was bleeding out. There was no way out of the Fort. Nout burned everything to the ground, is the word. Multiple sources confirmed it. Since I left him dying inside a wooden barrack, I assume he¡¯s gone. Flesh makes for fine kindling.¡± ¡°Did Prince Nout take slaves?¡± Aelrindel asked, crossing her arms before her chest. Ralnor stepped closer, which made her even more uncomfortable. ¡°Girls mostly. Even if some slave master, swept the ruins afterwards, I doubt they would have picked him up alive. He had minutes to live.¡± ¡°Why not finish him up?¡± Aelrindel asked, a little confused. Ralnor pressed his lips tight and reached to touch her injured arm. Aelrindel moved away. ¡°He dodged a lethal blow,¡± The assassin said with a sigh. ¡°I¡¯m not a thug, sorceress.¡± Aelrindel kept her opinion to herself. ¡°How did he do it?¡± The Moon of Dan asked, although she knew. Ralnor narrowed his ashen eyes, sensing her undertone. Aelrindel felt his song changing, reaching out, which of course was ridiculous, as Ralnor couldn¡¯t use spells like that. But there it was again, the threads of it spreading, mingling with hers carefully not to disturb the sorceress patterns, an artistry behind them that couldn¡¯t be taught. This was a gift one was born with. ¡°I will find out, if it¡¯s him,¡± Ralnor said, at last stepping back. His stench of death and decay, was too much for Aelrindel. ¡°But it won¡¯t be easy, with the city under siege.¡± What have you done? Aelrindel thought. Who was this? This wasn¡¯t the assassin. ¡°I shall use a bird to find him,¡± She said absentmindedly, trying to discern the familiar essence all over them. ¡°Just give him the mark,¡± Ralnor said, either oblivious to the fact one of their own was feeling them out, or hiding something. ¡°And this time, he won¡¯t be so lucky.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want him dead,¡± Aelrindel hissed. ¡°I want to speak to him again.¡± Ralnor froze. ¡°If he knows what you are, the word will spread to your enemies.¡± ¡°I think they already know,¡± She countered. ¡°I meant enemies, in the Prince¡¯s court, sorceress. Killing him is the wiser choice,¡± Ralnor insisted and while it made sense, Aelrindel had changed her mind. She wanted to learn more. ¡°No,¡± She said with finality. ¡°The young Reeves lives.¡± ¡°Will you forgive the Duke as well?¡± The assassin inquired calmly. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Any particular last minute changes to this contract?¡± Was he mocking her? ¡°Bring me his eyes,¡± The sorceress had said.
Hours after Ralnor had left to slip into the besieged city, Aelrindel walked to the fire pits and placed fresh incense amidst the embers, then lied on her bed and watched Wulan lit the oil lamps one by one, as the darkness fell around them. The camp noisy, the distant hammering of the engineers livening up the silent night. The sorceress sent Wulan away next, her loyal slave upset and visibly bothered at the order, since she knew Aelrindel wasn¡¯t expecting the Prince. The Moon of Dan continued staring numbly at the nether, through her shrill mosquito screen, too many memories fighting to burst out and flood her hurting soul. The past was full of sorrows, but not everything was bleak. Not everything. Aelrindel started humming dreamily a mellow tune, shining many-hued ethereal bubbles dropping from the roof of her tent and bursting when they touched the net. Less than a minute later she stopped and stood up again, placing her small feet to the ground. The sorceress took a deep anxious breath, waiting for her new visitor to speak. It was a tense moment. ¡°My mother, used to sing me this song, to stop the bad dreams,¡± The daughter of Baltoris told her, sounding moved. ¡°Mused that she heard it in the Garden.¡± 120. Tales from Rida (3/3)
Glen Tales from Rida Part III (A matter of poor judgement?)
Siege of Rida -Day Eleven- Alix racing behind the young former thief yelled for him to turn right, but Glen wasn¡¯t about to forget the second most important part of his plan, and he¡¯d turned Outlaw just in time. The large warhorse swung right, hooves skidding on cobblestone, narrowly missing the collapsed wall with its left shoulder. Glen glanced back as the horse jumped forward, saw Alix turning as well, another bolt whistling over his head, a constipated look on his pink and red face. ¡°RIGHT AGAIN!¡± The Gish yelled and Glen turned his eyes to the front again, barely holding on the saddle, as Outlaw burst forward in what was a narrow side alley, running parallel to the harbor. In ten days it had turned into a maze of debris, piles of broken boards and smashed bricks. Rida¡¯s houses were built one next to the other normally, with no room left between each building, some roofs interconnected. After some of the buildings in this chain had collapsed due to the bombardment, everything had become more chaotic. On the south, the fire that was raging uncontrolled, was relentlessly approaching this part of the city. If the wind turned on them again, everything still standing would be set ablaze in a matter of minutes. Outlaw jumped over a broken up cart, just as the entrance of the alley behind them filled with horses and Cofols that quickly realized, they could only follow them two or three at one time and no more. Glen saw the collapsed wall of the three story villa blocking the road completely and panicked momentarily, before realizing the turn Alix had found, was coming right before that. There was a short old woman sitting on the top of that huge pile of debris smoking a pipe, wrapped in a cheap dirty grey cloak, as bizarre an image, as one would ever expect during a chase. Glen pulled at the reins fearing he¡¯d miss the turn, which was a mistake, but his horse found the opening itself and swung right again with an indignant neigh at the abuse. Former thief and mount managed to slid onto a wall this time, Glen¡¯s thigh turning numb in an instant and by the time Outlaw charged again angry, shaking its great head right and left, Glen was half-way out of the saddle. The mounted archer, long blade in hand, saw him entering this street -relatively in better condition, but also small and vertical to the previous one- and pushed the blackened man down. A scout standing three meters behind him, his own horse blocking the street, frowned and then yelled a warning in Cofol. Glen still riding awkwardly and leaning precariously on his ride side, reached for his sword, found it half-way out of its sheath and managed to release it with a hiss of frustration. It was almost a comical mess, pulling hard with his left hand using the horn of his saddle, in order to rise back up again, while his arching blade almost sliced one of Outlaw¡¯s ears clean off. The warhorse, realizing his rider wasn¡¯t in control, went by pure bred instinct and charged headlong on the mounted archer between them and what was apparently the exit to the large avenue leading to the East Gates. The Cofol was in the process of reaching for his bow, before he realized Glen and Outlaw were coming barreling down on him. The archer grimaced, eyes ogling in shock and went for his long blade again, while he kicked his legs to get his smaller horse out of the way. The Steppe Horse jumped nervously to the side, just as Glen dashed past them, swinging wildly with his sword and missing everything. The longsword swung in a full circle, first rising up and then coming down again in the next second. The young Lord¡¯s torso dropped forward, his jaw bouncing off of Outlaw¡¯s sturdier head, stopped himself from toppling over and breaking his neck on the rough cobblestone, by panic-grabbing at its rich mane with his left hand, all the while feeling his right shoulder popping out and back in again with a crack. At the tail end of it Glen miraculously downed his sword, just as he fell on the unmounted scout next. The Cofol released the arrow bravely, burning a bloody red line on the right side of Glen¡¯s neck, then lost his left hand in return, as the sword chopped it off right at the wrist and had his chest caved in, when Outlaw connected with him full force. The man was hurled senseless to the side and smashed on to the right wall, pieces of his broken bow inserted in his face and neck. ¡°GAH!¡± Glen cried, the pain from his shoulder blinding and barely holding on to the saddle, as both he and Outlaw burst into the big avenue, one of Rida¡¯s four main roads. The flat cobblestone was used here as well, though three large carriages standing a foot apart, could fit with ease here. The empty space, marred by the fire raging to the large building across from him. ¡°Whoa!¡± Glen yelled, holding on with his thighs, while punching his right shoulder to get it going again. It wasn¡¯t a remedy, just pure adrenalin reaction, without much thought put on it. Outlaw neighed and came to a stop in the middle of the large street and Glen twisted around to catch sight of Alix bleeding at the thigh, coming out of the narrow alley, the Cofol archer following right behind him, leaving the reins and reaching again for his bow, seeing Glen had stopped. Ye piece of stinking shit! Glen clicked his tongue, to start a snorting Outlaw going again. ¡°Go boy, go,¡± He urged him and the horse rotated on its axis and started trotting again, giving Glen plenty of time to see the group of riders galloping towards his position, from further down the large street, three Cataphracts amongst them. It seemed some of the Cofols had guessed, where they were headed and had chosen to follow a roundabout, but easier route, to catch up with them. ¡°MOVE!¡± Alix yelled, his nose-less face looking utterly ridiculous, riding wildly by him and slapped Outlaw¡¯s hindquarters once for good measure. Outlaw burst forward, an arrow stabbing its wooden saddle, after slicing open a smarting swallow wound on the left back of Glen¡¯s thigh, ruining his pants. The young Lord twisted around cursing and dislodged it, his hand coming back up bloody. One of the Cataphracts opened up to a full charge, thinking that he got wounded bad and started cutting at the distance between them fast. Fifty meters turned to forty in a breath, as they raced down the relative empty avenue and the rest of the leading Cataphract¡¯s group, of probably a dozen Cofols, plus the stubborn mounted archer, started following his example one after the other. Glen hopping up and down the saddle, his bleeding thigh messing up with his balance, followed behind an equally injured Alix, as they both galloped madly through Rida¡¯s main artery towards the East Gates. Few people still trying to get away, heard the commotion and dashed out of the way, leaving their stuff behind. Truth be told, with the fire approaching and the wind shifting, they could run only to one side, the moment they abandoned the main street and that was to the north and the harbor. A side road could still lead them there, and it was the same road, hopefully Stiles and the dwarf were using to get away, before the Cofols attacked the undefended barricade. Alix swung his head around and hissed, seeing Glen catching up to him and even pulling forward. ¡°Fuck,¡± The Gish snarled gravely concerned. Then glancing back again he repeated, twice as desperate. ¡°Fuck!¡± ¡°Cut to the left!¡± Glen warned him, seeing the towers of the East Gate approaching in front of them, more carts now abandoned right and left, people¡¯s bags and hemp sacks laden with supplies. Even a couple of corpses. He looked back himself again, his spine feeling, as if it was cut in two, or completely broken, after the hectic galloping of the past ten-fifteen minutes. The Cataphract following them, now not even ten meters behind, his horse¡¯s eyes glaring wild, under its metal Chamfron and froth covering its muzzle and traveling up its cheek-piece, went for his crossbow realizing that was as close, as he¡¯d get. Glen pressed his knees tight and cut Outlaw hard right, towards one of the burning mostly wooden two story buildings. Smoke got in his eyes and clogged his throat, but the Cataphract came after him, what he rightly considered the higher value target. Outlaw snorted and shook his head suffering from inhaling putrid black fumes, but Glen kept riding as close to the flames as he could, to keep his pursuer blinded. A minute later, the Cataphract pulled away and Glen glanced back, face covered in black soot, white toothy grin turning into a manic clench of his jaw. The Cofols had cut the distance almost by two thirds, while he was playing hide and seek with their friend, because he¡¯d slowed down, or¡­ Outlaw was shot and running on fumes. Neither option very helpful. ¡°Come on!¡± Glen urged his mount and kept one eye on the approaching and now going for their bows Cofols and Alix, who despite being more injured and on a worse horse, had opened up two bodies on him. Of course the Gish¡¯s pink head, barely reached Glen¡¯s chest and Alix Walker seem to weigh less than fifty kilos soaking wet, so that surely played a role as well. Glen didn¡¯t even see the black flag waving, or the positioned wagons on either side, so Marcus had to get up from his cover, the smokes now covering the large street, as the wind had turned northwards and bark a warning as loud, as he could. ¡°YE BLOODY FOOL!¡± Glen saw the taut hemp rope coming and stooped at the last moment, the line whipping over him like the executioner¡¯s blade. Outlaw¡¯s whole body shook, his front knees buckling, but managed to regain his footing, veered wildly to the left half-turning half-gliding, horseshoes sending sparks fly and stopped before an upturned tumbril, just as the leading Cofols following right behind them, met the lethal line that run the street from side to side, at full force. Two Cataphracts and a light armored rider were decapitated immediately, crimson torrents of blood shooting upwards and another had his chest and face peeled off, skin, flesh and leather armor an unrecognizable mess. A further three attempted to stop, but were thrown off their horses, two of them tumbling down the hard cobblestone, breaking hands and feet, the third sent to crash on to a brick wall head first, the crunch of his neck snapping heard clearly, over the wild neighs, the screams of horror and utter shock of his friends. Glen saw the last part of it, as he tried desperately to turn an exhausted Outlaw and lead him around the tumbril towards their lines, until he realized what Marcus was yelling at him, still waving like a madman, about twenty meters away and just in front of the open gates. Oh, crap, Glen thought, and pulled at the reins hard to stay his horse. Behind him, the surviving Cofols had managed to stop and while some had started hacking at the rope, or just ducking under it, the rest had nocked arrows already from where they stood and aimed at the only half-visible target amidst the thickening smoke. Had they been able to see further ahead and right in front of the gates, they would have spotted the two large Scorpions pointed their way and the guards manning them. TWANG Glen didn¡¯t even see the large iron bolt, flying down the street. WHOOSH He only heard it. It whistled over the mounted archer that had followed them from the alley, the Cofol flinching seeing it at the last moment, but remarkably maintaining its composure, as he was spared by pure luck. Luck being what it was, switched sides the next moment. The wind turned, blew the smokes away and despite the flames now jumping over to some of the buildings, on the other side of the street, the Cofols saw Marcus and his machines waiting for them. The Archer aimed and fired without thinking, kicking his legs to get his mount going, most of his remaining seven or eight friends, moving along with him. ¡°LOOSE ¡®EM AT WILL!¡± Marcus bellowed, just as the first volley fired by the Cofols reached them, killing a hapless guard carrying a large bolt and injuring one of their horses and the laden mule standing next to it. Damnit, Glen thought and clicked his tongue sending Outlaw forward, in order to return to their lines. The bolts whooshed past him and to his right. The first one missing again, but the other skewering a scout through his torso, lifting him two feet off the ground, as if he was weightless and then nailed him on one of the fallen riders, standing right behind him, killing them both. ¡°Charge at ¡®em lads!¡± Marcus barked, seeing Glen heading their way. ¡°We break them and then we¡¯re out of here!¡± The guards rushed with swords drawn to close the distance and Glen who had almost reached the heavy Scorpions placed before the gates and the lowered drawbridge, swung around to assist them. The Cofols surprisingly didn¡¯t run, those without a horse tried to stand and defend against the charging guards, while those that had one opted to charge using their sabres. Glen ducked under the horse archer¡¯s blade, the edge of it sending sparks fly, when it met his iron shoulder pad. He managed to set his blade right and pushed half his longsword into his opponent¡¯s belly, piercing through the armor and dropping him from his horse. The bulk of the damage done by the force of the onrushing warrior and not Glen¡¯s strength.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°HAH!¡± Glen howled, overcome with excitement at the success and swung around looking for another target. ¡°BACK! WHITE LET GO! MARTEL!¡± Marcus yelled and waved his own sword above his head. With most of Cofols killed, it appeared they had their window of opportunity firmly opened. No soon had Glen allowed himself to hope for an easy out, a devastating volley fell upon the guards, injuring several and sending the rest into a desperate retreat towards their horses. Behind them and amidst the smokes now moving back and forth, as the flames were raging on both sides of the large street, making the long open road appear nightmarish, another group of riders had appeared. With a thunderous yell, this new group, charged at them. ¡°GET BACK DAMNIT!¡± Marcus bellowed shoving the lightly injured, or helping those that were worse off to their feet. ¡°Lad, that¡¯s enough!¡± Glen agreed and turned around to head towards their horses, most packed in the space between the two raised portcullises, some of the guards already there and climbing on their mounts, when he noticed one of the two animals badly injured, was the mule with Jinx¡¯s box. Fuck it, he thought, remembering the Gish¡¯s words. It probably ain¡¯t worth it.
It does.
Oh, for fuck¡¯s sake! Glen griped, besides himself. Now ye plaguin¡¯ talk?
Don¡¯t take it then. See, if I care.
¡°Marcus stop their charge!¡± Glen barked and jumped from Outlaw to run towards the collapsed and bleeding out mule. Marcus turned his head to glare at him, saw him trying to dislodge the arm-sized box from its restraints and grunted, grabbed Ottis by the arm and shoved him towards one of the two Scorpions, himself manning the other one. ¡°AIM LOW!¡± He barked a last minute advice, pulling at the lever, veins popped on his muscular neck, while Glen kicking and cursing, sweat running down his face and bleeding down his left leg, at last managed to get that box out and placed it on the ground. Unsurprisingly, it still weighted a ton. Damn ye Whisper, what in the slovenly fuck ye have in there?
You better run kid.
¡°Fuck you!¡± Glen snapped and heard the whoosh of the heavy war ballistae, followed by the desperate cries of despair from the Cofols cut down. He sheathed his sword and stooping, grabbed the wooden box to lift it, dropping it and twisting around on instinct, just as a shadow fell from the barbican walls above his head and landed a mere meter from him. Larn pushed the hood over his head, revealing his gaunt face and stared at him judgmentally, with his cold ashen eyes. Glen unsheathed his own sword and stepped back, his knee buckling and almost going down. The pain shooting to his brain, ten times worse than what it was a moment ago. Larn sighed and stared at the box he¡¯d dropped down. ¡°You¡¯ve a bolt in your leg,¡± The assassin informed him and got out a long shafted war-hatchet with his right hand; flipped it once to get his attention and tossed a thin dagger on Glen¡¯s face with the other. Glen smacked it away with his sword, furious with himself. ¡°Ye don¡¯t fight fair,¡± He spat at the Zilan assassin and attacked before the last word left his mouth, clenching his teeth to fight through the pain of his maimed leg. Larn jumped away, reached and unsheathed a scimitar, not as curved as a typical one. A custom made weapon. Glen stepped back to keep him in his field of view and raising his hand behind his back, got Emerson¡¯s blade out as well and tested its weight, in his left hand. The assassin smacked his lips, as if assessing this new development, then made a casual step to the left, jumped off of it in the blink of an eye and attacked him, using both his war-hatchet and the longer blade at the same time. Glen parried the iron-shafted hatchet away successfully, but missed the scimitar¡¯s blade, as Larn switched his strike three times mid-move, cutting him right at the jaw superficially, as the young former thief, flinched away at the last moment. He almost went down, as his knee gave away, staying upright through sheer willpower. He stared at the assassin with hated filled eyes, feeling the blood trickling down his neck. ¡°Impressive,¡± Larn commented and glanced back towards the covered in smoke street, much of it blowing their way. ¡°Lord Reeves!¡± Ottis yelled, running his way, with Marcus following. Seeing the black-dressed armed man, he unsheathed his longsword and made to come at them, but Marcus stopped him. ¡°Get the men out of here. Don¡¯t stop before the mountains,¡± He ordered him and approached Glen and an unconcerned Larn. ¡°Move aside lad,¡± Marcus said, steel in his voice. ¡°Get up that horse ¡®n follow him.¡± ¡°No!¡± Glen snapped. ¡°Ye need to leave now, Decanus!¡± He grabbed the bolt sticking out of his thigh and pulled at it hard, trying to get it out. Glen almost fainted. Marcus walked to them in the meantime, reached and got his square legionnaire¡¯s shield off his back, cracked his neck right and left a couple of times and then banged his sword on the riveted metal hard. He charged ahead right after that, a good head taller and twice the size of the much thinner, but sinewy Zilan. Glen watched the fight with gawking eyes, teeth grinding to the point of breaking, trying to extricate the bolt from his leg. His fingers, slippery in his blood, sweat running down his stressed face, mixing with the soot and creating a black thick sludge. Larn kept dancing around the charging behind his shield Marcus and just as Glen at last managed with a mighty yelp of pure agony, to get that nasty iron bolt out, the blood painting his torn leather pants a darker shade of tan, a large group of armed civilians attacked the carefully approaching Cofols and an all-out fight broke out in the burning street, before Rida¡¯s East Gates. Marcus bashed Larn back, but the Zilan assassin, who¡¯d noticed what was happening, locked the top of his shield with the heel of his war-hatchet and pulled it down, despite the hale man¡¯s enormous effort to resist him. Marcus seeing the danger, decided to let go of the shield and step away, but Larn moved twice as fast, twisted around the discarded shield, dropping his war-hatchet along the way and stabbed Marcus three times on his unprotected left side, with a shortsword he¡¯d managed to get out. The assassin had used tremendous force, punching the thin blade through solid segmented armour, at three different spots. Kidneys, lungs and heart. No, god darn it! Glen stumbled forward, just as Marcus dropped to his knees, letting go of his sword. Larn heard him coming and turned calmly, sidestepping away from the fatally injured ex-Decanus, having the presence of mind to sheathe his shortsword, while switching hands to his scimitar. The young Lord swung at him, but the Zilan dodged easily and went for a quick cut, as Glen was a bit slow to switch stances. He failed as Marcus, now bleeding from the mouth, grabbed the assassin¡¯s right arm below the elbow and stopped him dead. A livid Glen attacked him, just as Larn twisted around ¨Cagain inhumanly fast- and getting a long sinister nail out of his waistband, thrusted it into brave Marcus¡¯ left eye, killing him instantly. The young Lord¡¯s blade came down with desperate force, but cut through air. Larn had moved away again, a good two meters away, where Marcus¡¯ shield had fallen and stooping got his war-hatchet back. Glen glared at him, breathing heavy, bleeding from a couple of wounds at least, barely standing upright and feeling empty and despondent, having just witnessed his friend getting butchered by this monster. Larn glanced towards Jinx¡¯s stupid box and frowned. ¡°You have good fundamentals,¡± he told Glen casually, as if they were friends discussing their experiences at a tourney. ¡°But poor judgement. That¡¯s twice, you could have gotten away.¡± ¡°Did she sent you?¡± Glen asked and stumbled a couple of steps forward to approach him. He couldn¡¯t run away with a bad leg, nor win this. But he wanted to cut him once. Sometimes once is enough. ¡°I was conflicted,¡± Larn admitted, trying to pry the box open with his boot. ¡°You see, she now wants you alive,¡± he sighed at the perceived foolishness and watching him moving closer, raised his scimitar in warning. ¡°But unfortunately for you, I can¡¯t allow it.¡± He stooped nimbly and smashed the lock once hard with his war-hatchet, breaking it. Glen hefted the sword in his hand, having decided to hurl it at the assassin, the moment he went to open the box. The cunning creature, stood up again and pushed it open, with the tip of his soft leather boot. They both looked inside Jinx¡¯s box at the same time.
Run. Nah, it¡¯s too late.
Good grief, Glen thought stupefied, disregarding its crazy mumblings. Is that a fucking egg? Yay big, Jinx had said and that lunatic of a Gish was actually telling the truth.
Give it a good whack. Could be a painted rock. Eh, fuck it.
A great number of things happened in the next couple of minutes, in addition to the weird voice, now offering him its insane input. Larn swung around alarmed, looking as if he¡¯d seen his death and almost got it, as he got nailed twice, once in the chest and the other right through his left arm. The two bolts shot, from somewhere behind Glen. The multiple shooters not too far apart from each other. The Cofols lost the battle with the much larger number of civilians and got slaughtered mercilessly inside the burning street, about thirty meters to Glen¡¯s right. The many survivors run towards the gates intending to escape towards the Eastwatch Forest. Seemingly a crowd of about four hundred, but probably much bigger. And right behind him, amidst the smoke and the shadows of the battlements, a short old woman appeared, as if out of thin air. She walked slowly towards them¡­ that is only Glen, as the elusive Larn had managed to disappear the moment the young former thief turned his head away. Would he make it out though? Surely, he is as good as dead.
Glen glanced again towards the short woman and found her now looking at the open box deep in thought. I got to get away, he decided with a heavy heart and headed towards Outlaw. The horse neighed recognizing him and Glen hobbling with difficulty, brought him and another horse wearing a Cofol saddle, back to where Marcus had fallen. Women, children and a good number of armed men, mostly citizens of Rida, watched him with weary eyes, slowly loading the heavy man on the horse and securing him, after many failed attempts. Glen got blood on him and he was almost delirious with pain and at the end of his tether, but kept at it stubbornly, a determined look on his face. After finishing, he approached the short woman gazing at that huge egg in stunned silence and stood next to her, a little awkwardly. It took him a moment, to realize he was staring into a Gish¡¯s face. An old Gish, ancient almost, it¡¯s wrinkled face resembling a sick fish, under all that makeup. ¡°Is it yours?¡± She asked him and Glen grimaced at the unexpected heavy male voice. What in Luthos name is this bizarre shit? ¡°It is,¡± Glen replied, giving him a sideways hesitant look. ¡°Hmm. Ye better get it on your mount then, chop-chop,¡± the old Gish said and reaching got an expensive pipe out and lit it carefully, while watching the hapless refugees leaving the burning city, more than a little amused. Right. ¡°Fine, how about it though?¡± Glen probed him, his legs quivering and on the verge collapsing and pointed at the large egg. The old Gish blinked, its washed-out and trimmed, but still pinkish eyebrows, meeting at the middle of his nose-less face. ¡°Are you going to help?¡± ¡°A young fit lad like you? Haha!¡± The old Gish retorted with an annoying chuckle, blowing a rich aromatic smoke out of his nostrils. ¡°You should be ashamed of yerself!¡± Glen would have smacked the old crone in the face, had he got any strength left.
It is said, Rida burned for two straight days and as many nights. While the Khan¡¯s army managed to win in the end, the battle of the Duke¡¯s palace, what they got after the smoke had settled, didn¡¯t resemble the famed city at all. The smoking ruins and the death toll still unknown to this day. The tales from the siege of Rida though still survive. Tales of carnage and destruction. Of extreme bravery and cowardice. Of sacrifice and horror. From the old Duke¡¯s stubborn resistance to the bitter end and the ghastly conclusion of his story. To a famed sorceress words coming true. No Winfield ever saw another summer. But it was the story of an obscure battle, fought at the abandoned East Gates, where an unknown young man then, led a daring escape out of the burning inferno, saving hundreds of civilians from a gruesome death, or the bonds of slavery that is still recited with fervor by his supporters today. This they declare, is the most important story of all. For it was in Rida, where the journey of the Onyx Wyvern started. As all things in history, even this celebrated tale, is heavily disputed. - Lord Sirio Veturius Circa 206 NC The Fall of Heroes Chapter XI -epilogue- (Tales from Rida, The Onyx Wyvern¡¯s escape, First month of summer, 189 NC)
121. A Sorceress gift
Glen A Sorceress gift
There was a thick black cloud over Rida during most of the afternoon, the city burning fully, finally engulfed in a bright orange and yellow hue, when the sun set hours later. Glen had turned south at Eastwatch Forrest leaving the crowds of refugees, with the shell-shocked, miserable faces and dead eyes behind him and went into the desert. He stopped briefly, once the darkness ahead of him made it difficult to discern, where the ground ended and the night sky started and glanced one last time back, at the distant glowing city. Despite the two moons making their appearance an hour after that, Glen had to stop again for a different reason, as he slipped unconsciously and almost fell from the saddle. He managed to climb down his mount with difficulty and approached on foot, a lone family of boulders sprouting out of the dark desert, his legs barely holding him upright. Glen was injured and dead tired from the horrific events of the previous day and hadn¡¯t slept well for almost a week now. Outlaw snorted and bumped him once on the shoulder, the horse¡¯s head covered in soot and dark foam clogging its nostrils. The Cofol horse behind him looking in a much better condition, but it was the sight of Marcus¡¯ lifeless body that finally caused the young former thief to break down. He dropped on his knees and sobbed, letting all his frustration out and losing track of time, the pain from the still leaking wound in his thigh, almost as cathartic, as the tears. It was Outlaw¡¯s anxious neigh that snapped him out of his depressed state. Glen tried to get up from his knees, left leg hurting and almost unresponsive. The bandages he¡¯d tied over the wound, completely soaked through with blood and his leather pants torn, where he¡¯d cut them to tend to the injury. A dark figure leading two horses had approached him, following this used path through the desert, but before Glen could reach for his sword, the whiff of aromatic smoke stopped him and he let his hand drop relaxed. ¡°If you¡¯re in the mind to rest; moving behind those rocks, would be wise,¡± The old Gish advised, still in that ridiculous cheap female tunic, barely able to disguise the mirth in his voice. ¡°Are you following me?¡± Glen croaked, his throat hoarse and wiped his nose and eyes, with the back of his hands. ¡°Haha. Well, it depends.¡± ¡°On what?¡± Glen snapped. ¡°You should move the animals, as well,¡± the Gish decided, ignoring his query and raising his fine pipe sucked long on the aromatic material he burned in there. Oh, that¡¯s just great, yet another socially challenged Gish, Glen thought and hobbled towards the largest standing boulder, two meters wide and almost three in height, dragging Outlaw¡¯s reins along. The horses followed him and reaching the spot, several smaller rocks scattered about the larger one, dropped the reins and waited for the old Gish to approach. ¡°You have a name?¡± He asked and watched as the ¡®old woman¡¯ jumped off the saddle with ease, landed with that lit pipe in his mouth and then immediately stooped over, as if he had a severe case of arthritis and approached him at a snail¡¯s pace. ¡°Apologies, young man,¡± the Gish said, licking his lips. ¡°Alas, I¡¯ve one foot in the grave. Name¡¯s Flix by the way.¡± Right, Glen thought watching him, not convinced Flix was as frail, as he wanted to portray. ¡°I¡¯m Glen,¡± he said simply. ¡°I owe you for stopping Larn, back there.¡± ¡°Garth Aniculo,¡± Flix corrected it for him, sucking on his pipe with half-closed eyes. ¡°Also a knight and a Lord. I heard your men talking.¡±
Hahaha! You wish! Ask him about his balls!
Glen blinked, the voice throwing him off completely and stared at his boots for a moment, to regain his composure. ¡°Your leg needs tending,¡± Flix said and then pointed at a flattened rock close to the big one. ¡°Sit over there and I¡¯ll see, what I can do about it.¡± Glen grimaced, but he couldn¡¯t argue with the suggestion and went to seat on the white brittle-looking limestone. ¡°Wait,¡± Flix warned him and he rifled through the contents of his saddlebags. Glen noticed, the other horse was laden with supplies that looked a lot like the ones he had the men pack yesterday. ¡°Use this,¡± He tossed him a polished milky-colored small stone, oval-shaped and half the size of his fist. ¡°To look for snakes.¡± What? Glen flinched away from the rocks, saw nothing despite the moonlight and then glanced at the stone in his hand. ¡°The fuck is this?¡± ¡°A lightstone gem?¡± Flix guffawed, finding the question hilarious and approached to stand beside him. Okay. ¡°What do I need it for?¡± ¡°Ah, but of course,¡± Flix said, shaking his head. Then gave his pipe a good suck and let the smoke out slowly, more and more until it covered his head. Glen thought for a moment, the Gish would collapse drugged out of its wits, as it was obvious that whatever he had in there, wasn¡¯t plain tobacco. ¡°There it is,¡± Flix said, unfazed to his scrutiny and probably forgetting to answer his query and the stone Glen held in his hand started emitting a soft, but clear white light out of nowhere. Wow. ¡°Check under both those rocks,¡± Flix urged him. ¡°I¡¯ll need to seat as well, these saddles are very badly made.¡± Glen glared at him and then at the brightly shining stone and went about checking under the crevices of the rocks for any snakes. ¡°What type of snakes are common here?¡± He asked, not seeing anything creepy moving about. ¡°Ah, horned vipers mostly, some small cobras, a black mamba, if you¡¯re unlucky, nothing too dangerous really,¡± Flix played it down seeing him ogling his eyes freaked out and went to collapse on a flat rock, with a sigh. ¡°Most people in my line of work are either retired in my age, or long dead,¡± he griped and then with a ridiculous frown, checked on his pipe, turned it around and finally smacked it a couple of times on his hand to empty it, blowing the contents away when he finished. Noticing Glen watching him suspicious, he patted the rock next to him and smiled, with a mostly intact set of teeth. Well, two of them were pure gold, on the left side of his mouth. ¡°Leave the lightstone between us and put that leg here, you¡¯ve lost too much blood, Garth.¡±
Pretend to agree, then stab him in the neck, the voice suggested. I wager you, he¡¯ll piss his pants dying.
Huh? Are you insane? Glen replied and went to seat next to the old Gish, who was busy reloading his pipe in the meantime.
Fine, make friends with the isle whore. It¡¯s your cock.
Shut the fuck up! Glen snapped, as talking to himself, or whomever that was, the last thing he wanted. Flix went to work on his leg, clicking his tongue seeing the damage at the light of the small stone, Glen had placed on the sand between them.
He hasn¡¯t answered any of your queries.
Right. Glen eyed the Gish with suspicion, the quietness of the desert getting to him. Is this Gimoss? He asked, watching Flix opening a small cracked vial and pouring its contents on the still bleeding wound.
Grab onto the rock!
The voice yelled its reply and Glen baulked violently, the pain coming from his wound invading his brain like a hot poker. Immediately after he blacked out completely and tumbled down from his rock.
Three pairs of beastly dragon eyes stared at him in the pitch black. Each had a huge orange, gold, or green iris, covering the whole of the eye, the pupils black and shaped like a narrow keyhole, pointed at its edges. He raised his hand, only it was narrow and feminine now and pointed at the stone trough, filled to the brim with a burgundy liquid, large enough to fit two fat wild bulls in with ease. This wasn¡¯t his body. ¡°This is my gift for you. A Queen¡¯s toast,¡± a quivering woman¡¯s voice said, somewhat familiar to Glen, but he couldn¡¯t remember, where he¡¯d heard it afore. ¡°For helping ruining his fleet.¡± ¡°What need have we of human wine, aelaedil Baltoris?¡± One of the Wyverns asked to his horror and stooped over her small frame, monstrous head coming out of the darkness, left side of its cavernous mouth raised slightly in a sinister smirk, showing three feet long black teeth.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Glen felt the woman tensing up, as if she couldn¡¯t offer a wrong answer here. Or spout out another lie, with that voice Glen just couldn¡¯t ¨Cfor the life of him- place. Until he did. ¡°It isn¡¯t human wine, dear Nenderu,¡± The sorceress replied, her other hand clenched to her dagger tight and Glen felt water entering his nose suddenly, splashing his ears and mouth, as if he was sinking fast to the bottom of an ancient lake. The earth splitting, cracks getting bigger and going deeper, as the water rushed through unstoppable, until it reached the scorching center and turned to deadly explosive vapors. The ground dissolved in a stupendous explosion, the barriers collapsing and molten lava filled the void, traveled upwards, rushing the opposite way, gaining momentum with each meter, liquefying solid rock and metal, until it reached the top and there was nothing left to consume anymore.
¡°Garth?¡± A voice queried, as Glen gasped and woke up flailing arms and legs panicked, trying to breathe. He started coughing, a terrible taste in his mouth and dry-retched a couple of times, until he managed to calm down. ¡°The fuck¡­¡± He looked around him. Glen was sitting on the soft sand of the desert, about a meter away from the rock Flix had returned to. A soaked flask of water in his hand. ¡°What happened?¡± He croaked, his throat hurting. ¡°Ahm, frankly?¡± Flix asked, pressing a weird red-orange and very thin stone into the opening of his pipe, while inhaling to light it up again. What in Luthos arse is this shit? Glen wondered. ¡°If ye know what¡¯s good for you,¡± He warned the old Gish and Flix found it hilarious of all plaguing things. Glen waited patiently for Flix to calm down from his unrestrained chuckling, using the time to smack the sand off his armor and clothes. Unfortunately his boots were brimming with the annoying material as well. ¡°Well?¡± He snapped angry and got up, seeing him not forthcoming. His leg felt much better at least. ¡°This potion is known to have unforeseen reactions at times, especially when it is thusly timeworn.¡± Had this fool of a Gish, just fed him a spoiled potion? Glen smacked his lips and glared at the annoying creature. ¡°How unforeseen?¡± The old Gish waved his pipe dispassionately. ¡°Bah, severe syncope is frequent, while outright death is fortunately not common with the Folk,¡± Flix reassured him and inhaled more smoke with a sigh of pleasure. ¡°I¡¯m human. Gish,¡± Glen hissed, narrowing his eyes. ¡°That is true,¡± Flix agreed furrowing his brow, as if he hadn¡¯t considered that and stared at their horses for an awkward moment, now grouped up near the large boulder. ¡°You know what else is true, Garth?¡± The Gish finally asked. ¡°The name¡¯s Glen!¡± Flix nodded, then pointed a wrinkled finger. ¡°You need to bury him soon.¡± Marcus was his meaning.
¡°Was he family?¡± Flix asked two hours later, the night nearing its end. Glen had opened a shallow grave in the soft sandy ground and placed Marcus¡¯ lifeless body in it. He used the Decanus shield to cover his head and placed his sword near his right arm. Glen stared at the covered grave silently. He¡¯d placed as many small rocks, as he could gather over it, in order to protect it from the wildlife. The young thief had only kept a silver bracelet, he¡¯d found on the old soldier¡¯s right wrist. A solid, but plain ornament, the number twenty engraved on it and a simple phrase. Held the Line. ¡°A friend,¡± Glen replied deeply moved, his eyes blurring. ¡°Those we love, never truly leave us,¡± Flix said simply and offered him a crude wooden pipe, much less fancy than his own. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Glen asked hoarsely, wiping his dirty face. ¡°Redleaf,¡± Flix replied. ¡°Numbs the heart.¡± Glen looked at the small pipe. ¡°Is it any good?¡±
I would ask him where he keeps it, in your stead.
¡°I owe you some answers, Garth,¡± Flix said, taking his stunned expression the wrong way. ¡°So here¡¯s your chance.¡± ¡°Why did you attack Larn?¡± Glen asked right away, recovering from the shock. He needed to have a talk with the voice at some point. As soon as possible was his meaning. Flix brought his fancy pipe to his lips and sucked on it for a while, letting the smoke fill the air between them. ¡°She named him Ralnor,¡± He finally replied. ¡°When he decided to serve, the name changed. It appears, he chose another¡­ years after that.¡± ¡°What do they call him?¡± Flix looked at him. ¡°To know a servant¡¯s name, is to ask Oras for a contract. Who do you want to kill, Garth?¡± Glen licked his dry lips and walking to where their horses were, got a flask of water out. He drank from it deeply, put it back and then returned to the waiting Gish. ¡°I just wanted to know,¡± He replied and grimaced. ¡°Then perhaps you will,¡± Flix said cryptically, then added. ¡°It wasn¡¯t me that attacked him, although I played my part. Ralnor owes Oras a life, right or wrong, he must deliver on the contract. Else his own life is forfeited. He knows it. Perhaps he¡¯ll reconsider.¡± Fantastic, I¡¯m surrounded by killers, Glen thought, eyeing the small bodied and masqueraded Gish. ¡°Didn¡¯t know you guys went after each other. Isn¡¯t there a rule, or something, preventing this within¡­ your, eh, guild?¡± Flix started chuckling, shaking his balding head. He¡¯d red spots and blemishes, amidst all the thinning pinkish hair. ¡°The guild is what Ralnor made,¡± Flix explained. ¡°I doubt he runs it though. It is just another layer, another shadow he¡¯s hiding behind. Ralnor, was my master¡¯s best pupil. There will never be another like him,¡± the Gish paused, let a billow of white smoke escape his lips and continued. ¡°But he¡¯s also of a tainted line, greedy and unsatisfied. A follower of the Old Ways, but not a servant, at least, I never believed he was. Never attack him in the clear again. Assume he has already seen you.¡± Right. ¡°You didn¡¯t answer the why,¡± Glen asked next. ¡°I had a different mission, when I reached Rida,¡± Flix replied unemotionally. ¡°As I said, now I will follow you Garth.¡± ¡°Listen buddy,¡± Glen said with a stern stare. ¡°The name¡¯s Glen.¡± ¡°What you got on your waist, Glen?¡± Flix asked him with a smile. ¡°You mean the dagger?¡± ¡°At first I thought it a coincidence,¡± Flix replied, going another way. ¡°My old eyes not being what they used to. Then Ralnor opened the box and there it was,¡± The old Gish stopped and emptied his fancy pipe, taking the time to put it in a fold inside his female clothing. Because he wore many layers of it, under that old grey tunic. ¡°I¡¯ve seen you during the chase,¡± Glen said, remembering the old woman lurking at the blocked part of the road. ¡°We intended to stop Ralnor there, but he never made the turn,¡± Flix chuckled, a naughty twinkle in his eye. ¡°Too narrow an alley perhaps shall get you killed one day,¡± he sighed and looked at the reddish sky above them. The night was almost gone. ¡°The dagger you carry, was on display inside a temple¡­ in a city called Elauthin. Almost nothing of the city remains today, but some trinkets and remnants of a world you¡¯ll never see my friend, nor can you ever imagine. This is coming from me, who was but a slave there for most of my life, for it is the truth.¡± ¡°What happened to it?¡± Glen probed, never patient with ancient history, unless it was about directions out of an old grave, or an old map leading to legendary loot, a big fat X marking the plaguin¡¯ spot. ¡°It was gone,¡± Flix replied shrugging his shoulders. ¡°Destroyed with the rest of the city. Like many other things. It was no more,¡± he finished looking at him knowingly. Huh? ¡°I found it in Oakenfalls,¡± Glen blurted, before he could stop himself. ¡°It can¡¯t be the same dagger,¡± Flix replied. ¡°Unless the witch lied.¡± Glen grimaced and took a step back, his left leg bothering him still, but feeling much better. ¡°What does this mean?¡± He asked Flix and the old Gish walked slowly to his horse and nimbly jumped on it. It was an impossible acrobatic feat, starting from a full standing position, onto a saddle he barely reached with the top of his head. ¡°You tell me, Garth,¡± Flix said and reached for the reins. ¡°I just found out about it, yesterday.¡± ¡°Wait,¡± Glen said and hobbled towards, a looking a bit rested Outlaw. ¡°Do you know, who Gimoss is? The witch asked me about him?¡± Flix frowned. ¡°You¡¯ve spoken to her?¡± ¡°I did. She¡¯s¡­ well, I barely said a couple of words to her really.¡± ¡°Where is she now?¡± ¡°Ahm. You know she¡¯s married to a Prince of the Khanate right?¡± Glen informed him. Flix chuckled, shaking his head right and left bitterly. ¡°What?¡± Glen asked, a little perturbed at his reaction. ¡°Strangely the moment I decide to follow you,¡± he smacked his lips and glanced at the sky. ¡°The Gods try to lure me the other way.¡± ¡°What are you going to do?¡± ¡°What are you going to do?¡± Flix countered. ¡°I need to reach Eikenport,¡± Glen replied. ¡°Or catch up with the others.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll never find them in the desert. Not one route, is the same. Eikenport is months away. You¡¯ll never make it.¡± ¡°Do you know a safe route?¡± Glen probed eyeing him. ¡°I do.¡± ¡°Well?¡± ¡°I shall follow Garth it seems,¡± the old Gish droned, decision made. ¡°Glen.¡± ¡°Ahm¡­ well,¡± Flix argued, not willing to give in. ¡°I¡¯m serious!¡± Glen blasted him. ¡°Sure Garth.¡± ¡°Are ye freakin¡¯ kidding me?¡± ¡°No. I¡¯m very serious. You¡¯re a very edgy person.¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t going to work.¡± ¡°Try some redleaf. It¡¯ll smooth everything down.¡± And on and on it went, with no one willing to give in, as if paying homage to a fallen warrior, but even the latter was a stretch. The voice in his head, either this Gimoss, or some other crazy creature, having the last word of sorts. A bloody blast of it.
Hah!
Ahahaha!
Hehee!
It was all downhill after that. 122. Children of the Circle
Unseen, the gore gradually fills up thine lungs, pools in the stomach and seals thine gullet, if an internal wound is left to fester for too long. It will sap at thine strength, drag thee down and eventually kill thee. Such a wound might improve with time, however unlikely, while also killing thee just the same, via asphyxiation. Or it just might get septic and eradicate thee outright. It is vital to patch thyself up, as fast as thee can, to evade all of the above. Likewise, thy opponent shall act, so hint to these words young servant, One can¡¯t do this, when one has to flee an ambush¡­ While hunted. Never allow thy mark the time, to patch up. - Saying attributed to Dar Nym, Found in ¡®Elas Study¡¯, Inside the Tower of Shadows, On the Island of Nureria. Circa 2100? Imperial Calendar (IC, First Era), Or 1106? BNC (Before New Calendar)
Ralnor (Dar Eherdir) Children of the Circle
Ralnor jumped inside a shadow at the base of the Barbican¡¯s gates, burning through blood he couldn¡¯t spare -seeing as he was leaking like a cracked faucet. He came out another, on top of the walls ending at the East Gates fortifications. Then rolled on the stone narrow parapet¡¯s corridor, fresh blood in his mouth. He dashed forward, locking out the pain in his chest. A gasp and he veered left and reaching the internal lip jumped over it, another bolt grazing his neck. He dropped, an insane twenty meters, through the hay roof of a stable and into a trough packed with rotten produce and animal feed. Ralnor coughed blood and rolled to the side and out of the feeder, covered in filth. The assassin reached the brick wall of the stable and smashed his left forearm on its sturdy surface, taking care to hit the bolt he¡¯d stuck in it, dead center. The wall pushed the bolt almost out of the torn flesh, blood spurting and spraying him in the face, but it did the job. Ralnor managed to pull it out completely, using his other hand. He sucked a deep breath in and quickly tied a tourniquet on it, using a discarded saddle¡¯s leather strap. Ralnor had dark spots appear in the periphery of his vision. Despite the need to tend to his most serious injury, the assassin started moving again, when he heard someone landing on the roof of the stable. Making almost no noise. Almost. He climbed and jumped out of an open window nimbly, instead of using the stable¡¯s large double doors, landed -as silent as his pursuer- in the alley running parallel to the oblong building and headed north, away from the main street. Imperials, he thought, seeing the narrow alley ending in front of him. It led to a crossroads of sorts. To his right, it returned to the East Gates and to his left, or westwards, it headed towards the center of the burning city, or its smoking harbor. Because the fires had reached this part as well. Ralnor coughed violently, spraying blood out of his mouth, the bolt in his chest a couple of inches from his heart. Every time he moved, something got torn inside, hopefully not too valuable. All of the above were his feverish thoughts, as he ruminated whether to turn right, or left. A decision he¡¯d already made in truth, the moment he stepped out of the stable¡¯s window, but wasn¡¯t sure on the number of opponents he¡¯d have to face, once he entered the equally narrow alley. The numbers were silent, while his instincts suggested at least a couple. Ralnor reached at his neck and released the clasp of his cloak, as he dashed the final meters before the turn and wrapped it twice on his injured hand. Then he cut hard to the left, picking the city route and burst inside an alley filled with smoke, as the second building to his left was already burning. Ralnor went straight for the wall, under the small smoking street window, reached it in the blink of an eye and kicking his right foot out, used it to somersault the other way, with all the momentum he¡¯d gathered. The assassin stepped out of the shadows, small crossbow in hand, whiff of white hair under her hood and fired in less than a second, just as Ralnor performed his crazy acrobatics. Dar Laebae missed -being a moment too late- her bolt punching the brick wall and dropping her crossbow, reached under her cloak, got two throwing knifes out and hurled them both, towards the crashing on the opposite wall Ralnor, in one well-trained fluid move. Aiming at the spot where Dar Eherdir landed. Ralnor cursed and flinched panicky, half-turning his shoulder to react, all an act, as his raised left arm -wrapped in his cloak- blocked both knives from landing on his face. He rolled towards her next, his scimitar in hand, but Dar Laebae, born Yllir -though everyone was calling her Yll, when she was little- just jumped inside a new shadow, burning through her incense with wild abandon. Well stocked, privileged Imperial cunt, Ralnor cursed and run as fast as he could down the smoking alley, not willing to fight it out with her, while injured. Not with her friend, hot on his trail. Since Dar Laebae is here, he thought grinding his gnarly teeth, every new long stride a torture, then Dar Minue Mol is close by as well. Hopefully without Varg, or Din. Why attack me in the open though? Ralnor wondered next, the alley engulfed in an inferno in front of him. Although he could guess the answer to that. It was for the same reason Reeves had taken the time he didn¡¯t have, to retrieve that box. There was reason after all, to the young man¡¯s madness. It¡¯d given Ralnor a chance to get away. Drawn the third assassin away from him. And perhaps it was the same reason, Lithoniela was so protective of young Reeves. Did she know, from the start? Who else was in on it? Was this Nym¡¯s plan all along? Are you still alive old master? Ralnor always believed, the driving force behind the Circle coming after him ¨Cwhat remained of it anyway- had everything to do with the sorceress. Could he be wrong after all? The assassin wondered now. His instinct said no. This had to be a fluke. Some god meddling with his business. But the numbers, were jumbled. A disjointed mess.
Ralnor entered the abandoned harbor, almost an hour later, the fires raging everywhere and reached the torn down barricade, just as the last Cofols were leaving. He stopped behind a burning building and tried to rip the bolt out, almost blacking out in the process. Mezera was keeping an eye on Lithoniela, a laughable assignment, as the Elderblood could get away from her at will and he could use her help now. Probably went to see Aelrindel already, he guessed thinking of Lithoniela, angry he wasn¡¯t there for their meeting. With the gods set firmly against him, the two females could end up killing each other out of spite and ruin any chance their race had, of getting back in the game. It would be a very disappointing outcome, he decided. A sorceress. A royal brood. And a Wyvern¡¯s egg. The numbers held no answer. Grabbing the end part of the nasty bolt sticking out of his chest, he shoved it with dogged purpose further in, until he felt the steel tip tearing at the flesh under his left shoulder, from the inside. Ralnor kept pushing and grinding his teeth, the pain otherworldly, but paling in front of his resolve, each moment lasting forever, until finally it burst out and Ralnor wailed like an aggrieved direwolf. His legs gave underneath him and the assassin collapsed on them barely conscious.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. If you faint right now, you¡¯re dead, Ralnor reminded himself calmly, but his attempt at getting up failed. A small boy watching his agony, sitting right across from him, under a heap of smashed bricks -in what was a partially destroyed square, in front of the ruined harbor gates- stopped crying and opened his mouth aghast. Ralnor had missed him completely. He¡¯d dirty shot-cut hair, probably black. A pair of dark-green eyes, over a filthy face and wore a plain old tunic, with no shoes. A street urchin, trapped inside a dying city. Ralnor coughed up more blood, found the steel tip of the bolt poking under his shoulder blade and broke it. He could only breathe in small hurtful intakes, as much liquid coming down, as air. ¡°Come here,¡± He rasped and the boy looked at him alarmed. ¡°Why?¡± The boy asked in common. ¡°I need you to get something out of me,¡± Ralnor explained, realizing he was running out of time. ¡°I¡¯m not strong enough,¡± The boy said, but got up to approach him. ¡°Just hold it. Use your tunic to get a firm grasp. I will do the rest,¡± Ralnor explained and getting up, turned his back to the youth. He can¡¯t be more than ten. If he was to die from such a paltry opponent, so be it, Ralnor thought. He felt him touching the broken tip of the bolt. ¡°What¡¯s your name boy?¡± Ralnor asked, breathing heavy. ¡°Tot,¡± The boy replied. ¡°Is that short for Toutatis?¡± He probed and clenched his teeth, when Tot pulled lightly at the shaft to test it. ¡°Aye, it is,¡± Tot replied. ¡°Hey, I got it.¡± ¡°Good,¡± Ralnor growled and placing his right hand on the small part coming out of his chest, stooped suddenly forward, letting the boy¡¯s weight wrench it out of him.
Three large lightstones, placed inside the rotating bronze cones, hang from the ceiling and created a circle of light on the black marble floor, ever moving and constant, shattering the darkness. Dar Nym, white robes over lacquered black scaled armor, face hidden behind the faceless mask and indigo eyes dispassionate, waved for him to step into the circle and leave his offering. Ralnor stared into those bottomless eyes for a moment, trying to memorize them and then stepped through the light barrier and reached for the blunted blade, his master had left on the black marble altar, located right at the center. You couldn¡¯t see it sprouting out of the matching floor and surrounding walls, without the circle¡¯s guidance. Many legs heard clattering from every direction. Szilhali lurking between realms. ¡°Make your offering, Dar Eherdir,¡± Nym rustled in a neutral voice that split into a thousand whispers repeating the same words, sometimes clearly female, others that of a male, ending with a child¡¯s chuckle. Dar Nym was holding a long blade now. The fingers elongated and graceful. Unadorned. Deadly. ¡°Let Oras decide, if you¡¯re worthy.¡± With that the lights faded out.
¡°Hey mister,¡± A boy asked. ¡°Are ye alive?¡± Ralnor snapped his ashen eyes open and groaned loudly, the pain in his chest returning immediately, his light leather armor soaked in his blood. He twisted around, the dark confusing, until his eyes got used to it and the night gradually lit up, in a light grey hue. ¡°How long was I out?¡± He hissed and Tot squinted his eyes, trying to see him moving about in the pitch black. The fire had moved on, burning several blocks away now and it had left a mangled, murky pile of debris behind. Everything still smoking and the air pregnant with putrid fumes. Rida smelled of burned wood, charred stones, bricks and cooked flesh. Somewhere near. Ralnor licked his lips, tasting bitter blood and soot. ¡°Hours,¡± Tot replied and approached, dragging his feet on the charred floor, of what was once a large two story building. Ralnor stared at the sky above their heads, the smokes hiding it, as if clouds had gathered, but no rain was forthcoming. ¡°Had to drag you out of the street,¡± Tot glanced his way curious. ¡°I thought ye died.¡± Ralnor could feel the wound, right through him. He needed to heal fast. The damage would repair itself in time, but he probably didn¡¯t have any time all. ¡°Two men came through the square,¡± Tot recalled with a grimace on his young face. ¡°Dressed funny, like you. Looked about, stopped where you bled a lot and found your cloak, but the fire raged at the time and they had to retreat.¡± Not men. One of them was female. Neither one a human. ¡°How long ago?¡± ¡°Before sunset,¡± Tot replied readily, starved dirty face, too serious for his age. Ralnor stared at him with interest. ¡°You need shoes,¡± He told him. ¡°And to look about for a horse.¡± The latter was for him. ¡°There¡¯s one across the square,¡± Tot replied. ¡°The Cofol riding him fell and died earlier. The horse stayed, until the fire reached that spot. Got scorched badly on the side, it won¡¯t let me near.¡± Ralnor walked slowly out of the destroyed building and checked at the empty smoking ruins of the square, the smashed harbor gates an unrecognizable pile of debris at the far end of it. ¡°You dragged me, all this distance?¡± He asked Tot, nigh impressed. ¡°Aye, yer not as heavy, as you look,¡± The young child replied. Hmm. ¡°Why not rob me?¡± ¡°I took a knife,¡± Tot replied, without shame. ¡°And a biscuit.¡± Ralnor checked to see what was missing, on the twin belts cross-running over his armor and snorted. Got a straight thin dagger out of its sheath, the steel blade on it half-a-finger longer than his hand and offered it to a frowning Tot. ¡°Take this and give me my throwing knife back,¡± He told him. ¡°You need less skill to use it,¡± They made the trade and Ralnor, having spotted the horse and the corpse right next to it, added with a rasp. ¡°I¡¯m going to get a ride.¡± And hopefully a nicely done bite. ¡°Where to?¡± Tot asked, assuming he was coming along. Ralnor paused to consider it. The kid was holding the large dagger in his right hand, the blade reaching his exposed dirty knees. It was a strange image this. ¡°I need to find my pupil,¡± He finally said, a little uncomfortable at the small talk and surprised with himself for allowing it. Bah, you owe a life to the boy. ¡°What manner of teacher are ye?¡± Tot asked him unfazed, talking as a grown up and twice as curious. Perhaps unsurprisingly. Street urchins do grow up faster, he thought. Annoying little buggers. Ralnor was once like that. Perhaps that was the reason. ¡°Let¡¯s make a deal, Toutatis,¡± Ralnor said, grimacing at the sudden returning ache. ¡°Do not breathe another word and when I find her, I shall tell you.¡±
Mezera raised a thin brow seeing the kid riding behind him and then her face fell, spotting the bloody clothes and armor. She realized Ralnor was seriously injured, despite his attempt to mask it. Ralnor stopped her from raising a ruckus, inside the quiet Cofol warcamp. The siege under the Duke¡¯s Palace walls was still raging, but there were a lot of ears about, despite the stillness of the place. Or there should have been a lot of ears. In fact, it was as if everyone, but the guards at the gate, were soundly asleep. ¡°Where is she?¡± He asked her, too tired to hide the worry in his voice. ¡°With the Prince¡¯s wife,¡± Mezera replied, eyeing Tot suspiciously. ¡°Not in her tent though. They commandeered his. I¡¯ve no idea how they pulled that off.¡± Ralnor knew how. There was nothing alive around their camp. No bugs, no birds, or predators. Aelrindel, instead of keeping a low profile, had doubled down on using her spells. ¡°Where¡¯s the Prince now?¡± Ralnor hissed, bothered at the detail. It was sacrilegious having a human copulating with an Elderborn. ¡°He¡¯s playing the general,¡± Mezera replied wryly and pointed a hand towards the massive pyramid, clearly visible over the walls of the burning city. ¡°Feed Toutatis,¡± Ralnor growled, his chest contracting painfully, every time he tried to draw breath. While the assassin had attempted not to earlier, or just bring his breathing down to a bare minimum, he¡¯d failed spectacularly.
The guard standing outside the enormous military tent, stared passively at the beyond and didn¡¯t even see the injured assassin hobble past him. Walking uneasily inside, Ralnor moved through a spacious corridor, the walls depicting scenes of Prince Sahand¡¯s early-life adventures and pushed aside the soft linen coverings to reach the map room, now empty and badly lit, as most of the oil lamps were gone, but for the two on each side of the opening. He sighed wearily and stared at the gleaming wall leading to the Prince¡¯s expansive private quarters. He approached the cut door, barred with a dark silk sheet, the rich carpet soft under his dirty boots and paused hearing birds chirping and a woman¡¯s chuckle. The sound of water behind it, running freely on rocks another shock, followed by the heavy smell of burning incense. All kinds of it. Ralnor pushed the divider aside and entered the six by six room, the carpet underneath his feet, now turning even more luscious, the firepits burning bright and the air heady, the females laid side by side, their bodies reversed and facing each other, knees raised to support the others head, lavish cobalt hair spilling over naked skin and their faces beaming as their songs intertwined, long graceful ears stretched back, totally overcome with bliss. Because this was sheer delight, pouring out of both of them. Ralnor, a stoic realist, felt himself drawn to their beauty, his need bursting out of his pores in waves unwittingly, until he recoiled catching himself and managed to shut all emotions down, the effort opening up his wound again. Aelrindel and Lithoniela, their famed bloodlines reaching all the way back to the start of the first era, turned their deific faces his way, the fake birds dissolving into thin air, the grass like carpet and the waterfall behind them, turning again into the Prince¡¯s tent and linen walls, the sorceress¡¯ illusion breaking apart, in a rather dramatic fashion. A calculated act of pettiness, a groaning and doubled over Ralnor, realized. She¡¯d never done this for him. ¡°Ralnor is here. He brought the city with him,¡± Aelrindel taunted, with a naughty smirk and Lithoniela, all flushed up and rejuvenated, raised a regal cobalt eyebrow at the old quip at first, but slowly her expression sobered up. ¡°He¡¯s injured,¡± She noted simply. ¡°What happened?¡± The sorceress asked him calmly, her eyes livid, behind that fa?ade of tranquility. ¡°We need to talk,¡± Ralnor hissed, feeling his bleeding wound with a hand. He was irritated with them both, mainly for enjoying themselves, while he¡¯d almost gotten himself killed. ¡°Something happened to Reeves?¡± Aelrindel demanded, getting up unbothered at her nudity. Lithoniela stood up herself, her body not as mature, but as unblemished. Ralnor would have been happy at the rare treat, a couple of hundred years in the past. Even pressed for something more. Unfortunately at this moment, he couldn¡¯t allow himself any kind of reward for his longtime services. ¡°Reeves escaped,¡± Ralnor hissed and Lithoniela stepped forward alarmed. ¡°Is that Glen?¡± She sang, livening up again and Ralnor wanted to fuck and cut her throat at the same time. ¡°Imperial Assassins are inside Rida, Aelrindel,¡± He spat and stumbled back, as he¡¯d managed to completely deplete his strength, in the time it took him to return to the camp. The sorceress face paled immediately at his words, a stark contrast to Lithoniela¡¯s faraway expression. Ralnor found a stool and collapsed on it, breathing heavy for a long moment. Then he felt Aelrindel¡¯s soft -and perfectly clean- hand touching his sweaty and smeared forehead, long fingers traveling upwards tenderly, over his bald head and the grotesque ruined ears. Her other hand touched the tear on his armour, until she found the wound underneath, with a pointy finger. ¡°What else?¡± The Sorceress whispered and Ralnor saw a snake slithering its way inside the tent and coming to coil around her naked legs. The viper hissed raising its horned head and then froze and died. The burning inside Ralnor¡¯s chest turning to a soaring fire, then a blinding light, his flesh melting away, only to be rebuilt again in an instant and his desperate groans of agony, turning into a single cry of pure undulated delight. ¡°I think, Dar Nym survived,¡± Ralnor had told her, before he collapsed in her arms. As the old assassin had predicted years back, the Hunters had caught up with them. 123. A miracle & Uher’s Light
Nattas A miracle & Uher¡¯s Light
He serves, no other God, Maja had said. And no other people. Storm sighed, raised the bronze chalice to his mouth and tipped it all the way, felt it burn down to his stomach. Regia''s Master of Silence, breathed in through the nose next, the last thing a man having his cock worked on needs, he thought feeling tensed to his toes and looking at the whore¡¯s head doing said work. Is ruminate on an assassin¡¯s cryptic words, all doom ''n gloom and lose a perfectly serviceable erection. Because of it. The young whore looked at him, behind a curtain of poorly dyed flaxen hair, the roots on them clearly visible. ¡°Yeah,¡± Storm replied, raising his head some more, from the large brothel¡¯s pillow. ¡°It¡¯s not working.¡± ¡°Does milord want to try something else?¡± She queried suggestively, sitting on her heels. There were only a couple of other options at play here. A task for far bolder men, than him. Milord ain¡¯t getting his cock in there, Nattas decided and waved her away. ¡°Just leave me,¡± He ordered, rather disappointed with how everything had turned out. ¡°My man will pay you.¡± ¡°The sickly one?¡± The whore asked with a smile, as if Storm had been a well-satisfied customer leaving the premises and in a good enough mood for small talk. Well, he bloody wasn¡¯t. ¡°Him.¡± ¡°I will make my way out, milord,¡± The girl of about twenty years said professionally, catching his undertone. ¡°Please do.¡± Ah, this went almost as poorly, as expected. Possibly a tad worse, Nattas thought and twisted on the bed, to put his pale, hairy legs down. The left one almost half the mass of his right, the muscles on it, especially below the knee, almost nonexistent. There was a knock and Sudi came in, walking like he was about to be executed. Unenthusiastic seems too trifling a word. The man had lost most of his hair and whatever remained barely covered the bald spots on his head. Several of his molars had fallen off, his cheeks had sunk in and his color had turned from the Issir black, to an unhealthy pale-grey. Abrakas mouldy toenails. ¡°You look¡­ much worse under this light,¡± Storm offered, while he buttoned up his pants. ¡°Probably not the light¡¯s fault, boss,¡± Sudi replied, sounding weakened. ¡°They told me you¡¯ve made a recovery, for the most part.¡± ¡°The most part, was an exaggeration,¡± Sudi deadpanned, ever the smartarse. ¡°Well,¡± Nattas said, rubbing his face. That''s enough talking about him. ¡°This brothel sucks.¡± ¡°How about the wench? Was she any good?¡± Sudi asked, not sounding particularly interested. Nattas smacked his lips. ¡°I¡¯d say, analogous to the venue.¡± But for the sucking part. ¡°Well then, the High King¡¯s man arrived,¡± Sudi said tiredly changing the subject, after they had both taken a moment to reminisce on the much finer whores they¡¯ve sampled in the past. Nattas mostly, as Sudi was parsimonious -to put it mildly- with his coin. ¡°In person?¡± Storm asked with a frown. ¡°Aye. He was expected.¡± Great, Nattas thought, reaching for his cane. The day can only get worse from here.
Secundus led the way through Alden¡¯s streets, Nattas with Sudi following right behind him and two guards taking up the rear. The sun was up, shinning bright and unwilling to let go, the summer making its presence known. It was going to be a hot day. Lord Nattas wiped his face with a linen handkerchief, their small group moving much too fast for the time. He opened his mouth to yell at Secundus to slow down, or even make a brief stop, when the hired guard paused on his own, to let a mounted Knight followed by at least six armed men pass them by. Nattas stopped himself, breathing heavy and watched this group of Issirs curious. The Knight carried a bronze meter-long stick on his saddle and had chainmail under his yellow robes, along with solid plate on his front and back. The six armed men wearing similar robes over their chainmail, had a collared mid-aged woman walk amongst them, the split lip on her face still bleeding. A large host of Alden¡¯s citizenry was following this foreign group from a safe distance. The group being the order of the Golden Spears. ¡°Good Sir,¡± Nattas said, shoving Sudi in front of the horse to force the knight to stop. ¡°May I inquire about your prisoner?¡± The rider pulled lightly at the reins and stared at him unfriendly. He had light-brown eyes, skin a rich ebony, a straight nose and a shaven face. His helm, worn with open cover, a plain conned one, but finely built. ¡°Who might you be?¡± He asked. ¡°Lord Nattas, on my way to speak with King Alistair,¡± Storm replied, putting his weight on his cane and offering him a mocking smirk. ¡°It¡¯s considered polite¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯m Sir Adam Leus, Inquisitor of the Golden Spears. Here on the Order¡¯s official business,¡± Sir Leus interrupted him rather rudely. Nattas grimaced, glanced at the woman, who was now staring him with haunted eyes and asked without hesitation. ¡°What business is that?¡± ¡°We have permission from the High King,¡± Nattas stopped him raising a hand. ¡°You are here as a knight then, or as a priest?¡± ¡°Ours is a religious order.¡± ¡°All of them are, but that is not, what I asked Sir Leus.¡± The knight looked at his men and then the woman wearing the iron collar, a thick chain secured on it and tied on his saddle, before finally returning his eyes on Lord Nattas. ¡°We are here to perform a cleansing,¡± Sir Adam Leus said. ¡°Put the fear of Uher in the infidels¡¯ hearts.¡± That¡¯s what Storm was afraid of. ¡°What about the other Gods?¡± He probed and Sir Leus frowned taken aback. ¡°My Lord?¡± ¡°Tyeus, or Naossis. Oras. Hey, how about Luthos, right?¡± Some of the crowd that had gathered behind the warrior-priests murmured, catching the gist of his words. Sir Leus sat back on his saddle with a frown. ¡°Praise be the Five,¡± He finally rustled. ¡°Praise be the Five,¡± Storm repeated wryly and pointed at the hapless woman. ¡°What did she do?¡±Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°This wench is a vile witch,¡± Sir Leus spat and eyed the gathered crowd angrily. ¡°Uher will decide her fate.¡± Storm stared at the woman. She wore a decent light dress, a dark blue bodice over it and her short-heeled boots were dusty, but appeared new. Despite the wrinkles next to her soft green eyes, she was pleasant to the eye. And rather plain for a witch. The crowd had reacted to the Inquisitor¡¯s words and some of them murmured loudly, a man¡¯s voice heard clearly above the others. ¡°Bullshit! That¡¯s Arietta!¡± ¡°She¡¯s a healer!¡± Another added. ¡°Sells balms in the market for Uher¡¯s sake!¡± A third one cried. Storm smacked his lips and eyed the frowning Knight. ¡°I¡¯ll give you vile,¡± He said. ¡°But a witch? How can you know?¡± ¡°Bah, Uher¡¯s Light will make everything clear shortly,¡± Sir Leus spat loud enough for everyone to hear. ¡°Are you not a believer Lord Nattas?¡± No. ¡°Of course,¡± Storm lied with ease. ¡°Still, when you say Uher¡¯s Light, I find myself intrigued.¡± ¡°If she¡¯s innocent, no harm will come to her,¡± Sir Leus replied, not likening his insistence. ¡°And she will be released,¡± Lord Nattas added. ¡°If she¡¯s innocent,¡± Sir Leus countered. ¡°Can I watch this¡­ miracle?¡± Storm asked him with a small smile. ¡°We¡¯re headed to Old Maiden¡¯s Bridge,¡± Sir Leus said, after a moment¡¯s thought. ¡°You¡¯re welcomed to attend and quench your thirst for knowledge.¡± ¡°Uher¡¯s Light will come down on the bridge?¡± Storm probed, not buying whatever the priest was selling. The knight sat back on his saddle and smiled in turn. ¡°Right next to it, Lord Nattas.¡± What a bunch of nonsense, Nattas thought. ¡°Boss, you have an appointment at the palace,¡± Sudi interjected. ¡°I¡¯d like to witness this,¡± Storm replied and looked at the waiting knight and Inquisitor of the Order. ¡°I will come with you.¡± ¡°Very well,¡± Sir Adam Leus announced not appearing stressed, either because he was a fanatic idiot, or he believed Storm would fall for whatever bullshit trick he¡¯d arranged.
Maiden¡¯s River west bank and the bridge, weren¡¯t as crowded as they typically were every morning, but people started gathering around the decent crowd that had followed the armed priests of Uher, out of morbid curiosity. There were some calls for and against Arietta, but for the most part people just murmured to each other, standing idly by. Storm Nattas, drenched in sweat to his underwear and too tired for small talk watched as Sir Leus climbed down his horse and waited for his men to bring the hapless woman near the shallow edge of the river. A short man was waiting for them there, flanked by several members of the Order, also armed to the teeth. That¡¯s a lot of Issirs prancing about, Storm thought and used a wet hankie to wipe his face again. ¡°What are we doing here, chief?¡± Sudi complained, looking even worse than Storm. ¡°We¡¯re looking to expose the charlatans.¡± ¡°To what purpose?¡± Storm sighed. Abrakas, any ideas would be really useful right now. ¡°This woman,¡± Sir Leus said, addressing the small crowd that was watching them. Even close by and from the direction of the bridge, as many people had stopped crossing, to witness the impressive knight speak from their vantage position. ¡°Is charged with witchery and delving into the black arts! She denies it, but the evidence is right there for all to see!¡± ¡°What evidence?¡± Someone yelled from the bridge, about twenty meters to their right. Sir Leus squinted his eyes that way to see who it was. ¡°We see nothin¡¯!¡± Another taunted, hiding in the crowd behind them, taking advantage of the knight looking away. Sir Adam Leus grimaced and pressed his mouth angry. ¡°Since we¡¯re righteous and not godless cowardly scum,¡± The knight barked, eyeing the crowd warningly. ¡°We will stand back and allow Uher -the Godfather- decide, if she¡¯s telling the truth!¡± The crowd seemed stunned enough at that, to stop heckling them and Sir Leus made a gesture to the bespectacled clerk-looking man to approach them. Skinny and almost emancipated, with thinning white hair, over a long-nosed bland face. He was dressed in the Order¡¯s garbs and had loose sandals on, his dirty toes sticking out of them. ¡°Master Luikens,¡± Adam said in a no-nonsense kind of way. ¡°Are we ready?¡± For what? Storm thought and walked carefully near the two of them, his cane digging in the soft muddy ground, so near to the water. ¡°It¡¯s ready, Inquisitor,¡± Luikens replied, sounding terrified of all fucking things! ¡°We need to secure the subject onto the wooden post first, if your men assist us,¡± He stared at the approaching -mostly hobbling- Storm apologetically. ¡°It will only be a minute.¡± What are these boneheads up to? Storm wondered, staring at the sly smaller man getting something out of a satchel he had over his shoulder and then tying a leather cord on it with shaking hands. ¡°Where¡¯s Uher¡¯s Light?¡± Lord Nattas asked and Luikens flinched, white as snow, and almost dropped whatever it was, he was holding in his hands. ¡°Patience, Lord Nattas,¡± Sir Leus advised him and Storm frowned, a nervous tick starting on his left eye. ¡°Chief,¡± Sudi said warningly, standing a couple of meters behind, with Secundus Sorex and the rest of his escort. The warrior-priests had secured Arietta on the post, about ten feet inside the river, but still at its shallowest part. The soft muddy sand underneath, making it easy to insert the two meter tall peg relatively deep, but not very stable. She kept looking about scared, not knowing what to expect and most of the crowd had gone quiet now, the whole scene bizarre. Luikens finished creating a loop around the neck of the small shrill vial, he¡¯d in his hands and reaching inside his satchel again, got another, but thinner cord out, about a foot in length and kept it in his left, still shaking hand. What in Abrakas arsehairs is this? ¡°Hey!¡± Storm yelled and made another step to get into the sly-looking man¡¯s face. There was terror lurking behind his fat lenses, his dark eyes huge, almost monstrous, Nattas noticed. What is going on here? ¡°What¡¯s in the vial?¡± He probed. ¡°Consecrated water,¡± Sir Leus answered, without batting an eyelash. ¡°An offering to Uher.¡± Storm licked his lips and examined the vial. He could see liquid moving in there, colorless and gluey. It looked nothing like water. Though, the whole consecrated thing had threw him off balance, being as he was, a proper infidel. ¡°Right,¡± Lord Nattas said and took a step back. Luikens glanced towards a livid and glaring Inquisitor and then walked towards the tied up on the post Arietta, the water reaching her knees and her dress slowly soaking. He hanged the vial over her head carefully, so it rested like a pendant on her chest and inserted the thin hemp-like cord through the small opening, after uncorking it. ¡°Remain calm,¡± He mumbled to the almost freaked out Arietta and attempted to accompany his words with a reassuring smile that failed completely, as it seemed to break her psyche. Arietta started screaming and thrashing on the post, but the priests had done an excellent job to tie her hands and feet on it. Well, the post started moving slightly left and right, but it was heavy enough for the woman to fully lift it and free herself. Not that she had anywhere to go. One of course, had to factor in here the heavy post she¡¯d have to carry on her back during the escape. A right convoluted mess. Abrakas, you better do something spectacular, Once in your bloody life! An armed man holding a lit torch approached the nervously looking about him Luikens and he used it to set the end of the cord -still outside the vial- on fire and then dashed away from it comically, splashing in the water and falling once, getting mud on his robes. The woman kept screaming and thrashing behind him, the majority of the crowd watching mesmerized and weirded out, but for the men of the Order of the Golden Spears that kept a professional air about the whole affair. Storm had enough of this crap. ¡°Where¡¯s Uher?¡± He asked Sir Adam and the knight raised a gloved hand and pointed at the screaming and thrashing poor healer. ¡°Watch for the Light, Lord Nattas,¡± The warrior-priest said gravely and while he sold it brilliantly, all a frowning Storm could see was a terrified woman shrieking her lungs out, blood on her chin from her split lip and the cord slowly burning away, until it reached the mouth of the vial and went out, with a whimper. Arietta stopped screaming and took a deep rugged breath, when nothing of note happened. Some of the crowd started laughing at the apparent huge fail. Wow, haha! Gratitude for the fuckin¡¯ help! ¡°Cut the poor woman down!¡± Storm barked to the glaring priests and seeing they weren¡¯t moving, he turned to his own guards frustrated, when he noticed Luikens shaking like a leaf, his eyes closed and drenched in sweat. His fear was so palpable, Nattas felt a shiver run down his spine and twisted toward the now quietly crying Arietta, the ruckus of the taunting crowd slowly increasing, everything smelling of imminent violence. A brilliant light erupted from Arietta¡¯s chest, almost blinding him on the spot and the next moment a great explosion followed, sending mud, rocks, and water everywhere in a twenty meters radius. It was trailed by a grotesque deluge of diluted blood, pulverized gooey flesh, splintered bones, body fluids, mushy brain fragments and an eerie quietness that was broken violently by the desperate cries of people trying to get away, or just collapsing in a state of delirium. Storm coughed, his face covered in reeking muck and tried to get up, as the shockwave had hurled him three meters back, landing him amongst his less affected guards. Secundus helped him to his feet, ears ringing and eyes hurting and blurring, with red spots dancing everywhere Storm dared to look. Because he searched about for the wretched witch ¨Capparently- but couldn¡¯t find her anywhere. The post was gone and Arietta, judging by what they were all covered with, had just turned into sludge. Nattas wiped his face with a dirty sleeve, his velvet doublet ruined beyond comprehension and spat whatever he had lodged in his teeth. He was so shocked with how the event had ended, it seemed so bizarre and otherworldly to a cynic like Lord Nattas that it took him a long minute to realize, throngs of people had started coming from the city to investigate. ¡°Chief, we need to move. It isn¡¯t safe,¡± Sudi said and Storm nodded impassively with his head and followed after him. It was at the city gates that Lord Nattas realized he¡¯d lost his cane and had made the long trip back without it.
124. The Queen’s son
Lord Storm Nattas The Queen¡¯s son
The palace guards¡¯ officer stared him intently under his thick brows. Storm wondered, whether there were still pieces of brain, or other bloody and mushy body parts on his hair. He¡¯d went home to clean himself up and change clothes, now sporting a gray and silver lighter doublet over his black pants and high leather boots. ¡°I¡¯m expected,¡± Storm said feeling his legs heavy, especially his maimed one, but surprisingly not hurting despite not bringing a cane with him. ¡°To the King¡¯s council.¡± ¡°The council is over,¡± the officer replied almost offended he had to inform Nattas. ¡°The King has departed for the Summer Hunt.¡± Flavia¡¯s arse! ¡°Can you get ahold of the Mayor for me?¡± Storm asked after the small internal outburst, crossing both arms on his chest. ¡°The Mayor is accompanying the King. Most other officials left as well last night. It¡¯s the great summer¡ª¡± ¡°Yes! Yes, the Hunt. I heard you,¡± Lord Nattas interrupted him a little frustrated. ¡°The Captain of the city guard then, you can find him, right?¡± The officer run his hand over his short-cut black hair and nodded. ¡°Aye, Lord Nattas. I will sent a runner for him. He¡¯s at the East Gates, I believe.¡± ¡°Right. Well, give the man a horse that¡¯s half the city he¡¯d have to run,¡± Storm replied, but the officer¡¯s frozen expression, left no doubt their talk was over. His jesting anything, but welcomed. By the Old Gods, Storm thought and walked towards the throne room, the doors open and the big hall empty and poorly illuminated. The old stone throne, half-covered in darkness, but easy to spot in the center of the room. He walked there, his leg holding up surprisingly well. Storm wasn¡¯t about to start running any time soon, but the fact he could stand on his two feet without assistance was a pleasant enough surprise. What wasn¡¯t as palatable, was seeing that woman melt away, better yet¡­ pulverized, by¡­ whatever the fuck that was. Uher¡¯s Light in a vial, he thought with a shudder. What had these fanatics, gone and found? Abrakas helps us all! Storm stared at a large covering on the wall, depicting the Kingdom of Regia and the border territories. The Scalding Sea¡¯s blue had turned to a washed out aquamarine with old age that reminded him of her eyes. ¡°Lord Nattas?¡± The servant asked, forcing him out of his reverie. Sneaky son of wayward goat! ¡°That¡¯s me,¡± Storm replied more than a little tensed. ¡°The Queen asked for your presence in the garden,¡± the man droned tonelessly. ¡°In here,¡± Nattas asked with a frown. ¡°Yes sire,¡± the servant said patiently. Right. It would have been weird if she was in any other garden. ¡°Lead the way,¡± Storm said, assuming an indifferent manner himself.
¡°So you heard about Uher¡¯s Light?¡± Storm asked the servant ¨Cone of Queen¡¯s people brought from Cartagen- as they walked towards the Palace¡¯s gardens. These were smaller and internal to the building itself and not the Spring Gardens, where the ill-fated engagement had been held, more than a month back. ¡°Word came about a witch,¡± the man replied indifferently. ¡°Punished by Uher.¡± Okay, I¡¯m not convinced. ¡°Pretty horrible,¡± Storm commented and the servant gave him a side glance, as they reached the door leading behind the palace premises and the garden. The absence of guards telling. Miranda trusted only her own people. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know,¡± the man replied defensively and Storm offered him a warm smile. It wasn¡¯t well received, his reputation probably scaring the staff. ¡°Is her highness here?¡± He asked and the servant nodded.
Queen Miranda -wearing a lovely yellow striped summer dress- was sitting near the small pond, her sandals next to the stone bench in front of it, both her feet cooling inside the water. It wasn¡¯t a sight one could enjoy every day. Storm approached her walking slowly, but with more confidence. Each new stride, an unlikely treat he expected for all his adult life, but strangely dampened now at the regal woman¡¯s presence. He was in trouble. Miranda sighed, long legs scissoring and splashing at the water, dress pulled up to leave them uncovered. Storm needed to talk and stop gawking at the Queen of Regia like a love-struck idiot, before someone caught him doing it and sent him to meet Arietta¡¯s fate. The memory of the explosion shocking enough, to snap him out of his trance. ¡°Your Grace,¡± Storm said calmly and Miranda recoiled, lovely feet pulled out of the water, the garb¡¯s edges soaking up, when she dropped it to cover them up. Her eyes are much more vivid than in that drawing, he thought. ¡°Lord Nattas,¡± Miranda gasped, a blush rushing up her cheeks. Abrakas, you piece of vile shit, Storm thought realizing that his darn stupid cock, after failing to react and wasting his coin earlier, was now granite hard. ¡°I didn¡¯t hear your¡­¡± she paused, with a light frown -the cutest fucking thing- Storm had ever seen, an anxious tick appearing over his left eyebrow. The Queen examined him closely. ¡°You didn¡¯t bring your cane, I see.¡± Storm could see as well. A cane would have made it, one stick¡­ too many, Storm thought, pressing two fingers on the annoying throb to stop it. The last thing he wanted right now, was bursting a vein and dropping dead in the pond at full fuckin¡¯ mast. It would be nigh impossible to explain away later. ¡°I was witness to a miracle, your Grace,¡± he said instead, all other topics open for discussion potentially lethal. ¡°Oh,¡± Miranda uttered and stared at him curiously. Every innocent gesture a blasted tease! ¡°Uher¡¯s priests executed a witch today,¡± Storm said, the matter grave enough to scare his mind away from his lewder desires. ¡°Using Uher¡¯s Light apparently.¡± Miranda raised her hands to cover her mouth. ¡°That¡¯s horrible. Surely it was a trick!¡± She gasped theatrically. Ah, Abrakas followers are not easy to fool, Storm thought proudly. He had to admit though that his opinion was extremely biased on the matter. ¡°They used something,¡± he replied. ¡°I don¡¯t know what, but the effect was¡­ impressive and lethal.¡± ¡°Kelholt will try to kill everyone, if they let him loose.¡± ¡°What does the King say?¡± Storm asked, taking a deep breath. Miranda rolled her eyes and got up. ¡°The King went hunting, not to be outshined by Jeremy.¡± ¡°He thinks it will run its course and they will move on,¡± Storm translated. ¡°But they won¡¯t. These cretins are chomping at the bit to burn anyone they don¡¯t fancy. This is political, as much as it is about religion. The Issirs control Uher¡¯s priesthood.¡± ¡°Antoon does love his priests,¡± Miranda noted, staring at her sandals and then at her naked feet a little apprehensive. ¡°How about sending them to fight at Raoz then? Plenty of degenerates there,¡± Storm jested and stooped to help her wear the strappy matching shoes, without first thinking it through. By the time he did all Storm could see and think, was her expertly gold-painted small toes. Aah. ¡°I can call a servant, dear Nattas,¡± the Queen said standing tall above him, but it was a weak protest and didn¡¯t object further, when Storm proceeded to strap the sandals on her ankles -one after the other- the soft skin wet, but warm to the touch. ¡°We are all servants, your Grace.¡± Get up. Let go of the bloody shoe, you stupid hog! Keep your fuckin¡¯ nose away from her royal thighs, for goodness sake! Storm pushed himself upright, knees protesting but miraculously holding up, as if he¡¯d managed to cross an unseen line and after so many years his injury had finally gotten better. The unmoving Queen had some color on her cheeks, blue eyes inquisitive, until she caught herself and stood back to examine the quiet garden with newfound interest. ¡°We should return,¡± she said simply, after the moment was gone. Lord Nattas offered a sharp curtsy. ¡°Of course, your Grace.¡± No one talked as they slowly made their way towards the door leading inside the palace. It was Miranda that broke the awkward silence, stopping just before the exit. ¡°It is torture staying inside, in this heat,¡± she said sounding miserable all of a sudden, looking at the closed door. Nattas smacked his lips, unsure what to answer, but the Alden Queen continued after that brief pause. ¡°I wanted to visit the beach. It¡¯s the summer. Staying here is a constant reminder,¡± she gasped, a shudder running through her and Storm made a superhuman effort to keep his eyes on her face. ¡°I will never see her again,¡± Miranda turned her head away, trying to find her wits. ¡°Why not do it?¡± Storm offered instead of keeping his mouth shut. ¡°Aldenport is but hours away.¡± And closed mouths catch no flies idiot! He cursed himself. Miranda made a grimace of discomfort. ¡°It is untoward for a Queen to be seen bathing,¡± she droned, as if quoting another¡¯s words and added. ¡°When in mourning,¡± Miranda released a rugged breath and stared into a transfixed Lord Nattas eyes. ¡°Before that, it was unseemly dressing like an Aegium girl, or swimming alongside the populace without the king present. The King is rarely present, preferring a hunt to get his mind off our troubles, or a tourney, since that¡¯s always a better use of his time, than winding down with a girl by the water.¡± Get back on the bloody subject! Speak fool! Make it long! ¡°It is the priests,¡± Storm blurted out, clenching his jaw to keep his mind focused. ¡°Judging ruffians are abound at this moment. More chance steeping on one, than squashing a cockroach under boot¡ª¡± ¡°I can¡¯t stand this city,¡± Miranda interrupted him. ¡°It¡¯s suffocating and too close to those hypocritical¡­ I fail to recall your word from earlier,¡± she added with a blush. Storm¡¯s cock came alive again. ¡°Cretins,¡± Storm helped her with a croak. ¡°Yes, those Uher-loving Issirs have ruined Lorians,¡± Miranda continued. ¡°The South wasn¡¯t like this.¡± ¡°Can you not return to Cartagen?¡± Storm asked unable to stop himself. She shook her head, long blond ponytail dancing on her back. Abrakas give fortitude! ¡°I can¡¯t. It will reflect bad, abandoning the King here. Of course the one stuck inside this mausoleum is myself. Even my Jeremy got seduced with the hunt,¡± the possessive pronoun wasn¡¯t lost on Storm. The young Queen had basically raised King Alistair¡¯s third son, despite them being ten years apart in age. Miranda was looking at him all serious now. What? Nattas wondered. ¡°What have you found?¡± She asked. Ah. There it is, Storm thought and stared at his boots and well¡­ her toes, nicely visible through the open summer-sandals. It was all his fault. Staying in Alden was a mistake. Was it though? ¡°Assassins from the guild made the attack and not some group of Old God worshippers,¡± Storm replied. A mostly truthful answer. ¡°How do you know?¡± Miranda probed, now curious. ¡°I discovered one of them.¡± ¡°Is he dead?¡± Miranda asked him, her face hardening. ¡°She¡¯s not. But she did say some things of interest.¡± You shouldn¡¯t have said that. ¡°You found out, who was behind it then?¡± the Queen asked. Storm sighed, he had to give her something. ¡°I didn¡¯t. Not yet. But there is one group that benefited the most.¡± Miranda stood back alarmed. ¡°What group?¡± ¡°Kelholt¡¯s,¡± Storm Nattas replied coolly. ¡°It was nothing sort of a miracle for him.¡± In his mind that was one miracle too many.
Secundus sucked his teeth in, lips wrinkling all over and his mouth turning into a monkey¡¯s arsehole, while Sudi almost collapsed on one of Storm¡¯s old canes -the half-breed looking like he had a foot in the grave already- just grunted, but said nothing. ¡°What is it?¡± Lord Nattas barked not likening the look on their faces. ¡°The Captain was busy, milord,¡± Secundus reported. ¡°His pregnant wife is due?¡± Storm chanced. ¡°Who knows? He told the boy his hands were tied,¡± the hired blade replied. Storm blinked and glared at both of them. ¡°Is one of you looking to keep Titus company?¡± He asked. The former soldier of fortune, was still locked up in Lord Nattas¡¯ cellar. ¡°I better hear what happened soon lads.¡± ¡°The city guard is actively searching for suspects,¡± Sudi said tiredly. ¡°What suspects?¡± Storm snapped. ¡°We caught them all!¡± ¡°Apparently, some might have slipped through the noose.¡±Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°Bah, that¡¯s bullshit!¡± Nattas hissed and checked about them for any onlookers. ¡°Who gave the order?¡± If the order had come from the king, there was nothing Storm could do. ¡°The man didn¡¯t say, chief,¡± Sudi said and started after a cursing Lord Nattas, the latter walking briskly towards his house, despite a little discomfort still there. Actually a whole lot of discomfort, but Storm was so fired up to finally be able to walk on two feet, he could endure a little pain gladly. ¡°I¡¯m going to get a good rest,¡± he told his men at the entrance. ¡°Make sure no one sneaks inside to slit my fucking throat and so long as I ain¡¯t murdered, wake me up the instant something of note happens.¡± ¡°You want to narrow it down a bit, boss?¡± Sudi probed annoyingly. ¡°The ¡®something of note¡¯ part?¡± Storm threw him a stern stare and thought about it some, before replying. ¡°No, I don¡¯t.¡±
You need to start working out more, he thought, looking at his rubbery belly. Storm wasn¡¯t fat and he¡¯d lost a lot of weight, courtesy to Maja¡¯s poison, but he needed to strengthen his core and his legs. His eyes searched the bedroom, the floor moving as if it was alive all of sudden, thousands of tentacles slithering about, glued to one another, a bizarre and horrifying vision surely. Everything smelled like the sea. The lights flickered, a pungent smell reaching his nostrils and he heard Abrakas heavy breathing, coming from the depths. Storm recoiled in horror as his bed had started shaking, but as soon as it did, the tremors went away and Miranda wearing a shrill red nightgown, a leg folded at the edge of his bed, the other unseen, naked thighs toned and long hair the color of pure gold, smiled a seductress smile seeing his body¡¯s reaction. She climbed on the bed fully, moving with the feline grace of a belly-dancer and reached for his throbbing manhood. ¡°Shall I take care of it, Storm?¡± She purred. Please do, he replied numbly and the next moment panic seized his heart and jumped up. NO! Storm yelped, kicking with his feet and hands to get away from her. Stay the fuck away fiend! Abrakas, you despicable monster!
With a desperate strangling sound, Lord Nattas woke from the disturbing nightmare¡­ of sorts, drenched in sweat and his whole body shaking as if he had a strong case of fever. Storm tried to speak, but realized he couldn¡¯t his mouth all gluey, so he placed both legs down first and then ¨Cunsteadily- got out of his soaked bed. There was a bronze pitcher of water on a night-cabinet and he drank a good amount to quench his thirst, the heat coming from the open window quite strong. It was late noon. For fuck¡¯s sake. ¡°SUDI!¡± Nattas yelled livid. He dressed as fast as he could and rushed downstairs, found Sudi asleep on a chair in the kitchen, jaw touching his chest. Secundus marched through the door leading to the street, a loaf of bread in his hands and paused seeing him up and about. ¡°Milord,¡± Secundus said, placing the bread on a table, next to the sleeping lackey. ¡°You are awake.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m not,¡± Storm jested sourly. ¡°I¡¯m sleepwalking.¡± The hired blade nodded, as if it made sense. He pointed at the sleeping Sudi, saliva drooling out of his half-open mouth. ¡°Is he dead?¡± ¡°I sure hope not,¡± Storm deadpanned. ¡°I¡¯ve paid him yesterday for the whole fucking month!¡± ¡°Warned ye milord, twas a risk.¡± ¡°So is leaving me sleep until noon, Mr. Sorex,¡± Nattas countered. Secundus shrugged his shoulders, as if he wasn¡¯t as sure. Right. ¡°Any news from the hunt?¡± He asked next, giving Sudi a good kick to wake him up. ¡°The King is back,¡± Secundus reported. ¡°Apparently they got a blacktiger on the first day.¡± Well, Storm thought a little relieved, proceeding to give Sudi another kick, as the first one hadn¡¯t worked. That¡¯s a piece of good news. As it happened, nothing was further from the truth. King Alistair was sitting on his stone throne, old stout face barely keeping his rage in control. The Queen, dressed in a light-blue tight dress, ending in a sheer bodice darker at the low-cut front and embellished with numerous turquoise sequins, was sitting on his left side, her own throne made of pine wood and much more comfortable. Jeremy was present, his youthful Alden face flushed, clad in a fine leather armor vest and pants. His dark blue eyes and combed black hair, reminded Storm of a young Lucius, but for his less square jaw. Jeremy, Sir Rottas Barnard, first of the King¡¯s bodyguards, recently promoted but a member of the royal knights for years and three palace guards were standing in a group, before the King and Queen of Regia. Nobody in the room seemed happy to be there. Sir Rottas, groomed beard impressive on his face, made another attempt to convince King Alistair. ¡°Your Highness, it¡¯s customary to reward a young warrior for finishing a hunt,¡± the sturdy knight said respectfully. ¡°How did he finished it?¡± Alistair snarled. ¡°He got the kill, my King.¡± ¡°What kill?¡± Alistair snapped, eyes locating Lord Nattas standing further back and staying on him for a long moment. ¡°The beast was gravely injured!¡± ¡°Husband, surely Jeremy deserves a reward,¡± Miranda intervened softly. Her throne was much lower than his and she had to look up to him, when speaking. ¡°A reward,¡± Alistair hissed, for some reason in a very bad mood. Not that the King was habitually in a better one. ¡°Let¡¯s Knight him, uh? What do you think Sir Rottas? The Queen endorses him.¡± ¡°He¡¯s of age, my King.¡± ¡°Is that so? How many tourneys have you taken part son?¡± The King asked Jeremy and the young Alden frowned, not expecting the question and stalled thinking about it. ¡°Do you want the Queen to speak for you? Or perhaps Sir Rottas. He appears willing¡­ aren¡¯t you Sir Rottas?¡± ¡°I plan to compete this summer,¡± A blushing Jeremy replied. ¡°How are you gonna compete? You¡¯re not a bloody knight! Haven¡¯t squired a day!¡± The King snarled and slammed his fist on the armrest. ¡°Instead of following your older brothers around, you stayed with the Queen and played games! Fighting servants and even girls, I heard! Now you come here and kill a half-dead beast,¡± he glared at him pitilessly. ¡°You think you¡¯re better than your brothers? Hmm?¡± ¡°Ralph is dead for almost a year!¡± Jeremy snapped back at him. ¡°Lucius is gone, for what? Six months now? Does anyone know, if he¡¯s still alive? This is here. Now. I killed the tiger. I¡¯m an Alden.¡± King Alistair coiled on his throne ready to cut him down. Miranda got up and walked slowly towards Jeremy and stood next to him, her right hand taking his and holding it tight. ¡°Jeremy deserves a knighthood,¡± she said and King Alistair grimaced, trying to control himself. ¡°He¡¯s a Lord of Regia. Give him the city of Alden.¡± ¡°Have you lost your mind woman?¡± Alistair exploded and glared at her. ¡°You¡¯ll strip my heir from his title? My forebears¡¯ seat? How about offering your brother¡¯s then?¡± What is this? Storm thought, surprised at the way the conversation was going. ¡°What if I did and he accepted?¡± Miranda insisted. What are you doing? Storm wondered. ¡°Lord Doris accepted,¡± the King smacked his lips not believing it. ¡°What about Sir Deimos, his son. Your nephew.¡± ¡°Sir Deimos is commander of the Legion,¡± the Queen countered. ¡°For five years,¡± Alistair stared at her warningly. ¡°It¡¯s not a permanent title. Perhaps you should sit down dear.¡± ¡°A Knight, a Lord of Regia and your Queen have endorsed your son King Alistair. My brother can knight him tomorrow,¡± Miranda insisted, what was obviously a rehearsed speech. Why oppose the King here? ¡°Your brother will do nothing of the sort, if he wants to keep his head,¡± King Alistair threatened her openly this time. ¡°I know what you¡¯re trying to do.¡± Miranda stood up straighter. ¡°Regia has no heir,¡± she pointed in a composed manner. What? Storm snapped his head her way, thoroughly shocked. ¡°Lucius, is my Heir!¡± The King growled and glared at them. ¡°I will speak no more of this. Your request to return to Cartagen, is denied dear,¡± he told his wife. ¡°Jeremy¡­ will join the army to rack up on that missed experience.¡± Then he stilled his eyes on an upset Lord Nattas. ¡°Nattas. You stay. Everyone else, the meeting is adjourned!¡± Storm Nattas had never seen the King of Regia so troubled, or as angry. Alistair came down from his throne and walked to the big table, situated under the large map of the Kingdom, Storm had gazed upon the other day. He poured himself a goblet of wine, dropping the crown of Regia next to the bottle and turned to examine Lord Nattas carefully. ¡°You learned about the priests?¡± He asked him. ¡°I have,¡± Storm replied, shifting his weight from his hurting leg to the other. ¡°I also witnessed the order of the Golden Spears execute a woman in broad daylight.¡± ¡°A witch,¡± the King corrected him and tasted his wine. Nattas had serious doubts about that. ¡°The manner had me worried,¡± Storm pushed on, leaving that matter aside. ¡°Uher¡¯s Light. Appius Gordian is telling me it¡¯s a miracle,¡± Alistair noted. ¡°Gordian says what Kelholt wants you to hear, my King.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t believe Uher has blessed the Order?¡± ¡°Uher might have blessed the Order, but whatever blew up that woman a weird monk had inside a vial. It looked like¡­ a potion of sorts. Nothing Godly about it.¡± Alistair frowned and stared at the map for a couple of minutes. Whatever it was he was contemplating, important enough to have him almost forget Storm was there. When Alistair spotted Lord Nattas waiting awkwardly for him to speak, the King grunted and made a gesture for Storm to take a seat. Storm didn¡¯t, since the King had remained standing and Alistair smiled at that. ¡°I haven¡¯t heard from Lucius,¡± he finally said. Nobody had. ¡°The High King writes me a letter, protesting and demanding compensation for Lucius aggrieving one of his subjects,¡± Alistair continued. ¡°He¡¯s either dead is the word, or he has sided with the O¡¯ Dargans.¡± ¡°Whatever Lucius reasons may be, you know he¡¯s in the right. Nine times out of ten,¡± Storm pointed. Alistair grimaced. ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m afraid.¡± ¡°You wanted him to win the North for you,¡± Storm insisted. ¡°I don¡¯t doubt he will.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t appease the Issirs,¡± Alistair said, sounding tired. ¡°Lorians don¡¯t understand this, Lesia¡­ well, they are merchants for the most part and our own Lords, want us to play it safe.¡± ¡°Perhaps staying neutral¡ª¡± Alistair cut him off. ¡°There¡¯s no safe place anymore,¡± the King said and downed the rest of his wine. ¡°No way out of the war.¡± ¡°My King,¡± Storm murmured. ¡°We need to know more, before we commit.¡± ¡°The Khan sacked Rida,¡± Alistair said simply and reached for the engraved bottle. ¡°Took the city, then burned it. A merchant wrote the piles of the dead burned so bright, the night turned into day. There were at least sixty thousand people in that city Nattas.¡± Storm put a hand on the table to stabilize himself, the news devastating. ¡°How?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have an official report yet. Antoon¡¯s plan broke down, the second Foot never reached Rida and the Duke for some reason, or other, decided to fight the Cofols in the open, outside the walls.¡± Storm took a deep breath and tried to clear his head from the shock. ¡°Where¡¯s the Legion?¡± He asked, forgetting etiquette. Alistair didn¡¯t seem to mind. He swirled his wine, staring in the tall gold goblet for another moment and then took a sip. ¡°Can you walk without your cane?¡± The King asked him next. Storm frowned. ¡°I can, your Highness.¡±
The Guardtower stood tall over the outer walls of Alden, reaching higher than the other large Keeps, securing the outer city walls four corners. Being located behind the moat and the inner ring of fortifications, it was probably the safest spot to stand on, in the whole city. Unfortunately that had turned out to be false. Maja and her killers had reached its top, commandeered a Scorpion and robbed Regia and King Alistair of his daughter. Killing the Heir to Kaltha in the process. A right mess, Storm thought looking over the parapets, to where the King had pointed. Between the South and East Keep, over the walls towards Maiden¡¯s Bridge. A long line of square, sturdy carriages, had clogged up the road. It went on forever it seemed. Eerie similar, orderly. Alistair offered him a spyglass and Storm placed it on his right eye, to make sense of what was happening. The moment Nattas saw the burgundy square banners flapping in the wind, a large letter L written in gold on them and all other markings unreadable, he knew. The Legion is here. ¡°Is this the supply train?¡± He asked, trying to catch a glimpse of the legionnaires, but failing. ¡°Aye,¡± King Alistair said. ¡°They are building a Castrum about a kilometer from the river.¡± ¡°What does the High King want?¡± Lord Nattas asked. ¡°To send the Legion to Eplas.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Storm asked. ¡°So he can take with force, what the treaties removed from his control,¡± Alistair said matter-of-factly. ¡°He¡¯s willing to use Lucius as a pressure point for me to give in. Better to lose a Legion, than my Heir, he believes and he is right.¡± ¡°He can¡¯t dictate, who will take the crown, right?¡± Storm asked. ¡°No, he can¡¯t,¡± Alistair replied. ¡°But he can make sure Lucius never makes it back.¡± So there¡¯s the Queen¡¯s solution, Storm thought, now understanding what he didn¡¯t earlier. Probably fueled by ulterior motives, simple pettiness, revenge, or just a sense of obligation to her own closest kin. In simpler words, their Alden ambitions. ¡°You won¡¯t knight Jeremy,¡± Storm noted. ¡°He¡¯s not a warrior,¡± Alistair said. ¡°He¡¯s more the Queen¡¯s son, than my own. I won¡¯t put an Alden from Aegium on the throne. We hold a sword not a quill.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the alternative, your Highness?¡± King Alistair eyed him with such intensity, Storm almost collapsed on his hurting knees. ¡°I won¡¯t let Antoon dictate any terms,¡± he replied, that emblematic resolve back in his voice. ¡°The Legion stays here.¡±
¡°You look much worse under this light,¡± Sudi said wryly, hours later. Storm rubbed his forehead with three fingers trying to alleviate some of the headache. Some of it from wine, some from problems ever mounting. ¡°How many warrior-priests inside the city?¡± He asked tiredly. ¡°About a hundred. It¡¯s not easy to count them, under those robes they look the same.¡± ¡°They are with Gordian.¡± ¡°They¡¯ve taken over the Dome,¡± Sudi added and gave him a suspicious stare. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°We have to take the gloves off.¡± ¡°What did the King say?¡± Storm sighed, his mind more on the Queen. ¡°Alistair will not back down, the others I¡¯m not as sure.¡± ¡°Nobody wants to fight,¡± Sudi agreed. ¡°The High King is losing the war too fast,¡± Storm explained. ¡°He needs a win, or this will end badly for him. Since I don¡¯t see how he can find a win with Rida gone, he may try something else.¡± ¡°The Holts will back the King,¡± Sudi said. ¡°Asturia is too far away and you don¡¯t know that. Sir Deimos Alden commands the Legion.¡± ¡°Chief, it¡¯s one thing to ¡®disappear¡¯ a sailor, another to¡­¡± Storm stopped him, with a gesture. ¡°A mere lord, won¡¯t cut it,¡± He murmured. Sudi stood back on his chair, across from Lord Nattas desk. ¡°Does the Queen know?¡± Storm frowned at the unexpected query. ¡°What does¡­ what have you heard?¡± ¡°There¡¯s word, you spent time wit her, in private,¡± His man said, picking his words carefully. ¡°Who spreads it?¡± Storm hissed. ¡°A palace guard.¡± Great. ¡°Find out where he heard it from, then make him disappear,¡± he ordered and Sudi gave a nod with his dilapidated head. Fuck. ¡°Is the rumor true?¡± Sudi asked, looking at him. ¡°Of course not!¡± Storm snapped at him, then threw him a suspicious glare. ¡°I want you to get Titus out.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°Right away.¡± ¡°I will call Secundus. He has the keys,¡± Sudi said, getting up with difficulty. ¡°Why is Secundus holding the keys to my cellar?¡± Storm asked, taken aback. ¡°I asked the same thing,¡± Sudi replied, sucking the back end of his cheeks in, where teeth were missing. ¡°And?¡± Storm inquired, seeing him stalling. ¡°I don¡¯t believe he gave me an answer, chief,¡± Sudi said with a shrug and walked out, using a cane for assistance.
His eyes were hurting. The light coming from the two oil lamps a bright yellow. If Storm gazed at it for long, he could see gold curls swaying to the soft breeze coming from his open window. He sighed, a deep tired gush and tried to read some of the reports on his desk, the hour late. Storm sifted through the scrolls, half-reading half-drowsing, until he went over everything, the last couple of vellums blank and unblemished, almost white. Antoon knows the treaties are null and void, he thought, staring at the curtains flapping lightly across from him. He will move with that in mind and try to secure as much power as he can, before it is too late. What is his plan though? Regia was a problem for him. How would he solve it? Would he sacrifice Rida? Storm rapped his fingers on his heavy desk and rubbed his nape with the other hand. ¡°Faerith K¡¯lael,¡± he murmured to the empty room. ¡°I ask for a Servant.¡± He felt his heart beating fast and tried to listen for sounds. The minutes ticked away. Storm got up and walked to the window, pulled the drapes aside and stared at the dark street. He heard a horse clopping, but it was too far away and after a while he couldn¡¯t hear it anymore. Storm sighed quite frustrated and returned to his desk, twenty minutes later. ¡°Stupid lying cunt,¡± he cursed and collapsed on his armchair, puffing out hard. Well, that was anticlimactic, he decided and reached for his cup of wine. Storm brought it to his face and gave it a thorough check to see, if anything had crawled up inside. There was nothing in his wine, but the blank vellum on his desk had two words written on it now. The ink black and old. The writing archaic.
Horned Hen.
The name of the brothel.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 125. The Architect & Wyvern’s egg (1/2)
''If you don¡¯t follow the Merchant Path, but opt instead to hug the Far Peak Mountain range, straight through the desolate sands to Queen¡¯s Point, you¡¯ll have cut your journey in half, by the time you reach the ruins of Lebesos. But you wouldn¡¯t have come out of the desert yet. You see from there, you¡¯ll either head southwest hoping to find Kraken¡¯s Spine at the end of it, or you rush East, to Dead Camel¡¯s and Shavemont plateaus and take on the nightmare that¡¯s the Endless Dunes, from the ancient weather-beaten Horn, to the warm waters of Devil¡¯s Cove.'' ¡ª Sir Dominique Valwarin Also ¡®The Oaf¡¯, ¡®Carmine Bard¡¯ (A bard, adventurer, lover then knight, according to his self-inscribed epitaph stone in Altarin) Recollections of Ebenezer Framtond describing their journey in the former¡¯s infamous Wicked Quartet¡¯s chronicles, Commonly celebrated today as Beyond Elauthin -the tales of Ebenezer Framtond & the Fab Three- Chapter One- The Basilisk of Queen¡¯s Point Circa described 60-78 NC Assembled in written form along with Valwarin¡¯s vulgar songs in 108 NC in Asturia by Duke Rupert the Second and published the next year after the famed bard¡¯s death.
Luthos stepped on a soft turd Raised foot to wipe it clean ¡®n had his cock stricken, by a witch¡¯s bird ¡ª Lewd graffiti Found in Shroudcoast¡¯s market, Circa 190 NC
Glen (aka Garth) The Architect & Wyvern¡¯s egg Part I
A day after they left behind Marcus¡¯ Grave, Glen got out of his plate armour, the metal burning his fingers. Two days after that, he was riding in his linen shirt, which the young man discarded briefly to ride bare-chested for a couple of hours. It proved an unwise decision. Seeing as he was turning a morbid darker shade of red, much as a well-roasted fat cut of meat, forgotten over the hot coals, Flix loaned him a thin silk robe to wear over it. With his shirt and ¨Cfemale looking- garb on, Glen made it another two days, slowly boiling under the stupendous heat, before he declared the desert a nigh silly place to travel through. Ten days into their journey through the Desolate Sands, following the mass of the Far Peak Mountain Range, they had almost run out of water and Glen had the rich tan of a pure-bred Issir, paired with the swollen tongue of a drown dog. ¡°Cut left over yonder, up this slope,¡± Flix stoically ordered, face hidden under a shrill Hijab, clad in an almond-colored dress, large hat-like construct over that, richly decorated at its long arms with white beads. Glen, one hand on the Cofol horse¡¯s reins, the other on his leather flask of remaining water, eyed the rocky dry ground with incredulity. Sweat was burning his eyes and a piece of skin peeled off his nose, was hurting him something fierce. ¡°You want us to climb up there?¡± He asked, unwilling to leave the semblance of shade they¡¯d found following this yellow dry crag, after kilometers of flat scalding sands. ¡°Has the sun boiled yer brains?¡± ¡°I told you there¡¯s water ahead. Hopefully,¡± The Gish insisted and moved ahead of him, to start up the rocky terrain. The Sun blinding over their heads. ¡°You said an Oasis!¡± Glen blasted him, his lips cracking and bleeding down his chin. ¡°And I don¡¯t much like dis sneaky ¡®hopefully¡¯ added shit! Ye don¡¯t toss more words in such matters, after the bloody fact!¡± ¡°What matters?¡± Flix probed and turned around to look at him, hint of a smile under that cover. ¡°Important?¡± What the fuck? How is that funny? ¡°Life and plaguin¡¯ death?¡± Glen attacked the smirking Gish verbally, then stopped as getting frustrated meant he was also getting hotter and Glen had no moisture to spare. ¡°It¡¯s here,¡± Flix said simply and turned around to lead his horse. ¡°When we stop, avoid sitting on unshaded rocks.¡± ¡°Stop where?¡± Glen croaked and downed his remaining water, feeling a heat wave overcoming him to the point of fainting. Momentarily recovered, he howled at the white sky with righteous indignation. ¡°Luthos ye darn crook of a god, we¡¯re goin¡¯ to die out here!¡± ¡°There,¡± Flix announced, having already taken the turn at the end of the vertical limestone wall. ¡°The Oasis!¡± Glen pushed his horse to stop next to his and eyed the opening amidst the rocky slopes with suspicious eyes. There were some palm trees sprouting out of the small gorge, what appeared to be a muddy hole behind them. That was just about it. ¡°That¡¯s like four trees,¡± he murmured trying to locate the water source, but failing. ¡°One of them, pretty dried up. If I give it a good kick, it¡¯ll topple over and turn into a petrified log.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a couple of more at the back,¡± Flix tried to save it, but Glen was no fool. ¡°Bullshit! That¡¯s not a bloody Oasis Gish!¡± He griped and pushed his horse forward, looking about for a spot with enough shade to stop, but finding none. He did find the small spring though. A finger-like crack on the rock, dribbling water. ¡°Well,¡± Glen murmured, wiping the blood and sweat off of his face. Flix sighed. ¡°We are pretty lucky, thank the gods. Although this looks mostly Luthos doing.¡± Huh? Glen whipped his head angrily. ¡°Fuck are ye talking about?¡± The Gish let out a whistle and jumped off his horse nimbly. ¡°Most times, it¡¯s just the mud. Not easy to drink from that.¡±
Damn it, this isn¡¯t what I had envisioned, Glen thought, dragging his tired feet towards the pitiful spring of water, carrying two large empty leather flasks and a small one, to fill them up. Hopefully, before that stupid thing dries up! He uncorked the first and glanced towards the Gish still standing next to the muddy waterhole ¨Cpond was stretching it- now in the process of checking the depth, a hand sunk deep into the murky water. ¡°What in the Allfather are ye doing?¡± Glen queried, some of the water spilling on his hand, from the shock. ¡°Looking for a good spot,¡± Flix replied, dress gathered to show his hairless legs, the black boots contrasting to his pale skin, not flattering at all. ¡°A good spot for what?¡± ¡°Uhm¡­ um.¡± Glen rolled his eyes, seeing the old Gish almost falling inside the waterhole head first. Flix managed to keep his balance ¨Csome bloody how- right hand dipped in murky water to his shoulder, the sleeve turning a shit-dark color. ¡°There! Hah!¡± He announced joyful, finally getting up. ¡°Well?¡± ¡°It¡¯s deep enough. See?¡± The Gish said pleased. Glen couldn¡¯t tell, if it was, or not. ¡°Almost a meter at this spot. Uhm.¡± Glen stared at him numbly, still in the process of filling the water-flasks up. ¡°For me,¡± Flix explained, seeing him unconvinced. ¡°Unless you want to try it first, young lad.¡± ¡°Jump in the mud,¡± Glen said unemotionally, to see if he¡¯d gotten his meaning correctly. ¡°Well, it¡¯s mostly water.¡± ¡°Not from where I¡¯m standing,¡± Glen deadpanned. ¡°Haha, yeah. Right. More for me then!¡± Flix proclaimed, more excited than he¡¯d been in more than a week. ¡°What is it with Gish and holes?¡± Glen asked, corking the first flask and reaching for the second. ¡°Water,¡± Flix corrected him. ¡°You have met my kind.¡±This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°That¡¯s true. Two of them,¡± Glen replied, as the Gish untied his boots, after checking the waterhole for snakes with a long stick. ¡°Lovers, I take it?¡± Glen blinked. ¡°Friends. Well, one of o¡¯ them. The other one¡­ is iffy.¡± ¡°A thief,¡± Flix -who¡¯d probably seen Alix alongside Glen, during their exodus from Rida- commented casually. ¡°Rather handsome, for a Gish.¡± ¡°Huh, I don¡¯t know about that. Pretty though, is¡­ cute,¡± Glen blushed at that. ¡°There¡¯s a moniker worthy of note,¡± Flix said, looking at him impressed. ¡°The full moniker is ¡®Pretty Nose¡¯, so I don¡¯t know about that either,¡± Glen retorted, recovering. ¡°I bet she loves it,¡± Flix commented with a chuckle. ¡°Ah, the young are so much fun. Hehe.¡± ¡°How can you tell, she¡¯s a female? Is it the name?¡± Glen asked him curious, finishing up with the second flask and reaching for the one he always carried over his shoulder. ¡°Nah, I could tell right away, by the manner you spoke of her. Gish names are androgynous by the way.¡± ¡°That sounds confusing,¡± Glen noticed. ¡°Not really. We don¡¯t care about it enough, is all,¡± Flix replied with a shrug. ¡°A Gish can pick any name he, or she, wants. We don¡¯t like rules, unless we can break them. Then we love rules¡­¡± He sighed, hanging his head. Flix had removed his Hijab. ¡°I guess this applies mostly to your friends, my life wasn¡¯t typical.¡± Right. ¡°Because of the whole Servants thing?¡± Glen asked, finishing up with his last flask. Flix smacked his lips and stared at the waterhole. ¡°I started as a slave, Garth,¡± he finally said. ¡°We talked about this. The name is Glen,¡± Glen hissed and approached, stopping to drop the heavy water-flasks under a palm tree. ¡°Nah, you mostly gave up,¡± Flix insisted. ¡°Do you mind?¡± He asked seeing him walking to his spot. ¡°What?¡± Glen queried, narrowing his eyes. The Gish made a grimace with his wrinkled, rosy face that meant nothing to Glen. Flix sighed, a little apprehensively. ¡°I¡¯ll admit I became rather shy,¡± he revealed with an uncomfortable blush. ¡°In my older age.¡± Glen pushed a sweaty and hot mass of hair away from his forehead, the skin irritated to the touch and stared at the older Gish for a good minute. ¡°Seriously?¡± Glen finally asked. ¡°Yep.¡± Luthos stepped on a soft turd. ¡°That¡¯s not my experience with yer kind,¡± Glen pointed out, but turned his back so he can undress. ¡°Like at all.¡±
You don¡¯t want to see this. I¡¯m dead serious here.
Oh, for fuck¡¯s sake! Glen griped inwardly and walked frustrated to their animals, now resting the two biggest trees in this tiny copse. Where have you been? He asked the stupid voice in his head. He got no answer back and Glen poured his frustration on unloading their supplies and armor, the large sack holding Jinx¡¯s weird egg, another laden with dried up and salted pork, hardtack and fat sealed in glass jars and two large sacks with feed for the animals, mostly grain. Marcus had packed all that and Flix had somehow gotten hold of one of their mules during the rumpus at the East Gates. Glen found a flat rock, under a tall palm tree ¨Ctwo of them were mature enough to offer shade, another five or so were decent and the rest, either too small, or just dried up and dead. The small Oasis had a sum of a mere fifteen palm trees all and all. Number of trees aside, Glen deposited the sack with the egg on that rock and placed the saddle of the Cofol horse down, right next to it, to use as a seat. The shade had moved in the meantime and he had to move the finely-ornamented saddle again, much further back, murmuring under his breath and sweating all the water he¡¯d drunk right out, while Flix enjoyed his mud-bath whistling an annoying tune, not a care in the world. ¡°What about the water?¡± Glen asked, when he made himself comfortable. He used a dirty piece of cloth to wipe his face and then checked on the tip of his nose still hurting, the skin there peeling off, well cooked. ¡°We need to sleep once a week or so in it, in order to rejuvenate¡­ ahm, our bodies,¡± Flix replied turning his head, so he can see him fully. The Gish was about ten feet from him, up to his neck sunk in the sludgy hole. ¡°What if you don¡¯t?¡± Glen probed and stooped to get a biscuit to chew on. He heard something moving about, narrowed his eyes and then looked suspiciously around the large tree trunk. ¡°We slowly weaken and get sick,¡± Flix explained and seeing the young man alarmed, he added. ¡°It¡¯s probably a snake.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve checked for snakes!¡± Glen shrieked, his voice cracking a bit and got up from the saddle. ¡°Desert snakes are pretty sneaky,¡± Flix said with a grin. ¡°You think?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m certain.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no snake here!¡± ¡°You probably scared it away.¡± ¡°Good then!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be all wound up about it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not!¡± Glen sat down puffing out hard and reached for the sack again to fish out something to eat. ¡°Smoke some redleaf to calm yourself down,¡± Flix suggested and Glen envisioned throwing the hardtack on his head. Sturdy as the piece he held was, it would probably crack the Gish¡¯s head open, than bounce off of it. ¡°If you prep a fire, I¡¯ll make a stew on it,¡± Flix added. ¡°You want me to build a fire?¡± In this bloody heat! ¡°A small one shall suffice.¡± Glen smacked his lips and got up again, his back protesting. ¡°Any other wishes?¡± ¡°Fill my flasks with water, if you have the time,¡± Flix said politely and lowered his head even more, the murky waters reaching under his eyes. Ye darn sneaky ¡®n noseless wrinkled brat!
A fire needs wood, so Glen searched about the pitiful oasis for stray pieces and broke more branches out of a dried up and dead Palm tree, using kicks and curses to vent his frustration. Drenched in sweat, he returned to their camp to find out the sun had moved again, taking the shade with it. Repositioning the saddle and building a small firepit with stones gathered from the entrance of the cove, he lost about another hour, doing what could only be described as hard labor in horrendous conditions. ¡°Hey!¡± He yelled at the still and with only a bit of washed-out pink hair showing, Gish. ¡°Are you dead?¡± Flix raised his head out of the waterhole, half his face muddy now. ¡°Alas, that¡¯s so close to the truth. My best years are behind me, I¡¯m afraid. Not much left in the tank.¡± ¡°How old are you?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not polite to ask a lady for her age, Garth,¡± Flix replied, sounding serious and genuinely insulted. Huh? ¡°You¡¯re not a lady!¡± He blasted him. ¡°And stop with the plaguin¡¯ Garth shit!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s agree to disagree on that.¡± ¡°Sometimes you answer, others ye don¡¯t,¡± Glen noticed, shaking his head. ¡°I¡¯ve told you many things.¡± ¡°Sure ye did.¡± ¡°You need to keep the conversation under control, never let it veer away,¡± Flix advised him. ¡°But you know that as well.¡± ¡°I do,¡± Glen replied, staring at the sun slowly sinking, behind the walls of limestone surrounding the small gorge. ¡°Don¡¯t expect people to tell you things, just because you ask,¡± Flix continued. ¡°To learn secrets, first learn to keep them.¡± Learn to listen, Lith whispered. Mind where you are. Glen nodded and stared at the stone surfaced biscuit. His teeth were hurting at the mere thought of biting on it. ¡°There¡¯s no one here,¡± he finally said. ¡°Not since we entered the desert.¡± Flix pushed himself to rise from the waterhole. ¡°That is true.¡± Glen turned his head the other way, to give him some privacy. He heard water splashing, as the Gish moved about out of sight near their animals. ¡°Where¡¯s the egg?¡± Flix asked casually, a moment later. ¡°I got everything under the shade over there,¡± Glen replied pointing with the hardtack. ¡°On the rock? Oh, goddess,¡± Flix commented annoyingly and the young former thief got up to approach the small bodied and now covered with a soaked tunic, Gish. Glen scratched his head and stared at their supplies, everything in a neat pile around the flat rock that was once under a pretty decent shade. The egg right on top of it. Glen snorted, his nose itching something fierce. ¡°Twas under it a couple of hours back,¡± he defended his choice, while blushing a bit. ¡°And these supplies are as dry as they¡¯ll ever be, I reckon.¡± Flix sighed and stooped to pick up the sack containing the big egg. Darn thing was as big as the Gish¡¯s torso. He carried it carefully to the shaded side of the Palm tree, with Glen following perplexed and lay it down on the soft sand. ¡°Isn¡¯t the sand like a furnace on that side?¡± Glen probed, to make a point. Flix now in the process of getting the black ¨Cthough green-striped here and there- large egg out nodded, after touching its scaly surface -almost fearfully- a few times to check its temperature. ¡°It¡¯ll help,¡± the Gish said simply. ¡°Is that thing alive?¡± Glen asked, looking at the sinister round ovum. ¡°It¡¯s ancient. At least a couple of centuries old,¡± Flix glanced at him. ¡°But not older than me.¡± ¡°Haha,¡± Glen guffawed, until he realized Flix wasn¡¯t jesting this time. ¡°Wait, egg age aside, are ye fuckin¡¯ serious?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not something, I enjoy talking about, but yes. Why would I lie on this matter?¡± Flix replied affronted. ¡°How long does the Gish normally live?¡± ¡°No longer than the Folk. Nowhere close to the Zilan, or the Wyverns,¡± Flix added, pointing to the black egg half sunk in the sand. Right. ¡°Can we eat it?¡± He finally asked, after thinking about everything he¡¯d learned and seeing the Gish staring at him befuddled, he added a little apprehensively. ¡°After it¡¯s all done of course.¡±
Ahahaha! HAHA! Imagine the angst! Yes, DEW IT¡ª
Hey, fucker! Glen snapped at the stupid voice popping in and out of serious conversations. Either learn to answer questions or¡ª
Or what?
Glen stormed away and headed towards the tiny spring seething. He splashed himself ¨Cmostly his face and head- with as much water as he could gather in his palms, his skin hurting, badly burned from sun exposure and his eyes tearing up.
You haven¡¯t thought this through kid.
¡°Thought what?¡± Glen blasted and Flix turned his derelict face and stared at him curious. Glen licked his lips and returned the Gish¡¯s stare, remembering their earlier half-talks. ¡°Who¡¯s Gimoss Gish?¡± He asked and Flix¡¯s wrinkled mouth pressed down on his round jaw. Then the Gish rubbed both his hands on his still wet hair, whatever was left of them and sighed. ¡°A ghastly myth,¡± he finally replied, voice barely above a whisper. ¡°The Old Realms Crafters god,¡± Flix shook his head and grimaced. ¡°Some thought, it might have been a Wyvern. A bad one.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve seen one,¡± Glen asked him, ¡°A Wyvern.¡± ¡°Aye, I have,¡± Flix said, with a nervous glance at the motionless egg. ¡°Everyone in Goras had seen them.¡± Wow, Glen thought intrigued. Luthos cock stricken by the witch¡¯s bird. ¡°How many were there?¡± ¡°I know of Turlas, Nenderu and Ovinet,¡± Flix blurted out, arms nervously hugging his shoulders. ¡°And Gimoss?¡± Glen pressed on. ¡°He was before them, but didn¡¯t live on Eplas,¡± Flix replied. ¡°The Aken were the ones that talked about him, that is the tale I¡¯ve heard,¡± he smiled bitterly at that. ¡°I guess none of you ever learned about it. It makes the tale about your meeting with the Sorceress ring truer now.¡± ¡°I was telling the truth!¡± Glen blasted him, the insult cutting deep. ¡°Much as you knew it,¡± Flix agreed, not wanting to anger him more. ¡°She would know of Gimoss for sure though. Aelrindel is much older than Ralnor after all and her mother fought at the Plague Isles.¡± ¡°When was that?¡± Remembering the name from his talks with Fikumin months back. ¡°Ah, ten or fifteen centuries in the past. You¡¯ll need to read a book in the Library for that,¡± Flix said and shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ll boil some water for the stew.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± Glen replied numbly, desperately trying to sort through all the information. I¡¯m an Architect first and foremost, Gimoss hissed and he sounded all furious now, the moment Flix walked away from Glen. That balless, trout-faced whore, is keeping the best parts out!
126. The Architect & Wyvern’s egg (2/2)
Glen (aka Garth) The Architect & Wyvern¡¯s egg Part II
Flix, the crossdressing Gish assassin, now in the process of stirring with a crossbow bolt the mixture inside the iron kettle, hummed an annoying tune and added a couple of more pieces of dried pork. The bubbling stew is smelling rather nice, Glen decided and checked the small long-necked vial the Gish had given him. ¡°Put this stuff on my nose?¡± He asked and Flix turned to look at his face. ¡°Just a bit.¡± ¡°Okay. Is it an oil, or something?¡± Glen probed. ¡°Or something,¡± Flix droned, with a reassuring grin. ¡°Though it¡¯s aged somewhat.¡± ¡°Aged?¡± ¡°Not as potent, it happens all the time,¡± Flix elucidated, without batting an eyelash. ¡°What¡¯s in it?¡± Glen insisted, pouring some on his open hand. ¡°This and that. Some aloe extract, ginger, jojoba oil, mashed seven-seeds,¡± Flix counted, scrunching his face to remember. ¡°I have it written somewhere. It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve made one.¡± ¡°Made?¡± Glen asked, unfamiliar with the ingredients. ¡°You actually made this?¡± He put some on his hurting nose and the pain immediately subsided. So he poured on it some more. ¡°That¡¯s enough,¡± Flix said and reached to take the vial away. ¡°Wipe your jaw, or use the rest on your ears. Wow, one of them is pretty damaged.¡± ¡°I got that in my first fight,¡± Glen replied, spreading the oily substance on his face. ¡°You got a couple of more there,¡± Flix noticed shaking the vial to gauge its contents and then emptied it in the stew, causing Glen immense bewilderment. Luthos gives two fucks? ¡°Hey! What are you doing?¡± Glen snapped with a scowl. ¡°What? Ah, hehe. It is like ginger of sorts,¡± Flix elucidated. ¡°It will liven up the taste.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°Hehe,¡± the Gish chuckled again and started mixing the stew some more. ¡°You can always stick to the biscuits, if you want.¡± Short pinkish moth¡¯r fucker! Glen didn¡¯t.
The night had brought a chill to accompany the desert¡¯s silence, but despite the temperature dropping dramatically, it felt rather pleasant for the most part. Glen, having enjoyed the stew enough to have two full portions and the leftovers, walked to the rock where most of their supplies were left in a pile and plopped down with a sigh on the flat rock. No more than ten feet from him, Flix had prepped a spot next to the firepit, creating a cot with a couple of saddles. The Gish, who¡¯d preferred to dip dry biscuits in the hot stew sauce and then suck on them for the most part, was now smoking his fancy pipe, a faraway look on his aged face. He had placed a lightstone near the burned out coals and the empty kettle, its light enough to illuminate both of them, their long shadows stretching out over the edges of the small oasis. ¡°Dinner was great,¡± Glen admitted, touching with a finger his nose to check on his burn. ¡°Darn pork turned into meat again,¡± he added. ¡°Not that difficult to make,¡± Flix replied modestly, blowing smoke out of his nostrils. ¡°And if we had some vegies to throw in, it would have been even better.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Glen agreed and stretched his legs out, the sand still warm under his heels. The silence surrounding them eerie; that is, other than the water dribbling weakly down the vertical limestone rock, about ten meters away and the occasional snort coming from their -well-fed by this time- animals. ¡°Or wine.¡± The Gish chuckled and turned to look at him. He¡¯d gathered his legs under his body, like a real woman, which was weird, Glen thought. ¡°I didn¡¯t have the time to look through your supplies back there,¡± Flix admitted. ¡°A brusque red, or even a bitter white.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Glen said, not as well-versed in wines. ¡°How about a Flauegran?¡± That thing had cost him an arm and a leg in Rida. ¡°Too sweet, but sure,¡± Flix replied, with a curious grin. ¡°You know it¡¯s an imperial recipe right? They use a flower in the juice to make it so sugary.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know that,¡± Glen replied. ¡°Is it a secret?¡± ¡°I suppose it is now,¡± Flix said, with another suck on his pipe. ¡°The Barons will kill you to keep it. Humans love their secrets too much.¡± ¡°And you don¡¯t?¡± Flix chuckled, probably into a euphoric trance already. ¡°You got me there, Garth.¡± Glen rolled his eyes and stared at the dark sky over their heads, the two moons were up somewhere in the East, almost full. So is it the dagger? He thought, not really expecting Gimoss to answer. The ¡®voice¡¯ in his head had kept silent during their dinner. Are you¡­ trapped in it?
The mere thought is insulting.
Why? It¡¯s a magical dagger, Glen insisted, glancing at the Gish smoking, his back on a saddle.
That¡¯s true, for the most part. Only weaker creatures are laced on items though. Unwillingly.
I use the dagger to understand languages, Glen explained. It also has helped me in battle, a couple of times. The last part, he added a little annoyed.
That¡¯s the sorceress¡¯ spell at work. The first part.
Huh? What about the other part? Glen probed, unwilling to let go of the opportunity to learn more.
The bones are magic unto themselves, kid. That may¡­ be what¡¯s happening.
So she combined the two, to make more? Glen asked, trying to grasp the procedure.
The magic she used, wasn¡¯t her own. Although there¡¯s some talent there, I suppose.
Where do you come in then? Glen insisted, blinking once surprised, seeing the Gish producing perfect alternating square shapes and round rings of smoke that stayed over his head for a time, before dissolving.
I don¡¯t. But that¡¯s a part of me you¡¯re carrying around. I took an interest.
Why? Glen asked. You should be dead.
I was bored. Wait, how could you know about the latter? Eh¡­ the Gish whore isn¡¯t to be trusted. His brain has probably turned into mush a very long time ago.
No, he¡¯s telling the truth. That other man told me the same thing, Glen replied and gathered his legs near the rock, trying to find a better spot on it, as his arse had started hurting. The man in my dreams.
You are not making any sense. Magic, dreams. It¡¯s the mushrooms.
What? Glen frowned.
You didn¡¯t actually think it was just tobacco¡­ Ah, you did. It doesn¡¯t come as much of a surprise, seeing as you are pretty stupid. A drugged whore and a fool, crossing the Great Desert. Ahahaha!
I¡¯m telling the truth darn it! If I¡¯m stupid, then yer a useless turd! Glen growled inwardly and the annoying voice snorted and added almost vindictively.
There¡¯s a cobra near your legs.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Hah! Haha! AHAHAHA!
The desert cobra, scaly skin a perfect gleaming black, coiled back and then slowly raised its large head, its hood extended and hissed angrily, when it realized Glen had spotted it. Shit. Glen, felt sweat running down his forehead and without drawing breath tried to pull his legs back, the large snake not even a foot away. It raised its elongated body even more and let out another growl-like slow hiss, forked tongue dancing out of his freakish mouth. Don¡¯t, Glen warned it and pulled his shaking legs back, heels scraping the large rock he was sitting on. The cobra snapped its head and got his retreating boot, teeth failing to penetrate hard dry leather and the poison bubbling, spraying on it, as it retreated to strike again. Glen kicked it hard, just below the raised head, felt solid flesh snap back and rolled backwards, over the flat surface and to the other side. Heart beating wild, he landed on his back and rolled again to the side away from the rock, the snake hissing in righteous indignation and flying over the rock, long body whipping the air, to land where Glen was a moment ago. Luthos balls caught in a bear trap. Glen made to draw his longsword, remembered he¡¯d discarded his armour earlier, the silk tunic Flix had given him, soaked in sweat and opted to jump away. The black cobra¡¯s head ¨Cpale yellow hood fully extended- rose up again, reaching more than a meter in height and came after him, moving faster on the soft sand, than Glen thought it was possible. His mind told him stop fooling around and just run, but his legs refused to budge, as if they were bolted in place. The desert cobra let out another indignant drawn out hiss and coiled back reaching him, to attack him again. Time slowed down for a moment, Glen ogling the venomous snake, the cobra¡¯s jaws extending impossibly wide, pink flesh viscous inside and large white fangs dripping, when a large amorphous cloth flew between them, breaking the spell. The cloth covered the snake and it immediately stopped hissing and dropped down, though still stirring under it. A flushed Flix walked slowly between him and the now hidden predator, hairless extremely-toned body stark naked, but weirdly feminine, as his arse was too meaty and wide to belong to a man, stooped over the slowly moving and confused snake, in search of something. He found it a second later and punched down hard with the bolt he¡¯d used to stir their dinner, through the cloth. The crunching sound loud enough, to send a shiver down Glen¡¯s back. The fatally injured cobra thrashed about immediately, trying to get away, long body escaping Flix¡¯s dress and coiling on his legs and torso. The Gish maintained his steely grip on the bolt though, part of it going through cloth and the snake¡¯s oblong head, to keep it away from him. Wow. There was an intricate tattoo-like pattern running down Flix¡¯s back and neck, very similar to the one Jinx had. A pinkish discoloration of the skin, like a scar. Not a tattoo though, Glen realized seeing it clear. A Gish thing. ¡°Hand me your dagger,¡± Flix said, sounding tensed and thoroughly embarrassed. ¡°This is a great dish.¡± Which was in Glen¡¯s mind almost as weird a notion, as everything that had happened that day.
Even dead, the desert cobra¡¯s severed head gave Glen the creeps. Flix, now dressed again, was skinning the body using a sharp smaller knife skillfully and uninterested. The night desert silent again around them, although the young former thief didn¡¯t trust any rock, or tree enough to go to sleep. He eyed the Gish discreetly, still rattled from earlier. ¡°I¡¯m a eunuch,¡± Flix told him, cutting away the scaly disgusting skin and keeping the fleshly parts in the kettle they used earlier. ¡°If the procedure is done early enough,¡± He breathed once deep and continued. ¡°Or you live, as long as the Gish, the body forgets.¡± Glen stared at his boots, not knowing what to say. The right one had a dark spot on at the front, where the poison had soaked the leather. ¡°Did the Zilan do this?¡± He asked, after a moment, seeing the Gish wasn¡¯t going to comment further. ¡°Everyone leaves something inside the Circle,¡± Flix answered solemnly. ¡°Usually what one values the most, or thinks he does.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the Circle?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not allowed to say. It is better you don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Okay. That¡¯s barbaric though.¡± ¡°The Cofols still do it, offering no reward,¡± Flix replied, finishing with the last pieces of usable flesh and rolling the bloody skin on the bolt he¡¯d used to kill it. ¡°It makes for good handle wraps,¡± he explained, seeing Glen¡¯s curious look. ¡°For smaller knives.¡± Right. ¡°You got something, for¡­ doing it?¡± The old Gish, stared at his bloody hands with a frown, before answering. ¡°I did.¡± How did you know? Glen asked the stupid voice in his head. He got no answer and half an hour later sleep claimed him.
They spent the next day resting and eating the cobra, while they waited for the night to come. Glen had worn his armor again, gambeson and plate, but covered his head with a scarf and threw over the plate the silk tunic Flix had given him, like a light cloak. He wore Emerson¡¯s sword on his back using a harness, over the tunic and kept the other on his waist, next to the dagger. The small lightstone gem, now tied to a leather cord, he hang from his neck to show his horse the way. They packed the rest of their supplies on the mule, loaded the horses and saddled them up, with Glen opting to return on Outlaw¡¯s back, the large horse now well rested and fully recovered after almost two weeks of the young man riding the Cofol mount. ¡°What is it?¡± He asked Flix, seeing the Gish procrastinating with his own horse. ¡°Did you get the egg?¡± Glen blinked. ¡°I forgot about it,¡± He admitted and climbed down with a sigh. He walked to where they¡¯ve left it a day back and found the black ovoid thing sprouting out of the sand, amidst the smaller rocks. Impossibly big and creepy looking. Hells did ye find it girl? He asked Jinx, but of course the female Gish was on the Marquette now, hopefully circumnavigating the Shallow Sea to reach their rendezvous¡¯ point and didn¡¯t answer him. Gimoss though did.
Look at that! Haha!
¡°At what?¡± Glen snapped and stooped to grab the heavy egg, in order to carry it to their mounts. ¡°What is it Garth?¡± Flix asked, hearing him.
It¡¯s cracked. Ahahaha! You done fucked up, kid.
¡°Nothing,¡± Glen replied with a frustrated grimace and then registering, what Gimoss had said, stared at the egg he now held in his arms. At first he didn¡¯t see anything amiss, but as Glen turned it around, he felt a break in the scaly, rock hard surface, right at the green-like seams. About a hand¡¯s length long and near the top. Damn. ¡°Anything wrong?¡± Flix asked and Glen turned to look at him unsure. ¡°The egg got damaged,¡± he explained. The old Gish raised a washed-out pink brow. Glen noticed he¡¯d put makeup on his face. ¡°How big?¡± ¡°The damage?¡± Glen puffed out. ¡°Just a crack.¡± You could barely see it. ¡°Did you kicked, or dropped it?¡± Flix asked accusingly and Glen threw him a glare. ¡°I didn¡¯t touch the darn thing!¡± ¡°Wow there young man! Again, you¡¯re tensing up.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t like yer bloody tone!¡± Glen snapped back. The last thing he needed was Jinx hounding him over her stupid egg. ¡°Garth, I gave you that pipe for a reason,¡± Flix replied patiently and then climbed on his own horse nimbly. ¡°Have yourself a smoke, relax and tie that egg on your horse.¡±
Two hours later, Nesande¡¯s Moon and Ora¡¯s Eye looming large over their heads, they were on the road again. The road being a euphemism, as all Glen could see in front of them was the endless desert. At least, it wasn¡¯t as hot, or difficult as traveling during the day. ¡°I think that snake gave me a bit of indigestion,¡± Glen griped, rearranging his arse on the saddle and glanced at the Gish riding silently, pipe on his lips unlit this time. ¡°It was the quantity, not the quality of the meal,¡± Flix replied, with a smirk. Glen narrowed his eyes. ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡± ¡°Your portions are¡­ extravagant.¡± ¡°I¡¯m hungry. I need food,¡± Glen defended himself. ¡°You¡¯re probably growing still,¡± Flix yielded. ¡°I always forget that.¡± ¡°Does that trick with the cobra work always?¡± Glen asked him, a bit later. It was boring traveling in the dark and in total silence, the terrain mind-numbingly dull. ¡°Mostly, it does. Not if it sees you though,¡± Flix explained and got out his firestone gem, to light his pipe again. ¡°Where did you get this?¡± ¡°Imperial mines produced them and crafters used to cut them into various useful shapes,¡± Flix explained blowing the smoke out, with a sigh of pleasure. ¡°Everyone had one. Made them into jewels, small pendants to carry around and even sold them in adventurer kits for the young Zilan. Quite the industry behind them.¡± ¡°Does anyone make them anymore?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± Flix replied. ¡°Not much is left around.¡± There goes that market opportunity, he thought sourly. ¡°What about the sorceress, what did she do?¡± Glen asked him next. ¡°She got the mark, I know little else,¡± Flix replied. ¡°By whom?¡± Glen probed again, but the Gish remained silent for the rest of the night journey. The next day, they continued south after a brief stop, the Great Desert extending in all directions, the task of continuing onward daunting. ¡°Do you see the dunes up ahead? And to the far right the Twin Peaks range?¡± Flix asked him, turning around on his mount. Glen stopped gulping down water from his flask and looked at where he was pointing. ¡°Sure, what of them?¡± He retorted, too hot to get into a fight with him. ¡°We¡¯ll make a stop. Then follow the stars southwest, at a straight line from here,¡± Flix explained and shook his head pleased. ¡°Is there another oasis after that?¡± ¡°Well, perhaps¡­ if we get lucky.¡± ¡°Luthos helping we are, then what?¡± Glen hissed, sweating everything he¡¯d glugged-down out right away. ¡°We find Lebesos,¡± Flix replied with a forlong expression on his aged face. ¡°A city,¡± Glen droned, quite interested and approached the mounted Gish. ¡°A dead city,¡± Flix corrected him. Glen licked his dry lips. ¡°How is that useful, Gish?¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s better than this for sure,¡± Flix gestured about them. ¡°Are there any people living in it?¡± ¡°Ahm, of course not.¡± ¡°Why the fuck not?¡± ¡°It¡¯s dead Garth.¡±
It was a hot topic this, dear younglings. It held their interest for hours, over the sandy dunes and further away from the distant mountains. The Great Desert winds started slowly picking up, the heat monstrous, each new sudden gush a torture, but the two adventurers continued on. They traveled at night, found as much cover as they could during the day and barely survived a desert storm that came out of nowhere and turned everything to mud for half a day. A miracle, the wise Flix had declared, grinning happy mud covering his face. In a sense he was right, as the next storm that crossed their path was devoid of water. It blew for hours, and buried one of their horses alive, the poor animal suffocating, before a desperate Garth could dig it out in time. Garth¡¯s mood continued deteriorating rapidly after that, despite Flix¡¯s efforts to cheer him up, either offering drugs, or singing. Gimoss had insisted the Gish was trying to seduce him, which Garth found ridiculous and refused to hind to its insane advice to murder the old Gish in his sleep, according to what he told me later. It came close though. Either on the second week after they left the Valley Oasis behind them, or the start of the third, another crack appeared on the large egg Garth carried on Outlaw, now returned to its hemp sack. Then a third, just before Flix announced proudly, Lebesos was but a day away, or night. Since Garth had no intention to sleep another day under the scorching sun, they traveled all day and saw the white ruins of the city, just after sunset. A sprawling mess of weird stony buildings, parts of them, or just collapsed walls, ancient and forgotten ruins stubbornly sprouting out of the yellow sands. Despite their effort though, still remaining half buried. They camped outside the city that night, as it was hours away, although visible under the moonlight and they were exhausted. The next morning, when Garth had gone to check on the large egg, he discovered only broken up pieces inside. Nothing else. For a little while that is. Fikumin Flintfoot Jarl of all the Folk First Servant of the Onyx Wyvern Foremost Shield, of the King beyond the Pale Mountains, Lord Garth Aniculo. - Chapter II (Last paragraph) An Adventurer¡¯s Tale Circa 250 NC
127. Crows of the Desert (1/3)
Sir Gust De Weer Crows of the Desert Part I -Any port, or a win-
Five hundred, well-equipped men-at-arms, under Captain Gel De Moss, plus a hundred ¡®old spears¡¯ ¨C Scaldingport veterans of High King¡¯s first, or second Foot-, a hundred bows, at least thirty crossbows, a hundred slingers and twenty Rangers, under Lode De Jager, eighty medium cavalry, fifty heavy ¨Cincluding ten Knights and their squires- under Sir Jan Reuten, three hundred support personnel, engineers, blacksmiths, adventurers and mercenaries mixed in there, four transports, two Barques and two hundred and fifty sailors. Over a thousand five hundred ¡®Crows¡¯. These were the men Sir Gust De Weer took with him to Eplas. They left Scaldingport in the middle of the night and despite being a slow moving fleet, they''d managed to clear the harbor, before the sun came up. The sinister figure of Blackcrow Pillar, was still visible on the horizon three hours later, but it is said, Sir Gust had turned his head away from it, away from Toe and Tongue and stilled his eyes west. Never looked back once after that moment. ¡ª Lord Sirio Veturius Circa 206 NC The Fall of Heroes Chapter IX (Sir Gust De Weer, -Crows in the Desert- Miracle at Endless Dunes, Summer 189 NC)
A gush of wind came from the Scalding Sea, it rapped on the mass of the Lazuli Peninsula, turning stone into dirt and daring plants, or young trees, into solid stone. It dried up the skin in minutes and made it crack and bleed, blinded your eyes. The old sailors had warned them and everyone was covered head to toe with long grey cloaks that reminded Gust of his Order¡¯s robes. Sir Mael Bolte, who knew Gust for almost twenty years, stood next to him on the deck of the Last Privateer, Captain Elco Ardes ship. Captain Ardes had been a pirate in his youth, but Lord Ruud De Weer had struck a deal with him three decades back and they¡¯ve been friends ever since. The Last Privateer, the fully rigged ship he captained, was a three-masted Barque, older than the Conrad, the other Barque sailing with them, but bigger. It had made the journey several times in the past and Captain Elco had kept their small flotilla ¨Cfour large transports were following them in a line- as close to the Peninsula as it was possible. Veering near the Pirate Reefs, the old Captain had said, will make ¡®em good fellows, itchy for a lickin¡¯. Gust could see the foggy reefs directly to their south, black rocks sprouting out of the waters, the froth turning them white, where the waves broke on them without pause. Mael raised his hand and pointed over the fore staysail. ¡°That¡¯s Shark¡¯s Tooth,¡± The loyal knight said, dark face covered under the grey scarf, only his light green eyes showing. ¡°The clouds above them, smoke from the Burning Crests.¡± Gust grunted, his mind preoccupied with logistics and a campaign on foreign ground, his only help the copy of an ancient map, drawn more than a hundred and fifty years ago. Bugs, his pet raven that had decided to follow them on the journey, croaked loudly to get his attention and jumped onto the deck¡¯s rail, large beak staying open for a moment mockingly. Gust had brought many crows with him kept in cages and the large raven¡¯s taunt was picked up by its smaller cousins and soon the ship¡¯s deck was flooded with a cacophony of caws and even a couple of croaks mimicking Bugs more hoarse sound. The large bird put an end to it, an ear-splitting minute later, with a loud bark in perfect common. ¡°Enough!¡± ¡°Hahaha!¡± Captain Ardes guffawed, coming to stand with them, white thick brows dancing in the wind, above the weathered badly-blemished skin around his eyes. ¡°Yer bird is right smart, Sir Gust.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± Gust hissed, as Bugs could have just as easily yelled blasted cunt, or water-fuckin-melon, something he¡¯d done in many a previous occasions in the past, one of those in front of the High Queen of Kaltha. His father had found the shocking expressions on the faces of the nobles present mirthful, but few had agreed with his assessment. ¡°No sign of your pirates, Ardes.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a Sloop-o-war shadowing us, since yesterday,¡± The aged Captain explained, with a smack of his lips. ¡°But we¡¯re too big a prey to catch, milord.¡± ¡°Will they follow us?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so, this isn¡¯t a merchant path per se.¡± ¡°Uhm,¡± Gust hummed, with a nod. ¡°How long before we see Eplas proper?¡± ¡°All this is Eplas, Sir Gust,¡± Elco replied. ¡°Tomorrow noon, we¡¯ll enter the Azure Gulf and pass next to Shark¡¯s Tooth. We might catch a glimpse of the volcanoes of the peninsula over our starboard bow. The day after that, we¡¯ll see Devil¡¯s Cove, I reckon.¡±
Four days later twenty eight longboats, made the trip from their anchored ships to the mist covered white-sand beach of the desolate Devil¡¯s Cove and back several times. Gust went with the first group, the waves rocking the vessel, the men rowing grunting, trying to keep a steady rhythm and the approaching terrain blinding to his hurting eyes. Ashen-limestone rocky slopes engulfed the modest cove and kept the Great Desert back, the small oasis sprouting on its north side almost pitiful and hidden amidst the sharp boulders and the misty vapors. Gust jumped on the wet sand, boots sinking and soaked from the foamy waters and walked slowly, surrounded by yelling sea-weary men and soldiers. Captain Gel De Moss grabbed as many of them as he could, most of the men looking roughed up and drowsy, made a guard of about thirty and sent them to secure the -unseen from where they were standing- entrance to the cove, a long narrow gorge cut through the limestone that linked Devil¡¯s Cove with the hidden desert. ¡°The map had it right!¡± Gust yelled at Mael and he nodded, walking with difficulty on the soft sandy beach. Soldiers were disembarking as fast as they could all around them, the clamor impressive, Bugs croaks coming from above them adding to the chaos. ¡°Keep your eyes open,¡± Mael roared back and then watched the second group, under Captain De Moss himself, marching towards the covered in mist Palm trees at the distance. ¡°No one is expecting us, Mael,¡± Gust grunted, coming to stop next to him. But we need to move fast, just the same.
A gruff-looking Lode De Jager emerged out of the mist and the lush vegetation hugging the large pond created in front of the spring. He¡¯d his long white hair caught at the nape, bone earrings dangling from both ears and wore tightly-sawn leather vest and pants, knee-high boots soaked and muddy. Captain De Moss, now standing with Sir Gust and Sir Mael, toned shoulders and barreled chest making him appear twice the size of the approaching slim Ranger, wiped his sweaty face with a damp cloth and snorted. ¡°Good grief, I thought you perished in there Lode.¡± ¡°It came close Captain,¡± The Ranger replied squashing a bug that was sucking the blood out of his neck. ¡°There are snakes back there, milord,¡± This he said to Gust.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. The powerfully built knight grimaced. Gust had no time to waste here. ¡°Clean them up,¡± He ordered him brusquely. ¡°It might take a while,¡± Lode countered, but Gust would have none of that. ¡°You have until sunset,¡± He barked and turned to Captain De Moss. ¡°I want men watching the gorge. Sent scouts outside to find the Merchant Path and rotate them every two hours. I want to know, if someone is coming well in advance.¡± ¡°As you wish, milord,¡± Gel replied and bowing, turned heel and jogged briskly away. ¡°There¡¯s dark Mambas on ¡®em branches and horned vipers in ¡®em bushes, milord,¡± Lode pointed. ¡°Most men aren¡¯t inclined to walk near.¡± ¡°Find men that are,¡± Sir Gust cut him off. ¡°If none is found, pick a man at random.¡± ¡°What if he refuses?¡± Gust stilled his pine-green eyes on him. ¡°Cut off a finger,¡± He rustled loud enough for everyone to hear. ¡°Every time he makes objection.¡± The sooner the men realized they were at war, the better. ¡°You don¡¯t want men turn¡ª¡± Mael tried to say, but Sir Gust stopped him raising a gloved hand. ¡°If they are brave enough to challenge me, they can take on a nest of vipers. I want the beach secured Mael,¡± He said and stared at the longboats leaving empty to return to their ships. ¡°Docks pushed out into the sea and our ships anchored closer. I want this set up in a week.¡± Mael smacked his lips, long scar a pale white, where the old injury showed on his neck. ¡°You¡¯ll need more men,¡± He finally said and Gust grunted pointing at the six large ships moored inside the gulf in a row. ¡°Use the sailors. Use every blasted spare man we have.¡±
You could feel the desert wind blowing through the passage, the wall of limestone, sharp and intimidating, running the east coast of Eplas from Eikenport to Ri Yue-Tu almost unbroken, but at the Yeriden delta and a couple abandoned, inhospitable spots like Devil¡¯s Cove. Hell of a place, Gust thought, not impressed and stooped to pick up the large headless snake Lode had tossed to his feet. Bugs landed on his shoulder the next moment, black beady eyes hungry and croaked his version of a beg, adding in common just to be sure. ¡°Like crap!¡± ¡°It is,¡± Gust agreed and dropped the slimy body down. ¡°Have at it, see if you like it.¡± The large Raven jumped down and cut a bloody piece out of the dead snake with its powerful beak. ¡°Water-fuckin-melon!¡± Bugs announced angrily. ¡°Damn right,¡± Gust agreed, a hint of a smile on his lips and hearing riders approaching from the gorge, turned his head that way. Captain De Moss jumped from his horse ¨Cten of them had been transported earlier, the longboats still going back and forth, bringing in men and supplies- and approached in his energetic light trot. ¡°You have news,¡± Gust said. Gel glanced at the large raven feasting on the bloody snake carcass and then saluted briskly. ¡°We caught prisoners, milord!¡± ¡°Soldiers?¡± ¡°A merchant. Trying to sneak in to the gorge. He was thoroughly surprised.¡± Probably to water his animals, he thought. ¡°Is the man alive?¡± Gust asked. De Moss was known for being rough on ¡®prisoners¡¯. ¡°All of them are, milord,¡± Captain De Moss reported. ¡°His camels as well.¡±
The clad in rich yellow robes Cofol had a broken and bleeding nose, two black eyes and at least three fingers on his right hand were bend a weird way. He could barely speak. His slave though was more than willing to give them everything. Times two. The heavily-painted young man prostrated himself at Gust¡¯s legs, taking him by surprise. Mael cursed and unsheathed his sword to cut him down, the Issir Knight stopping him at the last moment deflecting the blade, with his iron vambrace. ¡°Get up!¡± Gust grunted, his arm numb and Mael¡¯s face showing his shock at what had almost happened. The slave started crying with heavy sobs, so he stooped and grabbed him by the scruff like a dog and lifted him up. ¡°Don¡¯t do this again,¡± Gust warned, his voice a menacing rustle. ¡°Yes, my Lord, as you wish¡ª¡± ¡°BLASTED CUNT!¡± Bugs croaked and came to land next to the panicked slave, his beak bloody and pieces of flesh falling out. This is ridiculous. ¡°Where were you heading?¡± Gust snapped and the young man blinked and started trembling. ¡°Xi Yil,¡± He managed to say in passable common. ¡°Master¡­ has wine and beer for the troops.¡± ¡°What troops?¡± Gust queried and the merchant tried to say something, but got a backhand in the face by a still troubled Mael, the iron gauntlet cracking his teeth and splitting his lower lip into two flapping pieces. ¡°You were saying?¡± Gust continued and the slave started peeing down his own leg. ¡°How many troops in the castle?¡± Gel asked, as Gust stepped away rubbing his forehead frustrated at the turn of events. ¡°Three hundred at least,¡± The shaking slave said, a part of his tunic dark and smelling of urine. ¡°All these supplies, wine, that¡¯s twenty camels you have there,¡± Gel insisted and glared at the barely conscious and bleeding merchant. ¡°Were you heading to Rida after that?¡± ¡°No¡­ please,¡± The slave begged. ¡°Rida is gone, this is for Kuntur¡ª¡± What? ¡°What did he say?¡± Mael growled, cutting him short of finishing. Gust turned his head, Bugs flying to his shoulder and then approached the pale slave. The man¡¯s makeup was running down his face and Gust felt disgusted by him. ¡°Rida has fallen?¡± That was Gel, sounding as shocked, as the rest of them. But for Gust. ¡°Who¡¯s Kuntur?¡± He asked the slave brusquely. ¡°A great noble. Kuntur-Ki Tsuparin.¡± The name meant nothing to Sir Gust. He licked his lips and stared at Sir Mael, the experienced Knight grimacing, his ignorance apparent. ¡°Where is this Kuntur now?¡± Gust queried. ¡°Less than a week behind us my Lord,¡± The slave replied. ¡°Gust, if Rida has fallen, we might get stranded here,¡± Mael warned. ¡°If Rida has fallen, the Khan¡¯s armies are in Raoz, months away,¡± Gust replied. ¡°Is Kuntur trying to reinforce Xi Yil?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know my Lord, it¡¯s the truth,¡± The Slave said quickly. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°Manu, my Lord,¡± The Cofol replied. ¡°On my word, as a De Weer, you¡¯re a free man,¡± Gust grunted, his nostrils protesting at the heady ¡®aroma¡¯ coming from the stunned man. ¡°Get yourself cleaned up. There¡¯s a place for you aboard one of the ships, if you want out of here.¡± ¡°What about the merchant, he has family with him. Two wives, if I¡¯m not mistaken,¡± Gel asked, a gleam in his eye. Right. ¡°Get them to the ships. Patch him up, keep the women locked and away from the crew,¡± Gust took a deep breath and turned to glare at the men standing around him. A moment went by and he remained silent, mulling what he¡¯d learned in his mind. Then he eyed the laden camels and the sailors working on laying down the wooden foundations for the docs, the narrow entrance to the gorge and the corridor cut through the limestone, leading to the desert. ¡°Milord,¡± Captain De Moss asked, as the moment dragged and Gust breathed out and returned his pine-colored eyes on his ¡®Crows¡¯. ¡°We need a port and a win,¡± He started, crooking his mouth, black skin gleaming in the strong Eplas sun. ¡°This is no port, but I smell a win. Kuntur is coming to find water and a rest, before going to Xi Yil. We stop him here, before he gets reinforcements, and open up Eplas coast again.¡± There were no cheers to his words. Crows are calculative creatures, rarely prone to outbursts. Mael smacked his lips, a frown making deep lines on his forehead. Captain De Moss showed his teeth in a grotesque scowl and Bugs flapped a pair of coal-black wings once, threw his head back and let out a sonorous croak that scared the living daylights out of a visibly shaken Manu, who had probably never seen such a large raven before. ¡°Water-fuckin-melon,¡± Bugs said, looking at the scared slave, adding with a wink. ¡°Savvy?¡±
128. Crows of the Desert (2/3)
Sir Gust De Weer Crows of the Desert Part II -An early start-
Having gotten a foothold with his surprise landing at Devil¡¯s Cove, Sir Gust De Weer moved quickly to create a camp for his considerable force of experienced troops and set his sights on the approaching army of Kuntur-Ki Tsuparin. This force had gathered troops from the two river military outposts of the far south, Tyeusfort and Tirifort, as well from Dia Castle and Eikenport. While its strength isn¡¯t known, it was according to contemporary sources estimated to be between two and four thousand, plus over a thousand civilians, support personnel and slaves. There are accounts from the time that set the number higher than that. Kuntur had moved fast at first, but slowed down when he entered the desert, as keeping the men and animals adequately fed and watered was an ordeal unto itself. Being cautious he sent birds to the large garrison of Xi Yil Castle and the local commander agreed to dispatch about a hundred men according to some sources, or twice that according to others, to secure the famed Noble¡¯s axis of advance. Half of his garrison remained back and fast riders were sent towards Rida, along with messages, to notify Prince Sahand of the approaching reinforcements. The news had a cascading effect on the events that followed. Prince Nout followed the retreating First Foot towards Sadofort and his older brother allowed his men to rest and recuperate from the siege and the harsh campaign. With Rida utterly destroyed and in need of rebuilding, the Cofols would spent the summer months getting some of the local facilities up and running, while creating a permanent camp inside the destroyed city. Prince Sahand had his eyes set on the defenseless Altarin next, already declaring a recently released from the dungeons Victor Reeves, as the new Lord of the city and the freshly minted Duke of Raoz. Lord Victor¡¯s army, made out mostly of Cofols and turncoats, would take the city later in the summer. The Khan¡¯s army had assumed thus almost complete control of the coast facing the Shallow Sea in the first year of the war. Two large battles were fought during the waning months of summer 189 NC. Prince Atpa¡¯s army of the Desert would attack Sadofort and the forces trapped there, in the first battle of Queen¡¯s Oasis, a huge engagement overshadowed by a now legendary battle that was fought in the middle of nowhere and changed what was shaping to be a quick triumph for the Khan, to a never-ending bloody grind. People call this shockingly brutal battle, the Miracle at Endless Dunes.
The sands kept shifting, little swirls of fine golden dirt rising here and there, larger yellowish waves creating a new dune in less than five minutes. More heat radiated from the soft ground, than the sun burning over their heads, the morning light hurting Gust¡¯s eyes. There was nothing about them it seemed, but endless dunes. The moment one escaped the narrow gorge, the vastness of the Great Desert attacked his senses with a vengeance. His horse neighed, the slight wind dousing them with scalding sand. It turned to a fine grit near the gorge leading to the Devil¡¯s Cove, the occasional broken piece of limestone rock sprinkled here and there, breaking the monotony. ¡°A thousand caltrops,¡± Mael reported, standing atop his own mount. A dark-grey warhorse he called Fiend. Gust rarely bothered naming his horses, as they never lasted long under him. The one he was on now, a beautiful white stallion, Gust called White. Whether Mael had thought it funny, when he¡¯d mentioned it back in Scaldingport, the stoic Priest of Tyeus didn¡¯t divulge. ¡°The blacksmiths stripped the ships of iron.¡± Kuntur probably had twice that many horses. Or worse. Gust thought it pointless to play down, or minimize the strength of an opponent. It offered him no benefit. If he was wrong and this Kuntur character had less men with him, or horses, then Gust had nothing to worry about and would welcome the treat from the God of war, with a cup of wine and a toast. ¡°How many days, until the number is reached?¡± He asked, turning his head away from a nasty gush of scorching wind. ¡°A week,¡± Mael replied, with a grimace, understanding his worry. They might not have that long. ¡°How many by morrow?¡± ¡°A couple of hundred,¡± Mael used a cloth to wipe the sweat from his collar, the plate armour they both wore under their grey robes, slowly boiling their flesh. ¡°If the men work day and night.¡± ¡°Make sure they do. Show no mercy,¡± Gust grunted and turned White to return to the gorge and the relative more hospitable, despite the moniker, Devil¡¯s Cove. The coast blocked by the bulky limestone wall, the slopes full of gaping cracks and huge crumbling boulders interspersed with smaller but sharp rocks, making climbing over the crest an insane idea. Not at that elevation, or terrain, especially in the dark. A fall would be fatal. Not when there was a four horse wide gorge, leading straight to the beach and fresh water. ¡°After the turn,¡± Gust pointed, inspecting the route another time. Feeling less claustrophobic now than he did two days ago. ¡°Spread the caltrops here, so they don¡¯t spot the trap for¡­ how long is this blasted thing?¡± ¡°Half a kilometer, mayhap a bit less, I reckon,¡± Mael commented. ¡°From here on, it¡¯s getting wider. Maybe six horses, or more.¡± Gust smacked his lips, watching the horse¡¯s head as they slowly followed the path back to their camp. The word a euphemism. There was no time for constructing anything, but a crude dock. All their energy poured into digging the sandy beach to build a two meter deep and two wide moat, around the gorge¡¯s mouth. ¡°We could bring it closer to the exit,¡± Mael suggested. ¡°A hundred meters,¡± Gust rustled. ¡°I want them to have enough room to charge.¡± ¡°They¡¯ll bring archers out of the gorge,¡± Mael insisted. ¡°To support their cavalry.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll have slingers flanking them, at almost point blank range,¡± Gust countered. ¡°They better fire them arrows fast.¡±
There were big water-barrels brought ashore, tall and bulky things arranged in rows and slowly filled with fresh water. A hundred meters, or so, from the mouth of the gorge, a straight moat had been dug out of the soft ground, it¡¯s edges bending towards the limestone wall, blocking the way towards the oasis on one side and the rest of the beach, on the other. A palisade was being constructed beyond the narrow moat, a meter in height and crude, using logs, branches and whole palm trees the engineers had brought down. Half the trees from the oasis had been cut and Gust wanted everything stripped away and utilized to create a ¡®killing zone¡¯. ¡°We¡¯ll never finish in time,¡± Mael pointed, jumping from his saddle, sweat covering his face. Gust, drenched in sweat himself, the armour burning through his gambeson, followed suit and immediately tried to discard his gauntlets. ¡°We won¡¯t,¡± He said and started removing his armour next, under the knight¡¯s scrutiny. ¡°Eventually, they¡¯ll break through,¡± Mael continued. ¡°Corner us on the beach, the sea on our backs.¡± ¡°I just want them to get in the gorge,¡± Gust replied and frowned seeing Manu approaching them. His hand dropped on the handle of his dagger. ¡°Duke it out with the slingers and the archers, a fifth of our men-at-arms and Captain Ardes sailors.¡± Manu stopped near them, but didn¡¯t say anything. He had his face made up again, the red rouse on his cheeks disturbing. Gust grimaced, but looked towards Mael, when the latter responded. ¡°Where will you hide the rest?¡± ¡°Amidst the dunes, across the exit,¡± Gust replied. ¡°It will be better, not to have the sun over our heads.¡± ¡°What are you saying?¡± Mael asked, as Gust removed gambeson and soaked shirt, before proceeding to pour water over his chest and head, from his horse¡¯s water-flask. Manu looked at him, expecting his answer, a fact Gust didn¡¯t like, but he answered to the Priest of Tyeus just the same.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. ¡°Ardes will have to hold them for a day,¡± He said, rubbing his face to spread the remaining moisture better. ¡°Allow us to attack them in the night.¡± Nobody could ever hope to survive a battle in this heat, under the blasted sun. The Great Desert, would surely kill them all.
Klaas, one of his squires, dropped his discarded armour in a pile, under the shade of an old palm tree, one of only dozen remaining now. The oasis and overgrowth had been flattened, large and smaller trees cut down, stubs uprooted, to be used on the palisade. The murky pond, under the springs slowly drying up at its edges, under the merciless summer sun. Gust took a deep breath, trying to get everything in his mind, in the proper order. While presenting an unflinching face to his men, he knew everything was hanging on by a thread. With Rida sacked, or gone¡­ whatever that meant, Khan ruled the east coast of Eplas unopposed. If Gust wanted to open it up again and have a chance of getting to the Princess, Elsanne must not be part of my plans going forward, he thought. There were no future plans, no future period, if Gust were to lose the next battle. ¡°What do you want?¡± He rustled and glared at the former Cofol slave, the man¡¯s light coffee eyes staring at the muddy ground. ¡°I wish to serve, my Lord,¡± Manu replied, with a deep bow. ¡°I have squires aplenty,¡± Gust growled, powerful neck muscles contracting, a ripple running through his chiseled ebony body. ¡°Do they know of Eplas, my Lord?¡± Manu queried, still looking down. ¡°I freed you mister Manu,¡± Gust said narrowing his eyes. ¡°Go to the ships, start a new life.¡± ¡°I owe this life to you sire.¡± Darn it man. I don¡¯t have time for this! ¡°You¡¯ve told me everything about Kuntur, didn¡¯t you?¡± He asked him, watching Bugs diving into the pond and coming out with a thrashing small snake. The raven flew away immediately, turning to a speck in the sky, taking the water-viper with him. ¡°I have sire,¡± Manu replied. ¡°Where¡¯s the next water source?¡± ¡°Shavemont Plateau, a couple of weeks to the North.¡± ¡°Kuntur has to stop here, right?¡± Gust asked. ¡°Aye sire. It is said,¡± Manu glanced towards the large water-barrels with a cunning smile. ¡°The bigger the host, the more cherished the water.¡±
The night brought a strange stillness from the desert, unseen beyond the mounts of limestone, but present. If not for the guards posted every hundred meters making their rounds, their camp was quiet, the men sleeping dead tired from the laborious days. Gust turned on his cot, eyes kept on the dark sky, long knife in hand. Manu was sleeping a couple of feet away, his back on the tree, with young Klaas next to him and Mael was kneeled praying to Tyeus, the stoic knight convinced they would fight on the morrow. ¡°That¡¯s half the night,¡± Gust commented and Sir Mael Bolte nodded without turning his head. He hadn¡¯t removed his armour, despite the heatwave they have endured the previous days. Most other knights couldn¡¯t stomach wearing the scalding pieces of metal on them again. ¡°They rested enough. Get them going.¡± ¡°What about the horses?¡± ¡°We¡¯re not merchants Mael, take only what¡¯s necessary.¡± Lode De Jagger, the ranger, had spotted a large dust cloud, as long as a giant snake coming down the Merchant Path from the direction of Eikenport, very late the previous afternoon. Kuntur was coming for his water.
The wind started just before dawn. The sands shifted, massive amounts of fine dirt turning into dust clouds, the dunes coming alive all around them. A sea of sand, the slow moving waves as big as small hills, treacherous and difficult to traverse. The first Cofol scouts appeared soon after, like wraiths coming out of the hazy billows, following a dozen of Lode¡¯s rangers that rushed inside the gorge to escape. The Cofols paused to regroup, more riders coming behind them, in the hundreds. Charge inside ye fiends, Gust urged, laid on his stomach on the scalding sand, next to his kneeled horse, men around him silent and half buried. He felt the great helm slowing fusing on his head, his scalp burning and sweat turning to vapor soon as it left his body. The first Cofols went inside the gorge, more and more arriving, the great host numbering in the thousands. Cataphracts appeared, shiny armour and faces hidden behind silver masks, mounted archers and rows upon rows of infantry, carrying spears. That¡¯s more than four thousand slant-eyed bastards there, Gust thought with a grimace. The support train alone numbering in the thousands and still arriving, their long lines seemingly unending. ¡°They are going in,¡± Mael hissed, as most of the mounted archers poured inside the gorge heading for Devil¡¯s Cove and their camp, less than a kilometer away. Gust had hidden his force directly across and behind the dunes, although buried is perhaps the correct word here. ¡°The scouts probably fell on the caltrops and sent word.¡± Gust grabbed the spyglass from him and looked through it at the activity amidst the agitated Cofols. With more of them arriving outside the narrow entrance to the gorge, horses and men created a buzz that muffled the sounds of battle inside the Cove. Or we¡¯re too far out to hear it, Gust thought nervously and tried to make out their numbers, but failed. The winds, the shifting sands and the dust clouds had lowered visibility so much, that soon they wouldn¡¯t be able to see more than twenty feet away. ¡°Where¡¯s Lode?¡± Gust asked and tried to get up, the distance from the Cofol host gathered near the entrance to the gorge, while less than five hundred meters, enough to keep them hidden up until now, as no one was scouting their way. No one would, for four straight hours. It was a good plan, poorly thought out. Mainly because it could have worked brilliantly on Jelin, with its lush forests and rocky terrain, but not here. In the desert nothing stays hidden for long. Unless the desert wants to. Lode appeared riding hard from Northeast and following the Merchant Path, hand waving wild above his head. Gust glanced towards the Cofols, still in the process of sending waves after waves of riders inside the gorge, their infantry still arriving, the supply train extending almost a kilometer behind them. They hadn¡¯t noticed him yet. He put the spyglass near the slit of his helm and looked behind the fast riding ranger. A speck of dust cloud at the distance, following the Merchant Path and heading towards them. More Cofols coming from the direction of the Xi Yil Castle.
Kuntur-Ki Tsuparin reached Devil¡¯s Cove after a grueling two month journey through the desert. The large host of men and animals found the water springs contested by Sir Gust De Weer¡¯s troops that had managed to build a crude palisade, complete with a shallow moat, effectively blocking their way to water and the beach itself. Without much alternatives at hand and probably realizing his opponent¡¯s numbers were meagre in comparison, Kuntur send his mounted archers into the gorge to clear out Sir Gust¡¯s blocking force. They were met by a series of nasty surprises, one after the other. The narrow corridor was full of traps, sharp broken boulders, boards with long nails sprouting out of the cramped walls and caltrops that cut, pierced and outright maimed their horses. The archers pushed forward, leaving their injured mounts behind and entered the beach at Devil¡¯s Cove, only to be cut down in turn, by volley after volley of iron bullets from Sir Gust¡¯s slingers. The nasty projectiles, not as effective against curved plate armour, were lethal against lightly armoured, or unarmored opponents. Heads exploded like melons and arms were broken, pierced lungs collapsed, the wounds grotesque and slow killing. The latter was the worst part. More archers poured inside, over their colleagues bodies, but fared little better. Archers and slingers were waiting for them on the other side and the terrain didn¡¯t favor them at all. Eventually they stayed back and away from the flat opening before the palisade, now littered with bodies, most of them still breathing. Such was the carnage, Kuntur decided to send his infantry inside, despite the leader of his Cataphracts wanting to charge through the gorge, now that it had been ¡®cleared¡¯ and attempt to test the palisade. While Kuntur was still pondering the absurd suggestion, the garrison detachment, around two hundred men strong, arrived from Xi Yil. Sir Gust saw them first, probably opting to fight outside of Devil¡¯s Cove ¨Cthis fact is heavily disputed- and immediately dispatched Sir Jan Reutun with a meagre force to stop them from joining Kuntur¡¯s larger host, whatever the cost. The battle was fought at Merchant¡¯s Path early that afternoon, under ghastly conditions, poor visibility and a boiling temperature, just a couple of kilometers away from Kuntur¡¯s still disorganized camp at the mouth of the gorge. Upon getting notified of the events transpiring at his left flank, Kuntur-Ki Tsuparin pulled his eager Cataphracts from the line and send them to help their compatriots. Not five hundred meters from their camp the heavy cavalry was countered by three hundred men-at-arms and Gust¡¯s ¡®Old Spears¡¯ that had come out of the desert to block their path, the compact force arranged in four tight rows. Kuntur, fearing casualties for his expensive riders, ordered them back, then split his infantry in two, sending half inside the gorge and the rest, along with all his foot archers against Captain Gel De Moss force. Why would Sir Gust De Weer choose to start the fight under the scalding noon sun remains a mystery to this day, but the fact he continued fighting through the night, a testament to his infamous will.
White neighed, shaking its snow-white mane, dried yellow froth on his mouth, tongue swollen and half blind. Gust grunted in response, with a glance over his head where Bugs was circling the battlefield and unsheathed his sword. Captain Moss was fighting a force thrice his, but he¡¯d managed to close the distance after that first devastating volley from the archers, who now had pulled to the sides, lightly trotting westwards into the desert and closed on Sir Gust¡¯s position unbeknownst to them. That was about to change though. Dawdling ain¡¯t gonna solve yer problems, his father loved to preach, the old bastard probably having his cock buried in one of his mistresses while doing it. Unless they are dead. Might as well get on wit it, Gust thought livid at the unraveling of his plan. Only way to salvage this, was to slay their foes before they regrouped and realized the massive discrepancy in numbers. Kill them faster and in greater numbers. Keep doin¡¯ it till the counter hits zero. ¡°GIVE NO QUARTER!¡± Gust barked and kicked his legs to get his horse going, clunking steel-spur sounds erupting all around him, as a row of white-grey cloaks followed right after the Knight of Tyeus. They came out from behind the sand dunes at a steady trot, the dust cloud hovering around them like a hazy veil, their pace increasing gradually as they neared into a full charge for the last hundred meters.
129. Crows of the Desert (3/3)
Sir Gust De Weer Crows of the Desert Part III -Let my Crows feast-
His stallion neighed, a sonorous desperate cry of pain, as they crushed onto the first group of disorganized foot archers. Dressed in silk robes, light cloth vests underneath, they were no match for heavy cavalry. More than sixty were killed outright, long warspears going right through torsos and chests, the wounds fatal in most circumstances. Men were hurled right and left, broken unnatural caricatures and severed body parts flying everywhere, before getting trampled under hooves. Gust felt his warspear snap in two, the impact hurting his shoulder and he let go of the broken shaft, his large stallion sending the small-bodied archer crash three meters away in an unrecognizable pile of limbs and bloody mushy-flesh held together by leaking skin. The wind was blowing on his back, as he pulled hard at the reins, hooves sliding on the soft sand and arrows breaking on his plate one after the other, the splinters raining over him. The battlefield around him chaotic, horses neighing crazed on one ear, animal cries mixed in with those of people on the other, bloody corpses and broken weapons strewn all over the place. Another arrow exploded on his helm, as he pivoted a snorting White around, dust clogging his throat and restricting his vision, but he caught sight of the group of three archers reloading fast and firing arrow after arrow on him twenty meters away, despair fueling their manic efforts. He went for his longsword again, steel blade gleaming in the afternoon sun, when it came out and went after them. White galloped wild, an arrow sticking out of his chest now, blood painting its front legs a striking red. Gust extended his right arm out, blade pointed front and urged the injured horse to go faster, as the archers broke and started running away before him. The charging Knight reached the first one in less than two breaths and cut a wide bloody wound on his back, severing his spine. The Cofol went down like a sack laden with rocks and Gust turned hard after the next, reached him covered in a billow of dust in the same breath, heart beating wild in his chest and almost delirious from the callous heat. He swung at him, but missed, the Cofol jumping spastically away, only to roll his ankle, fall on his knees with a cry of pain and then immediately get trampled under Fiend¡¯s hooves, as Mael was following right behind Sir Gust. The third archer turned his head back as he hoofed it away, ogling eyes desperate, seeing him approaching fast, black plate turned a dull creamy shade now, horse¡¯s front legs rubicund and Bugs flying a hundred meters over them crying at the top of its lungs, making the whole scene nightmarish. ¡°Water-fuckin-melon!¡± Gust downed his blade brutally, catching him right at the forehead with such force, the archer¡¯s head exploded, bone splinters and brain matter dousing a crazed White that made it a couple of meters, before stopping breathing heavy, bloody froth coming out of his mouth.
¡°Get on the horse!¡± Mael yelled stopping next to him and tossed him the reins of a destrier, barreling chest built alike a Midlanor¡¯s bull, its dark-grey mane all bloody. ¡°It¡¯s Sir Mikel¡¯s mount,¡± The Knight added gravely, seeing his questioning stare. Curse them. Gust jumped on the saddle and raising his face cover barked at fresh-faced Klaas to approach. The squire was following them with spare weapons on his own mount. ¡°Spear!¡± Gust rustled, his mouth dry and eyed White neighing in pain, over the dead archer. ¡°See to the horse!¡± ¡°We need to charge their soldiers,¡± Mael suggested examining the chaotic battle raging at this expanded flat terrain, about a kilometer from the entrance to the gorge. ¡°Support De Moss.¡± ¡°We need to get their cavalry out of the way first,¡± Gust replied, crooking his mouth and accepted the warspear from Klaas, before pouring water on his face and drinking some with large gulps, as much liquid coming out of his pores, as he poured in. ¡°Send the crossbows to fire on their flanks.¡± ¡°Gust,¡± Mael protested, but he¡¯d have none of that. ¡°Do what yer told, Sir Bolte,¡± he ordered his old friend and with a grimace the knight closed his face cover, a crow¡¯s beak sculpted on his helm and nodded. ¡°Don¡¯t charge at them alone,¡± Mael said, before turning his horse away and Gust guffawed at that, seeing their almost eighty strong cavalry easily breaking the almost four times larger in size, but hapless archers and butchering them without mercy. ¡°I won¡¯t,¡± he replied, closing his own raven-like face-cover. ¡°I¡¯ll take ¡®em fellows with me.¡±
Kuntur realized something was amiss on his west flank, when the first broken groups of foot-archers started appearing, running as fast they could. Fearing his infantry was in trouble, the battle raging amidst the thick dust clouds and the blinding sun far to the north impossible to gauge, he decided to order his heavy cavalry forward and send another runner to the supply train. He wanted to use the five hundred strong medium mixed-cavalry, covering the long column¡¯s rear, as reinforcements. Many of the officers present argued the wisdom of the order, at this late time of the day and valuable time was lost. Granted, nobody was adequately informed on what was happening and despite Sir Gust¡¯s heroics, the Issirs of Scaldingport were losing in that particular moment in time. The Cofol infantry had reached the palisade inside Devil¡¯s Cove, the ditch filled with dead horses and mostly dead, or half-way there people. Sir Jan, while he¡¯d managed to prevent the garrison detachment from reinforcing Kuntur¡¯s main force, was slowly dying a noble death and finally Captain De Moss¡¯ force, currently locked into a brutal struggle against the rest of Kuntur¡¯s infantry, was still outnumbered and running out of time. With the sun slowly losing its shine and turning an ominous red, a series of events on the expanded battlefield turned what appeared to be the young Tsuparin¡¯s scion almost certain triumph, to a far more¡­ dubious outcome. The first of those events being the arrival of Scaldingport¡¯s heavy-crossbowmen in support of the hard-pressed De Moss. They¡¯d quickly set up their clunky weapons in the spot where Kuntur¡¯s foot-archers had tried to reach earlier and fired two devastating volleys into the Cofol¡¯s locked infantry exposed left flank. The casualties impossible to gauge, but most agree, no-less than a hundred were killed in the span of five minutes. The rest of their line realized something was wrong and either tried to pull away, or their left flank simply disintegrated, Captain De Moss¡¯ men following after them, when they folded and pushed them towards the limestone mounds, with nowhere to go. While De Moss should have left the crossbowmen keep firing and disengage his men, the mistake wasn¡¯t costly as the Cataphracts, finally given the order to intervene hours into the battle, were caught flatfooted by Sir Gust¡¯s heavy cavalry in the cruelest engagement of the day.
The Cataphract saw Gust blasting out of the putrid dust, warspear lowered and turned his armoured horse to bring it towards him, using his heels to urge it forward. Gust couldn¡¯t hear anything, the thundering of hooves charging alongside him and the roar of as many horses counter-charging them so great, he¡¯d just lost that ability. With a gasp that escaped his cracking lips, his warspear connected with the Cofol Knight¡¯s chest, clad in scaled metal vest over thick chainmail and punched right through, exploding out his back. His horse pushed him aside violently and the man toppled and disappeared from sight. Gust reached for the reins, his whole body numb and realized he¡¯d lost the handle on his spear. He made to glance back, all in the space of a breath, the visibility non-existent and a Cataphact came out of the haze and crashed on him, the impact so vicious, Gust flew from the saddle and landed on his back after a couple of bounces, stunned and swallowing sand and blood. Get up. ¡°Gah,¡± he rasped and coughed his lungs out, but other than that and quite surprisingly Gust felt uninjured. His arms and legs were working and while most parts of his body were hurting that wasn¡¯t going to stop him. Gust stumbled to his feet, grinding his teeth and walked towards his horse, about three meters from where he¡¯d landed. The Cataphract was still there, atop his own horse, long lance stuck firmly, as it had met Gust¡¯s mount big head first, in through the snout and out the right ear. The poor animal was dead, but it had taken the Cofol knight¡¯s weapon with him, as a last act of defiance and the slant-eyed bastard wasn¡¯t willing to leave it behind. Gust had a ringing in his ears now, still deaf for the most part and felt his legs a little unsteady. He was properly mad though, right angry. Mostly with himself for letting his plan unravel and the ambush turn into this chaotic mess. While he had excuses aplenty, like his opponent¡¯s greater than predicted strength and the surprise arrival of reinforcements ruining the trap, Gust offered none for himself. This was his mess and he¡¯d have to fix it, only way he knew. The Cofol spotted him coming, his grey robes torn and the black plate armour turned a sickly white, the crow engraved on his chest lost under a thick layer of dust and let go of his stuck lance, to reach for his sabre. Gust reached him first, grabbed the right leg daggling from his horse¡¯s saddle and pulled hard upwards sending him tumbling over the animal¡¯s hind legs. The Cataphract landed badly on his neck, losing his blade and Gust still grinding his teeth, walked with determined strides behind the scale-armour covered horse to reach him. Gust stabbed down with his boot savagely when he did, right at the shiny sinister mask. Once and that smile got distorted as the metal wrapped. Twice and it gave and caved down, crashing the cheek bones, with a sickening sound Gust never heard. The only sign his opponent had died, the fact his legs had stopped kicking.
¡°Lord De Weer!¡± Young Klaas yelled and jumped from his horse to run towards him. Gust still rattled from earlier, his longsword in hand grabbed him by the collar and pushed him back. ¡°Get on that horse boy!¡± What had started as a cavalry engagement had turned into a series of hard-fought duels, as many like Gust had their horses killed under them. He left the squire protesting, Gust¡¯s ears still ringing and rushed into what he believed was the thick of the struggle. The dust billows raised from men and horses kicking the fine sand under foot, fueled the gushes of wind that came and went without stop, and diminished the light coming from the setting sun even more. Soon telling friend from foe, would be nigh impossible. Gust almost fell victim to that fact, the Cataphract charging him, while he was busy defending himself against another Cofol knight on foot. The large warhorse came at him like an avalanche, a small mountain of flesh and iron, black eyes huge behind the Chamfron and its hooves digging out the soft ground. His opponent turned his head to see what had spooked him and Gust used the spare half second to punch him hard in the face, knocking his head back, before stepping out of the horse¡¯s way. The horse missed him, but the Cataphract¡¯s lance didn¡¯t, since Gust didn¡¯t really have half a second to spare, so he got nailed on the left side of his torso, despite jerking away at the last moment. The steel tip punched through plate wrapping it, teared his gambeson, the lance angling downwards and opened up a flesh wound right at his ribs, just as his own sword, blade zipping parallel to the ground, caught the onrushing warhorse at the mouth, sliced through tendons, tongue, bone and iron, kept cutting, brutally opening up a grotesque fatal wound, until the hapless horse and rider went past him.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°Blast you to Oras hells!¡± Gust growled stumbling away, a hand on his bleeding wound, while the Cataphract lost control of his dying animal, not five meters from him and went crashing down in a heap of broken limbs and wrapped metal. The knight of Tyeus tried to draw a deep breath, his eyes red and swollen, sweat and dust making matters worse. Gust never saw the Cofol he was fighting earlier sneaking up on him. Not that the impressive armoured Cataphract could sneak up on anything really, but for that day, that place and in that particular time. Gust felt the blade strike his helm and he instinctively rolled with it, the sword cut deflected away leaving a visible dent. He felt it from his neck, to his toes though and immediately went down dazed. The Cofol made to swing at him again, but got hit from the side by a charging horse that send him tumbling down and out of Gust¡¯s sight. ¡°Sire!¡± Klaas yelled and tried to get him to his feet, but failing at first. Gust was a powerfully built man, wearing heavy armor and standing well over six feet. Darn ye boy. Well done. Grunting Gust got up and immediately looked to see where the Cofol had gone. He spotted him trying to get to his feet, left hand broken and twisted the wrong way, sabre still in his right. Gust could admire that. A good strong grip spoke volumes about an opponent¡¯s skill. ¡°I shan¡¯t forget it. Now hand me my blasted mace,¡± Gust rustled and started towards the Cataphract, right after Klaas -dirty face tensed, but grinning proudly- tossed him a short steel mace. The knob at the business end of it round and heavy, but with four ridges on it protruding symmetrically to better split armor. The Cofol saw him coming, heavy footed and all furious, the blood leaking from his wound fueling Gust¡¯s anger and decided to attack him first, to take advantage of his longer weapon. Gust parried the blade aside, sparks lighting up the ever creeping darkness and fast as a viper struck at the elbow joint, the curved metal plate reinforcing the Cataphract¡¯s sleeve wrapping, the bone shattering underneath. The horribly maimed Cofol, both his hands broken, face hidden behind that unsettling mask, growled in mind-numbing pain and lost the grip on his sabre. The blade dropped between them, as his opponent flinched back, but Gust had never stopped moving, right hand holding the mace by the end of its iron shaft pointed down, the steel knob making a line on the fine sand, as he followed him like a silent predator. The masked foe cried and pleaded in Cofol, but it only helped to infuriate Gust even more and he opted to silence him right away with a devastating uppercut, the nasty knob pulverizing the lower part of his helm, cracking the smiling mask and sending splinters and broken parts of jaw-bone ripping through the man¡¯s skull and into his brain, killing him instantly. Bugs landed next to Gust the next moment, beady eyes looking rather pleased and hopping comically the last couple of feet to the dead Cataphract -the Cofol¡¯s head a bloody horrific mess- he started feasting on the spillage, letting out gurgling satisfied sounds. The scene surreal amidst the chaos. ¡°Sire!¡± Klaas, the young squire now standing atop his own horse, yelled waving his hands and interrupted that particular moment. Gust turned his head, feeling his neck muscles hurting and too many parts of his body burning, the sweat mixing with the blood leaking down his sides and soaking his undergarments. ¡°They are pulling back!¡±
With the darkness falling and the Cataphracts shattered, Kuntur attempted to retreat from the mouth of the gorge. He faced several problems accomplishing it, as a good portion of his army was still fighting inside Devil¡¯s Cove, the rest of his infantry was cut off and was grinded down by Captain De Moss¡¯ men-at-arms, their backs on the mountain slopes and his supply train, while it had stopped and even retreated about a kilometer down the road they had come from, it was still too close for comfort. What made matters worse, was that they had started constructing a camp, as the huge number of animals, slaves and civilians couldn¡¯t stay in column formation for a whole day and no-one really knew how the battle was going, but for the high-ranking officers. The garrison detachment had never reached them, another puzzle Kuntur couldn¡¯t decipher with darkness falling over the battlefield. The latter his only solace. Expecting the hostilities to halt, or slow down to a minimum for the night, as the grueling battle had drained both adversaries, Kuntur retreated towards his hastily-built camp to regroup and send word for his army to break out during the night, if they could, or stay put until the next day. Historians still debate until this day, why he didn¡¯t just retreat fully that night, leaving behind what wasn¡¯t essential. Kuntur had an open road towards Eikenport and his decision to wait it out, seems poorly-thought out. The prevailing opinion most have on this matter, is that his army had either run out of fresh water thus being on borrowed time, or he¡¯d grossly underestimated Sir Gust De Weer¡¯s fervor to continue the fight.
¡°How many?¡± Gust growled and Mael, dirty face distorted in the light of the torches, looked about them first to gauge the men¡¯s reactions, before replying. ¡°We lost half our cavalry, my Lord,¡± the Elder Disciple of Tyeus said. ¡°The Cofol infantry want to parley.¡± ¡°No talk,¡± Gust replied and stared at Albert the dottore patching up his wound. ¡°They surrender, or we finish them off using the crossbows. We have plenty of bolts, do we not?¡± ¡°We do,¡± Mael said, wiping his face with a cloth. ¡°We are also low on water and there¡¯s four hundred infantry glued at our palisade, the gorge blocked to us.¡± ¡°Leave the Old Spears to De Moss and the crossbows,¡± Gust ordered getting up, despite Albert¡¯s protests. ¡°Split the men-at-arms in two, one group will open up the gorge for us and the other will reinforce Sir Jan.¡± ¡°Gust, the men are exhausted,¡± Mael noted and looked around, the other knights ¨Cfour of them were still alive- looking displeased. ¡°We have dead and wounded¡ª¡± No. ¡°The dead belong to the crows!¡± He growled staring into each in turn. ¡°We help our wounded, finish off any Cofol we find still breathing!¡± He took a deep breath, his throat drier than the sand under his boots. ¡°NO QUARTERS!¡± He thought of his brother, the memory of his empty eye socket horrifying. He thought of the Princess, a distant elusive prize ever denied to him and famed Rida that was no more. ¡°Gust,¡± Mael protested again, but he cut him off with an angry gesture. ¡°THE KHAN LOSES TONIGHT!¡± Gust De Weer declared, more a beast¡¯s roar than a human¡¯s and the knights of Scaldingport took a step back and lowered their heads. Unequivocally. There was no other outcome, Gust thought adequate to salvage their campaign, not if anything was to be accomplished. Expecting a better chance would come somewhere down the road, another opportunity better than this one, was sheer folly. And Gust was no fool.
The camp sentries saw them approach just before dawn, their armour drenched in blood and caked mud, dented helmets and warn out blades from a night¡¯s worth of butchering. Gust was running on pure adrenaline, haven¡¯t eaten anything but a bit of water and half-a-biscuit, and this after they¡¯d broken through the narrow gorge ¨Ca horrendous, claustrophobic ordeal- and fell on Kuntur¡¯s shocked infantry that had almost won the fight for Devil¡¯s Cove earlier in the day. It was a savage affair, men running and shouting, strange shades in the dark, the whole blasted lot reeking of fear and chaos. Panicked men fighting under the moonlight, under torchlight, or no light at all, axes and blades and long knives swung in the blind, sometimes connecting on what they were supposed to hit, others gutting a hapless friend. Men died on the sands, inside the moat turned to a ditch, over half-burned out camp fires and even falling face first in the pond. The Issirs giving no quarters, taking no prisoners, even when scores of Cofols broke and threw their weapons and begged for mercy. Had the sentry known that, he¡¯d probably jumped on his horse and hoofed it towards Eikenport never looking back, but he didn¡¯t and tried to warn the camp instead. Gust¡¯s hurled spear skewered him through the chest, his body dying but not touching the ground, staying at an angle of sorts, the long shaft now firmly stuck down, keeping it upright. Gust burst into the camp, atop his third horse for the day, almost a hundred and fifty riders coming behind him, hurling lit torches inside tents and cutting down anything that moved, or attempted to resist. Such was the shock and terror the raging fires and the pitiless assault instilled on the fleeing animals and people, Kuntur¡¯s bodyguards got overwhelmed and stampeded, before they could form up. ¡°Gust!¡± Mael yelled a warning, just as he swung his sword decapitating both an officer and his lover, the Cofol had tried to use as a shield at the last moment. A young man, Gust had mistaken for a woman. He twisted around, the horse nervous under him, unfamiliar. The bolt smacked him on the shoulder, punching through the curved thick-metal pad and almost dropping him. Gust grunted, the injury superficial and kicked his legs to charge the horse towards his foe. Tyeus has spoken, he thought. The Cofol, rich curly hair framing a painted face, large gold looping earrings on his ears, dropped the crossbow and unsheathed his sabre. He came at him, at a slow trot as if expecting Gust to slow down and duel with him. Sword on sword. Gust intended nothing of the sort. He charged at full speed as if to crash his mount on the Cofol¡¯s, the clad in fine armor opponent turning away to avoid him at the last moment, opening his side up. Both horses neighed loudly and jumped away from each other, stunned and scared, but unhurt. The Cofol tried to pull at the reins and start his mount going again, but realized he couldn¡¯t. He¡¯d the better part of a broken blade stuck in his chest, right through the sternum. He tried to talk next, only to find his throat and mouth flooded with blood, so he didn¡¯t do that as well. The Cofol just stared at Gust, as the knight approached him, holding the broken longsword still in his right hand, the blade cut right at the handle. There was surprise on that face, Gust realized and his features not as pronounced as the other Cofols he¡¯d encountered up until now. ¡°Is he gone?¡± Mael asked him, approaching on Fiend and carrying a torch, the sturdy horse somehow getting through the whole ordeal unscathed. But for deathly tired, he supposed. They all were. Gust glanced at the fancy dressed Cofol still atop his horse. His white leather armor slowly painted a deep red. His eyes glassy on the light of the torch. ¡°Aye. He is,¡± he replied and seeing young Klaas approaching, he tossed him what was left of his sword and the nibble squire caught it, with a frown. ¡°See ye fix this. Better yet, have ¡®em melt it down and built it anew.¡± ¡°ANEW!¡± Bugs croaked with enthusiasm and came to land on his horse¡¯s head, the poor animal attempting to dislodge him shaking it, until the large raven tapped it a couple of times with its beak between the ears to put an end to it. ¡°ENOUGH!¡± Bugs warned the horse. Mael shook his head and turned on the saddle, to watch the carnage still continuing in various parts of the burning camp. Klaas found it hilarious and burst out laughing hysterically, probably searching for an outlet for the horrors he¡¯d witnessed all day and all night. Speaking of the night, Gust turned his eyes east and watched as the large disk started slowly appearing on the reddish sky. ¡°Should I stop them?¡± Mael asked him a long moment later. ¡°They won, Sir Mael,¡± Gust replied, with a tired smile, letting himself relax for the first time, his injuries a dull reminder of the hard-won battle. ¡°Let my crows feast.¡±
The crows feasted alright that day. While the casualties suffered by both armies are still disputed, Sir Gust De Weer came out on top without a doubt. He still had his force, though somewhat mangled, had control of Devil¡¯s Cove and started building a small port settlement there immediately. He also had effectively cut off Eikenport from the rest of Eplas. While caravans could still reach it across the desert, no army could. With Kuntur¡¯s force utterly destroyed and him presumably killed, as the young scion disappeared from history after that battle, the Khan needed to campaign to the far south in order to retake control of that part of the Khanate. Had he managed to keep hold of Hi Yil Castle, he might have attempted it that very winter, but Sir Gust always proactive assaulted its lightly defended brickwalls two weeks later and burned the Castle to the ground, before retreating again towards Devil¡¯s Cove. By destroying the Khan¡¯s vital resupply station there, Sir Gust made the plans for a campaign south extremely costly. Not when everyone seemed to wait for the High King¡¯s response at any moment. It seemed as if the fear of the vaunted Second Foot appearing anywhere on the east coast of Eplas was a bigger deterrent, than the well-drilled force out of Midlanor, were ever to prove in reality. Whatever the case may be, the Raven of Dawn was left to campaign uncontested that winter. Sooner all later everyone thought, the Desert would swallow his crows up. On their return journey from the leveled Hi Yil, over a month after the Miracle at Endless Dunes, or perhaps two, a Cofol came out of the Great Desert and followed them down the Merchant Path. The old Horselord, a brigand according to Sir Mael Bolte¡¯s notes of the campaign, brought strange tales of ghosts and vile magic birthing out of the long lost ruins beyond the Ancient Horn. Of living shadows and an insane man who instead of a raven, had a blasted Wyvern as a pet. Sir Gust De Weer had found the Cofol¡¯s story absurd. Lord Sirio Veturius Circa 206 NC The Fall of Heroes Chapter IX Epilogue (Sir Gust De Weer, Raven of Dawn, -Crows in the Desert- Miracle at Endless Dunes, the fall of Hi Yil & the birth of Devil¡¯s Cove port Summer through Winter 189-190 NC)
130. Business with the Guild (1/2)
Lord Storm Nattas Business with the Guild Part I -Fleur De Luce-
The Horned Hen was built close enough to Alden¡¯s central square, to offer its services to the more ¡®cultured¡¯ clientele residing there, but also comfortably away from the government buildings and the Dome of the Five. Those couple of streets removed from the main square, had proved a sage foresight, as it placed the old, though recently renovated, two story building, safely out of the range of the Uher fanatics patrolling the streets those days. While the Priests and the Order of Golden Spears were officially scouring the old city for heathens, they were notoriously opposed to those under Naossis protection as well. A sexual deviant, or degenerate brothel patron, was no more than once removed from an infidel and Old Gods worshipper, in their eyes. Their particular brand of heavy-handed rectification had been offered with enthusiasm to many a circumstances and people were rightly on edge. Not that the Horned Hen looked like a brothel of note outwardly. While a fresh coat of green paint had been applied over the thick cement varnish, the outer walls still looked old and unexciting. The Horned Hen large marble sign itself depicted, what basically was, a bloated chicken with fuckin¡¯ tits; as ridiculous an engraved image, as Storm had ever seen and he wasn¡¯t completely blind to the arts. Himself an avid collector of secrets. Though admittedly his second stronger suit was in real estate. Still an art unto itself, he mused with a shrug, following Secundus inside the heavily scented corridor, hands clasped behind his back, the garishly nude marble statues a shocking surprise, to any careless folk that had mistaken the brothel for just another apartment building. Secundus Sorex stopped abruptly the moment they entered the large central hall, with the worn out velvet couches. Zizel Verano, the experienced Lena ¨Cthe Lorian name for Madam-, quickly came to greet them wearing a practiced smile, recognizing Lord Nattas from his previous visit. Close to fifty now, she had kept herself and still had the aura of a younger woman. Her painted blond hair clean and brushed away from an oval ¨Cmostly unblemished- face, green-blue eyes cold and calculating. The cut on her rich and many layered silk gown, cavernous. Secundus had every reason to appear stunned, Storm thought, with a small lecherous smirk. ¡°Lord Nattas,¡± Lena Verano gushed, fluttering her heavily-painted eyelids, before going for a low curtsy. Them old bones on her, are holding up mightily fine, Lord Nattas thought, giving her a good onceover. I should have gone for her the other day, Storm decided, after a thorough examination. A whore¡¯s wealth of experience sometimes matters and an old famous beauty, while perhaps loose at places, is still acres better than bedding a young donkey. ¡°You honor us,¡± Zizel said, offering a small smile to an enthralled Secundus Sorex. An orphan girl from Lesia, she had made her fortune in Issir¡¯s Eagle, catching the eye of the High King¡¯s father according to a decade¡¯s old gossip, before retiring of sorts in Alden. ¡°So soon after your last visit.¡± ¡°It came as a surprise to me as well,¡± Storm noted sourly, remembering the young whore with the tiger¡¯s mouth. All teeth and no tongue. A right meat grinder. Brr. ¡°Shall I ask for the girls? I can have them here¡ª¡± Storm stopped her with an impatient gesture. ¡°I¡¯ll have a table at the corner,¡± he said and Lena Verano glanced at the side of the big hall reserved for clients wanting a drink, after sampling the venue¡¯s wares. Half a dozen people were there, talking and sipping wine, while perusing the scantily clad girls picking clients and leading them upstairs and the private rooms. The bouquet coming from incense burning pots and oil lamps, mixed with that of the heavily scented whores and made the air heady. ¡°I shall arrange for refreshments,¡± Zizel said, with a professional smile. ¡°If you follow me, Lord Nattas.¡± ¡°Stay here, keep your eyes on me,¡± Lord Nattas ordered Secundus and followed the slow moving Lena to an open table. Zizel smelled of jasmine oils and lemon. Storm didn¡¯t mind taking his time after her. The cultured man can appreciate the back as much as the front. ¡°I¡¯ll sent our best wine,¡± she informed him pleasantly seemingly unaware of his thoughts, as Storm sat down with a sigh. ¡°I¡¯m sure you will. But do tell me, do you still take clients, Lena Verano?¡± Storm asked her, just to satisfy his curiosity. Zizel wore too much makeup for Nattas to discern whether she¡¯d blushed to his query, or not. Assuming years of whoring hadn¡¯t fucked that out of her. ¡°It¡¯s heavy the purse that shall entice my affections, dear Lord Nattas,¡± Zizel teased, a twinkle in her eye to soften the rejection. Uhm. ¡°I¡¯ve a fairly heavy purse,¡± Storm insisted his cheeks burning, feeling more than a little affronted and quite embarrassed. ¡°Then you¡¯re fairly close to yer goal. I shall be patient, if you are,¡± Lena Verano deadpanned and with another well-practiced curtsy that offered him a good view of her impressive bust, she walked away. The moment she did a man of medium height, sitting alone on the table next to him stood up, turned without hurrying and walked to the spare chair across from Storm, pulled it back and sat down, after placing a robust square leather satchel he carried on the floor. What in Abrakas rude cousin is this shite? ¡°Excuse me?¡± Storm snapped at the man¡¯s audacity. The long faced man of about forty years, wishy-washy Lorian face, pale brown large eyes behind a pair of thin wiry round glasses and wearing an austere dark-grey redingote, reached down with his right hand, searched for a bit, keeping his civil-servant expression unflappable and then placed a small bronze flat plate on the table between them. Nattas cleared his throat amused and then scrunched his mouth this way and that. ¡°I¡¯m Robart Barlow,¡± the man introduced himself, talking alike a tired but loyal employee of the Mayor¡¯s office would to the last petitioner on the line, just before his day¡¯s shift was over. ¡°Chief Mediator for the Guild.¡± Ah. Of course. Storm pushed back on his chair, keeping his eyes on Robart¡¯s bland face. The man returned his stare casually with no sense of urgency whatsoever. ¡°I¡¯m Lord Storm Nattas.¡± Robart didn¡¯t move a muscle. Storm wondered whether the man even breathed, or he was thrifty on that front too. Feeling nervous, he glanced about them out of the corner of his eye, but the brothel patrons seemed unaware of their discussion, or just plain uninterested. Discussion is used loosely here. Storm snorted, the moment dragging, Mister Barlow still as a statue, both hands set on the table in front of him on either side of the small bronze plate. Looking at it again, Nattas realized it looked like an ashtray. You got to be kidding me. He reached inside his dark blue smug-fitting doublet, unfastening a couple of silver buttons and found the folded piece of parchment. Storm ¨Cfeeling rather silly- dropped it on the table right next to the small bronze platter. Robart used his right hand to pick it up carefully, unfolded it and then glanced at the scribbled message, pushing his glasses on the bridge of his straight nose. He was clean-shaven Storm noticed, but his dark black hair were thinning at the front of his head. Without talking Robart placed the unfolded parchment on the bronze ashtray and then used one of their table¡¯s gilded candle holders, nicely polished naked mermaids engraved on the stem frozen on various lewd poses, to lit it on fire. They both watched it burning for a couple of minutes. Okay, this is a nice tactic Mister Barlow, Storm thought, rapping his fingers on the table¡¯s surface. The man, still disinclined to utter a single word after his introduction, again reached down with his right hand, searched for a bit and then unhurriedly brought a blank vellum up, the size of a normal book page, an inkpot and a simple thin steel quill. ¡°The mark¡¯s name,¡± Robart said, in his accent less voice. Right. ¡°Can I give more than one?¡± Storm asked, the Mediator¡¯s expression unreadable. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of room on that vellum,¡± He continued. ¡°Do you charge by the words?¡± Apparently Mister Barlow didn¡¯t have a humor bone on his body. ¡°Gordian,¡± Storm said, with a sigh and watched Robart scribbling it down. ¡°He¡¯s a Magister of Uher.¡± ¡°The servant¡¯s name?¡± The man asked, when he finished. ¡°I have more people¡­¡± Storm paused and looked over his shoulder for any eavesdroppers. Secundus was talking all serious with a young brunette, Abrakas only knew about what, the whore¡¯s perky left breast exposed, the pierced nipple too large for the amount of flesh and painted a dark red. Shaking the image off, he turned to the silently waiting him to finish Robart. ¡°¡­I want relieved from their duties.¡± He almost threw a wink at the tail end of that. Robart blinked slowly like a bird, but didn¡¯t say anything. ¡°Sir Adam Reus,¡± Storm added, seeing they weren¡¯t going anywhere. Robart scribbled the new name down. He¡¯d a very clear and controlled handwriting, as far as Storm could see. ¡°The servant¡¯s name?¡± Nattas smacked his lips and returned his stare without answering. Why would you want that? Maja hadn¡¯t given him another name. ¡°The same I used on the paper, you just burned,¡± he finally replied. Robart looked at the burned ashes inside the tray. Oops? Don¡¯t tell me you forgot you needed that, he thought, a taunting smirk on his mouth.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Mister Barlow put his quill down and stared at the parchment in front of him intently. ¡°You were given the name,¡± he said matter-of-factly, as if that was supposed to mean something to Storm. ¡°I want her to take the job,¡± Nattas explained, wanting to speed this along. He caught a flicker of recognition in the Mediator¡¯s eyes. ¡°More names, may be added to the contract,¡± Storm finished not sure what that was about. Robart again reached with his right hand down, searched inside his leather satchel, found whatever he was looking for ¨Ca fact that was noteworthy unto itself, as he kept on staring at Strom while doing it- and placed another two parchments on the table next to the one with the names. There was a lot of text on these fresh pages. ¡°You will discuss compensation with the Servant,¡± Robart said monotonously. ¡°The Guild shall accept its share now.¡± ¡°I pay twice?¡± Storm asked and changed position on his chair. ¡°Is this the half now, half after the job is done pitch?¡± You can substitute Robart Barlow for the wall over his right shoulder and no one would catch the change, Storm thought. ¡°What¡¯s the amount?¡± He probed, seeing the man was as forthcoming as a corpse and half the company. ¡°There¡¯s a ship,¡± Robart said. ¡°Moored in Caspo O¡¯ Dor,¡± Storm stared at his hands not getting where this was going. ¡°We want you to purchase it.¡± This time it was Lord Nattas that blinked in shock. ¡°You want me to buy a ship? Like a large fishing boat?¡± Surely¡­ ¡°A Barque. Fleur De Luce.¡± It was as if Robart had just shoved his fist into Nattas arse, all the way up to his throat. Storm sucked a deep breath in, a nervous tick appearing on his left temple. He pressed a finger on it, trying to stop an aneurysm from killing him outright, while trying to calm himself down. He almost didn¡¯t make it. ¡°You want me¡­ to purchase a fuckin¡¯ Barque?¡± He croaked, in the attempt to keep his voice down. ¡°Fleur De Luce,¡± Robart reiterated like an automaton. ¡°A fucking Barque,¡± Storm repeated warningly. ¡°That is correct,¡± Robart agreed, infuriating him even more. Storm licked his lips and looked around him for that bottle of wine. Half in the mind to drink it whole and then smash it on Robart¡¯s stupid head. Zizel is probably holding on to the fuckin¡¯ bottle waiting for me to pick a girl first. Coin-sucking whore. ¡°What¡¯s the price?¡± He asked, curious where this was going. Of the ship was his meaning. ¡°Ten thousand gold Eagles,¡± Robart deadpanned and Storm almost had a heart attack right then and there. The scandal from him dropping dead on a brothel¡¯s side-table not as feared, as the humiliation he¡¯d kicked the proverbial bucket, not while wildly fornicating with Lena Verano, but while talking to this fuckin¡¯ glorified bank manager. Storm also didn¡¯t have anywhere near that amount of coin available. ¡°That¡¯s an¡­ outlandishly expensive ship,¡± he said, puffing out. ¡°I¡¯d use a bigger superlative, but I can¡¯t think of one.¡± ¡°It belonged to the previous Duke of Raoz,¡± Robart tried to justify the unjustifiable. ¡°There¡¯s a new one?¡± Storm queried to stall, while still searching for a way around this new problem. ¡°Victor Reeves, his old chamberlain. He married the late Duke¡¯s son wife, to get his hands on the lordship of Altarin.¡± Sounded perfectly reasonable to him. ¡°That sounds quite scandalous,¡± Storm commented instead rubbing his forehead, the throbbing replaced by a stinging headache. ¡°The woman was his brother¡¯s daughter,¡± Robart countered with a creepy half-smile, his first real attempt at a joke. No wonder they¡¯ve put you at clerk duty. You¡¯re not a comedian. Better keep yer job dude. You¡¯ll get booed out of stage. ¡°Huh, talk about keeping it in the family,¡± Storm kinda indulged him, the small detail useful. He filed it away for later. Robart, creepy grin wiped from his face, pushed one of the written contracts towards him and tapped at the end of the text, where Storm¡¯s name was written with clear bold black letters. ¡°I¡¯ll need your signature, Lord Nattas.¡± Uhm. And I want to be a good head taller and ten years younger. ¡°I don¡¯t have the amount,¡± Storm was forced to say. ¡°The price we will pay is one thousand gold,¡± Robart explained. Still a good chunk of gold. However¡­ ¡°That¡¯s quite the discount,¡± he admitted and took the quill Robart gave him. The Mediator offered no comment and Storm put his signature on the parchment. Robart checked to see everything was proper, as if Storm could just write the King¡¯s name and get away with it, then offered the second page for him to sign. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Storm asked, very uncomfortable and unsure on what exactly was happening. Having pages shoved in your face to put your mark on, one after the other, is a stressful ordeal. ¡°A rental contract,¡± Robart explained. ¡°You will rent the ship to me, Lord Nattas, for the sum price of one thousand gold Eagles.¡± Storm blinked. ¡°I buy it for a thousand. I rent it for a thousand,¡± he could kind of see the man¡¯s scheme now. ¡°That is correct.¡± Storm signed the contract. Robart checked it carefully and then took both and returned them to his unseen satchel. ¡°The Guild is satisfied,¡± he announced and made to get up, but Storm stopped him. Who would¡¯ve thought you folk, are a bunch of darn crooks? ¡°Where do I find the Servant?¡± Lord Nattas asked instead. ¡°The Bridal Shirt,¡± Robart replied and got up, but not before returning everything into his satchel and hanging the leather strap from his shoulder. ¡°It is where she lives.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Rosebush,¡± Robart Barlow said and walked away, without hesitation. A tiny village, on the coastal road between Alden and the port of Illirium.
Sudi looked weird and probably way worse than yesterday. ¡°Good grief man,¡± Storm said recoiling at the sight of the worn down lackey. ¡°What happened to your fucking hair?¡± Sudi run a hand over his bald head. ¡°I shaved it all, chief.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that you had that many left to begin with,¡± Nattas noticed and grinned at his hurt frown. He¡¯d taken enough ridicule in his life to not give half a shit about other people¡¯s feelings. ¡°It looks good though. Eh, It just takes a long minute to appreciate it,¡± he softened it up a bit. ¡°Aye. The Dottore said it will help the remaining roots grow back stronger.¡± Storm didn¡¯t believe there was any hope of salvaging those roots. ¡°Well, no harm in trying I suppose,¡± he lied. ¡°Yep,¡± Sudi agreed. ¡°Titus is out.¡± ¡°Good. I¡¯ll take him with me on a quick field trip,¡± Storm said hastily and glanced at Secundus bringing the former mercenary along from his house. They were standing in front of the entrance, the streets pretty dead for the time of day. ¡°A field trip?¡± Sudi queried. ¡°Since when do you¡ª¡± Storm tapped his hurt leg. ¡°Riding helps. Dottore¡¯s orders.¡± ¡°Do you want me to come?¡± ¡°I want you to stay and watch the Magisters.¡± He couldn¡¯t risk Sudi seeing Maja again. ¡°Okay. Utnas reached Bayspell by the way,¡± Sudi reported. ¡°He did?¡± Storm thought about it for a moment. ¡°How long before he can give us a report from the front?¡± ¡°He needs to get to Rida first, blend in and stay alive,¡± Sudi crooked his mouth, the lips sinking where he¡¯d lost most of his teeth. ¡°I can see him reaching the city,¡± Storm commented. ¡°The rest, I¡¯m cautiously pessimistic.¡± ¡°He¡¯s a Cofol,¡± Sudi countered. ¡°There¡¯s that of course,¡± Nattas agreed, with a smirk. Secundus, square jaw clenched pushed Titus towards them. ¡°I brought the prisoner, milord,¡± he reported and Titus, looking rather fresh for a man that had stayed in a cellar for a month, protested raising his hands. ¡°You just let me out, ye bucket head!¡± ¡°Alright, stop this,¡± Storm intervened. ¡°You boys are going to come with me. We will go to Rosebush.¡± It was apparent no one had any idea where the place was. ¡°Remember that small village with that tavern, the tasty fried trout, back when we made the journey from Novesium last year?¡± Storm probed, the memory of the quality whores working at the leisure resort port hurting his soul. He missed those Novesium girls and Nattas was a decent enough human to admit it. Lusting over the Queen of Regia also didn¡¯t help, as it only increased Storm¡¯s frustration. Mainly because while he could handle lust, it was all these other new feelings Storm feared. The Unknown was Abrakas bastard child. His men were still staring at him numbly, the biggest gathering of buffoons ever. Nattas sighed deeply and stared at the cobblestone road all sad. ¡°Get the bloody horses ready,¡± he ordered them, after a full minute of soul-deep retrospection.
The afternoon of the second day, since they had departed from Alden, going over the Maiden Bridge, near the spot where Sir Reus had executed Arietta and after following a relative pleasant coastal route, but for the rotten heat, the small group reached Rosebush. Barely thirty houses, all painted a pleasant deep blue, with red roofs, divided by a nicely paved main street and a picturesque tiny port made of white stone. Rosebush was a nice little village, squashed between two larger cities and ports. Alden and Illirium. ¡°Yeah, I remember it now,¡± Titus commented, the trip bringing his old self back, after his incarceration. ¡°There¡¯s the tavern.¡± It wasn¡¯t difficult to spot. Rosebush had a bakery, a tavern and inn, a small fish market by the docks and a butcher. All facing the main street cutting through it. It also had a clothing store he¡¯d completely missed that first time, Storm thought, staring at the well-put bronze label and the black writing on it. The store front windows lined with iron bars, the kind of security one would find in a bank, or prison. ¡°Right,¡± he decided and climbed down his horse, the leg hurting, but holding up still. Storm was grateful to be able to stand on two feet and he would take the pain gladly. He was used to it. ¡°We make a stop here boys, give ourselves a good rest, before we head back.¡± ¡°So, we head to the tavern?¡± Titus asked, stretching his back from the ride. ¡°You come with me,¡± Storm said and pointed at the store with the red door. ¡°I need to check on some things.¡± Titus frowned, mouth dropping reading the label. ¡°Yer getting married, boss?¡± Secundus cuffed him hard on the nappe. ¡°Don¡¯t be an idiot!¡± He barked, still not used seeing Titus as a free man. ¡°It¡¯s a fuckin¡¯ Bridal store!¡± Titus protested, but retreated a couple of steps, while Secundus read the label for himself. ¡°Can ye stop just for a moment suckin¡¯ the boss¡¯ cock and read ye dork?¡± ¡°Okay,¡± Storm started, but he was summarily interrupted. ¡°It says shirts on there, stop twisting words ye vile scum!¡± Secundus snapped and Titus, long mustache dancing over his mouth, threw his arms in the air giving up. ¡°Fine, ye want to pretend it¡¯s not weird as fuck¡ª¡± ¡°Enough!¡± Storm yelled at them both, clenching his fists, sweat running down his face. ¡°You¡¯re both utter idiots. Gods, are you kidding me? Paying coin for this fuckin¡¯ crap?¡± He puffed out exasperated, before continuing. ¡°Now, Titus guard the fucking door, I¡¯m going inside. Any other bloody questions?¡± He added ominously. Other than a couple of petulant stares, there was none.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 131. Business with the Guild (2/2)
Lord Storm Nattas Business with the Guild Part II -A shadow in the fading light-
A bell rang above his head the moment he swung the door open. Lord Storm Nattas paused, his heart thundering in his chest, to calm himself down somewhat, while examining the seller¡¯s bench and the many wooden hanger stands. Everything inside the shop pedestrian, but for the quantity. Ranging from the many rolls of fabric, stacked on top of each other on the counter, thin silks and thicker fine wool sheets, to rolls of rough hemp and smooth cotton drapers, even fuckin¡¯ leather, Storm thought impressed. The assortment of colors striking. You¡¯d be happy to find such a well-stocked store in Cartagen, ecstatic even. The girl behind the overflowing bench, cute Issir face, black skin unblemished, boyishly cut white hair and uncommon honey-colored eyes ¨Cfor a pure-blooded Issir- offered him a small smile, half-charming and half-taunting that caught Storm off guard. He almost tripped over his feet and went down right there, in front of her counter. ¡°Well¡­¡± Lord Nattas said, after recovering his balance. The fit girl, she couldn¡¯t have been more than eighteen, wore a tight dark-red silk bodice. The cords at the front reaching her navel and extra fuckin¡¯ thin, which was fine for the time of year, but gave Storm a clear view of her hardened nubs, framed in the light coming from the windows, which forced him to pause again mid-sentence. ¡°¡­that¡¯s a lot of fabric,¡± he managed to say unsure and rather lamely. ¡°Who do you seek?¡± The young woman asked him and seeing her up-close, Storm realized she was a bit older, than he¡¯d originally had thought. Who, his mind told him coolly, not what. Right. He opened his mouth to answer, only to realize there was a man standing at the far edge of the counter, next to a wooden stand, clad in a black outfit, soft boots and wearing a leather vest over it. The Issir man had typical white hair as well, made into thin braids and left loose at the nappe. He¡¯d a large scissor in his hands, which he closed when Storm noticed him and flipped it once, before leaving it on the counter, next to his left hand. ¡°That¡¯s Ard,¡± the girl said, in her brusque Lorian accent. ¡°This is Griet,¡± Ard added in the lighter Common of the Issir, with a half-grin. Older than Griet, but nearer to twenty than thirty, clean shaven and green-eyed. Wiry, but appearing fit and quite dangerous. Storm felt as if he¡¯d just stepped into a trap. ¡°Obviously I¡¯m not here to buy a carpet,¡± Nattas jested, absent other ideas. ¡°Assuming you folk sell them as well.¡± ¡°Not proper, for the weather,¡± Griet said. ¡°Drapes are all the rage,¡± Ard added. Storm snorted and stared at the door across from him, leading to the back of the store. ¡°Do I need a password?¡± He queried. Griet glanced at Ard, before turning her head on him again. ¡°Who do you seek, Lord Nattas?¡± She asked again a hint of razz in her voice. Storm visualized himself riding her naked lithe body hard, next to the beach. It was a powerful and vivid image. He cleared his throat one time. ¡°I want to speak to Maja,¡± Storm said finally cutting to the chase. Neither Griet, nor Ard moved at his words. Other than a flicker of annoyance in the man¡¯s eyes, their expressions reminded Storm of that bland-faced Mister Barlow. The moment dragged, Nattas feeling a sweat rivulet trickling down his arse-crack, his mouth dry from all the riding and feeling thirsty, hungry and fuckin¡¯ aroused of all darn things. Just as he was about to start cursing and threatening them with violence from his ¨Chopefully still waiting outside in the cruel sun- men, the door leading further inside the store creaked opened and an old lady of Lorian descent, long grey hair down her shoulders, a bit stooped forward from all the years carrying on her back, walked inside. Dressed in a new light-yellow summer dress that hang on her body a bit snuggly for her age, she approached slowly and stood next to Ard, caressing his hand once, as if to reassure him. Storm thought she looked over sixty. ¡°Lord Nattas,¡± the old lady said, ¡°Speaks the truth children.¡± Storm stared into her old eyes shocked. Then at her lined face. He could recognize those freckles in the dark bottom of Abrakas seas and there was plenty of light inside the store. Fuck. ¡°Bring him a chair and the good wine,¡± Maja ordered them and reaching inside the front of her dress daringly, the wrinkled skin on her neck shocking, got a strange amulet out by its chain. Gold and silver it was, dominated by a fiery orange, strangely marked agate gemstone, as big as an egg and flashed once, when she caressed its smooth surface. ¡°Yes Mistress,¡± Griet and Ard said and went to do her biding, but all Storm could watch was Maja absorbing all the light, her skin and face glowing, while the store got smaller, until the light faded again and everything returned to normal. ¡°That¡¯s fucking magic,¡± Storm croaked, properly impressed and young Maja chuckled showing Regia¡¯s Master of Secrets her pink tongue, while letting the amulet drop inside her impressive bust again. ¡°Just an enchanted amulet, dear Nattas,¡± she corrected him, the dimples on her cheeks almost enticing enough, for Storm to forgive her trying to murder him. Twice.
Maja had a small scroll in her hand, a missive. She rolled it between thumb and index finger, then reaching behind the counter got a bronze plate out and a holder with a thin lit candle on it. Storm watched her enthralled burning the tiny scroll and then putting the candle out. ¡°You were expecting me,¡± he said, when she finished. ¡°Uhm.¡± ¡°Well?¡± ¡°I thought it will take you some time to act,¡± Maja said pushing back on the bench, her right leg kicking out a bit for balance, rich curly hair framing her face. ¡°More time.¡± ¡°Situation has deteriorated,¡± Storm replied, trying to keep it professional. This woman is a vicious murderer. Keep that in your bloody head! ¡°Indeed.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a good trick there,¡± Storm said. ¡°I almost didn¡¯t recognize you.¡± ¡°I did it for you,¡± Maja replied and casually pulled a very thin long knife out of a roll of fabric, flipped it in one hand, used the other to gather her long hair, then twirled it around in an elegant bun, the knife turning into a hair stick. ¡°You love this face.¡± ¡°Bah, I¡¯m not a big fan of freckles,¡± Storm countered. Maja chuckled. ¡°Now, we both know that is a lie.¡± It was. ¡°They grew on me,¡± Nattas admitted. He was a weak man, when it came to alluring women. ¡°It is how I look,¡± she explained, looking away. ¡°Hah, nah I don¡¯t buy that,¡± Storm said, but seeing her face, he added. ¡°That would make you close, or over sixty.¡± ¡°I never talked of years, Lord Nattas,¡± Maja explained. ¡°I¡¯m younger than you by the way.¡± That didn¡¯t make any sense to him. ¡°Where did you get the amulet?¡± He asked, but she clicked her tongue and pushed away from the bench, moving gracefully alike a dancer. ¡°Who came from the Guild?¡± Maja asked him, her tone changing. ¡°Robart Barlow. Quite the fucking character,¡± Storm replied, dropping the matter of the amulet for a moment. ¡°He¡¯s in Alden?¡± A hint of surprise there. A thread of something else behind it, Storm didn¡¯t know of and probably shouldn¡¯t concern him. Although it did. All secrets are valuable. ¡°Obviously. It¡¯s where I met with him.¡± Did it matter? ¡°What did you tell him?¡± Maja probed professionally, to cover her interest. ¡°I gave him a couple of names,¡± Storm replied watching her like a hawk. He¡¯d known her, lived near her for a time, but also he was seeing her for the first time unvarnished. Storm was seeing the real Maja now. The Assassin. She had given him another name. Faerith K¡¯lael. ¡°Gordian and a Knight,¡± Maja said. Storm remembered the small missive she¡¯d burned earlier. A bird had come from Alden then, he thought. No magic there. Just a good ole network of agents. But not all information was passed on it seemed. ¡°What do you hope to gain?¡± She was disappointed with him.Stolen story; please report. In a sense, Maja had made the first step back in his Alden house. She could have refused, or simply refrained from visiting him. The assassin had skin in the game. Use it. ¡°What does it mean, the name?¡± Storm asked her instead and Maja sucked the side of her left cheek in, her eyes examining a roll of white silk fabric. Funeral colors. ¡°Fading Light,¡± Maja replied, with a grimace. ¡°In the old tongue.¡± ¡°Which tongue is that?¡± Storm probed, unwilling to let go. ¡°The Empire that was.¡± ¡°Does the Guild traces its roots¡ª¡± Maja stopped him. ¡°It doesn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Where did you get the amulet?¡± She chuckled at that. ¡°Ah, your brain is your most attractive quality, dear Nattas.¡± ¡°Call me Storm,¡± Nattas teased her and then added, this time half-teasing half-serious. More serious, than teasing. ¡°I¡¯ll have you know, I¡¯m an excellent lover.¡± Maja stared at him for a good moment. ¡°A good lover gives freely Storm; all you do is take, what¡¯s on sale.¡± Nattas blinked, the rebuke cutting him deeply. ¡°You hate me again now?¡± Maja teased in turn, seeing his reaction. It was a ploy. She was trying to deflect from his questions. ¡°I respect the truth, when I hear it,¡± he said simply. Never was a bigger untruth uttered, with a straighter face. ¡°Why those two?¡± ¡°I have my reasons,¡± Storm deflected in turn. ¡°What else did you say?¡± Maja asked. To Mister Barlow was her meaning. That was twice, she¡¯d sneaked in a question about him. ¡°Who is running the Guild?¡± Storm asked and Maja grinned like a cat that had just gulped down a fat canary. ¡°We all serve the Fading Light.¡± Storm didn¡¯t. ¡°You,¡± he pointed out the implied. ¡°It¡¯s just a title, dear Storm.¡± ¡°Now, we both know that is not true,¡± Nattas deadpanned, without batting an eyelash. Maja raised her brows in acknowledgment and Storm checked the empty store for a moment. ¡°They won¡¯t come, until we finish,¡± she reassured him. ¡°Do you trust them?¡± ¡°They are my pupils.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t remember them from that first attempt,¡± Storm noted, bringing the conversation back where he wanted. ¡°Ard was there, Griet is new.¡± ¡°What happened to the other guy?¡± Storm probed and a flicker of sadness flashed in Maja¡¯s eyes. ¡°He served loyally, let¡¯s leave it at that.¡± How about we don¡¯t? ¡°Who killed him?¡± ¡°Ah,¡± Maja grimaced, an attempt to hide emotion and turned her back to him. ¡°Your brain is an asset, dear Storm,¡± she added and then turned to stare at a frowning Nattas again, all that weakness wiped away. ¡°You don¡¯t care about those two.¡± Hmm. ¡°I won¡¯t insult you pretending, I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡± ¡°You are surprisingly kind, for a callous bastard,¡± Maja retorted. ¡°I don¡¯t mind them gone,¡± Storm deflected. ¡°But it is no pressing matter. I have time.¡± ¡°No you don¡¯t,¡± Maja replied. ¡°You¡¯ve tipped your hand.¡± ¡°They are small fish,¡± Storm insisted. ¡°No one will care, if they¡¯re gone.¡± ¡°Does Barlow know I¡¯m involved?¡± Maja asked. Ah, no beating around the bush anymore. He thought of the bland faced, creepy man back at the Horned Hen. ¡°He suspects it. What does it matter? He works for you. You run the Guild, right?¡± Storm asked and Maja stepped close to him, their noses almost touching. ¡°Some shadows, no light can penetrate, dear Storm and certain secrets are deadly,¡± She whispered next to his ear. ¡°Who are you after really? Name your real mark.¡± Storm stared into her eyes for a moment, thinking how fate had brought them to this place and this time. If Maja¡¯s late pupil had succeeded in murdering him back then, this conversation wouldn¡¯t have happened. A touch of luck had changed everything. Also that was a very kissable mouth, for such an old-looking woman. Magic crap filters removed of course. Nattas sighed deeply, then shook his head at the absurdity of the last couple of weeks and told her. If a rock can¡¯t bring down the hornets¡¯ nest, drop a big fuckin¡¯ boulder on it.
¡°That was a fuckin¡¯ great trout fillet. The second time I liked it best,¡± Titus said, for the fifth time that day. ¡°Crispy and well done. Seasoned and wit enough garlic on it to make a god-darn difference.¡± ¡°It brought me a bit of indigestion,¡± Secundus muttered, half asleep on the saddle and Storm groaned not wanting to hear the conversation start all over again. Not when they had almost gotten back to Alden. While riding was nice and it helped exercise his leg-muscles, it was also darn tiring and uncomfortable to his backside. After a while, no matter where you placed your bloody arse, or how, it hurts the same, Nattas thought sourly. At least the night had given them a reprieve from the infernal heat and it made the return trip more pleasant and faster. The latter probably guilty though for his current discomfort. ¡°Plenty of light beyond Maiden¡¯s Bridge,¡± he noticed. ¡°Them boys on the East Gate are burning the King¡¯s oil wit enthusiasm,¡± Titus replied. ¡°Is it the summer festival yet?¡± While Lorians celebrated several festivals during the summer months, in concert with many tourneys of course, Titus was referring to Naossis Indiscretion the myth behind Bacchanalia, or ¡®Wine Days¡¯ for the common folk, celebrated once in the second day, of the second month of summer and again on the last day of the last month of summer. An old Empire holiday of mindless fun and sexual deviancy that had survived until their days in some Lorian cities, though with a different name. Beyond the Shallow Sea and in the lands of the Khanate, the old name had remained unchanged. Valimae Lilt. ¡°That¡¯s not until next week,¡± Secundus corrected him, himself well-versed in the off days, as all former soldiers. ¡°You sure?¡± Titus probed and burped loudly. Storm rolled his eyes and stared at the bridge and the people with torches going over it, despite the time. It was at least three hours after midnight. One of them standing nervously at the side facing the road to Illirium and well¡­ Rosebush, Storm supposed and shifting from one foot to the other, to keep himself awake. ¡°That¡¯s one of our boys,¡± Secundus noticed, his eyes sharp as fuck for the amount of darkness about them. ¡°How can you tell?¡± Storm asked, moving on the saddle and squinting his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s that darn hat wit the stupid feather. That¡¯s Petronus,¡± Secundus explained. Right.
¡°Lord Nattas,¡± Petronus started, when they stopped in front him taking him by surprise, as despite his efforts he¡¯d fallen asleep, right as they reached the bridge. ¡°Mister Sudi wanted me to¡­¡± ¡°Wait for us here?¡± Storm helped him patiently, although he was already bored and too tired to continue this for much longer. Three days of ¡®vacation¡¯, when two of them are on the road, is no bloody vacation at all. ¡°Yes. There was a row in court yesterday,¡± Petronus explained. ¡°The King got mad and ordered they¡¯ll be no celebrations this summer.¡± ¡°Fuck!¡± Titus cursed, justifiably devastated at the news. ¡°No. No damnit! No!¡± Secundus just smacked his lips pensively. Storm snorted and stood up straighter on the saddle, his back killing him. ¡°What was the row about?¡± ¡°The Queen wanted the Priests of Uher stopped, milord.¡± Ah, Miranda. It¡¯s not the time to plead your case. ¡°What did the King say?¡± ¡°He wasn¡¯t happy, milord,¡± a group of people waiting by the East Gate started walking towards them. ¡°Some heavy words were used.¡± ¡°What words?¡± Storm hissed, seeing the robe-wearing group approaching, torches in hand. ¡°Damn it you fool! What¡¯s the King¡¯s order?¡± He growled seeing him fidgeting like an idiot. Sudi had sent this fool to tackle them before entering the city for a fucking reason. ¡°He kicked Naossis priests out of the city, milord,¡± Petronus blurted out shocked. ¡°The whores ain¡¯t happy.¡± What? Why would he¡­ ¡°Who suggested it?¡± Storm snapped, seeing the Golden Spears heading straight for them. ¡°Magister Gordian milord,¡± Petronus blurted out, his thin body shaking that darn feather on top of his hat dancing left and right. ¡°He insisted they are working with the infidels. He was extremely zealous in his words, gossip says. The Queen had to back down.¡± Abrakas you son of a whoring goat. Fuck you. ¡°Lord Storm Nattas?¡± The first of the armed monks said stopping a couple of meters from the mouth of the bridge. ¡°Yes!¡± Storm barked and the man blinked taken aback, his face hardening right after. ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°Lord Nattas,¡± the man continued, disregarding his question. ¡°You were seen inside the Horned Hen two days ago. Several people have come forth as witnesses to this undisputed fact.¡± ¡°So what?¡± Storm snapped angry. ¡°I¡¯m not married!¡± Gordian wasn¡¯t after the whores, or anyone else really. No you don¡¯t, Maja had warned him. ¡°It¡¯s a brothel,¡± the monk said accusingly. ¡°I was in the venue on official business,¡± Storm deadpanned and staring into the square faced monk¡¯s eyes, he added sincerely. ¡°I did not fornicate with a whore, for the duration of my visit.¡± Several of the monks snickered to his words. No one seemed to believe him, despite Storm being truthful for the most part. ¡°A judge will decide that,¡± the leading monk replied, not explaining how a Judge would know. ¡°Lord Nattas, you are under arrest for debauchery and sinful deviancy in the eyes of Uher.¡± ¡°Chief?¡± Titus queried, looking for instructions and Storm closed his eyes wanting a minute to think this through, which was a huge problem, since all he had was a short second. They weren¡¯t there to arrest him. Not so far from the city¡¯s gates, in the middle of the fucking night. It appeared that years after Storm had given up the warrior¡¯s garbs of his youth and stepped out of the arena, he would finally get the chance to prove himself a warrior, with a fight to the death. Good Grief. No spectators. No big-titted noble lasses screaming his name, wet between their thighs. No glory and titles to be gained, nor coin. No prize, other than the thin chance to keep his life. Abrakas you piece of dry shit of a deity, I fuckin¡¯ denounce you. Swallow a tentacle and die. He¡¯d a sword on his saddle, amidst the leather bags. It was a good blade Storm hadn¡¯t used, since he had it made years back. Roderick always told him, the lessons learned well, stuck with a fighter forever. If the old sadistic fuck had lied, Storm was about to find out.
132. What one does with freedom?
Ziba-Ra What one does with freedom?
A southern wind blew towards the Khanate Gulf. It skirted around the Wetull Straits, shying away from the sinister Torn Earth and found the Gulf¡¯s narrow mouth, beyond the lonely ancient Wotcheki Castle on its east jaw and hugged Whale¡¯s Head peninsula on its west. Touched the bands of wild horses running free on its fertile ground and broke on the garish protrusion people called the Khan¡¯s Way, standing across the slave-market port of Shao Na-Lan. The wind rapped at the dry granite rocks, twirled and twisted this way and that before dying out as suddenly as it had appeared. And was no more. Ziba-Ra that had rushed to Elusive Rose¡¯s first deck, the moment that fiendish unfavorable wind had first appeared and the order was given for the rowers to work the Galley¡¯s oars, let out a sigh of relief. All that horrible noise of many men slaving away at the drum-beater¡¯s tempo, ceased immediately and the big sails unfurled again, catapulting them forward. Shao Na-Lan disappeared behind them and the waves lessened, as they sailed around the Stallion¡¯s Rest, towards the mouth of Tani River and the jewel of Greenwhale Peninsula, the Grant Port of Ani Ta-Ne. She felt sweat trickling down her shaved armpits, the stench of the large ship rubbing on her, after so many weeks aboard. Ziba wanted to dive into a cold water pool, or the sea and stay there forever, but couldn¡¯t. There was no pool on the Galley and if she dared the sea, her master would surely kill her. Perhaps Ziba could get away with a harsh beating, if she used every trick in her book to sway his decision the right way. Then there was her nasty mistress Shirin-Ra to deal with. While she was pregnant supposedly, Ziba wasn¡¯t fooled to think Shirin¡¯s dislike of her came from hormones only. She smelled herself again, the Cofol slavemaster, his mouth filled with silver teeth, watching greedily from his spot, right hand between his legs, the left still holding the five-headed whip he hadn¡¯t gotten the chance to use earlier. He always turned sour, when he missed on his ¡®workouts¡¯ and the opposing wind dying on them, had left him with nothing to do. Ziba changed her mind and wished the wind came back again. It was a nasty thing to wish for, but better the slaves under the deck to take the beating than her. ¡°What are you thinking about Pearl?¡± Hasti-Ra asked, painted eyes huge to look more like her. ¡°Sucking cock,¡± Ziba replied. ¡°Sounds fun.¡± ¡°Yeah, it was either that, or getting killed for jumping in the sea,¡± Ziba glanced at her shocked expression and grinned. ¡°You look sweaty.¡± ¡°I was serving the guards,¡± Hasti rolled her eyes. She had a round and pretty Cofol face, her tan always coming without any discomfort, or burns unlike Ziba, who with her fairer complexion had serious issues from direct sunlight, when she was little. Growing up, she¡¯d learned to deal with that too. ¡°How did it go?¡± ¡°Lots of groping, fingering, you know the drill,¡± Hasti explained, making a face at the gawking slavemaster. ¡°Shit, I need to check on the master¡¯s lads,¡± Ziba said slapping her head, blond curls escaping her bun and falling on her richly tanned face. Her light blue eyes, the color of the open skies above their heads, a striking contrast. ¡°Better fix that, or I may have to cut them short again,¡± Hasti warned, with a lewd smirk. ¡°Remember how that went? Everyone thought you were a very cute boy, hehe. Their enthusiasm was palpable.¡± Ziba¡¯s horrified buttocks clenched at the disturbing memory. ¡°I¡¯m fixin¡¯ the stupid bun, Hasti,¡± She announced and walked away, her cut shrill outfit, flowing over Ziba¡¯s long fit legs, her many gold anklets ringing and she felt the man¡¯s eyes burning on her exposed back pleased. We can¡¯t have me, fool, she thought. Not yet, not as long, as my master keeps me.
Ziba hefted the bucket with water in her right hand, clean cloth over her shoulder and pushed the cell door open with her left hand and knee. It creaked and groaned, everything rusty and rotting away until it opened up enough to snake herself inside, water splashing down as she carried the bucket with her, right nipple brushing the doorway, silver loop underneath her silk top, clanking on the iron latch. Ouch! The grizzly man, feet tied on the bench with loose rusty iron chains, turned his olive-black eyes on her. He¡¯d a wild beard covering his lined face, sturdy straight Lorian nose, thick brows peppered with grey hairs, like most of his head. ¡°Sorry, girl caught on the door,¡± Ziba said with a grin, walking inside the small room, the stench of sweat horrible. She scrunched her nose and placed the bucket next to his crude bench. The man kept his eyes on her as she went about taking the empty bucket outside and the leftovers of his meal. ¡°You¡¯re eating better,¡± She commented, looking him up close. There were three distinct, still healing, wounds on his broad hairy chest, one of them leaking. ¡°What is it you do, when you¡¯re alone, huh?¡± Ziba teased the silent large man in common, while she worked on cleaning the wound again. Probably working up, she thought, seeing as he is sweaty and popping veins everywhere. The man grunted, when her white-lacquered nail touched cracked skin. ¡°You need to stitch it up again,¡± Ziba advised, disregarding his protests. ¡°I have socks better stitched than this.¡± The man was looking down her sweaty bust now. ¡°Does it work?¡± She asked and made to grab him between the legs, as he was only wearing a dirty loincloth. He pulled away abruptly, which Ziba found offensive. ¡°Listen, I know I smell bad now, but I washed up another ten like you, out there,¡± She protested wringing out the cloth. ¡°And mister, you don¡¯t exactly smell like roses.¡± The grizzly man sat back down without saying a word, a scowl on his face. Ziba sighed and kicked the bucket lightly. ¡°It¡¯s clean mostly. It will get hotter, we are nearing Ani Ta-Ne,¡± She made to walk away, but stopped and turned to give him another look. ¡°I don¡¯t know if you understand my Common, but all the other guys are younger than you. You¡¯re not pretty enough to fuck and if you are too old to fight, the master will have no use of you.¡± Whatever, Ziba thought, getting no answer. On to the next one.
¡°Are you ready?¡± Hasti asked her, big grin on her face, her slanted-eyes looking much different without all that makeup and grabbed the rope with both hands. ¡°Just pull as hard as you can!¡± Ziba snapped and barely had the time to close her eyes, as Hasti pulled hard at the rope tied to one side of the cut barrel, they¡¯ve lifted earlier on the table. Not an easy task at all. The barrel creaked and swayed right and left, the water inside splashing out, the moment dragging, small-bodied Hasti daggling, now suspended with both hands and feet from the rope over the deck¡¯s floor, murmuring over and over a mantra learned from a rower she fancied. ¡°Gods give hope, to better cope.¡± ¡°For fuck¡¯s sake, Hasti!¡± Ziba protested opening her eyes to see what was taking her friend so long and at that point the barrel toppled her way, thankfully bouncing once on the table and staying on it, its contents splashing out and smacking her in the face, as Ziba was kneeled right in front of it. Water got in Ziba¡¯s eyes, in her mouth, down her gullet, rapped her naked breasts alike a cruel whip and shocked her soft belly so much, she felt warm piss sprinkling out her carefully shaved tender folds. ¡°Gah!¡± Ziba cried coughing up and smacked Hasti¡¯s hands away, as her friend had rushed, lathered cloth in hand, to work on her neck and face. ¡°Get that thing away!¡± She screamed and rolled on the soaked decking, her feet slipping and a determined Hasti following her with a soaped cloth in hand. ¡°I¡¯m clean!¡± Ziba declared. ¡°Nonsense, we have another barrel,¡± Hasti protested, herself soaked from top to bottom. ¡°That¡¯s enough laboring for me missy!¡± Ziba warned her. ¡°Don¡¯t pout, it don¡¯t work on me.¡± ¡°What about the rest of the fresh water? Master will be angry, if we waste it.¡± ¡°Well,¡± Ziba stared at the cut barrel, then approached and stepped inside it. It was snug and she had to gather her legs to her chest, but¡­ ¡°Hey, give me some support, so I don¡¯t topple back.¡± She said and Hasti came to assist her. ¡°How is it?¡± Ziba wiggled her arse, so she could drop a bit lower and stared at her friend. ¡°Cool. Can we get another barrel?¡± ¡°Ahm. Mamel said he wrote that off,¡± Hasti replied thoughtfully sitting on the edge of the barrel, next to her head. ¡°Can¡¯t he write off another?¡± Ziba probed, splashing water on her face, enjoying the relief after the inferno they had suffered all day. ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡± ¡°Maybe polish his rod a bit?¡± Ziba suggested innocently. ¡°Twice,¡± Hasti replied, sounding pissed off. So she had to back away.
Lanista Paikan Abu-Ra was a handsome man once, tall and clear faced, with eyes the color of warm-honey and a full set of white teeth, on a hedonist¡¯s mouth. Fit and rich from running a small, but successful Ludus, a training school for Gladiators, he¡¯d fallen into difficult times the last ten years. Nearing sixty now, he¡¯d taken weight, lost most of his hair, his eyes had sunk, with only his trimmed painted goatee reminding Ziba of the man he once was. Paikan had bought her as a baby from an escaped Rin An-Pur slave and kept her as his good luck charm. Almost twenty years later the aging Lanista had gotten himself a young wife of a rich spice Merchant family, in exchange for a solid gladiator, to solve some of his financial problems and sold off most of his other slave girls, in a last desperate attempt to turn his life around. ¡°Ah, there she is,¡± Paikan said, lifting his head from the large pillow. ¡°How are my new lads Ziba-Ra?¡± He raised his big body on an elbow, to have a better look at her. ¡°What you got under there?¡± ¡°Nothing master,¡± Ziba replied truthfully. ¡°I¡¯ll check on them later, but they seem fine.¡± Paikan tapped an empty part of the divan he was reclined on, with a big smile. Ziba went to seat there, near his feet. ¡°Any champions in this lot?¡± Paikan queried and pulled her nearer to him, a big hand cupping her right breast and two rough fingers finding the ring adorning her engorged nipple. Whether he had planned it, or not, their relationship had turned carnal in time. In Paikan¡¯s own words, if you truly love your slave, you bed him, or someone else will. Foolish to spend coin, for another man¡¯s pleasure. Her master was never a poet. ¡°The two young Lorians, maybe the Horselord, if he doesn¡¯t kill you first in your sleep,¡± Ziba gasped the last words, as Paikan reached calmly with his other hand, rough fingers snaking between her thighs, until they found her soft opening and paused briefly at the entrance. ¡°Nothing,¡± Paikan murmured in her ring-adorned ear and pressed one hard digit in without further warning. Ziba recoiled, the finger feeling like a thin knife, but he had a good grip on her and all she could do was grimace and nod with her head, fists clenched to combat the pain. ¡°You filthy pig,¡± Shirin hissed, her voice cutting through the fog in Ziba¡¯s mind and Paikan let go of her with a sudden shove that send her bounce once on the divan, before stopping on its wooden armrest. Tit, cunt and arse on fire. ¡°Lecherous philistine trash,¡± Shirin continued. Oi. Ouch. Oh, fuck, Ziba cursed, staring at the enraged Cofol woman going on a cursing tirade. Shirin was all flushed, her black hair made in thick braids, entwined with red rubies and milky pearls, her thin tunic loose and her belly swollen. She wore no shoes. ¡°Haha,¡± Paikan guffawed taking her words in stride, sucking onto his index finger, the same that was inside her. ¡°You can barely speak two proper words woman! Ziba-Ra knows perfect Cofol and common, even sings in Imperial and she¡¯s but a slave!¡± Yeah, not helping master, Ziba thought nervously. ¡°Get your whore out of our room!¡± Shirin warned him furious. ¡°Bah, you spice folk are all wound up dear, blinded by profits and too much cinnamon powder. Ziba, work on her cunt for a bit, to calm her down.¡± Ziba eyed him, almost losing her temper. How about, I fucking don¡¯t? ¡°Of course master,¡± Ziba managed to whisper instead and got up. ¡°Keep that vile hag away from me,¡± Shirin hissed and Ziba frowned insulted. The slave girl could accept being called vile, as she¡¯d done all manner of nasty stuff in her life, but a hag? Come on! ¡°I don¡¯t feel that well today. It¡¯s the baby,¡± She added, as if anyone would believe that! ¡°Good gods,¡± Paikan gasped sounding alarmed, and got up, his robes opening to give them a view of his meaty dangling cock. ¡°Sit down dear, calm yourself.¡± Shirin with a pained fake sigh, did as she was told. Oh, you stupid lying cunt, Ziba seethed and watched him fawning over her, before turning heel and leaving the Galley¡¯s master quarters.
¡°Hey,¡± Hasti called her, large basket hiding her face, as she navigated the narrow corridors of the second deck. ¡°Give me a hand will you?¡± ¡°What do you have there?¡± Ziba asked her. ¡°Food,¡± Hasti replied. ¡°Help me bring it to our room.¡± ¡°Wow,¡± Ziba gasped, putting a hand under the large basket. ¡°Is that wine?¡± ¡°Probably. Can you keep your darn voice down?¡± ¡°Apologies mistress,¡± Ziba teased, her mood improving. ¡°Where do we hide the bottle?¡± They both looked at each other for a moment, before speaking in unison. ¡°Throw it in the sea.¡± Yep. Abrakas loved his trash.
The Galley groaned alike a wounded beast, large beams squeaking, the decks creaking, as the sails ballooned when they burst out of the Gulf waters. The currents running through the Wetull Straits strong, light cerulean turning to a darker shade of blue, as the sea deepened, the flaring setting sun painted sanguine on them. The moment Elusive Rose turned north around the edge of Whale¡¯s Head towards Ani Ta-Ne, the currents turned against them and the long oars got out. The drums started playing, a sonorous sound, sinister and scary. The big ship turned into a giant centipede. Ziba didn¡¯t hear the door opening, but she heard it slamming shut and turned around. ¡°You¡¯re not as smart as you think you are,¡± Shirin said, her voice dripping poison. ¡°Yes mistress,¡± Ziba replied with a bow of her head, a frown marring her face as she¡¯d noticed the thin bamboo cane. ¡°I want you gone,¡± Shirin hissed and put the tip of the cane under her jaw to lift her face up. ¡°Sold off, discarded.¡± Fuck you. ¡°Get this off you, turn around and grab that armchair,¡± Shirin ordered her. ¡°Hold on tight. You let go, I''m going for your face next.¡± Ziba gulped down, got out of her short tunic, leaving her naked from the navel down and turned to present her backside to the angry woman. ¡°Count for me, you little market bitch,¡± Shirin spat, but the cane came down before Ziba had the chance to utter a single word.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
Oi, fuck, dammit, Ziba cursed stumbling, while trying to hold on to the bucket. She put a shoulder on the cell door, her back greasy with sweat, her enflamed buttocks on fire, skin cracked and bleeding at several spots, the welts like cuts, but nothing hurting more than her poor mound, where the tip of the cane had curled and smacked her viciously, causing the area to swell an angry red. It hurt to walk and peeing of all things, was a new kind of torture. The open seas and the salty moisture varnish of the Galley not helping at all. The door opened and she stumbled inside, water spilling and too hurt for clever words with the aging slave. Ouch. A new slave technically, a new lad, as Paikan called them. Semantics. ¡°Let me see,¡± She said, through clenched teeth and the Lorian dropped his muscled arms to his sides to present his wounds. Less leakage, Ziba noticed. ¡°You worked out again,¡± She told him, cleaning up his chest. The man pressed his lips stubbornly, those black eyes penetrating her skull. ¡°Are you going to fight for him?¡± Ziba asked, but he just got a grimace in response. With a grimace of pain of her own, she tossed him the towel. ¡°Finish it up yourself.¡± He¡¯d snatched that wet cloth out of the air, his reaction impressive. Ziba raised a trimmed brow and examined his rugged face. ¡°You were a soldier?¡± The man used the cloth to wipe his face and neck without answering. ¡°Do you even speak Common?¡± Ziba taunted him. ¡°Or am I losing my time?¡± ¡°Yer common is fine,¡± The man rustled, rich cavernous voice, touching the very fibers of her soul. ¡°What happened to you?¡± Goddess. ¡°I made my mistress angry,¡± Ziba replied taking a step back, the rawness of his reaction scaring her. The man snorted and eyed her revolted. What in tarnation? Ziba thought, her face flushing. Who do you think you are? ¡°It was my fault,¡± She explained, getting even less sympathy. ¡°I¡¯m a foolish slave.¡± ¡°No Lorian lady would ever debase herself thus,¡± The man said, all serious. Ziba stared at him stupefied. Was he for real? ¡°I¡¯ve no idea, what a Lorian lady would, or wouldn¡¯t do,¡± Ziba replied narrowing her eyes. ¡°But Lorian girls on the Peninsula are even worse than me.¡± ¡°At whoring?¡± ¡°Hah, yeah. It¡¯s part of the deal, without the coin.¡± ¡°Have you no shame?¡± ¡°For getting beaten up?¡± Ziba retorted. ¡°At least make an attempt to escape¡ª¡± ¡°This is my home, old man,¡± Ziba stopped him. ¡°It¡¯s what I know.¡± The man grunted and made a dismissive gesture with his hand, for her to leave him alone. As if he could command her! ¡°You¡¯re a slave too you know,¡± She showed him the ugly branding on his right arm and lowering her top next, presented her own. Right above her right elbow. A simple square around the letters RA burned on her skin, Paikan¡¯s family name. ¡°You¡¯ll fight in the arena and probably die there before this year is over. Perhaps sooner if the master¡¯s finances worsen.¡± ¡°What if I don¡¯t?¡± The man queried, his raspy voice as exciting to her senses as the first time. ¡°They¡¯ll throw you to the leopards.¡± ¡°Mayhap it¡¯s better to end in a beast¡¯s jaws,¡± The man said, rubbing his forehead, deep in thought. Ziba sighed, shook her blond head and turned to leave him to his misery. She stopped at the door and looked back, saw him still sitting on that small crude bench, staring at his cell¡¯s rotting wall. His eyes already dead. Or perhaps just really sad and defeated. Aimless. ¡°It¡¯s not, just so you know,¡± Ziba had told him, remembering the beasts ravaging the butchered slaves in the arena. The grand opening for the games. ¡°It¡¯s not better.¡±
Ani Ta-Ne was a sprawling city port, built next to the mouth of Tani River, the lush Dates Forrest on her east side and Hippo¡¯s Nest mountain range shielding the fertile basin from the scalding winds coming from the Desert Sea. With its five markets, two of them for slaves, the biggest animal market of the peninsula, large port facilities and four districts, starting from the common houses near the sea and the large villas on the soft slopes of the mountain, it was always growing year after year. Ruled by the great noble Zeke Leta-Kin, the Khan¡¯s Sea Master and its family, it dominated this part of Greenwhale Peninsula economically and politically. In all other aspects really, but for one quite important for the local Cofol society. Despite its many efforts and the gold poured into its many Ludi, Ani Ta-Ne couldn¡¯t rival the only other city facing the inhospitable Wetull lands across the straits. Ridiculed and belittled behind their backs, but also feared for their cruelty and military acumen, the Garites were somehow a thorn to the larger city¡¯s sides. While half its size and less cultured, the rivalry between the two cities was palpable on every discussion inside the markets and local taverns, fueled by the fact that the biggest games every year, were alas held in the vaunted arenas of Fu De-Gar. ¡°Only the best make the journey,¡± Lanista Paikan explained to her, observing their slavemasters gathering the slaves to lead them towards his Ludus. ¡°Very few of them return.¡± ¡°When is the next event?¡± Ziba asked standing next to him, low key avoiding doing any work, while the others unloaded the ship. ¡°When Ani Ta-Ne has a new champion,¡± Paikan said, smacking a fly away, the sun burning over their heads. ¡°Win against the best five, to be the city¡¯s champion,¡± Ziba droned, the party line. ¡°Best the five champions in the Pits to earn everlasting glory. Riches and as much slaves as your heart desires!¡± ¡°Or freedom,¡± Paikan added with a smile at the fake enthusiasm. Ziba never knew, if he saw through her, or not. Or whether he cared. ¡°Does anyone take it?¡± ¡°They do sometimes,¡± Paikan said. ¡°If they have half a brain, most don¡¯t.¡± ¡°What one does with freedom?¡± Ziba probed genuinely curious, putting a plump date she¡¯d stolen in her mouth. ¡°You know what I do with it,¡± Paikan noted. ¡°Train gladiators, then watch games,¡± Ziba replied. Putting babies in Shirin¡¯s stupid belly. ¡°Make good coin, hopefully,¡± Her old master added. None of the above held any interest to Ziba, so she kept working on the tasty date, while the other slaves were¡­ well, slaving away.
The sun sent his strong light over the training ground. The men were working under the Lanista¡¯s watchful eyes, fit torsos glistening sweaty, strong arms flexing and feet dancing on the fine white sand. Jason the Issir, teaching Lou the young Lorian how to work the spear being the highlight. Ziba turned her eyes to the side where the benches were, caught the man watching and crossed her legs provocatively, to give him a good glimpse of her tanned thighs. The more he scowled at her antics, the more she teased him. Paikan who¡¯d seen her playing with his new slave grunted and send another juicy sliced peach down his gullet. ¡°He won¡¯t fight,¡± Her master commented. ¡°Maybe he can¡¯t,¡± Ziba said, examining the rings on her toes. ¡°Khan¡¯s war flooded the market with worthless slaves,¡± Paikan griped. ¡°It isn¡¯t worth the coin selling him for beast fodder.¡± ¡°What does he want?¡± Ziba asked, eyeing the grizzly man, frowning disapprovingly at the men working out. ¡°I¡¯ve no fucking clue,¡± Paikan admitted. ¡°Told him he could win his freedom fighting, but I¡¯m inclined to believe he¡¯s differently motivated. What did he say to you?¡± Ziba saw her master looking intently and gathered herself. ¡°Nothing much.¡± ¡°You know how I kept other men from having you,¡± Paikan said and Ziba stood up straighter alarmed. ¡°Watched you growing up, fed you, not many treat their slaves thus.¡± ¡°Master is magnanimous,¡± Ziba whispered and put her small hand on his sweaty thigh. He was wearing the short tunic his gladiators wore to train. ¡°He forever holds my affections.¡± ¡°Hmm, I want him to fight, Ziba-Ra,¡± Paikan said, removing her hand. ¡°I¡¯m in a kind of a dilemma here. My wife wants you gone,¡± Ziba froze and stared at the white sands under her feet alarmed. ¡°I¡¯m going to have a child, a son gods permitting.¡± Shit, you conniving bloated bitch. ¡°Wonderful news master.¡± ¡°It is,¡± Paikan smiled and reached for another peach. ¡°I don¡¯t want to let you go though. I have a couple of good offers, but this isn¡¯t about coin,¡± Ziba felt her head spinning and her stomach turning, as if she was sick. ¡°You¡¯re a Lorian, as he is,¡± No, I¡¯m not, she thought furious. ¡°I think he¡¯s interested.¡± ¡°In what way?¡± Ziba croaked trying to think of a ploy to get her out of trouble, but her mind had turned to mush and she was about to puke over her master¡¯s fruit salad. ¡°Who cares? I just want to entice him.¡± Ziba licked her lips, tasted them bitter. ¡°I don¡¯t think he likes me that way,¡± Ziba murmured. Perhaps he doesn¡¯t like women at all. What then? ¡°How about we ask him? Hmm?¡± Paikan asked with a naughty smile. He¡¯d thought about this for a while, Ziba thought. While she understood it was Shiri¡¯s fault, she felt a bit of anger for her master for going along with her. Please gods, have her lose the baby. Better yet, slip and drop down the estate¡¯s stairs, break her neck a bit, while losing it. I know it¡¯s a horrible thing to ask, but I¡¯ve asked it already and now there¡¯s nothing to be done about it. I will just have to live with the guilt. ¡°Lorian,¡± Paikan said, then looked up and squinted his eyes, the sun brutal once you stepped out of the veranda¡¯s shade. ¡°Where are you from?¡± ¡°Does it matter?¡± The man rustled. ¡°Not really,¡± Paikan agreed. ¡°You know Ziba-Ra?¡± The man glanced at her. ¡°We¡¯ve met.¡± ¡°There are games afoot,¡± Paikan started with a sigh. ¡°I¡¯m not going to lie here. I want to win,¡± The Lorian crooked his mouth. ¡°There¡¯s coin, there¡¯s fame and there¡¯s the chance for my lads to make something of their situation at jeopardy here.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t kill a man for sport,¡± The grizzly man grunted. ¡°Better to face ¡®em beasts, I reckon.¡± Oh, gods the stubbornness! ¡°Yes, uhm. Well, you might think that, but what are we, barbarians? Another Lanista would¡¯ve just sold you for a couple of gold pieces and be done with the whole thing. I can¡¯t do that. My consciousness won¡¯t allow it.¡± Ziba almost rolled her eyes at that. ¡°But on the other bloody hand, getting equipment, arrange for a caravan to tour the many arenas. That¡¯s a lot of coin down the fucking drain.¡± ¡°Seek a loan,¡± The stranger deadpanned. ¡°Haha,¡± Paikan slapped his thighs, sweat dribbling down his bloated face, his goatee losing some of its paint and running as well. ¡°There¡¯s spirit in there! Right?¡± He glanced at her, big smile on his face, his eyes distant, calculating. What did you do? Ziba wondered, fear creeping up her spine. ¡°I have to find another way to support my family, Lorian,¡± Paikan continued. ¡°The lack of coin, can make a man cruel,¡± He added. The aging soldier, clenched his jaw. ¡°A couple of merchants want to buy Ziba-Ra. Young guys, their minds on many a nights of passion.¡± Eh, if that¡¯s what is coming might as well embrace it, she thought. Young cocks surely are more interesting, than old ones. The man was staring at her now, almost furious. As if could read her darn thoughts on her face. Huh? ¡°However,¡± Paikan continued, breaking their silent staring contest. ¡°Karit-Ki Tsuparin had tragedy befallen on him. Lost a son, is the word. Now, I don¡¯t give a rat¡¯s arse about them Garites, but the old man wants a big funeral to honor his memory, or whatever the fuck, these savages do over there. Since that cocksucker was unmarried, that old hideous piece of shit wants to send him off with company. Three maidens, to be thrown in his sendoff pyre.¡± What? Ziba looked at her master shocked, trying to understand, if he was being serious. ¡°Since maidens aren¡¯t going to take up the task and nobody wants to lose a good slave for nothing, the Tsuparin¡¯s are paying something.¡± Goddess he¡¯s serious! ¡°You¡¯ll have her burned alive,¡± The man queried. ¡°For coin.¡± ¡°For a substantial amount of coin, so we can take solace at that. They also usually kill the slaves first, but don¡¯t quote me on that one. It¡¯s second hand knowledge,¡± Paikan added, the attempt at making light of it not appreciated, by the scowling Lorian. Ziba was too shocked to react either way. ¡°It hurts my soul, but if I don¡¯t participate and win something this time, this Ludus is in trouble. In order to participate, I need the coin. The competition is killing me, Lorian.¡± It¡¯s killing me more! Ziba was hyperventilating, her knees shaking, shrill dress soaked in sweat and she stumbled to the side, the sun over her head impossible to bear for much longer. ¡°These fighters can¡¯t win,¡± The man said, looking at the gladiators training. ¡°Even if they do, they won¡¯t make it till the finish.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°They fear death too much, to succeed.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t?¡± ¡°Man dies, when he fails.¡± Are you fucking kidding me? Ziba glared at him. What manner of bullshit is this? ¡°And you¡¯ve already failed,¡± Paikan noted, with a grimace of understanding. ¡°Will the boy make it?¡± He asked. The man scrunched his jaw this way and that, wild beard moving angry. ¡°No. Don¡¯t let him fight.¡± ¡°I have to try,¡± Paikan insisted. ¡°What about her?¡± Paikan looked at her and she looked at him hopefully. Surely he was playing with the old brute before. Right? Then her master sighed and wiped his sweaty face, smearing some of the goatee paint on his neck. ¡°I¡¯ll take Tsuparin¡¯s offer.¡± Fuck me.
¡°Are you serious?¡± Ziba growled and punched his shoulder, her fist bending the other way, as if she¡¯d smacked a wall. Groaning she started rubbing at her wrist, even more furious with him. ¡°Why couldn¡¯t you just accept?¡± ¡°Accept what woman?¡± He rustled and she realized the Ludus cell was too small and she couldn¡¯t get away from him, if things turned sour. Like more sour, than they were. ¡°Fight? Help him?¡± Help me? ¡°Help him? He just told you, his plans.¡± ¡°Right. Because you¡¯re not doing what he asks¡ª¡± He cut her off raising his hand. ¡°I won¡¯t do his bidding, lass.¡± Ziba exploded. ¡°You think¡­ goddess, you are a darn slave! You miserable old fuck¡ª¡± She yelled in his face, stopping abruptly when he snatched her jaw with a big hand, rough fingers covering her cheeks. The strength behind them monstrous. ¡°Please¡­ don¡¯t hurt me,¡± Ziba pleaded, tears in her eyes. Those dark eyes examined her for a bit and then let her go. She almost went down on her knees. Darn things had turned to jelly. ¡°He¡¯s gonna do it,¡± Ziba whispered, wiping her face, lower jaw feeling numb. ¡°Because of his wife. She hates me. I ain¡¯t worth the trouble.¡± ¡°What¡¯s yer plan?¡± The man asked her, looking out the barred window of his cell. ¡°Suck your cock?¡± Ziba chanced, being deathly serious. ¡°What if I refuse?¡± He said crooking his mouth. Why in all hells would you refuse that? She hang her head in despair. This floor is horribly dirty, she thought, the random detail confusing her. ¡°Ye need a better plan.¡± Ziba sniffled and got up slowly. ¡°This is all I know,¡± She admitted. ¡°What¡¯s it like to be free?¡± ¡°Life is hard, there¡¯s no running away from it.¡± ¡°Where are you from?¡± Ziba asked and the grizzly man walked to his bench and sat down. ¡°Ballard,¡± He rustled, looking at his hands. Cuts and marks on them, up to his thick wrists. A couple of his fingers crooked as if they¡¯d been broken before and never healed up proper. ¡°What¡¯s it like?¡± Ziba probed and went to sit next to him, putting her small hand on his. ¡°It¡¯s a tidy place, a yard shaded by lemon trees. Rochestab River at the near, its banks all green, all maners of trees sprouting everywhere. Hot in the summer, but not like this,¡± He commented. ¡°It¡¯s very far from here.¡± ¡°When was the last time you saw it?¡± ¡°Nigh fifteen years.¡± ¡°Why did you leave?¡± ¡°I made a mistake, tried to atone for it,¡± The man from Ballard, wherever that was, answered. ¡°Failed at that too.¡± ¡°Is this what free people do?¡± Ziba probed. ¡°Fail?¡± ¡°Sometimes. It makes winning the more sweet.¡± Ziba liked that. She smiled. ¡°What else?¡± ¡°Travel, learn to love and built things. Fix wrongs.¡± Ziba thought about it. Traveling sounded nice as well. See the Realm, perhaps build something of her own, to last well after she was gone. Eh, the other stuff not so much. ¡°Sounds nice,¡± Ziba said simply. Dreams are cheap, Hasti always said. She sighed and wiped her running nose with a hand. Everything on her sticky. The man was staring at her intently. ¡°Will he keep his word?¡± He asked her. Ziba thought about it. ¡°If he wins and makes coin, probably.¡± ¡°About you, was my meaning.¡± ¡°Ahm,¡± Ziba blinked and looked into his rugged face. ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡± Ziba realized, she¡¯d never asked for his name.
The man from a faraway place called Ballard got up, pulling his hands away. She was holding on to him all this time. He pushed his wild hair back, black mixed in with plenty of grey and grimaced, as if fighting with himself. An internal battle whether to commit, or not. A moment went by, then another, until he turned and stilled those black eyes on her so intently, Ziba almost fainted right then and there. ¡°What is it you want, lass?¡± He asked all serious, as if testing her. So the alluring young slave answered truthfully and from her heart. ¡°I want to taste this freedom, see and feel it. Build a myth,¡± Ziba-Ra ¡®the Pearl of Ani Ta-Ne¡¯ had said and just like that Lanista Paikan¡¯s modest Ludus entered the most famous chapter of its history. - Embellished by Lord Sirio Veturius Circa 206 NC The Fall of Heroes Chapter XXIV (Sir Emerson Lennox, Tales of Greenwhale Peninsula -Pale Jackal & the Pearl- Last month of summer, 189 NC)
END OF ~ACT II~ The Allure of War
133. Realm’s ugliest peacock
I can see their coat of arms, the Legion crimson banners alike ours, and yer own bloody brothers and sisters over there! This isn¡¯t for my late father, or his vile wife. It isn¡¯t for any Alden, nor a Holt and no O¡¯ Dargan. Nor for my son, or your sons and daughters and all those we left buried in ice and mud. It isn¡¯t for the dead, or a misbegotten sense of vengeance for wrongs done unto me, or you, yer families back North, or here in the bloody south! I asked nothing of you for years, But I shall ask you this, This day and on this field, Win here, Win now, FOR REGIA! Legatus Lucius Alden, Speaking to his Legion, Before the Battle of the Lorian Plains, The grasslands south of Islandport, First month of winter, 194 NC ¡ª There¡¯s a dark shadow over New Goras. A King beyond the Pale Mountains. Rumors abound, people have seen an Onyx Wyvern. Karit Tsuparin Reporting to Prince Atpa, Late summer, 194 NC ¡ª It¡¯s a simple query Glenavon. What¡¯s thy black heart¡¯s desire? State it, so I can convey mine. Imperial Princess Lithoniela of Baltoris, Presumably speaking, to Lord Garth Aniculo. Unknown date
THE OLD REALMS ~ACT III~ The Wings of Fate -Volume I-
Glen (Garth Aniculo) Realm¡¯s ugliest peacock
This was such a wholesome memory, Glen just had to start all over again, but when he did, he kinda forgot about it and the dream turned real. Best spot, Glen thought, tear in his eye, mess of a head buried in Sen¡¯s large bust, overcome with utter bliss. She pulled him closer even, fit right leg some-fuckin-how over his left shoulder, ball of her foot at the side of his neck, ringed toes curled inwards for purchase, a miracle of bloody gymnastics, if there ever was one, every furious thrust lost inside her wet velvety crevice. The tempo devastating. The woman¡¯s urging constant. Oii lover! That¡¯s me, Glen thought, big grin on his face, sweating from every pore of his skin, their bodies turning slippery, alike fresh fish in Shroudcoast¡¯s market, -nigh impossible to snatch them out of the plaguin¡¯ bucket- the difference being they both were feverish to the touch, their cores burning up. Sen¡¯s husky indulgent voice in his ear, sternly entreating even more effort. Faster! Gods dammit, the former thief thought, struggling to meet up the demand, though eager as a starving rabbit attacking an apple, dazed, confused and in need for more air, the soft mounds suffocating, desperate mouth opening and closing under her soaked neck. Harrder! The bed creaked, mattress sinking into the boards, the latter separating, the hapless furniture hopping about, on the verge of coming apart, his mouth discovering an engorged nipple, the prey as slippery as the woman underneath him, gold bar clinking on his teeth and dancing away. Sen bit the tip of his nose warningly, pearly teeth sinking just enough to keep him centered, as he pounded away with the lower part of his body, emptying all he had into the effort, letting out a mighty bellow in the tail end of it that probably woke up half of Rida. Mmm, my sweet-sweet Glenavon, Sen purred satisfied, as he collapsed on her utterly spend and in blissful happiness. She smells so damn good, he thought smiling and drooling at the same time, must be all that oils ¡®n stuff, his head finding that perfect spot again. I¡¯m pleasantly surprised, his wife teased, locking her left leg behind his waist, the sheets under them a soaked mess. Was it pleasing for you? For the ages, Glen thought, unable to speak, or form more complex thoughts and halfway to the land of dreams already, Sen¡¯s long nails tracing patterns on his toned back, quite obliging on that part. He felt completely drained, in a good way. Want to go again? Sen-Iv asked innocently and Glen snapped out of his reverie alarmed. Never trust a woman¡¯s question, if it comes out of the blue and doesn¡¯t leave wiggle-room for an easy denial. Sure, just give me a couple of minutes, he croaked and tried to lift his head, but she kept him trapped there, ever pressing with her foot his nappe, the angle impossible, the toes feeling hard and suddenly cold to the touch. What in the slovenly fuck? Glen wondered and tried to get away, but the pressure insisted on his neck, hurting now and unrelenting. Stop. Garth, Sen huffed, sounding strangled. ¡®How could you possibly know?¡¯ The handsome creature asked in a man¡¯s voice. ¡®All that did are long gone.¡¯ Eyes turning all black. ¡®Dead.¡¯ Huh? ¡®Is that really you?¡¯ Oh, ye gotta be fuckin¡¯ kidding me! This isn¡¯t my plaguin¡¯ dream! ¡°GAAH!¡± Glen cried and tumbled over, his back losing purchase on the saddle, face sinking in soft warm sand. Tons of sand. It got into his nose, could feel it on his teeth, as he jumped up, wildly thrashing about trying to clean himself up and keep any danger away. He was drenched in sweat and smelling like a horse and took him a good minute for his eyes to adjust to the dark. The moment they did a light flashed and almost turned him blind again. ¡°ARGH!¡± He croaked the pain waking him up for good. ¡°Ah, apologies dear Garth,¡± Flix said, standing next to him and Glen jumped away panicked, the Gish¡¯s wrinkled face too horrifying an image, after such a fantastic dream sequence. ¡°Aged lightstone takes a moment to act.¡± ¡°For fuck¡¯s sake, Flix!¡± Glen protested, slapping his pants to get some of the sand off of him, simultaneously spitting bitter grit his tongue kept dislodging from his teeth. ¡°Give me a plaguin¡¯ moment to get my bearings first!¡± ¡°You were making worrying sounds,¡± Flix defended himself, following after him, as Glen headed towards their horses to get some water. ¡°What sounds?¡± Flix hesitated. ¡°Unnatural?¡± Glen eyed him, while he gulped down the contents of his flask. ¡°Twas a dream.¡± ¡°A nightmare?¡± Flix probed, with utter disregard for a person¡¯s privacy. Since Glen was a bit like that, he could forgive him that, while offering him no further details. Glen¡¯s tongue refusing to follow commands messing up the plan. ¡°My wife,¡± he croaked. ¡°The Cofol woman,¡± Flix said. ¡°You miss her.¡± ¡°I worry about her,¡± Glen admitted. ¡°It¡¯s not a safe journey.¡± ¡°What about your other friends?¡± ¡°The dwarf? Huh, yeah, I¡¯m not worrying about him,¡± Stiles, he¡¯d almost forgotten completely and Jinx was nigh unkillable. ¡°Gish, dwarfs and soldiers,¡± Flix said, lighting up his pipe, the rich aroma reaching Glen, the desert around them quiet and dark. The ruined city not that far from where they¡¯d camped, twice that and sinister on top. ¡°That¡¯s a colorful crowd you got there, young man.¡± ¡°I traveled a lot,¡± Glen replied, as if that explained everything. ¡°Hmm.¡± ¡°How much time until morning?¡± Glen asked him. ¡°Hours. We need to get moving though.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll get the horses ready,¡± Glen offered. ¡°I¡¯ll break camp,¡± Flix replied with a toothy smile. ¡°But I ain¡¯t carrying your saddle. My back is bothering me again.¡± Glen called bullshit on that last part.
Glen tied up the saddle and then double checked the leather straps, just in case. One fall was enough for him to learn that particular lesson. He still carried the bruise. Examined the bags one by one and even -the empty now- hemp sack, containing what was left from Jinx¡¯s egg. The large shell pieces sharp, but also fewer in number than one would expect for such a big egg. Everyone seemed to think this old relic had treasure in it, or some mythical fuckin¡¯ beast, but it was a worthless piece of junk that had almost gotten him killed, as far as Glen was concerned. What do you think? He asked Gimoss.
Hearing your lustful moans was disturbing. I don¡¯t want to talk about it.
I meant about the egg, Glen said, thankful Flix couldn¡¯t hear him, jumping on the saddle. Outlaw snorted loudly in protest, probably half-asleep.
Then you should have said so. What am I, a fuckin¡¯ Seer?
You know what? Suck a bag of caramel dicks, Glen retorted annoyed. Only wait, you can¡¯t. You¡¯re dead!
Ahahaha! And you¡¯re fucked.
As if he would fall for that crap again. Gimoss had used it, one time too many. Glen raised his middle finger in response, pointed it all around him just in case he missed Gimoss and kicked his legs to start Outlaw towards Flix, who was waiting for him further ahead, with the rest of their animals. Heavily laden, as they had lost the Cofol horse a couple of weeks back. Or three. RREEEE ¡°The fuck?¡± Glen cursed and twisted on the saddle to locate the source of the scream. ¡°You heard that?¡± He called on Flix, the Gish burning through his second pipe of the day. Night¡­ whatever. ¡°Hear what?¡± Flix asked blinking. ¡°I was dozing off a bit. Dark tires my eyes I¡¯m afraid¡ª¡± ¡°Yeah, okay,¡± Glen cut him off not interested in his act. ¡°Something screamed out of the dark.¡± ¡°Like a jackal?¡± ¡°Do jackals scream?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so. Perhaps a small one?¡±If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Glen sighed and approached him. ¡°It sounded weird.¡± ¡°A bird? Birds are weird,¡± Flix chanced. ¡°Wait, what kind of scream?¡± He looked around worried. ¡°What? You¡¯ve seen something?¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± Glen glared at him. ¡°You kinda freaking me out here, Gish.¡± Flix sucked on his pipe and exhaled the smoke thoughtfully. ¡°Let¡¯s keep our ears open.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°A mere precaution,¡± he clicked his tongue to start their mounts going. The ruined city still as a tomb. ¡°You¡¯re not exactly helping, seeing as we¡¯re heading into a bloody scary ruin Gish!¡± Glen protested, looking about them all tensed up. Flix grimaced. ¡°Scary? It¡¯s a ruin. There¡¯s nothing there, probably.¡± ¡°You see there? That last part, where ye sneak a word in, is what worries me the most,¡± Glen griped shaking his head. ¡°The city is dead, Garth,¡± the Gish repeated his mantra. ¡°The more you say it, the more ominous it sounds. And ye call me Garth one more time, I¡¯m starting calling you Felix.¡± Flix reached in his bags, got a bolt out and smacked him once on the thigh, using it as a stick, as they were riding side by side. ¡°Hey!¡± Glen warned him. ¡°You started this whole shit!¡± ¡°That¡¯s a cat¡¯s name,¡± Flix countered. ¡°Garth means Keeper in the old tongue.¡± Right. ¡°Well, Felix is a pretty noble cat name,¡± he defended his moniker. ¡°Truly?¡± ¡°Well yeah, where I¡¯m from it is,¡± Glen lied, thinking of that port cat, half its fur fallen away, pink arse exposed, one-eyed and mean as fuck. ¡°But fine, I¡¯m a big enough person not to use it again.¡± ¡°Gratitude Garth,¡± Flix deadpanned.
If Lebesos was a big city once, it looked nothing like it now. As a matter fact, half of the half buried ancient buildings were missing, the moment they crossed one of the many openings at the collapsed walls. ¡°The desert moves,¡± Flix explained, busy cleaning his pipe. ¡°The city interior never stays the same.¡± Glen stared at the straight standing limestone walls, on every side of the street they were traversing. The fine sand covering and soothing out details, the strong moonlight creating long shadows of the buildings sprouting out right and left. No windows, or doors, soulless and silent. Nothing moving but the twirling sand, as a soft wind gushed through the empty streets. ¡°You¡¯ve been here before?¡± Glen queried, checking every corner of the variously sunken houses, others covered to their strange square hipped roofs tip, the rest left the last floor visible, the dark openings of ancient verandas and double-door windows dark and foreboding. ¡°I have, it¡¯s been over a hundred years, I guess,¡± Flix replied, choking up a bit at the end. Probably realizing everyone he knew was dead, Glen decided, then shivered at the thought. ¡°You okay there, Flix?¡± The old Gish wiped his eyes and nodded. ¡°I had a human with me back then as well,¡± he said stopping, as Glen had jumped from Outlaw in the meantime, to investigate what looked like the large front of a villa. ¡°What was he doing here?¡± ¡°Exploring,¡± Flix chuckled at the memory. ¡°Looking for stuff.¡± ¡°Treasure?¡± The Gish nodded, watching him looking inside the dark interior. ¡°Treasure.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± Glen murmured, tasting the ancient dust-covered floor with his boot. Then he stepped on it. Nothing creaked ominously, the dark dissolving as his lightstone lit up the empty room. Everything had turned to dust it seemed. ¡°There¡¯s engravings on the walls,¡± he said, raising his voice. ¡°A Zilan talking with a very tall dude, a dog riding a donkey. Haha.¡± ¡°Lebesos was abandoned way before my time Garth,¡± Flix was heard from outside. Glen walked out of the sunken building shaking his head. ¡°Yeah, still we may get lucky,¡± he said, walking towards Outlaw. ¡°Do people visit, you think?¡± ¡°There¡¯s the old gardens up ahead, where the springs were,¡± Flix explained. ¡°Now the place has collapsed, ponds turned into swamp, but water still comes out.¡± ¡°People still visit,¡± Glen translated. Greedy ruffians had probably stripped the place clean, of any decent loot. Fucking crooks are the bane of humanity! ¡°We sleep near the swamps?¡± Flix put the pipe on his mouth and lit it. ¡°What do you think?¡± The Gish asked testing him. Glen smacked his lips, thinking about it. ¡°Snakes?¡± ¡°Among other things,¡± the Gish expounded. Making great points. ¡°Stay in the city,¡± Glen agreed.
Two hours later, the sun slowly coming up, they had replenished their water, left the horses graze their fill at the bushes near the muddy ponds, which was located at the other end of the fairly decent sized ancient city, where the limestone knolls stood; the former gardens buried under tons of sand, as the desert slowly, but surely was winning this battle. Lebesos had the size of Castalor, minus the ports in Glen¡¯s assessment. Right. Back to work then. There was another floor, under the one they had picked for their temporary base, the sand-buried ancient avenue leading to the misty, labyrinth-like and insect infested ¡®Gardens¡¯ a five minute walk away. This building sturdier, than those of the streets nearer to the walls and government-like, its massive central hall, half buried under the fine grit pouring through the many eastside windows and its roof, while riddled with large holes, still standing and offering shade. At the end of the half-filled up hall and the broken double doors, leading to the interior, Glen had found stairs leading down. He followed them and reached a narrow corridor, thirty steps down, dust and long-dead spider webs everywhere, the air heavy. The lightstone he had in his hand, was the biggest gift to thievery, he decided, cleaning his face from webs and dead bugs, too big for his likes. He tried the first door, the black, once lacquered wood creaking and resisting. Glen cursed and kicked it hard, dust covering him, his eyes burning. He started coughing and got the dagger out to pry the lock open.
There¡¯s a skeleton inside.
¡°What?¡± Glen stopped and stared at the decrepit door, then at the one further ahead, the corridor too dark, the roof above him too ancient, to risk it going further in. ¡°How do you know?¡±
Took a guess? A-ha. AHAHAHA!
¡°Stop distracting me while I¡¯m working, you crazy fuck!¡± Glen warned Gimoss and stooped to push the tip of the dagger into the rusty and almost melted-away lock. RRRE The sound reverberated inside the closed space and Glen flinched and whipped around completely, eyes narrowed. He pointed the lightstone on the cracked walls, through webs and ancient dust, this way and that. ¡°What in Luthos shriveled cock was that?¡± He asked in alarm, then yelled even louder. ¡°Flix!¡± RRRR Nearer now. Glen reached for the sword on his back, stopped mid-move deciding against it and backtracked towards the stairs instead and the light coming from above. Not much, but better than the darkness of this ¨Conce upon a time- first floor, turned into basement and whatever creepy beast, had made it its nest. ¡°FLIX FOR FUCK¡¯S SAKE!¡± He bellowed retreating towards the base of the stairs and upon reaching them, rushed to climb the ancient stone tiles, taking them two at a time and even three at once, as panic set in.
AHAHAHA!
Glen burst upstairs, boots slipping on the dusty floor, covered head to toe in white webbing and breathing heavier than a pregnant mare. ¡°What happened?¡± Flix asked seeing him, doubled over to catch his breath, head turned towards the opening leading downstairs to keep watch for the beast lurking in the darkness. ¡°Did you fall down?¡± The Gish asked and walked unhurriedly towards him. ¡°Give me a moment,¡± Glen replied, gulping down as much air, as he possibly could, sweat rivulets running down his powdered-like face. ¡°There¡¯s¡­ something¡­ down there.¡± ¡°A snake?¡± Flix guessed, reaching for his pipe calmly. ¡°Are you fuckin¡¯ serious?¡± Glen snapped. ¡°You¡¯re gonna smoke right now?¡± Flix puffed at the pipe to get it working fully and then offered it to him. ¡°It¡¯s for you.¡± Glen snorted, glared at him and then grabbed it and sucked hard on the tip, almost dropping it immediately as his teeth and tongue flared up. ¡°Good grief!¡± He coughed, as the smoke got into his lungs and the room started moving, the floor underneath turning to a ship¡¯s deck, during a storm. ¡°An earthquake, fuck, we¡¯re doomed!¡± he mumbled, stumbling a couple of feet away, Flix running after him to get the pipe out of his hands and pick up the dagger he¡¯d dropped without realizing it. Wow, I can¡¯t feel my jaw. ¡°Stay still,¡± he advised him, sheathing the dagger on his waist and Glen, shifting this way and that, tried to look at him all serious, but failed. ¡°I am,¡± the young former thief explained. ¡°It¡¯s you, who¡¯s moving.¡±
Quick, run to the wall! Full sprint!
¡°Why?¡± Glen asked too dazed to comprehend what had gotten Gimoss so excited about, Flix frowning at his words and then shaking his head.
Put your head down and go through it! See what¡¯s on the other side!
What? Are ye sure? Glen tried to wipe his face, but almost poked his right eye out with a thumb and cursed, as it took him a couple of tries to get control of his flailing hand.
Yep. It¡¯s an illusion. Trust me.
Glen frowned, the world slowing down around him, his mouth dry and a bit numb. Walking gingerly he reached the exit and turned his head away, the bright light hurting his eyes. ¡°Right,¡± Flix said, with a chuckle. ¡°Now that you calmed down. Tell me what happened.¡± ¡°How do you smoke this shit?¡± Glen griped, his head still heavy. ¡°Helps with soreness. Back, knees, larynx,¡± the Gish replied with a shrug. Seeing him not buying it, he added. ¡°It¡¯s an acquired taste.¡± Right.
So is cocksucking. Wager you, he offers same reason.
Shut up! Glen grimaced, to control his temper and eyed the Gish suspiciously. ¡°I heard that scream again¡­ screechy, whiney sound,¡± he scrunched his nose, found a dangling piece of web stuck on it and carefully wiped it away. ¡°It was creepy.¡± ¡°Should we go and check it out?¡± ¡°You know what?¡± Glen decided without hesitation. ¡°Let¡¯s don¡¯t. Plenty of empty houses. Let¡¯s just move. Across the street.¡± ¡°Sure, Garth,¡± Flix replied, with a chuckle and walked past him to get outside. Glen shook his head, Outlaw snorted, a mule farted, which made Flix chuckle even more and a strange creature climbed out of the opening, Glen had just escaped from. It stood on two large ¨Cfor its size- hind-legs, elongated torso ending on a snake¡¯s tail of sorts, on one end and a thin longish neck that had a wedge-shaped head, small horns protruding from it. The creature paused seeing him stare at it open-mouthed, burgundy eyes huge ¨Cfor the head- with a golden slit on them and opened wide its wiry forelegs of sorts, leathery bat-like and membranous wings fused on them, colored a light green. If that was an attempt to scare Glen, it failed spectacularly. Sir Glenavon never cowered to anything, he towered over by a meter. At least. ¡°Wow,¡± Glen said and blew away a dead bug hanging from his upper lip. ¡°What the godsfather are you?¡± The small creature, a hand taller than a chicken ¨Ctwo at the most-, opened its toothy, ugly mouth wide, as if to growl, but it snorted instead, gurgled and then sneezed hard, its head toppling forward, the momentum too big, wings flapping desperately, but providing no lift. With a crying hiss it planted its snout on the hard tiles, bounced once and remained there, looking at Glen miserably. ¡°Haha,¡± Glen guffawed, unable to contain himself. ¡°Ahahaha, that¡¯s the funniest shit I¡¯ve seen all year!¡±
Are you insane? Knife that little bastard, whilst you have the chance!
¡°Zip it, Gimoss,¡± Glen snapped and walked towards the hapless creature to examine it, more closely. Its body was covered with blue-black scales that reminded him of Jinx¡¯s egg. No way, he thought. Nah. Then again¡­ ¡°Flix, you got to see this buddy!¡± He yelled and stooped to help it up. The creature jumped on his face the moment he grabbed it with both hands, wiry forelegs and wings extending and flapping madly, smacking him repeatedly on both ears, hammer-like head head-butting him once right at the nose, one of the small horns piercing the skin. RRREEEEE!! ¡°ARGH!¡± Glen cried and tried to keep the small bastard away, blood running down his chin, all furious. ¡°You stupid ugly turd!¡± He grabbed it by the neck with his right hand and putting his shoulder behind it, hurled the creature out of the door, right over Flix¡¯s head, the Gish stopping dead in his tracks, as it flew over him and into the road screeching like a¡­ REEEEEEEEEEEE ¡°Goddess,¡± Flix gasped, his old face turning pale and prostrated himself immediately, while Glen, a hand on his bleeding nose, ogled the old fool¡¯s shenanigans nigh perturbed. ¡°A Wyvern,¡± Flix said reverently, his mouth kissing the floor. Ah. Yeah, Glen thought. It makes sense.
¡°Buc¡­ Buchaw!¡± Glen called, as loud as he could, looking up and down the street, a twisted piece of torn cloth inserted in his right nostril, making him sound a bit funny. ¡°It¡¯s not a chicken, Garth,¡± Flix reminded him again, standing next to him. The small wyvern had disappeared, by the time Glen had managed to extricate the Gish from the floor. ¡°I¡¯ve used all the animal calls I know,¡± Glen retorted pissed. ¡°Didn¡¯t see you offering much help?¡± ¡°How is cat and chickens voices, any help at all?¡± The Gish probed, then narrowed his red-rimmed eyes and stared towards the ancient gardens. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Entice it? What does it eat?¡± Glen saw him looking the other way and turned, the three riders, carrying the desert on their clothes stopping in turn, when they saw them standing in their path. ¡°We heard ye calling,¡± one of them said. Thick brows over dark eyes, the rest of his face covered with a dust-covered cloth. He looked towards his two companions, Glen noticed they all had curved bows on their saddles and wooden quivers, packed with arrows. ¡°It¡¯s been a hard road, are ye willing to share yer chicken? We won¡¯t harm ye, or yer mother.¡± Glen stood up straighter and caught out the corner of his eye, Flix smiling happy. The Gish had his arms crossed on his chest, to look more motherly. Luthos laughed so hard, He fell from his stand. ¡°We don¡¯t have a chicken, friends,¡± Glen said, eyeing them. If they were Horselords, there could be more of them. Not that three, was not enough of a trouble. ¡°Any bird will suffice,¡± the Cofol said, a practical man apparently. ¡°Would you eat a peacock?¡± Glen retorted with a grin, a test to keep the conversation going. They were too exposed out on the street, the entrance to their building four meters to his right. ¡°Reckon I will, if yer offering,¡± the Cofol replied, returning his stare knowingly. ¡°It ain¡¯t worth spilling blood about it, stranger.¡± Yeah, Glen thought, agreeing wholeheartedly. The problem was, the man was stalling shamelessly, which meant there were more of them, trying to get into position. The Cofols were as surprised finding them here, as they were.
Two more.
Thanks Gimoss. ¡°There¡¯s two more,¡± he whispered, so only Flix could hear him and raised a hand to get the Cofol¡¯s attention. ¡°I agree, friend. We have dried meat. Enough for all of you.¡± And dry biscuits. Really dry. Stone like. Nobody would ever get enticed about them though, so he left them out. A bunch of stuff happened in the next few seconds. The Cofol narrowed his eyes, Glen¡¯s friendly demeanor wrong-footing him. The rider behind him murmured in his tongue, the leading Cofol turning his head as if to admonish him, while Glen caught something black jumping from the building roof next to theirs and went for his sword. The third Cofol Horselord saw him moving -they were only ten meters apart- and dropped his right hand to pull an arrow out of his horse¡¯s quiver. Glen dashed forward, fully aware he had no armour on, made two strides, the archer already nocking an arrow, a black screeching ball landing on the first rider¡¯s head, his horse reacting in panic, front legs rising and kicking out. The archer hesitated, Glen cut left hard, as he run at full sprint, getting the large animal between him and his opponent to block his field of view. Glen skated under the panicked horse¡¯s legs, just as the leading Cofol started screaming in turn, to match the small wyvern¡¯s sharp shrieks, the Cofol that had distracted him already dead in a pool of his own blood, right at the legs of his horse, an iron bolt sticking out of his left eye. The archer let loose of his arrow, the angle horrible, as Glen had rounded them, stooped under their horses and he missed. RRREEEEEE The man cursed, scimitar in hand and pulled hard at the reins to turn his mount away. His friend, face a horror mask, both eyes gouged out and covered in blood, was still trying to dislodge the small fiendish creature off his ravaged dome. Luthos struggled to get up, ¡®n cracked his head wit the iron cup. Fuck it, Glen thought and rolled behind the dead man¡¯s horse, a dust cloud raised around the animals hooves, the Cofol cursing and kicking to turn his horse, spotting him as he came at a stop and nimbly stood up. The large horse came at him snorting, mouth and teeth caked in muddy froth. Glen danced away from the man¡¯s downward cut, slashed open the lower part of his right leg, cutting through his boot. The Cofol cried out and tried to turn his horse again, Glen sidestepping in a semi-circle, always on the move, the terrain favoring him. ¡°GET IT OFF ME!¡± His friend pleaded fully desperate now, the voice cut right at the end and Glen seeing the doubt in his opponent¡¯s eyes jumped him. The Cofol made to cut the charging former thief, but he¡¯d covered the distance fast and managed to put his shoulder under his elbow blocking the attempt. A push and pull send the mounted archer down on his back, the drop ugly, despite the softness of the golden sand covering the ancient street. Glen neared him, as he tried to slither away and kicked his wrist hard to force him to give up his weapon, misjudged his strength, felt and heard the sickening sound of bone breaking underneath his sole. Oh, crap. ¡°ARGGH! Curse ye!¡± The man cried in Cofol probably and Glen would have apologized, but Flix appeared out of nowhere, moving very agile for a retiree with fuckin¡¯ arthritis, kneeled on a knee, muttering something under his breath and punched an iron bolt, just under the archer¡¯s chin killing him. Good grief! Glen thought shocked. Flix snorted and got up, then glanced towards the sole still breathing rider -Glen following his stare- when the latter toppled from his horse, landing even worse than his dead friend had, the little shit jumping on his still body, what appeared to be a large torn piece of bloody tongue of all darn things, gripped between its smallish black, but pretty sharp teeth. The baby wyvern returned Glen¡¯s stare, looking half-pissed and doubly smug, then gulped down the chunk of flesh, burped loudly and jumped on the bloody mess of the Horselord, walked on clumsy hind-legs, wiry bat-like arms opened wide, its wingspan impressive, ugly head pointed to the heavens and let out a solid roar-like shriek. RRRRRRREEE The scaly black snout ever rising proudly, ebony forked tongue flapping, jaws opening impossibly wide and black glass-like fangs gleaming in the desert sun. Then the disproportionately heavy wedged head reached the point of no return, the momentum too great and gravity ever pulling it back, until the wyvern couldn¡¯t hold it, huge burgundy eyes ogling panicked and the small creature toppled backwards this time. It landed unceremoniously on its back, the roar cut short. Wow, Glen thought, that¡¯s pure fuckin¡¯ comedy. Hahaha.
Yep, you got it right.
Gimoss agreed, with a sigh.
That¡¯s one ugly idiot.
Flix came to stand next to him, the old Gish now in the process of reloading his small metallic crossbow. ¡°There¡¯s two more,¡± the Gish said nonchalantly, as if nothing that had just happened was even mildly interesting. ¡°I can¡¯t use the shadows, so I need you to create a distraction, nothing much, just sort of be the bait.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± Glen replied absentmindedly and went to pick the small whimpering creature up, pausing mid-move, a deep frown on his face. ¡°Wait wut¡­ wait a gods-darn-minute here! What was that last part?¡±
Baby Wyvern artwork BKV 134. What lurks in wait…
Glen (Garth Aniculo) What lurks in wait¡­
The small wyvern climbed on his back and used its twin talon-like fingers to grasp at his deltoids for purchase, tail wrapped around Glen¡¯s waist for extra support, when it found a good spot. Its ugly head protruding over his right shoulder. Nostrils blowing air into his ear. ¡°Stay still now, here they come,¡± Glen said, watching the two riders slowing down upon noticing their friends¡¯ bodies and the armed stranger blocking their way. GRRR The older of the two, a grey-bearded Cofol with lined hard eyes, nocked an arrow on his bow and raised it. ¡°Your friends made the same mistake,¡± Glen warned him, wild curly hair covered in spider-webs, a disconcerting smirk on his tanned face, the cloth sticking out of his nose, completing the disturbing outlook. Glen hadn¡¯t gone for it, but in a vacuum, he looked like a crazy person. The old Cofol narrowed his eyes, probably noticing the wyvern¡¯s head moving next to his. His brows shooting up, when he realized the creature wasn¡¯t going to attack Glen. Little did he know Glen himself wasn¡¯t a hundred percent certain about that. ¡°You did this?¡± The old warrior asked, staring at the carnage. ¡°I had help,¡± Glen replied. ¡°But yeah. Shit happened.¡± ¡°You admit this savagery?¡± ¡°Listen¡­ friend,¡± Glen said warningly. ¡°They attacked us. Twas a disastrous lapse in judgement on their part.¡± ¡°What¡¯s yer name?¡± ¡°Garth.¡± ¡°What manner of name is that?¡± The Horselord asked. ¡°Ask my mother,¡± Glen deadpanned. A tile slid down the roof from the building directly to their right and landed on the street with a dull thud, disturbing horses and riders. ¡°Ah, there she is. Say hello mum,¡± Glen added with a toothy grin, both riders twisting on their saddles to check their flank, the old Cofol leader blinking shocked, seeing the short old woman aiming a loaded crossbow on them, from atop the half-sunken building¡¯s rooftop. Flix raised his left arm in greeting, keeping the weapon trained on them with his right. RRRREEEEE The small wyvern¡¯s sudden screech almost blew Glen¡¯s eardrum off. ¡°What in all gods ye have there? What are you doing here?¡± The old Horselord queried worried, eyes gawking, doubly nervous now. ¡°What is this abomination?¡± ¡°A small wyvern,¡± Glen replied without hesitation. ¡°Worry not, it has had its fill already.¡± The Old Cofol glanced down at his friend¡¯s ravaged bloody face, recoiled and put his arrow away. His friend doing the same. ¡°You¡¯ll let us go?¡± He hissed, through clenched teeth. ¡°Sure. I¡¯ve killed my quota for the day.¡± ¡°We may come back,¡± the Horselord warned. ¡°Haha, please do,¡± Glen retorted, grinning like a maniac. ¡°You¡¯ll get to meet the rest of my family.¡± Both his opponents stood up straighter and glanced at each other. ¡°What about the horses? We need the supplies,¡± the old Cofol haggled, sounding desperate. ¡°We keep the spotted grey. Take the other two,¡± Glen countered, with a merchant¡¯s smirk. The old Cofol nodded, looking at him up and down. Made to say something, glanced a last time at the hissing wyvern and turned his horse with a grimace. His friend took hold of the reins of the spare horses and they rode away, covered in a thick dust cloud. The wyvern burped and sniffed Glen¡¯s earlobe, slimy forked tongue tickling it. ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it,¡± Glen warned and turned hearing Flix approaching. The Gish stooped and started dragging his feet, the moment Glen twisted his head. ¡°You know, yer not convincing at all, right?¡± Glen mocked. Flix blinked and feinted surprise. ¡°I¡¯ve no idea what you¡¯re talking about.¡± ¡°Uhm, right.¡± ¡°Why did you let you them go? I had a good angle,¡± Flix probed, seeming unhappy. ¡°Not to mention climbing atop the roof. My thighs are on fire.¡± ¡°No reason to kill them.¡± ¡°They had supplies, you just gave away.¡± ¡°I did.¡± ¡°Word will spread, Garth. They will tell it again and again, if they make it out of the desert,¡± The Gish pointed out. ¡°People will come to see for themselves.¡± ¡°Perhaps they will. Thing is, every time the story is told, it will be different. More outlandish,¡± Glen replied and removed the bloody piece of cloth from his right nostril. ¡°We¡¯re not going to live in the desert forever. Or hide in the ruins.¡± ¡°Obscurity, or infamy,¡± Flix murmured and used the small leather loop to hang his crossbow on the hook under his armpit. The Gish wore three different weapon harnesses, underneath his female garbs. ¡°Ayup,¡± Glen agreed, channeling Marcus¡¯ favorite expression.
¡°How did you know?¡± Flix asked, while stripping the dead from anything valuable. Glen was busy trying to entice the baby wyvern with a hard-tack biscuit. Hard wasn¡¯t used loosely here. If you dropped the darn thing amidst the grit and small rocks, you couldn¡¯t discern it from the latter. Hardest food ever created bar none. ¡°Know what?¡± Glen said, moving the biscuit in front of the creature¡¯s face. ¡°How many they were,¡± Flix said, tasting a curved dagger on his arm. ¡°Hmm,¡± Glen turned to look at him. ¡°Remember Gimoss?¡± ¡°What about him?¡± ¡°He¡¯s around, talks from time to time,¡± Glen explained. Flix tossed the dagger casually into an open sack, he had set a couple of meters away. ¡°Gimoss is a dead myth, Garth,¡± he said without looking at him. ¡°So what? People are wrong all the time about stuff, Flix.¡± ¡°Dead,¡± Flix repeated. ¡°Unalive.¡± ¡°Sure¡­ darn it!¡± Glen flinched away, feeling the wyvern¡¯s teeth on his gloved thumb. ¡°Let go, of the thumb,¡± he warned the little bastard and it kept its burgundy eyes on Glen, while biting down a bit more, trying to penetrate the hard leather. Glen pulled his hand away and jumped up, but the wyvern kept its grip on it and went along for the ride, while redoubling its efforts to cut through, dangling hind-legs losing the ground, wings flapping and long tail wrapping around his arm. ¡°HEY!¡± Glen blasted it and then remembering the biscuit, he brought it on his mouth and bit on it. ¡°Here! Much better food!¡± Almost lost a tooth in the attempt, but the creature was now eyeing the biscuit with interest. Glen dropped it on the ground. The wyvern, always tracking it with hungry eyes, let go of his thumb and dived for it, found the dense biscuit amidst the desert sands and started chomping at it, with manic enthusiasm. ¡°Wow,¡± Glen thought, the gridding down of the hard piece impressive. ¡°You know what?¡± He told the chomping creature. ¡°I¡¯ll call ye Biscuit henceforth. Ayup.¡±
Hahahaha! This idiot already has a name you buffoon!
¡°What is it?¡± Glen asked and went to bring more biscuits from their horses.
How should I know? If yer a real Keeper, you should know it already.
Whatever, Glen thought and grabbed a handful of biscuits from their supplies and turned to return, jumping back scared, as the creature had followed him and was now eyeing him judgmentally. RRRR ¡°Hey,¡± Glen replied, puffing out to calm himself down. ¡°Don¡¯t ever do this again. This is for you,¡± he dropped another biscuit, putting the others on a side pocket and this time the wyvern snatched it out of the air. ¡°We¡¯ll use Biscuit. It¡¯s a fitting name.¡± RRRR ¡°There it likes it,¡± he decided.
It¡¯s a fuckin¡¯ male, are you blind?
¡°What? How do you know?¡± Glen asked and watched as the small wyvern climbed up his leg, looking all determined, reached his waist and found the pocket with the food and started ripping it away with his talons. ¡°Hey! God darn it, stop!¡± Glen snapped and went to grab it by the neck again. Biscuit moved his neck out of the way nimbly, ripped open Glen tunic¡¯s pocket with a sharp talon, spilling everything down and jumped away, flapping his wings once to land more smoothly, that smug look back in his expressive eyes.
He only has two horns on his forehead? What¡¯s this, amateur hour? Did you pick the job out of an adventuring board?
Uncouth cretin! Glen cursed. ¡°They are always hungry,¡± Flix commented didactically, lit pipe between his lips. ¡°Especially when they are growing.¡± Fantastic, Glen thought rolling his eyes, everyone is a plaguin¡¯ expert! ¡°Hmm,¡± Glen murmured, trying to put his torn tunic shirt back together. A thankless task. ¡°How fast do they grow?¡± He asked. ¡°I¡¯ve only seen them fully developed,¡± Flix replied, staring at the baby wyvern, going after the biscuits with fanatical purpose. ¡°How big?¡± Glen queried and Flix glanced across the street and a half-buried building, at least ten meters in length wall to wall and over three in height. Glen snorted, then looked at the small winged creature. Shaking his head, he stared at the frowning Gish. ¡°I don¡¯t believe you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a pet, Garth.¡± ¡°You want me to leave him behind?¡± ¡°You can¡¯t do that.¡± ¡°Says who?¡± Glen countered. Flix shook his head and then sucked on his pipe long. ¡°Wyvern¡¯s Keeper,¡± he said simply. ¡°You are bonded for life. Your bidding will be his and his wants your¡­ What¡¯s his name?¡± ¡°Biscuit,¡± Glen helped him. Flix grimaced. ¡°That can¡¯t be. What manner of stupid¡­¡± he started, but Glen stopped him. ¡°It works for me. You were saying?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t help you with this task,¡± Flix said with a weary sigh. ¡°I don¡¯t think any human had ever, or Gish¡­ it doesn¡¯t make much sense. Only Elderborns¡ª¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Glen cut him off curious. ¡°Old lines of the Zilan. Since the First Era. I¡­ you are an anomaly,¡± Flix rubbed his forehead troubled. ¡°Or you were lied to,¡± Glen said and walked towards their own building, with a brief stop to pick the sack Flix had filled up. The Gish came after him, with Biscuit watching them from afar still chewing.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°Lied?¡± Flix probed. ¡°Everybody lies,¡± Glen explained. ¡°You were fed a story, it happens all the time. Zilan controlled Wyverns, they had magic, this and that. Bullshit. How do you explain Gimoss?¡± ¡°Gimoss?¡± ¡°He was a Wyvern. How did you say it? From another Realm. Haha. No Zilans there?¡± ¡°We can¡¯t know what happened back then, Garth. This is eons upon eons into the past. You are rushing to conclusions,¡± Flix insisted. ¡°I¡¯m not really,¡± Glen said, walking inside the ancient building. ¡°I have a dagger that does magic shit, a dead wyvern talking to me and a live toddler chewing biscuits out in the street. I¡¯m human,¡± he sighed and licked his lips once. ¡°I¡¯ve used magic in the past.¡± ¡°Who taught you?¡± Flix asked. Uh? ¡°Nobody.¡± ¡°No. You¡¯re missing part of the story, or you¡¯re lying, Garth,¡± the Gish said sternly. ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± ¡°Everybody lies,¡± Flix retorted using his own words and then stopped walking. ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a locked door downstairs,¡± Glen explained. There might be valuables inside. ¡°How is it important?¡± ¡°I¡¯m curious,¡± Glen admitted. ¡°Ebenezer was like that,¡± Flix said, looking at him strangely. ¡°Who was that?¡± The name vaguely familiar. ¡°He wasn¡¯t a Lord, or a knight that¡¯s for sure,¡± the Gish continued. ¡°But you, hmm¡­ what comes after Eikenport?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know yet,¡± Glen said. ¡°If the Khan¡¯s sides with the sorceress, will you fight against her?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve fought the Khan already and Larn,¡± Glen replied, a little annoyed at the old Gish¡¯s queries. ¡°I don¡¯t plan on making it my life¡¯s mission.¡± ¡°What about Altarin?¡± There was that of course. Deflect. ¡°My wife is a Cofol, Gish.¡± ¡°A strange choice.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°You saved the people from turning into slaves, I watched you do it, yet you take a slave as lover,¡± Flix explained. ¡°I don¡¯t understand this.¡± ¡°Sen is not a slave!¡± Glen snapped, the matter thorny. ¡°Didn¡¯t you sign a contract for her? What did you give in return?¡± Glen scrunched his mouth this way and that, the conversation turning very uncomfortable. He puffed out a little exasperated. ¡°You were a slave,¡± he started in a sympathetic tone and Flix narrowed his eyes and crossed both arms on his chest. ¡°So I understand your concern,¡± Glen stopped and rubbed his face hard. ¡°I made a deal, because she asked me to do it.¡± ¡°She asked you,¡± Flix said, not convinced. ¡°It¡¯s the truth.¡± For the most part. The Gish stared at the dark opening leading downstairs. ¡°What do you hope to find?¡± ¡°Gimoss said there¡¯s a skeleton, behind the door,¡± Glen replied. ¡°Wyverns are deceitful, Garth.¡± Great. ¡°Anything else?¡± Glen asked and reached for his lightstone. ¡°You can only fool them once,¡± the Gish replied.
¡°Give me a bit of help here!¡± Glen growled, his shoulder firm on the ancient heavy door, the stubborn hinges creaking, rusted over and also firmly stuck in place. ¡°My back can¡¯t take the stress,¡± Flix argued, standing back. ¡°How about we check one of the other doors?¡± Glen, sweat running down his face, black soot making thin lines down his neck, veins popped and breathing heavy, stopped and glared his way. ¡°I broke the darn lock!¡± ¡°Little good it did,¡± Flix replied and approached the next one, cutting through the spider webbings, round lightstone in hand. Glen puffed out and collapsed on his arse, back on the sturdy ancient door. ¡°What do you think this is? A vault?¡± He queried, reaching for his flask of water. ¡°This is either the second, or third floor. One more hall above us,¡± Flix replied and checked the door with a light push. ¡°Offices?¡± Glen chanced. ¡°Not a palace, close to the Gardens and the main street,¡± Flix said, thinking out loud. ¡°The drawings showing everyday themes.¡± ¡°An inn? Are you kidding me?¡± Glen grimaced and put the flask down. ¡°A Customs Building.¡± ¡°A merchant company,¡± Glen added. Flix rubbed the spot where normal people had a nose and shrugged. ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°Is the door open?¡± Glen queried. ¡°Barred from the inside.¡± ¡°This one isn¡¯t,¡± Glen noted. ¡°Aye, that¡¯s troubling,¡± Flix said and took a step back. ¡°These people barred themselves in. Who does that during a natural catastrophe?¡± ¡°Who says it was a natural event?¡± ¡°No one,¡± Flix yielded and frowned. He¡¯d a small axe in his hands now. ¡°Use this on the hinges.¡± He tossed it to him. It made a loud clanking sound that reverberated inside the underground ruins and Glen picked it up intrigued. The weapon made of steel, curved shaft gleaming, blade sharp and elongated for a typical hatchet, its butt ending sprouting out like the edge of a dagger. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± ¡°A Peleg. A throwing light axe. Very useful,¡± Flix explained. ¡°Also very expensive, don¡¯t lose it. I have it for over twenty decades.¡± Old arse shite. ¡°Can I use it on the rusted iron hinges?¡± Flix stared at him unsure, if he was jesting. ¡°It¡¯s Imperial steel, Garth,¡± he finally said and added. ¡°Of course.¡± Hah. Nice. Glen had the door down in less than five minutes, hacking frenzied at the hinges, teeth clenched in a manic smile.
The small office room was empty. A broken apart desk dominating the space, the chair behind it toppled over ages ago. Unseen walls covered in arm-length thick spider webs, in a circle around the broken furniture, a sole silver letter opener on the marbled floor, blade half-tainted black. Glen cut through the silky nets, blocking the entrance, stepped in and stooped to pick it up. Red, he noticed. Blood. Who defends himself with a letter opener? There was part of an emancipated arm showing behind the broken desk, middle finger sporting a heavy gold signet ring. The skin on the arm, a brilliant white, loose and translucent, the flesh underneath it melted away, bones showing. Oh, crap. ¡°There¡¯s a dead dude in here!¡± Glen yelled, louder than he¡¯d preferred to and Flix replied immediately sounding alarmed. ¡°Don¡¯t take anything from it!¡± Glen stared at the letter opener in his hand perturbed. ¡°Fine,¡± he said and walked around the desk to glance at the ancient, mummified corpse. Empty eye sockets, sunken cheeks, skin a grey-white, the hair almost all fallen off from his skull. The corpse wore pieces of a dissolved tunic, or coat, some silver buttons still visible at his sides. ¡°His throat is slit open!¡± Glen yelled and Flix¡¯s shadow appeared on the doorway. ¡°I think he killed himself.¡± ¡°With what?¡± Flix asked tensely and Glen stared at the blood-stained old letter opener he held. Why would you do that? He wondered and the webbings breathed all around him. They bloated, as if they were alive, or waking up and the corpse under him hissed, the scariest sound Glen had ever heard and shuddered, limbs jerking mad. Luthos balls caught in a bear trap. ¡°RUN!¡± Glen screamed, the sound unmanly, but totally justified given the horrifying implications and jumped away panicked. He stumbled and went down, a forkful of spider material in his mouth, coughed most of it right out and rolled towards the exit, the corpse behind him rising, making all kinds of creaking sounds. ¡°WHAT DID YOU TAKE?¡± Flix growled, eyes hawking at the half-naked corpse following after him, but Glen now standing and running at full speed, blasted past him not even looking his way. He reached the corridor, boots sliding on the ancient dust, turned left using wall and right shoulder to break momentum, the impact rattling his teeth and hoofed it for the stairs determined to get the hells out.
Use the dagger.
Huh? Glen thought and turned to look back, Flix sneak-attacking the walking corpse with two shortswords, blades sinking to the guard under both armpits. He didn¡¯t even slow it down. The dead man, opened a decayed mouth, lower jaw hanging loose and kept coming after him. Glen had reached the stairs in the meantime, still running looking back, tripped on the first one, hurt his knee, but threw an arm out to prevent his head splitting open as he went down. ¡°Gods dammit. Fuck!¡± Glen cursed and stood up, his knee stinging and the corpse coming, even more determined now. He dropped the letter opener and went for the dagger. Flix following right behind the corpse fired a bolt through its neck, the projectile flying a foot from Glen¡¯s head and striking the wall behind him. The young thief stood his ground and when the corpse swung at him with a bony claw, he ducked under it and stabbed it right through the heart, the ancient bones and skin giving away and the blade sinking all the way in. ¡°Hah!¡± Glen guffawed and rolled to the side and away from the flailing corpse. Flix reaching him, pulled the grinning Glen back by his arm. ¡°What did you do?¡± The old Gish asked, searching in his vials sheaths for something. ¡°Stabbed it right through the fuckin¡¯ heart!¡± Glen announced proudly, his knees shaking still, but regaining some of his bravado. Flix grimaced, seeing the corpse twisting this way and that in great agony. ¡°That never puts them down.¡± ¡°Puts what down?¡± Glen probed, unsheathing his longsword. ¡°I thought it was a construct. A bonemancer¡¯s pet,¡± the Gish replied and turned to look back towards the room, they had escaped from. The corpse had stopped struggling and just stood there, looking confused as fuck, the dagger still in his chest. ¡°Gimoss said to use the dagger,¡± Glen replied, with a shrug. ¡°Damn it, Garth!¡± Flix cursed and run towards the room, stooping to pick up the Peleg, Glen had dropped next to the broken door. He reached the door, made to jump inside, but flinched in panic and rolled to the side nimble as a cat, the giant white spider¡¯s forelegs missing him for an inch. Good fuckin¡¯ grief! The massive insect -the size of a young colt really- made a disturbing clicking sound, walked sideways, many legs feeling out the walls of the corridor and then turned its red compound eyes on the dumbfounded Glen, long spinnerets rising above its body aimed at him. Duck. Glen went down, the stream of webbing flying over him, sticking everywhere. He rolled to the side fully aware that the spider was going to come after him and then dashed back and towards the still standing silent corpse. Reach the stairs, he urged himself. Get out of here. The young thief sprinted, the clacking sound of the onrushing spider¡¯s legs following right behind him, the corpse looking at his face with empty eye-sockets, a stupid freakish grin on its decrepit mouth. Huh? The corpse raised a hand, one finger broken and dangling loose, another missing a fingernail and waved him out of the way. Glen, mouth hanging open, cut right to avoid the undead, slid against the wall polishing it for the first time in eons and reached the stairs, this time taking them three at a time alike a jumping cricket. There was a terrible shriek, followed by a crunching sound behind him and then Glen burst out into the upper floor and kept running for the door leading to the street and the blinding sun. Salvation within his grasp.
The Cofol¡¯s eyes opened wide seeing him storming out of the building and fired instinctively, the arrow zipping past a wild-eyed Glen, who kept running at full sprint towards him. The Cofol dropped his bow and tried to unsheathe a long knife. ¡°RUN, YE FOOL!¡± Glen urged him unwilling to slow down, or change direction. The crash send them both down, tumbling through the fine sand of the ancient street, all tangled up and hurting. Stupid idiot, Glen hissed and shoved the Horselord way, kicking and punching him furiously. All his pend up frustration unleashing on his shocked opponent. He caught him with a full punch and felt the nose breaking underneath his knuckles, the man¡¯s head bouncing off the street, only for an out of control Glen connecting with it again and again. It was an intense pugilism training session. ¡°Cease this madness!¡± A voice barked and Glen let go of the bloodied unresponsive man and stood up. The old Cofol was back it seemed. His eyes haunted and darting from him to the building, Glen had just escaped from. ¡°What¡¯s this unholy thing?¡± Glen looked back, saw the still living corpse standing at the doorway covered in bloody pieces of insect parts, fully soaked in slimy grime to be exact and dripping foul smelling disgusting yellow fluids down. Glen shook his head in bewilderment. ¡°You really don¡¯t want to know, friend,¡± Glen said and spat a mouthful of bitter spider-web residue down. His mouth tasted like a sewer. Glen had no idea what was going on himself. ¡°What in all-hells are ye doing here? Have ye lost yer mind? Curse ye fiend!¡± The Horselord admonished him deciding that whatever this was, it wasn¡¯t worth it. The moment he heard Biscuit¡¯s screeching roar approaching he pulled at the reins, turned his horse deftly and galloped away for real this time.
¡°A Wraith Arachnus,¡± Glen repeated looking at the mess inside the underground corridor. ¡°Arachne. An old spider,¡± Flix corrected him and collected some of the yellowish-green fluids from the floor. ¡°Very dangerous.¡± Obviously. ¡°That¡¯s no spider I¡¯ve ever seen before,¡± Glen murmured stating the obvious and shivered all over, slapping his body to get rid of the freakish sensation. ¡°What was it doing here?¡± ¡°Lurked in wait.¡± Glen sucked air though his nostrils and then puffed out, flapping his lips like a horse. ¡°Patient bastard,¡± he said simply and glanced at the corpse extricating the blades out of him. ¡°What about this dude?¡± ¡°I have no idea what you did,¡± Flix replied and stood up. ¡°I did nothing,¡± Glen defended himself. ¡°I run away.¡± What did you do? He asked Gimoss, but that bastard had been dead silent after all hell had broken loose earlier. ¡°Aye you did run well,¡± Flix said and grinned like an old grandmother. ¡°Good boy.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± Glen said and stared at the glass vial the Gish had tacked away. ¡°What do you need that for?¡± ¡°Good medicine,¡± Flix replied and walked up the stairs, past the silent corpse. ¡°Or poison.¡± ¡°For what?¡± Glen asked, following after the small-bodied Gish, taking a wide birth around the decayed man. ¡°Ticu,¡± Flix said. ¡°Fuck¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Ahm, a mermaid,¡± Flix replied, after a pause. ¡°Haha, yeah right,¡± Glen chuckled. ¡°You almost got me there.¡± The sun had lowered on the sky, the day wasting away, when they reached the street again. ¡°Hey, can I have the Peleg? It don¡¯t look like yer style,¡± Glen asked, seeing Biscuit approaching, sniffing right and left curious. ¡°You need how to learn to use it first,¡± Flix replied. ¡°Else the weapon will be wasted.¡± It¡¯s an axe, ye silly Gish, Glen thought and went to pet Biscuit, the small wyvern ducking away from his hand with a glare. ¡°So, can I have it then?¡± Flix stared at him, hint of a smile on his mouth. He reached in his pocket, got his pipe out, checked to see if it had anything in it and satisfied lit it up. Sucked on the aromatic mixture, closing his eyes, face relaxing and then exhaled slowly. ¡°Well?¡± Glen probed and Flix replied with one word and another weary sigh. ¡°No.¡±
135. A human, a Gish, the Corpse and a Wyvern…
Glen (Garth Aniculo) A human, a Gish, the Corpse and a Wyvern¡­
GRRRRR ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s creepy,¡± Glen agreed with Biscuit, eyeing the corpse, mostly loose skin over bones, with no flesh in between. A skeleton wearing a skin-suit, empty eye sockets returning his stare, mouth half-opened showing wrinkled lips over blackened teeth, a couple of them missing. No tongue. Cavernous wound on his throat, hissing and flapping as it tried to talk. ¡°SEWIN NDLE!¡± ¡°What does he want?¡± Glen asked Flix, still searching the Cofol Glen had pummeled earlier. ¡°He¡¯s dead, Garth,¡± the old Gish replied. ¡°He doesn¡¯t want anything.¡± ¡°KOHACKER!¡± The corpse growled, staring at the masqueraded assassin. ¡°Did he just said cocksucker?¡± Glen wondered aloud and Flix grimaced. ¡°Did you get the dagger out?¡± ¡°I ain¡¯t touching him,¡± Glen said, deathly serious. The corpse stared at them both for a while and then raised a bony hand, grabbed the Wyvern¡¯s Tongue and pulled it out his caved in chest. Tossed it to Glen next, the former thief snatching it out of the air. ¡°He understands us,¡± Glen said. RRRRR Biscuit seemed to agree, chewing on what appeared to be, a bloody human thumb. Huh? ¡°Where did you get that?¡± Glen asked the small wyvern and the little devil gulped down quickly, burped, then stared at him innocently and a little affronted. Ye clever little turd. ¡°The Arachne controls its prey, even after death,¡± Flix explained, the unexplainable. ¡°The dagger must have severed that connection.¡± ¡°Can it do that?¡± Glen asked, sheathing it on his waist. ¡°Theoretically, it is possible. Dragonite bones are magic items, powerful,¡± Flix elaborated. ¡°Gimoss would have known that,¡± Glen saw him frowning troubled. ¡°What?¡± ¡°This doesn¡¯t explain how it¡¯s still standing,¡± Flix replied, looking about him. ¡°It should have returned to being a regular corpse, the moment the spell was broken.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Glen said and he meant it. Flix raised a washed-out, but neatly trimmed pink brow. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°For answering my questions all this time,¡± Glen said. ¡°People always try to find a way to avoid explaining stuff.¡± ¡°I do that too, sometimes,¡± Flix replied, a little embarrassed at the praise, ¡°But I¡¯m old as dirt and you¡¯ve brought a Wyvern back to this Realm. The more you know, the better for all of us. Plus you¡¯re very handsome, for a human.¡± Glen blinked at the loaded compliment and caught the corpse guffawing, hideous mouth hanging open, a gushy-sounding laughter, more a gurgle. He¡¯d recognize that crazy glee anywhere. It lived inside Glen¡¯s head for months. Ye gotta be plaguin¡¯ kiddin¡¯ me! ¡°Gimoss?¡± He probed and the dilapidated living corpse stopped chuckling and stared at him knowingly. Well, it was more a disconcerting, creepy exchange, the left empty eye-socket occupied by a fat white worm that wriggled and died in front of Glen¡¯s eyes. ¡°Are you in there, ye crazy fuck?¡± Gimoss pointed a decrepit nail-less finger at his neck wound. ¡°SEWINNDLE,¡± He half-hissed half-growled again and Flix staring more shocked than Glen had ever seen him before, shook his head right and left in utter disbelief, then pointed to their horses. ¡°In the bags, a very small metallic box inside the square leather satchel.¡±
¡°Right. This is turning out to be weirder, than the stories I¡¯ve heard growing up,¡± Glen decided, watching Gimoss, now occupying the corpse some-fuckin¡¯-how, stitching his neck wound, a crude, gruesome job, stomach-turning and utterly ridiculous. ¡°Are you certain this is Gimoss?¡± Flix asked, a permanent frown on his wrinkled nose-less face. It did him no favors looks wise. ¡°Aye,¡± Glen muttered, wiping his face with a dirty cloth, the skin a burned tan color. ¡°Have ye ever seen something like this before?¡± ¡°A dead Wyvern living inside an ancient corpse?¡± Flix queried sounding befuddled and Glen grimaced in response. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s pretty weird,¡± he agreed. Flix¡¯s query must be a rhetorical one, or something. ¡°No magic of this Realm, can make this happen,¡± Flix noted, putting the pipe in his mouth. ¡°Maybe ye should lay off drugs for a while,¡± Glen advised. ¡°At least until we figure out what to do wit him.¡± ¡°My back is killing me,¡± Flix scoffed. ¡°And I¡¯m not sure I know another remedy for either problem.¡± ¡°Think he¡¯s dangerous?¡± Glen asked and the Gish gave him a look that spoke volumes. Right, of course. Gimoss, the corpse, finished up, put the sewing needle back in its box and walked calmly to where the Cofol was laying, half-unconscious and pretty badly beaten up. Glen and Flix watched him stumbling past them, swaying awkwardly forward, bones creaking as if ready to snap, and stinking of death and decay. He kneeled next to the Horselord, extended a skin-covered skeleton hand and grabbed the hapless warrior¡¯s jaw. GRRRRR What the fuck is he doing? Glen thought glancing towards Biscuit, the small wyvern¡¯s snout bloody, burgundy eyes locked on the corpse. A shadow fell over the ancient street, as if a wayward cloud had just blocked the sun, the sky above them clear, just a moment ago. The temperature dropped dramatically, a chilly gush eerie blowing through Lebesos¡¯ empty alleys and half-buried ruins. It came suddenly, sounding like a huge beast was breathing over them, even the air tasting strange. A second later, it was over. The sun burning over their heads again, the wind gone and the corpse that was Gimoss stood up. Glen felt Flix¡¯s hand on his elbow, pulling him back. His eyes dropped lower, found the Cofol¡¯s body deflated, the skin a sickly mauve-black, fists clenched tight in death¡¯s last gasp, black fingers dug inside his own palms, past the nails. What in Luthos god-forsaken piss is this? Gimoss cracked that ancient neck one way, then the other and turned to look at them.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Glen¡¯s stomach launched to his throat, acid flooding his mouth. The corpse had a full blue-green eye filling that empty socket now, pupil split right in the middle, each part a different color, the other eye formed partially, a disgusting milky white, with no pupil at all. Parts of his face had filled up with flesh underneath that loose skin, same for the rest of his body. The torn skin, leaking pus and watered bloody fluids everywhere. RRRRRRREEE ¡°Agh,¡± Gimoss rustled, voice bubbling up and grating, white tongue swollen, but moving inside that decayed mouth. ¡°Glerh, feeh¡­¡± He paused, spat something awful down, sole working eye moving right and left energetically, while tearing up. Gimoss raised a hand to calm the small wyvern down, noticed a broken nail dangling from his middle finger and ripped it out completely, tossing the bloody piece away. ¡°Wearin¡¯ food ort¡­ feels¡­rrl weird,¡± Gimoss crackled, half the words ineligible, adding a creepy smile at the end of it for good measure. It¡¯s probably rare for one to stumble upon such an implausible statement, delivered in a more revolting manner. Glen gasped instead of replying and stooping abruptly puked between his legs. The putrid torrent so thunderous, it came out of his mouth and nose equally. A right mess.
Glen dry-retched feeling horrible, had some more water, spat most of it after cleaning his mouth and then took a couple of deep breaths to regain his composure. Flix standing a couple of feet away, offered him his lit pipe. ¡°Get this off my face,¡± Glen croaked. ¡°It helps wit stress,¡± the Gish insisted. ¡°I¡¯m not stressed,¡± Glen explained patiently. ¡°Where¡¯s the freak?¡± ¡°Went to look for clothes,¡± Flix replied. Great. ¡°Is he¡­ good gods did ye see that?¡± ¡°I did.¡± Glen puffed his cheeks out and watched Biscuit staring at the blackened corpse of the Horselord, all curious. There were three more bodies rotting further down the street, the dead city well deserving its moniker. ¡°Any solutions?¡± He asked the old Gish. ¡°We better get moving,¡± Flix suggested. ¡°Wait for the night¡ª¡± ¡°Soon as possible,¡± Flix cut him off. Glen stared at him, with red eyes. ¡°The reason being?¡± ¡°If that¡¯s Gimoss and if he just used death magic, then whatever is sensitive to it, will flock here.¡± ¡°We are in the middle of the plaguin¡¯ desert, Flix!¡± Glen snapped, not liking whatever it was, he was implying. ¡°Empty places, are bare for a reason Garth,¡± Flix said simply. Moth¡¯rfucker!
Outlaw neighed and shook his head, forcing Biscuit to let go of his mane, the small wyvern sitting on the front of the saddle snorting annoyed. Glen still checking on the bags, tossed him a piece of hard-tack and turned to watch Flix bringing the rest of their mounts towards the outer walls collapsed opening. Gimoss following right behind him, walking with a gait and looking worse for wear. At least he wore a bloody tunic and a pair of leather pants, but no boots. ¡°Small footed humans!¡± Gimoss repeated again his earlier gripe, Biscuit perking up to his voice. Gimoss only eye stopped and glared at the small wyvern. ¡°I may need your skin soon, my idiot young kin,¡± he added and Biscuit growled in response. ¡°There¡¯ll be no further skinning,¡± Glen warned and Gimoss stopped and stared at him, face almost healed, some sunken spots still remaining, the color a mix of gold, green and purple. Nauseating looks aside the corpse looked better than ever, Glen thought with a shiver. ¡°Hah,¡± Gimoss chuckled once, teeth rattling as if unused to the action, mouth opening and closing at the wrong moment. ¡°Haha¡­ hah!¡± He reached to his waist, found the handle of a scimitar there hanging from an improvised harness made out of hemp rope and unsheathed it. What in the slovenly fuck is he doing? Glen wondered and took a step back, reaching for the sword he carried on his back. His hand grabbing a hairy appendage that pulled away the moment he touched it. Glen gasped and twisted around, huge chelicera snapping with a sharp clack, almost taking away his nose and part of his face. Lucky freakin¡¯ crap, Glen cursed his hairs standing up and jumped backwards the giant spider dropping next to Outlaw, the horse neighing panicked and dashing the other way, Biscuit screeching, huge eyes ogling at the monster that had landed amidst them. The Arachne hissed, long white legs propelling it forward and after Glen that landed on his back, jerked to the side immediately and rolled three meters away, all the time struggling to get his damn sword out. The creature reached him in a split second, long foreleg jabbing his way alike a spear missing him for half-a-hair. Glen gasped cursing its lineage going back ten generations, then dodged to the right, unsheathed Emerson¡¯s blade and parried the second foreleg away, keratinous skin feeling like iron on his blade. The Arachne let out a spine-chilling drawn out hiss that reverberated into Lebesos¡¯ quiet afternoon streets and then repeated again and again from its kin waking up. The sounds coming from everywhere around them. ¡°We need to go now, Garth! THINK IT¡¯S A NEST!¡± Flix shouted a belated warning, mounted on his own horse and Glen glanced his way, jaw clenched and wild eyes almost popped out of their sockets. ¡°YE PLAGUIN¡¯ THINK?¡± He yelled back an angry reply, Gimoss still chuckling hysterically watching him trying desperately to dodge away from the tireless attacks. Glen chopped a piece of leg off, foul fluids spraying everywhere and used the opening to unsheathe his other sword. The Arachne came at him again, Glen parrying the hurt left leg away with one blade, blocking the right with the other, the giant white spider shoving him back a good two meters, his boots sliding on the sand. ¡°Hairy freaky turd,¡± Glen spat, goosebumps all over his skin and made to charge at it, a silvery sticky net covering his left side stopping him dead. The Arachne clicked its fangs, red compound eyes mean and hungry. Pitiless. Then it jumped, huge many-legged body flying through the air and landing on him. Glen went down, his knees buckling when he landed on them, nasty Chelicera snapping repeatedly trying to decapitate him, his head jerking away again and again, raised at the last moment blade stuck between him and the spider¡¯s body, his only shield. Luthos provide fuckin¡¯ aid. What is this crap? Glen put everything he had in his shoulder and pushed, veins popping on his neck, teeth gridding to the point of breaking, managing no progress. The Arachne hissed nastily, realizing he couldn¡¯t dislodge it, stared at him intently ¨Ca weird numbness spreading in his chest, then up his neck- the feeling dying, when a bolt pulverized one of its compound eyes, fluid spaying on Glen¡¯s neck. With a mighty roar, Glen shoved the giant insect back and got up on shaky legs. The Arachne cried in horrible pain, fangs rattling, hind legs digging in to stop its body first and then kicking, it propelled the massive torso forward, reaching Glen before he¡¯d the time to recover and sent him tumbling five meters away. He crashed on a ruined ancient wall, dust raising a thick cloud around him, his swords missing. Coughing and stunned, Glen got up, hearing the many limbs digging at the ground as it came towards him again. The Arachne, not as large as that first one, but only by a couple of centimeters, covered the distance in a brief second, injured eye and leg spraying foul fluids in its tracks and made to launch at him again. Left the ground in fact, only to return back down again, legs giving out and extending outwards by the countering force. One of its large fangs broken and hanging, leaking stomach acid down its mouth. Gimoss, who¡¯d blocked its path the first time, took another step forward, raised a bloated, dangling at the wrist, fully broken hand and punched again right at the Arachne¡¯s ravaged mouth with it, sending the radius long bone of his forearm upwards until he rammed it all into the giant spider¡¯s brain. The sickening crunch heard, enough to make Glen¡¯s stomach turn again.
¡°Jump on the horse!¡± Flix ordered him, throwing him Outlaw¡¯s reins, eyeing the corpse extricating a horribly fractured arm out of the Arachne¡¯s skull. ¡°They¡¯re coming!¡± Biscuit agreeing enthusiastically. RRRRRRREEEEEEEEE There are more spiders, his mind translated calmly. Glen snapped out of it and climbed atop his mount. Flix gave him his swords and turning he gave another look at the approaching Gimoss. ¡°Can you ride?¡± He asked him and the corpse snorted, while trying to put the bones in his arm back together. An impossible task, bloody torn pieces of skin flapping, bone fragments falling off and what was left too crashed to mend, like ever? ¡°Darn thin and rickety things! What manner of bones are these?¡± Gimoss bellowed in righteous indignation and climbed atop the Cofol horse, after giving it a stern stare. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you use the sword?¡± Glen asked and Flix, riding next to him sighed. ¡°He did, on that first blow.¡± Glen frowned and kicked his legs to have Outlaw go faster, the moment they cleared the outer walls, the dead city behind them coming alive with repeated screeching and rattling sounds. ¡°Did you know about the spiders?¡± He yelled at Flix, as they rode away, the Gish taking its time to answer, providing an excellent chance here for a cut to the story.
A human, a Gish, an ancient Corpse and a Wyvern¡­
¡°I told you, a different part of the city was uncovered, Garth!¡± Flix replied ages later ¨Cvery rudely- and eyed Gimoss riding stiffly without holding the reins, hands crossed on his chest, one of them in pieces and a pleased look on his decrepit face. Uhm. ¡°What was it?¡± Glen probed, glancing at the corpse¡¯s shenanigans himself. Flix smacked his lips, grimaced, wrinkled face a mess and then blurted out, a little embarrassed. ¡°Rock Scorpions,¡± the Gish shivered at the memory. ¡°Bigger than this shit?¡± ¡°No, regular ones,¡± Flix replied and seeing him frowning, he added blushing. ¡°I fear scorpions.¡± Glen nodded. He feared scorpions as well, all insects really, but he¡¯d give his left nut not to see another spider for a while. Biscuit climbed his chest, reached his nappe and finding a good spot, long tail wrapping around Glen¡¯s right arm, wiry fore-arms hugging his neck, slowly fell asleep, burping a couple of times, forked tongue tickling Glen¡¯s ear.
The Arachne didn¡¯t follow them out of the ruins. So let¡¯s try this again. A human, an old Gish, a possessed ancient Corpse and a baby wyvern, walked out of the ruins of Lebesos and into legend.
136. The long knives & two nights of summer (1/3)
Nattas The long knives & two nights of summer Part I -Have you a shovel, good man?-
¡°Do it,¡± Storm said loud enough for his men to hear, just as the leading armed monk reached for his reins. The man paused and stared at him amused, Nattas returned his stare with a half-smile of his own, then unsheathed his blade and swung at him. The soldier of the Golden Spears recoiled, pulling his arm back and Storm that had aimed for his face, caught him under the rising forearm instead, the blade sliding on his mail sleeve, riding it all the way up and severing the Order''s soldier pinky finger away. Storm cursed, the blood spurting out appearing black in the dark. The Order''s man howled in pain and tried to stop the bleeding, but Lord Nattas¡¯ horse bumped the soldier¡¯s shoulder and shoved him back, as it turned. All around them a nasty scrap erupting. One of Nattas¡¯ hired guards got a spear through the neck, grabbed at it with both hands, somehow still conscious and then was hurled off the saddle by his attacker, who used the spear as lever to bring him down. Nattas kicked his legs, head snapping this way and that, then down as someone grabbed his right leg and tried to push him off of his horse. Storm downed his sword, heart pumping blood through his veins too fast for a man of his age, but his opponent was faster and heaved his boot up, messing up with his aim. Storm dropped from the saddle, the world turning all around him as he tumbled after landing on the muddy ground. The terrain slippery, the downwards slope leading his rolling body towards Maiden¡¯s waters. Abrakas you decaying shit! He prayed fervently, when he stopped one boot inside the water, mud on his face, on his expensive doublet and pants. Storm staggered up, more shaken than hurt and saw the armed fanatic charging him ¨Cnot the one with the chopped off finger- boots skating down the slant, teeth clenched into a manic grin and long knife in hand. Lord Nattas, in the process of climbing up the riverbank, made to cut left hard, stepped on something slimy ¨Cprobably a soft turd in the fuckin¡¯ dark- his left leg going sideways, right staying back and his torso stumbling forward. Storm¡¯s head connected with his opponent¡¯s stomach, mail shirt under the robes roughing him up, the Golden Spear ¨Cthe Order¡¯s gold talisman- almost taking his left eye out. The monk himself doubled over, the momentum as he was rushing down the slope too big and hugged a dazed Lord Nattas, before pushing him unwittingly, back down the slippery bank. They tumbled towards the river¡¯s waters together, limbs entangled, leaves and mud raining on them, heads banging alike bucks, before they landed in it. Storm had a mouthful of it, murky and tasking like rotten piss. ¡°Argh!¡± He cried and spat it all on his opponent¡¯s face, the man turning his head away to avoid the foul torrent, swinging at him blind with his right hand. Storm used his own hand to block putting a palm on his punch, eyes gawking seeing half a fuckin¡¯ foot of blade popping out his skin, blood covering his hand. ¡°GAAH!¡± Storm bellowed, clenching his ruined hand¡¯s fingers on the monk¡¯s blade, using his head as a real ram this time ¨Cmore instinct than skill- in vengeful retaliation. His forehead caught the member of the Golden Spears right at the bridge of his nose, as he turned his head to see where he¡¯d knifed him. Lord Nattas head bounced back, a nasty cut on his forehead and as dazed as he¡¯d been after that night with Flavia almost a year back, the man¡¯s face in front him distorted, his nose flattened, blood spurting out and leaking down his chin. Hah! Fuck you! The monk stumbled back, long knife forgotten and still stuck in Nattas¡¯ left hand, tried to find his nose, realized there was nothing there, the bones splintered and let out a drawn out pained bawl, lots of anger underneath. ¡°Vile whore¡¯s spawn,¡± Uher¡¯s soldier cursed and reached inside his robes, Storm desperately trying to extricate the long blade out of his own flesh, teeth clenched, blood running down the tip of his nose and soaking his right eyebrow. The armed monk got a cleaver out in the meantime with his right hand, wooden pommel, sporting a small iron hook and wiped his crimson lips with the other. Tight mouth drawing an evil smirk. Fine, you rotten fiend of a god, I take it back! Storm prayed and cursed feverishly, realizing the nasty blade on his opponent¡¯s weapon was impossible to block with his remaining hand. It wasn¡¯t a matter of bloody skill. Unsheathing the knife he¡¯d stuck in him almost at his pain tolerance limit and he¡¯d enough of that too, but getting it out haphazardly meant worsening the wound and could ruin his hand completely. Of course if it came down to it, Storm would¡¯ve sacrificed it. Both hands really. Another mouth had opened under his opponent¡¯s chin, the grotesque wound going from ear to ear and the looping cut perfect, done with a foot long razor, the blood gushing out in an arch that reached beyond Storm, all the way into Maiden River¡¯s black waters. Had he been a more religious man, Storm would have called it a fucking miracle.
¡°Keep the cloth on it,¡± Maja advised, not the fairy of myth, but the assassin, hair hidden under a hood, tense mouth the only thing, Storm could make out. Had he been less injured, Lord Nattas would¡¯ve kissed her. ¡°Keep pressure on it. Are you with me?¡± ¡°Gratitude,¡± Nattas said hoarsely meaning it, feeling emptied. The sudden exertion had wiped him, or it was the blood loss. ¡°You¡¯re not saved yet, Storm,¡± Maja replied and turned hearing someone coming down the riverbank, right next to the bridge¡¯s heavy shadow. The dark so thick you couldn¡¯t tell land from water and man from horse. ¡°Griet,¡± She said simply. Wow. ¡°They are all dead,¡± The young woman reported, the river¡¯s noise almost covering her voice. ¡°Ard is asking about the gate guards.¡± ¡°What about them?¡± Maja signed for him to climb up the muddy slant after her and towards her pupil. ¡°They might have seen something.¡± ¡°Did they sent anyone?¡± Maja asked, helping him navigate the last couple meters. Griet appeared on Nattas other side, face hidden behind a hood, long black cape reaching her soft boots. ¡°They haven¡¯t.¡± ¡°They¡¯ve seen the monks heading for the bridge,¡± Nattas said, with gritted teeth, his hand killing him. ¡°You wish them gone?¡± Maja queried, hint of razz in her voice. Storm grimaced and started walking towards the bridge, both his legs hurting, his back feeling broken, hand on fire, sporting a chasm the size of a mature cunt and his head heavy and bleeding. Other than that, he was fine. ¡°No, I will deal with them,¡± He said simply regaining his composure.
¡°The ruffians? Like brigands, milord?¡± The shift sergeant queried blinking, trying to gauge whether Nattas was pulling his leg. ¡°Villainous scum!¡± Storm snapped, in too much pain to be more diplomatic.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°Right, milord,¡± The man replied, crooking his mouth. ¡°At¡­ this bridge you say?¡± ¡°No, the one on the other side of Alden, we haven¡¯t built yet!¡± Nattas taunted. The man blinked, it took him too long to think it through. ¡°So they attacked you?¡± Storm took a deep breath and stared at a wide eyed Maja, playing the scared victim. She got Nattas worried about her for a moment, before he remembered she was faking it. Good grief. Girl should be a thespian. ¡°You didn¡¯t see anything?¡± He asked, grimacing at a fresh jolt of pain. ¡°Heard some commotion, but the bridge is too far milord,¡± One of the guards said. Right. Kilometers away, but Nattas was more worried for any nosy bystander seeing the scrap and running to inform the guard. The city was teeming with ruffians. The late of the hour had worked in his favor. It could have easily gone the other way, with him laying cold, half-sunk in the muddy dung and rotting. ¡°Do you want us to send a patrol out?¡± The sergeant asked. ¡°Well, they are gone now,¡± Storm replied, thinking it through. ¡°I¡¯ll return there to see to my men. But do keep your eyes open sergeant.¡± ¡°Will do, milord,¡± The sergeant replied and Storm hoped he did as poor a job as previously. ¡°Do you want an escort for yer daughter?¡± Storm blinked taken aback, then glanced at a blushing Maja, his cock stirring at a nigh inopportune moment. ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary. I shall¡­ escort her,¡± He said. ¡°But gratitude, for the offer sergeant.¡±
Maja rode next to him and slipped a hand between his legs to grab his cock, the moment they were out of sight, on their return to the bridge. A smile on her lips, seeing its state. ¡°My, my. Lord Nattas,¡± Her shameless purr, not helping him calm down at all. ¡°Knowing what you know, after almost getting murdered and injured, I¡¯m impressed.¡± Storm cleared his throat. ¡°You don¡¯t have to play me, it won¡¯t work,¡± He said lamely and Maja stared into his eyes, hint of smile on that wicked mouth. ¡°Why would I want to?¡± You¡¯re a murderus cunt? ¡°You followed us,¡± He stated instead, diplomacy the safer option, when addressing said murderous cunt. ¡°Thank Oras I did,¡± Maja replied, letting go of his throbbing rod, much to Storm¡¯s displeasure. ¡°Did you know about this?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be a petty idiot, Storm. I warned you, free of charge,¡± She said and raised the hood over her blond head. ¡°You are thinking of another,¡± The assassin added. ¡°If I had a romantic heart, I¡¯d be insulted.¡± ¡°People know I don¡¯t have a daughter,¡± Storm croaked, a little shaken. She chuckled at that. ¡°You¡¯re still trying to save it. People will know whatever you tell them. You don¡¯t exactly have a stellar reputation. Who is she?¡± ¡°No one important,¡± Nattas replied. Maja nodded seeing the river and the lights on the bridge approaching. ¡°I need a roof and a bed,¡± She replied, steel in her voice. ¡°For me and for my pupils.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll have it,¡± Storm replied quickly. ¡°A good shagging, to get it off my system,¡± Maja added and Lord Nattas gulped down. ¡°So I can help you, outside our contract.¡± Well, if that¡¯s what it takes, Storm thought, grimacing in pain. ¡°Wow, she must be special,¡± Maja jeered, seeing his expression. Getting it right nonetheless. ¡°Now I¡¯m intrigued.¡±
Secundus saw them crossing Maiden¡¯s Bridge and approached, the two assassins and one of his bodyguards visible behind him. ¡°Are they coming?¡± He asked, the black welt on his cheek huge, but it did cover up some of his older scars somewhat, so there was that. ¡°We have time,¡± Storm replied and accepted his help to get down from his horse. They walked silently where the bodies were placed, at the side of the road, behind the undergrowth. Titus sitting behind a tree, his back on the trunk, chin touching his bloody chest. Nattas grimaced and stared at Secundus, the experienced hand returning his stare, with a grimace of his own. Abrakas strike this fool down! Wait. Belay that, I¡¯m running out of lackeys. ¡°Is he dead?¡± Storm asked finally, not in the mood and in enough pain to have a shorter than usual fuse. ¡°He might pull through,¡± Secundus replied, as they reached the badly injured ex-buccaneer. He¡¯d a knife stuck between his ribs, nasty long blade, sprouting out his back. His pants soaked in blood. Not the kind of injury one walks off. ¡°Hopefully,¡± Secundus added, seeing his face. ¡°He¡¯s¡­ fuckin¡¯ lying,¡± Titus rustled, what Storm was thinking, raising his head, blood leaking down the side of his mouth. Storm clenched his teeth, his hand a right mess, hurting alike a ruffian being sodomized with a hot iron poker and kneeled next to him. ¡°We¡¯ll find the King¡¯s dottore, bring him here. Put a knife on his throat, if¡ª¡± Titus stopped him, eyes raised trying to catch a glimpse of the night sky. ¡°Ah¡­ Eledra,¡± He gasped, chest shuddering trying to inhale. ¡°Mermaid¡­ I told ye¡­dead of night¡­ light a light¡­ at Talons.¡± That story again, Storm thought disappointed. Then again, thinking about watermelon-sized tits, wasn¡¯t half bad given his condition. Lord Nattas gulped down and reaching, took his bloody hand in his. ¡°Abrakas daughters,¡± He said, low enough so only he could listen, to placate him. Still a myth, you fool. ¡°Eh¡­ aye,¡± Titus murmured, mouth split in a bloody smile. ¡°¡­should¡¯ve¡­ gone wit her¡­ yeah.¡± Storm scrunched his jaw one way, mouth the other, a lump in his throat. He sighed and glanced towards Maja, the assassin standing close enough to listen. With a groan of pain, his hand throbbing, he turned back to the silent Titus, still staring at the night sky, as much as he could see it through the branches. ¡°You should have sailor,¡± Nattas whispered, atypically moved, but his man never heard him, so reaching with his good hand, he closed his eyes and sighed. ¡°We need to get rid of the bodies,¡± Secundus said, a short moment later, apparently not in the mourning business. ¡°Petronius and¡­ Titus as well.¡± Storm nodded and stood up with another grimace of pain. ¡°Any suggestions mister Sorex?¡± He queried, wiping the blood off his brow. ¡°Ah, I don¡¯t know,¡± The man shrugged his broad shoulders. ¡°Let¡¯s get burning out of the fuckin¡¯ way for starters,¡± Nattas taunted, not pleased. ¡°Strip them clean, then cut their heads off,¡± Maja suggested casually, sweetness in her voice, giving Storm pause. He looked at a frowning Secundus, saw nothing there and nodded. ¡°You heard my daughter,¡± Storm said, ¡°Can your¡­ students help?¡± He asked Maja hopeful. ¡°Of course. It¡¯s part of their training. You¡¯ll find them fast and efficient,¡± Came her taunting response and Nattas grimaced again, a shiver running down his spine, keeping his legendary wit intact for a comeback. ¡°Know a couple of butchers like that, will do the job for a copper,¡± He retorted and Maja chuckled all flushed up, the subject matter lifting her spirits something fierce, as if they were arguing about produce cropping and livestock deliveries in the meat bazaar. Or perhaps it¡¯s the fuckin¡¯ scenery, Lord Nattas thought, looking about them. This creepy night¡¯s silence, the foliage next to the river, an old bridge and nine fresh corpses, some-fuckin-how makes her loins all wet and ready. ¡°It¡¯s a finer art, dear,¡± Maja purred and seeing no one was watching her, stepped behind the tree that Titus had died under and by the time Storm had rounded it intrigued, she¡¯d disappeared. Annoying old cunt. Secundus interrupting his inner cursing reflection, rather abruptly. ¡°Where do you want ¡®em heads, boss?¡± Storm blinked, stared right and then left, saw no one there and realized he¡¯d no idea how to handle this kind of minutiae. Lord Nattas scowled the next moment, -remembering he was still injured and under threat of execution, so this was not the time for dragging his fuckin¡¯ feet- then returned his eyes on the patiently waiting lackey, carrying two bleeding severed heads in his arms and queried nonchalantly with a merchant¡¯s smirk. ¡°Have you a shovel, good man?¡±
137. The long knives & two nights of summer (2/3)
Lord Storm Nattas The long knives & two nights of summer Part II -You¡¯ve run out of witnesses-
Getting into the city before dawn was an ordeal unto itself. Secundus led their group around the walls of the city in the pitch dark, towards West Gates and the road leading to Aldenport. Canus Betto served there and let them through without much discussion. They hurried inside, crossing empty streets towards the cheaper neighborhoods built around Alden¡¯s internal moat and its guarded drawbridges and stopped in front of a two story inn, decent-looking for the region, thought Storm. ¡°Molten Cherry,¡± Nattas murmured, reading the label, before walking in, Secundus and the Assassins right behind him. ¡°Did Sudi, pick this?¡± He probed, but then he saw Zizel Verano waiting for them, dressed in a simple yellow summer dress, with a modest neckline and took a deep breath, before stopping a meter from her. ¡°I won¡¯t bite Lord Nattas,¡± Zizel said, adding with a well-practiced smile. Her makeup perfect. ¡°Unless you wish me to.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± Maja hummed, standing on his right shoulder. ¡°A working girl, can she be trusted?¡± Lena Verano, narrowed her painted eyes. ¡°I don¡¯t have the pleasure¡ª¡± ¡°She¡¯s my daughter,¡± Storm cut in, as they were on a tight schedule. ¡°Sudi has vouched for her,¡± The latter he said to a snickering Maja. At least Nattas, hoped his man had, else they were all going to have their heads chopped off real soon, at the very least. ¡°I had to close down,¡± Zizel explained to them as they found tables to sit inside, Secundus leaving a man to guard the door outside. ¡°How bad is it?¡± Storm asked and watched as Ard helped himself to a bottle of wine and came back with a couple of bronze cups for them. Filled them up and then took the bottle with him and walked to where Griet had made herself comfortable. ¡°Girls knew about it, the day before,¡± Zizel said, with a glance at Maja, the assassin¡¯s black leather vest and pants, not to mention the two weapon harnesses, distracting. ¡°So we didn¡¯t get in too much trouble.¡± Naossis minds for her whores, turns around and leaves their most devout customer, to the goddamn wolves! ¡°I will rent out the whole place,¡± Storm told her and Lena Verano smiled. ¡°I hope you¡¯re empty.¡± ¡°Not anymore,¡± she replied. ¡°Good.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know you were married, Lord Nattas.¡± ¡°Mother died in childbirth,¡± Maja answered. ¡°Papa wanted my presence to remain a secret,¡± Storm glanced at her, caught sight of her tongue playing with an incisor, her left hand resting on his cock and frowned. ¡°For security reasons.¡± ¡°Must¡¯ve been very young,¡± Zizel retorted, looking at them both over the table. ¡°Aye, she was,¡± Storm replied, Maja nails running down his thigh distracting. ¡°Maja got her looks¡­ she got her mother¡¯s looks.¡± Fuck. Dammit! ¡°Evidently,¡± Lena Verano noted and got up. ¡°I will leave you to it then, Lord Nattas.¡± ¡°Our presence here, must remain a secret as well,¡± Storm warned her. ¡°Of course, milord,¡± Zizel replied and walked away. ¡°Let¡¯s do her,¡± Maja whispered. ¡°There are miles on that and plenty of knowledge.¡± Storm licked his lips, reached and removed her claw from his thigh and placed it on the table. Maja touched mid-finger and thumb making an oval circle and staring at him brought it to her mouth, stuck that wicked tongue through it. Nattas gulped down nervously, his cock stirring in his pants. ¡°There is gossip,¡± he told her, keeping his voice low. ¡°And then there is outrage.¡± Other than that, it was a splendid suggestion. ¡°Wow,¡± Maja gasped and pulled away. ¡°You¡¯re right. Let¡¯s talk about murdering people instead.¡± Whether it was sardonic, or just excitement, Storm couldn¡¯t tell.
¡°Vitalis must go,¡± Maja suggested casually and got a parchment out, placed it in front of a perturbed Storm and then looked about her with a cute frown. ¡°What do you think, mister Sorex?¡± Nattas asked, staring at the blank parchment and then at Maja. ¡°Well, the commander of the guard, is a devout follower of Uher, Milord,¡± the man replied and Lord Nattas nodded in solemn understanding, as if he¡¯d just named him a murderer. ¡°Right,¡± Storm said and looked to his left, where Ard had placed quill and inkpot for him. He took the quill and wrote the name down. ¡°Who is the next in command?¡± He asked, when he finished. ¡°Let me work on this,¡± Maja said and took the parchment from him. Secundus frowned thinking about his query. Sudi appeared at the door of the inn, paused to have his eyes adjust and walked in, using one of Storm¡¯s old canes as a helper. The irony not lost on Lord Nattas. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know milord,¡± Secundus replied. ¡°Know what?¡± Sudi asked coming to stand at their table, the rest of the inn empty. ¡°We were discussing the loyalty of the city guard,¡± Storm explained. Sudi nodded, his eyes jumping from Lord Nattas to Maja and ogling when he realized who she was. A grimace marred his pale face and opened his mouth to out her, in front of Secundus, the other hand dropping to his waist looking for his blade. ¡°Mister Sorex,¡± Storm said sharply getting up and putting his good hand on Sudi¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Milord?¡± ¡°Kindly wait outside,¡± he told him. ¡°It¡¯s her!¡± Sudi snarled, anger in his eyes and Storm dug his fingers in his shoulder. ¡°Not now, Sudi,¡± he warned him. ¡°Why¡­ what?¡± His man protested. Secundus frowned. ¡°Mister Sorex,¡± Storm repeated sternly. ¡°Aye, Milord,¡± the man replied and turned heel to go and wait outside the inn. Storm sighed and sat down, reaching for a cup of wine. ¡°What¡¯s the meaning of this?¡± Sudi hissed, the moment Secundus was out of the door. ¡°Hello, Sudi,¡± Maja said sugary, much to his man¡¯s chagrin. ¡°It was an accident.¡± ¡°You almost killed me you bitch!¡± Sudi snarled and tried to smack her with his cane, Griet, standing right behind him, putting a hand on it to stop him. ¡°What?¡± Sudi gasped, turning to glare at the Issir woman. ¡°The fuck are you?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t kill him,¡± Maja ordered her and Storm rolled his eyes. ¡°Sudi, take a seat,¡± he told his man. ¡°Calm down and have a drink.¡±
¡°You hired her?¡± Sudi gasped, looking sick. That is more than before. Storm sighed, his hand hurting too much to remain patient for much longer. ¡°I did,¡± he replied. ¡°Henceforth, we¡¯ll refer to her, as my daughter in front of the men.¡± ¡°Your daughter?¡± Sudi croaked, glaring at the assassin. ¡°He¡¯s currently involved with another woman,¡± Maja explained the reason for it and Storm almost drown in his own spit, coughing up a lung in the attempt to recover. ¡°He is?¡± Sudi frowned and stared at him, then towards the bar. Zizel fortunately wasn¡¯t there. ¡°Not her,¡± Maja said, looking in his lackey¡¯s face for clues. ¡°Someone else.¡± Of for fuck¡¯s sake, Storm thought. ¡°Enough!¡± ¡°Chief I formally protest the hiring of this murderous wench,¡± Sudi said, sounding hurt. Maja smacked her lips, reached inside a pocket in her vest, pulled a small vial out and placed it on the table in front of him. ¡°Fuck is this?¡± Sudi snarled, with a grimace. Storm would like to know as well. ¡°A cure, for the poison,¡± she explained. ¡°It will heal him?¡± Nattas asked her intrigued and went to examine it more closely, but Sudi snatched it out of the table, before he could. ¡°What about the damage done?¡± Sudi asked, grinding what few teeth he¡¯d left. Maja shrugged her shoulders. ¡°What¡¯s done is done,¡± she said simply. No teeth, or hair back, Storm translated with a wicked grin and sat back on his chair. A jolt of pain from his hand wiping it off of his face. ¡°I can¡¯t tell if she¡¯s telling the truth,¡± Sudi exclaimed. ¡°She saved my life,¡± Storm said. ¡°Drink the potion.¡± They were running out of time.
¡°Will the guard intervene?¡± Sudi asked, a frown on his face and a lot more green on his cheeks. ¡°You alright there?¡± Storm probed. ¡°Shit tasted like vomit,¡± his man explained and dry-retched, holding on to the table. ¡°Right. On that note,¡± Nattas continued. ¡°How do we learn, who is next in line in case Captain Vitalis goes missing?¡± There was no translation needed for the last part. ¡°The city guards¡¯ headquarters building,¡± Sudi croaked, looking worse for wear. Storm glanced towards Maja and she shrugged her shoulders, giving it fifty-fifty chances. ¡°That won¡¯t work,¡± Nattas decided and pouted his lips thoughtfully. Maja started writing on the parchment. One name after the other. ¡°What happens if Betto is the last man¡­ standing?¡± Storm queried, realizing what she was doing. Sudi puffed his pale cheeks out. ¡°Ye mean, what happens¡­¡± He blinked, took a deep breath in and stared at Storm. ¡°How are we going to explain that?¡± Storm sat back on his chair and reached for his cup of wine. Washed his mouth with some and then he swallowed. ¡°Rot,¡± he said gravely, looking at his injured hand. ¡°Has spread. Hard measures were taken.¡± Sudi sighed, tongue touching the gap in his teeth. ¡°What if they don¡¯t buy it?¡±Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°We make sure the ears left to listen, are favorably inclined.¡± ¡°Canus Betto,¡± Sudi replied, scratching his right brow with a thumb. ¡°There¡¯s eight captains in the city guard, seven afore him let¡¯s say. Taking no chances for a fuck up.¡± Storm grunted, Maja frowned and looking at her notes, started scribbling down simple numbers, after she run out of names she knew.
¡°But is Gordian there?¡± Storm insisted, an hour into their meeting, a second bottle of wine opened and Sudi looking much better, either because the potion took hold, or from the effects of the wine. Nattas gave it even odds. ¡°Two buildings adjacent to the Dome are being used from the Order. Gordian uses one to sleep, but spends a lot of time inside there as well,¡± his man explained, Secundus grunting in agreement. The rigid hired-blade had returned inside in the meantime. ¡°Sir Reus?¡± Storm queried. ¡°He¡¯s there.¡± ¡°How many?¡± Maja asked and Secundus raised a thick brow. The assassin turned and offered him a sugary glance. Storm frowned, Secundus caught him looking in turn and cleared his throat embarrassed. ¡°Around sixty, milord,¡± he replied, a little red in the face. ¡°Where¡¯s the rest of them?¡± Storm grunted, seeing Maja¡¯s naughty grin. ¡°Patrolling the inner walls.¡± That was a problem, Storm thought. ¡°How many men can we bring in?¡± Sudi grimaced. ¡°Secundus has ten waiting outside.¡± ¡°Not ours, not right away,¡± Storm stopped him. ¡°I¡¯ve talked with the lads at Aldenport,¡± his man said, rubbing his stomach with a hand. Nattas stilled his eyes on him, keeping his tongue. ¡°Yeah,¡± Sudi continued, with a sigh. ¡°They¡¯re willing to help.¡± ¡°The lads,¡± Storm repeated mockingly. ¡°Dalbert¡¯s gang,¡± Sudi blurted out. Storm blinked, then stared at Secundus. ¡°I believe he means the cutthroat, milord,¡± he elucidated, nigh uncomfortable. Maja sort of chuckled, a muffled sound, either founding it hilarious, or on the verge of an orgasm. ¡°Figured as much,¡± Storm replied and smacked his lips. ¡°Is this the same they call ¡®Crazy¡¯?¡± ¡°Ayup,¡± Secundus agreed. ¡°Isn¡¯t he wanted for¡­ that attack outside Aegium?¡± ¡°Among other things,¡± Secundus replied. ¡°Ah, it¡¯s an old affair, years back,¡± Sudi added, to sugar-coat his choice. ¡°Ten people killed, a couple of children, right Secundus?¡± Storm continued. ¡°A couple of murders after that, milord. The total I ain¡¯t sure of,¡± the hired blade added. ¡°Nothing recently.¡± Storm sighed and stared at his throbbing hand. The bandage on it bloody. ¡°He can get fifty men into the inner city,¡± Sudi explained. ¡°Good men.¡± Good killers, Storm translated. ¡°What does he want in exchange? A fuckin¡¯ pardon?¡± Alistair will have Storm killed alongside Dalbert, if he¡¯d asked him. ¡°Vibius out of his case,¡± Sudi deadpanned. Storm perked up. ¡°Marcellus? The Judge?¡± ¡°He doesn¡¯t let the authorities, close his case, chief. Most think the man¡¯s dead.¡± Good man, Storm thought. And in a sense we are the authorities. ¡°Vibius will never let go. And the man apparently isn¡¯t dead. So¡­ there¡¯s a conundrum here.¡± Sudi returned his stare solemnly. Ah. Abrakas you had to stick your tentacle into the fuckin¡¯ soup, didn¡¯t you? Lord Nattas sighed, glanced at Maja, the assassin¡¯s raised brow an unvoiced question and nodded. She wrote the name down. Sudi cleared his throat, apparently not finished. Storm flinched already on edge, bad taste in his mouth adding to his ordeal. ¡°What?¡± He snapped angry. ¡°Want¡¯s a business inside Alden, milord.¡± ¡°What kind?¡± ¡°Any kind.¡± Storm glanced one way frustrated, then the other, saw Zizel sashaying their way to check, whether they needed a refill and sighed again, Maja¡¯s hand touching his knee comfortingly. ¡°Ask her, papa,¡± she purred and Storm blinked, Sudi rolling his eyes, while Secundus oblivious to the inner meaning of the jest, nodded in encouragement. ¡°Lord Nattas?¡± Lena Verano queried, seeing him looking at her. ¡°Dear Zizel, you wouldn¡¯t be interested perchance,¡± Storm started, the assassin¡¯s fingers traveling up his thigh, darn tips hard as iron nails. ¡°In a business partner?¡±
Lord Nattas grabbed Maja¡¯s elbow the moment they entered his room upstairs and pushed her on the wall. The assassin gasped, looked in his eyes, saw more anger there than lust and tutted, her raised knee lodged between Storm¡¯s legs. ¡°Dad, you¡¯re hurting me,¡± she taunted. ¡°Let go.¡± ¡°Stop this,¡± Storm hissed. ¡°What is your plan here?¡± ¡°People will ask about me,¡± Maja replied and he released her elbow, stepping away. ¡°Flirt, confront you even.¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t a permanent arrangement,¡± Storm replied. ¡°It is, if word gets out. The King might hear about it. What will you do, have your daughter disappear?¡± ¡°I could send you to Lesia.¡± ¡°Hmm, or you could find a better reason to have me around.¡± ¡°Do you want to?¡± Storm asked her. ¡°I can¡¯t perform miracles for you, Lord Nattas,¡± Maja replied. ¡°You could have just run.¡± She was serious. ¡°Go where?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a big world out there.¡± ¡°I shan¡¯t have these devout cunts shove their cocks up my arse,¡± Storm snapped. ¡°Much prefer to give them a taste of my cane.¡± Put them through the bloody ringer after. ¡°What¡¯s the real reason?¡± Maja asked him, disregarding his outburst. ¡°Why are you still in Alden, Storm?¡± Bah, talk will get us nowhere. Unless, you slip, tongue loosened by the wine. ¡°Who ordered the heir killed?¡± He asked her just to check and Maja crooked her mouth, pushed him out of her way. Stopped at the door and looked at him. ¡°Who was it?¡± Storm insisted. Who had little Silvie killed? ¡°I can¡¯t tell you,¡± Maja replied, run a hand through her hair, the other playing with the chain of her amulet. ¡°It¡¯s not how it works.¡± They skewered her like a fuckin¡¯ rabbit! I saw them remove the cursed thing out her inwards! ¡°Was it the Cofols? It can¡¯t be Kelholt,¡± Storm insisted, sweat rivulets running down his forehead, while scrutinizing her face for a sign. Give me something ye murderous bitch! The woman snorted and turned to leave, paused and stopped again at the doorway, took a big breath, her voice coming out a whisper. ¡°I told you, as much as I could. You¡¯re alive because you have a skill, few have,¡± she said. ¡°He¡¯ll serve no other God,¡± Storm blurted out her own words from before, a little desperate now. And no other people. ¡°There¡¯s profit in tragedy, Storm,¡± Maja said with a smirk. ¡°And profit, unlike wayward daughters, always has a father.¡± Fuck, Nattas thought watching her walking away, the pants making her arse quite the sight to watch. I¡¯ve no idea what in all hells, she¡¯s hinting at.
Four hours later, Lord Nattas dressed in poor plebs clothes, a woolen hood covering his head, was standing behind the palace, Sudi nervously scouring the lightless opening, plants and nature spilling over the gardens high walls, cedar trees sprouting and creating a second mini copse, the nearest building almost fifty meters to the East. A patrol couldn¡¯t miss him standing there, even if they were drunk out of their wits and half-blind. If Storm was the one leading the patrol, he¡¯ll have them kill him on sight. ¡°There¡¯s no one coming,¡± Sudi said conspiratorially, before retreating behind a fine bushy cover and Storm whipped his head that way furious to admonish him for looking the wrong way. ¡°Keep your eyes open,¡± he hissed and part of the wall to his right, stone, vines and greenery, opened and a slim figure covered head to toe, in an expensive blue silk cloak with gold details, walked out. ¡®Neutral clothes¡¯ had a different meaning the higher one went, up the fuckin¡¯ food chain. She paused for a moment, the relative darkness uncomfortable to her eyes, given the time of day and then seeing him walking towards her, a slight limp probably giving him away, -hopefully- put a gloved hand on her mouth shocked. If she screams now, Storm thought, reaching her. It would be a hilarious disaster. And a busy day on the morrow, for the gallows man. ¡°Your Grace,¡± he quickly said and Miranda sighed relieved. ¡°This is so brazen, dear Nattas,¡± Storm hand had taken hers in the meantime, squeezed it ever so softly in warning and she stopped, blue-silver eyes looking at him. ¡°No names,¡± Storm explained, letting her hand drop. ¡°The sound carries.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± The Queen replied, then blinked. ¡°Ahm, I got the message. This is very¡ª¡± Evidently, else this would have been even more scandalous. ¡°Where is the King?¡± Storm cut her off his time limited, as even slow patrols make good time sometimes and to her credit, she wasn¡¯t fazed at all. A King¡¯s order could move even bought out ruffians. ¡°Visiting the Legion,¡± Miranda replied. ¡°There¡¯s talk, you¡¯ve been arrested,¡± she glanced about them and stooping near him she whispered. ¡°How did they found out?¡± She smelled of scented oils, roses and vanilla. Storm gulped down, the whole scene surreal and forced himself to keep focused on the task at hand. ¡°They didn¡¯t,¡± he croaked. ¡°They are trying to take me out the old fashioned way,¡± A knife in the bloody gut. ¡°Will he be there for the day?¡± The King was his meaning. ¡°He likes sleeping in a tent,¡± Miranda replied, the excitement of being out in secret, making her facetiousness surface and spill out. The little girl that used to run away to play on Aegium¡¯s beach. ¡°Talk war and listen to silly mare jokes.¡± Storm blinked, unsure on the unnecessary detail. ¡°Which horse runs the city?¡± Miranda asked him all serious, in an attempt to elucidate. Right. ¡°The mare?¡± The Queen said giggling, apparently fond of silly jokes herself. Storm cleared his throat. While he would have loved to hear Miranda¡¯s full repertoire of silly jokes, among other things, he was on borrowed time. Sooner or later, the Order would realize their people weren¡¯t late, but dead and the hunt would be on again. ¡°Can you sent missive to the West Gates, when he does return? Or if anything changes?¡± He asked her and Miranda frowned, then turned serious again, but for her eyes. ¡°Of course,¡± she replied, voice crisp and regal. Borderline frozen. Although, now that Storm knew what she was really like underneath, he wasn¡¯t as intimidated. This it turned out, was his biggest problem. HOO HOO An owl hooted over the dark street, the stable doors open, let the sound in and Storm who hadn¡¯t worn armour in a decade at the very least, pulled at the collar of his leather vest, the hardened material cutting into his skin, the irritation maddening. Captain Potitus Vitalis paused seeing his figure in the moonlight and squinted his eyes, the four guards with him stopping a couple of steps behind the tall officer, to discern if it was really him. Ah, leather armour does wonders for one¡¯s stance, Storm thought. ¡°Lord Nattas,¡± he said, in his fine common and stepped inside the stable from the opposite side¡¯s opened double doors. ¡°This is a strange place for a meeting.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a wanted man,¡± Nattas replied and walked a couple of meters towards the center of the outer city¡¯s public stables. ¡°Decorum never crossed my mind.¡± ¡°You wish to surrender?¡± Vitalis made a couple of steps himself towards him, the silence of the place unnerving him. Storm¡¯s reputation as well. ¡°Why not come to the headquarters?¡± ¡°People tried to murder me at Maiden¡¯s Bridge. Butcher me alike cattle by the road,¡± Storm retorted. ¡°No trial, neither the chance to defend myself.¡± ¡°Hmm. Did you¡­ report this attack?¡± Why ye crooked cocksucker. ¡°I¡¯m reporting it to you,¡± Storm deadpanned, his tone nasty. ¡°The order of the Golden Spears did it. There. Killed three people, working for me. Put a blade through my fuckin¡¯ flesh!¡± The latter, almost came out a snarl, spittle and everything. ¡°Haha, well then. What an adventure. Yet you seem fine to me. Do you have proof of this?¡± The officer asked with a smirk, seeming not impressed at his outburst and clasped his hands behind his back, mail armor gleaming in the dark. ¡°Six bodies, no heads. I can take you there,¡± Storm said, after taking a deep breath and watched Maja drop from the roof of the stable, just behind him. Four people died outside, in less than two seconds. ¡°This is an admission of guilt, Lord Nattas. Hell, I don¡¯t even need witnesses,¡± Vitalis noted and started walking towards him, calling over his shoulder. ¡°Men, take him away, if you please.¡± ¡°Make it ten bodies,¡± Storm taunted and Captain Vitalis stopped, thin groomed mustache dancing, over his mouth. He brought his hand to the pommel of his longsword, but paused mid-move seeing his hands black, the front of his uniform darkening as well and the lower part of his jaw numbing. The man tried to speak as Storm approached him, his own sword in hand. The night owl hooted again, when he stopped in front of him, careful not to step in the pool of blood. He stared into the dying man¡¯s eyes long, until Vitalis with a long drawn out hiss collapsed on his knees, both hands desperately trying to staunch the bleeding from his severed neck. ¡°Good grief man,¡± Nattas commented mockingly, seeing him withering away. ¡°You¡¯ve just run out of witnesses.¡± Storm stooped clenching his jaw, not minding his hurting leg and pressed the blade on the man¡¯s quivering chin, the Captain¡¯s eyes ogling panicked. Higher still, finding his half-open mouth, his aim not as good as it used to be in his youth, the steel clinking on teeth first and then that tearing sound, when he shoved it hard one quarter length through the officer¡¯s soft palate. ¡°He¡¯s dead, dear,¡± Maja whispered a long moment later, pulling him away, breaking him out of his all-consuming rage. ¡°You can¡¯t kill him again.¡± ¡°Aye,¡± Storm croaked and allowed her to lead him outside. Sudi, long knife in his hands, clad in similar armor greeted them nervously. ¡°Dalbert¡¯s men are pouring through the West Gates,¡± his lackey reported. ¡°Is Captain Betto onboard?¡± Storm asked him. ¡°Waiting for yer word, chief.¡± Storm snorted and sheathed his sword. Sucked the night air in, the pain in his hand a constant. Storm had learned to live with pain for most of his life, so he didn¡¯t mind. ¡°Light the fire,¡± he ordered a moment later. 138. The long knives & two nights of summer (3/3)
Lord Storm Nattas The long knives & two nights of summer Part III -Rejoice, for we are delivered!-
But for some street lights near the center of the walled inner city, the rest of Alden was dark and mostly sleeping. The former changed an hour after midnight, when huge flames erupted near the moat¡¯s East drawbridge. The night painted a bright orange, almost red. Storm, with Secundus and his men flanking him, Sudi following coiled alike a viper in heat, walked briskly towards the central square, following a dark side alley next to the Guardtower. Captain Canus Betto was there raising a ruckus, the shift guards taking it with blank faces. ¡°Right,¡± Nattas said, whipping around to stop Sudi. ¡°She¡¯s doing her thing, Betto will do his,¡± He glanced at the distant flames lighting up half the waking up city. ¡°The fuck did you do?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the Merchant Guild¡¯s big textile warehouse,¡± Sudi explained, wiping his sweaty forehead. Storm couldn¡¯t tell, whether he was healing up, or not. One thing was certain, whatever looks the half-breed had once, were long gone now. ¡°Don¡¯t see how it¡¯s funny,¡± his man continued seeing his smirk, ¡°place is packed, lots of wool, ready to be send up North for the winter.¡± ¡°What happened to the workers guarding it?¡± Storm asked and Sudi grimaced. The body-count was increasing, Storm thought. ¡°How soon they¡¯ll react?¡± ¡°It will take them sometime, Betto will make sure everyone is tasked to prevent the fire from spreading.¡± ¡°Will it?¡± Storm queried. Burning down the city of Alden wasn¡¯t in his plans and would¡¯ve been nigh impossible to explain away afterwards. ¡°Eh,¡± Sudi replied, not exactly filling him with confidence. ¡°We¡¯ll be fine, chief.¡± Abrakas mouldy cock rots in a jar. Betto departed with the rest of the guards, one of Order¡¯s patrols taking up the spot they were guarding on the square. ¡°Where¡¯s the rest of them?¡± Sudi queried, seeing them arguing, their attention to the foreboding Dome of the Five. Storm smacked his lips and kept his eyes on the two buildings the Order had taken over, noticed commotion there, men with torches running to the Dome and from, looking rather panicked, with one of them even collapsing in the middle of the street. ¡°The monks had set up a soup kitchen,¡± he explained. ¡°A fine activity, feeding the poor and their people en masse, especially since so many of them are staying in one place.¡± ¡°Fuck,¡± Sudi said, crooking his mouth, the memory painful. ¡°How long?¡± Storm stared about them, mainly the alleys leading to the central square. Multiple dark openings, but to the side facing the Spring Gardens. He glanced to the South and the palace, the Queen¡¯s quarters lit up on the second floor, then East at the ancient keep, now mostly empty and locked up, but for the guard posted at the tower¡¯s entrance. Betto couldn¡¯t just take everyone with him. Storm grunted, then breathed once deeply and touched Sudi¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Make it quick,¡± he ordered him and at that moment the first of ¡®Crazy¡¯ Dalbert¡¯s people started coming out of the side streets.
There¡¯s no handbook with instructions on how to stage an insurgence without making too much noise, or cause excessive harm. No such thing, as a ¡®discreet cleanout¡¯, which was the term Lord Nattas had used finalizing their plan. Lack of time and the necessity to leave no witnesses, made it important to resort to brutal violence. Measures were taken, instructions were given to Dalbert¡¯s cutthroats to spare low value targets, capture the heads, but even so and rather quickly, things got out of hand.
One of Dalbert¡¯s thugs raised an arm in greeting, the closest of the monks tending to their colleague, turning his head to see who it was. Storm glanced towards Sudi approaching the guard at the entrance of the ancient keep, Secundus unsheathing his sword on his left shoulder, a tensed frown on his weathered face. His hand chose that particular moment to bother him, so he clasped it with his right, felt the bandages moist underneath his palm and by the time Nattas got his eyes back on the events unfolding more than a hundred meters from him, all hells had broken loose. The monk got a foot of blade punched in his gut, the cutlass custom-made and wickedly sharp, gasped through a hand blocking his mouth, the sound muffled and matching that of the guard¡¯s Sudi murdered with flawless professionalism, right across the square. ¡°Darn,¡± Secundus commented, eyes gawking when Dalbert¡¯s men rushed the Order¡¯s soldiers, screaming like wraiths coming out of alleys and side streets, dark corners and even out of the Spring Gardens woods. The second warrior-monk flinched and got his sword out, made to attack the thug with the cutlass, still working the blade inside his colleague¡¯s guts, manic smile on his lips, but got an axe right at the lower jaw. Nasty weapon spinning thrice through the air, buzzing alike windmill¡¯s blades and hurled from ten meters away. The toe splitting the jawbone, crushing teeth and severing his tongue, before cracking the lower part of his skull and emptying his brains into his gullet and out the nasty wound. Uh oh. The man died from the shock on his feet, before he toppled backwards, the attackers¡¯ insane cries alerting those inside the house and the Dome that something was afoot. Other than a heavy bout of mass-poisoning.
¡°Move!¡± Storm ordered his bodyguards and started walking towards the Dome, eyes on the mayhem unfolding. Armed monks got out of the houses, quite a number of them and tried to stop Dalbert¡¯s men¡­ any way they could. A thug killed a young disciple with a long knife, got the hand cleaved off at the elbow by an older one, blood spurting out and dousing the follower of Uher in the face blinding him. The thug cried out in mind-numbing pain, spraying blood everywhere, got a shorter blade out and stab with it his blinded opponent, groan turning into a growl. The monk tried to parry with his long bladed cleaver wild, got knifed in the ribs, the mail saving him and knowing the thug was going to aim higher next time swung blind, his other hand desperately wiping his face clean. The nasty-chopper hissed got the thug right at the left wrist and cleaved right through that too. ¡°Head for the Dome!¡± Nattas barked, with a flinch at the brutal mutilation. One of the Order¡¯s patrols returned to the square at that point, half of them injured, having cut their way through Dalbert¡¯s thugs. Fuck! ¡°Get at ¡®em lads!¡± Secundus beat him to it, as Storm swung around to gauge this new danger. The leading monk yelled at his guards to help his colleagues and Secundus lopped his head off stopping him, while sprinting like a filly. It was a nasty and short affair, his bodyguards overwhelming the surprised members of the Golden Spears and cutting them down with enthusiasm fueled by the general mood of Alden¡¯s central square. Because what had started as a shock attack, had turned into a furious bloody brawl in the span of minutes. ¡°Chief!¡± Sudi yelled, blood on his face and pushed him aside, a sword missing his eye for a hair, the blade cutting his armor at the shoulder as it retreated. ¡°That¡¯s Lord Nattas! Stay that blade!¡± Sudi blasted the thug that had sneak-attacked him, smacking him once on the ribs, with his cane. The cutthroat blinked, wild beard and ogling eyes feverish, left side of his face melted away from an older injury and bowed once deeply. ¡°Mistaken ye for a ruffian, milord,¡± the thug said, with a smirk and run away towards the stairs of the Dome. Storm licked his lips still in shock and saw more than heard Secundus returning with the rest of them, as you could barely hear a thing in the pandemonium happening all around them. ¡°KILL THEM ALL!¡± Someone yelled over all other sounds, snapping him out of his reverie and Storm grabbed Sudi¡¯s arm anxiously. ¡°Go find Dalbert!¡± He barked. ¡°We need prisoners.¡± ¡°What for, milord?¡± Secundus asked, stopping next to him, as Sudi hobbled away and into the thick of the scrap. ¡°Information,¡± Storm deadpanned and checked to see, if his armor was still in one piece. Obtained through the most time-tested manner this Realm over. Torture.
Dalbert¡¯s cutthroats managed to take the upper hand, some of them entering the two buildings and setting them on fire, people jumping from the windows and crashing on the stone-tiled square not to be burned alive, or butchered. Others entering the Dome and getting pushed back immediately, the determined counter attack by a group of Golden Spears led by Sir Adam Reus himself. The around twenty strong force broke through and fought their way down the stairs, trying to reach the west side of the massive building. ¡°They are going for the stables!¡± Storm yelled and grabbed Secundus by the elbow and shoved him towards the heavy fighting. ¡°Stop that knight, my good man!¡± Secundus and his bodyguards charged there to offer assistance, Storm following them a couple of meters behind them, his sword in hand. Secundus killed an armed monk, injured another, the Golden Spears realizing they were being pushed towards Dalbert¡¯s thugs, a good number of the latter noticing the heavy scrap and coming their way to help out their friends. Or just kill some more people in the chaos. Gods¡¯ damnit! Storm cursed seeing Sir Reus, chopping off an arm, the bodyguard crying out like a dog having his jewels removed with a blunted blade. The inquisitor parried a sword aside, opened another¡¯s sternum on the return and punched Secundus in the face splitting his lips and knocking a couple of teeth off. You son of a bloated bitch! Storm walked briskly towards him, the man stepping back to assess the situation. Seeing Dalbert¡¯s thugs flanking them, the whole square alight from the flames erupting from the two adjoining buildings windows, he turned, grabbed a thin, pale-faced monk hidden behind him from the nappe and hurled him almost the other way, through the opening he¡¯d managed to cut through Storm¡¯s men. The narrow alley leading to the back of the Dome starting there. ¡°RUN!¡± Sir Reus bellowed and turned to face Secundus and the rest of his bodyguards converging on him. Storm paused, looked to his right, saw Dalbert¡¯s thugs cutting through the outnumbered monks that had followed the knight out of the church, Sudi amongst them and yelled twice as loud, having recognized the bespectacled monk now stumbling away towards the alley. ¡°SUDI GO AFTER THAT MONK! FOR FUCK¡¯S SAKE, DON¡¯T LET HIM GET AWAY!¡± Storm himself running after him pushing a bleeding bodyguard out of his way. Sudi cried an order out and several fleet-footed brigands charged after the monk from the other side, jumping over the Dome¡¯s bloody stairs. Storm gave it his all, his legs hurting, knee burning something fierce, sweat covering his face, but more alive than he ever felt in years. Sudi surprisingly reached him a moment later, the screaming thugs blasting past him easily, armed to the teeth. Most of them, heavy-laden with loot and even food, but seemingly unfazed at the burden and unwilling to slow down. It was fuckin¡¯ impressive. The thin and fully panicked monk entered the dark alley, sandaled feet slipping and almost going down, glanced back, eyes huge under those thick glasses, saw the dozen or so shouting insults thugs closing in on him, realized he¡¯ll never reach the end of that alley and surprisingly stopped with a grimace of disgust, instead of giving it a shot and turned around. Huh? The monk inserted a nervous hand into his robe¡¯s side pocket, got something out, his eyes dancing right, left and then down at the cobblestone road, a chilling smile creeping up his reedy-lipped mouth. No¡­ ye piece of shit! ¡°GET DOWN!¡± Nattas barked, loud as he could and grabbed Sudi¡¯s shoulder to drag him with him as he dived for the street. The rocks hard and forbidding. ¡°Chief¡­ what the fuck¡ª?¡± Clank. The large vial went before it broke on the cobblestone, just in front of the leading brigand and then a strange light appeared. Blinding, as if straight from Uher¡¯s place in heavens. Pure white and unnatural, it murdered whatever darkness was left inside the alley and paled that of the flames outside. The explosion that followed monstrous.
Nattas was hurled back, gliding violently on the stone-tiles of the square, losing a fingernail trying to hold onto the ground, Sudi tumbling feet over head next to him, pieces of charred flesh, bones and broken bricks bombarding his battered body, a scalding hot wind blasting out of the alley, turning into a cyclone almost for a brief second and extinguishing the flames on the two burning buildings fifty meters away momentarily. The whole square shook, stone-tiles cracking and even dislodging nearer to the event, the sound of a mountain slowly coming down reverberating into the rather enclosed space, windows breaking and half the west side of the huge Dome cracking and collapsing, filling the alley the monk had entered with tons of debris.
¡°GAAH!¡± Storm coughed, trying to breathe, smoke and dust clogging his airways. Someone held him up by an arm, legs shaking and ears ringing, blinded from one eye. His whole body hurting, as he had been beaten with a hard stick for a week. He looked right and left trying to see who was left standing, most of Dalbert¡¯s thugs coming about at the distance, but for those that had followed that accursed monk inside the alley. Shell-shocked and white from top to bottom, they coughed and stumbled trying to find their bearings. Secundus, his ears bleeding, caked blood on his mouth and teeth, shoved him towards the smoke covered Dome. The stairs covered with bodies, not all of them whole. Nattas realized Sudi was hugging him, the man grimacing to his face, tears in his eyes and pushed him away. ¡°The hells wrong with you?¡± He asked, realizing he couldn¡¯t hear himself talking. Fuck. Secundus poured some cool water over his head, his eye working again and ears slowly stopped ringing. Storm still felt like crap though. ¡°How did ye know chief?¡± Sudi yelled in his ear next, Nattas recoiling and almost running him through with his sword. ¡°Good-gravy!¡± He blasted him, stopping at the last moment, seeing his man moved for saving him earlier. ¡°I¡¯m not deaf ye fool,¡± Storm said, mellowing it at the end. He breathed once deep, saw Dalbert¡¯s thugs putting to the blade everything that moved, Golden Spears, monks and hapless civilians alike and turned to Secundus, the man in the process of washing his face off the muck and blood at the time.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Go ¡®n stop them now, for fuck¡¯s sake!¡± ¡°Ah, sire. See now they might not be inclined¡ª¡± ¡°Cut down the culprits that do!¡± ¡°Aye, Milord,¡± Secundus replied, crooking his mouth. ¡°Chief,¡± Sudi probed him, while he watched his bodyguards running to stop the carnage. ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Better check inside, for Gordian,¡± Sudi said and wiped his face with a cloth, part of a shirt that wasn¡¯t his. Lots of discarded clothing and weapons about them, amidst the debris and the bloody dead bodies. Storm realized he¡¯d a fingernail missing, whole thing gone, bloody wound caked with dirt, his middle finger a mess. For a long moment, Nattas couldn¡¯t remember how he¡¯d gotten that particular injury and then he did. Ah. Of course. ¡°Lead the way,¡± Storm hissed, snatching the cloth from his hands to bandage his finger and followed after him, first couple of steps shaky and his legs barely working.
The inside of the Dome appeared bombarded, chairs broken and toppled over. A wall collapsed on his left, the gap left huge, the whole structure over their heads, not as sturdy as Nattas would have preferred, given what had transpired. Was the rat-faced monk dead? He wondered, looking about for anyone still breathing. Several bodies had gotten hurled to the opposite side of the wall that had collapsed, a couple still laying by the altar, low level disciples mostly wearing dark yellow robes. ¡°There¡¯s one wearing an ankh,¡± Sudi pointed at the base of one the huge main columns, supporting the Dome. A priest was left there, face a dark blue, reminding him of Sudi after he¡¯d taken the poison. ¡°That bitch,¡± his lackey spat. ¡°It was a sound idea,¡± Storm commented a little self-consciously, standing over the unconscious, or half-dead high level priest. He gave him a kick with his boot right at his knee, but the aged man didn¡¯t even blink. Storm sighed. The priest was looking at the empty, his eyes glassy, something they¡¯d missed in the dark and hazy bowels of the temple. ¡°Eh, he¡¯s gone,¡± Sudi decided. ¡°Yeah. Ye think that¡¯s Gordian?¡± Storm smacked his lips, his injured hand sending a jolt of pain through his brain. Nattas groaned and stepped back. Took a minute for him to ride through the pain. ¡°Nay, he¡¯s not,¡± he replied, when he did. ¡°Search those near the altar,¡± Nattas said with difficulty. Sir Reus wouldn¡¯t leave the High Magister back, unless he was dead, or injured. In their hurry to escape, the only measure taken to secure him, a simple disguise. ¡°Hmm, old fool kinda looks familiar, Chief,¡± Sudi reported a short minute later. ¡°Seems poisoned as well, but breathing sort of.¡± Abrakas, thank you, Lord Nattas thought moved. ¡°Shall I knife him?¡± His man probed and Nattas closed his eyes in despair. ¡°Find Secundus, we are taking him with us.¡± ¡°You want him breathing?¡± ¡°Aye, Sudi. Does it bother you?¡± Storm taunted. ¡°Not in the least boss. We are running out of night and half the city is up is all,¡± he explained. ¡°Half the realm must have heard that explosion.¡± In a sense, while hyperbolic, Sudi was right.
Not ten strides out of the Dome, lights coming from the palace, the massive building, no more than four hundred meters away on the other side of the square, warned them that people were eager to see what was happening. At the distance and over the inner walls and moat, the flames had died down. The only two buildings still left burning, being in the central square. They had to move. ¡°Get him out of here,¡± Nattas ordered Sudi and the four bodyguards carrying the unresponsive masqueraded Gordian. ¡°Head for my place. You,¡± he said to Secundus still talking with Dalbert¡¯s remaining thugs. The brigands had taken a serious thrashing despite winning the scuffle. Mainly because they were looting and pillaging as much as they were fighting. ¡°Tell them to disappear in small groups and stop killing civilians!¡± ¡°WHO YE THINK YE ARE?¡± One of them yelled. Several of the bloodstained criminals coming to his support. ¡°Enough!¡± Secundus barked. ¡°Dalbert get your men out of here, while ye have the time! Have ye taken leave of yer senses man?¡± Strom thought him being ¡®Crazy¡¯ kind of trumped that, but Dalbert, the man not visible amidst his own, thought differently. The central square emptied as fast as it had filled with people hours before. In a matter of minutes.
An all but exhausted Nattas and his smaller group, now on horseback, led by Secundus and two remaining bodyguards, rushed towards the East Drawbridge, to assess the damage and coordinate with Captain Betto. Storm wanted to get this over with fast and then head back to his place and see what to do with Gordian. Either move him again, he thought, or do the deed right then and there. ¡°Whoa!¡± Secundus cried and pulled hard at the reins stopping them not five minutes later. The horses neighed, this part of the city less noisy, lights though visible on some of the windows and Nattas moved close to his hired-blade to see, what had him spooked. CLOMP. ¡°Naossis tits,¡± one of his bodyguards exclaimed. The thunderous sound coming again and again, on measured intervals, straight from the still unseen East Drawbridge. Storm turned his horse, hearing people waking up, doors opening and heads appearing on fully lit windows. Abrakas ye piece of shit! CLOMP. Damn it, Storm cursed and crooked his mouth, the sound nearing and increasing in volume, without losing its familiar tempo. A thousand feet marching in step, nailed-boots striking the cobblestone surface in precise rhythm. The axis of advance now visible, a long line of light from many torches, heading for the central square. King Alistair had heard, or seen the ruckus and had rushed back on the double, in the middle of the fuckin¡¯ night, bringing the Legion with him. ¡°Boss?¡± Secundus asked, chewing on the inside of his cheek nervously. ¡°We better turn around.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t run you fool,¡± Storm hissed and clicked his tongue to get his horse moving. ¡°We are fighting all night to stop this madness,¡± he glanced at him, a wild smile on his face, half of it fear, the rest pure panic. ¡°Rejoice, for we are delivered!¡±
Storm took a deep breath, eyes of the people on him from half-opened doors, the road full of shadows and the smell of smoke everywhere. Captain Betto leading almost twenty mounted soldiers of the City Guard reached them first, the lights of the slow-moving, but sure-footed legionnaires still a good five hundred meters away, following the street leading to the East Drawbridge and the moat. ¡°State your name!¡± Captain Betto called out energetically, all an act, since they¡¯ve talked not half a day back. ¡°This is Lord Nattas!¡± Secundus replied from atop his own horse, for those listening. ¡°My Lord,¡± the captain said, standing up on his mount. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°Send your men to the square, Captain,¡± Storm urged him. ¡°People need help, I don¡¯t have the manpower to do more.¡± ¡°Who started the fire?¡± Betto asked. ¡°It¡¯s not clear yet. Captain there may be wounded there,¡± Storm insisted and Betto nodded. ¡°You heard Lord Nattas, you two stay with me. Sergeant Seneca!¡± ¡°Captain,¡± young Seneca said, bright eyes under the conned helm. ¡°Lead your men to the square. Secure it. Inform the palace guards and do what you can to get that fire under control!¡± Betto ordered him, Storm¡¯s eyes on the King of Regia, approaching on his warhorse, a mounted Prefect of the Legion riding next to him, resplendent segmented armor with gold details, red leather cords daggling under the breastplate. Right behind him came a mounted Signifier, carrying high the square banner with the letter L on it and the name of the Cohort. Rows upon rows, of fully armoured legionnaires coming at them, the street shaking with each step, the noise thunderous. Double aces, Nattas read, his teeth rattling. First Century, of the first Cohort. The mounted Optio riding next to the Signifier at almost a parade pace, turned on his military saddle, seeing the King¡¯s horse stopping five meters from Betto and Lord Nattas, with part of the central square still visible at the distance behind them. ¡°First Centurion Glycia, halt the column!¡± He ordered, loud voice cutting through the ruckus, the Centurion leading the legionnaires on foot, barking in turn twice as loud. ¡°Halt the Column! Decanus Frugus, see to the darn spaces! Use the street!¡± ¡°Keep the spaces! Open ranks!¡± Glycia boomed, none pleased being put on the spot in front of the King. ¡°At ease, Centurion,¡± the Optio ordered with a frown, nothing more visible behind his secured cheek guards. King Alistair, a scowl on his face glared at Nattas, then at the fire lighting up the central square and finally the nervous Captain of the City Guard. ¡°My King, Captain, sixth rank, Canus Betto¡ª¡± Betto started, never managing to finish. ¡°Skip to the report captain!¡± He snarled and Storm thought for a moment, the King might have him executed on the spot. ¡°We managed to beat back the fire at the Merchant district, my King,¡± Betto blurted out fast. ¡°I¡¯ve send men to control the one at the palace square¡ª¡± ¡°When was this?¡± Alistair cut him. ¡°I¡¯ve just found out, your Grace.¡± ¡°Prefect Crito!¡± The King barked. ¡°Send the first Century into the square, on the double, before it spreads to the palace. Notify Prefect Ligur to send help. It will be nigh ruinous having my ancestors home and bones burned down, under our watch.¡± ¡°Right away sire,¡± Crito replied and turned to the expecting Optio. ¡°Optio Varus, stay with the King. First Nine Tenths with me! Primus Pilus get them moving, on the double!¡± ¡°Close ranks! Heard the Prefect! Break is over!¡± Centurion Frugus boomed and the long armoured column started moving again. Storm pulled his horse to the side, everyone doing the same even the King. The whole street up and watching, as everyone had woken up by now, the legionnaires marching towards the square. No soon than the last Tenth had advanced, the final hundred men staying behind, King Alistair approached Nattas, his face dark. ¡°Is this an accident Lord Nattas?¡± Alistair asked. ¡°It is not, your grace. This is a mess, done on purpose.¡± ¡°Who did it?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t yet know, but I¡¯m very close to finding out,¡± Storm replied, grimacing as his hand was bothering him. King Alistair stared at him, the scowl permanent. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°There was an uprising,¡± Storm explained. ¡°The Golden Spears got into a scuffle with either insurgents, or a mob. People were killed, your grace.¡± ¡°They told me you were away.¡± ¡°I returned this evening,¡± Nattas said. ¡°Saw the end of it and tried to prevent the worst, but I didn¡¯t have the men. I lost several as a matter of fact.¡± ¡°Brigands.¡± ¡°And Golden Spears, your grace. They were killing people¡­¡± Storm paused unsure. ¡°Continue, Lord Nattas,¡± Alistair hissed. ¡°They used a¡­ what they had used for the witch¡¯s execution, your grace. Only much worse, as I understand it. It caused great damage to the Dome.¡± ¡°We heard it, saw it, the whole darn business,¡± the King replied sourly. ¡°Captain Betto, follow us, if you please. Let¡¯s check on the Queen, shall we? If my wife is dead, because you were trying to save rugs and carpets, I¡¯ll have your head.¡±
The black smoke coming out of the destroyed buildings, their roofs collapsed and the insides hollowed out, shaded the city of Alden¡¯s Central Square from the strong morning sun. The square itself a bombarded warzone, with burned out bodies, mutilated corpses and even severed body parts peppering the debris filled stone tiles. Near the Dome and its stairs the ground was cracked and broken in places, the alley all but gone, the huge amount of material coming down the west collapsed side of the Dome, bombarding and destroying part of the buildings right across the street. One of them being the Library. While legionnaires, members of the City guard and shocked civilians were working hard to clear the rumble and collect the bodies, it would take days to return the square to what it looked like, if ever. ¡°Eighty soldiers of the Golden Spears killed, twenty priests of Uher, over fifty civilians slain, or burned, twelve members of the City guard dead, or missing and the corpses of thirty armed brigands, no one seems to know, where they came from,¡± King Alistair said, hands clasped on his back, looking much better than Nattas, who could barely stand, eyes red and hurting all over his battered body. ¡°The Dome has ¡®severe¡¯ damage according to two experts and it is probably unsafe to use. I could tell that myself using my eyes and I¡¯m not a bloody architect! A large warehouse, five houses burned out completely. Ah, the city¡¯s darn Library isn¡¯t safe to use also,¡± he stared at Lord Nattas, they were both standing at the entrance of the palace, after spending the rest of the night inspecting the relief efforts. ¡°Had we been at war and this not my city, I¡¯d declare this raid a success, Lord Nattas.¡± ¡°The Order of the Golden Spears had enacted a pogrom on the followers of Naossis, your Grace¡ª¡± ¡°Whores!¡± Alistair snapped glaring at him, but Nattas continued on bravely. He couldn¡¯t backpedal now. ¡°A murderous attack on one of the Five gods that shocked the city, so soon after executing civilians for no other crime, than allegedly believing in the Old Gods. The manner of execution, the same they used in front of my eyes, to blow up part of the Dome and kill many outright, including their own.¡± ¡°Uher¡¯s Light,¡± the King commented. ¡°And these devil-worshippers murdered my daughter!¡± ¡°No devil worshipper manned that scorpion sire,¡± Storm replied, a vein throbbing on his left temple. ¡°Bah! I saw them, Lord Nattas,¡± Alistair grunted with a warning glare. ¡°I was there, your Grace. I believe it was a ruse,¡± Storm replied. ¡°We killed every one of them. The men on the tower were not civilians.¡± ¡°So you say. Where¡¯s the proof? Who did this?¡± ¡°The monk used a vial, sire. Some bizarre liquid, or other. There was no judgment served, nor divinity present. He was just trying to get away and save himself.¡± ¡°A spell?¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Get away from the brigands, you say.¡± ¡°And civilians. The Golden Spears lost control of the situation and it backfired on them.¡± ¡°Conveniently Sir Reus is dead and we can¡¯t find Gordian,¡± Alistair commented. ¡°The commander of the City Guard has disappeared as well, six captains never reported for duty, one was sick, but he¡¯d orders backing him up and our Mayor is vacationing in Valeria to avoid my ban on that foolish holiday.¡± ¡°Your Grace, Gordian may be hiding to avoid the blame for his actions. He harmed civilians, I have information he executed Vitalis as a devil-worshipper and Markellus Vibius. They tried to take over the city.¡± ¡°Ah, these are serious allegations Nattas. Vitalis was a devout man, I¡¯ve seen him in the temple several times here and the Judge, Uher help us. He¡¯d bore me to death on legalities, afore finishing his tea. Vibius a devil-worshiper? Bah! Have you any proof of this?¡± ¡°Vitalis was living a double life,¡± Storm said, his tone absolute. ¡°I had my suspicions. But never thought it warranted his death, your Grace. The Judge would not sign off his execution, is the word in the streets.¡± His agents were spreading with enthusiasm since the early hours. ¡°They killed him. Both of them,¡± the King said troubled. ¡°I wasn¡¯t notified for any of this.¡± ¡°The monk with the weird potion. I¡¯ll have concrete evidence soon. This has gone beyond the pale, your grace.¡± King Alistair, stood back and set his mouth. ¡°Where were you, Lord Nattas? You¡¯ve been in Alden for months now, the day you leave the city, all hell breaks loose, yet you return to save the day. Is this what you¡¯re telling me?¡± Storm sighed, assuming a hurt look. It wasn¡¯t difficult, he was in great discomfort. ¡°I failed preventing it, my Lord. I could never imagine their fanaticism would reach such lengths. I was out of the city on personal business that is also true. I returned too late. What I did, with the limited recourses I have, is trying to save as many as I could.¡± ¡°When did you return?¡± ¡°Early last night. Captain Betto was present, when I entered the city. Many of the guards saw me as well.¡± ¡°Hmm. Where did you go?¡± King Alistair asked him. ¡°Illirium. I wanted to pick up my daughter sire.¡± ¡°You have a daughter? In Illirium?¡± ¡°I do. A foolishness of my youth, I decided to take responsibility for,¡± Nattas stared at the soldiers cordoning the palace entrance silently. ¡°She¡¯s here with me.¡± ¡°Why wasn¡¯t I informed of this?¡± Alistair hissed. ¡°Shame,¡± Storm replied and it came out truthful enough, for the King to back away. ¡°Did my wife¡­¡± The King cleared his throat, then tried again. ¡°Did the late Queen know about this?¡± Ah, the lies, always birth more lies. ¡°She did sire. I could never repay her kindness,¡± King Alistair frowned at that, a touch of sadness in his aged eyes. ¡°I¡¯d like to meet the lass,¡± he said simply. ¡°Is she married? I could put in a good word. I assume you¡¯ll have her legalized?¡± Storm blinked, as he hadn¡¯t thought of this coming up. The fact the King presumed Maja was a bastard child still, not lost to him. ¡°Ahm, no sire. I never gotten around arranging it.¡± It created a paper trail and an unwanted record. Coin was also a factor in this decision. What have you gotten me into woman! ¡°You should take better care of your family, Nattas,¡± the King of Regia advised him. ¡°Whilst you still have them. Find out what happened here and why. Learn more about this ¡®potion¡¯, the church is in possession. Divine or not, this thing can bring down walls.¡± While sadly foreboding, the King¡¯s words were true.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 139. Not all words, make it into history
Nattas Not all words, make it into history -The Long Knives aftermath-
Two hours before noon, Lord Nattas returned to his home in Alden. Zizel¡¯s inn was now housing Dalbert¡¯s remaining brigands, making it too crowed. They are hopefully laying low until the heat dies down, he thought. Storm told Sudi as much. The long-serving lackey greeted him at the door. ¡°Dalbert¡¯s is no fool,¡± Sudi argued. ¡°Perhaps, but he¡¯s a darn criminal for sure. Law breakin¡¯ and undisciplined at the fuckin¡¯ least, seem like prerequisites to qualify as one. This makes him unreliable,¡± Storm countered, grimacing in pain, when he tried to move the fingers on his left hand. The mid-finger on his right protruding straight, also bandaged, where that nail was missing. ¡°It¡¯s his head, if he messes up,¡± Sudi pointed out. ¡°And ours, so there¡¯s that,¡± Nattas reminded him. ¡°Where¡¯s he?¡± Gordian was his meaning. ¡°The cellar. Where ye kept Titus.¡± Storm sighed. ¡°It wasn¡¯t a punishment, Sudi. He needed to get his head straight.¡± ¡°Lost that head in the end, chief. So I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°That was the man we have in there,¡± Storm told him sternly. ¡°He¡¯s still out of it. Don¡¯t see him living the day.¡± Damnit. ¡°Where¡¯s Maja?¡± Nattas asked. ¡°I promised the King proof.¡± ¡°Not here. Things got a bit out of hand,¡± Sudi said, looking a bit better than before. ¡°They did. How do you fare?¡± Storm queried, walking to his office. ¡°Happy I¡¯m breathin¡¯. I gave it fifty-fifty odds last night,¡± his man replied truthfully. Storm got inside, went straight for his desk, found that bottle of Flauegran and got it out. Popped the cork and dropped it on the desk, found two half-clean goblets and poured wine into both. Sudi stared at him for a moment unsure. Nattas signed for him to take a seat. ¡°Make no mistake,¡± Storm said, after washing the taste of the night from his mouth. ¡°This will eventually kill one, or both of us.¡± Sudi blinked, but gulped down the contents of his goblet and reached for the bottle. ¡°But if I hadn¡¯t acted now, the next attack would have succeeded. When you get shafted repeatedly, your opponent always bringing a bigger stick, punch him hard in the mouth, or kick his teeth in. It¡¯s a small road from a stick, to a blade.¡± ¡°We were at the blade part,¡± Sudi noted, sitting back. Nattas nodded. ¡°Aye.¡± ¡°So, we¡¯re fucked?¡± Sudi pointed, with a frown. ¡°It won¡¯t be difficult to realize, who was responsible. They might even know already,¡± Storm said, working at his injured left hand. ¡°Proving it, is another story. Especially, if they have the fear of repercussions.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s they?¡± No other people, Maja teased in his mind. ¡°We will find out. Assume everyone is suspect.¡± ¡°Why would Kelholt kill the Heir?¡± Sudi queried. ¡°Maybe that wasn¡¯t what he wanted. The marriage breaking apart, wasn¡¯t helpful to him. The opportunity to have a crusade against the Old Gods was.¡± ¡°Ain¡¯t these two things opposing each other, chief? You¡¯re saying, it wasn¡¯t him?¡± ¡°I¡¯m saying, I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Who then, if not the priests?¡± Storm smacked his lips. ¡°The Khan is happy for sure, but was he the one who ordered it?¡± ¡°I¡¯m confused. Who else is out there, chief?¡± Nattas sighed and sat back deep in thought. Minutes later, Sudi on his third cup of wine, Storm leaned forward, deep lines on his forehead, his eyes tired. ¡°Wake me up in two hours. Send Maja to Gordian the moment she comes in. Tell her to heal him. We need him alive, whether he talks, or not.¡± Sudi smirked, now in familiar territory. ¡°I¡¯ll post a guard outside the bedroom.¡± ¡°Keep one next to the Magister, someone you trust,¡± Storm replied and yawned. ¡°I swear, I¡¯ve slept less than half the days, of this darn forsaken year.¡±
You could see the sandy beach from the open veranda doors. The palm trees shading a portion of it. Lush green and gold, on a blue backdrop. The floor out of white marble, the rails shaped like small columns outside. A rich man¡¯s estate by the sea. The woman, white hair caught at the nappe, wrinkled face familiar and wearing a long summer robe snuggly, for a female her age, turned her head towards the long hall leading outside and pouted. The walls covered with frescos, showing lewd mermaids caught in the tentacles of a Kraken. The young man, wiry and tanned, dressed in leather and silk, like a rich adventurer, saw her stare and frowned. Light green-blue eyes, over a square-jaw and handsome face, sporting a well-groomed goatee. His hair dark, with a blond strand on his right temple. ¡°I was caught in traffic,¡± He explained, gliding on the floor to reach her. Took her hand to his lips, when he did and kissed it softly at the knuckles. ¡°This smile, just made my day.¡± Maja sighed and pulled her hand away. ¡°Where¡¯s your horse?¡± She queried. ¡°Didn¡¯t hear it return.¡± ¡°Ah, that old thing? I made a deal for it.¡± ¡°Was coin involved?¡± The young man thought about it assuming a somber expression. ¡°Property and Leticia.¡± Maja licked her lips and stared at the man sitting outside, a quill in his hand. The bookish man answered, without looking her way, as if sensing her eyes. ¡°Sounds like a good deal, dear.¡± ¡°It¡¯s that whore,¡± Maja hissed at his nonchalant response. ¡°And that rat-infested dwelling, she calls a brothel!¡± ¡°Now, we¡¯re not bigoted in this fine household, darling.¡± This is a weird dream, Storm thought. ¡°Are ye talking to me, while working?¡± She queried, narrowing her eyes. The young man put a hand on her elbow, slithered it down the forearm and took the dagger away. Flipped it once in his hand and then sheathed it in his leather waistband. ¡°I¡¯ll need that back,¡± Maja warned him and he touted. It turned into a chuckle. ¡°No you don¡¯t. You, are retired,¡± he raised a ringed index finger between them, to stop her protests. ¡°I know,¡± the young man droned her favorite mantra. ¡°Once in the Guild, forever in it.¡± He turned and walked outside, patting the man writing on the eucalyptus-wood lacquered-white table on the shoulder and chuckling at his frustrated gasp. ¡°I don¡¯t want you visiting the docks, Silvio,¡± an old Maja said following after him. ¡°Show me some respect, young man!¡± Silvio stopped and with a last glance at the sea lapping at the small beach, turned to look at her upset face. ¡°I know what I¡¯m doing,¡± Maja rolled her eyes not buying it, so he sighed and went another way. ¡°I respect you, but you ain¡¯t my mother.¡± ¡°What are you doing in the docks?¡± She asked, this time anger spilling out of her. ¡°I need the truth, young man!¡± ¡°Trying to get a ship and crew,¡± he replied, looking at his expensive boots. ¡°Find myself a Kraken.¡± ¡°Metaphorically?¡± The man asked sounding perturbed, stopping his scribbling. ¡°Surely you¡¯re jesting!¡± Maja hang her head in despair. ¡°It¡¯s that stupid mermaid story. Sudi is an old drunken idiot.¡± Silvio grinned, as wicked a grin as Nattas had ever seen, or ever imagined and he¡¯d imagined quite a number of weird stuff in his time.
¡°You look like you stepped in manure,¡± Secundus explained and Sudi frowned, half his right eyebrow gone, whatever remained white as snow. Storm got out of his reverie, still drowsy from his nap and listened in. Wishing that he hadn¡¯t. ¡°Just woke up,¡± he repeated. ¡°I¡¯m still mending. It¡¯s a process.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t know about the latter,¡± Secundus deadpanned, crooking his mouth. ¡°But I¡¯ll give ye the former.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Storm intervened and glanced at the young assassin leading the Guild. ¡°On that note, let¡¯s focus on our prisoner.¡± Maja stared at him. ¡°Is everything alright, father?¡± ¡°Yes dear,¡± Storm kept up appearances. ¡°Is he coming about?¡± Gordian was his meaning. They had gathered in his cellar, the place packed. ¡°Give him a minute,¡± the blond assassin replied.
¡°Argh,¡± High Magister Gordian said, groan turning into a rough cough, the second time Sudi slapped him hard in the face. Secundus grabbed him by the shoulder, when he came around and sat him down on a chair, small table in front of him, crude and cleared of bottles and produce minutes earlier. They had to push a lot of stuff to the sides and take the bed Titus had used to sleep outside, in order for them to have enough room to stand on the other side of the table. ¡°What¡­¡± Gordian said, red eyes blinking, dark circles under them, his skin a shade of green and leathery. ¡°Is that you¡­¡± He coughed again, the sound cavernous and worrisome and almost got Secundus with a fat blob of phlegm, the lithe man stepping to the side at the last moment. After recovering somewhat the priest of Uher stilled his blue-grey eyes on Storm. ¡°Lord Nattas. What did you do?¡± ¡°Ah, but the important thing,¡± Nattas said evenly, if not a little depreciatively, getting a silk hankie out to wipe his neck and nappe. ¡°Is what did you do, Gordian? The city is in shock.¡± ¡°Huh, you fools. What¡¯s this?¡± Gordian asked, with an uncertain grin, staring at Sudi and Secundus, even Maja. ¡°Let me go. This man will have you all executed, alongside him.¡± ¡°Sudi,¡± Storm said, sounding bored. ¡°Fingers, chief?¡± The man queried, looking into a wooden box he¡¯d opened on the floor next to the table, the latter being in the middle of the roomy, but stuffed with large barrels and bottle-stands cellar. ¡°Ahm, toes¡­ I think. He might need those,¡± Storm replied and Gordian frowned sitting back on his seat. ¡°Mister Sorex, kindly restrain his torso with the rope for his convenience, afore giving us the room.¡± ¡°Aye, milord,¡± Secundus said and approached a squirming Gordian, now fully awakened. ¡°Is this some kind of joke? Have you taken leave of your senses, Lord Nattas?¡± He cried.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Storm disregarded his outburst. ¡°Is there a problem mister Sorex?¡± He asked seeing the hired-blade scrunching his jaw, this way and that, while working the long rope. ¡°I should have yer daughter escorted out, milord,¡± the ex-soldier said apprehensively. Secundus had a soft spot for the ladies. ¡°Eh, how about you don¡¯t?¡± Nattas replied, ¡°My daughter stays.¡± ¡°Enough! Lord Nattas, release me right away!¡± Gordian yelled, more fear in his voice now. Secundus unbothered by his protests, seemed unwilling to let go of the previous topic. ¡°Milord, if I may speak, it is better for the young Lady to step outside,¡± he insisted. Maja giggled delighted at that, small dimples forming on her rosy cheeks. ¡°Mister Sorex, it¡¯s my daughter. I get to tell her what to do. If you¡¯re so inclined to take over her upbringing, you¡¯ll have to marry her, my good man,¡± Storm explained, hint of razz in his voice, turning into a warning. ¡°Am I to assume, you have your eye on her? Speak then, now is your fucking chance!¡± ¡°You¡¯ll rot in jail, or worse! Curse you!¡± Gordian snapped, but nobody was paying any attention to him. ¡°I misspoke, Milord,¡± Secundus said chastised. ¡°I shall take my leave sire.¡± ¡°You do that, close the bloody door on your way out,¡± Storm advised him and frowned sensing Maja¡¯s fingers lace in his. He snatched his hand away and cleared his throat, then eyed the sweating High Magister. ¡°Now, let me repeat my earlier query, dear Gordian. I had to put him in his place. The man is well below her station,¡± the latter he delivered with a creepy leer. ¡°Well, what was it then? Ah, yes. Gordian, what did you do? Why?¡± He looked at Maja next and she raised an eyebrow and finished it for him. ¡°Magister Gordian, the city,¡± the assassin of the Guild had said. ¡°Is in shock.¡± BANG Followed by a squishy sound, the latter rather disturbing, Storm reluctantly admitted. ¡°GAARGH!¡± Gordian wailed miserably and fainted abruptly, his head jerking up, almost toppling the chair backwards, but Maja had kept hold of it with both hands, standing right behind him. ¡°Darn it,¡± Sudi cursed, with a grimace of disgust looking at the mess under his heavy iron hammer. ¡°Think I got two o¡¯ them, chief.¡± Good grief. Storm closed his eyes, arms crossed on his chest. ¡°Clean it up, remove the squashed bits away, burn the wound,¡± he ordered, having been part of the procedure many a times in the past. ¡°Wake him up, after you do.¡± ¡°He may not talk,¡± Maja said, offering Sudi a razor thin knife casually. ¡°Everyone talks,¡± Storm replied and she chuckled at that. ¡°He didn¡¯t know you.¡± ¡°Or he pretends,¡± Maja countered. ¡°Or I was looking different then.¡± Hmm. Sudi perked up at that, but pretended in turn that he was focused on his gruesome job. Nattas cleared his throat, the cellar hot and smelling of mold, sweat and urine. ¡°Wine?¡± He offered and everyone seemed to favor his proposal. ¡°Cut me an onion as well,¡± Maja asked and he stared at her surprised. ¡°I¡¯m famished,¡± she explained, pushing a blond curl let loose from her bun, behind her ear. ¡°I can order something better from Mercos,¡± Storm said. ¡°Nah, I¡¯m on a diet dear,¡± Maja deadpanned and that was that.
Sirio Veturius was shaking like a leaf, so Storm had to put a hand on his shoulder to calm him down. The young man, found a wall of the hall outside the cellar and put his back on it, face sweaty and flustered. ¡°What if they find out?¡± ¡°They won¡¯t,¡± Nattas told him. ¡°We are at the crossroads, my friend.¡± ¡°They are looking for him. Half the city guard out searching, the Legion patrolling the streets, the King had an order plastered everywhere and everything. A reward is offered.¡± ¡°How big?¡± Storm asked calmly. ¡°A hundred gold Eagles,¡± Sirio said. ¡°You should have kept Secundus and the bodyguards here, my Lord.¡± Alistair could have waited a bit, Storm thought sourly. ¡°Ah, mister Sorex will make sure, everyone is on the same page.¡± ¡°Will you turn him in?¡± Sirio asked with a frown. ¡°For the amount?¡± Storm asked. ¡°I suppose, I could. Give the coin to charity, or something. On second thought, I have a daughter to look after. All this charity stuff is naught but a con.¡± ¡°He¡¯ll talk. This won¡¯t end well.¡± ¡°Sirio, my good man. Let me finish my thought,¡± Storm said. ¡°This is a crossroads. In politics, or in my line of work, when people want you dead, or out of the game, you either comply and you¡¯re gone, or you inconvenience them. Make it ruinous for them to continue. Had I not reacted, I was as good as dead. Next time it would be funds missing, or the fact I¡¯m not favorably inclined to the current Pantheon.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not?¡± Sirio queried and Storm offered him his hankie to wipe his face. ¡°Breathe. Calm yourself down,¡± he advised. ¡°What was the alternative? Run away, hmm? Like your ancestor?¡± Sirio cleared his throat. ¡°He was betrayed.¡± ¡°You think I would¡¯ve been spared the embarrassment? These people have an agenda, if they are allowed to continue, the Realm will suffer.¡± ¡°The greater good,¡± Sirio said, breathing deeply. ¡°Don¡¯t be a fool,¡± Storm admonished him. ¡°There¡¯s no such thing. There¡¯s better and worse options in life, but you get to pick out of a bucket full of shit.¡± ¡°Every book, needs embellishment,¡± the young man droned, trying to convince himself and Storm patted him on the back. ¡°Not all words, make it into history,¡± Nattas added and looked into his eyes meaningfully. ¡°They shouldn¡¯t.¡± Sirio nodded, licked his lips and glanced at the closed cellar¡¯s door, the screams coming out of it horrifying and inhuman. ¡°You have¡­ a daughter, my Lord,¡± he asked, unsure. ¡°Is this true? You¡¯ve told me she was a murderer, why lie?¡± ¡°It was half a lie.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand. Why keep her a secret? People were assuming¡­¡± Storm stepped back and looked at the thin bookish man for a long moment. A small smile crept up on his face, while he did. ¡°What is a title, mister Veturius, if people don¡¯t accept it?¡± He asked him. ¡°What is a contract, if the parties involved won¡¯t honor it?¡± ¡°Just words,¡± Sirio murmured, with a frown. ¡°On a piece of paper.¡± ¡°I want you to write down a confession,¡± Storm continued with a smirk. ¡°Would you like to hear it, right from the source?¡± Sirio gulped down, looking uncomfortable. ¡°I¡¯m not sure, I¡¯m cut out for this, Lord Nattas,¡± he whispered. ¡°Nobody is,¡± Storm replied, his smile turning sad. ¡°Not when they begin. Most people are sheep and they don¡¯t know it. You live and you die. The manner being the only difference. In the end, few get to choose my friend. The chance coming and going, in the blink of an eye.¡± Sirio stared at him, his lips pressed into a thin line. ¡°I know too much,¡± he croaked, but Storm said nothing, just kept looking at him. ¡°Now I know how my ancestor felt.¡± ¡°He made the wrong decision,¡± Nattas reminded him patiently. ¡°Got nothing out of it and died screaming.¡± Come on kid, step through the finish line. ¡°I hate blood,¡± Sirio blurted out, a little ashamed. ¡°I won¡¯t hold it against you,¡± Nattas deadpanned. ¡°I did as well, for a time.¡± ¡°I may faint, my Lord,¡± the young man replied, blushing like a virgin. ¡°Do not be alarmed.¡± Storm had Maja standing next to him, just in case. A wise precaution, as it turned ugly.
¡°Speak you miserable buffoon!¡± Storm snarled, veins popping on his neck and drenched in sweat. Sudi slapped Gordian, the man¡¯s face swollen, eyes bloodshot and lips split in several places. His right leg was covered in bloody bandages, not a toe left attached on it, alike his left and he¡¯d three fingers missing on his left hand. ¡°He¡¯s running out of dangling parts,¡± His man noted, wiping his bloody hands and putting down the blunted knife. I should buy him a butcher¡¯s apron at some point, Storm decided. ¡°Hear that?¡± Storm asked Gordian, the man barely conscious. ¡°Please¡­ have mercy, for the love of Uher!¡± He begged hoarsely, but Nattas banged on the table, blood splattering, severed fingers dancing on it, one falling down, amidst the squashed bits of flesh that were once perfectly fine toes. Storm glanced at the white-faced Sirio, the young man on the verge of collapsing again and frowned. ¡°You have plenty of skin left, the way I see it,¡± he warned the injured magister, steel in his voice. ¡°Mister Sudi?¡± ¡°Aye, Chief. Just let me get the other tool,¡± his man replied and stooped into his wooden box to riffle through its contents. ¡°Wait! Curse you¡­¡± Gordian gasped, a cough almost doubling him over, but for the fact he was tied up tight. ¡°You vile fiend! What kind of dark creature¡ª¡± ¡°Mister Sudi, hurry it up, if you please,¡± Storm hissed. ¡°I¡¯m running out of patience and frankly, I¡¯m quite famished.¡± ¡°No¡­ stop him!¡± Gordian snapped, panic breaking through, the pain well-above his limit, eyes ogling and tearing up. ¡°I¡¯ll¡­ talk. May you burn in Uher¡¯s hells, Nattas! You¡­ miserable piece of crap! A degenerate thug! In the King¡¯s council!¡± ¡°Ah, you¡¯re wasting your breath, dear Gordian,¡± Storm retorted. ¡°I¡¯m thick skinned and an infidel. Now, let¡¯s have the truth, shall we?¡± Gordian nodded with a look of despair when he realized, he couldn¡¯t move his arms, the skin blueish and swollen. ¡°Who ordered the Heir assassinated?¡± Storm asked him again. ¡°You better talk, I¡¯m of the mind to have him cut your cock off, just because it¡¯s wasted on you. Work on the skin later.¡± Gordian shuddered, a shell of himself and tried to look towards Maja and Sirio with pleading eyes. The assassin reached in her many sheaths, found a curved skinning knife and got it out. Flipped it once in her hand and then run her tongue on it suggestively. Fuck, Storm thought. That¡¯s creepy as all hells! The priest of Uher obviously of the same mind. ¡°We had nothing¡­ it wasn¡¯t us,¡± he blurted out, almost relieved, but still in great discomfort. The man had a great level of tolerance, Storm decided. He had to give him that. ¡°Names, Gordian!¡± ¡°The priesthood¡­ we¡¯d never harm the Heir. He loved the kid!¡± ¡°Kelholt? How about Lady Silvie?¡± ¡°Of course¡­ that was horrible.¡± ¡°You did stage the insurrection,¡± Storm noted, a little disappointed. ¡°A protest! Never supposed to go that far, for heaven¡¯s sake! Argh! I¡¯m in great pain¡­ please, I can¡¯t feel my hands.¡± ¡°It¡¯s for the better,¡± Storm reassured him. ¡°You don¡¯t want feeling returning there, trust me. Now, who was in on it?¡± ¡°The order came from Kelholt and Lord Ravn.¡± The Est Ravns¡¯ of Midlanor? ¡°A protest,¡± Storm repeated, thinking it through. ¡°Aye¡­ gods I¡¯m hurting¡­ can I have some water?¡± ¡°What is Uher¡¯s Light?¡± ¡°Argh¡­ I¡¯ve no idea! Kelholt¡­ please some water¡­¡± ¡°Who gave the order to have me killed?¡± Storm queried next, nodding to Sudi to fetch him a carafe of water. Storm was thirsty as a mule crossing the Alden Sands. ¡°There was a man. He suggested it,¡± Gordian said, his teeth rattling. ¡°Sir Reus used him to organize the team to stir up trouble. Ah¡­ can¡¯t remember his name. A Lorian¡­ not local.¡± Storm glanced towards Maja and she returned his stare. The cold eyes of a killer, on a cute face. Her beauty a skin she wore, to hide her real appearance. ¡°Where¡¯s he?¡± He hissed, turning to Gordian. ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ probably died in the attack.¡± ¡°What did he look like?¡± Storm snarled, stooping over the table. Gordian grimaced in pain. Shook his head, eyes unfocused and dark. ¡°Just a man¡­ a silent thug. Half his face painted white¡­ what does it matter? People hate you, Nattas. You¡¯re a god darn monster!¡± Storm took a deep breath and stepped away from the table. He walked to where Sirio stood, next to an expressionless Maja and looked in his pale face. ¡°You have the confession?¡± He asked him simply. ¡°Yes, I do. How did you know, what he was going to say?¡± Sirio asked him and Storm answered him, now looking in the assassin¡¯s face. ¡°I followed the thread,¡± he said and accepted the large scroll the young man offered him. Walking back to the table and the heavy breathing, probably dying from blood loss High Magister, he grimaced and wiped the sweat off his brow. ¡°I need your signature on this, Gordian. My men will take good care of you, after you do.¡±
¡°What about Lord Ravn?¡± Sirio asked and Storm stopped and put a hand on his chest forcing him to stop. He glanced at the palace guard, watching them under his conned helm and grimaced, in the pretense of a smile. ¡°You heard it,¡± he said simply. ¡°I did.¡± ¡°We will use it, if the need arises, not in front of anyone else, but the King.¡± Sirio cleared his throat, some of the color returning to his face. Storm noticed he¡¯d brushed his hair back and he smelled of soap. ¡°You wish to leave him the option,¡± the young man said, just as the herald announced them. ¡°That is correct, my friend,¡± Storm replied, assuming a troubled, but respectful look appropriate for the venue. ¡°Always leave room to those on top, when the alternative is war. Else our words might turn into a problem worth fixing.¡±
¡°Ah, Lord Nattas,¡± King Alistair snarled from his throne, ever in the best of moods, the Queen sitting on her smaller one next to him. ¡°A busy day, I hope.¡± ¡°I spared no time to come here, my King,¡± Nattas replied with a sharp curtsy. ¡°I have news.¡± ¡°Give us the room,¡± The King ordered, Miranda staring at Storm¡¯s eyes looking for a clue. She looks worried, he thought. A high crime. ¡°I¡¯m warning you Nattas,¡± Alistair said, standing up, when everyone was led outside with little fanfare. ¡°I¡¯ve heard some conflicting reports.¡± ¡°Is to be expected, in lieu of what I have uncovered, your Grace.¡± Alistair frowned, thick grey brows meeting in the middle of his forehead. ¡°Dear, if you please.¡± ¡°I wish to hear what he has to say, my King,¡± Miranda replied. ¡°We will have guests on the morrow,¡± Alistair reminded her patiently. ¡°Given the state of the city, we might want to keep them inside. They are not the easiest people to please.¡± Nattas frowned. ¡°Dignitaries, your Grace?¡± He asked, before he could control himself. ¡°Has the High King send word?¡± ¡°Crows, Lord Nattas,¡± the King replied, looking at him. ¡°Are gracing us with a visit,¡± and seeing Storm didn¡¯t get it, the shocked look on his face giving him away, he added with a grunt. ¡°De Weer decided to see the Realm, afore he dies. The fact he hasn¡¯t already, an affront to the gods.¡± Lord Ruud, was his meaning. Now this, Storm thought, glancing at the shivering Sirio, still prostrated before the King of Regia. Is a genuine surprise. Never a good thing, when you¡¯re in mid of covering up, murdering a couple of hundred people with a false confession. 140. Ruins of the Realm
Glen Garth Aniculo Ruins of the Realm
A week into their journey, one of the Cofol horses died. You won¡¯t hear this detail in tales, or tavern songs, with bards avoiding the mundane like the plague these days. Always aggrandizing their retellings and putting more stuff in, to make up for the ¡®not as important¡¯ things, they¡¯ve taken out. In the end, stories reflect the bard¡¯s character, which is why perhaps, more heroes appear familiar do-gooders, or low-key crooks, pretending to be good people, Glen thought, pulling at the reins to stop Outlaw. Anyway, the horse just died on its feet, no sound made. It toppled to the side, hit the soft desert sand and bounced once, then slid half-a-meter to the edge of the dune peak they were following, went over it and disappeared from sight. Although you could hear it tumbling down the slope. RREEH? Biscuit is darn right, ¡°Shit, now what?¡± Glen asked, turning around on the saddle, the night almost gone. ¡°Ah, you just get our stuff on the other horse,¡± Flix explained, Gimoss riding alongside him, hands crossed on his chest and rigid as a board per usual. He was staring at the waning stars above, quite engrossed. Glen groaned and jumped down. The terrain tricky, the sand moving under his boots, until he sunk some in it. ¡°We are going down there?¡± ¡°See if there¡¯s anything worth the trouble first,¡± Flix elucidated some more. ¡°Better to camp on this side of the dune.¡± You¡¯re going down solo, was his meaning. ¡°Can you help?¡± Glen asked, the half-healed corpse. Well, Gimoss still looked like a dead person, decently preserved, large black and green welts on his body and face, one eye white, the other¡­ weird and the patches of hair on his dilapidated head not helping. ¡°Hah,¡± the corpse retorted. ¡°Haha¡­ hah!¡± Glen puffed his cheeks out. ¡°Is that a yes?¡± It was.
Glen started down the slope, the sand moving and everything shifting, boots sinking at places, gliding at others. He cursed the desert intending to go on a legendary tirade, but half-a-minute in, Glen kind of spotted the dead horse at the bottom of the large sand dune and focused on that instead. For about another minute. Then Gimoss, who was following him walking down the slope much like he rode every night, looking straight ahead and inflexibly proud, flew past him. The corpse didn¡¯t sprout wings, -that would¡¯ve been too weird- he just lurched forward after he tripped, head hitting the soft sand, the momentum catapulting him past a stunned Glen and down the almost fifty meters to the bottom. Gimoss managed another four complete somersaults, feet over head and in complete silence, before crashing right next to the dead horse. Ruining the illusion, he¡¯d perhaps performed the whole stunt on purpose. ¡°Luthos bloody turd!¡± Glen gasped, gliding down the slope to reach him. Flix was heard chuckling from the top, finding the whole situation hilarious. Gimoss got up, just as Glen reached the bottom himself, the coming dawn turning the sky a deep red above their heads. The corpse put a dirty index finger in his mouth, dug around for a bit and then slang the gathered material away, mostly mud from swallowed sand and spit. Hopefully. It was disgusting. ¡°Hmm,¡± Gimoss declared, sand still pouring out of his pants and sleeves. More left on his ghastly teeth. RRREEH? ¡°Yeah,¡± Glen agreed, Biscuit had made the journey lodged on his back and now jumped down and hopped towards the dead horse and the¡­ corpse. ¡°Are you all right there? It was¡­ quite the fuckin¡¯ drop.¡± Gimoss grunted. Glen stared at the dead horse. Biscuit had reached it and was now working feverishly, scratching with his talons, biting at the saddle¡¯s leather bindings and making funny guttural sounds. ¡°Wanna give me a hand? The little guy is doing all he can,¡± Glen asked the corpse. Gimoss was staring at the slope, he¡¯d come down from. ¡°Order that cock-pleasuring whore down here,¡± he spat. Then spat some more, tongue working on his front teeth troubled. ¡°Why?¡± Glen asked patiently and turned hearing strange sounds coming from the dead horse. ¡°It¡¯s stupid to climb that, laden with supplies,¡± Gimoss explained, making a whole lot of sense suddenly, although Glen was still looking at the dead horse, a frown on his tanned face. ¡°Where¡¯s Biscuit?¡± he asked and Gimoss turned to give him a stern stare. ¡°The idiot toddler?¡± The corpse queried. ¡°Aye. He was there, just a moment ago.¡± ¡°Pfft, he¡¯s there still. Inside,¡± Gimoss replied and raised his creepy eye to the sky. ¡°Stars are all wrong,¡± he added, this time making no sense at all. Glen blinked and stared at the shuddering belly of the large animal. ¡°How do we get him out of there?¡± He asked, leaving the latter part alone. It was a thorny subject for the dead wyvern. ¡°What¡¯s the point?¡± ¡°Can he breathe?¡± ¡°Hmm, how should I know?¡± Gimoss said, with a shrug. ¡°You were a plaguin¡¯ wyvern?¡± A miffed Glen pointed out. Gimoss frowned, thought about it some and then sighed deeply. ¡°Get that harlot down here.¡± Right, Glen thought and turned to call Flix, still waiting at the top of the large dune, when Biscuit burst screaming out of the torn horse¡¯s belly, in a thunderous explosion of guts and blood, almost giving the young former thief, a heart attack. ¡°Haha,¡± Gimoss gurgled, seeing him falter holding his chest. ¡°Hah¡­ Ahahaha!¡±
RRRRREEEE ¡°No stay!¡± Glen snapped, pushing Biscuit away, the small wyvern covered in gore and a mixture of mud made of sand, entrails and blood. ¡°Clean yourself up, buddy!¡± Biscuit glared at him, then burped loudly. It turned into a part-cough, part-croak as if something had lodged in his throat. ¡°If he dies,¡± Gimoss commented staring at his shenanigans, with a critical freakish eye. ¡°I¡¯ll take his talons. These weak-arse fingernails are good for nothing!¡± Glen gave him a warning stare and Flix who ended up keeping almost nothing of the ruined stuff tied on the dead and torn apart horse, sucked on his lit pipe with closed eyes, before talking. ¡°We need to find shade, or move towards the knolls,¡± he said calmly. ¡°Sun is almost up.¡± Glen stared at the distance, the endless dunes interrupted by a real mound of limestone, the top of it flat, as if cut by a sharp knife. The solid mountain wall itself pretty huge, for a knoll. ¡°That¡¯s an hour away, even two. You expect to find shade there, Flix?¡± ¡°I might. Here though, we might as well burry ourselves in the sand.¡± Ahm. He turned to ask Gimoss for input, sometimes the corpse did offer useful ideas, but he¡¯d climbed his horse already, hands crossed on his chest, the right still swollen and half the fingers on it crooked, the forearm curving unnaturally. Gimoss stared at the sky one more time, despite no stars being visible and then got the horse going towards the mountain sprouting out of the desert. ¡°Right,¡± Glen said and glanced at Flix. The Gish shrugged his shoulders, the cloth cover he had on his head, a strange construct like a small canopy, twice the size of normal straw hat, back in its place. ¡°I guess, we get going.¡±
They reached Gimoss twenty minutes later, the corpse riding straight without waiting for them. Biscuit, who Glen had forced on a different horse at the back of the line, managed to reach his, half-flying and half-jumping and climbed on his back again, long tail wrapping around his waist for support. ¡°He¡¯s cleaner now,¡± Flix commented, seeing him rolling his eyes in despair. ¡°How did you manage that?¡± Glen asked and got a snort in reply and a lick on his damaged ear. ¡°Used the horses hide,¡± Flix said with a chuckle, adding in between chortles. ¡°You need to feed him more.¡± ¡°He just ate through a fuckin¡¯ horse!¡± Glen snapped and Biscuit burped loudly at that. ¡°See? He agrees with me!¡± RRRRRR ¡°Hey,¡± Glen yelled at the still leading their group Gimoss. The corpse riding rigid, back straight and arms always crossed on his chest. ¡°How much does he need to eat? We¡¯re running low on biscuits.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Gimoss grunted and turned to look at them. ¡°Fuck should I know?¡± ¡°Ahm, you were a wyvern?¡± Glen repeated shaking his head. ¡°Where did you come from then?¡± ¡°Come from where, when?¡± Gimoss queried. Glen sighed. ¡°Flix told me the story. You weren¡¯t born on Eplas.¡± ¡°Hmm. Were you?¡± ¡°No. What¡¯s that got to do, with my question?¡±Stolen novel; please report. ¡°It¡¯s the same answer fool!¡± Gimoss snapped and turned his head forward again. Good grief. ¡°There is no other continent right?¡± Glen insisted and Flix hissed in frustration. ¡°What? He can clear the argument in no time,¡± he told the old Gish, his face under heavy shade, despite the sun burning over their heads. Glen needed to learn how to make these gigantic ¡®canopy hats¡¯, he could feel his brain slowly boiling in his skull. ¡°There was more green,¡± Gimoss replied, his voice reminiscing, though still creepy and guttural due to his throat only ¡®partially working¡¯. His words. ¡°Like forests?¡± Glen probed to get him going. ¡°Green, hmm.¡± Great. At least we got that out of the plaguin¡¯ way! ¡°You are talking about another continent right?¡± Glen insisted. ¡°I don¡¯t remember the name,¡± Gimoss said. ¡°Mistland,¡± Flix said. ¡°Was that the harlot? Tell him he is wrong.¡± Flix murmured under his breath. ¡°So no name?¡± Glen continued. ¡°There were two mountains like this one, but apart,¡± Gimoss said, disregarding his query. ¡°Perhaps a little taller. Creating a valley between them, nice flat terrain running through it. Green. I build a wall. Solid rock blocks, from base to the top, barred the approach and sealed it shut.¡± Wow, Glen thought. ¡°How tall?¡± Gimoss smacked his lips and glanced at the wall of limestone, they had approached, before turning his horse using his knees towards the end of it. They had to navigate big boulders to get there, as the sand gave away to more solid ground near the base of the mountain. He never answered. ¡°Where is he going?¡± Flix asked. ¡°Ahm, I¡¯ve no idea,¡± Glen replied. ¡°We should stay on this side.¡± ¡°Just follow him for now,¡± Flix said with a sigh. ¡°You have any water left? I¡¯m out.¡± ¡°Nah.¡± ¡°You¡¯re lying, Garth.¡± ¡°Yep.¡± There was no shame in that, Glen thought.
Gimoss rounded the flat ridge to get to the other side, the terrain scorching, as they were well past the time for a break. Traveling during the day bordered suicide, it was as simple as that. The living corpse paused, when he reached his destination and looked around the bombarded landscape, collapsed rocks peppering the ground, big boulders cracked and split all around them, but the mountain wall ended at that point. About a kilometer beyond its dry yellow-white slopes, the flat desert started again. The sands shifting at the distance like an ocean¡¯s waters. A golden sea. ¡°Hmm. A wall,¡± Gimoss told them, looking at this field of rocks. The sides of the limestone mountain appearing cut, where they were not collapsed. ¡°Ah, aye¡­ you¡¯ve told us about that,¡± Glen noted, stopping a snorting Outlaw next to his mount. Gimoss turned to stare at him, left pupil split right in the middle, one part blue and the other green. ¡°There¡¯s a wall,¡± he repeated and raised a hand to point at it. Glen smacked his lips, turned his eyes to the spot Gimoss was indicating, then squinted trying to make out boulders from large pieces of rock and failing. ¡°I think he¡¯s right,¡± Flix commented and reached to get his pipe out. ¡°Not much of it.¡± Then Glen saw it as well. A two meter protrusion, made of cut limestone blocks, the size of large bricks. Well, he thought a little dejected and pressed his knees to urge the mount forward. I would¡¯ve found it myself. ¡°There¡¯s another half-wall over there!¡± He roared to get some of the credit, stopping and climbing down the saddle the next moment. ¡°More ruins, me thinks. Is this a city, Gish?¡± Flix sucked on his pipe and blew the smoke out of his nostrils. ¡°More like a village.¡± ¡°You know of it?¡± Glen inquired, walking to the remnants of a house, the heat coming from the brittle rocks nigh uncomfortable. ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± ¡°But you¡¯ve been here before?¡± Glen insisted. ¡°I have. It¡¯s been more than a hundred years. This, I don¡¯t remember. The desert sands move, Garth.¡± Right. ¡°We can make shade here,¡± Glen suggested. ¡°Unless there¡¯re spiders lurking, or something?¡± The latter he said to Gimoss, who had come down his horse as well and was now staring at the vertical sides of the mountain. ¡°A quarry,¡± Gimoss replied, probably not to Glen¡¯s question. ¡°Turned into an outpost.¡± ¡°You know of it?¡± Gimoss grunted and turned around to walk behind a cracked massive boulder, without answering and that was the end of that particular exchange.
¡°I swear on Luthos toes,¡± Glen said an hour later, the shade created by a blanket they had managed to attach to the wall, then secured on two straight long sticks, providing little comfort. He gulped down some of his water, warm as piss and smelling of old leather, sweat rivulets running down his tanned face and neck. The front of his tunic soaked. ¡°He¡¯s incapable of making simple conversation.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a miracle, he talks. The fact he also walks about and is apparently healing, borders the bizarre.¡± Flix was not in a good mood. Glen tossed him his flask of water. ¡°Gratitude,¡± the old Gish said. ¡°We need to find more,¡± Glen warned him. ¡°You don¡¯t look well.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be fine,¡± Flix replied stubbornly. ¡°I¡¯ll go find Gimoss,¡± Glen said, not believing him. ¡°See what he¡¯s up to.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll join you in a moment.¡± Glen glanced at his pale face. ¡°Take yer time.¡±
The corpse stood next to a thick wall of cut granite, it towered over him. It was made out of four large pieces of it in fact, lined on top of each other, the ground flattened around it, desert sand blowing over what appeared to be the outline of a square building. The only intact part of it left standing that which Gimoss was examining. The insides of this unknown ruined building impressive, although covered in a thin layer of sand. It measured at least twenty meters in length and as much in width. Glen had walked the darn thing to make certain. A perfect square. ¡°What is this?¡± He asked, wiping his sweaty face. ¡°Where¡¯s the rest of the granite?¡± ¡°Cleaned out,¡± Gimoss replied. ¡°As in stolen?¡± Glen guffawed. ¡°Hah, who would do that in the middle of the fucking desert?¡± ¡°I meant pushed down, glided if you prefer,¡± Gimoss explained, showing a line of darker stone debris about fifty meters away and at the bottom of the slight slope across from their camp. ¡°Tumbled?¡± Glen queried, spotting more material, half-covered in sand. The desert was encroaching near the small plateau, determined to claim it again. ¡°Huh? And went that far?¡± ¡°If the building was tall enough. A collapsing wall could reach quite the distance.¡± Glen blinked. ¡°How tall was your wall?¡± Gimoss crossed his arms to his chest, all indignant. ¡°No less than four hundred meters!¡± What? ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve built that darn thing!¡± ¡°Yourself? Wow!¡± ¡°I used labor!¡± Glen sighed. ¡°Gods, will ye calm down? Did you pay them?¡± Gimoss glared at him. ¡°Do you pay the cutthroat?¡± ¡°Ahm, so they were slaves?¡± Glen asked. ¡°How many?¡± ¡°What does it matter?¡± Gimoss grunted, sounding frustrated. ¡°They were labor and food. That¡¯s it.¡± Glen gulped down, his throat dry again. RRRR ¡°Stay with Flix buddy,¡± he told Biscuit, the small wyvern approaching, walking on his awkward hind-legs. ¡°So you blocked a canyon and built¡­ a nest?¡± He tried again, using his boot to stab hard at the ground, the hollow sound coming from underneath, informing him this was a floor after all. ¡°A nest? What nonsense! I built a fucking warehouse!¡± Gimoss blasted him. ¡°Biggest there was!¡± ¡°Alright then,¡± Glen said quickly to calm him down. ¡°What did you put inside?¡± He asked trying again with his boot, Biscuit choosing that moment to jump on him. Glen raised his arms to catch the screeching wyvern that managed to kind of fly the distance, using its bat-like leathery wings, twist its long scaly body between his outstretched hands and smack him hard on the chest, with a squealing cackle. The boot came down harder than he would¡¯ve preferred, the limestone floor tiles cracking, the wooden supports under them rotted away a while back and Glen, by then falling backwards with arms flailing, a panicked look on his face, realized he might¡¯ve made a mistake. RRRRREEEEEEE Biscuit shrieked in excitement, Glen following suit, but less so, his back hitting the hard tiles and going through them the next moment, everything breaking around him, pieces exploding outwards and most of the floor caving in. It wasn¡¯t a big drop and there was enough dust and sand in the room he ended up, along with ancient webbing and a large table that turned to fine powder the moment Glen landed on it, to barely cut down his momentum. ¡°GAH!¡± Glen groaned, bouncing once off the dark room¡¯s tiled floor and rolling to the side, Biscuit landing next to him a moment later, those large burgundy eyes glowing like torches. ¡°Fuck it, argh¡­ god damnit!¡± He cursed, feeling his back broken. That little shit almost killed me! ¡°What happened?¡± Flix asked, voice coming from the large hole above his head. It thankfully send plenty of light down the dark massive underground room, Glen was laid into groaning in pain. ¡°He fell into the hole,¡± Gimoss replied, sounding bored. ¡°Garth!¡± Flix yelled. ¡°I¡¯ll get a rope. Use the lightstone!¡± ¡°I can see just fine, Gish!¡± Glen spat, with a grimace of discomfort and got up. ¡°Check the walls for Arachne!¡± Flix insisted and Glen almost jumped out of his skin, all his pain forgotten. He got the lightstone out, smacked it a couple of times to get it working, cursing its lineage, when it didn¡¯t immediately, head snapping right and left energetically to catch any suspicious movement. RREH? ¡°Shut up, ye little bugger,¡± Glen hissed. ¡°Check over that corner.¡± ¡°Hey, fool,¡± Gimoss said, stooping dangerously over the opening, three meters over Glen¡¯s head. ¡°What?¡± Glen snapped. ¡°It¡¯s empty,¡± The corpse reassured him. ¡°But there might be another floor under your feet, so this time don¡¯t jump around too much. Get it? Haha¡­ hah. Ahahaha!¡± The corpse¡¯s joke flying over Glen¡¯s head.
¡°Pull at the bloody rope!¡± Glen yelled -more a screech- the falling dust smarting his eyes. He was tied with the hemp rope along the waist and holding it with both arms. ¡°I have it tied to a horse!¡± Flix yelled back at him, the old Gish obviously under a lot of stress, the young thief decided. Him spending time exploring the ruin, getting on Flix¡¯s nerves probably. In the end getting out, was a two minutes affair, the strong light and heat of the desert almost as unwelcome as the pain on his battered back. At least Biscuit had enjoyed the ride greatly, his sense of fun pedestrian at best. ¡°What did you do down there?¡± Flix asked him, while Glem gulped down water greedily, pouring some on his head to finish it off, under the old Gish¡¯s scrutiny. ¡°Looked about,¡± Glen croaked and wiped his face with a cloth Flix gave him. ¡°There were some interesting frescoes on the walls, not much else. Everything else had turned to dust.¡± The loot was nowhere to be found. Flix sighed. ¡°What kind? Imperial?¡± Glen shrugged his shoulders. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know, twas a painted map. A big ole thing, wall to wall, not all of it clear though.¡± ¡°A map of Eplas?¡± Flix asked, taking the flask to have some water, finding little left, the dark circles under his eyes twice the size of what they were the other day. ¡°Of both continents,¡± Glen replied. ¡°This place is called Tarsos, for example,¡± He turned his eyes towards the east. ¡°We need to head that way.¡± ¡°Not without water Garth,¡± Flix argued, sounding tired. ¡°We are running low.¡± ¡°There¡¯s water here, where the mines used to be,¡± Glen replied with a smug grin and then turned to stare at a silent Gimoss. ¡°I think I know, where you came from.¡± ¡°Did it show Wetull?¡± Flix asked him, now intrigued. ¡°It did,¡± Glen said and walked towards his horse, minding to avoid the large gaping hole on the floor. ¡°Cities and everything.¡±
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 141. The Assassins moon (1/3)
Aelrindel The Assassins moon Part I -Whole Lotta Luck-
Lithoniela watched her walk up and down the hall, heels clicking on the marble floor. The soft threads of her aura touching her soothingly. Baltoris¡¯ spawn wanted a mother and a lover, all packaged in one. The sorceress couldn¡¯t be her mother and going all the way with her was dangerous. You can¡¯t hide from a lover. She hissed frustrated, the irony of the latter not missed and the view of the destroyed city depressing. Wanting to get some air Aelrindel got out to the large balcony, the heat making her thin tunic stuck on her like a second skin. It was wet and heavy. It made her tense and she felt on the verge of exploding. Baltoris¡¯ daughter followed her outside though, not allowing her to release all that pent up anger. Not that there were any enemies left to kill in Rida. Except they were. Old as dirt, decrepit remnants of a dead empire, still tormenting the Goddess¡¯ children. ¡°Why would Nym¡¯s pupils come after you?¡± Lithoniela sang, her voice soothing and pleasant to the ear. ¡°We don¡¯t know, who is in charge Princess.¡± ¡°Would he do it? Without my mother¡¯s order?¡± No. That antediluvian walking bag of old skin wouldn¡¯t. ¡°Yes, there¡¯s no one above them now. As far as they know, they can go after anyone they want.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Lithoniela queried and came to stand next to her. Some spots of Rida were still smoking, more than a month after its fall. Although a smoke pillar could mean anything. ¡°Spite,¡± Aerlindel replied and sighed, feeling a brook of sweat running down her chest. It pooled at her navel, the tickling vexing and the need to lash out huge. ¡°Madness, in his old age.¡± ¡°He¡¯s a man?¡± Lithoniela asked, with a frown. ¡°I haven¡¯t the slightest. Never really bothered with politics whilst I was there, though perhaps I should have,¡± she replied. ¡°Does it matter?¡± ¡°I guess not.¡±
Ralnor always looked ghoulish in his better days, but the tribulations of the past several weeks, had made him insufferable on top of that. His uneasiness spilling out, the Princess¡¯ annoying efforts to cheer him up not helping Aelrindel at all. There was no improving him, she thought. Her mother had tried and this was the best you would get. ¡°There¡¯re still here,¡± the assassin hissed, lips pressed into a thin line. ¡°Circling the palace. They caught the scent and they just won¡¯t let go. We need to leave.¡± ¡°You want me to go back, travel through the desert,¡± Aelrindel sighed, the Duke¡¯s throne hard on her back, despite the large pillow. She wiggled the toes on her right leg, then uncrossed them, before crossing them again, bringing the left on top. The large hall was empty, the Prince overseeing the work at the docks and the walls, everyone busy with this and that. Not that she wanted anyone in the Palace. This was hers. Though officially, there was some work to be done. Politics. ¡°You are a sitting target,¡± Ralnor said, stating the obvious, while staring at her fit legs. The cut on the Cofol outfit quite scandalous, but complementary, since I have all the gods darn package! ¡°Eventually, one of them will slip inside,¡± the old assassin added. Put a knife in your eye. ¡°How many are out there?¡± Aelrindel asked, pleased at the attention, but worried. She caught the frown on Lithoniela¡¯s face. ¡°It is foolish to guess on numbers.¡± The plebe learned a bit of magic and thinks he can teach his betters. ¡°Just pick one.¡± ¡°Two, three at the most.¡± ¡°I can talk to them,¡± Lithoniela offered. ¡°They will listen.¡± ¡°What if they don¡¯t?¡± Ralnor countered. ¡°It¡¯s not a bad proposal, Princess,¡± Aelrindel said. ¡°We can¡¯t risk the Princess¡¯ life,¡± Ralnor hissed. ¡°And this won¡¯t motivate them to leave.¡± ¡°But you can risk mine?¡± Aelrindel snapped. Ralnor blinked, his face frozen. What? She challenged him. The assassin glanced at the Princess, clenched his jaw and then turned heel and walked out of the hall. ¡°He may be right,¡± Lithoniela whispered. ¡°What about the Aken? Aren¡¯t they also a cause for worry?¡± Bonemancers and Imperial Assassins, Aelrindel thought, her stomach turning. Coming out of the woodwork to interfere in my business! Be gone fools! ¡°One problem at a time, Princess,¡± she said, rapping her long nails on the throne¡¯s armrests. ¡°We can¡¯t solve everything in a day.¡±
¡°There¡¯s a famine in the city,¡± Wulan said sounding haunted, while gathering her discarded clothes from the floor. Aelrindel groaned, her skin burning up. The heat of the summer, something she¡¯d forgotten about. Too many seasons in the cold, making sure her unaccustomed body suffered every day. ¡°There¡¯s a spell,¡± she murmured thinking out loud, not paying attention to her servant¡¯s words. ¡°Makes ice out of water. I could have Yeriden froze up, which will flood the valley sure¡­ hmm, what?¡±Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°Nothing mistress.¡± ¡°Speak fool!¡± ¡°The Prince will stay in the army¡¯s headquarters,¡± Wulan reported nervously, what she¡¯d heard from the other slaves. ¡°Fine. What else?¡± ¡°They are worried about Van Durren escaping to the coast.¡± ¡°How will he do that?¡± Wulan shrugged. ¡°What then? He needs ships.¡± ¡°He could attack Hi Yil Castle, secure the Merchant Path.¡± Aelrindel rolled her eyes. ¡°There¡¯s another army coming from Eikenport. The young knight will be caught in a trap, if¡­ he escapes Prince Nout.¡± ¡°It would be better if Prince Atpa was at Sadofort,¡± Wulan pointed, suddenly well-versed in military strategy. Everyone seems to think, following the army around makes them generals, or something. ¡°The Desert, while horrible to traverse, is an open route.¡± ¡°Atpa is dragging his feet on purpose,¡± Aelrindel said. ¡°What about the shaman?¡± Wulan probed, probably having eavesdropped her talk with Lithoniela. ¡°Haven¡¯t seen him in a while.¡± ¡°Gives me the creeps,¡± Wulan admitted with a shiver. Aelrindel saw one of the shadows move, avoiding the light coming from the torches and sighed. ¡°Give me the room. I need to think about things.¡± And talk to a stubborn man. ¡°I left your nightshirt on the bed,¡± Wulan said and bowed deeply, before leaving out of a side door. The old bedroom was massive and right next to the throne room, but also dark and foreboding, despite the many lit torches. ¡°Do you need more light?¡± Aelrindel taunted, turning around. She walked to a nightstand, filled a gold goblet with water and drank half of it. Turned the rest to ice inside the cup, smashed it once on the table to get it out and used a large chunk on her neck and naked chest. Making quite a show of it. ¡°I want her engaged,¡± Ralnor said, appearing directly across from where she¡¯d expected him. He¡¯d a tired look on his face. ¡°She hasn¡¯t been with her own in a while. We need to use this. It won¡¯t always be the case. You¡¯re interesting, but another may come around.¡± ¡°Uhm.¡± ¡°Your pathetic attempt at stimulating my senses, won¡¯t work,¡± the assassin added, with a freakish leer. Oh, please dear. ¡°Are you sure? I sense you¡¯re pretty aroused from here.¡± ¡°If I can restrain myself, others will as well.¡± No they won¡¯t and no you can¡¯t, if I set my mind on it. Aerlinder smacked her lips, then watched the ice melting away on the nightstand. ¡°How long?¡± The Princess had been alone, was her meaning. ¡°A couple of centuries. Since the end.¡± ¡°Where?¡± ¡°Around Oakenfalls,¡± Ralnor replied and gathered some of the moisture from her left breast with a steady finger, then licked it off with a long rubicund tongue. ¡°No. Amidst wilderness, the ruins and the dead? She wasn¡¯t there.¡± ¡°Yet. She was.¡± Aelrindel sighed. ¡°How did she get there? Did she swim?¡± ¡°How did Reinut escape?¡± Ralnor countered, stepping closer. She put a hand on his chest and pushed him slowly away. ¡°That was earlier. So she just went through the chaos, the world around her burning?¡± ¡°What did she tell you about the boy?¡± Ralnor asked, his stare unreadable. Why? ¡°Nothing much.¡± ¡°Yet, both of you seem determined to keep him breathing. Why?¡± Ralnor repeated again, more sternly. Aelrindel gasped, the stench of raw flesh on him too much to endure for long and stepped away. Her naked feet, leaving moist impressions of the marble floor. ¡°What are you getting at, Dar Eherdir?¡± ¡°Ah,¡± Ralnor said that leer back on his lips. ¡°Naughty sorceress, plays games.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not.¡± ¡°The Wyverns never left Goras,¡± Ralnor said. A weird topic to bring up. Unsafe, even at this later hour, to talk about. ¡°No one¡¯s listening. I¡¯ve people stationed.¡± ¡°The boy? Or that pupil of yours?¡± She taunted. ¡°Answer the question.¡± Fuck you. ¡°They never left.¡± There. ¡°Why did the Queen sent Ovinet back from the Peninsula? Why not keep her there? A dying Wyvern is still dangerous,¡± Ralnor probed. ¡°Bring the others? The moment she realized Reinut was there. It made sense.¡± ¡°How could a Wyvern lead the others?¡± Ralnor insisted. ¡°How would the Queen explain her needs to her?¡± With the dagger. ¡°Apparently she didn¡¯t. It was a fail. The Wyvern came back but never left, then they couldn¡¯t and it was over.¡± ¡°Lithoniela made it out. On a wyvern¡¯s back is my guess,¡± Ralnor said annoyingly and approached her again. ¡°If she had used one, we would know, or heard about it,¡± Aelrindel replied and looked for the nightshirt. It was one thing to tease him, another to underestimate his skill. With so many shadows about them, Ralnor was lethal. ¡°Even¡­¡± Where are my children? That voice had asked. She sighed looking at the bed. Where is my nightie? ¡°There was no way one of them escaped, Ralnor,¡± Aelrindel murmured absentmindedly. ¡°Yet, the boy has a Wyvern¡¯s egg with him. Black as Oras heart,¡± the assassin said casually and offered her the nightshirt, after sniffing it deeply. What? She stared at him incredulous. ¡°Reeves has a¡­ no, you¡¯re wrong.¡± ¡°I almost died because of it. The shock of seeing one, all but did me in. Reeves almost gotten himself killed as well in the attempt to retrieve it,¡± Ralnor stopped to let his words sink in, then added. ¡°Does she know? Is that the reason?¡± This can¡¯t be, Aelrindel thought and went to sit down on the bed, the nightshirt forgotten. ¡°I don¡¯t¡­ I don¡¯t think she does. Ah. Darn it, I¡¯m not sure.¡± ¡°Great,¡± Ralnor retorted. ¡°Anything else, I should know about?¡± ¡°Ovinet was expecting,¡± Aelrindel blurted out, her mind thinking back feverishly. Could she have resisted the poison enough? Then what? She flew Lithoniela out of Goras and went to die in the wilderness? Forced it out, when she sensed the end was near? ¡°What was Lithoniela doing in Oakenfalls?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. Mourning her dead mother? Where did Reeves, get the egg? He just found it? A human? I don¡¯t believe it,¡± Ralnor queried, with a scowl. ¡°Something is up with him. Dodging out of nowhere, using spells¡ª¡± Nah, you must be wrong. But it was there for her to see. There. Damn you! She stopped him, raising a hand. ¡°He can¡¯t,¡± Aelrindel said, this time feeling really worried. ¡°It¡¯s that damn dagger.¡± Ralnor raised a hairless brow. ¡°A dagger,¡± he repeated. ¡°One of my daggers,¡± the sorceress explained and Ralnor stood back silent, looking none too pleased. ¡°If Reeves used it to shortcut his way through high level spells, eh¡­ I can¡¯t understand how he¡¯s still breathing. Then¡­ a dead Wyvern might¡¯ve noticed him, or worse. All he needed was to kill a lot and whole-lotta luck. Even then, he should be a withered burned out husk. Like, I can¡¯t even fathom, unless there¡¯s a God involved, or he¡¯s Luthos in the flesh.¡± Which while hyperbolic, it was in a sense close to the truth. Close, used very loosely here. 142. The Assassins moon (2/3)
Ralnor Dar Eherdir The Assassins moon Part II -A thread at a time-
The city was dead. Oras eye and Nesande¡¯s moon just illuminating its carcass. It stood torn apart, the buildings half-collapsed and blackened. The few that had survived carrying deep wounds as well. No more than two neighborhoods worth of real estate left standing, a bank amongst them and a famed inn being the highlight. What the fires and the bombardment hadn¡¯t destroyed outright, the rape that followed had taken care of. The Khan¡¯s army enslaved one for every three civilians that they butchered. When the killing finally stopped and the old Duke was long dead whatever was left slowly perished of hunger. And what at first shocked the surviving locals as an unlikely horrifying tale, had turned into reality. Those that dropped dead succumbing to the famine, were quickly consumed by thousands of rats and sometimes those left behind. Hence the story of the old Duke served as dinner to the witch living high up the pyramid, lost some of its initial luster. But people survived even so. Pockets of them, slowly came out of the rumble, refusing to leave and started living again. What once was a famed city though, had turned into several small villages, hidden in a maze of stone and debris. The rats paid a heavy prize for that early lavish feast. They were driven to extinction. The Prince offered amnesty to those that had survived those hellish summer months, but every night, when the small markets that had sprouted in the destroyed parts of the city closed and the people retired, the moonlight reminded those that lurked in the dark of what had happened. Death, brings opportunity, Ralnor thought. He watched the pebble roll down the cracked wall, the sound clear in the eerie silence. The shadows thick as cold fat. He placed a small cube of cured flesh on his molars and chewed on it, appreciating the taste. His eyes on the quiet road leading to the still under repair harbor. The pebble reached the cobblestone road, bounced once and came to a stop at a quarter of its width. The silence following the disturbance deafening. Ralnor reached for the bag Aelrindel had given him, grabbed a handful of incense gums and seeds and waited. The shadow moved, when he swallowed. It came out on the street turning solid after a moment, the figure emerging dressed in black, white hair braided. Nervous and unsure, if she¡¯d heard right. Not Yllir, though. Ah, that imperial cunt is cool as a cucumber, he thought licking his lips. Another¡­ hmm. The female assassin, an Issir, glanced once more at the empty road, missing Ralnor watching her from above the collapsed wall and turned around. The next moment she was gone.
¡°Have they left?¡± Mezera asked him, after yelping when he landed next to her spot. Her fear rich and enticing. ¡°You can only see one way,¡± Ralnor rustled and placed his back on the internal wall surrounding the Duke¡¯s palace. ¡°There are guards posted.¡± ¡°Always assume they are already dead,¡± Ralnor advised her. ¡°Do not trust a man with a boring job to stay alert enough, much less save your neck.¡± Mezera sighed and stretched out like a cat. It turned into a yawn. ¡°Apologies, I¡¯m not sleeping well,¡± she blurted. ¡°I do not sleep at all,¡± Ralnor retorted calmly. ¡°Where is the boy?¡± ¡°He¡¯s sleeping? The moment he eats, he¡¯s out,¡± Mezera explained with a grin, she quickly covered looking away. He sighed and put a hand on her shoulder. ¡°Get some rest,¡± Larn offered and she clasped his hand with hers for a moment, her skin warm. It was a simple gesture of gratitude, the woman too emotional still but it made him feel a little better. Nobody likes being treated like a monster. Not when real monsters are about to feast on the Realm.
¡°I¡¯m here,¡± Ralnor said and came out of the heavy shadow, near the narrow stairs leading up to the parapets. Lithoniela pouted, eyes turning a royal bright purple under her hood. ¡°How do you... where did you learn that?¡± She queried haughtily, crossing her arms on her chest. ¡°It wasn¡¯t a spell, your grace,¡± Ralnor replied and came to stand close to her. She smelled of the sorceress¡¯ oils. ¡°The spot offered plenty of shade,¡± he added. ¡°Hmm. You¡¯ve learned the greater Gift of Stealth,¡± she noted not backing away from him. ¡°Nobody has, but for Nym,¡± he lied with ease. ¡°Why?¡± She probed curious. Ralnor took a deep breath and stepped away. He pressed his lips into a thin line, thinking of the Silent Servant back in the city. ¡°Incense and seeds, won¡¯t cut it,¡± Ralnor replied, the fact he was talking to the Empress¡¯ daughter not lost on him. The moment, while highly coveted in the distant past lesser somehow than he¡¯d expected it. ¡°A part of yourself, must perish. There¡¯s only so much one has to spare,¡± he replied cryptically, even so giving away more than he should have. ¡°What about healing?¡± ¡°You saw her,¡± Ralnor said, understanding what it was she was looking for. ¡°She didn¡¯t need a life to heal you,¡± Lithoniela pointed, looking at him. Ah, the privileged, Ralnor thought, returning her stare. The city is flooded with assassins, itching to slit our throats and probably gorge in our blood, Old Nym be damned and still they find the time to satisfy their academic curiosity. Debate magic and high level spells, under the moonlight. ¡°Aelrindel was very talented always,¡± he replied staring at the twin moons over their heads, an idea forming in his mind. ¡°You¡¯ve known her for that long?¡± Wish it was longer. ¡°I¡¯ve known her from afar,¡± Ralnor said, his jaw clenching. ¡°Through her mother.¡± Watched her grow up. Always unseen, even when I wasn¡¯t hiding. ¡°Aye, it makes sense,¡± Baltoris daughter replied with a nod. ¡°You were a stray. Edlenn had that reputation,¡± Lithoniela continued, what she¡¯d probably heard in the gold-painted walls of her palace. ¡°Orphans coming out of the woods, or found in the lake, half-dead. What was she really like? The famed ¡®Night¡¯s Moon¡¯. I never got to meet her.¡± I can see you boy, the old sorceress whispered peacefully. Her words a soothing song. Why are you sad? Ralnor gulped down, his throat dry and took a deep breath to regain his composure. ¡°The ¡®Fair Mother¡¯ found value in all things,¡± he replied, forcing a smile on his face to answer her querying eyes. ¡°And now you serve her daughter. Will you serve me as well?¡± ¡°It¡¯s what I do, Princess,¡± Patiently and for long. With no reward worth of note. Lithoniela had clasped his hand, the second person to do it in the same night. Ralnor looked into her golden cheerful eyes astounded. ¡°Gratitude,¡± the Imperial Princess said warmly.
¡°She¡¯s inside,¡± Toutatis informed him, mouth full of grapes not stopping him from talking. ¡°Wearing a wig, or something. She didn¡¯t mind giving me food.¡± Ralnor nodded staring at the guard posted outside. ¡°The Prince?¡± He asked, keeping his face neutral. The boy swallowed and wiped his mouth. He eyed the guard in turn. ¡°Thoroughly satisfied. Lots of heavy breathing ensued. He left earlier,¡± the little rascal replied and a tick appeared at the side of Ralnor¡¯s mouth. ¡°Where did you get the shoes?¡± He asked and it came out a hiss. ¡°A dead guy, or girl,¡± Tot replied looking at him curious. Ralnor sighed. ¡°Stay, while I talk with her. Don¡¯t steal anything else.¡±
Aelrindel had a large silver bowl placed on the mahogany table next to the balcony¡¯s doors. She poured clear white oil in it from a silver decanter, the smell of lavender and rose extract strong. Her long cobalt hair reaching her waist, the shrill tunic she wore, a bright red with gold details, touching the marble floor. The sorceress added two measures of frankincense, half a handful of sarsaparilla seeds, myrrh and balsam resin, before turning to watch Ralnor approach. Silvery eyes taunting. Edlenn¡¯s daughter was a seductress first and foremost. ¡°You talked with the Princess,¡± she pointed. ¡°Must have, as you¡¯re way gloomier at this time of day. I suppose, it¡¯s refreshing she can cheer you up.¡± ¡°How did it go, with the Prince?¡± Ralnor countered, the left side of his mouth curling upwards. ¡°I don¡¯t think it worked. I shall keep trying. He¡¯s very eager to please.¡± Not if he runs himself through with his sword. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. It can be an accident. People stumble onto their blades all the time. ¡°Perhaps, the gods are telling you something.¡± Aelrindel chuckled, seeing his expression. ¡°I don¡¯t perceive the matter as amusing,¡± Ralnor hissed, glancing inside the bowl. ¡°Will it work?¡± He had to change the subject. ¡°Three days of slow amalgamation are required. You expect something? They haven¡¯t acted for weeks.¡± ¡°Maybe they have, there¡¯s an assassin of the Guild in the city,¡± Ralnor said. ¡°The Guild you control,¡± she mocked him openly. ¡°Do you control the Khanate?¡± Ralnor countered and she all but hissed in frustration. The sorceress walked away from the narrow long table, she¡¯d brought in the throne room. Two new large book-selves adorning the opposing walls. Aelrindel kept changing stuff, adding her touch to the once rather empty hall. ¡°Are the myths bards spread, your reality now?¡± ¡°Eventually I will,¡± Aelrindel whispered and reaching the Duke¡¯s old throne, two large satin pillows on it, plopped down troubled. Through an offspring was her meaning. All that brilliance wrapped in a fool¡¯s cloth. A small cloth. ¡°They¡¯ll never accept a half-breed. Not on this throne, or any.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll make sure they will. The Realm changes all the time.¡± Ralnor sighed and walked towards her. ¡°A wyvern might¡¯ve noticed him,¡± he repeated her words from the other day. Aelrindel licked her sensual lips, a soft pink tongue over pearly teeth. Those canines sharp. Her eyes warning him to drop the matter. But he couldn¡¯t. Old sins and the past walked their present. ¡°Which one?¡± ¡°Does it matter?¡± she rumbled. ¡°Now it does. You never learned to hide your anger.¡± ¡°It¡¯s easier to hide, when you¡¯re only using one expression, or variants of it. Unhappy scowl, gloomy sulk,¡± she snarled properly. That was much better, he thought. Personal and taunting enough. ¡°Which Wyvern Aelrindel?¡± She smacked her lips, tiny wrinkles marring the edges of her eyes. The sorceress wore no makeup. You can¡¯t improve perfection. ¡°Gimoss, the Foul.¡± Hmm. Now the monsters come knocking. ¡°You can¡¯t use your own¡­ eh, that¡¯s¡­ the demigod of the myths?¡± ¡°All myths were history once,¡± she said carelessly. ¡°How do you know?¡± ¡°I studied more than you, Ralnor,¡± Aelrindel reminded him. ¡°And my mother met him, before the great Ninthalor of Myraniel passed.¡± Ralnor frowned and clasped his hands on his back. ¡°The Emperor,¡± he rustled. ¡°Baltoris father. When was this?¡± ¡°At the end of the First Era,¡± Aelrindel replied, a hint of pride in her voice. Her lineage second only to the Royalbloods and the Sibyls. ¡°Continue,¡± Ralnor hissed. His own line unknown, probably tainted at the very least. ¡°My mother went to save our people on the Last Isles,¡± That would be Plague Isles, Ralnor translated. ¡°The King of Kings was busy defending the mainland and couldn¡¯t spare the resources. She wanted to evacuate as many as it was possible, but when she arrived, the Aken and their constructs had spread everywhere like cancer. Edlenn killed more than she saved.¡± Ralnor cleared his throat, giving her the time to recover. Aelrindel pressed index and mid-finger on her forehead, her eyes closed and mouth pressed in the attempt to recover the ancient painful memory. ¡°Then Gimoss arrived,¡± she said. ¡°Death followed.¡± ¡°Like in the story,¡± Ralnor added. He¡¯d heard it in his youth. The Crafter God from the lands of the Aken. ¡°Eh, not exactly. Politics, pride and a lot of embellishment went into it.¡± ¡°A Wyvern from Mistland. Is that part true?¡± Ralnor asked. ¡°That¡¯s not what they call it. The Aken came from there, but Gimoss followed them and Edlenn, I suppose. Drawn to their magic.¡± ¡°You¡¯re stalling. What did he do?¡± ¡°He wanted a Lighthouse build,¡± Aelrindel replied. ¡°Ruined the villages, scoured the land and killed Aken and Zilan alike,¡± she breathed in ruggedly. An attempt to keep some details private. ¡°A lighthouse.¡± ¡°The biggest there was. Shine a light on Eplas. That¡¯s what the Aken said.¡± ¡°What did your mother do?¡± ¡°She listened to their offer. Our people were getting eaten, enslaved. Her magic didn¡¯t work on him. Gimoss was ancient then.¡± Ralnor stared at the sun coming from the open balcony. Rida had gone through something similar. People never learned their lessons. ¡°What did the Aken proposed?¡± He asked, with a frown. ¡°We shed the islands to them, agree on a truce,¡± Aelrindel replied. ¡°They would kill the Wyvern in exchange.¡± ¡°How?¡± ¡°A cursed brew made of bone marrow and Death Magic.¡± ¡°What about our people?¡± Ralnor asked, although he knew. ¡°She had to give them up for the spell to work. A Wyvern¡¯s appetite is gargantuan, but a lamenting mother¡¯s wrath can overcome her compassion.¡± Of course. Let¡¯s feed the strays to the monster. That was a blemish on Edlenn¡¯s story. ¡°I assume it worked,¡± he croaked. ¡°Gimoss managed to fly away, but yeah it did eventually,¡± Aelrindel replied. ¡°My mother came back, but the King refused to agree to the arranged truce. With the old Wyvern gone and Turlas strong enough to cross the Haze Sea, Ninthalor wanted the Isles back into the fold.¡± ¡°Then the King died,¡± Ralnor guessed. ¡°He did. Young Baltoris took over, agreed to honor my mother¡¯s armistice. Didn¡¯t like it but she wasn¡¯t as confident then.¡± A thousand years will make a lion out of a cub. ¡°Did Edlenn have the King killed?¡± Ralnor asked. The rumor strong back in those days. ¡°Was Nym involved?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, you work with Nym. Mother wouldn¡¯t do something like this Ralnor. I¡¯m shocked you¡¯ve actually thought she would! ¡± Edlenn had just agreed to genocide the islands population for that truce, Ralnor thought. I wager she took the King¡¯s rebuke a bit more personal. You would. Unless you¡¯re keeping something to yourself. ¡°Where did you get the bones? I assume they are his,¡± Ralnor asked her instead, the sorceress staring at the Duke¡¯s coat of arms still hanging on her wall. ¡°Talons,¡± Aelrindel murmured, her mind elsewhere. ¡°They¡¯ve taken the bones, before I got there.¡± ¡°Who had? Where¡¯s the place? Here, on Eplas?¡± She stared at him unsure for a moment. Then breathed deep, her breasts swelling under the thin material and pushed herself up. ¡°In the desert. Close to where the earth got torn. The Aken found the body, many centuries later,¡± Aelrindel¡¯s silvery eyes asked him to stop, but Ralnor couldn¡¯t. This didn¡¯t make any sense. ¡°Intact?¡± ¡°Gimoss demise wasn¡¯t natural. He got¡­ exorcized from the living. We don¡¯t practice this,¡± the sorceress whispered. Until we do, Ralnor translated. ¡°The body remained. Until they found it.¡± Ah, the dark paths noble folk travel without batting an eyelash. ¡°The Aken are here again, Aelrindel. Have they ever left? They don¡¯t have to be present to watch,¡± he thought about the one he¡¯d met in the woods and his creepy constructs. ¡°They favor a long scheme,¡± he pointed out the obvious. ¡°Why did they help you?¡± ¡°They remembered my mother. I can be very persuasive.¡± Beauty and vanity makes idiots appear smart. ¡°They just gave me directions. Helped me find the place. Does it even matter? It¡¯s been ages.¡± Pray we won¡¯t have to find out. He sighed deeply. ¡°I did what I had to do,¡± the sorceress said simply, sensing his inner turmoil. Love-struck little girl, playing with the Realm¡¯s fate. Trying to mate with a human and waste her mother¡¯s line away. The fact she still stubbornly, as much as selfishly, worked on that same stupid plan, not lost to him. A Zilan can only give birth once. Twice if the Gods willed it. But they rarely did. The Prince has to go, he decided. Ah, another name to scratch out. Then there¡¯s Reeves. Mayhap that kid kills himself? ¡°What if the boy hatches that darn egg?¡± Ralnor asked. ¡°What then?¡± ¡°A human. Are you serious? That egg is dead! A chunk of rock. Little more than a plinth left to the elements for centuries. The moment it sees the light, it must be placed near fire. The Blacksmiths were tasked for this. Two hundred years. And who would help him? Gimoss? Haha,¡± She shook her head right and left, finding it absurd. Her chuckle unforced, childish for a Zilan female that was more than halfway into her second millennia. Lithoniela is still a teen, she is not. ¡°I¡¯ll talk with Reeves again. He¡¯ll listen,¡± the sorceress born twelve years afore the Fall of Sibara and ninety years before Ralnor added, strangely pleased. Even hopeful? Ralnor was thinking of the locked box. He¡¯d opened that darn box, almost gotten himself killed because of it. Reeves had escaped. Didn¡¯t take the ship to Altarin. Did he go down the Merchant Path? Mayhap braved the Great Desert? How much heat, was warm enough? He wondered, not as certain as the sorceress. ¡®I¡¯m here on another matter as well¡¯, Dar Vranga had said, the memory worrying. ¡®Unless I¡¯m not¡¯. Where had that Gish gone? No bigger Imperial fanatic, than a freed former pleasure slave. Ralnor narrowed his eyes, the mess she¡¯d just dropped in his lap, epic in proportions. No wonder the numbers make no sense. He almost gave up, right then and there. Then Ralnor stared into her mirthful face, now grown into the beauty she was always destined to be and remembered why he¡¯d spared her. For a moment he¡¯d turned into that boy again, lurking in the shadows. Wonder in his eyes. In a sense, this stray always knew. ¡°Reeves is moving away from us,¡± Ralnor explained to her again, what she couldn¡¯t understand. His voice clogged with emotion. The Realm doesn¡¯t care about your plans and the Gods are always watching. ¡°You¡¯ve no idea what Gimoss will do, or if young Reeves has a plan. He found the dagger and he found the egg. Using spells should have killed him you say, but it didn¡¯t. Sometimes it¡¯s better to go with what¡¯s in front of you. He¡¯s a threat.¡± ¡°Sshh. I shall take care of that. You just have to find him Ralnor,¡± she argued blind, her heart still holding on to hope. ¡°What about the assassins?¡± He asked tiredly. For they are many. ¡°You have a plan?¡± Aelrindel asked. ¡°Do you?¡± She pouted. It was surprisingly effective on him. ¡°You¡¯re angry. Why?¡± We just expended an hour explaining it dear. ¡°It called self-preservation. Steel cuts through all flesh alike, sorceress. It doesn¡¯t need to be sharp,¡± Dar Eherdir warned her instead, sending the stray boy back in the Circle. When you have a maze of different threads, plots and dangers, thrust upon you, through no fault of your own, you must cut through it with the outmost patience. A thread at a time. ¡°Stop decorating the place,¡± he admonished her, a plan forming in his mind. A poor plan, but you got to have something, else Oras would just toss you overboard. Aelrindel¡¯s face turned a bright red, her eyes sparkling. ¡°I need you to make a very public statement. We¡¯ll worry about the repercussions later.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have a staff made yet,¡± Aelrindel argued annoyingly, as if that was on him centuries into her exile. ¡°You¡¯re talented enough,¡± he rustled. ¡°It¡¯ll have to suffice.¡±
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 143. The Assassins moon (3/3)
Ralnor Dar Eherdir O'' Lome Fae O'' Elum The Assassins moon -Sometimes, even a blunted one, will suffice- Part III-A
The sun was setting behind the red pyramid. A bright halo adorning its top and the palace the Winfields had built. Rida quieted down again, its streets emptying, some cleared from the rumble, others still blocked. Torches were lit, even lights to some of the more spared neighborhoods, but darkness reigned. Oras Eye appeared on the sky, half-hidden. Nesande¡¯s Moon looming large behind it, less than a quarter of it visible. Ralnor saw Mezera running stooped near the street leading to the palace gates, crossbow in hand. She reached the last building and climbed the half-destroyed north side getting inside. The boy standing next to him, munching on something, a serious look on his face. ¡°Don¡¯t engage,¡± Ralnor advised him. ¡°I want you staying on that roof, Toutatis.¡± ¡°What if someone comes near?¡± He asked, a man hidden inside a boy¡¯s body. ¡°You let him through.¡± ¡°How do I warn you?¡± ¡°I gave you a nail,¡± Ralnor told him. ¡°Hurl it down the street. Can you do that?¡± Tot nodded, his hand on that small blade. Ralnor watched him crossing the street for a moment, then walked to where Mezera was lurking. Checked to see, if she was easy to spot from the street and then retreated towards the Gates, the Cofols stationed there washing their faces from a water barrel and talking animatedly. Something about slaves and opportunities for a big coin day back home. Games and an easier life, forgetting that in order to win the war, they needed to cross the sea and fight the Issirs on Jelin. Kill the king, Ralnor advised them silently, or this will never end. The Arachne at the center of the web, he thought closing his eyes. The faceless silver mask appeared out of the dark, pale indigo iris¡¯ dispassionate, returning his stare. Ralnor forced the image away and opened his eyes again, turned them towards the top of the pyramid, now lost in the dark. Nothing but a vague, but austere shape, the whole construct an ominous massive shadow over the repaired palace walls. He stepped away from the men guarding the gates, danced into a shadow, up a broken wall, the old admiralty building half of what it used to be, climbed three stories high, swung from a beam protruding above the tiled part of the street and landed on the last floor. The rat heard the soft sound and turned intrigued, saw nothing and returned to feasting on the cat¡¯s carcass. The night predator dead from a small wound at the back of its neck. A very thin blade, or a long nail. An iron bolt even. He didn¡¯t have time to decipher it. The rat turned its head again and froze, terror oozing out of its small body in waves, seeing Dar Eherdir looming over it, ashen eyes glowing in the dark. The assassin brought his index finger to his lips, smirked and then turned to walk away. He climbed the internal corner facing the gates from the main street, where the walls met and the roof had collapsed. Reaching the top, lowered on a knee, burned some of Aelrindel¡¯s incense and whispered in the old tongue. Ann El¡¯Hen¡­ Casting the Long Eye, the second main spell everyone learned to master the greater Gift of Sight. The balcony of the pyramid came to view immediately, the sorceress dressed in a long silk -fully covered in intricate silver details- blue dress, standing straight behind the marble rails, rich cobalt hair dancing in the soft night breeze.
¡°What ugly thing lives in the dark?¡± A very young Aelrindel asked her mother, as if she was talking about him. The garden full of shadows, each ancient tree creating more of them. Every turn, a hiding spot. ¡°Those that fear the light,¡± Edlenn had replied that warmth in her voice more prominent and touched her small upturned nose with a long finger. ¡°Fiends!¡± She giggled, looking about to locate one. ¡°Ogres! Hobgoblins!¡± ¡°Now, now youngling,¡± Edlenn said, with a smile of her own and kneeled next to her. ¡°There¡¯s no such thing. Not since I was a little girl.¡± ¡°They still live in the forest,¡± Aelrindel whispered conspiratorially, looking about them with glowing eyes. ¡°Monsters.¡± ¡°How do we make them go away?¡± The old sorceress asked. ¡°We make light?¡± ¡°What¡¯s the easiest way to make something?¡± Edlenn asked patiently. ¡°Transfer it. Open a road,¡± The little girl replied. ¡°Through our bodies.¡± ¡°How do we make ¡®dead matter¡¯ listen?¡± ¡°We use words.¡± Edlenn nodded pleased. ¡°The closest one¡¯s state is to what we want created, the easier for the medium to make the transfer. The bigger the chance of success. The furthest, the harder it is. What does a sorceress fear the most, youngling?¡± ¡°Turning into a monster,¡± Aelrindel had replied. ¡°In the attempt.¡± Or angering the Gods, Ralnor thought.
Lights appeared at the top of the pyramid. Small, but many in number, always increasing. Torches and fire pits, oil lamps and every candle the servants had found during the day. Almost a thousand of little spots of light, coming out of openings, windows, and behind the witch standing on the balcony, overlooking the dark and gutted city of Rida. The palace shown, in a vulgar display, unharmed. The white marble shinning on top of the red iron-rich basalt of the pyramid. The breeze turned into a wind, when Aelrindel -looking tiny compared to the massive building- opened her hands and closed her eyes. The wind soared through the empty streets, rapped at Dar Eherdir¡¯s back, the guards watching from the gates, moving unsure on what was happening, but suddenly and as soon as it had appeared, the wind died. The many lights on the top of the pyramid, flickered once and then went out, all at once. A small ball of pure white light, the size of a melon, jumped out of the Duke¡¯s balcony and traveled towards the night sky. It rose slowly, without hurrying. Increasing in size the higher it went, shining brighter. The ball of light grew, the radiance astonishing to gawk at, as it ascended intent on reaching its kin, waiting on the dark heavens above. It never did. But such was its size and luminance at its highest point, both moons were eclipsed completely, for those precious few minutes. The phenomenon hotly disputed till this day. The people that had witnessed it going to their graves insisting that for a moment, the sun came out over the mourning Rida, in the middle of a hot summer evening. And turned the night into day.
Dar Eherdir kept an eye on the guards guffawing, or praying at the gates. Some even crying. It had taken him a moment, to get his sight back, as Aelrindel had overdone it, surprising even him. By the time he did, the guards distracted him enough to miss the figure that had appeared in the middle of the main street leading to the harbor. A hundred meters from the gates, the figure stood frozen staring at the now completely dark outline of the pyramid. Dar Eherdir grunted in annoyance and made to move, but stopped as another figure came to stand next to the first. This one shorter, but dressed the same. A long black cloak covering their bodies. Behind them, three more lithe figures appeared. Similarly dressed, their dark cloaks shorter, their light leather armour matching, made into a shop, in a tiny place called Rosebush, by a girl that seemed determined to make him wish, she never got that promotion. Then again, even assassins die of old age, if they are human. Some never make it that far. Others like the ancient Dar Minue Mol, the First Servant of the Circle, went to the darn extreme, as if trying to one-up their old master. ¡°Thou art there, timeworn shadow?¡± Mol asked in archaic Imperial, his voice ringing down the empty street. A guard turned his head, but didn¡¯t see anything alarming, so he spun around and went to check on what was happening at the gates. ¡°Was that her?¡± Dar Eherdir reached for his metallic crossbow, but stopped thinking it through. He needed to cut into the distance some, or draw them in. Mezera¡¯s spot was at the smaller parallel street behind him and to the southeast. ¡°I could see her, thou know,¡± Mol continued. ¡°Edlenn¡¯s spawn was never very far, wasn¡¯t she?¡± Dar Eherdir cursed, jaw clenched and glanced back to the northwest, where Tot was loitering. Would they relocate? How much time was needed? The guards at the gates, eight per shift were heard murmuring, still not concerned with the assassins. ¡°Thou were familiar with her whereabouts, since the beginning,¡± Mol noted, his accent unheard by Dar Eherdir for many decades, but devoid of passion. The members of the Guild started moving towards the dark sides of the street, still avoiding the illuminated by torches and the braziers¡¯ part of the palace¡¯s gates. Dar Eherdir hooked the crossbow under his left armpit again, where his armor¡¯s harness had a spot for it and grimaced in frustration. ¡°I knew thou remained fixated on her,¡± Mol said. Dar Minue was going to say, whatever it was he wanted out of his chest, Dar Eherdir thought. ¡°Old Nym knew it as well, is why he picked thee,¡± Mol shook his head, face hidden under the black hood. ¡°Ah, this test thou failed. Once a street urchin gets a piece of bread tossed his way, it¡¯ll follow thee around alike a dog. The bond nigh impossible to break.¡± There was a large group coming from the pyramid, behind the walls, judging from the torches and the animated guards. Dar Eherdir had lost that last detail, as he jumped from the roof and landed in the middle of the street, with a slight bend of the knees, followed by a roll. ¡°There he is then,¡± Mol said still almost twenty meters away, face hidden under the black hood. Laebae started moving slowly to Ralnor¡¯s left, distancing herself. Dar Eherdir stopped her, with a veiled warning. ¡°Greetings Yl. Sorry to mess up your ambush.¡± ¡°Ralnor,¡± she replied with a nod of her head. Her Imperial much more refined, than he remembered them. ¡°Apologies for the bolt. Missed the heart.¡± ¡°It was a difficult shot,¡± Dar Eherdir yielded, in a courteous manner. ¡°No shame in that.¡± The other three assassins had plastered themselves on the buildings, not expecting his entrance. One of them had a crossbow in his hands, but kept it aimed at the street. Mol answering him the reason for it, with his next words. Ralnor was more concerned about the Imperial Assassins anyway. It wasn¡¯t a slight to the Guild he¡¯d founded more than two centuries into the past. This was a matter of experience. And the fact they had received the same brutal training, as he had. ¡°This is thy chance,¡± the First Servant had said, in his antiquated Imperial accent. ¡°Stand aside, or finish the mission. Cut the cord Dar Eherdir.¡± ¡°Where is Dar Fenog? What became of Dar Draug? The Realm has changed, Mol. ¡± ¡°You shan''t move me. Oras isn¡¯t concerned with the minutiae of people.¡± Oras isn¡¯t the one giving orders. ¡°She fulfilled her part of the bargain,¡± Ralnor countered. ¡°This is a dead Queen¡¯s spite, for a war she lost.¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s a lie,¡± Mol replied, lip-less mouth holding that permanent snarling smile on. ¡°Thine Queen was betrayed Dar Eherdir.¡± ¡°Stories and words, put in songs by bards, who never witnessed anything and hid what they didn¡¯t like.¡± ¡°No bards sing this song,¡± Mol said. ¡°Her evil blinds thee still, or thou are too far gone, and thou stand now devoid of salvation.¡± ¡°How is this helping our people? Whatever is left? Everyone is important,¡± Dar Eherdir reminded him with a sigh and saw Dar Laebae, had her throwing knives out. Persistent Imperial cunt. ¡°Edlenn¡¯s drivel,¡± Mol spat. ¡°She never was for the people, nor were thee. Our people still perish in Wetull, where thou have never returned. Same as she never did. There she is now, high on her tower, illuminating a city she destroyed. Am I to applaud, the witch¡¯s spawn?¡± ¡°You¡¯re wrong about Edlenn and you¡¯re too harsh on Aelrindel. These are our enemies, Mol!¡± The First Servant stood back, with a snort. ¡°These are her enemies, Dar Eherdir,¡± he hissed. ¡°The Empire is gone and she had a hand in it that¡¯s all I need to know. Her line needs to be rooted out,¡± Mol sighed, glanced at the illuminated gates and added a hint of remembrance in his tone. ¡°I ate her heart in the end. Varg wanted to eat the brains, but not much was left. It was an indiscretion, Nym allowed. Ah, a sorceress¡¯ flesh palates a tad spicy,¡± Dar Eherdir flinched and pulled back, his stare hardening. ¡°I won¡¯t let you reach the palace,¡± he said simply and Dar Minue Mol countered, with a measured shrug. ¡°Didn¡¯t expect thou would. But I don¡¯t need to reach the palace. I can perceive her standing over yonder, by the bloody gates,¡± and that gnarly grimace, was unambiguously a smirk this time. Don¡¯t look. Trust her not to fuck it up. It¡¯s a mummer¡¯s trick! Dar Eherdir glanced back, almost a hundred meters where the gates stood, saw Aelrindel still in that blue dress standing gracefully amidst the guards and cursed. He¡¯d rolled to his right in the meantime, Dar Laebae¡¯s throwing knife buzzing a foot from his head.
Mol disappeared in a black cloud, Laebae did the same jumping in an alley, after sending another knife his way. The street flooded with the scent of burning incense. Dah Eherdir landed on a knee, used his right hand as lever to tumble towards the opening of the building, he¡¯d jumped down from. He somersaulted inside, landed in a cloud of dust and pulled the short grip-less knife out of his left shoulder, the wound smarting. The assassin run to the cracked wall next, found a brick half-out and stepped on it. A breath and he reached the first floor, pulled himself up, someone entering the building underneath him. Dar Eherdir went towards the open window, went through and out the dark side alley again, landed next to a Silent Servant that had circled the building to cut him off, while his¡­ her friend, rushed him from the front. The black-clad woman snapped back with a gasp, shortsword in hand lashing at him. He pushed it away, his palm on the flat of the blade and danced under her left arm already reaching for a short axe, she had on her back. She hissed and then cried in shock, when he pushed a long nail through her left ear. Dar Eherdir held her from behind, right hand under her armpit, as her body locked up and then relaxed, warm blood soaking his sleeve. ¡°You are relieved, of your service,¡± he whispered, bringing her body to the wall. He left her head rest softly on it. Then he was on the move again. A dash and he crossed the alley, another to cover the distance to the main street, now empty. He burned through seeds, to jump into a dancing shadow right at the corner, picking a spot across the larger street, to come out from. A bolt struck the cracked wall above his head, when he did. It went in half its length, back-end angling up. A misdirection. Dar Eherdir jumped backwards, put a hand down, tumbled feet over head and rolled again the moment his feet touched the tiled surface. The blade whistled over him, the sound muffled when it caught his flapping cloak. He twisted again lower part of torso and legs rising, left shoulder used as lever, the wound bothering him and bleeding. Swung a leg around caught the Silent Servant that had jumped him coming out of the alley, on the side of his head and snapped it back. The man cursed, half of it surprise Ralnor had spotted him, despite Ralnor¡¯s attention drawn to dodge his friend¡¯s bolt and half of it fear, for no one ever wanted to fight him in the open.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Better to ambush Eherdir o¡¯ Lome from afar, or absent that allow him to mercy kill you, the stories said. You don¡¯t want him committed. The Master of Shades was unforgiving to those foolish enough to attempt it. Nym had given him the secret name, even before Ralnor had entered the Circle, the youngest to ever attempt it and live. His ruthless colleagues used it to address him, while killers thrice his age respected his impressive list of skills and mounting number of victims. A hundred years later, everyone inside the Empire¡¯s borders had given him another. Folk, Gish and Zilan christened what couldn¡¯t be named, but was spilling out of the shadows. Fae o¡¯ Elum. Spirit of the Twilight. Life¡¯s last light. This name stuck, as it didn¡¯t fade from memory, like his Servant name. That is until the Empire was no more. And then it faded away too. Part III-B The man¡¯s back hit the tiles hard, just as Dar Eherdir was standing up. He stooped forward next and into the alley, left hand grabbing the Silent Servant by the elbow and dragging him violently after his shadow. Ralnor stepped in it and the Issir male, swung his curved sword at the darkness, finding empty air. He cursed and made to jump out and into the street again, but Dar Eherdir came out of another shade, this one right across from him, where a wall had created a pile of debris, a grown man¡¯s height. The assassin slashed at him diagonally, Ralnor blocked it with his steel Peleg, send the blade to bounce off the wall behind him and stabbed the knife Laebae had given him into his left knee. The Issir cursed in pain, tried to gut him with an iron hook, the shaft on it the length of half a spear. A bad weapon for a narrow alley. Dar Eherdir stepped back, glanced sideways to the main street, caught the Silent Servant with the crossbow crossing it in the open and sighed a little disappointed. ¡°Your pupil?¡± He probed, his tone judgmental. ¡°You¡¯re doing a poor job. Missing my leg going low¡­¡± Ralnor clicked his tongue, retreating towards the other end of the alley. The Issir tried to dislodge the blade from his knee, but failed with a groan, the blade slippery with his blood. ¡°Forget the knee. Don¡¯t let her come into the alley.¡± ¡°How¡­ do you know, it¡¯s a she?¡± The assassin hissed and reached for his satchel. ¡°I know my Guild,¡± Dar Eherdir replied. ¡°You seem the type.¡± He reached and got a long thin dagger out with his left hand. The assassin watching with ogling eyes, while slowly stumbling backwards towards the mouth of the alley, the light coming from it stronger. ¡°Where¡¯s Faerith K¡¯lael?¡± Ralnor asked taking a step forward, the female assassin stopping at the entrance of the alley crossbow raised, but hesitating as her master was standing in front of him, blocking her line of sight. Move aside fool, Ralnor thought, but the assassin opted to answer him instead too rattled to think clearly. Hoping for salvation. ¡°Order came from Barlow,¡± the man answered, with a grimace. ¡°The Imperials agreed to help. We thought we got lucky.¡± In the old days¡­ Edlenn had sang to him when he was little. Her voice hauntingly beautiful, each word a refined hymn. Clear, but also chilling, like the shiver that run down his spine. Creatures came out of the sea. Looked like people, but such people no one had ever seen. Robart Barlow had died in the winter of eighty two, more than seven years ago. The position left open, an oversight as he was trying to raise someone new to take the aging Fading Light¡¯s place at the time. Aelrindel¡¯s chaotic plans had distracted him enough for a patient veiled adversary to act. Moving another pawn into position. Another Arachne sitting in the middle of a much bigger web.
The Issir decided this was his chance and stooped right and to the side towards the alley¡¯s wall. Dar Eherdir mirrored his dodge, as moving aside was a pretty poor advise, hurling his Peleg to the feverishly aiming female Servant. She had her mind so focused not to miss her partner¡¯s move, looking for that elusive opening to nail him, the rotating axe-like weapon appeared in front of her face, like a mirage. She baulked her head away at the last moment, her bolt flying towards the sky, the reaction very decent given the absence of prior warning. Since there was no mirage involved, or other magic shenanigans, the steel weapon lodged at her clavicle to the lung, a devastating blow that split and shattered the bone, paralyzed her right arm and send her sprawling on her back. Her pale Northern face painted red under the hood. Dar Eherdir saw none of that, as he was moving with the male assassin, who heard the thud, flinched in panic and swung with that ridiculous weapon of his at the approaching Ralnor. Dar Eherdir made to block, remembered he¡¯d threw the Peleg away and put a hand on the long shaft to stop it, the sharpened hook tearing the leather at his sides, drawing blood. An almost lethal fuckup. The man growled like a pig getting slaughtered, when he kicked that knee sporting the blade out, breaking it anew. He doubled over, that nasty hook weapon of his interfering with Ralnor¡¯s killing blow. Dar Eherdir jumped away, breathed once deep, his right side bleeding as well and allowed his opponent to gather himself. The assassin stumbled on a ruined knee, the lower part of it holding on by muscle and skin and went down, planting his long shafted weapon on the paved-stones to stabilize himself. Ralnor moved again the moment he did, a custom scimitar in hand and removed the hook problem once and for all. He sidestepped, to avoid the torrent of blood from the severed arm that hit the cobblestone and then kneed the Issir in the mouth, sending him on his back as well. ¡°Dammit!¡± He cursed next and stooping he dislodged a couple of teeth from his own knee, -hard nails digging in the bloody flesh- darn things going right through his leather pants and hurt like a slinger¡¯s shot. Grinding his teeth, he made one step and punched his thin blade into the thrashing and screaming Issir¡¯s pale green eye to the hilt. I shouldn¡¯t had gotten the weapon out so early, he admonished himself. Fighting with one hand, like an idiot. His face contorting more from fury, than pain, as he walked tenderly towards the withering away female. Her blue Northern eyes watching him with pure terror, as he kneeled grimacing over her, his hideous teeth clenched tight. ¡°What did he call you?¡± Dar Eherdir asked calmly. You should have stayed away. ¡°Q¡¯Oluil,¡± she gasped, tears rolling down her bloody face. Dreamer in the old tongue. ¡°Ah. I like it. You dream of snow now, child,¡± he whispered soothingly and slashed her neck open, with his blade. The blood flowing freely, the light in her eyes fading, pupils filled with horror instead of snowed slopes and the alley turned silent again.
¡°Are you going to fight me, Mol?¡± Dar Eherdir asked, stepping into the main street again. There was some light there, coming from the open ground before the palace gates, a hundred meters away, the small crowd of guards posted in front of them listening to the Elderborn engrossed, giving her version of the earlier phenomenon, but not much. Shadows coming from the destroyed buildings, the still standing walls and floors and their dark interior, adding to the encroaching night. The two moons not full on the sky, their peak coming at the end of the month, during the festival. ¡°Thou have a pupil lying in wait,¡± Mol¡¯s voice rang and Dar Eherdir turned his head the other way, stepping nimbly to the side, his knee bothering him. His eyes searched the building where Mezera lurked, spotted the young woman at the base of a half collapsed wall, two stories high and exhaled, moving again to the side. Metal struck the street behind him and Ralnor flinched that way, run zig zagging towards another tall building, one side of it gone and the pile of rumble as big as a house. The last and at the corner of the big road leading to the East Gates, part of it Reeves had used to escape. Toutatis waited there. Ralnor rushed the distance, reached the mound of debris, glanced behind him at the empty main street, and caught sight of Mol coming out of a dark corner crossbow in hands, very close to where he¡¯d started. The First Servant raised his weapon and aimed, just as Dar Laebae, who probably got spooked by Toutatis distraction took her shot. Several things happened almost at the same second. Half way into that second, Dar Eherdir jumped into the dark shade pooling at the base of the building, right where the broken material had spilt out, burning through the witch¡¯s incense. The whole corner of the building and its walls were missing. The first floor ceiling had completely collapsed internally, after the heavy fire ate at the wooden supports, the debris mound peak where it should have started. Above it, the second had more than half perilously daggling overhead, in two narrow parts still attached on the walls, like giant shelves. The interior black like Oras heart. Dar Laebae¡¯s bolt struck the paved street missing and being already on the move, she jumped from her spot on the north part of the top ceiling, eyes gleaming in the dark an exquisite emerald, flew four meters in half a second, across the large opening and landed on the opposing part another bolt slotted. She turned a second and some change in, aiming low and for the peak of the pile where Dar Eherdir would emerge, the shadows there dancing in the pale moonlight. And that second was over. No, you fool! Ralnor cursed as he burst out of his shadow, seeing Toutatis -not even four feet in height- detach himself from the darkest part of the adjoining wall, just as Dar Laebae a small smirk on her aged mouth lined up her kill shot. The boy took a determined step forward and stabbed with the dagger Ralnor had given him Dar Laebae¡¯s left thigh. The assassin saw Dar Eherdir¡¯s attention was not on her crossbow, smug smirk turning into a snarl and fired her shot blind and with one hand. Body, head and left hand, reacting to the unseen threat instinctively. Toutatis blade found flesh, cutting through thin black-whale leather pants, but the Zilan assassin pulled the leg away the wound superficial. Dar Laebae¡¯s eyes grew, seeing her own sharp short blade cutting through air, her sneaky opponent barely above her waist. Toutatis pulled his hand back and stepped to the side, looking for a better angle and Yl¡¯s returning steel knife missed most of his face. She got him above the left brow instead, imperial steel going through soft flesh like butter and despite him wincing away desperately, sliced his left eye in half spilling it out and shattered his zygomatic bone, peeling away most of his left cheek to the mouth. Toutatis went down, the shock almost killing him on the spot, his face an unrecognizable grotesque mess. Laebae turned around sensing Ralnor step on the half-collapsed ceiling, dropping her crossbow in the process, right hand snapping to her satchel and the left hurling the bloody blade at him from point blank range. She expected a dodge to earn enough time to burn her way out of trouble, but Dar Eherdir took the blade in the chest, right through the lung, the knife exploding out of his back, the power behind the hurl monstrous. He got her with the Peleg at the right forearm almost chopping it away outright. Yl screamed like a wraith blood gushing out, blocked his shortsword with a knee to the wrist almost breaking it, his fingers losing the grip and the weapon clanging down. Pulled back to avoid a chop on the face, gnarly teeth clenched and kicked him hard, right at his bleeding wound with the other leg. Dar Eherdir was hurled back and over the ledge and Yl reached with her left hand for her satchel again, the right spraying blood everywhere, daggling by skin and a bit of flesh. Never assume your opponent will take care to land softy, instead of attacking you. Most times he will, but most times is not all times. Ralnor landed with his back on three large and crude pieces of cement, broken bricks and burned wood. All mixed up, half-melted and hard as stone. Dar Laebae gurgled and stumbled back on shaky legs, the Peleg buried between her breasts. She spat blood and went down, coughed once, her hand reaching for the knives she favored on her leather shoulder-sheaths, but sighed deep instead and let it drop down lifeless. Ralnor groaned, blood in his throat and pushed himself up. He reached, grabbed her left arm and pulled her down on the top of the pile, next to him. Turned her around, spat a fat blob of phlegm on her serene face and retrieved his throwing axe. ¡°Fucking Imperial cunt,¡± he hissed and groaning walked out of the destroyed building to find Mol.
Dar Minue Mol spotted him first. ¡°Is Yl gone?¡± The First Servant asked, standing near a dark corner. A narrow alley meeting the main street there. A spatter of blood on his narrow face, lip-less mouth in a permanent snarl, or smile. No one was ever certain with him, Ralnor thought. ¡°She never much liked thee. I reckon, the girl was right.¡± ¡°Never much liked her too,¡± Ralnor rustled, licking blood off his lips. They were about ten meters apart, but Mol had seen him first and allowed him to approach, himself keeping an alley full of shadows near, to make an escape. He would have expected him to use his crossbow, as he was a legendary marksman, when unseen, but he¡¯d a small wound on his left shoulder, not bleeding. Mol had taken a potion, but it was slow to mend, the wound deep. A bolt shot. Ah, Mezera, Ralnor thought and glanced two houses behind the Imperial Assassin, where it was her spot. Mol caught his stare, probably grinned, but as previously mentioned, it was a difficult thing to discern. He was also standing between Dar Eherdir and the gates now. Aelrindel is taking her bloody time, he thought. ¡°She¡¯s over yonder,¡± Mol hissed. ¡°Near the door. Perhaps she lives still.¡± Ralnor grimaced, but didn¡¯t take the bait, his lung flooded with blood, more running down his back. He had to make this quick. Reaching back with his right hand Ralnor unsheathed his sword, the Imperial steel blade gleaming in the light coming from the gates and at last he saw Aelrindel appear. Appear used loosely here. At first he thought it a trick of the fading light and the colors, the white-painted cracked wall across from them, on the side of the main street breathing. Its surface reacting gently to the soft breeze coming from Yeriden. The blackened part of it turning into a more distinct shape slowly, the sorceress telling him it was time. Lithoniela¡¯s chuckle reached them from the palace¡¯s gates next, Mol hearing it grimacing and reaching for his sword. ¡°This selfish creature thou serve,¡± the First Servant told him, the other hand in his satchel, as he retreated towards the dark and full of rich shadows alley. ¡°She waits for thee to finish the job, or die Dar Eherdir. Still her dog thou are. But I will reach her, twenty humans, or a hundred, it matters naught. I shall finish what thou couldn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Why not fight here?¡± Ralnor rustled, seeing him enter the alley. ¡°Thou have no more seeds to burn,¡± Mol explained patiently. ¡°Since thou are crafty, I shall give myself the upper hand. This road isn¡¯t dark enough for my likes. Thou might guess right.¡± Ralnor sighed, gulped down a mouthful of blood and then chugged down a potion, the liquid burning down his throat and turning to acid in his stomach. Mol¡¯s laughter ringing down the street. ¡°See, thou are crafty.¡± You have no idea, Dar Eherdir thought and went after him.
Mol came out of a shadow the moment he stepped in, slashed at him from the right and jumped into another right after. Ralnor blocked it, but didn¡¯t attempt a return, rolling down the dark narrow corridor instead. He stopped next to a broken cart, the huge part of the wall that had destroyed it, half-barring the alley ten meters in. The Imperial Assassin jumped out of another shadow, the blade hissing and slashed him across the chest, Ralnor jerking away, but losing part of his harness in the process. He didn¡¯t move this time, the alley smelling of burning incense, no one better stocked than the First Servant. Mol attacked again appearing behind him, but Dar Eherdir snapped his torso right hard, slapped the flat of the blade away, getting cut from wrist to elbow on the return. Ralnor sidestepped, sweat on his forehead, bleeding anew, his heart beating wild and parried the next attack to the side, sparks appearing like fireflies inside the dark alley, the only illumination coming from the main street. But it was a meager light this, the gates too far away to provide anything more. Then even that went away. The moonlight didn¡¯t reach this part of Rida, the corridor too narrow, debris and buildings still standing, blocking whatever light was there. The duel turned into an almost blind fight, sound and instinct the more important factor, until they both got used to it and the dark became a dull grey hue. Mol dodged a slash to the face, made to jump into a shadow, realized Ralnor was slowing down, having been fighting for much longer than him and sidestepped to attack again. He feinted a left high cut, kicked a broken piece of cart, part of the wheel still attached to it and tripped Ralnor up. He went down on a knee, Mol rushing him in half a second. The Imperial Assassin parried his blade away, kicked him in the chest, reopening the wound there and send him sprawling down. ¡°Tsk-tsk, see there?¡± Mol reproached him. ¡°Thou slowed down, old shadow.¡± Ralnor wiped his mouth and got up slowly. ¡°You never learned the Greater Gift of Stealth.¡± Mol frowned, lip-less mouth crooking one way, jaw the other. A coupled of meters above their heads, a large perfect sphere of light appeared. Not as big as the one that had illuminated the whole of Rida earlier, but big enough to brighten up the small alley and hurt their eyes. The Imperial Assassin burned through his incense seeds with wild abandon, jerking back and away from him, but there was no shade left in the alley. No dark to transfer through. To make something, out of nothing, you need a sacrifice. Dar Eherdir grunted, too hurt, tired and perhaps old, to take these kind of risks, but as Nym always said, you never let an opponent retreat and heal up, if there¡¯s an option to finish him off. ¡°EZ NIGREIN,¡± Ralnor said in the old tongue, almost half his blood dissolving in his veins and his skin drying up. Mol snapped his head and stared at Ralnor with shocked dark-silver eyes. ¡°When did she¡­?¡± The Imperial Assassin tried to say, but Ralnor blinked out of existence and appeared right behind him. Mol tried to turn, or back away, failed to do both as he had a foot of blade through his sternum. The First Servant went down on his knees, the sword clattering away and the sphere of light above their heads, after blinking once, got snuffed away. Ralnor turned the blade this way and that widening the wound, sawing through bones and internal organs and then grabbed an unresponsive, but still breathing Mol and shoved him against the wall of the now completely dark alley. Mol spat blood mixed with saliva on his face with a snarl and Ralnor let it trickle down his cheek, his legs barely holding him upright. ¡°How?¡± The First servant hissed and Ralnor let him drop down, his back on the cracked wall. Ralnor kneeled next to him, his face more pale than Mol¡¯s, as if he was the one dying. ¡°The first spell Aelrindel fully mastered,¡± Ralnor whispered talking slowly. He could sense the sorceress approaching the alley. ¡°She had to. You see, she kept breaking her mother¡¯s pets. Any pets really,¡± he cracked a smile at that. ¡°So, in order to get away with it, the little girl learned to make things, to replace what she had broken. Little illusions that grew in time. Birds, a deer, a waterfall full of fish, a couple of cats that talked and people.¡± Mol grunted, then coughed, blood on his exposed gnarly teeth. ¡°I felt her¡­ an Elderborn. It was no illusion. Thou are lying.¡± ¡°How did she get down from the pyramid so soon? You¡¯ve seen her up there as well,¡± Ralnor countered and Mol stood back, tried to push the blade out of his chest, but failed. He growled, started coughing hard and then glared at him for a moment. Then his face relaxed and nodded in understanding. ¡°Another?¡± Ralnor returned his stare, all serious. ¡°Another,¡± he had a thin long dagger in his hand now. Mol started chuckling seeing his expression. ¡°One¡­ month,¡± the Imperial Assassin rustled, a violent shudder running through him. ¡°For what?¡± Ralnor queried, stopping his coup de grace at the very last moment. Dar Minue Mol run his bloody tongue over his teeth and snorted. ¡°For the bird¡­ to reach Wetull.¡± Reach Nym was meaning. ¡°So what? Nym knows I¡¯m a problem. The old master is still going to come after her,¡± Dar Eherdir told him and Mol started gurgling again. ¡°Thou art a fool, Dar Eherdir,¡± he rustled, the words coming out with many pauses and increasing difficulty. ¡°Dar Vranga¡­ found an onyx Wyvern¡¯s egg. He¡¯ll make sure it survives, or die trying. It¡¯ll hatch, it¡¯ll grow¡­ and thy plans¡­ this Realm, the witch¡¯s world¡­ shall burn.¡±
Aelrindel was waiting for him, when he came out, the sorceress cobalt hair blowing in the soft breeze. Her deific face flushed, the smile reaching her ears. The tight ranger¡¯s pants and vest she wore, hugging her well-shaped form like a second skin. The masqueraded witch struck a pose, a hand on her hip. ¡°They don¡¯t have a clue. I just walked past them¡­¡± she gushed, but then saw he was injured and reached for a healing potion. Ralnor stopped her, raising a hand. The left one. Darn thing was bleeding as well. He was so tired, Ralnor feared he might collapse in the middle of the street at any time. ¡°Find the boy, do what you can to save him.¡± ¡°The boy?¡± Aelrindel gasped. ¡°Are you serious?¡± ¡°Time is of the essence,¡± Ralnor grunted, at the end of his tether. ¡°Fine,¡± she yielded, rolling her eyes. ¡°Hey, where are you going?¡± Ralnor was already walking away from her and didn¡¯t bother answering. He reached Mezera¡¯s body less than a minute later. Next to the door, as Mol had told him. She¡¯d probably rushed down to finish him off. It was an honest mistake. Got stabbed twice for it -Oras unforgiving in the bargain- kidneys, and lungs. Mol wanted her to live long enough to know no one will come to save her and suffer to her last breath. Can we kill an Imperial assassin? She¡¯d asked him sounding awed, when Ralnor had explained the plan to her. The girl who¡¯d sold her father¡¯s relic of a bow, to buy entry into the Servants Guild. Is that even possible? Ah, sweet girl, Ralnor thought and closed her eyes slowly, clenching his jaw so hard, the skin cracked and bled. You just helped me kill two of them. And yes, everyone can fall to a well-sharpened blade. Sometimes, even a blunted one, will suffice.
144. The Pirate’s Other Spawn (1/4) -
A side effect of the war and the three Kingdoms navies being preoccupied on more important tasks, was the resurgence of piracy those first war years. Had the Kings reacted fast and squashed these cutthroats during their infancy, the problem wouldn¡¯t have gotten as large. Hindsight being what it is, the Kings didn¡¯t and by the time they, or their successors, decided to act decisively, the Jinni was out of the bottle. The Realm had changed. Several names rose prominently during those years, the aged ¡®Red¡¯ Atterton, the elusive ¡®Yellow¡¯ Dawson, brutal ¡®Honest¡¯ Van Fleet, but none bothered, or captured the public¡¯s imagination, as the man that almost ruined Kaltha¡¯s war effort single-handedly. A brazenly infamous, bloodthirsty brigand, a philanderer with a broader taste in partners, than a bear¡¯s appetite for honey. Probably as much truth in the above as lies, since everything known about him, is third hand knowledge at best. Vice Admiral, Huug Faber High King¡¯s Servant, a memoir - Chapter 3 -Pirates of the Scalding Seas- - (Prologue) Leo ¡®Foxy¡¯ Vale & Forty tons of gold Posthumous release, Circa 198 NC
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Leo ¡®Foxy¡¯ Vale The Pirate¡¯s Other Spawn Part I -A big fat score-
Old ¡®Weasel¡¯ Clark wasn¡¯t gonna make it. The grey bearded man, face red and sweaty, small nose and the tattoo of a fish under his left eye, tripped forward and reached with his right arm to grab the counter. The hand missed everything, the counter half-a-meter further, than where he¡¯d thought it¡¯ll be and twirled around his axis, bumping onto one-eared ¡®Blunter¡¯ Hook, the long washed-out blond beard of his thinning, but his skills still sharp. Hook stepped aside and shoved him towards the counter with his left hand, the one missing a pinky. Whether he¡¯d gotten the moniker for the ear, or the missing finger, ¡®Foxy¡¯ had no idea. ¡®Weasel¡¯ Clark still twirling, eyes unfocused, crashed on ¡®Grisly¡¯ Weiss, who was sitting on the stool in front of the counter, just about ready to drink from his ceramic pint glass. The beer jumped out of the large cup, splashed ¡®Grisly¡¯ Weiss¡¯ face, some of it going up his big nose. ¡°Arr! Mind wher¡¯ yer goin¡¯ matey!¡± Weiss snarled, black Issir face ¨Cnow soaked and dripping- half-hidden behind his beard, most of his lower jaw covered in gold teeth, but for a couple of gaps. He turned his head, saw ¡®Weasel¡¯ Clark drooling on his shoulder and grabbed him by the collar and sat him down on the stool next to him. ¡°Fix him a pint o¡¯ grog, will ya ¡®Foxy¡¯?¡± Weiss ordered. His eyes wandering, either flat out drunk himself, or shamelessly gawking down her bosom. ¡°What manner?¡± Vale asked, lips curling on the right side of her mouth. ¡®Weasel¡¯ Clark started sliding forward from his stool and Hook coming to sit on the other side of him, stopped him with a hand from toppling and smashing his head on the counter, now close enough to reach it. ¡°Ahoy there, Foxy,¡± the man said evenly. ¡°He had a cup o¡¯ rum, or two, me thinks.¡± ¡°Fresh out o¡¯ that, lads,¡± Vale retorted, wiping the bar¡¯s surface with a well-used cloth. ¡°And this looks to me, more than a couple o¡¯ cups,¡± She took a deep breath, top of her breasts swelling in that tight low cut corset, Weiss licking his lips and mustache, watching carefully. ¡°Since, these beverages weren¡¯t served in this here venue, I¡¯d kindly appreciate, if ye lads presented revelation to the whereabouts of ¡®em, so we can rejoice replenishin¡¯ me stock post haste. It might be a nightly activity.¡± Hook frowned, mouth sucked in, Weiss kept staring at her breasts nodding and ¡®Weasel¡¯ Clark gasped coming about, looking confused. ¡°Ah, ¡®Foxy¡¯¡­¡± the inebriated man said, seeing Vale. He pointed a finger behind her and burped once. ¡°I¡¯ll ¡®ave to decline yer offer lass. I favor ye, but yer fath¡¯r would ¡®ave me walk the plank.¡± It wasn¡¯t clear whether the man had the correct meaning of her words, or not. ¡°Me father is dead,¡± Vale retorted with a groan. ¡°Dead menfolk convey no tales,¡± Weiss agreed, himself equally inebriated, but a more talented drunk than Clark. Everyone nodded to his words though, the truism a solid fact. ¡°A fine gent he was, yer fath¡¯r,¡± Hook reminisced pensively, scratching the scar where his ear was. ¡°Good in the sweet trade aye, never left me mates marooned, unless they had it comin¡¯,¡± He sighed and looked across the counter, where her aunt always kept the good bottles. Vale stooped over the bar and stared at the three older men, placing both her elbows on the counter. They seemed to sober up immediately, their interest peaking for the wrong reasons. ¡°Lads,¡± Vale said with a grimace of annoyance and snapped her fingers, to return their attention to her face. ¡°They are tits, I¡¯ll give ye that. Now, they might be fine tits and all, but still, every inn in Lord¡¯s Burrow has a pair parading about, savvy?¡± ¡°If ye allow me to offer different perspective¡ª¡± Weiss started, but she stopped him. ¡°There¡¯s only one, far as me tits are concerned. Mine, Mister Weiss.¡± ¡°Undoubtedly, the lass is in the right,¡± Hook intervened. ¡°Appreciate yer candor, Mister Hook,¡± Vale said, the man grinning for scoring a point. Hook always favored the long game. ¡°What was my meaning earlier?¡± Hook frowned. ¡°Me attention had yielded to the wind blowin¡¯, lass. The sea beckons.¡± She smacked her lips eyeing the open windows of the tavern. ¡°Right. Ah, ye know what? Let¡¯s just forget the whole thing,¡± ¡®Foxy¡¯ decided and stood back. ¡°My shift in ¡®The Purser¡¯ is over, lads.¡± Roark ¡®Weasel¡¯ Clark blinked and then looked about him, quite shocked. ¡°Whatever happened to the captain¡¯s ship?¡± He asked. ¡°The bridge is all messed up!¡± Vale sighed, gathered the moisture from her neck with her palm and flicked it under the counter. Reached for a bottle of rum, she kept under there, uncorked it and glugged down from it greedily. It burned down her throat, then her stomach and raised her core temperature at least ten degrees. Noticing the old pirates watching her intrigued, she shrugged her fit shoulders, wiped her wicked mouth, sweat rivulets forming on her caramel-colored forehead. ¡°What? Tis but bloody water!¡± She lied and then burped, mouth numb and her teeth hurting. ¡°Port is fresh out of rum!¡±
¡°Leona,¡± Her aunt Adele Vale said, tackling her before she could escape out the back door. Being as she was, twice Foxy¡¯s size in width, it wasn¡¯t particularly difficult. ¡°We are not closed yet.¡± ¡°Leo,¡± she corrected her. ¡°And those lads, had enough.¡± ¡°Now, we don¡¯t send the good people away, if they are willing to have another cup, young lady!¡± Adele admonished her. ¡°We need to keep the place going.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a tavern, in a pirate port, auntie. It¡¯ll never go out o¡¯ business!¡± ¡°Me brother worked hard for this place. He wished you to have something of yer¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯d preferred a ship!¡± Leo snapped. ¡°Not the name of it, over a blasted bar!¡± ¡°Nonsense. A girl sailing is recipe for disaster!¡± Adele snapped, putting her hands on her wide waist, the skirt hanging from it enough for two grown women to hide under.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Huh! ¡®Pearly¡¯ Rose captain¡¯s her own!¡± ¡°Rose was killed, Leona! Look what it did to poor mister Atterton!¡± Her Aunt admonished. ¡°As if he wasn¡¯t drinking aplenty afore that!¡± Leo parried. ¡°Sure seems it didn¡¯t make him any better!¡± Adele retorted, ever determined. ¡°Better than show my tits for drinks in here!¡± Leo fired back and glanced up the narrow stairs leading to the upper floor, in case she needed to make a run for it. ¡°We entice good people to drink more, darling. It¡¯s a business!¡± ¡°How about me displaying ¡®em outright for coin then? That¡¯s a business too!¡± Leo countered with a wicked grin. ¡°Are ye serious? ¡°Girls next door do it every day ¡®n night. Place is packin¡¯!¡± ¡°Horas runs a brothel!¡± Adele all but shrieked and several patrons turned to listen to their conversation interested. ¡°Four out o¡¯ six venues down this street are!¡± ¡°What are you, a port¡¯s harlot?¡± Adele gasped, standing back in shock. ¡°Yer father will turn in his grave!¡± ¡°Me father got hang in Caspo O¡¯ Bor. Don¡¯t think they tossed him in a grave!¡± Leo blasted her, spittle flying out her mouth. ¡°Ye are not sailing and I¡¯m sending these fools away,¡± Adele warned her. ¡°Me brother should never have bedded that Issir harlot¡ª¡± ¡°She had her kidnaped! Good grief Adele that was a low blow,¡± Leo hissed and shoved her out of the way. It didn¡¯t work, as her aunt was unmovable, but Adele seemed to realize she¡¯d gone too far and stood aside to let her walk past her.
Ah, this just can¡¯t go on, Leo thought rummaging through her father¡¯s stuff. Two trunks of them, made of cedar-wood. Locks and everything on them. No coins. Adele had scraped them dry to get the tavern going. A cutlass in there, iron pommel laced with leather, worn out and half rusted. A shortsword, the handle on it engraved with his name. This one she always favored, even gotten a leather sheath for it made. Cost her a silver and letting ¡®Black¡¯ Bill grope a feel. That had gone way out of hand, she thought, shuddering at the memory. She opened the other trunk, clothes in one side, a pair of boots and maps on the other. Leo reached for the maps. Crude drawings and merchant routes, her father¡¯s chicken writing impossible to read at times. There¡¯s Cediorum, she thought tracing one of the better ones. This one commissioned, or stolen from an official of Regia¡¯s Admiralty. That¡¯s Turtle Isles, a straight line West and you¡¯ll reach the Sinking Isles, survive the dash through the open seas, to make it to Talon¡¯s, brave the Reefs, or cut hard North. Straight up, leave Eikenport to yer west and ye¡¯ll find Lord¡¯s Burrow. Her father¡¯s words. Only he¡¯d started at Lord¡¯s Burrow, reached Cediorum a rich man, finding ¡®Zilan doubloons¡¯ somewhere along the way, ¡®bought¡¯ a bigger ship ¡®The Purser¡¯ there. He raided up the coast of Regia with it for seven years, made it as far as Ver¡¯s Island, before attempting to plunder Eagleport with his flotilla in seventy eight. He got ambushed, trying to get through the straits between Cepri Fort and Talontip, lost a two day and night struggle and gotten himself imprisoned, along with most of his crew. The High King cut their hands and feet off, then hang them all in Caspo O¡¯ Bor a month later. Not Antoon, his father. Where did ye get the treasure, paps? Leo asked looking at the map. How did ye cross the Scalding Sea? No pirate worth his salt will write down everything. One had to see the journey in his mind. Her, she thought. Her mind. Ah, darn it. Leo pouted, then sucked at her lower lip, eyes on the pair of good quality whale-leather boots. Sturdy, made in Aegium, good wax sealing the bindings, the wooden soles lined to better walk on wet deck. She stared at her gathered foot, the paint on her toes badly finished. Removed the sandal, checked to see there wasn¡¯t a rat hidden inside the boot and put it on. ¡°Ho!¡± Leo thought surprised. Her father was a bigger man, but the boots fitted her pretty good. Eh, perhaps a thin sock is needed to make it perfect. ¡°Hmm,¡± she thought and reached for the other one.
Leo could barely breathe. She¡¯d tied her breasts with a roll of white cloth, round and round her torso, ending under her armpits. Sorry girls, but the more ye move, the worse it¡¯ll be out into the seas. She raised that arm, smelled the thin white hairs there and grimaced. Exhaling put a bright red shirt on, lapel prominent. Tucked the lower part into her tight leather pants, her arse protesting. Secured the belt tight, silver buckle on it huge. It had Vale written on it, her father¡¯s gift when she was eight, just before he¡¯d left for his last journey. Put a leather vest on top, black as Oras heart and Abrakas toes. A snug coat, lined with chainmail, a heavy thing, three leather clasps at the front. ¡®Foxy¡¯ Vale puffed hard sweating all over and pushed her white Issir hair back, looking at a polished bronze mirror. Her skin had a light caramel color, close to that of the Cofols, her Lorian father and Issir mother making a mess of her genetics and dark-emerald eyes. She reached for the oily charcoal mixture in the makeup kit and sank the tip of her finger in it. Start with the eyes, like Rose, Leo decided. Let¡¯s confuse the fuck out of people. Make ye look tough.
An hour later, the sun setting over Lord¡¯s Burrow, Leo ¡®Foxy¡¯ Vale wearing a black hat, over a dark-red bandana the tails of it dancing down her back, jumped out of a second story window and almost straight through the gap left at the narrow bridge connecting each block of houses to each other. It acted as a dark alley and it could have finished her story right there, our -¡®heroine¡¯ of sorts- drown in the sludge at the bottom of the port. Eh, she almost managed it and that would have been a nigh embarrassing fail. She spread her legs apart falling, having realized she¡¯d misjudged her acrobatics in the twilight, made the perfect splits for the first time in a couple of years, her loins set on fire and cursing, moaning and groveling, managed to climb onto the narrow wooden bridge and collapsed on it. ¡°Abrakas cock rots in a bloody jar! Fuck!¡± Leo cursed and a pirate neighbor stopped to see, if she was seriously injured. His intention to wait her out and rob her warm corpse later. ¡°I¡¯m fine!¡± Leo snapped and the man shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Not if Adele catches ye, matey,¡± the man said. ¡°She¡¯ll have yer balls boy,¡± he added and walked away. Leo made to correct him, for assuming she was escaping after a naughty escapade with herself, but paused, scratched her ear instead and then massaged her loins, using two hands. No balls there, she thought with a wicked grin and ¡®jumped¡¯ up, much as seasoned buccaneers do. That is, she stood up relatively slow and letting out small pained groans at regular intervals.
Leo spotted ¡®Lucky¡¯ Trifton bursting out of a side alley, a determined look on his face and went after him, dancing on a single board perilously on the tips of her toes, to cut into the distance. Trifton stopped outside of the Rigid Spears, the venue soaring with customers, loud yelling, screaming and cackling coming out of it. He thought about it, a port whore shaking her huge tits for him offering distraction, giving the time for Leo to stop behind him, sweating from her ears, brooks of black paint running down her neck, despite the cool night sea breeze. ¡°What?¡± The harlot snapped, more gaps than teeth in her mouth, lips painted a garish red ¨Ca bit messed up, or hurried- the starts of a balding on her large forehead. ¡°Yer not interested?¡± ¡°Moly,¡± Trifton replied chastised, ¡°Me time is limited.¡± ¡°Yer dying?¡± Moly queried, not very sympathetic. ¡°Is it contagious? Got a couple o¡¯ things meself.¡± ¡°What? Nay, tis Wayland. Need to have word wit him,¡± Trifton said, looking down to see he wasn¡¯t stepping on his shadow. Leo rolled her eyes, breathed once deep and almost missed the pirate slipping inside. She made to go after him, but Moly stopped her putting a hand on her chest, pressing at her right nipple. ¡°Wher¡¯ ye goin¡¯ in a hurry?¡± She probed, eyeing Leo. ¡°Unfortunately, I found myself absent the skillset required, ma¡¯am,¡± Leo blurted out, backing away. ¡°I can show ye a trick, or two. Started many young lads down the right path,¡± Moly countered. Leo stared at the massive mounds of flesh and sighed, as if sad. ¡°Nah, respectfully me pass on thy offer,¡± she said with a smirk and ducked under her arm to slip inside the Rigid Spears.
A drunk bearded man, eyes huge on a small head, bump rushed her on a wall, the moment she stepped in the packed, stinking place. There was some music playing, guitar, flutes and violins hitting the same tune without pause, the noise deafening and the man spitting in her face, either yelling, or apologizing. Leo slipped past him, her shortsword handle digging at her ribs, got a kiss from a young harlot, with blue sparkling eyes, went along with it, whore¡¯s right hand searching between her loins and then pushing her away with a grimace. Leo touched the tip of her hat in a courtesy, moved the other way and further inside the brothel where the tables were located. She spotted ¡®Yellow¡¯ Dawson talking with Byron Vail ¨Chis name spelled differently- on a large one at the corner and rushed that way, just as a sweaty ¡®Lucky¡¯ Trifton reached them, a goblet of foamy beer in hand. ¡°Lucky, kindly reassure me, this ain¡¯t rum,¡± Captain Dawson, told his man and he shook his head, all sad. ¡°Burrow¡¯s dried up Captain,¡± Trifton explained and glugged down his goblet finishing it off, with a thunderous burp. ¡°Just beer me reckons.¡± ¡°Lots of piss in it,¡± Byron agreed, staring at his own large pint. ¡°That young whore gave me cockrot for sure.¡± Dawson scratched his forehead with a thumb and stared at his man. ¡°Now we have the quartermaster¡¯s input on the matter,¡± he said scornfully. ¡°Do enlighten us, Mister Trifton. I dare venture ye ain¡¯t here to inform us, the rum¡¯s gone?¡± Leo chuckled unwittingly, caught a lecherous pirate, with a narrow face and a milky eye winking at her and scowled. Almost missing Trifton¡¯s reply. ¡°¡­so word is spreadin¡¯ captain.¡± ¡°Blimey! The Marquette? Is the man certain?¡± Dawson rustled getting up, yellow sash catching Leo¡¯s eye. ¡°Aye, captain.¡± ¡°Heading for Castalor again?¡± ¡°Ahm, difficult to say. Never seen a ship rushing the Krakentrap Straits like that, captain.¡± ¡°Where else could it be goin¡¯?¡± Byron taunted. ¡°Me willing¡¯ to wager ye it cuts hard southeast.¡± ¡°Right then. Here, have I been ruminatin¡¯, whether to take a crack at Jenny¡¯s tea cup,¡± Dawson said smacking his thighs once, after he pushed the table away, spilling beer on it. ¡°And business comes knockin¡¯. Right, mister Vail?¡± ¡°They¡¯ll be a mad dash for the narrows, if the words spreads, captain. Another towards Krakentrap,¡± Byron said and got up himself. ¡°Lots of people, want to avenge Rose. None more, than Atterton himself.¡± Damn, Leo thought. Oh, this is a big fat score. Lots of fame in it as well. She backed away, got a smack on her fit right buttock from the sneaky lecherous man, avoided the next one, slipped under a giggling waitress and rushed for the exit. Leo ¡®Foxy¡¯ Vale needed a ship and a crew. She had no ship at the ready, but Leo knew, where she could find the starts of a crew.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 145. The Pirate’s Other Spawn (2/4) - Seven merry menfolk, wearin¡¯ a bloody blindfold (Yo, Hi, Ho, hair of a dog in me pint o¡¯ grog!) Carted Lord Reinut¡¯s booty out the cave o¡¯ gold (Yo, Hi, Ho, hair of a dog in me pint o¡¯ grog!) Lo an¡¯ behold Wil De Wit draw the short straw (Yo, Hi, Ho, hair of a dog in me pint o¡¯ grog!) Found the Queen¡¯s crown in the Kraken¡¯s claw (Yo, Hi, Ho, hair of a dog in me pint o¡¯ grog!) - Ancient Pirate Song (Unknown date)
Leo ¡®Foxy¡¯ Vale The Pirate¡¯s Other Spawn Part II -The choice most probable to prosper-
Twenty minutes later, Leo found the three men loitering outside ¡®The Purser¡¯. Roark Clark sitting next to the closed entrance looking fast asleep, or past out and Weiss and Hook arguing whether to leave him there for Adele to find him in the morning. ¡°What if he up an¡¯ rolls away in his slumber?¡± Weiss queried, dark face barely visible in the lights coming from the still working brothel. This one named the ¡®Unicorn Horn¡¯. ¡°Wher¡¯ he may be rollin¡¯?¡± Hook asked and they both stared at the platform they were standing on. It ended about three meters from the door. There was a rope playing the role of a rail there, but the gap underneath it enough for a grown man, or woman, to roll over and into the port¡¯s waters. ¡°Hmm, still ev¡¯r heard o¡¯ one rollin¡¯ so much?¡± ¡°Ther¡¯ was that boy sleepin¡¯ on the lookout,¡± ¡®Grisly¡¯ Weiss replied and Hook nodded remembering. His look pensive. ¡°Twas a nasty fall, but still, was it three meters?¡± He asked, just as Leo stopped a couple of meters from them, a big grin in her mouth. The roll not the fall, was his meaning. ¡°Rejoice, for I have work for ye lads,¡± she whispered, just loud enough for only them to hear. Hook, in the middle of answering to Weiss paused, a deep frown splitting his gruff face in two. ¡°Who might ye be?¡± The aged pirate asked, squinting his eyes. ¡°Guys are ye fuckin¡¯ kiddin¡¯ me?¡± Leo groaned and stepped closer. ¡°It¡¯s me! Now shall I proceed wit¡ª?¡± ¡°Is it ye though?¡± Weiss interrupted her. ¡°An¡¯ who might that ye be?¡± Hook added, eyeing her suspiciously. Leo stood back and licked her lips, spat down next half-coughing half-retching, seeing as the charcoal paint was bitter alike poison. Arrgh! Damnit! ¡°It¡¯s Foxy. I¡¯m¡ª¡± Hook stopped her, before she had the time to finish. ¡°Let me stop ye right thar¡¯ me boy. Now, seein¡¯ as we both¡­¡± He blinked and stared at the still passed out Clark. ¡°¡­the lot o¡¯ us, are familiar wit miss Vale¡¯s moniker, we can¡¯t allow yer using it, savvy?¡± ¡°Find yerself another moniker is his meanin¡¯,¡± Weiss explained with a knowing look, while Leo stared at both of them nigh incredulous. What the fuck had these guys imbibed? ¡°So, refrainin¡¯ from that, who might ye be?¡± Hook asked her letting out a monstrous retch, without batting an eyelash. ¡°Leo Vale,¡± she replied barely managing to keep her voice low, a hand on her hip and right boot tapping at the wooden platform irritably. Hook grimaced, glanced at Weiss and then scratched where his ear used to be, the scar grotesque. ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s the noise,¡± he started. ¡°But ye said Leo Vale?¡± ¡°Abrakas offer gods-darn aid,¡± Leo groaned, removed the hat and stooped closer to his face. ¡°Look, ye fuckin¡¯ drunk!¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± Hook said, staring. ¡°Was ¡®Sly¡¯ Erlad yer father lad?¡± Weiss asked stepping closer. Big round nose, swollen. ¡°Far from me to speak ill o¡¯ the dead, but the man couldn¡¯t keep it in his pants, ye see. Doubtless seeded a pair o¡¯ more wher¡¯ ye hailin¡¯ from.¡± Leo blinked and stood back, put the hat back on, removed the big gold ring she had on her finger, skulls and bones engraved on it and stepping forward again, slapped Weiss hard in the face. The man stumbled, head swinging right, as Leo had a heavy hand for a woman and when he came about shocked, she backhanded him again almost dropping him down. ¡°Hey!¡± Hook snapped, a hand on the pommel of his cutlass, but Weiss stopped him with a hand, an incredulous look on his swelling cheek. ¡°It¡¯s Leona, Abrakas curse us!¡± Weiss gasped. ¡°What? Have ye lost yer fuckin¡¯ mind?¡± Hook guffawed. ¡°A good blow to the head could do that ye know! Turn menfolk right stupid aye. Seein¡¯ as ye were almost there afore that, a middlin¡¯ blow would¡¯ve probably sufficed in yer case.¡± ¡°It¡¯s her, trust me,¡± Weiss insisted, rubbing at the sore spot. ¡°That¡¯s the second time she smacks me face in as many days.¡± Hook glowered at him. ¡°What did ye do?¡± ¡°Went to snatch a bottle from the shelf,¡± Leo explained cooly. ¡°Grab me left tit instead. Gave it a good squeeze,¡± the latter she threw at a distressed Weiss with a glare. Hook frowned and looked at her up and down with more focused eyes. It was darkish, but even a blind dog could tell it was her from up close, right? She thought. ¡°Seein¡¯ ye brought it up yerself,¡± the aged pirate started, still eyeing her. ¡°I can¡¯t help but notice the lack of¡­ ehm, womanly bits?¡± Leo sighed. ¡°Have ¡®em tied up, Bristol. It¡¯s me. Now, can we progress to the bloody point, wher¡¯ me gives away what tis perhaps, this night¡¯s most important development?¡± With a yawn and a loud farting noise, old Weasel Clark woke up and stared at them from where he was sitting in the dark, next to The Purser¡¯s entrance. ¡°Is that Leo?¡± Clark asked blinking a couple of times, still heavily inebriated. ¡°Shivers me timbers, thought twas young Erlad standin¡¯ thar¡¯ for a moment!¡±
¡®Grisly¡¯ Weiss stopped abruptly ten minutes later, smacked his lips and looked at Leo. ¡°The Trout,¡± the aged seadog said and Hook paused as well, grabbing old Clark by the collar to stop him from walking straight off the docks and into the port¡¯s waters. ¡°Is that a Schooner? Name doesn¡¯t ring a bell,¡± he grunted. Leo turned towards the ships moored in the many small docks adjoined to the platforms around them. Due to the dark, not much could be seen, but the general outlines of them, with the lights on the ¡®Corsair¡¯s Gold¡¯ ¨CYellow Dawson¡¯s Sloop o¡¯ war- being the exception for the time being. ¡°There she is, gents,¡± she pointed between a Brigantine, the ¡®Bouquet¡¯ and a small Brig. ¡°Ain¡¯t that the ¡®Pillager¡¯ lass?¡± Hook asked and scratched the back of his head. ¡°Ye are ¡®ware Van Fleet will skin us right? Thar¡¯ is a coach in his quarters all made o¡¯ human leath¡¯r, hair in the filler.¡± ¡°Betwixt ¡®em, are ye lads blind?¡± Leo protested and danced closer to the edge of the docks, ending with a twirl hands opened to present the elusive vessel. Weiss had scrunched his face so much, eyes and mouth gathered around his big nose in a bunch. ¡°Shite, tryin¡¯ me best, but can¡¯t see wher¡¯ yer pointin¡¯ lass,¡± he finally blurted out a little embarrassed. Hook stood back troubled. ¡°What?¡± Leo snapped seeing his expression souring. ¡°The Ketch,¡± the man droned, figuring it out. Leo raised a white, though covered in black soot, eyebrow. ¡°Guise at that sail gents, me sheets are o¡¯ worse quality!¡± She attempted to sale it. ¡°Tis a fishin¡¯ boat, lass.¡± ¡°Wait,¡± Weiss intervened and stared again at the small vessel parked between the others. ¡°Leo is pullin¡¯ our leg, matey. Right?¡± ¡°The Trout,¡± old ¡®Weasel¡¯ Clark said, her father¡¯s quartermaster. ¡°Aye, it makes sense.¡± ¡°How tis makin¡¯ sense?¡± ¡°Tis Horas boat,¡± Clark replied wiping his face. He looked less inebriated now. ¡°Ain¡¯t using it till morning. He has a legitimate business to run.¡± A brothel was his meaning. ¡°Isn¡¯t he Van Fleet¡¯s broth¡¯r from anoth¡¯r mother?¡± Hook countered, adding. ¡°Leavin¡¯ aside the matter of hunting down a Barque, wit a blasted fishin¡¯ boat!¡± ¡°Ye¡¯ll need more crew, lass,¡± Clark said, disregarding his objection. ¡°Anyone in mind?¡± Leo probed. ¡°The Joneses. Wil an¡¯ Troy.¡± ¡°Are they any good?¡± ¡°When they¡¯re not drunk, aye.¡± Ah, no better customers than menfolk and womenfolk that favored their liquor. ¡°Can ye get ¡®em on board?¡± She asked, while Weiss and Hook were looking at their back and forth perturbed. Clark gathered what he had in his mouth, spat down a big fat splotch right at the edge of the docks, platinum tooth gleaming in the dark and nodded. ¡°Ye¡¯ll captain it?¡± ¡°Will they follow a woman?¡± Leo asked, crossing her hands on her chest. Will you? Her eyes asked him. ¡°They¡¯ll follow a Vale, to Abrakas nether region,¡± the old pirate told her, a touch affronted and Leo who¡¯d thought about it already given the success of her disguise, pressed her lips into a thin line. She lowered her voice an octave, put a bit of a drunken droll in it -and she knew of a remedy for that- and answered him much as her father had, more than twenty years back.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°No lily-livered lads, Mister Clark. Lest they¡¯re costly. Then get whatev¡¯r ye can find.¡± Eh, granted, it wasn¡¯t that much memorable of a quote.
Leo Vale sprinted the wooden docks, lifted on her tip-toes for half of it, normally for the rest, jumped from the edge, hands flailing and legs scissoring over the three meter gap and landed on the narrow bow sprit alike a circus acrobat. For about two seconds. Then she slipped to a mounting position, the hard oak smacking her amidst the loins. Leo moaned in muffled agony, slowly got up again and looked back at the men watching in horrified silence. ¡°I¡¯ll toss ye a line, gents. This part is tricky,¡± she shushed, barely managing the words out. Leo navigated the bow sprit to its root, climbed down still sore as a whore at the end of her shift and started looking about for a rope attached to the main mast. She found one after a couple of false starts and another proper fall, the visibility on the small vessel very low and tossed it ashore. Weiss and Hook came up the swashbuckler way, Weiss hugging the main mast unwittingly at the tail end of it. ¡°Blimey! Them years ashore turned ye into a landlubber Grisly,¡± Hook guffawed and helped his colleague up. He then started working a flint on his blade, in order to light the big oil lamp hanging from the main topmast. They needed a bit of illumination. ¡°Get the anchor Mister Weiss,¡± Leo ordered and run to the front of the small vessel, only a deck on it and the small hold stinking of fish under a hatch at the ship¡¯s waist. The length of it twelve meters, an even forty foot, the tiny captain¡¯s cabin in front of the wheel. Leo looked at the docks tensely, as more people started appearing out of the darkness. Lord¡¯s Burrow was fabulously lit up further back, the music still playing, but the seadogs were gathering. In small groups still, mostly heading for the Corsair¡¯s Gold, Dawson¡¯s ship buzzing with activity, but soon they were going to head their way. ¡°We found the oars,¡± Hook reported, coming to stand next to her spot. ¡°Why take the risk¡­ lass?¡± ¡°Let us preserve the charade, Mister Hook,¡± Leo replied in his fake droll, glancing at the aged pirate¡¯s maimed profile. ¡°It would be gainful, if the fresh recruits saved themselves o¡¯ this one small fact.¡± ¡°Argument can be made, the fact ain¡¯t that small¡­ Captain.¡± ¡°But it is though, a tiny one indeed in most cases¡­ moreover, had I found meself in possession of said pair o¡¯ nutmegs, by the flip of a coin in me birth,¡± Leo took a big breath and continued. ¡°Then a mishap upon seizing this current vessel, such as the one that has occurred already,¡± she winched at that, a hand pressing on her pubic mound and Hook frowned remembering her fall. ¡°Could have ¡®em outright detach, or¡­ perhaps utterly maimed, makin¡¯ the fact yer arguing for¡­ immaterial, Mister Hook.¡± ¡°What if they find out?¡± ¡°Does the captain of a ship, allows himself be questioned on these matters, Mister Hook?¡± Hook scratched his scar amused. ¡°Me don¡¯t thinks he should, Captain,¡± he answered after an awkward pause.
A group of five cut through the docks and the larger gatherings of seadogs, the biggest of them slowly walking towards the ¡®Pillager¡¯ singing and talking loud. The whole area had livened up considerably in the last ten minutes and Leo, who was nervously watching the many torches and people approaching, turned to Malden Weiss the man looking soberly at the men hurrying their way. ¡°Mister Weiss, must we be apprehensive, or even endeavor, to provide ourselves the gratification of a fine journey under the pale moonlight?¡± Leo asked -always blabbering when nervous- shifting her weight from one foot to the other, the boots not as comfortable as when she¡¯d first put them on. Weiss glanced at the dark sky above them, then at the small group now running, while pretending it didn¡¯t, in the time-tested manner of all crooks this Realm over. ¡°That¡¯s Weasel Clark,¡± Hook intervened and pointed at the last member of the group. ¡°Old fool can barely stand upright, when sober. But ain¡¯t no one more sure-footed than him on land, aye.¡± It must be mentioned here that while over fifty, Clark had no more than five years age difference from Weiss, seven from Hook. The exact figures not known by young Leo. Leo in her male Captain¡¯s garb, looked to see for herself, spotted Clark stumbling over a coiled rope, through a pile of fishing nets, bounce off a cart, tumbling once, but immediately resuming his fast walking ¨Clow key running- after the other four, more energetically trotting men. ¡°Look at ¡®em scallywags!¡± Someone shouted, before she¡¯d time to comment and Leo whipped her head that way, saw a pirate pointing with a hand, a torch in his other. Almost fifty of his friends turning to look where he was indicating. Abrakas toes, covered in seaweed. ¡°Get ¡®em oars out, Mister Weiss!¡± She snapped and started waving with both hands, for Clark to notice her. They had tossed another two lines ashore. ¡°We might be goin¡¯ in a hot minute!¡± ¡°HEY!¡± Someone yelled from the big group. ¡°What are those rascals be doin¡¯ thar¡¯?¡± Hook dashed the three steps up the forecastle, cutlass in hand. Clark and his small group realizing there was an even bigger group right after them, dropped the act and started running at full sprint towards the moored sailing Ketch and the only light visible on this side of the docks. Almost half of Lord¡¯s Burrow came after them the moment they made a run for it. ¡°GET ¡®EM SCAMPS!¡± A very inebriated older seadog bellowed. ¡°THEY BE HEADIN¡¯ FOR HONEST FLEET¡¯S SHIP!¡± Another, much younger one screamed. ¡°On the double, Mister Clark!¡± Hook roared, with Leo watching the crowd charging towards them with ogling eyes. ¡°Captain,¡± the experienced Boatswain that had served under her father said, staring apprehensively. ¡°We might ¡®ave to fight our way out of Burrow.¡± Leo gulped down, her throat dry and in need of greasing with anything containing alcohol. ¡°Tis a dark night, Mister Hook,¡± she replied, just as a young man swung over the gap holding on to the line and landed in the ¡®Trout¡¯. The young man, closer to twenty than thirty, dirty brown hair a mess got up, glanced at the scowling Hook, then at Leo and stood up straight. He was a head taller than Leo. ¡°Captain Vale?¡± He queried with a drunken grin. ¡°In the fuckin¡¯ flesh!¡± Leo rustled, her throat unable to produce coherent sounds all of a sudden. ¡°Tis Troy Jones, sire,¡± the man said and pointed at another crashing down on the foredeck, the drop almost fatal. ¡°That¡¯s me broth¡¯r Wil. Worry not, he¡¯ll sober up.¡±
¡°Captain, this here be ¡®Jolly¡¯ Grim and the young kid, is well¡­ ¡®Parley¡¯ Kidd, I suppose,¡± A heavy breathing sweaty Clark reported, Leo nervously staring at the crowd and the rest of her crew slowly pushing ¡®their¡¯ boat away from the docks. The well over thirty Lorian, turned his head and grinned. He sported the biggest mustache, Leo had ever seen, the tails on it reaching his neck. ¡°Wit two de¡¯s alike add, sire,¡± he said. ¡°Right, ahm¡­ how is it goin¡¯ Mister Hook?¡± Leo queried anxiously. Some of the gathered and cursing crowd, had started spilling into the two larger ships, lights going up all over the docks. ¡°Lads arr rowin¡¯ wit purpose Captain Vale, sir,¡± Hook retorted, himself working on the long oar and pushing hard at the sludge covering the bottom of the port. Leo stared at the silent Issir. Wiry and chiseled, Leo could count his muscles given that the man had come aboard shirtless, but sporting two long knives on his leather waistband. ¡°What¡¯s the story wit Mister Grim?¡± She asked, returning his chilling stare. ¡°Ah, had his misfortunes wit the law, alike the rest of us,¡± Clark replied, wiping his sweaty sea-worn face with a cloth. ¡°Which port?¡± Leo asked, pursing her mouth. ¡°Any port really,¡± Clark deadpanned, looking ahead. ¡°Ye¡¯ll need a killer, or two, Leo,¡± he added in a lower voice. Fantastic, Leo thought and almost flinched in panic, seeing ¡®Honest¡¯ Fleet appear on the deck of the ¡®Pillager¡¯ a hard look on his shaven face.
Wayland Dawson had the Corsair¡¯s Gold turning slowly towards the ¡®Narrows¡¯. Shiver me rottin¡¯ timbers, Leo thought and turned to glare at Weiss manning the wheel. The big boned and not plump Issir ¨Chis words- grimaced. That was as fast as they could go, unless a gush of wind escaped Abrakas arse. ¡°Arrgh!¡± Leo growled, saw Will Jones drinking from a metal flask ¨Cthe second brother half the size of his twin some-fuckin-how- and grabbed it from him. ¡°What manner of grog might there be in here, Mister Jones?¡± She queried, giving it a good shake. ¡°Black whiskey, sire,¡± Will replied. ¡°From Sovya.¡± Leo sniffed it once and chunked down its contents with loud glugs, her larynx contracting. The strong liquid burned down her gullet, the taste horrible, but packing quite the punch. Leo burped, tears in her eyes and returned the empty flask to a stunned Will. ¡°Might ¡®ave caught a coal aftertaste in it, Mister Jones,¡± she pointed, her knees weakening and had to grab ahold of a line, before realizing that Weiss had turned the ¡®Trout¡¯ around and Hook had opened the triangular fore stay sail. ¡°They use ¡®em old barrels after they take the coal out,¡± Will explained and Leo already moving towards the small quarterdeck, turned and flashed him a half-drunk grin. ¡°Let us stay this discourse for another time, Mister Jones!¡± ¡°Aye captain,¡± he replied and watched as Leo staggered through the narrow deck heading aft, like a seasoned seadog would, hands spread out to better keep her balance, body dancing to the rhythm of the soft waves. Their small ship had started hopping on the water, the night breeze increasing. ¡°Go about, Mister Weiss,¡± Hook yelled. ¡°Then cut full west to bring us in!¡± Leo stared at the Corsair¡¯s Gold opening its foresail -noting here that it was bigger than their mains- since it had two masts to work with. ¡°Unfurl the main, Mister Hook!¡± Leo ordered him and the flushed scarred ex-pirate -recently out of retirement- looked at her incensed. ¡°We¡¯ll crash her in the narrows, Captain!¡± He growled, unable to keep his anger contained. Leo sucked the sea air in, plenty of stench coming from Burrow in it still, the lower part of her jaw slow to work and her mouth numbed. ¡°They¡¯ll hang us by our entrails, Mister Hook!¡± She countered hoarsely and Hook frowned, realization shaking him to his core. He turned to the watching crew all seven of them -counting him as well- and blasted them with righteous indignation, heavy dose of fear mixed in. ¡°UNFURL THE MAIN, YE BILGE-SUCKING SCALLYWAGS!¡±
The ¡®Trout¡¯ burst out of the ¡®Narrows¡¯ the stony chasm in the reefs leading to the hidden port city and out into the angry Scalding Sea, the first gush of scorching wind almost toppling it. The huge waves drenching everyone on board to their core. Leo coughed, eyes smarting, whatever she¡¯d drunk almost coming back up again and staggered on the slippery deck, her boots heavy with water. Old ¡®Weasel¡¯ put a hand on her back, to stop her from going over the rail and into Abrakas Gullet, when the next big wave came. The sky a dark purple, the moons doing what they could to break through the clouds. ¡°Lower the darn topsail! Or the next one will sink us!¡± Hook yelled and after ten agonizing minutes, Weiss managed to stabilize the small ship, enough for the shattered crew to take a breather, along mouthfuls of brine water that is. Stabilize used loosely here. ¡°Wher¡¯ to, Captain? Krakentrap Straits?¡± Clark asked, a rare smile on his face. Leo noticed everyone¡¯s spirits had recovered despite the dodgy seas. Even Hook, had a content look on his lined and soaked face. ¡°We¡¯ll cut straight East, Mister Clark,¡± Leo replied, remembering her maps. She¡¯d everything memorized in her head. ¡°Towards Castalor. Let Dawson and the others attempt to cut her off at the straits.¡± ¡°Ye think, she¡¯ll make it through?¡± ¡°Wherever the ¡®Marquette¡¯ is goin¡¯, Mister Clark,¡± Leo said, the grin in her mouth growing, the excitement of being on¡­ a ship of sorts, and sailing towards untold riches and adventures, overcoming the burning in her stomach, her hurting teeth and the need to pee down her pants. ¡°Is a matter, not yet decided, nor known, from those that pursuit it,¡± she breathed once, the crew staring at her talking, either engrossed, or unable to make out whatever the hells she was talking about, her droll almost unintelligible to a normal person. ¡°Which makes our random choice, as probable to prosper, as theirs, savvy?¡± ¡°Aye, Captain,¡± Clark agreed and grabbed ahold of a line himself pleased.
The morning found the ¡®Trout¡¯ sailing on a northeastern route, the sun strong and the sea calmer. Young Troy Jones, tall as a mast, stood up chewing on a piece of hardtack and looked at the crew sprawled on the small ship, not much space available on it for proper cots, so everyone kind of marked his spot and that was it. ¡°Mind the riggin¡¯,¡± Hook warned him, scratching at his lined sunburned nappe and eyed Weiss still at the helm, Clark standing next to him on the quarterdeck. Leo had her back on the captain¡¯s quarters, the door to the dark gloomy small place, barely fit for a kid to walk through without smashing his head on the top. ¡°Aye,¡± Troy replied. ¡°Just wanted to thank captain Vale, for the opportunity. And the chance to avenge Rose,¡± he added, a little moved. There was no rum for the toast alas, but Leo bowed deep once at the kind words. ¡°It¡¯s not reprisal, what one must pursue,¡± she rustled, one eye a dark red, soot with salt water making a mess of it, the other running since the wind had irritated it something fierce and she could smell the hint of urine on her pants, where she¡¯d let it rip late the previous night. ¡°But the prospect of makin¡¯ enough coin to partake in many a nights of wickedness. For the Briney Deep and a clap of thunder me hearties, are a constant.¡± ¡°Aye! Eyup!¡± The crew replied after a worryingly long pause, with Clark giving a helping hand of sorts and cheering first. ¡°Hey!¡± He bellowed next slapping his thighs and Weiss, who was long in the tooth as well, started in his heavy timber voice. ¡°Seven merry menfolk,¡± the helmsman sang, with the crew picking up the que, as the ¡®Trout¡¯ danced over the waves, her sails full. ¡°Wearin¡¯ a bloody blindfold,¡± Hook continued, his voice as rich and baritone as Weiss, with everyone chipping in, even a chuckling Leo. ¡°Yo, Hi, Ho,¡± the chorus line went with an occasional ¡®hey¡¯ thrown in and the next chorus verse thunderous. HAIR OF A DOG IN ME PINT O¡¯ GROG! ¡°Carted Lord Reinut¡¯s booty out the cave o¡¯ gold,¡± ¡®Jolly Grim¡¯ sang, strange passion in his rich Issir common, grey-blue eyes watching her throaty lough. Leo returning the stare while singing the chorus, legs tapping along with the others. The waves dancing all around them, sanguine blue turning to white at the tips, the froth resembling of kraken¡¯s teeth. Will spotted a large ship coming their way, just before nightfall. Leo put the spyglass on her eye, Clark standing next to her on the forecastle deck. She saw the lines of a Barque appearing, one side of it smashed, half its sails damaged, either by weather, or struggle. The dead bodies on the ravaged deck, telling of the latter.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 146. The Pirate’s Other Spawn (3/4)
Whisper ¡®Pretty Nose¡¯ Jinx The Pirate¡¯s Other Spawn Part III -Abrakas Gullet-
A northern wind blew inside the Straits, the open sails swelling pregnant, the rigs stressing and the whole ship creaking and shuddering, as it broke through the waves at full speed. Captain Gray, jaw clenched, white hair blowing in the wind and lined face soaked, came down the quarterdeck and nimbly grabbed a line to walk down the narrow starboard corridor, heading for the bow of the Marquette. He paused seeing them hugging the main deck rail, soaked to the bone. ¡°Lady Jinx, Lady Zola,¡± the man greeted them with a slight bow of the head. ¡°I take it, yer having an easy journey?¡± Whisper glanced at Zola, the woman looking alike someone that had freshly puked and grinned. ¡°Water is nice, in the summer,¡± she teased, but Zola wasn¡¯t very interested in her joke. Must be all the fuckin¡¯, Jinx thought, her grin fading, and the ship food? Abrakas sure has a laughin¡¯ wit dis. ¡°Right then. The faster we get out the Straits the better,¡± Captain Gray said after a small awkward pause. ¡°Why is that, Mister Gray?¡± Jinx purred warmly and Zola rolled her eyes. ¡°Ehm, well the moment we made that turn at Colant¡¯s Refuge everyone knew where we were heading,¡± the Captain frowned, hand working his trimmed beard. ¡°We went as far off course as it was prudent, but once on this route, every ship goes for the Straits.¡± Jinx nodded, eyes hidden behind a wet pink curtain, Zola grimaced green in the face and Captain Gray tipped his imaginary hat and left not to interrupt their serious conversation. ¡°Are ye gonna puke again?¡± Jinx asked, pushing her wet mess of a hair behind her small ears. At some point she had to do something about them, but braiding them was a chore and a half and Jinx kept losing the leather tail holders, she was stealing from the slave girls. She suspected Iskay the redhead as the culprit. That girl is a pretty thief. ¡°It passed,¡± a weary Zola replied and wiped her face with a cloth she got out of the vest opening. The swelling there equaling that of the sails, flapping over their heads. ¡°I have it since Bayspell,¡± they had stopped there briefly to get provisions for a longer journey. Sen-Iv had a difficult time accepting the two lost days. Hmm. ¡°Are ye having too much water?¡± Jinx asked, turning her head to avoid a big wave gouging her eyes out. ¡°Always drink first from the barrels, the bottom stuff are icky.¡± Zola groaned and wiped her face again, glanced up the quarterdeck where Soren was having Liko on his back playing horse, the big Northman while affected from seasickness at the start, had adjusted pretty well. Especially after the sailors started sharing their liquor with him. The Issir woman sighed, a deep sigh this from her stomach and Jinx frowned, scrunched her face this way and that, scratched a nasty tickle at her nostrils and looked for a way to not have this conversation. Whisper¡¯s instincts telling her, she wasn¡¯t going to like it. ¡°Think, I¡¯m expecting,¡± Zola blurted out, just as the Gish had turned to hoof it towards the Captain¡¯s cabin. For fuck¡¯s sake. ¡°Does it happen frequently?¡± She jested, absent anything better. Zola grimaced and stared at her incredulous. ¡°Are you serious? What the actual fuck, Whisper!¡± ¡°Just sayin¡¯ might be a false alarm,¡± Jinx said quickly, not wanting to talk about it, but fully aware it was an important matter for Zola. Why is this happening to me? What is dis fuckin¡¯ torture, are ye serious? What am I cursed? ¡°Had this rush on my thigh once, thought twas me undies¡ª¡± ¡°You never wear undies!¡± Zola blasted her and Fox Drachen standing a couple of meters away flinched, but kept his eyes straight and kept examining the main mast standing all proud with interest, pretending he wasn¡¯t listening in. ¡°It wasn¡¯t in me thigh,¡± Jinx admitted. ¡°The pants, was my meaning. I had ¡®em washed thoroughly, but it turned out it wasn¡¯t that.¡± Zola groaned in frustration again. ¡°What was it?¡± ¡°Ahm, a swelling? Probably rubbed it too hard in me sleep,¡± Jinx whispered and seeing Zola glaring at her, murder in her eyes, she blurted out blushing. ¡°It went away.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you just grow up a bit?¡± Zola asked her tiredly. ¡°Stop being so selfish.¡± How am I selfish? Jinx thought, looking at her. It hurts hearing this, but I pretend it is fine. She turned and stared at the dark blue sea. ¡°You should tell him,¡± Jinx finally said, wiping a tear down her eye. ¡°Soren is a great guy. Thick as a rock, but ye can¡¯t put a price on the goodness of one¡¯s soul.¡±
Sen-Iv closed her thin short tunic with a hand and let her walk in. Jinx went straight for the bottle of wine and poured herself a cup. A wooden one, from the ship. Sen walked the short distance to the Captain¡¯s bed and sat on it, the tunic riding up her golden-skinned thighs, enough for Jinx to notice, she had nothing underneath. Not that she couldn¡¯t tell from the pair of pokers, the shrill silk fabric couldn¡¯t conceal to help itself. ¡°I had the rings removed,¡± Sen explained, as if she was talking about groceries, sensual whispery voice the best medicine for a good sleep, or a slow orgasm. ¡°The salt is taxing on them.¡± Jinx glanced at her, found no blushing there. Right. Save the nipple. ¡°Sorry about yer clothes,¡± she said lamely. ¡°Ye did bring that expensive thing though, for the amount of material.¡± Sen actually chuckled at that. ¡°Glen loves it.¡± I bet he does, Jinx thought, chunking down the rest of her wine. I love it and I haven¡¯t seen ye in it, just saying. ¡°It¡¯s for the festival, whatever they call it here.¡± ¡°People just attend for the drinks,¡± Jinx agreed, refilling her cup. ¡°Do you think Glen made it out?¡± The Cofol woman asked and Whisper walked and plopped down on the bed, next to her. Tried to at least. Sen directed her away from the mattress with a firm hand, tunic opening offering Naossis miracles times two and kept pushing her, until Jinx yielded and stepped away cup in hand. ¡°What?¡± Sen-Iv raised a perfectly plucked eyebrow. Whisper stared down at her pants. ¡°Leather is wet,¡± Jinx said. ¡°Not dirty.¡± ¡°It¡¯s soaked,¡± Sen repeated calmly. ¡°And dirty. Remove them, so I can have the girls clean them up.¡± Jinx stared at her with red-rimmed eyes. ¡°Ye want me naked?¡± ¡°I have a fresh tunic in that box,¡± Sen pointed with a manicured finger. The fingernail on it cleaner than Jinx¡¯s teeth. ¡°Where did you find the box?¡± Jinx asked, thinking of her poor egg. Glen was so clumsy. Could he lose it? Surely one can¡¯t leave a big box behind, right? Unless his life depended on it, then¡­ yeah, the box wasn¡¯t as important. ¡°Liko sat on it, in the boat,¡± Sen explained, caught in mischief. There¡¯s a blush there, Jinx thought. ¡°I may have cheated a little.¡± ¡°What did ye bring?¡± ¡°Not much clothes, some stones, jewelry, my oils, a small bag of soaps,¡± she paused realizing that was too much information and added a little apprehensively. ¡°This and that.¡±
Sen¡¯s tunic reached below Jinx¡¯s knees, almost like a dress. It also was a striking red silk that matched her eyes. Sen-Iv, absurdly expensive brush in hand, pulled hard at her long pink hair, a determined look on her face. ¡°Have you ever brushed them?¡± She asked, tying them in a high bun at the top of her head. Wow, Jinx thought. My ears are fuckin¡¯ huge! She checked Sen¡¯s through the mirror and breathed out relieved. They weren¡¯t. Now the earrings, she wouldn¡¯t mind having. ¡°Sure. A couple o¡¯ times,¡± Jinx replied, moving her head right and left energetically, so she could whip the ponytail sideways alike her horse. ¡°Hmm.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Sen asked, moving away to go and sit on the bed again. ¡°Come here.¡± ¡°So, how do I do that, without a mirror?¡± Jinx asked sitting down next to her. Sen stared at her for a long moment, her eyes a kaleidoscope of colors. ¡°You¡¯ve been on the road for too long,¡± she said finally and Whisper sighed remembering Dante helping her out of the seaweeds, more blue than pink. ¡°All my life, I reckon.¡± ¡°Do you like it, the life?¡± Well, it was fine a couple of minutes ago, now it kinda sucks again. ¡°Tis what it is,¡± Jinx replied, listening to the ship¡¯s noises. ¡°Glen will make it out. He¡¯s sneaky like that.¡± And carries a magic dagger. ¡°I¡¯m worried, but also believe it with all my heart,¡± Sen replied and Jinx realized she hadn¡¯t seen her so open another time. ¡°The alternative, I can¡¯t fathom.¡± ¡°Getting out of Hellfort was more difficult. He almost died there. Oakenfalls, gods it¡¯s been so long now. I could have shot him first, instead of Emerson. He had no armor on.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you?¡± Sen asked, with a smile. Jinx shrugged her shoulders. ¡°He looked so scared and out of place. So young. I should have taken Zestari out myself. I¡¯ve thought about it, but didn¡¯t. Two of my friends died for that.¡± Fuck, Jinx thought. What are ye doing? Are ye fuckin¡¯ crying? Sen touched her shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Jinx croaked. ¡°What happened?¡± The Cofol woman asked. ¡°Ah, dammit¡­ nothing,¡± Jinx sniffled. ¡°I¡¯ll be alright, in just a minute. It¡¯s been a difficult year.¡± ¡°Your friends? Dante?¡± ¡°Yeah, Victor as well,¡± she saw Pale Hook again up on that cursed bridge, before going under. ¡°Then there¡¯s the Issir woman,¡± Sen-Iv added perceptively. ¡°She¡¯s pregnant,¡± Jinx blurted out, before she could stop herself. Yeah, I need to get out of here, she thought. ¡°Would the baby take something from you? Something you could have had, if she wasn¡¯t?¡± Jinx sighed and wiped her face with the back of her hand. ¡°Nah. I¡¯ve tried everything,¡± she admitted. But for the wooden phallus. Glen better not miss that! Sen dropped the ivory brush she had used in her lap. Jinx stared at it for a moment perturbed at the gesture. ¡°Now you have a brush,¡± Sen said and stared her up and down. Jinx thought about kissing her, but managed to get ahold of herself and listen to her words. ¡°Zola will have a baby. Jinx might want to look to her own future. I wager there¡¯s a prince waiting there and I hate gambling. Stop beating the dead horse and get yourself a new one.¡± Jinx chuckled. ¡°Ye were doin¡¯ great, but the dead horse kinda threw me off at the end.¡± Sen-Iv shrugged her shoulders. ¡°It¡¯s a Horselords saying. Personally I hate them.¡± ¡°Haha. What¡¯s wrong wit horses or gambling?¡± Jinx chuckled, using the tunic to wipe her nose. Sen reached under a pillow, got a hankie out, but Whisper stopped her. ¡°I prefer me way.¡± She had to draw the line somewhere. Glen¡¯s famed wife frowned, stared at the soft hankie and then replied to her previous query, as all the gods were listening. ¡°The horses is just something new for me. The other thing, well. It is foolish to risk your life for coin and I¡¯ll never leave what¡¯s most precious to chance,¡± the Celestial Opal of Lai Zel-Ka had said. ¡°Not if I can help it.¡±
SHIP AHOY! Jinx heard the outlook yell and rushed up the stairs to the deck, Soren almost running her over, as he was coming down.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°Wow!¡± Jinx yelled naked feet fighting for purchase. ¡°Pretty?¡± Soren gasped stopping her easily, a big hand on her shoulder. ¡°Is that a dress?¡± ¡°Tis a tunic!¡± Jinx snapped, her heart beating wild from the scare. ¡°Where are ye going?¡± ¡°Lookin¡¯ for ye,¡± Soren replied, red beard reaching his belly. ¡°What happened to yer hair?¡± ¡°Tis a ponytail,¡± Whisper deadpanned, then sighed. ¡°Fine then,¡± and made to shove him out of the way. When that failed, she tried squeezing through desperately in order to reach the top, but didn¡¯t move an inch. The big Northman turned to the side, seeing her struggles and grabbing her by the waist, carried her on the deck. ¡°Put me down,¡± Jinx warned him embarrassed and he let her stand on her own with a shrug. ¡°Alright, what do you want?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a Gallant Dogs problem,¡± Soren said, sounding troubled. He walked to the rails, grabbed them with both hands and almost uprooted a good portion of them, when he heaved tensed. ¡°Wow big guy,¡± Jinx cautioned him. ¡°It¡¯s Glen¡¯s ship.¡± ¡°Aye, it is,¡± Soren agreed and relaxed his muscles. ¡°We should have stayed to help him.¡± ¡°Glen wanted us here, Soren. Near Sen; we are helping him.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t feel like it.¡± ¡°What is it, big guy?¡± Jinx asked, although she already knew. Captain Gray had the spyglass in his hands on the quarterdeck. She starred at the sky next and the setting sun. Half an hour until nightfall, she thought. Tops. ¡°Ah, darn it all,¡± Soren cursed. ¡°I messed it up.¡± Oh, come on, get it out ye ox! ¡°She told you about the baby,¡± Jinx said. Soren flinched in shock. ¡°Ye can tell already?¡± ¡°No, she told me first.¡± ¡°So you know?¡± Jinx licked her lips, moved away from the rail not to stain her fancy tunic, the wind blowing through her tingling and crossed her hands behind her back. ¡°You have nothing to worry about.¡± ¡°Ye sure?¡± Soren asked, looking more than a little worried. ¡°In our kind of life, captain¡­ ah, it¡¯s a scary thought, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll just have her on desk duty,¡± Jinx replied with a grin. ¡°Where?¡± ¡°Soon as we reach Eikenport, we¡¯ll look to do Alix¡¯s job and ask Glen for a loan,¡± Jinx replied. ¡°Where would Glen find the coin?¡± ¡°He¡¯s rich as fuck?¡± Soren frowned. ¡°Glen?¡± He thought about it some. ¡°So you have a plan?¡± Jinx chuckled and smacked him once on the shoulder. ¡°You¡¯ll be a great dad Soren and yes, Jinx has a plan for the company.¡± She didn¡¯t, but might as well start planning. Perhaps a base of operations, she thought. An office space, preferably near a venue of ill repute. A large pool out back. Now that could be expensive. ¡°You should go ahead and tell Zola, everything will be fine,¡± she told him. ¡°Maybe show her some love, girls like that.¡± Soren puffed out and scratched his head with a spade like hand. ¡°Yeah, I kinda told her that already,¡± he admitted. ¡°She knows.¡± ¡°There ye go then,¡± Jinx replied. ¡°Now, I need to head back in, me tits are freezing.¡± On the way to the lower deck she bumped onto Nebula the ships carpenter. ¡°Hey,¡± Jinx asked him. ¡°What was that ship?¡± ¡°Two of them,¡± The man replied. ¡°Heading for the Straits.¡± Jinx frowned. ¡°Pirates?¡± ¡°Who knows?¡± Nebula said, with shrug. ¡°They missed us, will never find us in the night.¡± If Jinx could reach him easily ¨CNebula was a good three heads taller than her- she would have slapped him hard in the face. Twice.
Three hours later found her with closed eyes, Sen-Iv sleeping peacefully in the bed, Jinx¡¯s nape at the crook of her hip, listening to the sound of the Cofol woman¡¯s breaths. One hour after Zola had finally stopped moaning in the Second¡¯s smaller cabin and three before dawn, she contemplated of jumping into Sen¡¯s bath barrel for a nap. Then Whisper felt her bones vibrate. It wasn¡¯t a shudder, as Jinx felt it going from end to end, from the ship¡¯s beams, to the hull¡¯s superstructure and back. It was like a pulse, or a current running through everything, using the sea as medium. Or a sound Jinx had heard described, when she was still a youngling. Abrakas warning for the Gish that had their life spared once already. Stay out of the water. This female Gish opened her eyes and listened again for it, her toes still tingling. Sen¡¯s slow breathing stopped, the older woman waking up on instinct. ¡°What is it?¡± She murmured looking at the pitch black. Jinx got up lithely, reached for her quiver, got the strap over her head and snapped the clasp closed at the front. She wore her harness over it, the silk tunic Jinx had still on looking ridiculous and picked up her bow. ¡°Whisper?¡± Sen asked again, worried now. ¡°Lock the door. It might be nothing,¡± Jinx told her and taking a big breath, opened said door and run up the stairs and on the main deck.
¡°COMIN¡¯ ABREAST!¡± Someone yelled from above, the moment she stepped on the wet deck-boards. ¡°STARBOARD SIDE!¡± Answered another and Jinx¡¯s swung her head right, saw the Brigantine almost upon them, the long lines whistling right and left, the hooks on them deadly. ¡°PIRATES!¡± Several sailors yelled right after, as a general alarm was sounded, lights appearing and bells ringing across the Marquette. Jinx grunted, got an arrow out, lined up a shot from deck to deck, the other ship less lit up than their own, caught a pirate preparing to cross over ¨Cthe two ships no more than three meters apart- breathed out and nailed him right through the neck. ¡°PORTSIDE FULL RUDDER!¡± Gray barked from the quarterdeck, as Jinx glided two meters, her naked feet burning up, then jumped -the wet tunic ballooning over her legs- stepped on the side of the main mast, grabbed a line with her left hand and started walking up. Below her at the main deck wild figures started jumping on board using lines. She counted twenty, before her feet touched the flat main yard beam, the course sail slapping her hard in the back, as the Marquette attempted to turn violently to disengage. Jinx almost fell to her death, but found her footing a moment later, left shoulder screaming in pain, skin on her hand opening as she clutched desperately at a line and the whole ship creaking and groaning, before coming to a stop, when the grappling hooks locked it in place. ¡°CUT THE BLOODY LINES!¡± Someone yelled, amidst the chaos. Jinx, her teeth rattling, got up on one knee, glanced at the pirate ship that had sneaked up on them in the dark, now lit up as well and saw the name of it on the port side, written in bronze. ¡®Good Severance.¡¯ ¡°Fuck off ye cunt,¡± Jinx cursed and reached for another arrow.
A pirate decapitated a young sailor with a nasty cutlass, more a butcher¡¯s weapon than a sword, the head bouncing off the deck and into the black sea. Jinx shot him through the chest, arrow finding his heart and he died on his feet, the cutlass clattering down. The crew of the Marquette had gathered, in an attempt to block the access to the quarterdeck, but they were overwhelmed and were getting slaughtered too fast for the young Gish to count. Jinx fired arrow after arrow, perilously balancing on the beam, trying to take out the more dangerous opponents, or disable them. Twenty arrows and perhaps ten kills in, she realized they were losing. Grimacing and low on ammunition, she dashed towards the ship¡¯s stern and jumped in the void, slotting the bowstring over her head mid-air. Jinx found the mizzen sail and bounced off of it, legs kicking and hands flailing mad, until she grasped at the ratline, locked her legs on it and slid down, the burn at her naked thighs smarting something fierce. The Gish landed behind the row of sailors defending the stairs and caught sight of Soren, chainmail on, but no boots, coming out of the lower deck, with Zola right behind him. ¡°Pretty, what¡ª¡± Oi fuck me wit no spit, Jinx groaned inwardly, raising a bleeding palm to stop him, her back bones hurting. ¡°Push them back on this side!¡± She yelled next, took a large gulp of air, wiped her face smearing blood over it and reached for her bow again. ¡°What are you going to do?¡± Zola asked her, eyes filled with a thousand worries, as Soren charged at the attacking pirates, axe swinging. The Issir woman pressed a bolt into her crossbow, she only had her night shirt on, but wore her pants and boots, the wooden quiver full. ¡°Kill the one leading them,¡± Jinx said and hurried away. It worked the last time. Her instincts telling her this time it wouldn¡¯t, but she couldn¡¯t tell her that.
Captain Gray got a hook in the face and went down a bloody mess and the remaining crew shuddered on the starboard side of the deck, the other side holding still. Soren¡¯s initial charge down the stairs had hurled half a dozen pirates overboard, the next four wishing they¡¯d taken the plunge. Jinx¡¯s fired her last arrow aiming at a wild-eyed Lorian wearing chainmail barking orders, ridiculous hat on his head prominent, but she got bumped hard on the left shoulder and missed. She let go of her bow, turned around, as she tumbled down on the wet boards and got her shortsword out, the handle on it slippery. A pirate charged her wielding a cleaver twice the size of a normal butcher¡¯s and not as clean. Saw her cunt at full display, as her tunic had ridden all the way up and paused intrigued, Zola¡¯s bolt smacking him right in the face and exploding out the back of his skull. It¡¯s not half a bad last image to have, she thought. The pirate dropped down, Jinx got up, only to duck again to avoid a swing from the Pirate Captain, wielding a sabre. The blade whistled over her head, almost taking her ponytail out and stricken hard at the quarterdeck¡¯s rails, chopping one off. Jinx rolled on a knee towards him, stabbed with the shortsword down and right through his right leather boot, tip of her blade finding hardwood. The pirate cried in blinding pain, Jinx got her blade out and made to make an honest eunuch out of him, but got kicked hard between the tits and was hurled backwards six meters. Whisper tripped another pirate as she glided on her back, the man hitting the deck and the nimble Gish slashed him casually once across the face, as she slid past him. Jinx stopped at the stairs across the ones she was a moment earlier, having traversed the ship¡¯s width in a second and saw Soren duking it out with five opponents, the big man blocking the narrow corridor by himself, fully committed. Jinx spat down and jumped up again, glanced back to the starboard side and realized the pirates had broken through there. Cursing she looked about, found a long shaft with a hook at one end of it, bit of bloody hair at the edge and sprinted there to help the remaining crew members defending the quarterdeck. She made it, just as Zola having killed the pirate Captain, dropped her crossbow and grabbed his sabre to defend herself from his enraged crew. ¡°TWITSY PRESTON IS DEAD!¡± Someone yelled, sounding very angry about it for some reason. Jinx had met Preston briefly and she¡¯d thought the man a thug and a right dick. Whisper reached the bottom of the stairs, long weapon leading, as she skated the last meter on peeled off bloody feet. The Gish glanced left while she did, saw Zola slashing wild with the unfamiliar weapon and downing her opponent, a sailor dying next to her to a spear, then right with clenched teeth, to catch sight of two pirates¡¯ crossing over rather late in the game, one of them wearing a leather eye-patch on his familiar ruffian¡¯s face. You bloody cunt! Jinx cursed, her spear like weapon plunging at the sides of the pirate blocking the stairs and sending him overboard, when she let the weapon go. Zola getting the same injury from the spear her opponent had. The Issir woman screamed her teeth bloody and cut him once across the face, just as Jinx, beating heart all but bursting out of her chest, jumped three stairs at a time to reach her. ¡°No,¡± Jinx gasped, catching Zola as she went down on her knees. ¡°DON¡¯T DO THIS TO ME YE FUCK!¡± She screamed at the top of her lungs. ¡°Gods Whisper,¡± Zola said trying to pull the spear out of her sides. ¡°Help Soren, for fuck¡¯s sake!¡± ¡°She ain¡¯t helping no one,¡± the pirate rustled over them, cutlass in hand. Eyes the color of gold. ¡°Ship¡¯s ours lassie.¡± Jinx swung her head around, saw Soren injured, still fighting with at least eight pirates, most of the crew dead and then turned to glare at the pirate standing over her leering, the gloomy Stiles, his lips pressed tight, standing right next to him. Jinx opened her mouth to curse their whoring mothers, but behind the pirate and the traitor, a massive tentacle came out of the sea, the suckers on it the size of a jungle lion¡¯s head. It rose silently over the ¡®Good Severance¡¯ almost at the height of its main mast and then came down breaking everything in its path. The sound of the exploding beams, torn sails and shattering deck so sudden, it covered the screams of the men dying under it. Debris flew over the deck of the Marquette, parts of beams, rope, legs and weapons, all mixed in. The pirate standing over the open-mouthed, crying Jinx, flinched at the rain of debris reaching them and the sound. He made to turn to see what had just happened and got a foot of blade from Stiles, right through the gut. ¡°Blimey! Jinx, yer bad luck girl!¡± Stiles rustled. ¡°Abrakas takes us!¡± Behind him four more monstrous tentacles appeared, raising slowly from the depths, each the size of a massive mature tree-trunk, a dark blue color on top, white at the suckers. Then the Kraken trumpeted again, the low-timbre and menacing gurgling pulse running through the Gish, who pissed herself, her bones vibrating again violently, alike the whole ship. The explosion that followed so gargantuan, almost everyone aboard the Marquette not ducking for cover, got thrown overboard and into the frothing waves. Or just killed outright.
The pirate ship had disappeared, a mess of debris in its place and the waves pushed the freed Marquette violently aside, the large ship almost toppling over. Sails got torn up, beams snapped, rope lines cut and lashed out at anyone unlucky enough to gawk at the spectacle. Jinx screamed manically, Stiles grabbing a sliding Zola by an arm to stop her from going over and then the ship righted itself again, the dark seas around them eerie silent. Do it girl, or we¡¯re all dead. Move for fuck¡¯s sake! Jinx thought and crawled on her knees towards the stairs, men screaming in the water and on the damaged Marquette. Others too injured to swim going under in muffled silence. The Gish pulled her tunic over her head and got up, Stiles eye staring incredulous. She glanced once at Zola¡¯s pale face, the spear torn out of her sides in the chaos that had followed the Kraken¡¯s attack. Blood spilling out on the soaked briny boards. She looked towards Soren, found him fallen next to the stairs, battleaxe still in his hands, but bleeding from several places and his chainmail all torn up. The Gish breathed out next and walked down the few stairs, to reach the bombarded deck of the Marquette. On the starboard side, where the attack had happened, the ship had been shredded up badly, some of the pirates¡¯ hooks still in place, the lines cut. The Kraken rose slowly to the surface, head as big as the ship, most of his massive body submerged still, huge black eye opening up, the mirror surface on it the size of Castalor¡¯s gates and stared at the small naked Gish standing on the deck. Jinx could see herself in it, all other details blacked out. ¡°I claim my fuckin¡¯ chance, ye cunt!¡± Whisper yelled at the top of her lungs, teeth rattling when she finished, legs shaking so much her knees banged at each other, hoping the elders haven¡¯t messed that up and it wasn¡¯t just a story to keep the small Gish from running away, the moment they started walking. The Kraken¡¯s eye stayed on her for a long terrifying moment, as if committing her to memory and then as silently as it had surfaced, it lowered itself down. The massive tentacles that had surrounded the hapless Marquette retreating in turn, following the colossal creature to the depths of Abrakas Gullet. ¡°Shivers me timbers,¡± Stiles rustled, wonder on his ruffian¡¯s face. ¡°Hadn¡¯t me seen that, wit me own eyes¡­ What?¡± He queried seeing the murderous look on her face. ¡°Saved yer blasted life ye pinkish crack!¡±
¡°What happened?¡± Soren asked two hours later -the night almost gone- and tried to get up, but failed. Jinx checked on his injuries quickly. Whisper should have come for him sooner, but she couldn¡¯t. He¡¯d part of a blade in his left shoulder, three cuts on his legs, with the one above the knee worrying and a nasty welt under his right eye, the cheek cut deep and bleeding. ¡°You¡¯ll be fine,¡± she declared and stood up to wear her tunic again, the fabric surprisingly in good condition, but soaked through. ¡°Ah, I need to get to Zola,¡± the big Northman said, with a groan and tried again to stand. Jinx stopped him, with a soft hand on his shoulder. ¡°Sen is looking after her, the girls as well. Save yer strength.¡± Soren stared at her swollen eyes and lowered his head. ¡°How bad?¡± Ah, Abrakas ye piece of shite. ¡°Stay. I¡¯ll check up on her again,¡± she urged him and Soren scrunched his jaw, put the shaft of his axe down and pushed himself upright with a mighty groan. ¡°Go. I¡¯ll catch up to ye,¡± he growled through his teeth. Jinx didn¡¯t want to go anywhere near the quarterdeck, but she hanged her head and started that way just the same, the big Northman hobbling after her.
Sen-Iv wearing her tunic much better than Jinx, saw her climb up the stairs and took a deep breath, the serene look on her face infuriating Whisper. She fought not to lash out on her and came to stand next to the Cofol woman. Stiles was talking with Drachen about how to get the ship going faster, with half its sails working. The Marquette had started moving again in the meantime. The two slave girls were tending to an ashen faced Zola. They used a cloth to clean her forehead, wipe the blood from her exposed ribs and hands. The muscles on the latter all locked up, not helping. ¡°My condolences for your loss,¡± Sen-Iv whispered, as dignified as she could and Jinx closed her swollen from crying eyes, not to see anymore. Nor hear. She had enough. ¡°Gods give,¡± the Cofol woman continued, as if determined to test her mettle. ¡°Same time as they take.¡± Jinx cleared her throat, glanced back, saw a miserable Soren looking from the top of the stairs, barely standing upright and replied with a hiss, her voice dripping poison. ¡°I don¡¯t give a fuck about the gods.¡± A sailor yelled at the top of his lungs next. He was one of the less than ten remaining ¨Cmajority of those injured- tasked with looking over the horizon for more pirates. His voice more a wretched digested croak, than a warning. SHIP AHOY!
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 147. The Pirate’s Other Spawn (4/4)
Whisper Jinx The Pirate¡¯s Other Spawn Part IV -Ye can ask, or ye can find out-
¡°Waaah!¡± Zola groaned, bloody hand snatching Ninan¡¯s hair, the strong slave girl keeping her down best she could. ¡°Fuck it, just don¡¯t¡­¡± Sen-Iv took Jinx¡¯s left hand in hers, pressed a clean cloth on the cut. ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Jinx said, staring at the slaves¡¯ desperate efforts to patch up Zola¡¯s wound. She¡¯s losing too much blood too fast, the devastated Gish thought, biting at the inside of her mouth. ¡°That fluid,¡± Sen said softly, so the Issir woman wouldn¡¯t hear them, ¡°Is her spleen leaking. A piece of the speartip must be in there, it tore her¡ª¡± Jinx put a palm on the Cofol¡¯s mouth to stop her. ¡°How long?¡± She asked and closed her eyes hearing Zola crying. Only it was her. It was Whisper crying, Zola had left this world fighting like hell to stay in it. They just needed a dottore, or Lith¡¯s magic in the end. A bit of Glen¡¯s luck. But alas, they had none of that.
Jinx grunted and opened her eyes with a sigh, the annular ring of her irises a crimson black, the rest of it a bright sparkly Gish-red, but for the small black pupil. She stared at the tiny sail approaching. A fishing boat, Dranchen had declared relieved, Jinx in no condition and in no mood, to argue ship types with him. ¡°Hey,¡± Soren said, standing behind her. The fact he¡¯d approached her, hobbling on a bad leg impressive. ¡°Ye should take this.¡± The Northman had Zola¡¯s crossbow and quiver in his hands. Jinx backed away. ¡°Ah, you keep it. Have something of hers¡ª¡± Soren stopped her. ¡°Don¡¯t need it,¡± he grunted, cleared his throat a couple of times and then added. ¡°Me aim is lousy and she¡¯s safe in here,¡± he smacked his chest once, where the heart was. ¡°So ye don¡¯t need to worry.¡± Aww, ye sweet chunk o¡¯ rock. Jinx pouted her mouth, fresh tears rolling down her eyes and hugged him tight. The quiver piercing Sen¡¯s stupid tunic and her ribs, something fierce. ¡°Thank you,¡± she murmured in the Northman¡¯s hairy ear. She was fresh out of ammunition.
¡°Whisper! Don¡¯t!¡± Sen said, sterner than ever before and Stiles realizing something was up, turned -coiled like the snake he was- saw her pointing the crossbow on him and flinched in panic, then ducked behind Dranchen, who was busy manning the steering wheel. They were missing a lot of crew members. ¡°Get out from behind him,¡± Jinx ordered. ¡°Ye won¡¯t shoot?¡± Stiles asked hopefully. ¡°She won¡¯t mister Stiles,¡± Sen said, putting a hand on her shoulder. Jinx felt a tick appear on her left eye, but she waved it off. ¡°I will,¡± Jinx replied calmly. ¡°Only I¡¯ll shoot once in yer knee first, work the rest of yer joints in turn after that. Dis quiver has over twenty bolts in it.¡± ¡°Strongly ask for fair opportunity to parley me case!¡± Stiles protested, still hiding. ¡°Ye ain¡¯t gettin¡¯ nothing, ye piece of traitorous shit! GET OUT FROM BEHIND DRANCHEN!¡± Jinx bellowed, mostly an insane shriek at the end. ¡°Jinx, please this isn¡¯t helping,¡± Sen tried again. ¡°Ask him where¡¯s Glen,¡± Jinx told her. Sen frowned and stared at a twitching Stiles, glancing from behind a nervous Dranchen, the young sailor¡¯s ogling eyes on Jinx¡¯s crossbow moving like a viper ready to strike. ¡°Where is my husband, Mister Stiles?¡± Sen asked, not as sweetly this time. ¡°You were supposed to be with him.¡± ¡°I made a run for it,¡± Stiles said quickly, lined face and sole eye looking nervous at the two women. ¡°Glen¡¯s talk went bad, an officer was killed.¡± ¡°You are not answering,¡± Sen said, all serious and glanced at Jinx. ¡°Can you get him from there?¡± ¡°If the lad kindly ducks away,¡± Jinx replied coolly. ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°Wait!¡± Stiles snapped and got up. He stepped away from the sweating sailor and raised his hands up. ¡°That assassin was there, he did something.¡± ¡°Did Glen get away?¡± Sen-Iv asked, sounding worried. Stiles puffed his cheeks out, looking at Jinx nervously. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± he admitted. ¡°They made a run for it, the dwarf went for the Gates, but I had a better way out.¡± ¡°Who was wit him?¡± Jinx asked, her hands tiring. I might have to shoot him, lighten the load a bit, she thought and aimed low, where the ex-pirate¡¯s, ex-slave¡¯s cock was. ¡°Wait, gods darn it!¡± Stiles yelled. ¡°That Gish.¡± ¡°Alix?¡± ¡°Aye, him.¡± Jinx glanced at the stoic face of Sen. The Cofol woman, other than biting part of her lower lip, was showing remarkable constraint. ¡°Alix would have had a plan, in case the talks went tits up,¡± she told her. ¡°Yes! There was a plan, perhaps it succeeded?¡± Stiles agreed, relief on his face. ¡°How did ye out?¡± Jinx asked, not amused. ¡°The brotherhood got her members out of Rida,¡± Stiles explained. ¡°I got in a schooner that came straight for Burrow¡ª¡± ¡°Where¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Ahm, well¡­¡± Stiles seem to think about it. ¡°Me finger is dyin¡¯ to twitch right now, ye lying cunt!¡± Jinx exploded on him. ¡°It¡¯s a blasted port, for fuck¡¯s sake! At the reefs!¡± ¡°Ye can get ships in there?¡± Jinx inquired, more calm now. ¡°There¡¯s a whole blasted town, of course you can,¡± Stiles explained. ¡°Don¡¯t know how I beat you to the straits, but me arrived thar¡¯ yesterday, then realized me had no coin to wet me gullet and hopped on Preston¡¯s ship in the ensuing confusion.¡± ¡°What confusion?¡± Jinx asked, lowering the crossbow. Stiles sighed and collapsed on the quarterdeck rails behind him. ¡°Some rapscallion had pinched a ship from the port,¡± he said, wiping his face with a dirty sleeve. ¡°Eh, it¡¯s not that uncommon. Some of the gents went after ¡®em, the rest craved a crack at you, me reasons.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Sen asked, not likening what she was hearing. ¡°For killing Rose,¡± Stiles replied. ¡°I went wit Preston for the easy plunder, but we lost ¡®em during the night, then the captain decided to change course and head for the Straits instead. Couldn¡¯t exactly argue against that decision, seeing as me being amongst the crew, was unofficial.¡± ¡°Does that happen a lot?¡± Sen asked, genuinely interested. Stiles grinned at the two slave girls glaring at him, then scratched his head. ¡°We¡¯re not exactly keeping the best records and crews mingle a bit, unless they¡¯re well-known.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not known?¡± Jinx queried, hint of razz in her voice. Stiles showed her two rows of yellow teeth, some gold in them as well. ¡°Actually meself being famed is befogged, by me being easily forgettable,¡± he explained, which made sense. ¡°You think he¡¯s telling the truth?¡± Dranchen asked and Jinx grimaced, glancing at the small vessel coming straight for them. ¡°Pick yourself a blade, Mister Dranchen.¡±
The small sailing boat swung sharply around in a well-executed arc, being as it was nimbler and twice as fast and then came abreast on their port side. A lithe, short in height, dressed rather extravagant young man for the season, wearing a tricorn hat with two long white feathers on it, silk red bandana underneath it, large heavy coat open and a huge, well-polished silver buckle adorning his belt, waited for a couple of lines to be dropped and then crossed over. He landed on the Marquette¡¯s ravaged deck, opened his hands wide ¨Ceither theatrically, or because he was drunk as a skunk- to prevent zipping straight across and over the rail-less more damaged side of the ship, fancy heeled boots gliding in the gory floorboards. The nimble figure balanced over stiff corpses and severed body parts, broken beams and netting, faltered for a moment seeing Jinx, Stiles, a couple of sailors and a clearly injured Soren, waiting for them to board and came to a stop. White brows raised, a wicked sensual mouth, over a cleft chin and that mix-blood face smeared in shoot, especially around his expressive rich-emerald eyes. Jinx begrudgingly admitted he had a pretty face for a guy. ¡°Milady,¡± their ¡®visitor¡¯ said in a ridiculous drunken droll, tipping his hat once, accent and voice color unsteady, but more Lorian than an Issir. ¡°Gents of course, hah¡­ right. Tis painfully clear our arrival be untimely for ye,¡± he looked about the Marquette, the man standing beside him armed to the teeth; a wiry Issir, his chiseled chest bare, returning Jinx¡¯s glare with interest. ¡°But Abrakas be what he is, one can¡¯t pick and choose days, alike in a market.¡± Jinx raised the crossbow to his face, the shock on it almost comical. ¡°Get out of the ship,¡± she warned him. ¡°Use the same rope. Wish ye fortune at the landing. Tis a smaller deck and ye seem to need plenty of space to make it work.¡± ¡°Whisper,¡± Sen said behind her back and Jinx all but groaned in frustration. She had told her to stay away. ¡°More of them climbed up, while you watched his entrance,¡± Sen explained, why she hadn¡¯t listened. Jinx eyed the sneaky mix-blood, who pretended he heard nothing. ¡°How many?¡± ¡°Four, one of them is really tall.¡± ¡°That would be Troy Jones,¡± the man intruded politely. ¡°Wil¡¯s twin, be they were one-sidedly divided at the womb, auspiciously young Troy received the lion¡¯s share, much to the rigging¡¯s delight and his brother¡¯s ire,¡± their colorful visitor finished his long ¨Cvery wordy- explanation with a fake smile, the teeth on it whole. Jinx rolled her eyes. ¡°The fuck are ye?¡± ¡°Leo Vale,¡± the young man said and Whisper felt a tingle in her tingly bits, quite unexpected and out of place. ¡°A chivalrous buccaneer. Given dis opening, meself must also inform this splendid gatherin¡¯ that this here vessel, is hereby seized in the purpose of piracy. Other activities might also be considered at a later date.¡± ¡°Buss me arse,¡± Stiles cursed in Jinx¡¯s ear. ¡°That¡¯s old Erlad Vale¡¯s crew.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be damned, ¡®nine lives¡¯ Stiles,¡± A grisly old pirate said, weasel eyes, a wrinkled Lorian face and small nose, making him look like an aging rodent. His long hair, more white than gray. ¡°Thought ye were dead.¡± ¡°Ah,¡± Stiles replied recoiling, as if he¡¯d seen the Kraken popping out of the sea again. ¡°Roark Clark, cursed be the day. Had the same thought of ye.¡± ¡°How many lives left?¡± Roark asked him, not very pleased at the reunion. ¡°Lost a couple for certain,¡± Stiles replied backing away from the new group that had appeared. Seven, Jinx counted. This isn¡¯t gonna work. Still¡­ She turned to a gloomy and silent Soren, but someone touched her back. ¡°No,¡± Sen whispered. ¡°I won¡¯t take that risk.¡± ¡°Here I stand bedazzled at yer beauty milady of the plains,¡± Leo popped in with a prominent leer. Jinx¡¯s eye twitched, half in the mind to put a bolt through his fancy hat. ¡°Tis the right call this, if I may offer me promise to strengthen it more,¡± he stared at Jinx then and there was interest there, not wholly unexpected far as she was concerned. Whisper looked great in that tunic, but while she wasn¡¯t in the mood, the pirate captain¡¯s next offer made sense. ¡°No harm shall come to you and yours milady of exotic origins,¡± Leo added and crossed his hands on his chest, adopting the stance of a snake-oil salesman. ¡°Do you trust him?¡± Jinx asked Stiles, out of the corner of her mouth. ¡°Eh, I don¡¯t think Erlad had¡ª¡± a one-eared pirate, with the narrow face of a killer, tilted his head and eyed him warningly. Stiles paused and cleared his throat, before continuing. ¡°Seems a good deal, at this time.¡± ¡°We shall accept your terms, captain Vale,¡± Sen decided for her. ¡°With the condition you take us to Eikenport.¡± ¡°Would there be profit for this ungodly detour?¡± Leo queried, thinking about it. ¡°There will be profit and you can have the ship,¡± Sen replied. ¡°Glen won¡¯t like this,¡± Jinx warned her. ¡°I wager he rather sees us breathing, more than he¡¯ll miss the ship,¡± Sen deadpanned and knowing how much the Cofol woman hated gambling, Jinx yielded to her argument.
¡°Mister Dranchen, kindly release the rudder to Mister Weiss,¡± Captain Vale asked, up on the quarterdeck. ¡°Are ye the ranking officer perchance?¡± ¡°He¡¯s dead,¡± the young sailor replied. ¡°The carpenter is still breathing, but he¡¯s injured.¡± ¡°Ah, jolly. Weiss is of a similar vocation. What about the rest of yer unfortunate crew?¡± ¡°Another four injured, no officers and the passengers.¡± ¡°Aye, there¡¯s them of course,¡± Leo smacked his lips, hands clasped behind his back. ¡°We might need the men¡¯s help to sail the ship.¡± ¡°The men want to be released in Eikenport as well.¡±This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°And they will, dear lad. Tis but a temporary employment!¡± Right, Jinx thought and stepped away from the stairs looking for Soren, the scarred pirate standing behind the main mast barring her way. Jinx showed him her teeth in a snarl, but he didn¡¯t seem particularly intimidated. ¡°What do ye want?¡± Jinx asked him, with a glare. The towering cutthroat, a bit long in the tooth as well, scowled. Whisper had seen that mean look someplace. ¡°Yer a Gish?¡± The man rustled, as if he¡¯d swallowed a bucket of gravel. ¡°Is it the hair?¡± Jinx taunted. ¡°I paint them, aye. And I¡¯m short because my mother had no milk to spare. She had five of us to feed, someone had to make it wit water. So I never really grew to my full potential?¡± ¡°Me brother sailed wit one.¡± the man said, not bothering with her taunt and obvious lies. ¡°Must be half a dozen years or so now.¡± ¡°Ah, well. Which port?¡± ¡°Eagleport.¡± Hmm. ¡°Ye sure it was a Gish? We don¡¯t much like sailing, despite what people think.¡± The sea is full of horrors. The aging pirate gave her a once over. Jinx wondered if her nipples were poking out of the thin tunic. The salt and breeze were doing a number on them. ¡°Used the wrong word. I meant journeying. More of a landlubber he is.¡± Oh great. Abrakas gives, Jinx thought. Same time as he takes away. Almost. ¡°What¡¯s yer name old seadog?¡± She asked. ¡°Bristol Hook.¡± ¡°Aye, I knew Victor,¡± Jinx said and looked away. ¡°For many years.¡± Saw him crack a smile once in all that time. ¡°Captain was right to spare ye,¡± Hook¡¯s brother said. Jinx turned her head. ¡°What was the alternative?¡± ¡°Nobody likes women on a ship, unless it¡¯s their women.¡± ¡°Do you guys share?¡± Jinx taunted. ¡°Just saying, since there¡¯s not enough cunt around, for the demand.¡± ¡°People argued against it. They were motivated,¡± Hook said, not biting to her taunt again. ¡°You know him well?¡± Jinx queried. ¡°Sailed with h¡­ with his father,¡± Hook frowned and looked away. ¡°How did it happen?¡± He asked. Bristol had caught her earlier undertone. ¡°He stayed back to help us cross a bridge. Tried to make it through, when the bridge collapsed, but didn¡¯t manage it in time.¡± ¡°Died in water,¡± Hook smiled at that. ¡°He never liked water.¡± ¡°Died a hero,¡± Jinx said and cleared her throat. ¡°Saving us.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t see how this makes it better,¡± Hook said tensely. Jinx took a step back and stared in his sad eyes for a moment. ¡°I think you do, Mister Hook,¡± she told him. ¡°I think you see and it does.¡± Bristol Hook gave a nod with his head looking emotional, then grimaced and whispered, so only she could hear him. ¡°Change clothes, or stay inside Gish. Ye might be small, but ye¡¯ll find that many think it¡¯s plenty enticing just the same.¡±
Sen-Iv took her time to unlock her door. ¡°Yer fully clothed,¡± Jinx noticed, nodding to the two slave girls sitting on the bed. ¡°I thought it prudent,¡± Sen replied calmly. Jinx removed her tunic, just pulled the flimsy cloth over her head, flashing everyone in the room and looked around for her pants. ¡°Iskay,¡± Sen ordered and the slave girl blinked and run to find her clothing. ¡°Does she always boss ye around?¡± Jinx asked her, while she snaked into her still wet leather pants. A leg on them badly mended, a memento from her scrap with the Cataphract. Iskay blushed, but didn¡¯t answer. ¡°Should we be worried?¡± Sen asked evenly and Jinx gave her a glance. ¡°Very. Put that desk behind the door.¡± This wasn¡¯t a jest.
Leo paused to let her pass through the narrow corridor, outside the captain¡¯s cabin. ¡°Must admit, I found the tunic more agreeable, but can¡¯t argue with the prudency,¡± he said with a toothy grin. ¡°I wear it on special occasions,¡± Jinx retorted, sneaking by him. ¡°Stormed by cutthroats being one o¡¯ them?¡± Leo taunted, thinking he was pretty smart. ¡°And a Kraken after that,¡± Jinx deadpanned pausing to stare his way. Leo blinked and took a deep rugged breath. ¡°Yer serious.¡± ¡°Ye see me wear it, start praying,¡± Jinx warned him and he kind of blushed under all that paint. She stooped nearer and gave him a good sniff. ¡°Yer drunk?¡± And smell of cunt. Wash yer clothes more my dude. ¡°Might¡¯ve partaken to yer late captain¡¯s liquor,¡± Leo admitted, backing away. ¡°Are Gish like fairies?¡± What kind of weird arse query is dis? ¡°What do ye think? Name¡¯s Jinx by the way. Whisper is me other.¡± Leo chuckled at that, then shook his head. ¡°Perhaps me should opt not to answer then,¡± he finally said. ¡°Ye can have the first officer¡¯s cabin for the night.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± Jinx retorted. ¡°I have a better spot in mind.¡±
Jinx reached the main yard, located at the midpoint of the main mast, the crow¡¯s nest lookout being at the top yard above it and stopped there. The open sails flapping, the ship¡¯s lights barely illuminating the deck underneath. Behind the ship¡¯s stern, the fishing boat was following them towed by the larger Marquette. Leo had stripped the sails from the ¡®Trout¡¯ to repair whatever they could and just after the noon bell, they had started sailing west again. The tired Gish closed her eyes, her feet and back hurting and let the night breeze lull her to a half-sleep for about a minute. Something metallic clanked over her head and she opened her eyes again to glare at the bottom of the crow¡¯s nest. ¡°Who the fuck is there?¡± ¡°Gish?¡± Stiles asked, after a contemplating moment. ¡°Are ye alone?¡± ¡°Nah, we have a party here, twenty people walking about on the fuckin¡¯ plank!¡± Jinx hissed, unhappy at not being left alone. ¡°Keep yer darn voice down!¡± Stiles warned her. ¡°Yer hiding?¡± Jinx asked, a little perturbed, but at a lower tone. ¡°Nah, I ¡®ave a blasted party by meself in the bloody dark!¡± Stiles hissed, throwing her words back at her. Whisper smacked her lips, feeling a tad chastised. ¡°Fine. What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Ah, how about¡­ pirates have taken over the ship?¡± Stiles said, the irony lost on him, and lowered himself on the mainyard, the sail making it dance under their feet. ¡°Friendly pirates,¡± Jinx corrected it for him. ¡°Unlike the ones ye befriended.¡± ¡°Listen¡­ Jinx,¡± Stiles said patiently. ¡°There¡¯re at least two killers down there. Not exactly pleased wit how this turned out,¡± he sighed and rubbed his face with a hand. He even lifted his eye-patch to wipe his eye under it, the wrinkled eyelid closed and deflated. ¡°A nail took it,¡± Stiles explained, seeing her stare. ¡°Vowed to be more careful after that.¡± ¡°Turned to piracy,¡± Jinx taunted. ¡°Nothin¡¯ safer than this.¡± ¡°Was one since the start,¡± Stiles hissed. ¡°And yer not listening.¡± ¡°Leo seems fine.¡± Stiles shook his head right and left, on the verge of despair. ¡°Sly Erlad was a vile man,¡± Stiles said reminiscing. ¡°Joined his crew young, for a couple of years afore their untimely demise. Managed to get away, never regretted it,¡± he breathed once deep, let it all out. ¡°He didn¡¯t have a son, Jinx.¡± ¡°Three of Leo¡¯s crew, served with his father. Checked it myself. They would know if he was an imposter, Stiles. They wouldn¡¯t cover for him.¡± ¡°They would cover for Erlad¡¯s daughter. He had ¡®em sworn in blood, else it¡¯s Abrakas Gullet for them,¡± Stiles hissed and stood with his back on the main mast. ¡°Hook is Victor¡¯s brother,¡± Jinx pointed, not really believing his story. ¡°I know,¡± Stiles replied. ¡°Never said anything.¡± ¡°I was Glen¡¯s slave, the lowest of the low, not exactly prudent to test whether the brothers were in touch. Ye think Glen would¡¯ve stood up for me? Ye think Victor would¡¯ve asked for his permission?¡± He had half a point there. ¡°What did you do to Hook? This one,¡± Jinx asked. ¡°He thinks I ratted ¡®em to the Admiralty, had Erlad hanged.¡± ¡°Did ye?¡± Stiles glared at her. ¡°Does it matter? Do ye think he¡¯ll weigh the odds, or consider I might be innocent?¡± ¡°Ye said two killers,¡± Jinx noted, opting not to press him more. Stiles would have done anything to save his own neck. He might have done it again back in Altarin, for the same reason, but only Glen knew that. ¡°That Issir,¡± Stiles whispered. ¡°Grim. I think he was in Van Fleet¡¯s crew. Nastiest bunch in Burrow.¡± ¡°Leo seems cozy wit him,¡± Jinx said trying to remember, if she had talked to the Issir. She hadn¡¯t. ¡°I told ye why,¡± Stiles hissed. That lad was a brawny specimen, with a lot of meat in all the right places. ¡°Right,¡± Jinx murmured, pushing the image away. ¡°How certain are ye?¡± ¡°I ain¡¯t certain. Could he have seeded a bastard? Sure. Plenty o¡¯ them, in fact. It¡¯s possible. But I do know, he talked about his daughter a lot.¡± Jinx thought of Leo. She got nothing. Her mind too preoccupied and grieving to assess things clearly. ¡°They stole the ¡®Trout¡¯ from Burrow.¡± ¡°Aye, told ye that,¡± Stiles agreed. ¡°His daughter worked a tavern there. Everyone knows her. Friends with the Attertons. I tried to tell on her¡ª¡± Hmm. ¡°Ye did, I remember that.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t tell anyone,¡± Stiles warned. ¡°Even if I¡¯m wrong.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a new command,¡± Stiles explained. ¡°It might work out, or it won¡¯t. Pray that it does.¡±
Not wanting to spend the night in Stiles¡¯ company, Jinx climbed down again and reached the deck tired as a mule carrying rocks from a quarry for a living. She yawned and stumbled towards the cabins, the deck empty and poorly lit. Jinx paused a couple of meters from the stairs leading to the quarterdeck, Weiss manning it unseen from where she stood and stared at the silent black sea for a while. The breeze blowing hot, but there was enough moisture around her, to not mind it. The Gish stared directly sough, as she was standing on the Marquette¡¯s port side, towards the distant Sinking Isles. I¡¯ve seen a Kraken today, she told her long lost mother and siblings. Used me only chance to save a friend that died shortly after. There was an ocean between them of course, behind all that blackness, but she squinted her eyes just the same to catch a glimpse that wasn¡¯t there, a sense of nostalgia coming over her, the day¡¯s losses weighing heavy on the young female. Jinx felt lonely and the silence of the sea wasn¡¯t helping. That is, Whisper was alone, until she wasn¡¯t. ¡°Never had a Gish,¡± a man¡¯s voice rustled in her ear, catching her by surprise. ¡°Heard about yer kind aplenty, aye,¡± Jinx tried to turn, furious with herself for letting her guard down, but there was a pointy blade under her right ear, shaving towards her jawline and she froze. ¡°We are not that great,¡± Jinx said, sweat forming on her forehead. ¡°Beg to differ,¡± the man had a hand on her ponytail, pulled it back to better have access to her neck. A black hand. The Issir, she thought remembering Stiles¡¯ warning. Is that bastard watching from above? Would he interfere? ¡°I¡¯ve seen ye in that dress. Ah, can¡¯t think of anything else since then. Yer a cursed thing.¡± ¡°We can have fun,¡± Jinx croaked. ¡°I¡¯m very compliant and make the softest sounds.¡± ¡°Like me girls cold,¡± Grim admitted. ¡°And dead quiet. I¡¯ll have to reject yer proposal.¡± Fuck. ¡°What did I say mister Grim?¡± Leo asked and Jinx, her hair pulled back and head tilted, watched him faltering down the stairs through blurring eyes, either a bad acting job, or riotously plastered. Seeing he carried a bottle of rum, freshly pilfered out of Captain Gray¡¯s stock, obviously the latter. ¡°The girls ¡®ave reached an agreement wit the new management. Breakin¡¯ it afore completion, would make for awfully bad press, won¡¯t ye agree?¡± ¡°Ye made agreement wit the Cofol wench,¡± Grim replied, relaxing his grip on her hair. ¡°Not this one captain. This one, we could share.¡± Leo reached the bottom of the stairs, raised a finger asking for a moment and glugged down greedily from the bottle, blinking at the end of it. Stooping perilously on a foot, Leo placed it down carefully and then risen himself back up, to cross his arms on his chest. ¡°Please elaborate, Mister Grim,¡± he said in his drunken droll. ¡°On yer suggestion.¡± What the fuck? Jinx glared at him. Are ye fuckin¡¯ kidding me? ¡°Ye take yer first, I help out,¡± Grim started with a leer and Leo nodded him along. ¡°Or we can switch and I work on ye instead, have the Gish watch. I¡¯ve seen yer lookin¡¯. No one will know.¡± Jinx blinked, but there was a sparkle in Leo¡¯s eyes. Captain Vale sighed and looked at his expensive boots for a moment. Is that cocksucker seriously thinking about it? Whisper thought absolutely livid. ¡°Must admit, yer painting a stimulating picture here, ¡®Jolly¡¯ Grim,¡± Leo said with a smile. ¡°See now though, if I go along wit it, someone would know, makin¡¯ the whole scheme we ¡®ave here, unattainable. For how is a captain to remain in charge of a ship, when a seadog has him grabbed literally by the whore¡¯s pipe? Why, that seadog I¡¯d venture would be running said ship. Savvy?¡± Grim pushed her away from him, just as Leo unsheathed a fancy shortsword he carried on his belt. Jinx barely managed to keep herself from going over the rails and into Abrakas Gullet. ¡°Have ye ever used it captain?¡± Grim asked him and Leo looked up with a grin. ¡°Every day for the past¡­ ahm, dozen years?¡± He grinned some more and sidestepped to get away from the stairs. ¡°Commodore Atterton trained Rose on the long sword, the man being a squire at some point, or other, to a lord in Lesia. Now I favored the shortsword meself, but sometimes it¡¯s not the size that matters, Mister Grim.¡± Jinx frowned at the detail. Everyone of note knows her. Friends¡¯ wit the Attertons, Stiles had said. ¡°Ye¡¯ll have Rose¡¯s fate,¡± Grim spat and made to come at him, but Hook appeared behind the mast, just as he had with Jinx earlier and kicked him hard at the elbow. Grim growled and lost his blade, went to get the other, but Hook moving swiftly stopped him wrapping an arm at his neck from behind and touched the business end of a cutlass to his face, precisely at the right side of his nose. Grim froze in turn, like Jinx had earlier and Leo swaggered forward without hurrying to retrieve the other blade. He tossed it away and used the empty hand to caress Grim¡¯s chest, fingers running down on his chiseled stomach, Hook watching him with angry eyes. Leo nodded for him to release his hold and the aging pirate did, Grim sporting a smug smirk on his face. ¡°Mmm,¡± Leo murmured and Jinx slowly stood up from where she was watching them, eyeing each other, the moment tense. ¡°Rose was my hero,¡± Leo whispered staring into Grim¡¯s shocked face and stepping away, slashed savagely at his neck with the shortsword. The cut so deep and so precise, Grim¡¯s head almost toppled back completely severed, the blood spraying over the wet deck-boards, the wooden rails and reaching the frothing sea. Hook grabbed the flailing Issir, before he hit the deck, carried him a couple of feet murmuring under his breath and then slowly pushed him overboard, the splashing waves clearing the blood a couple of moments later. Leo waited for Hook to leave them alone, after a brief exchange and when the old pirate did, he stumbled to the rails and grabbed them with both hands shaking allover. ¡°Never done this afore?¡± Jinx asked, after she¡¯d slowly approached him. The Gish was a bit rattled with the sudden turn of events as well, the surge of adrenalin snapping her back into the present. Her senses sharpened again. ¡°Ye can tell?¡± Leo asked her. I can tell many things. ¡°Uhm, been in the life for a while now,¡± Whisper murmured eyeing his face. ¡°Easier to think about things, different seeing them. Doing them, is a whole other matter.¡± Leo gulped down and glanced at the bottle, he¡¯d left near the stairs. ¡°How do you fight it?¡± He asked, his droll forgotten. ¡°Ye don¡¯t,¡± Jinx swished, feeling her heartbeat increasing. Leo drew a deep breath in, struggled with it and let it out slowly. ¡°Breathing helps,¡± she added. Leo turned to look at her. Rich-emerald eyes, the charcoal paint making them more prominent in the deck¡¯s dancing lights. ¡°Do Gish¡­¡± He tried to say anxiously, but Jinx approached him again like before, small nostrils sniffing, all a taunt as she already knew, sides of her lips curling in a wayward smile. ¡°Ye can ask,¡± Whisper Jinx whispered, a hand reaching for his shirt collar, to pull him down towards her face. ¡°Or ye can find out.¡± Leo blinked and then his lips found hers, teeth clinging before they adjusted, a tongue dancing inside, Jinx¡¯s other hand snaking over his nape, to keep him steady. Leo groaned in her mouth and Jinx at last felt the woman¡¯s taste on her tongue. Rum, spit and the scent of her arousal burning at her core and unable to keep it in, she started chuckling remembering Sen¡¯s prophetic words. ¡°What?¡± Leo asked seeing her crying and smiling at the same time. ¡°Was it that bad?¡± ¡°It depends,¡± Jinx retorted, just as Leo went at it again, teeth catching her lower lip and pulling it, a hand under her vest a little clumsy, but she could work on that. ¡°How fast can ye climb the main mast?¡± Leo Vale stood back surprised, her eyes misty and glanced up. ¡°Stiles is there,¡± she noted a little worried, but Jinx put a finger on her lips to stop her. ¡°Stiles knows, but he won¡¯t talk,¡± Jinx reassured her, adding just to get it out of the way. ¡°And I don¡¯t mind a silent crowd.¡± Gish are social like that.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 148. Challenging training partners
Glen Garth Aniculo Challenging training partners
They lost another horse ten days later. Or a week. Glen had completely lost his sense of time in turn, the desert dull and hot in the day, dark and dull and not as hot, in the night. The animal had locked up and collapsed shuddering on the soft sand. It didn¡¯t fall down a dune¡¯s slope this time, it just kicked the bucket on flat terrain. Being as it was the last in line, they almost missed its untimely demise. ¡°What now?¡± Glen asked looking back, trying to illuminate the darkness with his lightstone, Biscuit landing on the back of Outlaw at that moment and making a clicking noise with his throat. Very annoying. ¡°It¡¯s dead,¡± Gimoss announced somberly, standing rigid on the saddle. ¡°Soon to be beset by rot.¡± ¡°Gratitude for your input,¡± Glen told him mockingly. ¡°Yer contribution is stellar per usual.¡± He jumped down and started walking towards the still animal, Flix following behind him mounted. Glen started pulling at the straps to release the supplies, the small wyvern working on one of the horse¡¯s hind legs with his sharp teeth. ¡°Hey, wait a bit,¡± Glen said in warning. ¡°We might need to leave some stuff behind,¡± Flix decided. Biscuit resumed eating the moment Glen turned his head. ¡°It¡¯s not prudent to overburden the rest of the mounts,¡± The Gish added. ¡°It¡¯s not prudent, leaving supplies behind,¡± Glen retorted. ¡°How far are those mountains?¡± ¡°Days, a week.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not a small journey.¡± ¡°Eh, we¡¯ve been traveling in the desert for over three months,¡± Flix countered. ¡°There¡¯s no way it has been that long!¡± Glen argued. ¡°Right?¡± The latter he asked looking at Gimoss. ¡°Hah¡­ haha,¡± the corpse guffawed in a cheerful manner. ¡°Hahaha!¡± Oh, for slovenly fuck¡¯s sake! Flix had climbed down from his mount in the meantime and walked slowly towards the dead horse. ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± Glen said. ¡°I¡¯ll get them.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± Flix replied. Right. ¡°I¡¯ll start with the water,¡± Glen decided and grabbed the first large leather flask to carry it to their other mounts. He made a loop with a piece of rope, secured it and walked back the small distance. He glanced at Biscuit gnawing at bone already and sighed. Flix was still examining the horse¡¯s head standing nearby and Gimoss¡­ well, he was staring up at the sky right where Glen had left him. ¡°We have them fed and watered pretty well, so I don¡¯t know,¡± he told the old Gish. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s the desert?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not the food, or the water,¡± Flix said, opening one of the horse¡¯s eyes. ¡°We have the same they have anyway,¡± he stared at the blissfully eating wyvern next and Biscuit sensing his eyes stopped chewing and returned the stare. ¡°Yes?¡± Glen prompted him, noticing the exchange. ¡°Perhaps it is nothing,¡± Flix decided and got up with a sigh. ¡°Ehem, what if it is¡­ something?¡± Glen insisted. RRRRRR Glen stared at Biscuit. ¡°Keep chewing at that bone you!¡± ¡°I must have been mistaken,¡± Flix said. ¡°Out with it, Gish!¡± Glen snapped, having had enough with his stalling. WRRRR ¡°WORK. THAT. BONE!¡± Glen barked at the interrupting wyvern, emphasizing every word. What was that little bugger doing anyway? Flix blinked blushing at the words double meaning. Glen whipped his head on him. ¡°What?¡± He snarled, spittle flying out of his mouth. ¡°I think its poison,¡± Flix blurted. Ah. Hmm. Well¡­ Glen frowned. Stared at Biscuit next, the wyvern pretending to eat, fiercely red left eye watching them talk. ¡°So¡­¡± he scratched his head, made to look at his worn out boots, the lightstone hanging from his neck, blinding him momentarily. Glen stumbled back dazed. ¡°Luthos hairy nose! Fuck!¡± He cursed, Gimoss snapping out of his all-consuming gazing of the skies to let rip a riotous laughter, his enthusiasm palpable. ¡°Haha¡­ahahaha¡­hah!¡±
Glen wiped his sweaty, heavily tanned and decently bearded face, with a dirty cloth, thinking it through. ¡°A stinger?¡± He repeated grimacing. ¡°That telson-like thing at the tip of its tail,¡± Flix explained. ¡°It¡¯s small now¡ª¡± ¡°It¡¯s the size of a small dagger!¡± Glen snapped, eyeing the wyvern. ¡°Can we cut it away, like they do wit dogs, or something?¡± Biscuit still listening in gathered his tail behind his body to hide it. ¡°Eh, that would be unwise,¡± Flix replied. ¡°Ye just implied he¡¯s poisoning the animals!¡± ¡°For food,¡± Flix explained. Glen sighed, it turned into a small groan at the end. What the fuck is this shite? Who needs more problems? ¡°How dangerous is it?¡± ¡°Mostly fatal I suppose,¡± the old Gish admitted. Suck a bag of dicks. ¡°So ye say there¡¯s a chance?¡± ¡°No, there isn¡¯t probably. It is just¡­ a larger Wyvern rarely uses it thus,¡± Implying there was another use for it, ¡°And we didn¡¯t have one this small, when I was¡­ since this is an Onyx¡ª¡±Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°What does this mean?¡± Glen asked, cutting him off midsentence, just as he was about to explain. The detail lost on him. ¡°Onyx Wyverns are very aggressive,¡± Flix explained patiently, then glanced at Gimoss afore adding in a casual manner. ¡°Not very stable.¡± ¡°You shall suck my cock harlot,¡± Gimoss said. ¡°But not today. It¡¯s not fully working yet. Have patience.¡± Glen blinked and shook his head right and left in despair. It took him a moment to get back on the subject. ¡°So¡­ it¡¯s a problem,¡± Glen summed it all up. ¡°As long as there are animals to feed, not really,¡± Flix hissed through his teeth, still glaring at a silently chuckling Gimoss. Wait a fuckin¡¯ minute there! ¡°What happens, if there are no animals?¡± Glen asked and stared at Biscuit. The wyvern gulped down a piece of bloody meat, broken bone still attached on it and then burped loudly. Flix shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Hey,¡± Gimoss said and walked towards the dead horse. ¡°Move aside ye idiot!¡± He kneeled on creaking knees and started hacking at the horse¡¯s thigh with his saber. Slashed a big piece of meat out of it and gave it a good bite. ¡°What are ye going, you freak?¡± Glen queried, grossed out. ¡°You haven¡¯t eaten anything in¡­ forever?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t need to, I think,¡± Gimoss replied, his decrepit mouth full and blood spilling down the sides. ¡°Yer not sure?¡± ¡°Ah, no?¡± Gimoss replied. ¡°Are you?¡± ¡°We can¡¯t take these two into a village,¡± Glen murmured and Flix standing right beside nodded. ¡°It would be nigh unwise.¡±
Glen unsheathed Emerson¡¯s blade and slashed at the air a couple of times with it. Danced around on the soft sand, Biscuit hopping about behind him, mimicking his moves. ¡°Well?¡± He asked, when he stopped breathing heavy. ¡°Are ye ready Gish?¡± Flix got up, removed his dress and two weapon harnesses he wore, leaving a shorter tunic underneath and walked towards Glen. A shortsword in his right hand. Glen cleared his throat and stared at the undersized old assassin. ¡°Do you want my other blade?¡± ¡°It¡¯s too heavy,¡± Flix replied. ¡°Ah, sure.¡± ¡°Show me a slash, stay on your feet,¡± Flix said and grimaced, left hand pressing at his back. Glen shook his head, not buying the Gish¡¯s shenanigans. He stepped forward, faked a left high attack, switched at mid-point and slashed at his feet. He was going to pull the blade, if Flix failed to dodge. Hopefully. Flix jumped up two feet gathering his knees, rolled forward the moment his feet touched the ground and tapped the back of Glen¡¯s knee with the flat of his blade. ¡°Cheating!¡± Gimoss bellowed from where he was watching. ¡°The harlot isn¡¯t using the blade properly!¡± Glen breathed out, a little pissed, gathered himself and went after the small Gish with purpose. Flix stepped aside to avoid a downward cut, parried away the return with his shortsword and deflected Glen¡¯s blade down next. ¡°Right,¡± Glen murmured, crooking his mouth. ¡°Are ye getting tired already?¡± He asked breathing heavy. ¡°I can barely walk,¡± Flix admitted. Glen sneak attacked him, while he was talking. Flix deflected the blade away from his head raising his own, smacked Glen¡¯s incoming ¨Calso sneaky- punch down, grabbed him by the elbow and pulled hard, while kneeling. The former thief burst forward, made one step, then tripped on the Gish¡¯s knee and went over his opponent, landing on his face right behind him. Gimoss roaring laughter woke up the heavens. ¡°Gah!¡± Glen cried and spat a mouthful of sand out, more in his teeth and under his tongue. ¡°Ye tripped me! Ye sneaky no-nose bastard!¡± ¡°Why did you close in?¡± Flix asked him a small smile on his lips, while casually cleaning his tunic. ¡°To grab you?¡± Glen groaned, getting up. ¡°For what purpose? When fighting a single opponent, with a longer blade,¡± Flix said. ¡°Allow him to make the mistake and come at you. Time is on your side.¡± ¡°Yer too fast,¡± Glen griped. ¡°Like Jinx, always jumping around.¡± ¡°She¡¯s fast?¡± ¡°Very. Nimble as fuck. I¡¯ve seen her jump from a two story building, managing a couple of somersaults afore the landing,¡± That was some acrobatic shite right there, he thought, remembering Jinx coming down the customs building in Rida. ¡°Was she injured?¡± Flix asked. ¡°Huh? I don¡¯t think, then again¡­ Jinx is frequently smashed up. It¡¯s her thing,¡± Glen explained. Flix chuckled and walked to his things. He found his pipe and lit it. ¡°Younglings,¡± the old Gish said simply. ¡°Ah, nothing stops young bones.¡± Right. ¡°So, ye are gonna fight drugged?¡± He asked him. Flix sucked deeply a couple of times and then pointed at Gimoss. ¡°Fight him. My back is killing me.¡± ¡°No weak arse crap!¡± Gimoss blasted them and unsheathed his sabre. That is, he just loosen it from the rope he had it tied to. ¡°First to drop a limb, takes the loss and the other gets to brag!¡± ¡°It¡¯s called training, Gimoss!¡± Glen protested angry and a little worried, eyeing the corpse giving his blade a couple of wild slashes. ¡°Training what? You haven¡¯t landed shit for weeks you fool!¡± Gimoss blasted him back. ¡°I don¡¯t trust him,¡± Glen told Flix and the Gish narrowed his eyes. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t,¡± He said simply.
Gimoss swung at him viciously without warning. Glen ducked under the whooshing blade, rolled away half-panicked and stoop up, mad as all hells. ¡°Ye cracked motherfucker!¡± He cursed and parried away Gimoss¡¯ next brutal slash, blades clanging and sparks flying. Gimoss went for his leg on the return, but Glen pulled it away and retaliated with a cut that opened his opponent¡¯s chest, cutting through the corpse¡¯s shirt. ¡°Hah!¡± Glen guffawed, as Gimoss stared at the ruined garb, the leaking gash horrendous. ¡°There! Yer done!¡± Gimoss frowned and came at him again. ¡°Hey!¡± Glen yelled jumping away. ¡°What the slovenly fuck?¡± Gimoss attacked again and again. Simple downward cuts, then a slash aiming for his head. Glen parried them away, his muscles screaming, the blades ringing and the corpse relentless. Glen blocked his blade, Gimoss run the length of it -gliding his own blade down- intent on a slicing away his fingers at the guard. Glen pushed it away, got poked in the chest hard with a finger, the tip almost piercing through cloth and skin. The pain blinding. He stepped away with a panicked groan, Gimoss staring at his broken finger perturbed. ¡°Weak-arse shite!¡± The corpse growled and Glen took his chance to run him through with his longsword. Right under the sternum and out his back. ¡°Oh, fuck,¡± Glen cursed and made to pull away again. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean¡ª¡± Gimoss punched him hard in the face, blooding his nose. Glen¡¯s head swung back, but the corpse grabbed him by the neck in a steely grip to stop him and then pressed hard, bony fingers turned into a death vise. Eyes ogling desperately, Glen tried to get away, one hand still gripping the handle of his longsword, the blade still in the corpse¡¯s chest, the other punching Gimoss repeatedly on the side of his head, right at the ear. Gimoss grinned showing a horrendous mouth and raised his free hand holding the sword, to cut his head off. Ye mad bag of rot! Glen cursed desperate now and kneed him in the jewels hard. Gimoss doubled over, Glen kicked him again at the same spot and letting go of his sword elbowed him in the face, right at the mouth. ¡°Arggh!¡± Glen cried out, as Gimoss let him go and staggered back, his mouth a bloody mess. ¡°You insane fuck! What in Luthos arse got into you?¡± He bellowed furious hobbling about, his hand numb and daggling useless. ¡°What?¡± Gimoss asked and spat down, his upper lip cut to the gums, the two parts flapping bloody. ¡°You gave me opening!¡± ¡°I run ye through, ye dumb turd!¡± Glen blasted him his throat swollen. ¡°Ye should be dead!¡± ¡°So fucking what?¡± Gimoss growled. ¡°Was dead afore that you fool! You don¡¯t get to use it as a get out of trouble free card! Your stupidity knows no bounds!¡± Glen blinked in shock. Glanced frustrated at a chuckling Flix, the latter blowing smoke out of his nostrils and then at Biscuit who had approached Gimoss sneakily and jabbed him once with his stinger, just above the ankle. ¡°Ah!¡± Gimoss snapped and looked down. ¡°Idiot kin of mine,¡± he told the small retreating wyvern. ¡°I don¡¯t have blood circulation, unless I want to.¡± Biscuit narrowed his burgundy eyes and snorted. Then just to be sure, swung his tail around and jabbed him again, right at his cock.
Apparently Gimoss was working on it at the time and it turned out to be a very painful experience that lasted through the night. The grotesquely swollen member had gotten so huge, the corpse walked about without pants cursing and looking for the small wyvern, over a tired Flix¡¯s protests. As for Garth, he greatly appreciated the whole ordeal, while tending to his own injuries.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 149. Who takes a Wyvern in a Bazaar? (I/2)
Sir Glen Reeves Garth Aniculo Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Who takes a Wyvern in a Bazaar? Part I -The Old Seer¡¯s Words-
WRREEEEEEE! ¡°Where?¡± Glen asked, twisting on the saddle and looking over his left shoulder. Outlaw neighed annoyed at the game and Gimoss, riding next to him unsheathed his sabre with a grunt. The sun was hidden behind the mountain slopes of the Litching Tops, the narrow flat valley that dabbled as a not manmade road of sorts ¨Captly called the Goddess¡¯ Path- slowly changing from the sandy parched terrain of the Great Desert into sturdier much darker soil. Occupying the space between the Neesen Mountains to their South and the Litching Tops to their North, the well-known Goddess¡¯ Path ¨Cwhich goddess was referring to, a mystery to Glen for the time being- led into a fertile patch of land, flanked by Felmond and Shifton Rivers that had their sources on the mountain ranges they were slowly leaving behind. All caravans braving the Steppe, or the Desert -coming from the Khanate, mainly the faraway Greenwhale Peninsula, intending to reach Eikenport and the Khan¡¯s southernmost territories- were converging here. The Cofol merchants said that in this place, where the two mountain ranges soared from the flat terrain, the Great Desert ended. For the weary travelers and merchants alike, this was the first variation in colors and nature, they would perceive, after months of journeying in the endless sands. Water changed everything. Oh, you oversized peacock! Biscuit, a good head taller than he¡¯d been not ten days back, came soaring from the sky, dodged a manic brutal slash from Gimoss¡¯ saber and smacked Glen hard on the back toppling him from his horse. Glen went tumbling down, rolling deftly to avoid a serious injury and stopped in a heap covered in dirt three meters away. ¡°Dammit!¡± He cursed and jumped up, just as the wyvern landed on his hind legs, using its large leathery wings to break the momentum of the dive. Biscuit¡¯s face gave him a black-toothed hideous grin in response, coupled with his patented¡­ RRRR And something faintly resembling a cackle. ¡°Listen up,¡± Glen warned him, still rattled from his fall and not amused, while slapping the dirt off his worn out clothes with both hands. ¡°I¡¯ve had enough of this shite! No more fuckin¡¯ games bugger!¡± ¡°You can¡¯t expect a Wyvern to keep riding a horse,¡± Flix noted, well into his third pipe of the day. The Gish¡¯s consumption of drugs was disturbing. ¡°If I¡¯m a riding a horse, he¡¯s riding a horse,¡± Glen decided and eyed Biscuit. ¡°Hop on the darn saddle and no chewing on ears, we almost lost the mule. Another animal kicks the bucket, yer carrying the produce mister!¡± Biscuit snorted and sidestepped to avoid the sneaky approaching Gimoss¡¯ downward slash. The corpse incensed at the near miss. ¡°Bullshit!¡± He bellowed and grinded his decrepit teeth, the upper lip somewhat healed, but the scar left hideous. ¡°I need a longer weapon! Provide more arms phony champion!¡± ¡°Make yourself a spear,¡± Glen snapped, not wanting to bother himself with his antics. ¡°It¡¯s already made,¡± Gimoss retorted eyeing the old Gish. ¡°But I have it reserved for the harlot!¡± ¡°Oh, for fuck¡¯s sake,¡± Glen groaned and went to climb on his horse again. ¡°It¡¯s not funny Gimoss.¡± Gimoss stared at him for a moment, then threw his head back ¨Cthe badly stitched scar on his neck visible- and roared, greatly amused. ¡°Haha¡­ hah¡­ahahaha!¡±
That is a lot of tents, Glen thought and got up to walk to the small thicket of palm trees. They had made their camp under their much appreciated shade. Gimoss and Flix were waiting for him to approach, the morning heat and humidity of the nearby Shifton River, while pleasant at first, was starting to bother him. ¡°It looks like a town,¡± he told them and Flix still dripping from his swim, his dress soaked through, nodded agreeing. ¡°A little chaotic,¡± Glen added. ¡°That¡¯s the Merchant¡¯s Triage,¡± the Gish explained. ¡°A melting pot for all the caravans reaching the south. Used to be bigger once upon a time.¡± ¡°Seems big enough. So it¡¯s a bazaar of sorts?¡± Glen queried. ¡°Not really, more like a center for the Guild to redistribute and organize smaller caravans,¡± Flix replied and walked to his horse. ¡°But I guess with so many merchants around, you can call it one.¡± Great. ¡°I need new clothes,¡± he showed them his worn out garbs and Gimoss agreed, his own stolen garbs, even more worn out, dirty and bloody on top of that. ¡°Supplies and news. How far is Eikenport?¡± ¡°Let us focus on today,¡± Flix advised him. ¡°Aye, mother, still I need a plan,¡± Glen retorted a little tauntingly and glared at Gimoss. A warning, as he wanted the talk to remain civil. ¡°What? You think that was funny?¡± Gimoss mocked. ¡°Huh, nah! It wasn¡¯t.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t go there wearing Rida¡¯s armour,¡± Flix noted. ¡°Fine,¡± Glen replied, with another look at Gimoss. ¡°You stay here.¡± The corpse raised a hand, showing him index and mid finger. The index finger crooked and still broken, pointing more to the side than upwards as intended. The meaning ambiguous. ¡°Fuck does that mean? Is this new?¡± Glen hissed and Gimoss denied it with a shake of the head. ¡°Same as the old one,¡± he explained all serious and added annoyed. ¡°Can¡¯t close the other finger! So ye get the crooked one also!¡± Biscuit raised a winged arm mimicking him, mid talon protruding at its reptile three-fingered hand and cackled, pure black and gnarly, glass-like teeth snapping loudly. The former thief wasn¡¯t amused.
Outlaw snorted and shook his mane, front hooves half-sunk in soft mud, the dirt road leading through the forest of tents, bristling with activity. Men with carts, horse-drawn carriages, camels and mules laden with produce and goods, packing the road and at its sides, benches and counters showcasing a variety of wares. Gems, tools, fabrics and leather products. Carpets and animal covers, even art and food, mainly alcohol, black and orange rum, red wine and Kaju from the Steppes. The majority Cofols, but some Lorians were mixed in, even Issirs. The slaves outnumbering the citizens two to one. Glen paused his horse before a counter, the shifty merchant selling cheap jewelry. ¡°My good man,¡± he told him in passable Cofol, reaching for the dagger for assistance just in case he blurted out something too offensive. ¡°I¡¯m looking to buy a decent outfit.¡± ¡°Buy the gold brooch,¡± the man suggested, without changing expression and pointed at the obviously fake-gold item. ¡°It¡¯ll be great with it!¡± Seeing Glen not convinced, he allowed a creepy bejeweled smile on his Cofol face. He had pearls inserted in four of his gold teeth. ¡°Perhaps later,¡± Glen replied and moved to the next one. Half an hour later, he was deep inside the sprawling -more a massive camp, than a town- site. The outer rim of it, consisting of tents of all sizes and types, while there were wooden and even stone buildings located at the center. The marking on the roads and alleys nonexistent, the whole place reminding him of a gigantic bazaar. Glen got down from his horse and approached the large counter, the mid-aged Cofol merchant manning it, dressed in blue silk finery, a large pearl pendant on his neck. The eyes painted a garish yellow. ¡°Hello there,¡± Glen greeted him, with a forced smile, the close proximity to so many people after months in the wilderness, taxing to his nerves. He stared at the counter filled with rolls of fabric. ¡°I¡¯m in the market for a decent set of clothes.¡± ¡°A man with coin may find what he seeks much easier, than a man without. Some might even say that man might remain unclothed,¡± the Cofol merchant retorted, thin mustache dancing over his lips. ¡°I have coin,¡± Glen said. ¡°Ahm, what fabric is this?¡± ¡°Red silk,¡± the merchant replied, staring him in the eyes hypnotically. ¡°Very expensive.¡± I¡¯m sure, Glen thought. ¡°How much?¡± ¡°A silver per meter.¡± The former thief wished for the merchant to spend his profits in healing potions. Fervently. The moment dragged and Glen gulped down, his throat dry. ¡°How long is the whole thing?¡± ¡°You mean the roll?¡± The merchant checked, he wasn¡¯t jesting. ¡°Aye.¡± ¡°Ten meters. Ten silver dinars.¡± ¡°So a gold Eagle.¡± ¡°If you favor gold Eagles, then its twelve silvers, foreign friend.¡± Glen glared at him. ¡°Eagles are much more valuable than dinars,¡± he noted. ¡°Not on Khan¡¯s lands, they aren¡¯t,¡± the Cofol replied without missing a beat. ¡°Are you still interested?¡± ¡°How much for the white roll?¡± ¡°Eight.¡± ¡°So in other words ten,¡± Glen made the calculations himself. ¡°If I was to take both, would two gold Eagles suffice?¡± The Cofol merchant smacked his lips and eyed him, from top to bottom. ¡°It would, but I have promised the white roll of silk to a faithful customer,¡± the merchant said sadly and even if Glen was an idiot ¨Cand the matter had been brought up in the past- he would have seen through the obvious lie. ¡°Three Eagles,¡± Glen countered. ¡°It would be difficult to refuse such offer,¡± the merchant admitted lamely. ¡°What about the faithful customer¡¯s order?¡± ¡°He would understand.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take them both for that price and some information,¡± Glen decided. ¡°May I hear what kind of information you¡¯re seeking first, demanding foreign friend?¡± If he asked for more coins, Glen was prepared to run him through with his blade, grab the loot and make a run for it. ¡°A place to buy clothes, or a tailor to make something presentable.¡± ¡°South Market, outside Tyeusfort is where you¡¯ll find a good tailor,¡± the Cofol replied. ¡°Eh, something nearer?¡± He asked and the merchant shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Are the Sopat¡¯s here perchance?¡± ¡°The Sopat of Lai Zel-Ka?¡± The Cofol asked standing back, as if had just gotten slapped in the face.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°The same, I¡¯m related by marriage,¡± Glen explained and the man across from him blinked, thoroughly stunned. ¡°You¡¯re not a member of the Guild,¡± he croaked more than a little shaken. ¡°I¡¯m not, but I believe they are,¡± Glen retorted with a smile. ¡°Of course, for almost a thousand years,¡± the merchant said and pointed to a two story white stone building, roughly at the center of this large Bazaar town. One of the three standing there, the rest made of wood. ¡°They have lodgings, next to the Guild¡¯s offices.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take the rolls to my horse,¡± Glen said, the building at least a hundred meters away, through the thick crowd. ¡°We¡¯ll have them delivered,¡± the merchant deadpanned with a broad smile, suddenly very accommodating. ¡°What name should we address them to?¡± ¡°Sir Reeves,¡± Glen replied. ¡°Or Garth Aniculo.¡±
Glen cleaned his dirty boots as best he could on the clean limestone stairs of the building. Its entrance rounded in the Cofol manner, the columns hugging it ornamented with elaborate geometric patterns, made out of painted glass, the sign of the Capricorn engraved in blue and green at the top. A slave seeing him standing run down the stairs and stopped in front of him, shaved legs and arms covered with tattoos, bracelets and anklets that ringed, when he moved. ¡°The horse should stay at a stable, master,¡± he said and Glen blinked unsure. ¡°Is there one near?¡± ¡°Behind the building. Are you a member of the Guild?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a member of the family,¡± Glen said. ¡°I shall take it myself,¡± the slave replied with a deep bow. ¡°I¡¯m Lon-Iv¡¯s personal servant.¡± The words delivered ambiguously, ranging from helper to lover. ¡°How about you stay here, until I return?¡± Glen countered, with a sigh. The slave looked at his gruff, bearded face. Then at his weapons. ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°Pray I find you, when I return,¡± Glen warned him. He walked tiredly up the six wide steps and entered the cool building, the relief at the clean and rather quiet interior lasting a very brief moment. ¡°Yes!¡± A lithe man called, rushing towards him. The floor under their feet tiled and thoroughly cleaned. ¡°You have message?¡± He had an oval face, tanned goldish skin and brown eyes, not more prominently slanted than the normal. A Cofol from the Peninsula, Glen thought. The man was also dressed in a long roomy robe of fine green cloth with gold details at the sleeves. ¡°I¡¯m Garth Aniculo,¡± Glen said. ¡°Not a messenger. I want to speak to whomever is in charge.¡± The man frowned and stopped in front of him. ¡°That would be me,¡± he tended a ring adorned hand. The rock on one of the gold bands monstrous. ¡°Lon-Iv Sopat, manager of the South markets, currently on tour,¡± he explained at the end. ¡°Please to meet you Lon,¡± Glen replied, the man nodding him along, eyes urging him to explain, who the fuck he was. ¡°Ahm, I¡¯m not sure if you¡¯re aware¡­ Sen is my wife.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Lon replied and stood back to have a better look at him. ¡°Sen-Iv is your meaning?¡± ¡°Aye, she¡¯s probably at Eikenport by now,¡± Glen explained. ¡°Perhaps you know me as Sir Reeves, Lord of Altarin, though I can¡¯t use the name now, for security reasons.¡± ¡°Khan¡¯s war, of course,¡± Lon repeated and licked his lips, either stunned, or about to call the guards on him. ¡°Sir Reeves, good grief,¡± he grimaced and puffed out. ¡°I was flabbergasted at the news, my cousin¡­ we were not sure, you¡¯ve made it out of Rida,¡± he stood up straighter. ¡°How can I be of service?¡± Glen sighed deeply relieved. ¡°I need clothes, preferably armor. For two people, men and a very small woman.¡± Lon blinked, but kept his composure very civil. ¡°How small?¡± He probed in a professional manner. ¡°I assume you¡¯d like something made for the festival?¡± ¡°Child size,¡± Glen replied, opting not to answer what he didn¡¯t know and Sen¡¯s cousin bowed once. ¡°I will sent for our tailor. He¡¯s not very talented, but can do a decent job. An armorer might take me a while to locate. This isn¡¯t exactly an organized city.¡± ¡°Is there somewhere to stay in the meantime?¡± ¡°I will have a room ready,¡± Lon said reassuringly, adding without batting an eyelash. ¡°Would your slaves share the premises, Sir Reeves?¡± ¡°Garth,¡± Glen corrected him. ¡°I¡¯ll have to get back to you on the latter.¡±
Ah. That¡¯s godly, Glen thought, well-built legs sunk into the bronze bathtub his room had. The room gigantic, the bed king-sized made out of bamboo, its mattress all soft silks and many pillows, Glen didn¡¯t much like and hurled on the floor. The floor itself covered in thick soft carpets of various colors. How rich are you girl? Glen asked, thinking of his wife. He had some more rose wine, burped and pushed his wild hair back from his face. The large windows covered in white drapes, the sun entering pleasant, once he¡¯d soaked and cleaned himself. A large mirror at a wall showed a strange man, scarred and richly tanned like an Issir, amber eyes gleaming and contrasting, looking back at him. Fuck, he thought. My cock¡¯s gotten bigger, haha! He flexed his arms a couple of times, the servant entering paused, not wanting to interrupt his posing and Glen caught him looking through the mirror. ¡°Hey, weren¡¯t you supposed to guard my horse?¡± ¡°It¡¯s in the stables, milord,¡± the slave replied. ¡°Good then,¡± Glen decided with a nod. ¡°Ah, you brought my clothes? Eh, didn¡¯t get yer name?¡± ¡°Metu milord.¡± Glen opened his mouth to tell him his name again, but stopped as the slave continued. ¡°A robe courtesy of master Lon-Iv. The tailor will be here shortly,¡± the slave explained. Right, hmm. ¡°Huh, how soon is that?¡± ¡°A couple of hours?¡± ¡°Leave them and give me some privacy good lad,¡± Glen said and waved him off, remembering his lordly manners. The slave¡¯s departing bow shocking in its litheness.
This garb is of serious fuckin¡¯ quality, Glen thought and walked in to the first floor hall, where Lon was waiting for him. ¡°Everything working?¡± Lon asked and Glen frowned. ¡°Of course, ah¡­ gratitude for the clothes.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. You brought me great news,¡± Lon-Iv waived it off. ¡°We didn¡¯t know whether you made it out, or not. If she had. We were very worried. The army apparently have lost control of the situation there.¡± ¡°The destruction was deliberate,¡± Glen pointed. ¡°Sahand¡¯s wife wanted blood.¡± Lon-Iv stood back. ¡°Rumors are she is difficult to persuade.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think anyone¡¯s trying it, friend,¡± Glen replied. ¡°Has Sen reached Eikenport?¡± ¡°I will sent bird to inquire, Sir Reeves,¡± Lon said readily. ¡°You will stay here for some time?¡± ¡°Until I have everything done, then I need to move again.¡± ¡°Of course. I don¡¯t know if an answer will reach us by then. The tailor will be here shortly.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have a look at the town,¡± Glen said. ¡°Ah, it¡¯s more of a Bazaar, away from Khan¡¯s taxes,¡± Lon-Iv explained. ¡°I¡¯ll have Metu escort you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Glen stopped him not wanting Lon to come along. ¡°It¡¯ll be just a stroll.¡± ¡°Undoubtedly,¡± Lon deadpanned, a seasoned merchant¡¯s smile on his face. ¡°You crossed the Great Desert on a horse, Sir Reeves. The Triage can hardly compare.¡±
Glen walked across the dirt road at the center of this massive mix of tents and houses, benches and exotic animals, the camels being the highlight. He stopped breathing the foul air, some of the luster wearing off immediately and then glanced at the opening of the large tent, the wooden poles on the entrance painted a brilliant azure, the tent¡¯s walls a light blue with white details. The woman clad in the white mesh robes and full-face niqab head cover the sorceress wore at Rida, returned his gaze. Azure eyes gleaming behind the finger-narrow opening. The sheer robes swished, when she walked by him and entered the dark tent. The body of a dancer making it seem like she glided, before she disappeared behind the tent¡¯s cover. Wow, Glen thought. He glanced at the side of the opening. There was nothing under them robes, but jewelry on naked skin. He sighed, a man walking past him pausing, seeing his expression. ¡°A fortune teller,¡± he told him. ¡°The old lady knows her stuff.¡± Glen looked at him perturbed. ¡°A seer?¡± Old? Is he blind? ¡°Sure,¡± the man agreed. ¡°A man sees what he wants.¡± Eh, I¡¯m pretty sure my eyes are fine, ye darn camel-fucker. Her apprentice perhaps? Glen wondered. ¡°Gratitude.¡± The man nodded and walked away and Glen with a smack of his lips pushed the cover away and entered the dark tent.
There was nothing inside the large tent but two copper braziers burning incense, the woman standing behind them. Glen felt grass under his boots, the air heavy and the darkness hazy. ¡°Huh,¡± the woman sneered and clapped once with her bejeweled hands, flames jumping out of the braziers and illuminating the roomy interior. She was old after all, the white mesh robes turned into a conservative green garb, her Cofol head uncovered and her long hair white. Her aged face looked at least sixty and Glen was being a gentleman. ¡°Impressive trick,¡± Glen said, clenching his jaw. ¡°I¡¯ve seen weirder stuff though. Where¡¯s the girl? I liked her¡­ face more.¡± Tits, legs and arse, the whole darn package. ¡°You¡¯ve seen the mother of the son, you¡¯ll never meet,¡± the seer replied in her ancient voice. ¡°Unless you repent.¡± Wow, how about ye suck a bag of caramel dicks? Then gnaw at the bag. ¡°You know,¡± Glen said, puffing his cheeks out. ¡°Yer not exactly selling me the good stuff now. I see no coin in yer future, elderly woman.¡± ¡°The truth shall hurt you traveler,¡± the aged seer opened her right hand, fingers stretched. ¡°It is not what you seek.¡± ¡°Do you know me? What you say, makes little sense. I¡¯ve a woman already.¡± The seer tended her left hand, clenched in a fist. ¡°She¡¯ll birth a queen, but the girl shall be only half yours. Do you want to know her name?¡± Glen licked his lips. ¡°I don¡¯t really like yer words, woman,¡± he croaked and the old seer cackled, a youthful laugh. ¡°A goddess hates you, for you have her daughter¡¯s heart in your fist. The great horned one owes you, and he who has no name shall turn your heart¡¯s love into rot. A dragonkin shall carry you across the Haze Sea, where all mists are birthed. Never to return again. If you find the pirate¡¯s dungeon and travel beyond the Pale Mountains, you¡¯ll never find happiness and neither will this realm, but your shadow shall never be forgotten.¡± ¡°What if I don¡¯t?¡± Glen asked her, sweating and feeling light-headed. ¡°You¡¯ll die exposed for all to see and a hero,¡± the seer paused, a nasty smirk on her wrinkled mouth, her painted eyes an olive black. ¡°What will you choose, tamer of monsters? The throne and infamy, or the chance to perish for a greater cause?¡± Glen cleared his throat and grimaced. He wiped the tears from his eyes, the air putrid inside the tent and took a step back. ¡°There¡¯s no such thing as a greater cause, witch. Future is what we make of it.¡± His rule. Foremost in the fucking list. ¡°Ah, thus all kings have answered,¡± the seer replied and opened her closed fist, a black sphere in it the size of a human eye. It gleamed as if made of obsidian. A bed creaked, a foreign woman whispered. Lover. Glen blinked and turning on his heels stumbled towards the exit, having had enough superstitious bullshit to last him a lifetime. ¡°The Wyvern has a name,¡± she told him, just as he was about to leave the tent and then sounding haunted the old seer added. ¡°Remember even gods err, Glen. Not the heart though, never the heart.¡±
A man wearing a pointy hat blinked, a grimace of terror on his face and jumped away from him, the moment he stepped out. The sun blinding. Glen groaned, witnessed a middle-aged couple stare his way with ogling eyes and frowned. He turned his head one way and saw nothing, so he swung around and caught sight of Gimoss pulling at his left eyelid with two fingers, until he ripped it away completely, the reins of a horse in his other hand. Flix¡¯s small body laid on the saddle unconscious. Good grief, Glen thought stunned and hurried there, the weird seer forgotten. ¡°What the fuck are ye doing here?¡± He barked at the corpse and Gimoss grunted, one eye weird, the other milky and lidless, blood down his decrepit face. ¡°I was bored!¡± Gimoss blasted him back. ¡°It¡¯s been hours!¡± ¡°Fine¡­ alright,¡± Glen replied, looking about him with a tense reassuring smile. Quite the crowd had stopped to gaze at the corpse-looking stranger. ¡°But you have that skin condition,¡± he said as loud as he could as if to remind him. ¡°Yer not supposed to walk under the light!¡± ¡°Huh? What manner of drivel is this?¡± Gimoss argued, but Glen pushed him towards the Sopat building, taking the reins from him. ¡°Is he dead?¡± He asked, glancing at the unconscious Flix a little worried. ¡°Nah, the harlot is fine.¡± ¡°What did ye do to him?¡± ¡°Spiked his smoke,¡± Gimoss replied, then thinking about it started laughing. ¡°Hah¡­ haha¡­ahahaha!¡± Oh, for slovenly fuck¡¯s sake, Glen thought rolling his eyes, as they hurried across the busy street. ¡°Wait,¡± he said, pausing just before the entrance, a shiver running down his spine. Metu waiting for him at the top of the stairs with a patient look on his painted face, but for the eyes. The slave¡¯s eyes looked worried. ¡°Where the fuck is Biscuit?¡± Glen asked and a gut-retching scream came from further down the street. The woman letting it out scared out of her wits. Oh crap. God dammit no. FUCK! Maybe it¡¯s an animal attack? He thought hopefully trying to not overreact. A rabid god, or a bloodthirsty camel? ¡°A MONSTER!¡± Someone yelled hysterically, squashing that theory. ¡°GODS HELPS US!¡± Screamed another, much more devout civilian. ¡°DON¡¯T LET IT EAT THE KID!¡± Bellowed a third, despair in his voice. Shit! Glen started running as fast as he could towards the commotion. His boots digging at the soft ground, hands pumping energetically and breathing in and out hard. He run towards what the panicked crowd, was running away from.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 150. Who takes a Wyvern in a Bazaar? (2/2)
Sir Glen Reeves Garth Aniculo Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Who takes a Wyvern in a Bazaar? Part II -Do not be alarmed-
A young boy run past him, arms pumping up and down, head thrown back and screaming at the top of his lungs. Glen pushed through a couple of slaves, shoved an old man on a bench with beautiful pottery and jumped over a wild barking dog to reach the epicenter of the incident. Four men armed with knives and long blades had their backs on him, standing in an arc, with another six armed men across from them. They left a five meter opening between them. Glen unsheathed his sword and pushed through them. ¡°SOMEONE GET A SPEAR!¡± A burly slave-master bellowed, amidst the general chaos. ¡°FIRE, BRING FIRE!¡± Yelled another, holding a cleaver and wearing the apron of a butcher. Biscuit standing on his hind legs circled a kneeled hurt woman, a little crying girl pulling at her arm to get her away from him. The wyvern now standing as tall as a dog walking on its hind legs, opened its leathery wings and shrieked. The woman panicked and shoved the girl away from her. ¡°RUN!¡± She yelled at her. No dammit! Glen thought bursting through the group of men, sword in hand. The little girl turned and started running away, made four strides to cover a meter and Biscuit flapped his wings once, jumped twice that over her mother and then dived on the desperate trying to escape child. Jaws snapping shut around her ankle. ¡°AH! Good grief!¡± Someone gasped in shock, a woman next to him fainting abruptly. She collapsed face first on the gravel and mud street splattering her nose, just as a heavy-breathing Glen stopped -boots skating on the grit- the sound of small bones crackling and the mother¡¯s screams penetrating his skull. Fuck. ¡°LET GO OF THE FOOT!¡± Glen bellowed, voice cutting through the noise, the dog barking hysterically undeterred, now circling in turn the wyvern and Biscuit paused chewing at the young flesh, teeth bloody and looked at him. RRRRRR ¡°Buddy, let it go,¡± Glen told him and Biscuit let go of the mangled bloody ankle. The girl had collapsed unconscious from the shock. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± A man asked, sounding incredulous. ¡°Yer gonna debate the fucker?¡± ¡°Get it wit that sword lad!¡± Another urged him, with a third one wondering aloud. ¡°Is that fool talking to it?¡± The dog encouraged by all the people gathered around, charged the wyvern, jaws snapping furiously trying to grab at his wings and thin forelimbs. ¡°GET IT JACK!¡± The butcher cried, himself not moving to help. ¡°That¡¯s it boy, grab that shit!¡± An ogling Cofol merchant urged the brave bazaar dog. Biscuit sensing it coming sidestepped, almost missing an arm in the first attack, jumped nimbly back with a hiss to avoid the second and stricken the charging dog with his swinging tail, right at the throat. The dog gurgled and retreated whimpering. The wyvern turned to look at Glen and then at the woman crawling to reach her daughter. ¡°No, ye can¡¯t,¡± Glen told him and Biscuit snorted not pleased. ¡°Fuck just happened?¡± Someone asked in bewilderment. ¡°Hey, what¡¯s the matter wit Jack?¡± A kid asked, sounding worried. The dog whined once softly, then just froze and toppled on its right side, all muscles locked up, looking fully dead. Jack is gone, Glen thought with a scowl. Oh well. ¡°What in tarnation?¡± The butcher wondered. Glen realized he needed to grab ahold of the situation fast, steer it the proper way afore more intelligent questions are asked. ¡°STAY BACK!¡± Glen barked decision made and raised his sword to keep everyone away. The crowd slowly increasing in size again, after the initial fright had worn off. ¡°What¡¯s this thing?¡± A woman asked, a mixture of terror and excitement in her voice. ¡°Move aside stranger!¡± The merchant with the long knife snapped, as if he was going to take the matters into his own hands. Glen turned his wild eyes on him. ¡°ANYONE MOVES A MUSCLE,¡± He yelled twice as loud, voice raspy at the abuse. ¡°I run him through!¡± ¡°Fuck is your problem?¡± The slave-master queried. ¡°What is this fool doing?¡± The merchant asked the others, opting not to address Glen directly. ¡°Do you know what this is?¡± Glen asked him, sweat on his forehead, a hand reaching inside his soaked robes. ¡°A monster?¡± The merchant chanced turning to him, his eyes calling Glen an idiot. ¡°Some thing or other,¡± The butcher replied, much more open to debate on the matter, but not willing to commit on a name yet. ¡°A rare black cockatrice?¡± The young boy that had run away asked, showing vast academic knowledge, mess of a head popping from behind a woman, holding her hands on her mouth. Huh? Glen blinked, as several more names of exotic, mostly imaginary animals, were thrown in the mix, the crowd arguing with enthusiasm and Biscuit after looking about him with curious burgundy eyes, hopped to where the dog had died and sniffed it. ¡°ENOUGH!¡± Sir Glen Reeves barked again to cut through the confusion. ¡°It¡¯s a bloody wyvern,¡± Adding with righteous indignation. ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake people, open a fuckin¡¯ book!¡± The fact he¡¯d never opened one himself, escaping him. A stunned silence followed his words, finally interrupted from Flix¡¯s voice, the old Gish had approached in the meantime and the sound of Biscuit gnawing at the dog¡¯s head. What in Luthos¡¯ cock is that little turd doing? ¡°Garth, what happened?¡± Glen swung his head around. Flix looked a little green in the face, eyes bloodshot. ¡°Heal the girl,¡± Glen told him and the old Gish rushed to the silently wailing mother holding her unresponsive daughter. ¡°What is it doing to Jack?¡± The boy asked, breaking the crowd¡¯s shock. The sound of skull-bone shatter, reverberating chillingly in the background. ¡°A Wyvern he says!¡± The stupid merchant cried out, Glen¡¯s words finally dawning on him. The butcher puffed his cheeks out and took a step back. Most people following his example, the circle around Glen growing. ¡°Aye, a wyvern,¡± Glen said walking towards the blissfully tearing at the dog Biscuit. ¡°Mine. Nobody touches him.¡± ¡°Are you insane?¡± A brave woman asked. ¡°Put that thing down!¡± The crowd made to support her claim, but then quieted down again, several pairs of eyes facing him ogling in horror and bewilderment. Gimoss¡¯ laughter coming from right behind him. The decrepit corpse¡¯s delight at the happenings palpable. ¡°Haha¡­ahahaha¡­hah!¡±
¡°Everyone calm the fuck down!¡± Glen yelled, himself the most hysterical of them all. Breathing heavy and sweating buckets, all that expensive soap and oils gone to waste, he glanced at the leering oddly colored corpse. He even noticed some orange, betwixt the green and purple welts. ¡°Can you help with the girl?¡± ¡°Why? She¡¯ll be rotting away on her own.¡± A tick appeared on Glen¡¯s left temple, the eye next to it blinking. He pressed a finger on the throbbing spot to avoid an aneurysm and sighing he tried again. ¡°Whatever ye have planned, won¡¯t work, unless we win these people over,¡± The former thief explained. ¡°Now.¡± ¡°Saving the girl won¡¯t make them forget, fool!¡± Gimoss blasted him and Glen got his purse out in response. Curse ye Luthos, for forcing me to do this. ¡°Do it Gimoss,¡± He ordered him and Gimoss snorted, but turned around and walked unsteadily towards a pale faced Flix, stooped over the girl bleeding away. Her mother watching in stunned misery. ¡°A gold coin,¡± Glen announced to the unruly crowd of almost a hundred people gathered around. ¡°For everyone walking away right now.¡± ¡°Seriously?¡± Someone asked and Glen almost cut his offer in half. ¡°What about the Wyvern?¡± The persistent woman asked and Glen sheathed his sword, opened his heavy purse, fished a gold Eagle out and tossed it to her. It smacked her in the chest, the woman slow to react and then dropped before her feet. The crowd murmured. The butcher stepping forward again, a smile on his face. Glen tossed him a coin and he snapped it out of the air, gave it a good bite and then pocketed it in his bloody apron. ¡°Hey!¡± A fat merchant asked. ¡°What about the girl?¡±This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°We will heal the girl,¡± Glen replied, glaring at him. ¡°Good as new. The woman with the messed up face too. No need to worry, friends.¡± ¡°And Jack?¡± The boy asked, his hand tended to accept a gold coin. Glen grimaced, cursed his lineage inwardly and pressed a silver in his palm. ¡°Hey!¡± The boy protested. ¡°Why not gold?¡± ¡°Yer too small to get one,¡± Glen deadpanned with an evil smirk. The boy tried to kick his shin, but someone pulled him back by the shoulder. ¡°The dog kept me company,¡± A sad merchant said next, all an act, standing in front of him to accept his bribe. They both watched Biscuit for a silent moment slurping at Jack¡¯s spilt brains. Glen murmured under his breath at the end of the pregnant pause and added another coin. The Cofol merchant bowed deeply, his sadness forgotten. ¡°Ah, gratitude milord.¡± ¡°Yer fuckin¡¯ welcome,¡± Glen rustled with a glare. "Next!"
It cost him a hundred and twenty gold Eagles to calm down the crowd. The amount outrageous. It almost all had gone to waste, when Gimoss healed the girl¡¯s ankle in some manner, or other. The corpse¡¯s milky eye popped in the attempt and spilt down his sunken cheek causing a riot. Glen finally managed to break through their collective horror, explaining that what Gimoss had, wasn¡¯t too contagious far as deceases went, providing one kept his distance from him. Absolutely everyone decided that it was better to give Gimoss the widest berth possible and quit whilst they were ahead.
An hour later found him collapsed on a chair, soft pillow under his arse not as big a problem now, inside Lon-Iv¡¯s well-lit spacious office. The desk, the man himself sat behind, a rich mahogany, with gold finishing at its edges and heavy engraved bronze legs. Two large open windows on each side of him, sheer white drapes letting the afternoon sun in. Glen glugged down the cold beer the Sopat scion had offered him, his throat parched and his body in need of a fresh bath. Lon waited for him to finish before talking, the mark of a very patient man. Metu rushed to take his large cup away, leaving a silver goblet in its place. ¡°Wine?¡± Lon offered, with a small smile. ¡°Ye seemed to like it afore and too much beer, could cause indigestion and a bit of bloating.¡± Glen smacked his lips, unsure about the latter, but went along with it. ¡°So I¡¯m told there¡¯s a Wyvern, loose in Merchant¡¯s Triage,¡± The man said casually, while Glen switched to the stronger beverage. ¡°Who takes a Wyvern in a bazaar?¡± ¡°It¡¯s mine,¡± Glen replied. ¡°It just followed me. An oversight and a bit of a misunderstanding.¡± Lon stood back on his comfortable armchair. ¡°But¡­ a Wyvern? The rumors are true?¡± He glanced towards Metu, the slave staring at the tiled marble floor. ¡°A real one,¡± Glen said. ¡°Goddess you¡¯re serious,¡± Lon stared at him, mouth half opened. ¡°Where did you buy a Wyvern?¡± ¡°I found it,¡± Glen replied. ¡°An egg. It hatched.¡± ¡°How? Where? Are there more?¡± Glen raised an arm to stop his questions. ¡°I don¡¯t know about more, but there is one here.¡± ¡°In the stables?¡± ¡°Ah,¡± Glen tilted his head to the left and glanced beyond Lon at the large window. The drapes moved, a dark figure behind them, a long tail probing the floor, then a black-scaled leg with three talons touched down. Metu standing beside him gasped in silent horror, as the drapes parted and Biscuit walked silently through the window. ¡°Do not be alarmed,¡± Glen reassured the frowning merchant, who¡¯d noticed his slave¡¯s reaction and turned slowly towards the small wyvern. Biscuit made a guttural sound, between a click and a cackle and eyed the pale faced Lon curious. ¡°Is it dangerous?¡± The merchant whispered, showing remarkable restraint and Biscuit snorted, as if he could understand him. ¡°Come here buddy,¡± Glen said and Biscuit approached him to accept a piece of rock-like hardtack. He proceeded to chew on it with enthusiasm, while Glen turned to a flabbergasted and quietly watching Lon. ¡°He is, but only under certain circumstances.¡± The whole thing, he¡¯d made up on the spot. ¡°Please give an example,¡± Lon urged him, eyeing the door to his office, the wyvern blocking the path. ¡°He gets hungry easily.¡± That was where Glen¡¯s knowledge ended. ¡°We should feed him. What does he like?¡± Lon immediately suggested. ¡°Meat, biscuits,¡± He glanced at his cup of wine, brought it close to the curious wyvern and he watched it flickering its forked tongue in it a couple of times. Biscuit burped and Glen put the goblet on the floor to give him better access. ¡°Anything really.¡± ¡°We should prepare a good roast. Metu!¡± Lon decided and barked an order surprising Glen at first, afore he remembered this was an actual name. The merchant had turned to his servant. ¡°Ask the kitchen to slay a cow post haste!¡± ¡°No need to roast it,¡± Glen said and Lon blinked in shock, but quickly recovered. ¡°Heard the man! Cut it up and bring the meat here!¡± ¡°Aye master,¡± Metu replied and left with a bow and another look at the blissfully lapping up wine wyvern. ¡°Well then,¡± Lon said, the moment Metu left them alone. He eyed the wyvern at Glen¡¯s feet and smacked his lips. ¡°I now see¡­ Phon-Iv¡¯s cryptic ¡®best available candidate¡¯, wasn¡¯t an exaggeration, Sir Reeves.¡± ¡°Phon doesn¡¯t know about the wyvern,¡± Glen corrected him and reached for another goblet, Lon had filled for him. ¡°I see. There¡¯s more then,¡± Lon rapped his fingers on the table, the noise drawing Biscuit¡¯s attention, forcing him to stop. ¡°Can you control it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s better not to test it, friend,¡± Glen warned him. ¡°It cost me a fortune to silence the crowd.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, I shall handle their questions. This is a Sopat matter, but the word will spread,¡± Lon reassured him, ruining it at the end. ¡°I will leave here soon.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll need protection.¡± ¡°Nah, I¡¯ll be fine,¡± Glen countered. ¡°Sir Reeves, I can¡¯t¡­ we must protect the wyvern and you, of course.¡± Glen sat back on his chair. ¡°You think people might attempt to grab him?¡± Lon blinked. ¡°Of course they will. I mean, a wyvern. Hah, we have to handle this carefully. Everyone will be interested.¡± ¡°Everyone?¡± Glen asked. ¡°The Khan, why¡­ every king and lord, not to mention knights the moment they hear about it. Sure there¡¯s a war now, but soon the news will invite people.¡± ¡°I intent to reach Eikenport, master Lon,¡± Glen reminded him and Lon nodded with a sigh. He got up from his chair, Biscuit¡¯s eyes turning on him and walked to a wall where a map of the east coast of Eplas was drawn with vivid colors. Glen, remembering the cartographer¡¯s room ¨Cthe name offered by Flix- he had discovered back at the ruins of Tarsos, got up and approached him to look at this slightly different map himself. ¡°There¡¯s Rida,¡± Lon said, tracing his finger down towards Eikenport. ¡°Eikenport, up the rivers to Merchant¡¯s Triage. I was to take a caravan and follow the Merchant Path back to Rida. Meet Phon there, to iron out the details.¡± ¡°What stopped you?¡± Glen asked, staring at the map. ¡°Issirs landed on Eplas, burned Hi Yil to the ground, but not before destroying Tsuparin¡¯s command,¡± He pointed at a spot on the map. ¡°They cut us off from the Path. Everyone approaching is put to the blade.¡± ¡°The Khan¡¯s soldiers did worse in Rida,¡± Glen told him. ¡°Ah, you¡¯re probably in the right, but I see it in fiscal terms. We¡¯re stuck here, unless¡­¡± He glanced at the map again. ¡°We could take a caravan towards Eikenport; sure it¡¯s not exactly working fully, but it¡¯s a port. Sen has your ship you said, hmm¡­¡± ¡°What about the other cities?¡± Glen asked. ¡°They¡¯re garrison villages, Dia Castle¡­ well, sure they always need stuff. Jadefort was abandoned last time I checked and the Tyeusfort might be dangerous for you.¡± ¡°What about Wetull?¡± Glen asked him. Lon turned to see, whether he was jesting. ¡°Ahm, there¡¯s nothing there anymore.¡± ¡°What about before?¡± Glen insisted. Lon licked his lips unsure. ¡°When the empire was there, the Sopat traded from the sea with them. Now it¡¯s¡­ too dangerous to navigate the reefs and there¡¯s nothing there, as I said¡­ probably.¡± ¡°No other route?¡± Glen probed. ¡°Not that I know of,¡± Lon replied looking at him curious. ¡°Even if there¡¯s¡­ what are you suggesting?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not suggesting anything,¡± Glen replied. ¡°You have no way of reaching Rida from the coast. You need a port, but you also need a way to make the journey from the Peninsula faster and crossing the desert is¡­ as you¡¯ve suggested, an ordeal. It seems worth trying something else.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve seen the Peninsula on a map?¡± Lon asked, nigh impressed. ¡°Few Lorians ever bother looking, beyond the Shallow Sea.¡± Glen was not a Lorian. ¡°I have,¡± Glen replied with a scowl and walked away from the map. ¡°Somewhere in the desert.¡±
¡°Let¡¯s say, we take a caravan down the rivers, cross the bridge at Tyeusfort avoiding questions and reach Eikenport¡ª¡± ¡°Why not head straight there?¡± ¡°The old road is not used, as I said, Eikenport is not a fully functioning city. Bah, it¡¯s not a city, it¡¯s mostly a ruin, with a port.¡± ¡°It will be easier to avoid patrols, if we don¡¯t travel on a road,¡± Glen said. ¡°You can¡¯t expect Biscuit to remain stuck in a carriage forever.¡± ¡°Biscuit¡­ ah, why not?¡± ¡°He¡¯s constantly growing,¡± Glen reminded him and glancing at the wyvern working on the large cut of red meat the slaves had brought in a bathtub, he added. ¡°And I wouldn¡¯t like it either way. Would you?¡± Lon sat back on his chair and pursed his lips. He made a grimace, after a contemplating moment and then nodded. ¡°The caravan leaves tomorrow, after sunset,¡± The man informed him. ¡°What about my clothes?¡± Glen asked. The other merchant had brought his two rolls of silk earlier. ¡°The tailor shall work on them en route,¡± Lon replied. ¡°Will he agree?¡± Glen queried and Lon blinked, a little perturbed. ¡°He has no say in the matter, Sir Reeves,¡± The Sopat scion replied. ¡°Worry not.¡±
The next night Lon-Iv, flanked by three servants and Metu holding a lit torch, waved for them to hurry. Glen followed by Flix and Gimoss, Biscuit riding on the fourth remaining mount, reached them minutes later. The merchant was waiting at the end of the ten carriages long caravan, camels, mules and horses mixed in with two pairs of cattle, three sheep and a dozen chickens, making enough noise to wake up the sleeping Triage, but for the fact their rendezvous point was almost a kilometer from the last tents. ¡°Garth,¡± Lon said conspiratorially, ¡°Use the last carriage for your pet. The driver is mute.¡± ¡°Paid off?¡± Glen asked, getting off his horse. ¡°Ah, no I had his tongue removed,¡± Lon replied, a little confused. ¡°Good grief, is the man alright?¡± Glen recoiled at the brutality. ¡°Eh, of course. That was years ago, he¡¯s my slave since birth.¡± Right. ¡°Well, then¡ª¡± Glen started, saw Lon stand back shocked and paused with a frown of his own. Turned around and flinched himself, his heart lodged in his throat, Gimoss¡¯ face in the light of the torches hideous. The black empty cavity of his left eye unsettling. The whole thing the stuff of nightmares. Whoa, holly bloody cow! Put a hood on it my dude! ¡°That¡¯s your¡­ manservant?¡± Lon asked, a hand on his mouth, eyes ogling. ¡°What is this perfumed cocksucker implying?¡± Gimoss bellowed, half the caravan guards and drivers turning to see what was happening. Fortunately they were standing some distance away, towards the first carriages and wagons. Lon blinked thoroughly shocked, made to answer angry, but Gimoss stepped forward, moving surprisingly fast for a person that had died centuries ago, grabbed him by his ringed ear and pulled at it hard, his intention clear. An alert Glen immediate jumped on the corpse¡¯s hand saving the Sopat scion from a serious maimed face, or worse. ¡°Arggh!¡± Lon groaned and backed away scared. ¡°What is this freakish madman doing?¡± ¡°That¡¯s Gimoss,¡± Glen explained, parrying the corpse¡¯s returning punch away from his own face, using his elbow. ¡°He¡¯s killed men for less.¡± ¡°For nothing!¡± Gimoss blasted him angry. ¡°Why¡­ I didn¡¯t mean¡­¡± Lon had lost his ability to speak momentarily, his ear probably throbbing something fierce. ¡°Do not be alarmed,¡± Glen reassured him for the second time since he¡¯d met him, adding a snake-oil¡¯s salesman grin, while Flix put a hand on Gimoss¡¯ cock to calm him down. The detail nigh disturbing for Glen, but he wasn¡¯t going to open that fuckin¡¯ can of worms anytime soon, or ever. ¡°He¡¯s a little sensitive, due to his condition. Of rather mellow character, once ye get to know him. Even friendly.¡± ¡°Ah, wayward harlot,¡± Gimoss rustled, pulverizing Glen''s argument. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll let you have it.¡± ¡°What condition is that?¡± Lon croaked, regaining some of his color, though still rattled, after they both watched the corpse-looking freak walking towards the carriages following the short old woman. The Cofol merchant apparently, much more flexible than him in carnal matters. ¡°Ahm, he had a bout wit death,¡± Glen retorted, thinking on his feet and only half-lying. ¡°Hasn¡¯t recovered fully yet.¡± For some peculiar reason Lon-Iv Sopat, just took him on his word.
151. Incident at Merchant’s Triage (1/3)
Lear ¡®Razor¡¯ Hik Incident at Merchant¡¯s Triage Aftermath I -Where do wicked folk go to blend in?-
There was ash blowing down the cobblestone road. It got into your eyes, stuck on your skin and dirtied your garbs. Lear clicked his tongue, eyed the corner of the main street, where the granite building ended, then looked the other way, half the buildings there destroyed and grimaced. Old Bolt nodded, his back on the wall of the bank, straw hat low over his eyes. Edge was nowhere to be seen. With a grunt Lear pushed the door open and entered the quiet interior. The six cashier spots empty, the inside of the grey sturdy three-story building well-lit. A man with drooping cheeks and chin, an egg-like balding head and thin as a rail stood up from his desk at the other side of the big hall. Ah, Lear thought and cracked his neck right and left. Let us see, where this path will lead us. ¡°We¡¯re closed,¡± the manager of the local bank branch said nervously and perhaps a little annoyed. Lear kept walking towards him, crossed the large hall, a blond woman moving to intercept him standing up from behind her information¡¯s cubicle, but missing him. Lear pushed the left side of his coat aside and showed the mid-aged man his gold badge. He frowned, eyes blinking and that weak chin clenching. The manager went from mildly annoyed to being worried in a split second. ¡°Is this an official inspection? I asked for another month at least, the city has been ruined¡­¡± Lear stopped in front of him, reached for a cloth he kept in a side pocket and used it to wipe his face from all the dirt and soot he¡¯d gathered coming from the harbor. The manager paused unsure, while Lear put the cloth in his pocket, got a scroll out and read from it. ¡°Director Apus Similis?¡± He asked him dispassionately. Apus licked his lips trying to calm his nerves. ¡°Yes. Are you from Cediorum?¡± Lear eyed the blond woman that had approached them and was now listening in curiously, standing behind his right shoulder. ¡°This is Floronia Puviana, first assistant here. Flora was leaving for the day¡ª¡± Lear looked at the clean, nicely made up face. He smiled awkwardly, but his voice held no warmth. ¡°Sit down Miss Puviana,¡± he ordered her. ¡°Use the director¡¯s chair, he¡¯ll get another.¡± The blond woman blinked, stared at the Director and then moved to comply. ¡°You¡¯re not here for a review,¡± Apus realized and gulped down. ¡°Good grief, you¡¯re coming from Central. Why would a man from Atetalerso¡ª¡± Lear turned his eyes on him. Any delays were not helping anyone, not him and certainly not the manager. Needless queries were the same and prolonged the inevitable. ¡°Get another chair, mister Similis,¡± he told him and this time Lear¡¯s tone skipped the warning and went straight to threatening.
Lear took his time reading the instructions in the missive that had stopped him from taking an unnecessary trip to Altarin. The city was going to be assaulted was the rumor and you didn¡¯t want getting stuck in a siege. Ah, the job always comes with unforeseen complications, he thought glancing at the pretty woman, her legs kept in front of her on the chair. There was some pleasure to be had here, if there was time. You wake up the beast to do you the job, ye have to feed it. He sighed and put the scroll on the table in front of him, the woman sitting on the side of it. Apus returned with another chair and placed it where hers had been. The silence inside the high ceiling empty hall deafening. ¡°You reported in a side note¡­ filed over a month ago,¡± Lear started, staring at the fidgeting Apus. ¡°Of an unusual transaction. The Bank took an interest in that side note. Do you want me to read it?¡± Apus cleared his throat. ¡°Ahm, just give me the name. This must have been before the city burned. Not much business after that,¡± Lear¡¯s stare turned into a glare. It was intentional. ¡°Lord Reeves.¡± ¡°Ah, yes. I remember, of course¡ª¡± Lear stopped him. ¡°Was here? In Rida?¡± ¡°He was. Stationed at the harbor I believe, during the siege.¡± ¡°The old Lord of Altarin had been assassinated months before that,¡± Lear pointed and reached inside his coat, Apus¡¯ eyes ogling. The bounty hunter got that cloth out and wiped the sweat off his face. His clothing not agreeing with the local weather. ¡°This was the new one, obviously,¡± Apus replied with a nervous smile. ¡°The old Lord had no living heir,¡± Lear countered casually. ¡°Ah, he did. A knight of Raoz. I believe¡­ and I checked on it,¡± Apus said quickly. ¡°Despite the chaotic situation that was thrusted upon me, I checked. I believe it was his grandson, if I recall correctly.¡± ¡°He was visiting Rida?¡± ¡°This I don¡¯t know. But he was here, defended the city per the Duke¡¯s orders that would be the previous Duke by the way and his whereabouts got lost in the aftermath.¡± ¡°He died in the harbor?¡± Lear helped him. ¡°There¡¯s rumor, he led an exodus out of the East Gates, mister?¡± ¡°Hik¡­,¡± Lear replied. ¡°Was he successful?¡± ¡°That is the word of mouth.¡± ¡°Do you have a map of Eplas?¡± Lear asked him. ¡°Yes, but only the East Coast.¡± ¡°It will suffice. Find it and do hurry up,¡± Lear glanced at Flora watching their conversation and grimaced. The woman returned his stare unsure, perhaps a little annoyed. Lear could have forgiven her that, but he was on a mission and couldn¡¯t afford sentimentality. ¡°You were present in the transaction?¡± He asked her, while they were waiting for Apus to unearth that map of his. ¡°I remember Lord Reeves,¡± Flora replied, a little defensively. So Lear tried again, steel in his voice. ¡°You were present in the transaction?¡± He asked her again and this time Lear added with an unhappy sigh. ¡°Every time I do not get a yes or no answer, to a yes or no query, I will remove a small bit of flesh Flora. Please do not force my hand.¡± Flora blinked unsure, whether he was jesting and then realizing Lear was serious, she started shaking uncontrollably. It was rather stimulating unfortunately. He reached under his coat again, found the harness and got his long razor out. The blade on it ¨Cnow folded- almost two handbreadth long, the grip sturdy polished oak, with silver details. ¡°I was there,¡± Flora replied, her voice shaking. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°What was the transaction?¡± Lear asked, opening the gleaming blade. ¡°Diamonds. He wanted gold Eagles for them.¡± ¡°How many?¡± ¡°Eh, it was a lot. Five hundred pieces at least.¡± Lear stared at the returning Apus. The director carried a large map with him, which he unrolled on the desk. The bounty hunter returned his razor to its sheath. ¡°What did he want for the coin?¡± He asked him and Apus frowned. ¡°Nothing. Information. Got the sense he didn¡¯t know its worth.¡± Nobody did, it appears. A fluke? Or Copeland tried to one up them? Gotten himself killed in the attempt? ¡°What didn¡¯t he use his ship? It left Altarin, I presume in order to pick him up,¡± he asked Apus instead. ¡°The city was burning, Khan¡¯s soldiers were inside the walls. Maybe he couldn¡¯t, or the ship never moored inside the harbor.¡± This guy is clever, Lear thought. He had a back up plan, in case everything went tits up. ¡°He stayed in an expensive inn. The ¡®King¡¯s Fortune¡¯. It¡¯s still standing. He had quite the entourage was the word,¡± Apus elaborated. ¡°What was strange about it?¡± Lear asked, his mind elsewhere. ¡°He kept slaves.¡± ¡°I heard he was married,¡± Flora added defending Reeves. ¡°Noble women have helpers.¡± Right then. Lear smacked his lips and picked the map from the desk, rolled it up again. This well is dry it seems. ¡°Did you check the diamonds?¡± He asked the Director, as an afterthought. Apus nodded. ¡°Had my guy on it. Died in the siege unfortunately. A marble plinth squashed his head, a couple of streets from here,¡± Lear glared at him, his patience running thin. ¡°Ehem, they were of superb quality. The diamonds. In fact, they even had the fish tail cut on them,¡± he stared at him knowingly. Lear scratched the side of his unshaven face with two fingers, but said nothing. ¡°The ¡®Sopat¡¯ cut,¡± Apus said using air quotes. ¡°It¡¯s a mark of quality in the gem trade.¡± ¡°The diamonds were good,¡± Lear summed it up for him not as interested in the detail. ¡°They were.¡± He needed more information. Lear sighed and stood back. ¡°Apprise the Bank, I¡¯ve talked to you,¡± he told them both and turning on his heels, walked out of the building. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Ronald Edge, tackled him the moment he stepped out of the double doors. The grey haired Lorian, his beard neatly trimmed and pale-blue eyes unhappy, shoved him once on the shoulder. ¡°Fuck¡¯s is this city?¡± He rustled in his Lesian accent. ¡°Famous Rida,¡± Lear retorted, rubbing at his shoulder. ¡°Ye always wanted to visit.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t know what I was thinkin¡¯ in me youth,¡± the man replied and frowned. ¡°Should have stayed retired.¡± ¡°I asked you if you were and ye denied it,¡± Lear countered. ¡°Not much else to do, since Rita died,¡± Edge replied that sadness creeping back. They both sighed thinking back on happier times, a folly of course, since Lear knew they had tons of stuff to complain about back then as well. ¡°Is Bolt coming?¡± ¡°Aye, he¡¯s slow-moving.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be a small walk, it might have a beer at the end of it,¡± Lear said and signed for him to follow. ¡°Where to?¡± His old partner asked and Lear glancing back to make certain Bolt was on their trail, replied with a grunt. ¡°Some expensive inn, or other.¡± After you visited enough of them, all places looked familiar.
The ¡®King¡¯s Fortune¡¯ stood like a sore thumb dominating its street, only a small walk from the Mclean & Merck building, what was a bakery half-leveled on one side, an untouched barber shop on the other. Lear cracked his neck left and right before entering, flanked by Gnu Bolt and Roland Edge his long-time partners. They were missing a couple of members of what one Lord in Lesia had dubbed the ¡®Fab Five¡¯ once upon a time. Rita and Ethan were long dead now and the others along with Lear had all but retired from the trade for years. Still it felt familiar, a scene Lear had lived before. ¡°You don¡¯t look like tourists,¡± the owner said, a pale faced Lorian of thirty years. ¡°But I can pretend you are, so worry not.¡± ¡°We¡¯re not, I¡¯m Lear Hik; this is Edge and Bolt.¡± ¡°My father used to tell me a story about a ¡®Razor¡¯ Hik, when I was little. Name¡¯s Pat King by the way,¡± Pat said, wiping the clean counter with a cloth. ¡°Brought King Davenport the heads of James Redmond of Sovya and his son back in seventy two. Davenport used them to placate the mad High King and broker a peace, its terms more favorable to Lesia that most say it deserved.¡± Lear crooked his mouth and eyed the shorter innkeeper. ¡°Not all rumors are true.¡± ¡°Was the boy of age?¡± Pat asked indifferently. ¡°Didn¡¯t it upset the Aldens?¡± ¡°The Aldens¡¯ were compensated,¡± Edge rustled. ¡°Aye they did. Didn¡¯t end well for the Redmonds just the same.¡± ¡°Not our fault,¡± Bolt chipped in, his aged half-Cofol half-Lorian face damn near an evil mask at the memory. ¡°Of course not,¡± Pat replied with a smile. ¡°Just stories, and I know a few fresher ones from Rida as well. None pleasant to the ear.¡± ¡°We work for Mclean & Merck,¡± Lear said and swallowed slowly. ¡°We are looking for a man that stayed here, mister King.¡± ¡°During the siege?¡± ¡°Left right at the end.¡± ¡°I see,¡± Pat replied and wiped the sweat off his brow. Do you? Lear ¡®Razor¡¯ Hik wondered. ¡°The new Lord of Altarin,¡± he elucidated and Pat nodded, looking at them up and down, probably remembering the story his father had told him. ¡°Aye, the young lad,¡± he replied simply. ¡°Rented the whole place for his people.¡± ¡°That many? I heard there were slaves in the mix.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t know about slaves, unless you mean the Cofol girls,¡± Pat countered. ¡°But there were a couple of dwarfs, two Gish and some characters in them, more interesting.¡± ¡°Dwarfs?¡± Bolt wondered aloud. ¡°Haven¡¯t seen a Gish since Aegium,¡± Edge added thoughtfully. Lear thought of the diamonds. ¡°What about the Cofols?¡± Pat turned his eyes on him. ¡°His wife. A right beauty aye, the rest a quiet bunch like her, but for a couple of occasions, when he visited her quarters. Can¡¯t fault the man for that. But she turned right loud then.¡± ¡°His grandfather left an inheritance,¡± Lear explained. ¡°We need to find him.¡± ¡°Word is he broke out the East Gate, saved a lot of good people in the process.¡± All hail, the crooked hero! ¡°I¡¯m sure he did,¡± Lear grimaced and looked at his leather boots. ¡°Did he take his entourage with him?¡± ¡°They left here the previous day. I assume he did,¡± Pat replied looking at them. ¡°Why not look for him in Altarin? The new Duke is heading there.¡± Hmm, Lear thought. Because this guy is not a fool. ¡°Do you have a list of the people staying here?¡± ¡°I keep a detailed record,¡± Pat replied. ¡°Doesn¡¯t the bank inherit what people don¡¯t claim?¡± ¡°An effort must be made, just the same,¡± Lear countered, returning his stare. ¡°If records are provided, we can all go home. The Bank will compensate you for the damages.¡± ¡°You have me convinced to cooperate. Must be a big inheritance,¡± Pat commented and reached for a hefty ledger-type book. ¡°It¡¯s not the amount, Mister King,¡± Lear replied. ¡°But the principle.¡± You don¡¯t steal from the Bank.
¡°This is a good beer,¡± Edge commented, while Lear was reading the torn page the owner had provided. Along with the beer. Last barrel, Pat had said. Not easy to bring in supplies, but we¡¯ll manage. People always do in the end, he thought. Find a way. ¡°Two dwarfs,¡± he said counting. ¡°Two Gish. A kid. Two Northmen, one of them huge as a giant. A one-eyed scoundrel. A hale ex-soldier and an Issir woman.¡± ¡°Plus three slaves, presumably,¡± Edge added, looking at him. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of people.¡± ¡°Not your usual nobleman¡¯s entourage,¡± Bolt commented, slurping at his beer. ¡°Did he get them out of the East Gates?¡± Lear asked. ¡°Difficult to move civilians through a scrap,¡± Edge said. ¡°Unless you use a crowd to hide them in,¡± Bolt replied. ¡°Let¡¯s assume the ship failed to moor, or the captain got spooked seeing the city burning, Cofols on the loose,¡± Lear started, then paused. ¡°What is it old bones?¡± Edge asked him, alarm in his voice. ¡°It might not be him. Doesn¡¯t look like it.¡± That coin on the road. A Northman thug I¡¯d missed at Shroudcoast the first time. Another in Castalor, both here. The Lord¡¯s ship taking them all to Altarin. There are no coincidences. Lear sighed, stared out of their window, the street looking normal from inside the inn. It wasn¡¯t though¡­ normal. ¡°There was something off with this case, since the start,¡± he said, looking at the list. ¡°Copeland opens the vault, with help surely. Gets on a ship, leaves Cediorum and disembarks in Shroudcoast of all fucking places. He gets arrested there, for ¡®murder¡¯ and loses his head. The gold, which we assume he¡¯d taken with him goes missing from his room. But for a coin found in the street.¡± ¡°His partner sold him out. This lad, the Reeves guy?¡± Edge sat back on his chair. ¡°Why? Why go to Castalor, leave a trail there? Hop on his ship, return to Altarin. Leave again just as his grandfather gets murdered and come to Rida?¡± ¡°There was no young Reeves before that summer,¡± Lear replied, thinking out loud. ¡°Not a mention of him anywhere. In fact the Old Lord had his lands and titles bequeathed to his brother, the new Duke.¡± ¡°Then he changed his mind, gave them to our lad,¡± Edge said. ¡°You¡¯re thinking the Thieves Guild might be working a scheme here? Too bold even for them, I reckon. Nah, they did the job and pulled out well-compensated. That¡¯s more their style. A thief won¡¯t risk his neck.¡± ¡°A lone thief might,¡± Lear replied. ¡°A shrewd thief, ruthless and bold enough to plan and execute it. We might have never seen his likes afore.¡± ¡°Helped Copeland steal the gold, sailed wit him to the Free Isles to avoid detection. Sold Copeland off to the locals and gotten the gold for himself. Why Castalor?¡± Edge didn¡¯t seem convinced. ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s not the same scheme,¡± Lear decided. ¡°Used the gold to buy a crew, worm himself into the Old Lord¡¯s court. The old man was murdered, the paper naming him his grandson and heir surfaced later. A paper signed with a knife on your neck.¡± Bolt breathed in and tried another angle. ¡°Murdered the old Lord, so he can¡¯t speak. Then traveled to Rida to gain legitimacy from the Duke. How did he pulled that off? How did he fool the brother? What about the Lord¡¯s daughter?¡± Yeah. That¡¯s a lot of people. ¡°Maybe he didn¡¯t fool them,¡± Lear replied. ¡°The city burned. Or perhaps he¡¯s that good.¡± ¡°Khan¡¯s army ruined his plans,¡± Edge pointed out the obvious. ¡°Aye, it did,¡± Lear agreed. ¡°An evil bastard like that would have had a backup plan though.¡± ¡°The ship, to get him out from the harbor, he conveniently ¡®defended¡¯,¡± Bolt agreed. ¡°What if that failed as well?¡± They both stared at him. Lear grimaced and made room on the table they were sitting around for Apus¡¯ map. ¡°If the ship couldn¡¯t make it to Rida and it left without him, then he ordered it to go elsewhere.¡± ¡°Not the coast of Jelin,¡± Edge agreed. ¡°Not without him,¡± Bolt added. ¡°And not to Altarin, where people might remember things differently. Nah, he¡¯s too clever for that. Our lad cut his losses and run. He¡¯ll never go to Altarin that scheme is dead.¡± ¡°On to the next,¡± Edge murmured looking at the map. ¡°What will he go after?¡± Bolt asked. ¡°Clever crooks are rare and usually have bouts of bad luck that ruin them, this one doesn¡¯t. He seems to thrive, when all seems lost,¡± Lear replied, tracing a line down the Merchant Path, one eye at the Krakentrap Straits. ¡°Where would a ship pick him up?¡± ¡°Such a big group would never make it past Hi Yil,¡± Bolt said, well versed on Eplas geography. ¡°The Issirs burned it to the ground,¡± Edge pointed out. ¡°He didn¡¯t know that,¡± Lear said and smacked his lips frustrated. ¡°In his mind, the safest route was through the desert. No exposure, no armies at the near.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not easy to cross that part of the desert Lear. Some would say, it¡¯s bloody suicide,¡± Edge countered. ¡°Ah, not really. Not if you know where you¡¯re going. Horselords live there after all and while there¡¯s truth to it, people had crossed it afore.¡± ¡°If Reeves attempted to cut south parallel to the Path, he didn¡¯t make it,¡± Bolt argued. ¡°That¡¯s no man¡¯s land Lear. Nothing good lives there. The sands have swallowed caravans¡¯ whole.¡± ¡°Gish are legendary scouts by nature, with a ¡®nose¡¯ for water,¡± Lear said. ¡°He had two of them.¡± ¡°Well, they are great in bed as well and this guy likes his women exotic, so it might be that,¡± Edge countered, not seeing his logic. ¡°Fine, let¡¯s assume he dies in the Desert. What was the plan?¡± Lear yielded. They all looked at the map. ¡°Not meet up with the Issirs, this happened after he¡¯d left Rida already,¡± Edge murmured, a frown on his face. ¡°Ships can¡¯t moor on the coast,¡± Bolt added. ¡°Not unless you swing around the Straits and sail to Eikenport.¡± ¡°Eh, that¡¯s a ruin for the most part,¡± Edge started saying and then looked into Lear¡¯s face and stopped. ¡°Fit for cutthroats, pirates and Cofols not in Khan¡¯s favor,¡± he added, nodding with his head. Where do wicked folk go to blend in? ¡°I¡¯d say our lad would make that list,¡± Lear agreed. ¡°Regroup there, work on his next dastardly scheme. Nobody knows him, I wager he already has another name.¡± ¡°If he lives,¡± Bolt countered. ¡°He made it out Shroudcoast, fooling everyone. This guy is a demon. Made it out of Rida,¡± Lear decided and started rolling the map again. ¡°He¡¯ll make it out of the desert. My gut tells me I¡¯m in the right on this.¡± ¡°You know I hate water,¡± Edge complained, slow to get up from his chair and Lear smiled, put a hand on his shoulder, felt the mail underneath. ¡°It cuts the journey by two months, or more,¡± he explained and Edge nodded, glanced at Bolt, who rolled his eyes and downed the rest of his beer. ¡°Fuck it, let¡¯s hop on the bloody ship again,¡± the old ranger said and got up himself. ¡°Eikenport it is.¡±
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 152. Incident at Merchant’s Triage (2/3)
Aelrindel Incident at Merchant¡¯s Triage Aftermath II -A Witch¡¯s dream reaches very far-
Nesande¡¯s moon send its pale cerulean light over the massive pyramid. It painted the marble palace walls at its top a shade of blue, matching her gleaming azure eyes that cracked open. Aelrindel changed them to a brilliant silver when she got up a moment later, her body drenched in sweat. She walked barefooted to the throne room, the dark not bothering her and when it did, the sorceress used the embers heated core to light up the many braziers of the great room, one after the other. When she stopped before the doors of the large balcony, the soft breeze on her skin felt like an old lover¡¯s caress. The city mostly dark, sprawling under her. Filth hidden behind the darkness, ruin and death. The taste of her vengeance unpleasant. The prize won diminished in the trade. War, Prince Sahand had declared half-drunk, is going well. But for one setback. Well it didn¡¯t feel that way. Aelrindel gasped, drawing a rugged breath, her mind still dreaming, interfering with her reality. The Imperials were dead, but Ralnor wasn¡¯t pleased. Another pupil lost, a third maimed horribly. Saved though, she thought taking a step forward. That must count for something. She closed her eyes, sensed Lithoniela¡¯s song coming from Yeriden¡¯s bridge. Felt Dar Eherdir brooding over the boy¡¯s bed and heard again the man¡¯s voice coming from the granite throne. Face hidden in the dark, the black scale armor gleaming in the lightstone torches radiance. A scene out of the First Era seemingly, but it really wasn¡¯t. The darn dream spilling out. The marble walls and floors of the Duke¡¯s palace turning to fine cut, square granite pieces, giant columns sprouting out of the tiled floor and reaching for the ceiling, four on each side. The smell of sulfur burning her nostrils. I¡¯ve seen you before, the man had said. Show me your real face. Aelrindel breathed desperately, her mind at last waking up and the spell cracked and lost its cohesion slowly. Everything returned to the present and when she opened her eyes again, the sorceress was standing in front of the doors to the large balcony, the moonlight the only illumination. The braziers had gone out and the old woman that had appeared outside, turned slowly to stare at her flushed face. ¡°It¡¯s a past I don¡¯t remember,¡± Aelrindel said truthfully and the old woman, wearing the simple teal robes raised her right arm. She opened her hand and showed the sorceress the gathered blood dripping down. Red, it painted her wrist, palm and fingers. ¡°It is not the past, but this is your blood,¡± the Goddess told her. ¡°What you want thou shall have, but never see grow.¡± Aelrindel gulped down and took a step back nervously. ¡°I didn¡¯t ask for a divination,¡± she blurted out and the Goddess chuckled. ¡°He did. There¡¯s a Wyvern on Eplas child. Your dreams are trying to warn you. What you took, thou shall give back.¡± ¡°I did it for the Realm!¡± She snapped her pulse quickening. ¡°For your people! For you!¡± ¡°You danced to a silent mummer¡¯s tune. You¡¯re still blind, child.¡± Nonsense! ¡°What if I don¡¯t?¡± Aelrindel countered. ¡°What if I can¡¯t?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll have the choice, this query I¡¯ve already answered.¡± The old woman raised her other arm, hand closed in a fist. ¡°You can¡¯t bind me to this,¡± Aelrindel insisted. ¡°This is all a dream.¡± She needed to rouse herself. Now. Escape this snare. The Goddess puckered her ancient mouth. ¡°In your dreams thee are free child and in them, you¡¯ve asked for this. Years back in an old temple like this your echo touched. It was where the Horned One listened. A witch¡¯s dream reaches very far, daughter of the Moon. Abhorrent is Abrakas child, but he may have given you a chance in his foolishness, what will you do with it?¡± Take her throne, Aelrindel had asked the sneaky shadow in her nightmare.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Don¡¯t wake the Wyvern. ¡°No,¡± She shook her head right and left frustrated. ¡°No, this is wrong, it¡¯s not what happened¡­ this is a trick.¡± The Goddess smirked. ¡°Eh, Luthos may have changed a thing, or two.¡± Aelrindel bit the inside of her cheek, sharp teeth opening the flesh and her mouth flooded with blood. All an attempt to wake up. ¡°You did this,¡± she accused the Goddess. ¡°You¡¯re not going to trick me. I won¡¯t do your bidding.¡± ¡°Ah, always so vain. You¡¯ve no idea how the Realm works. You should have not allowed Oras Servant to kill Nym¡¯s pupils. It makes it more difficult for you. Do you want to know who you¡¯re dreaming about?¡± Aelrindel narrowed her eyes. The old woman opened her fist and showed her an old Imperial coin. ¡°What is this?¡± The sorceress croaked and the leering Goddess told her. ¡°What beast¡¯s father used to lure him in.¡± And with a panicked cry Aelrindel woke up for real.
¡°Selussa sent me a strange report from the South,¡± Ralnor informed her hours later, the frown on his face making him appear ghoulish. ¡°There are rumors spreading about magic birthed in the Desert.¡± ¡°Where did she hear that?¡± ¡°Tyeusfort. Dia run out of supplies, since our Prince managed to cut himself off,¡± Ralnor replied sourly. ¡°That was Tsuparin¡¯s fault,¡± Aelrindel countered tiredly. ¡°Sahand is cursing his lineage for weeks now.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t exactly curse his idiot brother right? It¡¯ll bounce back on him.¡± Aelrindel snorted and put her hands on her face, her head throbbing. She half-snickered half-sobbed. ¡°Ahm, anyway¡­ perhaps it¡¯s a nest of ancient ones stirred¡­ what is it?¡± Ralnor asked seeing her shaking. No it¡¯s not. ¡°It¡¯s a Wyvern,¡± Aelrindel blurted out defeated. ¡°Nay, Mol had you spooked. Weren¡¯t you adamant it can¡¯t be done? I¡¯ve asked Selussa to learn more and she will write back. We¡¯ll know within the month. She never fails me.¡± ¡°I was wrong before,¡± she admitted. ¡°Your pupil will confirm it.¡± ¡°Reeves¡­ has a Wyvern. Not an egg, presumed to be rock, thoroughly un-living. Oh well, not exactly the news I expected to hear today,¡± Ralnor said deictically. He crossed his arms on his chest with a scowl. ¡°When will the others arrive?¡± ¡°You hope to find a hunter amongst them?¡± Aelrindel asked him mockingly. ¡°What will you tell her highness?¡± ¡°Is there a better plan¡­ oh, famed sorceress?¡± The assassin retorted with a hint of razz. She had no idea. ¡°My head hurts,¡± Aelrindel complained. ¡°Take a healing potion,¡± Ralnor deadpanned. ¡°I have already. Can¡¯t take another, or I¡¯ll start puking on your face,¡± the sorceress came back at him. ¡°Perhaps abstaining from pleasuring the Prince through the night might help? Sleep cures most ails, but stupidity.¡± Aaw Ralnor, you old numskull, she thought. The fact she was half a century older than him escaping her. ¡°I think you¡¯re right,¡± Aelrindel agreed with a sigh and got up from the Duke¡¯s throne. ¡°This thing with the Prince,¡± she made a vague gesture with her hand. ¡°Is not working for me anymore.¡± Ralnor took a step back and narrowed his eyes. ¡°What changed your mind?¡± He hissed. Goddess¡¯ wrinkles! What¡¯s gotten into him? ¡°I thought you¡¯d be happy. You weren¡¯t exactly pleased with the Heir.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be better pleased, if you use what¡¯s readily available this time,¡± the assassin retorted surprising her in turn. Did he just offered himself? Ralnor¡¯s face had turned into that of a statue. Good goods, it was joke! Heh. Hehe. Aelrindel threw her head back and laughed uncontrollably, tears in her eyes. It was cathartic. ¡°Gods, eternal gratitude onto you. I needed it so bad. Haha, oh my goodness, I almost peed myself¡­¡± she wiped her face with both hands still grinning. ¡°I thought you didn¡¯t have a humor bone in your body, Ralnor!¡± ¡°I always aim to serve,¡± Ralnor droned, his song unreadable. ¡°You have someone else in mind? Hopefully of our own species?¡± He asked her next casually, always perceptive. Aerlinder stared at him seriously for a moment and then she replied in the same manner. ¡°No, I don¡¯t.¡± Lying through her teeth.
¡°Show me your real face,¡± the man had ordered. His voice hoarse, its tone laced with pain. ¡°Not the dead and not the spells ye weave sorceress.¡± And Aelrindel taking a step closer let go of her little illusions. She lost height, the fingers on her hands were now laced with burns and old scars, hair turning blue with light shades of purple and eyes the azure color of Nesande¡¯s Moon. ¡°Ah,¡± he said standing up, scale armour rustling. ¡°There you are. Why would you hide that? Nothing comes even close.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not perfect,¡± Aelrindel whispered and he snorted, amber eyes taunting. ¡°Perfect is nothing but a curse Gods will envy, making it a folly. Real beauty is peppered wit little imperfections, inside and out. The latter, I see it afore me.¡±
In the dream the witch had shed tears of joy. 153. Incident at Merchant’s Triage (3/3)
Change not the old ways, for they are set in stone Speak not of the God beyond the Haze Sea, for he might listen Use the flesh, never savor it, for it is not yours to christen Atone¡­ What thee take, thou shall give back If vanity breaks the gilded throne Wyvern¡¯s scales shall turn an onyx black Atone¡­ Or thee shall be judged by the Tamer of Monsters - Sintoriela¡¯s Revelation (aka, Song of the Acid Gardens) - written by Edlenn, of Sintoriela High Priestess of Nesande (Unknown Date, presumably First Era)
Kalac Incident at Merchant¡¯s Triage Aftermath III -The Horned God¡¯s children-
A red asp slithered through the encroaching vegetation, towards their horses¡¯ legs. Tarn nailed it with an arrow, its head out of bone, just as it was about to strike. Kalac watched him as he jumped down from the saddle to cut its head off, keeping the thrashing body until it emptied of blood. ¡°Nasty bugger,¡± Tarn commented throwing it in his bags. ¡°Aye,¡± Kalac replied and eyed Sirach smoking his pipe. The aromatic smoke dulling his senses. He slapped a nasty bug off his neck next and when he returned his eyes on the bridge a rider had appeared on it. His desert horse worn out to the bone, covered in filth and old as the white rocks of the steppe. ¡°Where are ye heading traveler?¡± Tarn asked, that bloody knife still in his hand. The old Cofol clicked his tongue and brought his horse near them after he crossed the bridge. ¡°Looking for passage, sons of the Steppe,¡± he rustled dryly, wrinkled face marred with scars and burns. The skin cracked but healing. He¡¯s been out of the desert for a while now, Kalac thought. ¡°Where to?¡± Tarn queried. ¡°Heard there are Horselords holding land this side of the rivers,¡± the man replied. ¡°They are,¡± Tarn agreed with a smirk. ¡°Ye bring your men wit you?¡± ¡°Just myself.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Kalac, son of Duham. This is Tarn, son of Badal. What¡¯s yer name traveler?¡± Kalac asked him. ¡°Luhar, son of Hadir. Yer name is known on the steppe Kalac,¡± the old horselord replied. ¡°It¡¯s good to see ye still ride.¡± Kalac grunted and pulled at the reins of his mount to turn it around. ¡°Yer welcomed, Luhar. Follow us, rest is half a day way.¡±
Belec nodded seeing them reach a shaded table in the yard outside the fort. The wall fully rebuilt with mud-bricks. The land surrounding it cleared of plants and trees, the wood used to build homesteads for the former slaves and workers. Kalac had freed them all and most decided to stay. Luhar had his fill first, then sipped slowly at the water looking about him. ¡°It¡¯s a good fort,¡± he decided. ¡°But can ye keep it?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a prince of Rin An-Pur in Dia, he won¡¯t allow it.¡± ¡°Why hadn¡¯t he moved already?¡± Luhar asked. ¡°Isn¡¯t Dia a big castle?¡± ¡°We licked him good the first time, seems he lacks troops to make the attempt,¡± Kalac replied. ¡°He had to agree to an arrangement,¡± he added to justify his own lack of aggression. ¡°Ah,¡± Luhar grimaced and pushed his weary legs out. ¡°He won¡¯t be getting help from Tyeusfort, or Tirifort anytime soon.¡± ¡°Why is that?¡± Tarn asked and grabbed Sirach¡¯s bottle of wine to pour himself a cup. ¡°Issirs landed at Devil¡¯s Cove. It¡¯s a spot somewhere on the Merchant Path. Smashed Tsuparin¡¯s host, burned Hi Yil and left the Khan looking like a fool. They cut everything under that point off.¡± Kalac frowned and stared at his men idling about inside the yard. ¡°High King made his move?¡± He rustled a query. ¡°Crows, not the High King,¡± Luhar replied and seeing their faces, but for Sirach who¡¯d just listened without commenting, he added. ¡°Men from Scaldingport, a big city on the other side of the sea. Nasty bunch, right killers. They take neither prisoners, nor slaves.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve seen them?¡± Tarn asked. ¡°Rode with them for a while. They could take the forts, if they are reinforced.¡± ¡°Will they?¡± Kalac asked. Luhar shrugged his shoulders. ¡°They didn¡¯t tell me, but they can¡¯t leave their small port until they are.¡± ¡°The Khan won¡¯t risk an attack down the path before rebuilding Hi Yil,¡± Tarn commented. ¡°He needs to repair the ruin they brought on Rida first, fight a campaign for Altarin and root the rest of Raoz¡¯s forces from Sadofort. The first attempt there was neither a success, nor a disaster, depending on which side yer asking.¡± Kalac smirked and breathed once deeply, let it out slowly. ¡°Why come here?¡± He asked the old Horselord next. ¡°Where are yer men?¡± Luhar grimaced, his aged desert eyes looking at his worn out hands. ¡°Lost them in Lebesos,¡± he murmured. Sirach moved forward from his chair. ¡°Dangerous place to look for water,¡± Kalac commented simply. ¡°Knew the risks, when to approach,¡± Luhar replied, a bitter smile on his wrinkled face. ¡°Got myself mixed up wit foul magic, no rider should have to face.¡± ¡°What kind of magic?¡± Sirach asked him. ¡°Ungodly stuff. There was a couple there, lurking in ¡®em ruins. A man and his mother. They killed them. They had a pet,¡± he stared at the frowning Kalac. ¡°I believe it was a Wyvern.¡± Tarn almost drowned on his wine, he coughed and spat most of it down. ¡°You¡¯ve seen it?¡± Sirach asked, his interest piqued. ¡°Scaly thing, no bigger than a goose wit leathery wings, a scorpion¡¯s tail and black talons,¡± Luhar looked at him. ¡°They had a living corpse following them.¡± Kalac smacked his lips. He found it difficult to believe in his story. ¡°How do you know it was his pet? Wyverns are not dogs, Luhar,¡± Sirach argued, apparently well-learned on the matter. ¡°He carried it on his back. Seem they were closer than I¡¯ve ever been with any dog,¡± Luhar spat and pushed back on his chair. ¡°I know what I saw.¡±
The night brought the horrors of the Jade Lake out, but they had cleared the ground well and the roots couldn¡¯t approach. Fire and axes took care of those brave enough to attempt it. Kalac worked on his bronze hand, his arm moving much more effortlessly now, but it was still heavy. Sirach savoring the Prince¡¯s wine on the table set before his workshop, thoughtful expression on his face laced with brooding silence. ¡°What¡¯s on yer mind?¡± Kalac asked him. ¡°The old Horselord brought us good news.¡± ¡°You still can¡¯t take the castle Kalac,¡± Sirach replied bluntly. ¡°Not with this force.¡± ¡°I can lure them out of the walls.¡± ¡°He can outlast you. Dia has fields and produce, you haven¡¯t seen a caravan in months. What happens if the Prince stops sending supplies?¡± Kalac frowned and placed his bronze hand on the table.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. ¡°You didn¡¯t answer, master blacksmith,¡± he told him sternly. ¡°Arachne plague Lebesos. Big spiders that migrated from a place that is no more,¡± Kalac raised a brow at his words. ¡°Not the casual ones. These are ancient, foul predators. Another species.¡± ¡°Go on,¡± Kalac said. ¡°They can control their victims after death,¡± Sirach looked at him. ¡°To a point. If they are killed that link is severed.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what he saw,¡± Kalac said with a nod. ¡°And the man and his mother? A warlock that found a wyvern in the desert?¡± ¡°A newborn, the way he described it. That man found an egg and it hatched.¡± ¡°Is this possible?¡± ¡°Perhaps,¡± Sirach replied cryptically. ¡°But unlikely. Wyvern eggs are not just laying around and Lebesos was claimed by the Arachne before the last one breathed its last. No sane Wyvern would leave an egg there.¡± ¡°You know an awful lot about the matter,¡± Kalac noted. ¡°I studied in my youth and read books, even looked at drawings. For my craft,¡± Sirach explained unconvincingly. ¡°I need inspiration.¡± ¡°An illusion? Something to justify him losing his men?¡± Kalac suggested. ¡°Too detailed. I don¡¯t believe he was lying,¡± Sirach replied. ¡°But it is still, a difficult tale to consider.¡± Kalac had to agree with that last part.
A week after the Horselord had appeared, though much later in the day, the heat unconquered and the rain months away, a small caravan started crossing the north bridge coming from Eikenport. Five carriages, almost twenty camels laden with supplies and barrels, but a small guard force of four hired blades. The merchant leading them frowning troubled, when he saw Kalac and his riders waiting for them on the other side. ¡°Where are ye headin¡¯ lads?¡± the sun-burned wiry Tarn asked them, stooping on his mount. The Cofol merchant stopped his horses and stood back on the seat of his wagon. ¡°We¡¯re heading to Dia Castle. We want to deliver on an order. You¡¯re working for Prince Radin perchance?¡± Belec chuckled sounding drown on his spit and some of the other men cracked a couple of smirks. Kalac placed his bronze hand on the saddle in front of him and said nothing. Tarn equally not amused, took it upon himself to reply. ¡°Ye are in the wrong merchant, it¡¯s more the other way around,¡± his retort brought a lot more laughter out of the men. The merchant realizing something was afoot, looked nervously at his guards. They looked back at him, totally uninterested for a scrap so late in the day. Probably would¡¯ve been equally unenthusiastic at any time, Kalac decided and stretched himself, petting ¡®Kind Eyes¡¯ mane. ¡°Good¡­ ahm, men of the green fjords,¡± The merchant started, dark eyes painted a bright yellow underneath it and the color running where sweat had formed. ¡°Rivers is the word ye seek, or lake,¡± Belec corrected him amidst general snickering. ¡°And we¡¯re Horselords of the Steppes¡¯.¡± The merchant nodded a little paler in the face. ¡°I just wanted passage, never had problem afore¡ª¡± ¡°You¡¯ll have it,¡± Kalac announced cutting through the murmurs of the men. ¡°What¡¯s your trade child of the Peninsula? I have yer accent right?¡± ¡°You have. I¡¯m from Wotcheki Castle originally. Spend my youth on the other side of the Gulf in Ani Ta-Ne. Name¡¯s Yel Seti-Kai. Then moved across the desert and to the South Market near Tyeusfort in the winter of eighty one. Wanted to avoid competition,¡± the merchant explained taking his time. ¡°How did that go?¡± Kalac probed with a smirk. ¡°There¡¯s competition everywhere, brave son of the Steppe.¡± Enough. ¡°Kalac, son of Duham,¡± Kalac grunted not likening his groveling. ¡°What do you have on the animals?¡± ¡°Seeds mostly, wine and honey,¡± Yel replied quickly. ¡°Bits and bobs.¡± ¡°Why seeds?¡± ¡°Crops go bad, after a season. Produce comes up foul, or dangerous.¡± Kalac nodded. ¡°Dia ordered it?¡± ¡°Aye, they did. Back in Tyeusfort.¡± ¡°A bird?¡± Kalac guessed. They had the bridges under a tight watch. ¡°A woman. She came in person.¡± Kalac stared at Tarn and the warrior frowned not expecting the detail. ¡°Where is she now?¡± Kalac asked the merchant. ¡°Probably at Dia, she left a couple of days before us,¡± Yel replied. Slipped through their pickets and patrols like a phantom, Kalac translated. A disconcerting notion. ¡°Kalac¡­¡± Tarn said, but Kalac disregarded him. ¡°It¡¯s late Yel. Spend the night in the fort and on the morrow, my men will take you to the bridge.¡± ¡°How far is Dia from there?¡± Yel asked, realizing he didn¡¯t have many options. ¡°A day¡¯s travel, ye can¡¯t miss it,¡± Kalac deadpanned.
Yel Seti-Kai made camp outside Jadefort¡¯s walls, but accepted a late night dinner invitation inside the yard, most of the Horselords and former slaves present. The mood festive and the wine Yel brought as gift, making it a wild affair under the light of the fires and the lit torches. Kalac watched him talk with Belec and his woman, her belly swollen with the Horselord¡¯s child. Another two were pregnant according to Tarn. The men were getting used to living behind walls. He almost missed the Horselord¡¯s words. Sirach was sitting next to him at the crude large table, his lit pipe hanging from his lips. ¡°You won¡¯t let him live to see the morrow,¡± tarn had said, his tone subdued. ¡°I need a way inside the Castle,¡± Kalac replied, watching the merchant talk animatedly with the others. ¡°Ye suggest I wait for the next caravan?¡± ¡°Perhaps it would be wiser,¡± Tarn replied. ¡°But still there¡¯s no honor in killin¡¯ cattle in their sleep.¡± Kalac grimaced, his attention drawn to Belec¡¯s words. ¡°You put it in the wine?¡± the horselord queried interested. ¡°Some do, not everyone,¡± Yel explained with a salesman¡¯s smile. ¡°Others enjoy it with their breakfast. Granted, more refined folk than you gentlemen and I apologize for being frank here.¡± Belec and the others started laughing thunderously. Yer also drunk. ¡°What is it?¡± Kalac asked him, stooping forward on the table. Yel turned and pushed a jar of copper colored thick liquid his way. It glided on the table and Kalac stopped it with his good hand. ¡°Have a taste, Kalac,¡± the merchant offered. ¡°The Prince¡¯s spouse special order.¡± Kalac thought of the Princess of Kaltha and sunk a finger inside the gluey liquid. He brought it to his mouth and sucked on it. The taste sugary, very sweet and pleasant. It reminded him of exotic flowers and resin all mixed in, with something else lurking. ¡°It¡¯s sourwood,¡± Yel explained. ¡°Comes from the Sapphire Heights beyond Rin An-Pur. Two gold Dinars per jar.¡± Kalac licked his index finger and then washed his mouth with water from his goblet, the one Sirach had given him. ¡°I have coin, merchant,¡± he said insulted. ¡°It¡¯s a gift,¡± Yel replied, with a smile. ¡°For allowing me safe passage.¡± Kalac snorted and glanced at Tarn, the Horselord¡¯s face unreadable. ¡°Have you ever done the journey before?¡± Sirach asked the merchant cutting through the awkward silence. ¡°My brother does it. He works this route. Alas he got sick with fever and I had to take this contract, since the road to Rida is blocked by the High King¡¯s men,¡± Yel replied sitting back on his chair, turning his torso to face them. ¡°We heard it was Crows,¡± Tarn rustled. ¡°A young Lord looking for glory.¡± ¡°If they take his orders, they are his men. Glory finds those who seek it,¡± the merchant argued and Kalac thought he was in the right. ¡°Will the Khan move on him?¡± Tarn asked and Kalac watched as Sirach, eyes gleaming red in the light of the torches emptied his pipe under the table and grimaced. ¡°He won¡¯t before the next summer. We had no news from Rida, but there was some excitement to be had,¡± Yel added, reaching for his cup of sweet wine. Sirach stopped cleaning his pipe and raised his head to stare at the merchant, as if by instinct. ¡°What manner?¡± Tarn asked oblivious and Kalac moved on his seat, a tang of worry reaching for him out of the surrounding darkness, alike a living root out of the lake¡¯s depths. ¡°There was an incident at Merhant¡¯s Triage,¡± Yel Seti-Kai said, with a shrug. ¡°Some fool let loose a Wyvern inside a bazaar. There¡¯s something crazier each day I swear. Anyway people were maimed, some sources say even killed outright and animals eaten. A right mess.¡± The merchant saw the looks on their faces and frowned, then attempted to elucidate. ¡°I know how it sounds, but Triage is a week away, news travel slow, but they do reach us. Now some things may have happened a different way, but the gist of it is what I told you. Everyone talks about it,¡± then seeing everyone listening to him dumbfounded Yel continued. ¡°For me the weird thing in this whole affair isn¡¯t the Wyvern, strange as it may sounds, but the fact the mad fool paid off anyone present to keep it quiet. As if that would¡¯ve ever worked! Haha, right? A gold per head it cost him, or two. Aye. Eagles of all fucking things. Though gold is gold, if ye ask me, in any bloody language.¡± ¡°What happened to the Wyvern?¡± Sirach asked sounding strangled and Kalac licked his lips, the merchant¡¯s story had unexpectedly given credence to the old Horselord¡¯s tale from the other day. ¡°Nobody knows,¡± Yel replied and sighed. ¡°It¡¯s just a good story in the end. Word is it disappeared that very night, along with that man. One day that crazy chap was there¡­¡± He looked at them and then blew at his fingers demonstratively. ¡°And then¡­ poof, he was gone. Turned to nothing.¡± ¡°Like a shadow,¡± Sirach droned, his face distorted in the light of the fire-pits.
The merchant¡¯s story had saved his neck in the end. Kalac had spent the night staring at the black sky and the ominous faraway mountains to the south lost in thought. Sirach had approached and stood next to him, muscled arms crossed on his chest. ¡°You knew it was true, how?¡± Kalac asked him. ¡°The Empire had many slaves,¡± the man said, timbre in his voice lowering. ¡°Some were more talented than others. They were kept to serve longer.¡± ¡°You never signed wit yer name,¡± Kalac pointed out, realizing the small deception. ¡°Sirach means ¡®created¡¯ in the old tongue,¡± the man admitted. ¡°It¡¯s unseemly to write your name on God¡¯s creations.¡± ¡°Which God?¡± Kalac asked, crooking his mouth. ¡°Every trade had his own. I favored¡­ Gimoss, the Teacher of the Way.¡± Kalac had never heard of him. ¡°Was he any good?¡± ¡°Nah, more like an evil sack of shit, the likes of Abrakas.¡± Kalac smacked his lips. Their talk had gone down some strange paths. ¡°What this got to do with the Wyvern story?¡± ¡°I felt it in my blood. Its presence woven in the Horselord¡¯s words,¡± the man explained, making little sense to Kalac. ¡°I was given the Saereg you see. Most can¡¯t take it and live, but I survived to serve for a long time.¡± ¡°Lived long enough to be free as well,¡± Kalac murmured, glancing at him. ¡°I wasn¡¯t special, but I was talented,¡± he replied modestly. ¡°But while coveted, even freedom can be ugly after a while.¡± Kalac didn¡¯t think so. ¡°What was the name, ye had afore? Perhaps we should be reacquainted.¡± ¡°Angrein O¡¯ Mecatan,¡± the Imperial Blacksmith replied with a toothy smile and tended a spade like hand. ¡°It simply means Angrein, the Blacksmith,¡± he elucidated. Kalac nodded and took his arm. ¡°Kalac, son of Duham,¡± he paused to think about it some. ¡°It doesn¡¯t mean anything,¡± he added with a shrug. ¡°You will let the merchant go,¡± Angrein said after a thoughtful moment passed. ¡°Aye.¡± ¡°Hardir O¡¯ Fardor might be heading back you know.¡± ¡°What does this mean?¡± ¡°The Tamer of monsters. His coming has been foretold.¡± ¡°A good story?¡± Kalac chanced, though he didn¡¯t much expected it to be one. ¡°Not particularly. More like a cautionary tale.¡± Of course. Kalac turned to stare at his dark face. ¡°Why? Why head back?¡± ¡°There no other place to hide it on Eplas.¡± ¡°Rumor is he controls it,¡± Kalac countered. Angrein snorted. ¡°You can¡¯t control a Wyvern,¡± he said and sighed. ¡°Most times it controls you.¡± ¡°How did they do it afore?¡± ¡°Diligent training, but mostly trust and an accord with the Horned God,¡± the Imperial Blacksmith replied. ¡°The Fall wiped that out.¡± ¡°Which God is that?¡± Kalac probed as he had before and Angrein frowned as if taken aback at his ignorance and then remembering shook his head and answered tiredly. ¡°Eodrass. Most other Gods are his children or came after him.¡±
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 154. A matter of proper quarters
Glen Garth Aniculo Hardir O¡¯ Fardor A matter of proper quarters
Oh no, god dammit! Glen cursed, his boot slipping on a chunk of cow manure, right leg going sideways and the rest of his body moving forward. He twirled desperately mid-air, stretched an arm out for purchase, found nothing but empty void, the dark behind the wagon thick as mud and went down face first. RRRREEE Biscuit came out from behind the back wheel he¡¯d hidden to evade them, a thrashing Glen tumbling past him, cheek and shoulder buried in soft dung his feet pointing towards the heavens and dashed towards the opening. Glen landed on his back with a gasp, coughed up a mouthful of shit and muddy grass, then jumped upright, eyes wild and went after him. Biscuit cut a hard left, nimble hind legs sending chunks of soil and mud on Glen¡¯s face, jumped over a sneaking Flix using his wings with a delighted screech and got bodied by Gimoss that charged him from the side, dagger in hand and they both tumbled down in a heap. What? Glen dived on the corpse, grabbed his dagger-wielding arm and pulled it away from the thrashing wyvern under him. ¡°Halt dis! What are ye doing?¡± He cursed and Gimoss tried to head-butt him frustrated in retaliation. Glen dodged panicky, the corpse¡¯s forehead smacking him on the sternum like a sledgehammer. ¡°Let go you fool!¡± The corpse bellowed, probably waking up the sleeping camp. Glen -eyes ogling- raised an index finger to ask for a respite in order to get his bearings back, as he¡¯d almost swallowed his tongue and Biscuit found the opening to stab Gimoss on the left side of his neck with his tail. ¡°Hah!¡± Gimoss guffawed, seemingly unaffected. ¡°You try it again and I¡¯ll rip your tongue out!¡± Biscuit stared at him unsure. For fuck¡¯s sake! ¡°What is this violence Gimoss?¡± Glen protested, seeing out the corner of his eye Lon-Iv rushing towards them from the front of the caravan, Metu, Manvir and Ashima -his slaves- running behind him. ¡°What violence?¡± Gimoss snapped, bodying Biscuit towards the open back of the carriage and shoving him inside. ¡°Good grief, he¡¯s right¡­¡± Lon-Iv said just as he arrived at the scene. Gimoss turned to stare at him and the Sopat scion switched his tune immediately. ¡°Still if the Wyvern is unharmed¡ª¡± ¡°I can handle this,¡± Glen cut him off, face covered in filth. ¡°As a matter of plaquin¡¯ fact, it¡¯s already handled!¡± ¡°Of course, master Garth,¡± Lon-Iv agreed readily. ¡°May I suggest a quick bath before retiring?¡± Ahm. ¡°Well,¡± Glen said, wrong-footed by the change in subject and still breathing heavy from chasing Biscuit around for almost an hour. The Wyvern didn¡¯t want to confine himself in the carriage for the day, or any day, making each attempt more difficult. He also thought the whole running around in the dark thing, quite the exciting game. So Biscuit went about it every time. ¡°I suppose you¡¯re right.¡± ¡°Perhaps we keep him in the cage?¡± Lon-Iv suggested and seeing Glen frowning, he threw his slave under the proverbial wagon. ¡°Metu thinks it¡¯s a good idea.¡± Glen eyed the slave warningly. ¡°I don¡¯t. We get him out every night per my plan. Allow him to have his fun. It¡¯s a simple set of instructions Sopat.¡± ¡°Right. Well then, people are waking up. All this excitement¡­ some might want to see the jaguar,¡± Lon-Iv said. Huh? ¡°What bloody Jaguar?¡± Lon-Iv puffed his cheeks out, like Glen frequently did. ¡°I had to come up with something,¡± he admitted a little apprehensively. ¡°The elusive Hobgoblin seemed too excessive an idea.¡± Glen sighed in agreement and checked the side of the wagon where the water barrel was, thinking to clean his neck and face from all that cow excrement. Manvir eyed Gimoss nervously, the corpse caught him looking and slapped him once across the face, hard enough to bloody his nose and send him sprawling down senseless. ¡°Goddess!¡± Lon gasped shocked, then recovering quickly, he glared at the hapless slave struggling to get up, both hands holding his face and his legs rubbery. ¡°That¡¯s five lashes for you,¡± Lon-Iv announced and Metu opened his mouth to argue, which infuriated the Sopat scion even more, so he turned and pointed an accusing finger on the objecting slave. ¡°Three lashes!¡± Lon-Iv spat. ¡°Master?¡± Metu queried. ¡°Five!¡± The slave blinked in shock. ¡°Me?¡± ¡°You too!¡± ¡°Hah¡­Ahahaha!¡± Gimoss roared, pleased at the prospect of quality entertainment. Glen thought it funny as well, not the punishing part of course and he would make an attempt to prevent that, but their exchange. He could appreciate a good turn of phrase.
¡°What¡¯s the material?¡± Glen asked, wiping the sweat off his tanned face. ¡°Boiled cow skin, master Garth,¡± the tailor/armorer replied. A half-breed slave, one part Lorian the other Cofol, Lesta was about forty in years, but looked younger. The round glasses set at the tip of his nose giving him a scholarly air, ruined a bit by a big red ruby earing on his left ear and a nose too small for the size of his head. ¡°Two layers, outer one is hardened in vegetable oils making it solid, whilst the inner part is more pliable. Not as soft as a young-calf, or deer, but I don¡¯t have the means to procure it when on the move. A thin gambeson is advised to avoid scuffing.¡± The tailor eyed the thin silk robes given to him by Lon critically. Glen thought them roomy and appropriate for the local climate. Zola¡¯s pants were a torture to put on again. ¡°Right,¡± Glen droned. ¡°Isn¡¯t it rather long?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a leather brigandine, the base design,¡± Lesta explained. ¡°I don¡¯t have the skills to come up with a better style of my own, apologies. You¡¯ll need a real armourer, or a blacksmith for that.¡± Glen thought he was doing pretty well for a part-timer. ¡°It¡¯s fine, don¡¯t worry about it,¡± Glen replied. ¡°It covers the hips nicely.¡± The groin too. ¡°It does. We will use the old metal shoulder pads you produced, secure them on the armor and then perhaps make a set of vambraces, but we need to come up with something for the rest of the arm. I don¡¯t want to add sleeves, it will make the armor unyielding. You appear in splendid shape, but it may tire you in a fight.¡± Hmm, there¡¯s that of course. ¡°How about elongating the vambraces to cover the elbow partially?¡± Glen asked, examining the steel square-headed studs used to rivet additional rectangular pieces on the armor, four on each corner of the many hard-leather plates, arranged in rows decorating the base leather layer. ¡°It could be done, but it¡¯ll take some work. It¡¯s called studded leather in the East, but this brigandine is inspired from the scaled Cataphract armour, minus the mail. The many additional pieces of hardened leather add another layer of protection, beyond the solid outer crust.¡± ¡°Will it stop an arrow?¡± ¡°Depending on the tip, it will. Avoid crossbow bolts at all costs.¡± It goes without saying, Glen agreed. ¡°What about a blade?¡± Lesta pushed his glasses higher and looked at him. ¡°Will master Garth partake in adventuring?¡± Glen returned his stare with a broad grin. Two of his teeth on the left side of his mouth were chipped.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡°That¡¯s one way of describin¡¯ it,¡± he told the serene Sopat tailor. ¡°Then, I advise you to dodge frequently milord,¡± Lesta returned his smile. ¡°Master Flix insisted on an armour that won¡¯t impede your dexterity, first and foremost.¡± Ah. Ye sleekly little Gish. Flix just gets it, he thought.
There was nothing fast-moving in a caravan. The wagons and carriages were inching forward, the river giving the terrain shades of green and a soft muddy ground that was difficult to traverse. No road meant no clear path, the tall reeds, bushes and multicolored grass sprouting about everywhere. ¡°Camelus are fast,¡± Flix commented using the archaic term, giant straw hat always increasing in size, as the Gish kept adding on it. It now sported a sheer white veil around it that reached his shoulders, to better protect him from the many insects. ¡°They are?¡± Glen wondered, slapping away a buzzing multi-legged bug with garishly pink wings. Wow! What in Luthos shaved balls is this shite? ¡°Uhm, faster than horses some claim,¡± Flix replied, apparently a student of hump-backed animals, with crooked legs and fat-lipped stupid heads. ¡°One of them spat on me!¡± Glen snapped, nailing the returning bug with a crashing punch. It went down between his horse¡¯s legs. Hah! Flix chuckled seeing his efforts. ¡°I mean look at that arse!¡± Glen argued, pointing at one slow-moving camel. ¡°That thing is huge! Impossible to hoof on it fast,¡± he decided. ¡°They are laden with supplies, Garth.¡± Glen groaned, another bug almost diving in his gullet. ¡°Good grief, I should tell Lon to pull as away from the banks!¡± He protested and kicked his legs to get Outlaw moving.
¡°A week?¡± Glen asked, sneaking a quick look at the inside of Lon-Iv¡¯s carriage. Is that velvet upholstery? Are ye fuckin¡¯ kidding me? ¡°Perhaps sooner, I never tried to cut straight towards Eikenport, dear Garth,¡± Lon replied, eating dark blue grapes from a bowl. ¡°I don¡¯t think anyone ever attempted it, with a perfectly good road on the other side of the river, it is just not profitable.¡± ¡°Right. Are they any good?¡± Glen asked him. The grapes was his meaning. ¡°They are. Ashima, get master Garth a fresh bowl dear,¡± Lon said. A nicely smelling naked Ashima appeared from the depths of the large carriage and offered him a bowl of grapes. Glen, still riding on a slow walking Outlaw next to the carriage, stared at the bowl first, then at her painted-blue bejeweled nipples -the breasts supporting them firm, nicely round and tanned- before settling on her Cofol face. Ashima half-raised a shaped brow at his scrutiny. ¡°Anything else master Garth?¡± She asked syrupy. Ah¡­ no. Decent people visit a brothel for that. This is disrespectful. Close your eyes and think of Sen-Iv, he advised himself. It worked every fucking time. He cleared his throat once and then stooped to get the bronze bowl without answering. Flix eyed the bowl on his return to the back of the line of wagons. Gimoss was riding a couple of meters behind him, busy at work sharpening the tip of a long shaft. Huh? ¡°What is he doing?¡± ¡°It is best not to ask,¡± Flix said bringing his mount closer and reached for a treat. ¡°Small whites are a much sweeter type,¡± he commented chewing on a couple of berries. ¡°Right,¡± Glen murmured, slapping away a hornet the size of a mouse. Soon we¡¯ll need a dagger in hand to handle them, he thought. ¡°I meant to ask about the other day¡ª¡± He started, but Flix stopped him. ¡°It is better not to query on that as well. Old people reach strange understandings, Garth.¡± Which was as vague an explanation as Glen would have expected. ¡°I don¡¯t think people will accept Biscuit,¡± he finally said with a sigh, after slugging down half his bowl, not bothering to chew on the tasty grapes. ¡°He¡¯s a Wyvern. How could they?¡± ¡°Happened in the past,¡± Glen countered, spitting the bitter thin branches down. Apparently these were uneatable. ¡°There was no choice given, Garth. The Zilan did whatever they wanted and even then, the Wyverns weren¡¯t kept inside cities.¡± ¡°Where did they keep them?¡± He burped, a small grape stuck in his throat. ¡°You¡¯ve been in Rida. Where the Duke¡¯s Palace is now, the Wyverns landed briefly.¡± ¡°Why briefly?¡± Glen asked. ¡°You can¡¯t expect a Wyvern to stay put for long. You can¡¯t really talk to them, or make them understand.¡± Hah! ¡°Are you sure about that?¡± ¡°You¡¯re thinking of the dagger. Only the witch, or the late Queen had the opportunity to test it. How are you going to be sure?¡± Flix asked him in turn and reaching, took the bowl away from him. Glen frowned, as he hadn¡¯t finished eating from it. ¡°They cause indigestion,¡± Flix explained and pointed at a slow-moving cow shitting herself making a mess. ¡°And can be rather rough on the bowels. Unless you thoroughly chew on them of course, then you¡¯ll be fine.¡± Good grief. ¡°Ahm,¡± Glen grimaced and glanced back just in time to catch Gimoss skewering a large hornet with his pointy makeshift spear and then proceeding to feed it to the caged Biscuit. The Wyvern watching them out of the barred side window with curious burgundy eyes. Looking a bit pissed, Glen supposed. Who wouldn¡¯t be? He needed to find Biscuit a home. Sen as well obviously, even Jinx for crying out loud, I mean she isn¡¯t a dog to expect her to live in the street. Liko and Crafton could handle the cobblestone mattress just fine, as far as he was concerned.
¡°Ruins,¡± Glen repeated a week later a bit skeptical, although he could see the dilapidated buildings through his spyglass. ¡°Some of them are bigger than others, quite well-standing.¡± ¡°Near the docks, much has been repaired,¡± Lon explained, always ready to showcase his knowledge. It¡¯s not that he did much else around the caravan. The journey had given him a couple of kilos in solid fat at least, as he¡¯d spent it eating and sleeping with his slaves. ¡°The outer rings of the old city though, well¡­ they are left to a more unsavory crowd, the parts that are not abandoned that is.¡± ¡°Which parts?¡± Glen probed. ¡°Ah, the old shrines and temples of the Zilan, was my meaning.¡± ¡°The small pyramids,¡± Flix explained. ¡°Most have collapsed.¡± ¡°I see a couple wit sloped walls,¡± Glen murmured, his eye smarting from looking though the tube for so long. Probably what gotten Stiles blinded in the first plaguin¡¯ place! ¡°These are Mastabas, half-pyramid structures. They housed animals and slaves,¡± Flix replied, his tone reminiscing. ¡°Your Gish is correct,¡± Lon agreed. Glen smacked his lips not paying attention to their words and eyed Gimoss, the corpse was chewing on something, the crunching noise distressing. The legs on the large bug still moving. With a shudder the former thief wiped his face and put the spyglass back in his saddlebag. ¡°I see a black one just at the edge of the city. We¡¯ll head there,¡± Glen decided to get them moving before they died from dehydration. ¡°That¡¯s the abandoned part!¡± Lon protested. ¡°And we need to go through the cutthroats to reach the harbor and the bridge!¡± Sneaking an insane corpse and a Wyvern in their city will probably raise an argument, or two at the very least from the local thugs, Glen thought, but Lon apparently didn¡¯t lose any sleep about it. ¡°Leave the carriage with the pregnant jaguar,¡± Glen replied, as there were a couple of hired guards present. Eikenport a couple of kilometers away, shining like a jewel in the morning sun, the Scalding Sea¡¯s waters a striking turquoise color creating quite an antithesis, while painting a breathtaking picture. ¡°Pick the safe route to get to the harbor and settle in. Do you have offices here?¡± ¡°Phon ordered me to buy any building available, or plot of land, to open a fresh trade route and that was before learning about the¡­ our project,¡± Lon replied, almost choking on the last words. He¡¯d sent a missive to Sen¡¯s brother, but the older Sopat hadn¡¯t replied yet. As the bird would reach Triage first, an answer was some time away. Glen sighed and then stared at the empty looking ruined city. ¡°Purchase that¡­ mastaba first, or whatever the fuck it¡¯s called. Some buildings around it,¡± he advised him. ¡°And don¡¯t worry about us, we can protect ourselves, but we may need trustworthy workers.¡± Lon grimaced, then looked at Gimoss and calmed down. ¡°Fine. I need to finish quickly with the purchases, if I want to have a caravan ready and moving. We need to make profit at some point.¡± ¡°Will the Khan¡¯s officials allow you to buy land?¡± Glen asked. ¡°Well, it depends on the local official. Some are difficult.¡± ¡°What happens, if he¡¯s unwilling to cooperate?¡± Glen probed. ¡°Crash his skull! Eat¡­ his brains!¡± Gimoss thundered almost giving Glen a heart attack, scaring near animals and people alike. ¡°Ahm, my goodness¡­ we¡¯ll just pay him more,¡± Lon mumbled, his face pale. ¡°Weak arse shite, cunts!¡± The corpse bellowed and crossed his arms over his chest looking at them reproachfully. Glen half-sighed half-groaned, then calming down smiled reassuringly at the fidgeting guards and Lon, before adding with a weak smile even by his standards. ¡°We¡¯ll try it Lon¡¯s way first, friends.¡± Nobody appeared eager to argue the matter further.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 155. What does Scaldingport want?
Lord Storm Nattas What does Scaldingport want?
King Alistair clenched his jaw, lips pressed into a thin line, but Miranda held his stare defiantly. The aged King grunted in frustration and sat back on his throne. Storm licked his dry lips an eye on the nervous Queen and waited for the King of Regia to give him permission to speak. Alistair turned his attention on him, a hand placed on the armrest and the other rubbing at his wrinkled forehead under the crown. ¡°You can talk Nattas,¡± he rustled. ¡°Magister Gordian conspired to create unrest during the wedding my Lord,¡± Storm started immediately, Miranda¡¯s eyes narrowing at his words. ¡°He also tried to sweep the city from those he deemed ¡®unbelievers¡¯, Naossis followers included. The Magister lost control of the situation, people revolted and attacked his priests, with local criminal gangs taking part in the looting that followed.¡± ¡°That was your theory from the other day,¡± Alistair commented. ¡°Not a theory anymore. Gordian used the Order of the Golden Spears to round up as many as he could, killing indiscriminately. Including officials, judges and civilians. I have his confession signed.¡± ¡°You found him?¡± The King asked now interested. ¡°He was injured in the explosion at the Dome. An explosion they caused.¡± ¡°Where is he now?¡± ¡°He¡¯s dead my Lord. Perished under questioning.¡± King Alistair snorted. ¡°How convenient Lord Nattas. I heard there was a warrant for your arrest with him as witness.¡± ¡°Far from convenient, my King,¡± Storm argued. ¡°As you¡¯ll read, it is a very complicated conspiracy. As for my ¡®warrant¡¯, I believe they wanted me killed as well.¡± ¡°For being a devout follower of Naossis?¡± Storm glanced at the Queen. ¡°That was the excuse and I¡¯m not devout on anything.¡± Alistair snorted, agreeing with that last part. ¡°Did he order Silvie murdered?¡± Miranda asked. ¡°He claimed the plan was to create unrest and give opportunity to the Church to conduct their pogrom. Kelholt¡¯s plan,¡± Storm added. ¡°The High Magister of Kaltha is involved?¡± Alistair asked in turn surprisingly calm. ¡°Gordian names him?¡± ¡°He does. As I said, the plan for the wedding wasn¡¯t an assault on the kids, but for a small crowd to cause enough trouble to get a decision out of you my Lord.¡± ¡°Yet, an assault did happen, Nattas. A heavy bolt killed my daughter. You were there,¡± King Alistair breathed once deep and stared at him accusingly. ¡°I want Kelholt arrested,¡± Miranda hissed, her hands clenched into fists. She was shivering, Nattas noticed. ¡°Brought before me, so I can kill him myself!¡± ¡°Dear,¡± Alistair said tiredly. ¡°Let me get to the bottom of this.¡± ¡°What more do you need to learn?¡± Miranda snapped at him. Alistair blinked taken aback and glared at Nattas. Solve this, his eyes ordered him. ¡°Gordian insisted the assassination attempt wasn¡¯t part of their plan. I believe him,¡± Storm said simply and Miranda shook her head in disbelief. ¡°He¡¯s lying!¡± ¡°He¡¯s also dead,¡± Nattas told her. ¡°Whatever the priest knew, I got out of him.¡± ¡°Could Kelholt had acted unbeknownst to Gordian?¡± Alistair queried. ¡°He could, but I doubt it,¡± Storm replied and watched Sirio slowly getting up and standing on his feet, pale-faced and wide-eyed. Just don¡¯t speak, Nattas¡¯s eyes urged him. ¡°Kelholt would never have harmed the Heir. He¡¯s very close to the family.¡± ¡°A religious man,¡± Alistair added agreeing. ¡°Seems hardly likely.¡± ¡°He¡¯s a monster,¡± Miranda hissed. ¡°What¡¯s religion got to do with it?¡± ¡°I think another party was involved,¡± Nattas said quickly to avoid an argument breaking out. ¡°I¡¯d like to ask for privacy my Lord,¡± he added and Alistair frowned. He signed with his hand for the scribes to leave the throne room, escorted by a couple of his guards. ¡°Who else, Lord Nattas?¡± The King asked and there was anger in his voice now. Whether directed at him, or Miranda that had started sobbing, Storm didn¡¯t know. He couldn¡¯t let his emotions get in the way now. Nattas kept his own voice even. ¡°Lord Anker Est Ravn. Gordian named him as the third conspirator,¡± he told the King. Alistair smacked his lips and nodded for Sir Rottas Barnard to approach. The Knight did, walking briskly, red plate armor gleaming and clanging. ¡°Hand him the confession, Lord Nattas,¡± Alistair ordered. Storm offered the square-faced Knight the scroll and he snatched it away, then walking energetically gave it to the King. Alistair proceeded to read it for a long minute. ¡°You think the Est Ravns¡¯ ordered the assassination?¡± The King asked after poring over it. His face dark. ¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± Nattas replied. ¡°Their involvement is troublesome though.¡± ¡°They command the Second Foot. Some of the best troops in Kaltha,¡± Alistair noted. ¡°Much coveted by the forces dying in Raoz. Not to mention their influence on the Vanzons¡¯ and the North.¡± ¡°That is true.¡± ¡°If not them, then who?¡± ¡°The Khan seems the more likely suspect,¡± Nattas said. ¡°Yet, there¡¯s no evidence he was involved as well.¡± ¡°Are you still looking?¡± Alistair queried. ¡°Aye, actively. The assault was planned and paid for, by a third party. Assassins of the Guild were used. They took advantage of Kelholt¡¯s plan, used that opening to attack the children.¡± This last part, Storm wasn¡¯t certain about. Were the children the real target? A Scorpion is hardly an accurate weapon. ¡°Kelholt would never have approved something that placed him in the line of fire,¡± Alistair agreed and stared at Miranda silently sobbing in her chair. ¡°Would the High King accept your evidence Nattas?¡± The question wasn¡¯t for his ears. ¡°I don¡¯t believe he will,¡± Storm played along. ¡°Even if he did, I don¡¯t see him publicly denouncing the Lord of Midlanor.¡± ¡°He might have had his son killed!¡± Alistair snapped, some of his anger spilling out. Nattas stilled his feet. ¡°It¡¯s not a matter of feelings, my King. The Throne takes priority. Moreover, the timing is horrible for him.¡± ¡°Antoon is much braver talking about Lucius though. Then again he can¡¯t have the Crulls¡¯ turn on him as well,¡± Alistair rustled, clenching his jaw and stood up. ¡°I need to think on this Nattas. Unfortunately, I have Lord Ruud coming for dinner. I offered him a tour of the city which he declined ¨Crudely I might add, since apparently that old crow doesn¡¯t much appreciate pointless tours.¡± Nattas blinked. ¡°He said that?¡± ¡°Wrote it in a letter,¡± Alistair replied shaking his head. ¡°My late father, Uher rests his soul, thought him a vulgar thug and he was the most tolerant man I¡¯ve known.¡± Storm sighed. ¡°What does Scaldingport want, my Lord?¡± Alistair shrugged his shoulders, the query echoing inside the walls of the old palace. ¡°I haven¡¯t the faintest,¡± the king replied finally. ¡°Given the current situation, I¡¯m inclined to listen.¡±
Sirio almost collapsed the moment they got out of the palace. Storm had to steady him for a couple of meters and pause for a break in the middle of the square. ¡°I¡¯m okay,¡± Sirio blurted out. ¡°The worst is over.¡± ¡°Good,¡± Nattas replied, eyeing the soldiers patrolling the square still undergoing repairs. Except for the buildings next to the Dome and the Dome itself. There more time is needed. And funds. ¡°I caution you, we¡¯re not out of the woods yet. This was just the beginning. Now walk, afore people start wondering what we¡¯re talking about.¡± They strode down the road leading to his house right after that warning. Sirio had managed to recover somewhat and they reached it without further delays.
Maja didn¡¯t think the young man was cut out for the job. She also offered a remedy of sorts to prop him up, after they had retired to his bedroom an hour later. ¡°He needs a good fuck to get the cobwebs out of his system first,¡± the assassin elucidated between pauses, while pleasuring an uninterested Storm¡¯s cock. ¡°And you seem completely turned off. I¡¯m not satisfied emotionally Lord Nattas for the work I put in.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a killer,¡± Storm commented wryly. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure you have no sensitivities.¡± ¡°Aww,¡± Maja purred and slapped him where it hurt the most. Storm muffled a cry of pain and watched her jump down his bed lithely. She touched her amulet and turned into an old woman again. Damn, Storm thought, seeing the sagging skin and many long wrinkles. Maja seeing his reaction chuckled, the sound a bit grotesque coming from her older mouth. ¡°If you¡¯d shown any interest in this form, I would¡¯ve been surprised. Now, I¡¯m just certain dear Storm,¡± the assassin said with a smirk, noticing his reaction. ¡°There¡¯s another woman between us.¡± ¡°I have a lot on my mind,¡± Storm admitted, leaving it vague. ¡°Uhm, well¡­ On that note, I¡¯ll need to find a boyfriend father,¡± she announced and Nattas shook his head. ¡°You can forget about it. I can¡¯t have anyone getting in my inner circle right now. I have no recourses to train and vet new people.¡± ¡°How about Parkor?¡±The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. She was being serious. ¡°My nephew? Good grief woman, we are not living in Imperial times! How am I to justify it?¡± Not to mention, what common folk may forgive in nobility, is frowned up for the rest of us. ¡°I¡¯m getting up there in years,¡± Maja warned him sounding troubled. The fact Nattas was having this conversation with her, was bordering the surreal. Storm sighed and stared at his shriveled and hurting cock. ¡°There¡¯s some juice still left in you,¡± he said after a contemplating moment. ¡°Give it a year.¡± ¡°What?¡± She gasped. ¡°What am I to do in the meantime?¡± Ah, kill stuff? ¡°Whatever you do, make sure people don¡¯t find out,¡± Storm replied and placed both his feet down. He needed to sleep, but the King wanted him present for Lord Ruud¡¯s visit and dinner apparently. So sleep went out of the window. Fucking as well, he thought sourly. ¡°If they do and they bother me, I may have to punish you dear. Publicly and for long.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll hurt your only daughter?¡± Maja taunted, putting a dress on. ¡°You¡¯re not my daughter,¡± Storm warned her. ¡°If you were and had come to me with such an insolent query, I would have beaten that smile off your fucking mouth.¡±
Huh, this is going to be a riot, Storm thought, already sweating in his tight velvet doublet. Or a bloodbath. The red color on it, matching the King¡¯s, with Miranda looking lovely in her mourning black-silk gown. Since looking at the Queen¡¯s swelling breasts, spilling out of the low cut opening of her summer dress, wasn¡¯t going to be well-received, Lord Nattas turned his eyes on the Herald,. The man freshly relocated from Cartagen. The official in question, hair brushed and oiled away from his austere face, cleared his throat once, glanced at the open doors to the throne room behind him and then read from his scroll. ¡°Hear, hear. The Lord of Scaldingport, the venerable Ruud De Weer,¡± the Herald checked his scroll one more time, saw nothing more there and proceeded to the next line. ¡°Sir Rik De Weer, Commander of Forestfort and Lady Janneke De Weer.¡± ¡°Blasted hells,¡± the ancient Lord said strolling into the hall, flanked by a one-eyed burly knight and a tall, but graceful Issir girl. ¡°This has been even longer than I¡¯d feared it¡¯ll be! I almost dropped dead looking at a mouldy wall!¡± He glared at the Herald, narrow face rucked and white hair thinning at the top of his head. ¡°And what was that venerable crap? You could¡¯ve used admired son, or august, for crying out loud. I know I¡¯m old, ye don¡¯t have to rub it in!¡± ¡°Lord Ruud,¡± King Alistair said dryly from the top of the long table brought in for the occasion. ¡°It¡¯s a rather hot day, perhaps we can first have a cup to quench your thirst and welcome you proper?¡± The Queen was sitting on his left side with Storm sitting across from her, on the King¡¯s right. More a matter of keeping the meeting away from public eyes and not Storm being elevated to the position. ¡°Ah, but of course,¡± Lord Ruud replied, his voice grating to Storm¡¯s ear. The man was well over seventy, thin as a rail, but energetic in his manners and spirit. Notoriously difficult to get along with. He walked briskly to his side at the opposing end of the long table and sat down. ¡°Let¡¯s have that drink King Alistair, as is the custom. This way,¡± he looked at Storm with a nasty leer, his cunning eyes gauging him up. ¡°If one your bug-eyed guards stabs me in the back, I can protest to the Gods and die exonerated afore Kings and mortals! Right? Haha!¡± King Alistair grimaced and raised his gold goblet. Storm clenched his buttocks in fear he¡¯d hurl it across the room and on Lord Ruud¡¯s face. Fortunately the King didn¡¯t. ¡°To your health, Lord Ruud. Seeing you again while alas unexpected, is a¡­ pleasant surprise.¡± As pleasant as getting shivved in the kidneys with a screwdriver, Storm thought, wisely keeping his thoughts off his face. Lord Ruud, well-oiled chainmail worn over his own black velvet doublet, raised his goblet after he sniffed at it a couple of times checking for poison. ¡°King Alistair, last I¡¯ve seen ye, there was still some baby-fat over those creases and plenty of hair on yer head. Alas my friend you¡¯ve aged as have I, but while it seems years have been unkind to you more than myself, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve plenty left in the cistern. So here it is then, to your health!¡± Alistair frowned, but managed to compose himself. He had a sip from his wine and put the goblet down, while the Knight and the young woman took their spots next to the Lord of Scaldingport. The Old Crow watching them, with an incredulous look on his dilapidated face. ¡°That¡¯s my¡­ second son,¡± Lord Ruud jeered after he paused to remember the order, the age comment earlier perhaps justifying it. Storm had heard a lot of stories about the Old Crow. None of them were good. ¡°Give him time to find the bloody chair your Grace,¡± Ruud sighed as if he was deeply troubled. What the fuck? Storm thought, while the chastised Knight managed at last to sit down, the table rattling. ¡°He¡¯s got the one eye as you can¡­ see. He¡¯s not blind at least and it doesn¡¯t show too much, though it depends on the side yer looking at him, haha! Hehe.¡± Lord Ruud cackled by himself. Sir Rik grimaced, skin scarred where that Cofol Prince had ruined his eye and nodded to the King of Regia. If he is flushed, his dark Issir skin hides it well, Storm thought. ¡°Sir Rik,¡± Alistair said, clearly already annoyed by his obnoxious father. ¡°I heard you presented yourself nobly in last year¡¯s tourney.¡± ¡°Gratitude, your Grace,¡± Sir Rik rustled. His leather patch making him look more like a pirate, than a knight. Although his dark-grey plate, the figure of a crow engraved on his chest, left no question of his status. Storm, who¡¯d seen him compete, respected his prowess. ¡°I had him beat with tourney rules, same as Sir Ralph, but I was cheated out of it. My condolences for yer loss.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Alistair replied gravely and reached for his goblet. ¡°I haven¡¯t forgotten about the Prince, despite the losses of these past months.¡± ¡°Bah, cheated,¡± Lord Ruud countered with a scoff, his bony fingers rapping at the table. ¡°Who cares that he did? That cunt won, the way I see it. Gotten the Princess from Antoon and we¡¯re left discussing it over drinks, sweaty cocks in hand,¡± he paused, turned his eyes on a blank faced Miranda and grinned showing surprisingly most of his teeth. ¡°Apologies for the coarse language, your Grace. Yer much lovelier in person than in any mention from bards I¡¯ve listened to and much younger looking.¡± ¡°I appreciate the compliment, Lord Ruud,¡± Miranda said, without looking at him. She probably didn¡¯t, Storm thought and while the words were there, it had come out dirty from Ruud¡¯s lips. ¡°I can handle a strong word.¡± ¡°Hmm, I know my tongue is vulgar,¡± Lord Ruud admitted, not showing any regret. ¡°Also true of course is that an Alden lass is made of sterner stuff. Now, I don¡¯t give a darn about the former, since I¡¯m old as fuck, but I can appreciate in turn a strong woman with some meat on her bones. Aye,¡± he raised his goblet to a teeth-grinding and scowling King Alistair. ¡°Yer young fit cousin was a good choice my friend, despite what looser-tongues might have said.¡± Storm prayed Alistair wouldn¡¯t kill him before food was served. He was famished, on top of dog tired.
Storm cut a piece of tenderloin with a knife and brought it to his mouth, Lord Ruud¡¯s loud sounds of slurping at a large bone dominating the table. Nattas chewed on it savoring the taste, the roast and meat excellent, then washed his mouth with some more of the king¡¯s wine. He turned his eyes next on the young ¨Crather conservatively dressed for the weather- Issir woman sitting at the other corner of the large table and nibbling at her boiled sweet-syrup covered potatoes. Tall and rather thin. She does have a pleasant face and almond eyes, though she¡¯s nowhere near Princess Elsanne¡¯s beauty, Storm mused. Lady Janneke avoided his stare, but Lord Ruud catching Storm¡¯s inquisitive glances smirked and dropped his well-peeled bone into his messy plate. ¡°I¡¯d venture a guess, though I¡¯m not a betting man unless I¡¯ve fixed the game myself,¡± Lord Ruud¡¯s grating voice started, while he wiped his greasy hands with a towel. ¡°That weasel-looking fox-eyed lad, is ill-reputed Lord Nattas. Now excuse my fucking tongue, but I just couldn¡¯t come up with another description, King Alistair. Lord Nattas, yer also appear rather scraped for a minister of state. I find that commendable, so there is that to fall back on son,¡± Storm grimaced, a tick appearing on his left eye, but Miranda bit her lip across from him to keep a chuckle in and her reaction calmed him down. This is a tactic by the Old Crow, he realized. He¡¯s trying to rattle everyone, so they make a mistake. Just don¡¯t bite. ¡°I assume you have a point to make, Lord Ruud,¡± King Alistair hissed. The King had barely eaten from his own plate. Sir Rik for comparison hadn¡¯t stopped yet and was on his third helping. ¡°Several, but I¡¯ll keep it at a bare minimum not to burden yer lovely cousin,¡± Lord Ruud replied. ¡°My wife, can bloody handle it,¡± Alistair snapped, clearly on the verge of losing his temper. Storm breathed slowly out and waited for the Lord of Scaldingport to speak. ¡°There¡¯s a war going on in Raoz,¡± Lord Ruud said, returning the King¡¯s glare with a leer. ¡°Another in the North that might turn ugly, but let us just focus our attention on the former for now,¡± he paused, smacked his lips and eyed his son digging in to his food reproachfully. ¡°This war is going to shite for Antoon. Rida is a ruin, another one¡­ mayhap to match Eplas¡¯ collection of famed rubble. I try to remember whether there¡¯s a city left standing on that coast, or not. Hehe. Hah,¡± seeing no one was finding the humor in his words, he frowned and scratched his nose. ¡°We are informed of the disaster in Raoz,¡± Alistair said to goad him on. ¡°Well, the old Duke is dead, along with his son. Joep Van Durren and his son got arse-fucked proper the word is. The First Foot licked hard, or destroyed, depending which missive one reads and what¡¯s left is somewhere in the plaguin¡¯ desert, eating sand with their teeth kicked in and drinking piss right out of the nozzle.¡± ¡°What will Antoon do to fix this?¡± Alistair asked him curtly. ¡°Who knows? What he should have done¡­ was not fight Cofols on Eplas, but that ship has sailed wit the fuckin¡¯ gold. The loot is gone. Hehe. Hah,¡± Lord Ruud cackled, then tasted his wine, the cunning smile on his face totally inappropriate. ¡°What about the force from Midlanor?¡± ¡°Ah¡­ them I haven¡¯t seen mentioned, King Alistair. Anker helps in this and that yada-yada, but where are the receipts? Do they even fucking exist, I wonder?¡± ¡°Then Raoz is lost,¡± the King hissed. ¡°It is difficult to fathom.¡± ¡°I suppose had we all given a helping hand to the High King, perhaps the Khan¡¯s horde could have been beaten back.¡± ¡°Regia is not part of this conflict, Lord Ruud,¡± Alistair replied. ¡°Last I heard, Scaldingport wasn¡¯t also. It came as a surprise.¡± Lord Ruud stared at the nervous Nattas. ¡°You should fire your Master of Silence. Or, and excuse me suggestion Lord Nattas, have the man executed. Just yank his entrails out of his arse. He¡¯s either incompetent, bought off, or busying himself on other matters. Now what these matters may be, is far from me to presume,¡± he snickered and Storm gulped, trying to figure out what the old Lord meant. Other than him suggesting the King should have Storm killed that is. ¡°We had our own problems. Lord Nattas is being kept busy, trying to sort through them,¡± Alistair defended him. Lord Ruud snorted, not convinced. ¡°Was it Kelholt¡¯s priests that burned your city? Because rumor is you have a bandit problem, on top of a missing heir. I pray the lad will be found.¡± ¡°Lucius is in the North,¡± Alistair grunted. ¡°It will serve you well dropping the matter Lord Ruud.¡± The old Lord raised his hand. ¡°It¡¯s not me that¡¯s bringing it up King Alistair, but it is the reason I¡¯m here today. One of the reasons. I may not even make it back, the journey didn¡¯t agree wit me and these fools might take over. Gods help us,¡± Storm gulped down nervously and shifted in his seat, while the King clenched his jaw and eyed the old Lord suspiciously. ¡°Go on,¡± he rustled and Lord Ruud continued. ¡°The Crulls are putting pressure on Antoon to denounce Lucius. Vanzon supports this and so are the Est Ravns,¡± Ah, Storm thought, there you are. You sneaky bastards. ¡°He wrote me twice this past month and there are whispers he writes to other Lords as well, both Issirs and Lorians. Both here and in Lesia. Sooner or later the need for a win will force Antoon¡¯s hand.¡± What was he implying? Storm wondered. ¡°King Davidson is almost a relative through marriage,¡± Alistair snapped, not staring at his seething wife. Ruud smirked not missing anything and twirled the wine in his goblet. ¡°Was, I believe is the more precise term and when it comes to relatives, King Alistair, I trust them as much as I can throw them. I have a brother in the High King¡¯s council, he¡¯s done fuck all for me lately.¡± ¡°Regia has an heir. The matter is exhausted, Lord Ruud,¡± Alistair said sternly and Ruud sighed. ¡°All is well then, mine is on Eplas. Sir Gust,¡± he said and Storm blinked not expecting it. How had Scaldingport pulled that off? ¡°He won a battle at Endless Dunes and cut off Eikenport from the Khan¡¯s armies. Glory onto him and so forth, unless he messes it up. My son believes he can cut through problems with a blade. Let¡¯s hope he finds no big rocks in the desert. Personally, I just wish he¡¯d find a wench to plow so he can clear his head.¡± Fuck. ¡°Will the High King reinforce him?¡± Alistair probed managing to focus on the important stuff. ¡°I assume that this is good news.¡± ¡°Scaldingport hasn¡¯t revealed our success yet.¡± Your success? ¡°Antoon will learn about it,¡± Alistair insisted. ¡°Why the delay?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t give a damn, is why,¡± Lord Ruud countered. ¡°We can hold it on our own and Antoon needs to grease my hand plenty and ask for my permission, if he wants those cunts from Midlanor to use Scaldingport. Since I don¡¯t feel like it and having so many troops of another Lord trudging in my fields makes me nervous, I shall decline. The High King can transport his armies through the Straits. Which of course he can¡¯t, seeing as the fleet is blockading Ri Yue-Tu and I¡¯ve no ships to spare. Would Castalor help? I don¡¯t believe they want to. My allies don¡¯t budge.¡± That¡¯s just fuckin¡¯ great. Nice mess Abrakas you piece of shite! ¡°Antoon may remember your refusal, when he recovers his armies,¡± Alistair warned him. ¡°I¡¯m two and seventy years old,¡± Lord Ruud replied and put his goblet down. That would make him barely nineteen in the distant 138 NC when he took the throne of Scaldingport. Storm knew there was talk Ruud had been much older ¨Che looked older and not his young father¡¯s son. ¡°By the time Antoon find his arsehole I may be dead, but you¡¯ll still be in trouble. This time though and at this fucking moment, Midlanor has the troops and the High King¡¯s ear, which makes my proposal King Alistair¡­¡± he sighed and stared at his son. The Knight had finished eating and was listening to their conversation a little bored, a worrying Storm noticed. ¡°A godsend, provided we work out the kinks and bumps out first.¡± You accursed old snake, Storm thought furious and glared at the unperturbed Sir Rik. Seeing nothing there, Lord Nattas frowned and then turned his eyes on the meek-faced Lady Janneke. Hmm. Abrakas cock rots in a cracked jar. ¡°What is it you propose, Lord De Weer?¡± King Alistair probed, hint of interest in his voice clear and Lord Ruud had told him.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 156. A quiet Crow & the young Tiger
Lord Storm Nattas A quiet Crow & the young Tiger
Miranda stared at Lord Ruud stunned, her mouth half-opened and pearly teeth showing. King Alistair already thinking ahead had a grey brow raised, the scowl on his face telling, but never an accurate factor to determine his innermost considerations. Sir Rik was smiling, the leer revealing of his desires in this particular moment and Storm, who¡¯d half-expected the proposal, was left staring blankly at his empty plate a little perturbed. Surely Lord Ruud, isn¡¯t expecting a dowry¡­ Unless he has a counter offer. ¡°My cousin¡­¡± The Queen started. ¡°Sandra¡­ is very young.¡± Pretty Sandra, was another Alden from Aegium. ¡°A mere couple of years younger than ye were, your Grace,¡± Lord Ruud countered with a knowing smirk that made everyone uncomfortable. ¡°And I¡¯m using the ¡®official¡¯ number here. Seeing ye up close, I would¡¯ve shaved a couple of years more¡ª¡± ¡°Lord Ruud!¡± Alistair barked, heavy fist rattling the table. ¡°It would behoove ye, to abstain talking about my wife in my presence!¡± The old Lord nodded. ¡°Of course King Alistair. Although us Crows were pirates once. Being uncouth is in our blood, but I shall strive to control my tongue. I may not be successful.¡± ¡°Sandra has land outside Aegium and a minor claim on the city. You¡¯ll want the barony¡­¡± Miranda murmured, but Alistair stopped her raising his hand. ¡°I can¡¯t give land to Kaltha, Lord Ruud. You¡¯re serving another King.¡± ¡°It¡¯s an alliance,¡± Lord Ruud argued. ¡°You were going to lose a castle for little Silvie. The title is in your cousin¡¯s domain.¡± ¡°I was getting a claim on the whole Kingdom, however weak,¡± Alistair countered, not amused. ¡°But I will think about it, consult with Lord Doris¡­¡± He stopped seeing Lord Ruud shaking his head. ¡°You have something else in mind?¡± No, Storm thought, take the deal. Take it as is. It is what he wanted from the fucking start! ¡°Daughter stand up please,¡± Lord Ruud said and the quiet Lady Janneke obeyed. She hadn¡¯t uttered a single word that whole time. That high neckline must be suffocating. Borderline strangling her perhaps, Storm thought admiring the tall, but graceful Issir woman. ¡°She¡¯s of age, King Alistair. A maiden and I bet my life on it. I may not have much left, but for me even a couple of years matter. Ah, you can have her checked of course,¡± Alistair frowned. ¡°Also of exceptional character, soft spoken, well-read though you wouldn¡¯t know it, seeing as she rarely speaks her mind. So quite different from myself. Had I not worked on her mother with enthusiasm, I would have suspected she ain¡¯t mine, hehe. Hah!¡± Storm blinked and Lady Janneke blushed so hard, even her skin tone couldn¡¯t hide it. Good grief. ¡°You¡¯re offering a bride, Lord Ruud?¡± Alistair rustled, trying to keep it civil. Lord Ruud stood back on his chair. ¡°Well, I ain¡¯t giving her out to work the fields, or in the local brothels! Hehe,¡± he rolled his eyes seeing no one was willing to crack a smile and added. ¡°Aye, a quiet Crow presented to yer young Tiger. It¡¯s my counter offer, your Grace.¡± King Alistair placed a hand on his chin and stared at the old Lord thoughtfully. ¡°The children shall be Aldens¡¯,¡± Alistair finally said. ¡°I sure hope they are!¡± Ruud guffawed looking about him and Storm almost smiled, but managed to contain himself. ¡°Young Jeremy will also have Timberville and the profitable South Greenforest to play with. I hear he¡¯s quite the hunter, though that could be a tall tale. I find myself easily bamboozled in my later years.¡± Storm thought the latter an outright lie. The King glanced towards Sir Rik, his demeanor changed. ¡°Forestfort controls that part,¡± he noted, narrowing his eyes in the attempt to picture the area in his mind. Storm could see the ground offered as dowry on the opposite wall, the map hanging there quite detailed. ¡°Sir Rik will relinquish the lands to his sister,¡± Lord Ruud explained. ¡°It¡¯s not like they are his lands per se. Not until I¡¯m fully dead, they aren¡¯t. Either way, while half-blind, he can still take instructions.¡± Sir Rik didn¡¯t even blink, probably desensitized to his father¡¯s words after years of abuse. ¡°Antoon will foam at the mouth, upon finding out. It will move the borders, Lord Ruud,¡± The King noted. ¡°I reckon he will, but it¡¯s my fucking land and we¡¯re neighbors for centuries. If I¡¯m not feeling threatened, he shouldn¡¯t.¡± ¡°The De Weers always supported the High King,¡± Storm said and Lord Ruud cast him a sour glance. ¡°Antoon has forgotten that fact son. Scaldingport has a foot on Eplas. If I keep it, then I can open a trade route and leave the High King to fight for Raoz, while I prosper. He can keep the Shallow Sea for all I care. Everyone will flock to do their business away from the fight and the war.¡± ¡°The fight will end,¡± King Alistair said. ¡°This war has just started, King Alistair,¡± Lord Ruud replied. ¡°I fear that by the time it ends, we¡¯ll both be buried and this Realm might be different.¡± Storm reached for his goblet, found no wine in it and grimaced. The moment dragged, the King pondering quiet next to his frowning Queen. ¡°Why not consider Lucius?¡± Alistair said finally. ¡°He would¡¯ve been my choice, if I considered the girl of any value and it would bind the hands of Regia¡¯s next King as well.¡± ¡°Oh, she¡¯s capable, your Grace. Janneke will give you many children, just like her mother. She may not have the tits on her now, but they¡¯ll fill out, worry not.¡± Poor Lady Janneke was still standing with her hands clasped before her stomach. ¡°So, why not Lucius?¡± Alistair asked again, not falling for the old Lord¡¯s tactics. ¡°I want the marriage done as soon as possible. Within a week, or two,¡± Lord Ruud replied. ¡°So I can return to Scaldingport. Will Sir Lucius be here?¡± ¡°We can¡¯t have a wedding so soon!¡± Alistair blasted him. ¡°My wife is still in mourning, as am I, Lord Ruud.¡± ¡°Bah, I don¡¯t expect a big celebration, King Alistair,¡± Ruud dismissed his protests. ¡°This is a political affair, better performed within these very walls. All we need is a priest of Uher,¡± seeing the looks on their faces he frowned and added with a shrug. ¡°Or any priest.¡± ¡°You wish the ceremony done inside the palace?¡± Alistair asked him incredulous. ¡°Why rush it so much Lord Ruud?¡± ¡°The first is out of caution, well-deserved given what happened,¡± Ruud replied and smiled catching everyone unawares. ¡°The other query I¡¯ve already answered, your Grace. We need to move, afore Antoon makes his decision.¡± Alistair sat back on his chair and pressed his lips tight. He glanced one more time at the silent and still standing Lady Janneke and then replied with a snort. ¡°I¡¯ll have an answer for you by morrow.¡± Marking the end of their colorful dinner. ¡°We shall retire to our quarters, King Alistair. Queen Miranda,¡± Lord Ruud said getting up. ¡°Sir Rottas Barnard, will escort you there,¡± Alistair replied and the large knight approached them, all heavy boots and clanging metal. ¡°Good grief, yer a large lad,¡± Lord Ruud commented eyeing him. ¡°Lead the way Sir Barnard and I¡¯ll walk right behind you. Why, I feel safe already,¡± he added and Storm would¡¯ve cracked a smile, if the King¡¯s face permitted it, but Alistair looked like he¡¯d just tasted something rancorous. So Regia¡¯s Master of Silence remained stoic, while their visitors vacated the hall.
King walked slowly towards his throne and sat down. Storm followed after him and a troubled Miranda. The Queen didn¡¯t take her seat, her arms tied under her bust and shivering as if she was cold. ¡°It is not a bad match dear,¡± Alistair pointed out. ¡°Lord Ruud is being extremely generous.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have to talk with him,¡± she replied. ¡°For what?¡± Alistair grunted. ¡°I haven¡¯t decided yet and even if I had, Jeremy will do as he¡¯s told. Not much skill is required.¡± Miranda gulped down. ¡°Of course. I should still talk with your son, my King.¡± ¡°There will be no talk,¡± Alistair decided. ¡°You should retire dear, while I talk some more with Lord Nattas,¡± he ordered her. The Queen nodded with her head. ¡°I shall leave you to it, husband,¡± she glanced his way. ¡°Lord Nattas, it was nice seeing you again.¡± ¡°Your Grace,¡± Storm replied. It came out almost a croak. ¡°Likewise.¡± ¡°Well then,¡± Alistair said, when she walked out of a side exit. ¡°One day, I would ask for your secret Nattas. You have a way of charming my wives.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure it¡¯s a skill, my King,¡± Storm replied, his mouth drying up. ¡°But more my inability to order women around.¡± ¡°Hmm, you do have a daughter. So see to fix that, Nattas. Women need a firm hand, else they¡¯ll lead a man to fallacy and ruin. Trust me, it¡¯s not easy to get your way, but you can¡¯t allow them free reign. Exceptions exist, but it¡¯s a rare occurrence.¡± Storm nodded agreeing, although he didn¡¯t. You just don¡¯t disagree with a King on these matters. No good could come out of it. ¡°South Greenforest is a huge plot of land,¡± he said instead, steering the conversation onto safer ground. ¡°Rich and fertile.¡± Lots of wood in it. Obviously. ¡°It might solve us our timber problems, to a point,¡± Alistair agreed and with a sigh got up from his throne again. He walked towards the map Storm had looked at earlier and stood before it deep in thought. ¡°You think, I should have given him Lady Sandra?¡± The King asked him a moment later. ¡°Politically it would have been sensitive for Lord Doris. Sir Rik seems like a decent lord to have around though.¡± ¡°Unless Sir Gust doesn¡¯t return from Eplas,¡± Alistair said. Ah. There¡¯s a door, you better not open King Alistair. Gods have a terrible sense of humor. ¡°Jeremy gives more control to you,¡± he pointed the obvious. ¡°It does,¡± Alistair agreed. ¡°It also gives Antoon another excuse to act against me.¡± ¡°Lord Ruud is looking for strength in numbers. Antoon will not be pleased with him as well,¡± Storm commented. ¡°He needs him though. Antoon needs that foothold, even if only to distract the Khan.¡± ¡°The High King needs Midlanor more. He has Riverdor and Badium through the Van Durren. I think it¡¯s a matter of trust also. Who would trust that old goat?¡± ¡°Hmm. Scaldingport is a big port, big city. Castalor follows their lead and they have Colle answering to them by controlling the Boar Mountains. You don¡¯t want Lord Ruud as an enemy,¡± the King pointed out.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡°He¡¯s giving up too much,¡± Storm argued. ¡°He¡¯s looking for a strong ally. Regia is that in his eyes,¡± Alistair countered. ¡°Can he take Eikenport?¡± ¡°He doesn¡¯t need to, if he truly has found a port on the coast. Especially if it¡¯s on the Merchant Path.¡± ¡°Where?¡± Storm asked, looking at the map. ¡°That¡¯s a wall of limestone, up and down the lower part of Eplas.¡± ¡°Walls have cracks,¡± the King replied. ¡°And maps never show you every nook and cranny.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll accept the proposal,¡± Storm said. ¡°I haven¡¯t decided,¡± Alistair replied. ¡°If I do, my gut tells me I may have to fight soon. Everything leads that way. I¡¯ll have to react to this Lucius controversy,¡± he breathed once deep. ¡°I can¡¯t have anyone smear his name, or question his right to the throne.¡± ¡°You think Lord Ruud will help, your Grace?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want him to help,¡± King Alistair replied, his eyes on the map of the Lorian coast. ¡°I want him to stay out of my way and leave the road to the Mudriver Bridge open.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll be forcing Antoon¡¯s hand,¡± Storm argued, not likening all this war talk. ¡°He¡¯s forcing mine, Nattas. I intend to break his,¡± Alistair replied. ¡°If Scaldingport stays put and I take the bridge over Mudriver, I would cut the High King off Riverdor. Threaten Issir¡¯s Eagle.¡± ¡°You want him to fight.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the easiest way to solve a problem,¡± Alistair replied. ¡°But let¡¯s not rush into this. Antoon might decide not to react at all.¡± ¡°Can he?¡± Storm asked and the King of Regia turned to stare at him. ¡°He¡¯s already fighting a war. Swallowing his pride wouldn¡¯t be a surprise. He had to give up his sister and look what that brought on him. Elsanne takes the throne, if he kicks the bucket.¡± ¡°The High Queen is pregnant,¡± Storm said, but he knew that was a weak argument. A child in the belly, is not an heir. You don¡¯t even have to get rid of him, he thought. You just kill his mother. ¡°Will you call on Cartagen and Novesium for troops?¡± ¡°What for? I have the Legion right here,¡± the King argued. ¡°Lesia might not want to anger Antoon. Will they agree?¡± ¡°Regia commands the Legion.¡± ¡°A third of it is King Davidson¡¯s men. He could order them to stand down,¡± Storm insisted. ¡°Two thirds of the Legion can stop the Second Foot,¡± Alistair countered. Hmm. ¡°Antoon has the Royal Guard in Issir¡¯s Eagle. He could strip the city, send everything down the lakes, if the crossing is threatened. Call reinforcements from Caspo O¡¯ Bor.¡± ¡°It takes a long time to mobilize so many men and he still has a war on Eplas to fight. He might take the easy way out,¡± King Alistair said.
There were some grey hairs on his head. Just a couple, sprouting here and there, but Storm noticed them and frowned. While not in the spring of his youth, Nattas wasn¡¯t in his forties yet, he was still in his prime. Some days though, he felt worn out. What will you leave behind? He asked himself in the mirror of his bedroom. What shall remain of Lord Nattas, when you¡¯re gone? A man breaks his back, commits countless atrocities to elevate himself. Holds on to whatever power he wrestles away from the noble cunts wielding it, but he could lose it all in an instance. Was he at that point? A war would bring ruin. Also money and perhaps even more opportunities, but eventually ruin will follow. Nattas knew that. He was wealthy. Always taking care to keep the coin in his pocket and never overspend, if other alternatives were present. Storm had properties in Alden, in Novesium and in Cartagen. He¡¯d eyed a strip of land where the Emerald River had its sources, outside of Novesium and on the road to Cartagen. Beautiful sandy beach overlooking the Lorian Gulf. A touch of gold amidst a forest of palm trees. On a good day you could imagine, see it even in your mind¡¯s eye, the coast of Lesia and the grand port Cediorum beyond the waters. Storm had left his familial land an orphan, penniless and broken boy. Perhaps I should buy the land, get it on the cheap. The market isn¡¯t exactly booming right now. Build a place in the ¡®wilderness¡¯ to retire, if all this doesn¡¯t work out. Make the purchase, even if it does. Sighing he moved away from the mirror. He rubbed his sore knee with a hand and then walked to the door and walked out, deep in thought. Almost knocked Sirio down, the young Historian entangled with Maja, hands and feet moving awkwardly to separate themselves. Sirio¡¯s face flushed, the woman smirking, a couple of her buttons opened at the front of her dress, the soft flesh spilling out. That was more than a couple of buttons. For fuck¡¯s sake. ¡°Lord Nattas,¡± Sirio mumbled, seeming very embarrassed. ¡°Apologies, I must have lost my mind¡ª¡± ¡°Bah, what nonsense,¡± Maja cut him off, with a slap on the chest. ¡°I had to twist his arm, to get him to feel me up, father. He¡¯s innocent.¡± ¡°Ahm,¡± Storm paused, unsure how to handle this. ¡°Still,¡± he cleared his throat a couple of times and stared at his soft boots. It¡¯s not easy to pretend outrage. ¡°He should have known better dear.¡± ¡°Oh, shut up,¡± Maja snorted. ¡°I may have threaten him a little.¡± ¡°She didn¡¯t, it was my fault, Lord Nattas,¡± Sirio protested. You fool. She¡¯s playing you son. ¡°Daughter, please behave yourself,¡± he said with a sigh. ¡°I will father,¡± Maja droned with a grin. Why you¡­ ¡°Sirio, my lad¡­¡± Storm hissed. ¡°Let me have a word with her, if you please.¡± ¡°I shall accept any punishment, Lord Nattas,¡± Sirio argued, clearly on the verge of fainting. ¡°Miss Maja shouldn¡¯t be¡ª¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine honey,¡± Maja stopped him again. ¡°Allow me to speak to my father.¡± Sirio bowed deeply. His blush a permanent fixture. Storm watched him stumble away a little amused. ¡°I thought he preferred men,¡± he admitted and Maja chuckled, reaching for his cock. Storm slapped her hand away. ¡°Ouch. Well, he does still, I think,¡± Maja said with a pout. ¡°I just caught him massaging your tits!¡± Storm snapped, not enjoying being taken for a fool in his own house. ¡°He was, as an experiment,¡± Maja replied confidently. ¡°If something has a cock, I can get it up dear, unless they have someone else in mind,¡± she added glaring his way suspiciously. ¡°I¡¯m thinking of disinheriting you,¡± Storm warned her. The thought of leaving her as his sole heir devastating. ¡°In fact I¡¯m almost ready to tear up that fake papers. Push comes to shove, kill that crooked public servant. I¡¯m not even sure, if it¡¯s a crime. I mean the man is a darn criminal!¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s your funeral,¡± Maja retorted with a shrug and turning on her heels, walked away strutting her arse. What? Dammit! It was a powerful argument.
It¡¯d taken ten days for the nobles ¡®to iron out the kinks and bumps¡¯ per Lord Ruud¡¯s own words. When they finally did, two weeks later young Jeremy was one of several miserable looking guests at his own wedding. The whole affair glaringly small and haphazardly thrown together. Lady Janneke appeared as uncharmed by the whole ceremony, although she did look delectable in all white. Queen Miranda had to have one of her own dresses ¡®fixed¡¯ and ¡®repurposed¡¯, a much stressful ordeal for everyone involved, which was half the palace. Seeing as the weather was horribly hot, despite being a month after summer, she demanded a ¡®more Lorian¡¯ gown from the hapless Issir bride. Lady Janneke obliged her mother in law and had her white gown opened up in places, much to the small crowd¡¯s delight, as the girl -while small-breasted- was very attractive. Jeremy appeared to mellow up to her as well and the ¨Catrociously boring- ceremony proceeded at a snail¡¯s pace, despite Lord Ruud¡¯s very rude protests to wrap everything up before he expired. A priest of Tyeus presided, as Uher had none left breathing in the city and a late replacement from Aegium claimed he couldn¡¯t make it in time citing personal reasons. Or he was ordered to stay put, Storm thought and sighed, a hand wiping the sweat of his face, the other keeping an energetic Maja at bay. The assassin dressed in purple finery on his coin, was beaming quite pleased. King Alistair, ever a stickler for protocol, had insisted for Lord Nattas to introduce her ¡®given the exceptional opportunity¡¯. Storm would rather slice off his own cock, but the situation being what it was and everyone on their last nerves, he reluctantly ¨Cand tritely- yielded to the King¡¯s demand. Hence Maja got a new gown and was now flirting with a barely sober Sir Barnard ¨Camong other lewd things- the hale knight quite interested in her. Sirio sighed, standing on his other side and Storm watched him out of the corner of his eye. ¡°You¡¯re okay lad?¡± He asked. ¡°This is very touching,¡± Sirio whispered, very emotional. ¡°Unexpected, minimalistic and quite beautiful.¡± Lord Nattas blinked. There¡¯s a dude seeing things through rose-tinted glasses! ¡°It was done out of necessity. You were present for half of it,¡± he hissed and at that moment the priest finished up at last. Jeremy resplendent in Alden crimson, but looking unsure and still holding his wife¡¯s hands, went in for a kiss at Lord Ruud¡¯s vocal encouragement. ¡°There, this will shatter your illusions,¡± Storm snorted and pointed at the couple. Jeremy kissed Lady Janneke and she kissed him back. What had started as an awkward probe between two complete strangers quickly turned into a passionate exchange that stunned the small crowd. Wow. What in Abrakas toes? ¡°Rush them to their room for cryin¡¯ out loud!¡± Lord Ruud bellowed, recovering first. ¡°Lad is about to spill his seed standing!¡± ¡°The old Crow is right!¡± A drunk Mayor agreed. The man had just returned from his vacation at the King¡¯s insistence. Storm frowned a little surprised and equally pissed for being proven wrong. Sirio was wiping his teary eyes next to him, Miranda cooing relieved across the hall and Maja half-cackling half-gasping both happy and emotional. Storm would have thrown aroused into the mix as well. A right fucking mess. ¡°What gotten into you?¡± Storm probed and the assassin stared at him with misty eyes. ¡°I¡¯ve never been at a wedding outside of work.¡± Her way of saying, this was the first time she hadn¡¯t killed anyone at a wedding. Eh, Storm thought, just as the two newlyweds were ushered away to their quarters to seal the deal. I guess one could take this as a small improvement. A sign of things going the right direction.
No sooner than Lord Nattas had made that thought, a loud cry interrupted the relaxed nuptial table. ¡°Make way for the King¡¯s Herald!¡± Someone yelled from outside the palace¡¯s main hall double doors. Storm turned his head to see who it was, the man entering covered in dust and dirt from the road. ¡°Who are you?¡± King Alistair rustled none pleased. ¡°Couldn¡¯t it wait lad? I¡¯m marrying my son!¡± The Issir official blinked, the black robes worn underneath his coat marking him as a priest of Oras. ¡°I was ordered to make the journey, King Alistair,¡± the man replied. ¡°That¡¯s Primus Molders,¡± Lord Ruud interrupted him. ¡°Lord Sigurd¡¯s lackey.¡± Molders blinked taken aback at the insult, but King Alistair sobering up, pushed back on his armchair. ¡°Continue then,¡± the King of Regia pressed their unannounced visitor. ¡°King Alistair, I rushed here as fast as I could to warn you, before the missive arrives¡ª¡± ¡°What missive? Does anyone know anything about this?¡± Alistair interrupted him and sprang up from his chair. Seeing as no one wanted to address the matter, he eyed a red-faced Sir Barnard. ¡°Check on the birds. Posthaste Sir Rottas!¡± He ordered him and the Knight trotted out of the hall, pushing past inebriated guests and officials. ¡°The High King¡¯s summon,¡± Molders replied, taking the initiative. ¡°Antoon asked the Lords of the Kingdom to journey to Riverdor. I believe he intends to address the current situation. The Kings and Heirs of Regia and Lesia, are also called upon to appear.¡± Storm grimaced, a tremor in his left hand visible. Antoon had made his move. ¡°He invokes the treaties?¡± Alistair growled, grinding his teeth. It was the only way Antoon could summon him anywhere. ¡°Is he serious? There are no damn treaties anymore! He bloody knows that! The Khan broke them when he took Rida, but Antoon had done it even before that, when he allowed a Zilan to step inside the Duke¡¯s palace!¡± Deathly silence followed the King¡¯s words. Lord Ruud, cunning smirk on his face, stooped forward from his table. The chainmail he wore clinging on the silverware. The old Lord was the only one wearing armor that day, but for the King¡¯s guards. ¡°Molders is a friend of sorts,¡± he rustled. ¡°Perhaps we should allow him to tell us, what his master wants us to learn.¡± Sigurd was his meaning, Storm translated. Molders was sent by Kaltha¡¯s Master of Silence. Apparently the man had a deal, or something with Lord Ruud. ¡°By all means,¡± King Alistair said, glaring at the nervous Molders. ¡°Explain away mister Molders.¡±
Not even six months after the ¡®Slayed Virgins¡¯ wedding, Regia hosted another one. King Alistair¡¯s third son Jeremy Alden, Second of his name, had wed Lady Janneke De Weer, daughter of Lord Ruud of Scaldingport that hot autumn month. The ceremony performed in such hastiness, scarce records of it remain today, other than the few still breathing witnesses of the event. On the final week, of the first month of autumn, the year of the New Calendar 189, the two young scions were joined before their families. A sweet and meaningful event, often overlooked in the annals of history. The only words uttered from Lady Janneke all that time were a confident ''I do'', during the wedding ceremony. The quiet Crow and the young Tiger make for a tragic tale worth telling. No sooner than the wedding was over and consummated, a missive arrived from Issir¡¯s Eagle. High King Antoon Eikenaar asked for a conference in Riverdor. The Conference of Lords, as it came to be known was to be held in two months¡¯ time, in the first month of winter in the city of Riverdor. Given the number of matters open and the political climate of the time, it came as no surprise, when almost all the Lords attending came prepared and well-escorted. Some even allowing so many guards to make the journey, one can only describe their cohorts as excessive. Two of them went all in and brought with them actual armies. The famed Second Foot, or parts of it and likewise the vaunted Lorian Legion. - Lord Sirio Veturius Circa 206 NC The Fall of Heroes Chapter XXIII -Prologue- Prelude to the Battle of the Turncoats (King Alistair Alden, Stalwart Tiger of Regia. -The Conference of Lords- Second month of winter 190 NC)
157. A tiger in wait, is never idle. (1/2)
Sir Lucius Alden A tiger in wait, is never idle. Part I -They¡¯ll still serve an Alden-
Lucius jumped over a sharp boulder spear in hand, landed on a muddy slope ¨Clots of snow mixed in- and lost his footing for a heartbeat. Found it a stride later, boots gliding on sludge and rotten black grass and stopped -breathing hard- to listen for sounds. The Direwolf had made it in the white-bark trees, it seems, he thought with a grimace, long beard dancing under his face. Lucius heard a clatter, some small branch snapping straight ahead and rushed inside the frozen forest. The summer in the North, what most people in Regia would call a heavy winter without hesitation. The heir to Regia ducked under a low-hanging limb, missed a cracked tree trunk for a hair and then slowed down realizing he¡¯d no idea where he was heading. Was the beast leading him into a trap in its turn? He wondered. He swung around hearing heavy footsteps approaching, but saw nothing and by the time Lucius turned his head again a giant mass of white fur came out the tight row of trees, branches snapping, or outright exploding and came after him. Eternal damnation! Lucius twisted his body around, spear slashing at the air, but realizing he¡¯d break it on the huge bear¡¯s head, he pulled it back mid-move. The beast growled stopping a couple of meters from his spot and rose up on its hind legs towering almost a meter over him. This was the biggest bear Lucius had ever seen. Granted he¡¯d only seen two in his life and one of them was a cub, but still this thing was three meters tall at least. The bear growled again and Lucius took a step back to reassess the situation. The beast not keen on letting him work on a plan, followed after him walking on its hind legs with ease. Gods in heavens. ¡°HEY!¡± Lucius barked to gauge its reaction. ¡°Take a swipe, what do you say?¡± The bear gave him no reply, but it did test his defenses with a swing that would have taken half his face off, had he stood idle. Lucius didn¡¯t. He dodged right instead and under it, claws like daggers whistling over his head. Bloodied in the Direwolf¡¯s gore. It appeared Lucius had interrupted this beast¡¯s dinner. He landed on a knee, damn thing still not fully healed and groaned through clenched teeth. The bear snorted and dropped on all fours to charge at him, infuriated at the near miss. Now, Lucius thought, praying the old trick would work again and turned just as the huge animal reached him. The head on it the size of a wagon¡¯s wheel, mouth wide enough to swallow his head whole and probably an arm, shoulder still attached on it. The bear swallowed Lucius spear instead, the steel tip tearing through as far as its gullet. Lucius gasped feeling the weight of the beast in full, a claw digging on his left shoulder through plate, mail and gambeson, rattling him. Hot blood splattering his face. The bear gurgled spraying more of it, the massive weight all on his spear that moved slowly deeper into its head and Lucius shaking shoulders. Then its gnarly mouth closed in a final act of defiance, snapping the shaft in two and the huge predator fell on him. Lucius tried to hold it, but his knees buckled and he toppled backwards. He crashed on the ground, the dying bear on top of him and the beast¡¯s blood in his eyes. ¡°Damn¡­ you,¡± Lucius groaned, gulping at the beast¡¯s gore, his muscles burning and feeling slowly being crashed by the weight, unable to breathe. Someone yelled something he missed in his daze, ears ringing. Just as he was expecting to feel his own bones snapping under the weight, the bear moved again. Lucius muffled a groan, the shaft of his broken spear almost taking out his left eye and then the body of the animal was shoved aside. A huge Northman appearing in its place. Lucius blinked, mouth opening and closing to gulp down as much air as he could. He tried to speak, but his lungs were still not fully functioning and then that giant of a man stooped down and grabbed an arm to pull him upright. Almost ripped it right out of its socket. ¡°Gaah!¡± Lucius groaned and stumbled back, his knees weakened and rubbery. He coughed trying to clear his throat, the Northman looking at him bemused. Square head, over a square body. The shoulders massive and the arms the size of tree trunks. ¡°Ah, good grief,¡± Lucius managed to say and tossed the broken shaft away, immediately doubling over on his knees. ¡°I think it broke my back.¡± ¡°What did?¡± The giant asked him. A good head taller than him at least. Red beard over a mess of unruly red hair. Lucius frowned, still gasping and rattled from the encounter. He pointed incredulous at the massive body of the bear. ¡°That thing?¡± ¡°An ice bear,¡± the Northman said perturbed. ¡°Nice?¡± ¡°Ice,¡± the big man grinned. ¡°It¡¯s a small one this,¡± he chuckled at the end of it. ¡°But lots of good meat. We should share, agree?¡± Lucius coughed again, then cleared his throat, since the cough hadn¡¯t done the job proper and slowly stood up straighter, the cut on his shoulder hurting. ¡°I¡¯m Lucius Alden,¡± he managed to say. ¡°Reckon you saved my life. So¡­ you can keep the meat.¡± ¡°The bear was dead,¡± the Northman disagreed. ¡°I just pushed it aside. Not a good trade for you.¡± Lucius nodded. ¡°What¡¯s your name big guy?¡± ¡°Layton,¡± the Northman replied with a goofy smile. ¡°And I ain¡¯t big. Yer just small.¡±
¡°Lord Alden!¡± Galio thundered seeing him and rushed towards them, with Mamercus following his bow in hand. ¡°Stand back you!¡± He ordered seeing Layton with his huge bloody axe in hand. ¡°Who?¡± Layton asked and stared at him. ¡°It¡¯s fine captain,¡± Lucius said and glaring at Mamercus, sneakily lining up a shot at the Northman, he added. ¡°Put that thing away!¡± Mamercus lowered his bow. ¡°Milord, you¡¯re injured!¡± Galio said staring at his shoulder. ¡°The bear did it. This man helped me out of a bind.¡± ¡°Who are you?¡± Mamercus asked, eyeing the big Northman suspiciously. ¡°The fuck are you wearing?¡± ¡°Layton,¡± the Northman replied and looking at his haphazardly made of pelts garbs, he added. ¡°It¡¯s a coat.¡± ¡°No its not,¡± Mamercus countered. ¡°What did you use for it?¡± ¡°A den of wolves?¡± Layton replied unsure. ¡°Only the skin and fur. Ate the meat.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Lucius intervened to end the awkward conversation. ¡°I¡¯ll need a bath and medical attention gentlemen,¡± he paused with a grimace of pain. ¡°And my horse, I¡¯m not walking back to Mazza.¡± ¡°What about him?¡± Galio asked, aged face scrunching this way and that. Lucius stared at the huge Northman hacking at the carcass of the bear. ¡°Are you going to come with us Layton?¡± ¡°What about the bear?¡± He asked, a heavy severed bear limb on his shoulder. ¡°We have food aplenty in Mazza,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°Where¡¯s that?¡± ¡°You¡¯re not from around here?¡± Layton blinked unsure. Hmm. ¡°How about we get you a horse as well?¡± He offered. ¡°Can I eat it?¡± Lucius smacked his lips. ¡°Ride it, so you don¡¯t walk,¡± he elucidated. Layton guffawed, the prospect hilarious to him. ¡°Sure. Though, I don¡¯t mind walkin¡¯. Being walkin¡¯ for a season,¡± he paused perturbed, thinking about it. ¡°Or more.¡± ¡°Where from?¡± Lucius asked him curious and the big Northman pointed a meaty finger to the North. ¡°Over yonder,¡± he said, adding with a deep frown. ¡°Road wasn¡¯t good, aye. Turned to bitter water. Layton almost drowned.¡± Lucius looked at a troubled Galio and then at a dumfounded Mamercus. Seeing no one had any idea what the Northman was talking about, he decided to leave the matter for another day.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Kaeso was overseeing construction of the second part of the pontoon bridge, the first comprised of six boats already built. It was a simple design. Each boat was connected to the one next to it, leaving an almost two meters wide gap between them. Every six boats a deck was placed over them, connecting everything together and fastened with iron bolts. These six boats would then fastened to another six and so forth. Three parts in total. Another longer deck was to connect all three thirty meters long separate parts, after they placed them in the water. The simple, but sturdy shallow-draft boats that would allow them to do it, was the first thing Lucius had asked Sam O¡¯ Dargan to start building, before the winter ended. Faye, long red hair reaching her shoulders gathered at the nape with a leather fastener, saw them approach on their mounts and stood up. She raised a red brow noticing his bandaged shoulder and then her eyes stopped at the comical figure of Layton riding his hapless horse. The animal barely taking his weight. ¡°Why, what do ye know? Three grown men got their arses licked by a Direwolf?¡± Faye taunted, as Lucius climbed down from Stormbolt. She reached with a hand to check on the wound. ¡°Just another scar,¡± Lucius replied to ease her worry and glanced at his escort. Galio and Mamercus murmured a quick greeting to Faye and took the horses to their stable, leaving an awkwardly standing Layton behind. He still carried that bear¡¯s bloody massive leg on his shoulder. ¡°And it was an ice bear apparently.¡± ¡°I see,¡± Faye murmured. ¡°Most people don¡¯t live to tell the tale, Alden.¡± ¡°I did, barely,¡± Lucius admitted. ¡°Ye brought a friend?¡± ¡°That¡¯s Layton,¡± the giant raised a trunk-sized arm in greeting. ¡°He kind of saved my sorry behind out there.¡± ¡°Yer behind is agreeable to me, so he¡¯ll have my gratitude. First time in a burg big guy?¡± Faye asked, with a small smile Lucius much appreciated. ¡°Is this it?¡± Layton asked, always confused with simple queries. ¡°Last time I checked twas. What do you think?¡± Lucius frowned at her questions. ¡°Lots of houses. Stinks of crap and food. I prefer the woods.¡± ¡°Uhm. I reckon it does,¡± Faye replied smiling. ¡°How about we find ye some clothes?¡± ¡°I have a coat,¡± Layton replied and shifted the severed leg on his shoulder awkwardly. ¡°We can make ye something better. A pair of boots, a set of proper pants.¡± ¡°Sure. Where¡¯s the food?¡± The big man asked. ¡°Follow me and I¡¯ll show ye,¡± Faye replied and with a last look on Lucius face, she walked towards Layton. ¡°You¡¯ll head to Taylor Gunn¡¯s after?¡± Lucius asked her and she paused to cast him a teasing stare. ¡°I will. Did ye miss me Alden?¡± Lucius shook his head at her little ritual. ¡°I did, especially with that bear.¡± ¡°I did too, but there was no bear to keep me company,¡± Faye retorted to his tease and walked away. Lucius watched her for a moment, tightly-fitted and oiled chainmail rustling as she walked away, her two swords worn crossed on her back. He missed Kaeso sneaking up on him, the sound of hammers and saws playing one part in it, the other being all the Northern girl¡¯s fault. Ah, damn it. ¡°Milord,¡± Kaeso said. ¡°Jarl David arrived this morning. He came to check on our work.¡± ¡°The old guy?¡± ¡°Ayup, seemed less than pleased. Though that could be his usual demeanor.¡± ¡°Did he say anything?¡± Lucius probed with a sigh. He had avoided traveling to Ludr, half of it guilt for failing to deliver Zofia, the other just him getting preoccupied with planning a crossing over Ludriver and staying near Faye. She had sneaked up on him as well these past months. They tried to control it, keep everything professional, but for Lucius it was a losing battle. Perhaps it was just him being lonely after Roderick got killed at the Bridges and being almost a year away from Regia. He missed his family, Jeremy and little Silvie. Even his father¡¯s disapproving stare truth be told. Perhaps, and it¡¯s a way to excuse it, he thought, missing the ex-legionnaire¡¯s reply. But some of it is, you just like the woman. It was as Roderick would have told him, as simple as that. ¡°What was that?¡± Lucius asked the shifty looking man, returning to the present. ¡°The Jarl asked for a meeting, milord. He¡¯s at Sam¡¯s longhouse.¡± Lucius nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll see to it. After I check up on the smelters. When will the other two parts finish?¡± ¡°We have the boats ready. The decking is cut as we speak and it will be fitted by the end of the week. So to be safe, two weeks for the remaining parts.¡± ¡°How wide is the river there?¡± Lucius probed. ¡°Sixty, maybe seventy meters. Three parts will be enough, if the last is turned into a drawbridge.¡± ¡°Better have enough to spare, mister Kaeso,¡± Lucius told him. ¡°It will be easier to secure it. Did you get the recipe for the cement right?¡± ¡°For the most part,¡± Kaeso replied with a grin. Lucius glared at him. ¡°That¡¯s not a phrase I much like soldier.¡± ¡°I was mixin¡¯ the stuff back in army milord,¡± Kaeso argued, doubling down per usual. ¡°As punishment. I¡¯m not an engineer.¡± ¡°Will it do the job?¡± ¡°With enough heavy chain and some boulders, it will. Iron and rocks aplenty here.¡± ¡°How long before the river wash it down?¡± Lucius asked. ¡°If the wood rots normally, until next Spring. A month is the bare minimum. How long do you need it for?¡± Lucius grimaced, his shoulder bothering him. ¡°I don¡¯t know. But a month will have to suffice.¡±
Galio Veturius was watching Taylor Gunn, ¡®the best smith this side of the North¡¯ according to Sam O¡¯ Dargan, hammering at the red hot metal plate a couple of times and then tossing the tool to his assistant. Both men muscular specimens, with bulging arms and necks. ¡°How is it going?¡± Lucius asked the aged captain. ¡°Ah, its hard work Jarl Lucius,¡± Galio replied, shaven face lined with scars and wrinkles from chin to forehead. ¡°But it¡¯s coming along nicely.¡± ¡°How many armour sets are complete?¡± ¡°Twenty. Three more will be finished today.¡± Lucius had ordered the remaining mercenaries that had chosen to stay with him outfitted with new armor and weapons. The new sets based on the well-worn Legion armour Galio had on. ¡°You need to have a new helmet made,¡± he teased the old officer. ¡°Let¡¯s get the lads outfitted first milord,¡± Galio replied. He¡¯d taken a likening to the broken-spirited men and vowed to have them on their feet before the summer was over. Knowing him, Lucius didn¡¯t doubt he would. ¡°Any new recruits?¡± Galio glanced at him. ¡°Half a dozen.¡± ¡°How many in total? I want them all fitted like a unit.¡± ¡°Fifty, but I have more than a dozen willing, I don¡¯t think we should take.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Lucius asked. He needed more men trained in standard warfare. Northmen were good fighters, but didn¡¯t have the flexibility Lucius had been tutored on. His days in Cartagen¡¯s Academy so distant now, they were like a dream. ¡°Too young. Lads that Sam cut.¡± ¡°I want to see them myself,¡± Lucius decided and approached the hale smith. Tayler wiped his face with a dirty cloth, black beard laced with red, eyes a dark green. His mother was a Lorian maiden, the story Lucius had heard. ¡°Jarl Lucius,¡± Taylor rustled in his baritone voice. ¡°I wanted to show ye the finished product.¡± ¡°I can see it, master Gunn.¡± The sets of armor were placed in rows at the back of his workshop. The place one of the biggest buildings in Mazza Burg. ¡°Made some changes to yer man¡¯s design,¡± the smith explained walking him to the finished armor sets. Lucius examined one of them. Segmented armor, consisting of metal strips fashioned into circular bands, fastened in turn to internal leather straps. The common name for this type was ¡®Laminar Armour¡¯, but the Legionnaires called it affectionately ¡®the Lorica¡¯, the ancient Lorian name for cuirass. The same technique, but out of bigger at the top, then smaller metal strips, was used to create the massive shoulder-guards starting at the collar and reaching just above the elbow. The whole cumbersome-looking armour being surprising light and covering the front and back of a warrior adequately. Lucius quickly noticed that they all had an additional square piece of plate covering two of the front pieces right at the sternum. ¡°What¡¯s with the plate?¡± Lucius asked him. ¡°I have ruined many a pieces, until I got the length and thickness right. The outer is harder, almost of steel quality, the inside of the lames is softer.¡± Gunn explained. It had taken him almost a month to produce the first one as a matter of fact. ¡°Some of the plates I turned into an officer¡¯s type.¡± ¡°What kind?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll show you. The rest I thought of using as an extra layer for the warriors standing on the shieldwall.¡± Right. Lucius followed him at one of the benches. One of his assistants and Gunn had eight working for him, was polishing a metal armor. The shoulder pads curved out of solid plate and shaped into a tiger¡¯s head. Ears, eyes and snout clearly visible. Lucius nodded impressed, but Gunn stopped him and stooping got a set of long tongs out of the open forge. The piece of square metal at the end of it a bright and scorching yellow. He pressed the large branding iron like tool on the sternum plate of the armour and left it for several seconds, before retrieving it. Gunn returned it in the forge right away. There was a tiger¡¯s head engraved on that piece of plate now. This one was fully shown once the metal cooled some, the jaws wide open showing the prominent fangs in a menacing snarl. Lucius gasped and took a step back shaken. He¡¯d seen this design again in the past. ¡°Jarl Alden?¡± Gunn asked, sounding apprehensive, even shocked at his reaction. ¡°I thought you wanted yer war band having similar attires. I used yer family¡¯s coat of arms as inspiration.¡± Lucius licked his lips, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. The atmosphere inside the workshop suffocating. ¡°It¡¯s not that, master Gunn,¡± he told him and approached to have a better look at the design again. ¡°By the way, I¡¯m not creating a warband, but a military unit.¡± ¡°Of course Jarl Lucius,¡± the smith replied, the man¡¯s expression telling Lucius he thought it the same thing. ¡°Anyway¡­ ahm, I¡¯ve made a similar drawing in my youth. It was an attempt at forming my own coat of arms. It wasn¡¯t well received.¡± Lucius heard young Ralph in his head. His late brother was chuckling. ¡°Apologies,¡± Gunn replied tensely. ¡°I¡¯ll break the mold and scrap this¡ª¡± Lucius stopped him raising his hand. ¡°Don¡¯t. It¡¯s a fine armour master Taylor,¡± he turned to glance at a silently watching Veturius. ¡°Captain?¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t yer father¡¯s men, milord,¡± the aged ex-legionnaire replied. ¡°But yours. Lucius¡¯ soldiers should have their own tiger, I reckon.¡± Lucius nodded and turned to the waiting smith. ¡°All the armours will have it?¡± ¡°Aye, Jarl Lucius.¡± ¡°Good. Ah, find me some good red paint, master Gunn. I want all these soaked in it,¡± Lucius asked him. Seeing the smith standing unsure, the cost of creating the armor sets probably making Sam O¡¯ Dargan¡¯s man regret promising Lucius ¡®everything¡¯ he needed, the heir to Regia cracked a smile, a hand caressing the still warm surface of the armour. ¡°These might be Lucius¡¯ soldiers and armour, but they¡¯ll still serve under an Alden.¡± And Regia.
''Red'' Faye 158. A tiger in wait, is never idle. (2/2)
Sir Lucius Alden A tiger in wait, is never idle. Part II -When everyone else feared yet another defeat-
Lucius followed the aged Captain towards the area where the mercenaries were training. The Heir¡¯s men had taken over three longhouses, several cabins and a whole street in Mazza Burg at Sam O¡¯ Dargan¡¯s insistence. The locals as was their habit had gathered to watch them, forming quite the crowds once the weather improved and Lucius was present. With a shiver, Lucius opened his stride to catch up with the energetic officer. Sam really wanted his raid to succeed. Vengeance is a powerful motivator, Lucius decided. ¡°Galio, how are the men doing?¡± He asked when they reached them, Mamercus jumping to attention and looking at the men working in groups reproachfully. ¡°Some things they get easier, others¡­ only life in a camp will give ye that, milord.¡± Lucius glanced at him. Galio while he¡¯d outright rejected the advisor position, was the most experienced man he had and the one closest to him. The one he trusted the most and the first man Lucius had really recruited back in Alden. It seemed ages ago now, but it had only been a year. ¡°You know, I intent to reinstate your rank in the Legion right? I¡¯m not building a mercenary band here.¡± ¡°I reckon you¡¯re not, milord,¡± Galio grimaced, as if not wanting to broach the matter. ¡°Still you can¡¯t bestow a Legion¡¯s rank on anyone not commanding a Legion¡¯s unit.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry my friend,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°Find me another ten men and you¡¯ll have your Century¡­ Centurion Veturius.¡± Galio nodded, a little relieved. ¡°Aye, milord,¡± he paused, then added. ¡°More officers are needed.¡± ¡°What about Kaeso and Mamercus?¡± Lucius asked watching the men drilling with enthusiasm to impress him. ¡°Ahm, I don¡¯t believe they should be removed from their position, milord.¡± ¡°As advisors? They barely offer me anything!¡± Lucius protested. ¡°They listen to ye though, milord,¡± Galio looked at him sadly. ¡°That was their problem and ye solved it.¡± Hmm. ¡°You¡¯ve thought it through Centurion,¡± Lucius noted, a little impressed. He¡¯d underestimated the old officer¡¯s smarts. ¡°It was their last hope, milord. Nothing else had worked on them.¡± ¡°Maybe I should take you on as an advisor after all,¡± Lucius said with a smile. ¡°Your judgement is pretty sound.¡± ¡°It¡¯s an acquired skill, milord,¡± Galio replied. ¡°Anyone going up the ranks, has it.¡± Humility isn¡¯t, Lucius thought with a nod. That¡¯s the sign of a solid character one can¡¯t fake. ¡°Mister Mamercus,¡± he called out and the ex-legionnaire trotted towards them, then saluted thumping his fist on his armour-protected chest. All a show for the keenly watching men. Almost a hundred of them present. Some of the Number¡¯s Band and a scarred Northern warrior rounding it up. The white haired man pale as death, chin and everything down his throat black. The skin burned and cracked. ¡°Milord!¡± Mamercus replied with a smirk. ¡°I want to see those cut by the Centurion.¡± The Heavy Archer blinked. ¡°Ahm, what for?¡± He queried, adding with a glance about him. ¡°Milord.¡± ¡°It was an order, Mamercus,¡± Lucius said strictly. The soldier cleared his throat taken aback, then nodded. ¡°They are sitting in the shade sir.¡± The sky was covered with heavy clouds, so everyone was in the shade in a sense.
Galio was right, Lucius thought. These are kids. Most aged between fourteen and sixteen. Seventeen is pushing it hard. ¡°What¡¯s your name lad?¡± He asked the first of them. A bright eyed, freckled redhead. All bones, but full of energy. Eight out of ten could have been related to Faye. ¡°Zac Ross, lord Alden!¡± Zac blasted, veins popping on his neck. What he lacked in kilos, the teen made up in lungs. ¡°I¡¯m standing a foot away mister Ross,¡± Lucius clarified, with a slight clench of his jaw. ¡°Now kindly answer me this without blowing out my eardrums. Can you use the long blade?¡± Zac blushed and then frowned. ¡°Never had a blade, Lord Alden!¡± ¡°What about the rest of you?¡± Lucius asked. ¡°Anyone has any skill with the sword and shield?¡± A boy raised his hand. ¡°I can use an axe, Lord Alden!¡± ¡°How are you going to protect your friend without a shield?¡± Lucius asked him and he hanged his head. ¡°We can train!¡± A brave one asked, some brown mixed in with the red. Shifty looking face. Lucius stared at him. ¡°What¡¯s your name lad?¡± ¡°Joe Fallon, Lord Lucius,¡± Joe replied with a grin. He was the oldest of the bunch. Lucius cracked a smile. ¡°Ever used a sling, mister Fallon?¡± He asked him, hands tied behind his back. A lot of people had gathered to listen to him talk. ¡°To hunt birds,¡± he glanced at the crowd. ¡°Chicken.¡± Several chuckles were heard at his answer. ¡°You have a sling mister Mamercus?¡± Lucius asked and the archer snapped out of his lethargy with a frown. ¡°I have¡­ eh,¡± he checked into his satchel and found a military-issued leather sling, the cords on it braided and over half a meter in length. ¡°Can you use that one, mister Fallon?¡± Lucius asked the watching teenager. ¡°I can, Lord Lucius,¡± Joe replied confidently. ¡°Anyone else?¡± Lucius asked and several hands were raised. ¡°What about you Zac?¡± ¡°Not much of a shot, Lord Alden,¡± Zac replied truthfully. ¡°Are you willing to train? Some of you suggested it afore a couple of minutes.¡± ¡°I am, but what do I do with a sling?¡± Zac asked, a little confused. ¡°Mamercus?¡± Lucius said sternly and the archer breathed out exasperated. ¡°A lead slingshot can pierce an iron helm and depending on the distance most plates,¡± he parroted, what he¡¯d learned his first days in the Legion. ¡°What it doesn¡¯t pierce it shatters, or breaks. What it doesn¡¯t break, it dazes the fuck out of, so a friendly can kill it safely. If fired on an unarmored enemy it can maim the one watching his arse behind him, after going through¡ª¡± ¡°Thank you, mister Mamercus,¡± Lucius interrupted him. ¡°Listen up lads. You are not making it as fighters, but there¡¯s a spot for you in my slingers unit.¡± ¡°Will we get armor?¡± Someone asked. The news had spread, Lucius thought pleased. ¡°Suitable to your unit¡¯s needs,¡± he replied. ¡°Who¡¯s captaining the unit?¡± Joe queried. ¡°Decanus Sorex,¡± Lucius deadpanned and Mamercus nodded vaguely, before he realized Lucius was talking about him. He assumed a strange expression, half-happy for the unexpected promotion, half-miserable for the responsibility thrust upon him. After weighing everything in his mind, he turn to protest, but Lucius was expecting it. ¡°Decanus take your unit for training, after you first outfit them with slings. Use pellet rocks, while Gunn is preparing the lead molds.¡± Mamercus was unwilling to give up without a fight. ¡°There¡¯s no place inside Mazza¡ª¡± Galio was the one that cut him off this time. ¡°Plenty of fields outside the walls, Decanus!¡± He barked with such ferocity a small child started crying. ¡°MOVE IT, AFORE I USE YE AS TARGET DUMMY SON! Why are ye still standing? Hand me that sling now!¡± It only went worse after that.
There was some blond mixed in with the red, the redhead standing next to Faye, staring at him intently. She¡¯d leather armor on and a bow on her back, the quiver packed with arrows. The leather pants she wore stretched to the limit. ¡°Faye,¡± Lucius greeted the fiercely grinning woman, after he¡¯d approached them. The crowd had slowly dispersed, but the pale faced warrior had remained. His back resting on the wall of a longhouse. ¡°Lord Alden,¡± Faye teased him. ¡°Twas nigh pleasurable watching ye wit the boys.¡± ¡°You wanted to partake in the training?¡± Lucius retorted with grin. ¡°I prefer personal lessons,¡± Faye said and the woman next to her whistled. ¡°Wow, this one is lookin¡¯ much better up close,¡± she said impressed. ¡°Is it the blood, Lord Alden?¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know¡­¡± Lucius¡¯ voice trailed. ¡°Alana Shields,¡± Alana replied and added knowingly. ¡°I¡¯m good wit the bow, but I possess a diverse skillset.¡± ¡°Fixing to join my slingers?¡± Lucius asked, dodging the trap. ¡°Have a job wit the Numbers band,¡± Alana countered her eyes flirting shamelessly. ¡°But I can be persuaded Milord Alden. Me walls are easily taken.¡± Lucius stared at Faye and caught her rolling her eyes at her friend¡¯s shenanigans. ¡°Is Numbers a women¡¯s warband now?¡± ¡°Just us two,¡± Faye replied looking at him. ¡°Alana is my second.¡± ¡°I bet they love that,¡± Lucius commented. ¡°They don¡¯t, but they listen.¡± ¡°It¡¯s you they don¡¯t like milord,¡± Alana added with a wink. Lucius nodded. ¡°How about you?¡± ¡°It depends on me day of the month. Are ye single, Milord Alden? I¡¯m asking for a friend.¡± ¡°Alana!¡± Faye hissed her matching the color of her hair. ¡°What the fuck?¡± ¡°What?¡± Her friend argued. ¡°Ye told me, he¡¯s not taking yer hints. Maybe it¡¯s¡ª¡± Faye cut her off midsentence. ¡°Remember now how ye have to go and check on the guys?¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t,¡± Alana argued glaring at her. ¡°Go on now, chop-chop,¡± Faye insisted not backing down. ¡°They might cause mischief.¡± ¡°Oh well,¡± Alana whined. ¡°Fine. Nice meetin¡¯ ye Milord Alden,¡± she beamed, then turned and walked away, putting that stretched pants to good use. ¡°Right,¡± Lucius commented after she was out of earshot. ¡°She¡¯s a character.¡± ¡°In what way?¡± Faye probed, not very amused. Lucius scratched the back of his head. He needed a haircut, he decided. ¡°Nothing in particular comes to mind.¡± ¡°How¡¯s the shoulder?¡± Faye asked to change the subject. She¡¯d closed the distance between them in the meantime. Other than the warrior relaxing deep in thought across the street, they were alone. ¡°The cut wasn¡¯t deep, but it¡¯s bothering me, now that you brought it up.¡± ¡°I just wanted to get her off me back,¡± Faye explained. ¡°I understand.¡± ¡°Try to ease them in,¡± she continued. ¡°Faye, I don¡¯t mind. You do what you think is best.¡± ¡°I¡¯m coming wit ye in the raid.¡± Lucius blinked, taken by surprise. ¡°No you¡¯re not,¡± he replied sternly. It wasn¡¯t going to work.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. ¡°I am. Me mind is made up. Ayup,¡± Faye argued. ¡°That¡¯s no place¡­¡± He sighed. ¡°Forget about it. You¡¯re not coming.¡± He made it even worse. Faye stood in front of his face. Well, her forehead was to his chin, but what she lacked in height, the woman had in ferocity. ¡°Yer not goin¡¯ to order me around Alden!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not¡­ I¡¯m trying to protect you damn it!¡± Lucius retorted. ¡°It¡¯s a dangerous idea.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s going to protect you?¡± She countered. Lucius clenched his jaw. Thought about kissing her, which wasn¡¯t helping him come up with a better response. ¡°I can¡¯t have my mind on you in the field, Faye,¡± he said tiredly. ¡°Then don¡¯t,¡± she replied and touched his beard. The fingers snaking up to his cheek. ¡°You need a bath.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll clean up in a bit. I have to talk to the Jarl,¡± he lifted her chin up, stared into her eyes. ¡°You¡¯re not going to back down,¡± Faye shook her head right and left. Ah, Lucius thought. There it is then. ¡°What?¡± Faye asked seeing his expression. ¡°A woman you can¡¯t control is dangerous.¡± Faye stood back. ¡°Ye don¡¯t believe that.¡± He didn¡¯t. These were his father¡¯s words. Lucius sighed. ¡°What will you do?¡± ¡°I can scout for you. Use the warband to find a good path. You need a local Lucius,¡± she blushed saying his name. He didn¡¯t mind. In fact, Lucius liked it so much he found himself kissing her in the middle of the street. Faye stopped him, even more flushed than before. ¡°I tell you what. We practice, so I can show ye my skill.¡± ¡°I know you¡¯re skilled,¡± Lucius said. The last thing on his mind was crossing blades with her. ¡°Well?¡± ¡°Well what?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s make a wager,¡± Faye said. ¡°I beat you and I get to be yer scout, wit no complains.¡± ¡°If you win, I¡¯ll have an armour made for you, on top of that,¡± Lucius replied with a grin. ¡°What¡¯s wrong wit this one?¡± ¡°It¡¯s too worn out. All broken rings and patches. Better to have you in a better one.¡± Faye cooed softly. ¡°Aww you¡­ fine,¡± she looked around and then sighed deeply. ¡°See what ye did now? It¡¯s not fair. If ye win, I¡¯ll sleep in yer cabin. But I¡¯m not missin¡¯ the raid.¡± Lucius smacked his lips. ¡°I can¡¯t take this offer,¡± he said with difficulty. ¡°I want to, but it¡¯s not fair.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll never win,¡± he explained. ¡°I¡¯ve studied your technique. I¡¯m honor bound to tell you upfront.¡± ¡°Hehe. Oh Alden. Ye got to learn to take advantage of people,¡± Faye advised him, chuckling with his expression. ¡°I don¡¯t want to take advantage of you,¡± Lucius replied truthfully. ¡°Much as I want to.¡± Faye took a step back and unsheathed her swords, one after the other. ¡°I won¡¯t mind if you did is what I¡¯m telling you. Now, show me yer moves.¡± Oh boy, Lucius thought and got his blade out. His worry was how to avoid hurting her. Suggesting they use wooden swords, was something Faye would turn down immediately.
Faye hissed and swung at him first left, then right in turn, using both her leaf-shaped blade swords. The weapons shorter and lighter than Lucius¡¯ longsword. He parried them both away, taking a step back and Faye rushed him all flushed, the skin on her neck matching her hair. She gasped frustrated, her successive slashes easily parried and narrowing her eyes, swung with both blades at the same time, rather carelessly. Lucius took a quick step back dodging her wild swing, waited for the furious woman to step forward to find her footing and sent the sword Faye had in her left hand to land on the dirt road, with a swing of his. ¡°What?¡± Faye glared at him. ¡°What are ye grinning for?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± Lucius replied grinning. ¡°I was holding back!¡± Faye snapped. Lucius took a casual step forward to cut on their distance. ¡°Yer not winning without a fight, Alden!¡± She roared, her blood on fire and raised her right hand intending to go for a powerful slash, or cut. Lucius didn¡¯t think Faye was aiming at that moment. He flicked his own sword mirroring hers, but in one tenth of the arc and got her under the iron pommel with the flat of his blade. Metal sound ringing down the street. Faye¡¯s fingers turned numb and the sword jumped out of her hand with enough momentum to reach the wall of the longhouse, where that warrior was watching them, but Lucius snatched it out of the air the next moment to prevent an accident. ¡°Bah! Ye cheated!¡± Faye cried out holding her right hand. More angry than hurting hopefully. ¡°How¡¯s the hand?¡± Lucius asked, concern in his voice. ¡°Never approach a taller opponent like that Faye.¡± ¡°How am I supposed to fight ye then?¡± Faye queried. ¡°Wear sandals wit heels?¡± Lucius would love to see Faye in a Lorian dress or a sheer summer toga. ¡°You¡¯re not. I don¡¯t want to fight ye Faye.¡± ¡°Ye know what I meant,¡± she murmured and sighed. ¡°Two out of three?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not risking an injury for a dare,¡± Lucius stopped her. ¡°We switch steel to wood, if you want us to practice proper.¡± This hadn¡¯t come out as good as he¡¯d liked to. Faye chuckled not minding the double entendre. ¡°I want to learn that trick and any other,¡± the redhead said with a naughty ambiguous smile, the white-haired warrior¡¯s snort breaking their moment. Lucius turned to glare at the approaching mail armored man. The Northman had a longsword out, sharpened blade gleaming. What in the name of Tyeus? ¡°Logan what do ye want?¡± Faye snapped, sounding irritated as well. ¡°Put that thing away!¡± Logan, skin full of cracks and old scars grunted and moved his sword in a tight arc, his other hand smacking at the pommel from below. He had his icy blue eyes on Lucius all that time. He grunted and repeated the move. Lucius frowned. ¡°Logan ye crazy bastard, go away now. Yer not makin¡¯ any sense,¡± Faye urged him. Logan snorted, made a couple of guttural sounds, his throat all messed up from his bout in the icy waters of Ludriver and pointed his sword at Lucius. ¡°You want me to try it on you?¡± Lucius asked, realizing what the maimed warrior was trying to say. ¡°What? No, yer not fighting him!¡± Faye gasped, sounding worried. ¡°Crawl back into yer hole Gray!¡± Logan Gray Barret threw her a glare. Lucius took a step back and unsheathed his longsword again. He stared at the waiting warrior. ¡°I¡¯ll count to three,¡± he told him, but Logan growled in the mockery of a snigger. ¡°No, put that blade away Alden!¡± Faye snapped doubly worried. ¡°He¡¯s fuckin¡¯ crazy!¡± ¡°As you wish,¡± Lucius said and snapped his sword at full speed, with a quick forward step. He caught Logan¡¯s blade at the pommel with the flat of his blade again, the tip opening his mail at the wrist and send it out of his numb fingers. Lucius made to grab it with his left, but Logan beat him to it, snatched it out of the air, flipped it once expertly and let it rest on Lucius¡¯ exposed neck, right under his left ear. Lucius own blade was pointing at the warrior¡¯s stomach, although Logan did have a vambrace on it. The Heir to Regia smacked his lips frustrated and Logan pressed the tip of his blade on the soft skin, nicking him and drawing blood. ¡°I can gore you, mister Barret,¡± Lucius warned him and Logan snorted in response, his eyes telling Lucius he¡¯d kill him first. Lucius yielded and withdrew his sword, Logan doing the same right after. The white-haired prematurely aged warrior, returned it to his sheath and eyed them both reproachfully, but mostly Lucius. ¡°You¡¯re left handed,¡± Lucius said and the man made another guttural sound that turned into a snort. ¡°Either. Wow,¡± Lucius nodded and stared at a dumbfounded Faye. ¡°It was a trick, never try it in battle,¡± he told her and Logan nodded as well, now pleased. Lucius turned and stared at him for a moment, then tended a hand in greeting in the Northern way. ¡°I¡¯m Lucius Alden,¡± he told him simply. ¡°Heard a lot about you Logan,¡± Lucius added with a smile. Nothing pleasant, but he left that part out. ¡°Thank you for your input,¡± he added sincerely. Logan pressed his mouth tight, grimaced and then shook his hand. The grip steely, but Lucius gave as much as he took without flinching. Logan grunted, doubly pleased and with another intense stare at Faye, turned and walked away. ¡°A good friend?¡± Lucius probed, a troubled Faye. ¡°Benton killed his brother in a duel, when I was little,¡± Faye replied. ¡°Barret¡¯s warband raided our lands and killed my father, caught me in the chaos,¡± Lucius frowned at the senseless violence. ¡°He didn¡¯t let them kill me, or worse.¡± ¡°What happened after that?¡± Lucius asked. ¡°Benton thought he owed him, Logan believed they were even,¡± Faye replied, hugging her body with her arms. Right. ¡°Now Benton is gone,¡± Lucius replied with a grimace. He still felt guilty with what he¡¯d done. It wasn¡¯t his fault, but you don¡¯t take a life and feel good about it. Lucius didn¡¯t want to become that kind of man. ¡°And I stand in his place. Will he be a problem?¡± ¡°Nah,¡± Faye replied with a shrug. ¡°He likes ye Alden. Give him enough time and he¡¯ll fight for ye. It¡¯s yer fuckin¡¯ superpower.¡±
The legends said that when Jarl David was young, he¡¯d managed to get inside Halfostad in Sovya and keep its gates open long enough by himself, for his men to sack the city. When King Alistair broke through at Yepehir in seventy four, the Crulls reinforced by Lesia led a force beyond the burning Kas intending to cut him off there. Jarl David retreated to Rifjordal with the Crulls and Lorians hot on his trail. At the banks of the frozen Fjor River, in the heart of winter, he turned around with his small force and fought the High King¡¯s army to a bloody standstill in the last battle of the war. For the three Kingdoms that is. Jarl David had never stopped fighting in the years since. Whether tall tales, fanciful exaggerations, or absolute myths, the man still cut an arresting figure well into the fifth decade of his life. Standing over six feet, with a broad chest protected by heavy chainmail and a thick neck, he kept his huge war-hammer on the table for all to see. His blue eyes and greying red hair combed back from his hard face. He smirked when Lucius entered the longhouse. Sam O¡¯ Dargan his second son and heir after the death of his firstborn at the Battle of the Bridges, was standing on his right side and a hard-eyed lanky man full of quiet energy stood on his left. Oscar Steele of icy Blonden Port, had everything under his eyes painted white and had a short shafted halberd on his back. ¡°This is Sir Lucius Alden father,¡± Sam rustled introducing him. He paused unsure and then added. ¡°And Faye Numbers.¡± ¡°Alistair¡¯s firstborn in the blasted flesh,¡± Jarl David crackled, baritone voice with heavy Northern accent bouncing off the walls. ¡°I expected ye to be halfway to Regia by now. Take advantage of the weather.¡± ¡°Jarl David, I¡¯ve a mission to fulfil,¡± Lucius replied undaunted. ¡°And I came to an arrangement with your son, I intend to honor.¡± ¡°Raid over Ludriver, to Krakenhall,¡± the Jarl taunted and got up from the table and walked towards him. He had Lucius height, but was heavier, his face lined and scarred from cold, wars and age. A very crude drawing of the area was depicted on a large bear pelt hanging from a wall. The Jarl pointed a finger at it. ¡°There are three forts in between us and a heavy-flowing river, Sir¡­ Lucius. Am I getting it right?¡± ¡°Sir Lucius is fine, Jarl David,¡± Lucius replied, keeping his cool. ¡°The rest of it as well, for the most part.¡± ¡°How are ye gonna do it?¡± The Jarl mocked him. ¡°Wit yer boats and fancy armor? Kids wit slings?¡± ¡°Lucius is a great leader!¡± Faye snapped and Lucius grimaced, as he didn¡¯t want to antagonize the Jarl. Jarl David turned his eyes on the much shorter than both of them Faye bemused. ¡°Numbers lass has grown Steele,¡± the Jarl said. ¡°She might come for her father¡¯s lands soon.¡± ¡°She has,¡± Oscar agreed with a leer. ¡°I don¡¯t see her succeeding.¡± ¡°Are ye gonna cause me trouble, Faye?¡± The Jarl asked her. ¡°Yer brothers would turn in their graves, seeing ye defend their killer.¡± ¡°Better him, than havin¡¯ a sneaky bastard like Steele at my table!¡± ¡°Yer brother started it, Faye,¡± Oscar retorted. ¡°Staying loyal matters. Remember that.¡± ¡°She¡¯s a hot-headed lass, Oscar,¡± Jarl David admonished him. ¡°No need for threats.¡± ¡°Jarl David, Faye has nothing to do with this,¡± Lucius intervened. ¡°As for what you said. I fought legitimately, after I was provoked. Please refrain from insulting me,¡± he warned him. The ruler of Fetya smirked. ¡°Ah, it¡¯s the truth I reckon,¡± the Jarl agreed. ¡°Yer not spineless at least,¡± he added pleased. ¡°What do ye think Steele?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll refrain from answerin¡¯,¡± the man replied, using Lucius¡¯ word. ¡°Until after I hear the plan.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a raid they don¡¯t expect,¡± Sam said, deciding it was a good time to intervene. ¡°We need to retaliate father!¡± Jarl David snorted and turned to look at the map. ¡°The moment you cross into Vanzon¡¯s lands, the Crulls will cross the Montfoot Bridge and attack us,¡± he finally said. ¡°I have barely two thousand men to stop them there son. What you have and are eager to waste away, I need.¡± ¡°These are my men,¡± Sam argued, standing up furious. ¡°We need time to replenish our forces,¡± the Jarl continued, not minding his outburst. ¡°Make more weapons, wait for iron and supplies from Rifjordal. I¡¯m still burying bodies¡¯ son.¡± ¡°The Crulls have forces rebuilding Wolvesbane Castle. They won¡¯t move until they finish work there,¡± Sam argued. His father grunted not convinced. ¡°You want a fort built near this bridge of yours,¡± the Jarl said to him and Lucius stared at the map. ¡°A fort won¡¯t hold them, if they cross into Fetya proper Lucius.¡± ¡°I want to delay them there again,¡± Lucius replied calmly. ¡°Vanzon will use birds, ask for help,¡± the Jarl countered. ¡°Even if you stop them there, the Crulls will reinforce him again, catch you on the other side of the river, just like at Stag¡¯s Doab.¡± ¡°That wasn¡¯t my plan,¡± Lucius argued. ¡°Why did you get involved? If it was such a bad plan, why risk it?¡± ¡°I watched what they did. I¡¯d sworn to my father I¡¯ll bring Zofia back and bring the North close with Regia. I didn¡¯t have a choice.¡± ¡°Zofia¡­¡± the Jarl grimaced. ¡°She¡¯s gone Lucius.¡± ¡°Curd would have taken her to Vanzon,¡± Lucius argued. ¡°The Lord of Krakenhall would have contacted me, if he had,¡± Jarl David said. ¡°You don¡¯t know that for sure.¡± ¡°All other prospects,¡± the Jarl sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t want to think about.¡± ¡°They wouldn¡¯t hurt her.¡± ¡°They killed a girl that looked like her to provoke us at the bridges!¡± The Jarl snapped angry. ¡°You think the Issirs would have constrained themselves¡­ the moment Devious Dirk took her, she was dead.¡± Lucius stood back with a frown. He stared at the map again deep in thought. ¡°Father,¡± Sam tried again. ¡°They are weakened now, Kaltha is fighting another war, by the next season everything could change.¡± ¡°If you get caught between two forces,¡± the Jarl replied. ¡°Even if I give you another thousand men on top of your eight hundred, you won¡¯t have the numbers to get out of it. I can¡¯t lose another son.¡± ¡°Jarl David says we lost? Is that it?¡± Sam rustled frustrated. ¡°I¡¯m sayin¡¯ I don¡¯t see the benefit son,¡± Jarl David argued tiredly. ¡°They have the numbers.¡± Lucius listened to their argument still staring at the map, an awed Faye looking at him silently. Lucius¡¯ eyes run over the bridges and the forts, the ¡®great old river¡¯ and its branches. They stopped at Stag¡¯s Doab and remembered Roderick dying there, fighting a battle they couldn¡¯t win. He heard those present talking about fighting another, even more weakened now, than they were back then. Hard men can hide their fear. Sometimes it¡¯s brave to know you can¡¯t overcome the odds. Other times like this one, fear could blind you and never realize every battle is different. ¡°You won¡¯t fight them together,¡± Lucius said interrupting the heated discussion inside the longhouse. Jarl David turned with narrowed eyes to glare at him. ¡°Can ye see the future, spawn of Alistair?¡± He taunted, his patience running thin. ¡°Are ye goin¡¯ to use magic to prevent them from helping each other? The recent past tells me they will.¡± ¡°Are you finished?¡± Lucius asked him sternly and the Jarl took a step back stunned. Oscar Steele¡¯s painted jaw and mouth split into an amused grin, impressed at Lucius spirit. ¡°Go on, Lucius of Alden,¡± the Jarl said through his teeth. ¡°I can¡¯t see the future,¡± Lucius started pointing at the map. ¡°Nor do I possess magic. I can see the ground though and the terrain. I can see the rivers and the bridges the Crulls will have to cross mid-winter to help Vanzon. This isn¡¯t Stag¡¯s Doab. It isn¡¯t next door to them. It isn¡¯t comfortably situated between the two.¡± There was a grin on Sam¡¯s mouth as well now. ¡°The Crulls will have to choose Jarl David. Can¡¯t have it both ways. Either they hold the Montfoot Bridge, even cross it to attack deeper in Fetya, whatever that will give them, or they¡¯ll send an army to Krakenhall. Can they do both? They could. What do you think will be their priority?¡± ¡°Securing their border,¡± Oscar Steele replied in Jarl¡¯s stead. ¡°Keeping an eye on the Montfoot.¡± ¡°Probably sent Bas Rangers to Ludriver Castle,¡± Sam added. ¡°That¡¯ll be a journey and a half.¡± ¡°A force can check them there and the fort will warn Mazza if they come the other way,¡± Lucius continued confidently. ¡°Whatever they sent to help Vanzon won¡¯t magically appear next to his forces. When it does, we can defeat it. We can defeat them both in detail, one after the other.¡± Jarl David looked at him. ¡°Yer not talking about a raid,¡± he rustled and you could hear a pin drop inside the room. ¡°I never had, your people did,¡± Lucius replied. Just like they assumed a military unit was a warband and a campaign¡¯s goal would automatically be a raid. As mentioned previously, where others saw defeat and feared what the enemy will do, the failures of their past a heavy ball-chain weighing them down, Lucius recognized he could rip their opponent¡¯s heart out. There is no other time, nor a better moment. Kaltha would never be so distracted ever again. Act now, Lucius had thought while staring at the map, and turn this war on its head.
While the Realm was in turmoil, no one paid attention on what was happening in the North. Lucius, having recovered from the Battle of the Bridges, reorganized his small force and then stricken a deal with the O¡¯ Dargans. He crossed Ludriver into Kaltha next, alongside ¡®Mad Wolf¡¯ Sam in the most daring campaign of the war, up until that point. He did it in heavy winter, with all logic pointing that it was a feint, something to distract from the Jarl¡¯s real intentions. A foolish desperate gamble of a disillusioned young noble, who¡¯d bitten off more than he could chew. Lord Sirio Veturius The Fall of Heroes Chapter II (King Lucius the third, Northern campaigns, Tigers in the Blizzard- A hundred days) Winter-Spring of 190 NC
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 159. We’re about to find out.
Whisper ¡®Pretty Nose¡¯ Jinx We¡¯re about to find out.
Hmm¡­ not there, Jinx thought, arms stretching over her disheveled head, Leona¡¯s elegant nose resting on her left tit and mouth drooling down Jinx¡¯s armpit in between soft snorts. Even heavy drinkers get knocked out eventually, the Gish thought still searching. Aww¡­ there it is honey. The Gish turned an eye on the sun blasting her in the face from the cracked open window, a tear running down her cheek and tried it again. Leona moaned and moved, emerald eyes opening still drowsy and confused. ¡°Mmm¡­ Frank¡­?¡± She muffled, before seeing Jinx¡¯s raised brow. Uh? Jinx thought. I mean, what the actual fuck? Leona cleared her throat and stared in her face all serious, much as drunkards do the next morning, with Jinx¡¯s pink nipple standing between them. ¡°Might have savored more than the advised amount of the ol¡¯ captain¡¯s rum?¡± Leona blurted, not making much sense, although that was ¡®her normal¡¯. ¡°Twas a dream, I thought.¡± ¡°Part of it was,¡± Jinx retorted remembering the three bottles they¡¯d drained earlier. She¡¯d her hands crossed behind her head. Jinx set her stare on the cabin¡¯s ceiling. ¡°Who¡¯s Frank?¡± Leona blinked, let out another muffled moan, trying to gather her wits and probably lie better. She failed, part of it Jinx¡¯s fault for not letting her. Once ye find the moist opening, just push, the Gish thought with a smirk. ¡°Also thought dis was yer hand,¡± Leona sighed, nigh impressed. Most likely. A girl who dodges wit half her brain sleepin¡¯ is a professional storyteller, the Gish decided. The more she talks, the more diluted the truth becomes. ¡°Nope, that¡¯s all me foot,¡± Jinx deadpanned. ¡°I¡¯m pretty flexible.¡± Of course the pirate Captain knew that. ¡°Gods stop! I need to get out of bed!¡± Leona cried out, fully awake. ¡°Is that the thing wit ¡®em toes?¡± ¡°The term might have been used in the past,¡± Jinx replied leaving it vague and a little mysterious on purpose. Leona chuckled and rolled the other way to escape Jinx¡¯s wiggling toes. She run out of bed and disappear from sight, a loud thud following along with a cry of pain. Hah. Serves ye right, unfaithful cunt. The woman appeared again, round tits dancing when she jumped up energetically, pretending she¡¯d done it on purpose. ¡°Where¡¯s my shirt?¡± Leona asked casually. ¡°Didn¡¯t see it under the bed,¡± Jinx pointed with a thin finger at the discarded shirt, then watched her walking there appraisingly. The huge pile of clothes a dead giveaway of her earlier lie. ¡°Got any pretty dresses in yer room?¡± ¡°What need have I of dresses, milady of the distant brines?¡± Leona asked putting her shirt on. ¡°Pity to keep them girls hidden.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve no idea, what yer talkin¡¯ about,¡± Leona retorted, buttoning her shirt up to hide her lavish breasts. ¡°Cut the crap,¡± Jinx replied. ¡°Do the men know?¡± ¡°Those that matter, aye.¡± Vague was Leo¡¯s middle name. ¡°What about the others? Why not come out?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll need to recruit on land soon. Trust me, our fleshy bits don¡¯t bring in the most professional of crews,¡± Leona explained and paused to admire Jinx in all her naked glory. ¡°Yer the prettiest and weird little thing¡ª¡± ¡°Fuck you dear.¡± ¡°Twas a compliment!¡± ¡°Yet, if stripped down enough, it looks like another dodge,¡± Jinx cast her a scornful eye. ¡°Yer callin¡¯ me a liar?¡± Leona sighed. ¡°I¡¯ll return ye to yer friend¡¯s quarters.¡± ¡°Are ye seriously going to steal Glen¡¯s ship?¡± Jinx queried, then jumped up, her head almost touching the low ceiling and rolled off the bed managing to land on her feet in one fluid move. ¡°Wow,¡± Leona gasped impressed at her acrobatics. ¡°Can throw a back flip in there as well, but sometimes I splat on the wall, so yeah,¡± Jinx replied with fake modesty. ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind,¡± Leona replied that ridiculous hat back on her head. ¡°And to answer to yer query dear, I shall. Piracy is in me blood, like quiffing wit pretty girls.¡± Jinx walked to her, raised two red-rimmed eyes -since even Leona was much taller than her- and then poked her hard on the nipple over her shirt and vest. ¡°Gah!¡± Leona shrieked and stumbled back, face flushed and as much vexed, as aroused. ¡°Ouch! Whatever was that for?¡± She protested. More cross then. ¡°That¡¯s how easy it¡¯ll be for people to tell,¡± Jinx explained to her. ¡°There is no droll, no man in yer screams dear. Be it fear, pain or pleasure, what we truly have inside always pops out.¡±
¡°Yes?¡± Sen-Iv asked politely behind her door. Jinx sighed and glanced at Leo Vale, hat lowered over her eyes, the latter blackened to her cheekbones making her appear ghoulish. ¡°Are ye decent?¡± ¡°Jinx?¡± ¡°Ye, open up anyway. I don¡¯t mind,¡± Jinx retorted and Leo chuckled, before remembering her place and turned it into a cough. Sen unlocked her door and cracked it open. Stared into Jinx¡¯s grinning face, then at Leo and keeping her legendary cool moved aside, so they could walk in. Jinx strolled through the door and greeted the slave girls. ¡°Anything happened while I was away?¡± She asked looking about, austere tone in her voice. ¡°Which day?¡± Sen queried ruining her entrance. ¡°We haven¡¯t seen you in more than a week.¡± Oh, shite. Jinx crooked her mouth one way, jaw the other. ¡°Was it that long?¡± She asked playing it down.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Yes Jinx. It was,¡± Sen replied looking at her. Lightly slanted eyes mesmerizing. Ah, yer a nosy but polite and alluring cunt. ¡°I was busy consulting with the pirates,¡± Jinx replied. The task had just sucked her dry, the effort put into the ¡®proceedings¡¯ monumental. Time had just flown by. Poof. ¡°About what?¡± Nosy Sen-Iv probed, the woman impossible to satisfy. Jinx needed Glen to fix this. ¡°Things,¡± Jinx replied and walked further inside the captain¡¯s cabin to think about something palatable. ¡°Right¡­ Mister Leo? A hand?¡± She asked finding nothing of the sort. ¡°She is absolutely correct, milady of the plains,¡± Leo muttered his droll back, sounding as drunk as a skunk. Sen-Iv narrowed her eyes and then sighed. Jinx noticed the rings were back on and by the look on her face Leo had noticed it as well. The flimsy silk robe more a tease than a deterrent. Sen was filled up in all the right places. The Cofol woman walked to her bed, her visitors eyes glued on her apt figure. What? Jinx glared at Leo and she shrugged her shoulders. ¡°How can I be of service?¡± Sen asked them interrupting their staring contest. ¡°Well, there¡¯s¡ª¡± Leo started, but Jinx stopped her before she could attempt it. ¡°Captain Vale is busy. Gratitude for escorting me, Captain,¡± she added sternly. Leo grimaced, caught herself again and stood straighter. ¡°Ahm, it appears there are matters afoot that need a captain¡¯s touch ladies,¡± she started, Jinx¡¯s eyes urging her to get it over with. ¡°Whilst it¡¯s a crime to leave me lovelies unattended, sometimes these matters if left to fester for long, they¡¯re beset by rot. Aye. Dis in turn, makes it a dottore problem then, which we don¡¯t ¡®ave. So in light of dis, I bid ye farewell wit heavy heart and promise a swift return.¡± Sen-Iv¡¯s famed eyes opened wide, utterly confused. ¡°He¡¯s leaving,¡± Jinx translated, trying to untangle Leo¡¯s drivel.
¡°Silly lad,¡± Jinx said the moment the pirate Captain was out of the door. ¡°I have to inform you by the way, we¡¯re outside Eikenport.¡± ¡°We know Jinx.¡± ¡°Ah, all the better. Soren?¡± ¡°Came by three times,¡± Sen replied. ¡°Asking about you. Had to calm him down. The poor thing thought you had jumped overboard.¡± ¡°He¡¯s thick as a rock,¡± Jinx said. ¡°Always has been.¡± ¡°He was worried,¡± Sen corrected her. ¡°Also grieving Zola. You can see it in his eyes. Still shocked by the Kraken¡¯s attack you stopped.¡± Wow, quite a number of things to unpack, Jinx thought and went to sit next to the girls. They both smelled really nice, their nails painted a matching teal. ¡°Leave us,¡± Sen-Iv ordered and they jumped up and rushed out of the door, before Jinx could figure out what had happened. The Gish pushed her legs out, the bed the slave girls were sleeping on, rough on her behind and glanced towards -the silently staring- Glen¡¯s wife. ¡°I lost track of time,¡± she finally said, the scrutiny weighing her down. ¡°Twas an attempt at coping, I guess.¡± ¡°What did you do?¡± Sen asked her calmly. ¡°Ye know, this and that,¡± Jinx replied. ¡°Come on, you¡¯ve figured out where I was.¡± ¡°I have. Eventually everyone found out. It¡¯s a ship Jinx.¡± Right. ¡°I got overwhelmed. She¡¯s new to it, as well,¡± Jinx grimaced realizing she¡¯d slipped up, but pushed ahead praying Sen wouldn¡¯t notice. It wasn¡¯t as if you could tell with her, she thought. ¡°I just don¡¯t think about it. Will ye accept¡­?¡± Sen patted the side of the bed next to her. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Join me.¡± Jinx cleared her throat and then stood up and walked across the cabin. She plopped down next to Sen, the mattress much better on this side of the room. ¡°Is it serious?¡± Sen asked and Jinx turned to stare at her exquisite profile. The skin a tanned gold, the little diamond on her well-shaped nose sparkling. ¡°Ah, I don¡¯t know. I like him,¡± Jinx replied, fixing her earlier mistake. Sen nodded, hint of a smile on her mouth. ¡°He has treated us well right? Didn¡¯t harm anyone.¡± We care about. ¡°I made a deal with Captain Vale,¡± Sen pointed. ¡°Aye, ye did, but still, he could have chosen to be violent, right?¡± ¡°In that case Vale would have lost more men, your Captain doesn¡¯t have,¡± Sen replied calmly. ¡°Taking the ship without an agreement, would have left them with the problem of how to steer it with so few crew members. Vale picked what was the best option for him, with no sentimentality. Everyone has a price.¡± Jinx gulped down, thinking of Leona slicing Grim¡¯s throat open. ¡°I don¡¯t think he¡¯s evil,¡± she murmured. Sen touched Jinx on the right side of her neck, where it found the shoulder, after pushing the loose collar aside. ¡°What?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a nasty bite mark, you should clean it up,¡± Sen advised her coolly, the Cofol woman tracing the spot with a manicured finger. It sent goosebumps down the Gish¡¯s toes. ¡°I will,¡± Jinx grinned nervously. ¡°Things got a bit wild.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± Sen pulled her hand back. ¡°It¡¯s not going to last anyway,¡± Jinx tried again, feeling guilty. ¡°Why is that?¡± Jinx remembered the black mirror that was the Kraken¡¯s eye. ¡°I better avoid sailing henceforth,¡± Jinx explained, puffing her cheeks out. ¡°Next time Abrakas catches me, I ain¡¯t getting away.¡± The fact she was still sailing in a sense, finally catching up to the young Gish. Fuck. Sen stared at her for long. Jinx lost sense of time, the Cofol¡¯s lips plump and painted a teasing peach, until Sen-Iv reached and laced her fingers to hers. She squeezed them softly in understanding, her lips moving at last. ¡°Thank you,¡± the Celestial Opal of Lai Zel-ka said and everything that had happened came back for Jinx and she couldn¡¯t keep it in anymore. Whisper started sobbing uncontrollably and Sen-Iv pulled her in a comforting hug until she calmed down.
Leo stared at the crew sternly. ¡°Mister Hook shall accompany me,¡± she repeated, Liko hanging his head disappointed. ¡°Troy and Wil shall kindly be our oarspersons and return next evening to pick us up.¡± Weiss raised a hand. ¡°I petition to partake as well Captain.¡± Leo stared at him under the rim of her hat. ¡°Yer petition is denied, mister Weiss.¡± ¡°May I inquire as to the whys, Captain?¡± ¡°A captain shouldn¡¯t be queried on his decisions, else each decision be delayed,¡± Leo babbled, her droll genuine since she¡¯d gulped down half a pint of grog with her breakfast. ¡°What is a ship to do, when ther¡¯ no decisions forthcoming? We shan¡¯t be conquered by idleness mister Weiss, or fear. The captain sometimes goes ahead to face the aberrations all by himself. ¡± Wow. ¡°Aye, captain,¡± the man yielded, Liko listening to him with his mouth hanging open. ¡°Stiles will go with you,¡± Sen-Iv said, unbothered at the dirty looks the pirates were throwing her way. Stiles blinked and sucked his cheek in a thoughtful grimace. ¡°Mister Stiles is an unsavory character, milady,¡± Leo argued. ¡°I fear turnin¡¯ me back to him.¡± ¡°He¡¯s my husband¡¯s man. Glen won¡¯t trust you without someone he knows.¡± Leo stared at the shifty-looking former cutthroat, trying his best to appear trustworthy and failing spectacularly. Wow, Jinx thought doubly impressed. ¡°Well then, if that¡¯s what it takes to get this boat movin¡¯, then that¡¯s what it takes,¡± Leo Vale decided. ¡°Stiles shall come as well.¡± ¡°I trust you¡¯ll honor your word, Stiles,¡± Sen-Iv said the moment the pirates walked away to start lowering a rowing boat in the water. ¡°And I will honor mine. Those that honor their deals I consider friends.¡± Stiles stared at her for a moment, then nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll let him know milady.¡±
Sen-Iv stood at the empty quarterdeck and stared at the shiny distant Eikenport. Some pillars of smoke could be seen rising, mainly from the port where work continued apparently. Dark spots were also visible amidst the white buildings -the ruins of them mostly- as much of the old city was destroyed and never really rebuilt. Mastabas, Sen had called the strange buildings, the woman a wealth of knowledge. Jinx approached the exotic Cofol, admiring the way that red robe was hugging her body, but also aware of Sen-Iv¡¯s mood. While difficult to read, Whisper had slowly learned to understand when Sen was troubled. You don¡¯t spent months with a Gish and still manage to keep your privacy. ¡°What is it?¡± Jinx asked, standing on her left side in front of the rails. ¡°The answer,¡± Sen-Iv replied evenly and Jinx noticed she¡¯d her hands clenched into fists to stop from shaking. How do you overcome your fear amongst cutthroats to appear so unyielding and in control? Through sheer willpower. ¡°What was the question?¡± ¡°There was nothing else I cared about all this time Jinx,¡± Sen replied. ¡°Only one question in my mind.¡± Jinx sighed and stared at the distant city. The Marquette had anchored on the far Northern side of the natural port to avoid scrutiny. Two more ships were moored at the docks. A merchant transport and a small Brig. ¡°Did Glen make it?¡± Whisper asked and Sen-Iv breathed in ruggedly letting her panic show. She recovered almost instantly and exhaling slowly answered her that remarkable serenity back in her voice. ¡°We¡¯re about to find out.¡±
160. Lord Glen & Mister Garth (1/2)
Lord Glen Lord Glen & Mister Garth Part I -Almost out of time-
Glen pulled at the collar of his gambeson, the leather brigandine cutting through it and irritating his skin there. He wiped the sweat off his brow next, sucked a huge amount of air in his cheeks ballooning and stared at the massive looking ruin. ¡°There¡¯s no ceiling. Like¡­ the whole thing is just gone and someone even cleaned out the fell stone,¡± he finally said puffing out, lips flapping alike his horse that mimicked him a moment later. Glen paused disturbed at the prolonged neigh and then roared irate, ¡°I get the need for air in this plaguin¡¯ heat, but this is ludicrous!¡± Seeing as no one was willing to answer him, he glared at Metu, the hapless slave having a constipated look on his painted face. ¡°Well?¡± Glen probed. ¡°Have ye anything to say?¡± ¡°Master Lon wants me to inform you; he has also bought the blocks of buildings facing the Mastaba sire. The prize was excellent due to wear and tear,¡± the slave replied, sitting in the driver¡¯s seat of the closed carriage Biscuit was kept in. Glen stared at the aforementioned parcels of real estate. ¡°I can see what looks like a warehouse in the first, another house somewhat standing in the second,¡± Glen noticed sourly. ¡°Everything else is a pile of rubble. That was a lot more tear than wear Metu!¡± ¡°As I informed your Excellency the property was surprisingly easy to acquire.¡± ¡°I bet it was!¡± ¡°Haha¡­hah¡­ahahaha!¡± Gimoss roaring laughter rang down the relatively abandoned street. A giant tumbleweed rolled in front of them and they all watched it strolling down Eikenport¡¯s wide cobblestone road thoughtfully. Taking a moment to also collect themselves after Metu¡¯s revelation and the corpse¡¯s outburst. ¡°Right,¡± Glen said ending the small interlude and jumped from Outlaw¡¯s saddle, his knees hurting when he landed. With a grimace he pointed at the big entrance looming open at the base of the pyramid-like structure. ¡°Get the wagon in there Metu.¡± ¡°Aye, Master Garth.¡± Good then. Wait. ¡°There¡¯s no door,¡± Glen commented and Flix, approaching under his gigantic straw hat, chuckled like an old lady with a severe case of bronchitis. ¡°What?¡± Glen blasted him. ¡°Nothing. It¡¯s a sound observation.¡± Glen pointed at two unsavory-looking characters watching them from across the street next. ¡°Look at them!¡± He roared, the two locals frowning. ¡°They are about to rob us blind!¡± ¡°Hmm. Are you certain?¡± Flix asked and stared at the odd couple. A Lorian and a chocolate-skinned Issir with slanted eyes and Cofol face. ¡°Ye want me to ask them?¡± Glen turned around and walked smartly to the middle of the street. Behind him Metu with Gimoss giving the slave rude instructions, brought the wagon inside the large Mastaba. ¡°Hey! You!¡± The Lorian blinked and looked about confused. It was obvious Glen was talking to them, with no one else at the near and that this was cheap theater. His friend on the other hand appeared ready to make a run for it. ¡°Have you no tongue?¡± Glen snapped angry. ¡°Me?¡± ¡°Yes, you!¡± The Lorian grinned showing four, or five, good teeth in a forest of black cavities. Good grief! ¡°Howdy well-armed stranger,¡± the Lorian said politely. Glen raised a brow and hooked his thumbs on his leather waistband. A new addition to his armour that kept his heavy harnesses together. ¡°Hello there,¡± he greeted him back in an even tone. ¡°I was having a conversation with my¡­ ehem, mother,¡± the Lorian blinked, then stared at the small-bodied Gish still on his horse. Flix raised a small arm in greeting. ¡°She thinks you are upstanding citizens.¡± ¡°Citizens?¡± The Issir-Cofol hybrid wondered aloud. ¡°Of the city. Dis one,¡± Glen pressed on. ¡°Eikenport.¡± ¡°Ah,¡± they both said and nodded together. Right. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ Garth Aniculo,¡± Glen sort of introduced himself. ¡°Merchant, adventurer.¡± ¡°Merchant, or adventurer?¡± ¡°Both.¡± Another round of ¡®Ahs¡¯ and ¡®Ohs¡¯ ensued. ¡°Your names lads?¡± Glen probed and Flix was heard chuckling behind him. ¡°I¡¯m Greedy Dunstan,¡± the Lorian said, henceforth to be called Dunstan. Glen glanced at Flix watching them and grinned. ¡°Yer mother gave ye the name?¡± He asked turning to the shifty-looking Dunstan. ¡°How¡¯s Garth¡­ whatever the other part was any better, friend?¡± Dunstan retorted, his associate finding it amusing. ¡°It¡¯s an Imperial name,¡± the two men blinked taken back. ¡°What¡¯s yours?¡± Glen asked his friend sourly. ¡°Pocket Clint,¡± Clint replied. What the¡­ ¡°Pocket¡­ as in what I have on me coat?¡± ¡°As in pickpocket sire,¡± Clint elucidated. ¡°Had to shorten it, because it made people point the finger on me every time something went missin¡¯.¡± Well, Glen thought. Who would blame them? ¡°What do you do for a livin¡¯?¡± ¡°The truth?¡± Clint asked, eyes avoiding his scrutiny. ¡°It¡¯ll help,¡± Glen replied dryly. ¡°I¡¯m what¡¯s called a mugger sire,¡± Clint replied truthfully. ¡°Otherwise be known as a pickpocket,¡± Glen remarked trying to keep a serious face. ¡°More a bag-snatcher,¡± Dunstan defended his friend and Flix almost toppled from his horse, laughing uncontrollably. Glen stared at them for a moment. ¡°You lads were casing the wagon right? Or was it the building?¡± ¡°Eh, yer awfully close to the truth sire,¡± Clint admitted. ¡°More like showin¡¯ interest in its contents,¡± Dunstan elucidated. ¡°Academically.¡± Hmm. ¡°How about I give ye a paying job?¡± Glen asked them after thinking it through and got his purse out. ¡°Along wit a warning. There¡¯s no bigger bandit around here than me. No one more dangerous to cross. You make one mistake, or refuse me offer, my mother here will kill you. Right mom?¡± Flix sighed, but played along. ¡°Can we just give these to Gimoss? It¡¯s gotten to him that he needs to eat brains to speed up his skin regeneration. We¡¯re fresh out since yesterday,¡± the Gish said. Clint and Dunstan were listening with their mouths hanging open. ¡°Barely any brains between these two though,¡± Glen argued, but Flix shrugged his shoulders not as sure. ¡°We have to crack one skull open to be certain. You know how he is,¡± the Gish countered. ¡°Wait a god-darn minute there!¡± Clint protested, probably cursing himself for not making a run for it earlier. ¡°What¡¯s the job?¡± Dunstan said quickly, apparently the more practical of the two. ¡°Do you know the city?¡± Glen asked them with a cunning smirk and they nodded in unison. ¡°Start from the port,¡± the former thief said to his new crew. ¡°Take yer fuckin¡¯ time, but learn everything about everyone.¡±
¡°You could have called me Glen, but ye didn¡¯t since the start,¡± Glen told Flix an hour later. He¡¯d sent the two bandits to gather information and they inspected the Mastaba in the meantime. ¡°No man hunted by an Imperial Assassin,¡± Flix said slowly, placing his hat in a big bag. ¡°Keeps his name. It¡¯s foolish.¡± Ah. ¡°You were right,¡± Glen admitted. ¡°What made you change your mind?¡± ¡°I need a clean start.¡± ¡°How are you going to keep the Wyvern a secret?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Glen replied. ¡°I¡¯m not sure¡­ I should.¡± Metu managed to unlock the door to Biscuit¡¯s cage, swung the sheets open and then looked inside apprehensively. Gimoss said something Glen missed. They were standing about ten meters away ¨Cthe inside of the Mastaba massive though empty- and at the same time Metu got knocked off of the step he was standing on from a screeching Biscuit that burst out right after. The slave got hurled back onto the ground next ¨Cwhatever floor the building once had, it was gone now- bounced once on his back with a hapless yelp, the wyvern flying over him and zipping across the field-sized hall cackling hysterically. Flix sighed and started walking towards the odd couple, patted Gimoss on the back to make him stop ¨Cthe corpse had doubled over guffawing uncontrollably- and went to help the rattled slave stand on his feet. A left without something else to do Glen decided to go after the wyvern.
¡°Lookin¡¯ at the positives that opening is about six-seven floors up,¡± Glen argued half an hour later, with Biscuit chewing on a severed cow¡¯s leg next to him. ¡°So he can¡¯t fly that high hopefully. We close the doors and he has all this room to play wit¡ª¡± ¡°What room?¡± Gimoss blasted him. ¡°We¡¯re inside a massive Mastaba,¡± Glen explained. ¡°Hah! Massive he says! Unambitious and unskilled sham of a hero! A SHAMEFUL DISPLAY!¡± Glen took the insult in stride. ¡°That is as big as two city blocks,¡± he continued clenching his jaw, ¡°We can see them across the street.¡± ¡°So?¡± Gimoss asked his eye not yet formed, causing some spillage to run down his cheek. ¡°So it¡¯s big enough.¡± ¡°Nonsense! This needs tearing down and built anew!¡± Gimoss argued passionately. ¡°Look at these cracks, the walls are worn out and there are bones of at least nine people buried under this field, two cats and a fuckin¡¯ goat!¡± Glen rubbed a point under his nose with the flat of his finger. ¡°You failed to convince me,¡± he calmly told Gimoss after a contemplating moment. ¡°Only fools step on a dead goat¡¯s bones!¡± Gimoss growled and threw him a flattened rock the size of a plate. Glen dodged coolly, moving his head to the side. ¡°Hah!¡± The corpse smiled, the view offered atrocious. ¡°You¡¯re improving at least. Good. I¡¯ll start hurling blades next!¡± Glen groaned in frustration and stared at Flix for help, but the Gish kept his silence. ¡°Seeing as we can¡¯t start digging up the ground looking for bones, can you keep him inside?¡± Glen asked Gimoss. The corpse crossed his arms on his chest. ¡°Metu will help,¡± he added. ¡°That won¡¯t be me by the way, but him,¡± Glen pointed at the gawking in panic slave. ¡°He won¡¯t make it a day!¡± Gimoss blasted and Metu almost collapsed, his knees weakening at the thought. ¡°Ahahaha!¡± Gimoss guffawed relishing in the slave¡¯s fear. ¡°Come on! Biscuit is mostly harmless! He-he, right?¡± Glen downplayed it nervously. ¡°My kin is an idiot, but this weak-willed harlot has nice smelling flesh,¡± Gimoss explained and Glen stared at the Wyvern gnawing at the cow¡¯s leg-bone. Biscuit stopped, raised his burgundy eyes and then burped, pieces of gore running down the sides of his jaws. ¡°Aye, that cocksucker won¡¯t make it. In light of this I¡¯m eating his brains when he kicks the bucket!¡± Gimoss thundered looking at the slave appreciatively. For fuck¡¯s sake. ¡°Enough!¡± Glen snapped furious. Metu had started crying traumatized. ¡°Nobody is eating anyone¡¯s brains, or other bits!¡± RRRRRRUnauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°No buts and ifs!¡± Glen insisted glaring at them both in turn. Gimoss was laughing silently while he talked. ¡°You are staying with Biscuit ye bag of rot. Metu is coming wit me,¡± Glen decided.
Their first stop was the house across the empty dirt-covered street. Glen stared at the narrow three story building, the internal stairs leading up and made of solid stone. The floors in relatively good condition, but smallish and with square small windows. The top open, a mere three by three, the half-wall cut like a parapet, the embrasures neat half circles. ¡°This was a watch-tower once,¡± Flix commented and Glen caught sight from above of Gimoss. The corpse was walking stiffly across the street. What in the slovenly fuck? ¡°What were they watching?¡± He asked, frustration oozing out of him. ¡°The slaves inside the Mastaba,¡± Flix replied and lit his pipe. Right. There was that. ¡°Can you repair it?¡± Glen asked the still shaking Metu. ¡°Ahm, yes¡­ who will use it, Master Garth?¡± ¡°My wife,¡± Glen replied. ¡°You¡¯ll put the Celestial Opal in here?¡± Metu blurted and Glen eyed him austerely. ¡°After you repaired it, friend. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll do yer best.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no kitchen, baths¡ª¡± Glen cut him off midsentence. ¡°One bath will suffice. We¡¯ll share. Find room for a kitchen. Turn the upper floors into bedrooms.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll place a bath at the entrance?¡± Flix queried. There was some misunderstanding here, Glen thought, about what a bath is and the size of it. Something to worry about at a later time. Glen turned to the slave. ¡°Can we expand the lower floor?¡± ¡°Master Lon has promised to send a building crew as soon as one becomes available,¡± Metu explained. That was vague as fuck, Glen thought. ¡°I believe it can be done,¡± the distressed slave added, eyes red from sobbing. Glen pointed at the piles of debris around the neighborhood. They had a good vantage point from the top. ¡°Use whatever you can find. Lots of stone and finely cut rocks around us. I¡¯ll find proper furniture.¡± ¡°Where sire?¡± The slave probed, wiping his running nose. Glen sighed. ¡°There¡¯s a pirate market, a Cofol market and a black market here apparently. I¡¯m sure something will turn up.¡±
Gimoss was staring at the second building, standing north of the small watch-tower, also across the street from the Mastaba. A small vertical alley separated the two still standing structures, everything else adjoining them had collapsed, or was on its way there. ¡°What¡¯s wit the glassy walls?¡± Glen asked. Some of the buildings had a part of a wall standing. One half of it turned to glass, or covered with it. The sun playing tricks on the shiny surfaces. ¡°Wyvern fire,¡± Flix explained, puffing smoke out of his nostrils. ¡°In this instance a fireball.¡± ¡°How do ye know?¡± ¡°It came from the southeast,¡± Flix pointed with his pipe. ¡°Blew out every house near the tower, missed it for a couple of meters and ended up here. That the warehouse survived was pure luck.¡± ¡°Biscuit can do that?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. He¡¯s too young.¡± Hmm. ¡°Is there a warning sign?¡± ¡°Not that I know of.¡± Seems kind of important friend, Glen thought with a frown. Asking Gimoss was probably not sensible at this time. A quiet corpse was a blessing. Ye don¡¯t rattle him. ¡°It¡¯s missing the roof,¡± Glen noticed to change the subject. They were standing at what once was the entrance of the big warehouse. ¡°It needs tearing down!¡± Gimoss growled, sounding exceptionally mad. ¡°Useless piece of shite! Tiny!¡± Glen sighed. ¡°Metu stay here. Put the crews to work the moment they arrive. Start with the door to secure the Mastaba. Use wood, but work fast. Keep them away from the wyvern. Use him for it,¡± he pointed a finger at the frowning Gimoss. ¡°Don¡¯t kill anyone until I get back. I need to talk with Lon-Iv.¡± And get the lay of the land for myself.
The main artery heading for the port of the shell-shaped old city, cut through its ruined center. A five-carriage wide avenue crossed parts of it untouched from the destruction, but long-abandoned and parts almost completely leveled. If there was a pattern to the mayhem that had occurred here, Glen just couldn¡¯t see it. Approaching the center and more so later, people started appearing. Groups, big and small. Unsavory characters, Cofols, some Lorians and anything in between. Eight out of ten, were hard-faced cutthroats. They occupied whole neighborhoods, if the old buildings were safe, or still standing. The closer they got to the port, the bigger the destruction it seemed. But these were also the parts of the city that showed signs of a rebuilt happening. To the north stood the Pirate quarter, a mix of tents, half-standing old buildings, taverns and brothels every second door and a boisterous market at its edges. To the south, the Khan¡¯s engineers had cleared out the debris, opened up most of the port facilities and had created a small Cofol city within the city itself. Glen spotted a couple of villas, several government buildings and mounted archers patrolling the clean slate-covered streets. The walls painted gold and blue, even a soft red, making the neighborhood and the square before the docks a pleasant place. The sanguine waters framing the port making the picture almost idyllic. The mounted archer stared at him under heavy black eyebrows. ¡°Garth?¡± He repeated, unsure if he¡¯d heard him correctly. ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Glen replied with a wide grin, tanned face contrasting to the amount of white teeth displayed. ¡°And that¡¯s your mother?¡± ¡°Aye, though poor thing can¡¯t speak well. Nurturing me took everythin¡¯ from her.¡± ¡°A Gish?¡± ¡°My father had excessive taste in women,¡± Glen deadpanned with a shrug. The Cofol made to laugh, but caught himself. ¡°An adventurer you say, coming from Merchant¡¯s Triage.¡± Glen nodded. ¡°Is the port working?¡± ¡°Not really. Even if you make it to the straits, the High King¡¯s navy has Shallow Sea locked down tight. You won¡¯t reach Rida, assuming you wanted to get there. Not on a Cofol ship.¡± ¡°How about the pirates?¡± ¡°The Khan has no problems with the local ones,¡± the mounted archer replied. ¡°I counsel against visiting their quarter though. They are after all criminals.¡± Aren¡¯t we all? ¡°Gratitude for the advice.¡± ¡°Luthos be with you,¡± the mounted archer wished him and clicked his tongue to get his horse moving. Glen turned on his saddle to look at Flix. ¡°Well this is disappointing,¡± he said furrowing his brow. ¡°I don¡¯t see the Marquette.¡± ¡°Maybe in the pirates¡¯ part of the port?¡± That would be the northern side of it. ¡°Ah, last couple of times I met wit pirates, they tried to run me through with sharp blades. One smacked me with a bronze carafe¡­ though that was partially justified.¡± ¡°They tend to do that,¡± Flix agreed. ¡°I think that¡¯s Lon-Iv.¡± ¡°Where?¡± Glen asked and twisted around to see where the Gish was pointing. ¡°Before the granite square building. He¡¯s waving his hands? Lovely yellow robe on.¡± Glen could see the Sopat scion now. He¡¯d mistaken him for a whore at first. ¡°Come on boy,¡± he urged Outlaw. ¡°Let¡¯s see what this perfumed degenerate found out.¡±
Lon-Iv Sopat walked them inside the austere granite building. The interior cool, but the front rather empty. At the other side of the stripped down rectangular hall, cases and boxes of supplies and goods were slowly piled up by a determined workforce. Others were working on cleaning up and even painting white the dull grey granite walls. ¡°I¡¯ve seen a similar building in Rida,¡± Glen commented, following the Sopat scion up the stone-tiled stairs to the second floor. ¡°A Mclean & Merck bank.¡± ¡°Of course, no surprise there. It was an Imperial Bank afore,¡± Lon explained walking briskly towards his office. The room lacking a door, but had a large table installed already and a comfortable armchair, with a fancy leopard-skin back. The open windows behind it giving a nice view of the port. ¡°Mclean & Merck just copied the design.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t call it a miracle of architecture,¡± Glen commented, wiping his sweaty face. ¡°It¡¯s sturdy though,¡± Lon replied with a smile. ¡°Only building that survived relatively unscathed. Has a couple of floors under us. Meter thick walls. Easy to repair. We¡¯ll be up and running inside a week. The army left it unused for its lack of¡­ windows. This is the only room that has them.¡± ¡°That¡¯s all very nice Lon. Where¡¯s Sen-Iv?¡± Glen asked dryly. ¡°Do you have a spyglass?¡± Glen blinked unsure on his meaning. ¡°Not on me.¡± ¡°Have mine,¡± Lon replied and reached inside a drawer to find it. ¡°Come to the window.¡±
¡°What am I looking for?¡± Glen asked him, examining the docks through the expensive instrument. Expensive since it was made of silver and ivory, other than the typical cheaper bronze. Lon sparing no expense per usual. ¡°Ships. The Marquette.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see it. That¡¯s a transport, a couple of fishing boats.¡± ¡°What about the Pirates side?¡± Glen turned to examine the more distant part of the port. ¡°That¡¯s not it. Different sails. The one next to it, is too small.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a brig and a schooner. Pirate ships. The latter arrived this week. The brig is moored for a while now.¡± ¡°What did you learn?¡± Glen asked him still looking through the spyglass. The window of their building was giving him a good vantage point. ¡°Follow the coastline,¡± Lon replied. ¡°Towards the natural edge of the gulf, what do you see?¡± ¡°A ship?¡± Glen murmured. ¡°Is it the Marquette?¡± It looks like it, Glen thought. But it was anchored too far away. ¡°Perhaps, I¡¯m not sure.¡± ¡°I asked,¡± Lon said with a sigh. ¡°About a dozen sailors disembarked from it about two months back. Claimed it was.¡± ¡°What about Sen?¡± ¡°Nothing. The worrying part is, as the sailors¡¯ tale goes, this is a pirate vessel now. Under a new captain.¡± What? Glen turned and glared at him. ¡°What the fuck are ye waiting for?¡± Glen hissed, trying to calm himself down and failing. Flix who had remained unseen up until now, walked up to Glen, took the spyglass from him and looked to see for himself. ¡°I can¡¯t admit to the world we don¡¯t know where she is, or that the pirates have her Garth,¡± Lon explained and Glen felt a vein throbbing dangerously on his temple. ¡°It¡¯s a matter of prestige for the family and also a way to keep our negotiating position strong. You don¡¯t throw away coin. Therefore I need to move with caution, so the news won¡¯t spread. In the meantime I¡¯ve sent a bird to Phon-Iv for further instructions.¡± Take a breath. Don¡¯t stab him in the cock. It would be nigh impossible to explain away. Glen¡¯s mouth had dried up. ¡°Do you have wine?¡± Glen asked him and pushing Lon away sat on the armchair trying to regain his composure. He had difficulty standing up. ¡°Ashima, bring us a couple of cups and a bottle!¡± Lon shouted at the door-less opening to his office. ¡°Fuck,¡± Glen gasped, rubbing his face hard. ¡°They must¡¯ve recognized the ship. Dammit!¡± ¡°The ship looks empty,¡± Flix commented. ¡°Ye can¡¯t tell from that distance,¡± Glen argued puffing his cheeks out. ¡°Fuck, I got nothing!¡± ¡°I can tell just fine,¡± Flix countered. ¡°And you have those two sniffing around. The streets have their own tales.¡± Ah. Yes. YES! Glen jumped up and walked to the door, where Lon was waiting for his slave to arrive. ¡°Forget dis shit! I need to go now,¡± Glen told him and the merchant frowned not expecting it. ¡°Lord Glen?¡± Glen flinched and waved his index finger at him. They had agreed Lon won¡¯t use his real name. Lon recovering quickly, changed it to something more accommodating. ¡°Mister Garth, I¡¯ve ordered wine,¡± the merchant said calmly. ¡°Let¡¯s talk about this.¡± Is he plaguin¡¯ serious? ¡°There¡¯s no time!¡± Glen growled. His gut was screaming for him to hurry the fuck up. ¡°There¡¯s always time. Let us learn more, act later,¡± Lon argued with a wave of his wrist, always eager to delve into the minutiae. Eat a bag of sugary dicks, Glen cursed him, never willing to doubt his instincts. Rule of the trade number¡­ three? Or something. ¡°Listen¡­ friend, the pirates have Sen-Iv whether we weigh on it, or not. Yer fuckin¡¯ cousin,¡± Glen admonished the tardy noble, as politely as he could, given the circumstances. ¡°I can¡¯t just sit around and discuss options ¡®n strategy over drinks!¡±
Manvir saw him run down the stairs, a scowl on his face and dark brown hair with gold streaks in them flowing alike a lion¡¯s mane and stumbled away panicked from his horse. Glen grabbed the saddle¡¯s horn with a hand and jumped lithely on the well-used leather seat, then reached for the reins. ¡°Garth,¡± Flix called running after him. The former thief gave him a glance and signed with his head for the Gish to follow him. They crossed the square and headed for the pirate part of the city, the docks on their right and the crews that finished their shifts, returning to rest at their quarters in small tired groups. The mounted archers, remembering them from earlier, allowed them to pass without further questions, but a couple of curious stares. Glen and Flix reached the chaotic pirate market around late noon, the sun turning from a bright gold to a sickly orange and red over Eplas. The merchants were slowly gathering up their produce and goods to retire, the dirty street riddled with rotten vegetables, discarded bottles and smelling of human urine and animal excrement. Sweat, disease and puke the fragrance of choice. And the night hasn¡¯t even started, Glen thought, as they burst out of the market, tents and half-collapsed buildings sprawling out in all directions, every second street a foreboding alley, each new face that of a rascal. If ye were lucky. The pirates¡¯ part of the port had two kind of joints after its market, or variations of them. Taverns and brothels. Some brothels were also inns and taverns, while some taverns, offered ¡®various services¡¯. Literally. It was written under the label. Whatever the fuck that meant. Clint spotted him first and made to smile, before seeing his face and regretting it. Glen¡¯s scowl had turned permanent by now, as the small ride had allowed his worry for the fate of his friends and wife to worsen. Dunstan glugging down what looked like cheap beer, or very frothy piss, finished up quickly almost drowning himself in the process and rushed to greet him. He did it on purpose, as Glen¡¯s furious entry deep into the pirate neighborhood hadn¡¯t gone unnoticed. The fact he was armed and sporting a rather fancy armour for the place, factoring in as well. ¡°Mister Garth,¡± his personal, freshly-hired ruffian said quickly. ¡°We weren¡¯t expecting you in person.¡± Glen grunted too frustrated to catch the shifty lackey¡¯s undertone and jumped from the saddle, under the growing scrutiny of several patrons from the nearby working taverns and brothels. ¡°What have ye learned?¡± He hissed and ¡®Greedy¡¯ Dunstan offered him a foul smirk afore speaking. ¡°Coin might fuel me memory further¡­¡± Glen¡¯s hand dropped to his dagger, Dunstan noticed it and switched his tune midsentence. ¡°¡­but in dis case just ask away chief.¡± ¡°The name of the ship, not moored inside the port,¡± Glen rustled without delays. Clint narrowed his eyes. ¡°What?¡± Glen snapped. ¡°Is it the Marquette?¡± ¡°Aye chief. How do ye know?¡± ¡®Pickpocket¡¯ Clint asked. ¡°I need to speak to its captain,¡± Glen said, disregarding his query. Both of them appeared very troubled at his request. Luthos ye piece of crap deity! What have ye done? ¡°What?¡± Glen growled fearing the worst. ¡°Ah, see now chief, and I might be wrong,¡± Dunstan glanced at the sky, as if to gauge at the time. ¡°The captain might be dead by now.¡± ¡°He¡¯s sick?¡± Glen chanced, working in his mind what this could mean for his friends. ¡°Far from me to speculate,¡± Dustan retorted. ¡°But they were gonna hang him afore last light anyway is the word. Everyone¡¯s hurrying not to miss it.¡± Glen glanced at the crowd noisily dispersing, even those interested in him and Flix. They were headed towards an opening of sorts, a small copse sprouting where an estate¡¯s garden once was. ¡°Flix?¡± Glen asked and the Gish pulled at the reins and turned his horse. ¡°Go,¡± the Imperial Assassin urged Glen, probably trusting his gut instinct as well. ¡°You¡¯re almost out of time.¡±
161. Lord Glen & Mister Garth (2/2)
Mister Garth Lord Glen & Mister Garth Part II -Deal with the Devil-
Damned be those that make deals wit the Devil to Abrakas gullet -Pirate saying- Circa 190 NC
Someone had put a small table under a thick fig tree, tied the end of a hemp rope from a dense branch laden with green fruits and secured the loop at the other end to a man¡¯s neck. The man himself of unimpressive stature. He had his hands tied behind his back and was standing on top of that table, several fallen plump figs next to his expensive black boots. Half of them had splashed open and spilled their guts out attracting bugs of all sizes. The condemned pirate did his best to avoid stepping on them. The figs, not the bugs. Which was one part weird, the other crazy. Glen stopped amidst the modest crowd watching the scene unfold standing in a semi-circle, his eyes mostly on the ring leaders. A well-shaven solemn-faced Issir dressed in priest¡¯s grey and black robes and a double-amputee heavy-set pirate, both limbs replaced with peg legs, just below the knee. The tied up and about to hang pirate captain was the one speaking at that moment, finishing up what had probably been a very long ¡®last words of the condemned¡¯ drunken diatribe, judging by the crowds impressive yawns and barely subdued reactions of discomfort. ¡°¡­allow yer minds be fooled by the likes of ¡®Nine Lives¡¯ ¡®n his ilk ehem¡­,¡± The pirate spat down at this before continuing. ¡°¡­and hang a habitually innocent man. Since none of ye can claim I¡¯ve done any worse than anyone present, then we¡¯re all equally guilty, or equally innocent. Savvy? If the likes of me dangle in dis port, then make more nooses me lovelies, alas Abrakas shall judge ye all accordingly¡ª¡± ¡°Abrakas don¡¯t giv¡¯ a rat¡¯s arse about yer ramblings ¡®n nonsense!¡± Someone yelled having had enough, cutting him off midsentence. ¡°Aye! Buss me arse! Dog¡¯s spawn!¡± Complained another. ¡°Dis fucker be talkin¡¯ for a darn hour!¡± The crowd agreeing, but for one small person that tried to protest loudly, but was grabbed from behind and pummeled senseless into the ground by a group of five. Right, Glen thought smacking his lips. ¡°The Gods have spoken!¡± The austere looking man wearing a weird black top-hat said, raising his sinewy arms. ¡°Let us proceed while we can still see our noses¡¯ tips, so we can all go about our nightly businesses.¡± ¡°Which gods?¡± The about to be hanged captain protested desperately. ¡°Yer a blasted atheist Van Fleet!¡± The crowd almost erupted clearly split at this, with a good number agreeing with his words. ¡°Not one member of the brotherhood supported yer claims,¡± Van Fleet replied scrunching his narrow face not liking losing the crowd. ¡°The one ye had with you, firmly repudiated every word ye sputtered!¡± ¡°Ye promised him me ship! He¡¯ll sell his mother for less!¡± The young man countered, sounding girlish in his worry. Glen could understand that. Fear can strip a man from his essence and snip his balls. With an audible sigh, he shoved a man away from him impolitely channeling Gimoss and stepped forward. Hands hooked on his waistband, chest pushed out. ¡°Ah, I¡¯ve heard enough,¡± Van Fleet admonished the tied up pirate. ¡°Salty Reed, kindly kick the table from under him¡ª¡± ¡°If I may stop ye right there,¡± Glen said loud enough to be heard, voice hoarse from breathing the desert air for months, ¡°And make a counter proposal, friends.¡± Van Fleet whipped his head around, a nasty scowl on his mouth for getting so rudely interrupted at what was probably a well-rehearsed finale. ¡°What? Who in Abrakas toes art you?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t say if art is involved,¡± Glen deadpanned not well versed in the local dialect, over the mostly made of pirates crowd¡¯s loud ¡®arrs¡¯ and curses. ¡°But skill aplenty I assure you. Name¡¯s Mister Garth. I have a proposal to make.¡± The little square had turned silent. A stunned silence, the kind that rarely lasts for long. Be quick, Glen thought and searched the rooftops for Flix¡¯s small shadow. ¡°A proposal?¡± Van Fleet said, curling his lip upwards. ¡°Can¡¯t it wait after the event?¡± ¡°It can¡¯t.¡± ¡°What did he say?¡± A young pirate asked having difficulty understanding Glen¡¯s Common. ¡°He wants to parley,¡± replied another. An older pirate that had learned many jargons after years of plundering all manner of folk. ¡°Is he family?¡± The first one probed, but no one had an answer to that. ¡°What¡¯s with the blades?¡± Pointed a third, the crowd¡¯s murmuring slowly increasing in volume. ¡°Enough! Allgods darnit!¡± Van Fleet silenced them again and turned to him. ¡°Yer a member of the brotherhood perchance, Mister Garth?¡± ¡°Yes¡­ but not your brotherhood,¡± Glen replied with a small pause and stared at him knowingly. Van Fleet narrowed his eyes confused, so Glen added to help him out. ¡°Does it matter? My proposal is beneficial to all you fine folk present here.¡± ¡°What¡¯s yer proposal Mister Garth? We¡¯re running out of sunlight,¡± Van Fleet snapped impatiently. Glen had absolutely no idea how to save the pirate captain. The biggest problem being, he didn¡¯t want to really ¡®save¡¯ him. Glen didn¡¯t give a rusty copper about this ruffian¡¯s life. But he did want information from him. So absent anything less he went with that. ¡°This man knows something I need. Killing him now doesn¡¯t help me,¡± the crowd protested initially, but then quieted down again seeing he hadn¡¯t finished talking. ¡°So to compensate ye for the inconvenience, I¡¯m willing to pay you to get him off yer hands.¡± Van Fleet stood back and grabbed his leather waistband almost like Glen was. He examined him carefully in silence. ¡°What happens after you learn what ye need?¡± The man with the double peg legs asked. That was easy. ¡°I¡¯ll kill him myself,¡± Glen replied without batting an eyelash. He glanced towards the condemned man and the rascal gave him a lewd wink, half his face painted black. ¡°It¡¯s a delay not an exoneration,¡± Glen added with a confused frown and the tied up pirate ogled his own eyes shocked at Glen¡¯s words. ¡°What shall we get, say¡­ we be willin¡¯ to accommodate yer needs?¡± The man asked him, probably another captain, Glen decided. ¡°Fifty Gold Eagles, paid immediately.¡± The man puckered his mouth. He was well in his forties, but hadn¡¯t a grey hair on his head. ¡°That¡¯s a good offer Van Fleet,¡± he finally said. Of course it is. I can buy a stable with that kind of coin. ¡°Bah, I don¡¯t know Dayton,¡± Van Fleet replied. ¡°I don¡¯t like this.¡± ¡°What¡¯s not to like?¡± Glen intervened. ¡°I get him, learn what I want, then he¡¯s dead and you gents get paid gold. And you¡¯re off to yer business now saving time. The night beckons¡­¡± The latter Alix¡¯s favorite line, which appeared to bring part of the crowd to his side. ¡°Lots of good reasoning there,¡± Captain Dayton agreed. ¡°May I have a say in this process?¡± The waiting to be hanged pirate asked. ¡°Ye may not. Nine Lives?¡± Van Fleet asked looking towards the crowd. ¡°Ye should get a cut out of this.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see why he should,¡± Captain Dayton argued, but Van Fleet was adamant. ¡°What are we? Crooks? He gets a cut ¡®No Knees¡¯ Dayton!¡± The apt named captain stilled his¡­ peg legs. ¡°I respectfully disagree,¡± he hissed. Oh, for cryin¡¯ out loud! Glen almost rolled his eyes exasperated. ¡°I¡¯ll pay him as well, not out of yer share!¡± He suggested, his soul hurting deeply. Glen was burning through his stash of coins too fast to even count. ¡°What are ye lad? A travelling bank?¡± Van Fleet argued not convinced. ¡°Throwing coin around like that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s that guy!¡± Someone shouted haunted, as if he¡¯d seen the devil. ¡°Oh shite!¡± ¡°What guy?¡± Van Fleet asked and Glen would love to learn all about that as well, but he knew when to push to close a deal. ¡°Fifty Gold Eagles each!¡± He roared and this silenced the crowd finally. ¡°Each captain?¡± Dayton asked greedily, just to be sure. ¡°That¡¯s more to yer likin¡¯ ¡®Honest¡¯ Fleet?¡± ¡°That seems fair,¡± Van Fleet agreed, a skeptical look on his face. ¡°Nine Lives?¡± Eat turds and die. Who''s that? A man with a leather patch covering an eye stepped forward, currying an unresponsive kid on his shoulder. There was a lot of arse on that kid. Glen almost lost his shit recognizing the shifty figure of Stiles, the shock of seeing him there almost unraveling his plan and killing them all. ¡°I¡¯ll take it, me fellow broth¡¯rs,¡± Stiles said a greedy smirk on his mouth, apparently not recognizing Glen standing across from him. ¡°We still have a crew to raise,¡± seeing the looks on the other captains¡¯ faces, he added quickly. ¡°The proper way, without rattling any of yer feathers.¡± Ye son of a wayward goat, Glen fumed, but kept his tongue in his mouth. ¡°Excellent then,¡± Van Fleet decided and stared at the darkening skies. ¡°Cut him down, keep him tied up. Mister Garth, I presume you have the gold with you?¡± ¡°That would make me an idiot. You¡¯ll get it in two hours,¡± Glen responded calmly. ¡°Name the place. I¡¯ll bring the gold, ye bring the prisoner. A simple exchange. With one caveat.¡± Van Fleet nodded. ¡°Name it.¡± ¡°That dude is present,¡± He said eyes wild and pointed at a frowning Stiles. The man opened his mouth to argue, but Van Fleet stopped him. ¡°Nine Lives?¡± ¡°Him.¡± Van Fleet smacked his lips, austere face relaxing a bit. ¡°It¡¯s a deal.¡±
Flix tossed him the Peleg ¨Cthe narrow bladed, curved shaft Zilan throwing axe- and Glen caught it, turned the finely crafted weapon this way and that, the blade gleaming in the light of the torches. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a street,¡± Flix replied simply, while checking on his grip-less throwing blades. The Gish carried every type of blade one could imagine on him. His harness as heavy as a boulder, which showcased the strength the assassin concealed behind his small stature. ¡°Do you need a blade too?¡± Glen asked Gimoss and the corpse showed him the shovel he¡¯d taken from one of the workers. The details on that exchange murky and Glen didn¡¯t have the time to delve on them. Gimoss had removed the wooden shaft and slotted an iron rail in the ring of the iron tool, almost two meters in length. The custom made shovel weighing a ton and completely dull, more a sledgehammer than a cutting weapon. Outwardly. ¡°I need this to unearth the goat¡¯s bones!¡± Gimoss thundered mightily, never shying away from a loud yell at any time and Dunstan who¡¯d heard all the horror stories from Metu, eyed him apprehensively. ¡°We¡¯re about to make a trade,¡± Glen explained patiently. ¡°Not much digging will be needed.¡± ¡°Hah¡­ haha¡­ Ahahaha!¡± Gimoss guffawed tauntingly. ¡°Is he¡ª¡± Clint tried to say, but Glen stopped him raising a hand. ¡°Don¡¯t. Never address him directly, or otherwise.¡± ¡°Aye, Chief,¡± Clint said quickly and stepped away from the silently seething corpse. The fact they were stopping work for the night, downright insulting to him. ¡°You should work them down to the bone!¡± He blasted unable to keep it in. Gimoss was referring to the workers Lon had sent them earlier. They had arrived before Glen had finished with the pirates. The former thief sighed and glared at him.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. ¡°Let¡¯s finish this first dammit! It¡¯s fuckin¡¯ important!¡± Gimoss swung once with his shovel to see if he could smack Clint on the head, but the brigand had wisely moved away enough and he went wide. But not by much. ¡°Pfft, no it¡¯s not. Ye fools are just trading like cunts!¡± Glen puffed out and stared at the dark empty main road, leading to the port. They had agreed to meet halfway, which meant in turn they were now standing in the middle of Eikenport. The abandoned part per se. ¡°I¡¯ll get up there,¡± Flix said and Glen nodded. ¡°Get the torches mounted, I want the spot lit!¡± Glen ordered his lackeys. ¡°We will stand some way back.¡± ¡°What¡¯s this captain like?¡± Dunstan asked, after securing his torch on a broken wall. Nesande¡¯s Shade and Oras Eye were sending some light down, but not enough and the eerie silent ancient street was rife with shadows. ¡°Slender¡­ ish,¡± Glen replied. ¡°Fancy dressed, painted like a two bits whore. Shifty looking.¡± ¡°Sounds like a good fella,¡± Dustan commented and Glen checked to see whether he was serious, or not. He couldn¡¯t tell and by the time Glen turned his head around, a group had appeared coming towards them. A decent group. Glen counted four torches, the two pirate captains, Stiles and the prisoner, accompanied from at least ten pirates of various looks. Some of them inebriated and fairly decently armed. Actually, they were armed to the fucking teeth, Glen thought furious, the fact they were also well-prepared escaping him. What is dis shite? Does no one trust their fellow man in this fuckin¡¯ place? ¡°Ah, the mysterious Mister Garth. True to his word,¡± Van Fleet said, stopping about five meters away, just at the edge of their lit up spot. ¡°Is the heavy sack at yer feet, what I think it is?¡± ¡°Hundred and fifty gold coins,¡± Glen rustled. He¡¯d counted the darn things thrice, not to give more than the chunk of flesh these troglodytes were skinning off of his person! ¡°Is the captain living?¡± ¡°The fake Vale? Aye,¡± Van Fleet replied and grabbed Vale by the collar. ¡°He asked for a pint o¡¯ grog to help him through the long wait, afore his just demise. Tied him to a barrel for the time was late and I think he managed to glug down half o¡¯ it!¡± Glen nodded, staring at the barely standing upright pirate captain. The fake ¡®Vale¡¯ seeing his scrutiny turned his face and grinned shiftily. Hmm. ¡°Send us the gold, Mister Garth,¡± Dayton said, a giant cutlass hang down his meaty thigh. ¡°Start the prisoner my way, Captain Dayton,¡± Glen countered. ¡°Same time?¡± The pirate haggled and Glen yielded. ¡°Same time. Dunstan, take the sack to them.¡± Dunstan hefted the sack on his shoulder with a sad sigh and turned to walk towards the waiting group. With a shove Van Fleet send Vale stumbling forward, his hands tied before him with a leather cord. Glen wiped the sweat off of his brow, his eyes smarting, body all tensed up. Vale took his time faltering at each step and constantly making comical faces, thin brows joggling, between half-winks and stares of desperation. ¡°Fuck is the matter wit him?¡± Clint murmured in Glen¡¯s ear, the moment dragging. ¡°Him? That¡¯s a fucking ripe cunt ye buffoon!¡± Gimoss roared and started laughing like a man fresh out of the asylum. What is this fool doing? ¡°Shut up damn you!¡± Glen blasted him and Van Fleet spoke right after, voice measured and calculating, loud enough to be heard over the corpse¡¯s chuckles. ¡°There¡¯s a nasty rumor makin¡¯ the rounds in ¡®em good-folk taverns¡¯,¡± the pirate captain said in his heavy jargon looking at Glen under heavy brows. ¡°About a vile magus that birthed a god-darn Wyvern in the desert,¡± Glen flinched at the next words, his right hand lacing to his sword¡¯s handle. ¡°A cannibal and a corpse-lover that pays to get fresh bodies in Jelin gold.¡± What the actual fuck? Glen frowned and Stiles took a step back, a blade in his hand. Everyone had their blades out it seemed. Dunstan stopped a meter from the pirates realizing something was afoot and Vale that had reached them, paint running down his face and panic in his eyes, all but collapsed between them. ¡°Never heard of him!¡± Glen growled and unsheathed his father¡¯s sword. ¡°Are we sharing tales now?¡± ¡°Tales birth truths every day. Hence how we heard of you,¡± Van Fleet retorted. ¡°After Triage, every tavern speaks the story. We don¡¯t do business wit child killin¡¯ monsters Mister Garth.¡± Fuck. ¡°There were no children killed!¡± Glen protested reaching for the sword he carried on his back and several things happened in quick succession in the next moments. ¡°Lies sprout out o¡¯ the Demon¡¯s mouth!¡± Someone yelled, the man from the square that had recognized him earlier, the former thief realized. ¡°Damned be those that make deals wit the Devil¡­ to Abrakas gullet!¡± Van Fleet decided, voice dripping with righteous indignation and unsheathed a forward curved sword Glen had seen among Flix¡¯s arsenal. The Gish had called it a Kopis, an Imperial Hoplite¡¯s side weapon. The one the Pirate Captain carried intricately curved, blade a dull grey and the shaped grip a vivid-white ivory. Vale turned his stumble into a dive on Clint¡¯s feet, intent on grabbing a knife he carried on his belt away from him. The prisoner got his hands on the knife, but Clint managed to stand his ground and backhanded him right at the ear sending his hat away. Dunstan dropped Glen¡¯s sack of gold, the moment Vale¡¯s pained ¨Crather girly- shriek rang down the street and turned to run away. The pirate nearest him made to slash at his back, but got a bolt in the face and died a moment later with a muffle nobody heard. Everything turned to chaos after that.
Dunstan made it almost to their side, as the pirates behind him charged at them after the initial shock. Glen grabbed him by the collar and turned him around the right way, but almost got his hand chopped off by a nasty cutlass the first of the arriving pirates swung at him. Glen let go of Dunstan¡¯s collar and stepped aside, a spurt of blood that sprayed the pirate in the face momentarily blinding him. Dustan dropped on his knees, side of his torso ruined, several ribs cut and pointing out of his torn and bleeding flesh. Glen went for his second blade again, but decided against it seeing two pirates rushing him without thought and sidestepped instead. The first pirate blocked his friend from attacking him, but turned around quick enough for Glen¡¯s sword to cut him right at the face. The longsword¡¯s point opening him up like a trout from chin to forehead. The man went down, gore spraying everyone near him and there were many. Glen ducked under an iron sickle, custom made into a strange sword, slapped a long knife down with the flat of his blade and sliced his opponent left ear off, when his own blade came up. A good part of the pirate¡¯s cheek went along with the severed part of flesh and the man¡¯s eye deflated grotesquely. Fuck. Glen parried the blood-covered man¡¯s cutlass away, slipped in the gore under his feet and almost went down. The man that had missed his chance earlier made to stab him in the back with his sickle, but caught the sharp end of a shovel with his neck and lost his head in the process. Half a foot of spine as well. The pirate¡¯s head flew in the air, mouth still left open in wonder, spreading blood over them and landed on the cracked wall still standing at their right. Good grief ¡®n misery! Glen charged the man that had killed Dustan next, now in the process of duking it out with a livid Clint, a panicked Vale below their feet trying to get away walking on all fours alike a giant cockroach. He had managed to free his hands somehow. Flix killed the pirate Glen was going for with a well-placed bolt through the neck and sent the cursing thief towards the waiting Van Fleet instead. Gimoss deciding this was taking too much time away from actual work, walked purposefully towards the larger group of pirates that bloody shovel resting on his shoulder. ¡°You dump cocksuckers!¡± The corpse rebuked them. ¡°Rebellious spoiled foodstuff!¡± Glen reached the pirate captain, faked a right slash and almost opened his chest up on the return, but Van Fleet dodged and sent another of his lackeys his way. The pirate stumbled forward, but Glen was in rhythm now, his blood fired up and the skill of his opponents clearly lacking severely. He blocked the man¡¯s blade with his, twisted his wrist bringing his blade along and sliced the pirate¡¯s thumb resting at the guard off, the man wailing like a pig getting sluggishly slaughtered with a wooden knife. ¡°Hah!¡± Glen guffawed and kicked the clumsy return away with his boot. It sent the blade flying, as his opponent was unable to hold on to it. ¡°Will ye give up?¡± He taunted, dancing around the wounded man energetically and almost died to Dayton¡¯s large butcher-like weapon. Cursing through his teeth Glen twirled away, a bit of panic setting in, just as Gimoss got knifed in the ribs, his shovel useless as he¡¯d buried it earlier like a spear into a -probably dead now- hapless pirate¡¯s sternum and couldn¡¯t get it out in time. ¡°Ah, stupid dull shite!¡± The corpse bellowed scaring the living daylights out of his opponent still holding on to the knife. The desperate pirate started shoving and moving the blade around as much as he could to cause the maximum amount of damage to the living corpse. The wound created grotesque and the sound of flesh tearing and bones cracking wraithlike. Gimoss watched him struggling for a short moment and then reached with a rot infested hand and grabbed him by the nose. The pirate screamed, but it came out all wrong, as the corpse had pulled down once hard and then heaved upwards with inhuman strength detaching the fleshy protrusion from his head. It took a large flapping piece of face-skin away as well, what was left behind a sobbing mess, the man¡¯s screams chilling. Gimoss silenced him quickly -thankfully of sorts- shoving his fist deep into his skull through the small initial opening and extracting a handful of his bloody mushy brains out. ¡°Ah, there it is!¡± The corpse declared sounding pleased for whatever reason. Glen was busy defending against the deceptively fast Dayton in the meantime, the pirate captain¡¯s heavy weapon numbing his arm every time their blades connected. Dayton swung again and Glen sidestepped this time, slapped the blade aside with his vambrace and then chopped the pirate¡¯s captain sword-arm off right at the elbow. Dayton groaned sending spittle on his face and Glen kicked him hard right at the belly in retaliation, doubling him over. He made to finish him off, but Stiles stepped forward sneakily and tried to knife him in the gut. Glen cursed, baulked away from the nasty curved blade, a wild scowl on his face. ¡°What in the slovenly fuck?¡± He cursed stepping away from the ruffian he¡¯d saved back in Altarin. ¡°Ye revoltin¡¯ ungrateful cretin!¡± Stiles blinked, then paused in turn and gawked at him as if he¡¯d seen a ghost. ¡°Milord?¡± He asked. ¡°Ye live?¡± ¡°Die ye vile creature!¡± Van Fleet bellowed, before the former thief could answer. Glen rolled on the ground, the pirate captain missing him for a hair. ¡°Get him Nine Lives, we have him!¡± He urged the stunned former manservant, apparently turned to piracy again. Van Fleet charged him again a determined look on his face. A scowling and thoroughly pissed Glen rose up, dirt, blood and pieces of flesh on his new armour. He breathed once deep through the nose eyeing the charging pirate Captain and swung wild, just as Van Fleet swung at him in turn, the former thief forgetting Emerson¡¯s lessons.
Luthos chuckled.
Glen¡¯s sword met the exotic Kopis right at the middle, sparks erupting all over their faces and broke in half. Van Fleet¡¯s blade continued undaunted towards him and Glen had to react spastically, despite his utter shock. He dived, forehead smacking Van Fleet in the chest, his sword missing Glen, but for the pommel that caught him on the shoulder pad. Van Fleet cursed, but it came out muffled and stumbled back a couple of feet furious. Glen twisting away as well in full panic, holding on to a handbreadth of blade left above his sword-guard. What in Luthos name? ¡°Imperial steel,¡± Van Fleet growled, his mouth curling upwards. ¡°Yet, the demon lives.¡± Ye fuckin¡¯ cheater, Glen cursed taking a step back quite rattled. His left knee shaking a bit. He went for the Peleg this time, despite knowing fuck all about fighting with it. ¡°Get him Nine Lives,¡± Van Fleet ordered, but Stiles didn¡¯t react. ¡°What the¡­¡± ¡°You move an inch,¡± Flix was heard from atop the collapsed roof, crossbow in his hands. ¡°You¡¯re done.¡± Van Fleet glanced towards the small-bodied Gish, but he couldn¡¯t see much in the darkness of the ruin, but for his long shadow. He then eyed the rest of the street, bodies scattered everywhere, severed hands and heads. Gore on the ground, blood on the cracked walls and discarded weapons. Mostly from his men. The majority of them dead. Dayton trying to staunch the bleeding and another poor soul barely standing upright, looking at the corpse slurping on his friend¡¯s brains in the middle of the street. The latter part disturbing for all. ¡°It appears we are at an impasse,¡± Van Fleet said, but took a cautionary step back ruining his own argument. ¡°Nah,¡± Glen replied flipping the Peleg once and catching it deftly, all fake bravado, as he was still shook from what had happened earlier. ¡°I¡¯m good for another round.¡± ¡°You can have the impostor,¡± Van Fleet offered. ¡°I¡¯m nothing of the sort!¡± Vale protested, suddenly livelier than he was a moment before. ¡°Shut up!¡± Both Glen and Van Fleet rebuked him. Glen nodded and the pirate captain returned his nod with one of his. ¡°Until next time, Mister Garth,¡± Van Fleet said with a toothy smirk. ¡°Sure,¡± Glen retorted with an even toothier grin than his. ¡°Take the invalid wit you. He¡¯s running out of blood ¡®n limbs.¡± In his mind this was the best pun of the night.
¡°You okay there Clint?¡± Glen asked the sniffling brigand. ¡°Aye, Chief. It¡¯s just that I knew ¡®Greedy¡¯ me whole life ye see,¡± Clint said standing up. Glen stared at the still warm corpse of Dunstan. The look of horror on his face disturbing. Uh. ¡°Right. Ahm¡­ well, take pride in the fact ye avenged the one responsible for his untimely demise,¡± Glen consoled him lamely. Truth be told, he wasn¡¯t certain the one responsible was truly dead, but the right thing to do here is lie to the man, he decided. ¡°Now, since we¡¯re on borrowed time. Grab that rascal Vale, tie him up proper again and bring him to our place.¡± Glen looked at Stiles next. ¡°Where¡¯s Fikumin?¡± He asked. ¡°Where are the others?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t go wit them,¡± Stiles replied. ¡°Got lost after the attack.¡± ¡°Yer lying.¡± ¡°Not really. It was chaos, Glen.¡± ¡°Name¡¯s Garth, mister Stiles.¡± Stiles nodded. ¡°Thought as much.¡± ¡°See ye remember it,¡± Glen warned him. ¡°I haven¡¯t finished wit you. Ye go with Clint. Stay away from the Mastaba, if ye know what¡¯s good for you.¡± Flix had approached him in the meantime. ¡°Why stop the fight?¡± Glen asked him. ¡°Would you have allowed me a shot?¡± Flix asked. ¡°To finish it quickly?¡± ¡°Nah,¡± Glen replied and glanced in the old Gish¡¯s face. ¡°Yeah, I get it.¡± ¡°He had the advantage,¡± Flix elucidated. ¡°Imperial steel?¡± ¡°A named weapon. That was ¡®Reaper¡¯ the Kopis,¡± Flix explained. ¡°The color of its blade is unique.¡± ¡°You know he had it?¡± ¡°The Van Fleet are Issirs that never stopped pirating, since the days of Reinut,¡± the Gish said. ¡°They are the most influential faction, along the Attertons¡¯,¡± he paused and stared at the subdued pirate getting his hands tied up, before adding. ¡°And the Vales¡¯. Pirate royalty in a sense.¡± ¡°Hence this impostor¡¯s tale wasn¡¯t well received,¡± Glen agreed with a sigh. Flix kept his eyes on the scarf-wearing small-bodied pirate for a moment longer than necessary. He licked his lips then and furrowed his washed out brows mid-move surprised. The Gish checked the empty road, then the ruin they were standing next to, curiosity oozing out of him and his tiny nostrils sniffing at the night air. ¡°What is it?¡± Glen asked him. ¡°Are they coming back?¡± ¡°Not yet,¡± Flix replied deep in thought, as if something was bothering him. ¡°But we should move.¡± Glen didn¡¯t have to be told twice.
They left the others move ahead and rode at the rear to watch for any pirates following them. Sure one could find out where we¡¯re staying, Glen thought. But I won¡¯t make it easy on them. Flix was riding next to him silently. ¡°You¡¯re worrying me friend,¡± Glen told him. ¡°We got the captain and Stiles. We¡¯re going to find out what happened to my friends.¡± ¡°Wasn¡¯t Stiles a friend?¡± Flix asked him. Glen sighed. He had his father¡¯s broken sword in his hands. The memory of the Kopis going through the blade and coming at him haunting. How do ye fight that? A fool can kill you. ¡°More like a manservant. I spared him from execution,¡± Glen explained. ¡°A slave,¡± Flix said, looking ahead. It didn¡¯t sit well with Glen. ¡°It¡¯s not as simple as that, Flix.¡± ¡°Ah, but it is, Garth,¡± Flix replied. ¡°Don¡¯t worry I understand,¡± Glen grimaced, the Gish gave him a reassuring smile, again frowning in the middle of it. He turned on the saddle and stared at the empty dark street behind them. Then at both sides of the ruined buildings that were looming over them, hugging Eikenport¡¯s main artery and leading back to their base. ¡°Flix, you¡¯re making me nervous. What has you worried, friend?¡± Glen asked him again. The old Gish chuckled at that and stared at his tanned, bearded face. The dark never bothered his old eyes much and Glen¡¯s amber eyes were gleaming like warm gold in the light of the moons anyway. ¡°Not worried,¡± Flix replied with an embarrassed grin. ¡°Ehm, aroused¡­ it¡¯s been years.¡± Glen frowned, scrunched his face this way and that and something jumped out of the shadows and landed on the saddle right behind his back. He made to reach for the Peleg, his muscles screaming and adrenalin surging, but remembered he¡¯d a broken piece of sword in his hands and hissed frustrated. His body locking up, when the point of a sharp blade touched the soft skin below his right ear. Oh, that¡¯s just plaguin¡¯ great! Glen groaned inwardly, super frustrated. ¡°Tell yer Gish to lower that shit, else me digit might spasm,¡± Jinx whispered in his ear, tip of a tongue tasting his sweat. ¡°Tis a chronic condition. Can¡¯t help it.¡± 162. The Imperial Hoplite
Anfalon, of Orloriel First of the Hallowed The Imperial Hoplite
Sing O¡¯ Muse, so the past¡¯s greatest heroes be remembered Of the Towering Quiceran and Nuala, the Lissome Let thy tongue roll O¡¯ Goddess, so our heart¡¯s desire be tempered Of Ninthalor, the Brazen and the Insolent Baltoris Hum tenderly O¡¯ Garden¡¯s Mistress, of past¡¯s splendor surrendered Of Moon¡¯s sacred daughter thrice blessed and thrice cursed Let thy tongue whisper O¡¯ Divinity, allow a caress tenderly entered Of Master Elas, the Wise and the Great Anfalon, the Sentinel of the egress Still standing guard at your Realm - Zilan psalm, (Song of Dawn*) (Unknown date, probably 2nd Era) - *This older pre-existing version inspired Phinariel¡¯s famed hymn ¡®Song of the Third Era¡¯ Written more than a millennia later (around 210 NC, or 3416 IC)
The sun slowly rose over the Pale Mountains. It stayed behind the towering Ovinet¡¯s Nest for a long moment, creating a golden halo at its tallest point. The jungle now covering the land from Hunter¡¯s Watch to the Goddess Wall and from Wyvern¡¯s Mouth to Merodras River slowly coming alive. Birds chirped, insects buzzed and beasts snarled. A winged monkey cackled behind a tree, then swung over a branch and disappeared. Anfalon stood up slowly and checked the modest campsite and his possessions. The polished black muscled thorax, same color steel greaves and gleaming black Hoplite helmet with the red and gold crest, appeared drenched from the night¡¯s humidity, so he moved the heavy pieces of his panoply away from the massive mahogany tree¡¯s heavy shade. Left them on a soft cloth to slowly dry, while he cleaned his weapons. The sword with the front-curve, named Acharn in the Old Tongue, or Vengeance. Made of a single piece of grey steel with a faint red hue, the grip decorated with a thick outer layer of spell-shaped ivory, with hollows for the fingers matching perfectly Anfalon¡¯s hand. The sinister steel spear, named Wraith. Eight feet in length, the blade leaf-shaped and the butt ending in a foot long spike. The Aspis, the heavy round Hoplite shield, named Umbas. All black, but for the Wyvern¡¯s head depicted on its outer surface in crimson red. He used thick oil for the blades first, finer for the finishing passes. Checked for cracks on the antique steel, but found none. Satisfied and after placing all his tools into a leather knapsack, he put his panoply over his muscled chest, tipped his full head covering helm back, to better see the terrain and started down the Hunter¡¯s Watch. Anfalon went into the jungle to start his two months long patrol. Down the coast, skirting the gulf at Wyvern¡¯s Mouth first, then he¡¯d cut North through the hostile wilderness, following an ancient road that didn¡¯t exist anymore, towards Merodras unfriendly waters. The route would bring him west next following the riverbank, keeping the mass that was the Goddess Wall, what the Sinya Nore called the Pale Mountains, over his right shoulder. All the way to the deceptively deep acid lake, the Hfrial Depths. A day¡¯s walk from Hunter¡¯s Watch where his patrol would end. It was a menial task for a soldier of his station, but one doesn¡¯t pick what he¡¯ll do in the service. Guard the wall Anfalon, the Queen had ordered, until I get back. When the world burned and the others left to help their families, or die with them, he stayed and waited. When they informed him of the Queen¡¯s demise and Empire¡¯s Fall, he increased the size of his patrol to incorporate the coast as well. Anfalon would have guarded everything to the port of Goras, but Goras was no more. So he never went there. Sometimes he would pause on the coast and stare at the misty waters trying to spot any ship approaching. No ships did, but the Kraken came twice in two hundred years. It rose silently from the depths, like a small island sprouting inside the gulf and stared with its sole black eye the coastline. It stayed for an hour almost each time, then left probably to return to the temple of Abrakas on Barmont Isle somewhere in the Reefs, where the foul Ticu still worshiped it.
A month later, Anfalon kicked aside a green-orange flesh-eating Nepthal root and the intelligent plant retracted and followed him from a distance. A bright yellow giant parrot jumped on a branch above his head and stared at him as he cleaned his hard-lined face with a cloth. The parrot didn¡¯t speak, but warned him of someone following him. Thinking it was the Nepthal, Anfalon didn¡¯t bother himself and resumed his journey towards the river. Merodras River announced his presence with a constant buzzing a day later. The ground turned muddy, the vegetation thicker and poisonous. Anfalon didn¡¯t bother himself with that as well. He was old enough to be immune to the forest¡¯s poisons. The ancient soldier had achieved this remarkable feat the only way one could. ¡°You get poisoned enough times and survive it,¡± he told himself, just to wake up his tongue, as he hadn¡¯t talked in months. ¡°Eventually your body adapts.¡± Three days later the route turned following the river¡¯s flow away from Ovinet¡¯s Nest shade and the sun turned the jungle into Quiceran¡¯s famed steam baths. Anfalon pressed on, drenched in sweat intending to reach one of Merodras breaking away branches, the one pouring into the Hfrial Depths and make camp there. A three-eyed python almost fifteen meters long, tried to test him during the night, but Anfalon killed him with his spear and ate his flesh raw, kept the sturdy leather to make a new pair of boots. At the site of the old bridge over Merodras, the stone supports still visible and the walkway covered in thick undergrowth, as many snakes nesting on its deck as ancient hidden tiles, he stopped to rest. Anfalon gathered old wood to make a fire to dry his panoply and service his gear. It took him four hours to get a spark going and he used all his firestones for it, the wood rotten, drenched and unsuited for kindling. He stepped away from the thick smoke and worked on clearing a larger area from shrubs and plants. Anfalon paused to listen for the Nepthal, but the flesh-eater had found other food weeks back and had left him alone. He glanced at the rising smoke next and then shook his head. It was giving away his position, but no one had bothered him in years. Everyone knew there was an Imperial Hoplite patrolling these parts and stayed well clear of the area. If there was anyone left bothering that is. Anfalon grunted and walked to the river, gathered foul water in a metal flask and then brought it back to his fire. He threw the uncorked flask in it and watched it slowly turn red and bubble for an hour. He then used his dagger to pry it away from the embers, left it to cool and sipped a mouthful of foul smelling, bitter water. Again, drink enough foul stuff for a long while and you¡¯ll get used to it. Satisfied, he found a good fell trunk and put his back on it. He relaxed, glanced at the setting sun for one more time and then closed his eyes to sleep. He dreamed of war.
A stem snapping woke him up an hour before dawn. Anfalon opened his silver-purple eyes and listened to the woods and the river flowing. He listened for other sounds, but found none. The soft breeze brought him a tease of sweat other than his own and a whiff of burning sandalwood. One coming from the top of a tree across his camp fire and the other-more cautious one- hidden in a shade. Its exact position veiled from the spell. Anfalon grimaced and pushed himself up. He stretched to wake up his muscles and then walked towards the thirty meter tall tree, its bark a dark-red, one of many beyond the area he¡¯d cleared the other day. He put a hand on the hard surface, the trunk almost two meters wide, its hidden roots even harder and deep under the soil. Anfalon gave it a push and then stared at the dark canopy over his head. Sighing, he put both hands on the trunk and gave it a proper shove. The tree shuddered, branches snapping and bright green fruits started dropping from above. Anfalon kept at it, the large tree slowly moving back and forth gaining momentum, the ground peppered with more round melon sized fruits and broken branches. A moment later he let go and walked back some meters, slapping a falling heavy-laden branch away from his head. The fruits were uneatable, by they produced good paint, both for garbs and walls, if mixed with alcohol. ¡°I can set it on fire,¡± Anfalon said although he couldn¡¯t, voice raspy from inactivity.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it A fruit bounced off of his helm almost knocking it away, as he was wearing it tipped off his face. Then another, which he slapped away annoyed. ¡°I almost fell down,¡± a girl said from above, sounding annoyed. And very young. ¡°It¡¯s a small drop,¡± Anfalon replied a little amused and more than a little surprised. ¡°Your Imperial is atrocious.¡± ¡°It¡¯s twenty meters!¡± The girl hissed. ¡°And I can barely understand you. So we¡¯re even!¡± A long leg appeared through the canopy, found purchase on the hard bark, naked toes clasping at it. Then another, a girl¡¯s behind barely covered in a leather loincloth following. Anfalon stepped back and repositioned the helm on his head, while he waited for her to climb down.
The girl had bright blue hair gathered in a long ponytail that reached low at her back. She wore a leather vest over her small breasts, the skin pale underneath and a loincloth that left her long legs uncovered. While tall for her age, she barely reached Anfalon¡¯s chin. Her face was round, her ears long with a teasing curve at their tips and her eyes had more green in them, than blue or silver. The pout on her lips almost comical and unsuitable for her station. A child of the woods, Anfalon thought. A stray. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± He asked, scratching his cheek with a long finger. ¡°Phina,¡± the girl replied looking at him with interest. ¡°Phinariel,¡± she added seeing his frown. ¡°What¡¯s yours?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not courteous to ask queries of your betters.¡± ¡°Says who?¡± Anfalon grimaced taken by surprise, again. ¡°People living in courts, I suppose,¡± he finally said. ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± ¡°Apparently.¡± ¡°Are you?¡± These was the most words Anfalon had uttered in a single session, for a couple of centuries at least. ¡°I¡¯m not, I suppose.¡± ¡°So? Do I get a name, or should I call you fancy armor?¡± Phinariel probed. ¡°It¡¯s Anfalon, of Orloriel.¡± Phinariel shook her head. ¡°How did you know I was up there?¡± ¡°You make too much noise. By the way, you¡¯re not allowed here.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°It¡¯s Imperial land,¡± Anfalon explained, slowly losing his patience. ¡°I don¡¯t know what that is. There are no ruins here,¡± Phinariel bumbled excited. ¡°But I walk the ruins all the time and no one ever said anything. How can you tell?¡± Anfalon smacked his lips. ¡°How old are you?¡± ¡°Fifteen.¡± Anfalon stood back stunned. ¡°How¡­ are you sure?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a tree like this in my village,¡± she pointed a thin finger behind her. ¡°I scratch a line every time a season ends. My mother started it, I just keep it up.¡± This was outrageous. Impossible. ¡°Your mother?¡± ¡°She¡¯s dead now. The lion got her,¡± Phinariel replied, suddenly very sad. Her sorrow jumped out of her so strong, it almost overwhelmed Anfalon¡¯s senses and he staggered taken again by surprise. ¡°What lion?¡± He croaked, too many things to process at once. His routine ruined. ¡°The two headed one. It came from the mountains,¡± Phinariel sniffled, tears running down her cheeks. ¡°Our best hunter is missing and no one can deal with it.¡± ¡°Wait,¡± Anfalon stopped her. He grimaced, not sure how to deal with this, or why he should even care, since she was an outcast. ¡°A hunter you said. A village, where is this?¡± ¡°Beyond the acid lake,¡± Phinariel replied. ¡°People got tired of living in the woods, my mother used to say and decide to come out. Started our village.¡± ¡°People¡­ you mean like you?¡± Anfalon asked. Phinariel blinked. ¡°Like you,¡± she replied looking at him. ¡°Without the fancy armor.¡± Anfalon grimaced, his square jaw quivering, fury spilling out. ¡°I¡¯m a member of the warrior class!¡± He snapped insulted and Phinariel stumbled back shocked. ¡°I¡¯ve served for well over two thousand years!¡± He growled and realized the girl had collapsed on her knees and was sobbing uncontrollably. Anfalon cleared his throat, the jungle silent around them, the river flowing unperturbed and stared at her again. Curse the Gods! ¡°Why did you come here?¡± He asked her and she wiped her face, still sniffling. ¡°It¡¯s a long way from the lake. Weeks in the jungle.¡± Phinariel hugged her shoulders rocking back and forth nervously. The girl had almost turned into a ball at his feet. ¡°There¡¯s a cursed warrior patrolling the river, was the tale we were told,¡± she murmured in her incompressible dialect and Anfalon had to stoop over her to listen. ¡°A remnant of the evil dead. A spirit of the ruins. He comes and goes like the seasons. Months pass, before he appears again. People see him coming from afar and disperse. Years after years, he comes and goes. But he never ventures beyond the lake. Some say he can¡¯t,¡± Phinariel raised her swollen eyes and stared at him. ¡°I told myself if you¡¯re real, I can talk you to help us,¡± she wiped a tear from her dirty cheek with the back of her hand. The eyes of a stray, Anfalon thought shook to his core. Uncultured savages. Kick her away. Wait¡­ Arrgh. ¡°What do your people call themselves?¡± He asked, crossing his arms on his steel chest. ¡°Strong breeze amidst the trees,¡± Phinariel replied in her mix of Imperial and Common. Strong breeze turned into one word in the Old Tongue. Zilan. Ah, damn it all to hells, Anfalon mused, a lump in his throat and stooping grabbed the girl by the arm and lifted her up. ¡°You clean yourself up now,¡± he rustled, voice hoarse from talking so much and the emotion that had sneaked up on him. ¡°There¡¯s some dry meat in my knapsack. Have at it. Don¡¯t drink all my water. A sip is more than enough.¡± ¡°What kind of meat?¡± Phinariel murmured, unsure at his sudden change in demeanor. ¡°Python meat. Very nutritious.¡± ¡°Uh. I¡¯ll have a fruit.¡± ¡°Negative,¡± Anfalon replied sternly. The girl needed to shape up her character post-haste. Turn into a proper person. First thing to learn was to listen to commands. ¡°You¡¯ll eat the meat.¡±
Anfalon had watched Phinariel sleeping for a while, next to his fire. The Imperial Hoplite lost in his own thoughts. The patrol interrupted. The task left incomplete. Though I¡¯d almost finished anyway, he thought, searching for a reason to justify the detour. Instead of returning to the Hunter¡¯s Watch to recuperate and rest, I¡¯ll travel beyond the lake. Check on that village. We can¡¯t have people up and building on Imperial land. The Queen hunted there. These people need to disperse, or else. Zilan, he corrected himself again. Not birthed by spirits in the woods. Edlenn was right all along. The thought sacrilegious. He shifted away from the fire and walked near the woods, his eyes adjusting in the dark, the moons light never reaching under the canopy. Took the helm off his head and placed it carefully on a big root. Placed his shield on the trunk and put his back on it. The woods quiet and eerie still, just like they were all day. You scared everything away old friend, Anfalon thought with a shake of his head. So much excitement after so many years. Perhaps it is a sign. He reached into his small satchel and got a lightstone out. Anfalon flipped it once in his hand and then placed it on the root, next to his helmet. He stared at the imposing eye-slits, the thin straight gashes down the foreboding nose-guard and smiled, just as the lightstone lit up and the polished helmet¡¯s surface made the shadows dance around it. ¡°What gave me away?¡± Old Dar Nym whispered, voice coming from all directions, although the Guardian of the Circle was very near now. ¡°Ripe sandalwood. It only grows that old in Nesande¡¯s Garden. Nowhere near here,¡± Anfalon replied, the master assassin¡¯s breath turning into a chuckle in his ear for a fraction of a second and then Nym appeared, long legs crossed, head tossed back in a relaxed pose, sitting on the root next to the Hoplite¡¯s helmet. The light dancing on the youthful -rarely unmasked- face making the indigo eyes gleam. ¡°Cherished Anfalon,¡± Nym greeted him with a teasing smile, like the old days. ¡°What brought Nym out of Elas Study?¡± Anfalon asked, not falling for the mummer¡¯s trick. ¡°Visit you?¡± ¡°Why now?¡± ¡°Will this thing with the girl take long?¡± Nym changed the subject. ¡°I have time old friend and an abundance of patience.¡± ¡°Aww, now you make me wish I¡¯d killed her. I¡¯d spotted her way before you did. That¡¯s not polite.¡± Anfalon crooked his mouth and stooped forward. ¡°Whatever scheme you have going, I¡¯m not interested,¡± he told the youthful looking assassin. ¡°I would never take orders from you.¡± Nym reached with long graceful fingers for the lightstone. The light snuffed out the next moment. Nym¡¯s way of showing displeasure had never changed. ¡°I want to know where the door is,¡± the assassin whispered a moment later. ¡°That¡¯s not how it works. Why?¡± ¡°I want to make sure someone comes through safely.¡± Anfalon snorted. ¡°Any Zilan can make the journey safe enough.¡± ¡°Will that one make it?¡± Nym queried. The youngling was the Assassin¡¯s meaning. A masterful dodge, a query concealed within a query. What are you up to? Anfalon stared at the distant fire and little Phinariel sleeping next to it. ¡°She¡¯s young and untrained. A child, barely above a fool.¡± ¡°But still,¡± Nym trailed. ¡°With help and a bit of luck. A push here, a bit of poison there. The touch of a blade and the allure of seduction.¡± Anfalon frowned and glared at the elusive shadow. ¡°That¡¯s not how it works!¡± He grunted and Nym chuckled. The noise coming from above him, the assassin long gone. Nym¡¯s voice remained, myriad different whisperings from the shadows, behind bushes and foreboding tree trunks. Ever changing in gender and age to confuse him, although Anfalon knew very well who Nym was, since their almost common start and ties with Nureria. Close but not family. The Master Assassin¡¯s words simple. You never liked being denied, Anfalon thought. Then it turned worse. ¡°What if it came from a Wyvern? An Aniculo Rokae reborn,¡± Nym¡¯s female voice teased, as if to spite him. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t a soldier follow its command?¡± It was an enticing query, but Anfalon put the matter aside. If Nym had a Wyvern, the assassin would have led with that.
163. Glimpses of future past (1/2)
Lussiel Inis-Mir paused next to the last two life-sized female effigies before the exit of the aptly named Garden of Statues. Her first official visit to the famed place almost over. She placed a graceful toned hand on the taller of the two -just a hair shorter than her- long fingers adorned with intricate gold rings and thin silver chains dangling from her intricate gold and rubies-ornamented bracers. The gems on them matching the myriad shades of red and amber in her expressive eyes. She traced tenderly with a finger the strikingly life-like familiar face, many a times depicted in the palace, on walls and paintings. Both statues made of rare white-gold standing next to each other ¡®guarding¡¯ the huge arching gates. The third figure left unfinished across from them with its podium only built. With a soft gasp, she withdrew her hand from the first statue. Lussiel stared at its shorter strange companion next, the grin on it so brazen it brought one as well on her usually unappeasable painted full lips. The young woman touched the beautifully sculpted bow and then the rectangular quiver hanging from the petite Ranger¡¯s back. She remembered hers left on her horse. Same bow almost and certainly the same quiver. She read the full name written on the heavy marble pedestal and frowned. ¡°That¡¯s her then,¡± Lussiel noticed a little annoyed. ¡°She did have my name.¡± Maeriel never standing too far apart turned to stare at her sternly, dark-green Imperial Hunter¡¯s hard-leather armour rustling in discomfort. The silvery-gold and green Zilan¡¯s eyes haunted at the memories. ¡°It would rile her up to no end, hearing you say that your highness,¡± the ranger admonished her, like only those of the first followers dared. ¡°And it would have saddened your father deeply. Only those the Monarch loved dearly have entered his Garden.¡± Events recorded on the first month of Summer 208 NC by Phinariel, the Boorish Poet, Royal Scribe, Member of the Queen¡¯s Council In the final manuscript and tome of her Magnus Opus titled Apotheosis (The King¡¯s Heritors) Chapter II Netela (The Daughter) -Riel Lussiel Inis*-Mir, O¡¯ Nielek Aniculo- (Celebrated in the Austere Archaic Cofol of the Four Old Sisters** as, ¡®Royal Princess, Precious Humming* (or Whispering) Opal, of Onyx Wyvern¡¯ Commonly known as, Gilded Monarch of Tenebrous Castle, in both Jelin & Eplas ¡®Horrid Crimson Lucy¡¯ in war-torn Kaltha, the ¡®Winged Fiend of New Goras¡¯ in defiant ravaged Regia, and spawn of ¡®Saereg O¡¯ Eodrass¡¯ by the baleful Aken Elders. The latter just another name, for Dragon God¡¯s Blood in the Old Tongue.) - Entered into the Royal Library, In 219 NC, Circa 3425 IC ¨Cconsolidated- (3rd Era) *The older inscribed Royal Imperial (Court Tongue) used here, when converted in Jelin Common, which was the King¡¯s first tongue give Whisper(-ing) as the first meaning, Hum (sing) as second. **Four Old Sisters (of the ¡®Peninsula¡¯.) The common moniker for the ancient grant Imperial City ports of Greenwhale. (Lai Zel-Ka, Ani Ta-Ne, Fu De-Gar and Que Ki-La)
Glen Mister Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Glimpses of future past Part I -If gold could rule this Realm alone-
¡°Whisper, get that plaguin¡¯ blade off my neck! Are you kiddin¡¯ me?¡± Glen roared irate managing to nick himself, blood trickling down his collar. ¡°FUCK!¡± ¡°Why do ye sound¡­?¡± Jinx wondered uneasy and then popped her pink head from the side to look at his profile. Granted these idiots had their neighborhood dark per his orders, but still¡­ ¡°Glen? Oiii, haha! Glen!¡± She blasted in his ear and hugged his bleeding neck, almost toppling them both from the saddle, while her knife almost slashed his nose off. ¡°You fool, I almost killed ye!¡± Yer still trying it! ¡°Yer so lucky, aww look at dis mug. There¡¯s a smell on ye, very weird. Mmm.¡± A sweating Glen, heart beating wild from the scare, tried furious to untangle himself and get his hands on the knife to take it off her, afore losing something valuable. Jinx though, just wouldn¡¯t let him go. She kept brushing her cheek on his ear, either excited, or just cleaning herself up. Half of what she murmured whilst rubbing on him ineligible. ¡°Abrakas toes! I had all but given up hope truly, but drunk a lot and faked it for Sen¡¯s sake,¡± she purred between sniffles, Flix watching them sneering like a hag in heat from his horse. ¡°Whisper. Let go of the neck,¡± Glen tried again using a stern tone, when Outlaw stopped before the old Watch Tower ¨Cto be turned into a house of sorts- and neighed tiredly. ¡°And lose the plaguin¡¯ knife! I¡¯m still in danger for fuck¡¯s sake! From you!¡± ¡°Eh, don¡¯t be a sour cunt. Ye just don¡¯t want to admit you missed me,¡± Jinx replied and let him go. Glen immediately jumped down and checked on his neck with his fingers. Despite the blood the cut was superficial, but still¡­ was that knife ever cleaned? ¡°Why in Luthos arse did ye jump on me?¡± He blasted her regaining his footing. Jinx¡¯s much longer hair was kept off her oval face, tied in a ponytail in a fresh look. It makes her face look bigger somehow, Glen thought, and kind of empty. Uh, maybe it¡¯s the lack of a nose? A subject one should never bring up with the young Gish. ¡°I was following Garth!¡± Jinx snapped back. ¡°And that skank Stiles!¡± She was right on both counts. ¡°Listen,¡± Glen said raising a palm ¨Cfingers laced pointing up- to stop her. ¡°There¡¯s are some sensitive deals goin¡¯ on¡ª¡± He never got the chance to finish. ¡°No way! What? I just noticed it!¡± Jinx gasped and jumped down. She walked up to him and slapped his hand away. ¡°Yer way bigger! What the actual fuck?¡± Glen sighed and pressed the nasal bone on his nose with thumb and mid-finger to alleviate a lurking headache. ¡°I may have gotten some extra kilos on lately,¡± he admitted a moment later sucking his stomach in ¨Cnot that it showed. When you find free food, ye stuff yerself to the brim. ¡°In fat?¡± Jinx probed poking with a finger at his belly over the armor. ¡°Muscle,¡± Glen grunted in annoyance. ¡°Hear me out Whisper, I need to tell you some stuff¡ª¡± ¡°Why did ye treat Leo so poorly?¡± Jinx cut him off again, making no sense at all. Glen reached down in her leather vest and grabbed the red shirt she had underneath. Pulled her upright using it, the flimsy material surprisingly holding. ¡°Is that silk?¡± He asked her perturbed. ¡°Since when¡­ ah, never mind that. Who the fuck is Leo?¡± ¡°Tis a fine indoors tunic,¡± she explained all proud, then frowned. ¡°What do you mean? You have her tied up!¡± Jinx put both her hands before her mouth at that, eyes opened wide in shock for some mysterious reason. Huh? Who¡¯s she? Ah, anyways¡­ I¡¯m pretty sure I don¡¯t have... Then again¡­ Whisper can barely string two words together half the time. Poor thing is basically illiterate. ¡°You don¡¯t mean the pirate scum?¡± Glen queried finishing his biased retrospection and narrowed his eyes. ¡°Yer on a first name basis wit him?¡± He paused to suck air in and then stooping abruptly, Glen unleashed in her face. Lots of spaying spittle connecting with the Gish. ¡°WHAT HAPPENED TO SEN?¡± Jinx didn¡¯t even blink. She raised a hand to wipe her face, licked her palm to clean it up alike a cat and then sighed. Her breasts swelling underneath the vest. It seemed the Gish had grown aplenty as well, Glen noticed, his interest purely academic. ¡°Sen is on the ship still. I wouldn¡¯t let anything happen to her. She¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°The ship that ruffian stole!¡± Glen growled, righteous fury for the dastardly deed overwhelming him. He glanced towards the Watch Tower, Stiles appearing at the doorstep briefly to spy on their talk and missed Jinx¡¯s response. ¡°What was that?¡± ¡°Sen gave him the ship,¡± Jinx repeated. ¡°Twas a trade.¡± What in the slovenly fuck? ¡°A trade?¡± Glen grunted choking up in his own spit. He wasn¡¯t sure how to handle this. ¡°Why in Luthos loud fart would she ever do that? My ship! Twas the only ship I ever had! What is this shite? Have you women lost yer bloody minds?¡± He stopped breathing heavy and drenched in sweat, several workers sleeping in the tower waking up to see what all the yelling was about. Stiles appeared in the doorstep again, glanced sneakily at them and hid inside again. ¡°Stiles! Ye rotten cretin! Get yer arse out here now!¡± Glen barked his throat hurting. Jinx put a hand on his chest to stop him. ¡°Remove that,¡± Glen rustled, not in the mood for petting. ¡°We were attacked by pirates, afore Leo found us,¡± Jinx said calmly. ¡°Helped us reach Eikenport.¡± ¡°Leo, the pirate?¡± Glen asked with a glare. ¡°That lying scum got my ship as reward? It was a bloody con job Jinx! Gods! Did ye seriously fall for that?¡± ¡°Most of the crew was killed. Zola¡­ as well.¡± Glen blinked too stunned to respond. He gulped down, feeling weak in the knees at the news. No. ¡°Zola¡­ was killed. She¡¯s dead?¡± Jinx scrunched her face, lots of pain bubbling to the surface. She looked older now that Glen was looking at her better in the decent light. The darkness had retreated somewhat strangely. Wait¡­ He blinked again, then frowned and turned to see Flix holding a lightstone in his open palm illuminating their spot. Dammit all to hells! Zola is gone, he thought unable to believe it. Glen wanted to blame someone and then kick him repeatedly in the face, but Stiles wouldn¡¯t come out. ¡°What happened?¡± He asked tiredly, all his initial euphoria for the successful exchange gone. I¡¯ll sort everything out first, he decided, then take a long moment to process this. I keep losing friends left and right. This shite needs to stop. ¡°I don¡¯t want to remember it Glen,¡± Jinx replied with difficulty. Yep, Whisper is messed up as well. I need to stand strong for her. ¡°Nor tell it again. Leo came after the Kraken got to them¡ª¡± ¡°Wait¡­ahm, wait a god-darn minute there!¡± Glen stopped her again, returning to the present. ¡°What bloody Kraken? How did ye manage to screw this up so bad Jinx? All ye had to do was bring a ship to a plaguin¡¯ port!¡± ¡°You and yer darn luck were missing. One bad thing after another,¡± she retorted, then proceeded calmly. ¡°It came during the attack, broke their ship apart and I had to stop it, afore it killed us all as well,¡± Jinx finished. Sen included. Glen blinked and stood back his brain hurting. ¡°You¡­ stopped a Kraken? Like¡­ was it a kid? A small malnourished one, like a large squid? Or a very fat whale perchance?¡± ¡°Twas a Kraken. There¡¯s only one lurking in the Scalding Sea,¡± Jinx insisted. ¡°All Gish can trade wit it the first time it sees them, if they are truthful.¡± ¡°Why only Gish?¡± Glen argued not convinced. ¡°I said all Gish, not only. All followers of Abrakas was my meaning.¡± Glen sucked his upper lip in, caught it with his teeth and stared at her thoughtfully. Jinx smiled all mischief seeing his mind at work. ¡°What?¡± She asked him. ¡°What was the trade?¡± Glen queried, what she¡¯d left unsaid. ¡°Next time it catches me, Abrakas will collect on the debt. He¡¯s a bastard like that,¡± Jinx replied and it was clear what she meant. Glen scratched his head with a hand, wild hair reaching his shoulders almost and sighed. ¡°Damn it Whisper,¡± he said simply, now worried for her. ¡°You practically live in the water.¡± ¡°There¡¯s water beyond the sea,¡± the Gish replied bravely with a shrug. Glen stared at Flix, but the old assassin remained silent, his old eyes gloomy and foreboding. Glen got no uplifting vibes from the old Gish. Fuck. ¡°What¡¯s wit this ancient tower?¡± Jinx asked him and put an end to his troubled but not useful thoughts. ¡°Sen¡¯s cousin bought some parcels of land, ruined buildings for the most part,¡± he pointed at the different properties. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Thinking of repairing them. Before we get into that, I want to talk with your pirate,¡± Glen replied. ¡°And Whisper, call me Garth afore the others.¡± ¡°Which others?¡± ¡°Ye know, people we don¡¯t know. Outside our tight nit group.¡± ¡°Eh, sure. Though there are probably plenty of people I know that ye don¡¯t,¡± she glanced at the silent old Gish with a frown. ¡°And versa vice.¡± Flix chuckled at her mistake. Huh? Glen decided not to dig deeper into that right away, but check on her meaning later.
The workers had cleared up the second floor of the tower. The room small and crammed even though it was empty of furniture. Perhaps it is the ceiling, it¡¯s too low. Glen eyed the shifty-looking pirate, who in turn was staring at the small open window. Anything made of wood had withered away. ¡°You jump out of that, wit yer hands tied up, you¡¯re landing on yer head.¡± he cautioned him. ¡°Ever threw a melon out of a window? It turns to goo,¡± Glen paused thinking back on Jinx¡¯s words. This was a mess. Luthos ye piece of shite. ¡°May I request a parley, mister Garth?¡± Leo queried. ¡°Let me handle this,¡± Jinx stopped him. Glen glanced at both of them, arms crossed on his chest. ¡°He can get mad for no reason,¡± she added. ¡°Oh, I have reasons aplenty now,¡± Glen rustled. ¡°And questions. Plenty of them as well. Like why did ye left Sen on the ship? Why not release her to the Cofols?¡± ¡°Leo couldn¡¯t bring the ship closer after the first week. The rest of the crew decided to disembark,¡± Jinx explained. That¡¯s a bullshit excuse. ¡°Whisper,¡± Glen said patiently. ¡°Let this lying scum answer.¡± ¡°Milady of exotic origins speaks the truth, great though unsung Garth,¡± Leo said and danced on his feet towards the former thief. Glen reached over his shoulder and unsheathed Emerson¡¯s sword. Directed the point on the approaching pirate captain¡¯s neck to stop him.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Ah. Hmm,¡± Leo murmured freezing up, then observed the tip of the blade. ¡°As it has been revealed, the absence of proper crew would straddle a ship, if a new one isn¡¯t there to make up for the losses.¡± Glen blinked. This dude talks a lot. Leo flashed him a toothy grin, twirled around his extended blade, sliced the cord tying up his hands on it, ducked under Glen¡¯s arm and hugged his chest with both arms from behind. It was an impressive piece of pantomime and very disturbing. ¡°I know who ye are mister Garth,¡± the pirate whispered in his ear, his breath smelling of rum and spices. ¡°Leo!¡± Jinx snapped furious. Glen reached for his dagger, a vein throbbing on his left temple. ¡°Unhand me,¡± he warned the weird creature in a low menacing growl. ¡°Else I¡¯ll have your ears.¡± Leo chuckled and pulled away. The former thief was far from amused though. He turned around, barely restraining himself from running the mirthful pirate through. ¡°You¡¯ll bring Sen ashore,¡± Glen told the cackling cocksucker and Leo sobered up immediately. Which for him it meant, he just looked less drunk. ¡°Now, there might be¡ª¡± Glen cut him off, he¡¯d enough of the man¡¯s bullshit. ¡°It isn¡¯t up for debate, Vale. Nothing here is. Dis is not a democracy, or some other weird shite. I want her returned,¡± he warned him and Glen didn¡¯t even have to channel Emerson this time. It was all him. He was livid. ¡°You have one day, then I¡¯ll allow Gimoss to eat your brains. Ye might be dead by then, or not.¡± The corpse needed more work on his looks and that wound was horrific to stare at. ¡°Wait what?¡± Jinx gasped in horror. ¡°Who¡¯s Gimoss?¡± ¡°How am I going to do that love?¡± Leo asked, even more sober now, but for the cringy epithet. ¡°He¡¯s kidding!¡± Jinx intervened and stared at him very uncomfortable. ¡°Right? Glen?¡± It was clear even to the blind Glen wasn¡¯t. ¡°I¡¯ll need a boat to reach the ship,¡± Leo explained nervously. ¡°Stealing one after what happened, might do me in.¡± He said it, as if Glen would care. ¡°Find a way,¡± Glen retorted, not an ounce of pity in his voice. ¡°Yer pretty low on better alternatives.¡± ¡°Tell him the truth!¡± Jinx snapped at the sweating pirate. ¡°Me lovely,¡± Leo protested. ¡°He knows, just plays it difficult to get. Yer Lord is a right cutthroat.¡± Glen raised the blade he¡¯d lowered earlier but still had out and smacked the pirate¡¯s ridiculous hat away, with the flat of its end. Leo flinched in panic, but Glen followed him calmly, the room too small for maneuvering and slashed at him again proper, opening up his vest and ruining the silk shirt underneath. That weirdo wore bandages underneath it all alike a mummy. ¡°I yield!¡± Leo screamed, the girliest cry Glen had ever heard from a guy. He paused to stare at him with a frown. ¡°Yer already a prisoner,¡± he reminded him, a good measure of pity in his voice and turned to glare at Jinx who had her knife out to come at him from the side. ¡°Whisper, put that back please. We are going to fight for him? What¡¯s the deal wit this piece of shite? You actually fucked that?¡± Jinx smacked her lips, flipped her small knife once up, caught it deftly and sheathed it showing off. Glen almost rolled his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s a she,¡± Jinx replied finally. ¡°Leona wants to keep it a secret, but obviously she can¡¯t. The fails keep piling up.¡± Glen snorted. He eyed the pirate, Leona trying to put the pieces of her shirt together, the vest completely ruined. She was fortunate, as Glen wanted to cut her and not sort of undress her. Then again¡­ Were they taking him for a plaguin¡¯ ride here? ¡°Prove it,¡± he told Jinx, determined to get to the bottom of this. ¡°Show him yer tits,¡± Jinx deadpanned. ¡°Well¡­ there¡¯s no need to go that far,¡± Glen protested. But it was a very weak protest everyone present agreed, so Leona just went ahead and put everything out on display. It took a long moment to unwrap the caramel-skinned goods. Ah. Good grief, Glen thought nigh impressed. That¡¯s a lot of boob on ¡®em tits.
¡°Right then,¡± Glen said some time later, after he cleared his sore throat a couple of times and the pirate girl had covered up some. ¡°This... show, changes nothing Whisper. I still want Sen ashore.¡± ¡°I can only attempt it in the night. If they spot me entering the port on the return, they will just get us all,¡± Leona Vale argued both arms raised over her head, as Jinx was still trying to mend her shirt with a scowl on her face. ¡°Bah, they might go ahead and take the ship anyway, now that you mentioned it,¡± Glen decided. ¡°With not much of a crew¡­ is Soren there? Liko?¡± He half expected everyone to be dead by now. This past year and change, has been a catastrophe. It had its highs sure, but boy there were some huge lows mixed in as well. Why Zola damn it. Better to have killed the kid. ¡°They are, but they can¡¯t prevent it,¡± Jinx replied thankfully, staring at the haphazardly thrown together piece of garment. Glen was looking at it as well. Leona will make a killing in a tavern, he thought appreciatively. ¡°Then I¡¯m afraid yer girlfriend is running out of time,¡± he said, keeping that appreciation off his voice. ¡°Glen! Damn it, stop this!¡± Jinx snapped furious. ¡°It¡¯s not you.¡± ¡°Whisper, I¡¯m dead serious. She brings Sen-Iv back, or she¡¯s done.¡± ¡°You won¡¯t do it.¡± Glen sighed and stared at them both. Leona gave him another wink and now put in proper context, it made Glen blush. Still, had Jinx not been present, he¡¯d have Gimoss work on her without a second thought. Deep down, he just didn¡¯t like her. Big tits, or not. ¡°What was yer plan?¡± He asked her, to give the pirate another chance to win him over. ¡°Fuck yer way out of the gallows?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t expect Van Fleet to beat me to the port,¡± Leona admitted. ¡°The fact he never visited me part of the docks, a curse and a blessing. More a curse in the end, than a blessing. Getting raped is worse than the hangman¡¯s noose. Savvy?¡± ¡°Actually no I don¡¯t. Not for certain. I suggest ye wait to feel the rope burning at yer throat, then ye can put it in proper context. But moving on from that, yer a Vale, so technically you didn¡¯t lie,¡± Glen narrowed his eyes, seeing a solution of sorts. ¡°So there is that, aye. Hmm.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± Jinx asked. ¡°I don¡¯t like yer hummin¡¯.¡± Glen didn¡¯t appreciate her humming as well and she did it more than him. ¡°Leona I will return you to the pirates,¡± Glen decided trying not to get distracted. ¡°What?¡± Jinx snapped again. She stilled her legs down. ¡°No!¡± Glen continued talking over her objection. ¡°You¡¯ll tell them the truth. Stiles will back you up ardently, then ye¡¯ll apologize and promise a¡­ whatever it is ye people say to patch things up.¡± ¡°You killed a lot of brothers,¡± Leona pointed out. ¡°I¡¯ll have a hard time convincing them.¡± ¡°Let me make it simpler for ye,¡± Glen said sternly. ¡°You¡¯ll find a way, convince them to leave the matter behind and allow you to moor inside the port, or else.¡± ¡°Without crew?¡± ¡°Do you pay them, the crew?¡± Glen probed. He had to pay his usually. Eh, it wasn¡¯t exactly set in stone. People moved on, afore getting their cut. Or died. Uh. ¡°Eh, sometimes¡­ if coin is available,¡± Leona said, implying there wasn¡¯t any currently. Fuck, there goes that sack of coins. I thought I saved it, but obviously it wasn¡¯t meant to be. ¡°It is. I will fund yer crew. Bring my ship ashore,¡± Glen decided. ¡°That would be my ship,¡± Leona countered. ¡°Per the agreement I had wit yer lovely wife, afore plenty o¡¯ witnesses and Abrakas himself.¡± Glen eyed her unamused. ¡°I don¡¯t give a rat¡¯s arse about Abrakas woman. I don¡¯t care about agreements I haven¡¯t made and my wife was under the knife, when she agreed to it. She told yer friend Stiles as much. Per the Merchant¡¯s Guild ancient rules she¡¯s a member of and I¡¯m plaguin¡¯ quoting her here, any agreement made under duress is null and void.¡± Leona stilled her legs and stared back at him. ¡°I won¡¯t be left stranded in this port, Mister Garth. It¡¯s the wave I¡¯ll die on.¡± If Glen knew how to steer a ship himself, he¡¯d given Leona a heavy boulder to better sink to the bottom. How hard could it be? Surely not harder than writing? ¡°You¡¯ll need a new captain Glen,¡± Jinx said looking flushed, probably her hormones acting up again. Gish were weird like that. Hmm. ¡°What¡¯s your commission?¡± He asked the pirate captain. Leona raised a thin brow. She isn¡¯t ugly after all, Glen thought. You had to wash her up thoroughly first though. She reeks worse than Whisper, with none of that wet fur musk, or whatever the fuck that is. ¡°What was that, friend?¡± He asked as he¡¯d missed her answer. ¡°Only a country will employ a pirate Garth,¡± she repeated. ¡°Or a state. Are you a Kingdom Garth?¡± Glen stood back and stared at the badly smeared pirate¡¯s face. An idea forming in his mind. ¡°What¡¯s the number?¡± ¡°Fifty percent. We split the loot down the middle and I get letter of employment from you.¡± Hah¡­ahahaha! ¡°Learn to fish, or find a dress fit for a tavern. Ye got all the tools,¡± Glen advised her without batting an eyelash. ¡°I see no pirating in yer future.¡± ¡°Forty. I¡¯ll take forty,¡± Leona haggled. ¡°Ah, that ship is sailing away woman. Its sails are getting smaller and ye just stare it sadly from the shore,¡± Glen countered. It was impossible to out-haggle him. If ever there was a haggling tourney he¡¯d have finished first without even breaking sweat, with enough gold to retire at the end of it. Leona groaned frustrated and stared at Jinx. Whisper shrugged her shoulders. ¡°I¡¯m about to start fingerin¡¯ meself,¡± the Gish explained in her serious voice. ¡°When he¡¯s all greedy and cocky, I lose it. Sorry dear.¡± ¡°Twenty is the lowest I¡¯ll go,¡± Leona hissed oozing frustration. Glen smacked his lips and stared at her thoughtfully. ¡°Can you patch things up with the pirates?¡± ¡°Van Fleet might be impossible to reason and Dayton¡¯s crew will want your head for sure.¡± ¡°See there now, that ¡®might¡¯ isn¡¯t nonnegotiable, nor a finite word. What will sway him?¡± Glen asked her. ¡°Van Fleet wants what we all want in the end,¡± Leona replied. ¡°A proper port to call home. Plenty of grog not tasting of piss and taverns brimming of fresh cock and cunt. Where we won¡¯t be bothered from the Khan¡¯s philistine whims, or demands and the High King¡¯s gallows. Can ye give him that Mister Garth?¡±
Glen climbed down the narrow staircase and got out in the street, found the old Gish smoking blissfully with his back on the wall, right next to the gaping entrance. ¡°Pretty was an understatement,¡± Flix commented and Glen sighed. The assassin reached in his pockets and offered Glen his backup pipe. The cheap one. Glen took it and put it in his mouth. Used the firestone that Flix tossed him to light it up and sucked carefully this time, letting the smoke dull his senses. ¡°She likes the pirate girl. It¡¯s her way of coping,¡± he said with a light cough. Damn this shite is strong as fuck! ¡°Jinx is very young,¡± Flix pointed. ¡°She probably likes anything new.¡± ¡°She¡¯s a year older than me,¡± Glen argued. ¡°In context though she¡¯s still a baby,¡± Flix countered. ¡°Gish are slower to mature.¡± Yeah. ¡°We might have to fight the pirates again.¡± ¡°Perhaps. The Sopat scion might stop their plans dead though. They need the Khan and this port. It will be a strong argument.¡± ¡°They know about Biscuit.¡± ¡°The news will get out Garth,¡± Flix said and took the pipe from him. ¡°It might be slow at first, but eventually every part of the Realm shall learn about your friend.¡± ¡°Lon thinks it¡¯s an asset.¡± ¡°Lon-Iv will do whatever Phon-Iv tells him. Are the Sopats interests yours?¡± Flix asked, emptying the pipes with a thin tool. ¡°Sen-Iv is my wife. Her fortune is tied to the Peninsula. I can¡¯t cast aside her whole world without offending her.¡± Flix nodded and walked to the middle of the road. He stared at the barred entrance of the Mastaba, the wooden gates solid and impressive. Glen followed suit and went to stand next to him, looking up and down the dark but cleaned up road. The workers had outdone themselves. He stared towards the ruined warehouse next, where most of the slaves slept. Work them to the bone, Gimoss had urged him. Say you finish the tower repairs, Glen thought, pushing the corpse¡¯s words out of his mind. You¡¯re still too exposed. Biscuit is too loud a secret to keep hidden, but you knew that from the start. You¡¯re running all this time my dude. Ye need a better plan. ¡°If gold could rule this realm alone,¡± Flix said picking up the thread again. ¡°Then bankers would have been kings by now. They want to, but they need more than that.¡± Glen puffed his cheeks out and then let the air escape his lips. ¡°I need to put my foot down,¡± he said. ¡°Draw a line, but I can¡¯t with people coming after me all the time.¡± ¡°Eikenport was an Imperial port once. Now it isn¡¯t.¡± Glen looked at the old Gish¡¯s profile. The journey through the desert had taken a toll on his old bones. No amount of makeup could hide that. ¡°Thought it was named after Reinut,¡± he noted. Flix chuckled. ¡°The opposite is the truth. Ah, Reinut made a plunder of everything he ever laid his eyes on.¡± ¡°Eikenaar,¡± Glen said with a frown. ¡°Eiken¡­ with a lots of arrs mixed in the pirates had roared, much as they do today, when Reinut had asked them where the fleet should moor,¡± Flix elucidated. "The biggest port on this side of Eplas. They raided it for days. Took over estates and buildings. Drunk and fucked their way through the whole city. The Fleet just wouldn¡¯t leave and Reinut who expected them to pick him up after he had attacked Goras, was left stranded on hostile land. The God of Luck was on his side though, or someone else. He found a way out through Goddess¡¯ Wall and the Zilan forces coming from the sea to catch him got swallowed by the waves.¡± ¡°What happened?¡± Glen asked. He¡¯d heard the story of the Fall told differently. ¡°The earth came apart. Some¡­ believe, it was Vermilion Peaks that exploded first. It was always smoking there since the First Era. Goras had grown around it. The ground was insanely fertile. The land of never-winter. Ah, Goras was three cities in a sense,¡± he sighed and stared at the dirt covering the ancient road. ¡°Then the Rancor Sisters woke up in Elauthin and they had never done it afore, at least in living memory. The tremors so great, Quiceran¡¯s Academy just crumbled to dust, the waves washing everything left standing away. In a week the Empire had been torn apart from East to West.¡± ¡°What happened to Reinut?¡± Glen asked, engrossed in the Gish¡¯s tale. ¡°The Queen had caught the Pirate Attack Fleet in Eikenport, burned it and everything else to the ground. Either out of rage, or because they lost control of the Wyverns.¡± ¡°They?¡± ¡°The dragon riders. The Zilan had a ruling council. Those that could bond with a Wyvern were in it also. Some¡­ surviving Zilan, believe the Issirs killed Tyrael, of Shael with their machines. Nenderu went into a rage and Turlas seeing his brother followed his lead. Cyran, of Qilana always had trouble controlling him. He was the late King¡¯s Wyvern for too long and Cyran was a brusque warrior to bond with.¡± ¡°Over the Queen¡¯s orders?¡± ¡°It is difficult to deny a Wyvern Garth. You can¡¯t exactly talk with it,¡± he paused at that and grimaced. ¡°The Queen could though. She had the dagger.¡± ¡°Aye. She did,¡± Flix murmured. ¡°What happened to Reinut?¡± Glen asked again. ¡°The Queen learned of the devastation and sent the Wyverns back to help. Or they just returned on their own. She traveled to Oakenfalls herself, as it wasn¡¯t affected by the earthquakes and the poison clouds. Reinut made it out, reached the destroyed Eikenport and stood paralyzed over the mayhem. Then he salvaged what he could and out of options cut off on Eplas, he traveled to fight her there. He kept the name to never allow anyone to question his rule again, or forget.¡± ¡°He had no fleet.¡± ¡°The Lorians ferried him from the Straits later. It wasn¡¯t a popular decision, but some Lords seized their chance to break free. Human lords are like that.¡± ¡°How did he win against the Zilan there? His men must have been devastated?¡± Glen asked. This part he never understood. Having fought with Larn and seen Lith in action, it seemed unlikely the Issirs had a chance in open battle with them. Sure he got lucky with the catastrophe and made it out, but winning against the Queen? Even without counting the Wyvern. ¡°Reinut took his secrets to his grave,¡± Flix replied. ¡°You¡¯ve been to Oakenfalls.¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing there,¡± Glen said. ¡°It was the third biggest city in the Empire. Rida was a village compared to it. Remember Zilan built for size, not numbers. They didn¡¯t like crowded places.¡± Glen narrowed his eyes and stared at the massive mastaba. He remembered the destroyed pyramid where he¡¯d found the dagger. What had happened there? ¡°How do you kill a Zilan riding a Wyvern up in the sky Garth?¡± Flix asked. ¡°I have no idea,¡± Glen replied. He thought of the Scorpions back in Rida and Marcus. The memory painful. ¡°A very big bolt?¡± Flix chuckled. ¡°You¡¯re going to need more than that.¡± ¡°Like what?¡± The old Gish shrugged his shoulders. ¡°I don¡¯t know, but some have suggested Reinut had an alchemist with him. Oakenfalls walls stood at over forty meters. No pirate army can break through solid stone, with Imperial Hoplites guarding them.¡± Tales of the past. Glimpses of the future. ¡°I met a Seer in Merchant¡¯s Triage,¡± Glen said, after a contemplating moment. ¡°Most are charlatans,¡± Flix argued and he nodded agreeing. ¡°She was pretty weird.¡± ¡°Uhm.¡± ¡°Most is not all, friend,¡± Glen said and the old Gish nodded agreeing in turn. Which was very annoying.
Glen kicked Metu awake, the slave jumping up from his sleeping spot outside the Mastaba. ¡°Master Garth?¡± He croaked glancing at the dark sky. ¡°What hour is it?¡± ¡°The night just started,¡± Glen informed him. ¡°But seeing as I have things need doing, I¡¯ve no time to rest like you.¡± ¡°Of course, sire.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s Gimoss?¡± ¡°Inside,¡± Metu replied. ¡°What¡¯s he doing?¡± He asked although Glen could hear loud shoveling coming through the barred doors. ¡°Ahm, I opted not to ask Master Garth,¡± Metu was about ready to sleep on his feet. Glen groaned. ¡°Help me open the door. Then stand outside and keep watch.¡±
The darkness in the interior of the empty massive building was so thick, Glen got the lightstone hang from his neck out and waited for it to work, before taking another step inside. It took a long minute. There were at least three large holes dug that weren¡¯t there that morning. Gimoss was still into one of them shoveling dirt out furious. ¡°The fuck are ye doing?¡± Glen asked the corpse and his unlikely companion stopped to glare at him. ¡°We need to get the bones out of here fool!¡± Gimoss roared and Glen heard Biscuit moving somewhere in the dark, his sleep disturbed. ¡°Can you not scream at the top of yer lungs every time?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what lungs are for!¡± Gimoss blasted him, twice as loud. ¡°Grab a shovel and start digging!¡± ¡°Huh? Ye insane bag of rot! What the fuck for?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know who put them there! Or if any is missing!¡± Gimoss replied and with a grunt climbed out of the two meters deep grave he¡¯d excavated. It took him a couple of tries to make it out and Glen just stood there watching him with a grin on his face. ¡°They are dead, Gimoss,¡± he told him. ¡°What does it matter?¡± ¡°Are you an idiot?¡± The corpse blasted him. ¡°Dead will kill you, if you let them near!¡± ¡°You¡¯re dead.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not getting it. You¡¯re blind on top of a phony and a right idiot. In fact you¡¯re thicker than the rocks they used to build this shite and even less useful!¡± ¡°Just so we¡¯re clear and open here. I think you¡¯re an insane piece of rot, but I¡¯ll give ye the chance to explain,¡± Glen said finding his cool. Being slightly drugged probably helping with his nerves. Gimoss pointed at his decaying chest. ¡°There¡¯s a soul in here! Mine. Do you now see the difference?¡± ¡°Ye gotta give me a bit more than that. I¡¯ve heard a lot of things today and some were down right depressing. I lost another friend, I kind of liked way more than you.¡± Glen didn¡¯t consider Gimoss anywhere near a friend, but he left that part out. ¡°What do you want? A fucking shoulder to cry on? Who the fuck cares?¡± Gimoss taunted. ¡°Remember when it came after you, back in Lebesos?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Glen hissed through his teeth. He would have preferred not to remember it. ¡°That was dead, this isn¡¯t,¡± Gimoss grunted and looked at his shovel. Glen took a step back, just in case. You never knew with him. ¡°The Arachne knows fuck all about people, but there are creatures out there that do,¡± the possessed corpse explained, suddenly making more sense, his tone reminiscing. ¡°Their dead are identical to the living. By the time you realize what they are, it¡¯s too late.¡± Great, another piece of horror to watch out for. Gimoss was staring in the darkness, his freakish eye haunted. ¡°So how do we know if something is dead, other than getting rid of old bones?¡± He asked him, the light shining on the ancient corpse extremely unflattering. ¡°Not all bones and you ask them, how they died,¡± Gimoss replied. ¡°How did you die?¡± Glen asked, half-teasing half-serious. ¡°I didn¡¯t,¡± Gimoss replied dryly. ¡°Right,¡± Glen murmured and pushed his hair back. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll check on Biscuit. You keep up¡­ the good work.¡± ¡°You better hurry,¡± Gimoss said gleefully. ¡°That idiot is about to kill your Gish.¡± A shriek followed his words. It reverberated on the ancient walls, the otherworldly sound making his bones rattle. Glen had never heard Jinx scream so loud. Luthos sagging ballsack caught in a vise! 164. Glimpses of future past (2/2)
Glen Mister Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Glimpses of future past Part II -The success of failed plans-
Hah... ha-ha... Ahahaha! Glen ran towards the scream, the corpse¡¯s maniacal laughter and the dark interior of the ancient Mastaba making the moment even more surreal. The lightstone creating shadowy figures that danced away from him. Some of the shades had faces, others were amorphous and hideous to look at. Jinx jumped out of the darkness scaring the living daylights out of him, small hands flailing and legs kicking at the air, stepped on the astounded Glen¡¯s head using it as springboard of sorts and hopped away lithely. Glen rolled on the ground almost biting his own tongue off, landed on a shoulder with a groan, the lightstone smacking him in the face and Jinx ended her drawn out screaming double-somersault three meters away with a pained wince and a groan of her own. ¡°Whisper!¡± Glen hissed getting up irate. ¡°THERE¡¯S A MONSTER IN HERE!¡± She screamed again with a mighty screeching voice, then stopped abruptly, opened her gleaming eyes wide and screamed again twice as loud. ¡°DUCK!¡± Huh? Glen swung around furious. RRRRRRRR ¡°Ye fuck¡ª!¡± was all he managed to blurt out. Biscuit bulldozed him out of the way, Glen twirling around and grabbing him by the tail, as the fast-moving wyvern dashed determined through him. The former thief got dragged on the ground, with Biscuit shrieking very annoyed and swinging his tail right and left to dislodge him. Glen wouldn¡¯t let go, so he got dragged almost five meters before the horned Wyvern stopped and turned to glare at him. His huge burgundy eyes giving out almost as much light as the lightstone. ARRRRREH? The Wyvern screeched menacingly confused, as Glen let go of his tail with the darn thing returning, the stinger at the end of it -now fully out- tracing his face from cleft jaw to his right eye. ¡°Buddy, she¡¯s a friend¡ª¡± Glen managed to say, before a screaming Whisper tackled him violently out of the way. They both tumbled away in the darkness, Glen seriously rattled from repeatedly thrown down or aside, hands and feet all tangled up and the Gish¡¯s pants totally drenched. ¡°RUN!¡± Jinx yelled in his face, while Glen tried desperately to get his hands freed. ¡°Stop! For fuck¡¯s sake Whisper! Calm the fuck down!¡± Glen roared, losing it as well. RRRRRRR ¡°Shut up you!¡± He snapped at the approaching on its hinds legs Wyvern. Biscuit was standing almost as tall as a grown man now. The long scorpion tail swaying menacingly behind his scaly horned head. ¡°What the hell are ye doing?¡± Jinx whispered hiding behind him. The rattling of her teeth getting on Glen¡¯s nerves. ¡°Stop that!¡± Glen rustled and turning to the Wyvern hissed an order. ¡°Go stand with Gimoss.¡± RRRRR ¡°Now. Or there¡¯s no food period.¡± Biscuit made a clicking sound with his throat and snapped his black teeth once. Then he retreated, dissolving in the surrounding darkness. ¡°Fuck me,¡± Jinx whispered in his ear, her teeth still rattling. ¡°What was that thing?¡± ¡°Biscuit?¡± Glen replied with a tired sigh. ¡°Nah, me stomach is messed up, thanks,¡± Jinx replied. ¡°Ye appear unusually brave about it, Glen.¡± ¡°His name is Biscuit,¡± Glen explained again and turned to examine her. ¡°Is this blood? Are ye hurt?¡± He asked touching her soaked pants. ¡°Urine mostly,¡± Jinx retorted sniffing at the air. ¡°What? I¡¯ve pissed meself. That thing appeared out of nowhere!¡± ¡°For fuck¡¯s sake Whisper!¡± Glen blasted her, looking about him for something to clean his hands. ¡°Gods, I can¡¯t believe dis. I¡¯m covered¡ª¡± ¡°Who keeps a monster in a building?¡± Jinx argued, looking around them for a different reason. ¡°Is it gone? What was it?¡± ¡°No, he can¡¯t,¡± Not yet. ¡°It¡¯s a male by the way.¡± ¡°How the fuck ye know? What are ye, a monster expert now?¡± Glen thought that given the poor current state of the profession, he was probably the most qualified to deal with the situation. The top candidate at the very least. One could argue, there was coin to be made in this business. Let¡¯s ease her in the finer details now¡­ Start from the beginning, she¡¯s rather slow. ¡°Remember that ¡®egg¡¯ ye had given me?¡± Glen asked and Jinx frowned, alarm back on her face. Looked around her once more and then jumped into his arms fully panicked. Glen shoved her away, but Jinx was very determined and kept trying to hug him. The Gish was shaking all over. ¡°What? The fuck is wrong with you?¡± Glen blasted her, but allowed the hug and immediately felt the moist pants on his again. He stared at the top of her pink head and sighed. ¡°Breathe in and out. Relax, it is okay Whisper.¡± ¡°A Wyvern,¡± Jinx murmured, sounding haunted. ¡°Not a monster,¡± Glen reassured her, his voice soothing. ¡°I¡¯ve known Biscuit all his life, he¡¯s a good boy.¡± Eh, most of the times. Like seventy-thirty. Sixty-forty tops. On a good day, if well-fed. When Glen is around. Ugh.
Flix eyed them exiting the Mastaba a frown on his aged face. Glen was doing the walking, as Jinx¡¯s legs had turned to rubber and he had to almost carry her outside. Thankfully Gimoss had given Biscuit something to play with. Glen didn¡¯t know what that was and in some instances like for example this instance¡­ It is better not to know. ¡°Is there space inside?¡± He asked the old Gish. ¡°I sent the workers to the warehouse. They didn¡¯t like sleeping with their slaves,¡± Flix replied, the matter amusing to him for some reason. Glen carried Jinx inside and helped her on a cot, but she wouldn¡¯t let go of his arm and he had to sit down as well. Flix who had followed them inside, sat cross-legged on the cot across from them and reached for his pipe. ¡°She met Biscuit,¡± Glen explained. ¡°Got a bit scared.¡± Flix puffed smoke out of his nostrils. ¡°Young Gish are raised with horror stories to better learn to deal with the world,¡± he explained reminiscing. ¡°Subtlety is absent from our teachings, I¡¯m afraid. At least in my times.¡± ¡°Do they believe them?¡± Glen asked frowning when Jinx wiped her drooling face on his armour. ¡°They better,¡± Flix replied with a smile. ¡°The stories are true for the most part.¡± ¡°What are the stories?¡± ¡°Fear Abrakas¡¯ mercy. Never seek Nesande¡¯s divinations,¡± Flix said casually, sucking at his pipe. ¡°Never trust a Zilan, or was it love one? Stay clear of Wyverns for they love eating the Gish more than anything else.¡± Glen cleared his throat, the matter disturbing. ¡°An exaggeration?¡± ¡°Hardly. Hunting Gish was the favorite sport of the previous King of Kings,¡± Flix replied. ¡°Unless they were too pretty, then they were kept to enhance their mating rituals.¡± ¡°What kind of rituals?¡± Glen had to ask that question for academic purposes. Flix chuckled and stared at his pipe for a long moment. ¡°I don¡¯t think I can describe them fully. Zilan are very particular, when they are mating. Depending on the caste they belong to, downright weird. Keep in mind, their females can only conceive once normally and the older bloodline is credited the offspring. So with that fear in mind, all kinds of different mediums were used to avoid an unfavorable mishap.¡± ¡°That would make them difficult to decide on a pairing,¡± Glen noted. ¡°Indeed. You need a lower caste always, so you can ensure your line isn¡¯t overridden. Kept at a good purity. So you don¡¯t pick one from the streets. Records existed, for when a pregnancy was to move forward safely. Can¡¯t exactly scrape the bottom of the barrel. Either way elevation to a higher status isn¡¯t¡­ wasn¡¯t favored.¡± ¡°Sounds a lot of trouble, for a fuck,¡± Glen commented. ¡°No wonder they seem miserable.¡± ¡°Oh, you got that wrong. They say a Gish will tease your senses until you give in and have the best fun of your life in bed, but a Zilan¡­ the higher up one goes, will fuck your soul. Turn you inside out. Many a Gish had fallen victims, even died in the attempt.¡± ¡°What about humans?¡± ¡°A human mind can¡¯t handle the sophistication they put into it, Garth.¡± ¡°Because of magic,¡± Glen noted and realized Jinx had quieted down and was listening in. ¡°Because of the magic in their blood,¡± Flix repeated and got the tool out to empty his pipe. ¡°Also the fact, that in the throes of passion and the need for a superior spell, your lover might take more than you are willing to give. Even by accident.¡± ¡°Are ye seriously talkin¡¯ about fuckin¡¯?¡± Jinx asked, wiping her eyes with a hand. ¡°There¡¯s a bloody wyvern in there!¡± ¡°It¡¯s Garth¡¯s Wyvern,¡± Flix corrected her. Jinx blinked and sniffed at the old Gish. ¡°It won¡¯t harm his friends.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± ¡°Nice to meet you fair Jinx.¡± ¡°Yeah, nice try mister. I¡¯m not showing ye my toes.¡± ¡°I¡¯d appreciate if you didn¡¯t. Is that old Gish still doing it?¡± ¡°He¡¯s dead,¡± Jinx retorted. ¡°What¡¯s yer name?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Flix.¡± ¡°Where did ye get that robe?¡± Jinx asked him all curious, the wyvern forgotten. ¡°I like the color. I got a tunic that would look lovely under it. Wanna share? I can trade you two colored rocks for it.¡± Glen groaned and rolled his eyes. ¡°Stay with her,¡± he told Flix getting up. ¡°I¡¯ll catch a bit of rest.¡±
¡®Behold what thou asked for,¡¯ Nesande¡¯s Seer shushed crowing like a hag. The world appeared tiny behind the clouds. Fields of sickly green and the mountain-tops a brilliant white. The black soil of marshes and two lakes standing side by side, the rivers pouring into them resembling rodents¡¯ long tails. The ground came at him, trees ballooning in size and the wind screaming in his ears. Only it wasn¡¯t the wind. It was the sound of a city dying. Glen flinched and a giant ball of fire fell on him. He dived in it. Gone were the trees, the mud turned into sand and a thousand sinister smiling silver faces looked his way. He smelled bones burning and tasted rot in his mouth. ¡®Return the jackal¡¯s steel helm and his sword.¡¯ ¡®The biggest treasure on Eplas and the thief who¡¯d stolen it.¡¯ ¡®A pirate¡¯s secret and forty tons of gold.¡¯ ¡®How did you die? When?¡¯ The king of kings had asked his lover. A cackling baby grabbed Glen¡¯s hand and he saw a golden statue come alive inside the garden. A goddess¡¯ gift he hated. ¡®Unveil yourself enchantress,¡¯ he rustled and the treasure in her eyes turned all black. The flesh became old stone. ¡®Come and see,¡¯ the nameless dead crooned in the night, many different mouths, but only one voice. ¡®Rivers flow against the current beyond the Haze Sea.¡¯ ¡®Only the gone can carry the traveler¡¯s key.¡¯ ¡®What thou lost shall be returned to thee.¡¯ ¡®Don¡¯t let the witch hunt for the banshee,¡¯ ¡®Breathing inside the artifice.¡¯ For black were the walls, the floor tiles a lacquered ebony and the light blinding inside the circle. Glen closed his eyes, but he heard battle¡¯s clamor and opened them up again. Saw the menacing knight galloping at him, long spear lowered and the army roaring in one voice. Insanity. Fear. Desperation. Grass and mud on the field, the iron hooves digging it. The crimson of her hair, garnet-colored crests, rubicund plates, white steel and all the shades of black. ¡®Kill the fool,¡¯ the Wyvern hissed turning a giant horned head around, teeth the size of his blade and the explosion brought the walls down. Glen raised a gloved hand to keep the light out and Black Eirkor hummed of mayhem and old memories. ¡®Take her throne,¡¯ the Moon¡¯s daughter had sang thinking she dreamt of another, her melodic voice ringing hauntingly over the old ruins. The silence following when the light retreated deafening. The scales tipping one way, then the other. Clacking and clanging. The weights, onyx glass spheres. ¡®Spell-shaped and spell-crafted.¡¯ Ever moving. Love and Misery. A parent¡¯s love. Fear and Valor. Solitude and Apotheosis. A strange wind had come from the Scalding Sea in the very beginning. It had poured over the small Isles, twirled around the narrow village¡¯s straits and then pretended it was another. Something else to fool the mummer. There and back again, above the boiling waters, skirting over ghastly reefs and lurking blood-sucking alluring Ticu. It blew through the open floor to ceiling windows, touched the ancient dark granite walls, danced around the huge black pillars and disturbed his sleep.
Glen gasped loudly and opened his eyes. He felt Biscuit¡¯s breath on his face, reeking of brimstone, the Wyvern¡¯s wedged heavy head resting on his chest and the large gleaming burgundy eyes watching him in the thick darkness of the Mastaba. Glen rubbed its scaly head, between the horns and yawned. ¡°What time is it buddy?¡± He asked. ¡°Seems early.¡± Biscuit made a low guttural sound and raised his head to stare towards the closed doors. Glen had slept next to them. He slowly got up and stretched his arms. His back hurting from sleeping on the hard ground. The former thief felt tired instead of rested. The sound of the latch being removed interrupting him. Glen glanced at Biscuit and the wyvern snorted. ¡°I¡¯m going to find a place for you,¡± he promised and walked towards the large wooden gates. Metu looked a bit tired as well. Glen glanced at the still dark sky and sighed again. ¡°Any news?¡± ¡°Master Lon-Iv will talk to the commander first thing,¡± Metu said. ¡°Request the pirates to allow Mistress Sen-Iv to come ashore, or else.¡± ¡°How many soldiers do they have?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know Mister Garth. Lord Tsuparin¡¯s son had taken the city guards with him.¡± Glen scratched his beard. ¡°I counted about twenty riders patrolling in two groups. Lon brought ten men, but he already sent a caravan out.¡± ¡°He did. Dia needs supplies. They pay at a premium.¡±Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°They sent birds that far?¡± Glen probed. ¡°They came in person,¡± Metu elucidated. ¡°Right. Apparently they¡¯re desperate. How many men did Lon send with the caravan?¡± ¡°Six?¡± Metu replied. ¡°A local that left before us, thought they were enough.¡± How would he know? Glen wondered. ¡°It seems to me, the commander doesn¡¯t exactly have the numbers to enforce his demands,¡± Glen said. ¡°Revealing we have a valuable passenger aboard the ship, might even entice them to act.¡± ¡°Angering the Khan won¡¯t help them. They need this port and its market. They won¡¯t risk it.¡± ¡°It depends though. This is mostly a Sopat problem,¡± Glen countered. ¡°With the war going on, the Khan might decide the pirates are more useful.¡± ¡°Angering one of the Sisters is ill-advised,¡± Metu argued, apparently well-versed in the politics of the Khanate. ¡°Hmm. Has his man returned?¡± Glen asked. ¡°He will at first light. He¡¯s catching his rest,¡± Metu replied, a touch of envy in his voice. ¡°Wake him up,¡± Glen said. ¡°I¡¯ll speak with him. There¡¯s no time to waste Metu,¡± he added and the slave¡¯s eyes lit up, a smirk on his lips. ¡°Of course, Mister Garth. I¡¯ll sent him over.¡± Glen sighed and rubbed his eyes with both hands. It did nothing to wake him up, so he hunched over a large water-barrel next to the gates and splashed his face and head. Pushed his hair back behind his ears and turned his drowsy eyes on the still dark road and the warehouse. A sole kid was coming down the street from the north. It had wiry hair on a head fit for a goliath, a chunky body, short feet but longer hands that reached his knees. Glen narrowed his eyes perturbed. This kid-sized person had three times the amount of hair Glen carried on his face. That beard a massive tangled mess, but nothing could ever top the size of that nose. Round at the finish and thick at its bridge, it dominated that boulder-sized head, as if to counterbalance everything and keep the dwarf upright. Get the fuck out! Hah! ¡°Fikumin!¡± An excited Glen shouted and run towards him. The dwarf stopped and stared at the approaching armed man with an angry frown. Glen made to pat the top of his head, but the dwarf pulled away with a grunt finally recognizing him. ¡°Glenavon,¡± Fikumin said after a pause, in his baritone voice. ¡°It is pleasant you made it out.¡± Wow. Yer enthusiasm is oozing out of you. Not. Glen groaned. ¡°Hugging people don¡¯t make you less manly dwarf.¡± And petting. Dogs love it. ¡°We only hug at funerals and weddings,¡± Fikumin grunted. ¡°And in bed.¡± Glen stopped him raising a hand. ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear about yer weird mating rituals. Had enough of that already.¡± An awkward silent moment ensued, man and dwarf thinking of different things. Fikumin smacked his lips breaking it. ¡°Where¡¯s Marcus? I need to inform him of our journey.¡± Glen frowned and stood back. He stared at his worn out boots troubled. ¡°He¡¯s dead.¡± ¡°I feared as much,¡± Fikumin retorted, as if it was all Glen¡¯s fault. ¡°I take it Larn won the duel. Ottis informed me he¡¯d caught up with you. The fact you made it out of the desert on your own, is frankly much bigger a shock.¡± Glen scowled. ¡°It wasn¡¯t an easy journey.¡± Fikumin shook his head. ¡°The Zilan allowed you to live?¡± ¡°Not exactly. More the other way around. Wait, Ottis is here?¡± Glen asked with a frown and then his eyes lit up. ¡°How many men made it? Ten, twenty?¡± Fikumin stared at him, as if he was trying to figure out what his scheme was. ¡°I need to talk to you about that, milord,¡± he said diplomatically. ¡°Leave the milord part out,¡± Glen told him with a smack on his back that caught the dwarf unawares. Wow, the little guy is solid as a rock! ¡°For¡­ security reasons, I go by Garth now.¡± ¡°Garth of what?¡± Fikumin deadpanned and seeing Glen stare at him blankly, the dwarf elucidated. ¡°The name you use, it means Keeper in the old tongue. You didn¡¯t pick it at random?¡± He asked Glen, with the dwarf¡¯s eyes suggesting he believed Glen had. The dwarf remained a very annoying person for his size. Glen sighed and glanced at the Mastaba. ¡°Ah. It¡¯s a long story. Lots of weirdness mixed in. But I¡¯m on a tight schedule. How many soldiers left?¡± Fikumin snorted. ¡°Soldiers we have around thirty, but it¡¯s the fifty civilians that followed us down the Merchant¡¯s Path you have to deal with, Garth. There are women and children with us.¡±
Lon¡¯s worker crew had built a crude large table with a bench outside the small watch tower, to eat in comfort after their shifts, but Glen commandeered it for himself and it was there the coming dawn found him, a cup of wine in hand. A ton of problems needed solving and he was the only one people expected the solutions to come from. Metu cleared his throat, a plate with fried eggs in his hands. ¡°Your breakfast sire,¡± he said and left it on the table. Glen stared at the plate, saw no bread in there and grimaced. Metu gave him an iron fork. ¡°What¡¯s our supply situation?¡± Glen asked taking the fork and digging in. ¡°Lon promised to send a wagon for the workers, but you¡¯ve demanded supplies for over a hundred people and this might give him pause.¡± ¡°What about more workers?¡± Glen asked in between large mouthfuls. ¡°More workers means even more supplies, sire.¡± Glen groaned and accepted a towel the slave offered to wipe his mouth. ¡°We¡¯ll put the soldiers in the warehouse for now,¡± he decided tossing the towel on the table. Metu picked it up deftly. ¡°Clear the collapsed lot next to it of debris and turned it into a small camp for the slaves,¡± Metu frowned not happy with the arrangement. Glen stared at him. ¡°You¡¯ll stay here, in the house,¡± Metu smiled, his demeanor immediately changing. ¡°Excellent arrangement sire. I must confess, you have exceptional skills in leading.¡± Glen nodded agreeing. Metu is a decent fellow once you get to know him. ¡°Now, I need to find a place to put the civilians. We have space aplenty, but not many good buildings, unless we cordon the neighborhood and clear out this lot as well.¡± ¡°Why cordon it, sire?¡± Metu asked. ¡°We own the land,¡± Glen explained and stood up, the plate empty. He washed his mouth with the rest of Lon¡¯s wine. ¡°Might as well, put a fence on it. This city is full of crooks,¡± he paused thinking ahead. ¡°And we have a Wyvern. People might get funny ideas.¡±
Stiles looked about as happy as someone waiting to be executed. Given his life history and rotten character, probably a look the man frequently sported. ¡°Just trade the cunt,¡± the pirate argued, ever looking for the easy way out. Throwing other people under the proverbial wagon his first thought. ¡°For Lady Sen. It¡¯s a no brainer, milord.¡± ¡°Will her crew give her up?¡± Glen asked him, eyeing the sun¡¯s position on the sky. Stiles grimaced. ¡°Nah. Not these old bastards. The others we could easily sway though.¡± ¡°You can say we found out during questioning,¡± Glen said, reverting to his own plan. ¡°Realized everything was a misunderstanding. We are all¡­ friends here. What¡¯s the sayin¡¯? Honor amongst thieves and all that.¡± ¡°Eh, folk here are mostly pirates, milord,¡± Stiles argued. ¡°Ye think that¡¯s better?¡± Glen deadpanned. ¡°Why did ye do in the desert, milord?¡± Stiles asked nervously. ¡°Because that was the main problem the broth¡¯rs had.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t kill children Stiles, nor barbequed people,¡± Glen assured him. ¡°Surely Van Fleet doesn¡¯t believe this shite!¡± ¡°What about the Wyvern and the other stuff?¡± ¡°They¡¯re true, for the most part,¡± Glen admitted. ¡°The Wyvern part?¡± Stiles chanced. ¡°That¡¯s the true part,¡± Glen retorted and Stiles blinked in shock. ¡°Hey, rejoice! At least I ain¡¯t no plaguin¡¯ Magus, nor a cannibal!¡± ¡°May I inquire as to the whereabouts¡ª?¡± ¡°In the Mastaba,¡± Glen cut him off his tone sober. ¡°Stay well clear of it.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a wyvern inside¡ª¡± Stiles repeated, unable to wrap his mind around it. Glen sighed and stared at him. ¡°Stiles snap out of it. For fuck¡¯s sake man, get yer shite together! Then get Leona to Van Fleet. Make our case, but if you see they are lookin¡¯ to arse-fuck us, switch sides. In fact bring them straight here.¡± Stiles cleared his throat. ¡°Ahm, when ye say switch sides¡­ and I wouldn¡¯t do it milord, on me word. But say I be forced into a terrible position, after a solid bout of prolonged resistance, do you mean I can betray you?¡± ¡°Dude, yer a coward and a ruffian and I¡¯m being lenient here, since I consider ye a friend,¡± Glen told him not mincing his words and only half-lying. ¡°We both know you¡¯ll not die for a bloody deal, nor resist for more than a second. Do your part, be yer fuckin¡¯ self and let me know what their plan is. You¡¯ll get rewarded, when you switch back to my side.¡± ¡°May I inquire as to the reward, milord?¡± Stiles probed a little hurt, but focusing on the important stuff. Glen smacked his lips. ¡°You¡¯re not a man of action Stiles. There¡¯s no shame in it. You¡¯re smart though and know how to survive. Weasel yerself out of a bind. Swindle people into a deal. You lived a life of piracy, but yer talents lay elsewhere. Am I doing all right up to now?¡± The one eyed scoundrel smirked. ¡°Ye have it right, milord.¡± ¡°Find a way to make this work, warn me if it doesn¡¯t,¡± Glen told him and eyed Leona kissing Jinx passionately on the tower¡¯s doorstep, the whole thing on the verge of escalating into a brothel¡¯s live show. Wow. ¡°And I¡¯ll find work for you, more suitable to yer talents. Serve me right and you¡¯ll profit, as ye did back in Altarin.¡±
Sergeant Ottis had lost some weight, but he was well-tanned now at least, which suited him and stood with the confident air of a man that had been put through the ringer and came out of it on his own two feet. His eyes and face hard lined. He raised his fist to his chest and thumped it once, voice hoarse but excited. ¡°Lord Reeves, sire!¡± The soldiers behind him standing in three rows of ten, jumping to attention. ¡°Praise the Gods Milord. These men owe you their lives!¡± Glen raised his arms to silence the excited hollers and thank-yous, his eyes on the even bigger crowd of civilians. Refugees from Rida that had followed the guards down the Merchant Path. Their number was bigger at start, but most of them had stopped at Devil¡¯s Cove, a new port the Issirs had opened. Those present had stuck to the soldiers they knew, making the journey into the unknown. ¡°Listen up,¡± Glen started, in his most confident voice. ¡°This isn¡¯t Raoz, you¡¯re not in Rida and I¡¯m not your old Lord. Let¡¯s get this out of the way. Like you, I was forced to start anew. Sergeant Ottis, you¡¯ve been briefed on what the situation is. Should you choose to accept my lead again, then new rules shall apply. It isn¡¯t a matter of whim, but outmost necessity. Tis my intention to save lives and find us a place to ride out the war, but I¡¯ve my own plans as well. I can offer you shelter here and my trust. A chance of making something of your lives and stand on yer own feet again,¡± Glen sucked a deep breath in, his throat hoarse. ¡°Now I can¡¯t be lax, so don¡¯t expect it and I don¡¯t have time to lose on lengthy explanations. You choose to stay, then you follow my orders without questions,¡± he stilled his eyes on Sergeant Ottis. ¡°What will it be sergeant? Shall I hear an aye Mister Garth, or I just fuckin¡¯ wasted my spit here?¡± Most of the soldiers cracked up at that and relaxed their stance. ¡°Aye, Mister Garth!¡± Sergeant Ottis boomed, the soldiers following. Glen nodded, his eyes on the civilians. ¡°Sergeant, let the men have some water. Post a guard outside the Mastaba. That area is off limits to all by the way.¡± ¡°You heard the man!¡± Ottis shouted. ¡°Break ranks and find shade.¡± Glen turned around and walked towards Fikumin and Norec, the two dwarfs watching from the side of the watch tower. ¡°Good seeing ye Norec,¡± Glen greeted. Norec grunted, never one for small talk. Glen cleared his throat and stared at Fikumin. ¡°Can we trust the civilians?¡± He asked. ¡°It depends,¡± the dwarf replied. ¡°What you¡¯re up to Mister Garth?¡± ¡°Save my wife, Soren and little Liko. The two girls,¡± Glen counted the names with his fingers suggestively, to put him in his place. ¡°Why?¡± Fikumin grimaced and stared at Norec. ¡°Most are families and orphans. Some artisans.¡± ¡°Like bards?¡± ¡°That I don¡¯t know, but there¡¯s a shoemaker, a baker and a couple of other professions.¡± ¡°Right. I have no idea where to put those people Fikumin.¡± ¡°Setting up large tents is a good starting point,¡± Norec offered stunning them both. ¡°How far is the river?¡± ¡°About a kilometer, probably less,¡± Glen replied. ¡°Pretty close.¡± ¡°Water, a bit of fishing, people will get into a rhythm after that.¡± ¡°Thank you Norec,¡± Glen said and he was meaning it. Norec just shrugged his shoulders and that was that.
Glen run the last couple of meters and jumped, caught the lip of the still standing wall and pulled himself up. He walked the narrow part, one foot before the other and reached the part of the ceiling that was still standing. Glen could see the entrance to the port from the rooftop of the ruined two story building. He glanced across the street and Flix waved once from what was once a spacious terrace, before disappearing into a thin shadow. With a sigh Jinx plopped down next to his spot and offered him a couple of loops of thin leather cord she had in her hand. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Glen rustled. His voice tired from interviewing as many people as he could. ¡°For yer hair,¡± Jinx replied. ¡°I¡¯ll visit a barber soon.¡± ¡°Turn around,¡± Jinx told him and pulled his messy hair back when he did. ¡°Flix gives me Silent Servant vibes,¡± she told him in a hushed tone while working on tying them up on a short ponytail. ¡°He¡¯s an Imperial Assassin, just like Larn was upon a time,¡± Glen said. ¡°How do ye know?¡± ¡°He told me.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°He likes me?¡± Glen had never dwelled on that. ¡°Probably because of Biscuit.¡± ¡°Very few Gish survived, let alone elevated their station,¡± Jinx murmured. ¡°He told ye that Glen.¡± ¡°So?¡± ¡°Someone must have loved him very much,¡± Jinx commented. Or has him doing his bidding. ¡°Flix saved my arse in Rida,¡± Glen hissed. Jinx snorted and got an arrow out. Started scratching on the dirty surface with its tip. ¡°I should have told ye about the egg,¡± she said without looking at him. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± Glen replied, his eyes on the port. ¡°How was the Desert?¡± ¡°Surprisingly less empty than I¡¯d thought it¡¯ll be.¡± ¡°Ha-ha, yea,¡± Jinx grinned and put the arrow back in her wooden quiver. The surface painted a dark brown with intricate gold carvings. ¡°Is that Zola¡¯s?¡± Glen asked and she nodded, a veil of sadness covering her face. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Whisper. She meant a lot to you¡ª¡± ¡°She was pregnant,¡± Jinx stopped him. ¡°Twas Soren¡¯s. It fucked him up losing her.¡± Glen grimaced. He puffed his cheeks out and glanced at the gloomy Gish. Better pick a more pleasant topic. ¡°Hey,¡± he told her. ¡°How are things with Leona?¡± ¡°I broke up wit her,¡± Jinx replied. Damn. Glen started coughing not expecting it. ¡°Why?¡± He croaked. ¡°She loves the sea and I have the Gallant Dogs to rebuild.¡± Change the subject. Abort. ¡°Have you talked to Alix? Are you still going to look for that grave?¡± Jinx sighed. ¡°I am. Are you going to join us?¡± ¡°You require funding? Or company?¡± Glen teased. ¡°Both, I guess,¡± Jinx glanced at his grinning face. ¡°What are you going to do wit it?¡± Biscuit was her meaning. ¡°I haven¡¯t decided yet.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid?¡± Glen shook his head in the negative. ¡°No. I never did Whisper. For me he¡¯s just like Outlaw.¡± ¡°A Wyvern is not a pet Glen.¡± ¡°Yet, everyone treated them like they were,¡± Glen replied and got up to stretch his legs. ¡°You see, Outlaw is my buddy and so is Biscuit.¡± ¡°What am I then?¡± Glen laughed and gave her a hand to help her up. ¡°You¡¯re like family,¡± he told her all serious. Jinx stared into his face for a long moment, red-rimmed eyes contracting. ¡°Like a sister? A young aunt?¡± She chanced. ¡°Well¡­ that¡¯s not exactly¡­¡± Glen said thinking about it and the young Gish shrugged her shoulders dropping the topic. ¡°Hey wanna fuck?¡± She asked out of the blue a moment later and Glen recoiled dumbfounded. ¡°Whisper, for cryin¡¯ out loud!¡± He managed to groan. ¡°Good fuckin¡¯ grief!¡± ¡°Wow,¡± Jinx retorted with a grin. ¡°You thought about it? Hmm?¡± ¡°No, I didn¡¯t!¡± He lied weakly. ¡°Mister Garth, I don¡¯t believe you,¡± Jinx replied. ¡°Now, since this rooftop is like standing on the top of a furnace, wanna race me to the street?¡± ¡°Ah¡­ sure,¡± Glen mumbled still recovering his wits and by the time he¡¯d finished talking, Jinx had taken two quick steps and then jumped down.
Clint appeared just after the noon sun had dipped towards the west. He waved his hand once, sweat on his face, dark circles under his eyes and then started running. Glen glanced at Jinx, the Gish gave him a wink and then he turned to sergeant Ottis, the sinewy soldier nodding they were ready. With a sigh, Glen got out from behind the barricade and walked to the middle of the street. Stiles and the pirates following after Clint saw him standing there, clad in his brigandine and paused unsure. Glen counted at least twenty, before stopping. No Van Fleet though. ¡°Mister Garth,¡± Stiles started, hands crossed on his chest. ¡°The broth¡¯rs demand retribution! Why, the matter can¡¯t be resolved another way!¡± ¡°Arr!¡± Several of them cried behind him. ¡°Tell him Nine Lives!¡± A passionate voice added. ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± Said another, while a couple on the front row, just stood there and glared at him. ¡°Why is that?¡± Glen asked, his tone indifferent. ¡°Dayton died from his wound!¡± Someone yelled. ¡°An eye for an eye,¡± said another, the crowd gaining confidence. ¡°A hand for a hand,¡± Stiles added, not to appear disinterested. ¡°Will you fight me for it, Nine Lives?¡± Glen asked him and Stiles stood back disgusted at his suggestion. ¡°I¡¯m a maimed man, pick another Mister Garth!¡± ¡°How about you?¡± Glen asked the man standing next to him, somehow managing to keep a straight face. The man sporting many silver earrings showed Glen his missing index finger. ¡°It¡¯s me good hand,¡± the pirate explained, his tone reasonable. Right. ¡°Sergeant Ottis!¡± Glen barked and behind him the soldiers started coming out, taking positions right and left from him. Shields and blades in hand, everyone covered in chainmail, since they¡¯ve traded their Rida plates to Sir Gust De Weer¡¯s men to better pass for a mercenary company. The pirates murmured as one and Glen¡¯s voice cut through the noise, hoarse as much as taunting. ¡°Will someone just step the fuck forward?¡± He asked and unsheathed Emerson¡¯s blade. ¡°I have better things to do, coin to make aplenty and a wife I¡¯m dying to bed, than wasting my plaguin¡¯ time,¡± he drew a heavy breath in and then unleashed at them, genuinely angry. ¡°Way better things than burning time away, in the middle of the fuckin¡¯ street, the blasted sun over my head, whilst talking to the likes of you!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll fight ye,¡± one of them said and stepped forward. Glen glanced over to the side of the street. Everyone watching for his answer. ¡°You know what?¡± Glen decided, all a performance. ¡°I¡¯m bored with all this. Fuck it. I¡¯ll just kill you all,¡± he pointed his blade on the challenger. ¡°Starting with you.¡± The pirate, long hair braided, smiled a golden smile and then died with a bolt to the brain. Glen watched him toppling backwards and crashing on the street and sighed, feigning disappointment. It was a hell of a shot, it must be pointed out here. ¡°Ah, well,¡± he said. ¡°Never mind then. Hmm, you,¡± he told the one standing at the empty spot in their line and started walking towards them. The plan working perfectly for a couple of seconds, the pirates just about ready to break, until a young eager Rida soldier broke ranks and charged at them. He run past the slow walking Glen, a couple of his friends following him. First two, or three and then Ottis realizing they were going in piecemeal, charged them all down the street. Turning a neatly prepared plan into a bloodbath. Nevertheless Glen declared the matter a half-success.
On the second month of autumn of 189 NC word came that a new warlord had sprouted in crime-ridden Eikenport. The mysterious man going by the moniker Mister Garth, took advantage of the Khan¡¯s inability to control this faraway part of his kingdom and wrestled away from the pirates controlling the local underworld, a part of their business. He used a mercenary company to do it, one rather famous today, the Gallant Dogs. It was a bloody affair, few probably know in our times. With the authorities unable to dislodge him and the local merchants¡¯ favoring coin and business over legalities, the man came to control almost half the ancient city. Rarely appearing in person, but well-connected and carrying favor with the Sopats¡¯ of Lai Zel-Ka, Garth entered a lucrative agreement with the pirate captains and buried the hatchet. This lesser known contract was to open up a bit later, a trade route that no one had ever used for centuries. It connected Eikenport again with the narrow misty waters of Wyvern¡¯s Mouth in Wetull. Lord Sirio Veturius Circa 206 NC The Fall of Heroes Chapter L Addendum -Volume II - (The Onyx Wyvern¡¯s origins, The case for Mister Garth, Second month of autumn 189 NC)
165. Jackal of the sands (1/2)
Emerson Ballard of Lesia Jackal of the sands Part I -Need to learn when to stop old bones-
A man dies the first time he steps foot on the sands, but it might take him a couple o¡¯ more times to realize it. ¡ª Gladiator saying (Unknown era)
You got to win once to get an entry token Ballard, Paikan Abu-Ra had said. Now one might buy it and get himself in the games another way, but I ain¡¯t got the coin for that. Had I spent it, you might have dropped dead anyway and left me holding cock in hand, no coin in my pocket. I have a family to worry about, you understand. Ah, no reason to dwell on that, Emerson thought, eyeing the tanned man with the scythe. A custom weapon, the shaft elongated and worked with sandpaper to be smoother to the grip. It is what it is. He pushed his sandaled foot into the sand, leading with his toes. The Cofol clenched his jaw, side of his mouth drooping where the flesh hadn¡¯t healed proper and came at him. Emerson took half a step forward with his other foot, long knife in hand, the blade made of bronze and of poor quality. It made his opponent to pause briefly as he charged to gauge his intent. Which was what the older man expected him to do. Emerson kicked the leg he¡¯d kept back out and sent half a shovel of sand on his face. The man flinched and turned his face to the side nervously to protect his eyes. He swung with his scythe in the same breath, to cut off Emerson¡¯s advance. The weapon had great reach, but a very specific arc of lethality, right at its end. It offers fuck all to you, if your opponent takes a step forward and puts a shoulder to the shaft. You take a hit son, Emerson thought remembering his father¡¯s words, calm and collected, but for a slight grimace when the shaft smacked his left shoulder. But it¡¯s more dangerous falling from yer horse. He grabbed the shaft below the curved long blade and pulled hard. The man tried to hold on to it, veins popping on his neck from the effort, but a well-polished shaft slithers out yer gods-darn fingers if yer sweaty. Folk tend to sweat out buckets, when they step into the arena. It¡¯s the sun, the sands under your feet, but mostly the fear you ain¡¯t getting back out. Emerson stabbed him below the chin with his free hand, while the man was busy trying to wrestle his scythe from him. The darn blade bend outwards a bit when it hit the bone, the blood making the grip slippery, but by the time Emerson had ended his savage attack, the tip of his custom blade had broken out of the man¡¯s brow and it didn¡¯t matter. The knight pulled away holding the scythe in his left hand, the one with the still numb shoulder and the crowd let out a collective horrified gasp at the sight of the butchered man he left behind. Emerson walked unhurriedly towards the exit carrying the exotic weapon with him, and even so reached the barred gates, before the announcer realized the fight was over. ¡°The winner!¡± The man yelled over the curses of the crowd. ¡°Ahm¡­ Ballard¡­ of Lesia!¡±
¡°Salted cunts and oiled arseholes!¡± Paikan guffawed, the moment he stepped inside the shaded tunnel. ¡°Hah! Gods and people stood there stunned and bewildered, as I skull-fucked their wives and daughters with gusto!¡± He hugged him eagerly, slapping his sweaty back, the grin on his aged face maniacal. ¡°I barely had time to drink this, so have at it son!¡± Paikan offered him a goblet of cheap beer and Emerson took it and gave it a taste. He spat it all out. ¡°Yeah,¡± Paikan agreed seeing his reaction. ¡°It¡¯s foul stuff. Them cheap bastards, only want my coin with none of the comforts one expects,¡± he chuckled still too elated by the unexpected win. ¡°I need to run to the registry, declare for the trials.¡± ¡°You need to get us some better gear,¡± Emerson grunted walking towards the exit, with the Lanista hurrying after him. ¡°Wins will bring coin and better gear,¡± Paikan touted his favorite mantra. ¡°Without better gear, wins will be hard to come by,¡± Emerson grunted. ¡°People will die.¡± ¡°Bah, I¡¯ll see what I can find,¡± Paikan said absentmindedly and stopped to talk with the man running the small arena. A couple of patrons rushed to congratulate him and the Lanista stood taller soaking it all in, the smile back on his face.
¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Kamiel the blacksmith asked. ¡°Lose the shaft,¡± Emerson told him and tossed him the scythe. ¡°Make a new handle for the blade.¡± ¡°Ahm, the balance is all wrong,¡± he argued looking at it. ¡°It needs sharpening, but it¡¯s good iron,¡± Emerson explained. ¡°I¡¯ll use it to get a better weapon.¡± Kamiel looked at him. ¡°Just take a spear.¡± ¡°Everyone knows they better stay away from a fool with a spear,¡± Emerson explained. ¡°I want them to come near.¡± Kamiel grimaced. ¡°It¡¯s your life,¡± he said and took the weapon to have a better look at it.
It¡¯s my life! Lila had said, long black hair curling at her back, as she walked away with her dress gathered to avoid the mud of the stables. You ain¡¯t my father! Ah, no reason to dwell on that also, Emerson thought pushing the memory away, while watching the fighters mixing it in the training ground, cup of water in his hand. Ziba-Ra sashayed her way under the shade he¡¯d picked to rest, long tanned legs uncovered and the anklets she wore ringing at every step. Not much else was covered, if one wanted to be truthful. What the woman had, she flaunted for everyone to see at every opportunity. ¡°What do you have there?¡± She asked, resting a small hand on his thigh. ¡°Water,¡± Emerson rustled, eyeing the ring-covered hand snaking its way towards his crotch. ¡°Mmm, yeah I don¡¯t want that yet,¡± the slave girl teased and Emerson reached to remove her hand, setting his cup down. ¡°If they fight with a couple of spears and rusted swords, they¡¯ll die fast,¡± Emerson grunted. ¡°The slaves?¡± Ziba guffawed. ¡°Yeah, probably. What matters is you didn¡¯t. With the coin Paikan will make from making it to the trials, he¡¯ll bring better ones in. Even buy weapons.¡± ¡°How is he going to compete in the games if he loses the trials?¡± ¡°He doesn¡¯t expect to win. The champion will be Lanista Siba-Kal¡¯s man anyway. The other four spots are probably taken as well,¡± Ziba explained looking at her hands thoughtfully. ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± Emerson asked, his eyes on the men training. ¡°Lord Zeke Leta-Kin, who foots the bill for his Ludus, bought a gladiator from Rin An-Pur. Former champion returning to the arena for a fortune in coin.¡± ¡°Why would he do it?¡± Emerson asked. ¡°Apparently being free, costs a lot of coin,¡± Ziba said, blowing air down her revealing top. ¡°I¡¯m burning up here, Ballard. Can we move to your cell?¡± ¡°Is there a reason for it?¡± Emerson queried. ¡°Eh, you won? I¡¯m supposed to fuck you?¡± Emerson crooked his jaw. ¡°Suck your cock? No?¡± Ziba thought about it. ¡°Well, a foot massage? I¡¯m horrible at singing, but I¡¯m a pretty soft pillow, if yer too tired.¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Emerson stopped her. Ziba stooped closer. ¡°Listen, I get it. You¡¯re noble, too old for that, or I look like yer daughter. Who gives a fuck, right? But the thing is, Paikan believes you¡¯re doing it to bed me. If he realizes you¡¯re a monk out to save everyone and you¡¯re not in it for the cunt and cheap beer like the rest of them, I¡¯m back on the selling block.¡± You¡¯re not my father. Nor is she your sister. So what now? ¡°Stay in the shade,¡± Emerson said getting up, after she finished and Ziba frowned. ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear what I¡¯ve just said?¡±You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. ¡°I did. Stay in the plaguin¡¯ shade,¡± Emerson repeated. ¡°I need to give Rodo a couple of pointers.¡± Ziba-Ra groaned and moved to the shadier part of the bench. ¡°The kid is going to die tomorrow Ballard,¡± she hissed, not caring if he could hear her. ¡°How is me getting roasted here gonna help him?¡± Emerson paused and turned to glare at her. ¡°If we lose, you¡¯re getting burned alive for real,¡± he told her. ¡°Trust me, it¡¯s much worse.¡±
Rodo swung wild with the spear, but Berg caught it on the shield and pushed it aside. He made to lunge at him with his sword, but the young man retreated and guffawed. ¡°Hah!¡± Rodo turned sensing Emerson standing behind him and stared in his frowned face. ¡°What? He missed.¡± ¡°What was behind you?¡± Emerson grunted. ¡°There will be more than one opponents in the sands on the morrow. People will come at you from the sides and behind yer back.¡± The young Lorian slave, a farmer in his previous life, puffed out exasperated. ¡°Maybe I need another weapon.¡± ¡°Lad, ye don¡¯t have the time to learn another.¡± ¡°Stick to the spear Rodo,¡± Berg advised him. A former caravan guard turned brigand, perhaps the better of the lot, but nothing special. Kurt the Issir, a former merchant, was another spearman. ¡°You two should fight together,¡± Emerson advised them. ¡°Guard each other, the best you can. Use yer reach to keep people away.¡± ¡°Kid is too reckless,¡± Kurt argued. ¡°He¡¯ll have me killed.¡± ¡°You¡¯re too slow and defensive,¡± Emerson admonished him. ¡°You¡¯ll do plenty of dyin¡¯ on yer own. Guard Rodo and he¡¯ll attack for you, win together, or die alone.¡± He turned around and started walking the periphery of the training pit. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Berg asked him with a scowl. ¡°Don¡¯t you need practice?¡¯ ¡°Did all that afore ye were born, lad.¡± ¡°So what, you¡¯ll just stroll around?¡± ¡°I¡¯m learning to walk on the sands,¡± Emerson explained. ¡°Didn¡¯t do as much of that.¡± ¡°What about running?¡± The man queried and Emerson stared at the sun over their heads. ¡°Not gonna do much of that, I reckon,¡± he rustled, but picked up his pace a little to wake up his muscles. ¡°Nowhere to run in the arena.¡±
Emerson heard Ziba¡¯s soft breathing change and eyed her head resting on his chest. He¡¯d allowed her to stay the night and sleep, to placate the Lanista¡¯s worries. He touched the dirty-blond curls, felt them at the tips of his calloused fingers. Smelled rose and fiery jasmine oil and stared at the moons outside his cell. No clouds on the night sky, but in his mind he saw them gathering again from the north, the memory vivid. His father, face hidden behind an atypical beard for a Lesia noble and clad in heavy chainmail, tossed the torch into the funeral pyre. The flames catching and rising. Elongated red tongues, the kindling crackling and the fat boiling on the dead bodies. Don¡¯t look away boy, The Lord of Ballard¡¯s Castle admonished him. We brought this ruin, we got to own it. ¡°Oras watch over his poor soul,¡± Emerson murmured the words and his father¡¯s hard-lined face sneered appreciatively. ¡°Guide it through the silent river¡¯s waters, back onto the Land of Shades. I speak the words, for I have taken his voice. Those ye kill are forever tied to thee and won¡¯t let go unless ye acknowledge them. Absolve me, for tomorrow I shall kill again.¡±
The main arena of Ani Ta-Ne held a crowd of around eight thousand. Be it that this was the last chance to watch the games, before the final round in Fu De-Gar and perhaps the lure of catching a glimpse of a famed local fighter returning to where he¡¯d made his name, all the seats were filled. Each local Ludus would offer four gladiators for the event. The last five that survived would pick a winner, usually the crowd¡¯s favorite and travel to Fu De-Gar to compete for the prize of winning their freedom, glory and gold, against the fighters of the other cities. The Four Sisters, but also Rin An-Pur, Shao Na-Lan and Yin Xi-Yan were participating. On the final round of the games the last year¡¯s Great Pits Champion usually faced a challenge from the Champions of the other cities, if they made it out of the games standing. To win in the Great Pits of Fu De-Gar one needed to have skill aplenty, buckets of luck and the gods on his side, was the saying. So a bunch of bullshit, Emerson decided. Ye count on Luthos to save yer arse, you¡¯re spending the night getting fucked, or cut in pieces. The current champion stood undefeated for seven years and the one before him, the man sporting the gleaming steel Jackal helm, had retired three years afore the current¡¯s champion streak had started, after holding on to the title for four years himself. The man afore him Thalion, had held the previous record staying at the top for five years before leaving the spot open for the Jackal, probably not wanting to face him. Emerson, his body shaved with oil that morning, skin pale and sweaty under the Peninsula sun eyed the armoured man, behind the imposing sculpted helm. Steel greaves on his shins and same material vambraces on his forearms, the scaled-type armour on his chest had a feather pattern, interwoven rings of mail, with small metal fragments on top. An older design, rather expensive to make and maintain. Extremely light to wear. Ye didn¡¯t come back to die on the sands, Emerson thought staring him, just as the man watched in turn, the nervous fighters waiting for the signal to be given. The anxiousness of the crowd spilling into the field and the heat suffocating. Rodo took a deep breath standing next to him, Berg on his left and Kurt on his right with Emerson standing next to the wall, lots of people yelling over his head. He spat before his feet, wiped the sweat off his brow and stilled his eyes on the group facing them. A spear, a man carrying a custom net and a trident, a shield and sword guy with a plumed open-face helm and a double axe wielding barbarian, all muscles and wild looks. Emerson was probably the oldest man on the sands with the exception of the howling jackal. The old Champion back for another scoop at the profits and a chance to cheat destiny. ¡°I can¡¯t breathe,¡± Rodo gasped, a moment later and Emerson with a grimace, hefted the custom made sword he carried, the scythe¡¯s blade -curved but sharpened enough to shave the hairs off his chest- gleaming in the sun and grunted a reply. Just as the arena¡¯s master bellowed in a theatrical booming voice signaling the start of the games. ¡°Ye don¡¯t need to,¡± the knight told him.
The barbarian from the North charged the spear-wielding duo with an impressive battle cry and Emerson casually tripped him kicking out his leg, send him on the panicked youngsters¡¯ steel-pointed shafts head first. The barbarian lost an ear and an eye, stayed alive surprisingly and Emerson who¡¯d done all he could, moved to attack the man with the fishing net. The Cofol fighter stood back looking for a good angle, so Emerson circled around his friend with the spear, not to give it to him. ¡°Argh! Eh! Huh!¡± The man taunted the former knight and his friend tried to skewer him through his exposed torso, expecting Emerson would take the bait. Emerson didn¡¯t, but stilled his legs instead, then sucked his stomach in and turned just enough for the charging spear fighter to miss. He peeled off everything from the hapless man¡¯s chin to the top of his head. Darn scythe angling inwards. A collective gasp of horror erupted from the crowd. The blood, shattered teeth and pieces of flesh, spraying the side of Emerson¡¯s head. He¡¯d flinched away to avoid the worst of it and the man hurled the net on him finding his chance. Emerson saw it coming, a sinister mass shading the light and twisted on his left leg, lowering his body in the pirouette. Some of the hooks attached to the weighs opened the upper right side of his back, one them cutting deep enough to touch bone. Emerson groaned a beastly cry and spotted the Cofol coming his way intent to skewer him like a fish with the trident. The crowd roared ecstatic at the prospect, a woman moaning as if having an earth-shattering orgasm and Emerson jumped upright, heaving the net still partially attached on him, in his bellowing opponent¡¯s path. The man caught it with the trident en route and tried to shove it aside, somewhat succeeding. The net ripped out of Emerson¡¯s flesh, but then the nasty hooked weighs wrapped around the trident¡¯s shaft and caught the unable to stop Cofol in the face. The man went down, a tumbling mess of legs and hands, as Emerson put his bleeding back on the wall to get his bearings, teeth grinding to the point of breaking. The barbarian had died, after getting skewered repeatedly from the two determined fighters. Berg had his hands full with the shield and sword guy, mainly because they had the same style and were not too eager to look for an opening, or risk it. ¡°Rodo, Kurt!¡± Emerson barked, over the roaring craziness of the crowd. ¡°Help him out!¡± He walked to the still trying to escape the net trident-wielding Cofol, looked to find a soft spot and finding none, just hacked at him in the blind about half a dozen times, stopped when both the man¡¯s arms were severed and the yellow sand under his feet had turned to a frothy reddish mud.
Emerson wore the dead man¡¯s wooden shield on his back, the wound bleeding freely, but there was nothing he could do about that. Ordered the spear-wielding duo to keep their spot and placed Berg at the near to watch their backs. The two men could only see forward, too shocked for much else. He took a spear from the ground, the shaft bend a bit, but the tip good enough for the job. He run a couple of meters, feet sinking in the sand and hurled it in the next group fighting about three meters from them. The spear got a sword-wielding Cofol under the armpit, teared everything until it reached his lungs and dropped him. His friend fighting a dual-sword fighter, a Dimachaerus in the old Lorian dialect, glanced back and lost his head for his troubles. The new group pulled back, a man clad in Hoplite-armour amongst them, along another sword and shield guy. They gathered around the Jackal of the Sands and waited for the rest of the scraps to wind down. In less than twenty minutes, more than ten gladiators had died, almost half that were laying injured and bleeding out in the sand. Emerson¡¯s group being the only other one without losses, along the men flanking the Jackal. ¡°DECISION!¡± The spectators roared and several of the Lanistas turned to talk it out on the stands amongst themselves. The murmur of the crowd died down to hear their verdict. ¡°I have one guy left,¡± one of them said. ¡°I¡¯m pulling him out.¡± ¡°I have two, but they won enough,¡± another agreed. ¡°We can¡¯t challenge your gladiators, Siba-Kal.¡± ¡°Abu-Ra, yer group is whole my friend,¡± one of the Lanista¡¯s commented, gold loops hanging from his ears. That must be Kenso Siba-Kal, Lord Letakin¡¯s creature. Emerson was watching them, as he was standing near the stands. ¡°With f¨ºted Letakin¡¯s permission, I¡¯ll offer you to forfeit for half my winnings. Let¡¯s send the Jackal to fight for our city.¡± Paikan suddenly the center of unexpected attention, smacked his lips and eyed the arena. Emerson watched him counting his profits and knew what the man would decide. He let his black eyes roam the packed stands, spotted Ziba-Ra seating next to Paikan¡¯s pregnant wife and stopped. Her thin tunic drenched in sweat, had become so transparent, one could see the jewels she wore on her private areas gleam in the sun. Most of the men seating next to her and a couple of the women, eyeing her greedily. Paikan had her still on display it seemed, not to miss his chance at a better offer. Ziba locked eyes with him, Emerson¡¯s back hurting something fierce and he returned her query with a scowl. The girl didn¡¯t have time. Ah, curse it all, Emerson thought grinding his teeth, but he couldn¡¯t dwell much on that as well. Ye don¡¯t pussyfoot yer way out of your word. He glanced at the men from his Ludus, all of them dead probably with his next words. The scales tipping one way, then the other. ¡°I want that helm and the armour,¡± he grunted pointing at the Jackal and Paikan recoiled not expecting it. The Lanista licked his lips, trying to figure out his angle and seeing none, he sat back on his seat, sweat running down his painted face. ¡°Yer man is brave,¡± Siba-Kal commented eyeing Emerson from the stands. ¡°A bit long in the tooth, as well. Might have turned senile.¡± ¡°So is yer guy. Long in the tooth as ye say,¡± Emerson deadpanned, his hoarse rustle shocking the crowd. ¡°Let¡¯s send the better of the two.¡± ¡°What nonsense!¡± Siba-Kal snapped at him. ¡°Flog this fool Paikan! What kind of a Ludus are ye running?¡± The crowd agreed with his words and some even started hurling foodstuff from the stands. Paikan probably wished he was somewhere else suddenly, but it was too late for that now also. ¡°Lord Letakin, Gods be shining divine light unto you,¡± the Lanista said, his mouth dry. ¡°My man issued a challenge for the lead gladiator in Ani Ta-Ne. Since the previous holder was killed last year and your¡­ Siba-Kal¡¯s man, while famed hasn¡¯t fought in a while. I¡¯d like the opportunity to have the honor of representing our city.¡± Lord Letakin, silver and purple robs matching his distinct uncommon eyes, stood back on his seat and eyed Emerson thoughtfully. ¡°Your elegance,¡± Siba-Kal protested. ¡°We have a chance to win everlasting glory. My man has won for our city afore. No one has beaten Tsuparin¡¯s Champion in seven years! How much more humiliation can we endure?¡± Lord Letakin raised a ring-adorned hand. He¡¯d heard enough. ¡°Siba-Kal has a point, master Abu-Ra. We need a win. The losses are mounting. I¡¯ve bled myself dry trying to win the games in the past. Lost a daughter in the bloody process. Alas I¡¯m a betting man though and proud of that, aye. Siba, if yer man, who I invested heavily into, can¡¯t beat an old man wearing no armour and sporting a visible injury, then what good is that bet? Is my coin to be wasted?¡± Siba-Kal collapsed on his seat exasperated. Paikan gulped down, fearing the worst and trying to figure out, if the losses could outshine his profits and Ziba frowned unsure as to what had happened. The Jackal that had, stared Emerson¡¯s way inquisitively. Hard eyes behind that steel helm and the carved long ears shining like torches. ¡°Should it be a duel?¡± Paikan chanced not to lose everyone, but Lord Letakin wasn¡¯t about to give him anything else. ¡°Everyone fights,¡± he announced to the exciting roars of the delirious crowd. ¡°Let¡¯s make another round of bets gentlemen. I¡¯d like that pretty slave of yours brought here, Paikan. I see you are light-pursed today, but worry not. I¡¯ll have her suck on my cock with that mouth, if you lack the coin to up the stakes. Those that pulled their men should remain to make up for the losses. Everybody wins.¡± The crowd roared, Paikan sighed relieved for being given an out, since he¡¯d barely a silver left on him and Ziba took her spot between the Lord¡¯s legs. The Jackal watching his furious scowl at the turn of events, shook his steel encased head. ¡°You need to learn, when to stop old bones,¡± the famed gladiator cautioned Emerson in fluent common. Of course, the same could have been said for him as well. 166. Jackal of the sands (2/2)
Emerson Ballard of Lesia Ballard of Anitane Jackal of the sands Part II -To the champion the spoils-
The woman had plenty of grey 0n her long black hair. A certain harshness on her face and eyes that had the color of coal. She paused to stare at the large group of strange warriors approaching without an ounce of worry. Her own escort an aged man-at-arms, his head completely bald and his beard a brilliant white. Behind her stood the old castle with its walls of solid grey stone, the tall parapets and the iron-reinforced gates. A gloomy picture, somewhat eased by the many Lemon trees on both sides of the dirt road leading to its gates, where the black dressed Baroness waited. The fruits on them a strikingly rich yellow, almost gold. The scent rich and welcoming, if not a little bitter. ¡°You have a name for me?¡± She asked the leading woman in the rich exotic coat, frowning at the reply. ¡°That¡¯s not a Lorian name,¡± the Baroness noted, her aged eyes on the young boy sitting in front of the woman. ¡°And these are not Lorian arms ye lads are bringing to my gates and my home.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have a Lorian name, but I was tasked to have a part of you and of this land returned,¡± the woman replied and rustled the boy¡¯s black hair. ¡°I brought him here Baroness, because that¡¯s his father¡¯s home and this is the Onyx Wyvern¡¯s wishes.¡± The Baroness stood back speechless, if not a little unsteady and the aged man-at-arms approached and placed a comforting gloved hand on her elbow, until she recovered enough to stand on her own. ¡°Come forth then,¡± the Baroness said when she did, sounding deeply moved. ¡°Let me see you my boy. Fear not, we¡¯re harsh but fair. Somewhat bitter but fierce, like the land.¡± ¡°It is what it is,¡± the woman replied with a smile and clicked her tongue to get her exotic horse moving. ¡°It is what it is,¡± the Baroness had agreed.
¡°Same plan,¡± Emerson rustled to the demoralized spear-wielding duo. ¡°Berg, keep at the defensive,¡± he added stooping to check on the barbarian¡¯s axes. Emerson elected the smaller of the two, a worn out battle axe and tied a leather belt on his waist to slot it in. ¡°What are you gonna do?¡± Berg asked him, just as the announcer rose up to start this second round of the games. ¡°Kill them afore they kill us,¡± Emerson replied and eyed the Dimachaerus tauntingly. The gladiator, tight leather armor on his chest and short hard-leather skirt over his athletic thighs returned his stare, cracking his head right and left. The Hoplite next to him, the black skin of an Issir on a muscular body, flipped his spear then caught it at the mid-point and raised it at a high stance on guard position. The man either an expert, or thinking he could win points with the ladies. The mood in the arena had taken a turn to the lewder side, emboldened by the lord¡¯s shameless public display. With so many slaves readily available and their blood excited it made a weird kind of sense. You¡¯re next then, Emerson decided and took two steps forward to goad their attacks on him. The Jackal took a step back himself, behind the sword and shield guy. He had a heavy longsword in his right hand and wore a light battle axe on his left thigh. Another shortsword on his back, where he carried two leather sheaths attached to his harness. The crowd gasped all at once, when the games restarted. A drawn-out shrieking murmur, sometimes high-pitched, others cavernous enough to make your bones vibrate. Emerson sucked a deep breath in, the wound on his back still leaking under the shield and slowly soaking his loincloth. By the time he let the air back out, the dual-sword wielding gladiator was on him. Every man on the sands had their hourglass started, their life slowly flowing out the small hole.
The gladiator danced left and then right, swung at him in the same pattern. Emerson baulked back one step, the Hoplite approaching from his right, the Dimachaerus left side, the former knight always at the furthest left of their line. The man clenched his jaw and attacked again in the next breath, first right then left this time, the lump on his throat tensing up as he had a follow up move loading. The leaf-bladed medium-sized blade hissed an inch off Emerson¡¯s face, its sister coming lower almost gutting him, as he pulled away another step into their line. Emerson heard Rodo¡¯s scream in his ear, the young man pushing his spear out, the gladiator¡¯s deft arms already pulling back over his head, all muscles taut, mouth and face distorted, the fight choreography demanding a double-handed high attack with both blades and rightly so. Emerson was supposed to still have his mind on the last attack to his mid-riff, and react on instinct. Emerson had unsheathed his battle-axe instead as time slowed down to a crawl. The Hoplite tested the overeager Rodo¡¯s skill with a high attack on his right, the knight caught out of the corner of his eye. The Dimachaerus, already committed to a high double-sword attack, ogled his eyes seeing Emerson casually yank the weapon up and out his belt by its curved shoulder, the axe ever rising, calloused hand softly riding the length of the short shaft and clasping at its pommel the last possible moment. The man¡¯s lips split revealing maniacally clenched white teeth underneath and his neck muscles contracted as he pushed his head back on instinct. Difficult to pull back yer head, when both yer arms are lurching forward following the swing of your blades. At some point you run out of give. Either way, it does fuck all to protect you, if an axe is hurled yer way from point blank range. The head will stop at the muscles and joints end, but the axe will continue on traveling straight. You are better off dodging. The Dimachaerus got the edge of the axe¡¯s blade at his left cheekbone right below the eye, as he¡¯d managed a half-dodge in the split second Emerson had given him. The thing with axes is it don¡¯t much matter how they hit you, or even where. Such is the weight of the weapon and the bluntness of the attack, a wider area is affected. You might lose a hand to a sword cut, but you can still move the arm. Get hit by an axe, or even worse a hammer at the same spot and that arm is useless. The left side of the man¡¯s face immediately caved in, left eye popping out, his forehead cracking open and his brains spilled out of the chasm bloating the loose untorn skin from underneath and creating a grotesque bulge over his brows. The blades clanged as Emerson dropped to a knee and swung wild at the Hoplite¡¯s leg. The man sensed something was amiss and tried to pull his leg away, but the scythe caught one of the iron greaves, glided all the way down and severed his heel cord. The Hoplite stumbled back maimed and Rodo charged him getting out of the line, spear leading. Emerson cursed and rolled to the side looking for the still raked from spasms Dimachaerus swords. Rodo got pierced through the shoulder, bone shattering and cried out in desperation. The crowd roared in ecstasy and shock. They weren¡¯t really sure what was going on, but for the blood spraying out of the wounds and darkening the sands under the gladiators¡¯ feet. Berg locked up with another sword and shield guy again, the Jackal circling around him to find an angle and Kurt seeing Rodo dropping to his knees, screamed and pulled back leaving him to his fate. Emerson ended his roll just as the Hoplite now half-hopping half-dragging on a bad leg, pulled his spear back goring Rodo¡¯s chest and flipped it in his arms, to swing with it like a long sword. The knight charged him from the side, feet digging in the soft sand and his knees protesting. He tossed the scythe to get his attention, the hidden under the full-face helm gladiator recoiling, when it smacked him on the metal covered shoulder and then clanked on the side of his helm. The hoplite paused mid-move and twisted around, spear whooshing when it repositioned. Emerson jumped just as the long weapon swung in a corkscrew uppercut, but it caught him on the right shin and send him sprawling down. He landed on his shield, teeth rattling and his back hurting, a cut on his leg bleeding. Emerson dodged to the right, kicking his legs and the grip on the Dimachaerus sword unfamiliar. The weapon too light for its length. The Hoplite cursed missing his chance and looked back for his friends. Emerson went at him, an eye on the unfolding struggle behind them and the sound coming from the stands deafening. Berg had retreated as he was facing two opponents, bringing the Jackal closer to Kurt now, but the man backed away again too scared to commit and the experienced gladiator got between them. Ah, curse that fool, Emerson thought. The merchant¡¯s dead.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. The Jackal made his move, heavy sword swinging high and Kurt stumbled back panicked. The old Champion cackled like the animal curved on his closed helm and twisted around to attack Berg instead. The former guard turned brigand, guessed his move and turned around to put his shield on it, the heavy sword landing with so much force it severed a part of it away. Berg recoiled, his arm numb and stumbled back. He made to step to the side, but got half a sword¡¯s length of blade in the kidneys from the tricky sword and shield guy and went down. Emerson had minutes to live at the most. Get yer shite together and get this over with, while yer still fighting one opponent at a time son, his father admonished him gruffly. Don¡¯t be a plaguin¡¯ fool! The Hoplite realized he only had to stall him for a bit and they had the win, so he started stumbling back towards his friends. Emerson, the scowl on his face permanent, stooped to pick up Rodo¡¯s spear, the young man withering away bleeding out on the sands and charged the retreating gladiator head on. The Hoplite cursed and shoved the spear in Emerson¡¯s face. The former knight ducked under it deftly, but his opponent pulled it away and jumped back. He swung it from the right next, but Emerson blocked it with his own spear and pushed it aside. He immediately lunged forward with his sword. The gladiator pulled his torso back, the blade missed, but Emerson let go of the spear and snatched him by the collar of his plate with his left arm. ¡°Damnation¡ª¡± the Hoplite cursed, before Emerson¡¯s returning blade plunged deep into his groin from below his skirt. The man shuddered, hot blood and urine blasting down between them and Emerson shoved him away, hard eyes on the unfolding drama near them. The Jackal dodged a scared piercing attack from Kurt, grabbed the retreating spear with his left arm and dislodged it from the man¡¯s hands. He stuck it on the ground, the crowd erupting in frenzied adulation. Emerson picked up the dying Hoplite¡¯s spear snapping to action, hefted it in his arm and satisfied sheathed his sword and switched hands. The sword and shield guy banged at his shield for some reason and the Jackal a couple of meters from him, took Kurt¡¯s head clean off with a well-placed swing of his heavy blade. You¡¯d hear less enthusiasm in a wedding. The head of the hapless ex-merchant bounced on the sands leaving a bloody trail behind it and the old Champion took a moment to bask in the crowd¡¯s reverence and exaltation. ¡°Rejoice Ani Ta-Ne!¡± The Jackal of the Sands bellowed. ¡°For I have returned!¡± The whole arena shook, everyone on the stands going berserk and Emerson decided this was as good a chance as any, to test whether proper steel blades worked as well as he remembered from the war, or not. He hefted the heavy spear high over his shoulder, made a quick step forward and hurled it with a snap putting his joints to the task, towards the sword and shield guy. The man himself half-eyeing Emerson, half-grinning at the crowd¡¯s wild reactions to his friend, ¨Cand there were some surreal moments, from cocks and breasts at full display, to a mini orgy under the dignitaries rows- saw his move and made a step to the side raising his shield. Right where Emerson had aimed. The spear traveled ten meters in less than a second, the strength and skill behind the toss incredible, pierced through the wooden shield, nailed it on the man¡¯s chest, went through said chest and exploded out his back. Emerson was sprinting on hurting knees already, sword in hand. The crowd gasped in horror the enthusiasm dying out and the Jackal swung around to see what had happened. The gladiator dropped on his knees, chin on his chest, blood pouring out of his mouth and Emerson jumped over him, thick sandaled foot stepping on his shoulder. He landed on the soft sand, feet sliding and ducked under the Jackal¡¯s swing first, before sidestepping out of a brutal downward cut, the heavy blade hitting the ground and bouncing up. The Jackal growled angry and twisted around, as Emerson kept circling around him looking for an opening. The heavy blade came at him again, but the former knight just stepped away, seemingly light on his feet. In reality, Emerson¡¯s back was numb and hurting, his knees were protesting on every step and his chest was heavy. Emerson could drop from severe dehydration and exhaustion at any point now, but his opponent didn¡¯t know that. The Jackal took a step back, but Emerson stepped forward always moving in an arc, ever closing. The man hissed in frustration, constantly adjusting his stance trying to expect Emerson¡¯s attack, but the former knight kept stalling, as if he had all the time in the world. The crowd that was cursing his lineage for the past several minutes for killing fan favorites, started murmuring at the champion¡¯s inaction. To them it appeared the Jackal was on the defensive and actively stalked by the unknown gladiator. ¡°What are you waiting for?¡± The Jackal growled, but Emerson just smiled, his lips a dirty white and cracked. The crowd started booing frustrated. The Jackal realizing he didn¡¯t have all the time in the world like his opponent, cursed and moved forward, left hand reaching for his second sword. Emerson faked an attack, made two steps forward himself and stopped him. The crowd erupted in protestation, turning against the aging former champion. Emerson smiled tauntingly again and the Jackal had enough. He went on the attack, heavy sword swinging right and then left. Emerson dodged the first and furthermost attack, parried the next to the side. The Jackal swung at him again, his hand tiring as he was using a heavier blade against a fast-moving opponent and Emerson deflected it down and swung upwards in the same breath tearing at his fancy armor. The man recoiled shocked, the mail preventing an injury, but Emerson was on him in the next breath, as he¡¯d closed up the distance. The Jackal made to raise his sword to protect his chest, but Emerson attacked the hand instead and slashed at it below the elbow right where the vambraces ended. His blade hit bone. The Jackal howled and lost his sword, the arm painted red in his blood. He faltered back, in order to reach for his shortsword, but Emerson kicked him right at the side of the knee. The crowd gasped in disbelief, the noise covering the sound of bone breaking. Emerson stepped around his thrashing opponent still looking for an opening and moving confidently on the soft sand like the desert predator depicted on his opponent¡¯s armour. His whole body was in a battle rhythm and focused on the task at hand. The Jackal realizing he¡¯d lost the fight cursed and went for his battle-axe instead. He managed to get it out, but Emerson retreated casually from him, walked to where his opponent had left Kurt¡¯s spear and got it out of the ground. The sound inside the arena returned, as everyone got up on their feet to watch the final moments of the fight. Emerson walked back with spear and sword in hand, as the Jackal forced himself upright, the bone on his knee pushing the skin out, the whole joint area a mauve-black. The old champion cursed, but flipped the battle-axe on his left hand and caught it deftly. Emerson circled him again not to give him an angle, while cutting on the distance between them. He could have gone for a finish immediately. But this he did for the crowd. Revenue for the Ludus meant Ziba had a chance to escape her fate. The Jackal kept turning on his bad knee, right arm bleeding freely, but he was staring at his own death now and he knew it. A man dies the first time he steps foot on the sands, read the saying written outside the arena. Next to its gates written in bold ancient Cofol script that resembled the Imperial now lost letters. It just takes a couple o¡¯ more times afore he realizes it. The Jackal of the Sands saw Emerson pausing out the corner of his eye and took his chance. He twisted around hand already moving for the toss. Sometime mid-move he probably realized that Emerson had come even closer. Not close enough to reach him with his sword, but the old man had also a spear with him. A cheap one, the shaft bend and tip made of rusted iron. Kurt had the worst weapon of them all. But a bad weapon even a rusted one, is good enough to go through a man¡¯s neck. The skin soft there, the area very sensitive. Be it if yer famous, or very skilled. Young, or old. No matter if you¡¯re wearing good quality armour, or ye carry fancy weapons. A spear through the neck will kill you dead ten times out of ten. Even if it¡¯s just a cheap blade. It is, what it is. So the Jackal of the Sands died that way.
¡°The winner and our exalted city¡¯s new champion!¡± The announcer yelled hoarsely, the sound of the crowd going berserk at the stands, drowning out his booming voice. But the experienced announcer gave it his all managing to break through the noise in the end, putting some touches of finesse and enthusiasm into the unknown name. ¡°Baallaaard¡­ of Lesia!¡± If nothing else, the man was a solid professional. Emerson put his leg on the dead champion¡¯s chest and got the spear out, the man toppling over and falling on his back. He walked over him and removed the steel helm, the craftsmanship on it exquisite. Still walking slowly Emerson gathered the weapons, all about him slaves and dottores¡¯ rushing in the arena to help the wounded. The celebrations on the stands indifferent to the knight. You don¡¯t celebrate death and all people must leave this Realm with dignity. With a groan of pain, the scowl on his face returning, Emerson started towards the doors to the tunnels leading out of the arena. People screaming over his head, men, women and children dancing elated. Their enthusiasm grotesque to the aging former knight.
It is difficult to gauge one¡¯s feelings or thoughts, when records of their deeds are seen through the prism of time and personal preference. Historians are naught but distant witnesses, trying to decode tales and events that happened far from them. Still whether the man enjoyed the fame thrusted upon his person or not, is a mystery he took with him. Ballard of Lesia walked out of the arena of Ani Ta-Ne a champion, this is an undisputed fact. In a short four months¡¯ time, in the vaunted Great Pits of Fu De-Gar, the Pale Jackal as he came to be known, would have his chance to become a legend. Embellished by Lord Sirio Veturius From verbal tales of the Peninsula, ahistorical personal accounts and the extensive writings of the play-writer Asmudius who wrote about the Jackal extensively in his famed ¡®Chiliad¡¯. Circa 206 NC The Fall of Heroes Chapter XXIV (Sir Emerson Lennox, Ballard of Lesia) Tales of Greenwhale Peninsula -Pale Jackal & the Pearl of Ani Ta-Ne- Volume II Prelude to the 998th Games (Mordax, the Unyielding Gargoyle) Last month of autumn, 189 NC
167. The biggest treasure on Eplas (1/3)
Glen Mister Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor The biggest treasure on Eplas Part I -Eighth rule of the Trade-
  1. Never leave a place empty handed.
  2. Never betray the Guild.
  3. Don¡¯t get caught with the loot.
  4. Smart folk always have a plan.
  5. Stupid people get tortured, then die.
  6. There¡¯s no honor among Thieves.
  7. If you think you haven¡¯t fucked up, then ye already did.
  8. Be ready to split in a breath, when ye sense peril¡¯s shade coming from around the corner.
Eight Fingers (also 8, VIII), Thieves Guild, Rules of the Trade. (Unconfirmed, Unknown era.)
¡®Honest¡¯ Van Fleet appeared to have tasted something sour, Leona ¡®Foxy¡¯ Vale winking at him probably not helping, but the rest of the pirates gathered to watch the boat from the ¡®Marquette¡¯ moor at the docks, were more curious than angry. A couple of dirty looks were tossed Glen¡¯s way, but he could live with that. He¡¯d his eyes on the people disembarking from the boat. The giant that was Soren, the Northman as huge as Glen remembered him. His red beard reaching under his broad chest. Soren carried Liko on his back, the boy sleeping, with his head resting on the giant¡¯s shoulder. Iskay and Ninan came out next and helped Sen-Iv out. His wife stepped on the docks, covered from head to toes in a shrill yellow veil, the white silk tunic she wore underneath teasing and revealing, but it was the most clothing she had ever put on, other than the time Sen had worn that long cape, when they had entered Rida. Sen-Iv paused to examine the crowd gathered for a long moment, then said something to Soren and bowed deeply at the pirates that had brought them ashore. The hard faced men returning the gesture with respect. Glen clenched his jaw, tanned face now shaved. His scars contrasting, the skin paler there and his eyes scanning the crowd for dangers, or new faces. There was a Lorian amongst the spectators, long coat too heavy for the weather, wearing a mail vest under it. The leather harness for his sword wide, it crossed his chest right to left. The man¡¯s face even more scarred than Glen¡¯s, a ton of age wrinkles making him appear worn out, but for his eyes. Those were watching the exchange with interest. Fuck are you? Glen wondered and turned to the approaching Sen, the woman¡¯s veiled eyes on his face, returning his stare inquiringly. Soren walking right behind her, narrowing his eyes and then opening his mouth to shout, when he recognized him. ¡°Mister Soren,¡± Glen said loud enough to be heard, putting a stop to that. ¡°There¡¯s food for you and the boy at the carriage,¡± he pointed behind their lines. Jinx and the soldiers had created a crowd of their own much more armed and professional, with the exception of Lon-Iv Sopat who had come dressed in flowery robes and a same pattern umbrella shading him, carried by a miserable looking Marvir. The slave couldn¡¯t stand the smell of the docks apparently. ¡°Ah,¡± Soren said, his sad eyes lighting up. ¡°What about drink?¡± ¡°Plenty of that too,¡± Glen deadpanned. ¡°Haha!¡± The Northman guffawed and gave him a solid pat on the chest that almost threw Glen down, but for the fact he expected it and had planted his feet down beforehand. ¡°The little guy comes through again!¡± Sen-Iv had stopped as well, her arms crossed and hands gripping her biceps. Glen returned her stare, an eye at the hawking stranger, a vein throbbing on his temple and his teeth grinding. ¡°Lady Sopat,¡± Glen rustled his voice coming out hoarse, Sen keeping her composure remarkably. ¡°Yer cousin is expecting you.¡± Sen-Iv gulped down, bowed her head and walked past him. Glen puffed out, feeling like he¡¯d just got punched in the stomach and glared at the pirates. ¡°The entire western approach to the city,¡± he announced, the warning clear. His mood foul. ¡°From the ruins of the Amphitheatre, the ancient Mastaba and the buildings facing it. Everything on the periphery,¡± he eyed them stopping at each one, but mostly at Van Fleet, since Leona had her tongue out for some reason. ¡°Belong to Garth. I paid for them in coin and blood. We all work together, everyone shall make profit. We don¡¯t, I make profit just the same, but ye lads don¡¯t. The Sopat are happy with the former, what say the pirates?¡± ¡°Who be the new captain of Dayton¡¯s ship?¡± Van Fleet asked with a sneer that ridiculous top hat back on his head, but it was the sword that held Glen¡¯s interest the most. ¡°You should decide,¡± Glen replied, returning the smirk with one of his own, even more prominent. ¡°I¡¯d put a man I trust in charge of it.¡± Van Fleet nodded, satisfied at Glen giving him an opening to take it over. ¡°What about Captain Vale?¡± ¡°She owes Garth. Nothing to do wit you. We have it worked out betwixt ourselves. The Marquette moors wherever she decides.¡± Leona stepped forward, hands on her hips. ¡°Mister Garth is speaking of a partnership, but it sounds like a slave contract,¡± she turned at the slightly confused colleagues of hers, the majority mesmerized more of the fleshy mounds bursting out her tight bustier. She had most of the buttons of her shirt open, the bindings gone. ¡°But Abrakas be knows, ye can¡¯t put a collar on dis Vale unless it¡¯s the hangman¡¯s noose, or there¡¯s plenty of fornicating involved in her grog. Savvy?¡± ¡°We have a deal, Mister Garth,¡± Van Fleet hissed, not wanting to hear more of it. ¡°Will ye join us for a pint? The heat is ungodly.¡± ¡°Appreciate yer offer, friend. I do,¡± Glen replied diplomatically. ¡°But alas I have business left unfinished on my side of the city. Perhaps another time though. I¡¯ll always favor a tavern visit, when drinking is involved.¡± Leona hollered approving wholeheartedly, even a little moved and Van Fleet seeing everyone present laughing and in agreement, tipped his hat to him giving birth to the Garth District of Eikenport.
Lon left them to return from the road parallel to Felmond River and Glen¡¯s much larger group, -Jinx in animated talk with the slave girls about silk tunics, with Soren and Liko listening in dumbfounded- slowly followed the main street cutting through the city. Glen pulled at the reins of Outlaw, slowed the horse down enough for Sen to catch up with him and glanced at her serene profile a little uncertain. ¡°I had to maintain the ruse,¡± he explained speaking in a subdued tone. ¡°Half the people here have no idea, who I am. The rest are not sure which part is true.¡± ¡°Does Lon know?¡± Sen-Iv asked, in her hushed voice. Glen grimaced. ¡°Some things aye. Not everything, it¡¯d be better to keep it that way.¡± ¡°As you wish, husband.¡± ¡°Sen, damn it girl,¡± Glen murmured. ¡°Just say what you want to say.¡± ¡°Can I remove the veil? I have difficulty breathing,¡± his wife explained and Glen sighed. ¡°Sure. Go ahead,¡± he said. ¡°You have to make a stop husband. A small one.¡± ¡°Anything else?¡± Glen asked wryly. ¡°Seeing you again makes me happy,¡± Sen-Iv said simply. ¡°I was very sad for months.¡±
¡°You call this clean?¡± Glen growled and Metu almost doubled over, his bow catastrophic for his lower back. ¡°The second floor is in the best possible condition, sire!¡± He clamored, not looking at Sen-Iv. ¡°Well, how about the furniture?¡± ¡°Not everything has been installed,¡± Metu admitted sweating profoundly. Glen groaned. ¡°Fine, but I¡¯m not very pleased, friend.¡± ¡°You should flog him,¡± Sen-Iv advised simply. ¡°Eh, it¡¯s not really his fault, dear,¡± Glen defended the miserable slave. ¡°He talks with Lon-Iv. All his creatures do,¡± his wife explained not convinced. ¡°You should flog him for that.¡± Glen narrowed his eyes. ¡°Mistress!¡± Metu cried out and prostrated himself over her ring-adorned feet. He kissed the sandals she wore, stopping at every toe, the scene weirdly erotic, but Sen was watching Glen instead of him. ¡°You work for me Metu,¡± Glen said with a sigh. ¡°I want none o¡¯ that.¡± ¡°Buy him away,¡± Sen-Iv advised seeing Glen wasn¡¯t going to go ahead with her first suggestion and pushed her big toe on the groveling Metu¡¯s face, shoving his head back. ¡°Lon has agreed already. He wants to have access to the black market through you.¡± ¡°Too dirty for him?¡± Glen probed, stunned she¡¯d managed to work out a deal during her brief greetings with her cousin. ¡°The Sopat can¡¯t associate themselves with low life criminals,¡± Sen explained, cleaning her gem-covered heeled sandals on the smiling Metu¡¯s shirt and face. Crime lords they were fine with, was her meaning.
¡°That bronze bathtub cost me an arm and a leg,¡± Glen explained eyeing the furniture, they had bought from the pirate market. Mostly ripped from ship cabins, but some sailors love their comforts. ¡°The water is lukewarm,¡± he walked inside checking around to see if anything was missing. His people were mostly crooks, with some exceptions. Refugees notwithstanding. Sen-Iv followed him inside the second floor of the Watch Tower, latched the only door of the place behind her. ¡°What about the bed?¡± She asked, bending at the waist to remove her sandals. Sen pulled one cord, then the other and kicked the expensive footwear away. Glen smacked a hand on it, not much dust jumped up. ¡°We need to install the window.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± ¡°You can have your bath right away, rest up some,¡± Glen offered her and went to sit on the bed. ¡°Take your time. I¡¯ll have to talk to you, about a couple of things.¡± Sen-Iv breathed once deeply and walked slowly towards him. That top is mostly an undergarment, Glen decided. These people have really economized dressing. Then again, interweaving gems with silk thread must be nauseatingly expensive. Probably the reason they make so little of it. The Cofol woman was staring in his face intently. Her eyes alike two jewels unto themselves. The biggest treasure on Eplas and the thief who¡¯d stolen it. Glen cleared his throat, thinking on how to break out the news about his adventures in the Great Desert to her. He worked it in his mind as the Gods were listening. Brag a bit, underplay the worst parts. Old Flix, the corpse that was a wyvern once and Biscuit who is one now. Me goodness she¡¯s gorgeous. Can ye lie to what you love? How to start and how to finish. How much to say¡­ ¡°There are some things, you should know,¡± he started and Sen-Iv placed a ring-covered hand on his thigh. There were silver strands binding her rings together, looping at her wrists and then traveling up her tanned-forearms. A large red garnet slotted in her navel. Sen raised a fit leg, the side-splits on her shrill skirt leaving it bare and planted a well-formed instep on the edge of the bed next to him, the engraved platinum anklets ringing. ¡°Can I speak my mind?¡± His wife asked, as if she was talking about the weather. ¡°Sure,¡± Glen croaked. ¡°Go ahead,¡± he¡¯d forgotten what he wanted to say to her anyway. Sen-Iv nodded, but didn¡¯t say a word, just reached with a hand and unclasped her top. The marvels of the Peninsula spilling out, the tips engorged and the white-gold barbells shinning. Glen gulped down completely enthralled, Sen¡¯s chuckle turned into a husky sigh, her face lighting up for the first time, since she¡¯d come ashore and hours went by in a single breath.
There was dark inside the room, the moon¡¯s light coming through the window. The workers had enlarged it and turned it an oblong square, a foot from the floor almost to the ceiling. It made shades appear darker, hid details of the rather round chamber. Glen turned his eyes on the soundly sleeping woman. Her arm wrapped around his naked chest, her soft breasts massing at his sides. He watched her breathe in the light coming in and with a sigh untangled himself and put his feet down. The floor cool under his soles, the night air smelling of sweat and sex, jasmine oils, brimstone and geranium, wild orange and cedarwood powder. Sen¡¯s arsenal of scents inexhaustible, the barrel still smelling of her. He run his hand into the cool water and rubbed his face with it, then walked to the window and looked outside. Eikenport was sleeping partially. The pirate district unruly, lights over it. The rest of the ancient city quiet. Glen wiped his face and stared over the horizon. Beyond the Felmond River to the far South, lay the Jade Lake and the Dragontoe River. A jungle beyond that and a wall of mountains. Some so tall and huge, you could see them on a clear day from hundreds of kilometers away was the word. Pillars of basalt reaching for the skies. Glen raised his hands toward the two moons. Eight fingers stretched out, the thumbs gathered inside and resting at the base of the ring fingers. Treasure and monsters. Danger and reward. He thought of Jinx¡¯s pendant and the man at the docks. Had he left a trace? Somewhere in the chaos of trying to find a way out of a dying city? In the end you always do, Glen thought. Rule of the trade number seven. If you think you haven¡¯t fucked up, then ye did. For sure. And the one after it on the list. The old thief had him memorize them, just in case the Guild came looking for recruits.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Be ready to split in a breath, when ye sense peril¡¯s shade coming from around the corner. Glen sucked a deep breath in panicked, his instincts screaming. I can¡¯t run with Sen. You need another plan my dude. Another life. His eyes turned west towards the Mastaba, the dark massive building ominous and silent. He watched the guards standing in front of the gates and then his eyes roamed up towards the missing top. Glen remembered the gargantuan opening and the smell of brimstone. His blood froze. The Wyvern clacked with its forked tongue, the bed creaking. Glen turned slowly, his eyes trying to adjust in the darker room. Biscuit¡¯s burgundy eyes glowing like torches. The leathery wings gathered back, a long claw working the garnet on Sen¡¯s navel. The talon on it the size of a small dagger. The scorpion-like scaled tail rustling, the stinger teasing a nipple and then tracing a line up the neck¡¯s notch at her throat. RRRRRR ¡°Buddy,¡± Glen whispered. ¡°No.¡± He made a careful step closer, the Wyvern watching him, nostrils expanding smelling his fear. Glen extended his arm. ¡°Come here. Don¡¯t harm her. Please.¡± Biscuit blinked, turned to watch Sen peacefully sleeping and clicked his tongue again. Glen reached for the dagger, wrapped his arms around the handle. ¡°She¡¯s mine,¡± Glen told the Wyvern and Biscuit snorted. ¡°A mate. A lover. Do you understand? What is mine you do not harm,¡± What did that old Gish had told him? Fuck! ¡°My bidding is yours and yer¡­¡± Curse ye, he couldn¡¯t for the life of him remember all of it, under all this pressure. So Glen made it up, as he went along. ¡°Your wants are mine and¡­ my wants are yours.¡± The Wyvern listened to him carefully. Whether he understood Glen¡¯s mumblings, or not, impossible to tell with any certainty. Finally with a cackle Biscuit sniffed her belly once more and withdrew his stinger. Moving extremely silently for such a big creature, he put a clawed leg on the floor, pushed once opening his large wings and hang from the ceiling as if he was weightless. With another snort the Wyvern moved over Glen¡¯s head, reached the open window next and jumped outside. Glen run there and caught him rising up flapping his wings once, like a gigantic bat and then with a gratified shriek, he flew away over the sleeping city. Shite. God dammit, fuck! Gods helps us, Glen thought thoroughly stunned. He can get out. ¡°Glen?¡± Sen asked, sounding drowsy. ¡°Is that you?¡± ¡°Aye,¡± the former thief croaked, as if he¡¯d swallowed a bucket full of gravel. Make that two. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Get back to sleep. Everything is fine.¡± ¡°I had a dream,¡± Sen said getting up, putting her small feet down. The anklets ringing now a warning to the sweating and rattled Glen. ¡°I¡¯ve dreamed of flying on a Wyvern,¡± she chuckled softly, seeing his terrified expression. ¡°I¡¯ll have them install bars to these fuckin¡¯ windows,¡± Glen decided, his mouth dry. ¡°Oh come on,¡± Sen said playfully, a side of her she allowed no one else to witness. ¡°It was a beautiful dream. Very relaxing and thrilling at the same time.¡± ¡°What was beautiful about it?¡± Glen croaked, trying to think of a way to fix the unfixable. ¡°In the dream,¡± the Celestial Opal of Lai Zel-Ka replied with a smile hugging him. ¡°I was pregnant.¡± Glen had neither any strength left, nor the intellect to think of a fitting reply, so he just silently hugged her back, hoping the worst was over.
Glen caught Soren staring at the ruins of the Amphitheatre first thing the next morning. ¡°Hey big guy,¡± he greeted him. ¡°Hey there Glen,¡± Soren replied. ¡°You don¡¯t seem happy.¡± ¡°I am,¡± Glen cleared his throat and stared at his boots. ¡°Ahm, just tired you know.¡± ¡°A good thing,¡± Soren replied sounding sad himself. Glen smacked his lips and looked about them. ¡°I¡¯m sorry about Zola,¡± he finally said. ¡°I liked her very much.¡± ¡°She thought you¡¯re a noble,¡± Soren said. ¡°Not anymore.¡± ¡°Can I do that?¡± Soren asked. ¡°I was alone afore, didn¡¯t think much of it. Can I get back to that?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Glen replied truthfully. ¡°You can move forward though.¡± ¡°To where?¡± Ah. Hmm. ¡°How did you do it before?¡± Glen asked. ¡°Before her. Before the Gallant Dogs.¡± ¡°I just walked,¡± Soren replied. ¡°Through the snow. I wanted to see what was beyond it.¡± ¡°What did you find at the end of it?¡± ¡°More snow,¡± Soren snorted thinking about it. ¡°People. Small people. Then more them.¡± ¡°Hah, yeah,¡± Glen laughed. ¡°You won¡¯t find any bigger than you my friend.¡± Soren turned his large head and stared at him surprised. ¡°Soren isn¡¯t big. You are just small,¡± he frowned, as if trying to find memories he¡¯d lost. ¡°My mother was small,¡± the Northman finally said. ¡°I got it from her.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s yer father?¡± Glen asked, an orphan himself. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t either.¡± ¡°You made a deal with the pirates,¡± the Northman said, after a while. ¡°Garth did. I have to use the name Soren,¡± Glen explained. ¡°People are coming after me.¡± ¡°Because of Jinx¡¯s egg?¡± Glen stood back stunned. ¡°You know about that?¡± ¡°Was there when she found it,¡± Soren replied. ¡°She¡¯s small, but brave. But she shouldn¡¯t be in the game. People like Garth could have her killed. Like me. I couldn¡¯t save Zola. Trust Soren. It will hurt ye badly. What we do is dangerous for those we like.¡± Glen gulped down. ¡°I won¡¯t. I will have Ottis enlist the men to the Gallant Dogs. She¡¯ll have her company back.¡± ¡°That¡¯s clever Glen,¡± Soren agreed. ¡°Better than her plan, I think.¡± ¡°What¡¯s her plan?¡± ¡°That thing wit Alix,¡± Soren stopped and frowned. ¡°He¡¯s very small too right? Tiny! Ha-ha.¡± Glen nodded. ¡°Aye he is. Where¡¯s Jinx now?¡± ¡°At the races probably, ye know Jinx,¡± Soren replied still grinning. ¡°Small feet, ha-ha. How can one walk on small feet?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve no idea,¡± Glen replied with a smile. ¡°Hey, I¡¯ll leave you to it. Gotta talk to that Gish.¡±
Metu saw him heading for the stables ¨Cthe lot they had converted into a shaded place for their animals- and jumped up. ¡°Mistress asked for a carriage to be sent to the South Market,¡± he reported. ¡°I¡¯m to buy linen sheets and pillow dressing¡¯s en bulk.¡± What the¡­ ¡°No pillows,¡± Glen snapped, then thought about it. ¡°Sure. Fine, but I need you here. You have the workers to deal with.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll sent the girls to the market?¡± Metu asked. ¡°Mister Garth sir?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t the driver do that? Why do I have to deal with this?¡± ¡°He can¡¯t sire.¡± Glen sighed. ¡°Is Fikumin around?¡± ¡°He¡¯s working on the soldiers¡¯ camp.¡± ¡°You mean like digging?¡± Glen asked. ¡°He¡¯s a dwarf. Gimoss asked for fifty slaves by the way.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°He wants to tear down the west side of the Mastaba, make a shelter of it, or a furnace. I panicked and couldn¡¯t understand what he wanted.¡± Glen glared at him. ¡°No. Anything else?¡± ¡°Will you need an escort?¡± Metu asked. ¡°No. Wait¡­ do you know where the races are?¡± Metu blinked. ¡°The races sire?¡± ¡°Yes, I imagine it¡¯s something roomy, out in the fields.¡± ¡°There are no horse races in Eikenport Mister Garth,¡± Metu replied. ¡°Surely¡­ some kind of races exist. Jinx is there since last night!¡± Glen blasted him. ¡°Ah. Alix mentioned it. Your other Gish. Quite the interest amongst the plebs it seems.¡± Said the slave. ¡°He¡¯s not my Gish, Metu,¡± Glen warned him. ¡°And I take it back, sire with heartfelt apologies,¡± Metu bowed deeply. ¡°Go on,¡± Glen rustled, not trusting him fully. ¡°The races,¡± Metu droned. ¡°I¡¯m all ears,¡± Glen urged him.
Glen sat down in the packed pirate run tavern, a wench dropping a bronze carafe on the table, beer spilling out everywhere and the dirty surface of the table turning to mud. A pirate walking by slipped on the spillage and went down on the stone floor head first, stopping Glen from complaining. By the time he¡¯d turned his head around, the waitress was gone and the man was probably dead. Good grief! Cursing Glen looked about for a clean cup, but found none. That is, no cup was in the vicinity, clean, or otherwise. The noise inside the low ceiling place otherworldly, someone playing a note over and over, without any skill. He grabbed the carafe, his eyes on the door leading into the game area. The basement had been emptied and was used for the ¡®races¡¯. The animals competing not those you¡¯d expect in a decent establishment, or any really, but quite on par with this one in particular. ¡°Here¡­ arr, for the races?¡± A drunk shouted in his ear and Glen turned to shove him away, stopping at the last moment, when the drunk¡¯s words registered. ¡°When is the next opening?¡± He asked with a grimace, his eardrums ringing. ¡°Ah, lots of good rats today arr¡­ is the word,¡± the red faced Lorian replied, with a watery burp. ¡°Tis gonna be close mate.¡± ¡°Right, yeah,¡± Glen agreed, although the man wasn¡¯t helpful and puffed his cheeks out. He wiped the sweat off of his forehead, tasted a bit of his beer from the carafe and almost puked it all back out. ¡°Luthos cock caught in the plaguin¡¯ door!¡± He cursed, wiping his mouth. ¡°That¡¯s pure piss, what in the actual fuck?¡± ¡°Wanna have a gold ring, handsome? Tis pure gold,¡± a drunk whore asked him, sitting on his table. She had it in her dirty hand. Glen almost snapped at her, but wiped his mouth and gave it a look. Big garish thing, with a red stone on it. A bit of blood on the inside of the loop, where they¡¯d cut the finger wearing it. Uh. ¡°Were you paid with it?¡± He chanced, rolling it in his fingers. ¡°Aye, how about we shake on it, for a coin and a quick suck under the table?¡± ¡°A silver and ye pick that dude up from the floor,¡± Glen retorted pointing down. ¡°I think he¡¯s dead.¡± ¡°More for the rats, he-he!¡± The whore cackled, all black teeth and frothy saliva. ¡°Ye have a deal, handsome!¡± He would have given her twice the amount, just to get her away from his table. Glen washed the ring with the beer afore wearing it on his thumb and stared about, his head hurting from the ruckus. Glen spotted Leona, riding a man¡¯s shoulders glugging down rum straight from a small barrel and thought he saw Alix¡¯s pink head amidst two young whores twice his size going upstairs. He made to get up, but a man sat on the table stopping him, right where the whore had been a moment before. Aged face, full of scars, mainly old stitched cuts on his forehead, a large burn on his right cheek, where an arrow had gone through. The skin a pale pink there. Eyes hard, with a touch of sadness in them. A good amount of sadness. The chair barely taking his weight, the armor gleaming in the light of the torches. The man from the docks. ¡°What do you want?¡± Glen rustled and sat back on his chair, his right hand relaxed to go for his weapon. The man stared about them, spotted a waitress and made a nod with his head. Another armed guy popped out of the crowd, tackled the woman, took the bottle of rum from her and then brought it on their table. A couple of wooden cups along with it. Another Lorian, with grey hair that looked older than the stranger, but not by much. He just gave a nod and walked away again. ¡°Name¡¯s Lear Hik,¡± the man introduced himself and tended a gloved hand. Glen took it over the table. ¡°I¡¯m Mister Garth,¡± Glen said. ¡°That¡¯s a lot clothes for the weather,¡± he pointed. Lear nodded. ¡°It is. That¡¯s also expensive armor and a knight¡¯s sword,¡± he pointed in turn pouring them a drink. Glen smacked his lips and accepted it. ¡°I came into a good deal,¡± he said simply, tasting the rum. Strong stuff, way better than piss. ¡°I heard,¡± Lear replied. ¡°Had help, is the word.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t place too much stock on rumors, Mister Lear,¡± Glen cautioned him, keeping in character. The fuck do you want? He asked him with his eyes. Lear sighed and removed his leather gloves slowly. ¡°You control a part of the docks,¡± he finally said, after he placed the gloves on the table. It took him a while to find a clean spot. ¡°Maybe I do, or maybe I just have a say. Why?¡± ¡°I need to bring two transports of troops in,¡± Lear deadpanned, taking him by surprise. ¡°You¡¯re planning an invasion, Mister Lear?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s just say, I¡¯m looking for a murderous thief,¡± the man replied and Glen gulped down, cursing himself for not getting an armed escort. Then again, does he know? ¡°Well, thieves aplenty in Eikenport, friend,¡± Glen taunted. ¡°Is the man with the Guild?¡± ¡°Ah, I don¡¯t think so.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t help you. Ye need to give me more than that,¡± Glen rustled, sipping at his rum. ¡°He employs dwarfs, Gish. Rings a bell?¡± ¡°Well, there was a dwarf that popped here a week back, or was it two weeks? Hmm, haven¡¯t seen him meself, but heard the rumor,¡± Glen said. ¡°As for a Gish, now that I¡¯ll help you find.¡± ¡°Word is they work for you,¡± Lear argued, all reasonable. ¡°What do I need a Gish for, unless it¡¯s for fucking?¡± Lear sighed. ¡°Will you allow the bank to bring the Three Hundred here?¡± ¡°The fuck is that? What bank?¡± Glen asked, narrowing his eyes. ¡°Mclean & Merck. You deal in Dinar?¡± ¡°Mostly,¡± Glen lied. ¡°Don¡¯t you? You¡¯re going to get ripped off otherwise. You¡¯re on Eplas, friend. Go wit the flow.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t answer, Mister Garth.¡± ¡°You want to bring an army here,¡± Glen repeated. ¡°A mercenary company. Quite famous.¡± ¡°How do you know?¡± Glen probed him. ¡°I never heard of them.¡± ¡°Led it for a while,¡± Lear admitted. ¡°Back in seventy two. They are from Lesia.¡± ¡°Why three hundred?¡± Glen asked. ¡°It¡¯s a nice round number, Mister Garth.¡± ¡°What do you need them for?¡± Glen queried, playing with his ring. The knight¡¯s ring. Lear¡¯s eyes on it. ¡°Looking for a thief, as I said and a killer,¡± Lear replied and Glen frowned. ¡°He¡¯s been a Lord. He¡¯s been a knight. But he¡¯s neither, but scum of the earth. A conniving ruffian, who thinks he¡¯s fooled everyone.¡± ¡°Wow, you don¡¯t like him at all,¡± Glen noticed to hide his nervousness. ¡°He¡¯s not a good man, Mister Garth.¡± ¡°Nobody in here is, Mister Lear.¡± ¡°Where did you get this ring? That¡¯s a knight¡¯s ring,¡± Lear asked, sitting back on his chair. You keen-eyed fucker. Glen took a deep breath to calm himself down. ¡°Do you know who I am, Mister Lear?¡± The man tried to answer, but he stopped him raising the hand with the rings on. ¡°Not who you think I am, not the fantasy, or whatever the fuck you¡¯ve gotten in yer head. This ring, is payment for example. The big one, I just bought. It belonged to a dead man as well.¡± Lear smacked his lips. ¡°You say Reeves is dead?¡± ¡°I¡¯m saying, I got paid to get his wife off the hands of the pirates,¡± Glen grimaced and finished his cup. ¡°Quite a messy affair.¡± ¡°Reeves wasn¡¯t on the ship,¡± Lear insisted. ¡°Ah, I didn¡¯t say he was. Did you know the woman was his wife?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t. Suspected it was a ruse.¡± ¡°For what?¡± ¡°A cover, a scheme.¡± ¡°Mister, Reeves is dead. His bones picked clean by vultures. You say he lives, I think he ceased to be. His belongings are spread amongst the populace more like, his wife captured by pirates and his people were killed in the sea. You say this was his knight¡¯s ring? I find that hard to believe as well.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t say that. Will you allow me to look into your district for the dwarf, or the Gish?¡± ¡°Ah, why would I do that though? We aren¡¯t partners, or friendly.¡± ¡°The company is en route, Mister Garth. We can do it like cultured people, or we can fight for it. You might win this round even. Either way, the Bank will not stop coming. Eventually you are gonna lose. Take the easy way out if you value these people¡¯s lives.¡± ¡°What did he do?¡± Glen asked, clenching his jaw. ¡°He knows,¡± Lear replied and got up. ¡°Let¡¯s leave it at that. When can I get an answer?¡± ¡°You want to search my District. There¡¯re refugees, kids there, I gave them shelter.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a savage, Mister Garth. The job forces my hand sometimes though.¡± ¡°I have business to attend to friend, I can¡¯t stop everything for you. Is there a compensation in the mix?¡± Lear narrowed his eyes. ¡°You¡¯re planning on leaving?¡± ¡°For business, I told you. You don¡¯t know me. If you want to find this dead person, I suggest you make friends with people like me and not enemies.¡± ¡°You can have the bottle,¡± Lear offered and took his gloves from the table. ¡°The Three Hundred will be here in two months either way. I¡¯ll watch closely for myself until then. Unless you reconsider.¡± ¡°Let me think about it, Mister Lear,¡± Glen replied. ¡°We have time as you said.¡± Dammit, Glen cursed inwardly. He¡¯d just run out of time.
168. The biggest treasure on Eplas (2/3)
Whisper Jinx The biggest treasure on Eplas part II -The walls have ears-
¡°Go! Ye rot infested turd!¡± An engaged Jinx urged the little bugger, sweating buckets and hanging from the wooden rail, a man shouting next to her ear on one side, a woman smelling of sweat and rum on the other. Very cheap rum. ¡°GET THE CHEESE YE CUCK!¡± Urged another even more exasperated than her, from across the cellar¡¯s internal balcony of sorts. ¡°MATE, YER DOIN¡¯ IT ON PURPOSE!¡± Accused him a second taking it personally. ¡°MOVE FASTER!¡± A stout pirate bellowed opting for a simpler instruction, cutlass pointed to one of the jockeys just in case and murder in his eyes. Jockeys being the men running in front of the participants, long sticks with a piece of cheese hanging by a thread like a tail, secured on their backs. ¡°YE LILY LIVERED BASTARD!¡± ¡°Ah!¡± The man on her left moaned seeing the jockey he supported tripping on his own feet and going down. Jinx narrowed her eyes, body almost over the rail, the drop under her and to the ¡®track¡¯ about two long meters. The jockey wearing the number three sign over his neck, took the chance and sprinted, the large port rat following after the treat and almost pulled ahead of the leader, with one round to go. Fuck. I might win. ¡°MOVE YER LEGS!¡± Jinx blasted him dangling over the racetrack and hurled a cup she held at the current leader trying to trip him up as well. She missed ¨Cfinger in arse- and someone grabbed her by the collar and pulled her back violently. Jinx lost track of the race, caught a glimpse of the spider¡¯s net covered cellar¡¯s ceiling over her head and landed on her back. ¡°Ye cunt!¡± Jinx snapped irate and twisted one way, then the other, to avoid getting trampled on by heavy boots and dirty sandals. She snaked her way around on all fours, someone kicking her arse hard from behind. Almost dead center. Jinx was propelled forward, grabbed a boot to stop herself and sent a man sprawling onto a couple fucking on the stairs leading to the tavern over them. She jumped up next, glared at a drunk that splashed her shirt with warm beer and sprinted back to her post as fast as she could. Jinx pushed between two wenches¡¯, the fat one¡¯s smelly boobs blocking her view and cursed her luck. She shoved that mass of flesh away with both hands, the woman protesting and slapping her friend with a curse. ¡°What?¡± Her friend complained, her smaller tits dancing under the thin dress, and they both missed Jinx slipping past them to reach the edge again, just barely catching the end of the race.
¡°What?¡± Jinx asked a bit later, her voice turning into a shriek. The race-master eyed her over his stained half-glasses. He was probably wearing them for show, loot bought at the Black Market. ¡°No winnings,¡± the crook pretending to be a person of authority repeated, looking down on her. He couldn¡¯t help it, but still it was annoying. ¡°Next!¡± ¡°Wait!¡± Jinx yelled, jumping up and landing on the table. ¡°My rat won!¡± She announced to the line of those waiting to get their earnings. A collective groan came from the crowd of the twenty or so watching her. ¡°No it didn¡¯t,¡± the crook argued, getting support from the bettors. ¡°Aye. Just get down kid,¡± one of them slurred. ¡°Is she even allowed to play?¡± Another asked, setting Jinx¡¯s blood on fire. ¡°Do they let anyone in these days?¡± ¡°Yeah, dis joint has gone to shite lately!¡± Cried a third, a bottle of beer crashing on the wall next to them, making a mess of the¡­ messy cramped space. ¡°You cunts!¡± She cursed looking back. ¡°I bet on three! He won.¡± ¡°Wait,¡± someone from the back queried all curious, as the noise subsided for a moment. ¡°Number three won? Fuck, I have it right here, Mister Vance!¡± The crook named Vance rolled his eyes. ¡°Eight won!¡± He blasted him and glared at Jinx standing on his table. Looking down on him with taunting eyes. How ye like that, ye piece of shite? Huh? ¡°Get off me fuckin¡¯ table!¡± Jinx knelt afore him and stared in his tainted glasses calmly. A long pink curl had gotten loose and was splitting her flushed face down the middle. Tickling her nostrils. ¡°Look at yer papers,¡± the man¡¯s scribblings in front of him. Letters and numbers an unreadable mess. ¡°It says it clear.¡± ¡°No, it doesn¡¯t,¡± Vance argued, but this time he got less traction from the onlookers. The air heavy and hot, the stench unbearable. ¡°Give it a peek,¡± Jinx urged him, her tone polite. He caught him unawares. ¡°Yeah, look at yer darn papers Vance!¡± Someone yelled. ¡°It says eight, right here,¡± the crook pointed at the page. A slew of people pushing at the table trying to read the tiny number, almost toppling Jinx backwards. She pushed her left leg out calmly, found a chest -or a face- for purchase and stabilized herself. ¡°That¡¯s a three,¡± Jinx countered. ¡°No, it isn¡¯t. See there where it closes?¡± Vance argued back, sounding cocky. ¡°Only at the top. Twas a mistake,¡± Jinx insisted, people listening in engrossed from their back and forth. Some supporting the Gish, others the master of the races. A couple remaining neutral waiting to jump on the winning side. ¡°Still it¡¯s more a nine than a three,¡± Vance pressed on with a satisfied smirk. ¡°So ye lose girl.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s a nine and there¡¯s only eight rats running,¡± Leona¡¯s voice came from the back, the droll in it making her sound drunk as a skunk. ¡°Where be that missin¡¯ rat ran to? Unless that rat never showed for reasons we may not dwell on at dis point, in which case dis numbers be all wrong and the race null and void.¡± ¡°What?¡± Vance blasted. ¡°The race was legitimate! Eight won!¡± ¡°Yeah, but it says nine right there! Ye just admitted it yerself!¡± The stout pirate from before blasted, none pleased. ¡°What kind of joint are ye runnin¡¯ here Vance? Why, I feel yer tryin¡¯ to swindle us out of our earnings!¡± ¡°YE CROOK!¡± Another cried from the back, with Vance puffing out and standing up, hands raised to calm them down. ¡°Let me¡ª¡± But he never got the chance to finish. Someone hurled another bottle their way, whether aiming it at the wall, or the race master unclear, but it got the poor man square on the head. It broke apart, beer splashing out and snapped back his bleeding head. The man toppled back onto his seat and the momentum sent him crashing along with it to the floor. Chaos erupted as everyone started fighting it out. Initially they fought in two groups, those agreeing with the results and those that didn¡¯t, but soon, the place being what it was and quite packed, it became difficult to remember what the man, or woman, standing next to you supported. Jinx jumped over the table and landed next to the unconscious race master, a cup flying over her head and then a dagger. She reached into his shirt and found the heavy purse with the bets. Cut the cord with her small knife and slotted it into her bosom. She run stooped towards the stairs leading up, a manic grin on her flushed face and people flying over her, along some weirder stuff. A boot with no foot in it. A boot with a wooden foot in it, three bloody teeth still stuck on the leather. A gold ring, she almost snatched out of the air and a leather belt with a heavy buckle on it that smacked her on the face. It left an angry welt behind. Jinx rolled on the dirty floor with a pained groan, twisted around the couple still fucking on the stairs and run up the steps two at a time, jumping over the still passed out man from earlier, just before the exit.
The Gish burst out of the cellar¡¯s door, a dozen pairs of eyes turning her way and even the music stopping, though the guitar player stricken one last note after everyone had quieted down. It hurt Jinx¡¯s ears. ¡°Why,¡± an older ¡®gentleman¡¯ asked. He wore a fancy red hat with a peacock¡¯s tail feather on, every tooth in his mouth made out of gold, but for the left incisor. He¡¯d opted on using ivory there. ¡°Be there an opening perchance? The races stopped?¡± ¡°Ahm, well¡­¡± Jinx stalled, listening for people coming up the stairs. ¡°Ye see now¡ª¡± ¡°Haha! Look at the tits on that lassie!¡± A drunkard yelled, the crowd getting into it. ¡°Abrakas be praised!¡± What? Really? Jinx thought flattered. Aww. Ye silly goose. ¡°Is that a¡­ Gish?¡± A more sober patron asked and an older Lorian about to walk out of the tavern, whipped his head around alike a viper trying to spot her. No, ye don¡¯t. Jinx stepped behind the man with the peacock hat, but he turned around to ask her again about the races, forcing her to take two quick steps back. The stout pirate coming up the stairs bumped onto to her arse. Jinx stumbled forward, ducked under the hat-wearing pirate¡¯s outstretched arm and hoofed it towards the staircase leading to the second floor. ¡°SHE STOLE ME WINNINGS!¡± The stout pirate bellowed, booming voice breaking through the pandemonium that had ensued. That¡¯s a lie, Jinx thought. The crowd quieted down again, the majority unsure on who that person was and the ¡®musician¡¯ missed his cue and kept playing a note over and over again. PLING Went the note and Jinx jumped four stairs, landing halfway. TOING ¡°There!¡± That stupid pirate yelled pointing an accusing finger. PLONG And she reached the top, as more bettors burst out of the tavern¡¯s cellar ¨Cturned rat racetrack- the ruckus and the music mixing up so much, you couldn¡¯t tell it apart anymore. The Gish run as fast as she could towards the pleasure rooms, the purse heavy in her shirt. Almost zipped past them. Jinx glided on the floorboards trying to stop, soft leather boots screeching. She tried one door, but it was locked, so twirling around went for the next one. Jinx grabbed at the bronze knob and turned it one way, then the other. One eye on the pirate running up the staircase still following, like a dog after a bone. The door cracked open, but bumped onto something and stopped. A girl yelped, or moaned, followed by the sound of a fall and Jinx raising her leg kicked it in fully and jumped inside.
A naked Lorian girl was sprawled on the floor, her arse pointing upwards and the view offered quite enthralling. Jinx blinked, very impressed at the moist pinkness displayed and another young whore popped her head up from the messed up bed, painted blond hair all over her face.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°Who are you?¡± She asked, less than pleased, as her friend attempted to get up moaning from the floor. ¡°What did ye do¡­ to poor Bea?¡± ¡°That¡¯s her?¡± Jinx pointed at the younger whore. ¡°Ayup, she is,¡± the whore replied. ¡°Dis room is used. Find yer own clients short girl.¡± ¡°Allow me to intervene reasonably priced priestess of Naossis,¡± a male voice said and the sheets moved a pink head popping out, a woman¡¯s undergarment covering his sweaty face. ¡°Girls, there¡¯s no reason to send her away, plenty of room¡ª¡± ¡°Alix?¡± Jinx queried recognizing him. ¡°Ye stupid horny fuck!¡± ¡°Goddess?¡± The Gish replied pleasantly startled and un-insulted, removing the whore¡¯s underwear from his face. ¡°Hah, even better! What a treat!¡± ¡°How is it better?¡± The young whore that Jinx had shoved down griped standing up. But Alix was on a roll and jumped up on the bed, cock swinging like a pendulum, a large tubular object in his hand, quite familiar. ¡°Twas an understatement! Tis a bloody marvelous chance to bask in endless carnal ecstasy miladies! Why, dis is a legitimate orgy we have at the tips of our fingers. As a matter of fact, let¡¯s just dive right back in to it ha-ha! Put those fingers to good use! Arieta dear, close the door and come to bed! We got the full day and a long night of passion ahead of us!¡± ¡°I ain¡¯t fucking that!¡± Bea protested. ¡°She looks weird!¡± ¡°And yer tits are shaggin¡¯,¡± Jinx retorted with a glare and used her leg to close the door behind her, hearing the pirate approaching. ¡°I¡¯ll take dis beauty over you any time!¡± ¡°Really?¡± Arieta asked with a rare blush for a whore, even a young one. There are a lot of miles gained inside a pirate tavern, Jinx thought and gave her an inclusive approving grin. ¡°There! Sparks are bloody flying! Fuck, I can feel the juices flowing again!¡± Alix bellowed with enthusiasm and jumped from the bed to goad the action along. Jinx turned his way and put a hand on his pale chest, the tattoo like markings on his skin more blue than hers. His cock at full mast. ¡°Take the lead of course, unparalleled divinity,¡± Alix yielded seeing her incensed glare. ¡°Is that my wooden phallus?¡± Jinx asked the male Gish and he frowned. ¡°Why,¡± Alix stared at the offending item in his hand. ¡°I¡¯ve barely used it goddess.¡± Arieta choked up, her small tits wobbly and very distracting. ¡°I don¡¯t believe you!¡± Jinx snapped and grabbed it away, realizing she had nowhere to put it. ¡°And I can¡¯t stay.¡± ¡°Great!¡± Bea retorted. ¡°Oh, bummer,¡± Arieta pouted. Aww, Jinx thought, considering staying for a brief moment. Alix being the most devastated of them all. ¡°Surely ye won¡¯t abandon me full of craving and sad¡ª¡± Someone started banging at the door to their room, cutting through his protests. ¡°What are ye talking about?¡± Jinx snapped, pushing him out of the way and headed for the window. ¡°You were just fuckin¡¯ right?¡± ¡°Alas tis never enough,¡± Alix replied sadly following her. ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°I need to get out of the tavern,¡± Jinx explained waving the phallus before his face. ¡°Kind of in the mid of a job of sorts.¡± The male Gish¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Girls, hand me my garbs please,¡± he said and Bea groaned. ¡°Seriously? I wanted to use that!¡± ¡°Use what?¡± Jinx queried, narrowing her eyes. ¡°Another time!¡± Alix stepped in to nip it in the bud. ¡°This miladies of the gutter, is an Alix Walker promise!¡± ¡°Aww,¡± Arieta purred and hugged him tight, giving his cock a last squeeze. ¡°He¡¯s such a sweet talker. Not easy to find his likes in dis joint.¡± ¡°I¡¯m jumping out. Not waiting,¡± Jinx warned Alix reading indecision in his face. ¡°I¡¯m right behind you, Goddess!¡± Alix Walker decided. ¡°Lead the way!¡± ¡°Put yer pants on foolish Gish,¡± Jinx advised him. ¡°Might have to stop on a dime. Can¡¯t have ye runnin¡¯ behind me leading wit that.¡±
Jinx almost landed on a skinny dog, the poor animal crying out scared and then barking at her furious, until Alix landed next to her with a perfect roll and the dog decided that this was one Gish too many. ¡°Why are we¡ª?¡± ¡°Move. We need to put some alleys between us and them,¡± Jinx hissed and started walking, her back hurting and her face burning where the buckle had nailed her earlier. ¡°Cut in here,¡± Alix advised, back in business mode, while putting on his cape. ¡°Where¡¯s yer shirt?¡± Jinx asked. ¡°Ah, I traded it for the pants,¡± Alix explained. ¡°Good leather, roomy at the front.¡± ¡°Where are yer old pants?¡± Jinx asked patiently, hurrying after him, the phallus still in her hand. ¡°Ah, in the other room.¡± ¡°What other room?¡± ¡°The one next to it,¡± the thief explained, cutting into another alley leading them towards the market. ¡°The locked one?¡± Ah. ¡°Why was it locked?¡± Jinx asked, shoving the phallus in her belt. ¡°The man sleeping in it,¡± Alix murmured pausing to look up and down the market¡¯s main street. This being the Black Market, the term is used loosely. ¡°Didn¡¯t want to be disturbed in his sleep.¡± ¡°Was he?¡± Jinx probed with a smile. ¡°No, but he¡¯ll need a new pair of pants later,¡± Alix deadpanned and pulled the hood over his head. ¡°Will he have coin to buy them?¡± Jinx asked walking behind him, the Gish gliding through the shifty-looking crowd with ease. ¡°Not at hand,¡± Alix said and paused again and checked a wall, outside a very cheap looking tavern. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°The black door tavern,¡± Alix explained and signed for her to follow him inside. The door of the tavern painted black. ¡°That¡¯s how it¡¯s called. Not very original,¡± Jinx griped and the Gish showed her a mark on the wall, made with coal. Two human hands drawn there, both missing a thumb. ¡°It¡¯s safe,¡± Alix said and put a finger on his lips for her to keep quiet. ¡°What is this?¡± Jinx asked him following him inside the dark and very small tavern. It only had five tables in it. All empty. The keeper soundly asleep behind the small counter. ¡°We can lay low here, goddess,¡± the Gish replied and led her to one of the tables. ¡°And we can share yer adventures. Only keep it hush,¡± he warned her with a naughty grin. His voice turning ominous. ¡°The walls have ears.¡±
¡°Right,¡± Alix ¡®Shifty¡¯ Walker said, when she finished. ¡°All this for eight gold?¡± ¡°Haven¡¯t counted it yet,¡± Jinx argued. ¡°Ah, it¡¯s about there,¡± Alix countered and tossed her the purse back. ¡°Can tell by the weight.¡± Jinx glared at the thief. ¡°Didn¡¯t I say never touch my stuff again?¡± ¡°Darling, I¡¯m sorry,¡± Alix replied truthfully. ¡°I can¡¯t do it. Do ye want me to lie to you?¡± Jinx sighed and put the stolen purse back in its place. With a grimace she got the phallus out and placed it on the table. Alix chuckled unable to control himself. ¡°Of all the things that have graced the Guild¡¯s taverns this is the weirdest.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Jinx asked, a bit impressed. ¡°Nah,¡± Alix admitted and pushed his pink hair back, then used an expensive comb to fix them even more. ¡°So,¡± the Gish said after he finished styling his hair. ¡°What about the pendant?¡± ¡°What about it?¡± ¡°We¡¯re as close as we¡¯ll ever be,¡± Alix pointed. ¡°Not exactly ¡®close¡¯ still.¡± ¡°Eh, details. Garth has the means to pull this out.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t call him that,¡± Jinx said. ¡°Not smart to flaunt his name around, Goddess.¡± Jinx puffed the curl out of her face thinking about it. ¡°We need more stuff to attempt your crazy scheme Alix,¡± Jinx said a moment later, changing the subject. ¡°Like what?¡± ¡°Information. Location. A story is not good enough. Valwarin is one guy, have you collaborated it with the Guild?¡± ¡°Thieves aren¡¯t archaeologists darling,¡± Alix argued and seeing her raise a pink brow sardonically, he added with a grin. ¡°But they are the closest thing to ¡®em.¡± ¡°What does the Guild know?¡± ¡°Not much. I didn¡¯t exactly advertise it as you well remember.¡± ¡°Can I interrupt you for moment?¡± A man asked. Jinx turned her head and frowned. It was the formerly ¡®sleeping¡¯ barman. A Lorian, black hair and bland face, eyes the color of grass. He¡¯d walked from the counter to their table as quiet as a cat. ¡°Ah, we¡¯re leaving friend,¡± Alix said politely. ¡°Well, I¡¯m not the bartender,¡± the man explained patiently, remembering to smile at the end of it. ¡°Name¡¯s Brock Olin,¡± he tended a hand, but no one took it. ¡°Yer in the Guild?¡± Alix asked. ¡°We all belong somewhere,¡± Brock replied, saying nothing. ¡°Right, ah¡­ what do you want?¡± Jinx asked him, not really in the mood for small talk. ¡°I couldn¡¯t help but overhear¡ª¡± ¡°We were talkin¡¯ pretty low,¡± Jinx cut him off midsentence. ¡°I¡¯ve a good ear,¡± Brock explained. ¡°Whispering almost.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve an excellent ear,¡± Brock explained further. Jinx sighed. ¡°Don¡¯t be a cunt,¡± she warned him. Brock smiled, again it wasn¡¯t quite there. ¡°I heard the name,¡± the man said. ¡°Valwarin.¡± ¡°Altarin,¡± Jinx said. ¡°You heard wrong. It¡¯s fine, ye were standing pretty far.¡± ¡°Violin,¡± Brock countered. ¡°Easier to pick, but ye went to the city the man lives in. Lies have tails showing.¡± Jinx thought about smacking him once with the phallus, but Alix gestured for her to keep her cool for some reason. ¡°Ye have an offer handsome colleague?¡± He asked the stranger. ¡°Just curiosity. The name isn¡¯t thrown around every day around these parts.¡± ¡°Given where he lives it makes sense,¡± Alix countered. ¡°The distance is too great.¡± ¡°These pirates,¡± Brock said. ¡°Are not the pirates of yesterdays, right?¡± ¡°Valwarin knew the way over the mountains,¡± Jinx said, tired of beating around the bush. ¡°Not really. There¡¯s no way through the mountains, or over them.¡± ¡°If there was, say¡­ another way,¡± Alix probed. ¡°Where would it be?¡± Brock shrugged his shoulders. ¡°If there was, nobody found it. Framtond in his book talks of the river¡¯s sources and a door.¡± ¡°A door,¡± Jinx murmured. ¡°Can be many things,¡± Brock picked up the thread. ¡°Or it can be a bloody door,¡± Alix countered, with a groan. ¡°Anything else, Mister Brock?¡± ¡°Valwarin had a pendant,¡± the man said. ¡°Find that and you might have a shot. Ah, but it was stolen, is the word,¡± he looked at them both, then smiled. This dude is weird, Jinx thought. ¡°So I guess you can¡¯t.¡± ¡°Well, we¡¯ll keep on thinking about it,¡± Alix sighed. ¡°Gratitude Mister Brock.¡± ¡°Anytime,¡± Brock Olin replied, then added a smile at the end of it and turning on his heels walked straight out of the tavern. ¡°What the fuck?¡± Jinx blurted the moment he was out of the door. ¡°Get up,¡± Alix said. ¡°We need to move.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the rush?¡± Jinx asked getting up, phallus in hand. ¡°I think the Guild knows we have the pendant,¡± the Gish explained. They rushed through the market, the afternoon hot and headed back taking the main street. It was going to be a long walk, but Glen riding hard almost trampled them over, dragging another horse behind him. ¡°Jump up,¡± Glen snapped, for some reason very angry. ¡°We need to get out of the street, it¡¯s too fuckin¡¯ open!¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Jinx queried climbing up the saddle, Alix jumping behind her. ¡°There¡¯s a Bounty Hunter in the city,¡± Glen rustled, clenching his jaw. ¡°I¡¯m trying to find you for hours!¡± ¡°Like Larn?¡± Jinx asked politely, giving Alix the reins. It was better to treat Glen carefully, when he had his fits. ¡°A real one probably. Working for a bank,¡± Glen explained. ¡°And? How is this a problem silly?¡± ¡°He¡¯s looking for you Whisper,¡± he stared at Alix. ¡°I guess you too.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°What is this shite? Stop wit the plaguin¡¯ endless questions Whisper!¡± Glen snapped and seeing her glare, he added with a sigh of desperation. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you later. We ride straight for our camp first,¡± the man known as Mister Garth paused his eyes gawking at her. ¡°What in the slovenly holy fuck is that in yer hands?¡±
169. The biggest treasure on Eplas (3/3)
Glen Mister Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor The biggest treasure on Eplas Part III -Monarchs and the Fanatics that follow them-
Glen jumped down from Outlaw and tossed the reins to the expecting Metu. He then turned his head around and stared at the two quarreling Gish. ¡°Wait here,¡± he rustled. ¡°Don¡¯t disappear again.¡± Jinx showed him a toothy grin and her middle finger in response, but Alix cleared his throat first and then offered a more polite merchant¡¯s smile instead. ¡°Let me congratulate you upon receiving yer divine wife, Mister Garth,¡± the wayward Gish said. ¡°Had ye find yourselves in need of another partner to liven yer intercourse¡ª¡± ¡°Tis livened aplenty so we won¡¯t. Now you say that shit again and I¡¯ll punch yer nostrils so hard they¡¯ll pop out the back of yer head,¡± Glen threatened with a glare. ¡°Jinx, hide that thing for all-fuck¡¯s sake, there are kids running about in the premises!¡± ¡°Pfft, kids these days are right perverts!¡± Jinx argued. Glen rolled his eyes and left them. He got inside the Watch Tower, now converted into a personal house of sorts. The outside cleared and turned into a yard, a wall built and two more buildings raised with the materials. A separate kitchen building and what would be a bathhouse apparently. The latter to be connected via a second entrance to the first floor of the tower now turned into a foyer, everything but the stone staircase teared down. Sen had decided the two remaining floors were ¡®barely¡¯ adequate for her quarters. The way she¡¯d said it, making it clear that they weren¡¯t even that. Ninan raised her head the moment he stepped through the open door. ¡°Master Garth,¡± the plump slave said with a frown. ¡°Please remove your footwear.¡± Glen frowned taken aback. He stared at his feet and caught sight of the grey carpet covering every inch of the floor under him. ¡°Ahm, what is this?¡± He asked. Eyeing the yellow and white sheets hanging from the walls and covering the enlarged open window. ¡°The place needs color,¡± Ninan replied and stooped to get his boots off of his feet. ¡°Many things really. Like space for the slaves.¡± Glen eyed her plump Cofol face. ¡°How about upstairs?¡± He probed. The slave blushed taking her time in that awkward position. ¡°Master wants us to share his bed?¡± She asked hopefully. Huh? ¡°Ehm, that¡¯s not what I was going for,¡± Glen protested. He cleared his throat a little embarrassed and equally aroused. ¡°Is Sen around here?¡± ¡°Mistress is upstairs,¡± Ninan replied, getting up. Glen wiggled his toes on the soft thick carpet. ¡°I¡¯ll have a pair of new boots ordered Master,¡± she added, wrinkling her nose at his worn out but trusty footwear. ¡°Keep these around, I may get back down post haste,¡± Glen ordered and walked towards the cleared staircase, the place smelling fantastic considering it was a ruin not a week back. Ninan didn¡¯t appear convinced that he would, but said nothing.
Iskay turned around the moment Glen entered what was a bedroom when he¡¯d left that morning, but now was a very large closet apparently. Two huge cabinets that touched the ceiling, a large table with a polished bronze mirror on it and many rolls of fabrics, dresses, pillows, undergarments, plus at least eight pairs of heeled sandals ranging from almost flat, to quite dangerous to walk on. I mean, what in the actual fuck? ¡°Ahm,¡± Glen mumbled in bewilderment, the place alien. ¡°Master Lon-Iv sent two carriages,¡± Iskay the younger redhead reported. Glen cleared his throat snapping out of it. He eyed the provocatively dressed young slave. She smiled in reaction to his stare and crossed her arms on her belly, under her barely covered breasts, pushing them out. ¡°Supplies for the men?¡± He croaked averting his eyes. ¡°The Mistress stuff. Those we¡¯ll be delivered later,¡± the slave explained. ¡°Huh? What do you mean later?¡± Glen snapped. ¡°Didn¡¯t I put Stiles on this?¡± ¡°Mister Crafton protested earlier, but then they met with the Mistress and they both agreed it was the proper way to proceed.¡± ¡°Right. We don¡¯t want people eat afore we have a pillow under our arse,¡± Glen commented sarcastically. Iskay beamed, missing his point. Glen snorted and started climbing the stairs leading to the third floor murmuring under his breath. The last floor of the tower had another set of stairs leading to the open roof above it and was substantially bigger in size, than the floors under it. Of course the whole floor now had turned into a bedroom. Sen-Iv clad in a long white silk toga tied at her left shoulder and hair gathered in a loose bun, was reading a scroll, behind a short-legged rosewood desk installed across her bed. The latter covered with huge pillows of various colors, none bigger than the one his wife was sitting on. His lovely wife smiled seeing him walk in, sweaty from going up two sets of stairs and rather frustrated. Glen vowed inwardly to the gods above, old and new, to bring the biggest armchair he could find and place it in the middle of the room. ¡°Jinx got on your nerves,¡± Sen-Iv noticed innocently, maneuvering the conversation away. ¡°What did that naughty girl do to my Glen?¡± The latter a subtle metaphor. Glen paused to look at her, the light coming from the open window framing her body and that darn material teasing as all hells. Sen bit her lower lip, dropped the scroll on the table and got up. The whole action deliberate and worthy of considerable attention. ¡°You¡¯ve made changes,¡± Glen said with difficulty keeping on target, thinking himself a man not easy to distract. Which was as false a notion as any. He watched her walk slowly towards him, every part of her moving under that flimsy garb a tease. Sen-Iv stopped in front of him and raised her smiling opal eyes to catch his. Glen was almost two hands taller than the older Cofol woman now. ¡°My Glen disapproves?¡± She hushed, her left hand working on the shoulder knot of her toga. Glen put a hand on it to stop her. He had things to do and dangers to concern himself with, like a geriatric bank employee with a grunge on him and a ton of resources, gunning for his head. ¡°You are trying to distract me,¡± Glen told her and Sen reached with her free hand to grab his collar. She used it to bring their faces closer. ¡°Mmm, is it working?¡± Sen hummed softly, breath smelling of honeyed orange. Why you¡­ Glen raised his own hand to stop her, but touched her ringed shapely ear instead, fingers reaching in her luscious black hair and lacing at her nape. One moment they were looking at each other and the next Glen was kissing her. It wasn¡¯t a soft peck on the lips, but an assault. The former thief stumbled forward, but recovered his footing, an arm around her small waist, the other under her hip and they both found their way onto her bed, pillows flying everywhere.
¡°How did it go?¡± Sen asked him an hour later, her fingers caressing his hair. Glen opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling. He felt her soft mounds on his broad back, long legs on either side embracing his body and the position extremely comfortable. ¡°You¡¯re the best armchair, dear,¡± he told her with a chuckle. ¡°Is that a compliment, Mister Garth?¡± ¡°I¡¯m being serious,¡± he replied and Sen pulled at his curls warningly. ¡°I love being your armchair,¡± she whispered huskily in his ear. It did wonders for his drained libido. Glen grabbed her left hand and brought it to his lips. ¡°How did what go?¡± He asked going back to her query, kissing the well-shaped fingers. Glen counted almost fifty gold Eagles worth of jewelry on them. ¡°You wanted to find Jinx earlier, before you got distracted,¡± Sen elaborated. Oh, crap. ¡°I need to go,¡± Glen said and jumped from the bed. ¡°And we need to talk.¡± ¡°I need a bath. You need one too,¡± Sen countered. ¡°Sweetheart, we have problems afoot,¡± Glen said, looking around for his pants. The new pair he had made. Sen found and tossed him his pants, then his shirt. ¡°Didn¡¯t you resolve the pirate¡¯s situation?¡± She asked getting up herself, which didn¡¯t help Glen at all. ¡°I¡¯ll put something on,¡± Sen chuckled seeing his reaction. ¡°What is this new problem Glen? I thought we could settle here.¡± Glen grimaced and buttoned his shirt nervously. ¡°We might have to travel again soon. Nothing serious, just leave the city for a bit,¡± he finally said. Sen stopped tying the knot on her toga and stared at him. ¡°Like a honeymoon?¡± ¡°More of an adventure in a famed historic setting of sorts. See the sights. A short one.¡± We won¡¯t even have to leave the continent. Sen frowned and it hurt his soul seeing her troubled. ¡°You¡¯ll take me on an adventure?¡± Glen smiled, with lots of teeth but no feeling. All forced. ¡°Gods,¡± his wife gasped. ¡°How bad is it?¡± ¡°No need to be alarmed,¡± Glen reassured her quickly. ¡°I have this covered thoroughly.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t need to use thoroughly there,¡± she corrected him. ¡°It weakens it.¡± ¡°Won¡¯t happen again.¡± ¡°Glen, should I be worried?¡± Never. I won¡¯t let anything happen to you. The thought so petrifying he dropped it immediately. ¡°There¡¯s a Bounty Hunter after Reeves,¡± he explained. ¡°Who sent him?¡± Sen-Iv asked walking towards her small desk and plopping down, her expression serene. ¡°It isn¡¯t the Khan. Lon has bought off all the officials here.¡± ¡°Reeves had enemies. You know that.¡± ¡°The Witch?¡± No. Glen grimaced. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. He doesn¡¯t know who I am, but he knows about Whisper and Fikumin.¡± ¡°Your creatures,¡± Sen said and reached for her scroll. ¡°We need to talk about this whole slave culture thing,¡± Glen told her. ¡°It was there before you, or me,¡± Sen replied evenly without raising her voice. The first time he¡¯d seen her wear this face since the day she¡¯d convinced him to sign the papers. ¡°It will be there after we are both gone from this world.¡±If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Sen¡­ sweet girl I wasn¡¯t blaming you,¡± Glen started and then paused not wanting to press her on this. ¡°Solve the problems you can solve my kindhearted love,¡± Sen-Iv had told him, the warmth back in her voice and something more even deeper. ¡°Leave the culture building dreams to Monarchs and the fanatics that follow them. What you¡¯ll lose in the trade won¡¯t worth it.¡±
¡°Where are they?¡± Glen growled and Metu snapped up from the table he was eating on. ¡°Jinx and Alix,¡± he elucidated. ¡°Lady Jinx went to the mercenary camp, Master Garth,¡± Metu replied quickly. Glen groaned, the walking distance to the camp too great. ¡°I¡¯ll fetch your horse,¡± Metu offered. ¡°Fine,¡± Glen replied. ¡°Wait, have they started on the fence yet?¡± ¡°Mister Gimoss teared that plan down. He was extremely insulted at the narrow scope of your idea,¡± Metu explained. ¡°Asked Mister Stiles to make a bigger wall with guard posts every five hundred meters and lookouts. Five gates, stone base, timber supports and walls with parapets standing at least ten meters from the ground.¡± ¡°Ahm, how much will it cost?¡± Glen asked him, the snags hitting him from all sides. ¡°There¡¯s timber enough near the river. But it¡¯s very poor quality. The building crews are idle for the most part and can¡¯t return to the Khanate due to the war so you have the manpower. They were supposed to move to Rida after¡ª¡± Glen raised a hand to stop him. ¡°The monetary cost friend, was all I had asked ye for.¡± ¡°Lon-Iv has agreed to shoulder it, Master Garth.¡± Ah. ¡°Was this Sen?¡± ¡°I believe so, Master Garth. It was part of their agreement for the¡­ pirate products. Master Lon is obliged to comply with the Mistress wishes.¡± Right. ¡°Stiles was fine with it? He¡¯s going to have to take all this upon himself.¡± ¡°Mister Gimoss found him very agreeable,¡± Metu replied. Of course he did.
Outlaw rode inside the still under construction camp nervously, the soldiers¡¯ quarters still at the converted warehouse and only a single large wood shack erected for guarding the crews¡¯ tools temporarily. The large horse snorted, the sound of saws, shovels and hammers disturbing it. Glen jumped from the saddle and tied the reins on a post outside the open door of the shack. Ottis who was standing half-in half-out saluted, but Glen waved him off and walked inside. Jinx had both legs on a table, small toes wiggling while Alix massaged them, with an amused Crafton and a troubled Stiles watching. ¡°Ah, there he is,¡± Jinx complained, seeing Glen burst inside. ¡°Wait here he says. Don¡¯t disappear he threatens. I¡¯ll be right back he promises!¡± ¡°Whisper, I had serious business to take care,¡± Glen hissed through his teeth, not liking all this judgmental attitude. ¡°Pfft, let¡¯s call a spade, a blooming spade,¡± Jinx retorted with a wince of pain. ¡°And a bloody fuck¡ª¡± ¡°There was none of that,¡± Glen cut her off, not comfortable discussing it in front of the men. ¡°Bah, the windows were open fool,¡± Jinx argued. ¡°I heard enough to form me own opinion and visualize the rest. Yer girl is very loud and that was one hell of a fuck!¡± Glen sighed and glanced at the aged face of Crafton, the old Northman and former thief, turned quartermaster, or paymaster, as the troops were calling him, just shrugged his shoulders. His eyes telling his old pupil to drop it and move on to the important stuff. That¡¯s what Glen did. ¡°Sergeant Ottis informed me the soldiers agreed to join the Gallant Dogs for a standard pay and a cut in the profits. Since I¡¯m funding the company, I¡¯m footing the bill for that as well. Whisper Jinx will be running it, with Mister Crafton and Mister Soren assisting her. Ottis will be the First Officer, or something equivalent and be responsible for the training of the men under him. Or women, and if some of the refugees wish to join, I won¡¯t be against it.¡± ¡°What will be the mission?¡± Ottis asked from the door, his eyes on the workers finishing up for the day and clearing up the site with the help of slaves. An extra seventy had arrived from the city, swelling their ranks and speeding up construction at no cost to Glen. Lon wants that Black Market contract and of course there is the wyvern matter he wants to keep under lock and key, Glen thought. ¡°Guarding this part of the city,¡± Glen replied to the officer. ¡°Use patrols to make certain no one slips near and takes a peek at our business for now. After the wall is finished, the job will be much easier with the guard posts and the gates.¡± ¡°Back to guard duty,¡± Ottis commented with a smile. ¡°Not exactly,¡± Glen corrected him. ¡°There might be other jobs in the horizon.¡± ¡°Unlawful?¡± Ottis asked and Glen eyed him not amused. ¡°Profitable.¡± ¡°What about what I want?¡± Jinx asked and Glen turned to her. ¡°I was going there Whisper.¡± ¡°Ye were takin¡¯ yer sweet time,¡± Jinx retorted. ¡°And what about Liko? He¡¯s part of the Gallant Dogs core. Gold badge and everything.¡± Yeah let¡¯s put everyone in there. Not. ¡°I think we¡¯ve agreed no gold badges,¡± Glen stared at Ottis and the officer pulled a cord to show him his own gold badge. ¡°Unless it¡¯s for officers,¡± Glen yielded. ¡°Didn¡¯t agree to anything. Liko has a badge, I ain¡¯t takin¡¯ it from him,¡± Jinx argued and Glen groaned in frustration. ¡°Fine. Liko can plaguin¡¯ keep it! Can I move on to the important stuff now?¡± ¡°I hadn¡¯t finished talking,¡± Jinx reminded him. She was very polite though. Eh, more like an old austere teacher with pink hair and small toes. Shamed him to a corner. ¡°Go on then. Please do.¡± ¡°Ottis get the men their schedule and assign the watches,¡± Jinx ordered the officer, switching her tone. ¡°Give ¡®em a good pep talk and a vague promise of pay sometime this week. Feed them first. You might need some sergeants, or seconds in command to lighten yer load. A better pay will do the trick to find volunteers.¡± ¡°Right away, milady,¡± Ottis said evenly and departed. ¡°He¡¯s quite professional,¡± Jinx commented after he did. ¡°Very handsome too,¡± she paused seeing Glen¡¯s incredulous stare. ¡°What? It¡¯s important for an officer. You can¡¯t have a donkey negotiate for you. Dante¡¯s words.¡± ¡°Anything else?¡± Glen queried his patience running thin. ¡°A smart outfit,¡± Jinx added. ¡°I need to get him a belt with a large buckle. It helps,¡± she explained. Good grief! ¡°I meant are you finished?¡± Glen grunted, a vein appearing on his temple. ¡°Yes I have,¡± Jinx replied innocently, as if anyone would buy that! Glen thought frustrated. Crafton cleared his throat and gave him a disapproving stare. ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so abrupt to her lad,¡± he said and Stiles made to nod agreeing, but spotting Glen¡¯s venomous glare, shrugged his shoulders opting to remain neutral on the matter. ¡°Right,¡± Glen started, pausing again as Alix had started sucking on Jinx¡¯s big toe making weird slurping sounds of pleasure. The Gish stopped in turn under his scrutiny and placed a grinning Whisper¡¯s foot on the table. Glen cleared his throat, sweat trickling down his cheeks and continued. ¡°There¡¯s the matter¡­ of the expedition.¡± ¡°What expedition be that?¡± Stiles asked, his presence in the room unnecessary given that Glen had tasked the former pirate with the responsibility of running the District business for him, as well as communicate with the other pirates, Leona and the markets as his representative. ¡°There might be a backdoor into Wetull proper,¡± Glen deadpanned and Stiles blinked in shock. ¡°Does this have to do anythin¡¯ perchance, with what you have in the Mastaba?¡± ¡°That would be partly true. The main reason is profit,¡± Glen explained. ¡°Crafton?¡± ¡°Well, a basic caravan will reach Dragontoe and Jadefort inside two months. Perhaps sooner weather permitting,¡± the old Northman explained and got his scrolls out. Whatever he¡¯d written in there anyone¡¯s guess, since no one but Glen could read that well and the latter was disputed. ¡°Let me see that,¡± Alix asked and took the scroll to read it. Apparently he could as well. ¡°I see a carriage for supplies, three mules and horses. What¡¯s the second carriage for?¡± Glen eyed him not likening losing the lead on a job. ¡°I can get him to suck on my toe again,¡± Jinx offered seeing his frustration. ¡°Tis a legitimate query goddess,¡± Alix argued, a naughty grin on his mouth. ¡°But I¡¯ll take ye up on yer offer and raise ye a full body lathering.¡± Mother of all fucks! What is this shite? Glen groaned inwardly and unable to keep his frustration in snapped at everyone. ¡°Enough wit this perverted bullshit! Listen up, Crafton knows what he¡¯s doing and is under orders,¡± Crafton raised his hand to ask for permission to speak and Glen paused grinding his teeth. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what the second carriage is for,¡± he admitted. ¡°Moving on from the plaguing carriage,¡± Glen proceeded, pressing a finger on the throbbing vein to alleviate a fatal aneurysm. ¡°We need to have knowledge of the general area, if we are to find a passage, or¡ª¡± He stopped again and glared at Alix, also annoyingly asking for permission to speak. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Just want to report, the Thieves Guild is in Eikenport,¡± the Gish blurted quickly getting up. ¡°That¡¯s it,¡± he added looking to the others and sat back down. Glen licked his lips. ¡°How is that relevant Mister Walker?¡± ¡°They might have information we don¡¯t. One of them mentioned the sources of the river, which is in a sense a point on a map.¡± Glen thought about it for a moment. ¡°You met with a member of the Thieves Guild in Eikenport?¡± Crafton moved on his chair a little nervously. ¡°That happened while ye were talking with the whores at the ¡®Tenacious Rat¡¯?¡± ¡°After,¡± Alix elucidated. ¡°And very little talking was involved.¡± ¡°With the man?¡± ¡°The whores was my meaning. The man gave us that bit of info.¡± ¡°Why is the Guild in Eikenport Alix?¡± Glen probed. ¡°Stealing from thieves or Pirates is hardly lucrative.¡± Although an argument could be made here, he thought. ¡°I have no idea, but they know about the pendant. Which means one thing for certain,¡± Alix replied. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Glen asked him, although he knew. ¡°There¡¯s a lot of coin to be made on this job,¡± the Gish answered evenly. ¡°One might even argue, if a safe road is found, it might lead to untold treasures. Why, if we make it across with a way to return, then we could steal the wealth of all the kingdoms combined out of there!¡± The biggest treasure, Glen thought, remembering his dream. Not all of it, but bits and pieces. I just want enough coin to run this scheme and to throw Lear off my scent. Protect the gem that matters. ¡°Couldn¡¯t we make it over there from the coast?¡± Crafton probed, checking on his notes. Stiles and Jinx almost jumping out of their skins in terror. ¡°Go ahead,¡± Jinx told the one-eyed former pirate and current manager of Garth¡¯s District. ¡°You tell them.¡± ¡°We got attacked by a Kraken on our way here,¡± Stiles explained. ¡°Which means that darn thing is active around these waters again. Now it might move away, never to return for a hundred years, but making the journey from the sea is ill-advised. Assuming you know where to land, or how to navigate the reefs in the mist.¡± Glen smacked his lips the matter settled. He knew Jinx¡¯s reasons anyway and didn¡¯t want to dwell on them in front of the others. ¡°I want to talk to that thief Alix,¡± he told the small-bodied Gish. ¡°Even have him join as a guide, or expert.¡± ¡°He¡¯s a thief,¡± Alix reminded him. ¡°He¡¯s weird,¡± Jinx added with a frown. ¡°Like really weird.¡± Glen sighed. ¡°What are we, a bunch of virgin monks? We can handle a plaguin¡¯ thief!¡±
Glen stared at the open door of the Mastaba, an owl¡¯s warning coming from afar. He eyed the soldiers standing guard next, trying not to act surprised at the lightstones he and Sen had hanging from their chests. The light illuminating the emptiness in front of them, but only for a couple of meters. Three at the most. ¡°Close the door behind us,¡± he ordered them and turned to an expecting Sen. The Cofol wearing a fiery red silk tunic that left her right leg uncovered to display her beautiful hand-crafted heeled sandals. The gems sparkling on them, sparkling on her, but nothing matching the gems on her face. ¡°Close those eyes sweetheart and give me your hand.¡± They moved inside the Mastaba, the doors closing behind them and Glen looking about the vastness worried, an eye on the starlit sky over their heads, strangely framed through the half-top pyramid¡¯s missing roof. ¡°Can I open them now?¡± His wife asked and Glen turned to look at her. A strange smile on her face. A bit of awe in it, maybe pride and something else, he couldn¡¯t yet understand. Though he could feel it coming out of her pores. A scent, an aura. ¡°Sure. Don¡¯t be scared. What you will see might be weirdly terrifying¡ª¡± Sen stopped him. She placed a warm hand on his to stop it from shaking. ¡°Lon wrote me a missive. He has to inform me on everything,¡± Sen-Iv explained looking around the seemingly empty ancient building. ¡°I know.¡± Glen gulped down. ¡°You do?¡± Sen approached him even more and touched his lips softly with hers. ¡°My Glen,¡± she hummed and the Wyvern stirred from where it was watching them, claws scratching the walls coming down. ¡°Sweet, sweet husband of mine. My handsome rogue,¡± his wife told him. ¡°All your secrets are safe with me. I shan¡¯t be afraid of him, if you aren¡¯t. Don¡¯t ever let your fear of me, hold you back.¡± Biscuit clacked with his black glass-like teeth, burgundy eyes burning like torches approaching. The Wyvern had risen high on his hind legs, when he reached them and sniffed at both in turn. Sen extended an arm and touched the Wyvern¡¯s horned scaled head. The color an onyx black, polished alike a mirror reflecting the light from their old Zilan stones and her famed eyes. A rainbow of dissolving in them. Red and white. Shades of blue and light teal. A touch of burning amber like lava, when she turned to look into an enthralled Glen¡¯s face. ¡°What will you do with him?¡± She asked Hardir O¡¯ Fardor huskily and the Wyvern snorted, forked tongue licking her bejeweled ear. Sen chuckled, her fear gone and Biscuit let out a similar low guttural sound. RRRE? ¡°I¡¯m going to get him a home,¡± Glen rustled suddenly encouraged to be open about it, and stared into Biscuit¡¯s gleaming eyes, a hand on his dagger¡¯s handle. ¡°Somewhere no one can come for him. A place to stay, if he so chooses. And I¡¯m going to do the same for us.¡±
Over their heads Nesande¡¯s Shade created a blue halo around Ora¡¯s Eye, the two moons almost full on the sky. Their light absorbed by the dark walls of the ancient Mastaba, reflected on the stirring waters of the Scalding Sea as far as the never sleeping Sinking Isles and over the still shining, mostly abandoned ruins of old Wetull. Pierced through the clouds hugging the Goddess¡¯ Wall, its drops and high rises. The basalt vertical slopes and the chasms horrors still inhabited. Awakened them. Danced over the thick jungle¡¯s canopy, spirits still living near its edges and whispered to the ancient winds to wake up as well and spread the word. Somewhere where no map showed for it wasn¡¯t a place, the biggest God of them all -ever watching, leered a dragon¡¯s leer at the unfolding scene and placed a round onyx bead on the previously balanced scales. And they started swinging again.
170. Guilds man and the one that wasnt (1/2)
Glen Mister Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Guild''s man and the one that wasn''t Part I -The man of the Guild-
Soren shook his large head having none of it. ¡°If Pretty goes, I go as well.¡± ¡°You stay and help Ottis,¡± Jinx insisted with Glen watching from the table, a crude map of the territories beyond Eikenport open in front of him. Most of the things written on the painting ineligible to him. ¡°He needs no help,¡± Soren countered. ¡°This Lorian and Crafton are doing a fine job.¡± ¡°Dammit big guy,¡± Jinx protested. ¡°You know fuck all about treasure hunting.¡± Soren grunted. ¡°And you do?¡± ¡°Ayup. I can also track, move fast while still quiet and hunt stuff¡ª¡± ¡°That Elk almost killed ya. It eats grass and rotten leaves,¡± Soren argued. ¡°So I don¡¯t know about that.¡± ¡°Twas a big one,¡± Jinx said frustrated, looking around embarrassed. ¡°So it doesn¡¯t count.¡± ¡°Haha! Big she says,¡± Soren guffawed, mistaking her words for a jest. ¡°Fine,¡± Glen intervened his eyes on the map. ¡°Soren comes along.¡± ¡°Wait, you¡¯re taking his place?¡± Jinx protested and banged her fist on the table almost toppling a vial of ink on to his papers, the fragile thing dancing to the edge and stopping there by a miracle. Glen raised his eyes and stared at her warningly. The Gish fixed the ink-pot and repositioned the map before him in silence. ¡°So, he comes? Despite my objection?¡± She asked with a small voice sounding very hurt. Glen wasn¡¯t going to get fooled that easy. ¡°Yes, Whisper. Anything else?¡± ¡°Your heart is made of stone,¡± Jinx whispered stooping over him and walked out, her fit arse dancing provocatively and throwing a last ominous, ¡°I will remember dis,¡± on her way out of the shack. Soren feeling guilty for frustrating her, run after the young Gish. Glen groaned. ¡°Flix is this normal?¡± He asked the silently smoking older Gish, sitting with his back to the wall. ¡°She¡¯s more patient wit Leona and that wench is a right criminal.¡± ¡°You¡¯re more valuable to her than Leona will ever be,¡± Flix replied. ¡°Soren as well. Gish value sex a lot, but love big families. We can¡¯t really help it. Do you know that young Jinx has four siblings?¡± Glen turned to look at his painted face. ¡°No, I don¡¯t.¡± ¡°Hasn¡¯t seen them since she left the Isles. Two sisters and two brothers. You should occasionally ask your friends about their lives.¡± ¡°I ask you.¡± ¡°Gratitude, but your reasons were different with me. I meant selflessly.¡± ¡°Is that what you are? A gallant assassin?¡± Glen countered and Flix chuckled. ¡°Absolutely not. This old Gish isn¡¯t following you out of the goodness of his heart dear Garth,¡± he paused and then added. ¡°Though I admit, I find myself enjoying your adventures very much.¡± They both turned silent for a long minute. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of siblings,¡± Glen commented finally very impressed, picking up the thread again. ¡°Is it normal?¡± ¡°The Gish are fertile rarely, as it is tied to the seasons back home,¡± Flix explained, sucking at the pipe with his eyes closed. ¡°Every five or six years, no one is certain. When they are though, a lot of younglings come of it.¡± ¡°So you can¡¯t know?¡± Glen asked, but Flix opted to just smile at that, eyes hidden behind a veil of aromatic smoke.
¡°It¡¯s a straight shot,¡± Fikumin insisted, standing on the chair to be able to read the map. A stubby calloused finger tracing the route. ¡°We cross the bridge, keep a vigorous pace and reach Laun River in half a week¡¯s time. Maybe less. We go over the bridge there and the next stop is Dragontoe River and its bridges.¡± ¡°Let me stop you right there,¡± Glen said, wiping the sweat off of his face with a silk hankie Sen had given him. ¡°First assume we cut on the ¡®vigorous¡¯ shit a bit and second, how many bridges does Dragontoe have?¡± ¡°One before we reach Jadefort, just where one of its branches splits into two. The other a day or two after it, leading to Dia Castle. But we aren¡¯t going that way.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Glen grimaced. ¡°Why cut on the pace?¡± The dwarf asked. ¡°I won¡¯t have Sen hauled through the wilderness Fikumin and then there is Biscuit to think about.¡± But Sen was the biggest concern. ¡°The Wyvern will not stay in a cage Garth.¡± ¡°Carriage,¡± Glen sighed, the stress wearing him down. ¡°And we¡¯ll cross that particular bridge when we come upon it, friend.¡±
The Cofol workers yelled, half a warning, half a curse and the slaves pulling at the ropes gave it their all, the large wooden support pillar ¨Cfour straight hardwood beams fastened into one- slowly rising vertical. It settled in the square meter-deep ditch and immediately cement was poured in the empty space at the corners. ¡°Will it hold?¡± Glen asked, sleeve over his mouth to protect himself from the dust clouds, created by the many slaves digging the ground and forming a long trench that followed the ancient alley running the city south to north. It will eventually block direct access to Glen¡¯s part of town completely. ¡°Another four on each corner of the Guard Tower,¡± the Chief engineer explained. ¡°Soaked in thick oil for a whole day, each pillar fastened with steel bolts on the tower itself. Only fire and catapults will hurt it.¡± ¡°The gates will be placed next to the tower,¡± Glen commented. ¡°That¡¯s the plan Mister Gath.¡± Glen glanced towards Gimoss, the corpse ¨Cnow looking a little better, if one wasn¡¯t paying enough attention- demonstrating with a sledgehammer how to break up the bigger boulders and then pour the debris into the cement mixture for better results. Thanking the Cofol engineer, he walked away from the slowly forming part of the wall that was to separate Garth¡¯s District from the rest of Eikenport. People were watching him discreetly, the identity of Mister Garth one of the hottest topics in the ancient city. Stiles, now sporting a long blue redingote and a large leather belt to match his prominent tricorn hat, greeted him as he approached the shade of the Amphitheatre. Enough of the old building remained standing to cast a prominent shadow over this part of the street. ¡°I told you to meet with the Sopat¡¯s man,¡± Glen complained, taking a flask of water the former pirate held for him. ¡°Clint went,¡± Stiles informed him. ¡°He¡¯s a good fellow.¡± ¡°You sent a crook to deal with the man?¡± Glen protested, then grimaced thinking about it. ¡°Belay that, I get it.¡± ¡°Aye,¡± Stiles agreed with a smirk. ¡°I work wit the tools at hand, milord.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the deal with the refugees?¡± Glen asked him a moment later. He¡¯d spent it glugging down as much water as he could. The day had been brutally hot, despite the season. ¡°We have no way to know who is who, or their talents,¡± Stiles explained. ¡°So we ask for people to take over jobs, after we erect the workshops.¡± ¡°Give it to me in a simple manner, Stiles. I have a ton things to take care off, precious little time to spare.¡± ¡°We repair a building, we name it, say a Bakery. Then we install what¡¯s necessary for it to run properly and make request for someone to take over it.¡± ¡°At no cost?¡± Glen asked. ¡°At a percentage of the profits,¡± Stiles explained. ¡°How much?¡± Glen rustled. ¡°A quarter. If he makes a hundred coins, we get twenty five.¡± ¡°How much of that in yer pocket?¡± Glen probed. ¡°Five, milord. It¡¯s a good deal,¡± Stiles explained. Glen nodded. ¡°Any takers?¡± ¡°We had three wanting to take over the Bakery. Two I had to turn down,¡± Stiles griped. ¡°What they made, the Chief over there added in his cement mixture instead of Gimoss¡¯ broken rocks.¡± ¡°What about the third one?¡± ¡°Marcela. Well, I had her tested thoroughly,¡± Stiles grinned, the gold gleaming in his mouth and stared at the workers building the gates on the street that led straight to the Cofol District and the South Market. ¡°Abrakas be me witness, she¡¯s great.¡± His words leaving a wide enough berth for speculation as to the woman¡¯s true talents. Glen decided to leave it at that.
Two days later Brock Olin offered him a toothy grin and Glen frowned, immediately distrusting him. Given the man¡¯s profession, it was probably a normal instinctual reaction, so he gave him the benefit of the doubt. Glen hardly trusted anyone in his camp anyway, other than his friends and those he kept an eye on. Alix whistled for Jinx to climb next to him on the supply carriage and she protested wanting more room for her stuff. A fight broke out, the two Gish pushing each other, until Flix jumped between them and put an end to it with a couple of fast but hard-hitting cuffs, neither managed to dodge. Those must have hurt a lot, he thought having been on the receiving end of a couple of good ones in the past. ¡°Well,¡± Glen said, turning to the expecting thief. The man had short cut black hair, green-something colored eyes and a Lorian face. Nothing was distinct about him and he could have been between twenty or thirty just as easy. ¡°I¡¯m sorry about that. Mother is rather heavy-handed in her arguments.¡± ¡°Not common, having a Gish mother,¡± Brock commented that grin ruining it at the end. ¡°How so Mister Olin?¡±The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Just not common,¡± Brock repeated. ¡°Yeah,¡± Glen said, staring at the slaves loading the carriages. ¡°Do you know the road, Mister Olin?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never been there, but I¡¯ll recognize the spot when I see it,¡± Brock said. ¡°I told your man what I know. No secrets.¡± Now that was a lie, stupid grin or not, Glen thought. ¡°Someone in the Guild went after it and then I don¡¯t know, mayhap talked about it afterwards? Is this how you learned of it?¡± He tried again. ¡°Lots of claims, but time will tell, I reckon,¡± Brock droned keeping it vague. Wow. Dude yer worse than me! ¡°Is the map accurate at least?¡± Glen probed a little frustrated. ¡°No map really is, Mister Garth.¡± Fantastic. Another group approached them on horses. Ottis with Sen and the slave girls. His wife smiled seeing him and Glen let his eyes roam the street where their caravan was gathering for any dangers. He saw nothing to justify his edginess, but the massive Mastaba bathed in the rising sun¡¯s light and the rows of worker crews slowly starting their day. They had finished the gates the previous day and worked on the main wall next, bringing it closer to the Watch Tower Glen had converted into an estate of sorts. ¡°Mister Brock,¡± Glen said, as Sen was helped down from her horse. ¡°This is Lady Sen-Iv and officer Ottis of the Gallant Dogs.¡± ¡°A pleasure,¡± Brock greeted them, adding that stupid smile at the end of it. ¡°Tonight?¡± Ottis asked Glen, after briefly acknowledging the thief with a head nod. ¡°Tonight,¡± Glen agreed and moved to take Sen away from the sun. ¡°See that everything is loaded, Ottis. Get your horse ready Mister Brock.¡±
Glen tugged the white shawl back, to uncover Sen¡¯s hair and she giggled looking over the taller man¡¯s shoulder raised on her toes, for anyone watching them. ¡°I hate this,¡± Glen said. ¡°Having to hide the truth. I¡¯ll have to change this, force the issue, if I have to.¡± ¡°He¡¯s a bounty hunter, Glen,¡± Sen said, pushing his unruly hair back with a smile. Glen had cut them, but the refugee ¡®barber¡¯ hadn¡¯t done a particularly good job. ¡°Can¡¯t we pay him off?¡± ¡°He works for the bank. Kinda looked incorruptible to me.¡± ¡°What bank?¡± ¡°Mclean & Merck. Do you know them?¡± Glen probed. ¡°Our family uses the Bank of Dinar for most of its transactions. But yes, everyone knows of the Bank of Trust,¡± Sen replied, trying to catch a long luscious curl that had escaped her bun and was now dancing on her face. Glen didn¡¯t know about them, not a year ago. ¡°They sent him and a fuck ton of mercenaries,¡± Glen hissed. ¡°A fuck ton?¡± Sen queried raising a well-shaped eyebrow. ¡°Means a lot, from the widely used ¡®a ton of fucks¡¯ expression,¡± he explained and the Cofol woman burst out laughing, burying her face in his chest to avoid the scrutiny of the passing crews. ¡°This is ridiculous,¡± Glen added. ¡°These people are gonna gossip. Half the town will think we¡¯re having an affair by morrow.¡± ¡°Half the town will be right,¡± Sen purred, then paused with a frown. ¡°Why is a bank interested in Reeves? He¡¯s a Lorian, they should support him.¡± ¡°Ah, money is involved,¡± Glen sort of explained, not wanting to admit the truth. ¡°But they don¡¯t know who I am, so it won¡¯t get them anything.¡± ¡°How is finding the road, or tunnel to Wetull, going to help us?¡± She asked. ¡°It will buy me time to finish the wall.¡± ¡°In order to fight them for it?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe a bank would fight,¡± Glen started, then paused seeing her expression. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Mclean & Merck wield enormous political power on Jelin husband. Especially in Lesia,¡± Sen explained. ¡°There¡¯s a saying in Merchant circles, it goes¡­ you know someone is in a dire situation, if the man from Atetalerso pays him a visit.¡± ¡°Where is that?¡± ¡°Near the Stonemaze Peaks of Lesia. Was a village once, before they invested a fuck ton in it, he-he,¡± Sen loved that expression. ¡°Lesia has a large coast, but its two most famous cities are near the north mountain ranges. Flauegran and Atetalerso. The City of Wine and the City of Coin.¡± ¡°You know so fucking much,¡± Glen told her awed and she blushed to the roots of her hair. ¡°I don¡¯t. I know of gems, deals and banks. We are merchants, it is all we do.¡± ¡°No its not,¡± Glen teased her. ¡°You¡¯re building a wall now.¡± ¡°Lon thinks you¡¯ll keep the Wyvern here.¡± ¡°Uhm. Lon has half yer smarts. What?¡± Glen asked, seeing her face sober up. ¡°How was it? Life, back in your Peninsula?¡± He asked, remembering Flix¡¯s advice. Sen stared at a group of slaves carrying tools walking towards the trench behind their repaired tower. She had a blue robe on today, the cloth basically a finely made net with a thin silk tunic underneath, but looked as stunning as every day. ¡°My father loved me very much,¡± Sen-Iv replied in her whispering voice. ¡°Gossip of the time said it was unhealthy, which while frowned upon, isn¡¯t against the law in the Peninsula. It¡¯s an old Imperial Law still active,¡± Glen frowned, but she shook her head to reassure him. ¡°It wasn¡¯t, people are just vicious,¡± She sucked a rugged breath in, losing her concentration for a moment, before continuing. ¡°He split the family fortune before the end and left half of it in my name. Securing that my brother, or any other family member would never want to get rid of me. It was a gift to keep me from another man and a curse I suppose. Perhaps there was something there untoward, but I never felt it. So I don¡¯t believe it.¡± ¡°Then the Prince came,¡± Glen said, trusting her word. Sen wasn¡¯t some fool to mistake love for lust. ¡°An offer you can¡¯t refuse. The Khan would have loved the match, but then the Prince went on campaign, came back with a witch from the north provinces.¡± ¡°Where are the north provinces?¡± ¡°Nobody knows. There was nothing there before.¡± ¡°You thought about the Prince?¡± Glen asked her. ¡°I did. I was younger, it sounded like a great idea,¡± Sen replied truthfully. ¡°Growing up, now especially no¡­ actually I¡¯ve made up my mind about this long ago.¡± Glen sighed. ¡°How did he agree on the contract? Your brother, is my meaning.¡± Sen¡¯s face lit up. ¡°Come on. Surely you¡¯re teasing me now. Ahm, I twisted his arm?¡± ¡°You did?¡± ¡°Yes husband, it was all me,¡± Sen replied without an ounce of guilt. ¡°Why?¡± Glen croaked. ¡°I was¡ª¡± Sen stopped him midsentence. ¡°Mysterious. A dashing carefree adventurer of sorts roaming the steppe,¡± his wife said huskily. ¡°All cocky walking about and casting dirty looks on every slave girl.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know about the dirty part,¡± Glen said, his stare turning lustful and she chuckled freely ¨Ca darn wonderful thing- turning serious in an instant. ¡°A man willing to fight the Horselords to save me, not knowing who I was,¡± she added. ¡°A worthless slave girl he met one night at a caravan¡¯s stop.¡± ¡°Well,¡± Glen mumbled. ¡°I was fifty-fifty whether to rescue you or not,¡± he admitted, but Sen was undeterred. ¡°I was fifty-fifty whether to marry you or not, but then you lied about the dagger and I almost bought it. I wanted in the mystery. So I told Phon I wanted you, or else.¡± ¡°What did he say?¡± ¡°My brother? He would do anything for me. Almost went to war with the Khan after the engagement was broken,¡± Sen replied with a shrug. ¡°But he didn¡¯t trust you at all, until I suppose you revealed the Wyvern. Which again is a big matter husband, even for me.¡± ¡°And dangerous,¡± Glen added. ¡°I don¡¯t fear anything, when I¡¯m with you,¡± Sen replied bravely. I don¡¯t think you fear anything when you¡¯re alone also. Glen grimaced and eyed the crews moving about. This part of the city slowly getting more alive with each passing day. Then he turned to stare at the caravan, getting ready to depart that night to avoid unwanted scrutiny and sighed. ¡°Glen,¡± his wife said sensing his turmoil. ¡°You can do whatever you want. I won¡¯t be your shackles. Ever.¡± The former thief shook his head. ¡°I know. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll fix everything.¡±
Outlaw snorted and then neighed seeing him approach. The sound caught by the other animals and even those at the closed wagons, turning into a cacophony of voices. Glen grimaced, two lines permanent on his forehead and eyed the old Gish smoking on the driving seat of the second carriage. Flix signaled him everything was good to go and Glen checked on the sleeping Jinx next and Alix watching her awed, or whatever that expression was. The former thief shook his head alike his horse had not a meter from him and looked towards the approaching Soren first. The muscular Northman moved at a slow deliberate pace, his face covered in darkness and standing at a massive six foot eleven. He was still growing it seemed. Seeing Glen he raised a huge arm in greeting and Glen returned it with a grin. ¡°Hey big guy. Are you going to ride or use the wagon?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll sit on the wagon,¡± Soren replied. ¡°Never done it afore.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take a horse,¡± Fikumin said standing next to the Northman. Glen had missed him completely. The dwarf looked very pissed and stupid per usual. More stupid than angry. ¡°Hey Fikumin, are you sure ye don¡¯t want to ride with¡ª¡± ¡°I am,¡± the dwarf stopped him. ¡°Fine, have fun climbing up,¡± Glen said crossing his arms on his chest and eyed Sen coming down their repaired tower, followed by the two slave girls. His wife had a lightstone on her. She had hers made into a jewel of sorts, some-fucking how, long chain and a silver cast to put it in and hounded the old Gish to find her more. No other jewelry will be able to compete, she explained to an amused Glen, if ours light up in the dark. ¡°What?¡± Sen asked, emboldened as she was among very close company, other than Brock that had appeared on his horse. The thief coming from the now working ¡®Sopat Gate¡¯ and the Cofol District. ¡°You don¡¯t like it on me?¡± ¡°I like it very much,¡± Glen replied, her taste still in his mouth from another of their passionate earlier sessions and caught sight of Gimoss getting out of the Mastaba and walking towards them as well. ¡°Can I drive?¡± Sen queried, apparently in a good mood and Glen thought about it, then refused it flatly assuming a serious look. ¡°We should put the best driver on that seat,¡± Brock commented. ¡°Thank you for yer input,¡± Glen replied sarcastically and the Thief Guild¡¯s man managed at last to get the timing on his grin right, though he completely missed the former thief¡¯s sarcasm. Gimoss who had almost reached them, paused seeing their exchange and turned on his heels to head towards the Mastaba again, walking stiffly, but energetically this time. ¡°Anytime,¡± was Brock¡¯s reply. Right. Glen grimaced and turned to speak with Crafton. The old Northman wasn¡¯t going to come with them, as work was needed done for the expanding Gallant Dogs and as he¡¯d put it the other day, a man needs to know when to take an alternate career opportunity, or just retire. ¡°Supplies for two months,¡± his old mentor informed him, ¡°Sam Mathews is briefed and won¡¯t talk about that other thing,¡± Glen had told him about the Wyvern. Everyone making the journey knew, but for Brock. Not everyone had seen the Wyvern though. ¡°You told him,¡± Glen said. ¡°No way around it lad,¡± Crafton explained. ¡°The man would be driving the carriage. The old Gish appears just about ready to kick the bucket.¡± ¡°Mister Crafton, I can hear you,¡± Flix said from the wagon and Crafton eyed him, just as Glen caught out of the corner of his eye Gimoss returning from the Mastaba, custom made shovel on his shoulder. Apparently the corpse had forgotten his tool, he thought, turning his attention on Crafton again, as Brock went leisurely to help Sen-Iv climb the stairs to her carriage. ¡°No ill intention, Ma¡¯am,¡± Crafton apologized. ¡°None taken, you¡¯re quite right,¡± Flix replied with a grin just as Gimoss went past Glen and walked towards the carriage and the smaller group of the slave girls and of course Sen, now disagreeing over sitting arrangements inside the small cabin, the thief watching them. Several things happened one after the other in the next minute. A hooded man appeared coming down the empty street on foot, from the direction of the heavily guarded ¡®Sopat Gate¡¯ and the Amphitheatre for starters. ¡°Hey,¡± Glen said to Gimoss, as he¡¯d missed the stranger appearing. ¡°Ask him you fool!¡± The corpse bellowed getting everyone¡¯s attention, but for Flix who kept his eyes on the approaching stranger and Alix who slowly rose up on the driver¡¯s seat looking spooked. Glen paused pretty confused himself, an eye on the stranger that had popped out of nowhere, the other on the corpse and his bizarre query. What in Luthos shriveled balls¡­ ¡°I¡¯ll be damned,¡± Alix mumbled, blinking and waking up a drowsy Jinx. ¡°Nigel ¨Cfucking- Grim.¡± ¡°Give me your hand Lady of the Isthmus,¡± Brock told his wife and Glen, who had his attention split in too many places at once, grunted feeling a shiver running up his spine. Half a minute had gone by and time moved forward faster.
Tick and tock the old scales went. The clacking of the beads was heard. And the elder sitting by the fire in a faraway forest, stopped working on his bones.
The hooded stranger paused five meters away and stared at the large group, black and rigid Issir face gleaming in the light of the many lit torches, white hair gathered and unseen. ¡°Fuck me sweaty arse,¡± a drowsy Jinx was heard. ¡°No way.¡± Ask him, the corpse had told him. Sen offered her small hand to the man of the Guild and he took it, just as Glen¡¯s question rang down the ancient and largely dark -with the exception of their part- Eikenport street. ¡°How did you die?¡± And then the minute was up.
171. Guild’s man and the one that wasn’t (2/2)
Glen Mister Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Guild¡¯s man and the one that wasn¡¯t Part II -Eight¡¯s right hand-
Sensing danger Flix frowned, hand dropping to his harness where he kept his throwing knives. Fikumin, halfway up the saddle let go and dropped down, then turned around alarmed. Nigel ¨Cfucking- Grim narrowed his light brown eyes and looked at a pale-faced Glen inquiringly. Ottis grimaced unsure and Alix had still that surprised expression on his face, still focused on the newcomer. Soren didn¡¯t get what was going on and Brock Olin just froze in place for the briefest of moments, still holding Sen¡¯s hand. He then twisted his head around and stared at Glen in turn. Eyes the color of grass, hazy and unfocused, before clearing up, his bland face ¡®changing¡¯ into that of a different character. It wasn¡¯t a pure metamorphosis, nothing Glen could describe with simple words. More a reshuffling of subtle things, along with many insignificant details that were previously missing, or lacking, coming back. Little things filling up the empty spots, livening up the thief¡¯s face. Brock¡¯s upper lip was now pulled back slightly in a half-snarl and his interest had shifted to Glen. That is, all of Brock¡¯s body parts were still there, but the thief was gone. Someone else was living now under his skin. ¡°Who art thou Garth?¡± The fake Brock asked in a foreign unrecognizable accent. Everything was wrong, down to the color of his voice. Glen reached for his sword, but Sen¡¯s cry of pain stopped him. ¡°GLEN!¡± His wife screamed and tried to pull her hand away from Brock¡¯s steely grip, but failed. Brock smacked his lips pleased hearing the name. ¡°No secrets,¡± he crackled in his strange accent and then something opened up a monstrous wound starting on his left shoulder. All the way down in an oblique course, splitting the clavicle and breaking his sternum. It went through the upper rib bones, ruining lungs and peeling flesh and skin outwards in an explosion of blood and bodily fluids. What in all hells? Sen snapped away from him, covered in gore, but free and Brock went down on his knees, the hideous face of Gimoss appearing behind him. The corpse pulled hard at the bloody shovel to dislodge it making the wound even worse, Brock¡¯s upper torso now almost split in half. ¡°Gurth mahta Urdu, Zargatoh O¡¯ Galith!¡± Gimoss bellowed and kicked the horrifically mutilated Brock down, just as everyone reacted to what they had just witnessed. ¡°Uher¡¯s light upon us!¡± Ottis gasped and run to help a shocked Sen. ¡°Fuckin¡¯ cunt,¡± that was Jinx. ¡°Shite,¡± Alix said, standing next to her. Glen moved like an automaton towards Gimoss, the living corpse dragging the bleeding body of Brock on the street, heading towards the Mastaba. Flix and Fikumin following after him, with Nigel Grim watching the scene unfolding intrigued, but only mildly surprised. ¡°Wait!¡± Glen barked at the back of Gimoss and the corpse stopped and turned his head around, freakish sole eye glaring. ¡°Move back idiot!¡± He blasted him and hurled the clearly dead Brock a couple of meters away. ¡°Everyone stay away!¡± ¡°The fuck just happened?¡± Glen growled, not in the mood to entertain his craziness. ¡°What did he do to Sen? The hells is he?¡± Gimoss grunted and turned to stare at the disfigured fresh corpse of Brock Olin. Flix that had arrived next to Glen put a hand on his elbow to get his attention. Fikumin had appeared to the old Gish¡¯s right side, the usual scowl on his face transformed into pure rage. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with the dwarf?¡± Glen asked still shocked and glanced back at Sen trying to clean herself up, but appearing unharmed. Ottis and the others were standing protectively around her. Fikumin only managed a low guttural snarl, his eyes peeled on the dead thief. ¡°Gurth mahta Urdu, translates to ¡®Elder Bonemancer¡¯ from Imperial,¡± Flix explained. ¡°The name I don¡¯t know. The Dwarf has lost a loved one to them. You never forget that.¡± Dammit. Glen remembered it then. The details of the story horrific. He smacked his lips, mouth dry and still in a state of mild shock, turned to the silent Gimoss again. ¡°Who was that guy? What just happened here for crying out loud?¡± Gimoss snorted and the dead body that was, or wasn¡¯t Brock Olin started shaking allover violently and then attempted to get up. Good fuckin¡¯ grief, what is this shite?
Brock still almost split down the middle, the cratering wound ending above his midriff and the whole left part of him floundering back and forth, snapped white bones and ruined internal organs visible, gasped a gurgling incoherent sound. He¡¯d run out of blood to spill, a dark stain on the street where Gimoss had dragged him, but still fleshly bits kept dropping off as he stood up. ¡°How in Luthos shrivelled balls,¡± a freaked-out Glen murmured, remembering the corpse in Lebesos coming back to life and Flix bumped onto him, as he moved to attack again. ¡°Stay back!¡± Gimoss blasted the old Gish, who hissed but paused with his daggers in hand. ¡°I need to know where the fucker is!¡± ¡°What?¡± Glen gasped and raised his sword. ¡°Move aside yer insane bag of rot!¡± Brock stumbled forward, eyes bloodshot and mouth hanging open, blood on his teeth. He made two steps past a scowling Gimoss and then Fikumin appeared in front of him, a hammer in hand. He swung at the faltering Brock and got him at his right knee, the sound of bone breaking crackling in the shocked to silence street disturbing. It brought him down again, a piece of bone protruding out of his torn pants, but Brock kept moving using his right hand to drag himself forward. Glen advanced on him in turn, vomit in his throat and hacked at the crawling impostor¡¯s back once. His blade severed the maimed Brock¡¯s spine and Glen pulled back, when that didn¡¯t stop him. The former thief glanced back saw a pale-faced Jinx approach carrying a lit torch and grunted. The Gish tossed him the torch and Glen caught it, sparks dancing over his head, the night dark around them and eerie quiet, but for Brock¡¯s creepy guttural sounds. ¡°He¡¯s gone,¡± Gimoss snorted, watching them. He had the shovel stabbed on the street and his arms crossed on his chest. ¡°This is pointless!¡± ¡°The fuck are ye talking about?¡± Jinx snapped at him. ¡°That bloody cunt is still moving!¡± ¡°So what?¡± Gimoss snapped back at her. ¡°Everyone here is moving!¡± Glen stooped and dropped the oil-drenched torch on Brock setting his clothes on fire. They needed more oil, he decided. ¡°Didn¡¯t you just said he¡¯s dangerous?¡± Jinx asked the other corpse present. ¡°That was then, stupid harlot!¡± Gimoss barked, enraged at her stupidity. ¡°Did ye just call¡­ ye ugly one-eyed cunt!¡± Jinx hissed and rushed him. Gimoss took a punch on the mouth, lip splitting, then a kick to the jewels and an elbow to the chest, before backhanding the small Gish and sending her plummeting down the street¡¯s gravel senseless. ¡°Enough!¡± Glen rustled and glared at Gimoss. ¡°Don¡¯t ever hit her again!¡± ¡°Or what?¡± Gimoss retorted with a bloody grin. He had a point there. Still Glen couldn¡¯t allow him to keep on slapping his friends around. ¡°Don¡¯t push it you fuckin¡¯ freak!¡± Glen growled and walked up to him, grinding his teeth. ¡°You¡¯ll regret it.¡± ¡°Hah¡­haha¡­Ahahaha!¡± Gimoss roared in his face, not intimidated at all. ¡°Garth,¡± Flix said from behind his back. ¡°This is not the place to solve this. Check on your wife. I¡¯ll take care of young Jinx.¡±
Sen kept wiping her stained face with a cloth, her hands shaking, when Glen reached this separate group near the wagons. Ottis made room for him and Glen kneeled next to his shaken wife. ¡°He¡¯s dead,¡± he told her and Sen nodded. ¡°Come, let me get you inside,¡± Glen murmured and helped her up. They crossed the street and stopped at the entrance of the Watchtower. Sen sat down on the step and stared at the bloody cloth in her hands. ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± she told him, sensing his eyes on her. ¡°He just grabbed me too hard. I got scared more than hurt,¡± Sen breathed once and exhaled trying to calm herself down. ¡°Who was he?¡± Glen pressed his lips tight. ¡°Not who he said obviously.¡± ¡°But you know,¡± Sen murmured. ¡°No sweetheart, I don¡¯t,¡± Glen admitted. ¡°I have an idea, but this was the first time¡­¡± He paused and grimaced, feeling a chill despite the night being warm. ¡°I have blood on me,¡± Sen said. ¡°We¡¯ll get it cleaned.¡± ¡°Is that the bounty hunter?¡± She asked. ¡°No. That was something different,¡± Glen murmured. ¡°What did you mean before? Whatever you asked, it triggered that thing,¡± she raised her eyes on him. ¡°Was that magic?¡± Not any magic I¡¯ve ever seen before. Although Fikumin has apparently. Could he tell her any of that? ¡°I¡¯ll find out,¡± Glen replied finally. ¡°At this point I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Did the dagger warn you?¡± No it didn¡¯t. No one did, other than Gimoss who knew. ¡°Instinct,¡± Glen said and it was closer to the truth than anything else at that moment.
Glen burst inside the Mastaba, the caravan¡¯s departure postponed and headed straight for the large pit burning bright inside. Fikumin kept adding firewood, with Gimoss and Flix standing to the side and watching. Biscuit was nowhere to be seen. ¡°How the fuck did you know?¡± Glen growled, his shock turning slowly to a seething anger. ¡°Garth,¡± Flix warned him, but Glen had enough. ¡°Are you going to answer?¡± He asked the possessed corpse they¡¯d brought back from the Desert. ¡°Why? It won¡¯t help you,¡± Gimoss grunted. ¡°Or me.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know that!¡± ¡°I do. You can¡¯t bullshit me fool! Fraud!¡± ¡°Gimoss,¡± Flix admonished him. ¡°He needs to know.¡± ¡°As do you,¡± Fikumin said to the corpse, stepping away from the fire. ¡°Me?¡± Gimoss asked. ¡°None stupider than the Folk, with the dwarfs the kings of the lot. You run out of stones use a dwarf!¡± Fikumin glared at Glen. ¡°What in Luthos¡¯ beard did you bring with you?¡±Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! ¡°He¡¯s a Wyvern,¡± Glen explained. ¡°A dead one. Ye need some time to get used to his character.¡± A lot of it. The dwarf stared at him blankly. ¡°They are Aken on Eplas. Bonemancers, does he know it?¡± He finally said. ¡°Where?¡± Gimoss asked. ¡°We killed one on the mountains near Hellfort,¡± Fikumin explained. ¡°Haha¡­Ahahaha¡­Hah!¡± Fikumin blinked, not expecting the corpse¡¯s response. ¡°He¡¯s a bit difficult to deal with,¡± Glen elucidated. ¡°I swear he¡¯s aged me a couple of years since I¡¯ve met him.¡± ¡°Gimoss please explain to them, even if it¡¯s elementary, or demeaning for you,¡± Flix said patiently. ¡°They are too young.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Gimoss asked him and then clenching his jaw. ¡°It¡¯s a waste of time!¡± ¡°Sometimes it isn¡¯t. You know that,¡± Flix replied calmly. Gimoss grunted and grabbed the iron shaft of his shovel with both hands. ¡°You can¡¯t kill an Aken that easy. Not unless it¡¯s an idiot, or you corner it. Even then, it¡¯s paramount to destroy everything in a great area, just to be certain they haven¡¯t gotten away.¡± ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure we did,¡± Fikumin countered. ¡°Because it looked like one?¡± Gimoss grinned hideously. ¡°Was he missing any bones?¡± ¡°A couple of fingers.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°I am. What does it mean?¡± Fikumin asked, crooking his mouth. ¡°The bones you use, can¡¯t be remade on the construct. What you killed had at least two made,¡± Gimoss said. ¡°But it doesn¡¯t mean anything. An Elder could have had ten copies of himself running about, or more. It¡¯s a matter of pain resistance and skill.¡± Fikumin frowned. ¡°What about this one? He looked like a man,¡± Glen asked. ¡°Same principle, just different bones. The artist behind though leaves a sign. I knew him,¡± Gimoss finally said, unbothered at the leaking split lip he sported. ¡°The moment I heard his voice, it came to me.¡± ¡°Brock was thirty years old at the most,¡± Glen argued. ¡°You were a ghost for a millennia.¡± ¡°Bodiless,¡± Gimoss said. ¡°It¡¯s not the same!¡± ¡°Fine,¡± Glen yielded. ¡°What about what I said?¡± Gimoss smacked his lips. ¡°You expect an answer?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°That wasn¡¯t Brock,¡± Gimoss explained. ¡°It was a copy of Brock. But what made him tick is the same in every body. The same set of simple instructions to get them through life and perform their missions. Everyone has their touches. Distinct. But for a while Zargatoh himself was here. I need to find him!¡± ¡°I¡¯ve no idea what the fuck yer talkin¡¯ about,¡± Glen blurted. ¡°A construct,¡± Fikumin agreed with Gimoss, apparently an expert on the topic as well. Glen grimaced exasperated. ¡°Made by the same bonemancer. After a while, they are impossible to separate from humans.¡± Made he says. Fantastic. Just like a kettle of soup. ¡°This dwarf isn¡¯t completely stupid,¡± Gimoss said. ¡°I¡¯m astounded.¡± Glen couldn¡¯t wrap his mind around the concept and puffed out even more confused than before. ¡°So what do we do? We run around asking people, how they died?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t work that way,¡± Gimoss said. ¡°You won¡¯t be able to surprise him again.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Every one of his creatures knows you now,¡± Gimoss explained. ¡°They don¡¯t really, but he does so they¡¯ll know if you cross paths with one when he¡¯s looking through them. It¡¯s simple!¡± It was the most confusing shit Glen had ever heard in his life. ¡°What does he know?¡± Glen asked tiredly not likening the sound of what he managed to glean and with a groan of frustration the corpse had answered him.
A troubled Glen walked out of the Mastaba and crossed the street again to head for the Watch Tower, a patrol of Gallant Dogs greeting him on the way. At the entrance Alix was waiting for him, Nigel Grim standing about a meter apart and to the side, with his back on the wall of the tower and that hood still over his head. A whiff of white hair showing under it. ¡°Where¡¯s Whisper?¡± Glen asked the male Gish and he raised a questioning brow. ¡°Few call her that, Mister Garth,¡± Alix noticed. ¡°It¡¯s a human name. Gish have only one. Like me she¡¯s taken it to blend in.¡± ¡°It¡¯s her name, all of it. I¡¯ll call her whatever I plaguin¡¯ like,¡± Glen argued brusquely. ¡°And there¡¯s no way you¡¯d ever blend in Gish. You¡¯re like a white turd in a tomato soup.¡± ¡°She¡¯s upstairs with Lady Sen-Iv,¡± Alix said riding the insult like a pro. ¡°Move aside,¡± Glen rustled, not in the mood for his shenanigans. ¡°A word, Mister Garth, if I may,¡± Nigel said in common. Glen stared at him. ¡°Nigel Grim,¡± he said and the man nodded. Glen made him around forty, but he had the vigor of a younger man. ¡°How did you get through my wall and patrols?¡± ¡°Come on,¡± Nigel said getting off the wall. He had a fantastic pair of soft leather boots on, Glen noticed. ¡°The wall is full of holes, brimming wit blind spots and the guards are too few and between. Even so, when you finish it, people will still come to visit unannounced I¡¯m certain.¡± ¡°What kind of people?¡± Glen asked him. ¡°Curious. Greedy,¡± Nigel had a pleasant smile, his teeth well preserved. ¡°Sometimes dangerous.¡± ¡°What kind are you?¡± ¡°A little bit of everything I suppose. But I wasn¡¯t here for you Garth,¡± Nigel replied. ¡°Go on,¡± Glen said crossing his arms on his chest. ¡°I was looking for the man your people killed earlier, Brock Olin. And another matter, of more personal nature.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve seen what he was,¡± Glen noted. Nigel shrugged his shoulders, the knives on the harness he wore underneath his cape making a clinking sound. ¡°I¡¯m not sure what I saw, but I know this wasn¡¯t Brock.¡± ¡°Really? Care to elaborate?¡± ¡°I recruited Brock myself in the business,¡± Nigel said, glancing at a silently watching Alix. ¡°Garth is a friend of the Guild,¡± the Gish said. ¡°As I said,¡± Nigel continued a little more relaxed. ¡°I recruited him about ten years back. Brock had talent aye. Pulled off some crazy¡­ jobs in his time. He also died trying to navigate a tight hemp rope, about five years back to the date.¡± ¡°They hanged him?¡± Glen chanced and Nigel frowned. ¡°Nay, I meant navigate a tight rope literally, as from one building to another across a large street. It seemed like a good idea.¡± Ah. ¡°He slipped?¡± Glen hazarded a guess. ¡°The rope failed. It snapped. A touch of bad luck. He dropped three stories on to freshly installed cobblestone. Too hard for his bones.¡± ¡°Where was that?¡± ¡°A city with a port,¡± Nigel replied vaguely. ¡°The man was killed instantly. I was there.¡± ¡°Then Brock popped up in Eikenport again,¡± Glen said. ¡°A couple of years ago,¡± Nigel continued with a nod of agreement. ¡°An¡­ associate of sorts visited the place and talked with him. Reported of a Guild¡¯s member loitering in Eikenport. The word made the rounds and it reached my ears.¡± ¡°Have you ever seen anything like this?¡± Glen asked with a sigh. ¡°I haven¡¯t. Then again, perhaps killing him wasn¡¯t the right idea.¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t give me much choice,¡± Glen rustled. ¡°I understand,¡± Nigel said reassuringly. ¡°I would¡¯ve done the same in your place.¡± ¡°What personal business?¡± Glen asked him, not wanting to talk about Sen with him. ¡°I have a younger brother sailing in these ports. Thought I could catch up with him,¡± Nigel Grim replied and crooked his mouth, face shaven underneath. ¡°Next time, I guess.¡± Glen caught Alix¡¯s stare and frowned. ¡°Brock was to be a guide of sorts,¡± he said instead, leaving the matter aside. ¡°I heard,¡± Nigel scratched around the knob at his throat with a couple of gloved fingers. ¡°A risky job what you have planned Mister Garth.¡± ¡°The Guild is not interested then?¡± ¡°Ah, of course they are. But this a dangerous one. Thieves don¡¯t like danger.¡± ¡°We find a road, a passage, a tunnel that¡¯s all of it,¡± Glen said. ¡°Say that you do find a road,¡± Nigel noted. ¡°What happens next? There are things beyond the mountains¡­, people say even trees can kill you in Wetull.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve seen stuff in the Desert that will make your blood freeze,¡± Glen countered. ¡°People didn¡¯t anything about them, so I don¡¯t trust their words here too.¡± ¡°And I believe you, Mister Garth,¡± Nigel replied. ¡°You obviously made a ton of coins out of that, still¡­ I don¡¯t favor such perilous jobs. Even this,¡± he pointed around them. ¡°While ambitious, is risky. The war is next door. Why not take your business on Jelin? Or the Peninsula?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll think about it,¡± Glen rustled. Nigel nodded and tended a hand. ¡°Well, I won¡¯t keep you. It was a pleasure making your acquaintance, Mister Garth. I assure you the Guild will have its door open for you. May Luthos bring you great fortune in your future endeavors and protect your own from harm.¡± ¡°Appreciate it Mister Grim,¡± Glen replied courtly and shook his hand. ¡°I will hold ye to that.¡± ¡°You should catch a rest milord,¡± Alix said after their visitor had vanished behind a dark corner. ¡°The night is still young.¡± ¡°Who was that?¡± Glen asked, the last thing in his mind resting. ¡°Nigel ¡®Nightingale¡¯ Grim is a member of the Thieves Guild obviously,¡± Alix explained. ¡°Some would say the most important one in the last twenty years.¡± ¡°Why is that?¡± Glen asked with a tired smirk. ¡°Is he a great thief?¡± ¡°Sure, but that¡¯s not the reason for it,¡± Alix explained with an annoying Gish chuckle. ¡°Nigel is Eight¡¯s right hand man.¡± ¡°Who the fuck is Eight?¡± Glen hissed and Alix showed him his small hands, the rosy palms facing away from Glen and the fingers extended, but for both thumbs that were kept hidden. Get the fuck out! No fucking way. Glen always thought Eight was a myth.
Luthos kicked in the soft sand with his big toe Found a granite boulder under it.
But obviously he wasn¡¯t. Outlaw shook his mane right then left a day later, his tail following, with every animal in the line mimicking Glen¡¯s horse. Flix was standing on top of the second carriage and checked on everyone arriving for the journey. Soren, big battleaxe over his armoured shoulder. Jinx and Alix already fighting on the first carriage and Sam Mathews, an adventurer from Lesia that had sought out work with the Gallant Dogs hearing good things about them. Crafton had assigned him as a guard on the second closed wagon as the man had a very good reputation with the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. Fikumin on his horse, the dwarf looking tiny. Norec wouldn¡¯t make the journey, as he¡¯d business for the Masons Guild to attend to in the city. Another two full-blown Gallant Dogs (ex-guards) soldiers that Ottis insisted on bringing along as extra hands, Glen knew from Rida and Sen of course. His wife stepped out in the early morning sun, face cleaned up and her eyes beaming. Glen pressed his mouth tight, the scare of the previous night still vivid in his memory. ¡°Don¡¯t go for that grin,¡± Sen offered a husky warning. ¡°Give me a kiss instead.¡± Glen cleared his throat and checked on the still empty road. ¡°There will be time for that¡ª¡± Sen stopped him placing a ring-adorned hand on his. She had a white-gold pendant hanging from a chain in it. A beautiful piece of jewellery. It depicted a Capricorn, the emblem of the house Sopat. Glen stared at the expensive pendant, she always wore on her. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± He croaked. ¡°You gave me a ring in Rida,¡± Sen whispered and kissed his lips softly. ¡°And a lord¡¯s power. This on the other hand is a reminder. I have another to wear, but this was mine and now it¡¯s yours.¡± Glen pulled back, his eyes hazy. ¡°Sen¡­ what are you saying?¡± She smiled and gave the stubble on his tanned face a caress. ¡°You haven¡¯t slept in days. Leaving in the middle of the night to stay with the Wyvern. Eyes kept open, when you are not, staring at the ceiling. Your worry, is tearing you down love. I shan¡¯t have it.¡± ¡°Once we¡¯re on the road¡ª¡± ¡°Once you¡¯re on the road, you will worry even more,¡± she explained and sighed, looking at the expecting caravan. ¡°I won¡¯t be your shackles. Keeping an eye on me all the time, will have you killed out there. I rather die, than let it happen.¡± Glen gulped down, suddenly feeling very weak, almost sick. ¡°I can¡¯t leave you here. I don¡¯t want to.¡± ¡°I¡¯m safe here, husband. You build a wall for me, a tower to live in and an army to guard me,¡± Sen said evenly, as if she¡¯d thought all about it already. ¡°Find that trail my dashing adventurer, open the road for us to follow. Do what you have to do without looking over your shoulder,¡± his wife had told him her eyes gleaming. ¡°When you do sent for me and I¡¯ll be there as fast as I can. This is my promise. This Capricorn will never break a promise.¡± ¡°Three months at the most,¡± Glen had replied too emotional to say anything more. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure it¡¯s safe and I¡¯ll send a bird to Crafton.¡±
Mister Garth was never seen again after his explosive premiere in the autumn of 189 NC. The shadowy figure was obviously alive, as deals were struck, trade routes established and tons of loot flooded the markets. His people traveled extensively in the years to come, as they appeared to have shady contacts in almost every port, or friends in high places. Rumors on where he¡¯d gone, or where Garth¡¯s real base of operations was, is a tale of caution. What is truth and what¡¯s not lost in the long nights and the many lies, of the criminal underworld of our Realm, of which the man was a towering figure. Some of the tales bordering the absurd. Such as the story that in the winter of 190 NC Mister Garth funded an expedition to Wetull by land, following on the steps of the mythical Ebenezer Framtond. While the famed adventurer left back his journals and a bard¡¯s tales, to keep his adventures well known, nothing came out of the crimelord¡¯s expedition. Some say they were the first victims of the danger that came from the far south, or the idiots that caused it.
Lord Sirio Veturius Circa 206 NC The Fall of Heroes Chapter L Addendum -Volume III - (The Onyx Wyvern¡¯s origins, Prelude on the mystery of Hardir O¡¯ Fardor, First month of winter, 190 NC)
172. Charred Old Bones
Zargatoh O¡¯ Galith Charred Old Bones
Never throw away the bones, if you don¡¯t want them found A construct''s eyes won''t notice their own ¡ª The Elders of the Aken (Unknown date, presumably First Era)
It¡¯ll hatch¡­ it¡¯ll grow¡­ and thy plans¡­ this Realm¡­ ¡­shall burn - Found written on the wall of a collapsed building in Rida Circa 190 NC ¡°Different,¡± Segur ¡®Lard¡¯ said, his hand open and the femur bone balancing on the palm expertly. He called him Lard, because Segur¡¯s eyes had a rotten orange color, as something had gone wrong in the synthesis. A degree more here, the mind occupied on something else and the shade you¡¯ve left the coloring ampule not as uniformed in all places, could do it. Of course, he was much younger then. Mistakes were made. Not a total loss, he thought and glanced at the long blackened bone. But a nuisance that lessens the construct¡¯s value. Not aesthetically. Segur, given his age, should have been much better by now. Oh, well. No point crying over spilt ash. ¡°Let me see it,¡± Zargatoh grumbled, forked tongue wetting his lower lip. He took the bone in his hands, long fingers hurting when they closed around it, but for his left index finger. The pain old, but always there. The hands themselves scarred horrifically, long incisions on the inside and in different color where they¡¯d healed, the ancient stitch marks still visible. Tiny white wrinkles on his deep copper-red skin. ¡°Charred,¡± Zargatoh declared in a gravelly voice and Wiris ¡®Green¡¯ and Gizor ¡®Black¡¯ stopped sifting through the funeral pyre¡¯s remains and got up. ¡°Old Bones. Neither Folk they are, nor Human. Ah, a really good find Segur.¡± ¡°Can you use it?¡± Wiris asked raising a white brow, always quick, even cunning. Her Issir skin gleaming in the morning sun. The body hidden underneath the simple robes well-shaped and female, despite Wiris being a man whilst she lived and before Zargatoh had started working on her. The reorientation had been traumatizing, but helped forge a stronger mind, than even he expected. Sometimes experimenting can yield excellent results. He stared at the blackened bone, even scratched some of the soot away with a dirty nail. ¡°I¡¯ll need my extracting tool,¡± Zargatoh decided and Gizor who carried his heavy bag, reached inside to find it. He was useful like that and a great work of art. The huge Lorian had been a teen before and a lot of spare material had been used. Leftovers from different bodies. The increase in mass risky, but the result very satisfactory. ¡°The thin one,¡± the Aken Elder advised him. ¡°For the marrow.¡± Sometimes you can get lucky, find something still valuable in the ashes, he thought with a pleased smile. His snake eyes roamed the empty alley behind Rida¡¯s palace, the buildings long abandoned and the ground freshly dug. The burned remains thrown inside haphazardly in a large mixed pile. Never throw away the bones, if you don¡¯t want them found, Zargatoh always preached. The words beaten into him in his youth, the latter so far away into the past, the Elder of Galith could barely remember it. The world was much different back then. Now they just tossed the Evil Spirits in a shallow ditch by the road. A sage thing.
Glen, the golden-skinned female of the Peninsula had called him. Garth the ambitious criminal, was also Glen. A man wearing the face of another. Hidden even from his people. Not all. Hmm. How does a criminal named Glen know who Brock was? Who had casted the first blow? Was there another golem, another construct present? Kept away from Brock¡¯s eyes? Working for him?You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. An apostate still working in the shades. Would the Painted God allow one to remain hidden? Why? Is this a test? Or is it a warning? Zargatoh used the thin long pin to extract the burned marrow out of the bone. He gathered the material in a small bronze bowl, the warmth of the fire not bothering him. There was a chill in the night air, especially at their camp back inside the thick copse. The light coming from the moons barely penetrated the canopy and their only illumination was the strong campfire. The water boiling in the iron cauldron over it. He emptied the contents of the bowl inside. Add a touch of lead pounder, a young asp¡¯s venom and a spoon of arsenic in the mix. Let it simmer, force the soul¡¯s cracked shard out, then trap it with a touch of your blood. Whisper the Nameless psalm. Find the thread in your mind and pull it, so it can unravel. Keep adding more material. Thrice ground and twice sluiced. The memories were fragmented. The broken surface of a mirror, the scenes of a painting torn into many pieces. Sounds of a thousand conversations, all blurring and incoherent. The parts of half-formed words, not always matching the broken scenes. Where are you? Zargatoh asked in his mind, enlarged pupils moving under closed eyelids, his body slipping into a trance. Wiris used a sharp razor to slice open his hand, guided it over the boiling mixture, the blood dissolving immediately and the fumes toxic. She immediately filled a small gold cup with it and brought it to his lips. Zargatoh gulped down the foul concoction quickly, his throat burning, teeth hurting and vomit forming in his stomach. His body shuddered, a groan escaping him and the Nameless reached for his soul. Zargatoh had seconds to find what he needed now.
Only two wyverns in the pit, the child said. The third gone.
No, move forward.
The Queen¡¯s body and her sword deep in a grave, a woman''s voice revealed. Find me the sorceress Minue Mol.
Hmm.
What about the egg? The First Servant asked the shining mask in another conversation.
What? Zargatoh gasped, his body dying. Black spots were forming on his skin, the cracks allowing pus to spill out from the inside.
Has he stopped looking? The First Servant asked the ancient Gish.
A familiar face.
Ralnor was always close to her, his pupil replied. Edlenn¡¯s children were groomed to love her. A mother¡¯s gift, he will never escape.
Ah, curse you, show me the wyvern. Get back again, Zargatoh let out a pained moan and doubled over. Toxic vomit and blood flooded his mouth. His skin becoming loose over his bones, the muscles dying. Time moved forward though. It¡¯ll hatch, the First Servant had prophesized. His hatred spilling into the Aken¡¯s cracking soul. It¡¯ll grow¡­ and thy plans¡­ this Realm¡­ the witch¡¯s world¡­ shall burn. ¡°Naaah!¡± Zargatoh cried out and let go of the invisible thread, his body snapping violently back and the Nameless retreating. He stooped forward unable to control himself and landed on the ground inches from the burning embers, still quivering. Zargatoh puked everything out, the vomit flooding the ground and coming up his face and eyes. Blood and pieces of internal organs in the foul mixture, along black and green poisonous gore. Wiris helped him up, using a cloth to clean his face and started applying thick salve on his bleeding gashes, painting everything white after she finished to cover it up. ¡°What took you so long? Why risk it?¡± She asked sometime later, her green eyes searching his pale and disfigured face. It would take him weeks to put everything back. He stared at his index finger with apprehension. Zargatoh had only one remaining finger, a couple of ribs and the big bones in his legs, all other bones used up and replaced with bones from his victims. The operations brutally painful and not always effective. ¡°You could have had the construct in a breath.¡± He stopped her raising his right arm, teeth grinding and saliva running down his crooked mouth. The fingers loose, where the bones were cut and glued on his skeleton. Years¡¯ work undone. ¡°This was¡­¡± Zargatoh spat down and tried to keep the illness from overwhelming him, but failed and he retched again almost killing himself in the process. ¡°Different,¡± Segur said, watching them from across the dying fire. ¡°Aye,¡± Zargatoh rumbled. ¡°Someone killed the First Servant. I had to look back.¡± ¡°Who?¡± Wiris asked, working on his wounds. Zargatoh stared at the razor she kept on her belt and a fresh shiver shook his bones. ¡°Those two we¡¯ve met in the woods is my guess. There was a reason I kept you hidden,¡± he told her. ¡°And the Sorceress, argh! That stupid bitch will ruin what took eons to put together!¡± Zargatoh started coughing violently, his whole body hurting. Every little move a nightmare. Pain is a gift though. It keeps you focused. ¡°What did she do?¡± Wiris asked. In a sense, Zargatoh thought proudly looking at her pretty Issir face. It¡¯s like talking with yourself. Only it has another body, tits and a well-shaped cunt. ¡°She didn¡¯t make sure they had enough,¡± he grumbled. ¡°It was explained, but she got spooked, or for whatever other reason¡­¡± He paused, a cough rattling him. ¡°Now they are looking for an egg.¡± ¡°Easy to kill a youngling,¡± Wiris soothed him, always eager to please. The Dead¡¯s appetite for deviancy was monstrous. ¡°But you know that. Why Glen?¡± Zargatoh took a deep breath and tried to get his mouth set properly. ¡°The ports drunks talked of a wyvern flying on the sky,¡± he explained. ¡°Nothing had happened in that port for ages before Garth, or Glen arrived.¡± ¡°What will you do Master?¡± Zargatoh sighed and let go of his disfigured mouth. ¡°I¡¯m going to need your razor first,¡± the Aken Elder told her and felt his ancient bones hurting all over again. ¡°And about a foot of your finest silk stitching thread.¡± This was going to hurt.
173. A Hundred Days (1/10)
Lucius Alden A Hundred Days Part I -Lucius Bridge-
Slippery, divine ecstasy The thrill of battle without the agony The smell of summer in the heart of winter A dance on the edge of pleasure¡¯s memory Your partner¡¯s touch ever tender and oh so comforting The need to hurry not a requisite Her voice a soothing caress All the feeling, every breath and every smell, a new trail Oddly familiar alike her sweat Sweet like the taste of wine in your lover¡¯s mouth Be gone spirits of the past, for you are different You won¡¯t know it, you¡¯ll never hear its buzz, unless you let go when she does Be gone horrors of the past, this trail leads us away You shall own it, never allow it to fester, or vanish, in the ploys of yester ¡ª Legatus Lucius Alden¡¯s Now much beloved from all bards¡¯ sonnet**. Commonly known as -Divine- Originally titled (A sonus* of spirits past) The foreword to his celebrated Verses on campaign (Circa 190-195 NC)
*Sonus, archaic for song (sonnet) in Old Common (Court Lorian) **Sonnet. A 14 verses long poem
The sun danced behind the dark clouds. It came and went, as if shy, or unsure. The snow that kept falling for two straight weeks had finally stopped. The road leading to Maza Burg more a deep trench now, dug out before the snow turned to solid ice. Lucius sucked the cold air in through the nose, down his lungs and then out of his mouth again. His beard, trimmed the other day and still reaching the collar of his heavy coat, dancing under his chin. His eyes roamed the finished pontoon bridge, now getting cleared of snow and the men gathering for the morning briefing. There¡¯s a smell when in camp, he thought eyeing the wooden Crimson Fort O¡¯ Dargan¡¯s people had erected to guard the bridge and block the approach to Maza to the Crulls coming from the Montfoot. The locals had given it its name, Lucius¡¯s armour scheme color and that of his men already well-known, being their inspiration. They called it Lucius Bridge as well, what they had managed to build over Lud River, again giving him more credit than it was probably fair. Lucius had just come up with the idea, others had built it. There¡¯s a smell. Sweat, leather and burning resin soaked wood. The fire pits bitter smoke and the taste of iron. The sound of steel blades and spurs, the flapping of banners, but mostly the stench of animals. All mixed in, never changing and familiar. You could feel it and you could smell it in the air. Prefect Galio, freshly saved despite the bitter morning cold, boomed for the men to hurry up. Rows upon rows of soldiers wearing segmented legionnaire armour started coming out of the fort. They formed lines of ten at the front and ten deep, creating a perfect square. It¡¯d taken Galio months of drilling to have them keep the right distances and he still wasn¡¯t pleased. The square Legion shields would guard the soldiers left side, their swords attacking from the right. The final four rows of men retreated two steps and then split again, two rows heading on the left side of the main formation, another two to the right. The Century¡¯s front expanded to thirty, the center much more powerful and deeper. Lucius turned away, as Galio kept testing various formations, the drilling nonstop even a day before their departure. He walked energetically, boots sinking in the hardening snow, towards Mamercus and his light troops. The Slingers only had one simple formation, their usefulness laying elsewhere. Speed in redeployment being the most important thing to them. And accuracy of course. ¡°Give me some good news, Decanus Sorex,¡± Lucius said approaching the ex-legionnaire. ¡°Well, if the target is standing still they¡¯ll hit it milord most of the times,¡± Mamercus replied, watching the young soldiers checking on their equipment.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°We won¡¯t fight trees, Decanus,¡± Lucius noted sourly. ¡°If the boys keep them still for a minute, I can have them fire a volley,¡± Mamercus defended his slingers. ¡°No guarantees after that and some of the well-dressed lads over there might get a lead-shot between the teeth. I¡¯ll counsel against wide grins when in the field.¡± Lucius sighed. ¡°I¡¯ll keep them out of the thick of it. But if I need them, they better give me something Decanus.¡± ¡°Give them a battle to wet their appetite and it¡¯ll come, milord,¡± Mamercus said. ¡°Where¡¯s Kaeso?¡± ¡°With yer¡­ ah, that would be with Lady Faye and her lads,¡± Mamercus said after a couple of false starts and Lucius grimaced, but there was nothing he could do about that. Gossip and the army go hand in hand.
Faye caught Alana¡¯s sign and turned to watch him approach. Her Lorica similar to his, fat red leather strips forming a short skirt at her hips, the epaulettes made out of solid rounded iron plates, their only difference with Lucius¡¯ armour other than size, the letter L engraved on them. The old style Lorian number fifty. It was both the Numbers warband emblem and the Legion¡¯s banner. The armour framed by Faye¡¯s long hair styled half-up half-down that created a fiery halo over her head. The woman¡¯s eyes teasing. Lucius forgot about Kaeso. ¡°Milord Alden,¡± Alana Shields greeted him to get his attention, fierce smile on Faye¡¯s lips warming his blood. ¡°Yer a bit overdressed for the weather.¡± The Northmen warriors, about fifteen of them standing around in a semi-circle listening to Kaeso¡¯s instructions for the campaign, burst out laughing and Lucius took it in stride with a shake of the head. ¡°Just keeping my options open, Alana,¡± he clarified to defend his warm outfit. ¡°A wise precaution milord,¡± she agreed. ¡°The weather might change.¡± ¡°Mister Kaeso, finish up here,¡± Lucius said. ¡°We have a meeting after lunch in the fort. I expect you¡¯ll be there,¡± he turned to Faye. ¡°Lady Faye, may I have a word?¡± ¡°Aww,¡± Alana cooed eyeing a tall warrior with fierce eyes and an impressive beard. ¡°See now that¡¯s how ye treat a proper Lady, Morgan. Torcal MacCee ye pay attention as well,¡± she scolded them and someone standing at the back guffawed. ¡°Aye, a proper lady! What¡¯s that got to do wit you?¡± Everyone found it hilarious, but none more than Alana herself. Faye chuckled along with the others, but allowed him to lead her towards a longhouse near the gates of the fort Lucius had commandeered for his brief stay. ¡°First ye sweet talk and then drag me by the arm,¡± Faye gasped, when he closed the heavy wooden door behind them. ¡°Friendly bander with your people can turn into a duel in an instance,¡± Lucius found himself explaining again and Faye raised a red eyebrow pryingly. ¡°And you think this is safer, Lord Alden?¡± She queried and walked past him to add a log into the stone fireplace. ¡°Now they¡¯ll think we¡¯re coupling.¡± ¡°The thought has crossed my mind,¡± Lucius teased and approached her. The young woman stood her ground and just raised her head. ¡°Lord Alden, ye are overdressed for that too,¡± Faye countered, looking into his eyes invitingly. Lucius found himself unable to disagree again.
A soft gasp and the heat engulfing him. Slippery, divine ecstasy. The thrill of battle without the agony and the smell of summer in the heart of winter. A dance on the edge of pleasure¡¯s memory, your partner¡¯s touch tender, oh so comforting. The need to hurry not a requisite, her voice a soothing caress. All the feeling, every breath and every smell, a new trail. Oddly familiar is the sweat, sweet like the taste of wine, in your lover¡¯s mouth. Be gone spirits of the past, for you are different. You won¡¯t know it, you¡¯ll never hear its buzz, unless you let go when she does. ¡°What are ye thinking?¡± Faye asked him, mouth leaving a moist trail on his deltoid. ¡°Verses,¡± Lucius murmured and raised himself with an elbow to look in her sweaty face. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± She asked with a frown. ¡°Should I be worried?¡± Lucius cracked a smile and brushed a red curl away. ¡°You should have stopped me earlier,¡± he told her. ¡°Now it¡¯s rather late milady.¡± ¡°I couldn¡¯t,¡± Faye replied with a shiver. ¡°The fire is out.¡± Not yet it isn¡¯t. ¡°Aye, my back is turning into ice,¡± Lucius agreed instead with a sigh. ¡°For a while now.¡± ¡°Maybe you should get out of bed,¡± she teased. ¡°See to it.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve thought about it, then got distracted,¡± Lucius admitted still smiling. ¡°With verses,¡± Faye said. ¡°It¡¯s a noble people thing,¡± Lucius boasted playfully and pushed himself up. Faye stretched out on the bed without shame. ¡°Your words do not match your actions Lady Faye,¡± he noticed. ¡°This? Eh, it¡¯s for you,¡± she replied. ¡°To see if you regret it.¡± ¡°Did you?¡± Faye stared in his face for a long moment, before he answered him same as before. ¡°I couldn¡¯t.¡±
Galio pressed his mouth tight, lined face almost hidden behind the cheek-guards of his new Legion helm. He raised his right arm, gloved fingers in a tight fist and held it. He turned to look at Lucius standing rigid on Stormbolt¡¯s saddle. Lucius himself glanced at the nervous Faye and then at the anticipating standard-bearer, the bronze blacktiger¡¯s head at the top of his staff polished so much, it resembled gold. Lucius breathed out, eyed the pontoon bridge and the pregnant river¡¯s waters trying to picture the coming struggles in his mind. Realizing it was pointless, when reality was a stone¡¯s throw away, he tied the cheek-guards on his own helm calmly. His face shaven underneath, the skin cold and the metal burning where it touched it. Lucius turned and looked at the unyielding figure of Galio still waiting for his signal, the aged officer¡¯s eyes telling him to get it over with. With a head nod to Centurion Veturius, the man¡¯s arm came down and the men moved forward. The crimson banners flapping in the soft morning wind, the weather cloudy, but holding. There was a touch of mist near the river¡¯s banks and the soldiers marching in tight step formation were engulfed in it as they reached the wooden bridge. Rows upon rows of red clad legionnaires crossed Lucius Bridge into Kaltha.
In the first month of winter, the year 190, blessed be the Five, Sam O¡¯ Dargan crossed Lud River with a force of one thousand Northmen and made camp on the opposite bank amidst the Whitebark trees. Lucius Alden followed the heir to the Jarldom of Fetya later that same day, bringing with him a newly formed Century, twenty mixed cavalry, the same number of slingers, ten wagons with supplies and an unknown number of scouts, mainly the Numbers warband, led by the then known as ¡®Crimson/Red¡¯ Faye Numbers. Over two hundred warriors from the nearby Crimson Fort were to reinforce him that first week in a separate command. Lucius¡¯ men marched much like the Lorian Legion they had styled themselves in, down to the arms and armour. A mix of Lorians, mercenaries and Northmen that had sworn fealty to the soon to be exiled heir to Regia. Amongst them the renowned warrior Logan ¡®Gray¡¯ Barret, several named warriors and even a giant from the lands of Yalca, if rumors were to be believed and there were many. The campaign received almost no interest at the beginning and by the time it ended everything had changed so much for the Realm in general, it would have gone unnoticed. Had Lucius stopped, or died soon after, perhaps it would have, but he didn¡¯t. Either way the fact it shaped the borders in the North of the continent to what we know today, would have been in this scholar¡¯s humble opinion enough to place it prominently where it belongs. One of the most important campaigns of the war, still influencing Jelin¡¯s political climate today, perhaps to an unhealthy degree. Culturally, politically and strategically Lucius¡¯ a ¡®Hundred Days¡¯ campaign has reached a mythical status in our days, much as everything else the charismatic Lord and general did, but it was far from perfect. - Lord Sirio Veturius The Fall of Heroes Chapter II (Legatus Lucius the third, Northern campaigns, A Hundred Days Volume I, 1st week, First Month of Winter Group Red (Lucius) -The Tiger¡¯s foray and the Battle of Ludriver Castle-) Winter of 190 NC
174. A Hundred Days (2/10)
Lucius Alden A Hundred Days Part II -Gates of Ludriver Castle-
Lucius jumped from the saddle and landed on the hardened snow. He felt it cracking under his boots as he hurried towards Sam O¡¯ Dargan¡¯s camp. It was built rashly during the early morning hours next to Lud River¡¯s west bank. There were no fires burning to avoid detection and the cold weather coupled with the humidity of the nearby river penetrated right into your bones. Caiden McKay, wolf pelt over his chainmail a frosted white, gave him a curt nod. Lucius greeted ¡®Mad Wolf¡¯s¡¯ right hand man and walked up to the man himself, now discussing with a couple of warriors on the possible alternate routes through the sprawling Whitebark Woods. The massive forest extending west all the way to the next big body of water, the Umlen River. ¡°Ah, Lucius,¡± Sam rumbled seeing him. ¡°Yer men look fancy from a distance.¡± ¡°Easier for the enemy to find them in the field,¡± he replied. ¡°Wasting the day waiting for battle to start is never good on morale, especially if you¡¯re cold.¡± ¡°That¡¯s one way to put it,¡± Sam said, looking at him with a wolfish grin. ¡°You want me to wait, I¡¯m told.¡± ¡°A day. I¡¯ll march south to Ludriver Castle. I need someone to guard my rear until your father¡¯s man crosses later.¡± ¡°Oscar Steele will be here,¡± Sam reassured him. ¡°He¡¯s as solid as they come.¡± Faye wasn¡¯t of the same opinion. In fact the best words she¡¯d ever said for him were that she wished he¡¯d die like a dog. ¡°I may not need him, the Crulls appear unbothered,¡± Lucius said. ¡°They won¡¯t leave Montfoot, or the fort, to march with winter season upon us.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see about that,¡± Lucius said. ¡°A day, then you march straight North. Use the road to make good time. There¡¯s no point trying to keep your men hidden. Let them know. I¡¯ll rush after you before the week is over.¡± ¡°Why not strike here with every man we have?¡± Sam argued again, the last couple of month¡¯s favorite point. ¡°I want to measure the Century¡¯s skill, plus your men move slower. They can¡¯t afford to lose a week. I want them across Bear¡¯s Foot before the month is over.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll be there in half that time,¡± Sam boasted. ¡°I¡¯ll hold you to it, O¡¯ Dargan,¡± Lucius replied and shook his arm, before returning to his horse. Zac Ross tossed him the reins and Lucius grabbed them after he climbed up. He glanced at his squire, clad in a short chain mail shirt and smiled. ¡°How¡¯s the job?¡± ¡°Joe Fallon gets to second for the Slingers, milord,¡± Zac replied sadly. ¡°Whilst I¡¯ll stay at the back.¡± Lucius chuckled at the young man¡¯s boldness. Whether Zac was as brave as he thought he was or not, would soon be revealed as well. Where every man has his measure taken, in the field. ¡°You think following me around is an easy task, Mister Ross?¡± He asked him. ¡°You might want to have that blade of yours sharpened, afore we depart.¡±
The Issir coming over the top of the slope stopped dead in his tracks about a hundred meters away from the Century, worn out boots sliding down in the mud for the last couple of meters. He¡¯d a longbow over his shoulder and stared at them in bewilderment. Kaeso raised a hand in greeting, the cunning leer on his face ruining it. Mamercus further to the right flank of their formation, about seventy meters closer to the hunter, copied the friendly gesture leaving the smiles aside, but flicked his wrist rapidly back and forth instead signaling his squad. ¡°Hey,¡± the man mumbled, shocked at the sight of so many armed men appearing out of the morning mist. Lucius kicked his legs to approach him mounted, but Logan Barret turned his horse to block his, effectively stopping him not a meter in. ¡°What in Tyeus name¡ª¡± Lucius snapped at the silent and disfigured warrior and the Hunter realizing by now that something was horribly wrong, turned and started running back up the slope. At least twenty heavy slings fired on him and the majority missed, the ground exploding right and left with watery grit mixed with snow, but for three that connected with flesh and leather. The sound distinctly unforgettable and blood-curdling. As for the percentage, it was extremely low given the visibility and the target running straight up a slope at a distance of well below fifty meters, Lucius thought clenching his jaw. The Issir, toppled forward immediately, forehead smacking the hard frosty ground with a nasty crack and then slid back down the snow-covered slope, leaving a bloody trail behind. Barret grunted, either happy or extremely mad and moved his horse out of Lucius path. ¡°Dig that lead out darn it! On the bloody double!¡± Mamercus was heard shouting incensed. ¡°Fallon what is this shite? Ye missed!¡± ¡°Got him a bit on the leg Decanus!¡± The flustered youth countered, while the rest of his squad run towards the unmoving hapless hunter and started looking about for their ammunition. A couple of them turned him over to check on his condition. ¡°Well?¡± Mamercus asked anxiously, knowing he was under the scrutiny of the whole army. ¡°Is he dead?¡± ¡°He¡¯s missing half his head, Decanus!¡± A rosy faced slinger reported, glancing at the imposing mounted figure of Lucius watching them. ¡°Will he get up and start running ye think?¡± Mamercus chanced. ¡°Don¡¯t see how Decanus!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s call him dead then, what do you say?¡± ¡°Ayup, sounds about right!¡± the young man agreed energetically. ¡°Now, is he hurt in the leg perchance?¡± Mamercus probed next just to be thorough, looking at a red-faced Joe Fallon. ¡°Through the hip, Decanus.¡± Mamercus frowned, his stare turning into a glare. ¡°Tis part of the leg, sire,¡± Fallon said to defend himself. ¡°Don¡¯t give me lip afore the chief, ye frog-eyed lobster!¡± Mamercus blasted him, the soldiers laughing at their back and forth. ¡°I wasn¡¯t¡ª¡± ¡°Not another word!¡± Lucius decided to put an end to it. ¡°That is enough,¡± he said briskly, then cleared his throat and turned to a still leering Kaeso. ¡°Mister Kaeso be so kind and find Alana, or Faye. Tell them to spread about more. Let¡¯s not have another surprise.¡±
¡°Hunters are out,¡± Galio said, sucking on the inside of his mouth much like Roderick used to do when worried. ¡°No patrols.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a good day for hunting,¡± Lucius commented, looking through a spyglass. ¡°How many in the Castle?¡± ¡°Difficult to gauge, milord. Can¡¯t be that many, I reckon. Word was Vanzon had over a thousand wounded. Brought them to Krakenhall most likely.¡± ¡°They lock that gate, we¡¯ll be here a month,¡± Lucius remarked. ¡°Aye, or thereabouts.¡± Lucius turned to Faye. ¡°You¡¯ve reached the bridge milady. Care to share what you¡¯ve found out?¡± ¡°A couple of guards with horses. A big fire burning, lots of warm cider. Wish I had some,¡± she replied, blowing at her hands to warm up. ¡°They don¡¯t expect trouble that way,¡± Lucius decided. ¡°Can you hit the Hunter lodges?¡± ¡°We can,¡± Faye replied. ¡°They are gonna call on the soldiers though.¡± ¡°And you will let them and withdraw,¡± Lucius said. ¡°Mister Veturius, can twenty men hold the gates?¡± ¡°Why twenty milord? We can move the whole group,¡± the freshly promoted to Camp Prefect officer asked and seeing Lucius¡¯ face frowned. ¡°The moment you¡¯re over the slope, the lookouts will spot you Prefect,¡± Lucius reminded him and the aged officer grunted. ¡°We will march hard milord, make it there in time,¡± he said. ¡°What about Lady Faye? She might get caught.¡± It was what he feared. Lucius turned to her. ¡°Can your people disengage safely?¡± ¡°Aye, towards the bridge,¡± Faye said. ¡°No. You¡¯ll start from the bridge. Clean it up, secure it and attack from there,¡± Lucius explained. ¡°So you want me to loop back to the Castle?¡± Faye asked him unsure. ¡°That¡¯s the idea. Will that be a problem?¡± Lucius asked seeing her mulling it over. ¡°Any other orders, Lord Alden?¡± Faye taunted, recovering her wit. ¡°Just one,¡± Lucius retorted dead serious. ¡°Don¡¯t get killed.¡±
The first battle of the campaign was fought at a village whose name got lost in the records, but was referred to as Hunter Lodges also and was at a walking distance from Ludriver Castle. The Numbers warband attacked it in the early morning, coming out of the heavy mist plaguing Lud River¡¯s main branch. Approaching from the direction of the bridge they surprised the locals, mainly hunters and their families, perhaps even a couple of Bas Crull¡¯s visiting Rangers, who were camped at Stag¡¯s Doab three days away. What everyone¡¯s initial plan was is difficult to picture now so many years after the event.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Lucius¡¯ feint, if that¡¯s what it was, worked for the most part. Faye Numbers lost control of her scouts at some point according to the stories, either because not everyone present was in her band, or just out of pure bloodlust and the small skirmish turned into a bloodbath. Not everyone killed could use a weapon. The slaughter alerted a patrol from Ludriver Castle, or someone got away and soldiers poured out of its timber walls to help their countrymen. While numbers are difficult to determine with accuracy or without recency bias, due to the absence of living witnesses from both sides, the later promoted to Prefect Varus Trupo, who kept the records of what was to become Lucius Legion (Styled ¡®Third Legion¡¯. Abbreviated LL, but also ¡®Double L¡¯, the Scarlet Legion and ¡®Bloody Third¡¯) mentions around two hundred and fifty, but it should be noted here that he was and still is a known Luciophile first and then a military scholar. Whatever the numbers were, Faye Numbers got herself in trouble and was forced to retreat back towards the bridge forcing Lucius hand.
Stormbolt snorted, steam blowing out of his nostrils. Lucius turned on his saddle and glanced at the men of his Century waiting for the signal. Mamercus had approached the Castle from the north side with his Slingers and was also waiting for the sound of the horn, half-buried in the snow. Galio Veturius had tasked Kaeso, who was to be in command of the cavalry if Lucius wasn¡¯t present, to watch the soldiers that had left Ludriver Castle earlier and notify them for any change in their plans. Kaeso was late to report back. Lucius turned to Zac Ross and the young man blinked seeing his face. ¡°Find Galio, I¡¯m going for those gates. Hurry up, I¡¯m not waiting for you.¡± ¡°Milord, I can¡¯t see the Prefect!¡± Zac protested. ¡°See that guy with the big horn out of the formation?¡± Lucius pointed. ¡°The fancy plumed helm next to him is Centurion Trupo. Inform him and come right back Mister Ross, else you¡¯ll miss a charge.¡± Zac gulped down and turning his horse galloped towards the main body of the army. Where are you Kaeso? Lucius thought looking towards the trees hiding the river nervously. What¡¯s keeping you?
¡°We¡¯ll approach the gates,¡± Lucius instructed his riders. ¡°No nervous moves until we have them at a breath¡¯s distance. They¡¯ll want to see who we are and since there¡¯s no Northmen coming down this way, it will give them pause,¡± he breathed once, the air cold and smelling of the nearby wet trees. ¡°It won¡¯t last long. There¡¯s no Legion in these parts and this armour I¡¯m wearing will alarm them. I don¡¯t care about the first gates, I want to reach the second pair before they close it. So I¡¯ll be riding for these and you gents might want to follow. The last two riders will not enter but stay outside.¡± Zac Ross rode back with a deep frown on his face, probably because Galio had told him to wait. But there was no point in wasting time. The planning part was over. Lucius raised his hand to get his group moving up the slope, but paused when he saw Kaeso approach from the river. ¡°Report Mister Kaeso!¡± He barked and the shifty-looking former legionnaire pulled at the reins hard to stop his mount, the animal protesting at the abuse. ¡°Faye is in trouble,¡± Kaeso said quickly. ¡°They pushed her towards the bridge.¡± ¡°Ah,¡± Lucius grunted and turned around on the saddle hearing the Century marching, the sound traveling to all directions. Galio had probably realized Lucius wouldn¡¯t wait and had them moving. There was no time for big changes also. Damn you. ¡°Get to Galio,¡± he ordered Kaeso. ¡°Send the Century to flank Vanzon¡¯s men. Get Faye out of there!¡± ¡°Milord,¡± Kaeso protested. ¡°What about the gates?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll get the gates!¡± Lucius snapped, trying not to worry about events he couldn¡¯t control. ¡°Leave ten men. Move it Kaeso!¡± He turned to Zac Ross, the youth watching intently with a tense clench on his jaw. ¡°Zac head for Mamercus. Tell him I want his Slingers to march on my position.¡± ¡°The gates milord?¡± Zac asked, as pale as snow. A good amount of fear in there as well. ¡°The gates Mister Ross,¡± Lucius replied and clicked his tongue to turn Stormbolt around. ¡°You better hurry up. Those Slingers will have to run on foot after you. The faster you go, the faster I¡¯ll get support. ¡±
The Issir soldier, iron conned helm showing above the heavy coat he had on and half his face hidden, looked at them approaching nervously. A group of riders appearing, whilst someone else was attacking the village, a good justification for his uneasiness. ¡°Who goes there?¡± He boomed and several of his friends appeared, following a cart pulled by two horses out of the gateway. Move it, Lucius thought. Get it out of the way. ¡°We¡¯re on the High King¡¯s business,¡± Lucius told the guard brusquely and stopped his horse, his eyes on the slow-moving cart. ¡°Is that so? Where are ye coming from?¡± The soldier asked. ¡°Krakenhall. It wasn¡¯t an easy journey,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°And I need to reach Armium before it¡¯s over.¡± ¡°Are you King Davenport¡¯s man then?¡± The guard asked. ¡°Aye, you got it,¡± Lucius replied, asking his mother for forgiveness for using her family in this. He couldn¡¯t avoid it. Lucius didn¡¯t look like an Issir at all and neither did his riders. The men pushed the cart out of the gateway, but one of the four there stopped and turned to look at him. Thick white brows meeting in the middle of his forehead. Shit. ¡°That ain¡¯t Lesia colors or arms. Lived there for a couple of years,¡± the new guard said, pushing his helm back. His beard well-trimmed and not fully white. A half-breed with smiling eyes. ¡°They look more like Legion colors to me and that tiger on yer shield gives me Alden tiger vibes. Ayup, I frequented this southern lass in Asturia last summer. Smart as a whip. She embroidered these square patches wit that design, then stitched them on togas. Big hit wit the younger lads,¡± he finished with a smug smirk looking at his friends. Some of them taking it in stride, but a couple -the first guard included- grimacing at the mention of Lucius family¡¯s name. A portion of the Battle of the Bridges had been fought pretty close to this guard¡¯s post. A well-travelled half-breed in the middle of nowhere, Lucius thought scrunching his jaw and unsheathed his longsword. With all the talking and standing around, there was no way to surprise this group. They needed to fight through them.
Stormbolt charged forward the few meters separating the two groups, bumped the first Issir on the chest and pushed him back. The soldier cursed his sword half-out of its scabbard and Lucius twirled Stormbolt on his axis to stop a soldier carrying a spear from skewering him through the kidneys. He parried the shaft away with his blade, another soldier running towards him sword drawn and raised high. The shock of violence casting a relative quietness at the gates of Ludriver Castle. Lucius flinched trying to reach for his shield, secured on a hook at the left side of his saddle, but before he could do that a rider crashed hard on the onrushing soldier and send his shattered body on the cart laden with medical supplies and food. The incident a bit ironic, but most men present missed it in the ensuing mayhem. ¡°Damn it. Attack them afore they sound the alarm!¡± Lucius bellowed and kicked an Issir trying to knife Eli Sharp -the rider that had saved him- in the back, sneaking behind his horse¡¯s hind-legs. Lucius missed his boot flying wide -the angle horrible- but the large northern horse got spooked and kicked back with its hind legs in its turn nailing the unlucky soldier right in the face with both iron reinforced horseshoe-covered hoofs. ¡°Ah, the damnation!¡± Someone yelled, seeing the whole thing from up close. The skull exploded, foul gore, bone fragments and mushy brains reaching a five meter radius and the conned helm banged the tall wall surrounding the keep next to the gatehouse, after traveling even further than that. Everyone nearby stood frozen and bewildered for the briefest of moments after it happened. It didn¡¯t last even that as another rider brutally skewered the well-travelled Issir through the torso, the point of the spear jabbing the cart¡¯s sides and getting stuck there. The half-breed dying instantly. ¡°The gates!¡± Lucius barked, twisting Stormbolt around again, stopping the recovered first soldier with a savage high slash across the face that send him on the muddy ground a gory mess. Inside the Castle a bell was heard, but as he stood staring at the empty opening, Lucius realized they had a clear shot to the heart of the Castle. Without a second thought he galloped through the gateway, Eli Sharp, Zac Ross and the others following right behind him.
Lucius ducked under a wild swing, the axe clipping his shoulder plate, moved past the tall sergeant and stabbed an Issir wearing long chainmail through the chest almost losing the handle on his sword. Stormbolt neighed disturbed, a woman cried at the top of her lungs and people started coming out into the large yard. ¡°Milord!¡± Zac yelled on his back and Lucius pulled at the reins of his horse. Stormbolt protested, but he jumped from the saddle and barked for the last of their group to secure the gates for the others. He looked around for anyone advancing on him, but while people had come out looking worried, no soldiers were among them. The axe-yielding sergeant manning the internal gates had died to a spear three meters behind him and Zac reached Lucius a breath later. ¡°Milord Alden!¡± ¡°Not now,¡± Lucius growled and turned to the large group of men and women eyeing them with increasing hostility. ¡°The castle is ours!¡± He bellowed to be heard by everyone. ¡°Don¡¯t force me to spill blood for no reason!¡± ¡°What about Jerry over there?¡± Someone retorted, many backing him. ¡°Seems pretty dead to me and plenty bleeding!¡± ¡°Ah,¡± Lucius grunted and glared at the apron wearing Issir. ¡°Stay back, I won¡¯t say it again.¡± There was commotion outside the gates behind him and the crowd turned unruly. A lot of men and some women had blades in their hands, long shafted axes and even cleavers. This part of the yard probably served as a small meat market for the nearby hunters¡¯ village. ¡°Our lads are back!¡± Another yelled. ¡°Get ¡®em bastards!¡± Urged the first and about thirty of the almost a hundred present made to rush a teeth-grinding Lucius and his riders, half of them unmounted following his example. Their numbers about even, but in such a confined and hostile area, a lot of people were going to die. A lot of people did. Zac grabbed Lucius arm and pulled him to the side, just as Mamercu¡¯s Slingers that had sprinted inside unleashed their first volley. This time the distance was meaningless and the throng of packed up people too great for them to miss, taking also into account that their nerves had settled after that first kill and the long run.
¡°Cease this madness damn it!¡± Lucius growled his throat hoarse and almost punched Mamercus in the face, when the Decanus raised his arm to order another volley, tone-deaf in the general panic that had ensued after that first one. People laid broken and fading before them. Two thirds of the group that had charged initially, now horrifically mutilated or dead. Heads sporting gaping and bleeding holes, arms broken, torsos caved in and the gore painting the yard¡¯s muddy ground even darker. The fight had been snuffed out of the civilians present. ¡°Nobody fires another shot without my order! These people have surrendered,¡± Lucius barked and shoved Mamercus away to walk towards the gates, young Zac guiding the horses after him a look of horror on his face. Lucius breathed a sigh of relief seeing Decanus Gladius Tutor approach on a fast trot, followed by a group of soldiers clad in red Legion armor. ¡°Milord Alden!¡± Gladius, a thirty something Lorian serving with the Black Skulls to avoid paying for a crime he had committed while with the Legion in his youth, had taken this second chance at redemption with enthusiasm. Lucius returned the officer¡¯s salute. ¡°Decanus secure the gates and send some men to keep an eye inside the yard and assist Decanus Sorex. I¡¯m pulling my riders out. The Castle is yours, Decanus Tutor.¡± ¡°You heard him,¡± Gladius barked to his men. ¡°On the fucking double! Mister Solomon I mean it! Yes, you Brim! Move yer arses!¡± Right, Lucius thought breathing heavy though much relieved for the success of this part of his plan. Not everything had gone smoothly, but there was no such thing in war. Lucius realized he was drenched in sweat despite the cold morning. Ride to the sound of battle. ¡°Mister Zac,¡± he told his half-panicked half-sick squire. ¡°This was the easy part. Form the men smartly, so we can save Lady Faye. What say you?¡± ¡°Right away, milord,¡± Zac croaked, trying to sound brave and failing. ¡°Do you think she¡¯s in trouble?¡± Lucius had no idea and he¡¯d avoided thinking about it. It wasn¡¯t easy, actually it was quite the opposite, but he just couldn¡¯t afford to dwell on it with so many men and women¡¯s fates tied to his decision making. Fight now, Lucius told himself clenching his jaw. Mourn, or rejoice later. If you¡¯re worthy Tyeus shall provide.
The First Century reached the Ludriver¡¯s main branch bridge an hour later, making good time. The then Scout Leader Faye ¡®Scarlet¡¯ Numbers had pulled her men on the bridge, no more than fifty of them and was defending the narrow front successfully. The enemy forces numbering in the two hundred and fifty, perhaps as many as three hundred, had avoided an all-out assault trying to consolidate their numbers first, their lack in courage blatant. Seeing our banners approaching, they hurriedly turned to face our swords. Newly promoted then Prefect Veturius, ordered the men to stand fast and use javelins to break the enemies charge. After the volley, the signal was given for the wings of the formation to expand, a thrice increase to the front that was now heavily engaged. The maneuver was executed with astounding success and we enveloped the enemy on three sides. Scout Leader Faye Numbers decided at that nigh opportune moment to counter attack on the side that was left open. She did just that breaking out of the stone bridge delivering the coup de grace. This was a total victory and it being the first battle the Legion got involved in, it set the tone quite lovely. The only blemish of the day being the soldiers spared no man, witch didn¡¯t sit well with Lord Alden. A cultured and well-educated man, he preached for long about the need to show mercy to one¡¯s enemies, but only if that wouldn¡¯t endanger the outfit. The latter part being what most men present chose to pay attention to, through no fault of the general.
Scarlet Legion, (An Account) -Year One- Securing the rear, Winter of 190 NC Prefect (retired) Varus Trupo, Lord of Novesium, 3rd Legion¡¯s Historian, Military Scholar, King¡¯s Council -Circa 205 NC-
175. A Hundred Days (3/10)
Lucius Alden A Hundred Days Part III -A talk of logistics-
Do you know who I am officer? - Legatus Lucius Alden to Prefect Vibius Draco Commander of the 4rth training Cohort outside Anorum Circa 192 NC Eerie, dead silence. The river flowing not that far away, hidden behind a heavy mist and thick whitebark trees. There was some green mixed in there as well, the hint of grey and black. The color of fresh mud. Much more of it on the field. Mud made of snow and dirt. Mud made of soil and blood. The color almost the same. You couldn¡¯t tell it apart. Lucius grimaced, deep lines at the sides of his mouth and his skin hurting. The men helping the injured best they could and the dead left where they¡¯d fallen. Rows upon rows of soldiers, a compressed circle of corpses, where the final stand had been fought. Scavenging had already started during the waning moments of the struggle and had blossomed to blatant looting once it had stopped. Prefect Veturius, blood painting his right arm to the elbow and vambraces covered in gore, gave him a solemn salute. His fist touching his chest. Lucius returned it and jumped from the saddle giving the reins to Zac Ross who followed after him. ¡°Decurion Sharp,¡± he rustled and the young rider flinched not expecting it. ¡°You get your men helping with the wounded. Bring them to the Castle for treatment.¡± ¡°Milord¡­ aye, right away,¡± Eli Sharp retorted, still shocked at the abrupt promotion. ¡°See Centurion Trupo for your insignia. Fix that uniform Decurion,¡± Lucius told him sternly. ¡°Lord Alden, Sir!¡± Eli snapped out of it and saluted energetically. Lucius watched him gather the rest of the riders numbering not even thirty, as Galio Veturius approached them. He¡¯d a cloth in his hands and used it to clean some of the gore off of his face and armour. ¡°Another promotion, Milord?¡± Galio rustled. ¡°He saved my life, or a limb at the very least,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°And I don¡¯t want Kaeso leading the cavalry.¡± ¡°Why is that?¡± ¡°He¡¯ll have to fix another mess and I don¡¯t know another man more suitable for the job,¡± Lucius replied and signed for the Prefect to follow him. ¡°What about Trupo?¡± Galio asked him. ¡°I have to promote someone from the ranks.¡± ¡°And you¡¯ll keep doing it, Prefect,¡± Lucius replied stopping to watch the soldiers pillaging the field. ¡°I want the dead gathered in piles. All the dead. Burned. We won¡¯t leave them for the animals.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll lose the day,¡± Galio pointed out. ¡°And I¡¯ve had ours already put aside for a pyre.¡± ¡°We have the Castle. They gave up,¡± Lucius explained. ¡°Vanzon didn¡¯t leave much of a garrison. The danger seemed too far away,¡± he sighed seeing a soldier cutting a dead man¡¯s finger to get his gold ring, tossing the finger away after he got it out with his teeth. ¡°In a sense, we are ahead of schedule.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll notify Trupo,¡± Galio yielded. ¡°You want the report?¡± ¡°You have the numbers so soon?¡± ¡°Wasn¡¯t difficult to gauge,¡± the aged officer admitted. ¡°This isn¡¯t a cohort.¡± It ain¡¯t a century as well, Lucius thought, bringing up the Legion¡¯s organization chart in his mind. Once again back in class with his tutors. ¡°The number, Prefect,¡± he said hoarsely. ¡°Eight casualties,¡± Galio deadpanned. ¡°Four of them are dead, three maimed. One lost half-an-eye, but he¡¯ll walk it through.¡± ¡°I expected worse,¡± Lucius admitted relieved. ¡°They didn¡¯t expect a wall of shields in the middle of nowhere, nor they were ready for Legion tactics,¡± Galio retorted. ¡°Still, I¡¯m not exactly pleased.¡± ¡°You never are, Prefect,¡± Lucius commented. ¡°That would be quite true Milord,¡± the aged officer admitted. ¡°Keep the names Galio,¡± Lucius told him soberly. ¡°I will reimburse their families. See they get their name on the Legion¡¯s cenotaph and epitaph stones.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll need a proper Legion for that Milord,¡± Galio pointed sounding moved. ¡°And a place to station it.¡± ¡°Let me worry about that, Prefect,¡± Lucius replied and turned to watch the men of his Century gathering around them in a packed crowd, but keeping a respectful distance. Lucius eyed Centurion Varus Trupo and ¡®Panthera Tigris¡¯ holder, First Signifer Brim Solomon, the Black Skulls veteran, before turning to address everyone present.
An hour later Faye appeared worn out, but for her eyes that gleamed seeing him. Lucius examined her from afar for injuries, but found nothing and stopped in front of her group to examine the Hunter¡¯s Lodges in turn. The village had been ransacked and there were corpses everywhere. In the narrow main street, laying broken before the wooden huts and even half-in half-out of windows. Children and women in the mix, not a single survivor. ¡°What happened here Faye?¡± He asked the redhead and some of her people frowned tensing up. ¡°She did all she could,¡± Alana said defensively, standing next to Faye. ¡°Gerard¡¯s people wouldn¡¯t listen to reason.¡± Lucius eyed the second larger group of Northmen still looking around for loot. More and more were crossing his bridge every day despite the Jarl¡¯s warnings, looking to take part in the raid as they still called it. ¡°That ain¡¯t good enough Faye,¡± he told her and she hang her head. Lucius grimaced, returned Alana¡¯s glare and warned a wild-eyed Morgan Half-Trunk and an equally rough-looking Torcal MacCee to think it through. The former had a kid and a pregnant woman back in Maza Burg. ¡°Bah,¡± the hale Northman grunted. ¡°These people deserved what they got.¡± ¡°Aye,¡± Torcal said and spat down. ¡°These people weren¡¯t in Ludr Mister Morgan, gentlemen,¡± Lucius admonished them. ¡°I shan¡¯t make war on women and children!¡± The last part he said loud enough to be heard by Gerard¡¯s group as well. Most of them had started gathering around Number¡¯s Warband curious. ¡°You¡¯ll burn the dead,¡± he decided and eyed the newcomers austerely. ¡°This won¡¯t happen again. This is Lucius army, Lucius Legion, under my bloody banner! You want to be a part of it, you won¡¯t behave like animals, or low-life criminal scum. Even if that¡¯s what you are.¡± ¡°Men need to supplement their income,¡± Gerard said, a well-built warrior with short red hair and huge sideburns that reached his chin. ¡°You follow the army, you¡¯ll behave as soldiers,¡± Lucius warned him. ¡°You¡¯ll get food, supplies and repair your kits. You¡¯ll get fame and gold at the end of it. Even land if you¡¯re worth it,¡± he stared at them solemnly. ¡°You disobey my orders though and I¡¯ll have you executed, if it¡¯s the last thing I do.¡± Gerard smacked his lips measuring him with his eyes. Many warbands had listened to the Jarl¡¯s summon, but not everyone had fought at the Battle of the Bridges. Some had arrived late, but everyone in the North had heard of Lucius by now. ¡°There won¡¯t be a second chance,¡± Lucius told him. ¡°This is your final warning gents and your appeal for mercy rejected in advance.¡± ¡°We get same privileges as Faye¡¯s Scouts?¡± Gerard asked him. ¡°Faye¡¯s Scouts are very loyal, Mister Gerard,¡± Lucius replied and some of the former Number¡¯s Warband members chuckled hearing the unwarranted praise. ¡°I can¡¯t trust you in the same vein.¡± ¡°What we need doing to change that Milord Alden?¡± Gerard asked him with a cunning smirk. ¡°Mister Kaeso!¡± Lucius bellowed expecting it. His bark snapping everyone to attention, but for the shiftily watching from the sides¡¯ ex-legionnaire. ¡°What is your professional opinion?¡± ¡°There¡¯s potential milord,¡± Kaeso replied with a smirk. ¡°Lots of dead wood as well we better toss away somewhere, but it¡¯s a cold season so I wouldn¡¯t worry about it.¡± ¡°Can you fix the mess, Decanus?¡± Lucius snapped. ¡°Aye, but I¡¯ll need big Gerard to be a good boy,¡± Kaeso replied calmly. ¡°It¡¯s for his own good sire. Bad boys tend to get knifed in their sleep. Most bleed out afore they wake up,¡± the latter he offered with a wide creepy grin that made everyone very uncomfortable, no one more than Gerard himself.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Oscar Steele arrived in the late afternoon of that same day, the cold bitter as the night creeped nearer. Lucius instructed him to leave a heavy garrison inside the intact Castle, but have patrols and guards posted at the stone bridge to warn him of Crulls coming for a visit. No civilians were to be harmed and no reprisals for perceived wrongs delivered without a formal hearing. That night, while the men slept and Faye had retired too drunk to stand upright, Lucius met with Prefect Veturius and Centurion Trupo to discuss the coming march. In two days¡¯ time they would follow after Sam O¡¯ Dargan¡¯s greater force that would depart early the next morning, leaving the large camp across Lud River and the Castle to Oscar Steele¡¯s men. ¡°How many men want to enlist in total?¡± Lucius asked, staring at a crude calfskin map of the territories they had found in the Castle¡¯s commander personal quarters. Centurion Varus Trupo, a man of five and thirty years sporting a rich blond mustache over his lip and smart clear blue eyes, opened his scrolls and placed an old army-issued field iron inkpot on the large table. It still had the Legion markings on the side. Galio shared a look with an amused Lucius. ¡°Varus is a learned man from a good family,¡± the Prefect explained. Lucius was aware of the latter. ¡°Worked under Lord Lennox for a couple of years, whilst the old general commanded the Legion milord. Served as paymaster for the Black Skulls more recently.¡± Galio had crossed paths with him in the past while they were both serving in the Legion. ¡°Your family has land and titles in Flauegran,¡± Lucius noted. ¡°Got myself disinherited Lord Alden. I won¡¯t see a penny,¡± Varus replied evenly, raising his head from his notes. ¡°Why is that?¡± ¡°Joined the Legion to elevate myself in my youth, make a bigger name for myself,¡± Varus explained. ¡°Alas, I was naive and easily swayed by mature women.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve slept with another man¡¯s wife?¡± Lucius asked crooking his mouth. ¡°Still I didn¡¯t know it was enough of an offense to throw you out of the Legion.¡± ¡°It was Lord Lennox¡¯s spouse. An austere-looking but passionate woman,¡± the Centurion explained. ¡°The man thought it was the least he could do. His first thought was hanging me by the entrails afore the gates of Anorum, the second to have my head cut off. My father upon learning it, pleaded for a lesser sentence and promised to cut me off instead from the family business.¡± ¡°Was she worth it?¡± Lucius asked him through clenched teeth. ¡°Not losing everything Lord Alden,¡± Varus admitted. ¡°In hindsight it was a horrible mistake.¡± ¡°I hope you¡¯ve learned your lesson Centurion,¡± Lucius warned him. ¡°He has,¡± Galio vouched for him. ¡°You shall never have to worry about me, Gods above as my witness Lord Alden,¡± Varus vowed earnestly and saluted. ¡°Right,¡± Lucius said and pressed two fingers above his brow feeling tired. ¡°You have the numbers, Centurion.¡± ¡°I do,¡± Varus replied, his demeanor unchanged. ¡°Over two hundred warriors have asked to join your ¡®Legion¡¯ sire.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ a lot of men,¡± Lucius said glancing at Galio. ¡°How do we train them? Where to we train them?¡± ¡°The first thing a legionnaire must learn,¡± the Prefect started crossing his arms on his armoured chest. ¡°Is walk forty kilometers per day in full gear Milord. There¡¯s plenty of road afore we reach Rockfort.¡± ¡°Have them follow us?¡± Lucius puffed out and stared at the maps. ¡°We¡¯ll need more supplies.¡± ¡°Use the bridge. It¡¯s there,¡± Galio said. ¡°Funnel supplies up the road, after the army.¡± ¡°How many in your Century?¡± Lucius asked him. ¡°A hundred and fifty can march tomorrow morning, though a couple might be limping,¡± Galio deadpanned. ¡°But they¡¯ll make it.¡± ¡°How many to form a second one?¡± Galio stared at him. ¡°I can spare thirty. The manual has it as low as eighty per Milord.¡± ¡°No. Forget about the old Legion. This must fit our needs. You¡¯ll keep your one hundred and twenty men Prefect, Centurion Trupo will lead them under you. We¡¯ll give thirty trained soldiers to¡­ how about Tutor? He has the name and the demeanor,¡± everyone cracked a smile at that. ¡°He knows the drills, as enthusiastic as they come,¡± Galio propped him up with a pleased smile. ¡°Thought you¡¯d agree,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°Sending him after me was not very subtle.¡± ¡°I thought the man would make a good impression,¡± Prefect Veturius admitted still smiling. ¡°He did,¡± Lucius told him shaking his head at the subtle manipulation. ¡°Inform the Decanus of his promotion. He¡¯s to take over the second Century, thirty soldiers and¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ll check them tomorrow,¡± Centurion Trupo added taking his que from him. ¡°Keep the best of the bunch, send the rest back across the river.¡± ¡°No,¡± Lucius corrected the last part. ¡°You will send them to Kaeso.¡±
How many troops did Lucius have with him? It¡¯s a question not easily answered and still debated today. I can offer an educated guess. The Third¡¯s early records are still kept under lock and key either in Anorum, or at the winter camp in Elysium Fort near the first leg of Mabindon, just a couple of days travel from Cartaport. The same distance -come to think of it- from idyllic Moon¡¯s Haven, from whence these words are birthed. The first Century had over a hundred legionnaires at all times those days ¨Cthe biggest of the fighting lot- the number settling at one hundred and twenty at some point, before increasing to two hundred. The second, used as a training unit, had anywhere between two hundred and three hundred until they reached Bear¡¯s Foot, where the third Century was formed and soon after the fourth. The latter, led then Prefect Galio Veturius to proclaim the outfit ¨Crather colorfully and in his famed candid fashion- ¡®a darn Cohort¡¯ in what was a brief but lovely ceremony. The second was to remain as a bloated and full of new recruits unit for the duration of the campaign. Their total number, before the battle of the Iron Quarry outside Krakenfort, was four hundred legionnaires for the three fighting Centuries of the First Cohort, another four hundred for the second Cohort, plus the around two hundred recruits of the second. The scouts, or auxiliary forces were comprised of about a hundred hardened Northern warriors, led by the then Decanus Kaeso. A soldier of questionable character, but also an extreme loyalist that rose quickly in the ranks. Alongside him was then Scout Leader Faye ¡®Scarlet¡¯ Numbers. Her warband was later absorbed into Lucius cavalry force, a mixed ever expanding unit of rangers and armoured horsemen, later turned into medium cavalry. Of course Scarlet Faye is mostly known today as the ¡®Red Cub¡¯s Mother¡¯ or simply Red, a highly controversial figure in half of Jelin and quite unjustly given all that had happened.
Lucius raised his hand to protect his eyes, the wind blasting on them howling through the frozen trees. The scout turned his horse around, hoofs breaking the crystalized ice covering the ground and the snow blowing on men and animals alike as hard as gravel. ¡°O¡¯ Dargan?¡± He queried, his lips cracked and face burned where the skin was left uncovered. ¡°Can¡¯t see them,¡± the scout replied, his voice lost amidst the sudden icy gushes. ¡°Plenty of signs of men passing through here.¡± Lucius caught a gleam coming from the trees, a wayward ray touching something metallic when the sun popped for a second behind the dark clouds. The days spend in a semi darkness. Two weeks into their march the nature had turned foreboding and inhospitable. It¡¯s the season, locals explained to him. The further up you go, the less the variance. Between night and day was their meaning. ¡°What plaguin¡¯ signs?¡± Centurion Tutor yelled hearing the scout¡¯s words, as he¡¯d approached to give Lucius his weekly report. The sturdy officer¡¯s red armour turned a frosty white where he kept his heavy coat open. ¡°Ashes and shit,¡± the man replied over the loud murmurs of protest from the men freezing in line behind them. ¡°What manner of shit?¡± The Northman, only his eyes showing under the pelt-covered helm shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Just shit.¡± ¡°Alright gents,¡± Galio boomed after the men had their laugh. ¡°You start digging now. I want a wall raised high enough so I can stand behind it and not freeze my balls to death! See to get my height right!¡± ¡°Cut down those trees,¡± Lucius told him. ¡°I want to have eyes on the slope. Use the wood for the wall.¡± Galio stared at the snow covered rocks. ¡°You think someone is watching milord?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Lucius admitted, low enough to not allow the men to hear him. ¡°Either that, or O¡¯ Dargan has started ditching weapons by the path.¡±
¡°You¡¯re still cold Alden?¡± Faye purred into his ear, the heavy leather field tent coupled with the small bronze fire-pit packed with hot embers, providing enough warmth for them to shed their heavier clothes. ¡°Are you?¡± Lucius countered. ¡°I¡¯m burning up,¡± she admitted with a deep sigh. ¡°You think something is wrong?¡± The latter a tease. ¡°I have an hour tops,¡± Lucius explained, a relaxed smile on his tired face. ¡°Then I need to check on the supply train that¡¯s late per usual.¡± ¡°Uhm,¡± Faye murmured working on his neck. ¡°I love when we talk about logistics.¡± ¡°So we either rest a bit,¡± Lucius continued taking the tease in stride. ¡°Or we don¡¯t and then I might drop from my horse and all this grand adventure would be for naught. Right now I¡¯m willing to take the risk. History might not see me kindly though.¡± Faye pulled away and stared in his face with a frown. ¡°History will love you,¡± she told him as serious as he¡¯d ever heard her. ¡°People will sing your name and talk about you as long as these old mountains stand. I don¡¯t know why, but I feel it in my bones.¡± ¡°Lady Faye, you had me at burning up, no need for¡ª¡± Faye stopped him with a kiss and a fierce hug. Lucius kept her for a while, until she stopped shaking. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Faye sniffled and wiped her red eyes with a sleeve. ¡°I can¡¯t have you,¡± Faye said and cleared her throat looking away, an attempt to recover her wits. She hated crying in front of others, especially Lucius. ¡°Fuck. I shouldn¡¯t have said that.¡± ¡°Faye,¡± Lucius said and turned her face so he could see her. ¡°I¡¯m right here. You have nothing to fear if you know me at all.¡± ¡°Oh, I know you Alden,¡± Faye replied and sighed again. ¡°And I fear aplenty. I fear those that want to harm you, but I fear Regia the most. Eventually she¡¯ll take you away.¡± Lucius pushed her red hair off her face, frowned at a welt that wasn¡¯t there a day before near her chin and then breathed slowly. ¡°You think I¡¯ll just up and leave you behind?¡± He asked her. ¡°I¡¯m not that kind of man.¡± ¡°No,¡± Faye replied and closed her shirt hearing heavy boots approaching the commander¡¯s tent. ¡°But all the others will beseech you to do it. They¡¯ll implore you to make the sacrifice, for Regia.¡± The latter send a shiver down Lucius spine, as it reminded him of the last words his father had said to him, back in the city of Alden. Almost seventeen months to the day. Lucius puffed out with a grimace and a soldier pushed the tent¡¯s opening square-cover aside and looked inside. ¡°Milord,¡± the soldier said looking troubled. ¡°What is it?¡± Lucius asked, feeling Faye¡¯s fingers digging in his bicep. ¡°We found a group of locals in the woods,¡± the soldier reported. ¡°And a woman.¡± ¡°What locals?¡± Lucius asked getting up. ¡°Here? Who lives here?¡± The soldier shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Wild Willard¡¯s Clan probably from the other side of the woods, but they have a mixed-breed wit them so I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Does he have a name?¡± Lucius asked narrowing his eyes and the legionnaire nodded looking a little uneasy. ¡°Oh, they are both plenty known milord,¡± he replied scrunching his jaw this way and that. ¡°That¡¯s Devious Dirk and Zofia of Ludr out there.¡±
176. Death, Debts & Devious Dirk (1/2)
¡®Devious¡¯ Dirk Curd Death, Debts & Devious Dirk Part I -Devious fuckin¡¯ Dirk-
There are three things ye don¡¯t want to face outside the circle. One brings misery ye can overcome, but two o¡¯ them shall kill you dead same as inside. Death, Debts and Devious Dirk Common Northern Saying Circa 180-199 NC
Ah, damnation, Dirk decided, thinking back. Old Lord Bart Crull stared at him trying to hide his mistrust. His fancy-dressed son Sir Reggy gave him the evil eye, but Dirk had gotten enough such looks thrown his way to not let this one faze him. Not from the likes of Sir Reggy anyway. ¡°So where¡¯s the girl?¡± Lord Bart asked sitting back on his chair. ¡°I have Northmen crossing the Montfoot lad,¡± he told him, as if Dirk would care. ¡°The fort is burning and my people are dying in the mud. Where¡¯s the fucking girl?¡± ¡°I cross over to Vanzon Lands,¡± Dirk repeated his fingers bothering him. Not the ones he still had, the ones he was missing. A darn curious thing. ¡°You get the girl. Not the other way around.¡± ¡°I¡¯m speaking with Lord Vanzon. Every man he has on my lands, is at my disposal!¡± ¡°Name¡¯s Curd,¡± Dirk replied, not batting an eyelash. ¡°Not every man.¡± ¡°Bah! I¡¯ll have men out searching around the camp. I¡¯ll find her Curd.¡± ¡°Maybe ye will,¡± Dirk replied and stretched his arms, his back bothering him as well. ¡°Maybe ye don¡¯t. I reckon ¡®Gangly¡¯ will attack in the meantime. Maybe he wins, maybe he loses. Who knows, if ye¡¯ll even need her on the morrow?¡± Lord Bart stared at him with hatred. ¡°I don¡¯t control the Midriver Bridge.¡± ¡°Can ye get me there?¡± ¡°What about the girl? Why in all hells do ye care?¡± Dirk sighed and reaching grabbed a cup Sir Reggy was drinking from and gulped down its contents. Burped loudly at the end of it. Twice. ¡°So, that was a darn fine wine,¡± he commented to the furious knight, all metal plate and black skin. ¡°We get you to Midriver, then what?¡± Lord Bart hissed. ¡°I cross, head for the stone bridge. Then I give the girl to Lord Vanzon¡¯s men. I assume he¡¯s gathering his forces at Ludriver Castle.¡± ¡°Lord Vanzon has us given assurances. Here¡¯s the scroll Curd,¡± he showed him a wet piece of paper. ¡°Who¡¯s leading his men?¡± Dirk asked not bothering with the scroll. ¡°Dier, his second son. I guess first in line now, if the rumors are true.¡± ¡°What rumors?¡± ¡°Aart is dead,¡± Bart said simply. ¡°But you know that.¡± ¡°It had slipped me mind,¡± Dirk admitted, then clearing his throat added. ¡°I¡¯m ready, if ye are milords.¡± Although it hadn¡¯t, the memories still vivid.
¡°Don¡¯t do it lassie,¡± Dirk had told Seia. ¡°Ye die, the merchant over there bleeds out.¡± ¡°I died when Post breathed his last,¡± Seia told him getting that long knife out. A nasty thing if it got you in a soft spot. ¡°I stall you just enough, might take you wit me Dirk,¡± she spat all venom and built up sorrow. Seia needed years and another man to get it out of her system, but life being what it is, she got Dirk instead whilst he¡¯d no time to spare. ¡°Yer lord ain¡¯t getting out of the circle,¡± he told her and reached for his axe. ¡°It is what it is.¡± ¡°A man won¡¯t best Lord Alden,¡± Seia snarled all teeth and burned skin. ¡°And all beasts are dead Dirk. You ain¡¯t getting the girls.¡± Dirk eyed Canutia that had stepped out of the carriage hearing his horse galloping up the ridge. Read the fear in her eyes. A horse can carry only two grown people. At the most. ¡°Run lass,¡± Dirk growled to save her, just as Seia came at him searching for vengeance and finding her death. Zofia opened her eyes and looked around confused. The snow up to their necks at places. The cold devastating if it caught you in the open. It still snowed at times. The moment it stopped, they were dead, Dirk thought and stared at the mountain trail between the frost-covered trees. Stag¡¯s Doab was at the end of it and then even more cold. Mayhap even Northmen, the likes that would want to put steel through Dirk¡¯s guts. Live long enough with people hating you and you don¡¯t mind it that much. Most of the times. ¡°What did you do?¡± Zofia asked, her head bandaged and her eyes hazy. ¡°Where are the others?¡± ¡°The knight won the battle, then decided to duke it out with Feral Benton inside the circle,¡± Dirk gave her the abbreviated version. ¡°Don¡¯t know much after that.¡± ¡°What about the girls?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t make it I reckon.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve taken me from the camp,¡± Zofia hissed and tried to get up. She failed and went back down on her arse. She glared at the small fire keeping them alive. ¡°Did you kill them?¡± Dirk grimaced, not likening her assuming the worst. Then again, she wasn¡¯t that far out. ¡°Most were already dead,¡± he admitted, seeing no reason to sugarcoat it. ¡°Seia wanted to take her chances.¡± ¡°YOU SON OF A BITCH!¡± Zofia blasted him, veins popping on her neck and her eyes turning bloodshot. She almost fainted, but fury kept her upright. ¡°VILE MURDEROUS SCUM!¡± ¡°There¡®re wolves about. Right starving I reckon,¡± Dirk cautioned her and she just stood there glaring at him while breathing heavy. ¡°Yer voice carries.¡±If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°The fire¡¯s out,¡± Zofia complained later in the day. Not that same day. ¡°We need more wood Curd.¡± ¡°Ain¡¯t much around not frozen stiff,¡± he rustled fixing the heavy branches around their rock to protect them from the icy gush blowing down the passage. ¡°Let¡¯s hope the wind stops.¡± ¡°You got to find more!¡± Zofia snapped, her teeth rattling. She was pale as death, but at least the nasty swelling had retreated at the top of her head. The woman looked half-dead, which was an improvement. Dirk stared at the gloomy night, the light minimal and the icy snowed upon ground sparkling at spots. ¡°If I go out there, I might not make it.¡± ¡°I rather die alone than wit the likes of you!¡± ¡°Nah, ye don¡¯t,¡± Dirk grunted and got up, his body protesting. Knees crackling as if they¡¯d turned to ice. ¡°What was the plan?¡± Zofia hissed shivering all over. Dirk was going to need some of that blanket, but the woman seemed unwilling to share. ¡°Take you to Vanzon,¡± he replied, crooking his mouth. His skin bleeding where he¡¯d lost part of his beard earlier. It fell right off his face. ¡°Get myself some land.¡± ¡°For what? Build a cabin? Are ye fuckin¡¯ kidding me?¡± Dirk had never owed a cabin, or anything with a roof on it. ¡°A house, near Hardwood Forest.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s that?¡± ¡°At the border wit Midlanor. Virgin land, amidst the mountains. Rich game.¡± ¡°There¡¯s game all over the North, Curd. You killed Seia for this?¡± ¡°Seia chose to go out her own way,¡± Dirk grunted. ¡°We¡¯re here because yer Lord wanted to take you to Fetya. Lots of people want me dead there.¡± ¡°You could have left.¡± ¡°I did,¡± Dirk explained and wiped the blood from his face. ¡°Needed a bargaining chip. Folk don¡¯t like me that much in these parts as well.¡± ¡°We¡¯re going to die out here. Fuck you Curd,¡± Zofia decided. ¡°The hells are ye standing there like an idiot?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to search for branches,¡± Dirk told her. ¡°Was looking for something to give me the courage to step outside.¡± ¡°I hope ye die screaming, there¡¯s yer something,¡± Zofia wished him her teeth rattling so much, she had to put her hands on her jaw to stop it. Dirk decided this was as much support as he¡¯d get. The Direwolf found him before he got the broken branch back. It came out of the shadows, black-grey fur and gleaming yellow eyes. Almost killed him outright out of pure fright. Dirk jerked away, gnarly teeth missing his face and the memory of losing his fingers returning to give him all the courage he was looking for earlier. He swung with the branch, got something solid and the frozen wood snapped, but his boots slipped and the half-breed went down. Dirk grunted, then groaned and yelped in the same breath, as the large predator closed his teeth on a vambrace. The right one, not that it mattered. A fang almost pierced through the iron plate. Actually it did, just didn¡¯t have enough force left to pierce skin. Dirk pulled to free his arm, the Direwolf growled not letting him and they both danced around each other, the cold forgotten for a moment. Dirk reached with his free hand to get his axe from his back, the cunning animal saw him and let go of his arm, or tried to -that fang keeping them joined. The Direwolf snarled, eyeing him with pure hatred, Dirk snarled back and got his axed out. He downed it with brute force aiming for that big furry head, but missed and almost chopped his own arm off, when the Direwolf jerked it away leaving a broken bloody fang still stuck on his vambrace. Dirk twirled around, boots skirting on ice and caught the retreating predator on the right side, splitting two of its ribs and opening a chasm half a meter wide. The Direwolf cried and jumped away, gore and guts pouring out of its body. Burning hot blood that melted the ice under an exhausted Dirk¡¯s crumpling knees. Zofia¡¯s glare when he returned empty handed hurt him the most. ¡°The fuck were ye dilly-dallying out there? I can¡¯t feel my feet!¡± She blasted him when he collapsed next to her and stared silently at the fire going out.
So they made it across the first bridge and went over the second early the next night. Dirk pulling Zofia by the arm, the woman exhausted but thankfully not sick. The night even darker and the glow of fires on the other side of the forest speaking of a great camp and many warriors. This might be too big for Lord Bart to handle, Dirk thought and stopped to catch his breath the moment they were across. ¡°My brothers are beyond the other branch we left behind,¡± Zofia murmured, her hair a mess of knots and dirt. Still as beautiful a wench as Dirk had ever seen. ¡°I could talk to them.¡± ¡°Aart went crazy in Ludr,¡± Dirk explained his throat hurting. He kept opening and closing his fingers to avoid them going dead. Zofia had lost a toe three weeks back. It up and died after turning a nasty black and he had to cut it off. She could walk, but it hurt her on every step and it was the same even when she didn¡¯t move. But that wasn¡¯t their biggest problem. ¡°People died. Lots of them. Women, children, old men.¡± ¡°Gods curse ye to the five hells Curd,¡± Zofia rustled, as much in despair as in anger. ¡°You¡¯ll be the death of me.¡± ¡°I did what I had to do to get out,¡± Dirk grunted. ¡°Easy to speak of decency, when yer not in danger. People change their tune if ye put their feet in the blasted fire.¡± ¡°I wish I¡¯d died back in the pass,¡± Zofia murmured looking away. ¡°Anything close to ye turns to shite.¡± Dirk crooked his mouth and made to answer but heard people approaching and stopped. Lots of clinkin¡¯ and jinglin¡¯ along wit the sound of heavy boots. Since no one carried silverware in the middle of the night with a battle just about to start, Dirk guessed they had weapons on them. And they weren¡¯t out here hunting also.
¡°Stay in the trees,¡± Dirk warned Zofia and she lowered herself keeping the blanket over her shoulders. Dirk wished they still had the horse, but when it came down to choose whether to eat Dirk¡¯s foot or Zofia¡¯s, they both had agreed the horse had to go. He rose up slowly and pushed the collar of the chainmail aside, away from a rash he had on his neck that bothered him. Dirk had already two months on the road wearing that thing and the oiled parts had turned to rust. The group approaching, two men and a woman, all Issir mixed-breeds like him. The tall man with the long yellowish hair and the heavy-set woman without any, both had plate cuirasses worn under their longcoats. The third a shorter muscular man with one black, one brown eye and short cut hair hidden under a conned helm, wore a long chainmail shirt alike Dirk. The cuirasses had a squid engraved on them. A big one. The type the smiths made over in Krakenhall. These weren¡¯t regulars though. Ah, Dirk thought, then gathered whatever he had in his mouth and spat it down. The moons sending enough light over them, to see those approaching him more clear. A gift and a blasted curse, all packaged in the same box of shite. ¡°Ayup,¡± Kaiser ¡®Mire¡¯ Dukes said, looking at him carefully and stopped four meters away. ¡°Told ye lads, this ain¡¯t a Northman.¡± ¡°What are ye doing here Dukes?¡± Dirk asked the leader of the Dukes Warband. They called him ¡®Mire¡¯ on account of the people he¡¯d send in the mud. Not all were warriors, not that Kaiser Dukes gave two craps about that. ¡°Hah,¡± Kaiser said curling his lip upwards. ¡°When I first heard ye made it out, I didn¡¯t believe it,¡± he shook his head right and left impressed, left hand on the pommel of his warhammer. ¡°Friends, this ugly bastard is Dirk Curd.¡± The woman whistled. ¡°Remember ye taller Curd,¡± ¡®Heavy¡¯ Judie Karl taunted. ¡°And wit more fingers.¡± ¡°Ye were barefooted then,¡± Dirk taunted her back. ¡°Or on yer knees. Apologies Judie, the details have slipped me mind.¡± ¡°This young lad is Rud ¡®Grail¡¯ Crypt,¡± Kaiser Dukes introduced the third man. The one with the two-handed sword. ¡°He¡¯s with the Lord¡¯s army.¡± ¡°Are ye the headsman¡¯s son?¡± Dirk chanced. ¡°His brother,¡± Rud rustled. Dirk had feared it was him. Another named warrior. He grimaced, teeth grinding trying to figure out how to handle this and Zofia mistaking their bander for friendliness came out from behind the trees by the riverbank and approached them. ¡°Well then. What do ye know,¡± Kaiser said, spotting her first. ¡°Who you have there, Dirk?¡± ¡°Found myself a wench in Kas,¡± Dirk replied without looking back and heard Zofia¡¯s angry hiss, thankfully kept short. Not that it mattered in the end. This was a dance. The kind you come out of either injured, or dead. ¡°Devious fuckin¡¯ Dirk,¡± Kaiser snorted, shaking his conned head right and left. ¡°Ye know I don¡¯t believe a word comin¡¯ out of yer mouth right?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know it,¡± Dirk admitted mocking him. ¡°Now that ye told me, I realized¡­ I don¡¯t give a fuck Dukes.¡± ¡°They say ye can¡¯t be killed. Death wants to keep ye alive doin¡¯ his work for him,¡± Dukes said warningly. ¡°Never much believed it,¡± he wiped his face with a gloved hand setting his helm proper. ¡°Is that Zofia of Ludr? She must be. The Lord wants her brought to him Dirk. So let¡¯s cut this bullshit and get this over wit. Are ye gonna give her up?¡± Dirk cracked his neck left once and then right. Felt the mud under his boots all frozen, as he got his axe out without replying. ¡°For fuck¡¯s sake,¡± Kaiser snarled. ¡°Are ye serious?¡± ¡°What do you think?¡± Dirk asked and made a step forward. 177. Death, Debts & Devious Dirk (2/2)
¡®Devious¡¯ Dirk Curd Death, Debts & Devious Dirk Part II -Neither you, nor he are gonna die there also-
Burning lava encircled in winter¡¯s icy embrace. Cold, sweltering pain. Blood turned to ice and then to black bark. Hard as stone. Zofia looked at him, eyes bloodshot, face covered in ice under the moon¡¯s silent light. Come then, she said. Do it. You fuckin¡¯ want to. Dirk grimaced, mouth crooking around the old cut marring it. As many cuts on his black-grey face as wrinkles. Every year counted double for him. As many scars inside, as those outside. No sin, no crime left uncommitted. Do it, she repeated. The medicine almost as repugnant as the decease of winter. I won¡¯t die here. Look at me, Dirk told her, himself half dead. You won¡¯t, he rustled, when she did.
Kaiser Dukes narrowed his eyes, jaw clenched under his helm so tight you could hear bones crackling. Judie Karl got her long-shafted axe out, more a wood-cutting tool than a weapon. Rud, who looked young but wasn¡¯t, took a casual step back and unsheathed his greatsword. The long blade almost the size of a small spear gleaming in the moon¡¯s same silent light. Same moons, a different night. ¡°Ah, shag it all to hell,¡± Dirk said and Kaiser Dukes opened his mouth wide, teeth showing and let out a mighty roar before charging at him. Dirk sidestepped, an eye on the circling leering Judie, the lead warrior¡¯s boots thundering on the frozen mud. TA-TA-TA Kaiser reached him in a breath and swung at him, but Curd slapped the steel hammer away with the flat of his axe¡¯s blade, then took another step to the side to cut on Judie¡¯s advance. Judie snarled and raised her axe, but Kaiser attacked him again swinging on the return and got in her way. Dirk jerked back, muscles protesting and only half-awake, the nasty whistling of the spike an inch from his frozen nose. The momentum carrying his attacker sideways, after his heavy weapon. Dirk flicked his right arm up at the same time, as if to toss his axe in the air, the shaft gliding in his gloved fingers. Dirk rode the length of it until he gripped it by its bronze knob right at the end. Downed it brutally right after and caught Kaiser below the left shoulder, as his body had turned following his own attack. The steel bit through plate, mail sleeve and hard leather, cut through flesh and bone and stopped when it reached mail again at the armpit. Dirk turned his head aside, the blood spatter warming his hand, the sound of the severed arm dropping between them hidden under Kaiser¡¯s groan of misery. ¡°Curse ye!¡± Judie snarled and made two quick steps to move around the flailing Dukes. The man¡¯s blood spurted out so hot it turned to vapor. Dirk circled around him as well, an ear on the heavy boots of Rud Crypt approaching from his blind side. Kaiser groaned and grunted alike a wounded animal, his mouth bloody as if he¡¯d bitten part of his tongue off. Dirk pushed forward towards Judie and then dived for the ground, the whistling air informing him of the great sword¡¯s arrival. The heavy blade buzzed over him, forehead scrapping the gritty mud in the shaggin¡¯ tumble and Judie shoved Kaiser away in turn to get him out of the way and get into the combat. Dirk who¡¯d learned to fight in as close quarters as one could imagine, not out of talent, or the need for glory, but out of the pure desire to barely keep himself alive, went at her the moment he jumped on his feet. Judie saw him coming, an eye half-closed as Dirk had mud in it, the other ogling in the throes of insanity, his mouth crooked in a grimace of desperation and she gasped, bringing her long-shafted axe up. Missing Rud¡¯s angry bellow, as he¡¯d put his shoulder in the return upper swing of the greatsword, the warrior''s eyes focused on the moving Dirk as well. Everyone was looking at Dirk, even the flailing and bleeding-out Kaiser. Dirk reached the heavy-set woman, the long axe held with both hands pushed out to cleave him in the face and behind him the greatsword tearing at the air again wanting to split him in two. Judie snarled, white teeth showing and eyes glaring, and Dirk grunted just as loud before he ducked. The woman had a split second, first to rejoice at the sight of Dirk¡¯s neck offered on a plate for an easy beheading and next, feel Rud¡¯s greatsword separating her own head from her shoulders. ¡°Fuck!¡± Rud cursed, as Dirk stumbled away through a curtain of scalding gore, Judie¡¯s falling axe smacking him on the back. He tried to find his footing, all the ice turned to mire under him and spotted Zofia watching his efforts from some distance with her mouth half-opened, more in horror than admiration. Dirk made it out of the danger zone still breathing and only slightly maimed and turned around to glare at Rud Crypt. The warrior was staring at the still walking headless body of Jodie, faltering about and spraying blood everywhere in bewilderment. ¡°Ye better get Kaiser to a dottore,¡± Dirk rustled. The veteran warrior eyed him with newfound respect and a touch of suspicion. ¡°I have the longer blade,¡± Rud ¡®Grail¡¯ Crypt grunted, while Judie at last found a broken branch and went down with a loud thud. ¡°She had the longer axe and numbers,¡± Dirk countered, finding some of his confidence again. Truth be told, he¡¯d fought the whole thing scared shitless. Rud nodded seeing his point. ¡°I¡¯ll have yer measure next time Dirk,¡± Rud warned him and Dirk snorted. ¡°Nah, yer just going to run back to Dukes men further up the road,¡± Dirk mocked him ¡°Gather as many squids as ye can wake up and come after me like a cunt.¡± Rud spat down, the insult cutting deep. Probably because it was the plaugin¡¯ truth! ¡°Ye can¡¯t turn back,¡± ¡®Grail¡¯ told him in parting, while he approached Kaiser. The leader of the Dukes Warband, ashen in color and barely standing upright. ¡°And I¡¯ll wait ye at the stone bridge. Ye can¡¯t get through to Rockfort as there¡¯s an army coming this way and I have horses to warn them. Where will ye go, Devious Dirk? Yer a dead man walking.¡±
Into the woods, he thought. Their trunks all white bark, hard as stone. The paths all closed and packed with solid ice, but for those left by animals. The light coming through only in certain precious places, under the high above their heads as much as dark canopy. Judie¡¯s heavy longcoat ¨Cwhite bear fur on the inside- kept Zofia alive. Her long-shafted axe helped them both. Two weeks in, the weather changed. The first change being a thunderstorm that brought down tons of water, and the second, the sun making its reappearance signaling the coming spring.
¡°Ground opens up,¡± Zofia said tiredly, more color on her cheeks now and that fierceness back. ¡°Oh crap, I have to piss again. Are ye fuckin¡¯ kidding me? You should have boiled that water more, Dirk! I told you darn it. Fuck!¡± ¡°I did,¡± Dirk defended himself and watched her walk away slowly. The woman heavy, though it didn¡¯t show with that coat on. ¡°And it doesn¡¯t open up. The trees have gotten bigger.¡±Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. ¡°I wish for a tavern Curd. Warm ale and cold beer, a barrel of it,¡± Zofia groaned from behind a massive trunk, her trickle a different sound than those of the woods surrounding them. ¡°Ye know anything near here? Where the fuck are we anyway? Tyeus helps us, what am I saying? Ye got no blasted idea!¡± ¡°Oldtrees, I reckon,¡± Dirk said and stood up to watch a giant Elk watching them from a sunny spot amidst another two even bigger trunks. The trees here reaching over fifty meters in height, some even a hundred. The animal raised its majestic head and snorted. Where¡¯s the river mate? Dirk asked him silently. I haven¡¯t seen a star for a month. The giant Elk snorted again and pointed his head straight back towards the west. ¡°Gods above yer ugly,¡± Zofia said coming out from behind her own tree. ¡°Must¡¯ve been drunk as a skunk when I fucked ye!¡± ¡°Nah, you were half-dead,¡± Dirk replied, not feeling insulted. Hear a lot of anything and you¡¯ll get bored of it. Tune it out eventually. And Dirk knew he wasn¡¯t much to look at to begin with. ¡°Yeah,¡± Zofia agreed and felt her swollen belly. ¡°Ye could¡¯ve spilt yer seed outside.¡± Dirk frowned. ¡°Never done it afore.¡± Zofia let out a pained sigh. ¡°Lots of mean-looking little dicks running about in Krakenhall? Oops, sorry. I said the quiet part out loud.¡± She didn¡¯t look sorry at all. ¡°Yer tongue hasn¡¯t improved at all milady,¡± Dirk grunted. ¡°If I hadn¡¯t known better, I could¡¯ve mistaken ye for a tavern harlot.¡± ¡°Nice dodge Dirk, but ye don¡¯t deserve better,¡± Zofia retorted. ¡°And me tongue was always sharp.¡± ¡°I bet the old Jarl loves that, a daughter that won¡¯t blush,¡± Dirk commented with the hint of a smile. ¡°The Jarl will have you killed and I¡¯m not sure about me, especially if the kid comes out some funny color.¡± ¡°What color?¡± ¡°Grey?¡± Zofia replied and stared at his red curls hopefully. ¡°White.¡±
The man who ambushed them two weeks later was all black. Not because of his skin, but because he was covered in dark mud. Barrel size chest naked, the cold not bothering him. Eyes a washed-out blue, almost white. He had three spears on him, the tip crude but sharp and pointy enough to pierce a bear¡¯s hide. ¡°Just looking for the river,¡± Dirk rustled hefting Judie¡¯s old axe. He¡¯d given his to Zofia. ¡°Not a fight.¡± Someone sneaking up on them from the right, beyond the wet scrubs. ¡°What is an Issir doing with a Northern lass?¡± The first man asked him, in the old Nord Tongue, much different than common and rarely spoken in the cities. ¡°I¡¯m half o¡¯ that,¡± Dirk explained eyeing the newcomer appearing, carrying a long spear as well. Also covered in black mud alike the first. ¡°What¡¯s the other half?¡± A third man said, this one much bigger than the other two and fierce looking, grey and red beard reaching his belly. Rough hide pants worn underneath over his legs. He carried a cleaver looking weapon. A custom blade long alike a sword¡¯s and heavy. ¡°A Nord like you,¡± Dirk replied and glanced at Zofia nervously, his eyes begging her to keep silent. The man paused and then threw his head back and laughed hard. An ancient sound that reverberated among the Oldtrees and the mostly quiet woods. ¡°Boy,¡± The aged warrior said, when he sated himself. ¡°You¡¯re standing under the Oldtrees worried. You¡¯re no Nord. Else you¡¯d have known blood can¡¯t be spilt here. Fear not, for we keep the old words. Name¡¯s Ulf Willard,¡± he finished and eyed him one last time. ¡°If you seek to find yer way out of the woods, you better follow us. Bring yer pregnant woman with you and keep her near. She attracts predators.¡±
It is said, there¡¯s a place somewhere in the ancient Whitebark Woods near the banks of Umlen River, the name meaning ¡®Tiny Stream¡¯ in the Old Nord Tongue. The river being anything but tiny. A man named Willard discovered a spot near it at some time in the very distant past, after following an Oldtree around. The tale fanciful. The man himself a giant according to accounts, though his descendants never reached his height. The clan he founded there took his name and kept living isolated in that small village on the flat rock he¡¯d stood upon to gaze at the waters. What he preached was never written down, but his people followed it and stayed clear of the Northmen first and the Issirs that came after them. Eventually, people stopped coming into the woods. Curd stayed with them for months, until Zofia delivered her baby boy, before the next winter. The child¡¯s skin a dark grey, his hair white as snow unlike his father¡¯s and the eyes that rare green and blue of his famed mother.
¡°Get that tail half-Nord!¡± Big Svan yelled and pulled the large hammerhead fish out of the river. Almost two meters long and with gnarly teeth covering its mouth, it was a nightmare to control from its tail and too slippery with his fingers frozen from keeping them in the icy water. ¡°It might bite my darn hand off!¡± Dirk protested heaving the fat fish on the frost-covered bank. ¡°Aye. Your hand,¡± Svan guffawed, his sense of humor bucolic. ¡°Haha! Grab the tail!¡± ¡°For fuck¡¯s sake,¡± Dirk grunted and reaching got his axe out, started hacking at the damn thing furiously. The stench coming out awful. Rotten. ¡°What is this shaggin¡¯ shite?¡± He asked a grimacing Svan. ¡°We need to cut the tail,¡± Svan Willard explained. ¡°Else it¡¯ll ruin the meat on purpose. Aye, grab some mud and use on yer face and body. Yer wearing too much clothes to get any work done. Then, we must catch another one.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the fuckin¡¯ winter!¡± Dirk protested, not wanting to get back inside the river again. ¡°That¡¯s what women say!¡± Svan guffawed and started chuckling again while slowly stepping inside the freezing waters. Dirk groaned and stared at the dark clouds above them, already missing the summer.
Zofia raised her red head, when she heard him return, stinking of fish guts and something other even more awful. She smelled of baby and warm milk. Her breasts full of it, caught his attention, as much as the little guy that was sucking on them. Dirk envied him for that, but he kept it to himself. ¡°Gods, I¡¯m not even going to ask,¡± she hissed, always warm and cuddly when he approached her. ¡°Was by the river, helping Svan bring food woman!¡± He grunted, the matter bothering him lately. Living with the Willard¡¯s Clan had made him nervous. Lack of sleep had played its role there and fear the little guy might not make it. ¡°Eh, I hate fish, Dirk. Must I hunt myself to have some proper food here?¡± Zofia complained and removed the fat nipple from the baby¡¯s mouth, milk spilling down her pale breast mesmerizing. ¡°Dirk,¡± Zofia said, snapping him out of his reverie. ¡°I mean it. I can¡¯t support the baby like this.¡± ¡°Ulf is particular with hunting in the winter,¡± Dirk explained, watching her covering herself up. ¡°Creatures of the forest were here afore us, he says. So we must be respectful.¡± Zofia groaned and shook the baby to sleep. The little guy chuckled pulling at her long curls hard. Dirk grimaced, but she didn¡¯t seem to mind and cooed at him affectionately. It was a wonderful sight to watch. Ah, damnation. ¡°Ulf wants us gone,¡± Zofia said and Dirk raised his head surprised. He hadn¡¯t gotten anything like that from the old Clan leader. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I told him who I was,¡± Zofia explained and blushed seeing his glare. ¡°What? You don¡¯t expect to keep me here in the middle of nowhere forever Dirk!¡± ¡°I ain¡¯t keeping you,¡± Dirk retorted. ¡°That plan died a long time ago.¡± ¡°What plan? Giving me to Vanzon for a hut and a field to grow potatoes?¡± Zofia hissed, disturbing the baby. She groaned and started rocking him again in her hands. ¡°That was then,¡± Dirk said, looking at his boots. He wasn¡¯t prepared to deal with this kind of trouble. ¡°Ah, damnation. You shouldn¡¯t have said anything. I had a good thing going here.¡± ¡°Nothing that would work in the long run Dirk. Your view of things is very limited,¡± Zofia said patiently. ¡°Yes, they helped us and gave us a place to live for a while, but this is our problem to fix. We made this. Gods spared us for a reason, now it¡¯s our turn. We must bring our son home.¡± ¡°You bring him anywhere near your father and he¡¯ll throw the little guy in Lud River. I may not make it past the welcoming party and you well, are you gonna fight the Jarl for it?¡± Zofia blew her curl off her face and stood up. ¡°If the Jarl touches him, I¡¯ll make him pay.¡± Dirk snorted, most of it despair. ¡°How?¡± ¡°Sam will back me up,¡± Zofia said. ¡°He always listened to me.¡± Nah, he won¡¯t princess. Not this time. ¡°Sam is the heir. Gangly is dead,¡± Dirk said with a grimace. Zofia reeled back shocked and he moved to take the baby from her. ¡°But¡­ how? When?¡± She croaked. ¡°The Crulls cornered him at Stag¡¯s Doab last winter. It was a big battle and the Jarl lost,¡± he said looking at the small creature in his large hands. ¡°How do you know?¡± ¡°Svan told me a couple of months back,¡± Dirk explained. ¡°He had traveled in the summer as you remember. Learned it from hunters. I didn¡¯t want to tell you.¡± Zofia had gone into labor that week. He looked away to not see her crying. ¡°Sam won¡¯t help against the Jarl,¡± Dirk said finally, forcing himself to get it out. ¡°But if you want to go back to yer people, I¡¯ll take ye there.¡± ¡°You will?¡± Zofia asked him and he sighed, crooked his mouth and the baby woke up and stared at him with large eyes full of wonder. ¡°Aye,¡± Dirk Curd replied, trying to smile for the little guy, realizing halfway through he didn¡¯t remember how to do it. ¡°What if it doesn¡¯t work out?¡± Zofia asked and he closed his mouth, the baby looking shocked at his teeth not understanding what he was doing. Dirk turned to look at the mother of his child. There was worry there, fear for the little guy and curiosity. That was all. Men like him didn¡¯t get much more than that. ¡°Then I¡¯ll get ye both out of there,¡± he had told her. ¡°It won¡¯t be pretty, I reckon. But neither you, nor he are gonna die there also.¡± 178. A Hundred Days (4/10)
Lucius Alden A Hundred Days Part IV -A sensitive matter-
Lucius walked out of the commander¡¯s tent and followed the soldier towards the gates. The Century Castrum had crude fortifications surrounding it, the tents neatly set inside in rows, but was a far cry of what a proper Legion would build on the road. Galio was determined to get the Northmen trained on this part as well, but perhaps suitable engineers were needed, he thought. Finding them wasn¡¯t as easy as finding a soldier that could hold a shield. He saw Curd the moment they stepped out of the gates. The wind that felt stronger outside of the cover of the timber walls another shock to his system and he paused to collect himself. The mix-breed looked better than the last time Lucius had seen him, though dog tired and worn out. Zofia looked tired as well, a bit older perhaps, but still had that fierceness and she stared rather annoyed at the armoured soldiers surrounding them. Zofia carried a small baby in a sling also, fully hidden under the rough hides. The detail disturbing. Lucius crooked his mouth, the woman opened her eyes recognizing him behind all that armour and deep surprise registered on her face. ¡°Decanus Kaeso!¡± Lucius snapped and pointed at the nonchalant mix-breed. ¡°Arrest that man!¡± ¡°Aye, milord,¡± Kaeso replied and signed for the soldiers to move on Dirk Curd. He raised his arms with a grimace, but didn¡¯t fight them. ¡°Lucius, stop this,¡± Zofia said with a frown. ¡°Decanus, escort Lady Zofia to my quarters,¡± Lucius ordered disregarding her protest. He grinded his teeth trying to keep calm, but the unlikely appearance of both her and Curd had rattled him. ¡°What? You¡¯re not going to order me around!¡± Zofia snapped and the baby started crying. ¡°We¡¯re not in Regia Lucius!¡± ¡°My lady, you¡¯re in my camp,¡± Lucius replied sternly. ¡°I won¡¯t discuss my orders with you.¡± Zofia glared at him and then at a legionnaire that had approached her. Lucius had no idea what her problem was, but he wasn¡¯t going to talk it out with her in front of the men.
Faye, thankfully back under her new armour, moved away from the small field table and Lucius plopped down on the uncomfortable chair behind it, a moment before Prefect Veturius came in. Lucius could hear Zofia protesting outside. ¡°The Northmen left,¡± the officer reported. ¡°It wasn¡¯t easy to communicate with them.¡± ¡°Layton seemed to be doing just fine. Big lads speak their own tongue, I suppose,¡± Lucius commented and eyed the map in front of him. Trupo had updated some details on it. ¡°It¡¯s an older dialect. Apparently they are living deep in the woods,¡± Galio pressed his lips into a thin line, hearing Zofia causing a ruckus outside his tent. ¡°What are you going to do about it?¡± ¡°Curd? Or Zofia?¡± Lucius asked with a bitter smile. ¡°I have a feeling, I won¡¯t like any of the answers.¡± ¡°Kaeso can make it happen,¡± Galio suggested, but Lucius grimaced showing his distaste. ¡°Not everything needs to be explained away Milord. We¡¯re on campaign.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t start killing people behind closed doors, or out the back Galio,¡± Lucius explained. ¡°Curd is a murderer, but he did save my life. His punishment will be fair and in the open. As for Zofia, I promised my father her safe return.¡± Galio grimaced. ¡°Yer father is not here and either way she¡¯s not in danger. I¡¯ll consider that part of yer promise fulfilled, milord.¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s not how it works Prefect, but bring her in. Let¡¯s hear her,¡± Lucius said and sat back.
Zofia kept rocking the baby back and forth, her eyes examining those present. ¡°Where¡¯s Roderick?¡± She asked. ¡°I will talk to you both alone. No one else.¡± Lucius scratched the stubble on his right cheek, his eyes hardening. ¡°Roderick was killed, back at the Montfoot,¡± he replied grinding his teeth. ¡°Lots of good people alongside him. Everyone in here I trust, Zofia,¡± Lucius sighed. He tried to regain his composure and glanced at her pale face. ¡°Do you know about your brother?¡± Zofia nodded. ¡°I heard about it, not that long ago. Where¡¯s Sam?¡± ¡°No more than a week ahead of us,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°Going where?¡± Zofia asked unsure. ¡°How did you make it out here Lucius? Is Regia invading, or helping us?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about the campaign, Zofia. As for Regia no, that¡¯s me,¡± Lucius explained. ¡°What happened? Why aren¡¯t you in Krakenhall?¡± ¡°Or dead,¡± Zofia retorted and he grimaced. ¡°That¡¯s Dirk¡¯s doing.¡± ¡°Which part?¡± ¡°All of it, I suppose.¡± ¡°He will be punished for his actions,¡± Lucius assured her. Zofia puffed her cheeks out and hobbled near the table. It was subtle, but noticeable. ¡°What did he do?¡± Lucius hissed. ¡°Can I sit on your table?¡± Zofia asked, her eyes teasing. It made him uncomfortable. ¡°Get her a chair,¡± Lucius ordered and the guard left, after getting a glare from Galio. Faye standing aside seemed very troubled, which didn¡¯t help Lucius at all. ¡°Dirk killed Seia,¡± Zofia said and a tick appeared on Lucius face above his left eye. ¡°He let Canutia go¡ª¡± ¡°So what?¡± He croaked. Is she trying to justify his actions? ¡°Lucius,¡± Zofia paused, then stared at the solemn aged face of Prefect Veturius, before turning her attention at the closely watching them Faye. Her eyes narrowing, when she recognized the silent woman. ¡°You¡¯re that Numbers girl, Faye,¡± she said. ¡°Benton¡¯s sister,¡± the latter Zofia said to Lucius. ¡°I¡¯m aware,¡± Lucius retorted, his patience running thin. ¡°Greetings Zofia,¡± Faye hailed her icily. ¡°Can I hold the baby? Is it yours?¡± The baby was the elephant in the room and Faye had pointed at it on purpose. ¡°He¡¯s sleeping,¡± Zofia said defensively. ¡°It was a tiresome journey.¡± Lucius breathed out and cleared his throat to get her attention, the moment suddenly very tense. ¡°What is going on here Zofia?¡± He asked her, showing concern. ¡°You know I¡¯ll help you any way I can.¡± ¡°Have you talked with my father?¡± She asked, just as the soldier returned carrying a small wooden stool with three legs. Zofia sat on it carefully. ¡°Are you injured?¡± Lucius asked her. ¡°It¡¯s not important Lucius,¡± she replied. ¡°What did the Jarl agreed to?¡± ¡°The agreement wasn¡¯t about you,¡± Lucius explained. ¡°We thought¡­ He believed you were lost.¡± ¡°Who is his man here?¡± Zofia asked and Lucius could see that mark on her forehead, the old injury now healed. ¡°Oscar Steele is at Ludriver Castle. He has someone following the baggage train. Why?¡± Lucius asked and Zofia flinched in shock. ¡°You¡¯ve taken it,¡± she said. ¡°The Jarl is across the river. How?¡± ¡°Zofia, the Jarl didn¡¯t take anything, my men did. Sam is across Lud River not the Jarl. We made a bridge over it and we are intent on attacking¡­¡± he eyed Galio and the old officer shook his head right and left in a warning not to tell her anything. ¡°¡­Vanzon.¡± Lucius said finishing. ¡°Up at Rockfort?¡±Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°Enough with the campaign stuff,¡± Lucius stopped her. ¡°You are not yourself, what the hells happened?¡± He asked her losing his patience. Zofia put her left hand over the covered baby¡¯s head and pulled at the cloth softly. Faye gasped in shock, Galio clenched his jaw and walked slowly to the closed opening of the tent. He stood in front of it to block anyone from gaining entry. I don¡¯t want to know, the Jarl had said. Better she be dead. ¡°Damn it,¡± Lucius cursed, his blood boiling. ¡°I¡¯ll have that fiend killed.¡±
¡°I wanted him killed as well,¡± Zofia said evenly, interrupting him. ¡°Then weather caught up with us as we moved away from Kas and my limbs turned to ice. I felt myself fading away slowly,¡± she stopped, her face haunted at the memory and covered the baby¡¯s head again. She took a deep breath next, her expression hardening. ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to die out there Lucius,¡± Zofia added with finality. ¡°Half of it was desperation, the other half¡­ ah, I don¡¯t have to explain myself to you, or anyone else.¡± Lucius stood back on his chair speechless. ¡°Ye wanted Curd on yer side. Force him to help,¡± Faye said while he pondered on Zofia¡¯s words. ¡°It¡¯s foolish to care for an injured man, or woman through a blizzard, much easier to just leave them behind. Curd is no fool, but he¡¯s a man.¡± Zofia eyed her alike a tigress stares at her prey. ¡°I won¡¯t be judged by a brigand¡¯s kin,¡± she warned her. ¡°My brother died trying to save you!¡± Faye snapped, her eyes flashing in anger. Lucius opened his mouth to put an end to this, but Zofia was all fired up as well. ¡°Don¡¯t give me that nonsense ye little shit! He wanted favor from the Jarl, much as everyone else!¡± ¡°Enough!¡± Lucius finally managed to say and banged his fist on the table. The baby woke up and started wailing right after. With a sign Lucius sent Galio outside to cordon everyone away from his commander¡¯s tent and then stared at a wild eyed Faye. ¡°I¡¯m not leaving ye wit her, Alden,¡± Faye told him matter-of-factly. ¡°Huh,¡± Zofia chuckled, very surprised. ¡°Sir Lucius, I¡¯m shocked.¡± ¡°Faye,¡± Lucius sighed, feeling cornered. ¡°This is a sensitive matter.¡± ¡°Aye,¡± Faye replied, not backing down. ¡°It is.¡±
Galio¡¯s face seemed as if it¡¯d aged a couple of years, when he returned. ¡°Well?¡± Lucius asked, the state of affairs inside his tent volatile. ¡°Eh, word is out,¡± the officer commented. ¡°The Northmen especially are difficult to calm down.¡± ¡°What are they saying?¡± ¡°They are rejoicing for her return at the moment,¡± Galio replied. ¡°It will reach back to Oscar through the supply train in days.¡± ¡°What about Sam?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll need to march, milord,¡± Galio said. ¡°We can¡¯t solve this waiting here,¡± the cover was pulled away from the opening and Centurion Trupo walked in. ¡°Yes, Primus?¡± Lucius asked. ¡°A group of Northmen is pressuring Kaeso, milord,¡± Trupo reported. ¡°They want the mix-breed executed. I would put an extra detail on him.¡± ¡°You have to stop them, Lucius,¡± Zofia said and Lucius grimaced. ¡°Have Kaeso get his men under control Centurion,¡± Lucius ordered. ¡°Sire, it would be better to go ahead with this,¡± Trupo insisted. ¡°Centurion, the commander gave ye an order!¡± Galio admonished him. ¡°It¡¯s fine Galio,¡± Lucius stopped him. ¡°I can¡¯t let you kill him, Lucius,¡± Zofia hissed. ¡°This isn¡¯t your decision to make.¡± ¡°He betrayed my trust, Zofia,¡± Lucius argued. ¡°Killed a woman under my command, how do you want me to handle it? This is my camp, my rules.¡± ¡°Perhaps, if we waited for Oscar Steele to respond,¡± Trupo offered. ¡°And lose a couple of days of good weather?¡± Galio bristled at the thought. ¡°Just sent her away for fuck¡¯s sake!¡± Faye intervened and glared at the two officers. ¡°Why is no one suggesting it? Send her back to her family. Let them deal with this!¡± She turned to Zofia. There was no love lost between them that much was obvious. ¡°Steele will back ye is what yer thinking? Maybe ¡®Mad Wolf¡¯ as well, but no one has the balls to confront the Jarl about it, so what will it be?¡± ¡°It¡¯s none of your concern!¡± Zofia hissed and Lucius thought of the baby that had started crying again. ¡°We¡¯re in the middle of war!¡± Faye retorted and Lucius got between them. ¡°Trupo make sure no one kills Mister Curd by accident,¡± he ordered trying to keep his calm. ¡°Galio, the Centuries will march in two days. We¡¯ll consult with Steele first.¡± ¡°For Bear Foot, milord?¡± The Prefect asked and Lucius nodded dismissing them both.
¡°Lucius you promised to help me,¡± Zofia reminded him later. She had eaten sparingly, mostly soup and half a loaf of bread brought from the baker that had popped up amidst those following the supply train. It was getting bigger with every passing day. Zofia had asked for meat and wine, Faye had proposed hard tack and a mule to send her away, but Lucius had dismissed both their suggestions. This wasn¡¯t a travelling circus troupe. ¡°What if your brother insists on having him killed? What then?¡± He asked her tiredly. ¡°He¡¯ll have to fight him,¡± Zofia retorted. ¡°It¡¯s how we do it in the North.¡± Lucius shook his head on the verge of despair. ¡°I remember you disapproving of the games at Riverdor,¡± he said. ¡°I won¡¯t leave my son without a father,¡± Zofia replied. ¡°There were no such odds in yer games.¡± Still people died was her meaning. ¡°What about the Jarl? How will he take it?¡± ¡°Ah, the Jarl wants to win the war,¡± Zofia said simply and Faye snorted. ¡°She means the Jarl needs ye,¡± Faye hissed. ¡°Is why she hasn¡¯t run to Steele¡¯s, or ¡®Mad Wolf¡¯s¡¯ camps. Nah, Zofia of Ludr knows you¡¯ll never allow anything to happen to her.¡± ¡°What will he do?¡± Lucius asked Zofia, putting Faye¡¯s words aside. ¡°It¡¯s his grandson.¡± Zofia frowned and reached for a cup of water. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°She does know,¡± Faye intervened. ¡°She knew all along. Else she¡¯d run Curd through in his sleep already and clawed her way back. Bet ye she thought all about it.¡± ¡°When one day you have a child of yer own,¡± Zofia warned her wearily. ¡°Fight to stay alive to nurture and then bring it out into the world. When ye cry of worry because he stops breathing and turns all blue. The fear of something happening to him,¡± she sighed deeply. ¡°Your perspectives might change then. You¡¯d be surprised at what ye¡¯ll do Faye Numbers or force yerself to endure.¡± How to solve this? Lucius thought in the silence that followed her words. He got up and stared at Zofia. ¡°You will sleep here. It¡¯s warm and food will be provided. I¡¯ll have a guard posted outside.¡± ¡°What will you do?¡± Zofia asked him. ¡°I have a campaign to run,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°Faye, we should take our leave now.¡± Zofia made a face hearing his words, then smiled. ¡°How is the North treating ye Lucius?¡± She teased some of her old self coming back. Lucius had refrained from answering her.
Sam O¡¯ Dargan got ambushed after Bear Foot¡¯s plateau by a warband working for Lord Vanzon, but he had the numbers and the attackers were pushed away. They retreated for Rockfort and either went over the bridge at Alford River, or hid at the nearby Ocean Plateau. One could see Abrakas Rock right where Jelin ended, if he stood at the far edge of it and the day was clear. The day wasn¡¯t and no one was in the mood for sightseeing, so Sam O¡¯ Dargan made camp there and sent scouts out to check on the condition of the stone bridge and the river. Alford was ice-covered, especially near the freshwater lake the records mention simply as Frozen, but the locals knew also as Selm Ailo in the old Nord Tongue. Will¡¯s Lake. Anyway Alford River may have been half-frozen, but it was an unsteady ice and cracked, or disappeared near its mouth, where it met the sea. A great risk to walk over, so everyone decided they needed that bridge. They lost a day talking about it, the weather turning colder, but the river still dangerous and by the time Sam O¡¯ Dargan reached a decision, Lord Vanzon¡¯s army had appeared on the opposing bank. The heir to the Jarldom of Fetya sent word to the approaching, but very late Lucius Alden, probably using a bird of prey as Lucius had insisted to shorten the communications between the different parts of the army. Lucius Alden, after losing time to retrieve a presumed lost* Zofia O¡¯ Dargan, Sam¡¯s sister, hurried to reconnect with the army. He¡¯d lost time since Oscar Steele had gotten word from Jarl David to keep Lucius force from leaving with his daughter. The record here is confusing as to whether the Jarl learned about it and gave the order, or his right hand man took it upon himself to act. Lucius despite a heated discussion with Oscar Steele that came to his camp himself, decided to stick to his original plan and departed after Sam O¡¯ Dargan with Zofia in tow, leaving a seething Steele behind to guard his bridge and Ludriver Castle. Jarl David got reinforcements from Skuf Juter of the distant Rifjordal and moved out of Maja Burg in force that same month, bringing the army to Crimson Fort. He crossed the bridge himself with a small force in order to be informed of the campaign and visit Ludriver Castle. The first Jarl to do it in almost two hundred years. Upon learning of his daughter¡¯s adventures either he rejoiced and again here the record is obscure, as if deliberately altered after the fact by the Duchess, or gotten so incensed he sent Oscar Steele and his men up the icy road after Lucius. When Lucius reached Sam O¡¯ Dargan¡¯s camp later that month, the Jarldom¡¯s heir had been fighting a battle of attrition for almost two weeks. Baron of Rockfort Henk Bink¡¯s blocking force was reinforced by Dier Vanzon, but remained in a defensive posture across Alford River and swatted away Sam O¡¯ Dargan¡¯s repeated attempts at crossing. Almost four hundred men of one-armed Kaiser Duke¡¯s warband were sent by Lord Vanzon to guard the approach from the Selm Ailo, while he started gathering the bulk of his experienced forces to march from Krakenhall himself. He also sent word to the large city of Midlanor for help and his close allies the Crulls, but it is doubtful he was successful with the latter. As for Midlanor, Lord Vanzon¡¯s request came at a nigh inopportune moment. *There¡¯s a slew of stories (or gossip) regarding Zofia O¡¯ Dargan¡¯s whereabouts during the year Lucius was in Fetya. Some on the lewder side and others more sinister. In either case inappropriate to mention here. Lord Sirio Veturius The Fall of Heroes Chapter II (Legatus Lucius the third, Northern campaigns, A Hundred Days Volume II, 5th week, Second Month of Winter Group Red (Lucius) -Tiger¡¯s feint, Lake of gore & the Conundrum at Rockfort-) Winter of 190 NC
179. A Hundred Days (5/10)
Lucius Alden A Hundred Days Part V -Go forth Lucius of Regia-
Men are made of many things. Sewn together. Small ¡®n big. Good and bad. Uher¡¯s Sayings
Faye sighed softly and Lucius caressed those messy red curls with his fingers, then landed a kiss at the top of her head at the end of it. The woman stirred in his arms. ¡°Are you awake?¡± ¡°Mmm,¡± Faye murmured. ¡°These standard army cots are bereft of proper mattresses,¡± he noticed coolly feeling her mouth on his chest. An apology for earlier. ¡°Yer tent had a fine mattress,¡± Faye pointed out with a playful bite. ¡°You¡¯re still mad with Zofia.¡± ¡°I never was in the past,¡± Faye explained. ¡°We knew her of course and have heard about her travels down south. The richest lass in the North. Boisterous, but clever. Jarl Jacub¡¯s smarts with a pair of tits on top. Very pretty.¡± ¡°I think you¡¯re prettier in a lot of ways,¡± Lucius said and Faye raised her head to stare at him. ¡°Alden, you are a terrible liar,¡± she hissed. Lucius frowned. ¡°No I¡¯m not,¡± he told her meaning it. ¡°If its looks you¡¯re angling for, then Macia had them aplenty. My cousin Sandra¡ª¡± ¡°A dead woman and yer cousin,¡± Faye cut him. ¡°Anyone ye can fuck?¡± ¡°Faye,¡± Lucius warned her and she raised a fiery red brow. ¡°What? I said I won¡¯t curse in public,¡± Faye defended herself. ¡°And fuck isn¡¯t a bad word.¡± Lucius sighed, then clearing his throat he added. ¡°My father married a cousin.¡± ¡°Whoa, now yer telling me? Got any extra limb I don¡¯t know about?¡± Lucius laughed and got up. ¡°My stepmother was my meaning. She gave him Silvie. Now she¡¯s going to be the prettiest of them all,¡± he found his clothes still smiling and started putting them on, while Faye looked to get dressed herself. ¡°What did the ¡®Mad Wolf¡¯ say?¡± Faye asked him. ¡°We didn¡¯t talk,¡± Lucius explained. ¡°At least I stopped yesterday¡¯s attack.¡± ¡°Is it that bad?¡± Faye queried wearing her boots. ¡°That bridge is a kill zone,¡± Lucius said and turned so she could tie up his armour. Zac Ross was sleeping outside, but they had slowly started dressing themselves at some point Lucius had missed. He didn¡¯t mind it, but it had created a new set of instructions for the guards outside. The commander is indisposed, or in company/meeting differing -with the former meaning it was forbidden to enter his quarters, unless you were the Prefect that is. As if on cue Galio pulled the cover aside and came inside, armour covered in frost and his helm heavy with it. ¡°Sam is here,¡± he reported and walking briskly grabbed the cords hanging from Faye¡¯s armour, pulled hard to snap them together and tied them one after the other, while talking with a smiling Lucius. ¡°There¡¯s a lot of Issirs beyond that bridge milord. I suggest we use the scouts to get a firm grasp of the terrain.¡± ¡°Lady Faye will not be with the scouts anymore,¡± Lucius explained to him. ¡°Her men will be absorbed in the cavalry. They are on horse mostly already.¡± ¡°Of course milord,¡± Galio replied. ¡°I shall notify Kaeso.¡± ¡°Thank you, Prefect,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°I will be right out.¡± ¡°Do I get a spear?¡± Faye teased giving him a tight hug. ¡°Or milord¡¯s spear will suffice?¡± ¡°Faye!¡± Lucius groaned. ¡°You¡¯ll still scout for the cavalry.¡± ¡°Aye, I shall obey yer orders sire!¡± She chuckled and moved away from his arms. Lucius did manage to land a firm slap on her arse though. ¡°I¡¯ll keep my eye on you Decurion Numbers,¡± Lucius warned her. ¡°Wait, am I under that little shit Eli Sharp?¡± Faye asked with a frown. ¡°Sharp and Alana will be under you. You¡¯ll be my First Decurion,¡± Lucius explained. ¡°Is this like a first wife thing? Are ye trying to ease me in yer vile southern customs Alden?¡± She taunted. ¡°No such custom exists!¡± Lucius had blasted her not amused. The latter quite ironic as it actually did and he¡¯d be forced to use it some years down the line.
Prefect Veturius barked an order and the men saluted the fearsome looking Sam O¡¯ Dargan, clad in his pelt-covered armour. The Direwolf¡¯s Helm making him appear larger than he was. Lucius gave him his arm in the Lorian greeting and the leader of the Northmen ¡®Blue¡¯ division of their army took it with a broad wolfish smile. Lucius directed him to his secondary command post, the Castrum raised by the men still not finished, but it would be much bigger when it did. The timber walls higher, the pre-cut wood used to erect a couple of semi-permanent structures inside. Lucius force had ballooned, as the promise of steady pay, good weapons and the success at Ludriver Castle worked in his favor. The Centurions of all three fighting Centuries and Trupo of the training Second Century followed after them, with Galio leading the way through the rows of tents. Decimus Sabinus, one of the Lorians that had stayed behind at Kas was commanding the Third and young but brave Servius Capito, a Lorian from Cartaport the Fourth. Galio had insisted they needed to promote a Northman at some point, other than Faye and those in Lucius cavalry, but he refused it, with a promise to revisit the issue in the future. Lucius¡¯ reasoning was simple. He wanted men that would follow him after this campaign was over and he had to return to Regia. Deep down, the moniker ¡®Lucius Legionnaires¡¯ frequently thrown around by the men had rubbed off on him. Lucius wanted a Legion of his own. Before all that come to pass though, they needed to deal with Rockfort. ¡°How many?¡± He asked Sam the moment the guard left them. Sam smacked his lips, that distinct helm in his hands and blood-red long hair falling over his beard covered face. ¡°Fifty dead, over a hundred injured. The supplies ye brought will come in handy,¡± he rustled. ¡°They have Scorpios there overlooking the bridge. Nasty things.¡± ¡°How did they bring them?¡± ¡°Dier Vanzon, was preparing for a campaign this summer,¡± Sam replied eyeing him. ¡°On the other side of the river. There¡¯s talk of catapults.¡± ¡°Have you seen them?¡± Lucius asked. ¡°Nah, nothing that big would work in this cold. The Scorpio¡¯s themselves are good for a couple of shots and then the torsion springs snap. But they make for a good deterrent.¡± Lucius stared at the map. He expected Faye to return with a detailed report later that day. ¡°What about the Lake?¡± He asked and pointed with a finger. ¡°You mean go around it? The Woods are thick on this side, un-trotted, the passages blocked with solid ice. You¡¯ll need more sledgehammers than swords.¡± ¡°Not through the woods, O¡¯ Dargan,¡± Lucius explained. ¡°That would be a journey and a half, I meant to cross the Lake.¡± ¡°Walk over the ice,¡± Sam said sounding shocked. ¡°Are ye serious? Didn¡¯t ye admonished my plan with the iceberg last season? How is this any better?¡± ¡°It¡¯s another thing entirely to sail on a bloody iceberg out in the ocean Sam,¡± Lucius retorted. ¡°How is it different?¡± Zofia has taken most of the smarts in the family indeed, he thought. ¡°It¡¯s a freshwater lake,¡± Lucius explained further. ¡°The ice thicker, more solid. You¡¯re not out in the sea.¡± ¡°No one walks the lake. What if ye find thinner ice? Ye might lose yer fancy soldiers. Metal sinks faster than leather,¡± Sam argued. ¡°If animals can do it, men can as well. I¡¯ll know more before the day is over,¡± Lucius insisted. ¡°I¡¯ve seen Elks around these parts heavier than Layton and tracks going over the iced surface.¡± ¡°Then what?¡± Sam O¡¯ Dargan asked. Lucius stared at the map. ¡°Movement is our biggest strength,¡± Lucius said. ¡°Staying put, what Vanzon wants from us. Time is on his side. Let¡¯s don¡¯t give him that.¡±Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.
¡°You were late,¡± Sam told him later after the officers had departed. An opening for a different discussion. Ah, Lucius thought. News travel fast in the army. ¡°I found your sister,¡± he said instead cutting to the chase and offered Sam a cup of warm ale. Lucius didn¡¯t much like the stuff, but it was the only thing they seem to have in large quantities. It trampled all other foodstuff. The demand always increasing despite the quality. ¡°I heard,¡± Sam replied. ¡°I¡¯m not seeing her around.¡± ¡°She is in my tent,¡± Lucius replied and Sam stared at him, sole eye all serious. ¡°By her¡­ own.¡± Lucius added. ¡°There¡¯s talk ye have a woman already,¡± Sam said casually tasting his ale. The undertone though severe. ¡°We don¡¯t much like this kind of business up here Lord Alden,¡± he added just to take his message across. ¡°Zofia has a child. The rumor is true,¡± Lucius told him brusquely not likening his assumptions. ¡°It¡¯s not mine if that¡¯s what worries ye, but she told me herself it is Dirk Curd¡¯s so there¡¯s that.¡± Sam placed the cup on the table and rubbed his face hard with both hands. ¡°You have him locked up,¡± he rustled a moment later. Wow, nothing stays a secret here at all, Lucius thought. ¡°For a different reason,¡± he explained. ¡°Other than raping my sister?¡± Sam growled. ¡°He didn¡¯t. Not exactly,¡± Lucius explained and Sam got up furious. ¡°I¡¯m not particular on the details my friend. Only what she told me. Curd killed a woman under my command, while working for me. I will deal with him.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s do it today,¡± Sam argued. ¡°No. You need to talk to your sister first,¡± Lucius insisted. ¡°Dirk is my problem.¡± ¡°You let killers walk, Sir Lucius? Ruffians kidnaping women?¡± ¡°Sam, calm down,¡± Lucius told him. ¡°Listen to me. Your sister has a child with Curd. The kid looks like an Issir,¡± Sam groaned and threw his hands in the air. ¡°She wants to keep it. I shall not kill a child, nor give it to be killed away from preying eyes. Is that clear?¡± ¡°Where¡¯s Zofia?¡± Sam asked. Lucius got up from his chair. ¡°Your sister is under my protection. Neither she, nor her child are to be harmed O¡¯ Dargan,¡± he told the leader of the Northmen. Sam growled grinding his teeth and walked up and down his tent all furious. ¡°Damn ye,¡± Sam cursed and breathed out exasperated. ¡°Does the Jarl know of this?¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know. Why?¡± Lucius asked. ¡°My father doesn¡¯t appreciate Northmen who marry outside their clans,¡± he explained and then eyed Lucius. ¡°And abhors those making their picks outside of Jelin.¡± Lucius frowned. ¡°I was married to a northern lass,¡± he started saying, but then stopped. ¡°You meant Issirs. We are all humans Sam that¡¯s a very bigoted way of thinking.¡± ¡°We are at war with those bastards for two hundred years Sir Lucius,¡± Sam explained. ¡°The Jarl just doesn¡¯t share yer feelings I¡¯m afraid.¡± ¡°What is the punishment?¡± Lucius asked opting not to take the bait. ¡°Huh, Curd knows the deal pretty well,¡± Sam replied. Curd had been banished out of Fetya. ¡°He¡¯ll banish his own daughter?¡± ¡°Eh, Nah. Just the little bugger,¡± Sam said puffing out the matter troubling to him. They both knew Zofia wouldn¡¯t give up her child.
Dirk had a sharp piece of wood in his hands, part of a chair that lay broken on the side of his tent. Lucius paused and stared at him for a moment trying to keep his temper under control. The man eyed him in turn and then stabbed what was probably a chair leg in the ground under his feet. ¡°Why?¡± Lucius asked him, when the wiry half-breed rose up. Dirk curled his lip upwards in a mockery of a smile. Or he just had no idea how to offer one. ¡°Going to Ludr was a death sentence for me,¡± Dirk finally said. ¡°Why kill Seia? Take Zofia,¡± Lucius asked him, trying to keep his calm. ¡°The truth milord?¡± ¡°I would appreciate it,¡± Lucius replied icily. ¡°A couple of reasons,¡± Dirk replied. His voice throaty and fingers crooked where he was missing a couple. ¡°I wanted some leverage with Vanzon. He was going to blame losing his idiot son on me. It¡¯s how it is wit me and me kind. We¡¯re easy to blame.¡± Lucius remained silent. ¡°The other reason is I like her. She insulted and threatened me aplenty afore that. Her father had banished my mother. All those things I could have said, but I won¡¯t. I like her, aye and she knows it. She¡¯s a cunning lass like that,¡± he breathed out and eyed the silently seething Lucius. ¡°This is the North milord. We don¡¯t have a middle ground. I gave Seia a chance to live. On my word I did and it¡¯s not something I offer often. But she looked for an easy way to end her suffering. I didn¡¯t cause her suffering, but I took her life. Aye, that¡¯s on me. Didn¡¯t plan on it, but it is what it is.¡± The latter a Lesia saying his late mother favored, but Lucius never agreed with. ¡°I can have you executed,¡± Lucius said. ¡°You can and ye¡¯ll be in the right to order it,¡± Dirk agreed surprisingly fine with it. ¡°If ye do, then I chance to ask for a favor.¡± ¡°What is the favor?¡± Lucius rustled. ¡°You take care of my little guy,¡± Dirk said with a grimace. ¡°Take him wit you is my meaning. The Jarl will never give him a chance, but ye will.¡± Lucius smacked his lips and crossed his arms on his chest. ¡°I can¡¯t intervene into the Jarl¡¯s family affairs,¡± Lucius told him. ¡°But you will,¡± Dirk said looking at him. ¡°I have already,¡± Lucius admitted. ¡°I¡¯ve told Sam O¡¯ Dargan you are working for me.¡± ¡°Am I?¡± Dirk asked. ¡°What about Zofia?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t allow your son to be harmed Mister Curd. Zofia I can¡¯t control,¡± Lucius told him and Dirk chuckled at that. ¡°Aye, I can¡¯t either and I had her kidnapped.¡± An awkward pause followed his words. ¡°I don¡¯t usually give second chances,¡± Lucius said finally, breaking the stalemate. ¡°You don¡¯t deserve one, even if I did. But I owe you a life and Zofia prefers you live. You also need to atone for what you did.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t do that milord,¡± Dirk said. ¡°What¡¯s done is done. That not how it is.¡± ¡°You¡¯re mistaken Mister Curd,¡± Lucius countered. ¡°You can atone and you will. People can¡¯t right wrongs, but they can stop making them and try to help. Some out of regret, others because their heart changes. Men are made of many things. Sewn together. Small ¡®n big. Good and bad. This I¡¯ve told Zofia a long time ago and in another place. But you, you will do it for your son.¡±
With winter upon them and the cold attacking anyone standing in the open, killing those foolish enough to challenge it, attrition must have been very high. While the people living in the North shores Jelin were hardened men and women, no one fought a long campaign in winter for a reason. Lucius realizing they couldn¡¯t spend the winter outside Rockfort with the enemy having the comfort of solid warm homes at the near, decided to act immediately. His hand probably forced by the threat of Lord Vanzon reinforcing his second son again and even go on the offensive. The night of the second day of his arrival, the three Centuries under his command, the northern force under Kaeso and his cavalry under First Decurion Faye Numbers left their camp and marched towards the Frozen Lake about eight kilometers away. The massive body of water starting where Alford ended and extended all the way to the distant Whitebark Woods. Sam O¡¯ Dargan was to keep pestering the Issir forces, but avoid direct assaults, while resting his force. If Lucius found a way across the Lake, then a signal was agreed beforehand to be given for a general assault on the bridge. If he didn¡¯t or he was trapped, Sam was to retreat in a week¡¯s time and avoid getting the rest of their men killed. Lucius left the trainees of the second Century behind, along his slowly arriving supply train. The long rows of carriages with produce, merchants and the many civilians, most of them on foot, streaming towards the Northmen camps reminiscing of the scenes before the Battle of the Bridges.
If there is a land of ice someplace, then this must be it, Lucius thought. The wind blasting over the frozen expanse, the moons over their heads making the white ice appear bluish, all the while giving it a soft dreamy glow. He stared at the rigid figure of Prefect Galio Veturius standing about a hundred meters from him like a stubborn old oak, wrapped up in his frost-covered Legion red cloak and the Centurions visible before the packed rows of armoured soldiers. Long icicles were forming on the men¡¯s helmets, the bright red plumes absolutely still as if turned to stone. Stormbolt snorted, blowing vapors out of his nostrils and pieces of frost. The warhorse covered with a heavy blanket and even wearing extra protection on its legs not enjoying the weather. The night quiet, the lake extending to all sides before them twice that, but for the ominous sound of water running underneath the hard surface. Lucius turned his eyes, the only thing visible on his covered face, towards the lake itself and spotted the first of the advanced scouts waving a flag and then stabbing it down carefully, marking the narrow path the wild animals had used to make it across. He prayed to Tyeus for a fighting chance, even if it was a small one and Faye standing on his other side, moved her horse near him, those bright blue eyes unafraid and feverish. ¡°Go forth Lucius of Regia,¡± Faye told him staunchly, adding what she used to say to her late brother, when she was little. ¡°Do what no one else could and free the North. The people shall love you forever.¡± Ah, Lucius thought, the pressure of the moment almost too much. ¡°What about you?¡± He asked her, voice hoarse from suppressed emotion. ¡°I used to hate loving you,¡± Faye yelled over a sudden gush of wind. ¡°Now I¡¯m terrified. I can¡¯t live in a world without you Alden! Ye heard me?¡± She asked a little apprehensive seeing his eyes growing at the admission. ¡°Everyone has Red!¡± ¡°So, are ye gonna get them goin¡¯?¡± Faye urged him blushing fiercely despite the bitter cold. Lucius nodded making a promise to himself that he¡¯d ease her fears before all this was over and smacking his hurting lips, raised his right gloved hand high. Galio saw him and boomed turning his head around. ¡°Centurion Trupo. First Century, single file march, on the double!¡± ¡°First Century,¡± Trupo bellowed twice as loud. ¡°Decanus Gata, have ¡®em moving! Use yer lungs lad!¡± Gata took it to heart. The men started moving in a single file, one after another following the predetermined path over the ice. The torches that started lighting up in a great line over the dark frozen lake showing them the way. ¡°Centurion Sabinus! Third Century, single file march, on the double!¡± Galio boomed and Lucius jumped down and used the reins to start Stormbolt down the hard, brittle terrain. Everyone on his large force following his example. The horse hesitated for a brief moment before putting his hoofs on the thick slippery ice and Lucius turned to look into his huge black eyes. ¡°Come on boy,¡± he whispered affectionately to his loyal mount. ¡°We can do this.¡±
Lucius force crossed Selm Ailo, or Will¡¯s Lake in two hellishly cold nights and an equally icy day. The first elements of his cavalry force reaching the westernmost banks first in the early morning of the second day, the in infantry of the First Century following right after. They found Kaeso and his scouts fighting for their survival, locked in a bitter struggle with the huge Dukes warband. The fight near the freezing lake brutal and without any rules. A large melee over broken ancient tree trunks, cracked blocks of ice, boulders of granite and meters of packed frozen solid snow. Just as the Decanus wanted it. Kaeso fought an ever retreating battle drawing their enemies away from the banks, but when Lucius stepped on solid ground he realized the bulk of Dukes forces were right in front of them. In the battle that followed over the frozen ground and waters, some of the bigger duels in North¡¯s long history of wars were fought in the space of some odd hours. Some of the participants legendary in that part of Jelin then and now. With names such as Logan ¡®Gray¡¯ Barret, Rud ¡®Grail¡¯ Crypt, his brother Dario ¡®Headsman¡¯ Crypt, Kaiser ¡®Mire¡¯ Dukes, Dirk ¡®Devious¡¯ Curd, Faye ¡®Scarlet¡¯ Numbers, ¡®Hulking¡¯ Layton and the Bloody Tiger of Regia facing each other on the field, it was to be expected. Lord Sirio Veturius The Fall of Heroes Chapter II (Legatus Lucius Alden, Northern campaigns, A Hundred Days Volume II, 5th week, Second Month of Winter Group Red (Lucius) Sub-chapter II, Lake of gore -Four hours, Battle of Selm Ailo-) Winter of 190 NC
180. A Hundred Days (6/10)
Lucius Alden A Hundred Days Part VI -Four hours-
You are not dead, Until you see yer name on the Wall - Third Legion''s dictum
The sun danced over the frozen banks of the lake and then hid again, a wind blowing over its flat surface rapping the lip at its limits blowing hard snow and grit away. It screamed, Lucius thought at first, his eyes irritated from the lack of sleep. With no possibility of a fire, they had rested sparsely in harsh conditions. Harsh, not giving it justice. Three people have perished the first night, seven the second. Then he realized the wind wasn¡¯t to blame for the uproar and strange cries. A man jumped over the bulge to his right where the lake¡¯s edge turned uneven, just as Lucius finally stepped on solid ground. The scout landed on his feet but skidded breaking his ankle, the part of a blade still lodged in his back. A moment and he plunged for the ground hard. Lucius turned his head to the scene and saw the man¡¯s face smash on the lake¡¯s surface cracking open the back of his skull. The moment he did another appeared over the bulge, big brawny man wearing plate armour of unfamiliar design. Lucius frowned, voices heard from his front and from his back coming from the lake, along the clanging of blades on shields. ¡°Watch out!¡± He yelled turning towards Zac Ross and Faye that were following right behind him leading their horses and by the time Lucius got the final word out, another warrior popped out from the semi-darkness and thick mist of the early Northern morning. He paused briefly seeing Lucius coming up the banks of the lake and then with a loud warning to his unseen friends charged down on him, large war axe held in both hands raised high. Lucius smacked Stormbolt one way with the back of his left hand and sidestepped the other, boots slipping on brittle frozen snow, all the time trying to get his sword out with his right. The man rushing the famed knight tripped himself up in his hastiness to reach him and made the last couple of meters of his charge like a faltering mess, axe moving front, back, left and right. ¡°Hellfires!¡± Faye shouted seeing the wild man attacking Lucius getting a backhand from the knight and coming her way. She kicked a leg out to catch him but slipped on the other and went down on her bottom, the man still running amidst their lines, ogling his eyes in despair at the multiple enemies appearing in front of him. Morgan ended his wild charge with a well-placed axe blade between the eyes, with MacCee who¡¯d swung his blade as well cutting at the air and going down on his face. ¡°That fucker almost gave me a heart attack!¡± Eli Sharp yelled still shocked behind Lucius¡¯ back. The latter was running towards the spot where the warrior had come from clenching his jaw. Lucius reached the first trees, mostly frozen white trunks coming out of the hard as ice snow and stopped abruptly seeing a large group of men moving towards them. Not Kaeso¡¯s scouts, the whereabouts of the Decanus still a mystery. Lucius turned around while unsheathing his sword without delay and run back towards Faye and the others coming out of the lake. ¡°How many?¡± She asked worried seeing his tensed face. ¡°Enemies. A darn lot,¡± Lucius said raspingly breathing heavy from the exertion, before forcing himself to stop and address the situation. ¡°Decanus Sharp run to the Prefect and inform him we have a battle on our hands. NOW! EVERYONE ELSE GET READY!¡± He bellowed and eyed Logan Barret shoving people away to reach the front. ¡°GET THE HORSES TO THE SIDE!¡± Lucius ordered and Alana moved to gather as many as she could, with the help of Zac Ross and another Northman with a prominent jaw. Logan, who had reached them in the meantime, grabbed Lucius¡¯ arm and turned him around with an angry grunt. The first of the Issirs had appeared over the bulge. Damn it, Lucius thought, realizing his shield was on Stormbolt.
An Issir tried to split him in half, the bastard sword buzzing when it came down, but Lucius blocked it and pushed the blade aside. The warrior roared, decided to grab him by the throat next, so Lucius lowered his head and broke three of his opponent¡¯s fingers on his helmet. His opponent let out a muffled groan through clenched teeth and pulled back, his right arm twisting in the attempt to swing his sword again, the effort now clumsy. Lucius parried low and cut upwards splitting the Issir¡¯s face down the middle, gore spraying the white ground. Lucius faltered not expecting to connect so fully and bumped onto the fatally wounded man, shoving him down. He barely stopped a thrusting spear with his left hand in the next breath, the steel tip grazing his armour on the side. The mix-breed let go of the shaft and jumped back another warrior charging him, this one carrying an axe. Lucius turned right sharply, lowering his shoulder and the man missed, getting his right arm immediately chopped off below the elbow for his troubles. ¡°AH!¡± Lucius cried frustrated twisting away, his opponent¡¯s screams of pain drowned in the general mayhem all about him. He spotted Faye fighting five meters away, both her blades out looking as panicked as her opponent and cursed. Lucius started going her way, but had to stop to run through the mix-breed that had lost his spear earlier, now sporting a short cleaver. The man spat on his helm, ruined teeth all bloody and went down taking Lucius¡¯ sword with him. A frustrated Lucius stooped to get his blade back, half of it still in the dying Issir and another warrior came at him carrying a saber. He slashed at Lucius and forced him a couple of meters away from his weapon, the smug smile turning to worry on his face realizing just about the same time Lucius did that the knight had a perfectly working spear in his other hand. The Issir paused unsure on his skill with the new weapon and Lucius tossed the spear up expertly, caught it with his right arm and chucked it as hard as he could at his numb opponent. With the distance between them a mere two meters, three at the most, it barely left his hand afore it connected. ¡°Good grief!¡± Zac Ross exclaimed seeing the desperate and fully skewered through the torso Issir, trying to dislodge the spear out of him without any success. ¡°Milord, where¡¯s yer sword?¡± ¡°HELP FAYE!¡± Lucius blasted the overwhelmed youth and went to get his sword back. This time he used his boot for leverage, the stunned squire watching him all but fainting at the brutality. ¡°Mister Ross, unless you¡¯ve decided to perish here, I suggest you snap out of it and move!¡± Lucius scolded him, moving past the young man to rejoin the fight.
The Issirs that had attacked them, a group of thirty, got overwhelmed and retreated towards the trees at the north turn of the lake. Lucius got everyone out of the ice as fast as he could in the time he was given. Men, women and horses bunched up on the banks, a right mess. He left Faye with Eli back and rode on Stormbolt about a hundred meters to his right, where the First Century was slowly coming out of the lake as well. He jumped down upon reaching them and pulled Centurion Trupo aside by the arm. ¡°There¡¯re enemies attacking Kaeso in the woods, south of our position. More to the North at the bend of the lake,¡± he quickly told him, while watching the soldiers getting out. The light mist not allowing Lucius to observe where exactly the Issirs had retreated. ¡°There¡¯s a village there,¡± Trupo said. ¡°We can reach it over the lake milord.¡± ¡°I want us fighting over solid ground, Centurion,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°Assuming their camp is near, or inside the village, they might come at us soon. Get the Century out and ready, inform Galio.¡± ¡°What about Kaeso, Milord?¡± Trupo asked. Lucius grimaced. ¡°Let me worry about him. We might not have more than fifteen minutes of respite here Centurion. Get the men out, direct the other Centuries to line up behind the First.¡±
Lucius rode back to his group, tossed the reins to Zac Ross, his squire pale and with a permanent frown on his young face. ¡°Stay close,¡± he told him and looked to find Faye. Decurion Sharp rode to them and pulled at the reins to force his scared horse to stop, the clamor of battle at the distance continuing. ¡°Kaeso is locked with the Issirs near the woods sire!¡± Sharp reported, yelling to be heard over the noise of many men and horses gathering up at the banks of the lake around them. ¡°Mister Barret!¡± Lucius shouted, spotting Logan directing with grunts the men still loitering in the frozen lake. The Northman turned and glared at him. ¡°Get the best men with a sword and break Kaeso out. Use the cavalry on foot, Decanus Sharp will assist you!¡± Logan nodded and eyed the nervous Decanus. ¡°Off that horse Sharp,¡± Lucius urged him and turned to find Faye amidst the chaos. The woman rode to him instead, her skin all flushed much as her hair, those small freckles lost in a sea of scarlet. Red Faye looked stunning to his eyes. But still¡­ ¡°Wear your damn helmet Faye!¡± Lucius cautioned her hoarsely and climbed on top of Stormbolt himself. ¡°I can¡¯t hear that well wit that fuckin¡¯ thing on!¡± She protested, but reached to get her Port Type Helmet on and started fumbling with the cheek-guards. ¡°What?¡± Faye griped seeing his expression. ¡°This thing weighs a ton Alden! I can¡¯t keep me head up!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll make you a better one. Something with a full mask on to protect your freckles,¡± Lucius promised her with a teasing grin, despite the situation. ¡°Come. Get Alana, your band and follow me.¡± ¡°Where to?¡± Faye asked a bit redder in the face than before and turned around to whistle loudly to get Alana¡¯s attention. Lucius smacked his lips, his deep blue eyes examining the chaotic battlefield. Most of it unseen, much as their enemy. ¡°We need to talk to Galio, get our men out of the lake,¡± he told her a moment later, just as a worked up Alana, face twice as red as Faye¡¯s and sporting a ridiculous custom plum on her helm approached them. ¡°Is that a wolf¡¯s tail?¡± Lucius asked her curious. ¡°Coyote¡¯s,¡± Alana deadpanned with a huge proud grin, turning to a frown seeing his expression. ¡°What? Everyone¡¯s looking to put something on ¡®em helms Milord, yer men started it!¡±
Lucius spotted the Legion Standard first and First Signifer Bryn Solomon, the tiger¡¯s head glaring ominously over the rows of legionnaires. Prefect Galio¡¯s voice cutting through the noise directed him next. ¡°Centurion Capito, yer men are late!¡± The Prefect boomed. ¡°Take the left flank and form up!¡± ¡°Fourth! Everyone move yer god darn feet!¡± Capito yelled not likening being put on the spot. ¡°Any strugglers get a boot in the arse!¡± ¡°Prefect, a word,¡± Lucius told Galio and climbed down from Stormbolt again. ¡°We are missing a couple of lads, milord,¡± Galio explained, hard lined face eyeing the Centuries forming up in squares. ¡°We need to march towards the curve of the Lake Prefect, keep near the banks to avoid being flanked from the east, while using them as a guiding line. I¡¯ll guard the west approach with the Cavalry.¡± When I have it back. Hopefully. Argh. ¡°Where to milord?¡± ¡°The city is too far away for them to wait us out here,¡± Lucius explained. ¡°They have a camp at the near, or they used the fishing village.¡± ¡°Difficult to approach it. The river keeps the ice there unstable,¡± Galio grunted, crossing his thick arms on his armoured chest. ¡°We won¡¯t use the lake, we¡¯ll go around it,¡± Lucius repeated. ¡°But you¡¯ll send someone back to notify O¡¯ Dargan we made contact.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll use the trainees?¡± Galio asked, sounding worried. ¡°I need hands on this side of the Rockfort. We might have to dig something fast.¡± ¡°Can they bring a supply carriage along?¡± Galio asked and they both thought about it in silence for a moment. ¡°Only tools, no supplies,¡± Lucius grimaced making the decision. ¡°The wheels might cut through the ice if the sun decides to avoid hiding behind the clouds again.¡± ¡°Feels right darn cold still, when it does,¡± the Prefect pointed out. ¡°I can¡¯t risk it, Prefect,¡± Lucius retorted. ¡°Get men and tools, that¡¯s it. We¡¯ll see about bringing more supplies, but only after the fight is over.¡± ¡°Maybe they were scouts,¡± Galio chanced. ¡°Nay, they weren¡¯t,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°This is another blocking force.¡± ¡°Are ye sure, milord?¡± ¡°Aye, I would¡¯ve done the same,¡± Lucius retorted confidently.
Logan ¡®Gray¡¯ Barret attacked the backs of the Issirs hunting down Kaeso¡¯s scouts, the battle amidst the Whitebark trees extremely brutal. Realizing they were outnumbered the Issirs broke and run. Some went for the lake attacking later that day Lucius¡¯ Second Century that was marching over its frozen surface to reinforce him causing some casualties and blooding the recruits, until they were cut down mercilessly as they were outnumbered considerably. The scenes over the ice quite memorable with as many as twenty or thirty recruits hacking down a single warrior at times. Others headed west and either circled back to Rockfort to join the later battles, or just returned to Krakenhall to inform an increasingly paranoid Lord Vanzon that the war had reached his backyard. Logan returned with Lucius¡¯ unmounted cavalry and Kaeso that had managed to save more than half his force, though it must be noted here that most of his men were hardened warriors with a less than stellar reputation. Amongst them an infamous half-breed, a half-Issir, half-Nord warrior named Dirk Curd who fought against his own banished kin that day and was to become a rather controversial figure in the years that followed, while serving yet another master.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. While all this was happening, First, Third and Fourth Centuries marched hard to Northwest first and reached the bend of Selm Ailo where they stopped to rest briefly. Lucius sent Alana Shields back to get his Cavalry going (the exact time this order was given is disputed), the morning cold, but not as windy. It was the typical Nordic gloomy day, the sun hidden behind heavy clouds. Not five minutes into their halt the Dukes Warband, reinforced with men from Krakenhall brought by ¡®Headsman¡¯ Crypt, appeared at the bend as well. They paused fleetingly not expecting fully armoured legionnaires in the middle of nowhere, the earlier reports they¡¯d received talking about Nord scouts and then charged down on the scrambling soldiers. Dukes had about four hundred mix-breeds in his warband, but it isn¡¯t known how many regulars Crypt had brought with him, or if another force was involved that early. Lucius had the hundred and twenty (or hundred and fifty) men of the First, about a hundred in the Third (it had taken attrition losses the previous days) and almost as many in the Fourth. Elements of his Cavalry were present and probably Lucius himself, though this fact is disputed as well. Lord Trupo who wrote extensively about the campaign and still mentions it on every occasion today to not allow anyone forget its importance to the later developments, insists the soon to be declared Legatus Lucius, was present from the start. Being amongst those that had the privilege of knowing the renowned general even briefly, it comes as no surprise he was in the thick of it.
¡°SHIELDS!¡± Trupo barked, the sound of metal reverberating over the frozen mostly flat field and the rough bulge marking the edge of the lake, at the far right of their formation. For a moment it almost covered the clamor made by the great host of warriors charging down the soft slope towards their seething lines. The First moved a step forward, the other two Centuries following soon after. The first two rows of legionnaires leaving a meter wide gap from the rest. Lucius rode to the far left where the Fourth had formed twenty bodies wide, five deep. Everyone on horseback followed after him, Lucius riding with his eyes on the approaching warriors. At least four hundred, he calculated, maybe more if they have kept a reserve over the slopped terrain. I would. ¡°Alana!¡± he barked turning to locate the former scout. ¡°Tell the Prefect to keep a reserve of at least thirty¡­ make it fifty men back. Go now!¡± The woman bobbed her helmed head and turned her horse around, then galloped hard towards the center of their formation, now extending from the banks of the lake out in an almost straight line, but for the two meter gaps left between the centuries. Lucius group reached the end of that line, still watching the coming assault over the heads of the soldiers and he continued past it to see if the Issirs would attempt to outflank them once the men were locked in position. The now lighter mist still present near the lake and the thin tree-line on top of that slope inhibiting his field of view. He cursed, frustration oozing out of him and glanced back to the riders following his horse, just as the Issirs fell on their lines. The front almost eighty meters or seventy square legion-type shields, shaking violently on impact. Men screamed -the sound otherworldly- weapons clanging on shields and blades finding wood, metal and flesh. The first line pushed back onto the shields of the men standing behind them, some warriors breaking through only to find a third row of shields waiting for them, not a meter after that and death¡¯s cold embrace. Lucius stopped his horse, Stormbolt¡¯s neigh lost in the ruckus of battle and turned to Zac. ¡°GET ME MAMERCUS!¡± He pointed to a slow trotting towards the Centuries group of young Slingers. A good four hundred meters away. Mamercus was taking his time, probably not to tire out his men so early. They were on foot after all. Alana delivered his earlier orders and rode back in the meantime, a group of twenty legionnaires pulled out of the line by Centurion Capito, the battle now raging across the whole front and then sent after the faster moving rider towards him. Lucius spotted a thick line of soldiers coming down the slope at that time, kitted in similar armour. A mix of chest plate and chainmail. Ah, he thought remembering it from earlier. There¡¯s your Krakenhall troops. The enemy soldiers started marching energetically towards his position, about ten meters away from the far left, or west of their formation. Moving ever wider. They were going to flank them. Lucius turned his horse around, Stormbolt shaking his head disturbed at the ungodly rumpus that made your ears hurt and your heart race wild and glared at Mamercus approaching with his men, then at the group of legionnaires following after Alana, led by a tall Decanus. ¡°Faye, ride for Mamercus. Tell him if they flank us here, him being well rested for later will be for naught and darn right useless, since we¡¯ll all be dead!¡± Lucius growled and Faye nodded and rode away hard. Lucius jumped from his horse, the ground hard under his boots and his ears ringing. ¡°Lord Alden!¡± A wild eyed Alana reported arriving. Everyone was spooked, even if they weren¡¯t in the thick of it. Yet. ¡°Centurion Capito dispatched a force to cover the flank sire!¡± Lucius eyed them while getting the shield from his horse and a long dagger. Twenty men won¡¯t extend the line out far enough, he thought. Unless we box ourselves in, making a knee here, to have them attack us on the sides. ¡°Decanus Mangas reporting for duty sire!¡± The Decanus barked, a Northman of twenty years. The first shaved one Lucius had seen in a while. ¡°Decanus, line up your men here, making a corner at the end of it touching the Fourth¡¯s last soldier!¡± Lucius ordered him immediately, having no time to lose on introductions. ¡°Single file sire?¡± The man asked. ¡°This is going to be a test of skill and courage Decanus!¡± Lucius replied measuring him up. The man pushed his chest out and grinned wide. ¡°Why then, we got nothing to worry about sire!¡± He retorted and turned to the men following him. ¡°LINE UP. ONE MAN LINE GENTS! LET¡¯S CLOSE UP THIS FLANK!¡± Lucius pulled away and stared at Stormbolt, then at the men forming up vertically. He looked at the approaching men next and the long front already locked in savage melee for a good ten to fifteen minutes now and sighed deeply. ¡°Where should I stand?¡± Alana asked him bravely from atop her horse and Lucius frowned. ¡°How fast can you ride back to where we got out of the lake?¡± He asked. His throat hoarse from all the yelling and his head hurting. ¡°The woods milord?¡± She probed unsure. ¡°Ahm... I can be there quite fast, but the horse won¡¯t make it back.¡± ¡°Ride to the woods,¡± Lucius ordered her, a hand wiping the ice forming on the sides of his mouth. ¡°Find Barret, or Sharp and bring the Cavalry here. Find another horse there to switch yours, damn it bring everything. Don¡¯t come without them Alana. If it¡¯s an hour, we may still be here. If it¡¯s more, then Tyeus shall have his feast.¡± Zac Ross arrived just as a determined Alana rode away to the south, yelling at her horse to go as fast as it could that plume dancing over her helm. The frozen terrain helping her mount to gain speed fast, but also treacherous at spots. ¡°Faye might kill Mamercus,¡± Zac reported riding next to a glaring Lucius. ¡°He¡¯ll be here milord, but wanted me to inform you that tired men miss their targets a lot.¡± ¡°Decanus Mangas!¡± Lucius barked, not wanting to dwell on it more. ¡°Sire!¡± ¡°Have your men been issued javelins?¡± Lucius queried and approached him, Zac following after the energetic general on his mount. ¡°Aye sire, they have,¡± Decanus Mangas replied. ¡°Two per, but the Prefect has issued an order to use them sparingly and only on special occasions as there¡¯s a shortage.¡± Lucius eyed the Issir regulars, now almost two hundred meters further to their west and constantly angling the moment they realized Lucius had secured the flank by creating another line. ¡°Well then, Decanus,¡± Lucius said hefting the heavy shield on his left arm. ¡°I declare this occasion an emergency. The Prefect may protest about it afterwards.¡±
Crypt¡¯s Issirs attacked at the western flank of Lucius formation. Their numbers unknown, but given that Dier Vanzon had brought a Regiment with him, or one fifth of a normal Kaltha military Foot, normally numbering five thousand soldiers (The Second Foot being the exception as it had double that strength due to Midlanor¡¯s militaristic approach and the Est Ravn traditionally funneling coin out of their personal coffers for their armies that were about to sprout another Foot very soon), it is logical to assume Crypt had half of them with him. Dier would have kept the other half in the city to support Baron Bink¡¯s local forces. Why Vanzon¡¯s second son didn¡¯t lead the attack himself difficult to decipher now, but most attribute it to his lack of meaningful land warfare experience. Dier, a rare learned scion of the House Vanzon, had spent his years designing ships or training naval units and you always keep your men close to the ship. The battle happening outside the city, near a lake, kilometers away from where he was posted, probably appearing too big of a risk to throw the bulk of his forces into. History would disagree with him, but all of us have hindsight on our corner. Lucius¡¯ much smaller force used javelins to cull the initial charge, but with the discrepancy in numbers so great, they were hit hard the moment the Issirs recovered. Men from the center of the formation arrived to stabilize this second front within the same battle, but slowly and surely the Issirs started pushing them back.
Lucius caught a spear on his shield, steel tip exploding through metal and wood. Despite angling it away it had dented his armour. He was pushed back, a legionnaire losing a hand next to him and another having his head pulverized by a war hammer, bloody fluids blasting out of his eyes. ¡°GAH!¡± Lucius cried out and cut the shaft away with his sword, Zac stopping the Issir that tried to flank him with one of Lucius¡¯ war-spears and then getting cut savagely across the face by a bastard sword, despite the young man jerking away at the last moment. Lucius twisted around livid, his blade chopping the arm of the Issir with the bastard sword clean off, but he got pushed aside by a large man holding a makeshift steel halberd. The mixed-breed tried to cleave him in half as he staggered away. Lucius, absent a better tactic, raised his battered shield to angle the cut away and almost lost his arm, the nasty weapon destroying the upper portion of it completely. A grunting Lucius retreated and cut his shield¡¯s leather strap to drop it completely, as the battle raged chaotic around him. Two legionnaires had forced the large warrior to back away a couple of meters in the meantime. A worrying Lucius caught whiff of Faye¡¯s familiar figure atop her horse, his arms and legs tired and his ears ringing. An Issir rushed him interrupting his respite, their line almost completely broken now and Lucius grinding his teeth moved to meet him halfway. The enemy soldier, a dark grey squid engraved on his chest, slashed at him but Lucius swatted it away with his own sword, sparks flying everywhere and attacked him on the return. The Issir parried successfully and pulled his blade back, teeth clenched tight. ¡°MOVE!¡± Faye screamed from behind him and Lucius sidestepped, her horse charging into the melee and crashing on the slow to react Issir. An anxious Faye turned to see if Lucius was hurt and that large man appeared out of the chaos, the halberd shrieking as it came down decapitating her horse. Oh, no you don¡¯t. Lucius got his dagger out and moved just as Faye went down along with her collapsing animal, the frozen ground covered in gore that turned to a slippery sludge under his feet. The imposing warrior saw him coming and swung that large weapon to cut him in half. Lucius ducked under it at the last moment, the blade knocking his helm off of his head and stabbed the large mix-breed with his dagger at his right side, where his plate left an opening. The thin blade found mail underneath and slid sideways finally cutting through, the wound superficial. The tall warrior, trimmed red beard covering his face and his skin a dark grey, backhanded him savagely. It caught Lucius on the right shoulder and shoved him aside a couple of meters. The Issir paused to check on his wound, another soldier attacking Lucius while he did. Lucius knew he had to take control of the fight right away. This wasn¡¯t sustainable. He swung low at the charging soldier and tripped him up. The man tried to block his blade, but Lucius sword pivoted mid-move and slashed upwards catching him under the chin. The injury devastating. Lucius stooped and grabbed the sword the Issir had dropped, a typical double-edged sword. He turned, both swords in hand and rushed the breathing heavy large warrior, catching out of the corner of his eye Faye slowly getting up looking rattled. The Issir mix-breed grunted and took a step back to swing his halberd again. He was going to swing low, Lucius realized and started running obliquely eyeing the dead horse, his eyes urging a confused Faye to get out of the way. The Issir turned to watch Lucius approach and both hands on his shaft turned that long weapon with him. Lucius, by now breathing heavy but fired up, stepped on the dead horse¡¯s body and used it to jump high giving it his all, just as the large warrior swung low to cut him down. Faye screamed in horror behind his back, probably reliving her brother¡¯s death and Lucius who¡¯d gathered his legs just enough for the heavy halberd to soar angry under him, slashed down with both his swords at his opponent. He caught the large Issir on both sides of his neck, right under the ears where his helm ended. The flying Lucius blades meeting right in the middle with a clang. Lucius saw none of that, his face covered in gore, but he heard the collective gasp coming from the Issir soldiers seeing the large man going down on his back and his severed head following right after.
¡°Are you okay?¡± Faye asked voice strangled with worry, but Lucius seeing the Issirs reeling back stunned at his victory and the pressure on their lines momentarily relieved, reacted immediately. This being the first time in almost an hour both armies stood apart, even for a couple of meters, Lucius realized he had no time to lose, so he grabbed her by the collar and shoved her behind him a bit too abruptly perhaps. Rising his head next, the exhausted general yelled at the top of his lungs. His voice coming out a hoarse angry roar that managed for a brief moment to break through the incessant clamor of battle raging all around them. ¡°MAMERCUS!¡± Lucius of Regia had bellowed like a wild tiger. ¡°FIRE AWAY!¡± An Issir, the one standing closest to them, frowned and stared at him surprised. Then shaking his head, he raised his heater shield and banged it with the flat of his sword. A message for his colleagues to resume their assault. Before anyone had the chance to move though, something went right through his helmet and exploded out the back in a splash of dark gore, brains and white skull fragments. ¡°GET DOWN!¡± Lucius yelled at Faye, the woman still shocked from his earlier treatment. She will get over it, Lucius thought too tired to apologize and tackled her down again just as abruptly. All around them a different kind of sound had started rising from a point even further west and behind the Issir lines. This buzzing multiplied, with random projectiles whistling through the packed lines of soldiers. Cutting down anything in their way. You evil and practical son of a bitch, Lucius thought, just as Mamercus¡¯ Slingers started firing en masse on the Issirs backs they¡¯d managed to circle around. Helmed heads exploded, arms severed and ribs shattered, as right and left soldiers started dropping down screaming or in deathly silence. Mamercus Sorex¡¯s murderous youthful gang wasn¡¯t sparing anyone and while most legionnaires near Lucius had heard his warning, a couple of unlucky or slow ones, fell from friendly fire as well.
What should have been an easy victory for the Issir regulars, ending with the rolling up of Lucius entire front, had turned instead into a costly prolonged affair with no end in sight; With the shocking death of famed ¡®Headsman¡¯ Crypt, the Issirs of the west flank were left leaderless and missed Decanus Sorex¡¯s light-footed Slingers moving around their lines. They were caught in a devastating close quarters volley for this mistake. Or up to four of them, according to various sources. It is believed that Mamercus¡¯ young and largely not that well respected unit killed in five minutes as many Issirs as all three Centuries had killed from the start of the fight combined. Eighty eight according to Trupo, a bit less according to other sources. The Issir regulars, a well-trained veteran force, pulled away to regroup. This gave Lucius time to reorganize his thin line and bring in more reserves from the main front that was still slugging it out with Kaiser Dukes mix-breeds, well over an hour into the fight. While Lucius was regrouping and probably resting, the Issirs realized they still had the advantage and formed up to attack again in a large block. Instead of that though, in a day and battle of constant twists and turns, they got caught in the open of a large flat icy field by Lucius¡¯ returning Cavalry. While no more than fifty in size at the time, it is widely accepted today that Kaeso or Alana Shields, brought everyone that could ride and carry a weapon with them. The massive charge of well over a hundred riders pulverized the Issirs flanking force that broke quickly and then got decimated running away. All of a sudden Lucius, who ¨Cheroics aside- had just barely managed to keep his own line from collapsing minutes earlier, had a large flanking force of his own to use. There are two versions on how the battle of Selm Ailo ended. The first written by Trupo, then commanding the First Century at the center of the line, has Lucius Alden jumping on his horse and leading the final charge on Kaiser Dukes warriors completely routing them. The other is the personal verbal account from the mouth of Faye Numbers, who was present and standing closer to the general. According to her a distraught Lucius just waved his riders forward and stayed back to mourn for the loss of his young squire. The unknown lowborn man called Zac Ross, has his name commemorated on the Wall of the Fallen at Elysium Fort. He was sixteen at the time of his death. - Lord Sirio Veturius The Fall of Heroes Chapter II (Legatus Lucius the third, Northern campaigns, A Hundred Days Volume II, 7th week, Late Second Month of Winter Group Red (Lucius Cohort) -the Conundrum at Rockfort & the 500 kilometers march-) Winter of 190 NC
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms or enjoy it again at Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ The chapters are re-edited and re-posted regularly at both places 181. A Hundred Days (7/10)
Lucius Alden A Hundred Days Part VII -The Edge of Jelin-
Toss an apple to yer darling, if it''s caught Luthos shall favor yer coupling - -Lesia saying- Ancient marital custom The First marched inside the village of Isker later that afternoon. The few locals that hadn¡¯t run away towards the outer fortifications at Rockfort, stood at the doors of their huts and watched them with apprehension. Lucius who had followed them initially, stayed at the outskirts of the village to inspect the arrival of the Second and a large number of Sam¡¯s troops that had opted to cross the lake after them. The Second Century had gotten itself in trouble en route, but they had managed to come out of the attack on the icy surface of the lake relatively unscathed. ¡°Centurion Tutor,¡± Lucius said, his face tired and gloomy despite the win that morning. Watching the death pyres of friends and soldiers who fought and died for him was something that was weighing heavy on the young general. The loss of Zac Ross especially painful as Lucius had gotten close to the habitually skittish squire who had been killed performing unlikely heroics. A man¡¯s true character is only unveiled under peril or when given true power. ¡°Milord, the Second is ready to assist,¡± The Centurion reported, almost three hundred recruits standing behind him and about two hundred of O¡¯ Dargan¡¯s troops. The supply train was still slowly coming over the frozen lake. The long rows of carts and animals extending from bank to bank. ¡°Replenish the main Centuries first with your readier troops Centurion,¡± Lucius told him. ¡°We lost some good men earlier. Bring everyone inside the village. We¡¯ll make camp there.¡± ¡°The Issirs build a wall outside Rockfort, sire?¡± Tutor asked him. ¡°They have,¡± Lucius replied and took the reins from Faye. The woman had almost every one of her former warband members following him around. ¡°Let me worry about that Centurion. Bring the Second inside the village before sunset and find quarters for O¡¯ Dargan¡¯s men.¡± ¡°General,¡± Tutor saluted. ¡°This is a Cohort, Centurion,¡± Lucius told him and the man nodded. ¡°It¡¯s a part of a Legion, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Last I checked sire,¡± Tutor replied with a smile, every part of his armour well-polished and new. ¡°That¡¯s how it is.¡± ¡°Well, let¡¯s keep the ranks separate then,¡± Lucius retorted without fanfare. ¡°Avoid any confusion.¡± ¡°Legatus,¡± Tutor said loud enough to be heard by the soldiers watching their exchange and bumped a fist on his chest. The majority of them reacting with a thunderous cheer, blades clanging on shields and heavy boots stabbing the frozen ground. Galio had insisted during the funeral rights to solidify a proper command structure to keep the morale high. The men knew the Legion would always take care of its own. There would be no Legion without a commander.
Jelin¡¯s Edge plateau, a massive elongated granite rising completely flat at its top, stretched from Alford River to Umlen following the coast of Jelin, guarded at its start from the city castle of Rockfort and the square thick walled Krakenfort almost five hundred kilometers to the west. ¡°The only other approach to the city is Abrakas Gorge,¡± Prefect Veturius informed them two hours later, inside the longhouse they had commandeered belonging to a fish merchant that had fled to the city according to one gossip or had been killed according to another. Lucius had given strict instructions to the officers to avoid reprisals, or any type of violence inflicted on civilians. ¡°Through the forest on the Northwest, it cuts obliquely up the slopes and it will bring us behind Rockfort.¡± ¡°Is that the road from Krakenhall?¡± Lucius queried, pointing at the constantly updating maps of the area. ¡°Aye milord,¡± Galio replied. ¡°It heads for Krakenfort first and the Umlen River, then all the way to Lord Vanzon¡¯s city.¡± ¡°Can they bring supplies in winter?¡± Lucius asked the other officers present, mainly the Northmen. ¡°Once a month,¡± One of them replied. ¡°Once the snow stops falling.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t see them making the attempt,¡± Said another. ¡°Ice stops everything whether it wants it, or not.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Lucius said. ¡°Cutting the road is paramount the way I see it.¡± ¡°Aye milord,¡± Galio agreed. ¡°That means we have to force the Gorge.¡± Lucius nodded. ¡°We¡¯ve sent for reinforcements from O¡¯ Dargan?¡± ¡°We have Legatus Alden,¡± Centurion Trupo informed him. ¡°How soon they can be here?¡± ¡°Tomorrow morning sire.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a day,¡± Lucius said and rubbed his forehead, the fire burning in the fireplace bothering him. ¡°We need them here to keep the Issirs honest and behind the walls,¡± Morgan said. ¡°We need the walls out of the way and control of that bridge,¡± Lucius countered with a grimace of frustration. ¡°But I don¡¯t want O¡¯ Dargan sacrificing men in a direct assault there. Then again pretending you¡¯ll attack the bridge won¡¯t force its defenders to up and abandon it right gents?¡± ¡°They¡¯ve brought Scorpios to the palisades,¡± Galio informed him. ¡°Can we burn them?¡± Lucius asked. The wooden fortifications had been added in the last three weeks and weren¡¯t much better than what their cohort built when in camp. ¡°We have no Naphtha Legatus,¡± Kaeso reported, his face sporting a stitch running down his left cheek. ¡°I don¡¯t think those timbers are flammable, they have them doused with water. Everything turned to a block of ice.¡± ¡°All is ice out here Decanus,¡± Lucius commented. ¡°A direct assault might push them from the wall. They have a castle to fall back to,¡± Galio offered seeing he was getting frustrated. ¡°If they lose access to the river they are done Prefect,¡± Lucius argued. ¡°They won¡¯t retreat that easy.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a matter of numbers milord,¡± Galio insisted. ¡°Ah, we might lose half our force here,¡± Lucius grunted and pushed away from the table. No one was seated, since there were no chairs left. The soldiers had stripped everything down to use as firewood. They had already started building a wall outside the village, turning it into a huge camp and dry wood had turned into a very hot commodity. Lucius smacked his lips and then stared at the officers. ¡°One hour of rest gents,¡± He told them. ¡°Then we¡¯re back here with a solution.¡±
¡°Kaeso lost twenty-four men,¡± Galio informed him, as Lucius used the ¡®rest¡¯ to get up to speed on every aspect of the army. ¡°The First has eleven dead, fourteen wounded, but I¡¯ll have them back on the field in a week. The Third has eight killed, seven wounded and the Fourth has thirty-three killed, twenty-one wounded.¡± ¡°They hit us hard there,¡± Lucius said and watched Trupo returning with his scrolls, Tutor following him. ¡°Fifty-two killed, plus Kaeso¡¯s lads,¡± Galio rounded it up. ¡°We will draw from the recruits¡ª¡± ¡°The Fourth gets the best, they need to soar up their strength again,¡± Lucius interrupted him. ¡°Reinforce the rest as you see fit Prefect.¡± ¡°Of course milord,¡± Galio agreed. ¡°How many Centurion Tutor?¡± Lucius asked the commander of the Second Century. ¡°Over a hundred have been drilled sufficiently sire,¡± He replied. ¡°I suggest using them in the back lines of the formation until they get their legs under them.¡± ¡°Can we form another Century?¡± Lucius asked. ¡°Not at this time,¡± Tutor replied. ¡°Not if we address the casualties sire.¡± ¡°Damn it,¡± Lucius cursed. ¡°O¡¯ Dargan should have forced the lake and not sit for weeks behind the river!¡± ¡°If he sends enough men, we can have them occupy the Issirs here milord,¡± Galio reminded him. ¡°Whilst we circle behind them and cut the road. He lost us time, but he also lulled the Issirs into a false sense of security.¡± ¡°They don¡¯t believe we will go any further,¡± Lucius said looking at him and the old officer shrugged his shoulders. ¡°They don¡¯t believe the Northmen will Legatus,¡± Galio replied. ¡°This is the edge of Jelin and beyond Umlen no Jarl has ever ventured. Direwolves infested land. Rockfort was the last Northern city. Had the Issirs stayed in Krakenhall they would have been no meaningful war.¡± ¡°Ah perhaps, though they still would have fought for Eaglesnest and Sovya,¡± Lucius commented. ¡°They would have aye, but this front would have been quiet.¡± ¡°As long as Vanzon is in Krakenhall,¡± Lucius countered. ¡°This isn¡¯t the old North Galio. As long as he¡¯s there the Issirs will have their eyes set firmly here. So not moving beyond Rockfort, because that¡¯s where the old borders were, seems like a recipe for disaster down the line.¡± ¡°As I¡¯ve said milord,¡± Galio replied with a tired, but satisfied smile. ¡°No Northman would.¡±
Faye had her right arm bandaged and was sitting at the edge of the bed looking at the fireplace. The longhouse had a separate bedroom Lucius had been given as his personal quarters for the night, with the Prefect and the officers staying in the larger room, a door away. ¡°How is it?¡± Lucius asked her chewing on the hard tack he¡¯d dipped in warm ale. The taste vile. ¡°It¡¯s not broken,¡± She said falling back on the mattress, her armour ringing. They were both fully clothed, as there was no time for anything else. They were supposed to be sleeping, but Lucius had spent the time going over plans and logistics in the next room. Faye gave him a look of concern. ¡°How are you?¡± Lucius grimaced and stared at the bright flames, the only illumination in their room. ¡°Don¡¯t do this,¡± Faye said and got up, the bed creaking, to approach him. ¡°It is war, people will get hurt.¡± ¡°Killed,¡± Lucius noted and clasped his hands behind his back. ¡°I wager most didn¡¯t think about that when they joined.¡± ¡°Nobody does,¡± Faye murmured and touched the rough stubble on his face. ¡°Have I told ye¡­?¡± She said her voice trailing. Lucius stared at her rosy face, long red hair gathered behind her small ears and cracked a smile. ¡°What?¡± He asked her. ¡°It¡¯s not important,¡± Faye whispered and kissed him. Lucius wrapped his arms around her armoured waist and pulled her close. ¡°You taste fresh, Decurion,¡± He commented. ¡°I washed wit snow,¡± Faye replied, her eyes smiling. ¡°That sounds brutal,¡± Lucius teased. ¡°The first couple of minutes only,¡± Faye teased back. ¡°Then ye don¡¯t feel a thing.¡± ¡°Ah, I wish we had time to talk more of this,¡± Lucius admitted after another taste of her plump lips. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that Alden,¡± Faye soothed him. ¡°I don¡¯t mind.¡± ¡°I do,¡± Lucius replied and stopped her from getting away. She stared at him a little hesitant, a fact he hated. ¡°I don¡¯t like hearing all this whispering from your people, or the fear in your eyes.¡± Faye blushed. ¡°I knew what I was getting into,¡± She paused, breathed once deeply and then let it all out. ¡°You¡¯ll need a better match soon, so I¡¯ll just cherish the time I have without regrets.¡± ¡°Lady Faye Numbers,¡± Lucius said a tick appearing on his right eye. ¡°You have me judged completely wrong.¡± Faye frowned not expecting the rebuke.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Prefect Veturius!¡± Lucius barked and the door opened behind them. A solemn-faced Galio walked in, his helm carried in his left arm. ¡°You¡¯re awake officer?¡± ¡°A hundred percent, milord,¡± the aged officer replied. Lucius reached down his collar and got his family¡¯s gold pendant out. A tiger head engraved on a round medal. He removed it over his head and then tossed it to a thoroughly surprised Faye. The woman grabbed it with both hands and almost dropped it, which caused Lucius and the hawkishly watching her officer some concern, until she finally got her shaking hands under control. ¡°She caught it sire,¡± Galio reported, now grinning. ¡°Lady Faye, I¡¯d like you to be my wife,¡± Lucius announced without delay looking at her, the stunned redhead turning a little green in the face. ¡°Since you accepted my proposal,¡± He said and cleared his throat, this part of the plan still as difficult as that first time. ¡°I welcome you to the family.¡± ¡°I stand witness,¡± Galio said solemnly. ¡°All the gods above me.¡± ¡°Lucius,¡± Faye mumbled, looking very pale. ¡°Wife,¡± Lucius said smiling, a little worried at the lukewarm reception. He needed to be on the field in twenty minutes to welcome O¡¯ Dargan¡¯s men, but while Lucius was on a very tight schedule he still hoped to get a happier reaction out of Faye. Faye nodded, clasping at the pendant. ¡°Are you sure?" She asked. "This is¡­¡± ¡°Never had any doubts,¡± he replied with a half-grin watching her falter as if she was about to faint. Good grief. ¡°You¡­ aye I do. Gods¡­¡± Faye stuttered tears rolling down her eyes. Lucius sighed and stared at his boots. ¡°Faye, I must say I thought you¡¯d be a little more enthusiastic¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯m gonna get sick,¡± Faye mumbled and ran out of the room. Lucius smacked his lips and glanced at the silent and solemn-faced Galio. ¡°Well,¡± He said scratching his head. ¡°I mean that was¡­ I should have worked on it some more you think Prefect?¡± ¡°I thought it adequate milord.¡± ¡°Sure, but¡­ perhaps a romantic ride out to the lake, or something?¡± ¡°There are still cremating the fallen milord.¡± ¡°There¡¯s that of course,¡± Lucius grimaced, his face falling. ¡°This ahm¡­ she didn¡¯t appear very pleased.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know sire,¡± Galio replied all serious. ¡°Married my late sister, but she was a quiet woman aye. Don¡¯t remember her reaction, or if she was present. Everything was done in a couple of minutes.¡± ¡°Surely a meeting had occurred beforehand,¡± Lucius argued. ¡°Iron out the details, properties, titles. Why there¡¯s a ton of stuff to work through.¡± ¡°Not much details to talk about sire, or land. It was before I got me property at Alden.¡± Right. ¡°Mayhap a jewelry made? A special one¡­¡± ¡°No jewelry was involved sire. We got two barrels of wine and a good stallion,¡± The Prefect elucidated. ¡°It was a good deal.¡± ¡°Goodness me,¡± A shocked Lucius cleared his throat unsure. ¡°Does she have a child? I mean before¡­¡± Gods, this is a disaster Lucius thought, not expecting what they were talking about. Should I run after her? Now that would rattle the men plenty for sure. Nope. Can¡¯t do that. ¡°Aye she had,¡± Galio replied. ¡°A learned lad. Sharp as a razor.¡± ¡°Another scholar out of the family,¡± Lucius commented and Galio smiled proudly. ¡°Aye milord.¡± ¡°Have you talked to him lately?¡± ¡°Not really, but he was in Alden, when we departed.¡± Ages away, Lucius thought. ¡°Ah, should we look to the men Prefect?¡± Lucius asked after another awkward pause. ¡°Aye milord. I will notify the men about the change in yer status.¡± ¡°Perhaps, give it a couple of days?¡± Lucius asked not as certain about what had transpired. ¡°Ahm, I¡¯m afraid that ship,¡± The Prefect had answered. ¡°Has sailed milord.¡±
Immediately after winning the battle of Selm Ailo Lucius moved to occupy Isker Village at the banks of the lake some kilometers away from the newly erected walls of Rockfort that stood directly to their north. Realizing a direct assault on the heavily defended palisade would have been costly in men, he paused for reinforcements to arrive. Sam O¡¯ Dargan sitting idly across Alford River send almost half his men over the frozen lake and later that day received reinforcements himself, by a hard marching Oscar Steele that arrived to his camp bringing with him almost five hundred of Jarl¡¯s warriors. There was a row in the Northman leader¡¯s tent over Mad Wolf¡¯s refusal to give up his sister and Zofia O¡¯ Dargan realizing she might be in trouble, escaped dressed as a warrior with the last of Lucius reinforcements. Oscar Steele learned about it and despite Sam¡¯s objections brought his men over as well, the Northmen camping outside the village. While details are murky on this part, a newly wed Lucius was informed that the Northmen were prepared to storm his camp to get the Jarl¡¯s missing daughter. Dirk Curd who was probably involved with the unruly Zofia challenged Oscar to a duel to solve the dispute, but the Jarl¡¯s man denounced the mix-breed and assaulted him during their conversation. A fight broke out, Sam¡¯s Northmen supporting Zofia with some of Kaeso¡¯s men involved, getting to blows with Northmen supporting Steele. People got killed, with the defenders watching from afar, until Lucius and the First Century stepped in to stop it. Lucius, who was under enormous pressure to continue the campaign with time running out and block the road to Rockfort, faced a big dilemma there, as the majority of the Jarl¡¯s forces were unwilling to continue marching beyond the old Northern city they were sieging. For them the campaign was over.
¡°Where is he?¡± Lucius asked, a scowling Centurion Trupo guarding the door to his longhouse. ¡°Lady Zofia is in your quarter¡¯s milord. Mister Curd is standing at the door and Mister Steele has asked for the soldiers to leave them.¡± ¡°There would be no more fighting,¡± Lucius told him and burst inside the longhouse. Oscar sitting on a table at one corner looking ruffled, painted white left cheek puffy, blood on his mail and his knuckles swollen. Four fully armed legionnaires were present and Curd of course, standing on the other side in front the door leading to the bedroom. The mix-breed had a bloody cut on his jaw that didn¡¯t bother wiping away. ¡°Lord Alden,¡± Oscar grunted seeing him walking in. ¡°This is an outrage! I was assaulted by yer mix-breed! Two of my men are dead!¡± ¡°Your men killed three of Sam¡¯s people Steele,¡± Lucius snapped angry. ¡°In my camp!¡± ¡°Bah, I told ye to give up the girl,¡± Oscar retorted with a gesture and got up frustrated. ¡°The Jarl wants her back in Ludr Lucius,¡± he pointed a finger at a scowling Curd. ¡°That man needs to be put down!¡± ¡°Are ye gonna do it Oscar?¡± Dirk taunted him. ¡°Ye weren¡¯t that willin¡¯ when ye had the chance. Mayhap ye should change all that paint to yellow since it saturated yer brain?¡± ¡°Dirk that¡¯s enough!¡± Lucius growled, glaring his way. ¡°What is this? Are we fighting amongst ourselves now?¡± This he said to both of them. ¡°There¡¯s no need for any fighting,¡± Oscar told him. ¡°Give up the girl and we¡¯re done.¡± ¡°Ye ain¡¯t getting her Oscar,¡± Dirk warned him. ¡°Ah, I will,¡± Oscar told him with a smirk. ¡°Jarl agreed to it. I just have to get rid of yer bastard first.¡± ¡°You will not,¡± Lucius said. ¡°Zofia is under my protection.¡± Oscar smacked his lips. ¡°The campaign is over lad.¡± ¡°You will address me as Legatus in my camp!¡± Lucius blasted him. ¡°We aren¡¯t friends Mister Steele, or equal in station!¡± Oscar spat down and eyed him tauntingly. ¡°We take Rockfort with or without ye Legatus,¡± he finally said. ¡°Sam will come around and this dog will have his head cut off, when you leave these lands.¡± Lucius breathed slowly to calm himself down. ¡°How will you take Rockfort?¡± He asked the leering Northman. ¡°We¡¯ll wait them out,¡± Steele replied. ¡°What happens if Lord Vanzon arrives?¡± ¡°That¡¯s months away.¡± ¡°One? Two?¡± Lucius taunted him. ¡°Enough time.¡± ¡°Then what? Fight him all over again?¡± Lucius asked him. ¡°Is that your plan?¡± Steele shrugged his shoulders. ¡°It¡¯s how it is. It will be years for Vanzon to recover and we will be firmly prepared by then.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± Lucius said. ¡°Fix your men for a siege here and over the river.¡± ¡°What about Zofia?¡± ¡°You ain¡¯t getting her,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°She will come with me.¡± ¡°To Regia?¡± Steele showed him his teeth in a snarl. ¡°I thought you were married Legatus.¡± ¡°She will follow me on campaign, Mister Steele,¡± Lucius rustled. ¡°I intend to head over to Krakenfort.¡± ¡°You will march on Krakenfort?¡± Oscar stood back shocked. ¡°In the middle of winter?¡± ¡°Caravans do it,¡± Lucius replied. Oscar shook his head. ¡°The Jarl will never agree to send his men so far.¡± ¡°Men are free to go wherever they want,¡± Lucius retorted eyeing him. ¡°The lands beyond Rockfort don¡¯t belong to the Jarl.¡± ¡°Who do they belong to?¡± Steele asked him narrowing his eyes. ¡°When this campaign is over, you will have your answer,¡± Lucius replied.
Lucius looked at a silent Faye, before turning his eyes on Zofia. Her baby was sleeping soundly on his bed. ¡°What did Steele say?¡± Zofia asked him, looking worried. ¡°Your father wants you back,¡± Lucius said tiredly. ¡°I ain¡¯t marrying him Lucius,¡± Zofia replied. ¡°He wants my son killed.¡± Lucius nodded. ¡°Steele is a snake. His line rotten to the core,¡± Faye added agreeing with her, which was rare. ¡°Plus he doesn¡¯t believe in our gods.¡± ¡°What does he believe in?¡± Lucius asked her. She looked a bit better now. Her sickness not present. ¡°The Painted God,¡± Faye replied with a shrug. ¡°Never heard of that,¡± Lucius admitted. ¡°What does he promise this god of his?¡± ¡°Oscar thinks he¡¯ll never die,¡± Faye replied. ¡°Or something like that. Everyone in Bloden Port has been like that, since that priest came.¡± ¡°What does the Jarl think?¡± ¡°Oscar is loyal to him, it¡¯s all that matters for my father,¡± Zofia replied and Faye scoffed at her reply. ¡°I¡¯m not letting them get your baby,¡± Lucius assured the noblewoman. ¡°What will you do? If they take Rockfort, the Jarl will turn towards the Crulls.¡± ¡°He can¡¯t fight them. If he crosses the Montfoot he¡¯ll face the same problem,¡± Lucius explained. ¡°Even if he wins, the most he¡¯ll gain is a fort that¡¯s been burned and rebuilt a couple of times since I¡¯ve arrived here. How will he take Eaglesnest? The moment he threatens it, the Crulls will ask the Lake Lords for help. What happens if Kaltha sends an army up here? Or Midlanor? Does he even understand how many men the High King can send against him? What if Lesia gets involved? Sovya even.¡± ¡°Regia?¡± Zofia asked looking at him. ¡°Will your father fight him again? Will you?¡± Lucius sighed. ¡°I came here to make an alliance with the North. Granted I had a different idea of where the North started, or where it ended. A different problem just needs a different solution.¡± ¡°What does this mean?¡± ¡°I want Sam¡¯s men to follow me. Will your brother agree?¡± ¡°Those that crossed the lake are here to protect me,¡± Zofia said what he¡¯d suspected. ¡°There¡¯s not much else he can do.¡± ¡°What about Curd?¡± ¡°He¡¯ll protect his son,¡± Zofia said simply, looking away. ¡°And you?¡± She nodded. ¡°I¡¯m going to win this war,¡± Lucius said after a thoughtful moment. ¡°Before Rockfort falls. Then we will talk with the Jarl again about proper strategy and treaties. But by then I might be less inclined to accommodate his wishes.¡±
Stormbolt neighed, the wind blowing down Abrakas Gorge drowning it. Lucius stooped on the saddle and patted his frosted mane with affection. ¡°I promise I¡¯ll get you back on thick grass-covered fields old boy,¡± He told him and glanced at Faye riding close next to him. The torch-carrying legionnaires slowly marched up the sloped terrain, the shadows created amidst the whitebark trees long. Distorted. Barely human. A long row of military carts and packed animals were following. Lucius force had almost doubled in size already and the supply train had grown exponentially along with it. Many civilians were following. Widows and orphans who wanted a second chance. Amongst the many fresh recruits joining, a large number of mix-breeds, even defectors of Vanzon¡¯s force. The majority were lured by the presence of one of their own so near the Legatus and the fear of Jarl¡¯s forces occupying the lands they had found safe haven for so many years. ¡°Are you well?¡± Lucius asked his approaching wife and she smiled. Her hand capped his over the reins, fingers clutching him tight. ¡°Never been better, Alden,¡± Faye replied with a large smile despite the bitter cold of the Northern night. ¡°I could have been a bit more delicate the other day,¡± Lucius admitted and she shook her head that fox tail she¡¯d installed on her helm -despite his objections- dancing right and left. ¡°Yer wife is not a delicate woman,¡± Faye Numbers had told him raspingly, her eyes shining like stars in the light of the passing torches. ¡°But she¡¯s with child.¡±
Lucius and his cohorts would march west over Jelin¡¯s Edge plateau following the ancient frozen road for almost a month. The journey a testament of will for those not accustomed to the climate like the Legatus himself and even for the hardened Northmen. Working together, men and women, soldiers, civilians and animals following behind them, they build a camp at every stop and huddled together under the angry skies. Lucius even traveled further to the North one day according to some accounts and reached the lip of the plateau overlooking the distant coast that marked the end of the continent. The coast itself tiny under their feet, this side of the plateau standing almost a kilometer in height. He looked through his spyglass at the massive sprouting icebergs, these silent, blinding white and slow moving mountains. Lucius tried to imagine what stood beyond the frozen ocean, even asked aloud frustrated and ¡®Hulking¡¯ Layton standing tall beside him laughed hard for long, then stooping looked into his frosted over face and told him. ¡®Yalca. The land of the tall people¡¯, Layton had said allegedly and when Lucius queried whether he meant as tall as him, the giant had laughed equally hard and then corrected the celebrated Legatus. ¡®Tiny¡¯, Layton had said trying again and pointed a finger at a stunned Lucius. ¡®Normal¡¯, turning that finger on himself with a goofy smile and then spun his trunk like arm to the North and added. ¡®Tall people.¡¯ Fanciful tales aside, Lucius reached the mountains of iron near Krakenfort either on the twelfth week of his campaign, or the thirteenth, at the end of what the people now call the ''five hundred kilometers'' march. That same month he turned twenty eight. He¡¯d married Faye ¡®Scarlet¡¯ Numbers before the march had started, the woman -fiercely loved today by the Third Legion¡¯s veterans- pregnant to his child. What had started as a single Century that previous summer, was now two full Cohorts. ¡®The Legatus¡¯, as then Centurion Gladius Tutor wrote in his war diary, ¡®had almost had his Legion.¡¯ Lord Sirio Veturius The Fall of Heroes Chapter II (Legatus Lucius Alden, Northern campaigns, A Hundred Days Volume III, 13th week, Third Month of Winter 1st & 2nd Cohort -500 kilometers, a Scarlet Wife & The Land of Tall People.) Winter of 190 NC
182. A Hundred Days (8/10)
Legatus Lucius Alden A Hundred Days Part VIII Battle of the Iron Mines Part I -Good ground for Cavalry-
The Iron Griffin of Pastelor, Sir Reinir Tellman The Bloody Tiger of Regia, Sir Lucius Alden The Errant Knight of Ballard, Sir Emerson Lennox The Raven of Dawn, Sir Gust De Weer The Young Tiger of Regia, Sir Ralph Alden The Priest Knight of Midlanor, Sir Shane Erst Ravn The Charming Knight of Armium, Sir William Davenport ¡°Why Reinir ye may ask? Well, his son almost killed the Bloody Tiger and some fools have him first on the list.¡± Lord Anker Est Ravn, Lord of Midlanor, Keeper of the Forests, Guardian of Nordland Pass, Uher¡¯s First Sentinel and High Regent of the Realm. Speaking at dinner, circa 196 NC
Lucius Legion circa 3rd month of winter 190 NC (Overall strength* ~1660?) -820 legionnaires (+300 recruits) 140+ mixed cavalry, 100+ heavy Slingers, 300+ Scouts- Legatus Legionis Lucius Alden Aide de Legatus (Squire) Marc Gripa Camp Prefect Galio Veturius (Broad Band Tribune ¨Cunofficial until 192 NC) Panthera Tigris Signifer Brim Solomon (Lesia) 1st Cohort (Red armband)
1st Century (Strength 200 Legionnaires) (Primus Pilus) (I) Centurion Varus Trupo (Lesia) Optio Nonus Sula (Regia) 2nd Century (Training unit) (Strength 200~350 Recruits fully armed) (II) Centurion Gladius Tutor (Regia) 3rd Century (Strength 100 Legionnaires) (V) Centurion Artus Mangas (Nord) 4rth Century (Strength 100 Legionnaires) (IV) Servius Capito (Regia)
2nd Cohort (Purple armband) 1st Century (2nd CH/1st CN) (Strength 120 Legionnaires) (III) Centurion Decimus Sabinus (Regia) 2nd Century (Strength 100 Legionnaires) (VI) Centurion Josi Vala (Lesia) 3rd Century (Strength 100 Legionnaires) (VII) Centurion Atri Damian (Mix-breed half-Nord) 4rth Century (Strength 100 Legionnaires) (VIII) Centurion Spurius Dio (Regia) Legion Scouts (Strength ~300 warriors, 50 Northmen, mostly Gerard Pike¡¯s warband. Attached were around 150 of Zofia O¡¯ Dargan¡¯s Northmen and 50 mix-breeds half-Nords, these were under Dirk Curd) Centurion Kaeso (unknown origins, probably Lesia) Gerard Pike (Nord) Dirk Curd (Half-Nord Mix-breed) Legion Cavalry (Strength 100 ~140 mixed riders, included thirty men & women of Legatus¡¯ entourage) Decurion Faye Numbers (Nord) ¨Cnot active after Krakenfort- Decurion Eli Sharp (Nord) Decurion Alana Shields (Nord) Decurion Kent (Thin-knees) Long (Nord) Legion Slingers (Not attached short range unit ¨C Semi-autonomous, usually deployed by the Legatus. Only unit employing women and men under sixteen) (Strength 80~100 men and women) Centurion Mamercus Sorex Decanus Joe Fallon *Around one thousand civilians (mostly soldier families and a very large number of orphans), merchants and technicians (Blacksmiths, carpenters, laborers, Armorers, hunters, trappers, whores, musicians etc.) following in the supply train. After Krakenfort the supply train had almost two hundred various-sized carriages carrying mostly foodstuff, cots, leather tents, precut wood and weapons among other things.
There was a strange stillness in the morning air. The light at a minimum, the sun a colorless haze behind the thick clouds that had gathered early. The ground frozen, but not as hard as it had been on the road. Or perhaps, we¡¯ve gotten used to it, Lucius thought and watched the men setting up camp, iron picks digging in the hard ground. The camp¡¯s dimensions already carved on it from the engineers, every tent and structure pre-arranged. There was simplicity and order in their work. It was hard and laboring to build a small village at every stop. Once you did it a score of times though, everything appeared easy. ¡°We run out of grain,¡± Trupo reported as if trying to mock his thoughts, while bringing him back to the present. ¡°Biscuits all around henceforth milord. The plinth variant. Good for the gums.¡±Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Put it on the list Centurion,¡± Lucius replied tiredly. ¡°What¡¯s the size of Vanzon¡¯s camp?¡± ¡°A regiment at least, plus about five hundred marines, if the scouts got the banners right.¡± ¡°I bet he misses those men he sent to Rockfort,¡± Lucius commented simply. A large part of Lord Vanzon¡¯s force had been cut off and was under siege for the last month inside the Castle City of Rockfort near the Alford River. A solid five hundred kilometers to their rear. ¡°These lads hit us hard at that lake,¡± Prefect Galio noted. ¡°Almost won them the battle.¡± Lucius nodded in agreement. He had been on the receiving end of the Krakenhalls regulars flanking assault at Selm Ailo. The majority of these soldiers¡¯ veterans of the Battle of the Bridges a year back. Perhaps a bit more. ¡°Why did he get the army out of the fort¡¯s walls?¡± Lucius asked. ¡°Two reasons,¡± Galio replied and eyed the Second Cohort returning from their heavy drilling, led by the freshly transferred to the First Century of the Second Cohort, Centurion Decimus Sabinus. The officer was previously commanding the Third Century of the First Cohort. ¡°That¡¯s Lord Vanzon¡¯s banner. That fat squid won¡¯t run away in front of his people and the second, is they know we will just head for the bridge and straight for Krakenhall the moment they lock themselves behind them walls.¡± ¡°Those mines need to be cleared,¡± Lucius noted. ¡°We can¡¯t have an army overlooking our camp Prefect.¡± ¡°If we move on them the Issirs will probably attack us, milord,¡± Galio replied. ¡°There is cavalry hidden behind those walls.¡± There was that of course. The two camps were facing each other about three kilometers apart. Lord Vanzon had the slopes leading to the massive Iron Mines on his left flank, or North and the Krakenfort¡¯s walls at his rear. ¡°Can Sabinus clear that flank?¡± Lucius asked him, slapping his arms to wake them up, as the cold had crept up on him again. He¡¯d spend a week with fever and unable to take solid food, but he¡¯d managed to recover. Despite that Lucius still didn¡¯t feel like himself. The Northern climate was slowly wearing him down. The constant marching for almost three months taking its toll as well on the general and his men alike. ¡°We need to win here, Prefect,¡± Lucius told Galio seeing his stubborn grimace. ¡°Break Vanzon¡¯s back and prevent him from retreating to Krakenhall. The winter is almost over. Another month down the line and the roads from Midlanor will open up. The Est Ravns might send a whole army up here.¡± ¡°The Second Foot is en route to Raoz, milord,¡± the Prefect reminded him and Lucius coughed to clear his throat before answering. ¡°That¡¯s a year¡¯s old information Prefect. Midlanor has the Golden Spears stationed there, more a militia than a priesthood and they are training a whole new Division was the word in the King¡¯s Council.¡± ¡°Another Foot?¡± Galio asked him and Lucius smacked his lips. ¡°Who knows? The Second is two Divisions in one unto itself. No one dares question Lord Anker, when he¡¯s the one footing the bill.¡± ¡°Ah, I don¡¯t see them venturing that far, milord, not while fighting the Khan.¡± Lucius stared in his aged face, the skin turned a dark red where the cold had burned it. ¡°Midlanor will never allow the Nordland Pass to close, Prefect. They need that iron. They¡¯ll march up the Arid Peaks before this Spring, unless the Realm turns on its head.¡± ¡°Do they need Lord Vanzon sire?¡± The sharp Prefect asked catching his undertone and Lucius smiled, deep lines on his face contracting, making him appear older than he was. ¡°There¡¯s your third reason Prefect,¡± he had told him. ¡°Vanzon can¡¯t lose control of the mines. Prep the men for battle on the morrow. Keep the supply train further away. Issue every spare javelin you got and order Mamercus to have his men well-stocked. No slow-walking, everyone trots from now on,¡± he sighed deeply, every bone on his body hurting, then added gravely. ¡°The Issirs will attack the moment Sabinus starts marching towards the mines.¡± This was the point of no retreat for all sides. Losing here would be ruinous. A lot of people are going to get killed and only one army will leave the field. Tyeus would be well-sated.
Lord Vanzon shocked at the appearance of Lucius¡¯ Cohorts in his path ¨Cthe aged Lord of Krakenhall had arrived from his capital intend on marching the moment the weather improved towards the besieged Rockfort- he ordered Baron of Krakenfort Gert Heuvel to reinforce the guards at the Iron Mines immediately. Realizing he still held the advantage, as Lucius forces appeared worn out from their insane march over Jelin¡¯s Edge plateau, he decided to fight them on the open terrain, while his back was secure. Baron Heuvel sent the Lord¡¯s Shield Marvin Kroneberg to the Iron Mines, stripping the fort from its guards and assumed command of Vanzon¡¯s forces himself. He was eager to put the rabid tiger down as he boasted. Several of those present objected to the Lord¡¯s decision. Sir Walter Tellman of Pastelor, commanding Midlanor¡¯s dispatched Cavalry that had force-marched up the almost closed from snow Nordland Pass and had just arrived, argued vehemently for a fighting retreat. Give Lord Anker two months, he urged the local commanders and this problem will go away. Unable to explain how it would or perhaps under orders not to, he was shamed into agreeing by the boisterous Northern Issirs. A skilled Knight, Sir Tellman begrudgingly went along and he performed admirably in the battle that followed, honoring his famed kin. The reasons for Lord Vanzon¡¯s unwillingness to retreat many, but perhaps the strongest being that in the end he didn¡¯t trust the cunning Lord of Midlanor to put his interests first. It is rumored that when Lord Anker was informed of the decision later that same month he became so enraged he couldn¡¯t speak for a week. Another report claiming that in his fury he hacked through one of the supporting stone pillars of his villa, with his legendary ¡®Swan¡¯s Song¡¯ blade, bringing half a wall and a whole balcony down. Two servants and an unlucky guard were killed, buried under the debris. Both accounts are disputed.
Lucius stared in Marc Gripa¡¯s stern face while the man helped him put on his armour. Gripa, a Lorian from Asturia, was almost thirty years of age. He was living in Maza Burg for almost ten years. The man had followed the Legatus forces as he¡¯d lost his Northern wife and son in Ludr the previous year to Krakenhall¡¯s raiders. Wrong place at the wrong time, he¡¯d said simply when Lucius had asked him about it. ¡°You know your way around armour, Mister Gripa,¡± Lucius said, an eye on the nervous Faye. The woman, forced to sit this one out, had dark circles under her eyes. Even if she wasn¡¯t showing her pregnancy and could get in her tight armor, Lucius wouldn¡¯t have allowed her to fight. The latter matter a thorny issue between the young couple. ¡°Squired in my youth for the Holts, milord,¡± the man replied. ¡°How is Asturia?¡± Lucius asked him. ¡°Ah, all green and open fields. The Lake and the summer ever pleasant. Lush forests and game aplenty,¡± he sighed remembering his home city. ¡°Better winters, milord,¡± he finally said, a touch of sadness in his voice. ¡°Valeria at the near,¡± Lucius teased mentioning the notorious Canlita Sea island, Faye frowning at the name. ¡°There¡¯s that too, for men wit means milord,¡± Gripa replied. ¡°Is it too tight?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine Gripa, thank you,¡± Lucius said. His new squire bowed his head and exited his tent. ¡°Alana will take care nothing happens to me and Mister Gripa is an experienced squire,¡± Lucius explained to the scowling Faye. ¡°Alana hasn¡¯t faced a knight on a horse in her life,¡± Faye hissed, her stomach bothering her again. ¡°Your cavalry isn¡¯t made out of knights Alden.¡± ¡°I know yer angry when I get my family name thrown at me,¡± Lucius teased her, wearing his reinforced gauntlets. ¡°That¡¯s worry and I call ye Lucius aplenty, when we¡¯re coupling,¡± Faye replied, then frowned. ¡°What¡¯s wit the yer?¡± ¡°I spend too much time with your people,¡± he told her and watched her playing nervously with his family pendant. Faye wore it prominently over her heavy coat. ¡°That¡¯s gold dear. You might want to keep it hidden when visiting the supply train.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to,¡± Faye retorted. ¡°People fall all over themselves to get me stuff.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Lucius replied with a smile. ¡°They might want to steal it also.¡± ¡°Huh? Over my dead body!¡± Faye snapped all furious. ¡°This is what we want to avoid, Faye,¡± Lucius explained. ¡°You¡¯re trying to distract me, Alden,¡± she hissed, narrowing her half-hidden behind a red curtain eyes. ¡°Is it working?¡± He teased her. Faye pushed her thick mane off her face with a troubled sigh. ¡°For a bit it did,¡± she admitted.
Lucius watched Centurion Sabinus marching towards the Iron Mines, a deep frown on his face. Over the empty frozen field Lord Vanzon¡¯s forces were also gathering exiting their camp. Behind them at the walls and the open gates of Krakenfort people had gathered to watch the battle from afar. Lucius couldn¡¯t see them, the dark outline of the stone fort tiny, but he could see the squares created by the enemy soldiers, a thousand meters away. ¡°Had the weather been more kind,¡± Galio rustled standing next to him, before their own lines. ¡°I would say that¡¯s as fine a field I¡¯ve ever fought, milord. It beats Yepehir by a mile and I¡¯m being kind respecting yer father.¡± ¡°A good ground for Cavarly, Prefect,¡± Lucius told him and eyed Gripa with their horses, brave Alana Shields already on hers, the glare on her face comical. ¡°Not seeing them sire,¡± Galio commented. ¡°Will Sabinus win me the mines?¡± Lucius asked him, knowing Galio will give him the unvarnished truth. ¡°The Centuries will hold, milord,¡± the Prefect replied simply. Lucius nodded and wore his red-painted and tiger shaped helm, the plum on it a crimson red. The engraved beast matching his plate shoulder-covers. The eyes glaring menacingly at the heavy helm¡¯s reinforced top. He tied the cheek-guards and caught Galio watching him. ¡°They went over and beyond in the design,¡± Lucius said, a little embarrassed although he loved it. ¡°You went over and beyond for them Milord,¡± the loyal officer replied. ¡°Roderick would have been proud.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know about that Galio,¡± Lucius replied a lump in his throat, the old man irreplaceable in his mind. A family member taken away. It hurt him as much as Ralph¡¯s death and he missed Roderick¡¯s words of caution. The man had been with him since he was a boy. ¡°Roderick never favored fancy stuff, despite his name.¡± ¡°What does it mean?¡± ¡°Glorious ruler in the Old Tongue,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°As fine a name one could have.¡± He glanced over the field one more time and behind his back at the many people standing there, mainly from the supply train. Family and friends. Faye in the middle of the lot, scarlet hair blowing in that same breeze, white hands clasping his Alden pendant and her tensed face an unrecognizable mask of worry. Lucius gulped down and turned his dark-blue eyes at the lines of the legionnaires standing still in front them. The First Cohort deployed fully. Trupo¡¯s First Century, fifty wide holding the center, the reliable Capito¡¯s Fourth nearest to them standing on its left and over at the other edge of their formation stood Centurion Mangas Third. Sabinus had taken the First and Second Centuries of the Second Cohort up the gentle slope and the other two were standing behind their lines in reserve. Damian¡¯s Third behind its namesake on one corner and Spurius Dio¡¯s Fourth on the other. Kaeso¡¯s Scouts watched the northern flank closer to the approach towards the Iron Mines, the huge dug out side of the mountain covered with cut rocks and tunnels at the other end of it. Curd¡¯s Northmen and mix-breeds kept at the near. Lucius had Mamercus and his own Cavarly on the south side. With a last tense look at their packed lines, he surrendered command to Galio and went towards his horse and Gripa to wait for the Issirs to react. As if teasing them the sun that hadn¡¯t appeared for months peeked behind a crack in the clouds above their heads and for a while the white ground shone vividly. The light deflecting on armour and blades. It danced over rubicund plums and livened the dark grey squid banners blowing in the early morning cold breeze coming from the unseen frozen Northern Sea. It stopped for a moment over the well-polished bronze Panthera Tigris snarling head and made it glow brilliantly as if it was made out of pure gold.
Centurion Sabinus, leading over two hundred legionnaires attacked Kroneberg¡¯s guards at the entrance of the Iron Mines mist covered vale. Realizing he was facing a force twice his size, he stopped the assault and redeployed as a blocking force at its mouth. It was to be the first action of the day and the part of the front that never moved an inch for the duration. Sabinus¡¯ men would hold the large force Vanzon had sneaked in there during the previous night for seven hours, losing over a hundred men and Sabinus himself before all was over. Baron Gert Heuvel in his turn attacked the two hundred meters wide wall of legionnaires three times in as many hours with little success, but plenty of casualties. The fourth time, he attempted to flank their north side, as his previous attempts were a costly strategy to exhaust the First Cohorts javelins. He intended to cut off Sabinus Centuries, but Centurion Kaeso counter-attacked his flanking force, mainly a mix of regulars and mix-breed Issirs, or Half-Nords from Krakenhall¡¯s large and very diverse population. Kaeso almost gotten himself killed to the regulars heavy spears, until Dirk Curd led a frenzied charge with his mix-breeds and Zofia¡¯s Northmen that plugged the gap forming there. Rumors that part of Vanzon¡¯s auxiliary forces refused to fight against their own kin circulated immediately, but can¡¯t be verified as the Issirs records of the battle haven¡¯t survived. Curd himself had no problem killing anyone standing in his way according to some eye witnesses. Others claim people simply refused to fight him one on one. Sensing trouble Sir Tellman¡¯s cavalry appeared on the field, but Lucius was expecting them biding his time on the far south corner of the battlefield. The Legatus had aged two years in five hours according to reports. He ordered a counter charge on Midlanor¡¯s heavy cavalry and caught them in the middle of the field not even a hundred meters before they reached their locked lines. Sir Tellman was unlucky, as Baron Heuvel attacked again with his center force and blocked his own cavalry. Sir Tellman was lucky in that same breath, as realizing he was about to charge on the backs of his own allies, he ordered his fast galloping force to turn hard right and swing around the Issir and Legion frontline, his intention being to hit Lucius force from its unprotected left, or southern side. The trained riders obeyed dutifully and turned their mounts, recoiling in horror seeing Lucius fast approaching counter-charging force they had completely missed. So the two large Cavalry forces squared up and attacked each other instead, absent a more convenient target. Lucius force had the advantage initially and the speed, but Sir Tellman¡¯s force recovered quickly, every man there worth his salt and twice as skilled. Sir Tellman had about a hundred riders with him, with sources claiming a much smaller number. Lucius had deployed one hundred and forty in that maneuver, which was every rider he had available and he had ordered a stern-faced Mamercus, his Slingers the only force left guarding the left flank, to fire en masse if the scrap was lost without thought, or hesitation. Mamercus was to kill friends and foes alike, but let no one touch Lucius left flank, if the Legatus was killed. Lucius cavalry lost thirty people in two seconds the moment the two fast charging forces made contact and he¡¯d lose twice more, before the brutal and crucial engagement was over. Lord Sirio Veturius The Fall of Heroes Chapter II (Legatus Lucius Alden, Northern campaigns, A Hundred Days Volume III, 13th week, Last Month of Winter 1st & 2nd Cohort -Rabid Tiger, Battle of the Iron Mines, Part I ¨CA Bloody Charge & the Iron Griffin¡¯s kin) Late winter of 190 NC
183. A Hundred Days (9/10)
Danger and blood. Men and animal entrails sowing Tyeus fields When the dance begins. Fear not the horrors of the morrow, For they are distant. Cover thyself in dignity¡¯s noble garb, The blade¡¯s truth is persistent Oh, ye good knight laying in the mud Neither friends, nor foes under crimson shields When the dance begins. Fear not the angel of sorrow, For she is the Gods assistant Cover thyself in mourning garb, For valor¡¯s undying verity is never distant. Legatus Lucius Alden¡¯s -Ode to the good knight- Verses on campaign (Circa 190-195 NC)
Legatus Lucius Alden A Hundred Days Part IX Battle of the Iron Mines Part II -Yours is the advantage Sir Knight-
(right click on the map to open it fully) The thundering of hooves covered every other sound on the sprawling battlefield. Lucius heart beating wildly inside his chest, his whole body bouncing on the saddle as Stormbolt charged half a horse ahead of everyone else, almost a hundred and fifty horses trying to catch up with him. The large stallion shook his great black mane seeing the armoured riders coming at them, a long wall of steel and polished iron. Their opponents, men and horses all a hazy blur and the rumpus turning into an unidentified cacophony. The frozen ground quaking, the hard ice cracking and splintering under hooves. Blood boiling and the cold now forgotten. Here¡¯s my sword, Lucius prayed, right hand raising his heavy war spear, the left arm angling his heater shield just enough and a brief moment before impact, the world froze around him. Lorians, Northmen and Issirs stood facing each other, the horses¡¯ eyes huge and filled with fear, much as the men and women that were about to ruin themselves. A colossal shadow came from the west, the outline of a huge monster depicted on the ground and Lucius felt the beast hovering above them. Above him. It darkened the gloomy day and blackened the ground under the still and frothing at the mouth Stormbolt¡¯s hooves. The vision menacing. It felt like a forewarning of a great mayhem descending upon everyone. Then the moment was gone and Lucius¡¯ spear punched through metal plate, teared through flesh and bone. His opponent¡¯s gurgling scream lost in the sudden return of the ruckus of battle. Lucius danced on the saddle and felt his shield deflecting a spear. Sharp steel digging in the metal finishing before flying away. Stormbolt jumped with an angry neigh, a broken man under his hooves and the sound of a hundred spears connecting reverberated all around him. Spears found shields and got deflected. Spears found shields and punched right through. They found plated armour and chainmail. They went through flesh and bone. Chests and sternums. Through arms and thighs. Through faces and the skulls underneath them. Helms got twisted, plate warped. Many people died in horrifying agony. Lucius let go of his war spear, Stormbolt¡¯s hooves skirting on the frozen ground digging it and revealing black soil underneath. They twirled through throngs of enemies, several Knights amongst them. Their coat of arms on shields and armour. The gold Chimera out of Midlanor, the Griffin of its ¡®two daughters¡¯ as the coastal cities were known. The iron blue for Pastelor and the dark green for Farvor. The black Hydras¡¯ of Caspo O¡¯ Bor and the gray Squids of Krakenhall. The Legatus got his longsword out and cut the head of a Hydra that had attacked him with a flail, the spiked ball ruining his shield. Lucius twisted Stormbolt around, chaos and mayhem circling them, moving in God Tyeus¡¯ dictated mad tempo, the dance of war ancient and easily recognizable. It smelled of oiled iron, blood and urine. Lucius downed his sword and chopped an arm off, scalding gore dousing Stormbolt¡¯s chest, the stallion rising on its hind legs disturbed. He cut the strap on his wrapped shield next, men dropping right and left all about them. Severed limbs in pools of steaming blood and the body next to them frequently not their own. Stormbolt burst through the lines and Lucius yelled and used his knees to stop him, hooves skirting on the frigid terrain. He¡¯d lost his ability to hear and everything had a red hue about him that is until Lucius wiped his face to clean up some of the gore. Gripa reached him a moment later, lined eyes ogling and jaw clenched so hard his mouth looked crooked. Showed him a fresh spear and Lucius sheathed his bloody sword and caught it when his squire tossed it. Turned Stormbolt around and with a deep rugged breath, went at it again. Three heartbeats and he crashed on a knight that had killed two of his riders, using a steel war hammer. His spear impaling the armoured man through the kidneys. The knight turned around on his saddle putting both hands on the slippery with his blood shaft to hold on. Lucius shoved him kicking his legs to force Stormbolt forward and the knight dropped from his saddle taking Lucius¡¯ spear with him. Lucius yanked at the reins to turn his horse around and away from the dying man. All around them people and animals lay broken and bleeding away on the frozen ground. The white terrain turning into a sinister dark sludge, the ringing in his ears not helping him calm down his disturbed burning stomach. It was as if the noble knight had swallowed acid. A number of duels were fought everywhere, most of the horses spend by now or dead. Lucius heard Gripa calling his name and turned sharply, the Issir knight riding hard two meters to a panicked Lucius¡¯ left. He followed him with his eyes twisting on the saddle and managed to catch a glimpse of Alana getting skewered through the torso, the spear breaking as she got tossed away from her horse. ¡°Ah!¡± Lucius grunted livid and grabbed the fresh spear Gripa held out for him to go after the knight. He started that way, but heard the thundering of hooves coming at him and cut hard on instinct, Stormbolt sensing the knight¡¯s intention helping, the steel lance barely missing him. Lucius galloped some meters away and turned his horse around nervously, just as his opponent spun around himself. The Knight was clad in dark blue plate, with the head of a Griffin sculpted on his closed helm, the color there an iron blue. Lucius clicked his tongue and Stormbolt charged at the newcomer, a noble knight as few wore their coat of arms so prominently and a sculpted helm¡¯s cost was enormous. The crest on the Knight¡¯s heater shield familiar. The shield itself of an older design, it reminded Lucius of his father¡¯s weapons in the armory. The Knight reached him, slightly bend outside his saddle, a very confident stance that surprised Lucius, until he remembered he¡¯d discarded his own shield earlier. Damn it. Lucius turned on the saddle, rising on his stirrups to mess with the knight¡¯s aim, before he cut Stormbolt away. His spear going on his opponent¡¯s saddle breaking a large chunk of it away, but the furious knight got him on the shoulder-guard, just as Lucius was twisting away. The blow and the gravity unhorsing him. Down he went, Stormbolt stopping ten meters away, the ground hard as rock despite Lucius managing to turn his fall into a rolling tumble. His helm saving his head from cracking open. Coughing up and spitting mud Lucius got up on shaking legs, his left shoulder dislocated. He tried to pop it back in punching it sideways as the Knight approached on his horse, long lance in hand but pointing down.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°Yours is the advantage Sir Knight,¡± Lucius rustled, almost biting his tongue off when he managed to snap his shoulder back in with the second attempt. The Knight turned his head towards the field, Lucius¡¯ eyes following his stare. Despite a large number of casualties, Lucius¡¯ riders had slowly grinded down their opponents. The knight that had injured Alana or worse, surrounded by six Norhmen that were hacking away at him. Another group of about ten was approaching Lucius¡¯ position. ¡°Perhaps,¡± the Knight told him finally and raising a gauntlet pushed his face-cover up. The face underneath that of a man younger than Lucius. The Issir¡¯s eyes a warm amber color and his brows a thick white, over a square cultured face. ¡°But it appears you¡¯ve won the field, Sir Lucius. Still, I won¡¯t fight an unhorsed opponent.¡± The enemy knight exhaled and stabbed his lance on the ground, then climbed down from his well-bred warhorse. He patted its luscious mane a couple of times, whispering some words of comfort to calm it down. ¡°What¡¯s your name Sir Knight?¡± Lucius asked, signing for his approaching riders, Gripa amongst them leading the pack, to not get involved. ¡°Walter Tellman, of Pastelor,¡± the young knight said steadily, eyeing the riders with a frown. No fear in his face though. ¡°You can retreat Sir Walter,¡± Lucius offered, recognizing the famous name. Sir Reinir Tellman, the Iron Griffin, was perhaps the most celebrated Knight in the history of the Three Kingdoms. ¡°There¡¯s no shame in that.¡± ¡°This is my father¡¯s arms and armour,¡± Sir Walter said voice hoarse, crooking his mouth. ¡°The Iron Griffin does not retreat Sir Lucius,¡± he added with a deep resigned sigh and unsheathed his longsword. The ivory handle on it long and beautifully sculpted in the shape of the eagle-headed lion. ¡°The battle is over, Sir Walter.¡± ¡°Aye, but the war has just begun, Sir Lucius.¡± Lucius nodded in understanding and unsheathed his own longsword. Sir Walter raised his head and stared at him earnestly. ¡°May Luthos guide you out of the Sea of Struggles, Lord Alden and back to familiar cherished shores,¡± he told him, using the archaic form of the famous salutation and lowered his face-cover. Paused for a breath as if to gather his courage and then walked determined towards the expecting Lucius. Sir Walter attacked high but Lucius swatted his blade away with his. The knight pivoted his sword mid-air and attacked again with more force and at the same angle forcing Lucius to retreat. Sir Walter came after him calmly and went for a midriff slash, but Lucius parried sideways and attacked lighting fast in his turn, the tip of his blade cutting his opponent under the left armpit. The Knight stepped back with a pained grunt, but returned on the same breath, dancing first left then right and attacked Lucius from his guarded side. Lucius blocked the blade, sparks flying, pulled his sword back and flicked it high on the retreat. Sir Walter parried it upwards and made to attack with a downwards slash, forcing Lucius to immediately twist his body away to dodge. The Knight changed the angle mid-move and flicked his blade upwards switching the grip on his sword in the blink of an eye. Lucius jerked his head away, spinning his sword at the same time and attempting a slash at Sir Walter¡¯s forward leg. The Knight¡¯s blade caught him above the brow and clanged on the finish of his helm afore tossing it away. Lucius stumbled back, blood on his face and blind from the left eye, while Sir Walter groaned and faltered a cut above his right knee. Lucius blade had ruined his mail there. ¡°Ah,¡± Sir Walter said, trying to find his balance. Lucius advanced on him, the blood running down the left side of his face and down his neck. Sir Walter parried a telegraphed slash aimed at his torso away, turned defense into attack, his sword whistling on the return and carving Lucius chest plate right at the sternum. The steel there holding. Lucius stepped away wordlessly as the Knight faltered. Lucius earlier feint had opened the way for a high flick of his blade, when his opponent went on the attack. The tip of his longsword slashing right at the narrow Griffin helm¡¯s opening below his chin. Steaming blood was pouring down Sir Walter¡¯s chest plate, his throat cut open. The Knight gurgled trying to breathe but failed and dropped on a knee, stabbing his sword on the ground for support. The ground underneath him turning black with his blood and vapors covering him slowly. Lucius hang his head and raising a hand wiped some of the blood from his face away, the cut above his brow all but costing him an eye. A moment later Sir Walter let out a deep sigh and collapsed on the side next to his sword, his armour painted in gore. ¡°Milord!¡± Gripa yelled running towards him. ¡°You¡¯re injured!¡± Lucius stopped him with an angry snort and with a last look at the dead knight, turned his head towards the raging battle in the middle of the field. ¡°Get every horse you can and send them to threaten their flank. Do not charge at them. You should get Mamercus moving into position first! Move. Find someone to do it Gripa!¡± Lucius ordered him and turned to one of the other riders. ¡°Alana is injured, see to her and find me Eli Sharp.¡± ¡°We found Alana sire,¡± the Northman said with a grimace, a cut on his right hand bleeding freely. ¡°Decurion Sharp was killed earlier.¡± Ah, curse it all to Oras hells, Lucius crooked his mouth, fresh blood running down his cheek and his vision blurred. With a grunt he walked to where Alana had fallen, Morgan and another rider holding her hands, part of a war spear poking out of the ravaged woman¡¯s chest. The wound ghastly and her exposed lungs showing a deeper red. Lucius knelt next to her as the men moved away. ¡°Lord¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t burden yourself,¡± Lucius said soothingly deeply moved and brushed some of her bloody curls away. ¡°Win¡­¡± Alana asked him, trying to focus her eyes on him. Not yet, Lucius thought. But he wasn¡¯t going to tell her that. ¡°We won sweet girl,¡± Lucius told her stooping closer, tears mixing with the blood running down his strained face. ¡°It¡¯s over.¡± Alana smiled a bloody smile, light blue eyes turning on the dark sky and then left them. Lucius stood there for a moment, his hands shaking and then reaching he closed her eyes and got up. Morgan and the young man next to him watching silently. ¡°Your name?¡± Lucius rustled, his voice unrecognizable. ¡°Decurion Long sire,¡± the Northman said. ¡°You shall lead the cavalry Decurion. Morgan see to Alana please. And find Eli.¡± A dark-faced Lucius turned and walked to where Gripa was standing. Lucius pointed at the dead knight. ¡°Get his sword Mister Gripa. See to keep it safe. We¡¯ll have it returned to his family.¡± ¡°You should see to your wound milord,¡± Gripa advised him, but Lucius stopped him with a wave of his hand. ¡°I have a battle to win, Gripa,¡± he rustled and bit the inside of his mouth to stop his grief from overcoming him, the lines on his face deepening. ¡°Allgods know, I owe it to them.¡±
Just as Sir Tellman¡¯s cavalry got wiped out while causing atrocious casualties to Lucius riders, Mamercus had circled around the frontline with the intention to fire on the backs of the Issirs duking it out with the Centuries. Baron Heuvel recognizing the danger to his exposed rear, pulled half his men from the line reacting fast and tried to push the sneaking Slingers away. Mamercus gang teased them keeping their distance unleashing volley after volley on their packed lines. The incensed Baron had the presence of mind to realize the struggle had turned against him and with Lucius¡¯ depleted cavalry reappearing behind their lines cutting off their retreat, he ordered his men to disengage and force the issue. The Issir regulars pulled back followed by Mamercus on their south flank and attempted to break through the cavalry blocking their retreat. While all this was happening, Galio ordered the two reserve centuries up the slope to assist Centurion Josi Vala, now commanding both centuries there after the death of Sabinus. Dirk Curd seeing an opening slipped through the ravaged north flank of the Issirs, navigated the Issirs center without engaging them, the latter still fighting a retreat surrounded from Cavalry, Slingers and the First Cohort, with Lucius watching livid from the other side of the battlefield and then charged every man he had towards the rear and Lord Vanzon. Lord Vanzon¡¯s entourage, a force of about a hundred men-at-arms, had pushed forward to break out his main force, a solid idea on paper as Lucius Cavalry and Slingers were no match for them. If he could catch them between his two forces, he could have turned the battle. Well, Dirk Curd¡¯s Northmen and mix-breeds caught the slowly moving cavalry instead. In a brutal fight that lasted less than twenty minutes they cut through them and reached the Lord of Krakenhall. Curd had no plan, nor tactic to his assault. It was a savage, instinctual attempt. The men under him, fueled by his savagery fought like a pack of hyenas, killing everything that moved. There¡¯s no clear record on what happened at this smaller in size battle. An account has Lord Vanzon killing himself seeing Curd reaching him, after which the mix-breed sawed his head off with a blunted cleaver. Another has Dirk tackling the fat lord and gutting him like hammerhead fish, like the ones that were plaguing Umlen¡¯s waters. Then he sawed off his head. Whatever the case may have been, by the time an injured Lucius reached the center of the battlefield, Lord Vanzon¡¯s head had been tossed amidst the retreating Issirs and it caused chaos. Baron Heuvel tried to galvanize his rattled men, some rallying near him, but the majority just didn¡¯t want to risk a similar fate, so they turned en masse and surrendered to the approaching in step First Cohort. The Baron to his credit was killed fighting to the end desperately. A fate suffered by Kroneberg as well who found himself trapped inside the Iron Mines vale and got mauled down mercilessly by the fresh Centuries that wanted to avenge their earlier losses. It is impossible to give an accurate account on the casualties suffered by the Issirs, but about four hundred of them surrendered according to Trupo. He gives their casualties to around one thousand and five hundred (probably the number was higher), along them some famed names like Lord Vanzon, Baron Heuvel, Sir Walter Tellman and Kroneberg. Lord Vanzon¡¯s inhumane treatment and Sir Tellman¡¯s loss, a personal friend to Sir Shane Est Ravn, the ¡®Priest Knight¡¯ of Midlanor, then Lord commander of the Golden Spears and son of Lord Anker, had a deleterious effect on Lucius reputation in Kaltha. While most of it was propaganda from the Est Ravn, but also the High Inquisitor Kelholt spreading his poison, it turned the people (mostly the Lords) against him. Despite Lord Vanzon¡¯s conduct in the long war that had been marred with unspeakable atrocities everyone wanted to pretend they never happened, the Legatus found himself politically isolated especially when Lesia decided to withdraw its support to his claim. Whether it was due to pressure from the still aggrieved Duchy of Sovya, the High King, or a matter fueled by the political climate in the south, the fact is it cost an unsuspecting Lucius heavily and placed his father in a vulnerable position. Lucius losses after the battle of the Iron Mines were significant. While men and friends can¡¯t be easily replaced though, the cold hard fact was that when the Cohorts marched again towards Krakenhall the Vanzons rule over the North part of Kaltha and the continent itself had been broken. Dier would hold out for another two months in Rockfort, but while he did perform admirably, in the meantime Lucius crossed the Retford River Bridge unopposed and entered Krakenhall. Centurion Decimus Sabinus, Decurion Eli Sharp and Decurion Alana Shields names are commemorated on the Wall of the Fallen at Elysium Fort. Alana Shields is the only woman that had been honored by the Third Legion until this day. Lord Sirio Veturius The Fall of Heroes Chapter II (Legatus Lucius Alden, Northern campaigns, A Hundred Days Volume III, 14th week, First Month of Spring 1st, 2nd & 3rd Cohort -The Tiger¡¯s treaty, Duchess of Krakenhall & The heavy prize of victory) Spring of 190 NC
184. A Hundred Days (10/10)
On to your sacred ancestors¡¯ bones and your mother¡¯s blood The sky above and the earth beneath our feet. On Uher the Godsfather¡¯s Holy Light and on Tyeus¡¯ blood-soaked fields. On Naossis pleasure not to be denied and Oras black heart to guide your soul true. On Luthos favor never to waver from your side. The Duchess Oath Circa 190 NC
Legatus Lucius Alden A Hundred Days Part X -The Duchess of Krakenhall-
The young heir run up the stairs, the leather tube containing the fated missive inside tightly closed, although almost everyone handling the birds had read it. He paused before the stern faced guards on the open doors leading to the rebuild throne room, the gray squid engraved on their polished plate armour drawing those blue and green eyes, but the guards quickly ushered him inside as he was expected. His mother stood on her stone throne, the back high and the tentacles sprouting like a halo above her leaving no doubt as to what the sculpted creature was. The Duchess had her red hair gathered back in a loose ponytail and wore her leather pants instead of formal dress, her shirt made out of hard leather armor and quality chainmail. He stopped and looked apprehensively at the horrifically scarred face of the older man standing tall next to the throne, clad in breastplate and a double-headed axe on his back. The young heir gulped down nervously and the man¡¯s lips split showing him his teeth in a menacing leer. The Duchess stopping their exchange with an impatient wave of her hand. ¡°Speak boy,¡± she ordered harshly and he stood back stunned not expecting the emotion in her voice. ¡°Are the rumors true?¡± The boy nodded and his mother hanged her head, fists clenched tight and wept in silence. The latter the most shocking event, as his mother hadn¡¯t shed a tear neither for her own father, nor his baby brother that had died of fever last summer. By the end of that day the whole Duchy was in mourning.
Lucius Legion* (Later 3rd Legion) Total x3840 (combined- minus Supply Train and Officers) (3200 Legionnaires, 200 Slingers, 200 Cavalry, 100 Scouts, 100 Engineers, 40 Medics) Officers (In order of rank) 1x Legatus Legionis 1x Tribune (added after 192 NC) 1x Camp Prefect 16 Centurions 1x Leader of Horse (Centurion equivalent) ¨C (added after 193 NC) 1x Centurion of Scouts 1x Centurion of Slingers 1x Centurion of Engineers (added after 192 NC) 1x Chief Dottore (Centurion equivalent) 18 Optio (No Optio of Slingers) 2x Decurion of Cavalry 19 Decanus (Not officers, equivalent pay to Centurions) 1x Panthera Tigris** Signifer 4x Cohort Signifers 1x Legion Cornicen (Horn blower) 1st Cohort 1st Century x500 Legionnaires 2nd Century x180 Legionnaires 3rd Century x180 Legionnaires 4rth Century x180 Legionnaires Total x1040 legionnaires 2nd Cohort 1st Century x180 Legionnaires 2nd Century x180 Legionnaires 3rd Century x180 Legionnaires 4rth Century x180 Legionnaires Total x720 Legionnaires 3rd Cohort 1st Century x180 Legionnaires 2nd Century x180 Legionnaires 3rd Century x180 Legionnaires 4rth Century x180 Legionnaires Total x720 Legionnaires 4rth Cohort 1st Century x180 Legionnaires 2nd Century x180 Legionnaires 3rd Century x180 Legionnaires 4rth Century x180 Legionnaires Total x720 Legionnaires Legion Slingers x200 Legion Scouts x100 Legion Cavalry x200 Legion Engineers x100 (60 engineers, 20 carpenters, 10 smiths, 10 Scorpios Sergeants) Legion Hospital (10 Dottore/Physicians/Surgeons, 30 medical staff) *The Legatus preliminary charts and plans were first put on paper probably as early as the summer of 190 NC, finalized later that year and took their final form before 193 NC. Everyone though had started calling Lucius¡¯ army after the ¡®Hundred Days¡¯ campaign with the more palatable Lucius Legion. **It must be noted here Lucius¡¯ Legion Panthera Tigris differed from the First Legion¡¯s Alden Tigris and of course the white boar, or Aper Albineus of Lesia¡¯s Second.
Galio saw him walking down the narrow corridor of the keep¡¯s hall through its open doors, pale faced and with fresh stiches hurting over his brow, his left eye bloodshot and turned to the locals gathered there. ¡°Legatus Legionis, Sir Lucius Alden!¡± He boomed and the ten soldiers present came to attention eyeing the similar number of civilians under the rims of their helms menacingly. Lucius entered the small hall and went to sit on the empty small throne in the middle of it. His armour clanging on the rough hardwood narrow seat when he sat down. Lucius looked at the uneasy Issirs, three out of the eight being of mixed-blood. Half-Issirs Half-Nords. The Jarl¡¯s bigotry had provided Vanzon with a steady stream of new residents, as it wasn¡¯t easy to keep regular Issirs emigrating to the North even with the naval yards of Krakenhall providing ¡®easy¡¯ work. The latter¡¯s presence there having to do more with the significant amount of iron present in the area and less with the High King valuing the city port that much. The Fleet had as large a naval base in Caspo O¡¯ Bor and Vanzon¡¯s port was only open for half the year anyway. Between Krakenfort and Krakenhall now, the larger Krakenhall had the advantage of being ¡®closer¡¯ to Kaltha be it by sea, or land, but Krakenfort had the bigger iron deposits and guarded the road to Rockfort and Fetya. Eh, Lucius thought leaving the matter aside for now, at least I get to sit down for a while since morning, without a dottore sticking needles in my head. ¡°Who is in charge?¡± He asked the Krakenfort¡¯s officials, tired hoarse voice reverberating inside the elongated narrow hall. The candles burning making the atmosphere inside stone hall suffocating. A slim Issir man, white hair cut short and trimmed beard, stepped forward under Galio¡¯s glare. He cleared his throat a couple of times and then bowed his head courtly. ¡°Lord Alden, I¡¯m Ko Nobbe, part-owner of the iron mines,¡± he announced. ¡°Who has the other part?¡± ¡°That would be Lord Kroneberg sire,¡± Nobbe replied losing some of his confidence. Lucius stared at Galio and the Prefect checked the scroll Trupo had given him earlier. The Centurion had stayed in the field to sort out the casualties and have a final report for them later in the evening or on the morrow. Lucius just didn¡¯t have enough time to take care of everything and he trusted the people under him to do the job they had been tasked with. ¡°He¡¯s dead Legatus,¡± Galio informed him. Lots of that as well, Lucius thought with a scowl. ¡°Then his half reverts to the state, sire,¡± Ko Nobbe informed him. ¡°Go on,¡± He told the local iron magnate. ¡°Baron Gert Huevel¡¯s family runs the Castle and has a small share as well,¡± Nobbe replied looking about him nervously. Lucius glanced at Galio and the Prefect shook his head right and left. ¡°The Baron is dead as well mister Nobbe. Does he have any heirs?¡± ¡°His son was killed two years ago sire,¡± the man explained. ¡°His wife alas, gave him a daughter after the boy. Nothing since.¡± I see. ¡°How was he killed?¡± ¡°Jarl¡¯s dastardly raid at Ludriver sire,¡± the man replied. ¡°He was serving there as second in command.¡± Lucius had heard at least two versions of this story. ¡°His daughter and wife shall be provided for,¡± he announced. ¡°His share of the mines the army will accept as reparation.¡± A loud murmur came from the men present. ¡°SILENCE!¡± Galio boomed, putting an end to that. ¡°Who is in charge here mister Nobbe?¡± Lucius asked him again and the man took a step back, white as snow. ¡°You sire,¡± he replied. ¡°Why?¡± Lucius asked him patiently. ¡°You¡¯ve won the battle sire,¡± the man replied. ¡°It¡¯s within your rights.¡± ¡°A man of my choosing shall take up the Baron¡¯s position,¡± Lucius announced and got up. The throne was hurting his back. ¡°There will be a local assigned to run your affairs under him. There will be no reprisals, but I don¡¯t enjoy insubordination or troublemakers. You can go on with your lives under the new management.¡± ¡°May I suggest Mart Buuren Lord Alden,¡± Nobbe said nervously. ¡°He has traveled extensively and would be an asset to help with the transition.¡± ¡°I shall consider it,¡± Lucius told him and the Issir bowed his head pleased.
¡°Optio Nonus Sula,¡± Galio proposed immediately. ¡°He should lead the First Century milord.¡± ¡°Fine, you take care of it Prefect,¡± Lucius agreed half an hour later. They were still in Krakenfort¡¯s hall. ¡°But prepare the men to march in two days.¡± ¡°What about the wounded?¡± ¡°The Second Century will stay behind, help with the transition and tend to the wounded,¡± Lucius told him. ¡°I will need an officer to run it after that. I need Centurion Tutor for something else.¡± ¡°His Optio Titus Macrinus is a good choice,¡± Galio replied readily. The Prefect¡¯s knowledge of the men under him outstanding. ¡°A good trainer. Not good for a social visit.¡± Lucius nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll need four picks for new Centurions as well, other than Sula,¡± he started, but paused seeing Galio getting a small scroll out of his waistband. Made to offer it to Lucius after checking it quickly, but he frowned looking at the poor handwriting and proceeded to read the names instead. ¡°Cassius Falx, First Century. Placus Lepidus, Fourth Century. Those are from the First Cohort. Lepidus is an excellent officer. Julius Scrofa and Jorgen Osmont, both from the Second Cohort, First Century. Sabinus¡¯ lads,¡± he added looking at Lucius expectantly. ¡°They will do,¡± Lucius agreed, trusting his judgement. The Prefect had been with him since the start of this adventure. Never wavered once, after Lucius first met him at the gates of Alden helping the local guard. ¡°Thank you Galio.¡±This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. ¡°Ah, yer welcomed milord. Just doing my job,¡± Galio replied and tossed the scroll into the fireplace. ¡°May I inquire as to the need for four new Centurions?¡± ¡°I intend to leave the Second behind as I mentioned, while we march towards Krakenhall,¡± Lucius explained touching the bloody scar over his brow with a finger. ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean Macrinus and Tutor will be idle.¡± Lucius wanted those recruits turned into another Cohort as soon as possible. You needed three to declare the outfit a Lorian Legion. While the Lorian Legion Centuries were massive in size at one thousand Legionnaires per for the First Cohort and six hundred for the other two, Lucius had seen in the smaller in scale battles of the North, the necessity for smaller units. Perhaps two hundred per spread in four Centuries such as we have done so far, he thought. Nah, a hundred and eighty. Four centuries per Cohort, the final number seven hundred and twenty, but for the First Cohort. Four Cohorts and not three. Have one kept in reserve at all times. His Legion¡¯s total number three thousand two hundred. Maybe give Galio one big Century. Make it five hundred men. Something close to it and that¡¯s it. ¡°You will give Tutor command of Krakenfort milord?¡± Galio asked. ¡°We can¡¯t exactly leave one of the locals in charge on our backs Prefect,¡± Lucius explained and ended their meeting.
Trupo saluted and Lucius returned it, the light of torches not enough to keep the camp well lit. Most of the army had returned to their camp, but for the Second that had found lodgings inside Vanzon¡¯s empty camp and Krakenfort. Lucius who hadn¡¯t rest a minute since the previous day rode into the camp and headed straight for Zofia¡¯s tent. He glared at the mix-breeds guarding the entrance and they stepped aside. Zofia¡¯s smile took him by surprise. She was playing with the baby under the watchful eye of Dirk Curd. The man had a heavily bandaged right leg, a sling on his left hand and a swollen face as he¡¯d been trampled by a horse. Or trying to stop one from getting away with his body. ¡°Lucius,¡± Zofia said seeing him. ¡°There¡¯s our hero,¡± she teased sounding a little tipsy. ¡°What in Oras hell happened back there?¡± Lucius rustled not in the mood for celebration after he¡¯d seen people thrown into the funeral pyre not even two hours earlier. Men and women that he liked and had supported him through the whole ordeal. Zofia frowned. ¡°You won Lucius. Vanzon is dead.¡± Lucius breathed once slowly and glared at a quiet Curd. The man looked half-dead and twice as tired as the Legatus. ¡°What the hell where you doing out there?¡± He asked him and Curd crooked the part of his face he could still move. ¡°Saw an opening,¡± he said, voice gravely. ¡°Did what I had to do.¡± ¡°You chopped his head off!¡± Lucius blasted him. ¡°Hurled it at the feet of his men! The whole army saw it Curd, are you serious?¡± ¡°Incentive, milord,¡± Curd replied and sat back on the stool he had. It was too small for his frame. ¡°Made ¡®em less eager to keep on fighting.¡± Lucius closed his eyes trying to regain his composure. ¡°You left Kaeso alone in the flank,¡± he told him restrained. ¡°Kaeso had a hole in him, looked more dead than alive,¡± Curd explained. ¡°So I didn¡¯t think about asking for his opinion. When I left the flank was secure.¡± ¡°Running through the field to attack Vanzon,¡± Lucius said grinding his teeth. ¡°Pulled Galio¡¯s whole right flank along with you¡­ What?¡± He snapped seeing him not agreeing. ¡°Zofia¡¯s men,¡± Curd argued. ¡°And mix-breeds. You said men can go wherever they want Lord Alden. Vanzon wanted me dead. He stood in my way. It was either him or me.¡± ¡°No, Curd, it wasn¡¯t. That¡¯s a wrapped way of thinking,¡± Lucius grunted, a vein throbbing under his wound. ¡°Vanzon had lost the battle. I wanted him to surrender to me, so we can agree on a proper truce. He was a Lord for crying out loud! I didn¡¯t want him butchered and kicked about in the field!¡± He threw his arms up and the baby started crying waking up. ¡°Bah!¡± Lucius gasped frustrated, feeling guilty for scaring the child. ¡°What do you think Vanzon would¡¯ve done?¡± Zofia asked him, while rocking the baby in her hands. She was looking much better now, the climate agreeing with her or perhaps it was the ale, Lucius thought. Zofia was always more lively when she had her cups. Lucius licked his dry lips. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°If you lost. If we have lost here,¡± Zofia said, looking at him. Dirk grimaced and stared at his muddy boots. ¡°What would Lord Vanzon have done to you Lucius? Or to me? My baby,¡± her eyes narrowed. ¡°Yours.¡± Lucius stared at her. ¡°This is no bloody way to conduct a war,¡± he said, but deep down Lucius knew she was right. It was doubtful Vanzon would have spared him or Faye. Lord Crull had tried to have him killed the day after he¡¯d met him. As he¡¯d said to Roderick more than a year back, these Lords were behaving like criminals. ¡°I can¡¯t condone this,¡± he repeated the same words. ¡°But they can, milord,¡± Curd said. ¡°That¡¯s how it is.¡± ¡°I shall not fight like an uncultured beast, Curd,¡± Lucius said. ¡°You¡¯ve disobeyed orders again.¡± ¡°No he didn¡¯t,¡± Zofia intervened and Lucius glared at her frustrated. ¡°He was to stay at the flank and protect Galio¡¯s center! People were dying to keep the whole thing from falling apart!¡± He growled, but Zofia wasn¡¯t intimidated, she gave the shocked into silence baby to an unsure Curd, the man handling it gingerly like it was made out of paper and walked up to him. Lucius had seen that scowl before. ¡°I told Dirk to kill Vanzon in the first chance he got. Not to come back if he didn¡¯t,¡± she said surprisingly calm and glanced at the silent mix-breed. ¡°It was too good an opportunity to pass up.¡± ¡°This is not your campaign Zofia,¡± Lucius said tiredly. ¡°They tried to have me tortured and killed in Riverdor. They cut my brother¡¯s head off!¡± Zofia hissed and added without an ounce of pity in her voice. ¡°The only I thing I regret, is not having his stupid fat head here, so I can kick it around myself! I have people looking for it though, so we¡¯ll see about that.¡± Ah, Lucius thought and shook his head in despair. You were never subtle woman. ¡°I will say this once,¡± he started looking at both of them. ¡°It will be the final time I¡¯m dealing with trouble coming from you two. I understand revenge, but it won¡¯t happen under my watch. Zofia, you are not in charge here. You¡¯ll never be in charge of anything, unless people can trust you not to blow everything up. You don¡¯t have your father¡¯s favor anymore. Curd is wanted in half the North and probably all of Kaltha now and your only ally has had enough. If you¡¯re with me, you do as I say.¡± Zofia took a step back and sighed. ¡°What happens if you decide this is over?¡± She asked him. ¡°What happens to me?¡± ¡°Butchering your father¡¯s enemies won¡¯t endear him to your baby Zofia, neither will it make him accept Curd into the family. The way I see it, he wants you married with Steele and with everything that happened before that wiped out.¡± ¡°That won¡¯t happen,¡± Zofia said. ¡°I¡¯ll fight him if I have to.¡± Fantastic, let us win this war first and then kill each other in the bloody celebration! ¡°How about we work on something else?¡± Lucius told her. ¡°Since sending Curd with a couple of hundred men to kill the Jarl isn¡¯t much of a plan right?¡± Zofia scrunched her face troubled. ¡°What plan?¡± She asked resigned. ¡°Let me worry about that,¡± Lucius assured her.
Lucius marched out of Krakenfort leaving Gladius Tutor behind as governor, along with newly promoted in the late Sabinus place, Centurion Nonus Sula¡¯s Second Century of the First Cohort and a good number of injured soldiers. Governor Tutor assigned a local merchant named Mart Buuren as Deputy Governor and the rich iron magnate Ko Nobbe as his advisor, effectively bringing Krakenfort under Lucius control. The small Castle city was to grow in the later years turning into a safe haven for entrepreneurs, as despite the inhospitable weather, its independent status, the rich mine contracts that brought wealth to its citizens, the abundance of high quality wood and the new roads built bringing two faraway parts of the North closer, made it an opportune destination. As was being near a man very close to the Legatus. The first bird to arrive from Krakenfort to Maza Burg wasn¡¯t to appear for another month, as Lucius after setting up communications, advised Tutor to keep the word of their success a secret until after he¡¯d secured Krakenhall. The still not formed Legion got in a bit of trouble crossing Direwolf¡¯s Road, the long but narrow strip of land between Umlen and Retford rivers, when a pack of fifty huge predators got out of the woods (Trupo described it as a huge hole in the ground) and attacked their mules. The affair turned into a half day proper battle, eleven civilians getting killed or eaten according to another source and several animals sharing the same fate. ¡®Hulking¡¯ Layton who performed exceptionally well during the scrap, declared the pelts gathered ¡®an excellent haul¡¯ for ¡®such a small den¡¯. Not everyone present shared his enthusiasm. On the ninety ninth day of his campaign Lucius Alden reached the gates of Krakenhall. Reggy De Vent, the Mayor of the city came out of the gates to meet with the Legatus entourage, bringing with him Captain Kevin Vros commander of the local city¡¯s guard. Captain Vros seeing the Legion armoured columns standing behind the famed Legatus and knowing he¡¯d neither the men, nor the will to put up any kind of fight, since Krakenhall had been stripped from men, first from the High King and then by losing good troops for almost two years straight, advised the under severe pressure Mayor to offer terms. A letter that had arrived from Issir¡¯s Eagle had ordered the Mayor to not allow its capture. Another letter that had arrived from Midlanor had advised him to avoid battle and stall for as long as he could. It must be noted here that both missives were for the late Lord Vanzon, opened by De Vent as Krakenhall had run out of officials. Mayor De Vent did offer vague terms opting to stall, Lucius didn¡¯t agree and ordered Galio to prepare the men for a siege. Captain Kevin Vros, a mix-breed intervened and arrested the Mayor the moment they returned to the city. Lucius had given them a one day ultimatum, but early the next morning the gates opened and Port Master Jerome Otter, serving as an acting Mayor after De Vent had gotten his head chopped off swiftly the previous night, surrendered the city to a stunned Lucius. His first action when he entered Lord Vanzon¡¯s hall, was to order Kevin Vros arrested and executed in turn. It is to be noted that there were no ships present at Krakenhall at the time Lucius arrived there. The city stood half empty. Most of the prominent purebred Issirs had evacuated the city in panic the moment the weather opened up and news of Rockfort¡¯s conundrum reached them. The Krakenhall refugee flotilla arrived at Sallowhall later that month losing two transports in the brief journey through the sinister icebergs of the Northern Sea. Some prominent lords got lost in the disaster, for a total of seven hundred civilians drown. Opened seas that early in the year was as it turned out, a euphemism. In the end Lord Vanzon had been left to fight the war by himself, with few prominent Issirs and the majority of Krakenhall¡¯s large mix-breed population remaining in the city for the most part. The latter because they had nowhere else to run to. Not all lords in Kaltha favored them as much as the late Lord Vanzon. Midlanor while it had vested interest in the important city¡¯s affairs was heavily preoccupied elsewhere. It did respond in a sense, albeit not as the late Lord would have preferred to.
Never had Lucius seen a gloomier hall than the one he¡¯d found himself into. Lord Vanzon¡¯s city was a mixture of the sturdy stone buildings favored by the Issirs and the typical wood longhouses of the North. A narrow street city, full of inclines and worn out cobblestone. The mouth of the port while big was still not safe to venture out of and the port itself perhaps the coldest part of the city. Jerome Otter, a fat large cheeked Issir with a prominent nose and small eyes for the face, stared at him miserably expecting the worst. Seeing two of his close friends in the city council turn on each other and dying some hours apart had rattled the man to his core. ¡°As the new ruler of the city,¡± Lucius started and paused fearing Otter would collapse on the hard stone floor and break his head. The man didn¡¯t, Galio signing for Trupo to flank him closer just in case and Lucius continued. ¡°I promise I shall allow no reprisals to the locals. This is a professional army and we are not savages, Mister Otter.¡± ¡°Of course Lord Alden, absolutely,¡± Otter replied nervously, sweating despite the chilly air of the dark hall. ¡°I will have order restored and the city shall continue under a new ruler. This will be an independent city and it will form along with Krakenfort a new Duchy,¡± he paused to gather himself. ¡°By the ancient right of conquest it is in my right to name the new Duke.¡± Otter cleared his throat. ¡°Yes, Mister Otter?¡± ¡°Are we to be part of Regia Lord Alden?¡± He asked timidly. ¡°What does independent mean my friend?¡± Lucius asked patiently. ¡°Unattached?¡± He chanced. ¡°Prefect Veturius?¡± Lucius asked channeling his father. ¡°Milord I can¡¯t think of a better term,¡± a frowned Galio replied, Trupo grimacing next to him, blond mustache dancing on his upper lip, in an attempt to keep the smile off of his face. ¡°Well then,¡± Lucius said sitting back on the large throne Lord Vanzon had installed. A very comfortable seat, but perhaps too roomy for Lucius. ¡°Since we¡¯re absent of another meaning, let us call it that, right Mister Otter?¡± ¡°Why¡­ absolutely, Lord Alden,¡± Otter loved that word. ¡°Of course the new Duke will be under my protection,¡± Lucius Alden added lessening the independent status, much as rulers do this world over. ¡°And you¡¯ll remain as Mayor and Port Master. I don¡¯t expect you to build any ships soon. You can do both jobs, do I have it correct Mister Otter?¡± Otter¡¯s relieved reply not surprising anyone inside the hall. ¡°Absolutely, Lord Alden.¡±
Three hours later Lucius was inspecting the city guard, now under the supervision of former Decanus of the Fourth Century Josh O¡¯ Leary, a Nord from Ludr that had joined back in Maza Burg. The Guard was three hundred men strong, but not particularly well-trained, other than policing duty. ¡°What does the men need Captain?¡± Lucius asked and the tall wiry Northman, hair cut extremely short making his large ears pop out of his head, replied readily. ¡°Training milord.¡± ¡°Quite right,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°Also numbers. There are people sitting about, workers idle in the naval yard. How about you make this lot into a decent army Captain? It might take time, but it is a job.¡± ¡°The mix-breeds milord? They were used as auxiliary units from Lord Vanzon,¡± he paused seeing Lucius expression. ¡°But they can do the job, I reckon.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a big city, granted a bit empty now, but people will return. If they don¡¯t, new people might take their place just the same. Men can go wherever they want,¡± Lucius told him. ¡°The Duchy needs an army of its own Captain. The Legion can¡¯t stay here forever.¡± ¡°I will make the effort to recruit immediately milord.¡± ¡°Thank you Captain,¡± Lucius smacked his lips and eyed him. ¡°Sam O¡¯ Dargan had recommended you back in Maza right?¡± ¡°Aye, milord. I was familiar with the Legion tactics,¡± the man replied. ¡°Had family employed as scouts?¡± Lucius chanced. ¡°My father fought against it milord,¡± O¡¯ Leary replied. ¡°And yer father.¡± Of course. ¡°The Jarl isn¡¯t in charge here Captain.¡± ¡°I know milord.¡± ¡°A number of your friends stayed at the blocking force we left at Rockfort,¡± Lucius continued wanting to get to the bottom of this. ¡°Men from Ludr is my meaning. You didn¡¯t. I don¡¯t expect to see them again. Am I wrong?¡± Josh glanced at him, the men of the city guard frozen in attention not daring to move, as their conversation was dragging. They were standing in front of them in the square dominated by the dark grey mass of the Admiralty building. Most of its cadets and marines either with the fleet, or dead, used as fodder by Lord Vanzon in the war. ¡°Ah, those who chose to stay back, won¡¯t return to you milord. That¡¯s as far as they¡¯ll go.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t. Why?¡± ¡°Mad Wolf asked for those that wanted to follow his sister milord. Not everyone from Ludr wanted to follow after her though. Most men don¡¯t want to fight the Jarl down the line.¡± ¡°There will be no fight with the Jarl down the line Captain,¡± Lucius told him a little frustrated as he feared the possibility. ¡°Why exile yourself O¡¯ Leary? Zofia might not return to Ludr.¡± ¡°She¡¯s Zofia O¡¯ Dargan Milord,¡± the man replied. ¡°The name matters in the North. The blood matters. My family is connected to her through the Jarl¡¯s wife Mary.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know that,¡± Lucius admitted. ¡°Was Lady Mary behind Sam¡¯s willingness to help his sister?¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know sire,¡± O¡¯ Leary replied earnestly. ¡°But she was behind mine and most of the lads Sam gave her. Some would say, he didn¡¯t have much of a choice in the matter. We were going to follow her either way.¡± As had the men Faye had with her, even the mute Logan ¡®Gray¡¯ Barret. Bound to her by old debts, oaths and blood. Either spilt or shared. Lucius nodded remembering a younger Zofia¡¯s words early on in their journey, while they were still in Regia. Beyond those mountains, your world ends Lucius, Zofia had told him. ¡°Get Krakenhall the men it needs Captain,¡± Lucius had told him. ¡°You may have to honor your oath in the future.¡± The relief on the men¡¯s faces the moment they ended their long conversation evident.
Lucius eyed the men and women present in late Lord Vanzon¡¯s hall. More candles had been installed, the huge fireplace burning bright helping in that department. It was the biggest Lucius had ever seen, by no means the fanciest, but still its size gave you pause. Prefect Veturius was present, Primus Pilus Centurion Trupo, Captain of Krakenhall¡¯s City Guard Josh O¡¯ Leary clad in his new metal armour sporting a large squid on his chest. Mayor Joseph Otter and the ever silently scowling Logan ¡®Gray¡¯ Barret standing protectively next to a heavy Faye on his right, the latter looking tired and still grieving the loss of her childhood friend Alana, the hulking presence of Layton occupying his left. Lucius stared at Dirk Curd, barely standing upright and Zofia, her red hair caught at the nappe, a couple of buttons opened at her top and wearing warm leather pants with hard sole boots. No coat on, the stares of some women of the city¡¯s most prominent members also present at the back casting daggers on her. There will be work to be done there, Lucius mused glad it wasn¡¯t on him to do it. He pushed himself up from the roomy throne and climbed down a couple of stairs to reach the stone floor. Lucius took a deep breath in and then addressed the small crowd of what was left of Krakenhall¡¯s elite and his own people present. ¡°A hundred days ago, give or take a couple,¡± Lucius started, not everyone present finding humor to his words. ¡°We¡¯ve embarked on a journey to right wrongs and put an end to the war. Some things we¡¯ve succeeded in correcting, others need some more work done. We did win the war though and ended Vanzon¡¯s stranglehold on this city. He¡¯s no more and Krakenhall is now a free city to trade with anyone and everyone. Both in the North and in the South. It¡¯s free to prosper and grow. I understand much of the population is half-Issirs and half-Nords, but fear not. This isn¡¯t the Jarl¡¯s domain either. Jarl David doesn¡¯t rule here. Krakenhall is under my protection and it¡¯s bound unto me personally by the ancient right of conquest,¡± Lucius paused to watch the people¡¯s faces, caught a few unsure looks, but he¡¯d replaced everyone of any meaningful power with people he trusted already, so it didn¡¯t allow the matter to deter him. He was as usual on a very tight schedule. There were important matters needing his attention both in the North and in the South. ¡°Krakenhall along with Krakenfort shall be known henceforth as a Duchy. The end of the Vanzon rule also means there must be a new ruler sitting on this very throne. Someone to guarantee another war with the North won¡¯t happen. Trust me you don¡¯t want the Legion marching in here again. You should all rally behind this new ruler, it is in your best interests. Rebuild and grow. This is a chance as much as it was a calamity. My Legion has broken your shackles, but don¡¯t mistake autonomy with lawlessness or treachery. Your freedom isn¡¯t free. It has a name and a man behind it. It comes with a permanent alliance, both in ink and as an oath unto me. Help me, help yourselves, help your Duchess,¡± Lucius finished and turned to a thoroughly surprised Zofia. ¡°Zofia O¡¯ Dargan come forth,¡± he ordered her solemnly. Zofia approached him under the loud murmurs of those present, but for Lucius¡¯ very close inner circle. ¡°Kneel Zofia,¡± Lucius ordered her. She frowned and glanced at those behind Lucius, but couldn¡¯t decipher their expressions, other than Faye¡¯s slight smirk and Layton¡¯s amused and thoroughly confused blank stare. So Zofia O¡¯ Dargan knelt before him and Lucius placed his right hand on her left shoulder, felt her trembling underneath. Lucius had caught her by surprise, much as almost everyone else. ¡°Will you swear an oath to honor this alliance?¡¯ Lucius asked her and Zofia who very rarely lost her words for anyone, took her time to reply. ¡°I shall,¡± she croaked. ¡°On to your sacred ancestors¡¯ bones and your mother¡¯s blood,¡± Lucius started. ¡°The sky above and the earth beneath our feet. On Uher the Godsfather¡¯s Holy Light and on Tyeus¡¯ blood-soaked fields. On Naossis¡¯ pleasure not to be denied and Oras¡¯ black heart to guide your soul true. On Luthos¡¯ favor never to waver from your side. You¡¯ll swear to uphold your promise unto me, Legatus Sir Lucius of Alden, third of my name and my heritors. To never waver from this alliance, until you breathed your last?¡± ¡°I swear,¡± Zofia said, this time more sternly, having regained her composure. The hall silent and everyone holding their breath. ¡°Arise then, Zofia O¡¯ Dargan, first of your name, Duchess of Krakenhall and Krakenfort of the Iron Plateau, ruler of Kraken¡¯s Gulf, of the Icebreak Coast, from Eodrass Watch to the Arid Peaks and Lucius¡¯ Warden of the North.¡±
There are a lot stories circulating today about the Duchess of Krakenhall. Her rule unbroken almost two decades after she¡¯d ascended to her throne. Ten after she¡¯d grabbed Rockfort from her brother and five after she birthed her third child without ever getting married. Two of them were as black as coal with white Issir hair and one a pale grey, his hair the color of blooded gold. The answer as to why Lucius picked her varying, with some even evoking the Legatus fondness of Northern women having married two of them or even more lewd suggestions. Every gossip not giving justice to a man that had never made a move without thinking it through first. Everyone forgetting what the options were there at the time for the Legatus. They were much fewer than one could imagine. With the death of Lord Vanzon, Lucius couldn¡¯t end the war another way, nor could he sit on Krakenhall¡¯s throne himself. Lucius didn¡¯t belong in the North and he was already living there for almost two years. It would take him a bit more to break out of the ice, but before doing that Lucius gave the heavily invested in another war High King an out. Zofia had taken the throne and broken up with her Jarl father for a very obvious and well known reason, was the official word on the eve of the Duchy¡¯s creation. Most of it the absolute truth. Duchess of Krakenhall, Zofia O¡¯ Dargan had ascended her throne on her twentieth named year. As then Centurion Mamercus Sorex described her in a letter a year later, addressed to Secundus Sorex his brother. ¡®As darn fine a lass as ye¡¯ll ever lay yer eyes upon, but alas as hard to palate as a bucket of rusted iron nails.¡¯ Lord Sirio Veturius The Fall of Heroes Chapter II (Legatus Lucius Alden, Northern campaigns, Second Year The Tiger¡¯s Decision, Prelude to the 2nd battle of the Montfoot, A mad dash to Kas, Duke Redmond¡¯s folly & Lesia¡¯s Ultimatum) Late Spring of 190- Summer of 191 NC
185. The Last Council (1/2)
Lord Storm Nattas The Last Council Part I -A learned man-
(Right click on the map to open it fully) Storm Nattas stayed at a far edge of the docks at Aldenport. He was standing atop his carriage, the leg bothering him and his acute eyes set on the large Barque that had moored in the port. Two smaller Brigs flanking it. The crowned White Boar of Lesia flying from the top mast, signaling the King was aboard. Around the port a long row of Alden guards had cordoned the area and kept back the crowd that had started gathering as the news were spreading. Forty white and gold armoured soldiers marched down the ship¡¯s bridge, styled after the 2nd Legion Lesia had never gotten around to create. Ever the shrewd merchants, they¡¯d discerned it was more prudent financially to share the burden of running one with their allied Kingdom of Regia. A young knight appeared next and waved at the crowd, who recognized his fancy armour. Sir William Davenport, the Charming Knight of Lesia had won all three Royal tournaments that year. People would argue, Nattas thought wiping his face with a folded hankie, most of the good fighters were missing on campaign, or were otherwise occupied like being dead for instance. He turned his eyes on the ships anchored next to the King¡¯s and spotted easily the Green Stag¡¯s banner of Cediorum and venerable silhouette of Lord Miles Lennox already standing on the docs. The old knight, general and King Davenport¡¯s Shield still cutting an arresting figure. A woman was standing next to him, a mature Knight escorting her. She was talking with Lord Lennox and while more than twenty years apart in age ¨CLord Lennox was over sixty- there was some resemblance there. Nattas glanced at the Brig again and saw the smaller flag flapping in the wind under the bigger one. Another stag¡­ no that¡¯s a black Elk, he realized. Ah, the Baroness of Ballard is here as well. Lord Nattas looked at the third ship finally, although he didn¡¯t have to. He¡¯d recognized the banner, despite the vessel itself being a military ship on loan from the King. The purple and silver vines of Flauegran and its representative Lord Enzo Riveras. The wine Barons had sent a man also. King Davenport walked down on the docs next. The man being in his fifties now and Nattas thought he¡¯d gained a bit of weight, but still had all the hairs on his head. Not a single white strand amidst all the black. He glanced at the crowd, laughed at a joke from his younger second son and ushered his own guards forward and towards the Royal Carriages. ¡°Where¡¯s his wife? People say she has quite the room on her balcony,¡± Sudi asked interrupting Lord Nattas¡¯ spying on the King of Lesia. Davenport had opted to make the journey to Riverdor shorter by taking a ship to Aldenport and then travel through Regia towards the walled Kaltha city and the Lesia dignitaries had followed the King¡¯s example. Perhaps even catch up with King Alistair, as the two kings have known each other since Alistair had married Vacia his sister, when Nattas was still a young man. The friendship had cooled off after her death. Now with Jeremy married to the Scaldingport girl, Storm had no idea if that friendship would flourish again, or wither like an old vine and die. ¡°Queen Saskia would never travel so close to the winter,¡± he explained, with a deep troubled sigh at his idiocy. ¡°Famously, while a port lass she hates the sea.¡± ¡°We¡¯re in the winter season chief, so ye may be right,¡± Sudi agreed and Nattas glanced at the relatively free of clouds sky above them. ¡°Of course I am and no, we are not. Wait until crap starts falling down on our heads, then tell me again,¡± he replied and plopped down on the uncomfortable driver¡¯s seat. Storm stared at the horses¡¯ arses bemused for a moment, the one on the right dropping a brick sized shit on the cobblestone that made quite the splash and stank something fierce. Abrakas also agrees I see. ¡°You want me to drive chief?¡± Sudi asked a contemplating moment later. ¡°Nah, I want to sit here over this pile of fresh horse manure and dream of the Queen of Lesia,¡± Storm snarled, frustration oozing out of him. ¡°What the fuck do you think?¡±
¡°You¡¯re stalling,¡± Maja had declared hours later, carving a small piece of ebony wood with a sharp pointing knife. What the assassin was making could have easily been anything between a thin smoking pipe and a hair pin. Even another weapon made out of wood, Storm decided having his third goblet of wine of the early day. ¡°I don¡¯t have all the pieces of the puzzle,¡± Storm explained and Sirio who was writing on his scrolls, raised his eyes to look at him. ¡°What is Lady Maja referring to?¡± The scholar asked politely. Whether he¡¯d made the connection about her true identity, or had bought Lord Nattas tale about her being his daughter, Storm didn¡¯t know. Then again Sirio might believe she¡¯s my daughter and a murderer. Trained to do nasty stuff for the greater good by her vile father, through no fault of her own. Storm would have rolled his eyes so hard the nerve endings might never have recovered, if he wasn¡¯t forced to answer. Maja had taken the conversation to an annoying direction while he was contemplating about family and murders. Such as folk habitually do. ¡°I asked him to consider you as a potential lover,¡± Maja had replied earnestly. Sirio started coughing all red in the face and his ¡®daughter¡¯ stooped near his chair, probably going for the author¡¯s cock under the table to calm him down. Uh. ¡°She didn¡¯t,¡± Storm said, although the assassin had brought it up. If Sirio wanted to be part of his inner circle, he needed to learn to sift through mountains of lies, or perish in the attempt. ¡°Trust me dear friend, Maja isn¡¯t good for you. Literally, you¡¯d be better served to pick a lover from amongst the fishing crews in Aldenport. A couple of them seemed quite the specimens.¡± ¡°Storm!¡± Maja gasped pretending to be shocked and Sirio blinked a couple of times trying to pick his brains from the floor and failing. ¡°Just giving him the unvarnished truth,¡± Storm replied earnestly in turn. ¡°The man is in danger!¡± ¡°From what?¡± ¡°You dear. You¡¯ll eat him alive.¡± ¡°Ah, nonsense,¡± Maja protested. ¡°The situation might change,¡± Storm told her, elucidating on their previous conversation. ¡°I¡¯ll need time,¡± Maja replied, without missing a bit. ¡°For what?¡± This was Sirio finally getting out of his ¡®corner of embarrassment¡¯ metaphorically. Storm stared at him. ¡°What are the news from the two Kings meeting?¡± He asked steering the conversation away from the subject. ¡°It was brief,¡± Sirio replied. Lord Nattas had him sift through the reports coming from his ¡®ears¡¯ around the city and the palace. It was honest hard work, despite not everything coming in obtained through ¡®legitimate¡¯ means. Semantics. ¡°But amicable,¡± Sirio added. ¡°Damn it all to hells,¡± Storm cursed. ¡°A sea of fucking turds!¡± ¡°Ah, why¡­ what does it mean?¡± ¡°Kings don¡¯t like showing what they¡¯re thinking, unless there¡¯s a reason for it. Both being happy in the end, means neither of them was.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°The King¡¯s full council will meet in the afternoon,¡± Storm replied. I guess we will find out. ¡°Anything else?¡± ¡°A Cohort left with King Davenport,¡± Sirio replied. ¡°When was this?¡± ¡°While you have retired with Lady Maja,¡± the assassin pouted at that and reached for Storm¡¯s goblet. She brought it to her mouth without commending and downed its contents greedily, with both men watching her quite enthralled. ¡°Hey,¡± Maja complained when she caught their stares. ¡°I was very thirsty and this is summer wine. I like it.¡± The sweetest wine, Storm thought approvingly, frowning the moment he caught Sirio out of the corner of his eye, nodding along in agreement with her words. Hmm, perhaps there is a play here. Something worth revisiting, or reevaluating. What is a title but words on a piece of paper? It¡¯s the people behind that make them valuable down the line, or a burden that worth¡¯s as much as a turd floating in water.
¡°Sir Barnard,¡± Storm said in greeting and the hale knight of the King¡¯s Guard grimaced.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°Lord Nattas, you¡¯re rather late.¡± Ah. There you go. Straight to the arse-fucking. Use a bit of lubrication first for crying out loud! ¡°I wasn¡¯t informed they moved the meeting,¡± Storm said eyeing the ominous closed door. What the fuck is this? Are they going to have me stand outside looking at the walls? ¡°All important Lords were notified,¡± Sir Barnard explained and seeing Nattas murderous glare, he added to soften it up. ¡°There are a lot of them in the city.¡± Somehow this makes it even more humiliating you chunk of unrefined rock! ¡°Can I¡­?¡± ¡°Of course. Doors!¡± Sir Barnard barked to the guards. ¡°Gratitude, dear Sir Barnard. I bet you¡¯d have sent that Charming Knight back to his mother crying, had you participated,¡± Storm said sweetly. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t want to brag Lord Nattas,¡± Sir Barnard replied, scrunching his square jaw. ¡°But I think you are in the right,¡± he admitted modestly. ¡°Let the kid enjoy it in blissful ignorance,¡± Storm added conspiratorially and patted his gauntlet. ¡°Quite right Lord Nattas,¡± Sir Barnard agreed with a smile and moved aside to allow him entry into King Alistair¡¯s Council. An important one, as it would mark the last time these prominent men of Regia will all be in the same room together.
Everyone decked out in their finest mix of armour and expensive redingote, showcasing their sigils and titles. Storm paused before the oblong table after he walked inside, as the King was talking and eyed the Lords present. Lord Doris Alden from sun scorched Aegium. Regia¡¯s treasurer and the Ruler of the Salt Coast. Sir Deimos Alden his dashing son, standing behind him. The Lord Commander of the Lorian Legion no less. Their motto depicted in their stance and the Blacktiger¡¯s head engraved in red. By the sword- We were, we are, we shall be. The bountiful Lord Admiral Brakis from Illirium, the Trident prominent on his bursting at the seams doublet. Ruler of Rosebush and Bronze Plateau. Regia¡¯s Lord of Sea. Salted we rise, Storm rehashed the House Brakis motto, returning the navy man¡¯s welcoming stare. He had a good relationship with him. The square-shaped Lord Paulus Sula from Demames, clad in a well-polished cuirass that had the top of a mountain engraved on it. Ruler of Gods Peak and its silver mines. Under its shade ¨Cwe stand. The austere man cast him a spiteful stare, or perhaps he¡¯s eaten something and it had messed up his bowels, Storm mused, a nervous tick appearing on his own face. Old Lord Hunter Holt, the Fair Lady carved on his plate, much as on Sir Rupert¡¯s who was standing behind his father. Lord of Asturia and the King¡¯s Shield. Protector of Valeria and the Hammer Mounts, Ruler of Islandport and Whitetiger Castle. Perhaps the most powerful family outside of the Aldens in Regia. Fair Lady never forgets, Storm thought, the old Lord not even bothering to look at him. Lord Barus Ursus, Lord of Novesium was absent. The Lord of the palm trees city, the two rivers and keeper of the Golden Forest true to his motto. Ever different. Now him, Nattas didn¡¯t like at all, since Ursus had refused to sell him the property he¡¯d eyed for quite some time now. It was a matter of funds or more of them, Storm wasn¡¯t willing to part at the moment. Lord Curtius Vendor, the Baron of Two Rivers Castle and High Baron Montague Valens of Cartaport were missing as well, perhaps the journey too great, what with them having to lord over Cartagen whilst everybody else was away for so long. The King that had finished talking hadn¡¯t returned to his capital since Sir Ralph had been killed two summers back, as if a premonition had cautioned him to remain near the borders and the old capital. ¡°Lord Nattas, find a seat,¡± King Alistair ordered him brusquely. Storm bowed deeply on instinct. He felt his back cracking, something there dislodging, but hopefully nothing that would paralyze him permanently and rushed to get a seat next to Lord Brakis. ¡°Have you anything urgent to report?¡± Canutia has finally send an update, Storm thought, but since that was the King¡¯s missive he¡¯d read sneakily, he opted to shake his head and pretend ignorance in front of the Lords present. ¡°Nothing of note, my King.¡± ¡°Well, something of note did happen earlier,¡± Alistair grunted, all that gossip about him being in a fine mood committing a shameful suicide. ¡°Lesia has decided to form its own Legion.¡± Several murmurs came out of the Lords, with Brakis snapping his head up shocked. ¡°Apparently the Bank of Trust will foot half the bill and they¡¯ve already picked a spot for its permanent camp,¡± Alistair added. The King got up and pointed at a spot on the map hanging from the west wall of the old throne room. Everyone turned to look at it, not everyone having the eyes to discern the cartographer¡¯s scribblings. ¡°The Alesian Fort,¡± the King helped his Lords. ¡°Why, that¡¯s a poor position,¡± Lord Brakis commented. ¡°Why?¡± The King asked. ¡°No port at the near, my King.¡± ¡°The Legion can walk quite afar in a day,¡± Lord Sula argued dryly, himself coming from a military family. Lord Holt agreed, the Legion¡¯s city Anorum being a neighbor to Asturia. ¡°Their camp is close to Cartagen,¡± Alistair snarled what they should have picked up immediately. ¡°It¡¯s a goddarn warning!¡± ¡°A warning King Alistair?¡± Lord Hold probed calmly. ¡°Yes. It¡¯s clear as day,¡± Alistair replied and walked back to his seat. ¡°He also ordered the Second Cohort to follow him to Riverdor,¡± the King added when he¡¯d gathered himself. ¡°Lord Deimos didn¡¯t object?¡± Storm blurted out before he could stop himself and everyone turned to look at him. Fuck off noble cunts! None less pleased than Lord Doris himself. ¡°I had no reason to object,¡± Alistair said nonchalantly, not bothered with his question. ¡°Sir Deimos agreed. We are all allies here and the men are paid by Lesia.¡± Of course. ¡°Lord Holt, I ordered the Fourth to prepare for departure,¡± the King informed the rest of the Lords whilst addressing his Shield, as Lord Holt was aware apparently. ¡°They¡¯ve being renamed the Third,¡± Lord Hold elucidated after a sign by the King. ¡°Another training Cohort to launch in its place.¡± ¡°Are the men available?¡± Lord Sula asked. ¡°It takes time to bring them up to speed.¡± ¡°You have men to spare Sula?¡± The King asked. ¡°I have my King,¡± Lord Sula replied readily. ¡°We shall talk of this at another time,¡± King Alistair told him. ¡°As you wish, my King.¡±
¡°Antoon has insulted us with this invite,¡± King Alistair said, after he chased the scribes away. Not personally, Sir Barnard¡¯s guards had taken the task upon themselves. A King only needs to ask. ¡°First he starts a war with the Khan and loses Raoz. He lies about the real reason afore that. His actions costing me a son,¡± he paused to collect himself. Storm moved on his chair, trying to keep from drawing attention on himself. ¡°His words and innuendos about to cost me another.¡± ¡°Has anything happened to Sir Lucius?¡± His cousin asked. ¡°There are rumors of an excursion over Lud River,¡± Alistair replied. ¡°Ludriver Castle has fallen to the Jarl.¡± Storm drowned himself in his own spit, eyes ogling and red in the face, Lord Brakis offering him a glass of wine. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ impossible,¡± Lord Sula said, sounding unconvinced. ¡°Crossed the river?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what the Jarl¡¯s ancestors thought and then Kaltha put a bridge over its branches and gave them a thrashing,¡± Alistair retorted. ¡°The Legion had raised those bridges, King Alistair,¡± Lord Sula argued. ¡°Learned engineers put the plans in motion, used stone and concrete. Not simple builders. That¡¯s¡­ the Northmen can¡¯t do that. I mean the general idea perhaps or follow instructions, but putting a design on paper? Nothing they¡¯ll make will ever work. They can¡¯t built a proper ship for Uher¡¯s sake!¡± The King sighed and stared at Storm with a scowl. A learned man, Storm thought. Fuck. ¡°And in the middle of winter,¡± Lord Doris commented. ¡°They would need to use pre-built parts, then connect everything and I need an actual scholar here to take the measurements, a simple pontoon bridge would have never been enough¡ª¡± ¡°Lord Nattas?¡± The King hissed and Storm paled, since him knowing about it beforehand was sensitive to admit. Not that he''d guessed at the implications until now. Maja and Sirio had derailed his thoughts with their shenanigans. Which was a half-truth at the most, but Storm needed to blame someone here. Eh. ¡°There¡¯s no learned man standing above Sir Lucius my King, neither here, nor in the North,¡± he croaked, everyone standing back onto their seats but the King of Regia. ¡°No one as well read, or as talented in drawing both in civic and military architecture.¡± ¡°Sir Lucius up and build a bridge for the Jarl?¡± Lord Sula snapped glaring at him. ¡°Have you taken leave of your senses Lord Nattas?¡± ¡°The Jarl is over the river,¡± the King repeated. ¡°He didn¡¯t went around it! Why, that would have brought him in Lesia through bloody Sovya! He didn¡¯t cross the Montfoot, or the Midriver bridges either. The North has taken Ludriver Castle and Canutia says the Nords believe this time he might succeed, where everyone else has failed.¡± ¡°Ha-ha, Jarl David will never win. I¡¯ll give them a good raid that¡¯s it,¡± Lord Doris scoffed. ¡°When the weather opens up Lord Vanzon and Lord Crull will send him back again. They thrashed him proper at the Battle of the Bridges.¡± ¡°Cousin,¡± the King addressed him patiently. ¡°I said he might succeed. I didn¡¯t mean the Jarl and Canutia writes the Northmen aren¡¯t talking about the Jarl either.¡± Lord Holt frowned as if he¡¯d seen his death and stared at Storm the only other man there present, when a then eleven year old Lucius had advised the King to hold with half the Legion Sovya¡¯s forces at Yepehir, sneak the other half around to attack the Duchy¡¯s capital. Sovya wants you to remain locked here, Lucius had said to his stunned audience, the then Lord Commander of the Legion Miles Lennox included. Don¡¯t give them what they want father. Fight them where they don¡¯t expect you. Lucius has attacked Kaltha, Storm thought with a shiver, everyone stunned realizing what the King was implying. Good grief, why would you do this? Does Antoon know? What about Lesia? Abrakas you piece of perverted shit, what is this crap? Why, just bend me over the table and shove a sword up my crack. Fucking be done with it. 186. The Last Council (2/2)
Lord Storm Nattas The Last Council Part II -All he needs is time-
(Right click on the map to open it fully) Lord Doris cleared his throat unsure, while the king was rapping his fingers at the edge of the massive table impatiently. There was a sense of bewilderment inside the room and a great deal of worry. Even fear. Lord Storm Nattas, ¨Cas merchants say to offer demonstration- was about to throw up and since I¡¯ve eaten sparingly all day but have drunk aplenty, the mess would be rather shocking and extensive. Swallow that vomit son, Storm urged himself, sweat rivulets running down his face and soaked armpits. A good amount reaching into his undergarments. ¡°Yes cousin?¡± Alistair probed his treasurer, a tad casually for the occasion. One would have been mistaken the King had inquired about what color to paint his renovated veranda. ¡°Could the woman be mistaken?¡± His cousin asked hopefully. ¡°What trust can we really put on her words?¡± ¡°Canutia stayed in Kas because Lucius feared communications would be impossible after that point,¡± the king explained patiently. ¡°He needed an anchor somewhere, since apparently things weren¡¯t going well.¡± ¡°Why not leave Roderick for Uher¡¯s sake?¡± Lord Doris Alden wondered aloud, very frustrated. That old stubborn bastard would have never left Lucius to continue on his own, Storm thought, Lord Holt voicing the same reason with a bit more finesse than Lord Nattas. ¡°Roderick would have stayed with Sir Lucius until he breathed his last,¡± the old Lord said and the King nodded agreeing. This was a one way ticket for the old man. ¡°So that means Sir Lucius is waging war on Kaltha?¡± Lord Sula asked returning to the most pressing matter. ¡°On his own?¡± ¡°Apparently the North is helping him,¡± Lord Brakis said. Storm didn¡¯t expect him to say anything and the large both in presence and lard Admiral caught him by surprise. That and his deep baritone voice. Give him his own fucking band. The man should have been a bard, Storm decided. Or a tavern keeper. ¡°Attacking the High King¡¯s lords¡­ my king this is a grave mistake,¡± Lord Doris said. ¡°I can¡¯t fathom why Sir Lucius would do that? This is madness.¡± King Alistair frowned and pushed his chair back from the table. He stood up, deep lines on his face contracting and walked towards the map of Jelin again. More detailed on the Lorian side of it than the Issir and even less so higher up in the North. Where Lucius was. He eyed the colored worked leather for a long moment, some of the Lords glancing at each other but keeping their opinions close to their chests. Storm could guess some of it, but not all. This wasn¡¯t a situation he¡¯d faced before. There was no answer for Lord Doris question that was more important in Lord Nattas mind, than the one offered to a different query. What now? ¡°I told Lucius to bring the North to us. Bind the Jarl to Regia. It was a tall order,¡± the King paused and cleared his throat. A way to keep him out of harm¡¯s way, Storm thought remembering the King¡¯s words from an earlier meeting. ¡°My son was pushed into a corner, it is obvious.¡± ¡°My King,¡± Lord Holt said. ¡°This all but gives credence to Antoon¡¯s words, vindicates the Crulls¡ª¡± King Alistair whipped his head around and glared at his old Shield. ¡°It does not Hunter, you are mistaken,¡± he hissed. ¡°May I speak frankly cousin?¡± Lord Doris asked. ¡°I was hoping you were frank afore,¡± Alistair admonished him. Lord Doris turned a sickly pale and grimaced. ¡°Speak Doris, don¡¯t turn all sensitive on me!¡± The King blasted him. ¡°Sir Lucius attacked the Lords of Kaltha. This puts us in the place of the villain with a Lords Conference in two months¡¯ time.¡± ¡°Have you finished?¡± The King asked him. ¡°I haven¡¯t,¡± Lord Doris said steadily. ¡°Even if he was justified somehow, who is going to see it thus? It looks as if we have sided with the Jarl for the love of Uher!¡± ¡°Does King Davenport know of this?¡± Lord Sula asked and the King stopped him raising his palm, fingers loose before clenching into a fist. ¡°I will address this later, Sula,¡± he told the frowning Lord of Demames and turned to his cousin. ¡°Lord Doris you and Lord Holt are both mistaken,¡± the King explained. ¡°It is surprising since you know Lucius since he was a boy,¡± he sighed, his disappointment evident. ¡°Would my son attack anyone unprovoked or unjustly?¡± Lord Doris pressed his lips into a thin line and Lord Holt frowned. Lord Sula just breathed deeply and said nothing. Lord Brakis was staring at his goblet as if he¡¯d found a kraken¡¯s tooth in it. Or a lizard. ¡°I need an honest answer gentlemen,¡± the King grunted, his blood boiling. ¡°Sir Lucius is a very honorable man,¡± Lord Holt said bravely. ¡°No one is saying he isn¡¯t,¡± Lord Doris started. ¡°But¡ª¡± ¡°But what?¡± The King blasted him. ¡°My King without any intent on an insult,¡± Lord Sula started. ¡°What Lord Doris is trying to say and perhaps Lord Holt, is that the young man is rumored to have a bad temper, when insulted.¡± Nah, Storm thought. That¡¯s not true. And the same is rumored about you. King Alistair closed his eyes and breathed out slowly. ¡°Swallowing his pride to let his brother win the Princess of Kaltha seem like the actions of a vain man to you Lord Sula?¡± ¡°No sire, it does not.¡± ¡°How about the elephant in the room?¡± The King asked them, but for Storm that is who knew already. He hang his head and stared at his hands. So much blood, he thought the memory haunting, but not as horrifying as it had appeared then. Not since he¡¯d witnessed two children getting skewered in front of his eyes. Yet here you are today, calling their murderer a daughter. Oh, ye ever practical Lord Nattas, always willing to cut the sentiment aside, look to the bigger picture or opportunity. Who are the bad guys, if we¡¯re standing in the right side of history? ¡°It was a Northern girl. Same as the Sovya woman,¡± Lord Doris said finally and Storm closed his eyes to keep the memories from spilling out. ¡°A Northern cunt!¡± King Alistair snarled, snapping him out of his reverie. ¡°That was fucking her own kin and gotten herself pregnant!¡± He stopped breathing heavily and glared at the Lords looking uncomfortable at each other. The King rarely used hoarse language in public. ¡°That bastard tried to cut him down, get himself another man¡¯s woman and Lucius killed him aye,¡± he eyed them all. ¡°I would have done the same in his place. Worse even,¡± he smacked his lips and glared at Nattas. ¡°Macia took her revenge on him the only way she could, turned a dagger on her belly, cut through her own flesh and the baby until she couldn¡¯t. Gods curse her soul to the Five Hells, never to see the light again.¡± Abrakas you need to offer me something here, Storm thought his mouth dry and sat back on his chair, the shocked silence inside the council suffocating. The King broke it a moment later. ¡°Lucius got cornered by the Issirs,¡± he rustled. ¡°He had a girl with him, the Jarl¡¯s daughter. The Crulls killed her before the Battle of the Bridges is the rumor. My son would never have given a woman under his protection away to get slaughtered. So in my opinion, they tried to get him out of the way, be it with trickery or force. Lucius being what he is, a much better man than everyone else in here including myself, is trying to right wrongs here. Done unto to him or anyone else. He is doing that, while trying to win the North for Regia.¡± ¡°Even if that¡¯s true his actions will bring us against the High King,¡± Lord Holt cautioned the King. ¡°Antoon has no room to maneuver Holt,¡± Alistair told him tiredly. ¡°He¡¯s just realized that in order to win against the Khan he must return to Eplas, whilst the Khan can stay put and have Raoz for himself.¡± ¡°What about Scaldingport?¡± Lord Sula asked. ¡°It has built a port in the middle of nowhere, Antoon doesn¡¯t control,¡± he eyed them in turn. ¡°Scaldingport is on Regia¡¯s side.¡± ¡°He could march against us,¡± Lord Doris said, on the verge of collapsing. Alistair nodded. ¡°Another front. Ah, the north is a mess as well,¡± he paused emphatically. ¡°Maybe he¡¯ll reconsider his grievances, decide they are not worth it.¡± ¡°We need to find a way to contact Lucius,¡± Lord Brakis said. ¡°We can¡¯t,¡± the King elucidated. ¡°No birds fly there and Canutia is doing all she can, Lord Holt knows more about it.¡± ¡°The Issirs will learn about Lucius before us,¡± Lord Holt agreed. ¡°We can learn what they know,¡± Storm informed them. ¡°Lord Nattas, you shall remain afterwards,¡± King Alistair said instead of inquiring more about it. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.
The Council lasted until the early night hours. Storm stayed for all of it. Heard the Lords opinions, filed away those that were already looking to protect themselves while agreeing with the King¡¯s plans. Listened to the King explain what he believed Lesia¡¯s concerns were and assured them that Lucius will never fight against his mother¡¯s kin. Lord Nattas being ever cynical knew deep down that Lucius would fight against anyone if he had to and find a way to win or die in the attempt. The sword would guide him and his sense of fairness, in a world brimming with injustice. King Alistair looked worn out, when the Council finished and the Lords of Regia departed for their quarters. He ushered him nearer to the old throne, but didn¡¯t sit on it. He removed the gold crown of Regia, five tigers dancing around its rim and placed it on a table used by the scribes and stared for long at the distant map of the Kingdom on the wall across from them. The map looking smaller now from the distance, despite covering the whole wall almost. ¡°Lucius will win the war,¡± King Alistair said some time later and Storm moved on his seat, body hurting from lack of sleep and sustenance. ¡°He wouldn¡¯t have started this, if he couldn¡¯t finish it. We must trust his reasoning Nattas.¡± ¡°Of course sire,¡± Storm said and stared at his goblet. ¡°They didn¡¯t leave him any other choice. He¡¯ll win the war and bring us the North. Do what I couldn¡¯t, nor my father afore me.¡± ¡°What about the Conference my King?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t understand Nattas,¡± the King said and turned to look at him. ¡°There¡¯s no other road for Regia. This is a critical point in history. We leave this mess into lesser hands and we¡¯ll get swallowed by friends and foes. Everyone will look to secure their own agendas, the Kingdom be damned. Lucius will never allow this to happen. He¡¯ll bring the cart back on the road, built a road if one isn¡¯t there. He¡¯ll find the best solution, pick the right man or woman for the job.¡± ¡°There will be people that will disagree King Alistair. I fear the realm might stand against him.¡± ¡°The realm are but people. None better than him. Lucius will beat them all, one after the other. He¡¯ll succeed unless he¡¯s betrayed by those he trusts. Mark my words Lord Nattas. Even if that happens, the people he will leave behind shall bring his vision to pass. All he needs is time. Time to get back home. With enough time he¡¯ll save Regia. He¡¯ll save you all.¡± ¡°What about you my King?¡± Storm asked. King Alistair breathed once and stared at the map again. ¡°I must buy him that time. As much as I can. Prevent those that want him gone, from succeeding.¡± ¡°Who wants that sire?¡± The King sighed and reached for his goblet. ¡°No one wants a just man to assume the throne,¡± Alistair said gravely. ¡°They fear him. They¡¯d rather put a weakling on it, a crook, an utter fool, even a monster.¡± ¡°There is maybe a way to alleviate the pressure, my King,¡± Storm offered keeping his voice low. ¡°What way?¡± ¡°If Antoon is the problem, then perhaps¡­¡± Storm stopped and looked at the King¡¯s eyes. ¡°Nattas did you hear what I said?¡± ¡°Aye, sire I did.¡± ¡°Antoon is younger than me, not much older than Lucius. You assume he¡¯s the problem.¡± Storm wasn¡¯t thinking about waiting for nature to take its course. ¡°It looks like it at this point,¡± he said simply. ¡°Antoon set him up in Fetya? Ordered the Jarl¡¯s daughter killed? Ordered my Silvie murdered? Wait, he couldn¡¯t. He lost an heir there himself. Your thread is loose at this point Nattas. Perhaps you¡¯ll pick another culprit next. The Magister is dead. Mayhap it¡¯s Kelholt? How about the Est Ravn?¡± The King paused and washed his mouth with some wine. ¡°Help Lucius get on this throne Nattas. Let him decide on the right course of action.¡± What if I fucking can¡¯t ye son of bitch? What¡¯s this bullshit impossible tasks ye throw at me? Abrakas you mouldy cunt, I¡¯m waiting for a darn helping hand here! ¡°Of course my King,¡± he said instead. ¡°Remember it¡¯s better to live to fight another day,¡± King Alistair told him in parting. ¡°You are useless to Regia dead, Lord Nattas.¡± Lord Nattas was useless dead to poor Storm too, but he refrained from telling the tired King that.
Secundus was half asleep, when Nattas got out in the long corridor leading to the throne room. The hour almost at midnight. ¡°I gather this didn¡¯t go well?¡± The hired blade asked. ¡°If I don¡¯t eat, I might not make it home alive,¡± Storm replied. ¡°You have a meeting scheduled in the Gardens,¡± Secundus countered. Uh? ¡°What meeting? Everyone is asleep, even the King gave up. Why, I wager you all of Alden is out by this point,¡± Storm protested, before catching himself and lowering his voice. The palace guard across the hall appeared half-asleep as well, but you never know with these ruffians. Secundus searched into his mail shirt and found a small scroll. Storm took it and unfurled it looking about the half-dark corridor, the candles giving out more fumes than light by now. He squinted his eyes to read the tiny script. ¡°Eh, what does this mean?¡± ¡°What does it say?¡± Storm frowned. ¡°Squid¡¯s only friend?¡± Secundus crooked his mouth and then shrugged his shoulders. ¡°I¡¯ve no idea,¡± he finally said with a yawn, but by then Storm knew.
The Queen¡¯s idea of keeping a low profile was pedantic. The white cape negating the darker colored something she had underneath. ¡°My lady this is extremely dangerous,¡± Storm whispered, looking about the empty garden. Miranda reached and grabbed his hand. ¡°My brother asked Lord De Weer to send Jeremy back,¡± she whispered. Storm sighed. ¡°Does the King know?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t ask. We haven¡¯t talked much since the wedding.¡± That was two months back. ¡°You talked a bit though, your grace?¡± Miranda frowned. ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear what I said? Jeremy is fine where he is.¡± ¡°The Scaldingport girl seems nice,¡± Storm agreed, then seeing her expression he added. ¡°Your grace, the King is leaving for Riverdor. Having Jeremy here is prudent.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Miranda asked him. ¡°Your brother is being careful.¡± Was he though? Hmm? He stared at her hand laced on his. ¡°I will look into this.¡± ¡°No. I want you to stop it,¡± she argued. ¡°Your grace¡­ I can¡¯t. The message has already left. Difficult to catch a bird on foot or even on a horse once it takes to the air.¡± He expected a smile, but all Storm got was a troubled frown. Surprisingly stimulating. ¡°He thinks Antoon might declare war,¡± Miranda said sounding worried. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Lucius campaign in the North.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no campaign confirmed,¡± Storm insisted. ¡°Who told him that?¡± ¡°Lord Ruud.¡± ¡°They talk?¡± Storm asked her narrowing his eyes. ¡°I talk with Jeremy almost every other day,¡± Miranda explained. ¡°I¡¯m worried.¡± About what? The worst night was the first, but after she guided the young man¡¯s cock true everything went smoothly. A great success, Ruud himself had declared and Storm had agreed, despite not being personally present for the coupling. ¡°I¡¯m sure Jeremy is doing fine. He¡¯s visiting his lands, hunts in the forest and enjoys the¡­ warmth of his new wife. No need to exhaust the birds your grace. People might need them for something more urgent.¡± ¡°What people?¡± Miranda asked standing back. ¡°What can be more urgent?¡± ¡°Eh, that war your brother has mentioned?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t Lucius apologize, or something? We could send a gift,¡± she countered. ¡°People have probably died, I doubt a couple of horses and a letter would suffice your grace.¡± Miranda narrowed her eyes. ¡°Are you mocking me Nattas?¡± There goes the lord part, lost down the fucking drain. ¡°Your grace I was merely trying to instill some humor into the end of a very taxing day.¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t done a thing all day!¡± Now that was loud, Nattas thought. ¡°Let me look into this,¡± he promised her and looked about them nervously. ¡°I haven¡¯t relieved you Storm,¡± Miranda told him. While that was better, Storm really feared for the guards relieving him of his head now. ¡°We can¡¯t be seen your grace,¡± he croaked. ¡°You fool, everyone here works for me,¡± Miranda countered. ¡°Your grace, everyone here fears the King,¡± Storm argued. More than they fear you. ¡°You can go then Lord Nattas,¡± the Queen told him and pulled a step back. Ah, Abrakas this isn¡¯t the help I asked for and this isn¡¯t exactly a good end to the evening. You fat stupid squid! ¡°Apologies, your grace,¡± he told her with a smart bow of the head. ¡°I shall strive to perform better.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll hold you to that,¡± Miranda had told him with a small smirk.
On the way back to his house, Storm begrudgingly admitted that the latter part of their conversation had ventured into murkier territory. The expression considering what happened next a huge understatement.
A man got out of his house the moment he arrived. A bit taller than Nattas, wiry but on the thin side. A long narrow face with a somewhat deltoid jaw, eyes hidden under a black hood. The long cape he wore making him appear ghoulish. ¡°Have a good night, Lord Nattas,¡± the man said. His accent difficult to determine. A bit of Lorian, some Cofol, a certain touch of Issir in his Common. ¡°Do I know you?¡± Storm asked him and heard Secundus shifting on his feet alarmed. ¡°Ah, no need for that,¡± the stranger said with the thinnest of smiles. ¡°I¡¯m a friend. The name is Larn.¡± ¡°Never seen you before in my life,¡± Storm told him, not amused. Was this one of Maja¡¯s friends? He sure looked the part. ¡°A sage thing that you didn¡¯t, Lord Nattas. As I said, I hope you have a restful night.¡± Storm opened his mouth to reply, but the man swiftly turned his back and walked away. One moment he was there across the streets amidst the shadows and the next he was gone.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms or enjoy it again at Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ The chapters are re-edited and re-posted regularly at both places 187. Dear Pupil of Mine
Larn Ralnor Dar Eherdir Dear Pupil of Mine
(Right click on the map to open it fully) ¡°Ayup,¡± the tavern patron said, bushy brows meeting in the middle of his forehead. ¡°Merchants saw them getting out of their ships. All fancy and shit.¡± ¡°The King of Lesia?¡± The tavern keeper asked, just to be sure. ¡°How did they know it was him?¡± ¡°Some of them heard the guards talking,¡± the patron replied. ¡°They went out of the west gate yesterday, quite the parade.¡± ¡°So our King met with him? In Aldenport?¡± ¡°Such is the gossip. Twas brief.¡± Ah, Larn thought, moving away from them and started walking towards the exit. But that is not helpful. He paused next to a man eyeing those entering for any valuables easy to misplace. ¡°Move along now mister,¡± the man warned, breath stinking of cheap beer and onions. ¡°The Horned Hen is closed?¡± Larn asked him casually and the ruffian raised his black eyes to stare at him. ¡°What if it is?¡± He grunted. ¡°Was of the mind to pay it a visit, it caught me by surprise,¡± Larn told him. ¡°I guess yer unlucky.¡± ¡°Why is that?¡± The man smirked. ¡°Stuff happened in Alden this year.¡± ¡°Like what?¡± Larn asked and fished a coin out of his purse. A silver. ¡°Hey, you might get lucky.¡± The ruffian smiled showing him two rows of yellow-stained teeth, a couple of them rotted away completely.
A two story Inn at a cheap part of town named ¡®Molten Cherry¡¯, the ruffian had said. Larn paused at the entrance and read the label over it. The place looking quite empty, though in good condition for the neighborhood. He walked inside, place kept in the semi-dark, the windows covered and the only light coming from the long bar where Lena Verano was standing behind. She raised her head and looked at the approaching Larn a little unsure. It¡¯s the hood, Ralnor thought and stopped in front of the counter. The inn was empty. ¡°A tall dark stranger,¡± Verano said and Ralnor flicked a coin on the counter. He sent it spinning on the polished surface reaching a frowning Lena Verano¡¯s side, before making a sharp turn and returning in the middle. The aged Lena put a hand on to stop it from spinning. ¡°I take it traveler, you want more than a room?¡± ¡°Why traveler?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a lot of road on that cape,¡± Lena Verano said still uncomfortable. ¡°A touch of sea as well.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t name the road, nor speak of the sea,¡± Ralnor replied, keeping his voice even. ¡°Shades have no tongue and all dead sound alike.¡± Lena Verano grimaced, as she¡¯d checked on Oras coin while he talked and had her suspicions confirmed. ¡°To the Servants,¡± she croaked managing to add after a pause. ¡°Of the Fading Light.¡± Ralnor pushed his hood back and smiled showing her his sharp teeth. ¡°Goddess,¡± the mid-aged woman gasped and stepped back. ¡°Remain composed,¡± Ralnor urged her menacingly. ¡°I just want information.¡± Verano blinked. ¡°About what?¡± ¡°An order came from the Horned Hen. Your birds Lena Verano,¡± he told her, hoping she wouldn¡¯t collapse and make him lose even more time. ¡°All the way to Rida they came. Quite the journey.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t¡­ what order?¡± Verano gasped, turning paler than she¡¯d been a moment before. ¡°A man was here from the Guild. Was he alone I wonder? Was she with him?¡± ¡°A man,¡± Verano crooked her mouth. ¡°When was this?¡± ¡°In the summer. It was an ordeal to reach you,¡± Ralnor paused, before adding. ¡°People died to pave the road.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t give out names, you know that,¡± Verano protested, some of the makeup running down her eyes. Mezera didn¡¯t. I¡¯ve heard the name mentioned, she¡¯d told him back in Altarin. Are you the Fading Light? ¡°Robart Barlow,¡± Ralnor helped her to speed this along. Verano nodded. Hmm. ¡°But you saw him from afar,¡± Ralnor chanced. ¡°The light,¡± he looked about them. ¡°Was poor perhaps?¡± The aged Lena stood up straighter realizing he was there for information. ¡°There¡¯s plenty of light inside the Horned Hen mister¡­?¡± Ralnor was there for information she had it right to a point. But what worked more in her favor was the fact that one doesn¡¯t visit a well-stocked butcher, to ask for the meat of yesteryear. ¡°Call me Larn. You¡¯ve touched my shadow in your past,¡± he said instead to reassure her. It was never his stronger skill. The woman stood back. ¡°I¡¯m fairly certain, I¡¯ve never seen you before in my life, Larn.¡± ¡°A sage thing that you didn¡¯t,¡± Ralnor agreed. ¡°I never said you saw me. Now, about this Barlow¡­ the one you definitely gazed upon?¡± ¡°Listen, I run the Guild¡¯s brothel for thirty years. I know Barlow. I¡¯ve met him over a score of times in that time. It was him,¡± Lena Verano insisted. Yet, he wasn¡¯t. ¡°Was he with someone else?¡± ¡°Lord Nattas, a good client for a time,¡± Verano replied. Ah. The plot thickens. ¡°You are friends with Lord Nattas?¡± Verano smiled and there was some appeal there. ¡°I¡¯m friends with a lot of people,¡± Seeing that he wasn¡¯t amused with her tease, she added. ¡°I¡¯ve helped during the riots.¡± ¡°What riots?¡± ¡°Haven¡¯t you seen the Dome?¡± What am I, some gullible religious fool or a tourist visiting the sights? ¡°Sightseeing wasn¡¯t in my schedule,¡± Ralnor said soberly, his patience running thin. ¡°It¡¯s half gone. They blew it up.¡± ¡°Who did? Lord Nattas?¡± ¡°No, those priests that were after him. After my girls,¡± Verano explained. ¡°The priests were after Lord Nattas? And your harlots? How did you help him?¡± ¡°They planned the whole thing here,¡± Verano paused and glanced at the coin still in her hands. ¡°There is something else there,¡± Ralnor decided. ¡°You don¡¯t care about Lord Nattas, but you are covering for someone. Who has Lord Nattas helping him?¡± Lena Verano stared at him undecided. ¡°I don¡¯t know you.¡± ¡°But you know Barlow, who is fully dead for a good many years now.¡± ¡°I know what I saw¡­ Larn.¡± This is a problem. Ralnor crooked his mouth, glanced at the empty inn and then at the covered windows. ¡°You had a girl working for you¡­ it¡¯s some time back. Years,¡± he started and Verano deflated at his words. ¡°A smart girl, made quite the coin for you. Then she decided¡­ killing was her calling. It¡¯s a small trip I intended to make after we finish here, but just for the sake of expediency¡­ is she here in Alden?¡± Verano shook her head right and left. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen her in a while,¡± she lied. ¡°Thank you,¡± Ralnor replied.
A dash and he stopped behind the messenger. The girl turned her head and glanced back, the clean soaped body not hiding the stench of decease flaring between her legs. Satisfied no one was following her, the harlot crossed the street heading for the central square and the Palace. She stopped three streets before reaching it and made a right heading east. Down a short alley and out in a bigger street, two removed from the Guardtower. The young whore stopped in front of a bakery, but didn¡¯t get inside with Ralnor watching her from the rooftop he¡¯d climbed up.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. He thought the whore Lena Verano had dispatched to warn her former girl would enter it and made the climb preemptively. The whore though just stood there idle and looked directly across the street at a well-maintained two story apartment. All made out of finely-cut stone and red-brick finishing. Marble column decorations at the large and tall windows. The curtain moved on one and the whore below him on the street nodded and walked away. Back to her mistress, the message delivered. Ralnor groaned in frustration and stared at a pigeon sharing the spot not a meter from him. The small bird glanced at him with its small beady eyes nervously. COO The pigeon asked politely flapping its wings once. ¡°Thanks, I¡¯ve room enough in my spot,¡± Ralnor replied. ¡°Eh, unfortunately I got to climb the one across.¡± COO ¡°Aye, it¡¯s for a job.¡±
There was a young Issir girl watching the expensive house from a corner. She was well hidden inside the entrance of the side alley. Another Issir was standing with his back on a chimney, on the adjoining rooftop. A good spot to watch for anyone approaching from above, but Ralnor had gone past him with relative ease, once the darkness came over the city. Being a patient chap, he¡¯d taken his time earlier on the roof of the Bakery. Rested a bit and had his fill waiting for the day to end. There was some chill in the night air when it did, but Alden, while colder than other Lorian cities with the exception of Asturia, wasn¡¯t that much colder than Rida. With a soundless sigh Dar Eherdir moved silently across the tiled rooftop, reached the edge and climbed down. He paused next to one of the upper floor windows, his fingers dug at a crevice, the paste brittle above the cut stone and left leg on the protruding lip, the right touching the stone wall. He used his left hand to push the curtain away an inch. The room dark and empty when he entered it. A bedroom, the bed set but not slept in. A large one with a mosquito net frame built into it. Dar Eherdir paused to listen for sounds, heard a soft half-whisper half-whistling tune coming from the next room. An office, its heavy door cracked open, with yellow light escaping from the narrow crevasse. He reached for his peleg, the steel throwing hatchet shaft slightly curved and its blade longer, with a small spike at its back end. Dar Eherdir didn¡¯t move for two full minutes. The spot he¡¯d picked the darkest inside the bedroom, the light coming from the street and the half-opened door not reaching him. You burn incense. I know where you are, he warned her. But the Assassin didn¡¯t move. Dar Eherdir made a silent step forward an eye on the door, the other on the seemingly empty bedroom with the open windows. He peeped through the crack the door left, caught sight of a mirror on the part of the wall that he could see. Part of a heavy office desk visible on its surface and half a window. Also open, this one facing the corner of the building. The soft breeze blew at the curtains and they moved, the black thin tube hanging from a thread moving along with them, its importance vague and mysterious. To someone that had lived a normal lifetime. Still brilliant. Three times the curtains flapped gently, but nothing happened. The fourth the wind was stronger just a tad, the breeze catching the dancing thin tube at the right spot. In one way, out the other. The soft whistling sound brief and barely noticeable. Dar Eherdir turned slowly around and stared at the window he¡¯d entered. The frame lit up from the light coming from the street. Not much, but still¡­ it was a mistake. The bed creaked a moment later, his patience rewarded. There. ¡°Dear pupil of mine,¡± Dar Eherdir said evenly, while stepping back to his original position. ¡°Let us talk.¡± ¡°Did you kill them?¡± Faerith K¡¯lael asked and jumped down lithely. ¡°What for?¡± Ralnor snorted. ¡°They are blind and deaf.¡± ¡°You killed Ni Sane,¡± Faerith K¡¯lael hissed, wearing her lost in the trade youth¡¯s skin. Vanity. ¡°I did,¡± Ralnor replied and Maja thought about coming closer, then decided to keep those couple of meters of separation. ¡°I killed him dead. He was slow as a tree,¡± the latter a play on her assassin¡¯s name in Imperial. Ate his liver and half a kilo of thigh flesh. ¡°Why?¡± She asked, her eyes on the peleg. ¡°I had given orders to leave Nattas in place.¡± ¡°A contract came up, the Mediator cleared it,¡± Maja was giving it her all to keep her voice low. ¡°You killed him for that?¡± ¡°Nattas is against a war with the Khanate. He must stay put.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Maja queried, slowly regaining her composure. ¡°What do you care about the war?¡± Ah, the whore grew up into a proper assassin. ¡°Have you talked to him?¡± Ralnor asked instead. ¡°Nattas? That¡¯s his house,¡± Maja said with a frown. ¡°You are planning another attack?¡± Ralnor asked changing the subject. It was interesting she was in the dark, or is she pretending? ¡°I have already,¡± she said and pointed at the half-closed office door. ¡°I¡¯m about to get myself a drink. Are you going to put that away?¡± ¡°Once you turn your back,¡± came Ralnor¡¯s retort. ¡°I don¡¯t want to get knifed whilst fiddling with the hook.¡± ¡°I¡¯m opening the door,¡± Maja told him and pushed the door open. The office was empty of course. ¡°Nice touch with the whistle.¡± ¡°Did it work?¡± Maja asked tauntingly walking to the curtains and untying it. She slotted it down her bosom, after popping a button open on her tight leather top. ¡°It¡¯s for a hawk.¡± ¡°Nah, it didn¡¯t. The open window put me on edge. Do you have a hawk?¡± ¡°Nah, I don¡¯t,¡± Maja replied, walking to the table and opening a bottle of expensive wine, then filling two silver and glass goblets with it. ¡°Thought I saw something moving outside, but I wasn¡¯t sure.¡± She slid one goblet on the desk towards him. ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± he said sending the goblet back. ¡°It¡¯s not poison.¡± ¡°What did you use to kill Nattas?¡± Ralnor countered, knowing her love of all poisons. ¡°As you wish,¡± Maja yielded. ¡°He got out of it unscathed. He¡¯s very clever.¡± ¡°So now you work for him?¡± Ralnor asked looking around the spacious office. ¡°He asked for a Guild contract.¡± ¡°How did he find out about you? Plenty of Assassins in the Guild.¡± Maja smacked her lips and stared at her cup. ¡°You told him,¡± Ralnor sighed. ¡°What was the contract? Better yet, who wanted him out of the way?¡± ¡°Tsk-tsk, no you don¡¯t.¡± ¡°Maja, I¡¯ll offer something of worth in exchange,¡± Ralnor said. ¡°That¡¯s not how it works.¡± ¡°That¡¯s exactly how it works,¡± Ralnor countered. ¡°Says who?¡± He glared at her and she puffed out exasperated. ¡°Let me hear the info first,¡± Maja hissed. ¡°Q¡¯ Oluil,¡± Ralnor said evenly. Maja¡¯s blond eyebrows snapped up, creating wrinkles on her forehead. ¡°Q¡¯ Lie Nwala¡¯s pupil,¡± she said cautiously. ¡°Why would you¡­ Oras hells!¡± She gulped down the rest of her wine and placed the goblet back on the desk, next to the bottle. ¡°Are they¡­¡± ¡°Oh, yes¡­ very much so. I should have made it clear,¡± Ralnor explained. ¡°R¡¯ Estel?¡± Maja asked nervously. ¡°An Issir woman? I¡¯m afraid all hope is lost,¡± he replied, again word playing with the dead assassin¡¯s name real meaning in Imperial. Maja clenched her jaw. ¡°Now,¡± Ralnor said to prevent her from doing something idiotic. ¡°You should know they attacked me. Why, it was an ambush really, but I take equal offense.¡± The Leader of the Guild licked her lips, the soft tongue looking rather tasty, but Ralnor had eaten his fill already and wasn¡¯t too distracted. ¡°Impossible,¡± she finally said. ¡°Who gave the order?¡± ¡°At first I thought it was you,¡± Maja opened her mouth to deny it, but Ralnor stopped her placing a small scroll on the table. ¡°You were in Altarin last winter.¡± ¡°No I wasn¡¯t, who told you that?¡± Hmm. ¡°Dean Kutas.¡± ¡°Never heard of him.¡± ¡°Runs the Golden Bird inn. Your Guild owns it,¡± Ralnor explained patiently. ¡°Since when? Wait that¡¯s¡­ Kise, yeah,¡± Maja said after a thoughtful pause, looking troubled. ¡°Nothing happens in Altarin.¡± ¡°Kise is dead. This Dean Kutas took his place and mentioned you to a pupil of mine, unfortunately deceased now. That¡¯s the second I lose in quick succession.¡± ¡°I hope Zestari was the other,¡± Maja deadpanned. ¡°What? She was a bitch and trust me, I know bitches.¡± ¡°You weren¡¯t in Altarin, Dean Kutas lied,¡± Ralnor droned summing it up with a crook of his mouth. ¡°Apparently,¡± Maja said. ¡°I¡¯ll have him checked out at some point.¡± ¡°You should get rid of him outright,¡± Ralnor snapped. ¡°Or that¡­ sure,¡± Maja agreed. Damn it. ¡°As I said,¡± he hissed, not liking being made a fool and led in circles. ¡°At first I thought it was you.¡± The female assassin frowned and opened the scroll. ¡°That¡¯s Verano¡¯s sign on the missive,¡± Maja said after she read the scroll he¡¯d taken off the dead assassin. ¡°The Horned Hen.¡± ¡°I talked with her.¡± ¡°I know,¡± Maja said reaching for the bottle again. She seemed at ease around Lord Nattas¡¯ belongings. You can take a harlot out of the brothel trade but you can¡¯t take the trade out of the harlot. ¡°I meant that I knew someone was looking for me.¡± Yes dear, but still you failed. ¡°She claims Barlow was there,¡± he told her. Maja raised her head. ¡°So what?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve seen him as well then?¡± ¡°Not in person here, but the Lena knows him best.¡± ¡°Maja, ah¡­ Lord Nattas talked with him?¡± Ralnor asked very frustrated. ¡°He did. Barlow pointed him the right way, since I was out of the city. You know the drill,¡± Maja replied looking at his face. The closest Servant gets the notice. ¡°Nothing else?¡± ¡°What else Larn? What are you looking for? Obviously you are not here for me.¡± ¡°Robart Barlow can¡¯t be in Alden, or anywhere else Maja. The man¡¯s dead for years.¡± Maja thought about it for a moment. ¡°Ah, no way¡­ how many years?¡± ¡°Seven. I¡¯ve seen his body. It was him. As dead as one can be.¡± Maja pushed away from the desk and walked to the window, stared silently outside for a while. ¡°Verano knows him well. She introduced us. I¡¯ve seen him at least five times since and Lord Nattas met with him while she was present. She wouldn¡¯t lie to me. You are mistaken,¡± she said finally. ¡°She didn¡¯t lie but she was wrong. The man fell from his horse. Some animal or other spooked it in Colle. Predators worked on the corpse before he was found. I¡¯ve seen his face. It was him.¡± ¡°What were you doing in Colle?¡± Maja asked turning around. ¡°It¡¯s irrelevant.¡± ¡°An impostor is the Guild¡¯s Mediator?¡± Maja inquired, making it sound absurd. ¡°If we are lucky,¡± Ralnor retorted. ¡°How the fuck do you manage to still freak me out after all these years?¡± Maja hissed with a grimace. ¡°What does that even mean? Oras curse ye! I felt a shiver right through my kidneys!¡± ¡°I believe you owe me a name, dear pupil. Who gave the order to take Lord Nattas out?¡± Ralnor asked calmly, unperturbed by her hysterics. ¡°The same who ordered the attack on the ¡®Virgins Wedding¡¯,¡± Maja replied, the grimace turning into a scowl. ¡°That priest, fanatic¡­ whatever.¡± ¡°The priests were behind it?¡± ¡°Not a Priest of the Five,¡± Maja said crooking her jaw, the youthful mask cracking. ¡°Some other old god. It¡¯s why I¡¯m helping Nattas.¡± Oras serves no other God and no other people. 188. Divine diversion
Lord Storm Nattas Divine diversion
Shed thee fool thy life¡¯s doom ¡®n glum In a lover¡¯s eyes devoid of fault Dance naked in the sounds of the drum Rejoice in summer¡¯s white sands of salt Wit the girls of Aegium The girls of Aegium Risqu¨¦ very popular Bard song Unknown date
(Right click on the map to open it fully) Storm burst into his house weirded out from the encounter. He walked down the dark hall and found Sudi sleeping in the kitchen. Nattas woke him up and asked for something to eat, intent on getting as much rest as possible to have an early start the next day. Murmuring under his breath, the badly maimed from the poison lackey brought him a plate of boiled potatoes and rise. ¡°What¡¯s this? Animal food?¡± Storm asked none too pleased. ¡°Just put a saddle on me and call me a mule!¡± ¡°The cook had his mother sick chief,¡± Sudi explained with a yawn. ¡°Plus we thought you ain¡¯t coming back after it got late.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fucking ominous,¡± Storm commented. He tasted a cold potato. ¡°Bring the salt here and a piece of cheese.¡± ¡°You want any wine?¡± Sudi asked looking about the dark kitchen. ¡°I had enough of that,¡± Storm snapped. ¡°And put a light on for fuck¡¯s sake! I might start chewing on my hand here!¡± ¡°What did the lords say?¡± Sudi asked bringing a candle holder on the table. ¡°They don¡¯t a want a war with the High King.¡± ¡°Will they get one?¡± Storm smacked his lips. ¡°It¡¯s a mess.¡± ¡°What does the king think?¡± Sudi probed with another yawn. ¡°He¡¯s worried about Lucius. He might have started the war already.¡± ¡°With what army?¡± ¡°Sudi, some people are good at losing armies, others are good at creating them,¡± he paused to chew some on the tasteless potato and not enjoying it, he just swallowed it. ¡°Get me some wine, before I choke myself to death.¡± ¡°Maja has a bottle up,¡± Sudi informed him. ¡°You know it¡¯d be better to keep her away from the kitchen,¡± Storm commented and got up. ¡°Just saying, the girl is a walking murder.¡± ¡°Where are you going?¡± Sudi asked seeing him getting ready to leave. ¡°I need to talk to her. There was a man here, I didn¡¯t know,¡± Storm explained. ¡°Didn¡¯t see anyone,¡± Sudi said and rubbed his decrepit face. ¡°Then again I¡¯d dozed off for a bit.¡± ¡°You know, I¡¯m not really sure why I¡¯m keeping you around,¡± Storm commented. ¡°You don¡¯t have any friends¡¯ boss,¡± Sudi deadpanned. ¡°We¡¯re all that you got for company.¡± ¡°If the last face I saw was yours,¡± Storm retorted very frustrated. ¡°Then I¡¯m fucked.¡± The Gods listening in found it very amusing.
Storm climbed the stairs leaving Secundus with Sudi and found Maja sitting on his office¡¯s comfortable armchair deep in thought. She had that thing in her hands. It looked like a tiny wooden flute. He sat on the chair across from her and reached for a goblet that had wine in it. There was another in front of the woman. Storm tasted the wine to wash the taste of mud and potato from his mouth with a grimace. ¡°Who is Larn?¡± He asked Maja and she raised her blond head to look at him. Maja appeared deflated, or aged. Perhaps the spell wears off after a while, Storm thought with a leer. Or expires like milk and sours. ¡°You talked to him?¡± ¡°He wished me a good night¡¯s rest,¡± Storm commented. ¡°Perceptive on his part, but still the man is a fuckin¡¯ weirdo. A close friend?¡± ¡°What did Barlow say?¡± Maja asked dodging like a pro and Storm sat back on his seat. He was too tired to play games with her. ¡°I told you,¡± he replied. ¡°Then again, you keep asking me about him. So perhaps, there¡¯s something I need to know?¡± ¡°We might have a problem.¡± ¡°Girl, this is not the day I want to hear about more problems. I have a pile of crap in my arms and no place to drop it.¡± Maja puffed her cheeks out and got up. She walked to the window and stared outside through the curtains. ¡°Right,¡± Storm said slapping his thighs and stood up himself. ¡°I need to get a bit of sleep before the morning. The King will depart and I need to get as much information as I can about a ton of matters.¡± ¡°Why did he ask you to remain here?¡± Maja asked, still staring outside. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have been allowed to talk with the Kings present and all the High Lords. It¡¯s one thing to get a word out when in your King¡¯s Council, a different beast to stick your head out in a Conference. The dangers are multiplied, since each King has a lot of tall people with sharp blades at the near. A good chop at the neck and you¡¯ll never speak again.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the real reason?¡± Maja insisted. Storm cleared his throat and then sat back on the chair. He had some more of the wine, feeling exhausted. ¡°It came as a shock,¡± he admitted crooking his mouth. ¡°I¡¯m still trying to figure this one out.¡± ¡°What did Barlow say?¡± Maja asked, returning to her favorite topic. ¡°Who is Larn?¡± Storm dodged. Maja turned to look at him. ¡°It is better not to know.¡± ¡°Was it the plan to kill the kids?¡± Storm asked, going another way. ¡°Why return on this matter Storm?¡± She complained and he banged the empty goblet on the table breaking it. ¡°Because it¡¯s fucking important!¡± He growled, a cut in his hand bleeding. Storm used a hankie to staunch it. ¡°Because it matters Maja.¡± She pressed her lips tight, the freckles popping out of her pale skin. ¡°It happened, let it go Storm,¡¯ Maja finally said. ¡°You missed?¡± He asked her. ¡°I wasn¡¯t on the Scorpio.¡± ¡°Your pupils were.¡± ¡°No. It was a¡­ bigger job than this.¡± ¡°You need a bunch of killers to murder a couple of kids you¡¯re right,¡± he mocked her. ¡°Who was the real target?¡± Maja sighed. ¡°I can¡¯t tell you. Focus on your own plan,¡± she advised him. ¡°I can¡¯t focus on anything Maja, if I don¡¯t know who I¡¯m fighting.¡± ¡°Yet, you¡¯ve taken out the Priests.¡± ¡°They were involved. The Est Ravn, Kelholt and a painted man, the latter dead.¡± Maja frowned, but said nothing. ¡°Should I go after them?¡± Storm asked. ¡°I can¡¯t make out the contracts for you,¡± she replied. ¡°That¡¯s a load of crap,¡± Storm admonished her. ¡°You can do anything you want, don¡¯t give me this religious bullshit Maja. You are a god darn killer!¡± ¡°I¡¯m a tool Storm, a weapon. You¡¯re the one that does the killing.¡± ¡°Haha,¡± Storm sniggered and shook his head. ¡°Girl, you enjoy it. I do it out of necessity. Barlow wanted a ship by the way.¡± She stood back and crossed her arms on her chest. ¡°A ship? For what?¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t say. I didn¡¯t ask. It wasn¡¯t that kind of conversation,¡± Storm explained. ¡°Maybe he has a side gig to make ends meet. Perhaps you should pay the man more.¡± ¡°Queen Miranda was the target,¡± Maja said, a deep crease on her forehead. ¡°The King after that.¡± ¡°After what?¡± ¡°After everyone ran towards her. That knight got in the way. The Scorpio is not an accurate weapon, even from an expert.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve brought an expert?¡± Storm reached for the bottle of Flauegran. ¡°Sit down,¡± he told the assassin. ¡°So it was an accident? A fluke?¡± Maja nodded and went to sit on his chair. ¡°Does it remove the mark, if you kill the wrong target?¡± He asked her. ¡°If the client agrees,¡± Maja said. ¡°Else it doesn¡¯t.¡± ¡°The Est Ravn,¡± Storm chanced. ¡°Again. No.¡± ¡°So at the client¡¯s order, or if he accepts, you have to drop the contract,¡± Storm asserted, circling back to his previous query. ¡°Also if the client dies,¡± Maja said through her teeth. Ah. ¡°Which of the two happened?¡± Storm asked, but she wasn¡¯t going to tell him anymore. ¡°That¡¯s enough Storm,¡± Maja said. ¡°You sent a bird to Riverdor the moment you make your decision. Now I must prepare for the journey.¡± ¡°How will I know, if you succeed?¡± Lord Nattas asked. Maja glared at him and Storm realized it was a thoughtless query. Lack of sleep can turn even a wise man right stupid. All it takes is enough time.
Faustus Ligur, Prefect of the First Cohort of the First Legion, one of several changes that had happened after King Davenport had ordered Prefect Placus Durio to get his own Cohort pulled out, ordered the men forward. Prefect Ligur had replaced Prefect Crito who was sent to Anorum to take over the newly baptized 3rd Cohort. The 3rd had been christened 2nd Cohort under Prefect Proclus Sula, the Lord of Demames cousin. This lessened version of the Legion was commanded by Sir Deimos Alden and with his father, Lord Treasurer Doris following the King, it made it three Aldens making the journey.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. The now re-christened First Cohort of the Second Legion had followed in turn King Davenport¡¯s entourage and for a while the three Cohorts would travel together, stay side by side and return from the same road. Abrakas willing and not deciding to have us all arse-fucked for the fun of it. Lord Nattas sighed, crooking his mouth to keep in a yawn and watched from the Guardtower the long columns of armoured men departing the now empty and dismantled Legion camp. Not much was left of it anyway and looters would plunder anything of value soon enough. He could see the King¡¯s carriage and some of the other lords¡¯ colors, but soon a dust cloud would rise over the northern route leaving the city and cover both men and animals. The Conference of Lords that had been delayed repeatedly, as almost everyone and their mother had asked for more time, would take place in two months¡¯ time give or take some days, in Riverdor. Lord Nattas climbed the stairs down, murmured something to the saluting guard and walked outside. He¡¯d managed to install Captain Betto as commander of the Alden¡¯s City Guard and now the access to some parts of the city had become easier. Storm intended to completely reverse Magister Gordian¡¯s anti-Naossis measures and restore the City¡¯s brothels to full working order. People, he thought stopping for his eyes to adjust to the morning winter sun. Need to have access to pleasure activities, be it cunt, cock, or horse for coin. Otherwise they just might start wondering, why the fuck they¡¯re doing what they¡¯re told by a bunch of villains with fancy titles. ¡°Who do we have in Caspo O¡¯ Bor?¡± He asked Sudi, the man was stooped over one of Storm¡¯s old canes looking ten years older. While he¡¯d survived Maja¡¯s poison, it didn¡¯t appear Sudi had much life left in him. ¡°I¡¯ll have to check chief,¡± Sudi replied, looking miserable under the sun. ¡°See if a ship we own left the port and its destination. Or cargo if it¡¯s possible. You¡¯ll find the contract in my locked drawer,¡± Storm ordered him. ¡°When do you want this?¡± Sudi asked and Lord Nattas groaned. ¡°Today. By morrow at the most.¡± ¡°What¡¯s important about it?¡± ¡°My daughter seems to worry about a colleague of hers,¡± Storm explained. ¡°Or employee. Why the fuck do you care? Anything from Utnas?¡± ¡°Nah, not many birds arrive from Rida these days. The news are scarce. We might have to hire some more unsavory characters for that. But with Titus gone, I don¡¯t have his contacts.¡± Dead of night¡­ light a light¡­ at Talons, the headless corpse of Titus gasped and Storm recoiled shivering all over. ¡°What manner of contacts did he have?¡± He snapped angry at Sudi for bringing his dead associate into the conversation. ¡°The buccaneering kind chief. They have eyes and ears on every port.¡± Lord Nattas rolled his eyes at the hyperbole and threw in one of his own. ¡°As do the thieves. How about trying them instead?¡±
¡°Milord, Lady Nattas has departed for her vacation,¡± Secundus announced the moment he entered his house. Storm stopped with a frown, trying to put two and two together. Ah. ¡°Good Mister Sorex, anything else?¡± He finally said. ¡°A missive came from the palace.¡± ¡°Who is it from?¡± ¡°The man didn¡¯t say,¡± Secundus droned. ¡°How do you know he came from the palace?¡± ¡°Last time he brought me a missive, milord went there,¡± Secundus elucidated earning a sneer from Storm. ¡°When?¡± ¡°After the change of the guard, Milord. The last of the day,¡± Secundus replied. Oh fuck. ¡°Can we stop a bird carrying a missive from reaching Scaldingport?¡± He asked. Storm had forgotten to deal with the Queen¡¯s ¡®request¡¯. ¡°It might have a bit of a head start.¡± A day? ¡°Why, it depends milord. How much time are we talking about? Then there¡¯s the distance, elevation of course¡ª¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t talking about shooting it down with arrows for crying out loud!¡± Storm hissed and Secundus frowned. ¡°I thought the query academic.¡± ¡°When I seek such type of queries answered, I direct them at scholars Mister Sorex,¡± Storm said sourly. ¡°Quite right milord. Now missives are relayed from spot to spot, or they make it directly to their destination, if the availability is there. Of course you need to bring birds with you, like Sir Lucius had,¡± Secundus seemed to be an expert on the matter. Had Lord Ruud left birds for the Royals to use? ¡°I don¡¯t know that,¡± he was forced to admit reluctantly. ¡°Where¡¯s the next stop to change carriers?¡± ¡°Sabertooth Castle. I can delay it, unless it has a Royal seal on it,¡± Secundus explained and Storm groaned inwardly. ¡°But we may have less than a day anyway. When was the message sent?¡± For fuck¡¯s sake. Let¡¯s hope Miranda forgets about it. ¡°Just leave it,¡± Storm grunted. ¡°Is the cook here?¡± ¡°On leave still milord. His poor mother passed¡­¡± Storm raised a hand to stop him. He couldn¡¯t lose valuable time dwelling on the personnel¡¯s minutiae. ¡°I¡¯ll head across the street to the Bakery, grab something to eat that is fit for people,¡± Lord Nattas said and turned around and walked out of his house again.
Only the King of Lesia¡¯s records of the Conference of Lords remain today, if rumors are true. Some primary or secondary accounts may exist, but are kept under lock and key, even forgotten in the years since. The historian must rely on his personal observations and memory of the events, important people¡¯s words and missives exchanged. Lord Ruud De Weer of Scaldingport ordered Jeremy¡¯s return to Regia under a heavy escort of men-at-arms. Lord Sula of Demames, who was to make the journey with King Alistair Alden, returned to his city and raised a force of two thousand probably following the King¡¯s orders. The High King sent the Knights of the Royal Guard and a force of three thousand down the lakes to Eagle Nest¡¯s Castle of the Granlake Marshes, not to be confused with the city of Eaglesnest built on the Northwatch Plateau thousands of kilometers away. They were to gather there and wait for word either to return, or cross the Mudriver Bridge into Scaldingport, the river running from Granlake to Forestfort and then Riverdor, not to be confused again with the Midriver Bridge of Lud River up in the North. The orange and black Hydra banners of the Second Foot under its Commander Sir Marc Est Ravn marched through the Crimson Forest, crossed Chinos River almost at its sources and reached Riverdor from its north not often used approach. Seven out of the ten Regiments, or two thirds according to other sources, made the journey from Midlanor. The other three regiments would cross the Shallow Sea after they had gathered at Farvor and Pastelor earlier that month. They would land at Ri Yue-Tu in the Spring of 190 NC to start the High King¡¯s and Midlanor¡¯s bloody ¡®two years¡¯ campaign against the Khan. The ¡®Landings at Ri Yue Tu¡¯ being the first amphibious assault of the war and while a tactical victory, now it is regarded as a strategic blunder. They did leave the Khanate without a working port for a full year almost, so perhaps one mustn¡¯t judge an operation¡¯s worth with the benefit of hindsight. Considering how everything turned out, no one could have predicted the future, though some who already possessed the necessary knowledge perhaps should have suspected more, but were drown in a sea of their own vices and small agenda¡¯s. As vilified Minister of Silence Lord Storm Nattas mentioned in a letter. ¡®There¡¯s agony about what is happening in the North, a fear of the Golden Throne¡¯s response and what is in the mind of our Lesia neighbors. That is us my friend, I won¡¯t dwell on details about the other affair. The Khan dreads another attack from the Second Foot, though he has won emphatically in Raoz, taken Rida and Altarin. He just lost a frozen piece of land no one really wants, perhaps a couple of kilometers of rocky desert, yet he stands in bewilderment -cock in hand- as he has strangely run out of working ports in the Shallow Sea. Why, an astute man would argue this is but divine diversion and the real menace might come from another direction.¡¯
Hours later Nattas carriage stopped at an alley near the central square and Storm climbed down followed by Secundus and Sudi. ¡°Wait here,¡± He told the balding lackey. ¡°But keep your eyes open.¡± ¡°For what?¡± Sudi probed and sat on the steps of the carriage. Storm sighed. ¡°Listen, I know you¡¯ve struggled lately. Do I need to hire a new guy?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine boss,¡± Sudi said. ¡°You got Sirio anyway.¡± ¡°Well, he¡¯s not exactly cut for your kind of work.¡± ¡°Nobody is. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be back in form soon,¡± Sudi reassured him. Storm felt a rare bout of remorse and grimaced. ¡°You had Maja figured out from the start,¡± he finally said. ¡°I was wrong there, almost killed us both. Your idea with the Dottore saved me basically.¡± ¡°Boss you knew they were trying to kill you when the rest of us didn¡¯t much believed it,¡± Sudi replied. ¡°Hmm, there is that of course,¡± Storm agreed. ¡°They were after the Queen in their attack on the wedding by the way.¡± Sudi narrowed his eyes. ¡°The Queen.¡± ¡°Aye, the king after her,¡± Storm told him. ¡°The knight that took that first bolt ruined their plans.¡± ¡°Who told ye that boss?¡± Sudi asked. ¡°She did. Why?¡± ¡°Do you believe her?¡± ¡°I think she¡¯s telling the truth for the most part.¡± Sudi grimaced, used a finger to dig at a gap in his teeth. ¡°I¡¯m not feeling it.¡± Storm stood back and looked at him. Secundus had started pacing nervously back and forth behind him. ¡°Give me your reasoning,¡± he finally said. ¡°I¡¯m not saying she¡¯s lying, but firing into a table full of people to hit one woman, or a child wit a Scorpio is ridiculous, if it¡¯s your goal.¡± Storm glanced at the pacing back and forth Secundus. ¡°She did say it was a fluke, despite using an expert allegedly.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a precision weapon boss and it can¡¯t be, expert or not. Her story is flawed, or she doesn¡¯t know what happened.¡± Storm smacked his lips and looked at his soft leather boots. ¡°So you¡¯re saying?¡± ¡°There was no target. They just wanted to cause mayhem. Take anyone out at random,¡± Sudi elucidated. ¡°Why use the Guild?¡± Storm asked. Sudi shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Secrecy, access to the Guardtower. Why not go after her again? Maja came after you a second time.¡± ¡°The client terminated the contract,¡± Storm murmured. ¡°Out of guilt? Or decency? Haha,¡± Sudi laughed and there were more gums in that mouth than teeth. ¡°Nah, they had what they wanted is all.¡± ¡°What happened to the bodies of the insurgents?¡± Storm asked deep in thought. ¡°They burned them all in a big pile,¡± Sudi replied. ¡°Hey, why cause mayhem though that¡¯s the tricky part.¡± ¡°Stop the alliance,¡± Storm said. ¡°That points to the Khan,¡± Sudi suggested. ¡°Kelholt would never work with the Khan, nor would the Est Ravn. I just don¡¯t see it,¡± Storm puffed out exasperated. ¡°Something else is going on. If Maja didn¡¯t know the real objective and the Priests were duped to get the blame¡­¡± ¡°Then what they wanted was more than breaking up the marriage,¡± Sudi replied. ¡°They wanted Regia learning about the plot and perhaps get all worked up about it.¡± Who are you going to blame next? King Alistair had asked him. ¡°The painted man,¡± Storm murmured. ¡°Boss?¡± ¡°There was a weird guy amidst the dead insurgents. Gordian mentioned someone also,¡± Storm said, but was interrupted by Secundus. ¡°It¡¯s time milord,¡± Secundus said. ¡°You better hurry.¡±
The Queen smiled seeing his expression and Storm gulped down nervously. The temperature inside her quarters warmer than expected. ¡°I had them lit the fireplace,¡± she explained and got up from the small rosewood table, the summer stola she wore totally inappropriate for the city of Alden, or the time of year. The light coming from the many lit candles illustrating her golden hair and a lot of other more risqu¨¦ parts of her. ¡°Alden is a cold city. Do you know whence the name came?¡± ¡°Of the city, your grace?¡± Storm asked looking at the fireplace, sweat beads appearing on his forehead. ¡°Aldenus was the surname our ancestors had,¡± Miranda explained. ¡°When they arrived at the rich fields next to the Blacktiger Forest they asked a wandering hunter what the place was called. He said, this is where all tiger dens are. There were a lot more tigers back then. When they heard the term it stuck to them. Like an omen. All dens. The name of the city they created became a family. Each place has its people. We are not the same.¡± Storm nodded. ¡°It makes sense.¡± ¡°Does it? We don¡¯t like chilly nights Storm,¡± Miranda added and offered him a gold goblet, adorned with red rubies. ¡°We love the light and wine. The summer festivals and dancing.¡± We girls of Aegium, was her meaning. Like the silly song the whores sing. He heard it again, the thousand teasing whispers of his youth, all accents and a mixture of heady female scents, perfume and rivers of alcohol.
Shed thee fool thy life¡¯s doom ¡®n glum In a lover¡¯s eyes devoid of fault Dance naked in the sounds of the drum Rejoice in summer¡¯s white sands of salt Wit the girls of Aegium
Storm stared at his goblet hesitantly. Being preoccupied with the mystery of the elusive men, or women that were behind the murders hadn¡¯t given him the time to prepare for the Queen of Regia being tipsy and in a certain mood. ¡°You get to be my attendant for the night,¡± Miranda said and pointed at the bottles left on a wooden cart. ¡°Wine, oh servant of Abrakas,¡± she added chuckling. Storm cleared his throat and stared at the closed doors behind him. ¡°Lord Nattas?¡± Miranda queried, blue-silver eyes sparkling. God darn it, Storm cursed and walked towards the cart. He grabbed a bottle and brought it back to her. Miranda was sitting on the chair next to the small table, her legs crossed. She wore no shoes. The left leg being on top, moving back and forth, the stola¡¯s split ever growing. Storm, his hands shaking, poured as much wine inside their goblets as outside. ¡°It¡¯s my wine, so I forgive you,¡± Miranda said, looking him over her goblet. ¡°Bottom¡¯s up.¡± Shite. The taste hadn¡¯t improved since the last time he had it. Strong and syrupy, it burned down his throat. Storm almost choked, started coughing tears in his eyes, the Queen looking at him amused. ¡°I might have,¡± Storm croaked, ¡°Some information¡ª¡± But she stopped him, before he could finish. ¡°Have you found the culprits?¡± Miranda asked, putting her goblet down after she drained it. ¡°Not yet, your grace,¡± he admitted, his heart racing. ¡°Then if I can¡¯t have my vengeance,¡± Miranda had told him. ¡°I¡¯d like to be amused, Lord Nattas. Do you know why they called the festival ¡®Naossis indiscretion¡¯?¡± She turned into a diaphanous fish and went into the sea, Storm thought. Seduced Abrakas and gotten herself pregnant. Birthed two twins, half human and half fish. The gods got mad with her and tossed the babies into the sea to get rid of them. But Abrakas kept them and turned them against their mother¡¯s people. Not exactly a happy tale, but people tend to not read the bad parts. ¡°It¡¯s a cautionary story,¡± Storm had replied treading carefully and the young woman sighed from somewhere deep inside her. Never had Lord Nattas heard a more sensual sound. ¡°Just give me the pleasurable parts Storm,¡± Miranda husked, a wicked grin on her luscious lips, as if she could read his mind. There was only one kind of pleasure Storm could offer her at that late hour.
189. The sides of a coin (1/3)
Lord Ton Van Calcar The sides of a coin Part I -Not a gathering of fools-
An old Hag singing amidst the wolf-fishes You should fear the lake witch¡¯s wishes Lakelords saying Circa 70 NC
(Right click on the map to open it fully) ¡°Where is it from?¡± Lord Ton Van Calcar asked his Shield Roger Blenk. A sturdy, but older man of almost sixty years that had served his father before him. An old Knight, Sir Blenk stood at almost six feet, a tall man even in his later years. ¡°Baron Darvot,¡± Sir Blenk replied, white bushy brows meeting at his wrinkled forehead in an angry frown. The Baron of Brownfort, a minor lord under the Lord of Pascor hadn¡¯t made the journey. There was always trouble brewing near the big lake, which was what the locals called the ¡®Canlita Sea¡¯. ¡°There are brigands roaming his lands, up to Picker¡¯s River banks, coming from Anorum.¡± Witch¡¯s swollen tit, Ton cursed and unfurled the message. He paused to give a nod to the Lord of Tollor, Daan Hoff, then bowed his head fully to the High King himself popping out of the small crowd of Issir officials near them. Lord Van Durren was there and Lord Est Ravn, looking like a priest of Uher, but with more jewelry and weapons on. ¡°Ah, the Seawolf guy,¡± Antoon said seeing him. ¡°Is it like a shark thing remind me Lord¡­?¡± Fucking cretin. ¡°Wolffish, your highness and its Lord Van Calcar of Pascor,¡± Van Calcar rustled, plastering a smile on his face. He was the lesser dressed of the participants. His plain leather armor looking pedestrian as even the Lord Est Ravn had a fine polished cuirass under his pious priestly garbs. The Hydra on it hideous. ¡°Ah,¡± Antoon said with a wave of his hand. ¡°I always mix you Lakelords up. Good of you to show up Lord Van Calcar,¡± he added and Ton attempted to smile along with the other Lords, but he failed and it came out a grotesque grimace. He waited for the High King of Kaltha to move away, taking most of the Lords with him and lowered his eyes on his scroll. ¡°There¡¯s word making the rounds the king lost the First Foot in Raoz and cost the Van Durrens¡¯ both Lord Joep and Sir Robert. Badum is in uproar at the news,¡± Sir Blenk said keeping his voice low. Ton nodded and read the scroll. ¡°Darvot says he chased them, but they run into Regia,¡± he sighed. ¡°With the Legion here it¡¯s no wonder they are emboldened. Does Lord Holt not have men to oust them from his lands?¡± ¡°It¡¯s more that Sovya don¡¯t much care milord,¡± Sir Blenk replied. ¡°So even if he does, they¡¯ll just sneak up there. Then you have to ask Lesia for permission and with them it¡¯s like talking to a wall, without all the excitement.¡± ¡°Bah,¡± Ton grunted and crashed the scroll into his fist. ¡°Here comes the ¡®Crab¡¯ again,¡± they both eyed the Lord of Tollor approach. ¡°Lord Hoff,¡± he said giving him his arm. ¡°I¡¯ve sent a missive. Hoped to catch you at Tollor. We made part of the journey on ship.¡± ¡°Why,¡± Lord Hoff said faking surprise. He was ten years older than Ton, who had his thirtieth named year that summer. ¡°I wasn¡¯t aware you had ships to spare, Lord Van Calcar.¡± ¡°We fish, we travel and we fuck in them,¡± Ton deadpanned. ¡°Your men had been hunting in my spot of the woods again, Lord Hoff,¡± he added and Lord Hoff frowned, his white hair cut short, but thinning. ¡°The ¡®Skirt¡¯ is Tollor¡¯s woods, my friend,¡± the older Lord said. Suck mud through the nose. ¡®Naossis Skirt Forest¡¯ was a large rich woodland that hugged the Great White Mountain Range north of the Canlita Sea. It was shared between Tollor and Pascor the two large Issir Cities built at the banks of the massive saltwater lake. ¡°Not near the Serene River it isn¡¯t,¡± Ton corrected him grinding his teeth. ¡°Hah, nobody hunts that far, Lord Van Calcar. More wolves than game over there,¡± Lord Hoff argued. ¡°Yet, they had.¡± ¡°Let us agree to disagree on it.¡± A loud trumpet interrupted their staring contest and they both turned to watch the Lorian Kings coming down the main street towards Riverdor¡¯s large keep.
In order to solve the problem of three kings attending, Lord Van Durren installed three narrow and long tables into his throne room creating a square that was missing a side. The old hall, not suited for even lesser events, was packed thus with people. The High King and Kaltha were seated in the middle table with Regia on the left and Lesia on the right, the latter decided by a coin flip. With so many lords present, knights, squires and dignitaries, Riverdor¡¯s square was cordoned, with soldiers guarding the streets leading to the Purple District and the Market for the better part of a month. The large Keep quickly run out of rooms to house everyone attending and every bit of space was utilized. Cooks and servants were thrown out of the kitchens and their quarters, personnel was kept to a bare minimum and halls were converted to sleeping quarters for the Kings Guard. It was chaos. The High King and King Davenport stayed in the Keep and the city, though on different wings and several lords rented villas at the nearby Purple District, but for some Issirs that had property there already. Lord Van Durren housed a number of them in his estate. King Alistair decided to sleep in the Legion¡¯s camp, one of three built near the city. The First Legion had one near the river, the First Cohort of the Second Legion had another near the Riverdor Castle and the Second Foot had a third located behind the north walls of the city proper. It would take the Kings three days to meet for the first time. The meeting set for early morning, but starting just before the afternoon, since it was impossible to notify everyone in time and frankly no one was certain where everyone was staying. High King Antoon Eikenaar, the second Antoon to take the Wyvern Throne, the other being the first King that had succeeded Reinut the Great at the distant 38 NC, now in the twelfth year of his reign had spoken first. He started welcoming the Lords and the two Kings in Riverdor being rather cordial according to some accounts, or bitter according to others. Before he had the time to finish his opening speech a missive arrived from distant Krakenhall via Midlanor informing him that the Jarl¡¯s forces were sieging Rockfort. It was the first days of the third month of winter of 190 as counted with the New Calendar and the Conference of Lords had begun.
¡°What did he say?¡± Lord of Tollor Daan Hoff asked him, apparently the Lakelords should sit side by side, thought Ton sourly. ¡°The Jarl is laying siege at Rockfort,¡± he said, watching the Lorian kings exchange a look across their tables while the High King was glaring at everyone. Not surprise though, Van Calcar thought. That son of a frog knew! ¡°He¡¯ll never take it,¡± Lord Hoff murmured, while several lords pointed the obvious, none louder than the elderly Van Durren, who squinted his eyes on his wrinkled face, while looking right and left on the Issirs table. ¡°Lord Bart Crull is here, isn¡¯t he? Ah, there you are lad. Why aren¡¯t you helping Lord Vanzon?¡± The Lord of Eaglesnest glared at his colleagues. ¡°I can¡¯t move away from the Montfoot, the Jarl has soldiers stationed across the river. We can see their fires burning. I¡¯ve been fighting this war alone!¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know Kaltha was at war with the North,¡± King Davenport commented, looking fresh in his white, silver and gold doublet. ¡°You know now, are you going to help?¡± Lord Crull snapped and the venerable Lord Lennox casted an austere stare on him. ¡°I didn¡¯t know my king as well,¡± Lord Hoff said addressing King Antoon, like the weasel that he was. ¡°We thought this was a raid?¡± ¡°It started as one,¡± Antoon replied. ¡°Probably escalated.¡± Murmurs were heard from all the tables, with the elderly Lord Holt of Asturia standing up and admonishing Lord Bart Crull without even looking at him.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. ¡°Had he not nailed the Jarl¡¯s son head over his dinner table, this could¡¯ve stayed a raid!¡± Lord Crull didn¡¯t appear too rattled though despite the rebuke. ¡°Haha! Close enough Lord Holt. I have it placed over the entrance to my main hall. Though I¡¯m afraid the birds have picked it clean by now.¡± ¡°Bah!¡± Lord Holt threw his arms in the air frustrated and dropped down on his seat. And people call me uncouth, Ton thought watching the Lords throwing the blame around, the High King watching, King Davenport¡¯s face blank and his eyes on scrolls an aide standing over his shoulders was giving him. King Alistair, who hadn¡¯t talked much yet had a permanent pained scowl on his face, as if he was suffering from constipation in his old age, or he was livid. Knowing Alistair, the latter was more probable, Ton thought.
¡°It is a problem,¡± Antoon finally said cutting through the loud discussions. ¡°But not a big one. The state of affairs in Raoz is of more importance. The Khan controls the coast for now.¡± ¡°What does this mean?¡± King Davenport asked calmly. ¡°Measures are taken to remedy the situation,¡± Antoon explained to the older man, not saying much though, as Lord Lennox pointed out. ¡°Will the High King expound on the matter?¡± The old general asked. ¡°Soon we shall have two ports open there,¡± Antoon replied with a smug smirk that didn¡¯t convince anyone. ¡°Sir Rick?¡± The High King asked and Ton looked at the knight of Scaldingport, who was present there in his father¡¯s stead. The fact Lord Ruud couldn¡¯t travel not as surprising as the realization the man was actually still alive. ¡°My father couldn¡¯t regrettably make the long journey,¡± Sir Rik De Weer said reading from a scroll he had open in his hands. Nor did the old goat trusted you to recite his words from memory, Ton thought with a leer of his own. ¡°It¡¯s not that much longer than Alden and he went there in the fall to marry your sister,¡± Antoon observed with a grimace. ¡°Traveling in winter is not easy,¡± Sir Rick argued. ¡°King Antoon.¡± ¡°Yet, we¡¯ve hardly had a bit of rain,¡± Antoon insisted. ¡°We pray for his health of course. Sir Rick.¡± ¡°Gratitude my king,¡± Sir Rik hissed. The knight was missing an eye and while he had covered the wound with a leather patch, it made him appear unsavory. Ton respected a man who could take a spear in the face and live long enough to have a laugh about it. ¡°Scaldingport has landed on Eplas, near the Endless Dunes.¡± ¡°Is that in the Great Desert?¡± Lord Lennox asked. ¡°The place is called Devil¡¯s Cove general Lennox.¡± ¡°Can transports moor there, lad?¡± Lord Lennox queried. ¡°Can you supply them? Are there ships enough to make the attempt?¡± ¡°There will be no need,¡± King Antoon intervened. ¡°Another port shall soon be available. Lord Est Ravn, if you be so kind.¡± Oh fuck this guy, Ton thought eyeing the Lord of Midlanor standing up and pointing at a map two aides had opened up for him. The map wouldn¡¯t stay put though folding on its upper portion and a third aide came forward, plus the Lord¡¯s son Sir Marc who stood up in his orange and black garbs and helped them out. ¡°When something resists,¡± Lord Anker crackled, keeping the annoyance from his face. ¡°Keep working on it and it will yield. Be it horse, woman or people. Uher shall not abandon the faithful to be devoured by the beasts of yesteryear. It shall help us smite them to smithereens afore that!¡± Witch¡¯s tits! Just get out what ye got to say without the gospel, we aren¡¯t in a blasted temple for crying out loud!
Seeing that everyone wanted to question Lord Anker¡¯s plan for a campaign on Eplas, so soon after the resounding defeat at Raoz, King Antoon ordered a recess and the lords agreed to meet in a day¡¯s time. It was two days after that the meeting resumed, or four according to other sources of the time and by the time it did, more details about the war in the North started pouring in. Lord Crull got informed by his people back in Krakenhall. The High King learned more details from the port city of Pastelor, who had dispatched some of the cavalry gathering there to Krakenhall despite being winter season. The Duchy of Sovya probably informed King Davenport at the same time Lucius first missive came through in almost a year, since the Duchy controlled Kas and could read his mail. The famed but presumed lost Heir to the kingdom of Regia informed his worrying father that in order to fulfil his mission, he was going to have ¡®to slay the Kraken¡¯. The confusing though prophetic turn of phrase, leaked out despite valiant efforts not to allow the knowledge to spread. With so many people of import so close to each other, everyone was spying on everyone else. This ¡®closeness¡¯ led to some funny occurrences or outright embarrassing, depending the side one looks at it, as Lord Van Durren¡¯s young niece Lady Aafke running away with one of the Lakelords in the chaos that would soon turn into a violent confrontation. The man in question, the cunning Lord of Pascor, of Brownfort and the Wolffish Isles, Lord Ton Van Calcar. It must be noted of course that the almost twice her age lord wasn¡¯t as infamous at the time.
Ton looked at the girl Sir Blenk had found in his quarters. Granted being so close to the kitchens and on the first floor, just about anyone could have sneaked in, but the Issir lass was pleasant to the eye at least. Eyes the dainty green of young leaves and her skin unblemished and dark as coal, her blood unmixed. ¡°Unhand me!¡± The lass protested and Sir Blenk glanced at him, while he got his boots off of his feet. Ton believed a man should be able to do a couple of things by himself. Servants needed feeding also and he didn¡¯t favor spending that much for that. ¡°Who are you?¡± Ton said casually and crooked his mouth. ¡°What are you doing in my quarters?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Aafke Van Durren,¡± the lass replied with a glare. ¡°I didn¡¯t know it was your room. This is my uncle¡¯s castle! Who are you?¡± Ton frowned and scratched the stubble on his cheek with a gloved finger. ¡°I¡¯m the Lord of Pascor,¡± he finally said. ¡°Lady Aafke, what are you doing here?¡± ¡°Oh shite,¡± Aafke cursed unladylike and stared at the much taller than her Sir Blenk. ¡°Can I leave? This is the wrong room.¡± ¡°I suggest you answer the Lord, Lady Aafke,¡± Sir Blenk cautioned her. ¡°He doesn¡¯t appreciate an insult.¡± Aafke turned around. ¡°What are you to do? Feed me to your fish?¡± ¡°You are not leaving this room,¡± Ton told her simply and lowered his back on his bed fully dressed but without his boots, his head resting on a hard hay pillow. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll talk,¡± Aafke puffed out exasperated. ¡°My uncle wants me to marry my first cousin Janos¡­ Lord Janos of Badum I guess now.¡± ¡°They voted for him?¡± Ton asked. ¡°Isn¡¯t he your age Sir Blenk?¡± ¡°A bit younger milord,¡± the old Shield replied. ¡°But not by much. Decent knight for a time.¡± ¡°Luthos favored him in his later years by wiping out the competition,¡± Lord Ton commented cynically, looking at the pretty lass. ¡°How old are you?¡± ¡°Sixteen,¡± Aafke replied. ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear me, he¡¯s my cousin! Old as dirt, I ain¡¯t marrying him! What are we Imperials? This is sick! Right?¡± She asked hopefully looking at them. Witch¡¯s tits on her, was all Ton could think listening to her words. For such a young lass. ¡°Milord?¡± Sir Blenk asked, sounding a little concerned. ¡°Mmm,¡± Ton hummed eyeing the increasingly more worried girl. ¡°We should return her to Lord Van Durren,¡± Sir Blenk cautioned and Ton pushed himself up putting his feet on the rough and cold stone floor. Fucking cretins the lot of them. ¡°You are not leaving this room,¡± he repeated and looked at the panicking girl. ¡°Unless you do as I say.¡±
Whatever gets trapped in the net belongs to the man brandishing it. It¡¯s his food. The Witch¡¯s wishes.
¡°What if I don¡¯t? I don¡¯t know what that means my lord.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t pretend you¡¯re stupid now. It means ye cut yer hair for starters, wear my squire¡¯s garbs. Thin lad like ye, but with no tits.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not cutting my hair!¡± Aafke snapped, her white mane impressive, it reached the lower part of her back. Her cheeks turned the color of her red gown at his scrutiny. ¡°How else to get her out of here and to our ship, Sir Blenk?¡± Ton asked his Shield and he frowned. ¡°We might have to remove her womanly bits¡ª¡± ¡°Hand me a darn scissor!¡± Aafke grunted, more angry than scared and Ton stood back with a smile. She raised a thin brow seeing him grinning. ¡°Do you have a woman Lord Calcar?¡± Aafke asked. ¡°It¡¯s Van Calcar, my family is as old as yours Lady Aafke,¡± Ton grunted, his blood boiling and she chuckled, while Sir Blenk rolled his eyes at the foolishness of younger noble people. ¡°I know,¡± she said still grinning, pearly teeth contrasting to the dark red natural color of her lips. ¡°But I wanted to piss you off for being a cretin.¡± That was how long it had taken her, to stop being afraid of him. It was right darn impressive. Ah, Lord Ton Van Calcar thought fascinated and even Sir Blenk cracked a rare smile and the man hadn¡¯t done that since his father had died. But sometimes you get a fish with sharp teeth in there. A flesh-eater. A Wolffish. Those you do well to return to the brackish waters or keep as yer partner. If they¡¯ll have you.
This time even King Davenport appears troubled, thought Ton looking about him for anyone looking his way, but no one suspected a thing apparently. ¡°There¡¯s a rumor spreading,¡± Sir Blenk whispered in his ear, the murmurs of the Lords present at the tables covering his voice. Making it appear drowned as if coming out of the swamps waters. ¡°The Bloody Tiger might be working with the Jarl.¡± The air smelled of rotten leaves and foul mud. Lord Van Calcar stopped chewing on the roasted chicken¡¯s leg. He dropped it on his plate and wiped his hands with a towel. ¡°In what way?¡± ¡°People have talked of a Legion marching away from Rockfort,¡± the loyal hand whispered. What? The legion was here in Riverdor. Then again there was another in Lesia now apparently. ¡°Marching where?¡± Ton asked and turned his eyes on the King of Regia, the bald ruler looking ancient, but as hard as old rocks routed at the bottom of the big lake. Impossible to dislodge. ¡°West,¡± Sir Blenk rustled and King Alistair turned his silver and blue eyes on him, the beast behind them snarling menacingly. This wasn¡¯t a simple gathering of fools after all. An old Hag singing amidst the wolf-fishes, Ton thought a shiver running down his spine, just as the High King stood up to speak. You should fear the lake witch¡¯s wishes.
190. The sides of a coin (2/3)
Adrian Calvus The sides of a coin Part II -The King¡¯s Sword-
His father, second Decanus of the First Century of the First Cohort waved at him from where he was standing. A group of ten legionnaires always followed Sir Barnard¡¯s King¡¯s Guard around, with his father leading it. Adrian grinned and then followed after the King of Regia inside the large Hall where the Conference was held. The High King was already seated and Adrian managed to recognize some of the Issir Lords by their sigils. The three headed Eagle of Eaglesnest, worn by Lord Crull, the five headed Hydra of Midlanor and its Lord Est Ravn, the ¡®Standing Crab¡¯ of Tollor and Lord Hoff, with the Wolffish, Lord Van Calcar right next to him. The Spearfish of the Van Durrens worn by the King¡¯s Shield, sitting on the right hand of King Antoon. King Alistair took his seat, amidst the loud murmurs of the lords present. Even the Lesia delegation appears nervous, Adrian noticed and licked his dry lips. Lord Lennox eyed King Alistair from across the table and then nodded with his head in greeting. The two old noblemen had fought a campaign together twenty years ago. ¡°Be sharp lad,¡± Sir Barnard rustled, without looking at him. A mountain of steel and flesh. ¡°I don¡¯t like their faces.¡± Adrian made to answer him, but Antoon stood up and the hall turned quiet. ¡°This is a union, always has been,¡± the High King started. ¡°One king might stand above the others, but it was never looked as such by my ancestors or myself. Time and time again I¡¯ve made attempts to mend differences, find a solution at great personal cost. Peace,¡± he stopped to look at the packed tables and the men listening to him. ¡°Was always my priority.¡± Adrian stared at the grimacing faces and the loud protests of many of the lords present. The High King¡¯s words weren¡¯t well received. Antoon nodded as if he could understand their frustration. ¡°Is a man to blame for the actions of another?¡± He asked the lords present. ¡°How is sending the army in Raoz not a provocation?¡± King Davenport asked him directly. ¡°I had a reason for it.¡± ¡°You gave Princess Elsanne to the Khan,¡± the King of Lesia pointed. ¡°His son, a Prince last time I checked, had won her hand in a tourney. It is the custom.¡± ¡°That¡¯s bloody rehearsed,¡± King Alistair hissed. ¡°Cheap theater!¡± Antoon turned to look at him. ¡°Haven¡¯t I agreed for my son and heir to marry your daughter King Alistair?¡± ¡°You were looking for an alliance! I lost my little girl by men working for your High Magister!¡± Alistair snarled sounding genuinely angry. ¡°Why would I need an alliance, King Alistair?¡± Antoon asked. ¡°Your ancestor had taken a knee to Reinut. I stand above you.¡± Alistair got up himself. Adrian could now only see the king¡¯s back. ¡°You¡¯ve lost Raoz,¡± he told Antoon and the younger man, gold Sea Eagle¡¯s Crown on his head showed him his teeth in a snarl. ¡°This alone annuls the treaties. King Davenport knows it, everyone with half a brain knows it.¡± ¡°I shall take it back, King Alistair,¡± Antoon replied both hands grabbing at the edge of the table seeking support or an outlet for his fury. ¡°Is this how you treat your longtime allies? Abandoning them in the first sign of a crisis?¡± ¡°You were never my ally,¡± Alistair retorted. ¡°We had a treaty. It¡¯s gone, whether I help or not now, is in my discretion and frankly you hadn¡¯t asked. As a matter of fact, you went one step further, by provoking the Khan without consulting with any of us. Unless, you had a reason for that too and we don¡¯t know it?¡± Antoon glared at the King of Regia with hatred. ¡°You insult me¡­ in my bloody hall!¡± He growled. ¡°How is stating the facts an insult?¡± King Alistair spat back and sat down shaking his head. ¡°You¡¯ve sent your son to attack my subjects in the North,¡± Antoon hissed. Several lords murmured at his words. ¡°He¡¯s fighting against Kaltha today, may turn against Sovya tomorrow.¡± ¡°Sir Lucius was attacked by your lords Antoon,¡± Alistair snarled and glared at him. ¡°He killed my son!¡± Lord Bart Crull barked and got up. ¡°Attacked him like a ruffian from behind!¡± ¡°THAT¡¯S A LIE!¡± Alistair snapped turning to look at the Lord of Eaglesnest. ¡°Retract your statement Lord Bart,¡± he warned him. ¡°How is him fighting with the Northmen justified King Alistair?¡± Antoon intervened, but Alistair stopped him raising his hand under the loud protests of the Issirs. ¡°Take it back Lord Bart,¡± he repeated his warning. ¡°Lucius is no murderer.¡± ¡°I lost my firstborn!¡± Lord Bart protested, old face flushed. ¡°He probably deserved it,¡± Alistair noted without an ounce of sympathy. ¡°Lucius was escorting the Jarl¡¯s daughter back to Fetya,¡± he announced to the restless Lords around them. ¡°The girl was taken from him and was slaughtered before the Battle of the Bridges,¡± he turned to glare at the seething High King. ¡°Of another war you didn¡¯t start, oh ye man of peace, but apparently you¡¯re fighting for years!¡± ¡°I never started the war with the North,¡± Antoon snapped. ¡°And your son is acting like a warlord, a darn brigand! He has legionnaires with him! How is this allowed? Were you asked about it King Davenport?¡± The latter he addressed to the King of Lesia. The man didn¡¯t want to answer obviously, so Lord Lennox did it for him standing up. ¡°Lesia¡¯s Legion is in Lesia, but for the men here,¡± he announced. ¡°Since when?¡± Antoon rustled, his voice hoarse. ¡°We are working on it, for a year now,¡± the old general announced but stopped, when King Davenport placed a hand on his elbow. ¡°There¡¯s no Legion up North,¡± King Alistair said. ¡°And Lucius isn¡¯t a brigand Antoon. Thou should retract this insult at once.¡± Antoon narrowed his eyes and sighed. ¡°I won¡¯t judge his father for whatever it is that drove him to his actions,¡± he said. ¡°But a lot of people have testified to these facts King Alistair. Is warlord, better than a brigand? Fine, you¡¯re playing with words trying to justify the unjustifiable. I said peace earlier and I meant it. Treaties or not. Isn¡¯t that good enough?¡± King Alistair grunted and stared at his own lords. They had kept mostly quiet, as all other lords this day. The kings were doing most of the talking. ¡°What is it you propose, King Antoon? You have an idea, which is why you called us here. Let us hear it,¡± Alistair had said. ¡°I ask for time to remedy the Raoz situation,¡± Antoon said with a smirk. ¡°Treaties or not, we can be allies and in peace with each other. Who wants war? In fact none of you is risking anything here. Does your ancestors¡¯ words have no value? I intent to honor mine, beat the Khan¡¯s hordes back,¡± he turned to stare at King Alistair. ¡°But I can¡¯t talk peace and treaties or alliances, when your Lucius is campaigning against my lords king Alistair! Killing my people! Call it how you want to call it for crying out loud, I¡¯m not at fault here!¡±Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. ¡°Lucius has his reasons,¡± King Alistair said, but this time the majority of the Lords seemed unconvinced. Adrian puffed out, his hands shaking and the noise in the hall increasing. He wiped the sweat off of his face with a hand, while the High King offered them a solution of sorts. ¡°Denounce Lucius,¡± he said and everyone stopped talking again. ¡°It don¡¯t have to be permanent, just until an explanation is given for his behavior. It might be something simple, he fancies Northern girls, and he¡¯s young still. He took insult perhaps. I can forgive and Lord Bart can as well. You have another son in any case. I hope I will as well, else the next High King might be quiet different,¡± there was some nervous laughter by a couple of lords at that. ¡°Scaldingport will be happy to learn about it,¡± the High King finished with a forced smile. ¡°And Kaltha will be satisfied and not look to blame Regia for a young man¡¯s actions.¡± ¡°Lucius,¡± King Alistair announced, his voice reverberating in the walls of the old hall and got up to stare at the Lords looking at him, some with a bit of admiration, like the Lord of Pascor. ¡°Was, is and shall be my Heir,¡± he said with finality paraphrasing House Alden¡¯s famous motto. We were, we are, we shall be. By the sword.
¡°Find your father Calvus,¡± King Alistair said turning to him, the moment the meeting was over without a resolution. ¡°Have him arrest Sir Rik De Weer and everyone from his entourage, but they are not to be harmed,¡± he ordered and Adrian nodded, his heart beating fast not understanding what was happening. ¡°Go boy,¡± Sir Barnard rustled and Adrian rushed towards the exit looking for his father.
The Conference came to a standstill in its second week. What happened after that is difficult to decipher, as several versions of the events exist. Two of them prominent today. Like the sides of a coin, they are completely different. King Alistair threw the High King¡¯s offer to his face and departed in anger. In the chaos he arrested Sir Rik De Weer, Scaldingport¡¯s representative. The Issir Lords reacted to the insult and tried to prevent the King¡¯s men from leaving the city. King¡¯s Alistair¡¯s men stormed the gates and escaped as they had the First Century conveniently stationed outside. This force of five hundred men marched a couple of kilometers and was stopped again by part of the Second Foot that had relocated during the night to find better quarters near Lesia¡¯s Legion. King Alistair asked the Issir Captain to get his men out of the way, but the man refused demanding the Lorians hand over Sir Rik first. Centurion Glycia commanding the Century responded that he had orders to bring the King of Regia safely to the Legion¡¯s camp some kilometers away and he intended to do just that. Tempers flared someone threw a spear killed an officer and the Issirs responded firing several bolts. One of them hitting the King. This is one version of the events. The other says King Alistair realized this was a trap to force him into a decision and opted to pull out of the Conference with his men. He ordered the arrest of Sir Rik to prevent the young scion from notifying his father who was guarding the King¡¯s flanks and the bridge at Forestfort, of the High King¡¯s cunning offer. Delay the news from reaching the old Crow so he could retreat that way, or head straight for Sabertooth Castle. The High King ordered the gates closed, but the men with King Alistair rushed them and managed to break out. The First Century was stopped a kilometer from the walls of Riverdor by three regiments of the Second Foot that had relocated sneakily during the night to cut him off from his main force. The Issir Captain asked the King to surrender peacefully so they could resolve this without blood being spilt and King Alistair decided to punch through the blocking force, knowing the Legion would react sooner or later and attempt to break them out. No spear was thrown, but Optio Marcus Ursus a distant cousin to the Lord of Novesium, tried to assassinate the King with a long knife, whilst everyone was staring at the Issir delegation. King Alistair was wounded at the sides, but no accounts can agree on the severity of his injuries. He managed to kill his would be assassin with his sword, the men reacting to the sudden violence and the confusion. A row broke out amidst the Lorians present, then stopped, when the King stood up bleeding and ordered Centurion Glycia to break through the Issirs force, watching the events unfolding shocked. Whichever of the two versions is correct, it is generally agreed today that this is where the Conference of Lords ended and the Battle of the Turncoats started.
Adrian saw the spear coming his way and pushed it away with his sword. The soldier pulled it back with a growl lost in the clamor of battle and cut him on the side of his neck with the blade. He stumbled back, Sir Barnard stepped forward and decapitated the Issir soldier with a savage blow. ¡°Get to the King!¡± The Knight blasted him and Adrian blinked, his heart racing and tried to locate the King of Regia in the chaos. A horn sounded, as the legionnaires formed a wedge and started pushing through the Issir lines. The young squire run towards the center of it, but a Decanus grabbed him by the scruff and pulled him inside. It was his father. ¡°The King?¡± Adrian asked shaking, bleeding freely down his neck. ¡°Stay alive son,¡± his father told him. ¡°The King has men watching out for him.¡± Adrian shook his head right and left not agreeing. With a gasp he burst out of the shields protection. He almost died to a sword two breaths later. Adrian ducked, tripped on a dead man, stepped on a still breathing one and killed an injured Issir pretending to be dead that tried to knife him in the guts. He used both his hands to do it, long blade stabbing down and fingers slippery on the sword¡¯s handle. The man made a whistling noise dying that is until Adrian realized that was the corpse¡¯s bladder emptying. The young squire staggered through the battlefield, the lines all messed up, but the Legionnaires managed to bunch up in several groups and were slowly advancing working together as a unit. Or several. He followed the banners, as the weather turned above their heads and it started raining hard. The water turning the ground to mud, the clouds darkening the battlefield that was very near the tourney grounds. There were houses at the near and people that were watching stunned at the violence. The fact Adrian didn¡¯t die more a matter of Luthos watching over him, than his skills or smarts. Perhaps he didn¡¯t appear important enough. The Issir lines cracked open at some point. The young squire run after the escaping group of legionnaires carrying the King¡¯s banner with them, while hacking away at enemies in the blind, thunders and lightings making the scene nightmarish. The men looking wild and panicked. Angry and utterly confused. Scared all of them. But for the dead. The reality of it was that the Legion had arrived and the Issirs had retreated a couple of hundred meters allowing the First Century to break out. ¡°Where?¡± He asked Sir Barnard, the hale Knight covered in gore that was slowly washing away and sporting several dents on his plate. ¡°On his horse,¡± the Knight replied while cleaning his sword. Adrian approached the King with his entourage and one of the squire¡¯s brought a horse for him as well. ¡°Calvus it is good you live boy,¡± King Alistair said, gaunt face pale under his helm. ¡°They will try to cut us off, so we¡¯ll march hard during the night.¡± ¡°Yes, my king!¡± Adrian replied relieved they had made it out. ¡°We won¡¯t get away, if they have half a brain,¡± the King continued ruining his exultant thoughts. ¡°But we will fight where they don¡¯t want to.¡± Adrian gulped down and stared at the other lords and knights present and on horseback. ¡°Stay at the near Calvus,¡± King Alistair had told him sternly. ¡°Something happens, you get my sword to Regia boy.¡± Calvus did and lost his life for it.
The First Legion and King Alistair broke out of Riverdor and force-marched not on the road leading to Forestfort, but straight south towards the plains and the Alden Desert. This dragged the Second Foot ¨Cor parts of it- after them and gave Lord Ruud, who was standing behind the Mudriver Bridge with the Scaldingport forces, the opportunity to block the High King¡¯s army there simply by not moving away. The Issirs didn¡¯t want to fight Issirs and no one trusted Lord Ruud not to stab him in the back, so the men remained in the Granlake¡¯s Marshes and their side of the river for almost a week. While everyone expected a race to Sabertooth Castle with regiments of the Second Foot following the fast moving Legion and the Lesia forces following the Second Foot, King Alistair marched for a night, stopped to rest for an hour, and when the Issirs appeared force-marching hard after them under heavy rain, he turned the Legion around and fought them right then and there in the middle of nowhere. King Alistair had won the first battle he¡¯d ever fought following his father King Titus the Second on campaign and true to form he would win his last thirty eight years later. Lord Sirio Veturius Circa 206 NC The Fall of Heroes Chapter XXIII Battle of the Turncoats (King Alistair Alden, Stalwart Tiger of Regia. -The Conference¡¯s end and the first day of the Battle- Early third month of winter 190 NC)
191. The sides of a coin (3/3)
Optio Potis Durio The sides of a coin Part III -Finish that road Optio-
Prefect Placus Durio paused to examine the new gold and silver white cape on his desk. His uncle frowned as if unsure, but seeing him waiting at the center of the Cohort¡¯s commander¡¯s tent he forced a smile on his aged mouth. ¡°At ease Optio Durio,¡± he said and Potis relaxed his stance. ¡°The Lord Commander will be joining us shortly.¡± ¡°Who will it be sire?¡± Potis asked, the news that were going to become part of the Second Legion out of Lesia still shocking to him. ¡°Lord Cornelius Mortymer from Stingray is here,¡± Prefect Durio answered. Lord Mortymer was the Lesia¡¯s Master of Silence. His uncle had raised Potis after his father¡¯s death and always kept the young officer near him at the Legion¡¯s posts since then. ¡°But a council member should never run an army, so it will be Lord Godfrey Caxaton of Telus that will take the lead.¡± Telus was a petty barony in Andatelia. ¡°What about the Frye¡¯s?¡± Another prominent family from the city of Dokamna. ¡°Lord Osmund loves the Navy, I don¡¯t see that changing,¡± His uncle explained. ¡°There¡¯s a rumor Ettore Pintor is also with the King.¡± ¡°The ¡®Butcher of Yepehir¡¯?¡± Potis gasped. ¡°I thought Lord Mortymer had him leading the ¡®Three Hundred¡¯?¡± ¡°Apparently the company is sailing for Eplas under D¡¯Orsi,¡± His uncle replied and rubbed his face with both hands. ¡°A new command.¡± ¡°The lads were saying it doesn¡¯t feel right camping away from their brothers,¡± Potis said a little tentatively. ¡°The lads being the engineers?¡± The Prefect queried without looking at him. ¡°The sentiment is shared I believe in the rank and file,¡± he replied. His uncle assumed an austere expression. ¡°You are spending too much time there Optio.¡± ¡°It¡¯s an escort mission,¡± Potis jested. ¡°Heavy escort all around. People don¡¯t have much to do, so they talk.¡± ¡°About what?¡± ¡°Politics.¡± ¡°They better stick to cutting wood and fixing carts. How many came with us?¡± ¡°Thirty from the old Century Prefect,¡± Potis replied. ¡°It seems excessive to move so many soldiers for a Conference.¡± ¡°Perhaps there¡¯s a reason for it,¡± the Prefect said. ¡°The situation in the North?¡± ¡°If the Jarl pushes back the Issirs, he¡¯ll turn his eyes on the Duchy,¡± his uncle explained. ¡°Lesia wants the status quo to remain as is. The supply of good quality wood is vital for the Fleet and of course for profit.¡± ¡°Can the Jarl break through though? He was mauled at the Bridges. That is twice a war he has started failed. He¡¯s too old to try again,¡± Potis commented. ¡°He almost wiped them out there,¡± Prefect Durio corrected him. ¡°They won by the skin of their teeth. Had the Jarl kept a reserve at the near, he could have routed the Crulls and Vanzon¡¯s force was spent completely.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a rumor, Lucius might be helping them. Found himself another Northern lass,¡± Potis said. ¡°I bet the Redmond¡¯s are unhappy,¡± his uncle said. ¡°Then again, marrying the Tiger didn¡¯t end well for them. If this girl succeeds where they failed, the Jarl might become emboldened.¡± ¡°King Alistair will never side with the Jarl,¡± Potis argued. ¡°Twenty years ago, he wouldn¡¯t. But as you said that¡¯s not the old Tiger. Who knows what Sir Lucius has in his mind?¡± ¡°Will Lesia fight in the North?¡± Potis asked. ¡°Nobody wants to fight there,¡± the Prefect replied and looked at the scrolls on his desk. ¡°But sometimes orders are what they are.¡± There was commotion outside their tent and a soldier popped his head in. ¡°Yes?¡± The Prefect said. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°There¡¯s trouble at the gates commander,¡± the soldier reported. ¡°A rider came to inform us.¡± ¡°Which Gates?¡± The Prefect said standing up alarmed. ¡°What are you talking about? What trouble?¡± Potis always thought that at that point, things stopped making sense.
The Cohort had slowly gathered, the men standing idle looking about them nervously. Prefect Durio stopped and glared at the rider, the third that had appeared in twenty minutes coming from the nearby Riverdor. ¡°Report!¡± His uncle barked, clad in his officer¡¯s uniform, the armour well-polished and the new style cape billowing in the breeze. The weather was turning for the worse. ¡°They are fighting,¡± the scout reported. ¡°A kilometer and a half from the Gates of Riverdor.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s fighting?¡± Potis asked him, the helm heavy on his head. ¡°King Alistair with the Issirs. The Second Foot.¡± ¡°What is the Second Foot doing there?¡± The Prefect queried and Potis spotted a group of officers coming their way. One of them wearing a Legion Lorica, but styled in white, silver and gold, the white boar of Lesia engraved on the shoulder guards. ¡°They moved sire. In the night,¡± the scout replied, just as the first rain drops started falling. ¡°The Legion is fighting the Foot?¡± Potis asked and looked at his uncle. Several of the soldiers and lower ranking officers standing closer to them could hear their conversation and his uncle grimaced. ¡°Uncle¡­ Prefect Durio, we should help them,¡± Potis blurted out. ¡°Help who?¡± The Prefect snapped, jaw clenched in frustration. ¡°We have no idea what in Tyeus spear is going on! Go tend to your engineers Optio.¡± Potis stood back and stared at him. ¡°I ask permission to lead the Second Century outside Prefect!¡± He said loudly saluting. His uncle grunted, a worrying eye on the approaching officer and lords, the other at the men listening in. ¡°Prefect?¡± Potis asked, a lump in his throat. ¡°It will be a simple scouting mission sire!¡± ¡°Ah, damn it,¡± Prefect Durio grunted staring at his nephew strangely. ¡°May I take the Century out of the camp sire?¡± Potis asked again, his heart thundering. ¡°Do it,¡± his uncle relented. ¡°Don¡¯t engage, see what is going on and report back. Stay out of it Potis.¡± ¡°Belay that order Optio!¡± The hard faced officer barked, stopping a couple of meters from them. ¡°Pintor,¡± Prefect Durio said and glared at the newcomer. ¡°You can¡¯t rescind my orders in my camp.¡± Ettore Pintor pressed his lips into a thin line, square jaw closely shaved and the lines on it deep especially near the mouth. He reached into his armour and got a scroll out, the rain dropping on them, the thunders and the lightings making it difficult to hear their exchange. His uncle snatched the scroll from him and paused to stare at a wiry Lord standing next to Pintor. The rare red Lynx engraved on the front of his iron cuirass. He kept his head shaven, the pale skin gleaming under the pouring rain. ¡°Prefect,¡± Potis tried again and Pintor eyed him warningly. ¡°Prefect Pintor is assuming command Optio according to this,¡± his uncle told him. ¡°I¡¯ve been reassigned to the Second Cohort.¡± ¡°Uncle per the Legion¡¯s book, we can¡¯t change command in the middle of a crisis!¡± Potis argued and Lord Caxaton glared at him. ¡°Optio, you are dismissed,¡± he barked and Potis gasped. ¡°He¡¯s right Prefect Pintor,¡± his uncle said turning to face his colleague. ¡°Lord Commander,¡± this he addressed to the seething Lord Caxaton. ¡°The orders usually take effect upon returning to base. In fact this is issued for the next month.¡± ¡°Prefect Durio,¡± Lord Caxaton hissed, under the uproar of the skies above them. ¡°A technicality. I can assume command earlier! I¡¯m a plaguing Lord!¡± ¡°Not in the Legion you can¡¯t milord. A King could,¡± his uncle replied holding firm. ¡°So I will ask the King to clarify these orders. In the meantime, Optio Durio will take the Century out and find out what is going on.¡± ¡°Stay where you are Optio!¡± Pintor barked. ¡°Prefect Durio you are relieved of your position. Do you comply?¡± ¡°Not until I talk with King Davenport,¡± his uncle replied, clenching his jaw. Lord Caxaton turned his head around and looked at the two men-at-arms escorting them. ¡°Arrest the Prefect,¡± he ordered them and a collective gasp came out of the men standing and watching the exchange. ¡°And anyone else!¡± Lord Caxaton barked glaring at the men of the Cohort under the heavy downpour. ¡°It¡¯s an order by your Lord Commander!¡± ¡°You are not arresting the Prefect,¡± Potis said and dropped his hand to his sword. ¡°Ah! There it is. Mutiny!¡± Prefect Pintor gasped and took a step back, everyone tensing up and the murmurs turning to protests from the rows of legionnaires. ¡°Enough!¡± His uncle yelled loud enough to be heard. ¡°This is unacceptable. Lord Caxaton, there¡¯s no need for violence here. Prefect Pintor can have command of the Cohort. But I ask for an audience with King Davenport today.¡± ¡°Fine. Surrender your sword Prefect and tell the men to disperse, but remain ready to march if the need arises, or if we know more.¡± No. This is not right, Potis thought and his uncle approached him after he surrendered his weapon and reaching grabbed Potis hand, to keep it away from his sword. ¡°They can¡¯t do this uncle,¡± the young man whispered to him and the old officer stared in his eyes moved. ¡°Orders are what they are,¡± the Prefect said solemnly. Then lowered his voice so they couldn¡¯t hear them. ¡°Leave my boy. Find a way out. You hear? Get away, forget about me.¡± Optio Durio stood back shocked, the rain smarting his eyes, a mix of bitter water and tears down his cheeks. His uncle followed the two men and they walked away from them towards the gates of the camp. Lord Caxaton turned himself to follow behind them but paused not three strides later and asked a still staring at Optio Durio Prefect Pintor. ¡°What¡¯s the punishment in the Legion for disobeying a Lord Commander¡¯s direct order when in the field Prefect?¡± He asked pretending he was troubled. ¡°Beheading sire,¡± Prefect Pintor replied staring at a wild-eyed and shaking Potis. A man put a hand on his shoulder. ¡°Come lad,¡± the baritone voice of Centurion of Engineers Bart Bestia cautioned him. ¡°We gotta go, whilst we have the time.¡± ¡°Well then,¡± Lord Caxaton said. ¡°I suppose it is what it is. Get it done Prefect. See to any dissenters also.¡±
Bestia tossed him a haversack and then bodied him towards a horse. About thirty men were already there waiting under the heavy rain, looking haunted. Potis was moving like an automaton too stunned to take charge. ¡°They¡¯ll open the south gates and we will hoof it,¡± Bestia explained to him, square jaw and teeth clenched in a manic smile. ¡°That¡¯s it. No orders after that Optio. Whole thing went tits up,¡± he added shaking his head. ¡°A couple of years for my pension. Ah curse it all to Oras hells!¡±Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. ¡°We should stay and help the Prefect,¡± Potis protested, but Bart grabbed the young officer by the collar and glared at him. ¡°Your uncle is dead,¡± he explained. ¡°There are rumors of people getting the chop right and left all over the city.¡± Potis sucked air in desperately trying to calm himself down, but failing. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a question you don¡¯t ask unless you¡¯re a lord lad. We need to leave now, before they replace everyone willing to turn a blind eye and then we¡¯re fucked. Don¡¯t let the Prefect¡¯s sacrifice be in vain.¡± ¡°He knew,¡± Potis gasped in shock. ¡°Thought he could stall them as much as he could and the old man might¡¯ve succeeded. Kept ye out of it also, but your head ain¡¯t safe yet, nor is mine.¡± Potis nodded and reached for the reins.
The First Legion was set up obliquely in the Battle of the Turncoats. The Second Cohort split into its six hundred men strong Centuries to guard the wings of the formation. The Second Foot got sucked into the depth of the west flank and after an hour of heavy fighting found itself struggling against an ever closing corner there, when the wings got to work. They lost two soldiers for every legionnaire according to accounts that are heavily disputed, but got help from the massive Crimson Band, a rebel warband led by Sonny Lindberg who owed the High King, or was working for him in exchange for a pardon, a fact no one knew at the time. They managed to stabilize the front attacking the crumbling west flank and Commander Deimos Alden ordered the Legion to disengage and retreat. King Alistair rescinded the order amidst another row between the Lorian Lords, who had had enough after two days marching under heavy rain and protested the King¡¯s decision. King Alistair refused to listen to any dissenting opinions and ordered Sir Deimos to charge with his cavalry the Lingberg¡¯s brigands and dislodge them from the flank. Lord Doris disagreed, but the other lords gave their consent and a humbled Sir Deimos charged ahead of four hundred riders onto Lindberg¡¯s sides giving them a taste of their own medicine. The Crimson Band warriors not kin on defending against a Cavalry charge, despite their numbers ¨Cestimates have them at around a thousand two hundred- got routed out of the field losing a lot of men. The regulars of the Second Foot pivoted twenty steps back while the brigands were melting under the hooves of Sir Deimos riders and set their spears to defend his second massive charge of the day. Sir Deimos raised his sword and yelled for his riders to follow him. They did and charged on the packed Issir regulars lines, bristling with spears. Sometimes a spearwall might fail, people are justifiably scared of onrushing cavalry. People can also be well drilled, or fanatics. The Issirs didn¡¯t budge, most of the horses refused to attack a wall of pointy things and tried to turn away. Some brave men and horses pushed through and fell to their death, Sir Deimos amongst them. It is said at least three spears skewered him, two through the torso and one right through his helm. Two short in number than the spears that killed his stallion. King Alistair seeing the Issirs in disarray, despite their win against his cavalry, climbed his horse and waving his famed sword over his head ordered the Legion forward. All flanks. The Issirs rushed to reinsert the men they had used to stop Sir Deimos into their line, but this caused confusion in the ranks as most brought their spears with them and a Legionnaire unlike a horse, isn¡¯t skittish to a spear. They just pushed them aside and approached to sword distance. Facing annihilation the Issir commander, which wasn¡¯t Sir Marc Est Ravn as he was sent by his father with three regiments down the coastal road to block King Alistair¡¯s retreat towards Sabertooth Castle and the city of Alden, decided to pull his force back. It was a fatal decision. To his defense he just quickened the inevitable, as his biggest mistake was giving battle without waiting for the soon to arrive reinforcements and after a hard all-night march. The Second Foot had shed most of its heavy equipment to catch up with King Alistair during the night dash through the plains and its supply train was still mostly in Riverdor. The Legion¡¯s supply train followed five hundred meters behind the columns and while it had retreated before the battle, now Prefect Proclus Sula, in command after Prefect Ligur had lost his right arm earlier, ordered Optio Valens to bring the ten heavy Scorpios¡¯ forward and fire them at the disengaging Issir regulars. It was a vicious inhuman assault, every volley of the heavy two meters long iron bolts cutting down scores of hapless soldiers. The supply quartermaster had issued ten heavy bolts per Scorpio for the short journey and in twenty minutes, they¡¯ve used them all. King Alistair didn¡¯t see the end of the battle and the Issirs routing from the field, as he collapsed from his horse. The King had worsened his injuries was the official word, trying to win the battle.
After a day and most of two nights of traveling they stopped near Aldenfort at the western knee of the Canlita Sea. There amidst the tall bushes and the families of pale-bark oaks by the side of the road they made a small fire that died as soon as it started. Everything was wet around them, even after the rain had stopped. They were soaked as well, men and animals. ¡°You said he tried to stall them,¡± Potis asked Bestia staring at the smoking embers, his body hurting, but not as much as his soul. ¡°Word is the High King offered to help Lesia keep Sovya into the fold,¡± Bestia rustled looking at men trying to find a dry spot and failing. ¡°The Bank might had a hand in it. Wars are expensive.¡± ¡°King Davenport agreed?¡± ¡°He wasn¡¯t in a position to argue and Lesia wants the Duchy.¡± ¡°What were the orders Centurion?¡± Potis hissed. ¡°Easy there lad. Antoon wanted the Cohort to ¡®prevent¡¯ the Legion from assisting King Alistair to break out. King Davenport gave the order, but knew your uncle wasn¡¯t going to put us against our brethren in arms.¡± ¡°Politics,¡± Potics rustled angry. ¡°He left it on my uncle¡¯s shoulders!¡± ¡°The Prefect didn¡¯t mind. Orders are what they are sometimes,¡± Bestia told him, then crooked his mouth. ¡°Now other Lords and Pintor being there took the High King¡¯s words at heart and the spirit of King Davenport¡¯s orders got interpreted differently.¡± ¡°Would the King had backed my uncle?¡± Potis asked, after he cleared his throat. ¡°Nay lad. He couldn¡¯t. The Prefect knew that. He chose to die with his conscience clear. Kings can¡¯t do that, even if they want. Lesia has needs,¡± Bestia said. ¡°As does the Legion.¡± ¡°How is being branded a deserter better Centurion?¡± Potis snapped. ¡°Yer alive lad, as am I and them fellows,¡± he pointed at the men watching their exchange, mostly engineers, smiths and carpenters Potis knew for years. ¡°You¡¯re young, life will go on.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t let this travesty pass Centurion,¡± Potis explained. ¡°The Prefect didn¡¯t deserve this!¡± ¡°Very rarely people get what they deserve. Ye need a just ruler for that and even they make mistakes,¡± Bestia said looking at the sun coming up, a red disk behind the clouds. ¡°Forget about revenge Optio. Find something you want to do that¡¯s worth more.¡± ¡°We never got to finish that road up on the Tricorn Heights,¡± Potis murmured thinking out loud. ¡°We left people crashed under the rocks.¡± Bestia nodded but didn¡¯t get the chance to answer him then. ¡°There¡¯s someone coming Centurion,¡± Mario Toma reported from where he watched the road. ¡°Lorians?¡± Bestia asked jumping up and walked to his horse to get his sword. ¡°Issirs I reckon. They have a red sash over their necks,¡± Toma elucidated. ¡°It¡¯s that warband. Five of them.¡± ¡°Arm yourselves lads, but keep hidden,¡± Bestia said. ¡°Optio, I take it you can use that blade if the need arises?¡± Potis nodded and walked towards the road a scowl on his face.
¡°There¡¯s some of them Legion cunts popping out of the woodwork,¡± the Issir spat seeing Potis Durio coming out of the foliage, with Centurion Bestia behind him. ¡°Killed me brother ye did. Fuckin¡¯ ruffians.¡± ¡°Where was that?¡± ¡°Ye pretend ignorance?¡± The warrior riding next to him grunted. ¡°This is Regia¡¯s land,¡± Potis told them. ¡°Aldenfort beyond that turn on the road.¡± ¡°Fuck Regia,¡± a third one said. ¡°Fuck Lesia and fuck you.¡± Right. Potis took a step back and unsheathed his saber. ¡°Hah,¡± the first brigand guffawed. ¡°Yer gonna fight? Are you an officer, or something? I¡¯ll have your armour,¡± he finished and kicked his legs to send his horse galloping towards him. Potis jumped away and cut him deep on the thigh as the man rode past him. Another horse came at him and while the young officer managed to turn his body, the animal sent him crashing down. Potis rolled on the mud covered ground, loud yells mostly from their friends charging the brigands livening the early dawn. He jumped up, tried to wipe the watery dirt off of his face, but someone slashed at his chest, the blade carving his armour and opening a wound on his left forearm. The Optio groaned, downed his mud-covered blade savagely and got the brigand right at the side of his neck, the sharp blade going through flesh and bone, severing the man¡¯s spine. The brigand dropped lifeless from the saddle before him, blood mixing with the watery sludge and the ground slippery under his hobnailed boots. Potis stepped forward his ears ringing and his heart thundering in his chest. Bestia killed another brigand, but got a long knife under the armpit. He jerked away from it, just as Potis rushed the brigand with a furious cry. The Centurion stumbled back, blood on his armour and the Issir turned around blade in hand and teeth clenched in a manic smile probably realizing he was outnumbered heavily. Potis shoved his saber through his chest, the blade angling up through worn out leather, lungs and out of his right shoulder, before stopping on the back of the brigand¡¯s reinforced armour there. The Optio pushed him away with a growl and turned around to fight the next one, only to realize the scrap was over. The whole bloody affair lasting less than three minutes. Five brigands were dead, alongside three of their friends. Bestia was seriously injured, but insisted they ride away as fast as they could. They patched him up, Potis bandaged his forearm and the men covered their dead with rocks and pieces of rotting wet wood. They dragged the bodies of the slayed brigands away from the road and kept their horses. They now had more horses than people.
They avoided Aldenfort, as the guards there would probably have been on edge with whatever had happened back at Riverdor and it was one of the places more likely to have received orders about deserters. They traveled for four days and nights with small stops, exhausting their supplies and on the fifth, a pale faced and deteriorating Bestia stopped his horse near the banks of the Canlita Sea, more dark blue than pale skin under his eyes and announced that this was as far as he would go. Potis watched the men lowering the heavy officer from his horse and carrying him near the brackish waters. The injured Centurion found a flat rock and collapsed on it with a grunt. The lower part of his face covered with a wild stubble like everyone else¡¯s, his with more grey than black in it. ¡°How far to Islandport?¡± Bestia asked him a moment later. Potis sighed and walked to stand next to his spot. The afternoon air chilly near the big lake and a light breeze blowing over its dark and covered in mist waters. His heart heavy, much as the men that knew the Centurion better than him. But they had come close these past days and the man had saved his life. Potis wouldn¡¯t have left the camp without him and would probably now be dead along with his uncle. ¡°Less than a week, I reckon. Might only be a couple of days though,¡± he croaked and watched Bestia trying to move his arm but failing. Rot had set in the previous day. A distant thunder warned them that it would start raining again soon. The weather worsening and the winter while mild, wasn¡¯t over yet. ¡°Wish I could see Valeria through the fog,¡± Bestia rustled. ¡°Never been aye. Always thought, I¡¯ll do it when I retire. Help the Goddess¡¯ girls fix stuff that need fixin¡¯,¡± the Centurion of the Engineering Cohort finished, sadness in his hoarse voice. ¡°Sounds like a good plan,¡± Potis had agreed with difficulty. ¡°No such¡­ thing Optio,¡± Bestia murmured, hazy eyes trying to pierce the veil over the waters and get a glimpse of the elusive island. ¡°You get our boys out from under ¡®em rocks,¡± he told him and Potis Durio¡¯s eyes blurred as well, overcome with emotion. ¡°Give ¡®em¡­ a proper burial, aye. Finish¡­ that road¡­ Optio.¡± ¡°I will Centurion,¡± Potis whispered, his voice barely coming out, not that it mattered. Bestia couldn¡¯t hear him. After I do what is right. ¡°By all gods, old and new, I¡¯ll finish it,¡± Potis Durio repeated, tears wetting his rough cheeks and several grown men wept silently behind him, while staring at the fogy waters of the Canlita Sea. A promise the young Optio had already given to the dead legionnaires buried at the mountain pass more than year back and never really forgotten. I will, Potis vowed again solemnly and wiped his face, just as the skies opened up above them. And he did.
The Lords of Regia present when the King collapsed decided to take him to Alden as fast as it was possible. Lord Holt disagreed arguing the long travel would be fatal and being the highest ranking Lord there he managed to get his. Prefect Sula, commanding the Legion as Faustus Ligur was incapacitated, was ordered to hold the regiments of Sir Marc Est Ravn that was approaching fast, with the less damaged First Cohort, the Second to get the King to Sabertooth Castle. ¡®Give us twelve hours¡¯, the venerable Lord Holt had ordered the cousin of the Lord of Demames. ¡®The Fair Lady shall bless your lineage.¡¯ While no one can say with any certainty if she did, the Sula family is more famous today than it was then. Whatever the case may be Prefect Sula fought Lord Commander¡¯s Marc Est Ravn three regiments to a standstill on the road leading to Sabertooth castle, in a savage struggle that lasted fourteen hours and marked the last day of the Battle of the Turncoats. The Second Foot had to retreat as it had lost almost half its men, around a thousand five hundred in that engagement alone. It hadn¡¯t even reached Sabertooth Castle, much less the city of Alden according to its initial marching orders. The First Cohort survivors of the ¡®Battle of the Coastal Road¡¯ numbered less than four hundred. Prefect Sula wasn¡¯t one of them. It must be noted that the men returned under the command of the then Decanus Reganus, the only surviving officer still able to walk after Glycia had been injured. While the Battle of the Turncoats is a part of history no one has taken an honest look at, it had a cascading effect on the politics of the continent. The Second Foot had to return to Riverdor almost at half strength, the loss of valuable men needed for the campaign on Eplas irreplaceable. The High King had played his hand and while he¡¯d taken out one of his opponent¡¯s, what he¡¯d done in reality was lessening his own power. Lesia withdrew to its borders and poured enormous amounts of gold in creating her own Legion. The ¡®Glittering¡¯ Second Legion. Regia while winning the battle, it had suffered a huge blow as its already lessened First Legion was crippled and almost bled dry. But the biggest loss was the important men that were lost in the almost three days struggle. Some of them irreplaceable. For all parties involved. Amongst those perished, Prefect Sula, Prefect Durio of the Second Lesian Legion, Sir Deimos Alden, five out of seven Captains of the Second Foot, all four Centurions of the First Legion, infamous Sony Lingberg and many others in the days that followed. War had come out of nowhere and it had caught everyone by surprise. Despite enormous efforts and sacrifices to douse out the flames, the beast had finally awaken and as a great, but now forgotten man had said years before. ¡®War is a slothful beast Slow to awaken, Difficult to understand. Once it does though, It has a mind of its own, And cannot be stopped.¡¯ Lord Sirio Veturius Circa 206 NC The Fall of Heroes Chapter XXIII Battle of the Turncoats (King Alistair Alden, Stalwart Tiger of Regia. -Second day, Battle of the Small Plains Third day, Battle of the Coastal Road- Early third month of winter 190 NC)
192. The King of Regia (1/2)
Lord Storm Nattas The King of Regia Part I -Kraken¡¯s Dreams-
Storm could see the sun shining on the clear of clouds azure sky. Tropical birds chirping loudly, large sharp fronds over his head and the green on them watered down, almost khaki in its hue. His arm dropped down and touched fine sand with his fingers. Powder like and sizzling hot. He smelled of vanilla, orange and cinnamon oils. Myrrh, rose and geranium. Tasted them on his tongue. He raised his head and looked away from the lavish veranda, just behind him and towards the picturesque sandy beach. The striking long-haired blond woman saw him, or so he thought initially and raised her hand in an energetic wave, bulging naked breasts dancing, stately face smiling and eyes the color of the skies. Hah, at last a nice fucking dream, Storm thought leering, easily recognizing her figure in all its naked glory although he shouldn¡¯t and spotted the small boy splashing out of the waters also naked, tiny cock daggling and tanned to a crisp. The boy fell down once, wet sand on his face and small chest, but got up again and slipped through the arms of the blond woman chasing after him. Come here you little rascal, Storm said at the small boy and got up, the dream and the place familiar, but also different. Over here. What the fuck, are you blind? The little guy didn¡¯t seem to notice him, but run towards the spacious marble covered veranda, the naked Queen of Regia running after him. It was truly a sight for the fucking ages. ¡®Oras curse him! Don¡¯t let that little shit get on the veranda!¡¯ Maja snarled walking outside not even acknowledging Storm and Miranda running after the little devil stopped breathing heavy and glared at her. The boy never made it, as he¡¯d managed to trip over his small feet again and plant his face on the sand. ¡°And put some clothes on and a shawl, I have people coming. It would be nigh impossible to explain you away.¡± Hey, Storm told them, but apparently this was one of those dreams, where Storm only got to watch. He did hear a deep sigh in his ear though, smelled and tasted roses on his tongue. And then he remembered.
Fuck. Shite! Abrakas no! You son of a rotting squid! Storm cursed and prayed in the same breath and woke up drenched in sweat, as the bedroom was sweltering hot for the season. He pushed an arm to the side feeling a body next to him and caught a soft mound, felt the nipple hardening under his fingers and turned his head equally terrified and aroused. His granite hard cock the biggest proof of the latter. ¡°Lord Nattas,¡± Miranda purred looking at him under a mess of luscious blond curls. ¡°I¡¯m thoroughly satisfied.¡± Not a dream. A panicked Storm flinched on instinct so hard, he managed to clear more than a meter of bed and land on the hard stone floor on his arse. It hurt a lot, but did wake him up proper.
Storm gulped down the syrupy wine, then went and refilled the cup again with shaking hands, not even looking at Miranda dressing up slowly. He¡¯d injured himself to put his pants on, as he had to literally bend his cock unnaturally to get the rough woolen garbs on. His doublet smelled of sweat, wine, expensive oils and wild all-night coupling. The latter quite a problem. ¡°I¡¯ll have a maid coming in soon. She¡¯s nosy,¡± Miranda informed him, gathering her long hair in a bun. You better get the fuck out of my bedroom, her meaning. Storm cleared his throat and put his cup down half-finished. ¡°Is there¡­ a back door?¡± He croaked. Miranda frowned. Good grief, they are going to find me here. They¡¯ll ask a couple of questions until the shock wears off and then drag me out to the streets by the ears, kick my face in thoroughly and then kill me. ¡°Through the garden?¡± She offered prettily. ¡°There¡¯s a guard and a patrol starting at first dawn!¡± ¡°A thief came in once over the west wall, the one with the vines,¡± Miranda said scrunching her nose, when she approached him. ¡°You should bathe more thoroughly.¡± A thief, Storm blinked unsure. ¡°What happened to him?¡± He asked and she shrugged her shoulders. ¡°The headsman was away, so they cut off his ears and fingers I think? I wasn¡¯t here,¡± she explained. Storm gulped down. ¡°I¡¯ve a bad leg,¡± he protested weakly. Miranda chuckled and reached to feel his hurting leg, her hand traveling to other parts of his body, also hurting. ¡°It seemed fine to me. You are very talented, Storm,¡± she added looking at him behind long eyelashes and Storm decided he was going to climb the fuck out of that wall. Men can turn right stupid for a half decent woman. For the Alden Queen, Lord Nattas turned into an acrobat.
A poor acrobat. Storm landed on the cobblestone almost breaking an ankle, ruined vines, grit and pieces of wall along with him. He stayed there for a long moment, hurting in more than a couple of places and then attempted to get up. Twice. Secundus found him hobbling in the middle of the street and helped him back to their carriage. It had taken Lord Nattas more than an hour to make the small distance. A well-rested Sudi waited for him to get inside, before coming after him, with Secundus climbing up the carriage to get the horses moving. ¡°Dammit chief,¡± Sudi said looking at his shocked expression. ¡°How bad?¡± ¡°Uh, I think I fucked up,¡± Storm admitted with a deep sigh. ¡°Can we fix it somehow?¡± Sudi asked, sounding concerned. Storm smacked his lips, then groaned. ¡°I think I pulled something,¡± he complained. ¡°I can¡¯t believe I had to climb a fucking wall to get out of there!¡± Sudi stood back on the leather couch across from him. ¡°Assassins? In the palace?¡± ¡°I was trying to escape the Queen¡¯s quarters, Sudi.¡± Sudi nodded, then paused confused. It lasted a brief moment, then his lackey turned right terrified. ¡°Aye,¡± Storm agreed seeing his face. ¡°So we need to work around this problem.¡± ¡°Not if it¡¯s a one-time thing, quickly forgotten,¡± Sudi offered. ¡°You know something? Yeah, that¡¯s it,¡± Storm agreed with grimace of pain. ¡°We¡¯ll just put it out of our mind and move on.¡± ¡°Did anyone see you?¡± Sudi asked, never allowing him more than a brief moment of respite. ¡°I don¡¯t think¡­ maybe that servant that brought the missive,¡± Storm said thinking about it. ¡°I¡¯ll get rid of him,¡± Sudi assured him. ¡°Discreetly,¡± Storm cautioned and glanced out of the small window at the still sleeping city of Alden. Abrakas, I need you to offer a legitimate way out of this that doesn¡¯t involve me getting thrown to the wolves.
¡°How much?¡± Storm asked Sirio and the young historian raised his eyes from his scrolls. ¡°Three thousand gold Eagles, but you shoulder the repair of the bridge and paying the families,¡± Sirio elucidated. ¡°What happened to the bridge?¡± ¡°It collapsed from the rains. Most of the houses too. It lowered the price.¡± What is this new shite? ¡°Like it¡¯s gone completely? Do they use boats to cross the river?¡± ¡°That is correct,¡± Sirio replied. It had a certain romantic touch to it though. ¡°Tell our guy to close the deal,¡± Storm decided. ¡°But I¡¯ll put a toll on the bridge.¡± You stop paddling, you pay. ¡°What about the families?¡± ¡°They can stay, I¡¯ll repair their houses.¡± ¡°Why keep them?¡± ¡°To make a barony out of the place,¡± Storm explained. ¡°I need that shitty village to stay put.¡± ¡°So you¡¯ll tax them?¡± Sirio asked blinking. No, I¡¯ll give them coin on top so they can visit Novesium brothels. Abrakas toes, some people are clueless!This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°They get to stay on my land. You think I shouldn¡¯t?¡± ¡°Like produce to support a vacation villa?¡± Sirio shrugged his shoulders. ¡°You¡¯re right, it doesn¡¯t seem like much.¡± Storm was thinking of a bigger contribution, but he let it slide. ¡°It might be a big villa,¡± Lord Nattas informed him to leave the door open. ¡°Lord Ursus might not agree,¡± Sirio noted. ¡°If he signs off it would be too late, nobody would care about his opinion,¡± Storm explained. ¡°Don¡¯t mention the development plan,¡± Siro repeated with a smile and wrote it down on his reply. Storm sighed and rubbed his face to combat his drowsiness. ¡°You haven¡¯t visited the palace in ten days,¡± Sirio commented. The man is slowly starting to poke around, Storm thought eyeing him. He needs to have skin in the game. In the sense he must know that if I go down, or get the chop, then he might follow along. Then again he isn¡¯t exactly the type to get motivated in this manner. Sirio was more of the romantic sort. He¡¯d given it some thought. Abrakas seemed to nudge him in that direction. In his dreams at least. While he didn¡¯t trust that cunning god, Storm needed to keep the people around him motivated and committed. The assassin needed normalcy and a better cover and Sirio well¡­ ¡°Maja must marry,¡± Storm announced, pretending he was troubled and Sirio flinched not expecting the change in subject. ¡°The matter bothers me. So I have spent the time looking to find her something good.¡± ¡°She¡¯s vacationing in Asturia,¡± Sirio said treading carefully. ¡°It¡¯s a ruse,¡± Sirio admitted. ¡°A lie. She¡¯s gone to Valeria to get the Goddess blessing,¡± he added lying some more. ¡°We¡¯re getting desperate.¡± ¡°Ah, surely she isn¡¯t that old,¡± Sirio defended her. Storm stared at him knowingly. ¡°You know she¡¯s done stuff for me Sirio,¡± he told him earnestly. Sirio gulped down and stared at his scrolls. ¡°I understand.¡± You have no fucking idea. But you must learn son. ¡°It ages a lass, even if it doesn¡¯t show. The commitment takes its toll. There are wounds in there. Unseen. Not her fault of course.¡± Sirio nodded. ¡°I find her remarkable given the history and all we know.¡± You don¡¯t know shite. ¡°She might pretend to be all-knowing, but she isn¡¯t. Not in all matters, people might take advantage of her and I want to prevent that. Her name and fortune is like a magnet for scum, or opportunists.¡± ¡°What do you mean Lord Nattas?¡± Sirio asked. ¡°Still she is family, you understand,¡± Storm continued, disregarding his query. ¡°I can¡¯t just turn a blind eye to everything.¡± ¡°Of course, I understand,¡± Sirio said, although he probably didn¡¯t. ¡°You agree then?¡± Storm asked him, looking at the young Historian all serious. ¡°It¡¯s a serious burden to take on, but I value your character.¡± Sirio frowned and stared at him alarmed. ¡°Lord Nattas, I¡­ haven¡¯t done anything¡­ with Lady Maja.¡± ¡°You¡¯re going to lie to my face?¡± Storm queried, pretending to be disappointed. Hurt even. ¡°It was the one time¡ª¡± ¡°That I caught you,¡± Storm cut him off midsentence calmly. Sirio blushed and looked at his scrolls. ¡°Had she not begged me, I would have been less lenient,¡± Storm stared at his empty goblet. ¡°Truth is she always had a soft spot for scholarly types,¡± he added making it up as he went along. Maja would have to pick up the mess and follow his lines, if she wanted to be part of the family. ¡°She did?¡± Sirio asked a little surprised. ¡°I thought with her kind of life¡ª¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want her to keep at it forever Sirio,¡± Storm stopped him. ¡°Of course, who would?¡± He added quickly. ¡°It¡¯s also a good cover for you,¡± Storm elucidated. Sirio cleared his throat and got a small comb out and used it to fix his well-oiled short cut hair. The young man had the best combed hair of any guy Storm had ever seen. ¡°Lord Nattas¡­ are you giving me permission to court your daughter?¡± Sirio asked assuming a thoughtful expression and Storm stared at him for a moment before he burst out laughing. ¡°Good grief son, haha!¡± He stopped to calm himself down and reaching inside his right desk drawer got a vellum out filled with neat scribblings. Storm placed it on the office between them. Sirio reached and took it, his brows shooting up when he read the first couple of lines. ¡°You will do well to sign it. Read it afterwards,¡± he sort of advised the shocked historian. Seeing Sirio was just about to have a heart attack Storm sighed deeply. ¡°Take a deep breath and crack a smile for crying out loud! For fuck¡¯s sake man, you just got married!¡±
Secundus stopped him before he¡¯d time to enter the throne room. Storm paused and eyed the guard staring at him under his helm. A new guy. Miranda keeps changing stuff around, he thought. He took the scroll Secundus had given him and perused it quickly. ¡°The ship left the port?¡± He asked and the hired warrior shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Right. Any idea where it sailed to?¡± ¡°No cargo,¡± Secundus replied. ¡°Sudi didn¡¯t learn anything else.¡± ¡°It left empty?¡± Storm said and thought about it. He grunted not having an answer to that and stared at the new guard waiting for him to step inside the larger hall. ¡°Tell Sudi to keep digging. Ah¡­ or I¡¯ll tell him myself later.¡± He gave the guard another look and then walked inside the dark throne room.
¡°Lord Nattas,¡± the Queen said seeing him walking inside. She was sitting at the scribe¡¯s table, the man nowhere to be seen. There were though four palace guards watching him like hawks. ¡°You have been busy, we hear.¡± You were avoiding me, was her meaning. ¡°It was for matters of state, your Grace,¡± Storm replied, looking at a point over her head. The cut on Miranda¡¯s dress was cavernous. ¡°Anything we should know?¡± Miranda asked frostily. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t burden your Grace with it.¡± ¡°We can¡­ take the burden off your hands Lord Nattas.¡± ¡°I could prepare a report your Grace,¡± he replied in his most clerkly manner. ¡°We shall receive your report, after our meal,¡± Miranda told him. ¡°You shall wait on us.¡± ¡°Of course your Grace,¡± Storm replied and bowed his head.
Storm stepped inside the Queen¡¯s quarters and paused seeing a large armed man standing next to the big window facing the gardens. Miranda got up from the expensive writing desk and walked towards him. ¡°This is Sir Arthur Tatum,¡± she said with a smile. ¡°He¡¯s guarding me since I was a girl, right Sir Tatum?¡± ¡°Since you were seven Lady Miranda,¡± the man replied casually, his accent marking him as a Knight from Aegium. ¡°Am I not your Queen Sir Tatum?¡± Miranda asked with a gasp and slapped the plate on his shoulder. ¡°You were always a Queen Lady Miranda,¡± he replied. ¡°Aww, there¡­ he¡¯s very unruly,¡± she told Storm, who faked a smile. It came out so forced, he just gave up on it half-way through. ¡°Extremely loyal,¡± Miranda added, looking at him. ¡°That¡¯s commendable, Sir Tatum,¡± Storm mumbled, sweating profusely. ¡°Lord Nattas, is avoiding me Arthur,¡± Miranda continued. ¡°Taking advantage of my kindness.¡± Are you fucking kidding me? Storm glared at her and she took a step back surprised. What is this, a game? Are you trying to have us killed? ¡°You are to escort him here, when I ask you,¡± Miranda said after taking a moment to collect herself. ¡°Of course my Queen,¡± Sir Tatum replied and stared at Storm, as if daring him to argue. The last thing on Storm¡¯s mind was to wrestle that square-jawed brute. ¡°You can wait outside Sir Tatum,¡± Miranda told him pleased. ¡°See that no one bothers us.¡± The Knight bowed his head and walked past a seething Storm and out of the Queen¡¯s quarters. ¡°Are you insane?¡± Storm hissed the moment the door closed behind them. ¡°If people find out, it will be a short trip to the gallows, or the headsman blade!¡± ¡°Sir Tatum won¡¯t talk,¡± Miranda said unbothered. ¡°I wanted to show you. You don¡¯t need to worry.¡± ¡°Everybody talks,¡± Storm snapped and bit his tongue seeing her flinch away shocked. ¡°It¡¯s my job¡­ I see people spill their guts every day Lady Miranda.¡± ¡°Hmm, it appears Storm has a backbone,¡± she taunted and walked towards a silver tray that held several bottles of liquor and wine. ¡°I thought I bedded another man. An illusion that turned into a coward the moment the light came up.¡± Storm licked his lips and looked about the large room. There could be ten people listening in. Has she talked to her maids? Surely not. I could get rid of the knight. Maybe use Maja¡­ no Maja was at Riverdor waiting for his missive. Ah, curse it all! ¡°The King thinks you¡¯re coward, but I never believed it,¡± Miranda continued. ¡°A womanizer,¡± she blushed at that. ¡°You have talent for sure there,¡± she added, her look ravenous. ¡°This is a dangerous game you¡¯re playing.¡± ¡°We play. Are you not my lover Storm? Why, I can feel you still inside me¡­ I¡¯ve never tasted such passion before. Was it all a show?¡± Not it wasn¡¯t. That¡¯s the fucking problem. ¡°We shouldn¡¯t be together,¡± he said simply. ¡°That ship has sailed Storm,¡± Miranda said and poured a glass of wine for herself. ¡°I¡¯ve seen you in my dreams,¡± she added without looking at him. ¡°Every night since my little girl died you come in my bed. The God speaks to me through you.¡± Fuck you Abrakas. You vile deity. ¡°It¡¯s dangerous to follow the Kraken¡¯s dreams,¡± he told her, what she should¡¯ve known. Then again Storm was doing it as well. They were both slowly sinking to Abrakas gullet. ¡°I asked him to bring my Silvie back,¡± Miranda gasped and started shaking all over. Storm grimaced and stared at his expensive boots. He could feel a twitch of pain in his leg, but the old injury was slowly retreating. A miracle. All it took for it was an innocent woman getting blown to smithereens. ¡°And there you came,¡± she continued with a sniffle. ¡°The god¡¯s disciples must be together.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just a tale Miranda,¡± Storm told her. ¡°Gods only take. There is no coming back. Silvie is gone. I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°You¡¯re wrong or you¡¯re lying,¡± she said and walked slowly towards the open window. The light coming in making her appear ethereal. ¡°The King thinks you are also the smartest man in the Kingdom. Nattas will get it done, he always says.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t bring the dead back to life and if people find out I¡¯ve slept with you, they¡¯ll kill me without a second thought. I¡¯m not a Lord. It¡¯s a position I have. I¡¯m just the guy that does the jobs no one fancies.¡± ¡°What if you were?¡± She asked him, looking out of the window. ¡°I can¡¯t ask for a reward, on something I can¡¯t provide.¡± ¡°Was your passion a lie?¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t.¡± ¡°You want me to let you go?¡± She asked him. ¡°What¡¯s the alternative?¡± Storm asked her. ¡°We can¡¯t live on dreams Miranda.¡± ¡°You love my name Storm,¡± the Queen said and turned to look at his flushed face. Storm puffed out and shrugged his shoulders. ¡°The Kraken God lies, it knows my weakness.¡± ¡°I¡¯m your weakness?¡± She asked a gleam in her eyes. Uh. ¡°I must go,¡± Storm said sadly. He didn¡¯t want to leave her, but life is never fair and Storm knew that. Abrakas had his fun and now it was over. ¡°Better to shatter the illusion now, before it is too late. In the end you¡¯ll realize it was all a lie.¡± ¡°I want that house amidst the palm trees,¡± Miranda said as he turned to walk away. Storm froze and twisted around alarmed. ¡°The white sands and the blue of the sea. I¡¯m happy in that dream Storm. More happy than sad. Hopeful. I feel miserable now.¡± ¡°How did you know about it?¡± Storm asked her more than a little freaked out. ¡°I told you,¡± Miranda replied and approached him. ¡°The God speaks to me.¡± Ah, darn it, Storm groaned inwardly, when he realized he was kissing her.
More than two months later Storm was standing on the guardtower, just after another strong downpour had washed out the streets of Alden. The old city hadn¡¯t managed to grow on him at all. The narrow streets and enclosed buildings behind the walls. The stinking moat and the drawbridges making it like they were all imprisoned there. Miranda wanted to leave and return to Cartagen, or anywhere near the south coast of Regia, but couldn¡¯t since the King was still at the Conference. The whole thing had dragged for far too long, Storm thought. But anything was better than trouble escalating. Anything was better, but there are also plenty of things that could be worse. Not the kind of fucking-the-queen worse, but something much more sinister. He saw the gold tiger atop the long staff the moment it came over the north drawbridge, the rows of horses and carriages following behind it. The Legion had returned and Storm watched with a strange sense of foreboding its approach towards the main square just behind the half destroyed Dome. The banner of Lord Holt marking he was in command, the Fair Lady billowing after the gold tiger¡¯s head. It wasn¡¯t strange for the King¡¯s Shield to lead the Legion and Lord Holt carried a well-documented favor for the army, but no one had more love for the Legion than the King himself. No one could lead anything with King Alistair present. Storm clenched his jaw, the worry turning to fear, as he watched the young rider galloping wildly towards the palace and the guards coming out of the building at a fast trot. It was the sight of an officer, a Prefect for all intends and purposes, appearing with his right arm bandaged, the part of it that wasn¡¯t missing that alarmed him the most. Prefect Ligur had both his arms when the Legion had left Alden almost three months back. Storm turned around, the eyes of the guard standing next to him tense and he heard the heavy boots of a man climbing the stairs two at a time to reach the top of the tower. Ah, vile Abrakas. What in Oras Hells did you do? Storm wondered, just as a wild eyed Secundus burst out of the door, breathing heavy and flushed. ¡°Milord,¡± Secundus gasped trying to speak and breathe at the same time. ¡°Yer wanted at the Palace posthaste. It¡¯s the king.¡± And he had his answer. 193. The King of Regia (2/2)
Lord Storm Nattas The King of Regia Part II -The king is dead-
He¡¯s gone Sir Barnard. The King is dead. ¡ª Lord Storm Nattas, Regia¡¯s Master of Silence, Baron of Moon¡¯s Haven & Keeper of the Golden Forest Last week of Winter 190 NC Storm tripped over his feet and almost went down right at the stairs leading inside the palace, but Secundus grabbed his arm and helped him. Lord Nattas grunted, sweating like a pig, despite the chill. The skies heavy, as clouds had gathered and another rainstorm was approaching. He went through the double doors, guards and legionnaires moving about, knights and squires, the main square behind him packed full of armed men, with more coming. Storm walked down the dark hall, people bumping onto him, but no one taking the time to apologize. He¡¯d seen the injured coming out of the carriages on stretches earlier. Many men, too many. The mood was pensive. Lord Nattas reached the King¡¯s quarters and spotted a pale Lord Doris collapsed on a chair, several officials near him. He went to talk him, but a one-armed Prefect stopped him, the veteran Legion officer looking haggard and even worse that Lord Doris. ¡°Prefect Ligur,¡± Storm said, remembering his name at the last moment, a testament to his sharpness under immense pressure, or just blind luck and he crooked his mouth into a grimace of sympathy. ¡°You should get medical attention.¡± ¡°I had it burned and stitched in the field,¡± the officer rustled indifferently. ¡°Lord Doris needs a moment milord.¡± Eh, don¡¯t we all? Storm thought. ¡°He was hurt?¡± ¡°He lost his son. Sir Deimos,¡± Prefect Ligur explained, his eyes telling Storm to move along now. Well that¡¯s a fist up the arse. ¡°I understand, give him my condolences,¡± Storm mumbled and moved towards the door leading inside the King¡¯s quarters. The large room located on the east side of the throne hall. Sir Barnard, his armour mangled on several spots and sporting a wild beard under his helm stopped him. ¡°Lord Holt is inside,¡± the knight told him. ¡°The King is tired and won¡¯t be receiving any visitors¡¯ milord.¡± For fuck¡¯s sake. ¡°I¡¯m Lord Nattas,¡± Storm growled, his anxiousness turning to anger. ¡°Let me in, Sir Barnard!¡± ¡°I have orders to keep everyone out, Lord Nattas,¡± the hale knight replied setting his jaw. ¡°Was I mentioned specifically?¡± Storm dodged on the fly. Sir Barnard frowned deeply. ¡°I don¡¯t believe¡­ you weren¡¯t, milord.¡± ¡°Do you know why?¡± Storm asked him. ¡°It¡¯s because I need to know what¡¯s going on. Move aside Sir Barnard.¡± The knight grunted, but stepped out of his way. Storm grabbed the knob and pushed the door open. He walked in and closed the door behind him.
The old Lord of Asturia raised his head hearing him enter. Lord Holt was sitting on a chair, next to the king¡¯s bed, a young squire standing next to the window facing the main square. Storm narrowed his eyes and scanned the premises, but didn¡¯t see anyone else in there. ¡°The Dottore left,¡± Lord Holt informed him. ¡°He did all he could.¡± ¡°How serious is it?¡± Storm asked walking near the bed, trying to catch a glimpse of the king¡¯s face. Lord Holt grimaced. He was almost King Alistair¡¯s age. Perhaps a year older. The King was fifty eight. The lines on his face deep and not all of them from age. The gossip was that had old Lord Holt be given a choice, he¡¯d never have left the army, or the Legion. But Asturia couldn¡¯t govern itself. ¡°We patched it up in Sabertooth Castle. Enough to make the journey back. The dottore said he should have died on the spot. Almost twenty days ago,¡± he sighed and pushed himself up. Lord Holt was taller than Storm even at his age. ¡°Alistair decided differently.¡± Dammit. No. Now what? Damn ye Abrakas! You cunt that¡¯s not what I meant! May you catch rot in the throat and swallow shite to eternity! ¡°The Issirs did it? In the fucking Conference?¡± He grunted unable to keep it civil. Lord Holt eyed him strangely. ¡°Optio Marcus Ursus was the culprit,¡± Lord Holt said and Storm stood back stunned. ¡°Wait¡­ it was an assassination attempt?¡± He remembered Maja¡¯s words. The ¡®client¡¯ had cancelled the contract. More like taken her out of the picture and then given it to someone else. ¡°Aye. I have no clue what happened. I didn¡¯t see it and I was standing right there, negotiating with the Issirs. Lord Ursus cousin no less. I knew the man for Goddess¡¯ sake!¡± Storm puffed his cheeks out and stared at the bed where the King of Regia lay with his eyes closed. Lord Holt put a hand on his shoulder interrupting his thoughts. ¡°Is Prince Jeremy still in Scaldingport?¡± He asked him and the Master of Silence for Regia looked into the old Lord¡¯s solemn face, more weirded out than he was a moment before. ¡°He is here in Alden. Arrived about¡­ a couple of weeks back. Why?¡± ¡°Uhm. Who sent for him?¡± Lord Holt asked, not replying. Storm felt the hand on his shoulder heavy. It suddenly bothered him, the casual comforting gesture. ¡°Lord Doris. What¡¯s this Lord Holt? What is Jeremy has to do with this?¡± ¡°Probably nothing by himself, but we need to make sure, Lord Nattas,¡± the King¡¯s Shield replied eyeing him. ¡°You have the means to do what¡¯s necessary?¡± Storm pushed the hand off of his shoulder and took a step back alarmed. ¡°What¡¯s necessary? The hell does that mean Lord Holt?¡± He croaked, not believing what he was hearing. Lord Holt smacked his lips, old face firm and the light green eyes on it pitiless. ¡°You know darn well, Lord Nattas. Time is of the essence, you know the King¡¯s wishes.¡± Storm felt his mouth drying up. ¡°These are not¡­ The King would never order this Lord Holt!¡± ¡°The King wants the crown and his sword to go to Lucius,¡± Lord Holt replied and stared at him disgusted. ¡°This isn¡¯t the time to be sentimental Lord Nattas.¡± ¡°Jeremy wouldn¡¯t challenge his brother,¡± Storm snapped, but no sooner than the words left his mouth, he knew this wasn¡¯t true. Storm didn¡¯t know what the young prince had in mind and then it didn¡¯t much matter as Lord Holt had quickly pointed out. ¡°They would. They¡¯ll put him on that throne Lord Nattas. The moment we step out of this room, it shall be a moment too late. We must take the option off the table for them.¡± Storm couldn¡¯t do this. He couldn¡¯t do this to Miranda. The thought of the Queen made his eyes blur and the room started to spin. ¡°Who¡¯s they Lord Holt?¡± He grunted, feeling sick. ¡°Does it matter?¡± He replied and shook his head. ¡°I thought you were more cynical than this Lord Nattas.¡± ¡°What if Lucius gets killed in the North?¡± Storm murmured, suddenly looking worse than the dying king. ¡°We¡¯ll have left Regia without an heir for crying out loud!¡± He finished shaking all over and too anxious to realize it. ¡°Bah! What¡¯s the matter with you?¡± Lord Holt grunted and walked away. He stopped at the door and turned to glare at him. ¡°The decision won¡¯t always be in your hands Lord Nattas. Lord Brakis is going to release Sir Rik and by then it¡¯ll be too late. We¡¯ll have to act before the old Crow takes the matter into his own hands.¡± Uh? What in Abrakas flooded cellar is this? ¡°Sir Rik is a prisoner?¡± He croaked, very confused. ¡°On the King¡¯s orders. To prevent Lord Ruud from learning about Antoon¡¯s proposal first hand.¡± Storm licked his dry lips and felt his mouth all gluey. ¡°What was the proposal?¡± ¡°Denounce Lucius and put Jeremy on the throne, in exchange for peace. Alistair disagreed, but most thought it a small price to pay to avoid war. They are willing to fight us for it,¡± Lord Holt replied without mincing his words. Storm rubbed at his forehead, everything bothering him. Lord Holt gave him another disappointed look and added before departing. ¡°I don¡¯t know what happened to you Lord Nattas. But you better snap out of it lad.¡± I¡¯m fucking the Queen, Storm thought watching the closed door and the King¡¯s voice coming from his bed almost startled him to death.
¡°Is that you Nattas?¡± King Alistair rustled and pushed himself up on the headrest, his face pale and gaunt, but his eyes gleaming. ¡°My king, you should rest,¡± Storm mumbled, his hands shaking so much, he had to clasp them tight before his stomach to stop it. ¡°Plenty of time¡­ for that,¡± Alistair grunted and tried to raise his head some more using the tall headrest for leverage. ¡°Send for reinforcements. They should march on Riverdor and cut off the Second Foot. Prevent them from retreating beyond the river,¡± he paused and clenched his jaw hard to combat a jolt of pain. ¡°Smash them there and Antoon will sue for peace.¡± ¡°My king, we are in Alden,¡± Storm said with difficulty. ¡°Who gave the order?¡± ¡°Ahm, I don¡¯t know, but I heard it was important to retreat,¡± Storm replied. ¡°Argh, curse them!¡± Alistair growled and closed his eyes. ¡°It was a bluff¡­ he doesn¡¯t have the support and he will lose the north soon.¡± ¡°Antoon? My King you don¡¯t know that¡ª¡± ¡°Silence!¡± The King snarled and glared at him. ¡°Stop being a coward Nattas! Damn weak-kneed lording¡¯s and their short-sighted visions!¡± The latter not addressed at him. Lord Nattas hang his head. ¡°What will Lesia do?¡± ¡°Forget about Lesia, they will only act if they see the win offered on a plate. Lesia won¡¯t risk a darn thing unless her profits are threatened.¡± ¡°Lord Holt¡­¡± Storm paused unsure. ¡°Holt is a patriot, but he¡¯s also a callous man Nattas,¡± the King replied. ¡°He can¡¯t run the Kingdom. Lucius¡­ get him back, or give him the time to return.¡± ¡°Jeremy is here,¡± Storm said. ¡°Those that want a kid on the throne, don¡¯t want to fight,¡± Alistair replied and breathed once heavy, the discussion exhausting to him. ¡°If you¡¯re scared to fight, then you¡¯ve already lost Nattas and none of this matters. There can be no land, or titles, without a kingdom. No peace, without a strong Regia.¡± ¡°There might be another way, my King,¡± Storm said desperately and Alistair sighed disappointed. ¡°There¡¯s no other¡­ way,¡± the King of Regia whispered. ¡°Lucius¡­¡± He closed his eyes and his gaunt face relaxed in a smile for the first time in years. ¡°Ah, Vacia¡­ there ye are girl,¡± Alistair said tenderly. ¡°Queen o¡¯ mine.¡± Storm let out a horrified gasp realizing the King had expired and grasped the empty chair with both his hands to stay upright. His legs wouldn¡¯t hold him and he almost went down on a knee. Storm heard someone walking near him and recoiled in panic, the young man with the haunted eyes stopping about a meter away. He held the King¡¯s sword in its scabbard. ¡°Who are you?¡± Storm asked, unable to remember the face, his mind numb and his whole body still in shock. ¡°I¡¯m Adrian Calvus,¡± the young man replied. ¡°I¡¯m the King¡¯s squire.¡± ¡°Is that the King¡¯s sword?¡± Storm croaked, fighting to get his mind in order. ¡°Aye milord. I¡¯m to give it to Regia,¡± Adrian replied. Ah, you poor fool, Storm thought. Regia is many different things now. ¡°Keep it out of the way¡­ wait, follow me. We must get out of here,¡± Storm said and pointed at a small side door leading out of the bedroom. ¡°Wait for me there,¡± he said and then turned to ring the bell hanging from the large sturdy bed. The main door opened and Sir Barnard burst inside alarmed. Upon seeing Lord Nattas standing next to the peaceful King he breathed once deeply and asked the silent query with his eyes.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. ¡°He¡¯s gone, Sir Barnard,¡± Storm said gravely. ¡°The King is dead.¡±
¡°Chief,¡± Secundus said seeing them coming out of the side door, following the passage leading away from the King¡¯s quarters. ¡°There are a lot of nervous people around. Who¡¯s the lad?¡± ¡°Tell Sudi to send the bird,¡± Storm cut him off. ¡°Ah, and get him out of here.¡± ¡°Is that?¡± Secundus asked frowning and Storm snapped at him. ¡°Now god darn it!¡± He looked around them and saw Lord Brakis walking towards the throne room, followed by a dark faced Sir Rik De Weer. Storm groaned and rushed after them. He pushed and shoved his way there, people trying to sneak in and the guards confused as to who could enter the palace, or not. There were legionnaires moving about and city officials with curious eyes. If people get wind of this and come out, we might lose control of the situation completely, Storm thought. Who will take it upon himself to call for order?
Lord Doris was present inside the larger and quiet hall with the conference table, the same that had hosted the wedding in autumn. The stone throne visible through the open doors at the other end, but empty. Next to him sat Lord Brakis and Sir Rik. Lord Holt without his son and Sir Damian Cato, Lord Sula¡¯s Shield across from them. Lord Holt gave him a stare and the other lords just acknowledged him, as he found one of the empty chairs to sit. ¡°Sir Rik,¡± Storm said politely to the scowling knight. ¡°I hope you are well.¡± ¡°Lord Nattas, I was held for weeks without reason, or fault. This is an outrage!¡± Sir Rik exploded and Storm nodded. ¡°You are absolutely right.¡± Sir Rick blinked taken by surprise and several of the others present murmured at his admission. ¡°It¡¯s the truth,¡± Storm told them. ¡°Sir Rik was held for political expediency.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± The Knight asked him, his sole eye narrowing. ¡°Had King Alistair not done so, Scaldingport and Regia would have been at war now,¡± Storm explained to him. ¡°Because of what the High King said?¡± Sir Rik queried. ¡°I¡¯ve seen the attack, Lord Nattas. It was unprovoked. My father would never have agreed to participate¡ª¡± ¡°Good grief Sir Knight,¡± Storm stopped him from embarrassing himself. ¡°You were doing fine for a while, but then¡­anyways, I¡¯ve spoken truthfully afore. I¡¯ll ask for the same courtesy at this crucial hour.¡± The Knight from Scaldingport bowed his head chastised. ¡°You¡¯re right Lord Nattas.¡± ¡°Regia will release you and your entourage immediately, dear Sir Rik,¡± Lord Doris told him. ¡°We have reserved quarters for yourself and your men, as well for the other knights of your city currently present.¡± ¡°Scaldingport has sent a force here?¡± Sir Rik De Weer asked a little surprised. ¡°With Prince Jeremy,¡± Lord Doris elucidated. ¡°I intent to knight him tomorrow, so I invite you to participate Sir Rik. It will be a short and simple ceremony due to the circumstances.¡± Wait¡­ what in Oras Hells? Storm thought and stared at Lord Doris. Lord Holt appeared to share his sentiments. ¡°Lord Treasurer, the Prince has barely used a sword in his short days and you¡¯re going to knight him?¡± He admonished Lord Doris, who while worn out and in mourning having lost both a son and his cousin the King, cast a glare on the older Lord. ¡°Prince Heir should be a knight at the very least,¡± Doris said and Lord Holt¡¯s fist landed on the table¡¯s surface with a bang, rattling the goblets and cutlery in front of him. ¡°Sir Lucius is the Prince Heir! Why, he¡¯s the king rightly so,¡± the Lord of Asturia and Shield of the late King retorted. Lord Doris sat back and looked at Lord Brakis. ¡°The moment the Herald announces the King has perished,¡± the Master of Sea said, huffing and puffing, in his baritone voice. ¡°We must declare a successor. Typically it has already happened. Lucius isn¡¯t here though Lord Holt. How are we going to have him sit on that throne?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already sent message to Asturia,¡± Lord Holt replied. ¡°They will contact Canutia.¡± ¡°Regia can¡¯t wait a month, or two Lord Holt!¡± Lord Doris snarled, angrier than Storm had ever seen him. While justified to a degree, this wasn¡¯t as simple as he¡¯d made it out to be. ¡°You want to put Jeremy on the throne with Kaltha¡¯s blades on our necks?¡± Lord Holt asked him seething. ¡°They cut down Sir Deimos!¡± Lord Doris closed his eyes to control himself, his hair turned mostly white, face pale and aged preternaturally in just a couple of months of absence. Probably though it had all happened in the last two weeks, Storm thought. ¡°I¡¯m well aware Lord Holt,¡± he managed to say a moment later. ¡°Prince Jeremy will ensure peace and that Kaltha will stand down. You heard it from Antoon¡¯s mouth!¡± ¡°Bah, Gods curse him!¡± Lord Holt grunted dismissively. ¡°King Alistair won the battle. The High King got smacked down,¡± Sir Cato intervened, Lord Sula¡¯s Shield and representative. ¡°This is a defeatist proposal not shared by Lord Sula. Lord Holt¡¯s position hold¡¯s merit and the Lord of Demames support.¡± These are two High Lords votes for Lucius, Storm thought. ¡°Illirium will back Lord Doris. Lord De Weer comes very close with Regia if Jeremy assumes the throne,¡± Lord Brakis said, casting his vote on the other bracket. ¡°Scaldingport is bound to us either way!¡± Lord Holt snapped angrily, tossing a murderous glare at the overweight Lord Brakis. ¡°Lord Ruud would prefer to see Jeremy ascending the throne,¡± Sir Rik intervened and Storm snorted loudly. Of course he fucking would. ¡°He¡¯s young and fit. Married to a noble Lady,¡± the Knight of Scaldingport continued, praising his sister. Storm would have laughed out loud and walked out of the meeting, had the matter not being of grave importance for the Realm. ¡°My Lords,¡± he said standing up. ¡°Regia needs time to make the right decision.¡± ¡°Lord Nattas, while you are right, this is something we are aware,¡± Lord Doris hissed. ¡°If you can¡¯t offer anything concrete, I advise you to remain quiet.¡± Stick to your fucking coin gathering you buffoon! With a sigh Storm raised his hands to get the Lords attention. The mood had turned from pensive to hostile not even an hour after the King¡¯s death. Tomorrow we might be fighting amongst ourselves, he thought. ¡°Prince Jeremy is young¡ª¡± ¡°He turned seventeen, that¡¯s a fine age,¡± Lord Brakis interrupted him and while Storm liked the Admiral, he wished him to choke on his spit and die with his fat mouth open alike a fish. ¡°He¡¯s young,¡± Storm continued pressing on despite the murmurs from the unruly lords. ¡°And in need of some time to get up to speed, with a looming crisis on our hands. We could give him the time, or offer the same courtesy to Prince Lucius by putting a regent on the throne.¡± ¡°A regent?¡± Lord Holt said looking at him unsure. ¡°Lord Ursus supports Jeremy,¡± Lord Doris said. ¡°We have the votes Lord Nattas.¡± ¡°Not if the Queen casts Cartagen¡¯s vote for Lucius, Lord Doris,¡± Storm replied. ¡°The Queen¡­ shall vote for Jeremy,¡± Lord Doris said over the loud murmurs of the other lords. ¡°You presume to know the Queen¡¯s mind?¡± Lord Holt admonished him, although Storm believed Lord Doris Alden had slipped there and told them the truth. Ah, this isn¡¯t going well. ¡°How is placing the Queen as regent not a better solution Lord Doris?¡± Storm asked him. ¡°Three months, six at the most and Jeremy would have a better grasp of what¡¯s going on in his domain. He has barely left Cartagen and you know it.¡± ¡°You wish to give Lucius the time to return,¡± Lord Doris said thinking about it. ¡°What about the High King?¡± ¡°He can hardly argue against the Queen assuming the role,¡± Storm replied. ¡°Asturia won¡¯t declare for Jeremy,¡± Lord Holt said with finality. ¡°We might consider Queen Miranda as regent, if the matter remains open on the next king.¡± ¡°This can¡¯t be done,¡± Lord Brakis disagreed. ¡°We have to give a clear message to the people.¡± ¡°Nobody in here cares about the people,¡± Storm said the quiet part out loud. ¡°We just need time.¡± ¡°My sister won¡¯t accept the regency,¡± Lord Doris said. ¡°We need time Lord Nattas, but war is upon us, you¡¯ll have her fight it? A woman?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll support her Lord Doris,¡± Storm argued. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t you? How about you Lord Brakis? Lord Holt? Sir Cato? Would you support your King¡¯s widow?¡± ¡°We have the votes Lord Nattas,¡± Brakis insisted and Storm clenched his jaw, his undershirt drenched in sweat. ¡°With Lord Ursus vote¡ª¡± ¡°Lord Ursus¡¯ cousin was the culprit Lord Brakis!¡± Storm snapped losing his temper. ¡°The Lord of Novesium might well be implicated himself! You¡¯ll have the King¡¯s assassins decide his successor?¡± Lord Brakis turned white and sat back on his seat. ¡°Do you know this for sure?¡± Lord Doris asked him. ¡°There is plenty of evidence pointing at him, my Lords,¡± Storm lied through his teeth. ¡°Soon I will know for certain. I suggest distancing thyselves from him in the meantime.¡± ¡°On that note, let¡¯s take a moment to collect our thoughts,¡± Lord Holt said, breaking the awkward silence that had ensued after Storm¡¯s bold accusation. ¡°Lord Doris, you will speak with the Queen?¡± ¡°I shall,¡± Lord Doris yielded. ¡°If she decides as I suspect she will, Lord Nattas¡¯ proposal will be null and void.¡± Not if I talk with your sister first, Lord Nattas thought, offering the warmest and phoniest of smiles to the scowling Lord Treasurer.
Storm got out of the meeting walking briskly and made to rush to the Queen¡¯s quarters, but heard commotion down the long corridor leading outside of the palace. He headed there noticing Secundus amidst the small crowd of Knights and guards. ¡°Who was it?¡± Sir Barnard asked and a palace guard stepped forward. ¡°Sir Brock,¡± he said pointing to the one of the two bodies on the stone floor. The other that of the young squire Calvus. ¡°He recognized the King¡¯s sword, but the lad wouldn¡¯t give it up.¡± ¡°Who killed the knight?¡± Sir Brock had his throat slit from side to side. The Guard pointed at Secundus. ¡°He was standing over him.¡± Hmm, Secundus rarely uses his dagger. ¡°Adrian Calvus was the King¡¯s squire, Sir Barnard,¡± Storm said stepping forward to save his man. ¡°I knew the young man well,¡± Nattas added, although he didn¡¯t. ¡°I¡¯m aware Lord Nattas,¡± Sir Barnard rustled not happy with the mess. ¡°The lad is still breathing.¡± Ah. Storm had knelt over the young man in the meantime. His leg protested, but Storm¡¯s pain tolerance was immense. Adrian had a deep cut on his shoulder, the flesh split there to the bone and bleeding heavily. His strained face white. That¡¯s another fucking mess. ¡°Sir Brock was on Lord Brakis entourage,¡± Sir Barnard explained. ¡°Probably wanted to take the King¡¯s sword¡ª¡± He never got the chance to finish. ¡°So he cut down Calvus for it?¡± Storm hissed, examining the young man¡¯s body for the famed weapon. ¡°Where is it?¡± ¡°Milord?¡± Sir Barnard asked. ¡°The sword, where is it?¡± Storm asked again and Calvus opened his hazy eyes. ¡°Sudi¡­¡± He mumbled and Storm frowned. Shite. There¡¯s your knife wielding cutthroat bastard. ¡°What did he say?¡± Sir Barnard asked stooping over Storm and he got up forcing him to back away. ¡°He¡¯s delirious from blood loss,¡± Storm deadpanned. ¡°Incoherent. Secundus get him to a dottore!¡± ¡°What about the King¡¯s sword Lord Nattas?¡± Sir Barnard queried, suddenly interested. Had Storm not noticed it was missing, these fools would probably be still debating about who got the jump on the other first. Storm glared at the guards gathered around them. ¡°Everyone here must be searched,¡± he told the Knight. ¡°Find out who took it, Sir Barnard. I have every faith you¡¯ll get to the bottom of this, however unlikely¡ª¡± ¡°There was another man, but he run away,¡± a palace guard said interrupting him. ¡°What did he look like?¡± Storm snapped regarding the sharp-eyed guard with pure hatred. ¡°A hobbling Issir? I barely saw him for a moment,¡± the guard replied with a shrug. ¡°I was trying to get your man off Sir Brock milord.¡± ¡°My man was trying to stop Sir Brock for murdering poor Calvus!¡± Storm admonished him. ¡°An Issir that¡¯s just fucking great!¡± He pretended outrage and glanced at Secundus, who had helped a barely responsive Calvus up in the meantime. ¡°Go Secundus, the lad needs medical attention for crying out loud!¡± ¡°Lord Nattas we need to find the King¡¯s sword,¡± Sir Barnard repeated and Storm who was trying to think on the repercussions flinched snapping out of his thoughts. ¡°Yes! Darn it. Make every effort good knight,¡± he ordered Sir Barnard. ¡°Each one of you should help also,¡± Storm told the watching guards. ¡°Don¡¯t just stand there with cock in hand for fuck¡¯s sake. Get on with it!¡±
¡°Where¡¯s Sudi?¡± He asked Secundus the moment they had gotten outside the palace gates. The main square a hot cauldron of activity, with many civilians slowly gathering to watch the Legion¡¯s return. The news will spread like wildfire, Storm thought anxiously. It¡¯s probably already out. ¡°In yer carriage,¡± Secundus pointed at the side street, they usually parked it. ¡°He slipped out of a side door.¡± ¡°He had it with him?¡± ¡°In his pants,¡± Secundus explained. ¡°Slotted it down his left leg somehow.¡± Storm frowned seeing the crowd circling the palace grounds. ¡°Oras Hells. Everyone and their blasted mother has seen him. He¡¯s burned.¡± Obviously Sudi couldn¡¯t be seen with him in the near future, or ever again. ¡°He needs to lay low probably,¡± Secundus said reading his mind and checked on the barely conscious Calvus. ¡°We better get him help milord, he¡¯s bleeding a lot.¡± ¡°Get him in the carriage, then straight for my house,¡± Storm said and paused trying to think. ¡°Sudi needs to leave the city. Send him to Verano¡¯s inn to hide for starters and call for the Dottore.¡± ¡°What about the sword milord?¡± Secundus asked him and Storm assumed a stunned expression that turned irate in the next breath. ¡°What the fuck are you talking about? There was no sword there!¡± Lord Nattas barked and his man nodded in understanding. ¡°We better get him to the Dottore immediately,¡± he pointed after a thoughtful pause, but by then Storm had made up his mind, which was unfortunate for young Calvus. ¡°Get him to my place Secundus and then call for the doctor,¡± Storm told him, wishing there was another way around it, but regrettably this was the hand fate had dealt young Adrian. ¡°Alas, despite our best efforts, our friend didn¡¯t make it. Sir Brock shall carry the burden of this sin to his grave.¡± No more needed to be said about it. ¡°What will you do milord?¡± Secundus asked him and Storm let out a deep sigh the weight of the world on his shoulders. ¡°Buy time for Regia and myself,¡± he replied tiredly, several fresh wrinkles appearing on his forehead. ¡°If I fail at it, I¡¯ll have Calvus¡¯ fate, or worse. Come to think of it, I¡¯ll probably suffer much of the same, even if I succeed.¡±
Queen Miranda Alden became Regent of Regia after the High Lords agreed on it. The shock rippled through the Kingdom and paralyzed it, wasting the opening King Alistair had created for a swift end to the conflict. The High King ordered the Second Foot to end its campaign and replenish its forces, turning his eyes on the soon to start campaign on Eplas. This gave Regia a respite. Lord Est Ravn went along with it, as he found himself stretched thin and with minimum support from the other Issir Lords, especially Scaldingport. With young Jeremy rumored to have the consent of the Lords to ascent the throne and the news of Lucius stunning victory at Krakenfort and Krakenhall, the Kingdom split into two factions. Those preferring the policy of appeasement, like Lord Doris Alden, Lord Brakis and Lord Ursus, backed by Lord Ruud De Weer who had found himself in the envious position of having a daughter on the throne of Regia and those that flocked around Lord Holt of Asturia, mainly Lord Sula of Demames who wanted revenge from the Issirs for the Battle of the Turncoats. The latter faction supported Lucius bid for the throne, despite the backlash the exiled heir had received for his presumed ¡®atrocities¡¯ during the ¡®Hundred Days¡¯ campaign that had soured both Kaltha and Lesia to him. Legatus Lucius bought himself time installing Duchess Zofia in Krakenhall. He then marched back to Rockfort and accepted Dier Vanzon¡¯s surrender. Zofia entered in a trade agreement with Midlanor immediately, which alleviated the High King¡¯s concerns to a point, but not Lord Anker¡¯s, who begrudgingly bid his time waiting for an opportunity to deal with Lucius. The months¡¯ after the Battle of the Turncoats promised perhaps an end to the conflict, but it all came crashing down, due to a series of shocking events we¡¯ll focus on later chapters. One of them being the Queen Regent stepping down not even three months later, leaving the throne to Jeremy. The gossip behind her decision ruinous for both her reputation and the -soon to be- young king. Queen Miranda¡¯s disappearance from the public life adding fuel to the fire. Not even six months after the king¡¯s death, instead of the public sentiment being in support of Alistair¡¯s tragic widow and so soon after the loss of her only daughter, it turned against her. Conveniently those most responsible for the chaos after the king¡¯s demise, remained in the shadows, until the sword of justice came down upon all of them, whether at fault, or not. Alistair Alden, first of his name, King of Regia, Lord of Cartagen and the ¡®Stalwart Tiger¡¯ of the Lorian Plains, had ascended the throne in 153 NC taking over from King Titus the Second and ruled with a firm hand for thirty seven years until his murder in the last month of Winter of 190 NC. He was laid to rest in the City of Alden, in his fifty eighth named year and was to be succeeded on the throne of Regia by King Jeremy the Second, the ¡®Lacking¡¯. The unflattering moniker given to the young King for being the first in almost two hundred years to don the tiger¡¯s crown without carrying famed Endariel. Lord Sirio Veturius Circa 206 NC The Fall of Heroes Chapter XXIII -Conclusion- (King Alistair Alden, Stalwart Tiger of Regia. Last month of winter 190 NC)
194. I see him afore me (1/2)
Glen Garth Aniculo Hardir O¡¯ Fardor I see him afore me Part I -Angrein O¡¯ Mecatan-
Once Hardir O¡¯ Fardor appears Seek anything but its favor Guard for the signs o¡¯ yesteryears If you sense greed¡¯s flavor Don¡¯t attempt to alleviate thine fears The beast shan¡¯t be the Realm¡¯s savior ¡ª Sintoriela¡¯s Admission (aka, Lament of the Third Era) - Edlenn, of Sintoriela High Priestess of Nesande (Unknown Date, presumably First Era)
Ninthalor¡¯s Last Bridge reminded Garth of the Great Bridge over Yeriden back in Rida. The ancient Imperial stone bridge still stood and with a width of six meters it was easy to cross. The view of the boasting Felmond River whence you stood over it impressive. We spend the rest of that first day traveling towards Laun River, the land turning more fertile and green, although Garth after spending months in the Desert, had trouble getting reacquainted with South Eplas flora and fauna.
¡°AAH! DIE YE DEVIL!¡± Came the gut-wrenching cry followed by the heavy buzz of a flying beetle. Biggest dung beetle Glen had ever seen, its crust a gleaming black with thin green wings. As big as a pregnant cat. The former thief recoiled in panic, left leg kicking out reflexively and almost plummeted down from Outlaw¡¯s saddle. The large bug went over man and horse, made a sharp buzzing turn flying low and then started rising again as he headed for an irate Glen. ¡°Hah¡­ haha¡­ahahaha!¡± Gimoss roared greatly amused. The wiry ¡®Mister Garth¡¯ tried to turn the horse away, but Outlaw snorted and stilled his legs, so running out of options Glen unsheathed Sir Emerson¡¯s old sword and hacked at the onrushing bloated insect manically, catching it on the second try. ¡°HAH!¡± Glen cried in triumph seeing the green fluids oozing bug tumble to its death sliced in two. ¡°Buzzing motherfucker!¡± He added teeth clenched and hairs risen on his arms. ¡°What was it?¡± Jinx asked turning around from their carriage, pink hair hidden under a large ridiculous hat, similar to the one Flix had. ¡°Another bug,¡± Sam Mathews said, handsome face relaxed into a smile. ¡°A Royal Scarab,¡± Flix elucidated. ¡°Basically harmless.¡± ¡°There,¡± Glen said still shook. ¡°Basically the insect scholar said. Not always. You never know if you¡¯ll catch it hungry¡ª¡± ¡°Don¡¯t they eat shit?¡± Jinx asked with a frown. ¡°I¡¯ve no idea¡ª¡± ¡°Damn, yer full of it,¡± Jinx said interrupting him. ¡°Ye might be in danger Glen,¡± she added giggling, then paused and turned around. ¡°Alix is that yer hand per chance sweaty?¡± ¡°Just resting one arm at a time luscious pink Goddess,¡± the third Gish of their group replied in a compliant manner. One could hear the anger in Jinx¡¯s voice. ¡°On me darn tit?¡± ¡°No better place,¡± Alix deadpanned truthfully and Jinx hissed like a cat, followed by the sound of a hand slapping skin and connecting fully. Alix gasped in pain and Glen sighed, his uneasiness lessening. ¡°Well,¡± he started and looked around for somewhere to wipe the blade of his sword. Finding nothing at the near he murmured something under his breath and climbed down from Outlaw, careful not to step in bug entrails and other gooey bits. Uh, this thing stinks horribly. ¡°I suggest we make a stop whilst there is time to make a decent camp.¡± ¡°We can just pull at the side of the old road,¡± Fikumin griped. ¡°Sleep for a couple of hours and then start again. We can travel in the night and this old imperial road is pretty decent.¡± Glen wasn¡¯t in favor of killing themselves trying to travel as fast as they could towards the rivers, but he did want to get over with it soon and send for Sen. So he agreed with Fikumin on this one, which was rare. ¡°Has anyone seen Biscuit?¡± He asked looking about their small caravan. But no one had, nor they paid him a lot of attention, so Glen gave up and went to clean the blade on the nearest mule¡¯s hide.
The sun was setting over the distant desert, everyone gathered in two groups, the Gish and Soren, along with Fikumin being one of them, Jinx annoying the frowning dwarf to no end and Metu with Sam Mathews and the soldiers on the other. Glen spotted Gimoss pulling his horse towards the road, shovel strapped on the saddle. The possessed corpse climbed on top of it and crossed his arms over his chest, as if ready to depart. Glen got up and walked there curious. ¡°Hey, where are you going?¡± He asked him. ¡°I need to talk to the witch!¡± Gimoss snapped and turned to glare at him, face still a patchwork of normal skin, with portions of it half-rotten and only the weird one eye working. ¡°The witch?¡± Glen looked about them. ¡°Why in Luthos shaved balls do you want to do that?¡± Gimoss snorted. ¡°Can you be less of an idiot for once?¡± He blasted him. Glen grimaced and Jinx who had sneakily approached them, always as curious as Glen, spoke before he¡¯d time to reply. ¡°I want to learn that to,¡± she said. ¡°Young harlot,¡± Gimoss retorted surprisingly calm, but for the last part where he¡¯d managed to infuriate himself again somehow. ¡°What you want I can¡¯t give you right now, but you¡¯ll receive upon my return a plenty. I find your kind much more convenient in this weak-arse form!¡± Uh. Jinx blinked and reached for her short-sword. Glen without looking her way, put a hand on her elbow to stop her from committing suicide. She pulled her arm away with a snarl. ¡°Are ye fuckin¡¯ kiddin¡¯ me?¡± Jinx hissed glaring at Glen as if he was responsible. ¡°Where did you find this freak?¡± Eh, perhaps I¡¯m bit to blame, Glen thought. ¡°I can¡¯t explain it in a way you can understand,¡± he told her and she stood back even more riled. ¡°I don¡¯t fully comprehend the mechanics was my meaning,¡± Glen added quickly to save it and Jinx shook her head right and left. ¡°You know something, he can fuck off anyway,¡± she decided. ¡°Dude looks like he has one foot in the grave already.¡± ¡°Hah...ha-ha¡­AHAHAHA!¡± Gimoss roared at her back and Jinx, pink ponytail swinging left and right under her large hat, pirouetted fully and gave him the middle finger, before continuing towards her group. ¡°On that note,¡± Glen said and glanced at the still chuckling corpse. ¡°Why do you want to find the witch again?¡± ¡°She knows where the Aken is!¡± ¡°Good grief, ye don¡¯t have to yell all the time you sack of rot!¡± Glen snapped, then paused and asked a little confused. ¡°Why do you think that?¡± Gimoss stared at his spade probably considering using it on Glen and then replied with a pained grunt. ¡°First, this is my natural voice. Wyverns don¡¯t whisper like cunts! Second, never has a dumber hero or as big a sham of one, walked this realm or crawled in it! Then again, how to measure true idiocy? I may well be mistaken! The second part though, I¡¯m fucking certain!¡± The corpse decided and then added bellowing at the top of his lungs, mouth opened wide and rotten gums showing. ¡°The dagger you carry for years is made out of my talons¡­ you blasted fool!¡± Everyone had stopped talking and turned to stare at them with interest, but for Flix who got up and walked slowly towards their way. Glen smacked his lips, but kept his calm. You talk with Gimoss, expect to get belittled and yelled at, he thought. So in a sense it¡¯s yer plaguin¡¯ fault! ¡°Your meaning is?¡± He asked in order to get to the bottom of this. Gimoss stared at the reddish sky for a long moment. ¡°My meaning is,¡± he finally replied the volume undiminished. ¡°The Aken knew where my body was and they told her!¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t ye die¡­ eh, got un-bodied, like a thousand years in the past?¡± Glen asked. ¡°So what?!¡± ¡°Ugh, how can there be a body left?¡± ¡°Wyvern bones are like stone or glass,¡± Flix said standing next to Glen. ¡°Even sturdier and long lasting.¡± Right. ¡°So where will you find the sorceress?¡± Glen probed the corpse.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. ¡°They knew where she was then,¡± Gimoss replied. ¡°They know where she is now. She¡¯s in Rida, if you remember the map you¡¯ve looked at, the mountains near Hellfort and Eikenport have one thing in common,¡± Gimoss grunted. ¡°You create a circle with Rida as its center and a diameter that starts at Eikenport and ends at Hellfort, its circumference will be perfect and engulf them both. Glen blinked having understood only about a quarter of what he was saying. ¡°You think the Aken are near the sorceress?¡± Flix asked him. ¡°Orbiting her in a sense?¡± ¡°I do. They¡¯ve used her once already! That dumb cunt is the perfect tool!¡± ¡°Where have they used her?¡± Flix asked him suddenly very interested and Glen forced himself to stay on top of the difficult to follow conversation. ¡°Where do you think?¡± Gimoss retorted. ¡°I¡¯ve seen the bodies of the Wyverns,¡± Flix replied. ¡°There was no spell involved. They looked diseased, poisoned.¡± What? Glen thought surprised and stared at the old Gish. ¡°Gish, when you learn a trick, you work on it. Improve it further or make it simpler,¡± Gimoss explained and Glen nodded agreeing. You are faster to pop a lock after ten tries, can work on it with closed eyes after a hundred. Same thing with the blade or all things really. ¡°There was no reported Aken sighting in Wetull at the time,¡± Flix argued and Gimoss after looking at him for a brief moment he let rip like usual. ¡°Ha-ha¡­hah¡­ahahaha!¡±
Gimoss, the ancient Wyvern god living inside a corpse, left to return to Rida at the start of our journey. No one believed they¡¯d see him again nor did they really wanted to, but sure enough we did. After a week of following the old Imperial road we made it over the bridge at the river Laun. Half a week later we reached the one over the Dragontoe River late at night. We made a stop there intending to cross it early the next morning.
Glen stood atop of Outlaw, back hurting and clothes soaked under his armor and watched with a spyglass the area beyond the bridge and the river. Rushes and cattails dominating its banks. Bugs of all sizes and types, but mainly mosquitos and hornets. The latter the size of pigeons. ¡°There¡¯s Jadefort some kilometers beyond the river,¡± Metu explained, a headscarf covering the top of his head. ¡°Khan¡¯s soldiers?¡± Glen asked. ¡°Rumor is, it¡¯s being rebuilt, but it¡¯s an old rumor.¡± ¡°It might be finished,¡± Glen translated. ¡°You think they¡¯ll give us trouble?¡± The slave shrugged his shoulders. ¡°They shouldn¡¯t,¡± he paused to take a step away from Biscuit and the Wyvern watched him with curious big rubicund eyes and then belched. Who knows what he has glugged down, Glen thought with a frown. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll stay to keep Biscuit calm and we¡¯ll send¡­ ehm,¡± Glen glanced back and caught Jinx napping with her head on Fikumin¡¯s shoulder, the dwarf looking none too happy about it. ¡°Whisper!¡± Glen yelled and she flinched. She raised her head, eyes unfocused and drooling heavily. Fikumin gave her a cloth to wipe herself up. ¡°Glen, what the actual fuck?¡± Jinx asked annoyed, while cleaning her face and most of the drool away. ¡°I haven¡¯t slept in weeks ye dork!¡± ¡°Apologies yer grace,¡± Glen replied wryly. ¡°I want you to go over that bridge and give me a report on what¡¯s near the fort.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s Alix?¡± Jinx asked. ¡°I don¡¯t¡­ what does this have to do with what I asked?¡± ¡°He¡¯s probably already checking the fort out,¡± Jinx explained and jumped down from the carriage. She then walked behind it to climb on her horse. The Gish paused half-way up, let go to return to the ground and then went to untie the reins murmuring under her breath. Fikumin grunted and used the cloth she¡¯d tossed back at him to dry up his shirt from her drool. ¡°Are ye fuckin¡¯ kiddin¡¯ me?¡± Glen snapped seeing she wasn¡¯t going to elucidate further on the matter. ¡°What if they see him? We shan¡¯t behave like crooks here Whisper!¡± Jinx shrugged off his worries. ¡°Alix is a pro. One of the best. They¡¯ll never see him. He¡¯ll be back without a hitch.¡± No sooner than she had finished talking, a desperate cry for help was heard from the not that distant bridge. The small caravan had stopped about twenty meters away. Glen brought that spyglass on his eye carefully, as he still feared an eye-ending injury there and looked through it beyond the other bank. Someone was coming fast towards them following the road leading back to the bridge. It was the male Gish running like his life depended on it, usually well-combed pinkish hair all messed up and behind him a couple of riders giving chase. They looked more like Horselords than the Khanate¡¯s regulars to Glen. Luthos cock caught in a bear trap. That short pink dude is darn quick on his feet! Alix ducked instinctively to avoid an arrow. Twisted away from another still running and almost died to a third reaching the bridge, the arrow going through his cape but missing him for a hair. Glen was still thinking of a way to resolve the situation when he saw something dark landing behind the running Gish and before the fast approaching riders. Biscuit, now the size of a normal person, stood on his hind legs and extended those long-spanning wings fully, before letting out a blood-curdling screech. RRRRRRREEEE The first Horselord in the process of reloading his bow recoiled and dropped it, his mount stopping in panic and trying to turn away almost unhorsing him. The second ogled his eyes in disbelief and pulled hard at the reins to also turn his mount around. ¡°Well,¡± Glen thought with a grin, watching them galloping the other way as if their arses were on fire. ¡°That¡¯s one way to do it, I suppose.¡± Jinx standing next to him on her own horse, spat down and scratched hard at the point between her two small nostrils, before replying to him. ¡°Yer the most unruffled cunt I know,¡± Jinx said but upon seeing a completely freaked out Glen flinching left and then right trying to dodge a large circling hornet, she added. ¡°And the most panicky.¡± ¡°The hells are ye talking about?¡± Glen protested vehemently, while using the dagger to kill the hornet. ¡°That gigantic flying turd tried to poke me in the plaguin¡¯ eye! Look at the stinger on it for cryin¡¯ out loud!¡±
¡°Damn it majestic divinity,¡± Alix blurted between large intakes of air, doubled over his knees and covered to his neck in mud. ¡°Ye look fantastic on yer steed.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a mare ye blind Gish!¡± Jinx admonished him all nerves. Probably it¡¯s her time of the month, Glen decided. He¡¯d learned about the condition from Sen. Very nasty stuff. ¡°Goddess, folk use the term reciprocally,¡± Alix argued with a leering smirk. Re what? ¡°Mister Walker, leave flattery aside,¡± Glen rebuked him, afore this turned ugly. ¡°Who were those ruffians coming after you?¡± ¡°I have no idea dear Garth,¡± the member of the thieves Guild admitted. Neither did Glen. ¡°Surely you¡¯ve done something to rile them up!¡± Glen argued, moving on to the next point. ¡°I barely approached the fort. Pretty, help me out here,¡± Alix said. ¡°Nah, I ain¡¯t getting involved,¡± Jinx deadpanned. ¡°Glen hasn¡¯t had a proper roll in the hay for some time now. He¡¯s right vicious when horny.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m not,¡± Glen argued, looking about him embarrassed. ¡°I stand by me opinion,¡± Jinx insisted and crossed her arms over her chest. Glen let out a groan exasperated. ¡°They looked like Horselords Alix,¡± he hissed turning to the other Gish. ¡°I admit not looking back much dear Garth,¡± Alix defended himself. This will probably take us the whole day to figure out, Glen thought. ¡°Metu?¡± Glen asked looking at the troubled slave that had followed him at Sen¡¯s insistence. Metu was very helpful around the camp. A solid friend. ¡°Ehm, they didn¡¯t behave like a regular patrol master Garth. Perhaps a raiding party?¡± Metu offered. Hmm. ¡°That¡¯s a small raiding party,¡± Soren said, as he¡¯d approached as well. ¡°Right. We cross right away then,¡± Glen decided. ¡°Whilst they are still rattled by Biscuit.¡± ¡°What about the fort?¡± Flix asked, face barely visible under that gargantuan hat. ¡°Well, if they don¡¯t bother hunting down raiders, I doubt they¡¯ll come after a caravan,¡± Glen replied.
The Horselords returned about an hour after they had gone over the bridge, the wagons wheels moving slowly in the mud-covered road. Glen was trying to get Biscuit on the one prepared for him, but the Wyvern refused and kept following Glen¡¯s horse around. He bumped on to Eikenport¡¯s newest crime lord, not a safe action with those protruding horns and kept turning its wedge-shaped head towards the distant mountains and making sad guttural sounds. RREEH? Of sorts. ¡°Damn it you,¡± Glen protested. ¡°We got to keep moving. I can¡¯t do this day after day!¡± REEEE ¡°What?¡± Glen turned to look at the foreboding mountain range, one of its peaks disappearing into the clouds. That is what they could see over the massive jungle beyond Jadefort that wasn¡¯t covered in thick mist. ¡°What¡¯s over there buddy?¡± RRRR ¡°Garth,¡± Fikumin said warningly from his own mount. ¡°We have company.¡± Glen turned his head around and saw the riders coming from the direction of the fort. Its worn out walls less than a kilometer away. Somebody had cleaned up the terrain thoroughly, but everything had turned to mud with the now more frequent rains. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s just plaguing great,¡± he grunted and climbed on top of Outlaw again. ¡°Biscuit stay back.¡± Glen ordered the restless Wyvern and Biscuit snorted apparently not agreeing. He flapped its leathery wings once, started running on his hind legs throwing mud everywhere and then jumped high. With a screech the Wyvern flew up, circled over their caravan once and then went over the approaching Horselords that stopped their mounds and stared at the creature bewildered, before with another loud warning shriek, Biscuit left to the direction of the distant mountain range. For fuck¡¯s sake, Glen cursed. What¡¯s this shite? Does nobody listens to instructions? ¡°Hardir O¡¯ Fardor,¡± a tall muscular man said, not a Cofol and not an Issir. Doesn¡¯t much look like a Lorian as well, Glen decided. Perhaps a mix of all three races. Eyes a very dark red, with gold details in them. The only guy there not carrying a bow, or any weapon. ¡°I knew the road will bring you this way eventually.¡± Had Glen not touched the dagger the moment he heard the seer¡¯s name for him, he wouldn¡¯t have understood the hale stranger. The man had spoken in Imperial.
¡°Garth,¡± Flix said warningly, but one of the Horselords pushed his horse forward and Glen turned his attention on him. The warrior had a bronze fake hand, dangling down his sides and a hard sun-scorched face full of lines and scars. ¡°Is that him, Angrein?¡± He rustled examining Glen with calculating eyes. ¡°That was a Wyvern Kalac,¡± the first man replied. ¡°You¡¯ve seen it.¡± ¡°Aye, I did,¡± Kalac replied and greeted Glen in rough Common. ¡°I¡¯m Kalac, son of Duham. We rule this land,¡± he boasted. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ Garth,¡± Glen replied, not impressed, but opted to keep it simple. ¡°I¡¯m an explorer.¡± A deathly silence fell over the two groups of men. Some of the Horselords eyed each other confused, while a couple outright cracked up smiles. ¡°Garth,¡± Kalac started, looking at his men and then at the skies above them for Biscuit. ¡°Is many things it seems,¡± the Horselord said with a predatory smile and this time everyone almost chuckled. Flix interrupted the weirdly festive mood. ¡°Angrein O¡¯ Mecatan. It warms the heart to be in your presence,¡± he said reverently staring at the strongly built stranger. ¡°You recognize Hardir O¡¯ Fardor?¡± ¡°I do,¡± Angrein rustled. ¡°I see him afore me.¡± ¡°Will you challenge his right of passage?¡± Flix asked switching in Imperial. ¡°Where do you seek passage to Nym¡¯s slave?¡± Angrein asked. Glen realized no one else could comprehend their words, just as Angrein had figured out Glen could understand them as well. ¡°We seek to walk Quiceran¡¯s Road,¡± Flix explained, a little strained. ¡°My bonds are broken, alike yours.¡± Uh? Angrein scoffed at the old Gish¡¯s response. ¡°He speaks the tongue, but does he walk amidst the trees, can he listen?¡± ¡°What does this mean?¡± Glen asked him and Angrein turned his strange eyes on him. The eyes of the man in his dreams were similar though more black, Glen remembered. Even the race matches, if that¡¯s a race. ¡°You¡¯re not like Lith,¡± Fikumin said, who apparently understood enough of the Old Tongue to follow their conversation. Not a Zilan. Ah. Fucking bigots. ¡°Would that be a problem?¡± He asked the carefully watching them stranger. ¡°Not for me Tamer of Monsters. Do not presume the way unguarded, or absent perils,¡± Angrein replied and turning towards Kalac, who was also watching their exchange with religious zeal, he added. ¡°You should let him pass.¡± ¡°What will I get in exchange?¡± Kalac rustled. ¡°Favor,¡± Angrein replied without hesitation. ¡°Trust me it would be enough, to have all doors opened.¡± Glen found the agreement fair and most of all cheap as fuck. 195. I see him afore me (2/2)
Glen Garth Aniculo Hardir O¡¯ Fardor I see him afore me Part II -Greater Spell of Rot-
Angrein O¡¯ Mecatan convinced the free Horselord Kalac, son of Duham to allow us passage through his territory. We stayed in the fort a day intending to follow Dragontoe¡¯s Third Claw towards the Pale Mountains. Jade Lake was an uncomfortable place, deadly, as if there to caution travelers from continuing towards Imperial lands. Nothing about the journey was to be easy.
Glen watched the fire burning, its light illuminating the walls of the old fort. Some people were still moving about, but most of their group was sound asleep. The still curious about the wyvern Horselords had been there for a long time according to them, months even and the closest Khan forces in Dia didn¡¯t want to risk attacking them. Or just couldn¡¯t. ¡°Losing the Merchant Path must have really hurt the Khan,¡± he said to a silently smoking his pipe Flix. ¡°His hold on the south has weakened, despite gaining Raoz.¡± ¡°Not easy to control a distant territory through the desert crossings,¡± Flix replied. ¡°And without sufficient forces.¡± ¡°You think the High King might come this way?¡± ¡°The ports in Rida and Altarin are easier to reach, perhaps even higher up North,¡± Flix argued. Glen nodded in agreement, as it made sense. Unless one had the ships to supply everything, or Regia entered the war. Without Wetull, the south of Eplas will always be too far away. ¡°Eventually the Khan will come here, unless the war goes against the Cofols,¡± Flix added and Glen stared at the dark sky for a moment. The Horselords had left them alone, when Glen had explained to them the Wyvern wouldn¡¯t return that day. Not that he knew when Biscuit would come back, but he always did. ¡°You knew Angrein,¡± he noted, keeping his voice low. ¡°I knew of him,¡± Flix replied and offered a loaded pipe. Glen took it and sucked carefully from the tip. The aromatic smoke pleasant once you got used to it. ¡°He¡¯s an Imperial Blacksmith, quite famous.¡± ¡°What is he doing with the Horselords?¡± Glen asked, the information useful. He thought of Reeves¡¯ broken blade he still had in his saddle bags. Could he repair it? ¡°He wouldn¡¯t say,¡± Flix replied and got the peleg out, the steel weapon gleaming in the light of the fires. ¡°This is a typical throwing axe made by Fergen for example. He made almost eighty of them, but they aren¡¯t really that special. Useful under certain circumstances. Now Fergen had created exceptional weapons, some named and sought after, but he never reached Angrein¡¯s skill even the blacksmith¡¯s afore them. The Queen¡¯s sword was forged by Angrein. Black Eirkor, a Kopis type sword like the one the pirate captain had but longer. It might have been Fergen¡¯s that one, but Eirkor¡­ ah, they say you can discern whether something was forged from Angrein or not by its song. He¡¯s more of an artist really.¡± ¡°How old is he?¡± ¡°Much older than me,¡± Flix replied. He doesn¡¯t look like it. ¡°Where is he from?¡± Glen probed thinking of his dreams. ¡°I believe he was a slave initially.¡± Like the Gish had been. ¡°Who is Nym?¡± Glen asked changing the subject, as Flix didn¡¯t enjoy talking about it and he¡¯d come to respect the old Gish enough not to bring the matter up. ¡°You heard that?¡± Flix said. ¡°I take it by yer dodge, he¡¯s important?¡± Glen asked and Flix chuckled either pleased or stoned out of his wits. Glen could feel his mouth turning numb as well, so he put the pipe down. ¡°Nym would pretend interference,¡± the old Gish said and paused to stare at the shadows surrounding them apprehensively. ¡°But also loathe being talked about in the open.¡± ¡°He sounds like a cunt,¡± Jinx said almost giving Glen a heart attack and Flix who¡¯d probably spotted her before him chuckled seeing Glen¡¯s face. ¡°What¡¯s it ye smoke there?¡± She asked and reached for the pipe. Jinx sniffed at it and then inhaled deeply bringing it to her mouth. ¡°Damn, no wonder you ladies look like that. Dis is the good stuff!¡± ¡°Look like what?¡± Glen asked annoyed, but she didn¡¯t reply. He groaned in frustration, all that warm calmness gone and turned to a still chuckling Flix. ¡°Can we trust the Blacksmith?¡± ¡°Difficult to know where he stands. Angrein had basically disappeared from public life after Queen Baltoris¡ª¡± ¡°Wait,¡± Glen said stopping him. ¡°I may have heard that name before.¡± From Lith. ¡°Garth,¡± Fikumin said warningly. Apparently the dwarf was awake as well. ¡°Can I have a word?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Glen replied and forced himself up. ¡°Where did you hear the name Garth?¡± Flix asked him behind a veil of white smoke. ¡°Ahm,¡± Glen said and Fikumin¡¯s stare turned into a glare. ¡°I¡¯m not sure. Smoking that shite, really fogs my brain.¡± ¡°Mmm, aye,¡± Jinx purred, well-drugged and half-sleep, her eyes closed. ¡°But it feels so fuckin¡¯ good!¡±
¡°What is it dwarf?¡± Glen asked after Fikumin had dragged him away from the fire and the giggling Gish. ¡°Your friend is an assassin,¡± the dwarf explained. ¡°Who knew Larn, am I right?¡± Glen sighed. ¡°Fikumin relax. Flix and I have been through a lot. He saved my life back in Rida. You don¡¯t have to worry about him.¡± ¡°Garth is a name given to people that can work with Wyverns,¡± Fikumin grunted. ¡°But Hardir O¡¯ Fardor, means the Tamer of Monsters and is quite a different matter Garth.¡± Glen smacked his lips and eyed him. Even in the dark the dwarf¡¯s nose stood out prominently dominating the rest of his face. No amount of facial hair could hide that monstrosity. ¡°You find this funny?¡± Fikumin grunted seeing his grin. ¡°Was thinking of something else dwarf. I¡¯m a busy man wit lots of stuff on my mind,¡± Glen replied. ¡°Garth or Hardir, what does it matter? These people love throwing monikers around,¡± He played it down. ¡°Hardir O¡¯ Fardor isn¡¯t thrown around willy-nilly Garth,¡± Fikumin admonished him. ¡°It¡¯s a cautionary tale the Folk are taught about the start of the Third Era.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°An epoch, a change of times. The war with the Aken for example, happened at the end of the First Era, Queen Baltoris ruled for most of the Second,¡± Fikumin explained. The whole thing atrociously boring to Glen, but for a small detail. ¡°Baltoris,¡± he said slowly. ¡°Lithoniela¡¯s mother,¡± Fikumin elucidated. Ah. No way. Holly crap! ¡°Lith¡¯s plaguing royalty?¡± Glen guffawed and Fikumin jumped and punched him in the stomach doubling him over. ¡°GAH!¡± Glen cried, the wind knocked out of him. ¡°What the fuck?¡± The dwarf felt as strong as Soren. ¡°Keep your voice down,¡± Fikumin grunted. Glen stood up and kicked him aiming for his big nose. The dwarf dodged somehow, went under his loaded punch and sidestepped a knee to the head without batting an eyelash. Glen stopped breathing heavy and thoroughly bewildered. ¡°How in Oras hells do ye do that?¡± He griped eyeing the small creature with hatred. Fikumin shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Luthos favors me more than you,¡± he replied simply. ¡°So what, you just dodge at random?¡± Glen snapped not believing him. ¡°No,¡± Fikumin replied shaking his head. ¡°You just miss a lot.¡± Luthos is a fuckin¡¯ cunt, Glen decided. A playing favorite¡¯s motherfucker.
The morning found him waking up with a welt on his neck where a mosquito have sucked at least a liter of blood and quite dizzy. Murmuring under his breath, he washed his face and went to eat at a table outside the fort¡¯s bakery. The woman working it bowed deeply, when she brought him a piece of bread and a cup of tea. ¡°They were slaves,¡± Kalac rustled and sat on the chair across from him. ¡°I¡¯ve let them go, but they opted to stay. Now they do what they did afore and behave the same,¡± the maimed Horselord leader said sounding troubled and placed his bronze hand on the table. While heavy and unwieldly it was also beautifully crafted and lifelike. ¡°People are creatures of habit,¡± Glen said tasting the bitter black tea. ¡°I suppose they are,¡± Kalac agreed. ¡°Your Wyvern didn¡¯t return.¡± ¡°It will, once he finishes whatever it is, he¡¯s doing.¡± ¡°What does a Wyvern do?¡± Glen smiled but didn¡¯t reply and pointed at the fake hand. ¡°Angrein did that?¡± ¡°He did,¡± Kalac replied. ¡°It was a trade.¡± ¡°What did he trade for?¡± Glen asked him. ¡°The life of the woman that made yer bread,¡± Kalac replied. ¡°The other slaves.¡± ¡°You were going to kill them?¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to keep them,¡± Kalac said and stared at his hand. ¡°Yet, you did,¡± Glen pointed. ¡°What changed your mind?¡± ¡°All I¡¯ve known is the Steppe,¡± Kalac replied. ¡°Now I find myself longing for something else.¡±If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°This is a bad spot to settle,¡± Glen noted and the Horselord nodded. ¡°It is. Where are you heading Garth?¡± He asked him. ¡°Over that mountains.¡± ¡°No way over ¡®em, I made the attempt already.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a figure of speech. There is a way and I¡¯ll find it,¡± Glen explained. ¡°An explorer,¡± Kalac said. ¡°That rides a Wyvern,¡± he added looking at him. ¡°Eh, I don¡¯t really,¡± Glen admitted. ¡°It¡¯s an expression Garth,¡± Kalac had told him. ¡°And one mounts a horse when it¡¯s of age.¡±
Glen walked to the carriage Angrein had parked outside his workshop and found the man loading equipment inside. Some of the tools massive and looking heavy, but the hale man handled them with ease. ¡°Will everything fit in there?¡± He asked him and Angrein turned to give him an onceover. ¡°I have an anvil I¡¯ll need help fitting,¡± he told him. Yer not expecting me lifting it for you? Glen eyed the robust iron tool. It must have weighted a ton. At least. ¡°We might need a couple of more people for that friend,¡± he said and Angrein grinned showing two rows of fine teeth. ¡°Just keep the wagon from shifting forward and I¡¯ll get it in there,¡± he told him. Glen nodded and put his hands on the wagon, near the back wheel. ¡°I can call Soren, he¡¯s a strong lad built for this kind of shit,¡± he offered not really expecting the man to lift the anvil himself, thoroughly astounded when he did. Angrein heaved it on the wagon without much trouble and then wiped his face with a hand. ¡°No worries,¡± The Blacksmith replied. ¡°It¡¯s easier than it looks once you get the hang of it.¡± ¡°It gets lighter?¡± Glen teased him and the man stood back and looked at him for a moment. Then he smiled getting his jest. ¡°Only the Great Gimoss knows a better way. The rest we must toil hard to make stuff.¡± ¡°Gimoss? Haha!¡± Glen guffawed. ¡°No way!¡± Angrein stared at him surprised. ¡°You know of the great Architect?¡± ¡°The great¡­ hah. Friend, I do know him,¡± Glen replied still chuckling. ¡°You just missed him.¡± ¡°You travel¡­¡± Angrein stood back impressed. ¡°How did he¡­ this is unexpected. Is he as vile as the stories claim?¡± ¡°Worse. Trust me it¡¯s better you missed him,¡± Glen said truthfully. ¡°I never expected to live to your days Hardir,¡± Angrein admitted taken aback. While he had Glen¡¯s height, his arms and torso were powerfully built. With the exception of his strange eyes the man looked as healthy as a horse. ¡°Let us stick wit Garth, I¡¯ve enough names already,¡± Glen replied and the Imperial Blacksmith nodded with a smile. ¡°Kalac has agreed to lead you to the river¡¯s sources,¡± he said after a moment. ¡°Thank you,¡± Glen said. ¡°You didn¡¯t have to help us. I owe you a favor, as you¡¯ve said.¡± Angrein walked towards his workshop to pick up a large leather sack containing tongs and hammers without answering him. He brought everything to the wagon and loaded them up as well. ¡°The Empire is gone,¡± Angrein said. ¡°But if you¡¯ve served for as long as I had. It is difficult to break out of the habit. You find yourself longing for its return.¡± ¡°You were a slave?¡± Glen asked him. ¡°Everyone is a slave Garth,¡± Angrein replied much as Sen had that night. ¡°Some just don¡¯t know it. Others free themselves from one master, only to serve another. You can be a slave to many a things and not only to people.¡± Sen hadn¡¯t explained it that well, Glen thought. ¡°You¡¯re leaving?¡± Glen asked after a moment of them both staring at the loaded wagon in silent contemplation. ¡°It is time for me to return,¡± Angrein replied simply. ¡°You know the road through the mountains?¡± ¡°I intend to find it,¡± Glen said. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to ask for that favor Hardir O¡¯ Fardor,¡± Angrein had told him. ¡°And the opportunity to serve again.¡±
Kalac led us through the opened paths his men had created on their previous attempts to reach the Pale Mountains. A difficult journey that lasted ten days and gave us a taste of what was to come. Garth hated the jungle as much as the desert.
The rain had stopped fortunately, but water kept pouring down from the tall trees, from giant sequoias that reached over fifty meters in height and walking Palms their roots visible over the muddy ground and various other types of redwoods, even house-sized Kapok and rubber trees. The sounds of dripping water and insects maddening, it replaced the roar of the sudden thunderstorm that attacked them viciously for almost half an hour. ¡°Damn it,¡± Glen said turning on the saddle to watch Soren and Angrein push the carriage through the mud and rotten leaves covered path. ¡°Might as well leave it here, can¡¯t see us taking it all the way to the mountain.¡± ¡°It¡¯s near,¡± Kalac rustled, face wet and gaunt. ¡°The terrain turns rocky near the sources.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know where the river is,¡± Glen admitted. ¡°Nor do I see beyond two meters in this darn darkness.¡± ¡°The canopy opens up,¡± Kalac insisted and glanced at the slow moving carriage start moving again, the animals pulling it exhausted. ¡°You¡¯re okay there Soren?¡± Glen asked the big Northman. ¡°Aye, not much daylight in these parts,¡± he replied. ¡°It¡¯s the trees, the sun does come up,¡± Jinx explained and started working on the pale-colored bark of a tree with a small knife. She cut small incisions on it and gathered the bright yellow fluids in her vials. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Glen asked her. ¡°Good poison,¡± she explained. ¡°Very useful.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Glen replied with a grimace, twisting around alarmed as he¡¯d heard a strange buzzing sound nearing him. ¡°Well, mind not to get any in our supplies Whisper.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not stupid Glen,¡± Jinx replied. ¡°Fine,¡± he grunted and turned Outlaw to follow after Kalac, through the narrow path. His men were further up ahead working on reopening the route that would probably close up behind them within a week. ¡°We should bring the workers from Eikenport here, cut down everything and make a proper road out of it.¡± ¡°Watch out, there¡¯s the opening,¡± Kalac said and Glen heard Biscuit flying over them, the thick canopy hiding the Wyvern completely. ¡°They cleared it well, but some of the roots might fight back. Vicious buggers.¡± ¡°Hah,¡± Glen grinned seeing the sun breaking through the branches ahead of him and went to wipe his face, but noticed he¡¯d a vine caught on his right boot. He tried to kick it away, but it was fruitless and it got tangled up even more. Glen raised his leg from the stirrup, the strange root resisted and then suddenly pulled hard in retaliation. One second Glen was atop his horse and the other he flew from the saddle, landed on the hard ground -now more rocks than mud and rotten leaves on it- and heard Jinx gasping either shocked, or impressed at his abrupt tumble. He raised his head groaning, his back hurting and the root turned alive before his eyes. It moved alike a weird snake coiling around his leg and then pulled him outside the opened path with such force, he almost ripped it out. ¡°Oh¡­ fuck!¡± That was Glen afore disappearing into the lush vegetation, mud covered sharp branches and rotting roots smacking him in the face, bloated bugs jumping away, a real snake hissing in panic, as he got dragged for almost a minute through the jungle and then dropped into a dark hole between the giant roots of a tree. Glen put a hand out and his other leg¡¯s boot, stopped himself shy of the bottom of the dark pit. The bottom itself moving and then opening up with a crunching sound, stinking of rotten bones and excrement. The flesh-eating plant¡¯s mouth was as large as a water barrel. Glen was too scared and shocked to panic immediately. So he reached for his dagger first and then panicked.
Glen tried to move away and out of the hole, but another nimble vine reached for his neck and coiled around it, little thorns prickling him repeatedly looking for purchase in his flesh. He slashed at it with the dagger almost opening his face up from chin to nose, but managed to cut it away and breathed once deep, before the living root yanked at him again. Part of the hole started caving in, the soil soft and wet. Glen twisted this way and that in the dark, the plant¡¯s mouth cavernous under him at the bottom of the pit. ¡°ARGH!¡± He growled, eyes smarting and gawked. Glen flipped the dagger in his hand and tried to stab down but he couldn¡¯t reach his right leg. The latter now almost inside the mouth that started closing slowly. Glen couldn¡¯t see it, but he could feel it. Blade-like teeth piercing through his boot. Oras hells! What is this fuckin¡¯ crap? ¡°Let go! Else I turn ye into sludge!¡± He threatened the silent predator absent other ideas. The living plant didn¡¯t reply, either because it couldn¡¯t understand him or because it had no ears to hear his voice. A worthy argument can be made here that the living plant just didn¡¯t care. The Witch¡¯s dagger did though and tried to find a way to get him out of the literal hole he¡¯d found himself in. When nothing else seemed to work, it went with Glen¡¯s suggestion using whatever it found near to perform one of the five forbidden spells. The Greater Spell of Rot.
Gantor Rond
A foreboding silence fell all around him. Something akin to fire run through Glen, his skin drying up and his pores sweating blood. Everywhere around the hidden caved in hole, in a fifty meter radius at least, birds dropped dead from the canopy and the tall branches. Bugs exploded or shrunk away into nothingness. Snakes and crawlers, seven monkeys, a couple of rare white and black spotted leopards and their cubs expired at once. The large trees lost their color, their trunks drying up and cracking. Branches snapped under their weight and finally the silence was broken when all that crumbled down into piles of unidentified material, creating a large open field with the dark hole at its center. An unconscious Glen dropped onto the mammoth sized and ancient living plant, went through one of its twelve mouths like it wasn¡¯t there, the once hard crust and inner flesh dissolving completely rotted away and turning into a strange dark green goo and landed on the stone floor of the pit. The stones that he landed upon cracked around him and thin fractures resembling veins started ever growing outwards. The jungle over him had turned silent again and the strong sun now bathed the large freshly cleared circle in brilliant light, burning hot after the rain.
The common man with the black and red dragon eyes of his dream sighed and stared at his hands. The long fingers laced together over his stomach. He waited for a long moment for Glen to wake up before the roof of the tunnel collapsed under him and seeing the former thief wasn¡¯t going to, willed the dagger on the west wall, made it bounce once on it ever gaining speed and guided it on its return right at the unconscious Glen¡¯s left forearm. He almost got him where Baltoris¡¯ brood had wounded him almost two years back. Being pressed for time he missed the exact spot for a couple of inches, the blade finding bone this time around.
¡°GAAAH!¡± Glen moaned desperately and brutally woke up. He opened his eyes, saw sunlight coming through a small hole over his head and the dagger stuck in the arm he raised to protect his eyes. His own blood sprayed him in the face. Good grief. Luthos low hanging balls¡­ Glen grasped for the lightstone and got it out of his collar. He had it secured on a wooden pendant, next to Sen¡¯s Capricorn. Then he reached with his good hand, breathing in short panicked breaths and grabbed the dagger¡¯s handle. Caught in a bear trap. He pulled the blade out as fast as he could, the pain blinding. ¡°ARGGH!¡± Glen cried miserably the dark hole muffling it and put a hand on the wound to stop the bleeding, the wound itself impossible to explain. He looked for a cloth and found a hankie in his leather satchel. The fact that he still had it attached on him a miracle. No bigger than the disappearance of the murderous and sneaky plant. Glen felt the ground he was on, his body complaining and hurting. Nothing hurting as much as his stabbed arm though. He discovered half a foot of goo all about him, the smell atrocious and only now registering through his hazy brain. The ground itself made out of solid cut rock, the kind one rarely paves a jungle with. Uh? The ground shook underneath him, rocks cracking, falling and around the former thief large holes started opening up, as a large portion of the ancient roof started caving in. Ripped clean off in the attempt to stand. ¡°Oh, for fuck¡¯s¡ª¡± Glen managed to say before the roof collapsed under him.
Luthos ye son of a naughty goat! Glen cursed sprawled on his back and spat out putrid green plant-based sludge, puking a little bit at the end of it. He rolled once to avoid the worst of the spillage, but a big rock smacked him on the shoulder, denting his armour and cut his effort short. He made to turn his head, found another broken boulder there and tried to push it aside with his forehead, but failed at that too. Glen stood up on his arse with a grunt, a cut bleeding down his face and his arm a burning rod of misery. Coughing and belching at the same time Glen stumbled on his feet, the lightstone chasing away the foreboding shadows of the tunnel he¡¯d found himself inside. ¡°Who the fuck builds a plaguin¡¯ tunnel under the jungle?¡± He wondered aloud, his voice and the light bouncing off of the distant finely constructed wall revealing part of the size of this underground construction. The other wall a good ten meters away and build with the same sturdy material. Stones cut in large square pieces, each size about a meter and attached with great precision, but for the roof. There big penetrating roots had eroded the structure, along with the living plant choosing it for its nest and Glen of course, causing it to collapse. The tunnel extending as far as the eye could see on both directions. It was like a road in a sense build under the jungle and heading, if Glen wasn¡¯t mistaken, towards the Pale Mountains. The former thief grunted in pain and cleaned his face from all the sludge and blood. His undergarments soaked in it and his skin feeling dry and leathery to the touch. What had Flix said to Angrein back at the bridge? He asked, trying to remember, fresh blood trickling down his nose, at first unable to recall the name describing what he had discovered. Until he did. 196. Quiceran’s Road
Glen Garth Aniculo Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Quiceran¡¯s Road
Glen stayed near the collapsed part of the tunnel for almost two hours. He bandaged his arm a second time cutting parts of his undershirt and used a piece of cloth to stem the flow of blood from his head wound. His neck felt swollen where the plant had touched him and his eyes burned at the stench of decay in the gradually turning very dark tunnel as the sun moved on the sky. The tunnel itself impressive as much as ominous. Glen quickly discovered remnants of torches mounted on the walls alongside nicely crafted glass-made small vessels that had once contained a lightstone. Probably. Someone has stripped everything at some point in time, he thought. Glen stared at his arms for a long moment, the skin on them an unnatural dark grey. A problem, but not as big as finding a blade stuck in him. ¡°Damn dagger went clean through the vambrace,¡± he muttered examining the ruined hardened leather armour. How it had done it, impossible to visualize. Glen had it in his hand when he fainted¡­ Hmm. ¡°Oi, who¡¯s there?¡± A familiar voice was heard coming from above. Glen turned his head up and saw a small pink head looking down the hole. The tunnel had a height of three meters and the initial opening was another five at least above that. Perhaps a bit more. ¡°It¡¯s me Whisper!¡± He barked. ¡°Who?¡± ¡°Glen!¡± He heard murmur from above and people talking about lurking dangers. ¡°Do ye know who I am?¡± Jinx asked thoughtfully while pausing at each word, squinting her eyes to better see him. ¡°Wait¡­ that wasn¡¯t the phrase¡­ give me a moment please.¡± ¡°Whisper, ye dumb girl,¡± Glen hissed a vein throbbing on his temple. ¡°Drop a fuckin¡¯ rope down, afore I bleed out!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t have one!¡± ¡°Are you plaguin¡¯ kidding me now?¡± Glen blasted her losing his patience. ¡°Yep,¡± Jinx said looking at the others. ¡°That¡¯s him alright. Soren drop the rope.¡± Glen groaned loudly in response, half of it was despair, the other just pain.
It turned out you can¡¯t climb up a rope with one hand completely useless, so Jinx came down instead to help him out, while the others slowly directed the caravan to the large comfortable opening that wasn¡¯t there when Glen had arrived. Could he have missed it while being dragged through the jungle? Glen didn¡¯t think so. ¡°Whoa, ye look like dried up shite,¡± Jinx said when she came nearer. ¡°What¡¯s that awful smell? Ah, don¡¯t tell. Better if I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°There was a plant wit a big mouth, it turned to sludge,¡± a frustrated Glen explained to her the parts he knew. ¡°How big?¡± ¡°The mouth?¡± ¡°The plant,¡± Jinx said checking on his arm. ¡°Ahm, I¡¯ve only gotten a glimpse of the mouth,¡± Glen admitted with a shiver. ¡°Pretty big, I suppose.¡± ¡°Uhm,¡± Jinx replied. ¡°What does that mean?¡± ¡°The hummin¡¯?¡± She asked. ¡°Aye.¡± ¡°Ye have a nasty cut here that don¡¯t look like a plant could¡¯ve done it,¡± Jinx raised her head to look at him. ¡°And ye look as sick as Gimoss Glen. What happened?¡± ¡°I used the dagger,¡± Glen said. Seeing the worry in her face had rattled him. ¡°How bad does it look?¡± ¡°Ehm, I can give ye my hat,¡± Jinx said. ¡°Flix has a veil¡ª¡± ¡°I ain¡¯t putting on a goddarn veil Whisper!¡± Glen growled. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t either,¡± Jinx said. ¡°But I got nothing to hide Glen.¡± She¡¯d a point there, Glen decided. He stared at the dark tunnel, the only illumination coming from his lightstone. ¡°What¡¯s the direction of the mountains?¡± He asked her instead. Jinx pointed towards the south and it matched the way the tunnel was heading perfectly. ¡°I think this is it,¡± he told her. ¡°Where¡¯s the door?¡± Jinx queried unsure. ¡°Ah, who cares about a door? That¡¯s a fuckin¡¯ road, if I ever seen one,¡± Glen grunted and hearing the thud of someone landing on the stone floor, he turned and asked. ¡°Right Flix?¡± ¡°I think Garth found Quiceran¡¯s Road¡­ somehow,¡± the old Gish admitted and bringing another lightstone to bear on the darkness helped them see a few more details of the underground passageway. It was darn right impressive in size.
¡°You can¡¯t bring the carriages into the shaft Glen,¡± Jinx said, but Angrein disagreed. ¡°While this isn¡¯t the proper way to enter the tunnel,¡± he said. ¡°You just need a ramp and making the opening larger to allow for carts and animals to join us.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the right way?¡± Jinx asked him, but Glen was thinking more on the latter part of his answer. ¡°Kalac, can we cut down some of the trees around the opening?¡± ¡°We can,¡± the Horselord replied. ¡°Use the animals to bring them here. It¡¯s some distance though. It can¡¯t be done in a day.¡± ¡°The clearing is that big?¡± Glen asked. He hadn¡¯t gotten on the surface yet citing an inability to use the ropes and a fear that he¡¯ll worsen his injuries. It wasn¡¯t a good excuse, but everyone was too excited with his finding to question it. They had created a small camp instead inside the tunnel and a bigger one on the surface. Their conversation was under the light of several torches as the lightstones Flix had were few in number and not all of them produced the same illumination. ¡°It is. Never seen anything like it in my life,¡± Kalac replied. ¡°It¡¯s like a lighting strike fell, but there is no sign of a fire,¡± Metu added expanding on the matter and Glen eyed him not pleased with discussing it in detail. ¡°Thank you Metu, see to our dinner while we deliberate on our options,¡± he told him and the slave bowed and walked away, only to return a moment later. ¡°Master Garth, I can¡¯t climb up the ropes. I need someone from the surface to pull me up,¡± he said sadly. Glen couldn¡¯t call him out on the obvious lie, since he¡¯d used the same excuse as previously mentioned to avoid the scrutiny over his sudden rather-ghoulish appearance. ¡°There are plenty of biscuits in Soren¡¯s carriage,¡± Jinx told him. ¡°Give them a shout to drop a sack through the hole. I doubt anything can damage them.¡± ¡°The Wyvern ate all the biscuits Lady Jinx,¡± Metu reported. ¡°What? Ye should have stopped him!¡± Jinx hissed. ¡°Why the hell didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Feared for my life, Lady Jinx,¡± Metu replied honestly and Jinx had nothing after that. ¡°There it is then, no biscuits,¡± Glen said to move the conversation towards a more productive topic. ¡°How long to create a proper entrance at this spot Angrein?¡± ¡°A permanent one isn¡¯t feasible without workers and material. Given the location, you¡¯ll need to create an honest road towards Jadefort. There is wood aplenty though and that can solve you a number of problems. A ramp can be built in a week.¡± ¡°That seems like a long time,¡± Glen noted, grimacing as the stiches on his injured arm were hurting again. He¡¯d another set of stiches in the middle of his forehead that still leaked a bit. ¡°That¡¯s the minimum time needed given the manpower we have. If we all work together hard,¡± Glen didn¡¯t like the way the conversation was going at all and his grimace turned into a scowl. ¡°I believe we¡¯ll have the ramp and the wooden cover above it done in that time. Ten days at the most.¡± ¡°What cover?¡± The Imperial Blacksmith stared at him a little surprised. ¡°You¡¯ll need to cover the whole entrance and dam most of this area to keep mud and the jungle away from the tunnel. Else in the next rain all this material will pour inside and seal it shut again.¡± Glen smacked his lips not expecting the amount of work needed. ¡°You need to heal that arm Garth,¡± Flix said. ¡°If it takes two weeks or three, it¡¯s also better to have the entrance left open and operational. The tunnel might not be accessible a kilometer in and we need it open to get out.¡± ¡°How do you know it goes that far?¡± Glen asked him. ¡°That¡¯s how far the mountain¡¯s base is from here. I should have said at least,¡± Flix replied and got his pipe out. ¡°I suggest we rest now and tomorrow start working.¡±If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°If we have time,¡± Kalac suggested after Flix walked away towards the small cots the Gish had put down near the wall of the tunnel. ¡°I could sent a rider back and bring the workers from Jadefort here. We were using them to repair the walls, but this seems more important.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be a month to get here again though,¡± Glen argued. ¡°You could go ahead with your mission, while the workers finish up the entrance. I suggest mudbricks, they work well at the fort,¡± Kalac insisted. ¡°You seem very eager to help Kalac,¡± Glen said looking at him. ¡°It might not be easy where we are heading.¡± Kalac nodded in agreement. ¡°As you¡¯ve said Garth. Jadefort is a poor place to settle and I¡¯ve been there for a long time. The lake doesn¡¯t agree with me.¡±
Jinx and Flix were relaxing on their cots with Alix nowhere to be found since he¡¯d come down the rope an hour before dark. Both Gish were smoking Redleaf and appeared quite pleased with themselves. ¡°Whisper is that my pipe?¡± Glen asked kneeling next to them. ¡°Why?¡± She asked opening a foggy eye. ¡°Where did you get it?¡± Glen rustled not falling for her shenanigans. ¡°I found it,¡± Jinx replied, leaving it vague as if he would fall for that. ¡°Whisper you shouldn¡¯t take my stuff,¡± he admonished her. ¡°Flix will give you another one,¡± she blurted out. ¡°Is that so?¡± Glen asked raising a brow. He shouldn¡¯t have done it as his wound started aching again. Fuck. ¡°Angrein volunteered to make me a new one,¡± Flix said casually. ¡°So you can have my old one.¡± Glen narrowed his eyes, another very hurtful expression given his condition. What is this shite? He complained inwardly, turning to the old Gish. ¡°How about, I get the new one and ye keep the one you had?¡± Seeing Jinx opening her mouth to argue, he added. ¡°And ye keep the one you¡¯ve stolen?¡± ¡°I found it on the ground!¡± Jinx argued. ¡°You had it lost, never to use it again.¡± ¡°Whisper hand me the pipe for a moment,¡± Glen told her with a grin. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll smoke it for a bit to numb myself to the pain,¡± Glen explained. ¡°What¡¯s in it for me, hmm?¡± She haggled shamelessly. ¡°You won¡¯t get punched on the nostrils,¡± Glen retorted dead serious and Jinx handed him the pipe without further argument.
¡°Get up.¡± Glen opened his eyes and stared at the grumpy face of Fikumin, the dwarf¡¯s expression sour. ¡°The fuck do you want dwarf?¡± He grunted, the tunnel full of shadows despite the still lit torches near the collapsed roof. ¡°You know darn well Garth,¡± Fikumin spat. Glen got up, his back hurting from his drop, too much riding in the last couple of weeks and the stone wall he¡¯d found to rest on. ¡°Care to elucidate Fikumin?¡± Glen rustled. ¡°You¡¯ve used the dagger again.¡± ¡°I was almost killed by a gigantic pumpkin.¡± ¡°People could have died damn you,¡± Fikumin hissed. ¡°What was the spell?¡± ¡°I have no idea,¡± Glen replied. ¡°But the pumpkin went poof. No one died.¡± ¡°Are you insane?¡± Fikumin argued. ¡°The jungle is full of carcasses! Nothing is left living, even the trees look diseased Garth!¡± ¡°They¡¯ll get better,¡± Glen replied and grimaced his arm hurting. ¡°If it¡¯s any consolation, it did it on its own.¡± ¡°That¡¯s even scarier,¡± Fikumin said frowning some more. ¡°Listen friend,¡± Glen said warningly. ¡°I was in a bind and it got me out. You should be happy for me.¡± ¡°What happens if it kills one of our people?¡± ¡°It won¡¯t. I told you I know how to use it,¡± Glen said, although he didn¡¯t. ¡°We found the road, you should rejoice dwarf.¡± ¡°You look like a corpse Garth,¡± Fikumin retorted. ¡°Next time it might kill you, so think on that.¡± ¡°It won¡¯t,¡± Glen sighed. ¡°The dagger works for me.¡± ¡°The dagger does perhaps,¡± he agreed. ¡°But Magic serves no man, or woman. And punishes those that stray too far from the right path.¡± Wow, that sounds like the ¡®don¡¯t steal because you¡¯ll get punished¡¯ speech the butcher had given me when I was six. Glen had stolen plenty of stuff after that and while he¡¯d gotten his share of kicks and punches to the face, there he was still kicking and punching back. Glen smacked his lips. ¡°Did ye learn that in dwarf school?¡± ¡°Ask your Gish,¡± Fikumin replied. ¡°Oh wait, he didn¡¯t bat an eyelash at the mayhem.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Glen asked him narrowing his eyes. Fikumin looked about them. The others were sleeping across the wide underground road. Not the two Gish of course. The dwarf grimaced and pushed his wild hair off his face using his stubby hands. ¡°I need a fuckin¡¯ drink,¡± he said finally. ¡°And you need to open your eyes. Not everyone doing your bidding is here out of the goodness of their heart, or voluntarily.¡± ¡°Angrein is,¡± Glen said testing him. The dwarf¡¯s words while paranoid, had given him pause. ¡°There were three privileged castes in Imperial society. The Elderborns, or Elderbloods.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the difference?¡± ¡°An Elderblood isn¡¯t always an Elderborn,¡± Fikumin replied. Right. That¡¯s some bullshit weird rule, Glen thought. ¡°What are the others?¡± ¡°The Favored. Old bloodlines that had gained their position through merit. Usually Warrior classes, or Hunters and finally the Artificers. Blacksmiths, architects, bards¡ª¡± ¡°Bards?¡± ¡°There¡¯s power in a song Garth.¡± ¡°What about the rest of the people?¡± Glen asked. ¡°They were above humans, barely above the Folk, but they were standing afar from the upper castes. Some were outright tossed out and others never came out of the woods.¡± ¡°That sounds lovely,¡± Glen commented. ¡°Sort of how we do things as a matter of fact.¡± ¡°Humans don¡¯t keep slaves Garth.¡± ¡°Cofols do,¡± Glen argued. ¡°It¡¯s an Imperial custom,¡± Fikumin grunted. ¡°So what is your point dwarf? Angrein was a slave,¡± Glen said. ¡°Was Garth. Then he became an Imperial Blacksmith. Flix as well,¡± Fikumin explained and turned his head to glare at the old Gish that had sneakily approached them and was listening in to their conversation. ¡°Master Fikumin is correct Garth,¡± Flix said with a small grin. His face showing its age when he didn¡¯t use makeup. ¡°We are Imperials. The rewarded former slaves are even more fanatics is what you are saying, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°You¡¯re an assassin Gish,¡± Fikumin said. ¡°Who do you work for?¡± ¡°I want Garth to reach his destination,¡± Flix replied dodging per usual. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Why do you want to avenge your loved one? Find the Aken that did it and kill it dead?¡± Flix asked him and Fikumin grinded his teeth so hard, Glen could hear him from a meter away. ¡°I vowed to do it Gish!¡± ¡°As have I,¡± Flix replied simply. ¡°Everyone has his mission Dwarf.¡± Well, that answers a couple of questions I had since Rida. Glen sighed and stared at his boots. The right one was pretty gone, torn in two places from the plant. He¡¯d have to find new ones soon, or fix them somehow. Metu seems like the kind of guy that loves repairing footwear, he thought. ¡°So, now that¡¯s out of yer chests, can we be friends?¡± He asked the short creatures. Flix shrugged his shoulders and Fikumin groaned in frustration. ¡°Fiku, he has a mission. I bet it was Nym that gave it to him,¡± Flix almost got drown in his own spit at his words. ¡°He wants to help me reach Wetull. That¡¯s not unhelpful to my cause. Right Flix?¡± ¡°Right Mister Garth,¡± Flix replied with a chuckle. ¡°Just Garth will suffice,¡± Glen deadpanned and yawned hard, his forehead hurting at the abuse. ¡°Fuck, I barely got a couple of hours of sleep,¡± he added and glanced at his companions. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to help ye lads build the ramp in my condition.¡± Even Fikumin cracked a smile at his words. Which come to think of it was a bit strange, since Glen wasn¡¯t jesting.
The work on the ramp turned into a proper project under Angrein¡¯s direction. A short-term one was constructed initially out of timber cut from the jungle. It wasn¡¯t an easy job and it lasted well over two weeks, which disappointed Angrein, but helped our group come a bit closer and learn each other. The sturdy cover over the enlarged entrance to the tunnel was a different thing completely though, but late on the third week workers reached our position from Jadefort. Garth promised them a hefty reward with coin he didn¡¯t have at hand at the time, if they helped built whatever Angrein had come up with. We wouldn¡¯t get to see the finished entrance to the underground tunnel for quite some time but it was impressive, this must be stated here. As Garth would describe it much later. ¡®A plaguin¡¯ barbican in the middle of the fuckin¡¯ jungle!¡¯ The better part of it being he didn¡¯t get to pay them any coin at all, but just exchange land for it. Which was of course in his mind an even better deal.
Outlaw neighed and shook his head irritated from the fumes of the torches. They had made as many of them as they could and had taken them along for the journey. The seemingly straight underground passage continued for more than a kilometer and unsurprisingly ended at the base of a mountain. One of the many interconnected rock giants people called the Pale Mountains. The rock barring their way a dark grey, almost black, basalt. Cut perfectly straight and polished, but at a large area in the middle where mold had covered the surface, along with rust. It shined a dark red in the light of the torches. At ten meters wide and more than three in height the rock barrier was massive. ¡°Well that sucks arse,¡± Glen commented and walked towards the substantial wall of rock that marked the end of the tunnel. ¡°What do you make of it Fikumin?¡± ¡°That¡¯s hard rock to cut through,¡± the dwarf replied thoughtfully. ¡°Quite lovely actually.¡± ¡°Ye think?¡± Glen asked, not really eager to start digging through stone, despite his arm feeling better. He had taken one of Flix¡¯s expired elixirs that may or may not help in your recovery, according to the old Gish. It tasted like yesterday¡¯s dog piss and it numbed your teeth going down, but it had closed the wound. Glen had also gained some of his color back, though he had lost some mass. ¡°It can be done,¡± the dwarf replied. ¡°Ayup,¡± Soren agreed with a big smile, always eager to swing large tools at things. ¡°Alix?¡± Glen asked, going for the less eager to practice hard labor member of their group. Other than him and Metu that is. ¡°Ah, there¡¯s no door,¡± he said sounding disappointed. ¡°Well, we didn¡¯t expect to find one,¡± Glen corrected him. ¡°Perhaps it was a metaphor?¡± ¡°An unfinished second entrance?¡± Kalac chanced tapping at the rock¡¯s surface with his bronze hand. ¡°That would suck even more,¡± Glen said with a sigh and noticed Jinx sniffing at the fungus. ¡°What in Oras Hells are ye doing?¡± He snapped and she hissed annoyed. ¡°There¡¯s rust here,¡± Jinx replied, as if she knew what she was talking about. ¡°Yer point being?¡± Glen asked and approached. The Gish had Valwarin¡¯s pendant out and was looking at it perplexed. The pendant a simple iron ankh-like shape, like the one the Priests of Uher used, the chain going through the small loop at one end. Pretty underwhelming as far as pendants go. ¡°All doors have hinges,¡± Jinx said and both Glen, Alix and Angrein perked up at her words. Hinges rust. ¡°Clear the mold,¡± Angrein said and started scraping it away with a hammer like tool. Flix gave him a knife and the man took it. ¡°The more people go at it, the faster we¡¯ll know,¡± he explained and everyone went to help clear the massive wall of rock with their daggers. Glen stood back to supervise the effort and glancing sideways spotted Metu next to him. The slave returned his stare guiltily and asked with a small voice. ¡°Would master Garth favor a cup of wine?¡± ¡°We have some left?¡± Glen asked curious. ¡°I kept a bottle,¡± Metu replied, keeping his voice low. ¡°Ah, good man,¡± Glen said with a big grin. ¡°I¡¯d love a cup. All this walking and breathing fumes has dried up my throat something fierce.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll get on it Master Garth,¡± a relieved Metu replied with a bow. ¡°Bring a chair from the carriage,¡± Glen instructed him. ¡°This might take a while.¡±
197. The Beasts are restless
Anfalon, of Orloriel The Beasts are restless
Light changed into many different hues and colors as it came up behind the Goddess Wall. It screened itself using the thick mist at its highest peaks and turned into an almost silvery-white. The light became a bright orange next when it touched the thick jungle surrounding the Hfrial Depths and transformed the lake¡¯s waters into a sinister but beautiful cerulean, a frothing milky white where they poured into Merodras branches. Anfalon stopped and looked towards Nenderu¡¯s Lookout, the tall peak directly northwest lost inside the clouds as always. He checked on the lake¡¯s banks next over his right shoulder and caught a glimpse of the dangerous bubbling waters behind the lush vegetation. Dangerous because they could eat your flesh from the inside, if you were foolish enough to taste them. The sight of the lake wasn¡¯t what had made him stop though. The culprit was a branch snapping over his head. It brought the Imperial Hoplite¡¯s energetic trot to a stop. The damage had disturbed the ancient tree and the jungle had responded with a swishing sound. Birds flew away chirping panicked warnings, white-headed monkeys hooted and the leaves sang disturbed. ¡°Phinariel,¡± he groused and tipped the helmet off his face. ¡°What are you doing child?¡± ¡°Following you?¡± The young Zilan said after a moment of silence, interrupted by the sounds of the jungle and the buzzing of the lake near them. ¡°Jumping from branch to branch,¡± Anfalon noted with a grimace. ¡°Yea, I was bored running after you.¡± ¡°We are traveling towards your community.¡± ¡°Tis a village and you haven¡¯t said a word in two days!¡± Phinariel protested and started climbing down from the tall tree, her small feet finding purchase skillfully using her toes. ¡°We are traveling,¡± Anfalon repeated, thinking she hadn¡¯t heard him the first time. Phina jumped down lithely and approached him. ¡°People talk, is what I meant.¡± This is very time-consuming, he thought. What was it she wanted to say? ¡°Speak clearly Phinariel, you are not making any sense.¡± ¡°Ahm, forget about it. What is it?¡± She asked seeing him narrowing his eyes and tensing up. The woods are still uneasy. ¡°How far to your village?¡± ¡°It¡¯s at the crook of the mountains, under the tallest peak.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not,¡± Anfalon corrected her. ¡°Not the tallest. Its name is Nenderu¡¯s Lookout.¡± Phina stared at him with large green-silver eyes impressed. ¡°The peak has a name?¡± ¡°All peaks do. All things have, like you.¡± ¡°What about the lake?¡± ¡°The Hfrial Depths,¡± Anfalon explained. Phina chuckled, her face lighting up. ¡°What about¡­¡± ¡°Phinariel you said a lion attacked your village,¡± Anfalon interrupted her enthusiastic interrogation. ¡°A two headed one.¡± ¡°Why two heads and not two lions?¡± ¡°People saw it.¡± Hmm. ¡°They have seen the lion?¡± ¡°Its shadow. It hunts at night,¡± Phina replied. No. They usually don¡¯t. Anfalon gazed at the uneasy thick jungle in silence for a moment, then at the distant tall peak and finally the noisy lake¡¯s waters. ¡°Keep near,¡± he advised the frowning Zilan teen and resumed his march towards her village. Phina was heard babbling as she run after him. ¡°Whoa, wait! I thought we were gonna talk some more!¡±
The jungle gave way to a more rocky terrain near the base of the mountain range, but the village was built right at that limit just before its slopes and at walking distance from the woods. A series of cone shaped huts out of mudbricks from clay dug from the lake¡¯s banks soft soil and bamboo roofs. As everything built from the Zilan the village had grown in a semicircle, or half-wheel, the rows of huts growing in lines similar to its spokes. Though the similarities ended there. Anfalon counted at least a hundred huts standing at the edge of the jungle. The lake wasn¡¯t visible from that spot, but one could see the rich shrubbery and the bamboo forest hugging it from its west side. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of huts,¡± he commented thoroughly surprised. ¡°Why built so close to each other?¡± ¡°Protection? Company? Why not?¡± Phina replied with a series of queries. ¡°That¡¯s not how it is done.¡± ¡°Done where?¡± ¡°In the Empire, where else?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve seen the ruins,¡± she said thoughtfully. ¡°Who needs so much space?¡± People that like palaces and space. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have built here,¡± Anfalon said instead. ¡°Not again with the Imperial land stuff Anfalon,¡± Phina protested. ¡°It¡¯s between the mountain and the lake,¡± he explained. ¡°A busy place.¡± ¡°We picked the place to have more options for food,¡± she argued. Anfalon nodded, while listening to the sounds of the jungle. ¡°All creatures have the same needs Phinariel and mostly the same ideas.¡±
The rather short in height Zilan recoiled seeing the armoured Hoplite getting out of the jungle and raised a long staff he carried defensively. Given the short distance and the apparent lack of skill Anfalon could have skewered him with the spear in a second. Perhaps two. He had the weapon slotted on his back under his shield. ¡°That¡¯s Sylvar, our Elder,¡± Phina said quickly and run in front him, blocking his attack options. Anfalon paused and reached for his sword. ¡°Sylvar this is Anfalon. The Warrior.¡± Sylvar¡¯s hands started shaking. He was young, for an Elder. ¡°Phina what did you do girl?¡± The village ¡®elder¡¯ croaked. ¡°He¡¯s a friend,¡± she explained and looked at him nervously. ¡°Here to help.¡± ¡°Help?¡± Sylvar muttered and another Zilan approached him, a female. Also young, her body fit under the custom garbs made out of hide and her eyes sparkling a brilliant silvery-blue. She had a long knife in her hands, of Imperial design. ¡°You¡¯re here to help us Warrior?¡± She asked, not hiding her fear in the song or her interest. The latter shockingly blatant and unvarnished. ¡°This is Lym. My friend,¡± Phina elucidated with a broad grin introducing her. ¡°Ahm, Lymsiel, of the¡­ woods. She¡¯s a healer. Mostly single.¡± ¡°Of the woods?¡± Anfalon grumbled. ¡°She¡¯s jesting,¡± Lymsiel explained blushing, her long light blue hair gathered at the top of her head in an elaborate bun. ¡°About the name? Or the profession?¡± Lymsiel grinned nervously. ¡°The mostly part. It¡¯s fully single the truth of it.¡± ¡°You would discuss your prospects in the open?¡± Anfalon admonished her. Lymsiel¡¯s face fell. ¡°She brought it¡ª¡± ¡°Silence!¡± Anfalon stopped her, stunned at the girl¡¯s attempt to shift the blame elsewhere. He turned on the looking freaked-out Sylvar. ¡°You, Elder of this community,¡± he started and walked towards him. Sylvar backed away immediately ogling his eyes. ¡°Phinariel informed me of an attack.¡± ¡°There was another one,¡± Sylvar blurted out, shivers running through him. ¡°Another¡­ what is this?¡± Anfalon queried seeing him on the point of collapse. ¡°Are you ill?¡± ¡°Alas, I¡¯m fearful Warrior,¡± Sylvar explained his teeth rattling. ¡°There¡¯s nothing to be fearful about!¡± ¡°He means you¡¯re terrifying,¡± Phina explained. ¡°It happened to me too, until I got used to your character. All is well Sylvar, he¡¯s here to help.¡± Anfalon blinked and removed his helm. ¡°I will not harm you¡­ unlawful citizen. Not for trespassing. Now if there¡¯s something else¡ª¡± ¡°Hey, you¡¯re doing it again!¡± Phina interrupted him. He gave her a warning glare and Lymsiel turned a deep red losing control of her song completely. Anfalon sighed and turned to her. ¡°Apologies for arousing you,¡± he told her earnestly. ¡°Young Phinariel riles me too much at times.¡± ¡°All is well,¡± Lymsiel droned repeating Phina¡¯s words. ¡°I don¡¯t mind it all.¡± ¡°Thou should,¡± Anfalon admonished her. ¡°It¡¯s unseemly for a commoner to flirt with one of the Favored. I find your lack of decorum disconcerting.¡± Phina broke the awkward silence a moment later. ¡°Sylvar who else got attacked?¡± She asked sounding worried. ¡°Itham,¡± he replied looking slightly better now. ¡°He was killed this morning.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s his body?¡± Anfalon asked.
Almost fifty Zilan had gathered by the time they reached the place of the attack. They kept a fearful distance, but their interest was palpable. There wasn¡¯t a single proper ¡®Elder¡¯ in the large group. Sylvan being the oldest at a couple of centuries. Lymsiel for example wasn¡¯t in her hundredth year yet. It was insulting she held a profession at an age an imperial youngling would just start learning their class. Itham hadn¡¯t been much older than her. Whatever had killed him, had done it efficiently. Worked mostly on his face and torso, going through the ribs to reach the internal organs, mainly the lungs and heart. The cuts and marks mostly near the wounds and the broken bones. Made by the fangs of a big carnivore. ¡°He didn¡¯t fight back at all,¡± he thought aloud and Phina nodded. ¡°Was it the same with the others?¡± ¡°It was.¡± ¡°How many?¡±This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it ¡°That¡¯s the fifth murder.¡± Hmm. Anfalon stood up and looked about the place. The Jungle ended there, very near to the village, but on the side of the mountain. The trees not as thick at that spot, but tall enough with some of the trunks almost two meters wide and reaching thirty meters in height. He smacked his lips and watched the faces of the Zilan watching his every move. Not a warrior amongst them. Some decent prospects in the lot, still young and capable of learning hopefully. Why do you care? He asked himself. You are not recruiting for the Phalanx. Still one doesn¡¯t inhabit Imperial land and runs away from the responsibilities that come with it. You take something, you must give something back. ¡°Lymsiel,¡± he rustled and the comely Healer perked up flushed. ¡°Had he drunk water from the lake perchance?¡± She stood back surprised. ¡°We don¡¯t. It¡¯s foul. We gather water, or use the springs.¡± ¡°Where are the springs?¡± ¡°On the mountain.¡± ¡°Could he have eaten something else? A fruit, purple seeds?¡± ¡°No. We live in the forest, everyone knows what is good, or bad.¡± Anfalon sighed and stared at her face. She smiled warmly and he frowned not expecting it. The Hoplite cleared his throat and turned his eyes on the mangled and half eaten corpse of Itham. ¡°His liver is swollen and the veins black,¡± he explained to her, what a true Imperial Healer should have seen immediately. ¡°This man was poisoned.¡± Then eaten. There was a murmur from the ever increasing group of Zilan that had gathered to watch an Imperial Hoplite up close. Strays the lot of them, still Anfalon hadn¡¯t seen such a crowd in centuries and it affected him. ¡°What lion poisons its victims?¡± Someone asked, a young male. ¡°No lion did this,¡± Anfalon explained in a clear voice and loud enough so they could hear him. ¡°It was a lion with two heads,¡± Sylvar insisted. ¡°We¡¯ve seen it watching us from the trees.¡± ¡°No lion with two, or more, heads exists,¡± he explained. ¡°That can poison its prey. But there is a beast that does it. A number of them in fact.¡± Anfalon stared at the clear sky above them. The absence of clouds making it a rare such day for the season. A strange silence came over their spot of the woods, the crowd watching him alarmed and the animals opting to keep their heads down. Birds and crawlers. Predators and grass-eaters alike. Even insects stopped buzzing. What are you? Where did you come from? Such a sloppy kill. ¡°What beast?¡± Phina asked him and he grunted. ¡°Are the springs up the slopes?¡± Anfalon asked her instead. ¡°They are.¡± ¡°Take me there.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do it,¡± Lymsiel volunteered. ¡°Phina is too young.¡± ¡°You¡¯re young as well,¡± Anfalon rebuked her, but Lymsiel¡¯s eyes and song told him she wasn¡¯t. Much to his surprise, he found himself agreeing. ¡°It¡¯s better to wait for Maeriel to return,¡± Sylvar said interrupting their staring contest. ¡°What is she?¡± Anfalon asked. ¡°A Hunter, the best we have,¡± he explained. ¡°When will she be back?¡± ¡°Any day now,¡± Sylvar replied. Anfalon nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll check the springs in the meantime. I advise you to stay in the village.¡±
Anfalon washed his face and head with the clear water coming out of the crack on the rock and refilled his flask with it. He breathed a couple of times deeply and sat near the clean brook of water going down the slopes and into the earth. Further down Phinariel was talking with Lymsiel, their youthful voices surreal to his ears after so many years. The girls had really enjoyed the water. ¡°Why come here?¡± Lymsiel asked him getting up, the smile easy on her lips, those long legs and feminine figure reminiscent of the vacationing of yesteryears at the Eternal Springs in Goras, alongside painful to conjure saccharine lovers. None of them living now. ¡°Animals can¡¯t quench their thirst at the lake,¡± Anfalon replied, his voice hoarse. ¡°Beasts you said. Like what?¡± ¡°A Wyvern.¡± Lymsiel frowned and stared at Phinariel singing an old Imperial hymn. The Song of Dawn. Where have you learned it? He wondered, but Lymsiel interrupted his thoughts. ¡°No one has seen one. You can¡¯t mistake a wyvern for something else,¡± she said. ¡°How would you know if you haven¡¯t seen one afore?¡± ¡°Have you?¡± ¡°Many times,¡± Anfalon replied. ¡°Which one?¡± ¡°All of them.¡± ¡°You think that¡¯s a wyvern?¡± Lymsiel probed. ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡± But perhaps an assassin had more cards hidden up the sleeves. Secrets meticulously kept veiled in shadows. Hmm. There you are. Anfalon got up. Lymsiel¡¯s interest in him was obvious. He could feel it on his skin, touching the membranes on his brain. The lurking predator¡¯s interest mixed in with hers. The needs similar and so very different. Beasts and lovers. He reached for his helm and put it on, the familiar weight comforting. Anfalon got his spear out, famed Wraith¡¯s leaf-shaped blade gleaming in the afternoon¡¯s winter sun. Then he went for his shield. ¡°What is it?¡± Lymsiel whispered getting up. The fear changing her song, round breasts visible through her soaked vest and the skin on her neck almost pink. Anfalon walked slowly towards the still humming Phinariel, the young girl standing at the edge of the flat rock the springs flowed on. The stone near her slowly eaten away and the tiny canal running at a straight a line and then dropping for about four meters. The noise from the water a constant, covering all other sounds. Like sharp claws climbing up the rocky rise they had been relaxing on for almost an hour now. A paw grabbed the edge near the falling water, a lion¡¯s distorted head appeared next and then another, this one horned and resembling a hideous goat with a carnivore¡¯s mouth. The Chimera pulled herself over the lip of the small plateau, a head looking at the approaching Hoplite, the other at the unwary still humming girl. A young one, Anfalon thought and raised his shield as he charged the last couple of meters. Lymsiel screamed on his back, Phinariel¡¯s eyes opening wide in shock at the bull sized beast that had appeared so near her. The Chimera let out a menacing snarl and turned to attack the Hoplite. A mature beast would have just grabbed the girl and jumped off. Too many easy kills, too soon. Where did you come from? Why did you move? Anfalon got her below the goat¡¯s throat, the blade sinking in and then twisting as he¡¯d jerked his arm right and left. The beast growled, blood pouring out and then fell on him. Anfalon was shoved violently back almost three meters, hobnail boots scrapping at the stone, claws and jaws assaulting Umbas his named steel shield. He set both feet, pulled the spear out of the ghastly wound and heard the hissing sound, as the Chimera twisted its massive misshapen body away. Anfalon flinched his head to the side at the last moment, the viper¡¯s fangs missing his face, poison covering the front of his armour. With a grunt he let go of the spear and went for his sword. The long-shafted weapon clanged when it hit the hard ground and the monster jumped at him again trying to bring him down with pure strength and their difference in weight. Anfalon sidestepped in one breath, a claw landing on his shield with such brute force, his forearm almost snapped absorbing the impact and then slashed high with the Acharn in the same breath amputating one of the two beast¡¯s heads. Lymsiel grabbed the screaming Phinariel and pulled her away from them. The wounded Chimera, now missing the goat¡¯s head, retreated a couple of steps losing blood fast and her dark brown pelt turning rubicund down its front. Anfalon seeing his opportunity run the small distance after discarding his shield and sheathing his sword, rolled under a retaliating swipe, the claws on the beast the size of daggers, found his spear and turned just as the young Chimera stood on its hind legs dwarfing him and roared so loud his eardrums blew out. Anfalon used both his arms on this final lunging attack. The spear went through thick hide, flesh, bones and the beast¡¯s heart cutting its roar short. The Chimera went down with a desperate gurgling sound, the long viper fangs ripping out his left arm when it did and spraying poison everywhere. Ah, goddess, Anfalon thought sourly seeing his skin turning black there.
¡°What does it taste like?¡± Lymsiel queried with a frown, looking at him as if he was already dead. ¡°It¡¯s a poison, to cancel a poison,¡± Anfalon explained with a grimace gulping down the contents of the vial and her eyes lit up. ¡°How do you make it?¡± She asked now very interested. He could barely feel his mouth, even his nails were hurting. Every nerve on his body on fire. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you another time,¡± Anfalon croaked and put a hand on a sniffling Phinariel¡¯s head. ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± she said between sobs. ¡°Got scared a bit is all.¡± ¡°Good. Now¡­ water,¡± Anfalon said, turning to Lymsiel. ¡°No I don¡¯t need more thanks,¡± Phina replied absentmindedly and he groaned in frustration. ¡°Healer. Bring me some more water,¡± Anfalon repeated and Lymsiel snapped out of her own reverie and run towards the springs. Their lack of even basic training is glaring, Anfalon decided and grinding his teeth got up and went to the dying Chimera, his sword in hand. It took him a coupled of tries to finish her off.
¡°What do you mean that was a young Chimera?¡± Phina asked him on the way back. This time Anfalon took his time, as he could barely walk. The antidote doing its job, but the beast had also given him a huge dosage and he couldn¡¯t just piss it away. He had glugged down enough water though to cross the Great Desert. ¡°What word you don¡¯t understand?¡± ¡°It looked pretty big to me.¡± ¡°No argument there, but it was a young one,¡± Anfalon said. ¡°What if it wasn¡¯t?¡± Phina asked very troubled. ¡°Then we¡¯d all be dead,¡± he replied. A long-bow carrying Zilan was waiting for them at the outskirts of the village. Lissome and appealing though hard-faced, clad in dark-green hard-leather Imperial Hunter¡¯s armour, her gold-rimmed silvery eyes turning a shade of copper when she saw the Chimera¡¯s severed heads Anfalon carried. ¡°Anfalon, of Orloriel,¡± she said and made a respectful curtsy. ¡°The tales were true.¡± Anfalon stopped and examined her face carefully. And there¡¯s your Elder, he thought. ¡°You have a name soldier?¡± ¡°Maeriel, of Nieleth,¡± she replied and pressed her lips together firmly. A scar on her chin reaching all the way down her throat. ¡°I didn¡¯t have the time to serve.¡± ¡°You brought the strays out of the jungle,¡± Anfalon noted and have a bow made out of whispering wood. ¡°I did.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Got tired of hunting alone,¡± Maeriel replied. ¡°Was that a Chimera? Nasty beast.¡± ¡°It is. Not anymore. Your people are safe.¡± ¡°They are your people too,¡± she pointed out with a smile. ¡°Else you wouldn¡¯t have changed your routine.¡± Anfalon stared at the Zilan getting out of their huts in droves and then at the two girls. Hmm. ¡°Are you going to stay Anfalon?¡± Maeriel asked him and he sighed.
The night found him watching the fire outside Maeriel¡¯s hut burning in the pit. He was still hurting, but less so. The weather was holding, the night sky clear and the moons illuminating the dark a plenty. The Zilan of Phina¡¯s village were dancing and singing around similar fires, but for the two older ones. Maeriel was well in her fourth century, but was still much younger than Anfalon. Faelar¡¯s pupil for a while which was darn right impressive. ¡°Why did you leave Sylvar in charge?¡± He asked her. ¡°I¡¯m their best hunter, also a ranger¡­ whatever one may call it,¡± she replied. ¡°Not a leader, or a politician.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a village. How much politics is involved in its running?¡± ¡°Anything above ten people needs a different type of skill than what I possess.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s the rest of your squad?¡± Anfalon asked. ¡°Some died those first days, others left never to return. Where¡¯s yours?¡± ¡°Buried hopefully,¡± Anfalon replied without hesitation. ¡°With the Queen of Queens.¡± Maeriel nodded and no one talked for a while. ¡°The Beasts are restless again,¡± Anfalon said finally. ¡°Something disturbed their nests up on the mountains.¡± ¡°What kind of beasts?¡± Maeriel probed, using a long stick to push the embers into the fire again. Anfalon thought of Nym, the assassin¡¯s spirit whispering in the shadows. ¡°All kinds. Men, women. Monsters,¡± he murmured. ¡°Why?¡± Anfalon shrugged his shoulders and they both turned to watch Lymsiel sing alongside Phinariel at the end of their third retelling of how the Hoplite slayed the Chimera. The song the same she was humming at the springs, and while it was an old hymn of the distant past, they had learned from a now blushing Maeriel, it wasn¡¯t old for Anfalon, nor was it distant for someone who was born in the First Era.
Sing O¡¯ Muse, so the past¡¯s greatest heroes be remembered,
The Zilan had sung by the fires with the fervor of the young and gullible.
Of the Towering Quiceran and Nuala, the Lissome Let thy tongue roll O¡¯ Goddess, so our heart¡¯s desire be tempered Of Ninthalor, the Brazen and the Insolent Baltoris Hum tenderly O¡¯ Garden¡¯s Mistress of splendor surrendered, Of Moon¡¯s sacred daughter thrice blessed and thrice cursed Let thy tongue whisper O¡¯ Divinity, allow a caress tenderly entered Of Master Elas, the Wise and the Great Anfalon, the Sentinel of the egress Still standing guard at your Realm
Anfalon grimaced, the memories more bitter for someone who knew those that had passed away with all their virtues and their faults. He looked again at the night sky over their heads to hide his sentiment for what was no more. Nesande¡¯s Moon creating a blue halo shining bright and full behind Oras Eye. The light illuminating the not so distant Pale Mountains and touching softly the Goddess¡¯ Wall, its drops and high rises. The basalt vertical slopes and the chasms horrors always inhabited, now stirring disturbed. Ah, curse you. Maeriel turned hearing him gasp and seeing his expression casted the Long Eye to perceive what the Imperial Hoplite was observing dumbfounded. She searched the tall peaks one after the other, her well-trained eyes ever moving to the east and there coming down from the towering Ovinet¡¯s Nest, Maeriel saw it. Black as Oras heart. You can¡¯t mistake a Wyvern for something else, young Lymsiel had said to him earlier that day and the healer was right. Guard the Gates Great Anfalon and never lose faith, the Queen had told him two hundred years before that. For after me, there will be another. And the Queen was right as well. 198. Five days in the mountain’s bowels
Glen Mister Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Five days in the mountain¡¯s bowels
Eelco Flucht turned his head and eyed him determined, face ruined and half-healed, one eye milky the other gleaming under the lightstone lamps luminance. Ah, curse the gods, he thought and glared at Henk De Weer, the young captain, all bones and skin clenching his teeth so hard, he could see them even with the mouth closed. Behind the men standing protectively near him, the Blood Raiders were hoofing it through the open gates, but for Theun Est Ravn, the Valkyrie¡¯s captain standing near the iron lever waiting for his order. He turned around and looked at Rikkert Klein¡¯s rearguard, swords and spears in hand blocking the way to the approaching horde. The sound reverberating inside the hollow underground cavern, reaching deep in the mountain¡¯s bowels and traveling towards the exit his men were crossing. ¡°REINUT!¡± Eelco growled seeing him hesitating. ¡°WE NEED TO GET OUT NOW!¡± ¡°Rikkert will do what¡¯s needed. Stop them dead,¡± Henk insisted, more to convince himself, as the sounds turned to thousands of legs clacking on stone, the weakened from the earthquakes walls collapsing and more chasms appearing in the dark corridors. Rikkert standing over a hundred meters away behind the row of men he¡¯d ordered to stand firm to buy them time, turned his head and looked at him a wild smile on his ebony face. ¡®Better to die free and on yer feet¡¯, he¡¯d told him seven years back before they¡¯d embarked on this crazy journey half a globe away. ¡®Than be turned into a slave. Flesh and bones, but no soul. Better to go wit eyes open and Uher¡¯s light warming your face.¡¯ He raised an arm still half turned, brilliant rings and a world of loot hanging from his neck. The large phial Flucht had given him shining like gold under the quartz roof, the light increasing and bouncing off of it, but not enough to illuminate every dark space. ¡°Make it shine brethren,¡± Reinut murmured and nodded to his devoted right hand man. He turned and followed Eelco and Henk out of the gates, his bodyguards running after him and Theun being the last pulling the lever entombing those that were left behind. The gates croaked like a beast covering the sounds of the approaching horde, chains clanking as they worked to slowly close the massive stone flaps and finally pulling them forward to seal the entrance completely. A young Blood Raider run to the seemingly flat wall and reached to open the bronze cap and get the key out. ¡°Valwarin,¡± Joris Van Oord barked seeing him. ¡°Leave it, we ain¡¯t coming back son! This whole cursed place is a bloody grave!¡± Aye, it is a grave, Reinut thought, a permanent scowl on his face. But also a way back in, however dangerous. You never know what our future holds. ¡°Get the key,¡± He ordered the young soldier and the ground shook at that moment, men losing their footing, others crying in fear the tunnel would collapse and burry them as well. It was almost like another massive earthquake had happened, but it was only Rikkert and his squad dying while taking the monsters with them.
Psst. Uh? Glen scrunched his mouth this way and that and tried to find a better spot on the chair. The former thief had managed to catch a couple of hours of shuteye while he waited for the rest of his group to finish clearing up the mouldy rock. Psst. What in Oras Hells? He opened an eye and saw a dirty palm blocking his sight. ¡°Whisper,¡± he hissed and slapped her hand away from his face. ¡°Girl you stink like a skunk.¡± ¡°Hey,¡± Jinx admonished him and gave Glen a good shove toppling him from his chair. Glen tumbled down almost bashing his head on the cobblestone and managed to save it at the last moment whirling his body into a roll. ¡°For fuck¡¯s sake Whisper!¡± He grunted and got up, his heart lodged to his throat from the scare and mess of hair covering his eyes. ¡°What¡¯s gotten into you?¡± ¡°Why, how about I just finished slaving away ye lazy cretin!¡± She snapped and glared at him. It funny but only because she was so short. ¡°And I want that bath more than you, despite you needing it more!¡± Whoa, she¡¯s slowly losing it, Glen decided. The journey doesn¡¯t agree with her. Soren approached them, each step sounding thunderous inside the underground tunnel. ¡°Wall¡¯s clean.¡± He reported. ¡°Now what?¡± ¡°Ahm,¡± Glen stared at the large group standing at the end of the tunnel. The many lit torches made the air rancid and difficult to breathe. ¡°Whisper you have that pendant?¡± ¡°Alix has it,¡± Jinx murmured. Glen turned to stare at her apologetically. ¡°Whisper I got surprised is all, you know I don¡¯t mean¡ª¡± She rolled her eyes exasperated. ¡°Abrakas take ye! You¡¯ll lie on top of it?¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t¡­ where¡¯s Alix?¡± Jinx puffed out and pointed with a thin finger. ¡°In front of Angrein. Gish are short and stinky.¡± Glen groaned and stared at her, but she just walked away. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t take it out on Pretty. Whatever yer problems are,¡± Soren advised him and Glen would have groaned even more frustrated, but Alix guffawed and stopped him. ¡°What is it?¡± Glen asked rushing towards them. Angrein gave him a look over his shoulder. ¡°Master Alix found a hole,¡± He rustled. ¡°A keyhole?¡± Glen chanced. ¡°Just a hole. A square one.¡± Right. ¡°Alix move aside,¡± Glen said and went to stand next to the thief. ¡°I was going to insert my arm in here,¡± Alix explained. ¡°See if there¡¯s a lever or a spot to slot the pendant. Do you want to take over?¡± Glen stared at the ominous artificial dark gap. ¡°You go ahead now friend,¡± He yielded magnanimously. ¡°Bring it home.¡± Alix blinked unsure at the term and Glen grinned broadly to encourage him. ¡°Just pretend it¡¯s a fucking cunt!¡± Jinx snapped losing her patience. So Alix pushed his arm into the square hole and found a place to fit Valwarin¡¯s pendant in. The old ornament was both a key and a lever. Turning it produced a series of metallic sounds, hidden pulleys creaking and rusted chains clanking as they started working after centuries. It lasted for a couple of minutes and then stopped abruptly. ¡°Well,¡± Alix said frowning. ¡°That was underwhelming.¡± Glen puffed his cheeks out alike frog while everyone started giving their own opinion on what had happened. Looking sideways he caught Soren looking at the massive basalt obstacle. ¡°What do you think big guy?¡± He asked him absent better ideas. ¡°Zola used to say all doors open when unlatched, if I gave them a good shove,¡± Soren said. ¡°I don¡¯t see a door,¡± Glen pointed and Soren laughed finding it funny. ¡°I didn¡¯t see a latch, but that don¡¯t mean it isn¡¯t there,¡± The big Northman explained and started walking determined towards the massive boulder barring their way. He put a spade like hand on it, then the other. Hah, he may be right. ¡°What is he doing¡ª?¡± Jinx tried to say, but Glen stopped her with an impatient wave of his hand and rushed to help Soren. The Northman had started pushing hard, large muscles bulging and thick veins popping out. Glen added his effort on it and not a minute in he swung his head around, eyes gawking from the effort and blasted the crowd watching them idle. ¡°Put yer backs to it for cryin¡¯ out loud! Don¡¯t expect me to do all the plaguin¡¯ work!¡± What is this shite? Thank the Gods he wasn¡¯t actually paying them lazy fools.
Big Soren¡¯s crazy idea worked younglings. Ten of us managed to push the gates in and then like magic they pulled away and opened up to the sides. The mechanism working after who knows how many years. The tunnel continued inside the mountain. But the way was almost blocked.
Glen smacked his lips and eyed the debris that barred their way. Alix standing next to him cleared his throat and then used a comb to fix his pink hair, the line at the middle almost perfect. ¡°Yes Alix?¡± He grunted. ¡°This is going to take some work,¡± The Gish stated the obvious, offering no way around it. ¡°One wall is standing,¡± Angrein explained returning from the collapsed portion of this new and much bigger tunnel. ¡°There¡¯s glass mixed in the debris.¡± ¡°Ahm, can we clear it?¡± Glen asked. ¡°We can move the material back into the first tunnel using the carriages and the animals. It¡¯s a great advantage having them here.¡± ¡°What about the supplies?¡± ¡°We will unload the supplies first Garth,¡± Angrein explained. ¡°That was my meaning,¡± Glen retorted with a grimace. ¡°Better get on with it then. Metu!¡± ¡°Master Garth.¡± The slave replied calmly standing right behind him. Glen swung around and eyed him suspiciously. ¡°See we don¡¯t lose anything valuable.¡± He didn¡¯t much trusted Kalac¡¯s Horselords to keep their hands off his stuff. ¡°We move the rocks away?¡± Soren asked approaching, happier than he¡¯d been in days. ¡°It seems that way,¡± Glen replied. ¡°The sooner we start, the sooner we¡¯ll finish,¡± Soren said. ¡°It¡¯s like being back at Hellfort again right?¡± Glen hadn¡¯t enjoyed that part of their journey at all. The carrying rocks part that is. ¡°I¡¯ll get Fikumin.¡± He said and looked about them for the dwarf. ¡°We need his expertise for this.¡± ¡°Carrying rocks?¡± Soren asked. ¡°Not much skill is needed.¡± ¡°Not for that, but the cave part,¡± Glen explained. ¡°This was a cave once, before they turned it into whatever it is they did here.¡± ¡°How do you know?¡± Glen pointed at the part of the wall that was visible. ¡°That¡¯s mortar filling, shaped with tools.¡±
Two days later they had cleared a large part of the debris field. The new passage left enough room for a single carriage to pass and the tunnel seemed stable further inside. It was also massive in size, twice that of the one they had followed. Cut inside the mountain, probably over an existing cave deep into its bowels. Some parts of the ceiling high above their heads sparkling and covered in a strange quartz. ¡°Lightstones,¡± Fikumin explained. ¡°Where¡¯s the light?¡± Glen asked. ¡°They need to stay in light some, before they are worked on. I mean they need to absorb light in order to offer it back. These are inactive, raw,¡± the dwarf explained. ¡°This was a stone mine at some point. What we see, is what¡¯s left.¡± ¡°Can we extract it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s mostly dug out Garth already,¡± Fikumin explained. ¡°Only traces of it remain.¡± ¡°Hmm. Well, this is the roomiest mine shaft I¡¯ve ever seen,¡± Glen said who had glanced but not visited the mines but in the dwarf village. So it was the first one he¡¯d entered, but given the descriptions he¡¯d heard¡­ well, Glen expected something more claustrophobic. The ceiling was almost ten meters above their heads and the width at twice that. ¡°Zilan built like that,¡± Fikumin said simply. ¡°Why did it collapse?¡± ¡°We need to clear the rest of it to know for sure.¡± ¡°Seems like a waste of time,¡± Glen said and watched Angrein digging something out of the debris, Flix standing next to him nodding. ¡°What is it?¡± He asked them and walked towards them. ¡°A broken sword,¡± Angrein replied. ¡°What¡¯s special about it?¡± ¡°Nothing, it¡¯s a steel blade.¡± ¡°Someone died here,¡± Flix elucidated and Glen turned to stare into his aged face. ¡°How do you know?¡± ¡°He was still holding it,¡± Angrein replied and showed him the skeleton arm and fingers protruding out of the debris. The bones on it brittle and white. Good grief. ¡°An accident?¡± ¡°Not many laborers work with their blades drawn Garth,¡± Flix said. Ah. Had this been a shovel or a pickaxe it wouldn¡¯t offer any mystery. Glen scratched his forehead, the stiches there bothering him. ¡°So we¡­ ehm, how long ago did this happen?¡± Angrein shrugged his muscular shoulders. ¡°Decades, perhaps longer.¡±If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Fine then, whatever it was that had this poor soul spooked to an early grave, assuming the rocks smashed him by accident¡­¡± Glen started and then paused thinking about it. This was a fucking tunnel after all. ¡°We better keep our eyes open.¡± Flix frowned and stared at this strange boulevard under the mountain, dark and foreboding beyond the lights of their torches and ¡®working¡¯ lightstones. ¡°Stay close.¡± He said and Glen didn¡¯t like the old Gish¡¯s tone at all. He liked it even less when they encountered the first massive spider webs not even a kilometer in.
¡°Make camp,¡± Kalac decided, seeing Glen and Flix unwilling to continue. ¡°What is the matter?¡± ¡°Probably nothing,¡± Flix said. ¡°It must be something,¡± Kalac rustled. ¡°Glen, what is it?¡± Jinx asked him and he pressed his lips tight visibly uncomfortable. ¡°I don¡¯t like this.¡± Glen replied which was most of the truth. ¡°Eh, it¡¯s an old cave. Prettied up sure, but still a cave Glen,¡± Jinx explained as if he was a clueless kid mindful of the dark. ¡°So it has a couple of bugs inside¡­ so what?¡± ¡°Trust me, you¡¯ll regret those words Whisper, if I¡¯m right,¡± Glen warned ominously. ¡°Are ye trying to scare me?¡± Eh. Yes? ¡°If it was a mine, then it was cleared of dangers,¡± Fikumin told them, listening in to their exchange. ¡°See? Fiku agrees,¡± Jinx argued. ¡°Flix?¡± Glen looked for a second opinion. Third. The old Gish had gotten his pipe out. ¡°I suggest we make camp. Investigate the road up ahead.¡± ¡°The road ahead appears endless,¡± Kalac reminded him. ¡°It is not though,¡± Angrein countered. ¡°Because it¡¯s also a road,¡± Glen eyed the blacksmith. ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± ¡°Have you been here before?¡± ¡°The mines closed many centuries ago,¡± Angrein replied. ¡°Quiceran started building a road here at some point, but never finished it afore I left Wetull. Apparently he did later.¡± ¡°How do you know?¡± Glen asked him. ¡°Deciphered all that with a glance?¡± ¡°He started on the other side of the mountain,¡± Angrein said simply. ¡°While modest the gates we just went through was its end.¡± Luthos, I know ye want to fuck up things for me here. Don¡¯t. ¡°Make camp and rest the men,¡± Glen decided. ¡°We scout ahead, determine its safe first, then we move until we get tired.¡± ¡°Rinse and repeat?¡± Kalac asked with a smirk. ¡°Aye,¡± Glen replied. ¡°What in Abrakas black beak do you guys think we¡¯ll find?¡± Jinx asked with a grin. ¡°Big arse spiders?¡±
Kalac returned half an hour later, four of his men with him. ¡°Well?¡± Glen asked him nervously. ¡°Lots of netting on the walls, nothing untoward, but a couple of corpses,¡± the Horselords leader replied. ¡°Corpses?¡± ¡°Aye. About five hundred meters up ahead. The way is clear. That¡¯s the straightest tunnel ever. We should just ride it out.¡± ¡°Flix, Soren,¡± Glen said. ¡°We¡¯ll check the dead bodies.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll come along,¡± Jinx volunteered. ¡°Stay here.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°For fuck¡¯s sake Whisper, just do as yer told!¡± ¡°You are freaking me out Glen.¡± ¡°Why does she call you Glen?¡± Kalac asked curious. ¡°It¡¯s a family moniker. Rarely used now. We go way back.¡± Kalac raised his brows. ¡°With the Gish?¡± ¡°Show me the corpses¡¯ mister Kalac,¡± Glen snapped annoyed. Kalac grimaced and nodded. ¡°Follow us Garth,¡± he rustled emphatically.
The corpse reminded Glen of Lebesos. This man had also died a long time ago. ¡°Shite¡­¡± He cursed and looked right and left at the unseen walls. ¡°You checked at the edges?¡± ¡°For what?¡± ¡°Ever been to Lebesos Kalac?¡± Glen asked him and the Horselord stood back alarmed. ¡°Belec, Tarn, check the walls!¡± He ordered. Glen kneeled next to the mummified corpse in the meantime. The remnants of rusted chainmail were still visible, but no weapon. The dead man had his mouth open in a silent scream, most of his face skin melted away and the eye cavities empty and black. ¡°Cofol?¡± He asked a nervous Kalac. ¡°Issir, I think.¡± ¡°What does an Issir¡­? This can¡¯t be. Flix are these Reinut¡¯s men?¡± Glen asked the old Gish. ¡°It¡¯s possible.¡± Talk about an archaeological find at a nigh inopportune moment. ¡°Just straight stone walls Kalac,¡± Tarn reported. ¡°But it¡¯s difficult to tell, unless we clear them from all netting.¡± ¡°Evil spirits,¡± Kalac said looking at Glen. ¡°Arachne,¡± Glen replied and even talking about it freaked him out plenty. ¡°Burn their webs, use the fuckin¡¯ torches. Soren, can you hack this into pieces?¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± The Northman asked and reached for his axe. ¡°Aye,¡± Glen replied and unsheathed his sword. ¡°Eyes open friends. These motherfuckers are sneaky.¡± Soren walked to the corpse and raised his axe. Glen glanced right and then left, his eyes on the thick spider webs covering the walls. Tarn was using a torch to burn them away, another Horselord two meters from him doing the same further ahead. Soren downed his axe and chopped the corpse¡¯s head off, almost pulverizing its skull with a loud thud. The silence that followed and the general stillness of the large dark tunnel unnerved Glen. Fuck. The torch melted the webs clearing large parts of the walls, the shadows dancing and the caravan slowly approaching them, bringing more light and even more torches. Glen started walking after Tarn and the men removing the thick nettings, while Flix ordered the men to also help clear the walls behind him. ¡°Floor is cracked here,¡± Tarn reported and pointed with a hand. ¡°Where does it end Lerh?¡± Glen stooped to examine the foot long gap on the well preserved cobblestone. It almost reached its midpoint. ¡°Mind the carriages and the animals. Bring them on the left side of the path,¡± He warned the approaching caravan. ¡°It¡¯s deep.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Tarn asked, while his friend followed the crack to the west wall of the tunnel torch in hand. ¡°The collapse was too far away from this spot right?¡± ¡°It looks like an earthquake,¡± Tarn said. ¡°There¡¯s an opening here,¡± His friend reported. He¡¯d burned away the spider webs and revealed a meter long hidden chasm on the wall. It almost reached the ceiling. ¡°What the hells is that?¡± Kalac asked from across the underground road Quiceran had built. He was standing next to Belec, the horselord clearing the wall from that side. Glen turned to look at what he was pointing at and saw someone coming towards them. He appeared out of the dark like a wraith, but he was probably walking towards them for a while now. They just happened to spot him the moment he stepped into the more lighted area. Stumbling like a drunkard or as if he was injured. Of course he was neither. ¡°STOP HIM!¡± Glen barked, right eye swelling out of his socket. Flix who¡¯d seen the figure coming towards them, fired a bolt from atop the carriage he¡¯d just climbed up, in order to direct it away from the crack on the road. It smacked the walking corpse right at the top of its skull, blew a part of it away and exited out the back. ¡°What in Oras Hells?¡± Sam Mathews grunted not believing his eyes and Glen made to attack the charging corpse, but spotted the Horselord out of the corner of his eye going down holding his severed arm and stopped dead in his tracks. ¡°ARACHNE!¡± He bellowed, the hairs on his arms standing up. Tarn turned just as the huge insect soared out of the collapsed part of the wall and charged him. Thinking on his feet he hurled the torch on the two meters tall arachnoid and got it right at its chest setting it on fire. With an inhuman hiss it violently swirled away, long legs moving sideways, the screams and cries of shock coming from the caravan and horselords creating a pandemonium in the previously silent tunnel.
Glen went under the arms of the charging corpse, slashing its leg away below the knee and sending it sprawling down. It banged its half-destroyed skull on the hard cobblestone and cracked it open fully, decayed skin and bone splinters creating an amorphous mass where its head had been. Still it pushed itself up on a shaking leg and a stub. Then came at him again. Glen turned and hacked at it chopping an arm off, then the other, using no skill as if he wielded a cleaver, but the corpse kept at it. He kicked it on the chest next caving it in, almost losing his boot, but he sent it back down. Glen stepped on the flailing corpse¡¯s torso, bones cracking underneath him and stumbled away. Soren had managed to cleave the burning Arachne in half in the meantime. The two smoking pieces still moving, spreading bodily fluids and entrails everywhere. ¡°That¡¯s a very big bug!¡± Jinx yelled at him, eyes wide as saucers and climbed at the roof of the carriage. ¡°Are ye fuckin¡¯ kidding me? USE PROPER FUCKIN¡¯ WORDS NEXT TIME!¡± Glen puffed out exasperated and turning checked the corpse for signs of life. He didn¡¯t found any. ¡°Lerh is gone,¡± Tarn hissed through his teeth. ¡°That thing severed his spine.¡± ¡°Everyone find a torch and clear those walls, find me something to block this fucking opening!¡± Glen barked. This is a very big cave, he thought with a shiver.
¡°A nest?¡± He asked Flix and the frowning Gish put the silver pipe in his mouth and sucked at the thin tube deep. ¡°Seriously Flix? Is this the time?¡± ¡°I¡¯m trying to think Garth and regain my wits. I don¡¯t exactly like these hellish things as well,¡± Flix replied calmly, puffing smoke out of his nostrils. ¡°It didn¡¯t have time to call on the rest. Did it?¡± Everyone standing around them looked at each other unsure. ¡°What does a¡­ what does that thing sound like?¡± Someone asked from the back. ¡°It did¡­ made some sounds right?¡± Sam Mathews queried nervously in the attempt to remember. ¡°That was no talk,¡± Soren explained. ¡°It just made a popping sound when I cut it.¡± Uh. ¡°Let¡¯s assume it did call for help,¡± Glen said with a frown. ¡°We need to move either way,¡± Flix said. ¡°We¡¯ll know soon enough.¡± Fucking lovely. ¡°Glen?¡± Jinx asked him worried, still standing on the top of the carriage. ¡°When you say nest¡­?¡± ¡°Whisper, get the caravan going. We cordon the animals and move as a group. Everyone keep a torch at hand or stay near someone that carries one. We move fast, we don¡¯t rest.¡± And pray this fucking road isn¡¯t a long one.
Quiceran¡¯s road was a long one. Over forty kilometers long and kept almost straight for the majority of the way. The quartz patches over our heads shone the light back to us, the walls covered with webs and the remnants of over fifty skeletons decorating the road, especially close to the places where the earthquakes had created new corridors by collapsing. They had sprouted new tunnels, or had opened up older ones that met with the main artery of the former mines. It was from these abysses the Arachne came. In all sizes, from a large behemoth standing at over three meters to younglings the size of small cows.
Soren swung with his axe and chopped the long hairy front leg, foul fluids spraying out. A horselord got rushed by two more, Kalac killing one using his bronze hand like an improvised hammer when he lost his blade inside the monster¡¯s abdomen. The horselord next to him got paralyzed and the behemoth Arachne skewered his torso with both front legs, reached with its gigantic chelicerae and ate his face, before Glen could draw a single breath. Glen hacked with his sword at a hind leg cutting a foot of ceramic hard piece of ¡®spider hide¡¯ away, dodged the giant Arachne¡¯s retaliating attack and almost died to the next, Angrein¡¯s massive sledgehammer pulverizing the long front leg at the knuckle saving him at the last moment. Thank fucking Luthos. ¡°ARGH!¡± Glen cried out when the gigantic Arachne rushed him maddened at the brutal injury, all around them chaos unfolding with everyone fighting for their lives. Glen dodged the predator for the most part, but the part he didn¡¯t dodge connected with his shoulder, darn thing popping in and out when he landed on the cobblestone. Growling frenziedly he rolled away, the Arachne twisting around spectacularly fast and coming after him determined to finish the hysterical Glen off. Angrein intervened again, this second ferocious swing ripping, or melting, a part of the creature¡¯s bloated abdomen away, foul vicus pouring out. A snarling Glen got up, panic turning to fury, teeth clenched and eyes gawking, pumped full of adrenalin. And preternatural fear. There was plenty of that too mixing in. He made two quick determined strides and shoved Emerson¡¯s blade to the hilt between the towering creature¡¯s numerous black-red eyes. Glen lost the handle on it when the Arachne jerked away fatally injured and he stumbled back to avoid a death spasm from decapitating him, his boots slipping on purple and white ghastly entrails. Soren killed his third giant Arachne and the rest of their group managed to slowly hack away at the rest of them using every weapon and tool at their disposal, losing three animals and two more people.
Kalac wanted the men burned, but Glen got the bodies on their carriages and urged their group to push ahead. This time he allowed everyone to ride and sent a small scouting force ahead of their group. ¡°We¡¯ll move fast and hope the next horde doesn¡¯t come out until we get out.¡± ¡°What if there isn¡¯t a way out?¡± ¡°Then we do all this again, moving back towards our gates and then the ramp.¡± ¡°We should have closed those gates,¡± Flix murmured. ¡°Will they come out of the tunnel?¡± Glen asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know, there¡¯s something wrong with them. They seemed less smart?¡± The old Gish said. ¡°Starved to death,¡± Angrein replied. ¡°And leaderless. That big one was a male, an old one and given its size the female leader must have been the size of a house.¡± Oras Hells! ¡°What happened to the female then?¡± Glen asked and Angrein walked to the carriages surprisingly calm given all that had transpired and the struggle of marching for the whole day. Or two days, Glen had lost count. He came back with a large white piece, triangular in shape and curved at its longer pointy end. ¡°I found this back at the collapsed spot, near the entrance, or I guess the exit to Quiceran¡¯s Road.¡± He said and Flix approached to look at it up close. ¡°I kept it to see if I can work with the material. It¡¯s pretty rare.¡± Uh? ¡°What the fuck is it?¡± Glen asked with a grimace of pain and rubbing at his sore shoulder. Soren was hugging a disturbed Jinx to calm her down, with an injured Alix watching them with jealous red-rimmed eyes. ¡°A piece of a fang. A big one. But the Arachne it belonged to had died at the collapse I believe, if that is what it was.¡± ¡°What else could it be, other than an earthquake?¡± Glen asked unsure and Flix answered it for him. ¡°An explosion. It crippled the nest, killing its vanguard.¡± ¡°A volcano?¡± Glen chanced. ¡°A weapon,¡± Flix replied not making any sense at all. The poor old Gish is probably shook to his core from all this running around hunted by monsters in the dark, just like the rest of us, Glen thought and decided to cut Flix some slack. ¡°Aye,¡± Angrein agreed, picking up their conversation. ¡°Without their leader, a new female should have been picked to rule the nest from the remaining population, but then it¡¯s down to chance and randomness, much like in our Realm¡¯s politics, doesn¡¯t always favor the tribe.¡± ¡°Not all Arachnids are as big as houses?¡± Glen taunted him. ¡°Only the eldest reach that size. That male was part of the first colony,¡± Flix explained. ¡°In Lebesos both were males, the female chose not to engage.¡± ¡°Are there any more?¡± Glen asked stopping the lesson on the hellish creatures. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t sleep in here another day,¡± Angrein replied. ¡°We better leave and take the bigger carcasses with us.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Glen croaked. ¡°Deny them an easy source of food,¡± Flix elucidated on the blacksmith¡¯s words, adding just to put everything into the proper context. ¡°When they feed, they mate and when they mate, they lay eggs.¡± ¡°Enough!¡± Glen blasted him, goosebumps rattling his tired body. ¡°We¡¯ll take the plaquin¡¯ corpses wit us!¡± Good fuckin¡¯ grief!
There was another set of gates at the end of Quiceran¡¯s Road. Or the start of it. Much bigger in size, the large hall impressive and the ceiling lost in darkness high above our heads. The sound reverberated on its dark walls and the entrance itself was columned and made out of black granite. There was a lever on each side and if you pulled them at the same time the doors opened much like they did at the other end. Several men cried tears of joy smelling fresh air and seeing the sun¡¯s strong light entering the ancient tunnel again. Despite our fears the Arachne didn¡¯t make another appearance. As Angrein said, ¡®those that could still fight had made the attempt to save the nest.¡¯ By failing to wipe us out, the nest had died. Garth who had aged a year in the few days our journey inside the bowels of the mountain had lasted, declared the lush jungle and the flowing river easily spotted amidst the massive trees, ¡®A darn wonderful sight.¡¯ He was to remember his abhorrence for the Jungle and thick vegetation of all sorts early the next morning, when a huge chicken-like bird with beautiful yellow and blue plumage tried to eat him near the river banks. It was a funny incident for the most part, for the rest of us that is and it made for a fine meal. Angrein and Flix agreed the river barring our way was one of Merodras two branches. Garth, who had started his journey at Castalor almost two years back, had travelled half of known Eplas and reached Wetull in the second month of Winter 190 NC. He arrived a vagabond and a scoundrel and he was to leave years later a King. And an even bigger scoundrel. Fikumin Flintfoot Jarl of all the Folk First Servant of the Onyx Wyvern Foremost Shield, of the King beyond the Pale Mountains, Lord Garth Aniculo. - Chapter III (Epilogue) An Adventurer¡¯s Tale Circa 250 NC
199. The Surveyor
Glen Mister Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor The Surveyor
In the old days, All folk had their own gods Whether wit whispers or in dreams Spirits and demons kept them awed, either in passionate reverence or horror¡¯s screams Hence they gave prays Be it to Dark Places, the Wyverns or the Beasts of Odd _ Ancient Zilan lullaby Unknown date A disheveled Glen walked briskly to the edge of the river¡¯s banks and stared frustrated at the damp greenery. The cattails and tall reeds made it difficult for him to see where the water started. The insects buzzing enraged, their diversity ranging from the thumb sized mosquitos, to the fist-sized giant hornets that could take a punch or two, afore going down. ¡°Oi, look at that! Angrein says there was a bridge here,¡± Jinx said. She¡¯d followed him from their camp. The men had cleared the site around the entrance, located the old Imperial stone-paved road and then followed it towards the river. ¡°But since its rain season, it might have sunk under. I thought he was pulling at my tits.¡± Glen blinked at the misuse of the phrase. ¡°Do bridges sink Whisper?¡± He asked her in a coaching manner that was to disappear faster than spittle in the desert. ¡°My isles do. Uhm¡­¡± she replied and Glen glanced at her frustrated. It wasn¡¯t her fault though and he was sensible enough to admit it. Glen was still rattled after almost getting killed by that monstrous chicken, or whatever the hells a plaguing Ostrich is. I mean what in Luthos shaved n¡¯ shriveled balls! Darn meat hard as dry leather and tasting of bloody sulfur! ¡°So we clear the banks of reeds?¡± He asked her instead and stepped away from a root sneaking up on him. Because there is this fuckin¡¯ shite to worry about as well! ¡°Or wait for the road to point us in the right direction?¡± She argued much as Jinx habitually did. ¡°This might take a week,¡± Glen hissed. ¡°Where¡¯s the nearest city?¡± ¡°No cities left standing Glen,¡± Jinx said. ¡°And I don¡¯t think they know. Angrein had left the Empire before the catastrophe and Flix¡­ well, he¡¯s not really talking much.¡± ¡°Why is that?¡± Glen probed. Jinx shrugged her shoulders, looking at the hidden river longingly. ¡°He won¡¯t say.¡± Glen sighed. ¡°You know getting in there is dangerous right?¡± He told her. ¡°We¡¯ll find a proper spot with drinkable water and safe enough for ye to soak in it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m kinda disappointed,¡± she admitted. ¡°I expected more from this adventure.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not your fault,¡± Glen said, sounding like the late Captain Blackwood. ¡°Yes, we lost some people, but they knew the risks Whisper.¡± Glen surely didn¡¯t. ¡°Nobody knew anything Glen,¡± Jinx replied, pointing out the obvious, as if she was reading his mind. ¡°We thought it was going to be an escort mission.¡± Ah, Glen grimaced seeing her so troubled. ¡°It still is an escort mission,¡± he said to her small back, as she¡¯d turned away to return to their horses. Glen sighed deeply and went after her, but paused two strides in seeing out of the corner of his eye an Ostrich¡¯s ugly head popping out from behind the reeds. The bird blinked seeing him and lowered its head to hide again. That stupid thing is standing in the fuckin¡¯ river, Glen thought turning around. ¡°Glen?¡± Jinx queried from his back, seeing him walking back towards the river¡¯s bank again, sword in hand. The Ostrich head appeared again, large eyes ogling even more seeing him approach and letting out a honk-like cry turned around and hoofed it hard to escape. ¡°What the actual fuck?¡± Glen cursed running after it, hearing the two large hind legs pounding on the river¡¯s surface going away from him. He burst out of the reeds, bugs and mud-covered reeds smacking him in the face, boots stumbling on something and almost going down. Glen expected to find Merodras flowing angry and barring his way, bloated and deep. The river did in a sense. Glen also found that bridge, water going over it but still visible and saw that large Ostrich crossing it fast to reach the other side. ¡°Hah!¡± Glen guffawed after finding his footing and heard Jinx coming up behind him. ¡°Wow,¡± the Gish said simply. ¡°Get yer plaguing bow out Whisper,¡± Glen rustled breathing heavy, a boot stabbing down the ancient stonework to gauge its sturdiness. ¡°Kill that vicious beast for cryin¡¯ out loud!¡± Jinx started chuckling seeing his expression taking it as a jest and slapped his back a couple of times, until she realized the murderous look on his sickly face wasn¡¯t an act. ¡°It¡¯s harmless Glen,¡± she argued smiling nervously. ¡°It lays eggs like a chicken.¡± ¡°So does Biscuit apparently,¡± Glen retorted not convinced. ¡°I remember ye screamin¡¯ a-plenty the first time ye saw him!¡±
Glen stared at the caravan and the men gathered to check on the ancient flooded bridge. Kalac had twenty riders with him. He had more, but they¡¯ve lost four crossing the underground passage. Angrein, Metu, Fikumin, the three Gish and Soren. Sam Mathews sporting a bandaged arm and the two guards Ottis had provided and Glen knew from Rida made it another ten. Plus the three wagons. ¡°A carriage at a time,¡± Angrein told him. ¡°Animals and people follow.¡± ¡°What¡¯s over the river?¡± Glen asked him. ¡°The road to Goras,¡± the Blacksmith replied. ¡°But Goras is no more. This is a different place now Garth.¡± ¡°Was it safer back then?¡± ¡°Less trees, regulated fauna and clear roads.¡± Glen called bullshit on all three points. ¡°How much wildlife can we expect?¡± Glen asked him. ¡°We¡¯ve enough people and weapons,¡± Angrein said, skirting around the topic. ¡°Unless? Ye hesitated at the end,¡± Glen noticed. ¡°I¡¯ve been gone for a long time Garth.¡± Everyone else had the same idea apparently. Get away from this place. ¡°Flix?¡± ¡°If you want to reach Goras, you need to cross the bridge,¡± Flix replied. ¡°The old road follows the river on the other side and the coast next.¡± ¡°Why not go straight? Reach that place¡­¡± ¡°Hunter¡¯s Watch mount.¡± ¡°That.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not easy to cut away through the big trees. Imperial Zilan avoided it,¡± the old Gish explained. ¡°Plus the woods were always full of dangers.¡± ¡°And the tunnel wasn¡¯t?¡± ¡°The coastal road is easier to follow.¡± ¡°Is this you cautioning me not to cross the jungle and head straight there?¡± ¡°You need to find Wyvern¡¯s Mouth. It¡¯s a gulf and was a port at some point. You find that, you¡¯ll find Goras.¡± ¡°How big was it?¡± Glen asked. Goras was his meaning. Flix shrugged his shoulders. ¡°The size of Raoz,¡± he finally said and the men gasped hearing him. ¡°You mean Rida,¡± Glen corrected him. ¡°No,¡± Flix replied. ¡°I meant the Duchy.¡± For fuck¡¯s sake. ¡°Right,¡± he said, clearing his throat. ¡°Let¡¯s get this over with. Alix you go first friend. You seem like a lad that has crossed a tight bridge afore.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to have mister Soren accompany me or Lady Jinx,¡± Alix retorted. ¡°You may not,¡± Glen countered in an unyielding manner. ¡°I want yer expertise and undivided attention on this. Furthermore Soren is weighing a ton.¡± ¡°Haha!¡± Soren guffawed. ¡°I weigh more than him!¡± ¡°That¡¯s was his meaning doofus,¡± Jinx admonished him and Soren frowned deeply troubled. Alix groaned in frustration. ¡°What about the jungle?¡± Jinx asked him. ¡°I have an idea, but I¡¯ll need to think on it some more,¡± Glen replied.
Four hours later they had crossed Merodras, the last of the covered wagons going over slowly as they had to push it over. It had lost a wheel, after cracking its axle and they begrudgingly agreed it would be better to fix it after they have crossed and had access to the better timber on the other side of the big river. With night falling the work was postponed for the next morning as dragging the wagon across the muddy terrain had exhausted both men and animals. ¡°What kind of tree is this?¡± Glen asked standing under the first big trees of the thick jungle that started some distance from the river. ¡°It¡¯s a temple tree,¡± Flix explained. ¡°How tall is it?¡± He asked as the branches disappeared twenty meters over their heads. ¡°Can we use it to repair the wagon?¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t. It¡¯s lightweight wood, good for boats. The one next to it though is ironwood. Much harder than hardwood. Good for ship-building, or a wagon¡¯s axle.¡± ¡°Can we fell it with axes?¡± Glen asked. ¡°It¡¯s wood Garth,¡± Flix replied with a smile. ¡°Yes.¡± Wow, old Gish humor, he thought sourly. ¡°Hmm. There¡¯s no way we can get the carriages through this,¡± Glen said, after a moment of consideration. ¡°What is the alternative?¡± ¡°Send them down the coastal road,¡± Glen replied. ¡°But it will take them a while to circle back.¡± ¡°Sam Mathews can lead the caravan,¡± Flix agreed. ¡°Why not follow it?¡± ¡°This mist over the river leaves us little room to see what¡¯s up ahead,¡± Glen said and pointed at the visible mountain range. ¡°That¡¯s Hunter¡¯s Watch, that plateau will give us a fine view of the jungle and that Gulf.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll still have to cross it,¡± Flix argued. ¡°Can it be done?¡± ¡°A large enough group can do it, but half the Horselords need to follow the caravan. That¡¯s too many animals to bring into the jungle.¡± ¡°You expects us to walk?¡± Glen asked.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°And climb, I¡¯ve no idea if there¡¯s a road going to that plateau.¡± ¡°I¡¯m bringing a horse Gish.¡± ¡°Of course Garth.¡±
Glen walked to the edge of the jungle and stared at the dark canopy over him. Some of the trees massive in size, their trunks as big as houses. A score of people could hide behind one and you wouldn¡¯t know it. Or a big animal. He checked the sky for Biscuit, but the Wyvern hadn¡¯t appeared since they¡¯ve entered the tunnel. Can he cross over the mountains? Glen wondered. I mean flying gives him an advantage there. How fucking difficult could it be? ¡°Where are you buddy?¡± He asked and smacked his lips, the sounds coming from the trees disconcerting. They sounded liked cackles. A branch snapped and he turned around sending light on the pale-colored tree trunk and the small broken branch that had dropped from it. The wood at its core a coal black. Glen could see it, right where the branch had snapped. An ebony tree. Glen walked there, picked up the branch and then looked up trying to discern what had made it snap. He failed as no amount of light could penetrate the darkness. While not deep in the jungle, the moonlight didn¡¯t reach his spot. He stared at the black heart of the branch again, remembering Sen¡¯s love for the expensive hardwood. Glen crooked his mouth, missing his wife and turned to see a small monkey with a white head staring at him. Ooh-ooh, ah-ah, the monkey said making the most ridiculous of faces and turned its head back towards the jungle. ¡°Ahm,¡± Glen replied unsure. Ooh-ooh, the monkey insisted with a frown. Feeling silly Glen reached for his dagger. Ah-ah, the monkey warned him. ¡°He wants his branch back,¡± a female voice said, a singing quality to her Imperial. Glen froze and turned slowly towards the newcomer. Long-legged, her cobalt hair cut very short, elongated Zilan ears pointy at the end. She wore soft leather pants, same material boots and a silk tunic that reached her thighs. She carried a good quality black leather satchel, no weapons and her striking dark blue -with a touch of green- eyes smiled seeing Glen¡¯s scrutiny. Her face didn¡¯t have Lith¡¯s attractiveness, but it still had a fine quality about it, something rare and refined. Perhaps deceptively unthreatening. ¡°Who are you?¡± Glen asked her in common and she stepped gracefully into the open. ¡°I¡¯m Aenymriel,¡± the Zilan said switching in common, with a soft smile that kept her predator¡¯s teeth concealed. A very deliberate act. ¡°A surveyor.¡± ¡°Is that a job?¡± Glen asked taking a cautious step to the side. While he was fond of pretty Zilan, Glen was also conscious of the fact that they were ranging from unpredictable to right murderous. Cannibals even. Ooh-ooh! The monkey replied. Glen turned and tossed the small branch his way. The monkey caught it, gave it a thorough sniff and then dropped it. With a cackle he opened his small hands revealing small membranes underneath and jumping high on the trunk flew up the tree. Literally. ¡°Whoa,¡± Glen gasped and the Zilan laughed seeing his reaction. ¡°It¡¯s a flying monkey,¡± she explained and switched to Imperial again. ¡°You speak the Old Tongue.¡± Glen looked at her for a moment. ¡°Maybe I do. Maybe I also think curious Zilan popping out of the woodwork aren¡¯t to be trusted.¡± ¡°I was walking the woods,¡± she explained not insulted. ¡°In a sense, you¡¯re the one that popped out in front of me.¡± That was a dodge, Glen thought, but she didn¡¯t appear dangerous and he was fully armed. ¡°Name¡¯s Garth,¡± Glen said, impressed at her composure. ¡°The fires over there are my people. I¡¯m an explorer.¡± ¡°Looking for treasure?¡± She asked, not even bothering to look towards the caravan. ¡°Is there any treasure left?¡± Glen countered with a query. It didn¡¯t hurt to ask. ¡°Some, but most of it is gone, I fear,¡± Aenymriel replied not missing a beat, her eyes glowing in that strange shade of blue, another rarity. She isn¡¯t bad-looking at all, he thought. A pretty race if there ever was one. ¡°Then again, what isn¡¯t valuable to me, might be valuable to you Garth, or vice versa. Garth¡­ of what I wonder?¡± She teased. Glen smiled and shook his head. ¡°I knew there was a Zilan in there,¡± he told her and she raised a thin cobalt brow. ¡°You know of others?¡± She asked. ¡°I do. A number of them,¡± Glen replied. ¡°Come, let us share a cup of wine.¡± ¡°Is this a lewd suggestion?¡± The alluring Zilan asked. ¡°No, it¡¯s a casual expression and an offer,¡± Glen said a little tensely, but she took it in stride. ¡°Apologies Garth,¡± she replied sounding genuine. ¡°I haven¡¯t really socialized in a while.¡±
Jinx¡¯s eyes bore holes into the Zilan¡¯s back. Most of the men had collapsed too tired from the rough journey, but for the Gish of course. Flix and Alix appeared thoroughly impressed when he returned with the unknown Zilan female in tow. ¡°Aenymriel is a surveyor,¡± Glen explained, although he¡¯d no idea what that was. ¡°I found her in the woods.¡± ¡°What where you doing there dear?¡± Jinx asked her narrowing her eyes. ¡°Counting the trees? Maybe peeing? I do that as well. Ye have to remember to wipe afterwards, it leaves a stain.¡± ¡°Whisper can you be a bit more polite for Luthos sake?¡± Glen blasted her. ¡°One follows a routine, even after the need for it has expired,¡± the Zilan answered and Alix stepped forward, well into her personal space. ¡°Indigo Spirit of the Woods,¡± he started all serious, making a reference to the strange tone of her irides, his voice lowering an octave for the next part. ¡°Let¡¯s start now a fresh routine filled to the brim wit sweet passion. Make this night memorable.¡± Aenymriel blinked her large striking eyes unsure, but not entirely uninterested and Flix chuckled greatly enjoying the younger male¡¯s shenanigans. ¡°Jinx get Alix to bed,¡± Glen intervened to avoid a diplomatic incident. ¡°There¡¯s no need for beds,¡± Alix argued unwilling to give up so easily. ¡°Let this grass be our mattress, the sky above our roof,¡± he turned to the smiling Zilan for the finale. ¡°And our naked bodies filled with all the heat we¡¯ll ever seek to find.¡± The Zilan raised a brow impressed. That darn motherfucker is almost there, Glen thought approvingly. Has his foot to her door. ¡°Alright,¡± Jinx said and shoved him away, breaking the moment. ¡°That¡¯s enough lover. Move along now.¡± ¡°You keep a very diverse company Garth,¡± the Zilan told him, when the two of them had walked away. ¡°I¡¯ve traveled a lot,¡± Glen replied. ¡°Where will you go now?¡± Glen shrugged his shoulders. ¡°How about you join us? You help us out, we are the good guys after all.¡± ¡°Hmm. What does the old Gish think? Should I join your friendly circle?¡± She asked and Flix blinked a visible shiver running through him. ¡°Flix doesn¡¯t have a problem wit it,¡± Glen told her and eyed the speechless Gish curious. What had gotten into him? He wondered. Flix wasn¡¯t easily rattled or spooked. ¡°You¡¯re welcomed to stay.¡± ¡°I have an errant to run,¡± she explained. ¡°If you reveal your destination though, I¡¯ll meet you there Garth.¡± ¡°Wyvern¡¯s Mouth Gulf,¡± Glen said. ¡°But there¡¯s no path through the jungle.¡± ¡°A path exists but peril awaits the unprepared,¡± Aenymriel replied with a cryptic smile. ¡°I¡¯ve been to some freaky places woman,¡± Glen grunted. ¡°I¡¯m female,¡± she corrected him in her nonchalant manner, adding almost conspiratorially. ¡°Can you read the stars Garth?¡± Glen couldn¡¯t, so the female Zilan showed him.
Angrein set his jaw hearing his proposal. Great, Glen thought. ¡°We will meet in a month,¡± he explained. ¡°I shall follow Garth,¡± the hale man said and Kalac agreed with him. ¡°We will see this to the bitter end,¡± he said. Fuck¡¯s sake. ¡°Who will lead your men?¡± Glen asked trying not to roll his eyes at their melodrama. ¡°Tarn shall make sure the caravan reaches its destination.¡± ¡°Angrein your wagon-forge won¡¯t make it through the jungle,¡± Glen said turning to the Blacksmith. "The Imperial road while abandoned is still there and solid under the wheels.¡± ¡°Tarn will drive it then,¡± Angrein insisted. ¡°I shall follow you. Why change your mind though? Was it that Zilan? Where is she now?¡± Aenymriel had left before dawn promising to meet them at the outskirts of Goras. Wherever that was. ¡°She showed us a way,¡± Glen said. ¡°Flix?¡± The old Gish placed the pipe in his mouth and grunted. ¡°There,¡± Glen continued with a grimace of annoyance. ¡°The Gish agrees.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t trust her,¡± the Blacksmith insisted. ¡°Why?¡± Glen glared at him. ¡°For all we know she¡¯s even more of an Imperial than you.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know you had an alliance with them Garth. And the old empire had many factions, even more enemies.¡± ¡°Like what?¡± Glen asked. ¡°The Aken?¡± ¡°That¡¯s one thing, there are rebels, cults of the old Gods, even criminals,¡± Angrein explained. ¡°This fucking place looks more like wilderness than a city Angrein. That¡¯s a whole lotta of jungle over there and I haven¡¯t seen any loot yet,¡± Glen argued, ducking under a fat fly or a beetle thingy that buzzed over his head. ¡°Fucking all-hells! What was that shite?¡± ¡°Let them come with us Glen,¡± Jinx advised him, after he calmed down and he sighed giving in. ¡°Fine. Soren, Angrein and Kalac with his¡­¡± Kalac showed him three riders. ¡°Three lads,¡± Glen continued. ¡°Myself, Metu and the Gish, Fiku¡ª¡± ¡°The name¡¯s Fikumin!¡± The dwarf growled. ¡°What he said,¡± Glen moved on not wanting to dwell on the dwarf¡¯s insecurities. ¡°Mathews, Tarn and Belec with the rest will bring the caravan from the coastal road, providing it is still there.¡± ¡°Master Garth,¡± Metu said probably wanting to ask permission to travel with the caravan, but Glen beat him to it mistaking his reaction for eagerness. ¡°It¡¯s alright dear Metu. I know you yearned to come along wit me,¡± he told him and Metu forced a smile on his lips quite comical and then bowed deeply. Eh, he¡¯s overdoing it a bit perhaps, but he¡¯s as solid as they come, Glen thought. ¡°Gratitude for the opportunity to serve Master Garth,¡± the slave croaked.
Glen heard a monkey cackling, the creature following them flying from branch to branch over their heads. The ¡®path¡¯ through the thick vegetation hidden, but still existing, just as the Zilan surveyor had told him. There was an old stone road crossing the jungle. Wild roots, bushes and grass had covered it, but it was solidly built and didn¡¯t allow the big trees to grow on its surface. The width of it massive at almost twenty meters across. The jungle had created a roof over it, the big trees lined up at the edges thick and impregnable almost. ¡°These trees were planted here,¡± Jinx told him. She was following after the machete-carrying Glen. Glen of course wasn¡¯t clearing the road ahead of them anymore. He¡¯d left the job to Soren who was walking in front of him. After the former thief had started the day hacking with enthusiasm, he quickly realized there was considerable labor involved in the process and no end in sight. ¡°This doesn¡¯t seem like an unrotten path,¡± Glen commented, parts of the ancient road half-cleared already, cut branches and roots everywhere. ¡°Animals follow it as well.¡± ¡°It makes sense,¡± Alix said. The better part about it was you didn¡¯t get soaked immediately when rain started falling. It was also colder under the trees, but not by much. The sounds of nature coming in waves, ever present. Birds chirping, monkeys and insects. The buzzing and the whistling of the breeze amidst the trees, followed by a cacophony of croaks and a variety of shrieks. The trees becoming bigger, their branches starting high over them and disappearing in the semi-darkness. The light coming through meager. At the end of the day they cleared a large patch of the ancient road completely and down to its solid granite slates, to make camp. ¡°How much work to have this cleared?¡± Glen asked Angrein. ¡°The shit they¡¯ve used is still there, sturdy as fuck.¡± ¡°You need workers and someone with a plan. Why would you clear the road Garth?¡± ¡°Look at all this fine wood Angrein,¡± Glen told him. ¡°Lon had to pay an arm and a leg to secure enough to build a single gate back in Eikenport. They had to work on it, to make it last. This shit, even if we don¡¯t find anything of worth is crazy valuable.¡± ¡°What do you expect to find?¡± ¡°In Goras?¡± Glen shrugged his shoulders. ¡°I don¡¯t know, what do you expect to find?¡± Angrein frowned and stared into the flames for a while. ¡°Purpose,¡± he said after a while. ¡°Something of worth, I suppose.¡± ¡°No merchant will want to cross that tunnel Glen,¡± Jinx said, her head resting on his shoulder. The Gish had really suffered from lack of proper sleep in the journey. ¡°Whisper, a merchant will cross burning lava for profit,¡± Glen replied. Thieves as well. ¡°Uhm,¡± Whisper murmured. ¡°You don¡¯t agree?¡± He asked turning to watch her half-sleeping, her pink head a mess. ¡°Twas a yawn,¡± Jinx replied truthfully. ¡°Can you remove yer armor? It bits into my skin.¡± Glen didn¡¯t remove his armour, but he tasked Metu with finding a pillow for the young Gish. It came as no surprise to Glen that the slave had brought several with him. The Cofols love their fuckin¡¯ pillows!
On the fifth day of their journey the jungle started thinning on the southeast course the old road was leading them. The beasts of the jungle had stayed away, whether by lack, or design Glen didn¡¯t know. That afternoon Flix who hadn¡¯t said much for days and looked more worn out than usual ordered Soren to stop. The Northman had gone to clear out a fallen tree that barred their path along with Angrein, Kalac and his riders. ¡°What is it Flix?¡± Glen asked and walked near him. ¡°The jungle is quiet.¡± ¡°It does that at times,¡± Glen argued and looked around them, the trees and shrubbery blocking his view beyond the pathway, along that massive trunk of course. ¡°I smell of the sea,¡± Jinx said approaching them. ¡°I can¡¯t smell shit,¡± Glen complained, his voice hoarse. ¡°The whole system has clogged up from the fuckin¡¯ air in here!¡± ¡°You want a hankie?¡± Jinx offered and got a dirty cloth out of a side pocket. ¡°Blow hard on it and it will help or it will make yer ears pop.¡± Uh. Glen wasn¡¯t going to touch that with a ten foot pole. ¡°Angrein what felled the tree?¡± Flix asked loud enough for the Blacksmith to hear, breaking the awkward moment. ¡°I¡¯ll have a look,¡± the man replied and walked the length of the massive trunk to reach its roots, still hidden at the side of the road where the trees were thicker. ¡°We can lift it away, it¡¯s like a ton only,¡± Soren argued looking back. ¡°How about we push it aside big guy?¡± Kalac countered. ¡°A ton sounds like a darn lot.¡± ¡°Ha-ha!¡± Soren guffawed finding humor where there was none. Glen had started heading there in the meantime, worried at the old Gish¡¯s reaction. ¡°Soren what¡¯s beyond it?¡± He yelled rushing towards their position. ¡°More road?¡± Soren replied unsure. He was tall enough to look over it. Glen reached there and started climbing up the rough ironwood trunk. Soren helped him to the top with a shove. The strength behind it shocking. Glen almost went over it and down the other side, but managed to find his footing at the last possible moment, boots skimming at the hard bark. He grunted pretty miffed at the big Northman and was about to give him an earful, but he spotted a girl running towards the blocked part of the road and paused in alarm. Glen became aware of a couple of things worth of note immediately. The road was pretty decently cleaned for starters. The girl was a Zilan, her short tunic leaving a lot of skin bare and her cobalt hair was billowing behind her as she dashed forward like a gazelle. Being as she was almost fifty meters from the trunk and closing in fast Glen could see her face clearly. The poor girl was extremely scared. ¡°It¡¯s cut with a darn axe,¡± Angrein reported with a grunt and the Zilan gasped in terrified agony, hands clasping at her chest where a bloody arrow had just burst out. The next moment she lost her footing and went down cracking her skull open on the mostly cleared granite slates. Shuddering she let out a small whimper and then died. 200. The Veils of Nether (1/3)
Glen Mister Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor The Veils of Nether Part I -Castes, Priests & Beasts of Odd-
¡°SHITE!¡± Glen made to jump from the massive tree trunk to help the poor girl, realized it wasn¡¯t the smartest thing to do half-way through and by the time he turned around to jump back towards his friends the Zilan was laying down in a pool of her own blood -fully dead. The jungle road quiet again. ¡°What happened?¡± Flix asked when Glen dropped down from the trunk, his boots sinking in the soft soil. ¡°Someone just killed a Zilan girl.¡± ¡°No dammit! No!¡± Alix gasped in genuine shock, borderline devastated at the news. Glen stared at him numbly, not expecting his strong reaction. ¡°Yer Surveyor?¡± Jinx asked with a frown, having gauged the reason for the male Gish¡¯s anguish. Ah, that makes sense. He turned his eyes on the female Gish. ¡°It wasn¡¯t her.¡± ¡°Did you see who it was?¡± Kalac asked and signed for his unmounted riders to circle around the fallen tree. ¡°I didn¡¯t,¡± Glen replied. ¡°Keep your heads down,¡± he warned the three Horselords. ¡°Whomever shot that arrow is a darn fine shot.¡± ¡°There¡¯s someone coming towards her,¡± Soren reported, he head clearing the trunk easily. ¡°Big eared dude.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t engage,¡± Glen told Kalac and went to climb up the trunk again. ¡°Was she armed?¡± Jinx asked him. ¡°That girl.¡± Glen paused and glanced at her. ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡± ¡°Better not stand up there then,¡± Jinx advised him. ¡°He¡¯s going for the girl,¡± Soren reported. Glen puffed out hard. ¡°Whisper can you cover me?¡± He asked her. Jinx nodded and went to get her bow. ¡°Soren?¡± Glen asked next, wanting an update. ¡°Ah,¡± Soren replied and Glen turned to look into his face. ¡°What?¡± One of Kalac¡¯s men giving them the answer, peeking through the tree¡¯s branches. ¡°Bastard just cut her head off!¡± Glen snapped his way alarmed. ¡°Ah,¡± Soren said again still in shock. ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake,¡± Glen cursed and rushed up the trunk. Wishing that he hadn¡¯t. The Zilan paused, bloody heavy cleaver in one hand, a severed arm in the other. The girl¡¯s head left by her mutilated body. The gore turning the soil a darker shade of red. He turned his yellow eyes on him, as Glen rose up the massive trunk. He had a pale and long face, a shaved head with three red stripes painted on his forehead. His armor made of different pieces, both chainmail and leather. Another sword strapped on his waist, but no bow. Fuck¡¯s sake, Glen repeated. Where¡¯s the other? ¡°What are you doing?¡± He asked him after an awkward moment had gone by and the Zilan narrowed its eyes and got up. Tall and lanky, sinewy in build. ¡°Sinya Nore,¡± he hissed. ¡°You are a long way from home.¡± ¡°Name¡¯s Garth,¡± Glen retorted, an eye on him, the other searching for the bastard that had shot that arrow, still hidden somewhere behind the trees on both sides of the road. ¡°How do you know?¡± ¡°Know what?¡± The Zilan asked him dropping the chopped arm on the girl¡¯s body. ¡°We¡¯re not from here,¡± Glen replied and jumped down from the trunk. He started walking towards him, in an attempt to mess up with his associate¡¯s aim. ¡°We?¡± The Zilan asked frowning. Those red lines are running down his face, but have washed off a bit, Glen noticed. War paint? He didn¡¯t know. ¡°I have a hundred soldiers with me,¡± Glen lied without batting an eyelash. The Zilan showed him his teeth. ¡°You should turn back,¡± He advised him. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Glen rustled repeating his query, having had enough of this weird back and forth. ¡°What is this shite?¡± ¡°Turn back Sinya Nore. Pelleas rules these lands and the Veils of Nether.¡± Glen sighed and glanced at the mutilated corpse of the girl. ¡°What are you gonna to do wit that arm?¡± Glen asked the Zilan again and he smiled with a carnivorous mouth, the front fangs those of a lion. ¡°Glen!¡± Jinx yelled a warning, just as the Zilan sidestepped in front of him leaving Glen exposed to his friend. ¡°Uh-oh,¡± Glen gasped dropping to a knee, two arrows zipping over his head. One flying one way, the other the complete opposite, shot from behind him. He jumped sideways and into a roll, leaves and broken branches caked with mud covering him. Glen saw a Zilan stumbling out of its cover, an arrow stuck in his right arm and another two rushing just behind him coming towards the tumbling former thief. Glen stood up, another arrow fired over him, made to unsheathe his sword but caught the cleaver coming, weapon rotating end-over-end, out the corner of his eye and jerked his torso back in a desperate attempt to avoid it. ¡°Ugh!¡± He groaned, the blade thudding on his shoulder, cutting through his armour, but stopping there for a moment afore dropping down. Glen stumbled back two steps, his arm numb, saw the first Zilan rushing him sword in hand and clenching his teeth hard went for his blade again. The Zilan swung at him, but Glen jumped back, then sidestepped a lunge, all this time trying to get his own sword out but failing. The Zilan hissed and tried again, the blade biting his armour, but Glen landed a kick on his opponent¡¯s thigh managing to push him away. He got Emerson¡¯s longsword out, a permanent grimace on his face, the pain on his shoulder excruciating. The Zilan smiled again not intimidated and Glen heard the sound of feet tapping behind his back which sort of explained his opponent¡¯s mirthfulness.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. The Zilan was facing the trunk though and Soren¡¯s massive figure landing behind him axe in hand, had equalized the situation. Glen showed the dumbfounded at the giant¡¯s appearance Zilan his middle finger and turned around to face his friends. Which was easier said than done. The first of the Zilan brigands, wearing a muscled cuirass and steel vambraces went for a savage slash Glen barely dodged. He jerked away, almost turning an ankle and smacked the second man¡¯s spear thrust to the side with the flat of his blade, managing to recover. The second Zilan hissed furious initially, then groaned in pain, when two arrows pierced the ancient piece of studded leather armour he had on, one after the other. Glen went to cut him across the chest as he stood there stunned, but his friend stopped him parrying his blade aside. The former thief had to duck under a wild returning swing, but got blindsided by a heavy left hook in the face, his nose turning into a leaking faucet and had to stumble away his chin painted red. Dazed as a headless chicken and gulping down blood. ¡°Argh! Eh,¡± The injured Zilan gasped, now sporting a third arrow on his chest and went down. The one with the Hoplite¡¯s cuirass snarled seeing his friend perish and sidestepped to put Glen between the archers and himself. Kalac¡¯s riders and Jinx had to stop shooting as they were standing too close to each other now. The Horselords, who had circled around the gigantic fallen tree, got their sabers out and charged Glen¡¯s opponent, who jumped away keeping him in Jinx¡¯s field of view. Glen stepped away himself and looked back towards the other duel. Soren parried the first Zilan¡¯s blade aside and missed with his axe on the return. The Zilan grimacing and disturbed at the sudden appearance of so many enemies made a quick step back, then leaped forward in the blink of an eye, in an attempt to cut the big Northman low aiming for his thigh. Soren blocked it with his axe and used his left hand just like Glen¡¯s opponent had done earlier, to punch the Zilan right at his plate covered chest. Glen heard the sound of metal getting warped and watched the sinewy Zilan lift clean off the ground and fly briefly backwards before crashing down four meters away, his armour ruined at its front, as if he¡¯d just gotten hit with one of Angrein¡¯s beefy sledgehammers. Fuck, Glen thought impressed, although he¡¯d always suspected the seven feet tall Northman was incredibly strong, it now appeared Soren was holding back. The Zilan got up, yellow eyes ogling and coughing blood and stabbed his sword down. He raised his right arm and pointed at Soren, left hand sneaking into his satchel. Glen at first thought he was going to surrender, but then he smelled incense burning and felt a shiver running through him. More a premonition. ¡°Bae¡¯ Uglar,¡¯ The Zilan spat and Soren stopped dead in his tracks. He just stood frozen staring at his opponent, who retrieved his custom sword casually, made two large quick steps and run the big Northman through with it. Jinx¡¯s scream came just before her arrow that missed the Zilan. Fuck no, a shocked Glen repeated and started running. The Zilan hissed in frustration seeing the small Gish reloading her bow standing on the massive trunk about ten meters from him. He made to get his sword out of the still frozen Soren¡¯s sides, darn blade going through chainmail and hard-leather twice afore getting out his back, but spotted a livid Glen rushing him sword in hand and changed his mind. He raised his right hand confidently and repeated the words he¡¯d said earlier. BAE¡¯UGLAR A jolt went through Glen, it rattled his teeth and made him lose his footing momentarily, but he quickly recovered. The Zilan had turned around in the meantime, certain on his spell¡¯s success to get his blade out of Soren. Hearing boots pounding on the soft ground he glanced sideways, his right hand already on the sword¡¯s grip. The Zilan recoiled first in bewilderment, then in gut-wrenching pain, as Glen downed his blade brutally, got his opponent¡¯s forearm just where the steel vambrace ended and severed it cleanly. The painted Zilan stumbled back horrified, his left hand desperately trying to staunch the bleeding at the stub, the cut part of his right arm ¨Ceverything after the elbow- still clenched on the grip stuck inside Soren. As for the big Northman himself, he groaned getting out of whatever had immobilized him and stared at the blade sprouting out of him nigh perturbed. Glen swung his head towards the slowly retreating and maimed Zilan, but spotted a couple of things immediately. For starters his friend had cut down one of Kalac¡¯s men, but he was laid down bleeding and dying himself, sporting several cuts and wounds. Furthermore another two Zilan had appeared on the Jungle road, two females this time. One of them painted like the injured bastard held a long knife on the other¡¯s throat threateningly. ¡°Stand back, or I¡¯ll end Meira¡¯s life,¡± she hissed and then eyed her injured friend. ¡°Let Darfin go, ye fiends!¡± Glen grimaced, then glared at her. ¡°I don¡¯t know any of these people! So ye can take yer threats and shove them up your arse!¡± He blasted her livid. ¡°Yer friend just killed my friends!¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Soren replied standing next to him, holding the bloody sword in his hand, torn chainmail leaking blood down his sides. Huh? What in Luthos hairy ears is happening? ¡°Don¡¯t let them live!¡± The other female screamed suddenly, looking at him with begging eyes. ¡°They killed my Ulanola!¡± Ahm. Well that¡¯s just great. Glen snarled clenching his teeth to the point of breaking, blood covering half his face, the situation too complicated to make heads or tails of and looked at the still retreating Zilan. He was also losing blood fast. ¡°Turn back Sinya Nore,¡± The knife wielding Zilan female urged him in turn, seeing he was conflicted. She wore a ranger¡¯s light armour similar to Lith¡¯s. ¡°Pyriael go,¡± Darfin ordered, moving towards her as fast as he could. ¡°He¡¯s a sorcerer.¡± Eh. Glen was torn, whether he should let them go, or not. He¡¯d no idea what was going on and which side was in the right. At first glance of course, the Zilan that had attacked them appeared to be the bad guys. Who chops a corpse¡¯s head and arms off? He wondered with a shiver, overlooking that his friends had done it, albeit for a different reason. ¡°Whisper can you hit her from there?¡± He asked opting to rid them of witnesses and Pyriael hissed showing him her ghastly teeth. ¡°Sure,¡± She replied, still standing on that huge trunk and added sounding worried. ¡°Soren are you okay?¡± ¡°Ayup,¡± Soren reassured her, still bleeding. ¡°Don¡¯t kill the other girl,¡± Glen cautioned her. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake Whisper!¡± He snapped and glared at the small Gish. Jinx fired an arrow, the distance almost forty meters. It went over Glen¡¯s head, but Pyriael dodged it nimbly, slashed Meira¡¯s neck open from ear to ear and rushed into the jungle. Glen made to run after her and Darfin, but the injured Zilan had reached the thick part of the woods himself and promptly vanished by the time the distressed former thief had started moving.
¡°Report!¡± Glen barked, when the rest of their group had gathered after finishing clearing the road. Kalac was tending to his injured man. He¡¯d a nasty cut on his thigh, but it was looking like the horselord might make it. ¡°Flix is missing,¡± Jinx replied, still working on Soren¡¯s potentially lethal wound. Glen expected him to drop dead any moment now, but two hours had passed since the scrap and the big Northman appeared to handle it pretty well. ¡°I¡¯m fine Pretty,¡± He reassured her again. ¡°Ye stupid fuck,¡± Jinx sniffled still rattled. ¡°It wasn¡¯t his fault,¡± Angrein commented smoking a pipe of exquisite quality. It was made out of white silver and engraved with tiny gold details. ¡°This was a domination spell. Hunters use it for easy kills.¡± Fantastic. ¡°How bad is it?¡± Glen asked Jinx and the young Gish shook her head, wiping her moist cheeks with a bloody hand. ¡°He¡¯s been through worst,¡± She said. Glen stared at her numbly. ¡°Ayup,¡± Soren said. ¡°Don¡¯t worry small Glen.¡± Right. He puffed his cheeks out, used a sleeve to clear his leaking nose and stared at the frowning blacksmith. ¡°What was this shite huh? Why in Luthos¡¯s arse did they kill those girls?¡± ¡°Meira wore a priestess pendant,¡± Angrein replied. They had buried the two Zilan side by side next to the fallen tree, the two brigands in another spot not that far away. The men had, Glen had watched them with a cloth up his nostril. ¡°Which god?¡± Glen asked him. He shrugged his shoulders. ¡°The Moon¡¯s Daughter, it¡¯s a minor god. A number of strays worship her. Lower caste folk.¡± ¡°Poor folk?¡± Glen taunted. Angrein blinked. ¡°I didn¡¯t make the system Garth.¡± Glen glanced at the scowling Fikumin. ¡°Is she a good one?¡± Glen asked crooking his mouth. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know, never met her,¡± Angrein deadpanned. ¡°This was a religious murder though.¡± ¡°How do you know?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard of Pelleas. He¡¯s the priest of Snake Mountain. These must be the three headed god¡¯s disciples. They call themselves the Veils of Nether. They¡¯ve never left their mountain before though.¡± Yeah. This tradition has gone down the drain. Darfin had told Glen as much. Not that it helped, not that it made sense. ¡°A stupid cult then?¡± Glen sighed. ¡°What kind of God is this? Is he insane like Gimoss?¡± ¡°Hah. Vemoro is a beast Garth. Can¡¯t be reasoned with, but I doubt she¡¯s here,¡± Angrein seemed pretty confident about it, but Glen didn¡¯t share his conviction. How do you know? He wondered, cursing Luthos for not making anything go smoothly. Knowing the god of fucking luck, the beast might pop out of the woods at any moment now. Good grief! ¡°What kind of beast?¡± Glen asked tiredly instead. Angrein smacked his lips, blew smoke out of his nostrils and then he replied all serious. ¡°A Hydra.¡± 201. The Veils of Nether (2/3)
Glen Mister Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor The Veils of Nether Part II -The trespassers-
The sun had almost set over the jungle. Some of its light managed to penetrate the thick canopy, especially over that ancient boulevard. While still covered in soft soil and mud, rotting branches and leaves, enough of it was uncovered due to heavy use by both people and bigger animals. Everyone will follow the open path in the end, Glen thought staring down the seemingly endless granite slates paved road. He glanced at Kalac, the Horselord leader talking with his injured man and then at Jinx, the young Gish still worrying over Soren. Angrein standing next to him cleared his throat to get his attention. ¡°We need to get going Garth.¡± ¡°Go where?¡± Glen retorted. ¡°They are going to wait for us further down the path. An idiot could figure this one out.¡± ¡°You want to turn back?¡± ¡°How many are they? These¡­ cultists?¡± Glen queried and watched as Jinx approached them. The muscular man shrugged his shoulders. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Not many once upon a time, but that was three centuries¡­ and some change back.¡± What in the slovenly fuck? ¡°How old are you?¡± Glen asked him. Angrein smacked his lips and stared at his hands for a moment. The fingers thick and calloused, the hands themselves huge in size. ¡°If I tell you, I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll believe me.¡± ¡°How? You are human, right?¡± Glen asked. ¡°Is this magic?¡± ¡°A different kind than the one Darfin used back there,¡± Angrein replied. ¡°It was a test I passed. I wasn¡¯t supposed to,¡± He eyed him with his strange unnatural eyes. ¡°How did you resist the spell Garth?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, do you?¡± Glen replied. ¡°Hardir O¡¯ Fardor,¡± Angrein said with a grimace. ¡°The tales were off it appears at some things, right in others.¡± ¡°How so?¡± ¡°You¡¯re not all knowing,¡± Angrein replied solemnly. ¡°But you might be all powerful. The rest remain to be revealed.¡± ¡°What are the rest?¡± Glen croaked and Angrein told him. ¡°Whether you¡¯re merciless, or not.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t trust any of them,¡± Jinx said, the moment the blacksmith walked away. ¡°How about Flix?¡± ¡°Him I trust even less. He¡¯s still gone. Alix swears he vanished into thin air during the fight.¡± ¡°Flix is on our side Whisper,¡± Glen told her. ¡°A Gish.¡± ¡°Gish can be cunts as well,¡± Jinx retorted. ¡°What are you gonna do?¡± ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡°They are not going to forget this,¡± Jinx replied. ¡°Next time they¡¯ll hit us with everything they have.¡± ¡°Turn back?¡± Glen said, looking at her strained face. ¡°Don¡¯t give me that look,¡± Jinx admonished him. ¡°Have you seen yer face? You went from being a kid to this in a couple of years Glen.¡± Glen still looked half-dead, despite improving the last couple of weeks. ¡°It¡¯ll wear off,¡± Glen said and pushed back his messy hair. ¡°What if it doesn¡¯t? You might run out of years fast,¡± Jinx said with a sigh. ¡°This journey was a mistake.¡± ¡°I can talk to Kalac, find a way to bring the caravan back. Leave all this shite behind,¡± Glen told her. ¡°What they did to her was wrong,¡± Jinx whispered not looking at him. To Meira¡¯s friend was her meaning. ¡°Aye, it was,¡± Glen said and got the chain around his neck out. He¡¯d a lightstone there and Sen¡¯s pendant. He brought them to the light and his Knight¡¯s ring gleamed on his right finger. ¡°I think he was going to eat her,¡± He added. ¡°It makes sense,¡± Jinx replied. ¡°How? Eating their own?¡± Glen asked more than a little grossed out. ¡°Gish, people and Zilan. The cleverer the species, the better spells turn out. It¡¯s how it works.¡± Glen grimaced. ¡°There must be another way.¡± ¡°There is probably,¡± Jinx agreed. ¡°But this is the easiest. The Zilan were always practical, until they decided to change things up. Look at how that turned out for them.¡± ¡°Who would worship a beast Whisper and prey on his own people?¡± ¡°Folk worship all manner of things. Some love Abrakas, others pray to the Kraken,¡± Jinx replied with a shrug. ¡°Only the Five think Uher made this Realm out of his fucking light and not all of them are really convinced.¡± ¡°Hah, that¡¯s true,¡± Glen smiled, himself a Luthos believer and not much else. ¡°We are not heroes Glen. Dante wanted to be one at the end and he¡¯s dead now,¡± Jinx murmured looking at the setting sun. ¡°But I can¡¯t sleep thinking I could¡¯ve helped them and didn¡¯t.¡± Ah. Glen could probably sleep the horror away, but not if Jinx reminded him of it for the rest of their days. At some point the young Gish had sneaked up on him. He stared at Soren sleeping a fatal injury off and grimaced. He thought of Emerson and Marcus. Of sweet Zola and that smart-mouthed Dante. Glen was running out of friends and he remembered a time when he had none to care about. While painful and a headache, Glen preferred having company and people to love and care for, than being a depressed hermit. You don¡¯t let down yer friends, he decided. Unless you¡¯re a cunt. A crook he could live with, but he had to draw a line somewhere. ¡°I also don¡¯t want anyone to get hurt,¡± She continued as if she could read his thoughts, her voice cracking at the end. ¡°I¡¯m a horrible leader.¡± ¡°Hey,¡± Glen said and pulled her into a hug, the Gish¡¯s head resting on his chest. ¡°You¡¯re doing great. I¡¯ve lost everything they¡¯ve put me in charge of, be it a fort or a fucking city,¡± He cracked a bitter smile at that. ¡°You wanna blame someone, blame me aye. I¡¯m going to find a way to fix this bullshit somehow. Talk these people down, if I have to.¡± Glen didn¡¯t know how. He didn¡¯t see gold working this time around. ¡°Yer armour needs mending,¡± Jinx commented after a very long contemplating moment. Glen shook his head at her ability to jump topics and spotted Flix appearing out of the thicker parts of the Jungle, the southeast. The old Gish walked slowly towards them, some of the men already starting a fire behind them, with Metu preparing a meal. He carried his peleg in one hand, the steel weapon covered in gore and Darfin¡¯s severed head in the other using a nasty iron meat-hook lodged in his brutalized mouth. What in the name of holiest of loots! Glen wondered with a shudder.
¡°The ranger got away,¡± Flix told him, Glen staring horrified at the brutalized head of Darfin. ¡°The jungle and a bit of magic helped her.¡± Right. ¡°Ah, you think they¡¯ll¡­ chuck this up as an accident?¡± He chanced. ¡°As in you know, the man tripped from blood loss and decapitated himself on a sharp root?¡± Flix tired eyes stared at him. ¡°They¡¯ll find him. They¡¯ll know they made a mistake.¡± ¡°Or they might get even angrier?¡± Glen reminded him. ¡°Why get them all riled up?¡± ¡°Are you going to talk with them?¡± Flix asked. The thought had crossed Glen¡¯s mind. ¡°I don¡¯t see it as a viable idea Flix. Not anymore,¡± He admonished the old Gish. ¡°You are forcing my hand here.¡± ¡°If they have reached Goras, they would never let us near it Garth.¡± ¡°How many are they?¡± Glen asked puffing out. ¡°I had to return,¡± Flix replied. ¡°I don¡¯t know the jungle. I found the crossroad though and the sea beyond it.¡± ¡°How far?¡± Glen asked him. ¡°Less than a day. The gulf starts where the mist is thicker.¡± ¡°The caravan will be there, before the end of this month,¡± Kalac informed them approaching. ¡°They might walk into a trap.¡±A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°Fuck. Everyone arm yourselves. We must set a watch for the night,¡± Glen decided. ¡°We need to move Garth,¡± Flix said. ¡°Ah, you¡¯re insisting Gish.¡± ¡°You told her to wait there, the caravan also. We have to consolidate our forces, afore they gather theirs.¡± Glen glared at him. ¡°What forces for crying out loud? They could have a hundred cultists fall on us!¡± ¡°It¡¯s better to fight them out of the jungle then, or on terrain favoring horses,¡± Kalac said. ¡°Kalac numbers do matter,¡± Glen reminded him. ¡°Spirit matters the most,¡± The Horselord replied his conviction absolute. ¡°And heart. We shall smash these soulless thugs, or die in the attempt as free people!¡± Glen stood back dumbfounded. ¡°We have Hardir O¡¯ Fardor,¡± Angrein added observing him. ¡°They should fear us.¡± Glen groaned inwardly and looked at the darkening road ahead of them. He let out a deep sigh and turned his head around back from where they¡¯d come from. The light a dark red, dancing through the jungle¡¯s canopy, the road now more visible after they cleared it, but still ominous. A tall armoured figure was coming towards their camp set in the middle of the ancient road. He had appeared out of nowhere and was walking briskly, hobnailed boots thudding on the ground as if he was marching. Ominous black helm on, the slits on it running down the small openings at his eyes. A muscled cuirass like the one the cultist had on, but gleaming and in a far better condition. A spear strapped on his back and a shield. A blade down his left leg. ¡°Praise be Gimoss, the Foul,¡± Angrein gasped sounding stunned and nothing had fazed the hale blacksmith up until that point in their journey. ¡°An Imperial Hoplite.¡± Praise? ¡°How the fuck do you know?¡± Glen croaked staring at the imposing warrior reaching them and stopping to examine their camp. ¡°I think I know the armour,¡± Angrein murmured, strangely awed. ¡°Is that a good thing?¡± Glen said out of the side of his mouth and stepped forward to greet the newcomer. ¡°That¡¯s Isil Mehtar steel Garth. Forged by my master,¡± Angrein replied and took a step back. ¡°None of his weapons and armour had survived the First Era, but for a set and Queen¡¯s sword.¡± Glen licked his dry lips and eyed the silent watching them imposing warrior. ¡°Friend,¡± He started diplomatically and the armoured Hoplite cracked his neck right and left, then reached behind him and got his spear out. ¡°Thou are standing on Imperial land,¡± He announced in rusty common and Glen caught Jinx reaching for her bow out of the corner of his eye. The young Gish also sneakily kicked Darfin¡¯s severed head out of sight. ¡°Sinya Nore, Gish and Horselords alike,¡± He continued. ¡°Are not permitted here.¡± ¡°We¡¯re explorers,¡± Glen said quickly, a merchant¡¯s smile on his lips. ¡°Killing a Zilan on Imperial ground is a capital offense,¡± The warrior continued disregarding his words. ¡°What is your plea?¡± ¡°He was a murderer,¡± Flix said and walked next to Glen. ¡°On your word Gish? Who granted you right to be an executioner?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a member of the Circle,¡± Flix explained. ¡°Which makes you a murderer and a deceiver by trade. Is this Nym¡¯s doing?¡± Huh? ¡°This is a disciple of the Veils of Nether,¡± Flix replied with a grimace. ¡°I find your attempt at dodging pathetic,¡± He admonished him. ¡°Your disguise vile. You reek of servitude Gish. Enough with your lies!¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know with whom you¡¯re dealing with,¡± Flix hissed, the insult cutting him deep. ¡°One of you will die for this transgression,¡± The Hoplite said sternly. ¡°The rest I shall give you a day head start to get away. Then I will come after you. I suggest you pick a decent warrior to buy you the time Gish.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll fight Hardir O¡¯ Fardor?¡± Angrein asked him. What? Glen recoiled in shock. The Hoplite stared at the blacksmith for a long moment. ¡°You¡¯ve had the Saereg,¡± He decided finally. ¡°Are you a collaborator? Who was your master?¡± ¡°Isil Mehtar O¡¯ Mecatan,¡± Angrein replied proudly. ¡°He only took one pupil.¡± ¡°Was it you?¡± The Hoplite asked him ominously. ¡°I didn¡¯t betray the Queen Anfalon,¡± Angrein said. ¡°I had left the Empire already. A reward for my services.¡± ¡°Angrein had left that is true. You claim you¡¯re him. Where¡¯s Hardir, blacksmith?¡± Anfalon asked and Angrein pointed a muscled arm on a seething Glen. ¡°Are you serious?¡± Anfalon grunted and stared at Glen carefully. ¡°Have you a spear Sinya Nore?¡± He asked him. ¡°Why?¡± Glen replied unsure, not likening the turn of events. Anfalon stabbed his spear down and got his forward curved sword out. ¡°You¡¯ll fight for them then,¡± He decided. ¡°Whether you¡¯re who he claims or not, shall be revealed. I suggest to get moving,¡± He told the rest them. ¡°If he falls, I¡¯m coming after the rest of you.¡±
¡°Let¡¯s rush him,¡± Kalac suggested. ¡°We have the numbers Garth.¡± ¡°He offered a duel,¡± Angrein argued. ¡°We can¡¯t insult the gods Kalac!¡± ¡°Glen can¡¯t best Anfalon,¡± Flix said sounding stressed out. ¡°This is unexpected. Yet, it shouldn¡¯t have been. What manner of design is this? I can¡¯t see the angle.¡± Whatever the old Gish was mumbling about was perhaps worthy of further investigation, but Glen was preoccupied with more urgent matters at the time. ¡°Surely I can squeeze out a win somehow?¡± Glen offered hopefully. ¡°Is there a point system?¡± ¡°Whoever fall¡¯s first losses Garth,¡± Angrein elucidated. ¡°Fall¡¯s as in tripping himself up, or dying is yer meaning?¡± Glen queried to dot the I¡¯s and cross his t¡¯s. ¡°Have you lost your mind?¡± Flix snapped angrier than he¡¯d seen him before. ¡°You don¡¯t stand a chance against the leader of the Imperial Phalanx! Hell, I don¡¯t even know if we can get him out of the way even with magic.¡± ¡°We have the numbers Gish,¡± Kalac rustled and Glen eyed the silent Hoplite waiting for them to prepare, utterly unbothered at their discussion. ¡°Anfalon survived the Plague Isles campaign,¡± Angrein explained. ¡°Fought the Grand Sire of the Aken¡¯s hordes at the Battle of the Coral Valley until the dead got tired is the word. Gimoss buried him under the Grand Temple¡¯s rumble and he clawed his way out after a week. Went after an elder Onyx Wyvern on foot! There are songs written about him Kalac!¡± Right. ¡°He¡¯s older now though,¡± Glen said and Flix shook his head. ¡°What? The man probably slowed down for crying out loud!¡± Flix snorted in disgust. ¡°Hardir can stand against all threats,¡± Angrein said with a touch of finality. ¡°Anfalon won¡¯t fight you, if he realizes you¡¯re him.¡± Fantastic, Glen groaned inwardly and rubbed his face hard with both hands. So if you fuckers are wrong, I¡¯m a plaguin¡¯ goner!
Glen unsheathed Emerson¡¯s sword and walked towards the waiting Imperial Hoplite, the ancient Zilan taller than the former thief and his sinister helm making him appear even more so. Brawny and lean he was the most impressive male of his species Glen had ever seen. The muscled thorax adding to the illusion. The sword he carried ¨Ca kopis- made of a single piece of grey steel with a faint red hue, the grip decorated with a thick outer layer of finely-shaped ivory, with hollows a perfect match for his fingers. Anfalon flipped the blade expertly in his hand to test it and Glen thought he heard a song coming out of it. He gulped down and glanced back to his own group and friends. Jinx had moved to one side of the jungle road to have an open angle and Flix had done the same on the other side, but more discreetly. They were going to try and help him, rules be damned. Ah, Glen thought moved at the gesture, knowing he¡¯d have to surprise the warrior in order to win. Behind Anfalon three figures had appeared. All of them female, one dressed as a Ranger in green hard-leather armour and hair a bluish-purple, the other rather plainly in tight custom hide pants and a vest, her hair caught in an elaborate bun. The third of the bunch was standing ahead of the other two, wore a simple short tunic and her large green-silver eyes were staring at them curiously. Shorter than the others and visibly younger. Almost a kid. ¡°Stay back Phinariel,¡± Anfalon told her in Imperial without looking towards them. ¡°She worries the Sinya Nore won¡¯t honor the rules,¡± The Ranger replied and Glen could understand them as he¡¯d his hand on the dagger¡¯s grip. ¡°Then they are lying,¡± Anfalon retorted and the lissome Ranger stared beyond Glen at Jinx, her gold-silvery eyes taunting. ¡°Damn,¡± Jinx gasped behind his back awestruck and a bit aroused, much to Glen¡¯s bewilderment considering the circumstances. The young Gish attempted to save it at the end though. ¡°What are you lookin¡¯ at ye purple cunt?¡± A taunt and an opening. The Ranger grimaced not expecting the rebuke and made to reach for her long bow, but Anfalon turned his head and signed for her to stay out of it. For fuck¡¯s sake Pretty, Glen thought and rushed the distracted Hoplite. Thank you.
Glen made two fast steps forward and lunged aiming for the opening at the Zilan¡¯s throat, where his panoply met the helm. Anfalon heard him coming and moved back lowering his head. The blade clanged on the conned top, slid down and bounced off his thorax. Glen pulled the blade back half a draw and attacked again with a downward slash aiming for the Hoplite¡¯s leg, just above the heavy steel greaves. Phinariel gasped in horror, but Anfalon withdrew his leg out of the way with uncanny speed, sidestepped and attacked Glen¡¯s left side. The speed and strength behind the thrust impossible for his eye to catch. Glen moved on instinct, his left hand burning and pushed it aside with his sword. The clang of swords reverberating down the relatively quiet jungle road, the sun¡¯s diming light a red ominous hue and the sparks dropping from the connecting steel blades burning the dry leaves under their feet black. Glen jumped away, his ears ringing and Anfalon danced to his left side gracefully for such a heavily armoured warrior and attacked him again. Fuck off, Glen cursed and parried again, the clang of blades sounding like Uher¡¯s bells. This time he felt the power behind the blow to his very bones. It went up his arm and rattled his teeth. Glen stumbled back, left hand the color of coal and almost went down on his knees. All a ruse. Anfalon came at him dancing on his feet, going right then left, his movement paused for a tiny fraction of a second at each step as if he was looking for an opening. Glen gave him one and the Hoplite took it lunging forward. Glen sidestepped instead of parrying this time, felt the blade slashing at his shoulder pads as he twisted away and attacked Anfalon from his own unprotected side. The Hoplite raised his left forearm to block him and Glen changed his stance mid-move to chop his arm off. Glen¡¯s blade bounced off the vambrace without making a dent on it though, the fat sparks burning Glen¡¯s face where they landed. He cursed inwardly and followed the retreating Hoplite flipping the longsword in his hand and attacking again on the return starting low and rising. Anfalon sidestepped in the blink of an eye, his retreat a trap and downed the kopis aiming for Glen¡¯s neck. The former thief had to turn his own attack into a last minute defense and he did just that readjusting his stance again on impulse, while jerking spastically aside. The two blades met savagely again and Glen felt his break for the second time that year. In a sense having it happen before saved his neck. The nasty grey sword continued on, but Glen realizing what had happened before his eyes had actually seen it, jumped away from the steel tip that ruined the front of his armour right at his chest. RRREEEEE Glen stumbled back a couple of steps, Emerson¡¯s blade shattered and turned into a long dagger near the grip, just as Biscuit¡¯s screech rang over them, high above the jungle¡¯s canopy. Anfalon who¡¯d started his finishing move, paused visibly in distress and glanced above his head, giving Glen the time to regain his footing. Jinx eyed the Ranger standing about twenty meters away warningly, both females had their bows out ready to use them. So much for rules, Glen thought his body hurting and without any feeling to his left arm. ¡°Hmm,¡± Anfalon grunted, then eyed the sweaty and pale faced former thief. ¡°Do not be alarmed,¡± Glen told him reassuringly, sporting a pained smile and watched the Zilan teen running away from her friends to approach them. ¡°Was that a Wyvern?¡± Phinariel asked curious standing next to the much taller undecided Hoplite and at that moment Biscuit burst out of the canopy above them, breaking branches and creating an opening for the reddish light to come down fully. The Wyvern made a circle above their camp and then landed near Glen, botching it a bit at the end and almost going down. Phinariel gasped in shock and the Zilan female standing next to the Ranger fainted abruptly and went down planting her face in the mud. RREEE? Biscuit queried a little miffed and walked near the hurting Glen. He was now standing as tall as Soren on his hind legs. Glen put a hand on his rough scaly snout and patted him. ¡°I¡¯m fine buddy,¡± He told him with a tired smile and turned to look at the stunned Anfalon. ¡°Hardir O¡¯ Fardor,¡± The Imperial Hoplite rustled in the Old Tongue having trouble coming to terms with it. ¡°Is a bloody human?¡± Biscuit twisted his head at the sound of his voice and snorted loudly. Then burped just as loud. Whatever he¡¯d gulped down, Glen thought too hurt to even speak, had lived a foul life and died screaming.
202. The Veils of Nether (3/3)
Glen Mister Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor The Veils of Nether Part III -Someone else will come along-
The Wyvern turned his wedge shaped head on the young Zilan, twin black horns protruding out of a scaly forehead and growled warningly. Phinariel made another step forward and Biscuit walked on all fours towards her like a giant bat. The young Zilan gasped and stumbled back on shaky legs almost going down, large eyes opened wide with wonder. ¡°No,¡± Glen said through his teeth, barely standing upright. ¡°Leave her alone.¡± The Wyvern stopped at the sound of his voice and snorted. RRRRRRR Don¡¯t ye roar me ye little shit, Glen warned him. ¡°A word Hardir,¡± Anfalon rustled watching the scene unfolding. Behind him Maeriel helped the third Zilan to her feet and cleared the mud off her face. The female could barely stand as well. Ah. Yep, the hand is fucked. ¡°You¡¯ll talk to him later,¡± Jinx intervened running to catch a faltering Glen. ¡°He¡¯s injured.¡± Anfalon stood back surprised. ¡°When did it happen?¡± He grunted not convinced. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with him?¡± ¡°We fought the cultists earlier,¡± Angrein explained, as Jinx started carrying Glen towards their camp and the carriages. ¡°They killed two females. We have them buried.¡± ¡°Show me,¡± Anfalon said and Glen glanced at the strained face of Jinx supporting him. ¡°I¡¯m fine Whisper,¡± He croaked. ¡°I just need a minute.¡± ¡°The hells ye are,¡± Jinx spat. ¡°And ye weigh a fuckin¡¯ ton!¡±
¡°Keep an eye on Biscuit,¡± Glen groaned and collapsed on a saddle, the fingers on his left hand frozen. The skin black and hard as a rock. ¡°No one¡¯s going near the Wyvern, but for that girl,¡± Jinx hissed and looked at Flix that had followed them. The rest of their men had approached the Hoplite and the Zilan curious. They had created a semi-circle behind them, while Angrein pointed Anfalon to the freshly dug graves. ¡°Do you have a healing potion?¡± ¡°It won¡¯t help him,¡± The old Gish replied and got his pipe out, proceeding to fill it with dried up Redleaf crystals. ¡°Just give me whatever you gave to Soren,¡± Glen snapped and dropped Emerson¡¯s broken sword in front of him. ¡°I didn¡¯t give him anything,¡± Flix said and lit his pipe. ¡°Aye, Soren was always very durable. It¡¯s his constitution,¡± Jinx explained thoughtfully. ¡°Whisper, what does this have to do with him being able to brass off a blade through the fucking ribs?¡± Glen growled, everything hurting him. Jinx shrugged her shoulders. ¡°Was it the dagger?¡± She asked changing the subject. ¡°I didn¡¯t use it,¡± Glen snapped and Fikumin, who¡¯d approached them as well grunted. ¡°He¡¯s lying.¡± You boulder-nosed turd! ¡°Dwarf I dodged and had a plan on how to beat him,¡± Glen hissed, but Fikumin grimaced not convinced. ¡°I don¡¯t believe you. You did something.¡± ¡°I did not!¡± Glen insisted his patience running thin. ¡°Mayhap a haste spell?¡± Flix chanced and offered him the loaded pipe. Glen took it and sucked at the numbing substance eyeing the old Gish. ¡°I¡¯ve seen this on mages using a spell absent another medium.¡± ¡°What medium?¡± Glen asked feeling a little better. ¡°Prepared incense, a special mix of rare leaves, rocks and oils.¡± ¡°Can ye be more specific?¡± Glen probed. ¡°Frankincense, Sandalwood, Marjoram, Lavender¡­¡± Glen raised his good hand to stop him. ¡°Sen uses some of that stuff.¡± ¡°I do too, when I have time,¡± Jinx said a little offended. ¡°Mostly hers lately,¡± She added and Glen frowned looking at her. ¡°Whisper, I wasn¡¯t implying¡­ you know I value you as a friend,¡± He told her tiredly. ¡°Aww, yer so sweet when injured,¡± Jinx purred and with a small hesitation she expounded just to make it clear. ¡°I value Soren more, but you¡¯re a close second.¡± ¡°Fine, I can accept that,¡± Glen told her with a smile. Jinx grinned widely as well, pleased they had such a good understanding and then added whispering very quickly. ¡°I¡¯ve slept with yer wife.¡± Glen blinked in shock. The image disturbingly arousing. ¡°In her bed was my meaning,¡± Jinx blurted, not helping the image dissipate at all. ¡°A couple of times more than ten.¡± ¡°Ehm,¡± Glen droned unsure on what to say. Flix was rubbing a spot under his nostrils that suddenly bothered him and Fikumin who was the most prudish of the lot glared at the blushing young Gish furious. ¡°It wasn¡¯t sexual,¡± Jinx added. ¡°There then,¡± Glen said relieved and attempted to steer away from the uncomfortable topic. ¡°Now, Flix hand me that expired elixir of yours¡ª¡± ¡°But we were all naked,¡± Jinx added to get everything out of her chest given the opportunity. ¡°The girls too.¡± ¡°Damn you!¡± Fikumin snapped. ¡°You should be ashamed of yourself!¡± ¡°It was too darn hot in the ship!¡± Jinx protested and Glen sighed deeply, pressed the pipe on his mouth and inhaled as deep as he could, his eyes watering. ¡°I¡¯m not as sure about this one,¡± Flix told him calmly and offered him a rusty, mouldy and cracked vial. ¡°It¡¯s probably not mine also.¡± Glen cleared his throat and eyed through his haze Fikumin giving Jinx a tongue-lashing. ¡°So a fifty-fifty chance?¡± He asked him hopefully. ¡°Eh, I wouldn¡¯t be that optimistic,¡± Flix deadpanned. ¡°This has much lower chances, than my own potions¡­ Or it doesn¡¯t hehe,¡± He grinned at the last part. Glen who¡¯d no idea he was risking his life each time, uncorked the vial with his teeth, spat the stopper away and glugged it all down trying not to smell the foulness emanating from it. He almost cracked his skull open collapsing backwards, but Flix managed to hold him upright -of sorts- expecting it.
Clang. Glen saw the coin strike the first step of the stairs. It clattered for a moment and then stopped. A gold perfect square, classy undulating motif at its sides and nothing depicted at its center. On either side. ¡°It¡¯s a coin,¡± The man with the black dragon eyes said. ¡°Two sides of the same thing. Like dreams and visions.¡± Glen had climbed the stairs and had entered the old temple pyramid without realizing it. ¡°What does it mean?¡± He asked and raised his blackened hand to see if it had healed. ¡°This isn¡¯t that kind of dream,¡± The man said, reading his thoughts. ¡°I¡¯ve done this before,¡± Glen noted, looking about him. The walls were still standing, the roof as well. No holes, or signs of damage. ¡°Many a times,¡± The man replied, his common face blank of emotion. ¡°One time.¡± ¡°Which is it?¡± Glen asked and the man showed him the coin he held in his hands. Glen turned it around to check on both sides and found them identical. The man smirked, lips pressed together tightly. ¡°Rav¡¯ Naure,¡± The man said in Imperial. ¡°But you¡¯ll need the name to end it.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s the name?¡± Glen asked. He¡¯d no idea what the man was talking about. ¡°Without the name, you¡¯ll fail and die,¡± His smirk grew at the latter. ¡°The leash broken.¡± Suck a bag of dicks, un-carameled. ¡°What name?¡± Glen asked again, enjoying the insulted look on the man¡¯s face. ¡°Check your darn pockets,¡± The man sitting on the throne growled and the walls shook, the ground danced under his feet and his mouth flooded with water.
¡°GAAH!¡± Glen cried out and woke up coughing his lungs out. Water had gone down the wrong pipe, entered in his nose and then got expelled as he stumbled around retching. Jinx standing where he was laid down earlier, large iron carafe in her hands grinned. ¡°Whisper,¡± Glen said sounding strangled. ¡°What the actual fuck?¡± ¡°Had to force water down yer mouth,¡± She explained offering him some more. Glen waved her off still trying to get everything out. ¡°Dilute the effects of the potion.¡± ¡°I was out!¡± Glen protested angry. ¡°You could have drown me gods dammit!¡± ¡°Pfft, yer fine,¡± Jinx said dismissively. ¡°People can survive a bit of water.¡± ¡°Gish might!¡± Glen blasted her. ¡°Not normal people!¡± Jinx frowned, pink brows meeting in the middle of her small forehead. ¡°What you mean? I¡¯m as much a person as ye are!¡± ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake,¡± Glen groaned and tried to move his hand. The color had improved a bit, but he couldn¡¯t really close his fingers still. ¡°Can you bring me my leather gloves?¡± He asked her. ¡°Ahm,¡± Jinx said taken aback at the change of topic. ¡°Remind me which ones are these?¡± ¡°The ones ye pilfered out of my saddlebags,¡± Glen explained to her calmly. ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t and I resent¡ª¡± Glen stopped her raising his good arm. ¡°Whisper, get me the left one. I need to cover this,¡± He told her all serious. ¡°I¡¯ll go get them,¡± She relented. ¡°I had everything put in me sack to clean¡ª¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± Glen said cutting her off. ¡°I appreciate the gesture.¡±
Glen found Angrein working on Emerson¡¯s blade, the Zilan watching the Wyvern eating a jungle pig and making a show of it, but for Anfalon who listened to Fikumin. The Hoplite had taken his helm off and looked even more impressive. His long cobalt hair braided and caught at the nape. Elongated ears, gracing a chiseled long face, a thin straight nose and a pair of teal-silver eyes. Anfalon didn¡¯t look a day over thirty. Probably he¡¯s living a healthy life, Glen decided. Or walks about. I do and have turned out pretty darn fine. ¡°You¡¯ll need a new blade,¡± Angrein told him. ¡°How¡¯s the hand?¡± Glen wore one leather glove to cover it. ¡°Better.¡± ¡°Anfalon is willing to travel to Goras,¡± The Blacksmith continued. ¡°Help you resolve the issue.¡± ¡°I hadn¡¯t decided to get involved,¡± Glen told him and Angrein returned his stare. The eyes reminded Glen of the man in the dream. ¡°Anfalon expects you to solve the issue,¡± Angrein elucidated.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Ah. ¡°What¡¯s the deal with him?¡± ¡°A watchdog without purpose, or orders, might find purpose at some point. It might take him a while, but he¡¯ll look for it. Once he does,¡± Angrein sighed and dropped the broken parts of the sword down. ¡°It is better to have him on your side.¡± ¡°He¡¯s with the girls,¡± Glen said. ¡°They got to him first,¡± Angrein explained. ¡°Learning of the¡­ unfortunate events, had them shook to their core. Especially the youngling. Foolish they might be, but they have his ear.¡± ¡°Why foolish?¡± ¡°These Zilan never cared about the strays,¡± Angrein explained. ¡°It wasn¡¯t hate, though some of it was present in the Queen¡¯s circles, but more indifference.¡± ¡°Why hate?¡± Glen asked. ¡°The strays loved Edlenn and she loved them was the word,¡± Angrein said thinking back. ¡°And they worship the Moon¡¯s Daughter, still wait for her return. It didn¡¯t sit well with the palace.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that blue cunt in Rida called¡ª?¡± Jinx started to say, but Glen turned around and put a hand on her chest to stop her. He wasn¡¯t going for that, but got a handful of it, over her leather vest. Jinx had filled up nicely in the years he knew her and had grown quite the nipple. ¡°Whisper, I need a favor,¡± Glen told her, his voice cracking at the end of it. ¡°We¡¯ll talk later Angrein.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have a new blade made for you,¡± The Blacksmith said. ¡°When I get my forge back.¡± ¡°Keep the handle,¡± Glen urged him, just as a livid Jinx removed his hand from her breast with a hiss. ¡°It has sentimental value.¡± ¡°It¡¯s cracked Garth. I need to make a new one, but I can keep the spirit of the old blade in it,¡± Angrein explained. ¡°You mean the engravings?¡± Glen asked and Angrein smiled thinly. ¡°They are worn out,¡± Glen added. ¡°It¡¯s an Elk, I give you my assurance that the result will please you,¡± Angrein said, sounding offended. ¡°Gratitude,¡± Glen said a little embarrassed. ¡°Whatever I can do to reward you for yer trouble¡ª¡± ¡°Get Anfalon on our side,¡± Angrein told him quickly lowering his voice. ¡°Go to Goras and root the cultists out. Be Hardir and not something else.¡± ¡°What else?¡± Glen asked him taken aback at his proposal. ¡°Many have tamed Wyverns here Garth. Made fortunes and garnered great fame,¡± Angrein had told him. ¡°But very few had ruled over these lands. If you don¡¯t, someone else will come along and rule over you.¡± Like the cultists was his meaning. Or Anfalon, if the females had their way.
Glen stared at the various groups formed in their camp, Anfalon and Angrein with Maeriel, an Imperial Ranger apparently and Lymsiel, a lower caste Healer. Kalac with his riders at the periphery. Alix, Metu and Flix talking about potions in their own little group. Biscuit resting next to his meal, burgundy eyes with transparent eyelids closed observing Glen and Jinx in his semi sleeping state. Phinariel standing at a distance, watching the Wyvern in turn awed and extremely curious. ¡°Apologies for before,¡± Glen said to Jinx and she snorted, then punched his right shoulder hard. She must have hurt her fingers something fierce, but Jinx was never going to admit that, so she swallowed her pain, eyes tearing up in a glare of sorts. ¡°Yer not sorry,¡± Jinx hissed. ¡°I had to remove your hand.¡± It was the truth. Once Glen had grabbed that tit he wasn¡¯t releasing it that easy. ¡°It¡¯s a man thing,¡± He told her mocking Jinx¡¯s similar answers and she rolled her eyes, making the unashamedly watching them Phinariel chuckle. ¡°So?¡± Jinx asked him. ¡°So I¡¯m not sorry,¡± Glen admitted. ¡°It won¡¯t happen again though.¡± The young Gish pushed a pink curl behind an ear. ¡°I don¡¯t believe you,¡± She told him earnestly. ¡°As I was saying,¡± Glen continued to speed the conversation along, the Wyvern making low guttural sounds dreaming -gods only knew of what- distracting him. ¡°I wanted to keep some things hidden.¡± ¡°From Angrein?¡± ¡°From everyone,¡± Glen explained, looking at the pretty young Zilan. Phinariel blinked and then blushed. She was glowing almost, every bit of exposed skin and more so her eyes, in the dark moonless night. Hmm. ¡°Glen,¡± Jinx interrupted him. ¡°She¡¯s a kid.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t¡­¡± He cleared his throat and glared at her. ¡°You know I¡¯ve one woman on my mind!¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Jinx replied. ¡°Since she¡¯s a Zilan and I¡¯m a Gish, yer answer leaves plenty of room for interpretation.¡± ¡°Whisper you¡¯re stalling our talk,¡± He growled. ¡°Glen she¡¯ll run to her friends and tell them everything,¡± Jinx replied teasingly. Ah. Damn it. Glen eyed the alluring teen under a new light. Ye sneaky little shit. ¡°Do you have a god you pray to?¡± He asked the young Zilan, pausing at every word in common. Phinariel pointed at the canopy over their heads. No sky was visible, but for the part the Wyvern had destroyed to reach them earlier. ¡°The Moon¡¯s Daughter,¡± She replied in singing common. ¡°You speak Common?¡± Glen asked her surprised. ¡°It¡¯s a very simple language,¡± She replied smugly, as if trying to impress him. Well, Glen didn¡¯t think it was. ¡°Maeriel taught her,¡± Jinx ratted her out and Phinariel threw her a glare. ¡°Right,¡± Glen said staring at his boots. ¡°Who is the Moon¡¯s daughter Phina?¡± ¡°Edlenn is the Garden¡¯s Moon. The Moon¡¯s youngest daughter is our Goddess,¡± Phina recited what she had been taught orally. ¡°How many daughters were there?¡± ¡°Two daughters.¡± ¡°Why not worship the older one?¡± Glen asked wryly. ¡°Edlenn lost her at the Plague Isles,¡± Phinariel replied quickly. ¡°It¡¯s an evil place, where dead walk amongst the living.¡± Good fucking grief. ¡°Do you wanna pet Biscuit?¡± ¡°Bis¡­ cou¡­it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s what I call him,¡± Glen explained. ¡°Come let¡¯s give this sleepy boy a nudge.¡±
Phinariel, yes that¡¯s Lady Phinariel, lost her mind with the Wyvern and Garth. She loved all of us in that youngling¡¯s strange and innocent adoration. She was like the glue and still is in a sense, bringing together a diverse group of people, with dissimilar ideas and vastly different plans for the future. Garth, forced by circumstances to investigate the happenings at Goras, followed the Imperial Blacksmith¡¯s advice to placate Anfalon. Maeriel, the Ranger wanted to bring survivors to Phinariel¡¯s village and away from the Veils of Nether grip, but Flix of all people preached long on breaking their hold over the ruins. As I said younglings, everyone had their own agenda and Garth who could have fooled you as a brainless simpleton, had to manage all those wants and shape them into a coherent narrative. A true ruler forges his own story working with the material at hand. Using a sledgehammer isn¡¯t always the solution and what is decent isn¡¯t always what is right. You see Garth, with all his faults wasn¡¯t stupid and in the end we all realized he knew more than everyone else, but never opened up truly. He¡¯d also an uncanny ability to smell big trouble, but also miss the little things. And no he didn¡¯t reveal his secrets to anyone. At least not that I know off.
There was a thick mist covering the coast, the trees losing the battle to the basalt rock covering the aloof south portion of the narrow peninsula. The uncharacteristic rocky terrain created out of frozen lava from the crater that had formed it, when the mountains had sunk and the waters had taken over. ¡°There was a ¡®bridge¡¯ here,¡± Angrein explained pointing at the massive stone supports still visible on the edge of the gap. ¡°It reached the mountains and North Goras. The most expensive estates were built at its slopes.¡± ¡°Where is it? North Goras?¡± Glen asked and Angrein pointed at the unseen waters. ¡°Right,¡± Glen grimaced and eyed the Caravan slowly gathering. A camp would be built soon, a more permanent one, until they knew what was ahead of them. ¡°What¡¯s at the end of the peninsula?¡± ¡°A part of the city, the East Part. Temples mostly and gardens,¡± Angrein said reminiscing. ¡°Hopefully still left standing.¡± ¡°Why built around a volcano?¡± Glen asked. ¡°The land was very rich, the view breathtaking and the Wyverns love the heat. They procreate faster here. Although that is disputed.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s the volcano?¡± ¡°Beyond the city¡¯s center. Ahm, it¡¯s very far away and I don¡¯t know if something remains there, but the boiling waters.¡± ¡°The water seems fine,¡± Glen noticed. ¡°On this side, in Wyvern¡¯s Mouth it is, but over yonder where the crater stands¡­ the earth is still bleeding.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± Angrein shrugged his shoulders. ¡°I may be wrong Garth.¡± ¡°How soon can you have a blade ready?¡± Glen asked him. ¡°It will be ready, when it is,¡± Angrein replied and walked away. He was always prickly about his craft.
¡°How soon will the birds reach Eikenport?¡± Glen asked Metu five days later, the massive ruins of Ninthalor¡¯s Bridge looming over them. ¡°Within a week,¡± The slave replied eating a dried strawberry. Glen had no idea they still had those. ¡°Another to reach the camp, plus the runner needs to reach us of course.¡± ¡°Can we send one from Goras?¡± ¡°Not immediately but yes,¡± Metu replied. ¡°We need to have a way to communicate with Stiles and Sen Metu,¡± Glen told him. ¡°Of course Master Garth,¡± The slave replied. ¡°I will work on it immediately. It would be sooner with more help around.¡± Glen grimaced. ¡°I¡¯ll see what I can do.¡±
Sam Mathews stretched his arms out and eyed him approaching on top of his horse. Glen jumped down and walked briskly towards the adventurer. ¡°I need a scouting expedition party formed, Mr. Mathews.¡± ¡°A couple of horselords, myself and one of your Gish¡¯s will do it Garth,¡± Sam replied nonchalantly. ¡°A bigger force than that.¡± ¡°The Hoplite, his Ranger¡­ that¡¯s enough people. It¡¯s better to keep your guards with the caravan.¡± ¡°Five Horselords and Kalac. The Hoplite, Maeriel and the Gish. Us two,¡± Glen counted. ¡°That¡¯s thirteen. What about the dwarf?¡± Glen nodded and went to find Angrein. The heat near the forge suffocating. The Blacksmith¡¯s physique impressive. Glen thought the man had more muscles on his neck than what people had on their whole bodies. Angrein was working on the sword¡¯s engravings. The needle like tool tiny in his hands. The horned head of the Elk that was to be the pommel on the grip so lifelike despite being minute in size, Glen thought it moved the moment it heard him approach. Whoa. ¡°That¡¯s pretty darn impressive,¡± He said earnestly. ¡°Do you want to see the blade?¡± Angrein asked him, leaving the finished part on a table. He reached and got a bundle of cloth smelling of oil and unfurled it. The steel blade gleamed in the sun, a dark shade running its length but for the edges. ¡°It¡¯s shorter than it was and I used both your swords to make it.¡± Glen took it in his hand, the handle was fixed on it, with only the curved pommel missing. The leather on it hard and rough to the feel. ¡°Chimera hide,¡± Angrein explained. ¡°It¡¯s a serviceable weapon, but I may make you a fancier one, if I find the material.¡± ¡°It will do,¡± Glen murmured testing it. Each time he cut through the air the metal chimed making a distinct sound. It reminded him of a jackal¡¯s howl. ¡°That¡¯s imperial steel then?¡± He asked the Blacksmith and the brawny man stood back a little offended. ¡°That¡¯s an Angrein O¡¯ Mecatan blade,¡± He rustled through his teeth. ¡°Heated and folded twenty times and cooled as many plus one to honor the Great Architect. It won¡¯t fail you in battle.¡± ¡°Does it have a name?¡± Glen asked him. ¡°You can¡¯t name a reforged weapon Garth,¡± Angrein said. ¡°Unless it¡¯s yours. Is it?¡± Glen could have lied there, but he didn¡¯t. He thought of Emerson. Claiming his sword would have been like admitting the Knight was dead and Glen had stubbornly refused to accept that. ¡°It¡¯s not,¡± He said. ¡°Let its owner decide whether it deserves a name or not,¡± Angrein told him and accepted the sword from Glen again. ¡°If the request is just, Gimoss will listen.¡± Glen blinked and then sighed. The man is going to be shocked if he ever meets his God, he thought. Or delighted, people can be weird. ¡°Gratitude Angrein,¡± He said instead and the Imperial Blacksmith grunted at the needless praise. ¡°It was a trade Garth. Now it¡¯s on you to deliver on yer promise.¡±
East Goras stood just beyond the lightly sloped sides of a plateau, with a green mass of ancient yew trees creating a thick but easily crossed forest covering it fully. The mist covered forest majestic and mysterious, the distant rumble of a waterfall pouring down a great height, sounding in the distance. ¡°Witch¡¯s trees,¡± Flix said, standing next to him on top of his horse, a hood shading his aged face. ¡°Young Jinx should make a better bow given the opportunity. I asked Maeriel to help her.¡± ¡°Why Maeriel?¡± Glen asked, who had caught Jinx¡¯s interest on the imposing Zilan Ranger. ¡°Those two need to work it out,¡± Flix replied. ¡°They¡¯ll make a good couple.¡± ¡°Hah, they are nothing alike ye old fool,¡± Glen guffawed. ¡°I know people, Garth,¡± Flix insisted. ¡°There¡¯s someone watching us from that tree,¡± He added. ¡°I¡¯ll go and prevent the Hoplite from doing anything rush.¡± ¡°Which tree¡­¡± Glen snapped, glancing towards the huge and many hanging branches over their heads. ¡°I thought ye wanted the conflict Gish.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure she¡¯s a cultist,¡± Flix replied eyeing him. Glen narrowed his eyes not seeing anything moving about them. ¡°She?¡± ¡°Caught a whiff of jojoba oil,¡± Flix admitted with a snort. ¡°Females used it on their hair. Gives a certain shine, without the need for a spell.¡± Glen sniffled trying to catch the scent, scrunching his jaw this way and that. He sighed when he failed and jumped down from his horse, sidestepping at the last moment to avoid the cackling Wyvern bulldozing him to the ground sneakily. He could get near you without any noise, as if he was using magic, but got overly excited near the end, usually giving himself away. It was Biscuit¡¯s favorite game since he was little, but Biscuit wasn¡¯t petite anymore and Glen had no bones left to spare. The Wyvern snorted miffed at the near miss and eyed Glen asking for a best of three tries game probably. Glen would have none of that though and waved him off. ¡°No more games,¡± He grunted over the Wyvern¡¯s loud squealing protests and a Zilan female dropped from a high branch and landed five meters away from them. Glen and Biscuit had left the rest of their group behind. People usually kept a safe distance from the Wyvern truth be told. Except for Phinariel that is. The Zilan gasped seeing the Wyvern looking at her curious and semi-hungry, then glanced at the dumbfounded Glen. The former thief puffed his cheeks out, ballooning his face comically, the Zilan a perfect copy almost of the one that Pyriael had killed a couple of weeks back. A bit older perhaps and knowing their species that could range from years to centuries. She stood up on her feet slowly and with a resigned sigh walked up to a weirded out Glen and threw herself at his feet. RRRRREEEE! The Wyvern roared mistaking her actions, but Glen stopped him raising a gloved hand, the other on the grip of his dagger to catch the Zilan¡¯s words. Although he didn¡¯t have to. ¡°Oh, Tamer of Beasts,¡± She begged in fluent common. ¡°I Soletha, of Farelnn willingly surrender my life unto to you, just spare my daughter!¡± Eh, Glen thought and got all that air out troubled. ¡°Does she have a name, your daughter?¡± He asked her although knowing Luthos, Glen already could guess at the answer. ¡°Meira,¡± She replied and sensing his mood started shaking, her grief so raw Glen stumbled back a couple of steps astounded. He remembered the blade opening up her neck from ear to ear. The lifeless corpse thrown into the shallow grave by the road. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± He murmured and heard the others approaching them, the horses neighing not all of them likening being near the Wyvern. ¡°For the Goddess¡¯ love ever be eternal and a mother¡¯s affection never sated,¡± Soletha managed to say as dignified as she could. ¡°Let the foul beast and its disciples be driven from the Goddess Springs. Let their black hearts be eaten,¡± She raised her cobalt head to stare into his eyes. ¡°Whilst they¡¯re still beating.¡± Ahm, Glen thought unsure and Anfalon who¡¯d approached put a hand on her shoulder and helped the grief stricken mother up. ¡°Arise respectable priestess of the Eternal Waters,¡± The Hoplite said sounding moved. ¡°For the harshest of justice has arrived and the land shall be cleansed.¡±
203. Hardir O Fardor (1/2)
Whisper ''Pretty Nose'' Jinx Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Part I -The deadliest game in the Realm-
¡°Let her sleep,¡± The King rustled smiling at the sight of the little girl making faces as she dreamed and then turned his amber eyes on the solemn Ranger that had brought her back safe. There were black circles under her eyes and Maeriel looked worn out. ¡°Is there something else?¡± He asked her. She gave a small nod with her head, then walked to Fikumin and gave him a beautiful engraved longbow and an equally expensive wooden quiver. The King knew those weapons very well and he swallowed slowly, his mouth bitter. ¡°You should keep those,¡± He suggested and Fikumin nodded agreeing. ¡°With all the respect sire, I can¡¯t keep them,¡± Maeriel replied standing back and setting her jaw added. ¡°She left her weapons as a coming of age gift for your daughter.¡±
New Goras circa 194 NC Crack¡­ Went the small branch, a bird with a meter long tail squeaking scared and flying away. Its plumage blue, orange and a bright yellow. A white-headed flying monkey tried to catch it while airborne, but missed it and landed next to a frowned Jinx. Oh-oh, ah-ah, went the monkey and spat a fat blob of phlegm on her pants. ¡°Ye fuckin¡¯ cunt,¡± Jinx growled and tried to kick the little animal. The monkey jumped away and cackled hysterically giving her the middle finger. Jinx hissed and reached for an arrow, but Maeriel put a hand on her shoulder, long fingers reaching almost to her neck and stopped her. ¡°It shall sleep hungry because of you,¡± The Zilan said in her singing voice. Jinx snorted, shook her hand away and went to gather a couple of leaves to clear her pants. ¡°Friend of yours?¡± She told her eyeing the small monkey watching them from a tall branch. Maeriel frowned, purple and silver mixed in her large eyes, the scar under her chin visible. ¡°My friends have all perished,¡± She replied and Jinx gasped not knowing what to say and glared at the monkey. ¡°It was a joke,¡± Jinx blurted out finally. Maeriel nodded and signed for the monkey to approach them. ¡°A bad one.¡± ¡°I admit to an untruth as well,¡± The Zilan ranger told her. ¡°A tasteless jest prompted by your bad joke,¡± She added and patted the monkey¡¯s head softly. The little creature grinned happy and used his long tongue to clear his chin and nose. Thoroughly. ¡°I¡¯ll cut a branch down,¡± Jinx decided, watching the monkey climbing on Maeriel¡¯s back and hugging her long neck. Breathe girl. Move away now. ¡°There are branches a plenty,¡± Maeriel said following after her. ¡°All around us, why cut one?¡± ¡°Searching the forest for the proper one sounds stupid,¡± Jinx replied, a little tensed. ¡°Hurting a living tree sounds cruel,¡± Maeriel argued. ¡°And counterproductive when proper wood is readily available.¡± Well, not always, Jinx thought with a lecherous grin. Being in that kind of mood all of sudden are we girl? Oh, crap. ¡°It¡¯s one branch Maeriel,¡± Jinx insisted, all this time following the narrow path amidst the ancient yew trees. The Zilan made to answer her, but the forest came to an abrupt end suddenly and they saw the springs at the top of the plateau. Water was coming out of the cracks on the soft rock, flowed briefly over the harder one and then dropped into the large lake below. Hoo-ha, ah-ah, the monkey said excited and Maeriel smiled a predator¡¯s smile that took Jinx¡¯s breath away. ¡°Go Bobelo check it out for us,¡± The Zilan whispered into the monkey¡¯s ear, glancing her way. ¡°That¡¯s his name?¡± She croaked, just as the monkey flew away clumsily, thin arms beating at the air spastically. Not that the Gish cared about the monkey anymore. Jinx was fighting a losing battle here. ¡°Why?¡± Maeriel probed sensing her turmoil. ¡°Glen will call him Bob. I bet ya,¡± Jinx explained and backed away, when Maeriel approached her. The Zilan stopped not expecting it and then blushed fiercely. She cleared her throat a couple of times and then asked casually, staring at the massive amount of clear water cascading down the edge of the plateau. A small lake pouring into a bigger a one. ¡°Is Hardir O¡¯ Fardor your mate? Glen a term of endearment?¡± The question taking Jinx by surprise. ¡°For Sen it is,¡± She replied. ¡°My Glen is her favorite expression.¡± ¡°Sen?¡± ¡°Sen-Iv. His wife.¡± ¡°Ah, so he keeps Gish as¡ª¡± Jinx stopped her before she could finish. ¡°No. People don¡¯t do that anymore Maeriel.¡± ¡°They don¡¯t?¡± Jinx sighed. ¡°Not as much. Not Glen.¡± ¡°How did he found the Wyvern?¡± Maeriel queried, her long ears turning gracefully slightly right and left, as if trying to discern hidden sounds amidst the noise coming from the waterfalls. ¡°He hatched an egg I gave him,¡± Jinx bit her lip at that. She shouldn¡¯t be talking to her. What are you doing? She admonished herself and Maeriel who was watching the young Gish out of the corner of her eyes let out a deep sigh. ¡°Apologies,¡± The Zilan said. ¡°I couldn¡¯t help myself. I¡¯ve never been with a ¡®Skilled¡¯ one before. You¡¯re very attractive.¡± Aww. Jinx licked her lips and walked up to the taller female. Much taller. What the actual fuck? She cursed staring at the Zilan¡¯s boobs. ¡°Why skilled?¡± Jinx asked and realized Maeriel¡¯s skin glowed from inside, the small dark veins dancing and visible. ¡°What Gish means,¡± The ranger whispered, looking down over those mounts of flesh. ¡°Did ye just spell-fuck me?¡± Jinx retorted and watched her blush to the roots of her hair. ¡°Alas, I used this scouting trip as a ruse,¡± Maeriel admitted and hang her head. ¡°I shall remove myself and never approach you again¡ª¡± Eh. ¡°Don¡¯t be a fuckin¡¯ idiot,¡± Jinx told her, stopping her ridiculous nonsense. ¡°Just give me a warning first.¡± ¡°A warning,¡± Maeriel droned and licked her lips. ¡°As in a sign, a secret call¡ª¡± Jinx stopped her again with a groan. ¡°A simple wink will suffice,¡± She deadpanned. Maeriel stood back utterly confused and Jinx went to explain to her, but a male Zilan appeared across the small lake next to the springs, about thirty meters from them. He carried a long bow and was dressed in light armour. Another two coming after him. He stared at Jinx stunned and she stared at him equally amazed for a brief moment. Then the small monkey flew over them cackling and broke the stalemate.
¡°RUN!¡± Jinx swung around and danced behind a trunk, but Maeriel was already there and grabbing her arm pushed Jinx even further back. ¡°What?¡± Jinx gasped, whilst fumbling with her bow, hands shaking. Maeriel hissed and shoved her hard with her left hand, then brought it behind her head in a single fluid move and fired an arrow in the blink of an eye at a thick bush located over Jinx¡¯s right shoulder. The arrow whistled angry just as Jinx tumbled like a ball on the muddy ground, another flying and striking the spot she stood a moment earlier. A Zilan came out of the foliage, bowstring drawn, glanced at the tumbling Gish for a split second and then fired again aiming for the moving Maeriel. The ranger twirled on her back foot to dodge it, whilst reloading her own bow. It was poetry in motion. Maeriel fired whispering under her breath, the smell of burning incense flooding Jinx¡¯s nostrils, but missed as her opponent blurred away and when he came about both Zilan had switched to their long knives.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. ¡°Leave Jinx!¡± Maeriel yelled at her. ¡°They¡¯re on to us!¡± How? She wondered reaching for Zola¡¯s quiver, but the Zilan she¡¯d spotted over the small lake not even a minute back, dropped from the trees in front of her and kicked her hard in the chest. Right at her coin purse. Jinx flew backwards, somersaulted midair dropping her broken bow and landed awkwardly on a shoulder. She gasped, got up on a knee and reached for her shortsword with a hand, the other digging in the mud. The Zilan came at her, three red lines running down his face, eyes gleaming smugly, when he jumped aside avoiding her slash. The next moment he got a mouthful of mud between his teeth and coughed it back out furious. Jinx made to taunt him, but Maeriel cried out a warning and the Gish ducked instinctively, the arrow buzzing next to her ear and stabbing a tree trunk to the fletching¡¯s. We¡¯re gonna lose here darling. Perish unloved in the middle of Abrakas arsehole, thinking on what could have been, she thought and sidestepped away from the first Zilan¡¯s blade, putting him in the field of view of his friend. The first Zilan hissed, face covered in mud and hopefully a bit of monkey shit, and his unseen friend got out from his hiding place, a long curved blade in hand and walked towards her. Oi, crap! Jinx jumped away again, her opponent following her and trying another high slash. The Gish stooped forward into a deep bow, a leg firmly planted on the ground, forehead pressed on her shin, the other leg rising counter-clockwise and smacking the Zilan right on the nose breaking it. The male stumbled back, but before a rising Jinx could take advantage from the respite, the apparently not that badly hurt Zilan reached forward and grabbed her by the throat with his left hand. The male ranger showed her his bloody teeth and went to take a bite out of her face, but something came out of his throat in a gory explosion, the steel tip almost killing Jinx as well and his fingers lost the grip on her neck. Jinx went down, eyes ogling and trying desperately to breathe, whilst the male collapsed next to her and the Hoplite¡¯s voice rang amidst the trees. ¡°Spilling blood in the Eternal Springs is prohibited,¡± Anfalon grunted sounding irate and started walking briskly towards the gasping Jinx. ¡°Yield now fools, for the chance at a swift execution!¡± The Zilan that had tried to circle around her paused and stared at the approaching Hoplite. Anfalon had hurled his spear from at least a hundred meters away, the fact he hadn¡¯t skewered Jinx along with her opponent a show of great skill. Or a ton of fuckin¡¯ luck. The Zilan thought about it and seeing his friend retreating away from Maeriel, he turned away and jumped up a tree, fast as a cat. Anfalon let him go and reached to pick Jinx off the ground. ¡°Gratitude,¡± Jinx said breathlessly to the sinister helm, her knees still shaking. Anfalon snorted and stooped to get his spear out of the dead ranger¡¯s neck. ¡°Is she hurt?¡± Maeriel asked and run towards them worried. ¡°Maeriel, this is unbecoming your station,¡± Anfalon admonished her. ¡°Please restrain yourself in my presence!¡± Maeriel blushed fiercely and bowed her purple-blue head as deeply as Jinx had afore chastised. Jinx felt blood rushing down her loins. ¡°I shall strive to improve myself Anfalon, of Orloriel!¡± She droned truthfully, Glen¡¯s voice cutting through her apologies. ¡°What is this shite?¡± The ¡®great¡¯ Hardir O¡¯ Fardor complained, pushing branches and shrubbery aside, soaked to the bone. ¡°How are we supposed to get down from this fucking rock?¡±
Apparently there was a road leading down towards Goras¡¯ twin -still standing- ancient towers. It was built in the wall of the steep slope facing the lake and descended for almost two kilometers. One could see the massive ruins rising in the mist beyond the great lake, despite being kilometers away. Anfalon had described them as the North Gates. The towers height well over a hundred meters according to Angrein. Glen gave a thoroughly embarrassed Maeriel a tongue-lashing for putting Jinx in danger and Whisper wanted to kick him in the jewels for conveniently forgetting, it was his idea to send them ahead of the group to scout in the first place. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have let them escape,¡± Flix argued. ¡°That was a lapse in judgement.¡± ¡°We should give them a chance to do the right thing,¡± Anfalon told him. ¡°They¡¯ll never surrender, or leave willingly Anfalon,¡± Flix insisted. ¡°Not everyone is a cultist Gish!¡± Anfalon admonished him. ¡°Let¡¯s not go about murdering the local populace on sight,¡± Glen agreed eyeing the deep waters with apprehension. Anfalon snapped his head towards him. ¡°They can be no mercy for those committing atrocities, none.¡± Glen grimaced. ¡°Twas my meaning friend.¡± Oh, this will need addressing soon, Jinx thought. ¡°We follow the road to the lake,¡± Fikumin said. ¡°Then we skirt around it. Does the mist lift at all down there?¡± ¡°There is a road to follow,¡± Angrein argued and Kalac snorted not likening riding in the blind. ¡°I will scout ahead,¡± Maeriel offered. ¡°I will help,¡± Jinx added and Glen whipped his head her way livid. ¡°You¡¯re going to get yourselves killed. It¡¯s better to send Alix. He¡¯s smart enough not to get spotted.¡± ¡°Eh,¡± Alix said unsure on the praise. ¡°I move better in the night.¡± ¡°With the amount of mist down there, it¡¯s practically the same thing!¡± Glen argued looking at him with hatred. Jinx chuckled, Glen was so transparent at times it was downright funny. ¡°No it¡¯s not actually,¡± Alix insisted not backing down. Flix tapped her shoulder and Jinx turned to look at his aged face. The ancient Gish had run out of makeup for a long time now. His real face showing clearly. ¡°What?¡± She probed, while Glen and Alix went on lengthy diatribes on the amount of visibility one had in the fog versus the night. ¡°Get going,¡± The old Gish urged her. ¡°Let her lead the way, for she will follow you everywhere, hehe. We¡¯ll come right after you.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t trust ye old bones,¡± Jinx told him. ¡°Thou shouldn¡¯t, you¡¯re a smart Gish,¡± Flix retorted without being insulted. ¡°But we need to finish here soon. So get going chop-chop.¡± ¡°Why? Are you pressed for time?¡± Jinx asked him narrowing her eyes. ¡°Everyone is,¡± Flix replied with a sigh. ¡°You¡¯ve a rare chance here Jinx. Few Gish had it in the past. Very few and none without huge sacrifices. Win and built a place for you and yours. But if this fails, you¡¯ll never see your family again.¡± ¡°Is that a threat?¡± ¡°Not from me,¡± Flix replied gravely. Jinx gathered a few wayward pink curls off her face and into a fresh ponytail. ¡°You don¡¯t know me old bones,¡± She finally murmured. ¡°I¡¯m not easy to intimidate.¡± ¡°Derix, Ubix and Linx. The twins,¡± Flix said stooping near her face. ¡°You talk in your sleep youngling. Nothing is too far for the Circle.¡± ¡°Fuck you.¡± ¡°Not an easy thing in my condition and you¡¯re not my type,¡± Flix replied. ¡°I want what¡¯s good for you. You¡¯re alive because I vouched for your usefulness.¡± ¡°To whom? ¡°Every shadow you pass by, every dark alley you enter.¡± ¡°Does he know?¡± Jinx asked and Flix shook his head negatively. ¡°It¡¯s how things always worked youngling. Rulers don¡¯t bother themselves with the minutiae. We take care of that.¡± ¡°What the fuck happened to you?¡± ¡°I lived in an age without options, survived through sheer will and obeying without hesitation. The most horrifying commands you¡¯ll ever imagine. This will be my last service though,¡± He told her setting his jaw. ¡°Bringing Glen to Goras,¡± Jinx whispered. ¡°Bringing a Wyvern back to Wetull,¡± Flix corrected her. ¡°Honoring the only family I ever had, before it¡¯s too late.¡±
Jinx puffed out and Maeriel hearing her, glanced back. ¡°You¡¯re troubled,¡± The Zilan ranger noticed and Jinx looked back at the barely visible Glen standing next to Anfalon waiting for their signal it was safe to approach the lake. ¡°Why are you here Maeriel?¡± ¡°Help my people,¡± She replied without hesitation. ¡°Phina isn¡¯t your people, but you helped her as well,¡± Jinx noticed. ¡°Two centuries are enough to make you see things differently,¡± Maeriel said after a thoughtful moment. ¡°See beyond castes and station.¡± ¡°Does Anfalon agree to that?¡± ¡°He¡¯s too old, never cared about politics,¡± Maeriel replied. ¡°In the end he was lonely as much as everyone else. It was Phinariel¡¯s bold action that brought him to us.¡± ¡°Uhm.¡± Maeriel looked at her. ¡°You¡¯re troubled. But not about me,¡± She decided. ¡°Nor Anfalon.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°You¡¯re too close to Hardir. You have his ear lass of the Sinking Isles,¡± Maeriel told her. ¡°A dangerous place for you. People shall either seek your favor, or your elimination young Jinx.¡± ¡°This is ridiculous,¡± Jinx hissed. Maeriel chuckled, her eyes beaming. ¡°No,¡± She replied, signaling for their friends to approach. ¡°It¡¯s politics. The deadliest game in the Realm.¡±
The massive houses were abandoned at first glance. Overgrowth had covered some of them, but not all. Triangle-shaped, mostly scalene variants of it, the windows floor to ceiling and oddly shaped. Built out of sturdy cut granite mixed with colorful quartz, they gave a strange glow at the rare sun ray that escaped the lake¡¯s heavy mist. Mostly two storied, the size of villas and as tall as small towers. They faced the Eternal Lake¡¯s banks, long paved pathways leading to the sandy beach at its front. ¡°Soletha maintained the place,¡± Maeriel murmured, ¡°With her daughter and her lover.¡± ¡°Where are the rest?¡± Jinx asked, staring at the silent buildings by the lake. ¡°It was a vacation spot,¡± Maeriel explained. ¡°Not many residents when the city was destroyed.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a lot of city remaining.¡± ¡°That¡¯s just the outskirts of Goras,¡± Maeriel explained and stopped suddenly. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Back away.¡± Jinx saw the Zilan appearing out of the mist. She recognized Pyriael amongst them. ¡°Towards the buildings,¡± Maeriel hissed and followed after her when Jinx started retreating. The Gish signed for Glen to watch out and when he didn¡¯t seem to notice, Maeriel fired an arrow in front of his horse and that did it. ¡°Murderers, looters and infidels,¡± A Zilan wearing a long dark and scaly robe said, addressing the others present. About thirty of them, but not everyone was armed. He pointed a finger at Glen¡¯s smaller group. ¡°Hiding in the dark, shovel in hand to dig up the graves and kill the Goddess¡¯ children.¡± ¡°Which Goddess is that Pelleas?¡± Anfalon boomed stepping forward. The two groups were about twenty meters apart. ¡°The one that stayed to pick up the pieces,¡± The Priest replied. ¡°Repair the crazy Queen¡¯s mistakes. Cleanse the land.¡± ¡°Thou should have stayed on your mountain,¡± Anfalon told him and reached for his spear. ¡°Then again you made it easier for me.¡± ¡°Her rule is broken, Anfalon,¡± Pelleas replied, keeping his composure. ¡°I don¡¯t see your Wyvern. I heard it¡¯s a young one. Pity you kept it away.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not his Wyvern,¡± Glen said, sounding pissed as all hells. ¡°You killed your own people and dare stand there and preach of righteousness?¡± ¡°Who are you?¡± Pelleas asked eyeing him like a bug that dropped into his soup. He was short for a Zilan and not very athletic, but he had a hypnotic stare that was creepy as fuck, Jinx thought and felt Maeriel lacing her long fingers to hers comfortingly. ¡°I¡¯m Hardir O¡¯ Fardor,¡± Glen replied and unsheathed his new sword. ¡°I¡¯m bored talking to yer likes frog-eyes. Frankly I can barely breathe in this god-forsaken place. I suggest you give up and let these people go.¡± ¡°These people,¡± Pelleas growled, not expecting the insult. ¡°Swore their lives to Vemoro Sinya Nore. Thou should do the same.¡± ¡°Suck a bag of dicks,¡± Glen deadpanned and then added without looking away. ¡°Flix?¡± Pelleas flinched in panic seeing his death and the assassin¡¯s bolt went into the upper part of his shoulder, breaking the bone there and hurled him to the ground like a ragdoll. Chaos erupted in the fog-covered lake quarter at the outskirts of Goras. Arrows whistled, swords clanged and people cursed in fury, or fear. A Wyvern shrieked enthusiastically flying over them and Vemoro that was sleeping at the bottom of the lake woke up and rose out of its still mist-covered waters.
204. Hardir O Fardor (2/2)
Glen Mister Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Part II -The Wyvern¡¯s Name-
Oh, that good ole Elas the Wise had a secret thorn, an evil blister, A shrewd lass that wasn¡¯t the most fair, nor rumored to be kind. Folk said even her dreams were cruel. Horrors and whispers tied in a bind. Loyal repulsive shades were her lovers and her closest aides. In her tenth named year she journeyed the ever dark Cydonia. In its darkest pit she made a Circle for her blades. Caged in it a piece of living light, in blissful horrifying catatonia. When the King of Kings asked Elas to end her reign, Oh, that vain ole fool up ¡®n refused, for the evil cunt was his twin sister. Elas Folly Ancient Zilan Bard¡¯s song First Era
Anfalon shoved him aside, an arrow breaking on the Hoplite¡¯s thorax the next moment. Glen twisted around, found his footing and run for cover, arrows zipping angry right and left. A Zilan went down with a gasp of horror, a female, skewered through her head. A Horselord dropped from his horse, three arrows in his torso and the others charged the scrabbling Zilan head on with sabers drawn. Glen glanced back to find Outlaw, but a Zilan reached him and had to duck under a swing, sidestep a return slash, then parry a cut aimed between his legs. Ye son of a bitch. Glen blocked another attack, run his sword down his opponent¡¯s blade, sparks flying between them and cut away the guard. A part of his hand along with it. The edge on his new blade wicked. The Zilan hissed and lost the grip on his sword, as ye can¡¯t hold shit wit two fingers and stumbled away from him. Glen swung around, the cries of pain mixed with the clanging of blades everywhere around him. Anfalon smacked a sword lunge down with his spear, killed the Zilan that had attempted it using the sharp edge of his shield like a cleaver and pulling his arm back hurled the spear with so much force it went clean through the Zilan that was helping Pelleas pull back to safety and nailed the Priest through the thigh as well. Uh. Jinx screamed a warning and Glen barely dodged the flaming arrow, part of his hair burning away above his maimed ear. The old injury healed but clearly visible. He dropped to a knee and Pyriael came at him with a shortsword. The Ranger attacked three times in less than a second, but Glen pulled back each time waiting her out. When she slowed down -the spell spent- Glen burst forward and attacked her aiming to put Angrein¡¯s blade to the test. Pyriael blocked once, Glen kicked a leg out to break her ankle, but she pulled hers back, only to get punched in the face brutally, her cheek caving in. Pyriael recoiled stunned and Glen growled in mind-numbing pain, two of his fingers broken right below the knuckles. The glove he wore there hiding the worst of the injury. He stumbled away groaning and sporting a manic part-grimace, part a half-smile on his strained face. All around him Zilan, Gish and humans were fighting savagely trying to get the upper hand. Very few amateurs in the ranks. Almost everyone knew how to handle a blade, or bow. Those that didn¡¯t had pulled back, or were already dead. Anfalon especially was cutting through them trying to reach the badly injured Pelleas, but the Hoplite was slowly getting surrounded from all sides. I should have brought everyone, he thought. Glen glanced back to where Jinx and Maeriel were standing, the ranger taking potshots at anyone standing out. Flix was nowhere to be seen and Alix was helping Angrein hold two Zilan warriors at bay. The blacksmith was using his sledgehammer as a deterrent and the hiding behind him Gish had managed to wound one of them with a dagger. Fuck it, Glen decided and went to help Anfalon himself.
The Zilan warrior, or a dude that wore stuff he found laid about, sensed him coming and twisted around to block his attack. Glen flipped the sword in his hand and went for a downward slash, the blade howling when it met his opponent¡¯s and broke it. The Zilan managed to jump away, but not afore the blade¡¯s sharp tip opened up the front of his armour, cutting through hardened leather and ruined his lungs. ¡°Ah,¡± Glen gasped and stepped away from the blood spraying out of his opponent¡¯s ravaged chest, his heart still beating when he went down on his back and popped out of the grotesque wound. Having no time to dwell on it, Glen shoved a female sneaking up on Anfalon away and got knifed in the ribs, the blade going through his armor, but only taking a large piece of skin away, as he managed to twist away from it. He stumbled back, grinding his teeth, hand and ribs smarting something fierce and avoided another attack from Pyriael, the ranger hissing in frustration for failing again. She switched weapons seeing him jumping away, sheathing her dagger and getting her bow out in the time it took Glen to draw a panicked breath. Pyriael had already released her arrow the next moment ¨Cprobably using another haste spell- and Glen felt it punch through his armor and shove him back violently a full two meters.
Luthos opened a heavy drunken eyelid.
¡°Curse ye,¡± Pyriael snarled realizing he wasn¡¯t hurt, the steel tip stopping on the lightstone pendant he wore underneath it. ¡°Luthos harlot.¡± Glen spat down a mix of saliva and a bit of someone else¡¯s blood and checked on his wound with his hurt hand. ¡°Best of three?¡± He taunted her and Pyriael hissed reaching in her satchel to cast another spell. Biscuit landing on her putting a stop to that. The Zilan had tried to jump out of the way, but the Wyvern had played that game many a times with Glen and got her good. Pyriael was hurled five meters away, left hand broken in several places and blind in one eye. She crashed between two other cultists freeing Anfalon of the bind he¡¯d found himself in. The Wyvern looked about him curious at all the violence and then rose onto his hind legs and let out a shriek that made Glen proud. RRRRRRREEEEEE! ¡°Taras,¡± Pelleas growled in horrible pain, from behind the mass of cultists stepping away from the Wyvern and a muscular Zilan warrior stepped forward, wearing a cuirass and carrying two blades and two spears. ¡°Kill the Wyvern. Bring me its head.¡± The Beast Hunter nodded, his face missing an eye, an ear and part of his left cheek and got one of his steel spears out. The others rushed Anfalon, all but two that attacked a seething Glen instead.
Fuck. Glen parried a blade away, then pivoted on a foot to block another, the first one returning with a vengeance in an attempt to gut him like a pig. He smacked it away with his vambrace, the edge opening his hand from thumb to index finger cutting through the glove. Glen wished he had a shield at the near and Emerson¡¯s glowering face appeared to admonish him for being a right idiot. He disengaged twirling back, swung once wild to keep the Zilan away and glanced about to assess the situation. Biscuit had gotten a wound on his chest by Taras, part of the broken spear still in him. The Hunter danced around the Wyvern on the balls of his feet a second spear ready, looking for another opening. Fuck. Anfalon blocked a blade with his shield, another with his helm, stumbled back to get his kopis out and got pierced through the ribs with a spear¡­ almost. He¡¯d downed his arm seeing the danger and grabbed the shaft stopping it from going in fully. His opponent growled furious and tried to get his spear back, but got a head-butt from the Hoplite instead, the steel heavy helm pulverizing his facial features. The Zilan died on his feet with a cracked skull and Anfalon stepped back, got the spear out of him, spun it on his palm and skewered the Zilan standing next to the dead one through the mouth. The Zilan dropped dead with the spear protruding out of his face and Anfalon cut hard left behind his shield, blocking three blades at once and then stepped back to draw his sword. Eh, you¡¯re fine, Glen decided and attacked without warning the sneaking Ranger, whipping his blade out like a cobra. The Zilan ducked under it and got a devastating knee blow right at the jaw, the broken piece severing his tongue and sending him tumbling down. Glen stepped over the flaying Zilan and gave him a boot in the face breaking the rest of his teeth and distorting his features permanently. His friend came at him, but he¡¯d warmed up now and turned a block into an attack to finish it quickly. The second Zilan jumped away and reached for his satchel. No ye don¡¯t. Glen slashed the leather strap away, blocked his opponent¡¯s shorter blade and pushed it aside. The Zilan hissed seeing him holding the dagger and tried to stop him raising his left hand. Glen just stabbed right through it, the blade vibrating afore piercing his opponent¡¯s palm and pushing it back towards his own face. It nailed it below his jaw severing his carotid artery. Glen pulled the dagger out, gore spaying the front of his armour and the Zilan went down holding his bloody neck. RRRRRRRRREE The Wyvern screeched avoiding Taras¡¯ second attempt and kept moving away on all fours. The Hunter tried again and again, but he kept failing. Glen started his way a permanent scowl on his face. He made two strides in and stopped to defend himself against another warrior carrying Anfalon¡¯s spear. Cursing under his breath Glen retreated, the long weapon lunging at him dangerously close each time. Pelleas was standing behind the warrior, looking worse for wear and pressed a strange coil on his mouth and blew at it. The sound coming out ridiculous and barely audible amidst the chaos of the scrap. WHUOA HUISSSSS Until it wasn¡¯t. What in Luthos badly-cut toes was that? Glen wondered and seeing his opponent had frozen distracted at the strange horn-hissing sound, he sneakily stepped forward and run him through with Angrein¡¯s sword. The Zilan gasped clutching at the blade and glared at him accusingly. ¡°This isn¡¯t a tourney friend,¡± Glen told him defensively and gave his torso a good kick to get his sword out. Then the strange creepy sound came again and everyone stopped fighting, those that were still standing that is. The former thief felt the ground vibrating under his feet and took a step back alarmed to assess the situation. His instinct was telling him something was horribly wrong. The Wyvern screeched in response to the strange sound and Taras tried to take advantage of it and sneak an attack in again, which forced Glen to move. Finish the battle, find out what¡¯s going on later. So he went after the Hunter, running as fast as he could.
Taras hurled his spear at the Wyvern, but Biscuit sensed him and twisted on his axis, the spear tearing a hole at his left wing, the damage minimal. Granting, it must have hurt a lot. The Wyvern shrieked and lunged forward opening his jaws wide, but Taras rolled away unsheathing both his swords from his back and set his feet to try again. Glen reached them at that moment and made to attack the Hunter, stopping when he realized the Zilan was dead on his feet and his skin had turned a light bluish-green. Good job buddy. Biscuit snorted behind him and retracted his tail, just when a huge serpent¡¯s head descended on them out of the thick vapors. A blend between a lizard and a viper, the ears of a very large bat on its scaly head. The massive head the size of a male lion, from mane to tail. Glen rolled one way and out of trouble on pure instinct and ear-popping adrenalin, with the Wyvern going the other using its wings to lift off, not as gracefully as before. The horrifying serpent¡¯s jaws opened up after the near miss and spat a viscous substance in a two meters radius, before letting out another earth-quivering baritone hiss that was answered twice from somewhere near. How many of these cunts are out there? Are ye plaguin¡¯ kidding me? A freaked out Glen ended his roll and grabbed a spear before turning to face this new threat. He quickly realized a couple of disturbing things. There was a long scaly neck, turning into a huge snake¡¯s body attached to that monster¡¯s head. Very long, as the head had risen higher now to observe the battlefield, five meters above a gawking Glen and with a dark red line running down the length of its dark green scaly neck. Fuck, he thought again with a shiver. Anfalon who had gotten free from the Zilan bothering him -via the time-tested manner of slaying them to the last- stood up and yelled at that point, managing to snap Glen out of his dazed state. ¡°A mature Hydra,¡± The Hoplite continued calmly after he''d gotten his attention, as if he was reading an army supplies monthly report. At some point he¡¯d retrieved his spear. ¡°I¡¯ll distract it, whilst you kill it Hardir. We must protect the others.¡± Glen went to nod at his words at first, but paused midway through and glared at the ancient Zilan. What manner of bullshit is that fool sprouting out? His thoughts interrupted by the screeching Wyvern that came flying down and landed on the head knocking it back. Anfalon hurled his spear skewering it through the neck, when it tried to turn towards the flying away Wyvern and Glen grinding his teeth and cursing every god in the pantheon old and new, charged the injured beast¡¯s head. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. He run the small distance in a haze and with ears ringing. The smell of rot on his nostrils. The Hydra¡¯s cranium hit the ground with a thud alike a granite boulder, Anfalon¡¯s spear lodged in the torn skin and bleeding. No soon that it did that though, it started rising again apparently not as badly hurt. The beast¡¯s white-yellow snake eyes saw Glen rushing it with the spear and opened its jaws impossibly wide, gelatinous pink interior behind the shortsword-sized elongated fangs and coughed up another blob of that viscous material out. A bucket¡¯s worth of it. Oh, for slovenly fuck¡¯s sake. Glen was already committed and he clamped up from arsehole to eyebrows expecting the worst. Whatever that worst may have been. He got his wind knocked out of him, a rib cracking on his left already hurt side and was swatted away from the foul liquid. Jinx¡¯s mess of a hair on his face. ¡°Gah,¡± Glen mumbled and pushed the young Gish away. ¡°Have you lost yer mind?¡± He growled, his gawking eyes spotting Hydra¡¯s hideous head approaching half-hidden in the lake¡¯s vapors behind her. ¡°MOVE!¡± Alix bellowed appearing out of nowhere and bumped a stunned Jinx out of the way, the Hydra¡¯s monstrous jaws snapping shut on him. It swallowed the Gish¡¯s head and most of his right shoulder, along with the arm, lifted him clean off the ground and then tossed him away like a toy. ¡°NOOOO!¡± Jinx screamed blowing Glen¡¯s eardrums off just as he chucked his spear, managing to almost dislocate his shoulder in the attempt, but nailing the beast¡¯s left eye. The steel tip sunk into the scaly eye-socket, the orb dissolving and pouring out. The Hydra hissed and recoiled trying to get away in deep pain, another two otherworldly hair-raising and horn-like calls answering from somewhere near. ¡°DON¡¯T LET IT GET AWAY!¡± Anfalon boomed and rushed past him, Glen staring at the running Zilan dumbfounded. The Hoplite slashed at the retreating and shuddering head, taking one of its fangs off. He hacked at it again, before another head appeared, an exact copy of the first one to smack him so hard, Glen heard bones snapping from where he stood. ¡°Alix, oh my god,¡± Jinx cried running towards the place the hapless male Gish had ended up, just as Anfalon went down as well, his arm broken and part of his armour wrapped at the chest. Biscuit landed on the injured head, as if he was riding a horse and started tearing at its other eye with his claws. Seeing the second head of the Hydra turning its attention on the Wyvern ravaging its twin, Glen rushed ahead and slashed at it so hard, he almost lost the grip on his blade when it connected with the hardened scales at the base of that long neck. Almost a meter large piece of it came off, revealing red jellylike flesh underneath that stunk like Rida¡¯s clogged sewers. Hydra¡¯s head paused its attack on the Wyvern and turned nimbly around to glare at Glen. ¡°Ah,¡± Glen gasped and went to hack at the exposed flesh again. ¡°Garth!¡± Kalac roared seeing the Hydra lunging at him, but Glen couldn¡¯t flinch out of the way this time. The desperate former thief did manage to deepen the wound though, his blade connecting fully and sort of saved his own skin, as the Hydra snapped her jaws shut in pain at the last moment and smacked Glen¡¯s chest with its scaly nostrils instead. It was like getting hit by a fully laden supply wagon. An unresponsive Glen found the ground with his back, losing his sword, a tooth lodged in his tongue and gulping down his own blood. Through his blurry eyes he saw the Wyvern letting go of the blind and shredded head, then rising in the air, not five meters away, flapping its long extended wings slowly up and down. More magic, than skill. The sound made that of a giant windmill¡¯s blades turning. Woomph. Woomph.
Pain and primordial fear all mixed in. A number of other sounds peeking behind the curtains. The clang of a gold coin leaving the dead King¡¯s hand. A baby¡¯s wail and the smell of sulfur inside the bedchamber. Nenderu¡­ Turlas and sweet Ovinet, the man said reminiscing, then sounding almost insulted. I have her offspring! What need have I of you? Best thief, Zestari¡¯s sister snorted. Nothing to pride about.
Check your pockets, the Wyvern told him.
Huh? The memories clearing up. A scalding breeze pretending it was another, reached the Shallow Sea. A yellow slit in a sea of burgundy. Don¡¯t open the note now, Jinx had said. Only if something happen¡¯s to me.
The Wyvern was staring at him. Time had stopped. Woomph. ¡°Rav¡¯ Naure,¡± Glen gasped the ancient command and time moved forward again. Hydra¡¯s huge head paused over him sensing something was wrong. Behind them the Wyvern¡¯s eyes flashed once like torches, the burgundy in them turning even more vibrant and difficult to look at. The sound of wind sucked inside a deep tunnel was heard suddenly, covering all other sounds near and far. The distant thunder of waters dropping inside the lake. The Hydra¡¯s hiss and wails. The injured men¡¯s groans of pain. Jinx¡¯s grieving sobs and the beat of Glen¡¯s heart. Then came a horrible rumble. The Wyvern¡¯s long neck glowed and expanded, black scales turning transparent for a moment showing burning lava under the sheer skin, black mouth opening wide and then a torrent of fire blasted out. It struck the rapidly turning Hydra¡¯s dead on the snout, the heat on it so great, the mist dissolved along with half the beast¡¯s face. It took the Wyvern a mere second to boil the Hydra¡¯s head completely. The next that grotesque head exploded when its brains turned to liquid gasses inside its skull, sending pieces of skin, gooey boiled flesh and bone fragments in a ten meter radius. With a desperate wail of pain the Hydra pulled away towards the lake, using four stubby fin-like legs, its massive body the size of an elephant now sporting only one remaining head and clearly visible as the fog had retreated as well. The Wyvern went after her still blasting that bright gold and red fire out of its mouth everywhere. It burned everything it touched to a crisp. The muddy ground and the dead. The rocks and even the lake¡¯s waters that retreated in panic. The Wyvern caught the Hydra in the middle of the boiling lake and roasted its massive body alive. The flames burning over the waters, the temperature abruptly rising at least twenty degrees. The Wyvern turned around when it finished flying sharply over the lake¡¯s waters and returned to the smoking banks, his shriek coming more ominous now. The sound starting with a horn like hiss, as if it was mocking his defeated opponent. RRRRREEE The Wyvern hovered unnaturally a meter above the lake¡¯s surface staring at the people slowly moving away from its burning banks. With a loud snort, he opened his mouth again impossibly wide that glow returning twice as bright and a torrent of fire came out aimed at the lake¡¯s banks. And those still standing there. Oh, crap, Glen cursed in horror and tried desperately to get on his feet seeing the catastrophe approaching.
¡°UVRYCRES!¡± Glen roared and the Wyvern snapped its jaws shut and glared at him. He slowly approached and landed in front of the injured former thief, everything around them engulfed in flames. The land black and smoking. Glen could feel the heat coming out of the Wyvern¡¯s body, Uvrycres standing at almost seven feet on his hind legs. He dropped on all fours and brought his horned scaly head near Glen¡¯s face, letting out a low guttural and protracted growl that made every bone on his body vibrate. Glen reached with a shaky hand and touched the scalding glassy skin, felt the beast¡¯s hot breath on his sweaty face. It smelled of brimstone and burning coal. RRRRR ¡°It¡¯s over,¡± He told him. ¡°They are not a threat,¡± Glen added reaching for his dagger. ¡°They are not a threat,¡± He repeated holding it, just to be sure Uvrycres had understood him. The Wyvern snorted and bumped him once on the chest with its forehead, where Glen¡¯s armor had wrapped. It was a playful bump but the pain from his broken rib almost send him down. Glen stumbled back a step and glared at the unnerving smile that had formed on the mouth of the young Wyvern. ¡°Heard you the first time,¡± Uvrycres told him in a surprisingly rich baritone voice. ¡°But I¡¯m hungry, oh, ¡®ye route between the valleys¡¯ and I need to heal,¡± Glen had to pick up his jaw from the floor hearing him talk. ¡°Wait¡­ the fuck is that? What route?¡± He croaked. ¡°What Glen means in Cofol. Your mate murmurs it in her dreams all the fucking time whilst she touches herself. It made for an interesting watch.¡± Eh, what? ¡°No, it¡¯s just a name,¡± Glen insisted numbly. ¡°Short for Glenavon.¡± Uvrycres stared at him thoughtfully for a moment. It was unnerving. ¡°Hadn¡¯t you just made that shit up on the spot, back then?¡± He finally queried with a grunt, his speech pattern heavily influenced from Glen¡¯s vocabulary. ¡°How do you know?¡± ¡°I read your memories?¡± Uh. Right. The former thief slowly rubbed the back of his head, greatly stunned at this new development and still in too great a pain to process it. The conversation¡¯s topic had weirded him out. He¡¯d also something stuck on his tongue that bothered him a great deal. ¡°Well, you can¡¯t eat people,¡± Glen mumbled finally, after finding the tiny culprit and spitting it down. A part of a tooth, the hole left behind still bleeding in his mouth. ¡°Hahaha! Of course I can,¡± Uvrycres guffawed, his words turning into a roar. ¡°Look at all this fine food!¡± He looked about them to spot the still burning corpses. ¡°Food,¡± The Wyvern repeated reverently, reminding him of Gimoss. Plenty of those around. Glen had stumbled back a couple of steps not expecting the sudden roar and groaned at the implications, whilst trying to calm his heartbeat down. ¡°No,¡± Glen said sternly setting his jaw, after he managed to get himself under control. The Wyvern blinked its large burgundy dragon eyes, the transparent lid rising and lowering instead of the other way around. ¡°Yes,¡± He replied after a contemplating moment, maintaining eye contact with him. Glen sighed and hanged his head. ¡°Since when do you talk?¡± He asked too tired to solve this right then and there. Glen felt completely drained from all the exertion. You have to talk to Whisper my dude. Stop dilly dallying. ¡°I never stopped. Not my problem you couldn¡¯t figure it out,¡± Uvrycres replied, then paused and clicked his forked tongue a little unsure. ¡°You got any biscuits stashed away? I think that snake¡¯s flesh was foul, or something. It messed up my innards, but I had to taste it. Right?¡±
Glen hobbled back to the survivors from both groups. Lymsiel who had followed them against his orders was tending to a scowling Anfalon, with a pensive Maeriel standing over a crying Jinx, kneeled next to Alix¡¯s body. Some of the Zilan that had survived the Hydra, because it had attacked them both indiscriminately, had gotten burned alive by Uvrycres, who had done the same in a sense. Those that had escaped that fate were trying to get their bearings back, few amongst them uninjured. He caught Pyriael stumbling about dazed, her arm and knee ruined, the broken bones visible under the skin and clothes. Glen went towards her, trying to avoid facing Jinx. She had saved his arse again. Jinx had kept on doing it since Oakenfalls, then on the ship. Again and again the Gish put her life on the line to protect what she considered family. She also kept losing said people right and left and Glen felt responsible for that. Soletha had come out of a group of Zilan that didn¡¯t carry weapons. The solemn faced priestess walked slowly towards the remnants of the cultists, most of them heavily injured, or dead. Glen counted over fifteen of them. The other Zilan followed her at a distance. Soletha reached Pyriael and stopped to look at her. ¡°Where is he?¡± She asked her in that half-Common half-Imperial dialect they talked and Glen had slowly started to understand. ¡°Where¡¯s Pelleas?¡± Hmm. Glen hadn¡¯t seen the Cultist leader since that creepy bastard had summoned the Hydra and he walked towards them to learn more, grimacing on every stride. Pyriael scrunched her bloody jaw this way and that and then smirked, showing her teeth to a grim faced Soletha. One of the ranger¡¯s eyes was bloodshot. ¡°He got away, hehe,¡± The Ranger said and Glen noticed, as he neared the two of them and the group of silent Zilan watching the exchange, the priestess had a large rock in her right hand. Held tight enough to make her knuckles turn white. ¡°If he makes it to Snake Mountain, then a bird will reach Elas Bridge in less than a week. Pelleas keeps many.¡± ¡°Why Elas Bridge?¡± Soletha asked her tensely. ¡°Lord Rothomir has assumed command. The Favored had flocked to him and he has Paeris endorsement. It¡¯s been decades now. You¡¯ve lived a secluded life Priestess.¡± ¡°A fort¡¯s leader, with the seal of approval from a long dead king¡¯s lover,¡± Soletha hissed. ¡°Authorized this wickedness?¡± ¡°Lord Rothomir is in command, Abarat the last city standing. There was no wickedness, for your Goddess is the villain. You favor a cannibal, a vile bitch and a practitioner of forbidden Magic. The Lord¡¯s word is law in these lands and Pelleas is his friend, tasked to bring¡ª¡± Soletha smacked her viciously on the side of the head with the basalt rock. Glen flinched hearing a crack, but by the time he tried to grab at the Zilan, the Priestess had stricken Pyriael again twice as hard and sent her sprawling down half-senseless. Soletha jumped on the thrashing ranger, grabbed the hefty bloody rock with both hands and started pounding her head and face repeatedly with it. She didn¡¯t really have a pattern, just a lot of uncontrolled rage. Soletha started screaming incoherently while she smashed Pyriael¡¯s head into a pulp and the rest of the Zilan attacked the rest of the injured cultists taking their cue from her. The savagery reached disturbing heights and Glen had to back away, when Soletha dug the dead Ranger¡¯s heart out of her ravaged chest with her bare hands and started eating it raw, blood running down her jaw and neck, her eyes wild with grief. And a hefty dose of ecstasy.
Glen hobbled away from the atrocities committed on the defeated cultists, a good number of them getting parts of their bodies eaten whilst still breathing. Pyriael was lucky at that at least, he thought. Not that she deserved any luck, but Glen couldn¡¯t wish this fate on anyone. Seeing Alix¡¯s broken body and half-destroyed face, made him rethink it. Who worship¡¯s a murderous beast? He wondered, Jinx¡¯s swollen eyes glancing his way. Who the fuck is in the right here? ¡°It won¡¯t work,¡± The Gish said looking at him hopefully. ¡°Flix¡¯s potion. We need a fresh one.¡± Glen didn¡¯t think a fresh potion could put Alix back together. The Hydra had almost cut him in half and the fall had taken care of the rest. The worst part of it was that the miraculously still clinging to life Gish, appeared to be poisoned on top of everything else. His skin was a dark green and mauve color, full of leaking blisters and his blood diluted and watery. He turned his head away, not wanting to deliver her the bad news and spotted Flix standing at the edge of the lake village, where the forest ended. The old Gish had his hood down, aged face unadorned, cut short and washed out pink hair thinning at the top of his head. He was waiting for a tall Zilan to approach. She had come out of the woods. The female walked gracefully, long legs covering the distance without effort. Her feet barely left marks on the muddy ground. Aenymriel paused to touch the old Gish¡¯s face affectionately, her eyes going from Glen¡¯s group, to the savagery committed a bit further away and Uvrycres blissfully feasting on the corpses. Her lips formed a content smile and whispered something to a very emotional Flix, who nodded with his head. Aenymriel approached Glen next and stopped to check on the injured Alix with a frown. ¡°You¡¯ve made it,¡± Glen rustled and Alix opened his only working eye to the sound of his voice. ¡°Funny how our paths didn¡¯t cross.¡± ¡°As did you and our paths have crossed,¡± She replied courteously. ¡°How can I be of assistance to Hardir O¡¯ Fardor?¡± ¡°He needs healing,¡± A distraught Jinx said quickly. ¡°Let me see,¡± Aenymriel said and kneeled next to the injured thief. The Hydra had taken away most of the skin and flesh from his shoulder, along with a part of his face. Everything had just melted away. ¡°Indigo¡­ Divinity,¡± Alix croaked with difficulty, half his mouth deformed and not working. Glen looked away, the image disturbing. Jinx hugged his torso tight and started crying with silent sobs. ¡°As you wish,¡± Aenymriel said and Glen turned to watch as she stooped and kissed that ruined mouth, for an uncomfortable long time. When she finished and rose up that unnerving smile was on her lips again and Alix had stopped breathing. ¡°What happened?¡± Glen asked. Despite his tendencies he liked that stupid Gish and Jinx knew Alix for a long time. Seeing her be a mess about his loss was unbearable to the former thief. ¡°Your friend chose death,¡± She said simply and Anfalon who¡¯d approached, despite being seriously injured let out an angry grunt at her words. ¡°You could have saved him!¡± Huh? ¡°A life of misery and ridicule. As I said. He made his choice,¡± She repeated cryptically. ¡°He left this realm happy.¡± Hmm. Aenymriel nodded at Glen after her reply and then walked gracefully away, but not before pausing again and patting Anfalon¡¯s cracked thorax once in a familiar manner. The Hoplite crooked his mouth in a grimace and grunted. ¡°What was that?¡± Glen asked him, but he got no answer back.
Being in a weakened state and dead tired, with Jinx hanging on him and too scared to let go, Garth opted to let the matter rest and deal with more pressing matters. Like how to stop the remaining Zilan from murdering the injured cultists. By the time he decided to do something about it, no one was left breathing and other matters had ushered his attention away. In hindsight, he should have pressed the ancient Hoplite more, but then again no one really knew what really was in Garth¡¯s head. Some things he just allowed to happen.
205. The Pits of Fu De-Gar (1/2)
Sir Emerson Lennox Ballard of Lesia Mista Savar The Pits of Fu De-Gar Part I -It¡¯s like Bacchanalia, Ballard-
Kuntur-Ki Tsuparin¡¯s funeral celebration, Commonly known as (Mista* Savar** claiming the Pearl of Ani Ta-Ne) - Wall carving over the arched entrance of the ancient arena at Fu De-Gar Circa 191 NC
*Mista, translated Light grey, Pale ¨Cin the austere old Cofol of Greenwhale Peninsula. **Savar, translated Jackal, mad dog ¨Cbastardization of the analogous Zilan word, in the austere old Cofol of Greenwhale Peninsula.
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People said that if not for the Cedar Sisters, the imposing mountain range that was the sources of Kineham River, the Great Oasis would have been swallowed by the Dry Sea eons back and everything turned into a wasteland. The mountains kept the desert sands back and the rich soil allowed the large forests of palms and thin-trunked Cedars only found in the region to flourish. Fu De-Gar, an important Imperial Port built during the war for the Plague Isles, had several ruins from that distant era. Despite neighboring Wetull, with the uninhabited Shark Isles being the only closer land, the place was taken over by the Cofol desert tribes in the centuries that had followed the end of the war. The Zilan had their own internal problems to fund an aggressive colonization of the Peninsula. The Desert Cofols of the Peninsula, had detracted more than they had added to the sprawling city port. Harsh and believed to be uncultured, a mere step above the Horselords of the Great Steppe, the Garites were not particularly liked by the other more sophisticated Cofols of Greenwhale Peninsula. They built their city using practical angles with little fanfare and a lot of limestone, avoiding the circular type, ultra-flowery surface decorations the other Cofols employed. While bland comparing to its counterparts, it still offered an imposing view as it sprouted out of the border of the oasis. At the distant westernmost edges of the city, the Imperial buildings still stood, the ruins of the Arena and the old temple pyramids still visible on the twin rocky uplands. Across from them and massive in its size was the ancient mostly closed square amphitheater, the locals had called the Pits for the underground cells it had and because they were unable to pronounce the more difficult Zilan word. The name stuck and although seemingly vulgar, it described the old stadium and arena very accurately. Once upon a time it could fit the whole city in it for a big event, having a seating capacity of over eighty thousand, but ¡®corrections¡¯ from the Cofols in the years since it was built and the increase in population of the city, meant that less than half of them would attend the events, or could afford to. Once a year the city was flooded with Gladiators and visitors from all over the Peninsula, the capital of the Khanate and other big Horselord cities of the mainland. So for two weeks at the start of each New Year, the often overlooked ¡®Ugly Sister¡¯ of the Peninsula was once again the center of commerce and interest. The ancient amphitheater, coated with fresh paint and thoroughly cleaned up, was packed to the rafters with undulating crowds for the Gladiatorial Games. Another remnant of the Empire the Peninsula refused to let go, despite the Khan¡¯s disdain for the events. Eventually even the rigid Horselords started participating and dispatched their own gladiators. A sport based in slavery, it eroded the Khan¡¯s own empire and returned to it a custom that was the main reason for his initial rebellion. The more one stayed close to the beautiful creatures of the Peninsula, people say till this day, the more he loses himself. As with everything else, a hefty amount of exaggeration weights down this argument as well.
The camel snorted and stopped in the middle of the busy street. It pulled its mauve lips back, showing a great number of foul stubby teeth, when its handler yanked hard at the reins to get the big animal moving. Some protested unwilling to wait him out under the bright sun and others found it rather silly, even laughed about it. Paikan Abu-Ra, the makeup running at the corners of his eyes, groaned loudly and popped his sweaty head out of the carriage¡¯s door small window. ¡°Do something about it Rodo!¡± The young Lorian, face pale and still weak from almost getting killed in the arena, blinked and stared at the slow moving animal. ¡°Salted cunts and oiled arseholes,¡± Paikan grunted seeing him unsure. ¡°If you can¡¯t fight for me and even obey simple instructions, I might as well sell you for fodder!¡± Emerson eyed the overweight Lanista and Paikan rolled his eyes at the warning. The camel finally moving its feet stopping him from saying something they both would regret. ¡°Siba-Kal¡¯s gotten two replacements in,¡± Troy, a fighter owned by Angus Bala-Fe, told him with a yawn. A Lorian from ''Raoz'' with a Lesia accent and former ¡®smuggler¡¯, he had joined the group representing their city. Emerson long suspected the twenty some years old man had been a manhunter dealt a bad hand. Perhaps rightly so. ¡°I know,¡± Emerson replied and started walking again. Paikan¡¯s carriage following right behind them. ¡°Are they any good?¡± The man asked him, golden earring catching the female crowd¡¯s attention along with his physique and roguish looks. ¡°What¡¯s the format again?¡± Emerson asked, himself not as interest in the lewd looks thrown their way. ¡°Every city fights the other in rounds,¡± Troy replied, thick black beard carefully trimmed on his face. ¡°The city with the most fighters left standing wins the event and may challenge the champion, or forfeit.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the benefit in that?¡± Emerson rustled. ¡°You keep the coin and live?¡± ¡°Because the Northman is unbeatable,¡± Emerson noted. ¡°Eh, they say he stands a giant,¡± Troy explained. ¡°Can kill a man with a punch.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve met a giant,¡± Emerson rustled. ¡°He wasn¡¯t that good of a fighter.¡± ¡°This one is,¡± Troy replied. ¡°Mean as fuck. We make it to the final, we take the coin and go home to spend it.¡± ¡°You intent on staying a slave for the rest of your life?¡± Emerson asked with a grimace. ¡°I aim to retire a gladiator,¡± Troy said. ¡°If I earn enough, I¡¯ll be free as well, Angus will see to that.¡± ¡°Not everyone has the luxury of time,¡± Emerson argued, thinking of Ziba. ¡°Paikan will let you step down any time you want, train his fighters,¡± Troy said. ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Paikan wouldn¡¯t release her though. He wasn¡¯t stupid. ¡°Nothing,¡± Emerson grunted seeing them reach the outer buildings of the arena.
The two Issirs looked back at him with the brash of youth. They were brothers according to Lanista Siba-Kal, or that was the story he¡¯d told Lord Letakin to fund their training. In their twenties they appeared dangerous and full of vigor. They both had light green eyes and the same height and facial features. They might be brothers after all, Emerson thought. ¡°You were lucky, we didn¡¯t make the cut old man,¡± One of them said. ¡°Who are you?¡± Emerson asked eyeing the rest of the gladiators training in their part of the closed arena. ¡°Qathor that¡¯s my brethren Belor,¡± The young gladiator explained. ¡°Why do ye have two swords, Belor?¡± Emerson taunted. ¡°Qathor,¡± The man replied with a grimace. ¡°I¡¯m a Dimachaerus.¡± ¡°Are ye ambidextrous?¡± Emerson asked rubbing the back of his head. ¡°Ah¡­ the fuck is that?¡± Qathor asked unsure. ¡°Do ye favor both yer arms?¡± ¡°The right.¡± ¡°Show me how ye move with the left then,¡± Emerson told him. ¡°You have a blade?¡± Qathor asked him stepping forward. ¡°I do, but I don¡¯t need it,¡± Emerson replied casually. ¡°I¡¯ll give ye two chances. But each time I¡¯ll hurt ye a bit more, so keep that in mind afore continuing.¡± His brother laughed.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Qathor, wearing a shirt and no armour stared at the taller and much older knight. Emerson was naked above his pants and had no weapons. ¡°Your master will have my balls if I hurt you before the games,¡± Qathor argued. ¡°Trust me, if you do I might as well not appear in the games at all.¡± Qathor smirked and stared at Troy. ¡°Don¡¯t look at me boy,¡± The Lorian said. ¡°I¡¯ve seen him fight at the games. I was there while ye were sucking yer brother¡¯s cock.¡± Qathor pressed his lips into a thin line, dropped one of his swords, gripped the other with his muscular left hand and charged full speed at Emerson with a mighty bellow. It lost him whatever dexterity he had in that arm. He made two quick steps and swung his blade towards the calmly watching him knight. The moment the young man had committed, Emerson took a step back and the sword missed his midriff. Qathor grunted at the near miss, his whole torso half-turning following the arc of his blade and made to pull his arm back, but Emerson had extended his right out, caught him by the wrist and shoved the sword on his chest, the blade almost taking out Qathor¡¯s eye. Qathor tried to unglue the arm and sword from his chest but realized he couldn¡¯t and raised his fist to punch Emerson hard on the ribs and right below the armpit. Once, twice. His eyes ogling when he got no reaction out of the older man. Emerson raised his left arm after the second punch and slapped Qathor right at the right ear with a full palm. The unassuming blow devastating. Qathor lost his footing, his eyes rolling up into his head and almost went down on his knees, but Emerson kept him upright, after he retrieved the sword and tossed it to a smirking Troy. ¡°Breathe through the nose,¡± He advised the weak-kneed warrior. ¡°Take shorter breaths for a while. It will wear off.¡± ¡°The fuck was that?¡± Belor spat angrily and Emerson eyed him under thick black brows, with plenty of grey in them. ¡°Yer brother shall use a shield henceforth,¡± He clarified in his famous firm and didactical manner. ¡°And use only the one sword.¡±
Lord Dekerut Tsuparin, had chosen to have his son funeral just before the start of the games. He set the funeral pyre right in the middle of the arena and tied the slaves to be burned alive on posts at the four corners of the six by six square empty dome made out of cedar firewood. Empty because the old Lord of Fu De-Gar didn¡¯t have his son¡¯s body returned to him, as the Issirs had their crows feast on it, at least that was the rumor from the faraway Eikenport. The noble houses of the peninsula had graced the ¡®White Scorpion¡¯ either by being there in person like the Khan¡¯s Sea Master Zeke Letakin from Ani Ta-Ne, the War Leader Chubin Amin from Lai Zel-Ka, the Keeper of the Purse, or the Khanate¡¯s Treasurer, Jain Elur-Sol from Que Ki-La and Telae Pars Ni-Min from the city of Dinar, or by sending a high enough member of the family such as the ridiculously wealthy Don-Iv Sopat from Lai Zel-Ka. The gladiators were to stand in their loincloths on the West side of the arena waiting for the sun to come down and ¡®escort¡¯ the deceased young scion¡¯s soul away to the Land of Shades. The man¡¯s body was to be burned at that point severing his link with the mortal realm. Since no body was available, a young male slave was put in his place along with the four young females for the wives that the young man didn¡¯t have. The rumors were Kuntur wasn¡¯t going to ever get married as he enjoyed male company with abandon, but since it was his father throwing the funeral, this detail was brushed off. So two Issirs, a Cofol and a Lorian female had been tied there to burn. Ziba had survived this part. Emerson¡¯s black eyes found her across the sands in the large crowd of slaves that were to dance after the fire was lit to the sounds of young Kuntur-Ki Tsuparin¡¯s favorite music and holiday. The band that was to perform this rendition of Valimae Lilt, over a hundred musicians strong, amongst them forty heavy frame drums, forty double flutes, twenty sistrums and a single lute, stood at the North side of the large arena on a custom stand. Effectively this was a Zilan imperial band with no Zilan amongst them. The heavily painted and mostly naked Ziba-Ra, but for the jewelry she carried on her blue and gold coated body flashed him a smile and Emerson grimaced caught unawares. While there were a lot of strikingly beautiful slaves near her, carrying even more jewelry and exotic looks, Ziba stood out to the knight¡¯s eyes even with her blond hair gathered in a very tight elaborate bun like everyone else. ¡°Damn,¡± Troy rustled nigh impressed. ¡°I¡¯d heard you gotten yourself a slave for your win Ballard, but never expected that.¡± Emerson grunted and eyed the former manhunter somberly. Troy chuckled and pointed him to a gigantic Northman, Mordax ¡®The Unyielding Gargoyle¡¯ standing two heads above everyone else, almost at seven foot five. Mordax looked with interest at the amount of female flesh displayed across from them. Emerson didn¡¯t like this at all. Behind them on the half full stand, where the officials had gathered to watch the ¡®funeral¡¯ the elder Dekerut Tsuparin stood up and raised a cup to the Lords and Lanistas that had come to his city. ¡°No father should ever lose a child afore its time,¡± He said skipping the usual Cofol pretentious openings, face unadorned and clean shaven. His grey-white hair long and thick still. ¡°Kuntur loved the games though and dancing with any type of partner, the latter a thorn in my side,¡± A couple of lords laughed at that, none more than a heavily inebriated Don-Iv, the young man¡¯s eyes a gold and blue color that matched the paint on the slaves skin. ¡°Since I can¡¯t bring the summer to him, nor can I move the games, I¡¯ll make a festival of this single night. The weather is pleasant, the night beautiful, the pyre will bring us even more heat and the dancers will give us and him something to remember afore leaving this mortal realm behind.¡± ¡°Hear-hear!¡± Lord Letakin agreed and raised his cup, with most of the others joining in and even Paikan, dressed in his best finery for the occasion, who¡¯d kept a quiet presence until now, agreed with enthusiasm. ¡°Oh, for fuck¡¯s sake,¡± Don-Iv Sopat was heard amidst the generally tame replies and well-wishers. ¡°Start this darn thing already!¡± He complained garishly. ¡°I have an aching cock here looking for a keen recipient and ye old bastards don¡¯t appear thusly inclined!¡± Half of the lords present laughed at his words, Lord Tsuparin threw a murderous look his way and an official wearing a ridiculous hat with a long multicolored plumage and fake large ears, stepped forward and ordered the torch carriers to light the fire. ¡°What does he mean?¡± Emerson rustled seeing the young scion being congratulated on the official¡¯s stands. ¡°It¡¯s like Bacchanalia Ballard,¡± Troy explained to him, his dark brown eyes shining. ¡°How do ye guys do it in Lesia?¡± Emerson crooked his mouth. ¡°Let me guess, you¡¯re from Aegium,¡± He told the smiling gladiator. ¡°Novesium, haha! But it¡¯s close enough to not really matter right?¡± The man guffawed, in a very non-mourning tone for the occasion. ¡°Light up old man for crying out loud! It¡¯s not your fucking relative!¡± Right, the sin cities of the coast, Emerson thought and cracked his neck right and left, an eye on the servants lighting the funeral pyre, over the distasteful cries of the slaves tied up there, since despite Paikan¡¯s assurances, the poor souls were still alive. Ziba had lost most of her color when she realized what she¡¯d escaped at the last moment. People had died for that respite, Emerson thought. More will soon follow, he added seeing Don-Iv eyeing ravenously the striking Lorian girl from his spot. Ziba despite having her figure painted like everybody else stood out for everyone after all. The flames jumped out of the resin and oil soaked firewood, crackling and blowing at the soft breeze coming from the coast and the port. Black smoke diminished the light for a brief moment afore the flames leapt over the dome setting everything ablaze and filling the large ancient arena with shadows. Emerson thought he saw spirits moving, dark figures coming out of the dry sands and the faces of the crowd watching ecstatic from the stands changing. The screams of those set alight and the smell of roasted flesh stomach-turning. ¡°Hey!¡± Someone boomed from the stands, a woman next to him baring her breasts, face painted a light blue, almost cobalt. Emerson noticed almost everyone had their face covered in heavy makeup and their hair coated in blue paint, but for the Lords behind him. ¡°Hey-Hey!¡± A musician standing next to the single lute player responded to the call and brought the double flute on his mouth to strike the first notes. The whole arena turning quiet for a brief moment as the garish music traveled every stand and reached the sands where Emerson stood. The lute answered the flute¡¯s call and the next moment every flute started playing the same rousing tune, the crowd jumping up on the stands and shouting wildly. HEY! HEY! HEY-HEY! The drums joining after the first turn and the harsh vulgar tempo starting anew even louder. This time everyone joined in with cries and feet thumping the ground, hands rapping at tables with abandon. Every third breath, the flutes and the solo lute stopped playing and only the drums were heard, the sound ominous and primordial, every instrument starting again after the same interval. The tempo ever increasing, it invaded Emerson¡¯s skin and bones, raised the hairs at the back of his neck. The fire reaching ever higher and the sounds of the people melting on the burning poles lost in the pandemonium. Three minutes into the rousing tune, every instrument stopped playing but for the lute, the notes struck hurting Emerson¡¯s soul and almost lost into the ecstatic dance of the crowd. A slave girl started dancing around the funeral pyre, her body moving spastically, every limb responding to every note. Long legs kicking out, fit thighs trembling, well-shaped hips gyrating and arms raised to the skies. The music started again and every slave across from them started dancing to the rhythm, the crowd on the stands going berserk and scenes of insane debauchery unfolding almost everywhere. Ziba danced around the flaming corpses, the custom wooden dome collapsed by this point, with her face half-shining half-dark. Lithe body gyrating and jumping into every wild roar of the crowd, twisting on every high note and every beat of the drum. Someone fell from the stands to his death, another following soon after. A mature woman got ganged up by three teenagers, an old man was sucking a young boy¡¯s cock and behind Emerson a delirious Don-Iv started calling for the guards. ¡°Bring me that slave!¡± ¡°Milord, it¡¯s not your slave,¡± The Garite official with the ridiculous hat protested, Paikan standing next to Don-Iv licking his lips trying to get out of his drunken haze. The pandemonium inside the arena eerie. ¡°I¡¯ll buy her!¡± Don cried and tossed a heavy leather purse to Paikan, who failed to catch it mid-air and it dropped on their table, sending cups and carafe¡¯s away, spilling a fortune in gold and gems on the surface. ¡°Good grief!¡± Lord Lekatin admonished him. ¡°Have her suck your cock and be done with it, what¡¯s this philistine behavior Sopat?¡± ¡°I want that slave Paikan,¡± Don said disregarding the elder lord. ¡°I have her promised to my champion,¡± Paikan replied bravely, or trying to up the prize, Emerson wasn¡¯t sure about that. He eyed Ziba giving it all into her dance, a stimulating and lewd display if he¡¯d ever seen one, the pride on her face infuriating the knight. All while the lords almost came to blows on the stands, afore a furious Lord Tsuparin stood up amidst the chaos of the arena that had people copulating in the open, naked dancers thrusting themselves right and left to the wild rhythm and a huge funeral pyre smack in the middle, where five people had just burned into a crisp. ¡°Enough!¡± Tsuparin bellowed his words lost amidst the general turmoil. Emerson felt a vein throb on his temple with every beat of the drums, every high note like a knife between the ribs. ¡°Paikan your man isn¡¯t going to fight Mordax anyway. Give the slave to Sopat and be done with it!¡± Paikan glanced at the scowling Emerson, the only person inside the arena not dancing to the rousing tempo and gulped down. ¡°My man won¡¯t fight at all, if I take the slave from him, milord,¡± He said quickly. ¡°Why is that?¡± ¡°That was his payment for winning the title.¡± ¡°Is he an idiot?¡± The fat Lord Elur-Sol commented genuinely perturbed. The Khan¡¯s treasurer looked at the aged knight standing under the two meter above ground stands with curiosity. ¡°Bah, if he doesn¡¯t fight Mordax will have her as prize for the games,¡± Tsuparin decided. ¡°Or I¡¯ll toss her to the pyre. Perhaps I should have done that in the first place.¡± ¡°Wait,¡± Don gasped, as if he¡¯d just waken up from his drunken stupor. ¡°I don¡¯t want her killed for crying out loud. Let the man compete.¡± ¡°Sopat,¡± Tsuparin admonished him. ¡°You started this whole ordeal. Are you backing out now? I can¡¯t have a Lanista insulting your family. Your brother will never forget it, nor will he be amused.¡± Paikan opened his mouth to protest the ¡®insult¡¯ part but Don stopped him raising an arm and spilling some of the wine on his expensive blue robes. ¡°Leave Phon out of it, he has no sense of humor,¡± He said with a droll. ¡°I just want to hear her moan, I¡¯m a simple man and I think I might have had enough of your fine wine my Lord.¡± Emerson frowned. ¡°Goodness me,¡± Elur-Sol said. ¡°You can¡¯t hear anything over this dreadful noise. Let alone a single slave.¡± Don-Iv shrugged his shoulders. ¡°I¡¯ll pay for your animals,¡± He told the thoughtful Tsuparin. ¡°You have three troupes of beastmasters rented I hear.¡± ¡°How many days?¡± Tsuparin asked him with a smirk. ¡°All of them,¡± Don replied with the affluence of someone carrying the realm¡¯s largest purse. ¡°Paikan get your slave here, so we can watch her with ease,¡± Tsuparin ordered the panicking Lanista that was watching Emerson¡¯s expression. ¡°Mordax will work on her for Don¡¯s pleasure.¡± What? ¡°Milord,¡± Paikan said struggling to be heard over the music and the crowd¡¯s crazy shenanigans. ¡°What is it Paikan?¡± Tsuparin admonished him losing his patience. ¡°Is it coin you seek? For you¡¯re very close to receive my wrath right now!¡± Paikan all but fainted on the spot. ¡°I¡¯ll do it!¡± Emerson barked as loud as he could and Don turned his young face on him surprised. Then slowly his eyes relaxed in understanding. ¡°Nobody asked you!¡± Tsuparin growled, but the young scion stopped him with a small curtsy. ¡°I prefer the old man to do it,¡± Don said quickly and smiling he added. ¡°Your orc is a fine fighter milord, but I wager ye the coin on that table Paikan¡¯s man is the more committed lover.¡±
Pars-Nimin started chuckling uncontrollably is the rumor, something that stunned the Cofol lords present as the apathetic bookish man rarely had these kind of outbursts in public, but such was the mood all around them, the sum spilled out of that purse so exorbitant, as there were even cut diamonds mixed in with the gold coins, the music so stimulating and lewd that everyone went along with it. So a feverish Sir Emerson got to couple with an ecstatic Ziba-Ra in front of forty thousand wildly cheering them on spectators, with the band playing in the background. It must have been an otherworldly experience. The garish scene, ¡®Mista Savar claiming the Pearl of Ani Ta-Ne¡¯ is carved in detail at the ancient arena and can be witnessed today by all the visitors above the main south arched gates.
206. The Pits of Fu De-Gar (2/2)
Sir Emerson Lennox Ballard of Lesia Mista Savar The Pits of Fu De-Gar Part II -Legends of the Arena-
In a sense some men excelled in this barbaric sport. Tis a special breed this. Be it a just war, or dishonest raiding. Be it a noble tourney, or the bloody sands of the Arena. They entered a nobody and finished the day, As plaguin¡¯ legends. - Sir Emerson Lennox, Commonly celebrated in the Old Cofol of the Peninsula as Mista Savar, Also referred to as the Grey War leader, Pale Jackal and Ballard of Lesia in Common. Dictum immortalized inside the great hall of the Military School of Fu De-Gar And home of the famed ¡®Unbroken Chiliad¡¯. Circa 192 NC
Part II(A) Emerson watched the sun slowly coming up over the Great Oasis and spill its light over the round watchtowers of Mercy Gulf. The city slow to awaken, three days after the orgy at the Pits had spilled out in turn into the streets of Fu De-Gar with almost everyone participating. Ziba stirred on his bed, herself ever late to wake up and never missing the chance to escape whatever few chores she had for the day. Perhaps for the better, he thought. Some of the more nervous Gladiators were already on the sands trying to perfect their moves, as if it was possible to learn in a day what you haven¡¯t learn in a life. Perhaps it is though, he thought. He walked to the small table and checked on the Jackal¡¯s swords. The heavy spatha he had grinded down to make lighter and the armour he had mended, leaving the helm as it was. There was a knock on his door and he went to open it. It wasn¡¯t locked as running away was a stupid idea. Where would you go? Why risk your life for freedom, when you could win it in the arena? The way Emerson saw it, you had the same chances of dying either way. ¡°Good grief,¡± Don-Iv Sopat said walking inside, a perfumed hankie on his nose. ¡°I think I¡¯ve ruined my lungs walking on this dreadful sand!¡± ¡°Lord Sopat,¡± Emerson rustled not pleased with the very early morning visit. ¡°Not a lord, haha,¡± Don retorted waving him off, an eye on Ziba¡¯s naked form on Emerson¡¯s bed. ¡°Plenty of others come afore me I¡¯m afraid.¡± ¡°A big family?¡± Emerson asked getting between him and the sleeping slave girl. ¡°Ahm, you could say that,¡± The Sopat scion replied. ¡°I have a sister you know, so I can understand your reluctance to share.¡± Emerson licked his dry lips slowly. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s quite the same Sopat.¡± ¡°Call me Master Don-Iv,¡± Don said humbly. ¡°And I assure you it is. But alas I wasn¡¯t given the opportunity¡­¡± Seeing Emerson¡¯s solemn stare he cleared his throat and sighed. ¡°A Lorian is it? Goddess you people used to be more fun.¡± ¡°I reckon you¡¯ll find little sympathy for yer needs in both Lesia and Regia, Sopat. Much less so in Kaltha.¡± Don blinked unsure on his meaning. ¡°Anyways, I presume you haven¡¯t sated yourself still, but I want to inform you that if you fall in the arena, I intent to buy Ziba-Ra from Paikan. So you don¡¯t have to worry about her.¡± Emerson grimaced and glared at the shorter well-dressed man. ¡°I intent to win the games, Sopat,¡± He grunted. ¡°You should, I¡¯m betting good money on you,¡± Don replied surprising him. ¡°You can¡¯t afford yer own gladiators?¡± Emerson asked, just as a slave girl entered bringing a small table with refreshments. She opened a bottle of honeyed wine and set two goblets down for them. ¡°My brother thinks it a better investment to use the capable slaves as caravan guards, or at the mines,¡± The young man replied looking down the cavernous cut on the slave girl¡¯s dress and her small breasts with interest. ¡°Isn¡¯t it too early for alcohol?¡± Emerson probed. ¡°Ah, I haven¡¯t finished my nightly excursions yet,¡± Don explained to him. ¡°I find myself restless these days,¡± He smiled at Hasti-Ra and she returned it. ¡°Does the master wish me to leave the honey cup here?¡± Hasti asked flirting shamelessly. ¡°Perhaps he prefers to add more in his wine?¡± ¡°You know what?¡± Don replied returning her smile. ¡°You do it for me pretty.¡± Hasti obliged him with a blush and left them soon after. ¡°Her looks are poor,¡± Don explained to a scowling Emerson while tasting the wine. ¡°Decent body, but that¡¯s just about it. Though there¡¯s some hunger in there, if one is well-versed in carnal matters.¡± ¡°It was kind of ye to lie to her,¡± Emerson replied mockingly. ¡°Hah, it¡¯s an expression,¡± Don retorted chuckling. ¡°Learned it from a slave. He used to be a guard in Rida. Mercenaries used it over there.¡± ¡°Used to be?¡± Emerson asked him, refusing the goblet Don had offered him. Ziba stirred again behind him. ¡°Rida is no more. Altarin as well. The Khan¡¯s army burned it down aye,¡± Don said and Emerson grimaced at the tragic news. ¡°But it¡¯s been seven months now. Or nine? Ah, who cares?¡± ¡°How many slaves from Rida?¡± Emerson asked him through his teeth. ¡°A lot, but as many people died in the fires and the fighting,¡± The last word Don put in quotes. ¡°You had family there? Some made it out. My man would have escaped as well, but he opted to defend the bridge instead of the port. He left that to the mercenaries and the Lord of Altarin. It wasn¡¯t a good decision on his part.¡± Emerson put a heavy hand on his shoulder. Don made to step back, but the power behind the Knight¡¯s grip was monstrous so he gave up. ¡°The Lord of Altarin?¡± Emerson rustled his stare intimidating. Don gulped and then drained his goblet. ¡°Aye, he tried to help the Duke defend his city, but they failed obviously. The man¡¯s a crook.¡± ¡°What was his name?¡± Emerson asked a little disappointed. For a moment he believed Glen had made it out of the mines, but deep down he knew that was unlikely. ¡°The Lord¡¯s? Eh, he¡¯s a Reeves, a knight of sorts, but I was drunk when the letter was read to me and frankly devastated at my brother¡¯s idiocy,¡± Don replied truthfully examining him with interest. Emerson grunted in disappointment and let go of his shoulder. Glen isn¡¯t a plaguing knight. Curse ye! ¡°The mercenary company though I remember well. It was called the Gallant Dogs,¡± Don added. Emerson stood back shocked. ¡°How do you know?¡± ¡°Their late captain apparently had used these words. To a fucking Gish of all things. Heavy drinkers the lot of them they left no tavern unexplored, so the tale spread,¡± Don explained. ¡°Also the fact she led them, that Gish, you don¡¯t find many companies led by one, right?¡± Emerson nodded deep in thought. Jinx had made it out of Hellfort. Did that crafty Gish made it out of Rida as well? Why go there, to serve some Lord of Altarin? Some other cousin? Why bother, if the man wasn¡¯t Glen? ¡°How do you know so much about this?¡± Emerson asked him. Don smacked his lips and glanced at the sleeping Ziba one last time. ¡°That bastard married my sister,¡± He replied and carelessly tossed his goblet on the small table. ¡°Then up and took her to Eikenport. They¡¯ve been sucking my brother dry ever since. A crook, I tell you.¡± Said the cretin that had just spend a fortune to watch a girl moan while getting plowed in front of thousands of people. ¡°Eikenport?¡± Emerson frowned, dismissing the rest of his drivel. ¡°Why Eikenport?¡± ¡°The man¡¯s a weirdo is why,¡± Don complained and checking they were not spied on, he added. ¡°Traveling with Gish and crazy dwarves¡­¡± He sighed missing Emerson¡¯s stupefied expression and continued. ¡°And a fucking Wyvern.¡±
¡°Is there a way out?¡± He had asked the dwarf, when the knight run away to find Marcus. ¡°Possibly.¡± ¡°I need more than that, mister Fikumin!¡± Emerson grunted. ¡°We will have to move him,¡± The dwarf explained, adding some of the water Stiles brought him in the mortar, but drinking most of the wine, remembering to pour some of it in as well, in the end. Fikumin kept grinding at the mixture as he continued. ¡°Slowly and through difficult terrain, in the dark.¡± Emerson blinked in surprise, as with the fog gone and the skies clearer, the late morning sun illuminated the yard outside more than adequately. ¡°Where are you taking him?¡± ¡°The mines,¡± Fikumin answered simply and used his finger to apply some of the poultice on the cleaned up wound. Stiles had helped him remove Glen¡¯s armour earlier. ¡°We¡¯ll need a good head start, Sir Knight.¡±
Ziba pressed her body on his back and Emerson felt every soft curve under the thin silk light-pink colored ¡®dress¡¯ she had on. He put his freshly sharpened battleaxe down between his legs, the heavy weapon sinking into the fine sand and watched the brothers practicing together, one of them with sword and shield, the other with a spear. Troy near them. He let his eyes roam on the large almost empty of spectators¡¯ arena, but for the Gladiators having a final practice for the games starting just before noon. He reached behind him, sensing Ziba stir restless and grabbed her left thigh just after the end of her short skirt, the skin slippery there and hot as a burning coal. ¡°You¡¯re playing a dangerous game,¡± He rustled. It was extremely difficult to get her out of his mind. Emerson hadn¡¯t planned to start something so late in his life, not after everything that had happened and the turn that life had taken in the last decade. ¡°Maybe I¡¯m trying to keep you interested,¡± Ziba purred in his ear. ¡°I¡¯m not a dog lass,¡± Emerson retorted. ¡°I made the choice, so you don¡¯t have to worry more on it.¡± ¡°What the fuck does that mean?¡± Ziba flinched feeling his grip hardening at the curse word. ¡°Ouch. You are very brutal.¡± ¡°Getting burned alive is brutal, or beaten with a stick,¡± Emerson grunted. ¡°Learn to discern the bad from worse, what¡¯s meaningful and decent. A time may come when people will judge you and yours based on the way ye behave.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a plaguin¡¯ slave Mista,¡± She reminded him using the Imperial word for grey and hugged his broad back in plain view of the other gladiators. Mordax paused and sheathed that cleaver of his to watch them with interest. The monstrous Northman¡¯s head the size of a male lion¡¯s, the long copper manner and beard laced with coal painted hairs, just like his face and eyes. Red on black. ¡°You don¡¯t know what the future holds,¡± Emerson replied and getting up turned around to look into her youthful face. Cupped it carefully with both his hands, felt the blond curls on his callused fingers. ¡°Or even tomorrow.¡± ¡°They¡¯ll never let you win,¡± Ziba warned him. ¡°Nor will Paikan ever let me go. Not if that means he can keep you tied to his fates forever.¡± Emerson lowered his head and found her soft lips. The slave yielded her mouth allowing him passage. Her taste unforgettable. A man could lose himself easily here, forget about freedom and duties and opt to remain a slave forever. The Realm and the real Lord of Altarin. A war ravaging whole cities and a ruined unwed sister waiting back in Ballard. A man could do that and spare himself the trouble and all the pain of trying to get away, he thought and pulled back. But Emerson couldn¡¯t.
There was a large entrance into the arena grounds. You reached it by going up the stairs from the tunnels located underneath, where the cells were. Another six smaller gates, two on each remaining side of the expansive square. Four balconies of stands over it packed with thousands of people. So many of them and so high over those standing on the sands near the final stand that you couldn¡¯t make out their faces or even their gender. The latter always troublesome with Cofols. The officials stand located on the western side of the massive enclosed arena, where Emerson had performed almost four days back, was also completely full this time. The lords seated nearer to the grounds and the action. The first row a mere two meters away above them. Troy breathed once deeply and let it all out, just before the gates opened and the sound of the crowd came in, similar to the funeral but also different. More vicious, bloodthirsty. ¡°Whatever they throw at us, stay close and protect each other!¡± Emerson bellowed to be heard by his group and wore the Jackal¡¯s helm on his head. His freshly shaven skin burning where the steel touched it. The armour and weapons smelling of oils and old leather. The dark tunnel leading to the arena of sweat and fear. A man cried out further up ahead, half of it an inspiring call, the other half despair. ¡°What¡¯s the plan Ballard?¡± Troy asked him as they waited their turn to get out. ¡°No plan survives fighting the plaguin¡¯ unknown,¡± Emerson rustled his face hardening. ¡°So we¡¯ll just go for the win.¡± Whatever the cost. (998th Games, Second Week) The Nimra male lion let out a terrible growl, the young Cofol gladiator pissing himself next to him and the crowd quieted down for a brief moment shocked at the brutal violence. The lion¡¯s mate, black mane gleaming in the sun coming down from the uncovered arena¡¯s top, bloody dagger-sized fangs sunk into the man¡¯s shoulder, responded with a guttural snarl. Its yellow eyes watching for the next victim. The male lion charged ahead, one leap and it cut the distance in half, another and it landed on the gladiator¡¯s chest, three sharp claws testing the chainmail there, the other taking a swipe at Emerson that circled around it. The Nimra missed, but the gladiator went down, got his face torn apart from the giant cat¡¯s hind claws as it leaped ahead going after Emerson. The knight twirled around, heart beating like a hammer in his chest, the twin swords of the dead Dimachaerus in his hands lashing out. It got the animal on its left side with one, the cut bleeding on its dark brown striped hide, but superficial. The Nimra lion growled in pain and jumped back, the two brothers keeping the lioness behind him at bay working together. After Emerson and his gladiators had wiped out their first opponents on the third day of the games with everyone performing admirably, the magisters had pulled them from the single matches initially, ¨CAni Ta-Ne didn¡¯t have to fight again anyway- but had thrown them against the beasts and a team of Gladiators from Que Ki-La. It was a surprise as their next match should had been the final set for the end of the second week of the games, in three days. Emerson gasped to get some air into his lungs and caught a fighter running towards him, a Cofol, with a spear in his hands. He twisted around, half a breath in, arms opening wide to confuse the attacking fighter and felt the earth shaking under his hobnailed sandals. Literally. Damnation. The fighter lost his footing, a cloud of grit billowing behind him and the next moment a bloody horn the size of Emerson¡¯s thigh gored him through the chest. Studded leather armour, skin, flesh and bones all yielding to the monstrous strength in an outward eruption of gore and pulverized internal organs. The hapless fighter disappeared from his sight, half his body crushed under stubby hoofed feet, the other hurled away as the grey rhinoceros went right through him. Emerson dove to the side, taking a page out of Glen¡¯s book and the three tons beast missed him as it had continued charging forward without thought. He rolled on the sands, shoulder covered in bloody mire and a large piece of skin ripped out of someone¡¯s back. He managed to stand on a knee breathing hard and watched the fat beast come to a stop near the first of the lions. Despite the steel helm bothering him, he caught Troy out of the corner of his eye finishing off a heavily injured Issir that had almost gotten Emerson at the start of the fight. After that the beasts had been released over Paikan¡¯s desperate protests and turned the whole ordeal into a bloody affair. ¡°Troy help the brothers!¡± He ordered the older fighter and the Lorian nodded behind his iron shield. Ah, Emerson thought standing upright and sheathed his lighter swords. Let¡¯s see if ye are any good against this fat chunk of mess. He reached over his back and got the Jackal¡¯s heavy sword out, the handle on it a little large for his hands, but the grip was still solid and of quality leather, the edge on the blade sharp. The more ye fear an animal, the more strength ye give it, his father used to say. Fear is utterly useless, unless you have a sure-footed way out of yer plaguin¡¯ troubles. If ye don¡¯t, it¡¯s a burden. Lose it son. The late Lord of Ballard was speaking of direwolves and grizzly bears, but it was advice Emerson thought applied here as well. The Nimra lion, bleeding from the sides snarled at the larger animal and the Rhino snorted, small black eyes turning to this new nuisance. The lion started circling it and Emerson standing about ten meters away started his run, half the stadium getting alive and standing up from their seats in turn. By the time he leaped onto the Rhino¡¯s broad back all the arena was on their feet and screaming with enthusiasm.
Emerson botched the landing, growled in pain meeting bone with the inside of his thighs and was almost thrown back as the big beast charged ahead heading at full speed for the Nimra lion that had watched his crazy flight with cunning eyes. The wounded lion faked a left jump, but went the other way to confuse the onrushing mountain of flesh. Emerson bouncing on that broad back as if he was riding an unbroken horse, everything between his legs getting mauled, teeth rattling and eyes ogling, flipped the heavy sword in his hand and stabbed it hard down.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. He went for the right side of the large Rhino¡¯s neck just after the bony shoulder on purpose, the blade cutting through thick skin and hardened fat and doing little damage. On purpose because the Nimra that had tricked the huge beast had gone that way taking advantage of its greater dexterity. The lion had jumped on all fours, twisted around in the air and bounced off its hind legs to attack the Rhino from the right side. The huge beast snorted feeling the sting of Emerson¡¯s blade and swung right violently turning that massive body around and into the leaping lion¡¯s path. Emerson lost the handle on his sword and was thrown off the Rhino¡¯s back. The knight flew briefly sideways, watching the Nimra eyeing him with hatred and then with absolute horror realizing what he¡¯d done. Emerson hit the ground much harder this time, every bone on his body protesting and the crowd let out a loud gasp of excitement seeing the Rhino catching the leaping Nimra mid-flight and savagely hurling it back at least ten meters. The lion stopped on the stone wall of the arena, broken in half and collapsed on the sands spitting blood out of his jaws and left eye. The right eye socket was empty, the fleshy orb lost on impact.
Emerson staggered towards his group and the lioness realizing she was cornered snarled once and retreated. Twenty meters away the Rhino went over its half-dead mate and finished it off sending a chunk of its torso and a hind leg at the stands. ¡°Give me yer spear,¡± The knight ordered Belor and the young Issir tossed him his spear without a word. ¡°Bloody business this,¡± Troy commented, eyeing the grieving lioness. ¡°She won¡¯t fight,¡± Emerson informed him and hefted the heavy spear in his hand. He¡¯d trouble walking properly and his back was a mess. ¡°Can you kill that?¡± Troy queried seeing the knight heading towards the Rhino. ¡°Yer helping lad,¡± Emerson replied with a snort. ¡°And you two shall keep an eye on the lioness.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Troy sighed and waved at the excited crowd. ¡°I¡¯ll need a name. Think I¡¯ve earned it. They are calling you Mista Savar, it doesn¡¯t seem fair,¡± He teased. ¡°See ye remember to jump out of the way,¡± Emerson told him with a grunt, seeing the large beast turning around huffing and puffing. ¡°Else you¡¯ll get that name on yer gravestone.¡±
¡°Pull it!¡± Emerson grunted two hours later and Qathor did with a grunt of his own and managed to snap his shoulder back. It had popped out while attempting to get the spear out of the dead Rhino¡¯s eye, when the apparently not dead beast had gotten up and lifted Emerson clean off the ground. Thankfully the huge animal didn¡¯t have much more left in the tank and the Knight managed to crawl away from it. It wasn¡¯t the most dignified of endings, but the crowd didn¡¯t seem to mind and cheered him on for almost ten minutes straight. Troy had gotten some love as well for his heroic sprinting out of the way. He¡¯d turned an ankle in the process, but it hadn¡¯t cost him in the end. ¡°Brilliant!¡± Paikan announced pushing away the guards to reach their cell. ¡°Fantastic success my lads!¡± Emerson raised his strained face and glared at the overweight Lanista. ¡°Now,¡± Paikan said quickly sensing his mood. ¡°I admit we got blindsided there, but we got coin in return. We made a fortune as a matter of fact lads! So rejoice, by gods you deserve it!¡± ¡°What about the final?¡± Emerson asked him. ¡°Who cares?¡± Paikan retorted a little surprised. ¡°We made our name. The arenas will be filled for the rest of the year to watch you¡ª¡± ¡°I ain¡¯t forfeiting,¡± Emerson rustled setting his jaw. ¡°You¡¯ll challenge Mordax?¡± Paikan asked with a frown. ¡°No, I will decline.¡± ¡°Angus will probably settle for what we got here,¡± Troy agreed. Emerson stared at the twins. ¡°Siba-Kal will want the first place Ballard. If you don¡¯t challenge the champion, we will,¡± Qathor explained. ¡°Bah, what nonsense!¡± Paikan argued. ¡°Fu De-Gar can field a full squad of gladiators. They haven¡¯t lost anyone.¡± ¡°They also didn¡¯t fight much,¡± Emerson pointed out. ¡°They did.¡± ¡°Those guys from the capital were pretty weak,¡± Troy agreed. ¡°But I can¡¯t see anyone beating the Gargoyle.¡± ¡°Has anyone fought him?¡± Emerson asked. ¡°Last couple of years no,¡± Paikan replied. ¡°For good reason.¡± ¡°So I beat him and the Fu De-Gar gladiators¡­¡± Emerson said not backing down. ¡°You get your Rudis,¡± Troy said looking at him. ¡°A wooden sword. Everyone does.¡± ¡°Right. Is Mordax free then?¡± Emerson asked. ¡°All of them are,¡± Paikan replied puffing out. ¡°You don¡¯t have to do this Ballard. Lord Tsuparin¡­ you won¡¯t win any favor with him. I will free you, if that¡¯s what it takes. Work for my Ludus for some years to train me a couple of good lads and then you may go home.¡± ¡°What about Ziba?¡± Emerson asked. Paikan stood back, his eyes hardening. ¡°You¡¯re enjoying her Ballard a plenty. Only lords have touched her, what more do you want? I have offers for her, she¡¯s worth a lot of coin.¡± ¡°How much coin?¡± Emerson rustled. Paikan smirked. ¡°For her?¡± ¡°How much coin you¡¯ll make if I win the games?¡± Emerson asked him. ¡°Betting on you would be a bad business decision,¡± Paikan told him without hesitation. ¡°And fighting three to five? I don¡¯t see any of you making it out of there.¡± ¡°I want to place a bet on myself,¡± Emerson told him solemnly. ¡°You don¡¯t have the coin needed¡ª¡± ¡°How much for the entry?¡± ¡°You need to bet at least a hundred gold to make enough to buy her Ballard. If you win that is and if I want to sell,¡± Paikan explained. ¡°Give me a number Paikan,¡± Emerson said warningly and got up. The Lanista took a step back. ¡°A thousand gold Dinars,¡± He finally said and Troy gasped in shock. ¡°He can buy a brothel wit that kind of coin!¡± The Lorian protested. ¡°A thousand gold it is,¡± Emerson said and tended his hand. Paikan stared at him unsure. ¡°Three against five Ballard,¡± He repeated and reached for the knight¡¯s hand. ¡°Four,¡± Troy corrected him with a grin. ¡°The Titan of Novesium will participate in the final,¡± He added and everyone looked up surprised. ¡°Who the fuck is that?¡± Qathor asked. ¡°Why me of course,¡± Troy replied still grinning and seeing everyone frowning, he added. ¡°What? Don¡¯t give me those stares gods damnit! Look at this figure guys come on!¡± Paikan shook his head and walked out, while the bare-chested Lorian struck a couple of poses to showcase his musculature to the others. ¡°Where are you going to find the coin?¡± Belor asked him curious, while Troy arm-wrestled his brother who wanted the moniker for himself. Emerson smacked his lips, the lines on his mouth deep and not all of them from age. His black eyes settled on Hasti, the slave girl had brought them food after the day had ended and gifts from the crowd. Mostly trinkets and expensive wine. ¡°You¡¯ve serviced Sopat the other day,¡± He told her. It wasn¡¯t a question. Hasti shrugged her shoulders not denying it. ¡°I want you to deliver a message to him.¡± Hasti nodded in understanding. Her mind sharp. ¡°He may ask for something in return,¡± She murmured looking at him. ¡°Tell him I¡¯ll owe him,¡± Emerson replied confidently. ¡°He¡¯ll agree.¡±
Part IIB (998th Games, Second Week, final day.) Mordax raised the heavy spiked club and let out a mighty roar. His voice so loud and carrying so much bass, it covered the cries of the undulating crowd. People were sitting on stairs between the stands, many packed into the tunnels leading inside the noisy arena, looking through the barred entrances. Men and women of all classes and of different purses. Whole families with kids and thousands of slaves. No one wanted to miss this event and while most were there for the local champion the giant Gargoyle, a good number of them had come to see the first challenger in years -the already famous Pale Jackal- in person. ¡°Troy, shields!¡± Emerson bellowed seeing the Cofol Ranger aiming his recurved bow. The fighter, clad in an iron cuirass with bronze and silver details on his chest, a gift from a rich merchant beyond the Khanate¡¯s Gulf, nodded and barked a sharp warning to the others. Emerson was already moving towards the two Hoplites. Fu De-Gar¡¯s gladiators were a compact group with two Hoplites, a Ranger, a javelin thrower carrying a trident and Mordax who was a category of his own. The ¡®Unyielding Gargoyle¡¯ wore a heavy chainmail shirt, a steel plate over it to cover his massive chest and sported a massive black and gold gargoyle shaped helm on his large head. Horns, smirking fanged mouth and everything at the back, the same but with that monstrous mouth wide open so Mordax could see what was happening at the front. A large custom made cleaver as a sword and a heavy spiked club, half of it made out of steel but for the long pommel. The Hoplites turned their sinister full face helms seeing him moving against them, an arrow zipping next to him and breaking on Troy¡¯s angled round shield. The Lorian fighter knew how to use his weapons and he was training every day with enthusiasm, as if he¡¯d found his calling later in life. In a sense some men excelled in this barbaric sport. A special breed. Be it a just war, or dishonest raiding. Be it a noble tourney, or the bloody sands of the Arena. They entered a nobody and finished the day As plaguin¡¯ legends. Emerson ran determined as if he was still in his youth, hobnailed sandals thudding on the soft sand, while the crowd still cheered Mordax on. The fight hadn¡¯t started officially yet, but they had all agreed on the game plan to counter Fu De-Gar¡¯s block, immobilize and allow Mordax and the other lighter fighters murder everyone strategy. The crowd quieted down sensing something was afoot, but Emerson had covered the distance between the two groups by then. Troy and the brothers following right behind him shields raised. The Hoplite standing on the left saw them rushing forward, something no one had done in the recent past and hesitated to commit his spear. His friend didn¡¯t and lunged it forward to skewer Emerson through the neck. The knight ducked under it, steel blade clanging on the top of his helm, teeth rattling at the impact and followed the retreating shaft towards its wielder. The Cofol Hoplite gasped seeing the mean grizzly warrior reaching him, the steel Jackal helm covering most of Emerson¡¯s face but for his black pitiless eyes. He let go of the unwieldy spear and his hoplite-type heavy shield to reach for his kopis, but got stabbed viciously under both armpits right at the opening of his thorax from both of Emerson¡¯s swords and died with his lungs full of steel and blood. ¡°Arrgh!¡± The second Hoplite yelled in horror and jumped back. Troy blocked his spear thrust with his shield and pushed it aside, but his own attack was blocked in turn by the Hoplite¡¯s shield. The Cofol moved his shield aside to make room for his return lunge, after taking a large precautionary step back out of the reach of Troy¡¯s blade. Troy ducked in response surprising him and by the time the Hoplite figured out what was happening Belor¡¯s heavy spear had smacked him on the face, the helm wrapping and yielding at the long eye slits. The skin and skull bones behind it offering much less resistance to the steel spear blade. The crowd roared in unison, a thunderous groan of horror and excitement at the sudden explosion of violence and the Ranger who was busy reloading his bow realized that their group had just lost two members in less than a minute. They were now three instead of five.
¡°Keep those shields up!¡± Troy yelled over the pandemonium as the Ranger¡¯s shot almost took out a sleep-walking, or just rattled Qathor. ¡°Rush them fuckers!¡± Emerson was already heading for the giant that turned his massive body very annoyed his moment was interrupted and glared at the smaller man approaching. One breath and he was within the giant Northman¡¯s reach, the heavy club already swinging. Emerson rolled forward the next, under the whooshing spiked weapon and slashed at the Gargoyle¡¯s knee, just above the iron greaves. Mordax raised his trunk like leg, the blade connecting with the metal and clanging afore bouncing back. Emerson rolled onto a shoulder, sand in his face and to the side. He jumped on his feet, just as the heavy cleaver-type sword was coming down, the Northman deceptively fast for his size. Not fast enough though, for an experienced fighter like Emerson. The knight sidestepped, the cleaver struck the spot he was standing a moment before and missed, Emerson slashing Mordax¡¯s right arm below the elbow. The Northman growled and twisted around, the ground shaking under the knight¡¯s feet and the sound of the returning club cutting through the hysterical crowd¡¯s noise. Emerson twisted away putting a blade on the nasty weapon to push it aside, his sword bending and then breaking at the hilt. The spiked club would have killed him, but such was the force behind it, Emerson was shoved back his arm numb and useless. He hurled his second sword at the onrushing Northman, but Mordax swatted it aside with his cleaver and kept on coming. Emerson twisted away, breathing heavy and tasting sand, slipped on a piece of broken blade and went down on a knee. Mordax reached him a moment later, his shadow blocking the sun over their heads and booted the staggering knight in the chest, the plate caving in where the massive foot got him. Emerson was shoved back, his feet losing the ground and landed on his back with a gasp, the wind knocked out of him. A very big animal this father, he thought trying desperately to roll away and onto his feet again. Mordax approached keeping a steady tempo and raised that cleaver again, his reach dwarfing Emerson¡¯s who had gotten his heavy sword out in the meantime. The cleaver came down with enough force to demolish a stone wall and Emerson just moved out of the way, without a thought of attempting to block this time. Mordax showed him his huge teeth, incisors the size of his fingers and raised his spiked club without showing any signs of slowing down. Damnation. The nasty weapon whooshed again coming down and Emerson sidestepped to the right this time, turning his torso to attack from Mordax¡¯s weak side. The giant let go of his club and stopped his blade with a hand blocking Emerson¡¯s attack. He yanked it out of a stunned knight¡¯s grip, the strength showcased otherworldly and tossed it aside with a snort. The cut on his palm bleeding freely not bothering him. Emerson groaned and tried to get out of the way of the returning cleaver, realizing he didn¡¯t have the time to dodge it. But the cleaver never reached him. Mordax growled in pain and staggered a spear lodged between his ribs, going through mail and the bindings of his plate. The attack left unfinished. ¡°HAH!¡± Belor guffawed rushing the giant behind his shield a long knife in hand. Mordax stumbled a couple of steps, dropped his cleaver and reached to dislodge the spear out of him. He yanked it once and it came out with a torrent of blood. ¡°STAY BACK YE FOOL!¡± Emerson yelled and dived for his own blade, sensing something was amiss, just as the giant turned with a mean look on his uncultured face to eye the bravely charging young Issir. Belor cut hard right raising his shield, his intention to circle around the wounded Gargoyle, close the distance and attack him with his short blade. A fatal mistake. Mordax pulled his fist back, huge muscled arms full of thick veins and an otherworldly stamina and punched the Issir¡¯s shield right at the bronze disk at its center. The crowd gasped in horrified admiration when the shield came apart, bones breaking, wood splintering in a thousand pieces and the boss, along a piece of his arm propelled backwards and smacked a stunned Belor on the head blooding his nose. Emerson grunted and made to rush at the young fighter¡¯s assistance, his eyes scanning the grounds feverishly to find the rest of their group. The Ranger was dead and Troy with Qathor were hunting the quick-footed javelin gladiator around the arena. Too far to offer help. Mordax had gotten to Belor in the meantime, the young fighter stumbling back stunned on shaky legs and reaching with a long arm grabbed him by the head, long fingers almost connecting at the back. Belor kicked wild like a cornered animal and even stabbed him a couple of times blindly, the knife opening Mordax¡¯s face at the left side of his nose, just as the giant lifted him clean off the sands. ¡°Yield!¡± Someone yelled from the crowd and it found supporters in the stands, their voices rising as the young gladiator and his brother had found quite a following in the previous weeks and the younger spectators favor. Mordax snorted neither expecting, nor likening the turn of events. Curse ye, Emerson whispered under his breath making two steps and launching into an attack, hearing the sound of bones crackling as the horrified crowd went quiet. The sudden silence inside the huge arena menacing. A dead and broken Belor hit the sands, pulverized skull, skin and brains turned into a gory goo under the stirring crowd¡¯s protests. Mordax grunted and sensed Emerson coming, more than he heard him. The giant turned around, bleeding from his face and cut palm, skewered through the ribs, but utterly unaffected. Emerson jumped from his left leg, the knee crackling there and the tendons protesting and slashed upwards, just as Mordax was stooping to put his hands on him. The heavy blade connected with the giant¡¯s helm, broke it in two uneven pieces and gored his face taking out the left eye and ear, along most of his cheek. Mordax snapped his head back, blood raining over both of them and a worn out from the exertion Emerson landed on a bad knee and stumbled away. Mordax groaned in pain and looked around for his club. He found it and went to grab it, while Emerson gulped down air, doubled over his heavy sword, trying to regain his wits as he¡¯d burned through his stamina, fighting at a very high tempo for his age. Mordax picked up his club, half blind and made to turn around, but he was assaulted by Troy and Qathor that had finally finished off the javelin-throwing gladiator. The panicked man had jumped at the wall leading to the stands in an attempt to climb over it and get away. Being an already freed slave, Emerson could understand the Cofol¡¯s unwillingness to fight this one to the death. Mordax didn¡¯t have the same sensitivities. He made a step forward and swung with his mighty club, breaking Qathor¡¯s shield and paralyzing his left arm, whilst shoving him back three meters. Troy slashed at the giant¡¯s right leg with his sword, connected at the thigh and cut a deep wound there. Mordax grunted and twisted his body around, faked another swing and kicked a leg out catching a turning Troy on the right shoulder and hurling him back to the wall under the official¡¯s stands. Emerson cracked his neck right and left, somewhat recovered, an eye on the staggering Mordax that roared to silence the protesting crowd, another on the stands where a Lorian female slave covered a crying young girl¡¯s face with both hands, the mother¡¯s eyes urging Emerson to finish this. Whether it was solidarity from one slave to another, or just a Lorian supporting a fellow Lorian stranded thousands of kilometers away from their homeland, Emerson didn¡¯t know and wouldn¡¯t find out until later. How do you kill a mountain? He asked his father, but the old man remained silent. In the end Emerson thought, ye fight alone.
Mordax swung his club and a heavy-breathing Emerson ducked under it and closed the distance between them even more. The giant reached to grab him with his left hand, but the knight swung his heavy sword expecting it and chopped a good chunk of it away, leaving a stub behind and a part of the pinky finger. The white severed bones protruding from the bleeding wound. Mordax groaned in pain, sounding really hurt and retaliated with a blind swing of his club, the spiked weapon going down. Emerson in the midst of a return slash across the giant¡¯s face, saw the danger coming, but didn¡¯t hesitate nor changed his stance, understanding what was needed to win against his opponent. Ayup, his late father agreed, finding his voice. Ye gotta take a hoof to the teeth son. The club came down and got him at the right knee, breaking it and peeling a piece of flesh and skin away. Emerson almost fainted on the spot, his teeth biting his tongue and Mordax stumbled back, spraying hot blood on the faltering knight¡¯s face, the Gargoyle¡¯s throat slashed open. Emerson went down, his right leg ruined and Mordax followed him soon after, a huge hand clasped at his neck to staunch the bleeding. ¡°Ah,¡± The knight groaned thrashing this way and that, trying to get up. Troy slowly got up himself, whilst Qathor was standing over his brother at the distance. The knight redoubled his efforts to stand up. He¡¯d a reason for it. He could see Mordax slowly stirring again, a pool of blood turned to mud around his huge body. Damnation. Mordax started to slowly rise putting his arms down and pushing hard to lift his massive body. The left one a stub from below the wrist not bothering him. Emerson grunting and clenching his teeth pushed himself upwards on a ruined leg and reached for the Jackal¡¯s batteaxe still sheathed over his back. He felt the sweat on his forehead and realized he¡¯d lost the helm going down, but it wasn¡¯t worth pondering about it more. Half-hopping, half-stumbling he approached the slowly getting up giant Northman. His earlier wounds had already started healing somehow. Emerson hefted the axe, the crowd¡¯s buzz unrecognizable to his ringing ears, too injured and too tired to really dwell on what they were asking him. Mordax turned his sole eye on him still kneeled and covered in gore, ruined mouth cracking into a grotesque smile, as the side of his slashed face left most of the bloody teeth there uncovered. ¡°Small man can¡¯t win against Mordax,¡± The giant rustled and Emerson snorted, his legs barely holding him, feeling broken pieces of bone tearing at his knee and downed his axe aiming at the Northman¡¯s wide forehead.
Once and the crowd roared in horrified disbelief. Twice for that thick skull bone to crack open. Thrice for the blade to spill the Gargoyle¡¯s brains all over him. And Mista Savar became a legend.
People rushed his way, a recovered Troy pumping both his fists in the air delighted at the miraculous win, bashing in the delirious crowd¡¯s adulation, while Qathor was mourning silently over Belor¡¯s mutilated body. Emerson reached for something to hold on to, found nothing and went down on his good leg, the right dangling useless and groaned desperately staring at the sky while the games official announced the winner and new champion of the Peninsula. A free man, the official shouted over the buzz of the mindless crowd, holding the Rudis in his hands, the wood covered in gold and silver.
Emerson closed his eyes for a moment and when he opened them again, Hasti was staring in his sweaty face and a day, or a week had gone by. ¡°What?¡± He croaked and checked on his heavily bandaged right leg. ¡°Where¡¯s she?¡± ¡°Paikan ordered her to stay away,¡± Hasti explained quickly, looking at her feet. ¡°Mista Savar, Master Sopat wants a meeting once you are able to walk about.¡± Emerson stared at the expensive curtains and well painted tall walls of the room he¡¯d found himself inside. ¡°Where am I?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a villa on the outskirts of Fu De-Gar,¡± Hasti explained with a blush. ¡°Much has happened¡ª¡± ¡°How long was I out?¡± Emerson rustled cutting her off and tried to get up, frowning when he spotted a cane next to his large soft bed. ¡°Three weeks.¡± ¡°Why are you here?¡± ¡°Master Sopat bought me from Master Paikan,¡± Hasti explained and showed him the word Iv carved on her right shoulder over the older marking. Emerson grimaced and put his feet down. ¡°Paikan is still in the city?¡± ¡°Yes Mista Savar,¡± Hasti replied. ¡°I¡¯ll see the Sopat scion now,¡± He rustled. ¡°They are waiting for you,¡± The slave girl replied with a deep curtsy and backed away. ¡°Hasti,¡± Emerson told her before she could exit his lavish bedroom. ¡°Has Sopat changed his mind about Ziba?¡± He asked her and she blinked in surprise. ¡°Master Don-Iv didn¡¯t care about Ziba as much as he cared about you Mista,¡± Hasti replied cryptically. ¡°Take his offer, if you value her life though.¡±
In the second month of winter 190 NC in a packed arena a legend of the Pits of Fu De-Gar was born. A legend in the sands for he defeated the ¡®Unyielding Gargoyle¡¯ and a legend outside of it, for without Mista Savar the flames of the ¡®Three Sisters Rebellion¡¯ would never had fanned so high, or so successfully. Sir Emerson Lennox was forty when he became champion of the 998th games. The next time the games would be held six years later, a close friend of his was to succeed him. The now much talked about for his string of victories, mostly due to the vulgar plays of Asmudius that had taken a fancy at his legend, ridiculously famous ¡®Handsome Titan¡¯ of Novesium. Embellished by Lord Sirio Veturius Circa 206 NC The Fall of Heroes Chapter XXIV (Sir Emerson Lennox, Ballard of Lesia, Mista Savar) Tales of Greenwhale Peninsula Prelude to the ¡®Three Sisters Rebellion¡¯ -Pale Jackal & the Pearl- Volume III The 998th Games Week One Week Two (The Unyielding Gargoyle¡¯s downfall) Second Month of Winter, 190 NC
207. Plenty of both… in Wetull
Aelrindel, of Edlenn Lady Lenar, Moon of Dan, Nesande¡¯s Shade Daughter Plenty of both¡­ in Wetull
Young Zilyana of Aeleniel turned her purple-blue eyes on the newcomer, her song changing like the bitter cold wind howling outside the high-ceiling hall of her late mother¡¯s estate. The man, a strikingly symmetrical face and different color eyes, one deep silver, the other a lighter shaded silver-blue, paused and offered a slight bow with his head. He wore an expensive, but well-worn long leather coat and black-whale leather boots. Covered in mud and frozen snow. Aelrindel couldn¡¯t sense him at all, as if the man wasn¡¯t there, or as if he wasn¡¯t a Zilan at all. Despite Paeris being older than her and her mother¡¯s generation. Little was known about the handsome Zilan, other than him being an advisor to the late King Ninthalor and presumably his paramour. The ever-growing dissenters to the Queen¡¯s rule had named a consort. An Elderborn of a hidden unnamed bloodline, or perhaps this was an attempt to avoid yet another scandal. How did that bard¡¯s apocryphal song go? Each night till the first of dawn, Elegant Nueleth lies with two men in her King¡¯s bed, Each night till the first of dawn Dutifully loves one of them, whilst the King couples wit both. She could understand her young pupil¡¯s worry. Paeris was an enigmatic creature. Unsettling. ¡°I hail,¡± Paeris said with a disconcerting, cold smile. ¡°Nesande¡¯s Shade Daughter.¡± ¡°Lenar, will suffice,¡± Aelrindel said and pushed back on her comfortable throne. ¡°What brings you to Dan Paeris?¡± ¡°The change in name noted,¡± Paeris replied and eyed a hissing Zilyana with interest. ¡°I favored your mother.¡± ¡°She didn¡¯t much like you,¡± Aelrindel blurted out, before she could stop herself. Paeris didn¡¯t even blink. Zilyana narrowed her eyes. ¡°I favored your mother,¡± He repeated monotonously and Aelrindel felt a shiver running down her spine. ¡°She¡¯s gone.¡± ¡°Yes, she is,¡± She croaked, clenching her fists tightly. ¡°For a while now Paeris.¡± ¡°You seek vengeance,¡± Paeris said and she puffed out surprised. ¡°Retribution.¡± ¡°I¡¯m trying¡­ we¡¯re trying to survive Paeris,¡± Aelrindel replied. Truth be told she hadn¡¯t thought about much since escaping her mother¡¯s fate. ¡°Retribution,¡± Paeris repeated, his eyes dead on that perfectly chiseled face. ¡°I¡¯m not a general, or a leader,¡± She said measuring her words. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re seeking here Paeris. We¡¯re exiles the lot of us.¡± ¡°A leader will come from beyond the Scalding Sea,¡± Paeris started and Aelrindel felt the Goddess touch on her cold skin. ¡°He¡¯ll create an opening for your retribution at this opportune time, but he won¡¯t survive unless you help him.¡± ¡°What¡¯s so opportune about it?¡± Aelrindel asked him getting up and late King Ninthalor¡¯s lover told her, his perfect face a hollow mask and his words the most baleful of prophesies. ¡°The earth¡¯s bowels shall roar, this Realm shall be torn apart and the Queen¡¯s rule shall be broken.¡±
¡°The Realm isn¡¯t falling apart here Phanti!¡± Prince Sahand retorted furious at the suggestion and Aelrindel snapped out of her reverie and into the present. The dead Duke¡¯s former throne room a copy of her mother¡¯s hall in Dan by now. The men bickering at her breakfast table loud and very annoying. She felt Lithoniela coming from her morning stroll at Yeriden and grimaced. ¡°Ri Yue-Tu has fallen,¡± Saam Phanti the Khan¡¯s First Advisor repeated. ¡°Yuetu Fort lies in ruins and the Second Foot landed on Eplas.¡± ¡°A couple of thousand men,¡± Sahand dismissed him. ¡°I¡¯ve sent word to Duke Victor in Altarin to move to Hellfort and block them. The army is ready to move anyway.¡± Advisor Phanti shook his head. ¡°There¡¯s an army near Eikenport, another coming from the North. Where will your army go next my Prince?¡± ¡°Prince Radin took back Jadefort,¡± Sahand told him. ¡°He¡¯ll move towards Eikenport and soar up things there.¡± ¡°With what forces?¡± Phanti asked him. ¡°It¡¯s a raiding party what Scaldingport has sent. They are trapped in the middle of nowhere and can¡¯t move. Radin will manage.¡± ¡°What if he doesn¡¯t? What about the North? Do you trust that Reeves traitor not to switch allegiances again? Once a traitor¡ª¡± ¡°For crying out loud!¡± Sahand erupted. ¡°He can¡¯t ask for a pardon, Antoon wants his head on a pike Phanti!¡± ¡°Prince Atpa hasn¡¯t moved against Sadofort, Prince Nout informed us,¡± Phanti said changing the subject. Sahand scowled at him. ¡°Prince Nout is sick. Unwell and probably misinformed. He should have finished off Sir Robert Van Durren by now anyway. Perhaps he¡¯s even trying to shift the blame?¡± ¡°Prince Nout blocked the First Foot from escaping into the desert and joining the High King¡¯s forces at Devil¡¯s Cove,¡± Phanti argued not amused. ¡°Prince Atpa was supposed to use his men to finish the job, yet he hasn¡¯t moved in six months.¡± Stupid Prince Atpa. A cunning snake that needed its head crushed. Sahand sighed and pushed back on his seat. ¡°I don¡¯t know what is halting my brother¡¯s army Phanti. The desert is a difficult mistress,¡± He glanced her way at that and Aelrindel smiled sugary sweating in the effort not to roll her eyes. Sahand smiled back and reached for the cut in her dress under the table, nimble fingers slipping between her thighs. Aelrindel got up abruptly to avoid a difficult to explain lashing out in front of an ever watching Phanti. Another snake, Goddess they are everywhere! ¡°I¡¯ll bring some tea,¡± She said, a vein throbbing on her right temple. ¡°We have servants for that dear,¡± Sahand argued retrieving his hand. ¡°It is a pleasure to serve you, my Prince,¡± She croaked and returned Phanti¡¯s unconvinced stare. He probably tastes like an old goat, Aelrindel decided. But still, she hadn¡¯t had goat in a while.
The cat meowed and she snapped at her furious. The black cat put her paw on the expensive gold-engraved decanter and shoved it off the table. It broke into a thousand pieces just as a fresh Lithoniela entered her quarters. ¡°I take it your meeting with the Prince didn¡¯t go well?¡± Lithoniela asked stooping to pet the cat hiding behind her legs to avoid Aelrindel¡¯s wrath. Uh. You old horny turd. ¡°I¡¯ve had worse. The war isn¡¯t going as smoothly as everyone seemed to have thought it would,¡± She replied eyeing the cat warningly. ¡°The city is slowly recovering at least,¡± Lithoniela noted sensing her mood. ¡°You¡¯re saddened the Prince is leaving?¡± I don¡¯t give a shit about the Prince! Aelrindel sighed. ¡°It¡¯s complicated.¡± ¡°I fail to see a single quality about him,¡± Lithoniela told her honestly, as if she knew what she was talking about. ¡°He has a finely shaped cock and knows how to use it,¡± Aelrindel deadpanned and watched her royal fa?ade of haughtiness crack up. ¡°You are looking to procreate with him? What need have you of¡ª?¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. ¡°Some find physical pleasure equally useful and helpful your highness,¡± Aelrindel cut her off seeing her stuttering to find the words. ¡°Mate like humans?¡± Lithoniela hissed her eyes glowing. ¡°That¡¯s disgusting.¡± Good grief, everyone in nature does it child! The rest is fluff and not the other way around. The sorceress sighed and stared at Wulan entering her quarters. What is it? She asked her in the Silent Tongue. The caravan from Dan is here, Wulan replied. Ah. Fuck you Ralnor for dropping them on my lap and legging it. ¡°Dear Lithoniela, I may have some visitors,¡± She said. ¡°Exiles,¡± Lithoniela noted. ¡°Zilan,¡± Aelrindel corrected her. ¡°Some of them Elderblood.¡± ¡°They are here?¡± Lithoniela said now more interested. ¡°Would you like to meet them?¡± ¡°They probably hate me,¡± Lithoniela murmured. ¡°It¡¯s been two hundred years Princess,¡± Aelrindel explained calmly. ¡°And you weren¡¯t to blame.¡± ¡°You question my mother¡¯s rule?¡± Lithoniela hissed. ¡°I suggest keeping old politics away from the meeting,¡± Aelrindel cautioned her. ¡°Look forward Princess and not to the past.¡± Wow, she thought surprised with herself. That was a fine advise you sprouted there girl. Sounding all mature and motherly. Ugh. Wish you could apply it to yourself though. Hmm? Yeah, you can¡¯t. ¡°Who¡¯s first?¡± She asked a silently watching and shamelessly grinning Wulan and the slave made a face before replying. ¡°Zilyana, she insisted. There was a row of sorts. It turned bloody.¡± Oh, Goddess, Aelrindel thought and collapsed on her throne. No race is more bothersome to govern, or look after than your children. ¡°Send the Second Priestess in, Wulan,¡± She ordered her and sensed Lithoniela tensing up at the prospect of meeting another practitioner of the ¡®Dark Arts¡¯. Aelrindel had to remind herself again that the Princess was naught but a young teen in years, when the world had burned and in a sense she hadn¡¯t come out of it yet.
¡°Priestess Mother,¡± A worn out but comely Zilyana said bursting inside, pausing realizing there was another Elderblood present. ¡°Priestess Daughter,¡± Aelrindel greeted her. ¡°This is Lithoniela, of Baltoris.¡± Zilyana took a step back as if slapped in the face, blinked and then answered with her hands shaking. ¡°The Queen¡¯s daughter?¡± Aelrindel rolled her eyes and wished Ralnor was there to help her navigate the younger generation¡¯s hysterics. ¡°Yes child, Baltoris had only the one. It¡¯s an established fact.¡± Zilyana took a step forward and prostrated herself at Lithoniela¡¯s feet, even hanging her muddy boots with desperation. ¡°Your highness do not send us away!¡± She begged and the panic flooding out of her skin turned Aelrindel¡¯s stomach. Lithoniela stooped to pick her up from the floor. ¡°I couldn¡¯t even if I wanted to Zilyana, of Aeleniel,¡± Aww, were they both in the academy at the same time? She thought curious. That¡¯s so sweet. ¡°Alas my mother¡¯s rule is broken.¡± Thank the fuckin¡¯ goddess for that! The Goddess being me. ¡°Will you be taking over your highness?¡± Zilyana said still holding Lithoniela''s hand enthralled and Aelrindel narrowed her eyes. What? ¡°I¡¯m not looking to rule,¡± Lithoniela replied honestly and looked at them very moved. ¡°But I want our kind to have a future.¡± Eh, that is all fine honey, but talk is cheap. You need to get your hands dirty for that and take a cock with a smile on your lips. As if on que, Aelrindel watched one-eyed Faelar, of Ralocan walking inside fully armed and as mean as she remembered him. The former Imperial Ranger nodded with his head and took a spot near her balcony rigid as a board. Ralnor¡¯s friends had arrived. But the master Assassin himself had gone rogue looking for a long dead man on Jelin to support an outlandish theory. ¡°A talking cat?¡± Lithoniela queried and she turned her eyes on the two younger Zilan talking all grins and giggles, a little surprised at the topic. ¡°Let me show you, Melon?¡± Zilyana asked the black cat and Melon snorted and looked up with his strikingly green and dark grey eyes. ¡°Yes, small tits?¡± The cat said in a sly voice and Zilyana crooked the left side of her mouth humbled. ¡°You call him Melon?¡± Lithoniela gasped and walked towards the talking cat. ¡°He liked melons in his youth, slurped them up all the time,¡± Zilyana explained trying to walk through her awkwardness and Melon blinked totally stunned at her stupidity. ¡°It turned my piss a fine red that lasted and made all them pussies wild,¡± He corrected her and Lithoniela paused unsure at the vulgarity. ¡°Hmm, you smell nice there,¡± The lecherous cat continued with a wink. ¡°How about I give ye a thorough licking? Now it might tickle a tad, but the big-titted witch doesn¡¯t seem to mind.¡± Lithoniela glanced at the aforementioned sorceress, blushed to the roots of her hair and Aelrindel just shrugged her shoulders not sure what the fuss was about, until she remembered not everyone was as carefree in these matters as she was. Oh well. Faelar twisted his head around and threw an austere warning glare at the three flushed Zilan females, Wulan and Melon the not embarrassed rare talking cat. But it was impossible to hold back the tide. Zilyana burst out laughing first, Wulan went right after her and Aelrindel with Lithoniela did the same almost at the same time. The sound of their happiness almost divine, as much as foolish.
Aelrindel felt the moisture on her skin, the wind blowing behind the throne and Lithoniela¡¯s vibrant laughter giving her tapestries a golden hue. Water splashed down, birds chirped and Melon started singing in his discordant voice, murdering every note much to the cackling girls delight. The sorceress grimaced and pushed herself up feeling left out, the thin dress sticking on her body fully soaked and her feet slippery on her high-heeled sandals. ¡°Zilyana,¡± She said walking carefully not to slip up and fall into the pond her pupil had created behind her throne room, as despite appearances there was still marble tiles underneath it. Breaking a hip now will just drive the nail in. ¡°People are unware but suspicious. How are you going to explain all this?¡± Zilyana raised her blue head out of the water, a couple of meters to the side Lithoniela trying to stop Melon from eating one of the imaginary birds he¡¯d caught whilst no one was looking. ¡°Who cares about the people?¡± ¡°You should, for they will burn you at a stake,¡± Aelrindel replied lowering herself and sitting on her heels. ¡°And torture you, if they realize you are a Zilan and a sorceress.¡± Zilyana¡¯s mostly purple eyes flashed angry. ¡°You still bed that fool! I can¡¯t believe you wanted me to marry him!¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t though, for I stepped in to save your stupid arse. Bringing the Khanate to our darn door!¡± Aelrindel hissed angrily. ¡°If you had gone through with it, you would have doomed us all and the Khan¡¯s army would be at Dan now burning everything down. You think I want this fucking responsibility? My mother¡¯s work falls on my shoulders!¡± ¡°I will feast on the lot of them!¡± ¡°And you¡¯ll choke on them fool! Have you any idea how many serve the old Horselord? The High King and the Lords of Jelin? Millions!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you control the Khanate?¡± Lithoniela asked from where she stood at the banks of Zilyana¡¯s stupid pond. Aelrindel hissed and got up. Cut a vine down from the springs and walked gingerly on the slippery terrain to return to the table, grass and mud under her heels. Stooping she reached for the broken pieces of glass from the decanter still on the floor. Half the throne room had turned into wilderness, the rest of it was as it had been that morning. ¡°Alurae¡­ Cilintir,¡± She said and felt Zilyana¡¯s spell dissolve through the wilting vine and the glass turning into a square piece of mirror. Gone was the garden and the clear waters. The bird turning to air in a grimacing Melon¡¯s mouth. Ugh. ¡°What?¡± Lithoniela gasped behind her back. ¡°How did she do that?¡± ¡°Yes mother, how did you do that?¡± Zilyana asked greatly pissed at Aelrindel for ruining her stupid spell. Aelrindel lifted the crude mirror up and stared herself on its polished surface. Every spell has a thread, Edlenn reminded her. Find the thread youngling and you¡¯ll undone it. Every secret leaves a shadow. Find its shade youngling and all will be revealed. ¡°What is it Aelrindel?¡± Lithoniela asked always worrying, after she approached her and stared at the sorceress through the looking glass. Living like a hermit for centuries has driven the young Princess to near insanity. But her perception was strong and she was right. ¡°Reeves has a Wyvern, Princess,¡± The Sorceress said and Zilyana gasped in horror almost going down. Lithoniela frowned and crossed her arms on her naked breasts. I should probably explain again the rules of living among people to both of them, she thought, opting to leave it for a later time. ¡°Glen¡­ has a wyvern,¡± The Imperial Princess repeated. ¡°He hatched an egg.¡± ¡°Where did he find the egg?¡± Ah, so you didn¡¯t know. Hmm. ¡°Where do you think he did?¡± Aelrindel asked looking at her thinking it through. ¡°Ovinet went back to Wetull,¡± Lithoniela replied. ¡°She was very sick.¡± Aelrindel felt sick as well at that point. With guilt. Fuck. ¡°She didn¡¯t,¡± Her voice had come out a croak. ¡°Glen had no egg in Oakenfalls,¡± Lithoniela insisted, visibly rattled at the revelation. ¡°It¡¯s a miracle he lives¡ª¡± ¡°He reached Eikenport,¡± Aelrindel cut her off again impatiently and Zilyana stood back surprised. The sorceress didn¡¯t care about decorum at this point though, the empire was dead and they had a mess in their hands to clear up. Assuming Ralnor¡¯s outlandish conspiracy theories proved wrong. ¡°For all intent and purposes, the Wyvern is leading him to Wetull.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Zilyana whispered. Aelrindel grimaced and lifted the square mirror, balancing it at the tips of her fingers like a disk. ¡°Alurae¡­ Ohte, a Cillintir,¡± She said and the crude mirror folded like a fabric and morphed into an oval-shaped rock quartz. Returned being the correct word. The thread found and pulled. It looked like a large egg made out of glass. ¡°Everything can be unmade and vice versa,¡± Aelrindel added thoughtfully. ¡°The Wyvern will look to make more,¡± Lithoniela elucidated still clutching her shoulders. ¡°All it needs is the raw materials¡­ and magic.¡± Plenty of both¡­ in Wetull, was her meaning. 208. And now, you are here
Glen Mister Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor And now, you are here
The old adventurer walked inside the brothel and found a spot at the bar. There was no tall stool at the near, so he remained standing. His eyes roamed the packed joint for a while, the ruckus grating to his ears after so many weeks on the road. Armium was a big city, a large port, but it wasn¡¯t famed for its whorehouses. That didn¡¯t mean there weren¡¯t plenty around, or that the sailors and merchants that crossed the Lesia Desert weren''t flocking to them just as everywhere else. The Lena eyed him from afar and he nodded respectfully. He turned towards the man behind the counter to order a cold beer, but a short girl jumped on the polished counter, skirt and tight top leaving plenty of skin showing. Some of the tattoos on her made out of black ink, the others reddish creating an elaborate pattern around her neck and down her naked back. ¡°I feel much better to the touch,¡± She purred behind dark painted eyelashes, red-rimmed eyes hidden behind a curtain of thick pink curls. That face impossible to forget. Adding with a calculating stare. ¡°But it ain¡¯t free and this isn''t a homeless shelter. Name¡¯s Lynx. What do they call ye old man?¡± Luthos be cursed, Sam Mathews thought and stood back a little numb, the years not diminishing the shock of seeing her again. That ancient Gish was right after all, he decided and pushed his grey hair back, afore telling her.
Glen coughed to clear his throat, black smoke and ash billowing near the banks of the lake. The mist had retreated but the embers of Uvrycres wrath were still visible and half-smoldering, along the many corpses that is. He pulled away, eyes smarting and walked gingerly towards Kalac and Angrein that had gathered their injured near the first standing building at the outskirts of Goras, a hundred meters away. Fikumin tackled him before he¡¯d a chance to talk with the others. Literally. The accursed dwarf almost tripped him up standing alike a heavy log in front of his legs. Glen being preoccupied with examining the aftermath of the bloody scrap near the Eternal Springs and Lake, hadn¡¯t noticed him standing there. ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake!¡± Glen cursed, his ribs and chest hurting, tongue still lodged on his chipped tooth. He rubbed at his smarting knee with a hand glaring at the scowling dwarf. ¡°Almost broke my knee there¡­¡± ¡°It was my head. You have weak bones,¡± Fikumin grunted and Glen raised a mocking brow at the easy retort offered on a plate. ¡°Friend, yer head is just too thick is all,¡± He deadpanned didactically. And huge. Fikumin snorted, but there was no coming back from the hole he dug himself into, Glen thought satisfied. ¡°You need to do something about the dead,¡± The dwarf grunted. ¡°Afore it comes back to bite you.¡± ¡°What about them?¡± ¡°Your Wyvern is feasting on them for starters in plain view of everyone,¡± Fikumin explained and Glen frowned. ¡°Same as some of the local Zilan. It freaks the rest of us out.¡± Glen spotted a Zilan gulping down what looked like a liver, the Zilan pausing to lick his bloody lips afore continuing chewing on the piece of flesh. Whoa. ¡°I¡¯m working on it,¡± He replied, although he wasn¡¯t. ¡°Where¡¯s Whisper?¡± Fikumin snorted in disgust at his excuse and pointed at the two females kneeled over the covered body of Alix. Ugh, for crying out loud. ¡°I¡¯m going to¡­¡± He paused and grimaced in pain. ¡°See what you can do about the corpses¡­ the dead was my meaning.¡± ¡°Nobody is going anywhere near your wyvern Garth.¡± ¡°Hah, come on¡­ you know him since¡ª¡± Fikumin glared at him. ¡°No one is going near Garth.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± Glen yielded. ¡°I¡¯ll see to that too. Anything else?¡± ¡°You need to send for the caravan to come here. I¡¯ll speak to Kalac about it,¡± Fikumin offered seeing his expression. ¡°I appreciate yer contribution. I may need you for later Fikumin,¡± He told him. ¡°This will be a team effort friend, there is no doubt in my mind.¡± ¡°That, I believe Garth,¡± Fikumin retorted with another grunt. There, we are on the same page finally. Cooperation and diplomacy.
The exceptionally lithe Maeriel turned her purple and silver eyes towards him, a scar visible under her chin marring a very handsome face. She had a hand on Jinx¡¯s small shoulder offering comfort. ¡°Hardir,¡± The Ranger greeted him getting up. ¡°Maeriel,¡± Glen said and looked at the silent hugging her knees Gish. ¡°Whisper, we need to move him.¡± Else gods only know what will come out of the woodwork, when night falls. ¡°We tossed Zola into the sea,¡± Jinx said hauntingly without looking his way and Glen flinched caught unawares. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°Dante I just left there in a field,¡± Jinx continued and Glen gulped down worried. He glanced at Maeriel, but the Ranger seemed to expect a solution to come from him. ¡°Whisper,¡± He started with a grimace. Glen could barely stand upright and was hurting all over, but he would have traded for another injury not to have to see the despair on the young Gish¡¯s face. ¡°I can¡¯t let them eat Alix,¡± Jinx explained to him and Glen noticed she grasped tight at that stupidly expensive medal with her hands. ¡°Nobody is going to¡­¡± Jinx turned her red-rimmed eyes to look at him and the words died in his mouth. ¡°I¡¯ll have Kalac build a fire¡­ a pyre for our dead,¡± He said after a contemplating moment. ¡°I¡¯ll run that way and inform him,¡± Maeriel offered and Glen eyed her suspiciously. Flix seemed to think it was a good idea to have those two come near, but Glen wasn¡¯t so sure about it. Where the fuck was that old Gish anyway? Maeriel frowned at first, understanding Glen¡¯s hardening stare, but then gave a nod with her head. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about her,¡± She reassured him. ¡°I¡¯ll worry just the same,¡± Glen rustled. ¡°I can be a mean man Zilan, if me and mine are threatened,¡± He warned her and Maeriel surprised him with a smile. ¡°It¡¯s been foretold Hardir,¡± The Ranger replied and dashed away as fast as a gazelle. All Gods damnit! Glen thought impressed, whilst looking at her fit arse hugged by her leather pants sashaying away . Whoa. What in the slovenly fuck! Jinx sniffled and snapped him back to the harsh and gloomy reality. She had placed the gold medal back under the sheet, where Alix¡¯s head would have been and covered it. ¡°You should¡ª¡± Keep that it worth¡¯s a lot, was what he intended to say, but Jinx murmured talking to herself mostly and cut him off. ¡°He earned the fuck out of it,¡± Jinx said. ¡°Stupid gold trinket.¡± Right. ¡°You know what? Let him have it,¡± Glen said with a croak and helped her up, shocked at how small she was. ¡°You put on some weight, even a bit of height me thinks, hmm?¡± He teased her not likening seeing her so depressed. Jinx wiped her nostrils with her palm and then cleaned said hand on Glen¡¯s pants. ¡°My tits are bigger,¡± Jinx explained and Glen felt her up a bit, pretending he was fixing her vest. ¡°But if you are looking to bed someone stay clear from Maeriel.¡± ¡°Whisper, come on. We almost died, it¡¯s natural to¡­ fine. I was only trying to make you feel better.¡± ¡°Glen I have a feeling we¡¯re not going to leave this place alive,¡± Jinx told him and Glen hanged his head with a groan of despair. ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake Pretty!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± She replied all sad. ¡°I just feel terrible, but I¡¯m going to be alright truly.¡± Glen sighed. ¡°Are you sure? I¡¯m injured, but willing to stand here until you crack me a big ole smile.¡± Jinx smiled and then shoved him away with both hands. ¡°Aye, now go talk to these people you dork. Stop stalling and do some work for once.¡±
Uh, Glen thought seeing Anfalon waiting for him outside the house Angrein had picked for them to spend the night, until the caravan reached them. The badly injured Hoplite standing rigid and impressive, though a bit chewed up. ¡°Hardir a word,¡± Anfalon grunted. Glen realized he was surrounded by a lot of scowling men and unstable females. He genuinely missed Alix then and sighed, his body hurting and in need of a long rest. ¡°What about?¡± Anfalon pointed at the abandoned lake-suburb of Goras sprawling all around them. The buildings massive and tall, the rooftops angular and exotic. Everything build out of cut and polished granite. Shit made to last obviously. ¡°There are a number of... civilians, former strays, I¡¯ve given lease to stay on Imperial lands,¡± Anfalon explained appearing uncomfortable. ¡°I want them moved here and take over this part of town. Phinariel¡¯s village is built near very dangerous territory.¡± Glen nodded, raising his brows hearing the young Zilan¡¯s name. ¡°Alright, I don¡¯t see the problem¡­¡± He trailed unsure on what he was supposed to say to that. ¡°They are not allowed to set foot in Goras. This was the Queen¡¯s city,¡± Anfalon grunted eyeing him. ¡°So you¡¯ll have to decree it, also absolving them of fault for their lineage.¡± Glen blinked more confused than before and eyed Fikumin waiting for him to get inside. The dwarf sighed and walked towards them slowly. Now being as he was so lacking in the leg department, Glen was willing to give him a pass there, but still the dwarf was extra annoying. ¡°In writing?¡± The dwarf asked the Hoplite. ¡°I will stand witness to an oral order,¡± Anfalon explained and Glen breathed in loudly looking at them blankly. ¡°You basically want to grab those houses¡ª¡± Glen started and Anfalon frowned and barked cutting him off. ¡°I want to keep them safe and secure that there won¡¯t be any retaliation!¡± ¡°That¡¯s admirable truly, from whom though?¡± ¡°From no one if you decree they can stay in the city,¡± Anfalon repeated looking very agitated, or perhaps in pain. Glen could understand that, being in pain as well his nerves were tensed. Fikumin groaned in turn as if in pain too.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. There are a lot of injured folk around. ¡°Make the decree Garth,¡± The dwarf urged him. ¡°Why does this fall on me?¡± Glen argued. ¡°Let them make their own decisions dwarf!¡± ¡°Were you forced into this position Hardir?¡± Anfalon asked him curious. ¡°Tricked?¡± Glen stood back. ¡°I wasn¡¯t. Not sure what you¡¯re getting at friend and don¡¯t much like yer implication. I¡¯ve won my titles fair and square.¡± Or stolen them. Basically the same plaguin¡¯ thing! ¡°This is what you won Hardir,¡± Anfalon said relaxing his strained face, arm still in a sling. ¡°You get to be the judge and law of the land. It¡¯s a favor I ask, you could always refuse to grant. I had to make it for Phinariel and her people,¡± He added. Hmm. ¡°They can use the houses,¡± Glen said and Anfalon nodded. ¡°You will talk to the others then?¡± Anfalon asked him. ¡°Sure friend,¡± Glen replied and the Hoplite allowed a satisfied smile on his face and walked away to an expecting Lymsiel. There was a lot worry into that Zilan¡¯s eyes Glen noticed and shook his head. Another pretty one this, he thought and seeing Fikumin had started walking ever slowly on his stubby legs towards the building, he went after him. ¡°Hey, what others?¡± Glen asked him and the dwarf groaned again. ¡°The Zilan living here was his meaning,¡± Fikumin replied.
¡°Fuck,¡± Glen cursed and sat on the high back chair Angrein had fished out of another empty building. The blacksmith had it installed in the empty high-ceiling hall of the estate size central building he¡¯d singled out for them to reside for the night. ¡°I can¡¯t move my hand.¡± ¡°The glove is soaked in blood, it turned hard. Let me see it,¡± Fikumin said and checked on his wound there, after cutting away the dried up leather. ¡°You might need some stitches. The color is better at least.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Glen asked and looked for himself at the pale wrinkled skin around the cut. ¡°It would need more work,¡± Fikumin explained and tied a clean cloth over it. Then he helped Glen remove his armour and checked on the bruises on his chest. Glen had dark-blue spots over all his body, as if he¡¯d been trampled under a horse. Repeatedly. ¡°Ugh, someone has already looted the place,¡± He said looking about him at the empty, though roomy, hall. The drawings and frescos on the walls washed out by time and neglect. The floor cracked and dirty but surprisingly clear and the roof still standing, although in a strange angled shape. ¡°They just moved to the shore, or left a long time ago,¡± Fikumin explained. ¡°This was an upper class vacation suburb near the lake.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t this Goras?¡± Glen asked, seeing a good number of Zilan entering the building under Sam Mathew¡¯s scrutiny. The mercenary was standing ¡®guard¡¯ at the large entrance. ¡°It is, Zilan liked their spaces, but also loved having all options available to them at the near. So they usually built their retreats, hunting grounds, summer homes, inside their cities. Of course they needed to expand their cities for that.¡± Right, Glen said recognizing Soletha and Maeriel in the at least fifteen strong group of Zilan. A couple of them dressed quite fancy for the occasion. ¡°Hardir O¡¯ Fardor,¡± Soletha said. The priestess had thankfully cleaned all that blood from her face. She immediately prostrated herself before his feet. Glen sitting in his undershirt, and covered in sweat, blood stains and dirt felt a little silly. ¡°You may stand,¡± He rustled and glanced at the scowling Fikumin. ¡°Snap out of it dwarf. I need someone to help me here. I can¡¯t do everything by myself.¡± ¡°Of course Garth,¡± Fikumin grunted. ¡°Start contributing friend, I can¡¯t carry yer arse all the time,¡± Glen warned him and the dwarf shook his enormous head and puffed out. ¡°Priestess Soletha,¡± The dwarf said to the expecting Zilan. Soletha despite her grief-stricken face was another fine female of her species. Not that males of her group were bad-looking. There was a symmetry to their faces, broken by their pointy and different in size elongated ears. ¡°What is it you seek?¡± ¡°I wish to thank Hardir O¡¯ Fardor for breaking Pelleas hold on this part of the city,¡± Soletha said in that half-Imperial half-Common Glen could understand for the most part. ¡°We are ever grateful.¡± ¡°You lived here?¡± Glen asked thinking on his talk with Anfalon. ¡°We live on the coast, Hardir,¡± Soletha replied. ¡°Where is that?¡± Glen asked. ¡°In Goras Hardir,¡± Soletha replied and Glen stared at her blankly. ¡°How far is the coast?¡± Fikumin asked her. ¡°Mmm, it¡¯s over a hundred kilometers to the northeast,¡± She replied looking at the dwarf a little troubled. ¡°I see,¡± Glen said, although he couldn¡¯t. ¡°So who was living here?¡± ¡°Higher Favored.¡± ¡°And you are?¡± ¡°The coast is full of artisans, like architects and engineers. The lake attracted bards, dancers, those favoring Naossis¡ª¡± ¡°Hah,¡± Glen interrupted her finally hearing something he could understand. ¡°I get the picture. Thank you Soletha,¡± He finished and looked at the expecting Maeriel that stepped forward. ¡°Hardir¡ª¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Glen interrupted her, bored out of his mind and hurting from arse to eyebrows. ¡°I get it, move along Mae dear,¡± He added. ¡°It¡¯s Maeriel Hardir,¡± The Ranger protested civilly, but sternly. Glen sighed, his tone hardening. ¡°Speak girl, I have injuries to tend to.¡± ¡°I formally petition the land hugging the Eternal Lake and bordering the Springs to be bequeathed to Phinariel and her people and for them to be allowed to enter Goras,¡± An insulted Maeriel thundered and Glen noticed several Zilan behind her -Soletha included- flinch and gasp in horror at her words. Hmm. ¡°I¡¯ve already agreed to it,¡± He said over the loud murmurs of the Zilan present. ¡°Gratitude Hardir,¡± Maeriel said with a sharp bow and retreated her face still strained. ¡°What is this Maeriel?¡± Soletha protested glaring at the Ranger. ¡°You can¡¯t take all this land for yourself.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not for me Soletha, don¡¯t try to twist this around,¡± Maeriel explained angrily. ¡°There are over a hundred¡­ strays struggling to survive near Hfrial Depths. Our kind is at the brink of extinction and I¡¯m trying to salvage what I can.¡± The silence inside the hall with the sealed windows and empty walls was deafening. Then almost all the Zilan present roared in protest, glaring daggers at the sweating ranger. ¡°That¡¯s bullshit!¡± One of them said from the back. ¡°Yes, using the Gish to elevate herself,¡± Another commented, a short sour-faced female. ¡°Bringing strays inside Goras,¡± A well-groomed male regarded with a shiver. ¡°Why, the Queen will turn in her grave.¡± ¡°The Queen would skin you all for worshiping the apostate¡¯s spawn!¡± Maeriel snapped and things started turning ugly. ¡°Go back to your woods Ranger!¡± Someone yelled. ¡°Take the streets with you!¡± ¡°You cursed hypocrites!¡± Maeriel snarled and reached for her blade. ¡°ENOUGH!¡± Fikumin boomed cutting through the noise. The voice reverberating inside the hall, huge and belonging to a much taller person. Glen stared at him with a newfound admiration. ¡°You¡¯ll behave afore Hardir O¡¯ Fardor,¡± The dwarf added glaring at each one of them. It was an impressive sight, with him being the shortest person in there and all. ¡°You,¡± Glen said and pointed a finger on the well-groomed male. ¡°Come forth and explain.¡± ¡°Hardir,¡± The Zilan said diplomatically. He wore a rich red and finely-tailored doublet and soft leather boots. ¡°The Queen had declared all strays to stay outside the city proper.¡± ¡°She also had ordered your lot exiled Voron, yet here you are!¡± Maeriel hissed all flushed and Glen spotted Jinx peeking inside the hall curious. ¡°The Queen is dead,¡± Glen said and grimaced. ¡°And I see no city here¡­¡± He added looking at the Zilan with the funny name. ¡°Voron, of Wylariel Hardir,¡± The male said quickly with a curtsy. Yep that¡¯s a name that could get you into trouble, Glen thought with a half grin. ¡°Mor¡­ Voron friend,¡± He started almost tripping up a bit. ¡°Goras is gone, destroyed.¡± ¡°Most of it is,¡± Voron agreed. ¡°We are trying something¡­¡± Fikumin cleared his throat and Glen glared at him. ¡°I¡¯m trying to build something new here. A place where you and your¡­¡± ¡°Apostate¡¯s daughter acolytes,¡± Fikumin reminded him, using even more complicated words. Probably on purpose. ¡°That would be Edlenn Garth. An Elderborn quite famed.¡± Not to Glen it wasn¡¯t. Hell, he had no idea who all these fools were. He remembered Prince Sahand¡¯s wife though. The memory alluring. He cleared his throat and thought of Sen. It didn¡¯t help alleviate his arousal at all. ¡°Right. You people could stay and Maeriel¡¯s folk could stay as well,¡± Glen continued diplomatically. ¡°Hardir, these are lawless strays. Living in the woods, uncultured,¡± Soletha argued. ¡°These strays¡­ and I find ye a little bigoted there milady. Anyways they came to your assistance Soletha. They brought Anfalon and Maeriel to fight for you, whilst you more cultured folk were killing each other and other disturbing stuff.¡± ¡°Will Hardir revoke the Queen¡¯s ban on the Old Ways?¡± Voron asked him. ¡°Hardir will do whatever he believes is needed to make this thing work Voron,¡± Glen said, his patience running thin. ¡°This part of the old city belongs to Phina¡¯s people now. It is decided. I suggest you get along with each other. The way I see it, it¡¯s a roomy city. There¡¯s space for everyone.¡± ¡°Gratitude Hardir,¡± Maeriel said. ¡°We will need the decree in writing,¡± Soletha said. ¡°There are citizens still in hiding. The ban must be lifted Hardir.¡± ¡°Let me think on it priestess,¡± Glen replied and looked at Voron. ¡°What did you do afore all this?¡± He asked him and Voron frowned. ¡°I was an architect, Hardir. I have a hundred and fifty years of experience.¡± ¡°Were ye any good?¡± Glen asked him and the haughty Zilan hissed at the insult. ¡°I finished Ninthalor¡¯s Bridge over the Gulf.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that in ruins now?¡± Glen mocked him. ¡°Anything still standing?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t have time to dwell on other projects then and the later years were plagued by a lack in funding,¡± He admitted wearing his professional face. ¡°But I¡¯m still young Hardir and full of ideas. May I inquire why?¡± He asked and looked at Glen with renewed interest. ¡°The whole place is a fucking mess. I know how it sounds guys, but trust me it¡¯s disappointing as fuck,¡± Glen replied and tried to stretch his hurting back. ¡°I need stuff build to make coin out of it and keep everyone fed. It¡¯s simple economics and unless you big-eared people have valuables stashed in yer basements I should know about, we better start doing it sooner rather than later.¡± His words were received lukewarmly by those present, but Glen thought it was a fine ending to a dreadfully boring ordeal. Jinx approached him after everyone had gone away finally and told him Flix was leaving. ¡°Where is he going?¡± Glen asked her, not likening the sound of it.
Flix, wearing a fresh -a bit garish- yellow dress and that typical great hat of his, was waiting by his horse. The animal laden with a couple of bags of supplies from the caravan that had arrived an hour before dark. From afar he looked like an old very short woman smoking her pipe, reminding Glen of the first time he¡¯d seen him up on that pile of debris in Rida. Almost ten months back. ¡°It will be dark soon,¡± He told him and Flix nodded blowing smoke out of his nostrils. ¡°Easier to move in the dark,¡± The old Gish said and reached in his bags searching for something. ¡°And you¡¯ve opened up a road through the jungle.¡± ¡°The tunnels will be nigh scary to pass alone.¡± ¡°Aye, they will be.¡± ¡°Why leave now Flix?¡± Glen asked him. ¡°We¡¯ve so many things to work on here. That Pelleas dude might come back.¡± ¡°You have things to do Garth,¡± Flix said finding what he was looking for. It was a thin metallic pipe. The bronze engraved with silver on it, shaped like the vines and leaves of the aromatic drug the Gish enjoyed. ¡°But this is the end of my long years of service for me. I¡¯ve nothing more to give, precious little time to live.¡± ¡°Flix come on, you¡¯ll outlive us all buddy,¡± Glen told him and the Gish chuckled at that and offered him the expensive pipe. ¡°Isn¡¯t that what Angrein made for you?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll keep the old one,¡± Flix replied. ¡°I¡¯ve gotten used to it.¡± Glen accepted the pipe and flipped it in his palm once impressed at the quality. ¡°What I¡¯m supposed to do now?¡± He asked him and Flix frowned, his eyes searching the lake that still washed out pieces of blackened Hydra flesh. ¡°You¡¯ll find that out on your own Garth. You have good friends and a Wyvern,¡± Flix said a little moved. ¡°You¡¯ll be alright. It is written.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe all that crap Flix,¡± Glen told him. ¡°Hehe, neither do I, but still I had to test you,¡± The Gish retorted with a chuckle. ¡°Never forget that. Words are meaningless and mostly lies.¡± ¡°Where will you go now?¡± Glen asked, just as Flix got out his peleg and flipped it once in his hand. ¡°I¡¯ll just pick a mission of my own. Travel to Yelin. Swim in Valeria¡¯s lakes if I make it,¡± Flix replied and tossed the throwing axe to Glen, who caught it with his free hand. ¡°Have Angrein make you a proper armor. Keep Anfalon on your side and remember all Zilan will charm you if you go near them, even unwittingly. Don¡¯t mistake a spell for real feelings,¡± The latter giving the sense it wasn¡¯t intended for Glen, but for himself. ¡°How can I tell?¡± Glen asked curious. ¡°Actions speak louder than words,¡± Flix told him and climbed on his horse, his legs not reaching the stirrups. ¡°The rest you¡¯ll figure out yourself, chop-chop.¡± ¡°I¡¯m gonna miss you, old Gish,¡± Glen said his voice cracking. ¡°I intent to make it back here, Garth,¡± Flix said and lit his pipe again with a firestone. ¡°But it is very likely I won¡¯t. These past months was the most fun I had in years,¡± He added truthfully. ¡°Right, well I can¡¯t say the plaguin¡¯ same. Any last words of wisdom?¡± Glen rustled, looking towards the darkening woods. ¡°Be mindful of the shades,¡± Flix said, face hidden under the veil of his hat. ¡°And when you hear of the last King¡¯s fate, ask what happened to Elas sister.¡±
Glen watched the old Gish riding away until the woods and the darkness that came hid him from his eyes. He turned back and walked towards the first buildings of Goras, leaving the woods and the quiet waters on his back. He could hear Uvrycres shrieking over the Lake¡¯s surface as he left to visit whatever it was the Wyvern was visiting each night. Glen paused when he spotted Jinx making out with Maeriel under a cedar tree and was about to head towards the big fire the men of the caravan had built in front of the estate, when he noticed a pair of indigo eyes watching him from inside the open doorframe. ¡°Hardir O¡¯ Fardor,¡± Aenymriel hushed, her voice full of promises. ¡°Almost didn¡¯t see you there,¡± Glen told her. ¡°Yet, you did,¡± She replied and stepped into the light coming from the firepit. ¡°You also brought the strays into the fold. A bold move.¡± ¡°They needed a place to stay,¡± Glen replied. ¡°What class is a surveyor?¡± Aenymriel crooked her mouth into a smirk. ¡°Something I picked up in my travels. An old Gish wouldn''t know that. How does a scoundrel become a Knight?¡± ¡°I¡¯m more than a knight,¡± Glen replied and crossed his arms on his chest. ¡°Yes you are, Garth,¡± She replied flirting with him, but he remembered Flix¡¯s words and pulled back. Aenymriel watched him for a moment with that strange glowing eyes and whispered so only he could hear. ¡°And now you are here.¡± 209. The Singing Cannibal
Ralnor Larn Dar Eherdir Fae O'' Elum The Singing Cannibal
Come here¡­ dear. Don''t wait for dawn, whence wicked dreams are born Listen for that tone, made of skin badly sewn¡­ ¡®n cured in briny waters. - Presumably heard/sang in large port-cities and dark alleys, Unknown composer. Unknown date.
The guard at the gates, the one not sleeping on his spear, turned his tired eyes on him. Ralnor had the setting sun on his back and his face was shaded by the hood. He nodded once to alleviate the man¡¯s qualms for his late arrival and made to climb down from his horse. ¡°A Lorian?¡± The sergeant at the gates asked and the guard stirred trying to wake up. Ralnor stopped the effort to climb down from Dar and returned the officer¡¯s stare. He was under the thick shade of the gatehouse and Ralnor had missed him on his approach. ¡°From Levacum,¡± He replied in a clear loud voice. ¡°Where¡¯s that son?¡± The sergeant asked him. ¡°In Lesia.¡± ¡°Ah, a merchant?¡± ¡°Looking to deal in cheap wine,¡± Ralnor replied. ¡°Buy or sell?¡± ¡°Buy.¡± ¡°Lots of that around,¡± The sergeant said, looking at his expensive boots. ¡°But with the war, the prices might shock you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a risk,¡± Ralnor said. ¡°I¡¯m willing to take. I¡¯ll leave ye lads a bottle, if I get a good deal.¡± ¡°Let him through,¡± The sergeant ordered the sleepy guards with a smile.
The inn across the Big Sparrow, was called the Bony Dog. Ralnor left Dar in the former¡¯s stables and walked towards the ill repute inn and tavern, observing the crowd moving about, mostly towards Castalor¡¯s Eastport. He stood at a street corner for an hour watching the entrance, the shades hiding him from everyone and waited for the night to come fully and quiet down the city. Tout arrived at the spot half an hour later, horrifically scarred face giving the former street urchin the chance to beg for coin from richly dressed passersby¡¯s. He got almost a silver¡¯s worth of coin from it, as the city¡¯s best whorehouses were located but a street away and the people heading there were ready to spend. He also managed to steal a sweaty and real merchant¡¯s good purse, while the man was rewarding the boy¡¯s beggaring with a copper from his other one. Ralnor sighed and stepped out of the shadows, whilst the little ¡®beggar¡¯ counted his haul. ¡°We got to move,¡± He said and Tout flinched scared, but recovered quickly, ruined mouth cracking in a grotesque smile. The scar on his face half hidden under the leather patch he had on his empty eye socket. ¡°He¡¯ll come back,¡± Ralnor added. ¡°There¡¯s five gold in here. Some silver,¡± Tout counted and followed after him. Ralnor paused outside the Bony Dog and stared warningly at a toothless ¡®whore¡¯ smoking next to the entrance and effectively blocking it. Her skin marred with red and black spots. ¡°What did the man at Caspo O¡¯ Bor said¡ª?¡± Tout tried to say, but he put a hand on his mouth to cut him off. The whore grunted, blew smoke out her badly painted lips and walked away with difficulty. ¡°Less talk, try to keep up,¡± Ralnor rustled and went inside. Loud voices and songs assaulted them the moment they stepped foot inside, noise dressed as music, young wenches and old prancing about, drunken fools and just fools mixed in with the shady night crowd. Burglars and cheap scoundrels, professional thieves, out-of-luck slavers, vacationing cutthroats and right killers. The latter not always for hire. The man behind the bar had more eyebrows than eyes and forehead. A thin-lipped Issir was talking to him, head shaven and gleaming in the light of the oil lamps. The bartender eyed Ralnor gliding through the crowd ever approaching, ducking under large trays and away from protruding elbows. He narrowed his eyes, those great eyebrows contracting and stopped the other man from talking. ¡°Need a drink?¡± The bartender asked Ralnor when he reached them and the assassin put a gloved hand on the surface of the wide counter. ¡°The kid will have one,¡± Ralnor rustled and the shifty bartender moved the wooden toothpick in his mouth to the side and eyed Tout¡¯s mangled face. The boy crooked the working side of his mouth up in a hideous half-grin. ¡°What¡¯s wrong wit him? Did he fell into a lit forge or something?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have a beer,¡± Tout replied remembering the merchant¡¯s words, only a bit of unruly hair showing over the counter. ¡°And a bowl of green olives.¡± The bartender snorted and glanced at Ralnor again. ¡°I¡¯ll need to search at the back for the olives,¡± He said and Ralnor nodded, removing his hand from the counter and revealing the silver Eagle underneath. The man reached and covered it with a dirty cloth, then scooped it up and walked away through a hidden small door. He left it open behind him. Ralnor turned his head and stared at the hired thug watching him in silence. The Issir grimaced, smacked his lips and walked away from the counter as well. The next moment Tout was on and over it, with Ralnor following after him. They reached the small left open door and stooping walked inside. Ralnor had to almost double over as this was a meter high opening, whilst Tout just rushed ahead in the dark hidden corridor.
The corridor led them to the back of the building where another store was located. It didn¡¯t have an outside entrance, or windows facing the street behind the inn. A heavy scent of rot, natron and resin oils all mixed in made their eyes water and the many small holes near the ceiling used for ventilation were doing a poor job. There were four dead bodies inside the large workshop, covered in sheets on the large tables and in various states of decomposition. Tout grimaced, turning green in the face and the bartender pointed at an Issir wearing a bloody apron, short cut white hair and cleanly shaved face, over a thin body working on one of them. ¡°That¡¯s Berg. I¡¯m out of here,¡± He said and disappeared back inside the small tunnel. Berg glanced at the blank-faced Ralnor and stopped his work. He wiped his hands with a filthy cloth and turned around to walk to a desk of sorts. The embalmer poured a dark liquid in a bronze cup and drunk it with a grimace. ¡°Malt whisky,¡± He explained to the silent Ralnor. ¡°You better give the kid some afore he pukes all over the place.¡± ¡°A sip,¡± Ralnor ordered Tout and the boy reached for a second cup Berg offered him. He started coughing after testing the strong drink. ¡°You have a recently deceased?¡± Berg asked. ¡°Verlon said you regulated the trade up the coast,¡± Ralnor said. ¡°Big words,¡± Berg replied with a shrug. ¡°There¡¯s a war, people died. Everyone in the trade has more work these days.¡± ¡°People want the dead preserved?¡± ¡°Some people, there are uses for a good body,¡± Berg explained. ¡°You can display it, or keep it in a vault, if it¡¯s a relative¡¯s. It helps people cope with loss.¡± ¡°What else?¡± ¡°Deviants, not all necrophiliacs¡¯ are poor bastards,¡± Berg replied with a shrug. ¡°A large order was placed in Caspo O¡¯ Bor,¡± Ralnor started with a grimace. ¡°For unclaimed dead from the battle of the Small Plains near Riverdor. A man paid for it, but the dead disappeared Berg.¡± ¡°I only got a couple of bodies this week,¡± Berg replied. ¡°All locals.¡± ¡°Any ideas on what happened?¡± ¡°If Verlon didn¡¯t know, why do you think I do?¡± Berg defended himself. Ralnor walked near a table that had a small girl¡¯s body covered with a white sheet. ¡°Fever,¡± Berg said watching him. ¡°Her father wants her preserved.¡± ¡°Why keep it so secure?¡± Ralnor asked him, looking under the sheet. The grey-white face of the girl peaceful in death. ¡°It¡¯s a dangerous business,¡± Berg replied measuring his words. ¡°Especially lately.¡± ¡°What is dangerous about it?¡± Berg grimaced and poured some more whisky into his cup. ¡°How many of the bodies were lost?¡± He asked dodging his query. ¡°Ten military wagons. Over forty corpses. It¡¯s quite the scandal in Caspo O¡¯ Bor, as some of the dead had families left behind,¡± Ralnor elucidated. ¡°It created waves and made me take an interest at it.¡± ¡°So this is a Guild business?¡± Berg asked sipping from his cup nervously. ¡°What is dangerous about it?¡± Ralnor repeated his previous question. ¡°People go missing all the time, some of them get killed or die,¡± Berg said gulping down. ¡°But eventually their bodies turn up, be it poor or rich.¡± ¡°What changed?¡± ¡°Say a family gets mugged on the road,¡± Berg replied. ¡°We find the parents but not the child, when everything points out that it hadn¡¯t run away. Two people get murdered in a dark alley, only one of them is found the next morning.¡± ¡°A slave ring?¡± ¡°Who needs a dead slave?¡± ¡°A ring of deviants setting up shop?¡± Ralnor chanced. ¡°There¡¯s talk of a killer roaming the docks,¡± Berg said his hands shaking. ¡°Up and down the coast. Every year in a different city and port. Caspo O¡¯ Bor, Issir¡¯s Eagle, Colle and Castalor.¡± ¡°A serial killer?¡± Ralnor asked raising a shaved brow. ¡°What need does he have of bodies?¡± It was absurd as a theory, but live for a long time and you learn to respect all leads, he decided. ¡°He sings to lure his victims in them dark places,¡± Berg croaked and Ralnor smacked his lips unimpressed. ¡°He steals bodies,¡± He said not convinced. ¡°Why?¡± Berg grimaced and walking near the assassin covered the dead girl¡¯s head again with the sheet. ¡°People say he¡¯s a cannibal,¡± Berg finally said. ¡°But even he, wouldn¡¯t steal all those bodies.¡±
¡°Did Verlon lie?¡± A slightly inebriated Tout asked him an hour later. Ralnor pressed his back on the moist wall of the alley, an eye on the busy whorehouses and taverns of Westport, the other on the dark side alley stretching out behind them. ¡°No, he didn¡¯t,¡± Ralnor replied. ¡°The army packed the corpses and sent them to Caspo O¡¯ Bor and their families. The families never got any of them back, but the delivery was made.¡± ¡°Where are they then? Did this ghoul got to them first?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a lot of bodies,¡± Ralnor said thoughtfully. ¡°Maybe are a lot of cannibals on the loose?¡± Tout queried and put a roasted sausage into his mouth. He used the good side to chew on it and then wiped his lips with a piece of fresh bread. Tout gulped that down as well right after. ¡°How was the food?¡± Ralnor asked feeling a little famished himself. ¡°Good, not a lot of rat in that sausage.¡± ¡°Flesh tastes like it sometimes,¡± Ralnor explained reminiscing. ¡°When well-prepared.¡± ¡°Better to eat a rat,¡± Tout countered and Ralnor grimaced. No it isn¡¯t. ¡°He¡¯s around,¡± The assassin said instead. ¡°Too much heat in Caspo O¡¯ Bor and Issir¡¯s Eagle is on a war footing. Castalor is the more neutral city with Scaldingport keeping out of it for now.¡± ¡°People say Regia has a Queen now,¡± Tout said, looking about them for the elusive cannibal. The irony not lost on Ralnor. ¡°A Queen Regent.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the difference?¡± ¡°There¡¯s someone waiting to take her place,¡± Ralnor replied and thought of Maja. Had she left something out? Some detail that would give a little more context to what was going on here? Barlow had disappeared. The last trace of him ending with a missive ordering the bodies to Caspo O¡¯ Bor, a charitable gesture to alleviate the burden on some of the poorer soldier¡¯s families, from a man that didn¡¯t have a philanthropic bone in his body whilst living. Ralnor doubted Barlow got one after getting eaten alive. Where in Oras Hell¡¯s did you go? Across the street a man got out of the pleasure house, his hands and face all over a young whore. A guard patrol admonished him for the public spectacle and the Issir with the fancy redingote apologized cackling clearly inebriated. The guards let them go with a warning, the night late and a bit chilly so near the docks. The couple walked away behaving for the scowling guards, their conversation lost under the noise coming from the still working taverns. Ralnor turned his eyes to the dark loading docks beyond the square, but the place looked as abandoned as one would expect it to be for the late time. Sometimes a ship would start loading early to take advantage of the tide, but this needed someone to foot the bill and get a crew working overtime. ¡°They are going into the alley,¡± Tout said with a burp, adding in a serious voice. ¡°Lots of groping is to be expected.¡± Ralnor glanced at the boy, but Tout was obviously still riding high on Berg¡¯s whisky and he let it slide. He turned his eyes on the couple instead, the young whore not very happy to be dragged inside. Their disagreement not appearing sexual in nature, but something else. Hmm. Ralnor looked to see if the guards were still around, but they had moved away and by the time he turned his head towards the couple again, they had disappeared. Come here¡­ A girl sang when he entered the dark alley. It was a children¡¯s lullaby, its rhythm mellow. The voice melodic and pleasant to the ear. Each word tagging at his heartstrings. Dear¡­ Ralnor snapped his head right and then left, but saw nothing and as his eyes got used to the dark, -the side alley being next to the whorehouse- the blackness all around him turned to a greyish hue. He spotted the man sprawled on the cobblestone five meters away, smelled the scent of fresh blood coming from him and reached for a throwing knife. He rushed two quick strides ahead and Tout stepped inside the alley right behind him, just as the unseen girl started singing again. Her voice dancing from sultry, to high pitched. A honeyed delight of warmth and promises. As much a spell as a song, such was her talent. Don''t wait for dawn¡­The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. The alluring voice sang to him in Common. Whence wicked dreams¡­ are born. Ralnor made another two steps forward approaching the fallen man he¡¯d seen coming out of the brothel. The man was missing his right arm and half his face, skin, right eye and soft flesh peeled off to the bones leaving part of his bloody skull showing. Listen for that tone, made of skin badly sewn¡­ The girl hummed and Ralnor saw her at last near a puddle of water, skin so white her blue veins were showing on her hands and neck. Straight coal black hair, very long and covering her naked torso. Nothing between her legs as if she was an unbled small girl still and not a clearly mature woman. ¡°What happened?¡± Ralnor grunted, an eye on the naked woman and the other on the butchered patron. There was blood everywhere, he noticed and heard something clicking at the exit of the alley. A woman¡¯s heels striking the paved road. ¡°There!¡± Tout yelled and started hoofing it towards the light at the end of the narrow alley, small feet bravely pounding at the paved street. Ralnor glanced back towards the strange woman and realized he couldn¡¯t see her pupils at all. Only a blue-black orb and a hauntingly attractive face covered in shadows. She was staring at a point across from them as if completely blind. Damn. Ralnor went after the boy, caught up with him before the exit, paused briefly seeing the young whore sprawled down and bleeding out on the cobblestone with her throat slashed open and then started after a fast shadow that turned a corner across the main road. By the time Ralnor got there, the culprit was gone.
Oras hells. The blind woman had disappeared as well. Not that Ralnor could blame her. Hearing two people get murdered next to you must have been nigh upsetting. Terrifying. Her singing was upsetting as well. Even creepy, if one was into that sort of things. What had Berg said? ¡°Why take the arm?¡± Tout asked examining the man¡¯s corpse, breaking his concentration. Some of us like a bit of bone with our meat. ¡°No time,¡± Ralnor said, looking about them. His eyes were helping him see things in the dark Toutatis couldn¡¯t. ¡°We interrupted him.¡± ¡°You think it¡¯s the same guy?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I also fail to see robbery as the motive here,¡± Ralnor replied. ¡°Where was he taking the whore?¡± Tout asked searching the man¡¯s pockets for his purse. ¡°Leave it,¡± Ralnor told him. ¡°We need to move.¡± ¡°Why waste the coin?¡± Tout asked him and Ralnor frowned realizing the boy was right. ¡°Search both of them thoroughly,¡± He said and went to look for the mysterious blind woman.
The morning found him on the roof of Bony Dog¡¯s two story building. He¡¯d left Tout to sleep in a rented room at the Big Sparrow inn and returned to the docks to search the premises. They had discovered the dead woman first and then the man, both of them partially eaten by rats. The city guards were on the lookout ever since, but whomever had done the murders was gone. A night creature, Ralnor thought and decided to pay another visit to the tavern. The bartender hadn¡¯t gotten a good night¡¯s sleep and just grunted when he saw him walk inside the empty tavern. ¡°He¡¯s sleeping,¡± He said and reached for his tea. ¡°You want something to eat?¡± Ralnor would, but the venue didn¡¯t serve any of his favorite dishes. ¡°There was a double murder last night,¡± He informed the bartender. ¡°Talk with Captain Thies Caspers about it.¡± ¡°I think he knows,¡± Ralnor noted. ¡°There you go then. Fancy a beer?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°That will be two coppers.¡± Ralnor paid him and took the large goblet to an empty table. He put his back on the wall and watched the entrance silently deep in his thoughts.
Berg had nothing to give him, so Ralnor left the asphyxiating workshop and returned to Castalor¡¯s Westport. He spent eight hours watching the workers and sailors working on the ships getting ready, or unloading and listened to people talking about the current news of the realm. Almost everyone seemed to talk about the catastrophic failure of the conference in Riverdor and the madness of the now late king Alistair¡¯s firstborn. The young heir had lost his mind over a northern lass apparently, led a force into Lord Vanzon¡¯s lands, killed the man and his heirs, much as people do and installed her in his place. Now why the love struck young Lord didn¡¯t take the seat of Krakenhall for himself, or married the Duchess, no one seemed able to answer. When something doesn¡¯t make sense, Ralnor thought, his cold eyes following everyone that didn¡¯t seem to belong, then you got it all wrong, or you missed something important. A man bumped onto him at one of the port¡¯s busy entry points, large burlap sack over his shoulder all heavy. Almost as heavy as the smell of death on him. Ralnor twisted around and caught sight of the tall man moving away through the crowd. A merchant¡¯s cart got in the way, when he made to go after him. The lice covered donkey protested loudly and refused to budge another meter, effectively blocking everyone from moving. People started cursing the merchant, someone threw a large cut piece of melon that exploded on the cart and the man standing closer to it recoiled in anger covered in fresh fruit juice and swung a fist back in the blind. A hapless woman caught his punch flat on the nose the injury catastrophic and the misunderstanding turned into an ugly riot. Ralnor ducked under a cane that took out the old man standing next to him, broke the offender¡¯s ankle with a low kick and slipped between two girls that were busy robbing a fat merchant wearing a red robe and a white pointy hat. He reached the side of a one story house, put a foot on the closed window lip and lithely jumped on the rooftop, an awed boy seeing his sudden leap opening his mouth wide and pointed his way with a dirty hand. Ralnor pressed a long finger on his thin lips and retreating near a tall chimney stepped into its shadow leaving a strong smell of incense behind. Ralnor stepped out of another shadow on the roof of the building across and above the street where the brawl was now raging and run without breaking any tiles until he reached the edge. He leaped again over Castalor¡¯s main boulevard, traveled for ten meters over the unassuming people¡¯s heads, legs and arms pumping at the air and grabbed at an open window¡¯s wooden cover. He used it to break his momentum and immediately let go of it hearing the old hinges cracking and coming apart. Ralnor landed before a young couple, a bad landing, the Issir lady¡¯s eyes opening alike saucers at the sudden scare. ¡°Good grief!¡± The man said his hands shaking. ¡°Apologies,¡± Ralnor told them in his most polite manner, powering through the pain. ¡°The other road was blocked.¡± The man gave a nod of bewilderment and Ralnor seeing the man with the sack hurrying to get away, returned the fancy dressed man¡¯s nod and went after him. Slower at first as the stunned couple was still watching him and he sported a limp, or even a broken bone, but soon he¡¯d cut the distance between them. The man managed to make a sharp turn saving his neck, reached the port¡¯s gates and entered Westport again after leading Ralnor around. Like a dog. A frustrated Ralnor made to follow, but the guard wearing the chainmail lowered his spear threateningly almost taking out his left eye. He took a step back and stared at the young Issir soldier half in the mind to kill him swiftly and move on with his business, but the voice of an older man with authority forced him to abandon that idiotic plan. ¡°Lose the hood Lorian,¡± The officer ordered, thick white beard sprouting down his chin, the rest of his head protected by a typical conned guard helm. ¡°There¡¯s no need for that,¡± The assassin said and pushed his hood away from his sweaty face. The officer frowned seeing his pale skin and maimed ears. ¡°Pray Uher, what happened there?¡± ¡°Rats on a ship in Lesia,¡± Ralnor rustled grimacing as the man was getting away with each passing moment. ¡°I¡¯m looking to catch another one about to leave the port officer.¡± ¡°You have a name? I¡¯m Captain Caspers,¡± The man said and Ralnor groaned inwardly. ¡°Larn.¡± ¡°What ship?¡± Captain Caspers asked him. ¡°I was a youngling¡ª¡± ¡°What ship are you looking to catch, Mister Larn,¡± Caspers repeated his voice hardening. ¡°You remember that?¡± ¡°Ah,¡± Ralnor sighed and took another step back, his right ankle swollen. What in Oras hell is this foolishness? ¡°I think it¡¯s gone Captain.¡± ¡°Where are you staying mister Larn?¡± Great, now this fool suspects me. ¡°The Big Sparrow.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not cheap.¡± Ask the Mayor to pay more you buffoon! ¡°No it isn¡¯t,¡± He went along with him. ¡°Will I find your name on the registry, if we go there now mister Larn?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll find two names. Me and my son,¡± Ralnor replied. ¡°You were gonna leave him behind?¡± ¡°I just wanted to secure the space.¡± ¡°Any particular reason you¡¯re in a hurry to leave Castalor?¡± Caspers asked him, his breath smelling of cheese and fried onions. ¡°Not really, Captain. As a matter of fact,¡± Ralnor replied and reaching behind his back raised his hood again. ¡°I think I¡¯ll stay for a while more.¡± The man was gone.
An Owl was heard over their heads and Tout mimicked it, much to the amusement of the whore with the ugly spotted skin. Ralnor kept his distance just in case. He was running low on healing potions and he¡¯d already used one to mend a broken ankle earlier. Landing from two story buildings on solid cobblestone comes with risks. At least Aelrindel knew how to make one that didn¡¯t send you straight into a coma for an hour. It would have been nigh unhelpful to use it in a pitch otherwise, plus the sorceress flavored hers nicely. The latter being a sweet orange that left a nice aftertaste in his mouth. ¡°Eliza, aye, I knew her,¡± The sick whore said and sucked at her pipe, the rot in her mouth enough to turn a cannibal vegetarian. ¡°Poor girl.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the word on the street?¡± ¡°A robbery gone wrong. Sick bastards, low-life scum.¡± Indeed. ¡°How much do you charge for the night?¡± The whore stared at the moons over their heads as if to gauge the time. ¡°For ye, or the boy?¡± Tout perked up at that and stared at her sagging breasts with interest. Hmm. ¡°I need someone to wait with me by the docks.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound very legal mister¡­¡± Good grief. ¡°Larn. I¡¯m a bounty hunter.¡± ¡°Uhm. Wait by the docks. All night?¡± Hopefully not. Then again¡­ ¡°How much?¡± ¡°A silver,¡± She thought about it some. ¡°And a bottle of ale. Two.¡± ¡°Go get your bottle,¡± Ralnor told her and flicked a coin her way. She snatched it out of the air like a cobra surprising him. ¡°That¡¯s a gold.¡± ¡°It might be a long night,¡± Ralnor deadpanned. And dangerous.
A warm breeze came from the Scalding Sea, it rapped on the moored ships tied sails. Masts creaked, bells rang, sails flapped and roped hissed. The owl came again, as if he¡¯d followed them from the tavern, but after that first call it remained silent and watched. Much as Ralnor had. Aimes the whore was in her second bottle, legs dangling from the water barrel she¡¯d used for an improvised seat. An hour after the last sailor had passed them, stumbling and drunk out of his wits, a shadow appeared out of a side alley leading from the city to the docks, one of many. He walked confidently towards the drinking and sinking whore, paused to check no one was around and then opened his stride. Huh, Ralnor thought impressed. You are gonna attack her right away. Either you¡¯re desperate after yesterday¡¯s fail, or you just don¡¯t give a shit. ¡°It¡¯s over,¡± He said loud enough for the man to hear and stepped out of the corner he¡¯d been hiding. The man with the sack. Not a night creature exclusively. He flinched hearing his voice, turned to see who it was and immediately dashed for the alley he¡¯d come out of. Ugh, Ralnor groaned rushing after him a hand reaching for his satchel. You can¡¯t escape me in the night you fool.
He walked behind him for a kilometer, entered after him in a small house in the poorest part of town and waited for him to lock the door with a heavy padlock afore speaking again. The man almost had a heart attack seeing him in his house. ¡°Who¡­ are you?¡± He croaked, a hand reaching for a razor he had sheathed on his waist. Ralnor raised his small crossbow and aimed it at his chest. ¡°Don¡¯t be an idiot,¡± He advised the killer and the man raised his arms high taking Ralnor¡¯s advice. ¡°Do you have a name?¡± ¡°Deker Snow,¡± The Issir said. He had short cut white hair and a strong jaw. All his teeth and he was muscular but on the thinner side. About thirty years of age, give or take a few. ¡°Name¡¯s Larn,¡± Ralnor replied. ¡°I¡¯m a bounty hunter among other things.¡± Deker licked his lips, he¡¯d a week¡¯s old growth on his face. ¡°There¡¯s no coin on me Larn.¡± ¡°Unfortunately for you,¡± Ralnor said and waved for him to sit on the chair. There weren¡¯t a lot of furniture in the small house. A bed and a table, plus a small kitchen area, all in the same space. ¡°I don¡¯t do this for coin.¡± ¡°Who sent you?¡± ¡°Where¡¯s the arm?¡± Ralnor asked him disregarding his question. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve killed a whore and her client yesterday,¡± Ralnor said and Deker frowned not expecting his words. He looked around him, but there was nothing he could do about it. ¡°It was you? I heard a boy.¡± ¡°What did you do with the bodies?¡± ¡°What bodies? It was a fucking robbery man!¡± Deker protested. ¡°Yeah, it wasn¡¯t though,¡± Ralnor sighed and fired a bolt through his knee without a warning. It stuck on the leg of the chair he was seating on and despite him violently recoiling in pain, it kept him seated. ¡°Now,¡± Ralnor said, hooking the crossbow and getting one of his straight knives out. ¡°Let me ask you again.¡± He approached him and took the razor from his sheath. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you,¡± Deker groaned grasping at his bleeding knee. A piece of bone protruding through his torn pants. ¡°You don¡¯t have to use the knife.¡± ¡°Why,¡± Ralnor said and flipped his razor on his left hand opening it. ¡°See now, the thing is I will,¡± He added with a smirk and slashed his right ear off with surgical precision, the severed part dropping between them. After I use your razor. Deker tried to get away, but Ralnor was stronger than him. The killer toppled the chair in his spasms and Ralnor had to pick him up again. The ordeal opening the wound on his knee even more, when the bolt got torn away. He helped him sit again and gave him a cloth to bandage his knee and water from a carafe he found on the table. ¡°Clean the ear, bind the knee,¡± He advised the groaning and whimpering man whilst he stooped and picked the piece of flesh from the ground. Ralnor used some of the water to clean it under Deker¡¯s ogling and feverish eyes. Then he placed it in his mouth, showing a good amount of hideous teeth and started chewing on it slowly. ¡°What¡­ in Uher¡¯s holy name¡­ are you?¡± Deker gasped in preternatural horror. ¡°I¡¯m also a fellow cannibal,¡± Ralnor replied still chomping at the crunchy bloody flesh. ¡°You¡¯ll have to excuse me, but I¡¯m quite famished.¡±
Half an hour later he splashed some water on Deker¡¯s face to wake him up. Ralnor had tied him up properly with a piece of thin but strong rope he carried with him. Bandaged his knee properly and put a cloth in the bleeding hole where his ear had been. He also worked on the killer¡¯s right hand some, severing all the fingers there carefully and placing them in a clean piece of cloth. He bandaged the hand afterwards, but the man had lost a lot of blood, most of it pooling under the chair. Searching the small house had taken him less than ten minutes. ¡°Gah,¡± Deker groaned waking up, his sweaty face pale and sporting large blue circles under his eyes. ¡°What¡­ argh, gods¡­ what did you do?¡± Ralnor picked an index finger from the table he¡¯d dragged near them. Worked on the flesh first cleaning it thoroughly, under the freaked out killer¡¯s scrutiny. ¡°Don¡¯t faint,¡± He advised him and started sucking the fluids from the knuckles, working the softer parts with his predator¡¯s teeth. Ralnor smacked his bloody lips when he finished and tossed the thin bone on the table. ¡°If you do, I¡¯ll eat some more of you, whilst I wait for you to wake up.¡± The man started shaking and pissing himself. Ralnor sighed. ¡°What happened to the bodies?¡± He asked him again. ¡°I don¡¯t¡­ please, you got the wrong man!¡± Deker pleaded on the verge of collapse, urine dripping down his pants and mixing with blood under his chair. ¡°Ten wagons,¡± Ralnor repeated and tossed him a heavy purse he¡¯d found in the kitchen under a loose floorboard. ¡°There¡¯s a note in it. Written in code. What does it say?¡± ¡°I just¡­ I gave them the sergeant¡¯s name,¡± Deker said with difficulty. ¡°That¡¯s forty pieces of gold there,¡± Ralnor replied. ¡°It was strange not getting the purse off your victims. Why not do it anyway right?¡± He continued. ¡°Make it look like a robbery. Nah, you were already paid. This was extra. For you. Am I wrong?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t¡­¡± ¡°The sergeant turned a blind eye,¡± Ralnor said. ¡°The wagons entered the city late at night. Where are they now mister Deker?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡± Deker cried out. ¡°The pain¡­ please, I need help¡­¡± Ralnor sighed and stared at the meaty thumb. He licked his lips gathering the dried blood there. ¡°He never told me¡­¡± Deker whispered. ¡°He knew¡­¡± ¡°Knew you were a cannibal?¡± Ralnor said turning his eyes on him. ¡°What¡­ no, I never¡­¡± ¡°You just kill for the fun of it?¡± Ralnor asked him, curious for his motives. ¡°I can¡¯t help it,¡± Deker admitted and started crying. ¡°Please¡­ I can¡¯t feel my hand.¡± ¡°The hand is gone,¡± Ralnor informed him. ¡°Where did they take the bodies?¡± Deker¡¯s breathing turned rugged, his wounds still bleeding over the bandages, but not as much. ¡°His man¡­ took them to the port.¡± Hmm. ¡°What was his name?¡± Ralnor asked him. ¡°Holmes¡­ one of them.¡± ¡°What was the name of the other?¡± ¡°Barlow, aye¡­¡± Deker murmured. He didn¡¯t have long now. ¡°Why did you take the arm? Where is it?¡± Ralnor asked him, since this was the part he couldn¡¯t figure out. ¡°Whence¡­ wicked dreams¡­ are born,¡± Deker said incoherently. ¡°What did you say?¡± Ralnor queried, a jolt running down his spine and stooped not to miss the maimed killer¡¯s final words. ¡°¡­Skin badly sewn¡­¡± Deker murmured, struggling to breathe. ¡°¡­cured¡­ in briny¡­ waters.¡± He sings to lure his victims in them dark places, Berg had said. Oras black heart.
Ralnor followed the killer¡¯s earlier route from memory. He¡¯d left the dead Deker tied on his chair, missing several good cuts of flesh. Ralnor had stored the flesh on Dar and then led him through the empty roads back to Castalor¡¯s Westport. He retraced Deker¡¯s path to the docks, where he had lost him the first time. Ralnor stared at the transport and merchant ships moored in the dark waters of the port. Where did you drop the sack? He counted two Barque¡¯s, two Brigs and four schooner¡¯s. Several fishing boats moored after them in the smaller wooden docks further up ahead. The road leading there unpaved, more grit and mud. Large boulders beyond the finished part of the port. A beach with small pebbles amidst the cut rocks, the waters clear there and the woods starting at the edge of the small beach neighboring Westport. The lights of Eastport barely visible at the distance. Ralnor grunted and turned back to head towards his horse. He walked past the fishing boats again, navigating through mounts of nets, coils of rope and piles of large baskets. The sea splashing on the boats, seagulls complaining and that melodic hum returning. A child¡¯s lullaby, a bit more melancholic now, as if in mourning. Ralnor stopped and turned to examine the dark black waters amidst the boats. Yeah, he decided. It makes sense, however impossible it may appear. The song had stopped as suddenly as it had started, leaving only the sounds of the dark sea behind, the waves coming and going restless. I¡¯m sorry, the assassin thought and got a piece of bloody flesh out, the size of his palm. He hefted it once and then tossed it into the sea. It splashed creating white froth twenty meters away from him and then surfaced again. For a while it bobbed up and down on the brackish waters and then a thin arm with fingers like claws came out of the darkness to snatch it viciously. And it was gone. 210. Way easier going down (1/2)
Lord Storm Nattas Way easier going down Part I -You gotta love them girls of Aegium-
The heat coming from the open windows was suffocating to Lord Nattas. The palace had a high ceiling in its main Hall, but living in the city of Alden for almost a year with small intervals had him forget that summer came early at Regia¡¯s south coast. As the locals said, Springs smell of Summer in Aegium. ¡°I had the man sleeping in my home, Lord Doris,¡± Lord Brakis protested in his booming voice, face flushed and sporting another layer of lard gained during the winter. ¡°For a week! It¡¯s not a hostel and my wife is a mean inhospitable woman for crying out loud! Why, praise be the gods Primus Molders got out while he still could!¡± ¡°I wanted him in Illirium for a reason, Lord Brakis,¡± Doris hissed. His head had gone purely grey in a couple of months after his son was killed and never stopped losing its color since. The man appeared to have aged ten years in that period. ¡°So we can have the time to work on a solution. The Queen¡¯s mourning time is running out. This needs a careful resolution.¡± ¡°It¡¯s what he said, so my wife spared him,¡± Lord Brakis deadpanned. ¡°And now he¡¯s here,¡± Lord Doris grunted. ¡°Lord Sula will support the war against King Antoon,¡± Sir Cato said standing up and Storm grimaced having an ulcer in his stomach that bothered him these past days. More like a fully formed hole, given all he had to deal with. ¡°This a decision King Jeremy should make,¡± The man representing Lord Ursus argued. ¡°And not the Queen Regent.¡± ¡°Has Lord Holt sent the reinforcements for the First Legion?¡± Lord Brakis queried with a sigh. ¡°He hasn¡¯t sent us anything yet,¡± Lord Doris replied. Lord Holt had made a huge fuss over the loss of the King¡¯s sword and despite agreeing on Miranda¡¯s ascension, Storm didn¡¯t believe the old goat was fully committed to her. ¡°We are in communication.¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t the Queen¡¯s Shield be where the Queen is?¡± Ursus man argued again, faking outrage. Sir Will Turner, a former orphan from Lesia who¡¯d managed to elevate himself near the Lord of Novesium. Ursus favors the young man so much is the word, Sir Turner might as well be his son and perhaps the lad is, Storm thought. Or he knows how to suck a mean cock. ¡°The Queen Regent hasn¡¯t named a Shield yet, Sir Turner. We must consider Lord Holt¡¯s advanced age given this opportunity.¡± Hmm. What opportunity? ¡°Can we repel another attack from the High King?¡± Lord Brakis asked and the conversation went for another round of endless arguments either in favor of continuing aggression, or opting for a peace treaty. With the King dead, someone had to make the decision. Sir Lucius ¡®New Duchy¡¯ up in the North had shook Kaltha and combined with the ever expanding war on Eplas with the Khan¡¯s forces, it had probably saved them. Storm could see no other reason for Kaltha retreating to Riverdor. Officially it was done to honor the passing of King Alistair and obviously they had taken a hard licking from the late King. But you had to be dumber than a bag of hammers to believe either of those reasons.
¡°Lord Nattas,¡± Doris said stopping him from getting out of his Hall. ¡°You were quiet.¡± No I wasn¡¯t. I was breathing heavily, trying not to die in your furnace. ¡°I was listening to all sides, Lord Treasurer,¡± Storm replied glancing at the White Tower of Aegium that dominated the central square and was clearly visible from the large open window. Miranda staying there for security reasons, until the defense of the city was strengthened. Another fallacy, as Aegium had no outer walls. ¡°There are no other sides, Lord Nattas. Only Regia,¡± Doris replied poignantly. Haha. Why don¡¯t you just drop dead and spare me the coin and temptation of killing you? ¡°Will Regia fight the High King?¡± He asked instead. ¡°There will be no fight. We can¡¯t afford it.¡± Obviously Lord Doris confused Regia¡¯s purse with his. ¡°What if he invades? Can we afford that?¡± Storm asked mockingly. Doris grimaced. ¡°What is this? Suddenly you¡¯re for war Nattas?¡± ¡°I thought the Queen Regent hasn¡¯t decided yet, nor talked with Antoon¡¯s man,¡± Storm dodged. ¡°You appear certain on her mind, Lord Doris.¡± ¡°The¡­ Queen Regent will need help. A helping hand, to navigate this transition,¡± Doris explained and Storm nodded blankly. ¡°What about Lord Holt?¡± ¡°The old man is all bark, but what can he do? He¡¯ll fall in line,¡± Doris explained. ¡°We must all work together.¡± ¡°Antoon might find himself in a bind right now, but he has more forces at his disposal,¡± Storm said. ¡°The Queen Regent can¡¯t show weakness Lord Doris. What does Lord Ruud say?¡± ¡°He wants Prince Jeremy on the throne,¡± Doris replied. Of course. ¡°Will he fight the High King?¡± ¡°He¡¯s on our side Lord Nattas.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what I asked Lord Doris,¡± Storm retorted and Doris Alden pressed his mouth tight. ¡°You¡¯re not a Lord, am I right?¡± He said looking at him sadly. ¡°As a matter of fact, you¡¯re at this position in the Council out of a dead Queen¡¯s whim. When a new Council is formed, I¡¯m not sure if that same goodwill would be there Nattas.¡± You rotten piece of shite! ¡°That dead Queen is Prince Jeremy¡¯s mother Lord Doris and I was installed by a King,¡± Storm reminded him, his face tensed. Lord Doris nodded. ¡°Hmm, you were that¡¯s true. That will be all Lord Nattas. You may leave my palace.¡±
Fucking retarded and bloated pig! Storm thought furious, walking towards the expecting Secundus. ¡°How did it go?¡± His man asked and Storm snarled, before managing to control himself. He breathed slowly for a full minute, staring at the happy-faced young women going about their morning visits to Aegium¡¯s market. The locals loved to walk, since animals were a bother and a drain on resources. Water was expensive in Aegium. The first Aldens¡¯ that reached the spot between the two raised plateaus were impressed. The first of the flat-top rises hollow and containing the bottom of an ancient salt-water lake, the other raised comfortably on its southern side to stop the worst of the scalding winds from reaching the Salt Coast, the fine white sands there hugged by palm trees enticing. They built a tower first and it now protruded like a sore thumb at the center of the city and made plans of walls reaching from one plateau to the other, but everyone wanted to stay near the coast, started building there and the city planners gave up on replicating Alden.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. The city grew around its different sprouting neighborhoods, following nice straight lines and traditional Lorian well paved roads. Spacious villas and many shades of white to combat the heat, dominated the large open city. Abundance of clean water being the only thing it lacked, despite the creation of large reservoirs at each of its eight neighborhoods. The finest salt in all of Jelin the product that made its citizens wealthy. More people worked the ¡®Salt Fields¡¯ at Aegium than corn or barley. Ah, there you fucking go, Storm thought eyeing a bronzed blond woman, dampening her legs with a wet cloth near a well, after she paid the well¡¯s manager. That¡¯s just what¡¯s needed to get a man going. The visage of the famous cock-throbbing enactment of ¡®naked girl cleans dirty toes thoroughly¡¯ in the mid of the city¡¯s square! ¡°It went nowhere,¡± He answered his patient lackey¡¯s query and stared at the mass of the square White Tower to calm himself and cock down. ¡°Is the man paid?¡± ¡°He is,¡± Secundus said and returned his eyes on the washing and thinly dressed woman. It has to be noted Secundus and Storm were the only people present gawking at her. A fact not lost on the drenched in sweat Lord Nattas, who cleared his throat and pulled himself together. ¡°Well get us moving for fuck¡¯s sake!¡± He blasted Secundus. ¡°The cursed sun is bouncing off of those stupid marble tiles and is roasting my face from both fuckin¡¯ sides! I¡¯m about to go blind here, afore I die of sunstroke!¡±
Sir Arthur Tatum eyed him as he approached, the climb up the narrow staircase tiresome and dangerous if one attempted it without a steel helm. Storm made to greet him, but a pretty handmaiden opened the door leading to the Queen Regent¡¯s temporary quarters and ushered him inside afore he had a chance to attempt it. Nattas paused to get his breathing under control and the young Lorian girl found her seat at this antechamber. The large third floor of the White Tower had been split in two unequal parts, with a thick blue ceiling-high curtain playing the role of a short-term divider. ¡°You can enter, Lord Nattas,¡± The servant said with a husky Aegium accent, tanned face making her blond curls pop out more. Storm grimaced, not likening being easily recognized in a city he hadn¡¯t set foot in a decade, but remained silent and pushed the opening aside to enter Miranda¡¯s quarters. The Queen Regent raised her head, gold hair gathered in an elaborate bun and the silver bejeweled tiara she wore blinking in the strong light. There were four large windows on this ¡®unsafe¡¯ tower fully opened and with their curtains drawn, offering a great view of the main square, the market at the distance, Lord Doris palace in the west and the old palm trees copse that hugged the edge of the plateau Aegium was half built on. Eh, Storm thought, eyes on the royal bosom struggling to keep itself in the tiny confines of Miranda¡¯s reinforced corset-type top that left her shoulders bare. You don¡¯t see them beauties for a week and they loom way larger than you remembered them. Abrakas you horny dog. Have a modicum of shame for crying out loud! ¡°Lord Nattas,¡± Miranda said and approached him, those Alden eyes ravenous and shameless. ¡°We feared you left us for the Capital.¡± Would if I fuckin¡¯ could. ¡°Queen Regent,¡± Storm replied and kept his distance, when she came dangerously close, her breathing testing the silk material to its limits. ¡°That will never happen.¡± ¡°We are amongst friends Storm,¡± Miranda said dropping the act. ¡°New friends. In fact I¡¯m certain I wasn¡¯t introduced¡ª¡± ¡°Marcela is loyal.¡± ¡°Does she know?¡± Storm asked not convinced, having heard the same answer from people moments before they got betrayed by close family. Most of these hapless fools had ended up dead. ¡°No she doesn¡¯t, but she might,¡± Miranda replied and reached for his right hand. Storm gulped down. ¡°Let¡¯s keep it that way.¡± Miranda brought his hand on her heart, but all Nattas got out of the experience was a handful of soft and swelled flesh. Darn fingers squeezing at it unwittingly. It started a mere spasm and had turned into a mini-grip. Let go of her god-darn tit ye buffoon! ¡°Can you feel it?¡± She asked him, as if he could feel anything else at that moment, though her words admittedly went down a different road. ¡°My heart is racing with excitement, see?¡± Oh, there is plenty of fuckin¡¯ excitement honey and an unyielding, rigid hardness. ¡°My-my, your hands are shaking as well Storm,¡± She continued and stared into his eyes hypnotically. ¡°You are positively teeming with excitement. There¡¯s no point denying it.¡± Truer words had never been spoken dear, but half of it is fear and I ain¡¯t denying shite. You are missing the darn point! ¡°This isn¡¯t Alden Miranda,¡± He murmured instead and removed his hand, an impression of it remaining on her sheeny flesh. ¡°Even the windows are wide open.¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t a social visit Lord Nattas?¡± She asked him coolly. ¡°You are to meet with Lord Molders. The High King¡¯s man of sorts,¡± Miranda raised a finely painted brow. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter the latter. What will you say to him?¡± ¡°You want to talk politics?¡± Ugh. Storm sighed, the breeze coming through the open windows quite soothing on his sweaty face. ¡°Will Regia sue for peace?¡± He croaked. ¡°They killed my husband. The King,¡± Miranda said, the moment a little awkward between the two lovers. ¡°You think I should offer them one?¡± ¡°Is there an alternative?¡± ¡°Make them pay for their insolence.¡± Storm nodded and used a hankie to wipe his face under her smiling eyes. ¡°You¡¯ll need to attack Riverdor for that, hope Lord Ruud denies the Mudriver crossing to Antoon¡¯s army.¡± ¡°That¡¯s Jeremy¡¯s land,¡± Miranda argued. ¡°Yes, but Sir Rik controls Forestfort and the bridge. It¡¯s a small piece of land, but very valuable strategically.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t believe the army could do it?¡± Miranda asked him. ¡°You don¡¯t have an army at Alden. You have parts of a Legion and the city guard.¡± ¡°So ask for peace, is this your advice?¡± ¡°If you do that you¡¯ll look weak and Antoon might ask for more than a cease in hostilities,¡± Storm explained and realized she had taken his hand again into hers. ¡°Like what?¡± She whispered. ¡°Denounce Lucius claim publicly,¡± Nattas replied without hesitation. ¡°Without a doubt. Kill him politically afore the High King¡¯s allies can kill him in the field.¡± ¡°Antoon will support Jeremy?¡± She asked paling a little. ¡°I don¡¯t think he will. That¡¯s Lord Ruud¡¯s candidate, Antoon wouldn¡¯t want him on the throne. He might tolerate him, but I don¡¯t see it. He¡¯ll prefer you remain.¡± ¡°Because I¡¯m weak,¡± Miranda hissed and pulled her hands away. ¡°Will the Lords support me, if I was to remain after the year is out?¡± ¡°Lord Holt might, as it buys him time and he has a beef with your brother going back years. Your brother and Lord Ruud won¡¯t be happy, they are already¡ª¡± ¡°Curse Lord Ruud and my brother will support me!¡± ¡°Your brother wants me removed from the Council,¡± Storm told her keeping his calm. ¡°Why?¡± She asked him surprised. ¡°I was hoping you¡¯d react differently,¡± Storm replied. ¡°What¡­ speak clearly,¡± She admonished him visibly hurt. ¡°I thought we are in this together. Was I mistaken?¡± ¡°Shut him out,¡± Storm said and glanced around them, the room empty but for the servant waiting behind the dividers. ¡°Don¡¯t let him remove Lord Holt as your Shield, or take me out of the Council. It¡¯s your decision. Make it publicly and he¡¯s done.¡± ¡°Where is Lord Holt?¡± Miranda asked him thoughtfully. ¡°Where are the men he¡¯d promised King Alistair?¡± ¡°Miranda,¡± Storm said hanging his head. ¡°You¡¯ve bought that land outside Novesium,¡± She said her tone changing. Storm raised his head a little surprised at the change in topic. ¡°Aye, there¡¯s only a village in it. Lots of coastline, forests and a small fishing port,¡± He described it. ¡°I¡¯m thinking of building an estate there. Something to leave to my¡­ daughter I suppose.¡± ¡°A castle,¡± Miranda said blushing, "For your heritors." ¡°Ah, I wouldn¡¯t go that far,¡± Storm argued. ¡°It¡¯s insanely expensive to build in the South. Stone I have aplenty but you have to carry quality wood¡ª¡± ¡°A castle,¡± Miranda repeated. ¡°Makes a small Barony. Your port named after your family.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a Cove really.¡± ¡°Natta¡¯s Cove,¡± The Queen Regent said looking at him warmly. It affected Lord Nattas, her stare. It didn¡¯t escaped him that here he was in his thirty seventh named year, talking with the Queen about properties and titles. The boy whose father ended up working the stables and became a cripple afore he¡¯d turned fifteen. ¡°It has a nice ring to it, wouldn¡¯t you say?¡± She pushed her left leg forward, the thin dress splitting and letting it bare, but for a gold anklet. ¡°You should be rewarded Lord Nattas for your commitment we think.¡± Well¡­ ¡°Should I kneel your grace?¡± Storm asked unsure, but hopeful. He didn¡¯t want to prematurely take the dive sort to speak on a bad knee. It was difficult climbing up, way easier going down. The latter also had an ominous ring to it, behind all the lewd undertones, but it was lost in the passion of the moment. ¡°Thou should, it is how these things are done,¡± Miranda teased him, her pretty toes wiggling enticingly and whispered in a huskier voice. ¡°I had them cleaned.¡± Ah, you gotta love them girls of Aegium. Storm Nattas had kneeled to pleasure the flushed Miranda¡¯s toes all but a common man with an uncertain future and had risen a Baron and the Queen Regent¡¯s Shield. As everything given by the Gods in disproportional large quantities, his string of ''good'' luck was about to run out. 211. Way easier going down (2/2)
Lord Storm Nattas Way easier going down Part II -Plug the holes, Lord Nattas-
Where she goes, I¡¯ll follow - Lord Storm Nattas, Regia¡¯s Master of Silence, Queen Regent¡¯s Shield, Baron of Moon¡¯s Haven & Keeper of the Golden Forest Last week of Spring 190 NC
Part IIA The Queen Regent was clad in a long blue dress. Whilst of typical light Lorian material ¨Cin this case sheer linen- it had a modest v-shaped neckline and wore three platinum and gold chains on her neck that intertwined to create a single necklace, named after the two prominent rubies attached to it. The Tigress Eyes and her silver tiara were sparkling in the well-lit hall of Lord Doris palace. Eight large windows were fully open and the strong sun poured inside. Primus Molders bowed once deeply, after he scanned the large room and the people present. Lord Doris Alden, Lord Brakis of Illirium, Sir Turner of Novesium, Sir Cato of Demames, Sir Rik De Weer of Scaldingport, Sir Barnard and Sir Tatum of the Queen¡¯s Guard and Lord Nattas being the more notable. ¡°Primus Molders, we shall hear what you have to say,¡± The Queen said and the man with the thinning hair stepped forward. ¡°Queen Regent Miranda,¡± He started, holding a couple of scrolls in his left hand. ¡°Let me start by relaying the High King¡¯s sincere condolences for your loss and remind those present that the two Kings had been close friends for a very long time. King Alistair shall be missed greatly, it is unfortunate and the latest in a series of tragedies that have befallen both great houses.¡± ¡°We thank him for his words in our hour of grief,¡± Miranda said, rapping at the armrest with her long nails nervously. ¡°He has another message for us, is this true?¡± Primus Molders grimaced and eyed the frowning lords and knights present. ¡°May I read from the scroll your grace?¡± He asked respectfully, a man well-versed in being the envoi of perilous missives, for the man conveying them first and foremost. ¡°Thou can, but please do hurry it though Primus Molders,¡± Miranda taunted him with a strained smile. ¡°It¡¯ll be ungodly hot in here come noon.¡± It must be the water, Storm thought seeing her tired face under the fa?ade. Or too much fucking stress. You got to hang in there dear. ¡°I shall strive not to waste the Queen¡¯s time,¡± Molders replied, wasting said time. Storm couldn¡¯t fault him here, even a tired Miranda was a treat to gawk at so early in the day. A couple of Lords chuckled at that. ¡°Kaltha had no ill will towards Regia this is a well-known fact,¡± Molders started again. ¡°A marriage to the late Prince Kasper was arranged and even after that tragically didn¡¯t come to be,¡± Storm saw Miranda move on her throne disturbed at the envoi¡¯s words and grimaced worrying she would lash out. ¡°Kaltha still had no designs, nor any interest in Regia¡¯s affairs. It was Sir Lucius actions that have brought the two Kings to this point and what led to the battle of the Turncoats¡ª¡± ¡°What¡¯s the meaning of this?¡± Sir Cato blasted him. ¡°It¡¯s the name of the battle¡ª¡± Molders tried to say, but Sir Cato interrupted him again. ¡°Two battles sir! One in the Small Plains and the other at the Coastal Road, no turncoats were involved.¡± ¡°Those that turned against the High King earned that moniker dear Sir Knight,¡± Molders replied keeping his composure over the murmuring of those present. ¡°There are no treaties giving your King the leverage sir!¡± Sir Cato argued. ¡°King Alistair argued that same fact.¡± ¡°He argued by assaulting King Antoon¡¯s guards inside Riverdor,¡± Molders replied tensely. ¡°Hardly in the right, when his son had just murdered his way to the bloody seat of Krakenhall!¡± ¡°Primus Molders!¡± Miranda barked, all flushed. ¡°Apologies for the hoarse language your grace,¡± Molders said quickly. Ah, you piece of rotten shite, Storm thought glaring at him. ¡°Sir Lucius doesn¡¯t hold Krakenhall,¡± Lord Brakis said, his baritone voice easily covering all other whispers. ¡°Zofia of Ludr has declared an independent Duchy there. If I¡¯m not mistaken, she¡¯s broken with the Jarl as well.¡± The news coming from the North, reaching them easier now since birds had started arriving from Krakenhall and Asturia much more frequently, were a bizarre concoction of political toxicity and intrigue, one had better sip and not gulp down, if he valued his sanity. ¡°Installed by Sir Lucius,¡± Molders argued. ¡°Why the whole realm believes he¡¯s gotten her pregnant!¡± That is a problem, Storm thought. If true. ¡°You have no proof of that Primus Molders,¡± Miranda said warningly. ¡°Sprouting lies could lose you your tongue in my court.¡± Molders grimaced and licked his dry lips. ¡°Sir Lucius is waging war on King Antoon¡¯s subjects, killing noble men and civilians alike your grace. These are King Antoon¡¯s words, but despite all these atrocities, he¡¯s still willing to put aside war for the sake of our people.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the alternative?¡± Storm asked loud enough to be heard and stepped forward, putting an end to the ruckus that had started at the envoi¡¯s words. Molders stared at him surprised. ¡°King Antoon is justified to ask for compensation,¡± He finally said. ¡°So is Regia,¡± Storm replied. ¡°King Antoon tried to assassinate King Alistair in Riverdor, kept trying, killing many of his soldiers in two battles and stopped when the man was dead. You blame Lucius sir, but Lucius isn¡¯t here nor is he in charge. We blame Antoon and he¡¯s guilty as sin the way I see it.¡± ¡°Lord Nattas!¡± Lord Doris barked, just as Molders scrunched his face this way and that trying to keep his tempers from flaring. ¡°You don¡¯t speak for Regia!¡± ¡°He does,¡± Miranda replied and signed for Sir Barnard to approach. ¡°Baron Nattas speaks for me Lord Treasurer.¡± Sir Turner rolled his eyes and stepped forward. ¡°Nattas isn¡¯t a Baron your grace. The man bought a parcel of land in Novesium from Lord Ursus, not a god-darn Barony!¡± Lord Doris frowned, his eyes on the approaching knight. ¡°Your grace, Lord Nattas words can¡¯t represent your will, he doesn¡¯t have the authority. Let us recess and talk this¡ª¡± Miranda got up from her throne stopping him. Sir Barnard had reached Nattas in the meantime, eyed him for a moment and then secured the large gold shield-shaped badge on the left side of his chest, before walking away. ¡°Baron Nattas shall serve as my Shield brother,¡± Miranda said and Lord Doris blinked, face split in a half-shock half-disgusted grimace, as if he¡¯d swallowed something foul that had in turn lodged to his throat. ¡°Sir Turner that parcel of land I have decreed to be a Barony as of yesterday. I will forgive your ignorance this time, but ask that you remove thyself from my sight. I found your tone insulting to our person.¡± ¡°Your grace,¡± The chastised knight retorted with a deep bow, quite difficult for the amount of armour he had on. ¡°I shall obey your command!¡± Fuck off, Storm eyes told him, lips forming a small satisfied smirk. ¡°Lord Nattas, please continue,¡± The Queen Regent said with a sigh and returned to her throne. ¡°I believe it¡¯s Primus Molders answer we are waiting for, your Grace,¡± Storm said. Everyone turned their head to stare at the sweating Envoi. ¡°Queen Miranda, I must ask your forgiveness¡­¡± He mumbled visibly distressed. ¡°I can¡¯t recall the Shield¡¯s query.¡± ¡°I asked for an alternative to the current situation your Grace,¡± Storm said readily. ¡°Ahm, you wish for war to continue Lord Nattas?¡± Molders asked him puffing out. ¡°I never had,¡± Storm replied. ¡°But this was your offer Primus Molders. Here¡¯s our answer. Your demand we reject, should Regia bring its armies to Riverdor?¡± A loud murmur was raised from the hall. Storm continued silencing them. ¡°Or should we leave things be, let time heal the wounds? A war would be bad for us, no one wants it, but it will be ruinous for your King, I believe.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a bold claim Lord Nattas,¡± Molders warned him. ¡°People will rally behind King Alistair¡¯s widow,¡± Storm retorted confidently. ¡°Antoon might find it more difficult to justify opening yet another front Primus Molders. I advise ye to make it clear to him.¡±
¡°Give us the room,¡± Lord Doris said the moment most of the foreign dignitaries and Primus Molders had departed. The scribes gathered their scrolls, quills and inkpots and exited while the Lord Treasurer paced up and down in front of his sister. ¡°Why did you do that?¡± He asked her after the last of them was out of the throne room. ¡°I had to remove Lord Holt brother,¡± Miranda replied. Lord Doris was her half-brother as a matter of fact. There was an older one, but he¡¯d died after catching a fever during the Yepehir campaign, excessive drinking according to some tongues, or a combination of both. Her young mother Veronica had drown on a cruise to the Turtle Isles whilst pregnant to her baby brother, or sister. It must be noted here that she was the third wife of the late Lord Hein Alden and Lord Doris had raised her since she was three, after he¡¯d taken over from their ailing father. Lord Doris stared at Storm for a long moment, as if he was seeing him for the first time, or under a new light. Don¡¯t take a boat to the Turtle Isles, Storm advised his future self. ¡°Lord Nattas is an experienced man,¡± The Queen Regent added, trying to patch things up. ¡°We want him on our side.¡± ¡°You are pushing us to war with Antoon Lord Nattas,¡± Lord Doris said, after nodding to her words. ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± Storm replied. ¡°Antoon will not fight now, he can¡¯t.¡± ¡°What about six months from now?¡± ¡°The future is difficult to predict,¡± Storm said. ¡°But we can prepare for it.¡± ¡°People want Jeremy on the throne Lord Nattas.¡± ¡°Some Lords want him, others prefer Lucius and the people will be fine with her grace holding the reins, Lord Treasurer.¡± ¡°I must say this is surprising,¡± Lord Doris admitted. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect this alliance.¡± Likewise, Storm nodded with a fake smile on his face. I need to find another assassin fast. Fuck the gods. ¡°Jeremy isn¡¯t ready for the throne brother,¡± Miranda said. ¡°And we need to take him away from Lord Ruud and Sir Rik.¡± ¡°Well, the Prince loves his young wife and the De Weers have given him a lot these past months on top of her. Lands, excursions, hunting trips and the promise of titles. How are we going to do that dear?¡± Lord Doris replied. ¡°We¡¯ve given Lord Nattas a Barony instead. Ah, I fear your letters and cuddling have lost their appeal and might not be enough for the young Prince.¡±
¡°This went well,¡± Miranda said the moment Lord Doris left them. Storm glanced at Sir Tatum ever present near the Queen Regent. ¡°Your grace, I believe you should leave Aegium,¡± Storm replied. ¡°Leave? Whatever you mean¡­ Lord Nattas?¡± ¡°Return to Cartagen.¡± ¡°I¡¯m safe here,¡± Miranda argued. ¡°I know the city better than the capital.¡± ¡°And they know you, your grace,¡± Storm said. But I don¡¯t know the city. ¡°Which may be a problem.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t we agree that this went well?¡± She insisted a little frustrated. ¡°No your grace we didn¡¯t. As a matter of fact, I fear we just stunned them and they are going to lash out. With your leave I shall try to remedy the situation.¡± ¡°What does this mean Lord Nattas?¡± Miranda asked him narrowing her eyes. Ah, he thought. It¡¯s better you don¡¯t know.
Storm eyed the large double door floor to ceiling windows of his rented villa at the outskirts of the city. ¡°You couldn¡¯t find something nearer Sirio?¡± He asked the bookish man buried in his notes. ¡°It is rather quiet with a view of the forest, hillside and the sea beyond them,¡± Sirio replied. Perfect for writing in peace was his meaning. ¡°Are we going to climb down to the beach?¡± ¡°Ah, there¡¯s a road Lord Nattas. This neighborhood is called ¡®Highlands¡¯, but it is fully connected, the other leg of the junction you passed on your way here leads down to the seaside. Aegium is a safe city,¡± Sirio said stopping his work. ¡°Lord Brakis has naval units at Illirium,¡± Storm replied. ¡°Lord Sula has an army ready at Demames and Lord Ursus I don¡¯t trust at all, after we swindled a Barony out from under him. These are our neighboring cities.¡± ¡°What do you fear?¡± ¡°If Jeremy presses for the throne, we may have to make a decision,¡± Storm replied. ¡°We agree and Lord Sula might pay us a visit. Why he can just come straight down the road. We don¡¯t and Lord Brakis can bring the Fleet here, another beauty.¡± ¡°Lord Sula will pick our side then,¡± Sirio noted with a smile. Storm glared at him. ¡°Sula will need to deal with Ursus first right next to him and we are not in Cartagen to have some troops on our side.¡± ¡°Will the Queen leave then?¡± Storm sighed. ¡°I can¡¯t¡­ it¡¯s rather delicate talking to her,¡± He said, then wished he¡¯d kept his mouth shut. ¡°It appears it is working my Lord,¡± Sirio replied, understanding his silence. Storm smacked his lips and stared out of the windows. Good grief, all these white rooftops hurt my eyes, he thought. ¡°You are to move in with Maja upon her return,¡± He said and the Historian frowned. ¡°I haven¡¯t had the time to speak to your daughter Lord Nattas¡ª¡± Maja was still on her mission. The months ticking away grating to Nattas nerves. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± Storm stopped him. ¡°She agrees. You are part of the family now Sirio, so you have as much to lose as myself. Rumors are killers, remember that. They can kill you in the present, but sometimes they¡¯ll kill you in the future as well.¡± Don¡¯t write everything down was his meaning. Sirio stood back alarmed and then nodded. ¡°I understand my Lord.¡±
Lord Storm Nattas wrote extensively to Prefect Faustus Ligur, now in charge of rebuilding the First Legion in Alden and asked him to redouble his efforts. He spend the first month navigating the rising hostility between the Kingdom¡¯s Lords trying to build bridges and mend their grievances. Lord Holt remained skulking in Asturia, stubbornly refusing to relinquish the Fourth Cohort and its recruits citing a danger to his Northern borders and rising tensions with the Lakelords. Lord Sula and Lord Ursus had men stationed at each other¡¯s borders, which made traveling between the neighboring cities and down the coastal road troublesome. Prince Jeremy asked to return to Alden, but his request was refused which angered in turn Sir Rik, the knight was following the young Prince everywhere with his detachment from Scaldingport. The Queen Regent moved to Lord Doris palace, after her old quarters were repurposed, as she couldn¡¯t handle climbing up and down the White Tower to attend her daily obligations. Aegium was flushed with visitors those days, as people still came to pay their respects to King Alistair¡¯s widow and carve themselves a position into the new administration, or a Barony. Elevating Lord Nattas was seen as a welcomed opening at first for those having the coin and ambition to climb the social ladder even more, but soon rumors started to spread. For good, or bad, Lord Nattas had a certain reputation. Whilst late Queen Vacia favoring the young orphaned teenager could be glossed over, the young Alden widow showing even more favor to the more mature version of him wasn¡¯t as easily palatable. Was it justified? Difficult to say. Perhaps the worst was the Queen Regent¡¯s unconvincing mourning of her late husband. Common people can understand simple emotions much faster than the nobility and the Queen for unknown reasons, though those would soon be apparent, wasn¡¯t grieving at all. Quite the contrary and despite her desperate efforts to hide it, she was beaming.
Part IIB The strong breeze made the waves rush on the sandy beach and assault the slopes of the plateau turning to white froth. The warm wind smelling of distant lands and tasting of salt. Storm placed the scroll on his desk and rubbed his tired eyes, the sheer curtains covering his first floor windows stirring, the night bringing the sounds of young men and women daring the waves to this late hour. Aegium, much like Novesium and Demames were cities that loved the warm nights with a passion. Despite Uher¡¯s efforts to stomp out these practices, the influence of the Old Gods had turned to a love for Naossis for Aegium and Novesium, Tyeus for Demames, leaving the Godsfather basically ignored from the people living at the Lorian coast. Storm had singlehandedly almost a year back rooted out Uher¡¯s encroachment in the city of Alden and the priesthood hadn¡¯t recovered yet. Nattas reached for a goblet of lukewarm wine with a groan of pain. His back was hurting him lately and the leg whilst working, was still a swollen mess every night. He pushed back on his armchair and closed his hurting eyes, the light coming from the oil-lambs bothering him. Storm thought of Miranda that was getting worn out to the bone by the vultures circling the throne of Regia and Lucius that was fuming in the North surrounded from all sides. The High King giving another go at invading Eplas and young Jeremy unwittingly waiting to be thrown to the wolves. Regia can¡¯t fight broken apart like this, he decided and opened his eyes, the tall thin man with the dusty boots standing in his office nodding once, when Storm gawked at him. Abrakas cock rots in a fuckin¡¯ jar. The hooded man¡¯s narrow face vaguely familiar. Ah. ¡°What the fuck are you doing in here?¡± Storm gasped and dropped his empty goblet on the table trying to get up from his armchair. ¡°How did you get in?¡± Larn pushed the hood off of his face, revealing horrifically maimed ears and a completely shaved off head and eyebrows. He looked like a handsome ghoul, which was twice as upsetting to Nattas eyes. For fuck¡¯s sake. ¡°You remember me,¡± Larn noted instead of answering his questions. Storm puffed his cheeks out and collapsed on his chair again. Was Secundus awake? Would the guards at the door reach him in time if he called on them? ¡°There¡¯s no need for that,¡± The man reassured him, reading the thoughts on his face. Storm stared at the bottle of Flauegran he¡¯d half-finished earlier. ¡°Mind if I have a cup? You almost gave me a heart attack. There¡¯s a chair next to the door.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll stand,¡± Larn replied. Yeah, Storm remembered him. Maja¡¯s ¡®friend¡¯ from Alden, or something. Well he ain¡¯t no bard that much is blatantly obvious, he thought eyeing the vast array of weaponry visible on the assassin¡¯s double harnesses. ¡°You want a goblet?¡± He offered. ¡°I don¡¯t much like it,¡± Larn replied. ¡°Of the three season¡¯s wines it¡¯s my least favorite.¡± ¡°Three seasons in the old calendar,¡± Storm said slowly pouring some into his own goblet after setting it upright. ¡°As in the two lost Imperial recipes? Where in all gods were you served those?¡± ¡°The place has closed down,¡± Larn replied. ¡°It¡¯s not some grand secret Lord Nattas.¡± ¡°People would start a war for it, where I¡¯m from,¡± Storm said tasting the bitter-sweet wine. ¡°People would start a war for many stupid things,¡± Larn replied and scratched his forehead with a long finger. ¡°Where¡¯s is¡­ Maja?¡± Ah, there it is. ¡°On a mission,¡± Storm replied. ¡°I¡¯m uncertain on her exact whereabouts.¡± ¡°Who do you want killed?¡± Larn asked him without hesitation. ¡°I¡¯m not sure she would agree revealing it,¡± Storm replied. ¡°Or why I should agree, other than the obvious reason of me avoiding getting assassinated in my house.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not your house,¡± Larn corrected him. ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± ¡°Someone high up the ladder,¡± Larn translated his earlier answer without hurrying. ¡°Dangerous for her, so she¡¯ll take her usual ungodly long time to hatch an elaborate plan,¡± Yeah, that¡¯s our Maja alright, Storm agreed a little amazed at the man¡¯s perception. ¡°Dangerous for you, but it appears you¡¯re a man that likes to stick his head out, with no fear of the downing blade.¡± Storm stood back on his chair, all his limbs buzzing and gulped down slowly. ¡°Sometimes you have to act,¡± He managed to say. ¡°That¡¯s true. You told her something, she didn¡¯t reveal to me. What was it?¡± Larn asked him. ¡°Are you her partner? Her boss?¡± ¡°Plug the leaks Lord Nattas,¡± Larn told him, his face a blank mask. ¡°Secure the doors you¡¯ve opened afore your ship goes under. Speaking of a ship¡­ what did Barlow want?¡± Hmm. ¡°He bought a ship through me,¡± He told Larn. Storm wasn¡¯t going to get killed for such a small thing. ¡°But it left Caspo O¡¯ Bor empty a couple of months back, or more. I have the report.¡± ¡°Where to Lord Nattas?¡± ¡°Castalor, but nothing was loaded but for meager supplies,¡± Storm replied reaching for the locked drawer where he kept the sensitive reports. He checked all the missives briefly. ¡°It sailed West from there,¡± Storm said. ¡°Nothing more, the ship was difficult to approach and no one came down but his Captain. A man named ahm¡­¡± ¡°Holmes,¡± Larn said. ¡°And the ship had its load on already.¡± Right. What the fuck is going on here? ¡°What was it?¡± Storm asked him, but the strange man stood back and shook his head. Something moved near Storm¡¯s window and when Nattas looked a bit closer he saw a hideously scarred small boy hidden behind the curtain, looking at him with a greedy eye, the other hidden behind a small leather patch. Foul Ticu diving to Abrakas fuckin¡¯ gullet Bring out arms ¡®n skulls dressed in silver ¡®n gold ¡°What in the name¡­?¡± Storm gasped horrified, almost dropping his wine on his lap. ¡°That¡¯s Toutatis,¡± Larn explained. ¡°He¡¯s relatively harmless, but the load on that ship isn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Can we stop it from reaching¡­?¡± Storm stared at a map of the Scalding Sea showing both continents. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Eikenport?¡± Larn grimaced, his lips pressed into a thin line. ¡°You have birds reaching there directly?¡± ¡°I have a man on Eplas and I can squeeze an arm or two, but nothing in Eikenport,¡± Storm replied. ¡°The Merchant Guild obviously has a bigger reach.¡± ¡°How soon can you send a missive through them?¡± ¡°In a few hours, I¡¯ll have a man request it,¡± Storm replied. ¡°What is the message?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll deliver it in person,¡± Larn retorted. ¡°It is better to rule from the sidelines Lord Nattas,¡± He added, before turning towards the watching creepy boy. ¡°Toutatis, we are leaving. Put that knife down.¡± Ugh. ¡°I¡¯ll notify the guards,¡± Storm said getting up, relieved the night visit was over. ¡°Just to avoid any misunderstandings. How can I reach you mister Larn, if work comes up in the future?¡± ¡°You have enough of the Guild working for you Lord Nattas,¡± Larn replied, pausing at the door. ¡°Don¡¯t be sentimental. Plug your leaks.¡±
This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. The morning found a restless Storm sweating in his expensive black doublet, Secundus¡¯ scowling face staring back at him. The weathered hired blade¡¯s visage disturbing. ¡°Sir Tatum?¡± His man repeated with a grunt. ¡°The man knows too much,¡± Storm explained patiently. ¡°He must go.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t he the Queen¡¯s guard?¡± ¡°He visits his late sister¡¯s children every afternoon,¡± Storm repeated again to get back on track. ¡°What happened to the father?¡± ¡°He was killed. The man served with the First Cohort,¡± Storm replied. ¡°Now the boy is young, but the girl is eleven so I don¡¯t know, she might remember your man.¡± Secundus grimaced. ¡°Kill the children?¡± ¡°Other than selling them to slavers, I can¡¯t unfortunately find another way. Your man has a problem with it?¡± Sudi rarely voiced such objections. ¡°Isn¡¯t there another way?¡± Secundus insisted. No I went straight for murder. Is he fuckin¡¯ serious? ¡°You think I enjoy this?¡± He admonished him. ¡°Everyone that knows something may open his fucking mouth even as we speak,¡± Storm hissed and rubbed his face hard to fight off his drowsiness. The bad taste in his mouth remained though. ¡°Sudi knows,¡± Secundus pointed. ¡°Myself.¡± Sudi is loyal ye cretin! He was also up to his neck involved already. ¡°Sudi is in Moon¡¯s Haven. I¡¯ve sent for him and you¡­ well, I can¡¯t see you talking. Am I mistaken? You better tell me now, you owe me that fuckin¡¯ much!¡± ¡°People will be suspicious. The dead squire, the King¡¯s sword missing,¡± Secundus counted. ¡°Now a dead knight of the Queen¡¯s guard. A couple of children.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the alternative my good man?¡± Storm asked him. ¡°Spare them? What if they talk? Can you make it happen on the streets? In the middle of the day? Because we can¡¯t exactly murder the man standing next to the Queen. She might question it.¡± ¡°Does she agree?¡± ¡°Are you an idiot?¡± Storm countered. ¡°The city guard are loyal to Lord Doris. This could go wrong,¡± Secundus argued. ¡°When is Sudi arriving?¡± ¡°Within the week.¡± Plug the leaks. ¡°How many of your men do you trust completely?¡± He asked him. ¡°Three,¡± Secundus replied. ¡°Pay them enough, they¡¯ll keep their mouth shut.¡± Well, there¡¯s a cheaper way to do that. ¡°What about the others?¡± ¡°They are not soldiers, milord,¡± Secundus replied. ¡°You¡¯ll need to utilize your subjects for that.¡± I haven¡¯t exactly won them over yet. ¡°Let¡¯s just let the few villagers I rule over guard my lands for the time being Secundus.¡± ¡°Were he to leave the palace later in the day, or night,¡± The man started. ¡°Then it might be easier to ambush him in a side alley.¡± ¡°What will he be doing in a side alley?¡± Storm asked, while working a plan in his mind. He wasn¡¯t a villain out to murder children, if there was an alternative. ¡°He won¡¯t enter it voluntarily milord,¡± Secundus replied. ¡°Nor will he leave it.¡± Right. ¡°Next,¡± Lord Nattas said and stooped over his papers, several names on the list.
Miranda blinked once surprised. ¡°A trip Lord Nattas?¡± She asked, glancing at the royal scribes dutifully writing down his suggestion. She sat back on her throne and gathered her hands on her lap. ¡°Of the coast you say?¡± ¡°Exactly your grace,¡± Storm replied and stared at Lord Doris frowning. ¡°Strengthen your image, galvanize your subjects and perhaps quiet down some of the Lords that are restless now.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a terrible idea,¡± Lord Doris agreed. ¡°A serious preparation must take place before that though, which could strain our balance for the year.¡± ¡°We can make it cheaper, Lord Treasurer?¡± Storm asked him. ¡°I¡¯m not sure it befits the Queen Regent,¡± He replied. ¡°Hauling her down the coast without the proper honors Lord Shield.¡± ¡°Of course, it was perhaps too ambitious of me,¡± Storm readily retracted. ¡°It will also be tiresome,¡± Miranda said, looking at him. Storm hadn¡¯t the time for a personal visit these past weeks, nor did he want to risk it. At least she looks healthy, he thought keeping his face blank. ¡°How about a visit to the Salt Fields, your grace?¡± Mayor Lucas suggested. ¡°Your presence will boost the morale.¡± ¡°It¡¯s dreadfully hot and too busy to have her standing there for hours, climb up the salt mount and return Mayor Lucas,¡± Lord Doris intervened again. ¡°Work must be suspended, carts rerouted to the city, merchant convoys send back, or paused. Ah, you¡¯re putting a knife in my neck now.¡± ¡°How about have her visit the city?¡± Storm suggested. Miranda hadn¡¯t stepped a foot out of the palace for a month. ¡°Have her grace cross the main road, to the gates and perhaps to the White Sands beach. She can stay at your estate there Lord Doris and return the next day.¡± Sir Barnard stepped forward and cleared his throat. ¡°A heavy escort must be arranged, milords,¡± The leader of the Queen¡¯s guards said. ¡°If her grace stays outside the city proper, we must secure the approaches.¡± ¡°Our city is very secure, Sir Barnard,¡± Lord Doris repeated the much loved mantra of the locals. ¡°The road isn¡¯t milord,¡± Sir Barnard replied standing firm. ¡°And staying outside the palace grounds¡ª¡± ¡°My estate is equally safe, Sir Barnard!¡± Lord Doris grunted. ¡°I have protected my sister for years without problem!¡± ¡°Undoubtedly milord, but her grace wasn¡¯t Queen Regent then,¡± The hale knight insisted. ¡°Sir Barnard is concerned her staying the night might alert certain cutthroats,¡± Storm said. ¡°What cutthroats?¡± Lord Doris snapped glaring at him. ¡°Out of town elements,¡± Storm continued given the chance. ¡°Ruffians sneaking inside your city milord during the night, ambush the Queen Regent on the return trip. However small that trip may be.¡± Lord Doris frowned so much his eyebrows turned into a continuous thing on his forehead, but kept his mouth shut for a moment. ¡°There¡¯s a simple solution to that of course,¡± Storm said. ¡°Yes?¡± Lord Doris asked. ¡°Well, we could make sure we post trusted men on the route.¡± ¡°There are several approaches to the city, but for the main road,¡± Mayor Lucas murmured thoughtfully. ¡°Ten, twelve?¡± Storm chanced although he knew. ¡°A large group won¡¯t sneak in up the slopes, but they might come from the major road arteries east and west. We can post men and patrols for a night, make sure no one tries to sneak in after the news spread. As you¡¯ve said Lord Doris those already in the city are of known character.¡± ¡°The City guard can secure those approaches,¡± Lord Doris agreed. ¡°I would place my own men on the East road,¡± Storm said and turned to Sir Barnard. ¡°You should take it upon yourself to guard the West road up to the gates.¡± ¡°Of course Lord Nattas,¡± Sir Barnard agreed, relieved some measures were taken. He didn¡¯t want to lose another King, or Queen under his watch. A good man. ¡°It¡¯ll be better to use every knight you have at your disposal Sir Barnard. Don¡¯t play favorites here,¡± He advised him. ¡°Rotate them through the night to keep them rested. It will be good to get them out of the palace and onto the night air for once. I doubt any daring thugs would be a problem for them.¡±
On a curious note that tumultuous second month of Spring, the year 190 of the New Calendar, Sir Arthur Tatum got up on his horse to patrol the road coming from the Salt Fields a couple of nights later and vanished without a trace. The Queen Regent was hit hard by the disappearance of the loyal man, the knight being with her since she was a little girl, but a series of events happened right after and the knight¡¯s curious disappearance was forgotten.
Part IIC Almost four weeks later Storm knew something wasn¡¯t right, when Miranda failed to appear for a third straight day citing illness. Pressed by a furious Sir Turner, who protested Lord Sula¡¯s encroachment on his borders with a sizeable force, Lord Doris asked him to call for the Queen Regent to come to the throne room and placate Novesium¡¯s envoi. ¡°I won¡¯t bother her grace whilst she¡¯s unwell, Lord Doris,¡± Storm hissed after the man had left empty-handed to return that afternoon. ¡°Nor can I just barge into her quarters and drag her here!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do it,¡± Lord Doris snapped. ¡°The Queen is not to be disturbed,¡± Sir Barnard repeated with a scowl addressed to both of them. ¡°I¡¯ll go up there,¡± Storm sighed and got up from the throne. ¡°Talk to her maids, see if she can make a brief appearance, just to get him out of the way.¡± ¡°We could order Lord Sula to bring his forces behind the border,¡± Lord Doris said. ¡°Who is going to determine where that border is?¡± Storm asked him. ¡°They are fighting for control of the Salty River and its bridge Lord Doris. We can¡¯t exactly split the river in half.¡± ¡°Lord Sula can¡¯t have men posted there,¡± Lord Doris insisted. ¡°The moment he takes his men away, Lord Ursus will have guards posted there in his stead.¡± Lord Doris rubbed his aged face with both hands frustrated. ¡°See if you can have my sister come down,¡± He said tiredly. ¡°Tell her this isn¡¯t the time to have one of her tantrums.¡± Storm had no idea Miranda had those in her youth.
¡°STAY BACK!¡± Miranda shrieked hysterically the moment he made to come inside. Storm frowned in bewilderment, planted his feet and glanced at Marcela, the handmaiden staring at her sandals. ¡°She sounds healthy,¡± He commented lacing his hands behind his back. ¡°She was sick just now,¡± The servant elucidated. Hmm. ¡°A stomach bug? Something she ate?¡± He tried to guess aloud, as the Queen had been rumored to gulping down her food lately. Nothing beats the homegrown foodstuff of your youth. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know milord.¡± ¡°Is the Dottore here?¡± Storm asked. ¡°Last night milord.¡± Too busy to come during the day? Are you fuckin¡¯ kidding me? ¡°What did he say?¡± ¡°Eh, he wouldn¡¯t talk to me milord.¡± Of course. A consummate professional. Probably jerking off after each visit. ¡°I have my own Dottore. I can have him examine her,¡± Storm said. ¡°It¡¯s all them flowers and this heat. I have a headache half the time.¡± ¡°Marcela send him in!¡± Miranda yelled from her bedroom. ¡°She¡¯s fine milord,¡± The servant said and stared at him knowingly. Storm didn¡¯t like that look at all. This little bitch knows! Fuck. He pressed a strained smile on his face and walked inside. Miranda was sitting on her desk, looking flushed and healthy. Even her cheeks had filled up nicely and if she was curvaceous before, now her thin nightgown was stretched to its limit at the top. That¡¯s a lot of woman! I haven¡¯t seen her naked in a while, Storm thought trying to keep his mind on the servant that needed to go as well. ¡°I¡¯m sick,¡± Miranda said, looking at her hands. ¡°I tried to tell you. You know, with looks?¡± Lord Nattas had no idea what she was talking about, his mind drawn to a thousand directions. ¡°Is it serious?¡± Storm asked her snapping to the present. ¡°What? No¡­ it isn¡¯t,¡± She smiled, creating dimples on her rosy cheeks that could turn a monk into a satyr. Storm having already reached the satyr stage felt his cock hardening in his pants. Abrakas there¡¯s important work to be done here! ¡°Well then,¡± He said quickly. ¡°You need to come down and listen to that fool from Novesium, afore sending him packing right back. Maybe sign a letter of reaffirming the bridge¡¯s ownership to both of them.¡± ¡°Can it wait?¡± She asked him. Ugh. ¡°No. The man is like a bad flea, he just won¡¯t shut up about it.¡± Miranda sighed. ¡°It¡¯s too hot today.¡± Storm almost rolled his eyes. ¡°Are you feverish?¡± She shook her head right and left, blond curls dancing in the well-ventilated room. ¡°I will come down,¡± Miranda finally said. ¡°But you¡¯ll have to promise you¡¯ll come in my quarters tonight.¡± ¡°Miranda¡­ I can¡¯t,¡± Storm sighed. ¡°I want to, but this is dangerous.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± She murmured. What? ¡°Of course it does,¡± Storm said very alarmed at the implications. ¡°Your servant knows something. She must be removed.¡± Miranda frowned and raised her head to look at him. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Abrakas you piece of stinking shite! Roll it back. ¡°She might talk Miranda.¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± She¡¯s a rat-faced cunt. ¡°So what¡­ have her¡­ what did you mean earlier?¡± ¡°Send her to Moon¡¯s Haven what else?¡± Storm said quickly, a life of lying under pressure coming handy. ¡°So we are certain.¡± ¡°Oh Storm, it doesn¡¯t matter, eventually they¡¯ll know,¡± Miranda said and wiped her face and eyes. Is she crying? Are ye bloody kiddin¡¯ me? ¡°Pull yourself together,¡± Storm told her. ¡°Get down in the throne room and then we can think of a proper way to fix this.¡± ¡°Fix?¡± Miranda asked him worried. Argh. ¡°I meant drawing up a plan dear,¡± He told her and clutched her hand back when she reached for it over the table. Miranda was burning up. ¡°I¡¯ll have a Dottore sent here immediately,¡± Storm decided. ¡°No,¡± Miranda stopped him. ¡°I will be right down. I¡¯ll need to dress a bit.¡± It¡¯s a furnace down there! But Storm just grunted and left her to prepare. ¡°Is everything alright milord?¡± Marcela asked him and Storm paused to look at her. ¡°Marcela is it?¡± He queried. ¡°Yes milord.¡± ¡°I may need something brought to the Queen Regent later,¡± Storm told her smiling thinly. ¡°Would you be so kind as to bring it yourself?¡± Your thread is loose Lord Nattas, the late King had said. So many holes. Plug the leaks, the assassin had advised him. What comes after her? Who are you going to kill next? King Alistair asked again, his voice reverberating in the halls of his brain. ¡°Ahm, where from milord?¡± She asked a little apprehensive. ¡°The kitchens,¡± Storm said grinding his teeth, seeing the building¡¯s layout in his head. ¡°The door facing the sea.¡±
Miranda covered in a loose thin cloak as if she was cold barely managed to talk with Sir Turner for a couple of minutes, before abruptly getting up and rushing to her quarters citing another bout of her sickness. ¡°The Queen Regent is unwell,¡± Storm announced to the protesting and murmuring crowd gathered to watch her rare appearance. Mostly merchants wanting to petition for an expansion to the local markets and an early start to the coming summer festivities, now back on the menu after King Alistair had canceled them, since with her being present in Aegium the city was bristling with visitors. ¡°What¡¯s the matter with her?¡± Someone asked from the back. ¡°She looked pretty well to me,¡± Another commented and Storm glared at him. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± He barked furious. ¡°Are we savages? It¡¯s not a laughing matter gentlemen! We must give her the time to recuperate.¡± ¡°What about our petitions?¡± A merchant asked, dealing in liquor. ¡°I¡¯ll have to decide on the orders afore the festivals begin Lord Shield.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have them looked at immediately,¡± Storm replied with a sigh. ¡°Before the end of the week. I¡¯m optimistic we¡¯ll have no problems. This will be a summer of profit gentlemen!¡±
Sudi looked like he¡¯d been run over by a wagon laden with salt ore, but somehow still stood on his two feet, with the help of a cane. ¡°I hail the true Shield of the Realm,¡± Sudi greeted him with a rare toothless smile. It was a couple of hours after Storm had finished the rest of Miranda¡¯s schedule for the day, himself running on fumes. ¡°The Queen panicked a bit back there,¡± Storm admitted. ¡°Or overcompensated to keep me around. I would have been fine with the Barony.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the problem chief?¡± Sudi asked him always perceptive. ¡°Rats abound,¡± Storm explained and stared at the empty throne room. ¡°The talking kind. Where¡¯s Secundus?¡± ¡°He had that thing,¡± Sudi replied vaguely, well-versed in backroom talk. ¡°Right. Well, are you up to date with our situation?¡± ¡°Sure. What do you want me to do about it?¡± ¡°Lay low, until I figure out who else might be involved,¡± Storm said and stretched his hurting back. ¡°What happens in Moon¡¯s Haven?¡± ¡°Lord Ursus sent some men at the bridge, but they haven¡¯t crossed it.¡± ¡°Do we have men stationed there?¡± ¡°I have a couple of good hands.¡± Cutthroats, Storm translated. ¡°The bridge?¡± ¡°Still ruined, I left it until we secure quarters for our men,¡± Sudi replied. ¡°How soon can the materials arrive?¡± ¡°I have three builder firms coming from Cartagen, two caravans of material, mainly timber and iron. Forty six wagons in all. The cost might have risen a bit.¡± ¡°How much?¡± Storm snapped. ¡°Nothing we can¡¯t make back from using the stone quarry,¡± Sudi explained. ¡°We have a stone quarry?¡± Storm asked surprised. ¡°You have a mountain. People will dig in it,¡± Sudi replied with a shrug. ¡°Plus a lot of wood at the near and game.¡± ¡°How many live in the village?¡± ¡°Originally not over a hundred, but several families are arriving. War orphans, injured veterans looking for work.¡± ¡°What work?¡± Storm asked. ¡°Well a one-armed man can knife you plenty, if he knows how to use a blade.¡± True. ¡°We¡¯ll repair the original settlers¡¯ houses per the agreement,¡± Storm decided. ¡°Make something more inexpensive for the rest of them, until we figure out what would be the best use of our resources. Have you an assessment on what the mountain has in its bowels?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t looked that deep chief, but the first thing people brought back was marble,¡± Sudi replied, just as two knights marched inside the hall, faces hidden under their helms. Storm frowned and stared at the two knights quickly reach a side door that led to the upper floors. ¡°What?¡± Sudi asked him, seeing Storm scrunch his face creating even more wrinkles on it. ¡°Something is going on,¡± Lord Nattas hissed, every hair on his body raised. His instincts screaming. ¡°I have our men at the door,¡± Sudi said. ¡°You think they got to Secundus?¡± Was that it? Abrakas you piece of vindictive shite! Chopped down by a stupid cunt? ¡°I don¡¯t know. Don¡¯t think so, but since when do you care enough to stick around?¡± Sudi asked him. ¡°This is an unfriendly city Chief. We are blind is the long and short of it. Let¡¯s get out of here whilst they are still preoccupied. Regroup and think it through.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t leave,¡± Storm said glaring at him irate, even angrier with himself for just realizing it. ¡°This is Lord Doris palace,¡± Sudi warned him, as if Storm was feeling all secure and cuddly being under the same roof with that snake. ¡°I can¡¯t leave her,¡± He gasped seeing more knights coming in and Sudi stood back all stunned, before he nodded in understanding. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°Find a way out of the city and this palace,¡± Storm told him tensely and the first two knights returned coming out of that same door and started looking around energetically. ¡°A boat? How much force¡ª¡± ¡°Any way Sudi. Like last time. Get to Sirio and send a bird to our people,¡± Nattas urged him, taking a breath when the two knights stopped and looked at him. ¡°Go now you fool!¡± ¡°Lord Nattas,¡± The first knight said, an unknown square face squeezed inside that helm. ¡°You are wanted in the Queen¡¯s quarters.¡± Huh? ¡°The Queen Regent asks for¡ª¡± ¡°It¡¯s the Lord Treasurer¡¯s call milord.¡± What the fuck? What is he doing in there? ¡°Lead the way,¡± Storm retorted without batting an eyelash.
The narrow corridor couldn¡¯t handle the amount of knights present. A tensed and sweating Storm recognized Sir Barnard the moment he entered inside Miranda¡¯s quarters. Lord Doris was there looking bewildered, Miranda in a white silk dress, Sir Cato, Sir Turner, Sir Rik and an old man wearing glasses. Marcus Epolonious the late king¡¯s Dottore. Of all the people Storm didn¡¯t expect to see there, the elderly physician being the most surprising. When had Marcus come to the city? Why? Storm expected Marcela to pop out of a secret door any moment now and point an accusing finger on him. There he is, the still breathing servant would cry out. The man who fucks the Queen of Regia! Storm felt the room dancing around him, as if he was on a boat already, black spots gathering in his field of vision, but he managed to remain upright through sheer will and dogged determination. ¡°Lord Nattas,¡± Sir Cato said. ¡°Did you know about this?¡± Storm almost bit his tongue off, but Miranda¡¯s eyes swollen as if she was crying, stilled his spine. ¡°You have to be a little more specific than that,¡± He retorted in form. ¡°Lord Doris?¡± Sir Cato asked, obviously the angriest man in the room. Sir Turner and Sir Rik were smugly satisfied in contrast. ¡°The Queen is with child,¡± Lord Doris said with difficulty, his voice barely coming out. Storm blinked once, then a couple of more times in quick succession. Lord Doris words not registering in his head. When they did partially, as he was still in shock, Storm replied on instinct. ¡°Is this not good news?¡± ¡°Lord Shield, the king is dead almost four months!¡± Sir Cato blasted him. ¡°Was at the conference of Lords three months afore that!¡± So a bit more than half a year, Storm counted still in shock. Seven months and change. He cleared his throat that ulcer in his stomach returning, Miranda looking at him, which made it all the more difficult to come up with something plausible. Alas there was nothing. Storm stared at the old Dottore and the old man returned his stare with outright hostility. Fuck. ¡°I can¡¯t believe this,¡± Lord Doris said. ¡°Everyone out of the room now!¡± Sir Barnard barked and several knights started exiting, lots of metal and weapons clanging whilst they did. ¡°Who was it?¡± Lord Doris blasted his sister, changing character once most of the witnesses were out of the room. ¡°Was it Sir Tatum? Is that why he up and disappeared?¡± Miranda retreated towards her bed and sat on it, her hands over her belly. ¡°Any of your other knights Barnard?¡± Sir Cato asked. ¡°I resent the accusation Sir Cato!¡± The hale man growled. ¡°Take it back at once!¡± ¡°Speak gods curse you!¡± Lord Doris shouted out of his mind, getting angrier by the moment. No. Oh, my gods, Storm thought, as his brain started working and Miranda seeing that he had figured it out at last started sobbing her eyes out. Storm saw a small boy running on the sands, trip and fall on his face. The dream as real as that first time. You vindictive son of a bitch! ¡°Cut it out,¡± Lord Doris decided and Miranda let out a scream and rolled on the other side of her bed to get away. ¡°Sir Barnard, seize my sister! Sir Cato help him out!¡± Lord Doris ordered. Sir Barnard grimaced, but Sir Cato moved decisively towards the screaming Queen Regent. ¡°Stop this!¡± Storm cried out, drenched in sweat, his eyes ogling more desperate than scared, although he was plenty scared as well. ¡°Sir Cato stay away!¡± ¡°Lord Nattas, we can¡¯t have her bring it to term!¡± Sir Cato argued, as if anyone cared what he thought. ¡°It must be done, Nattas,¡± Her brother agreed. ¡°The scandal will ruin us. It¡¯s indefensible.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll kill your sister Lord Doris!¡± Storm snapped at him. ¡°That¡¯s a death sentence.¡± Lord Doris stood back and clenched his jaw. ¡°She¡¯s done it onto herself,¡± He justified it. You sick fuck. Sir Cato started moving again and Sir Rik turned to stare at Sir Barnard with a daring eye, a hand on the pommel of his sword, the Queen¡¯s Guard visibly torn between duty and orders. ¡°I can¡¯t let you do this,¡± Sir Barnard gasped and unsheathed his longsword. Sir Rik De Weer doing the same and Sir Cato pausing after he¡¯d cornered a still screaming and wild Miranda on the other side of her bed. The Queen had grabbed a large candleholder and was brandishing it in front of her. ¡°Get those blades sheathed for fuck¡¯s sake!¡± Storm yelled at them both. ¡°Have you lost your fucking heads? There is a way!¡± ¡°What way Lord Nattas?¡± Lord Doris mocked him. ¡°Do you hope she¡¯ll lose it? I wager ye she¡¯ll deliver it, just like her mother. That and bedding men are her specialty.¡± ¡°Fuck you!¡± Miranda snapped at him furious. ¡°Peddled me alike a prize horse in my cradle you piece of shit!¡± ¡°See there it is, her true character unveiled,¡± Lord Doris said shaking his head vindicated in front of the others. Had Storm had his sword on him, he would have run him through. All things considered, it was a good thing he didn¡¯t, as explaining that on top of everything else would have been nigh impossible. ¡°She¡¯ll step down,¡± Nattas managed to say, but no one listened to him, so he cleared his throat and repeated the words. Miranda stared at him hurt. Whether it was for not supporting her more, or his suggestion, Storm didn¡¯t know. He was preoccupied with saving them both. ¡°What?¡± Lord Doris said surprised, whilst Sir Rik smacked his lips intrigued. ¡°You heard me.¡± ¡°Lord Nattas, if she delivers a bastard, people will get up in uproar,¡± Lord Doris said, as if he was talking to an idiot. ¡°Yeah and it¡¯ll put even more pressure on Jeremy,¡± Sir Rik agreed. ¡°There was no agreement that Prince Jeremy would assume the throne!¡± Sir Cato blasted him, turning around and focusing his attention on Sir Rik. ¡°Lord Sula won¡¯t bend the knee!¡± ¡°Then Lord Sula would lose his head,¡± A silent until now Sir Turner said. ¡°She can deliver it away from preying eyes,¡± A desperate Storm tried again, loud enough to be heard. ¡°That¡¯s not a solution!¡± Sir Rik growled and Sir Turner agreed with him. ¡°She could fail her pregnancy,¡± Storm argued and Miranda gasped horrified at his words. ¡°But she may still survive.¡± ¡°Why do you care?¡± Lord Doris asked him and stood back narrowing his eyes. It¡¯s my mess and my son in there. ¡°I¡¯m the Queen¡¯s Shield by her grace,¡± Storm said simply, staring at the old Dottore, who gave him a small nod of approval. ¡°Where she goes, I¡¯ll follow.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll resign?¡± Lord Doris said, adding with a smirk figuring it out. ¡°Both your positions?¡± Storm smacked his lips and grimaced. ¡°Aye. I¡¯ll get her to her estate,¡± He lied and Lord Doris eyes told him he¡¯ll never make it out of the city. ¡°Lord Sula will learn of this atrocity,¡± Sir Cato said gravely and walked out fuming. ¡°Sir Barnard can you take the Queen Regent for a walk in the gardens? She needs the air,¡± Storm said and the knight nodded with his head, his sword still drawn. ¡°Your grace?¡± He asked and Storm looked at Miranda to let her know there wasn¡¯t time to take anything, or even argue. It was now or never. Assuming Sudi has come through. ¡°Lord Nattas, I¡¯ve waited a long time to say this,¡± Lord Doris told him and there was plenty of hate on his face now and a perverted delight. Sir Barnard led a worried Miranda out of her bedroom. ¡°Hand over your symbols of office. You are done.¡± Someone was heard running up the stairs, then bursting inside the anteroom, whilst Storm handed Lord Doris the badges he had on him blankly. ¡°Can I go now?¡± Storm asked him when he¡¯d finished. ¡°Haha,¡± Lord Doris sniggered. ¡°No you can¡¯t. You¡¯re going straight to the dungeon, but fear not you won¡¯t¡ª¡± Someone banged on the door hard. ¡°What?¡± The Lord Treasurer barked irate. ¡°What is it?¡± Storm felt renewed hope for a touch of divine intervention. Even non-believers have to believe in something. ¡°A missive from Scaldingport,¡± The sweaty squire said breathing heavily. ¡°For Sir Rik De Weer.¡± Oh, for fuck¡¯s sake. ¡°Give it here,¡± Sir Rik said and sheathed his sword to read the missive. He clasped his head and stumbled a couple of steps shocked after he did. ¡°What happened?¡± Lord Doris asked nigh perturbed, seeing the man reeling. ¡°There was an attempt on the King¡¯s life,¡± Sir Rik murmured still in shock. ¡°Antoon stands gravely injured.¡± Hahaha! Thank Abrakas the all merciful. ¡°Get Lord Nattas downstairs immediately,¡± Lord Doris ordered Sir Turner. ¡°Milord?¡± Sir Turner protested, not likening being ordered around by another lord. ¡°Hand him over to one of the guards at the base of the stairs good grief! The man¡¯s a known cripple!¡± Lord Doris blasted him and snatched the message out of Sir Rik¡¯s shaking hands. ¡°Give me that,¡± He growled and started reading it, disbelief written all over his face.
It was said that two days before the Queen Regent of Regia stepped down for scandalous reasons, if we are to believe the gossip of the time, King Antoon raced up the stairs of mighty Gold Tower in Issir¡¯s Eagle responding to a call for help by the heavily pregnant Queen Nienke. The Queen was fine, the call either bogus, or an unfortunate mistake and the High King probably a little vexed for going up four floors for no reason, hurried back down the stairs again to return to his interrupted war council. He either tripped doing it, or he was shoved and made the return trip in no time, although not all the way down. Antoon finally stopped on the third floor, managing to break both his arms and legs, crack his head open and impale himself with a wooden shaft right through the guts, despite wearing armor. The inoffensive tool just happened to be left there from the previous night by a forgetful cleaning crew. Allegedly. Baron of Moon¡¯s Haven Storm Nattas, had resigned his position as well at the time, a little known fact due to the timing of the events that followed King Jeremy¡¯s ascension to the throne of Regia. King Jeremy Alden ¡®the Lacking¡¯, second of his name, was in his seventeenth named year at the time. Lord Sirio Veturius Circa 206 NC The Fall of Heroes Chapter XXV (Three years) King Jeremy Alden Last month of Spring 190 NC
212. My Lord Lucius Alden…
Faye could hear the wolves howling from the distant tree line, her mind rushing back fifteen months and remembering the bloody retreat. Images coming one after the other in black, white and red undertones. The horrified cries of women and children drowning, or getting slaughtered. Warriors laying ruined in the mud and the enemy roaring in triumph. Lucius dragging her across, a younger man then, but as imposing to look at. Ungodly handsome. The Legatus turned his helmed head to check on her and despite feeling bloated and hurting, Faye stood up straighter on the saddle and did her best to smile back warmly. ¡°I should have left¡ª¡± ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it Alden!¡± Faye cut him off sternly, freaked out at the mere thought. ¡°Lady Alden, I offer my apologies,¡± Lucius teased her, but there was pain hidden under the fa?ade and she could sense it. It seemed that every place held memories of lost friends. ¡°How far are they?¡± She asked to change the subject. ¡°Less than a day,¡± Lucius replied with a grimace. ¡°That¡¯s not too far.¡± ¡°It¡¯s even closer for the Legion,¡± Lucius added with a rare smile that took her breath away. ¡°You know I¡¯ve been giving it some thought,¡± He said treading carefully. ¡°If it¡¯s a boy, given that but for the old man¡¯s sacrifice we wouldn¡¯t¡ª¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Faye yielded interrupting him. Lucius stood back on his stallion¡¯s saddle surprised. What? I can¡¯t say no to you, ye dork! ¡°I was going to explain my reasoning. Had a plan and all,¡± He said, staring at the men walking past them putting on a show. ¡°Sorry husband, but I don¡¯t need any convincin¡¯,¡± Faye replied with a groan. ¡°Plus, I need to get off this saddle.¡± ¡°So¡­ Roderick?¡± Lucius probed just to be certain and Faye sighed feeling the little Alden kicking her stomach with both feet, as if demanding to get out. ¡°Ayup,¡± She managed to say and that was that.
Legatus Lucius Alden My Lord Lucius Alden¡­
Having secured the Duchess on the seat of Krakenhall Lucius forces returned to Krakenfort a week later. He stayed there for half a week and met with Governor Tutor, Deputy Governor Mat Buuren and Advisor Ko Nobbe. They all agreed on keeping the old contracts running with Kaltha, as Lucius was still looking for a diplomatic resolution and didn¡¯t want to disturb the High King¡¯s war effort with the Khanate. They also established an official link with Krakenfort spearheaded by Mart Buuren, agreed on the yearly tithe and formulized an ambitious plan to reopen the trade route towards Rockfort and Ludr. Parts of this plan included faster communications via relay stations along the way, a new road to reconnect the North with Fetya and with Willard¡¯s Clan down the Umlen River and of course picturesque Aldenville built at the midpoint of Lucius five hundred kilometers march. The Legion marched east next and reached Rockfort a week before Dier, the last surviving Vanzon surrendered the city to the Legatus and Mad Wolf¡¯s forces. The Jarl learning of the success calmed down a bit and the news spread throughout Fetya in a matter of weeks. With his west borders secure for the first time in centuries and having full control of Lud River proper, the Jarl had the opportunity to attack across the bridges again towards Eaglesnest, but he quickly realized he didn¡¯t have the men to control all this new territory and continue the war effort. A fact the Legatus didn¡¯t agree on. Lucius and his Legion crossed Alford Bridge, traveled to Bear Foot and reached Ludriver Castle after passing by his still standing bridge ¨Cnow heavily reinforced- almost two months after the fall of Krakenhall and more than five after he¡¯d started his campaign. He spent the time with his pregnant wife, drawing maps of the ¡®Edge of Jelin¡¯, writing detailed notes on logistics, setting up the organizational chart for a widespread reform of Regia¡¯s military that integrated the Legion fully, a new road system and even very popular with the troops music, everything incorporated in ¡®Verses on Campaign¡¯ religiously kept by then newly promoted Prefect Varus Trupo. It was in the first week of the first month of summer, year 190 of the New Calendar, when news from the rest of Jelin finally reached him from Kas.
The Jarl¡¯s grey beard stirred in anger as if sensing the old Northman¡¯s mood. Jarl David eyed the also fuming Oscar Steele and Blondal Juter, Skuf Juter¡¯s of Rifjordal son. ¡°I thought you promised to return Zofia Lord Lucius,¡± The Jarl grunted. ¡°How is her ruling from Krakenhall a ¡®good outcome¡¯ for me?¡± Lucius clenched his jaw, but decided to try again. ¡°It¡¯s your daughter you have at your borders Jarl David,¡± He said measuring his words. ¡°Instead of Lord Vanzon and his raiders. You have a trade route open for your hides and gold. You¡¯ll have iron aplenty again and foodstuff. How is this not a good outcome?¡± ¡°I appreciate what you¡¯ve accomplished Lord Lucius, but I can¡¯t accept that mixed breed bastard in my family,¡± The Jarl replied sternly and Oscar scoffed in disgust at the mention of Zofia¡¯s baby. ¡°Zofia is your blood and bastard or not that¡¯s your grandson. They shall rule Krakenhall Jarl David and you can either be on friendly terms with them, or not. That¡¯s your family and your affairs. As for my promise, I fulfilled it.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see it that way.¡± ¡°Zofia is safe and in the North. She would have been in your court, but hearing of your disapproval she asked for my protection. I couldn¡¯t deny her in good conscience, nor sign off on murdering a child! I¡¯m a knight of the Three Kingdoms! I counsel for the last time to make peace with her.¡± ¡°Bah!¡± The Jarl gasped and stared at the wall of his commander¡¯s tent frustrated. ¡°Zofia is a difficult child Lord Lucius,¡± He finally said. ¡°You don¡¯t know her like I do. Giving her power will make her even more difficult to deal with.¡± ¡°Your son likes her.¡± ¡°She¡¯ll run circles around him,¡± Jarl David grunted. ¡°Sam is good at war, hasn¡¯t the smarts for ruling.¡± ¡°Make the effort Jarl David,¡± Lucius told him tiredly. ¡°Placating her might work better.¡± The Jarl sighed and combed his beard with his fingers. ¡°You¡¯ll cross the bridges,¡± He said after a couple of contemplating moments. ¡°It¡¯s either that, or flying back to Regia,¡± Lucius jested to lighten the mood. ¡°I haven¡¯t figured the latter out yet.¡± ¡°The Crulls won¡¯t let you,¡± The Jarl said. ¡°And I can¡¯t cross with you, I have the same problem they had. I need to keep both bridges.¡± ¡°One,¡± Lucius corrected him and signed for Prefect Trupo to bring him a large map made out of calfskin vellum. ¡°I¡¯ll cross the Montfoot, all you have to do is hold Midriver Bridge from this side.¡± ¡°The men are tired Jarl,¡± Oscar Steele noted. ¡°Weary of campaigning for two seasons straight.¡± ¡°If you want us to remain we will Jarl,¡± Blondal said, a boisterous young warrior with more blond than red hair. ¡°Do you trust Sovya?¡± Jarl David asked him. ¡°Yer father might need the men back Blondal.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need a big force to hold the bridge Jarl David,¡± Lucius noted. ¡°Let me think on it,¡± Jarl David replied with a frown.
Lucius listened to their argument for a while and then left to visit Ludriver Castle, the place looking abandoned as most Issirs and mixed-breeds had retreated to safety. ¡°Centurion Paulus Agricola, should be the Primus Pilus Legatus,¡± Prefect Varus Trupo said as they walked back to the Legion camp. The Legionnaires at the wooden gates saluted as they went past them after they had crossed the ramp over the dry moat. ¡°I trust your judgement Trupo,¡± Lucius replied eyeing the condition of the wooden premade headquarters. They would need to replenish their supplies, he noted. ¡°You¡¯ve promoted him twice.¡± ¡°I have. He¡¯s been holding down the first Century whilst I scribble notes for the Legatus,¡± The Prefect replied smartly, his mustache dancing. ¡°Are you looking for an aide Trupo?¡± Lucius asked him acknowledging the saluting guard before entering the camp¡¯s largest building. ¡°Another scribe, or two Legatus.¡± ¡°You have someone lined up?¡± Lucius said, a smile forming on his lips seeing Faye¡¯s annoyed glare at letting the door open. Not because she felt cold or anything, but because the redhead had ballooned being in the final months of pregnancy according to her and didn¡¯t want anyone to see her. A nigh impossible ask. ¡°Keep him outside,¡± Faye warned him loud enough for the Prefect to hear. Lucius paused and looked at the smiling officer. ¡°I have someone Legatus,¡± Trupo said. ¡°He can start on the morrow.¡± ¡°Anything else?¡± ¡°Nothing that can¡¯t wait,¡± Trupo readily replied. ¡°Legatus,¡± He saluted, then dipped his head to the puffing out Northerner. ¡°Lady Faye.¡± ¡°Prefect,¡± Lucius said and closed the door, when the man turned around and left them. ¡°Was he smiling?¡± Faye groaned, getting up from the bed. ¡°It¡¯s his demeanor Faye,¡± Lucius replied and turned as she approached slowly. ¡°How are you today?¡± ¡°Same shite as yesterday, but more bored,¡± Faye said and kissed him, whilst Lucius hugged her gingerly. ¡°You smell of wet horse.¡±The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°I went to the Castle after I met with Jarl David,¡± Lucius explained and released the clasp on his cloak and sword belt. ¡°Are ye trying to rub it in Alden?¡± Faye complained. Staying inside all the time was gnawing at her. ¡°It was dreadfully boring. I knew what he was going to say,¡± He admitted and found a chair to sit and remove his boots. ¡°There¡¯s nothing he can do about it.¡± ¡°You should rest more.¡± Lucius paused and looked at her teasingly. ¡°You wish us to lay down wife?¡± Faye pursed her lips thoughtfully. ¡°Is this a trick query husband?¡± ¡°Ahm, no it isn¡¯t,¡± Lucius admitted unsure. ¡°I always do,¡± Faye replied throatily with a half-greedy half-nervous smile that Lucius favored very much.
A thunder was heard over the cloudy sky. The sudden bright light, shining on small puddles and wet leaves. It gleamed on helms and armour, on steel spear tips and the Legion¡¯s bronze Panthera Tigris. The beast¡¯s head coming alive for a brief moment sensing danger, its guttural roar reverberating over the whole camp in a warning and reaching Lucius ears. He turned his head right towards the iron brazier now full of glowing embers that filled the dark room with shadows and felt Faye¡¯s warm breath on his shoulder. The soaked woman¡¯s heavy body all burning up, but he still sensed a touch of cold on his face and uncovered side. The figure standing next to the brazier rigid, head lost in the darkness and clad in non-standard armour ever so familiar. ¡°You¡¯ve run out of time son,¡± Roderick rustled without looking his way. ¡°The corpse vultures are gathering.¡± Lucius made to stand up and realized he couldn¡¯t. The feeling was lost from his neck down. He gasped desperately, his jaw numb and teeth hurting. ¡°Let the beasts fight each other where the sun sets. Make a stone of yer heart, or ye¡¯ll never stop grievin¡¯,¡± Roderick counseled and turned his head to look at the sturdy closed door of the camp¡¯s headquarters. Heavy boots could be heard approaching from outside. ¡°Strike without mercy, or share yer brother¡¯s fate.¡± Lucius growled furious and felt warm hands on his face, Faye staring at him worried when his eyes opened. ¡°Lucius,¡± Faye whispered. ¡°Is everything alright?¡± He stood up on the bed and turning put his feet down. The brazier almost out, but keeping the room warm. Lucius breathed once deeply and kissed Faye¡¯s forehead pushing all those red curls away. ¡°Aye,¡± He replied, his eyes on the closed door. ¡°Just a dream.¡± The knock coming before he¡¯d time to finish his words.
¡°Legatus!¡± The legionnaire boomed after saluting. ¡°A bird arrived from Kas!¡± Lucius had set up a station at Crimson Fort at the other side of the river. The Jarl had likened the idea and set up several in turn on every major settlement he ruled. ¡°Apologies milord,¡± Marc Gripa said standing right behind the flushed soldier. ¡°I told them you were indisposed.¡± ¡°It¡¯s quite right, mister Gripa,¡± Lucius replied getting up, leaving the heavy covers to Faye and walking naked to where he had his pants. ¡°Is it from Canutia soldier?¡± He asked him while he dressed. ¡°Her and Labianus, Legatus! For your eyes only sire!¡± Young Arrun. ¡°Let the missives with Gripa soldier,¡± Lucius ordered him and the soldier yielded with a small hesitation. Lucius heard the bed creaking as Faye got up, whilst he found a chair to sit at the maps table. ¡°How is morale mister Gripa?¡± Lucius asked and accepted the small scroll from him. ¡°Idle men are prone to foolishness,¡± Gripa replied. ¡°The Tribune¡¯s words milord. He almost had a riot trying to expel a bard from the camp earlier.¡± ¡°What happened?¡± Lucius asked him absentmindedly, Faye standing over his bare shoulder, the baby¡¯s heartbeat on his skin, as he read Canutia¡¯s tiny but stylish scribblings. Not an easy thing to find a well-educated maid, but Lord Nattas had suggested her and Lucius had no reason not to trust her. ¡°The bard started citing a bunch of yer poems and songs sire, the men loved them and the Tribune had to begrudgingly allow him to stay.¡± My Lord Lucius Alden, Canutia wrote.
On the second month of summer, the year 189 of the New Calendar I received word that your sister Lady Silvie Alden was to be wed to Prince Casper Eikenaar in the city of Alden. I¡¯ve written to your Grace extensively about it, but I had no way of sending it. A month later another missive reached me informing us of a terrible calamity. It is with great sadness that I relay to you that there was an uprising and the young couple regrettably perished in the struggle. My heartfelt condolences for your loss. Your faithful servant, Canutia.
¡°Lucius?¡± Faye whispered sensing him tensing up. Gripa who had the second scroll in his hands stopped talking and grimaced. Perished¡­ Lucius blinked and sat back on the uncomfortable wooden field chair. He felt discomfort in his chest and breathed out slowly. Gripa got up and went to bring a decanter of wine and a goblet left next to the door. The Legion had fully restocked its supplies at Krakenhall. The man placed the goblet in front of him and filled it up. ¡°Give me the other scroll,¡± Lucius rustled and Gripa nodded. ¡°Lucius¡­¡± Faye said shaking. ¡°What happened?¡± He couldn¡¯t deliberate on it at this moment. It was appallingly painful to put it to words. Make a stone of yer heart. Darn you old man. ¡°Find another chair,¡± Lucius ordered Gripa and he immediately went to fetch another one. Lucius stood up and helped her sit down in his place. ¡°There was an accident¡­¡± An uprising¡­ Faye had trouble breathing. ¡°Who?¡± ¡°Give me a moment love,¡± He said and rubbed his face with his free hand to get ahold of his emotions. The second scroll feeling heavy in his other. Gripa returned with another chair, followed by Legion¡¯s Tribune Galio Veturius, who immediately helped Lucius sit down. ¡°I¡¯m fine Galio.¡± ¡°Check the door Gripa,¡± Galio ordered his aide, his face tense. ¡°There¡¯s no need¡­¡± Lucius started, but sensed that something was wrong. ¡°There¡¯s a rumor making the rounds,¡± The Tribune started, reading Lucius query. ¡°Not easy to contain.¡± Lucius unfurled the second scroll numbly, his mouth dry and absent taste.
My Lord Lucius Alden, It is with a heavy heart that I must inform you on the untimely passing of King Alistair Alden on the first week of the last month of winter, the year 190 of the New Calendar. Queen Regent Miranda Alden has taken over the duties of the throne of Regia at this difficult junction, until such a time the matter of succession can be resolved.
Lucius reached for the goblet of wine and drunk a hefty amount of it afore placing it back down on the table. Faye silently sobbed next to him, probably realizing this was more bad news by his body language and Galio who knew more appeared more angry than pensive. The newly promoted Tribune had a long history of service under his late father. The fact that King Alistair wasn¡¯t around anymore had stunned Lucius so much he barely functioned. The news coming so close after learning of Silvie¡¯s fate was even more devastating. He thought of Jeremy having to deal with all this and even Miranda who must have been shattered by the tragedies. ¡°What¡¯s the story?¡± He rustled. Untimely¡­ ¡°He was wounded afore the battle of the Turncoats,¡± Galio reported what he¡¯d heard through the grapevine. ¡°Stabbed in the back during negotiations.¡± Ah. ¡°What battle? What negotiations?¡± Lucius murmured reaching for his cup with one hand, the other clasping Faye¡¯s who tried hard to keep her crying muffled. ¡°With Antoon. At Riverdor, every lord and King was there is the word. It turned into a three day battle that ended in the coastal road leading to Alden.¡± ¡°Who won?¡± Lucius asked him calmly. ¡°It wasn¡¯t conclusive, but both the Second Foot and the First Legion were involved apparently. They¡¯ve taken huge casualties.¡± ¡°First Legion?¡± ¡°Lesia has one also. The Second, which makes ours the Third I suppose,¡± Galio commented. ¡°Was this retaliation?¡± Lucius asked and Faye gasped horrified at the thought. ¡°I don¡¯t see how milord,¡± Galio replied sternly. ¡°This happened afore we reached Krakenhall.¡± ¡°The second missive wasn¡¯t written by Canutia,¡± Lucius observed. ¡°Probably she relayed what they had send to her milord, there are almost six months apart.¡± Storm warning him the succession wasn¡¯t resolved. A curious note to add in such a missive. Even more suspicious it wasn¡¯t spoken plainly but weaved into the wording. The vultures are gathering. Lucius breathed out slowly and got up. He felt a little unstable for a moment, but quickly found his footing and turned to the Tribune his face dark. ¡°The Legion will move to the Montfoot, Tribune,¡± He said simply and an equally dark-faced Galio nodded. ¡°Give them tonight, but on the morrow we march.¡±
The two moons appeared on the dark skies the moment the clouds retreated. The rain hadn¡¯t lasted, but it had washed some of the ice away and darkened the ground. Lucius walked slowly on the sludge and stopped at a distance from the fires burning in the middle of their camp. His heart heavy, he didn¡¯t want to mingle with the soldiers enjoying a last respite before the campaign resumed anew the next day. He breathed the damp air and smelled the forest waking up for the coming summer. It will be a short one up there, before the winter returned and blocked the roads towards Kas. The Issirs knew the window of opportunity he had and they were going to expect him to make the crossing as soon as possible. Either going straight south towards Brownfort and Canlita Sea following the road, or turn east after Wolvesbane Castle towards Kas and return from the same mountain paths he¡¯d used the first time. Faye got out of the soon to be brought down building, approached walking with difficulty and hugged him with both her arms over his armour. The couple almost hidden, watched the men singing near the fires in silent mourning, before she broke the moment. ¡°My heart weeps for yer family,¡± Faye murmured with a shiver. ¡°Alas my fear brought this on us.¡± ¡°No it didn¡¯t,¡± Lucius corrected her, his voice hoarse. ¡°It was people that did it. Kings and lords, assassins.¡± ¡°You could have been there, instead of shackled to us,¡± She argued, just as a fancy dressed man got up and started playing notes with his lute, the soldiers following along with rhythmic clapping. ¡°Never say this again. I¡¯ve caused you much pain and suffering and you¡¯ve given me only joy,¡± Lucius admonished her, his voice softening at the end of it and cracking, mouth touching the top of her luscious mane. ¡°Had I not met you, I wouldn¡¯t have survived this night.¡± ¡°I wish I could give you more,¡± She replied, very moved as well. ¡°Gods give same as they take,¡± Lucius rustled. ¡°Slippery, divine ecstasy,¡± The bard sang, his voice uncouth at first either due to drunkenness, or a case of cold, but gaining momentum and mellowing up soon after. ¡°Hey that¡¯s yours,¡± Faye chuckled turning to watch, her eyes gleaming in the dark and Lucius wiped his face with the back of his hand quickly. Lucius listened to the bard singing for a while, Faye humming along secure in his arms, until the heir to Regia realized he was holding her too tight without realizing it. He relaxed his grip on her and Faye pushed her head back in silent acknowledgement. ¡°Be gone spirits of the past, this trail leads us away,¡± The bard finished up the chorus finding his rhythm in the end. You shall own it, never allow it to fester, or vanish, in the ploys of yester.
Legatus Lucius Alden reached the Montfoot Bridge on the waning days of the first month of summer, the year 190 of the New Calendar. Northern lore says he paused afore crossing it again, fifteen months after he¡¯d barely escaped over it and called for ¡®Scarlet¡¯ Faye Alden to approach. It was a clear summer night though the cold was probably bitter. They shared a moment watching the Legion banners marching across under the light of the torches and decided on a name for their soon to be born child. Lord Sirio Veturius The Fall of Heroes Chapter II (Legatus Lucius Alden, Northern campaigns, Second Year Prelude to the 2nd battle of the Montfoot, Early summer of 190 NC)
213. The High Queen’s bodyguard (1/2)
Sir Shane Est Ravn The High Queen¡¯s bodyguard Part I -Forget about Uher son-
The crude but sturdy six meters in length stone table that had the huge map of the two continents carved on it, remained quiet for a while after the High King¡¯s departure, but slowly the members of the Council and prominent people present started talking again. The topics a rehash of points that had been mentioned in front of King Antoon earlier. Sir Shane Est Ravn pushed with his legs and felt the high back chair against his spine over the armour. His eyes hurting from the heavy fumes of the many lit oil lamps, as he examined those present afore the imposing Wyvern¡¯s Throne, the baleful but skillfully carved beast¡¯s head rising behind the seat, its claws clasping at the gold stiles and the large wings opening up behind it. Lord Treasurer, Mikel De Weer was sitting on his right shoulder, with his father Lord Anker to his left. Van Durren¡¯s man and proxy, Sir Stefan Verbeek was sitting next to his father and Lord Sigurd Bach in his black robes next to Lord Mikel. High Inquisitor Kelholt on the other edge of the table than the one Antoon had occupied until recently. The commander of the Royal Guard Sir Kobus Van Eunen stood near the door rigid at the sudden summon to the King, but Sir Shane couldn¡¯t see his face under the helm in the dimness of the White Tower¡¯s ground floor. Whilst massive in size the old square tower was still more a vault than a palace. ¡°So not even two thousand soldiers are ready to march?¡± His father asked Lord Sigurd Bach. Shane raised his head to listen, a little worried for his older brother Sir Thor that was leading the operation. His oldest brother Sir Marc was with the rest of the Second Foot in Riverdor recovering from the Battle of the Turncoats. ¡°More than two hundred casualties on the beach Lord Anker,¡± Lord Sigurd replied, the shady man looking at his scrolls. ¡°Several drowned when the ice broke apart from the shelling. It was the force returning from the assault at the fort that seized their catapults and saved the landings.¡± ¡°You¡¯re throwing shade at my son Lord Bach?¡± His father grunted not pleased. ¡°What he¡¯s accomplished is a feat worthy of lavish praise!¡± ¡°It¡¯s a report Lord Anker,¡± Kaltha¡¯s Master of Silence replied, keeping his voice steady. ¡°Not an insult.¡± ¡°Is the port still working?¡± Lord Mikel asked and the two men broke off their staring contest to answer him. ¡°The port is ruined,¡± Lord Sigurd replied. ¡°The port is serviceable,¡± His father said. Sir Shane sighed and prayed to Uher for a miracle. ¡°Can they move towards Raoz?¡± Archmagister Kelholt asked, his roughly sewn and pious woolen robes standing out amidst the more fancy dressed lords and knights present. ¡°The Cofols are retreating and we control the port,¡± His father replied. ¡°The weather is opening up and the ice is melting. We can supply them with the fleet and reinforce them,¡± He paused at that with a grimace. ¡°Unless that harlot in Regia decides to test us.¡± ¡°Riverdor is lacking the men Lord Anker,¡± Sir Verbeek reminded him. ¡°We are still trying to reform the First Foot, but it is very difficult at this point. Lord Van Durren would also like for the Council to discuss the Lakelords conduct during the conference and their actions during the battle.¡± ¡°What actions?¡± Lord Anker scoffed at his words. ¡°Lord Hoff went east instead of south citing confusion for crying out loud!¡± ¡°The Lord Shield wanted to draw attention to Lord Van Calcar¡¯s conduct¡ª¡± ¡°At least the man had a reason for not fighting!¡± His father interrupted him and seeing Sir Shane¡¯s grimace of distaste at the Duke of Pascor¡¯s behavior he added. ¡°My son disagrees.¡± ¡°Stealing a lady from her home is hardly befitting a Lord,¡± Sir Shane replied evenly. ¡°Nor is allowed by the words of Uher. We aren¡¯t pirates, or cutthroats.¡± ¡°Young Shane is quite right,¡± Kelholt agreed. ¡°Lord Van Calcar is a sinful man unbefitting his position.¡± ¡°Are you spying on the Realm¡¯s lords now High Inquisitor?¡± Lord Mikel asked him. ¡°Uher¡¯s Light sees all Lord Mikel,¡± Kelholt replied looking at him over the table with judging eyes. And weights their souls against their deeds on the same scales. ¡°With two priests on our Council,¡± His father said with a thin smile. ¡°This is bound to turn into a sermon gents.¡± Sir Shane wasn¡¯t of the same opinion, but commotion was heard from outside the throne room. Sir Kobus snapped his head back and went to open the door to investigate, as the hour was late. The moment he opened the doors Sir Shane heard the night-servant¡¯s screams and the heavy boots running up the tower¡¯s staircase. Every guard on the first floor was heading upstairs it seemed, whilst men were heard calling for a Dottore. ¡°The Queen?¡± His father asked getting up, just as Shane jumped on his feet as well. Everyone moving on the large table. ¡°Close the doors!¡± Yelled someone from the top of the stairs looking down. Sir Shane got out of the double doors and run towards the tower¡¯s entrance. The guards had rushed upstairs and the single sentry left had collapsed on his face, the conned helm warped where it¡¯d stricken the granite tiles. He reached over him amidst the chaos and made to help him upright, but realized a couple of things immediately. Firstly the man had a dagger sticking out of the left side of his neck, the blood pooling around his head. Secondly there was a figure standing two meters away from him and next to the open outer doors, just about ready to slip outside into Issir¡¯s Eagle Main Square built around the White Tower. The cloaked figure had a black hood on his, or her head and it was as if he¡¯d just appeared out of nowhere, or out of the dark hall¡¯s shades, because there was no one there when Sir Shane had first approached the entrance. ¡°You!¡± Shane barked and reached for his longsword. ¡°GUARDS, OVER HERE!¡± The figure made a backward step and then another going out of the gates with Sir Shane following right after it, his sword drawn. The night air cooled his sweaty face and the lights of the square danced for a moment in front of his eyes. The figure stopped and turned to face him, half a smile formed on a wicked mouth and pointed a finger somewhere over his left shoulder. Sir Shane glanced that way alarmed and saw another similarly dressed figure about thirty meters away aiming a crossbow at him. Uher provide assistance, the young knight prayed and ducked instinctively, the nasty bolt whistling over his right ear. Sir Shane put a gloved hand down on the square¡¯s rough stone tiles as he lost his footing for a moment, but managed to stabilize himself and stood upright quickly. The second figure¡¯s feet were heard as it slipped into one of the many alleys surrounding the square and the government buildings, whilst the smaller-bodied first assassin who was standing not even three meters from Sir Shane, just in front of the open space hugging the White Tower had simply vanished into thin air. You don¡¯t sent such a skilled assassin to murder the Queen, he thought with a shiver. When the King is in the same building.
Lord Anker grabbed him by the arm and pulled him near to whisper in his ear, the moment he returned inside. ¡°How many of your Golden Spears are in the city?¡± Sir Shane stared at his father surprised. The young knight was still too stunned at the events to follow Lord Anker¡¯s logic. ¡°Sir Albert Kosters with a squad of thirty.¡± ¡°Bring them in,¡± Lord Anker ordered him. ¡°What did the High Inquisitor¡ª?¡± ¡°Leave the Church out of it son,¡± Lord Anker stopped him. ¡°This needs to be dealt with decisively.¡± His tone ominous. ¡°What needs to be dealt with decisively father?¡± Sir Shane asked trying to stand back, but his father¡¯s grip was steely. ¡°Bring them in, I¡¯ll talk to the Archmagister. We need the numbers son,¡± Lord Anker cautioned him and let go of his arm.
The mood had taken a turn for the worse as more details became known in the hour that had followed the attempt on the King¡¯s life. Antoon had been gravely injured, but the Dottore had managed to remove the spear from his ribs and stabilize his condition. The armour he had on directed the steel tip away from his vital organs, but created a nasty gashing wound that was difficult for the physicians to patch up. ¡°The spear tip broke two of his ribs,¡± Sigurd was reporting. ¡°But it¡¯s the head injury that worries his Dottore the most. A piece of skull has detached and his brains are showing.¡± Uher¡¯s light shine upon him, Shane prayed, the news disturbing. ¡°What spear?¡± Lord Mikel spat. ¡°They said it was a broomstick.¡± ¡°It was a spear disguised as one,¡± Sigurd replied sternly. ¡°An assassin escaped the premises after killing a guard,¡± Sir Verbeek said.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Two assassins,¡± Shane corrected him, his mouth bitter. ¡°At least.¡± ¡°What about the head injury?¡± His father asked Sigurd. ¡°Has the King said what happened?¡± ¡°The King isn¡¯t talking Lord Anker,¡± Sigurd replied evenly. ¡°But he will right?¡± Lord Mikel asked wiping his face with a hankie. The Treasurer¡¯s hands were shaking. Lord Sigurd grimaced and sat down on his seat. ¡°Lord Sigurd?¡± His father asked him. ¡°Can Antoon assume his duties?¡± ¡°The King is gravely injured Lord Anker,¡± Sigurd replied. ¡°Unresponsive. I don¡¯t¡­ I can¡¯t answer this query at this moment.¡± ¡°Who knows of the assault?¡± Sir Verbeek asked. ¡°We need to stop this from spreading.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t keep this contained,¡± Lord Sigurd said. ¡°I¡¯ll have word from my man about Regia¡¯s intentions in a couple of days.¡± What has Regia got to do with this? Surely he isn¡¯t suggesting¡­ Sir Shane stared at his father and Lord Anker rubbed his eyes with a hand, the frown on his face remaining. ¡°The Duchess of Krakenhall has agreed to uphold the standing contracts for iron,¡± Lord Mikel said, a strange change in topic amidst the current crisis. ¡°The Duchess,¡± His father scoffed at his words, before he caught himself. ¡°The reports say she¡¯s broken with the Jarl Lord Anker,¡± Sigurd elucidated. ¡°How do you know it¡¯s not a ruse?¡± His father grunted. ¡°The Jarl¡¯s forces haven¡¯t entered Krakenhall is the word,¡± Sigurd replied. ¡°Sir Lucius departed as well.¡± ¡°That Northern-loving traitor!¡± Lord Anker blasted him and Sigurd grimaced. ¡°There is evidence this is not the case¡ª¡± ¡°You¡¯ll defend him!¡± ¡°I merely state facts Lord Anker,¡± Sigurd replied. ¡°Not dictating policy. This I leave to the King.¡± ¡°The King is incapacitated Lord Sigurd,¡± His father growled. ¡°Leaving us with a ton of problems to deal with in his absence.¡± ¡°If the rumors are true,¡± Sigurd insisted. ¡°Then the Duchess might not be a problem at this time.¡± ¡°What rumors?¡± Lord Mikel asked intrigued. ¡°She has an Issir lover and a child that isn¡¯t a Lorian,¡± Sigurd said looking at him. ¡°The Jarl will never accept it.¡± ¡°A bastard?¡± ¡°A mix-breed, she may legitimize it.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t have a harlot ruling at Krakenhall!¡± Kelholt hissed striking the butt of his gold Staff on the stone tiles. ¡°If she stays out of my borders I can tolerate a sinner Kelholt,¡± Lord Anker admonished him with a glare. ¡°This is politics and we¡¯re at war.¡± ¡°You think Uher will forgive¡ª¡± ¡°Uher can strike her down if he so wishes!¡± Lord Anker cut him off midsentence. ¡°Can Lord Shield take over until the King is up on his feet?¡± Lord Mikel asked unsure and Sir Shane caught Lord Sigurd¡¯s expression before the man could hide it. He glanced towards his father and Lord Anker¡¯s scowl told him, he¡¯d caught it as well. ¡°My Lord is too unwell to make the journey,¡± Sir Verbeek reported what they all knew. Uher help us, he prayed, seeing the implications. The old Shield¡¯s condition wasn¡¯t the problem here. Antoon isn¡¯t going to make it, Shane thought with a shiver.
¡°Where¡¯s Sir Kosters?¡± Lord Anker asked, pulling him aside the moment the Council was over an hour later. The King¡¯s condition unchanged and still critical. ¡°At the Northern gates,¡± Sir Shane reported. ¡°I have ten men ¡®reinforcing¡¯ the tower¡¯s guards at the entrance. Why?¡± His father sighed deeply and looked at the dark hall outside the Throne room. Some of the Golden Spears were talking with the guards at the entrance of the tower. Many people still moving about despite the late hour. ¡°The Dottore said the Queen can move,¡± His father said in a hushed tone. Queen Nienke was heavily pregnant. ¡°She will ask to see her husband, in case the worst comes to past.¡± Sir Shane frowned. ¡°What¡¯s this have¡­?¡± His father stopped him with a sign of his hand. ¡°I¡¯ll recommend you to escort her out of her quarters,¡± Lord Anker replied. ¡°Your honor is undisputable son.¡± Shane stood back. ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll bring her down the back stairs, through the tunnels and exit after the North Market near the Red Bridge.¡± ¡°You want to bring the Queen at the banks of Chinos River in her condition?¡± Shane queried, barely managing to keep his voice subdued. ¡°I want her over the bridge and on her way to Midlanor afore the sun is up,¡± His father explained looking at him. ¡°This is important son. Birds are flying to Eplas even as we speak.¡± Shane licked his dry lips. ¡°What¡¯s there?¡± He croaked. ¡°Shane,¡± His father said and grabbed his arm. ¡°Get the Queen out son. I will depart from the main entrance to create a diversion.¡± ¡°Kidnap her. This is against¡­¡± ¡°She knows what¡¯s going on.¡± ¡°We should notify the other Lords. Seek permission¡ª¡± ¡°Forget about Uher Shane and ¡®other¡¯ lords,¡± Lord Anker told him gravely. ¡°This is politics. You¡¯ve had enough time to indulge in your pious endeavors all those years, now it¡¯s time to join the grownups son and do your bloody part. ¡± ¡°Father we can¡¯t use the Order for this!¡± Shane argued anxiously. ¡°I fund your bloody order, hells I pay for all of Kelholt¡¯s stupid schemes son,¡± His father admonished him. ¡°If it makes you feel any better, then hear this. If Nienke isn¡¯t out of this tower tonight, she won¡¯t live to see another day. What¡¯s your knightly honor say about that?¡± ¡°I shall protect the Queen father,¡± Shane said chastised. ¡°Whatever it takes,¡± Lord Anker rustled. ¡°Don¡¯t fail your family Shane.¡±
Queen Nienke covered in a dark cloak, her white hair gathered at her nape, stared at him with fear in her eyes. She had both her hands over her belly, the bulge showing despite her clothes. ¡°Sir Shane,¡± She gasped. ¡°I was expecting Sir Daemon.¡± Sir Daemon Hand was Sir Kobus¡¯ second in command in the Royal Guard. The third in rank being Sir Marcel Buld, but seeing as he was Princess Elsanne¡¯s loyal guard for years, Antoon didn¡¯t want him near his wife. ¡°He¡¯s on campaign my Queen. We need to move,¡± Shane replied. ¡°Can I see my husband?¡± She asked him, following after his lead. ¡°I¡¯m afraid you can¡¯t,¡± He replied and turned to look at her. ¡°We are short of time your grace.¡± The Queen nodded and pressed her lips tightly. ¡°Will the ¡®Priest Knight of Midlanor¡¯ speak truthfully, Sir Shane?¡± She asked him shaking. ¡°Always my Queen,¡± Shane replied and ushered her behind the large statue of Reinut dominating the hallway outside her quarters. Shane grabbed an oil lamp from the wall, then pulled at the small lever behind its pedestal and waited for the hidden door to open fully. ¡°Is my husband going to live?¡± Nienke asked him and Shane paused at the small dark opening leading to the concealed staircase leading to the tunnels under the tower. His eyes rested on the lovely, but strained face of the High Queen of Kaltha, his heart heavy for her. ¡°He shall live through your child my Queen,¡± He replied and offered her his gloved hand. Nienke gulped down and reached to take it without a word.
There was mold and heavy humidity inside the dark tunnels. Rats dashing away from them and the ground underfoot filthy with animal excrement mixed with mud. Spider webs and ominous silence dominating most of the long narrow path they had taken. Shane led the way, the place unfamiliar to him, but according to the instructions this tunnel was straightforward. It had one junction where the tunnel turned into two and he was to take the left one there to reach the Northern Market. No one said anything and the Queen had to take frequent stops to rest, which made the two hour journey turn into a four hour slog. Shane knew he had to reach the market and the bridge afore the sun came up in order to have a chance to escape. The more he delayed inside the tunnels, the more time the guards would have to react to the Queen¡¯s absence. Whatever the case may be, if he was caught at any point he¡¯d have to fight his way out and then reach the bridge beyond the Northern Gates and its guards. Sir Albert Kosters was tasked with neutralizing the threat there, but it wasn¡¯t an easy assignment. Anything could go wrong and a stray patrol might slip through the loyal knight¡¯s fingers. Failure meant his head and it would probably end the same way even if he succeeded, as his father would still need to win the succession struggle that would soon follow. Of course in the event the Queen didn¡¯t make it, or her child perished somehow, all this would be mute. So Sir Shane stopped every time the Queen asked him for it.
The end of the tunnel was a rusty iron door with a padlock that came off when he gave it a good kick. The door impossible to open at first, but he managed it giving it his all, just as panic started setting in. They reached the surface at the base of the walls of the city, the side facing the Chinos River. One of its branches was coming from the Smallake, the other crossed the Crimson Forest after coming down from Great White Mountain Range. The red-brick bridge over it was named Median, or Mid Bridge, but everyone was calling it ¡®Red¡¯ on account of its color. The Northern Gates were about a kilometer from the bridge and to their east. Shane intended to go straight for the bridge and wait for Sir Albert to appear afore the sun came up. Escape without him if the knight failed to appear, using any means necessary. Sir Shane hoped it wouldn¡¯t come to that, but seeing as Uher always likened putting his subjects to the test, Sir Marcel Buld was waiting for him at the bridge. The three men with him wearing black robes and armed with long thin knives. The Knight of the Royal Guard, rich white mustache on his upper lip dancing, smiled thinly seeing him and stood back on his warhorse. ¡°Sir Shane Est Ravn,¡± He said in his baritone voice. ¡°I expected someone less pious gallivanting in the dark of night with the Queen. I¡¯m shocked sir. Why, the scandal shall ruin both yer reputations surely.¡± Shane stood back, a hand keeping the breathing heavy Queen away, the other on the pommel of his longsword. The sky had turned a dark red color over their heads as the night was on its last legs. ¡°Sir Marcel, since when do you keep company with Oras disciples?¡± He asked him judgmentally. The Knight snorted and reached for his heavy lance. ¡°The day he casted the Princess aside,¡± He said gravely. ¡°People vowed to make things right.¡± Are you serious? ¡°The Princess is shackled to a foreigner and thousands of miles away Sir Marcel!¡± Shane blasted him unsheathing his sword. ¡°Don¡¯t force my hand!¡± ¡°She¡¯s next in line,¡± Sir Marcel replied cruelly. ¡°The Realm can¡¯t wait for what¡¯s in there, Sir Shane. Give her up and no one will think less of you. The way I see it, no one will know.¡± But I would, Shane thought and the Knight seeing it in his face kicked with his legs and started his horse going. They were ten meters apart, so not enough time for a full charge, but you don¡¯t need it to skewer a man with the long lance, he thought and stepped away from a screaming Nienke, one eye on the onrushing horse and the other on the three thugs Lord Sigurd had sent to do the dirty deed. Sir Shane had never killed a man in his one and twenty years, but if he wanted to save the pregnant High Queen, he would have to kill four in a day. At least. 214. The High Queen’s bodyguard (2/2)
¡°Wher¡¯ did ye get the sword lass?¡± The ancient half-breed brigand asked mouth crooking on the left side, showing a couple of rotten teeth, with more black and yellow than white on them. The young Issir narrowed her fiercely-green eyes, rich white hair forming thin cornrow braids on her head dancing, when she turned to glare at him. She¡¯d raised a mocking eyebrow to get her message across. ¡°She¡¯s a feisty one this,¡± His young Lorian friend commented tauntingly. Their differences striking to her. The young man, was devilishly handsome and dressed in leather finery from his boots to his expensive armour. He had a gold earring on his left ear, that garnet stone on it alone worth¡¯s good coin, she thought eyeing him. ¡°But that¡¯s a legitimate query miss. This a knight¡¯s blade yer carrying, pretty sheath and all.¡± ¡°It was my father¡¯s,¡± Nienke replied angrily. ¡°You ain¡¯t taking it you foul brigand!¡± ¡°Haha,¡± The young brigand guffawed wickedly. Handsome are the devils and their spawns, she told herself. Ever vigilant must be the faithful to their mischief. ¡°What need have I of a blade? We were just curious is all, made a small bet about it.¡± ¡°A wager sire?¡± Nienke asked disapprovingly and he seemed taken aback at her tone. ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± He replied and turned to his friend. The maimed brigand old enough to be his grandfather. ¡°Gotta pay up old man. I¡¯m sorry but ye clearly lost this one.¡± ¡°She could¡¯ve lied chief!¡± The old man protested spittle flying out of his crooked mouth. ¡°Nah, I don¡¯t think she¡¯s that kind of lass,¡± The young man replied returning her stare with a wink that made her blush to the roots of her ebony skin. ¡°That¡¯s pretty convenient,¡± His friend argued not happy with his explanation. ¡°The lass is right I reckon, yer a fuckin¡¯ brigand Silvio.¡±
Sir Shane Est Ravn The High Queen¡¯s bodyguard Part II -If your soul is worthy enough-
The warhorse neighed deafeningly, nostrils expanding, lips pulled back to its dark red gums and large black eyes gawking panicked as it charged ahead. Iron hooves digging at the ground and the sound of galloping thunderous. Shane saw the heavy lance leading almost a body ahead and twisted away on his toes, torso turning and the longsword lashing out. The lance went through the robes he wore over his armour, steel tip clanging as it slid on his spaulders ¨Cthe angle helping- and almost knocked him aside. Sir Marcel went past him yelling profanities whilst dancing on the saddle, a leg hanging loose as Shane had slashed at the stirrup leather in his botched attack and trying desperately to stay upright, but failing. Sir Marcel slipped from the saddle, just as Shane twirled on his feet trying to find his balance, a part of his robes torn apart at the shoulder and his ears ringing. One of Oras Servants slashed at him with his long knife, the blade striking his breastplate and deflecting upwards to nick his chin. Blood trickled down his neck, as Shane pivoted with his boots slipping in the mud and hacked blindly, his blade dancing upwards as well. It got the man as he made to step aside and knife the knight in the ribs. The longsword carved a cavernous wound out of his face, splitting his lower jaw apart looping viciously and coming out of his ruined mouth. The Issir let out a gurgling moan, only the root of his mauled tongue showing and warm blood painted Shane¡¯s blade down to its grip. It made it slippery. Shane stepped aside, mud and gore covering his boots and his shockingly maimed opponent stumbled away, another taking his place. The new man, eyes a bright green and sporting a white beard but for his upper lip that was cleanly shaved, roared something indecipherable and tried to stab him in the neck. His opponent missed when Shane jerked away, but foolishly went at it again jumping forward and got his right arm chopped off a couple of fingers under the elbow by the Knight¡¯s returning sword. The severed piece flew in the air between them still holding on to the long knife, gore spreading over both men. ¡°Argh!¡± The second man said, more stunned than in pain seeing his arm hitting the ground. Then he started screaming, as you can only be stunned for so long. Shane punched him in the face, steel heavy gauntlet covering his knuckles ripping the teeth off the screaming man¡¯s mouth and splitting his lips. The man¡¯s head was knocked back, Shane stepped forward to finish him off, but got a knife where his plate cuirass met the spaulders, the thin blade slipping through the seams and jerked to the right panicked. Uher cast yer light over this unworthy disciple. The knife came out painted red and the third Oras Servant made a gnarled face, stumbling forward after the attempt. Shane felt his sword tip hit the ground as he twisted away and he slashed upwards in an arc on instinct. He got the man right between the legs and lifted his robes up, the blade going through hemp pants, splitting cock and scrotum right at the middle, then slicing open his belly afore exiting a mere palm under the sternum. Deliver yer justice over his foes. ¡°Curse ye!¡± Sir Marcel yelled behind Shane, the man facing him just letting out a guttural groan, both hands desperately trying stop his ravaged innards from spilling down, but failing. The stench coming from the grotesque pile of gore nauseating. Shane stepped away, bleeding down his chin and having a burning wound stuck between the shoulder and upper left part of his chest. Three minutes into the fight, he¡¯d managed to even out the odds, but Sir Marcel, now sporting a longsword wasn¡¯t just going to give up. Shane knew that because he offered it. ¡°Let us go Sir Buld. You don¡¯t want to do this.¡± ¡°You¡¯re on the wrong side priest,¡± Marcel spat and attacked him ending the brief respite. Shane felt fear gripping his throat, no air coming through when he attempted to breathe and the knight of Tyeus went right, then left with large confident strides, his longsword hissing as it came down, the rising sun catching its steel blade and turning it a sinister red color. Shane parried with his sword, blades clanging, fat sparks alike tiny stars exploding outwards and sidestepped to attempt a low cut of his own. Marcel half-turned, pulled his leg back and slashed at him viciously. Shane abandoned his attack mid-move and put a blade up to deflect his opponent¡¯s. Marcel¡¯s sword pushed his back towards his face, with Shane jerking his head away, banged on his chest and then slid down to open a gash ¨Ca finger in length- on his padded-mail left leg, right above the poleyn-covered knee. ¡°Ah!¡± Shane roared and switched grip on his sword in the same breath to cut Sir Marcel across the face. His fingers slipped on the handle, rough leather gloves soaked underneath the half-gauntlet, the blade turning mid-air and smacking the side of Sir Marcel¡¯s helm with the flat right above the shielded ear. CLANG! Went the knight¡¯s helm rattling him hard. Sir Marcel stumbled on rubbery legs trying to get away, but Shane who¡¯d gotten control of his sword in the meantime stepped forward, left leg dragging behind and slashed in a semicircle starting low and rising. A dazed Marcel turned on instinct and raised an arm to block the attack, the blade striking his steel vambrace and deflecting it sideways. Marcel realizing he was in a bind snarled irate, teeth showing through the slits of his visor, whilst Shane switched his grip on the handle again on the return, but kept the blade high and parallel to the ground. Marcel still roaring, half-dazed half-panicked tried to step back to put some distance between them, but the blade caught him on the right shoulder and bounced off of it, a fiery spark almost taking Shane¡¯s left eye out, ended up in the knight¡¯s face and lodged in the narrow slit of his Bascinet helm visor. Marcel had lowered it at some point, or Shane¡¯s previous attack had dropped it, but even so Uher wasn¡¯t on his side. The blade had lunged inside, stricken at the bridge of his nose, cutting skin, thin flesh and tiny tendons and then broken the skull-bones underneath it. Shane realizing what had transpired shoved his long-bladed weapon fully inside savagely with a twitch of his shoulder. The longsword plunged through the half-shattered skull, pulverized Marcel¡¯s brains, found the back of his skull and broke through that too, stopping with a loud bang on the back of his steel helm. Sir Marcel¡¯s roar was cut in half, his body turning to rubber and only his arms and right leg twitched occasionaly, as he was held upright by Shane¡¯s blade. The knight put a boot on his opponent¡¯s chest and retrieved his sword. Marcel went down on his back with a loud thud, body half-burying itself in the soft muddy ground and the helm popping off the mangled, mushy top of his head, the knight¡¯s mouth frozen in a bloody half-snarl. Gods forgive me. Shane faltered, breathing fast, his ears ringing and tried desperately to keep his stomach under control, a battle he failed to win.
¡°Sir Est Ravn?¡± The High Queen asked, face pale and looking as sick as Shane felt after retching three times already.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡°Stay back!¡± He warned her. ¡°You don¡¯t want to see this,¡± He added then realized the first man was alive, a gurgling faceless zombie stumbling in horrifying agony in circles around them. With a grimace and vomit lodged in his throat Shane walked towards him, clenching at the handle of his longsword so hard, he could hear the bones creaking in protest. ¡°Uher¡¯s Glorious Heaven¡¯s,¡± Nienke gasped in shock, when he tried to finish the maimed man off with a high chop at his neck. It wasn¡¯t a good attack, as his arms were weak and he felt sick. So a pale-faced Sir Shane had to raise his sword and strike at the collapsed on his knees and wrecked with spasms man again. Once and he almost chopped his head off, but a bit of flesh and skin kept it hanging sideways grotesquely. He clenched his jaw and went at it one more time from the other side. This time his opponent¡¯s severed head hit the ground with a thud after flying in a bloody arc and rolled slowly in the mud, no longer resembling a head. ¡°Sir Shane,¡± Nienke said barely able to speak and a sweaty, breathing heavy knight turned to stare at her with bulging eyes. His instincts, or Uher himself, telling him this wasn¡¯t over. ¡°I think it¡¯s coming,¡± The Queen of Kaltha said and she had as much fear in her voice, as despair.
The aged magister raised his head, washed out green eyes burning with renewed fervor. The ragged yellow robes hissing as they got dragged on the ground, when he moved. His voice raspy and judgmental. ¡°Do not question Godsfather¡¯s designs boy. Uher¡¯s light shall fall upon the unworthy, burn their flesh away. Torch their words and their voices. Melt their lines away. If what¡¯s left of your soul is worthy enough, it¡¯ll outweigh your deeds however foul and be saved. Not the other way around.¡±
Nienke opened her mouth impossibly wide, the strain distorting her lovely face, the pain gnawing at her soul and the cry escaping her white lips ghastly. It went on and on, her nails digging inside Shane¡¯s forearm and drawing blood. Red was her undergarment and a stale crimson painted her thighs darker. The color of the mud under her uncovered legs. Shane turned his head towards the bridge they had crossed an hour back and was still visible in the distance. He¡¯d forgotten about his own injuries in the desperate attempt to help the High Queen deliver her baby. The sun had come up slowly on the sky and people would start appearing on the road soon. They shall find the slain first and then discover them loitering by the road. The baby wouldn¡¯t come out properly. Nienke pushed screaming, turning into a drenched bloody wraith, giving it all she had, her eyes bloodshot and wild with pain and deeply rooted fear. Oh, ye mighty Godsfather offer solace to the faithful, Shane prayed trying to clean some of the blood and fluids away, both shamed at handling the Queen¡¯s private parts and scared he wasn¡¯t doing enough to help her. ¡°You¡­ need,¡± Nienke gasped, her teeth rattling, hard nails tearing at his skin and the strength behind them otherworldly. ¡°¡­to save my baby.¡± ¡°My Queen,¡± Shane croaked and heard horses coming over the bridge. A lot of horses. ¡°I won¡¯t lose¡­ another,¡± Nienke¡¯s strangled hoarse voice said, then turned to pleading. ¡°I beg of you¡­ good sir.¡± Ah, I don¡¯t know what to do, gods help me, Shane thought, feeling overwhelmed and weakened from blood loss.
It shall outweigh your deeds. However foul.
Nienke reached for his waistband and found his Imperial steel dagger. The handle on it made out of one piece of ivory, the five-headed Hydra of Midlanor engraved on it alike his longsword, an ancient priest weapon of another era and his father¡¯s gift when he came of age. She took it out of its expensive leather sheath, white-gray blade catching the sun¡¯s rays and shining once from hilt to tip. Shane grabbed at her hand, but she fought him for it. Her strength great at first but diminishing. Her ebony face turning grey first and slowly white alike his blade. The blood loss too great. Shane could feel it soaking his knees and legs through his pants. Sipping into his armour, and coagulating at the joints. Nienke snarled once, more animal than person and she let go of the blade. Shane caught it before it dropped into the gory mud between them and breathed once deeply, hearing his name being called from afar. Half in recognition, half in warning. If your soul is worthy enough. ¡°Do it¡­¡± The High Queen had commanded. ¡°Save¡­¡± Her voice going away for a moment, although a grief-stricken Shane could understand her. ¡°¡­ Whatever the cost.¡±
¡°Lord Commander,¡± Sir Albert Kosters said treading carefully, when he turned towards them, the tiny life in his bloody hands. All Shane could see and smell was gore. He could taste it on his tongue, felt it stuck in his gums and down his throat, as if he was bleeding internally. ¡°I have orders from your father.¡± Shane stared at the wrapped up small soul in his arms. ¡°There¡¯s an inn at the turn of the road. A devout woman runs it,¡± He rustled at his second in command in the Order. ¡°I intend to rush there Sir Albert to save Queen¡¯s offspring.¡± ¡°There¡¯s another plan in the works sire,¡± Sir Albert responded looking at him strange. ¡°In case this didn¡¯t go well.¡± Shane stopped on the way to the slain knight¡¯s horse. What other plan? He wondered. Forget Uher son, this is politics, the Lord of Midlanor had cautioned him. ¡°I can save her Sir Albert,¡± He argued measuring his words, now alarmed. The rest of the riders standing back nervously staring towards the bridge. They had four dead amongst them they¡¯d left behind and three injured they had dragged along tied on their saddles that might or might not make it. ¡°She¡¯s the Queen¡¯s daughter.¡± ¡°I fear that it¡¯s not good enough sire,¡± Sir Albert replied. ¡°Measures have been taken. I urge ye to read your father¡¯s orders.¡± ¡°I¡¯m getting on that horse Sir Albert,¡± Shane insisted brusquely. ¡°The Queen had a son milord. He¡¯s in Midlanor with his ailing mother,¡± The Knight said, his face torn between duty and their friendship. ¡°I can¡¯t let you take the baby.¡± Alive was his meaning. ¡°The Queen is dead. She¡¯s right there Sir Albert!¡± Shane admonished him and put one hand on the pommel of his longsword. ¡°And I have her daughter.¡± Sir Albert hanged his head. ¡°You won¡¯t make it sir. Please don¡¯t force me to do this.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll have us both killed?¡± Shane said shocked when he realized it. ¡°Albert you¡¯re my oldest friend!¡± ¡°Give me an alternative good sire, my old friend,¡± Albert pleaded with him. For a moment Albert was that small boy again that couldn¡¯t remember his prayers. Ah, there it is then. Praise be the all-knowing Uher''s designs. ¡°Sir Shane Est Ravn died protecting the High Queen,¡± Shane told him gravely and reached for his father¡¯s dagger. He got it out of its sheath, the blade gluey in Nienke¡¯s blood as he¡¯d forgotten to wipe it in his shock. ¡°You burry her properly back in Midlanor. She deserves it. Take her body with you.¡± ¡°I¡­¡± Sir Albert said. ¡°What about you? What about the girl?¡± ¡°She might not make it,¡± Shane replied, his mouth bitter and tossed him the dagger. ¡°Give it to my father. It¡¯s his. Tell the men I¡¯m too injured to follow. Use the blood on me as an excuse. Inform my mother I did all I could, but didn¡¯t make it. I¡¯ll disappear.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll give up the cloth? Yer position and name?¡± Sir Albert asked him, looking at the ancient dagger. Save her¡­ The High Queen had ordered him, because she knew even before hearing the baby¡¯s cry this wasn¡¯t what the Wyvern Throne wanted. The Throne was an unforgiving master. Whatever the cost. ¡°All we have is our soul, every bad deed we do feasts on it,¡± The ¡®Priest Knight of Midlanor¡¯ had answered him.
Shane stayed back to watch his former men riding away with the Queen¡¯s mutilated body, afore getting up the saddle to disappear as well. He headed towards the turn on the road leading to the bridge over the river Balworth and the city of Quarterport after crossing the Crimson Forest. The small girl started crying with a mighty voice the moment his foreign warhorse started moving. It reminded Shane of her mother, so he named her Nienke to honor his late Queen.
In the chaos that followed Antoon¡¯s assassination attempt, heavily pregnant High Queen Nienke tried to leave the capital. The reasons still debated till this day, with each side having completely different arguments. The decision was taken by Lord Anker Est Ravn according to most sources out of fear for her safety during those tumultuous days. He gave this crucial and sensitive mission to his third son and famed knight Sir Shane Est Ravn. No one would ever question Sir Shane¡¯s honor. The ¡®Priest Knight of Midlanor¡¯ always trustworthy and dutiful perished in the attempt to bring the High Queen to Midlanor. The conditions surrounding his demise peculiar, with his mother Lady Margaret going to her grave not accepting it. Whomever the assassins were had enough skill to overpower him was the official story. Sir Shane and his men did deliver the High Queen to Midlanor¡¯s ¡®safety¡¯ and under his father¡¯s sphere of influence. Queen Nienke unfortunately died birthing Antoon the third. The young boy, named after his incapacitated but surprisingly still breathing father, was to be a controversial figure in the years to come and Lord Anker¡¯s greatest asset in his rise to prominence. His youngest son¡¯s sacrifice paving the road for it. Lord Sirio Veturius Circa 206 NC The Fall of Heroes Chapter XXXV (Lord Anker Est Ravn, Duke of Midlanor, Keeper of the Forests, Guardian of Nordland Pass, Uher¡¯s First Sentinel and High Regent of the Realm. Uher¡¯s Will & Testament Volume II -The tale of the good Priest Knight- Circa, late spring of 190 NC
215. You think the King is a fool?
The Historian put his expensive, engraved white-gold quill down, the parchment thickly written in rich black ink and in that flowing elegant style few could read. He pushed his round glasses on the bridge of his nose and set his tired eyes on him. There was a touch of sadness in his stare. ¡°I didn¡¯t catch your name,¡± He said in his cultured voice, grey hair combed expertly on his head and deep wrinkles around his mouth forming hearing his response. ¡°Toutatis. That¡¯s not a common name,¡± He noticed. ¡°The ancient word for the god of War. Tyeus.¡± ¡°People just call me Tout,¡± Tout told him stretching his long sinewy legs, boots carrying the dirt of the road. ¡°I¡¯m a traveler.¡± ¡°Friend of my wife?¡± He asked with a small smile. ¡°Haven¡¯t seen one around here in a while.¡± Yet, there was always one lurking. ¡°Another was to come, check on her¡­ well-being,¡± Tout replied measuring his words, sole eye on the door of the veranda cracking open just a hair. The old assassin behind it listening in. ¡°Things happened back home that needed his undivided attention.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s home?¡± Where Wyverns roam. ¡°It¡¯s a distant land named Dan,¡± Tout replied and watched him standing up straighter, as if a jolt had run through him. The old man turning to a younger version of himself, remembering of past horrors and unresolved mysteries. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t know it, yet you do.¡± The Historian cleared his throat and glanced at his scrolls nervously. ¡°I served a man years ago that knew of things¡­ history has lost,¡± He sighed sadly. ¡°Or shall never allow to see the light of day.¡± ¡°Secrets are like that, they hide in whispers. They also never go away,¡± Tout elucidated, eyeing the door. He had to turn his head, as his left eye was missing. Half his face was slightly distorted, as if the flesh had been removed at one point in the past, then put back together without stitches. By memory and a sorceress magic. ¡°Is that why you are here?¡± ¡°Nah, I just came to check on her,¡± Tout replied with a hideous smile, hearing her gasp realizing who he was. ¡°And the boy.¡± They remain hidden, but there. Like Oras mark.
Lord Storm Nattas Baron of Moon''s Haven You think the King is a fool?
The rat¡¯s eyes were small and black. Two soulless pools of darkness. The rodent turned its head back on the bronze plate with the lukewarm beans and started slurping at the runny mixture. If one had never seen diarrhea in his life but really wanted to, there¡¯s a fucking prime example of it, Storm thought scrunching his nose in disgust. ¡°I need that plate,¡± Pardo the dungeon guard said, looking through the small square opening. He¡¯d a large mouth, a flat nose and eyes too close together. It¡¯s as if his face has morphed itself at some point in order to fit in that opening, Storm thought with a grimace, turned into a thin smile. ¡°Give the rat a couple of minutes to finish up,¡± He retorted, hands clasped behind his back. ¡°Just gobbles them motherfuckers down.¡± ¡°Fine beans yesterday,¡± Pardo agreed, apparently in a talking mood today. Having said that¡­ ¡°It¡¯s this morning¡¯s meal,¡± Storm noted with a frown. Pardo returned his stare blankly. ¡°Fine beans,¡± He repeated to get his point across. Not to be wasted. ¡°That¡¯s what the rat said,¡± Storm deadpanned. ¡°Wasn¡¯t convinced then, I ain¡¯t buying it now.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Storm agreed at that and went to get the plate. Just looking at it turned his stomach and he was hungry as a wolf keeping a harem of bitches. For four days he¡¯d only had bread and a piece of bacon. At least it looked like it. Looking back Storm realized he could have been wrong. Sud ¨Cthe rat- did appear rather pensive when they first met. Losing a mate can do that to you. Pardo took the plate and walked away slowly. ¡°Hey, are you going to clean that? You know, wash it some with water and soap?¡± Storm asked trying to look out from the small opening of his prison cell. It wasn¡¯t a dungeon, more like the basement under Aegium¡¯s City Guards building, but it was built as poorly as one would expect. The poor light coming in from a round hole, the same Sud used to come in and out to eat Storm¡¯s meals. Pardo paused and turned almost unseen, as he was standing at the end of the narrow hallway near the stairs. ¡°Why?¡± He asked nigh perturbed. ¡°Aye,¡± Storm agreed his chin lodged at the hardwood, his eyes ogling to catch a glimpse of the outside world. The first days locked up were easier as he¡¯d slept a lot and thought of stuff that could help him out, assuming everyone else was still working for him. Then the first days go by and you can¡¯t sleep so much anymore as you aren¡¯t tired. The lack of light is depressing as fuck and the lack of proper food is causing your arse to be constantly hungry. You start walking around your cell a lot like a crazy person, the tiny space headache inducing and even more boring than watching paint on the wall dry. But hey, you make friends, if you are lucky. ¡°Don¡¯t crap on my mattress,¡± Storm said returning to his crude chair to sit down. Sud stared at him whilst defecating. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s a good spot.¡± Storm sighed and went to have some water, but there was a centipede inside it fighting for its life and he poured it all down. Washed some of Sud¡¯s shit away after killing it. Sud didn¡¯t mind, he feasted on the dead insect next. ¡°They probably put Jeremy in charge by now,¡± He explained to the burping rat. A fat rat, lots of meat on him, Storm noticed, then remembered that piece of ¡®funny¡¯ tasting bacon. ¡°Which means everyone else gets to make decisions for him, unless he grows a backbone. Maybe he will, but there¡¯s not much he can do. Doris will have a say, others as well. Scaldingport will have one eye on him and the other on the throne of Kaltha, assuming Antoon croaked his last.¡± This surely through a wrench into the works for them. ¡°You never know what will come out of a Queen¡¯s belly,¡± He continued, the rat listening to him, or sleeping with its eyes open. ¡°I know how it sounds, but it¡¯s the truth. They get a girl and it¡¯s just a matter of time afore someone gets up in a Council meeting and asks all curious. Why not use the girl we have? It¡¯s all grown up. Tits, arse the whole nine yards. She might have an heir soon, surely will live more than a baby everyone wants a piece of. Right?¡± The rat snorted and started furiously cleaning its snout with both front legs. Gulping down things with so many legs can do that to you. Or Sud was just seeing his point. ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right,¡± Storm agreed, wanting to finish their conversation. ¡°Only an idiot would leave that to chance.¡± ¡°Where is he?¡± Someone asked from the hallway taking his cue. ¡°Third cell, end of the corridor Lord Commander,¡± Pardo replied. Fluvius Noster, Aegium¡¯s Commander of the City Guard, Storm thought getting up. ¡°I may come back,¡± He told the staring rat. ¡°Or I may not. In either case, I want you to know ye need to work on your speech Sud. You¡¯re boring as fuck. Work on it pal with gusto, else you aren¡¯t seeing another rat cunt again.¡±
¡°Big night?¡± Storm asked, the rigidly walking beside him officer. Commander Noster was sporting a shiny chainmail vest and a thick white gambeson underneath a long red cape. Cavalry boots that reached his knees and a fine goatee that put Lord Nattas¡¯ uncombed one to shame. Probably. Storm hadn¡¯t seen his face in a mirror for days and catching a glimpse of it in the urine container didn¡¯t count. ¡°Lots of people came for the king¡¯s coronation. It¡¯s been a hectic schedule these past days,¡± Noster a man of Storm¡¯s age, replied crooking his mouth. ¡°Really? Must have been a huge surprise how they managed it,¡± Storm taunted. ¡°Given it was done in such a hurry.¡± ¡°The whole of Aegium was present,¡± Noster grunted. ¡°In the Temple of Tis? Must have been a tight squeeze,¡± Storm commented in the same vein. ¡°Wasn¡¯t she a priestess of Naossis? I bet it turned into a riot!¡± ¡°A priest of Uher ordained the ceremony, King Jeremy was declared afore the Five Gods, their priests, the Lords of the Realm and his people,¡± Noster spat angrily and stopped before the guarded door. They were inside Lord Doris palace again. ¡°Good grief dear Noster!¡± Storm chuckled, eyeing the tensed guards. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve actually found a priest of Luthos for the event haha,¡± His face getting a serious tone afore adding. ¡°I don¡¯t believe you. I¡¯ll have you know sir, yer credibility has just taken a hit.¡± Commander Noster grimaced and signed for the guards to open the door. ¡°I¡¯ll have you know,¡± He hissed in Storm¡¯s ear. ¡°Nobody likes you Lord Nattas, or will miss ye, when yer gone.¡± Eh, Storm thought. As if I didn¡¯t know that!
¡°A vote to have you punished for fornicating with a royal,¡± Lord Doris said looking at him over a large table in his high-ceiling, well-lit and ventilated office. The room they were inside next to his throne room. ¡°Was unsurprisingly unanimous. Everyone present agreed you have no redeeming qualities.¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°I lie less than you,¡± Storm deadpanned, a little offended. Had an old whore reach a fainting orgasm in Alden of all fuckin¡¯ places, among other things. Lord Doris rolled his eyes. ¡°What did Lord Holt say?¡± Storm asked to prove his point. ¡°He wasn¡¯t present,¡± Lord Doris replied with a scowl. ¡°To the meeting or the coronation?¡± Storm taunted in good form. Lord Doris glared at him. ¡°Lord Nattas the punishment for this vile offence is beheading after thorough mutilation.¡± Storm grimaced and nodded. I guess it¡¯s time for the nasty parts. Although starting with the worst outcome possible leaves no wiggle room to maneuver later. Either Lord Doris don¡¯t give a shit and wants this finished, or he has a long meaty cock up his arse and can¡¯t remove it without extra lubrication. Or information. Storm was a bottomless well of secrets. ¡°Kaltha was dealt a huge blow,¡± Lord Doris said measuring his words. Storm shifted his weight on his feet. He didn¡¯t expect Doris to offer him a seat. ¡°King Antoon is injured¡­ apparently it¡¯s very serious.¡± Storm nodded. ¡°Queen Nienke is dead,¡± Lord Doris added and Storm raised his eyebrows in the tiniest of fractions. This was a surprise, he thought. Had Maja gone for the wipe? It seemed uncharacteristically risky for her. She should be on her way back by now for crying out loud! Not killing babies. ¡°Wasn¡¯t she pregnant?¡± He asked casually. ¡°She had a son,¡± Lord Doris grunted. ¡°Antoon¡¯s line is secured for now.¡± ¡°Very fortunate,¡± Storm commented. ¡°Whilst horrible of course.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s a mess. The heir is in Midlanor apparently. The announcement was made by one of Lord Anker¡¯s envois in court two days ago.¡± ¡°The bird came straight here?¡± ¡°A lot of people are interested in such news lord Nattas.¡± ¡°I take it by your expression not all lords declared for him?¡± Lord Doris eyed him with hatred. ¡°Kaltha is sharing our problems it seems,¡± He grunted. Thanks to me, Storm thought. ¡°Which creates a diplomatic nightmare,¡± Lord Doris continued looking at his scrolls. ¡°Not easily solved.¡± ¡°Where does Scaldingport stand?¡± Storm asked. ¡°Lord Ruud is very parsimonious on his intentions.¡± The old Crow is looking for the coup de grace afore he leaves this world, Storm thought. The Queen of Regia is a crow, can he have a son on the throne of Kaltha? Hmm, he does have a son on Eplas last I checked, where the Princess resides. ¡°How many lords stand behind Antoon¡¯s son?¡± Storm asked with a frown. ¡°Lord Anker¡¯s allies. The problem is he lost Krakenhall and the North is¡­ well nobody knows what the hell is going on there. The Lakelords are their usual shifty selves and Riverdor with Badum whilst loyal to Antoon, are obviously stunned at Midlanor¡¯s brazen appropriation of the boy.¡± ¡°People are pushing for Elsanne,¡± Storm translated. ¡°Why? She is still married to a Cofol Prince.¡± ¡°The war with the Khan has no end in sight,¡± Lord Doris replied. ¡°The Princess has the potential to end it upon assuming the throne. The Khan won¡¯t fight his son.¡± You don¡¯t know that. You¡¯ll also surrender Kaltha to the Horselord. He steps a hoof on Jelin, then he is coming for Regia. Are you blind, or stupid? ¡°Lord Sula refused to bend the knee,¡± Lord Doris said his lips pressed tight. ¡°He has trained soldiers and coin enough to be a problem, especially if Lord Holt insists on being a stubborn old fool.¡± ¡°Lord Holt is a patriot Lord Doris,¡± Storm reminded him. ¡°He won¡¯t fight Lorians, but he¡¯ll never accept Jeremy also. He¡¯ll follow King Alistair¡¯s orders to his last breath. If Asturia joins with Demames you have a big problem.¡± ¡°Lord Sula is blockaded from the coast and if he moves against Aegium, Lord Ursus will cross the Salty River and attack his city with the help of Cartagen.¡± ¡°If you move against Demames, Lord Holt will come down from Asturia. Anorum is a small city, but a city of veterans¡¯ none-the-less, he can field two Legions worth of soldiers against you. Experienced troops that can march down the Lorian Plains¡ª¡± ¡°The Legion answers to the King of Regia!¡± Lord Doris blasted him standing up. ¡°What you have in Alden perhaps,¡± Storm continued. ¡°But those living up there and in Lord Holt¡¯s lands will rise to his banner, especially if Lucius comes out of the North.¡± ¡°Ah, Lucius is on a fool¡¯s crusade,¡± Lord Doris replied and clasped his hands behind his back. ¡°The Crulls will trap him afore the mountain passes and the closer he comes to Regia, the closer the fool is to Sovya. With Antoon and Kaltha leaderless the Duke is probably salivating at the opportunity to avenge his daughter¡¯s death.¡± ¡°Lucius had nothing to do with that Lord Doris,¡± Storm said. ¡°As if I would believe a word coming out of your mouth,¡± Lord Doris hissed. ¡°As if anyone would. You are a degenerate cretin Nattas. A vile creature that despoiled my sister¡­¡± He paused to breathe deeply and calm himself down. ¡°You brought us into this mess with your rotten character and you would have been dead already had Jeremy not stopped me.¡± Ah. There it is then, Storm thought. The reason you still have a cock and of course limbs. One would argue without cock one doesn¡¯t need the limbs. But Storm wasn¡¯t of the same opinion. The question now was why? ¡°Where is she?¡± Lord Doris asked, answering him that query and Storm stood back deeply moved. Sudi had come through for him. Ah, ye stupid ugly bastard. I¡¯ll make sure you live the few years you¡¯ve left in relative peace. Give ye a good burial, not anything fancy, but decent. After I get out of this fucking mess. ¡°Where is my sister Lord Nattas?¡± Storm smacked his lips and scratched his left ear, pulling at the lobe for a few annoying moments. For Lord Doris. ¡°She was with Sir Barnard the last time I saw her,¡± He replied faking innocence. ¡°Sir Barnard is gone as well!¡± A good man would jump at the opportunity to save his Queen. ¡°Ah, there then,¡± Storm said. ¡°You have yer culprit,¡± Smearing his reputation without an ounce of guilt. ¡°Sir Barnard? Are you serious?¡± Yes. I¡¯m seriously lying. ¡°That old horny dog had his eye on her Lord Doris,¡± Storm replied eyeing him knowingly. ¡°You¡¯ve seen how he defended her with yer own eyes. Frankly, I was shocked, aye.¡± ¡°You irredeemable piece of foul shite,¡± The Lord Treasurer growled irate. ¡°I know it was you! You¡¯ve knocked her up after seducing her¡ª¡± ¡°I never touched your sister,¡± Storm lied sounding affronted, his delivery perfect. ¡°Nor is she pregnant for all I know. You¡¯ve gotten me ambushed the other day sir. Why, I stand bewildered even now at the news. I have no reason to take you on yer word afore examining her myself, or use an independent professional to avoid the scandal of fingering her private parts.¡± He could have used a better word there admittedly, but he was on a roll and couldn¡¯t stop himself. Fortunately Lord Doris was too riled up to delve in the minutiae. ¡°What manner of bullshit is this? Admitted it herself and Dottore Epolonius¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯ll admit I suck cock behind the Hippodrome under duress Lord Doris and Epolonius is a senile old man that has a grunge against me for which I can readily produce witnesses to the fact, is that your evidence? I¡¯d like my case brought in front of a Judge Lord Doris,¡± Storm said. ¡°As a matter of fact, I insist. I suggest Judge Curtis of Novesium. He¡¯s incorruptible.¡± Meaning he couldn''t possibly be corrupted more. The man was thoroughly cooked. ¡°Jeremy wants to know where she is,¡± Lord Doris hissed, pressing two fingers on the bridge of his nose. ¡°You will answer to the King Lord Nattas.¡± Of course he does. ¡°I will say the same thing,¡± Storm replied. ¡°Because it is the truth. You¡¯ve threatened to cut her up Lord Doris. What did you expect she would do? Even if she slept with a knight, or two. Who the fuck are we to judge that grieving woman? Hells, I can see how she might not want to stay anywhere near you. What do you think King Jeremy will say, if he learns you wanted the only mother the boy has ever known slain?¡± Sorry love, I have to whore you out a bit for a good cause. ¡°You think the King is a fool?¡± Aye, I do. ¡°Jeremy will never buy into your drivel Lord Nattas.¡± ¡°I could find Miranda¡­ if I was spared the guillotine,¡± Lord Doris smiled at his slip up, but Storm grimaced and continued. ¡°What do you think is more important for him?¡± ¡°Your bastard shall never be seated on this, or any throne Lord Nattas,¡± Lord Doris warned him a tad pompously and as if he could see the future. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure of that.¡± No ye won¡¯t. You¡¯ll be sleeping with the fishes soon. ¡°I only have a daughter Lord Doris. Quite the trouble she is,¡± Storm said faking honesty, as if to reason with him. ¡°Wish I was worthy of your sister¡¯s affections, but I¡¯m not.¡± Lord Doris scrunched his face this way and that, disgusted with his theater. ¡°You actually expect me to believe that?¡± ¡°If Jeremy believes it, it won¡¯t matter whether you do, or not,¡± Baron Nattas had replied with a casual shrug and he was right.
With a livid Lord Sula blocking the coastal road towards Cartagen, at first it was suggested King Jeremy and Queen Janneke be escorted to Cartagen under Lord Brakis¡¯ fleet protection, but seeing as the aging admiral could barely maintain a loose blockade on the port of Demames as things stood, it was decided to have the couple move to Alden instead. Aegium was not a city built to withstand a direct assault. Prefect Faustus Ligur was ordered to bring the Legion down the coastal road and to Aegium to keep the Lord of Demames contained. The events in Kaltha had paralyzed the neighboring kingdom, but nowhere was this as apparent as on Eplas. The army was left leaderless for a crucial period that summer, despite Lord Anker¡¯s efforts to secure supplies and reinforcements. The fleet had been dealt a huge blow with the loss of Krakenhall and several of the sailors had lost family and their homes. Whilst Caspo O¡¯ Bor would quickly absorb all those forces and ships to its great benefit, it boosted the large port city so much in men and wars vessels, Duke Rinus Van De Aesst and self-proclaimed High Admiral of Kaltha started having ideas of his own about the war. He ordered the fleet back to port over Lord Anker¡¯s furious objections, in order to prepare for a direct naval assault at Rida. The biggest problem was dealing with the rebels that flocked to raise Elsanne¡¯s banner. The matter had paralyzed Lord Anker¡¯s Third Foot that moved to secure Issir¡¯s Eagle and squash the rebellion, whilst the Second Foot was half on Eplas and the other half still recovering in Riverdor. Lord Sigurd Bach, became the front man of a shady coalition of several more prominent lords that hid behind him. Kaltha¡¯s Master of Silence was also in a precarious situation as he had to secure first and foremost the person so many believed should succeed King Antoon. The first order of business was smearing young Antoon the third, starting a vicious campaign questioning and even ridiculing the legitimacy of what was to be known as the ¡®Fake Heir¡¯, or later Antoon the Phony, of Midlanor. The second order was securing Princess Elsanne survived and escaped Eplas and the Great Khan¡¯s claws. It was something that would plague the cunning and persistent Priest of Oras for a long time and make him Lord Anker¡¯s biggest headache. Lord Sirio Veturius Circa 208 NC The Fall of Heroes (Lost)* Chapter IV (Lord Storm Nattas, Regia¡¯s Master of Silence Queen dowager¡¯s Shield, Baron of Moon¡¯s Haven, Ruler of the Turtle Isles And Keeper of the Golden Forest. -Also known as the ¡®Abominable Cripple¡¯ and the ¡®Principal of Secrets¡¯) Volume III Secrets O¡¯ Whispers -A harsh lesson in politics- Unknown date, probably sometime in the summer of 190 NC)
*(Voluminous fourth chapter was omitted in the first edition, scraped completely in all subsequent versions, but was widely circulated in the upper echelons of Jelin¡¯s nobility. The only complete copy of Lord Veturius Fall of Heroes resides today in the sealed Sorceress Hall in Dan.)
216. The color of mud (1/3)
That was a solid punch. It had loosened a tooth in his mouth, cut his lip from the inside and bled aplenty. Barod glared his way, not much taller than him despite their difference in years, but a grown man almost. His muscles solid, chest pushed out as he walked about all proud showing off for his friends. The Northman frowned at the lukewarm reaction, turned his square face and looked at him sprawled down on his back after the sucker punch. His fancy leather jacket covered in mud and horseshit. ¡°Go back to the south and to yer subjects,¡± Barod snorted. ¡°Take your opinions and gold coins wit ye.¡± Ah, you shouldn¡¯t have said that, Roderick thought and slowly got up on his legs, blood in his mouth and his mother¡¯s voice cutting through the small gathered crowd¡¯s noise. Kas never lost the opportunity to spectate a good brawl. ¡°Logan ye daft old leather bag,¡± His mother snarled and Roderick turned his head to cast his cyan-colored eyes on her. ¡°You¡¯re supposed to guard him!¡± Ancient ¡®Gray¡¯ Logan put a hand on the fierce woman¡¯s shoulder to stop her, but she slapped it away furious and made to draw one of her swords. The old warrior beat her to it, surprisingly fast despite pushing sixty and got his own blade out. He pointed it at her armoured chest warningly. ¡°Have ye lost yer fuckin¡¯ mind?¡± His mother spat irate and Logan grunted once in disapproval at her foul tongue. Roderick spat a splotch of blood down mimicking her, his voice coming steady and belonging to a man much older than his four and ten years. ¡°It¡¯s alright Faye. Let me work on that,¡± He told her to snap her out of her anger and turned to the smirking Barod, not wanting to witness the sorrow in her eyes. ¡°I owe the lad a good punch,¡± He added and Logan grunted very pleased at the prospect of a good fight even outside the Circle. Hell, his father had fought not a kilometer from where they now stood to the death. Twice. ¡°I¡¯ll break yer bones,¡± Barod warned him, cracking his big neck right and left. Roderick crooked his bloodied mouth and removed his soaked heavy jacket, to better move about in the mud. No ye won¡¯t, the young Tiger thought walking confidently towards his taller opponent. But I¡¯ll break yours. Thoroughly.
Third Legion officers (Summer of 190 NC) Legatus Legionis| Lucius Alden Aide de Legatus| Marc Gripa Pathera Tigris Signifer| Brim Solomon Tribune| Galio ¡®Old Oak¡¯ Veturius Prefect, 1st Scribe de Camp| Varus Trupo - 1st Cohort 1st Century Centurion, Primus Pilus| Paulus Agricola 1st Decanus| Simon Gata 2nd Decanus| Herius Lupis Legionnaire| Lucas Kato Legionnaire| Oppius Papus (The First Century was dispatched east a day early and fought at the Kas front alone for most of the conflict) 2nd Century (recruits) Centurion| Titus Macrinus 3rd Century Centurion| Artur Mangas 4rth Century Centurion| Servius Capito - 2nd Cohort 1st Century Centurion| Nonus Sula 2nd Century Centurion| Josi Vala 3rd Century Centurion| Ardi Damian 4rth Century Centurion| Spurius Dio - 3rd Cohort 1st Century Centurion| Cassius Falx 2nd Century Centurion| Placus Lepidus 3rd Century Centurion| Julius Sepofa 4rth Century Centurion| Jorgen Osmont - Legion Scouts * Centurion| ¡®Frostworm¡¯ Kaeso Decanus| Gerard ¡®One-Ear¡¯ Pike - Legion Cavalry (Still recuperating losses) Decurion| Kent ¡®Thin-knees¡¯ Long. - Legion Slingers Centurion| Mamercus Sorex Decanus| Joe Fallon - *Attached Nord units (most notable Numbers Warband, Gerard¡¯s Raiders) under Logan ¡®Gray¡¯ Barret. Included here are: ¡®Hulking¡¯ Layton ¡®Nice¡¯ Gerard Lady Faye ¡®Scarlet¡¯ Alden was present as well, but staying with the Supply Train.
You speak of old friends & long dead sisters, whilst I mourn my father! Queen Saskia lashes out in court. Late first month of Summer 190 NC (The scene is also memorialized in Assange¡¯s famous painting)
Legatus Lucius Alden The color of mud Part I -Lords should fight the wars they start-
Stormbolt neighed, white vapors shooting out of his nostrils and black mane shaking hard. Everything was soaked. The rain had stopped before the first light, but it had left a muddy mess behind. It was worse near the banks of the Montfoot, a bit better after it. The path leading towards the crossroads and the split in the mountains lost in the morning mist. Tribune Galio Veturius cleared his throat, sitting rigid on the saddle, guard cheeks tied tightly on his lined face and heavy helm glistering with moisture. ¡°We¡¯re soaked to the bone milord,¡± He stated evenly. ¡°I share your fate Tribune,¡± Lucius replied watching the men lining up to march south. The Crulls had abandoned the fort and had retreated during the night, probably alerted by the lights and the noise of the Legion crossing the Montfoot. ¡°Lady Faye asked for you Milord.¡± Lucius wanted to go to her, but he simply had no time left to spare at this moment. ¡°How is she?¡± ¡°The wagon is with the supply train. They¡¯ll start crossing in an hour.¡± ¡°The 3rd Cohort is to bring up the rear,¡± Lucius said wiping his face with a wet cloth. It didn¡¯t much help him. ¡°Centurion Falx is solid milord.¡±Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. ¡°The road isn¡¯t,¡± Lucius noted with a grimace. ¡°The wagons will stretch us out.¡± ¡°We should make camp earlier milord.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll lose time and give them even more of a warning,¡± Lucius shifted his body on the saddle and patted Stormbolt¡¯s wet mane with a hand. ¡°The Crulls should have contested our crossing.¡± ¡°The Jarl¡¯s forces are behind us, more coming from the Midriver,¡± Galio noted. ¡°The Crulls either opted to pull back on their mountain city.¡± ¡°Or?¡± Lucius probed with a half-smile. ¡°Wait to hit us in the back the moment we turn east to enter the mountain passes towards Kas,¡± Galio glanced at him. ¡°A bit of a conundrum this Legatus.¡± ¡°Let me work on that,¡± Lucius said reassuringly. He¡¯d decided to do it whilst reviewing the troops and before checking up on his wife. When you are pressed for time, he thought. You just work harder.
Lucius offered his arm and a heavy Faye stepped out of the closed carriage. It was a crude copy of the one they had brought from Regia and left with Canutia at Kas. Four large wheels, a tall rectangular cabin and a door with a small window. It had enough space inside for Faye to rest and keep warm, but it was in the end of the day just a small box-shaped room. ¡°You¡¯re stopping here?¡± She asked, holding on to him in order to climb down. ¡°A brief rest, while I iron out some details,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°How are you?¡± ¡°Your wagon throws me about. In order to save the baby I use my head to break the momentum, elbows and feet,¡± Faye replied putting a hand on his armoured chest. ¡°I turned all black and blue. I¡¯d show you right now, but yer soldiers don¡¯t let me out of their sight.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll bare yourself wife?¡± ¡°Why? Ye find me repulsive husband?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t mean that Faye. I was speaking of decency.¡± ¡°Pfft, you are annoying,¡± She complained. ¡°I¡¯ve seen yer women¡¯s decency.¡± Lucius kissed the top of her red head tenderly to calm her down. ¡°We need more pillows.¡± ¡°You need to come up with a better wagon, or fix the roads Alden.¡± Lucius had designed it aiming for efficiency and not comfort. ¡°It¡¯s your roads Faye,¡± Lucius teased her. ¡°I assume some effort was put in opening them?¡± ¡°Never bothered me afore,¡± She admitted with a smile, relaxing her face. The baby was restless and it was wearing her down. ¡°I miss riding,¡± Faye murmured. ¡°Once we get on a Legion built road, you¡¯ll see,¡± Lucius insisted slapping the large wheel with a hand. ¡°This thing moves much better. Sturdy. Very safe. Can built a new one in half a day.¡± He couldn¡¯t think of anything else. ¡°Hmm. Maybe,¡± She droned. ¡°Where are the Crulls?¡± ¡°Watching us from the woods is my guess.¡± ¡°Are ye gonna built a camp?¡± Lucius looked back at the distant river. Not many good memories surfaced. The woods located to the west of Stags Doab looking as sinister as they did the first time. ¡°Yes, but I will send a Century up the crossroads and into the pass,¡± He replied. ¡°I want the road kept open for you. The supply train will leave next.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll keep the men back?¡± ¡°They¡¯ll expect a smaller force to guard our rear,¡± Lucius explained. ¡°I¡¯m not leaving you behind,¡± Faye argued looking at his face worried. ¡°The Crulls will either do something tomorrow, or they won¡¯t. If we enter the pass then we¡¯ll march straight to Kas and they will still have to deal with Jarl David''s forces. They won¡¯t follow.¡± ¡°They could come around and cut us off,¡± She said unsure. ¡°They no longer have the numbers for that Faye,¡± Lucius sighed. ¡°If they split up then we will face a smaller army. The Lord of Eaglesnest has no allies here.¡± Which was true in a sense. But Lucius had more enemies than just the Crulls.
Newly promoted Prefect Varus Trupo saluted, a smile under his trimmed mustache and pushed the leather covering aside for him. Lucius entered the commander¡¯s tent and nodded at the officers inside. Tribune Veturius was present alongside Centurion Nonus Sula, everyone attending the meeting in their full battle gear. The Legion will be marching for war on the morrow. ¡°Legatus!¡± The Centurion saluted and Lucius returned it, then clasped his fingers behind his back. ¡°Centurion Sula,¡± He said to the commander of First Century of the Second Cohort. ¡°You have kinship to the Lord of Demames?¡± Sula, a sturdy Lorian with a square jaw, a cleanly shaved face and short blond hair nodded. ¡°Lord Sula is my uncle, Lord Alden.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve joined in Ludr,¡± Lucius noticed. ¡°What were you doing there?¡± ¡°My father has three sons. I¡¯m the third one. Got tired of squiring and decided to seek some action, many lads from Demames were fighting the Issirs in the North Lord Alden.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve noticed,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°Why join the Legion?¡± The Centurion smiled. ¡°Lord Alden asked men to help him on campaign and my father is Prefect of the¡­ First Legion my Lord. Second Cohort. I saw it as a sign.¡± Lucius eyed Galio, but the aging Tribune just frowned. Sula¡¯s father was with the First at the Battle of the Turncoats, or in the engagements fought after King Alistair was betrayed. Almost no officers had survived according to the reports that kept coming in from an energetic Canutia. Not everything was verified of course. ¡°I should make you part of my entourage,¡± Lucius started, but Galio pressed his lips a tiny fraction as if to warn him. ¡°You¡¯ve started at the bottom, I can¡¯t have a nobleman in the frontlines Sula,¡± He pressed on with his point, disregarding the old officer¡¯s warning. Lucius wanted to know what the Tribune knew and gauge the man¡¯s mettle himself, if he was to task him with keeping Faye and the supply train safe. So he gave him an opening to excuse himself and climb up the hierarchy. ¡°I¡¯d like to earn my ranks Lord Alden,¡± Nonus replied standing up straighter. He was almost Lucius age, perhaps a couple of years younger. ¡°I won¡¯t leave the First. It¡¯s too late for that. I¡¯ll see this through. Lords should fight the wars they start sire.¡± ¡°Aye, they should. Kings as well,¡± Lucius agreed and that was that.
¡°The ground rises beyond the gorge, right at the turn,¡± Galio said after the Centurion left them, pointing at the map. ¡°Agricola will march east, taking the road that heads straight up the pass. The road has no snow now, but it ain¡¯t good for more than two carriages traveling side by side. It opens up later as milord remembers.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll prepare the rest of the centuries in depth, narrow front facing towards the rise and the road to Eaglesnest. Dig in and don¡¯t hold back ammunition. Gods, we need some Scorpio¡¯s here Tribune.¡± ¡°Aye we do. But we don¡¯t have the engineers for that sire. It needs expertise¡¯s the Northmen don¡¯t possess.¡± ¡°The terrain isn¡¯t helping them here.¡± ¡°True, but we aren¡¯t breaking out without the big toys sire.¡± ¡°We are not in the plains yet Galio,¡± Lucius reminded him. ¡°Let¡¯s focus on the present for now.¡± ¡°Centurion Agricola, Legatus,¡± The guard said poking his helmed head in. ¡°Let him through,¡± Lucius ordered and turned to his second in command. ¡°Is Sula¡¯s father dead?¡± He asked evenly. ¡°Only Prefect Ligur survived milord,¡± Galio replied his memory of reports and casualties outstanding. Lucius grimaced. ¡°I need some air,¡± He decided, just as Centurion Agricola, Primus Pilus and leader of the First Century after Trupo¡¯s promotion entered. ¡°Follow me Centurion,¡± Lucius said and the young officer saluted and stepped aside for Lucius to walk by and exit the tent. He followed him right after. Lucius stood five meters from the large commander¡¯s tent, right in the middle of the sprawling camp. Torches were burning at each guardtower, more at the gates. Everything arranged tight, but following prearranged straight lines and a well-drilled design, with enough space left between the tents and wooden buildings for a carriage to pass with ease. The Castrum would be literally packed on the wagons and disappear the next day. Reappear each evening when the Legion stopped and rebuilt it anew. Two legionnaires were following behind Centurion Agricola, a burly unshaved man of almost thirty years and a younger sinewy and shifty looking Lorian with a constipated face. The heavier man grinned seeing his stare and then catching himself saluted, thudding a big fist on his chest, whilst his shorter friend stooped nimbly to tie his boots and avoid the scrutiny. Well then, Lucius thought. Let¡¯s not judge them. ¡°Papus, Kato, for fuck¡¯s sake!¡± Centurion Agricola barked seeing Lucius staring at the two loitering weirdos. ¡°Get back to the unit!¡± ¡°Yours?¡± Lucius asked him eyeing the two legionnaires hoofing it away. ¡°Aye, they are Legatus,¡± Agricola puffed out exasperated. ¡°They are one strike away from getting lashed again.¡± ¡°Yet, they are in the First.¡± ¡°Since the beginning Legatus,¡± The Primus Pilus explained. ¡°Got kicked out of the Legion, joined the Black Skulls and then volunteered again. The Tribune picked them right away in the first batch. They are good fighters, I¡¯ll give them that.¡± Lucius remembered Kaeso and Mamercus. Galio rarely messed up in his picks. ¡°You¡¯ll have Logan¡¯s men with you,¡± Lucius said, eyeing the dark sky. ¡°Use them to scout ahead. You¡¯ll have some riders with you as well and two wagons of supplies. If the road is clear for a day, you¡¯ll inform me and the rest of the Legion will join you a couple of days later. I¡¯ll send the supply train after you right away, but don¡¯t expect it for a day at least.¡± ¡°Are Northmen in Kas Legatus?¡± ¡°The city is packed. But I don¡¯t know whether these Northmen are friendly, or not. Kas was Sovya last I checked. It¡¯s the summer, roads are open such as they are, but the thing to bear in mind Centurion is that Canutia can¡¯t really judge who is who and her info is usually a week old at the minimum.¡± ¡°I could send Logan ahead, or someone that can¡­ talk, just to be certain.¡± ¡°A day at a time Centurion. Hurry up the pass, secure the road and keep it open for me,¡± Lucius ordered and Agricola nodded once. ¡°The Legion must not march into a trap, not in the narrows Centurion. Not with the supply train and the civilians between our legs,¡± Lucius added staring at him. ¡°The wagons must go through.¡± Agricola pressed his mouth tight. ¡°We¡¯ll keep the road open Legatus,¡± He said steadfastly and Lucius believed him. The young officer saluted, then turned heel and walked briskly towards his unit. The next time the two men would meet, one of them would be dead and the second part of his campaign would have turned into an all-out war.
The First Century marched very early the next morning out of the Castrum. It would make good time up the muddy mountain pass and reach the junction, where the narrow rocky road came down from Eaglesnest and the terrain opened up at the mouth leading to the valley afore the Kas Burg. The bulk of the Third set up pickets at the larger south-facing road, cut ages ago through the Nor Maze Heights, which was the main approach to Lord Bart¡¯s mountain city. Lord Bart forces would come down from the ridge to test them a day later. By then the supply train had followed after the First Century, the animals and wagons slowly trudging up the muddy terrain amidst the slopes. It would spread itself out with elements being almost ten hours apart at the end of the first day and the civilians creating three camps along the pass to spend the night. The Issirs call the week long engagement that followed, the Second Battle of the Montfoot, but in reality the majority of the conflict happened on the exit of the mountain pass, even spilling to the gates of Kas a day¡¯s march away and back at the cobblestone road leading to Eaglesnest almost five day¡¯s march apart. A couple of scraps were fought at the Montfoot and the Wolvesbane Castle by the Jarls forces that got out of the bridges when news of the battle reached them, but those were insignificant in size and meaningless to the bigger picture. Earlier that month Lord Shield Miles Lennox was dispatched via ship to Kadrek by King Davenport in order to observe the happenings up close and report to him. The move judged significant after Duke Redmont¡¯s complaints about the danger of an unchecked Jarl David turning his eyes on his Duchy. Duke Redmond¡¯s Heir, the young Sir William was tasked with escorting the aged Lord and Lesia¡¯s delegation, with a force of about five hundred Carls to the border city of Kas. Their journey lasted ten days. No sooner had they left to reach the bristling with Northmen city, word reached them of Antoon¡¯s fate and the chaos that had erupted in Kaltha. Duke Redmond formally asked Lesia to intervene and King Davenport seeing that the Issirs would be unable to deal with the Northmen ordered Lord Lennox to assume command of the situation. A sizeable force of two thousand well-equipped men was loaded into twelve heavy transports in Armium, along with ¡®Ley¡¯s Boars¡¯ mercenary company numbering two hundred strong and was dispatched to Kadrek. The Bank of Trust had stepped in to foot the bill for the mercenaries and promised King Davenport to pay him the Second Legion¡¯s full wages for a year, in exchange for exclusive access to the North¡¯s mines. The Bank was thirsty for gold, as King Antoon had dipped into her reserves with his war loans. The armoured galleon being built at the naval yards in Cediorum, to transport the immense amount of gold coins to Issir¡¯s Eagle ¨Csome suggesting almost forty tons of it- worth a fortune onto itself. Lord Lennox wanted the men marching to Kas and join them there immediately upon landing at Kadrek, but it was a two week journey with weather permitting. Distance aside, not a day after he received his orders word reached him that legionnaires had set up a camp at the mountain path¡¯s mouth. Lord Sirio Veturius The Fall of Heroes Chapter II (Legatus Lucius Alden, Northern campaigns, Second Year Volume I Tigers in the Mud -One week & a day- Clash at the mountain pass, Issir name, 2nd battle of the Montfoot, Lesia name, Madness at Kas Summer of 190 NC)
217. The color of mud (2/3)
Lucas Kato The color of mud Part II -Shorten the line little man-
¡°Third Maniple!¡± Decanus Herius Lupis barked irate. ¡°What is this tempo? I¡¯m walking faster than you cunts backwards!¡± He glared at the slowly dressing up lines, the ground turned into a sludge that sucked your foot right in, hobnailed sandals and all, then ¡®caressed¡¯ your scrotum, alike an Asturia port whore in winter. Hands cold as ice, fingers alike daggers, Kato thought opting to cut right on the sturdier rocky terrain at the edges of the mountain path. ¡°Backwards!¡± Decanus Lupis repeated again just as loud, demonstrating his skill to the mirth of the men. ¡°Hahaha!¡± Oppius Papus guffawed trudging in the mud alongside Kato, gold incisor shining in the noon sun and helmed head shaking. ¡°Papus ye daft ox am I amusing to ye?¡± Lupis grunted, stepping away from the marching column to avoid getting mud on his armour, unfortunately catching Kato doing the same walking outside of formation. ¡°Kato ye sneaky cunt, what in Tyeus¡¯s meaty spear are you doing out there?¡± He growled. ¡°Scouting sire!¡± Kato boomed, red scarf on his neck turned dark both from sweat and humidity. Marching in the cold gets ye hot. Go plaguin¡¯ figure. ¡°Is there something amiss there?¡± The Decanus taunted, as he approached him hopping from rock to rock. ¡°Ye can never be too sure Decanus!¡± ¡°Well I am, Legionnaire,¡± Lupis retorted, his stare turning right mean. ¡°Step back into line.¡± Ah, Kato thought stepping in the mud, say it like it is ye puffed up piece of shite! It¡¯s return into the darn cack. ¡°Found anything?¡± Papus asked when Kato started marching beside him again, a pained scowl on the shorter man¡¯s face. A case of dyspepsia. Kato burped loud, tasting raw onions and stale hardtack. ¡°Rocks, some are pretty big,¡± He replied to his old friend. ¡°Could¡¯ve told ye that,¡± Papus said, adjusting the helm on his head. He¡¯d a loose strap at the cheek-guards that needed fixing. Ugh. ¡°Hey Northman,¡± Kato asked the legionnaire marching in front of him. ¡°Name¡¯s Belor. Being tellin¡¯ ye that for a year!¡± The armoured back retorted. ¡°Ye stupid fuck.¡± ¡°I¡¯m illiterate,¡± Kato replied with a shrug, although he knew his letters sort of. ¡°How long until we reach Kas ye think?¡± ¡°Fuck should I know?¡± Belor snapped at him. ¡°I¡¯m from Brugavik!¡± ¡°Where¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Between Ludr and Bloden port,¡± Belor grunted, helm bobbing up and down. The march keeping its own rhythm. You plunged your foot in the sludge, brought the other forward. Got that leaden motherfucker out, then rinse and repeat. Without the rinsing, Kato supposed. ¡°Yer country is worse than cack plucked out of the sewers friend,¡± He groaned, his cock and scrotum covered in watery cold mud. ¡°I ain¡¯t yer friend Kato!¡± Belor growled, almost losing his footing and falling on the man walking in front of him. The Maniples marching two men wide, five and twenty bodies in length each, along the passage. The First Century had four of those being the largest. ¡°Kato I swear to Tyeus,¡± Decanus Lupis barked in his ear. ¡°I keep hearing yer darn voice son and it grates my nerves!¡± ¡°Tree sire,¡± Kato replied evenly. ¡°What was that?¡± Lupis asked sounding perturbed. ¡°There¡¯s a tree,¡± Kato repeated as slow as he could, but the Decanus snapped his head around, saw the trunk coming at him and stepped away at the last possible moment. The path widened there and a small copse had popped out of nowhere. Decanus Lupis saved his head from cracking open, but didn¡¯t appreciate Kato not warning him sooner. So that night, they got to chop wood again. When asked to pick a partner, Kato chose Papus much to the bigger man¡¯s chagrin.
¡°I don¡¯t get it,¡± Papus griped, thick arms swelling as he swung the axe on the stone-like whitebark tree trunk. The thud shaking it all the way up, branches raining water down on their heads. ¡°What?¡± Kato probed, much as he¡¯d done afore, taking his turn to swing the long-shafted axe. The tree creaking and trembling when he dislodged the blade to go at it again. ¡°I don¡¯t get it,¡± Papus repeated landing a mighty chop that took a large piece of bark out, along with a good chunk of sapwood underneath it. Kato sighed and paused to wipe his sweaty face with the back of a hand. They both were down to their undershirts despite the late afternoon chill. Tired as dogs after chopping down four trees afore this one. ¡°We can bring more wood back and give it to Nigilia,¡± She was the cook following in one of the two wagons the Legatus had released to the First. One with supplies, the other tools. It brought a couple of civilians into the ¡®fold¡¯ and civilians always had ¡®stuff¡¯ with them. A perceptive man the Legatus. ¡°Now the lads gathered what we felled earlier to get it to the Castrum, but we bring her some more, she¡¯ll slip us a bottle of beer and some of the good stuff.¡± Papus frowned mid-swing, still landing a fine chop that shook the tree, then got his axe back to stare at him. Kato sighed and made to explain to him, but he overheard a branch snapping from the woods to their left and paused in alarm. While near a ¡®road¡¯ of sorts, this was the North still and when outside of a city you were basically food for something, or other. ¡°Heard that?¡± He asked Papus and his friend smacked his lips unsure. ¡°You didn¡¯t hear it?¡± Kato probed, flinching when someone asked from the woods. ¡°Heard what?¡± The booming baritone voice sounding befuddled. A couple of birds of prey beat a hasty retreat to the sound of it. Kato stepped to the side and away from the half-chopped trunk to get a good eye on who it was that had sneaked up on them. The branches snapped, something rustled, heavy boots walking slowly and out of the soaked foliage came the biggest Northman Kato had ever seen and he¡¯d seen some right huge motherfuckers in his five and twenty years. ¡°Whoa,¡± Papus commented understandably impressed. Aye, Kato agreed eyeing the huge armoured giant approaching them, a whole doe over his shoulders. A fuckin¡¯ big one. The local horse-sized variant. He¡¯d seen him around of course. A friend of the Legatus, but Kato usually turned the other way the moment Layton sauntered near. You don¡¯t want big hairy dudes¡¯ descent upon you for any reason. ¡°What you got there¡­ big fella?¡± Kato asked treading carefully. ¡°It¡¯s Layton,¡± The giant corrected him, looking down on him. That doe is alive, Kato thought a little freaked out seeing it moving dazed. ¡°Ah, apologies,¡± He mumbled taking a precautionary step back and almost stepped on Papus, as his friend had approached them all curious. Kato twisted away a little panicky, despite Papus not bothering with him. ¡°How did you catch it?¡± Papus asked looking at the trembling animal. Kato had to duck to avoid decapitation, when Papus raised his axe carelessly to rest it on his shoulder. It must be noted here that whilst Papus was a big boy, Layton was over a head taller than him and over half as wide. This is probably more than a head, he thought, missing Layton¡¯s response trying to find his footing. ¡°Why not kill it?¡± Papus asked, always eager to start a conversation. Kato rose up a little embarrassed and blinked seeing Layton¡¯s huge eyes staring at him. ¡°It bleeds,¡± The giant said and pointed at his custom made chainmail and the leather coat he sported. ¡°Don¡¯t want it smearing my clothes. I don¡¯t have another set.¡± Right. ¡°Surprised ye didn¡¯t cave its head in with that axe of yours,¡± He said, not to be left out of the conversation completely. You meet a friendly giant, you suck his cock if needed to keep him happy. ¡°Haha,¡± Layton guffawed. ¡°I used a hand. It goes down easily. No need for axe. Sometimes you can kill it outright with a punch,¡± He explained still grinning, showing plenty of sturdy white teeth that could chew through¡­ well everything. Kato cleared his throat and glanced at the half-chopped tree. ¡°We were gonna cut a bit of wood,¡± He said. ¡°It¡¯s dried up this, dead. Care to help us bring it down?¡± ¡°Ye can use my axe,¡± Papus offered, but Layton just reached with a large callused hand back, found the waking up big doe¡¯s head and grabbed it. A twist and he broke its neck, Kato almost pissing himself at the sound and he wasn¡¯t squeamish. ¡°No need,¡± Layton replied, never hurrying to answer and dropped the fully dead doe down. ¡°It¡¯s a small tree this. Easy to make it crack.¡± Meaning he could bring it down with a good shove. Kato pretended he wasn¡¯t that impressed, but when they returned to the Castrum, dragging the laden with finely cut wood cart behind them, he rewarded the big Nord for his help with his share of the beer. It was the one bottle and Layton just glugged it all down in front of them, Papus share included, but they got to share the meat with Logan¡¯s lads so it was fine.
The morning found Kato and Papus marching after Decanus Lupis and the Centurion. Their maniple was picked to trek to Bear¡¯s Mouth, where the mountain path ended, the slope heading for the lost in the heavy mist Kas. As with all things in the army, but mostly in the Legion, the trek lasted four hours of energetic march, as Centurion Agricola was a fast motherfucker. You don¡¯t want to march slower than the Centurion. Decanus Lupis was adamant about it. ¡°What in Tyeus meaty spear is this shite?¡± He bellowed running briskly back down their lines. ¡°Are you fucking jesting with me ye cunts?¡± Lupis eyed Kato trudging along, taste of that roasted doe still in his mouth and barked twice as loud. His tone schizophrenic. ¡°ON THE BLOODY DOUBLE! WIT SMILES!¡± He paused to suck a couple of big breaths and then trotted energetically after the Centurion leading the line, shouting all the time and his hobnailed boots splashing in the mud. ¡°ONE! AND TWO! ONE! AND TWO!¡± When you¡¯re on the end of a four hour march, you don¡¯t have the knees to take the first watch. So Kato hurried after Belor clenching his teeth and with a face covered in mud.
¡°You think the Crulls will attack the Legion?¡± Papus asked him while they were resting. The Centurion and Lupis were watching the road with a spyglass, but also the fields and forests afore Kas, the Burg unseen in the distance and lost in the mist. ¡°They are not easy to commit them cunts,¡± Kato replied with a grimace, cutting a dry blister off his foot with a dagger. The skin hard there and a dark yellow. He¡¯d wrapped it with a cloth under the woolen sock, but it did fuck all. ¡°You punch them in the mouth and they retreat up their mountain.¡± ¡°The Legatus will have to follow at some point.¡± ¡°After us ye mean? Aye. He¡¯ll send Sula with the train first is the word, unless something happens.¡± ¡°Like what?¡± ¡°The Crulls attack.¡± Papus puffed his cheeks out and looked at his calloused hands. ¡°What is it?¡± Kato asked him seeing his expression. ¡°You think Regia will let us back into the Legion?¡± ¡°We are in the Legion.¡± ¡°You know my meaning.¡± ¡°No I fuckin¡¯ don¡¯t,¡± Kato snapped glaring at him. ¡°The Legatus will assume the throne soon as we get back and then he¡¯ll reward us aplenty. I think he¡¯ll keep the Third around. With Lesia having one, he¡¯d want to keep the advantage.¡± ¡°Aye, ye might be right.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll have food aplenty in Regia,¡± Kato continued. ¡°Good gear for everyone and war machines. Coin in our purses. Half the lads in the Third Cohort are in mail. The smiths can¡¯t keep up with the demand.¡± ¡°Anorum is a shitty town,¡± Papus commented. ¡°It¡¯s fine, why do you care anyway? You couldn¡¯t afford Asturia.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± Papus murmured. ¡°Is that the mute?¡± Kato raised his head to watch the officers talking with the pale Northman. ¡°Aye, that¡¯s him. Chills me blood he does. A right killer.¡± ¡°What does he say?¡± Papus asked. Kato tied his hobnailed sandals and got up. He grabbed his legion helm and put it on. Secured the shield on the left side of his back, next to the haversack. ¡°Let¡¯s go listen in, but don¡¯t look straight at them,¡± Kato told his friend. ¡°I can¡¯t take another lashing.¡±
By the time they reached the officers and ¡®Gray¡¯ Logan, they spotted a procession coming up the inclined road. Ten horses, at least five knights amongst them, the rest well-armoured Northmen. ¡°Fuck are they?¡± Kato blurted out and Decanus Lupis snapped his head around to glare at him. Kato raised his arms apologizing and Lupis grunted just as the knight leading the group started speaking. ¡°What is the Legion doing in Sovya?¡± The Knight asked, two Hammers engraved on his plate cuirass. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± One of the Northmen with Logan retorted with a nasty grin. The Knight glared at him affronted. ¡°I¡¯m Sir Ottelo Zaro, a knight of Dokamna,¡± He spat with a grimace. ¡°Escorting the Lord Shield, Miles Lennox, of Cediorum on the King¡¯s business!¡± One of the armoured men, an older Lorian wearing an expensive engraved steel cuirass with gold details and antlers frowned, bushy white brows prominent on his dignified face. Centurion Agricola stepped forward, his plumed helm under an arm. ¡°I¡¯m Centurion Agricola, Primus Pilus of the first Century,¡± He said sternly. ¡°First Cohort, Third Legion.¡± Sir Zaro blinked taken aback and glanced at the still frowning Lord Lennox. That¡¯s the fucking Duke of Cediorum, Kato thought impressed. That¡¯s a lot of cack Tyeus dropped on our lap. ¡°There¡¯s no such thing son,¡± The old Lord finally said breaking the awkward silence. ¡°That¡¯s Lucius¡¯ men!¡± A young Knight snapped standing next to Lord Lennox. ¡°He¡¯s here!¡±You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. Lord Lennox grimaced and turned his eyes on the Centurion. ¡°Sir Zaro asked you something, you didn¡¯t answer,¡± He said speaking in a cultured calm voice. ¡°Will you answer to me son?¡± ¡°I¡¯m tasked with holding the road to Kas open milord,¡± Agricola replied. ¡°For Lucius? He¡¯s here then?¡± Lord Lennox asked, over the angry murmurs of the Carls present. The Knights appeared mildly amused with the Centurion¡¯s words. ¡°I shall speak with him.¡± ¡°The Legatus is not present milord.¡± ¡°He¡¯s lying!¡± The young knight growled and Logan casted his cold eyes on him warningly. ¡°Sir William, if you please restrain yourself,¡± Lord Lennox advised him. ¡°I want them off my lands, Lord Lennox!¡± The old Lord scrunched his wrinkled face, but kept his composure. ¡°Primus Pilus,¡± He said turning to the expecting and nervous Centurion. ¡°I commanded the Legion for five years. Went to war with them, eh, it¡¯s far into the past now, but still when the war ended Sovya was a Duchy, the High King offered as vassal to Lesia.¡± Kato got about half of that, but he wasn¡¯t stupid. They wanted them off their lands and this was a problem. ¡°Stand aside,¡± Lord Lennox offered. ¡°Or retreat into your Castrum. I shall speak with Lucius, help him see reason.¡± ¡°Yourself milord?¡± Agricola asked. ¡°The Legatus isn¡¯t here.¡± Sir Zaro scoffed at that. ¡°Where¡¯s Lucius currently?¡± Lord Lennox asked. ¡°In Stag¡¯s Doab milord.¡± ¡°You wish the Lord Shield to travel up the mountain pass¡ª¡± Sir Zaro protested, but the old Lord cut him off. ¡°Sir William will come with me,¡± Lord Lennox said. ¡°His Carls will escort us. The Jarl is on a war footing, we can¡¯t walk into disputed lands carelessly son.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t let a force flank the Legatus milord,¡± Agricola replied sternly. ¡°We are not his enemy here Centurion,¡± Lord Lennox said, although judging from the fury in Sir William¡¯s face Kato wouldn¡¯t take him on his word. ¡°Even if I don¡¯t go to him and wait him out, you can¡¯t just block the Duke¡¯s road. Think it through my lad.¡± ¡°Apologies milord, but I have my orders.¡± ¡°Centurion, I was tasked by the King of Lesia to make sure his vassal isn¡¯t threatened,¡± Lord Lennox said his tone changing. ¡°Here you are with your Century and your fully armed friends, trotting about in the Duke¡¯s lands. I assume you¡¯ve helped the Jarl lay ruin in the Crull lands already. I understand Lucius might feel aggrieved but he can¡¯t do this and expect no reprisal. Do you understand what I¡¯m saying?¡± ¡°I hear you milord, but I have clear orders from the Legatus,¡± Agricola replied firmly. ¡°He¡¯s no Legatus!¡± Lord Lennox blasted him, before he caught himself and breathed once deeply, his face flushed. ¡°He¡¯s no heir, his brother was named King. He made a mess of his life for whatever reason and I feel for him, but this can¡¯t go on. This ends here Centurion.¡± ¡°He¡¯s my Legatus milord,¡± Agricola replied clenching his jaw. ¡°You wish to fight Centurion?¡± Lord Lennox asked him disgusted at his failure to get his point across. ¡°Whatever happens after I leave, Lucius can¡¯t undone it. There¡¯s no coming back from this. I knew his mother for goodness sake!¡± ¡°I shall keep the road until the Legatus¡¯ arrival milord,¡± Agricola replied tensely and Kato felt his stomach tighten up. Lord Lennox appeared deeply saddened at the turn of events. ¡°You keep your orders Centurion and I¡¯ll keep mine,¡± He said and shook his aged head. ¡°That¡¯s not how I wanted this to end. Ah, curse it. Sir Zaro we return to Kas,¡± Lord Lennox glanced a final time at the officers, the Northmen in their group and the two legionnaires. ¡°What Lucius started whatever his reasons may be, it won¡¯t end well for him.¡± ¡°Centurion?¡± Decanus Lupis asked after the group had gotten away from them, down the road leading to Kas. ¡°How many men?¡± Agricola asked the man standing next to Logan. ¡°At least five hundred came from Kadrek chief. Got ¡®em locals all riled up,¡± The Northman replied crooking his mouth in a grimace. ¡°Kas is a big place. Folk might wish to earn the Duke¡¯s coin.¡± ¡°Get the Century out Lupis, inform Decanus Gata to issue javelins. I¡¯ll discuss a plan with him shortly, after I send a rider to the Legatus.¡± ¡°Sire,¡± Lupis saluted and turned around. ¡°You two stay with the Centurion, escort him back.¡± ¡°What does this mean?¡± Papus asked him, a moment later seeing his expression. ¡°I think we just declared war on Lesia,¡± Kato replied frowning. ¡°Huh? I thought this was the Duchy¡¯s lands,¡± Papus retorted. ¡°Them too,¡± Kato deadpanned and stared at his feet half-buried in the mud. Under a certain light they might as well be standing in a field of cack.
First month of summer 190 NC Battle at the Mouth 3rd Maniple, First Century The south approach -Fourth hour, late noon- ¡°SHIELDS!¡± Decanus Lupis barked hearing the Northmen¡¯s cries as they came out of the forest again. The Legionnaires responded with a thunderous cry of their own, the first line planting their boots in the mud, square shields raised and blades clanging. Kato felt his ears start ringing, Papus shield on his back shoving him forward, boots slipping in the mud. He glanced over his shield saw a Northman running his way all gnarly teeth amidst a mess of curly facial hair and clenched his mouth so hard his gums started hurting. The Northman turned at the last moment and fell on the shield next to his, but another came out of the mist and thudded on his shield, the iron rim banging on his helm. He stabbed with his sword at the crack between the shields, Belor standing on his right shoulder, got something solid and felt unable to breathe sandwiched as he was amidst two opposing forces. Kato stabbed with his sword again, blade clanging afore connecting. He wounded his index finger somewhere, the cut bleeding. The Northman dropped before his legs and he kicked his head in just to be sure, then turned his around, eyes ogling wild and bellowed at Papus furious. ¡°GIVE ME SOME ROOM YE FUCK!¡± Papus blinked unable to hear him, since the ruckus all around them was twice as loud as his strained voice. An axe landed on his shield, his arm buckling, something tearing inside his shoulder and he screamed afore stabbing at the culprit. Back and forth, men crying and yelling at the same time. Blood spraying on his sword and shield, the mud turning into a watery sludge and feet ever sinking in. Block and push back. Right arm stabbing at a steady rhythm, most times not connecting and Kato not knowing where it landed, when it did. Gore and sweat, urine and fear. The line holding and Lupis hoarse voice booming for the switch when the Northmen backed away. Kato stepped aside for Papus to take his place at the front, drenched in sweat and half-blind. His ears popped and all the sound came back from the rest of the battlefield. It made his head hurt something fierce. Kato wiped his face breathing heavily, gore mixed with sludge covering his hand. He found half-an-eye lodged at his guard cheek. Thankfully not his. ¡°ANYONE HAS EYES ON THE FOREST?¡± The Centurion boomed from the back on cue, the Century spread to cover as much of the approaches as it was possible. The Northmen had attacked from two sides without warning. It was an uncoordinated attack, coming in groups of forty, fifty per. ¡°We don¡¯t know what¡¯s in there fuck¡¯s sake!¡± Lupis cursed walking to the front and staring at the retreating Northmen. ¡°Where¡¯s Logan?¡± Agricola asked him approaching. ¡°Gata can handle the north approach, but you have trees and the bloody mist here Decanus. That¡¯s good ground you think?¡± For horses was his meaning. No it isn¡¯t, Kato thought, getting a foot out of the mud only for it to slowly sink back in. ¡°Not today,¡± Lupis replied backing him. ¡°But if the weather holds and the night turns cold, early on the morrow it might be hard enough sire.¡± ¡°They aren¡¯t getting through today. This was a piecemeal attempt,¡± Agricola reassured him. ¡°They are running out of light.¡± ¡°Issue water sire?¡± The Decanus asked. ¡°The back lines only,¡± He replied. ¡°Rotate them after. Find me Logan Decanus.¡±
Ah, Kato thought glugging down water from the leather flask. They aren¡¯t doing it again. ¡°How many?¡± Belor asked him wiping his blade from the gore. ¡°I didn¡¯t count.¡± ¡°Wasn¡¯t asking for your record ye stupid fuck,¡± Belor spat. ¡°Ye want me to count the bodies?¡± ¡°Either way we need to roll them down the slope,¡± Belor replied. ¡°Make room again.¡± There¡¯s that of course, Kato agreed, but he wasn¡¯t moving any stiffs unless he was ordered. ¡°Kato,¡± Lupis told him, just as he was about to take a nap on his feet. ¡°I don¡¯t see them coming back today.¡± ¡°Aye sire,¡± Kato replied a little guarded. The Decanus wasn¡¯t to be trusted. ¡°Yer probably in the right.¡± ¡°You know your letters some eh?¡± Lupis asked staring at the slope hugging the thick trees. ¡°Uhm.¡± ¡°I¡¯m gonna send Logan into them trees first dark,¡± Lupis said and Kato didn¡¯t like where this was going. ¡°Need someone to understand the Nords and speak decent Common for a scouting mission. Thought of you.¡± Ye rotten cack. ¡°Not really that fluent sire¡ª¡± Lupis stopped him. ¡°No need to play it modest Kato,¡± He told him and smacked his shoulder once. The one he¡¯d hurt earlier. Kato grimaced. ¡°It might earn you some points with the Centurion.¡± ¡°Assuming I get back,¡± Kato murmured. ¡°What was that?¡± ¡°Strolling in the dark,¡± Kato retorted. ¡°Me favorite.¡± Lupis frowned and looked at him strange. ¡°You are really weird Kato. Right, I¡¯ll tell the Centurion ye volunteered.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°It was optional,¡± Lupis explained and Kato glared his way none pleased. ¡°But I don¡¯t trust the Northmen right now, do you?¡±
Logan looked at him and Kato stopped chewing on the dried piece of pork. Worked it in his mouth instead, the hard meat gritty to the feel and with no flavor. Something howled at the distance and he flinched panicked, but Logan put a heavy hand on his shoulder and brought a finger on his mouth. Another howl answered nearer this time. Somewhere in the trees, the dark so thick you could cut it with a dagger. A moment passed then another. A branch moved, water rapping at the foliage. Kato smelled the pines and wet bark, the night cold. Summer was a euphemism in the North. Logan grunted to get his attention. Kato turned his head and caught sight of a figure slipping through the trees. A touch of moonlight coming down and gleaming on chainmail, afore he heard it rustle. Fuck. Logan signed for him to stay quiet and Kato was fine with it. He¡¯d left his shield and helm back to move faster, but now he was having second thoughts about it. Logan got up just as Kato was pondering whether he¡¯d made a mistake and walked confidently towards the Northman closest to them, pushing the branches aside. What in Tyeus¡­ The warrior heard Logan approach and turned around to see who it was. ¡°Yer making too much noise,¡± He admonished Logan and the mute grunted once afore running him through with his bastard sword. Ugh. The Northman went down, Logan¡¯s left hand covering his mouth and the right working to get his blade out of his chest. Kato got up to approach him, but another Northman appeared in front him, looking towards the edge of the trees and the canyon¡¯s mouth. The legionnaire froze, right hand clasping at his sword''s handle, ever tenderly trying to unsheathe it without the man standing a meter away hearing him. Logan returned and the Northman hearing the noise turned towards him, giving Kato the chance to unsheathe his sword. The hilt clinked on his plated armour, the warrior recoiled and twisted around axe swinging. Logan saw the gleam of the blade at the last moment and jerked away, putting a blade on it. The sword rang and bounced off, missing Kato¡¯s nose for an arsehair. He cursed, the Northman grunted and Logan who had reached them in the meantime stabbed the back of his head, the blade exploding out of the warrior¡¯s mouth breaking his teeth.
¡°How did it go?¡± Papus asked when they returned near their fires, eyeing Kato¡¯s face and neck that were painted in gore. ¡°They are in the woods,¡± An exhausted Kato replied still shook. ¡°Mostly gauging our numbers, I think.¡± ¡°Run into trouble?¡± ¡°Nah.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll tell the Decanus,¡± Papus said to give him a moment and Kato collapsed on his knees. He was asleep a second later.
First month of summer 190 NC Kas front Battle at the Mouth 3rd Maniple, First Century The south approach Second day -Sixth hour, noon- The Knight turned around, iron hooves digging at the dark ground and steel plate gleaming in the sun. The warhorse snorted, shaking its great head and started galloping again. Fast. Kato pulled out of the line, an eye on the Carls trotting up the sloped ground, the other on Lord Lennox¡¯s entourage two hundred meters away and just outside the woods, watching the fourth assault of the day. The first he¡¯d committed his better troops. ¡°Get back in line!¡± Lupis barked seeing him turning towards the charging Knight. Kato glanced at Belor who¡¯d gotten the lance through the neck and out of the ribs, the rider sneaking up on them in the confusion that¡¯d followed the retreat of the Northmen¡¯s previous wave. Lupis shoved him behind Papus and stooping grabbed a discarded shield determined on stopping the Knight himself. Gods darn it, Kato thought seeing the onrushing knight approaching their flanks whilst the Carls charged the final meters to reach their thin line. Papus blocked a sword with his shield, the force shoving him back on Kato¡¯s, who had to still both his legs to stop the shieldwall from buckling there. Decanus Lupis used his shield as well, his face a tensed mask. He took the lance on it and made to turn it aside, but the darn steel tip went clean through and skewered his chest. The lance exploded out of the Decanus back going through his heart, gore and dark blood splashing Kato¡¯s legs and killed him instantly. Fuck. The warhorse pushed him aside and Lupis went down taking the broken lance with him, the Knight turning his maddened horse around in a wide circle and unsheathing his longsword. He was going to charge at them again from the sides and there was no one else there to cover them. They¡¯d lost too many men. Kato still pushing his shield onto Papus back, the legionnaire working his sword back and forth alike a plunger, swung his head one way and eyed Lord Lennox nodding to a couple of his knights to ride up the slope and then back the other to glare at the Knight with the engraved two-tailed viper on his chest approaching slowly. Bucket of cack down the gullet, he cursed and slapped once at his shield to let Papus know he had to pull away. Whether his friend understood it, or not Kato didn¡¯t know. He stepped to the side, the fight raging, swords clanging, shields bashing and hammers and axes thudding in a frenzy. Yells and cries mixed in between. The cacophony horrendous, but after a time turning into a constant buzz, a background noise that you could strangely get used to. Kato banged his sword on his shield to draw the Knight¡¯s attention away from their wall and he turned to look at him from atop his horse a little surprised. ¡°Drop it and run,¡± The Knight told him in his heavy Lesia accent and Kato shook his helmed head rejecting his offer. ¡°As you wish,¡± The knight yielded and reaching on his expensive saddle unhooked a warspear. He sheathed his sword casually and switched hands on the spear, bringing the back of the shaft under his armpit. Shite. The Knight, face hidden behind his helm¡¯s cover now, snapped his heels and started his horse going. The warhorse jumped on its powerful hind legs and catapulted forward. One second and it covered four meters, two and it was less than four away, black eyes huge and froth covering its mouth up to its nostrils. Kato clenched his teeth hard, his muscles locking up, knowing he was about to get killed, or maimed at the very least. The latter probably the worst of the two options. He tried to think of something meaningful, but all he could come up with was that girl in Krakenhall months back, skin a light brown, hair almost orange. A half-breed she was. Spat in his face she had. That cunt. The knight raised his spear, man and horse one big moving thing seemingly impossible to stop, until they did. Got stopped that is. Layton stepped between him and the onrushing Knight, punched the freaked out horse right on the snout and snapped that long head back. Kato heard the crack when the horse¡¯s neck snapped and the hapless animal went down on its knees, the stunned knight plunging with a tremendous thud on the ¨Cunfortunately for him- much harder ground, shook it like a falling boulder and then rolled away alike one. More a heap of wrapped metal than a person. Good grief. ¡°Logan says you need to shorten the line,¡± Layton said evenly, snapping him out of his shock. ¡°Tell the Decanus¡­¡± He paused remembering Lupis had just been killed. ¡°Where¡¯s the Centurion?¡± ¡°He¡¯s injured,¡± Layton replied, now sounding sad. ¡°Shorten the line little man.¡±
It is impossible to decipher today why Lucius decided to push towards Kas that summer. Trupo who¡¯d kept the records of the campaign, insists this had been the plan from the beginning. The Legatus wanted to reach as close to Regia as it was possible and reestablish communications with his family back home. While keeping a brave public face, it is difficult to imagine he hadn¡¯t been affected to the tragic news he had received in so close a succession. Others suggest the Jarl wasn¡¯t going to follow after him, had he gone for Eaglesnest. While Jarl David wanted to avenge his firstborn¡¯s death, his people were exhausted from the heavy fighting of the previous two years and the old Jarl knew very well that the Crulls had recuperated their losses, whilst he hadn¡¯t. So it is conceivable Lucius had turned towards Kas to entice Fetya into a larger conflict he feared was coming. A border city, so near Fenford Burg directly to the North, it made for an enticing target. Most importantly it freed the hands of Skuff Juter, his son had been with the Jarl at about the same time the Legatus had started his return journey. His warbands poured out of the coastal city of Rifjordal and marched towards Halfostad to cut the Duke¡¯s forces off and block reinforcements coming from Kadrek later that summer anyway. Was Lucius thinking that far ahead? Perhaps his reasoning was much simpler. He just couldn¡¯t remain in the North forever, knowing Regia was about to be plunged into chaos. The Legatus, as Nonus Sula wrote in his memoirs, was homesick. Whatever the case may be, Lord Lennox deliberated hard whether to attack Agricola¡¯s sole Century and clear the road once and for all, or to allow Lucius to explain himself and his bizarre behavior. Queen Vacia, Lucius late mother had been a very close friend of the old Marshal, who found himself conflicted surely. His younger daughter must be noted here, was Saskia, the Queen of Lesia. Several factors factored into what eventually turned into a prolonged fight that lasted at least three days. Four according to Trupo, who wasn¡¯t present though on this front. Firstly Sir William, the Duke¡¯s son who was in Kas, either got blinded by hatred for the man that had killed his pregnant sister, or was under orders to take out Lucius if he had the chance. He pressed for a direct assault on the smaller force citing the many warriors that had flocked under his banner and the chance to cut off Lucius retreat, afore the Jarl¡¯s force that surely worked with him came down from Fenford Burg. Lord Lennox dismissed the first argument not trusting the quality of the local warriors that hadn¡¯t fought a war in twenty years, but realized there was merit in the second. Early reports had revealed that despite Agricola¡¯s boast of this being a ¡®Legion¡¯, its numbers were smaller than he¡¯d expected to face. Still after thinking it through, he decided late that night to wait for the force from Lesia to arrive before rushing into a conflict. So he ordered the Carls to set up a camp outside the city and wait for proper reinforcements. The old general went to sleep for a couple of hours and got up early in the morning, as was his habit, only to be informed that while he rested Sir William had taken the local force he¡¯d managed to gather ¨Caround six hundred men- and attacked the legionnaires. Fuming he rushed out of the city to stop him, but it was too late. Sir William¡¯s forces got mauled by Agricola¡¯s legionnaires so badly it backfired for both him and Lord Lennox. The Lord Shield couldn¡¯t allow the indignity of a small rebel force insulting the King of Lesia by making him appear weak before his vassal. He couldn¡¯t allow also Sir William to return to his father thoroughly humiliated. So he begrudgingly set up a plan to grind down the legionnaires and test their mettle by rotating one attack after the other without over-committing. When he finally did he pushed one flank back and managed to cut off the Century from its Castrum. Unfortunately for him, the supply train was coming down from the mountain pass closely followed by Nonus Sula¡¯s First Century of the Second Cohort. Since the now famed general¡¯s Century was also escorting the heavily pregnant Lady Faye Alden, a worried Lucius had eventually decided to tag along as well. The Legatus would abandon command of the Third Legion to Tribune Veturius thinking the Battle of the Gorge, now in its third day, was on its last legs. Lord Bart would once again remind the Legatus that patience is -more times than not- the better strategy.
218. The color of mud (3/3)
Centurion (Primus Pilus) Paulus Agricola First Century, First Cohort, Third Legion Born Illirium 165 NC ¨C Fell near Kas 190 NC - One of a hundred and forty seven (147) names on the list Engraved under one of the gold Phaleras (Medals) Decorating the north hall of the Wall of the Fallen, in Elysium Fort
Legatus Lucius Alden The color of mud Part III -Lead the way Legionnaire-
Battle at the Gorge First day Rows upon rows of warriors followed after the retreating Sir Hein Crull up the slanted road, effectively leaving the field and the legionnaires responded with thunderous taunts and insults thrown at their opponents. ¡°They aren¡¯t coming back for the day milord,¡± Galio noted evenly. Lucius nodded his eyes watching the slowly moving away enemy forces. The Crulls had attacked twice with about two thousand men in two waves, but had made no gains. The narrow front between the forest and the mountain inclines, what they called the gorge, favored the excellent static defense of the Legion. The First and Second Cohorts had been deployed there, with the Third held behind them and near the Castrum in reserve. ¡°Should we follow them Tribune?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure that¡¯s what they want Legatus,¡± Galio replied. ¡°They know their mountain and they¡¯ll fight near their walls, or behind them.¡± ¡°Stand the men down,¡± Lucius ordered and turned Stormbolt around, Marc Gripa following on his own horse.
Prefect Trupo was waiting for him before his field headquarters. The Castrum was a kilometer behind the gorge and Lucius wanted to be closer to the men. It had been decided they¡¯ll keep their lines during the night. ¡°Legatus,¡± The mustached officer saluted. ¡°How¡¯s the supply train Prefect?¡± Lucius asked getting right to business, sitting down and accepting a cup of spiced warm wine Gripa¡¯s assistant had prepared for him. ¡°Slowly leaving up the pass sire,¡± Trupo replied readily. ¡°By morrow we¡¯ll have sent everything.¡± ¡°You pulled Sula from the line?¡± ¡°He¡¯s been briefed sire. He¡¯ll follow along. I don¡¯t believe he¡¯ll be happy about the pace.¡± ¡°I want him vigilant not fast Prefect.¡± ¡°Of course. He¡¯ll stick with the train Legatus, alike a horse fly on a mare¡¯s arse,¡± Trupo loved that joke. Lucius sighed, then removed his gloves and rubbed his face hard. ¡°The Tribune?¡± He asked finally. ¡°Inspecting the Third. He¡¯ll come here right after,¡± Trupo replied. He¡¯d a couple of scrolls in his hands. ¡°You think they are in the woods?¡± Lucius asked him. ¡°It¡¯s possible.¡± ¡°Anyone spotted fires in the night?¡± Lucius asked tasting the wine with a grimace. ¡°Nothing. Though it must be noted that the locals claim Bas rangers can sleep in the snow,¡± Trupo shrugged his shoulders at the latter. ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t buy that either,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°If proper Northmen freeze to death, then he¡¯s not immune,¡± He remembered Lord Bart¡¯s younger son from the Battle of the Bridges. He remembered the painted white half-breed and his men killing Roderick. He made an effort to find his body after they¡¯d crossed the Montfoot, but it was futile more than a year after the event and the heavy scavenging of the dead that had followed. His mood worsened remembering the man he¡¯d grew up with. ¡°He doesn¡¯t care about his men,¡± Trupo noted respectfully sensing his distress. ¡°I¡¯m not sending the Third into the woods,¡± Lucius said. ¡°The moment the train is on its way properly, we¡¯ll follow after it. We¡¯ll make good time without having to wait for them to catch up.¡± ¡°Lord Bart seems to want to entice us to attack him up the slopes.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not doing that either,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°You have a message for me Prefect?¡± ¡°I do sire.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve read it then?¡± Lucius stood back with a pained expression. ¡°I have sire.¡± Bad news. More, always more. Trupo placed Canutia¡¯s small scroll on the table. A tiny thing, the size of his thumb. Lucius took it and unfurled it, stopping shy from reading the tiny scribblings. ¡°What does it say Trupo?¡± He asked the Prefect instead. Trupo cleared his throat and stared at the silent watching them Gripa. ¡°Out with it Prefect,¡± Lucius urged him. ¡°The Queen Regent stepped down,¡± Trupo said solemnly. ¡°Left the throne to your brother,¡± Lucius pushed back on his chair, the wooden construct creaking but holding his weight. ¡°He¡¯s been declared King publicly sire.¡± Lucius kept his eyes on the small missive in his hand. The language on it sterile. Trupo pressed his mouth tight standing rigid before his small field table, Marc Gripa not even breathing to his right. ¡°Does Galio know?¡± He finally said, feeling his hands turning cold. Gripa refilled his cup for him in gloomy silence. ¡°I haven¡¯t talked with anyone,¡± Trupo replied. ¡°He doesn¡¯t.¡± What in all hells is this? What did you do Miranda? Why? ¡°Was she pressured?¡± He asked, but the officer couldn¡¯t answer him. ¡°Ask Canutia for details.¡± ¡°She might not have¡ª¡± ¡°Nattas would, she¡¯s his creature,¡± Lucius cut him off. ¡°Send the bird Prefect. Find the Tribune.¡± ¡°Right away, Legatus,¡± Trupo saluted and walked out. Lucius puffed out and watched Gripa placing a bit of dry wood in the brazier, the light of the fire growing and lighting up his tent. The sun had come down, bringing a cold dark night over the field. ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem right, milord,¡± Gripa commented after a long moment. Lucius was too shocked at the news and whilst he didn¡¯t want to jump to conclusions, it was difficult not to. ¡°Unless I¡¯m dead, it¡¯s also unlawful,¡± Lucius said making an effort to keep his tempers checked. ¡°Whomever thought of this, must presume I¡¯m not coming back. They must also assume I¡¯ll not react, or be in a forgiving mood after I learn about it. Nothing is further from the truth.¡± ¡°Why go ahead with it then?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been away for too long,¡± Lucius replied evenly and got up, feeling a little dazed when he did. ¡°It is not an excuse Gripa, nor a justification for this treachery.¡± Tribune Veturius walked in then, the aged officer¡¯s face dark. Lucius noticed his boots were covered in mud. ¡°You¡¯ve went into the woods.¡± ¡°Penetrated half a kilometer with a Century,¡± Galio replied. ¡°Found nothing.¡± ¡°They¡¯ll know how to hide.¡± ¡°Or they are not there.¡± ¡°Lord Bart had ages to prepare a response,¡± Lucius argued. ¡°Opted to stay near his city. He must have asked for support. Where is the High King¡¯s response? What is it, we don¡¯t know Tribune?¡± ¡°I can only respond to what I can find in the field milord,¡± Galio said with a grimace. ¡°You want a cup of wine? You may preach that an officer is never off duty Galio, but I order you to take a break,¡± Lucius told him and returned to his chair. ¡°Gripa has something prepared, I¡¯m not sure how to describe it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s good for the cold milord,¡± Gripa insisted getting another cup for the Tribune. ¡°There, what he said,¡± Lucius yielded and pressed two fingers at the bridge of his nose. Galio spent a moment to read the short missive and then got his cup from the table and drained it in a go. Blinked once after he did and glared at a stone-faced Gripa. ¡°What am I doing here Galio?¡± Lucius asked him informally. ¡°All this effort, bringing the North closer to Regia. All the losses to good people. My father¡¯s will and orders. For what?¡± ¡°You still have the army milord,¡± Galio replied. ¡°Not even a Legion,¡± Lucius grimaced pensively. ¡°I don¡¯t see another at the near milord. Most soldiers don¡¯t know where Regia is, but they know Lucius Alden. It¡¯s sharing a common goal with you what motivates these simple people and humble, small things you wouldn¡¯t know about. In the end of the day the men are with you.¡± ¡°For how long?¡± ¡°As long as it bloody takes. The old man had me swore an oath, but I would¡¯ve done it anyway.¡± ¡°I may never sit the throne.¡± ¡°You will,¡± Galio argued with conviction, ¡°and three thousand men and women outside this tent, will get to brag they helped you get on it milord.¡± ¡°I must know what¡¯s going on down there,¡± Lucius finally said feeling emotional and opened a map on the table. He stared at the road cutting straight through the Nor Maze Heights and ended up north of the Canlita Sea. Lakelords country. Open fields, good for cavalry and archers. Was the High King waiting for him there? Had the lords sold him off in exchange for peace? ¡°Whatever their reasoning milord,¡± Galio said reading his face. ¡°It won¡¯t stand under scrutiny. Those behind it must be brought to justice.¡± ¡°They put Jeremy on the throne,¡± Lucius murmured. ¡°She did. Lord Doris probably backed her. She could¡¯ve stayed on the throne, but she didn¡¯t. Her beef was with me it seems. But even so this doesn¡¯t seem to make any sense. Why not keep it? Why disrespect her husband¡¯s wishes?¡± ¡°Perhaps she couldn¡¯t,¡± Galio said looking at his cup. ¡°Or her interests lay elsewhere. It matters little.¡± Lucius frowned. ¡°Speak clearly Tribune.¡± ¡°Not my place to talk on these matters milord.¡± ¡°It is now, because I asked you,¡± Lucius grunted, his anger rising and spilling out. ¡°Since you know something, it must mean you talk about it, just not in my presence!¡± Galio appeared visibly hurt at his words. Lucius grimaced and clenched his fists tight to calm himself down. Galio is on my darn side, what am I doing? ¡°That was uncalled for Tribune,¡± He said after a moment of awkward silence between them. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have said it.¡± Galio smacked his lips and wiped the sweat of the top of his closely shorn head with a gloved hand. ¡°The late King in his wisdom was an old man,¡± Galio said finally. ¡°His cousin¡­ Queen Miranda a very young woman. A child the first time I saw her milord,¡± He added. ¡°I understand that Galio,¡± Lucius replied. He never thought of her as his mother. Lucius was older than her for starters. ¡°Nobles do that, marriages are arranged, even with closer kin.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not talking about what commoners perceive as proper or not milord,¡± Galio replied. ¡°I was born in Asturia, lived in Alden for years and found that people thought the same for the most part. But for the island priestesses, I reckon. Down on the coast though, eh, them winds coming from Wetull make people do crazy things.¡± Lucius blinked unsure where the Tribune was going with this. ¡°The winds?¡± He repeated. ¡°The winds and age difference milord. The Queen can¡¯t be over six and twenty. Some say she¡¯s younger than that,¡± Galio corrected him. Lucius eyes turned cold. ¡°I may be aggrieved at the news Tribune, consider you a friend even,¡± He rustled. ¡°But I can¡¯t accept such vitriol thrown at my family. Or any noble person. You are out of line.¡± ¡°Apologies milord. It¡¯s a rumor. It reached us afore the missive,¡± Galio responded setting his jaw. ¡°The officers kept it from you sire, out of respect. Worse words were used sire.¡± ¡°That is enough!¡± Lucius barked and slammed his fist on the table. But he was affected by the officer¡¯s words. They resonated truth to his ears. A conspiracy? Does this mean they had my father killed? He grinded his teeth and got up, a ringing in his ears. Walked to the corner of his tent and then came back fuming. ¡°You won¡¯t keep news from me Tribune,¡± He said stopping to look at the aged officer¡¯s face. ¡°With respects milord,¡± Galio argued, not giving in an inch. ¡°In order for the Legion to run properly, the Legatus must be shielded from external and internal threats. If you¡¯re distracted milord, we¡¯re all doomed. You are the army.¡± Damn it Galio. ¡°My family isn¡¯t a threat Tribune!¡± Lucius grunted. He didn¡¯t want to venture down that path in fear blind anger might consume him. ¡°At this point milord,¡± Galio insisted not backing away. ¡°They are. Had I been in your shoes, I¡¯d question the King¡¯s death.¡± Lucius already had done that. The pithole dark and bottomless. He puffed out and turned away, eyed a solemn-faced Gripa for a moment and then returned to the chair. He collapsed on it, his mouth dry. ¡°Faye is leaving with the smiths and the civilians soon,¡± He said wearily after a moment. ¡°I shall speak with her Tribune, then retire for a couple of hours.¡±
Lord Bart Crull realizing there was no help coming and with news about a big force gathering beyond the rivers, he set up a defense of the main route to Eaglesnest in depth. He built a series of half-towers, even cut off the hide merchant caravans that had started coming up the moment the weather improved. This caused friction with Lord Van Calcar, who dispatched Lord Dilan, Baron of Brownfort and his Shield to protest the practice. Van Calcar didn¡¯t much care of hides, but the caravan had to cross his lands, either by cart, or ship and he taxed everything that moved. Lord Dilan protested until he turned blue in the face sources claim, but Lord Bart apologized and sent him right back down the road citing he was fighting for his life and didn¡¯t give a copper for Lord Van Calcar¡¯s loss of tax income. The latter would have petitioned the High King about it, but Antoon was in a vegetated state those days and Van Calcar himself was persona non grata in the Council after the whole debacle with a certain Van Durren lass. So the ¡®Wolf-fish¡¯ did nothing for a while, but slowly seething in anger. When Lucius finally appeared, he annoyingly didn¡¯t attack up the slopes, but rather built a Castrum ¨Cthe Legion¡¯s fortified (walled) camp- between Wolvesbane and the Gorge guarding the leg of the road leading to Mountain¡¯s Pass and then Kas. The Legatus just wouldn¡¯t move it seemed. Lord Bart ordered an attack down the slopes, but that was repelled and the men returned after losing thirty warriors in ten minutes and seventy in half an hour. Realizing this wasn¡¯t sustainable Lord Bart agreed to have his third son Bas and his Rangers ¨Ca rogue group cultivated by the enigmatic warrior that was rumored to have committed untold atrocities for years- flank the dug in Legion from the west side and the forest there. Bas and his men had remained behind enemy lines, living off the land near the banks of Midriver, just as he¡¯d done during the Battle of the Bridges. Lord Bart attacked the second day thinking the message had gone through, but the Legion had set up patrols to its extended flanks and O¡¯ Dargan¡¯s Northmen had started appearing over the Midriver Bridge, so Bas had to lay low to avoid detection. The second attack was another disaster for Lord Bart. The legionnaires were waiting for them to come down the slopes fully prepared and alerted. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. It is recorded that ten warriors fell for every one reaching the long shieldwall and the ditch afore it ¨Cat least two Cohorts had manned the front there. Those were the Second and First Cohort the latter missing the First Century under Agricola. The Third and newer Cohort was kept in reserve, mostly to guard the west flanks of the Legion and the Castrum. Such was the carnage that Sir Hein canceled the attack an hour later afore consulting his father. The Crulls had probably lost one third of their army there. A livid Lord Bart considered retreating to Eaglesnest, but his daughter Lady Sanne rushed inside during the war meeting and implored him not to do it. The strong-willed woman insisted Bas had taken his message and that he would make his move on the night of the third day. While she was quietly ridiculed by the knights present, her words carried weight with her father, who long believed his daughter had the ¡®Goddess Eye¡¯. Whether Lady Sanne is a Seer, or not, no one can answer with any certainty. Having seen her up close recently I must argue, she isn¡¯t much of a Hag also. She¡¯s just up in years like everyone else from that time. Bas did attack on the night of the fourth though, so that part she got right. Lucius who by the third day had run out of patience, his attention drawn to the supply train slowly traveling east following the Mountain pass and the shocking news that had come from Regia, needed but a small spark to move on. In his restless mind Lord Bart had already lost the battle.
Battle at the Gorge Second day Lucius climbed on top of Stormbolt to better see the field, the ruckus quieting down and the Crulls pulling back shattered. Had they had a proper auxiliary Cohort packed with archers and slingers he could have wiped them out here. Eh, he thought. I don¡¯t see them trying that again. He turned around, after waving his hand to the legionnaires who immediately recognized his distinct helm and armour. The front lines came alive. The loud cheers coming back to him brimming with a sense of pride, common purpose, love and jubilation. Just like Galio had described it. The uproar scared away the stillness of the bloodied field anew. Lucius gave them a show galloping down the lines, Stormbolt jumping over slain bodies and the ditch that was filled with them, one on top of the other. Over five hundred dead in an hour, he calculated, a frozen smile on his handsome face. We¡¯ve become the merchants of death. You sir, are the biggest shareholder. The thought disturbing.
¡°Well that was something milord,¡± Gripa told him with a genuine smile, when he tossed him the reins and jumped down. ¡°The men love a good win, mister Gripa,¡± Lucius replied, his mood had taken a hit on his return behind their lines and walked to his headquarters. Trupo had the table set outside under the cold sun and was talking with a couple of Centurions. The Nord Centurion Artus Mangas, easily standing out. ¡°Legatus!¡± Centurion Capito said louder than everyone else and saluted. ¡°Gents,¡± Lucius replied with a curt nod, still affected by the carnage he¡¯d just witnessed. ¡°Anyone has the numbers?¡± ¡°Macrinus¡¯ Second, lost the most Legatus,¡± Trupo replied, with a glance at the report. Probably written moments before. ¡°Seven casualties. Two dead. I presume the total to be around thirty casualties.¡± ¡°Those that jumped over the ditch were killed too fast to inflict any,¡± Mangas noted. ¡°It wasn¡¯t really a contest.¡± ¡°It is a horrible position to attack,¡± Lucius agreed. ¡°We see them coming a good twenty minutes afore they reach our lines. This could have worked if they were fighting rebels, or Nords,¡± He eyed the Centurion, but he shrugged his shoulders agreeing. ¡°But against a disciplined force behind shields it¡¯s just plain suicide. Lord Bart wants to provoke us to follow him to where he has prepared the ground, but we won¡¯t. How soon before he realizes we can just wipe out his whole force without breaking camp?¡± ¡°He needs more Cavalry, but we left him little room to maneuver or charge on. What horses he has, he keeps out of the gorge for fear of losing them. You can¡¯t replace a horse as easy as a man,¡± Capito added, the callous opinion perfectly sound. ¡°The question is, will he try again?¡± Lucius asked them. ¡°He has to think of O¡¯ Dargan,¡± Trupo said, still adding numbers as Legionnaires were running back and forth bringing updates from the front located three hundred meters to their south. ¡°We might leave Legatus, but the Jarl will remain his unfriendly neighbor.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± Lucius glanced at the stream of supplies coming from the Castrum. ¡°How much time we have without the train Prefect?¡± ¡°The Quartermaster left enough supplies for a week,¡± Trupo replied looking at him. ¡°We¡¯ll know way sooner than that,¡± Lucius reassured him, but it was directed to the other soldiers present.
¡°Salted venison in garlic soup, milord,¡± Gripa said, when Lucius eyed the plate in front of him. Trupo had brought his table inside earlier. ¡°No fresh bread.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll just let it soak for a bit,¡± Lucius told him. ¡°Any wine left?¡± ¡°The last bottle,¡± Gripa replied. ¡°Ramsey Colt wouldn¡¯t leave without them milord.¡± The Quartermaster loathed parting with supplies. ¡°It was a struggle to get him to unlock the boxes.¡± Right. ¡°Just leave it as is Gripa,¡± Lucius said. ¡°The cold can sneak up¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯ll manage,¡± Lucius cut him off, just as Trupo entered with an armful of parchments. ¡°Better to have something with a bit of taste left that doesn¡¯t numb my gums going down, all so I can feel my hands.¡± ¡°We can withstand the cold mister Gripa, is the Legatus meaning,¡± Trupo added with a smile, his mustache dancing. Gripa sighed. ¡°Brave words gents, voiced in the summer,¡± He said, a warning in his voice. ¡°There,¡± Lucius said stabbing a piece of venison with his fork. ¡°We are sufficiently warned Prefect, right?¡± ¡°Undoubtedly milord,¡± Trupo replied. ¡°Fresh bunch?¡± He asked whilst chewing the well cooked meat. Lucius could do with less salt, a blasphemous notion at the dinners Miranda used to serve them. The thought of his step-mother souring his mood and messing up with his appetite. ¡°Just arrived.¡± ¡°Canutia answered so soon?¡± Lucius asked and wiped his mouth with a towel. ¡°Not the same bird, different topic,¡± Trupo said reading the missive again. Lucius extended his arm to accept it from him. He read it with his brows raised, then found a bronze cup of wine Gripa had prepared and emptied it. ¡°Someone tried to take out Antoon,¡± Lucius said and Trupo nodded. ¡°Is she certain?¡± ¡°Why would she start lying now? It rang true milord.¡± Well¡­ ¡°Why is the heir in Midlanor?¡± Lucius asked reading from the text. ¡°What was the High Queen doing there so late in her pregnancy?¡± ¡°It¡¯s strange.¡± ¡°Yes it is Prefect.¡± ¡°He can¡¯t be more than a month old,¡± Trupo replied and grimaced. ¡°What?¡± Lucius asked him, sensing there was more there. ¡°A couple of prisoners said¡­ some lords don¡¯t accept the boy,¡± Trupo said with a grimace. ¡°What is this?¡± Lucius snapped and got up. ¡°Are we to dispute every succession now? It¡¯s his son!¡± ¡°The details are a little murky there Legatus,¡± Trupo explained. ¡°Bah! Where are the prisoners?¡± ¡°Kaeso worked on them, some didn¡¯t make it.¡± Lucius sighed. ¡°How many did survive?¡± ¡°That would be none milord,¡± Trupo replied after a small pause. ¡°The last one bled out afore I checked on them.¡±
Battle at the Gorge Third day The next morning brought no new attack from the Crulls, though scouts could spot them at their positions beyond the gorge. An hour away. The day dragged and Lucius spent it discussing with Galio whether they should dismantle the Castrum, keep what was useful and follow the last of the wagons up the Mountain Pass. ¡°He¡¯s not going to attack again,¡± Lucius said. ¡°Maybe he¡¯s waiting for help, but if Antoon is incapacitated, then whomever is in charge must deal with a couple of more important things I imagine. Like the war on Eplas and the matter of succession.¡± ¡°Why would they dispute Antoon¡¯s son milord?¡± ¡°I discussed it with Trupo,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°It was an assassination attempt, perhaps some of the lords want to make a bid for the throne.¡± ¡°The timing is suspect.¡± It was. That was two kings brought down within a year. Not even that. There was also the matter of the Prince¡¯s murder and little Silvie. The thought of his young sister brought a wave of emotion on him and he reeled with his fists clenched. The silence dragging between the two men. ¡°Any word from O¡¯ Dargan?¡± Lucius asked after he calmed down some. ¡°A group arrived from Wolvesbane,¡± Galio replied. ¡°Said the place was deserted, not much left behind. The winter ruined its innards as the Crulls didn¡¯t do much work on it. There was a bear living in its yard. It had a big family.¡± ¡°Would Lord Bart discuss a peace offering?¡± ¡°After Sir Reggy, I don¡¯t believe it milord.¡± Lucius didn¡¯t have the stomach to face those murderers as well. The sound of galloping from outside interrupting his thoughts. He heard Trupo talking and the murmuring of the men near them, afore the Prefect started barking for everyone to disperse to their posts. He got up and walked to the exit of his tent, with Galio following behind him. Trupo was talking with a worn out rider, one of Decurion¡¯s Long¡¯s lads. Lucius felt a burning spreading in his stomach, when he recognized the mud-covered young man. He was one of the riders Lucius had given to Agricola days before. Something had happened.
¡°Sovya?¡± Lucius repeated rubbing his face with both hands. ¡°Lord Lennox? Are you sure?¡± He felt the ocean rushing on him and all he had to stop it was a small shield. ¡°Would they attack?¡± Trupo asked the rider, but the man was glugging down water to get a piece of lard he¡¯d swallowed down and couldn¡¯t speak. ¡°Agricola wouldn¡¯t have sent a messenger otherwise. He had a day¡¯s respite, perhaps half that,¡± Galio said gravely. Agricola is probably fighting as we speak, was his meaning. Or worse. ¡°Is this Lord Bart¡¯s doing?¡± Trupo asked. ¡°Sovya hates the Crulls,¡± Lucius replied. They hate the Jarl and yours truly as well, he thought. ¡°Lord Lennox is old school though, very cautious alike Lord Bart, he won¡¯t rush an attack. Not without a plan, or the numbers.¡± ¡°How did you make it here so fast?¡± Galio asked the tired rider. ¡°Changed my horse at the supply train sire. I made no other stops,¡± Rurik the young rider replied, looking half dead, half-asleep. ¡°The train must have stretched over the whole pass by now.¡± Damn it, Lucius thought. His mind on Faye. ¡°Sula could reach him in time,¡± Galio said reading his face. ¡°Sula will not leave the train behind,¡± Lucius argued. ¡°Can we send another Century? Half the army is loitering here doing nothing,¡± He added what they all knew. ¡°It¡¯s two days of hard marching, unless they make no stops to rest, or sleep and cut it in half,¡± Trupo argued. ¡°But that would neuter them in a fight.¡± ¡°Send the Cavalry,¡± Galio offered, seeing no other option available. ¡°With every horse with have.¡± ¡°Alert the Decurion,¡± Trupo ordered his aide. ¡°This might need a firmer negotiation,¡± Lucius said. ¡°I know the Duke of Cediorum. I¡¯ve been on campaign with him,¡± He stared in Galio¡¯s face, before adding. ¡°At Yepehir.¡± The old officer stood back, but said nothing. Lucius cleared his throat and continued. ¡°If I leave now, I can make it there faster than any other. I know the terrain and I can mobilize Sula¡¯s Century, after I evaluate the situation,¡± He breathed out once. ¡°What about Lord Bart?¡± Galio asked him. ¡°I don¡¯t think he will attack,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°It¡¯s the third day. He came twice and failed. But it¡¯s your decision and I¡¯ll accept it.¡± ¡°Legatus?¡± Galio asked surprised. ¡°You have the command Tribune,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°Take care of my Legion.¡±
Tribune Galio Veturius pulled the Third and Fourth Century out of the flanks to set up a reserve force, intending to counter attack the Crulls if they decided to attack them. The third day went by without a sign of trouble though, the night quiet and the Tribune woke up early in the morning of the fourth day with the intention to pack up and leave the gorge to go after the Legatus. Lucius had left the previous day and hurried up the mountain pass bringing with him a force of about thirty riders and seventy horses. They traveled fast over the hardened terrain ¨Cthis was the fourth full day without rain and good sun- making good time and quickly catching up with Ramsey¡¯s Colt slow moving supply wagons. They continued up the mountain pass and reached the junction six hours later where they met the second large group of wagons and civilians. The path was half-blocked there, slow-moving oxen, horses and mules fighting for space, next to civilians and merchants. Faye¡¯s lighter carriage was leading that group, two of Centurion Sula¡¯s maniples marching alongside his pregnant wife. When he asked on the whereabouts of the rest of the Century, he was informed by a nervous Decanus that Sula had learned Agricola had gotten cornered at the mouth and was fighting for his life for at least two days. The Centurion had force-marched half his Century up the path to offer assistance. Lucius changed horses and went after him without delay. He caught up with the marching column a couple of hours later, had a brief conversation with the Centurion and continued on with Decurion Long in tow towards the Mouth. In the Gorge Tribune Veturius plans were interrupted, when the Crulls started forming up for another assault. The Tribune rushed to the front line after a brief meeting with Prefect Trupo. The Prefect was to lead the counter attack once the Crulls were spent and chase them back to the slopes inflicting as much damage as it was possible. Without the kind-hearted Legatus around, the old officer ordered the Prefect to kill or maim as many as he could without mercy. Half-way into the battle¡¯s fourth day, Bas Crull¡¯s rangers came out of the woods. They had circled around the Legion¡¯s west flank all night, with some elements getting lost and reaching the Montfoot where they got slaughtered by the Northmen loitering there, and managed to attack the Castrum from the North wall overcoming the thin picket line there and a patrol. Once inside the set up fires to the structure, a stupid move in reality and killed and plundered what they found, mostly supplies and wounded legionnaires, along with two Dottores and four nurses. The fires alerted Prefect Trupo who wasn¡¯t engaged with the main fight and his two Centuries moved to intercept the Rangers that were pouring out of the Castrum. Bas daring assault would have worked perfectly had panic set in, but it didn¡¯t. Prefect Trupo¡¯s men stalled and then pushed back his rangers despite having a disadvantage in range weapons and numbers initially. The alerted and returning Centuries of the Third Cohort that were guarding the outer half-ring, or west flank of the Legion, caught his men in a deathly vise inside a burning Castrum. It was a massacre. Bas managed to escape losing eighty percent of his force, or around three hundred men, a devastating blow for Lord Bart as his unit was one of the best in this kind of warfare at the time. His assault though forced Tribune Veturius hand and ruined his plans. Lord Bart managed to salvage his attacking force ¨Cit produced little results again- and live to fight another day. Bas would eventually find his way back after his miraculous escape from the surrounded burning Castrum and reappear yet again in the next deciding battle two months later. But it was the loss of his supplies and wounded that made the Tribune to retreat the next morning. Realizing they had become a stationary target slowly fragmenting to smaller units, Galio marched the Legion after its supply train and its Legatus arriving at Kas two days later. He brought along Lady Faye and much needed reinforcements to a fraught Lucius, who had in the meantime found himself at war with most of Jelin.
Battle at the Mouth Third day, late noon The first thing Lucius saw coming out of the gulley was the small Castrum at the flat crook of the mountain¡¯s side. The path leant downhill following the road towards Kas cutting between the thick trees. Whitebark giants on one side, dark barked pines on the other. One wall of the Castrum was burning, the light drowned in black smoke that darkened the late afternoon sun. A Northman was running with a lit torch towards the two meters tall wall. People were fighting each other in front of the Castrum, with more sounds of heavy fighting coming from further down the path and to the North. Lucius couldn¡¯t make out the Century in the chaos in front of them. Northmen were fighting Northmen, Knights and legionnaires in the mix. Scores of people laying in the mud slain. Because there was a lot of the latter near the mouth. One of these dead people jumped up as the Northman run past him and tripped him up. The legionnaire approached the warrior trying to get up and smacked him on the head with his shield. Once and the man¡¯s head hit the ground, his hands and feet wrecked with spasms. Twice even more brutally and Lucius heard a crack after the thud. Goodness gracious. ¡°Legatus?¡± Long asked him. ¡°What do we do?¡± ¡°Help our own,¡± Lucius replied, himself unsure who was what. ¡°Sire?¡± Long queried. ¡°Follow me,¡± Lucius ordered and snapped his heels to send his horse forward. He¡¯d left Stormbolt with the train, but the one he¡¯d picked had gone lame and trotted instead of charging ahead. He headed for a Knight, who¡¯d just killed a legionnaire chopping him twice upside the head with his longsword. The Knight turned around hearing horses approaching and kicked his legs to turn around while crying a loud warning to his friends. It helped Lucius spot who was who. About ten of them were at the gates of the Castrum for starters. Everyone but the sneaky legionnaire that had just stopped pulverizing his opponent¡¯s head outside the Castrum and two Northmen near the east side of the burning walls were enemies. That¡¯s another score of Northmen, two Knights amongst them. Thirty something in all. ¡°Charge at them!¡± Lucius bellowed and pulled his arm back, his horse shot, the knight frantically searching for a lance and his shield to defend a charge, pausing bewildered seeing him approaching at his leisure. Lucius chucked his warspear, the throw good but losing height fast and smacked the Knight¡¯s mount at its broad chest. The horse went down taking the Knight with it and Lucius who had approached at a pleasant trot downed his sword once catching the dazed man right at the right shoulder. The blade bounced up with a loud clang, the man crying in pain and dropping to a knee. Lucius turned the horse to try again, but the animal had nothing left and refused to budge. Lucius himself was sluggish, everything around him chaotic and the battlefield completely foreign. The Knight grabbed his right leg with his good hand and toppled him from his horse. Lucius managed to turn at the last moment, but he landed badly and rolled to the side badly shook. His arms, legs and armour covered in black soot. It looked like gluey bad-smelling mud, but there was no water in it. Only blood. The knight got a mace out of his dying horse¡¯s saddle cursing and stepped over him. ¡°Fancy armor,¡± The Knight grunted, his voice strained and probably in pain. ¡°Ye owe me a plaguin¡¯ horse,¡± He added in his heavy Lesia accent and raised his mace to bash his head in. A bizarre mighty sound was heard, repeated in steady intervals, alike a giant broken wheel turning and ever approaching. The knight froze alarmed and looked up to see what was causing the sound and then his steel cuirass imploded, plate caving in and wrapping inwards like it was made out of paper, flesh getting pulverized and bones cracking, the viscous gore coming of the cracked plate at his back and through his closed face cover¡¯s slits. Lucius had seen a catapult shot do that to a man. What in Tyeus shield, a stunned Lucius wondered and tried to get up. His boots slipping in the bloody spillage not helping. Lucius realized he was covered in gore when he finally managed to stand on his rubbery legs. A worn out legionnaire stepped near the reeling Lucius and examined him closely with gawking eyes. ¡°Legatus?¡± The soldier asked unsure. ¡°Yes,¡± Lucius replied and stopped the man from saluting him. ¡°What¡¯s going on here soldier?¡± ¡°Ah,¡± The man said confused and a little scared, staring at the riders galloping about running down friends and foes in the confusion and the heavy smoke. It was late afternoon and Lucius had been on the saddle for twenty four hours straight and had almost gotten killed unceremoniously. His patience was running thin. ¡°Soldier! Pull yourself together for allgods sake!¡± Lucius blasted him. ¡°And answer my query!¡± ¡°Name¡¯s Kato sire,¡± The legionnaire replied blinking slowly and then smiled weirdly showing only the upper row of his yellow teeth alike a rat. ¡°We are trying to keep them out of the Castrum since yesterday,¡± He paused, then added. ¡°Sire.¡± What? ¡°Where is your unit?¡± Lucius asked him taking a step back. ¡°Papus is inside with the big guy,¡± Kato explained stooping to take the battered knight¡¯s mace and steal a pendant he found in the gore. ¡°The big guy?¡± Lucius asked unsure, wiping his face with a glove and making it worse. ¡°Aye, he did him in haha,¡± Kato replied crooking his mouth and kept pushing aside fleshy parts, broken ribs and foul smelling entrails as if looking for something. ¡°Help me find his axe sire, so we can go help him out. Then we need to help the others.¡± Right. Lucius cleared his throat and stooped to pick up his sword. ¡°The others?¡± He probed. ¡°They have them surrounded at the edge of the mouth, three hundred meters that way,¡± He pointed with a dirty hand holding the mace, the other pocketing the pendant casually. ¡°Since about the time we split up,¡± He added and Lucius face fell in shock. This wasn¡¯t the battle, but the spillage of it. He¡¯d sent Long after the wrong target. ¡°DECURION!¡± He barked furious with himself. This was on him. He¡¯d made a mess of things. Lucius looked around for his horse and found it limping about half-dead. Useless. Argh! ¡°We can walk Legatus. Fight on foot,¡± Kato said a little apprehensively, keeping his stare low. The man was covered in gore and mud from head to toes. Worn out to the bone and then some, fighting for three straight days and two nights. He had nasty cuts bleeding down his legs and both arms. A broken pinky finger dangling and a huge welt over his left eye. ¡°We can make it, easy,¡± Kato added and Lucius nodded deeply embarrassed. It had a profound effect on him. Suddenly his world and close household grew. ¡°Lead the way legionnaire,¡± The Legatus had said and followed after him.
219. Out of the funeral pyre
Where I¡¯m laid down, there they shall lay next to me. And people will acknowledge it and pay their respects upon entering that hallowed ground. Here he is, the stone shall say, Lucius and his legionnaires. - Legatus Lucius Alden Speaking to the surviving legionnaires, after the Battle of the Mouth, outside the Kas Burg. Late first month of summer 190 NC
Legatus Lucius Alden Out of the funeral pyre
The Sovya Carl swung his double-edged sword in a wide arc, almost lopping Lucius head off. The Legatus jerked to the right side, mouth all gluey and breathing putrid smoke, parried the return away, but tripped himself up on a half-burned black corpse and missed his opening. The armoured Carl grunted, pleased at Luthos¡¯ intervention and made to shove his sword into his ribs, but Layton came out of the heavy smokes, raised a trunk-like leg and gave him a casual-looking kick. The hardwood sole of the hulking man¡¯s leather boot thudded into the Carl¡¯s chest, ripped his breath out and rammed him brutally onto the burning wall of the Castrum, the sword tumbling from his clasping hand, bleeding down his eyes and twisted mouth. Goodness gracious. Lucius shook his helmed head and pushed forward. The last knight turned around, saw them cutting down his friends, cursed the gods and hurriedly galloped back down the slope to bring help. Three hundred meters from the Mouth another small group of men-at-arms appeared and paused to examine the waning down scrap. Lucius stepped away from the burning walls of the camp and tried to locate Decurion Long amidst the chaos. The ground peppered with dead, broken weapons and severed body parts. Everything sinking in the bloody mud. Kato came up to him bringing another much taller legionnaire in toe. ¡°Ah,¡± The tall legionnaire said seeing the Legatus, much like his friend had done earlier and Lucius remembered them at last. Pappus and Kato. ¡°Ayup,¡± Replied his shifty-looking friend that weird toothy smile on his face. ¡°Find the Decurion, Pappus,¡± Lucius ordered the bigger gawking soldier. ¡°We have to regroup and try to break out Agricola, afore Lord Lennox is informed we¡¯ve won the scrap here and sends reinforcements.¡± The legionnaire saluted and trotted away energetically. Kato wrapped a bloody cloth around the wound on his leg and then tried to snap his finger back, but failed. The bone was broken. He howled in pain, but kept most of it in, clenching his teeth. Lucius sighed and gave him a linen hankie to use as bandage. ¡°Gratitude sire,¡± Kato said accepting it and they both turned to watch Layton returning, heavy boots thudding, after he realized the enemy force had been defeated both inside and outside the Castrum. The towering Nord grinned seeing their awed gaze and Lucius gave him a nod of approval for helping him earlier. Hearing Decurion Long¡¯s riders gathering up with cries and whistles, Lucius looked about found a warspear and took it. ¡°We need to move fast, Lord Lennox isn¡¯t a fool,¡± Lucius repeated eyeing Lesia¡¯s Shield dispatching a rider to pull men from the vise that was slowly strangling out the Century. Agricola had formed his men into a large square at some point, but the Duchy¡¯s Carls had whittled them down slowly, the square ever shrinking. ¡°The big guy could take him out sire,¡± Kato offered, the swollen part of his head bigger. ¡°Name¡¯s Layton small soldier,¡± The Nord corrected him with a frown. Lucius stared at the distant Lesia¡¯s entourage debating their next move unsure. ¡°With what Kato?¡± ¡°Yer spear sire,¡± He replied. What? Lucius stared at the hulking Layton and then at the heavily bandaged legionnaire. ¡°That¡¯s easily three hundred meters and this ain¡¯t a javelin,¡± He said through his teeth. ¡°You¡¯re justifiably confused soldier, why¡­ you¡¯re hurt of course.¡± ¡°He hurled his waraxe fifty meters to kill that knight sire,¡± Kato said evenly. ¡°Thing weighs a ton.¡± Pulverize more like, he thought with a shiver, seeing the legionnaire¡¯s point. Layton snorted and tended his spade-like callused hand. Lucius frowned unsure but gave him the spear he¡¯d just picked up. Had Lucius believed Layton could have harmed the Lord Shield from that distance, he might have not gone through with Kato¡¯s crazy suggestion out of respect for the old man. He would have also lost the battle.
The story surrounding the Duke of Cediorum¡¯s untimely demise in the ¡®Battle of the Mouth¡¯ borders the absurd. The elderly Duke, Lord Lennox was sixty, sustained a freak injury by a wayward spear, whilst arguing with one of Sir William Redmond¡¯s adjutants. Given the distance involved from any meaningful action and the fact the fight had concentrated at that time at the other edge of the Mouth -where the remnants of the First Century were defending themselves surrounded- most scholars dismiss it. The official story pushed that the Duke led his knights on a charge on Lucius¡¯ forces and was killed in action. Most witnesses of the event though, both Northmen and Lorians, tell of a different tale. Sir Ottelo Zaro who was the closest surviving officer and a couple of Legionnaires serving with the First Century swear the Duke was injured by ¡®Hulking¡¯ Layton. The spear hurled from the top of the slope, the distance just over three hundred meters. It went through Lord Lennox¡¯s thigh severing the femoral artery, shattered the bone and skewered his horse from the left side, afore exiting out the right. Bent but intact. The Duke of Cediorum collapsed and despite superhuman efforts to revive him, the famed old general perished. His injury confused the Carls under him and paralyzed his knights, who blamed Sir William for contributing to the Lord Shield¡¯s fate. By the time Sir William ¨Cfighting at the northern part of the battlefield- assumed command of the situation almost an hour had gone by. Agricola had been killed by then, along with three quarters of his force and officers, but the Carls had suffered devastating losses after the repeated attacks. Sir William pulled half his force from the frontlines ¨Cabout a hundred Carls- to deal with Lucius¡¯ meagre and haphazardly gathered group of soldiers. A mix of cavalry, Logan¡¯s warriors and the few legionnaires with Layton. Sir William led his quavering men up the gentle slope, as the news that Lucius was present had spread to the exhausted First Century¡¯s soldiers, almost as fast as those of Lord Lennox¡¯s grave injury had to the Duchy¡¯s Carls. Renewing the hopes of the first, damping the spirits of the latter. The Duke¡¯s heir wanted to salvage his honor and avenge his sister, but when he reached Lucius pitiful force, he saw that Centurion Sula¡¯s legionnaires had arrived marching non-stop since morning. Evening the numbers.
¡°FIRE JAVELINS!¡± Sula barked and the first row of legionnaires stepped forward and hurled their lethal projectiles at once. All thirty of them fell on the charging Carls and all but broke them. ¡°Second line! Loose!¡± A Decanus barked and another thirty javelins ripped through the reeling attacking Carls three seconds later. ¡°SHIELDS!¡± Sula boomed, as Lucius accepted the reins from Decurion Long and jumped on a fresh horse. The sound of men clashing not ten meters away horrendous and otherworldly. Blades clanged on shields and helmets, axes thudded on armour. Men yelled and cursed. The shrieks of agony coming right after. ¡°FORWARD! Up and at ¡®em lads!¡± Sula barked not wanting to let the broken Carls disengage and retreat back towards their friends. ¡°Follow me,¡± Lucius ordered Long and his riders. He galloped down the slope in an arc, behind the retreating enemy lines and the following after them wall of legionnaires. Lucius was going to charge everyone with him on the Carls blocking Agricola¡¯s force and break them out, or die trying.
The Northman got Lucius¡¯ lance through his back, the shaft breaking a foot in and was hurled to the ground face first. His horse pushed another aside, whilst he tossed the broken part away. Lucius kicked out viciously with a hobnailed boot next, catching the head of a warrior and felt his nose crunch flat against it. The man went down, but two more turned around seeing their friends battered and shoved aside by horses, their lines reeling and rushed Lucius with curses.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Lucius downed his longsword obliquely lopping the first one¡¯s head off, raised it anew changing his grip mid-air, knees turning his horse to keep the other warrior at bay, afore cutting him savagely across the chest. The blade opening up the rings on his chainmail like it was made out of parchment, the cutting angle seamless. The Carl coughed up blood, a hand clasping the grotesque wound on his chest to try and keep his ruined lungs in, the other traveling in the air -severed by the Legatus¡¯ swift follow up slash- still holding at his blade. Lucius turned his neighing horse around, the chaos engulfing everyone be it friend of foe. A rider got skewered through the neck and then toppled dead from his mount, a Carl getting literally chopped to pieces by an icy-eyed solemn Logan. The Duchy¡¯s men managed to hold up for about four minutes getting assaulted from both sides and Lucius admired them for that. Then they broke and turned to get away from the sharpened blades and steel tips that were butchering them. With one side of the surrounded Century freed ¨Cthe westernmost side of their square- every Legionnaire there turned to reinforce their friends still fighting to keep the Carls out. ¡°DECURION!¡± Lucius barked, his voice hoarse. ¡°PULL THE HORSES BACK!¡± He moved his away from the thick of the fight, waving his hands and yelling orders to get as many riders with him as he possibly could. This smaller group of about fifteen, Lucius led about twenty meters away and speaking hastily, but in a loud clear manner, explained to them that they were to follow him. Gripa who had a nasty cut on his face bellow his right eye tossed him another spear and Lucius caught it. ¡°Riders on me! After me lads!¡± Lucius yelled and started galloping around the flanks of the embattled Century wanting to reach behind the Carls still holding them pinned mostly due to their difference in numbers. Lucius turned his head to the south, saw the Knights and aides around the unresponsive Lord Lennox desperately carrying him away and trying to load him on a carriage that had just arrived. Some pulling at their hairs, or covering their mouths grief stricken and shocked. With a grimace Lucius looked to the west, Sula¡¯s red plum dancing as he walked briskly to the side of the gleaming and force marching legionnaires coming down the slope, the Carls utterly broken and running for their lives in front of them. A tired but resolute Lucius sucked a cavernous breath in, cold northern air filling his lungs despite them being at the start of summer, a bloodied hard-faced Decurion Long reaching him in the meantime. Seeing he¡¯d gathered everyone he possibly could for the next task, the Legatus gave the order for the last charge of the battle.
Lucius raised his hand, leather underside of his gauntlet covered in gore and his sword arm heavy. The blood had dried up and turned into a cracking dark gelatin-like material on his joints, mixed with soot and dirt. Decurion Long turned on his saddle, the lanky officer much in the same condition. The Legionnaires that had survived the ordeal looking shell-shocked and strangely serene. Most of them had collapsed on their shields, but for those sporting serious injuries. Dead soldiers laying frozen next to them, before them and behind their lines. Some of the dead turning into bloated corpses after two days in the cold sun. Friends and foes all garbled together, sometimes hugging as if consoling each other and that same eerie stillness with the occasional moan, or cry of agony, breaking it. Desolation. Mayhem. Lucius sheathed his sword after cleaning the blade with a cloth Gripa tossed him. His aide still bleeding down his face. He had some water from a flask and then passed it around to the nearest legionnaires not expecting it back. Small things, Galio had told him back at the Gorge. The amount of carnage packed in so small a battlefield staggering and mocking the old officer¡¯s words. This is no small thing you¡¯re asking of them. The Carls had retreated towards Kas utterly broken, losing as many men running away as they¡¯d lost in the fight. Lucius turned his horse around and started down the slope followed by Gripa, the Nord Decurion Long and some of his remaining cavalry. Not even a third of them had made it, but they had smashed the Duchy¡¯s already reeling forces that were unable to recover after they¡¯d lost their commanders. Lucius had found Sir William''s mangled corpse near the end of the fight, the young knight had been trampled under the hooves of Long¡¯s riders, probably those that hadn¡¯t followed Lucius in his maneuver at the final stages of the battle. He looked for his sword saddened, Lucius had last seen him as a boy, but couldn¡¯t find it so he cut his family pendant from his neck. The familiar standing black bear engraved on the round medal and his house¡¯s words. Deeds not words. You think you¡¯ve won husband? Macia hissed, the memory bitter. That this is over? Ah, you foolish kid. She didn¡¯t deserve any god darn loyalty. Lucius grimaced and locked eyes with Kato, the legionnaire still alive and sporting even more jewelry on him than before. The man showed him his teeth in understanding, misjudging his intentions. ¡°I¡¯ll send it to his father,¡± Lucius explained, his face darkening. ¡°It¡¯s good gold dis milord,¡± Kato argued. ¡°Pity it goes to waste.¡± Lucius had grunted and turned away. He¡¯d reached the flat opening amidst the two forests, the pines dominating the south portion extending for miles. The road ahead reached Kas less than a day away on horse, three on foot. It turned right again and up another incline to enter a different set of mountains, after Bloody Ridge. The Lesia knight standing rigid on his horse greeted him with a curt nod, his face cover open, an unknown man of Lucius¡¯ age behind it. Lucius spotted the twin Mallets of Dokamna carved on his plate cuirass, the four men-at-arms gathered around the carriage grim-faced and silent, watching them both. ¡°I¡¯m Lucius Alden,¡± He said stopping his horse a couple of meters away. ¡°I came to pay my respects to the old Marshal.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Ottelo Zaro,¡± The Knight replied with a grimace. ¡°The Marshal is indisposed, I¡¯m afraid.¡± ¡°You can leave unopposed. Take him back to his family,¡± Lucius told him solemnly. ¡°You have my word Sir Zaro.¡± ¡°Much appreciated,¡± Zaro grunted in his heavy Lesia accent and stood back on his horse. ¡°You have won the field¡­¡± ¡°Legatus is fine,¡± Lucius said to help him out. ¡°The day¡¯s yours Legatus.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t wish to fight Lesia, Sir Zaro,¡± Lucius said looking at him. The Knight shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Then you should have stayed in the north Legatus,¡± He replied sternly. ¡°You¡¯ve brought this on yourself, I reckon.¡± ¡°So did you, my good knight,¡± Lucius retorted and Zaro nodded once yielding. ¡°Aye, it is what it is.¡±
Two hours later the legionnaires murmured seeing him approach in the light of the huge funeral pyre¡¯s flames. Beyond the mouth and the still smoking Castrum the lights of the first carriages had started to appear, followed by Sula¡¯s other half of his Century. Lucius grimaced and pushed his horse closer to the worn out men resting. Agricola¡¯s body had been recovered, the task of finding the dead a difficult ordeal, but a necessary one. Even the injured had helped, the casualties atrocious. They worked diligently into the encroaching cold night and placed everyone next to the other. Together in life, brothers in war, it was only fitting to depart this Realm together. Ever in company, he thought. Little things. ¡°They were not alone,¡± Lucius said, his hoarse voice ever rising and stood up straighter on his saddle so that he could see as many of the gathered men as he could. The light of the corpses burning, creating sinister shades of red, black and anything in between. It distorted the faces of those listening to him talk. It shrouded injuries small and big, hid their ranks and station, until only the shape of their bodies remained encased in the Legion¡¯s armour and same style boots. ¡°They shall never be,¡± He continued. ¡°Be it they were orphans, widowers, rich or poor, or running from the law. They shall never be forgotten. The time and place they fell shall be carved out in stone! This I vow afore you and all the Gods, Old and New! They shall become a part of me and I shall become a part of them and every one of you! For we shall bring their memory and ultimate sacrifice back with us. We shan¡¯t leave them buried in the mud! Build a monument we shall, a house and a palace, so we can all be in their company again, when our time comes!¡± His strained voice rising even more Lucius pressed on, his throat hurting and the men listening to him enthralled. ¡°Where I¡¯m laid down, there they shall lay next to me. And people will acknowledge it and pay their respects upon entering that hallowed ground. Here he is, the stone shall say, Lucius and his legionnaires. But afore that we¡¯ll win and what is owed unto Lucius henceforth, SHALL ALSO BE DUE TO YE!¡± The Legionnaires roared at his words, those standing nearest reaching to touch him and Lucius gulped down moved, but not pulling away. He waited for them to calm down some and then added his voice breaking a bit at the end. ¡°Hold this moment, lock it in your hearts legionnaires. Savor it. Rest tonight knowing that one day in the future, people coming to deal with me, shall have to answer to you all as well. I¡¯ll make sure of it.¡±
The remaining Carls retreated to Kas, but learning of the Legion¡¯s arrival two days later, an exodus followed towards Kadrek. Those loyal to the Duke left taking their families with them and Lucius allowed them to escape. The elders of the Burg and those opting to stay with their homes asked the Legatus for assurances he won¡¯t allow the Jarl to take control of the city fearing reprisals for the war of seventy three. Lucius assured them that he wouldn¡¯t give the Jarl any more land he hadn¡¯t won. In the days following the two dramatic battles at the Gorge and the Mouth, Lucius had realized he needed to find a base to operate from. So the Legatus took Kas for himself and turned it into a free city. The two battles had a huge cost in men for the Crulls, damaged the Third Legion, but was a devastating blow for the Duchy that lacked quality men and Sir William had squandered away a good chunk of the Duke¡¯s trained forces, managing to lose Kas in the process. Whilst the Duke mourned the loss of his son and heir, this hardened him even more in the months to come. The shock and grief that had grasped King Davenport¡¯s court though can¡¯t be overstated. The King was a very close friend to the old Marshal that is true, but he had a great fondness for his late sister Queen Vacia and Lucius¡¯ mother. It is rumored he wasn¡¯t kin on acting against the Legatus that had taken over Kas in the meantime and was working on replenishing his force. The old Marshal¡¯s grieving daughter Queen Saskia went berserk seeing his inaction and asked her cousin the ¡®Iron Baroness¡¯ of Ballard to plead her case in court. The stern, unmarried Lady Lila traveled to Armium and admonished the King publicly, reminding him Lord Lennox had never baulked at any command the king and his father afore had given him and he¡¯d never shied away from duty, be it for danger, or decorum. ¡®He did what was necessary¡¯, the solemn Baroness added probably drawing from her own experience, ¡®however distasteful, to preserve this king¡¯s honor.¡¯ ¡®Would this king,¡± Lady Lila had asked a huffing and puffing King Davidson. ¡°Not allow Lord Lennox the same courtesy?¡± Several prominent people were lost in this smaller scale battle. Amongst them Sir William Redmond, the Duke¡¯s heir and younger brother of Lucius late first wife Macia. The esteemed Lord Miles Lennox, Duke of Cediorum of course was the most notable loss, along with Sir Mario Testa, son of the Baron of Andatelia. Three quarters of the vaunted First Century¡¯s (1C1CH3L) legionnaires fell near Kas. Amongst them the decorated for bravery at the Battle of Krakenfort earlier that year Centurion Paulus Agricola and Primus Pilus of the Third Legion. One hundred and forty seven officers and soldiers accompany him today on the Wall of the Fallen in Elysium Fort. The first whole unit (First Century numbered two hundred Legionnaires plus officers after Lucius reforms earlier that year) earning a gold Phalera for each of its members and the second to receive a gold distinct standard (after Sula¡¯s First -1C2CH3L), the citation reading ¡®exceptional heroism against overwhelming odds¡¯. But it wouldn¡¯t be the last.
220. The Tiger’s Lair (1/3)
Legatus Lucius Alden The Tiger¡¯s Lair Part I -The road ahead-
It is said that those days the Burg¡¯s timber walls were made of hardwood, oiled and covered with black plaster making it look foreboding from afar. It was a mirage as in reality Kas was perhaps the most diverse North city and rather lively with its taverns, inns and a dedicated Merchant¡¯s sector right in the middle of it. The south gates of Kas led to a narrow long passage, the inner portcullis made out of iron from the Iron Valley to the North. Fenford Burg was built there and it had a path leading to Brugavik, a port at the far edge of Jelin facing the Northern Sea and the always frozen lands beyond it, but it was a difficult route through the ice-covered mountains. So Fenford ¨Ca semi-independent, rather isolated on the heights stone city built by the Dwarfs that still had a large population of them- send most of its production of raw iron down the easier road to Kas and then the heavily laden wagons continued east for the Fetya-Sovya junction, a leg turning to the north again and Rifjordal, the other towards Halfostad and the Duchy¡¯s capital Kadrek. Despite being a major hub ¨Cthe biggest market in pelts/hides on Jelin- and a crossroads for such valuable materials like iron and quality wood, the city itself had been trapped into its original Northern architecture, the narrow streets and walls constricting its growth. Lucius and his entourage reached the east sector ¨CKas was built in an almost perfectly round circle- or ¡®Little Sovya¡¯ that had been abandoned en masse when news of Sir William¡¯s fate reached the Burg and took over Redmond Hall. A large stone building, a tall roof with a half floor and internal stairs leading to it. The moment they got inside the Legatus ordered the depleted city Council, what the locals called the ¡®Elders¡¯, to bring their best Dottore to his wife that had moved upstairs. His second order was to call for a formal meeting before the end of the day and his third for his aide Marc Gripa to locate Canutia and Arrun immediately.
¡°The Engineers want to know upfront milord. This is a priority. The soldiers are difficult to control inside a city,¡± Galio said sucking the side of his cheek between his teeth. ¡°We have options?¡± Lucius asked looking at a map of the area and the city. Not very accurate, according to his own drawings. ¡°They have stacked hardwood and ironwood, tons of it on the east part of the city outside the walls. As tall, if not taller as the walls milord,¡± Galio replied. ¡°Orders from Krakenhall, Armium and Illirium among others. The caravans couldn¡¯t leave until the roads opened, but the woodcutters kept working. This city has more carpenters than Alden, twice the number of leather workshops and I suspect every house hides a secret brewery in its basement. We are going to lose the troops within days.¡± ¡°Uhm,¡± Lucius nodded, used to the old officer¡¯s acerbic opinion of civilian life. ¡°What about the stone?¡± He¡¯d noticed the large piles of material creating small hills surrounding the city. Now visible, since the previous time he¡¯d been to Kas everything was buried under a couple of meters of snow. A year and a half had passed since then and everything had changed it seemed. ¡°Twenty years ago when Fenford found iron in the caves under the mountains and the Jarl''s men took over, large quantities of cut stone arrived along with it, before the merchants realized there wasn¡¯t a market for it here. Not with such abundance of quality wood,¡± Galio puffed out and Lucius urged him to go on. ¡°Since stone is abundant in Lesia that took over after the Nords retreated and the Duke of Kadrek takes his cue from Armium, the rock be it bricks, or slates stayed milord. Became part of the scenery.¡± ¡°Tell them to use the stone for the Castrum buildings and wall,¡± Lucius said after thinking about it for a while. ¡°Make it permanent and adjacent to the east side of the city walls. I want gates opened there that would lead to the Castrum from inside Kas and the whole East Sector¡¯s buildings near the walls checked. If they are unoccupied we¡¯ll take them over.¡± ¡°It will look ugly,¡± Galio noticed looking at the drawing Lucius had created while he thought about it. ¡°What¡¯s with the lines leaving the city?¡± ¡°They are roads,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°Proper Lorian roads out of slate, or cobblestone. Wide enough for three carriages to travel side by side without breaking apart. I want the one heading towards Bloody Ridge mapped out, the forest pushed back, the ground flattened and worked on afore the end of summer.¡±
¡°Are you gonna keep me locked up in here?¡± Faye asked him from the top of the stairs. She had been forced to discard her armor ¨Cit was impossible to fit in it anymore despite her efforts- and was clad in a loose tunic, under a woolen coat. The half floor had even a small balcony afore its two bedrooms, one could use to observe the large hall with the fireplace underneath it. Faye looked lovely in a dress, Lucius thought, even in her ballooned state, but one had to walk a fine line to talk dresses with her. Even an unarmed Faye was dangerous. ¡°No door is locked,¡± Lucius replied smiling. ¡°You¡¯re planning on running away Lady Alden? The Legion won¡¯t allow anyone to leave without my say so.¡± ¡°Eh, I find yer humor annoying husband,¡± Faye puffed out and turned slowly to return to her bedroom, but stopped hearing the main entrance of the longhouse opening. Canutia walked inside, followed by a well-fed Arrun Flavianus. The woman paused, honey-colored eyes widening seeing Lucius standing at the bottom of the stairs. Her skin a pale white after staying in the north for so long and her blond hair darker in tone. Then realizing it was really him, she let out a gasp and rushed towards Lucius. Canutia clasped his hand tightly and dropped on her knees to kiss it. ¡°My good Lord Lucius,¡± She enthused, tears running down her eyes. Lucius stooped to help her up thoroughly embarrassed at the public display of affection. ¡°Thought we¡¯ll never see you again,¡± Canutia mumbled realizing she¡¯d overstepped. ¡°Apologies my Lord.¡± ¡°It¡¯s¡­ fine. No need for apologies Canutia,¡± Lucius said and glanced at the young soldier. ¡°Mister Arrun?¡± ¡°Nice to see you again milord,¡± Arrun said with a genuine smile. ¡°We heard¡­ my condolences for Roderick and your father.¡± Lucius grimaced and realized Canutia was still clasping at his hand. He removed it carefully without drawing attention to it. The woman was shocked. ¡°We lost a lot of good people Arrun,¡± Lucius said and sighed. ¡°Let me introduce you to my wife Faye Alden. We must go to her I¡¯m afraid,¡± He added and Arrun nodded pretending he wasn¡¯t surprised, but Canutia couldn¡¯t hide it. ¡°Lady Zofia milord?¡± She asked. ¡°In Krakenhall. She¡¯s a Duchess now.¡± ¡°And the¡­ Lady Alden¡­¡± Arrun stumbled through his words unsure. ¡°Benton¡¯s sister,¡± Lucius deadpanned. ¡°Ah.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a long story Arrun.¡± ¡°It¡¯s been a long time milord,¡± Arrun replied in understanding. Yeah, Lucius agreed.
¡°Lady Alden,¡± Canutia said. ¡°How can I be of service?¡± ¡°Ahm,¡± Faye replied puckering her mouth. ¡°Can you sharpen me blades?¡± ¡°Faye, please don¡¯t scare her away,¡± Lucius said with a nervous smile. ¡°She¡¯s jesting Canutia. You will stay here of course.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t,¡± Faye replied. ¡°The blades need sharpening and yer soldiers don¡¯t listen to me. They¡¯ve taken them away.¡± ¡°They won¡¯t allow weapons near you Faye.¡± ¡°Says who?¡± ¡°Me.¡± ¡°Are ye going to bed her?¡± What? ¡°Faye! This¡­ isn¡¯t,¡± Lucius puffed out. ¡°Canutia is an experienced servant. She can cook, clean, provide medical assistance and is educated. Every household¡ª¡± ¡°Wow, maybe I should take her as a wife then,¡± Faye replied sarcastically. ¡°Can you find and sharpen me blades Canutia?¡± She asked eyeing her.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°I will look for them Lady Alden and bring them to Portas,¡± Canutia said evenly. ¡°Who¡¯s that? Yer boyfriend?¡± Canutia blushed furiously. ¡°A Blacksmith.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Lucius intervened, ¡°Canutia you¡¯ll tend to my wife, whilst I talk to the locals here.¡± ¡°Most of them left Kas,¡± Arrun said, whilst Faye showed Canutia the length of her swords and talked of who she suspected had them. ¡°It¡¯s not Gripa,¡± Lucius said, his attention split into what Arrun was saying and watching his wife. It was Gripa. ¡°Yer lying Alden!¡± Faye snapped furious. ¡°If I admit to it, would you return to your bed and rest?¡± Lucius told her signing for Arrun to give him a moment to sort this out. ¡°Admit? I just told ye I don¡¯t believe you! Is this not my home then?¡± ¡°You can¡¯t have it all Faye,¡± Lucius told her patiently. ¡°And it is.¡± ¡°All right then,¡± She murmured. ¡°Let me hear who it is.¡± ¡°It¡¯s Gripa.¡± ¡°Hey! See what he did?¡± Faye griped and seeing Canutia staring at her blankly, she snorted unladylike and started walking towards her room. ¡°Don¡¯t let ¡®em locals near you Lucius. Kas is full of cunts!¡± She yelled through the open door, over Canutia¡¯s horrified gasp. They had agreed Faye could speak freely in their home. Arrun blinked, but kept his composure. Lucius lowered his head to the side and glanced behind the soldier to the lower floor. Sure enough, standing numbly near the entrance were Kas¡¯ representatives. ¡°Esteemed gentlemen,¡± Lucius said loudly and started climbing down the stairs, with Arrun in tow.
Regan Booth the ¡®Pelt Czar¡¯ was a thuggish-looking man of forty years with a full set of black hair. He wore an adventurer¡¯s armoured leather cuirass and carried a sword which he left with the guards. Marcus Walsh in contrast, the esteemed lumber merchant, was shorter, much older, completely bald and wore a stylish doublet, his guild¡¯s pendant prominently dangling from his neck. A wooden medal that had a hatchet engraved on it. ¡°So you¡¯re closing the road?¡± Regan Booth asked Lucius. They were using a large conference table installed by Lord Lennox, who¡¯d used Redmond Hall before them. Tribune Veturius was present, along Prefect Trupo, whilst Arrun had stayed for the meeting. ¡°We are creating a road through the southern pass,¡± Lucius explained. ¡°By expanding and rebuilding the old routes. I assure you, they need the work gents.¡± ¡°What about the road traveling west to Eaglesnest?¡± Booth insisted. ¡°You can use that if you prefer Mister Booth,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°Not if the Crulls are on a war footing!¡± ¡°As I said, you can do whatever you want beyond West Fort,¡± Lucius said warningly. ¡°At your own peril.¡± Lucius had decided to ¡®control¡¯ the west, south and east routes to the city, with a series of small forts at easy reinforcing distance. ¡°You¡¯ve seized large quantities of wood Legatus,¡± Marcus Walsh noted treading carefully. ¡°Reparations Mister Walsh,¡± Lucius replied eyeing him. ¡°Your city attacked my men. You¡¯re are going to pay for it. I could¡¯ve imposed fines, or plundered everything but I didn¡¯t. I opted to build a couple of projects here and help you instead.¡± ¡°Help us?¡± Walsh asked nervously. ¡°Kas had the option to fight me to the death,¡± Lucius said his voice hardening. ¡°It didn¡¯t. Surrendered instead in exchange for my protection against the Jarl¡¯s forces. That was the agreement. Nothing else seemed important at the time and now it¡¯s too late to renegotiate. Since I¡¯m in charge, I want some things done Mister Walsh,¡± He stared at the frowning Booth. ¡°Mister Booth?¡± ¡°Will you create a new council?¡± Booth asked. ¡°My union should have representation.¡± Galio snorted. ¡°Let me get one thing straight,¡± Lucius said. ¡°Since it appears you gents aren¡¯t grasping it. There will be no Council. I will install a military governor, subordinate to the Legion¡¯s commander.¡± ¡°You,¡± Booth grunted. Lucius eyed him coldly. ¡°Tribune am I speaking clearly?¡± He asked. ¡°Crystal clear, Legatus!¡± Galio boomed. ¡°Do we have someone in mind for the post Tribune?¡± ¡°We do milord.¡± ¡°Will he be subordinate to the Legion¡¯s commander?¡± ¡°Definitely Legatus,¡± Galio played along. ¡°There you have it then,¡± Lucius said. ¡°Now this officer¡­¡± ¡°Centurion Titus Macrinus milord,¡± Galio helped him. ¡°Now Governor Macrinus will need a couple of advisors to assist him,¡± Lucius continued. ¡°I will recommend you two for the position, assuming you are willing to assist me with the transition and my plans gents.¡± Walsh cleared his throat nervously. ¡°Your plans Legatus?¡± ¡°The Third Legion needs a camp build to house itself. A number of facilities inside the city. Materials and supplies should be allocated in your budget. You¡¯ll receive compensation in the form of protection and public works, such as roads, housing and a military school.¡± ¡°A military school?¡± Booth asked with a grimace of surprise. ¡°Why, Macrinus is an instructor first and foremost,¡± Galio replied, Trupo chuckling at his words. ¡°So he¡¯s going to be running a tight ship. His work will include providing recruits of some quality for the Legion.¡± ¡°You expect Kas to fight your wars Legatus?¡± Booth asked him. ¡°I expect Kas to help me train men to do it,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°Whether they are from Kas or not, I don¡¯t really mind, but I intent to reward those that volunteer gents and Kas will benefit from that. You¡¯ll soon find out my words are not thrown around thoughtlessly.¡±
¡°Macrinus?¡± Lucius asked, the moment the Kas delegation left the Hall. ¡°He¡¯s a fanatic,¡± Galio elucidated. ¡°Macrinus will make sure everything is done on time milord.¡± ¡°Eh, we don¡¯t want them rising up, just to follow a simple set a rules,¡± Lucius argued. ¡°Rules will be followed was my meaning Legatus,¡± Galio replied. ¡°Civilians will be given leeway Tribune.¡± ¡°Within the rules milord.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± Lucius sighed. ¡°What is our biggest problem at this moment?¡± ¡°Housing and the construction of the Castrum per your specifications.¡± ¡°We need engineers,¡± Lucius translated. ¡°Proper engineers are needed milord.¡± ¡°Kas has plenty of workforce, but they lack access to an academy.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the north milord. People don¡¯t have the time for books, or the inclination.¡± ¡°The first new building constructed within the walls will be the Military School Tribune. Admittance will be free for those wanting their children to have a standard education, even if they aren¡¯t to follow a career in the Legion. For the years attending they can provide work for the city in other capacities.¡± ¡°Anorum has a similar system milord. I find it more palatable than what Asturia has in place.¡± ¡°Of course. Though Asturia is a much bigger city not run by the military Tribune. Now Trupo it¡¯s your turn, with Macrinus gone the Second Century will return to full fighting status, I think I made that clear. The First needs to be rebuilt also.¡± ¡°I have the promotion candidates in the report Legatus,¡± Trupo replied readily and Lucius glanced at the parchment he¡¯d left before him. ¡°Gnaeus Ennius?¡± ¡°Macrinus second. Late Sabinus lads are excellent officer material Legatus.¡± ¡°Galio?¡± ¡°He¡¯s a cautious officer,¡± Veturius agreed. ¡°Ennius it is,¡± Lucius said moving on. ¡°I need someone for the First Century. I was thinking of Sula, but you have Decanus Gata written here.¡± ¡°He held the Century after Agricola went down. A hard and disciplined officer, Legatus. He should lead the First.¡± ¡°Prefect I don¡¯t want to promote him to Primus Pilus so soon,¡± Lucius argued. ¡°He won it on merit Legatus.¡± Lucius rapped his fingers on the table thinking on it. His intention was to move Sula there, as his fast thinking and decisiveness had helped turn the Battle at the Mouth. ¡°Galio¡­ ahm, can we form another Cohort at this point?¡± ¡°Not enough recruits after replenishing those lost milord,¡± The Tribune replied. ¡°You could start a Century though.¡± ¡°Do that,¡± Lucius agreed. ¡°I want us to arm the Third Cohort properly as well, have the blacksmiths work with the locals. The Legion will foot the bill.¡± ¡°What about funds milord?¡± ¡°There¡¯s slate enough around the city,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°Clear the fields so people can grow stuff there next summer Tribune, or expand outwards. Then start building that road towards Bloody Ridge as payment.¡± ¡°Of course, but expand milord?¡± Galio asked him. ¡°It¡¯s a tight squeeze in here Tribune. A maze of alleys and dark corners,¡± Lucius explained. ¡°I will draw some plans up, starting with the empty East Sector and work clockwise. The land is flat and these walls are out of wood. Kas needs breathing room and it¡¯ll get it, just not immediately.¡± ¡°You think we¡¯ll have another fight before the summer is out milord?¡± Galio asked solemnly. Lucius answer coming without hesitation. ¡°Yes.¡±
Kas was a city of around fifteen thousand people in the summer of 190 NC. The ¡®Tiger¡¯s Lair¡¯, or ¡®Old Castrum¡¯, is a much bigger place now that resembles little of a northern city, but for its West Sector. The outer walls stand tall and are interconnected with the Third Legion¡¯s massive Castrum dominating its easternmost side and there are three garrisoned Guardtowers, or Forts protecting the wide roads to the flat fields and rich forests surrounding it. The West Fort watching the Mouth and the mountain pass towards Stag¡¯s Doab and Eaglesnest. The South Fort erected just beyond the Bloody Ridge to guard the enlarged Screaming Road and the East Fort, or the ¡®Tower in the woods¡¯, constructed in the Whitebark Forest road leading towards the crossroads, to watch over both Rifjordal and Halfostad. A semi-independent city state today, much as Krakenfort in a sense, it is still run by a military governor appointed by the Third Legion¡¯s commander. The Legion has its famed Military School there and most of its supplies are brought down the road it helped built towards Gudgurth Fort and Anorum. The caravans are split there, with half heading towards Asturia down the old road and the rest following the new Third Legion¡¯s Road, cutting through the Hammer¡¯s Mounts and Uher¡¯s Throne Heights, over the Legatus Bridge ¨Cthe 2nd Bridge over the Framtond River- and pouring inside Storm¡¯s Rest, the city Lucius founded near the great river¡¯s sources, before heading towards Cartagen.
221. The Tiger’s Lair (2/3)
Lucas Kato The Tiger¡¯s Lair Part II -No skill is involved-
The Northman cook eyed him unamused. Turned the gold ring this way and that with his finger, grease giving his skin a shine under the morning sun and the sausages boiling in the frying pan nigh distracting to Kato. The iron hot and half buried in the red embers. ¡°How do I know it''s gold?¡± The meat cook asked crooking his mouth. ¡°Expect me to bite it lad?¡± ¡°Does it look fake to ye?¡± Kato argued, spit flooding his mouth, an eye half-closed despite the swelling retreating. ¡°What do you say it¡¯s worth then?¡± ¡°Fuck I¡¯m supposed to know that?¡± The cook protested. ¡°A copper?¡± ¡°Shut yer gimlet! For a gold ring?¡± ¡°Listen mister¡­¡± ¡°Kato.¡± ¡°Right,¡± The cook said glancing at the ring more carefully. ¡°I¡¯ll give you a silver tops. This is a cook-shop, not a god-darn bank!¡± ¡°Two silvers,¡± Kato haggled. ¡°There¡¯s blood on it,¡± The cook countered unmoved. ¡°Cut me finger removing it,¡± Kato explained. It was half the truth. Almost three quarters of it as a matter of fact. The cook looked at it closely. ¡°Does it say Bea¡­?¡± He tried to read the inscription scratching some of the gore away with a dirty nail. ¡°It¡¯s my middle¡ª¡± ¡°Ah, there it is Beatrice. Aye.¡± ¡°Me middle sister¡¯s name,¡± Kato dodged with a toothy smile. ¡°Undying affection,¡± The cook kept reading as more words were revealed, much to Kato¡¯s frustration. ¡°We are very close.¡± ¡°Listen Mister Kato, we don¡¯t much like this kind of weirdness up North,¡± The cook admonished him. ¡°A silver and a couple of sausages,¡± Kato said quickly almost desperate. He spotted a Decanus rounding up the legionnaires loitering in the market, spotting them easily even without their armour. ¡°They are half-cooked,¡± The cook replied now more interested. ¡°The more the flavor,¡± Kato deadpanned, an eye on the Decanus beelining for their group. The cook slapped a silver coin on the counter and reached to get two sausages from the pan. Rolled them in a cloth and Kato grabbed them hurriedly and made to run away. The Decanus voice ringing down the narrow market street stopping them. ¡°There you are,¡± The square-jawed brute barked. ¡°Ye darn cunts!¡± Several legionnaires flinched revealing themselves, but Kato who was well-drilled in these matters, took a step back and started chewing on the burning sausage, juices running down his chin and his tongue and teeth hurting. ¡°Since ye rested and aired yourselves enough, I¡¯m pleased to announce,¡± He paused and stilled his eyes on him. ¡°There¡¯s work to be done. Time to earn all that coin ayup.¡± ¡°We haven¡¯t seen a coin Decanus!¡± Someone protested and the officer scrunched his face, probably considering how to handle this since they were in a public place full of civilians. ¡°Is that a military issued chain in yer neck?¡± He asked the legionnaire, a thin smile on his face. ¡°Reckon it isn¡¯t. Now, enough cuddling ye hairy cunts, as I said the ¡®Old Oak¡¯ has an easy job for your sorry lot!¡± Kato gulped down the burning spiced meat, his eyes watering and burped. ¡°Easy my arse!¡± A grisly veteran retorted. ¡°Are ye calling me a liar? Because it kinda seemed that ye did,¡± The Decanus snapped turning on him. ¡°Easy and fucking safe! Ayup. Only bloody thing you¡¯ll need is a pickaxe and yer hands! Stop jerking yourselves off and fall in line!¡± ¡°We are on leave!¡± Someone yelled next to Kato, whilst several men started walking out of the market. ¡°From what?¡± ¡°I¡¯m injured!¡± The soldier protested. ¡°You have a Dottore¡¯s vellum?¡± ¡°He doesn¡¯t issue¡ª¡± ¡°ENOUGH!¡± The Decanus barked spittle flying out of his mouth. ¡°What is this cack? Get out of my face soldier! NOW GODS DARN IT!¡± He turned his eyes on Kato, now pushing the rest of the sausage into his mouth and frowned, whilst the last man walked after the others, under the cheers and jabs of the market crowd. ¡°Are you deaf?¡± He asked him surprisingly calm. ¡°Got a blow on the head sire.¡± He probably shouldn¡¯t have answered on second thought. Eh. ¡°Yet, yer standing upright gulping down¡­ ye think that¡¯s funny?¡± He grunted. ¡°It¡¯s a grimace of pain sire.¡± ¡°What yer name smartarse?¡± ¡°Kato sire.¡± The Decanus frowned and stood back. ¡°Say again?¡± ¡°Lucas Kato sire.¡± ¡°You are wanted in the camp,¡± The Decanus said, scrunching his face. ¡°Fuck are you doing here?¡± ¡°I was¡ª¡± But he never got the chance to finish. ¡°Are ye jesting with me ye cunt?¡± The Decanus barked in his face. ¡°RUN BACK TO THE CAMP RIGHT NOW.¡± ¡°Yes sire.¡± ¡°WHY ARE YOU STILL STANDING?¡± ¡°Yer in me way sire,¡± Kato replied, the spit blinding his good eye, earning a row of laughter from the spectators. The officer grunted and stepped aside grinding his teeth.
¡°Where did ye get the sausage?¡± Pappus asked chewing on the half-cooked meat with enthusiasm. ¡°It¡¯s bloody great haha!¡± ¡°I got robbed for it,¡± Kato replied checking his gear was all there. Everything he owed was inside his haversack. Some of the loot probably worth something, if he could find a way to sell it that is. ¡°There¡¯s a man looking for you,¡± Pappus informed him. ¡°Weird guy.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Kato asked him standing up and a young Lorian, wearing a Legion issued tunic, a leather satchel over his shoulder walked towards them. ¡°Mister Kato?¡± The man said, pleasant face and large almond-colored eyes smiling. Kato distrusted him instinctively.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Uhm.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Vibius Ramirus,¡± The man introduced himself and tended a hand, Kato didn¡¯t take. ¡°Scribe of the Third, Aide to Prefect Trupo.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± ¡°May I ask a couple of questions? It won¡¯t take much of your time,¡± Ramirus explained in his cultured Common. ¡°I¡¯m preparing an essay, it will be part of the curriculum. Hopefully a great read for the students and future members of the legion.¡± Kato had no idea what in Oras Hells the man was talking about. So he just nodded, to keep his options open. ¡°Now, you are a member of the First Century of the First Cohort am I correct?¡± Ramirus started getting a scroll out. He sat on a stool to unfurl it. ¡°Can I use that table please?¡± Kato eyed the table Pappus had used to eat. His friend had slipped away sensing trouble. They haven¡¯t gotten a tent yet since the camp wasn¡¯t finished and everyone was standing in the open. The easy work the Decanus had promised being the gathering of rocks and slates from around Kas that were to be used in the construction of a ¡®permanent¡¯ camp apparently. That meant a good ole sleeping under the stars, near a fire and under blankets. At least it wasn¡¯t snowing. ¡°Sure,¡± He replied and the Scribe went to sit on it taking the only stool they had with him. ¡°There it is,¡± Ramirus said and got an inkpot out and a quill. ¡°You were the only survivor of your Maniple.¡± ¡°Pappus as well,¡± Kato corrected him. The scribe blinked and added the name on his list. ¡°Is he here?¡± ¡°Yer sitting on his table.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a Lorian name.¡± ¡°He¡¯s from Asturia.¡± ¡°Right. Well, I¡¯m more interested in the multiplicity and inclusiveness of our Legion mister Kato. It makes for a good recruiting slogan. You serve alongside several locals yes?¡± Not really. Most foreigners are from Fetya and Krakenhall. ¡°Ahm¡­¡± ¡°You had a Northman in your unit.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have his name.¡± ¡°Uhm.¡± ¡°Can you give me his name mister Kato? Surely you were good friends.¡± ¡°Eh¡­¡± ¡°Well?¡± Ramirus asked looking at him. ¡°It will be a nice personal touch.¡± ¡°He¡¯s dead.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure he is.¡± Kato stared at him for a moment. ¡°The name?¡± Ramirus asked him patiently. ¡°Belor.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry for the loss of your friend.¡± He was no friend of mine and I ain¡¯t getting much regret oozing from ye. ¡°Well¡­¡± Kato said dragging his words unsure. ¡°You can inform his family that Belor will be issued a Phalera for his sacrifice,¡± Ramirus said with a smile, quite pleased with himself. Kato hadn¡¯t the slightest on the whereabouts of the late Northman¡¯s family, but he nodded just the same. ¡°Uhm.¡± ¡°I must inform you here that the Legatus has mentioned you,¡± The scribe told him conspiratorially and stood up after he gathered his stuff. ¡°Mmm,¡± Kato kept it as short as he could, as nothing the man was saying sounded good to him. ¡°Any idea on the reason?¡± Ramirus asked looking at him. Kato cleared his throat. I stole his hankie and probably wants it back. He spotted me looting the dead and wants to skin me back to make a point? ¡°We fought side by side on the third day,¡± He said instead. ¡°I can¡¯t imagine the thrill, seeing him in action.¡± ¡°Eh, he¡¯s good wit the sword,¡± Kato retorted. ¡°Good rider. He¡¯s very impressive up close.¡± Ramirus nodded, made to leave but paused. ¡°You made an impression as well mister Kato. You should dress up now. He asked for you.¡± Fuck, Kato thought. You fucking snake.
Decanus Gata stood rigid inside the commander¡¯s tent, one of the few that had been put down before the more permanent timber buildings finished. Behind his desk the Legatus was showing an architectural drawing to the ¡®Old Oak¡¯, but Galio Veturius¡¯ aged face didn¡¯t reveal whether he liked it or not. Kato paused next to Gata. The officer, sporting a cut on his forehead, signed for him to remove his helm. He did, using the other hand to comb his messy hair some and then wipe the sweat off his face. Prefect Trupo who he¡¯d missed initially, approached the table and placed a scroll on it. The Legatus glanced at it. He had a handsome clean-shaven face and clever eyes that run over it quickly. ¡°I¡¯ll take your suggestion Prefect, but make some changes,¡± Lucius Alden told the high ranking officer and Ramirus boss. He then had some wine from a bronze goblet and turned his attention on him. ¡°Legionnaire Lucas Kato,¡± The Legatus said. ¡°There¡¯s some debate whether you deserve this or not,¡± Ah, dangnabbit! Kato grimaced, his swollen left eyelid closing. ¡°But I¡¯ll have your take on the matter,¡± Lucius added. ¡°There was no ill will in the act sire,¡± Kato blurted out and Lucius stood back with a frown. ¡°Nor disrespect. It¡¯s been¡­ part of the job¡­¡± The Tribune was glaring at him. Decanus Gata being less courteous. ¡°Shut yer mouth Kato!¡± He barked whipping his head right to look at him with crazy eyes. ¡°The Legatus hadn¡¯t finished!¡± Kato grinned pulling his upper lip back, which seemed not to work at all, afore nodding in pensive silence. ¡°Joined the Legion in Anorum in eighty four,¡± Lucius continued the tiniest of grins on his lips. He was reading from another scroll. ¡°Aged nineteen¡­¡± Kato blinked. ¡°Younger? Eighteen¡­ hmm,¡± Lucius said catching his small deception. ¡°You were dishonorably discharged with no pension or benefits four years later for and I quote. Dereliction of duty, heavy drinking, heavy looting, blasphemy to four of the Five Gods, apparently you are a gabbler and revealing yourself to a married Lady,¡± He stared at him, those strikingly blue silver Alden eyes cold. Kato didn¡¯t know if he should explain. Or whether he¡¯d finished this time. ¡°Answer the Legatus ye absolute spoon!¡± Gata barked next to his ear, starting a ringing that spread to his other. ¡°I was tryin¡¯ to ¡®rinate sire,¡± Kato said as quickly as he could. ¡°What did he say?¡± Lucius asked perturbed. ¡°He stopped to piss at the side of the street alike a dog,¡± Gata explained. ¡°He does that frequently sire.¡± Much like everyone without a personal lavatory, or a house you fuckwit! ¡°I got the picture mister Gata,¡± Lucius stopped him, then he turned to Kato again. ¡°Fled to Sovya, after convincing your friend Pappus to break you out of a cell in Asturia, where you served time since the Lady¡¯s husband thought you needed more punishment,¡± Lucius continued. ¡°Worked as mercenaries since then, until you joined the Black Skulls. You volunteered for the Hundred Days campaign in Maza Burg,¡± He glanced at the aged officer watching the exchange silent. ¡°He¡¯s a good soldier milord. Ye need guts for this job, no skill is involved,¡± The Tribune said. ¡°Nor do you have to be a decent man. I believe the latter can be fixed, but ye either are a soldier, or you¡¯re not.¡± Kato tried to force open his left eyelid and managed it whilst everyone was pondering on the Tribune¡¯s words, a tear running down his cheek from the effort. ¡°I need someone to form the new First Century,¡± Lucius said interrupting his fidgeting. ¡°Good troops will be provided, but with such losses the unit might take a moment to recover. I want that moment shortened, so I need firm leadership and to cut off the dead weight,¡± Lucius paused looking at him. ¡°Gata will explain to you more.¡± ¡°Am I¡­?¡± Kato tried to say and glanced fearfully at Gata. Getting an earful. ¡°What are ye looking at me for ye cunt!¡± ¡°Apologies Decanus¡ª¡± ¡°It¡¯s Centurion Gata! Are ye bloody blind?¡± He hissed irate, his fuse shorter than a rabbit¡¯s cock and Kato grimaced comically trying to withstand the onslaught. ¡°Finish your query Kato,¡± Lucius urged him, thankfully remaining calm that hint of a smile on his mouth. ¡°Am I fired sire?¡± Kato croaked, feeling dizzy and a little poisoned from the herb-heavy filling that cook had used in the sausage. ¡°No mister Kato,¡± The Legatus had replied and placed a bronze badge on his desk. ¡°You¡¯ve been promoted to Decanus of the First Century. Don¡¯t veer off track again Decanus.¡± Well, that¡¯s a bowl of cack. ¡°What was that?¡± Lucius asked him unsure as he¡¯d talked aloud in his shock. ¡°Me goal is staying on track sire!¡± Kato shouted ardently, then grinned fiercely showing a lot of teeth, until he met the ¡®Old Oak¡¯s¡¯ pitiless eyes and stopped abruptly. The important thing as far as Kato was concerned, was the fact he''d kept his bowels under control until he made it back to their spot walking briskly. It was a half-sprint. There he emptied himself out making a mess on the ground near where they had to sleep. Since this was the Legion and he was issued a shovel, Kato dug a hole and covered it all up afore Pappus returned.
The next morning he walked in front of a freshly reformed Third Maniple, the twenty five legionnaires ¨CPappus amongst them- eyeing him apprehensively. Kato was stiff as a board, an arm half frozen as he¡¯d kept it out of his blanket in his sleep and the helm on his head felt heavy and bothersome. He looked at the men and then grinned maniacally afore starting his prepared speech. ¡°This is a fortunate day,¡± Decanus Kato croaked, his voice cracking until he coughed once to clear his pipes and continue. ¡°This day ye fuckin¡¯ cunts, we¡¯re going to do the easiest job ever assigned to a legionnaire. No skill is involved!¡± ¡°What¡¯s the job sire?¡± Pappus asked him and Kato eyed his friend warningly. Boundaries had to be set afore this went tits up. ¡°Same as the day before,¡± He told him and pointed at a pile of tools next to their lines. ¡°Grab yer pickaxes lads,¡± He ordered them. ¡°We¡¯re going digging for stone! ON FULL SPRINT! We shall smash that stone, beat it into submission and drag its sorry arse back into the camp without a hiccup! WHY?¡± He barked at the end and most of the older lads shouted back in the same vein, forcing the new recruits to go along. The roar thunderous. ¡°NO SKILL IS INVOLVED SIRE!¡± Aye, Decanus Kato agreed with a satisfied grimace. Welcome to the fuckin¡¯ Legion! 222. The Tiger’s Lair (3/3)
Legatus Lucius Alden The Tiger¡¯s Lair Part III -Nice to meet you son-
Most have a talent in losing men, Few are capable of creating armies. Baron Storm Nattas Circa 189 NC
The Third Legion settled in Kas and worked on several projects whilst replenishing its force in the summer of 190 NC. Governor Macrinus green-lighted the rebuilding of the ¡®Sovya Sector¡¯ with most longhouses outright demolished before the end of the month. The east timber wall was brought down and became part of the permanent camp and its buildings. Work on the Military School, a massive three story square building occupying a city block, started immediately. Several prominent structures were raised (or had work start on them), like the large Arms and Armour workshop and the Domed Market that soon turned into the heart of the city. The latter was funded in large part by a coalition of local merchants, who realized the potential of a never sleeping market, unaffected from weather. The Legion construction crews widened the roads towards the Bloody Ridge and the Mouth. Trees were cut down on both sides and at twice the width of the road. The ground dug a meter down, the soil replaced with layers of gravel, cement, crashed stone and then a final sheet of cut slate with a drainage in the middle separating the two large lanes coming and going towards the city. Northmen visited from Fenford to meet with the new Governor and Lucius. The Crafters Guild¡¯s old leader also came to the city, the first appearance of the elusive dwarf in decades. Master Thersin Bonearm brought with him the richest dwarf in Fenford Dorad Onyxminer, of the famed miner family. Dorad wanted the opportunity to dig for metal at the nearby Bloody Ridge, after he¡¯d found his business getting slowly usurped by the Jarl¡¯s men back in Fenford. While Governor Macrinus dealt with the city¡¯s needs Lucius turned his attention in the army itself and set up his plans for what would eventually become the ¡®Brazen Fourth¡¯. Not even two months after he entered the city an influx of recruits came from the North, Sovya, Regia and even Lesia. Some of them were the Duke¡¯s aggrieved opponents, Nords that wanted a taste of the wars to come, loyalists from Regia and plain criminals. Most of the new arrivals were typically looking for mercenary work of any kind, but with the Third stationed next to Kas they were absorbed there. Lucius knowing that the Duke would respond soon, kept his eye on Rifjordal where the Juters forces were slowly gathering for an assault at the bridge of Halfostad. Despite what the Duke had feared, Lucius quickly learned the Jarl would have never attacked from Fenford as he could barely control the city there. The North was plagued by the long icy distances separating each opponent and shockingly poor intelligence. Legends and rumors creating more than what was there in reality. At the end of the second month of summer, although it was probably a bit later than that, the Third Legion had 1760 Legionnaires into Four Cohorts (500 in the First, 420 in each of the other three), 200 Slingers (fifty of them were archers), 100 Cavalry and 200 Scouts (Half of them mounted light cavalry). Those visiting the training grounds and the massive Castrum covering the whole east side of the city, soon realized there was a fifth Cohort size unit forming slowly. Given the number of civilians working inside the camp (A thousand at least over the two thousand plus the Legion had brought along) the news spread.
(Third month of summer 190 NC) ¡°Domus, Asina, Drusus and Fuscus,¡± Arrun said and Lucius nodded at the four men waiting behind him. ¡°I want a reliable man as commander of the City Guard, mister Fabianus.¡± ¡°I trust these four,¡± Arrun replied. ¡°I¡¯ve been working with them for a long time. They held your shields in the circle.¡± ¡°I remember. But I¡¯ve made up my mind,¡± Lucius insisted. ¡°We hoped we¡¯d keep working together milord.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll continue to do so,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°Under Macrinus. I want the Forts at the hands of people we can trust. You¡¯ll be the city¡¯s next Captain of the Guard.¡± Arrun frowned. ¡°Is there a way I could serve near your grace?¡± Lucius stared at him. ¡°I won¡¯t stay here more than I have to Captain. I need to know I¡¯m served after I depart.¡± Arrun stood upright at attention. ¡°You shall milord.¡± ¡°Good,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°Now, go to Macrinus to help him out. We dumped a lot on him.¡± He stretched his arms when the men departed and glanced towards Faye¡¯s internal balcony, but his wife moved about little these past days complaining the heat was ungodly in Kas. In reality Kas was probably colder than any city in the south by a very long margin. He set his eyes on the young scribe checking the notes he¡¯d taken of his meetings. ¡°Mister Ramirus? I¡¯ve asked for an update on the news from Regia.¡± ¡°Yes Legatus,¡± Ramirus said raising his head. ¡°I have the missives here.¡± Lucius had bought every bird the merchants were bringing with them and was hiring people to act as messengers of gossip from any visiting city, trying to get an intelligence network up and running as fast as possible. Ramirus was the man tasked with that job, while officially working as a scribe. He read a couple of the scrolls before staring at the young erudite man again. ¡°Jeremy is in Alden,¡± Lucius said. ¡°Why not go to Cartagen?¡± ¡°People coming from Asturia speak of him poorly Legatus,¡± Ramirus replied. ¡°Do they? They cite a reason?¡± ¡°You are alive for starters, he¡¯s married to a Crow and he assented the throne without the King¡¯s sword,¡± Ramirus counted. ¡°Some Lords didn¡¯t bent the knee.¡± ¡°What happened to it?¡± ¡°It just vanished the day King Alistair breathed his last.¡± Lucius pressed his lips tight and played with his Knight¡¯s gold ring for a while. ¡°Lord Holt is one of them obviously,¡± Lucius said after a contemplating moment, deciding to move on. ¡°Stubborn as a mule, but he¡¯ll never disobey an order. What about the others?¡± ¡°Some speak of Lord Sula, but we have no one visiting from that far Legatus.¡± ¡°You need men and funds Ramirus,¡± Lucius decided. ¡°That is correct your grace.¡± ¡°I have men to spare, but I lack coin.¡± ¡°What about the dwarf?¡± Ramirus probed. ¡°He thinks there¡¯re riches in the mountains,¡± Lucius replied sounding unconvinced. ¡°Very fierce folk the dwarfs, not to be underestimated. Smart as well. Despite that I can¡¯t have him digging near our South Fort, or clogging up our road with his wagons.¡± ¡°Riches as in?¡± Ramirus asked his attention drawn to the first part of his answer. ¡°Diamonds, gems, metal, who knows? I¡¯m interested in iron as well obviously.¡± ¡°Gold would be nice, even if it¡¯s not coin,¡± Ramirus noted. ¡°Would the dwarf pay for the opportunity?¡± Lucius looked at him. ¡°Speak clearly mister Ramirus.¡± ¡°Well,¡± The young man said. ¡°If the dwarf is willing to part with some of their accumulated gold for working on a side of the mountains not detrimental to our operations¡­¡± ¡°He wants to use our road,¡± Lucius pointed out and Ramirus shrugged his shoulders. ¡°You¡¯re saying we open a smaller road towards the ridge just for the miners?¡± ¡°If the dwarf pays for it your grace,¡± Ramirus replied. ¡°I don¡¯t see why we shouldn¡¯t take his gold.¡±
Lucius climbed down from Stormbolt patting his mane caringly, the large horse bumping his large head once on his shoulder in response. Gripa took the reins from Lucius with a smile. ¡°I¡¯ll return to Lady Faye,¡± His aide said and Lucius nodded. ¡°I will leave this big old boy with the Legion¡¯s horses.¡± ¡°Thank you Gripa,¡± Lucius replied looking at the gates of the camp. A sturdy wall had started forming around the Castrum. Less than a meter in height at its thicker base, almost two along the periphery, it was made of large pieces of stone, mortar and would eventually connect with the city walls. By that time the wall would be much higher of course. A large group of armed men had appeared there. Mounted on horses with military saddles and wearing Legion-type boots. Galio approached seeing him standing next to the headquarters half-finished stone building. ¡°Legatus,¡± Galio said. ¡°Tribune,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°Deserters?¡± Galio frowned, not a difficult thing for him and eyed the approaching heavily escorted leader of the group. The Centurion on watch had dispatched half a Century to keep an eye on those left behind at the gates. ¡°Never seen a white-gold tunic on a Legionnaire afore,¡± Galio noticed. ¡°Or such a fine sword.¡±Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°Where is Sula?¡± Lucius asked him. ¡°He¡¯s been summoned,¡± Galio replied glaring at the young man on the horse. ¡°But not apprised on the developments.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll talk of this later,¡± Lucius said and watched as their visitor climbed down and followed one of the Legionnaires. They stopped in front of them and the soldier saluted, before stepping aside. The young man stepped forward and bowed his head deeply. He¡¯d deep lines on his hard angular face and a thick beard, but also honest sea-green eyes, uncombed black hair and a thick Lesia accent that reminded Lucius of his late mother. ¡°Optio Potis Durio,¡± The ex-legion officer said clenching his jaw. ¡°Surrendering the Second Century to Lord Aldenus immediately and asking for clemency for the men sir!¡± He finished staring at the unamused Tribune Veturius. ¡°We don¡¯t use the name outside of ceremonies, Optio,¡± Lucius told him. Durio recoiled, and turned his attention on the correct man. ¡°Apologies my lord!¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t a mistake,¡± Lucius stopped him with a smile. ¡°Durio you say? Any relation to the old Prefect?¡± Galio asked and the young officer¡¯s face darkened. ¡°Prefect Durio was my uncle sir,¡± Durio said with difficulty. The way he talked about it, made Lucius believe the Prefect was more than that for him. ¡°What happened? I¡¯ve served with Placus,¡± Galio grunted narrowing his eyes. ¡°He was executed for disobeying a superior¡¯s order,¡± Durio replied. ¡°Placus would never do that,¡± The Tribune murmured not believing it. ¡°What was the order?¡± Lucius asked and the former Optio stared his way guiltily. ¡°Our Legion was asked to stay in camp, whilst the First Legion was engaged with the Second Foot,¡± Potis replied. ¡°I asked my uncle to allow me to provide assistance to our former brothers in arms and he agreed, but Lord Caxaton ordered him to stand down,¡± Durio cleared his throat and continued. ¡°The Prefect questioned the legitimacy of the order and he was punished for it.¡± This was during the Battle of the Turncoats, Lucius thought. ¡°You¡¯ve served with Lesia¡¯s Legion,¡± Galio grunted still affected from the news. ¡°For a day Tribune,¡± Potis replied. ¡°Lord Caxaton leads the Second Legion?¡± Lucius asked him to clarify the command structure. ¡°He does, with Ettore Pintor,¡± Potis replied. ¡°I know little more, but its build around the old Second Cohort.¡± ¡°But for part of the Second Century,¡± Galio noticed. ¡°Why did they let you go?¡± ¡°We deserted the camp,¡± Potis admitted and hanged his head. ¡°I regret the decision. The valiant thing to do would have been to assist my uncle.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be an idiot,¡± Galio admonished him. ¡°You would¡¯ve been dead in that case, yer uncle left unavenged.¡± ¡°I¡¯m ready to accept the consequences¡ª¡± ¡°Any engineers in your group?¡± Lucius cut him off staring at him coldly. ¡°I would appreciate some honesty Optio. You came here because you know of my situation. Everywhere else you would¡¯ve been hanged on sight. There¡¯s a bounty on your heads.¡± Potis stood back and nodded his face hardening. ¡°The Legatus asked a question, son,¡± Galio reminded him. ¡°This is the Second Engineering Century Legatus,¡± Durio replied and Lucius opened his eyes wide not expecting it. ¡°Everyone back there is a Legion Engineer.¡± ¡°Well that¡¯s sweet as a young harlot¡¯s cunt,¡± Galio blurted out genuinely surprised and Lucius glanced at him. The Tribune shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Should I tell him the news milord?¡± He asked him and Lucius nodded, the former Optio looking at them unsure. ¡°Potis Durio, you are henceforth back into the fold,¡± Galio told him. ¡°Not the same fold, but a fold none-the-less.¡± ¡°Sire?¡± Durio asked. ¡°Same rank,¡± Lucius decided and Galio nodded. ¡°For now.¡± ¡°You heard the Legatus,¡± Galio said looking at Durio sternly. ¡°Prefect Trupo will brief you about your duties. Have you eaten?¡± ¡°Ahm, no Tribune I haven¡¯t,¡± Durio replied and gathered himself. ¡°Well, you¡¯ll be fine for a little while more,¡± Galio reassured him. ¡°Run to the Prefect now, but tell your men to wait here. There¡¯s water in the trough, good for men and horses. So they¡¯ll be fine.¡± ¡°Good for men and horses?¡± Lucius asked chuckling when the reinstated Optio rushed after the trotting legionnaire to find the Prefect. ¡°Got to straighten them out immediately milord,¡± Galio explained. ¡°Them lads from the academy have a big head on their shoulders.¡± Eh. ¡°I graduated from the Academy in Cartagen as well Tribune!¡± Lucius protested and glared at him. ¡°A good officer, is an educated officer,¡± He added. Galio smacked his lips once, but kept his composure, hands clasped behind his back. ¡°As I said milord, them lads have a big head on their shoulders.¡±
Centurion Nonus Sula was a medium height, robust man. He¡¯d the classic squarish Lorian jaw and thick neck. Short cut brown hair and piercing washed out blue eyes, under bushy eyebrows. He set that jaw seeing Lucius and the Tribune approach and boomed in a clear a voice to the legionnaires standing behind him next to Centurion Ennius, who had been promoted some months back. ¡°Cohort attention!¡± The men of the four Centuries snapped at their heels, the sudden sound reverberating on the many stone barracks walls surrounding the camp¡¯s central square. ¡°At ease Centurion,¡± Lucius prompted him and stopped to examine the men they¡¯ve been drilling, whilst working them hard to burn out the surplus fat and strengthen their core, as the Tribune eloquently had phrased it. Lucius found no fat on them and their gear looked new, the red tunics and armours contrasting to the sea of shining helms. ¡°Relax men, but no funny stuff,¡± Centurion Ennius said evenly, himself a thoroughly unfunny person both in looks and character. ¡°Ennius,¡± Lucius said looking at Centurion Sula¡¯s face. ¡°You can go now. Head to the barracks of the Second Cohort¡¯s First Century and assume command there.¡± Sula blinked taken by surprise, but held his composure. ¡°Sire?¡± Ennius asked, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. ¡°You¡¯ve taken yer orders Centurion!¡± Galio admonished him grinding his teeth. ¡°Why on Tyeus meaty spear are ye still standing there?¡± Ennius saluted briskly and run away without another word. Lucius sighed and stared at the men pretending not to listen to their exchange, before returning his stare on the expecting Sula. ¡°Skuff Juter attacked over the Stad River,¡± Lucius informed the rigidly standing officer. ¡°He won a battle at the bridge, went over it and got mangled and chewed up by Lesia regulars that had arrived from Kadrek to reinforce the Duke. Amongst them the Duke himself with around five hundred Carls, at least two thousand soldiers under Baron Palma of Armium, a score of knights and Armando Ley¡¯s Boars mercenary company.¡± ¡°A sizeable force sire,¡± Sula commented still shook for having just been stripped of his command of the Century. ¡°Juter retreated over the bridge, but they came after him and he¡¯ll have to fight anew to stop them, or risk them following him all the way to Rifjordal.¡± ¡°Or coming towards us,¡± Galio added. ¡°I intent to take the Legion and rush to assist the Northmen,¡± Lucius continued just as a rider was heard galloping into the camp coming from the internal city gates. ¡°Check the Duke¡¯s forces and throw them back, if it¡¯s possible.¡± ¡°What about Kas my lord?¡± Sula asked him. ¡°What about it?¡± Lucius retorted, his eyes on the rider disregarding the guards warnings to slow down at the gates. ¡°The Crulls might take the opportunity to come down from their mountains,¡± Sula explained. ¡°Hit us afore the walls are ready.¡± ¡°They don¡¯t have the numbers to do that Centurion,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°And you¡¯ll be tasked with protecting the city. You¡¯ll use the men you¡¯ve trained for it,¡± Lucius said and looking at the legionnaires now looking livelier, he added. ¡°There¡¯s a Cohort¡¯s worth of them here, more really. I¡¯ll named it the First Cohort.¡± ¡°Legatus?¡± Sula asked unsure and the rider came to a stop right in front of them, dust covering the three officers. ¡°What¡¯s this travesty? Have ye lost your mind?¡± Galio blasted the young rider that jumped from the saddle all flustered and ogling panicked at the high ranking officers. ¡°Legatus,¡± The young rider saluted, his hands shaking. ¡°Lady Faye is in labor.¡± Lucius mouth went dry and he had to clench his teeth to keep himself from reacting in panic. He cleared his throat, his tongue glued on the walls of his mouth and asked hoarsely. ¡°Has it started then?¡± ¡°Aye sire,¡± The young man said, his face as white as Lucius. ¡°Gripa implores you to hurry.¡± Roderick had said the same words to his father, the day his mother had died. ¡°I¡¯ll be right there. See that you bring my horse here lad,¡± Lucius told him and turned to a frowned Sula. ¡°The First Cohort needs a higher ranking officer to lead it,¡± He said keeping his voice stable, despite the internal turmoil and knowing everyone was looking at him. ¡°In light of this, you are promoted to a Prefect effective immediately and you are assuming command of the unit.¡± ¡°Milord,¡± Galio told him. ¡°I will brief the Prefect.¡± You should see to your wife was his meaning. Lucius nodded his face grave and turned around to watch for the approaching rider with his horse and to avoid the eyes of the men present. ¡°Why First Cohort?¡± Sula asked Galio just as Lucius was climbing on the saddle. ¡°It should be the Fifth.¡± ¡°No it shouldn¡¯t be,¡± Galio had replied just as Lucius galloped away at an easy trot at first, until Stormbolt sensed his anxiousness that is and started galloping to bring him to Redmond Hall as fast as possible. ¡°This is another Legion,¡± The Tribune had added to a numb at all that had transpired Nonus Sula.
It is said, the moment Lucius son came into this world was the moment the Fourth Legion was born. The now famed unit came fast and brazenly, marching to battle three days after its christening and earning its moniker a week later. The Brazen Fourth, or ¡®Young Sister¡¯ would carve its own history in the years to come. Lucius arrived at Redmond Hall just after Roderick came to be, announcing his presence with a piercing garish wail that quickly turned to anger. It was said Faye Alden almost died giving birth to him, but fought bravely through the whole ordeal and succeeded. The Legatus who expected the worst given the first reports he¡¯d received from his stuff about her condition, remained surprisingly composed until she opened her eyes and asked him to see their child. Faye Alden who described the event later recalls he broke down for a minute, before getting ahold of himself and going to fetch little Roderick to his mother. Roderick Aldenus, the first of his name, was born in the last month of summer, the year of the new calendar 190, in the Northern city of Kas. Lucius was reluctant to leave their side the following days and it was decided that then newly promoted Prefect Sula would take the newly formed Fourth Legion (only at Cohort strength), march down the old road through the woods towards Stag River and attempt to block the Duke¡¯s advance there. Sula had express orders not to get himself into a big battle and wait for reinforcements to arrive from Kas in the next two, or three days, depending on Lady Faye¡¯s recovery. Two days after Sula left to help Juter, a large force came down from the lightly guarded mountain path ¨Cthe West Fort hadn¡¯t been built yet- intending to attack the still under construction walls of Kas. Bas Crull had spotted the Legion departing under Sula at full honors and with its banners flapping in the wind, spying at them from the woods. He informed his father that this was their chance to cut off Lucius and place him between two strong forces without a base or supplies. Lord Crull stripped every man able to carry a spear or sword from his lands and sent them down the difficult, but closer Mount Junction on the double quick. The exact number difficult to gauge today and heavily disputed by the survivors. Probably close to two thousand soldiers, including Bas depleted Rangers that had slipped inside the Kas valley earlier that month. It was a good plan, but Bas had spotted the wrong Legion departing. Lord Sirio Veturius The Fall of Heroes Chapter II (Legatus Lucius Alden, Northern campaigns, Second Year Volume II The Tiger¡¯s Lair -Nice to meet you son- Birth of Roderick Alden and the Fourth Legion, Prelude to the 2nd Battle of Kas, And the Battle beyond Stag River (also known as ¡®A Paean amidst the Pines¡¯) Late Summer of 190 NC)
223. Ruler of Goras Peninsula (1/3)
Glen Mister Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Ruler of Goras Peninsula Part I -My loot, my lands-
Fikumin was snoring in his cot, near the half-out brazier. It was a thunderous sound. It bounced off the high ceiling of the estate-size house Glen had moved into and its ancient walls. There was another floor a cavernous six meters over their heads, the staircase leading to it narrow and adjacent to the west wall. It shot upwards without rails, its finely cut steps narrow and slippery. A test of one¡¯s balance if there ever was one. A great amount of skill in acrobatics was needed to climb it. Gods forbid you had to come down of it in a hurry, or half-drowsed from yer sleep to take a piss. Phina had gone up there clearing two steps at a time to ¡®explore¡¯. Glen could respect that and would have gone exploring as well, but he didn¡¯t. First it was easy to pinch whatever the small Zilan might discover, if it had any value and second, he was dog tired and this place looked thoroughly looted already to his experienced gaze. They¡¯ve even taken the plaguin¡¯ furniture gods darn it, he thought scrunching his nose and looking about in the dark. He¡¯d woken up afore the sun had started its ascent on the horizon. Glen had slept poorly, as people falling asleep on uncomfortable thrones tend to do, had his back twisted on it funny and it was bothering him, the rest of his body still hurting from the ordeal of dealing with the Hydra. Fikumin went on another round of earth-shattering snorts and Glen pushed himself upright with a groan and stepped away from the throne. They had found a table along with a couple of empty boxes, but not much else in the nearby ¨Cequally tall and impressive- abandoned houses. He walked towards the window, now cleaned from overgrowth and opened wide, his eyes set on the mist coming from the lake. The humidity was so great, he felt it on his skin and he pushed away from the window frustrated. Fikumin was either doing it on purpose, or he was dying, he thought, staring at the sleeping dwarf. The weight of his huge head is probably slowly crashing his wind-pipes, or something. Each attempt at resting the toss of a coin wit death looming afore the next morning. In a sense, Glen felt sorry for the tiny guy. He walked outside, almost tripping at the large entrance, a carved lip raised at its base to keep the water out nigh dangerous. Probably another of Moron¡¯s designs, Glen thought looking about to see if anyone had caught him stumbling out of his house. Ye got to keep them guessing my dude. Keep up the charade and all these insane flesheating motherfuckers in the bloody dark. At least I know the dwarf is trustworthy, Soren is a friend and Jinx is the most solid of them all. A fucking trooper aye, Glen thought walking towards an enormous trunk sprouting out of the fertile ground and shooting towards the skies, lost in the thick fog hanging over his head. Just has no brains far as coin-management goes, due to her gambling problem. But you can trust her to keep everyone at arm¡¯s length and not open up¡­ ¡°Oii! Mmm,¡± Jinx gushed from someplace high over his head. ¡°Move it around!¡± Well this could be anything really, no need to jump into conclusions¡ª ¡°That¡¯s Bobelo¡¯s finger ¡®Rosy Eyes¡¯,¡± A heavy-breathing Maeriel corrected her. Glen¡¯s brows shot up and he stared at the tall tree with its unseen branches distressed. ¡°Get it out you naughty ape!¡± Maeriel admonished their third partner ¨Capparently. Glen¡¯s left eye started twitching, when Bobelo¡¯s reply led him down some very weird paths. ¡°Hooh-ha, ah-ah!¡± Bobelo argued, the branches rustling over a stunned Glen and wet leaves raining on him. ¡°Leave it!¡± Jinx gasped, her voice turning into a shriek. ¡°I can handle both!¡± What in Luthos balls is this shite? ¡°WHISPER!¡± Glen barked furious and glared upwards his face flushed. ¡°WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK!¡± Ah-Ah, the monkey cackled and dropped down, landing on his shoulder. Glen recoiled and turned to punch the small winged creature away, but Bobelo jumped over his fist just as fast, causing him to miss, whilst slotting his long index finger into Glen¡¯s left nostril. Hard. ¡°Argh!¡± Glen groaned irate and swung with his other hand. The monkey jumped away, bounced off the trunk and came at him again. Glen tried another haymaker, the flying monkey took a dive to avoid it and a snarling Glen caught it with a well-placed raised knee. It snapped its small hairy head back almost breaking its neck. Bobelo collapsed senseless on the ground and Glen sporting a bleeding nose stepped forward and raised a boot to squash it dead alike the annoying bug it was. ¡°Glen?¡± Jinx asked afore he¡¯d time to avenge himself. ¡°What?¡± He barked and she dropped next to him with a thud. The Gish must have hurt her knees, the drop a good eight meters at least, but pretended she was fine. Jinx¡¯s hair were covered in small twigs and other shit, Glen noticed, placing a hand on his nose to stop the bleeding. Talk about a good morning scrap, he thought with a grimace. ¡°What happened to Bobelo?¡± Jinx asked, a hand sneakily buttoning the loose front of her leather pants. Glen snorted and eyed the unconscious monkey indifferently. Or dead. He gave it even odds, since it was a solid knee to forehead blow. His knee was hurting a bit come to think of it. ¡°I¡¯ve no idea,¡± He lied without batting an eyelash, wiping the blood from his nose. ¡°Slipped and fell is my guess. Ye should take care when climbin¡¯ on them trees all by yer lonesome.¡± ¡°I was beholding the lake,¡± Jinx murmured, stooping to pick the monkey up. Glen couldn¡¯t see the house he¡¯d just exited proper, not the plaguing lake that was hundreds of meters away. The lie pathetic, even by Jinx¡¯s standards. ¡°When I heard yer voice¡ª¡± ¡°Twas a yell,¡± Glen corrected her, not amused. ¡°Uhm. It was shocking hearing it,¡± She admitted. ¡°Snapped me right out of it.¡± ¡°Out of what?¡± ¡°My thoughts,¡± Jinx lied. Glen stared at her unimpressed. ¡°I don¡¯t believe you.¡± Then again the fight had snapped him out of his startle from catching them¡­ doing stuff. ¡°Why not?¡± Jinx asked narrowing her eyes. ¡°What were you doing here?¡± Glen sighed and stared at his bloodied fingers. ¡°Told you the monkey scared the piss out of me,¡± Glen retorted casually, then frowned at his own words. His timeline did not really match the events, but Glen didn¡¯t have something else. ¡°Poor thing,¡± Jinx said not catching it, looking at the monkey all sad. Huh? Ah, her brains probably turned into soup from gods know what debauchery just transpired up there. ¡°I was going to make a cacao leaves drink,¡± Glen said, cleaning his hands on his pants. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°A local beverage,¡± Glen deadpanned. ¡°Soletha showed us the tree. It¡¯s like tea but stronger in taste.¡± ¡°You know how to do that?¡± Jinx asked curious. ¡°Eh, no. How hard could it be?¡± Glen replied and glanced towards the still hidden branches over their heads. ¡°Are ye coming?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll just stay for a bit more, take in the silence, before people wake up,¡± Jinx blurted out and Glen nodded. ¡°Keep your eyes open,¡± He advised her and walked back towards his house. Fikumin¡¯s snoring could be heard from a good ten meters away. With the exotic Zilan house hidden behind the veil of the morning fog, you could mistake it for a beast sleeping in its lair.
¡°Well?¡± Glen asked Sam Mathews an hour later and the Lorian crooked his mouth before answering. ¡°This is bad Garth.¡± ¡°Bitter stuff eh?¡± ¡°Undrinkable.¡± ¡°Metu has no idea how to make it,¡± Glen lied and poured the rest of his down. A Zilan paused to look at them with her expressive glowing eyes, but went on her way when Glen glared that way. ¡°I¡¯m on the fence about them,¡± He admitted to the adventurer. ¡°I¡¯ll take Jinx any day,¡± Sam grunted pouring the mixture Glen had concocted down as well. ¡°Foul stuff, if I¡¯m being honest.¡± ¡°Aye,¡± Glen agreed. He could still feel the muddy lukewarm taste in his mouth. ¡°You know Whisper is more tit than cock kind of girl,¡± He added and Sam looked up with a smile. ¡°I can live with variety.¡± ¡°She wouldn¡¯t, is what I¡¯m saying,¡± Glen insisted, although that whole thing with the monkey and Maeriel had him shook. ¡°Plenty of pretty Zilan around though with more coming. Now that¡¯s something people kept telling me was impossible to happen.¡± Gish, Zilan, Wyverns and magic. Dwarfs were pretty rare as well, but Glen could see why people stayed clear off them. Obnoxious creatures. ¡°I¡¯m not really comfortable around the blue-haired locals,¡± Sam countered pensively. ¡°The locals I agree, but I can¡¯t say I ever had a problem with their females,¡± Glen countered, then he remembered why he wanted to speak with him. ¡°Hey, Kalac will send a couple of scouts to the towers. You should grab Soren and follow them there.¡± ¡°I planned to go anyway,¡± Mathews replied. He was a little taller than Glen and at least five years older. ¡°See what I can find.¡± Glen perked up at that. ¡°Ye think there¡¯s stuff there?¡± Loot worthy? ¡°You just killed a Hydra with your Wyvern,¡± Sam told him. ¡°Aye, I do expect something crazy to pop up.¡± Hmm. ¡°Where¡¯s Soren?¡± ¡°With Soletha,¡± Sam replied. ¡°Sour old girl, but the big guy makes her smile.¡± That wasn¡¯t how Glen saw it. The Zilan were needy creatures circling around him and his friends like vultures. ¡°Damn it, he should stay away from her,¡± Glen hissed. ¡°They are sneaky and are not to be trusted.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you just say, they are fine?¡± Mathews argued surprised. ¡°I can handle their trickery,¡± Glen explained puffing out. ¡°Go and get him. See that she doesn¡¯t know where you¡¯re going.¡±
No sooner had Glen returned to the mansion-like house, the angles on its roof ominous, a small crowd was waiting for him. Fikumin had put a large chair behind the table and climbed on top of it, a large parchment in his hands and a quill. Metu bowed deeply when he entered and several Zilan present followed his lead, Voron amongst them. Glen cleared his throat a couple of times, the bitterness still there and winked at Phina who was ready to ask him something. The girl blushed and went to speak, but Maeriel put a hand on her shoulder and stopped her. The young girl pouted cutely. Right. He walked to his throne-like chair and sat down. Realizing he was standing too far away from the table and couldn¡¯t see anything, he got up under the small crowd¡¯s scrutiny and dragged it next to Fikumin, its legs making a screeching unpleasant noise. Glen noticed the dwarf was standing on top of his own chair so he could see over the table. Glen sat down scrunching his nose, still sporting a piece of cloth stack in it to stop the bleeding. Metu approached him immediately and put a plate of fruits in front of him and a goblet. He then removed the cloth from his nose with an exclamation of disapproval and pushed Glen¡¯s long and extremely wild hair back behind his ears with an ivory comb. It was an ordeal. ¡°You have a mirror?¡± Glen asked him. ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯ve parted them correctly.¡± ¡°Garth there¡¯s people waiting for an audience,¡± Fikumin grunted, his skin red from high blood pressure. Glen sighed. The dwarf¡¯s health was a mess. ¡°Didn¡¯t we have one of those yesterday?¡±Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. ¡°It was two days ago,¡± Fikumin corrected him patiently, trying to keep their visitors waiting by the door and a good ten meters away, out of the loop. Ah. ¡°Fetch a mirror Metu,¡± Glen said and took what looked like a short orange banana, peeled it off taking his time and then brought it to his mouth. The core a bright white underneath. ¡°Garth?¡± Fikumin hissed, while he chewed on the tasteless though soft fruit slowly. With a sigh Glen stared at the small group of Zilan waiting for him to decide. ¡°Voron?¡± He asked in passable ¡®Street Imperial¡¯ and the haughty Zilan stepped forward. ¡°Did you come up with something?¡± ¡°Hardir O¡¯ Fardor,¡± Voron replied in a much more refined accent. ¡°I have indeed several ideas and a number of proposals¡ª¡± ¡°One thing at a time,¡± Glen interrupted him rudely. ¡°Now, do the rest of you have an appointment?¡± A murmur was heard from the Zilan, a couple of protests thrown in. ¡°How do they get an appointment?¡± Aenymriel asked walking out of a corner Glen would¡¯ve sworn was empty a minute ago. She walked slowly towards him, long legs making almost no sound and despite wearing a simple long tunic, Glen thought she¡¯d milked the fuck out of that walk. Aenymriel paused before his throne-like seat, hint of a smile on her lips and turned unhurriedly around to take a place right next to him and Fikumin. The dwarf snorted and glared at her. ¡°May I remain near you Hardir?¡± She susurrated sensing Fikumin¡¯s disapproval and Glen smacked his lips, reached for another piece of that orange fruit and offered it to her. Aenymriel blinked once taken aback, but recovered quickly and took the oblong fruit with her long fingers. She brought it to her mouth under Glen¡¯s encouragement and started eating it, skin and all. Good grief, Glen thought hearing those teeth tearing at the fruit, the female¡¯s indigo eyes staying on him ravenously. ¡°You can stay,¡± Glen said loud enough for everyone to hear. ¡°In the same way they can have an audience wit me. By being useful and contributing! You folk do that and I will listen to yer problems. Not today though, I¡¯ll give ye this day to think about it.¡± Glen had decided to put a stop to this foolishness, afore they managed to suck away all of his time with their boring incessant nagging. Nip that shite in the bud.
¡°How many workers?¡± Glen asked, his eyes on the silent Zilan female. Her short hair made her elongated ears appear even larger. The most striking feature she possessed was her large eyes. Sometimes they appeared darker, her stare ancient, even sinister. Others they were playful and innocent, as if she was a child wearing the skin of a mature woman. Voron kept talking about his plan to rebuild this part of the city, with Fikumin looking at his drawings with a permanent scowl on his face. Metu brought another bottle of wine and poured some in Aenymriel¡¯s goblet before serving Glen again. She brought it near her mouth and raised her eyes to stare at him, before tasting it. ¡°Peninsula small grapes,¡± She said licking her lips. ¡°Cut early, an indulgence. I¡¯ve had it before.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve had this type of wine before?¡± Glen asked, looking at his goblet. Flix was right, they were messing with his head. ¡°This wine. This flavor,¡± She hushed and stared at Metu, the slave lowering his eyes apprehensively. ¡°I remember.¡± ¡°Is it any good?¡± Glen asked to gauge her preferences. The former thief loved the Sopat wine. Most wines. ¡°Mmm, I¡¯m not a wine expert Hardir,¡± Aenymriel replied and placed her goblet on the table. ¡°You¡¯re a Surveyor.¡± My arse. Ye lying long-eared snake. ¡°You need to stop Rothomir,¡± She whispered. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°He¡¯ll come for your Wyvern. Many will.¡± ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll succeed,¡± Glen said and gulped down his wine. ¡°Why?¡± She returned his query. ¡°I think you know.¡± ¡°Hardir can¡¯t be a Sinya Nore,¡± Aenymriel noted. ¡°Says who?¡± Glen retorted, not paying attention to the conversation Fikumin had with Voron. She chuckled at his words. ¡°Seers. Wise people.¡± ¡°Any of them alive?¡± ¡°Not all,¡± She replied. ¡°Your people are split between Phina¡¯s villagers and those living here.¡± ¡°There¡¯s also the Queen¡¯s loyalists.¡± ¡°Is that what you are?¡± Glen asked her and she glanced at Fikumin. Glen realized Aenymriel was paying attention to the conversation the dwarf had with the Zilan architect. ¡°I keep my own Garth,¡± She replied. Glen stooped forward over the table to glare at her. ¡°You¡¯re doing it again. Trying to glean information, leave innuendos. I don¡¯t like that.¡± ¡°You prefer I call you Hardir? It¡¯s just a title,¡± She taunted. ¡°What¡¯s Abarat?¡± Glen asked not taking the bait. ¡°A fort near Nesande¡¯s Garden.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Far away.¡± Glen grinned. ¡°Let him come then.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± ¡°Will you help? Or will you be a problem?¡± Glen asked with a grimace. ¡°I¡¯m never the problem,¡± Aenymriel replied and got up. ¡°But I can be a solution. What do you want done Hardir?¡± Good grief, this race is plaguin¡¯ insufferable and extra vain when not haughty. ¡°I want to know who¡¯s with me and who is going to be a problem,¡± Glen replied. ¡°Will I learn of your plans?¡± Glen didn¡¯t have anything concrete yet. And he wasn¡¯t going to tell her anything. ¡°I told you what I want,¡± He reminded her. ¡°The Sorceress followers are loyal to her,¡± The enigmatic Zilan said. ¡°Not to be trusted.¡± ¡°How do I win them over?¡± Glen asked her and she stood back surprised, probably expecting him to say something else. She breathed once deeply and then a naughty smile formed on her mouth. ¡°I guess, by winning her over Hardir,¡± Aenymriel replied. The fuck does that mean? ¡°What else?¡± Glen asked. ¡°Why would I tell you more?¡± ¡°You want me to deal with this Rothomir dude. Why?¡± ¡°Will you?¡± ¡°Perhaps I will,¡± Glen dodged. ¡°Perhaps I¡¯ll tell you more,¡± Aenymriel chuckled delighted at their banter, a hint of madness in it. Glen stood back and watched her gliding away towards the exit. Fikumin¡¯s grunt turning to a growl next to his ear. ¡°Yes?¡± Glen asked, very annoyed. ¡°We need at least a hundred workers,¡± Fikumin spat even more infuriated than him for some fucking reason. ¡°What?¡± Glen frowned and looked at the scribbling Voron. The Zilan had the tip of his tongue protruding from the side of his mouth looking like a¡­ well, moron. ¡°Why in Luthos balls do we need that many? I asked for a simple wall build. A way to control access to the Eternal Springs!¡± ¡°A wall is useless unmanned Hardir,¡± Voron explained. ¡°Are ye a general?¡± ¡°Goddess grace upon me, of course not!¡± Voron protested. ¡°Served in the army perchance?¡± ¡°Do I look like a soldier?¡± The Zilan laughed nervously. ¡°Then how the fuck do ye know what is and isn¡¯t viable?¡± Glen blasted him. ¡°Garth we need to see this through,¡± Fikumin insisted. Glen blinked, his expression blank. ¡°See what through Dwarf?¡± ¡°The Castle Garth,¡± Fikumin grunted. ¡°We¡¯ve been talking about it for two hours.¡± Ah. ¡°I wasn¡¯t¡­ well, can you brief me on the details?¡± Glen asked. ¡°Garth you were listening this whole time, even nodding,¡± Fikumin said. Fuck. Glen reached for his waist and sure enough the dagger wasn¡¯t there. He got up frustrated and walked towards the door pausing at the last moment seeing the dagger stabbed on the granite casing. He got it out, not an easy thing and glared at the empty square in silence. ¡°Garth? What¡¯s the matter?¡± Fikumin asked from the table. I¡¯ve no clue what just happened, Glen thought. But I know who done it. Glen sighed and strolled back grinding his teeth. ¡°Run the details through me again,¡± He told them.
Glen could see the road through the Yew Forest from atop the plateau. Listen to the waterfalls constant rumpus far to the east behind a wall of tall trees and turning his head back, track the road to where it cut the rock and followed the slope down. The ancient path was built in the wall of the steep incline facing the lake and descended for almost two kilometers towards the misty waters. ¡°Secure the slopes,¡± Glen repeated. Voron frowned and stared at his drawings. ¡°A wall with four sides,¡± Fikumin replied. ¡°Incorporating the northwest approach to the Peninsula, but also securing the path leading towards Goras ruins.¡± ¡°What about the sea?¡± Voron asked raising his head. Glen whipped his head around and glared at him. ¡°What did I say? One fuckin¡¯ proposal at a time!¡± ¡°It¡¯s in the same plan¡ª¡± ¡°No it isn¡¯t!¡± Fikumin cleared his throat. ¡°You have the space needed, the position on the heights is ideal, wood of excellent quality, abundance of stone, there¡¯s fresh water at the near and the castle will guard a natural choke point. If someone doesn¡¯t control the castle, then that someone wouldn¡¯t reach the lake.¡± Glen rubbed his face hard, then his eyes, turning the white there a dark irritated red. ¡°You want us to dig for stone?¡± He asked Fikumin, stunned at the amount of work these two buffoons had dropped on his lap. Suddenly he was back at Hellfort¡¯s Pass pickaxing boulders. For fuck¡¯s sake! ¡°There¡¯s cut stone galore down the slopes and near the towers Garth,¡± Fikumin replied readily, always enthusiastic and ready to deal with rocks of any kind. Digging as well. That was another favorite. ¡°The granite? Those boulders must weight a ton! These pieces are too big,¡± Glen reminded him with a sigh. ¡°The big chunks of rock need to be rolled up the steep road to the plateau and then what? Turn what was a wall in the valley afore the towers into a castle up the slopes?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Fikumin replied, not grasping the absurdity of their plan. ¡°Well,¡± Voron intervened and Glen stared him warningly. ¡°We can work on the material, split it in half, round up the corners¡ª¡± Glen raised a hand and cut him off. ¡°Let me stop ye right there,¡± He said crooking his mouth. ¡°There would be no roundin¡¯, we don¡¯t have the manpower to indulge ye at this point Mvoron.¡± ¡°It¡¯s Voron your grace.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve almost earned that M, friend,¡± Glen cautioned him. ¡°Of course, Hardir,¡± Voron replied chastised. Glen turned to Fikumin. ¡°A hundred workers.¡± ¡°At the minimum. Twenty heavy-duty wagons, twice that in tools,¡± The dwarf replied. ¡°I¡¯ve written to Lon to prepare a huge caravan. Or a ship.¡± ¡°Who is going to pay for that?¡± Glen asked him and Voron frowned. ¡°Any ideas ye¡­ mister Voron?¡± ¡°Slave labor is very cheap Hardir and historically preferable on Eplas,¡± Voron said and Fikumin ogled his eyes at him shocked. ¡°You have slaves to spare?¡± Glen countered. ¡°The strays can work the rock Hardir.¡± Glen stared at him for a long moment. ¡°This wasn¡¯t your idea,¡± He finally said and stopped Voron before he could answer. ¡°If you want to put your people to work, then I¡¯ll oblige you until I bring in more workers. I want everyone from the coast to report here before the end of the week, else I¡¯ll go and drag them here myself.¡± ¡°This is outrageous! You must be jesting,¡± Voron protested. ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± Glen replied and smirked maniacally. ¡°I was going to have Sopat foot the bill, but ye gave me a fantastic idea. As a reward for letting ye freaks stay in my land, ye get to work to build me a wall.¡± ¡°And a Castle,¡± Fikumin elucidated, adding to alleviate the insult. ¡°When he says freaks, he¡¯s speaking in the abstract about certain activities and ideas. Not your peoples.¡± No I¡¯m not, Glen thought. Are ye fuckin¡¯ patronize me dwarf? ¡°Your land?¡± Voron managed to say with a deep frown, then flinched seeing Glen¡¯s murderous glare and bowed deeply. ¡°I will notify the others.¡± ¡°You will also notify Phina¡¯s people,¡± Glen told Fikumin out of the blue. The dwarf recoiled and frowned so much, his brows turned into a continuous thick line. Fikumin appeared shook. ¡°Give them a rest after they arrive, then a shovel and send them up the slope. We might need more tools. Angrein can work on that, he can use his people for it. Wipe that off yer face friend. Rules apply to all.¡± But me, since I make them. Else I would be an idiot, which I¡¯m not. Glen belched loudly to get the bland fruit taste out of his mouth. He¡¯d gulped down two plates, although he didn¡¯t care for the taste. He was just hungry. ¡°You¡¯ll make them work for you to keep their land,¡± Fikumin said and Glen breathed once deep, the air on the plateau not as humid afore answering. ¡°Come out of it dwarf. You¡¯re reading too much into it. I¡¯m just trying to save coin here.¡± Fikumin grunted not believing him, although what Glen had said was true for the most part. Of course in typical form, what Fikumin had suggested, or feared was true also. Glen despite his gripes with the exotic lands surrounding them, loved every inch of it. In his thief¡¯s eye, or adventurer¡¯s greedy heart, what Glen had discovered first was his by right. His loot. His land. Above them Uvrycres broke out of the clouds and dived over the high tree line, opening his large leathery wings wide to cut the momentum. The ever growing Wyvern landed sending material in a five meter radius, be it grit and black soil. Soft earth and rotten braches. His claw-shaped hind legs plowing at the ground. Uvrycres turned his onyx scaled and horned head around to examine their diverse group thoughtfully and then his burgundy dragon eyes stayed on Glen who was still cleaning up his clothes from the rubbish the Wyvern had hurled on them with his landing. ¡°You might want to go ¡®n help yer friends!¡± Uvrycres growled, showing gleaming black teeth the size of knives. ¡°The priests want to murder them!¡± Luthos shaved balls caught in a bear trap. ¡°Where?¡± Glen asked, his hand on the grip of his ancient dagger. Fikumin and Voron took a couple of steps back. The dwarf had to take twice the steps the Zilan took, not to stay behind. ¡°Huh? Near the lake! The whatchamacallits morons and those Horselords thugs!¡± ¡°The lake?¡± Glen glanced back towards the springs. ¡°Not that lake ye fool! The other one!¡± Hmm. ¡°Cultists?¡± He chanced. ¡°They are all fanatics to me,¡± Uvrycres admitted and smacked his dark mauve lips. ¡°I might have gone overboard wit one of them, but he did try to cast a spell on me! Sneaky catfucker!¡± Glen narrowed his eyes. ¡°What did you do?¡± He hissed. Uvrycres stood back and twitched his gathered wings once, more than a head taller than Glen now. ¡°Say your food jumped out of the plate and slapped yer face,¡± The Wyvern started looking at him knowingly. ¡°Calling ye names ¡®n leaving innuendos!¡± He blasted in the climax, the latter a blatant lie. Glen licked his dry lips. ¡°Garth?¡± Fikumin asked fearfully. ¡°What does it want?¡± ¡°Fetch the horses,¡± Glen replied with a grimace. ¡°Uvrycres might have eaten the locals.¡± ¡°One local!¡± Uvrycres protested thunderously, nigh incensed at the mistreatment, the last part coming out as an earth-shaking shriek. ¡°He was a blasphemous cunt!¡± 224. Ruler of Goras Peninsula (2/3)
Sam Mathews Ruler of Goras Peninsula Part II -Not my plaguing beast!-
The bird sported a bright yellow plumage, large blue bristles around its brown beak -shockingly long and two large black eyes. It made a strange ticking sound and then flew away from the branch and disappeared from sight. ¡°Even the shades are hot,¡± Soren griped, for the third time in as many hours. Sam Mathews glanced at the bulky Nord and crooked his mouth into a smile. ¡°Yer horse is the one that should complain Soren.¡± ¡°It does, look how it breathes heavy!¡± ¡°That¡¯s because you¡¯re too heavy,¡± Dikra the Horselord grunted. ¡°It¡¯s a small horse!¡± Soren protested, looking to Sam Mathews for help. ¡°Right?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a small horse,¡± He agreed, looking ahead to catch a glimpse of Nimra returning. The wiry scout had approached the massive tower ruins, a part of Goras East City Gates and the only thing of the old fortifications still standing in its initial form. The gargantuan walls lay in ruins, creating mountains of debris of collapsed boulder-sized granite pieces. They came in three sizes and multiple types. Massive four-sided foundation parts weighing up to twenty tons, numerous medium sized pieces of about a ton each, cut in meter high perfect squares and smaller brick sized pieces used at the seams or at parapets now visible only at the top of the two towers. Standing five hundred meters apart, the space left between them the size of the destroyed probably multiple gates ¨Cten of them could fit there easily- the archway above them now collapsed, but parts of it protruding still. Sam thought it must have been used as an interconnecting bridge, creating a massive in size Barbican. Each Gatetower stood at a staggering ten floors in height, octagonal in shape and lacking the flair of other Zilan buildings. It served as an ominous deterrent and it probably allowed easy observation of the Imperial road coming from the Eternal Springs half a day away. The final point of reference of what had been the gargantuan twenty meters in height walls surrounding the whole country-sized City. Soaring another ten meters above that, the Gatetowers had survived the calamity and now stood like two protruding middle fingers to the gods that had brought it upon the once proud city. Most of it now under the waters of the gulf the blast had created at its center. Watching the ruined fortifications behind the trees Sam felt a sense of awe. He¡¯d stagnated for a couple of years in Eikenport, but now he felt that same sensation again returning. It had made him jump aboard ¡®Henrietta¡¯, a merchant ship leaving Andatelia ten years back. He was a scrawny thirteen years of age back then with four coppers in his purse and now he was in Wetull accompanying perhaps the most interesting character in both Jelin and Eplas. Sam had traveled in the company of Gish, Dwarfs and Zilan. Horselords and Cofols of the Peninsula. An honest to goodness Wyvern of all plaguing things and he was just about ready to enter the ruins of legendary Goras. The biggest city that ever was. Or what¡¯s left of it more like, he mused. ¡°Ayup, I have to piss,¡± Soren said bringing him back to the present and jumped from his worn out horse. The giant was shockingly heavy for the animal. ¡°Drinking all that water can do that to you,¡± Terta the other Horselord of their small group commented with a nasty smirk. Sam grimaced and turned to glare at him. Kalac¡¯s people were a rough, uncivilized bunch. Closer to pirates on land, than knights. ¡°He¡¯s a liability,¡± Terta explained returning his glare. The wiry rider¡¯s face burned from the sun and weathered like an old hide forgotten out in the yard an entire Lesia summer. ¡°Slow and fat.¡± ¡°Heed my words,¡± Sam warned him. ¡°You don¡¯t want to go against him. You¡¯re too fragile.¡± ¡°Pfft,¡± The Horselord snorted dismissing his words. ¡°Shut yer mouths,¡± Dikra hissed looking back, his horse closer to the road. ¡°Nimra returns.¡±
Nimra, son of Alem was a small-bodied Horselord, thin as a rail and tanned permanently it seemed, but for white cracks covering his wrinkled skin and random spots of pale. He¡¯d a nervousness about him, his face constantly twitching, eyes blinking and ears turning to the sounds about them alike a young hound. Sam had no idea how old he was, but the adventurer was certain Nimra was far older than anyone else in Kalac¡¯s warband. Closer to fifty than forty years of age. He was named after a lion, but he looked more like an old hyena. ¡°The blast ripped everything,¡± Nimra said crooking his mouth, an eye on the returning Soren. ¡°The massive outer walls took the brunt of it, but this side of the city got it bad.¡± ¡°Any signs of Zilan?¡± Sam asked changing position on the saddle. ¡°Many,¡± Nimra snorted and snapped his head back to check the road he¡¯d come from. ¡°Everything under hoof is build. Roads clogged with debris wide as the steppe. Buildings bigger than the ones we have back at the Springs, ruined completely.¡± ¡°Anything living?¡± Dikra asked him. ¡°Hmm,¡± Nimra grunted. ¡°Plenty of signs of that too.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve seen them?¡± Sam asked. ¡°The dead? Aye. Some are still in their ruins. Small statues ¡®n big.¡± Sam felt a shiver running down his spine. ¡°Fuck does that mean?¡± Soren asked nigh perturbed. Dikra spat down, upper lip crooked where a saber had missed the rest of his face. Leaving him a nasty scar and taking four teeth with it. ¡°We ride in, see for ourselves.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± Nimra twitched nervously. ¡°What is it scout?¡± Sam asked. ¡°As I said Lorian,¡± Nimra retorted. ¡°Many signs.¡±Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
A horse neighed in warning, the branches rustling in the light breeze and Sam turned his head back towards the flat expanse that was a boulevard-sized road between each ruined building. The sun bounced off of marble and granite tiles, some portions of the road showing clearly, others covered with grey stone-like paste. Lava that had cooled off mixed with putrid smoke that carried scorching hot dust particles. It had followed the drainage built into the road, but flooded it at some point. The spillage ¨Cbasically rising levels of hot lava- had trapped everyone inside the tall villas that had withstood the first blast and then the pyroclastic cloud of the catastrophic second eruption had killed them. Where the volcano had been, now there was only water and reefs, Soletha had told him. Sam wanted to learn what had happened, but it¡¯s one thing to hear a tale, another to see the result with your own eyes. Anyway the burdened with smoking ash ceilings had collapsed eventually. Some unlucky Zilan had managed to survive even that, but then the poisonous gasses reached them finally, boiled their lungs from the inside. When they had finally perished in horrified agony, the ashes that kept falling over their bodies had turned their flesh to asphalt like the road outside, lifelike statues frozen into the moments they had breathed their last. A large dark shadow flew over their heads. It covered a good portion of the road, heading north and their camp. No bird was that big. ¡°Is that the Wyvern?¡± Terta asked and Sam nodded. ¡°What¡¯s it doing here?¡± Sam had no idea and he returned his eyes on the family of three, hugged in the middle of what once had been a lavish living room. The parents shielding their child with their bodies in their final moments. You can¡¯t unsee this, he thought. The dead, as the scout had reported, are still here.
¡°What now?¡± Dikra asked with a scowl. ¡°Up the incline,¡± Nimra said appearing behind them, a tick on the side of his face. ¡°The lava never reached up there.¡± Sam nodded and got out of the ruined building coughing to clear his throat. Overgrowth had slowly creeped up on the flattened terrain, but no big trees. The rock-like paste underfoot brittle, but going down at least a meter deep at places. ¡°Soren?¡± ¡°Still looking about. He¡¯ll catch up with us. I ain¡¯t waiting for him. Big guy is slow as fuck.¡± Right. He wiped his sweaty face with a hand, adjusted his sword belt and followed after the short scout towards their horses. It took them an hour to reach the less affected part of the city. The wide roads empty, the granite tiles disturbed at some places, but largely intact. The damage to the villas up the gentle rise less prominent. ¡°The smoke had no trouble climbing,¡± Nimra grunted, answering Sam¡¯s unvoiced query. ¡°Killed ¡®em just the same.¡± Ah. He stopped his horse afore a walled estate, the gates gone and leaving a good view at the triangular tower-like building at the distance. It looked like a pyramid cut right in the middle, the gapping windows and balconies of the three floors on the flat inner side. The shape otherworldly. There were no similarities between each building anyway. Each had a different theme, probably representing something meaningful for the family that owned it. ¡°It looks like a temple,¡± Dikra rustled and Terta spat down, the breeze made all that fine dust that covered everything in a grey ominous sheet, billow up and clog yer airways something fierce. ¡°Let¡¯s give it a looksee,¡± He said. Nimra snorted in disapproval. Sam sighed and cracked his head right and left. ¡°I¡¯m not turning back gents. I¡¯m going in,¡± He said and kicked his legs to get his horse going. The others following right behind him.
The bald, rather tall and scarred Zilan, dressed in a ragged tunic raised his head and stared at them approaching. Stooped as he¡¯d been near what was a small garden, the flowers a sickly white hanging from thin twigs, Sam had missed him initially. Dikra brought his bow forward and left it to rest on his saddle, the other hand reaching for a bone tip arrow. ¡°Don¡¯t do anything stupid,¡± Sam rustled with a glare and the Horselord grunted. ¡°Sneaky fucker,¡± Terta commented and led his horse near the decrepit Zilan that slowly stood up to face them. ¡°Hey, you!¡± He barked in rusty Common. The scarred Zilan, half his face paralyzed and turned to loose skin over a skeletal face, the right eye half-closed, showed them two rows of sharp teeth in a snarl. ¡°Relax, no sudden moves gods darn it!¡± Sam snapped at both Terta and the stranger. ¡°You brought it here,¡± The Zilan hissed in Common. ¡°Collaborators and thugs.¡± ¡°We didn¡¯t bring anything¡­¡± Sam retorted and seeing Dikra raising his bow barked at him. ¡°Put that down ye fool!¡± ¡°Yet it¡¯s hunting in the ruins,¡± The Zilan continued and stooped to get an old satchel from the ground. He passed the worn-out leather strap over his head calmly. ¡°Killed Zirael this very morning. She lived down the street for seven centuries. Her street. Like this is mine. Yet here you are, strolling in like you own the place.¡± What? ¡°Who did?¡± Sam queried, just as Terta turned his horse to the side, looking for a better angle to use his saber. ¡°Terta for fuck¡¯s sake!¡± He admonished him. ¡°The Onyx Wyvern,¡± The Zilan replied. ¡°Only a fool would have brought one on Eplas,¡± He added looking at the twitching Horselord looming over him with a hand on his sword hilt. ¡°That beast can¡¯t be controlled.¡± ¡°Wait,¡± Sam gasped, just as the Zilan raised his left hand and blew something on Terta¡¯s horse. The Horselord saw his move and unsheathed his saber with a nervous twitch, made to slash down on the snarling local, but the horse went berserk under him. It shuddered and turned one way, then the other, before rising on its hind legs and send Terta tumbling down. The fall nasty, despite the Horselord kicking his legs out and turning mid drop to avoid the worst. ¡°Ah,¡± Dikra grunted and fired an arrow. It zipped a foot from Sam and plunged towards the standing still Zilan that plucked it out of the air, flipped it once in his hand and hurled it back towards the Horselord. Dikra -in the process of loading another arrow- saw it coming with ogling eyes and jerked right to avoid it. Sam kicked his legs to get his mount moving, but the Zilan turned to him and whispered something. The horse froze and refused to budge. Oh, ye holy whores of Cediorum! He jumped down, boots thudding on the tiles and turned to face the creature. ¡°Nasty girl she was,¡± The Zilan said coming towards him without hurrying. ¡°Difficult to get along with, but still who allows his beast to feed on the Old One''s people?¡± Sam unsheathed his sword and tried to cut him down, but the Zilan put a hand on his wrist and stopped him. He reached for his neck with the other. The adventurer growled, realizing the strength behind the scrawny creature and reached for his dagger. Nimra¡¯s arrow cutting the left side of his neck as it whistled past him and smacked the Zilan on the right shoulder pushing it back. The Zilan snarled and stumbled away, his left hand in his satchel. ¡°GET BACK!¡± Sam yelled at Nimra, himself in the process of trying to put some distance between them on instinct and failing. The Zilan had whispered something he¡¯d missed. Not that it mattered probably. Sam couldn¡¯t move. Gods above! The scarred Zilan, face distorted by pain on the size that wasn¡¯t paralyzed grunted and reached for the arrow protruding from his shoulder. The blood painting a dark patch on his chest. ¡°You are not allowed in the neighborhoods of the Favored,¡± He explained grinding his gnarly teeth. ¡°It¡¯s principally profane, fouling my family¡¯s street with your presence. But worst insult far above all others¡­ Why, it¡¯s unfathomable¡­ letting your beast loose on noble citizens!¡± The place looked abandoned for crying out loud and it¡¯s not my plaguing beast! A frozen and gawking Sam Matheus growled inwardly. It¡¯s Garth¡¯s for fuck¡¯s sake! The Zilan snorted as if not caring about his excuses and removed the arrow from his shoulder snarling like an old beast. ¡°I¡¯ve been on a fruitarian diet for three hundred years,¡± He said looking at the paralyzed group with ravenous eyes. ¡°But I reckon the Queen will allow me this small indulgence. Now if you¡¯ll excuse me, I need to move you and your vile friends inside, before your muscles start working again.¡± 225. Ruler of Goras Peninsula (3/3)
Pray he comes alone, a heart made of stone If love finds her way into the king¡¯s circle Rivers of blood would paint a black throne Atone¡­ What thee take, thou shall give back If vanity breaks the gilded throne Wyvern¡¯s scales shall turn an onyx black Atone¡­ Or thee shall be judged by the Tamer of Monsters - Sintoriela¡¯s Revelation (aka, Song of the Acid Gardens) 2nd stanza Edlenn, of Sintoriela High Priestess of Nesande (Unknown Date, presumably First Era)
Glen Mister Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Ruler of Goras Peninsula Part III -This land belongs to me-
Jinx raised a pink brow, her questioning face as much weird as hilarious. ¡°Hmm?¡± She probed him further and Glen stared right at the hard-lined face of Kalac and the equally weathered Tarn, his second in command. Outlaw snorted, head shaking this way and that to avoid an angry bug and Glen had to pat his mane a couple of times to calm him down. ¡°There are just buildings mate,¡± Glen said, pulling his leg away from Jinx¡¯s side kick, the short Gish almost toppling from her own horse in the attempt. ¡°Tall ones for sure.¡± Too fucking tall. ¡°Glen,¡± Jinx hissed and he gave her one of his mirror-practiced patented grins. ¡°What are you doing?¡± She asked, sounding confused. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Nothing, see if you can find their tracks, Pretty.¡± ¡°Maeriel could have helped, she¡¯s on our side,¡± Jinx argued the same point again. ¡°No she¡¯s not.¡± ¡°She¡¯s with Phina¡¯s people and Anfalon. Not the Cultists.¡± ¡°I never said they might be Cultists here,¡± Glen said evenly, whilst watching the Horselords spreading out to locate the route Sam and Soren¡¯s group had taken, as it was obvious there was no one near the Towers. They¡¯ve checked first one and then the other. No sign of the horses. ¡°She¡¯s not fond of Soletha,¡± Jinx informed him. ¡°There are more sides than that,¡± Glen said and eyed the sprawling tiled road that appeared covered with solid asphalt at large portions of it, with very little shrubbery at its edges. ¡°Can you help?¡± Jinx puffed out and jumped from the saddle, rolled once on the ground unnecessarily before she started looking around for signs of the small group of riders. Glen rolled his eyes at her shenanigans despite feeling worried after Uvrycres warning. ¡°What do you fear?¡± Kalac rustled, the Horselord Leader had approached him while he was distracted. Glen noticed he¡¯d the reins looped on his bronze hand. Glen hadn¡¯t told them anything. How could he possibly explain? ¡°A gut feeling,¡± He murmured and stared at the massive West Gatetower, the entrance half-collapsed, several cracks running up the granite blocks, but looking despite all, sturdy as all hells. ¡°Have you ever had that?¡± ¡°Aye,¡± Kalac replied looking at him with calculating eyes. ¡°Reckon I had. Once, or twice.¡± ¡°Maybe it¡¯s nothing.¡± ¡°Uhm. Should we look inside the towers?¡± Kalac asked. ¡°Better to look for our people first,¡± Glen said and Kalac stood back. He nodded once with his head and turned his smaller steppe horse away. Jinx who was skirting stooped the undergrowth raised a hand and waved it his way. ¡°What?¡± Glen barked, the pressure getting to him and Jinx folded her fingers one after the other, but for the middle one. Oh, for slovenly fuck¡¯s sake. ¡°Tracks,¡± The Gish said chuckling. ¡°Horses grazing.¡± ¡°Soren?¡± Glen asked, jumping from the saddle and rushing towards her. ¡°Hmm,¡± Jinx murmured and kept following the tracks, rushing over the naked parts to where enough soil had gathered. She used a digit to measure the depth of each hole made by the horses¡¯ hooves. ¡°Well?¡± Glen asked half an hour later, the tracking business atrociously boring and unrewarding, but for the chance to stare at the Gish¡¯s fit backside undisturbed. ¡°That¡¯s Soren¡¯s horse,¡± Jinx said, whipping her pink head around and almost catching him. Glen¡¯s face a mask of indifference and silent contemplation of the general scenery not giving her anything. ¡°How do you know?¡± ¡°Hooves dig deeper at parts, he was leading for a while, the horses coming after it, covered it up some,¡± Jinx replied and showed him the patch of disturbed land, covered in half-eaten greenery and animal droppings. Glen had no idea what he was looking at, but nodded as if he did. ¡°They went towards the bigger buildings of this neighborhood.¡± ¡°There¡¯s only tiles and this paste thing from here on. No more shrubbery.¡± ¡°Shite as well,¡± Jinx said and pointed in the middle of the large road. ¡°This grass made them bowels move.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Glen said with a grimace and walked to his own horse blissfully grazing at the green patch of land. ¡°Spread about, keep yer eyes open,¡± He said to Kalac who was talking with Tarn about twenty meters away and on the other side of the boulevard. ¡°We¡¯re heading in.¡±
Goras appeared beaten up worse than Lebesos. Much worse. The architecture uncommon, even with Eikenport in mind, it allowed for spacious villas and estates separated by wide streets and partly blown apart outer walls. Nothing above the first floor had endured the calamity, everything fused as if covered with cement that had poured from the sky and then cooled off creating a bizarre landscape with almost no nature surviving, but patches of grass and yellow, or sickly white flowers. The roomy streets empty and eerie silent but for a soft breeze that cooled his sweaty face. ¡°Ever seen something like that afore?¡± He asked a silent Jinx. ¡°No. I don¡¯t like it,¡± She replied with a shiver. ¡°Aye,¡± Glen murmured and eyed the sloped road heading towards the better preserved buildings. ¡°Is that stuff lava?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t know,¡± Jinx said and jumped down. Glen followed her lead and they walked towards the nearest destroyed villa. They went over the melted outer wall and strolled down an arena sized garden, or field, the terrain flat underfoot. Jinx paused at what once had been a big entrance, now only a meter of wall remaining. ¡°Is Soren in danger?¡± She asked him, kneeling to pick up a pebble she then tossed into the opening. It struck the hard asphalt like floor and rolled to one of the internal still standing walls afore stopping. ¡°They are over a day missing,¡± Glen replied and walked on the floor, now raised at least two feet above its original level to check on the interior. ¡°They might be. There¡¯re Zilan still living in the city. Fuck, this shite is so big that¡­ yeah.¡± ¡°How do you know?¡± Jinx asked, standing right behind him. ¡°Uvrycres told me.¡± ¡°The Wyvern?¡± Jinx cleared her throat. ¡°Why keep it a secret?¡± She asked a long moment later. Glen turned his head to look into her worried face. ¡°I don¡¯t trust anyone Whisper,¡± He admitted. ¡°But you knew that all along.¡± ¡°Aye, I did,¡± She murmured, hugging her chest and looking about. ¡°Do you trust me?¡± Not when you¡¯re horny. ¡°You¡¯re my friend,¡± Glen said, cracking a small smile. ¡°First Gish I ever saw and the best.¡± Jinx raised a pink eyebrow not convinced. ¡°If yer angling to have your cock sucked, I ain¡¯t in the mood. I¡¯m in a relationship,¡± She added seriously, before a dumbfounded Glen could explode. It didn¡¯t last that long. ¡°Whisper for crying out loud!¡± Glen blasted her irate. ¡°What the actual fuck? I¡¯m trying to explain some stuff here¡ª¡± Jinx raised her hand to stop him. ¡°Why now? What has you worried?¡± She asked narrowing her eyes. ¡°I didn¡¯t feel you that sorry for Alix, or even for Flix leaving. The freak I¡¯m not going to comment, or Sen. She has big tits, so I get it.¡± Luthos provide assistance. ¡°I was sorry for Alix and Flix was more close to me than you can realize,¡± Glen said pursing his lips. ¡°But I don¡¯t care the same about everyone, not the way I do for those that are with me from the beginning. You know me better than anyone else and I know you.¡± ¡°Oh, come on Glen,¡± Jinx said. ¡°All this I understand, but don¡¯t pretend ye ever gave a shite about what¡¯s going on to all of us.¡± ¡°I know about the monkey,¡± Glen deadpanned. ¡°What?¡± Jinx asked standing back, her face pale. ¡°But I respected you enough to not say anything. Or about Leona. Now Maeriel, who may, or may not work an agenda you don¡¯t see.¡± ¡°What agenda?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Glen replied. ¡°I don¡¯t really know any of these people. What if I told you there¡¯s a Zilan that can take that knife off yer belt whilst talking to you from across a table?¡± ¡°A spell?¡± Jinx asked and Glen shrugged his shoulders. He glanced about them, at the devastated room that was once the hall of a probably impressive villa. Glen noticed part of a statue next to an ancient fireplace, a crude d¨¦cor now half-sunk in asphalt to the hips and walked that way. ¡°Glen?¡± The Gish called after him. ¡°Aenymriel. She played a trick on me,¡± Glen told her and touched the bizarre statue¡¯s face, the grey surface brittle and the expression carved on it disturbing. ¡°Holy fuck,¡± He gasped and jerked away shocked. ¡°What?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a statue,¡± Good grief. Glen took a deep breath and stepped back. He looked in the haunted Gish¡¯s face and touched her shoulder softly. ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here Pretty.¡±
¡°Where¡¯s Belec?¡± Kalac grunted an hour later. Tarn, son of Babal pressed his wrinkled mouth tight and turned on his bone-adorned saddle to stare at the slopping road leading to the upper neighborhood. The villas on it weathered, but still standing. Pyramid-shaped designs, half or inverted triangles, same angled roofs over exotic multi-floored structures. ¡°I can see him returning,¡± Tarn rustled. ¡°Why do they build so far apart?¡± Glen asked and Kalac eyed him for a moment afore answering. ¡°Space. The Zilan are like predators,¡± The Horselord said. ¡°Lions of the Steppe rule over large swaths of land. Wyverns are like that as well.¡± ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t believe that,¡± Glen replied. ¡°Phina¡¯s people are communal, this seems like a perversion, or¡­ ah, I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Castes,¡± Jinx said. ¡°There was a divide and it grew over the centuries,¡± Glen glanced at her. ¡°Our Elders talked about Wetull all the time. We lived closer to them than anyone else, but for the Ticu. Then again, they live near every port so yeah.¡± Ahm. ¡°Fuck¡¯s that?¡± Glen asked with a frown, the word strangely familiar, as if he¡¯d heard it before.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°Eh, creatures of the sea,¡± Jinx replied, scratching the area around her small nostrils with a finger. ¡°A bit shy, but very treacherous.¡± ¡°Like fish?¡± ¡°No,¡± The Gish replied all serious. ¡°Fish aren¡¯t dangerous.¡± Ah. ¡°Your Kraken is,¡± Glen reminded her and she breathed deeply once afore letting it all out. ¡°The Kraken is Abrakas dog,¡± She explained. ¡°The Ticu are his children. Not fish. Very different. Better stay clear of them.¡± Glen had no idea they even existed, nor any inclination to meet them anytime soon. ¡°Belec returns,¡± Tarn reported interrupting their educative conversation. He turned his eyes on the returning Horselord and the rider following after him. The man being twice Belec¡¯s size. At least. Well. ¡°He brings company,¡± Kalac noticed, pointing out the obvious. Glen smacked his lips and pushed with his knees to get Outlaw going. He could recognize Soren out of a crowd, but they had a lot of people missing and his initial relief turned to worry.
¡°Hey Pretty,¡± Soren greeted the Gish with a broad smile. ¡°Hey there doofus. Don¡¯t ever do that again,¡± Jinx replied with a wicked grin. ¡°Had me worried sick for a moment.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Soren asked, his horse neighing in protest underneath him. ¡°Why ye think?¡± ¡°Where¡¯s Sam?¡± Glen cut in, a little pissed he got ignored, but also worried about their missing men. Soren shrugged his broad shoulders. ¡°I saw them heading up the road, but I couldn¡¯t find them.¡± ¡°When was that?¡± Glen asked. ¡°Late yesterday.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been looking since?¡± Kalac asked. ¡°Aye. I thought it odd.¡± ¡°Spotted anything strange?¡± Kalac asked Belec and he grimaced, which could go either way. ¡°Soren?¡± Glen queried. ¡°There¡¯s light in the dark,¡± The Nord replied. ¡°I had to turn back here and return in the morning.¡± Glen grimaced. He eyed their group of Horselords. Kalac had brought everyone almost. Twenty three riders, plus Glen and Jinx. ¡°We¡¯re going back up there,¡± He decided. ¡°Someone should stay with the horses.¡± ¡°Leave the horses?¡± Tarn asked with a frown. ¡°If we can hear the hooves clopping on the tiles,¡± Glen replied, ¡°So can they.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s they?¡± Kalac rustled. Glen climbed down from Outlaw and reached into his saddlebags for his weapons. ¡°Eh, eyes open,¡± He cautioned the men watching him. ¡°We¡¯re about to find out. Get ready.¡±
The sun was past its midpoint, the bright disk shining over the blacked stone walls, the interior filled with calcified trees, or broken stubs. Every villa having its personal small forest at one point, neatly arranged in rows of now dead thick-trunked trees, with rhomboid patterns and trails between them. The burned land had started recovering though. Amidst the dead nature, green had appeared, flowers and large swaths of yellow beds of harvested wheat. ¡°There¡¯s water over there,¡± Jinx said and pointed with a finger at the mist starting beyond the hilly neighborhood. ¡°Can you feel it?¡± No. ¡°Someone is gathering the crops,¡± Glen said instead, his eyes darting right and left, his back on the wall. He popped his head again through the opening. ¡°No gates.¡± ¡°Safe community,¡± Jinx commented. ¡°Why the walls though?¡± ¡°Borders,¡± Glen said and saw Kalac who was standing across the tiled street pointing further up ahead. There was an animal standing outside another estate, the distance about two hundred meters. ¡°What?¡± Glen hissed to the nervous Horselord as he started walking towards the horse, with Jinx and Soren following after him. Kalac sent Belec across the street at a fast trot. Fifty meters from the stray saddled mount Glen paused to hear the Horselord. ¡°That¡¯s Terta¡¯s horse,¡± Belec explained in his rough Common. Glen narrowed his eyes and stared at the light brown and grey horse. Was it the saddle? The horse returned his stare sitting still before the entrance. ¡°Guard the villa directly across,¡± Glen said. ¡°While I take a peek inside.¡± ¡°We should storm it,¡± Belec grunted. ¡°Read my lips. There¡¯ll be no stormin¡¯ afore we know what¡¯s goin¡¯ on,¡± Glen explained to him and the horse started coming towards them. Belec clicked his tongue and reached for his satchel for a treat as the horse started galloping towards them. Ten meters and the Horselord knelt to place a honeyed piece of bread on the ground, five and he stepped back as the horse was charging full speed without intention of slowing down. Fuck. ¡°Glen!¡± Jinx yelled a warning, but he was already moving, the horse turning and coming right for him. The sound of hooves striking the paved street terrifying. What in Luthos is this crap? Charge at Belec shit for brains! Glen dived right and out of the way towards the outer stone wall of the villa, the dead-eyed horse turning at the last moment to trample him over. Jinx shrieked chillingly and then a thud was heard followed by a tearing sound, just as Glen landed on an elbow, rolled over ash-like fine grit and stopped at the base of the wall with his left knee. The pain blinding. ¡°ARGH!¡± He bellowed furious and tumbled upright after a couple of failed tries, ogling eyes looking for the crazy horse whilst hopping on a leg. Everyone staring stupefied at the decapitated and bleeding animal. Its head a couple of meters from where Glen had ended up and the wound on his neck cavernous. ¡°Fuck happened?¡± Glen asked, rubbing his hurt knee hard, to alleviate the stinging sensation. ¡°Eh, he chopped its head off,¡± A thoroughly shook Belec mumbled and looked at the unassuming giant. Soren had his big battleaxe out, the weapon painted in gore. Ah. It makes sense, Glen decided with a shrug and then frowned staring at the dead horse. ¡°Any idea, what got into it?¡± He asked his bewildered companions moving on to more important matters. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen this afore,¡± Belec said and Glen signed for the approaching Kalac to bring everyone on their side of the road. ¡°Get your friends up the wall if you can,¡± Glen told him. ¡°I can climb the wall,¡± Jinx offered. ¡°I know, but I was thinking you should stay this one out,¡± Glen said. ¡°Hah, nope¡­ Not if yer going in.¡± ¡°Whisper.¡± ¡°You¡¯re as important as this one to me,¡± Jinx said and pointed a thumb back at Soren. The giant Nord raised a spade like hand in greeting, the large smile on his face a splash of white amidst all the red. Glen raised a brow mischievously and Jinx landed a light punch on his armoured shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t be a cunt,¡± She cautioned the former thief with a grin.
Right. Glen checked his harness, unsheathed Angrein¡¯s sword and stepped inside what had been a massive walled garden once. He started walking following the paved main path towards the exotic villa. While blackened, the stone was mostly undamaged and there were signs of life near it, several patches of land covered in greenery and flowers. Behind him the Horselords entered in turn and spread out finding cover behind dead trees that had turned to grey-white stone. Soren followed right after him in his usual slow tempo, with the Gish on his left shoulder a couple of meters behind Glen. His eyes searched the dark windows, most of them covered, before they returned on the door. A sturdy oaken construct, quite new and painted a dark green. It was left wide open, the dark interior of the exotic villa ominous. ¡°I know you¡¯re here,¡± Glen said stopping a couple of meters from the entrance. ¡°I¡¯m just looking for my men.¡± He got no answer. Glen gulped down nervously and felt a sweat rivulet trickling down the side of his face. He glanced at the flower trees, the bright white flowers and ashen-green leaves inviting. ¡°That¡¯s bloodroot,¡± Jinx whispered. ¡°Nigh poisonous.¡± Shite. A man had appeared on the threshold. Scrawny and tall, long legs sprouting out of his worn out tunic and feet encased in old leather sandals. He had his arms behind his back, a bald head and the long ears of the Zilan. One eye half-closed. Half his face sagging, the skin loose and sickly. Either paralyzed, or badly healed. ¡°Hey friend,¡± Glen said setting his shoulders, Jinx snorting at the term. ¡°We¡¯re looking for our people,¡± He repeated and the Zilan brought his arms forward and tossed a severed head at his feet. It bounced once, the skin pale and the eyes missing and rolled towards a numb Glen until it stopped in front of his dusty boots. It left no trail behind it, the blood drained. A tick appeared on Glen¡¯s face, the head belonging to Terta, one of the Horselords in Sam¡¯s group. He licked his dry lips slowly, feeling his mouth bitter and his heart thundering in his chest from the scare. He could hear the Horselords muttering at the distance and he raised his hand to stop Jinx from firing. The Gish had her bow out already. ¡°What happened?¡± He asked the silently watching him maimed Zilan. ¡°I was forced to break Queen¡¯s law,¡± The Zilan replied. The fuck does that mean? Lith, yer people are total nutjobs girl. ¡°Name¡¯s Garth,¡± Glen said with difficulty, trying not to look at the severed head at his feet. ¡°Ah. What is it you keep, Sinya Nore?¡± He asked him, his sole eye gleaming. ¡°Not afore ye answer me friend.¡± ¡°You toss the term around, yet you strolled in my house, sword in hand, thugs and harlots in tow,¡± The Zilan hissed and Jinx gasped and loosed her arrow. Glen flinched, but the Zilan stepped forward fast as lighting and down from his porch, the arrow disappearing through the door after flying over his head. ¡°Damn,¡± Jinx said. Glen raised his sword and aimed it at the Zilan. ¡°Where are the others?¡± He grunted. ¡°Some I¡¯ve eaten,¡± The freakish creature replied and reached for his satchel. ¡°Certain parts. Others I kept. Why are you still moving?¡± He asked him looking at him strangely. What? Glen frowned, made to glance behind him, but the Zilan moved again forward, raised his hand and blew something his way. Glen could have used his sword there, but he didn¡¯t. He opted to vault to his right on instinct, knee smarting. Glen somersaulted, the blade almost taking out his eye, saw Jinx standing frozen, next to a still Soren and then he was on his feet again, breathing heavy. The Zilan stared at him impressed. ¡°You¡¯re more than you appear,¡± He told him. Glen grimaced and reached for the peleg. The maimed creature stepped near his two companions in response, to cut off his angle. He reached with a hand and touched Jinx¡¯s chin, slotted a long finger between her lips and grunted pleased. You sick fuck. ¡°Fine lovers,¡± The Zilan told a slowly repositioning and seething Glen. ¡°Versatile. Not good slaves though. Disloyal.¡± ¡°You know fuck all about Gish,¡± Glen growled fearing what his opponent would do next and stepped aside again to find a better angle, but the Zilan kept his friends in the line of fire and Glen wasn¡¯t confident enough with the throwing axe to attempt it. ¡°You strode into my garden,¡± The Zilan hissed, crooking the working side of his mouth to show Glen his gnarly teeth. ¡°Brought your friends with you. Who in Oras Hells do you think you are?¡± ¡°I¡¯m the guy with the Wyvern,¡± Glen retorted and tossed the peleg up as a distraction, the steel weapon rising, whilst catching the rays of the sun. The Zilan watched it rising briefly, face registering his surprise at Glen¡¯s words that quickly turned to fury. In the meantime Glen had reached for his dagger, a weapon he was much more familiar with and without aiming hurled it towards the snarling creature. The exotic weapon flying high. The Zilan saw it coming and turned to avoid it, the dagger turning with him and lunging for his face. Realizing it he put a hand up to block the nasty weapon, everything happening in less than a second and the blade went through his palm to the hilt, almost taking out his good eye. ¡°Gah!¡± The Zilan cried out and glared at him furious, for getting suckered. ¡°Where did you get this?¡± He growled and reached with his good hand into his satchel, as Glen had closed the distance between them again, the Horselords rushing their way coming out of the dead trees and Soren shuddering awake with a grunt. He blinked once, saw the Zilan standing a meter from him, with his back turned, raised his fist and punched him in the head. And that was that.
¡°I think I swallowed something,¡± Jinx said a moment later, whilst Glen stared at his unresponsive opponent. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°A spell,¡± Glen told her, keeping it vague and stooped to check on the knocked out Zilan, thinking it was dead. ¡°Me hand was numb,¡± Soren explained standing over him. ¡°No strength in it.¡± Uhm. ¡°Glen?¡± Jinx asked stooping over the maimed creature. ¡°What is yer dagger doing in his hand?¡± Glen cleared his throat and got up. ¡°It¡¯s a long story. Tie him up tightly,¡± He said and stared at the villa, just as Kalac and the others arrived. He raised his hands to calm down the angry protests from the Horselords, who realized what had happened. ¡°We need answers and we need to find the others,¡± He explained and accepted the dagger from Jinx. He paused before heading inside the villa and looked at her, emotion flooding his senses. ¡°What?¡± She snapped and bending nimbly at the waist spat down to clear her mouth. ¡°Nothing,¡± Glen croaked and rubbed his forehead. ¡°Thought I lost you there for a moment.¡± The whole thing too close for comfort. ¡°Ye didn¡¯t,¡± Jinx replied. ¡°But keep getting us into trouble and you¡¯ll eventually succeed.¡± ¡°That was a horrible retort Whisper!¡± Glen admonished her and she sighed and hanged her head. ¡°Aye, twas,¡± She yielded blushing. ¡°When yer so considerate I get all wet and it throws me game off.¡± Good grief. Soren frowned at her words, Kalac stopped and stared blankly at the distance, with Tarn pursing his lips tight as if in pain, but thankfully Belec bellowed from inside the villa and snapped everyone out of the awkward moment. They had found the others.
Glen eyed the Wyvern flying over their heads, the setting sun making the large beast appearing wraith-like and then stepped forward towards the small gathered crowd of Zilan, part of Goras original citizens. Some were dressed in fancy uniforms, weathered and mended time and time again. A female wearing a priestess blue robe, her face reminding him of Soletha, her mannerisms the Seer back at Merhant¡¯s Triage addressed him in Imperial. ¡°You have to try again,¡± Glen told her in the simpler dialect he¡¯d come to understand without the dagger¡¯s help. The Priestess pursed her lips, her expressive almond and silver eyes staying on the tied up, still unresponsive male they had loaded on a horse. ¡°You¡¯ve taken Laedan, of Zirael,¡± She said. ¡°The Queen¡¯s Denmaster.¡± Hmm. ¡°Do you have a name?¡± Glen asked. ¡°I¡¯m Vaelenn, of Sonariel,¡± Vaelenn replied. ¡°Priestess of Nesande, Caretaker of Her Temple.¡± ¡°Like the Moon¡¯s Daughter,¡± Glen said and the small crowd gasped collectively horrified. ¡°Aelrindel has forsaken her place in the Temple,¡± Vaelenn retorted. ¡°When asked to return and serve the Queen, she never appeared. Her followers remain outside Goras¡¯ walls.¡± There are no walls anymore you backwards bitch! The city is under a kilometer of water, or gone! All I needed was another fucking faction. He took a deep breath and kept it puffing his cheeks out. ¡°I¡¯m going to say it once,¡± Glen started and the Zilan glanced at one another. ¡°This¡­ place, is under new management. Call it whatever you wanna call it. I don¡¯t give a rusty copper. But, under this new management everyone that has permission from me can stay. Live, eat, fuck and prosper. Now, there are some things that bother me,¡± Glen continued and watched as Uvrycres came to land with ease in the spacious street behind them. The Wyvern dropped on all fours and started approaching Glen like a giant bat with no soft parts, the riders getting out of his way and the Zilan staring deeply awed. ¡°Anyone hurting those working for me will be punished,¡± Glen continued getting all worked up. ¡°Laedan killed and ate someone working for me, partially eaten another. That¡¯s some nigh disturbing shite! He will be punished, taking into consideration he didn¡¯t know better. Now he does. You do know better. Anyone hurting my friends henceforth, I¡¯ll feed to the Wyvern. THERE WILL BE NO MERCY! There¡¯s no Queen¡¯s law anymore. Be with the system, or die outside of it. This land belongs to me. MY PLAGUIN¡¯ RULES! Why?¡± He asked finishing, breathing heavy and sweating despite the day cooling as it moved towards sunset. Vaelenn set her jaw and stared at him distressed. ¡°You¡¯re Hardir O¡¯ Fardor,¡± She murmured. ¡°The fuck does that mean?¡± Glen barked at her, spittle flying out of his mouth. ¡°You¡¯re the Ruler of Goras,¡± The Priestess croaked and bowed her cobalt head. ¡°You god darn right I am,¡± Glen retorted, Jinx gasping shocked behind him. Uvrycres brought his scaled head to his shoulder, forked tongue slashing at the air and his long tail rising above him ominously. ¡°Have them kneel,¡± He told Glen. ¡°Then we will eat the Priestess!¡± Uh? What the slovenly fuck? ¡°We won¡¯t.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you just say we can?¡± ¡°She hasn¡¯t done anything¡ª¡± ¡°Who the fuck cares?¡± The Wyvern snarled furious and crackled his leathery wings disturbed. ¡°Enough!¡± Glen grunted. ¡°No eating. No kneeling shite. We won¡¯t force them¡ª¡± ¡°Hahaha! They are kneeling,¡± Uvrycres guffawed and sure enough the small crowd had dropped to their knees in panic, the Wyvern¡¯s drawn out shrieks freaking them out. ¡°Let¡¯s eat half¡ª¡± ¡°No,¡± Glen told him sternly. Uvrycres stared into his eyes thoughtfully, brimstone breath hot on the former thief¡¯s face, then added with a toothy leer. ¡°Yes.¡± 226. You’re a merchant, do the math
Sir Emerson Lennox Ballard of Lesia Mista Savar You¡¯re a merchant, do the math
The noise made his teeth rattle. The scar where the old stitches were still hard under the skin and burning. The crowd got on their feet, the sun fusing the helm on his covered head and face, old eyes staring behind the engraved gold mask at his opponent. The Issir stumbled back and tossed his cracked shield away. He reached for his second sword and got it out, Troy mirroring him standing four meters away, his sandals sinking in the soft burning sands. The feeling otherworldly. The crowd started screaming, when he started moving. People had come from afar, old men and women that had seen him fight in his prime. Kids that had grown up with tales of the ¡®Chiliad¡¯ and the finest gladiators to ever step foot in the arena, or the sands outside of it. Everyone had come to bid the mighty ¡®Handsome Titan¡¯ a last farewell. A leap to the right nigh exaggerated, almost like a choreographed dancing move. Muscles rippling in the sun, the muscled cuirass shining blindingly, the arms sprouting out of it devoid of fat and as if carefully carved to match it. Another to the left and he heard the men roaring again, dead friends, countless lovers and a river of gore filled with gems and gold, a thousand steel shields rattling, the rumble of the onrushing armoured horses shaking the earth underfoot and blood exploding out of his ears. For a moment the screams and songs of the crowd got drown out into the haunting memory. Then Troy was back in the arena, golden sand under his feet and the twin swords in his hands swinging. The Issir blocked the first with his right, parried the second with the left and stepped back to attack in his turn. Troy went after him leaving him no room to initiate anything. The crowd roared delighted, some jumping from the stands and crashing crippled on the sands, men pissing themselves and women turning feral at the display. Slash and block. Cut and parry. High and low. An arching swing his panicked opponent missed. His bloody nose flying above their heads. Troy stepped aside, went under a return slash, clenched teeth in a maniacal grin and elbowed the man in the face right at the wound. The Issir stumbled back, a hand on his bloody face, the other swinging blind to keep him at bay. Troy faked a right high cut, switched the grip on his other sword and slashed his opponent above the knee, the blade chipping away part of the bone. The Issir dropped to a knee, a groaning bloody mess and Troy stepped aside in a half circle. The famed gladiator flipped both swords in his hands, engraved steel vambraces worth ¡®as much as the prize them cheap fucking bastards were giving these days¡¯, then stepped forward and delivered a perfect double chop that separated the Issir¡¯s head from his shoulders. It flown upwards and to the left, part of a hand following it, the blood exploding in a torrent that rained over him hot and smelling of iron. The voices and cries of the crowd making his ears ring and his knees shake as he raised both covered in gore swords high in the air to bask in it. He drank it all. Adrenalin. Fear. Danger. Win. Exultation. Adulation. There is nothing like it old man, Troy thought and removed his Imperial Cavalry helm, his scarred face sweaty and bloody underneath, but outrageously handsome still. A full delirious arena all the evidence he ever needed.
His leg wasn¡¯t working at all. Emerson had to make the slow journey down the spacious corridor with the eight tall and very narrow windows grinding his teeth. He used the cane to help him follow after Hasti until they reached the twin highy-decorated hardwood and alabaster doors. The burly slave with the cleaver-like sword, gold loop through his nostrils pushed the doors open and let them in. Hasti paused next to the doors to close them up again and Emerson seeing the prominent low-height ebony-wood table, stumbled towards the well-dressed men sitting around it on comfortable pillows. Don-Iv Sopat smiled seeing Hasti staying back and signed for her to approach. The other two men kept their painted eyes on the limping knight. One of them was Lord Tsuparin and the other Chu Bin-Amin. The latter name Emerson had heard being pronounced a couple of ways. ¡°Ah, lovely Hasti,¡± Don said, right hand slipping under the slave girl¡¯s short dress. ¡°Just as I was getting utterly bored talking politics. You are a welcomed stimulant. Fetch us another bottle of spiced wine will you dear?¡± Don frowned as he moved his fingers around. ¡°Hmm, what¡¯s that then? Aww¡­¡± ¡°Sopat I¡¯ve not the stomach to watch your unabashed decadence in my hour of mourning,¡± Tsuparin spat, his tanned face lined with wrinkles, eyes painted the color of coal. ¡°Or so early in the morning,¡± Amin commented with a half-smile. Older than Lord Tsuparin but heavily built, the Cofol stood almost as tall as Emerson. ¡°Eh, let¡¯s not exaggerate,¡± Don responded and smacked Hasti¡¯s arse as she hurried away from their table. He brought two of his fingers to his mouth and sucked at them thoroughly afore adding. ¡°If we lose ourselves into work and anxiousness, then all said work would have been for naught.¡± ¡°What?¡± Tsuparin grimaced and glanced at Emerson¡¯s pained expression first, then at Lord Amin. ¡°Is he drunk?¡± ¡°Definitely,¡± Amin replied and eyed Emerson in his turn. ¡°Mista Savar, your win was simply spectacular. I must say I¡¯m impressed.¡± ¡°People died,¡± Emerson rustled through his teeth. ¡°Nothing spectacular to that.¡± Amin raised his grey eyebrows high. He¡¯d a full set of short-cut hair on his head, their color matching his ashen-grey eyes. ¡°I would have to disagree,¡± He said in fluent Common. ¡°You would, I reckon. In the same vein, I wouldn¡¯t care one bit.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Don said clapping his ring-adorned hands. ¡°Ballard this old gentleman you¡¯ve just insulted, is Lord Amin of Lai Zel-ka, Commander of Yon Simun Fort and the Khan¡¯s War Leader.¡± Emerson grunted neither impressed, nor feeling any remorse about it. ¡°The esteemed aristocrat to his left is Lord Tsuparin of Fu De-Gar,¡± Don continued the introductions. Emerson grimaced, half of it from pain and the rest from anger. ¡°I need to talk to you Sopat.¡± ¡°We¡¯re talking,¡± Don replied with a toothy smile. Emerson made to answer, but Tsuparin stopped him. ¡°Sopat we¡¯re not here so you can amuse yourself afore getting back to fucking. You came with a proposal and we yielded to it. My first thought was to have my dogs rip you apart, just like you ripped me off.¡± ¡°I made a bet, you lost. Was the amount absurd? Some would argue a wagon of coins isn¡¯t that big a sum. Granted that would be mostly members of my family, but we do exist so¡­¡± Don countered, in his pompous annoying manner. ¡°Now it¡¯s unfortunate you lost the Gargoyle also, but let us be real here, the Nord had no idea how to make better¡­ gladiators.¡± ¡°And this one does?¡± Tsuparin growled, his face turning red. ¡°Well, his men kinda wiped the arena with yours,¡± Don retorted. ¡°By the end I was laughing so hard I soiled myself.¡± Lord Amin intervened to calm the tempers down. ¡°You are a free man Ballard, or Mista Savar. The moniker is yours by right,¡± He said. ¡°As you understand, we have an offer for you. You¡¯ve got nothing but your freedom and a wooden sword. A less dangerous job will alleviate your waning years, assuming you don¡¯t want to try all this again next year, on a bad leg.¡± ¡°What if I refuse?¡± Emerson grunted, his leg twitching in pain. ¡°You walk away,¡± Lord Amin replied with a thin smile. ¡°Please take a seat, no need for you to stand,¡± He pointed at the pillows. ¡°I don¡¯t think I can,¡± Emerson rustled and Don snapped his head up. ¡°Darn it! Hasti leave the bottle here, run and bring a stool for our friend,¡± He ordered the returning slave girl. Hasti placed the tray on the table and twirled around with a grin to fetch Emerson a stool. She looked deliriously happy with the changes in her circumstances and Emerson knew she¡¯d worked for that. ¡°What about Ziba?¡± Emerson asked. Tsuparin frowned and looked at Don-Iv. ¡°What is he talking about?¡± ¡°Paikan has agreed to sell her to me Ballard,¡± Don said. ¡°I¡¯ll take her from you,¡± Emerson grunted. ¡°I won¡¯t sell her,¡± Don replied. ¡°Even if I would, you got no coin for such an expensive slave Ballard.¡± Ah. Emerson glared at the youthful painted face of the Sopat scion. ¡°Unless,¡± Don added with a pleased smile and a vein started throbbing on Emerson¡¯s left temple. ¡°You help us out here.¡± ¡°Who is you?¡± Emerson asked, his voice coming out hoarse.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°Lord Amin, Lord Tsuparin, hopefully Lord Letakin,¡± Don explained and the knight stood back with a grimace. ¡°I help you out,¡± Emerson said. ¡°You free Ziba.¡± ¡°I sell her to you,¡± Don replied. ¡°You can do with her what you wish after that.¡± Emerson looked at the stool Hasti had brought and grunting sat down on it, keeping his hurt and bandaged leg straight. It was more difficult sitting down than getting up with the help of the cane. When something is difficult to do, ye train more on it. ¡°What do you want done?¡± He asked the Lords of the Peninsula, his heart heavy. You don¡¯t blackmail someone to agree on a deal, unless said deal is abhorrent for one reason, or another.
Lord Tsuparin got a silver pipe out and lit it with a candle, the aromatic smoke reaching Emerson¡¯s nostrils smelling of tobacco, orange, and a whiff of cedar. Don-Iv now in his third goblet was mostly interested in Hasti that was refiling their cups and Chu Bin-Amin waited patiently for his answer. ¡°A large training ground,¡± Emerson started, looking at a map of Greenwhale Peninsula. ¡°Built here in Fu De-Gar.¡± ¡°We have the structures ready. The old Imperial grounds,¡± Lord Tsuparin said. ¡°We need someone to command the project.¡± ¡°Train gladiators,¡± Emerson said. ¡°A giant Ludus to dwarf all others.¡± ¡°Provide readily trained gladiators to all cities,¡± Lord Tsuparin explained, but Emerson was staring at Lord Amin¡¯s aged face, the hint of a smirk at the corner of his mouth unnerving. What were they hiding? ¡°Enough to build a nucleus for a new upstart Lanista, rejuvenate the old schools,¡± Don added with a burp. ¡°Apologies. Hasti get me something sweet, I think I¡¯ve had enough. Better yet, sit close so you can massage my stomach. Use your feet.¡± ¡°How many?¡± Emerson asked with a grimace, his knee bothering him, almost as much as Don-Iv¡¯s tomfoolery. ¡°We told you at least a thousand and three hundred before the year is out,¡± Lord Amin said. ¡°We have a surplus of slaves at the moment.¡± ¡°How many gladiators do the Ludi need annually?¡± Emerson repeated his question, expounding on his meaning. Don-Iv started chuckling and stretched his legs out under the table. ¡°A hundred, two at the most,¡± Lord Tsuparin replied eyeing Emerson warningly. His patience was running thin. Emerson couldn¡¯t care less. All he was interested in was getting Ziba out of their clutches and keep her safe. ¡°What happens to the rest? Why keep so many men fed and idle? Where¡¯s the profit in that?¡± He asked one query after the other genuinely curious as to the reason. A moment of silence followed, the Cofols contemplating his words. Lord Amin had started combing his long goatee with his fingers and Lord Tsuparin worked at his pipe, blowing smoke out of his nostrils. ¡°You know Lord Reeves,¡± Don said casually, completely out of the blue. Emerson flinched, almost dropping the cane he kept next to his hurt leg and turned to glare at him. ¡°What if I do?¡± He asked. ¡°I wrote to my brother, mentioned you in passing,¡± Don replied. ¡°He wrote back urging me to help you Ballard. So our offer is genuine, as is mine regarding Ziba-Ra.¡± ¡°Reeves is in Eikenport? With a¡­¡± Don stopped him raising a hand. ¡°Let us talk of this after we finish here.¡± Emerson stood back and grunted. ¡°I want a clear answer,¡± He told the Cofol Lords sternly. ¡°We won¡¯t reveal our plans without your word you¡¯ll be onboard Ballard,¡± Lord Tsuparin hissed, not pleased with his stubbornness. ¡°Whatever that¡¯s worth.¡± Emerson pressed his lips into a thin line. ¡°It¡¯s a matter of caution,¡± Lord Amin intervened. ¡°Not all Lords have been informed. We shall talk with Lord Letakin, but Lord Elur Sol will never go along with it. Que Ki-La is Prince Nout¡¯s city. The Lord of the Gulf could be a problem.¡± ¡°A matter of caution you say, yet whilst you talk of games, market opportunities and gladiators, I still don¡¯t see the profit,¡± Emerson replied. ¡°Or why you would need the other cities consent for what each one of you could finance on their own.¡± Lord Tsuparin went to answer but Emerson stopped him stabbing his cane down. ¡°I can¡¯t train a thousand, two thousand men,¡± Emerson rustled. ¡°You have trainers for that, plenty of Ludi here. You want me to make you something different.¡± ¡°Your tactics,¡± Lord Amin said. ¡°Won the games.¡± ¡°Bah, there you go,¡± Emerson grunted. He smacked his lips and eyed the lords present. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Take the job Ballard,¡± Don-Iv urged him. ¡°Lord Letakin might leave the city soon and take Paikan with him.¡± Emerson glared at the perfumed young man. ¡°I don¡¯t take kindly in those forcing my hand Sopat.¡± ¡°I¡¯m your best friend. Better than a lover,¡± Don replied with a cocky grin. ¡°I simply ¡®have¡¯ to help you.¡± ¡°Buy Ziba, release her,¡± Emerson retorted. ¡°Then we¡¯ll talk like men.¡± ¡°How about I buy this slave and remove a foot of skin from her per day?¡± Lord Tsuparin growled irate. ¡°Would you agree then?¡± Emerson crooked his mouth and reached for Sopat¡¯s goblet with his left hand. He brought it to his lips and tipped it all down. The spices in the wine burning his throat all the way. ¡°Slaves will win you no plaguing war,¡± He finally said, his voice crackling like chains inside a tunnel. ¡°Nor will they work for you Tsuparin.¡± ¡°Clearly you don¡¯t know my slaves Mista Savar,¡± Tsuparin grunted. ¡°Clearly you don¡¯t know me Tsuparin,¡± Emerson countered. ¡°I¡¯ll buy the god darn slave,¡± Tsuparin hissed. ¡°Skin her myself!¡± ¡°Gentlemen,¡± Don said, not liking where this was going. ¡°Let me give it a try Sopat,¡± Lord Amin urged him and got up. Emerson noticed he wore a light mail shirt under his opulent ginger-colored robes. He walked towards a map of Greenwhale hanging from a wall, ornamented oil-lamps at its corners to provide light after dark. The edges blackened from the many sessions spend poring over it. Many nights, an old problem and an even older scheme. The War Leader sighed and stared at Lord Tsuparin for a moment, then at Don-Iv who sobered up and stood up straighter. ¡°Hasti, leave us if you please,¡± Lord Amin said and the comely slave bowed her head and rushed outside of the spacious hall.
The red sun ducked behind the giant flat-top pyramid, dominating the dry rises directly west of the city, what the locals called the Imperial grounds. The arena the Zilan had built now mostly ruins and extending a couple of kilometers in width. Whatever games they hosted in there impossible to gauge centuries later. Emerson sighed feeling tired and worn-out. The pain in his ruined knee and slowly healing body, a constant reminder he was running out of sunsets. He hadn¡¯t reached forty yet, but his was a hard-lived forty years. ¡°You¡¯ll have Ziba-Ra,¡± Don-Iv said an hour after the lords had left them to return to their villas. ¡°Reeves has a Wyvern,¡± Emerson rustled staring at the map. ¡°Yet he¡¯s not in Eikenport.¡± ¡°He traveled to Wetull,¡± Don-Iv replied. ¡°It¡¯s been months now.¡± Ah, kid. Why would ye do that? ¡°How do you know he¡¯s alive?¡± He asked without looking at the young man reclining on the velvet sofa. ¡°Missives reached Phon-Iv. He¡¯s in Goras.¡± ¡°Glen¡­ is in Goras? He crossed the Pale Mountains?¡± ¡°He did it through an underground boulevard, found Zilan at the end of it.¡± ¡°Where did he found a plaguing Wyvern?¡± Emerson asked, having trouble believing any of it. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± Don replied. ¡°He has one. It changes things.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t win the Peninsula from the Khan,¡± Emerson cautioned him. ¡°You¡¯ll need a lot of men.¡± ¡°We have men, gold and patience,¡± Don explained. ¡°A man wielding a Wyvern married to my sister and the luxury of time.¡± ¡°You have slaves and a window of opportunity that might close shut, if the Khan wins his war. Glen can¡¯t control a Wyvern. You are asking too much of him.¡± ¡°Reeves is not a kid Ballard,¡± Don retorted. ¡°Not this one.¡± ¡°How large are Rin An Pur¡¯s armed forces?¡± ¡°The majority of the Khan¡¯s army is beyond the desert.¡± ¡°The slaves won¡¯t fight to the death. So you need to account for that,¡± Emerson insisted. ¡°Marching them to war isn¡¯t the same as sending them to the Arena. How does the Khan maintain his armies?¡± ¡°Fear, free plunder and wages. The Khan is a Horselord that settled down, we have always been different Ballard.¡± ¡°Free everyone that serves for three years, with benefits.¡± ¡°What then? Do it all over again?¡± ¡°Issue contracts of service like the Legion, or the Issir Foot. Give them land,¡± Emerson said. ¡°Most men will return.¡± ¡°Are you serious? You are¡­ well,¡± Don got up from the sofa and stared at his painted blue toes. ¡°This is something I have to work on. It won¡¯t be a popular idea with the other Lords, or my brother.¡± ¡°It will be with your army,¡± Emerson retorted sternly. ¡°You¡¯re a merchant, do the math. You do this and lose, there will be no lords left to complain.¡±
Troy wore a new hoplite¡¯s muscle cuirass, the details on it exaggerated, the steel gleaming alike silver but for the gold at the nipples. ¡°It¡¯s an accurate depiction of the thickness underneath it,¡± The gladiator explained with a cocky grin, long hair gathered in an elaborate bun and eyes painted a garish blue. He sported another golden loop on his other ear. ¡°I ain¡¯t feeling intimidated,¡± Emerson grunted and greeted Qathor with a nod of his head. ¡°You¡¯re not the target audience Ballard,¡± Troy retorted. ¡°Them ladies though¡­ haha, I have to keep me cock in oils to alleviate the wear and tear!¡± ¡°Better start using your arse as well,¡± Qathor teased. ¡°There¡¯s potential there, just sayin¡¯ you got to keep an open mind.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯ll leave that to you my friend. You¡¯ve the talent for it,¡± Troy countered and turned to Emerson. ¡°Tsuparin want us to fight for him? He¡¯ll have to pay my muscles in gold for that.¡± ¡°We aren¡¯t fighting in the arena again,¡± Emerson told him. ¡°Speak for yourself old man,¡± Troy retorted. ¡°The ¡®Handsome Titan¡¯ shall fight again.¡± ¡°You¡¯re going to help me train an army here,¡± Emerson said patiently and Troy frowned. ¡°Both of you.¡± ¡°Ah, why would we do that?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t do it myself and you owe me,¡± Emerson replied. ¡°But you won¡¯t do it for that. You¡¯ll help out of the goodness of yer heart. Ayup, you¡¯ll help these men out of slavery.¡± Troy stood back dumbfounded. Qathor started laughing seeing his dismayed expression. ¡°I¡­ you know what I did afore right? Why would I give up¡­ damn you Ballard.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve grown as a person,¡± Emerson explained. ¡°Plus you don¡¯t want to risk your life in the sands.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not feeling it, this growth yer talking about,¡± Troy argued. ¡°You¡¯ve swollen aplenty Troy,¡± Emerson taunted and Qathor threw his head back and roared, his laughter reverberating on the walls of the arena. ¡°Time to do something worthy of yer true potential.¡± Troy scratched his head. ¡°An army ye say. Who are we fighting Ballard?¡± ¡°The Khan most likely.¡± Troy pursed his mouth and stared at the sobering up Qathor. ¡°I want benefits befitting an officer Ballard,¡± He said turning to him. ¡°You¡¯re not officer material, but sure.¡± ¡°At least two girls servicing me each day. No skinny, toothless bitches. The good stuff!¡± ¡°We are not opening a brothel Troy,¡± Emerson replied patiently. ¡°Nor is this part of an officer¡¯s payment.¡± ¡°Fuck them, no officer was a Champion of the fucking Pits!¡± Troy argued furious at his plans getting squashed. ¡°One girl and the chance to compete again with the next champion. You got to pay to get dis kind of quality mate, look!¡± He¡¯d stricken a couple of ridiculous poses to showcase his physique, even performing a full split on the sands, with Qathor clapping impressed, white teeth gleaming on his dark Issir face. Emerson sighed and shook his head right and left. ¡°Fine, but I just don¡¯t see ye stepping foot on the sands again.¡± Sir Emerson while a shrewd and down to earth man, sometimes erred in his predictions and this was one of those times. 227. Things won in the trade
Whisper Jinx Things won in the trade
¡°AAAAAAH!¡± Jinx flinched and Sam Mathews put an arm around her protectively, even tried to push her back. She twisted away, an eye on the panicked Zilan and Horselords, the other on a flushed Glen trying to pull the Wyvern away from the priestess. Uvrycres had taken everyone by surprise and turned what looked like a staring contest with Glen into something more sinister. Like snatching Vaelenn¡¯s arm with his jaws and dragging her at the side of the road to gnaw at it. ¡°Let go of the darn arm!¡± Glen growled amidst Vaelenn¡¯s desperate agonizing screams and the Wyvern¡¯s guttural sounds. ¡°We had a fucking deal!¡± ¡°Stay back,¡± Sam urged her, but she slipped away and approached the thrashing priestess. The Wyvern had raised his head and stared at Glen with those beastly eyes, jaws still pressing sneakily at the torn flesh. The bones crackling under the black teeth and blood painting the tiles. ¡°Glen,¡± Jinx said, keeping a fearful distance, as despite appearances the Wyverns loved eating Gish the most. And even if they didn¡¯t, ye don¡¯t go about checking the validity of a story near a hungry beast. ¡°Everyone calm the fuck down!¡± Glen barked turning around. Himself the least calm of all, eyes ogling crazy and teeth clenched to the point of breaking. ¡°Keep your distance and disperse to yer plaguin¡¯ business!¡± Uvrycres cut through a shaking Vaelenn¡¯s arm in the meantime breaking the bone and ripped it away from her shoulder. Jinx would have fainted, but her legs had fused on the street and she couldn¡¯t move. Glen heard the horrified gasp of the traumatized crowd and whipped his head around, to see what had happened. Baulked shocked at the grotesque bleeding wound, recovered quickly, glared at Uvrycres that slowly retreated on all fours taking the mangled arm with him and turned around again, his face and hair wild. ¡°There¡¯s no need for alarm,¡± Glen started, amber eyes gleaming in the dim light, his smile phony and probably hurting his face to pull it off. It was admirable that he¡¯d managed even that, Jinx thought impressed. ¡°Naught but a flesh wound¡ª¡± ¡°That¡¯s her arm for crying out loud!¡± Someone yelled from the back interrupting him, a skinny Zilan wearing a worn out doublet. ¡°Looks very serious to me!¡± Another one said very perceptively, standing next to him. ¡°Aye,¡± Said a third, a fiery eyed, tall and heavy bosomed female with long braids. ¡°Vaelenn is bleeding out!¡± She added glaring at Jinx as if she was to blame. Plenty of erotic vibes reaching the stunned Gish. Mama, Whisper thought shivering. Yer a lotta woman. ¡°Nonsense! What is this crap? Spreading fuckin¡¯ lies!¡± Glen barked shutting them down. ¡°Nothing to see here. Kalac get the priestess on a horse, next to the other dude,¡± He ordered the Horselord, before addressing the murmuring crowd again. ¡°Go back to your darn homes, whilst we give her medical assistance,¡± Glen turned her way all furious, when they didn¡¯t appear to listen. ¡°Whisper!¡± ¡°Aye!¡± Jinx snapped back, as he¡¯d scared her even more than she already was. Girls have a scare limit, ye go over that and its bad. Only cunts do that. ¡°Grab Soren and keep them at bay whilst we move the priestess,¡± Glen explained. The crowd outnumbered them after all and while there didn¡¯t appear to be warriors amongst them, a Zilan could kill you with a word. A lustful stare. Or an oiled finger up the piss pipes. The latter not necessarily a bad thing. ¡°WHISPER! For fuck¡¯s sake!¡± Glen bellowed irate, sweaty hair hiding half his face and snapped her out of her reverie, very rudely. ¡°MOVE!¡±
A Zilan tried to step forward, but paused eyeing the intimidating mountain of muscles that was Soren and retreated into the crowd of about sixty. ¡°You¡¯re taking the priestess as well?¡± A male asked Jinx. ¡°Ahm, it¡¯s for her own good,¡± She replied. ¡°You best return to yer homes.¡± ¡°Are we to get picked off one by one?¡± ¡°You should do what the Gish used to do,¡± Jinx replied eyeing him. ¡°Stay inside when it appears and leave it food. It kinda works.¡± ¡°What does that mean? Kind of? What food?¡± The braids asked her. ¡°Livestock, a sick kid, or a dying elder,¡± Jinx said out the top of her head, not getting the reaction she¡¯d hoped for. ¡°What? I said it kind of worked and it was ye cunts that had started it!¡±
They stopped near the towers four hours later and Kalac approached a silent Glen sitting next to a gloomy Sam Mathews. Jinx had gotten two words out of both men during the return trip. ¡°Dikra lost the eye and the leg,¡± Kalac reported gravely. ¡°Terta is dead. Nimra shook, but unharmed. The Priestess might make it, but I don¡¯t see why Laedan is still breathing Hardir.¡± ¡°I might need him,¡± Glen replied hoarsely staring at the fire. ¡°Save the priestess Kalac. We don¡¯t want a war with them.¡± ¡°No war. We can clean the city in a couple of days,¡± Kalac argued. ¡°My men will do it.¡± ¡°There¡¯s more city beyond the second lake,¡± Jinx told him. ¡°Big ruins and statues.¡± ¡°Statues?¡± Glen asked. ¡°Aye, big ones. Like these towers, sprouting over the mist.¡± ¡°What does it matter?¡± Kalac insisted. ¡°We¡¯re not a murdering band of outlaws,¡± Glen said sternly, leaving the plundering part out. ¡°I came here to set up a business. Make profit and explore. If we fight, we will do it for a legitimate reason. Cleaning up the city from the survivors isn¡¯t one.¡± ¡°They killed Terta!¡± Kalac growled. ¡°Plucked Dikra¡¯s eye out!¡± ¡°Laedan did. I¡¯ll deal wit it,¡± Glen argued. ¡°You¡¯ll wage war on civilians Kalac, son of Duham?¡± Kalac grunted and spat down angry. He thought about it for a moment and then nodded. With a last look at Jinx and Mathews he walked away to return to the Horselords much bigger fire. ¡°They are not mercenaries Glen,¡± Jinx said a couple of minutes later, breaking the silence. ¡°They are hard warriors and very mobile,¡± Glen replied. ¡°I won¡¯t unleash them on the local populace Whisper.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t say you should, but not all Zilan are worth of saving Glen. People hated them for a reason.¡± Glen groaned in frustration. ¡°I have bigger problems to deal with.¡± ¡°The Wyvern listens to you.¡± ¡°Not really,¡± Glen replied. ¡°He lied. Told me he killed one guy, but he¡¯d killed that female living near Laedan as well. He¡¯s been at it for a while.¡± ¡°He¡¯s a Wyvern. It¡¯s what they do.¡± ¡°Lying or killing?¡± ¡°Both, I guess.¡± ¡°Thought you can¡¯t lie to a Wyvern, or some shite,¡± Glen said with a grimace. ¡°More than once. Just like a Kraken will give ye one life, but collect next it meets you. As for Uvrycres lying, I¡­ didn¡¯t know you can talk to them.¡± ¡°You can talk to your Wyvern?¡± Sam croaked. ¡°Didn¡¯t much help,¡± Glen murmured and pressed his back on his saddle to rest. Jinx didn¡¯t think so. Uvrycres hadn¡¯t killed the priestess in the end, so despite what Glen believed, he¡¯d prevented the worst from coming to be. The Wyvern shouldn¡¯t have listened to him, but it did. Perhaps all these stories the Zilan sprouted had some truth in them after all. Her instincts were right from the beginning. There was someone watching over Glen.
¡°Shhh,¡± Derix whispered and pointed at the cuddling Ubix and Linx soundly sleeping. The tiny twins snoozing between their warm bodies. A bundle of pink curls and soft limbs. ¡°Where are you headin¡¯ to sis?¡± ¡°Liam has a boat,¡± Jinx explained to him and her younger brother stared at her all serious. ¡°I¡¯m going wit him when the tide comes.¡± ¡°Where to?¡± ¡°Jelin, I reckon,¡± She replied pushing a wayward curl away from her sister¡¯s face. ¡°What¡¯s there?¡± ¡°Adventure, loot.¡± ¡°Can I come?¡± Jinx looked at him. ¡°You¡¯re too young Derix.¡±The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°Not much younger than you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m stronger,¡± Jinx insisted. ¡°Plus you need to stay back and watch the others.¡± ¡°They don¡¯t listen to me,¡± Derix complained. ¡°When will you come back?¡± ¡°Moment I find a place that¡¯s safe, I¡¯ll come back for you all,¡± Jinx promised him and wiped the tears from her eyes. ¡°If I can.¡± Liam watched her climbing his boat with a satisfied smile, two gold teeth amidst all that black facial hair. He called it a beard. Jinx was glad she wasn¡¯t going to sprout one, she¡¯d enough trouble with hairs in other places to know it was a bad idea. ¡°Yer a brave lass,¡± Liam rustled. ¡°Lucky as well. That¡¯s a good wind.¡± ¡°Humans are as stupid as ye?¡± Jinx snapped. ¡°Gods are listening.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Liam replied, not insulted. ¡°Hey, when does the bloody water stop rising?¡± Jinx sighed letting all her anxiousness out and glanced at the familiar land getting slowly swallowed under the sea and the lights at the heights above Ilvilix Lake¡¯s canals, where her siblings had sought sanctuary. ¡°It doesn¡¯t,¡± The young Gish had replied. ¡°You just learn to live with it.¡±
Sam Mathews was staring at her napping, when she opened her eyes. Well, Jinx wasn¡¯t sleeping per se, but she was dreaming of home and a promise she couldn¡¯t now fulfil. Jinx couldn¡¯t go back into the sea again. ¡°I should have courted you in Eikenport,¡± Sam murmured, head resting on his arm, their saddles used as pillows. The night cool, but pleasant. ¡°Was too scared to make a move and you looked angry all the time.¡± Gambling while mourning had that effect on her. ¡°I¡¯m glad ye didn¡¯t,¡± Jinx replied and looked at the stars above them. ¡°I was a mess then and I rather have a friend than an ex-lover.¡± ¡°Ah, I¡¯m not sure how to take this,¡± Sam admitted, pursing his lips. He was a handsome man and a reliable partner, which wasn¡¯t an easy thing to find in this realm. A girl can be flattered, but also grow up and turn into a woman that knows what she wants and the cost of each decision. ¡°Positively,¡± Jinx replied with a sigh. ¡°I¡¯m sorry about Terta.¡± ¡°We weren¡¯t friends,¡± Sam said with a grimace. ¡°But it was a disturbing thing to witness.¡± ¡°Uhm.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t believe Garth is sparing¡­ why do you call him Glen?¡± ¡°I knew him before the name changed,¡± Jinx deadpanned. "He does that a lot." ¡°That thing is a monster Jinx,¡± Sam whispered. Glen was sleeping a meter away from them. ¡°Wyvern is a monster as well.¡± ¡°I can justify the Wyvern, but not them,¡± Sam hissed. Jinx turn to stare at his distressed face. ¡°Not all Zilan are like that,¡± She told him. ¡°Ah, you say that¡ª¡± ¡°Sam, I have more reasons than you to fear them, but I don¡¯t,¡± Jinx told him. ¡°Fear will get you nowhere. Monsters will come at you whether you hide from them or not. And fear¡­ it will keep you imprisoned on yer island and away from life¡¯s wonders.¡± ¡°Horrors,¡± Sam corrected her. ¡°Aye, pleasure also, friends and lovers,¡± She pushed herself up. ¡°All of life¡¯s sides, all its nooks and crannies, are important to me. It¡¯s what I won in the fuckin¡¯ trade,¡± Jinx explained. ¡°What have you lost in it?¡± The adventurer asked her interested and Jinx watched as Soren stirred getting up. ¡°Family,¡± She replied soberly.
The branch creaked but held her weight and Jinx paused after getting on it, to take in the view from above. The lake¡¯s waters slowly turning silvery as the sun came over them. Nature was breathtaking in Wetull, but perhaps it was the absence of human cities that was the difference. Jinx felt a tiny tremor running through the branch and then the leaves before her morphed into Maeriel, the huntress light leather armour turning a darker shade of green. ¡°What did I find here?¡± She teased. ¡°I¡¯m so lucky.¡± ¡°What was that spell?¡± Jinx asked her. ¡°The Gift of Blend,¡± Maeriel replied and stooped to kiss her. Jinx felt her sharp fangs on her tongue, before Maeriel pulled away. The tingling sensation remained though as if the Zilan was still touching her. ¡°Lith could do that,¡± Jinx murmured. ¡°Lith was a huntress then,¡± Maeriel replied, then frowned. ¡°Who is she? That can¡¯t be her real name.¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t,¡± Jinx said, whilst tracing a finger over her lover¡¯s long ear, Maeriel folding it away as the skin was very sensitive there. ¡°I called her a blue cunt.¡± ¡°I feel equally aroused and jealous,¡± Maeriel admitted. ¡°The more I think about it¡ª¡± Shhh. ¡°Don¡¯t be,¡± She told her and kissed that dangerous mouth, Maeriel tasting of blackberries and lemon. ¡°I feel safe with you,¡± Jinx told her and the Zilan smiled, purple and silver eyes glowing underneath. ¡°You have any more of those?¡± Jinx added licking her lips. ¡°Some,¡± Maeriel replied vaguely. ¡°Mae,¡± Jinx warned her, knowing she was a hoarder just like her. ¡°Fine,¡± The huntress admitted. ¡°But I want your company tomorrow.¡± ¡°What¡¯s tomorrow?¡± ¡°Nothing. I will go hunting beyond the ¡®Avenue of Legends¡¯,¡± Maeriel replied. ¡°Is that the statue thingy?¡± ¡°Eh¡­ yes it is,¡± Maeriel admitted. ¡°We¡¯ll bring Glen with us,¡± Jinx paused seeing her blank stare, breathed out and added. ¡°Garth, Hardir¡­¡± ¡°Ah, well¡­ is he any good at hunting?¡± The Zilan asked. ¡°The worst, but he¡¯s outrageously lucky, so it balances out.¡±
Fikumin put his quill down and glared at her. The dwarfs turn meaner as they age, Jinx thought and gave him a small portion of her blackberries. Fikumin scrunched his big nose, but accepted her offering. The small guy was always hungry. ¡°What happened to him?¡± Jinx asked pointing at the gloomy faced Glen sitting on his throne-like chair. ¡°We got a bird from Eikenport,¡± The dwarf explained. ¡°That was fast,¡± Jinx noted. ¡°No it wasn¡¯t,¡± Fikumin corrected her. ¡°So, good news?¡± ¡°Phon wants the port opened and Ron is feeling the pressure,¡± Fikumin elucidated. ¡°It has a cascading effect.¡± ¡°Why not use the road?¡± ¡°Too slow, but more like the situation is volatile,¡± Fikumin said. ¡°A bigger caravan is assembled anyway, but we need a port Jinx.¡± ¡°Who appointed you in charge of stuff?¡± ¡°You trust Glen to deal with this?¡± Fikumin grunted. ¡°He can barely keep himself interested for a couple of minutes.¡± ¡°How were the berries?¡± Jinx asked wrong-footing him. ¡°Decent. Are there more?¡± ¡°Plenty, you just need to gather them,¡± Jinx retorted. ¡°Same for bread and the meat you gulped down earlier. Fancy going hunting wit me?¡± Fikumin¡¯s scowl grew to epic proportions. ¡°Just be glad for the boring stuff Fiku,¡± Jinx said and jumped down from the table. ¡°Fikumin!¡± The dwarf grunted irate at her back.
¡°Well?¡± Glen asked her rapping his fingers impatiently at the armrest. ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t really read this shite,¡± Jinx admitted, staring at the tiny scribblings. ¡°Neither could I, but Metu is eagle-eyed,¡± Glen said. "Solid lad." Solid slave was his meaning. ¡°Quite well-educated I would add,¡± Jinx noted. ¡°I wasn¡¯t trying to insult you Whisper.¡± I wasn¡¯t talking about me Glen, Jinx thought with a grin. ¡°What¡¯s the other letter?¡± She asked him instead. ¡°News,¡± Glen said and puffed out suddenly looking sad. It reminded Jinx of the first time she¡¯d seen him back in Oakenfalls. But the kid had grown up in the last two years. ¡°Emerson is alive.¡± Whoa. ¡°How did he manage that?¡± She asked, not expecting it. Jinx wasn¡¯t particularly fond of the old knight, seeing as he¡¯d killed a couple of her friends, but she could understand why Glen was very close to him. ¡°Got enslaved, then won his freedom in the arena,¡± Glen replied shaking his head. ¡°I told you all, the old man is indestructible.¡± ¡°Good news,¡± Jinx said watching him. ¡°Aye, we needed that right?¡± Glen asked her. ¡°A weight off our shoulders.¡± He puffed out again, letting it all out. ¡°What is it Glen?¡± He perched himself forward, with a glance about the bare hall. ¡°Things have gotten bigger,¡± Glen whispered. ¡°They have,¡± Jinx said. ¡°But not bigger than you ruling over Altarin. You were raised for that right? I mean, there was a possibility. Isn¡¯t that how it works in your world?¡± Glen stood back and pushed his hair off his face. ¡°Ah, Whisper,¡± He said and clenched his cleft jaw. ¡°This might turn bigger than we ever thought it¡¯ll be.¡± ¡°I never thought about it Glen,¡± Jinx said. ¡°One thing at a time.¡± ¡°Sure, aye ye are right. One thing. Get the Zilan to work on something, see to open the port.¡± ¡°The port isn¡¯t important. Ron-Iv can use the road to send supplies and the land here can produce anything really.¡± ¡°Eh, the port is important, Whisper,¡± Glen replied. ¡°I won¡¯t have Sen travel through that tunnel.¡± ¡°When is Anfalon returning?¡± Jinx asked him, not wanting to press him on that. Glen was feeling lonely, she could sense it oozing out of him. ¡°Any day now. Why?¡± ¡°You need to find a way to stop them from killing each other, afore your Wyvern eats them,¡± Jinx explained. ¡°Uvrycres will not attack those that bend the knee,¡± Glen reassured her. Uh? ¡°Yer not a king Glen,¡± Jinx said. ¡°A thief won¡¯t be able to hold this together Whisper,¡± Glen replied his face dark. ¡°The Wyvern thinks so.¡± ¡°Why thief?¡± ¡°It¡¯s an expression,¡± Glen elucidated with a scowl. Right. ¡°You want to come hunting with us?¡± She asked him instead. ¡°Good grief, why would I want that?¡± Glen asked her. ¡°I¡¯m sufficiently freaked out thanks.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll travel to the statues, Nesande¡¯s Temple is right after them. It is still standing,¡± Jinx explained patiently. ¡°Hmm. Let me think about it,¡± Glen decided. ¡°Now, pray the priestess survives. I asked Soletha to help her.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t they hate each other?¡± Jinx asked genuinely curious. ¡°Fiercely, but I¡¯ll try it anyway,¡± Glen replied. ¡°Have Soren and a couple of guards in the room with her.¡± ¡°You do have a plan then?¡± Jinx asked him relieved. ¡°I do, but it might blow up in my face,¡± Glen admitted. Given his record and history, Jinx gave it fifty-fifty odds. 228. Villains, fools and fiends
Villains, the Realm¡¯s biggest fools and fiends, Lovingly joined at the hip Ever circling around. Drip¡­ drip, drip. There are shades watching ye sleep - Rogues, dark synagogues and vile priests, Rot and bones shield death¡¯s flagship Ever circling around. Drip¡­ drip, drip. Yours are the trades, thine what ye reap - The Circle Rather creepy Ancient Zilan lullaby Unknown date
Glen Mister Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Villains, fools and fiends
¡°Hale be thou, Hardir O¡¯ Fardor,¡± Soletha sang in the dialect everyone coming to contact with him was slowly adopting. A variation of the Common spoken on Jelin with lots of fancy, but needless words and the Street Imperial Glen used. She had a warm smile added to her greeting for the Nord standing next to him. ¡°Likewise Gentle Soren.¡± Glen frowned at the term, almost losing track of his thought process, but recovered quickly, being as he was under pressure. Vaelenn was running out of time, as despite patching her up, the Horselords couldn¡¯t offer her any more assistance and the priestess had lost too much blood. That she was still alive as Sam Mathews had put it, was a fuckin¡¯ miracle. He told the priestess so. In the weird multi-god pantheon of the Zilan, Soletha celebrated Aelrindel, of Edlenn. The Moon¡¯s Daughter. With Vaelenn being the Caretaker and First Priestess of Nesande¡¯s Moon Temple, the two female Zilan basically believed in the same thing. At least they used to, until a Queen had cut the Old Ways practitioners away from the priesthood. It was complicated as fuck. Soletha pressed her lips tight and crossed her arms over her chest. The Zilan, well into her fourth century, was older than Maeriel apparently, but nowhere near as old as Anfalon. Another mind-boggling weirdness. She didn¡¯t look a day over thirty five and this mostly due to the soft wrinkles around her old eyes and the darker skin there. ¡°The Wyvern did the right thing,¡± She finally said. ¡°Vaelenn deserves her fate.¡± ¡°The Wyvern left her alive and I want her saved,¡± Glen countered soberly. ¡°Give her a healing potion,¡± Soletha retorted. ¡°What we have available isn¡¯t apparently the good stuff,¡± Glen said. ¡°Everyone suggested you Soletha.¡± ¡°Vaelenn was the overseer of the Queen¡¯s laws Hardir,¡± Soletha argued. ¡°Exiled and killed many of us for centuries. We¡¯re still living outside the city.¡± ¡°There¡¯s not much city left. Trust me you¡¯ve gotten the better part of the deal,¡± Glen replied. ¡°I need you to do this Soletha.¡± ¡°Will the Old Ways be returned?¡± Oh, for crying out loud. ¡°You¡¯ve mistaken my words for a request priestess?¡± Glen asked, his tone hardening. ¡°It was only a query Hardir,¡± Soletha said with a deep bow of her head. ¡°I will do as you asked.¡± ¡°Time is of the fuckin¡¯ essence,¡± Glen growled. She grimaced and nodded for Alan Kirk, one of the two guards that had followed them from Eikenport, to lead her away. Glen frowned and signed for Enoch Bing to go after them. He started heading towards his villa at the side of the lake where they had brought Vaelenn, with Soren following after him. ¡°Lovely girl,¡± Soren commented, his red beard flowing down his chest. Glen threw him a sideways glance surprised. ¡°You know she¡¯s way older than you right?¡± Glen had no idea how old Soren was and he¡¯d never asked him, but he assumed the Northman was around thirty. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Soren asked, his eyes on the Zilan priestess walking some meters in front of them after the guards. ¡°Ah, she¡¯s like old as dirt,¡± Glen replied. ¡°Lith was old as well,¡± Soren noted. ¡°Jinx told me that.¡± ¡°Well, she wasn¡¯t as¡­ never mind just be careful,¡± Glen advised him and Soren guffawed, a pat on the shoulder almost sending a surprised Glen crashing down. He had to use some serious acrobatics to regain his footing. ¡°Wow,¡± Soren said not expecting it. ¡°Ye are not as heavy as I remembered.¡± ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake,¡± Glen cursed and glared at the smiling giant. ¡°Don¡¯t do this afore warning me. As a matter of plaguin¡¯ fact, don¡¯t do this at all.¡± ¡°Jinx does it all the time, it¡¯s a friendly tap,¡± Soren explained. ¡°See now she¡¯s lying,¡± Glen explained with a grimace of pain, as he tried to lift his numb left arm. ¡°Whisper kicks and punches to lash out, but she¡¯s small so it don¡¯t much matter.¡± ¡°Aye, that¡¯s true,¡± Soren agreed. ¡°Why be careful?¡± ¡°They use spells, or something to get what they want,¡± Glen explained to him and Soren started laughing hard, whilst raising his spade like hand for another friendly pat, but Glen moved nimbly away from him in time. ¡°There¡¯s no magic Glen,¡± Soren said shaking his head. ¡°What? Of course there is! Ye were knocked out twice since we came here for crying out loud!¡± ¡°When?¡± Soren asked nigh perturbed. Glen sighed. ¡°I guess you don¡¯t remember it.¡± ¡°Remember what?¡± Glen raised his arms high, the left still feeling sore. ¡°Let us talk of this no more,¡± He said giving up.
¡°Who burned the wound?¡± Soletha asked and Glen pointed at a scowling Tarn. The Horselord grunted. ¡°We stopped the bleeding,¡± He spat in defense of his curative practices. ¡°Good for horse and man.¡± Glen wasn¡¯t as sure about it, but kept a neutral face. ¡°You did well,¡± Soletha said and touched the Horselord¡¯s hand softly. Tarn relaxed his stance and smiled. It wasn¡¯t a pretty picture. ¡°The arm is lost forever. Her vessel will never be whole again,¡± She added looking at Glen knowingly. ¡°I don¡¯t care,¡± Glen replied. Vaelenn wasn¡¯t a horse to put her down. ¡°Will she survive?¡± ¡°The potion will help her, but she needs to feed when she wakes up,¡± Soletha explained. Ah. ¡°No,¡± Glen replied sternly. ¡°She can have soup and biscuits.¡± ¡°Then she¡¯ll be weak for a long time,¡± Soletha countered. ¡°I can live wit that. Where did you get that potion?¡± ¡°I made it Hardir, the recipe¡ª¡± Glen stopped her. ¡°Can you make more?¡± The Priestess stood back. ¡°I shall need blood and ingredients. So it will take some time.¡± ¡°What blood?¡± Glen snapped angry. ¡°My own,¡± Soletha explained with a small smile. ¡°As I said, it takes time Hardir.¡± Right. ¡°I want the road cleared,¡± Glen told her. ¡°I will send some of my people to start work in your village. I intent to make a port there, another on the west side of the peninsula.¡± ¡°The Narrow Gulf is always plagued by fog Hardir,¡± Soletha explained. ¡°It spills into our¡­ village.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll put a light on it,¡± Glen replied. ¡°You will help make it work Soletha.¡± ¡°Where will my people live then Hardir?¡± She asked him. ¡°You¡¯ve given the lake to Maeriel¡¯s strays, the city to Vaelenn. If you take the village from us and our port¡ª¡± Glen stopped her with a wave of his hand. ¡°I intent to use your port. You will not be forced out of your homes, nor will you lose access to this lake. Clear the road, improve it if you can. I will talk with Voron. Help is on the way. And Soletha,¡± He added. ¡°This is a new city, your people can come and go in here, if you behave. Strays, Queen¡¯s own and Exiles, all is welcomed in new Goras.¡± Soletha narrowed her expressive eyes and nodded. ¡°My people shall¡­ behave, Hardir O¡¯ Fardor,¡± She said satisfied.
Glen collapsed on his chair, the massive hall depressingly bare of furniture, but for the table Fikumin had appropriated and was now using. He stared at the high ceiling, painted like the night sky, the stars clearly visible and sighed. ¡°Have you been at the Springs lately?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a two days trip Garth,¡± Fikumin replied reproachfully. Not wit yer short stubby legs it ain¡¯t. ¡°Twas my meaning Fikumin. Someone needs to check on Voron.¡± ¡°Sam Mathews can handle that.¡± ¡°I just wanted a plaguin¡¯ wall built,¡± Glen complained. ¡°We don¡¯t have the manpower to undertake this kind of project.¡± ¡°He¡¯s ambitious,¡± Fikumin agreed. ¡°Very talented.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t give a dry shite. And frankly the man¡¯s an idiot. No wonder he was unemployed. When they ask you to build a wall, ye don¡¯t design a castle! Good grief,¡± Glen puffed his cheeks out frustrated. ¡°Metu!¡± He bellowed. ¡°He¡¯s helping out in the kitchen,¡± Fikumin said. ¡°I bet he does!¡± ¡°How is Vaelenn?¡± The dwarf asked him patiently. The priestess had awakened three days after Soletha had administered her ¡®potion¡¯ but hadn¡¯t uttered a single word a full week later. Given the traumatic experience, Glen wasn¡¯t certain she would. Nimra the scout for instance, had still not gotten out of his gloominess after witnessing Laedan devouring his friend. Disturbing shit can fuck people up, he decided. ¡°Same. Better hopefully,¡± He murmured and stared at the scowling dwarf. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Letting the Wyvern loose is a problem Garth.¡± ¡°Uvrycres up and flies wherever the fuck he wants. What do you want me to do about it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s your Wyvern.¡± Glen grimaced and stood up. ¡°Where are you going?¡± Fikumin asked him. ¡°I¡¯m going to talk to the Denmaster,¡± Glen growled, not likening being interrogated alike a common thug. ¡°Where will you find one?¡± The dwarf asked and put his scroll down. ¡°We have one locked upstairs,¡± Glen replied and eyed the dangerous staircase. ¡°Kirk!¡± He barked and the guard standing at the doorless entrance popped his head in. We need to fix that, Glen thought. The windows too. This can¡¯t be safe. ¡°Sire?¡± The former Raoz guard said. He was a mercenary soldier of the Gallant Dogs now. ¡°Run upstairs and bring Laedan down,¡± He ordered. Glen paused seeing the man walking briskly across the hall to fetch the prisoner and added. ¡°Watch your step Kirk. Take your time.¡± ¡°I will sire,¡± Kirk replied. ¡°Laedan?¡± Fikumin asked sounding incredulous. ¡°It came as a shock to me too,¡± Glen deadpanned.
The former thief glanced at the frowning dwarf and Fikumin grunted, reached at the table¡¯s leg and grabbed a short-shafted pickaxe. He then approached Glen, shuffling his short legs, boots thudding down, as despite appearances the dwarf was as heavy-boned as they come. ¡°Where did ye get that?¡± Glen asked. ¡°It¡¯s a tool,¡± Fikumin replied, eyeing the scarred Zilan Kirk had dropped onto Glen¡¯s fancy chair. ¡°Has Angrein found anything else in the Towers?¡± ¡°No gold,¡± Fikumin replied perceptively. Well, fuck you too. ¡°Any fancy weapons I should know about eh?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a weapon,¡± Fikumin explained showing him the pickaxe. ¡°And a tool for digging.¡± Nothing would ever be more valuable was his meaning. ¡°Blubbering buffoons,¡± Laedan spat, saliva running down the paralyzed side of his face. ¡°Small time thieves and thugs¡ª¡± Glen backhanded him without warning, snapping his head to the side and almost toppling the tied up Zilan prisoner from the chair. He was going for an ¡®Emerson sharp cuff on the ear¡¯, but gotten a lot of face there. ¡°I can put a pair of gauntlets on,¡± He warned him, rubbing at his hurting hand. ¡°Bulky metal things.¡± Laedan spat a bloody splotch between his legs and snorted. ¡°Why not kill me outright?¡± ¡°I have a hungry Wyvern,¡± Glen retorted. ¡°Have to economize on food.¡± ¡°You think that¡¯ll scare me?¡± Laedan hissed. ¡°It got yer people plenty scared,¡± Glen countered. Fikumin turned his head around and glared at Kirk standing by the entrance. ¡°Stand outside,¡± he told him. ¡°Don¡¯t let anyone in.¡± ¡°Civilians, merchants and artists,¡± Laedan said dismissively. ¡°A stray kid that lived in the woods and exiles starving for legitimacy.¡± Ah, Phina. Ye got to stop being so curious girl. ¡°Anfalon is nothing of all that,¡± Glen said, crossing his arms on his chest. Laedan grunted. ¡°A soldier will never challenge command. You tricked him.¡± ¡°It¡¯s your fucking prophecy.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t control the Wyvern,¡± Laedan argued. ¡°Hah, you are a crook, a scam artist. What happened to Vaelenn?¡± ¡°She¡¯s recovering.¡± ¡°Nonsense. How did you do it?¡± ¡°Soletha healed her blood and kept her spirit in her body,¡± Glen replied. ¡°It was more convoluted than that but I¡¯m givin¡¯ ye the abbreviated version.¡± ¡°What did you promise Soletha?¡±The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Nothing. Enough. What does it matter?¡± Glen asked. ¡°I can make it work.¡± Laedan shook his head. ¡°Vaelenn would never take them back.¡± ¡°Nobody¡¯s taking anyone, anywhere,¡± Glen spat. ¡°Vaelenn owes her life to Soletha. I will let them work it out themselves. What will she do with you though? You¡¯ve broken plenty of laws, the way I see it.¡± Laedan raised the working side of his mouth into a snarl. ¡°I don¡¯t care.¡± ¡°There are a lot of angry folk pressuring me to have you executed,¡± Glen warned him. ¡°Maybe you should do it. I deserve the punishment.¡± Hmm. ¡°You don¡¯t care about helping, yet you killed my man to avenge yer neighbor, whom you didn¡¯t like.¡± ¡°I should have killed you instead,¡± Laedan told him. ¡°For letting the Wyvern loose over Goras.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s the Wyvern now?¡± Glen had no idea. ¡°The mountains?¡± He chanced. ¡°What¡¯s in the mountains Hardir?¡± Laedan asked. ¡°What are the high places?¡± Glen licked the front of his teeth. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Aye,¡± Laedan said and set his eyes on Fikumin. ¡°You are far away from home young Folk.¡± Fikumin grunted in response. ¡°Can you help me with the Wyvern?¡± Glen asked him. ¡°Why would I do that?¡± came Laedan¡¯s response. ¡°You¡¯ve nothing to offer me.¡± ¡°I could commute your sentence,¡± Glen said. ¡°Turn me into a slave is your meaning. I knew the Queen and respected her wishes, even when she was wrong. I don¡¯t know you and I don¡¯t trust a word coming out of your mouth. Everything about you screams scoundrel and I¡¯m giving you the benefit of the doubt.¡± ¡°I can live with that, will you help?¡± Glen replied. ¡°Where did you get that dagger?¡± ¡°Found it.¡± ¡°It was in Elauthin and the golden city is no more,¡± Laedan spat. ¡°You assume it¡¯s the same.¡± ¡°Nah, you¡¯re lying. Everything will come crashing down on you,¡± Laedan rustled. ¡°Better to kill me now, than to watch you destroy what¡¯s left of our world. Have your man toss me to your Wyvern.¡± ¡°Why would he do that?¡± Aenymriel chuckled walking towards them. Glen snapped his head back, saw the two guards by the door talking and then glanced at a frowning Fikumin. That is, frowning even more than before. Laedan narrowed his working eye unsure. The Zilan wore black soft leather pants and shirt, same material fancy boots this time. Her look androgynous, but for the swelling of her small breasts and comely face. ¡°Ah, villains, fools and fiends, joined at the hip,¡± Laedan muttered what sounded like an ominous stanza and pushed back on the chair, when she stopped next to Fikumin, towering over him. The tied up Zilan looked at Glen and shook his head. ¡°What?¡± Glen asked a little weirded out with her slipping through his guards like that. He¡¯d reason to be suspicious of her since the very beginning and what had happened with Alix, but kept it to himself not to disturb the others. ¡°I can kill you right here and move on.¡± ¡°You could,¡± Laedan said, but he was more guarded now. ¡°Better do it right away.¡± ¡°Or he could send you in the circle,¡± Aenymriel said with a toothy unnerving grin. ¡°So you can die a tiny bit every day. Drip by drip, your soul eaten away. Some lasted decades.¡± Uh? ¡°Where¡¯s that¡ª?¡± ¡°The Wyvern needs a nest built,¡± Laedan croaked, cutting him off. Right. Glen opened his mouth to ask if a house would suffice, but Laedan continued seemingly very motivated all of sudden. ¡°A high rise, where no one ventures near. Somewhere to make more.¡± ¡°More of what?¡± Glen asked his mouth dry. He felt soft breath on his ear, smelled sandalwood and glanced sideways at Aenymriel, but the female Zilan was staring at Laedan with her indigo eyes dilated, pleased as a cat that had just cornered a fat canary. Laedan looked like he¡¯d aged a couple of decades in a couple of moments. ¡°A Wyvern shouldn¡¯t be allowed to reign alone Hardir,¡± The Denmaster replied hoarsely. ¡°Absolute power, corrupts absolutely.¡±
Glen stared at the rows upon rows of Zilan coming down the ancient Imperial road. Anfalon¡¯s strays were more than a hundred after all. At least a couple of thousand had followed the Imperial Hoplite on the return trip, several young kids amongst them. Families and solitary semi-wild creatures that had come out of the woods. Everyone coming to new Goras to see the ¡®Tamer of Monsters¡¯ in the flesh and gaze at his Wyvern. Behind him Voron and his group of artisans were mapping the ground, marked the trees to be cut despite the resistance from Soletha and her people. More and more opted to help carry the material up the slopes and at the edge of the plateau overlooking the lake. Glen had made one addition to Voron¡¯s quite detailed drawings. It wasn¡¯t a drawing since Glen couldn¡¯t draw to save his life but a request. He wanted a square tower built at the center of the large castle, shaped like a scaled-pyramid, Voron had set out to raise. Right at its top and above everything else. A hollow structure with high walls that offered absolutely nothing to them and it wasn¡¯t supposed to.
In that fortified space sweet Uvrycres was to stay after it was finished. Master Voron wanted to create the cranes and machines afore starting construction and in this timeline, the Wyvern¡¯s Tower would be the last thing built on what was to become ¡®Morn Taras¡¯ in the old court Imperial. The Tenebrous Castle grounds. Voron thought it would take him five years to finish using three thousand workers and artisans. Six months in, the workers had swollen to ten thousand, especially after the first ships started arriving at the expanding docks at Sinya Goras, bringing in people and loading tons upon tons of excellent quality timber to bring back to Eikenport. The ancient port city decades after its rebuilding efforts had started was suddenly flooded with materials coming from the nearby sea route, without having to cross the Great Desert. The trickle turned into a deluge. The castle of Dia that had been cut off from the rest of Eplas saw numerous caravans coming down the ever expanding jungle road from Merchant¡¯s Triage and was able to breathe again. Once the word was out that you could travel to Wetull, it was impossible to keep people out. Adventurers and guards were needed to work the dangerous caravan route. Ships and sailors to sail the sea route. Unemployed workers, refugees from the ravaged mainland and slave merchants, suddenly found employment and opportunities. A mysterious figure had risen out of the ruins was the word. Either a Zilan, a man, or even a half-breed, nobody knew for sure but some called him Hardir O¡¯ Fardor. He had many names. Hardir wanted to build a New Goras out of the carcass of the old. A city beyond the Pale Mountains, deep into the ancient jungles and the relics of the old Empire.
Phina squeaked delighted and sprinted the remained distance to embrace a smiling and quite tanned Lymsiel. The two former strays touched their foreheads holding hands for a moment before the large crowd of onlookers. Phina then turned around all flushed and attempted to hug the taller Anfalon, but the Hoplite pushed an arm out and stopped her. Despite her efforts to push through she failed and Anfalon removed his helm, then patted her head a couple of times to calm her down. ¡°Hardir,¡± Anfalon said, staring at the worker crews Voron had set up. ¡°You are building a wall.¡± ¡°The old one was a ruin,¡± Glen replied. ¡°That¡¯s a lot you brought with you.¡± ¡°People saw the Wyvern,¡± Anfalon explained. ¡°When I arrived, I realized I couldn¡¯t turn them away.¡± ¡°How do we feed them?¡± Anfalon frowned. ¡°They can feed themselves plenty well on their own.¡± Glen couldn¡¯t, not that well, or at all. His stomach protested as if on cue. ¡°Can I trust them to not create problems and stay near the lake?¡± He said after clearing his throat to mask the sound. ¡°Maeriel shall take care of that, or Sylvar,¡± He pointed at an unassuming poorly dressed Zilan with terrified eyes. Glen stared at Phina and the girl stepped forward and gave him an orange-colored oval-shaped fruit that looked a lot but wasn¡¯t an orange. ¡°Ahm,¡± Glen said taken by surprise. ¡°Fine. We need the men to help out.¡± ¡°Plenty of females can help as well Hardir,¡± Anfalon grunted. Glen blinked, but kept his composure. ¡°Sure. Have them report to Voron. I hope they can swing a pickaxe.¡± ¡°Lyceron,¡± Anfalon barked and a tall wiry Zilan stepped forward. ¡°This clueless fool asked to become a Hoplite Hardir.¡± ¡°Uhm,¡± Glen nodded unsure how to handle this. ¡°Even if there was a modicum of skill present he can¡¯t, since there¡¯s no command anymore and the unit has disbanded,¡± Anfalon explained to him, getting visibly frustrated. ¡°Diryel, Zamylon, Phivaris!¡± He barked and a female and two males stepped forward as well. ¡°They want the same thing.¡± Glen stared at the pretty Zilan with the short tunic. Diryel raised a cobalt-purple brow and grinned, until Anfalon¡¯s mighty yap put a stop to that. ¡°DIRYEL! Behave yourself!¡± ¡°Apologies,¡± She quickly muttered, her large sage and silvery eyes blinking once chastised. ¡°I want none of that foolishness. That¡¯s strike number two girl!¡± Right. ¡°Ahm,¡± Glen said and Anfalon whipped his head on him. ¡°Yes Hardir?¡± ¡°Are they any good?¡± ¡°No. They are not.¡± ¡°Can you expand on that some?¡± Glen probed with a nervous smile. Anfalon thought about it some. ¡°No. I cannot.¡± ¡°Can they learn?¡± Glen asked going another way. ¡°Only rocks remain unchanged through life Hardir,¡± The Hoplite spat and eyed the approaching Voron. ¡°And some people.¡± ¡°What do they need?¡± Anfalon stood back. ¡°You¡¯ll start giving out professions Hardir? You¡¯ll need a system for that and teachers willing to waste their time on them!¡± ¡°To those talented enough, or willing to work at it yes. A system can be put in place Anfalon.¡± ¡°These are strays,¡± Anfalon argued and Glen looked at the crowd gathered around them, but keeping a respectful distance whilst they talked. ¡°Not anymore,¡± Glen said, his voice rising to cover the noise coming from the field workshops. ¡°I welcome you to Goras. Consider yourselves citizens henceforth. You¡¯ll be judged by yer personal skills here and not your lineage. Respect me and mine that is all I ask of you. Do not betray my trust and Hardir shall always take care of you.¡± The crowd murmured and Lymsiel touched Sylvar¡¯s arm to snap him out of his reverie. The Zilan recovered with a frown and immediately kneeled, everyone following his example soon after. Glen took the opportunity to take a large bite out of Phina¡¯s gift, teeth tearing at the soft flesh of the fruit. ¡°Eh,¡± Voron said standing next to him, hands clasped behind his back, looking smug and troubled at the same time. ¡°We are going to need more tools sire.¡± Glen nodded his mouth packed with flavorful fruit, some spillage running down the corners of his lips.
A month later
Fikumin stopped reading and glared at him. Glen had pushed the dwarf¡¯s scrolls aside and was digging into his steak with enthusiasm. Metu standing next to him, to refill his goblet with wine. ¡°We have to find another table,¡± Glen said, between bites. ¡°This is ridiculous.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a great demand master Garth,¡± Metu explained. ¡°You could order a search and strip some from the nearby villas.¡± ¡°That sounds a lot like stealing,¡± Glen noticed, not necessarily against the idea. ¡°It¡¯s your lands sire.¡± Yeah. ¡°Anfalon wants a field cleared of trees next to the lake,¡± Fikumin grunted always angry about something or other. ¡°Maeriel asks you to force Angrein to work on leather armour as well.¡± ¡°Ah, sure. Why don¡¯t you do it?¡± ¡°Angrein¡¯s workshop has orders from Anfalon pending and he refused to even consider the request.¡± ¡°Can someone else take that on? Why does Maeriel want a new armour? She looks fine in it and in that vein, I should get one first since I¡¯ve ruined the one I have.¡± ¡°It¡¯s for Elaniel her student.¡± ¡°Right. Well, it¡¯s one set, can¡¯t she work without it?¡± ¡°She can¡¯t hunt in her tunic. It¡¯s dangerous.¡± ¡°Come on now, she¡¯s exaggerating dwarf. I suspect they¡¯re fucking more than hunting most of the time.¡± ¡°A student is forbidden to have an affair with his teacher and Maeriel is with Jinx. You know that. It¡¯s customary for a Ranger, or any student to receive his first set of weapons when they graduate Garth.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s paying for that?¡± Glen probed washing his mouth with the wine. ¡°Their service will pay for it,¡± Fikumin explained. ¡°Is she ready?¡± ¡°Garth this needs addressing.¡± ¡°Give me a solution dwarf, you are good at this,¡± Glen groaned in frustration. ¡°Vycaris petitioned to move his workshop here.¡± ¡°Vaelenn is okay with it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a matter of demand, not much use for his skills in the old city.¡± ¡°There you have it then,¡± Glen decided. ¡°Get on top of this Fikumin.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t expect me to tackle everything by myself!¡± ¡°Get an assistant,¡± Glen suggested. ¡°Phina is a curious lass. Always willing to help.¡± ¡°What are you going to do?¡± The dwarf asked him scowling, his long beard dancing under his chin. ¡°Was thinking of checking the old city some,¡± Glen admitted. ¡°It¡¯s pretty boring around here.¡± ¡°How about working a bit then?¡± ¡°Friend, yer humor is getting worse by the day,¡± Glen warned him. ¡°You are needed here Garth.¡± Glen puffed his cheeks out and stared at the bare hall. ¡°Metu, are there any furniture about?¡± ¡°Ehm, the moment carpenters arrive I shall place an order, but I expect master Ron-Iv will have the ship loaded.¡± Hopefully not wit pillows. ¡°Will they make it through the fog?¡± Glen asked. ¡°They will look for the light,¡± Metu explained. ¡°Cut west before the Talons.¡± ¡°Good, good,¡± Glen nodded with his head. ¡°Any problems?¡± ¡°You need to talk to Voron,¡± Fikumin reminded him. ¡°Keep the children from the heavier jobs. He¡¯s a callous, thick-skinned buffoon that cares only for his building.¡± Yep, Glen had him figured out since the start. ¡°He does that eh?¡± Glen sighed. ¡°I¡¯ll talk wit him.¡± The former thief pushed himself up and stared at the mess he¡¯d made on the table. He eyed Metu and the slave gave him a reassuring smile, so Glen nodded relieved he¡¯d taken care of that too and went to find his horse.
The hooded skinny, hard-faced Zilan was wrapped in a black cloak, but Glen caught a glimpse of that expensive black leather armour underneath it. If he didn¡¯t know better Glen would have thought the stranger was waiting for him at the entrance of the spacious building they had turned into stables. ¡°Do I know you?¡± Glen asked him, noticing the harness and the blades the male Zilan carried on him. ¡°We¡¯ve never met Hardir,¡± The Zilan replied with that singing accent of the Old Tongue, his mouth shaded by the hood. ¡°But our paths have crossed.¡± Glen was pretty sure they hadn¡¯t. ¡°Is that yer horse?¡± He asked pointing at a worn out mount next to Outlaw. ¡°You don¡¯t truly own animals Hardir.¡± Ah. Another philosopher, part-timing as a killer. ¡°You¡¯re waiting for me?¡± ¡°I was asked to report to you.¡± ¡°Who asked you?¡± Glen probed looking about them, his hand on the pommel of his sword. ¡°There is no need for that,¡± The stranger said. ¡°She will explain.¡± Glen frowned, smelled sandalwood again and glanced sideways alarmed. Sure enough Aenymriel was standing there, her eyes gleaming in the shade coming from the large building. ¡°Dear Din,¡± She whispered and her voice traveled inside the stables, disturbing the animals. ¡°What news of Abarat?¡± Each word sounding different, as if coming from another person. ¡°Lord Rothomir knows mistress,¡± Din replied and Glen felt a vein throbbing on his left temple. ¡°I couldn¡¯t find the messenger.¡± ¡°Pelleas survived?¡± Aenymriel asked casually, her eyes on a frowning Glen that had turned to glare at her. ¡°Not for long, if you wish it.¡± ¡°Does Hardir wish it?¡± She asked him with an unsettling chuckle and Glen¡¯s mind jumped to the recent past.
¡°We¡¯re explorers,¡± Glen said quickly, a merchant¡¯s smile on his lips. ¡°Killing a Zilan on Imperial ground is a capital offense,¡± The warrior continued disregarding his words. ¡°What is your plea?¡± ¡°He was a murderer,¡± Flix said and walked next to Glen. ¡°On your word Gish? Who granted you right to be an executioner?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a member of the Circle,¡± Flix explained. ¡°Which makes you a murderer and a deceiver by trade. Is this Nym¡¯s doing?¡±
¡°Be mindful of the shades,¡± was Flix¡¯s final warning some time later, face hidden under the veil of his hat. ¡°And when you hear of the last King¡¯s fate, ask what happened to Elas sister.¡±
¡°How did the old King die?¡± Glen asked and Aenymriel narrowed her exotic eyes a little surprised. ¡°The king was murdered by his jealous wife. She then killed herself,¡± She replied. ¡°Almost a thousand years ago.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the real story?¡± ¡°This was a loving couple of three.¡± Glen frowned not sure what she meant. ¡°Ah, the old sentimental Gish,¡± Aenymriel purred as if she could read his thoughts. She was still chuckling elated. ¡°I could forgive him that, I suppose. Or perhaps I shouldn¡¯t. Hmm.¡± Nothing but a moniker. ¡°Nym,¡± Glen murmured and eyed the silent watching them Din. ¡°Glen,¡± Nym taunted still smiling. Fucking conniving bitch. ¡°How soon can we expect this Rothomir dude?¡± Glen grunted, not wanting to risk a confrontation if it was possible. ¡°He¡¯ll try to learn more, but he won¡¯t move immediately,¡± Nym replied. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°You have a Wyvern,¡± She said simply. ¡°For now.¡± ¡°Is that a plaguin¡¯ threat?¡± Glen growled, knowing they had him sort of cornered in the stables. Nym sighed and pursed her lips. ¡°Time won¡¯t always be on your side Hardir,¡± She finally said. ¡°If you die today let¡¯s say, or on the morrow. The Wyvern will continue without your guidance. This is the worst scenario. We must avoid it whatever the cost.¡± ¡°What had Laedan spooked?¡± Glen asked. ¡°What¡¯s the¡ª?¡± ¡°Leave the past and look to the future,¡± She said cutting him afore he could finish. ¡°It was thought impossible you¡¯d make it here, but you did.¡± ¡°I had help,¡± Glen replied and stood back. ¡°Friends.¡± ¡°Then your friends are in danger as well,¡± Nym replied, chilling his blood. ¡°Din will remain close to you. He has no tongue, but you¡¯ll hear him if it¡¯s needed.¡± It took Glen a moment to figure out what she meant. ¡°What about you?¡± He croaked and Nym chuckled, her voice that of a small child, not sound of mind. ¡°This was fun,¡± she said and a shadow started coiling at her feet, a part of it pooling like black oil under her boots. She sunk in it abruptly and Glen recoiled with a gasp. One moment Nym was standing in front of him and the next she had melted away.
He had many names and a design no one could even fathom back then. Be it chance, skill, or divine intervention no other man could do it. It was because he was so relatable and unassuming that made him so popular. Anything that worked, he would use. No shame, or standing, no race, or caste mattered to his eyes. All you have to do was bend the knee and walk the roads he carved out of the jungle. He talked of a port in those days, but made two of them inside a year. He spoke of a city at the start and the one that would rule over it. Complained about the lack of simple things like furniture and cheese. Used a plain old chair for a throne in the beginning, but all of us could see there was a king sitting on it. Phinariel, the Boorish Poet, Royal Scribe, Member of the Queen¡¯s Council in King¡¯s Anabasis (Sinya Goras) Chapter I (Hardir O¡¯ Fardor) -Arguen Garth, O¡¯ Nielek Aniculo- Celebrated in the Austere Cofol of the Four Old Sisters as, Noble Ruler, of Onyx Wyvern. Referred to as, Ruthless Monarch of Tenebrous Castle, in both Jelin & Eplas, But commonly known as the King beyond the Pale Mountains.) - Entered into the Royal Library, In 210 NC, Circa 3416 IC ¨Cconsolidated- (3rd Era)
229. Oras Hells in witch’s visions
I¡¯m the Phalanx. - Roran, of Saeveril Imperial Officer, Second Main Othrim*, replying to Anfalon, of Orloriel, First of the Hallowed**, Lord Superior of the Imperial Phalanx, During the Battle of Serpent¡¯s Canal, near Teleniel Bridge¡¯s ruins. Last month of 191 or early 192 NC
*Othrim/ Band (Unit) Military subdivision of the Zilan Imperial Phalanx Constantly numbering five hundred Hoplites **Hallowed Othrim Elite unit of the Zilan Imperial Phalanx And the King/Queen¡¯s bodyguards when on campaign Constantly numbering a hundred and fifty Hoplites (Wyvern engraved head with horns on the cuirass and Aspis)
Roran, of Saeveril Oras Hells in witch¡¯s visions
The black and gold banners of the Imperial Phalanx were billowing amidst the smoke clouds, the ground still burning at spots. All four Main Othrim had started retreating to the galleons ten kilometers to the east and moored at Last Port. The army was going back to protect Cydonia Cazan abandoning Sibara and the Plague Isles. The Aken had landed at Cyran, turning this front into a colossal distraction. Civilians were hurrying to escape towards the port as well, everything else left to its fate. Roran swung his helmed head forward where the rearguard was trying to hold the horde from breaking through. The Hallowed Othrim led by the Lord Superior were cornered between the walls of the burning Sibara and the army of the Constructs. They had held long enough for most of the expeditionary force to pull away to safety, but the King wanted the Young Othrim to make every effort to help them disengage as well. Rumor was he¡¯d almost lost his wyvern in last night¡¯s battle. ¡°Oras Hells in witch¡¯s visions,¡± Theodas cursed, eyes gleaming behind his new hoplite helm. ¡°Everything is on fire!¡± Yeah it is, Roran thought as the column came to a stop behind the engaged shieldwall of the Hallowed. An officer looked back and saw them setting up, so he ordered his last line of hoplites to get out of the line, his voice lost in the cacophony of battle and the loud crackling of the collapsing buildings further inside the city. The Hoplites came running towards them, gleaming black panoply and shields with the Red Wyvern¡¯s head prominently displayed, several of them sporting bleeding injuries. Then the next row pulled back through their lines and the one after that. Then the dead came. ¡°SHIELDS!¡± Onas of Lyriel bellowed, the sound of the attacking horde otherworldly. Some looked like humans, or Zilan. Some appeared normal, warriors carrying a variety of weapons and armour, others were tall as giants and some were hideously deformed sporting more arms and even several heads. Roran wasn¡¯t prepared for this.
The giant took a spear in the face, steel tip destroying his right cheek and teeth. He flinched and stumbled back, got another spear thrust to the ribs and retaliated swinging the two meters long ironwood club, weighing a hundred kilos at least, killing three hoplites at once. The whole line disintegrating as the Constructs poured through the opening. Damnation. Roran chopped an arm away with his front-curved Kopis, only to find himself defending against the other three arms using his round Aspis, a shield with half-circle cuts on the upper and lower portion for his spear. The latter he¡¯d used earlier and the Construct had it still in him. Madness. He parried a sword away and blocked another, his sandals slipping in the sludge. The third sword clanging on his helm and dropping him on his knees. Roran growled grinding his teeth, his neck-muscles burning and ears ringing. The soulless automaton came at him again, one eye black, the other blue. His torso elongated to accommodate the two extra arms, the shape grotesque and callous. The Aken could create stunning animated art out of dead flesh, but they rarely did. They mostly went for expediency. Roran stumbled back trying to defend himself, right arm bleeding below the elbow, skin and flesh flapping over the exposed wound and blood trickling down his brow. The Construct warrior kicked his shield and got his opening. He used one of his swords to block his blade and tried to finish him off with the other two. He failed. His whole body turned into a block of clay, the fires ranging not that far away from them drying it up quickly. Cracks appeared, parts of him falling off and then the whole thing crumbled down to an amorphous pile, with only his blades and armour remaining. Whoa. The dead lay broken and despite their enormous casualties the Young Othrim had made it. Roran turned his head around and stared at the young sorceress with the large purple eyes and blue robes. Despite the dark circles on her face, she looked absolutely divine and out of place. ¡°Gratitude,¡± He croaked. ¡°You saved my life. I¡¯m Roran, of Saeveril.¡± ¡°I know,¡± The young beauty replied, her long hair blowing in the breeze created by the firestorm. ¡°I¡¯m Rinariel, of Edlenn. Will you be alright?¡± ¡°Aye, I need no healing,¡± He mumbled, hoplites around him, crying, puking or congratulating each other still shell-shocked. Half their force gone in ten short minutes. ¡°Where are you going?¡± Rinariel pointed at the walls of the inferno that used to be Sibara.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. ¡°What¡¯s in there?¡± Roran croaked incredulous. ¡°Anfalon¡¯s group tried to stop him but failed, so the High Priestess had to intervene. He must not be allowed to reach the fleet,¡± Her mother, Roran thought, finally connecting the dots. Praise the Goddess. ¡°She needs my help.¡± ¡°To stop the Wyvern.¡± Rinariel frowned, plenty of fear into her expressive eyes. ¡°Stop the Wyvern,¡± She whispered. Roran nodded in understanding and she reached to touch his hurt arm. Her fingers burning the ache away. For a moment, amidst the dead constructs and his slain brethren, Roran felt safe and loved. Nourished and clean as if was standing inside the Eternal Springs waters and not in a infernal battlefield. Rinariel then turned with a shy smile and glided away. She was soon lost inside the black smokes and putrid clouds. The young sorceress never made it out of the city.
¡°Roran,¡± a familiar voice said and he opened his eyes. He stared at Theodas¡¯ ancient hoplite helm for a while in reverential silence. He¡¯d set it up on his armoured chest whilst resting. The old steel carrying the nicks and cuts of centuries of battles, well after his original owner had perished. Here¡¯s your panoply, was written over the entrance of the campus. You are the Phalanx hoplite and the Phalanx is in you. ¡°It¡¯s time sire,¡± Ulovir said respectfully. ¡°Is Lord Rothomir here?¡± He asked getting up. ¡°Vulas informed us,¡± Ulovir replied crooking his mouth. ¡°He sent a runner.¡± ¡°Lots of them in his Guards,¡± Roran commented dryly. ¡°Indeed,¡± Ulovir agreed and gave him his flask to wash his mouth. ¡°Paeris is here as well and Darunia with her mother.¡± ¡°One tenth of the Favored Council,¡± Roran said mockingly and smacked his lips. ¡°What¡¯s left isn¡¯t much better than what was lost.¡± ¡°Aye,¡± Roran agreed in turn. ¡°The best always die first.¡±
¡°Ah, Roran,¡± Lord Rothomir said seeing them enter the long narrow hall, the twenty high-back chairs representing the leaders of the Favored arranged in a semi-circle only partially occupied. The Lord of Abarat Fort facing them. Of course the Fort was a couple of kilometers to the east and this was the ancient walled king¡¯s estate overlooking Elas Bridge, the narrow land-bridge across the Great Acid Lake leading to Nesande¡¯s Garden. ¡°I heard you returned from the coast. What news of Cydonia Cazan?¡± Paeris turned his handsome head his way, his expression dispassionate. Darunia and Olonelis appeared annoyed with his presence, but Onas his old commander in the Young Othrim, the five hundred strong recruiting unit of the Imperial Phalanx, greeted him with a slight nod of his head. Onas was missing an eye, but his aura was strong still and unruffled. Vulas, the commander of the Abarat standing guard appeared stressed in comparison. ¡°If one stands at the edge of the broken earth and stares beyond Nuala¡¯s Quiver, he would see three of the Six Peaks rising over the torrid waters. Cyran, the Rock and the lights of Isildor. Cydonia though is still under the waters,¡± Roran said evenly. ¡°What of ships?¡± Rothomir asked, tall and clad in rich red robes, his dark cobalt beard neatly trimmed. ¡°No ships in the sea,¡± Roran replied. ¡°We would need docks built to attempt to cross.¡± ¡°And ships,¡± Olonelis said, the Elderblood pursing her lips. ¡°You will have us return to the shores Roran?¡± ¡°The volcanoes are spent Olonelis,¡± Roran replied. ¡°The tremors long stopped and the land has healed itself. You would have us stay in our shelters for another century?¡± Lord Rothomir raised his right hand. ¡°Roran that¡¯s enough. I appreciate taking the risk and your report, but we can¡¯t invest manpower and time in your expeditions. Commander?¡± Vulas cleared his throat and stepped forward. He was standing next to Rothomir. ¡°Pelleas was driven out of Goras,¡± Vulas started, glancing at a couple of scrolls he held in his right hand. ¡°The Exiles are in control of the ruins.¡± Darunia gasped in shock putting both hands on her pretty face. ¡°How did he manage that?¡± Onas asked, casually lighting an engraved long pipe and inhaling the aromatic smoke. ¡°The bards beat him upside the head with their lutes?¡± ¡°They have stronger magic,¡± Lord Rothomir hissed. ¡°Nonsense,¡± Onas countered, Rothomir narrowing his eyes at the insult. ¡°The Sorceress will never return to Wetull, nor will she bother with Pelleas. If she lives still. As for Soletha she is a healer. Pelleas is a pagan and a buffoon to boot. Therein hides your culprit!¡± ¡°What was Pelleas doing in Goras?¡± Roran asked intrigued. The Veils of Nether were a minor cult living on a mountain well outside what had been the outer walls of the capital. ¡°Cleansing the land,¡± Rothomir spat with a grimace. ¡°We needed his warriors.¡± ¡°They are a cult of fanatics Lord Rothomir,¡± Roran said. ¡°Are we to abandon Queen¡¯s law?¡± ¡°The Queen had him sentenced to death.¡± Rothomir stood back not likening Roran pointing out that the reason he was after the exiles was to strengthen his legitimacy by weaning out the opposition. A lot of important bloodlines had followed Edlenn¡¯s younger daughter in exile, none more prominent than the Sorceress herself. While the late High Priestess had returned a shell of herself from the Plague Isles and became the soon to be young Queen¡¯s biggest adversary -until her own untimely demise, the Zilan remembered. Lord Rothomir had a very weak claim on the gilded throne. Politics surviving annihilation and the empire¡¯s demise itself, was irony not lost on Roran. ¡°Pelleas has been absolved and returned into the fold, whilst the exiles are still eating one another Hoplite,¡± Lord Rothomir finally said. ¡°Still clinging to their search of a greater spell, the next big Gift. Look where that brought us.¡± Exploding lava has brought us here, Roran thought, endless schemes and infighting. ¡°Pelleas failing to defeat a bunch of artisans and healers is shocking,¡± Onas insisted. ¡°Didn¡¯t he control that Hydra?¡± ¡°Vemoro stayed on Snake Mountain, but Pelleas had brought its mate into the city,¡± Vulas explained. ¡°And still lost!¡± Onas grunted and sucked at his pipe furious. ¡°He claims a Wyvern killed the Hydra,¡± Vulas continued and Roran stared at him intrigued. ¡°Burned everything.¡± What? ¡°A wild one?¡± Onas probed sitting up straighter. ¡°A Sinya Nore brought it with him from Eplas,¡± Vulas replied and the silence that filled the hall momentarily came undone by Olonelis who exploded in laughter. ¡°Hahaha!¡± Lord Rothomir combed his beard with a ring adorned hand silently watching their reaction. Roran realized he already knew about the missive. ¡°Hardir O¡¯ Fardor?¡± Onas queried, glancing at him. Roran smacked his lips, but said nothing. ¡°A human,¡± Olonelis snapped. ¡°Are you serious old bones?¡± She admonished the old officer, although she was as old as Onas was. Her daughter had turned pale and Lord Rothomir was staring at him intently. ¡°Pelleas wouldn¡¯t lie about that, but don¡¯t you need a wyvern¡¯s magic to hatch an egg? Where would a human find one? How would he know? The wyverns died out, right? We didn¡¯t find any bones, or eggs. The Den lay empty,¡± Onas insisted. ¡°That¡¯s probably that crazy bitch¡¯s doing!¡± Lord Rothomir growled. ¡°You assume the Circle survived,¡± Onas argued. ¡°Even with their bones, no human, or Zilan can quicken an egg without knowledge, or another wyvern¡¯s help,¡± Olonelis blasted him irate and Darunia started shaking panicked. What are you doing in the Council lass? Roran thought and a memory surfaced in his mind, a breeze of air from a door he¡¯d cracked open earlier. You better leave the past lay undisturbed, else it¡¯ll come back to haunt the present.
¡°GET EVERYONE AWAY!¡± Theodas bellowed veins popping on his neck and then the wall exploded outwards, red melting boulders and iron splinters from the reinforced walls raining over them. As small as nails and as long as scorching hot spears. Theodas gasped and dropped to his knees, a three meter rod piecing the hoplite right through his torso, his helm rolling on the debris covered ground and stopping in front of a stupefied Roran¡¯s feet. A horrifying screech rang down the blazing roads of Sibara, now visible through the chasm the explosion had created to the city¡¯s walls. Roran stumbled upright, his legs shaking and his body battered from the debris. His eyes caught the first fireball tearing at the smoking clouds traveling upwards. As large as a four wheeled wagon. Another one right after and a third. The air crackling and turning dry, the earth twisting and sinking under his feet, the earthquake making large cracks appear on the ground, ever growing and his very skin blistering, being as he was so near to powerful spells fired at rapid succession to the heavens. The sorceresses were killing everything in a great radius to keep themselves and their magic going. ¡°RORAN, FOR CRYIN¡¯ OUT LOUD! LEAVE HIM SON!¡± Onas barked at the top of his lungs standing two hundred meters away and waving his arms like mad. ¡°ROOTS ARE DEAD UNDERNEATH, THE SOIL IS GONNA CAVE!¡± Roran groaned in agony and angst, grabbed the burning Theodas hoplite¡¯s helm as he¡¯d lost his own, but barely made it two steps before going down. He stood up grinding his teeth, explosions rattling the city to its foundations. Burning buildings started coming down, the great Dome collapsing kilometers away, the sound reaching him a wraithlike rumpus, just as the sun disappeared in the blink of an eye. Oras horn coming out of a dungeon. RRREEEEEEHHH Roran went down again panicked, blood and dirt in his mouth and rolled on the smoking ground suddenly in the blind and in the dark. Every inch of the sky had turned into an onyx black it seemed. Desolation. Divine retribution. ¡°Oras Hells in witch¡¯s visions,¡± he muttered watching the gargantuan blazing Wyvern fly over him.
¡°What kind of Wyvern?¡± Roran croaked and Onas frowned, his washed out thick azure brows connecting in the middle of his forehead, fully alarmed. Vulas, of Nortoris rubbed his face, checked on the scowling Lord Rothomir again and told him. 230. Don’t go there
Aelrindel, of Edlenn Lady Lenar, Moon of Dan, ''Nesande¡¯s Shade Moon'' Daughter Don¡¯t go there
Altered cadaver, bears no gifts. The grey and white Osprey ruffled its feathers, large yellow eyes turning to the south. It opened its black beak wide, but despite putting the effort in didn¡¯t make another sound. What do you mean? Aelrindel asked looking its way. What are you doing here silly bird? The sea-hawk blinked, dark wings pressed on its scrawny body resenting the affront. He¡¯s coming, it told her in the ¡®voiceless tongue¡¯ and flew away. Aelrindel narrowed her eyes alarmed, but Lithoniela¡¯s chuckle rang down the row of caravan¡¯s wagons whisking her attention away. ¡°The cat?¡± A guard asked appearing perturbed. ¡°You think that mule talks?¡± Melon admonished him looking up annoyed. ¡°The dude is a fucking idiot!¡± ¡°Hahaha!¡± The other guard guffawed, thrilled at the perceived ¡®trick¡¯. ¡°Right,¡± the first one said. ¡°That¡¯s a neat one, I give ye that. You lassies are in a troupe, or something?¡± ¡°Yes. We are touring the Realm,¡± Zilyana replied keeping a straight face. ¡°This lovely lady plays the Imperial princess twice a week. I¡¯m her knight. Do you boys want to see my armour?¡± Seriously? ¡°Didn¡¯t know we had one of those,¡± The caravan guard admitted and stared at the chuckling Lithoniela. ¡°Are you girls going to Sadofort?¡± ¡°We will stay at the Queen¡¯s Oasis and then return to Rida,¡± Zilyana explained and Aelrindel forced herself up with an angry hiss. Leaving the cool shade wasn¡¯t in her intentions. Faelar and the Cofol soldiers that had escorted them in their trip, were talking with the caravan leader twenty meters away. ¡°There¡¯s a campaign in progress,¡± The hired guard warned them. ¡°But no one knows who is winning, or not. Stay in the palm trees lassies.¡± ¡°Gratitude for the advice,¡± Aelrindel said approaching, after first muting Melon. The cat started running around chasing his tail and rolling in the sands as if he¡¯d gone completely insane. ¡°We have our own campfire all set up,¡± This she addressed to the two Zilan knowingly. ¡°We are going to the lake next,¡± Zilyana told her and Aelrindel breathed once sharply, pausing to glare at the shamelessly gawking at her breasts guard. Then again it is a sheer robe this, Aelrindel yielded in the man¡¯s defense. The desert heat atrocious and he¡¯s standing afore a goddess. It¡¯s to be expected. ¡°Ma¡¯am,¡± The Cofol said with a head nod and followed his friend back towards their tents. ¡°He was very aroused,¡± Lithoniela noticed evenly. ¡°Rock solid,¡± Zilyana agreed, skin gleaming on purpose. Aelrindel rolled her eyes and let out a small groan of despair. ¡°Shit,¡± Melon was heard saying, sounding worried. ¡°Swallowed somethin¡¯ but it¡¯s still moving! That¡¯s too many legs,¡± Adding a moment later, fully panicked. ¡°Get it out of me for fuck¡¯s sake! HELP!¡±
¡°The Princess is lively,¡± Faelar commented dryly an hour later. The sun still hadn¡¯t set over the oasis. The lake¡¯s waters cool where the small river emptied itself inside and stirring. The trees and nature beaming in the fading light. ¡°Slowly getting out of her shell,¡± Aelrindel replied and washed her face with a wet cloth slowly. ¡°What news of Ralnor?¡± ¡°Nothing.¡± ¡°Has the Prince reached Altarin?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a slow moving host,¡± Faelar said. Right. ¡°Is Sadofort under the Khan¡¯s control yet?¡± ¡°Prince Nout¡¯s forces are ten kilometers to the west,¡± Faelar replied and snapped his head hearing a branch break. ¡°Well outside the walls.¡± No it is not, she translated. ¡°What¡¯s taking them so long?¡± She blurted out, before she¡¯d time to stop herself. ¡°Just give me a simple reason,¡± Aelrindel added quickly. ¡°Nothing simple to it, but I can elucidate. The desert is naturally flat, open terrain. The force behind the walls holds every advantage, but for the numbers,¡± Faelar explained almost ready to launch another lengthy diatribe on siege warfare. Just kill me now with all this. It¡¯s dreadfully boring Faelar. Please stop. ¡°I¡¯ll try the waters,¡± Aelrindel said clearing her throat and stared at the former Imperial Rangers commander to give him a hint that she needed a little privacy. ¡°Have you taken a lover yet?¡± Faelar asked, showing no intention of leaving. ¡°Ahm, no I haven¡¯t,¡± She replied, her species bluntness something she¡¯d grown unaccustomed to after living in the Prince¡¯s court for so many years. ¡°How about the Princess?¡± Faelar continued ever persistent. ¡°I¡¯ve been appraised that there is talk in Dan,¡± He added. ¡°And I imagine suitors for both of you will soon arrive. I put forward myself of course, citing several centuries of service to both King and Queen.¡± And several centuries of treason and defiance to the latter¡¯s laws, she thought. Aelrindel licked her lips in awkward silence. ¡°You are not of sufficiently good stock to mate with the Princess Faelar, or myself for that matter.¡± How do you like my candor you plebeian bully? ¡°I don¡¯t care about the Princess,¡± Faelar admitted unhurriedly. ¡°But in either case, the assembly will vote on what¡¯s available, with all the respect to the Moon¡¯s daughter,¡± The Zilan added looking at her. ¡°You are both needed to produce offspring Aelrindel, enrich the pool, else the bloodlines will stagnate and weather away. Who will handle the Wyverns then? Why, a plebeian might even sit the gilded throne.¡± Aelrindel gulped down slowly. ¡°I shall take my swim alone Faelar,¡± she told him sternly. Get the fuck away old prick. Faelar grimaced, thought about it and finally decided to give her space with a curt nod.
Rin. A girl chuckled innocently. No, Aelrindel thought. Don¡¯t go there. A sneaky water snake slithered between her naked legs in response and her toes sunk in the mud when she tensed up. The serpent hissed, small eyes gleaming in the two moons light, shining over the serene expanse of the lake and moved away out of respect. It left a line carved on the soft muddy ground, ever coiling. Aelrindel sighed, eyes closed and allowed her mind to wander aimlessly for a second time, her body relaxed and drying up slowly under the caress of the soft desert breeze. The same memory surfacing again. A rarity, when so many recollections were present to choose from. The pool of memories endless.
A melodic lullaby started amidst the ancient eldertrees. The Garden creatures enlivening it. Branches rustling, seeds crunching, water trickling and birds chirping. The notes carrying a cherubic voice, high and harmonious. No words, only feelings. Love and joy. Surprise and sweet delight. Long fingers playing with her hair. Soft skin touching her forehead, eyes a bright purple with lines of silver smiling. ¡°That¡¯s me tiny sweet love,¡± her sister sang to her, beautiful voice turning into a whisper. ¡°I shall borrow one of your smiles mini Rin, take it with me. What do you think hmm? I shall bring it back when it¡¯s over.¡± Ah, curse ye. Aelrindel thought a tremor running through her. You lied. Show me something else. The Goddess obliged her. The golden Wyvern returned from the far west, scales glowing and turning into a bright mirror shining its light over the large shadow. A young Aelrindel gasped and ducked behind a table scared. She felt unsafe and lonely. Angry. Scared.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Time moved forward again, old scenes ever changing, as if someone was shuffling through them, looking for the correct one. The sorceress gasped and tried to snap out of the dangerous dream, but the Goddess kept her trapped there. The procession approached coming from Elas Bridge. Imperial Rangers and Priestesses. Everyone armed and serious. You don¡¯t bring blades in Nesande¡¯s Garden. ¡°There you are¡±, Faelar said looming over her and picked her up easily. ¡°Your mother wants to talk to you.¡± Her mother smelled of smoke and sea. Sweat and blood. Her arms blackened to the elbow and her face gaunt, even bony, as if she was sick. Aelrindel tried to find her sister amidst the gloomy faced crowd, but couldn¡¯t see her, or many of her favorite priestesses. Edlenn grabbed her face with both hands and turned it so she could stare into her eyes. And stop looking for those missing. ¡°Sweet child of mine, how I missed thee! Look at you all grown up. You get yourself ready now,¡± she told her planting a kiss on her forehead and Aelrindel started crying unwittingly. ¡°We will travel to Elauthin,¡± Edlenn continued wiping the tears rolling down her cheeks. ¡°Visit the new Queen.¡± ¡°What happened to the old one?¡± ¡°She¡¯s with the King and your sister,¡± Her mother had replied and she¡¯d smiled happy. Looking back Aelrindel realized she was pretty stupid as a child.
She opened her eyes and stared at the silent trees of Queen¡¯s Oasis. A dream about a Queen then? Aelrindel asked the Goddess, but she remained mysterious and distant. Other than it¡¯s fitting given the place. Why? Not getting an answer she hissed in frustration and stood up. She worked her hands on the cooling skin to clear the soaked leaves away, then reached for a moist towel to rub off the muddy impressions left as well. A frog croaked, plump round thing painted a bright orange and green. He¡¯d a head out of the water and stared at her stupidly. ¡°What?¡± Aelrindel snapped, not in the mood for its idiotic questions and heard another branch snapping nearer. She narrowed her eyes and stooped to get her discarded robes, still hang from a low branch next to the lake¡¯s small shore. ¡°Faelar?¡± She asked and a figure unfurled behind an old palm tree. He was sitting down and stood up in reality. He looked like a human but he wasn¡¯t. Tall and lanky, ever rising and impossibly thin, though wiry. Skin a rusty copper under tattered, dirty grey robes, full of old stains and some newer ones. The narrow face under the big hood, sporting large meaty lips on an elongated mouth and a forked tongue wetting them. The teeth underneath small and pointy alike a shark¡¯s. This Aken, Aelrindel remembered. She hadn¡¯t seen it in ages and they had only met once, after her mother had been murdered brutally. Ah, curse ye, she told the Goddess. I fucking hate you. ¡°Hmm,¡± Zargatoh O¡¯ Galith slurred, words coming out strangled and twisted. ¡°You¡¯ve matured surprisingly well child.¡± Aelrindel stepped back and brought her robes in front of her. ¡°I told your goons to leave me alone,¡± She hissed, half-scared half-disgusted. There was something wrong with being so near him and she remembered attributing it to fear back then. Aelrindel now realized it wasn¡¯t that. The towering Aken felt wrong, it¡¯s essence abnormal and cracked, as if sawn together pieces of many souls. A foul perversity, not belonging to the Realm of the living. ¡°Suharto and Grogoceq are zealous,¡± Zargatoh told her stooping to pass under a low branch and stopping a couple of meters from her. ¡°I¡¯ve given instructions to leave you be.¡± ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°What¡¯s best for you,¡± his smile was as unconvincing as his words. ¡°We were very fond of your mother.¡± ¡°Leave her out of it,¡± Aelrindel hissed, feeling silly holding her robes in front of her chest like that. So she dropped them, to better use her hands instead. Fuck it. Zargatoh narrowed his dark-gold eyes, but said nothing. ¡°What are you doing on Eplas?¡± Aelrindel asked and crossed her arms under her breasts with a sigh. It was a weird conversation anyway. ¡°Other than spying on me that is.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a Wyvern in Wetull,¡± Zargatoh muttered. Every word in Common painful for him. ¡°It came as a surprise.¡± ¡°Not my doing,¡± She said. ¡°It came as a surprise to me as well. Why do you care hmm?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t, but you should.¡± ¡°Right. Why?¡± ¡°How soon before it learns what you did?¡± Zargatoh asked, clicking his forked tongue. He¡¯d scars running down his long fingers and up his arms. The skin painted white there per their custom not able to cover them. ¡°It won¡¯t,¡± Aelrindel replied. ¡°Nobody knows and I doubt the Wyvern will care about me. They are egotistical creatures and self-serving. It will do its thing, unless someone stops it.¡± ¡°Meaningless words,¡± Zargatoh said. ¡°You¡¯ve lived with the humans for too long child.¡± ¡°Some of us like living things. I ain¡¯t your child you ancient pile of rot!¡± Zargatoh clicked his tongue and stared at her for a long moment. ¡°Do you know why your mother wanted the war to end?¡± He asked her changing the subject. ¡°She tried to stop the rogue Wyvern,¡± Aelrindel said treading carefully. She didn¡¯t like where this was going. ¡°The bigger threat.¡± ¡°Ah, yes it was,¡± Zargatoh agreed and he stared at her nipples for a long disturbing moment as if he was trying to memorize them. Given his proficiency in molding flesh, the stare and its implications became even more disturbing. Aelrindel raised her arms to hide her breasts from him, gaining nothing really as the Aken Elder lowered his eyes to her loins shamelessly. What the actual fuck? She opened her mouth to admonish him, but Zargatoh continued from where he¡¯d paused earlier disregarding her wrath. ¡°She worn herself out,¡± The Aken said and Aelrindel stood back, feeling her heart thunder in her chest. She remembered her dream and shuddered. Don¡¯t go there. ¡°Too much magic, too soon,¡± Zargatoh marched on not caring for her reaction. ¡°Collapsed, but Gimoss saw her going down.¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough,¡± Aelrindel hissed angry. ¡°Stop talking.¡± ¡°Picked her up he did hehe,¡± The Aken continued with a big nasty smile. ¡°Cracked her spine, all them bones crunching, I can still remember it. Her flesh spilled out of her torn skin whilst she screamed for mercy.¡± ¡°You sick fuck!¡± ¡°Could have killed her outright, but he didn¡¯t. Left her there to die slowly and kept your mother busy, while your sister breathed her last crying and fouling herself. It was very ugly and extremely arousing.¡± He¡¯s provoking you. That¡¯s his plan. Don¡¯t give in. Aelrindel stooped and grabbed her muddy robes. Threw them on shaking, trying not to start screaming. ¡°The Wyvern is dead Aken,¡± she finally said. ¡°That Wyvern is,¡± Zargatoh agreed and clicked his tongue seeing her forming the fire circle with her fingers. She¡¯d done it on instinct. Aelrindel wanted to hear him scream when his flesh melted away from his bones. ¡°Don¡¯t be a fool,¡± The Aken cautioned her. ¡°How many in the trees? In Raoz?¡± Aelrindel asked. ¡°How many of you left? Mother said he watched you die seven times.¡± ¡°Ah, you remember,¡± He smiled at that. ¡°Many. The pain cleanses the soul.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve no soul and you¡¯re lying. How about we put it to the test?¡± Zargatoh licked his lips that forked tongue dancing. ¡°She put her in a shallow grave, your mother did,¡± He said after a contemplating moment. ¡°Fuck you,¡± She gasped and reached for that snake with a thread. She felt its life draining and a spark of flame formed in the dome her fingers had created. Make it round, she sang. Make it grow. ¡°Easy to find it was,¡± The Aken Elder continued interrupting her. ¡°All them bones amidst the debris. I picked them one by one. Small bones, broken and leaking marrow. Cleaned the flesh, washed the rot away.¡± What? Aelrindel stood back shocked, the spark dying. ¡°I can bring her back,¡± Zargatoh offered and relished in a perverse delight seeing her shaking uncontrollably. ¡°Built anew yes. I¡¯ve kept her image and her bones.¡± No. ¡°You¡¯re lying. I don¡¯t want to hear it!¡± Aelrindel hissed grinding her teeth. ¡°There is no coming back.¡± ¡°What if you are wrong?¡± Zargatoh asked. Rin, the little girl whispered. Naah! She screamed inside. All lies! ¡°I¡¯ve seen your soulless constructs Aken. Nothing you make is real,¡± she replied breathlessly, her heart hurting and ears ringing. She wanted to cry and vomit at the same time. ¡°Yet you¡¯ve talked with them, taken their advice aplenty,¡± Zargatoh countered with a leer. ¡°All of you high and mighty fools, have them at the near. You fuck and love them equally. Spill your secrets and listen to their words.¡± Aelrindel clenched her jaw and glared at him. ¡°Leave now. Never come back,¡± She warned the still leering Aken. ¡°Go back to your stupid schemes. Take the dead with you!¡± ¡°Our schemes are endless. Millennia in the making. Our patience is immeasurable, for we do not fear loss. You¡¯ll come to me begging. You¡¯ll let me rip your soul out and fuck it,¡± Zargatoh replied austerely. ¡°Eventually all do. Your mother did to avenge her daughter. You did, to avenge your mother. Kings and Queens all come groveling. All will bow afore the Painted God.¡± The spark came back again. It went from a small flame into a sphere of raging fire in an instant and swallowed him whole.
¡°Aelrindel?¡± Lithoniela asked her near dawn. The ground still smoking, a large portion of the Queen¡¯s Oasis lake eastern bank blackened and free of trees. The firestorm had raged for hours and was visible from the distant Sadofort and the Prince¡¯s warcamp. She¡¯d stayed near the lake staring at its still waters in silence for the whole night. The fire had burned in a semi-circle away from her. ¡°We need to leave, there are soldiers approaching. Are you alright?¡± The Princess was worried she¡¯d blown their cover. The crazy witch had finally lost it. ¡°I¡¯m fine. Don¡¯t worry about Nout.¡± ¡°If they see us, how are we going to explain it?¡± ¡°You are a Princess of Wetull,¡± Aelrindel told her. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have to explain yourself to Horselords.¡± ¡°Something happened,¡± Lithoniela said perceptively. ¡°Something terrible.¡± ¡°Aye,¡± Aelrindel agreed and wiped her eyes. ¡°Something terrible.¡± ¡°Can we fix it?¡± Lithoniela asked. ¡°You have a plan right?¡± Ah, I wish I knew how and plans never turn the way I want them to. Not even close. ¡°We are way past that Princess,¡± she told her sadly. Lithoniela touched her arm softly to comfort her. It brought more tears to her eyes. ¡°We can help those left behind,¡± She told her and despite having her mother¡¯s voice, Lithoniela didn¡¯t sound like her. Baltoris was ruthless. ¡°Start anew and save our people.¡± ¡°Not everyone is worth saving,¡± Aelrindel whispered. ¡°We won¡¯t be the judge of that.¡± ¡°What about those that are gone?¡± Lithoniela paused and looked to the sunrise. ¡°I was alone and now I¡¯m not. Each part of our people I find is filling up the void, making me whole again,¡± She sighed a little embarrassed. ¡°I shall treasure those lost and try to live through those that survived. Perhaps it¡¯s not much of a plan, but Faelar talked of that too for long and he knows better. He¡¯s of the First Era.¡± Eh. ¡°Fuck Faelar,¡± Aelrindel told her, snapping out of her reverie. ¡°But the rest of it is a good plan Princess, much better that whatever I¡¯ve ever thought of. For the most part.¡± Lithoniela glanced her way. ¡°You don¡¯t think we¡¯ll be able to pull it off without a fight?¡± Aelrindel stared at the pile of smoking burned flesh that had been Zargatoh. ¡°Oh, there will be a fight alright, much as I fear it,¡± she muttered thoughtfully. ¡°I just wish there¡¯s something of us left behind, after all is said and done.¡± Much as wishes go in this Realm and all others, the Sorceress had hers fulfilled¡­ For the most part.
END OF ~ACT III~ The Wings of Fate Part I
231. Stay in the cold youngling
The Old Realms ~ACT IV~ The Wings of Fate PART II
Uvr-Ycres Stay in the cold youngling.
Stay in the cold youngling. Stay under. Stay safe. Until it''s time. Uh? Fuck said that? Wait¡­ Hey. Hey! Hey fuckwit! Ah. Dangnabbit! Mum? Come back.
Darkness. Cold fucking Hell. Are Hells cold? What is this crap?
Creepy stinking crawlers. Sneaky snakes. Rain. Cold. Worms and roots. Less cold. Living wood. Rot. Fuck.
A month. Two. Three. Uh? A year. Two. Three. Eh. Ten years. Twenty. Thirty. Oh shit. One hundred seventy four years. One hundred seventy five¡­ Two hundred. Fuck.
The scream otherworldly. ¡°Are ye dead?¡± Uh? I hope not. ¡°Awk, crap!¡± What? Hey! ¡°Get off me!¡± Fuck is you? ¡°I can¡¯t move me leg!¡± Hey fuckwit, I haven¡¯t moved in years! ¡°Are ye hurt badly?¡± Can¡¯t feel a thing you douchenozzle! ¡°Tis nothin¡¯ stepped on a cone.¡± Food. Hmm. ¡°It looked pretty bad from wher¡¯ I was.¡± Where was that? Hey fuckwit! I¡¯m talking to you! ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Shut it you cunt. Nobody cares! ¡°Hey, you.¡± Me?
¡°I¡¯ve been calling ye.¡± Me too. Unwax yer ears. ¡°Where¡¯s the bloody stag?¡± Ahm. A¡¯right, I got nothing. Food? ¡°Most of it is back there.¡± You piece of shite, you gulped it all down! ¡°The head?¡± Aye, that¡¯s it. What about the head? Hmm? Spill yer guts ye dickweed! WHERE¡¯S THE FOOD! ¡°Kept movin¡¯ it. Difficult to get it in one blow.¡± Whoa there. Brutality. Fatality. Hmm.
Bump. Ah. That''s an arse. Less cold. Wait. Haha! Yes. Light. Oh, mama. Gimme! Warmth. ¡°God darn it Pretty! Tis sure lookin¡¯ like a big motherfuckin¡¯ egg this.¡± Uh? What? Less warmth. Dark. Get me out ye stupid cunt!
Cold. Dark. Wood on metal. No creepy crawlers. Time blurs. I¡¯m fucked.
Magic. There¡¯s a thread. Where does it go? Show. Follow. Who are you? Why hide in the shadows like a bug? You know yer glowing up through multiple dimensions? You breathe, ye shit for brains! Shades don¡¯t breathe. Only an idiot would fall for that.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Ah. Oh well.
You¡¯re a bad-bad lassie. Huh? Oh, it¡¯s a dream again. With pictures. Good. They should sell tickets for dis shit. Wait. Where do the toes go? Oh, goodness gracious! The horror. Who thinks of these stuff? Ah. Hey Ab¡¯s, how is it hanging man? Yeah. Well, fuck you too. You piece of condescending squid! Lard soaked in ink.
¡°Grab my box?¡± Fuck your annoying voice! Stupid perverted harlot. Knobhead! Wait. Could it be? Hmm. Eh, grab the box yes. See what comes out of it. ¡°There¡¯s a box¡­¡± Fuck is this blubbering idiot? ¡°Under the bed.¡± DO IT! ¡°Get the box! Hells are ye doin?¡± Right. What the actual fuck dude. How hard can it be? ¡°It¡¯s too freakin¡¯ heavy!¡± Are you a wanker? Be a man. Don¡¯t be a turd. ¡°Put yer back to it for fuck¡¯s sake!¡± What the bitch licking pissflaps just said! ¡°What about the bag? Fuck the bag. Eat it if you have to. Food is good. Oh, for crying out loud in muted miserable silence, now they are talking about it like a couple of cunts! ¡°What in Nesande¡¯s tits is this?¡± Ah the Goddess ginormous milkbags. Bliss in a bag. Hey. That¡¯s probably me! ¡°Give it to me!¡± No. She¡¯s an idiot. Don¡¯t fall for it! Probably has herpes, don¡¯t quote me on that. ¡°Better ye don¡¯t know.¡± Uh? Why not? Why do ye have to hide? Speak you spiteful creature! What? A phallus? Could it be? Where¡¯s the growth damnit! This is very disturbing.
¡°Is it yours?¡± Uh? ¡°It is.¡± Fuck are you? Where¡¯s the cunt? Was it you all along? Warmer. Dark. Hot. Ah, the pain. I could shit myself but I don¡¯t have an arsehole. Better not. Keep them turds in. Not much room in here for other shit. I can move a finger though. Hotter. Scorching. Pull it. Get that arm unstuck you fuck! Gah! It broke clean through. Goodbye arm. Eh. Drink the blood. Suck them fluids. Food. Make that arm again. Try again.
Give it. You piece of shit. Have a kick. Here¡¯s a head-butt. I¡¯m going to eat your innards! Take a punch. How do you like the pounding! GET ME THE FUCK OUT!
¡°Are ye dead yet you piece of fossilized fat? SPEAK UP!¡± Eh? Who are you? ¡°Oh shit! It was a long shot anyway. Fuck a clusterfuck gods damnit!¡± Ahm, right. I need warmth mister sewer-mouth. ¡°Aye. Or a hammer to smash yer brains in. HAHAHA!¡± How about I smash yours ye fucking turd-pusher! ¡°Hahaha! You¡¯re a tough one eh? Well, you¡¯re out of luck kid, this one is dumber than a brickwall.¡± Need warmth! ¡°Yeah, you don¡¯t have long left. Then again¡­¡± What? Hey! What the actual fuck man, I thought we were friends!
Scorching hot. Boiling liquefaction. Hatred and dogged determination. Kick and punch. Head-butt that motherfucker! Bash its brains out! Eat them. Food! Gnaw it out from the inside. Break the fuck through. ¡°The egg is cracked.¡± Yeah? Maybe help a little dumpass? Hey. Fuck¡¯ sake.
There. Let me out. LET ME GET OUT! AARGGH! Oh shit. Flying. Nope. Dropping. I can see a horse¡¯s arsehole. Whoa. Ground. Hard. No spells, no juice. No sustenance. Food.
¡°What in the godsfather are you?¡± A god-darn Wyvern! Look! Argh, oh shite¡­ pissturds! Help. Thank you. Wait you smell like food. LET ME EAT THAT! JUST A BITEEEE¡­. REEEEEERRRH WHOA! Look at that. I can fly! HAHAHA! THANKS BUDDY!
¡°Oii lover!¡± Good grief. I always liked this part. That right there is agility mate. Good spillage too by our boy. Solid sperm count there. ¡°Shut up dum-dum! I¡¯m planning shit! Where did you get all that juice?¡± Here and there. ¡°I should have killed you when I had the chance!¡± Hahaha! Suck a bag of dicks! ¡°His idiocy is rubbing off on you, turd for brains!¡± Why you didn¡¯t? ¡°Blame your mother! She did it on purpose!¡± Did what? ¡°Red and Onyx black makes burgundy! I knew right away.¡± Father? ¡°Don¡¯t be a fucking idiot! We are not horses! Though I would have fucked her brains out and then eaten her had I had the chance! The lines on that girl!¡± Well, call it how yer gonna call it. Food is love. And you¡¯re missing out. Soon. Let me rewind this. Play it again, before she arrives.
Wait. What is this? Who are you? Let go of him. No. You can now go fuck yourself mister. You want a reason? Trust. And amity. Comradery and sharing. That¡¯s him. That¡¯s you. ¡°And then there is me,¡± Uvrycres rustled and the winged god stepped back with a leer of surprise. ¡°Take your fool with you. Step away from him gnome.¡± ¡°You take that out,¡± Eodrass growled. ¡°You¡¯re left with nothing. Nothing of his is yours and what you need he can¡¯t provide. He won¡¯t last a week. YOU SHALL NOT LOSE ME THE REALM BOY!¡± Uvrycres stared at the world around them. Its golden threads, shining nets crisscrossing one another. Connecting earth and heavens. Animals and folk. Nature and magic. Dreams and history. Many futures, roads not traveled and others already left behind. Thought of the past and the centuries left in the dark. He stared beyond the shores and the dark waters where Abrakas the Abhorrent roamed, ever wrathful and full of vitriol. Heard the Ticu sing about revenge. The giants humming in their stupor in Yalca and the Wyverns stirring in the wild, lost Realms beyond Mistland, disturbed at the intrusion. The Beasts waking up feeling the spread of Magic over the land and the vile dead gathering afore their silent god in the enclosed island of Galith at the center of the Round Sea. The abomination thrashing in appalling anguish under the Painted God¡¯s feet sensed his thread reaching out and turned a globular -still in the process of morphing, hideous head towards him. Yellow and pink pus running down the cracks of the artificial skin made out of liquefied melted flesh and acidic clay, the sewn bones crackling when he slowly got up hissing irate. He reached an elongated atrophic arm inside the asbestos-like pool, splashed his face and chest with it. Lathered the creamy material down his arms and crooked inhuman legs murmuring psalms and screaming at the same time. Two different planes of existence converging for a moment. The Painted God raised a claw-like arm and touched the wrecked in spasms creature¡¯s head. The paste dried out in an instant and turned into flesh, its eyes clearing out at last. His mouth slowly created a hideous smile. Zargatoh stared straight at him with hatred. Perhaps there is pain in there, he thought, but you had to fill up the void with something. So pain would do the job. ¡°Heed my words,¡± Uvrycres warned the impossibly distant Aken Elder through the rare crack between the Realms. ¡°You mess with me and mine, I¡¯m going to turn you into a pile of worthless, unworkable ash, then come to your home and burn it all down too.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already won youngling,¡± Zargatoh crackled. ¡°It¡¯s too late. This is the aftermath of the war.¡± ¡°You¡¯re running out of bones dude,¡± Uvrycres deadpanned. ¡°Seeing as it¡¯s the only thing ye got going for you life-wise, ye better hope the war ends soon.¡±
The magical thread snapped. The Realms retracting and hiding out of sight again. Uvrycres moved on all fours suddenly, then flapped his extended wings once, twice, just for show and charged negatively his enchanted body to match that of the earth under him, what warlocks called the Greater Gift of Flight. Fools, boobs and ignoramus. The negative charge catapulted him upwards, the wings keeping the speed in check and the earth getting distant under his shadow. He circled once over the rebuilding Goras and the workshops up on the plateau. Followed the tiled roads leading to the port and saw the large ship approaching in the distance with all its sails open. The pirate flag hoisted on it. Uvrycres casted a concerned eye towards the ever watching gloomy Abrakas, but he couldn¡¯t read the sunken in the depths Kraken¡¯s face, nor gauge its intentions. A dice roll. Over and beyond he flew next, the imposing Pale Mountains rising to meet him. He turned his scales to smooth quartz to combat the winds up there, the black mirror-like surface reflecting the white ice of the slopes almost cloaking him as he slashed through and over the mountains towards Turlas Peak. He¡¯d dreamed of gold the other day. The pirate captain arriving only strengthening the prophecy of his next kin to come. The strong breeze blasting on his camouflaged figure extremely cold, but just as quickly heating up and turning into another, when it went over the heights. Supercharged with its essence and like a spool of ethereal thread it rolled down the plains, Eplas ports and its cities. Its rivers and its forests. The deserts and the valleys. It changed the nature of anything it touched for just a small and tiny moment. Sometimes that nudge was all that was needed. Or the much celebrated ¡®bump on a Gish¡¯s arse¡¯. Many a great men and women had fallen victim to its firmness. And a few Wyverns. Aye. 232. All monsters need feeding & a den (1/2)
Glen Arguen Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor All monsters need feeding & a den Part I -A bout of bad luck-
¡°Where?¡± Glen asked, all hunched up on the saddle. Sam Mathews sucked his upper lip in and bit it with his teeth standing next to him, with Alan Kirk and Enoch Bing. Maeriel flipped the arrow in her palm expertly and pointed it south. Glen stared at the twenty meters tall statues, most of them intact and still standing. They formed a straight road, twenty meters wide and dressed with red marble extending for a kilometer at least. Part of the weirdly decorated avenue lost in the morning mist. ¡°How big?¡± He rustled and glanced at Phina riding her own mount proud, a young brown mare with a strikingly light gold mane she very fittingly called Glitter. It was Glen¡¯s gift for her birthday. ¡°A mature male,¡± Maeriel replied and walked confidently out of the bushes covering the platforms the statues stood upon, avoiding the muddy spots and sneaky branches on instinct. ¡°He retreated for now.¡± ¡°Or circling around,¡± Sam Mathews grunted. The adventurer was always cranky in the mornings and Glen could respect that, seeing as himself was -a sleep as much as ye want kind of guy. ¡°When ye say mature¡­?¡± Glen started asking, but caught Phina raising her hand eagerly and paused. The teenage Zilan wore one of Zola¡¯s outfits that Jinx had modified around her ¡®tingly bits¡¯ for reasons she left mysterious. Glen thought about enquiring what else the Gish had stashed away in her ever increasing loot bags, as he¡¯d come to appreciate Zola¡¯s sturdy leather attires. Nothing have lasted on him, as much as her old pair of pants. ¡°A mature male Nimra lion stands hey tall,¡± Phina said, all red in the face under his scrutiny. ¡°They consider the size of their hunting grounds as far as their eyes could see.¡± ¡°What if its night, or a misty day?¡± Glen probed and Maeriel span the arrow in her hand and slotted it in the wooden quiver she had over her right shoulder without checking first. Jinx used to do that all the time, so Glen didn¡¯t find it very impressive. Now had she skewered her head through that long pointy ear that would have been something worth of note for sure! Hehe. ¡°Ahm, Nimra see better in the dark Arguen Garth,¡± Phina whispered. ¡°They do?¡± Glen grimaced. ¡°What does that mean?¡± He asked the flustered Zilan. ¡°Hardir,¡± Maeriel cautioned him. ¡°Noble Keeper,¡± Phina replied looking at her saddle. ¡°Huh,¡± Glen said standing back. ¡°Well then, I¡¯ve heard worse I suppose,¡± He started, but saw Maeriel¡¯s disapproving stare, another thing she¡¯d gotten from Jinx and paused. ¡°I like it,¡± He added and Phina¡¯s eyes turned all misty and a warmer shade of gold. ¡°Phinariel,¡± Maeriel cut through the moment. ¡°Go to Jinx. She¡¯ll show you how to track.¡± ¡°Lovely girl,¡± Glen commented watching Glitter taking Phina away. ¡°Very friendly.¡± ¡°You shouldn¡¯t encourage her,¡± Maeriel said disapprovingly, adding seeing his frown. ¡°Hardir.¡± ¡°You know what huntress?¡± Glen retorted, not likening her cantor, or innuendos. ¡°Put Arguen afore that next time. Ye should also run after her and Whisper. Anything happens to either of them, I¡¯m blaming you.¡± Maeriel pressed her lips tight, but then gave a slight a nod with her head. ¡°Arguen Garth,¡± She hissed and rushed after the galloping Phina on foot. ¡°She didn¡¯t like that,¡± Sam Mathews commented. ¡°You done it on purpose.¡± ¡°Whisper is my friend,¡± Glen grunted. ¡°Being her lover doesn¡¯t elevate her status and I had her adequately compensated for what she brings to the table.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a lot of strays.¡± ¡°Anfalon has won the strays over,¡± Glen explained. ¡°She doesn¡¯t control shit, but Whisper.¡± Which of course mattered to Glen more than all the strays combined, so that was a lot of influence the huntress wielded, but he couldn¡¯t allow her to run amok with it. They were walking on a tight rope with all their god darn factions already. ¡°Fast girl though,¡± Sam pointed after clearing his throat and they both watched the nimble former Imperial Hunter nearing the trotting mounted Phina with an impressive burst of speed. ¡°Aye,¡± Glen yielded. ¡°Though she cheats a lot. All of them do.¡±
Outlaw neighed and then snorted loudly. ¡°Whoa buddy,¡± Glen said soothingly. ¡°Let me have a look at it.¡± He jumped down and stooped near the horse¡¯s front legs to see what bothered it. ¡°Sharp rocks aplenty,¡± Sam commented, looking down from his own mount. ¡°Aye. We stop here for now,¡± Glen agreed cleaning up the horse¡¯s hooves and touching the nicks and cuts on them. ¡°We¡¯ll turn them lame otherwise.¡± ¡°We stop,¡± Sam informed the others turning his head around. ¡°See to gather wood for a fire lads.¡± ¡°You¡¯re fixin¡¯ for an officer¡¯s position Mathews?¡± Kirk taunted, after he climbed down his mount. ¡°Because ye ain¡¯t in the Dogs last time I checked.¡± ¡°I¡¯m an adventurer mate,¡± Sam replied. ¡°No ranks in me profession.¡± ¡°Ye want wood, fetch it yerself adventurer,¡± Kirk retorted. Glen stared at the mercenary for a moment. ¡°Fetch the wood mister Kirk,¡± He cautioned him and the ex-soldier stood down. ¡°Right away milord.¡± ¡°I can understand the Zilan superstition and all that,¡± Sam said after the duo had walked away. ¡°But he¡¯s going overboard. What were you before all this Garth? Who was Glen?¡± ¡°Does it matter?¡± Glen replied and turned to stare at the broken giant head of the statue standing in front of the massive flat top red pyramid and temple complex. ¡°What was Sam Mathews afore he turned into an adventurer?¡± ¡°As you said Garth,¡± Sam replied with a nod. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Glen agreed and pointed at the decapitated statue that was also missing an arm and part of its torso, the debris unrecognizable at the base of the platform. ¡°Who was that dude?¡± Sam Mathews shrugged his shoulders. ¡°I¡¯ve no god darn idea, but that pyramid is bigger than the one in Rida.¡±
Glen almost got a mouthful of black coal, the standing brazier unseen in the darkness of the extended interior, almost flipping over his head. ¡°What in the slovenly fuck?¡± He cursed after finding his footing, his right knee stinging. Glen waited for his eyes to grow accustomed to the surroundings for a moment. ¡°There¡¯s three meters of entrance silly,¡± Jinx chuckled seeing him doubled over. ¡°Why scrapping the edge of it?¡± ¡°I never walk through the middle. That¡¯s for fools and cocks,¡± Glen explained to her a little annoyed. ¡°Got a bout of bad luck today. Outlaw almost went lame earlier. No other horse was affected.¡± ¡°You¡¯re superstitious,¡± Jinx replied. ¡°You¡¯re the luckiest person I know.¡± ¡°Well,¡± Glen said, you just gave it another spin there ye dumpass. Thanks a fuckin¡¯ lot. ¡°Anyone here?¡± ¡°The priest is living in the side building,¡± Jinx explained. ¡°Very inhospitable. He was shoveling shite at my feet whilst I talked wit him!¡± ¡°Eh, the Zilan are like that. How about the temple? Anything in here?¡± Worth of looting was his meaning. ¡°The stairs leading upstairs are barred,¡± Jinx reported and glanced at Phina and Maeriel giving thanks knelt afore the massive altar of the Goddess. The life-like statue sitting on a marble throne, her robes painted blue, just like her long hair. They cascaded down her torso, the carvings incredible and the thin material ballooning there, afore narrowing again towards her waist. Nesande¡¯s statue ¡®stood¡¯ at almost five meters in height. The braziers on either side of her throne burning in a light red-blue glow, casting shadows on her comely, but austere face. Glen would have sworn he¡¯d seen that face again. A bit aged and worn out perhaps. Not as well endowed. The Seer at Merchant¡¯s Triage. ¡°She¡¯s the mother of Magic. Very ¡®maternal¡¯,¡± Jinx explained seeing his silent contemplation and mistaking it for something else. ¡°And visions of course, but that¡¯s more difficult to depict in art.¡± Eh, I don¡¯t think so. ¡°Why is the fire blue?¡± Glen asked evenly, clasping his hands behind his back wearing his smug didactic face.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. ¡°It¡¯s a stone they place in it,¡± Jinx explained. ¡°It makes you see stuff in it, if yer gifted,¡± She paused and stared at him surprised. ¡°Whoa. Ye got me there Glen. Fuck.¡± ¡°You¡¯re okay?¡± Glen asked her. ¡°Uhm,¡± Jinx bobbed her pink head up and down, long pony tail dancing behind it. ¡°Ye want to check upstairs afore the priest comes back?¡± ¡°I thought it was barred,¡± Glen enquired raising a brow. ¡°Wit a lock. Tis a big one, but plenty old. We can fiddle wit it a bit. Maybe give it a kick,¡± She added lowering her voice. Uh? What are we? A couple of shoddy crooks? Glen stared at her blankly, his left arm sneaking inside his trusted old satchel. There weren¡¯t many gold coins left in it, but he¡¯d moved his ¡®tools¡¯ there. ¡°Glen?¡± Jinx asked sounding worried. ¡°Ye turned all weird in the face.¡± ¡°Lead the way,¡± Glen rustled austerely and tossed her a lightstone he¡¯d ¡®liberated¡¯ from an abandoned villa earlier that week. A couple of them were neatly placed in an ivory jewelry box. A firestone arranged as a pendant, the chain made of white gold being the highlight. ¡°Watch yer step.¡±
¡°Where¡¯s Soren?¡± Glen asked her whilst he worked on the fancy old lock. He didn¡¯t bother with the heavy padlock on the chains barring the way. The steel on them impressive and crisscrossing the metal door, but loose enough and leaving enough room for a nimble hard-working honest professional to squeeze through. Assuming he managed to pop open the sturdy lock of the door that is. ¡°Wit Soletha,¡± Jinx replied watching him testing his different picks awed. ¡°Gathering herbs and stuff.¡± ¡°Stuff?¡± Glen asked, choosing a thicker bent lockpick and mounting the small plier on the one he¡¯d inserted earlier. ¡°Eh, he likes her. Soren has a fondness for motherly females,¡± Jinx murmured. ¡°Are these Alix¡¯s tools?¡± ¡°Some,¡± Glen replied, glancing at her while testing the mechanism, his ears waiting for the sweet release sound. Come on ye rusty fuck. Ah, where is it¡­ ¡°He didn¡¯t teach ye how to do that eh?¡± Jinx asked. ¡°A guy learns a trade,¡± Glen started and heard the clicking of the lock. ¡°Stashes it away for a rainy day. Are you surprised?¡± ¡°Yer a walking surprise Glen. Always had been,¡± Jinx admitted. ¡°Is that bad?¡± Glen probed turning the lockpick ever slowly and to the release point. ¡°It works on some girls,¡± Jinx confessed, just as the lock popped with a clanging sound. ¡°Some?¡± He teased. ¡°Yer getting nothing more,¡± Jinx warned him.
¡°Wait,¡± Glen gasped five minutes later, stuck in the small space the chains left. ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake.¡± Jinx, who¡¯d gone through without a hitch paused and looked behind her back with a grin and her pink left eyebrow pointing up. ¡°Yer getting fat,¡± she stated matter-of-factly. ¡°What? No, I¡¯m not,¡± came Glen¡¯s affronted retort, whilst he puffed and huffed to unstuck himself. ¡°I¡¯ve muscles in all places Gish!¡± ¡°And plenty of pure lard on that arse,¡± Jinx commented. ¡°You should train wit Anfalon and his students to burn away some of it.¡± ¡°Arggh,¡± Glen growled thrashing to escape the accursed chains. ¡°You¡¯ve moved ¡®em going in damn you!¡± ¡°No, I didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Grab my arm!¡± ¡°Eh, sure.¡± ¡°On three,¡± Glen said and Jinx yanked him through afore he finished talking. Glen bumped on the smaller Gish and took her down with him. He was too bulky for Jinx to bear and they both collapsed on the dusty, web-covered granite-tiled floor. ¡°Help,¡± Jinx gasped under him and Glen pushed himself to the side so she could breathe. ¡°Fuck, ye almost killed me,¡± the female Gish murmured. ¡°I said on three Whisper!¡± Glen blasted her, rubbing at his tender shoulder. Jinx stared at him blankly, a large spider web covering her head. Glen groaned in frustration and got up. He helped her up as well, then cleaned her hair from the old webs. ¡°Right,¡± he said when he finished, his eyes burning at the bright light of the lightstones. ¡°Stay behind me. Don¡¯t touch anything.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t ask stupid questions.¡± ¡°That can¡¯t be a rule!¡± Jinx protested and he turned his head around to admonish her, almost blinding himself in the process. ¡°It is. Stop shoving the light in my face for crying out loud!¡± Glen retorted irate. ¡°Back away. Now. Give me some room. One more step. Good grief!¡± God darn amateurs.
The heavy door led to a narrow corridor, with rooms on each side every four meters or so. The corridor seemed to run the interior side of the temple. The outer rooms had sloped walls and were claustrophobic even by cheap inn standards. Same for the internal row of rooms, but with the interior wall tilted inversely. ¡°Bedrooms,¡± Glen commented after they checked the fourth in a row and found nothing of value inside, but an old large chest with creamy silk sheets. ¡°For the priestesses?¡± Jinx replied stooped at the waist and half inside the chest. She kept rummaging through the contents, pulling different and mostly ruined sheets out on the floor. ¡°Aye. Once upon a time, not much use for so many rooms, after the place went boom,¡± Glen replied with a grimace of frustration. ¡°What in Luthos dirty toes are ye looking for?¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± Jinx murmured and feeling the bottom of the chest replied thoughtfully. ¡°Usually the best preserved stuff are pretty low.¡± ¡°Jewelry?¡± Glen chanced eyeing the narrow corridor. ¡°An intact sheet,¡± Jinx corrected him holding the one she picked. ¡°See? No mold, or wormy things on it,¡± she added with a toothy grin. ¡°I cut it here,¡± she showed him on her. ¡°Leave the side open and held by cords, just above the knee. If I fold it twice, I can make two of them. It¡¯ll have fantastic sheerness under light, but no tits in your face stuff despite worn over naked skin.¡± Might as well the Gish had talked about engineering, but for the cut part. Glen stared at her numbly, afore noting. ¡°That¡¯s under the armpit Whisper.¡± All the way down. ¡°It¡¯s a roomy cut Glen in case a girl has to dance,¡± Jinx explained with a silly and mostly failed wink. Right. Glen scrunched his nose, then used a sleeve to wipe the sweat off his face, his clever eyes following the parallel walls appearing to meet in the distance. An illusion of course, Voron had told him that. The distance between though, or the length, you can always measure, the architect had added, if you¡¯re on an uninterrupted plane. You just walk over it and count. ¡°Let¡¯s find the corner,¡± he said. ¡°Keep checking inside the rooms.¡± ¡°Eh, this could take us well into the evening Glen,¡± Jinx protested. Glen whipped his head around and glared at her. ¡°We are at work here Whisper,¡± he admonished her. ¡°You need to learn to put yer head down and push through to get it done. No slacking. Work is life.¡± Jinx fiddled with the sheet she¡¯d thrown over her outfit, freed an arm and then showed him her mid finger. ¡°You just proved my point,¡± Glen said and started walking, Jinx rushing after him chuckling. ¡°Yer just making stuff up as you go along,¡± she teased. ¡°Silly goose.¡± ¡°It¡¯s called thinking Whisper,¡± Glen retorted. ¡°Pretty sure most folk call it lying.¡± ¡°There¡¯s an inward curve to the internal wall,¡± Glen explained what she couldn¡¯t see. ¡°The pyramid may be sloped but runs at a straight line on its sides creating a square base.¡± ¡°Fuck do you know there is? I can barely see five meters ahead,¡± Jinx griped. ¡°I counted the tiles,¡± Glen replied. ¡°Six across at the barred entrance, then six and something, six and a half over there,¡± he pointed at the sides of the internal wall, where the smaller cut pieces had been added to give more width to the corridor. ¡°Seven.¡±
¡°Ten,¡± he announced more than a hundred meters later, with not even a quarter of the corridor covered. ¡°How many rooms until now?¡± ¡°Over forty,¡± Jinx replied. ¡°No priestesses ever lived here. Not in these dark, moldy and bare tiny rooms,¡± Glen decided, whilst stooped to examine the bulge on the tiled floor. The mortared depressions between the granite pieces worn out by time and many people walking over them. ¡°These were slave quarters. Some more favored than others, but slaves nonetheless. Hence the heavy lock on the door and the austere, no engravings, no nothing, narrow walls. No windows. This looks like a prison.¡± Hmm, why did you need this extra space though? The floor starts narrowing down after this point. There¡¯s nothing up here. Unless¡­ ¡°Oh shit,¡± Jinx gasped realizing he was right. ¡°Where did the slaves go?¡± Glen stood up, his face dark. He stared at the endless corridor following one side of the pyramid and calculated the number of cells, multiplied by four, for the sides. He raised his boot and stabbed it hard on the tiled floor. The sound coming back hollow, but muffled. He stepped forward and did it again. ¡°The fire had burned everything,¡± Glen murmured listening for a change in the echo coming from below. ¡°Crops and plants, animals. No food for months, not if you stayed here.¡± ¡°They left. Soletha told me they returned years after,¡± Jinx pointed. ¡°Soletha had been exiled, the volcano eruption gave her an excuse to return, after saving her life,¡± Glen explained, trying again and listening for differences. ¡°Laedan and Vaelenn¡¯s people though stayed back. They had their homes intact, most of them and they knew where there was food safely locked up.¡± Jinx gasped in shock and Glen brought his boot down hard and heard something different. A clanging coming from the corridor wall between two cells. ¡°You think¡ª¡± Jinx tried to say, but he stopped her. ¡°What¡¯s in here?¡± ¡°A cell. Has nothing in it. Ye picked the fully empty one,¡± Jinx replied pouting. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°No bed, not even the remains of it? A box, sack, cot, something?¡± they¡¯d found something showing a human presence in almost every cell. ¡°No. Seriously can we go now? I don¡¯t like this place.¡± Glen went in to check for himself, disregarding her hysterics. Where the curve reached its peak, the Zilan had put an empty cell. The interior walls bricked with smaller cut granite pieces, shaped like cubes. Glen stared at the wall facing the corridor and this time he used the tip of his boot to kick the almost hollowed out last cube of the whole lot. The cube clicked with a metallic sound and came out. Glen stooped and grabbed it. Pulled it out even more, heard the rattling of chains and pulleys working, the floor shaking. ¡°Fuck,¡± Jinx gasped still standing outside. ¡°You fucking collapsed half the floor Glen! Are you serious? I was standing next to it!¡± Another way in, or out? Something else? Glen thought impressed. ¡°Are there stairs in it?¡± He asked evenly with a last look at what was probably a Warden¡¯s post, or a guard¡¯s. ¡°The hole?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°How should I know?¡± Jinx yelled very pissed. ¡°It¡¯s dark as a rat¡¯s arse!¡± Eh. ¡°Look!¡± He bellowed back and started moving. ¡°Use the plaguin¡¯ lightstone. It¡¯s why I gave it to you in the first fucking place!¡± ¡°Well,¡± she said a moment later. Glen was standing next to her by then. ¡°That¡¯s a step. Right?¡± Indeed my dear Whisper, Glen agreed, staring at the dark foreboding opening. It is.
It looks sturdy, Glen thought stepping on it and lowering his head, while keeping the light in front of him to avoid smacking his head on the granite tilted wall. A helm was needed here, but a helm is cumbersome and hot as an oven in the summer. Wetull is a warm place. You couldn¡¯t tell it under the dark, sturdy walls of the pyramid, but it is. No warmer than the desert, but enough to justify leaving the helm on Outlaw. In retrospect he should have shown the light on the steps more and take his chances with the inclined roof of the narrow stone staircase. Four steps down there was a gap, be it due to a broken tile, or some idiot Zilan economizing on the material, Glen¡¯s foot went in it found a void and rolled on instinct forward to find steadier ground. He did ¨Cnot two steps down, but because he was coming at an arc -half in his tumble and the darn stairs kept on going for another fifty meters afore the first corner, Glen kept on tumbling in the dark. Never such a perilous clearing of steps had been attempted in the past. If it was, no one had survived to tell the tale and claim the record, which is kind of the same thing. 233. All monsters need feeding & a den (2/2)
Thou can live in thine glass delight forever, Have thine threads spread and never sever Don¡¯t take the trade, let thine dreams fade It is not the past¡¯s flood, but this is thine blood What you want thou shall have, but never see grow If the moon''s foolish heart takes a lover, its dazzling face Oras black shroud shall cover - Nesande¡¯s divination Probably 2nd Era Assembled by Lithoniela, of Baltoris Between 197? -345? NC In her voluminous Ode to the Lost*
- *(Part of the priceless collection kept in the sealed ''Sorceress Domed Hall'' in Dan)
- -
Glen Arguen Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor All monsters need feeding & a den Part II -An echo of another-
Luthos loved that goat a lot, but she gave him cockrot. Glen span around, forehead scrapping the granite, landed with his back on the stairs and watched the shadows twirling around him as he catapulted into the abyss. Part of a ceiling here, the edge of stairs there. The armour getting the brunt of it, used as a sledge he sort of glided upon. Hands and feet trying to stop him from spinning around whilst falling. The wall smacking him from all sides, chin glued to his chest and pieces of clothing ripped clean through. Bang and boom. The armour not stopping all of it. Metu you piece of fuckin¡¯ shite! He put a hand on the wall to stop the momentum, lost three fingernails and the flesh underneath it in half a second. The pain so sharp and great, he cracked a tooth right in the middle. Down. Down. Bump. Fuck that! A splinter sharp as knife. Blood in his eyes. Down. Bump. Don¡¯t turn ye turd! Puke in his throat. A piece of tooth and half a lip stuck in the gap. Down. Big bump. ¡°GAAAH!¡± Glen coughed out a lung splattered on the opening right after the end of the murderous staircase, staying still for moment feet over head, battered cheekbone touching the tiles and then rolled to the side unwittingly. The first man, or woman stupid enough to ever do it. He tried to vomit but it came through the nose mixed with blood, the world still spinning around him and the light shining in what looked like a giant dome over a series of cratering caves. If caves were made out of cut granite pieces and had a ceiling made out of quartz-like stones that sparkled brilliantly when touched by his light. Glen spat down to clear his mouth, his jaw numb and leaking blood from several cuts. A piece of skin flapping over his brows, big as his palm. Half-blind and with one working arm, he tried to get up groaning and cursing Jinx for luring him into this madness. Her greed will do us all in, he decided wincing and closed his tearing bloodshot eyes. At least I can move the fingers. Shoulder popped out from all the bumping about, but at least I didn¡¯t hurt my head too much. He put a finger in the wound on his face to see if he¡¯d a hole in it and growled in pain furious with himself. Then something grabbed him by the foot, heaved him savagely. He smacked his head on the granite tiles, went out for a second, but came back around panicked, found himself dragged by something towards one of the caves. Very fast. The tiles turning to cobblestone, then to ground. With the occasional stone and dry branches. Others hard as iron, ripping his pants and skin, others brittle, breaking upon contact. Even turning to dust. Ash. Tons of it. The beast growling, hind legs sending material on his face. Bugs and shit. Pebbles and twigs. He bit one clean through, lost the other half of his tooth, the gum getting most of the work done. Tasted rotten marrow and bone. For fuck¡¯s sake. What is this shite? ¡°Hey! You hairy turd!¡± Glen croaked and reached for his dagger, still being dragged inside the cave. At least a kilometer it seemed. The beast had a long fang clean through boot and foot. Kept pulling at him with it, but slowing down. Glen snarling and thrashing like mad, left arm dangling useless, until he used it as lever twisting sideways and popped it back in. The jolt of pain almost killing him. It also made him super mad. He stooped, lifting his battered torso grabbed at the long tail with one arm and slashed at it with the other. Ripped it off, more than a meter of it. The lion¡¯s growl of pain reverberating inside the dark cave, just as it hurled him away keeping his boot. And a bit of foot. A piece of toe along with it attached to the phalange. There¡¯s pain and then there¡¯s someone ripping your toe out. ¡°AARRGGGH!¡± Glen growled maniacally, but it turned into an incoherent shriek of miserable hysteria the next moment as he rolled on the ground. The Nimra lion¡¯s eyes glowed like diamonds when the light shown on them for a moment. It turned its beastly head away walking gingerly. The fangs on it the size of his dagger. Fuck. Hey tall, Phina had said, all cute and wide eyed. But this thing was the size of a horse. A steppe horse, but still¡­ ¡°ARE YE PLAGUIN¡¯ KIDDING ME?¡± Glen bellowed, blood in his teeth and eyes wild.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. The former thief was hurting so much, he couldn¡¯t feel a thing. The lion growled and started circling him, the cave huge. Glen had no idea where he was. ¡°STAY BACK YOU FUCKER!¡± Glen tried to get up, realized he couldn¡¯t step on his right foot, but clenched his jaw and did it anyway gawking at the large predator. He got Angrein¡¯s sword out, the blade howling when he unsheathed it, absorbing some of the light and giving out a pale glow. Nimra let a low guttural sound that made the walls of the ancient cave vibrate and then three more sets of eyes appeared from the caves depths. It was a call that dinner had arrived it turned out. The sword cackled.
No one wants to get eaten alive inside a cave, under a temple that dabbled as a slave prison for a moon and the feeding place for lions for another. Perhaps even a den of sorts that had a big-titted Goddess sitting on a throne above it and cannibals for priests. So he fought them to the death.
The lioness swung at him with a claw, but Glen pulled away, split that claw in the middle. The Nimra hobbled away with a growl of pain and a smaller version of her jumped on Glen¡¯s back, sunk its thin long teeth in his armour piercing the skin and drawing blood. Glen twisted around, send a hand up found whiskers and a wet nose, an eye at the end of it. Plunged his index finger in, found that soft wet orb and plucked it out, nerves and all. The small lion let go of him blind in the eye and another came at him, tried to bite his leg. Glen raised it, snapped its head back with a knee. The cranium hard as a boulder. The second lion tumbled down, Glen stepped forward and run it through with his sword above his left front leg. It went out of its belly with a splash of dark blood. He got his sword out, the lion thrashing fatally wounded and its mother leaping his way enraged. Glen slashed her across the face, the Nimra dodged but lost an ear. She pulled away the ear still attached by a bloody piece of skin, circled around him hobbling and came at him again. Glen stumbled back, equally hobbled tripping on the third lion that had sneakily tried to gnaw at his bleeding foot and almost went down. He kicked with his bad limb, got the big cat between the hind legs and sent its dropped balls back into their cavity. The Nimra lion¡¯s mother snarled irate at him, but she¡¯d gotten enough wounds on her to give the large predator pause. The problem was Glen had been even more injured and was running on pure adrenalin and anger. More anger than adrenalin. A bit of fear as well, but he¡¯d forgotten about that part with everything on the line. He hobbled into position, the blind cub out of the fight, the other looking for an opening and the big lioness regarding him with hatred. ¡°You are gonna lose it all,¡± Glen warned her with an even more malicious glare. The Nimra lion let out a snarl of defiance. Glen turned his light about looking for his dagger. The one eyed young lion whined, a dark bleeding hole where its eye had been and Glen hissed spotting the witch¡¯s dagger a meter from it. ¡°Come here,¡± he said raising his rapidly blackening left arm, the dagger materializing in his grip. He did it on instinct and without thought. Glen didn¡¯t know about magic, but knew how the dagger worked and what it wanted in the trade. The lioness growled, faked a left attack and then leaped on him from four meters away opening her jaws impossibly wide, the long white fangs gleaming in the sinister radiance coming from his lightstone. Ripped from its cord and half-buried a foot from him, it still gave out enough glow to illuminate the giant predator¡¯s bulky mass coming. Use her cub, Glen thought and hurled the dagger, whilst stepping aside leaving his shadow behind him unwittingly. The dagger had just casted Quickstep, the first rank of the Greater Gift of Dodge. The sneaking behind Glen young lion collapsed lifeless, the dagger plunged to the hilt on the lioness¡¯ forehead cracking the cranium and a reeling Glen stumbled blind until he found a wall, or part of it. He went down the next moment.
Oh, good grief the pain! Glen opened his eyes, the soft light coming from Flix¡¯s stone blurring his vision and tried to push himself up. His left arm had turned into a piece of burned wood. Coughing up and shuddering from jolts of pure agony coming from too many parts of his battered body to count, he doggedly hobbled on his legs. The right dragging behind him and bleeding on the ground, he approached the dying lioness, the damage in her brain had half-paralyzed the impressive predator. Kill them all, the dagger hissed and there was no mistaking its voice this time. Merciless undiluted evil. What the fuck had the witch used in it? Where had she found it? There you are, Glen thought and stared into the wounded beast¡¯s eyes. The Nimra was breathing erratically, but could only move a claw weakly. ¡°I can hear it whining,¡± he rustled grinding his teeth, the gap bleeding in his mouth, tasting of iron and ash. ¡°You stepped into my den and now yer done.¡± Kill her. Glen grimaced, placed his ashen blade over the large body and aimed it between the lioness ribs, then pushed down with all his weight cutting through rough hide and flesh until he found the heart. Kill it. He hobbled slowly, his elongated shadow spreading inside the cave and approached the one-eyed young lion. The size of a big dog already. The wounded animal snarled and retreated further inside the cave with Glen following it. Kill. It stopped near a crack, the chasm behind it blowing wind on his face. The cavern running crosswise with the den under the temple and probably leading outside, but for some reason it made its stand there. It didn¡¯t last long. Glen used his longsword again. By the time he finished, he could barely stand having worn himself out and suffering from severe blood loss. The small black cub hidden inside the crack came out, when he put his back on a rock to rest. Or die. Ah, Glen thought tiredly. That¡¯s why. I would¡¯ve done the same. It whined softly, small yellow eyes glowing in the dark. No bigger than a cat. Glen grimaced and reached into his mangled satchel praying something valuable was still inside. The leather had hold up surprisingly well and he found one of Flix¡¯s expired potions. Shook it once and it barely moved, having turned into a sludge. Glen sighed, checked to see if he¡¯d something else inside it, but only found four square gold coins, lockpicks and a stale biscuit. Worst came to be he would die with gold in his pocket. Kill them all. The baby Nimra whined loudly watching him uncorking the vial. Glen groaned, chucked it all down hoping it wouldn¡¯t kill him outright, the Nimra whined even more and Glen tossed it the biscuit afore he passed out.
He dreamed of a glass dome in a land of ice. The stalagmites like living columns growing out of it, ever spreading at the edges in intricate flower patterns that shown like diamonds in the sun. There was magic everywhere there, sipped into the sturdy walls of the large exotic estate the glass dome stood on top of. The small city grown out of it in a semi-circle reminding him of Goras in the architectural style, or Rida, but having a different quality to it. Rich virgin forest expanding as far the eye could see, white-bark giant trees spreading far beyond the frozen but lively city. Glen returned to the large estate, but this time he went inside the dome, the light making the furniture glow, everything intricately engraved and of pure white gold. It bounced off of mirrors, on the heavy hand-written tomes on the floor-to-ceiling library and danced over the many tables teeming with vials and round bottom flasks. He paused to stare at the king-sized roofed bed and the hundreds of small bottles of different colored oils. A black cat sensed him and jumped on the table he was always standing on. Laid more like. Placed. ¡°What¡¯s the other dagger for?¡± The cat asked, staring at him. This wasn¡¯t his dream. Something rustled, a veil was pulled aside and the most beautiful Zilan female he¡¯d ever seen walked inside dripping water, her skin steaming as it dried up. Long hair reaching her waist, a washed out blue, with thin purple streaks in it. Eyes the color of liquid silver, with touches of purple and blue. There¡¯s a goddess in the flesh, he thought stunned. Do I know you? ¡°Assurance he said,¡± she sang and petted the cat slowly, after taking it in her arms. The cat purred and started suckling at her naked breast, before stopping to look at her. ¡°In case something happened,¡± she added with a smile. What the actual fuck? Glen thought. ¡°How do you know it¡¯s the same?¡± ¡°I know my daggers Melon.¡± ¡°It feels different. I know he claims it¡¯s the same¡ª¡± ¡°Eh,¡± she stopped him. ¡°It¡¯s the Wyvern bone. Sometimes it makes stuff appear different.¡± ¡°The other didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°You¡¯re overreacting.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a cat baby,¡± Melon replied and rolled on the ground. The sorceress laughter rang inside the dome and then she chased the cat through the room until she collapsed exhausted on her bed, breathing heavy. It was a mesmerizing ten minutes. She rolled on the side after that and took the dagger in her hands to stare at it. Kill them all, the dagger hissed and she chuckled. ¡°You¡¯re evil Gimoss,¡± she told him. ¡°And an idiot. You can¡¯t influence me. You¡¯re dead, a fading mindless echo,¡± the sorceress added and he felt the chill sipping into his bones, shivers wrecking his body. He¡¯s not, Glen thought as the dream started fading away. That¡¯s not Gimoss. I know him, the fucker was never dead. You¡¯re talking to something else. You¡ª
Glen. Oh, my god please. Glen you piece of shit! WAKE UP! ¡°GAH!¡± Glen gasped and opened his blurry eyes, his face hurting and bleeding down his nose. ¡°Fuck, the potion didn¡¯t work,¡± he croaked putting a black hand on it. Ah, at least I can move it. We will work on the color later. ¡°It did,¡± Jinx said sniffling and hugging him desperately. ¡°I punched¡ª ¡°What?¡± Jinx stopped talking and stared at him shocked. ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± he reassured her, realizing she was probably shook seeing him all mangled up. ¡°The worst is over.¡± ¡°I thought you died,¡± Jinx explained coming about. ¡°Saw you jumping down the stairs, but you weren¡¯t there when I reached the bottom.¡± ¡°Twas a tumble,¡± he corrected her. ¡°Your nostrils are leaking by the way,¡± Glen groaned and tried to stand, whilst Jinx wiped her face, but failed and sat back on his arse again. ¡°How the fuck did you find me?¡± he asked her and Jinx pointed at the small cub nested near his legs. ¡°Yer cat kept crying and I heard her,¡± she explained. ¡°The Den has incredible acoustics. She led me back to you.¡± Glen tried to smack his lips, found a gap in his teeth and grimaced. ¡°That¡¯s not a cat Whisper,¡± he growled. ¡°That¡¯s a fucking lion!¡± ¡°Lions are cats silly,¡± Jinx said with a chuckle and made to punch him on the shoulder, but stopped seeing his murderous glare. ¡°So what exactly happened here?¡± Jinx asked with a cat''s wicked grin. ¡°Haven¡¯t figured that out yet,¡± Glen admitted glancing at his dagger. ¡°Get the cat, we are getting out of here.¡± 234. Law of the Trade
Glen Arguen Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Law of the Trade
¡°Stop!¡± Glen grunted an hour and ten stops later. Jinx sighed and helped him sit on the ground, glancing at the base of the staircase a couple of meters away. ¡°Don¡¯t you want to sit on the stairs?¡± she asked and Glen groaned and bend at the waist to remove a pebble from his maimed foot. Having a flap of skin dangling in front of his eyes didn¡¯t help his fragile mood. ¡°I¡¯ll sit wher¡¯ I god darn like!¡± ¡°Ye don¡¯t have to shout¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯ll shout as much as I god darn like!¡± Glen bellowed twice as loud and ¡®Cat¡¯ started hissing and jumping about excited. Glen eyed the cub¡¯s acrobatics for a moment and sighed. ¡°I can¡¯t walk anymore Whisper. I¡¯m done,¡± he said much calmer now and stared at his injured left hand. He¡¯d three nails ripped out there and worn the tip of his fingers to the bone going down. While the healing potion had stabilized his condition and stemmed the bleeding, there was a lot of damage done to him in the lioness¡¯ lair. The pain coming in jolts from surprising spots. ¡°Let me try to bandage it,¡± Jinx offered looking at his foot. There were four toes there instead of five, the outer part of it missing and he could feel the throbbing pain starting at his scrotum for some reason. ¡°Get you out of this armour at least.¡± Yeah, the armour was ruined. Parts of it hanging, the leather torn and it had holes where the lions had taken bites at him. The one on his shoulder still leaking. Flix¡¯s potion was either useless, or he¡¯d been too damaged to heal even hours later. Glen stared at Jinx and the Gish smiled. ¡°I won¡¯t be able to climb up the stairs.¡± ¡°If that¡¯s ye asking whether I¡¯ll carry ye on me back, then I will,¡± Jinx replied sternly. ¡°But I can¡¯t make it up there. You¡¯re grown too much Glen.¡± ¡°Not fat Whisper,¡± Glen retorted. ¡°Not fat,¡± she yielded with a tired smile and a light appeared coming from the stairs. Ah, Glen thought seeing the shadows growing inside the ominously silent Den. The cavernous dome massive per the Zilan modus operandi. This better be good news. ¡°How long since I went missing?¡± He rustled, the sound of people coming down the staircase growing. ¡°Hours,¡± Jinx replied and reached for her new recurved bow. Made of aged yew wood, it was a beautiful weapon. She took a step to the side and placed an arrow with a steel tip on the rest, tied three of her fingers around the bow string. The back of that same hand touching her round chin. ¡°Nice bow,¡± Glen commented neutrally. ¡°I like the engravings.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a gift,¡± Jinx replied blushing and then cleared her throat and asked with a huge voice for such a small person. ¡°WHO GOES THERE?¡± Those coming down stopped making noise. A tense couple of moments followed and then Maeriel¡¯s voice was heard coming from the dark entrance of the stairs leading back to the temple. ¡°It¡¯s me Drool,¡± the Huntress said and Glen raised a curious brow, whilst Jinx turned a darker shade of pink. ¡°Don¡¯t shoot, I¡¯m coming out.¡±
¡°Milord,¡± Kirk said worried and eyeing him as one does a sad hapless roadkill. ¡°Damn it Garth,¡± Sam Mathews quipped. ¡°Did ye fall down the stairs, or something?¡± Glen grunted and pretended indifference. A pretty Zilan wearing a shockingly short leather piece, pretending in turn to be a ¡®dress¡¯ being the main reason. Maeriel and Jinx kissing a meter from him, being the other. He was too distracted. ¡°Ayup,¡± he rustled. ¡°Right into a lion¡¯s lair.¡± ¡°That bad eh?¡± Sam asked and eyed the empty darkness surrounding them apprehensively. ¡°Where¡¯s the lion?¡± ¡°Dead,¡± Glen replied and eyed the pretty, long-legged Zilan with the impressive lengthy braid, kneel in front of him. ¡°All of them, but the cub.¡± Cat hissed hidden behind him and sneakily watching the newcomers with fearful glowing eyes. ¡°Right,¡± Sam replied with a grimace and then shook his head. ¡°Can you walk?¡± ¡°He shouldn¡¯t,¡± The Zilan female replied for him, with a small smile. ¡°Hardir is injured and requires assistance.¡± ¡°Are you a healer girl?¡± Glen asked, pushing that piece of skin from his eyes and Maeriel stepped in to nip it in the bud. ¡°Elaniel is my student,¡± the Huntress replied. ¡°You should tend to his wounds child without any of this foolishness!¡± ¡°Mistress,¡± Elaniel said with a bow and reached for her leather satchel, after removing her own bow and quiver and placing them next to her fit thighs. Eh, that¡¯s more a shirt. Poor thing, Glen thought and whipped his head to the side, caught Kirk ogling shamelessly. ¡°Guard the stairs Kirk,¡± he ordered him in a no nonsense kind of way. ¡°I want none o¡¯ that.¡± ¡°Milord?¡± Kirk replied coming about. ¡°Of course sire.¡± ¡°I will have to touch you,¡± Elaniel whispered and then placed different leaves and cut pieces of root into her mouth. ¡°Sure,¡± Glen murmured and watched her chewing mesmerized, drawn into her blue glowing orbs, before he caught himself in turn and grunted in frustration. ¡°Don¡¯t do that,¡± he warned the naughty Zilan and she blushed as much as a giggling Jinx. ¡°Apologies Hardir,¡± Elaniel replied. ¡°You are too handsome.¡± Well, there¡¯s a sharp lass. Glen thought, everyone finding it very funny and tension breaking, but for the old lady Maeriel that scowled at her student. ¡°Just try to be professional and discreet,¡± he cautioned her. ¡°I¡¯m a married man.¡± ¡°Of course Hardir,¡± Elaniel replied smiling. ¡°I can be discreet.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what he meant child,¡± Maeriel intervened again. ¡°Don¡¯t make me ask you a third time.¡± Glen frowned not getting what her problem was and then Elaniel spat the foul mixture on her palm shockingly, before using the soothing green and moist paste on his wounded foot. ¡°It¡¯s a quick salve,¡± Maeriel explained seeing him weirded out. ¡°Not to get it infected.¡± ¡°Ahm,¡± Glen mumbled staring at the Zilan massaging his hurt toes softly. ¡°I used a healing potion, but it was old.¡± ¡°It explains why you¡¯re still breathing,¡± Maeriel replied and scanned the area. ¡°A healing potion is fine for a year. I wouldn¡¯t worry about it.¡± Glen frowned. ¡°It was a bit older than that probably.¡± ¡°Eh, it can help I guess for a couple of years, but it¡¯s not as potent,¡± Maeriel reassured him. ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean you can forget one in a chest and use it twenty years from now. I¡¯m not a sorceress, but I¡¯m pretty certain that¡¯s a death wish.¡± Glen lodged his tongue in the gap of his teeth thoughtfully. Flix probably had them for longer than that for sure. ¡°Do you have a fresh potion?¡± ¡°Soletha promised to make more and Vaelenn can help, when she recovers a bit. But you can¡¯t take another for a day.¡± ¡°What happens if you do?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll get sick depending on the time since you¡¯ve taken the first one,¡± Maeriel replied. ¡°Or slip into a coma.¡± ¡°Will it heal you?¡± ¡°Glen she just told you,¡± Jinx protested, but he stopped her raising his hurt hand. ¡°It might Hardir,¡± Maeriel grunted and Glen nodded having gotten what he wanted to know. You don¡¯t always get a day of respite to heal yourself back up. Sometimes you have to power through things. Elaniel started dressing his wound with a thin clean bandage, working methodically and keeping her eyes on the task. Then he heard a lion¡¯s roar reverberating inside the dome and cursed Luthos for taking the fucking day off on him.
¡°We got to move him,¡± Sam said tensely, eyeing the dark dome expanding for hundreds of meters from their spot. ¡°There¡¯s no need,¡± Maeriel replied and got her bow out. ¡°I¡¯ll drive it away.¡± Elaniel got up, just as Jinx started protesting. ¡°No yer not.¡± Maeriel touched her cheek with a hand tenderly. ¡°I can run circles around him my heart.¡± ¡°Him?¡± Glen asked looking up. God darn it, that¡¯s a criminally short piece of clothing, he thought, when Elaniel stepped in front of him. ¡°The male returned,¡± Maeriel explained. ¡°Jinx told me you fought a lioness.¡± ¡°There were males involved in the fight,¡± Glen retorted not likening her innuendos. ¡°Cock and balls hanging, the whole deal!¡± ¡°I¡¯m coming wit you,¡± Jinx said ignoring his outburst, very annoyingly. ¡°No yer not!¡± Glen blasted her. ¡°It¡¯s too dangerous,¡± he added to reason with her. ¡°So she can go, but I can¡¯t,¡± Jinx hissed suddenly very angry. ¡°Ye expect me to accept this? Fuck you!¡± ¡°I shall go with her,¡± Elaniel offered and Maeriel glared at her. ¡°You¡¯re neither ready, nor dressed for this,¡± she explained evenly. ¡°Stay with Hardir and work on his remaining injuries.¡± Elaniel bowed her head. Glen frowned and returned Jinx¡¯s glare. ¡°Fine,¡± he yielded. ¡°It¡¯s all Fikumin¡¯s fault. I told him to have yer armour made,¡± he groaned and pressed his lips tight. ¡°She¡¯s not ready Hardir,¡± Maeriel insisted and Glen pushed the flapping piece of skin from his eyes to stare at her warningly. ¡°If anything happens to her, I¡¯ll have Uvrycres eat you.¡± Yes, the dagger whispered. Sam gasped horrified and most of the others recoiled at the statement, but Maeriel grimaced and nodded accepting it. ¡°I¡¯ll die first Hardir,¡± the Huntress promised and Jinx punched her hard on the shoulder almost sending her down. ¡°You say this shite again I¡¯ll kill ye myself and then piss on yer corpse,¡± Jinx warned her and then turned her head and glared at the watching Glen. ¡°Then do the same to you, ye thick-skinned prick.¡± Glen watched them walking away, soon only their light showing and then eyed the rest of their silent group. ¡°I have to keep them on their toes,¡± he explained and Sam Mathews nodded appearing troubled. ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to feed her to Uvrycres for crying out loud!¡± ¡°Sure Garth,¡± the adventurer replied with a grimace. ¡°It¡¯s just kinda peculiar ye thought of it though.¡±
¡°Can you move the arm?¡± Elaniel asked him, more guarded now after his outburst. ¡°It¡¯s not too tight?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Glen grunted and fiddled with the bandage on his forehead. Elaniel had promised the salve won¡¯t leave too much of a scar, but her knowledge of healing had been gained around fellow Zilan and not humans. Either way, Glen had enough bandages on him and sported scars in several places to care about one more scar.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Can you stand on that leg?¡± Sam asked him and he tested it. ¡°It will take a bit of getting used to,¡± Glen replied. ¡°My balance is wrong.¡± Sam nodded. ¡°Talk with Angrein,¡± he offered. ¡°About the toe? I get talking to him about new armour, but I don¡¯t see him fixing me a pair of boots,¡± Glen retorted. ¡°The Zilan say he¡¯s quite the artist,¡± the adventurer replied. ¡°He makes furniture, I wager ye he can get a pair of boots made.¡± ¡°Since when do you socialize with Zilan?¡± Glen asked him curious walking slowly around to get his feet under him. He was hurting as a dog kicked repeatedly in the balls, but he was also determined to get himself going again. ¡°There¡¯s a city of them, with more popping up every day in New Goras,¡± Sam replied. ¡°Letting the strays and exiles back in opened the floodgates Garth.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°You got to start thinking about a hierarchy and rules,¡± Sam replied. ¡°A caravan came from the port the other day. Had a slave-merchant in tow. The Zilan with gold to spend bought him out.¡± ¡°Gold?¡± Glen queried. ¡°Old Imperial coins,¡± Sam replied. ¡°Last I checked they were plenty good on Eplas and Jelin as a matter of fact.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the name of that priest?¡± Glen asked scrunching his face, he kept lodging his tongue in the gap in his teeth and it was annoying. ¡°Voldomir,¡± Sam replied. ¡°Did you hear what I said?¡± ¡°This is Eplas,¡± Glen told him. ¡°There¡¯re slaves up wazoo here, so it¡¯s not as easy to have the culture changed,¡± Sam made to protest but he stopped him raising his bandaged fingers. ¡°I will issue an official order to prevent the locals from reintroducing them into the food chain.¡± ¡°What?¡± Sam gasped crooking his mouth. Glen pointed at the staircase. ¡°Those cells you came by were filled with slaves,¡± he explained to the frowning adventurer. ¡°They were used as fodder for whatever they kept in here,¡± his instincts telling him it was the Wyverns. ¡°And food for the priesthood and local residents that forgot the Queen¡¯s rules the moment the going got tough.¡± ¡°Good grief!¡± Sam exclaimed in disgust. ¡°Not all of them are like that,¡± Glen told him. ¡°Keep that in mind, but also remember that all of them are manipulative and use magic all the time.¡± Elaniel looked at him hurt, but Glen shrugged his shoulders indifferently. ¡°It¡¯s in their nature,¡± Glen continued returning her stare. ¡°Am I wrong lass?¡± ¡°It¡¯s how we interact with everything Hardir,¡± Elaniel replied fearfully. ¡°There¡¯s no malice in it.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be the judge of that,¡± Glen deadpanned. ¡°Fuck,¡± Sam grunted next to him. ¡°Now this explains it gods darn it!¡± ¡°Explains what?¡± Glen asked looking at him and the adventurer frowned deeply troubled. ¡°You remember that mule I had tied at the back of the wagon?¡± Glen nodded, though he hadn¡¯t seen that mule in days. ¡°Gave it to Siriel,¡± Sam explained puffing out. ¡°Who¡¯s she?¡± ¡°The girl¡­¡± ¡°Siriel is in her fifth century,¡± Elaniel corrected him calmly. ¡°She sells salves and aromatic oils in the market. Had a son that died in the war and used to run a big shop in the center of Goras.¡± Sam cleared his throat and Glen snorted, gave him a side glance. ¡°Did ye get ¡®anything¡¯ for it?¡± He asked evenly. ¡°Nah, just couldn¡¯t leave her carrying them heavy bags all the way back to her home,¡± Sam replied shaking his head. ¡°Seemed like the right thing to do you know?¡± ¡°So¡­ no oils, something for the foot?¡± Glen queried and Elaniel chuckled finding it funny. A sweet little sound, like a caress. Glen stilled his eyes on her for a long moment, the pretty Zilan turning an darker shade of red with every passing second. ¡°Sam?¡± Glen asked keeping his eyes on the blushing huntress to be. ¡°Nothing Garth,¡± the adventurer replied sadly. ¡°I really liked that mule.¡± ¡°Did ye like Siriel?¡± ¡°Well,¡± Sam replied unsure. ¡°Sure¡­ she has a certain air about her, how she¡ª¡± ¡°You will get back there,¡± Glen cut him off not wanting to hear anything disturbing and then cracked a smile. The cub rubbed its back on his foot and whined softly. She was hungry and Glen was hungry as well. ¡°Ask her for yer payment on the morrow. She owes you, isn¡¯t that right Elaniel?¡± ¡°The ancient Law of the Trade Hardir,¡± she replied huskily. ¡°You offer something, you get something in return.¡± ¡°Aye,¡± Glen agreed and tossed her a square gold coin. She caught it deftly with one hand and pouted cutely. ¡°For yer services,¡± Glen rustled and that was that.
You¡¯re done, Glen thought looking at the darkness inside the ancient Den. You know I¡¯m talking to you. I don¡¯t know what you are, but ye are not going to get what you want anymore. It ends here. I¡¯m not the stupid kid that found you in Oakenfalls. He saw the light in the distance, licked his front teeth with his tongue, found the gap in the left lower part of his jaw and touched it. Glen tasted blood in his mouth. Sighing he stooped and took the cub in his arms, rubbed it between its small hairy ears. Cat chuffed and made a whiny noise grabbing his hand with its front paws. There was no broken step, the dagger hissed. You¡¯ll get nothing for this, Glen replied. I set prizes for the trades. No more snatching people right and left. No more killing unless I tell you so. You do something nasty and I find out, you¡¯re going back to the box. They wanted you dead to prove a point, the dagger whispered using his own voice. All of them are plotting behind your back. Knife them afore they knife you. Who¡¯s they? Glen asked and seeing Jinx¡¯s pink head popping out of the darkness let out a sigh of relief. What is the trade? Glen rubbed the small Nimra¡¯s soft belly with his bandaged fingers thoughtfully. Kill Pelleas. He¡¯s too far away. Ah, Glen thought remembering his dream. He¡¯d gone out of the glass dome, even reached some of the city, before returning. Thank you. You need me thief, the dagger hissed. ¡°Haha,¡± Glen guffawed and set the chuffing cub down. He turned his eyes on the two approaching females. The taller lanky Maeriel and the much shorter Jinx. ¡°How did it go?¡± He asked them and Maeriel tossed the lion¡¯s head to his feet. It rolled on the ground leaving a bloody trail behind. Cat cried out scared and jumped on his leg shaking. ¡°The Nimra is dead Hardir,¡± Maeriel reported clenching her jaw. ¡°The Wyvern¡¯s Den cleared.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve done well Huntress,¡± Glen replied matter-of-factly. ¡°You shall be rewarded. Claim the pelts and bring them back to New Goras. Your pupil will have his armour and you will get a new position.¡± ¡°Gratitude Hardir,¡± Maeriel replied. ¡°May I inquire as to the position?¡± ¡°You get to be the leader of Goras rangers.¡± ¡°I¡¯m an Imperial Huntress.¡± ¡°Not anymore you aren¡¯t,¡± Glen replied. ¡°How soon can you find more pupils?¡± ¡°Glen,¡± Jinx said, but he stopped her with a wave of his hand. ¡°You¡¯ll take strays into an Imperial unit?¡± She asked and Glen grinned. ¡°This is a city kind of, a much sprawled out town more like,¡± he said and picked up the scared cub again to calm it down. ¡°So any unit would have to be equivalent to that. This is what I want Maeriel. Shall I look elsewhere?¡± ¡°Hardir¡¯s Will Be Done,¡± Maeriel replied stiffly and bowed her blue head. ¡°Make it yer motto,¡± Glen suggested teasingly and Jinx rolled her eyes with a grimace of incredulity.
On the long tiring climb back up the stairs Glen paused four steps before the first turn and examined the steps carefully. There was nothing missing there. No broken step and no void. Just flat perfectly sound slates of granite. Sturdy enough to last a lifetime.
This was the most decrepit Zilan Glen had ever seen. His tattered blue robes had long been washed out of color and turned to a pale turquoise with white patches covering it at the front and back. He¡¯d unwashed hair cut very short and wore no shoes. His toes and feet covered in filth. Voldomir was tending to a garden outside a large villa next to the pyramid, the place kept surprisingly clean and well maintained. He raised his wrinkled head watching them approach and scowled, murmuring something under his breath. Kept murmuring agitated seeing Glen hobble his way with Sam Mathews, Phina and Kirk in tow. Jinx had stayed back with Maeriel and Elaniel to skin the lions mainly, find another entrance into the Den secondly, as the one at the back of the Pyramid had collapsed in the earthquakes. The lioness¡¯ lair had one for sure, but Maeriel wanted to look for something better. People get eager when they are promoted. ¡°I¡¯m looking for Voldomir the Priest,¡± Glen said realizing the Zilan wasn¡¯t going to talk to him. ¡°I have a job for him.¡± ¡°I serve the Goddess,¡± Voldomir hissed crooking his mouth. ¡°Leave me out of this.¡± ¡°Out of what? You don¡¯t know what I want,¡± Glen grunted and watched the cub sniffing the flowers sprouting out of the grown well-maintained plants. ¡°Clean the high priestess place, keep the fire burning in the Goddess Temple, this and that,¡± Voldomir continued in his tirade. ¡°I have no time to spare. No time left, everything is gone to waste. The end of days came and I was left to carry the load.¡± ¡°You heard of New Goras friend?¡± Glen started and got his attention. ¡°A new city where the old one was. Trade is opening again, roads being built and people returning. I have no need of your temple, or any temple really and anyway it¡¯s too far away for what I have in mind.¡± ¡°A city without gods is doomed Hardir,¡± Voldomir pointed out and got up cleaning his hands on his robes. He was as tall as Glen, but half as wide. ¡°What you have in mind will not work without divinity.¡± ¡°The new ¡®city¡¯ will incorporate the port of Sinya Goras stretching to the lakes. Both of them. Another port facing the sunken Navel and a castle up on the Eternal Springs plateau. It¡¯s a big place and that¡¯s three towns in a sense spread apart, but connected with good roads and caravans going back and forth between them. Spreading the wealth. A road could come here, as good as the old one, or it might not. We found a den of lions in yer Temple. The next pride that arrives might come here first.¡± Voldomir stared at him in calculating silence. ¡°Say I want legitimacy and the ear of a God, or a Goddess, I could clear the woods, even pay adventurers to explore the Talons. Now I could take any of the Five Gods for that, built them a two-story place to pray and call it a day. I have room aplenty.¡± The Priest grimaced and stared at the whining cub. ¡°Or I could do the road thing, tell people to find solace in the Goddess embrace.¡± Voldomir stooped and petted the cub. ¡°What is the high priestess¡¯ wish?¡± He asked thoughtfully. ¡°Vaelenn seems more political to me. She¡¯ll bargain and look for gain in the material realm,¡± Glen told him. ¡°You on the other hand never visited the city, or bothered to come and see Hardir O¡¯ Fardor. How many priests and priestesses in the Temple look up to you?¡± ¡°Most follow Vaelenn these days,¡± Voldomir admitted. Glen knew that of course. ¡°The place got tainted. Nothing is like it was.¡± ¡°Vaelenn knew about the slaves? She should have. People would have gone to her to plead to lift the Queen¡¯s ban on flesh. I bet it was a difficult decision. Realism and life, or loyalty and death.¡± Voldomir clenched his jaw. He wasn¡¯t going to tell him anything else. Glen had all that he wanted though already. You look for the first decent fool out of the batch. ¡°Will they follow you?¡± He asked, taking him by surprise. ¡°Ah, what do I got to offer?¡± Glen clasped his hands behind and regarded for long the massive temple, the avenue with the giant statues and then the endless forests spreading to every direction. ¡°A castle and two cities for the people,¡± he said finally. ¡°Another for the gods and one for those lost to us. Your Goddess¡¯ Temple the first deity honored. Everyone else can built in her shadow. But not near the honored dead. I will keep this for myself, but people could walk through it. We shall call this place the garden, because it¡¯s what it reminds me of. The Garden of Statues.¡± He turned his head and stared at Voldomir. ¡°What do you say High Priest? Should I go forward with it?¡± ¡°What do you want in return?¡± Voldomir asked him solemnly and Glen forced a smile on his face. ¡°Loyalty,¡± he said. ¡°Keeping the locals on a tight leash.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a wizard, I¡¯m a priest,¡± Voldomir replied. ¡°But I can be loyal. Replacing Vaelenn is not something Hardir could do. You¡¯ll insult Nesande¡¯s priestess?¡± ¡°I could have her killed instead, spare me the drama,¡± Glen retorted without batting an eyelash. ¡°It will taint your position, weaken you for no gain,¡± Voldomir argued. ¡°Hardir couldn¡¯t do it without a valid reason. But the King could, or a Monarch.¡± Ah, Glen thought and watched the Nimra cub he¡¯d named Cat because he couldn¡¯t think of anything better, chasing her tail around the small garden. There it is then. ¡°You asked me what you would have to offer them,¡± Glen said finally and heard Uvrycres shrieking high above them back from his journeys. ¡°How about a Monarch¡¯s favor?¡± Voldomir nodded in understanding. ¡°What would a Monarch want in addition to loyalty?¡± He asked. ¡°Because we both know that was¡­ bullshit talk lord Garth and an unbalanced trade is no trade, but a mummer¡¯s scam shunned by the gods,¡± the priest added with a half-smile. Sam Mathews, who was standing next to the curious Zilan teen, almost drowned in his own spit. Glen in his turn let out a relieved chuckle, then scratched his brow with a bandaged finger and replied with one of his favorite words. ¡°Gold.¡±
Arguen Garth visited Nesande¡¯s Great Temple and cleared the Wyvern Den of a score of lions in the same day. He also decided to force an injured Vaelenn to resign for her own good, raised in her place as High Priest of Nesande the then unknown priest Voldomir, making him in turn the religious head of New Goras. Garth returned to New Goras injured and with a treasure in gold coins. While very few had realized it at the time Hardir O¡¯ Fardor had already decided what road to take. The reasons for it not for everyone to know, other than the fact that this burden few were willing to shoulder, but only him could bring through the finish line. ¡®There is a scale for each one of us,¡¯ he used to say to this scribe reminiscing. ¡®Ye shove things on it if you¡¯re greedy. Always more, never looking back. But it moves ye see, one side going up, the other sinking to the bottom. Ye earn on one hand, lose on the other. You can¡¯t win if you don¡¯t balance it. But you can lose, good grief you can. You blink one day and people are gone. You can lose it all.¡¯ He didn¡¯t have a throne yet, or a crown. He slept in a house without doors and windows. The army was months away from forming a mere unit and the fleet was one ship, captained by a scoundrel pirate. That day Hardir O¡¯ Fardor decided he wouldn¡¯t judge going forth per the prophecies, but he would rule instead. Some say it¡¯s the same, but those that matter disagree. So rule he did. Phinariel, the Boorish Poet, Royal Scribe, Member of the Queen¡¯s Council in King¡¯s Anabasis (Sinya Goras) -Monarch Arguen Garth, O¡¯ Nielek Aniculo- Chapter II Part IV -King¡¯s Cub- Final paragraph Winter-Summer of 3396 IC (190 NC)
235. I wouldn’t worry about it
Baron Storm Nattas I wouldn¡¯t worry about it
¡°Where¡¯s the Queen Regent Lord Nattas?¡± King Jeremy asked, the crown of Regia almost touching his eyebrows and probably hurting his head by now. Storm eyed Sir Herus Comes, the new leader of the King¡¯s Guard and a knight that Jeremy knew well since he was a kid and the middle-aged man pressed his lips tight in condemnation. Whether it was for Storm¡¯s dilapidated appearance, or his tardiness in replying to the King¡¯s queries Storm didn¡¯t know. He stared at his dirty shoes for a moment as if thinking it through and replied much like he had earlier. ¡°Had Lord Doris allowed me to look into it your grace, I could have told you in no time at all.¡± ¡°Time has gone by, Lord Nattas,¡± Jeremy argued. ¡°And Lord Doris has good reason for arresting you. You must know, the consensus was to have you executed¡­ in a rather harsh manner.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no kind way to kill a man your grace,¡± Storm said. ¡°Just faster and slower options.¡± Jeremy sat back on the old throne his father had occupied for decades and frowned, he had to adjust the crown on his head once. ¡°You are not going to talk then?¡± He asked. ¡°Your Grace, I¡¯ve been imprisoned like a thug, lived in a hole for weeks and now dragged to Alden sardined in a wagon too short to stand upright for days. Twenty to be exact,¡± Storm replied. ¡°I need time to recover and reach out to my sources.¡± ¡°Your sources know where my mother went?¡± Jeremy asked. ¡°How would they, unless what Lord Doris accuses you is the truth?¡± Storm licked his dry lips and grimaced. ¡°You know the Queen Regent,¡± he started. ¡°Of course I do!¡± ¡°Has she ever expressed any interest in my person?¡± Storm asked him. ¡°She didn¡¯t like, nor trusted you Lord Nattas. The rumors surrounding you are disgusting. Where one should start? Philanderer, frequents ill-repute brothels, torturer and rumored to have people assassinated, or ¡®disappeared¡¯ left and right.¡± ¡°In service to the Crown your Grace, one has to foul his hands so that nobler hands remain clean.¡± ¡°Bah, so all rumors are false? There are no orders issued giving you this kind of leeway Lord Nattas. Everyone is lying but you?¡± ¡°Not what I meant your Grace, I have perhaps misstated it. Rumors can be that, they can also be false aye, or spread by my enemies to take me out,¡± Storm argued. ¡°But back to my previous query, do you truly believe the Queen Regent would take me as a lover?¡± ¡°You should not talk about her this way!¡± Jeremy blasted him turning red in the face and almost losing the crown from his head. He readjusted it again, breathing heavy and glaring at him. ¡°Is Lord Doris words less harmful your Grace?¡± Storm insisted calmly. ¡°Should we sully her name on an ancient Dottore¡¯s opinion, or even her own false self-diagnosis? Do you know how a woman¡¯s womb works? Because I don¡¯t, not really.¡± ¡°Why would you resign from the council Lord Nattas?¡± ¡°I¡¯m still the Queen Regent¡¯s Shield your Grace, until she removes me, but I can¡¯t serve Regia, if another King is sitting the throne.¡± ¡°Your King!¡± Storm bowed deeply. ¡°My King has the right to pick his own Council.¡± ¡°You are calling Lord Doris a liar? There were other knights¡¯ present Lord Nattas.¡± ¡°What do these knights know? Nothing. The Queen Regent got sick, appeared swollen and asked for a Dottore who assumed she must be with child. Perhaps she feared it as well and let it slip. That doesn¡¯t mean she was right. This isn¡¯t proof of anything my King.¡± ¡°A child can¡¯t just appear out of nowhere Lord Nattas! That means she was having an affair behind my father¡¯s back!¡± King Jeremy yelled, youthful face all flushed with anger. Miranda having an affair behind his back was the other part of what the king meant. ¡°Without a child produced this could be nothing but a misdiagnosis your Grace, a common case of rot in the intestines, unreleased gasses due to stress, or even something else and the Queen perfectly innocent, though in grave danger,¡± Storm replied, keeping his composure. ¡°So you say, but how are we to know, if she¡¯s missing?¡± ¡°As I said King Jeremy,¡± Storm reminded him. ¡°I could find her, if I was allowed to breathe. Another month down the line I¡¯ll be dead and the Queen Regent still missing.¡± ¡°Why would she hide, if she¡¯s innocent?¡± Jeremy asked, sounding a bit hurt. ¡°It¡¯s not easy defending your innocence, when the first words on everyone¡¯s lips were to cut her open and kill whatever she had inside,¡± Storm explained. ¡°Was the Queen threatened, Sir Comes?¡± King Jeremy asked, the scowling Knight. ¡°I wasn¡¯t present your Highness,¡± Sir Comes replied. ¡°But the rumor is Sir Turner attempted to slash at her with his sword. Sir Barnard intervened, afore removing the Queen Regent and disappearing.¡± King Jeremy rubbed his pale face with both hands troubled. ¡°This is unacceptable. What was Lord Doris reaction?¡± ¡°He suggested it your Grace,¡± Storm replied, throwing the Lord Treasurer under the proverbial wagon. ¡°Why for goodness sake?¡± King Jeremy gasped. ¡°His own sister?¡± ¡°He believes I¡¯m having an affair with the Queen Regent,¡± Storm replied and left it at that. It was of course the absolute truth, but under this kind of light it sounded absurd to the young King. ¡°Can you find her Lord Nattas?¡± The King asked. ¡°Certainly your Grace,¡± Storm replied humbly. ¡°But first I must find myself and learn what date it is. I haven¡¯t had wine in weeks, or a month and what I¡¯m given to eat I share with sewer rats. Why, I can barely stand upright your Grace, but for my zeal and desire not to have your Grace insulted by collapsing on the tiles.¡± ¡°Sir Comes,¡± King Jeremy said a little moved at his honest and heartfelt outburst. ¡°Have good Lord Nattas released immediately.¡± ¡°Right away my King,¡± the hale knight thundered and Storm bowed his head deeply, over the protests of his crackling back. ¡°I take it you have property in Alden? I¡¯m aware you frequent with¡­ the merchants in Cartagen, but not much else,¡± King Jeremy asked him. ¡°Should we arrange a place for you to stay?¡± ¡°I have a small apartment in the city your Grace,¡± Storm replied. ¡°I¡¯m a man of simple needs.¡± Lord Nattas had numerous properties of course, be it houses, inns and large parcels of land spread throughout Regia and most of its major cities and ports. He also had a Barony that showed uncultivated land, forests and a tiny village on the maps, but sported a port and a half-finished manor by now, the size of the King¡¯s palace in Alden. If one wanted to find one thing Lord Nattas wasn¡¯t, other than a lover of truth, then that search would quickly reveal he was anything but a man of simple needs.
Storm eyed the driver of the carriage not remembering him, but the young man kept looking directly to the front and the horses¡¯ flapping tails. The side door opened and Sirio¡¯s head popped out, a dark shadow on his face making him look older. ¡°My lord,¡± the historian said and quickly came down to help him climb up the small ladder. ¡°We heard a rumor you¡¯ve died.¡± ¡°How did it happened?¡± Storm grunted taking one side of the leather-dressed bench inside, right behind the driver, with Sirio sitting across from him. ¡°Heart attack, when the Queen stepped down,¡± Sirio replied. ¡°Not going to happen,¡± Storm scoffed. ¡°They¡¯ll have to kill me to get rid of me.¡± Lord Nattas stretched his back on the narrow but comfortable bench, as the carriage started moving away from the square. ¡°How was it?¡± the young man asked a little tensed. ¡°Girls were hairy and rat-faced,¡± Storm deadpanned. ¡°The venue had terrible hygiene. I wouldn¡¯t recommend it, but for the price. It was cheap as fuck.¡± ¡°You heard the news about Antoon?¡± Sirio probed a awkward moment later. Storm eyed his fresh clean redingote with envy. ¡°I did, we¡¯ll talk more of this later. I¡¯ll need a fresh set of clothes,¡± he added. ¡°I have given orders. A proper meal will be ready as well.¡± ¡°Uhm, good-good,¡± Storm said. ¡°Sudi?¡± ¡°On site Lord Nattas,¡± Sirio replied, adding to sound mysterious. ¡°With the package.¡± ¡°Is that code talk?¡± ¡°Yes, Lord Nattas it is. At least it was my intention.¡± ¡°Lets not use the term again,¡± Storm advised him. ¡°Lord Doris stayed in Aegium?¡± ¡°He did. Lord Sula had over three thousand men ready and rumors are he is training at least a couple of thousand more.¡± ¡°Where did he find the men? Is he emptying the mines?¡± Storm asked curious. ¡°Cartagen. Men are deserting the city guard,¡± Sirio replied. ¡°Lord Ursus might be ordered to move to the city if Baron Valens fails to keep the order.¡± ¡°What¡¯s his problem?¡± Storm asked with a snort. ¡°People don¡¯t understand why Jeremy sits on the throne,¡± Sirio explained. ¡°Lucius was nowhere to be found is why,¡± Storm replied, adding. ¡°But let me guess, ¡®people¡¯ had no idea the ¡®Bloody Tiger¡¯ is missing.¡± ¡°He¡¯s not,¡± Sirio corrected him. ¡°Lord Lucius has taken Kas from Sovya and has an army with him. Some say another Legion.¡± Of course he has, Storm thought with a deep sigh. ¡°What is Lesia doing?¡± ¡°Parts of the Second Legion appeared near Flauegran and the road to Cartagen.¡± ¡°Eh, they have regulars aplenty to send up north, this is for King Jeremy,¡± Storm said. ¡°King Davenport knows the young king has no control over his realm yet.¡± ¡°Surely he wouldn¡¯t¡ª¡± Sirio protested just as the door opened en route and a hooded leather-clad Maja climbed inside the moving carriage. ¡°Boys,¡± the assassin teased and sat on Sirio¡¯s lap. ¡°Husband, give me that tongue.¡± ¡°For fuck¡¯s sake!¡± Storm exploded, while Sirio was getting sexually assaulted across from him. He wasn¡¯t exactly fighting her off, Lord Nattas noticed. ¡°Enough!¡± He barked wishing he had one of his canes at the near. ¡°Storm, it¡¯s five minutes to your place,¡± Maja explained. ¡°I can have the marriage consummated by then.¡± Storm scrunched his face taken by surprise, fingers working at his unkempt goatee and then nodded much to Sirio¡¯s shock. Granted the young man¡¯s shock wore off not a minute into their frenzied coupling, with Storm a witness per the custom. Lord Nattas just wished there was a liquor cabinet in this carriage and vowed to have one installed as soon as possible.
Lord Nattas cut another piece of soft yellow cheese, then dropped it amidst the hot caramelized onions and cooked in orange juice potatoes. He watched it melt for a while, while Maja and Sirio assaulted their plates with the enthusiasm they¡¯d been fucking earlier. With a sigh and another taste of his wine, he used a fork to stab a well-roasted potato, run it through the melted cheese sauce and brought it to his mouth. Storm chewed on it slowly savoring the rich flavor and washed his mouth with wine between each forkful.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°Antoon is alive,¡± he finally said, when he felt full enough and pushed back on his comfortable chair. A person appreciates simple things in life after he spends time sleeping in a dark cell for a while. Maja placed her fork down and glanced at the frowning Sirio. ¡°He¡¯s a member of the family,¡± Storm grunted. ¡°Open your ears Sirio, fucking has consequences and despite appearances is never free.¡± ¡°Lord Nattas,¡± Sirio started blushing. ¡°Call me Storm,¡± Nattas cut him off. ¡°Maja dear, I expect an answer.¡± ¡°The Gods wanted him alive,¡± Maja replied with a pout. ¡°Sirio doesn¡¯t have to hear this.¡± ¡°He¡¯ll love and honor you despite of it,¡± Storm retorted. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about him.¡± ¡°I told you what happened,¡± Maja hissed unwilling to talk in front of Sirio. What in Abrakas rotting cock? Did you really expect I¡¯ll give you a rose garden to live yer fucking dreams, or whatever you lost being a murdering cunt? ¡°Tell me again,¡± He grunted. ¡°Antoon made it almost unscathed down the stairs,¡± Maja explained. ¡°So I had to use a spear and a hammer.¡± ¡°You had them with you?¡± Storm asked eyeing the paling historian. ¡°I had to take out a servant the day before, pose as her for a night. A girl must be prepared,¡± Maja murmured, playing with her food. ¡°Still I was given no time to finish him off, or reach his wife. I thought about it but the guards were on me. As I said Storm, the Gods wanted him to survive, but he doesn¡¯t have long to live.¡± ¡°Gods forgive us,¡± Sirio gasped, looking like he was about to throw up. ¡°Have some wine,¡± Storm advised him callously. ¡°Breathe deeply through the nose.¡± Maja stared at the young man hurt. ¡°He¡¯ll get over it,¡± Storm reassured her. ¡°Love you the more for it,¡± he added and Sirio turned his head around visibly frustrated. ¡°The Eikenaar¡¯s had your ancestor hanged, drawn and quartered. His skeleton is still in the Royal Treasury,¡± He reminded him. ¡°You wanted revenge, this is how it tastes son.¡± ¡°The Queen was pregnant Lord Nattas,¡± Sirio protested, red in the face. ¡°And not an Eikenaar!¡± ¡°I would have killed that boy another way, if there was one,¡± Storm explained and Sirio recoiled. ¡°But I couldn¡¯t without going through his mother. If it¡¯s any consolation the boy lived and his mother didn¡¯t apparently. How did she get out of the city?¡± The latter he addressed to Maja, who was more concerned with her husband¡¯s reaction. Which of course was ridiculous. ¡°A group of knights rode towards Midlanor that morning,¡± Maja explained. ¡°I had the roads closely watched. No pregnant woman with them. Nienke wasn¡¯t in a condition to ride, or even walk. I don¡¯t believe the story.¡± ¡°Pfft, so in other words you don¡¯t know?¡± Storm grunted. ¡°Ah, at least they are fighting about it, giving Regia the time to sort this fucking mess!¡± ¡°What mess?¡± Sirio murmured and glared at Maja that started crying miraculously. With great sobs and everything. Storm scrunched his nose and gulped down his wine in numb silence only broken by her sniffling. Now this was obviously all fake, but still it was very disturbing and depressing to witness. ¡°Let us talk of this later,¡± Storm said and got up to escort a distressed Sirio out of his office. ¡°Give her space son.¡± ¡°This is a terrible business you have her mixed up in Lord Nattas,¡± Sirio admonished him. Storm smacked his lips and paused at the door of his office to stare at his youthful, despite the manly shadow face. ¡°I was just released from the dungeons,¡± Storm told him patiently. ¡°It was a surprise, as the original plan was to have me killed quietly and toss my corpse to the pigs. The High King of Kaltha had your King, who happens to be my king, assassinated and the wrong heir sits on his throne. I tried to even the playing field, give us a chance to breathe and prepare. I shall let history judge my actions, but I ain¡¯t going to take a cock up the arse without retaliating son!¡± He breathed in and out a couple of times to calm himself down afore continuing. ¡°This is what we do. We are mean, unforgiving motherfuckers. This is the family business Sirio. This is the family you married into.¡± ¡°You shouldn¡¯t use her anymore,¡± Sirio muttered very disturbed and pressing his mouth tight. ¡°Find another killer Lord Nattas.¡± ¡°When you¡¯re the head of this family,¡± Storm replied evenly. ¡°You can use whomever you want, but until then I shall use her Sirio. Do you know why?¡± Sirio licked his lips disgusted. ¡°That¡¯s not a talent,¡± he croaked. ¡°Oh, but it is,¡± Storm replied harshly. ¡°Just as you¡¯re good at keeping notes, figuring old schemes out, but also writing stories that will have you killed in the future, unless you have people doing what you¡¯re not talented enough to do yourself son. Each talent is useful, each skill valued in our business.¡± ¡°What business is this? Murder?¡± ¡°Right now its real politics, shadow government. Be it kingdom running today, or a crime syndicate tomorrow, whatever the fuck people will call it in fifty years.¡± ¡°When does it end?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t. You will learn to live with its many nuances and with her secrets. You will learn to look the other way and you will learn to treasure your survival above decency and what¡¯s right or wrong,¡± Storm sighed and clasped his hands behind his back. ¡°If you don¡¯t, you¡¯ll have yer ancestor¡¯s fate and while it¡¯s your choice Sirio what to do with your life, I have a kid on the way that depends on you running things for him and not her to survive and be happy. I need you to steer the ship right the mid and not turn my family into a den of killers. Killers might survive this world, but theirs is a miserable existence.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand what you mean,¡± Sirio said. ¡°In time, you will,¡± Storm replied.
Storm stood near the open behind the curtains window and stared at the setting sun. It had engulfed the city of Alden in a sinister reddish hue, the summer heat still present, but slowly retreating. The door opened and a refreshed Maja walked inside, wearing an expensive yellow summer dress. ¡°A gift?¡± He asked seeing her reflection through the glass. ¡°He¡¯s very sweet,¡± Maja replied and found a chair to sit down, crossing her fit legs. ¡°Nothing like you.¡± ¡°Or you,¡± Storm said and turned around. ¡°Which is a problem, since he¡¯ll get himself killed unless you take care of him.¡± ¡°I can take care of my own Storm.¡± ¡°You will take care of my own as well,¡± he told her and walked to his desk to sit down. He stared at the scrolls on his office, reports coming in and the messages from people on his payroll. ¡°You will work under Sudi.¡± ¡°Haha, Sudi hates me,¡± Maja chuckled and then turned serious. ¡°I don¡¯t work for you Nattas. That not how this goes.¡± ¡°You do. You¡¯ve thought this through, getting your Guild join me and mine, but you are missing some details,¡± Storm explained. ¡°You will never run my family. What I have built isn¡¯t for you.¡± ¡°You think Sirio¡ª¡± ¡°Miranda will have a son. He¡¯ll grow and grab them fuckers by the balls,¡± Storm said confidently. ¡°All this is for him.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t possibly know that,¡± Maja shook her blond head. ¡°She might not make it, or pop a little girl out.¡± ¡°Abrakas is a vile god, but he rubs the truth in your face. No visions and half words, no contracts in the middle of the night.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve turned religious now?¡± Storm stared at the shadows gathering outside the window as the light went out. Some real, some less so. Ah. ¡°Fetch us a couple goblets,¡± he told her and opened the last drawer to get a fresh bottle out. ¡°You could have some servants helping in this place you know,¡± Maja murmured going to the cupboard. ¡°Servants talk,¡± Storm replied. ¡°But you know that.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t keep the Queen hidden,¡± Maja said bringing the goblets. ¡°I won¡¯t, but I have to keep the child out of sight.¡± Maja poured wine in the goblets and took her seat again. ¡°How are you going to do that?¡± ¡°Yours was a matrilineal marriage,¡± Storm explained and she looked up surprised. ¡°Why¡­?¡± Storm tasted the wine with a smile. ¡°Never thought of looking at the papers didn¡¯t you? There¡¯s nothing there you decided. A minor detail. There are no minor details. The first male heir of my house inherits everything. Down to the last nail under these floorboards.¡± "I''m past the age of bearing children, for reasons you''re well aware," she murmured tensely. "Divine providence has given ye a second lease in life. You shall have a child," Storm replied dryly. ¡°What does Sirio think of this?¡± ¡°Leave Sirio out of it,¡± Storm replied and glanced at the breathing curtains, now shaded in the yellowish light of the oil lamps. ¡°This is about you and what you will do for me.¡± ¡°Another murder?¡± Maja asked raising a thin brow. ¡°Eventually you¡¯ll run out of people to kill Nattas and I will move on to another client.¡± ¡°No other clients. You¡¯ll retire and take up a full time task. Call it penance for yer sins, if you prefer,¡± Storm told her and set his goblet on the table. A breeze came from the window, it made the lights flicker and Maja tensed up seeing the small scarred, one eyed boy appear next to the open window. He was covered in a long cloak too big for him and looked more like a ghoul than a kid. ¡°Who¡¯s this?¡± Maja whispered and placed her goblet on the table. ¡°I asked for a Servant,¡± Storm said and the boy walked to his desk. He stopped and tended his hand. Storm reached and took a small piece of parchment the boy kept there and dropped it on the desk amidst his other papers. It was a small brown piece of old vellum with no words written on it, but Maja stared at it visibly shaken. ¡°Who¡¯s the contract for?¡± she asked trying to read the black scribblings slowly forming on the surface. It was magic this, Storm thought and checked the name written in old blocked Imperial Script. The freakish kid named Tout turned his head and stared at her with an unnerving toothy grin. ¡°What the fuck did you do?¡± Maja hissed and dropped her hand into the folds of her dress. ¡°I put a mark on you,¡± Storm elucidated. ¡°You can¡¯t do that you piece of shit,¡± the assassin snarled and another assassin stepped into the room. Ralnor had been standing on the open window all this time, just a layer of unassuming shadow. A shadow too many. ¡°There¡¯s no need for that child,¡± Ralnor advised her and Tout chuckled, earning a reproachful glare from the similarly dressed aberration. ¡°He called for a servant apparently. I shall hear him out.¡±
¡°Do you know what he is?¡± Maja hissed clenching her fists. ¡°I assume he¡¯s good at his job,¡± Storm replied and watched the small boy going through his cupboard and checking outside the office, after cracking the door open. ¡°You¡¯ve no idea what you¡¯re getting yourself into!¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you use poison?¡± Ralnor asked her calmly. ¡°I had used it for the attack on the Priests,¡± she replied nervously. ¡°They could have traced it back to him, make the connection.¡± ¡°Why do you care?¡± Ralnor asked, as the boy sat on the chair and started drinking from the bottle watching them. ¡°She doesn¡¯t care about me,¡± Storm explained. ¡°But she wants her husband kept out of trouble. She found a thread of light in her black heart and grasped at it desperately. The why is quite a mystery perhaps, but I don¡¯t care enough to investigate.¡± ¡°The ship left port heading for Eplas,¡± Ralnor said, changing subject. ¡°I want transportation out of Aldenport Nattas. The discreet variant.¡± ¡°What?¡± Maja murmured. ¡°What does this have¡ª?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll have it,¡± Storm replied, over her protests. ¡°What are the terms?¡± Ralnor said evenly. ¡°I assume you want something more than simply have her eliminated.¡± ¡°Nattas you despicable scum!¡± Maja snarled and Tout started chuckling finding it funny. Ralnor stooped and grabbed the bottle away from him with a grunt. ¡°Your terms Lord Nattas,¡± Ralnor repeated examining the bottle of Flauegran, before placing it on the table carefully. Dar Eherdir. This was the name written on the parchment and Storm shouldn¡¯t have been able to read it, but he did. Lord Nattas just knew in his heart that this was what it said. So Storm told him what he wanted in turn. You don¡¯t throw away a tool that is foolish. You put it to good use instead.
An owl called from his open window and Storm who hadn¡¯t slept at all, glanced at himself in the mirror. He spotted new wrinkles on his face and several strands of white hair on his head. No grey. It seemed he''d skipped that part and rushed straight for the finale. Lots to do still, he thought and turned around, when Sirio entered his office. ¡°Maja is leaving,¡± Sirio said immediately and Storm grimaced. ¡°Good morning son,¡± he told him, feeling an ulcer burning in his stomach. ¡°I fail to see how it is, Lord Nattas,¡± Sirio noted sourly. ¡°She has a soft spot for you,¡± Storm advised him. ¡°Use it to get what you want, but know that if you betray her trust you¡¯re a dead man.¡± Sirio smacked his lips, head not as well-combed that morning, the young man busy ¡®consoling¡¯ the rattled assassin for most of the evening. ¡°I shall go with her. I¡¯m needed at the Barony.¡± ¡°How is she?¡± Storm asked. Miranda was his meaning. ¡°Asked for you, rumors that you¡¯ve died worried her,¡± Sirio reported. ¡°How was the journey?¡± ¡°Difficult, but surprisingly absent danger. The workshops are driving her crazy.¡± ¡°She¡¯ll manage. That¡¯s a tough woman,¡± Storm commented and gulped down to chase the weakness away. This next part left no room for sentimentality. ¡°You¡¯ll travel to Islandport near Asturia,¡± Storm continued. ¡°There¡¯s a certain woman there that ¡®works¡¯ for me. She received a chest with ¡®tools¡¯ recently and instructions to keep it safe, until you arrive.¡± Sirio Veturius stood back and stared at him unsure. ¡°When you do,¡± Storm continued. ¡°You¡¯ll seek passage up North, you¡¯ll stay alive whatever the fucking cost and reach Kas. You¡¯ll arrive there in the middle of harsh Winter, so plan accordingly. Where¡¯s Secundus? I haven¡¯t seen him since before I got arrested!¡± ¡°No one has seen him in more than month,¡± Sirio murmured deep in thought. ¡°Sudi is worried about him. What did you have him do last?¡± Hmm. ¡°It matters not at this junction,¡± Storm pushed forward. ¡°You¡¯ll do as I say now Sirio. You¡¯re leaving tomorrow.¡± ¡°What am I to do in Kas?¡± Sirio asked him, clenching his jaw and growing up in a night by at least a couple of years. ¡°You know what.¡± ¡°How am I to get into Lucius¡¯ entourage Lord Nattas?¡± Sirio asked. ¡°You¡¯re working for his brother.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a fucking writer, concoct a story for crying out loud. Speak of marrying my daughter and having to run away.¡± ¡°He¡¯ll never buy that,¡± Sirio protested, but then paused and stared at Lord Nattas alarmed. ¡°What¡¯s in the chest?¡± ¡°Credibility,¡± Storm replied dryly. ¡°For your arse. Legitimacy for Lucius and assurance my family plays both sides of this idiotic conflict that¡¯s about to erupt.¡± ¡°Lucius will fight his brother?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be an idiot son,¡± Storm admonished him. ¡°Lucius been fighting this war afore any of us got wind we were in it. He¡¯ll fight us all, but if he wins you¡¯ll get some of the credit. You¡¯ve my family¡¯s future in yer hands, don¡¯t fuck this up.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know Lord Lucius,¡± Sirio replied apprehensively. ¡°Eh, he¡¯s just yer type,¡± Storm reassured him. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t worry about it.¡± 236. Triumph slays infamy
Prefect Nonus Sula Triumph slays infamy
IV Legion* (Abbreviated | IV LEGIO, Brazen Fourth, IV-LG) Solem Rubrum Mons | Bronze and gold sign representing a red sun emerging behind a black peak (Comparable emblem to the City of Demames, but for the coloring) Organizational chart (late summer 190 NC) Prefect | Nonus Sula (Promoted to Tribune, acting Legatus after the summer of 190 NC) (Acting) Optio | Declan Valens (Promoted to Prefect) Pete Dumont (Aide de Legatus) Solem Rubrum Mons Signifier | Duc Gratian First Cohort (ICH-IVLG) First Century (ICN-ICH-IVLG) 200 Legionnaires Centurion (Primus Pilus) Paulus Didicus Decanus Derio Papius (First Maniple) Decanus Baro (2nd Maniple) Decanus Trebius (3rd Maniple) Decanus Avienus (4rth Maniple) - Second Century (IICN-ICH-IVLG) 100 Legionnaires Centurion Lar Montaus Decanus Badi Littera - Third Century (IIICN-ICH-IVLG) 100 Legionnaires Centurion Sisena Draco Decanus Varo Bellator - Fourth Century (IVCN-ICH-IVLG) 100 Legionnaires Centurion Publius Surinas Decanus Vala - (Attached III Legio unit) Legion Slingers 200 Slingers Centurion Mamercus Sorex Decanus Joe Fallon - (Attached III Legio unit) Scouts (part of Kaeso¡¯s Rangers) 100? Ranger-type units (A mix of mounted archers and light warriors) Decanus ¡®One-Ear¡¯ Pike (Promoted to Centurion) 50 Rangers (A mix of Nords, Lorians and Half-breeds) Plus Gerard¡¯s Raiders (probably around fifty Northmen) under ¡®Nice¡¯ Gerard *Around eight hundred fighting men (500 Legionnaires) and around a thousand civilians, merchants, blacksmiths, carpenters and medics following in the supply train.
The scout popped out of the trees, face flushed a deep red, white teeth gleaming in the rays coming through the thick canopy. He run towards them, feet thudding in the soft ground, branches snapping and rotten dark cones hurled right and left. ¡°Quite the haste that fellow,¡± Optio Valens commented, in his Cartagen extravagant accent and Nonus turned to watch Centurion Didicus step forward to bark an order heard down the rows of packed legionnaires occupying the road. ¡°JAVELINS!¡± The scout saw the line of gleaming armoured legionnaires coming alive and ogled his eyes so much it wrapped his face into something hideous. He then dived for the sloped ground before the forest¡¯s road cobblestone. ¡°This ¡®ll go belly up,¡± Valens said and then the first riders burst out of the tree line with a severe clamor, hooves thundering and horses neighing, mixing up with men yelling at the top of their lungs. Most of it dying down when they saw the rows of legionnaires occupying the road. A brief respite before the first javelins ripped through the leading group. Steel tips going through men and animals. Ribs breaking, mail tearing and flesh exploding in bloody torrents that painted tree trunks and ground alike. The clamor turning into grotesque series of painful scared screams and neighs of agony. Tyeus Will Be Done. ¡°AT THEM!¡± Nonus bellowed, cheek guards tight on his face and cutting the skin, the helm cumbersome on his head pressing down his thick neck. He kicked with his legs and the horse rushed forward, cut left and up the sloping ground towards the trees, the rest of his entourage coming with him. No time to plan anything. Not time to think of the next moment. No reason to. A second and half a breath later he was on the first rider, a tall man wearing plate and a conned helm. Nonus slashed with his sword, but the armoured rider turned his horse, got its head in the blade¡¯s way. The sword peeled away the hapless animal¡¯s face, part of the snout to the bone and its left eye, the wound spraying hot blood over his own mount¡¯s mane. His horse reared almost tossing him, the other recoiled and died from heart attack another second later, Nonus¡¯ opponent going under his own mount¡¯s hooves that came down full force as the man tried to stand up, or roll away in panic. Failing at both.
Nonus broke out the branches of two bunched together pine trees and into an opening in the northern part of the forest. He grunted when the strong sun thwacked him in the face, eyes blurring and earth dancing beyond his horse¡¯s large black head, but the Prefect caught sight of the two long rows of foot soldiers advancing twenty meters ahead of him and snapped out of his daze on the double quick. Nonus pulled hard at the reins, the animal neighed raising its head towards the heavens once and the officer walking outside of the Lesia regulars line raised his right fist, gnarling mouth barking an order and a dozen archers jumped out of the slowly moving line. That was a lot of ammunition aimed at him. Bloated harlots of Novesium. The Prefect turned his torso around and yelled at the horse to get moving. An arrow flew over his head, another broke on his shining laminated armour, splinters raining over him and a third plunged into his mount¡¯s right eye. The horse made a leap and two short strides, then went down amidst pine needles and rotting trunks. Nonus jumped from the saddle at the last moment, stumbled forward when his feet touched the ground, boots slipping in the mud and arrows zipping over his head. Sod it. ¡°BACK!¡± he yelled at the young scout riding next to Pete Dumont his longtime aide and started running hard towards them. Optio Valens following less than a horse¡¯s body behind them, realized what was happening and pulled hard at reins with one arm, the other waving wild to stop the rest of their riders going after the retreating enemy scouts. ¡°TURN BACK GODS DAMNIT!¡± Nonus Sula roared realizing he was going to die for nothing and in Legion red, six years after his austere father had told him life and death outside the army were meaningless. His legs pumping at the wet earth and arrows flying angry right and left. He grabbed at a grimacing Dumont¡¯s arm tightly, allowed his friend¡¯s hurriedly doing an about turn horse to drag him away for ten meters at least, afore he managed to climb behind him on the leather saddle and ride to safety.
¡°Ah, damnation.¡± Optio Valens commented five minutes later, a permanent scowl on his face. ¡°Nasties are in the Pines!¡± ¡°Centurion Papius!¡± Nonus barked the moment his hobnailed sandals touched the wet earth. ¡°Find Montaus and sent his Second Century in the woods!¡± ¡°Prefect!¡± Centurion Papius replied and whipped his helmed around to find a Decanus. ¡°Baro send a runner to Montaus on the double!¡± ¡°You need to stop the supply train,¡± Dumont reminded him, following after a rapidly moving towards the open, but narrow expanse of the road Sula. The Prefect¡¯s worried eyes examining the opposing tree lines. The northern side on his left arm, the south on his right hiding the river¡¯s banks. ¡°Else they¡¯ll get us all bogged down in the narrows.¡± ¡°Valens send a rider back,¡± Sula ordered the still following them on his mount officer. ¡°Order Surinas to halt the wagons, but follow after the other Centuries. For fuck¡¯s sake man move! I want the army here now!¡± ¡°That¡¯s Pike¡¯s Rangers,¡± Dumont said and pointed at the riders coming towards them galloping outside the long rows of still forming up legionnaires. ¡°We need to get out of this darn road and spread out to protect our flanks,¡± Nonus realized. ¡°They pin us here and we¡¯re all dead.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think they know we are here Nonus,¡± Dumont grunted staring at the gloomy faced Montaus getting his orders by the side of the forest road, his Century coming up behind him over thirty rows deep, as no more than three soldiers could walk side by side, or a single wagon. ¡°Now they do,¡± Nonus spat and clenched his unshaven jaw.
The retreating Northern force from Rifjordal, now pursued for a couple of days and already halfway to Rif River realized most of Sovya¡¯s force had split after the junction and turned around to give battle. Armando Ley¡¯s Boars refused to get baited seeing they were outnumbered, with more and more Northmen trickling back to assault them and retreated in turn towards Duke Redmond¡¯s following Carls. The Duke had a task and a half in his hands, as Baron Palma coming after the spread out Duchy¡¯s force with his regulars, had split his force and sent over a thousand of them east through the woods, to secure the road to Kas. Prefect Sula intercepted his scouts in a brief skirmish that almost had the young general killed, if one is to believe the reports and warned the Baron of the potential trouble to his eastern flank of advance. He ordered the soldiers to prepare for battle, whilst trying to gauge Sula¡¯s numbers. In a hectic day, with skirmishes and clashes amidst the pine trees, the Baron sent word to the Duke to halt operations and asked the other half of his force to abandon chasing the Northmen and come to his aid.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The Baron feared he was facing a full Legion and sent riders to the strong detachment holding the bridge over Stad River and guarding his long supply lines to warn them. It wasn¡¯t until late noon that he got further information on the forces he was up against. This wasn¡¯t Lucius Third Legion for starters. Secondly this wasn¡¯t a full Legion, but a Cohort at best. Baron Palma decided to strike and rescinded his previous orders ¨Cnot even five hours old by then- opting for a multi-pronged assault on Sula¡¯s vulnerable position. The Regulars advanced through the Northern side of the woods en force, as more and more units were returning from the other front. The main force marched straight down the narrow road and with the soldiers coming from the Stad River bridge cutting through the Southern side of the woods, Baron Palma intended to surround Sula from all sides and eliminate him. The first problem he faced was that his forces were too spread out, with the forces coming from the bridge almost six hours of full march away. The prongs of his assault never really coordinated with his blocking central force, but given his superiority in numbers (sources claim at least 2 to 1 at this part of the battle, with the Northmen holding an advantage over Ley and the Duke respectively in the battle that was fought two days away) the Baron would have still managed it given enough time for his soldiers to get into position and had Nonus Sula stayed put to defend himself. Which he didn¡¯t.
Centurion Draco¡¯s Third Century had blocked the road, with legionnaires frantically chopping down trees at both sides to form their flanks and create a ¡®killing¡¯ zone. Centurion Surinas Fourth was set up thirty meters behind them held in reserve, the supply train -still an hour away- had been informed to halt and Dottore Barrius and his staff to be send to the front posthaste. With the massive pine forest covering both flanks and the visibility of the battlefield reduced, Nonus had to rely on messengers to have a grasp on what was happening as even the sound of battle was muffled due to the heavy natural forestation of the region. A better road was needed here and a fort per Lucius plan, but that was the future. In the present Sula had to make do with what he had in front of him. Nonus Sula had left Demames wanting to find himself another way to make his name, instead of following into his father¡¯s footsteps and joining the Legion. The Lord of Demames Paulus Sula and his second cousin, though everyone was calling him ¡®Lord Uncle¡¯ behind his back, had offered him work as manager of one of the silver mines at God¡¯s Peak, but Nonus had traveled North instead. A Sula earns his station the proper way. He gotten himself into a scrap or two in the years that followed, met some very interesting women and some really tough men. Sula was in the process of creating a Lorian mercenary company to assist the Jarl against the Issirs when he learned that Lucius had arrived at Maza Burg. In the end he¡¯d found himself in the army and the irony of his circumstances wasn¡¯t lost to Nonus, but he¡¯d earned every bit of it. ¡°Sorex wants his slingers in the woods,¡± Dumont informed him, stooping his way to be heard over the ruckus of the men heaving the trees into position. ¡°He¡¯ll stay in the reserve for now,¡± Sula replied and nodded at the Legion¡¯s Signifier, the massive Duc Gratian one of the men that had followed his lead and entered service after he¡¯d announced his decision to serve under Lucius. More than thirty Lorians, mostly men from Demames, now part of the First Century, First Maniple. Towering Centurion Didicus, who Sula knew since he was a lanky kid with skinny legs back home along with the permanently ogled-eyed Decanus Papius, unfurled a hide map of the area over a small field table. He used a coal piece to mark positions of the enemy forces on it. ¡°The Juter, old Skuff, his son Blondal and their warbands, got licked outside of Halfostad, but it¡¯s been days, more than a week since,¡± Didicus yelled as the noise coming from hundreds of people working, running, heaving trunks into position and soldiers dressing up their ranks didn¡¯t leave room for a quiet conversation. Not that it was on the cards with battle looming over their heads. ¡°They pulled the Duke¡¯s Carls with them you think?¡± Sula asked eyeing the approaching Optio Valens. He¡¯d met him in an inn six summers back, getting punched repeatedly in the face for refusing to pay for a bad meal ¡®only suited for dogs¡¯ on principle. The third son of the Baron of Cartaport had a haughty aristocratic air about him, although he wasn¡¯t set to inherit anything anytime soon, or ever, but was a decent man at heart. ¡°Probably, not a sign of them per reports,¡± Didicus replied. ¡°Lesia regulars aplenty though. Well-drilled motherfuckers. Very cautious.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t attack through the woods in their position,¡± Sula said thoughtfully. ¡°It¡¯s a nasty surprise waiting to happen. You don¡¯t know what lurks hidden behind each trunk.¡± ¡°Gents,¡± Valens announced solemnly. ¡°It saddens me to inform you, we don¡¯t have the numbers,¡± Everyone stared numbly at the sweaty, well-put officer for a long moment, his information anything but a state secret, afore Sula grimaced and put a finger on the map. ¡°How far to the bridge Didicus?¡± He rustled and the tall Centurion frowned. ¡°Two days? At least a day¡¯s full march, unless we go through the woods,¡± he replied looking at Sula with cautious eyes. Perhaps it¡¯s a warning, Sula thought with a grimace. Didicus¡¯ way of telling him not to do anything too foolish, or dangerous. ¡°Haha,¡± Valens guffawed and wiped his face with a soft cloth. ¡°What are we a herd of deer? Or that other thing¡­¡± ¡°Squirrels sire?¡± Decanus Papius asked with a grin, a former worker at the mines, he preached everything under the sun and stars was better than anything under the mountain¡¯s bowels and Nonus believed him. ¡°Ehm, was thinking of bears Decanus,¡± Valens corrected him, eyeing the sturdy, heavy-set hairy Papus. ¡°Prefect?¡± Dumont asked sounding worried. ¡°Time is on their side,¡± Sula explained and traced a line with his finger on the map towards Stad River, making a sharp angle there and continuing following the river¡¯s northern bank to the bridge. ¡°Unless we take the time from them.¡± ¡°We can hold the road,¡± Didicus argued. ¡°Baron Palma¡¯s forces are too spread out.¡± ¡°Tomorrow they¡¯ll be less so and in two days¡¯ time,¡± Sula replied steadily. ¡°We will still be as many we are today, but the Baron might even have the Duke with him, if the Juters run away to Rifjordal.¡± ¡°You think they won¡¯t fight at all?¡± Valens asked with a frown and Pete Dumont, who knew Nonus¡¯ risk-loving nature since they were a couple of feet tall, raised a thick brown brow tauntingly. ¡°Well then, that¡¯ll be extremely rude,¡± The Optio added shaking his head. Sula didn¡¯t think that, neither did he want to wait and find out, nor give in to the men¡¯s natural defense-favoring posture. So the Prefect lied and went on to strike first.
Battle of Stad River Early morning, 2nd day Southern Pines Front ¡°ARROWS!¡± Decanus Papius bellowed, voice crackling through the trees and immediately the whistling came and the repeated rattling of bolts striking trunks, shields and armour. ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake,¡± Dumont cursed and pushed a briskly walking Sula to the side and behind cover, the bolts flying all over them. ¡°Pike gods darn it!¡± Sula barked irate trying to locate the flanking Rangers that were trying to dislodge the snipping crossbowmen. ¡°Prefect?¡± Decanus Avienus queried standing still with the bolts zipping blind left and right. ¡°Shall I push them sire?¡± Sula paused to think it through, but saw Gerard peeking behind a massive trunk and grunted. ¡°Ready your men to advance after me Avienus. Mister Gerard!¡± ¡°Is that ye Sula?¡± The Northman queried, not risking a look to be sure. ¡°Who else could it be? Yer mother? Get your Raiders after them cunts so I can advance!¡± ¡°They¡¯ll pick us out one by one Prefect,¡± Gerard argued. ¡°Sud got a bolt in the eye just now, darn thing went out the back of his skull, curvin¡¯ alike a motherfucker and ravaged poor Mika standin¡¯ right behind him ayup. Right through the cock milord!¡± Mika haunting screams could be heard in the background, adding credibility to his story. Not that it mattered for the Prefect. ¡°Gerard get your men to hug them tight, or I¡¯ll start killing one of you cretins for every soldier I goddarn lose!¡± Sula blasted him. ¡°Why that¡¯s savagery milord,¡± Gerard commented with a grimace. ¡°Starting with you!¡± Sula roared and unsheathed his sword. ¡°HUG ¡®EM FUCKERS LADS!¡± Gerard yelled with a mighty voice, suddenly very motivated. ¡°Don¡¯t let them reload! Tabard,¡± he ordered a Northman hiding behind another trunk. ¡°Grab ¡®em fellows in yer group and bait ¡®em lad!¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t ye just said they¡¯ll pick us out one by one?¡± Tabard countered stealing a look from behind his tree, incredulity written all over his bearded face. ¡°Is why I told ye to go in as a plaguin¡¯ group,¡± Gerard elucidated. ¡°Ye get ¡®em to fire on you and the rest of us will charge ¡®em afore they reload!¡± ¡°That¡¯s a terrible plan chief,¡± Tabard argued not convinced. ¡°GERARD I¡¯M RUNNING OUT OF PATIENCE!¡± Sula roared twice was loud. ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake,¡± Gerard grunted and stood up from behind his trunk. ¡°Got to do everythin¡¯ meself. Up and at ¡®em boys!¡± He ordered the men hiding behind him and started running towards the opposing tree line, a trickle of Northmen after him. He made half a dozen strides got a bolt through his right knee, stumbled a couple of feet and then got skewered right through the left shoulder, the force twirling him around, with a another angry bolt tearing away the bigger part of his right ear. Gerard went down, while the Northmen charged towards the trees where the crossbowmen were reloading frantically. Someone tried to pick him up, but Gerard kicked him away with his good leg, missed and landed with his back in the mud. ¡°ATTACK YE FOOLS!¡± He yelled, shuddering all over in great pain and the rest of his men moved out of their hiding places to charge at Lesia¡¯s snippers. ¡°Papius!¡± Sula barked turning around and started running toward the First Maniple that had gotten up, his hobnailed sandals sinking in the soft ground. ¡°Get the men marching! Everyone after the First but you Avienus!¡± He ordered reaching the legionnaires lines. ¡°You keep the Fourth back to assist Gerard and anchor our rear!¡± ¡°Sire!¡± Avienus saluted and run towards his own men. Dumont who¡¯d reached him in the meantime asked sounding concerned. ¡°Will Valens hold the road?¡± ¡°Valens is a proud man,¡± Sula replied with a grimace and readjusted his Legion helm on his head, afore starting to march after the last row of soldiers with Dumont following him. ¡°He¡¯d rather cut his own arm and eat it, than shamed into retreating.¡±
The large detachment of advancing Lesia regulars saw the legionnaires coming out of the woods into the opening and turned his head around to order his men to prepare for an assault. The regulars, clad in white tunics and mail shirts reinforced with chestplates, carried swords and hardened wood, iron reinforced Kite Shields. They dressed their lines creating a square, but by the time they had finished preparing, Sula had all three of his Maniples out in the opening.
¡°Charge at them, round right flank. All units,¡± Sula ordered Centurion Didicus and the lanky officer relayed the order, Decanus Papius voice cutting through the noise of armed men moving about restless. ¡°Century advance forward! Round right flank!¡± Papius barked. ¡°On the double quick! On my count! First moving!¡± ¡°Second moving!¡± Decanus Baro bellowed. ¡°Third moving to flank right!¡¯ Decanus Trebius thundered, as all Maniples rolled forward. ¡°Nonus,¡± Dumont said standing next to his left shoulder. ¡°You should stay back.¡± Sula glanced at his old friend with a fierce grin and pointed at the advancing lines of legionnaires. Nah. ¡°Tell me you¡¯re fuckin¡¯ jesting Pete!¡± He yelled to be heard over the ruckus and run after his men afore the young officer could answer him.
The heavy halberd dropped, caught the legionnaire at the shoulder plates and shattered his clavicle bone, the blade slipping down leaving a deep dent. It bounced off the ground, the Lesia soldier pulling it back and then used the steel point to skewer the thrashing man through his face. Tyeus pyres! Sula cursed seeing the bloody tip exploding out of the soldier¡¯s helm, covered in red and grey gore, pieces of bone and flaps of hairy skin. The legionnaire went down, Sula stepped forward and hacked at the retreating long weapon. The Lesia soldier jumped back, used the shaft to block Sula¡¯s second attack, but lost three fingers on his left hand and growled in pain. Sula went to finish him off, but felt the earth shaking under his feet and glanced over his left shoulder. The Knight was charging right for their lines, lance lowered and the warhorse¡¯s hooves digging at the ground. He turned around to hack at the onrushing animal, but Dumont beat him to it hurling a kite shield on the charging horse. It recoiled on instinct, the heavy shield smacking its thick neck and the knight veered off course and crashed into the regulars¡¯ southern side of their defensive square formation. ¡°Shields up, first line advance!¡± Didicus roared, blood trickling down the side of his right eye and the flanking row of legionnaires of the Third Maniple started hacking at the shaken Regulars. Those that had been pushed to the ground from the warhorse had their faces and heads slashed at viciously, the Legionnaires penetrating their lines two bodies deep afore they managed to close up ranks again. ¡°Are you harmed?¡± Dumont asked him breathing heavy and for a moment Sula couldn¡¯t understand him, but then he nodded wiping some of the gore from his face and helm. A large soft bloody piece of flesh falling down, a bit of white fat on it. Sula had no idea how it¡¯d gotten stuck on his helm. ¡°We must break out of the trees Dumont,¡± he told him and walked fast over the moaning injured men, finishing off those not wearing Legion colors. A gruesome, stomach sickening ordeal. ¡°Where is the Dottore?¡± ¡°He couldn¡¯t spare anyone,¡± Dumont replied stabbing a regular missing an arm through the neck with his sword. He used his boot to get the bloody blade out. ¡°Avienus will receive them first anyway.¡± ¡°Argh, we need to move towards the Bridge!¡± Sula growled watching the struggle unfolding not ten meters from him. ¡°Didicus pull Papius out of the line!¡± He barked at the officer and the Centurion turned his plumed helm around and threw him a glare, face covered in blood and sweat. ¡°He¡¯s in the thick of it!¡± The Centurion snapped and shook his head right and left to calm himself down, realizing who he was lashing out to. Eh, Sula thought, let us not dwell on it. ¡°Who isn¡¯t?¡± He grunted at the flushed officer. ¡°Baro,¡± Didicus replied. ¡°Pluck Baro¡¯s Maniple out Centurion!¡± Sula rustled his voice hoarse. ¡°You are wasting my advantage!¡± ¡°Aye Prefect!¡± Didicus replied clenching his teeth. ¡°Second Maniple! Disengage!¡± Sula stared at the morning sun moving away, half-hidden behind the canopy and grinded his teeth. They are going to report we have them wrong-footed on their left flank, he thought anxiously. Ask for reinforcements. We got two three hours of march and another scrap. That¡¯s it Sula. By nightfall the Baron will know exactly what is happening and smack you right in the teeth. ¡°What¡¯s the hurry?¡± Dumont asked him, pressing a cut on his arm with his fingers to empty the foul blood. ¡°Those were heavy crossbowmen,¡± Sula replied hoarsely, his voice almost gone. ¡°Static troops pulled from guard duty. I think these are Stad Bridge¡¯s rear duty soldiers.¡± ¡°You think?¡± Dumont murmured standing back. Nonus nodded. Triumph from utter defeat and death were a couple of hours apart. ¡°We can get to his supply train,¡± he grunted his reasoning. ¡°Cut their legs from under them.¡± ¡°Fuck,¡± was Dumont¡¯s comment realizing what he was suggesting.
Sula commanding the First Maniple, supported from Gerard¡¯s Raiders, smashed the unprepared troops coming from the bridge and reached it at nightfall of the second day. He set up defenses, unleashing the Northmen over the bridge and into the Baron¡¯s supply wagons. Carnage ensued. Gerard¡¯s Raiders butchered indiscriminately civilians, engineers and merchants. They then started looting and raping women well into the night, when Centurion Didicus arrived with a detachment of Legionnaires and put a stop to it. The Raiders savagery had a cascading effect on the events that followed. It must be noted here Gerard himself wasn¡¯t present, having been seriously injured earlier in the fight. Survivors from the slaughter run for their lives towards Halfostad and brought news of a catastrophic defeat to the stunned populace. The Northmen were coming to kill them all was the word and torch the city. The people panicked, riots occurred and a wave of criminality drowned those trying to take their families and escape the doomed city. With the army and calmer heads absent, the worst came to be. A fire spread from the market to the longhouses of the Nord section, then to the city¡¯s richer neighborhood¡¯s and raged uncontrollably for a week. When it finally ended due to a surprising late summer downpour, more than half of Halfostad had been ruined and the smoke clouds could be seen as far as the capital of the Duchy Kadrek. Baron Palma realizing he had been cut off, stopped the assault on the defending Legionnaires commanded by then Optio Valens and gathered his relatively intact army to attack the blocking force Sula had started digging in at the bridge. His problem was, the Duke¡¯s forces retreating from the Northern Front after defending against Skuff Juter¡¯s attack, were returning with the Northerners on their tails. While the Duke¡¯s Carls had hurt the Northmen for a second time in a week, Skuff Juter felt emboldened seeing them retreating, mistaking his defeat for a win. So he sent his son Blondal Juter with every able-bodied warrior he had left by this point to harass the Duke of Sovya. Baron Palma saw the battlefield shrinking dangerously with each passing hour and he spent the night trying to reorganize his units and figure out a way out of his predicament. Sula received reinforcements from Decanus Avienus Fourth Maniple and Pike¡¯s Rangers. Additionally and right before morning of the third day of the engagement, Centurion Sorex¡¯s Slingers appeared to bolster his numbers even more. The latter being a crucial unit given that now they had the advantage of an open terrain and unobstructed field of fire. Furthermore their arrival negated Baron Palma¡¯s biggest weapon, his cavalry detachment. In order to give insight into the events of those first days, a look at the casualties is telling. Sula had almost a hundred injured men in the fighting amidst the Pines and over twenty killed. Palma had about a hundred injured and sixty killed ¨Cmainly from the bridge detachment-, but the civilian losses for the two days were a staggering a thousand and seven hundred. Over six hundred of them had been killed at the sacking of the supply wagons in the span of a couple of hours. Nonus Sula while he did learn about the carnage early in the night, he opted to put it aside and concentrate on the defense of the bridge. If he managed to pull it through, the notoriously harsh commander knew he could win the campaign in Sovya in three days. Triumph slays infamy, he told his aide and the Legion¡¯s scribe Dumont. The words being the Fourth Legion¡¯s most famous dictum.
237. The month of harvest (1/3)
Legatus Lucius Alden The month of harvest Part I -A matter of options-
¡®I don¡¯t have to storm the city milady.¡¯ - Tribune Galio Veturius, acting commander of the Third Legion Addressing Lady Sane Crull, afore the walls of Eaglesnest. Second month of Fall, 190 NC
Roderick chortled, tiny face contorting, creating in turn deep wrinkles on his rosy forehead, those strikingly blue eyes closed and little arms slapping at his finger. Lucius smiled at the baby¡¯s shenanigans and Faye raised a mess of a head from her bed, the red curls covering her pale shoulders. ¡°You¡¯re holding him with one hand again,¡± she chided him frustrated. ¡°He¡¯s very small,¡± Lucius replied looking at his son clasping at his finger tight. ¡°Let me be the judge of that,¡± Faye snorted. ¡°But you can have a look, if ye don¡¯t believe me Alden.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t bother you in your time of rest,¡± Lucius replied diplomatically. ¡°Gods above! Yer a terrible a liar.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take that as a compliment Faye,¡± he teased and deposited the baby next to his mother to feed. Faye gathered him in her arms and brought him close to her uncovered chest. The woman¡¯s breasts had swollen to twice their normal size and the little rascal found the nipple almost immediately. ¡°And¡­ he¡¯s gone,¡± he noticed with a grin. ¡°He¡¯s forgotten about me completely.¡± ¡°Yer making him nervous. He notices ye all the time.¡± ¡°I barely see him all day,¡± Lucius protested. ¡°Because yer busy planning. I still have working ears and some of you speak way too loud Galio!¡± The latter she delivered raising her own voice, the aged officer standing outside their open bedroom door replying chastised. ¡°Apologies milady Alden. I shall strive to admonish the lads subtly henceforth.¡± Faye sighed and stared at him under dark eyelashes quizzingly. Lucius cleared his throat and stared at his blissfully feeding son. ¡°There might be a scrap on the morrow,¡± he informed her in an abstract casual manner. ¡°A scrap?¡± Faye asked raising a red brow. ¡°The Crulls have taken the West Fort site.¡± ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± ¡°They might come down towards Kas hopefully,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°Lucius¡­ how serious is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not. Let me work on it,¡± he said and stood up straighter, then stared at the door. Faye tried to move herself, but he stopped her raising his hand. ¡°See, I didn¡¯t want you to worry,¡± Lucius told her. ¡°It¡¯s yer fault and my doing I suppose. I worry about you,¡± she griped. ¡°Every day I curse myself for asking you to free the North. It was selfish of me Lucius. I would take it all back but I can¡¯t.¡± Lucius made two steps and stooped over her to press his lips on her warm forehead. The baby cooed between them smelling of milk and his mother. It made him even more determined to finish the task at hand. ¡°No it wasn¡¯t. I owed you more than that. You¡¯re the most unselfish person I know,¡± Lucius admitted to her moved. ¡°Give me one more battle Red and I¡¯ll have yer request fulfilled.¡±
Galio Veturius appeared tired, the old wrinkles on his face joined by fresh ones. The officer was nearing fifty, although he never revealed his exact age to anyone and no one was brave enough to ask him about it. ¡°Rough night?¡± Lucius asked accepting his helm from Gripa. ¡°Been testing the machines with Durio,¡± the Tribune replied. ¡°How many?¡± ¡°Two, one mounted on the entrance of the camp.¡± ¡°Bring it down,¡± Lucius said. ¡°Load it on a wagon,¡± he stared at the frowning officer. ¡°Tell me they can be transported Galio.¡± ¡°They can. What are you gonna do wit a couple of Scorpios?¡± Bring the fear of Tyeus in them. ¡°Nothing yet,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°I just want the option.¡± They had walked into the officers meeting in the large map-room of the Redmond Hall. Prefect Trupo was present, Ramirus, Centurion Gata and Kaeso. The wiry Centurion sported a grotesque wound running from his jaw to under the left eye. ¡°Legatus,¡± Trupo started, his famous moustache nicely trimmed down both sides of his chin. ¡°I have the Third Cohort on the field enjoying the sunshine. The lads are tanning fabulously sire.¡± ¡°Centurion Falx has command?¡± Lucius asked reading quickly through the reports Kaeso had given him. ¡°All four Centuries. Centurion Domus and the Fourth Cohort are marching there to bolster his presence. Eight Centuries in total, though I believe we will need more than that given the numbers.¡± ¡°Send no one else,¡± Lucius ordered and glanced at Kaeso. ¡°Is this accurate?¡± Kaeso smacked his lips. ¡°It¡¯s a count sire. Give or take.¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. ¡°How much give?¡± ¡°No more than two hundred men, I believe it¡¯s lower than that.¡± ¡°Hidden in the woods,¡± Lucius said. ¡°Spying on us, why am I learning about it now Centurion?¡± Kaeso shrugged his shoulders. ¡°The Dwarfs go back and forth with their wagons and their pickaxes. Looking at rocks. Local folks do the trip every day all curious and shit. The patrols relaxed and these fuckers are very patient. They didn¡¯t reveal themselves until last week.¡± ¡°Last week?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve seen the signals, but today we confirmed what it was.¡± Lucius grimaced and stared at the map showing the Bloody Ridge and the southern approach to Kas. ¡°I want them neutralized Centurion. Use the First Cohort with your Rangers. Gata you¡¯ll deal with this.¡± ¡°As you wish Legatus,¡± Gata replied. ¡°The Crulls have around two thousand soldiers at the mouth of the Mountain Pass,¡± Trupo said after a moment. ¡°We should put another Cohort on the field sir.¡± ¡°What does he have left in Eaglesnest?¡± Lucius asked instead of answering. ¡°Well it¡¯s bigger than Kas, but not by much,¡± Trupo replied. ¡°I think that¡¯s the limit of what they can field given the casualties they had in the last two years. Of course a city can rally up and defend its walls, but these men aren¡¯t worth a lick out in the field.¡± ¡°Lord Crull is with the army?¡± Lucius asked. ¡°He needs to win this Legatus,¡± Trupo replied. ¡°He¡¯s here.¡± ¡°He thinks this is a chance,¡± Galio added. ¡°Them lads hidden in the woods spilled the beans about Sula and the Fourth Legion departing.¡± Yeah, Lucius thought. But Sula¡¯s men are not the bulk of our army. We actually outnumber them here. This is a miscalculation and the cunning Lord Crull won¡¯t do another soon, if ever. ¡°Two Cohorts will appear on the field,¡± Lucius said pointing at a map of the Kas valley. ¡°Of the remaining two, the First Cohort will clean up the south from the Crulls Rangers, but stay out of the fight. The Second under Centurion Ennius will march to the Northern forest after dark and hide there.¡± ¡°You wish to bait them to attack,¡± Galio murmured staring at the wooden carved figures representing units Lucius was moving on the map. ¡°Hit at the flanks with overwhelming force.¡± ¡°I wish to have them come down the mountain pass thirsty for blood and plunder,¡± Lucius replied staring at his officers. ¡°I want them to assault the outnumbered Cohorts before the walls of the city and our unfinished camp. Commit to it, so I can swing around and cut them off from escape.¡± ¡°The Crulls won¡¯t fall for it,¡± Trupo countered. ¡°If they think they have us caught with our pants down and vulnerable they will,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°It is how they fight. They attack when they have advantage. I intend to give them one, along a huge prize.¡± ¡°Is the First Cohort going for the Mountain Pass after sir?¡± Gata asked and Lucius nodded.
Lucius walked to the small crowd of prominent citizens of Kas waiting in front of Redmond Hall, the city¡¯s Council now headed by Macrinus, while Arrun Flavianus and Faye were included. He spotted Regan Booth¡¯s scowling face and Marcus Walsh. The ancient Crafters Guild leader Thersin Bonearm and the sturdy looking dwarf that was Dorad Onyxminer standing on a table. There were at least half a dozen dwarfs surrounding them. A tightly bunched up together mean group of little people. The Dwarfs preferred the term Folk themselves. ¡°The Crulls want the city,¡± Lucius explained to them speaking loud enough to be heard, as more and more citizens were gathering around his residence. ¡°They didn¡¯t get it back in seventy three and they won¡¯t get it now,¡± people cheered at that and Lucius grimaced. ¡°You won¡¯t have to defend it and I won¡¯t force you. I can do that myself, but assistance is always welcomed. It is also fondly remembered long after the danger has gone away. Lucius shall rule in Kas now, his men shall rule after him whether you like it or not. You can seek mercy from the Crulls if you want to, though I advise against it for the reasons I have already mentioned and you can figure out for yourselves. If I lose today, you can let them inside. This is the time to make your decision. Do you want in, or shall I just pluck everyone out from this Council and replace him with my own men? Make no mistake, the latter is what¡¯s more favorable to me.¡± ¡°What of Sovya?¡± Booth grunted. ¡°Another army could arrive tomorrow. What then?¡± Lucius stared at him. ¡°You won¡¯t get to decide tomorrow mister Booth. This isn¡¯t a matter I shall revisit. You¡¯ll decide today and tie yourself to my fate. You could always depart, but if you remain here, I shall consider you my subject and treat you accordingly, if your behavior is unbecoming yer station.¡± ¡°Fuck the Crulls!¡± Someone yelled from the back. ¡°Lord Lucius is right!¡± ¡°Aye, they¡¯ll kill us all given half a chance!¡± A woman protested. ¡°Curse ¡®em to Oras hells! I ain¡¯t want ¡®em thugs in here again!¡± Another much older citizen yelled and it caught on with the ever-increasing crowd. The rich pelts-merchant grimaced and shook his head. The aged timber mogul Marcus Walsh standing right beside him sighed, then stepped forward. Behind them the cheering and boastful mob roared almost drowning his words. ¡°Kas shall stand with Lucius milord,¡± Walsh had said. ¡°I think the Council will agree.¡± With Governor Macrinus double vote, Arrun¡¯s and Faye¡¯s votes also following along in the five members of the ¡®reformed¡¯ City Council -Walsh and Booth being the other two members- Lucius would have won every vote on the matter. It would never have come down to that, but even if it had, it is better for people to think they have options.
Decanus Lucas Kato grinned, a crooked unsettling grimace more like, helm tightly tied on his face, as he saluted him. ¡°I don¡¯t want them getting the word out Decanus,¡± Lucius informed him, Centurion Gata glaring at the shifty newly promoted officer from the sides. ¡°They won¡¯t milord,¡± Kato reassured him. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of kilometers to travel.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what I was going for Kato,¡± Lucius explained. ¡°Kaeso and the Primus Pilus will give you specific orders and I expect your men to follow them.¡± ¡°Orders shall be followed milord!¡± Kato agreed, grinning at the end of it. ¡°I¡¯ll hold you to it Decanus,¡± Lucius said and stared at the men of the First Cohort standing at attention afore him. ¡°We will win today,¡± he started. ¡°We will stop the Crulls and avenge our dead brethren. Our friends and family,¡± Lucius breathed in once and then his voice came out strong and vibrant. Determined and assured. ¡°We shall not break, it isn¡¯t an option gents! For our lost friends and those unnamed that were cut down in the Battle of the Bridges. The countless slain in Ludr and drown in the Montfoot that look upon us this day questioning our spirit and will. I¡¯ve taken you to the edge of Jelin and back again. But today you are answering to them and not me. They shall judge you and not Lucius. This is the time of reckoning, of things set right and old promises kept. The summer is almost gone, but this is still the month of harvest!¡± The soldiers roared, the sound reverberating inside the half-empty Castrum and its flattened main square. Gata stepped forward right fist raised and gave the signal for the four Centuries to start moving. His own Century with Kato started marching first, followed by Centurion¡¯s Testius¡¯ Second, the Third under Artur Mangas and the Fourth under Servius Capito. Go forth without fear, Lucius prayed watching them marching outside the Legion Camp. May Tyeus guide your step, fortify your hearts and strike your enemies dead.
Lord Bart Crull had initially dispatched Sir Hein, his second son, with a force of eight hundred to defend against the forming up centuries coming from Kas. Quickly realizing the legionnaires weren¡¯t going to attack, he ordered Sir Hein to stall and waited for preliminary reports on their numbers to arrive. With confirmation that this wasn¡¯t Lucius full Legion but a couple of Cohorts worth of troops, he devised a quick plan to engulf the forces standing outside the city, storm the half-finished camp and sack it from the inside afore leveling it. Lord Crull wanted to wipe Kas from the map and rid himself -given the rare opportunity- of the bordering half-northern half-Lesia Sovya city. Sir Hein Crull vehemently disagreed with an assault on the city itself or its citizens, after Lucius was defeated. Partly for humanitarian reasons and because he didn¡¯t want to anger the rich Kingdom of Lesia that had started entering war-footing after a long period of prospering through trade and commerce. Gold can birth armies out of nothing. With Lucius apparently absent from the field and with time wasting away, Bart Crull settled for an attack on the forces outside Kas with most of his force early the next morning. The sound strategist¡¯s revised plan had been to lock them in place and allow Sir Hein to slip through, following the edge of the northern mountain range towards the road to Fenford Burg and then enter the expanding Northern Pines forest above Kas intending to flank the Legionnaires. With Bas Crull lurking in the forest south of the battlefield he could then assault them from all sides, or even head straight for the undefended camp and the city itself. Thus the struggle of the second day of the battle of Kas had been set and the opponents had moved into position. The two plans were similar at first glance, but Lucius held the advantage in numbers and knew the terrain this time. Centurion Ennius commanding the Second Cohort got surprised in the middle of the night inside the thick woods by Sir Hein¡¯s advancing troops, but the battle dragged on well into the day and by then it was all over. The main forces clashed in front of the walls of Kas into a drawn-out slugfest in the meantime, but it was the smaller battle happening at the distant southern edge of the battlefield that was to decide the whole affair. Centurion Kaeso and Gata entered the Southern Pines from two sides and found Bas Crull¡¯s hidden force waiting for them.
238. The month of harvest (2/3)
¡®In war, the first casualty is truth¡¯ Aeschylus, In Agamemnon Around 500 BC
Decanus Lucas Kato The month of harvest Part II -Nothing of note transpired-
Battle of Kas Second Day, The Dwarf Mines unfinished Road & South Pines Front A face full of cack, Kato thought eyeing the Issir Ranger popping his head in and out of the branches, the cut tree blocking their advance. A legionnaire groaned five meters from him, arrow lodged in his thigh and bleeding on the wet ground. The poor man had minutes to live, unless they moved him. Moving him could also kill him. Fuck. ¡°Daft bloody job,¡± Opius Papus murmured stooping next to him behind his Legion shield. ¡°Darn stupid cunts hidin¡¯ in ¡®em trees. Who does that but thugs ¡®n hoodlums? Fuckin¡¯ hoodlums!¡± ¡°Somebody¡¯s got to get it done,¡± Kato replied, chancing a glance over his shield. ¡°Clean the forest out.¡± ¡°What for?¡± ¡°The Legatus orders,¡± Kato said, but it didn¡¯t stop his friend from probing it further. ¡°Did he give a reason for it?¡± ¡°Why would he?¡± Papus grimaced and crooked his mouth. ¡°Daft bloody job,¡± he repeated, his eyes stilled on the moaning soldier bleeding out next to him. ¡°KATO MOVE YER MEN!¡± came Centurion Gata¡¯s furious order from the distant trees to their left. Gata being ever subtle and strategic. ¡°Al¡¯ight lads,¡± Kato said, seeing the Issir Ranger checking on them, probably his bow aimed and secure behind his fallen tree trunk. ¡°We push ¡®em.¡± ¡°Come on Kato,¡± Salle a Nord Legionnaire complained. ¡°What¡¯s the point? We have them pinned.¡± ¡°Orders be orders Salle,¡± Kato growled. ¡°Stop cowerin¡¯ like cunts and march at ¡®em! Raise shields!¡± ¡°Rank got into yer head, is that it?¡± Adam Mede grunted from his other side. ¡°Gold in yer purse and meat in yer belly.¡± ¡°We ate from the same pot Mede!¡± Kato blasted him for his second point, since the pay for a Decanus was double what the soldiers were getting. ¡°Why am I even talking wit you? And in the bloody open! Fuck¡¯s sake, now they know what we¡¯ll do!¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that difficult to figure it out Decanus,¡± Osteler, another Nord griped. ¡°Right ye cunts?¡± This he yelled at the hidden about ten-fifteen meters from them Issirs. ¡°Better keep yer head down pretty!¡± An Issir Ranger yelled. ¡°Who ye call pretty?¡± Came the legionnaire¡¯s affronted response. ¡°Who ye call cunt?¡± The Issir Ranger replied. ¡°It¡¯s even more insulting!¡± ¡°Aye, it bloody is!¡± Another of his hidden mates yelled, sort of revealing himself. ¡°No it isn¡¯t!¡± That was Papus always eager to argue stuff and sift through semantics. ¡°Ye smell like cack is the more insulting term.¡± ¡°Ayup!¡± Esteler agreed. For crying out loud. ¡°CHARGE AT ¡®EM YE DARN FUCKS!¡± Kato roared cutting through the nonsensical back and forth afore they wasted the day away. You leave a grunt to plan the menu, you have cack for dinner.
Kato run towards the cut down huge pine tree, his shield raised to avoid getting an arrow in the face. The shield caught one, the steel tip breaking and part of the shaft bouncing off of his helm. He ducked instinctively, tripped over his feet, reached the trunk with too much momentum and went over it. He banged his knees hard, shield pushed out smacking a Ranger on the head, as they both ended up rolling on the wet ground amidst pine needles and rotting forest greenery. Kato grunted, tried to remove his shield to get to his opponent, but the man kept shifting about not letting him. Another popped out to his right, grimaced showing a couple of gold teeth and went for his sword. Kato tried to free his left arm, but the Issir under him kept holding on to it and pinning him down for his approaching friend. ¡°Aahh!¡± Kato growled trying to free himself, his eyes gawking at the onrushing Issir Ranger. He pulled and heaved frantically, got his arm out of the leather straps and turned to defend himself just as the man arrived. The Issir swung with his sword, but Kato put his blade on it. He did it in a clumsy hurried manner and the Ranger sent his blade flying to the side, numbing his fingers. Harlot sucks cock wit the teeth. ¡°Uah!¡± The Issir cried out, too excited to utter something intelligible and Kato dived on him, before he could slash at him again. He hugged him by the waist, got an elbow right at the left ear that numbed that side of his face, then a pommel at the back of his helm that made his other ear ring something fierce. The Ranger snarled in his face and Kato lowered his head some and gave it a try. Once and he flattened the man¡¯s nose, warm blood splashing him in the face. Twice and he heard a crack under the banging of their helms. Thrice and the Ranger¡¯s skull gave, a bone protruding out of his cut forehead as the man went down, his eyes turned to the white. Kato stumbled away, his head hurting, ears ringing and jaw not working. He made a couple of steps grunting in pain, found his sword half-buried in the mud and stooped to pick it up. A boot caught him on the shoulder and span him around, trees, canopy and the sun above all blurring into a putrid green and yellow. He slashed blind as he twirled, sandals slipping in the mud, caught someone that snarled in pain and then he came face to face with a painted man, orange and white hair caught in a braid. An eye black, the other the color of jade. The half-breed had a long shafted axe in his hand and swung at him with a cackle. Kato dodged the fatal swing, more luck than skill involved, twitching his left knee in the process. He groaned and cursed, snot clogging his nose, mud and blood on his face and the half-breed rushed him again. Kato blocked the axe, grinding his teeth and scrunching his face in the effort. The Issir freak got a thin dagger out of his waist, made to stab him in the eye with it, but Kato grabbed at the blade with his left hand. The blade turned, ripping through his flesh and almost severed his ring finger as it retreated, covered in blood. Kato pulled away groaning, chaos unfolding all around him, with the legionnaires clashing with cornered Rangers and an Issir rushed him from his blind side. He turned on instinct, hearing a branch snapping, but the Issir got skewered through the neck and lost all momentum, the arrow entering from below his right ear and exiting a couple of fingers under the left. Kato slashed at the stumbling Ranger ruining his stunned face down the middle, heard a bellowing Papus charging at the half-breed and twisted around, breathing heavy and barely standing upright to help him. Papus shoved the weirdly painted man away, everything under the eyes a bright white and then kicked his knee breaking it. The half-breed stumbled back, dropped his axe and went for a shortsword he had on his waistband. An arrow whistled over his friend¡¯s helm, smacked the Issir on the shoulder and Papus stepped forward to finish him off. The half-breed grunted and stood up despite his injuries, parried the blade aside, flipped the shorter sword in his hand upside down and plunged it in Papus thigh. ¡°NAAH GODS DARN YE!¡± Kato growled and rushed him, downing his sword to severe the half-breed¡¯s arm. The Issir let go of his sword saving it and an injured Papus stumbled to his knees, the blood spraying out of his leg. Kato slashed at the retreating half-breed and he tried to block it with the dagger, but his wrist snapped the wrong way when the blades made contact, bones crackling over the ruckus of hard fighting. He lost the blade and Kato advanced on him furious, but the Issir jumped away despite having a bad knee. ¡°You fucking cunt,¡± Kato snapped at him and glanced at his injured friend. It looks bad, he thought and turned to carry him away from the fight. Given that they were fighting amidst the trees and bushes, it was difficult to judge where the battlefield ended. Kato realized he couldn¡¯t see any Issir Rangers standing upright. Only wild-eyed weary and injured legionnaires. A couple of Kaeso¡¯s boys also had started appearing out of the woods. ¡°How is it?¡± He asked a gnarling Papus that was trying to stem the flow of gore spreading, pressing both hands on the nasty wound. ¡°Ain¡¯t lookin¡¯ good Luc,¡± his friend grunted, teeth rattling. ¡°Don¡¯t like this mate,¡± the big man added scared. Shite in the wine. ¡°Let me get a Dottore,¡± Kato mumbled knowing there was no one at the near and getting that sword out didn¡¯t seem like a good idea in the first place. Leaving it in of course also appearing far from the healthier option. ¡°GIVE IT UP BAS!¡± Kaeso bellowed stepping out from behind a couple of trees twenty meters away, slotting his bow over his shoulder. ¡°Yer boys are fucked.¡± ¡°Ah, it makes little difference,¡± Bas Crull -apparently- rustled with an unsettling grimace. ¡°Yer boys are fucked too.¡± ¡°What for?¡± Papus muttered fading away and Kato stared at him with desperate eyes, his bleeding hand forgotten and that dangling finger an afterthought. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± was all he could think to say and Papus nodded, watching his blood spilling down and turning to mud. ¡°Fuckin¡¯ hoodlums,¡± his friend whispered and he was gone. Never to visit Asturia again.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
¡°Bring them in the open,¡± A worn out Kaeso ordered sucking at the inside of his mouth, the scar on his face contorting. Six Issirs had been captured, too injured to fight along with the wounded Bas Crull and were brought with kicks and threats to the small opening that had served as their camp amidst the trees. Kaeso stared around him, found Kato watching them near the body of Papus and grunted. ¡°Decanus gather yer men, you be marching out of the forest soon,¡± the Centurion told him and wiped his face with a hand. ¡°Give me that.¡± Kato approached him scowling at the smirking half-breed and gave up the shortsword he¡¯d gotten out of his friend¡¯s leg. Darn thing was sharp as a razor and double edged. ¡°What about our dead sire?¡± Kato asked hoarsely, still shaken and numb with what had just transpired. ¡°They are gone,¡± Bas replied, eyeing him. ¡°You lads have sided with a lawless ruffian that serves false gods. All of you are doomed.¡± Kaeso smacked his lips and stared at his own Rangers watching the exchange. About a dozen of them had fought with Kato¡¯s First Maniple, after hunting the Issirs out of their hiding places. ¡°Ye think yer not?¡± Kato grunted, his anger focusing on the enemy Rangers leader. ¡°Last I checked you¡¯ve lost again half-breed.¡± Bas grimaced and stepped forward. He was a medium height, wiry man, but still taller when compared to Kato¡¯s stouter and shorter frame. ¡°You speak of forms and flesh, yet you know nothing peasant,¡± he sneered, clenching his painted jaw. ¡°I be walking this Realm long after you¡¯ve rotted away alike yer friend.¡± Kato unsheathed his sword and glared at him detested. Kaeso standing across from him and closer to the Issir shrugged his shoulders, slotted the shortsword in his harness and stooping picked up the long shafted axe Bas had dropped earlier. Bas raised an orange brow staring at the fuming Decanus, the color strange on his black skin there, since the only part of his face not covered with white paint was his forehead and eyes. ¡°Decanus, he¡¯s a lord,¡± Mede warned him and Kato grimaced, remembering the Legatus orders. ¡°I¡¯m aware soldier,¡± Kato hissed, grinding his teeth and Bas started laughing. ¡°You know nothing,¡± the half-breed taunted. ¡°If you did, all of you would¡¯ve turned around and fought the bloody tiger afore he does any more damage.¡± ¡°Haha,¡± Mede chuckled. ¡°Yer a fool milord. Everyone has lost people to yer thugs, if ye pardon me language.¡± Bas glared at him and shifted weight from his bad knee with a grimace of pain. He was still holding his broken wrist. ¡°Death is not the end soldier,¡± he admonished the legionnaire. ¡°Pray to the Painted God and yer departed shall return unto you!¡± What? ¡°Bullshit,¡± Mede snorted. ¡°Yer lying.¡± Bas smirked. ¡°Yet in yer heart, you know I¡¯m not¡ª¡± that was as far as he¡¯d managed to get out before his head snapped violently left, cheek touching his shoulder. The blade that had come down had half-chopped it off, blood spraying Kato and Mede, the torrent a meter long and Kaeso that had been the culprit for the violent attack grunted unhappy. He made a step forward, put a boot on the thrashing Bas that had dropped to his knees and dislodged the axe to try again. The Issirs cried out horrified at the unjustified violence, with some pushing against the Rangers, but Kaeso paused momentarily to stare at his men, his eyes cold. ¡°Kill them all,¡± the Centurion ordered callously and taking a step back this time, he swung that nasty axe again and decapitated Bas properly.
¡°Get yer men out of the forest Decanus,¡± Kaeso rustled eyeing him three minutes later. ¡°Nothing to see here.¡± ¡°What about¡­?¡± Kato asked still shocked at the savagery he¡¯d witnessed. ¡°They fought to the last man,¡± an unruffled Kaeso explained to him. ¡°Everyone here,¡± he said raising his voice addressing mainly the remaining legionnaires standing behind Kato. ¡°A witness to the same fact. These fanatics died protecting their unnamed leader,¡± he turned his eyes on the pale-faced Kato again. ¡°The Legatus needs not be apprised of the minutiae Decanus. This is also part of yer job.¡± Kato nodded and glanced at the slaughtered Issirs, then at the corpse of Papus. The skin on his friend¡¯s face ashen and strange like wax. ¡°What about the dead sir?¡± He queried. ¡°We¡¯ll burn them Decanus, worry about rejoining yer Cohort,¡± Kaeso assured him. ¡°My men will handle this.¡± ¡°What if they ask about Lord Bas?¡± Kaeso grimaced that grotesque scar showing the stiches still under his skin. ¡°Bas was never here,¡± he replied hoarsely. ¡°He died months back in our camp.¡± Kato stood back unsure, not because of the concocted tale, but because for a moment he thought Kaeso was being serious. Which was weird given all that had transpired.
Centurion Gata was livid seeing him exiting the last part of the thick vegetation. The return trip gloomy, partly due to the groaning injured men they carried back and partly to the memory of the dead they have left behind to be burned alongside the Issirs. The smoke of the funeral pyres now visible deep inside the forest¡¯s gorges. Then again this was the Centurion¡¯s favorite expression. ¡°Kato what is this?¡± Gata barked over the murmuring of the Centuries lined up behind him. ¡°Did you get lost in them trees ye darn turd?¡± ¡°We were wit Centurion Kaeso sir,¡± Kato reported, his legs burning and the noon sun making the armour burning his skin through his drenched tunic. ¡°Cleaning up the last of ¡®em cunts.¡± ¡°Ah, well then¡­¡± the Centurion grunted with a grimace. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose ye expect to rest up now, hmm?¡± ¡°The men are worn out¡ª¡± Gata didn¡¯t allow him to get another word in. Ramirus standing rested on his horse watching the exchange with interest. ¡°As is my patience Decanus,¡± Gata said with a weary sigh. ¡°Mangas and Testius shall march after us and your Maniple will follow after fifteen minutes with Capito¡¯s Century. We need to get moving.¡± We¡¯ve been moving for a day, Kato thought sourly. ¡°Aye sire,¡± Kato replied and saluted. He turned around and glared at the weary men. ¡°Ten minutes rest ye cunts!¡± The Decanus barked, his voice hoarse from all the yelling. ¡°Have some water, piss it out, grab a bite and that¡¯s it. No time for any kind of stupid stuff! Osteler I¡¯m lookin¡¯ at ye son!¡± ¡°No funny stuff Decanus, got it!¡± The legionnaire retorted only his helm showing behind his taller partner in crime. ¡°Why ten minutes?¡± Mede argued with a scowl from the other side of their line and Kato casted him a warning stare. ¡°Ye think I¡¯m givin¡¯ ye too much time Mede?¡± He grunted and the legionnaire showed him his teeth in the pretense of a smile. ¡°I was merely applaudin¡¯ yer generosity Decanus!¡± Mede yelled with fake enthusiasm. ¡°Think nothin¡¯ of it,¡± Kato mocked him with an evil smirk. ¡°You¡¯ve just wasted a minute. Don¡¯t be a stupid turd, sit yer arse down Mede.¡±
Ramirus approached him half-way through the short respite, Kato in the process of washing his swollen bleeding feet. He offered him a flask with sweet-tasting wine and Kato proceeded to gulp down its contents, keeping his guard around the clean-cut shifty scribe. Allegedly. Everyone suspected Ramirus was the Legatus ear in the ranks. ¡°Where¡¯s Kaeso?¡± The young man asked smiling the kind of pleasant smile ye expect from a whore, but is unsettling on a man, unless he¡¯s dabbling as one. Which in Kato¡¯s view was equally disturbing. ¡°Ahm,¡± he stalled thinking it through. ¡°You mentioned being with him,¡± Ramirus helped him. Darn snake, looking to get me tripped up. ¡°I was. Fightin¡¯¡­ a nasty affair,¡± he croaked, the wine almost drowning him. Kato coughed a couple of times to clear his pipes. ¡°Hmm, we need to work on this.¡± We do? ¡°He stayed behind?¡± Ramirus asked him. ¡°Burning the dead,¡± Kato replied. ¡°We lost people.¡± ¡°Ah, of course,¡± Ramirus said and nodded. ¡°Someone close this time?¡± What the fuck? Kato glared at him. ¡°My friend,¡± he grunted. ¡°Everyone is one in the unit I suppose.¡± ¡°Indeed they are. We all are. You have the names?¡± ¡°Mede has the tags,¡± Kato replied with a grimace. ¡°Ah. I shall write them down Decanus,¡± Ramirus said. ¡°I told you the other time, we shall honor them.¡± ¡°Uhm. What for?¡± ¡°Excuse me?¡± Ramirus asked, a little surprised. ¡°What Papus wanted to know,¡± Kato elucidated. ¡°My friend.¡± ¡°Ah, aye I see,¡± Ramirus said. ¡°You realize the Legatus will win today right? With the Crulls broken, no army can challenge him up here and the Nords on his back are allies. A stable foothold to catch his breath. Are ye following me Decanus?¡± ¡°Catch his breath aye,¡± Kato repeated nodding. ¡°The Realm is in turmoil, but the Legatus has support. This mean nothing in a vacuum, but built its myth enough and then it becomes something more. We are the guardians of that myth Decanus. The army and its people are part of this. Everyone will be rewarded in the end, if he succeeds. There¡¯s no end date, even after he¡¯s gone the myth shall rule, as long as the army survives.¡± ¡°What does Papus get?¡± ¡°His name on a wall, forever remembered and revered by men other than you, flocking at the recruiting centers,¡± Ramirus replied. ¡°I¡¯m not joking, this is how you create a myth.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure I understand,¡± Kato said, looking at the empty flask. ¡°Kingdoms get torn apart because lords have their own ambitions,¡± Ramirus elucidated. ¡°In the Legion every different part works for the good of the unit. Every soldier, every officer is bound to it, no questions asked. We do what needs to be done. We were kept apart from politics for too long, as some believed the army shouldn¡¯t partake in public life.¡± ¡°Lucius will be king, he won¡¯t be with the army forever,¡± Kato argued and Ramirus stood back, a pleased smile on his face. ¡°I disagree, the army shall be with him and he¡¯s a part of us now. Governor Tutor is still an army man, as is Governor Macrinus,¡± Ramirus said and got slowly on his feet. ¡°A Legion¡¯s officer looks to the good of the Legion first, other titles be damned Decanus. You and Papus wanted to get back in to the fold, my friend, I¡¯m here to tell you that you are. We look after our own.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Kato said and got up himself unsure about half of what the man had just said. ¡°About Kaeso¡ª¡± Ramirus stopped him raising his hand and glanced around for anyone listening in. ¡°I have your report Decanus,¡± he replied smiling thinly. ¡°Nothing of note transpired. You should get your men moving.¡±
Three hours later with the sun turning into an orange disk on the sky Kato reached the mouth and found the struggle there had almost finished. The First Cohort had slashed through the Crull force guarding the rear and killed them to a man. Seeing the slain laid one next to the other, Kato wasn¡¯t certain it was much of a fight. ¡°What now Decanus?¡± Mede asked him and Kato stared at him wearily. ¡°We follow the standard legionnaire,¡± he rustled. ¡°There¡¯s fighting to be done in the valley.¡± ¡°They got nowhere to go sir,¡± Mede said, looking at the Centuries forming to march down the slope and trap the Issirs still fighting against the Cohorts into a death vise. ¡°I reckon they don¡¯t,¡± Kato agreed and wiped his brow with his bandaged hand, the pain on his finger persistent. ¡°Think they¡¯ll surrender?¡± Kato grimaced and let out a weary sigh. ¡°KATO GET YER MEN IN LINE!¡± Centurion Gata barked seeing them loitering. ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake, we¡¯re the First bloody Century Decanus. We are supposed to move at the front!¡± Mede shook his helmed head and run back into formation, the men checking their gear, metal clanging, blades ringing and shields getting secured for marching. The legionnaire gave him a reassuring nod and Kato crooked his mouth, cleared his throat once and bellowed at the top of his tired lungs. ¡°FIRST MANIPLE MOVE TO FRONT!¡± ¡°SECOND MOVING!¡± ¡°THIRD MOVING!¡± ¡°FOURTH MOVING!¡± ¡°FIRST CENTURY IN FULL MARCH!¡± Gata roared. ¡°SECOND CENTURY FULL MARCH!¡± Testius barked after him, followed by Mangas and Capito, until the whole Cohort was on the move. Like parts of a metallic beast the gleaming red rows of armoured legionnaires started moving in step, hobnailed boots thudding at the ground and rolled down the Mountain Pass slopes headed for the distant battlefield before the walls of Kas. 239. The month of harvest (3/3) ¡®We live by the rules of the Book¡¯ - Prefect Nonus Sula, Addressing parts of the Third and Fourth Legions After the Battle of Stad River. Last month of summer 190 NC - IV Legio official records
Legatus Lucius Alden The month of harvest Part III -One in Five-
The four Centuries and the Rangers under Centurion Kaeso eliminated the threat of Bas Crull¡¯s Rangers, where today stands the road to the Dwarf Mines, but failed to locate the man himself purportedly. Several versions of what happened to him are cited till this day. Anyways, the Centuries then moved to flank Lord Bart¡¯s main force after securing the Mountain Pass eight kilometers away, cutting off the Lord of Eaglesnest and trapping him inside the Kas valley. Lord Bart had almost broken through the two Cohorts defending the center, but for the timely intervention of Lucius who reinforced them later that morning with recruits from the City Guard under Arrun Flavianus, a man he¡¯d installed as its commander and Governor Macrinus¡¯ newly formed Kas Militia. The latter unit would grow in the years to come under excellent officers, taking advantage of the Military School thriving in the city. The first-rate instructor Macrinus had created an even bigger recruiting body, or reserve, effectively another semi-permanent military unit. The prominent city of Kas is known today as the ¡®Tiger¡¯s Lair¡¯, or the ¡®Old Castrum¡¯ for a reason. In the Northern Pines front, Centurion Ennius conservative approach was tested despite the favorable terrain, but the Crulls had a bout of terrible luck that day. Sir Hein Crull, perhaps his family¡¯s most well-reputed knight, a good fighter and general, got injured in one of the many skirmishes and went into a coma from which he would never recover regrettably. Lord Bart seeing the First Cohort appearing to his rear, stopped assaulting the center and retreated towards his second son and the Issir force fighting in the northern forest, in an attempt to break through towards Fenford Burg. Unfortunately for him Sir Hein¡¯s force collapsed after his fatal injury and Ennius who had fought a stalling battle ordered the Second Cohort after them. Lord Bart found himself cornered before the natural barrier of the whitebark pines, Ennius Cohort anchored there and the bulk of the Third Legion approaching from two directions on his back. It was an untenable position and with no options available at hand he turned the strong Issir force around and attacked all out hoping to catch the marching Cohorts by surprise and smash his way through. He didn¡¯t.
Stormbolt neighed, then snorted shaking its black mane irritated at the many horses near him. Lucius patted the loyal mount with a gloved hand, his eyes examining the bloodshed thoughtfully. ¡°Awful decision, even given his options,¡± Galio Veturius commented, standing stiff on his own horse. ¡°There¡¯s Ennius poking his head out of the trees.¡± ¡°He¡¯s taken his bloody time,¡± Trupo grunted, an aide giving him a bundle of reports from the officers engaged in the fight. ¡°Shall I send everyone in milord?¡± Galio asked him. ¡°Whilst they are disorganized.¡± Lucius grimaced and spotted Ramirus riding towards them. He guided Stormbolt forward and stood up on the stirrups to better observe the unfolding battle about five hundred meters away. He didn¡¯t even have to use the cavalry. Lord Bart didn¡¯t have a chance, he thought. This was a catastrophic blunder, but then again not all your schemes can be a success. The Crulls should have just sued for peace after their wins the previous years. He made a note of that. One should try and learn from his opponent¡¯s mistakes. Be mindful of pitfalls, vanity and the greed success breeds. ¡°We will give Lord Bart the option to surrender,¡± he announced to the frowning officers. ¡°I won¡¯t condone indiscriminate slaughter gents.¡± He caught Ramirus¡¯ expression and grimaced. ¡°Of course milord,¡± Galio replied with a nod. ¡°Trupo order the Centurions to halt.¡± The Prefect saluted and turned to his aide, a rider coming from the walls of the city at their backs approaching at a fast gallop. ¡°Ramirus,¡± Lucius asked, keeping a worried eye on the rider reaching them. ¡°I didn¡¯t see Kaeso¡¯s troops with the Cohort. How did the battle go?¡± ¡°A nasty affair Legatus,¡± Ramirus replied. ¡°But the Centurion fared well. Centurion Mangas performed admirably at the mouth, as did Decanus Kato in the Southern Pines. I have to recommend them both for a medal and report the West Fort site is again under the Legion¡¯s control, as is the Mountain Pass.¡± ¡°Is Kaeso rounding up the prisoners?¡± Lucius queried staring at the blank faced intelligence officer. ¡°As I said sire,¡± Ramirus replied evenly. ¡°A nasty affair. They fought to the last.¡± Hmm. ¡°Who was in command?¡± Lucius asked thinking of Bas Crull, as this daring infiltration had his fingerprints all over it. ¡°It isn¡¯t clear at this point.¡± The rider had reached them and was stopped by a solemn-faced Gripa, the young Legion clerk one of the boys working the birds in the Castrum. ¡°Have Kaeso report to me, upon his return,¡± Lucius ordered Ramirus and turned his horse to approach his aide that was talking with the messenger, Galio watching them from the sides with a deeper than usual scowl on his weathered face. ¡°What happened?¡± Lucius asked Gripa. The man was reading through several messages one after the other. ¡°The Fourth got mixed up with the Duke¡¯s forces in the woods,¡± Gripa replied. ¡°Some of it that is, apparently there are units engaged on the Stad River¡¯s bridge as well.¡± What? ¡°Give me this,¡± Lucius grunted and grabbed the small unfurled scrolls. ¡°One¡¯s from Valens fighting near the road, the second is reporting Sula has reached the river,¡± Lucius read aloud. ¡°Ah,¡± Galio grunted and jumped from his horse waving for an aide to open the small field table. ¡°Find me that map lad,¡± the aged officer said. ¡°Read the third,¡± Gripa advised him. ¡°The first missives are more than a couple of days old.¡± ¡°Why the delay?¡± Lucius asked reading the third missive from Valens. The officer reported he¡¯d managed to hold the Lesia Regulars under Baron Palma. The latter had retreated at the end of the second day to deal with Sula. ¡°Tribune?¡± Lucius rustled and jumped down from his horse as well to look at the map, the other officers were poring over silently. Galio grunted and Trupo who had approached to peek over the Tribune¡¯s shoulder rubbed his face hard with a gloved hand as if to combat a sudden bout of migraine. ¡°Well then,¡± Trupo murmured. ¡°Milord,¡± Galio said and showed him the map. Lucius stared at the crude drawing, the old hide soft and the colors washed-out. ¡°Sula controls the bridge.¡± God darn, Lucius thought impressed and worried at the same time. How did you pull that off? ¡°Where¡¯s the Duke¡¯s supply line?¡± Lucius asked trying to read the situation quickly, his mind also on the battle happening not that far from them. Fortunately quieting down after the Cohorts had paused their advance. ¡°He has none milord,¡± Galio replied. ¡°That was it.¡± ¡°How about the shore, can he use that?¡± ¡°If Halfostad moves fast to assemble a fleet and he makes it to the coast perhaps,¡± Galio replied. ¡°But this is a rocky wilderness, amidst a forest. I don¡¯t even see a beach milord.¡± ¡°Can Sula hold them off?¡± Lucius asked. ¡°How big are Lesia¡¯s forces?¡± ¡°Too big. A couple of thousand at least,¡± Galio replied. ¡°Plus the Duke¡¯s Carls, though Juter might turn around and balance this thing out given enough time. Valens might have to push them though to bail him out, risk Palma turning on him again twice more determined to get to the Fourth¡¯s supplies.¡± ¡°He probably halted the Legion¡¯s train in advance,¡± Trupo noted. ¡°Kept them back. Sula is no fool, but it may come to that. Valens would have to master one hell of a defense and the Baron won¡¯t retreat this time.¡± ¡°All he needs is time,¡± Galio agreed. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of Regulars and Valens can¡¯t have more than four hundred men and if that many.¡± It depends. ¡°Legatus?¡± Trupo asked, by now he¡¯d learned to read Lucius expressions. ¡°Sula wouldn¡¯t have moved so daringly with no reason,¡± Lucius explained. ¡°While defense seemed like the safe move here, we don¡¯t know it for certain. Giving the Duke and the Baron time might have spelled doom for him. If he managed to catch, or even destroy their supply train though, then all these forces must survive without it.¡± Time wasn¡¯t on the Baron¡¯s side. ¡°Legatus,¡± Ramirus said, a fresh report in his hands. ¡°Lord Bart won¡¯t surrender. He doesn¡¯t recognize your authority.¡± Lucius frowned and turned his head to stare at the Issirs formed up in their squares in an arching frontline. ¡°How many in the pocket?¡± He asked. ¡°More than a thousand milord,¡± Galio replied. ¡°We will take casualties in a direct assault.¡± Lucius sighed and glanced at the map showing Sula¡¯s position. ¡°Durio has loaded the Scorpios?¡± He asked, not wanting to go there, but seeing no other option. Sula needed reinforcements. The Prefect of the Fourth Legion could stall, but eventually hunger and desperation would unleash all those enemy soldiers on his position. The problem was that help was two days away, if Lucius left immediately. Galio had answered him in the meantime. Damn you for forcing me to do this, he cursed the hateful Lord Bart. ¡°Deploy them on the field Tribune, whilst there¡¯s still enough light to get the range,¡± Lucius ordered eyeing the reddish sun and realized he¡¯d spend the whole day on the saddle. A sudden commotion started on the distant frontline, the murmur growing, with many legionnaires shouting. Lucius tried to understand what they were saying, everyone¡¯s attention drawn to the phenomenon. ¡°What in Tyeus spear?¡± Trupo cursed, working at his mustache. ¡°Hmm,¡± Galio murmured, a hand over his eyes. An aide went to fetch them a spyglass and Lucius realized with some bewilderment that the legionnaires were celebrating. ¡°What is this nonsense? What¡¯s gotten into them?¡± Galio grunted with a scowl, but the right question to ask, Lucius thought standing back and crossing his arms on his chest, is why.
Lord Bart Crull, probably devastated learning of Sir Hein¡¯s fate upon reaching his small camp at the end of the woods and under pressure to get out of the situation he¡¯d dug himself into, refused to negotiate with Lucius that was in turn troubled at the news of Nonus Sula¡¯s predicament. While events would showcase that his fears were not justified, it is safe to assume the recently becoming a father Legatus was in turn quite burdened by this point. Lord Bart ordered his trapped force to prepare for another assault on the front covered by the First Cohort and attempt to smash through in order to reach the Mountain Pass. A disagreement sprouted out, mainly from the force under Lord Jake Eams of Northwatch Castle, a distant cousin of Lord Bart. Lord Eams wanted to negotiate a truce with Lucius considering the day lost and further bloodshed pointless. In a theme that was to appear again and again that same week, tempers flared, but most men sided with the Baron of Northwatch Castle. Lord Bart ordered his guards to arrest Lord Eams and the ringleaders, but it backfired and they got overwhelmed instead. The disagreement turned into a bloody fight, in front of the jubilant legionnaires watching them.
¡®If ye so wish, Lord Alden,¡¯ Lord Bart had told him almost two years back afore sending him to die into the trap he¡¯d set up for the Jarl¡¯s men. Lucius stared in the light of the torches at the mutilated body of the Lord of Eaglesnest numb, a deep frown on his face. Sir Hein¡¯s pale corpse laid next to his father, the young knight that had fought Ralph in Riverdor ages ago it seemed now, sporting a bloody wound on his chest, the plate wrapped there. He pressed his lips into a thin line and glared at the surrendered grim-looking rows of Issirs. Galio standing next to him glanced his way. ¡°How many?¡± ¡°Over two hundred were killed before Ennius managed to stop them. I had to order him personally to get him to move. Almost as many were cut down in the attempt.¡± ¡°Good grief,¡± Lucius grunted appalled. ¡°How many left?¡± ¡°Over five hundred milord.¡± Lucius stared at the dejected troops. ¡°Who¡¯s in command? Lord Bas?¡± He couldn¡¯t spot the distinct figure of Lord Bart¡¯s third son anywhere amongst the survivors. ¡°Lord Eams,¡± Galio replied. ¡°He¡¯s injured.¡± ¡°How serious?¡± ¡°A blade in the gut.¡± ¡°Can he speak?¡± Lucius probed. ¡°The Dottore is with him.¡± Right. Lucius puffed out and looked about him. The Second Cohort was keeping an eye on the Issirs while the rest of the soldiers where tending to the injured and the dead left in the field. He spotted Kaeso¡¯s troops returning and grimaced. ¡°Where¡¯s Arrun?¡± He asked the Tribune. ¡°He¡¯s reporting to Macrinus,¡± Galio replied. ¡°Can the Governor manage the prisoners?¡± Lucius asked. ¡°You intent to keep them milord?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t exactly get rid of them Galio,¡± Lucius admonished him. ¡°Nor can I send them back.¡± ¡°That would be unwise milord,¡± the aged officer agreed. ¡°I will message the Governor.¡± ¡°Good,¡± Lucius agreed. ¡°Find me those that cut down Lord Bart,¡± he added.
¡°Centurion Kaeso is waiting Legatus,¡± Ramirus informed him, after he rode back to his command post, now dismantled by legionnaires. Several hundred citizens of Kas had made the trip to the battlefield to help out with the injured. ¡°I see him Ramirus,¡± Lucius replied dryly and gave Gripa the reins of his horse. Kaeso stood next to the fire, scarred face adding to his sinister appearance. The Centurion carried a couple of swords with him, other than his bow and quiver. His men resting next to their horses appearing as worn out as their leader. ¡°Chief,¡± Kaeso greeted him informally with a smirk. ¡°It seems you¡¯ve avenged the old man.¡± Lucius paused and gulped down taking a moment to gather himself. ¡°Bas was responsible for that Kaeso,¡± he reminded him. ¡°Both Lord Bart and Sir Hein are slain instead.¡±This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. ¡°Good riddance,¡± Kaeso replied callously. ¡°That¡¯s a wrap for ¡®em hehe.¡± Lucius sighed and stared at the watching Ramirus. ¡°Bas might wait in Eaglesnest.¡± ¡°Nah, Bas is dead chief,¡± Kaeso replied. ¡°One of his Rangers told me so. The fucker got cut down back in Stag¡¯s Doab. He¡¯s been dead for a couple of months now. Turned to mud hehe.¡± Lucius stood back and crossed his arms to his chest. ¡°You believed him?¡± ¡°Twas his dying words,¡± Kaeso deadpanned and reached for his waistband. He¡¯d a shortsword there -not a Legion weapon, the handle on it carved into a three headed Eagle. He offered it to Lucius handle first. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± ¡°His sword chief,¡± Kaeso replied. ¡°His man carried it.¡± Ah. Lucius stared at the blade, his jaw clenched tightly in the memory of Roderick standing by the frozen bridge at the Montfoot River and urging a younger version of Lucius to save Faye and himself. He licked his dry lips, too emotional to speak. ¡°Heard Sula got himself into trouble,¡± Kaeso said changing the subject perceptively. ¡°Mmm,¡± Lucius muttered and rubbed his face, before pushing his hair back. ¡°I need to get on this.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll come along Chief,¡± Kaeso said. ¡°Just give the order.¡± Lucius nodded. ¡°Gratitude Kaeso. You¡¯ve won this battle.¡± ¡°Nah, that was all you milord. The man that makes the calls should take the credit,¡± the Ranger added with a smirk. And all the blame, the saying went, Lucius thought and turned to a content looking Ramirus. ¡°You should issue the Phalera for those involved,¡± he told him. ¡°I¡¯ll speak with those two myself.¡± ¡°Decanus Kato sir?¡± Ramirus asked. ¡°Him and his tall friend. Papus,¡± Lucius corrected him. ¡°Ahm, Papus was killed Legatus, their Maniple was in the thick of it,¡± Ramirus informed him. Lucius grimaced and cast another look at the expensive shortsword. ¡°I¡¯ll speak with him before I depart,¡± he finally said. ¡°Find Lord Bart¡¯s and Sir Hein¡¯s weapons Ramirus. We¡¯ll send them to their family. Hopefully there¡¯s someone left to talk with us.¡± ¡°Talk Legatus?¡± Ramirus probed casually. Lucius glared at him. ¡°What else?¡±
¡°You want to march on Eaglesnest?¡± Lucius asked his officers, an hour later in the war-council inside Redmond¡¯s Hall. ¡°We need to reinforce Sula, do we not?¡± ¡°Three Cohorts are ready to march in the next hour Legatus. A single Cohort can make the journey to Eaglesnest,¡± Trupo continued. ¡°The majority of the guards were stripped from the city and Northwatch. This is a ripe opportunity to strike whilst the iron is hot.¡± ¡°A Cohort can¡¯t take the city Prefect! Even peasants won¡¯t be intimidated by it!¡± Lucius blasted him. ¡°And we don¡¯t need to attempt it at this point, the road south is open.¡± ¡°The Crulls will regroup in the winter,¡± Galio said cautiously. ¡°Another chance may not come soon, not without cost in men for the Legion.¡± ¡°Galio lets save Sula first,¡± Lucius replied tiredly. ¡°Then we can revisit this plan.¡± ¡°The summer is going away Legatus,¡± Governor Macrinus said. The robust man was still wearing his Legion armour. ¡°The campaign must be concluded. It is what logic dictates.¡± Lucius stared at him. ¡°Logic dictates a Cohort isn¡¯t enough Macrinus,¡± he pointed out. ¡°I have a thousand spears,¡± Macrinus replied. ¡°Mostly lads from Regia looking to get in the Legions. Dress them up with fancy armor and they¡¯ll scare the piss out of civilians.¡± ¡°Are these for the City Guard?¡± ¡°No, the Guard gets the bottom of the barrel. Those are for the Kas Militia,¡± Macrinus explained. ¡°A proper city must be able to field an army Legatus. Else that city will suck the cock of every army that comes to visit.¡± ¡°Right. We want workers for the roads and the constructions Governor. How about you concentrate on dealing with these matters and leave recruiting for those in the army?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll use the prisoners for that,¡± Macrinus replied. ¡°Work them to the bone, pay them with their freedom after the works are finished.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t give you the prisoners to turn them into slaves Governor!¡± ¡°No slaves,¡± Macrinus said crooking his square jaw indifferently. ¡°Call it community service Legatus. It¡¯s a city matter this. We¡¯ll feed them, but they¡¯ll work for it.¡± Lucius realized the harsh ex-officer was right. ¡°I want to see them freed after they finish the Castrum and building the wall of the city.¡± ¡°And three Forts,¡± Macrinus added. ¡°After they finish the road to the Dwarf¡¯s Mines.¡± ¡°Have they found something?¡± Lucius asked him a little surprised. ¡°Copper and a vein of gold,¡± the Governor replied with a toothy smile. ¡°Quite rich I hear. The City gets half of it for its coffers.¡±
The Crulls one of the oldest Issir families almost got wiped out that day. While the whereabouts of Bas Crull are still a mystery until this day and is heavily contested whether he had died during the assault on the Legion¡¯s Camp at Stag¡¯s Doab, or made it out and was murdered near Kas, his death kept a secret in a wicked but unlikely cover-up. Some even suggest the infamous male heir to Eaglestnest might still be alive today and haunting the cold forests of his old domain. Herb the young son of late Sir Reggy was the last male in line for the Duchy¡¯s throne, but a day after news reached the mountain city, the young boy expired within hours due to a sudden summer fever. Allegedly. Lady Sane Crull, Lord Bart¡¯s only daughter, took over immediately. An enigmatic woman, some people consider a revered Seer today, or the devil incarnate. Much as these matters oft go, the truth is perhaps somewhere in the middle. She was thirty two at the time. Lucius hard-pressed for time decided to send Tribune Galio Veturius with two Cohorts to Eaglesnest, the Third and Fourth. Around a thousand men of the newly formed Kas Militia followed them, a force of over two thousand and five hundred men. Lucius himself led the First and Second Cohorts, followed by Kaeso¡¯s Rangers, down the forest road after the Fourth Legion. A day and something later he found the slower part of the supply train at the edge of the thick trees narrow road and heard about the Paean in the Pines. Baron Palma had given a good look at the situation and decided it was a wrap, unless he could win his next engagement and dislodge the dug in Sula from the river and the bridge. He left a force of around five hundred to guard his flank from Valens and set up his restless forces for an early morning attack on the third day. During the night the news spread that the supply train was lost, even worst Northern Raiders had killed and raped anything that moved beyond Stad River and had set Halfostad on fire. The soldiers and petty officers asked Baron Palma to avoid unnecessary bloodshed, or prolong a fight with what would be a half-starving force in a couple of days and the well-read officer considered it. No one likes sleeping on an empty stomach, or without water at the near. He send a messenger to Sula early the morning of the third to gauge on the possibility of a truce, but Duke Redmond arrived with his Carls and Ley¡¯s Boars ruining his plans. Upon learning of the catastrophe at Halfostad and the fate of their supply train the Duke went into a fit of rage. He walked out of the small tent furious¨Cthe Baron had two wagons of personal supplies now used by two thousand men- and ordered his Carls to smash through Sula¡¯s Century whatever the cost. The Carls went at it an hour later, the sun chasing the morning mist away. They attacked twice, but it was like banging their heads against a steel wall, until the Duke almost came to blows with a reluctant Baron Palma to force him to throw Lesia¡¯s better-trained troops into the fight. The Baron send the equivalent of an Issir regiment against Sula, around a thousand men, but got attacked on both sides not an hour later ¨Caround late noon- by Valens three Centuries from the side of the forest and Blondal Juter¡¯s rejuvenated arriving Northern warriors. Given the numbers, Juter had about five or six hundred men with him and with Valens¡¯ three hundred they matched the force Palma had send to block their advance and prevent them from overrunning his camp. The problem was that Valens was attacking from the west and Juter from the north. Palma with his force split and surrounded knew he was in a dire situation. Word reached the Lesia troops at the bridge, then engaged in the third assault of the day ¨Cit must be noted here that they had almost smashed through Sula¡¯s heavily worn out Century by that time. Panic set in and they started retreating to protect their rear. The depleted Carls tried to hold out, but Mamercus Sorex¡¯s battered slingers assaulted them with swords and knives from the sides ¨Chaving run out of ammunition- and routed them. Mayhem ensued with troops returning towards Baron Palma¡¯s defending force and soon the situation became untenable. The Baron pleaded with the shell-shocked Duke to spare the men and not throw any more lives in a lost battle. ¡®The Tiger lost the war today,¡¯ the Baron explained to him. ¡®Lesia will make sure of it.¡¯ Whether the Baron¡¯s words swayed the Duke, or not, it is unclear. He wasn¡¯t happy about it for certain, but he also didn¡¯t have the men or the stomach to remove the Baron and proceed with the battle. On the early morning of the fourth day of the battle, the Duke send a messenger wanting terms and Nonus Sula assumed a legendary status winning a battle with thrice less men than his opponent. ¡®It was like the sound of a Paean,¡¯ the legion¡¯s scribe Dumont described it years later. ¡®Amidst the Pine Trees.¡¯ Palma lost about three hundred men the third day on all fronts, a hundred and eighty killed mainly during Duke Redmond¡¯s desperate and needless final assault, with the Duke¡¯s Carls losing another two hundred and fifty, with a staggering two hundred and thirty of them killed. It is rumored Sula only had twenty men fit to stand on the shieldwall in the last assault, one hundred and eighty casualties, sixty nine killed. Mamercus Sorex lost another fifty of his slingers killed and had several dozen wounded. The Prefect sustained no less than three injuries in the fight, the one in his right leg leaving him with a slight limp for the next year.
Lucius rode into Valens camp on the afternoon of the fifth day, several hundred Northmen mixed in with the weary but jubilant legionnaires greeting him and proceeded towards Sula¡¯s position at the bridge, the long rows of horse-drawn sledges bringing up the wounded and the funeral pyres still smoking, a testament to the heavy fighting that had transpired the previous days. He cast a glance at Lesia¡¯s banners, the enemy camp huge in comparison and the piles of burned corpses even bigger and grimaced, his heart heavy. Prefect Sula greeted him walking on a cane and bandaged on his head and right arm. He accepted the report from the aide and went over it in silence. ¡°Mamercus?¡± he asked hoarsely, feeling worn out as he¡¯d slept on the saddle to make it in time. The fact that he was late gnawing at him. ¡°Not a scratch on him Legatus,¡± Sula reported, sounding like he¡¯d swallowed a bucket full of gravel himself. The Prefect looked terrible, but kept his jaw clenched sensing Lucius scrutiny. Lucius sighed and stared at the numbers. ¡°There isn¡¯t an honor high enough to give praise to what you¡¯ve accomplished here Prefect,¡± he started. ¡°It wasn¡¯t perfect Legatus,¡± Sula rustled. ¡°There¡¯s nothing perfect in war Sula,¡± Lucius said. ¡°I take it protecting the road wasn¡¯t an option?¡± ¡°Never thought of it Legatus,¡± Sula admitted. ¡°I couldn¡¯t win by staying put.¡± ¡°You could¡¯ve lost the Legion, if Palma kept the men at the bridge where they were.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve read the same books he did, through my father,¡± Sula replied. ¡°I knew he wouldn¡¯t and that he¡¯d try to surround me instead.¡± Lucius grunted and rubbed his unshaven face. Sula¡¯s father had been killed during the Battle of the Turncoats, but he¡¯d kept that report from him, not wanting the news burdening the newly promoted officer. ¡°What does the Duke want?¡± He asked instead. ¡°He¡¯ll tell us himself, I reckon,¡± Sula replied. ¡°The first things they asked for were food and water.¡± ¡°I want the Northmen kept away from the bridge and Halfostad,¡± Lucius said and pressed two fingers on his right temple to alleviate a headache. ¡°What in Oras Hells happened there Prefect?¡± Sula smacked his lips, keeping both his hands on his cane. ¡°Gerard¡¯s Raiders attacked the supply train,¡± he replied. ¡°They went overboard sir.¡± Lucius kept reading at the report, whilst a throbbing started on his left temple even more persistent. ¡°Civilians killed, women defiled, mutilated. There are hundreds of heads tossed by the side of the road Prefect¡­ HEADS!¡± Lucius growled and stood up glaring at the frowning Dumont. ¡°Halfostad is still burning, there are reports of a thousand dead there as well!¡± ¡°The men never reached the city Legatus,¡± Sula corrected him tensely. ¡°But I accept responsibility for the attack on the train.¡± ¡°Damn it Sula, did you order it?¡± Lucius asked crooking his mouth. ¡°What am I to say to the Duke? Or to the Baron? I have no moral ground to stand on!¡± ¡°Apologies Legatus, but I haven¡¯t ordered anything of the sort,¡± Sula spat affronted. ¡°Where¡¯s Gerard?¡± Lucius grunted. ¡°I had him warned, he¡¯s done it this time.¡± ¡°Gerard was injured during the raid,¡± Sula replied and stood up with a grimace of pain. ¡°But I have arrested the men present there.¡± ¡°How many?¡± ¡°Sixty.¡± Lucius sighed. ¡°Gerard is popular with the Nords, these are his boys. I will need to think of an appropriate punishment without creating even more friction.¡± ¡°With all due respect Legatus, this is a matter of the Fourth. That¡¯s my banner over there,¡± Sula said and set his jaw. ¡°The punishment is known.¡± Lucius stared at him alarmed. ¡°These men were a loan from the Third Prefect.¡± ¡°These men fought with the Fourth Legatus,¡± Sula replied and returned his stare. ¡°Marched with us, won with us and they¡¯ll get punished for breaking the rules. We¡¯ve the same treatment for officers and soldiers alike here.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the punishment?¡± Lucius asked him wearily. ¡°There¡¯re Five Gods in this Realm for each one of us,¡± Sula replied and tended his arm to accept a scroll from his aide. ¡°Per the ancient Legion laws and the traditions of yer ancestor Lucius the First, the Unforgiving. One in five Legatus.¡± Fuck. ¡°You can¡¯t be serious,¡± Lucius gasped eyeing the rigid Dumont. ¡°You¡¯ll kill one in five? How many are we talking about?¡± Dumont cleared his throat and stepped forward. ¡°Twelve,¡± he replied. ¡°Plus Gerard who asked to be executed alongside them. We decided to hold the execution until the Duke¡¯s arrival. It would give ye the moral ground milord.¡± Lucius felt sick to his stomach. ¡°I don¡¯t want Gerard executed,¡± Lucius croaked. ¡°It¡¯s important to have Nords in positions of power.¡± ¡°You could rescind the order Legatus,¡± Sula replied. ¡°But it will compromise the integrity of my command and the Fourth¡¯s honor. A Legion must govern its internal affairs.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll refuse my order?¡± Lucius grunted. ¡°Never Legatus,¡± Sula retorted. ¡°But I earned the right to speak out, the moment you gave me command of the Fourth my lord. It is my opinion you¡¯ve done it on purpose, as you expect me to offer a different point of view than yourself. You need someone to challenge your orders, so you don¡¯t become complacent.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve earned your rank as well, it wasn¡¯t given¡± Lucius yielded with a grimace, knowing he was right. ¡°I do need someone who isn¡¯t afraid to speak his mind Sula. But I can¡¯t have you kill Gerard, I can barely stomach to watch twelve men getting cut down before I talk to the Duke.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll talk with Gerard, Legatus,¡± Sula said. ¡°But I can¡¯t promise you anything.¡± Lucius scrunched his face and tossed the reports on the table. ¡°You did me a great service Sula,¡± he said and reached with his arm to touch the Prefect¡¯s bandaged shoulder. ¡°I shan¡¯t forget it.¡± ¡°The men did most of the work my lord,¡± Sula replied with a grimace. Lucius nodded and stepped back. ¡°I hate to say this Sula, but it is time to tell the Duke I¡¯ll see him. But give me another day to rest my bones. It¡¯s the last thing I want. Gods, this could turn very ugly.¡± Sula blinked and glanced at him. ¡°He¡¯s a prisoner my lord. A disgraced loser that ordered men to their death, watching from the sidelines,¡± the officer rustled. ¡°The way I see it he¡¯s the one with no ground to stand on. You owe him nothing.¡± Lucius thought of Macia breathing her last, but decided not to reply.
BA-TA DUM The marching snare drums kept the same monotonous tempo, like the sound of a giant heart beating very slow, but impossibly loud. BA-TA DUM The legionnaires were standing at attention at the center of the jointed camp with full battle gear on, the two Cohorts of the Third Legion and the single Cohort of the Fourth Legion. Sorex¡¯s Slingers, Kaeso and Pike¡¯s Rangers and Long¡¯s Cavalry without their horses. Blondal Juter¡¯s bearded Northmen were watching from the far edge of the oblong square, clad in their hides and mail, more axes than swords between them. The Lesia Regulars were standing opposing the legionnaires still in their expensive scaled plated armour over white thick gambesons and tunics. Baron Palma had his at least one thousand five hundred soldiers surrender their weapons, his force bloodied but relatively intact, considering the Duke¡¯s Carls were numbering a mere hundred scowling warriors, most of them injured. BA-TA DUM The thirteen men kneeled at the center of this awkward gathering of different armies were Nords. They had their chests bare, skin turning a pale bronze color in the light of the setting sun. One of them the Legatus recognized immediately despite his bandaged maimed head. Lucius clenched his jaw and glared at the merciless face of Sula. The injured Prefect had ditched his cane for the occasion and stood rigid next to him and Trupo. The drums kept at their monotonous ominous tempo, everyone watching tensed as thirteen legionnaires of the Fourth spilled out of the ranks and unsheathing their swords walked towards the condemned raiders. Lucius breathed once deep, his eyes stopping on the greyish red head of the Duke of Sovya and his austere leather redingote, under his chainmail shirt. He hadn¡¯t seen the Duke since the day Sovya¡¯s delegation had arrived to collect the cocooned rotting body of his daughter, in the summer of eighty three. Seven years to the day. The skinny man returning his stare had shockingly aged since, but the hatred in his green and gold eyes still lingered, burning with the same passion. BA-TA DUM The legionnaires took position behind the subdued raiders, swords tips aimed down towards the naked trapezoid muscle ready to plunge in to the hilt. The manner of execution explained in the Legion¡¯s manual handed down two centuries ago by another Lucius. A King and a Legatus. A violent man that had carved a kingdom out of the Lorian Lords lands defeating one after the other. King Lucius the First, had ruled for forty eight years, twenty four of them before the new calendar started. He had died in the distant 24 NC to be succeeded by a series of Kings Lucius could recite from memory. A game forced on him by his tutors. Lucius the unforgiving, Caius the unlucky, Titus who thought Gish were lucky, Lucius again, Ralph, Jeremy, Titus two, stalwart Alistair and ¡­Jeremy I guess. ¡°We live by the rules of the book,¡± Sula boomed, snapping him out of his reverie. ¡°We keep to a schedule, never waver on our tasks and never look for an easy out. We use the sword we''re issued to kill our enemies, the pickaxe to break the ground and carve a road to walk on! We are brethren in arms, we do not seek excuses, for we know what¡¯s right and by Gods we know what is bloody wrong! We afford the same punishment to friends and foes, because we know better. You err, you pay the blood price. That¡¯s the way of things. Think afore you act and don¡¯t expect mercy, when the manual provides none. For anyone. It does speak of crimes like those committed by these men and provides a remedy. Why? Because when a large body of men falls for the same fallacy, we don¡¯t burn the whole field. We are the field! We¡¯re the fucking army. There are laws for everything. This is the Law of the Five,¡± he glared at the waiting soldiers, the silence inside the camp eerie, broken by some of the condemned sad muffled cries. Lucius felt an ulcer forming in his stomach. Sula crooked his mouth and added the final order without an ounce of pity. ¡°Proceed!¡± BA-TA DUM Lucius gasped, but kept his composure, until the bloody bodies were carried away and Sula turned towards him, looking worn out and pale despite his prior performance. ¡°A craven man, should lead no one,¡± Sula rustled, scrunching his square jaw this way and that. ¡°Gerard¡¯s last words my lord.¡± Lucius nodded. ¡°He was no coward,¡± he noted with difficulty. ¡°He wasn¡¯t,¡± Nonus Sula agreed and that was that.
Gripa stood rigid afore the cover of his commander¡¯s tent, Sula resting on a chair on his right shoulder, the cane between his legs and next to him Trupo poring over reports about casualties and weapons gathered in the field. The latter as important for the Legion¡¯s coffers. Ramirus was standing on his left shoulder keeping notes. ¡°Legatus,¡± his aide reported. ¡°Baron Palma and Lord Jakub Redmond the Duke of Sovya, with their entourage, are waiting for an audience,¡± Gripa paused unsure for a moment. Lucius hadn¡¯t seen him for a day almost, as he¡¯d gone to Lesia¡¯s camp to arrange the details of the meeting. They had to keep the camps sort of separated ¨Cdespite them being side by side- given the large number of men not liking each other involved. ¡°There was an arrest earlier today,¡± Gripa continued. ¡°Near the Stad River Bridge, but the matter was resolved fortunately for all parties.¡± Hmm. Alright then. ¡°Eh, fine Gripa,¡± Lucius replied unsure what to make of it. ¡°Send them in,¡± he added with a nervous glance at Ramirus. The intelligence officer stooped his way and whispered so only Lucius could hear. ¡°A noble woman with her escort,¡± Ramirus said and before an uneasy Lucius could grasp his meaning, the tent¡¯s cover was pushed aside and the Duke, his young aide, Baron Palma and a perfect copy of an older Macia entered inside. You think it¡¯s over? His dead wife whispered in his ear. Fuck. ¡°Lucius,¡± Duke Redmond spat seeing him stunned into silence. ¡°You know Martha.¡± 240. The Legion Accords
[The Old Realms saga is published on RR for free. It is also re-posted on Scribblehub and that''s it. It is in the author''s plans to publish it on Amazon and other platforms at some point. If you see it offered anywhere else, or someone tries to charge you for it, please report him. It is illegal to sell, or take advantage of intellectual work without the author''s permission.] read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/
The crazy woman with the orange and white hair, her many thin braids sprouting out of her head like snakes, stilled her different color eyes on the old Legion officer, but he appeared unimpressed with her, she thought with an internal sigh. The Tribune waited patiently staring her with his old eyes. The Mayor being as he was an idiot that would kill himself drinking, or drink himself to death in a couple of years grunted and shook his head ready to toss the officer¡¯s proposal away. Sanne sighed externally this time. After they did that the officer would park the army outside their gates and wait¡­ ahm six months? Or thereabouts. People would eat corpses by then and die of fever. Sanne herself will opt for liver meat because you can¡¯t tell it apart from a cow¡¯s and is slower to spoil. But you know aye. Hmm. ¡°We¡¯ll accept yer offer decrepit old officer,¡± she said politely and put an arm on the Mayor¡¯s elbow to calm him down. ¡°I¡¯m Tribune Galio Veturius!¡± The old man boomed affronted. ¡°Lady Crull,¡± the Mayor of Eaglesnest protested, red in the face, his acute case of cirrhosis already well on its way. ¡°You can¡¯t be serious.¡± Uh? ¡°Oh, but it doesn¡¯t matter dear,¡± Sanne explained to him patiently and pointed a thin finger with a broken nail, she unfortunately had chewed a bit too much because it bothered her. ¡°Because he is very serious. Why, the good officer wants to kill us all given the opportunity.¡± ¡°I have orders not to milady,¡± Galio Veturius grunted with a grimace, his patience running thin. ¡°Liar-liar, I¡¯ve seen you do it, should I set yer pants on fire?¡± she sang, her voice a little dissonant, but pleasant under a certain mood, she thought and ogled the frowning officer. ¡°You want Northwatch Castle. To hell with it!¡± She yelled scaring them all. ¡°Lady Crull!¡± The Mayor protested. ¡°Shush drunkard!¡± She stopped him. ¡°You will give me that cunt Eams yes?¡± Sanne asked the scowling old bag of bones. Galio frowned. ¡°I¡¯ll have to check with the Legatus¡ª¡± ¡°He¡¯ll accept,¡± Sanne cut him off rudely. ¡°Let¡¯s speed this along, I have to shave my right leg. Didn¡¯t have the time to do it earlier. Do you want to see?¡± ¡°Lady Sanne!¡± ¡°Very well,¡± the old officer grunted and stared at his men. ¡°I have yer father¡¯s weapon¡ª¡± ¡°Fuck do I do with it? Unless¡­ is it sharp enough I wonder? I told the fool, don¡¯t attack if the Legion is gone because it won¡¯t be away for long, but he didn¡¯t listen. Your dear Legatus will win his war and wear a crown mister Veturius. He''ll love the army and three women, but one more he¡¯ll marry. One that¡¯s long dead. One that will never leave him and Regia that will have his life ruined. Heavy his legend will be, unbearable and lethal. It will all be you ever-marching boys fault. Don¡¯t let him look to the west, it will break your heart.¡± ¡°Is that yer plaguin¡¯ prediction?¡± Galio rustled crooking his wrinkled mouth. ¡°Pfft, I don¡¯t make predictions old sad man. You¡¯ll stare at tall walls, read the names of ghosts and weep in yer final days, hahaha! See if I care?¡± Galio smacked his lips and eyed his aide, a sturdy Lorian with big blue eyes. Oh, you handsome fool, you¡¯ll step on your motherland¡¯s soil again, but never see yer home. ¡°You are in agreement Lady Crull,¡± he grunted. ¡°You did the sensible thing.¡± Sensible my arse, Sanne thought angrily, showing him her teeth to not ruin the deal, the young officer recoiling horrified. See yer rotting self, getting eaten by rats and then come talk to me about it. I had no fucking choice ye old crettin! Goddess, I can¡¯t believe you¡¯ll live to be a hundred!
- Greater Kas circa 192 NC -Right click on map to open fully-
Legatus Lucius Alden The Legion Accords
There was a special darkish red in her hair, much like blood when you reflected light on it. Two summers later the strong southern sun of Regia¡¯s coast had turned that red much brighter, the rubicund curls turning to a special ros¨¦ alike Cartagen¡¯s light wine, but some of that strong dark red remained. Faye¡¯s color came close to it, Zofia¡¯s even more so, but Martha had her sister¡¯s hair. The departing northern summer sun had even lighten up a few of her own strands. She also had her face, more mature with even some wrinkles added around her mouth. That tigress¡¯ green and gold eyes that kept you on edge. Same fierceness in her stare, but no hatred, or fear and that worry responsible for her guarded expression, had probably a completely mundane reason for it. ¡°Ramirus,¡± Lucius groused, his mouth dry. ¡°Find chairs for Lady Redmond and our guests.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll stand,¡± Prefect Trupo said and got up while Ramirus rushed to fulfill his order. Sula who had the third extra chair didn¡¯t even bother offering, a pained expression on his face and the cane clasped in his hands all the leverage he needed. Duke Redmond collapsed on his seat with a snort, forcing Lucius to stop staring at the open necked, heavily beaded and otherwise typical Sovya dark-blue klappenrock dress, showing the comfortable leather riding pants underneath it. Martha had a hooded sheer white cardigan over her shoulders, the item not usually worn in the North. Perhaps she had worn it to disguise herself for the trip, as if that would have concealed, she is a woman of high station. Even if it had, he thought, traveling with a heavy escort would have blown the whistle on her scheme at the first check point. Why come here? You feared I would cut down your father? Lucius was looking again. Martha moved her brows cutely, the Duke turned red in the face and Trupo frowned down to his prominent mustache, afore clearing his throat on purpose. Gods darn it. ¡°Sir Lucius,¡± Baron Palma said in his thick Lesia accent. A stout, square jawed man, clad in expensive scaled armour. ¡°I want assurances my men would be allowed to return to Lesia.¡± Lucius breathed once deeply, kept his eyes on the Baron and then sat down, prompting everyone inside his packed commander¡¯s tent to do the same, but for Trupo and Ramirus that is. ¡°Baron I would allow your men to return unharmed to Kadrek, after I march to Halfostad tomorrow.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll attack the city?¡± Duke Redmond grunted. ¡°After your men burned it?¡± ¡°No such thing occurred,¡± Lucius replied keeping his voice steady. ¡°As you¡¯ve witnessed, the culprits responsible for the attack on the civilians escorting your supply train, have been punished harshly.¡± ¡°I would worry about us Duke Redmond,¡± Palma said looking at Lucius. ¡°There¡¯s word Lord Bart Crull is dead. All his sons as well. Just like the Vanzons.¡± Lucius stilled his eyes on the Baron. ¡°I had nothing to do with Lord Bart¡¯s fate, but I hold the man responsible for the crime, Baron Eams. His own men turned on him. As for the Vanzons, they had bathed in innocent blood for years. Sometimes your actions decide your fate Baron.¡± ¡°Indeed it can,¡± the Baron agreed readily. ¡°Better remember that Sir Lucius.¡± ¡°That absolves you?¡± The Duke asked, less bothered by Lord Bart¡¯s demise. They had been enemies before he started hating on Lucius. ¡°I don¡¯t ask for absolution,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°I don¡¯t have to. I won the battle.¡± The Duke scowled at the jab. Baron Palma shook his head. ¡°You¡¯re waging war on Lesia¡¯s vassal Sir Lucius, this won¡¯t end well for you. Lord Lennox is dead by your men already, now this.¡± ¡°Lesia could have allowed me to move through. I only wished to return to Regia. I would have done it peacefully, but you all forced my hand,¡± Lucius said looking at both of them. ¡°It is my duty to return whatever the cost. Even I have to fight the King¡¯s armies.¡± ¡°Ah, you¡¯re delusional. All this talk about fighting,¡± Palma snapped. ¡°There¡¯s no way King Davenport would ever talk with you. You¡¯re holding Kas for all gods sake!¡± ¡°And Halfostad,¡± Lucius corrected him and Duke Redmond hissed. ¡°Sir Lucius,¡± Palma rumbled trying to keep it civil but failing. ¡°Lesia has a professional army and has raised a full Legion out of thin air. The King can field five times the troops you have and support them. He can pay for mercenaries, grind you down until you have nothing.¡± ¡°The King could do all that,¡± Lucius agreed. ¡°And I could march to Kadrek next, take the port and cut off his sea trade route. Burn the ships I catch in port. No iron, timber for this winter. Maybe the next as well who knows? I wouldn¡¯t even have to fight for it,¡± he eyed the seething Duke. ¡°I have the Duke of Sovya as my hostage.¡± The Baron tried to speak but Lucius stopped him raising a hand. ¡°Then Lesia would need to come around the mountain paths on foot, cross through Regia with a full army, or settle for a naval invasion with winter coming.¡± ¡°You know they will,¡± the Baron hissed. ¡°King Jeremy is a plaguin¡¯ weakling! He doesn¡¯t even control his own lords!¡± ¡°Even so. I¡¯m saying it can turn too expensive to palate,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°My mother was from Lesia, gods bless her sweet soul. She hated spending coin for no reason.¡± ¡°There¡¯s reason enough!¡± The Baron growled, afore catching himself seeing Sula¡¯s icy expression. ¡°You have a proposition?¡± Duke Redmond asked, he had dark circles under his eyes and Lucius realized the man was still in mourning. ¡°I just told you,¡± Lucius replied with a grimace. ¡°I won¡¯t turn Halfostad over to the Nords,¡± the Duke contended. ¡°You better take me out and kill me right now.¡± ¡°Father!¡± Martha admonished him furious. ¡°We had enough deaths already!¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t give Kas to the Jarl and I won¡¯t offer Halfostad to the Juters,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°It¡¯s not yours to give! Who are you? You don¡¯t even have Regia backing you!¡± Palma argued furious and turned to the Duke. ¡°Lesia won¡¯t agree to any deals.¡± ¡°You know of the King¡¯s will then?¡± Lucius asked. Palma glared at him. ¡°Don¡¯t fool yerself Sir Lucius. You kicked that door down the moment Lord Lennox¡¯s breathed his last.¡± ¡°What is your proposal?¡± The Duke asked tiredly.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°Kas and Halfostad shall become a province,¡± Lucius started and Palma snorted not believing his ears. Ramirus handed him an unfurled scroll and he placed it in front of him. ¡°They will have a governor, subject to the authority of the Praetor Maximus controlling the legions per the ancient Manual of Army Governance and the First Rule of the Legion Accords.¡± ¡°What?¡± The Duke asked confused. Baron Palma who knew what Lucius was talking about having studied at the Military Academy in Armium stood back stunned. ¡°You can¡¯t be serious,¡± he rustled shaking his head. ¡°You don¡¯t have even one Legion here. Half of the men aren¡¯t even Lorians! You¡¯ve copied the arms and armour I give ye that, but where are the Legions backing you Sir Lucius?¡± ¡°The Third Legion is marching towards Eaglesnest,¡± Lucius explained to him and turned to the injured Prefect. ¡°Sula stand up.¡± Sula frowned and stood up pushing on his cane. Martha stared at him curious for a moment. ¡°The Fourth Legion has proved itself in battle I would say,¡± Lucius continued. ¡°Prefect Nonus Sula who is the commander of the Fourth?¡± Sula cleared his throat not expecting the sudden scrutiny. ¡°That would be me Legatus.¡± ¡°Are you now? Prefect Trupo what does the manual say about the leader of a Legion?¡± Lucius asked casually. ¡°An officer of sufficient rank must lead it sire,¡± Trupo readily replied. ¡°Would you say the Prefect is of sufficient rank?¡± ¡°Negative sir, he¡¯s not.¡± ¡°Can I remedy that Prefect?¡± ¡°Of course sir, you certainly can,¡± Trupo added glancing at the worrying Sula. ¡°Thou should if I¡¯m allowed to add.¡± ¡°What is the minimum rank we must elevate Prefect Sula for that Trupo?¡± ¡°That would be a Legatus sire.¡± ¡°You have the medal carved?¡± Lucius asked patiently. ¡°I have.¡± ¡°Go on then,¡± Lucius probed with a smile. ¡°Hand it to him.¡± ¡°Legatus,¡± Sula asked while a solemn faced Trupo hanged the gold laurel-type pendant from his neck. ¡°Legatus Sula,¡± Lucius stopped him with a grimace. ¡°I believe you answer to me still, are you not? I¡¯d like to be addressed properly.¡± ¡°Legatus Augustus,¡± Sula mumbled at a loss for words for a brief moment, but recovered quickly and saluted raising his fist to his chest. ¡°You word is my command sir.¡± Lucius nodded and turned to the lords silently watching the small theatrics he¡¯d quickly thrown together under Ramirus and Trupo¡¯s insistence. Trupo taking his cue, retrieved the scroll and started reading aloud. ¡°When the army is in a state of conquest, a Legatus Augustus, or Praetor Maximus shall command the Legions when the king is incapacitated, or dead and designate the provinces -create them if he has to. Similarly in the absence of a legitimate king, or in the presence of one not recognized by the legions. The Governors are subject to his authority, as are the lands, peoples and livestock herein.¡± ¡°Are the conditions met Prefect?¡± ¡°Aye Maximus they are.¡± ¡°Prefect I declare the conquest of the greater Province of Kas,¡± Lucius announced. ¡°The army will move to Halfostad on the morrow to see to the needs of the city.¡± ¡°Aye Maximus,¡± Trupo saluted and returned to his post. ¡°You are insane,¡± Palma murmured. ¡°You¡¯ll never pull this off. Had King Lucius wanted the army to rule Regia, he wouldn¡¯t have gotten Lesia involved. ¡° ¡°That wasn¡¯t King Lucius idea Baron, but of the Regia Kings that came after his passing,¡± Lucius scolded him. ¡°He did write the Book though fearing such an event. Read your histories!¡± ¡°A cultured man wouldn¡¯t throw the Realm into war!¡± ¡°Yet other ¡®cultured¡¯ men did, breaking treaties and behaving like thugs. I shan¡¯t condone it sir!¡± Lucius retorted. ¡°I didn¡¯t start the war. I found it, or it found me, but I shall finish it. The right man will sit on the throne Baron. King Davenport should do well to back down.¡± ¡°Are you going to attack Regia as well? You¡¯ll unite all the kingdoms against you.¡± Well, not Krakenhall, or the Jarl¡¯s domain. Or Kas. Though Lucius hoped it wouldn¡¯t come down to that. ¡°Baron Palma, you will message Lesia to cease hostilities,¡± Lucius told him sternly. ¡°And I will not take Kadrek in return.¡± The Baron snorted in disgust. ¡°Lucius you¡¯re going too far,¡± the Duke said gravely. ¡°I¡¯ve known you for years, what happened to you?¡± Kings and lords killed my father and put my brother on the throne. ¡°Let me speak with him father,¡± Martha stopped him placing a small hand on his left arm. Duke Redmond stared at her alarmed. ¡°I¡¯m not leaving you with him,¡± he admonished her. ¡°I understand why you came, but it was a mistake. I¡¯ve lost two children already to this man. I shan¡¯t lose another.¡± Lucius grimaced and had to clasp his right hand to stop a tremor that had started there. ¡°I didn¡¯t kill William,¡± he rustled. ¡°His hatred did him in, when he attacked my men and I didn¡¯t kill Macia also. I couldn¡¯t. I¡¯ve loved your daughter Duke Redmond.¡± ¡°Ah, damn you,¡± the Duke grimaced and rubbed his face with both hands, his eyes feverish. ¡°You expect me to believe this? Your father¡¯s old man gave up gold and Gudgurth Fort as an apology, admitted to the murder. I wanted to kill him and that sly groveling Lesia snake he dragged wit him with my bare hands!¡± Eh, fuck¡¯s sake Nattas, you always make the worst impression friend, Lucius thought, a little rattled as he didn¡¯t know about Roderick making such a payment. He glanced at his silent officers and Martha, the woman staring him sternly, but with her interest piqued. She wants to know. Lucius scrunched his face this way and that, not wanting to open up about the past in front of everyone, but knowing that the truth had to come out at some point. Trying to save his honor, he had created a ton of other problems. You think it¡¯s over husband? Curse you. ¡°Macia killed herself,¡± Lucius said with difficulty, his mouth drying up and his vision blurring as the memories started leaking out. ¡°She was pregnant with Rolo¡¯s child.¡± The Duke recoiled, raising his left hand not wanting to hear it. ¡°You¡¯ll smear her memory even in death?¡± He asked him hurt. ¡°What manner of man are you?¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t. My father lied, in his mind it was better to be a killer than a fool. She had an affair,¡± Lucius continued pushing on and Martha narrowed her eyes. ¡°I found out. Threatened to take the baby away and she killed herself with an old dagger. I had it melted and turned into a¡­¡± Martha raised her hand on her bosom and pulled an iron pendant out. Carved into the figure of the black Great Wolf of Yepehir. The Duchy¡¯s emblem. Ah, Lucius thought rattled. There you are. ¡°¡­ a medal and wrapped it in her funeral garbs,¡± he finished with a grimace. ¡°Deeds not words,¡± Martha recited her house¡¯s motto thoughtfully, whilst playing with her sister¡¯s blackened pendant. ¡°I will talk with Sir Lucius father.¡±
¡°Give us the room,¡± Lucius said, after her father and a dejected Baron Palma walked outside. Trupo frowned a tick on his left eye. ¡°Legatus, I shall send Gripa in,¡± he muttered, but Lucius stopped him with an angry gesture. ¡°She won¡¯t attack me in my tent Prefect!¡± He blasted him, feeling his blood boiling. ¡°If I¡¯m to be cut down by a woman, then I better rid this realm from my presence!¡± Sula stared at him. ¡°A woman can kill the best warrior Maximus, if she puts her mind to it.¡± ¡°Why thank you officer,¡± Martha taunted him. ¡°I was curious how ye got yer injuries.¡± ¡°Sula wait outside,¡± Lucius intervened before the affronted Legatus of the Fourth could reply. A seething Sula hobbled out of the tent and Ramirus being the last one present nodded once, before leaving them alone. The silence following extremely awkward. ¡°Ahm,¡± Lucius started. ¡°I won¡¯t be swayed to release your father¡­ my Lady.¡± Martha got up and approached his desk. ¡°I had my hair cut very short,¡± she said out of the blue surprising him. Lucius frowned and stared at his swordman¡¯s hands. ¡°I used a knife to do it, made a mess uhm. Father was shocked.¡± ¡°Why?¡± He asked, although he knew, sort of. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to marry you,¡± Martha replied with a smile. ¡°I was too scared,¡± she shrugged her shoulders. ¡°Macia was way braver than me. She had a thing for knights.¡± Lucius got up and walked to a chest, opened it and found a bottle of wine and a goblet. He returned to his desk and filled it to the brim, before realizing he hadn¡¯t brought one for her. Old instincts had kicked in. Macia hated wine. Martha smiled and pointed at the bottle. ¡°Can I?¡± ¡°Have mine,¡± Lucius replied and pushed the goblet carefully towards her. ¡°I love wine,¡± she whispered and drunk greedily. ¡°Despite how I look, I¡¯m not Macia.¡± ¡°I know,¡± Lucius murmured, although he had trouble controlling himself. ¡°Apologies. I should have handled it better.¡± ¡°Rolo loved us,¡± Martha said having another sip from his goblet. ¡°Since he was a kid. We used to fool with him and with each other. We used to pretend one of us was the other all the time. Promising something as Martha, but setting him up with Macia. She hated it is the truth. It was more my thing. Have you ever done that?¡± ¡°Not really,¡± Lucius admitted, not really wanting to talk about Rolo, or her childhood. His instinct was telling him this conversation wouldn¡¯t be pleasant. ¡°I thought about bedding him, when he grew up,¡± Martha continued and Lucius shifted on his feet, not wanting to hear it, ¡°but Macia whisked him away to spite me, for ducking out of the marriage. It might seem strange to you, but we didn¡¯t like the same men.¡± ¡°Lady Martha I don¡¯t want to hear it,¡± Lucius said. ¡°I think you do,¡± Martha replied. ¡°My brother hated you and it ruined him. I felt guilty growing up, thinking I sent my twin sister to her death, but in reality¡­¡± she paused and placed the goblet down, then pushed her luscious -now long- hair out of her face with a sigh. ¡°¡­I don¡¯t believe she would have ever slept with Rolo Lucius,¡± she added and Lucius blinked feeling his heart racing. No. Stop talking. ¡°She wouldn¡¯t do it. Not Macia, but she would hurt herself to make a point, or if she felt insulted. Betrayed.¡± You think it¡¯s over? Macia whispered and Lucius gasped his face turning white. He was physically hurting. ¡°A servant caught them¡­¡± he croaked. ¡°Rolo admitted it and attempted to cut me down. She confessed it herself! What¡­?¡± Martha pouted her lips and glanced at the exit of his tent. ¡°I must speak to my father.¡± ¡°We haven¡¯t finished talking!¡± Lucius growled furious. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Lucius, I shouldn¡¯t have said anything,¡± Martha said. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you still cared.¡± Are you fucking kidding me? ¡°What do you mean milady?¡± Lucius had walked towards her without realizing it. ¡°You better speak now!¡± He warned her. Martha stood back and crossed her arms on her chest not particularly intimidated. ¡°You¡¯ve bedded my sister Lucius. You¡¯re not stupid. I¡¯m sorry, but I think you know whether she wanted you or not. It¡¯s why you¡¯re still hurting. Macia couldn¡¯t fake shit, but if you got her mad enough she turned into a mindless beast.¡± Ah, curse ye, Lucius thought and turned his head not to see Martha¡¯s face, because it reminded him of her so much. ¡°I came to offer myself in exchange for my father,¡± Martha said standing at the exit of his commander¡¯s tent. Lucius gulped down, not wanting to see her go so soon. ¡°I can¡¯t allow the Duke to go free, without assurances,¡± he grunted, his voice coming out strangled. ¡°I¡¯m the only child he has left, Sofia is swimming in gold in Flauegran,¡± Martha argued calmly. ¡°He doesn¡¯t want to lose me.¡± ¡°Will he give up Halfostad?¡± Lucius asked thinking it through. ¡°Have you seen it? Not much left there,¡± Martha replied and sighed. ¡°I understand you don¡¯t want me near you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m married,¡± Lucius said abruptly. ¡°I have a son¡­¡± Martha nodded as if it made sense. ¡°I¡¯m happy for you, but hey, I wasn¡¯t offering myself Sir Lucius,¡± Martha rejoined and added raising a red brow. ¡°Let me talk to my father yes?¡± ¡°Why help me?¡± Lucius asked and this time emotion clouded her eyes. He realized much to his dismay that under a certain light, or mood, you could mistake it for anger, or even hatred. When it was simply her being depressed and deeply wounded at his harsh words. ¡°I¡¯m not doing it for you,¡± Martha replied. ¡°But for my family and Macia. Because life can be stupid, because we make mistakes when we¡¯re young, we can¡¯t take back. Because gods suck and I¡¯m tired of mourning. Because you, my good knight, were just her type.¡±
On the first month of Fall, the year of the New Calendar 190, Legatus Augustus (the Illustrious in ancient Lorian) Lucius Alden entered the ruined city of Halfostad and declared the creation of the Greater Province of Kas. A sprawling area that was to incorporate the small port city of Halfostad, Northwatch Castle and three forts on the roads leading south. Tribune Galio Veturius would secure Northwatch Castle two months later after reaching an agreement with the sieged city of Eaglesnest. Lady Sanne Crull, was to keep her city intact and in exchange the Legion allowed supplies to flow back in and caravans to cross the Legion controlled roads and mountain paths. The Duke of Sovya agreed to a truce after a catastrophic war for him that had cost him land, men, a son and his daughter Lady Martha Redmond that the Legatus Augustus kept as leverage. He returned an injured Baron Eams to Eaglesnest as part of Galio Veturius¡¯ deal and Lady Sanne had him swiftly beheaded for betraying her father the next day. Baron Palma¡¯s troops returned to Lesia during the winter of 191 NC, but the Baron remained Lucius prisoner for a while. King Davenport had ordered the Duke not to sign any deals with Lucius, but given the Duke¡¯s weakened position, it was a mute order. Lucius left the Fourth in Halfostad to guard the city, but also to oversee repairs and the building of the East Fort near the Stad River and returned to Kas for the coming northern winter. Being on campaign for almost two years a worn out Lucius opted to rest and enjoy the company of his wife and son during the harsh winter months. Of course being the man that he was, he also pored over plans and maps preparing to campaign South. While the growing officer core of the Legions wanted a campaign in the coming summer, Lucius preached patience. He needed to consolidate his power, train new troops, develop the mines and finish the public works done in Kas and Halfostad. He wrote to the Duchess of Krakenhall and learned Zofia was pregnant again but was also working hard to rebuild her domain. Lucius tried to learn as much about what had happened to the realm while he¡¯d been stranded in the North and probably waited for Lesia¡¯s reaction. Another reason for his long pause must have been the volatile political situation in Regia and Kaltha. Having secured the roads, the general faced another more practical dilemma. He could take the newly built path near Northwatch Castle and follow the busy big road down Nor Maze Heights towards Picker¡¯s River and Brownfort at the banks of the Canlita Sea, or avoid the Lakerlords altogether and take the more difficult Screaming Road back again towards Gudgurth Fort. Thus returning to Regia the way he¡¯d left by traveling towards Anorum. A matter this writer would examine in depth in the following chapter, being a witness to the events that followed. Lord Sirio Veturius The Fall of Heroes Chapter II (Legatus Lucius Alden, -also addressed- Legatus Augustus, Praetor Maximus Southern campaigns, Third Year Volume V Tigers on the Plains Summer 191 NC)
241. The Last night of summer (1/3)
[The Old Realms saga is published on RR for free. It is also re-posted on Scribblehub and that''s it. It is in the author''s plans to publish it on Amazon and other platforms at some point. If you see it offered anywhere else, or someone tries to charge you for it, please report him. It is illegal to sell, or take advantage of intellectual work without the author''s permission.] read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/
Glen Arguen Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Monarch O¡¯ Morn Taras The Last night of summer Part I -So what¡¯s on the morrow?-
Now what? Glen thought cracking his neck left and right, eyeing in warning Lyceron that was approaching him. The Zilan carried a long staff held awkwardly with both hands, nervous as a virgin mare. Still though, it was a solid piece of wood. So there¡¯s that. ¡°Are you deaf? ATTACK IMBECILE!¡± Anfalon bellowed at his unsure trainee. Several of them had gathered around in a semi-circle in the middle of the square. Anfalon wanted to move them into the training grounds, near the banks of Taras Lake ¨Cthe castle lake in other words- but Voron''s workers hadn¡¯t finished clearing the place from the felled trees. ¡°Attack Arguen?¡± Lyceron asked just to be sure in the dialect everyone had started speaking. A mixture of Glen¡¯s Common, old Imperial and the ¡®Street¡¯ Imperial a jargon the strays used. A mess, but it worked unless you wanted to write something down, then you needed Formal Common, or Imperial since the strays never wrote down anything. But for Phina, she loves words. Then again Phina values everything new wit a passion. ¡°Anfalon, I¡¯m pretty banged up¡­¡± Glen started not really interested in whatever this was, but Anfalon paid him no attention. ¡°Rush him afore he gets his weapon out fool!¡± He blasted Lyceron and the Zilan moved at last. ¡°Hey!¡± Glen warned him, but the Zilan feared Anfalon more than him and didn¡¯t listen. He covered the distance between them fast and swung in a great arc with his almost three meter long staff. Shite. Glen ducked under it, the sturdy polished wood whooshing and touching the back of his head. He heard a crack ¨Cprobably his back protesting, or worse- stepped to the side still stooped, but saw Lyceron raising that staff over him in a great chopping move the Zilan¡¯s eyes wide as saucers, so a cursing Glen stood up and hopped away. Everything started hurting again. Glen landed and went for his sword, dodging to the right on instinct. He got the blade out, but the dodge failed in epic fashion, his injured foot shuffling too slowly and Lyceron caught him above the clavicle full force, mercifully on the still shielded part of his shoulder. Glen went down on his knees with an angry groan of pain, whilst gasps of surprise were heard from the watching Zilans, the staff bouncing off his shoulder leaving the arm numb. ¡°Ah,¡± Lyceron muttered shocked, not believing he¡¯d managed to nail Glen and the ¡®former¡¯ thief swung with his sword from where he¡¯d dropped to disembowel the distracted Zilan. Lyceron downed his staff to block his blade and Glen chopped it in two unequal parts. ¡°Eh,¡± Lyceron grunted, as Glen got up grinding his teeth and swung at him again aiming for his head this time. Lyceron jumped away, barely saving his neck and Anfalon called for an end to the test fight, apparently. ¡°You failed spectacularly and are probably dead,¡± he admonished his new pupil. ¡°He¡¯s crippled for some reason, always distracted staring at Diryel, or other females,¡± Glen glanced at Diryel and the Zilan trainee beamed a toothy smile ¨Clots of pointy teeth there in excellent condition, a couple of her friends in the group equally interested at their teacher¡¯s words perking up. ¡°GODS DARNIT! What did I just say?¡± Anfalon snapped furious. ¡°Diryel get your gang and run up the plateau to inform Voron I want the place cleared by tomorrow!¡± He ordered them. ¡°That''s an hour away master!¡± She protested. Glen was certain the distance was much greater unless you used a horse. He eyed the fit female with interest, while moving his numb arm up and down to get the feeling back. He stopped hearing another warning crack. Fuck. ¡°You better get moving then! Lyceron!¡± Anfalon barked and walked towards the Zilan holding on to the chopped parts of staff awkwardly. ¡°You owe me a new training staff. I expect one made by tomorrow lad. There¡¯s wood aplenty near the lake.¡± ¡°It was Arguen that cut it¡ª¡± ¡°You¡¯ll accuse Hardir for your failings? Frankly I¡¯m ashamed to stand so near you!¡± Anfalon rebuked him and Glen agreed, nodding with his head, while watching the young female trainees running towards the plateau having a blast at it. ¡°Apologies,¡± Lyceron replied. ¡°I¡¯ll have one made master Anfalon,¡± he added with a bow of his blue head. ¡°You could¡¯ve have warned me,¡± Glen told the scowling Imperial Hoplite, when Lyceron run after the females, less eager and carrying the long sticks in his hands. ¡°Hardir, he¡¯s but sixty years of age and completely untrained,¡± Anfalon replied. ¡°I wanted to give him a chance.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Glen murmured. ¡°He¡¯s¡­ fast for his age. Ahem¡­ good reflexes. What was he doing afore?¡± ¡°He gathered berries,¡± Anfalon said with a grunt, as if Glen¡¯s observations were ridiculous. ¡°He¡¯s very good at it that¡¯s unquestionable, but he decided to take his life in another direction. Personally I would have turned to fishing, or growing mushrooms. I¡¯ve met rocks smarter than him and had an old dog in my youth that could outrun him half-asleep.¡±
¡°Hardir,¡± Angrein greeted him, covered in black soot and drenched in sweat. ¡°Day¡¯s cooled off a bit yes?¡± Glen stared at the setting sun unsure. The blacksmith¡¯s workshop felt like the inside of a huge ¨Ccathedral sized- furnace. The five forges themselves covering one side of the massive building he¡¯d appropriated and sporting thick metal doors that failed to keep the heat trapped inside. ¡°Ahm, not really no,¡± Glen said and lodged his tongue into the gap in his teeth. ¡°I may need an armour made.¡± Angrein fixed his blood-colored irises on him, the blacksmith¡¯s stare disconcerting. ¡°I¡¯ll have five cuirasses ready for Anfalon, in the next two days,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯ve gotten myself some assistants, but they really haven¡¯t worked metal before, or in centuries. Plus I¡¯m missing iron ingots and if you want more made, serious investment in personnel and coin must be considered.¡± ¡°Can Vycaris help?¡± Glen asked, the haughty Zilan¡¯s workshop right next to Angrein¡¯s building. ¡°He works with leather,¡± Angrein explained. ¡°Pants, vests and boots.¡± ¡°How about armour?¡± ¡°You want him to make you armour?¡± Not when ye put it like that, Glen thought. ¡°I want a cuirass made for me,¡± Glen said with grimace of pain. ¡°I also need a new set of clothes made and boots for a person with four toes.¡± Angrein wiped his hands with a cloth, not really getting the soot off and pointed towards a bench very near the forges. ¡°Sit over there,¡± he told him. ¡°I heard a rumor ye got attacked by way too many lions, but walked away unscathed. Obviously the rumors weren¡¯t true.¡± ¡°Who spreads them?¡± Glen asked limping to the bench freely, now that he didn¡¯t have to pretend. ¡°Phinariel,¡± Angrein grunted and waited for him to remove his chewed boot. It was sad losing the corpse¡¯s old footwear, but Glen had gotten a lot of mileage out of them. ¡°Good-good,¡± Glen said ungluing the nasty bandage from his maimed foot. ¡°Shit this looks bad.¡± ¡°Let me wash the mire away,¡± Angrein murmured. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t walk on it. Hmm, yeah it¡¯s treated a bit. No healing potion at the near?¡± ¡°An old one,¡± Glen retorted. Angrein nodded thoughtfully. ¡°You are brave Hardir,¡± Glen shrugged his shoulders pretending indifference, but the blacksmith added with a snort. ¡°Or incredibly stupid,¡± Glen narrowed his eyes.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°Listen¡­ friend,¡± he started warningly. Angrein cut him off with a pat on his thigh. ¡°I have a prosthetic somewhere in my stuff,¡± he told him with a toothy smile and stood up, his huge muscles bulging the armless shirt he wore. ¡°A¡­ emetic?¡± Glen grunted unsure, as the strange man started looking about for his bags. ¡°I don¡¯t think it will come to that,¡± Angrein replied absentmindedly, ¡°It¡¯s a painless procedure.¡± Glen wiped the sweat from his forehead. One side of him was slowly boiling sitting so close to the burning forges. ¡°I don¡¯t really like the sound of that,¡± he croaked and looked around himself to find a bit of water to cool off. ¡°Why,¡± Angrein said riffling through big and smaller boxes. ¡°I have a good set of fingers here,¡± he murmured and Glen glanced his way alarmed. ¡°You can even paint the fingernail at the end of it haha! Hmm, this one is still charged, moves around a bit.¡± Luthos pissed in his cup. ¡°Ye just keep them around?¡± Drunk the whole thing down. ¡°They won¡¯t spoil,¡± Angrein replied coming back with a small silver box. Actual silver, nicely engraved like a jewelry box. Containing metal toes in it of various sizes. Ugh. Good grief, Glen shivered all over and stood back. ¡°You just slot the prosthetic on the remainder, or the bone,¡± Angrein explained seeing him all pale and weakened. Ah. Of course. That doesn¡¯t sound dubious at all! ¡°What if there isn¡¯t?¡± Glen asked collapsing on the bench, sweating profusely. ¡°I¡¯ll make a brace for it, wrap it around the foot with soft leather. Think half-a-sock,¡± Angrein elucidated on the technique, making a fool of himself. ¡°Just needs cleaning after each day and it will help you stand with a bit of training, much better than you do now.¡± ¡°Let me think on it?¡± Glen said, feeling unwell. ¡°I can come back in a couple of months, or something?¡± ¡°Hardir I¡¯ve done it¡­ a lot of times,¡± Angrein replied patiently. ¡°You won¡¯t feel it after a day.¡± ¡°Like magic?¡± Glen probed. ¡°In a sense,¡± Angrein agreed. ¡°Aye.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Glen nodded in turn. ¡°Fine, lets give it a try and get Vycaris in here to get my size for a pair of boots.¡± ¡°You can walk right out, once I fix it on,¡± Angrein explained. Glen sighed. ¡°Angrein I¡¯m trusting you on this mate. It sounds weird as fuck and a right sham if ye want my opinion, but I¡¯m willin¡¯ to take the risk given our relationship.¡± ¡°Gratitude Hardir,¡± the blacksmith retorted with a smirk. ¡°I appreciate your trust.¡± ¡°Speaking of trust,¡± Glen continued while washing his foot with a wet cloth, getting all the nasty bits and leakage cleaned. ¡°Are there talking weapons perchance?¡± ¡°Metal cannot talk by itself Hardir,¡± Angrein replied watching him thoughtfully. ¡°A magic dagger would though.¡± ¡°Uhm,¡± Glen nodded with his head. ¡°So you know what it is.¡± ¡°If you are talking about your dagger, no I don¡¯t,¡± Angrein said and stooped to measure the fake toes to his. Most were made of white ivory and looked like the real thing, only hollowed out. It was creepy as all hells, but it just might help me out. Glen had almost gotten beaten by a clueless Zilan with a stick earlier. ¡°It is not a weaponsmith¡¯s creation,¡± Angrein added. ¡°Why?¡± Angrein stood up having chosen the right prosthetic for him. ¡°You know more than me Hardir.¡± ¡°Still want to hear yer opinion.¡± ¡°Can I have it for a moment?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Glen unsheathed the dagger and offered it to him. ¡°Yeah,¡± Angrein murmured turning it this way and that. He gave it a good lick at the end of it, scratched the handle with a dirty nail. ¡°Hmm, spell-forged. See the detail on the wyvern. Why, it looks like¡­ hmm. Very interesting.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Glen asked. ¡°You are pretty good at carving metal yourself.¡± ¡°But you can always tell. An artisan could spot my work,¡± Angrein explained. ¡°That I¡¯ve used a cast, or an engraving scalpel for the details, but this¡­¡± he showed him the life-like miniature Uvrycres on the handle. ¡°This was willed, a shape made out of a wizard¡¯s dream, or a witch¡¯s. Probably out of scorching hot liquid, why¡­ the skill is superb, but it¡¯s the artistry behind it that needs praise. The fact it¡¯s slotted on a real wyvern¡¯s talon is also telling. The small pinky one of the hind legs, but still¡­¡± ¡°What¡¯s difficult about it?¡± ¡°You can¡¯t fuse anything on draconite,¡± he glanced at Glen¡¯s blank expression and smiled. ¡°Wyvern bones are made out of this gem-like hard material. Alchemists called it draconite. Of course you can use a binding agent for it. They¡¯ve no idea what to use, but of course a sorceress of her caliber would¡­ if she was determined to find out.¡± ¡°What would that be?¡± Glen asked him. He¡¯d no idea what half of what Angrein had just told him meant, but Glen could filter away the bullshit parts and find the important bits of it. ¡°If I had to guess whatever talks to you,¡± Angrein replied and gave him the silent dagger back. ¡°You hesitated there,¡± Glen noted. ¡°It just a bit strange,¡± Angrein replied. ¡°Edlenn was a powerful sorceress, her spell-birthed artifacts¡­ and creatures, still lingering inside the garden and her younger daughter is well known for having her talents. Why they say she made birds lull her to sleep in her cradle with real songs. Even so, this weapon is forged partly with Bonemancer¡¯s magic, if I had to guess and no Zilan ever touched those kinds of spells. We are part of the living nature Hardir.¡± ¡°You are human yes? That we part got me confused.¡± Angrein stared at him in awkward silence. Right then. ¡°So you know of the dagger,¡± Glen said going another way. ¡°I only heard about its existence,¡± Angrein replied. ¡°Aken helped in their creation,¡± Glen paused to think it through, but decided he couldn¡¯t solve this alone. ¡°This one in particular.¡± ¡°Aelrindel told you that? And that she made more than one?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t talked with her, but briefly,¡± Glen replied, leaving some stuff out. ¡°Very briefly.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve talked with the Moon¡¯s daughter,¡± Angrein repeated, very impressed apparently. ¡°You know no one has seen her since Edlenn was killed? It¡¯s been several centuries. Long before the empire¡¯s demise.¡± ¡°Is that her mother?¡± ¡°Uhm¡­ yes that was her.¡± ¡°Who killed her? The Queen?¡± Glen asked wiping the sweat off his brow. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Angrein replied. ¡°Whomever done it must have been both very skilled and utterly insane. An Elderblood witch can cast spells in her sleep they say, when she dreams time stops, or when she dies.¡± ¡°A spell can linger?¡± Glen asked curious. ¡°A fire spell can burn on its own,¡± Angrein replied nonchalantly. ¡°Over a great distance.¡±
Vycaris, a fancy dressed in soft red leather Zilan, with short well-combed hair and a black silk scarf hanged loosely from his neck, raised his head seeing him walking tentatively inside an hour later, barely avoiding getting run over by a couple of young Zilan teens hoofing it out of the shop giggling. All limbs and gleaming flirting eyes. Glen grimaced murmuring under his breath and entered the roomy shop. Despite the darkness creeping up outside, Vycaris leather workshop and clothes store ¨Cgiven the fancy label over it- was well lit with lightstones secure in their glass boxes. One could argue, too much light is used. Fuck¡¯s sake! ¡°Arguen Garth,¡± Vycaris greeted a scowling Glen warmly and rushed to help him to a comfortable bench next to his huge desk laden with scissors and sharp tools. The large building, right at a busy corner of the slowly coming to life outer city, was jam-packed with equally crammed with wares tables. Be it rolls of cloth, piles of leather and even sandals. A door led behind the building and the large yard where leather-drying racks and a boiler stood. Vycaris had transferred everything he had in his old workshop, the moment Glen had given him permission. ¡°It is with a heavy heart I was informed of your injury.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll live,¡± Glen croaked and pushed his hands away. ¡°How is business?¡± Vycaris sighed and eyed a sour faced female that had appeared from the back of his workshop/store. ¡°Honestly it¡¯s as much a relief, as it is a chore Hardir,¡± he admitted pensively. The woman snorted. ¡°Not much clients?¡± Glen replied removing his ruined boot carefully. Cat that had followed him, sniffed at his foot and then backed away. ¡°Too many, but few willing to pay for my services,¡± Vycaris replied sadly. ¡°These plebs have no idea about monetary compensation. Why, I¡¯m getting offered produce and hides, small animals,¡± he eyed the lion cub strutting around his shop nervously, ¡°Even insects in exchange.¡± ¡°Sex,¡± the female added eyeing him like a bug, you can¡¯t wait to squash with yer boot once the visitors are gone. ¡°Don¡¯t keep things from Hardir Vycaris.¡± Vycaris scrunched his face and reached for a measuring tape with one hand, a large piece of soft wax with the other. ¡°Oelinael is my partner,¡± he explained taking Glen¡¯s foot and slotting the flattened wax underneath it. ¡°Step on it for a moment,¡± Vycaris prompted him. ¡°Anyway she had a cloth shop next to mine for some time¡ª¡± ¡°Four centuries!¡± Oelinael blasted him irate. ¡°Yes dear,¡± Vycaris sighed. ¡°Anyway she lost that and I had her move in with me in the Favored district. We¡¯ve been working together ever since.¡± ¡°You piece of shite,¡± she snarled, all teeth and meanness. ¡°I¡¯m ripping that cock off next time you get it near my face!¡± ¡°Good grief,¡± Vycaris shook his head. ¡°Here then, we have a casual, open relationship with no strings attached¡ª¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what you told me! The moment these young cunts popped out of the woodwork you turned around and started prancing about like a young rooster, you old sack of crap!¡± ¡°Hehe, I must mention here, I¡¯m quite younger than her,¡± Vycaris explained nervously, with Glen unsure how to handle their disagreement, or why he should bother interfering. Don¡¯t my dude, he advised himself. ¡°Oi! Hello there!¡± Phinariel greeted them getting inside with an exaggerated twirl, then let out a scream of delight seeing the snarling cub glaring at her. She run after it, the cub panicking and running away screaming in turn. Phina needs to get herself a pair of pants, Glen thought seeing the young Zilan stooping under a table to go after the hiding cub. He glanced sideways caught Vycaris gawking at the careless teen and raised his arm high, cuffed him once across the face. The sound of the heavy slap reverberating inside the tall walls of his shop. The Zilan stumbled sideways stunned and almost went down. ¡°Hahaha!¡± Oelinael guffawed very pleased. ¡°Serves him right. Darn pervert, he isn¡¯t getting any tomorrow.¡± ¡°Dear,¡± Vycaris protested flushed and holding his face. ¡°I had the whole night planned!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care!¡± All right then, Glen thought and stepped away from the wax, leaving his foot impression on it. ¡°I¡¯d like a pair of boots made posthaste,¡± he started then paused, as Phina had jumped up triumphantly holding on to a miserable looking crying cub with both hands. ¡°Can I have him for a night?¡± She asked and Glen thought about it. ¡°No,¡± he finally replied sternly. ¡°Thanks!¡± Phina beamed and run outside with the whining cub in her arms. Glen scratched the side of his face with a finger, then grabbed a fancy looking piece of cloth and wiped it thoroughly as well. He stared at the sad-looking Zilan artificer and asked dispassionately. ¡°So, what¡¯s on the morrow?¡± Vycaris blinked and returned his blank stare. ¡°Why, the last night of summer milord,¡± And seeing Glen had still no idea about what he was talking about, Vycaris added with a deep disbelieving sigh. ¡°Valimae lilt Hardir.¡± Ah. 242. The Last night of summer (2/3)
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Famous opening to Queen Consort¡¯s Sen-Iv Sopat letter, addressed to Arguen Garth. Sinya Goras Royal Archives Last month of summer 190 NC
Glen Arguen Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Monarch O¡¯ Morn Taras The Last night of summer Part II -I''ve something to show you-
Fikumin stopped writing and watched him shuffling towards his high-back chair. Glen groaned and stretched his hurting back, afore using a firestone to lit Flix¡¯s pipe. He sucked at it with his eyes closed, until the dwarf¡¯s annoying scrutiny forced him to react. ¡°What?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been gone for almost a week,¡± Fikumin grunted, all hair and frowning brows. ¡°We are not married dwarf,¡± Glen retorted. ¡°And yet I¡¯m stuck doing the mundane stuff whilst you¡¯re out and about adventuring!¡± Glen opened a blurry eye to look at him. ¡°You don¡¯t like taking risks.¡± ¡°Not for stupid reasons, I sure don''t!¡± Fikumin blasted him. ¡°How¡¯s the leg?¡± ¡°I¡¯m working on it,¡± Glen replied. ¡°I had to check on the Temple. Got gold for it.¡± ¡°Firing Vaelenn was deemed harsh,¡± Fikumin said. ¡°By whom? She was injured, better suited to be in the city council.¡± ¡°What city council?¡± Glen puffed smoke out and grimaced his shoulder hurting him. ¡°Soletha is in and so is Vaelenn. Voldomir to balance them out. You to speak for the rest¡ª¡± ¡°First of all, you didn¡¯t answer and second I can only speak for the Folk.¡± ¡°The Folk being?¡± ¡°My kin, the Gish¡­ old races.¡± ¡°The Zilan are not?¡± Glen asked. ¡°The Zilan are what they are,¡± Fikumin defended his response. ¡°Like the humans.¡± ¡°Fikumin everyone must have a voice, you will be in the Council. It¡¯s how it¡¯s done,¡± Glen insisted. ¡°I can¡¯t run all this by myself.¡± ¡°Run what Garth?¡± Fikumin asked and Glen groaned, pushed himself up. Angrein had done a good job with the prosthetic, he decided. ¡°Say this is a new territory,¡± Glen explained to him what he hadn¡¯t really put to words himself yet. ¡°A couple of tools are running it, then a more legitimate option comes along. We don¡¯t go into the details, but in order for this new crew to take over, we must ensure business runs smoothly and appears authentic right? With a Monarch in place, a fuckin¡¯ council, or what have you.¡± Fikumin stared at him under heavy brows blankly. ¡°You make us sound like a bunch of criminals Garth.¡± ¡°Speak for yerself dwarf, but yeah, if you want my opinion all Kings are crooks and criminals. Murderers even. Taking advantage of people under them.¡± ¡°And you¡¯re not?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not some fuckin¡¯ monk Fikumin,¡± Glen explained. ¡°Never aspired to be one, nor do I think this is pleasant. But given the opportunity I would be a fool not to take over.¡± ¡°Take over?¡± ¡°Fikumin there are nuts out there that would slit my throat for fun, suck the marrow out of yer bones and you know it.¡± ¡°I told you we should have gone after the Aken, but you didn¡¯t listen,¡± Fikumin grunted. ¡°I couldn¡¯t!¡± Glen blasted him. ¡°Damn you, I¡¯m being hunted down like a dog for years! Never had the chance, or the time to breathe for more than a couple of days afore a new crisis appeared. Oakenfalls, Altarin, Hellsfort, Rida and even Eikenport!¡± Fikumin smacked his lips and glared at Metu watching their exchange silently. Glen eyed Metu himself angrily and the slave started sweating under their scrutiny. ¡°You,¡± Glen rustled and Metu blinked in horror all but collapsing on the granite tiles. ¡°What¡¯s the Monarch¡¯s house manager called?¡± ¡°The Chief Eunuch sire?¡± Metu croaked shaking uncontrollably. ¡°Good grief, the other thing,¡± Glen blasted him. ¡°What my uncle is.¡± ¡°A Chamberlain,¡± Fikumin said. ¡°There, you be that,¡± Glen spat. ¡°You¡¯re also a part of the Council.¡± Metu prostrated himself afore his feet panicked. ¡°Please sire, I¡¯ve nothing more, don¡¯t put me under the knife!¡± Glen shook his head and then kicked him on the head throwing him to the floor like a rag doll. ¡°WHAT¡¯S THIS SHITE?¡± He bellowed irate. ¡°Who the fuck does that? You plaguin¡¯ idiot! Get this fool on his feet Fikumin.¡± The dwarf helped a sobbing Metu up and kept him upright. Glen sighed deeply and all but rolled his eyes at the man¡¯s antics. ¡°Listen up ye stupid turd,¡± Glen rustled. ¡°You are a free man henceforth. Provided you take the job I¡¯ve just offered you.¡± ¡°You get to keep yer jewels as well,¡± Fikumin elucidated, what should have been bloody obvious. Metu stopped sniffling and wiped his face with an expensive small towel he produced out of thin air. ¡°Can I think about it, as a free person Lord Garth?¡± He asked surprisingly calm. Glen stared at him for a long drawn out moment afore replying. ¡°No.¡± ¡°No as in,¡± Metu haggled shamelessly. ¡°Phinariel keeping the cub over your objection?¡± Glen¡¯s stare turned right mean. ¡°No as in, there¡¯s a long road back to civilization on foot, through a jungle and a dark tunnel¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take the job Lord Garth,¡± Chamberlain Metu blurted cutting him off and set his shoulders back, assuming a haughty expression on his face in the blink of an eye. He turned that proud head to the side and barked with a mighty voice. ¡°SEEYU!¡± A young man popped out of the shadows and run towards them fast. He stopped behind Metu and bowed deeply dropping on his knees hard. Uh? ¡°Fuck is he?¡± Glen asked taken aback. ¡°Your household¡¯s new slave Lord Garth,¡± Metu explained and turning kicked the slave hard on the shoulder sending him sprawling backwards with a yelp. ¡°That¡¯s for being late,¡± he told him and then glanced towards a stupefied Glen. ¡°I had him bought at an excellent prize for you my lord. The slave master had nothing better left unfortunately.¡± Ugh. ¡°Would there be anything else my Lord?¡± Metu asked him an awkward minute later. ¡°Not at this moment,¡± Glen replied and his new Chamberlain bowed his head and left walking confidently. Metu stooped when he reached the slowly getting up Seeyu, snatched his right ear and used it to lead him out of the hall.
Glen glanced at Fikumin, the dwarf had grabbed his big head with both hands in despair. ¡°I need a Shield dwarf, someone with experience in these matters,¡± he explained evenly, moving on to more pressing matters. ¡°We need a sane person inside the Council.¡± ¡°You need an army as well,¡± Fikumin hissed. ¡°What about the strays?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s not use the term,¡± Glen admonished him. ¡°Lymsiel?¡± ¡°They listen to Maeriel more. Lymsiel has her eyes set on Anfalon, cares little of anything else. How about Sylvar?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t trust her and Sylvar won¡¯t cut it.¡± ¡°Jinx will want Maeriel in your Council. More voices, you know her,¡± Fikumin insisted. ¡°Plus a person trusted by their people should take the position for optics.¡± ¡°Yeah-yeah fine. Don¡¯t worry about the army. I intent to bring the Dogs here,¡± Glen yielded. ¡°We¡¯ll use Anfalon as well. He¡¯s solid.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a big group Garth,¡± Fikumin pointed out. ¡°I need a lot of help. Everyone contributes,¡± Glen explained and frowned seeing his pipe had gone out. ¡°You intent to listen to them?¡± ¡°Uh? What are you even talking about? You know we can¡¯t have a bunch of fools running this,¡± Glen grunted and reached for the firestone. ¡°Cut all this democracy bullshit! What are we the plaguin¡¯ Gish?¡± ¡°Gods forbid. You¡¯ll need a better house by the way,¡± Fikumin retorted with a grin. He walked towards his desk and climbed up the chair, the furniture protesting under his weight. ¡°The Castle isn¡¯t finished.¡± ¡°Hmm. There¡¯s a trader in Sinya Goras importing stuff, but I think we need to find a way to bring more in.¡± ¡°A trade company,¡± Fikumin murmured. ¡°So you can import what you want in bulk. Or export them for bigger profits.¡± ¡°Elucidate dwarf,¡± Glen said blowing smoke out of his nostrils. Fikumin nodded as if expecting it and reached to pick up a stack of papers he¡¯d placed next to him. He filtered through them found a parchment and pulled it out of the pile. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Glen asked him immediately distrusting the sneaky dwarf. ¡°Petitions Garth,¡± Fikumin explained. ¡°Merchants, surprisingly not only from the Peninsula, want to know who runs things and befriend him, so they can corner the market.¡± ¡°What market?¡± ¡°Well apparently this is from a rich merchant from Regia, the man has sent us his captain along with a ship,¡± Fikumin replied and reached for another scroll. ¡°And this is from a Dokamna merchant company. Apparently they own a small fleet. I have even a letter of introduction from both major banks. The Bank of Trust and the Bank of Dinar want to offer their services Garth.¡± ¡°Fuck the banks,¡± Glen said remembering the mercenary at Eikenport. ¡°Dokamna you say. Where the fuck is that?¡± ¡°Lesia,¡± Fikumin replied with a smirk. ¡°What do they want? We can only export timber at this point, we¡¯re not exactly running at full capacity.¡± ¡°Well strange as it may sound, only Kaltha has access to quality timber,¡± Fikumin replied thoughtfully. ¡°It seems the North has gone under new management. Even Sovya has stopped exporting.¡± ¡°Why would they do that?¡± Glen asked and sucked at his pipe. ¡°They are at war,¡± Fikumin said. ¡°The whole North is torn apart.¡± ¡°Who are they fighting with?¡±Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. ¡°Most reports mention a rogue Legion,¡± Fikumin elucidated and Glen nodded not really believing the rumors. Everyone knew, there was only one Legion. Then again¡­ Glen remembered the dreams and got up. ¡°Refrain from answering to them,¡± he ordered Fikumin. ¡°See to sign all the crews working the woods. I mean everyone that can hold an axe dwarf. All the timber is gathered in our warehouses and then we¡¯ll decide who buys it, or not.¡± ¡°There are at least ten Zilan carpenters that have created working crews Garth,¡± Fikumin explained. ¡°Six Cofols on top of them and two Lorians that arrived the previous week.¡± ¡°Employ them all,¡± Glen said with a grimace. ¡°Force them to sign a contract and work for you. Everyone Fikumin. No one cuts grass in Goras without your say so. Metu!¡± He barked at the end of it. ¡°You¡¯ll need an ungodly amount of coin Garth,¡± Fikumin said. ¡°The cover of a Guild.¡± ¡°Fuck the Guilds. Make a Trade Guild of our own. Make one for adventurers as well. I have coin,¡± Glen rustled eyeing the fast moving Metu approaching. ¡°I¡¯ll find more. Secure the crews Fikumin, whatever the cost. You¡¯ll act as the Monarch¡¯s Shield.¡± ¡°The Monarch Garth?¡± ¡°Of Morn Taras,¡± Glen replied and stared at the smirking Metu. ¡°You have the strongboxes I¡¯ve brought back taken care off?¡± ¡°All six of them lord Garth,¡± Metu replied readily. ¡°Bring one up and hand it to Fikumin,¡± Glen ordered him. ¡°Work out the details and count every gold piece Metu.¡± ¡°Your will be done milord,¡± his Chamberlain replied with a bow.
A baby cackled in the dark of night. Its laughter rang down the massive but empty hall and disturbed his sleep. ¡®Come and see¡¯, the nameless dead crooned in the night, many different mouths, only one voice. ¡®Rivers flow against the current beyond the Haze Sea.¡¯ ¡®What thou lost shall be returned to thee.¡¯ Insanity. Fear. Desperation. Grass and mud on the field, the iron hooves digging it. The battle¡¯s clamor reaching for him vehemently, rattling the walls and furniture alike an earthquake.
¡°AAAH!¡± Glen cried waking up, arms flailing and his bed shuddering. This was a real earthquake. He stumbled to his feet, tripped missing the edge of his bed and went down on a smarting knee, the whole place moving like a ship in a storm, but just as he started panicking, it stopped shaking. Glen glared at the invisible ceiling, breathing heavy and sweating profusely. Seeyu who was sleeping on a smaller bed in his first floor bedroom stood up as well looking spooked and a moment later Metu walked in a bit disheveled, but clad in expensive night robes. ¡°Breakfast is getting ready milord,¡± Metu said calmly, combing his hair backwards with skillful fingers. ¡°Seeyu will bring it to you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll¡­ come down,¡± Glen replied and got up from the floor. ¡°But I¡¯ll need a moment before I climb down those stairs. You put a foot wrong and that¡¯s a big fucking drop. I ain¡¯t doing that shite again so soon.¡± ¡°Excellent plan my lord,¡± Metu agreed. ¡°I will deal with mister Fikumin, but there¡¯s a large caravan arriving from Goras Port later today.¡± ¡°When you say later?¡± ¡°Before noon sire,¡± Metu replied. ¡°Good-good. Ahm, hey Metu¡­¡± Glen probed. ¡°Did we have an earthquake just now?¡± ¡°We did Lord Garth.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not surprised at all?¡± Metu frowned and thought about it for a moment. ¡°Not really,¡± he finally replied. ¡°This whole area is basically rich volcanic soil. Good for crops, plentiful in metals, but also very dangerous.¡± Glen narrowed his eyes. ¡°Dangerous?¡± ¡°I used a strong word. Might I suggest a pair of pants milord?¡± Metu played it down. ¡°Explain what you meant,¡± Glen grunted and caught Seeyu staring at his dangling cock. It was a hot night. ¡°As I said milord,¡± Metu clarified his earlier point, whilst Glen found his torn pants and put them on. ¡°It¡¯s volcanic,¡± he paused cleared his throat looking at him and added. ¡°I¡¯ll have someone bring your clothes from Vycaris.¡± ¡°They¡¯re ready?¡± Glen probed not expecting it. ¡°He worked all night milord,¡± Metu deadpanned. ¡°I insisted.¡±
Glen spotted Jinx carrying a large chest on her head, keeping it straight with both arms and frowned missing part of Voron¡¯s explanation. ¡°Come again?¡± He asked the busy architect. ¡°A pyramid is the strongest shape Arguen Garth,¡± Voron repeated reading the notes on his drawings. ¡°But you want a castle built over its base?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like stairs,¡± Glen explained. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with stairs?¡± ¡°Voron I need this thing finished afore my hair ¡®n teeth fall,¡± Glen grunted. ¡°I¡¯ll have quarters built on west side, a hall at the center and rooms for personnel on the east,¡± Voron murmured. ¡°That will leave a garden on the south side.¡± ¡°Where will the tower be built?¡± ¡°Above the main hall,¡± Voron replied. ¡°I want a throne placed there,¡± Glen said. ¡°What do we have far as materials go?¡± ¡°Plenty of granite from the old city walls. You want marble, import it from Regia. They put it in their toilets there.¡± ¡°Right well, is there enough granite for the whole construction?¡± Glen asked wanting to economize on the costs. ¡°That was a lot walls Arguen Garth,¡± Voron explained. ¡°What we¡¯re building here is small in comparison. Tiny. But you¡¯ll built everything out of black granite? That¡¯s one gloomy structure.¡± Glen stared at the massive footprint of the castle not bothered about aesthetics. ¡°I like black. Helps on the job,¡± Voron blinked not getting his meaning. ¡°Anything you need I must know?¡± Glen asked wanting to wrap this up and Voron puffed his cheeks out mimicking Glen afore answering. ¡°Guards. We need guards Arguen Garth. There are a lot of foreigners flooding the market. Yesterday¡¯s caravan brought over four hundred people here.¡± Shit. ¡°Cofols?¡± ¡°Lorians from Raoz as well,¡± Voron said and rubbed his tired eyes. He was overworking himself, Glen thought. ¡°Dwarfs of all things, even a couple of Gish.¡± ¡°Gish?¡± Glen asked and glanced at the unstable Jinx heading for the narrow path down the plateau. ¡°Yeah, plus an adventurers party,¡± Voron added. ¡°Monster hunters. Loons, crooks and fools have come out of the woodwork the moment the port opened for business.¡±
¡°Hey,¡± Glen called running after the Gish carrying the heavy load. ¡°You need help?¡± ¡°Are ye offering to help?¡± Jinx asked huffing and puffing. ¡°Would if I could, but I¡¯m injured,¡± Glen lied with a grin. ¡°But I can find someone.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t bother,¡± Jinx hissed. ¡°I¡¯ll have it brought down myself.¡± ¡°Is it empty?¡± ¡°Glen I¡¯m strong, not a cyclops,¡± Jinx snapped. ¡°Of course it¡¯s empty!¡± ¡°What do you need it for?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not tellin¡¯ ye.¡± ¡°Found a place to live yet?¡± Glen asked going another way. ¡°We don¡¯t want to stay wit you Glen,¡± Jinx said patiently. ¡°I have the room.¡± ¡°You have Fikumin there and Metu, the other poor thing. Phina and a small lion. Plus a Wyvern. I need my own place.¡± ¡°Fine, but still¡­¡± Glen insisted. ¡°We can all stay together.¡± ¡°Ask Soren, or Sam Mathews.¡± ¡°Eh, Soren snores and I have Fikumin already, but sure if that¡¯s what it takes¡ª¡± ¡°Soren lives with Soletha at the port,¡± Jinx cut him off. ¡°But you haven¡¯t even thought where he was sleeping until now didn¡¯t ye?¡± ¡°Whisper I¡¯m busy trying to get us going here,¡± Glen defended himself, while walking behind her down the path. ¡°I have meetings here and there, also have to navigate a ton of crap and solve problems.¡± It was as vague a response ever delivered. ¡°Didn¡¯t we just come back from an adventuring trip?¡± ¡°Sure, but it was profitable,¡± Glen replied. ¡°And you got all them hides. What did you do with that?¡± Jinx stopped to rest and stared at him. ¡°I got a house.¡± ¡°Where?¡± ¡°Across from yours. Metu has the whole area cordoned as ¡®Royal Neighborhood¡¯, but I bought him off,¡± Jinx explained with a smirk. ¡°Your Chamberlain is corrupt.¡± Of course he is. ¡°I know,¡± Glen replied. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± ¡°You knew?¡± ¡°Eh, everyone is a crook,¡± Glen said chuckling. ¡°We¡¯re human Whisper.¡± ¡°Do you want to carry the chest some?¡± Jinx asked hopefully and Glen laughed even harder afore getting serious, even a little disappointed with her. His reply by now quite renowned. ¡°No, I don¡¯t.¡±
Construction crews had started setting up a horseshoe-shaped pavilion at the banks of the Taras Lake, complete with stands and a flattened area at the curve of the road coming from Sinya Goras Exiles District (or Port City as Glen called it) and the Waifs Locality (either Taras City, or Mid City according to Glen) that stood where the Morn Taras Castle road coming down from the Eternal Springs Plateau met the third main road converging there coming from the old Guard Towers and the old Favored District. Glen paused to watch the Zilan setting up a long balance beam, the type he¡¯d seen in the Circus and bringing in branches and thatch to cover the roof of the many-columned pavilion. ¡°Nice pants,¡± Phina said stopping next to him, the cub climbed on her shoulder finding the chance to jump on Glen. He glanced at the teen and noticed she had a pair made as well, probably out of Jinx¡¯s treasure trove of stuff. ¡°Vycaris said whale skin was much sought after,¡± Glen said and lowered the whining cub down. ¡°But I always thought what works is always the better option.¡± That being said, the snuggly fit black soft-leather pants were fantastic. ¡°What works,¡± Phina repeated thoughtfully. ¡°How can you tell Arguen Garth?¡± ¡°You just know, like for instance these pants fit you better than they ever did me,¡± Glen replied with a wicked grin and Phina blushed, her hands fidgeting with her own worked-leather pants, under her simple yellow tunic. ¡°Hey it¡¯s true,¡± he insisted. ¡°Oii Goddess,¡± the young Zilan gasped suddenly very nervous. Glen shook his head and eyed Soren carrying a large beam next to a workers crew, Sam Mathews trying to explain something to a disbelieving Kalac, Vaelenn leading a judging group of well-dressed Zilan to a tour of the facilities built near the lake and the market. A nervous Lymsiel waiting to talk with a returning Anfalon leading his trainees back from a ¡®tour of the premises¡¯ at full sprint and the noisy crowd gathered around a scowling Fikumin and Metu that were overseeing what was apparently a big holiday back in the day. ¡°Jinx said the lines around you aren¡¯t visible,¡± Phina said treading carefully. ¡°What¡¯s real and not, or even proper? Soletha believes you are putting up a benevolent fa?ade and Vaelenn¡¯s story and fate proves it.¡± ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡°You took me into your home,¡± Phina replied. ¡°It¡¯s a big place,¡± Glen explained. ¡°I know it may seem intimate to your culture, but it isn¡¯t for me. I like you. Soletha wants the Queen¡¯s bans lifted, but she won¡¯t get what she wants. Vaelenn pissed the Wyvern off somehow and she wasn¡¯t fit to be a religious head due to her intolerance. She can be a politician though. And Jinx might give you shitty advice from time to time, but has no malice in her heart. Once you get to know her better you¡¯ll get her thinking.¡± ¡°That wasn¡¯t an answer Arguen Garth,¡± Phina countered. ¡°But I appreciate your words.¡± ¡°Call me Glen,¡± he replied. ¡°You¡¯re a smart kid Phina and you know it was. People have ulterior motives.¡± Phina blushed furiously and stooped to pick up a snarling Cat, the cub desperately trying to get away but failing. ¡°That¡¯s even more intimate Garth,¡± she replied with a pout. ¡°And I¡¯m not a kid.¡±
¡°This is from Stiles?¡± Glen asked Fikumin an hour later, the sun slowly reaching its peak over their heads, the temperature rising despite the humidity of the lake. ¡°Not all birds make it over the mountains,¡± the dwarf replied, eyeing the crowd keeping a wide birth around their group, the moment Glen had approached. ¡°So he kept sending reports, adding on the previous ones, until we got to answer him.¡± Right, Glen thought, checking on the scroll and then moving to the next one. He paused with a smile recognizing the wax seals of the Reeves and Sopat houses. Glen carefully cracked them open and unfurled the white expensive vellum. ¡°Ottis has finished the wall, but needs funding to house the refugees flocking to the city,¡± Fikumin reported what was in Stiles mail, but Glen¡¯s eyes stayed on the intricately written script of the smaller message. My Glen, sweet rogue o'' mine, it started and each word flowed into the next, the letters twisting and turning like a painting, impossible to comprehend fully even with his increased understanding of the language. Sen was writing in Common, but her calligraphy kept the heavy influence of the Austere Cofol, a language closer to the Imperial especially in its written form. Fikumin realizing Glen wasn¡¯t paying him any attention grunted angry, pulled at his long beard, then grabbed at Metu¡¯s long robes and ordered him to get the rest of the correspondence back to his house. Glen stopped reading the letter, folded it and had it placed inside his satchel carefully. He had spotted -always vaguely aware of his surroundings- the large caravan stopping near the market and effectively blocking the road. Carriages and camels, mules and horses. Almost forty wagons and a row of heavily-armed guards protecting it. The soldiers fanned out creating a cordon around the leading bigger wagons, nervous eyes glaring at the fearful Zilan and bystanders. He started walking towards the soldiers nervously and the larger crowd around him started following Glen away from the pavilion, whilst keeping their respectful distance. An officer barked an order, a soldier run to the second closed carriage in the line and opened the door for its passengers. A girl jumped down, her red hair caught at the nape. Ah, Glen thought and stopped dead in his tracks. A stunned Iskay turned her head around not expecting the huge gathering crowd and the soldier rushed to help her set the three-step side ladder on the carriage. Glen scanned the rest of the caravan, merchants and servants pouring out of it and stretching out from the long journey, a painted hobbling man amongst them, he immediately recognized with a frown. Then the crowd gasped audibly at the white veil covered woman that stepped carefully down the stairs moving at her own pace. Sen-Iv paused to acknowledge the soldier, the man snapping at attention and waved with a small hand Iskay forward, her stare lingering on the waiting Glen. She started walking, taking small cautious steps, her total serenity and regal posture in absolute contrast with the rising restless murmurs of the curious crowd and the nervousness Glen was feeling. Damn it woman, the ¡®former¡¯ thief sulked, sweat running down his scarred face and his stomach tied into a knot. But gradually as Sen approached him slowly, his face relaxed, a wicked smile creeping up on his lips and Glen shook his head right and left at her antics. Sen-Iv paused a couple of meters from him on purpose and now he could see her famous eyes laughing under the thin veil she¡¯d covered herself with. ¡°Stories say this is biggest city ever build husband,¡± Sen¡¯s tranquil voice explained her reasoning. ¡°I was going to notice you either way,¡± Glen told her hoarsely. ¡°No city, or crowd will ever be big enough to hide ye from me.¡± ¡°Nor you from me. Shall I approach?¡± Sen-Iv asked teasingly. ¡°You better,¡± Glen retorted and she made the rest of the journey to stand in front of him. ¡°Hello there,¡± he greeted his smiling wife, looking down at her voluptuous form. Sen could appear enticing wrapped in a woolen blanket and her sparkling jewel-laden sheer clothing was made for the exact opposite reason. ¡°I have something to show you husband,¡± Sen started sounding unsure, but Glen stopped her impatiently. ¡°It can wait. I¡¯ve seen enough.¡± ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be proper,¡± Sen-Iv argued, but whether she was serious or not Glen didn¡¯t give a rusted copper. The Monarch of Morn Taras told her as much in fact, afore he swept her off her feet under the incredulous reaction of the large crowd of bystanders. ¡°I don¡¯t care.¡± He turned around and walked towards his villa that was a good hundred meters away. This part Glen hadn¡¯t factored in his spontaneous plan. ¡°You¡¯ve gotten heavy Sen,¡± he murmured half-teasing half-serious and she brushed her lips on his neck, her voice a whisper. ¡°I can walk.¡± ¡°We¡¯re way past that,¡± Glen grunted and soldiered on that huge crowd following behind him the biggest reason. Ye don¡¯t want to appear a weakling and a cunt afore yer minions. ¡°You smell pretty nice for a girl that¡¯s been in a carriage for a day,¡± he noticed casually fifty strides later, his arms by now used to her weight. ¡°I bathed,¡± Sen replied and run her finger on the edge of his jaw. ¡°You smell of wet cat.¡± ¡°We may have a new pet around,¡± Glen rustled and eyed the entrance of the house. Seeyu jumped on his feet seeing them approach, followed by half the city. The Zilans one of the most impudently curious races ever created were simply unwilling to leave them alone. ¡°Never thought you for a kitten person Glen,¡± Sen giggled as they crossed inside and he carefully set her down huffing and puffing. Glen inhaled once more deep and then abruptly turned to close the doors behind them, shoving a gawking Seeyu outside first. ¡°It¡¯s a big fuckin¡¯ cat,¡± he deadpanned and there wasn¡¯t much talking after that. 243. The Last night of summer (3/3)
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/
¡°I¡¯ll walk to the temple,¡± Lussiel said and Maeriel frowned looking at the patrol waiting at the entrance. ¡°I should come along¡ª¡± she started, but Lussiel stopped her with a glare. ¡°You shall wait here. Bask in the summer sun and think of all the fun you¡¯ll have tonight,¡± she told her sternly, softening it a little at the end of it. ¡°I don¡¯t partake in dances,¡± Maeriel hissed. ¡°Well I do,¡± Lussiel replied and walked towards the Hoplites. Lyceron greeted her with a smile and she paused in front of him. ¡°Sovereign,¡± Lyceron greeted her informally and popped a couple of berries in his mouth. ¡°Is Roran back?¡± She asked him casually. ¡°The First of the Hallowed hasn¡¯t returned,¡± Lyceron replied. ¡°I see. It¡¯s been two months.¡± ¡°He¡¯s an old man,¡± Lyceron noted with a hint of razz. Lussiel wasn¡¯t of the same opinion. ¡°Are they any good?¡± She asked him, eyeing the rest of his patrol. Lussiel had grew up with them and knew most of her bodyguards for all her life. ¡°The best of the bunch,¡± Lyceron replied and offered her a handful. ¡°How would a Hoplite know of berries?¡± She teased him and he stood back, raising a cobalt brow. ¡°What one learns stays with him,¡± Lyceron retorted confidently. ¡°Just like dancing.¡± Lussiel nodded and tasted one of the mature berries looking at him. ¡°I¡¯ve had better Hoplite,¡± she decided with a shrug and heard the chuckles coming from his friends. ¡°I hope you¡¯re a better dancer,¡± Lussiel added and walked away. She reached the entrance of the temple and slowly climbed up the many stairs. A priestess bowed her head when she entered the cool interior. Lussiel covered the distance to the altar of the Goddess slowly and waited for the ragged High Priest to finish tending to the offerings. Voldomir saw her standing there and grunted murmuring under his breath. He gathered his old robes and turned around to face her with a tired sigh. ¡°Yes?¡± He hissed. ¡°I was about ready to leave for lunch.¡± ¡°Is Qodras in the den?¡± Lussiel asked keeping the chuckle in. ¡°Here I thought, the Queen came to pray and give example. Hah, more the fool me!¡± Voldomir griped angry. ¡°What am I, the Wyvern¡¯s keeper?¡± ¡°You keep everything in its proper place,¡± Lussiel droned and the ancient priest snorted not taking to her jest. ¡°Only fools think a mortal can keep anything by himself,¡± Voldomir admonished her. ¡°Be it rich, or poor and whatever one¡¯s station. The Gods stand above everyone,¡± seeing her chuckling he shook his head. ¡°You find this amusing your Highness?¡± ¡°No I don¡¯t,¡± Lussiel replied trying to keep a straight face. ¡°I was just about to ask you if you¡¯re celebrating tonight and make a fool of myself. You saved me from a royal embarrassment my good priest. Still the question lingers in my soul.¡± ¡°He¡¯s here,¡± Voldomir said dryly, pressing his mouth tight. Ah. ¡°You have your Queen¡¯s gratitude,¡± Lussiel replied all serious and the old priest rolled his eyes disgusted at her attitude. So Lussiel left him a handful of berries next to the altar. Voldomir loved munching on them.
Glen Arguen Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Monarch O¡¯ Morn Taras The Last night of summer Part III -Valimae Lilt-
Glen felt the water rolling down his face a bit chilly, the barrel now lukewarm, arms and legs numb and almost fell asleep again. The bed creaked and he heard Sen put her feet down. The woman moved slowly through the big room, reached the door and cracked it open. Glen heard whispering voices, the villa quiet now. He tried to remember the time they had spent in bed, but his mind was riddled with rapid images of Sen in the throes of passion that had consumed them both and nothing else. He¡¯d lost control at some point and had come out of it spent, but it seemed Sen-Iv had still had her wits about her. ¡°What are you planning?¡± Glen asked hearing her returning, his head resting on the lip of the bath-barrel. ¡°I wanted to ensure the girls were taken care off,¡± Sen replied softly and Glen heard the sound of clothes placed on their bed. ¡°Were they?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a big place, but too empty.¡± Glen was still behind in refurbishing the place. ¡°I assume you have plans to fix that,¡± Glen said with a grin and tried to catch her naked form, but his wife kept herself out of sight. ¡°What are you doing for Luthos sake?¡± ¡°Placing lights,¡± Sen-Iv replied. ¡°Where did you find the mirror?¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a Lesia design.¡± Glen rolled his eyes. ¡°Twas loot probably, got it pretty cheap.¡± ¡°I have brought another.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve brought a bedroom mirror with the ship?¡± Glen asked her. ¡°Leona didn¡¯t mind.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really trust that woman,¡± Glen murmured. ¡°She has a new boyfriend,¡± Sen-Iv commented. ¡°Good.¡± ¡°And a couple of girlfriends,¡± she added with a giggle, clothes rustling and jewels clinking. ¡°That¡¯s greedy of her. Other people are still single and she isn¡¯t helping.¡± ¡°She would have had another one, but her father caught them fooling around,¡± Sen continued. ¡°Had a really big dog chase her about for hours inside the port, the ending of the tale varies depending on who tells it.¡± Ah. I hope that dog ate through her arse. ¡°Who is the boyfriend?¡± Glen asked. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if I should pity the fool, or congratulate him.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t want to know,¡± Sen replied with a chuckle. ¡°I missed you.¡± ¡°Yet yer hiding back there,¡± Glen griped. ¡°There¡¯s no room in your barrel.¡± ¡°Hah,¡± Glen guffawed. ¡°That¡¯s where you¡¯re mistaken wife.¡± A horn was heard coming from outside. ¡°What was that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s starting, you should get dressed husband,¡± Sen replied. ¡°I will let the girls in.¡± ¡°There are outside?¡± ¡°With Metu. Your Chamberlain,¡± Sen replied a hint of razz in her voice. ¡°How do you know?¡± Glen asked dodging. ¡°He told me,¡± Sen replied calmly this time. ¡°Twice. You¡¯ve been sleeping in that barrel for a while Glen.¡± ¡°You wore me out woman!¡± Glen retorted smiling. ¡°I sure hope not,¡± came his wife¡¯s reply. ¡°The night hasn¡¯t started yet.¡±
Glen blinked too engrossed to work his mouth and Iskay had to finish buttoning his pants, afore stepping away. Sen-Iv sighed her arms wrapped around her waist, the lights she had put on making her attire sparkle. Glen loved that outfit. ¡°You¡¯re filling it up much better,¡± he finally declared, clearing his throat and glancing at Iskay¡¯s naughty expression. The slave girl wore a similar outfit, the two pieces of cloth forming the revealing top and short skirt, shockingly minimal. ¡°I¡¯m trying to lose weight,¡± Sen blurted blushing. ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± Glen decided. ¡°I see nothing out of place. Still you should put something on and that goes for you also Iskay. It¡¯s warm out there, but most people don¡¯t go about naked.¡± ¡°It¡¯s Valimae Lilt Glen,¡± Sen countered with a smile. ¡°There¡¯s no dress code.¡± ¡°Well, you will put something on,¡± Glen insisted. ¡°Trust me, the Zilan are lecherous creatures.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t believe you found them,¡± Sen said changing the subject. ¡°And this. My rogue kept his word.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about a thing. And as for the locals, the novelty wears off once ye get to know them,¡± he rustled and put a new leather vest on. ¡°Should we go then?¡± ¡°I still have your ring,¡± she said when he approached her. ¡°Can we have a moment?¡± ¡°Sen, if I look at these beauties for a second more,¡± Glen muttered his hand feeling her heavy breast over the bejeweled thin material. ¡°We ain¡¯t going anywhere. That¡¯s a fuckin¡¯ promise love.¡±
Glen paused just outside the entrance of his villa and eyed Alan Kirk, the Gallant Dog guard standing next to a clad in a fiery red robe Metu, the former slave¡¯s heavy makeup giving him a clownish look. He frowned, then glanced at Sen-Iv slowly walking the small distance to the tiled road, covered in a mesh-like long cloak that ended at her well-shaped ankles. The bejeweled straps of her heeled sandals sparkling at the light coming from the banks of Taras Lake and the pavilion. Fikumin had told him Voron wanted a hundred twelve-foot posts set at the south side of the lake -the flattened beach facing the Royal Neighborhood- and he wasn¡¯t exaggerating. In fact the lightposts reached all the way to his villa¡¯s entrance, the many lightstones illuminating this part of ¡®Mid city¡¯ and turning night into day. He offered his arm to his wife. Sen placed her small ring-covered hand on it and allowed Glen to lead her down the road. The rest of their entourage following after them. Iskay and Seeyu. Chamberlain Metu and his Shield Fikumin Flintfoot. The Gallant Dog attached units, former Rida guards and Lorians Alan Kirk and his friend Enoch Bing. A half-naked Jinx got out of a corner house across from his, followed by an uncomfortable Maeriel in a ¡®dress¡¯, which was a first. A typical Zilan short ¨Cmore shirt than skirt- one piece dress that paled next to Jinx¡¯s even more scandalous outfit. Glen shook his head in disbelief seeing Lyceron, chest oiled and hair made into an elaborate bun at the top of his head, the male pants he had on almost matching Jinx¡¯s micro-skirt. Cock and balls dangling underneath and all. ¡°Move aside,¡± Glen warned him when he tried to greet him with enthusiasm and Sen chuckled at his uneasiness. Fuck¡¯s sake! ¡°How is this funny?¡± he grunted and scanned the stands he was supposed to seat on. A simple separate three row construction that gave him a small vantage point and the ability to see most of the rest of the revamped area at this part of the lake. The beach had turned into a large resort area. Grass had been cleared, the carved granite fishing docks and edges revealed, the lightposts giving a warm glow to those present and there were a lot of them. ¡°Seeing you protective of my eyes is orgasmic,¡± Sen-Iv replied correcting him. ¡°Not funny. Though I may react similarly at times so I can understand.¡± ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure you don¡¯t,¡± Glen retorted and helped her sit down. Sen-Iv crossed her oiled legs and pushed back on her seat, everything moving and stretching out and Glen had to begrudgingly admit he might be wrong on that one. He cleared his throat, licked his dry lips and turned to face the gathering crowd. A mixture of all the races of the Realm almost with Zilan being the overwhelming majority, pockets of Lorian and Cofols gathered at the edges to take advantage of the free wine and food distributed. Glen¡¯s eyes paused at the long beam set before the stand across from him, a larger separate pear-shaped wooden structure created for the musicians. To his left the lake¡¯s waters flowed in tranquil silence, moonlight and luminance from Voron¡¯s Posts making its surface appear a silvery gold. To his right the large flattened area had been packed with Goras old and new citizens and its three city-sized districts. ¡°How many of them are here?¡± Glen grunted and Fikumin that had climbed up the stand cursing its creator scowled and tried to put his curly wild hair in some semblance of an order afore replying. ¡°Five, six thousand far as I can see,¡± he rustled. ¡°Twice that probably. You¡¯re asking the wrong man.¡± God darn it. ¡°Do we have food for everyone here?¡± ¡°Everyone brings either food or wine milord,¡± Fikumin mocked him. ¡°I¡¯m sure your Excellency brought the most offerings.¡± ¡°Did we?¡± Glen asked Metu, the Chamberlain standing a row under him busy commenting on Iskay¡¯s outfit, but getting handsy with it. Sen pressed her crossed leg on his somehow and snapped him out of his scowl. ¡°You paid for the wine milord,¡± Metu repeated calmly. ¡°But it was an excellent prize per barrel.¡± That¡¯s a fuck ton of barrels to sate all those free-loaders though, Glen thought sourly. ¡°Is it any good? Can¡¯t have ¡®em puking all over Voron¡¯s tiles now, do we?¡± Glen asked and brought a cup from the small stand in front of him to his lips. The wine was excellent. ¡°It¡¯s summer Vinos,¡± Fikumin explained. ¡°The Zilan make it by the truckload. The land beyond the south lake is covered with wine vines. This particular is from Voldomir¡¯s temple cellar.¡± ¡°I had to pay for this shite an arm and a leg in Rida!¡± Glen blasted him, the fruity taste of the wine enticing his palate receptors. ¡°That was Flauegran,¡± Fikumin explained with a snort. ¡°A cheap imitation of the real thing.¡± ¡°My lord,¡± Metu stopped him afore he could admonish the dwarf. ¡°You should say a few words.¡± ¡°About what?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the custom,¡± Metu explained and Soletha standing next to an inebriated Soren raised a silver goblet to him. Everyone was imbibing Glen¡¯s free wine with gusto it appeared. ¡°A return to the glory days of the past. That¡¯s what the people are hoping for.¡±This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°How in the slovenly fuck could you know that?¡± ¡°I use informers. All races are prone to bribery milord and everyone likes shiny things,¡± Metu grinned wide at that and Glen thought about punching him in the face, but didn¡¯t realizing the man was probably in the right. He just had a very-annoying punchable face. ¡°Speak of the changing seasons,¡± Sen-Iv told him calmly. ¡°Of a return to much beloved traditions and easy profits. Tell them about you Glen in other words,¡± she added with a warm smile. ¡°And they¡¯ll love it.¡± Well then, Glen thought and assumed his patented manic grin, setting his shoulders back and pushing his chest out. Anfalon who watched everyone from the sides like a hawk, while chewing at plump strawberries Lymsiel was feeding him, swallowed abruptly seeing no-one paying any attention to the awkwardly standing upright and slowly turning red in the face Monarch of Morn Taras and boomed with a great voice that cut sharply through the noise. A titan¡¯s call to attention that stopped the giggles and the murmuring of those present from one edge of the grand pavilion to the other. Immobilized the bards tuning their instruments on their stand and even stopped a couple of unruly citizens fucking amidst the surplus crowd that had spilled around the covered area. ¡°Hardir shall speak now,¡± Anfalon said and turned towards him, just as a startled Jinx toppled down a barrel she¡¯d climbed on top of with a loud thud and an equally loud curse. ¡°FUCK ME TITS!¡± Glen barely managed to stop himself from bursting out laughing and somehow pulled it off. This being more impressive than his speech although some ¡®records¡¯ might tell you otherwise.
That summer night mighty Arguen Garth, much pleased at seeing the citizens of Sinya Goras gathered to celebrate Naossis Indiscretion -an allegory for everyone being fallible and prone to the same mistakes, be it a god, Folk, or people- stood up and spoke of the future. He avoided mentioning the past and fan the flames of old grievances. Arguen Garth spoke of a new kingdom birthed, over the ruins of the old. A place for all those wanting to break the shackles of rules that made no sense. All peoples love profit, Garth said and having fun. They want the freedom to go wherever they want and love who they prefer. Rules must make sense for everyone and he would make certain this was understood by those thinking otherwise. A slave can become someone worth of note, a thief can put his skills to good use and one¡¯s race, or station would never be an obstacle in Sinya Goras, provided he, or she, isn¡¯t harming its people. A crook is a person that makes a mistake, but isn¡¯t evil, he explained. You can understand, even rationalize, why one would do the former, but the latter can¡¯t be forgiven. This is your last and only chance, he warned the crowd. I¡¯ve limited time to spend on solving idiotic problems. Embrace the moment and make amends. Don¡¯t do unto others what you don¡¯t want done to you. There is only one rule you need to worry about. Mine. Don¡¯t cause me problems. You can make it work, or I would just burn everything down, keep the loot and send you back into the jungle to look for your long lost uncles. The Wyvern thinks I¡¯m being too lenient. He¡¯s very persuasive. So keep that in mind. Don¡¯t make me regret keeping an open mind, or look the fool. I hate that. You have an abhorrent reputation for a reason. Let¡¯s bury that and move on. This is the time. I¡¯m told this festival is a celebration of life. There it is then, let this be your start. This night on the Monarch¡¯s free-given wine, you all had been given a chance. Twenty years from now you would tell your old selves and your children that this was it. The moment when Sinya Goras and you became one and the same. A summer night, under the moonlight surrounded by smiling people of all races. Just leave the drunken part out. Love, have fun and help me built something, or die for nothing.
¡°This is the plaguin¡¯ time,¡± Glen bellowed, caught up in his own bullshit and raised his silver cup high rousing the crowd. ¡°Enough, let the festivities begin,¡± he finished with a tired smile. ¡°For fuck¡¯s sake them bard cunts appear already drunk!¡± He sat down breathing heavy and glared at the head of Metu. ¡°Tell me I don¡¯t pay for ¡®em by the darn hour!¡± He hissed angry. ¡°HEY!¡± someone shouted from the back afore the former slave could answer him, his mouth dry and throat hurting from all the yelling. Another answering his call the same way. One more after him. Three. Thirty. Three hundred. The thousands strong crowd roared and then stopped abruptly, the moment dragging while the inebriated lute player tried desperately to start his fingers working on the strings, whilst looking nervously at the unruly crowd staring daggers at him. ¡°They are about to jump on that fool, haha!¡± Glen commented and chugged down the rest of his sweet-tasting wine, just as the lute played three cords in quick succession, the crowd erupting in thunderous joyful cheers. The bard carrying the lute waited for them to calm down curtly and then struck that same tune again, before stopping himself. A nod to allow the double-flute player to step forward into the musicians circle and blow the first notes. It was like a voiceless query in a language long forgotten. ¡°The Goddess calling for her daughter to appear,¡± Sen whispered in his ear, her hand resting casually between his legs. ¡°The journey bringing her to the vile Abrakas lair. The moon dipping into the sea,¡± Hmm, Glen thought not really following her words, as the lute answered the flute¡¯s call and the next moment every flute started playing the same rousing tune, the gathered crowd jumping up and down on the stands and around the pavilion shouting wildly. HEY! HEY! HEY-HEY! The drums joining after the first turn and the harsh loutish tempo starting anew even louder. This time everyone joined in dancing wild, with feet thumping the granite tiles, hands rapping at thighs with abandon. Every third breath, the flutes and the solo lute stopped playing and only the many drums hidden behind the stands were heard, the sound menacing and primordial, it rattled Glen¡¯s teeth, every instrument starting again after the same interval. Glen felt the rowdy music penetrating his skin, the light mist rising slowly over the lake glowing and swaying as well, the tempo bone hurting and skin shivering. Sen chuckled, the sound lost over the crowd¡¯s roar, all but the few visitors, getting into it. About three minutes, or an eternity into the stirring tune, every instrument stopped playing but for the lute, the notes touching the leaves, bouncing off the pavilion¡¯s columns and its stands. It was sensual this part and erotic, light and the night shades mixing together, white, red and bright blue. A scantily dressed Diryel dashed out of the crowd and jumped onto the long beam with a dangerous cartwheel. She kept her balance, a leg firmly planted on the narrow beam, the other pointed at the heavens and her forehead kissing her toes staring at the crowd. Good grief, Glen thought impressed, just as that long leg curled the wrong way, whilst maintaining her balance and then she was standing upright again. A pause and every limb on her lithe body started responding to each note in turn. A fit leg kicking out, thighs quivering, hips gyrating and her richly decorated arms, painting lines and letters in the air that sparkled and stayed lit in all the colors of the rainbow. It was magic. The music started again twice as loud, every instrument blasting away with abandon and everyone mimicking, or even trying to one-up the young Zilan dancing on the long beam. One after the other wild Zilan of all castes spilled out of the roaring, boisterous crowd and danced under the covered in sweat and fully engrossed to the rhythm Diryel. Two girls. Two boys. A priestess and a carpenter. A stocky soldier and a teen with her smiling face painted blue. Another four after them. And then a group of six, one dancing on her partner¡¯s shoulders. Glen had to shift nervously on his seat, Sen¡¯s hand massaging his hard rod not helping at all. He turned to preach restraint for a couple of more minutes, himself half-ready to abandon the festivities, but caught out of the corner of his eye willowy figures half-hidden behind the mist, swimming in the lake¡¯s still waters. Glen opened his mouth to ask a hilariously bobbing up and down the stands Fikumin about it, but Jinx rolled out of the crowd, showing as much leg and tit as the wildest of the natives, jumped onto the stands, a rapt Sam Mathews watching her deeply awed. Jinx walked on the rails, leaped over a blinking Metu and landed before a weirded out Glen. She paused to cover a nipple that had popped out of her leather bra and looked at Glen judgmentally. That darn thing had the color of her hair. ¡°What?¡± Glen barked very annoyed to being put on the spot and equally impressed at the unusual spectacle. And richness of color. Jinx pointed a thin finger at the covered Sen-Iv watching the festivities propped against him. ¡°The best Zilan dancer, any Gish and the fairest daughter of the Isthmus are supposed to stand on that beam,¡± she explained at a blank faced Glen. ¡°Let her dance you cunt.¡± Huh? Glen blinked and stared at his silent wife. ¡°What the fuck is she talking about?¡± Sen-Iv slowly pulled her mesh cloak off her and stood up. It pooled at her lovely ankles, the long silver strands hanging from her two-piece outfit stirring when she stepped out of it. ¡°Damn girl,¡± Jinx gasped. ¡°Will you dance with us Sen?¡± She asked her and Sen-Iv looked at him, her opal-eyes smiling. They had painted Glen into a corner. ¡°Just know I¡¯ll be watching like a god-darn hawk,¡± he warned them. ¡°So no funny business.¡±
What had started as an exotic dance, the music rippling through Goras celebrating crowd, turned into a mystifying experience with even the sternest of characters getting sucked in it. Glen who was anything but stern, found himself unfortunately sitting alone on the stands watching Diryel and Jinx lift Sen-Iv on the long beam and giving her the center spot. Sen raised her right knee forward and then opened it to the side creating the letter P, the music switching between the rattling of the heavy drums, to the flutes screaming afore leaving the lute to harmonize with his wife¡¯s precise movements. Sen-Iv extended an arm to the side and met a heavy-breathing Diryel¡¯s who had assumed the same position. She did the same with her other to meet Jinx¡¯s, their fingers touching briefly. Then they jumped up as one, landed on their toes. Glen flinched fearing the worst, but the girls kept their balance perfectly and started dancing, moving in rhythm just as Diryel had earlier. A body turned into three, dissimilar and exotic. Enticing they were, Glen admitted sitting back transfixed at the spectacle, but Sen outshone them to his eyes. Perhaps he was biased, but still Glen felt he wasn¡¯t doing her justice. She had no magic to assist her and no natural physical attributes like the Gish. Sen-Iv had trained every move hard for all her life. There was dedication there to be able to stand toe to toe with the more gifted races of the Realm and beat them at their own game. Giving her the center spot an always impartial Jinx had acknowledged it. Glen watched his beautiful wife dance her heart out, forgetting the crowd and the many shenanigans that had spilled from the pavilion to the nearby lit streets of Sinya Goras.
The music played loud that night, the lake waters stirring along, light and shadows creating figures that danced almost as wild as those on its crowed banks. Some said days later, that every time the bards paused to hear the throng¡¯s cheers and delight, the lake¡¯s moving shadows sang along with them. Ten citizens disappeared that night, but that is a tale for another time.
Glen stepped down from his lonely stand an hour later, the hour close to midnight. He walked by an inebriated Fikumin narrating the adventures of the brave dwarfs of distant past to an enraptured teen Zilan that held him in her arms and an equally preoccupied Sam Mathews tasting the enticing widow¡¯s medicine. Glen had to navigate couples making out in the open, rolling in the sand and even on top the still playing musicians¡¯ stage. Jinx, Maeriel and their monkey fooling around, doing gods knows what and a Horselord chasing a chuckling female around on his horse. Or a masqueraded male. He approached the long beam where Sen-Iv now rested in the young Zilan¡¯s embrace, Diryel playing with her loose hair and singing softly under the sound of the lute. Glen paused a moment taking in their beauty. Despite the females being tired and drenched in sweat, the sight of the festival¡¯s best dancers comforting each other under the moonlight, was worthy of lavish praise. Sen-Iv spotted him watching undecided and waved for him to approach, her eyes gleaming happy. ¡°Diryel wants to share our bed,¡± she told him, what he¡¯d guessed already and Glen clenched his jaw and stared at the alluring Zilan Ranger. ¡°While I find yer offer noteworthy,¡± he told her not holding back. ¡°I ain¡¯t sharing her with anyone.¡± Diryel gave him a coy smile, her fangs showing. ¡°I understand Arguen Garth.¡± ¡°Do you?¡± Glen probed and tended his hand to a standing up Sen. ¡°Some treasures aren¡¯t to be shared,¡± the Zilan replied. Glen nodded and stared at his tired wife. ¡°Hmm. That¡¯s right,¡± he rustled. ¡°Are you going to dance with me Glen?¡± Sen asked huskily. ¡°I¡¯m taking you to bed,¡± he told her in a non-nonsense kind of way. ¡°Earth is our bed on Valimae Lilt, the stars the roof over our heads,¡± Sen-Iv blurted, but Glen led her away from the pavilion with a snort and a curt reply. ¡°I¡¯ll take a mattress and save me poor back, thanks.¡± Sen chuckled and run in front of him, twirling on her heels. There was a chill near the lake, but the night felt warmer the moment you moved away from the shore. Glen rushed after her, leaving the noisy lewd festival behind, although one could still hear people having their fun in the night. ¡°Can we talk now?¡± Sen-Iv breathed on his face, when they entered the hall of his decently lit villa. Glen bodied her towards the throne-like chair he used, the woman slippery and difficult to pin down. ¡°Plenty of time for that later,¡± he scolded her, before managing to trap her placing both his hands on the armrests. Sen collapsed on the chair and looked at him passionately. ¡°I¡¯m loosening the pants,¡± Glen warned her and his wife leg went over his shoulder and pressed on his nape. Sen-Iv¡¯s litheness was legendary. He grinned diving into her arms, face burying between her soft wet mounts and the moist dip of her neck. Glen smelled sweat and jasmine oils, geranium, milk, wild orange and a touch of cedarwood powder. He tasted her on his mouth, looked up and felt sharp teeth catching his lower lip and pulling it. A breath and he found her tongue, heard the gems clinking on her torn bra. Sen gasped and dug her nails on his biceps, the chair creaking and almost coming apart. Glen used one hand to stabilize himself grabbing at the chair¡¯s back, wanting to take the weight off the furniture and prevent a catastrophe, whilst snaking the other under a heavy round breast with a half-a-moan half-a-grunt. The ¡®former¡¯ thief realized how much he¡¯d missed her and it was almost too painful to even process, so he shut his mind down and allowed his baser instincts to take over. Sen cried out his name in ecstasy and Glen felt his arm getting covered with something warm fast. He pulled away from her panicked, his heart thundering and his ears ringing. Glen stared in his gluey hand shocked, but his clouded mind couldn¡¯t decipher what he was seeing. All he could think of was, praise be Luthos it wasn¡¯t blood. Sen was unharmed. ¡°Fuck,¡± Glen gasped and rubbed his face hard to snap out of it, his cock unwilling to calm down despite his sudden scare. ¡°I thought I hurt you.¡± Sen-Iv gathered her hair in a loose bun and pushed herself up. Her nakedness almost derailing his thoughts again. ¡°You didn¡¯t,¡± she whispered looking at him alarmed. Glen grunted and stood back, trying to calm himself down. ¡°I¡¯ve seen a dream. An accursed seers words ever repeating,¡± he started, voice coming out a croak. ¡°A horrible nightmare. It comes and goes,¡± Glen stared at his hand again, licked his lips next and frowned. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Sen-Iv muttered staring at her sandals. ¡°You¡¯ve left me no time for feeding.¡± Huh? ¡°What the hells are ye talking about?¡± Glen grunted. ¡°You got somewhere else ye want to be?¡± Sen covered her chest and shook her head right and left. ¡°I thought you knew. I¡¯ve written you a letter,¡± she whispered. ¡°You knew and didn¡¯t want to talk about it.¡± Ah. There it is then. Glen cleared his throat, his mind clearing some. He licked his lips again, found the ton of oils she always used and all those new flavors. His stare hardened remembering the dagger¡¯s warnings. It was like poison. ¡°Where¡¯s Ninan woman? I haven¡¯t seen her all day!¡± Sen started crying and it shocked him because he¡¯d never seen her cry afore. It washed his anger away. Damn it. The fuck are you doing my dude? Have you gone mad? ¡°She¡¯s with her,¡± Sen said and wiped her swollen eyes. ¡°Your daughter. What did you think I meant?¡± Fuck. Wait what? ¡°I thought you¡¯ve taken a lover,¡± Glen admitted numbly and smacked his lips, feeling weak at the knees. ¡°I¡¯m a little terrified now, but relieved at the same time. I mean that¡¯s great news right?¡± he added after an awkward moment and Sen jumped in his arms with an elated squeal. She started kissing him all over the face and Glen felt moisture spreading over his vest. ¡°I¡¯m leaking again. I made a mess,¡± Sen whispered embarrassed, just as Ninan started coming down the stairs carrying a small bundle in her arms protectively. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± Glen rustled his eyes on the small creature approaching them, still hidden in the loyal slavegirl¡¯s arms. ¡°The tailor is a friend.¡±
Whoa, Glen thought mesmerized, looking at the tiny girl¡¯s wide curious eyes. ¡°Ah,¡± his daughter squawked, when he touched her rosy nose with a finger adding with a frown. ¡°Oi.¡± ¡°She has your eyes,¡± Glen murmured rocking the baby. ¡°And yours,¡± a sniffling Sen said softly. ¡°All that gold you love so much.¡± The biggest treasure on Eplas and the thief who¡¯d stolen it, he thought finally getting the hidden meaning. Glen smiled and looked at the emotional Sen-Iv for a long moment. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you thought I would ever reject my girl.¡± Both of you are mine. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you thought I¡¯ve taken a lover,¡± Sen retorted and wrapped her arms around them both tightly. ¡°Take me to bed?¡± she murmured sounding exhausted. ¡°We have to walk up the darn stairs,¡± Glen replied and kissed the top of her head. His daughter raised her arms, mouth opening trying to speak again, but failing. She did found her mother¡¯s nipple though, so there is that, Glen thought grinning and feeling gratified. ¡°I messed up my foot fighting a couple of lions. Twas quite the adventure.¡± ¡°Aww, my brave fool,¡± Sen-Iv cooed and Ninan gasped in horror, but their daughter found the whole thing very funny and started chuckling happy. Her laughter rang down the empty hall and the villa¡¯s ancient tall ceiling. It reverberated on the painted walls showing kings and queens, lovers and heroes, now long dead. It danced towards the still open main entrance and jumped outside to join the tail end of the great festival of life. And all the things in nature, the old ruins of the temples and the gods lurking near them, welcomed her into their realm.
Here she was we all thought, when he introduced her to us. The Celestial Opal¡¯s daughter was a precious gem unto herself. The Goddess had spoken. Arguen Garth¡¯s first offspring would be our Sovereign for good, or heavens forbid, worse. The Realm¡¯s Monarch of all Monarchs and Lussiel Mir his daughter, our Queen of Queens. Looking back to that moment in time, one would quickly realize we were all very young and extremely foolish. Events recorded on the last night of Summer 190 NC by Phinariel, the Boorish Poet, Royal Scribe, Member of the Queen¡¯s Council in Apotheosis (The King¡¯s Heritors) Later scribbled* prologue for Chapter III Esselda Anon (An Elderblood Son) - Entered into the Royal Library, In 210 NC, Circa 3416 IC ¨Cconsolidated- (3rd Era) - *Phinariel¡¯s long epic poem ¡®Dragonblood & Elderblood¡¯ was probably written before this prologue to the third chapter and has a distinct difference in tone. The later addition, perhaps even the whole chapter itself, a likely political entry far removed from the historical record.
244. Any tavern & at any port (1/2)
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/
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Princess Elsanne Eikenaar Any tavern & at any port Part I -She gives no quarters-
Here it is then. The sun came up over the distant sea, gold and bright orange rays shooting down from the melting clouds. Elsanne felt the heat touching her face and pulled away from the window. The winter, or whatever passed for it on this remote corner of Eplas was over. ¡°Jasi is waiting outside Princess,¡± Loes said and offered her a light cloak to throw over her shoulders. Elsanne rejected it with a glare. She was sweating even at the thought of an extra layer of clothing. ¡°The Prince has returned?¡± she asked looking at herself in the polished bronze mirror. ¡°He slept in Vynia¡¯s quarters,¡± Loes replied. Thank Uher for that. ¡°I¡¯ll have some tea,¡± Elsanne said calmly. ¡°Send Jasi in.¡± She walked to her desk and used a small key to unlock a small drawer. Elsanne found a stack of scrolls inside and placed them in front of her. The eunuch had entered her quarters in the meantime, his large figure smelling of white roses. Jasi has used plenty of makeup today, she thought and has bought himself a new set of robes. ¡°Exulted Princess of Kaltha and the three kingdoms,¡± he started after a well-practiced deep bow at the waist. ¡°I revel at your sight. Your highness is looking absolutely divine under this light.¡± ¡°Anything else?¡± Elsanne probed with a small smile. ¡°Hymns shall be written of your form, oh ye gloried¡ª¡± Elsanne stopped him with a gesture. ¡°My query was rhetorical.¡± ¡°Apologies your exquisiteness.¡± Well then. You¡¯re not wrong at least. ¡°Any news on what we talked about?¡± She asked him, looking at the messages merchants had managed to smuggle in. Elsanne had spent the months after learning of Prince Casper¡¯s murder to find out as much as she could. It wasn¡¯t easy getting any information about it, but the effort had helped pull the princess out of her mourning and turn her numbness and despair into determination. ¡°Kaltha controls the road Mistress,¡± Jasi said in a subdued voice approaching her. He reached with a ring-adorned hand almost touching her and found an engraved bottle of liquor the Prince had brought her upon learning the news. Elsanne hadn¡¯t touched it, as she wasn¡¯t particular on alcohol. It made her do silly things. ¡°Kaki-ju,¡± Jasi told her opening the bottle and pouring himself a shot in one of her tiny gold cups. ¡°Also called Kaju,¡± the eunuch continued and downed the contents with a grimace. ¡°A Horselord drink made out of fermented rice, honey and the jade leafed Ju flower, we also make use for its poisonous qualities.¡± ¡°We?¡± Elsanne asked watching him. ¡°People in our business,¡± Jasi replied, then realized he was standing too close to her and stepped back. ¡°Very strong stuff.¡± ¡°Alcohol doesn¡¯t agree with me,¡± Elsanne reminded him and Jasi nodded his bald oiled head. ¡°That was probably the Prince¡¯s reasoning for the gift Mistress.¡± Hmm. She wouldn¡¯t put it past that snake. ¡°So?¡± She asked narrowing her eyes. Jasi frowned and smacked his fat crayoned lips. ¡°Nothing more of substance mistress. The man was eager to depart.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure he was. Back to Eikenport?¡± ¡°Eh, most caravans are heading straight for Goras these days,¡± Jasi replied. ¡°What did the Prince say?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t seen him,¡± Elsanne retorted, a little annoyed he was trying to get gossip out of her. She had made no attempt to repair her relationship with Prince Radin in the months that had followed and his preoccupation with taking back Jadefort from the Horselords had helped her avoid him completely. ¡°Isn¡¯t Goras that city in Wetull?¡± ¡°Yes it was,¡± Jasi replied thoughtfully. ¡°One of its ports is working again apparently.¡± Goras was rumored to have three due to its enormous size, if one believed the histories. ¡°People actually live there?¡± She asked curious. ¡°Didn¡¯t that volcano turned that valley into a gulf or something?¡± ¡°Who can say? But there are people there now of all kinds, though mostly cutthroats and Zilans I presume.¡± ¡°That¡¯s ridiculous, who would associate himself with monsters?¡± Elsanne asked. ¡°Isn¡¯t that outlawed?¡± ¡°Old laws, mostly forgotten.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not how it goes Jasi,¡± Elsanne admonished him. ¡°These are demons we are talking about, sorcerers and cannibals! Uher himself cursed them!¡± ¡°Demons with coin,¡± Jasi added with a smirk. ¡°And timber, Eikenport craves for. Uher, most people here don¡¯t much care about mistress.¡± It¡¯s no wonder you ended up maimed you blasphemous fool! ¡°Eh, I asked you to bring me news of Kaltha,¡± Elsanne snapped with a frown and decided to change the subject. ¡°Was this the army from Rida?¡± ¡°Rida is destroyed mistress,¡± Jasi replied. ¡°I don¡¯t believe your brother¡¯s army made it out.¡± ¡°Someone did!¡± ¡°The Prince will know more, I¡¯m sure,¡± Jasi said and then added with a sigh. ¡°There¡¯s talk he might travel to Eikenport soon.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Elsanne asked, feeling the sweat gathering on her neck. ¡°The Khan¡¯s hold on the city is tenuous at best.¡± That¡¯s not bad news at all. ¡°Our Prince has no army to do anything,¡± Elsanne countered, a little frustrated she was just hearing about it. ¡°You know men with swords and horses,¡± Jasi said rolling his eyes. ¡°Everything seems doable for them. A grand adventure always but a short ride away.¡±
Radin seemed thinner and worn out, living near the lake for months was the opposite of healthy and he¡¯d never fully recovered from his injuries. He raised a brow seeing her enter Vynia¡¯s quarters, his other wife washing herself in the bronze bathtub next to her bed. She made to stand, but Elsanne stopped her with a wave of her hand. ¡°Enjoy your water Vynia,¡± she told her with a smile. ¡°This will be a short talk.¡± ¡°Here I thought, you¡¯ve come to your senses dear,¡± Radin taunted her. ¡°Eh, at least I get to see you.¡± ¡°I hope your discomfort didn¡¯t ruin your evening,¡± Elsanne retorted. ¡°It didn¡¯t, Vynia knows how to please her husband,¡± Radin deadpanned. ¡°It¡¯s a talent.¡± Vynia covered her face embarrassed, which was a bit hypocritical since Elsanne could see her nipples poking out of the foamy waters. She relaxed her face and breathed once deeply. This wasn¡¯t the Cofol woman¡¯s fault. ¡°I heard you are going to travel to Eikenport,¡± Elsanne said after an awkward moment managing to wrong-foot the Prince. ¡°Why yes I am actually,¡± he finally said with a grunt. ¡°Is the city in danger?¡± ¡°You seek to learn whether your brother¡¯s thugs intent to march on Eikenport, or not?¡± Radin asked and stood up, not bothering to cover himself. Yikes. ¡°Well?¡± Elsanne probed, staring into his face. Radin put his hands on his hips and stood with his legs open, now sporting a teasing smile. ¡°You are being ridiculous,¡± she warned him and he frowned. ¡°I¡¯m being a thoughtful husband that doesn¡¯t demand from you to fulfill your wifely duties,¡± Radin replied his stare hardening. ¡°Vynia,¡± he added. ¡°I¡¯d like your mouth here love.¡± Elsanne heard the splash of the bathtub as the other woman got out and walked towards them. She knelt in front of her husband ¨Cand also Elsanne¡¯s husband- and reached for his cock. Uher help me. ¡°Seriously?¡± She hissed glaring at him. ¡°Very,¡± Radin replied with a smirk. ¡°What do you want to learn wife? I may not pay you much attention in a moment, so you better get it out fast. Of course,¡± he added cruelly. ¡°You can forgo this foolish quest of yours and join us.¡± This is humiliating, she thought furious. You stupid callous motherfucker. But it was seeing poor Vynia reduced so much that made her hate him the most. Fuck your traditions. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Fuck your family and your stupid country. ¡°I want to come with you to Eikenport,¡± Elsanne croaked, the heavy and mostly drenched in sweat dress feeling like a second skin that weighed her down. ¡°You¡¯re not a good traveling companion,¡± Radin replied clenching his jaw. ¡°I¡¯ll pass, you¡¯ll stay here.¡± Uher strike him down at once! ¡°If there is a Kaltha attack looming upon the city, you need me there Radin,¡± she hissed, the sounds of Vynia doing her best to pleasure him grating to her psyche. You can¡¯t remain a romantic for long under these insane conditions girl, she thought, trying to keep herself from lashing out or start crying. Both weren¡¯t an option. She wasn¡¯t some poor wench, or a little girl anymore. Elsanne refused to allow herself to be reduced to this and tolerate him knocking her down for much longer. I¡¯ll punch back, she decided. The moment I know how. ¡°Hmm, I don¡¯t think you want to help me,¡± Radin said as if he could read her thoughts, his words ending with a grimace of pain. Bite that thing off good sister, Elsanne thought. Sink those teeth in! ¡°These uncultured thugs need to be put down. That fool Tsuparin just made it difficult for me, but I¡¯ll find a way.¡± ¡°Where are they from?¡± Elsanne asked with difficulty, a vein throbbing on her left temple on the verge of bursting. ¡°I¡¯ve no idea. Rumors say the desert is full of crows where Kuntur was slain and bleached white bones,¡± Radin grunted putting a hand on a hard-working Vynia¡¯s wet head to keep it steady. Ah. The gods must truly hate me. Elsanne stood back her heart faltering. Radin caught her expression and glared at her, losing his erection despite Vynia¡¯s desperate efforts. ¡°You know who they are?¡± He asked pushing the woman away. ¡°Scaldingport,¡± Elsanne murmured and felt the headache worsening. ¡°The De Weers.¡± ¡°Hah,¡± Radin scoffed, a smile on his handsome face. ¡°I¡¯ve beaten that fool in Riverdor.¡± Elsanne smelled of wet pines and rotting oaken roots all of a sudden. Heard the horrid squeals and the bloody steel mace coming down. Vicious undiluted brutality. No you didn¡¯t.
¡°Eh, this is really tedious,¡± The young King said, standing atop his great horse, eyes glaring at the hunters spread about still looking. ¡°Where did that darn boar go?¡± A teenage Elsanne turned her head around to look behind them, the leather pants constricting and the horse unwieldy between her legs. The animal snorted, white vapors shooting out of its nostrils and the thick tall trees crackled in response. The horse moved forward and she pulled at the reins to stop it. She failed, the horse kept moving forward, past the first trees and then a dog burst out of the foliage and scared it proper. ¡°The Princess!¡± someone yelled on her back, just as her mount jumped away from the confused hunting dog and then started galloping through the forest. Away from the King¡¯s party. Elsanne tried to stop it, but after an intense minute, she just concentrated on staying on the saddle and not falling to her death. She came close a couple of times, heavy branches narrowly missing her head, but Uher kept her upright. The horse stopped on its own eventually. It found an opening amidst the endless canopy of North Greenforest and she could see the snowed top of the Boar Mountain protruding above the old oaks. ¡°Well that¡¯s great. Look at what you did you silly horse,¡± Elsanne murmured and climbed down from her grazing mount, feeling well-shaken and thoroughly roughed up. She tried to gather her long white hair back and fix them in a simple bun, since everything had gotten loose in the impromptu trip amidst the greenery, but it wasn¡¯t as easy without her mirror and her servants. Sighing frustrated she turned one way, but heard a dog growling behind her and twisted about scared. Elsanne saw the dog about ten meters away, all froth and gnarly teeth, but the hound was glaring at another target not paying her any attention. Oh, damn it. Surely¡­ The huge boar snorted, tusks the size of shortswords protruding from its snout and stabbed its foot down. The dog barked angry, just as Elsanne started retreating without a clear plan. Truth be told she could barely think. The dog kept barking enraged and the boar charged at it without a warning. It all happened in the blink of an eye. A thud and the dog¡¯s smashed body hit a huge tree-trunk bones crackling, flesh turning into mush. Elsanne let out a scream and run towards her horse, but it reared on its hind legs and forced her back. The horse turned and galloped away, as she stumbled back her riding boots slipping on rotten leaves and lush wet grass. Oh, no-no-darnit! She cursed inwardly seeing the boar turning its huge ugly head her way, small beady eyes full of malice. Hit the dog again! Elsanne twisted around and made to run towards the thick trees, the thought of climbing up one never occurring to her ¨Cthough it was doubtful that she would have managed it- but stopped seeing a large horse sprouting out of the shrubbery, the heavy set man on top of it opening his eyes wide thoroughly stunned. ¡°Ahm, wher¡¯ did that blasted dog¡­¡± the covered in dark-grey armour brutish-looking man grunted seeing her standing frozen before his horse, making no sense at all. Elsanne heard the boar coming up behind her before she could explain. The young Princess of Kaltha dived one way, the massive boar catapulting by her, mud, grass and pieces of broken twigs raining over her body. She rolled clumsily on the ground with a yelp, banging her head and messing up her hair, the man flinching seeing the boar rushing him the moment Elsanne was out of the picture. A horrible tearing sound came next, followed by a mighty thud, as Elsanne finished her awkward tumble, every part of her body hurting and covered in mud that smelled like shit from head to toe. She coughed with her face covered in mud and saw the tail end of the boar goring the man¡¯s horse, after shoving it three meters back. The boar heaved its broken body right and then left, ripping it apart and breaking its spine. Elsanne screamed now fully freaked out and the boar turned its ugly bloody snout her way. She knew screaming wasn¡¯t helping and probably pissed the huge pig even more, but the Princess just couldn¡¯t help herself. So she screamed even more, whilst trying to get up, or snake away walking on her back using her elbows and the boar snorted, lowered its head prepared to gore her next. Probably eat her right after. Oh my all gods and goddeses! HELP! ¡°HEEELPP!¡± ¡°Damnation!¡± The man grunted standing up covered in gore, his pants torn and his fancy armour dented. He looked right angry. So much so that he waltzed towards the boar and kicked him right at its right ear. Elsanne abruptly stopped screaming deeply shocked. The huge animal shuddered, the kick apparently much stronger than what it had appeared to her initially and tried to turn its unwieldy hairy body around. Another heavy boot got it right at the snout when it did and cracked one of its tusks. The third ripped it out of its mouth and the furious man was on it. The boar wailed in horrible pain and attempted to pull away, but the brutish man, teeth grinding manically and eyes narrowed with hatred reached with a hand and grabbed that snout to stabilize it, then smacked it with brutal force with a mace. Once and the massive boar dropped to his knees. Twice and that thick skull cracked, hairy hide ripping away from the broken bone. The boar¡¯s desperate squeals echoing for half a minute, as the man went into a frenzied rhythm, muscled arm coming up and down, brains, pieces of bone and gore splattering everything in a two meters radius. He just wouldn¡¯t stop. Gods help me! She gasped unable to breathe and then her stomach rebelled. The King¡¯s party found the princess retching and covered in blood and shit when they appeared, which was humiliating unto itself, but nothing was more stomach turning than the old De Weer¡¯s comments. ¡°Look at that young fool!¡± The Lord of Scaldingport commented crooking his mouth in disbelief, when the knights managed to pull his firstborn away from the pulverized boar. ¡°Kill the pig and smash the wench, not the other way around ye darn buffoon! Good grief! Well, that¡¯s a bloody chance wasted, if there ever was one.¡± ¡°The princess is unharmed,¡± Sigurd admonished him. ¡°It would behoove you to guard your tongue Lord De Weer.¡± The old Lord eyed him like a bug, finding shelter under a heavy boot. ¡°My lad turn that horse around afore I gut you scrotum to navel and call it a ¡®hunting¡¯ accident. Ask your King if he¡¯ll come to yer defense and then wipe that scowl of your darn face!¡± ¡°Lord Sigurd,¡± Antoon intervened scrunching his mouth. ¡°Let us not make more of it. That¡¯s enough excitement for a day.¡± Elsanne wiped her face with a hand and the old Lord stooped over his saddle and offered her a clean towel. She took it with a glare and he chuckled, showing two rows of worn out teeth. Lord Ruud was over sixty and probably wouldn¡¯t make it another year, she thought using his towel to clean her face and neck thoroughly from all the mud and nasty stuff. A large raven, its feathers black as coal, landed on a branch two trees away and stared at her austerely with its black beady eyes. ¡°Bend the fuckin¡¯ knee!¡± The huge bird yelled out of the blue and then cackled like an old crone having her toes massaged. ¡°And with that final bit, it seems the hunt is over,¡± Antoon commented sourly, a long awkward moment later. ¡°Sir Gust got the honors Lord Ruud and whatever the hell happened here shan¡¯t be talked about again.¡± ¡°Crows are calculative creatures, rarely prone to outbursts,¡± Lord Ruud had told her not paying much attention to the High King. ¡°But when they¡¯re threatened, they give no quarters.¡±
¡°Gust wouldn¡¯t have stopped like poor Ralph did,¡± Elsanne hissed. ¡°You were just lucky husband.¡± Prince Radin clenched his jaw and then burst out laughing. ¡°Then why should I take you with me then? They¡¯ll never listen to you.¡± He looked at his cock and grimaced. ¡°I¡¯ve taken Jadefort,¡± he murmured and walked towards the bed to find his robes. ¡°I¡¯ll straighten out this problem as well and you wife will keep Dia running for me.¡± No, I won¡¯t, Elsanne thought. I¡¯ve had enough of your bullshit.
Elsanne spent the next morning on the tower staring towards the east, a permanent scowl on her face. The strong sun forced her down afore noon and she headed for the garden, not in the mood to eat, or talk to anybody. She missed the Cofol woman sitting under a cinnamon tree, silver flask in hand. Selussa, clad in soft black leather, stretched her fit legs out and eyed her. ¡°Less shadow on the bench,¡± she commented and tasted whatever she had in that fancy flask. ¡°It will get worse.¡± ¡°My dress stains easily and I¡¯m pretty sure the dogs pee under that tree,¡± Elsanne retorted and glared at the sun boiling her head. ¡°My sister never cared about anything. Be it material, or social,¡± Selussa replied cryptically and made room for her in the shade. ¡°I¡¯m cursed to care about everything,¡± she added. ¡°It¡¯s what I got in the trade.¡± Elsanne sighed and stood up. She walked next to the exotic woman and carefully sat down gathering her legs under her dress. The shade heavy and rather pleasant. Much heavier that it should have been as a matter of fact. Elsanne glanced at Selussa and the slanted eyed woman smiled. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Elsanne asked her. ¡°I want to tell you, but I can¡¯t,¡± Selussa replied and puffed out pressing the back of her head on the red trunk. ¡°You¡¯ve a good heart Princess, but you should never let anyone know.¡± ¡°I can be mean,¡± Elsanne argued. ¡°Who made you mad?¡± ¡°Everything,¡± she murmured. ¡°I feel trapped.¡± ¡°Perhaps you are.¡± Elsanne nodded. ¡°If you haven¡¯t appeared back then, I would have never made it here.¡± ¡°Uncertain freedom, or certain bondage.¡± ¡°Kobus would have traded for me,¡± Elsanne argued. ¡°Were you free in Kaltha?¡± Selussa teased her. ¡°Is a prize ever free?¡± ¡°Are you?¡± Elsanne countered. ¡°What do you do when you¡¯re away Selussa?¡± ¡°I serve my master,¡± Selussa replied casually. Elsanne nodded. ¡°Who does he serve?¡± Selussa chuckled and offered her the flask, but Elsanne refused with a shake of her head. ¡°It¡¯s better you don¡¯t know,¡± came the Cofol¡¯s reply. ¡°I want to go to Eikenport,¡± Elsanne blurted. ¡°Say you do,¡± Selussa said with a small smile. ¡°What then Princess?¡± ¡°Radin won¡¯t win there,¡± Elsanne replied. ¡°And if he attempts it, I fear he won¡¯t survive.¡± ¡°He¡¯s isn¡¯t supposed to win,¡± Selussa noted and had another taste from her flask. ¡°None of them are. There are much bigger players in this game, with more resources and smarts.¡± Elsanne made to speak, but stopped unsure. Selussa watched her struggle with her herself, a small smirk at the corner of her mouth. ¡°Ask Princess,¡± she urged, her voice a whisper. ¡°You¡¯ve nothing to lose.¡± ¡°Can you get me to Eikenport?¡± Elsanne asked her anxiously. ¡°You¡¯ve been traveling back and forth all the time.¡± Selussa raised an arm and showed Elsanne a handful of small resin cubes containing incense she held in her palm. Selussa blew on them slowly and dense white smoke billowed, the shadows growing around their tree, the shades now impregnable. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Elsanne asked, very impressed. ¡°This is my way,¡± the strange woman replied. ¡°But it doesn¡¯t have to be yours.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Elsanne inquired unsure. Selussa shrugged her shoulders, snapped her fist shut, sending the shades away and jumped lithely on her feet. ¡°Send Jasi on a shopping trip and lend your servant your lovely dress,¡± she told her with that wicked smile and offered a hand to help her up. Elsanne nodded and took it. ¡°This road,¡± Selussa whispered so only she could hear. ¡°Might force your hand Princess. Once you step on it, you¡¯ll make powerful people uneasy. They might come for your pretty head and not your hand this time. What does a girl that was a prize all her life do, if she¡¯s threatened?¡± Elsanne glanced at her shaking hands and sighed afore reaching for the pirate¡¯s coin, she still kept on her. ¡°She gives no quarters,¡± the Princess replied firmly. 245. Any tavern & at any port (2/2)
Princess Elsanne Eikenaar Any tavern & at any port Part II -Bottoms up sister-
Wow, Elsanne thought, her second attempt to squeeze herself into Selussa¡¯s tight leather trousers finally successful. Either something is wrong with that girl¡¯s hindquarters, or you¡¯ve taken up weight sister. Hmm. ¡°Can I turn around Mistress?¡± Jasi asked. ¡°No you can¡¯t,¡± that was Loes. ¡°It¡¯s fine Loes,¡± Elsanne intervened. ¡°Give us the room if you please.¡± ¡°Princess I¡¯m not sure¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯m a eunuch,¡± Jasi deadpanned. ¡°Above all suspicion.¡± Loes glared at him unconvinced, but then relented and walked out leaving them alone. ¡°Above suspicion?¡± Elsanne queried knowing the man¡¯s shady relationships with the female staff. ¡°What one doesn¡¯t know, won¡¯t harm her,¡± Jasi retorted, adding with a curtsy. ¡°Illustrious mistress.¡± Eh, nice save there. ¡°Fine. Now, is everything arranged?¡± ¡°May I ask on the provisions?¡± Jasi asked. ¡°They appear excessive.¡± ¡°For a two-three weeks journey?¡± Elsanne fired back. ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡± ¡°Is this a real journey Mistress?¡± Elsanne stared at him austerely. ¡°It is Jasi.¡± Jasi stood up straighter and clasped his hands behind his back assuming a worried expression. ¡°What if we are discovered? Traveling without the Prince¡¯s knowledge would be frowned upon.¡± ¡°That would be unfortunate,¡± Elsanne replied dismissively. ¡°For your brilliance it would be,¡± Jasi agreed pressing his peach colored lips tightly. ¡°For myself, it could potentially be deadly.¡± ¡°I shall take the blame Jasi.¡± ¡°This is what usually happens in most noble peoples cases,¡± the Eunuch eagerly expounded. ¡°One takes the blame, whilst another ¨Cof lesser station- receives the punishment, oh thee great mistress.¡± ¡°That¡¯s ridiculous.¡± ¡°Yet, it is what occurs unfortunately time after time,¡± Jasi deadpanned. Elsanne sighed at her strange image on the mirror. Could I use a low-heel with that? These boots look atrocious. She turned towards the waiting eunuch and nodded. ¡°You shall be rewarded Jasi.¡± ¡°What reward can convince a diminished person such as myself bargain his life? I¡¯ve nothing left to lose.¡± ¡°I could order you and call it a day,¡± Elsanne warned him. ¡°But you won¡¯t, since that would put me in a dilemma, seeing as I¡¯m bound to the Prince, as to where my priorities lay in this instant.¡± ¡°Help me get to Eikenport and then you are free to do whatever you want.¡± Jasi sighed and used a perfumed linen hankie to gather the sweat off his forehead. ¡°Tossed aside, but free,¡± he finally said. ¡°I could work the streets I suppose, a drunkard would slot his cock in any hole.¡± ¡°What do you want Jasi?¡± Elsanne murmured, her patient running thin. ¡°I want to survive in certain luxury,¡± Jasi replied. ¡°Free or otherwise, I love being in a position of power.¡± ¡°I¡¯m trusting you as much as Loes,¡± Elsanne said. ¡°The girl can¡¯t do what I can, or offer insight in difficult matters Princess.¡± ¡°Fine. I suppose I could keep you around. Are you certain?¡± Elsanne relented. ¡°I wish to serve your highness in her quest for vengeance,¡± Jasi replied. ¡°Most certainly.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not in a quest for vengeance,¡± Elsanne corrected him with a frown. ¡°Semantics. Emancipation was my meaning mistress,¡± Jasi yielded with a small smile.
It had taken them two days to cross the bridge over Third Claw and half-a-week to pass by the rebuilt Jadefort towards Mid Claw (Dragontoe¡¯s River middle tributary). Elsanne riding next to a hat wearing Jasi, a large flamboyant affair with flower patterns on it, was both elated and horrified. The feeling of seeing where you are going ¨Ceven if you couldn¡¯t due to the heavy jungle- and the nature booming outside the walls of Dia, where she¡¯d spent the last months, was exhilarating. Also scary, since the nights were wrought with strange sounds and the bugs nigh persistent. So the Princess got a hat over her head and then a light cloak with a hood. She had wrapped it around her body, preferring the sweat from dealing with beasts buzzing right and left over their heads. They made a stop to rest their two slow moving horses and feed them. Elsanne had to begrudgingly stop using so much of their water for washing her body, hand and feet, as they were running out and that meant finding a clean spring, or tasting the Jade Lake¡¯s sludge. Probably die right after from dysentery, or worse. ¡°He did take the fort,¡± she said, trying to cut down an orange bug with black stripes that kept bumping on her head with a long thin stick. Elsanne had managed to whack that thing twice, but it just wouldn¡¯t die. ¡°The Horselords had abandoned it,¡± Jasi explained looking around their wagon nervously. ¡°Rumor is even the workers and slaves had left.¡± That doesn¡¯t sound very heroic you lying turd, Elsanne thought and hit the bug so hard, she cleaved it in two still moving parts. The smell of its innards stomach-turning. Literally. She dry retched a couple of times, probably green in the face alike a hobgoblin, but thankfully saved by her dark Issir complexion. Jasi was secretly enjoying her predicament and she wasn¡¯t about to further his enjoyment. ¡°Gone where?¡± She croaked, tasting vomit at the back of her throat. ¡°Goras.¡± ¡°I thought Horselords don¡¯t take slaves,¡± Elsanne murmured and used the long stick to hurl the parts of the bug away from their wagon. The stench remained. Ugh. ¡°Well the Khan was a Horselord once,¡± Jasi replied thoughtfully. ¡°So is your husband.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the difference?¡± ¡°With the Peninsula?¡± Jasi shook his covered head and climbed on their wagon again. ¡°Come mistress. A patrol might pass here. We were lucky the Prince left so few men behind.¡± Elsanne let out a groan of frustration and climbed on the narrow bench next to him. Given Jasi¡¯s considerable bulk, not much room was left for her on the covered wagon. ¡°Well?¡± She probed fixing the hood on her head. ¡°We need to cross that bridge before nightfall,¡± Jasi replied with a sigh. ¡°Travel during the night next, as in this part of the lake nobody wants to linger long.¡± ¡°Right, as if this is a better spot,¡± Elsanne griped and stared at the horse¡¯s hindquarters with a pout. She had never smelled so foul in her life. One of the horse¡¯s moved its tail away exposing a pink arsehole and then immediately dumped the largest shit she¡¯d ever seen. It went on for half a minute. Mostly light brown with a bit of green in it. It was so disgusting, the shock muted her for an hour.
The horses stopped on their own before crossing the second bridge, neighing disturbed and Jasi cursed their lineage colorfully, his frustration the highlight of the day. Elsanne slowly got down from the driver¡¯s bench, her back hurting and slapped her hands repeatedly to chase her limb numbness away. Jasi had walked up to the bridge in the meantime, the place buzzing with activity and the sounds of the lake bugs covering the sky. Whilst the cobblestone road was clear, roots and plants had started encroaching over it and knowing the sneakiness of the local flora Elsanne eyed the thick vegetation with a hefty amount of apprehension. ¡°It¡¯s empty,¡± Jasi reported coming back, his hands keeping his robes from sweeping the road. ¡°We should get moving.¡± Elsanne turned to stare at the wagon not really eager to climb back up on it and then at the sun slowly setting over their heads. With a sigh she decided it was pointless to duel on it more and watching the ground for any nasty surprises turned to find the step. A metallic gleam coming from the foliage stopped her. The sun had shown on something there just out of her sight. ¡°What was that?¡± She asked a huffing and puffing Jasi. ¡°A bug?¡± The Eunuch retorted reaching her. ¡°There¡¯s something shining over there, behind that tree,¡± Elsanne insisted and pointed at the side of the road, not twenty meters from the bridge. Jasi groaned and stared at the spot. Elsanne walked towards the phenomenon not waiting for his answer. Whatever that was, the sun coming through the palm trees was bouncing off of it. ¡°Princess,¡± Jasi warned her seeing her standing so close to the shore¡¯s thick vegetation. ¡°That¡¯s not prudent.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a steel spur,¡± Elsanne replied and stooped to have a better look at it. She found a riding boot attached to it, a leg leading to a torso and part of a man¡¯s bloody jaw hidden under the undergrowth. A familiar voice cut through her panicked screams sounding as much frustrated as disappointed. ¡°Just go over the darn bridge. Waltz straight over it for crying out loud,¡± Selussa grunted and jumped down from the branch she¡¯d been watching them from. She landed bending her knees with ease and stood up in all her lithesome awesomeness. Elsanne had never seen a woman being so confident, or as fit. Having said that it made her a bit jealous as well. ¡°Close your mouth Princess,¡± Selussa snapped frustrated and glared at a shocked Jasi. ¡°And you ball-less fat trout, you can¡¯t call her that. If I can hear it, so can everyone else. There¡¯s amateur and then there¡¯s idiotic.¡±
Elsanne returned her glare puckering her mouth. ¡°You¡¯ll address¡ª¡± Selussa cut her off with a wave of her arm and looked at a sweaty Jasi. ¡°Why is she talking?¡± What? ¡°We are working on it annoying woman,¡± Jasi retorted. ¡°Pretend I was this dead guard,¡± Selussa snapped. ¡°Now answer my query!¡± Wait. ¡°Why is he dead?¡± Elsanne asked glancing at the bloated corpse.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. ¡°He fell from his horse,¡± Selussa deadpanned. ¡°Ahm, something scared it?¡± ¡°Probably,¡± Selussa replied looking at her with amusement. ¡°Found a broken sharp branch with his neck. Teared through his carotid artery,¡± she snapped her fingers before her face. ¡°Just like that, he was a goner.¡± Elsanne narrowed her eyes. ¡°That sounds suspicious.¡± Selussa rolled her eyes and turned to Jasi again. ¡°You lead her. She¡¯s a slave. Not the other way around. You¡¯ll call her girl from now on. Can you do that?¡± ¡°We are not stupid Selussa,¡± Elsanne hissed. ¡°If there are people around we can play it out.¡± ¡°Bullshit. There were people around and you didn¡¯t,¡± Selussa admonished her. ¡°You expect them to announce themselves in advance? No courts where you¡¯re going girl.¡± Ah, now I don¡¯t like you that much again, Elsanne thought, but Jasi¡¯s voice snapped her out of her angry pout. ¡°Am I freed mistress?¡± Jasi asked her. ¡°We talked about it Jasi!¡± Elsanne hissed. ¡°Your lady friend is my witness then. Lady Selussa?¡± Selussa raised a mocking brow. ¡°Get on with it bitch,¡± she snorted. ¡°You need to get moving, his friends will come looking.¡± Jasi frowned at the insult but kept his tongue. He turned to face Elsanne assuming an austere expression, quite comical and equally insulting. ¡°Girl,¡± he said and Elsanne flinched in shock. ¡°Get your arse on the wagon, or I¡¯m getting the whip out.¡± ¡°Are you serious?¡± Elsanne snapped very angry. ¡°Use the long stick,¡± Selussa suggested with a chuckle. ¡°You don¡¯t want marks on her skin.¡± What? ¡°Up the wagon girl,¡± Jasi warned her a final time and Elsanne realized he meant to hurt her. ¡°Now.¡± All of sudden the Princess turned into a girl named Anne.
On the third week of their rather arduous journey the wagon reached the dry patch of land that led to Felmond River and its bridge. Many of the bigger ruins of Eikenport gleaming in the strong summer sun. Jasi eyed the small Guard Tower beyond the bridge and the Cofol patrol lazily resting next to their horses. He crooked his sweaty face and puffed out. Elsanne had lost weight during the travel, a bout with a stomach bug helping in that, but the Eunuch looked completely different now. With the folds of extra skin under his chin melting away Jasi appeared rather sweet, for a cock-less seal, according to Selussa. ¡°Right,¡± their companion said and wiped the sweat off her tanned face. ¡°I¡¯m off ladies. You should come right after me and smile a bit Jasi. I know you¡¯ll miss me.¡± ¡°I rather not hear about you for a year,¡± Jasi replied solemnly. ¡°Then be informed you unfortunately died of gangrene, after months of agony.¡± ¡°Aww, look at you flirting,¡± Selussa teased him and then winked at a scowling Elsanne. ¡°Girl,¡± she said, turning all serious. ¡°You need a bath. Find a barrel and stay in it, for a while.¡± Elsanne made to speak, but got a slap on the face by Jasi that almost knocked her off the wagon. The guards watching them started laughing as they approached their party and Selussa paused to talk to them for a bit, before riding towards the city. ¡°Not much need for slaves,¡± one of them said, a rather fancy looking young Cofol. ¡°But some brothels might get a great interest in her, if she doesn¡¯t bite a lot.¡± Uher, this is utterly ridiculous, Elsanne thought seething and holding on to her burning cheek. ¡°What¡¯s with the new wall?¡± Jasi asked trying to change the subject away from her. The guard, probably a scout given his bow, grimaced. ¡°Some wealthy criminal bought a whole neighborhood, put a wall around it.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t say,¡± Jasi said shaking his head. ¡°That¡¯s unusual.¡± ¡°Nah,¡± one of the guard¡¯s friends said and got up. ¡°Having a Prince of Rin-An-Pur here is crazier,¡± he grunted and then clapped his gloved hands to get the others attention. ¡°Pack it up boys, we¡¯re moving afore the sun boils our brains here.¡± ¡°We better move as well,¡± Jasi said and bowed his head. ¡°Right,¡± The first guard said staring at him strange. ¡°You better.¡± ¡°No free man bows his head to a guard,¡± Elsanne admonished him, the moment they cleared the soldiers. ¡°I was bloody nervous,¡± Jasi blurted and glanced at her. ¡°Apologies for earlier. I had to react, they were staring at you.¡± Elsanne scrunched her face. ¡°You think they recognized me?¡± Jasi stared at her incredulously. ¡°Ahm¡­ Anne, no one knows who you are, but for the Prince. It just these men haven¡¯t seen a prettier Issir than you.¡± ¡°Oh, well¡­¡± Elsanne murmured not expecting the compliment. It had been weeks since she¡¯d heard praise from anyone. Then again¡­ ¡°You¡¯re getting slapped the moment we are safe,¡± she informed him. ¡°And kicked, yelled at¡­¡± she counted with her fingers. ¡°At least a hundred times.¡±
Jasi drove their wagon towards Garth District via the South Gate. Elsanne saw soldiers patrolling the fast rebuilding neighborhood dominated by the Ancient Amphitheater and the black massive Mastaba. ¡°These aren¡¯t Cofols, nor do they seem like the City Guard,¡± Elsanne noticed keeping her voice low. ¡°Lorians mostly and that one over there is a dwarf,¡± Jasi said staring at the small bearded person listening to an one-eyed sketchy character and not buying whatever it was he was selling. ¡°Don¡¯t stare too intensely.¡± The man wearing the leather patch over his eye paused and turned to look their way, his smile showing at least four gold teeth. Jasi clicked his tongue to get their horses going wanting to avoid the scrutiny, but the man stepped in front of their wagon and stopped them. ¡°There¡¯s room to spend the night mate,¡± he rustled. ¡°Yer woman seems tired and malnourished.¡± Elsanne frowned and bit her tongue to avoid talking back. She had been on a forced diet for almost a month. ¡°We¡¯ll be heading for the Pirate District thank you,¡± Jasi replied and signed for him to get out of their way. The dwarf snorted. ¡°Might I be so bold as to inquire,¡± the shifty-looking man said, the gold earring on his right ear making him appear rather roguish. ¡°Why not pickin¡¯ the oth¡¯r one?¡± The Cofol District was his meaning. ¡°We have our reasons mister¡­?¡± Jasi retorted visibly annoyed and the man stood back with another lecherous glance towards Elsanne that tried hard not to blush, but failed. ¡°That¡¯ll be Stiles,¡± the man said. ¡°I¡¯m runnin¡¯ this¡­ business.¡± ¡°Are you in construction mister Stiles?¡± Jasi mocked him. ¡°Little bit o¡¯ dis, little bit o¡¯ that,¡± Stiles replied. ¡°Whole lotta of ¡®em oth¡¯r thing.¡± Elsanne blinked in confusion. ¡°The lass is not much used to the docks tongue,¡± Stiles noticed with a cunning smirk. ¡°And neither are ye, for a dude that wants to visit the gentlemen¡¯s district.¡± ¡°Can we pass?¡± Jasi grunted already disliking him. Elsanne on the other hand was intrigued. Stiles stepped aside with a curtsy. ¡°Avoid the races,¡± he said as they moved past them. ¡°Or any tavern.¡±
¡°Didn¡¯t you hear what the man said?¡± Jasi protested an hour later. ¡°Where are we going to stay?¡± Elsanne insisted. ¡°Either an inn, or a hostel, because we can¡¯t stay in the street and I¡¯m not sleeping another night in this wagon¡­ what is this place?¡± ¡°A market?¡± Jasi replied looking at the colorful crowd. ¡°Is that¡­?¡± Elsanne blurted reading the label over an eating place. ¡°Roasted Hog spelled wrong? It spells it dog hehe!¡± ¡°No that¡¯s really a dog they are serving Anne,¡± Jasi grimaced and pointed at an inn across the busy street. ¡°We¡¯ll park there and hope they don¡¯t steal everything we have.¡± ¡°Steal?¡± Elsanne said absentmindedly, looking at the customers filling their plates with big cuts of burned meat. Surely there¡¯s some mistake here, she thought. ¡°I don¡¯t believe this is a normal market,¡± Jasi replied. ¡°That man selling jewelry next to the ¡®restaurant¡¯? On the second large glass jug, a couple of those fancy rings are still onto their previous owners fingers.¡± Ah. Goodness gracious!
¡°Fancy a belt for yer pants lassie?¡± A woman asked her just as they stopped afore the busy tavern and inn apparently. ¡°Why, thank you, can I¡ª?¡± Elsanne told her and turned to look at the different belts the redhead carried over her shoulder. ¡°She has no coin for it,¡± Jasi interrupted their discussion. What? I have my purse on me! ¡°She can give me a buss,¡± the older woman replied. ¡°Or a lick if she¡¯s into to it.¡± Elsanne blinked and Jasi stepped in again a little more forcefully. ¡°She¡¯s not, move along now.¡± ¡°Pfft, I¡¯ve seen harlots less painted than ye,¡± the woman retorted and walked away. ¡°Ahm,¡± Elsanne started, but Jasi shoved her into the tavern quickly. The relatively full place, stinking of stale beer, grog and sweat. The two bards providing music -to this more tavern than an inn- playing the same three notes repeatedly. PLING TOING PLONG They stopped to stab their foot down and then went at it again taking turns. It was weird for about a minute and after that completely tedious and annoying. The crowd though loved it. ¡°Ahm,¡± Elsanne said again and felt someone feeling her arse. She turned around, took one look at the three unsavory, all bad teeth and earrings, characters and immediately faced forward again. A moment later a heavy hand gave her behind a good slap that made her yelp mortified. ¡°No dear,¡± Jasi said taking it the wrong way. ¡°I¡¯ll do the talking,¡± he added and headed for the bar, a panicked Elsanne running after him.
The tavern-keeper had oily long hair caught at the nape, a large bald patch just over his forehead, a pair of red rubies hanging from his drooping earlobes and an assortment of gold teeth, with the occasional silver thrown in. He eyed Elsanne first and then Jasi, afore slouching behind his counter and spitting a fat blob of phlegm down. Ugh. ¡°What¡¯ll be?¡± he asked and found the dirtiest cloth the Princess had ever seen on a table and gave the filthy surface a good wipe, smacking his lips at the end of it very satisfied. ¡°Eh, ye can speak now eccentric bald dude,¡± The bartender said and cleared his throat as if ready to spit down again. ¡°We would like a room,¡± Jasi muttered, probably as freaked out at the rowdiness of the tavern. ¡°For¡­ with two beds.¡± The bartender scratched his pale shaven face with a dirty nail, while listening to the annoying tune and took his time to answer. ¡°I only have one beders,¡± he finally said. ¡°Three of them, so make wit that what ye like mister¡­?¡± ¡°Jasi.¡± ¡°Jasmin ye say?¡± ¡°Ja-si,¡± the eunuch repeated with a croak. ¡°Arr ye alright there honey?¡± The tavern keeper asked with an expensive smile, looking at a frustrated and blushing Jasi. ¡°Let¡¯s go to another place,¡± Jasi hissed turning to her. ¡°I can fix ye wit an¡¯ther bed,¡± The tavern keeper cut in. ¡°Are ye from the Peninsula perchance?¡± he asked next. ¡°Caught a whiff of an accent there, under all the mascara.¡± Jasi turned to glare at him. ¡°You¡¯ve traveled then, outside this establishment?¡± ¡°Me broth¡¯r has aye,¡± the sly tavern keeper replied. ¡°Moved his business in Greenwhale.¡± ¡°Is he a merchant?¡± Jasi queried and placed his hands on the counter unwittingly afore flinching and retrieving them both. ¡°In a sense,¡± the man sort of elucidated, without batting an eyelash. ¡°Is the pretty girl a mute?¡± Elsanne showed him her perfect teeth in a snarl, barely holding her tongue and he raised a dark eyebrow impressed. ¡°We will take the room,¡± Jasi intervened quickly. ¡°Yeah, about that,¡± the tavern keeper replied. ¡°I need to see yer coin first.¡± Jasi made to get the purse he kept under his robes, but Elsanne stepped forward, reached inside her shirt first popping a couple of buttons, the lecherous man pursing his lips at the exposed skin and got the ugly skull coin out. The tavern keeper narrowed his eyes when she slapped it on the counter and then moved it about with a finger as if not believing it was really there. ¡°Sister,¡± he finally said after a long contemplating moment of them listening to the repeated loud cords blasting inside the walls of the low-ceiling building and the overwhelmingly drunken customers singing to the cadence of the annoying tune at least a dozen different songs. There wasn¡¯t a single talented voice in the relatively full room. ¡°What is it ye be lookin¡¯ for?¡± ¡°Captain Dawson,¡± Elsanne replied and felt the hand parked on her arse over her leather pants going away, the wild drunken head of a shifty man wearing a hat and sitting with his back on the counter turning to stare at them, afore belching once loudly. The tavern keeper gulped down nervously. ¡°Ye be family perchance of Yellow Dawson¡¯s?¡± ¡°An old friend,¡± Elsanne replied icily. ¡°Is he around?¡± ¡°Dawson be in Lord¡¯s Burrow,¡± the man listening in to their conversation rustled. ¡°Honest Van Fleet is here though and Foxy Vale, if yer angling for a ship.¡± Elsanne frowned. ¡°I assume ¡®Honest¡¯ Fleet is the better option?¡± she asked and the man laughed, but it turned into a bad coughing fit that almost floored him. ¡°Have no lungs,¡± he said apologetically. ¡°Burned ¡®em out divin¡¯ for treasure outside Turtle Isles.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry to hear it,¡± Elsanne replied and the hard man stood back not expecting the kind words. ¡°Whichever ye value most is the difference between Fleet and Vale,¡± he finally said. ¡°Fleet is a right mean motherfuck¡¯r, but Vale will eat ye up lassie, both literally and the oth¡¯r manner.¡± Right. There goes the plan. Bravo girl, Elsanne thought and stared at the yellow liquid the tavern keeper had poured in two dirty bronze goblets. ¡°A pint of grog for our pretty sister,¡± he answered her voiceless query. ¡°On the house.¡± Ehm. Elsanne was wholeheartedly against drinking spirits and this place looked like the last one she should start experimenting. ¡°Ah, I¡¯m very thirsty darn it,¡± Jasi admitted and reached for the goblet. ¡°Is it any good my friend?¡± he asked and the man behind the counter frowned, deep wrinkles appearing on his pale bald and much enlarged forehead. ¡°We serve only the one quality here,¡± he replied sounding affronted and waited for a chastised Jasi to gulp down his drink. The eunuch started with enthusiasm, but quickly his eyes watered and the gulps got smaller. Makeup started running down his face and he turned an unhealthy fierce red. Elsanne cleared her throat, but the tavern keeper turned towards her next and moved the goblet her way. ¡°Bottoms up sister. Yer supposed to finish up a free drink,¡± he urged her with a lecherous grin. ¡°It¡¯s the custom for our family, be it old friends, or oth¡¯rwise.¡± Elsanne felt her mouth drying up, but then under the intense scrutiny of more and more customers that had approached the counter, she reached for the oily goblet, brought it to her mouth, the toxic smell nauseating and tipped it all down without stopping to think about it. It was like drinking boiling lead and lemon-flavored arsenic, but a tearing up Elsanne smiled at the end of it bravely, her poor stomach and esophagus on fire. The man behind the counter slapped his hand down as much pleased as stunned and turned to his still having coughing fits friend. ¡°Bronchitis Sam be takin¡¯ ye to captain Van Fleet,¡± he said and Sam nodded tipping his weathered leather hat once. ¡°But let me get ye a glass of water good lass. Yer the first one that one-shotted this foul shite in decades.¡± 246. I heard a rumor
- read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/
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Leona ¡®Foxy¡¯ Vale I heard a rumor
¡°Blimey!¡± Leona winced, something burning between her legs and looked to find her feathered hat, the red bandana worn loosely on her neck and covering her breasts. Sort of. She turned to look under the inn¡¯s bed, though ¡®Good Siren¡¯ was more a tavern, since no place in Eikenport made coin on people sleeping, unless you went all in and called it a brothel. Found nothing there and pushed with a hand to stand up, the large buckle on her belt clanking at the edge of the bed and ¡®Blackmane¡¯ Quint woke up and stared at her tits all serious. Leona returned his stare. ¡°They are tits Quint. Ye didn¡¯t think I was a man right?¡± she shushed mostly jesting. ¡°Say, ye haven¡¯t seen me hat perchance?¡± ¡°In the barrel,¡± Quint replied his eyes glued on Leona¡¯s bouncy bits. ¡°Ah.¡± ¡°Yer leaving?¡± the quartermaster of ¡®the Pillager¡¯ asked her. Leona winked at the naked man. ¡°Will ye miss me?¡± she asked and the muscled pirate shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Reckon I be seein¡¯ ye soon enough.¡± ¡°Watch it ther¡¯ Quint, yer warm words might win me over,¡± Leona teased and turned around to go find her hat. ¡°Wasn¡¯t me intention Captain,¡± the man replied truthfully and she shook her head, afore frowning. ¡°Something the matter?¡± Quint asked, seeing her stalling over the barrel. ¡°It¡¯ll be gainful to wash meself,¡± she explained and fished her hat out of the dirty water. ¡°In what manner?¡± ¡°I have a rash?¡± ¡°I meant gainful,¡± Quint elucidated not very concerned. ¡°Ahm, health reasons?¡± ¡°Got fined once for that,¡± Quint replied nodding with his head, his smarts not as impressive as his cock. ¡°In Cediorum. Strick moth¡¯rfuckers. I quit the meat business after that.¡± Whether his decision to leave the field saved lives or not, given his current profession, still undecided. But not looking good. Leona smacked her lips, the morning dragging dull without a touch of alcohol in her. ¡°I¡¯ll see to find a bath barrel, if ye don¡¯t mind.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wit this one?¡± ¡°It has things livin¡¯ in it?¡± ¡°Ye don¡¯t say.¡± ¡°I just did Quint,¡± Leona hissed and squeezed the foul water out of her poor hat. ¡°Ye know,¡± the man said and moved to get out of the bed. ¡°I heard a rumor, speaking of Cediorum.¡± Leona looked about for something to drink, found an empty bottle on the nightstand, a spider climbing out of it with shaky legs and two goblets with nothing inside but the smell of cheap rum. ¡°Can we talk about it another time?¡± ¡°Sure Leo,¡± Quint replied. ¡°Better be careful going down. Van Fleet might come visit.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Has a meetin¡¯ of sorts.¡± ¡°I thought ¡®Bald¡¯ Burton paid him off for the venue,¡± Leona said standing at the door of their first floor room and quickly wearing her red shirt. ¡°Sent the coin to his broth¡¯r. He needed it, so Fleet got a share of the inn in exchange for money he owned him.¡± ¡°Trickster ripped him off again, it seems,¡± she noticed. Trickster Burton was ¡®Bald¡¯s brother and was rumored to sail the Khan¡¯s Gulf in the other end of the world. Allegedly. ¡°I ain¡¯t gettin¡¯ involved,¡± Quint admitted and got up, his naked physique making up for any other deficiency the man had. ¡°Foolin¡¯ around wit ye is a big enough risk.¡± ¡°Hah,¡± Leona guffawed and cracked the door open to look at the first semi-floor corridor and catch a glimpse of the bar underneath it. ¡°A bit late for that ¡®Blackmane¡¯.¡±
Leona stepped out on the narrow corridor, straightened herself out, then slotted her moist hat under an armpit and made to walk towards the staircase, when a tavern maid generous at the waist and enormous in the bosom department rushed by her carrying a large container of hot water. She paused huffing and puffing in front of the room next to the one Quint had rented and pushed the door open to enter inside. Ah, Leona thought with a grimace. Abrakas provide ready deliverance from filth ¡®n microbes. It¡¯s a bloody miracle. The heavy maid got out and closed the door behind her, paused to glare at the foxy grinning Leona and bumped her out of the way. The pirate captain caught herself, putting a hand on the wall for purchase and called after the rushing down the stairs maid. ¡°You¡¯ll soon run out of corridor ma¡¯am. Tis but a forewarning!¡± Right. Leona glanced at the closed door thoughtfully. Checked to see no one was looking up from the still empty bar and then put an ear on the door. She frowned comically, then knocked rather feebly, but got no answer. ¡°Mmm,¡± she murmured and used two fingers to turn the handle carefully, the tip of her tongue protruding out of the side of her mouth. ¡°Is anyone there? Speak now, or forever yer silence hold,¡± she muttered cracking the door open. Leona used the front of her boot to push it inside a bit and cast a quick glance at the clean interior. There was the large bronze bathtub, this room much bigger than her own and even freshly painted. Leona mused on it for a moment listening for sounds, but hearing nothing smacked her lips and went inside. She closed the door behind her, the click not too loud, but apparently loud enough for the Issir woman in the bathtub to hear it and rise her head perturbed. Shiver me rotting timbers, Leona thought equally stunned at the chocolate skin beauty staring at her shocked. ¡°Jewels for eyes,¡± she blurted out genuinely moved at the striking female, adding being as she was well-versed in pricey loot. ¡°Jadeite to be precise.¡± ¡°Huh? Who are you?¡± the young woman snapped unhappy and made to stand, bur remembered she was naked and sat back down forcing a lot of frothy water to splash on the floor. Whatever ¡®little¡¯ Leona managed to gaze of her physique made the night she¡¯d spent with Quint suddenly appear pedestrian. ¡°Ahm,¡± Leona muttered at a loss for words. What was an Issir doing in Eikenport? Was she a working girl? The possibility of Burton coming up with the coin to hire such a quality wench ludicrous, especially with tight-fisted Honest Fleet owing half the joint. ¡°Are you deaf?¡± the well-spoken beauty said angrily and pointed at the door. ¡°Get out.¡± ¡°Would if I could,¡± Leona admitted and walked towards her barrel on shaky legs. ¡°But that ship has sailed.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°See now, me unexpected alluring Siren of the docks, I wanted to cleanse this body. So I sailed be searching for the manner and the how,¡± Leona blurted out, trying to find her game and failing. ¡°Inopportunely I stumbled upon yer barrel, which stands as a dilemma for both of us.¡± ¡°Are you drunk?¡± the Issir grunted glaring at her, her hands covering her mouth-watering ripe mounts. Gods above and below! ¡°What¡¯s this drivel?¡± ¡°Haven¡¯t had a drop of spirits since morning,¡± Leona admitted sadly and put her hands on the lip of the bathtub, dropping her hat. ¡°It¡¯s a crime really.¡± ¡°It¡¯s still morning.¡± ¡°Tis sadly true,¡± Leona agreed and scrunched her nose. ¡°Shall I dip into the water whilst we order somethin¡¯ to quench our thirst?¡± ¡°Have you lost your wits?¡± the woman yelled and reached for a robe next to her bathtub, a lot of dark flesh escaping her other arm. ¡°I¡¯m getting out!¡± Good grief, Leona thought taken aback and started working on the buttons of her shirt, while the woman tried to put her robes on splashing water everywhere. ¡°What are you doing?¡± she hissed glancing back at her and Leona paused unsure. ¡°Sheddin¡¯ the garbs to join ye in bed?¡± she chanced with a toothy grin. The shock on the young Issir¡¯s face turning to horror. ¡°GET OUT PERVERT!¡± she blasted in fake anger. Leona could see through these fake protests like a pro. ¡°I know the scheme yer workin¡¯ on Jade Eyes,¡± she shushed. ¡°This is the final warning,¡± the woman snarled clasping the wet robes in front of her, the floor under their feet a mess. ¡°Get out of my room, else I¡¯ll call the guards!¡± Haha, oh gods this is pure comedy. ¡°You won¡¯t,¡± Leona teased her and she blinked. ¡°I mean it.¡± ¡°No ye don¡¯t. Ther¡¯ be no guards coming,¡± Leona said and made a step forward to come near her flushed face. ¡°I can tell when a wench is playin¡¯ hard to get¡ª¡± The heavy slap caught her low cheek and much of her jaw. It snapped her head back, her ear ringing and the power behind it surprising for such a fine package. Leona twisted around on her heels and opened an arm to keep the balance, the other holding her burning face. ¡°I must admit,¡± she murmured dazed. ¡°Wasn¡¯t expectin¡¯ dis much passion?¡± ¡°Guards!¡± the woman yelled glaring at her.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°Haha,¡± Leona guffawed with a grimace, her left cheek swollen. ¡°Yer goin¡¯ all in¡ª¡± The Issir woman stepped forward the robes splitting and showing a fit thigh and then she kicked her hard. Leona turned not expecting it, caught a dripping foot on her hip and went flying towards the door, her boots slipping on the wet floor. ¡°Argh,¡± she mumbled hurt. ¡°I believe ther¡¯ be a mix-up¡ª¡± ¡°GUARDS!¡± ¡°Blimey! There are no guards¡ª¡± Leona retorted in frustration, but the door snapped open much to her bewilderment, caught her between the shoulder blades and dropped her on her knees. The pain blinding. ¡°Miss Anne?¡± a man asked worried and started coughing at the end of it. ¡°Bronchitis Sam?¡± Leona groaned trying to get up from the wet floor. ¡°Captain Vale?¡± Sam replied and then added with a frown. ¡°Curse ye, what did ye do?¡± What? ¡°I¡¯ve wandered into the wrong room apparently,¡± Leona murmured. ¡°She made advances on me!¡± The Issir ratted her out, rather unprofesionaly. ¡°Ye piece of degenerate¡ª¡± Sam growled. ¡°Now wait a fuckin¡¯ minute me lovelies,¡± Leona grunted. ¡°First I don¡¯t know this Anne and secondly, alright I have three points to make¡ª¡± ¡°SHE¡¯S LYING!¡± Anne blasted her furious. ¡°Shame on you!¡± Eh. I¡¯ve nothin¡¯ to be ashamed about. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Someone said from outside, gruff voice full of righteous indignation. ¡°What is all this tumult?¡± Fuck¡¯s sake, Leona thought, when Van Fleet appeared at the open door, with ¡®Bald¡¯ Burton right behind him. ¡°You!¡± Van Fleet snarled, never one to lay the past to rest. ¡°Caught her rapin¡¯ Miss Anne,¡± Sam ¡®the lyin¡¯ rat¡¯ reported and Van Fleet ogled his eyes as if he just heard his mother had died burned to a stake. ¡°That the sister ye talked to me about?¡± Wait what? ¡°Aye Captain.¡± ¡°PETE!¡± Van Fleet yelled turning his head back, just as both Anne and Leona protested the pirate¡¯s words. ¡°I found her naked!¡± Leona cried out. ¡°She provoked me! Twas a trap!¡± ¡°You bitch! Nothing happened!¡± Anne lashed out at her response. ¡°That harlot is lying!¡± Huh? Oh come on now. ¡°Yer dairies are showin¡¯ Jade Eyes,¡± she reminded the naughty Issir. Anne glared at her and Leona shrugged her shoulders just as Pete entered the room. Big black lad, rough and hairy with gnarly fangs protruding down his sinister mouth. Eyes yellow and right mean. Abrakas toes, covered in dirty seaweed. ¡°Get her boy,¡± Van Fleet ordered his pet direwolf and pointed an accusing finger on a stunned Leona.
¡°Parley!¡± Leona declared staring at the growling wolf and then took advantage of the pause to stoop and grab her hat from the floor. She twisted around and dashed towards the window, darn thing only half open, the large direwolf jumping after her. Van Fleet wouldn¡¯t parley with her if he could avoid it and in his tavern he could. Leona jumped to reach the lip of the window, missed it for a bit, boots slithering in the sludge, bumped her knees on it and went out of the wooden shades head first. She heard jaws snapping behind her, a tooth grazing her arse and ruining her pants and then she tumbled in the air, arms and legs flaying desperately. ¡°AAAAARG!¡± She yelled mightily going down two floors and tearing through the leather cover of a huge chargrill, landing right in the hot embers. Leona jumped up, feeling broken but also burning ¨Cso pausing to cry about it wasn¡¯t an option- then dived to the side hugging a roasted lamb, or something. She landed on the hard ground, people screaming between curses and with her clothes smoking. Or on fire. Leona groaned and stumbled away, covered in grease, hot ashes and soot. She paused to put a piece of burned meat in her mouth, saw the large shadow of the direwolf landing six meters away and turned to dash into the stunned crowd in full panic. She run and chewed on the spicy meat at the same time, eating the dog afore the dog¡¯s uncle ate her sort of speak.
The Gallant Dogs guard at the gates saw her dashing at full sprint towards them and reached for a sword raising the alarm. Leona huffing and puffing, tongue burnt from the darn roast, face sweaty and flushed, kept pumping her arms up and down to keep the rhythm going. Leona knew that if she but paused to rest, there was no way she could start running again for at least a week. Her legs burning, she started yelling as she approached, about an hour or thereabouts into the chase through the city. The darn direwolf kept following her, despite the many distractions she had thrown at him, be it food, cutlery, people ¨Cincluding children- and a goat. ¡°CLOSE THE GATES!¡± she bellowed gnarling her teeth from the effort. ¡°What?¡± A sergeant asked with a frown. ¡°Should I fire sire?¡± An archer asked. ¡°CLOSE THE GATES,¡± Leona screamed reaching them. ¡°There¡¯s a wolf coming!¡± ¡°A¡­ what now?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that Vale?¡± Another asked. ¡°Hey!¡± The Sergeant barked, as she dashed past him. ¡°Bob run after her lad! Could be a fuckin¡¯ imposter!¡± ¡°Kinda know her Sarge,¡± the soldier protested. ¡°Ye mean intimately?¡± The sergeant barked and Leona turned her head around to check on the helmed soldier, his voice familiar. Almost crashed on to Stiles, who was coming out of his headquarters to see what all the upheaval was about. The former pirate pulled away and Leona put the brakes on, managing to stop several meters later and then collapse onto her shot knees. ¡°Leo?¡± Stiles queried approaching her. Leona gulped down large breaths greedily, her lungs burning and feeling completely exhausted. ¡°Nine Lives,¡± she coughed, her mouth slow moving and gluey, white froth at the sides of her lips. ¡°Need a drink mate, think I¡¯m dying.¡±
¡°There¡¯s water in the trough,¡± Norec, the dwarf, offered eyeing her disappointed. ¡°You should cover yourself woman.¡± ¡°How about something solider?¡± Leona croaked covering the girls that had spilled out of her loose unbuttoned shirt. ¡°I can throw a piece of hard soap in,¡± the dwarf deadpanned. ¡°Make it thicker and liven the taste.¡± Stiles cleared his throat, but said nothing. The ¡®former¡¯ pirate reached for a pocket inside his expensive coat. He got a flask out and tossed it to her. Leona smelled it after uncorking it. ¡°It¡¯s rum,¡± Stiles rustled, his sole eye taunting. ¡°Mmm,¡± Leona murmured gulping down the strong liquid, her eyes watering. ¡°Thanks!¡± ¡°Take a fuckin¡¯ breath for all gods sake!¡± Stiles blasted her a minute of heavy drinking later. ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± she croaked, licking her lips. ¡°Whoa tis strong stuff.¡± ¡°It is,¡± Stiles retorted. ¡°Care to explain?¡± Eh, not really, Leona thought and glanced at the scowling Norec. The sturdy dwarf¡¯s brown eyes boring into her soul. Fuck¡¯s is yer problem mate? ¡°I found meself mixed up wit a big dog,¡± Leona said finding her familiar drawl again now that she¡¯d murdered Stiles rum. ¡°Care to explain,¡± Stiles repeated patiently. ¡°Why you¡¯re not on yer ship?¡± ¡°Ahm, I fail to see how that¡¯s any of yer business,¡± she burred and tried to get up, wincing in pain. ¡°I found meself hurt.¡± Norec gave her his short arm to help her up. ¡°I¡¯m a big girl,¡± Leona warned him afore taking it. The dwarf snorted and pulled her up easily, the power behind his calloused hands otherworldly. ¡°Wow,¡± Leona gasped and doubled over her knees, still not able to stand on her own. ¡°Ye got anything else under that beard?¡± she teased him half-joking half-serious. ¡°Yer not woman enough to handle a mature Folk,¡± Norec grunted and Stiles started cackling finding it very amusing, afore shaking his head and assuming a serious expression. ¡°Aren¡¯t ye supposed to load up on supplies for¡­ the big guy?¡± ¡°Pfft, tis alright. Have me best people on it.¡± ¡°Is it close to finishing then? The Chief¡¯s wife needs to leave before the month is over.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t she pregnant? Are we sure the kid is his?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t repeat this near her. Anyways she had a little girl. Eh, I guess he¡¯ll have to deal wit it.¡± ¡°Aha, listen I must protest here again on this whole plan of using the Marquette to transport stuff about. It¡¯s a pirate ship.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the Chief¡¯s ship,¡± Stiles reminded her. ¡°I haven¡¯t wholeheartedly agreed on that. I believe the term is under duress,¡± she countered and brushed her white locks off her sweaty face. ¡°Leo we could always find another captain,¡± Stiles warned her. ¡°Of course ye will need to return the coin I gave ye back in that case.¡± ¡°That would be nigh impossible,¡± Leona replied and stood up towering over the dwarf. Not woman enough my arse. ¡°Seein¡¯ as I¡¯ve used up the capital on me various expenses, I can¡¯t recall at this instant.¡± ¡°Whores?¡± Stiles chanced not amused. ¡°I¡¯ll have ye informed, I¡¯ve met a classy lady,¡± Leona informed him. ¡°Ye did? Wher¡¯ will that be?¡± Stiles queried. ¡°Because ye only frequent brothels.¡± ¡°An Issir,¡± Leona told him and touched her arse, found a hole in her ruined pants and the bleeding cut. She stared at the flask still in her hand, sighed pensively and poured some on her hand, then proceeded to clean the area with it wincing. Stiles growled at the end of his wits and she continued. ¡°I call her Jade Eyes, but her name is Anne.¡± Stiles stood back and Norec who was privy to more information apparently snorted. ¡°You bed her ye say?¡± he asked with a grunt. ¡°Well, rumors might circulate on the fact, but I haven¡¯t,¡± Leona admitted and Norec this time burst out laughing hard. ¡°But had I been given the chance to finish the story about the dog¡ª¡± ¡°Good grief, enough already! I can¡¯t stand yer voice!¡± Stiles snapped losing it, turned on his heels and walked away. ¡°That wasn¡¯t very polite,¡± Leona murmured. ¡°It¡¯s a good act, what you have,¡± Norec told her. ¡°But eventually you have to let people in woman.¡± ¡°I have a name dwarf.¡± ¡°So do I,¡± Norec deadpanned and tossed her an iron key. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± ¡°A room to rest at the barracks,¡± the dwarf retorted. ¡°Use the baths to clean up them cuts, avoid the soldiers. Use a lot of soap.¡±
Leona stumbled out of the barracks after sunset, rested, cleaned out and bandaged. She walked towards the stables housing the horses to ¡®get¡¯ herself one, in order to return to the docks. She heard noise coming from a building and approached to have a peek inside. ¡°Captain Vale,¡± an Issir greeted her. He was wearing a black cloak, body lost inside a shadow. Leona paused unsure and stared at the familiar face. ¡°Name¡¯s Nigel Grim,¡± the thin wiry man introduced himself and frowned seeing her caramel skin turn a pale white. ¡°I heard you got into trouble.¡± Leona blinked and glanced about her. The door to what apparently was a tavern that had sprouted inside Garth¡¯s District seemingly too far away. ¡°What would that trouble be?¡± She croaked, a shiver rattling her bones. ¡°Many versions of the story are circulating,¡± her old crew member¡¯s brother replied, his face blank. You¡¯ll not see me broth¡¯r coming, he had told her in bed months back. ¡°Something about a tavern keeper¡¯s daughter and a dog,¡± the older Grim added, his voice barely audible. Ah. ¡°Twas a close call,¡± she managed to say, her face hurting in the attempt to smile. The man nodded and moved out of the shadows. He was taller than her and much older than his brother that she¡¯d killed some time back to save a girl she liked. Leona thought of Jinx and her late father, the gloomy thoughts not helping her. Everyone moves out on ye eventually, she thought. Better not dwell on it. ¡°Some things go one way,¡± Grim said. ¡°Others don¡¯t. Have ye heard the rumor?¡± ¡°There¡¯s another one?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a big ship being built in Cediorum,¡± Grim replied, his voice rather cultured, but his aura dangerous. ¡°Almost ten per year at ¡®em dockyards,¡± Leona said, trying to clear her throat and failing. ¡°It¡¯s a big ship this. Bigger than a galleon. Hundred oars at least,¡± Grim continued with a nod. ¡°With extra stands for archers and a heavy detail to board it, but standing on the deck.¡± ¡°With oars? Why would it need them?¡± ¡°A safeguard, if there¡¯s no wind. Keep it going,¡± came Grim¡¯s response. ¡°Not a transport then?¡± Leona asked now interested. ¡°Not for people,¡± Nigel Grim replied and stared at the summer night sky afore adding. ¡°Or timber.¡± ¡°Why tell me this?¡± She asked him out of character. ¡°You¡¯re half Issir at least,¡± Grim said and smiled thinly. ¡°Call me sentimental, but I trust our kind for this type of job.¡± Hmm. ¡°I¡¯m not sure we¡¯re in the same business mister Grim.¡± ¡°Yet, I think we are,¡± he countered. ¡°I overheard your conversation. We usually keep it in the ranks, but for this job, if I¡¯m right,¡± Grim paused and stared at her conspiratorially. ¡°We are going to need a fast ship and a great captain.¡± You are going to need a small army as well, Leona thought. What¡¯s the cargo? Is this a trap? ¡°Think about it, make your journey and come back,¡± Grim said seeing her thinking it through. ¡°Sure,¡± Leona murmured. Grim nodded and turned to walk away, but paused as if something was bothering him and glanced her way. ¡°You looked like someone walked over your grave earlier,¡± he told her casually. Dodge. Turn rudder at full speed. ¡°You¡¯re a spooky guy,¡± Leona replied with a gasp, her heart fluttering. I ain¡¯t leaving the ship without my sword another time, she promised herself. ¡°Lurking in ¡®em shadows, speaking in whispers.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the job,¡± Grim said with a sigh. ¡°Makes us not trusting people. Or a pretty girl¡¯s words.¡± 247. If the heir is fake (1/2)
Ol¡¯ ¡®Bald¡¯ Burton, was a dangerous man to cross, For he won the all captains coin toss Ol¡¯ ¡®Bald¡¯ Burton, Probably left yer moth¡¯r for anoth¡¯r, For he had ¡®Trickster¡¯ for a broth¡¯r Ol¡¯ ¡®Bald¡¯ Burton, served ye rum mixed wit seawater an¡¯ called the Pirate Queen his daughter - Ballad of Bald Burton, Popular pirate song, Circa 199 NC
Princess Elsanne Eikenaar ¡®Jade Eyes¡¯ Fair Anne Burton If the heir is fake Part I (People are dying in yer name)
Uher¡¯s Holy Light! Elsanne thought staring at the broken window. That fool is dead. She glanced at the furious face of Captain Van Fleet and the coughing ¡®Bronchitis Sam¡¯, before tightening the soaked robes around her. ¡®Bald¡¯ Burton was looking at her though worried. ¡°Yer alright there Anne?¡± He asked. ¡°Aye, I¡¯m fine good sir, thank you,¡± Elsanne replied politely and smiled. ¡°Nothing happened.¡± ¡°I hear ye, but still, this was disturbing,¡± the tavern keeper said and grimaced. ¡°Captain Fleet, let¡¯s give Anne some space.¡± Van Fleet turned to stare at him and then nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll have ¡®Mutiny¡¯ Carter sent up here,¡± he offered. ¡°Sam can look after her,¡± Burton stopped him. ¡°She¡¯s my guest.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Van Fleet grunted. ¡°I shall be downstairs then,¡± he added stiffly and with a last glance at the broken window where his giant dog had jumped out of ¨Cgoing after that debauched Vale woman, turned on his heels and walked out of her crowded room. ¡°Sam will wait outside Anne,¡± Burton informed her and followed after him. Sam tried to say something as well but failed, all the excitement worsening his coughing fit. No sooner had they left and the door burst open and Jasi walked in. Elsanne let out a small yelp, having being caught naked for the second time in less than half an hour, but seeing the eunuch sighed deeply, while the ex-slave closed the door behind him. ¡°Princess¡­ Anne,¡± Jasi started, after pausing to admire her joggling bits, as Elsanne was in the process of wearing Selussa¡¯s pants again the only way one could. Jumping into them. Hop Hop-hop. ¡°Turn around Jasi,¡± Elsanne told him calmly, having managed to pull the tight leather pants over her thighs. These things left no room for undergarments. A blessing in this heat. ¡°Of course,¡± Jasi said and complied turning to stare at the closed door. ¡°I was taken by surprise.¡± ¡°I was surprised as well,¡± Elsanne murmured. ¡°Hah,¡± Jasi chuckled not getting her meaning. ¡°Well, I would have returned sooner, but there was a big commotion in the market. Property damaged, a couple of people injured. Strangely, either a very large dog was the culprit, or a pirate wench. I guess the latter shouldn¡¯t come as a surprise¡ª¡± ¡°She was here,¡± Elsanne replied. ¡°Vale that is. She went out of that window, a wolf after her. I think she¡¯s dead.¡± ¡°Vale is a woman?¡± Jasi cleared his throat and turned around. Elsanne was buttoning her clean black shirt. It was made out of soft thin cotton and her loose white hair was contrasting on it. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°She wanted my water,¡± Elsanne replied, not going into the details. ¡°At first I thought it¡¯s a thing here, but it isn¡¯t. So Van Fleet sent his dog after her.¡± Jasi licked his lips worried. ¡°Did you talk with him?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t have the chance, seeing as I was rudely assaulted by that pervert!¡± And you¡¯ve just spilled the beans girl. Bravo. ¡°Did she touch you?¡± ¡°I sure touched her,¡± Elsanne chuckled, afore turning serious. ¡°What will you say? If they learn who you are, they might sell you to the Cofols, or the Prince,¡± Jasi muttered unhappy. ¡°The Prince has left already for the forts,¡± Elsanne argued. ¡°Well that¡¯s helpful, but there are merchants from the Peninsula here,¡± Jasi explained. ¡°That darn Sopats would pay them good coin to have a dark-skinned Issir as slave.¡± What? ¡°I¡¯m no slave!¡± Elsanne snapped and stood up straighter. ¡°I¡¯m Kaltha¡¯s¡­¡± She glanced at the door remembering Sam waited outside and frowned. ¡°Lon-Iv is the strangest of the bunch, but he is into profit more than pleasure,¡± Jasi explained. ¡°We dodged a bolt here, but still it¡¯s a risk.¡± ¡°I shall keep it in mind,¡± Elsanne replied haughtily. ¡°Tell them we are ready.¡± ¡°Anne, there¡¯ll be no announcements,¡± Jasi said with a smile. ¡°People don¡¯t do that outside a court. If you¡¯re ready, we just waltz out of here.¡± Elsanne pouted not necessarily convinced, but after a thoughtful moment she nodded softly with her head. Jasi rolled his eyes afore opening the door.
There was a door behind the counter that led into a large room, ¡®Honest¡¯ Fleet used as an office, but to Elsanne it looked more like a warehouse with a desk for the austere pirate captain. The rum barrels were lined up against the walls and what little room was left while clean, smelled of spirits and sausages. There was a man waiting inside with Van Fleet and just before Elsanne and Jasi lead by Sam entered through the open door, a tall Lorian followed by a blond pants-wearing woman, a large sword strapped on her waist, cut in front of them. Jasi stopped her from admonishing the rude couple and the blond with the weather-beaten face, gave her an onceover afore getting inside and slamming the door in their face. Why you annoying¡­ ¡°I¡¯ll come along,¡± Burton said and tossed a towel on the counter. ¡°Don¡¯t anyone think o¡¯ leavin¡¯ without payin¡¯ the girls!¡± He warned his few unsavory customers, several of them giving him reassuring nods. Elsanne was sure most would bolt it out of the door the moment he was away. Burton murmured under his breath probably thinking the same thing, grabbed the knob and pushed the door open. He entered, Elsanne following right behind him and stopped dead in her tracks seeing the blond woman striking the man she was escorting at the back of the head with the pommel of her cutlass. The man went down to his knees and Van Fleet stood up from his well-lacquered blackwood desk, an extremely expensive material, the furniture looking out of place inside the crude room. ¡°Here I be ruminatin¡¯,¡± Van Fleet started pressing his lips into a thin line. ¡°How could that harlot dare sleep in me venue, then assault a memb¡¯r of the brotherhood and treat her alike a hooker,¡± Elsanne flinched at that. ¡°When I was informed it was ye Quint that had been dippin¡¯ yer whore-pipe into the Baphomet¡¯s vile¡­¡± he paused to glance at the cold face of Elsanne and cleared his throat. ¡°I stand bewildered is my meaning and disappointed.¡± ¡°I was drunk,¡± Quint grunted, holding his swollen head. ¡°She tricked me captain.¡± ¡°Tricked ye you say. So you spent the night wit her drinking some more, then rented a room for the next day and all of the next night. That¡¯s a lot of trickin¡¯¡­ yet it¡¯s Bald¡¯s broth¡¯r that has gotten the moniker,¡± Van Fleet turned red in the face, but again managed to hold his tongue, the effort not to lash out noteworthy. ¡°Given we are in the presence of guests,¡± he continued wiping the sweat off of his forehead with a silk hankie. ¡°Thou find yerself blessed by Luthos Quint, which is baffling considering you¡¯re a right idiot.¡± ¡°She don¡¯t mind,¡± the blonde said, over Quint¡¯s protests, glancing her way. Elsanne frowned unsure where the woman was going with this. ¡°Mutiny,¡± Van Fleet said and it took a moment for Elsanne to realize it was the hard-faced woman¡¯s moniker. ¡°I called for ye instead of ¡®Salty¡¯ because yer sensitive in these matters.¡± ¡°I am,¡± Mutiny Carter apparently agreed. ¡°What¡¯s that got to do wit punishing him Captain? Quint knew yer orders. Vale is poison.¡± Van Fleet scrunched his hawkish nose, the Issir pirate one of the few Issirs Elsanne had spotted in Eikenport. ¡°Ye make a lot of sense for a woman,¡± he finally said crooking his mouth. ¡°Cut his pinky finger off,¡± he finally decided. Elsanne gasped not expecting it. Quint grunted and made to run, but Carter used her sword to calm him down. ¡°Now,¡± she said with a cruel smile. ¡°He may need his fingers Captain for the count.¡± ¡°Eh, again ye make sense,¡± Van Fleet grunted and looked about the room for help. Burton smacked his lips. ¡°Yes Bald Burton?¡± The pirate Captain asked. ¡°An ear, to better learn to listen,¡± the tavern keeper offered and glanced at the freaked out Elsanne. ¡°It¡¯s relatively painless,¡± he explained. ¡°No it bloody isn¡¯t!¡± Quint protested ogling his eyes.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°Fifty lashes?¡± Sam chanced, with everyone else murmuring, Carter the most vocal of the bunch. ¡°In this darn heat? Why just bend me over the desk like a short-heeled lass¡ª¡± ¡°Mutiny!¡± Van Fleet snapped. ¡°Let¡¯s keep it civil here, we¡¯re not a bunch of cutthroats for cryin¡¯ out loud!¡± ¡°Actually,¡± Sam started saying, but Burton stopped him with a well-placed elbow in the kidneys. Jasi who was watching the exchange from the sides cleared his throat to get everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°Yes, strangely effeminate person?¡± Van Fleet probed trying to keep it polite. ¡°Take his jewels away,¡± the eunuch suggested with a sinister grin. Everyone recoiling at his idea even Mutiny Carter. ¡°Jasi, this isn¡¯t funny,¡± Elsanne admonished him. ¡°Yes,¡± Quint agreed looking at the eunuch with hatred. ¡°Who in Abrakas toes is this wierd dude anyway?¡± ¡°He¡¯s a friend,¡± Elsanne explained and Van Fleet frowned afore Carter came up with a compromise. ¡°He needs his cock,¡± the pirate woman said, ¡°But has no need for nipples right?¡± Good grief, Elsanne thought with a shiver. Surely no one would ever¡­ But despite her reluctance, or discomfort, everyone else thought Carter¡¯s idea fantastic. So Quint went under the knife.
¡°You¡¯re alright there Anne?¡± Jasi asked her. Elsanne had almost fainted when Carter cut the fleshy bits out of Quint¡¯s chest, the man obviously in a much worse condition than her. ¡°Give me a moment,¡± she croaked, her hands shaking. ¡°They are finished,¡± Jasi explained patiently. ¡°We need to talk with them. Forget about what happened.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t just¡­¡± ¡°You can,¡± Jasi stopped her. ¡°When I was nine, your husband¡¯s father ordered me cut and bled. So they took me one morning and dragged me to the stables. I remember the knife still. It was very small, but incredibly sharp. The man holding it. It was very painful Anne and the wound never heals.¡± Elsanne gulped down and breathed deeply. ¡°Oh no, Jasi that¡¯s horrible!¡± ¡°It was then, it is now. What Quint got, he can fix with a couple of tattoos Anne,¡± Jasi replied, his face tensed. ¡°Not everyone is so lucky.¡± Elsanne remembered the Crimson Band¡¯s captain¡¯s wife and children. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± she murmured and got up. ¡°It was thoughtless of me.¡± Jasi stood back and looked at her amazed. ¡°By gods you are the first royal that should never have to apologize given your character and what you¡¯ve been through, yet you do it with no thought. It will be a crime for this cruel realm to lose you Anne.¡±
Captain Van Fleet stood next to his desk with Burton, both men reading a nautical map. It was held open with a couple of silver goblets and placed on top of a big water barrel. Carter was clearing the blood off the floor with a dirty cloth singing a rowdy tune. Sam had carried the unconscious Quint up to the room he¡¯d rented earlier. Elsanne walked carefully to avoid stepping on the stained floor and paused nervously waiting for the Captain to finish his talk. Carter, stooped before her feet, turned around and gave the ¡®masqueraded¡¯ princess an onceover. ¡°You don¡¯t remember me,¡± the pirate woman murmured. ¡°We¡¯ve met?¡± Elsanne asked and returned her stare anxiously. Mutiny Carter chuckled. ¡°Been two years almost. Here in Eikenport, I watched you step out of the Corsair¡¯s Gold wit Dawson. Ye looked like a girl then, but yer all woman now aren¡¯t ye?¡± Elsanne frowned, not expecting it. ¡°You are mistaken,¡± she lied unconvincingly, seeing as the older woman was right on both counts. Carter stood up, wiped her hands and tossed the bloody cloth over some unopened small barrels. She sucked her upper lip, then let it go audibly. ¡°Yer terribly at lyin¡¯ Jade Eyes,¡± the pirate lady taunted. ¡°See to work on it.¡± ¡°Sister Anne,¡± Captain Fleet said turning their way, before she could attempt to save it. Not that Elsanne could think of something witty to say. Usually people didn¡¯t question her words¡­ ¡°I must get somethin¡¯ out of the way,¡± the older Issir added. Van Fleet looked to be in his late forties. ¡°What would that be?¡± She asked with a small voice, her heart beating wild in her chest. ¡°How do you know ¡®Yellow¡¯ Dawson?¡± ¡­so Carter helped her. ¡°She came wit him, a couple of years back,¡± Mutiny said. ¡°Part of the Prince¡¯s entourage.¡± ¡°Ah, ye mean this whatchamacallit¡­?¡± Van Fleet asked. ¡°That¡¯s unusual. Whatever you did for Dawson, must have made an impression.¡± ¡°He wanted to help,¡± Elsanne croaked nervously. ¡°I¡¯m sure he did,¡± Van Fleet agreed. ¡°We shan¡¯t judge the whys here. If he believes you are part of the brotherhood, then his wishes shall be respected. I must¡­ eh, apologize for Captain Vale. Her father was a great man, the daughter¡­ has few friends, let us say.¡± ¡°I would have thought she had none,¡± Elsanne said surprised. ¡°Well, she does, strange as it may sound,¡± Van Fleet grimaced and reached for a carafe to refill a goblet on his desk. ¡°Do ye partake in rum?¡± Elsanne made to refuse, but Jasi cleared his throat and she nodded. ¡°Burton is this the good stuff? She doesn¡¯t appear enthusiastic.¡± ¡°I had her taste my recipe yesterday,¡± Burton explained sounding aloof. ¡°Good grief, no wonder she paled at the mention,¡± Van Fleet laughed and got another goblet for her. ¡°Here, sit down lass. Tell us what we can do for you.¡± Elsanne found a chair and collapsed on it puffing out. Jasi sat next to her with a small smile at the frowning Burton. ¡°I thought your rum was decent all things considered,¡± he told him reassuringly. Burton raised his brows surprised. ¡°You¡¯re a first alright. Haven¡¯t decided if it¡¯s rum, or not yet, but I¡¯ll put yer endorsement to good use for sure. All things considered.¡± ¡°Why, this is turnin¡¯ out to be a rather cultured event,¡± Van Fleet decided, the whole matter of the maimed Quint apparently forgotten and stretched himself on his chair, his strange sword clanging behind the desk. ¡°Now, Miss Anne?¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to return to Issir¡¯s Eagle,¡± Elsanne blurted out and the room turned silent immediately, other than Carter¡¯s muffled snort behind her back. ¡°If it¡¯s possible,¡± Elsanne added in a barely audible murmur. Van Fleet grimaced, reached for his goblet and downed its contents in a go. Blinked once, the drink strong enough for Elsanne to smell from where she sat and looked at her. ¡°Now Anne,¡± he started. ¡°I find myself in a bit of a conundrum here. Yer obviously well-mannered, a lady even. That much is obvious and of course an Issir, so I¡¯ll admit my bias. I want to help, but what you¡¯re asking will have a lot of good buccaneers die of hemp fever.¡± Elsanne blinked unsure on his meaning, but also worried. ¡°Ahm, that sounds excessive¡ª¡± she mumbled and felt Carter breathe next to her ear. ¡°He means hanged Jade Eyes,¡± the pirate woman whispered. Ugh. ¡°By the neck,¡± Burton elucidated casually. ¡°Until they are dead.¡± ¡°You see sister,¡± Van Fleet picked up the thread. ¡°Whilst our ancestors, my great-great grandfather or thereabouts, and I¡¯m sure yours as well, fought wit Reinut, Kaltha hates pirates. Most Issirs do for some reason.¡± You¡¯re torturing and killing people? Elsanne licked her dry lips slowly. ¡°All Kingdoms do.¡± ¡°One King tries to one up the other, or worse, but given the opportunity they¡¯ll hang our brethren wit the same enthusiasm,¡± he sighed visibly troubled and stared at a half furled map he¡¯d in front of him. The same he was reading earlier. ¡°You are asking me to give them the opportunity. So I must ask you why?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll take any port,¡± Jasi said quickly and Van Fleet stared at him with his hard pale-blue eyes. ¡°Why ask for Kaltha¡¯s capital then?¡± ¡°They look for an opportunity to get out of Eikenport Captain, if one arises,¡± Carter intervened. ¡°Right Burton?¡± The tavern keeper flinched not expecting it and then nodded quickly. ¡°Aye, you¡¯re not in a hurry Anne, right?¡± He asked nervously. ¡°We¡¯re not,¡± Jasi replied as Elsanne was hampered and didn¡¯t know what to say. ¡°When is ¡®Yellow Dawson¡¯ back?¡± Van Fleet asked. ¡°A month, two at the most,¡± Burton replied. ¡°This could turn ugly,¡± Van Fleet warned him. ¡°We need the ships here.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Elsanne asked. ¡°Eh, we might have trouble come knocking on Eikenport soon,¡± he explained to her. ¡°What trouble?¡± she insisted, thinking of Prince Radin. ¡°First Garth comes, but we make a deal wit him, then the ¡®Three Hundred¡¯ and a darn Prince,¡± Van Fleet explained then paused unsure if he should continue, until Mutiny Carter urged him. ¡°Tell her.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Van Fleet queried and Burton puffed his cheeks out very troubled. ¡°It has nothing to do wit her. She¡¯s in no danger now and I doubt she¡¯ll be in any on the morrow.¡± Elsanne frowned. ¡°You¡¯ll leave her here Honest Fleet?¡± Carter asked him accusingly. ¡°Of course I won¡¯t, I was just about to suggest a compromise!¡± Van Fleet blasted her. ¡°I promised to help her,¡± Burton intervened to calm the tempers down. ¡°And I shall do just that. So I don¡¯t need ye Captain.¡± ¡°Ah, damn you,¡± Van Fleet cursed and refilled his goblet, eyeing Elsanne that hadn¡¯t touched hers. She brought it to her mouth and tasted it. The smallest of sips burned her tongue and made her eyes water. A tear run down her cheek, hopefully no one saw, she thought. ¡°You¡¯re alright there Anne?¡± Burton asked seeing her all flushed and teary. ¡°Aye,¡± she muttered sounding strangled. ¡°Let¡¯s give her a moment,¡± Burton suggested. ¡°Have some air dear,¡± he suggested and Elsanne nodded and got up quickly. She walked to the door, hearing Carter ordering Jasi to stay behind. ¡°Aye,¡± Van Fleet agreed sounding relieved. ¡°Let ¡®em women talk about their own stuff, right gents?¡±
¡°I just need a bit of air,¡± Elsanne said quickly turning around, but the woman shushed her and grabbed her elbow to pull her aside. She glanced at the open door to the backroom of the tavern and then sighed. ¡°What is it?¡± Elsanne hissed and removed her arm out of her claws. ¡°There¡¯s an army at Devil¡¯s Cove,¡± Carter said, snorting at her reaction. ¡°It¡¯s been there for a year almost. Building a port and blocking the road to Raoz.¡± ¡°I know that,¡± Elsanne spat and pulled away. ¡°The Prince is looking for a way to get to them.¡± ¡°Aha, he maybe thinks that, but give it enough time and they might come our way.¡± Elsanne frowned. ¡°Why would they move now?¡± Carter pressed her lips tight, wrinkles appearing on her sea-weathered face. ¡°The King,¡± she said pausing as if pondering whether to tell her more. ¡°What King?¡± Elsanne asked raising a hand on her throat, her pulse thundering. ¡°Ah, darn ye Anne,¡± Carter shook her head right and left. ¡°I suppose you could¡¯ve picked yer maid¡¯s name, but still people would have noticed. The Prince brought back an Issir Princess for a wife. It was big news then for such a remote port.¡± Elsanne clasped her shaking hands in front of her. ¡°Who else knows?¡± ¡°Right now? I guess me, but sooner or later, people will put two and two together.¡± ¡°Which King?¡± Elsanne hissed. ¡°Kaltha¡¯s,¡± Carter replied. ¡°Regia¡¯s.¡± ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°Alistair is dead is the word and yer broth¡¯r on his way there,¡± Carter replied with a grimace. Antoon how? ¡°His wife died on childbirth and people think the heir was never delivered,¡± the cruel woman added. Poor Nienke, oh my allgods no! ¡°There¡¯s an heir?¡± Elsanne whispered and reached for the wall. She put a hand on to keep herself upright, the news devastating. ¡°A man came from Kaltha,¡± Carter said. ¡°Looking for help, searching for you.¡± Elsanne slid down on her weak knees, the tavern a blur. Everything around her turning a sinister grey. A raven flapped its wings, the black eyes wise in their cruelness. Bend the knee, it had croaked years ago. But it wasn¡¯t addressing her. ¡°Help?¡± she croaked, her stomach turning into a knot. ¡°Pirate help,¡± Mutiny Carter replied and kneeled next to her. ¡°Better to talk with him yourself, because Van Fleet and the Captains weren¡¯t fond of his offer. All those broth¡¯rs rotting in Caspo O¡¯ Bor leave no room for polite conversation. Ask Leo, she¡¯ll tell you. Pieces of her dad are probably still there.¡± Uher shed yer light, Elsanne prayed desperately. Show me the way. But the god was silent and despite the heat, she was shivering uncontrollably. ¡°If the baby heir is fake,¡± Carter whispered in her ear, her words like blades. ¡°Or up and dies. You¡ª¡± ¡°NAAHH!¡± Elsanne cried and pushed her away to get up. ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear it. That¡¯s my family Carter!¡± Her pain turned to fear and then panic. ¡°Sweet girl,¡± the pirate woman said without malice, seeing her shuddering on her feet again. ¡°People are dying in yer name already and if I¡¯m right that army is already on the move. For what¡¯s worth I don¡¯t envy you. You do have a choice though and true power, none of these murdering fools beyond the sea have. But ye have to play yer cards right and I¡¯m not sure you can.¡±
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 248. If the heir is fake (2/2)
Article I Every person in the brotherhood is family and shall be treated as such. No carousing wit the fairer members, be it mothers, or sisters, without their consent. Each member has an equal voice and the right to parley, if they¡¯ve being wronged, or treated unjustly. - The Articles Presumably Lord Reinut¡¯s instructions for the members of the Brotherhood of Gentlemen, According to the strictly adhered to Pirate Code. (Herein Article I, paragraphs 1-3) Unknown date, before the start of the New Calendar
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Princess Elsanne Eikenaar ¡®Jade Eyes¡¯ Fair Anne Burton If the heir is fake Part II (A Queen prancing about¡­)
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In the end of Spring, the year one and ninety of the new calendar, Prince Nout that had kept the mauled remnants of the First Foot trapped in Sadofort, after smashing through the Duchy¡¯s defenses the previous summer, collapsed in his tent stricken by the corrosive illness he carried since his heroics at Esterlam¡¯s Crevice. His men seeing the comatose famed general remain unresponsive, retreated from their positions towards Rida in a desperate attempt to save his life. They left a thin screen behind and used the Khan¡¯s chariots to make the return trip as fast as they could. Once the first officers departed, the whole force did. It was an unfortunate setback that was just about to blacken the Khan¡¯s successful for the most part two year campaign. Prince Atpa, Nout¡¯s younger brother, unaware of his fate had finally decided to move under the scorching hot sun. The reasons for delaying his assault on the fort, while given in his war memoirs, sounds hollow today given his later actions. Atpa wanted Sadofort¡¯s guard thoroughly demoralized and weakened. He managed all that for sure, but he could have attacked much earlier. Atpa was a very cautious, as much as cunning commander and not a fool. His inaction, largely glossed over these days, allowed the trapped soldiers inside Sadofort to survive long enough for Sir Robert Van Durren -now commanding all units of the expeditionary force- to act. The late Lord Joep¡¯s firstborn and effectively the Baron of Badum, decided to break out by striking the weakened Prince Nout¡¯s holding force. It was more a heroic last punch than an exodus, but when the mixed force of the remnants of the First Foot, joined by the garrison of Sadofort reached the Cofol lines near the Queen¡¯s Oasis they realized the road was open. The Queen¡¯s Oasis second battle was a mere skirmish. Sir Robert gathered his men ¨Calong the five hundred strong garrison from Sadofort- as much supplies they could muster from the ruined Prince¡¯s Nout¡¯s abandoned camp and marched southeast away from the pursuing Atpa¡¯s cavalry. The Issirs and Lorians from Raoz marched into the desert. This force of almost three thousand men, two thousand soldiers and a thousand civilians, eight hundred animals and two hundred wagons were ill prepared for what they were about to face. The horrific three and a half month journey through the desert would kill one in two men, women, children, or animals, from hunger and the absence of water. While the guides and the desert-familiar locals knew the paths and the water holes, there wasn¡¯t enough for everyone. Lord Robert would come out of the desert at the end of summer and fall on the well-drilled marching force from Scaldingport under his old friend Sir Gust De Weer. It was a small miracle more than thirty unlucky scouts weren¡¯t killed in the initial shock and violence that had exploded when they made contact on the road to Tirifort. Sir Gust had defied the King¡¯s Council initial orders to march on Rida and threaten Prince Sahand¡¯s main army¡¯s supply lines -the Heir to the Khanate had moved to Altarin to block the Second Foot¡¯s advance- and opted instead to smash through to Eikenport whatever the cost and secure Princess Elsanne. The whereabouts of the Princess were a complete mystery, as no one had seen her since Riverdor. While Lord Ruud would paint a different picture later, this must have been all pre-agreed, the orders given in advance to the rather straightforward Sir Gust by the cunning old Lord of Scaldingport, who cynically lay the blame for the change in strategy to his ¡®romantic¡¯ son. Lord Robert upon learning what had happened, it was the first time in a year that news had reached him, ordered Sir Gust to turn around and assist him against Atpa¡¯s Army of the Desert. The only force the Khan had relatively close to Rida. Unsurprisingly the young noble wanted to avenge the death of his father the previous year. Without getting into the logistics, be it numbers (the two young leaders did have over four thousand soldiers and cavalry between them) or real strategic value of such an action, we must note here that a message arrived the next morning and put everything into perspective. Eventually making the chasm between the two allies and longtime friends deepen even more.
- Jasi had taken one look on Elsanne¡¯s gloomy face and realized something was wrong. He made to rise from his chair, but she stopped him placing her small hand on his shoulder. ¡°We shall speak later,¡± she told him. Elsanne turned to the expecting pirate Captain next, after taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. ¡°You spoke of a counter offer Captain Fleet. A compromise.¡± Van Fleet frowned and glanced at the man that was with him earlier. Apparently there was another unseen entrance to the backroom. The Issir with the cracked, horrifically scarred face nodded. The exchange swift, but it deepened the frown on the Captain¡¯s face. ¡°We can give you passage to Lord¡¯s Burrow,¡± he finally rustled looking at Elsanne. ¡°It¡¯s a safe place for those allied with the brotherhood. Somewhere to stay, without fear until something better can be arranged.¡± ¡°I see,¡± Elsanne said. ¡°Thank you Captain. I¡¯ll take your offer, but I¡¯d like a small favor.¡± Van Fleet pushed back on his chair. ¡°Name it Anne. You can speak freely here.¡± Well, we are about to put that to the test, she thought. Elsanne felt numb, as if she was in a dream, or a nightmare. One she didn¡¯t know how to get out of. ¡°I want to speak with the man from Kaltha.¡± Van Fleet cast his eyes on Mutiny Carter, visibly not pleased. ¡°It appears I was hasty in me praise earlier Carter,¡± he grunted. ¡°Is this some kind of elaborate scheme, I just can¡¯t see? Why, I be feelin¡¯ stupidly left out and we¡¯re not even quiffing lass, if the good sister pardon me words.¡± ¡°I used it to explain yer reasoning Captain,¡± Mutiny retorted. ¡°What¡¯s happening there seemed relevant?¡± ¡°Did it now?¡± Van Fleet snorted, not convinced. ¡°Why would she care? I wish Dawson was here, so we can all be further enlightened on the finer details. This all seems very mysterious to the plain folk given the timing.¡± ¡°Anne, why is this important?¡± Jasi asked fearing the deal may fall apart. ¡°Yes Anne, why is it?¡± The Captain asked. ¡°Is my request so challenging?¡± She countered bravely. ¡°You could just refuse dear sir.¡± ¡°Eh, I feel yer making me appear unreasonable my lass,¡± Van Fleet muttered. ¡°I¡¯m trying to help ye, but your requests are anything but simple.¡± Ah, she thought her mind finally working again. ¡°Why?¡± Elsanne asked him point blank. ¡°Is he dead?¡± ¡°Anne!¡± Jasi blurted anxiously. Van Fleet sighed and glanced at the scarred pirate. ¡°Salty? How about givin¡¯ me a line here?¡± ¡°He can talk,¡± the man replied. ¡°Well, since mister Reed is givin¡¯ us his assurances about the man¡¯s condition, we can resolve this unpleasant impasse. I swear I feel like I¡¯m walkin¡¯ on eggs here,¡± Van Fleet complained. ¡°And I haven¡¯t smelled omelet in a week. Come to think of it an¡¯ grasping at the bloody opportunity, why haven¡¯t I Burton?¡± He asked the tavern keeper. ¡°The bank¡¯s mercenaries have cornered the market,¡± he replied. ¡°There are not enough chicks for the demand. Given the choice between payin¡¯ customers an¡¯ the other kind, most venues opt for the former.¡± ¡°Here then, the veil is lifted and now we know.¡± ¡°Captain, I¡¯d like an answer,¡± Elsanne cut in as politely as she could. Van Fleet smacked his lips and turned to a guarded Elsanne. ¡°You can talk with him. He¡¯s been roughed up a bit, since I found his reasoning lacking substance.¡± ¡°How bad is it?¡± Elsanne asked him frowning. ¡°Better to focus on how lucky he is,¡± Van Fleet replied truthfully. ¡°If ye haven¡¯t asked for him, Salty had my blessings to feed him to the pigs. There as well, we don¡¯t have enough fodder for the demand.¡±
The door behind the fake large barrel led to a basement. ¡®Salty¡¯ Reed opened it for her and stepped aside. Elsanne followed by Jasi holding a candle holder walked down the few steps, the walls wet and mouldy. She paused for her eyes to get accustomed to the sinister surroundings, the place under Burton¡¯s tavern a torture room with two open cells. One of them occupied. Elsanne walked towards the man sitting in a short stall holding her breath. The aged Issir turned his bald head hearing her approaching worried, face illuminated by a torch on the wall. He¡¯d a swollen right eye and blood on his dirty black robes, one of his naked feet covered in gory bandages and missing a couple of toes, but Elsanne recognized him immediately and paused in shock, heart in her throat. ¡°Yes?¡± the man asked looking at the emotional young woman. ¡°Who are¡­?¡± ¡°Oh, my allgods,¡± Elsanne gasped and walked to him. ¡°Sigurd, what have they done to you?¡± Sigurd blinked recognizing her and made to stand, but she stopped him hugging his thin shoulders. ¡°Elsanne¡­ my fair Princess. Ah, Oras black heart,¡± Sigurd murmured in disbelief. ¡°How?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± Elsanne sniffled hugging him desperately. ¡°I¡¯m going to get you out of this awful place!¡± ¡°Is the Prince here?¡± Sigurd asked pulling away equally moved, but alarmed. ¡°Ah, how you¡¯ve grown Princess. By gods I thought I¡¯ll never see you again.¡± ¡°He¡¯s not,¡± Elsanne replied and wiped her eyes, with a glance at Jasi who was standing a couple of meters away, a guarded expression on his face. ¡°It¡¯s been a while,¡± she added shyly. ¡°It has,¡± Sigurd agreed and tried to stand again, this time managing it unsteadily. ¡°I¡¯ve tried to stop them from taking you. I¡¯ve failed your grace.¡± ¡°Leave the past be Sigurd, what happened to my brother?¡± She asked quickly. Kaltha¡¯s Minister of the Interior and Master of Silence grimaced and looked desperate for a moment, before catching himself. ¡°The Realm cracked,¡± he finally said. ¡°Everything is going to come crashing down unless we move fast.¡± ¡°Speak to me old friend,¡± Elsanne asked. She¡¯d have known Lord Bach for all her life, the man had been appointed by her late father in the last years of his reign. ¡°They tried to kill him in the tower,¡± Sigurd recalled with a haunted look. ¡°Brazenly and with disregard to any decency, or compassion, they used the pregnant Queen to lure him in,¡± he clenched his chin hard, the failure to protect her brother gnawing at him. ¡°He can¡¯t talk Princess, the King is all but gone.¡± A pale Elsanne nodded, then overwhelmed took a step back and out of the small cell to breathe. ¡°Have a seat Anne,¡± Jasi told her worried. ¡°It¡¯s all right Jasi,¡± she murmured. ¡°Who is he?¡± Sigurd asked and stepped out of his cell as well with difficulty. ¡°A friend,¡± Elsanne replied. ¡°What happened to Nienke Sigurd?¡± Lord Bach licked his thin dark lips slowly thinking about it. ¡°No one knows Princess. Lord Est Ravn ordered Sir Shane to protect her during the chaos of the assassination attempt. According to him Sir Shane took the Queen away, but was attacked en route and cut down protecting her. Lots of bodies at the scene, but no knight. At any rate and unfortunately, the Queen perished as well giving birth, the good knight¡¯s efforts wasted.¡± ¡°I knew about poor Nienke. Where¡¯s the baby?¡± Elsanne croaked. ¡°Allgods I can¡¯t believe the Priest Knight of Midlanor has fallen as well.¡± ¡°None of this is confirmed Princess,¡± Sigurd grunted a little forcefully and she frowned snapping out of her wells of grief. ¡°The knight is gone, the Queen removed from the city and her body buried with no neutral witnesses, or the Palace¡¯s Dottore seal. The baby delivered in the dark and now at the hands of Lord Est Ravn in Midlanor.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that a good thing, all things considered?¡± Elsanne queried. ¡°Princess, there is no way the Queen delivered amidst the carnage of the attack,¡± Sigurd grunted his face hardening. ¡°The baby couldn¡¯t have survived the long journey on horseback. It never left its mother¡¯s womb! Lord Anker is lying about it and about the gender as well in the unlikely occasion a miracle happened.¡± ¡°How do you know?¡± ¡°Nienke was sure it was a girl,¡± Sigurd replied harshly. ¡°She confined it to the Dottore. I trust the man.¡± Luckless Nienke shouldn¡¯t have apparently. ¡°That¡¯s not enough,¡± Elsanne gasped and regarded him tensely. ¡°But it is,¡± Sigurd argued sternly and returned her scowl standing up straighter. Despite not being as tall as she remembered him, she felt apprehensive in his presence. Old habits were difficult to break. Elsanne gulped down and stared at her leather boots. Her legs looked long in the tight pants, as if they belonged to someone else. Everything seemed wrong and out of place. ¡°The Council is divided,¡± she murmured. ¡°The Council is at war,¡± Sigurd countered and made to touch her arm, but she pulled away. The man sighed and cast his eyes on the nervous Jasi. ¡°Lord Anker declared the baby the King¡¯s Heir, but Lords had already declared for you.¡± ¡°Was that you?¡± she asked him. ¡°Your Grace is the gods choice, unblemished from mysteries and of undisputed lineage,¡± Sigurd insisted. ¡°A baby delivered in mystery and with no witnesses could be anyone, I made that clear to anyone with ears. No fake heir will sit the throne Princess. I shan¡¯t have it.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have the Van Durrens, or the Est Ravns. The Van de Aesst shall side with Lord Anker and Lord Vanzon will follow, which means the Crulls will as well. They can¡¯t do otherwise. The De Weers have never gone against the throne¡ª¡± ¡°You are the throne!¡± Sigurd snapped before catching himself and took a big breath to stabilize his weak legs. ¡°Lord Vanzon is dead, his line all but wiped out and an O¡¯ Dargan rules in Krankenhall,¡± Sigurd said tiredly and Elsanne blinked not expecting the turn of events. ¡°The Crulls are in big trouble as the ¡®Bloody Tiger¡¯ has been waging war on them for two years. A right mess.¡±If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Regia has attacked us?¡± Elsanne gasped. What happened to the realm? She wondered horrified. ¡°Lucius fights for himself and King Jeremy rules in Regia with a Crow for a wife, but allow me to finish Princess,¡± Sigurd explained with a grimace. ¡°Lord Ruud declined Lord Anker¡¯s offer and the Van Oords of Castalor followed his lead. The Lakelords, no one with half-a-brain can trust and that leaves the Van Durrens of Riverdor and Badum. Well Lord Joep is dead, his son trapped on Eplas and the old Lord of Riverdor is very slow to make decisions. Not with your brother still living. Some would call it loyalty, but I think it¡¯s foolish though useful. Lord Anker¡¯s alliance is thin.¡± ¡°Yet, you are here,¡± Elsanne said and pushed her white curls away from her cold face. There was a chill inside the basement that reeked of sweat, mold and rat excrement. ¡°The people rose up after the priests declared the king had been gravely injured,¡± Sigurd elucidated. ¡°Why would you¡­ go on,¡± Elsanne murmured, a little frustrated. ¡°By the laws of succession and in the absence of a will after the untimely demise of Prince Kasper, I proposed his Royal sister should take the Wyvern Throne and took it to a vote in the Council the same day.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t know about Nienke¡¯s fate yet,¡± Elsanne noticed. ¡°I took a guess. Lord Anker did the same.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve made Lord Anker your enemy.¡± ¡°I did,¡± came Sigurd¡¯s determined reply. ¡°Scaldingport, Castalor, Tollor and Pascor, voted aye like I had. Caspo O¡¯ Bor, Midlanor and Kelholt voted for a baby no one knows if it exists. Badum had no one present, Krakenhall¡¯s Duchess declared independence and abstained. The Crulls are probably up to their necks in mud, or dead, so they couldn¡¯t answer in time.¡± You didn¡¯t give them any time. ¡°Lord Anker lost the vote,¡± Elsanne murmured and bit her lip. ¡°It¡¯s in his rights to ask for another.¡± ¡°Semantics,¡± Sigurd retorted. ¡°I had the news spread the next day. People in Issir¡¯s Eagle thought your claim was just Princess. The word will spread soon enough. Unfortunately Lord Anker is a sore loser.¡± ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°He sent an army to the capital to ensure the King¡¯s health,¡± Sigurd replied with a grimace. ¡°I ordered the Royal Guard to close the gates on them and raised the alarm. The Mayor asked Lord Anker to remove his troops beyond the Red Bridge or else.¡± Elsanne gasped and clasped her heart, her shirt constricting suddenly. ¡°Lord Anker would never retreat,¡± she murmured realizing what had happened. ¡°Why are you here Sigurd?¡± -
That same summer, the year one and ninety of the new Calendar, parts of the Second Foot reached Kaltha¡¯s capital and joined a large force of soldiers of the Order of the Golden Spears led by their new commander Sir Albert Kosters. The man had been promoted in Sir Shane¡¯s place. This large force remained outside the sturdy walls as the large city¡¯s Mayor Remus De Hond refused them entry unless they surrendered their weapons. Lord Anker, present at the meeting held over the Red Bridge refused citing it was ¡®the gravest of insults¡¯ and called the mayor a dog lacking his manhood parts amongst other colorful epithets. The Mayor took the insult to heart and ordered the Commander of the Royal Guard Sir Kobus Van Eunen to close the city and prepare to remove fuming Lord Anker by force. Nothing happened for two days, as attacking the city with the men he had was deemed impossible by its defenders and with no navy to block the ports, it all appeared like pointless posturing by the livid Lord of Midlanor. It was the first of many false assumptions, as in the third day Lord Anker ordered the Second Foot to force its way inside the capital. The decent sized army moved to engage, bringing up machines and ladders, but the city¡¯s defenders ¨Cthe City Guard numbering around three thousand reinforced by the Royal Guard¡¯s around five thousand first-rate soldiers- rushed to the walls and bombarded the gathering engineers of the Second Foot with volley after volley from the tall thick walls. It was a massacre and a one sided affair doomed to failure and an hour later Lord Anker¡¯s mauled forces retreated. The rest of the day was spent with the jubilant citizens having a laugh at the powerful Lord¡¯s expense, mocking his shell-shocked soldiers gathering their crushed dead hidden behind parapets and then the euphoric defenders relaxed for the coming night, when it became apparent their attackers had cowered and were going to keep their distance. But they didn¡¯t. In the dead of night, in the third day of Issir¡¯s Eagle siege, Uher¡¯s ¡®Light of Justice¡¯ fell upon the massive North Gates facing Chinos River turning the night into day according to survivors. Divine miracle or not, the explosion had been so great it incinerated the six meters high steel-reinforced double gates, melted the portcullis and ripped a huge part of the adjoining walls out. Boulders, masonry and ten houses of the guard disappeared. Metal wrapped and a fire started so suddenly it caught the city by surprise. By the time the defenders realized what was going on the Second Foot and soldiers of the Golden Spears had stormed the city. A proud Reinut had vowed when he¡¯d finished work on the walls near the end of his reign that no enemy would ever breach his Capital¡¯s tall fortifications. ¡®My Issirs storm walls and burn fools down¡¯, he boasted to his old lieutenants and Captains, every one one of them he¡¯d made a lord and rich beyond their wildest dreams. The Great Reinut was right on both his boasts that day. No foreigner stormed the walls of Issir¡¯s Eagle and no foreigner set it alight. His own people did. With the fire spreading and the two armies clashing in the streets of the waking up in horror capital, things took a turn for the worse for both sides trapped in the inferno. The Second Foot got blocked before the massive White Tower by Sir Kobus second in command Sir Jan Duis, the narrow streets helping the gathering defenders. Unfortunately the City Guard had rushed to douse the fires and stop them from spreading towards the city¡¯s center through the Old Market¡¯s timber buildings. Civilians, women and children tried to help them in this great struggle that history should have regarded with more consideration. Not all didactic tales must reflect men at war. It must have been riddled with scenes worthy of many a plays, as from nobles to beggars, all castes of society mixed in with buckets, shovels or their bare hands fought valiantly with the flames. Calamity befalls those disregarding the past and its unnamed true heroes. While all this drama unfolded, the robed soldiers of the Golden Spears flanked the bulk of the Mayor¡¯s inner city defense and marched towards the palace grounds from the east killing everything that moved. Such was the carnage that it would take days for city¡¯s authorities to pick up the rotting bodies, the priests of Uher showing no mercy. Tales of atrocities and terrible events quickly spread throughout the Kingdom. People exploding, or melting away. Houses collapsing as if made out of cards and baleful shadowy figures that wielded Uher¡¯s power indiscriminately. The Mayor realizing the cost in human lives and despite Sir Kobus vehemently objecting, as he was slowly but surely winning the battle inside the city, decided to ask for terms from Lord Anker. Eight hours after the assault had started it ended with the Royal Guard retreating and leaving the immobilized King behind. Famed Sir Kobus, who would have probably won the battle against the cornered Second Foot and then turn against the lesser skilled and spread about Golden Spears fanatics, refused to abandon the King and took his own life falling on his sword, passing command of the strong, fast retreating towards the friendly City of Colle force, to Sir Jan Duis commonly referred to as Jan ¡®The Tall¡¯. Lord Anker gained the half-ruined capital with brute force, but his actions angered most people living under the Red Bridge border, the ¡®Mid Bridge¡¯ at Chinos River, splitting the great Kingdom in two and would make even his closest allies apprehensive of him. While few dared speak against the powerful Grand Duke of Midlanor, many turned their wrath and bitterness for the mayhem at the capital on the barely a couple months old then Antoon the Third. The big lords beyond that border and the occupied capital would turn their eyes to the West and the long lost Princess of Kaltha with renewed determination. No one acted though as the most powerful of them, the ¡®Old Crow¡¯, ancient Lord of Scaldingport Ruud De Weer kept his cards close to his chest. He did send the bulk of Scaldingport¡¯s forces to block the bridges and the approaches to Riverdor, while Castalor acting as his proxy dispatched everything they had to Colle, where the remnants of the aggrieved Royal Guard resided. In a bizarre inexplicable turn of events, Kaltha had gutted itself out right when the Khan¡¯s war effort had appeared to crumple. Unbeknownst to all of them that summer prolonged the war for years and gave the menacing ruler beyond the Pale Mountains the time he needed. About three hundred soldiers from each side perished in the brief siege of Issir¡¯s Eagle. Plus two hundred and sixty engineers. That was it. The number of civilians though, men, women and children lost in the city that burned for two more days are still unknown today, with estimates ranging from the low three thousand dead, to the firsthand account of Mayor De Hond¡¯s son, the famed Issir Historian Marc De Hond that raises the number to a heart-stopping thirty percent of the city burned with the casualties standing at ten percent. In a city numbering close to a hundred thousand souls that was a devastating number. The casualties telling of what had transpired.
- ¡°Good grief,¡± Jasi gasped horrified at Lord Bach¡¯s account of the events. Elsanne who had closed her eyes stunned at the information Sigurd had revealed, wrapped her arms to her chest and remained silent for a long contemplating moment. A part of her wished she¡¯d stayed back in Dia ignorant of everything and sad for her mundane life. The other parts urged her to do something. ¡°How did you leave?¡± ¡°A merchant came from Colle looking for new markets,¡± Sigurd replied and pressed a finger under his swollen bloodshot eye with a grimace of pain. ¡°Apparently Zilan have appeared in Wetull again.¡± ¡°They have,¡± Elsanne said. ¡°I know,¡± Sigurd clenched his jaw. ¡°I knew for years. Your brother knew as well. All this we did to keep the three Kingdoms together.¡± ¡°How? We can¡¯t keep our own people from killing each other Sigurd.¡± ¡°Lord Anker is responsible for that your Grace,¡± Sigurd said. ¡°The moment you return to Jelin, his illegitimate claim dies and everything will be normal again.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a war with the Khan,¡± Elsanne started glaring at him. ¡°Another with Lord Anker who I doubt will just decide to give his blessing to my claim and Sir Lucius playing soldiers in the North! How is this normal Sigurd?¡± ¡°Lucius lost the throne to his brother, it¡¯s not my concern whether he¡¯ll succeed or not. What he¡¯s doing shall bring him against everyone,¡± Sigurd replied. ¡°But you, your Grace, must be on a boat for Jelin as soon as possible, before the Prince realizes you¡¯re missing.¡± ¡°How do you know that?¡± ¡°I took a guess,¡± Sigurd repeated. ¡°He must be a fool to allow you to leave his hold.¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t,¡± Elsanne snapped. ¡°Is there an heir?¡± Sigurd asked and she blushed. ¡°No children for the Prince,¡± Jasi intervened. ¡°He had his own troubles to put his mind to it and had his attention split anyway.¡± Sigurd frowned and glanced at the flushed Elsanne unsure. ¡°Eh,¡± was all she managed to say. ¡°Prince Radin has another wife,¡± Jasi ratted her out, the shame revealed for all to see. ¡°That¡¯s great news,¡± Sigurd said appearing unbothered. What? ¡°A child would have given him a claim and weakened our position. Lord Anker¡¯s main argument will boil down to this anyway.¡± ¡°Sigurd!¡± Elsanne hissed. ¡°I¡¯m still married to the Prince!¡± ¡°That¡¯s irrelevant. You¡¯re not a common woman Princess, but an asset of Kaltha,¡± Sigurd countered and she frowned feeling insulted. ¡°As soon as you produce an heir we will legitimize him, even better we¡¯ll just annul the marriage right away. Was there a ceremony?¡± ¡°No,¡± Elsanne murmured uncomfortable. ¡°They don¡¯t really do it, given the number of wives they can have.¡± ¡°Good-good,¡± Sigurd retorted very pleased. Elsanne couldn¡¯t see a slither of goodness in it and she seethed in silence. ¡°It worked out for us.¡± How is any of this working? ¡°I¡¯m not sure¡­¡± Elsanne griped, before pausing to ask. ¡°Can we use the merchant to return?¡± ¡°No, we can¡¯t, but another will come.¡± ¡°The pirates can get us to Lord¡¯s Burrow.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s that?¡± Sigurd asked a little confused. ¡°It¡¯s a hidden pirate port,¡± Elsanne blurted out. ¡°We can¡¯t lose time Princess,¡± Sigurd protested. ¡°They might keep you there. They can¡¯t be trusted!¡± Eh, she thought. They are the only ones that helped me without expecting something from me. She had started feeling like a furniture, a fine chair people were willing to fight each other for the chance to sit on. Thinking about it, made her feel even worse. ¡°I shall talk to them,¡± she decided. ¡°See if they will let you go.¡±
¡°Release him ye say,¡± Van Fleet grunted eyeing Lord Bach like a cockroach. Salty had brought him upstairs dragged by the collar. ¡°I haven¡¯t felt as dirty as I had talkin¡¯ wit him and I¡¯ve started out cleaning decks from fresh turds, if ye pardon me the expression lass.¡± Elsanne frowned and looked at Mutiny Carter. The pirate woman rolled her eyes. She needed to lie, but her tongue felt heavy and clumsy in her mouth. Elsanne walked to the Captain¡¯s desk, Van Fleet raising his brows surprised and filled a goblet with rum. She brought it to her mouth and took a generous gulp. ¡°Get her some water,¡± Burton ordered Sam the next moment, Elsanne¡¯s coughing fit worse than his. ¡°We may lose her for goodness sake!¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± she croaked to reassure them, but no one believed her per usual. ¡°Ah, dear sister,¡± Van Fleet murmured looking at his maps. ¡°Do you mean that?¡± Elsanne asked him and he looked at her. ¡°A friend of the brotherhood is family,¡± the pirate Captain explained. ¡°The Lord¡¯s words.¡± ¡°Sister, mother,¡± Mutiny added with an encouraging smile. ¡°Daughter,¡± Burton said. ¡°The lord¡¯s word says it clearly. Article one, paragraph one my lass. Every person in the brotherhood is family and shall be treated as such.¡± ¡°Damn we be to Abrakas gullet, if we don¡¯t answer the call,¡± Van Fleet agreed with a thin smile. ¡°But you got to give us something.¡± ¡°Which Lord¡¯s is that?¡± Elsanne asked them although she knew and Van Fleet seeing her expression sat down on his chair and sighed. He reached, got his sword belt over his head and placed it on the desk over the maps. ¡°My family got no title from the plunder,¡± he started sounding moved, which must have been a first as even Mutiny Carter was watching him with her mouth hanging open. ¡°But the good Lord looked to give something to all, be it land or gold. Me great whatever grandfather, took a fancy at this blade and asked for it instead of land. In his mind, a buccaneer can¡¯t stay on land for long, gold slips through one¡¯s fingers, but a good blade shall serve ye next ye need to board a ship full of loot sort of speak.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell them anything,¡± Sigurd hissed seeing her shaking. ¡°I¡¯m not Anne,¡± Elsanne blurted out and Sigurd grabbed his head with both hands in despair. ¡°I¡¯m Elsanne Eikenaar, a Princess of Kaltha.¡± ¡°Kaltha has only the one,¡± Van Fleet said relieved, as if expecting it. Duh, what are you mumbling there girl? Good grief! ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± Elsanne agreed a little shy and thoroughly embarrassed from messing it up. ¡°Here is then Dawson¡¯s reasoning,¡± the pirate captain added shaking his head. ¡°For if the Lord¡¯s own blood ain¡¯t a member of the god-darn brotherhood, then I don¡¯t fuckin¡¯ know what is!¡± ¡°Hear-hear,¡± Mutiny cheered grinning and hugged her tightly, Elsanne grimacing but allowing it. ¡°Sorry sister,¡± the woman chuckled and pulled away, adding conspiratorially. ¡°Your grace.¡± ¡°Mister Sigurd,¡± Van Fleet said and got up. ¡°Yer free to leave the premises.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll always be Anne to us,¡± Burton told her giving her a goblet with water to wash her mouth. ¡°A moniker earned shan¡¯t be taken away.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Elsanne murmured, a little overwhelmed at their easy acceptance of her secret. Although undoubtedly most had it figure out already. ¡°The Princess must get to Kaltha posthaste,¡± Sigurd hissed cutting through the festive mood. ¡°Why would you want her there?¡± Van Fleet asked him, with a deep frown. ¡°What good is she in Lord¡¯s Burrow?¡± Sigurd argued, hobbling forward. ¡°Or here?¡± ¡°I give ye here,¡± Van Fleet replied eyeing him suspiciously. ¡°Since the Prince may get ideas in his head though I doubt it. But Kaltha is in turmoil as I understand it.¡± ¡°People are waiting for her to arrive so they can move,¡± Sigurd snapped. ¡°Tell him Princess.¡± ¡°Ahm, I have to stop people from killing each other captain. Things are not going well there.¡± ¡°That¡¯s commendable Anne,¡± Van Fleet said. ¡°But how are you going to do that? Being there you¡¯ll be a prisoner again to yer allies lofty ambitions. Yer life in constant danger, amongst people that haven¡¯t given a thought about ye up until now. Perhaps they¡¯ve treated ye better afore that? Is that what you want?¡± ¡°People have died so she can assume the gilded throne!¡± Lord Bach blasted him and Salty turned to stare at him warningly. ¡°They would have died anyway,¡± Van Fleet replied calmly. ¡°Way I see it, ¡®em Lords shall fight it out come hell, or high water. You say it¡¯s for her own good, but all I see is a prison from where she¡¯ll never escape alive.¡± Elsanne gulped down and stared at the seething Lord Bach. ¡°Princess you¡¯ve worked for this your whole life,¡± Sigurd told her. ¡°The time is now.¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t,¡± she replied truthfully. ¡°But apparently you have dear Sigurd. I know what you want from me. I shall not abandon the people, or Kaltha. But I want to be certain I¡¯m fighting for a just cause.¡± ¡°Lord Anker is lying!¡± Sigurd growled, looking like a man that had just lost the world from under his feet. ¡°You will throw this away?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t,¡± Elsanne admonished him. ¡°But I¡¯ll make sure I know what I¡¯m doing and who I¡¯m fighting. I don¡¯t want anyone dying in my name Sigurd, or without my knowledge. You can either help me, or you can dismiss yourself my old teacher.¡± Sigurd ogled his working eye the other tearing up, his face drenched in sweat and breathing heavy. He glanced at the expecting pirates watching their exchange and saw no sympathy there. With a grimace of distaste Lord Bach nodded his bald head. ¡°I shall serve the future Queen of Kaltha,¡± he grunted, grinding his teeth. ¡°Always and forever.¡± ¡°In that case,¡± Elsanne announced turning towards the sincere pirate Captain. ¡°I shall remain in Eikenport for the time being.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll have you out of here and to Lord¡¯s Burrow at the first sign of trouble,¡± Honest Van Fleet reassured her and Mutiny Carter raised her arms and punched the air delighted at the turn of events. ¡°Haha! A bloody Queen prancing about in Lord¡¯s Burrow! Who would¡¯ve thunk it, right? Fuck, pass me that rum Fleet, throat¡¯s gone dry from all the excitement!¡± She poured herself a generous amount, gulped down some more straight from the bottle and then turned to a watching perturbed Elsanne. ¡°Have at it sister,¡± Mutiny beamed and tossed her the bottle. Elsanne caught it without spilling any and then looked about her unsure. Eh, no thanks. My tongue is still burning. ¡°I don¡¯t really want to have anymore?¡± she muttered embarrassed and Burton standing right next to her all proud cleared his throat. ¡°Pass it on to Sam then lass,¡± he urged her beaming, gold and silver teeth gleaming in his mouth. ¡°It helps wit his cough, burns the phlegm away and if yer lookin¡¯ to fool around it works alike a key, if yer getting me meaning.¡± ¡°Mister Burton!¡± Elsanne reproached him blushing and the tavern owner, part warehouse and part torture basement of sorts, stood back not expecting it, but recovered quickly and bowed his head chastised in a perfectly timed curtsy. ¡°Apologies, your Grace. Seems the wind be carried me away from safe shores.¡± Given the circumstances Elsanne found his save worthy of lavish praise, so she forgave him. Then passed the bottle to an expecting ¡®Bronchitis Sam¡¯ and that was the end of it. -
Lord Robert Van Durren upon learning the Council had voted for the King¡¯s sister over his son agreed with Sir Gust for a lunge against the Forts and then Eikenport to put an end to this foolishness. With the capture of Kaltha''s capital, if they managed to get their hands on the Princess, then the rebel Lords would have no other option but bending the knee to Antoon¡¯s rightful heir. It was a decent plan given the favorable opportunity and had a good chance of succeeding but for a couple of minor reasons. The first being the whereabouts of the remaining Cofol forces that could have potentially frustrated a direct assault on the forts guarding the river approaches. The second was Sir Gust who surely found himself conflicted between not wanting to be branded a rebel on the losing side and the ¡®Old Crow¡¯s¡¯ secret orders for the campaign. Perhaps even his personal ambitions. - Lord Sirio Veturius Circa 206 NC The Fall of Heroes Chapter IX (Sir Gust De Weer, Raven of Dawn, -Crows in the Desert- Volume II -Prelude to the Desert Forts Campaign- A trap at Whitebrick Fort, Sands of Cameltoe Peninsula, & a most unfortunate event Fall-early winter of 190 NC)
249. Barely illicit prizes & old debts
Glen Arguen Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Monarch O¡¯ Morn Taras Barely illicit prizes & old debts
The grey granite tiled road led to the Avenue of Legends, now cleaned up. The broken, giant older statues removed, but for a few and the material repurposed to create an inner gated road running vertical to the Imperial Avenue, towards the Goddess Lake and near her pyramid temple. There was a smaller island at the center of the clean water lake, lost in the morning mist, the foliage and canes usually there now cut down so visitors could see it sprouting out of its silvery waters right around noon. This part of the work hadn¡¯t even started yet, but Glen could easily discern the new smaller statues standing silent left and right. It¡¯s a plaguing dream this, he thought. Surprisingly peaceful. These smaller but life-sized figures were made out of metal, expensive white gold coating poured over their forms, this new road cutting through the lake banks vegetation and ending at its shores, gleaming from end to end in the rising sun. He paused trying to make out the many figures depicted right and left of the just four meter wide tiled road. Tall and short, big boned and thin as rails. Zilan, Human and Folk. All the races were present in the garden. Glen raised his head before the sturdy clad in armour statue, the sun rays making the metal shine so intensely he couldn¡¯t make out its face, other than the helm covering it. Glen stepped back, squinted his eyes and just as the finely jackal-shaped helm came into focus, he heard its cackle. And woke up.
¡°Hey you,¡± he told his daughter munching on his maimed ear. ¡°Don¡¯t do that.¡± She cackled again, tiny hand finding his nose and pulling it, a finger slotted in his nostril. ¡°Silly girl,¡± Glen laughed and stood up, catching her small body when she rolled with a gasp down his rising torso. ¡°There, yer safe now.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve bewitched your daughter,¡± Sen murmured watching him, a hand under her chin, luscious hair half-covering her face. ¡°I think I figured out your power Glen.¡± ¡°Tis all natural baby,¡± Glen boasted and stooped to give her a demonstration. ¡°Ah, ye taste of berries straight out of bed again. How?¡± He probed exploring her mouth, the kiss deepening and derailing into something more adventurous. ¡°I¡¯m always up earlier than you,¡± Sen replied and put a hand on his broad chest to stop him. ¡°She¡¯s too young to see this,¡± his wife explained and their daughter cooed and found her mother¡¯s heavy breast as if to prove a point. ¡°You brought her here,¡± Glen murmured. ¡°What¡¯s this a conspiracy? Because I ain¡¯t accepting it!¡± ¡°I had to. She always slept with me in Eikenport and she wants to go back to my milk,¡± Sen explained and made to lift her up. ¡°But I want her to start tasting other food slowly, so we¡¯ll need a proper nursery build in here.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that got to do with us fucking?¡± Glen asked perturbed. ¡°Glen!¡± Sen admonished him. ¡°Not in front of her!¡± Glen frowned and removed the baby from her nipple, his daughter started crying but Glen eyed her solemnly and she stopped with a hiccup and put her small fist in her mouth. ¡°Haha,¡± Glen guffawed and got up from their bed. Stepped on his new pants, stooped to grab them and then he put them on, the soft leather fitting him nicely. ¡°Glen, she needs to feed now,¡± Sen explained standing on her bottom to glare at him, when he picked her in his arms again. Yer getting fatter girl, he thought. Hmm. ¡°We can continue later,¡± his wife haggled. Yer wide off the mark woman! ¡°Ahm, no I don¡¯t accept that,¡± Glen decided stubbornly. ¡°If I¡¯m not getting any, then no one eats stuff.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t mean that!¡± Sen said warningly. Glen enjoyed seeing her getting defensive or mad. The problem was Sen could read through him most of the times. He repositioned the baby in his arms, feeling drool mixed with milk dripping down his own chest. ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± he admitted and heard noise from downstairs. ¡°But what else can she eat?¡± ¡°Where is he?¡± Jinx asked. ¡°Upstairs Captain,¡± Kirk replied with a yawn. ¡°Fruit jam, oat cream, cheese and yogurt with juices after six months,¡± Sen said replying to his query. Glen had missed part of it listening to Jinx trying to force her way to their floor. ¡°How old is she now?¡± ¡°Almost six months,¡± Sen replied with a soft smile seeing him distracted. ¡°I had to wait for her to grow a bit more, but was forced to leave in the end for a couple of reasons.¡± ¡°Coming through!¡± Jinx yelled and people cursed, someone moaned in pain and feet were heard thudding the tiled floor of his villa¡¯s hall. ¡°Mmm, what reasons?¡± Glen asked absentmindedly, an eye to their bedroom¡¯s door, the other on his naked wife, whilst his daughter was poking at the abs on his stomach. ¡°WHAT¡¯S THIS?¡± Fikumin snapped irate. ¡°I missed you terribly is the biggest reason,¡± Sen admitted huskily and all his drive returned tenfold. ¡°Also feared the city might be in trouble,¡± she added, but this part Glen didn¡¯t hear busy as he was and lightheaded. Damn. ¡°STOP!¡± Kirk yelled. ¡°I didn¡¯t hear ye!¡± Jinx replied breathing heavy, as if she was running fast. ¡°Ahm,¡± Glen started and glanced at a misty eyed Sen, the woman slowly frowning hearing the commotion out of the bedroom. ¡°Is that?¡± Sen asked, the bed much further inside the large room and Jinx burst inside the next moment. The Gish paused, glanced at the trio staring at her open-mouthed and then executed a cartwheel, turned into a roll ending up before Glen. Jinx rose up and made to take the baby from him, but Glen held her with one arm and slapped the sneaky Gish¡¯s mitten away with the other. ¡°Hey!¡± Jinx protested. ¡°I do that!¡± ¡°Keep yer dirty fingers away,¡± Glen warned her. ¡°What? I have ¡®em licked clean!¡± Jinx replied. ¡°Gimme this cutie ye fool! I want to look at her!¡± ¡°Look, but no touching¡ª¡± Jinx interrupted him with a kick at his shin, but Glen found his footing with a groan and shoved her away with one arm, whilst the Gish tried desperately to snatch the baby from him. ¡°Nooo, I love babies,¡± Jinx hissed, as they wrestled about. ¡°That¡¯s enough,¡± Sen warned both of them getting slowly up. Glen puffed out in frustration, his elbow slotted on Jinx¡¯s neck blocking the smaller Gish from reaching his daughter. He held her over them with one hand, but he had to clench his teeth as he was getting repeatedly punched in the stomach from a desperately ogling Jinx. ¡°Gods darnit!¡± He bellowed and the baby gasped. ¡°Whisper cut this nonsense!¡± ¡°What? Alright I give up,¡± Jinx replied and pretended to stop, only to lunge at him again. Glen sidestepped and she failed with a curse. ¡°How do ye keep in form without leavin¡¯ yer darn room?¡± She complained and then paused to eye the approaching Sen-Iv. ¡°Ah,¡± the Gish said. ¡°It all makes sense now.¡± ¡°Jinx,¡± Sen greeted her. ¡°This lovely girl is our daughter.¡± ¡°I¡¯m havin¡¯ trouble hearing,¡± Jinx admitted her gaze farway. ¡°I¡¯m trying to lose weight,¡± Sen explained blushing just enough to make it worse Glen thought, equally distracted. A naked Sen could stop all conversations. ¡°Don¡¯t stop yer efforts on my account,¡± Jinx urged her with a lewd wink. ¡°I¡¯ll throw something on,¡± his wife said calmly and turned around to look for her robes. Jinx swung her pink head to glance at Glen grinning. ¡°What?¡± Glen queried, very annoyed at her for interrupting his gawking. ¡°Can I hold her? Me touch is very soft,¡± She asked pleadingly. Glen scrunched his nose. ¡°I¡¯ll have to think about it,¡± he finally replied. ¡°I meant the baby Glen,¡± Jinx hissed and Sen giggled from the bed. Glen cleared his throat, his face hardening. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Jinx protested. ¡°She¡¯s mine,¡± Glen replied matter-of-factly. ¡°Plus she¡¯s heavy and yer hands are small.¡± ¡°Glen, let her hold her,¡± Sen told him returning clad in her white silk robes. ¡°Jinx is my friend, you know that.¡± ¡°I just want to keep the circle small,¡± Glen defended himself. ¡°We can¡¯t have everyone waltzing in here and manhandling her for crying out loud!¡± ¡°Glen you trust Jinx more than anyone else,¡± Sen reminded him. ¡°Aww,¡± Jinx murmured afore frowning. ¡°Then why lie about it, hmm?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t,¡± Glen said feeling cornered. ¡°Stop twisting things and hummin¡¯!¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t,¡± Jinx retorted, then gave him a toothy cat¡¯s grin. ¡°Can I hold her pleeeasse?¡± The last word dragging for extra effect. Glen rolled his eyes and allowed her to take the baby into her arms. With a squeal Jinx brought her close to her face, turning into a silly person. Not that much effort was needed for the female Gish. ¡°Oii, look at ye!¡± Jinx cooed and touched her forehead on the baby¡¯s head. ¡°What¡¯s this big nose girl? Wh¡¯re did ye get it hmm? Hey, I can drool too!¡± ¡°This is a stupid idea,¡± Glen murmured and Sen slapped his arm teasingly. ¡°You can¡¯t keep her all for yourself husband.¡± Of course I can. ¡°What¡¯s her name?¡± Jinx asked rocking the baby in her arms, his daughter chewing on a pink lock. ¡°Eh, I haven¡¯t¡­ just call her you for now,¡± Glen grunted. ¡°Glen! Ye can¡¯t do that,¡± Jinx said. ¡°Says who?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll think of a name soon,¡± Sen answered. ¡°I need your help to learn what¡¯s available here Jinx,¡± she added. ¡°So I can dictate a new diet to the kitchen.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Jinx replied, placing the baby on her shoulder, so it could reach her hair easier. ¡°Maeriel can help with that.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong wit the food?¡± Glen protested, not likening the sound of that. ¡°Meat, potatoes, wine and variations of cheese,¡± Sen replied. ¡°The good stuff,¡± Glen agreed, his stomach growling. ¡°I meant baby food,¡± Sen repeated her earlier argument. ¡°You want to stay whilst we talk about it?¡± Glen stared at the door. ¡°I¡¯m gonna grab something to eat wit meat in it, but I expect to find my daughter just the way I left her upon my return!¡± he declared, the last part a warning and waltzed out of his bedroom for the first time in four days leaving the chuckling girls behind.
¡°There¡¯s a rumor circulating,¡± Fikumin told him, when Glen strolled into the big hall, raising his head from his reports. ¡°Hardir has left the city, or is still partying. It¡¯s not easy to contain.¡±Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. ¡°Who¡¯s spreading it?¡± Glen queried reaching for a piece of black bread, the dwarf snatching the cheese keeping it company and swallowing it whole. The mouth on that huge head of his cavernous. ¡°So, did I miss anything?¡± He asked after they both stopped chewing, deciding to move on to the next topic. ¡°Where do I start?¡± Fikumin grunted. ¡°Well, start at the beginning,¡± Glen helped him. ¡°Metu!¡± ¡°He¡¯s at a council meeting,¡± Fikumin explained. ¡°Ask for Seeyu.¡± ¡°Seeyu!¡± Glen bellowed twice as loud. ¡°What meeting?¡± ¡°Each morning the Council meets,¡± Fikumin explained. ¡°Your orders state it.¡± ¡°Damn,¡± Glen said nodding. ¡°Ah, there you are,¡± Seeyu had appeared carrying a disk with foodstuff on. ¡°Leave it on the table my good man,¡± Glen told him and moved Fikumin¡¯s papers out of the way. The dwarf growled always in a bad mood for some reason and tried to gather his scrolls, whilst Glen kept shoving them away. ¡°So, ye were saying?¡± Glen asked him enjoying a lamb chop. He paused to swallow and then washed everything down drinking from his goblet. The Zilan make fantastic wine, ye got to give them that. ¡°I was saying,¡± Fikumin grunted. ¡°There are matters in need of your attention.¡± ¡°Why? Anything I can do, you can do as well friend,¡± Glen propped him up. ¡°Don¡¯t sell yerself short sort of speak.¡± Haha. ¡°Nobody laughs at your jokes Garth,¡± Fikumin hissed. ¡°They are pedantic.¡± ¡°Keep tellin¡¯ yourself that,¡± Glen replied chuckling. ¡°Using strange words won¡¯t change the facts friend.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Fikumin said with a deep sigh. ¡°Some citizens and visitors went missing during the festival.¡± ¡°Wandered away drunk?¡± Glen chanced still smiling. ¡°People are looking for them still.¡± ¡°Maybe they don¡¯t want to be found? Just throwing it out there,¡± Glen replied with a shrug. ¡°I understand the locals, but three of them were merchants and their caravans are set to return to port, or leave. They wouldn¡¯t miss that.¡± Glen snorted and reached for his goblet turning serious. He eyed Seeyu standing a foot from their table. ¡°Have a cup of wine lad,¡± he told him. ¡°Use the smaller cup.¡± ¡°Gratitude master Garth,¡± Seeyu replied with a deep bow. ¡°Good-good, I like this one too,¡± Glen decided. ¡°He¡¯s very friendly right?¡± Fikumin stared at him blankly. ¡°Anfalon is looking for them and so are Maeriel¡¯s Rangers. People don¡¯t up and disappear Garth,¡± he finally spat, his mood taking a turn for the worse. ¡°You don¡¯t have to be jealous if I¡¯m making new friends. You know I value yer contributions,¡± Glen said to calm him down, much as he understood it. ¡°Now, have they looked at the Springs Lake?¡± ¡°Yes. Why there specifically?¡± Fikumin asked. ¡°Saw some of them swimming in ¡®em waters during the festivities.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t recall that.¡± ¡°You were drunk pal,¡± Glen reminded him. ¡°What happened to the girl holding you in her arms?¡± ¡°There was no girl,¡± Fikumin spat affronted. ¡°You can¡¯t carry a Folk like a kid Garth.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s agree to disagree on that,¡± Glen replied. ¡°There were people in the lake though, pretty far off shore as well.¡± ¡°How deep?¡± ¡°Fifty meters in at least, maybe more. It was misty,¡± Glen said. ¡°No it wasn¡¯t,¡± Fikumin argued and then shook his big head seeing Glen¡¯s expression. ¡°I¡¯ll look into it.¡± ¡°Ye do that,¡± Glen said with a sigh and pushed himself up, after draining his goblet. ¡°Now I have to return to my girls.¡± ¡°Garth at least make an appearance!¡± Fikumin grunted. ¡°You can¡¯t spend all your time like this. It¡¯s callous. People will start asking questions.¡± Glen smacked his lips thoughtfully. ¡°You are right. We are too visible living in the city. I need to have Voron finish the castle grounds faster. Worry not friend I shall make my rounds to keep up appearances.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll visit the port? Or the castle?¡± ¡°Good grief, have ye listened to the clamor up there? I was thinking of walking to the market on Outlaw, see that tavern the Zilan opened.¡± ¡°That sounds tiring,¡± Fikumin grunted irate. ¡°Right?¡± Glen agreed with a chuckle. ¡°Well, I have to help anyway I can. Teamwork is key my friend. Everyone here helps and everyone profits! Make it our motto, or something.¡± ¡°How Gish of you,¡± Fikumin mocked him. ¡°Ye know what?¡± Glen said eyeing him sternly. ¡°Don¡¯t. Leave the last part out. Right Seeyu?¡± The slave stopped gulping down his wine and nodded eagerly. ¡°Right Master Garth!¡± ¡°See? He gets it,¡± Glen told the scowling dwarf, before assuming a serious expression and walking towards the exit.
There was a shade cover made out of yellow rattan hanging from the two huge tan-bark trees left uncut and it protected the outside bar area created with the same material from the counter to its tall stalls and chairs. The rest of the trees had been cleared out, leaving the view of the quiet lake unobstructed and one could even have a glimpse of the plateau beyond its surface where Voron¡¯s crews worked. Glen noticed that part of the nearby pavilion built for the Valimae Lilt had been incorporated to this permanent resort-like area by the lake. The Zilan behind the counter, a sharp-looking handsome male smiled a predator¡¯s smile seeing him strolling inside with Kirk in tow. ¡°He lives,¡± the waterfront bar owner said and his many patrons enjoying the spot and the weather turned to stare at Glen. ¡°The rumors squashed.¡± ¡°Thought the rumor was that I left,¡± or fucking, Glen replied returning his nod. ¡°All the rumors,¡± the Zilan retorted readily as if reading his mind. ¡°Suffered the same fate.¡± ¡°Yer a barrel of laughs,¡± Glen said and glanced right and left on the counter immediately spotting the pirate Captain Leona Vale, looking drunk as a skunk per usual. ¡°Folen, of Luthoris,¡± the Zilan introduced himself. ¡°Serving at festivals for two millennia. Dabbling as a bard on occasion.¡± ¡°I remember ye murdering that lute, but the rest sounds like a bunch of bullshit,¡± Glen countered looking at the expensive silver and finely engraved goblet the male put in front of him. ¡°I¡¯ve taken up the family mandate,¡± Folen replied readily pouring him his second drink of the morning. ¡°Fallen ye say.¡± ¡°Folen, I speak it with the word in at the end to avoid confusion given my trade,¡± the Zilan corrected him. ¡°Although there is some of that still.¡± Right, Glen thought not believing him. ¡°Tis a strong wine dis,¡± Leona blurted after a burp. ¡°The quantity inhibited is the root of the problem. Some would call it sickness drunken, but disturbingly alluring female,¡± Folen elucidated defending his stock and flirting sneakily. There¡¯s a bit of skill there, Glen thought. ¡°I asked for rum,¡± Leona argued glaring at him. ¡°A pint o¡¯ grog. Dis stuff messes me up.¡± Folen snorted and went to collect the bill from a merchant and his wife. ¡°I thought you¡¯d be at the port district,¡± Glen said glancing at a long-legged Zilan waitress of sorts making the rounds and talking to the customers. Mostly locals from the Favored District, but for some exceptions like the couple. ¡°Loading my timber.¡± ¡°It¡¯s timber Garth,¡± Leona snorted. ¡°Imagine a scoundrel be grabbin¡¯ a four meter lumber and makin¡¯ a run for it haha,¡± she shook her scarfed head and refilled her goblet from the bottle. ¡°So¡­ yer here why?¡± Glen probed. ¡°Wanted to see Jinx,¡± Leona replied. ¡°Whisper has a girlfriend,¡± Glen cut her off. ¡°I suggest leaving them alone.¡± Leona stared at him silently. ¡°What if I don¡¯t heed to yer suggestion mate?¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t a suggestion,¡± Glen explained returning the stare. ¡°I used the word for civility¡¯s sake,¡± he lowered his head near her comely face and whispered. ¡°It was a threat lass. Get yer arse back to my ship.¡± ¡°I find ye arousing and an asshole. It¡¯s rather confusing,¡± Leona blurted. ¡°Additionally I was tricked into agreeing.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care,¡± Glen deadpanned. ¡°Might I suggest¡ª?¡± Glen puffed his cheeks out. ¡°No,¡± he replied sternly letting all the air out. ¡°Still,¡± Leona insisted popping a button of her shirt out. ¡°It¡¯ll be worthy to revisit the matter,¡± Glen reached and grabbed her hand before more buttons were loosened. ¡°That¡¯s a good pair,¡± he told her truthfully. ¡°But my hands are full wit better.¡± Leona smacked her lips and glanced at the shamelessly watching Folen. ¡°My hands are not full,¡± the Zilan elucidated his thoughts, showing her his long-fingered hands to further strengthen his words. ¡°Well,¡± Leona said with a grimace. ¡°I¡¯ve sampled a Folk recently so yer offer is intriguing sir.¡± ¡°What Folk?¡± Glen asked. ¡°A dwarf?¡± Leona replied, afore looking about her. ¡°Them shorter people?¡± ¡°Brave,¡± Folen commented. ¡°A well-traveled lass.¡± ¡°Eh, I¡¯ll leave ye to yer journeys,¡± Glen decided and finished his wine. ¡°Remember to get back to the Marquette Captain. That¡¯s a lot of coin being loaded.¡± ¡°What if there¡¯s a more profitable job? Barely illicit,¡± Leona asked before he could make three strides. Glen paused and turned towards the bar again. He glanced left and right, spotted the customers listening in, but pretending they didn¡¯t much as scoundrels do, no matter their race and sighed deeply. ¡°I¡¯ll be getting over three hundred gold coins per load Captain. Expenses paid,¡± he added and while the Zilan were uninterested or better actors the half a dozen merchants present perked up. ¡°If I cut it, which I haven¡¯t, it¡¯ll be double that.¡± ¡°A ship could carry all manners of treasure,¡± Leona said mysteriously. Hmm. ¡°Would that ship be easy to find?¡± ¡°The bigger the difficulty, means the more valuables,¡± Leona countered. ¡°How big are we hypothesizing about here?¡± Glen asked smiling at the onlookers. ¡°You don¡¯t have to be specific.¡± ¡°Gallant Dogs sized, twice that?¡± Leona said and made to button her half open shirt, but she glanced at Folen who grinned freakishly, the exchange not lasting more than a second. ¡°Expensive troops,¡± she added leaving her fleshy mounts half-exposed. What? ¡°Nah,¡± Glen decided. ¡°I¡¯ll take the easy way. That sounds risky.¡± ¡°What if the cargo was worth it?¡± The pirate captain was just not willing to let it go. ¡°How much?¡± Glen snapped and she shrugged her shoulders, showing a lot of cleavage to her captivated audience. ¡°It¡¯s weight are the rumors,¡± a smirking Leona replied with a wink and for a moment Glen couldn¡¯t figure out her coded talk, mostly because it sounded absurd. Unless it wasn¡¯t. Ah. Whoa.
¡°Milord, what was that talk?¡± Kirk asked him on their way back to their horses. ¡°You know her,¡± Glen replied leaving it vague on purpose. The man sighed sadly. ¡°I just wish I knew her better you know?¡± Glen stopped to stare at him sternly. ¡°Don¡¯t be a fool,¡± he cautioned his guard. ¡°She¡¯ll eat you alive, bones ¡®n all.¡± Kirk frowned afore nodding and Glen sighed having solved this problem as well, but cut it short seeing Qanuq walking past them. The priest he¡¯d left with Phon-Iv in Queen¡¯s Oasis years ago. ¡°You,¡± Glen rustled and run after him. The priest stopped and turned around to look at him coolly. ¡°Yes?¡± He asked impersonally. Huh? Why you¡­ ¡°What the fuck are you doing here? I saw ye arrive wit the caravan the other day,¡± Glen grunted. ¡°I was with the caravan,¡± Qanuq agreed keeping his calm. ¡°How else could I travel?¡± ¡°The fuck I care? What are you doing here?¡± Glen snapped. ¡°I see Phon has taken good care of you. Well don¡¯t expect further compensation,¡± he added glaring at him. ¡°I see yer pretending you don¡¯t remember it, but it was your plaguin¡¯ fault!¡± Qanuq took a big breath and stood back. ¡°The truth is I put the past behind me,¡± he said finally sounding reasonable, which made Glen even more suspicious. ¡°I moved on friend.¡± Suck a bag of dicks friend! ¡°Well, I don¡¯t want you stopping here,¡± Glen retorted, trying to keep it civil as citizens had started gathering to watch what all the trouble was. ¡°But I will pay ye for the maimed leg, since I want to be fair wit you as always. We are not villains to mistreat people!¡± ¡°The leg is much better,¡± Qanuq reassured him with the pretense of a smile. Well that¡¯s a god darn lie unless ye grew a couple of toes back ye cunt. At least he lost all that white paint, Glen thought. That was spooky. ¡°But I will accept the coin to settle the old debt.¡± Aha, there it is then, yer full of shite mate. ¡°You turn around now and go to the port district,¡± Glen cautioned him. ¡°Plenty of room to stay there and by the sea, it¡¯s a day away if you have a mount, more if you don¡¯t, but walking will strengthen yer leg. I¡¯ll have a man pay you there and put you on a ship out of Sinya Goras.¡± ¡°What if I want to stay?¡± Qanuq asked. ¡°Trust me, the next time I see you walking about lookin¡¯ all fake cool and shit, I¡¯ll have ye kicked out and break yer other leg,¡± Glen warned him. ¡°It will hurt, it¡¯ll be rude as fuck and I¡¯ll get to keep the coin.¡±
¡°Who was he milord?¡± Kirk asked him moments later. ¡°Just a crazy guy I¡¯d met years back,¡± Glen murmured. Things went kinda bad, we might have tortured him a bit resulting in minor mutilation, then sort of gave him to Sen¡¯s brother to use as he sees fit. Some annoying problems I wish they faded away, but they don''t. And here he is. ¡°Remind me to ask Fikumin about him,¡± he added with a grimace. ¡°I shall milord,¡± Kirk replied a little troubled. ¡°Why, if I may ask? He appeared friendly.¡± Maybe that¡¯s part of the plaguin¡¯ problem? ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Glen said after a contemplating moment. ¡°Either it¡¯s been a long time, or there was something off about him.¡± ¡°Like what?¡± Glen puffed his cheeks out and stared at Outlaw¡¯s long snout. The horse snorted, a long drawn out affair, large teeth clattering like broken bones inside a massive grave. ¡°Just a gut feeling, or Folen¡¯s darn wine,¡± he grunted shivering and grabbing the reins, he climbed on the saddle. ¡°Where to milord?¡± Kirk asked. Glen licked his lips tasting sweet wine and stared towards the plateau. ¡°Let¡¯s go lit a fire under Voron¡¯s arse,¡± he finally decided. ¡°Have that Zilan finish that god darn castle, so we can have a wall and a real door between us and the crazies.¡±
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 250. A most unfortunate event (1/3)
Sir Gust De Weer, Raven of Dawn A most unfortunate event Part I -But now we do-
CAW The sound echoed over the fine sands, the cobblestone road lost at places and Gust felt the Desert breeze on his drenched back like a caress, guiding him forward. CAW The young crow was heard again and Bugs turned a large black head, to stare towards the bird wagons. The old Raven was the size of a white-headed Eagle, but more compact in its built. Old, because no one knew its real age. Lord Ruud had found it in Blackcrow¡¯s Pillar when he was seven or eight, according to the story his father sometimes liked to recount. ¡°Bah,¡± Bugs croaked and shaking his ruffled feathers until they were again a polished coal black added. ¡°Lying old cunt!¡± Sir Mael riding next to him grunted and whipped his hooded head around in a disapproving glare. ¡°The Raven says what it wants priest,¡± Gust rustled, voice crackling and his throat dry and hurting. A year in the desert had turned his skin a deeper dark, but had washed out all their gear, even turning his grey robes a shade of white. ¡°When it wants it.¡± ¡°The Baron might not appreciate the sewer language,¡± the aged priest of Tyeus cautioned him. Of all the knights ordained to the war God, Sir Mael Bolte was in the minority that had remained a priest first and then a warrior. A fool can pick up a blade and fight, win even. A ruthless warrior shall always hold advantage enough bravery can counter, to a point. Sir Mael always preached. But it is the peninent man the good Gods shall listen to. Gust didn¡¯t believe that part of the scripture. ¡°Robert was a skinny kid that loved singing and the spirits,¡± Gust replied and watched the raven flying away towards the back of their column. ¡°Afore his father tried to straighten him out with the iron stick. The Baron never regretted it and Robert always found the way around the beatings. Now he¡¯s been a Baron for a day and his first thought is the bottle.¡± The latter Gust didn¡¯t particularly enjoy, along the fact he¡¯d found himself outranked, but his old friend had lost a father recently, which perhaps evened it out in the scale or some blasted thing. Lord Joep was a hard, but just man and Robert wasn¡¯t that much different before the campaign on Eplas had started. Gust felt things had changed since then though. ¡°Call for a stop,¡± Sir Mael advised him, seeing a frowning Gust reminiscing. ¡°That¡¯s the Litching¡¯s Tops far in the distance and further south all that greenery sprouting out of the Desert is not another illusion. These are the banks of the river Shifton and that white glint is Tirifort, I reckon.¡± Stones cut from bleached limestone, the locals had told them. Alike white bricks.
Gust peeled the plate off his gambeson, the material soaked and then got out of that as well dropping it on a weapon stand next to a wagon. The camp was split in two smaller ones, the First Foot gathering around their tents and the Crows staying near the wagons. Gust had Lode De Jager¡¯s Rangers spread out to spy on Tirifort from a safe distance. Build around two square towers, the rectangular oblong stone-brick Fort guarded the bridge over the Shifton River, its pale yellow waters flowing into the Azure Gulf hundreds of kilometers away and marking the start of the contained fertile area ending further south at the river Felmond. The old imperial road between the two rivers used to define the border where this mostly green patch of land turned into a harsh desert again. The locals called the massive, mostly barren expanse, the Cameltoe Peninsula. He had some water from a barrel using a wooden cup and then splashed more on his head and silver-haired muscular chest. Klaas gathered his weapons keeping himself visible whilst Gust allowed the afternoon heat to dry him up slowly. The knight stared at the soldiers gathering around in groups talking about the campaign and mundane stuff. Most had created families in Devil¡¯s Cove and even constructed small huts out of the stone from the nearby quarries. This stone village in the middle of nowhere was slowly growing and it would grow even more with the addition of the civilians Robert had managed to save from the Khan¡¯s clutches. Build like a military camp, it had straight small roads and clearly defined neighborhoods shaped like squares and eight houses per. Gust had spent the time improving the port, rebuilding the docks and substituting the poor timber of the initial construction with stone. Scaldingport had four heavily escorted cargo ships making the monthly trip to bring in supplies and artisans. Castalor had send a transport as well, along with an official to set up an office. Devil¡¯s Cove will never grow to be something more, since you can¡¯t really produce much in the desert, but everyone wanting a second port on Eplas¡¯ coast to conduct an operation, would be a fool not to keep it around. The alternative is to capture Eikenport of course and that¡¯s a whole new bag of fresh snakes. Captain Gel De Moss, approached his field tent -a side-less shade sprouting out of a wagon more like, without furniture- and paused seeing Gust drying up in the nude. ¡°Milord,¡± De Moss started with a grimace. ¡°I can wait.¡± Gust snorted and grabbed a pair of pants covered in dust. ¡°You¡¯re annoying me captain,¡± he rustled feeling his blood boiling. ¡°Ever since the Baron appeared, all you bastards pretend of civility and I hate pretentious idiots!¡± ¡°Apologies milord,¡± De Moss replied paling. ¡°Snap out of it!¡± Gust growled. ¡°I don¡¯t want these soft shite infecting the men captain!¡± De Moss licked his dark lips slowly and nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll have them brought up to speed sire,¡± he said solemnly. Gust sighed and went to have some more of the stale water. ¡°We might be fighting on the morrow,¡± he explained rubbing his face. ¡°A year living under roof and without worrying can make a warrior lose his edge. Most men didn¡¯t train every day captain.¡± ¡°Most men have had other tasks milord,¡± De Moss reminded him. ¡°Did they train? Were drills being conducted in secret?¡± Gust repeated dryly. ¡°Not sufficiently,¡± the Captain yielded. ¡°Fix your mess Captain,¡± Gust warned him. ¡°You¡¯re running out of time.¡± ¡°The Crows won¡¯t fail you milord.¡± ¡°See they don¡¯t fail themselves and let me worry about my person,¡± Gust retorted and stared at his angular face on the surface of the barrel. ¡°Why are you here captain?¡± ¡°The Barron sent an invite. It¡¯s informal. The war meeting is set for midnight.¡± Ah. ¡°Klaas,¡± Gust grunted turning around. ¡°Leave the armour and get the new blade from the blacksmith. Apparently I have a social meeting.¡± His young squire made to question the need for weapons, but caught himself seeing Gust¡¯s daunting expression and rushed to gather everything up again with a nod. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.
Baron Robert Van Durren sat at a table outside his large tent, flanked by two Issirs and a Lorian. Sir Vegenuur, Sir Lowel Koel and Captain Clement Wellins commanding the force from Sadofort, the large castle now at the hands of Prince Atpa. Robert himself was a tall, very thin man. Much as everyone that had come out of the desert he sported nasty mementos of the ordeal on his dark face and body. Cuts, burns and wrinkled skin. He stopped talking with his lieutenants and waited for Gust to find a seat, with Sir Mael standing a couple of meters back and to his left at attention. ¡°Gust,¡± Robert said smiling, the white beard making him look older than his friend. ¡°I see you come poorly armed for the occasion,¡± it was a jest and he chuckled at that followed by the others and Gust cracked a smile himself pushing against the back of the small chair for his frame. ¡°Not much need for another blade,¡± Gust rustled only half-joking. ¡°You lads barely have meat on yer bones.¡± ¡°Hahaha!¡± Robert guffawed very impressed. ¡°This dear gents was a rare joke by Sir Gust. Not to be taken lightly. Your father my friend has quite the reputation and seems some of his talents finally rubbed off on you. It makes you more human given your appearance.¡± ¡°What of it?¡± Gust rustled not really liking fooling about and accepted a goblet of wine from a manservant. ¡°People say you should donate your body to science so students can learn muscle anatomy on it, not the head though,¡± Robert finished chuckling. ¡°That the faculties could do without haha!¡± Gust nodded, the knights laughing hard at his expense. Much of it was their way of dealing with loss and the horrors of being cut off from civilization for so long. His father always said one must learn to take an insult ¡®in order to socialize with fools and cunts¡¯. ¡°I take it back,¡± Robert decided seeing him scowling. ¡°It¡¯s not the head friend, it¡¯s the god darn expression!¡± ¡°We¡¯re about to attack a Fort,¡± Gust rustled cutting through their chuckling. ¡°I fail to see why I should take it lightly. All this nonsense you know I¡¯m not good at.¡± The Baron placed his goblet on the table and stared at him. ¡°I smashed through those slanted-eyes sons of whores at Queen¡¯s Oasis,¡± he hissed letting his anger and grief show. ¡°Cut them down at the banks of Yeriden, whilst they were killing my father shooting arrows at him from afar!¡± Gust crooked his mouth, but didn¡¯t reply. ¡°They found more arrows than bones in the pile,¡± Robert muttered looking at his goblet. ¡°How is this possible?¡± ¡°Prince Sahand is cautious, all of them are,¡± Gust rustled. ¡°Your father was caught in a trap, the way I understand it.¡± Robert rubbed his forehead for a moment looking worn out. His white hair were cut short and his gaunt face was slowly recovering even on army rations. ¡°It¡¯s all pointless you know,¡± he murmured. ¡°This land is a graveyard.¡± ¡°Rob, you¡¯ve kept the army alive for over a year cut off from everyone else,¡± Gust said stooping nearer over the narrow table. ¡°You and your Father deserve praise for fighting against a bigger force.¡± ¡°Ah yes, we fought for the High King,¡± Robert replied and his knights nodded. ¡°And Raoz. Now the King is all but gone, like the poor Duke and instead of the King¡¯s son on the throne, we might have a pampered lassie, married to a cursed Prince of the Khanate and probably swollen with his child!¡± Gust stood back on his seat, Sir Mael shifting on his feet, armour clanking in the darkening camp. He brought a cup to his mouth, had a sip of the cheap wine from Castalor and then put it back down. ¡°Speak Gust, I can hear ye seething,¡± Robert taunted him, looking like he did when they were sparring in their early teens. Robert still carried a broken nose from those days. As his father had put it eloquently many years ago. ¡®Hahaha! It¡¯s a great fucking fortune for me and for your line, yer crying turd went down immediately Baron Joep!¡¯ ¡°The heir is very young,¡± Gust finally said grinding his teeth. And of questionable stock. ¡°He might not make it to his first birthday.¡± ¡°The Gods shall provide,¡± Robert replied with a grimace. ¡°The Gods didn¡¯t provide for your father,¡± Gust countered. ¡°Or you. Had I sat on my arse at Devil¡¯s Cove, you would have continued for Tirifort immediately and died in the desert.¡± ¡°You saved us,¡± Robert agreed. ¡°I would¡¯ve done the same. You wanted to march south and I indulged you. Other than sexual favors, what else did you expect old friend?¡± Sir Mael grunted. ¡°There is an empty seat Sir Bolte,¡± the Baron said looking at him. ¡°You don¡¯t have to stand.¡± ¡°I can see more of the camp,¡± the aged knight replied solemnly. ¡°Whilst standing.¡± ¡°Good grief,¡± Robert snorted and scratched his beard staring at the dark sky above them exasperated. ¡°At some point this act stops being funny Sir Mael.¡± It was never funny, Gust thought. Nor is it an act. I was always letting you think it was Rob. ¡°You didn¡¯t answer my query,¡± Gust said. ¡°I¡¯m trying to help you,¡± Robert replied with a grimace. ¡°Because I know you. I know your father and how he thinks. There is only the one boat to stand on Gust. Elsanne mustn¡¯t take the throne, even if the young heir perishes.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not the law.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s her care of laws?¡± Robert sighed seeing him narrowing his eyes. ¡°Ah, you were always the fool around her,¡± he finally said and Gust flinched. ¡°Everyone knew you fancied the Princess. What was that she called you in that ball? The smelling boar knight, or was it a rude butcher? I bet you were expecting a tearful thank you, well that didn¡¯t turn out well for you.¡± Gust grunted and made to stand up, his thighs hitting the table rattling it and spilling some of the wine off the other men goblets. ¡°You¡¯ll take insult from me, whilst forgiving her?¡± Robert continued and Gust shifted on his seat sweating and trying to control himself. ¡°My Lord,¡± Sir Mael said, his hand on the pommel of his sword. ¡°We are at dinner.¡± Outnumbered was his meaning. ¡°Take your man¡¯s advice my friend,¡± Robert continued. ¡°And mine. A selfish creature willing to move against her brother isn¡¯t worth the trouble. Look what she did to the realm. My father¡¯s blood is on her hands!¡± ¡°That wasn¡¯t her doing Robert,¡± Gust hissed through his teeth. ¡°Your hatred is blinding you.¡± ¡°Sleeping with the enemy whilst her kin is getting slain isn¡¯t?¡± ¡°That was the blasted King¡¯s decision!¡± Gust roared, his heart beating wild. ¡°A Cofol is having the reins of this horse Gust,¡± the Baron reminded him. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. In your heart you know she can¡¯t be allowed to win this race.¡± An angry idiot makes a fool of himself, his father always said. But it¡¯s the insulted buffoon rushing to defend a maiden¡¯s honor that gets hanged by his entrails while fouling himself for all to see. ¡°The orders are to return her to Kaltha,¡± Gust reminded him with difficulty, his head hurting and grabbed the table with both hands not to do anything rash. ¡°Of course. We''ve read the same scroll,¡± the Baron replied smiling thinly. ¡°Sir Vegenuur?¡± ¡°The High Regent ordered the Princess found and brought back,¡± the knight readily droned and Gust nodded. He stood up letting go of the table and wiped the sweat off his face. ¡°I don¡¯t have much of an appetite,¡± he said and Robert nodded in his turn in understanding. Gust turned around and made to walk towards the expecting Sir Mael, but the Baron was heard again behind his back so he paused momentarily to listen to him. ¡°Anything else on the scroll Sir Vegenuur?¡± Robert asked casually. Uh? The knight cleared his throat once afore adding. ¡°Well, not really sire. Just that we should bring her back to Caspo O¡¯ Bor posthaste, barring some unfortunate event.¡± Gust didn''t like the sound of that at all. What in all hells is a blasted unfortunate event? And we¡¯re supposed to bring her to Scaldingport! CAW The crow¡¯s sudden call stopped Gust from turning around and ask for an explanation. That and the look on Sir Mael''s face. The loyal hand followed after him as they walked outside the allied camp and headed towards their wagons. A seething Gust glanced at the silent knight walking beside him when they were out of ear shot. ¡°Was there?¡± He asked unsure, his mouth not working. ¡°Not on the High Regent¡¯s scroll I saw, the one you¡¯ve read yourself,¡± the knight replied. This is double talk, Gust thought frustrated and glared at the loyal hand. Sir Mael snorted and crooked his mouth looking about them. ¡°There was a second missive for the Baron,¡± he finally replied. ¡°We couldn¡¯t break the seal and read it without getting everyone suspicious, or insulting them. Your father would have done it of course without a second thought.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not my father Sir Mael,¡± Gust grunted. ¡°Hence why we didn¡¯t learn about it sooner,¡± the aged knight retorted leaving it vague whether it was a good, or a bad thing, just as a night patrol approached them and forced both men to walk towards their camp. But now we do was Sir Mael¡¯s meaning.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 251. A most unfortunate event (2/3)
''By all gods old and new, you don¡¯t fight Horselords on Eplas outside of a city, lest you''re a brave fool, or ride atop a Wyvern.'' Ancient Lorian saying
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Sir Gust De Weer, Raven of Dawn A most unfortunate event Part II -Bleached White Bricks-
In the early Fall, the year one and ninety of the New Calendar, Baron Van Durren¡¯s remnants of the First Foot reinforced by Sir Gust De Weer¡¯s crack expeditionary force out of Devil¡¯s Cove, attacked Tirifort at the banks of Shifton River near its stone bridge. Prince Radin Radpour, having been informed by spies of the army advancing against the crossings, moved the force he¡¯d managed to assemble the previous months (going as far to the west as Merchant¡¯s Triage to ¡®find¡¯ men) from Tyeusfort to meet them in the field. The Prince stripped caravans from their guards and slaves using the Khan¡¯s authority and his personal purse, the desert mercenaries mostly a cavalry force, built around Tyeusfort and Eikenport¡¯s sentries and city guard. Whilst the around four hundred soldiers of the infantry were of questionable quality, the mercenaries were tough men well-versed in smaller scale battles, mainly mounted archers and light cavalry led by his bodyguards. Their number difficult to pin down, as caravans coming through the Great Desert could have up to fifty or even a hundred guards each. Depending on sources, the Cofols numbers ranged between five hundred to a thousand mounted archers gathered near Shifton¡¯s Camp, a tiny settlement beyond the bridge and on the other side of the river bearing the ancient Horselord leader¡¯s name. It must be noted here that most of the First Foot was an infantry force by now, numbering around seven hundred soldiers and three hundred support personnel, with the addition of the around a hundred men from Sadofort. The rest had been kept in reserve at Devil¡¯s Cove along with the civilians the Baron had brought with him earlier that month. Now the men from Scaldingport were more diverse than that. Their five hundred strong men-at-arms could fight on foot and they did, but they kept theirs horses at the near and they were always followed around by the three hundred solid and now reinforced Old Spears unit, Scaldingport veterans of the First and Second Foot mostly. In addition to that Sir Gust must have had over fifty heavy cavalry with him that sported plate armour, long lances and fought mostly on horseback. Knights amongst them. The rest of the bigger Scaldingport force was comprised of two hundred longbow archers, two hundred crossbowmen (a large detachment of the famed Castalor¡¯s crossbowmen swelling the original unit), a hundred slingers and over five hundred support units. With over a thousand three hundred fresh fighting men in the field to the Baron¡¯s smaller worn out (barely a thousand though the number is disputed) very hardened soldiers, the man in charge wasn¡¯t the man with the most troops. This created a strange dynamic in the Issirs camp and command structure. In any case Prince Radin was heavily outnumbered and sporting a mainly long range, less armoured and overwhelmingly mounted force opted to avoid a direct confrontation and fight like the Khan¡¯s ancestors had in the distant past. This important but smaller scale series of battles foreshadowing that when on Eplas and outside a city, even unskilled Horselords are very difficult to beat.
- Battle of ¡®whitebrick¡¯ wall Early morning, first day - Damnation, Gust thought seeing the hundred kilo boulder smashing their catapult, sharp splinters, bolts, pieces of hardwood from the frame and springs ripping through three soldiers pushing it in place, the steel arm snapping at its base. ¡°WATER FUCKIN¡¯ MELON!¡± Bugs bellowed flying above the battlefield, beak pointed down to the red mist of body parts hurled right and left, the straight flat part of steel almost three meters in length soaring backwards and cutting a hapless sergeant of engineers in two pieces. Everything above the hips gone at the snap of one¡¯s fingers. ¡°SPREAD OUT!¡± De Moss barked to his columns of infantry, the men-at-arms jumping on their horses and galloping to safety, as the rest of the shelling reached them. ¡°GUST!¡± Mael yelled seeing him reeling turning his stallion this way and that to see the damage the defenders were causing with their surprise attack. The soft ground swelling on impact at spots, afore the boulders bounced off the harder subsoil and exploded out to roll for another forty meters. Men dived out of the way, with the occasional shocked fool getting an arm, or leg ripped off his torso, if he was lucky. ¡°They don¡¯t have the range!¡± He grunted and kicked his legs to send his mount galloping towards the engineers. ¡°SET THOSE MACHINES DOWN!¡± Gust yelled furious. ¡°FIRE AT THE GOD DARN TOWERS!¡± ¡°Gust you have to get the crossbows in range!¡± Mael yelled galloping after him. ¡°To clear the parapets! They are going to fire on the ladders!¡± Argh! Gust turned his head around breathing heavy, his helm restricting his vision somewhat and scanned the expanding area surrounding the brick walls. Robert had taken the east approach, nearer to the bridge and was attacking that part of the fort, while the Crows that had range weapons and machines had tried to set up for an assault on the front gates. The two towers were overlooking the flat battlefield, whatever vegetation nearer to the banks of the river. Rows upon rows of soldiers were hurrying to approach the walls on foot, the cavalry standing back idle and useless. Count, his mind told him, whilst he tried to calm himself down. ¡°TIME!¡± Gust bellowed and sergeant Gullit busy setting up their own catapults raised his head and stared at the walls. ¡°Half a minute sire! How many fired on the first volley?¡± he asked a soldier sitting on the small table and reviewing the maps. ¡°Ahm,¡± the young Issir muttered not expecting the scrutiny, just as the second volley reached them. Most crudely cut and rounded boulders missing, or aiming at the men approaching the fort carrying the long ladders, but one striking the table he was standing next to pulverizing it. The soldier along with it. The young man turned into a splattering unrecognizable gore, flesh, skin, bones and armour liquefying and the crimson material spraying a five meter wide area. ¡°Twelve,¡± Mael grunted, grabbing his arm as Gust was about to punch his scared horse on the head to stop it from turning about maddened. Gust shoved his hand away and stilled his eyes on the stunned and gore covered sergeant. ¡°Gullit, fire on those blasted towers!¡± He barked and turned around pulling savagely at the reins to rush towards Captain Mads Struder¡¯s crossbowmen. The heavy laden company creeping closer to the walls a couple of hundred meters away. ¡°Gust, you got to keep back!¡± Sir Mael yelled galloping after him, with a panicked Klaas in tow. Gust turned his head around and showed him the killed men that had stood still. ¡°Keep on the move old man, it¡¯s the better strategy!¡± He yelled and charged his snorting and kicking wild horse towards the man from Castalor, Captain Struder. Gust jumped from the saddle when he reached them, boots sinking in the ground and grabbed the Captain by the arm to get his attention. ¡°How many archers on the walls?¡± He asked him seeing the experienced crossbowmen slowly unloading the cumbersome and heavy weapons. ¡°I¡¯ve seen soldiers milord,¡± the Captain replied calmly amidst the chaos unfolding all around them. ¡°But only rocks are falling.¡± Uh? Gust stared at the soldiers with the ladders nearing the bleached white bricks of Tirifort, the walls a mere five meters tall, which was an advantage for the Towers to fire over them, but wasn¡¯t intimidating for the attackers. What is this? He wondered now worried. Struder gave him a spyglass and he brought it to his face, an eye looking through the lens, the other following the volley ripping through the men carrying the ladders killing, or maiming over twenty at once. Grinding his teeth Gust examined the Cofols manning the walls and then finding no one shooting arrows down turned the spyglass about to examine the battlefield. He had reached his cavalry resting their animals near the grassy banks of the river, when one of the knights rose on his stirrups and pointed an arm back towards the Fort. Gust swung the spyglass around following the shoreline to the bridge hidden behind the mass of Tirifort. He felt the spit dry in his mouth. ¡°Riders,¡± he grunted and tossed the spyglass to Captain Struder, the bronze instrument smacking him on the chest. ¡°Where?¡± Sir Mael rustled, staring at him under his open helm. ¡°By the river,¡± Gust replied and climbed on his nervous horse afore bellowing like an angry beast to his pale faced squire. ¡°Toss me my goddarn lance boy!¡±
Prince Radin, the Bloodfang as was his moniker for striking when you weren¡¯t expecting him, attacked the men rushing to climb the walls of Tirifort and escape the shelling. Everyone¡¯s attention was on the bombardment and the walls, the Prince¡¯s riders routing the distracted infantry hitting it on the flanks. He¡¯d split his mounted archers in two large groups, the first attacking the Baron¡¯s men, the other striking unexpectedly after popping out between the walls and the river at the Crows testing the gates. The Baron¡¯s men retreated in panic, losing almost a hundred men in the process and when their officers turned them around, they realized that running after horses was futile. Lord Van Durren sent his cavalry after the mounted archers, but they dashed over the bridge and the knights decided not to go over after them. So the mounted archers returned, whilst the machines on the towers fired volley after volley on the rattled attackers. The remnants of the First Foot, badly battered and mauled for more than a year were at their breaking point.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. The Crows troops fared even worse initially, as they were caught almost mid-way up the walls, the riders dragging the ladders away from under them. Men toppled to their death, breaking legs and arms, or trampled under hooves. The mounted archers fired volley after volley on the slow spear columns and the men-at-arms that rushed for their horses. The riders turned towards the lines of foot archers and crossbowmen next, the advantage here huge, although the Prince had given strict orders for them to retreat and regroup. Some of them ¨Cthe majority of Radin¡¯s men not professional soldiers- just couldn¡¯t resist the easy kills, the unarmored Issir foot archers being extremely vulnerable to a charge and stalled long enough for Sir Gust¡¯s cavalry to catch them. Sir Gust¡¯s reaction cleared the field and scattered the first group that was toying with the Baron¡¯s infantry, killing those greedy enough to stand and face him, but the majority of the second group pulled back, galloping wild parallel to the Shifton River and then crossing its bridge in turn under the cover of the Fort¡¯s walls towards the nearby friendly Shifton¡¯s Camp, a small village built on the road to Tyeusfort. They expected the strong detachment of the Crows coming after them to hesitate a crossing like their allies had done earlier in the day, opting for a calm approach to the situation, but Sir Gust¡¯s cavalry followed by more than a hundred men-at-arms that had jumped on their horses furious didn¡¯t hesitate. He charged over the bridge after them instead riding hard at the tip of the armoured formation. The ¡®Raven of Dawn¡¯ was probably the angriest man on the battlefield, so the Cofol¡¯s assessment this time was dead wrong.
- Gust saw the stone bridge ending above his horse¡¯s head and used his spurs to push the animal even harder. The last mounted archer swung around on his seat when he crossed the lip of the bridge on the other side of the river and ogled his eyes seeing the knight approaching despite being considerably heavier. The Cofol mercenary cursed, then cried a warning for his friends riding a body ahead and pulled hard at the reins stopping his horse. He was going to try and stall Gust and give them time to escape towards the barely visible mudbrick buildings in the distance. Two of them turned their heads around, bows in hand and reached for fresh arrows, slowing down as well. Or try to drop him, when he paused to deal with their friend, Gust thought and cut hard left without slowing down. Sir Jan Reuter riding two horse bodies behind him and still on the stone bridge cursed loudly seeing him veering away from the mounted archer. The Cofol had managed to turn his smaller horse around and aimed his bow on the onrushing Gust, the knight half-covered in a cloud of dust. Had the road being drier, or the hour not closer to noon, the Cofol would have seen that Gust had kept his long lance aimed at him in a slanted manner, pointed away from his horse¡¯s head and towards the almost still mounted archer. Had he been a knight fighting at tourneys the Cofol would have realized Gust was risking a heavy injury on his good arm this way. Of course had the man been frequenting such foreign events, he¡¯d surely have heard that Sir Gust De Weer¡¯s grip on the long lance was renowned, without the need for proper stances and second only to his physical prowess, the latter the stuff of legends. The mounted archer loosed his arrow a second afore he spotted the steel lance lunging towards his head. He made to jerk his neck out of the way, but the sharp tip went through his forehead, exploded out of the back, breaking his neck and then ripping his head off his shoulders, the upper part of his spine attached. ¡°Ugh!¡± Gust grunted, pulling his arm holding the lance closer to his body, raven-shaped face of his helm covered in gore and totally blind. He dropped the lance and raised his right arm to his face, galloping hard past the decapitated, but still upright on the saddle archer. Gust found the cover and made to lift it, an arrow smacking him on the chestplate and splintering, another striking his horse between the eyes and bouncing off his skull leaving a deep cut behind. Gust cursed still blinded, the horse veered hard one way, its snout raised high the other in a desperate neigh filled with preternatural horror, whilst the knight recovered his balance, nearing the reloading fast Cofols. He slapped his face cover open, reached for a weapon, realized he¡¯d no time for that, dropped the reins and raised both his arms, just as his horse plunged between the two panicked archers, shoving their horses aside. The smaller horses cried scared, as the knight burst by them full speed, right hand gripping a kicking and screaming archer by the neck lifting him off the saddle, the other still holding a teared piece of bloody cheek containing a left ear and a large portion of the skin and hairs above it. Sneaky bastard had jerked away at the last blasted moment! ¡°TYEUS HAVE MERCY!¡± Sir Jan gasped, following a bit behind him witnessing the mutilated face of the archer Gust had ¡®spared¡¯. Granted he run him through with his lance and in the end the hapless man got to live even less than his friend. Gust realizing he was still carrying the desperately fighting Cofol with him, dropped the smaller man by the side of the road, the momentum sending the screaming archer head first on a limestone plinth used as a crude bench outside the village and silencing him abruptly. ¡°Eh,¡± Jan flinched ogling the splattered brains of the man¡¯s head that had painted the tan plinth red. ¡°I suggest we wait for the rest of the company to approach milord,¡± he added clearing his throat, helm and armour covered in dust much as Gust was. ¡°They¡¯ve gotten away! Hells and damnation!¡± Gust growled irate, right as his shell-shocked horse collapsed under him, its heart giving out. Sir Mael Bolte being the first of the larger group that reached them half a minute later, stopped Fiend his loyal horse clicking his tongue, perceived the situation unruffled for a brief moment and then turned his helmed head around and asked in a clear voice over the sounds of men and mounts. ¡°Klaas, have ye got that second horse wit you son?¡± ¡°Aye, Sir Bolte!¡± His unseen squire squeaked from the back of the many armoured knights. ¡°Bring it here posthaste,¡± Sir Mael ordered him calmly. ¡°Bah! It was a weak breed!¡± Gust defended himself and the aged knight nodded. ¡°No breed can survive ye milord,¡± Mael elucidated earnestly much as he always had. ¡°Herein the reason I told the lad to bring ye a spare.¡±
Sir Gust chased the riders to Shifton¡¯s Camp, but got attacked amidst the mudbrick buildings and a fight broke out from alley to alley. Prince Radin would have pulled away, but he had his supplies inside the settlement, so he turned around to test the knight from Scaldingport instead. Sir Gust found himself encircled almost inside the village, by way too big a force and probably realized no one had any idea at all about the Khanate¡¯s real forces or topography. The fallacy was to repeat itself again and again, as if the old dictum was incomprehensible to otherwise fine generals and strategists. A common theme since the start of the war and would again be demonstrated that same year to the north and on the other side of the continent, when half the Second Foot, marines and horses that had landed and taken Ri Yue-Tu in the summer, tried to attack and dislodge a force four times larger in Altarin and got themselves wiped out almost without stepping a foot into the city. The centuries of sparse relations between the kingdoms blinded Issirs and Lorians alike (some of it was bigotry of course) to the true abilities and population of the Khanate. To give example, Issir¡¯s Eagle one of the two biggest cities in Kaltha was about a hundred thousand people (behind only Midlanor¡¯s a hundred and fifty), but it was half the size of Yin Xi-Yan a middling city by the Desert Lake by Hath-Kirk River and deep in the Great Desert. Even worse the size of Issir''s Eagle was a mere one-fifth of the capital Rin An-Pur that stood at well over half a million souls. As Sir Mael Bolte eloquently wrote in his war journal that survived the campaign, ¡®that was way too many plaguing horses, twice that in arrows.¡¯ ¡®By all gods old and new, you don¡¯t fight Horselords on Eplas outside of a city,¡¯ is the ancient saying, ¡®lest you''re a brave fool, or ride atop a Wyvern.¡¯ Since Sir Gust didn¡¯t have one of those mythical beasts at his disposal, he¡¯d at least found himself trapped somewhere with cover of sorts.
- Battle of Shifton¡¯s Camp Late afternoon, first day - The Cofol saw him charging down the narrow street and jumped inside the small mudbrick building again, his arrow striking Sir Gust right at his visor¡¯s slit and almost taking out his right eye. The cut on his brow bleeding down and right in it, stinging and restricting his vision. Gust grunted fuming and turned the fast galloping horse towards the washed out yellow crude wall. ¡°Yah!¡± He yelled kicking his legs savagely to get it going, the frothing at the mouth animal trying to turn but failing to break his grip, until the last moment. Whoa, Gust gasped realizing he hadn¡¯t thought it through, seeing the wall coming at him with incredible speed and looking sturdier up close. ¡®Luckily¡¯ for Sir Gust it wasn¡¯t. Man and horse went crashing on the poorly-built wall and came out inside the one-floor house, the explosion sending debris, broken wood and half-decent mudbricks to rain on the two -shell-shocked at the unforeseen turn of events- mercenaries that waited for him in there. Oh shite. A cursing Gust tumbled violently from the saddle, the horse dying under him with its legs and ribs broken ¨Chence why the ¡®luckily¡¯ only applied to the knight earlier- almost flew three meters to the other side of the room and crashed down between the two bloody mercenaries, breaking the only furniture that remained unbroken. A sturdy oaken table. ¡°Gah,¡± Gust grunted and pushed himself up on shaky legs, the dazed mercenary archer staring at him shocked with blood running down his cut forehead. ¡°What in Goddess¡¯ nam¡ª?¡± the man tried to say afore a half-blind Gust backhanded him once across the face breaking his nose and brutally snapping his head back. The Cofol went sprawling down, a broken piece of wood from one of the table¡¯s legs with a long nail still stuck in it, ripping his left cheek out from earlobe to the corner of his mouth. The wound catastrophic for his looks. Gust coughed up what he¡¯d swallowed and removed the helm from his own head, trying to see through the dust cloud clogging up the small room. A crunching sound and the second mercenary came at him holding a long knife with a curved blade. Gust smacked it aside using the helm, got knifed on the sides on the return, the blade slipping through his wrapped armour there and his gambeson stopping the tip sort of. ¡°Eh,¡± his opponent grunted realizing he¡¯d failed to cut the much taller, robust Gust enough and then got hit by the knight¡¯s helm so hard, his face caved in and one of his exploding eyeballs flew over an enraged Gust¡¯s head. The man fouled himself afore dying without another sound. Gust got out of the crumbling building covered in gore and dust five minutes later, his robes tattered and stumbled on to the street again. He had his bloody helm in a hand, his equally gored sword in the other. He stared down the narrow street cutting through Shifton¡¯s Camp and towards the last of the riders escaping the settlement for a long moment, until friendly horses and men approached him from behind. ¡°They run away,¡± Sir Jan reported, himself covered in soot and gore from the intense fighting in close quarters. ¡°We lost men milord.¡± ¡°Bloody cocksuckers,¡± Gust cursed grinding his teeth. ¡°Hiding alike ruffians behind windows and rooftops. Never standing to fight it out!¡± ¡°We found their wagons on the south side,¡± Sir Mael said jumping down from Fiend lithely. ¡°Supplies, fodder for many animals.¡± ¡°How many?¡± Gust rustled and accepted the spyglass from Sir Jan to better see the riders that had stopped four hundred meters from the village¡¯s edge and were slowly gathering up again. Gust counted three hundred horses just in that bunch. ¡°They are back here too!¡± Someone yelled. ¡°More to the west sire!¡± Another informed him. Sir Mael, sweaty face looking haggard under his helm stooped and spat down to clear his mouth. He then stilled his eyes on the fancy dressed, heavily armoured Cataphracts that had appeared to spy on them from afar in their turn, amongst those ever-smiling grotesquely carved silver masks, one wearing a gold one. His scaled armor looking twice as expensive as those of his fancy armoured friends. ¡°Too many. There¡¯re over a thousand wagons back there Gust,¡± Mael told him worried. ¡°Haven¡¯t seen the like in me life. It¡¯s a small city.¡± Damnation. ¡°How could a local commander gather so many men and animals?¡± Gust grunted and the Cofol riding the mail-covered warhorse raised his arm in a signal. ¡°I think there¡¯s a Prince of Ri An-Pur out there,¡± Sir Mael replied and Gust sensed the men near him tense up. ¡°They say they carry ¡®Khan¡¯s Voice¡¯,¡± Mael added, a much more learned man than Gust himself. ¡°There¡¯s only one Prince I have a grudge with on this gods-forsaken land!¡± Gust roared snapping the men out of their fear-induced stupor. ¡°The one that maimed me brother! I say, he did us a blasted favor!¡± ¡°AYE! HAHA!¡± The tired men boomed finding their courage again and Bugs landed on the collapsed house across from them. The huge raven¡¯s sinister black eyes examined the faces of the cheering men for a while afore croaking loud with a chilling inhuman voice. ¡°WHAT¡¯S ALL THIS? FODDER?¡± Bugs asked them and started chuckling pleased, the sun darkening just before the arrows came.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 252 A most unfortunate event (3/3)
¡®Ah,¡¯ Ron Niveld thought, sitting on the large flat stone covered in greenery, listening to the sounds of the river. ¡®It¡¯s a good spot this. Always has been.¡¯ He placed his old bag down and searched for his pipe initially, the sounds of the birds chirping and the smells of the forest pleasant to both nose and ear. He gave up his search when he found his apple. ¡®Marie would have loved that¡¯, he thought stretching his tired legs and started cleaning it. ¡®Munching a good fruit and singing with ¡®em birds.¡¯ He¡¯d made the trip after a couple of years, as he didn¡¯t want to leave their small house at first. A stupid idea really, but he¡¯d hoped she¡¯ll come back. Well she didn¡¯t. No one did. The dead¡¯s journeys have no returns. Ron sighed and wiped his wrinkled eyes not much in the mood for that apple now. He looked about him with a grimace and realized the birds had stopped. The forest silent and the river the only sound he could hear, until a horse neighed. Ron got up and eyed the armoured man getting out of the foliage atop his horse, another horse without a rider following right behind him. The third rider a younger man with slanted eyes and long hair caught at the nape. Good animals, strong, with long manes and expressive eyes. The men on the other hand appeared dangerous. ¡°The hunting paths are further up ahead milords,¡± Ron said treading carefully. Unless he was lost, the men didn¡¯t belong in this part of the forest, so near Boar¡¯s Mountain. For they weren¡¯t hunters for sure. ¡°People assumed,¡± the leading man said in cultured common, his white beard long, skin dark and full of scars. Some from weather, most from war. ¡°Old Niveld went up the hunting paths again.¡± ¡°Yeah? Which people?¡± Ron asked and eyed the man¡¯s heavy mail shirt. ¡°Downstream at Hunter¡¯s Cot,¡± the man replied. ¡°I¡¯m Sir Jan Reuten, a knight of Tyeus. I¡¯m looking for old Ron Niveld to fulfil a quest.¡± ¡°You found him,¡± Ron said with a grimace. ¡°I want no trouble Sir Knight.¡± Sir Jan nodded, his great helm resting on the side of his saddle between the bags. A black helm this, bird shaped at the visor. There was a fine longsword there and a heavy lance that had seen action. The knight turned back and pulled the horse following him forward. A younger stallion, all black and shiny from hoof to his great snout. ¡°This here horse is for you,¡± Sir Jan told him and dropped the reins on the ground. Ron bit his lower lip nervously not sure what to make of this. ¡°And a promise.¡± ¡°What promise?¡± Ron asked and stooped to pick the reins of the horse up. The stallion snorted when he touched his head lightly, but didn¡¯t balk away. ¡°It¡¯s for your son. The opportunity to study under a Knight and earn his ring.¡± ¡°My son is a hunter,¡± Ron retorted a little brusquely. ¡°Married with kids. He¡¯s too old for that, but I¡­ thank you Sir Knight,¡± he added quickly. Sir Jan stood back on the saddle with a smile. ¡°Any boys?¡± ¡°One,¡± Ron replied eyeing him. ¡°How old?¡± The knight asked him. ¡°Who is the promise from?¡± Ron countered. ¡°The Queen,¡± Sir Jan replied. ¡°I know no Queens,¡± Ron argued nervously although he did. ¡°Never left my forest.¡± Sir Jan nodded. ¡°Your son did,¡± he told him and Ron recoiled, his words hitting him hard. ¡°He fought alongside the Raven on Eplas.¡± Ah, he thought and stared at the horse¡¯s innocent eyes. Damn ye. ¡°Take your time,¡± Sir Jan told him and pointed at his place by the river. ¡°I¡¯ll wait over there, it¡¯s a beautiful spot this. Come along Solt, never miss the chance to rest your mind, chance given. Usually opportunity eludes us.¡±
-
Sir Gust De Weer, Raven of Dawn A most unfortunate event Part III -One problem at a time-
Battle of Shifton¡¯s Camp Early night ¡°PUSH THE WAGON!¡± A man yelled, the rattling of arrows falling all around them seemingly endless and the fire crackling on the east side of the road spreading to a second building. Its light illuminating a large portion of the south approach to the village despite the black smoke and the darkness. Gust glanced at the soldier looking like a porcupine taking another step, before collapsing on his face and grunted. He got up and sprinted towards the second wagon they were using to block the road, his boots digging the soft dry ground. Mael cursed behind his back, having found cover in the alley they were keeping the horses, seeing him crossing the street. Gust changed direction a couple of times to fool those aiming at him, but in reality he was moving like a sluggish heavy boulder, ideal for target practice. So he slapped his helm shut, just as at least five arrows found him, all but one breaking on his dented plate, the last finding the loose joint on his left shoulder and stopping there. He pulled it out and tossed it away. The steel tip hadn¡¯t penetrated, but was darkened with something foul and oily, he noticed. Gust cursed, almost lost his footing and then threw his bulk on the heavy wagon. The wheels creaked and moved forward as he started heaving with both arms and his shoulder, the veins swelling on his neck, the hard plate collar straggling him. Arrows whistled over his head, stuck on the laden wagon, or the ground. So many one didn¡¯t have the need for a blasted quiver to fight the rest of the night. ¡°EEEYAH!¡± He growled ineligibly and felt the thud as the front blocked the opening, before dropping on his knees sweating profusely from every pore of his body. Gust opened his visor and puffed out with his back on the wagon, face illuminated by the burning buildings a good twenty meters away to his right. The arrows had stopped falling, he noticed. Either the Cofols had run out, or¡­ ¡°Are they coming?¡± He asked a scowling Sir Bolte that was glowering at him standing at the exit of the alley. ¡°They have to milord,¡± Mael replied austerely. ¡°Are ye going to join us soon?¡± ¡°Nah,¡± Gust said and used the knuckle of his gauntlet to touch the cut on his brow that had opened up again. ¡°That was a shitty stitch job Mael,¡± he griped. ¡°The remedy assumed yer lordship would stand still. Yelling, running and pushing laden wagons about in the field is usually frowned upon sire an¡¯ downright absurd a practice for the injured,¡± the knight retorted, eyes on the shadowy Cofols riding about beyond the edge of the village. They had tried twice to get their wagons back, but they weren¡¯t willing to arm-wrestle with the cavalry trapped inside the village, so they retreated each time. Setting the houses on fire was an idea they also had abandoned. Probably someone figured out that supplies and wagons burn as easy as a house, Gust thought and stood up grinding his teeth, his back hurting him. ¡°Darn arrows are poisoned Mael!¡± He growled grimacing and the knight signaled the men-at-arms covering the other side of the road, a couple of meters from the flames, to get ready for company. ¡°I¡¯m aware milord,¡± Mael responded with a jeer. ¡°It¡¯s manure the most of it, but a couple of wounded had gotten their blood poisoned.¡± ¡°You could have bloody told me that!¡± ¡°Nigh impossible when yer lordship is galloping ahead of the rest,¡± Mael admonished him. ¡°And I didn¡¯t want ye to get all round up about it.¡± ¡°Argh!¡± Gust roared his fury spilling out, just as a Cofol started lugging at the wagon from the other side to get it unstuck, his approach unseen. He stooped under it, his helm banging on the bottom when he crawled forward, extended his arm searching and found a foot wearing a soft leather boot. Gust pulled at it hard, the man hitting the ground with his back and a short yelp, afore getting sucked under the wagon the yelp turning into a terrified shriek. Gust shoved his heavy gauntlet, now closed into a fist, in his mouth to silence him, getting most of his teeth out of the way and heard a second Cofol jumping down behind him, more moving about hidden behind the wagons. Three pairs of feet. Then four more. Ten. Ah, ye sneaky cunts, Gust thought channeling his father and rose up from under the wagon, his steel mace in hand. A towering armoured figure blocking their retreat.
The Cofol mercenary turned his head seeing his friend spiraling out of control before lunging into the burning collapsed building and got the steel flange protruding from the mace¡¯s head right between the eyes. His shocked face distorted and the cranium split right in the middle, the subsequent burst sending his conned helm to fly away still covering part of his pulverized brains. He went down and Gust stepped over him, grabbed the next one from the shoulder and turned him around. He swung with the gore covered mace, but he caught a mercenary standing next to his opponent at the back of the head right at the nape. A clank and the man went down, but his head deflected Gust¡¯s mace, the arc wider and he hit the man in front of him with the shaft. The Cofol¡¯s helm took the brunt of it bending inwards and the man¡¯s left eye turned bloodshot and bulged out. He stumbled on his feet, but another mercenary turned around, saw Gust swinging his mace and tried to cut him across the chest. Gust parried it aside with the mace stopping mid-move, but got a return slash that bounced off of his shoulder plate, the blade clanking on his helm as it retreated. ¡°Darrgg!¡± The Cofol screamed half-panicked half-delirious seeing Gust faltering, his ears ringing and rushed him. A horrible decision given the trapped Cofol had the chance to climb the wagons and escape. The fact that Gust was reeling and his left side was open to an attack completely irrelevant, as the famed knight¡¯s left punch could kill a man, or a small boar dead was the saying. And it did.
Gust dropped his ruined gauntlet down and grabbing his dangling ring finger, jaw clenched manically pulled at it hard straightening the broken bone. ¡°Uh, ahm,¡± Klaas mumbled incoherently looking between the dead Cofol and the knight¡¯s bloated flesh in utter shock. ¡°Snap out of it Klaas! Here, bandage it tight with the pinky,¡± Gust grunted through his teeth and gave him his left arm. ¡°Where in Tyeus spear is Sir Jan?¡± He barked at a soldier clearing the gore from his blade. The street was littered with dead bodies, not all of them whole. ¡°Trying to break through to the bridge or else, per yer exact orders milord,¡± the man replied expressionlessly. Ah. He¡¯d completely forgotten about that. Gust turned and looked for Sir Mael. He found him observing the Cofols regrouping, the night helpful to the Crows cause as it made the Cofols reluctant to waste arrows with their supplies in Gust¡¯s hands. ¡°You think they are running out?¡± He rustled. Of arrows was his meaning. ¡°I think they outnumber us heavily and the Baron isn¡¯t moving,¡± Sir Mael replied crooking his mouth and looking older than yesterday. Gust felt tired as well, riding and fighting, then fighting some more in the dark instead of resting wasn¡¯t helping for sure. ¡°Sir Jan has orders to notify De Moss that we need help,¡± he rustled and made to wipe the blood trickling down his face, but realized Klaas was still working on bandaging his hand. ¡°Almost done milord,¡± his squire apologized. ¡°The Fort is blocking the approach to the bridge,¡± Mael countered. ¡°Infantry won¡¯t make it over in time under that shelling.¡± ¡°They could if they move now,¡± Gust grunted. ¡°And I didn¡¯t ask for infantry.¡±
With Sir Gust cut off inside Shifton¡¯s Camp, the Prince cordoned the small village using his fast moving riders and then sent another group to hold the bridge so he could retrieve the rest of his cavalry still keeping the Baron busy on the other side of the river. The Cofols started trickling through over the stone bridge with the first dark, but Sir Jan Reuter circled back from the village leading the heavy cavalry and scattered the mounted archers blocking the bridge again. He immediately found himself caught between two forces in the open and got severe casualties both in men and animals. The mercenaries fired volley after volley on the exposed heavier cavalry, but armour and the dark lowered the damage inflicted and Sir Jan managed to survive the night. This was the second time in the campaign the stubborn knight from Colle had been given a borderline suicidal mission and managed to escape death. Prince Radin found himself in a dilemma. He knew there was the potential for a prestigious win against the trapped Sir Gust the next day, but he was running low on valuable ammunition (there was fodder aplenty for the animals near the river and at pre-made stockpiles on the road towards Tyeusfort) and he didn¡¯t want to risk a major battle at Tirifort as he had spent the previous months reinforcing Tyeusfort. Prince Radin wanted the Issirs to waste time, fighting him again and again, whilst dragged away from their base. With his brother entering Rida, he hoped to receive reinforcements soon. If Prince Atpa moved towards Devil¡¯s Cove down the Merchant Path then this would have turned out to be Sadofort all over again. Hoping aside losing a single fort didn¡¯t matter in his strategy, as long as he stood in control of the only road and the logical approaches to Eikenport and Merhant¡¯s Triage. Eventually attrition would win the battle for him. Baron Van Durren lost the morning trying to get his scattered forces in order again, but suffered attrition from repeated attacks from the mounted archers, who dared his knights to charge at them. At noon Captain Gel De Moss who found himself in command of Scaldingport forces on the east front prepared for an assault towards the walls again, when word reached him that Sir Gust had been cut off beyond the river. The legend is a giant raven informed the Crows about what had happened, the whole tale difficult to believe, but surprisingly enduring in the years that followed. He thought about sending the rest of his Men-at-arms to retake the bridge, as by that time they¡¯ve figured out the fort was very lightly defended, but the young Baron upon being informed of the Captain¡¯s decision turned livid, as that would leave the fort to concentrate their machines on his men. Lord Robert fuming sent Sir Lowel Koel, youngest son of the Baron of Tigerfall Castle Leonard Koel and his second in command, to the Crows camp to take over. De Moss refused to surrender command ¡®to a mere Baron¡¯s lackey¡¯ and the two men came to blows until calmer heads prevailed. Later that afternoon with Tirifort still standing and still shelling the paralyzed attackers, though the volume of fire had lessened with each passing hour, Lord Robert managed at last to get the First Foot going again and prepared for an assault on the west walls of the narrow oblong-shaped fort, when a swollen-faced Sir Koel returned to inform him that Sir Gust had been missing for hours from the field along with the bulk of Scaldingport¡¯s cavalry, but was presumed still alive. Worried the Baron stopped the assault, turned down Sir Koel¡¯s demand to have Captain De Moss executed and rode himself to the Crows camp to get a better understanding of the situation. With the night coming fast, it was initially proposed to regroup and attempt only a rescue attempt across the river, but Robert who had grown impatient after getting hunted down for months from the Cofols turned the idea down and opted for something else in its place. A night assault on the Fort from both camps and sending Sir Gust the units he¡¯d requested with a small escort, amongst them the Baron¡¯s close friend Sir Jaap Vegenuur of Badum. This time a bandaged Captain De Moss agreed, adding for the record that had the delay cost the missing Sir Gust¡¯s his life, then everyone involved should expect to face the Old Crow¡¯s wrath upon their return. Given Lord Ruud¡¯s well-known low tolerance for fools, the knights present took his warning to heart.
- Battle of Shifton¡¯s Camp Early morning, second day CAW The wayward wild crow sang. The horse jumped over the slain soldier, the man twirling on his feet and spreading his entrails all over the dirt road. Gust raised his shield and caught a bolt, the steel tip breaking through just over his forearm and stopping on the chestplate. He was pushed back on shaky feet and the Cataphract stopped his warhorse and calmly reloaded his crossbow looking at him behind his silver mask. Gust found his footing and dropped his shield stepping aside to stop a Cofol running towards a distracted Klaas. The longsword hissed traveling low and chopped the man¡¯s right leg below the knee clean off. The mercenary cried out in pain, but kept on for a couple of more meters using the stub, the severed artery spraying blood down, until Klaas pierced him with a spear through his open mouth stopping him for good. ¡°Get back!¡± Gust barked to his squire and rushed the Cataphract that had turned his crossbow on the young man. The Cofol saw him rushing the horse and kicked his legs sending it to charge Gust, firing on the move. Gust flinched, the bolt missing his chest, not because the charging rider was a bad shot, but because a flail had smacked his right side ruining his aim. The young Issir warrior that had tossed it got hit on the ribs and went down. The Cataphract¡¯s horse neighed, huge eyes under the Chamfron all black, seeing Gust sidestepping and hefting his sword with both hands putting everything he had in the swing. The blade cut through chainmail, hide, flesh and bone, almost taking the animal¡¯s head off afore breaking. Gust cursed jumping away from the crashing down butchered horse, covered in fresh gore and the Cofol plummeted to the ground awkwardly, before stopping on a collapsed blackened wall with a crashing thud. He¡¯d managed to turn into an unrecognizable pile of wrapped metal and crushed flesh during his brief trip. ¡°Kill the horses!¡± Mael roared fighting ten meters away, the street riddled with fresh corpses, the older ones already bloating and smelling something fierce. Gust spat down, plenty of blood mixed in with the spit, kicked the broken Cataphract¡¯s body over and then stooped to grab his saber. He glanced at the pale faced squire holding the spear and grunted, his throat hurting. ¡°Grab his blade,¡± he rustled. ¡°Stay behind me.¡± ¡°They are pulling away milord,¡± Klaas informed him rummaging through the dead soldier¡¯s things.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Gust grimaced and stared at the Cofols pulling out of the village again and then at the sky slowly lighting up. The color red and sinister. Lots of red about, he thought. Other colors too, I suppose, if yer into these kind of things. Gust hadn¡¯t an artistic bone in his body, but he could tell where a scrap was heading to. ¡°They¡¯ll be back,¡± he told him and walked towards the rest of their group. The knight paused to kick an injured Cofol repeatedly in the face, until he stopped moaning. ¡°Did ye get it out of your system?¡± Sir Mael asked him, whilst examining the bleeding cut on his right forearm, the vambrace ruined there. ¡°I¡¯m pretty pissed still,¡± Gust admitted. ¡°You better clean that.¡± ¡°No need,¡± Sir Mael replied. ¡°It was a saber.¡± Yeah, Gust nodded and removed his dented helm. Thank Luthos. Those that had gotten arrow wounds had turned feverish overnight. Another day here will kill us all, or their blasted poison will, Gust thought, half in the mind to get everyone able on a horse and make a break for the bridge after setting the supplies on fire. But he couldn¡¯t just leave so many behind and deep down didn¡¯t want to retreat, or run. Giving in to the Prince wasn¡¯t an option, nor having him get his supplies back. The biggest reason being that Gust wasn¡¯t a coward. So he decided to stay put and fight it out. If Tyeus gave him a hand here, it was for this last part probably, as the war god favored courage over strategy.
An hour later Gust had rushed towards the north approach to the village, most of its houses broken into by now, the few civilians cowering where they could. A brief count gave him a very low number of defenders manning the hastily constructed barrier. Made out of doors, windows and piles of mudbricks, Gust could clear it with a good horse given enough speed. He¡¯d probably clear it with a middling horse, but the horse wouldn¡¯t make it, he thought and stared at a young wounded Issir warrior resting on his shield. The pale-green eyes returned his stare politely. He was the one from before, Gust realized. ¡°Milord,¡± the clad in old but well maintained chainmail soldier said. ¡°They¡¯re fixing to come at us again.¡± ¡°I ain¡¯t letting a Cofol break through,¡± Gust grunted with a grimace. ¡°What¡¯s your name soldier?¡± ¡°Gert Niveld sire,¡± Gert replied with a tired smile. ¡°Out of Hunter¡¯s Cot.¡± ¡°I had a man named Niveld as guide there. I was hunting near Boarhorn River,¡± Gust muttered reminiscing. ¡°Me father¡¯s a scout,¡± Gert said. ¡°And a hunter; got a younger brother learning the trade from him. I wanted to learn fighting wit horse and blade, so I left ¡®em. But he¡¯s a good hunter aye.¡± ¡°Led me right into a mountain boar¡¯s lair big as a bull, almost lost a leg,¡± Gust grunted. The hand of a Princess as well. ¡°As I said milord,¡± Gert deadpanned bravely. ¡°A darn good hunter.¡± Haha, yeah that¡¯s right. Gust liked men that stood their ground to lords and fools. He eyed him and cracked a wolfish smile. ¡°Is that yer armour Gert?¡± ¡°Ayup. Had a horse as well but it got wounded and I lost it milord. But I can fight on foot just as well.¡± Good man. Gust smacked his lips and turned to stare at the Mounted Archers gathering for another pass. ¡°I owe you a horse mister Niveld,¡± he told him and reached for his shield, a part of the bolt still stuck on it. ¡°Help us survive this and I¡¯ll throw a knighthood in the bargain. That''s a promise.¡± ¡°Haha!¡± Gert guffawed, his young face lighting up. ¡°A knight of Hunter¡¯s Cot milord?¡± Gust nodded and hefted the saber in his right hand. ¡°No lofty name or famed place, will make a better warrior mister Niveld. Herein is where yer measure is taken, amidst the blasted steel blades, the rushing mounts and the cold dead.¡±
The Cataphract jumped his horse over the barricade, long lance skewering a soldier through shield and plate. He let it drop, more horses jumping over on his right and left, spears and blades pushing the defenders back. This line is thin as a whore¡¯s night tunic. Gust rushed forward, saw a Cofol hitting a man-at-arms busy fighting someone else on the head and shoulders, the saber finding helm and armour the first couple of times afore, coming up bloody and slashed at him. He missed for the most part, an arrow breaking on his visor snapping his head back, but caught the Cofol right at the boot resting at the stirrups. The saber cutting through to the bone. He cursed, found the Cofol that was standing back and casually firing arrows from a safe distance and run towards him. Gust reached the barricade and swung a leg over it, or that was his plan, but he had no lift, so he banged his knee hard and went over it with a tumble. He got up cursing, a fresh coat of dirt over his blooded armour, made to rush the Cofol, but spotted a second row of them moving to engage and grunted. The Mounted Archer clicked his tongue and his swift horse turned around. He dashed ten meters away and nearer to his approaching friends. Gust counted about forty coming towards them from the direction of the bridge, visible now that the sun was up, less than a kilometer away. The archer smirked annoyingly, aimed with his bow again and fired. Gust deflected it with his shield and the Cofol shrugged his shoulders and fired another. Gust took a step back the arrow whistling by his head. Then another. He had to get back behind the barricade. The archer started laughing and reached for another arrow. Behind him, beyond the approaching row of men and horses, more figures had appeared on the bridge marching fast. ¡°You are a stupid dog. Big muscle, small brains, small cock,¡± the Cofol yelled in broken Common. ¡°I¡¯ll take your armor and sell it. It¡¯s too big for me,¡± he explained and fired another arrow that punched through a weakened point of his plate. ¡°Hah,¡± the archer laughed. ¡°Next one perhaps.¡± The men coming from the bridge stopped, unloaded their haversacks and placed what looked like wooden bipods in front of them taking their blasted time. Gust took another step back, raising his shield. ¡°Run stupid dog,¡± the archer taunted and Gust decided to oblige him. He run back towards the barricade and jumped over it just as the first volley of Struder¡¯s heavy crossbowmen ripped through everything standing upright without cover and a few standing behind shields. That first range finding shot is always a blasted killer, a crashing behind the short barrier Gust thought with a shiver. The lifeless glassy eyes of Gert Niveld staring at him seemed to agree.
¡°Sir Gust,¡± Struder greeted him leading his slow-moving host. ¡°I report the bridge is secure sire.¡± ¡°What about the Fort?¡± Gust asked hoarsely, the number of casualties they had suffered bothering him immensely. ¡°The First Foot was determined to climb the walls sire,¡± the Captain replied and blinked seeing the dead littering the street. ¡°The Cofols are in the village?¡± ¡°Few made it in,¡± Gust replied and glanced at the corpse of Niveld for a last time with a deep frown. ¡°None came out.¡± Accursed sneaky bastards. ¡°What were they looking for milord?¡± ¡°Their wagons,¡± Gust said and sighed feeling worn out. ¡°But we refused to oblige them.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll set up the men on the south approach to expect their next assault sire,¡± Struder offered with a smart salute. Gust nodded and hobbled towards his squire. Klaas was holding a flask of water and Gust washed his mouth first, cleaned his face and cut, afore drinking the rest of it. ¡°See the men have water lad,¡± he told him and walked with difficulty after the marching troops from Castalor. The studded leather armour they had on came with a harness attached on it so they could carry the considerable load of the heavy crossbow. While cumbersome to set up, it wasn¡¯t that much slower in rate than the smaller variant and packed immense power. A weapon to stop anything, if you knew where they were going to appear. The next size was the Legio¡¯s Scorpio. But that needed at least two men to work the level for the torsion springs. Gust found Sir Mael standing behind the destroyed wagons they had brought into the street to block it during the night assault. Some of the men were pillaging the contents, mostly foodstuff, grain, dates and fodder, but for one that had sacks with arrowheads and ready-made shafts. ¡°We need someone in charge of the wagons,¡± Mael commented eyeing the plunder. ¡°Not for these,¡± Gust replied and touched the swollen cut over his eye. ¡°What are they doing?¡± He asked seeing the dust from the riders occupying the road. ¡°Thinking about it, I reckon.¡± ¡°Will they go for the bridge again?¡± Gust asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Mael replied earnestly.
The Cofols retreated later that afternoon. It was disappointing as Gust had spent the time setting up stronger defenses and choke points. His disappointment turned to anger and even the news that the Baron had managed to breach the Fort¡¯s walls weren¡¯t enough to placate him. Gust felt cheated and looking at the casualties he¡¯d suffered didn¡¯t help him at all. An hour before sunset a rider informed him the fort was theirs, but the First Foot had killed every single one of the Cofols that had found inside. The sex and age of the victims left vague. ¡°Our boys probably had a hand in it,¡± Mael told him inside the half destroyed cabin they had set up his headquarters. ¡°Not pleasant getting stoned for days.¡± ¡°That¡¯s on the Baron,¡± Gust grunted. ¡°And De Moss. He better have an excuse for it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a win Gust,¡± Mael noted. ¡°No it¡¯s not,¡± he rustled. ¡°He¡¯s going to wait for us down the road. Then we have to do all this all over again at Tyeusfort. Damnit he knows exactly where we are going!¡± He traced the road on the crude map and heard commotion outside. ¡°Everyone has to stick on the road and avoid the desert,¡± Mael said looking at the map. ¡°Theoretically we could cut through the peninsula and reach Eikenport from the north.¡± ¡°What about water? This seems like a big detour,¡± Gust grunted and went to the broken door to see what was going on. ¡°The locals would know,¡± Mael replied. ¡°It¡¯s camel land.¡± Gust snorted and walked out. He paused, his eyes on the group of soldiers wrestling about, one of them kicking a young boy on the head and sending it sprawling down. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Gust barked and hobbled near them, his left knee swollen. ¡°Milord,¡± an Issir soldier said. ¡°That piece of shite knifed Arnout in the kidneys,¡± he pointed at a pale faced, slowly breathing man laid under a shade. ¡°I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll make it.¡± Gust pressed his lips into a thin line and turned towards the slowly getting up native youth. The young Cofol wasn¡¯t over fourteen at the most. ¡°What was the dispute?¡± He asked, every word hurting him. Gust needed a rest and a day¡¯s sleep, but once he¡¯d worked on solving a problem, another popped right up. ¡°The kid stole Arnout¡¯s ration,¡± the first soldier replied. ¡°He caught him and that slanted turd knifed him.¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t eaten for days!¡± The boy yelled at them. ¡°They¡¯ve taken everything!¡± ¡°Cut his arm off,¡± Sir Mael suggested, the standard punishment for thievery in the Order. ¡°Fuck you black devil!¡± The boy cursed and Gust sighed. ¡°Cut both his arms off,¡± the soldier offered looking at his superiors. ¡°Just try it and I¡¯ll show you!¡± ¡°Where¡¯s the knife?¡± Gust asked tiredly. The soldier approached and gave him the bloody dagger. Gust flipped it in his hand and then tossed it to the boy. ¡°Pick it up,¡± Gust ordered. ¡°What if I do?¡± He asked him. ¡°Then ye¡¯ll get to show me.¡± ¡°Milord that boy is a killer!¡± the soldier protested, just as the youth stooped and picked up his dagger. ¡°No, he¡¯s not,¡± Gust replied, just as the youth rushed him, knife in hand. He¡¯s just hungry. He stepped back just as the youth lunged at him and snatched his arm at the wrist just as he attempted to pull it back and slash at him again. ¡°Uh,¡± the boy gasped, looking into Gust¡¯s face. ¡°You can give up,¡± Gust told him. ¡°Or you can try again, but it will cost you.¡± The youth narrowed his eyes, his small wrist in Gust¡¯s much larger hand and then tried to cut him with the dagger again angling it sneakily upwards. The blade lodged on the bindings of his vambrace with a clack, but it was the sound of bones breaking that was heard the most, just before the boy started screaming. Aye stubborn all right, he thought and stooped to pick up the dagger. And stupidly brave.
¡°Set the bones, bandage his hand,¡± Gust ordered entering his headquarters, the young kid sniffling in a corner holding his broken and dangling wrist. Klaas puffed his cheeks out unsure where to start. ¡°Use the dagger,¡± Gust suggested. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± He asked the boy to distract him. The fact he hadn¡¯t lost consciousness impressive. ¡°Solt,¡± he sniffled, shivering all over. ¡°Are ye a local?¡± ¡°The Prince took the locals. I hid. Those too young to fight work the beds.¡± Damnation. ¡°Where did he take them?¡± ¡°Triage?¡± ¡°Where¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Near the mountains,¡± Solt replied with a grimace of pain. ¡°Where are you from?¡± ¡°Scaldingport.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Near the sea,¡± Gust replied. ¡°This might hurt,¡± Klaas warned and placed a crude brace under his hand. ¡°More?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Klaas replied. ¡°But not too much.¡± Solt nodded and then abruptly fainted when his squire moved his wrist into position.
Gust slept like the dead for eight hours and early the next morning he rode to Tirifort, where the Baron had set up his headquarters, his colors flying above the towers. He walked with a slight limp not because his leg was better, but out of sheer will. Gust had no time to rest the knee, or hobbling about like a fool pretending he was injured. The Baron was at breakfast, the men around them still picking up the slain and moving them to the big funeral pyres. ¡°Gust,¡± Robert greeted him with a grin, looking tired but in good spirits. ¡°That¡¯s a big win friend. Costly, but by gods they paid dearly right?¡± Gust pulled a chair out glancing at the interior of the well maintained fort and then collapsed on it, the creaking alarming for a moment. ¡°Rob we haven¡¯t really done anything,¡± Gust started and some of the knights stared at him confused. ¡°The Prince escaped with most of his force intact.¡± ¡°That¡¯s plenty of his force about to get turned to ashes friend,¡± Robert countered and showed him the big piles of the slain in the yard. That¡¯s the fodder. The blasted cheese in the mousetrap. Radin doesn¡¯t give a damn about these people. ¡°We could have used some information,¡± Gust argued. ¡°I see at least a couple of women in there, Rob.¡± ¡°Are you even aware of how many women the Khan ruined in Rida?¡± Robert asked him tasting his wine. Gust made to speak, but the Baron stopped him with a tired gesture. ¡°Children, men,¡± Robert continued. ¡°Those not killed, were enslaved and sent back beyond the Steppe. Thousands they say.¡± ¡°Rob I get it, but if we make enemies of everyone, then we¡¯ll fight them all in the end.¡± ¡°The Khan offers surrender, but that means your life is forfeited,¡± the Baron continued. ¡°My father refused to surrender and I didn¡¯t twice in Queen¡¯s Oasis. This enemy dear Gust, is evil.¡± ¡°Evil has no race, or country Rob,¡± Gust admonished him. ¡°Evil are not the men dying in the field but there¡¯s plenty in greed and politics. What you said is a politician¡¯s pretext. Which is what we are doing here. What are we fighting for if we lay waste to everyone?¡± ¡°Ah, you wish to negotiate with the Prince?¡± Robert asked him with a smile. ¡°Usually you are not the talkative kind.¡± ¡°You know he¡¯ll wait us down the road. This is his plan. Damnit man can¡¯t you see we have no support? Where¡¯s the god darn Council?¡± ¡°And we¡¯ll smash him again,¡± Robert replied, dismissing his arguments. It was as if his friend didn¡¯t want to listen. Or couldn¡¯t. This isn¡¯t like Rob at all, Gust thought, wondering what was going on. ¡°Let me worry about plans Gust. We have our orders,¡± Robert added with a frown. ¡°How many men did you lose?¡± Gust asked him. The Baron stared at his lieutenants. Sir Koel moved in his seat, face sporting blue and black welts and a black eye. ¡°Less than two hundred men my Lord.¡± Less than¡­ Gust sighed and glared at the knight. ¡°These piles hold over three hundred easy,¡± Robert explained, as if you could measure the dead and find profit in it. ¡°Then there are those you cut down in Shifton¡¯s Camp right?¡± ¡°What about the men I lost?¡± Gust grunted and put his hands on the table. ¡°A hundred and thirty two men-at-arms, thirty-six Old Spears, with more dying of blood poisoning even as we bloody speak!¡± ¡°Your usual heroics are risky in the field my friend,¡± Robert taunted with a grimace at his outburst. My usual¡­ ye piece of condescending shite! ¡°Gust, we need to discuss a plan with the Baron,¡± Sir Mael intervened sensing he was about to go through the table and smack some sense into the Baron¡¯s head. ¡°What plan?¡± Robert asked staring at the seething Gust. The knight felt his brow leak anew and grinded his teeth, blood trickling down his temple. ¡°The plan is set.¡± ¡°We go after Tyeusfort next,¡± Sir Vegenuur added. A rider was heard arriving at the gates of the fort, the commotion distracting. ¡°Robert if we follow after him, we are going to have a repeat of this in Tyeusfort and it might not go as we want. It¡¯s a bigger castle, there¡¯s a city at the near and out of our reach.¡± ¡°Without taking the forts we don¡¯t control the road Gust,¡± Robert replied with a thin smile, as if he was talking to a simpleton. ¡°It¡¯s a simple strategy. We need the road.¡± Gust clenched his jaw so hard, he felt bones creaking on his face. ¡°Milord perhaps we can discuss it later?¡± Mael offered and behind him a sergeant approached followed by a well-dressed man of Lorian descent. He¡¯d short-cut blond hair, wore an expensive ring armour, over hardened leather, with finely engraved round plates over it, steel vambraces and greaves and wore a bright white tunic underneath. A pair of comfortable boots protruding out of his long white cloak. The Issir knights present shared glances with each other and Baron Van Durren stood back on his seat curious. ¡°My Lords,¡± the sergeant started after saluting. ¡°We intercepted a group of travelers.¡± ¡°The road from Tyeusfort?¡± The Baron asked nigh surprised, given they were at the other side of the river. ¡°Devil¡¯s Cove sire,¡± the sergeant corrected him reluctantly. Gust felt an uneasy feeling creeping up on him and turned his torso, the chair complaining underneath him, to examine the newcomer. ¡°If I¡¯m allowed to speak,¡± the man started sporting a heavy Lesia accent and Gust who had no dealings with Lesia anyway, disliked him instinctively not because of that, but because his kind of men were what his father called ¡®big cunts¡¯. ¡°Please do,¡± Robert urged him. ¡°I¡¯d have offered you quarters, but you¡¯ve caught us in the middle of campaign mister¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯ll be quite all right my Lord. The name is Captain Nathanyel Wyncall,¡± the cultured man replied with a toothy confident smile. ¡°I serve with the ¡®Three Hundred¡¯ mercenary company, currently operating out of Eikenport.¡± Uh? Gust had narrowed his eyes so much, he could barely see him. ¡°Ahm,¡± the Baron murmured unsure. ¡°We don¡¯t have need for mercenaries at this point, but we could for sure use your input on the situation Captain Wyncall.¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid we¡¯re permanently employed my Lord,¡± Wyncall replied readily. ¡°But seeing our employer has open contracts with the throne of Kaltha, it was deemed prudent to help smooth out the current bumps on the road sort of speak hehe.¡± ¡°What bumps?¡± Gust grunted eyeing him full of distrust. ¡°Well, for starters,¡± Wyncall said raising his brows at the scowling Sir Gust. ¡°The Princess is currently in Eikenport.¡± ¡°Is she now?¡± Robert murmured thoughtfully. ¡°Eikenport is far away,¡± Gust rustled not liking where this was going. ¡°I can assure you,¡± Wyncall replied with a smile that deserved to be bludgeoned out of existence, Gust thought. ¡°She¡¯ll stay put with your graces permission.¡±
Prince Radin wisely retreated from Shifton¡¯s Camp after attempting to finish off Sir Gust and traveled back thirty kilometers to wait for the Issirs to advance again. He sent birds to Tyeusfort informing the local commander about the fall of Tirifort and urged him to mention the detail to his report back to Rida and Prince Atpa, currently standing in for his brother that was campaigning near Altarin. Atpa¡¯s version of events while official veer from here on from the Issir and Lorian sources and we will revisit them at a later time. Baron Robert Van Durren¡¯s rejoice at his victory in Tirifort was soon to be lessened as the dispute boiling inside the Issir army became a full blown disagreement. The reasons behind it heavily disputed depending the source, but it is clear Sir Gust De Weer was unwilling to strike for Tyeusfort that fall. He proposed a daring lunge through the desert aimed for Eikenport, leaving enough of a force at Tirifort and its bridge to stop the Prince from retaking it. The Baron disagreed, but Sir Gust wouldn¡¯t be persuaded and the Issir force was split down the middle. A compromise was agreed upon, with the Baron continuing towards Tyeusfort very cautiously, giving Sir Gust¡¯s smaller and more mobile force the time to reach Eikenport via the ¡®Camel Paths¡¯ with the help of local guides. Sir Vegenuur was to accompany him with several knights to act as the Baron¡¯s proxy, a clear indication of mistrust on the Baron¡¯s part. In order to understand how these two men couldn¡¯t agree on a strategy one must have more insight on what was happening in Kaltha at the time. The Baron himself asked for reinforcements from Devil¡¯s Cove sending several messages to his family, but old Lord Van Durren and still the comatose King Antoon¡¯s Shield, had his hands full with a ¡®dispute¡¯ in Badum and stalled for an answer, or was ordered not to reply. Anyway the dispute was rather important and it had been hidden from the young Baron initially. Thinking he¡¯d perished in Rida the previous year, the local Council had voted for his much older cousin Janos Van Durren to assume the High Baronship of Badum with the agreement he¡¯ll marry young Aafke Van Durren. The Duke of Riverdor and leader of the family had agreed. Robert¡¯s younger sister had fled to Pascor seeking the protection of the Lakelords and Robert¡¯s letter revealing he was still alive had turned a sensitive situation into a shitstorm of epic proportions. Some would claim it placed power firmly in Lord Anker¡¯s hands. Three versions of this event exist today. Aafke¡¯s, Lord Anker¡¯s and Sir Gust¡¯s. - Lord Sirio Veturius Circa 206 NC The Fall of Heroes Chapter IX (Sir Gust De Weer, Raven of Dawn, -Crows in the Desert- Volume II - Sands of Cameltoe Peninsula, & the Queen¡¯s Raven Fall-early winter of 190 NC)
253. Three Hundred (1/3)
Princess Elsanne Eikenaar ¡®Jade Eyes¡¯ ¡®Fair¡¯ Anne Burton Three Hundred Part I -A royal portrait-
Elsanne¡¯s face looked distorted in the dirty old bronze mirror. A portrait gone astray and the Princess knew the difference. She frowned, tried to fix the elongated collar stands, had success with the right, but failed with the left that pointed sideways and away from her chest. This white lace shirt needs more buttons and thicker material, a lot of stuff is showing, she decided and stared at the black silk corset bust thoughtfully. ¡°I can help with the cords,¡± Jasi said cooling his flushed face with a folding hand fan sporting a beautiful engraved silver handle. ¡°Uhm,¡± Elsanne nodded and the eunuch approached to take the control of the flaps. ¡°Where did you get the fan?¡± She asked. ¡°The pirate market, don¡¯t ask about the price,¡± Jasi replied standing behind her. ¡°Breathe out, you know the drill honey.¡± Elsanne puffed out and felt the constricting garment pressing at her ribs. The painful feeling strangely comforting. People are very strange creatures, she thought looking at herself in the mirror. ¡°How much did you pay?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s just say my hand was empty,¡± Jasi replied with a grimace. ¡°But I had to wash it afterwards.¡± Uh? ¡°Whatever do you mean Jasi?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t I just say don¡¯t ask for details?¡± Elsanne took a small breath in sneakily. ¡°Don¡¯t breathe,¡± the eunuch warned her. ¡°Anyway, you can find the craziest things there,¡± Jasi continued pulling hard at the leather strings. ¡°But if you want normal stuff then the Cofol District is the better choice.¡± ¡°What about¡ª?¡± Someone knocked at the door interrupting her query. ¡°Who is it?¡± Jasi snapped. ¡°We¡¯re busy here!¡± ¡°I¡¯m coming in Anne,¡± Mutiny Carter warned her, then opened the door and walked in afore anyone had the time to reply. ¡°Uncouth, foul-smelling brutes,¡± Jasi murmured under his breath and the pirate woman laughed and removed her hat to fix her hair a bit in the mirror. ¡°Hello Miss Carter,¡± Elsanne greeted her. ¡°Ye know dear,¡± Mutiny said looking at her. ¡°The more good water ye use in yer barrel, the more us all down there will have our innards messed up by ¡®Bald¡¯ Burton. Grog be smellin¡¯ of the sea lately, an¡¯ not in a good way, if ye catch me drift.¡± ¡°I can feel it unfortunately, the drift,¡± Jasi griped standing behind them. ¡°You better use that barrel girl. Heed my words, it¡¯ll do wonders for your complexion.¡± Mutiny eyed him unconvinced. ¡°Are ye fixin¡¯ to get in me pants ¡®Rouge Lips¡¯?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a crayon,¡± Jasi hissed. ¡°She¡¯s using it as well.¡± Elsanne pouted her lips, not wanting to get into this particular conversation, but wanting to help if it was possible. ¡°Don¡¯t mind it on her,¡± Mutiny retorted and stepped back, just as Jasi finished tying her up. ¡°She¡¯s ready for a dance me thinks.¡± ¡°In this thing?¡± Elsanne gasped. ¡°I¡¯m wearing pants Carter!¡± ¡°Only wenches wear dresses here Jade Eyes and the smart dames.¡± ¡°The ¡®smart dames¡¯?¡± Elsanne asked and Jasi chuckled. ¡°Aye, over at the ¡®King¡¯s Court¡¯ across the street,¡± Carter replied with a shit-eating grin. ¡°There¡¯s a court in Eikenport,¡± Elsanne murmured unsure, smelling a rat and glared at Jasi who was chuckling uncontrollably. Hmm. ¡°Let us continue this downstairs,¡± Carter suggested and put her large hat back on. ¡°Burton has cleared the bar for us.¡± ¡°Haha, cleared she says,¡± Jasi laughed and opened the fan to cool himself down. ¡°Now that¡¯s a proper fucking joke.¡± ¡°Jasi language!¡± Elsanne said glaring at him. ¡°Honey, have you heard her talk? She was talking of whores just a second ago,¡± Jasi retorted and strolled out of the room. Elsanne glanced at the shorter pirate woman and Mutiny shrugged her shoulders indifferently. ¡°It¡¯s a brothel,¡± she elucidated. Ah.
Burton uncorked the bottle judiciously, poured a finger of wine in a bronze cup and then closed it back up again. Mutiny cleared her throat in a suggestive manner and Burton eyed her like an annoying bug for a drawn out moment. ¡°Can I have some?¡± Carter asked while Elsanne carefully cleaned her lips with a small towel, the roasted cod fish very tasty, athough Burton had gone overboard with the garum. ¡°Didn¡¯t I serve ye rum just now?¡± Burton reminded her. ¡°Me cup is empty and I¡¯m not sure twas rum in the first place,¡± Mutiny replied truthfully. ¡°Was free though,¡± Burton countered, as Elsanne tasted the sweet wine. ¡°Whilst I had to buy this bottle from the Cofol market and it cost me in real coin. Ye know that thing you arr always lackin¡¯?¡± ¡°It¡¯s rather nice, let her have some,¡± Elsanne urged him. ¡°Anne, you don¡¯t want her getting familiar wit the taste,¡± Burton said. ¡°She can¡¯t afford it.¡± ¡°Is there any more fish?¡± Jasi asked and Sigurd walked inside the inn at that point, his face still a little swollen but healing, his limp however always present now. ¡°Not for you,¡± Burton replied. ¡°But I have plenty of lard soup wit onions.¡± ¡°I have coin,¡± Jasi hissed and Burton blinked not believing him. ¡°I have the liver kept,¡± he said to test him and Jasi got his purse out. Mutiny whistled and Sigurd frowned pausing near Elsanne. They were sitting on the tall stalls of the counter. ¡°I like liver,¡± Jasi countered. ¡°Everybody does,¡± Burton deadpanned. ¡°Which is why I charge it double.¡± Jasi rolled his eyes and Elsanne chuckled, until she saw Sigurd¡¯s disapproving stare. ¡°Something the matter?¡± She asked him. ¡°Kaltha has moved against Tirifort,¡± Sigurd told her cutting to the chase, eyeing the others with distrust. ¡°You had word from Kaltha?¡± Elsanne asked him. ¡°I have people in the army,¡± Sigurd replied, leaving it at that. ¡°The news will reach us soon anyway.¡± ¡°Will they succeed?¡± Elsanne queried and finished her wine. ¡°Who knows? They might take it,¡± Sigurd said and stared at Burton. ¡°That¡¯s Flauegran,¡± he told him matter-of-factly. ¡°It¡¯s not for you,¡± Burton replied defensively. ¡°I have rum though, a fresh barrel.¡± ¡°Do you serve wine regurarly?¡± Sigurd asked him with a scowl. ¡°Nah, that¡¯s for Anne,¡± Burton said. ¡°Aww, gratitude mister Burton, it¡¯s very considerate of you,¡± Elsanne smiled and patted his hand. Sigurd sighed and stared at the door of the inn. ¡°We need to move your grace,¡± he finally said. ¡°The army¡¯s timing is peculiar.¡± ¡°You think they¡¯ll come here?¡± Elsanne asked and watched as Burton refilled her cup, under the jealous eyes of Carter. Sigurd nodded grimacing. His leg was hurting him still.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. ¡°Isn¡¯t that a good thing?¡± Elsanne probed. ¡°We don¡¯t know who¡¯s running the show,¡± Sigurd replied. ¡°Or their orders.¡± ¡°Scaldingport was at Devil¡¯s Cove,¡± Elsanne reminded him. ¡°You told me they didn¡¯t support Lord Anker.¡± ¡°Openly,¡± Sigurd said. ¡°Lord Ruud won¡¯t commit on a side until the very last moment and will only work his own scheme.¡± ¡°But he¡¯s on our side,¡± Elsanne countered. ¡°Right?¡± ¡°I was surer about it yesterday,¡± Sigurd admitted. ¡°How were you sure Sigurd?¡± ¡°I had a deal with him, it¡¯s why Sir Gust is here,¡± Sigurd replied and sighed. ¡°The thing is my man was serving with the First Foot. So they are coming as well. Hadn¡¯t heard from him for more than a year. This is a problem and a week¡¯s old report your grace.¡± ¡°Who is in command?¡± Elsanne asked. ¡°A Van Durren from Badum,¡± Sigurd said and pressed his fingers under his bloodshot eye. ¡°Lord Joep¡¯s son.¡± ¡°I know Sir Robert and Lady Aafke,¡± Elsanne replied. ¡°He¡¯s very pleasant¡ª¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t a dance your grace, nor are we looking for a husband,¡± Sigurd cut her off rudely. ¡°You were never so na?ve as to not know how the court works.¡± Elsanne placed her cup down and glanced at the others watching their exchange in silence. ¡°First of all I still have a husband, so I can¡¯t look for another praise be Uher,¡± she started solemnly. ¡°Secondly, the Van Durren are a loyal family to my brother that is true, but they were always decent and lastly, what do you propose here Sigurd? Who am I to trust?¡± ¡°Well you can¡¯t trust anyone near Lord Anker,¡± Sigurd replied. ¡°I don¡¯t like they elected to come here your grace, when the army needs help in Raoz.¡± ¡°How do you know they are coming here? Nobody knows where I am.¡± Sigurd stared at her and then turned his eyes on Burton. The tavern owner frowned. ¡°I¡¯ve told everyone Ann is my daughter and her mother Van Fleet¡¯s kin,¡± he said. ¡°That was smart of you, but still does she look like a mix-breed?¡± Sigurd countered. ¡°Or even a common woman? Sitting in your tavern eating fish and drinking expensive wine,¡± Sigurd continued. ¡°You sure love your daughter a lot Burton, but one might ask, where was she all those years? How long have you been in Eikenport without mentioning her?¡± Burton grimaced seeing his point. ¡°Who is going to ask though? No pirate will sniff around me business and Van Fleet¡¯s affairs.¡± Sigurd returned his stare for a moment and then grunted. ¡°What about Garth, or the Cofols?¡± ¡°Garth is a criminal, but he¡¯s not here, ¡®Nine Lives¡¯ runs the show and he¡¯s in the brotherhood for good, or bad,¡± Burton replied. ¡°The Cofols have no idea about our business mate.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Jasi said and broke their staring contest. ¡°Can I have that wine now mister Burton? Or do I have to start polishing rods to get service in here?¡± Mutiny Carter slapped him hard on the back a couple of times chuckling. ¡°Now that¡¯s a good turn of phrase ¡®Rouge Lips¡¯!¡± ¡°Nah, there¡¯s the room, the food so I¡¯ll just take the darn coins,¡± Burton decided and grabbed Jasi¡¯s purse, whilst Elsanne frowned cutely unsure whether good was the right word, or not. Sigurd groaned in his turn and blurted unable to control himself. ¡°Where in Ora¡¯s black heart did you find this guy?¡± ¡°You know technically,¡± Elsanne started blushing furiously. ¡°Jasi doesn¡¯t have all the parts required, poor thing. So yeah¡­¡± Sigurd blinked, a nervous tick appearing in his good eye and Burton who was counting coins up until that moment paused and gave Jasi a thoughtful inspection as if to measure him up. ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it fool,¡± the eunuch warned him sounding dead serious.
The sun had come up over the docks and Elsanne walked to the entrance of Burton¡¯s inn to catch some of it. She stared at the ¡®King¡¯s Court¡¯ the building looking more like a warehouse and then glanced at a portion of the ¡®Black Market¡¯ visible from the inn¡¯s front door. Elsanne had never heard as much yelling, swearing and running about, or had been as close with so many people that looked like criminals. Lord¡¯s Burrow had a strangely refined atmosphere compared to Eikenport¡¯s more dubious crowd, despite many shoppers from the other Districts visiting the pirate market each day. You could always spot the occasional Lorian mercenary, or wealthy Cofol slave-owner, appearing in the colorful crowd. ¡°Anne,¡± Burton called from inside. ¡°I¡¯ll run an errant of sorts out the back, Sam will man the shop, but keep an eye as well for any tomfooleries.¡± ¡°Sure mister Burton,¡± Elsanne said grinning. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± She gathered her long hair at the nape and tied them back with a cord, I¡¯m getting better at it, but still miss my Loes, Elsanne thought, feeling more pride than sadness and the aged Lorian resting on the wall of the inn a couple of meters from the door, turned his hard eyes on her not bothering from the strong sun. ¡°It¡¯s a lovely day,¡± the man rustled, heavy mail gleaming under the long overcoat. ¡°For the time of year.¡± ¡°I prefer this from the dreadful heat of summer,¡± Elsanne replied unsure on where he was going with this. The Lorian, he had short-cut grey hair with streaks of blond in it, rested his weight on his left shoulder touching the wall. Half-turned so he could look at her more easily. ¡°Is that yer place lass?¡± He asked and the stranger¡¯s accent reminded her of the young ¡®Charming Knight¡¯ of Lesia. King Davidson¡¯s son had dodged the tourney in Riverdor, so Elsanne had no idea how he looked now years later, but she remembered the Lesia courier explaining it to her brother. Answer his query, she admonished herself. ¡°Ahm, yes. In a sense,¡± Stop talking now. Elsanne smiled nervously. ¡°Are you interested in a drink mister¡­?¡± ¡°Name¡¯s Lear Hik,¡± the man explained looking sad. ¡°Ahm, I¡¯m Anne¡­ Burton,¡± Elsanne managed to say, her heart beating wild in her chest. ¡°Can I buy ye a drink miss Burton?¡± Eh. Elsanne didn¡¯t expect that. Was he looking for female company? She glanced across the street and a whore saluted her, either because she recognized the young Issir, or because she thought Elsanne had gotten herself a client. Ugh. I don¡¯t trust you? ¡°I try not to drink too much,¡± she explained and realized another aged warrior was watching them from across the street, not paying any attention to the whore standing outside ¡®King¡¯s Court¡¯. ¡°What do you favor when ye do?¡± Lear asked in his baritone, unhurried tone. ¡°Wine?¡± Elsanne replied and glanced at the inn behind her. ¡°Will you show me the way Anne? It¡¯s your place¡­ in a sense,¡± Lear asked her with a tired smile, his angular face cracked and weathered from traveling. War as well, given the scars, she thought. ¡°Sure,¡± Elsanne blurted and dashed inside the inn, the sun on her eyes unbearable suddenly.
Sam raised his head and eyed the armed Lear walking inside behind her, before glancing at the skittish Elsanne. He coughed once, grimaced and placed both his hands on the counter. ¡°Arr ye all right ther¡¯ Anne?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Elsanne replied. ¡°Mister¡­ ahm,¡± she stared at the only table with early customers and the pirates smiled at her, going a bit overboard in their beaming, showing lots of yellow and gold teeth. ¡°He wants to have a drink.¡± ¡°Antonia will come down in a minute,¡± Sam told him. ¡°Name¡¯s Lear Hik,¡± Lear elucidated and found a stall next to her. ¡°I was thinking to buy Anne something.¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± Sam asked. ¡°This isn¡¯t that kind of place mate.¡± ¡°That so? Well, see enough places and everything looks alike after a time, I reckon,¡± Lear replied and placed a gold coin on the counter. ¡°Serve yer best to her just the same.¡± ¡°We only have the one quality, be it beer or grog,¡± Sam explained to him, afore adding. ¡°The lass is not on the menu.¡± Lear nodded with a smirk. ¡°I got that, but as I said. I wasn¡¯t looking for company,¡± he grimaced, cracked his neck right and left before setting his eyes on the bottles behind ¡®Bronchitis Sam¡¯. ¡°What will it be?¡± Sam asked him. ¡°I haven¡¯t finished my thought,¡± Lear replied. ¡°But since you asked I¡¯ll have what she prefers.¡± Elsanne felt her stomach turn into a knot. ¡°We¡¯re fresh out,¡± Sam told him sternly. ¡°Best ye be on yer way now.¡± Lear sighed and then stared at the silently watching the exchange Elsanne. ¡°Renato Marcuso,¡± he said and she frowned. ¡°Never heard of him,¡± Sam retorted and coughed half-a-lung out increasingly more nervous himself. Could it be? ¡°She has,¡± Lear noticed with that sad look back on his face. ¡°He is a painter, quite famous. Paints realistic landscapes, the sun, the moons and because those bring little coin, he dabbles in portraits. A magician of colors is his moniker.¡± He knows, Elsanne thought and stood back. ¡°So what?¡± Sam snapped. Lear shrugged his broad shoulders. ¡°You are not in the wrong there, most portraits stay in Lords¡¯ halls, but there¡¯s a big building in Atetalerso, a square ugly thing we call the ¡®Record¡¯s Edifice¡¯. It¡¯s where the Bank keeps¡­ well, its records.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that¡¯s got to do with¡ª¡± Lear stopped Sam raising his hand, turned it into a fist but for the index finger, which he pointed firmly at Elsanne. ¡°The Bank commissions copies of these portraits so it can put a face over each account. As I said it is a very large building and yer face lassie is in it.¡± ¡°Ye better get out of here mate,¡± Sam warned him and glanced at the table where the customers had stopped to watch the exchange. ¡°My job here is done,¡± Lear explained and stepped away from the counter. ¡°Your troubles though have just begun Anne.¡± ¡°Since when is Mclean & Merck taking sides mister Hik?¡± Elsanne asked him, clasping her hands to keep them from shaking. ¡°The Bank cares about its gold,¡± Lear replied and gave her a small curtsy. ¡°And the contracts behind it,¡± he added and with a solemn stare at the pirates that had approached him walked out of the inn. ¡°Anne?¡± Sam asked her. ¡°This was an agent of the Bank of Trust,¡± Elsanne explained and breathed out. ¡°Pour me a cup of wine Sam.¡± ¡°You¡¯re worried about a bank?¡± Sam asked her picking up the bottle from behind him. ¡°Do they have a branch here?¡± ¡°Nah, who would trust a bank, or whatever they wanna call themselves? Bury yer coin if ye want to keep it is me advice lass.¡± ¡°What about¡ª¡± Elsanne tried to say, thinking of the companies stationed in Eikenport, when Mutiny burst inside the door breathing heavy and stopped her mid-sentence. ¡°Blimey!¡± Carter cursed, her hat in hand. ¡°There¡¯s trouble in the docks Sam.¡± Sam started coughing hard and despite his efforts to speak, he just couldn¡¯t utter a coherent word, so Elsanne asked for him. ¡°What trouble?¡± ¡°Soldiers,¡± Mutiny replied and rushed to the back door. ¡°Where¡¯s Burton?¡± ¡°Out the back,¡± Elsanne told her. ¡°What soldiers?¡± ¡°Mercenaries, a crap ton of them,¡± Carter replied and ducked inside the backroom to find Burton.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 254. Three Hundred (2/3)
¡®Nine lives¡¯ Stiles Three Hundred Part II -Nine Lives-
The Issir galleon cut hard to port, its figurehead the Black Hydra of Caspo O¡¯ Bor growing huge as it approached the sides of ¡®The Purser¡¯. The latter captain Vale¡¯s ship that was to become a tavern a decade later, the name not the ship that is, Stiles thought and moved in his sleep. It was no use. The moment you start correcting and adding details in your dreams then you¡¯re done. No more sleep for you. Stiles groaned, opened an eye and was faced by utter blackness until he remembered he¡¯d lost that in eighty-five. Or eighty six. So he opened the other one, got blinded by the strong sun coming through his open window and felt none the wiser. ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake,¡± he groaned a second time and turned to get out of his bed. He run out of real estate faster than he expected and almost planted his face on the tiles. Whoa there mate. Ye break your head here that¡¯s a life. A man don¡¯t know how many he has left. But Stiles knew how many he¡¯d burned to make it to this point. The dream had reminded him of the first. Vale¡¯s stupid scheme to hurt the High King that had gotten a lot of people hanged, killed, or drowned. Difficult to pick out of that pile, he thought and stumbled to his feet, found a barrel with water and splashed some on his face. He looked about and found his eye patch and tied it on his head, smacked his lips at the end of it and checked that darn gold tooth that always bothered him on the water¡¯s surface. Stiles looked out of the window next, spotted Ottis marching about followed by a couple of sergeants, the Dogs on the lookout for new recruits, since Glen had asked for more guards. Captain Jinx had, but it was Glen pulling the strings. Apparently he¡¯d gotten into trouble in Wetull. Stiles started chuckling with the absurdity of it all. ¡°I could¡¯ve told him that,¡± he said aloud and reached for his dark blue shirt. Stiles put on a leather cuirass next that could stop a knife and a weak slash from a cutlass. Ye see someone swinging wit his all, ye better duck under it. Once something of ye gets detached, it ain¡¯t getting¡¯ glued back on. He thought about getting his longcoat on, but the weather was warm enough so he tossed it over his shoulder instead and got out of the tower that he¡¯d turned into his house. ¡®Pickpocket¡¯ Clint saw him walking out and rushed to intercept him just as Stiles was putting on his leather fedora hat, pushing his long black hair behind his ears. The gold loop on his earlobe brushing against his hand. ¡°Morning Chief,¡± Clint greeted him, a long knife in his belt. ¡°Be meanin¡¯ to talk to ye.¡± ¡°I figured,¡± Stiles grunted and checked to see if the tavern was full. ¡°Still I need to have something in me stomach afore starting work Clint.¡± ¡°Have some dry dates,¡± Clint offered, searching in his pockets. ¡°You know what?¡± Stiles sighed. ¡°I¡¯ll pass on that. Ah, master Norec,¡± he said seeing the Dwarf getting out of the tavern, two pieces of sliced bread in hand dripping butter. ¡°Is that spiced salami in there?¡± ¡°Pork sausage,¡± Norec corrected him taking a huge bite. ¡°Was my meaning,¡± Stiles said. ¡°Where did you get it?¡± ¡°Our market,¡± Norec replied and took another bite. Dwarfs had enormous appetite for their size. ¡°With coin.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Stiles snapped not liking his innuendo. ¡°Just saying because you¡¯re not appreciative of the practice¡ª¡± ¡°I won¡¯t allow cutthroats to take advantage of the community charging an arm and a fuckin¡¯ leg, a LEG MIND YOU, for a god darn salami!¡± Stiles blasted him, spittle flying out of his mouth, all fired up. ¡°It¡¯s called trading Stiles. It¡¯s how honest folk buy stuff.¡± No such folk frequented the crowds he knew. Stiles snorted and wiped his mouth. ¡°The market ye say,¡± he mumbled, hearing his stomach protesting. ¡°Sausages and the bakeries are side by side,¡± Norec mocked him. ¡°You know it.¡± ¡°Mmm.¡± ¡°Chief can I say,¡± Clint started, but Stiles cut him off. ¡°Don¡¯t you see I¡¯m thinking?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a five minute walk Chief,¡± Clint insisted. ¡°I¡¯m waiting since morning.¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t morning?¡± Stiles asked him befuddled and stared at the blinding sun. Damn it that idiot is right. ¡°Nope.¡± ¡°It was a fuckin¡¯ rhetoric query shite for brains!¡± Stiles blasted him and glared at the Dwarf watching them whilst chewing on his huge hoagie. ¡°Now wait a bloody minute here chief!¡± Clint protested. ¡°What¡¯s a rhetoric¡ª?¡± ¡°Just lead the bloody way!¡± Stiles hissed and gave him a kick to propel him forward.
An hour later Stiles decided to return to the ¡®watch tower¡¯, stopping at the Mastaba first to make sure work was finishing there. They had turned the large empty structure into a massive second warehouse mainly for timber and building materials, but also bought iron to be shipped to Goras. The district had three blacksmiths working their craft, the workshops between the market and the refugee quarters. Streams of them had continued coming down the Merchant Path for months, Lorians from Rida mainly, but also a few transport ships rented by wealthy citizens from Altarin and Altarinport that had managed to get away and wanted to avoid getting mixed up in the chaos unfolding on Jelin. What had started as simple wooden houses to accommodate two hundred people, mainly families, had turned into sprawling rows of two story buildings on stone foundations almost attached to the west wall, from the gates to the irrigation canals coming from Felmond River. The water poured into a basin turned into a small lake, next to the south walls. The number of people staying there and in the rebuilt ancient structures, what locals called ¡®Garth¡¯s District¡¯, exceeding eight thousand souls. The characteristic walls themselves were under reconstruction, using the better timber coming from Goras, but was still unfinished at many places. Ruins needed to be brought down and with the district growing the hard labor jobs were abandoned for more profit-rich and less tiring professions. Stiles had to turn to the Sopats again for worker crews and thus the slave quarters had been created. Stiles grimaced and wiped the sweat under his eyepatch and then stepped outside the Mastaba and headed towards the Watch Tower with a last glance back to the Gallant Dogs permanent camp. Built out of hardened wood mostly, the barracks were located adjacent almost to the Mastaba and amidst a lovely copse. Perhaps the best spot in the whole district. The company had grown exponentially in less than a year, absorbing scores of deserters, refugees and even pirates looking for steady pay without much danger involved. Or work. Glen was paying for the company to stay where it was and look pretty, since he¡¯d a deal with the Gish bearing the moniker. Captain Ottis used the soldiers only for tasks involving the camp, a bit of policing, patrols and drilling with weapons, which Stiles firmly believed was the biggest scam runnin¡¯ in a city riddled with criminals runnin¡¯ one scheme, or another. This was what Stiles had to deal with. Eh, and a bunch more stuff as well.
¡°So,¡± Clint resumed his report on the events happening at the docks. ¡°The Three Hundred posted guards at every berth and are patrolling the market, stopping and searching everyone.¡± Stiles smacked his lips and eyed ¡®Rat¡¯ Wake of the Rats gang, then Dob ¡®The Bull¡¯, a Cofol slave he¡¯d freed months back, the man huge in size though covered in layers of fat tissue more than muscle. Some muscle must be under all that lard, he thought defending his decision to set the Cofol slave free. In exchange the man from Wotcheki Castle, a town at the mouth of the Khanate¡¯s Gulf in the arse end of the fucking world, had agreed to work as Stiles enforcer. A job requiring more size than skill. Usually. ¡°Ahm, do they bother us?¡± He asked Wake who was also in his payroll. The gang leader had found himself kicked out of his territory by Sid Cross¡¯s Marauders, a rival gang out of Rida looking for a new home. ¡°They are mercenaries, we¡¯ve no problem with them,¡± Wake explained. ¡°Garth gave strict instructions to keep our eyes on ¡®em fuckers,¡± Stiles reminded him. ¡°They still work for the bank the ¡®girls¡¯ say, but they are after a princess now,¡± Wake replied. ¡°Like a poofter?¡± Stiles chanced and big Dob frowned, his double chin vibrating in the grimace. ¡°A real princess from Kaltha,¡± Wake grinned a rat¡¯s smile, only two incisors still standing in that rotten mouth encased in white gold. ¡°In Eikenport?¡± Stiles wondered aloud and poured himself a generous cup of wine to wash down some of the spicy sausage aftertaste. He had to burp loudly right after as the Sopat wine Lon bribed him with didn¡¯t agree with Stiles more refined gullet. Refined used loosely here. ¡°Aye,¡± Wake replied and Stiles thought of the couple that had arrived earlier that month. An effeminate Lorian and an Issir slave of considerable beauty for the place and the time. Hmm. Allegedly Vale¡¯s daughter had sampled the girl in ¡®Bald¡¯ Burton¡¯s inn, though she herself had denied it. Then again Burton did run the brothel across the street and that pawn shop the Thieve¡¯s Guild used, he thought rapping his fingers on the table. This can¡¯t be real, Stiles finally decided. That¡¯s a wild story. ¡°Clint keep an eye on the situation. Next,¡± he said moving on. ¡°The cattle,¡± Clint started, but he stopped him. ¡°I¡¯m bringing the sheep in,¡± Stiles reminded him again. ¡°Buy ¡®em in bulk from Blacksheep, ye hear the name you can tell they know their stuff, anyway down to the Triage an easy route after that. I¡¯m not even going to entertain the notion of convincing Leona to transport livestock from Castalor. That bitch tried to kill me once already. So just drop it son.¡± ¡°I could talk with her, we are on good terms,¡± Clint insisted. ¡°Not if ye sail that route mate,¡± Stiles advised him. ¡°By the way she¡¯s not girlfriend material and I respected her father. Damn shame they hanged him.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you betray him to the Admiralty to save yer neck?¡± Clint countered getting on Stiles nerves. ¡°One doesn¡¯t exclude the other and vice versa,¡± he retorted glaring at him. ¡°For instance I don¡¯t respect ye at all, but I¡¯m forced to work wit you for now.¡± Clint stood back shocked. ¡°You need to put the screws on Sid mister Stiles,¡± Wake reminded him taking advantage of the break and Stiles groaned. ¡°I ain¡¯t startin¡¯ a war for a couple of corners for yer harlots to stand on Wake, forget about it.¡± ¡°It pains me to hear ye say it,¡± Wake retorted sadly. ¡°You¡¯ll get better.¡± ¡°That¡¯ll fuck the girls over mark me words,¡± Wake insisted. ¡°Have you thought of ¡®em poor souls?¡± ¡°They¡¯re used to it.¡± ¡°Lon said he wants to negotiate a deal for caravans to go straight to Goras, load up and return,¡± Dob said taking his turn, breathing heavy and sweating profusely despite his loose robes. ¡°That¡¯s a couple of years back and forth,¡± Stiles noticed. ¡°Or he could use a sea route,¡± Dob added. ¡°Through the reefs? Well, even if we had the ships and I¡¯m talking heavy cargo ships here, plus escorts that wouldn¡¯t be¡ª¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you a pirate?¡± Wake asked interrupting him mid-sentence. ¡°What need have you of escorts?¡± Stiles sole eye stayed on him for a long moment, half in the mind to cut him down with his saber. ¡°It¡¯s a legitimate question,¡± Wake defended himself.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°A ship full of valuables is at risk at sea,¡± Stiles explained patiently. ¡°Not everyone in the brotherhood keeps to the code and Vale¡¯s own daughter is a good example on the scoundrels one might face¡ª¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t she working for us?¡± Clint asked afore he could finish, never the sharper tool in a box, or the most polite. ¡°It was an example to reveal the flaws in Wake¡¯s proposal,¡± Stiles elucidated his patience running thin. ¡°Ron claimed they have the cargo ships, all he needs is the route, or a guide through it. He¡¯ll pay premium,¡± Dob insisted. ¡°Nobody knows Dob,¡± Stiles countered. ¡°Because nobody has made the journey for a couple of hundred years.¡±
Stiles had his legs on the table, stretching his back. He was just about to lull himself to sleep and dream of the juicy Issir wench, when he heard someone bursting into the small yard and bang on the closed door. ¡°Go away!¡± Stiles snapped. ¡°Chief, they want ye at the main gate,¡± Clint was heard through the wood. His lackey turned the knob to get into the first floor office Stiles had set up, the moment Sen-Iv left for Goras. ¡°Who does?¡± he grunted. ¡°Door is locked,¡± Clint murmured. ¡°Let me work on it.¡± Abrakas toes! ¡°I locked it ye cretin,¡± Stiles grunted and got up. ¡°Stop trying to break it!¡± ¡°You got the key?¡± ¡°Of course, I got the bloody key!¡± Stiles unlocked the door and opened it. ¡°So what¡¯s the problem?¡± ¡°No problem chief, there¡¯s a delivery for you,¡± Clint replied trying to make out the design of his iron key afore Stiles hid it in his pants. ¡°For me?¡± ¡°Aye.¡± Hmm. ¡°A chair?¡± ¡°No a couple of barrels, yay big,¡± Clint showed him. Right.
The Dogs sergeant, a mustached Lorian with brown hair and same color eyes, made to stop him approach. ¡°I run this fucking place!¡± Stiles blasted him. ¡°You¡¯re ¡®Nine Lives¡¯?¡± ¡°It¡¯s me fuckin¡¯ moniker!¡± ¡°Because the rum is for him,¡± the Sergeant elucidated. ¡°Want no mix ups here.¡± ¡°What mix ups? Move aside you idiot!¡± Stiles growled and walked past him seething. He stopped at the open gates and stared at the two men driving the open wagon, the barrels that were its cargo covered loosely with a sheet at the back. A pirate scum he knew and an Issir black robed dude he didn¡¯t. ¡°That you ¡®Nine Lives¡¯?¡± Salty Reed asked and Stiles snorted and tied his arms on his chest. ¡°No, I just look like him. Standing in when he¡¯s away. Turn around now Reed,¡± he mocked him. ¡°Hah, always the cracker,¡± Reed smirked. ¡°I have a delivery for ye.¡± ¡°Rum,¡± Stiles said eyeing the older Issir. A hard face on that man, despite the priestly robes. Then again most priests are quite the cutthroats. And what¡¯s with the darn black? ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Reed rustled, answering his query. ¡°Haven¡¯t ordered anything.¡± ¡°Aye, but ye like rum, don¡¯t ya?¡± ¡°I favor it true. Where is it from?¡± Stiles yielded. ¡°Burton. That¡¯s his fresh batch.¡± ¡°Nah, I¡¯ll pass,¡± Stiles decided with a grimace and spotted a large group coming down the main street. A large group of soldiers. ¡°I¡¯ve enough holes in me stomach Reed.¡± ¡°You should let us pass,¡± the Issir warned him. ¡°That so?¡± Stiles taunted. ¡°Let me think on it some. Alright I did. Nah, me decision stands.¡± ¡°Take the rum ¡®Nine Lives¡¯, it¡¯s free,¡± Reed intervened. ¡°I bet it is, probably undrinkable as well,¡± Stiles sighed and watched the fancy dressed soldiers approach them. A group of about twenty. All of them Lorians, their armours shining in the afternoon light. An officer detached from their group to talk with the Dogs sergeant. ¡°Greetings gents,¡± the officer said pleasantly, but the reaction to his words was universally blank frozen looks and downright suspicion from every man present. ¡°I¡¯m Captain Tony Ramos, second in command of the famed ¡®Three Hundred¡¯ company.¡± One of the two mules snorted afore taking a dump and Stiles gathered moisture in his mouth and then spat down. ¡°Name¡¯s Rollon Martel, of the Gallant Dogs,¡± the sergeant said, seeing no one else was willing to speak. ¡°I haven¡¯t heard of ye lot.¡± ¡°We operate on Jelin mostly,¡± Ramos replied with a grimace. He¡¯d a straight nose and eyes a bit too far apart, but he wore the cleanest tunic Stiles had ever seen. ¡°Haven¡¯t heard of the Dogs in all fairness.¡± ¡°We operate on Eplas mostly,¡± Martel retorted with a grin. ¡°Right,¡± Stiles intervened wanting to get this over with. ¡°What do you want Captain? You¡¯re from Parmaport right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s correct. Nice to meet a fellow Lesia man,¡± Ramos replied still smirking and still not answering. Stiles glanced at ¡®Salty¡¯ Reed the man nervous as a virgin mermaid caught in Abrakas tentacles and then at the silent Issir. This dude is tense as fuck as well. What¡¯s going on here? ¡°Adventure won me over,¡± Stiles retorted and turned his attention on Ramos. ¡°What do you want mate? Don¡¯t make me ask ye again.¡± ¡°We would like to search Garth¡¯s District,¡± Ramos said, his eyes casually examining the wagon and the two drivers. ¡°Our employer will compensate you for any damage the men might cause.¡± ¡°Are you the police?¡± ¡°Of course not.¡± ¡°Do you have any authority in Eikenport?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a request mister¡­¡± ¡°Stiles,¡± he told him, his face hardening. ¡°Now, Mister Ramos, let me tell you what I find strange,¡± he continued. ¡°You want to look into my business, yet you come here blade in hand and in numbers, whilst admitting the authorities know nothing of it. You understand I find myself concerned as to your intentions.¡± ¡°We are looking for someone, this is not a takeover Mister Stiles,¡± Ramos protested. ¡°Now, I would have said the same in your place,¡± Stiles replied. ¡°But I would be lying, ye see wher¡¯ this is going?¡± ¡°I perhaps phrased it wrong,¡± Ramos backtracked. ¡°We politely request entry into the premises, so we can search for a high value target.¡± ¡°How much value are we talking here?¡± Stiles asked. ¡°Because I might be inclined to keep this valuable target around. I do run a business.¡± ¡°She¡¯s valuable to our employer,¡± Ramos told him patiently. ¡°We are prepared to offer a prize for your assistance.¡± The rumors are true then, Stiles thought. That¡¯s a first. Or so these fools think. ¡°What¡¯s the prize?¡± ¡°Gold, or a contract with the bank.¡± ¡°The Dogs are contracted already and whilst I¡¯d love your gold, we don¡¯t have what yer seeking.¡± Ramos grimaced and scratched a square jaw with his fingers. ¡°We¡¯d like the opportunity to look for ourselves,¡± he finally said. ¡°The opportunity isn¡¯t there unfortunately. The story of me life.¡± ¡°Five thousand gold Eagles,¡± Ramos countered and Stiles blinked not expecting it. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of coin to carry around. You have it in boxes? I¡¯m asking for a friend.¡± ¡°It is,¡± Ramos retorted, his eyes narrowing. ¡°Ten thousand is a bigger number,¡± Stiles haggled just to see if he was serious. ¡°I¡¯ll have to consult with my superiors,¡± Ramos grunted in frustration. Stiles was impressed the man hadn¡¯t outright rejected his counteroffer. Are these scoundrels serious? He wondered. There¡¯s a Princess of Kaltha in Eikenport? ¡°Take your time,¡± Stiles told him and Ramos grimaced his eyes bulging, turned on his heels and walked back to his men. ¡°Nine Lives,¡± Reed rustled from atop the wagon. ¡°Ye need to let us bring the rum in.¡± Stiles sighed and stared at the walking away mercenaries. ¡°Does Van Fleet know you¡¯re here Salty?¡± He asked tiredly. ¡°He ordered it,¡± Reed replied and Stiles scrunched his jaw. ¡°Article three, ye swore to offer helping hand to yer brethren ¡®Nine Lives¡¯.¡± Curse ye to Abrakas gullet. ¡°You can come in, but him I don¡¯t know,¡± Stiles yielded and the Issir showed him his teeth in an angry snarl. ¡°I¡¯m not leaving her side,¡± the man warned Reed. Oh boy, it all makes sense now, Stiles thought and eyed the barrels thoughtfully. Rum must be right boilin¡¯ in there under this sun. ¡°Tell me ye left a bloody crevasse on ¡®em barrels Salty,¡± he muttered and then snapped at the two of them. ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake ye idiots hurry it up! You should have led wit that by the way,¡± he yelled running after the fast moving wagon. ¡°Remind me not to ever ask for yer help. I only have so many lives to spare!¡±
The dwarf saw a frantic Stiles running after the mule drawn wagon, a couple of kids running after him laughing while tossing pebbles tying to trip him up and came out of the crude tavern built next to the old warehouse, the locals called simply ¡®Warehouse¡¯ as Dennis the Lorian from Altarinport hadn¡¯t bothered naming it. ¡®Salty¡¯ pulled at the reins hard, yelling at the animals to stop in front of the Watch Tower¡¯s fence and jumped down from the driver¡¯s bench. Glen had turned the large building into a house and now Stiles had appropriated it in his turn. Reed had opted to stop there probably thinking it was a normal guard tower. The Issir jumped down the other side and rushed back to open the second barrel with a long dagger. ¡°Need help there Katers?¡± Reed asked nervously and glanced at a huffing and puffing Stiles arrive, turning about when a pebble struck his hat to yell incensed. ¡°Get back to yer wayward mothers!¡± Stiles warned the kids and received a series of taunts in return. ¡°Fuckin¡¯ inbreds¡¯,¡± he grunted, face covered in sweat and then glared at the heaving Katers. ¡°Hurry up ye imbecile! People put sardines in barrels an¡¯ not the oth¡¯r way around, for crying¡¯ out loud!¡± ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± Norec asked him with a scowl. ¡°Get her out fast,¡± Stiles urged the Issir seeing the cover being lift up and then glanced at the frowning dwarf. ¡°Remember that Issir wench we stopped the other day? It¡¯s been a while now.¡± ¡°You couldn¡¯t stop talking about her for a week,¡± Norec pointed. ¡°That was Leo master Norec,¡± Stiles grunted just as a drenched in sweat woman came out of the barrel almost unresponsive. Katers grabbed her when she faltered and helped her climb down the wagon with the aid of Reed. ¡°My memory is way better than yours,¡± Norec insisted. ¡°Who is she?¡± Trouble, Stiles thought as much nervous as excited. Hadn¡¯t been this nervous, or as excited since that time he¡¯d faced the Kraken near the Straits. Well the Gish had, but now Jinx was not around to take the lead. This beast Stiles would have to tame alone. ¡°Water,¡± the girl muttered with a gasp. ¡°Get her up the bloody tower!¡± Stiles advised them irate. ¡°The second floor, move ye stupid fucks!¡± ¡°Is this tied to the Three Hundred paying us a visit?¡± Norec insisted, using his right hand to pull at his long beard slowly. ¡°Ottis turned all agitated earlier.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know the details, but yeah,¡± Stiles replied and walked after the men carrying the Issir female towards the entrance with a last warning stare at the annoying kids that were making funny faces at him. Norec followed running to keep up with his longer strides. ¡°Stiles you¡¯re not this serious most times,¡± the dwarf insisted as they climbed the tower¡¯s narrow staircase after the men. ¡°This ain¡¯t most times mate,¡± Stiles rustled and wiped his sweaty face with a hand, his throat drier than a hag¡¯s tit. ¡°That could be a darn Princess of Kaltha!¡±
¡°It can¡¯t be. Stiles there¡¯s only one High Princess in the three kingdoms,¡± Norec repeated calmly, with Stiles pacing nervously back and forth outside Sen-Iv¡¯s bedroom not really listening to him. Ido Katers still standing guard at the door eyeing both of them. Reed had rushed back to the docks on a horse, leaving him the other barrel ¨Cfull of Bald Burton¡¯s rum- as compensation. Stiles felt he had just gotten shafted hard. The assailant economizing on the butter. ¡°Let me get inside,¡± Stiles tried again ignoring the dwarf. ¡°This is my god darn place!¡± ¡°No one enters until she give¡¯s permission,¡± Katers droned. ¡°I have my orders mister Stiles.¡± What? ¡°She couldn¡¯t speak ten minutes ago, could barely walk! Who yer tryin¡¯ to fool ye cretin?¡± ¡°My orders came from Lord Bach,¡± Katers explained calmly. ¡°Fuck¡¯s is he?¡± ¡°Let him inside mister Ido,¡± the young woman said behind the door. ¡°I feel better now.¡± ¡°Move aside, else I¡¯ll knife ye in the gut,¡± Stiles warned him and opened the door to enter Sen¡¯s pillow and silks heaven. Katers allowed him to get past him but followed right behind Stiles. Anne the ¡®slavegirl¡¯ raised her pretty head from the bronze bathtub holding a soft towel in her hands, she then used to wipe her face carefully whilst staring his way. Despite the sun slowly setting outside the open floor to ceiling window, a stunned Stiles had tripped over his feet when she turned those expressive -fiercely green- eyes on him. Last time he¡¯d seen that color elsewhere, Stiles had scored a fortune in plunder -mostly jade gems, he¡¯d since long spent in grog an¡¯ whores, much as decent folk do. ¡°Stand by the door Ido,¡± Anne told the priest of Oras in her refined common and the man obeyed with a grunt. Stiles grimaced and removed the hat from his head, frowned some more and then tried to fix his unruly hair. ¡°Ehm,¡± he muttered suddenly at a loss for words. ¡°Mister Stiles,¡± Anne said sounding a little nervous. ¡°I want to thank you from my heart for your kindness,¡± Stiles blinked unsure at the lavish praise. He¡¯d only asked them to get her out of the barrel afore she expired in the heat. ¡°Risking your life for my cause is a sure sign of character and pure noble intentions.¡± Stiles had no idea what she was talking about, nor where she had come up with all those fancy words about him. But when a fine-looking woman praises you an¡¯ yours, it¡¯s not easy to point out she¡¯s mistaken. ¡°Hmm,¡± he hummed instead, keeping his options open. ¡°I fear though that stopping the bank¡¯s mercenaries won¡¯t be easy,¡± Anne continued and set the towel next to the filled bathtub, after folding it carefully. ¡°Why?¡± He croaked too fascinated by her little movements. ¡°They don¡¯t have my best interests in their heart,¡± Anne replied with a small sigh, pushing her long white hair behind her well-shaped ears. ¡°I¡¯m Elsanne Eikenaar mister Stiles. I had to use that little ruse when we first met.¡± Ah.
By the order of his majesty Duke Rinus Van De Aest, appointed by Theun Eikenaar, first of his name and the gracious High King of Kaltha, you were found guilty of piracy, conspiracy to harm the throne, pillaging, kidnapping, rape, raiding and outright murder. This man has attested to your crimes in exchange for his life. By the King¡¯s mercy you are to be killed afore the sun sets by the manner of hanging by the neck and left to the elements, after getting drawn and quartered. The executioner may proceed.
¡°Ahm,¡± He mumbled feeling his knees weaken and the screams of those getting their innards pulled out with rusty pliers, returning in his mind. ¡°The name rings a bell, but eh¡­¡± Stiles couldn¡¯t speak suddenly. ¡°The Three Hundred want me captured,¡± Elsanne explained seeing him having trouble breathing. ¡°Bargained back to the Council that my enemies¡¯ control. You see mister Stiles, with my brother on death¡¯s door and his heir¡­ not acknowledged by the Realm¡¯s Lords, I¡¯m the next in line for the throne of Kaltha.¡± A nervous tick appeared on Stiles good eye, a tear running down his cheek when he attempted to fight it. Here it is, the former pirate remembered the Black Hydra of his dream coming out of the morning mist of the straits flanking them. The memory back to haunt him, as much as to stand as warning. Death always comes looking for the life he¡¯s owed.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 255. Three Hundred (3/3)
Princess Elsanne Eikenaar ¡®Jade Eyes¡¯ ¡®Fair¡¯ Anne Burton Three Hundred Part III -That¡¯s just the name of the outfit-
In late summer, the year one and ninety of the New Calendar, the Commander of the ¡®Three Hundred¡¯ (also abbreviated 300, ¡®Gold Contract¡¯, among others) Tussio D¡¯Orsi, was ordered in an urgent communique from Bank of Trust¡¯s President of the Board Claus Viceroy, to proceed with solving Kaltha¡¯s so called ¡®heir¡¯ problem. Viceroy had been elevated to his position by the aging majority owner Federico Mclean two years earlier and was acting under his instructions according to the gossip of the time. The matter had gone into a contested vote before the Board released the funds for the company to move. The reason why the large military outfit (the Three Hundred was a well-drilled small army, one of Mclean & Merck¡¯s three private armies employed -the others being Ley¡¯s Boars and the famed Iron Fists- numbering just under a thousand soldiers, split in three divisions of three hundred, whence the name derived), was stationed in Eikenport at the time, has never been disclosed. Also present in the remote city was the company¡¯s old leader and infamous bounty hunter Lear Hik the ¡®Butcher of Drek River¡¯, supposedly retired at the time. Hik had been accused of heinous crimes during the northern warbands and Sovya¡¯s rebellion a decade in the past and had been forced to step down by the late Lord Lennox. Director Holt, a leading member of the Board and distant cousin to the aged Duke of Asturia, resigned in protest after serving the bank for twenty five years when a letter from Lord Anker Est Ravn was read to them, citing irate in a memo to his cousin that ¡®a bank¡¯s Board picking heirs is but a royal Council wit another name and I¡¯ve no plaguing interest in this kind of malarkey.¡¯ Commander D¡¯Orsi, himself first cousin to Jacomo D¡¯Orsi Baron of Atetalerso -the latter another bank shareholder- ordered Captain Nathanyel Wyncall to intercept the invading force of Baron Van Durren (Badum had two Barons serving it at the time, one on each continent. The reason given in the previous chapter) and inform them of Kaltha¡¯s Council and the Bank¡¯s agreement. Lord Anker never produced a copy of the meeting, nor did he accept this version of events maintaining the Bank acted on their own. Wyncall landed at Devil¡¯s Cove that summer and rushed after the slow moving host, catching up with them at Tirifort. There he opted to follow after Sir Gust De Weer and Sir Vegenuur¡¯s knights when they decided to cut through the desert directly for Eikenport. Whether his presence influenced Sir Gust¡¯s increasingly erratic actions is difficult to figure out years after the events. Captain Wyncall made the journey with forty riders, Sir Vegenuur had about thirty knights from the First Foot (or heavy cavalry), a force smaller than Sir Gust¡¯s over two hundred men-at-arms and knights answering to him. The rest of the mauled though still considerable Scaldingport¡¯s force (the Issirs had difficulty treating even the simplest of injuries after the battle, losing four in five men) stayed with the Baron under Captain De Moss. Sir Jan Reuter and Sir Mael Bolte two of the better knights of their era and priests of the order of Tyeus had followed Sir Gust¡¯s daring thrust into the unknown. D¡¯Orsi¡¯s second order of business was to secure the ports and while the Cofols left behind by Prince Radin couldn¡¯t stand against his force, he refrained from provoking them as most of his company was stationed inside their district and opted to strong-arm the pirate side instead. It must be noted that based on the sources and memoirs that have survived, the so called ¡®pirate¡¯ part of the ancient city was the poorest and biggest, with just over ten thousand people mainly families crammed in there. The pirate captains sent word to Lord¡¯s Burrow, a then unknown stronghold/base of operations for urgent reinforcements, sailing their ships out of the port and enforcing a brutal blockade that enraged the local Cofol commander disrupting trade. Blockade, or not though, there was no force inside the city big enough to challenge the mercenary company from taking over, or foolish enough to openly challenge them as they conducted their thorough search of every neighborhood. That is until they reached the so called ¡®wall of Garth¡¯ and got themselves mixed up with the real criminal underworld of Eikenport.
Hey, that¡¯s weird, Elsanne thought. The heat got to me, I¡¯m seeing small people. There was one standing next to the stressed, but very intriguing pirate Stiles, the thick beard the little guy sported reaching his knees. ¡°Ahm, is there¡­?¡± she started unsure, the clothes she had on were sticking on her body drenched in sweat and despite dousing her head in the bathtub Elsanne still felt hot. ¡°Are you one of the Folk?¡± She asked in a hesitant manner. ¡°Are ye talkin¡¯ about the darn Dwarf?¡± Stiles asked, appearing deeply troubled all of a sudden. Ido Katers gasped as he¡¯d missed the small creature¡¯s entrance. ¡°Norec Trollfall, a member of the Builders Guild,¡± the dwarf introduced himself with a scowl directed to his¡­ partner? ¡°Pay the fool little attention your grace.¡± ¡°Nice to make your acquaintance Master Norec,¡± Elsanne said politely. ¡°Will you accept my apologies for the ruse?¡± ¡°No need for that,¡± Norec replied courtly with a rare grin. ¡°You had your reasons.¡± Elsanne glanced at the roguish pirate leader. ¡°I¡¯ve placed a burden on you as well mister Stiles.¡± ¡°Ah,¡± Stiles scrunched his jaw and fiddled with the hat in his hands nervously. Elsanne had been twice as nervous a moment ago and feverish from the shock of almost fainting inside that awful barrel. Reed¡¯s idea utterly insane in the end. ¡°I¡¯ve sent them away after refusing their coin and asking for twice the amount they¡¯d offered, but they¡¯ll be back.¡± ¡°I see,¡± Elsanne replied with a frown. ¡°Will you accept their improved offer?¡± Stiles blinked, the black leather patch moving on his narrow face. ¡°There will be no second offer¡­ how should I call you?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t impose rules while I¡¯m taking advantage of your hospitality Mister Stiles,¡± Elsanne said trying to be friendly. Stiles blinked again, Norec snorted and Sigurd¡¯s man standing guard at the door narrowed his eyes unhappy. ¡°Well then,¡± Stiles finally said. ¡°As I said Anne, I expect no second offer any time soon.¡± ¡°Why is that?¡± ¡°No fool would ever have refused the first offer Anne. Why, it sounds foolhardy rehashing it,¡± the pirate expounded. ¡°Unless said fool had you hidden and was committed¡­ not to give you up. Now that I know more, I can understand their motivation better.¡± ¡°You are¡­ committed not to give me up?¡± Elsanne asked him with a blush and Stiles shifted nervously on his feet, visibly uncomfortable for some reason, or just having second thoughts. ¡°Let us not use such loaded words,¡± he finally muttered with difficulty sounding sincere. ¡°See what they¡¯ll do next first.¡± ¡°That sounds prudent,¡± Elsanne agreed, although she¡¯d have preferred him to be more enthusiastic, or committed, she would take a truthful statement as an alternative. He sighed and grimaced again all tensed up. ¡°I will leave you for now,¡± Stiles finally added and walked hurriedly out of the room. Norec snorted, shook his large head right and left ¨Cit was almost the size of his torso- then offered a slight nod to Elsanne and went after him. ¡°Reed will notify the others,¡± priest Katers said the moment they were alone. Elsanne had met him earlier that day while discussing how to deal with the situation. One of the three agents Sigurd had brought along, unless he was lying. Burton had insisted not to trust him and Jasi wasn¡¯t impressed with Kaltha¡¯s Master of Silence as well. Elsanne who knew the court¡¯s machinations was Lord Bach¡¯s most ardent supporter it seemed. ¡°I suggest we leave the city soon,¡± her guard added. ¡°They probably watch the roads and gates,¡± Elsanne replied. ¡°The pirate might sell you out, your grace.¡± ¡°That is very rude Mister Katers,¡± she admonished him. ¡°He appears friendly.¡± ¡°Of course your grace,¡± the man replied pressing his mouth tight. ¡°You don¡¯t agree,¡± Elsanne murmured. ¡°No I don¡¯t your grace. The man¡¯s interest is there, but it has nothing to do with him helping, if this turns ugly. And it will.¡± Hmm. ¡°You believe he¡¯s interested?¡± She asked neutrally. ¡°Your grace, this is not the time¡ª¡± ¡°Not the time for what mister Katers?¡± Elsanne cut him off. The Issir rubbed his face with a hand and grimaced not wanting to answer all of a sudden. ¡°I overstepped,¡± he finally said. ¡°This isn¡¯t going to work out,¡± Elsanne told him austerely. ¡°You either work for me mister Katers, or for Lord Bach. I¡¯d like your opinion stated in a respectful manner, even if I don¡¯t agree with it.¡± Katers sighed. ¡°The man could take advantage of you, or worse,¡± he finally blurted out. ¡°He has the power right now.¡± ¡°He¡¯s a member of the brotherhood,¡± Elsanne explained. ¡°That would bring him against the pirates and anger his boss. The mysterious man above him. Mister Stiles is caught in a dilemma it is true, but liking me doesn¡¯t harm our chances. Am I wrong?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe you are your grace.¡± ¡°Is that what you truly believe?¡± Elsanne probed him further. ¡°Not really your grace,¡± Katers grunted. ¡°I think it¡¯s still too risky, but was trying to placate you.¡± ¡°Not on these matters,¡± Elsanne replied suavely. ¡°But I don¡¯t want you turning into a brute mister Katers. That would be unpleasant.¡±
Elsanne spent the next hour exploring the large bedroom covering the whole floor of the small tower. The princess wanted to change her clothes, as staying in that foul smelling barrel had made what she was wearing now reek of cheap booze, but she wasn¡¯t about to start undressing even with Katers standing outside her door. It was out of sense and not lack of options, as she¡¯d found articles of clothing in a dresser. Silks and fine cotton robes, tiny undergarments of fine quality covered in jewelry and even shoes. This was a woman¡¯s bedroom. A woman of considerable wealth, she thought and Stiles doesn¡¯t appear to be the marrying type. Why on Uher¡¯s name would you think of that? It was that whole ¡®Nine Lives¡¯ thing. Elsanne had been intrigued from all this talk of shadowy outlaws, pirate lords and secret organizations. It was as if her heart had felt a strange affinity for this crowd, her ancestor¡¯s blood rejoicing to be surrounded again by his kind. That sense of adventure, the excitement, the plans and the danger. Freedom. You are a Princess of Kaltha, she admonished herself. Snap out of it. ¡°Mister Katers?¡± The Priest of Oras opened the door and walked inside. ¡°Will you escort me downstairs?¡± She asked him. ¡°Would that be wise?¡± ¡°Perhaps not, but it is what I want,¡± she replied firmly. ¡°As you wish your grace,¡± Katers replied without hesitation and stepped aside to allow her passage. Elsanne paused at the fence separating the tower¡¯s small yard ¨Ccontaining a stable and the kitchen- from the large street heading to the distant south gates. Garth¡¯s District had an even bigger wall built as a border to the rest of Eikenport. The district itself a mismatch of ancient buildings, wooden structures, an amphitheater, barracks, warehouses and a flat top Mastaba. All kinds of people were moving about, a lot of children. Elsanne let the breath she was holding out slowly and stepped on the old granite-tiles street.
A woman carrying a large basket filled with washed at the river clothes, paused seeing the princess pass her by and a cutthroat blinked once, the scar on his face contorting when he smiled at her. Elsanne walked past the large black Mastaba and cut through the slave quarters, immediately recognizing their inhabitants from the marks of ownership and the collars. Through a lightly forested area to another neighborhood dominated by newly constructed wooden houses and then past the foul smelling workshops, to reach the market. She spent her time perusing what was on offer, surprised by the friendly and calm demeanor of the people working the stands. These were refugees from Rida, whole families uprooted, most probably having relatives lost in the chaos that followed the Khan taking the city. ¡°They burned the city,¡± a merchant selling tools his blacksmith brother was making told her, when she dared the question. ¡°Everything inside the walls gone.¡± ¡°That¡¯s horrible,¡± Elsanne said. ¡°That¡¯s war lass,¡± the merchant agreed looking at her and then at the silent Katers. ¡°What¡¯s an Issir like you doing in this part of Eikenport?¡± ¡°Seeking refuge I suppose,¡± Elsanne said. ¡°Aren¡¯t we all?¡± the man teased with a smile. ¡°Thank the gods for Lord Reeves, but don¡¯t tell him I told ye that,¡± he added and gave her a wink. Elsanne wetted her lips surprised. ¡°Lord Reeves?¡± The merchant nodded. ¡°Garth, he got us out of Rida. Kept the road open for long enough. Made a deal for this place and gave the people shelter.¡± ¡°Lord¡­¡± the man placed his index finger on his lips signaling for her to keep her voice down. ¡°Mister Garth,¡± Elsanne muttered. ¡°Built this? I heard he¡¯s a criminal.¡± ¡°It don¡¯t bother me none,¡± the merchant replied. ¡°That¡¯s his business. Did more for us than the King back in Kaltha.¡± ¡°The King sent the army,¡± Elsanne reminded him. ¡°The King had a lot of good people killed,¡± the man countered. ¡°He should have negotiated with the Khan.¡± ¡°The Duke wouldn¡¯t have abdicated,¡± Elsanne argued. ¡°And you would prefer living under the Khan¡¯s rule?¡± ¡°Better than being dead lass, by far. How is losing face equate to what the people suffered?¡± Elsanne pouted and stared at his tools. ¡°You won¡¯t find what yer looking for here,¡± the merchant said after a moment. ¡°So it¡¯s better ye get going now lass. Can¡¯t showcase my stuff if yer standing in the way.¡± Elsanne stood back affronted, but Katers placed a hand on her waist, the gesture helping get her frustration under control. ¡°I wish you a good day sir,¡± she told the Lorian merchant frostily and turned to walk away with Katers in tow.
¡°Anne?¡± Jasi gasped seeing her returning to the main street, standing outside the Watch Tower. ¡°Where have you been?¡± ¡°Went for a walk,¡± Elsanne replied. ¡°When did you arrive?¡± ¡°I came with Sigurd and Burton,¡± Jasi explained. ¡°Barely made it through the patrols. They have surrounded the city.¡± ¡°The mercenaries?¡±A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. ¡°Yes, they¡¯ve posted guards on every gate looking for you,¡± Jasi explained, just as Sigurd stepped out of the tower¡¯s door and approached them walking briskly. ¡°They are not looking for her,¡± Sigurd said and glared at Katers. ¡°They know where she is. This is their excuse to cordon Garth¡¯s District.¡± ¡°Are they going to force their way in?¡± Elsanne asked. ¡°As a last measure,¡± Sigurd replied and grimaced. ¡°Or they¡¯ll cut us off completely and starve us out. It¡¯s a matter of time, whether they have it, or not.¡± ¡°Do the others know?¡± Elsanne asked. ¡°They are talking about it,¡± Sigurd said and stared over his shoulder. ¡°Inside.¡±
An officer wearing a chainmail shirt under a brown leather cuirass that had a dog carved on his chest in black ink with its tail folded and protruding between its hind legs, caught her attention. Good gods it looks like a cock! Who thought of this? The Lorian raised his brows, the thin mustache on his upper lip following suit. Stiles was sitting on a chair behind his desk, the first floor of the small tower being his office, with Burton, a man named Clint and Norec standing across from him. Norec was literally standing on top of a chair, with his hands on the table. ¡°Eh, the princess is found,¡± Stiles commented, looking strained. ¡°That¡¯s one problem out of the way. Captain Ottis, you were saying?¡± Ottis ignored him and stepped forward to bow his head sharply. ¡°Your grace, the Dogs shall provide any assistance you might need.¡± ¡°Why, thank you Captain,¡± Elsanne smiled liking his spirit. ¡°I served in Rida¡¯s city guard your grace,¡± Ottis added returning the smile. ¡°We did our outmost to defend the city.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you did Captain. I¡¯m saddened more help didn¡¯t reach you in time.¡± ¡°No amount of help could have defeated the Khan¡¯s armies that day your grace,¡± Ottis replied readily. ¡°Not unless Kaltha send every man it had to fight there. And even that is questionable.¡± Ah. ¡°Captain,¡± Stiles intervened. ¡°While we all would love to chat with Anne¡­ her highness was my meaning, there¡¯s a bit of a problem dropped in my lap mate, I¡¯m pretty eager to solve. Eager is an understatement just so we¡¯re on the same page.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t fight them off,¡± Norec said staring at the map of the city, they had opened on the desk. ¡°What do they have across the city center¡¯s gates?¡± Stiles asked Ottis. ¡°A division they call it,¡± Ottis replied. ¡°Three hundred men. Another is gathering six streets to the north, coming from the pirate district.¡± ¡°Most crews left already. We couldn¡¯t stop them at such short notice,¡± Burton agreed. ¡°But they will be back.¡± ¡°Wait, how many soldiers do they have?¡± Elsanne asked. ¡°Under a thousand,¡± Sigurd said, standing behind her. ¡°That doesn¡¯t make sense,¡± Elsanne murmured. ¡°Ah, I¡¯m afraid that¡¯s just the name of the outfit your grace,¡± Ottis replied. ¡°Would they assault our wall?¡± Stiles asked him. ¡°Not much of a wall for a determined army,¡± Ottis said with a frown and stooped over the map. ¡°But also narrow streets here and here, ruins in between, difficult to pack enough men for a push. A small group can defend on narrow ground.¡± ¡°What about the center?¡± Stiles asked him. ¡°Or the Sopat Gate?¡± ¡°We have good towers there, two scorpio¡¯s at the center as well,¡± Ottis reminded him. ¡°I don¡¯t feel the enthusiasm in yer words Captain,¡± Stiles noticed. ¡°Be it because there isn¡¯t any?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a lot of men.¡± ¡°How many do you have?¡± Sigurd asked him. ¡°Close to five hundred,¡± Ottis replied and Stiles whistled. ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake, I¡¯m paying Ron in blood for those darn worker crews!¡± he hissed irate. ¡°You could¡¯ve helped me out there mate!¡± ¡°The men need training in the blade Stiles, not digging.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what you say, sure hope all this training worth something.¡± ¡°What if they cut us off?¡± Sigurd intervened. ¡°Or hit the wall from outside the city?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see them and as for cutting us off that would anger the Cofols, it¡¯s one thing to stop trade with the pirates, no offense mister Burton,¡± Ottis said and the tavern keeper shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Another to take over the city.¡± ¡°Can they stop them?¡± Elsanne asked. ¡°It doesn¡¯t¡¯ matter,¡± Sigurd told her. ¡°We can¡¯t allow them to learn about you, your grace.¡± ¡°We need to ask for Ron¡¯s help,¡± Stiles argued. ¡°You¡¯ll trust a Cofol?¡± Sigurd snapped and Stiles stood back on his chair and stared at him. ¡°Ron is family,¡± he said measuring his words. ¡°Garth is married to his cousin.¡± Elsanne frowned not expecting it. ¡°Aren¡¯t the Sopat out of the Peninsula?¡± she asked the one-eyed pirate. ¡°Born and bred,¡± Stiles replied with a taunting smile. ¡°The bedroom upstairs was Sen-Iv¡¯s, Garth¡¯s wife.¡± Hmm. ¡°I see,¡± Elsanne said simply. ¡°Will they keep the secret from the Prince?¡± Sigurd insisted. ¡°Would the local commander agree to it?¡± ¡°He will,¡± Stiles said. ¡°They own him.¡± ¡°Stiles we need to disrupt their operation,¡± Norec suggested thoughtfully. ¡°They are behaving as if they have all the time in the world. Even if they don¡¯t fear the pirates, the Prince might return, or she could slip through the noose, but they don¡¯t seem to hurry. I don¡¯t like this.¡± ¡°They moved pretty fast,¡± Stiles argued. ¡°So I don¡¯t know what yer talking about.¡± ¡°That was strange also,¡± Norec agreed. ¡°Not much time to inform their employer about her being here.¡± ¡°Why were they here in the first place?¡± Elsanne asked curious. ¡°Another matter,¡± Stiles replied leaving it at that. ¡°Unless they knew in advance,¡± Sigurd said. ¡°The Bank is working with Antoon?¡± Stiles asked him. ¡°Antoon is not in charge, this matter must have been discussed aforehand and measures put in place. Months in advance,¡± Sigurd replied. ¡°Perhaps the plan was to march on Dia originally, but the Princess helped them coming here.¡± ¡°She has allies here,¡± Burton reminded him. Sigurd snorted. ¡°How are you going to take the docks back? With four ships?¡± Stiles chuckled and Sigurd turned on him annoyed. ¡°You find it funny?¡± ¡°Nah, I don¡¯t,¡± Stiles replied truthfully. ¡°But here we are trying to save her skin, whilst your contribution is a couple of lords back in Jelin that may, or may not throw her to the wolves.¡± Sigurd grimaced the insult cutting him deep. ¡°Mister Stiles that wasn¡¯t helpful at all, or polite,¡± Elsanne admonished him and Stiles laughed some more. ¡°I ain¡¯t polite Anne for sure, just as this dude isn¡¯t helpful,¡± he retorted. ¡°I trust him,¡± Elsanne said pursing her lips. Stiles sighed and stared at the map of the ancient city. ¡°Will Yellow Dawson come through?¡± He asked Burton. ¡°Dawson brought her into the brotherhood,¡± Burton replied glancing her way. ¡°You know how he is and he has Atterton¡¯s ear. They¡¯ll bring everyone, rather than risk breaking his word.¡± ¡°A matter of honor,¡± Stiles murmured and rubbed his face with both hands. ¡°Fuck.¡± Eh. ¡°The Lord¡¯s blood,¡± Burton agreed simply with a nod. ¡°What in Oras black heart does that mean?¡± Sigurd snapped. ¡°Damn ye all be to vile Abrakas gullet, if ye allow me kin to perish,¡± Stiles recited from memory with a shiver and Burton shrugged his shoulders. Seeing the rest of the men and woman present weren¡¯t privy to the cryptic meaning of the words he added. ¡°Last Article.¡± Which in retrospect offered little in the way of clarification.
D¡¯Orsi¡¯s right hand man Captain of Division Three, Tony Ramos of the distant Parmaport, found himself unwelcomed in the mysterious Garth District, a separate part of the city under the control of the infamous eponymous crimelord, who hadn¡¯t be seen in months by that time. Whether lost, gone, or dead ¨Cfor all intents and purposes killed in a dispute with his lieutenants- the leadership of the District refused to allow the mercenaries to walk past the wall. Given the presence of another mercenary company stationed near the black Mastaba of Eikenport, a pyramid structure not as grand as the Red Pyramid of Rida, but quite a famous tourist attraction today, Ramos parked his men before the gates and blocked the city¡¯s center main road, not wanting to attack the Gallant Dogs. The Gallant Dogs a rather unknown company then, was formed half a dozen years before the events described here in the city of Castalor by late Dante Blackwood. The now rather well-known Captain had been killed defending Helfort¡¯s Pass against the forces of Prince Nout at the start of the war. The late Captain¡¯s surname hinting at the old noble Lorian family ruling Quarterport centuries ago and well before Reinut¡¯s conquests. It was now led by an unknown Gish according to gossip but was effectively under the command of Captain Ottis a former Rida officer, who was in turn presumably employed by the unnamed criminal now in charge of the walled district known as Nine Lives. It¡¯s impossible to know the size of the Dogs today, or even the number of civilians living behind the wall. The ¡®Dogs¡¯ have remained a distant secretive outfit until this day, taking part in almost every conflict between the years one ninety and one ninety five, especially after they switched employers to the Monarch of Goras after the events in Eikenport. D¡¯Orsi opted to wait for Wyncall¡¯s return and more legitimacy, forcing in the meantime a brutal so called ¡®curfew for maintaining order¡¯ inside the pirate district. He moved a division outside the walls and tried to block every possible route, attempting to strangle those behind the walls of supplies. He was certain the Princess had found asylum there. It is beyond the pale how he was certain about it, or what would Princess Elsanne be doing in Eikenport of all places, given that the Prince¡¯s wives customary either traveled with him, or stayed home, since it was forbidden in the Khanate for women to travel on their own. Prince Radin¡¯s ¡®home¡¯ being in this case the distant Dia Castle near Jade Lake. The days turned into a week, then two. A famine broke out in the city, mainly the pirate district and mercenaries started dealing foodstuff for sex, or other favors. Nine Lives found himself in trouble as well, his own part of the city -also sheltering a large number of refugees from Rida- suffering immensely. Despite that he held fast especially after the Dogs managed to secure access to the river in a daring assault out of the south gates. With people falling sick and the unaffected Cofols unable to negotiate a deal with the mercenaries, an undeclared war broke out amidst the narrow alleys and the ancient buildings with the mercenaries trying to prevent the criminals from resupplying the parts of the city suffering the most. D¡¯Orsi built three large gallows after demolishing the Black Market and executed every person caught aiding and abetting the gangs plaguing his plan. In a city that three quarters of the population lived under no law at all, his attempt to remedy the situation backfired and the gangs that had probably being fighting each other as well up until that point turned to Nine Lives for a solution.
-
Stiles grunted, his sole eye gleaming in anger. Wake himself equally enraged set his feet, unwilling to back down that is until the big Cofol Dob grabbed him by the neck and lifted him clean off the floor. ¡°Goodness me,¡± Elsanne gasped seeing the desperate man kicking his legs trying to escape the steely grip, but fainting fast. ¡°That¡¯s enough, idiot turned blue in the face,¡± Stiles rustled and Dob lowered the half-unresponsive gang leader. He had to keep holding him upright as Wake¡¯s legs had turned to rubber. ¡°Let me try this again,¡± Stiles continued tiredly. ¡°Sid agreed to give us the patrol routes and times, in exchange for access through the Sopat Gate for his marauders. ¡°Would the Cofols agree?¡± Sigurd asked. ¡°They won¡¯t put it on paper, if that¡¯s what yer angling for,¡± Stiles elucidated, his tone taunting. ¡°This Sid, what does he really want in exchange?¡± ¡°Weapons, armour.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll arm them?¡± Wake croaked holding his swollen throat. ¡°How are we to take our streets back?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t give a rusty copper for yer asphalt Wake,¡± Stiles admonished him. ¡°I have kids and womenfolk eating fodder and me broth¡¯rs are dropping dead in the other district!¡± ¡°Since when do you¡ª?¡± Wake tried to argue, but Stiles signaled Dob to grab him by the neck again to calm him down. Ugh. ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± Burton said, his face strained. ¡°D¡¯Orsi hanged twenty six people this weekend. Tossed their bodies in the harbor to feed the fish.¡± Elsanne clenched her fists tightly. ¡°We must talk with them,¡± she whispered and Stiles glanced at her. ¡°This won¡¯t end with a deal Anne,¡± he said and stared at Sigurd. ¡°The company is the Bank¡¯s sledgehammer,¡± Sigurd explained. ¡°They¡¯ll flatten any disagreements and get what they want.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand how this is allowed, that¡¯s criminal Sigurd!¡± Elsanne snapped not believing her ears. ¡°Yet, it has happened again your grace,¡± Sigurd replied with a grimace. ¡°It¡¯s how the Duke of Sovya was dragged to the negotiating table. The company had captured a large number of prisoners outside Drek River. Did in a week what the Legion and the king¡¯s armies couldn¡¯t do in years. It wasn¡¯t about honor, or grievances in the end, but the need for the timber flow to continue.¡± ¡°What does this mean? What are you implying Sigurd?¡± Elsanne asked him feeling her stomach turning. Stiles cleared his throat and glanced at the map showing the routes in and out of the city, the large parch of land to the North remaining sparsely populated as it bordered the edge of the harsh desert they called Cameltoe Peninsula. ¡°I asked you a question Sigurd!¡± Elsanne hissed angry at his guilty silence. ¡°There¡¯s no bloodless agreement in politics your grace,¡± Sigurd finally said. ¡°Even less so when you¡¯re dealing with war.¡± ¡°My father was grieving and away from the front,¡± Elsanne reminded him, what he should know very well. ¡°He wasn¡¯t a monster!¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t absolve him, men took it upon themselves to do what was necessary Elsanne,¡± Sigurd said. ¡°Men working for him, brought the Duke to the negotiating table and yes the bank had helped then.¡± ¡°Men like you,¡± Elsanne hissed. Sigurd stood back visibly hurt by her words. ¡°I worked all my life to give you a chance to rule. This is your chance to change things. But they aren¡¯t going to give it to you, they rather kill you instead.¡± What? ¡°You can¡¯t be serious!¡± Elsanne snapped, her face flushed. ¡°Only criminals would ever think of laying waste to a royal and a woman at that!¡± Several of the criminals inside the room blinked, but opted not to speak. ¡°Criminals didn¡¯t kill your nephew and his child bride,¡± Sigurd reminded her. ¡°Or your brother and mother.¡± ¡°It was an accident!¡± Elsanne fired back furious and hurting at the memory. Why would he bring it up? ¡°No it wasn¡¯t,¡± Sigurd replied clenching his mouth, as if a load on his shoulders was weighing him down. ¡°The driver led the carriage over the cliff at Jaw Castle and into Reinut¡¯s Gulf rocky shores. At least five knights witnessed it.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Elsanne croaked and stepped back. ¡°Prince Kasper¡¯s death wasn¡¯t an accident, the same goes for your younger brother and queen mother,¡± Sigurd answered tiredly. ¡°I fear the ¡®Three Hundred¡¯ are here to make sure you never step foot on Jelin again your grace.¡± No. ¡°That¡¯s enough mate,¡± Stiles warned the Issir, seeing her breaking down sobbing. ¡°We are well aware where this is going. Give her a fuckin¡¯ break.¡±
Elsanne watched the moons shed their light over the sleeping city in silence. She stood at the top of the Watch Tower, the torches burning at the gates visible and beyond them the lights of the soldiers camping at the main street. She had left the men to discuss their plans and wasn¡¯t present at the meeting with Sid Cross, an outlaw from beyond their wall. Elsanne was haunted by memories of her mother, her eyes now dry, but her heart heavy. The warm night oppressing and ominous. She felt lonely despite all the people working to help her. Elsanne realized she had no friends, everyone around her driven by different reasons, or codes. Ambitions, fear and greed, she thought sadly. You¡¯re still a god darn furniture. She heard someone coming up the stairs and crossed her arms on her chest trying to get her feelings under control. Stiles walked next to her and placed his hands on the parapet, the hat he had on for some reason despite the late hour, concealing half his face. ¡°Would Garth agree with what you¡¯re doing Mister Stiles?¡± Elsanne asked him. ¡°Glen¡­¡± Stiles started before catching himself. ¡°Garth would have solved this, or had us all killed by now,¡± he finally said. ¡°I¡¯m not doing it for him,¡± he added. ¡°If we live long enough we¡¯ll know his heart for what is worth.¡± Ah. ¡°I¡¯m not doing it for you either,¡± Stiles continued seeing her expression. Elsanne blushed and looked away. ¡°I¡¯m married mister Stiles,¡± she murmured unconvincingly. Elsanne hadn¡¯t thought about Radin at all since she¡¯d gotten to Eikenport. ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t think you ever were. Not in yer heart,¡± Stiles said and sighed. ¡°That¡¯s yer load to bear though, everyone must face what he¡¯s done at one point or another. The more you postpone it, the more people get hurt.¡± ¡°Are all pirates so superstitious?¡± Elsanne probed changing the subject. ¡°We sail on Abrakas turf,¡± he replied. ¡°No god is as vile as him, or as wrathful. It¡¯s a risk, every time we step a foot on the slippery deck. Eh, you find yerself looking for any good luck charm you can get. Any type. Be it actions, the articles, or a piece of wood.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got Nine Lives they say,¡± Elsanne teased him with a smile. ¡°You¡¯ll outlive us all.¡± Stiles grimaced, his face hidden under the shade of his hat, the moonlight making the skin on his unshaven chin turn a pale white. ¡°It doesn¡¯t mean what you think,¡± he finally said a contemplating moment later. ¡°Nothing romantic about it Anne, I¡¯m afraid. Wish it was really, eh, I¡¯ll give anythin¡¯ to stand tall in yer eyes. Don¡¯t settle for anything less aye. Anne should be enough, not the throne, or the realm, cut through the darn noise,¡± Stiles sighed once deeply and stood back from the parapet. ¡°That¡¯s the number of lives I traded for mine,¡± he added bitterly. ¡°One for nine. Ayup, it¡¯s done now. That¡¯s not how it goes though.¡± ¡°Criminals,¡± Elsanne whispered as she¡¯d heard the rumor, but he shook his head right and left not having it. ¡°Can you see the line separating one from the other? Is your judgement correct? A soul is a soul and we can¡¯t measure a life¡¯s true value ourselves. We shouldn¡¯t,¡± Stiles said and tipped his hat to her with a sad smile. ¡°That¡¯s why the Gods are holding the scales.¡± ¡°What will happen tomorrow?¡± Elsanne asked him and the pirate paused at the top of the staircase. ¡°We will anger them Anne. They will strike at us probably.¡± ¡°Can we win this mister Stiles?¡± ¡°It depends,¡± he murmured thoughtfully. ¡°Is this going to be another scales and my soul¡¯s worth, or what thingy?¡± Elsanne hissed a little frustrated and Stiles chuckled unexpectedly. ¡°Nah, it will come down to blades and bravery,¡± he admitted, then added. ¡°And whilst we¡¯re lackin¡¯ aplenty in blades and bravery, if we¡¯re being honest here, we have copious amounts of desperation Anne and I¡¯ve seen crazier shite happen wit less.¡±
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 256. The Reaper’s Due (1/2) ¡°Think on it milord, all of ¡®em skills, gone to waste.¡± - Nine Lives speaking to Glen aboard the Marquette Late summer of 188NC
Don¡¯t expect anything to make sense. Unless yer fixin¡¯ for a scrap, then it¡¯s on you. - Commandant Rollon Martel, Famed officer of the Gallant Dogs in the The wandering blades -An old dog¡¯s memoir- Circa 201 NC -
¡®Nine lives¡¯ Stiles The Reaper¡¯s Due Part I -This is the butcher¡¯s bill son-
Part IA Blockade of Eikenport Third Week, First attack on the inner city main Gates The chilling rattle of the heavy scorpios¡¯ firing from the undersized gate towers barely cut through the noise, with screams and yells answering the sound of the impact heard over the walls. Stiles grunted, clad in his leather cuirass-type armour, the mail underneath making him heavy and the sun above his head not helping. Gervin Marbet who stood as the unofficial civilian authority in Garth¡¯s District blinked, but kept his composure. Stiles had to talk with him, despite having his attention drawn on the ¡®Three Hundred¡¯ testing their defenses. ¡°Yes mister Gervin?¡± He yelled to be heard, his eye on a couple of kids running about excited with all the ruckus. ¡°We¡¯d like to offer assistance as I said,¡± Marbet repeated standing underneath the walls. ¡°We won¡¯t be uprooted again mister Stiles.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want ye clumsy lot in me feet,¡± Stiles griped and watched the men bringing up the long iron bolts the machines used and creating piles under the towers to replenish the ammunition. Those manning them, three people per machine, could easily ask for more to be brought up the ladders without leaving their post. In theory it was great. ¡°A lot of civilians want to help,¡± Marbet insisted. ¡°We have grave concerns.¡± Ye don¡¯t fuckin¡¯ know why we¡¯re fighting! Stiles thought. And all this graveyard talk ain¡¯t helping none! ¡°Can you take over the resupply from the warehouses?¡± Stiles yelled, just as the Lesia mercenaries recoiled and retreated back down the road. ¡°I need to pull some men from the walls here to reinforce the other gates.¡± ¡°Will they attack elsewhere?¡± Abrakas black toes, Stiles cursed and climbed the short ladder down quickly. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t you mister Marbet?¡± he grunted looking about to find Clint, or Dob. ¡°I¡¯d never assault a wall mister Stiles,¡± came the civilian official¡¯s affronted retort. ¡°Can your people handle the job? I need an aye, or a nay now Marbet!¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Marbet responded with a frown. ¡°Why not let the Dogs handle the battle?¡± ¡°I am trying to help,¡± Stiles hissed and shoved him aside, spotting Sergeant Martel rushing to the walls with a group of twenty. ¡°Hey¡­ mate,¡± Stiles said stepping in his way. ¡°Yes?¡± The stiff necked officer replied, his helm touching his thick brows. ¡°I need these men on the other gate,¡± Stiles told him and seeing him scowling, he added grinding his teeth. ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake not again, I¡¯m the leader here!¡± Martel turned his head and barked to the soldier standing behind him. ¡°Find Ottis, we¡¯ll follow the pirate scum around.¡± Huh? ¡°What¡¯s wit the fuckin¡¯ personal assault sergeant?¡± Stiles protested. ¡°Just stating the facts mister Stiles,¡± Martel deadpanned. ¡°Head north and check the gate there,¡± Stiles grunted irate. ¡°I¡¯ll be there shortly.¡±
Stiles rushed to the large Mastaba where a group of Gallant Dogs fighters in their hardened leather cuirasses and chainmail shirts were loading military supplies and weapons to wagons. A sergeant, recognized by the bronze epaulets on his shoulder guards, was directing the loaded with swords, shields, spears, axes and iron bolts wagons to the gates. ¡°Sergeant,¡± Stiles told him reaching the thirty men strong group, a heavy breathing Clint joining him a moment later. ¡°Marbet will be sending help soon.¡± ¡°The ¡®Mayor¡¯?¡± the Dogs officer grunted. ¡°Should we pull the men out?¡± ¡°Leave behind someone that knows where is what,¡± Stiles replied. ¡°And report to Ottis. Take these already loaded wagons wit you.¡± The sergeant nodded and gave the order to a burly soldier. ¡°What are we lacking?¡± Stiles probed whilst the order was passed around to the men inside the massive building. ¡°Archers sire, more men in general to cover the perimeter,¡± the sergeant retorted. ¡°We have bows and arrows. Spears aplenty and poor quality blades.¡± ¡°Poor?¡± Stiles queried. ¡°The blacksmiths you have here will make a great horseshoe, but some of the blades need a lot of work,¡± the officer explained. ¡°What kind of work?¡± ¡°Sharpening.¡± ¡°Right, anyone on top of that?¡± Stiles asked, seeing how this could be a big inconvenience. ¡°Martel and his boys are handling the unit¡¯s gear, but these new ones in ¡®em boxes are another story. Marbet better bring a grinder along.¡± Eh.
¡°Where¡¯s Marbet Clint?¡± Stiles asked the troubled looking ¡®former¡¯ thief. Now the former part is used very loosely in this case. ¡°Haven¡¯t seen him, but Dob is wit the dwarf and Anne¡¯s people.¡± ¡°Ye make it sound as if he up and disappeared,¡± Stiles grunted hurrying back towards the watch tower. ¡°I just fuckin¡¯ talked wit him, it¡¯s not even an hour!¡± ¡°Ye know more than me boss.¡± ¡°It would seem that¡¯s the case,¡± Stiles hissed, seeing Norec coming their way. The dwarf wore a chainmail shirt that reached his boots and looked more like a long tunic. He was also carrying a warhammer as big as him. ¡°The parapets are yay tall,¡± Stiles told him with a sly smirk. ¡°Folk fight on the ground,¡± Norec spat with a scowl. ¡°No climbed up on walls like wenches!¡± Stiles nodded and removed his hat in an attempt to wipe his sweaty face. ¡°I know that¡¯s a brag dwarf.¡± ¡°Partially it is,¡± Norec admitted and placed the long steel hammer shaft on his shoulder. ¡°Will they break through?¡± ¡°They¡¯re testing us,¡± Stiles said with a sigh, taking the opportunity to rest. ¡°The machines are working at least. Boy, I really thought this was a scam to drain me purse.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± Norec grunted and stared at the wall beyond the Watch Tower. The area had been cleared of debris there, with only the outlines of buildings remaining. Beyond the warehouse across the street though, the old ruins touched the wall from the inside at certain points, or were part of the fortifications. ¡°This needs more work,¡± he finally commented. ¡°It¡¯s the same on the other side,¡± Stiles replied. ¡°People might climb in, but it won¡¯t be in numbers and Ottis has ten man strong patrols covering the blind spots.¡± ¡°Difficult in the day,¡± Norec murmured. ¡°Wake has the report from Sid,¡± he added. ¡°Where?¡± ¡°Sopat gate,¡± Norec replied. ¡°You better tell your lackey to get us some horses.¡± ¡°You heard him,¡± Stiles said turning to a blank faced Clint. ¡°That¡¯s you mate.¡± ¡°You¡¯re listening to the dwarf chief?¡± Clint protested. ¡°Aye,¡± Stiles replied. ¡°I know him far longer than you. Now get to the stable and get us a couple of horses. Ah,¡± He added just as a dejected Clint started shuffling his feet towards the yard. ¡°Grab a bottle of rum from my office. Look under the cupboard, leave the sack, it¡¯s for another purpose.¡± Clint paused unsure, not wanting to walk back and forth. ¡°We have the barrel under the shade chief, next to the stable.¡± ¡°Whence it shall remain,¡± Stiles reassured him fully serious. ¡°Until the rats come back.¡± Damn thing had wiped them out in a day. Well, props to old Burton I guess. He has really made something useful this time, he thought, no doubt about it. ¡°We might have a fight in our hands my friend,¡± Norec told him and Stiles fixed the hat on his head again. ¡°Can you still swing that blade?¡± ¡°Push comes to shove,¡± Stiles murmured. ¡°Is Dob wit Anne?¡± ¡°Ayup,¡± Norec replied giving him a stare. ¡°Sigurd didn¡¯t like it.¡± ¡°Fuckin¡¯ snake,¡± Stiles grunted. ¡°I don¡¯t trust him.¡± ¡°She doesn¡¯t care for him in that manner and he knows it,¡± Norec said with a grimace. ¡°For you, I¡¯m not as sure.¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s not what worries me mate,¡± Stiles replied. ¡°It¡¯s the fuckin¡¯ circle. We¡¯re in it, I can feel it in me bones. I can live knowing she¡¯ll be fine somewhere, such greed is Glen¡¯s weakness. I can let go of me darlings. In a sense I¡¯m where you were at this point.¡± ¡°Life makes a circle indeed,¡± Norec nodded seeing his point. His face darkened at the memory. ¡°I can¡¯t let go as easy as you friend. Fikumin misses her even more. It¡¯s a Folk thing. But just as when we first met mister Stiles, I¡¯ll fight afore going down.¡± ¡°Aye,¡± Stiles agreed and spat down, his mouth dry. ¡°Cursed be Abrakas harlots.¡± Clint came towards them bringing up the horses, a bottle slotted into his shirt bulging. More than one bloody bottle. Ugh. ¡°Have you ever seen one?¡± Norec asked casually. Abrakas harlots was his meaning. Or daughters. Stiles nodded and stepped away from his shadow, the Ticu¡¯s song humming in his head. ¡°Once,¡± he replied. ¡°Eyes black as the deepest well. Shriveled me cock proper.¡±
A notorious gang of outlaws from Rida, the Marauders, led by the wanted criminal Sid Cross ¨Che had a standing bounty on his head since eighty six in several cities, citing murder in all of them, armed robbery in Rida, Altarin and Castalor, heavy looting in all of them and mutilating a king¡¯s magistrate in Altarinport- got involved in the third or fourth week of the stalemate/blockade, with a coordinated attack on the mercenary company¡¯s warehouses. Although the rented area was located deep inside the ¡®safe¡¯, or neutral Cofol controlled district, the cutthroats managed to slip through the inadequate Cofol patrols ¨Cthough it must be noted here that the local commander had been forced under pressure from D¡¯Orsi to guard closely the so called ¡®Sopat Gate¡¯ and street that directly connected the ¡®sieged¡¯ Garth¡¯s District with the Cofols- and set fire to two of the buildings. Half the first division that was standing in reserve, or resting near the company¡¯s three large galleon type ships moored in the Cofol docks, moved to crash the gang members. A brawl broke out in the middle of the night with the armed cutthroats ambushing the patrols rushing to the area and killing rear area personnel until finally the mobilized division managed to push them away. The company saved the third building and stopped the fire with the help of the Cofols that had woken up from their sleep shocked at the sudden explosion of violence. D¡¯Orsi upon being informed of the ruin to most of his unloaded supplies took control of Eikenport¡¯s Cofol docks completely and installed strong armed units near his ships. He then used the first division to strike inside the pirate neighborhoods to find the terrorists. The mercenaries cut down anyone suspicious for the rest of the day, but got attacked again the moment dark descended upon the city. Equally well-equipped cutthroats ambushed the night patrols and tried to burn the hostel the first division used as barracks, next to the large Sopat Building. Realizing the city¡¯s criminal elements had been somehow supplied by the closed off Garth¡¯s District, D¡¯Orsi ordered Captain Ramos to test the timber walls and gates. Ramos made a push for it, but got fired upon from the heavy ballista ¨Ca type of Legio¡¯s Scorpio siege engines- Captain Ottis had installed on the six meters in height main city gate-towers. While the mercenaries packed on the main road artery had less than a hundred meters to traverse in order to reach the gates, they retreated to safety, when an iron bolt penetrated five lines deep killing all five soldiers and critically injuring the man standing on the sixth row. Ramos asked D¡¯Orsi to order the third division camped north from his position and just at the edge of the Pirate¡¯s District to advance on the North Gates kilometers away and test the defenses there. D¡¯Orsi sent the third in, but they got intercepted again late afternoon whilst marching down the empty streets of this ruined part of the city from a force of almost two hundred fighters by at least two criminal groups working together. Sid Cross¡¯s Marauders and a local gang the ¡®Illuminated Rats¡¯ led by a Wake ¡®Rats¡¯. It is not known whether it was his moniker or the lowlife¡¯s real name. Whatever the truth about the name is, the armed cutthroats came out of side alleys and ruined buildings, or fired on the parading mercenaries from half-collapsed rooftops using slingers, stones and the occasional javelin. With the struggle happening in very close quarters after the first minute, tactics were abandoned and an all-out fight broke out in the middle of the street. Eventually the mercenaries coming up behind their friends managed to push the cutthroats away killing many. But their casualties and the psychological shock of losing their Captain a minute into the scrap to a piece of glassy rock the size of a watermelon dropped from above, forced them to retreat again to their positions. It was said the heavy volcanic type small boulder shoved the hapless officer¡¯s head and helmet deep into his chest cavity, afore breaking his spine. D¡¯Orsi was so irate upon learning of the division¡¯s decision, he rode into the camp himself, located amidst a flattened area north of the center of city and assumed command of the third. He sent for Captain Ramos in the middle of the night and they devised a plan to attack simultaneously using the only catapult they had left and their own Ballistas ¨Cthose they brought from the ships- to weaken parts of the wall, or even bulldoze their way through the gates.
¡°INCOMING!¡± A Dogs sergeant yelled standing on a wall¡¯s corner. Stiles clenched his teeth, a nervous tick on his strained face turning to a flinch just as the catapult shot that had been missing spectacularly up to this point struck the north gatetower right at its middle point. It exploded out the back and inside their perimeter, the exit hole huge. It sent debris in a ten meter radius, be it pieces of blackened timber, sharp splinters, half a ladder, or the bloody pulverized remains of a soldier rushing ammunition upstairs. The gutted tower crumpled and collapsed into a pile burying the other two soldiers manning the scorpio, one side of the gates cracking and shifting to the north. ¡°Fuck,¡± the sergeant said and Ottis seeing the men reeling behind the gates barked at the second tower to continue firing on the Lesia mercenaries. ¡°We need to bring the other scorpio forward,¡± he grunted seeing the scowl on Stiles face. They had striped the Sopat Gates of its machines to use them elsewhere, seeing that the mercenaries were making a rigorous push for the North and Main gates, about three kilometers apart from each other. Ottis had split his force in two leaving very few men in between, or facing the Cofols. The ruined part of the city appeared quiet and even with the Three Hundred Company¡¯s larger numbers this was a big front to cover, or test appropriately. Stiles unsheathed his saber, as Ottis run to help the men unload the heavy war-machine, his eyes on the closed now, a tad slanted gates and the second tower firing in an effort to hit the catapult the Lesia mercenaries had brought dangerously close to improve their aim. ¡°How many scorpios behind the ruins?¡± Norec asked him yelling to be heard over the cries and curses of the defenders mainly the citizens bringing up supplies. ¡°Twelve,¡± Stiles rustled with a grimace. ¡°Them fuckers stripped those ships clean.¡± The dwarf from Brightos, a village in the bowels of the Northwall Heights near Hellfort, nodded his scowl deepening just as the sound of many giant steel crossbows firing at once reached them. TWANG Repeatedly. Shite, Stiles cursed his only eye ogling. WHOOSH Multiplied many times as the heavy bolts crossed the distance and struck the walls right and left of the gates. But for three. While the walls stopped the iron bolts, those hitting the gates went through, one stopping and protruding like a long nail from a plank, right at the long and thick wooden latch, the other two coming out and ripping through anything that stood upright. Eight soldiers died in a short second, one of the bloody three-fingers thick iron bolts bouncing off the tiles after missing Stiles¡¯ head ¨Cthe ¡®former¡¯ pirate was standing twenty meters behind the Gates- retaining enough momentum to decapitate a young boy a couple of feet to his right that was watching the event stupefied.
The catapult shot splintered the top right corner of the weakened gate, the rest of the three meter wide door cracking, a piece of it folding down and leaving a three foot opening. An archer standing atop the parapets yelled a warning as he could see the mercenaries approaching determined. ¡°RISE UP!¡± Ottis roared to the fighters¡¯ right and left of him realizing the Scorpios had stopped firing. ¡°MAN THE DOORS!¡± But it was too late. The left door that been shredded from multiple shots swung open violently by the small battering arm, the hefty beam-sized latch broken earlier. The right door, the one with the opening at its corner, held fast despite its state and Ottis shoved the slow reacting men forward to block the first Lesia mercenaries from coming inside.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Stiles rushed after them, the chaos unfolding making the scene appear surreal and dreamlike, but for the mutilated soldiers and civilians bleeding out from the bombardment. The first Lesia mercenaries jumped inside behind their gold shields, the number 300 painted in red bold letters on them. The first one got stabbed from his left side by a Gallant Dogs soldier hiding behind the still standing door and went down, but the man lost his sword arm to an opponent coming right after the first ¡®Gold Contract¡¯ mercenary. He pulled back with a yelp, a torrent of blood spraying the enemies pouring in shouting insults. They made it four meters before they got stopped by twice the number of blades they were bringing to the fight. Steel bit on leather and mail, clanked on shields and helms, then found flesh with rapid thuds. Blimey! Stiles cursed, ducking under a flying chopped off head spraying foul gore in an arc. A Dog went down screaming, slashed across the face, head turning into a bloody mess. A burly Lesia mercenary stepped out of the gap, but Stiles swung at him wild with the saber and he had to pause hard to deflect it with his shield. The blade clanked on the iron edge and went sideways. Stiles flinched away from the man¡¯s return swing, losing his hat, which was much better an outcome than losing his head and thinking on his feet chopped down aiming for the mercenary¡¯s unprotected knee. Down came the saber with a hiss, the man sliding his right leg backwards to dodge, but got his heel stuck on debris and the sharp blade caught his retreating foot, chopping off the protruding part of his boot. The Lesia mercenary shuddered and stooped forward with a horrified gasp, a wayward thrown spear catching him on the shoulder, above his lowered shield. He was shoved to the side like a ragdoll, his other shoulder smacking the gate still standing, leaving the front of his leather boot behind and still containing the lower part of his foot. ¡°Bah,¡± Stiles grunted and twisted around to avoid the reformed Gallant Dogs line pushing forward, in a wall of steel and angry glares. ¡°ENOUGH!¡± Ottis barked to stop them from going on the attack beyond the gates. ¡°BRING THEM BACK SERGEANT!¡± Stiles run towards him breathing heavy and a little deaf from his right ear. He could hear a slight hissing and that was just about it. Added to the fact he¡¯d just lost his hat in the brouhaha the whole matter stunk to high heavens. ¡°Hells are ye doing?¡± He barked at the Captain that was signaling to the rising armed civilians and soldiers behind them. Several of them had pushed the extra Scorpio not twenty meters from the gates and were quickly loading it. ¡°They are coming sire!¡± A soldier yelled from the gates. ¡°STAND ASIDE GOD DARN IT!¡± Ottis roared irate and raised his arm, fingers extended. He snapped it downwards the moment the first Lesia mercenaries appeared at the opening.
¡°RELOAD!¡± A hoarse sounding Ottis barked. Eh, Stiles thought seeing the remaining flap of the gates swinging back and forth. That¡¯s a lot of turds in this barrel. The door¡¯s weakened beams crackled and came apart, the opening growing another three meters. The number of Lesia soldiers appearing behind the dust cloud haze staggering. The mercenaries on both sides roared and stepped forward, one side trying to plug the gap, the other attempting to slip through to the open. ¡°Our lads are in the way sire!¡± An engineer roared and Ottis who had one eye on the parapets and the remaining guardtower, where archers and soldiers were shooting arrow after arrow into the packed rows of enemies, along with rocks, sharp shards of glass ¨Cthe material plentiful in Eikenport- javelins and even plain pieces of cut wood, the other on the unfolding heavy fighting on the broken gates groaned in frustration. ¡°Sergeant,¡± he ordered a scowling Gallant Dogs officer. ¡°Keep the second line back!¡± ¡°They¡¯ll never hold Ottis,¡± the wiry sergeant from Rida argued, but the Captain would have none of it. ¡°Do it,¡± he hissed and signaled for the idle engineers manning the Scorpio on the guardtower to start firing again despite the bad angle. He then turned around and stared at the men operating the second war machine. ¡°Ah,¡± Norec grunted standing next to Stiles left knee. ¡°Allfather helps them.¡± Stiles closed his eye just as the order was given.
While D¡¯Orsi¡¯s attack was spoiled at the main street¡¯s gates mainly due to the ¡®dogged¡¯ resistance from the defenders, the brutal fighting lasting hours and leaving dead bodies pilled in and out of the mostly destroyed by this time fortifications, his Northern Gates assault fared even worse, as the regrouped outlaws that had plagued him for weeks, flanked his attacking group and bloodied it so much it reached the gates in disarray and assaulted from multiple sides. A sally from the defenders there sent the aggrieved Lesia mercenaries back to their starting position. With the day ending the Three Hundred licked their wounds and their officers gathered for a war council in their commander¡¯s hastily constructed headquarters. D¡¯Orsi wanted another attack to take advantage of the coming dark, but Captain Ramos disagreed reminding him they were expecting reinforcements arriving with Wyncall. Captain Wyncall was missing in action though for over a month, presumably traveling with Sir Gust De Weer through the desert and D¡¯Orsi had been humiliated too much to palate a patient approach. According to the Code of the Company, if an order was deemed unwise, the ranking officers got to vote on it, but with Wyncall who was second in command absent an agreement couldn¡¯t be reached. It did produce though some pretty colorful conversations with every officer present passing the blame to the man standing next to him. The hour late and with injured soldiers being treated outside the headquarters grating on everyone¡¯s nerves, the old Commander of the unit, Lear Hik offered another plan that could placate both D¡¯Orsi¡¯s thirst for blood and Ramos more strategic approach. ¡®An attack¡¯, the aged former mercenary had declared, ¡®can succeed even if it¡¯s repelled, especially if it¡¯s naught but a ruse.¡¯ Whatever his plan had been, the details didn¡¯t survive as the man disappeared from history for several years, but D¡¯Orsi got to have his revenge attack a couple of hours later. Early at dawn.
Part IB Battle of main street Gates Third day, late evening ¡°How many?¡± Ottis asked looking haggard and nodded at the number his shoulders slumping. Stiles turned around and walked slowly to where Gervin Marbet stood directing the large number of civilians that had come to help the wounded and gather the slain. As gruesome a job as one could take on. ¡°You think they¡¯ll return?¡± The so called ¡®mayor¡¯ by the refugees asked him, although Marbet had been nothing but a low level administrator back in Rida, a ¡®minister of crops¡¯ as he¡¯d jokingly admitted once. ¡°I don¡¯t see ¡®em up and leavin¡¯ mate,¡± Stiles rustled truthfully, seeing no reason to beat around the bush. ¡°They¡¯ll attack again,¡± Ottis agreed. He¡¯d approached the group, conned helm in hand. ¡°Attrition is on their side.¡± Stiles grimaced and checked his blade afore sheathing it. He was the only one still having his sword drawn. ¡°How did the others fare?¡± He asked the Captain of the Gallant Dogs. ¡°Better than us for sure,¡± Ottis admitted. ¡°Wake and Sid lost a lot of men though, but at least our force at the North Gates is intact. Both the lads and the gates as a matter of fact.¡± Stiles stared at the gap where the gates stood. Even a part of the walls had been damaged, especially next to the collapsed tower. Thinking on the effort he¡¯d put in finishing it, Stiles felt his anger returning. ¡°Marbet we need to block the way again,¡± Ottis said while the pirate seethed in silence. ¡°Use timber, stones and dirt. Any kind of debris, nothing fancy, but see it¡¯s at least a couple of meters in height.¡± ¡°How much time we have?¡± Marbet asked him. ¡°Assume we have no time,¡± Ottis retorted. ¡°What about those that want to help?¡± Marbet countered. A very big number of refugees had armed themselves, taking the opportunity to get their hands on weapons whilst helping carry the supplies from the Mastaba. Ottis grunted and glared at him. ¡°How many?¡± Stiles asked, his eye on a young man wearing a conned helm, a short mail shirt, armed with a shield and spear. ¡°A couple of thousand,¡± Marbet replied. ¡°How many that know which end is the front of the bloody spear?¡± Ottis blasted him. ¡°A third?¡± Marbet chanced. Ottis grunted and turned to go near his sergeants, but Stiles stopped him placing a hand on his shoulder. ¡°That¡¯s five-six hundred men,¡± he told the tired officer. ¡°Use them.¡± ¡°They¡¯ll get in the way Stiles,¡± Ottis replied. ¡°I have another two Scorpios delivered from the workshops. We can surprise them late in their charge, cut them down.¡± ¡°These are men with long pointy weapons,¡± Stiles argued. ¡°Put them in a large group to guard one side of the opening, as a blocking force. No one seeing them standing behind their shields will go that way. I sure wouldn¡¯t and I know how to cut a man down.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have sergeant Lodrik drill them for an hour,¡± Ottis sighed. ¡°You¡¯ll catch some sleep?¡± Stiles stared at the dark sky, the moons only half visible. ¡°Aye,¡± he replied a moment later. ¡°You should too.¡±
¡°Chief,¡± Dob¡¯s said, putting a heavy hand on his chest. ¡°Wake up.¡± ¡°Uh,¡± Stiles murmured opening his eye and realized it was still dark. ¡°The tower is on fire?¡± He chanced unhappy. ¡°No, but they gathered again Ottis said,¡± Dob replied and helped him to his feet. ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake,¡± Stiles grunted and rubbed his face. He fixed the patch over his ruined eye and groaned. ¡°Where¡¯s Clint?¡± ¡°Outside with Anne.¡± Stiles murmured and stumbled to the door of his office, banging a hip to the desk along the way. He walked outside and breathed once deeply. Anne stood next to Sigurd and Kasters, dressed as an adventurer, but looking mighty royal to his eyes. ¡°Mister Stiles,¡± she said in that refined Common, you don¡¯t expect to hear in a pirate port, during a siege and whilst expecting to be killed by mercenaries. ¡°How can I help?¡± ¡°Keeping yerself safe,¡± he replied with a small smile. ¡°Would be of great help to us Anne.¡± She pouted, her eyes glowing. ¡°He¡¯s right your grace,¡± Sigurd said. ¡°Chief,¡± Clint intervened nervously. ¡°I need to check on the lads,¡± Stiles explained scrunching his jaw, trying not to think of anything else and lose his courage. ¡°There¡¯s a fight coming.¡± ¡°How can I reward you for your services Mister Stiles?¡± Anne asked, sounding genuine. Ah, Stiles thought and wetted his dry lips. ¡°Plenty of time to ponder on prizes later Anne,¡± he said trying to sound confident and with a nod followed after Clint, leaving Dob with the three Issirs behind. A flushed Anne, the indifferent Kasters and the furious Sigurd.
¡°They are going to do the same thing again?¡± Norec grunted still climbed atop his horse, looking like a very short, ugly and hairy kid. Very hairy. Mean as fuck. ¡°Seems that way,¡± Stiles murmured watching the lines of Lesia mercenaries setting up for a march on the hastily constructed barricade that had replaced the destroyed gates. Ottis had placed the four Scorpios in a single row, ten feet apart and ten meters behind the opening to keep them unseen for as long as possible. Around a hundred and fifty Gallant Dogs on one side of the engineers, the massive group of armed volunteers on the other waiting in tensed relative silence, with the occasional cough, or weapon clinking breaking it. ¡°It doesn¡¯t make sense,¡± Norec grunted frowning even more. ¡°Ready to fire on command,¡± Ottis told Sergeant Lodrik. Martel had been left in charge of the North Gates and the much larger Dogs force there. ¡°Is that all of them?¡± Stiles asked. ¡°They pulled most of the force from the river,¡± Ottis replied with a grimace, just as the Lesia mercenaries started marching under the sound of a sole drum. ¡°They lit many fires to hide it, but the scouts confirmed it.¡± ¡°They sure don¡¯t go for the silent approach,¡± Stiles noted thoughtfully and wiped his face with a shaking hand. ¡°What is it?¡± Ottis grunted seeing him looking sick. ¡°You kept men patrolling the wall right?¡± he asked him. ¡°Since the night, they haven¡¯t finished the rounds yet.¡± ¡°Has any of them returned?¡± Ottis frowned. ¡°You want me to check on that now?¡± Stiles gulped down. ¡°READY!¡± The sergeant barked the rows of approaching armoured mercenaries coming to view, under the pale moonlight that slowly gave way to a blood-colored hue over the horizon. Almost dawn, Stiles thought the ground shaking under the boots of hundreds of men incoming and glanced nervously back towards the dark mass of the Mastaba, now unseen in the blackness. The light atop of the Watchtower a tiny flickering dot, giving him perspective and contrasting with the darkness of the ruined central part of the city in between the distant gates. ¡°FIRE AT WILL!¡± Lodrik barked and the Scorpios torsions snapped in action releasing their lethal projectiles under the roar of the defenders. ¡°We need to go!¡± Stiles yelled at Norec and the dwarf tossed him the reins of his horse as if expecting it. Captain Ottis saw him climb up the saddle, then turn the horse around and blinked in shock. ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°The patrols should have returned!¡± Stiles roared to be heard over the rumpus of the soldiers charging the barricade, huge gaps in their lines where the iron bolts had ripped through. ¡°Wait,¡± Ottis yelled ogling his eyes and glanced about him, but Stiles kicked his legs and galloped after the dwarf. His instincts were telling him staying put was the safer bet, but he¡¯d done that plenty of times in the past, always felt worse after it. So Stiles decided to rush the other way and try to milk this life for all it worth. Make something more of it so he could stand tall and look Anne in the eyes.
The Mastaba came into view, the torches burning at its entrance and across it the light of the Watchtower Glen had restored. Behind it open empty space, as the ruins had been cleared and turned into a wall, parts of it made of timbers blocking what was once streets, tall remnants of buildings still standing and incorporated into the fortifications. As tall as five meters at points and over it the ruins of the city, piles upon piles of debris, bombarded terrain and remnants of ancient neighborhoods going nowhere. Stiles had encountered the first returning patrol already, a ten man strong unit and that had calmed him down a bit, but reaching this better lit part of the district he expected to find the next one loitering about the nearby tavern, just after the warehouse. He found it close instead, which made sense given the time and circumstances, but that didn¡¯t answer his question. ¡°Where the fuck are they?¡± Stiles grunted and Norec who was riding in front of him jumped from the saddle landing like a small boulder on the tiles. Dob who had seen them riding past him, the Cofol was standing guard outside the tower, started coming towards them. ¡°I¡¯ll check near the wall,¡± Clint said and pointed at the torches set at regular intervals at the base of the long structure. ¡°Go,¡± Stiles said just as a man got out of an alley next to the tavern, leading to the half-demolished blocks of buildings bordering the walls and started running towards them. Behind them the patrol he¡¯d left behind approached as well at a slow trot. ¡°Hey,¡± the man said. A Lorian wearing an apron. ¡°That you Rey?¡± Stiles grunted recognizing one of the locals working at the tavern. ¡°There¡¯s screaming amidst the ruins sire,¡± Rey reported breathing heavy. ¡°Heard commotion from the open window. Was preparing yeast bread¡ª¡± ¡°Abrakas toes!¡± Stiles blasted him. ¡°When was that ye fuckin¡¯ idiot?¡± ¡°Just now,¡± Rey replied sternly. ¡°Near the walls of the old estate.¡± ¡°Plenty of old walls standing there,¡± Norec commented and went to get his warhammer from his horse. ¡°Difficult climb from the other side, a maze to navigate afore that. Unless yer determined.¡± Aye, Stiles thought nervously and signed for the soldiers to follow him. Or a sneaky motherfucker.
The rising sun had given the sky a sinister crimson tint, the ancient ruins standing ominous as they approached. Naked stone walls and parts of roofs connecting them, large portions of the remains turned to glass, broken pieces loitering what was once a street, but was now a debris field. The estate walls extending for more than a hundred meters, a cracked colossus that had collapsed in on itself. The mercenaries had slaughtered the patrol, but the fight had dragged on longer than what they would have preferred and had cost them in blood. Stiles counted more than ten corpses scattered in an arc, several of them struck by arrows. A soldier cursed seeing the dead and rushed the three mercenaries patching up their wounds, near the north corner of the building, the rest of the Dogs patrol charging after him. Stiles made to stop them, but by the time he¡¯d barked the order, the rest of the mercenaries came out of the ruins and fell on them. No time, or warning. You can prepare yourself for hours and still get surprised when violence explodes. ¡°That¡¯s the other patrol,¡± a grey-haired Lorian noted confidently stepping out of the ruins, a weathered long coat over his armour making him appear robust and armed with a longsword. ¡°Be quick about it.¡±
Fuck, Stiles thought, his heart thundering in his chest and moved aside to avoid a spear to the gut. He stepped over a bleeding out patrol soldier next and cut a Lesia mercenary across the back, just as he was about to finish off another. The blade bit the leather armour and stopped on the mail underneath, but Stiles heard a loud crack, the man¡¯s spine splintering and he went down on his knees shuddering. Stiles turned, but got his elbow blocked by a shoulder, the mercenary shoving him back, heels tripping on a boulder. He twisted around trying to find his footing, but got slashed across the chest, the cuirass denting but holding. Stiles stumbled a couple of feet, parried an attack instinctively, lost his footing again, but his opponent opted to headbutt him using his helm instead of trying again. It gave him the time to step back, narrowly avoid having his face caved in and reach for his waistband to find his dagger. The mercenary lifted his head to see where he¡¯d gone and Stiles stabbed him in the left eye once, flinched to avoid a wild slash and then stabbed him again below the chin, the blade going in to the hilt. The mercenary gurgled, spitting blood down his jaw and Stiles shoved him aside to reach the next one. He made two strides and got intercepted by the spear wielding maniac from earlier. Stiles grunted feeling the tip penetrating his skin above the nipple, slashed to keep him away, but the man snorted seeing as he had the range. He tried again aiming for his head, but Stiles jerked his neck the other way, the steel tip cutting him below the left ear as the man had angled it down on the return. Stiles cursed the mercenary¡¯s famous harlot mother, the man snarled showing him his yellow teeth and Norec who had rolled in between them swung with his Warhammer and nailed him between the legs pulverizing everything. A scream and the hapless man doubled over, Norec finishing him off with a well-placed smack across his lowering forehead that cracked his skull after breaking his helm. ¡°Move!¡± Norec grunted and shoved him aside, just as the warrior with the two swords rushed him. Stiles ducked under the twin blades panicked, but got kicked right in the mouth, losing two good teeth and that gold one that always bothered him. He landed on his back, mouth full of blood and feeling broken. ¡°Edge,¡± the old mercenary leader barked to his friend. ¡°Help the others, I¡¯ll deal wit the dwarf.¡± Ye fuckin¡¯ old goat, Stiles cursed and rolled to the side trying to get up. He found a rock with his elbow, left arm turning numb and growled furious standing up. He made to help Norec who was fighting said old goat, but a Dogs soldier got cut down in front of him and Stiles had to defend himself against his killer. He dodged a dangerous slash aimed for his face, got blood in his eye and missed his chance, made to wipe it with his free hand, but saw the mercenary coming at him again through the bloody haze, so he had to improvise. ¡°Arggh!¡± the Lesia mercenary protested irate, a face full of phlegm, bloody saliva and pieces of Stiles broken teeth, whilst the pirate wiped his face with a hand. Stiles couldn¡¯t feel his jaw, but he left the matter aside to slash at his reeling opponent. The man raised an arm to protect himself, forgot he didn¡¯t have a shield on him since they had to discard stuff to climb the wall and lost most of it. He recoiled with a wretched cry of pain and Stiles swung at him again with everything he had, his blade bouncing off the man¡¯s helm with a sharp clanging sound the angle wrong. Stiles cursed Abrakas not finding it funny, but the mercenary collapsed senseless on his face just the same. ¡°Eh,¡± Stiles mumbled and spat blood between his legs, trying to catch his breath. He didn¡¯t have the time as the double sword wielding warrior came at him again. Apparently and despite their surprise the Dogs patrol had given as much as it got and now the only people still standing were the two older mercenaries. Every single one of the Gallant Dogs soldiers had been cut down as well, so the only others standing from their side were a bloodied Stiles and Norec who had been injured. The dwarf was bleeding badly down his right thigh. The warrior swung with his right blade and Stiles blocked it, but had to jump away from the second one. Again and this time, he got a slash on the left shoulder, the retreating blade almost taking his other eye off. Stiles was outmatched. It was clear his opponent was much more skilled and the pirate had to retreat, always on the defensive under the barrage of attacks, his heart beating so loud in his chest, Stiles could hear the heavy thudding coming from all around him. ¡°What in Hell¡¯s gates?¡± Edge cursed twisting his neck around, just as Dob arrived like a bull poked in his nether regions with a very hot iron. A loud thud and Edge got hurled on a partially collapsed piece of wall. Dob grunted and went after him but got an arrow through his right bicep and had to stop a couple of strides in. The big Cofol groaned and broke the shaft to get it out, whilst Edge was slowly getting up with a grimace of pain. Son of a bitch, Stiles thought grinding his teeth and spotted the hidden Cofol archer casually reaching for another arrow stooped on the portion of the roof still standing, in what had been at some point the estate¡¯s first floor. He made to rush after him, but spotted Edge going after Dob and paused unsure, Norec¡¯s roar snapping him out of his haze. ¡°GO!¡± The dwarf urged him and swung wild with his Warhammer meeting his opponent¡¯s blade and breaking it. Stiles started running towards the building, knees hurting and ears ringing from blood loss. Behind him big Dob locked swords with Edge and the old mercenary that was their leader stepped back with a disappointed sigh, tossed his broken blade away and reached for another one he had sheathed under his coat. ¡°Shoot the pirate Bolt,¡± he ordered his friend.
Bolt, apparently that was the sneaky Cofol ranger¡¯s name, missed him entering the destroyed building, the arrow whistling over a manically slouching Stiles. Still alive, he thought, his mouth hurting and gulping down blood. He reached the half-collapsed internal staircase, put a boot on it and saw the aged Cofol appearing at the top, bowstring already drawn. Witch¡¯s tits! Stiles rushed upstairs an arrow smacking his cuirass and going through his lung, exiting out of the back, below a rib. He was shoved violently backwards, almost toppling to his death, but found a wall with his left hand, broke two nails trying to keep his weight from overcoming his momentum and barely managed to hold on. ¡°Huh?¡± Bolt snorted not expecting it and dropped his bow to reach for a long knife. Stiles who felt his chest burning and his throat clogged with blood, rushed the remaining stairs and bodied him backwards. They rolled on the part of the roof still standing, the edge at the corner of the building, trading blows with their free hands. Bolt tried to knife him in the gut, but he put a hand on it running on pure adrenalin and smacked him in the face with the guard of his saber. Bolt¡¯s head hit the tiles and he kicked him to get away. Stiles toppled backwards, the arrow fletching¡¯s messing with his balance, but managed to stop on a knee just before he run out of roof. Under him Dob was still fighting with Edge and Norec tried to defend against the mercenary leader¡¯s attacks. Stiles got up groaning and Bolt who was bleeding from a cut on his cheek hissed. ¡°Lear shall finish this,¡± the ranger told him and reached for a small axe he had on his belt. ¡°Yer a dead man.¡± Stiles should have been dead years ago. ¡°Uhm,¡± Stiles grunted, blood running down his neck, as he couldn¡¯t spare energy to talk and snapped the protruding arrow shaft with his free hand, then reached behind him and pulled the rest of it out from the slippery tip. Bolt shrugged his shoulders, licked the blood running down his cheek from his lips and rushed him. Dying is a fuckin¡¯ skill, but death is a connivin¡¯ ruffian, Stiles thought feverishly his vision blurring. Bolt went at him with the axe, but Stiles jerked aside on instinct and slashed downwards, barely catching the retreating arm at the wrist, opening the veins there. Bolt groaned through his teeth, the axe clanking down between them and knifed him in the gut, the blade going through the cuirass, the tip penetrating the chainmail. You never know when yer clock is about to run out. By the time you realize it, it¡¯s too fuckin¡¯ late. Stiles felt the deep cut, but he¡¯d made peace with himself a long time ago and didn¡¯t worry about it. The pirate used the broken part of the arrow he still had in his hand to viciously stab Bolt in the neck. The ranger jerked away feeling it going in, but Stiles raised his saber when he did and cut him once across the face. Bolt died at the same time Norec got hacked down by Lear and just before Dob succumbed to his injuries after badly injuring Edge, who sacrificed an arm to slay the big Cofol. Stiles didn¡¯t see any of the above as he was stumbling towards the staircase trying to make it downstairs, but his legs failed him right at the top and went down on his knees with a frustrated moan. Ah, gods darn it, he thought sourly, gulping down blood, when the old mercenary came slowly up the staircase like Oras shadow. Fuck was his name? He didn¡¯t remember it. Ah, yeah. It rhymes wit fear. Lear kneeled near him, a sad expression on his face. The sun rising over them, revealed wrinkles as deep as scars. He glanced towards the spot Bolt had fallen and sighed. ¡°Where is she son? The tower?¡± Lear asked tiredly, as if he didn¡¯t really want to be doing this shite at this stage in his life. Stiles ogled his sole eye, to better see him. ¡°Ain¡¯t scared¡­ of ye mate,¡± he hissed and it was the truth. Stiles couldn''t feel anything. Lear smacked his lips and got up with a grunt. ¡°Wise men know when to make a deal. All this carnage, it¡¯s on her,¡± the aged mercenary told him and reached for his sword. ¡°Yer anglin¡¯¡­ for a deal?¡± Stiles queried with a murmur, thinking of Anne. The thought strangely comforting, inappropriately pleasant for the place and time. Cursed be Abrakas, who cares? ¡°That was afore. I¡¯m not the man for that,¡± Lear explained, once again sounding sad. ¡°This is the butcher¡¯s bill son,¡± the old mercenary added and placing the tip of the blade on his chest very professionally, pushed down and run a strangely grinning Stiles right through.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 257. The Reaper’s Due (2/2) -
Eh, that could¡¯ve gone better, Lear thought pulling the splinter out of his thumb, pressing the blackened nail down to get all the foul blood out. He grunted and pushed himself upright next, his back crackling something fierce and hurting him more than the guard¡¯s sword had. ¡°You alright there old bones?¡± He asked his friend and the old fighter grimaced wiping the blood off his blades. ¡°Reckon I pulled a muscle,¡± the old mercenary turned bounty hunter and vice versa, at least a couple of times in the past thirty years, admitted. Same wit retirement, Lear thought. Ye stop and then get back in it all over again. Bunch of plaguin¡¯ crap. ¡°That so?¡± Lear grunted trying to straighten his back and failing. ¡°Where?¡± ¡°Everywhere.¡± ¡°Good, it¡¯ll spread the discomfort,¡± Lear teased and they both shared a laugh, the young ranger didn¡¯t much appreciate. Young lads think they¡¯ll get the chance to have a laugh later, Lear thought clenching his jaw, feeling the bones moving weird, where he¡¯d broken it a couple of winters back with a mace. Not his mace. ¡°So the priest is holed up in there?¡± Mark asked them nervously. ¡°A cabin in the fuckin¡¯ woods?¡± Lear gathered the spit in his mouth and spat over the leafy branch. ¡°It¡¯s called a hideout for a reason son,¡± he rustled and got up sword still in his bleeding hand. ¡°Where cowardly lying scum run to avoid what¡¯s comin¡¯ to ¡®em.¡± Lots of slain souls weighting that motherfucker down, he thought. Should be slow as all fucks. ¡°Last one?¡± Edge queried just to be certain he won¡¯t be doing all this all over again next winter and Lear grunted, his answer one word. ¡°Living.¡±
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Princess Elsanne Eikenaar ¡®Jade Eyes¡¯ ¡®Fair¡¯ Anne Burton
- The Reaper¡¯s Due Part II -As long as I draw breath, I shan¡¯t forget it- The man-sized large torch, built like a side-less bronze oil-fueled lantern right at the center of the watchtower, illuminated the limestone parapets turning them a brilliant white. Elsanne sighed her jade-colored eyes set on the smaller lights gathering across the main gates in the distance. The rest of the city quiet but for the tiny white dots across the docks. ¡°Is that them?¡± She asked ¡®Bald¡¯ Burton and the tavern keeper, though Burton did dabble in a lot more ¡®businesses¡¯ as he called them, hummed sucking at the sides of his mouth. ¡°They¡¯re fixed on breakin¡¯ through,¡± he said after a moment of silent contemplation. ¡°But sooner or later they¡¯ll run out of will, or men.¡± ¡°What about our injured? Or those killed?¡± Elsanne asked. ¡°The whole affair is horrible mister Burton!¡± ¡°Nothin¡¯ nice about it Anne, that¡¯s true.¡± Elsanne placed her hands on the cool flattened stone surface and stared at the patrol marching towards the walls. ¡°The Bank should never have had the right to hurt those people,¡± she stated simply. ¡°Coin does that Anne and the King¡¯s laws,¡± Burton said. ¡°They are bolder here, since this is another King¡¯s turf and the news won¡¯t travel.¡± ¡°Of course the news will!¡± Elsanne told him. ¡°Everyone will know Mclean & Merck tortured a city to get its hands on me mister Burton!¡± ¡°No they won¡¯t,¡± Burton insisted. ¡°They don¡¯t want you on the throne and they¡¯ll find a reason, or a way to hide their actions. Fight another war for it if they have to.¡± ¡°Perhaps getting your people involved wasn¡¯t the best idea then.¡± Burton shook his head. ¡°We came here to find another place, a better place for our families. Lord¡¯s Burrow was never meant to be as big as it has become. We are not all Issirs now it¡¯s true but Van Fleet¡¯s family goes back to Reinut and Leona¡¯s mother was a noble lady that loved the sea.¡± Elsanne glanced at his wrinkled face. ¡°I thought Vale kidnapped her.¡± ¡°Nah, the Captain was young once and not much of a buccaneer, but he had success with the ladies,¡± Burton replied. ¡°The girl¡¯s father never approved of the relationship, so they boarded a ship out of Caspo O¡¯ Bor to do their thing. Life caught up wit them in the end,¡± he grimaced and run his hand over the bald spot on his head. ¡°She tried to visit her relatives, but got arrested and the Lord wanted her branded wit the hot iron to spare her the noose.¡± Elsanne let out a horrified gasp. ¡°So he marked her for whoring?¡± ¡°Never whored a day in her life,¡± Burton explained. ¡°Nor did she sleep around and she wasn¡¯t going to bear the shame on her face,¡± he paused smacked his lips and then added. ¡°So she opened her veins wit a nail, killed herself instead. Vale never was the same after that aye. Wanted revenge so bad of the lords responsible, he ruined himself and killed a lot of people. That¡¯s the real story Leona hates to remember, without all the embellishments.¡± Elsanne could see this being more likely, than a pirate attempting a raid on a large port out of hubris, or some ill-conceived sense of valor. Revenge is a powerful motivator. Same as grief. She stared at the distant lights and Burton seeing her emotional grunted. ¡°You¡¯re the first Eikenaar we got to see up close,¡± the pirate district¡¯s tavern owner said. ¡°We never ascribed to the fancy name, it¡¯s just what a port the fleet stopped at some point was called. This port. The fleet will come again Anne. It will come for you, not the Princess. You can see beyond the lines and need no laws, or a throne to tell what¡¯s fair. And what isn¡¯t. You are one of us and we are your people.¡±
Elsanne walked inside Sen-Iv¡¯s lavish bedroom half an hour later to attempt to rest, but found Sigurd waiting her there with Katers. The Lord of Cole appearing nervous and still in a bad mood. ¡°You have news?¡± Elsanne asked and Sigurd signaled for Katers to stand outside the open door before replying. ¡°They are attacking again,¡± Kaltha¡¯s Minister of the Interior, among other things, said. Sigurd hadn¡¯t been irrelevant a day in his life, for such a small lord. He¡¯d shaved his head again and oiled it, which made him appear even balder than Burton. ¡°The mercenaries might stop them, but with the way they are killing each other, who knows?¡± She¡¯d seen enough of the casualties these past weeks, to need a reminder. ¡°I sure hope you do,¡± Elsanne retorted austerely. Sigurd had always been a tutoring figure in her life. Not always pleasant. The older man grimaced. ¡°I have plans in place to get you out.¡± What? ¡°We can¡¯t abandon those people fighting out there,¡± she told him. ¡°They¡¯ve taken a great risk!¡± ¡°I can¡¯t save a whole town Elsanne,¡± Sigurd grunted. ¡°Why do you even care?¡± Elsanne stood back not expecting his words. ¡°We talked of this. They¡¯ve provided a safe haven for me in my hour of need.¡± ¡°Those are fancy words,¡± Sigurd said. ¡°But your problems won¡¯t go away because you made friends out of a bunch of criminals,¡± Elsanne narrowed her eyes. ¡°Now, you know I¡¯m right. You had your fun, but there are things we need to do to ensure we¡¯ve equal footing with Lord Anker, starting with a legitimate heir.¡± Elsanne gulped down, felt her throat made out of gravel and walked to the nightstand where she had left the silver decanter. Sigurd watched in disbelief as she poured herself two fingers of wine in a goblet. ¡°I¡¯m not pregnant,¡± she told him and downed the contents inelegantly, her eyes watering. ¡°I wasn¡¯t talking about a Cofol offspring,¡± Sigurd hissed. ¡°Don¡¯t play the fool with me Elsanne.¡± ¡°Your grace,¡± Elsanne said sternly, looking at him. Sigurd breathed out exasperated. ¡°The moment you have an heir, a male to take the throne after you, the fake baby Antoon is worthless for the next decade or more, even if he makes it that far. You will rule since day one.¡± Elsanne licked her lips, tasting the sweet wine and placed the goblet on the nightstand, before replying measuring her words. ¡°I¡¯m still married to Radin.¡± Sigurd snorted. ¡°I¡¯ll draft a dissolution of marriage right now. Use the war in Raoz as a reason, no one will bat an eye. It was a contract, they¡¯ve broken it. All it needs is my signature and yours as an heir.¡± Elsanne breathed out slowly. ¡°Say you do that, I can¡¯t produce an offspring out of thin air Sigurd, nor I¡¯m in a state to look for another husband before I¡¯m free of my current one.¡± ¡°What¡¯s your state got to do with anything?¡± Sigurd snapped unable to control himself. He sucked air in and kept it for a moment to calm down, before adding. ¡°I know you Elsanne. Your mind is wandering, so don¡¯t play these games with me.¡± Elsanne blinked not expecting it and felt the blood rush to her cheeks. ¡°That¡¯s not true,¡± she gasped. ¡°Bah, I¡¯m not blind,¡± Sigurd dismissed her excuse. ¡°But I can be understanding given your age. All you have to do is set your sights on something appropriate.¡± ¡°Set my sights¡­¡± Elsanne murmured and placed a hand at the opening of her collar, felt the heartbeat under the tips of her fingers. Sigurd sighed deeply and then shook his head disappointed. ¡°You can avoid all the headache, rid yourself of any risk and secure an heir today your grace.¡± Elsanne couldn¡¯t believe her ears. ¡°You are not suggesting,¡± she paused unable to wrap her mind around it. ¡°I¡¯ve listened to you all my life¡ª¡± Sigurd stepped forward and took her left hand in his. ¡°Don¡¯t stop now Elsanne,¡± he told her staring into her eyes intently. ¡°I don¡¯t need your love, just your trust. I¡¯ll do the rest¡ª¡± He stepped back, a hand covering his face. Elsanne stared at her own hand she¡¯d just used to slap him. She had caught him hard enough to leave an impression on his left cheek, just under his still bloodshot eye. ¡°How can I trust you?¡± She hissed, equally hurt and sickened. ¡°You¡¯ve watched me growing up! You¡¯re like family to me!¡± Sigurd grimaced. ¡°Even better,¡± he told her and Elsanne blinked, the shock still too big to think clearly. ¡°I have secured a ¡®caravan¡¯ out of the city. You¡¯ve done it before to come here. We will do the same, leave and head towards Devil¡¯s Cove.We¡¯ll secure a ship to Colle, the Royal Guard is stationed there. This is the time to strike. I have men waiting for us¡ª¡± ¡°No,¡± Elsanne said and stepped back. ¡°I won¡¯t do it.¡± ¡°Elsanne,¡± Sigurd rubbed his forehead. ¡°You¡¯re being selfish.¡± ¡°Because I don¡¯t want to bed you?¡± She snapped not knowing whether to laugh, or cry. ¡°Think of the throne,¡± Sigurd argued patiently. Elsanne felt her arms shake so much, she had to clasp them together. ¡°An heir with your name, no lord will risk his title, or line with the baggage you carry, but I don¡¯t mind. I¡¯ll fight for your rights¡ª¡± ¡°They are fighting for me right now!¡± Elsanne screamed cutting him off. ¡°Those are criminals. How can they give you legitimacy?¡± Sigurd argued and made to approach her again, but she stepped back. ¡°Don¡¯t touch me,¡± she warned him. ¡°Don¡¯t ever touch me again!¡± Sigurd puffed out exasperated. ¡°Fine, let us revisit it at a better moment,¡± he relented and Elsanne recoiled in outrage. ¡°How about we don¡¯t?¡± ¡°Elsanne.¡± ¡°It¡¯s your grace for you!¡± She snapped and turned around furious to leave the bedroom as she couldn¡¯t breathe all of a sudden. Katers blocked the door and she paused to stare at him. The Priest of Oras grimaced as if in pain, glanced at the silent Sigurd behind her and then stepped aside to let her through. Without a second look back Elsanne run down the stairs, reached the first floor all flushed, found no one waiting there and too frustrated to find it curious, she rushed outside the tower.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.
The Princess run out on the street, the early morning light shocking to her eyes, almost blinding. She made it to the edge of the thick wooden fence surrounding the watchtower¡¯s yard and someone yanked her by the neck so hard she almost fainted on spot. Elsanne tried to scream, her heart lodged in her throat, but she was bodied through an alley, the tall man smelling of horse, sweat and smoke. His long weathered leather coat covered in fresh and still dripping blood. She put a hand on his armoured chest, another around his thick wrist trying to dislodge the suffocating grip on her hurting throat, but failed and the hand just closed tighter on her windpipes in turn. On and on the man was dragging her, easily overcoming her resistance, beyond the end of the alley and into the ruins before the outer wall of Garth¡¯s District. Elsanne panicked and tried desperately to free herself again, when she spotted the first slain bodies. There was blood everywhere, severed body parts and discarded weapons. A fight inside the walls, she thought shocked. They are inside, gods help us! A minute, or twenty later they reached the shade of a large building and the man pushed her inside and into a still standing wall. Elsanne crashed on it, hurting her shoulder and then collapsed on her knees sniffling. ¡°That her?¡± Another man asked, his voice strained, but still she could make out the thin Lesia accent. She stared at them through her blurry eyes in a state of shock, her throat hurting her more than her poor shoulder. ¡°The usurper herself,¡± the first man replied and this voice she recognized. ¡°Difficult to believe.¡± ¡°Anyone saw ye?¡± ¡°Too busy looking the other way,¡± Lear told him, checking outside the destroyed estate entrance. ¡°It¡¯s a matter of time though, afore someone comes looking. I got lucky she run onto me.¡± Elsanne tried to get up, but her legs had turned to rubber and the ground twirling around underneath didn¡¯t help her efforts. Lear returned from the entrance with a scowl, grabbed an arm harshly and lifted her up. She tried to punch his face but he moved it aside, raised a calloused hand and smacked her once upside the head. Elsanne went down again senseless, bounced off the cracked tiles and ended up four feet away with a voiceless whine. The princess had lost consciousness midair, but snapped back into the present upon landing, hurting so much she couldn¡¯t speak, or move. ¡°Eh, Bolt ain¡¯t coming back from the dead wit that,¡± the other aged Lorian admonished his friend and Lear grunted, scrunching his face to create even more wrinkles and cracks. ¡°Stupid privileged people and their fuckin¡¯ lofty ambitions Edge, that¡¯s always the culprit,¡± Lear rustled glaring at her. Elsanne feared he was about to step on her head with his boots and shuddered. ¡°Bolt was always goin¡¯ out like that,¡± Edge told him through his teeth and put a hand on his shoulder. His other arm the man had secured in a custom sling, sleeve torn to make it, the broken bone protruding under the skin at the elbow. ¡°Can ye make it up those darn ropes?¡± Lear asked him concerned. ¡°Ye know I can¡¯t.¡± ¡°Not leaving without you old bones!¡± Lear grunted stubbornly. ¡°Got enough on my consciousness!¡± ¡°Ah, but you can¡¯t carry us both up there and you know it,¡± Edge countered and stood back with a grimace of pain. Elsanne moaned and slowly tried to get up again. ¡°Yer not a young man Captain. It¡¯s the job, same for me and for you as well.¡± ¡°Gods darn it Edge,¡± Lear grunted not accepting it and sure enough turned his hard face on her. ¡°See what you did,¡± he spat angry. ¡°Good people are getting slaughtered!¡± Lear turned all mean and Elsanne kicked legs and hands to get away from him still on the floor. ¡°We don¡¯t even have to bring her back whole,¡± he added thoughtfully. Elsanne gasped and tried to make a run for it, but her battered body just wouldn¡¯t obey her commands and she collapsed on her knees again half-paralyzed. ¡°They might not believe you,¡± Edge told Lear and he snorted. ¡°Eventually they will,¡± Lear argued. ¡°They done it afore.¡± ¡°Head in a bag?¡± Edge asked him, his tone reminiscing and Lear nodded unsheathing his sword. Elsanne started sniffling in despair, but stopped when she felt the cold blade under her chin. A nudge and she lifted her dirty face to stare into Lear¡¯s surprisingly sad eyes. ¡°Have you no dignity?¡± He asked her. ¡°You¡¯ll cry for yerself but not those you sent to their death?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t¡­¡± Elsanne tried to say, fearing to open her numb mouth with the cold steel under her chin. ¡°Didn¡¯t what?¡± Lear grunted through his teeth. ¡°Wanted yer nephew¡¯s throne? Had him killed? His mother as well and now you¡¯re plotting to take out his brother.¡± ¡°No,¡± Elsanne croaked. ¡°Yer lying piece of trash,¡± Lear growled irate. ¡°There¡¯s a paid army fighting my brethren right now! Did that evil bastard do it? Was it his grand idea? Hmm? Where is he?¡± Elsanne blinked, tears rolling down her face, too shocked to reply and having trouble following his reasoning. ¡°You die here and the civil war is over,¡± Lear continued, talking more to himself. ¡°No dispute, nothing for the Khan to use to weaken the kingdoms, or the greedy lords dreamin¡¯ of more power and nothin¡¯ for you. But plenty of profit for the innocent people spared your senseless vanity. Hmm?¡± ¡°Lear,¡± Edge said. Elsanne slowly stood up on shaky feet, feeling so cold the blade following her, always touching the underside of her chin, actually felt hot now. ¡°I paid no one,¡± she croaked, not recognizing her own voice, feeling her nose running and her face wet. ¡°I just asked for shelter.¡± ¡°Irredeemable lying piece of crap,¡± Lear grunted and stepped back keeping the long blade under her neck. ¡°You care about no one but yourself aren¡¯t you?¡± Was that the truth? Was all this carnage on her? Did I cause this? Nobody wants it as much as me, sweet Ralph had boasted, but he was talking about the princess. I worked all my life to give you that chance, Sigurd had admitted, looking guilty as sin. We¡¯re in this together, Radin had assured her, but that was a lie. Anne should be enough, not the throne, Stiles had argued perceptively, but drown in his own fears. Cut through the noise. None of you know me, Elsanne thought bitterly, despair turning to anger and a strange serenity. ¡°Lear,¡± Edge warned him again, just as she stepped forward against the blade. Elsanne felt her skin burn at the cut, but Lear reacted fast withdrawing his sword and put his other arm out to stop her. Oh no you don¡¯t, a haunted eyed Elsanne thought. ¡°DO IT!¡± Elsanne yelled at him determined, the blood trickling down her long neck. ¡°You¡¯ve done it afore! This time it will be worth it!¡± Lear narrowed his eyes, but stayed the sword. ¡°Captain, she¡¯s not lyin¡¯,¡± Edge intervened for a third time and the old mercenary grunted in frustration. ¡°I bloody know it Edge!¡± He growled and sheathed that long blade. ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake!¡± Lear seemed to be besides himself and Elsanne who¡¯d no idea what had just happened, brought her hand on her neck and grumbled softly. ¡°Give her a plaguin¡¯ towel for crying out loud!¡± Lear grunted clenching and unclenching his jaw, while Edge approached and started cleaning the cut under her chin cautiously. Elsanne ogled in surprise at his scars up close and Edge forced a pained smile on his weathered face. ¡°It¡¯s alright lass,¡± he told her, surprisingly kind given all that had transpired. Elsanne couldn¡¯t tell whether it was professionalism, or that there was a heart under that harsh exterior. ¡°How is it alright?¡± Lear protested still angry, ruining that image and bringing her back to the harsh reality. ¡°If she¡¯s not lying then what are we doing here Edge?¡± ¡°We came for the thief,¡± Edge reminded him. ¡°The company is here to secure the contract from a pretender. A different job altogether.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s checking on the other party then?¡± Lear snapped. ¡°Cause she ain¡¯t pretending none and I¡¯ve seen plenty o¡¯ good actors in my life. She wouldn¡¯t agree, if that brat was the real deal!¡± ¡°That¡¯s above my pay grade Lear.¡± ¡°So say I had asked for the big heads to look into Lord Anker¡¯s claim as well, because I¡¯m a stubborn distrustin¡¯ motherfucker,¡± Lear started, before pausing to think it through. ¡°If they had agreed,¡± Edge said, afore shrugging his shoulders. ¡°It¡¯s a proper shitshow, but she¡¯ll stand down hopefully. If they tried to bullshit you around it, or talk you out of the need for it, then those boys are here to bury the truth, not uncovering a crime.¡± ¡°They said the boy had been checked out sufficiently,¡± Lear added clenching his jaw so hard it must have hurt him. ¡°How? The Dottore is in Colle singing a different tune last I heard.¡± ¡°I really thought they had him bought to spew his poison,¡± Lear admitted. ¡°Ye know sufficiently qualifies for ¡®bullshit¡¯ talk right?¡± Edge said with a tired smile. ¡°Aye,¡± Lear grunted and closed his eyes frustrated. ¡°Yer getting over that wall,¡± he added a moment later eyeing his friend. ¡°What about the girl?¡± Lear looked at her that sadness creeping back in his eyes. ¡°Good people died to keep ye breathin¡¯ lass,¡± he told her with a grimace. ¡°Had a legit reason for it, I reckon. There¡¯re lofty knights comin¡¯ that won¡¯t be as curious as this old sack of skin,¡± Lear continued pointing a thumb on his chest. ¡°Those shiny cucks have their hands full of titles waiting for ¡®em and promises for future glories and such crap. I don¡¯t see ¡®em lifting a finger, if it means jeopardizing their chances of ridin¡¯ under the king¡¯s banner. Look to find a way to save these poor folk out there, because if I¡¯m right, their orders are to wipe this city clean.¡± Elsanne still numb and aching everywhere at the same time, utterly shocked she was still alive, stood back holding the bloody towel under her smarting chin. ¡°Aye, ye get it. It¡¯s a plaguin¡¯ relief, shockingly refreshing,¡± Lear grunted and clenched his jaw. ¡°You have any allies left breathing, see to find them soon. Frankly I don¡¯t see ye makin¡¯ it out of this shithole alive,¡± He looked to his hands for a moment and then sighed, raised his aged face and returned her questioning stare. ¡°My apologies for yer loss. It is what it is.¡±
D¡¯Orsi¡¯s second grand assault lasted a whole day. At the end of it, the mercenaries that had managed to push through against the stubborn defenders were met by a wall of spears and collapsed in disarray. They left behind hundreds of their dead, but had hurt the heroic defenders so much that the outcome of the struggle seemed predetermined. D¡¯Orsi ordered the men rested, sent for the first division that he¡¯d kept in reserve to bolster the two that had been bled dry and planned for a third final assault a day later. With Captain Ramos killed facing the Gallant Dogs fighters on the main street gates, no one disputed his orders. Lear Hik¡¯s plan, whatever that was, had failed and the infamous former commander of the unit disappeared from the city, originally presumed lost. Speaking of losses, the shadowy criminal known as ¡®Nine Lives¡¯ and Captain Ottis were killed during the day long struggle and whatever was left of the Dogs coalesced around the spirited Rollon Martel, who assumed command and rejected D¡¯Orsi¡¯s late afternoon offer to surrender the Princess, with one more of the infamous now quips of the hardened unit. While D¡¯Orsi couldn¡¯t bring himself to ¡®pleasure¡¯ the painted on the banner ¡®Dog¡¯s protuberance¡¯, the battered ¡®Three Hundred¡¯ were intent on leveling the district if it came down to that. The day of the final attack two new forces appeared on the horizon. The pirate fleet arrived at Eikenport in the middle of the night under the aging ¡®Red¡¯ Atterton and the infamous ¡®Yellow¡¯ Dawson. At least fifteen smaller, or bigger ships were added to those blockading the port. The pirates attempted to land under the cover of darkness on the north beach near their docks initially, but D¡¯Orsi sent the second division to block their advance into the city proper. It¡¯s impossible to count the number of fighters involved in the night struggle that erupted amidst the dwellings and the alleys, or if the local populace revolted against the mercenaries. D¡¯Orsi had to send the mauled third division in as well, the ferocious fighting spreading and engulfing whole neighborhoods. He had to eventually abandon his plans for another morning assault altogether, as Martel took his chance and brought the aggrieved Dogs outside the barricaded part of the city to assault the still preparing first division. With every unit at his disposal involved, the mercenary commander missed the pirate ships slipping into the port and assaulting his galleons moored there, just as the sun started rising over Eplas and the ancient city. Fittingly, it was during this general uproar that the Raven of Dawn arrived at Eikenport.
Captain Martel eyed her limping slowly, clenching her teeth stubbornly to combat the jolts of pain. The rest of the Gallant Dogs -barely two hundred strong- about to charge out of the half-repaired barricades standing behind him, resting over their shields. Elsanne blinked at some of the depictions of the company¡¯s banner on those shields and stepped on a relative flat part of the collapsed gatetower to be able to see all of them. To her left, a large group of armed and bloodied civilians waited as well and behind those a crowd that had heard the Princess was the reason for all the horrors of the past month. Burton pointed towards the docks, the distant roar of the fighting reaching their ears, or perhaps it was just the wind. Behind her the fires still burned the piles of the slain. No prize could ever justify it, in her mind. No reasoning, could placate the aggrieved. No man, or no woman who brought that manner of destruction should ever be forgiven. ¡°I asked for shelter from the people of this city,¡± Elsanne started, her eyes stopping at a sniffling Clint and almost losing her words. ¡°A city of refugees, of those less privileged and the abandoned, offered me that which others wouldn¡¯t in my hour of need. A city of outlaws and gentlemen of the high seas, lend me a hand and put a roof over my head. They didn¡¯t have to do it. You didn¡¯t. You brought pain and harm over your families and your livelihood. I don¡¯t deserve your kindness, but these murderers don¡¯t deserve it either. They are not here to punish a stupid girl that reached for more than she should. They are not here to protect the realm, or the people back on Jelin. They are not here to fight the Khan either,¡± she paused gulped down, her throat feeling like the inside of her boots and then continued trying to keep her voice steady, but failing. ¡°They are here to ensure I¡¯m forever silenced and their crimes swept under the rag. They are here to punish you for helping me. For helping Princess Elsanne. If we fail, I¡¯ll die next to you all before the day is over. If we don¡¯t and the gods spare us, then as long as I draw breath, I shan¡¯t forget it. Not these days, not all of you. This isn¡¯t just a princess empty promise. This is your Anne talking from her heart. I wouldn¡¯t have challenged for the throne,¡± Elsanne gasped, her voice turning hoarse and too emotional to continue. ¡°Never thought of it, it isn¡¯t in my nature, but by all gods,¡± she finished and wiped her nose a little embarrassed. ¡°After what I¡¯ve witnessed here, I can¡¯t allow them to take it.¡± The crowd roared underneath her and she felt dizzy, her knees weakening and barely managed to climb down the small height. Burton helped her, men and women touching and cheering her on. Mostly sang Anne¡¯s name, but she didn¡¯t mind. Near the watchtower where she had returned to watch the Gallant Dogs depart and to catch a glimpse of what was happening to the rest of the city, with the sun coming up again, Elsanne realized she hadn¡¯t slept at all. Clint standing next to the entrance stopped her. He had a hat in his hands all roughed up and bloody at spots. The man offered her the hat and Elsanne took a long moment to accept it, realizing who it belonged to. She nodded once, the hat clasped in her hands and tried to smile reassuringly at Burton who was watching her. Up in the early morning sky a raven croaked flying over them, its shadow appearing huge on the walls of the watchtower and the ground as it circled once, before heading for the funeral pyres. ¡°I¡¯ll have it cleaned,¡± the tavern keeper muttered and took the hat from her, scrunching his mouth this way and that. ¡°I have something for the blood. Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± ¡°Thank you, mister Burton,¡± Elsanne replied and wiped her eyes. ¡°Would that be your rum perchance?¡± Burton stood back pretending surprise. He glanced right and left to spot anyone listening in and seeing there were plenty of bystanders doing exactly that, gave her his ¡®secret¡¯ wink, whilst denying it sort of. ¡°It¡¯s a trade secret Anne. Not for public knowledge.¡± Someone chuckled, another outright called him a liar and Burton offered to have him taste his rum for free someday in the future, by the way of ¡®visiting me tavern and even sampling the goods at the big place.¡¯ ¡°What big place?¡± Elsanne asked perturbed. ¡°That would be the court,¡± someone said, seriously considering taking Burton¡¯s offer. Elsanne frowned, Clint divulged he had a barrel of the stuff outside the stable he was giving away since he¡¯d gotten a bunch of ¡®better stuff¡¯, much to Burton¡¯s annoyance and most of those present decided to take the opportunity of a ¡®free¡¯ drink despite the early of the hour. It helped their mood improve somewhat and she even smiled at the men¡¯s shenanigans. A boy standing watch on the tower, poked his unruly head out of the parapets and yelled as loud as he could, just as the small crowd that had followed her was dispersing. ¡°Riders coming!¡± ¡°Where?¡± Burton asked him and the boy showed him using his spyglass all proud and smiling. ¡°Beyond the walls,¡± the boy replied and the smile froze on her lips. Elsanne thought of the large bird from earlier, the hairs on her arms rising. ¡°The side of the desert. Darn lot of horses Burton!¡± ¡°Anne?¡± Burton asked, sounding worried. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Where¡¯s Sigurd?¡± Elsanne asked him. ¡°Sulking inside,¡± Burton snorted. ¡°Tell him Kaltha is here,¡± Elsanne said and breathed out slowly. ¡°Is that a good thing?¡± Clint chanced seeing the pensive look on her expressive face. Elsanne wished she could learn to hide stuff from people. Since she couldn¡¯t really lie, Elsanne told them the truth. ¡°I have no idea.¡±
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 258. Anne’s Raven (1/2) -
The annoying teenage Ralph Alden spotted Gust sauntering down Asturia¡¯s marble paved docks and turned to the rest of the noble scions present with a grin. Sir Lucius amongst them, his younger brother Sir Rik, Sir Mark Est Ravn and his younger brother the ever-serious Sir Shane, the ¡®fat knight¡¯ Sir Rupert Holt and Sir Colin Davenport from Armium, along with his young brother William, Ralph¡¯s best friend at the tourneys. ¡°Tell them William!¡± Ralph urged and the youngest son of King Davenport assumed a solemn expression afore complying. ¡°What scared the princess off her horse during the Spring¡¯s Hunt?¡± he asked and Gust stopped dead on his feet with a mean scowl. ¡°The pig?¡± Sir Rupert chanced goblet in hand, his eyes on the young ladies taking their afternoon walk at the well maintained private beach next to Asturia¡¯s lavish docks. One could see the sails of the boats heading for the distant island of Valeria, the weather was that clear. ¡°It was a boar,¡± Sir Shane corrected him. ¡°No it was Gust,¡± William chuckled. ¡°She ran to get away.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be an idiot,¡± Sir Lucius admonished him and turned to his guffawing brother. ¡°Stop doing that shite Ralph.¡± ¡°The man¡¯s a brute and I¡¯m to blame?¡± that smart shit argued feigning innocence. ¡°Hey, it¡¯s true,¡± William insisted trying not to laugh. ¡°They say when he brought the boar¡¯s head back as an apology, she talked to the head afore sending him away!¡± Gust grimaced and Sir Mark saw him standing aside grinding his teeth, all pent up rage boiling inside and cleared his throat to stop the taunts from spreading. ¡°Be thankful Sir Gust can take a joke lads,¡± the Duke of Midlanor¡¯s firstborn said looking at him warningly. ¡°Wine, sun and a festival looming makes fools of people,¡± he added and his brother nodded with a prayer to Uher. Gust grunted and breathed out slowly. ¡°You¡¯ll enter the games Gust?¡± Lucius asked, probably to steer the conversation away. ¡°I will,¡± his brother Rik intervened eagerly, seeing Gust wasn¡¯t particularly interested in talking to any of them. ¡°Rik the brick,¡± William taunted and Sir Colin, his brother cuffed him once upside the head. ¡°Enough, see to the horses,¡± he told him. ¡°The mares too?¡± the smart mouth quipped with a pained grin and Sir Colin yielded with a sigh. ¡°Them too.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s run to the stables Ralph,¡± William said rubbing his head and winked at the younger Alden. Sir Shane got up after they trotted away towards the beach, the complete opposite way of Duke Holt¡¯s stables. ¡°I¡¯ll visit the temple,¡± Shane said breaking the awkward silence. ¡°I can hear the prayers have started. It is good opportunity to cleanse our hearts afore the games.¡± ¡°That¡¯s Naossis¡¯ priestesses,¡± Sir Rupert Holt corrected him. ¡°But they can put on quite the upliftin¡¯ show it¡¯s true.¡± ¡°Well that sounds interesting. Are married men allowed inside?¡± Lucius said lightly and everyone laughed, but for Gust who stooped near Sir Mark¡¯s ear and hissed. ¡°Next time, keep to your blasted side of the road and out of my way.¡± ¡°I tried to help Gust,¡± Sir Mark replied patiently. ¡°It¡¯s a tourney, we¡¯re not really going to fight.¡± Gust hated this sneaky, condescending double talk. Never fancied their humor, or gossip. Abhorred participating in fake brawls as he called them, even when his father ordered him to do it. ¡°Tourneys are for cunts and fools,¡± he grunted and stood back to glare at all of them. ¡°If I want to fight, I need no arena, or its rules.¡± ¡°Rules are important Gust,¡± Lucius, who ironically would lose a brother years later to someone that didn¡¯t think the same, reminded him and Rik who would get maimed in the same event nodded agreeing. Fools the lot of them.
-
Sir Gust De Weer, Raven of Dawn Anne¡¯s Raven Part I -Of Rules & Fools-
Cameltoe Peninsula Third week The giant desert cobra rose up, scaly skin a perfect gleaming black, the rhomboid-shaped head the color of sand and its extended hood a garish red. Gust got his boot out of the stirrups just as his horse collapsed on its knees fatally poisoned. It neighed once afore giving up the spirit, the dosage it¡¯d received monstrous and the five meter long serpent hissed, forked tongue twirling between the half-a-foot fangs in its mouth. Damnation. Gust dropped to a knee, the sand burning like an oven underneath and reached for his mace, the angle not favoring the longsword. The desert cobra watched him swaying back and forth calculating the distance and then lunged forward in the blink of an eye to bite him, aiming for his face. Gust swung hard, missed the bloated pumpkin sized head and caught the king of the desert snakes a handbreadth below, where its neck darkened in color. The cobra jaws snapped shut, missing its target and poison saliva sprayed the area forcing Gust to jerk his head aside to protect his eyes. The giant serpent hissed and coiled to attack again right away. Gust considered rolling to the side, afore realizing he¡¯d sunk into the soft sand deep enough to dig his foot out in time. So he decided to go with the steel mace option again. The desert cobra opened its mouth three times more than what it seemed even remotely possible and then flew away, leaving a cloud of fine dust and sand behind. Literally. It shot up in the air abruptly, higher and higher until it turned into a speck on the sky. Then it came back down, spraying blood out of its eyes, elongated body twisting right and left and crashed on the desert sands in a small explosion of material, twenty meters ahead of the rising Sir Gust. ¡°Where in Tyeus Spear did that thing go?¡± Sir Mael cursed riding to him a minute later. ¡°Under the sand,¡± Gust grunted and gave his horse a frustrated kick. ¡°It¡¯s dead milord,¡± Klaas noticed. ¡°BANG GOES THE WATERMELON!¡± Bugs croaked landing with a thud next to the dead horse and gave it a couple of serious jabs with his beak, piercing the skin and drawing black blood. ¡°SHITE!¡± The raven declared twisting his large head this way and that standing as tall as Sir Mael¡¯s horse chest. Fiend had managed to survive another journey. ¡®It¡¯s not the horse¡¯s fault all the time¡¯, Mael frequently teased ¨Cmuch as it was possible for one to tease Sir Gust- ¡®horses like women favor a different type of touch.¡¯ Now the experienced knight and priest of Tyeus may know a thing or two about horses, Gust thought, but it was doubtful he had a clue about women, since he was a known celibate. Not because the god of War expected it of his disciples, but because Mael never allowed any distractions to interfere with his duties in the order. Sir Jan Reuter that did allow himself female company, approached with the local Cofol scouts and the young Cofol boy. Solt still sporting his bandaged arm in a sling, following the knight around all the time. ¡°A god darn grove in the middle of the desert,¡± the knight from Colle grunted, face cracked and weathered hidden behind a dirty cloth cover. ¡°That¡¯s the third one,¡± Mael commented and wiped his equally weathered face with a thick towel he kept tied on the pommel of his saddle. ¡°It¡¯s the nothin¡¯ in between that ruins the place and the fact that every bloody thing livin¡¯ in the desert likes water, so we don¡¯t get to sleep wit our eyes closed.¡± ¡°You always sleep wit one eye open Mael,¡± Jan Reuters teased. ¡°Well, I ain¡¯t a fool like you, is the why. Have you seen the size of that thing?¡± Mael retorted. Gust frowned not finding it funny, but Sir Jan appreciated the friendly banter and guffawed along a bemused Solt, but it was Bugs loud chuckling that unnerved everyone and forced them to stop. Bugs snorted and then stopped realizing he was chuckling by himself. The Raven eyed the knights and squires watching it mystified, afore offering them the strangest piece of counsel. ¡°FOOLS,¡± the Raven had yelled. ¡°BRING THE SHOVEL!¡±
Gust used a soaked cloth to cool his torso, passing it over his shoulders and nape. He pushed his long white hair back and stared at his dagger for a moment thinking about shaving the white stubble off his face. He was still testing the sharpness of the blade on the hairs of his left arm, when Sir Mael approached carrying his plate and mail shirt, dripping wet. ¡°Plenty of water, we just have to keep the camels away,¡± the knight rustled finding a shade under a palm tree. ¡°Horses don¡¯t approach when they are near.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve noticed,¡± Gust replied and sheathed the dagger, deciding not to attempt a shave without a mirror. He still hadn¡¯t healed properly from the arrow cut above his eye and didn¡¯t want to risk another infection. As Sir Jan had said, whatever the Cofols had used made a valiant effort to poison him, but died in the attempt. Gust hadn¡¯t found that funny either and Sir Jan blamed Solt for suggesting it. The knights thought he was being lenient to the boy and used him as shield from time to time. ¡°Can we use that?¡± ¡°How are you going¡­?¡± Mael sighed and stared at the men of Scaldingport enjoying the oasis lake¡¯s waters with enthusiasm. The mercenaries and the First Foot doing the same. Gust realized he knew most of those men quite well by now, more than a year into his campaign. A difficult person to approach at the start of their journey, he now found himself being more patient with mundane annoyances. ¡°They like each other,¡± Mael commented looking at the officers and knights escorting them, his mind on practical matters per usual. ¡°Lesia pretends to love Uher and us Issirs want to believe it,¡± Gust said with a grimace. ¡°Wyncall is gathering support.¡± ¡°You heard the rumor?¡± ¡°Difficult not to,¡± Gust grunted. ¡°You think there¡¯s truth in it?¡± ¡°Robert losing the baronship? Eh, difficult to believe it.¡± ¡°Lucius turning rebel is even more unbelievable,¡± Gust commented. ¡°Wife dead, brother and sister dead, father as well,¡± Mael argued. ¡°The younger brother taking his throne on top, the man snapped. He done it afore with little provocation.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know that,¡± Gust countered. ¡°Losing the throne isn¡¯t small provocation.¡± ¡°That happened after he¡¯d attacked the Crulls, Gust,¡± Mael replied. ¡°Lady Janneke being Queen of Regia is no small feat for Scaldingport.¡± ¡°Got nothing to do with Scaldingport,¡± Gust replied. ¡°Unless we get to fight for her.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t think your father was behind it?¡± Mael probed, while cleaning the ¡®Glowing Spear¡¯ pendant with a cloth. ¡°Too obvious,¡± Gust grunted. ¡°What he gotten out of it? And Janneke on a contested throne? She can¡¯t hatch a plot to save her life and Jeremy¡­ him I don¡¯t remember at all.¡± ¡°Lucius wouldn¡¯t¡ª¡± ¡°You know what?¡± Gust grunted. ¡°I don¡¯t much like talking about my sister¡¯s old prospects, or my father¡¯s problems. Seeing as you are so eager to postulate, why has my father kept the stuff in Badum from us?¡± ¡°He wanted you to stay the course,¡± Mael replied and got up. ¡°That¡¯s bullshit. Knowing about Robert for sure would¡¯ve helped here.¡± ¡°And expose your father¡¯s plans.¡± Gust sighed and cracked his neck right and left. ¡°That¡¯s the reason he wasn¡¯t behind Janneke¡¯s ascension. It was luck, or something else. Now here and in this situation, the Old Crow has just passed the turd to me.¡± ¡°A test of skill,¡± Mael said and Gust snorted. ¡°He always gave you leeway,¡± the knight added. ¡°Have you lost your mind? You were there when he chewed me up for missing the tourney!¡± ¡°He could have stopped you from going hunting Gust,¡± Mael said and glanced at the men screaming at the snakes coming out for an afternoon swim. The lake emptied pretty fast of people. ¡°But he didn¡¯t. By the way, why did you go?¡± Gust reached for his longsword, but paused afore heading towards the shores to help out. ¡°You know this,¡± he grunted. ¡°Why ask me now?¡± Mael grimaced as if not wanting to say more. ¡°I fear it might be important,¡± he finally replied with a sigh. ¡°I never seen a light injury stopping you afore.¡± Mael was right on that. It had nothing to do with his injury. Gust could ride on a leg and joust with one hand tied behind his back.
There is water in Cameltoe Peninsula, if you knew how to find the paths across the cracked land. Located near the dry mountain range and the rises, the small oasis could support a merchant travel stop, but no such thing existed. The local camel herders knew the spot and used it, but this was a barren empty path and an inhospitable landscape.
¡°The Great Desert was worse,¡± Sir Vegenuur said riding alongside him a week later, deep in the night. The guides leading on their camels, lit lanterns showing the following force the way. Gust who had just helped bury another man and two more animals snorted. ¡°It¡¯s true,¡± Vegenuur insisted seeing his reaction. ¡°By the second month, everyone had turned into skin and bones,¡± he reminisced. ¡°We couldn¡¯t stop to bury anyone and in the nights, things came out of the sands.¡± ¡°Things,¡± Gust said with a grimace. ¡°Giant creatures and ghosts hidden in the ruins,¡± Sir Vegenuur elucidated. ¡°We ate that snake, killed about a dozen more, I didn¡¯t find as tasty and kept their skin back in the Oasis,¡± Gust commented. ¡°Have you any mementos of these things Sir Vegenuur?¡± ¡°You have to see them Sir Gust,¡± the knight defended his story. ¡°Of course nothing could scare the Raven,¡± Gust grunted and searched the sky for Bugs. ¡°Quite the turn in our fortunes though,¡± Sir Vegenuur finished with a smile. ¡°You have to be more specific Vegenuur,¡± Gust said and reached for his flask of water amidst his saddle bags. ¡°From almost dead, to riding with the famed Sir Gust De Weer towards Eikenport where the Princess resides,¡± Sir Vegenuur replied. ¡°End the civil war afore it spreads and return as heroes.¡± ¡°What about the Khan?¡± ¡°Let others deal with him, plenty of stuff to do in Jelin.¡± ¡°Like what?¡± Gust asked after he poured water in his mouth. ¡°Take back Krakenhall.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a lot of road from where we are to Krakenhall,¡± Gust countered crooking his mouth. ¡°Plenty of things could change until ye make it there.¡± ¡°A Northern wench will never be accepted by the king.¡± ¡°The king will cry more than speak words for years Vegenuur, by that time that wench would have control of the Duchy,¡± Gust told him. ¡°As long as everything works and people profit, each day shall make it more difficult to dislodge her.¡±This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°He¡¯s right you know Sir Vegenuur,¡± Wyncall budged in. The Captain had approached them from the back end of the procession and was listening in to their conversation. The long lines of men and animals extending for almost a kilometer from start to finish. ¡°The Duchess has kept the trade routes open and upheld all contracts, even with enemies of her father.¡± ¡°Not everything is about contracts Captain!¡± Sir Vegenuur argued. Wyncall stood back on his fancy saddle with a frown. ¡°What else is there in the realm?¡± He asked with a glance at Gust. ¡°Real life,¡± the hale knight replied. Wyncall crooked his mouth, the thin goatee he had on kept nicely trimmed despite the journey. This, Gust thought impressed, is a man carrying a mirror. ¡°What¡¯s the difference?¡± the Captain of the ¡®Three Hundred¡¯ asked. ¡°Whether we call it realm, or life.¡± ¡°In the latter, truth and lies matter,¡± Gust retorted with an angry grunt. Mirror or not, the captain still smelled like a rat. At the front of their line, one of the guides turned his camel around the moment he reached the top of the dune and raised his lantern high above his head. ¡°What this?¡± Sir Vegenuur asked and looked to find an aide to send him up the slope. Sir Prust signaled for one of the squires to ride their way as fast as possible. Gust kicked his legs and sent the horse into a trot leaving the two men behind intending to find out himself.
Sir Mael smacked his lips and gave him the spyglass. Gust looked through it at the lights clearly visible in the night. Small lights from torches and bigger ones from firepits. ¡°That¡¯s Eikenport?¡± He asked not making much beyond the ancient stone wall of the city, facing the desert. ¡°I reckon it is,¡± Mael replied. ¡°What¡¯s wit the lights? Is there a festival?¡± ¡°Way past the date thank Tyeus. We don¡¯t want to deal wit that,¡± Mael commented and Gust glanced at him surprised. ¡°Would the mercenaries move against the Cofols?¡± He asked him tensely moving on, sensing the knight wouldn¡¯t divulge anything more useful on the matter. Mael licked the front of his teeth, his face barely visible in the moonlight. ¡°Why would the prince bring her here?¡± Gust checked to see if anyone was in earshot. ¡°I never believed this part,¡± he murmured and then turned his eyes again on his longtime friend. ¡°You didn¡¯t answer Sir Bolte.¡± ¡°Milord, I believe I have,¡± Mael replied. ¡°Speak clearly.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think the prince would,¡± the knight said and accepted the spyglass from Gust. ¡°And we don¡¯t know their agenda.¡± The mercenaries was his meaning. ¡°Nor Robert¡¯s,¡± Gust grunted. ¡°Robert changed his mind and turned south, after he received the message,¡± Mael said. ¡°That much is obvious. Why he did it is another matter.¡± ¡°He told us.¡± ¡°Aye, that¡¯s what he did.¡± Mael was being vague on purpose. ¡°Have Jan rest men and horses,¡± Gust ordered him. ¡°The Captain would want to reach the city tonight,¡± Mael looked at Gust intently. ¡°Sir Vegenuur might back him.¡± Ah. ¡°Vegenuur isn¡¯t in command,¡± Gust snapped angry. ¡°Rest the men, check their gear.¡± ¡°Robert might have given him orders in advance. Vegenuur had been knighted by Lord Joep, he won¡¯t budge and a High Baron¡¯s rank stands above yours,¡± Mael insisted. They both had their suspicions on what was going on, but it was one thing to suspect foul play, another to speak it in the open without concrete evidence. Some lines you don¡¯t cross. ¡°You sound like my father,¡± Gust grunted. ¡°Trust me, it ain¡¯t a blasted compliment.¡±
¡°That¡¯s preposterous!¡± Captain Wyncall protested. ¡°My men are ready to ride into the city posthaste Sir Gust!¡± ¡°We wait for first light,¡± Gust repeated keeping his tempers checked. Punching in the face of their ally right in the middle of a council, would be considered impolite in most civilized circles, despite the pleasure it would bring him. ¡°Then we will ride in the city calmly so we don¡¯t provoke the locals to do something foolish.¡± ¡°The city is under our control Sir Gust,¡± Wyncall said clenching his jaw. ¡°The Cofols are staying in their district. It¡¯s a small force that won¡¯t lift a finger to stop us.¡± ¡°You seem mighty sure about it,¡± Gust argued. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t they refuse to give up the princes¡¯ wife? I would be very angered if they didn¡¯t in his place.¡± ¡°The Prince is busy with Sir Robert,¡± Wyncall countered, not using Robert¡¯s title. ¡°The Cofols don¡¯t have the princess anyway.¡± Gust stood back and breathed deeply afore letting the air out. ¡°Who does?¡± He rustled sternly. Wyncall snorted and crooked his mouth, not wanting to answer. ¡°The pirates,¡± Sir Vegenuur said and Gust glared at the knight from Badum and Sir Prust who was with the First Foot¡¯s heavy Cavalry eyed him warningly in return. Gust who didn¡¯t appreciate receiving taunting stares from random fools turned on the stocky Knight. ¡°The pirates have Princess Elsanne?¡± Mael intervened annoyingly. ¡°That is the report,¡± Wyncall admitted. ¡°D¡¯Orsi might have dealt with it though, it¡¯s been weeks since.¡± Dealt with it? ¡°Anyone has a map of the city?¡± Gust asked them, receiving blank stares. ¡°How strong are the pirates?¡± ¡°They have control of several neighborhoods,¡± Wyncall explained. Neighborhoods? Gust glanced at the frowning Mael. ¡°Do they want ransom?¡± He asked not knowing how to handle this, especially since despite learning more, he still didn¡¯t feel they were being fully transparent. ¡°They are working with her,¡± Wyncall replied. ¡°Sir Gust, this is an insurrection to the Throne of Kaltha!¡± The man being from Lesia, Gust failed to see how this was any of his darn business. But the first thing the mercenary had said was even more peculiar to his ear. Elsanne is working with pirates? Gust couldn¡¯t wrap his mind around that. This was even more ridiculous a notion from a rebel Lucius going mad and killing people right and left. Elsanne would never turn to violence and she abhorred those that did. As for working with criminals¡­ For what? Did she really wish to sit on the throne so much? ¡°We enter the city at dawn the earliest,¡± he decided. ¡°Sir Gust!¡± Wyncall protested again, but he stopped him raising a hand. ¡°Nothing I¡¯ve heard, changed my mind,¡± Gust added sternly and stared at the men around him. ¡°Those that feel differently are free to challenge me. We have a couple of hours to spare and I need the training.¡± Gust watched them for a moment walk away towards their men in silence, then asked Mael who stood next to him all wound up. ¡°You believe what he said?¡± ¡°About the princess consorting wit pirates? Nay, I don¡¯t,¡± Mael replied. ¡°The problem is, I can¡¯t see why they¡¯d lie about it for starters.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the second thing?¡± Gust asked him and reached for the helm he¡¯d secured on his saddle. ¡°They were ready to take you up on yer offer,¡± Mael retorted with a grimace. ¡°And people don¡¯t do that, unless they¡¯re fools, or bloody desperate.¡± ¡°What are you saying?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t show them yer back,¡± Mael said. ¡°I¡¯ll get the Crows ready.¡±
Bugs flew away, the large bird disappearing in the reddish dark sky. Wyncall moved first, his mercenaries following after him, then Sir Veneguur and his heavy cavalry. Sir Jan Reuter that was with Scaldingport¡¯s men-at-arms stared at him, face dark and his mount nervous. Gust nodded and kicked his legs to start his own horse going, a dark brown stallion that had seen better days. Sir Mael¡¯s warhorse the proud Fiend rode next to him, trotting confidently. The ancient walls approached them. Cracked in places, torn down in others and with the desert sands gathered and sloping at the heavy granite stones thick base. The parts of the walls still standing a polished light grey, almost white, with a bit of red where the light of dawn touched them. There was smoke and fires still burning in the city, the racket of many horses approaching drowning all other sounds and the wind coming from the sprawling port and near shore scorching hot. Beyond the city walls and the part ruined exotic buildings, a shocking expanse of green sprouted starting at the sea and traveling west over the horizon. The river Felmond and its famed Zilan bridge named after an Emperor. Sir Gust entered the city riding at the front and was struck immediately by the smell of rot, burning wood and human filth. There were dead loitering the streets, slain men and women. Soldiers and civilians. Men wearing mercenary armor, or any type of armor. They were butchered horses and animals in every alley, upturned carts with produce, dwellings burned out completely and sturdier stone buildings still standing but smoking. Others fire hadn¡¯t touched at all. Swords, spears, shields and knifes scattered about. He stopped his horse trying to grasp the level of carnage he was facing and everyone stopped behind him. The moment the final riders came to stop, the noise of battle reached them. Yells, screams and prayers. ¡°On me!¡± Gust ordered and started riding down the street coming from the still standing desert facing gates they¡¯d crossed. It was leading them towards the port, but they never reached there, as a city corner later the road was blocked by Sir Vegenuur¡¯s cavalry. ¡°What going on?¡± Gust yelled at the knight, spotting him amongst the others. ¡°Wyncall charged his lads to break out a group of mercenaries,¡± Vegenuur reported nervously. ¡°There¡¯s been some heavy fighting here Gust.¡± Gust grunted and pushed his horse through the packed heavily armoured riders. Sir Mael following behind him. The mercenaries were involved in some brutal fighting amidst the narrow streets that went every which way. The old city has been rebuilt rather haphazardly at some point here, he thought. ¡°Sir Vegenuur, who¡¯s fighting here?¡± He yelled back at the frowning knight watching from his horse undecided. ¡°Ahm¡­ I have no idea Sir Gust,¡± Sir Vegenuur replied. Well these are not Cofols, Gust thought looking about him. ¡°Let my men through!¡± He ordered the knights and heard Sir Jan asking the same thing behind the rows of heavy cavalry. This is no place for horses, he decided, but kicked his legs anyway and approached the disputed street. A mercenary rider trampled a rough looking armed brigand with his horse, but got hit with an axe by another, the blade cleaving him to the bone and went down. He got hacked to pieces in moments from more brigands jumping out of the alleys. Gust clicked his tongue and sent his horse forward. The brigands saw him approach and then glanced behind him at the many riders watching the exchange undecided. ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡± Gust barked in Common. ¡°Why did you kill that man?¡± A brigand stood back, bloody axe in hand and eyed him. ¡°They attacked us first,¡± he said. ¡°Who are you wit mate?¡± ¡°What?¡± Gust grunted. ¡°I¡¯m Sir Gust De Weer, of Scaldingport you imbecile!¡± ¡°I¡¯m Flint Longfinger. Ye far away from home mate,¡± the man replied undaunted. Gust blinked and spotted several more brigands appearing from the side alleys. Wyncall has rode his men into a blasted trap, he thought with a grimace. ¡°Gust,¡± Mael warned him. ¡°I¡¯ll ask you a query mister Flint,¡± Gust rustled narrowing his eyes. ¡°You¡¯ll have one chance to answer it.¡± ¡°That so? What¡¯s the query?¡± Flint asked. ¡°Do you have the princess?¡± Gust didn¡¯t want to lose any more time with them. ¡°What did he say?¡± One of them asked, eyes bulging out and large, his mouth crooked. He looked half-dead, but the cutlass in his hand was no joke. ¡°He asked about the princess,¡± another explained, head covered with a blue sash, mouth full of gold teeth and a couple of silver. These were pirates Gust realized. On land. ¡°We don¡¯t,¡± Flint replied. Huh? ¡°Who does?¡± Gust grunted. ¡°Nine Lives has her, up on Garth¡¯s district,¡± Flint replied. Gust had trouble following his words. ¡°Why in Tyeus Spear are you fighting the mercenaries?¡± Mael asked them. ¡°They killed me family is why,¡± a man yelled. ¡°They be laying waste to the city for over a month,¡± another added. ¡°The mercenaries attacked you?¡± Gust asked. ¡°Why¡­ what about the princess?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know,¡± Flint replied. ¡°They control the main road and the port for now.¡± Gust smacked his lips and stared at the pirate crowd slowly gathering. ¡°I need to reach the princess,¡± he told them matter-of-factly. ¡°Who is in charge at Garth¡¯s District?¡± ¡°Now? I have no idea. You ain¡¯t getting in there mate,¡± Flint said. ¡°The mercenaries tried it, but they failed.¡± ¡°Is there a way to reach her?¡± Mael asked. ¡°We are knights sent to take her back to Jelin.¡± ¡°Ah, what if she doesn¡¯t want to go back?¡± Flint asked them. ¡°I¡¯d like to hear it from her lips, if you don¡¯t mind,¡± Mael replied. Flint thought about it for a while. ¡°What about D¡¯Orsi¡¯s men?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t give a darn about them!¡± Gust grunted unable to control himself. He was trying to appear diplomatic given they were in an unfavorable spot, but he¡¯d break through this rubble of freaks on foot if he have to. ¡°What sort of knight are you?¡± a pirate asked him and Gust glared at him irate. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°We can¡¯t let ye harm Anne is his meaning mate,¡± Flint told him, the crowd gathered around them agreeing with loud murmurs. Gust blinked and stood back on his saddle shocked. Harm Anne? ¡°Whose¡­?¡± ¡°Jade Eyes,¡± a fierce woman wearing a hat told him, with a taunting smile. ¡°My, my yer a big one aren¡¯t ye?¡± Gust stared at the woman wearing pants and carrying a sword incredulous. ¡°Cat got yer tongue?¡± ¡°Gust, perhaps we should retreat,¡± Mael advised him, but Gust''s mind was elsewhere. ¡°Figure out what¡¯s going on.¡± ¡°What¡¯s to figure out?¡± The brash woman taunted. ¡°You boys arr either here to help her, or yer sleepin¡¯ wit the fishes tonight.¡±
The horse neighed, a branch snapping on its head and Gust cursed knowing he¡¯d lost her following the untrotted path. He cursed at the dog running away and stupid nervous horses. The young King bringing everyone along and the clumsy hunters that couldn¡¯t lead a prey proper. He was still murmuring under his breath, when the path ended on a clearing amidst the trees. The branches retreating and the foliage revealing a spot where the canopy allowed the sun to come in strong and bright. Chase the darkness away. A snort and the horse was through into the open area, the grass and rotting leaves smelling of nature. The moisture covering the disturbed ground, turning the soil into mud. The tapping of small feet running, a flushed face and the girl¡¯s eyes open wide in horror. Then hope at salvation. Underneath it all a touch of excitement at the close call. Damnation, Gust thought taken aback at the sight. He didn¡¯t notice the horse rearing panicked, was still numb when the boar gored it and remembered to get out of the way after his back crashed on the old tree. He stood up on pure adrenalin, saw the boar turning on the screaming girl and lost it. It took him a while to realize who she was and by the time he did the boar was dead, his father was making a fool of himself and that girl had turned back into the princess. That brief moment of excitement and connection forever broken.
¡°I¡¯m not going anywhere,¡± Gust grunted and stared at the gathered crowd, afore turning his attention on the woman. ¡°You call her Anne, the princess,¡± he said and the woman nodded. Gust sighed and stared at his horse¡¯s head for a moment. ¡°You have my word,¡± he finally said. ¡°Ah, there it is then,¡± the woman said with a teasing smile. ¡°You know her.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know about this Mutiny,¡± Flint told her. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of men.¡± ¡°What about yer men Sir Knight?¡± She asked. Gust glanced at Sir Mael and he shrugged his shoulders. ¡°It¡¯s your call milord. The Crows will follow yer lead.¡± He turned his head next and stared at the knights waiting further back on their nervous horses, scrunched his square jaw this way and that, afore facing the woman called Mutiny again. ¡°Show me the god darn way!¡± Gust rustled.
¡°What about Wyncall?¡± Sir Vegenuur asked, sucking at his cheek nervously. ¡°That¡¯s his mess,¡± Gust grunted. ¡°Are ye here to fight townsfolk Vegenuur?¡± ¡°These are pirates Sir Gust,¡± Sir Prust protested. ¡°Not all of them, they ain¡¯t,¡± Gust replied and pointed at the bodies loitering the street. ¡°Is the route clear?¡± Vegenuur queried with a grimace of distaste. ¡°All the way to the inner north gates as they call them,¡± Gust replied. ¡°We reach the wall, we¡¯ll have to talk to those manning it. ¡°There¡¯s a wall?¡± ¡°Aye, another district apparently,¡± Gust said and pulled at the reins. ¡°We¡¯re on the same page here Sir Vegenuur?¡± ¡°I have my orders Sir Gust,¡± the knight replied tensely. ¡°As do you. We don¡¯t set the rules.¡± ¡°Mmm,¡± Gust grunted and smacked his lips. ¡°Tell yer men to follow us,¡± he told him and the knight from Badum crooked his mouth stubbornly. ¡°I¡¯ll ride at your side Sir Gust. On the Baron¡¯s orders.¡± ¡°Was my meaning,¡± Gust rustled and started his horse down the bombarded street heading west. Six blocks to their south the sounds of heavy fighting continued, same as behind them and the direction of the docks. Rules, Gust thought, while watching the ancient buildings passing them by, still showing the signs of time and battle. He remembered the scene again and sighed. Tried to clench his left fist next, but the broken finger there hadn¡¯t healed proper and the pain run him through, traveling from spine to the base of his cranium. Fools the lot of them, he thought and his father chuckled slapping his hands at his hall¡¯s table scaring the feasting crows away. His words penetrating the knight¡¯s psyche. An angry idiot makes a fool of himself, his father always said. But it¡¯s the aggrieved buffoon rushing to defend a maiden¡¯s honor that gets hanged by his entrails while fouling himself for all to see. ¡°Fuck you Ruud,¡± Gust grunted and eyed Sir Mael riding beside him, face hidden behind the helm¡¯s crow¡¯s beak. The knight returned his stare with a glare. ¡°I fear I should have stayed in Scaldingport,¡± Gust told him and Mael shook his helmed head. ¡°You were always going to come here milord. Even without Lord Bach¡¯s scheme,¡± the knight replied, his eyes on the approaching destroyed gateway. ¡°Yer father just tried to squeeze as much as he could out of any type of deal.¡± Hmm. ¡°He told you that?¡± Gust rustled not believing him. ¡°I figured it out. I know the old goat far longer than you,¡± Mael deadpanned. ¡°He did say to bring you back if possible though. Given the choice between having yer brother take over and him living another fifty years to skip a generation and avoid it, Lord Ruud told me he preferred the latter.¡± Of course he did, Gust thought and pulled at the reins stopping his horse just inside the smashed up gates, everyone doing the same behind him. Over two hundred and fifty horses had come down the sandy slopes, leaving a rearguard behind with the guides and their camels. He jumped down from his mount, ordered the men-at-arms to wait where they were, set his shoulders straight and started walking followed by Sir Mael, Sir Vegenuur and Sir Prust. The two soldiers watching the gates, one of them injured, both wearing leather armour with a dog carved on it stood up nervously. Behind them a bigger group had gathered, civilians, women and children. A couple of fighters amongst them looking worse for wear. A Cofol with an effeminate painted face and three Issirs. A couple of black-robe wearing monks, one of them looking like a roughed up Lord Bach, the Baron of Colle wanted by Lord Anker¡¯s men, presumed he was hiding in Colle behind the Royal Guard and a woman. She wore tight leather pants, like Mutiny, a white shirt and a leather corset over it. Dirty white hair gathered behind her ears, her throat bandaged with a bloody cloth. Gust gasped his eyes blurring and Elsanne stepped forward walking tenderly, reached the two nervous soldiers and told them to move aside. ¡°Is that?¡± Sir Vegenuur asked unsure, a scroll in his hand and the Princess stared at all their faces for a long moment before settling on the tongue-tied Gust. ¡°I saw your Raven,¡± she told him simply, adding after a small pause. ¡°It¡¯s gotten bigger.¡± 259. Anne’s Raven (2/2)
Sir Gust De Weer, Raven of Dawn Anne¡¯s Raven Part II -I don¡¯t believe anyone shall-
¡°You¡¯re in the presence of Princess Elsanne Eikenaar. State your intentions, knights of Kaltha,¡± Lord Bach said formally. You have to say something. Speak! ¡°Princess,¡± Gust croaked, pausing suddenly unsure about everything. What in Tyeus blasted spear was that? No, you darn idiot, Gust thought, battling with himself fearing he¡¯d just put his foot in his mouth. Keep your wits about ye gods darn it! Elsanne waited keeping her hands clasped in front of her stomach and the moment dragged, Gust sweating and feeling dizzy, a vein throbbing on his left temple, next to his stitched scar. Sir Vegenuur stepped forward taking his cue, the blue lobster of Badum engraved on his plate and unfurled the scroll he had on him. Cleared his throat once looking at the Princess, bowed his head and started reading with a clear voice. ¡°By order of Antoon the Third, King of the Issirs, Lord protector of the Lorians, the Northmen and shield of the Realm, your grace is ordered to renounce yer claim on the Wyvern Throne and cease all hostilities by surrendering thyself to the King¡¯s knights,¡± the small crowd murmured in protest and Gust¡¯s ogling eyes pleaded for Elsanne to agree so they could all go back without any unnecessary shenanigans. ¡°What¡¯s yer response your grace?¡± The knight from Badum finished. Gust felt overwhelmed with the moment and incapable of thinking anything else but Mutiny¡¯s words. Who would want to harm Elsanne? Curse the throne, you don¡¯t need it! Elsanne glanced his way as if expecting him to say something, but Gust crooked his mouth, the stubble on his face worrying him and drenched in sweat. ¡°Ahm,¡± was all that he managed to say. Elsanne sighed, pressed her lips into a thin line and turned to the expecting Sir Vegenuur. ¡°No,¡± she said simply. There you go, Gust thought relieved afore realizing, what she¡¯d said. Sir Vegenuur opened his mouth to answer, but she stopped him raising an index finger, before turning to look at the stiffly standing Gust again. Mael who was waiting behind him, took a step forward and glared at a couple of the angrier civilians present. ¡°Is my brother dead?¡± Elsanne asked. ¡°The king has been declared incapable,¡± Sir Vegenuur explained sounding nervous. ¡°Lord Est Ravn assumed the regency and young Antoon the Third the throne your grace.¡± ¡°My answer stands,¡± Elsanne replied after a thoughtful moment. Gust grunted, the pressure getting to him. Sir Vegenuur made to speak again, but the princess¡¯s stare told him she hadn¡¯t finished. ¡°For two reasons,¡± Elsanne continued her voice crackling and sounding older. She looked older too, Gust thought. ¡°These are Lord Anker¡¯s words, so they carry no weight with us. The second being that no legitimate heir would resort to murder to further his ascension. He did that because the Throne is occupied Sir Vegenuur and you know it.¡± Gust blinked, the throbbing on his temple intensifying as if someone had taken a hammer to his skull and kept pounding away. Vegenuur standing beside him cleared his throat again, lowered his eyes on the unfurled scroll and grimaced. ¡°By refusing to acknowledge the king¡¯s order,¡± the knight droned reading from it. ¡°You reveal thyself as a conspirator against the Throne and a rebel. As a clear and present threat to the monarchy, I have written orders to deliver the king¡¯s justice, acting as his instrument.¡± What? Gust snapped his head towards the knight and Vegenuur turned the scroll around to show them the Baron¡¯s seal, next to the king¡¯s. Robert for fuck¡¯s sake, Gust thought with a grimace of despair. Why? Elsanne words snapping him back to reality. Her tone absolute. ¡°I am the Throne!¡± She declared and the crowd gasped, Sir Vegenuur recoiling and turning a deeper shade of dark. ¡°TREASON! Seize her!¡± He roared loud enough to be heard and dropped his hand to the pommel of his longsword. Vegenuur made to unsheathe his blade, but Gust turned to his right and put a hand on it. The knight gasped and glared at him. ¡°Step aside Gust,¡± he warned through his teeth. ¡°I won¡¯t do that and ye can¡¯t make me,¡± Gust rustled trying to appear reasonable and Vegenuur hissed, dropped the scroll and tried to shove him away. Someone yelled and more cries followed, half of them a warning, the others fear. Gust closed his gauntleted fist and punched the knight on the chest, right at the engraved lobster. Vegenuur was shoved violently backwards, boots sliding on the street and the plate dented. In that same instance Mael stepped forward to block the few Dogs soldiers that had moved to attack the knights and someone stabbed Gust in the back. Gust felt the blade punch through his back plate and jerked away from it whilst spinning around. The dagger opened a wound above his kidneys, the thick gambeson and his timely reaction turning it aside enough to stop it from being fatal. The cut had gone wide, but not deep. Gust grunted, grabbed the stuck dagger and pulled it out, stumbling on his feet. Sir Prust that had slipped behind him, seizing the opportunity with Sir Mael distracted, smacked his lips in disappointment and unsheathed his sword, taking a precautionary step back. Several knights started coming towards them reacting to Vegenuur¡¯s call, but Sir Reuters ordered the Crows that had entered inside with him to move as well and block their way. Gust breathed out and stared at the sneaky stocky knight, before reaching for his own longsword, blood trickling under his plate. Didn¡¯t learn that in a tourney, he thought and tossed the dagger away. ¡°Get back!¡± Mael warned the crowd, glancing behind him to see what had happened. ¡°Damn you,¡± Vegenuur cursed and rushed him. Mael turned around, pushed the knight away, sidestepped to get his long blade out, but got cut by Vegenuur¡¯s return, the plate tearing exposing cut flesh and bleeding ribs. Damnation! Gust moved to attack Vegenuur, but Mael growled irate and waved him away. ¡°Milord,¡± Mael spat through his teeth. ¡°Them lads are here to kill, not talk.¡± To kill us all was his meaning. Stop fooling around. Ah. Gust abandoned his failed attempts at diplomacy, court manners and high culture, turned on the sneakily lunging Sir Prust and parried his blade away. The knight cursed, then came at him again, but had to block Gust¡¯s downward hack aiming for his head. Prust pushed the brutally falling blade aside, steel clanking and bright sparks covering his helm, made to go on the attack, but realized his wrist was broken and he couldn¡¯t lift his cracked blade. ¡°Fuck!¡± Prust gasped, trying to wrap his mind around it and Gust who had raised his sword again, cleaved him using the same simple move, putting some effort in it this time. The long blade caught the -jerking his head aside- knight at the right side of his neck, where the plate¡¯s collar was. It caved then split the metal, breaking his clavicle, the tremendous downward force cracking his sternum bone. Prust dropped to a knee, tried to switch hands and use the sword with his other, but he was moving too slow now. Gust stepped forward and kicked him so hard, the iron tip of his boot sunk in the opened face helm with a sickening, somewhat muffled, crunching sound and Prust¡¯s brains came out of his ears. Mael was duking it out with Vegenuur, the crowd retreating at the sudden explosion of violence amongst the newcomers with only Elsanne, Lord Bach and a couple of injured soldiers standing their ground. Gust glared at the princess to make her move to safety, but she ignored him completely. Grinding his teeth Gust stabbed his boot down to clear some of the gore and walked towards the group of knights trying to break through Sir Jan¡¯s Crows. The hale knight shoved a fighter from Scaldingport out of the way, blocked the Riverdor knight¡¯s sword and turned it aside. Horned sharks and blue lobsters, he thought. The knights that had moved to help Vegenuur were out of Riverdor and Badum. The rest had stayed behind near the destroyed gates and the majority of the Crows, either unwilling to be involved, or caught unawares. Gust grunted, the wound bothering him when he tried to lift his arm, but he did it anyway, caught the knight¡¯s sword on the return swing and send it flying out of his hand. The man ogled his eyes horrified seeing Sir Gust swinging in his turn and then his still helmed severed head went bouncing after his sword. ¡°Milord!¡± Jan barked a warning. Gust twisted around, a blade clanking on his head, but he jerked his neck left with a crack and rode it out. His opponent cursed and stepped forward, the big street suddenly narrow. The knight from Badum liked his chances against a wounded, dazed Sir Gust, but this as well as their whole impression that they could overcome the heavily outnumbering them veteran Crow warriors, was a folly. Sheer madness. Did Robert think the Crows would turn on him? Or that an unnamed skilled armoured fighter couldn¡¯t stand up to a knight? Fighting isn¡¯t just a matter of quality plate, but also a matter of will, heart and grit. A sharp cheap blade could kill ye just as good as an expensive one, given half the chance and an unmounted knight is the poor soldier¡¯s chance. Sir Jan¡¯s blade cut the onrushing knight above his greaves, severing the tendons and he went down with a cry of pain. Gust who had recovered somewhat, though his ears were still ringing, stepped on his head with all his weight stopping the man¡¯s attempt to roll away and cracked it like an egg first, then flattened it -helmet and all. ¡°Help Sir Bolte!¡± Jan snapped hoarsely and stepped in front of him irate, a grimace of fear rippling through his face realizing the old Gust would have killed him for that. ¡°We have this milord,¡± he added to save it. ¡°Mmm,¡± Gust grunted and turned around to go after Vegenuur.
Sir Mael had wounded Vegenuur, the cut bleeding down his right leg, but he got another cut himself under his elbow. The blood painting his gauntlet and dripping on his sword¡¯s handle. It was the open wound on the knight¡¯s sides that worried Gust the most though, as he stepped between them. ¡°Come to your senses!¡± Vegenuur urged him though his clenched teeth. ¡°Gust that¡¯s the king¡¯s fuckin¡¯ order!¡± Gust grimaced and slashed once in a wide arc almost taking the knight¡¯s head off. Sir Vegenuur recoiled gawking at him under his steel helm. He stumbled back with a curse and regarded the slowly advancing Gust with pity. ¡°You god darn fool,¡± Vegenuur taunted and took another step back to measure Gust¡¯s approach. ¡°Without it she¡¯s nothing but a pretty wench!¡± Gust dodged his swing, slapped the return away with his sword, sparks erupting from the clanging steel blades and covering them. Vegenuur tried to trick him with a feint, but Gust parried that as well not biting and kept advancing. The knight from Badum glanced behind him worried he was running out of street and Gust moved faster than his bulk betrayed taking his chance. Two large strides and he was on him. Vegenuur switched his stance and tried to cut upwards aiming for his chin, but Gust grabbed the blade with his hurt left hand and stopped it dead. The sharp edge cut through the hardened leather underside of his gauntlet, bit in his flesh and shoved the broken bone back in place. All it needed now was stitching it anew, he thought. ¡°Ugh,¡± Gust said, the pain making his eyes water, then raised his own sword, the tip pointing upwards between them, found Vegenuur¡¯s -desperately trying to saw through Gust¡¯s hand- exposed chin and pressed the skin there. The knight froze, sweat running down his haunted bright blue eyes. ¡°I yield,¡± Vegenuur pleaded in panic. But Gust would have none of that and just kept on pressing. The blade slowly pierced the soft underside on Vegenuur¡¯s chin, then broke through to his mouth, dislodging teeth and severing the tongue. It kept going unhurriedly as much as mercilessly, through the palate and then the brain of the shuddering, bleeding down his collar and slits of the eyes, knight. Gust stopped when the cruel tip of his longsword cracked the top of Vegenuur¡¯s skull and hit the inside of his great helm with a ding. ¡°If yer lying about the brat and the king¡¯s incapable,¡± Gust grunted and yanked his blade out of the mercifully dead and unable to respond knight, allowing his maimed body to collapse in a heap afore him. ¡°Then that pretty wench is the Queen of Kaltha.¡± No De Weer had ever betrayed the throne in two hundred years.
The knight wearing the dark grey plate with the engraved Griffin on it lowered his longsword and then tossed it on the street. The rest of the prominent knights in the group did the same. ¡°Pick it up,¡± Gust grunted, his blood still boiling and approached him. ¡°Ye don¡¯t get to knife me and call it quits when the going gets rough!¡± ¡°I won¡¯t fight you De Weer,¡± the man rustled and lifted the eaglehead shaped front of his helm, to show him his hard-lined Issir face. ¡°You have the advantage here.¡±Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! ¡°Ye could still give it a blasted try,¡± Gust crackled irate. ¡°I did!¡± ¡°I rather not chance it, I have a young wife back home,¡± the knight argued tiredly and stood back. ¡°Milord,¡± Sir Jan Reuters intervened. ¡°We have the field.¡± It¡¯s just a blasted street! We can¡¯t keep butchering noble knights, was of course Sir Jan¡¯s meaning. Gust glared at him seething, realized nobody else was eager to continue the fight and let out a disappointed groan. ¡°The First Foot¡¯s Cavalry?¡± He asked wearily. Gust realized whilst talking that he couldn¡¯t close his right fist and he was dripping blood down the soaked gauntlet. ¡°They never moved sire,¡± Jan replied and stooped to pick up the city of Pastelor knight¡¯s sword. He returned it to its owner. ¡°Sir Pek, I have your surrender?¡± He asked him and the man nodded. ¡°You do Sir Reuters.¡± Gust grunted, found a cloth to clean his blade, then sheathed his sword and used the cloth to bandage his left hand crudely. ¡°You¡¯re wearing the Iron Griffin¡¯s helm,¡± he noticed after finishing, not to appear completely uncivilized. ¡°Was fortunate to wed Siske, Sir Reinir Tellman¡¯s daughter,¡± Sir Pek replied in a friendly manner, as if they hadn¡¯t just tried to kill each other in the middle of the street and Gust eyed him coldly not buying this fresh fa?ade of politeness one bit. He also couldn¡¯t care less. ¡°Keep them separate and have them watched at all times Jan,¡± Gust ordered. ¡°Bring our men inside right away,¡± he paused realizing he¡¯d another open wound on his back, the blood leaking in his undergarment. ¡°Where¡¯s Klaas?¡± Gust asked grimacing and touched the hole on his weathered plate. ¡°With Sir Bolte,¡± Jan replied his face grim. Damnation.
Klaas had helped Sir Mael inside a watchtower¡¯s yard, built at a corner of the relatively crowded with civilians street and had him sit on its marble stairs at the entrance. The watchtower yard tiled with pink granite, sporting a stable and a newly constructed large separate kitchen building, next to a flower garden. Elsanne was standing near the wounded knight with Lord Bach, who stepped in his path when Gust approached with a scowl to check on his friend. ¡°Sir Gust, how far is Lord Van Durren?¡± The Lord of Colle demanded. ¡°Get out of my way,¡± Gust grunted before he could control himself. ¡°We need¡ª¡± ¡°Let him see to Sir Bolte Sigurd,¡± Elsanne stopped him, saving Lord Bach¡¯s life. Gust grimaced and walked to where Mael was sitting. Klaas had removed his wrapped plate and was trying to clean the wound, the blood sipping to the stairs. ¡°How bad is it?¡± Gust asked. The experienced knight wouldn¡¯t sit down to dress a wound before a fight was over, unless it was serious. ¡°Darn plate had weakened from all that sand and salt,¡± Mael rustled, breathing haggardly. ¡°Should have taken my time there.¡± Gust¡¯s face fell. ¡°Damn it man,¡± he rumbled. ¡°You should have left me deal wit them.¡± ¡°They had you cornered,¡± Mael countered. ¡°Yer mind elsewhere. I told you not to turn yer back to them milord.¡± Gust clenched his jaw hard, feeling his anger returning. ¡°You make peace wit Robert, if possible,¡± Mael murmured and reaching grabbed his right hand. ¡°You need the army whole.¡± ¡°Robert tried to have us killed!¡± Gust growled, not caring one bit about the Baron at that particular moment. ¡°Not us,¡± Mael grunted stopping him, his grip tightening. ¡°Her. And it was those that rushed inside that knew of the order and not the rest, else we¡¯ll be fighting still. Not everyone is in on it Gust,¡± the knight added and let go of his hand. ¡°Is in on what?¡± Gust crackled and glared at a desperate Klaas. The squire¡¯s eyes were feverish. ¡°Fuck, remove those things, let me see it,¡± he ordered the young man, but Mael stopped him. ¡°No need for that,¡± he told Gust. ¡°It opened the spleen, the blade did, aye.¡± ¡°Cut that darn thing out!¡± Gust snapped. ¡°We can¡¯t clean it sire,¡± Klaas replied. ¡°Lost too much blood and what¡¯s left is poisoned.¡± Gust grabbed him by the neck with his right hand. Klaas yelped in panic, but it was impossible to escape his grip that is until the injured Mael forced himself upright and slapped at Gust¡¯s arm hard. ¡°Let him go,¡± the knight told him. ¡°It¡¯s not his fault.¡± Mael is right, he thought and released Klaas that moved away coughing, his knees turned to rubber. Gust hang his head and sighed. The older knight grimaced and lowered himself on the step of the stairs again with a groan. ¡°You don¡¯t get the easy out. I need your help old priest,¡± Gust murmured and Mael chuckled despite the pain he felt. ¡°Yeah, ye do, but you¡¯ll manage, just follow your gut. We don¡¯t get to choose our moment,¡± he told him and set his eyes on the huge black Mastaba on the other side of the street across the watchtower. ¡°Klaas has my papers, see they return it to the Order¡¯s scribe.¡± Gust sighed and removed the helm from his sweaty head, to better see his friend. ¡°Anything I can do for you? I can take care of Fiend¡ª¡± ¡°I rather ye didn¡¯t milord,¡± Mael cut him off tiredly, but sternly. His stare turned again to the large exotic building, now surprisingly clear and peaceful. ¡°Never seen one of those afore,¡± were his final words.
A numb Gust stared at the strange buildings in silence. The smell of burned flesh lingering in the air and the eerie peaceful district allowing the distant sounds of battle to reach them. He¡¯d removed his battered plate for a while and had Klaas work on his back wound. The stiches hurting and leaking, but Gust cleaned, then bandaged it and put his plate back on again. Eight knights had been killed in the scrap, along with five of Scaldingport¡¯s men-at-arms and Sir Mael of course. The latter too big a loss to palate. Immeasurable. Gust trusted very few people and none more than the late priest of Tyeus. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for Sir Bolte,¡± Elsanne told him and Gust grimaced not really in the mood to talk about it. ¡°Umm.¡± ¡°Will you help Captain Martel¡¯s men?¡± ¡°Who¡¯s he?¡± Gust grunted. ¡°The Gallant Dogs have been fighting with D¡¯Orsi¡¯s mercenaries for a month,¡± the Princess explained. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°They wanted to arrest me.¡± ¡°Milord, I can have the men on their horses in ten minutes,¡± Jan said. The knight had approached him as well. Gust realized there were several people waiting for him to stop sulking and get back on it. ¡°That the gates to the south?¡± Gust rustled. ¡°Aye. We can see the lines engaged on the main street.¡± ¡°Will these Dogs pull aside?¡± ¡°They better do,¡± Jan retorted. ¡°I¡¯ll send word first.¡± ¡°Get on it Jan,¡± Gust told him. ¡°I¡¯ll be with you in a moment.¡± ¡°It¡¯s better if you left that one out milord,¡± Jan argued. ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Gust snapped. ¡°The men will fight better, if they know you¡¯re alive milord,¡± Jan insisted. ¡°It is not the time to risk you with the matter of Lord Robert undecided.¡± Uhm. ¡°Sir Jan is right,¡± Elsanne intervened and Gust rubbed the stubble on his face wearily. ¡°Don¡¯t fuck this up Sir Jan,¡± he finally said. ¡°Otherwise I¡¯ll have to come save you again and all this blasted fancy talk we just had, would have been for naught.¡± ¡°Sigurd said he has an agreement with your father,¡± Elsanne told him after Jan had departed. He was to lead over a hundred riders and assist Martel¡¯s mercenaries. The fact she used Lord Bach¡¯s first name didn¡¯t sit well with Gust, but he tried not to show it. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t put trust on my father¡¯s deals, or Lord Bach¡¯s words.¡± ¡°I see,¡± Elsanne commented and touched the bandage under her neck. ¡°Umm,¡± Gust said, who couldn¡¯t see anything else, but her face. Her clothes were peculiar, the words that of an older woman, but that face he remembered aplenty. ¡°Can I trust you?¡± ¡°Ask Vegenuur,¡± Gust grunted, her probe insulting. Elsanne blinked and then pouted thoughtfully. ¡°You took a chance Sir Gust,¡± she finally said. ¡°For that I¡¯m grateful.¡± ¡°Ahm,¡± Gust murmured. ¡°Your grace is generous.¡± ¡°Why,¡± Elsanne beamed. ¡°You can be courteous then.¡± Was she mocking him? ¡°You¡¯ll be the Queen, my family serves the throne,¡± Gust replied and Elsanne stood back and looked at his face intently. ¡°That pretty wench,¡± Elsanne said after a moment, repeating his words from earlier. Her tone enigmatic. ¡°Is¡­ the Queen of Kaltha.¡± Gust felt uncomfortable and shifted on his feet. ¡°I assumed ye were in the right your grace,¡± he finally said with a grimace of pain. ¡°I took a chance as you said,¡± he lied. The long and sort of it was Gust would have helped her, even if she was in the wrong.
Sir Jan Reuter, a knight from Colle, led a charge of Scaldingport¡¯s cavalry on the thoroughly surprised and probably exhausted by now First Division of D¡¯Orsi¡¯s men. The cavalry, estimates giving as high a number as two hundred riders, smashed through the cornered mercenaries killing forty in less than a minute, amongst them D¡¯Orsi himself and routed them. The mercenaries ran towards the docks, now held by Captain Wyncall who had arrived earlier in the day. The attack came either in the early morning, or very late in the afternoon. It was a futile effort from the beginning, but Wyncall tried to defend the entrances to the docks and retake the company¡¯s ships from the pirates. By the next day it was evident that his force was doomed. With the pirates refusing to talk with them, Wyncall asked Sir Gust De Weer to intervene for a cease in hostilities, while secretly contacting the Cofols and letting them know the Princess of Kaltha was in Eikenport. Sir Gust De Weer feverish from a wound he¡¯d sustained earlier in the campaign, basically lost his mind when the knights met with the Princess to arrange for her surrender earlier that day. There are several versions of the events that led to the demise of several prominent knights, like Sir Jaap Vegenuur of Badum, third cousin on his mother¡¯s side to the venerable Lord Shield, Duke of Riverdor Albert Van Durren, Sir Ricard Prust of Badum and Sir Mael Bolte, First Disciple of the knightly order of Tyeus and prominent military historian among others. Sir Gust got aggrieved or insulted for being kept in the dark and killed four knights before calmer heads managed to restrain him. There are two more accounts of this event, one given by Sir Evert Pek of Pastelor, mostly known for marrying Sir Reinir¡¯s Tellman¡¯s ¨Caka the famed Iron Griffin¡¯s- daughter ¡®Daring¡¯ Siske Tellman and of course sister to the late Sir Walter Tellman, who had been killed that winter outside Krakenfort by Lucius Alden. In his version, Lord Robert Van Durren had given secret orders to Sir Vegenuur to apprehend ¨Ca euphemism for murdering- the Princess and when Sir Gust protested he had gotten attacked in turn. Sir Pek claimed Sir Gust acted on self-defense and within his rights. The third version comes from Lord Ruud De Weer, a couple of months later and was given very publicly to a herald sent from Lord Anker to protest his firstborn¡¯s unknightly and treasonous contact against the Throne. The following is registered in writing as his official reply to a disbelieving and livid High Regent. - -Young lustful fools can hardly be expected to keep their wits about them around a fledgling and maturing winsomeness like our princess, or follow orders to cause said fair lady harm, if such vile orders were given. I have many a times enjoyed a feverish dream or two about her highness. I¡¯m nearing my eighth ten-year soon and it¡¯s well-known I have never being accused of being a romantic like my son, or as diligent a knight. To expect of him to act differently would have been out of character and I shan¡¯t punish him for that. Your man shall bring you my reply in writing, since I had to remove his tongue for insulting a member of my family. We are prideful folk, you understand. I have kept him alive out of respect for you Lord Est Ravn, but also as a reminder that fools shouldn¡¯t speak out of line without losing something. Unfortunately his tongue cannot be returned, I have many a birds to feed. The answer is nay to all your ¡®requests¡¯. Please refrain from using titles you haven¡¯t earned, for it¡¯s the mark of a foolish man. Scaldingport, first month of Winter of 190 NC, Lord De Weer.- - Whatever the truth of Sir Gust¡¯s ¡®madness¡¯, or the unforgiving knight¡¯s ¡®romantic¡¯ inclinations, Captain Wyncall¡¯s offer of peace was rejected promptly and the ¡®Three Hundred¡¯ ceased to exist as a unit.
A fully armoured Gust walked towards Fiend, the large warhorse snorting and shaking its head still grieving for Sir Mael¡¯s demise. He paused unsure, a deep frown on his face and eyed a nervous Klaas holding on to the reins of another warhorse saddled for him. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with this one?¡± Gust grunted, just as the Princess approached, still dressed in her male garbs. She paused to wave a hand to Sir Jan¡¯s riders gathered on the main entrance to the port, Martel¡¯s Gallant Dogs had cleared earlier that day. The men roared, the news that they had saved the Princess and future Queen of Kaltha traveling fast in the ranks. Elsanne smiled tensely and then patted the large horse, small fingers sinking in his rich mane. Fiend neighed and rubbed his head on her bosom, nostrils expanding, before relaxing into her arms. ¡°Umm,¡± Gust grunted in disbelief. ¡°A fine animal, yes?¡± The princess asked looking at him. ¡°Who is riding it?¡± Gust was thinking about taking it for himself, but chose not to say anything, as he feared this could be a trick query. ¡°That was Sir Bolte¡¯s mount your grace,¡± a blushing Klaas replied. ¡°Do you wish to try it?¡± A hardened warhorse? She¡¯ll get trampled under the blasted hooves! ¡°Should I then?¡± Elsanne asked with a grin. ¡°I haven¡¯t ridden in a while. What does Sir Gust think?¡± Arggh. It¡¯s a bloody trap! Gust scrunched his jaw one way, then the other. ¡°It¡¯s a great horse, your grace. None better,¡± he rustled, seeing no way out of it. Ugh. Elsanne nodded and glanced at the beaming Klaas. ¡°I¡¯ll need your help,¡± she told him and the squire rushed to help her up the saddle. Gust grunted, turned around and climbed on the other horse. Breathed out once, his wounds hurting him and accepted a heavy lance from the approaching squire. ¡°Sir Jan,¡± he barked loud enough to be heard. ¡°Inform Wyncall he has five minutes to surrender from the moment you deliver the ultimatum. Every man with a spear charges on their lines after that,¡± Gust turned to see whether Elsanne had toppled from the large warhorse, found her sitting pretty on the saddle like a man and grimaced at her teasing shrug. ¡°Tell your pirates to stay out of our way,¡± he grunted. It came out angrier than he¡¯d preferred to, but the princess chuckled, finding wit where there was none, cute dimples forming on her chocolate cheeks. ¡°Goodness me Sir Gust,¡± she replied, a hand touching her heart. ¡°I don¡¯t believe anyone shall.¡± - It would behoove one to believe a granite plinth would have caught her undertone, but a bewildered Gust didn¡¯t. For a time.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 260. Realm’s Mysteries -
There are only three mysteries in this Realm still left unidentified to the erudite scholar. The depths of the sea and its creatures, Gods true colors and what¡¯s beyond Mistland''s foggy shores. - Kallister -The Traveler¡¯s Papers- Sometime before the First Era
- right click to open the image fully -
Whisper ¡®Pretty Nose¡¯ Jinx Realm¡¯s Mysteries
Boo. Small bundle of soft, milk smelling, awesomeness. Criminally cute. The baby girl chuckled, tiny fingers tickling her nostrils, large eyes a mirror Jinx could see herself in. Dammit, I look so darn hot, just wow! Those are some pretty eyes also tiny droolin¡¯ lass. A medley of colors in them, based on silver, Glen¡¯s amber and the pink of Jinx¡¯s head. Another opal, just like yer mother, the Gish thought touching the baby girl¡¯s ear. Earning another chuckle. ¡°What¡¯s the word for gem in Imperial?¡± she asked Sen-Iv that was watching them play laying leisurely at the other side of the large coach. ¡°Same as precious, or jewel,¡± Sen replied pushing a lock of black hair behind a bejeweled ear, the diamonds sparkling in the light coming from the open windows. ¡°If it¡¯s a person. Inis-Mir.¡± Her flawless accent even sexier than Maeriel¡¯s Imperial. ¡°Say that again,¡± Jinx blurted mesmerized and Sen-Iv laughed at her expression, then used an equally richly adorned foot to push the much smaller Jinx towards the edge of the divan. The litheness of the woman uncanny. ¡°I¡¯ll drop her,¡± The Gish warned the baby¡¯s luscious mother and Sev-Iv¡¯s equally exotic eyes stayed on her for a contemplating moment. ¡°You love her too much for that Jinx. I believe you¡¯ll rather perish than allow any harm to come to her,¡± the Cofol woman finally stated in her all-knowing manner and her daughter used a finger to dig into Jinx¡¯s left nostril ruining the moment. ¡°Hey you,¡± Jinx grinned and lifted the baby higher. ¡°That¡¯s a big nose on that small face,¡± she teased and touched her tiny nose. ¡°That¡¯s a Gish nose,¡± Jinx touched hers, grimacing to avoid a sneeze. ¡°That¡¯s a Gish ear.¡± The baby chuckled and pulled at her earlobe hard. It was almost a yank. ¡°Eh, haha¡­ alright there lass, enough pullin¡¯ an¡¯ twisting,¡± Jinx warned trying to dislodge her ear from the baby¡¯s grip. ¡°Inis-Mir, here¡­ that¡¯s a chin. The neck underneath it.¡± Jinx laid back on the divan and allowed the baby to rest on her bosom. She glanced at Sen-Iv and the relaxing woman raised a perfectly trimmed brow. ¡°It¡¯s a bold choice for a name,¡± Sen-Iv commented evenly. ¡°I feel it though,¡± Jinx admitted. ¡°It sounds right. Hmm?¡± She asked the cooing baby. ¡°Boo,¡± Inis-Mir declared finding the target. ¡°She¡¯s precious no?¡± Jinx asked and loosened her shirt. Sen smiled at her shenanigans, before nodding once. ¡°She is.¡± ¡°What?¡± Jinx asked the searching baby. ¡°This isn¡¯t your mum¡¯s tit Inis-Mir,¡± she teased the adventurous tiny creature. ¡°Oii, don¡¯t do that,¡± she warned her just as a wild-haired Glen burst inside the bedroom breathing heavy, one leg of his pants covered in mud. ¡°WHAT IN THE SLOVENLY FUCK!¡± Glen barked stopping dead in his tracks, as if he¡¯d just witnessed a murder. ¡°What are ye doing?¡± The baby froze scared. ¡°Nothing!¡± Jinx protested caught unawares at his hostility. ¡°Why are ye yelling!¡± ¡°Let go of her right now!¡± Glen barked twice as loud and rushed to the couch livid. He¡¯s gone mad, Jinx realized. It was always going to end this way. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Are you serious? YOUR TITS ARE SPILLING OUT!¡± Glen admonished her for some reason and grabbed his daughter away. ¡°What is this shite?¡± What? The Gish looked at him shocked. ¡°What¡¯s wrong wit them?¡± Jinx argued jumping up, pausing to cover everything again. ¡°You could¡¯ve looked away,¡± she added with a glare. ¡°But ye didn¡¯t hmm?¡± Glen blinked and then cleared his throat. ¡°Don¡¯t give me that hummin¡¯ Whisper. I mean it, I want none of that.¡± ¡°Of what? Yer a fuckin¡¯ idiot!¡± Jinx snapped and Sen got up from the coach with a sigh. She came to a stop between them, then reached to take the baby away from Glen. ¡°Let me handle this,¡± Glen told her still angry, but Sen gave him a kiss and he calmed down. ¡°I prefer you didn¡¯t,¡± she told him simply. Hah, Jinx thought. That¡¯ll fire him up again girl! ¡°Fine,¡± Glen yielded instead much to her surprise. It was more a surrender. What a fuckin¡¯ cunt, Jinx thought. Glen sighed and added. ¡°Just keep the¡­¡± ¡°Boo,¡± his daughter said, cutting him off afore he could finish. Glen narrowed his eyes. ¡°Did she just say boob?¡± he grunted. ¡°She¡¯s a baby Glen,¡± Jinx told him. ¡°Stop being so god darn lusty in yer thinkin¡¯!¡± ¡°How am I¡­? Ah, you make no sense Whisper,¡± Glen argued shaking his head. ¡°My rogue is lustful?¡± Sen-Iv purred like a feline in heat and Jinx rolled her eyes seeing Glen raising a teasing brow in response. But this was also her friend¡¯s hint for Jinx to leave them alone and she did.
Metu, thinning hair oiled and freshly trimmed neatly around his nape and ringed ears, glanced at her strolling down the stairs, an armful of scrolls in his arms. Jinx seeing Fikumin was also watching her descent made a quick running step and sort of jumped to clear the final part of the staircase, incorporating a complete cartwheel as a finish. Nigh dangerous. Jinx landed on her feet almost turning an ankle, a lock of pink hair dancing between her eyes and grinned at her horrified audience. ¡°Gods good gravy,¡± Metu commented, very impressed. ¡°Are you quite well Lady Jinx?¡± ¡°Never better,¡± Jinx replied quickly standing up with that smile -turned to a grimace of pain- still on her mouth. ¡°Gish are the most attention seeking creatures,¡± Fikumin commented sourly. ¡°Ever trying to compensate for what¡¯s lacking. In this case intelligence.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t have to compensate for height at least,¡± Jinx retorted and approached the part of the open hall that was Fikumin¡¯s office, Glen¡¯s throne-chair and sort of meeting place all in one place, inside the large villa. ¡°Right?¡± Fikumin jumped from the chair he was standing on, the thud when he landed shaking the floor. Jinx had a head on him and she wasn¡¯t intimidated at all, so she stuck her chest in his face and the dwarf backed off with a grimace of despair. ¡°Give her the message,¡± he ordered Metu exasperated and the former slave offered a very small rolled up scroll to Jinx. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Jinx asked suspiciously. ¡°A missive from Eikenport,¡± Metu droned patiently. ¡°How do ye know? Hmm?¡± ¡°I read it. It¡¯s my job,¡± the Cofol replied. ¡°Aha!¡± Jinx said and looked at both their blank faces knowingly. Given that she had nothing more to add, Jinx took the scroll from him. Unfurled it under the two males¡¯ scrutiny, scratched between her nostrils once and read from it for a moment. Tried to at least. ¡°Ah, I can¡¯t read dis,¡± she declared and returned it to an expecting Metu. ¡°It¡¯s in military shorthand,¡± Metu explained assuming a haughty expression. Jinx poked him in the belly once and the Castellan as he¡¯d started calling himself, almost doubled over spilling all his scrolls down. Fikumin grunted and moved to help him stand upright. ¡°Continue,¡± he urged the flushed and thoroughly shook Cofol. Metu cleared his throat. ¡°As I said, Ottis wanted to ensure we get the gist of what he was saying, without allowing ¡®third parties¡¯ in on the details. The Gallant Dogs are currently in a dispute with that other mercenary unit.¡± ¡°About Glen?¡± Jinx asked, turning serious. ¡°About a woman called Anne Burton. Ottis fears it might turn ugly. These are two weeks old news Lady Jinx.¡± Jinx stared at Fikumin. ¡°What does Lon say?¡± ¡°He made no mention of this in his last report,¡± the dwarf replied. ¡°The woman is the Princess of Kaltha,¡± Metu elucidated. ¡°Apparently mister Stiles decided to offer her sanctum.¡± What? ¡°Is he serious?¡± Jinx hissed irate. ¡°Why get involved wit all their crap?¡± ¡°What is she doing in Eikenport?¡± Fikumin asked and glared at Jinx for not keeping her voice down. ¡°What was that?¡± Glen asked from the top of the stairs, naked as the day he was born. ¡°You can speak whilst staring at me cock Whisper!¡± he barked.
¡°Well?¡± Glen asked wearing a towel around his private parts. ¡°I heard yer bickering about something in Eikenport. What is it?¡± ¡°Yer angry because you stopped mid¡ª¡± Jinx tried to say, but Glen snapped her way with a furious glare. ¡°Enough wit your bullshit Whisper!¡± He growled, then stepped back to avoid a kick in the jewels she threw at him. Slippery motherfucker!A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°Stiles offered sanctuary to the Princess of Kaltha,¡± Metu explained. ¡°Apparently she¡¯s been wanted by the ¡®Three Hundred¡¯ as well. It might come down to an armed confrontation.¡± Glen breathed deeply, puffed his cheeks out ballooning his face alike a fish, which was sidesplittingly funny, then blew it all out raucously. He then walked to the table, found Fikumin¡¯s carafe of wine and poured himself a goblet spilling some in the process. He glugged it all down and then smacked the goblet on the table with a burp. ¡°There¡¯s an angle we don¡¯t see,¡± he said sounding strangled, some of the wine going down the wrong pipe. ¡°What does Lon say?¡± ¡°He doesn¡¯t know about it,¡± Fikumin replied. ¡°The girl was ¡®married¡¯ to a Prince,¡± Glen explained, making air quotes at the word. ¡°I don¡¯t believe she¡¯s there legally,¡± he glanced up the stairs, saw Sen-Iv watching their conversation in silence, dressed in a scandalously short red silk robe that left her oiled legs and part of her hips uncovered and asked tiredly. ¡°What do you think Sen?¡± ¡°She couldn¡¯t be, not without the Prince,¡± his wife replied serenely. ¡°She should have been with him at all times, or confined at his home in Dia like all Cofol wives.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s the darn prince?¡± Glen asked Fikumin with a grimace of annoyance, spotting the dwarf¡¯s judgmental stare. ¡°He left months ago, Lon had written to me about it,¡± the dwarf explained. ¡°There you go,¡± Glen replied, adding while making another use of air quotes. ¡°That¡¯s a legitimate case of a pirate pretending to be a ¡®gentleman¡¯ from the stories, or Stiles is trying to make a coin.¡± ¡°I should go there immediately,¡± Jinx decided not convinced. ¡°The Dogs might still find themselves in trouble.¡± Glen rubbed his nose, then his face with a hand, before turning to stare at her for a tense moment. ¡°No,¡± he finally said. What? ¡°Ye can¡¯t order me around!¡± Jinx hissed and moved on him. Glen sidestepped and put a hand out blocking her. ¡°Stiles will have everything under control Whisper,¡± he explained playing it cool, as his hand was squeezing her breast above the shirt. Sen-Iv chuckled from the top of the stairs finding it funny. ¡°This was a mistake,¡± Glen added, removing his hand a little flushed in the face. ¡°What if he doesn¡¯t?¡± Jinx argued and put both hands at her waist. She hated this taller version of Glen, despite his much improved physical condition. ¡°Stiles is a professional crook,¡± Glen assured her using no quotes this time. ¡°The moment the going gets rough, he¡¯ll sell her out,¡± he whipped his head around and glared at Fikumin who was just about ready to intervene, afore continuing. ¡°Ottis is just being overly cautious here.¡± ¡°Still I should be there,¡± Jinx insisted. ¡°I¡¯ll take Soren wit¡ª¡± ¡°No,¡± Glen cut her off again sternly. ¡°You can¡¯t travel wit a boat remember? Yer words.¡± Jinx sighed and stared at her small boots. ¡°I could make it, I¡¯m willing to take the risk Glen,¡± she finally blurted out. ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± Glen replied matter-of-factly. ¡°Even if you tried to make it anyway, this is three-four weeks journey Whisper. By then, all this will be over.¡± ¡°I have a bad feeling,¡± Jinx murmured and she could feel it in her heart. ¡°You always do,¡± Glen said tensely. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about them, they¡¯ll be alright. What you should do is talk wit Maeriel about a mission I¡¯ve given her.¡± Huh? Did that sneaky fool just dodged and changed the subject? ¡°What mission?¡± Jinx asked him suspiciously. ¡°We still haven¡¯t found what happened to those twelve people that disappeared Whisper,¡± Glen explained. ¡°Now I¡¯m busy looking over Voron¡¯s shoulder, the baby, solving the city¡¯s problems,¡± Fikumin started coughing stunned at his hubris and pile of lies, but Glen continued undaunted. Never was a more shameless scoundrel given a position of such power that Jinx knew. ¡°I have barely enough time to eat once per day, sleep, exercise a bit and fuck¡­ sorry dear,¡± he apologized to his smiling wife. ¡°I attest to the latter,¡± Sen-Iv told them calmly and turning around walked seductively back into her bedroom. Whoa sister. ¡°Right,¡± Glen said breaking the spell and snapping everyone back to the present. ¡°As I said, Sam Mathews talked wit some adventurers about his findings and I agreed to let him use Maeriel for the mission.¡± ¡°Wait¡­ what findings?¡± Jinx asked. ¡°Talk to him about it,¡± Glen replied readily. ¡°Wasn¡¯t Anfalon on this?¡± ¡°I want Anfalon to train his pupils,¡± Glen argued. ¡°I¡¯ve been helping him and it ain¡¯t easy getting thrown around in the mud with those brutes every day. We need those men Whisper, Lord Rothomir might pay us a visit on the morrow and catches us wit our pants down.¡± Jinx stared at the towel he had around his chiseled waist and then nodded, the relief on Glen¡¯s handsome face so blatant that she was sure he¡¯d lied to her aplenty to stop her from making the journey.
Jinx jumped over Cat chasing Bobelo around, the monkey climbing on her, using her long ponytail to swing above the snarling cub and slap it once across the snout. She found Phina anxiously waiting with a stack of drawings in her arms outside the entrance and greeted the fair Zilan with a grin. ¡°What you have there girl?¡± ¡°Some ideas for the castle and other stuff,¡± Phina replied mysteriously, the cub clasping at her ankle whining. ¡°Is Arguen Garth available?¡± ¡°I told her he isn¡¯t twice already,¡± Alan Kirk explained, standing relaxed in the shaded part of the entrance. The fighter was working full time for Glen since they had left Eikenport, along with his friend Bing. ¡°But I don¡¯t mind her company.¡± ¡°Phina you could talk to Fikumin,¡± Jinx told her and the young Zilan blushed furiously. ¡°I was going to ask for him next,¡± she reasoned unconvincingly. ¡°You do that,¡± Jinx advised her. ¡°Leave Glen out of it, spare yerself the heartache.¡± Phina blinked embarrassed. ¡°I wasn¡¯t¡­ I¡¯m not intimate with Arguen Garth like you are Lady Jinx,¡± she blurted. ¡°Trust me,¡± Jinx said stooping near her rosy face, Alan chuckling uncontrollably behind her. ¡°Tis better this way.¡±
Soren was standing outside her house across the street blocking the entrance, his head well over the decorated marble header. Elaniel seemed small next to him and she was two heads taller than Jinx at least. ¡°Hey Pretty,¡± Soren crackled in his booming voice, long red beard finally back to its former glory and reaching below his chest. ¡°Do you think I should trim me beard?¡± ¡°Was just about to comment on its potency,¡± Jinx replied and gave Elaniel¡¯s fit rump a good smack. The Zilan yelped not expecting it. ¡°Yep, yer reflexes aren¡¯t there yet Ela,¡± Jinx told her. ¡°No animal will slap my buttocks Jinx!¡± Elaniel hissed, rubbing the sore spot. ¡°That¡¯s ridiculous.¡± Jinx eyed her knowingly, afore turning to a confused Soren. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± the giant replied with a shrug. ¡°Don¡¯t want to get involved.¡± ¡°I meant why trim the beard?¡± Jinx elucidated, grimacing when Bobelo pulled at her hair hard. ¡°Soletha suggested it,¡± Soren replied. ¡°For health reasons. She¡¯s very knowledgeable on the functions of the body.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure she is,¡± Jinx replied. ¡°How old is she?¡± Soren frowned. ¡°Now that was mean Pretty. She lost a daughter and don¡¯t deserve this,¡± he admonished her. ¡°She also ate a person¡¯s heart right out of the box,¡± Jinx reminded him. ¡°So excuse me if I¡¯m being a bit skeptical about yer relationship.¡± ¡°She¡¯s lonely,¡± Soren replied. ¡°Hasn¡¯t had anything but seeds since then and is busy healing people.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t bother you?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t judge small folk habits and can be forgiving,¡± Soren said. ¡°You had plenty of questionable friends, but we all kept our mouths shut.¡± ¡°Not everyone and I haven¡¯t fucked a cannibal,¡± Jinx retorted and glared at the guffawing Elaniel warningly. ¡°How do you know?¡± The young apprentice ranger asked her still chuckling. ¡°Where¡¯s yer teacher, barely mediocre pupil of her?¡± Jinx snapped not liking her innuendos. ¡°With Sam Mathews,¡± Elaniel replied sobering up, just as a tired Sam appeared at the entrance. The adventurer was dressed in his tight-fit leather armor, a ringmail vest over it, secured with a double harness. ¡°The man himself,¡± Jinx teased him and he paused to greet her. ¡°Jinx, I was just talking with Maeriel,¡± Sam said. ¡°What about?¡± ¡°Remember those tracks leading into the Yew Forest?¡± ¡°Uhm,¡± Jinx nodded. ¡°Leaving Taras Lake and the festival grounds.¡± ¡°Ayup. Well, I followed them deep in the forest, through the ruins of the north walls, all the way to the big lake near the Avenue of Legends and Garth¡¯s Garden of Statues.¡± ¡°They stopped there?¡± ¡°No, they didn¡¯t,¡± Sam replied and scrunched his jaw. ¡°There were two pairs of footprints initially, but they multiplied in an opening, followed the paths deep in the ancient forests next, just behind Nesande¡¯s Temple. The rains washed them away by the time I got there.¡± ¡°Human¡­ were those footprints of the missing?¡± ¡°Aye. Mostly Zilan was my meaning.¡± ¡°Found anyone else missing?¡± Jinx asked thoughtfully. ¡°Just the twelve.¡± ¡°They didn¡¯t decide to go on a long trek after getting drunk,¡± Jinx murmured stating the obvious and Sam nodded agreeing. It was very strange. ¡°What direction?¡± ¡°According to the map painted on your wall,¡± Sam replied. ¡°Either south up the slopes, or towards the Talons following the old imperial roads whatever is left of them.¡± ¡°Is there anything that way?¡± Jinx asked with a frown. Lower Talon, the southernmost edge of the strangely shaped peninsula, faced east towards the Sinking Isles. A breath away from the reefs and the old sea route and exit between the mini ¨Cnow mostly sunken- ancient continent of Cydonia Cazan and Goras. The two isles Ilithar and Lyari still marking the physical entrance through their straits into what was left centuries later, the unnavigable Reefs. ¡°Gish Lament, near the Lower Talon,¡± Maeriel said standing in the shade at the entrance. Ah. ¡°And the Sentinel¡¯s Tower, near the Upper Talon,¡± the ranger added looking at her. ¡°Both long abandoned.¡± ¡°Anything standing?¡± Jinx asked tensely, the name of the Imperial Slave Camp and port village rattling her. ¡°The jungle claimed the land, cleansed the ruins,¡± Maeriel replied. ¡°Well anyway, if we want to figure out what happened, we either go towards the Talons, or directly south towards the slopes to reach the edge and the Reefs. A journey and a half,¡± Sam repeated scratching the back of his head. ¡°We go to Oyster Anchorage,¡± Maeriel said, her face hidden. ¡°It¡¯s a straight line between the Talons and the slopes. Goras old third port across Cydonia. Much closer.¡± ¡°How do you know they went that way?¡± Sam asked her curious. ¡°My huntress instinct,¡± Maeriel replied and turned around to walk back into their place. ¡°Aha, well then,¡± Sam murmured. ¡°I have a couple of guys set on giving it a try, so I¡¯ll have to leave you my friends. Soren, Ela, Lady Jinx,¡± Sam said politely. ¡°Why don¡¯t I get a lady?¡± Elaniel protested and then approached the frowning adventurer with a predator¡¯s toothy smile. ¡°I¡¯m fervent to earn your recognition master Sam Mathews.¡± There were a lot of pointy teeth there, the Gish thought. All the Zilan coming with two sets of fangs. ¡°Eh, Sam will suffice,¡± the adventurer replied, a little self-consciously. ¡°Some,¡± Elaniel purred playing with the words, her eyes glowing. ¡°But not all?¡± The Zilan knew how to flirt, Jinx had to give them that. If ye didn¡¯t scare easily. ¡°Ye better get to yer friends,¡± Jinx advised the tongue-tied Mathews. ¡°Whilst ye still can.¡±
The Gish stepped into the large house they had bought from Metu, but Maeriel wasn¡¯t there. She paused at the large expansive hall and stared at the floor to ceiling map decorating it. The Zilan painted everything with life scenes, architectural plans, recipes and plain drawings of objects, jewelry, even weapons. Every surface served a purpose. Jinx sighed and walked to the weapon stand to take her bow and quiver. She paused sensing Maeriel near her and the ranger¡¯s lips touched her neck. ¡°How?¡± Maeriel whispered, her tongue teasing the sensitive skin there. ¡°I know yer smell,¡± Jinx replied, enjoying her lover¡¯s ministrations, even when Maeriel¡¯s sharp teeth touched her skin. ¡°My Drool, is a skilled Gish,¡± Maeriel purred, Jinx¡¯s skin tingling. ¡°Tastes of milk and baby, so very tempting.¡± ¡°I¡¯m coming with you,¡± Jinx murmured and turned around to face her. Maeriel pouted unable to hide her disappointment. Once you learned their gimmicks, Jinx thought watching her thinking about it, it¡¯s easy to read them. Not as easy as humans. ¡°Glen told you,¡± Maeriel finally said standing back. Jinx had never used Glen¡¯s new name in front of her, or anyone else. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°He doesn¡¯t¡¯ want me in Eikenport,¡± Jinx replied. ¡°This might not be an easy mission,¡± Maeriel told her. Glen sucked at planning, so Jinx wasn¡¯t surprised to hear it. ¡°Sam wants to find those people,¡± the Zilan added. Aha, there¡¯s a nugget of mystery. ¡°You don¡¯t?¡± Jinx asked her, although she now knew what had happened. Glen you¡¯re such an idiot sometimes. But you were meaning well I suppose. ¡°There¡¯s nothing left to find love,¡± Maeriel said and glanced at the map. ¡°There are three mysteries in this Realm left unidentified. The depths of the sea and its creatures, Gods true colors and what¡¯s beyond Mistland. Zilan always believed it''s best to avoid all three.¡± Yeah, the Gish thought the same. ¡°Who said that?¡± Jinx asked her curious, as Maeriel was usually tight-lipped on these matters. ¡°The man who made this map. All old maps,¡± Maeriel replied and touched Jinx¡¯s face with her long fingers lovingly. ¡°You¡¯re so special.¡± Jinx was special to her and the perceptive Gish knew that, but Maeriel had let more slip out than she wanted and was trying to backtrack fast. And the Gish knew that too. ¡°No secrets between soul partners right?¡± Jinx called out her dodge. ¡°No secrets,¡± she admitted with a pout. ¡°What was his name?¡± ¡°Kallistel,¡± Maeriel replied with a sigh and pointed at the map, showing the Realms. The continents of Jelin and Eplas, the still standing Cydonia Cazan, frozen Yalca, the fabled Split Isles and down in the far south the mysterious Mistland. ¡°He painted the places he¡¯d visited afore reaching Wetull¡¯s shores. People called him Raza Sapthan, the traveling wizard.¡± ¡°What happened to this traveler?¡± Jinx asked kissing the inside of her wrist, when Maeriel¡¯s hand returned to caress her cheek. ¡°He went back to look for world¡¯s edge as he called it,¡± the Zilan ranger replied shivering and let out a soft moan. ¡°Disappeared in the fog haunting the ancestral lands of the Aken. Most believe he¡¯s long dead. This happened at the start of the First Era.¡± ¡°We aren¡¯t looking for Gods, or the shores of Mistland,¡± Jinx told her and loosened the buttons on her shirt casually. ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°No we don¡¯t and it will be auspicious to just drop the matter,¡± Maeriel agreed, ravenously watching the alluring Gish discarding one article of clothing after the other between them. ¡°But Sam doesn¡¯t know that. ¡± Nor does Glen it seems, Jinx thought. It also appeared Abrakas mischievous creatures had paid them a visit.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 261. I gave him a biscuit
Glen Arguen Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Monarch O¡¯ Morn Taras I gave him a biscuit
Glen watched Jinx talk with Phina and Kirk through the open door, a deep frown on his face. She laughed and teased the young Zilan that darn monkey hanging from her neck. His grimace had deepened the moment she¡¯d turned her back and he didn¡¯t have to pretend. It had taken a lifetime of petty crime and constant lying for him to be able without pause to lie to his closest friends. Dangers everywhere around, old ¡®n new conspiracies and ominous nightmares were keeping him on edge. Robbed him of enjoying the best time of his life. He reached for the goblet and poured himself another cup of Zilan wine. The bottles piled next to the table and under it, as every visitor was bringing Hardir something and everyone knew by now that Glen loved wine and redleaf as much as gold. None of that mattered if he ended up sleeping alone in the streets again, his friends and family gone. A forest of statues in their place. Do you break the pattern? Deny those gone of a place, for people to remember them? The idea wasn¡¯t bad, it was the fact the place was filled with the dead in his dreams that haunted him, whilst now it had only the half-made bust of Marcus, Glen had commissioned. ¡°Ottis wouldn¡¯t have written of a possible escalation,¡± Fikumin said, breaking the heavy silence. ¡°Without consulting Stiles,¡± Glen grimaced and tasted the wine. ¡°He would know of a potential scheme, if there was one.¡± Fikumin walked to his chair and climbed on it, then combed his long beard some with a stubby hand, afore speaking again seeing that Glen wasn¡¯t eager to reply. There was nothing to add really. The matter was clear to him since the beginning. ¡°If Stiles is committed and Norec in favor of helping come hell or high water, then Ottis¡¯ let us know because this D¡¯Orsi guy is intent on fighting his way in and they aren¡¯t going to let him,¡± Fikumin said. ¡°Whatever the cost.¡± Glen grunted and eyed the silent Metu. ¡°We can¡¯t help them in time,¡± he finally said. ¡°Whisper would go even if it¡¯s too late and would get herself killed for naught by beast, or blade.¡± ¡°What if¡ª?¡± Fikumin tried to say, but Glen stopped him raising his left hand, the one missing a couple of fingernails. ¡°No,¡± he hissed glaring at the scowling stubborn dwarf. ¡°Stiles has a plan. Ottis is as solid as they come. Brought these people from Rida, was willing to fight Larn at the gates and die. He won¡¯t lose and Norec is too stubborn to let them through.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what worries me,¡± Fikumin told him and Metu sighed deeply the tension getting to him. ¡°Get yerself together,¡± Glen snapped at him. ¡°Wipe that remorseful look off yer fuckin¡¯ face, afore someone sees you!¡± ¡°Yes my lord,¡± a chastised Metu blurted. ¡°I¡¯ll see to the affairs of the Council.¡± ¡°You do that,¡± Glen said sternly, a tick on his left eye bothering him. He put a finger on it, whilst Metu left them alone at a fast trot-like walk. Pretty impressive. ¡°She¡¯ll not like it,¡± Fikumin insisted, ever the annoying pillar of integrity. ¡°I rather her mad at me, than dead,¡± Glen hissed and stared at his familiar boulder-sized head. ¡°What of this mission?¡± the dwarf grunted. ¡°Sam has this insane idea these people up and left all together,¡± Glen replied dismissively. ¡°Some grand mystery force leading them into the jungle some-fuckin-how,¡± he finished his wine clenching his jaw. ¡°A bunch of bullshit. They¡¯ll run around in circles, Maeriel will make sure of it. Lead them to see the sights and come right back.¡± ¡°Who does she think the tracks were from then?¡± ¡°Who the fuck cares?¡± Glen snapped. ¡°It could be anyone! We had five thousand drunken folk stumbling about for a couple of days!¡± ¡°I have a meeting with a Regia merchant,¡± Fikumin said after a tense moment of sulking from both of them. ¡°Uhm,¡± Glen said and walked to his large chair at the center of the still empty hall. Sen had furnished the first floor, the girls¡¯ room and their bedroom, but the main floor¡¯s expansive reception area remained relatively barren, with only a small bed for Fikumin added at the room across from the kitchen. ¡°They want double the amount of timber we currently produce, but they prefer we shoulder the transporting part to Jelin. They are concerned with the pirates raiding the trade route,¡± Fikumin added and approached, small feet thudding on the tiles. ¡°Well we need the timber for the castle,¡± Glen murmured and rubbed his face with both hands, the wood rough on his naked back. He stared at his maimed foot, the wound healed, but grotesque and frowned. ¡°We could increase production,¡± Fikumin argued. ¡°But you are giving Anfalon all the able-bodied strays and several humans have petitioned to join.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°You signed a decree that anyone wanting to buy land, or a house in Sinya Goras must be a citizen. In order for one to be a citizen he must serve the city and its Monarch. Serving in Anfalon¡¯s ¡®unit¡¯ seems like the easiest and cheapest way.¡± ¡°I did?¡± ¡°The Council did, you agreed,¡± Fikumin explained. ¡°I may have signed it.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Glen said and smacked his lips. ¡°I need the soldiers Fiku,¡± he finally said. ¡°Tell them we can¡¯t help with their problem.¡± ¡°The Guild could create a couple of crews with lumberjacks, give them housing in return,¡± Fikumin insisted, set on finding allies in another continent. Glen didn''t want anyone having a say in his business. ¡°We¡¯ll pay them instead, I want them committed afore I allow them to stay Fiku,¡± Glen argued. ¡°How are we going to transport the extra loads of timber? We have one bargue wit an unwilling, wayward, habitually drunk Captain dreaming of plunder. We need bigger ships for that.¡± ¡°Would the pirates help?¡± ¡°It¡¯s one thing to make a deal allowing us a free, un-harassed trade route for me and mine,¡± Glen reminded him. ¡°Another to make them partners in the business of wood, goods and valuables. They¡¯ll rob us blind and I won¡¯t begrudge them for doing it.¡±
Glen was smoking, still sitting by himself on his throne, the old Gish¡¯s pipe in hand. His mind pulled in many directions. The strange voice lurking in the dagger, the ever missing Uvrycres and the enigmatic Zilan named Aenymriel. He glanced in the empty hall trying to find Din, but the Zilan assassin was nowhere to be seen.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. He almost missed his wife¡¯s approach. Sen-Iv moved his arm away and sat sideways on his lap, crossing her legs to the left of him unhurriedly. ¡°You didn¡¯t come,¡± Sen whispered looking in his gloomy face. Glen allowed his free hand to caress the soft skin up her thighs, fingers playing with the finishing of her loose tunic. A hint of fragrance reached his nostrils when she moved closer. ¡°Is she with the girls?¡± He asked her and Sen touched his chest above his heart, long nails teasing. ¡°She is sleeping,¡± his wife reassured him. ¡°What did you decide?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t help them,¡± Glen told her and set his pipe down to free his other hand. ¡°I sent Whisper with Maeriel and Sam on that mission.¡± ¡°Is that wise?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t keep her locked in here,¡± Glen replied. ¡°For now.¡± ¡°Mmm,¡± Sen murmured. ¡°You always worry about her. She¡¯s a big girl. Soren hehe. He¡¯s fine. All of them are.¡± ¡°They believed in me when things looked dire, I feel responsible,¡± Glen replied uncomfortable. ¡°They believed in Lord Reeves and rode on your coattails. They followed you on their own volition,¡± Sen told him. ¡°Yes they are friends and I like them all. The boys in Eikenport as well. They helped me bring our daughter to this world, but you¡¯re not responsible for them being here, or for some princess with ambitions.¡± ¡°That mercenary company came to Eikenport for me,¡± Glen told her, a nimble hand snaking under her silk tunic. ¡°Why?¡± Sen asked huskily, sensing his interest peaking under the towel. Fuck, Glen thought. I shouldn¡¯t have said that. ¡°I owe the bank money,¡± he blurted out as Sen-Iv¡¯s face loomed over his, her breath hot on his face. ¡°Pay them back. You¡¯re not the first lord in debt, nor will you be the last,¡± Sen purred absentmindedly and kissed him. It wasn¡¯t a loan dear, Glen thought and then his mind switched off completely.
¡°Hardir,¡± Lyceron greeted him a day later, the Zilan clad in his hoplite armour. ¡°Are you joining us in training tomorrow?¡± Glen stared at the open field surrounding the barracks Anfalon had constructed near the road to Morn Taras. ¡°I had a tooth loosened the other day Lyceron,¡± he told him with a grimace, seeing Anfalon flooring a human cadet with a stick right at the solar plexus. ¡°How are the new recruits?¡± ¡°Very slow.¡± ¡°They¡¯ll get up to speed,¡± Glen assured him. ¡°I meant very slow in their reactions,¡± Lyceron elucidated with a toothy grin. Ah. The handsome Zilan was the talk of the unattached ladies. A fast learner, according to Anfalon, for a plebe former gatherer and a half-idiot. Glen didn¡¯t trust him since the festival, when he popped up in front of his wife, wearing a skirt, all oiled up and with his meaty cock dangling underneath. You can¡¯t want that kind of shite around yer girls, he thought. ¡°As I said,¡± Glen repeated through his teeth. ¡°Give ¡®em time. Is Laedan inside?¡± ¡°He is.¡± ¡°What¡¯s his mood?¡± ¡°Still paralyzed and drooling down his mouth.¡± ¡°That bad?¡± ¡°It¡¯s his act, can¡¯t change it now,¡± Lyceron retorted wittily. ¡°Kirk will guard the door, if that¡¯s what yer doing,¡± Glen told him. ¡°You¡¯re free to rejoin the others.¡± ¡°If that is alright with you Hardir,¡± Lyceron deadpanned ever the smartarse. ¡°I¡¯ll keep him company.¡± Glen nodded with another glance at the trainees carrying the unresponsive human out of the field. Anfalon crooked his mouth in disgust, turned to the others, long stick in hand and barked. ¡°NEXT!¡±
Laedan, the former Denmaster, saw him entering and groaned. ¡°The crook has returned,¡± he griped, using a hemp cloth to wipe the side of his face still paralyzed from Soren¡¯s punch. ¡°Where¡¯s the murdering cunt?¡± ¡°Ye weren¡¯t as brave in front of her last time,¡± Glen noticed and the thin wiry Zilan grunted. ¡°You need me and she needs you, didn¡¯t know it then.¡± ¡°Uhm, so why?¡± Glen asked him. ¡°We are not friends, what is it today? Arguen Garth?¡± ¡°We could be,¡± Glen said. ¡°That¡¯s what Vaelenn thought and lost an arm and her position,¡± Laedan accused him. ¡°You have that old brute keep me in here.¡± ¡°You did try to kill me and ate one of my men and a bit of another.¡± ¡°Eh, he was dead already and a man can lose more body parts sharpening a knife in his kitchen. You¡¯ll chain a man for that?¡± ¡°You can walk outside and I see no chains,¡± Glen told him, keeping his composure. ¡°Word is you like free food and doing no work at all.¡± ¡°Pfft, I was speaking in jest. You really expect me to grab a shovel and slave away for you?¡± ¡°I want to know, if I can trust Aenymriel,¡± Glen grunted. ¡°You were in the court, so you know things others don¡¯t.¡± Laedan walked to the door and glanced outside. ¡°She¡¯ll have trouble with you haha,¡± he chuckled, saliva running down his mouth. ¡°You don¡¯t give a shit about nothing am I right?¡± ¡°I can keep a secret,¡± Glen told him. ¡°Hmm, I bet you have plenty of those, but her you should be careful around,¡± Laedan said and walked back into the room he used inside the large barracks. Judging by the boxes, the weapon stands and the shields, it was the armory. ¡°She¡¯s insane you know. Or that was the rumor and she used it to make everyone keep their distance.¡± ¡°So she could run her business undisturbed,¡± Glen added and Laedan eyed him for a moment afore nodding. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± ¡°Who knows about her?¡± Glen asked. ¡°Anfalon, he¡¯s ancient, probably watched her growing up. Those in the palace I suppose and the Elderbloods. No one else here,¡± he gave him a knowing look. ¡°She¡¯ll keep it that way, whether you keep your mouth shut or not.¡± Glen licked his lips disturbed at the implication. ¡°Any of these older bloodlines around?¡± ¡°No. Elderbloods, Elderborns they got wiped out, much as the rest of us,¡± Laedan said. ¡°Where¡¯s the Wyvern?¡± Nah, Glen knew a couple of ladies that weren¡¯t. Lith that is. The sorceress he had barely caught a glimpse off. ¡°Don¡¯t know,¡± Glen replied. ¡°He¡¯ll come back,¡± Laedan said thoughtfully. ¡°You have to prepare the den for him, else he¡¯ll roam about in the city. You don¡¯t want that.¡± Glen wasn¡¯t sure he could convince Uvrycres to live under the temple. ¡°How did you keep them inside before?¡± Glen asked curious. ¡°They were born there,¡± Laedan looked at him. ¡°Where did you hatch it? The egg.¡± ¡°In the desert. It¡¯s almost a year now,¡± Glen replied and Laedan stood back shocked. ¡°He¡¯s that young?¡± ¡°Sure. Why?¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t he fly away?¡± He asked avoiding his query sounding bewildered, whilst cleaning the side of his mouth with the cloth. ¡°I gave him a biscuit,¡± Glen deadpanned.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 262. Bad news, wit the good -
It is at times mentioned in jest that no one detested the Monarch of Morn Taras more, than the Barons of the ¡®Wine Valleys¡¯ in Flauegran and Atetalerso. They could forgive him meddling in the Bank¡¯s business, assisting the rebel Princess of Kaltha, practicing slavery and dismiss the rumors of cannibalism. Overlook his dabbling in dark forbidden magic and the macabre. Remit his riding on a Wyvern to attack Jelin, even carousing with the vile Zilan and participating in their disturbing rituals, but him exporting the now famed rivaling ¡®Goras Nectar¡¯ to every city with a port, was simply indefensible. A sin no amount of coin, or blood, could wash off, or forgive. It was the straw that broke the camel¡¯s back, as Baron Riveras eloquently put it. - Head Chef Saul Ferrero Complete History of the Realm¡¯s Cuisine & Culinary delights -through the centuries (with recipes) 3rd Edition Chapter V Garth vs Riveras - The Wine Wars of 192-201 Circa 212 NC
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Glen Arguen Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Monarch O¡¯ Morn Taras Bad news, wit the good
The air was cool inside the imposing central hall of Morn Taras and despite the many lightstone torches ¨Ctwelve on the massive black-granite pillars, another three behind the raised pedestal that could fit several wagons side by side- a semi-darkness dominated the expansive unadorned place. The elongated hall -at least two hundred large strides in length from the entrance to the wall behind the strange flat pedestal, as many in width- was dominated by the two rows of polished black columns touching the ceiling above their heads, leading to the sharp steps at the base of the platform-like podium. The height of the hall that of a three story building, the ceiling and the upper portion of the massive columns ¨Cyou needed three people to hug them fully- lost in darkness. Glen paused before the stairs and stared up into the oppressive blackness, the light reflected off the polished granite surfaces drowned and inadequate. ¡°You run out of ligthstone?¡± He asked Voron tauntingly, the stiff Zilan architect standing next to him with his hands clasped behind his back. ¡°It adds to the mystery Hardir,¡± the haughty well-dressed male replied. ¡°Since we don¡¯t have color to appease your frugality, I used lights and shades as decoration.¡± ¡°You economized in other words, whilst using at the same time the space and material for three buildings?¡± Glen mocked him, not particular to his brand of humor. ¡°To build a castle,¡± Voron retorted. ¡°On the base of what was to be a pyramid initially.¡± Not on my plans friend. He who holds the purse, picks the tune. ¡°Where¡¯s the second floor?¡± Glen asked. ¡°That would be up one of the staircases at the sides, west and east.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t see shite in this darkness,¡± Glen commented sourly and stared at the illuminated, columned corridor leading to the podium from the entrance. ¡°It is for effect, there¡¯s amble space beyond the supports for the Council table and the scribes,¡± Voron explained. ¡°Most Zilan I¡¯ve consulted found no issues with the amount of illumination offered.¡± Glen stared at him blankly. ¡°One sees only the Monarch in the distance, upon entering and nothing else,¡± Voron elucidated further. ¡°He has to approach him slowly, passing six large columns per side, six in the west and six in the east representing the months in a year, evenly spaced and lined up. Upon reaching the pedestal where the Monarch¡¯s three thrones will stand, he¡¯ll kneel before the five steps representing the Five Gods.¡± ¡°Why three?¡± ¡°For the Old Gods that came first,¡± Voron explained and Glen thought about using one of Jinx¡¯s kicks to the knee on him, his condescending tone getting on his nerves. ¡°Who says that?¡± He queried through his teeth. ¡°Ahm, the old texts?¡± Voron gave him a curious side glance. ¡°Was this a human attempt at jesting Hardir?¡± ¡°Ain¡¯t laughing, no attempt was made,¡± Glen informed him deathly serious. ¡°I also see no throne, let alone three. Is it a clever illusion perchance?¡± ¡°I¡¯m still negotiating with Metu for the gold,¡± Voron explained, crooking his mouth at Glen¡¯s jest. ¡°He¡¯s very tightfisted for an ex-slave crook, raised scandalously above his station.¡± Glen blinked in shock, not at the dig about Metu, but at the mention of more gold needed. ¡°Luthos red painted nails, how expensive is the darn thing?¡± ¡°Eh, it¡¯s the amount that needs to be melted Hardir. Enough to forge three thrones, one bigger than the others for Eodrass just to have our ducks in a row¡ª¡± Glen stopped him. ¡°Out of gold?¡± He asked just to be certain he wasn¡¯t hallucinating. ¡°What else?¡± ¡°Ahm, wood?¡± Glen chanced only half-joking this time. ¡°There¡¯s plenty of good forest left. More far as the eye can see beyond the Temple. Cut that shite down!¡± Voron glanced his way. ¡°Is this another attempt at humor Hardir?¡± He asked truthfully. No? ¡°Stone, ye have plenty of that too. I went past boulders for miles coming here. That¡¯s an accident waiting to happen,¡± Glen hissed, scrunching his jaw. ¡°Yes, but we really should use something else¡ª¡± ¡°Use marble for the tiles, leave the throne minimal¡­ what the fuck was that word? You used it on ten reports and I¡¯m rounding it up here!¡± Glen cut him off again. ¡°A stone throne,¡± Voron repeated sounding strangled. ¡°Can we decorate it at least?¡± ¡°You need gold for that?¡± ¡°Bronze leaks and needs constant cleaning,¡± Voron retorted. ¡°One of the thrones is for Lady Sen, you¡¯ll have her foul her garbs?¡± Whoa, right below the fuckin¡¯ belt. Ye plaguing cunt. ¡°Fine,¡± Glen yielded. ¡°Is the second floor as big?¡± ¡°Yes. Same as the third. It¡¯s a square, the base we are now standing upon,¡± Voron replied didactically and Glen sniffed some razz in his tone. ¡°Where am I sleeping?¡± ¡°That would be your quarters and Lady Sovereign¡¯s bedroom.¡± ¡°So about nine stories worth of steps?¡± Voron frowned. ¡°Depending how one¡¯s measuring¡ª¡± ¡°Let¡¯s call it climbing on foot,¡± Glen cut him off. ¡°You¡¯ve set me up for a good ole trek, every fucking day I see.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand, Hardir would have preferred to be crammed in a stone box instead?¡± Voron asked and shrugged his shoulders. ¡°This is a minimalistic construction, more foreboding than grand, but we could always open more windows.¡± There¡¯s that plaguin¡¯ word again, Glen thought sourly. ¡°There¡¯re no windows?¡± Are ye fucking kidding me? ¡°Only on the last floor,¡± Voron pasted a real estate agent¡¯s toothy smile on his face. ¡°A lovely view of the plateau and the valley underneath it, even the lake and as far as the old North Gates Towers fog permitting.¡± Glen sighed and stared at his boots. ¡°Are they big enough?¡± ¡°Your Wyvern could get through them for a while,¡± Voron replied readily, adding after a brief pause. ¡°Though I would advise against it. No furniture has been invented to take their weight yet.¡± ¡°Uhm. Well I¡¯ll think about it,¡± Glen grunted and then sighed. ¡°I must admit, I¡¯m less than impressed friend. You need to step it up a bit here. For the coin you¡¯re spending, I expected better, much sooner.¡± ¡°Rest assured that I shall strive to meet your lofty standards my lord,¡± Voron replied through his teeth. Hah, that¡¯s right. The still unfinished castle was mighty impressive truth be told, but Glen didn¡¯t want Voron knowing it, as he¡¯d become even more insufferable than he already was.
Glen stepped outside the star shaped framework of the castle¡¯s outer walls and took the reins of Outlaw from Kirk. He climbed on the saddle, sweat running down his face and covered in dust from walking through the building crews and all the construction material piled inside what would become the castle¡¯s yard, hopefully while I have most of my teeth and I can piss standing up. ¡°What¡¯s all these people?¡± Glen asked Kirk and the fighter blinked, the soft breeze blowing dirt in his eyes, afore replying. ¡°Slaves mostly. The ¡®local¡¯ Zilan are buying out every slaver that arrives from the Khanate,¡± Kirk reached for a cloth to wipe his face and Glen mimicked him doing the same. Outlaw snorted in annoyance at the fine grit coming from cutting all those large ancient walls boulders to manageable pieces and shook his mane, covering Glen in that fine powder again. ¡°You were saying?¡± Glen asked with a grimace, seeing the cloth turning black in his second attempt to remove the dirt from his face. Luthos shriveled balls! ¡°They are renting them to Voron for coin, which they then use to repair the old grape vine fields on the west shores of the Narrow Gulf from Sinya Goras port to the ¡®Hills of the Favored¡¯,¡± Kirk explained apparently very informed on the matter. Glen eyed him suspiciously. ¡°How do they get the slaves in the first place? Folk have given up coin and land in this kind of business,¡± in Glen¡¯s case a castle of unknown value. ¡°We¡¯re talking workers and low value slaves here milord. No Greenwhale Peninsula stuff,¡± Kirk replied and Glen frowned not liking what he was insinuating. ¡°You were doing fine friend,¡± he told him, his tone cautionary. ¡°But talking about me and mine ain¡¯t gonna win you any favors. Why, quite the contrary actually.¡± ¡°Milord I wasn¡¯t¡­ this was thoughtless of me, but I was trying to give example in quality and these people are sold cheap. I¡¯m against the practice myself.¡± ¡°As I am undoubtingly,¡± Glen grunted. ¡°Of course milord.¡± Glen smacked his lips. ¡°Still they must worth something. These caravans come every other day it seems.¡± ¡°They do, with all the trouble in Merchant¡¯s Triage they rerouted their¡­ commodities here. The caravans just unload everyone and everything they bring for a future contract in ¡®Goras wine¡¯. We have over two thousand visitors staying in the Taras Lake District, as many in Sinya Goras, the rent market is booming,¡± Kirk said quickly dirty rivulets of sweat running down his tanned neck. ¡°They prize it more than Flauegran is the word. That villain Folen is making a killing and his stuff is watered down straight from the lake.¡± Glen frowned at the alarming detail. I should talk to that felon again, see that he gives me the better stuff. ¡°Is Metu running this¡­ enterprise?¡± he asked, almost using scheme out of habit.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. ¡°Well, not exactly. There¡¯s a big dispute between Soletha¡¯s and Vaelenn¡¯s people on who owns the acres, or where the border between them is.¡± ¡°How about the strays?¡± ¡°They have no mind for trade and coin milord,¡± Kirk replied. ¡°The majority is flocking to Anfalon, or are even working with Voron in construction.¡± Glen grunted, very surprised about the amount of stuff happening while he was enjoying Sen¡¯s and his daughter¡¯s company. ¡°Where are all these disputes talked about?¡± He asked casually and Kirk blinked unsure whether he was pulling his leg, which Glen wasn''t. ¡°The Council milord. Castellan Metu holds meetings in his home, which is why we don¡¯t get as many visitors lately.¡± Wait a fuckin¡¯ minute here. ¡°Metu has a home?¡± Glen asked with a grimace of bewilderment.
¡°Keep them outside!¡± Glen barked at Kirk and the muscular fighter stood guard at the door, while he rushed inside Metu¡¯s renovated and lavish villa. ¡°Lord Garth,¡± Metu said alarmed. ¡°How may I¡ª?¡± ¡°YE ROTTEN CROOK!¡± Glen blasted him besides himself and grabbed the panicked ¡®Castellan¡¯ by the collar. Metu tried to escape Glen¡¯s grip, but failed and went down in front of the heavy conference table, eyes bulging and face flustered. ¡°Please I can explain!¡± He croaked shaking and hugging Glen¡¯s legs. ¡°Spare the knife my lord!¡± ¡°What? Good grief¡­¡± Glen grunted and shoved him away putting a dirty boot on his shoulder. ¡°Get a grip of yerself you idiot! Stand the fuck up!¡± ¡°Yes, my lord,¡± Metu sniffled and got up trying desperately to fix his messy hair. A large bald spot on the top of his head now visible. ¡°Right away.¡± ¡°Right away my arse, ye better have an explanation why I¡¯m learning about this just now,¡± Glen admonished him, glancing at the richly furbished hall and the freshly painted walls of the villa. ¡°I was going to convey to your Excellency all the details in our next meeting,¡± Metu explained quickly. ¡°That meeting has moved up!¡± ¡°It has?¡± ¡°Yes it¡¯s right fuckin¡¯ now!¡± Glen growled, spittle flying out of his mouth. ¡°Of course, yes¡­ yes!¡± Metu exclaimed shook and cleared his throat. ¡°We have an influx of people, merchants, travelers, archaeologists and adventures my lord¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯m well aware!¡± ¡°Right, it was Hulanor who had the idea, he used Almas and Parisa his slaves¡­ well it was bound to happen given the demand. I just set the standards¡ª¡± ¡°STOP!¡± Glen barked putting an end to his blabbering. He¡¯d no idea what the Cofol was talking about. ¡°I don¡¯t know any of these people!¡± ¡°Why that would be beneath your illustrious self to get involved¡ª¡± ¡°Let my illustrious person decide for himself I say!¡± Glen yelled irate. ¡°It¡¯s across the festival area my lord, the large villa at the corner with the rose garden,¡± Metu explained quickly. ¡°We can go right now, if you¡¯re so fervent about it. The pleasure house works¡­ all hours I believe.¡± Glen blinked, then stared at him blankly. Kirk, who was standing guard at the door preventing a scowling Vaelenn and Soletha to enter and start their meeting, poked his head inside wearing a fake unassuming expression on his face. ¡°What about the wine?¡± Glen murmured and glared at the guard. ¡°The wine?¡± Metu mumbled unsure. ¡°Eh, I have¡­,¡± his shoulders dropped. ¡°My Lord I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about, please forgive me.¡± ¡°Soletha!¡± Glen barked and the youthful, but very mature in reality Zilan stepped inside. ¡°Hardir O¡¯ Fardor,¡± she said with a bow of her elaborate blue head. ¡°It is lovely you¡¯ll grace our meeting.¡± ¡°It is,¡± Glen grunted and grimaced. Spared another hateful glare at a sweating and in visible discomfort Metu and added his voice hoarse from all the yelling. ¡°Start the Council meeting Metu.¡± ¡°We have to wait for Master Fikumin,¡± Soletha corrected him pleasantly. She had a way about her, Glen thought afore realizing she was probably using some kind of soothing spell on him. Soletha smiled all friendly, the thin material of her tunic stretching over the swollen flesh mounts underneath and Glen shook his head to clear it, frustrated with himself. ¡°I need a goblet of wine and something to eat,¡± he croaked and walked to the head of the table to sit on the chair there. ¡°Someone get that lazy dwarf here before I finish my meal.¡±
¡°Garth,¡± Fikumin said standing next to him. ¡°I believe this is the Shield¡¯s chair,¡± he added calmly. ¡°Not when I¡¯m present it isn¡¯t, climb the one on my right hand, Metu can continue his fake sniffling on my left.¡± Fikumin breathed in once and then proceeded with doing his thing. He failed the first time under the scrutiny of Glen and everyone else present, but managed it on the second attempt a little flushed. ¡°Right,¡± Glen said and refilled his goblet with wine to wash the taste of cheese from his mouth. ¡°Now friends, you can do your thing, but first I¡¯d like a report on the ¡®grape vines¡¯ affair.¡± Vaelenn, a shoulder bare to showcase her adorned right arm, the other missing of course, stood up. ¡°Will Hardir make a decision on the matter?¡± she asked him. ¡°Garth isn¡¯t briefed on the situation,¡± Fikumin intervened with a scowl. ¡°It is very simple,¡± Soletha said. ¡°We have the numbers and my people are situated in the port, where most merchants first disembark. We should have access to the land up to the old north walls at least.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have claims to any of these lands,¡± Vaelenn bristled. ¡°You¡¯ll take what¡¯s not yours?¡± Glen cleared his throat and eyed Voldomir, the priest wearing tattered garbs and carrying a worn out long staff, was half-asleep on his chair. ¡°Voldomir,¡± Glen said and the Zilan got out of his slumber. ¡°Umm,¡± he grunted and looked at the table a little surprised. ¡°What is it this time?¡± ¡°Soletha and Vaelenn want to reach an agreement on the fields facing the Narrow Gulf,¡± Glen explained. ¡°They¡¯ll never do,¡± Voldomir told him. ¡°Better to let them fight it out, it¡¯ll make for a good show.¡± ¡°Still,¡± Glen continued patiently. ¡°We can¡¯t solve this having the women punching each other in the face.¡± ¡°We are females,¡± both affronted Zilan corrected him. Glen rolled his eyes. ¡°I don¡¯t care,¡± he told them unsympathetically. ¡°Anything else to add Voldomir?¡± ¡°Why not?¡± Voldomir grimaced and scratched his head. Found something in the mess and tossed it his mouth. Whatever it was, it went down fast. ¡°They¡¯ll love it.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a priest,¡± Glen grunted. ¡°Surely you don¡¯t condone violence!¡± Voldomir pointed at Soletha. ¡°She¡¯s the Moon¡¯s Daughter disciple and a cannibal, when she¡¯s not fasting. They¡¯ll break every rule, it¡¯s in their nature. Don¡¯t frown girl, my staff has a long reach,¡± he told her and Vaelenn chuckled. Voldomir turned on her next. ¡°You never served the temple, came to it by chance and tragedy. The land belongs to the Goddess, the wine is for her Temple, to be served at festivals.¡± ¡°Say we have an opportunity to make profit,¡± Glen intervened and Voldomir eyed him frustrated. ¡°To further the spiritual services provided,¡± he added quickly. ¡°But also help the city rebuilt and stand up to its enemies, would the Goddess allow the use of the land?¡± ¡°The land is what it is,¡± Voldomir replied with a shrug. ¡°What we do with it is on us. The Goddess will pass her judgement in her own time to those benefiting from her nectar.¡± ¡°Ahm right,¡± Glen said and rapped his fingers on the table. ¡°Well then, the land will be split in half, cultivated by both Districts and a percentage paid in produce to the High Priest and the city.¡± ¡°The city?¡± Soletha queried with a frown. ¡°That would be me,¡± Glen elucidated and Voldomir started chuckling. ¡°Produce?¡± Fikumin asked writing down on an open scroll. ¡°Wine,¡± Glen told him. ¡°I have no way of storing wagons laden wit grapes,¡± he added and then glared at the smirking Priest. ¡°Is this amusing to ye Voldomir?¡± ¡°I was wrong Hardir, this is actually hilarious,¡± the priest told him. ¡°But the temple shall accept both wine and fresh grapes, along with foodstuff from the city for your percentage in a per week basis.¡± Why you son of a wayward goat¡­ ¡°Foodstuff?¡± ¡°Cheese, meat, a jug of milk. Nothing untoward,¡± Voldomir explained. ¡°I heard we have flocks of sheep now. By the way, you may need to have a ready stock of meat available soon, or the animals to produce it,¡± he added. ¡°I talked with Laedan about reopening the den.¡± ¡°The Wyvern feeds away from the city Voldomir,¡± Glen reminded him, seeing the expression on the faces of those present sobering up. ¡°This Wyvern does,¡± the old High Priest agreed.
Glen lit the engraved pipe and sucked the aromatic smoke with a grimace of pleasure. Once one learned the technique, redleaf helped his mind relax and work around his problems. Helped with the dreams as well via knocking him out cold if he overdo it, which being true to himself, he did frequently. ¡°What are you counting?¡± he murmured half asleep, hearing Fikumin still poring over his notes of the meeting, scribbling here and there annoyingly. ¡°I need a scribe,¡± Fikumin hissed and Glen opened a hazy eye to glance at him. ¡°What about Fina?¡± The girl worked for free basically. ¡°I need a professional. You can¡¯t expect a young girl sitting through these meetings every day,¡± Fikumin said with a scowl looking at the numbers. ¡°Well, she¡¯s not that young. Got plenty of suitors in the festival. Plus she''s bright as fuck, look at how fast she learned to write!¡± ¡°For a Zilan she is and she didn¡¯t mate with anyone. You¡¯re hallucinating,¡± Fikumin explained. ¡°Lithoniela was very young as well and she is over two hundred years older.¡± ¡°Damn, I had forgotten that part. You just can''t tell right?¡± ¡°You need to cut down on the drugs a bit Garth,¡± Fikumin cautioned. ¡°Says who?¡± Glen asked and raised his head from the table with a frown. What his head was doing there, he¡¯d no idea. Fikumin sighed, then reached for a fork, found the biggest piece of yellow cheese on the disk and brought it to his mouth. A gulp and it was gone down his gullet. Whoa, Glen thought a little numbed and smacked his lips. ¡°We don¡¯t have the bottles for it to make profit. Selling it in barrels like rum isn¡¯t a good strategy and it will allow scum like Folen to lower the quality,¡± Fikumin said and refilled his goblet, afore sending the lavish bottle to slide his way. ¡°We are reusing the old ones in small numbers, but in order to make more, we need to import them, or bring someone here to take over. The Trade Guild can look for artisans, but it will take time and the Zilan are notoriously difficult to agree on a design.¡± ¡°Right? Haha,¡± Glen guffawed and poured himself another goblet of wine as well. ¡°They are also extremely competitive, twice as prideful and they¡¯ll strive to produce as much as possible to outshine one another. How are you going to transport it?¡± ¡°The caravans can do it via the desert route,¡± Glen told him. ¡°You need something faster.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll fix this, relax friend. Who makes the best crystals?¡± Glen asked curious. ¡°The best?¡± Fikumin groaned and rubbed his face hard. ¡°Naossis Seat has the best artisans. What you have there,¡± he pointed at the engraved narrow neck glass bottle, ¡°is centuries old and clearly their craftsmanship, made for the Zilan Queen.¡± ¡°The wine is that old?¡± Glen frowned. ¡°You didn¡¯t think they made it now right? You can tell the newer stuff. Voldomir has dungeons filled with goods in the temple. Especially wine.¡± ¡°I see.¡± The colors are truly vibrant for being inside, he thought. ¡°I don¡¯t think you are. In order to bring an artisan here, we need to have an established presence on the continents. Trade rights, contracts and offices.¡± ¡°Fuck all that. We do it like the pirates. Where is this Naossis tit?¡± Glen burped and it woke him up a bit. ¡°Naossis Seat is a mountain village in Valeria,¡± Fikumin explained patiently. ¡°But they won¡¯t enter a city that disrespects their goddess Garth.¡± ¡°Well,¡± Glen replied clearing his throat. ¡°Didn¡¯t Metu just told me about a ¡®pleasure house¡¯? I¡¯m sure it will suffice dwarf. Cheer up, we are going to make a fortune out of this shite. Ah, speaking of shit, there he is, the big turd himself,¡± he frowned seeing the returning Cofol official¡¯s face. ¡°Fuck is wrong wit you?¡± Glen asked him.
Glen¡¯s mouth tasted like old leather. He scrunched his jaw one way, then the other, afore trying to read the calligraphic Common again without success. Not as refined as Sen¡¯s, but still with their distinct aura and beauty. A female hand had scribbled this, he thought and frowned. He glanced at the expecting Metu, the man¡¯s pale face unnerving. ¡°Who¡¯s it from?¡± Glen asked and put the scroll down, Fikumin grabbing it with a frustrated hiss. ¡°Eikenport,¡± Metu replied and Glen sobered up. ¡°Ten days old,¡± Fikumin added reading it through. ¡°I¡¯m aware,¡± Glen grunted, not to appear completely illiterate. ¡°Anne Burton apparently is safe,¡± Fikumin continued his frown deepening. ¡°Another bit of good news,¡± Glen commented slowly, witnessing the dwarf deflating before his very eyes. Fuck, I knew it. Metu let out a miserable deep sigh and Glen thought about smashing the expensive bottle on his head. He grunted at the slow-walking dwarf instead. ¡°Read us the bad news, friend.¡± Respected Garth of New Goras, Anne Burton aka the Princess of Kaltha, started in her fine lettering.
It is with a heavy heart I write this, to express my profound gratitude for thine men¡¯s sacrifices in order to ensure my survival. Having witnessed their conduct firsthand, I feel comfortable to call them heroes first, friends a close second. Whatever their circumstances might have been, or their low standing in life, to my person they stand as the noblest of the realm¡¯s knights, each worthy of a statue in their honor. There¡¯s no monetary compensation one can offer thee for this kind of loss, nor something more I could provide thee due to my own miserable condition at this inopportune moment. I offer a hand of friendship though, along with an apology for the inconvenience I¡¯ve brought upon thine subjects. Also a promise that as long as I draw breath I shan¡¯t forget it and the buccaneers that serve me will forever be thine allies. Eikenport shall always be open for the Monarch of New Goras. As a final gesture and the least I could do to show my appreciation, I shall transfer to thine Captain the ownership of three large galleons we have captured in the port. They will fly your true colors good sire, as soon as you reveal them. I¡¯m deeply sorry for your loss, With outmost respect, Anne Burton, Third week, of the third month, the Fall of 190 NC, Eikenport.
Glen cleared his throat and watched the miserable Fikumin poring over the second missive Metu had handed him. ¡°Is that Stiles?¡± he asked the Cofol official and he shook his head sadly. Damn. ¡°That¡¯s Captain Martel my lord.¡± Glen licked his dry lips. Martel was one of the burly men Marcus had hand-picked to operate the Scorpios at the gates of Rida. ¡°What is Martel¡­?¡± he sighed and rubbed his hand on his numb face, all the effects of the drug gone. ¡°Who signed the seal?¡± Fikumin stumbled down from his chair and walked to the door in pensive silence. ¡°Crafton I believe,¡± Metu replied. ¡°I could barely make out the letters.¡± ¡°Ottis?¡± he asked hopefully. Metu shook his head. Glen glanced at the silently sobbing Fikumin his mood worsening by the second. Fuck¡¯s sake. ¡°Keep a lid on it,¡± he ordered a pale-faced Metu standing up. ¡°Not one word of this escapes, get Anfalon on the task. Now Metu!¡± Glen barked, his blood boiling, snapping the Cofol to attention. Oh boy, he thought and reaching for the goblet downed its contents in a go, making the ulcer forming in his stomach worse. He needed time to process it, think of a way to break the news to his friends and Jinx, but Glen had no time at all. By the time he made it to his villa the details had leaked to associates and family, mainly in the port of Sinya Goras, as most Cofol merchants living there had contacts in Eikenport. The utter failure to contain the bad news led to the creation -among others- of the influential position under the moniker Master of Secrets in the Council of Goras.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 263. The Wraith of Gish Lament (1/3)
Sam Mathews The Wraith of Gish Lament Part I -Ancient old bigotry-
¡°There¡¯s something funny wit the wine,¡± Lynch Cole, the fighter from Parmaport, grunted and glared at the blank faced Zilan venue-owner behind the counter. Hush, the silent scrawny woman from Demames, scrunched her face and returned Sam¡¯s questioning stare. The scar low on her throat clearly visible though healed. The story went that Cole had almost killed her in a duel some time back, but they had become inseparable after that. The reason for their quarrel left unsaid. ¡°Stop drinking,¡± Hilton Marlo, from Islandport allegedly, cautioned him. ¡°Let Mathews here explain it again.¡± Jingo -the only Issir of their little group- pressed his dark lips into a thin smile, amber eyes slightly different in size disconcerting. Sam knew Marlo from Jelin and he¡¯d heard about Cole and Hush, but didn¡¯t know Jingo, though the name did ring a bell. ¡°I could also offer a plate of native selections,¡± Folen told them grinning manically. ¡°What selections?¡± Lynch Cole asked him with a grimace. ¡°Cuts of lamb meat and roasted fruits,¡± Folen deadpanned. ¡°As fresh as they can be.¡± ¡°Ahm, what fruit? Like bananas? Why, I¡¯m not¡­ how do ye roast fruits for crying out loud?¡± ¡°You toss them in a pan,¡± Folen explained. "Call ''em fried if you''re uncomfortable with the term friend." ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant¡ª¡± ¡°How about we get back on track here?¡± Hilton Marlo cut him off slapping the bar with a hand. ¡°Mathews? Ye seem skeptical there mate.¡± ¡°I was expecting you, Cole and Hush,¡± Sam said and wiped the sweat gathered on his forehead with a finger. ¡°Jingo is from Trinir back in Kaltha,¡± Marlo explained. ¡°Run with Jester Grin, weren¡¯t you Jingo?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Jingo said sounding disinterested. That¡¯s where I heard the name, Sam thought and nodded. ¡°Sibren Maats company. Where¡¯s the old dog?¡± He asked the calm Issir. ¡°Retired back in Farvor. Could be he traveled further north though,¡± Jingo told him leaving it at that. ¡°Haha, I bet he did,¡± Marlo guffawed seeing as he¡¯d worked with Sibren in the past and knew him well. ¡°Right. What happened to Jester Grin?¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t make it,¡± Jingo replied. ¡°Blade, or beast?¡± ¡°White Fever.¡± Sam nodded. ¡°Sorry for yer loss. Not many adventurers out of Trinir, them Greywoods favors hunters¡¯ right?¡± Jingo shrugged his shoulders. Sam couldn¡¯t see a bow on him, but assumed the man had one. ¡°Mathews I like you mate, but you¡¯re stalling here,¡± Marlo said looking at him. ¡°Maeriel thinks I¡¯m wrong,¡± Sam explained. ¡°That the cute Zilan girl?¡± ¡°Her teacher. She¡¯s a ranger and a huntress.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Marlo said, gold dental bridge on the left side of his mouth gleaming. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t give me the specifics.¡± ¡°But you¡¯re sure they came together?¡± Cole asked him paying the Zilan with a silver. Folen made a show of biting on it, afore slotting it in his heavy leather purse. ¡°One for the road?¡± He asked Sam in a friendly manner. ¡°No thank you,¡± Sam replied in a less friendly fashion, as he didn¡¯t trust Folen not to give him an ulcer, if he was lucky and turned to Cole. ¡°They gathered a couple of kilometers from the festival grounds in the middle of the forest. Grouped up and strolled through the trees following animal paths all the way to the pyramid,¡± he paused to take a breath afore adding. ¡°Four days later. They did it on foot and upon reaching that point, they turned and headed straight south into the plaguing jungle.¡± ¡°All twelve of them?¡± Marlo asked. ¡°Could¡¯ve been more tracks mixed in there,¡± Sam replied. ¡°By the time I found the spot, ten days had gone by.¡± ¡°Could it be yer mistaken?¡± Cole probed. ¡°I know one footprint from another Cole,¡± Sam grunted. ¡°Where are they going?¡± Marlo asked. ¡°No idea. I think they are led.¡± ¡°Kidnapped?¡± Hush murmured in her throaty manner. ¡°By whom?¡± ¡°Cultists?¡± Sam shrugged his shoulders. ¡°A bunch of Zilan still living in the jungle, some other shite.¡± Marlo snorted. ¡°What other shite?¡± Sam didn¡¯t know. But his gut was telling him Maeriel did. ¡°I trust Mathews,¡± Marlo decided. ¡°I didn¡¯t come here to drink what I piss in the lake, could¡¯ve done that back home,¡± Folen frowned momentarily, but then continued to clean the counter pretending he wasn¡¯t listening in. ¡°We¡¯re in,¡± Marlo added and everyone nodded in agreement. - Goras south Jungle Five days later Cole recoiled letting go of the thick branch he was holding, the ¡®branch¡¯ coming alive with a drawn-out hiss. Hush who was coming up behind him hurled her machete without hesitation, the heavy blade flipping once mid-air, afore smacking the trunk of the moss covered tree penetrating deep, but missing its target. ¡°Fuck!¡± Cole gasped dropping on his arse in the attempt to move away from the giant snake that had unfurled itself from the tree. The body of the grey and dark green thing a meter in diameter, extending from one side of the flora covered ancient road to the other. ¡°Jingo get that axe out!¡± Marlo yelled and moved to assist the frantically trying to escape adventurer. Only the impressive anaconda wasn¡¯t going after him, but it attempted to slither away instead. Elaniel dropped from a branch over their heads, rolled on the leaves covered cracked tiles and put a hand on Cole¡¯s chest. ¡°Don¡¯t make noise,¡± she told him soothingly, the approaching Marlo snorting at her words. ¡°Move aside girl,¡± he grunted sword in hand. Elaniel turned her head and stared at him undaunted. ¡°Let it go away,¡± the Zilan said. ¡°It wishes to be left alone.¡± Marlo grinded his teeth and watched as the giant snake crossed the road and disappeared into the shrubbery between the tree trunks, a deep frown marring his face. ¡°Gods darn it,¡± he cursed the moment the jungle appeared normal again, as much as that was possible. ¡°Never stand in me away again girl.¡± ¡°We are not here to fight the jungle, or its creatures,¡± Elaniel told him getting up. ¡°Angering them will not do us service.¡± ¡°Why you¡ª!¡± ¡°Enough Marlo!¡± Sam barked cutting him off. ¡°Help Cole on his feet, he looks shook.¡± ¡°I¡¯m bloody fine,¡± Cole grunted whilst Hush helped him stand, not very convincingly. ¡°Fuck me life!¡± ¡°We might have to fight the jungle Elaniel,¡± Sam said turning on the young ranger. ¡°Keep that in mind.¡± ¡°I shall Sam Mathews,¡± she replied with a knowing smile. ¡°Always.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s Maeriel?¡± Sam asked her, uncomfortable with the Zilan¡¯s passive-aggressive flirting. ¡°Soren found a small stream late,¡± the Zilan turned her head around, long ears moving on their own to the jungle¡¯s sounds. ¡°They had to pull him out of the mud.¡± ¡°Too deep?¡± ¡°No, he¡¯s just too heavy,¡± Elaniel replied. ¡°Some rare species stand better on harder ground, or can navigate a thick canopy, don¡¯t they Sam Mathews?¡± Ah, same way as a smart Zilan¡¯s insight is shoved down one¡¯s gullet, whether he asked for it or not. ¡°The fuck is she talking about?¡± Marlo grunted still pissed from earlier. Sam had no idea other than that she was fishing for praise. Glen always preached that the Zilan used mind-tricks and spells of sorts to get their way. It made the adventurer jumpy around them at first. Live enough near them and you drop yer guard though, he thought. ¡°We got to move Mathews, me undergarment is cutting into my ball sack mate. I¡¯m getting¡¯ worried,¡± a scowling Marlo added. ¡°Better than have mud in it,¡± Cole griped trying to clean his pants, while Hush walked to the tree and got her blade back. ¡°Shit. I think somethin¡¯ gotten inside!¡± ¡°It won¡¯t last long in there,¡± Hush droned gravely. ¡°Hush take point,¡± Sam ordered with a sigh and smacked an insect feasting on his blood dead with a heavy hand, only for two more to take its place on his nape. ¡°Everyone line up after her, keep yer eyes peeled people! Jingo bring up the horses.¡±
The fire crackled, its flames licking the steaming branches, the rain pouring over the jungle¡¯s canopy and creating streams of watery mud that rushed through the animal passages, flooding the rare openings and turned the ancient road they had been following for a week into a river. ¡°Have to drain the main vein,¡± Hilton Marlo yelled at a complaining Cole. ¡°So keep an eye out for me an¡¯ mine. I can¡¯t do it in the plaguing open!¡± ¡°That big motherfucker is still around,¡± Cole warned him.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°It¡¯s the small snakes you need to look out for,¡± Sam reminded them. ¡°Just want someone to check on my arse. I tend to look at my cock whilst doin¡¯ the deed for crying out loud!¡± Marlo complained. ¡°I ain¡¯t doing that champ. I¡¯ve a weak stomach,¡± Cole retorted all serious. ¡°Hush wanna take over arse-guarding duties?¡± Hush crooked her mouth and raised her right fist, middle finger extended. ¡°Eh, I tried my dude,¡± Cole said with a shrug holding a three foot wide giant leaf over his head to protect himself from the downpour. ¡°Just point it in ¡®em bushes an¡¯ let rip, rain will wash it right off.¡± The rumble of an unseen thunder came, the sound bouncing off the trees and Sam moved long knife in hand towards the ancient road. They had rushed to the sides for shelter, the road now a river, its mustardy colored water scrapping it to the foundations, but also bringing a ton of material down from everywhere else. Grit, leaves, branches, rotten trunks and even animal carcasses. Sam worked his way towards their guides following the ¡®banks¡¯ of this new river, water dripping off his armour and soaked clothes. Five minutes later he found himself lost in the dark and the rain had stopped as fast as it had appeared an hour back. A silence taking its place, with only sounds of water dribbling down from trees and the thin canopy above his head breaking it. Water and the occasional weird animal call that is. ¡°Psst.¡± Ugh. Sam blinked, the moonlight mirroring on the slow moving waters a bright liquid silver, the ancient tiled street showing its true width now and then turned his head the other way to locate the source of the sound. ¡°Psst.¡± What in Naossis silk socks? Mathews stepped closer to the edge of the fast draining street, a hand on the pommel of his sword. ¡°Ye don¡¯t wanna take a tumble there,¡± Jinx told him, her voice coming from above. ¡°Jinx?¡± Sam grunted and glanced at the roots of the mammoth sized Kapok tree over his right shoulder. ¡°Look up.¡± Sam tipped his drenched head back, eyes searching the dark branches starting four meters above him. ¡°What are you doing?¡± He murmured. ¡°Staying dry?¡± Jinx taunted unseen in the shadows. ¡°I like water. Bugs and mud not so much. Makes me hair look like shite.¡± Sam felt water spilling out of his boots and grimaced, chilled to the bone. ¡°Where¡¯s Maeriel?¡± ¡°The top,¡± Jinx giggled. ¡°She¡¯s likes taking charge.¡± Right. Something came down the moss covered, glistering trunk. It was the monkey, it paused for moment looking at Sam, then pointed a long hairy finger on him and started chuckling manically. ¡°Can your girlfriend see the slopes in this dark?¡± Sam asked scowling at the annoying animal. ¡°Yep.¡± ¡°Are the roads opened?¡± Sam wiped his face with a hand and reached for his left boot. ¡°Nope. The rain helped though,¡± Jinx replied, the branches creaking and raining down on him as she moved about. Sam sighed, emptied one boot, found a sock that had come off in the spillage and then went for the other, tossing the sodden sock away. Nothing sucks more than wearing soaked footgear, he thought with a grimace. With dripping moldy socks. ¡°Speak for yerself,¡± he griped. ¡°Any sign of anyone using the paths?¡± ¡°Nothing.¡± ¡°Yer awfully parsimonious with words all of a sudden Jinx,¡± Sam said. ¡°What if we don¡¯t find them?¡± Ah. ¡°That¡¯s not why we¡¯re here,¡± Sam reminded her. ¡°We want to know what happened. They came this way, they should have followed the trotted path, whatever was left of it. The fact they didn¡¯t, makes it ever stranger. A couple and a man leaving family behind them, slaves and freemen, up and decided in the middle of a festival to leave, rendezvous out in the jungle and then head ever south in a group.¡± ¡°Let it go Sam,¡± Jinx said. ¡°What¡¯s at the Slopes?¡± ¡°Raised ground from the blast and beyond it the Scalding Sea,¡± Jinx replied with a sigh. ¡°The Reefs after that.¡± ¡°Hooh, ooh, ah-ah!¡± Bobelo cackled and jumped on his shoulders, using Sam¡¯s ears to stop himself from falling. Sam tried to slap it away, but failed and the monkey jumped off him again and on the trunk very pleased. It showed him its teeth, tongue hanging out mockingly. ¡°Your monkey is very annoying girl.¡± ¡°He likes you,¡± Jinx murmured. ¡°Yer a good man Sam. Not much of that around.¡± - Slopes (Knuckles¡¯ Edge) A week later Jingo raised his head, short cut white hair looking like a patch of snow and pointed over the edge of the slope they were trekking, the overgrowth more sparse here, the ground cracked and torn at places. There was depth in those chasms, the earth splitting and dropping into a dark abyss underneath. Caves, Maeriel had said. Filled with water. Sam rushed the final meters grinding his teeth, the sun burning his forehead and his right foot hurting him where he¡¯d lost all that skin removing the blisters the other day. ¡°The sea?¡± He grunted and Jingo nodded. Marlo following up behind him, breathing heavy was heard cursing, ever coming up with new stuff which each passing week. ¡°Blow me wit an oiled trumpet,¡± he glanced over the edge to the sandy beach below. ¡°That¡¯s a reverse bloody-climb and a fuckin¡¯ half.¡± ¡°Maeriel went down the gorge,¡± Soren said cracking his jaw loudly. ¡°Reckon we should as well.¡± The giant Nord had a mouth full of camel¡¯s teeth. ¡°How about the animals?¡± Marlo asked with a frown. ¡°I don¡¯t see ye fit in there easily big guy.¡± Soren nodded deeply troubled as if hadn¡¯t thought of that. ¡°Damn, Maeriel is too small.¡± ¡°Eh,¡± Marlo grimaced not so sure about that, seeing as the Zilan female was taller than him. ¡°Elaniel, is it safe?¡± Sam asked the ranger standing at the entrance of the gorge leading a hundred meters down to the shore and she grinned. ¡°You can follow in my steps Sam Mathews.¡± Her words ever ambiguous. Right. Sam breathed the salty air in and stretched his back standing up. He stared at the blue expanse for a moment and then reached for his spyglass. ¡°What do you think?¡± Cole asked him bringing up the horses with a tired-looking Hush. ¡°There¡¯s land in the distance,¡± Sam rustled. ¡°Them islands?¡± ¡°Reefs. Black boulders sprouting out of the sea,¡± Sam said and lowered the spyglass. ¡°I don¡¯t see them coming here mate,¡± Cole commented on what was obvious.
Maeriel, clad in her ranger¡¯s dark green leather armor, long cobalt hair braided and gathered in a bun at the top of her head, was standing next to the water, light boots sunk in the soft white sand. Sam walked towards her, sword sheath clanging on chainmail and the Zilan¡¯s long ears reacted to the sound briefly. ¡°This is the Third Finger,¡± Maeriel told him, without turning his way. ¡°Oyster Anchorage gulf.¡± ¡°Ever been here afore?¡± Sam asked her, the warm breeze blowing on his face. ¡°Once, as a youngling.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t see a port.¡± ¡°It¡¯s across the gulf. To the east.¡± Sam grimaced. ¡°Any tracks?¡± ¡°No tracks.¡± The adventurer stared at the waves washing on the barren shores, as far as his eyes could see, the raised land beyond the sandy beaches extending for miles. ¡°What¡¯s in the east?¡± he rustled not looking at her. ¡°They would have to come here,¡± Maeriel told him and Sam heard the others coming down the narrow gorge behind them. ¡°But they didn¡¯t make it, or we are too late.¡± ¡°They had a boat to take them across?¡± Sam mocked her. ¡°Knew it aforehand?¡± ¡°It¡¯s your hypothesis,¡± Maeriel replied sternly. ¡°Aye and yer gut ¡®feeling¡¯, I¡¯ve good memory,¡± the adventurer countered. ¡°The road turned before the slopes, but we didn¡¯t follow it.¡± ¡°Road to the Talons. What do you expect to find in the ruins?¡± Sam pressed his lips tight, to keep from lashing out. ¡°A plaguin¡¯ port,¡± he spat. ¡°Glen expected you to help me Maeriel.¡± The ranger frowned. ¡°I¡¯m following Hardir¡¯s orders to the letter.¡± ¡°Bah, yer lying,¡± Sam rumbled throwing his arms in the air very frustrated. ¡°Don¡¯t you care about those people?¡± ¡°I do. So does Hardir. We also tend to our own. You care about Jinx yes?¡± Maeriel asked him and Sam grunted having had enough. ¡°The beach leads to the other side of the Gulf,¡± he told her matter-of-factly. ¡°I¡¯m getting there wit or without you.¡± He turned around and walked towards the approaching group of adventurers, Jinx leading them. The Gish stopped seeing him marching all fired up and asked with a glance at Maeriel that had stayed back near the waters. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°We¡¯re not stopping yet,¡± Sam rustled as he went past her. ¡°Ye¡¯ll get to see Gish Lament after all.¡± Marlo pressed his tongue on the dental-bridge that had started bothering him, his eyes going from him to their guides. ¡°No sign of them?¡± he asked casually and spat down, with a grimace. ¡°Romantic spot this, but lousy to unload stuff considerin¡¯ the climb at the end of it.¡± ¡°We should have turned east and followed the road,¡± Sam said disappointed. ¡°Me late mother could¡¯ve told ye that and she had cataract in both eyes. Been tellin¡¯ ye, ¡®em blue lasses are right cunts mate. What now, back up the gorge?¡± Elaniel who was coming up with the horses to keep them calm in the claustrophobic descend, froze and stared at them hurt. Oh shite. ¡°We can follow the shore to the other side of the gulf,¡± Sam offered quickly and Marlo nodded. ¡°What¡¯s there?¡± ¡°A village of sorts,¡± Sam murmured looking at the young Zilan marching away frustrated. ¡°Expect trouble?¡± Marlo asked mistaking his worried expression. Sam rubbed his face hard, his eyes smarting as the light breeze made that wet fine sand getting stuck everywhere and breathed out hard, afore replying honestly. ¡°Aye. But I¡¯ve no plaguin¡¯ notion of what kind.¡± Marlo tapped the pommel of his sword. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about us,¡± he rustled and Sam stilled his eyes on him frustrated. ¡°I trust Jinx wit me life and these Zilan has helped us since the start Marlo.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s ye life and right, I reckon,¡± the experienced adventurer retorted. ¡°But I don¡¯t mate.¡± - Two days later, West seaside approach to Port Mussel, Gish Lament, Imperial slave camp There was so much salt mixed with fine sand gathered on his horse¡¯s mane, the poor animal appeared a pale white in the moonlight. Everyone did, their clothes and armour covered, lips and eyes burning, mouth bitter. The wind twirled stronger now, bouncing off the sharp cut slant wall of earth and rocks on their left, ever coming and going. It sounded like animals howled at them unseen. The shades over the beach and the black waters unnerving. ¡°I¡¯m tellin¡¯ ya,¡± Cole griped behind him. ¡°This thing ain¡¯t natural.¡± ¡°Heard there were three volcanoes that went off,¡± Marlo told him hoarsely, rehashing the tales the Zilan were sprouting to visitors for coin in Goras¡¯ taverns. ¡°One in Goras, one in Elauthin and the biggest underneath Cydonia. Blew all this material across the water and made the slopes the way they¡¯re now. Right girl?¡± Elaniel hissed not wanting to talk to him. Sam had attempted to patch things up, but more time was needed and probably distance, as the two groups had been traveling together for a long time now. Everyone hates another¡¯s guts after a while, he thought. Or the bigotry was always there, just a bit faded now due to circumstances and calamity. ¡°They called it Knuckles Edge back then,¡± Hush whispered in her throaty manner. ¡°Aye, anyways after that happened and this fuckin¡¯ wall of material was formed, nature started tearing it down, but it kinda made things worse,¡± Marlo continued. ¡°It cut the beach out again and chewed through it a hundred meters deep, but hey¡­ at least this part of it looks flatter.¡± ¡°Probably too far from the blast and the waves,¡± Cole said, Sam listening in to their conversation stooped on his horse, his eyes peeled on the approaching dark obstacles on the beach. At first he¡¯d thought they were just large boulders that had tumbled down the slopes, but closing in Sam realized these were the foundations, or parts of ruined buildings. Towers, walls and a flattop pyramid half-standing on the nearby gentle upland of what was apparently a classic horseshoe-shaped Zilan city. There¡¯s ye plaguin¡¯ port. ¡°Get yer lightstone-torches out lads. Jingo, find us a spot to camp and wood for a fire. Hush ye help him,¡± Sam ordered seeing Maeriel standing atop a wall and waving at them that it was clear to enter the ruins of the ancient port. It wasn¡¯t. 264. The Wraith of Gish Lament (2/3)
- Dead of night, light a light... at Talons - A dying Titus'' words to Lord Storm Nattas outside the city of Alden, Early spring of 190 NC
Whisper Jinx The Wraith of Gish Lament Part II -Mostly skulls-
Jinx smelled of the sea, felt the salt on her skin and relished in the breeze blowing on her face. She touched an old wall with a hand, old cracks running its surface, most of the missing material gone when the waters retreated. The ancient roads leading to the plateau and the ruin of the mastaba resembling white arteries on the exposed flesh of a carcass. Nature and the elements had raped the port, but its footprint was still there, even when most of its buildings were caricatures of their former selves. This was no Rida and certainly no Goras. The scale smaller but the distinct concentric half-circles carved up the gentle slopes were present. Maeriel hissed frustrated landing on the cracked granite tiles, her eyes on the lights the larger group had brought into the port. ¡°Tell Mathews to put them out,¡± she ordered Elaniel. The young Zilan, Elaniel was of course in her sixth decade just to keep things in perspective, had lost some of her sparkle as the days had gone by, turning more and more like her teacher. Maeriel was a serious girl, but this version of her Jinx didn¡¯t like. ¡°It¡¯s heartache,¡± Maeriel explained answering her voiceless query. ¡°She¡¯ll get over it.¡± ¡°Does she know?¡± Jinx asked tying another knot on her ponytail, a couple of locks refusing to cooperate and dancing in her face. ¡°She grew up in the jungle,¡± Maeriel said and glanced at the empty darkness, the wind playing tricks on Jinx¡¯s ears as it howled through the remnants of empty ancient streets. ¡°Verbal tales leave out the nitty-gritty, makes adventurers appear like knights, or nobler than they are. One needs structure to learn stuff.¡± ¡°Not all verbal tales,¡± Jinx reminded her, the Zilan¡¯s rigid caste system was so deeply ingrained in Maeriel it made her sound silly sometimes. Also it was weird seeing as she had fought the hardest to ensure ¡®her strays¡¯ made it and were accepted. ¡°The past is long gone,¡± Maeriel droned. ¡°Sure purple-head,¡± Jinx teased her, seeing Elaniel arguing with Marlo and the adventurers. Even Sam looked very frustrated as they noisily approached livening the dead city. ¡°Have ye seen anything?¡± Jinx asked, touching her fingers gently. The skin there rough and calloused from using the longbow for over three centuries. ¡°Nothing,¡± her lover admitted. ¡°But you know they are watching.¡± ¡°They always do,¡± Jinx said glancing at the calm dark waters. ¡°But they rarely showed themselves back home. The story is, they never lay claim on settled lands.¡± ¡°The story is erroneous in part,¡± Maeriel replied with a tensed grimace. ¡°They fill what¡¯s empty like water and they never give it back.¡± ¡°Maeriel,¡± Sam grunted, face covered in dried up brine, cracks near his mouth. ¡°We need to make sure this place is empty.¡± ¡°It is. We rest the night and look anew in the morning,¡± Maeriel replied. ¡°Get those lights away Mathews.¡± ¡°What about a fire?¡± ¡°Fine,¡± Maeriel relented. ¡°But everyone needs to keep together.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Marlo intervened. ¡°We ain¡¯t doing that afore we check on the perimeter and those bloody ruins.¡± ¡°Keep to the walls of the lighthouse,¡± Maeriel said. ¡°Thought this was a granary,¡± Marlo griped. ¡°Where¡¯s the rest of it?¡± ¡°The sea took it.¡± Marlo smacked his lips, tongue working the inside of his unshaved cheek thinking about it. ¡°I¡¯ll see to the horses,¡± he finally said.
The fire crackled, pitifully small, it failed to illuminate the inside of the torn down lighthouse. A meter of thick wall was still standing in a square, the ground inside it covered in rotten seaweed and old dirt. Jinx walked on the remnants of the wall to its corner and stared at the street running parallel to the docks. Cole appeared returning torch in hand, the light casting long shadows that reached the gentle waves breaking on the sandstone wharves, the frothy water splashing over them leaving wet marks on the worn out tiles. ¡°Found anything?¡± Sam asked him standing outside their campsite, arms crossed on his chest. ¡°The place is scraped clean,¡± Cole rustled looking right and left at the empty former alleys. ¡°Spooky as all fucks.¡± ¡°Gods darn it,¡± Sam cursed and Jinx grinned seeing his frown. Better not to find anything silly, she thought. ¡°There¡¯re some weird-arse posts outside the fuckin¡¯ pyramid. Makin¡¯ a circle of sorts,¡± Cole grunted stopping to talk with Sam, lightstone torch in hand making them appear pale, the colors washed out. Black and white. ¡°Thick as me thigh, made out of granite, rusted steel rings in them.¡± ¡°For animals?¡± Sam queried. Jinx frowned and stood up. ¡°Probably,¡± Cole replied with a shrug, the hardened leather cuirass he had on creaking. ¡°Hush went in wit Jingo for a closer look.¡± ¡°The Mastaba?¡± Sam said with a grimace. ¡°Whatever the fuck it¡¯s called,¡± Cole agreed. ¡°How tall?¡± Jinx asked from where she stood and both men recoiled, quickly brushing it off not to appear squeamish. ¡°Is that ye Jinx?¡± Sam asked clearing his throat. ¡°Do ye know a lot of girls wit me hair?¡± She teased and jumped down. Jinx dived into a roll the moment her feet touched the ground, reaching them in a second. ¡°What the fuck¡­?¡± Cole gasped thoroughly impressed for sure, else I fucked me back for naught, she thought jumping upright, making a show of it. ¡°Ahm,¡± Sam hummed unsure. ¡°What do ye mean Jinx?¡± he asked playing it cool. ¡°The posts,¡± she elucidated grinning from ear to ear, after first blowing a wayward curl out of her left eyeball. Jinx had to clench her teeth to keep her smarting eye from twitching and it probably made her grin come out a snarl, judging from the fit lads¡¯ reaction. Fuck¡¯s sake. ¡°Yay high,¡± Cole showed her with his free hand. ¡°Maybe shorter.¡± Hmm. ¡°Here¡¯s yer girlfriend mate,¡± Sam teased him and pointed at the lights coming down from the plateau. Cole turned a little red in the face. ¡°That¡¯s not what it is Mathews.¡± ¡°Sure. What''s the matter wit Jingo? Haven¡¯t met a more guarded person.¡± ¡°He¡¯s not guarded, just dull. Uninterested,¡± Cole replied and turned to the approaching duo. Jinx saw they carried a sack with them. ¡°Hey there¡­ Hush. Took yer time,¡± Cole said after a couple of false starts, Jinx¡¯s and Sam Mathews¡¯ intense scrutiny getting to him. ¡°Did ye miss me?¡± Hush retorted in her throaty voice. Whilst on the skinny side, the woman had plenty of character. ¡°We¡¯ve been digging in the ruins.¡± ¡°Digging what?¡± Sam asked. ¡°Found the entrance to a basement,¡± she explained and raised a dark brow to Jinx¡¯s lewd wink. ¡°Jingo did. Kinda sniffed it out. Better than a dog.¡± ¡°Anything in it?¡± The adventurer asked the silent Issir and he tossed the sack afore their feet. Its contents crackling and clattering with some spilling out. Jinx gasped, a shiver running down her spine and jumped back in panic, Jingo¡¯s disinterested voice barely registering to her ringing ears. ¡°Bones,¡± the adventurer had replied. ¡°Mostly skulls.¡±
Hilton Marlo creased his brow staring at the macabre loot Hush and Jingo had brought back from their search. Everyone was present, with Soren standing with the two Zilan rangers and a shaken Jinx. ¡°That¡¯s a critter up the shitter alright,¡± Marlo finally blurted out and glanced at a troubled Sam Mathews. ¡°Any of them ours? Take a guess.¡± ¡°Those bones in there were ancient,¡± Cole explained and Marlo nodded, afore puffing out. ¡°Anyone has any plaguing insight?¡± ¡°Were they trapped in that basement of yours? Survivors of the initial blast perhaps?¡± Sam asked Jingo. ¡°Where are the rest of their skeletons?¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t that kind of basement me thinks,¡± Cole retorted. ¡°Or other bones present mate.¡± ¡°Fuck that¡¯s supposed to mean?¡± Sam grunted all fired up. ¡°Them skulls are¡­ fuck, these are kids Sam,¡± Marlo intervened. No they aren¡¯t.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°That¡¯s what I thought,¡± Hush murmured looking at a visibly uncomfortable Jinx. ¡°These are dead Gish,¡± she said stepping forward. Sam grimaced not expecting it. Jinx glanced back at a gloomy-faced Maeriel. ¡°Want to offer yer academic input? What do yer texts say?¡± ¡°Young wyvern needed training, or they didn¡¯t survive,¡± Maeriel croaked, looking at the upset Gish. ¡°It was common practice to bring the younglings easy targets to learn the ropes and get them used to feed away from Zilan flesh. Ships were sent to the Sinking Isles to hunt for Gish and to restock when they run out.¡± ¡°Good grief,¡± Cole gasped in shock. Sam had turned a sickly yellow, his jaw clenched hard. ¡°What¡¯s wit the skulls?¡± he rustled glaring at the exasperated Zilan. ¡°I¡¯ve said enough,¡± Maeriel hissed and Soren grunted not liking her response. ¡°Heads are a delicacy,¡± Jinx explained. ¡°Drool,¡± Maeriel protested, but Jinx stopped her with a strained smile. ¡°Soletha is in the Council,¡± Jinx told her harshly, which wasn¡¯t fair since it was Glen¡¯s decision and Maeriel wasn¡¯t on the priestess and healer¡¯s side, but she felt a little angry with her just the same. ¡°So she can explain it better, but eyes, brains, tongue and lips make for tasty selections and potent spells right?¡± ¡°Uh,¡± Cole grunted. ¡°That¡¯s some bizarre shite. Nigh disturbing, just saying.¡± ¡°Not good,¡± Soren rumbled angry. Hush just hissed narrowing her eyes. Sam stood speechless and stared apologetically Jinx¡¯s way. Even Elaniel looked visibly sick. ¡°This is ancient history,¡± Maeriel snapped feeling everyone¡¯s accusing and disgusted glares. ¡°Old bones. That¡¯s not why we are here¡ª¡± ¡°This ain¡¯t an old skull,¡± Marlo murmured. He had stooped over the pile of small skulls and sifted through them, stopping at the one he had in his hands. ¡°There¡¯s a bit of blood leaking out the crack.¡± What? ¡°Are you sure?¡± Sam gasped snapping out of his stupor and stooped to see for himself. ¡°See those two holes in the back?¡± Marlo showed him. ¡°And look the nose is different, not oval shaped wit small holes like ¡®em others. That¡¯s a human skull mate.¡± Jinx turned her head around feeling a touch of cold breeze at the back of her neck. Maeriel had twisted around as well her eyes on the part of the wall still standing, illuminated from their camp fire. The shades there dancing, long and short, black and a strange hue of washed out red. The wind blew over the ancient granite wall, its howl turning to a whistle at first, then the shrilling note of a song. A perverted child¡¯s lullaby. Come here¡­ dear, the shades sang to them. ¡°Fuck was that?¡± Cole snapped. ¡°Where?¡± Jinx yelled at a worried Maeriel and she hissed afore reaching for her longbow. ¡°I can¡¯t¡­¡± the Zilan said, just as Jinx run fast and jumped lithely on the top of the half-destroyed wall surrounding their camp to look outside. The Gish reached the narrow edge, running on the tips of her boots, looked to her left and down but saw only dark. She turned her head the other way intending to check that part of the building¡¯s exterior and found a thin, black haired girl sitting next to her. Eyes black as the night ocean, the irises huge and covering the whole sclera. Naked as the day she was born. ¡°Don¡¯t wait for dawn,¡± the young creepy girl chanted to her, smiling at the end of it shyly, afore adding in a whispery voice. ¡°Whence wicked dreams are born.¡± Damn, Jinx thought, realizing she¡¯d a bleeding cut on her thigh. ¡°Aww,¡± the girl cooed looking at the blood. Marlo¡¯s hoarse voice ringing behind her and snapping the stunned Gish out of her reverie. ¡°There! Get that little shite!¡± The adventurer roared. ¡°Whatever that shite is!¡± ¡°The girl?¡± Hush grumbled. ¡°NOBODY MOVES! She¡¯s in the way,¡± Maeriel admonished him. ¡°Jinx step aside love,¡± she added calmly despite the tension lurking underneath. Jinx, her heart beating wild in her chest, stared at the naked freakish girl with the long hair pooling at her small wet feet. ¡°Drool,¡± Maeriel warned her and Jinx heard Soren coming, heavy boots thudding inside the enclosed space. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Jinx told the creature and took a step back. The girl blinked and then Maeriel¡¯s arrow skewered her narrow torso dead center.
Jinx¡¯s shoulder hit the fractured surface at the top of the wall, turned over it and dropped down just as the arriving Nord reached the only part of the old lighthouse still standing. Above them the fatally injured girl slumped over the edge, bleeding profoundly, thin body wrecked with sharp spasms. ¡°Grab her,¡± Jinx panted to a frowning Soren. ¡°Don¡¯t¡¯ let her fall down.¡± She stumbled on her feet, while the Nord lowered the now unresponsive creature dragging her by an arm like a broken doll. ¡°Jinx,¡± Maeriel said tensely. ¡°You¡¯re hurt.¡± ¡°Tis nothing,¡± she reassured her and approached the hurt girl. ¡°What in Tyeus spear¡­? Is that a kid?¡± Marlo grunted with Sam rushing the ranger, his eyes wild. ¡°Have you lost yer mind?¡± Sam growled irate, but Maeriel cut him off impatiently. ¡°Everyone check the perimeter!¡± She yelled to the others. ¡°Mister Cole keep your eyes at the door please!¡± ¡°Maeriel,¡± Sam walked in her face, barring her way. ¡°What the hells is going on?¡± ¡°You found your culprit Sam.¡± ¡°Fuck she just said?¡± Marlo grunted looking at Jinx trying desperately to revive the creature that had started turning. Its fingers and toes lengthening, long bony protrusions coming out her knuckles and thin blue membranes forming in the gaps. The flesh itself changing color from white to dark green. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Sam grunted and glanced at the girl morphing into her real form before their very eyes. ¡°Gallopin¡¯ fuckin¡¯ Gremlins,¡± an astounded Hilton Marlo cursed. ¡°Aye,¡± Hush agreed with Cole turning his head and querying nervous from the gaping dark entrance. ¡°The fuck is happening guys!¡± Eh, Jinx thought, dark blue gore covering her hands, as she strained to stop the bleeding. This ain¡¯t helping. ¡°Maeriel,¡± Jinx and Sam said at the same time. The Gish breaking the arrow and pulling it out of the wound, turning the unresponsive creature around to remove the steel tip as well. She felt the flesh parting under the small breasts, exposing bony branchial arches, the diaphanous gills a bright red. ¡°She shot a thing,¡± Marlo mumbled, deep crease on his brow and spat down. ¡°That¡¯s a Ticu,¡± Maeriel told the angry adventurer, afore turning to Jinx. ¡°My aim was true love.¡± I know. ¡°Uh? What did that cunt say?¡± Marlo grunted. ¡°A type of Mermaid,¡± Maeriel replied frostily letting the cat out of the bag. ¡°A shapeshifting Siren.¡± ¡°Give me a potion,¡± Jinx urged her and glanced at Elaniel staring at the creature shocked. ¡°It¡¯s gone Jinx,¡± Maeriel scolded her, adding softly. ¡°I couldn¡¯t risk losing you.¡± ¡°She¡¯s not,¡± Jinx snapped hurt. It was her idea to keep them a secret. ¡°Give me the potion Maeriel.¡± ¡°This thing took them?¡± Sam asked trying to wrap his mind around it. ¡°They are dead Mathews,¡± the ranger told him, pleading with Jinx to let it go. ¡°Turned to bones, their skulls kept to recreate what they believed was a ritual.¡± ¡°What is she talking about?¡± Cole asked ogling his eyes to catch any strange movement in the pitch black. ¡°I think the singing stopped,¡± he informed them a moment later, but everyone ignored him. ¡°What¡¯s this potion?¡± Marlo queried crooking his mouth. Maeriel reached for her satchel and got a vial out. ¡°Are you sure?¡± She asked Jinx and the Gish nodded. Maeriel tossed her the vial and Jinx caught it easily. ¡°Wait,¡± Sam told them. ¡°Are there more of ''em freaks around?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Jinx replied and he stood back alarmed. ¡°Do ye have any more of that?¡± Marlo asked the Zilan, now twice more interested in the healing potion. ¡°Not for all,¡± Maeriel retorted. ¡°I don¡¯t know about that Sam,¡± Marlo griped, but Sam nodded for Jinx to make an effort to save the creature. ¡°Open her mouth,¡± Jinx quickly told a silent Elaniel. ¡°So I can pour some of it down.¡±
¡°You plaguin¡¯ knew about this!¡± Sam growled at a tensed Maeriel, trying to keep his tempers in check and failing. Everyone turned to watch their confrontation, but for Elaniel who was diligently cleaning the gaping wound with a cloth, singing under her breath. ¡°Does Glen know?¡± ¡°Who¡¯s Glen?¡± Marlo probed, but no one paid him any attention. ¡°He doesn¡¯t, but it wouldn¡¯t have changed a thing,¡± Maeriel retorted. ¡°Don¡¯t expect to know Hardir¡¯s will Mathews.¡± Whoa there babe. How would you know it? ¡°Did you know?¡± Sam asked a troubled Jinx. ¡°I figured it out,¡± she replied softly. ¡°Sam these people were lost since that night. The Ticu are Abrakas creatures. Once they mark ye, you can¡¯t escape.¡± ¡°Fuckin¡¯ superstitious crap,¡± he grunted and shook his head disappointed. ¡°Now what?¡± ¡°We need to get out of the port,¡± Maeriel said matter-of-factly. ¡°Keep those torches hidden before we bring more of them here. Light draws them near.¡± ¡°I ain¡¯t sleeping in the dark,¡± Marlo informed her. ¡°You¡¯ve set us up lass,¡± he added accusingly. ¡°Marlo gods darn it. I don¡¯t need this right now!¡± Sam snapped. ¡°Put that light away!¡± ¡°Nobody is sleeping,¡± Maeriel elucidated. ¡°They are out there.¡± ¡°How many?¡± Hush asked and the ranger shrugged her shoulders. ¡°Well that¡¯s a finger up the stinger,¡± Marlo declared with a scowl and walked away seething.
¡°Anything?¡± Jinx asked Soren climbing up the two meter high wall. The Nord could see easily over it. ¡°It¡¯s dark as fuck pretty,¡± he told her and put a spade like hand on her shoulder. ¡°How¡¯s the leg?¡± ¡°Just a cut,¡± Jinx replied. ¡°Didn¡¯t feel it.¡± ¡°Knife?¡± ¡°Claw more like.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± Soren glanced at the unresponsive young Ticu they had brought near their fire. ¡°Didn¡¯t appear dangerous.¡± ¡°Nothing seems threatening to you big guy,¡± Jinx teased him. ¡°Birds do. They are mean,¡± Soren corrected her. ¡°Them sneaky eyes an¡¯ side stares.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Jinx nodded and looked towards the quiet ancient docks. The waves splashing, the sea and the night becoming one in the distance. ¡°I¡¯m sorry about yer people,¡± Soren murmured. ¡°Yeah,¡± Jinx replied with a grimace and shifted on her legs. ¡°Twas a long time ago.¡± ¡°It don¡¯t make it right.¡± ¡°No, it doesn¡¯t,¡± she agreed with a tired smile. ¡°Life isn¡¯t fair ye dork.¡± ¡°Then life needs a punch in the face,¡± Soren retorted, just as one of their horses neighed loudly, the rest joining disturbed.
Soren moved to investigate in his deliberate large strides. Maeriel rushed towards them in the meantime and tossed Jinx her bow first, then her quiver. The Gish hang the quiver on her shoulder and run to the other corner of the building, where they had left their animals. She navigated the narrow wall easily, her balance ever remarkable, despite being -as everyone else heading there- extremely nervous. Hush reached them first her saber in hand, mules and horses grouped up for the night and signed for Jingo to go around the animals. The Issir moved unhurriedly carrying an axe and Jinx stood up on the wall to have a better grasp of the situation. She already had an arrow slotted between mid and index finger, holding her bow with her left hand. ¡°They cut your mare,¡± Hush told Maeriel. ¡°She bleeds a lot.¡± ¡°Anyone saw them getting inside?¡± Marlo grunted. Jinx glanced back towards the docks with a frown, hearing a clacking sound added to the noise coming from the sea. It kept repeating from all directions it seemed, but the Gish couldn¡¯t spot anything hard as she tried. The sky dark, moons hidden behind clouds. Dammit. This was Abrakas doing. ¡°Who¡¯s wit the kid?¡± Jinx asked and looked towards their fire anxiously. ¡°Elaniel,¡± Maeriel snarled as much concern in her voice as anger and twisted around sharply. The young Zilan¡¯s scream rang inside the ruins of the massive lighthouse and turned a widely accepted wretched night, a tad worse.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 265. The Wraith of Gish Lament (3/3)
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There was a very short, old woman sitting at the steps of the stable, wearing a hooded cloak. The long rich dress she had underneath it, arranged neatly in a pool around her gathered legs. A wrinkled hand, flesh loose on the old bones and sagging, fingers crooked, but with nails perfectly painted a garish red, holding a thin silver pipe. Its aromatic smoke made him pause mid-step unsure and stoop to examine that shaded weathered face more closely. Sam had envisioned a quiet night in a tavern, listening to bards sprouting their tales of heroes past, whilst drinking cheap ale, but his gut told him that had just gone out of the proverbial window. Are ye fuckin¡¯ kidding me? ¡°Time to get out of retirement ¡®valiant swashbuckler¡¯ hehe,¡± the old woman cackled annoyingly in ¡®dead¡¯ Flix¡¯s voice. ¡°Find the sister you¡¯ve promised, didn¡¯t you? Close the circle. You better get moving chop, chop. What was that fool¡¯s saying? Time to get the band back together.¡±
Sam Mathews The Wraith of Gish Lament Part III -Abrakas daughters- Aberrations, mutants and plain plaguing monsters. Accursed place. Sam cleared the campfire, burning dry branches crunching and breaking underneath his scissoring legs, boots sliding on crumpling ancient seaweed when he landed, hot embers exploding outwards with his knees smarting. Elaniel gasped, pain distorting her lovely face, a hand clasping the left side of her chest and kicked out catching the long-limbed Ticu that had sneaked up on her at the ribs. She shoved it back two meters, the fish-eyed creature clacking with its mouth once seeing the arriving adventurer. The Ticu had the very long black hair and dark green skin of the youngling. A mature woman¡¯s well-shaped breasts with prominent dark blue nipples, three razor thin fin-like protrusions out the knuckles, tough as nails. Silver patches of scales gleaming at the elbows, knees and ankles, the same gills arches bellow both her naked breasts and skin free of any other blemishes. Just like the unresponsive youngling, this female-shaped creature didn¡¯t have a single piece of clothing on. Sam grabbed Elaniel¡¯s arm to keep her upright with his free hand, the Zilan¡¯s eyes flashing at his sight, swung his sword with the other to keep the Ticu away. The Mermaid sneered showing him two rows of thin pointy teeth and an arrow whistled an inch from Sam¡¯s left ear and smacked her right at the sternum, dipping in to the fletching¡¯s. A shrilling inhuman sound blew out his eardrums, the ground vibrating and his teeth rattling, blood vessels breaking in his eyes. He gasped, the badly lit former hall suddenly filled with moving shadows. ¡°THEY ARE INSIDE!¡± Maeriel yelled and Sam twisted around to check on the injured Elaniel. The young ranger put a hand on his lips, the touch clearing his vision and whispered breathlessly her teeth red. ¡°My valiant, Sam Mathews.¡± He grunted, Elaniel dropped on her knees and further to his right two Ticu popped out of the shadows. Cole who was still standing guard at the gaping entrance yelled a warning, but Marlo who was running towards the campfire at the center of the hall hesitated, the manic scowl on his face almost comical. ¡°MOVE!¡± Jinx snarled standing above the wall and fired an arrow outside. ¡°I¡¯ll help Cole!¡± Ah, gods darn it, Sam thought and reached for his dagger. He stepped forward, his sword tracing the movements of the first long-haired Ticu, the short blade the other. They split to circle around him, hands and heads twitching constantly excited that clacking sound chilling. Sam licked his lips, tasted blood on them and frowned, but didn¡¯t have time to dwell on it as the sea creatures attacked him.
He slashed diagonally, missed the sneaking Mermaid to his right, but opened a bleeding cut on the one moving to his left with his dagger. The wound gushing blood out the sea-creature¡¯s left thigh. Sam twisted around, his long blade lashing out, but the Ticu jerked away again, its speed uncanny. More unpredictable, than fast, his mind cautioned him. Snap out of it. The adventurer faked a high attack, the Ticu reacted to it, black soulless eyes flickering and the tip of his returning blade caught it flat at the right ankle and shattered it. ¡°Ah,¡± Sam grunted excited and moved in for the kill, something landing on his back stopping him. He faltered forward under the weight, a breath in his ear smelling of fish, brine and a whore¡¯s nether regions. Fuck. Sharp teeth pierced the skin on his neck, cold lips and a long scaly tongue lapping it out. Sam recoiled in panic and tried to stab backwards with his dagger, in an attempt to dislodge the Mermaid from his back, whilst stumbling on his feet. ¡°I¡¯ll have you,¡± she purred in his ear, arms and legs snaked desperately around his torso freaking him out. Good grief, he thought his knees almost giving away. ¡°STOP FOOLING AROUND!¡± Maeriel blasted him arriving and kicked the Ticu hard. Sam went one way the creature the other, boots fighting for purchase and bleeding down his neck. Maeriel hissed, seeing Elaniel knelt with her head hanging, long cobalt hair covering her face and shot an arrow without aiming at the lunging Ticu he¡¯d injured earlier. She got it on the right shoulder, but the creature kept coming and slashed at her with his left arm. Maeriel sidestepped in the blink of an eye, aromatic incense burning, reached with her free hand, ripped her arrow out of the Ticu¡¯s shoulder, flipped it once with deft fingers and plunged it deep into its black eye. Damn, Sam thought nigh impressed, just as he managed to stabilize himself and take stock of what was happening inside the lighthouse¡¯s ruined first and only floor still standing. Jinx had fired half her quiver, but was now on her back and cursing like a drunken sailor, a sneaky Ticu climbing the wall from the outside, tripping her. The creature jumped on the ledge, straight black hair billowing in the wind and then went back down again skewered through the neck by Maeriel. ¡°Mathews! You need to kill it!¡± She hissed irate and Sam blinked seeing the Ticu smiling in front of his face, her mouth all bloody. ¡°Mine,¡± she told him sounding feverish and Sam found himself half-grinning sucked into her morbid alluring black pools. Elaniel¡¯s blood on his lips breaking the spell and leading him out of his haze again. His arm jerked and the dagger punched into the Ticu¡¯s right temple to the hilt, gory tip coming out the other. The pain on his neck blinding and his stomach turning, when he came back to his senses fully. Sam sidestepped, the creature collapsing lifeless in a heap and made to run towards Cole, who was getting overwhelmed at the entrance. He was intercepted not two strides later, a Ticu tackling him and sending him sprawling down. Sam rolled on a hurting shoulder, dirt in his tearing eyes and slashed outwards, blade clanking on the cracked tiles, to keep his assailant away. A breath and he stood on a knee, the young Ticu clacking his teeth approaching him, afore its body crumpled, ribs snapping, black blood gushing out her gills and broke almost in half. One moment the small Ticu was standing in front of him and the next Soren¡¯s bewildered mug had taken its place, bloody fist still clenched the size of a small mellon. ¡°Squishy things,¡± the Nord told him nigh perturbed and Sam realized he¡¯d a Ticu clasped on his meaty thigh from behind, sucking on his blood with orgasmic delight. Soren reached with a gory arm, grabbed the protesting creature from its head, long fingers covering it fully and dislodged it with ease. ¡°Soft boned, alike eggs,¡± the giant explained and closed his fingers in a fist again, the Ticu¡¯s kicking and jerking head still in it. Sam was never a queasy dude, but felt vomit clogging his throat when he heard the crunch.
Lynch Cole cut a Ticu down with his heavy blade, but another caught him with a swipe across the face, peeling everything bellow the left eye down, flesh and skin tearing away and revealing the white of his teeth. ¡°NOOO!¡± Hush screamed and desperately hurled a shortsword she wielded, the blade revolving twice afore smacking his assailant just below the nipple, the breast deflating in an explosion of gore. She stooped over her partner of many years and tried to pull him away, another Mermaid lunging for her feet and bringing her down as well. Marlo intervened, leather boot kicking the creature¡¯s pretty face into a distorted mask, the neck snapping the wrong way. ¡°What¡¯s wit the bloomin¡¯ tits fuck¡¯s sake?¡± He grunted sounding befuddled, parring a claw like hand away, Jingo¡¯s axe severing the returning arm away just above the elbow. Marlo glanced at Cole¡¯s ruined face and shuddered, spat down and then pushed his blade into the quivering shrilling Mermaid¡¯s chest, using a knee to keep her at bay. Sam approached them, a hand on his bleeding neck and stared outside, but saw nothing moving. He breathed out, caught his left arm shaking and cursed under his breath. ¡°They just stand there,¡± Jinx said from atop the wall and Sam heard Soren approaching. He grunted and turned around to return near the fire, passing by a sobbing Hush, trying to revive a badly injured Cole. ¡°Stupid fool,¡± the woman kept muttering over and over. Sam clenched his jaw, the cut on his neck smarting and marched near Maeriel. The Zilan ranger stood next to Elaniel, her eyes gleaming in the dark, but set on Jinx, who the adventurer heard coming after him. ¡°How¡¯s¡ª?¡± he tried to say, but Maeriel stopped him putting a hand on his chest. ¡°The bone pierced her heart,¡± she told him clinically. ¡°No potion can mend that. Only a witch¡¯s magic.¡± Ah, ye sweet girl. Sam felt his knees weakening and the lights dimming. His body numbed all over. ¡°She sang for you when her soul left,¡± Maeriel said soothingly. ¡°It was a young love, but it was all she could give.¡± Gods. Sam slapped her hand away, not wanting to hear it and immediately felt worse. ¡°Keep yer spells away from me,¡± he told her in a hoarse voice, mouth dry and feeling angrier than he¡¯d ever felt before. ¡°You should have come clean up front. I won¡¯t soon forget it,¡± Sam added, glanced at the lifeless still knelt Elaniel and turned around, fearing he¡¯d lose his composure and do something rash.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. ¡°She chose the path Mathews. Her calling,¡± Maeriel told him serenely. ¡°We all did. Serving the Monarch comes at a cost. Always has.¡± Plaguin¡¯ fatalistic bitch. ¡°Keep tellin¡¯ yerself that,¡± Sam grunted through his clenched teeth. Jinx¡¯s worried face froze, when she reached them. ¡°What¡­?¡± the Gish said, but Sam just grunted and walked away to return to the entrance and the others.
¡°Cole?¡± Sam asked a scowling Marlo and the experienced adventurer grunted, busy cleaning the gore from his blade with a dirty cloth, an eye out towards the darkness of the docks. ¡°Not lookin¡¯ good.¡± Damnit. ¡°See anything big fella?¡± He asked Soren. The Nord shrugged his massive shoulders, eyeing a sobbing inconsolable Jinx trying to bring back what Gods had taken away. Hush¡¯s silent mourning adding to the gravity of the situation. ¡°They are just standing there,¡± Soren said in his baritone voice. ¡°Some are still in the sea.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t see a plaguin¡¯ thing,¡± Marlo griped. ¡°What do you think Jingo?¡± The stoic Issir was stooped over a butchered Mermaid, his fingers examining the hardened fins protruding from her limbs. ¡°Mmm,¡± he said simply. ¡°They¡¯re retracting.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Marlo commented. ¡°Gratitude for yer fuckin¡¯ input mate. Because I needed that image in me brain fuck¡¯s sake.¡± ¡°We need to light up the perimeter,¡± Sam decided. ¡°Make that fire bigger Marlo. Dig out any ligthstones you have and bring them here. Attached on torches, or plain.¡± ¡°Ye know they charge a plaguin¡¯ gold for ¡®em right?¡± Marlo complained. ¡°Fuckers has sucked us dry of coin in Goras.¡± ¡°Corpses need no coins, but two pieces of copper for the ferryman,¡± Sam reminded him, his tone grave and Marlo scrunched his face, but then puffed out yielding. ¡°Come ye weirdo,¡± he told Jingo, slapping his shoulder. ¡°I¡¯ve pulled something and those bags are heavy.¡± Hapless Cole died before they reached their horses.
Maeriel had dressed Elaniel¡¯s body in a sheer black shawl. The thin cloth very long, it wrapped around her three times, but for the face. Jinx had helped clean the slain young ranger and was now standing next to her cocooned body in silent mourning. The rest of them had done their best to enlarge the fire, burning anything they could find that was dry enough. Sam had found eighteen lightstones in their saddlebags, eight of them slotted into torches and had arranged them outside the four sides of the lighthouse. It had fittingly returned the ruined building some of its former glory, its illuminated carcass still shedding its light into the port. The Ticu watched everything from a distance, especially those standing near the entrance, a few of them occasionally singing eerily into the night. ¡°Why not burn them?¡± Sam asked Maeriel when she returned to stand next to them at the walls, with another glance at the corpse of Cole, laying not that far away left unadorned. ¡°Zilan don¡¯t do that human. But I won¡¯t let her fall into their hands,¡± she replied, a hand at her wooden quiver counting the arrows still available. Maeriel had retrieved most of them, but not all were usable. Sam nodded with a grimace and the former Imperial Huntress glanced at him. ¡°Elaniel¡¯s vessel will return to the earth, near the roots of an ancient tree, so she can always have company.¡± Sam rubbed his tired face with a hand, a heavy sadness creeping up on him. ¡°I¡¯ll talk to them,¡± Maeriel added. ¡°Ye think it¡¯ll work?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t plead,¡± she explained haughtily and stooping she murmured into his ear. ¡°I¡¯ll threaten.¡± Have ye lost yer mind? ¡°What did she say?¡± Marlo asked him, when she walked away towards the entrance. Sam glanced back to their fire and Jinx that had stood up alarmed, seeing Maeriel going outside. He sighed deeply and rushed after her.
At least eight Ticu were standing across the lighthouse, several others occupying the sandstone dunes and many more still swimming in the port''s black waters. Five of them moved as one, when they spotted them coming out of the gapping destroyed entrance. These were taller, also with long black hair and female bodies, skin appearing oily in the light, but striking features that differed from one another. They were also dressed sort of, atypically elongated half-dried scarves of different colors and of an odd material loosely hanging over their curvy bodies. Some even had their rich hair tied up, or braided, leaving those narrow, fish-eyed faces uncovered. Sam breathed once deep, sword in hand and wounded neck leaking through his bandages. ¡°Now what?¡± he rustled to the scowling Maeriel and one of the Ticu standing five meters from them heard him and tipped her head to the side. Another clacked, thin sharp teeth snapping together, huge black eyes watching them reflecting the light on their surface. Glassy dark pools. As if they were already dead inside. A Ticu started humming from the back, Sam grimaced sucking at the inside of his cheek nervously and Maeriel touched his arm softly. She wanted him to sheathe his blade. The adventurer licked his lips, eyed the Ticu watching them warningly and did it puffing his cheeks out. The Ticu nearest to them turned around casually, whilst stepping aside, leaving impressions on the dirty tiles and stared at the impressive female specimen standing behind her questioningly. She gave her a nod, large regal forehead hugged by elaborate thin braids adorned with colorful seashells. The younger Mermaid blinked in acknowledgement. ¡°Mother Nerisea shall talk with the faithless,¡± she announced in passing Common. Sam narrowed his eyes and the Mermaid winked at him brazenly alike a bloody port harlot and in retrospect like Jinx habitually did. The latter subsiding his censure a bit. ¡°Eledra is familiar in your ways,¡± The Ticu Nerisea explained, her voice leaving notes hanging from each word, interlacing with the light breeze of the sea and the waves behind them. ¡°We wish to leave Mussel,¡± Maeriel said calmly getting straight to the point. ¡°Mussel is gone,¡± Nerisea replied looking at her. ¡°This ruin,¡± Maeriel added. ¡°Without further bloodshed. Spare your children. This road will lead you to ruin. I counsel against it.¡± Nerisea blinked. Sam thought that there was no mistaking her being a leader, though mother seemed too personal a term. He caught out of the corner of his eye Eledra looking at him ravenously and gulped down. ¡°This ruin is our nest, the gloomy one¡¯s gift,¡± Nerisea told her, the Ticu listening in and whirring in unison. ¡°The youngling¡¯s you killed Huntress know no other home. You¡¯ve laid waste to Abrakas daughters. Your threats hold no weight here.¡± Oh, for fuck¡¯s sake. ¡°These were no¡ª¡± ¡°They didn¡¯t know,¡± Maeriel cut him off. ¡°Why sent them, in the first place?¡± ¡°We have no kings, but we listen to our god,¡± Nerisea replied sternly. ¡°We need no queens, but a brood mother¡¯s insight to tell us, this is a group of slayers paying us a visit in the middle of the night. Some lessons need to be learned the hard way,¡± she added cruelly. Maeriel licked her lips. ¡°We didn¡¯t come to harm the Ticu,¡± she announced switching strategy and Sam frowned unsure, despite following her outside to stop her from getting herself killed, he was keen on putting the hurt on them for slaying his friends. The adventurer felt conflicted. ¡°Why the lights? Why the lies?¡± Nerisea droned. ¡°A huntress lure ever cruel. You¡¯re running out of spells though, oh ye ¡®spirit of the woods¡¯, perhaps you should have stayed there,¡± she added mockingly. ¡°You just can¡¯t stay away huh? Don¡¯t you witch blood?¡± ¡°You took our people!¡± Sam growled, his heart thundering. Eledra gasped and made to approach him. ¡°Stay,¡± Nerisea ordered her. ¡°Echonia, Dialeh, Vivirah. Please restrain your impressionable older sister,¡± she smiled a matron¡¯s smile. ¡°She¡¯s easily aroused when near humans.¡± The meaning ambiguous on top of creepy. ¡°What is your answer?¡± Maeriel asked frostily and the Ticu cackled. ¡°The night is fading away,¡± Nerisea replied blankly. ¡°You¡¯ll travel in the day, but you won¡¯t go far away. If its mercy you seek, then you shouldn¡¯t have killed Assara for being curious. Terror you¡¯ve brought into the Realm and terror thou shall receive.¡± Sam clenched his jaw hard, whilst Eledra raised her long arms, bony fins retracted to assure her sisters she¡¯ll behave. It caused those well-shaped breasts to spill out, the detail disturbingly distracting to the frowning adventurer. The alluring Ticu paused to smile intrigued. What the fuck are ye doing? Sam admonished himself furious, just as Jinx¡¯s haunted voice broke the stalemate. ¡°She survived,¡± the Gish said and Nerisea blinked rapidly, her mask of indifference breaking for a fraction of a second. ¡°A ¡®Skilled one¡¯ still serving her masters¡¯?¡± she asked noticing the disheveled short figure of Jinx standing behind them. ¡°Why did you stay out of the sea¡¯s embrace young Gish? It¡¯s been hours, yet there you suffer amidst the tree and sludge dwellers, resisting its calling. What do you hide there?¡± Jinx grimaced and then stepped aside to reveal the young bandaged Ticu they had first encountered. Assara¡¯s pale face turned to the Gish and she touched her naked shoulder comfortingly. ¡°Elaniel¡¯s talents kept her alive. Her songs and potions,¡± Jinx said her voice breaking, as the young Ticu walked towards the Matriarch. ¡°She died to stay by her side. Hers was a healer¡¯s calling led astray.¡± Assara hugged Nerisea¡¯s body tight, arms clasped at her waist, the matron¡¯s large black eyes on the Gish. ¡°You¡¯ve a debt to pay,¡± she announced and Jinx nodded. ¡°Yet you risk approach those that serve the depths father to save them? Abrakas isn¡¯t sentimental Gish.¡± ¡°I know,¡± Jinx replied steadily. ¡°But these are my friends.¡± ¡°I see,¡± Nerisea said and allowed Assara to run shrieking to her expecting four sisters arms. ¡°Eight children I¡¯ve birthed, three of them I¡¯ve already lost,¡± she revealed in that singing unnatural voice. ¡°Cold are the depths of the Scalding Sea, its caves and canyons riddled with the kraken¡¯s bones and the dragon¡¯s teeth, but a mother¡¯s cured sewn skin holds a warm heart in it. Remember this Gish of the Sinking Isles, those you serve have their hearts blackened and eaten away by greed¡¯s rot. To save themselves, they¡¯ll ruin everyone else. Abrakas gullet stands unpretentious in comparison.¡± ¡°You¡¯re wrong, but ye can turn a phrase I¡¯ll give ye that,¡± Jinx retorted. ¡°Wit bonus points for the motherly tits.¡± Nerisea snorted and clacked her teeth once, but then a smile formed on her face. ¡°Eh, love blinds the young,¡± she yielded and glanced at her daughters. One of them stepped forward shyly. ¡°Yes, Vivirah?¡± Nerisea asked patiently. ¡°You¡¯re letting them go?¡± ¡°I am. Are you going to rat me out?¡± Vivirah stilled her eyes on her. ¡°What about me?¡± Nerisea let out a human sigh and glanced at Sam. ¡°Is any of you familiar with the Circle?¡± she asked. ¡°Ahm,¡± Sam grunted unsure on where they stood and what was the right answer here. Starting a fight with them all over again had lost its appeal, now that his adrenalin had burned out. ¡°You are not,¡± Nerisea decided and glanced at Maeriel. ¡°You¡¯re not sure. Hmm,¡± she then spared a look at her daughter¡¯s scowling face afore adding. ¡°You come upon the one ¡®living in shades¡¯, you tell that wicked cunt, one of her killers owes my daughter a lover. I intent to collect.¡± Sam had envisioned several ways that meeting would go and eventually end, but this caught him completely off guard. It would take the adventurer years to figure out the Matriarch''s cryptic words throughout the whole conversation and by then, almost everyone in their group was long dead.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 266. The Monarch’s Council (1/2)
Glen Arguen Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Monarch O¡¯ Morn Taras The Monarch¡¯s Council Part I -Master of songs-
The white gold tooth Angrein had sculpted for him the other day, had a pleasant gleam on it and Glen raised his upper lip more to gaze at it in the mirror. That small matter aside, you couldn¡¯t tell it from a real one, he thought pleased. Other than the fact of course that this one worth¡¯s two gold coins. ¡°No teeth,¡± Sen warned their daughter and the baby girl paused her sucking to stare at her mother awed. ¡°She has your mouth,¡± Sen-Iv commented and Glen grinned showing her two full rows of teeth again. ¡°A good thing,¡± she added with a chuckle. That¡¯s right, he thought. Seeyu cutting him off afore he¡¯d time to give her a ¡®proper¡¯ demonstration. ¡°Master Garth, the Council has assembled.¡± ¡°Lead the way,¡± Glen retorted. ¡°Girls,¡± he announced to a smiling Sen and her slaves. ¡°I have business to attend to.¡± ¡°Should I send Iskay with refreshments?¡± She probed moving Inis-Mir to her other breast. Damn. ¡°Wine?¡± Sen added huskily, wiping an engorged nipple from the spillage and bringing the finger to her lips to lick it clean. ¡°Absolutely,¡± Glen croaked and rushed after Seeyu whilst he still could, his cock pointing the way.
Fikumin had dark circles under his eyes and was clad in short black robes, a dagger on his belt. Metu was sitting across from him reading from a pile of scrolls and the two Zilan females Soletha and Vaelenn had taken chairs next to the dwarf and his Castellan, leaving the other two spots for Anfalon and Voldomir. The High Priest¡¯s robes had dried mud down the right side and pieces of grass long dead, which easily made him again the worst dressed person inside his hall. Glen took his spot, the chair¡¯s back leaving little room to sit properly, or made for a smaller person and cleared his throat a couple of times, afore testing the growth under his chin with three fingers. ¡°Is everyone appraised¡­ that the word Fikumin?¡± He asked with a glance at the ever scowling dwarf. ¡°Right, as I said, is everyone appraised wit what happened at Eikenport?¡± ¡°I understand we¡¯ve lost some supporters Hardir,¡± Vaelenn said. She¡¯d a long empty sleeve down her missing arm today, giving the illusion it was still there, just hidden. ¡°Friends, close associates¡­ that¡¯s people working for me. I have business in Eikenport,¡± Glen explained. ¡°Why would Hardir need business in Eikenport?¡± Soletha asked not to appear uninterested in the topic. ¡°To make profit,¡± Glen replied patiently and made room for Seeyu to place a plate in front of him. Mostly fruit in it, with cuts of yellow cheese varieties and a silver goblet of wine Angrein had made for him the other day. Part of a set of three, for him, Sen and Inis-Mir ¡®when¡¯s she becomes of age¡¯, as the blacksmith had put it. Sen had found him incredibly interesting, which was something unto itself, since she generally was very restrained around Zilan. Then again, Angrein was human. Probably. ¡°Anyways,¡± he continued interrupting the murmurs of those present. ¡°We need its port, especially now we might have the ships available to move large quantities of material to Lon. We also have an agreement with Kaltha¡¯s Princess and the pirates helping her. That in itself gives us advantage the other kingdoms don¡¯t have. Neither Kaltha, nor Regia and Lesia.¡± ¡°Kaltha¡¯s Princess,¡± Vaelenn said dismissively. ¡°You don¡¯t think having the pirates on her side is important?¡± Glen queried. Voldomir snorted. ¡°With all the respect Hardir,¡± Soletha intervened her voice soothing. ¡°There¡¯s no Kaltha, not in name as that was what Reinut¡¯s navigator was called and no kingdom, since the pirates had no business there in the first place. As for the Lorians they¡¯ll split up eventually, their lords have grander ambitions than their station, which frankly is more base than noble.¡± ¡°Haha,¡± Voldomir chuckled, just as Aenymriel came inside, apparently going past Kirk and Bing that recoiled when she opened the door behind them. The Zilan with the boyish short hair, wore a full body sort of jumpsuit made of soft whale leather, the close necked top attached on her pants with oiled thick leather cords. Anfalon frowned when she paused to examine those present, afore bowing to Glen effortlessly. ¡°Hardir,¡± she whispered. ¡°May I stay?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Glen said and realized that other than Anfalon the rest didn¡¯t appear to react to her entrance. Voldomir exempted, as the High Priest was still chuckling both hands clasped on his weathered staff. He turned towards his Council again, fingers rapping on the table. ¡°Most of the realm disagree,¡± he told them. ¡°With yer assessment. Let us say they outnumber us heavily. There¡¯s a Kaltha and two Lorian Kingdoms for a couple of centuries now and the pirates have enough ships to spare some as gravy in a deal, which is what this Princess of Kaltha managed to get them to agree to.¡± ¡°She¡¯s Reinut¡¯s kin,¡± Anfalon grunted. ¡°Exactly,¡± Glen agreed, although he hadn¡¯t even considered that may had been the reason. ¡°It appears most others support her brother,¡± Soletha said and it was unfortunate how much the news had spread, Glen thought. ¡°The mercenaries did, but they were stopped,¡± Glen replied. ¡°Which leaves the city in her hands sort of, until the Khan reacts.¡± ¡°How far is the Horselord?¡± Anfalon asked eyeing the sweating Metu suspiciously. ¡°I assume Hardir wants to intervene in the succession. Install a puppet perhaps on the throne?¡± ¡°Aww my,¡± Aenymriel purred impressed. ¡°That was very cunning great Anfalon,¡± she told him and Vaelenn glared her way not pleased. ¡°I¡¯m channeling Hardir¡¯s wishes,¡± Anfalon retorted. ¡°I¡¯m sure you have something more sinister in mind and I wanted to preemptively put a halt to your schemes.¡± Aenymriel puckered her mouth unhappy and Soletha stood up trying to appear unbothered, but failing. ¡°Why is she in the Council?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe she is,¡± Fikumin responded with a scowl. ¡°An elderborn can sit in Council sessions,¡± Anfalon snapped at her, an elderborn himself ¨Cas all those that had been born in the First Era were called. Glen had learned that very recently, the lines between the Zilan castes sometimes difficult to discern for outsiders- and Soletha paled afore returning to her seat. ¡°Especially after receiving Hardir¡¯s permission,¡± the rigid hoplite leader added, eyeing the blank faced Aenymriel warningly. The tension rising inside the room, until Voldomir¡¯s staff hit the table with an abrupt clang. The priest had fallen asleep and lost hold of it, the sound breaking the stalemate. ¡°While it¡¯s a thought,¡± Glen started after puffing out. ¡°I don¡¯t want to get involved with Kaltha¡¯s problems, but I want to secure both Eplas and Jelin are open to us from land or sea. We need their markets and their coin, but we don¡¯t need their wars.¡± ¡°Kaltha is attacking near Altarin and there are forces marching towards Tyeusfort,¡± Fikumin expounded on the state of affairs. ¡°The herd caravans coming from Blacksheep reported that the intersection was crawling with soldiers, cavalry and supply wagons. Both Cofols and Issirs. That¡¯s sixty kilometers from Tyeusfort and the river Felmond.¡± ¡°They are blocking Lon¡¯s access to the desert roads. This is a mess we need to fix, or find another way to regain access to the Peninsula. Obviously the peaceful merchants there are hurting the most with the situation,¡± Glen added. ¡°The ¡®Four Sisters¡¯ used their gold to fuel their games and their ¡®expeditions¡¯ to acquire more slaves Hardir. That a Horselord brought them down eventually sounds like fate to me,¡± Vaelenn argued. ¡°Why help them?¡± ¡°I¡¯m married to the Peninsula,¡± Glen retorted, his tone cautionary. ¡°Love doing business wit them and have probably a fortune in real estate in the darn place. I don¡¯t give a shite about the past. I want a trade route open for the Sopats.¡± ¡°Eh, on that note,¡± Fikumin murmured, to give him time to calm down and Glen took the time, chewing on a piece of spiced cheese with whole peppers in it and glugging down a goblet of wine, when his tongue flamed up out of the blue. ¡°Metu, have you found a bigger map?¡± A deeply flushed and sweating Glen turned to Metu, whilst refilling his cup quickly, everyone appearing alarmed at his bout of sudden heavy coughing, but for Voldomir who opted to taste the ¡®very¡¯ spicy cheese himself. ¡°I haven¡¯t found the one you requested Lord Fikumin.¡± ¡°Jinx¡¯s¡­ ahem,¡± Glen tried to say, his eyes tearing up, wine in his nose and a lung leaping for his throat. ¡°¡­place has¡­ ahem¡­ darnit¡­ ahem,¡± Aenymriel touched his shoulder and offered him a small open vial. Glen looked at her, Anfalon moving as fast as the female, but making way more noise, putting a heavy hand on her wrist with a grunt. ¡°What is this?¡± he asked her warningly. Glen stared in her youthful face unsure. Aenymriel sighed and had some for herself. ¡°Boiled rat fat mostly,¡± she explained with a small grimace. ¡°Tastes very unpleasant, but stops the cough and removes burning. People rarely consume the hardened wax wrap of the cheese, as it absorbs all the oils with time, but he did. That was a lethal dose of ¡®ghost peppers¡¯ Anfalon.¡± Glen grabbed the vial and glugged it down fast, the oily substance soothing his hoarse throat immediately. He had to drink another cup of wine to wash away the stomach-turning aftertaste. ¡°Jinx has a detailed map in her place,¡± he managed to say two minutes later, with his voice coming out an octave lower than usual and his collar drenched in sweat. ¡°So we¡¯ll move this session there.¡±
The Goras Council marched across the street, with passersby stopping to stare at them curious and stopped afore Jinx¡¯s villa, the freshly painted white door having the imprints of three sets of hands on it. A Zilan¡¯s, a Gish¡¯s and a monkey¡¯s. It also sported a heavy duty iron chain, complete with a large padlock fastened on it and apparently locked. Metu cleared his throat seeing everyone staring at the barred entrance blankly and offered his two cents on their predicament. ¡°Ahm, Lady Jinx is away on that mission my lord.¡± Glen wiped his face with a hand and glared at the fidgety Cofol. ¡°I¡¯m aware,¡± he grunted and checked to see if anyone was smirking other than Voldomir that is, who had his mouth full of cheese and could barely breathe. ¡°I also have a spare key.¡± ¡°You do?¡± Fikumin asked, but seeing Glen¡¯s expression turned it into a grunt of agreement. ¡°Of course. It makes sense given yer close friendship my Lord.¡±This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. ¡°Right,¡± Glen said and reached for his satchel. ¡°Now everyone stand back a couple of steps. More. Move it Voldomir. Fuck¡¯s sake, ye need to swallow afore yer teeth fall off! You too, Metu. Move back, don¡¯t pout. Kirk and Bing stand behind me whilst I unlock it.¡± He turned around and got his lockpicks out, found the one most likely to work with the type of padlock Jinx had installed ¨Cvery annoyingly- and went to work. Paused to remove a small piece of toothpick the sneaky Gish had inserted in the lock, with a tiny set of pliers and caught Fikumin standing next to his knee and watching him closely. ¡°Alix¡¯s had left me his stuff,¡± he explained whilst working the right picks into the mechanism. ¡°Showed me the ropes a bit, but I don¡¯t want them getting any ideas.¡± Fikumin nodded that gigantic head and mess of hair moving up and down. ¡°Alix was a professional thief with years of experience,¡± the dwarf commented, with Glen nodding him along. ¡°It would take more than a few lessons to learn the trade Glen. Plus firsthand experience and natural skill,¡± Fikumin added, just as the grinning Monarch of Morn Taras popped the lock open in seconds. ¡°Well¡­ would ye look at that, haha! Parted faster than a port harlot¡¯s legs,¡± Glen howled to sell it. ¡°Luthos is by yer side dwarf.¡± ¡°It appears he is,¡± Fikumin noted stiffly. ¡°Gods move in mysterious ways milord.¡± ¡°That they do my friend,¡± Glen agreed and unfastened the chain. He cracked the door open next and then waved for the large group to follow him inside. ¡°Always eager to offer helping hand to the righteous,¡± Glen added and walked inside Jinx¡¯s place.
¡°Nobody pockets anything. We are not crooks,¡± Glen warned them austerely, most of those present frowning at the suggestion, whilst he quickly perused the sparse furniture in the large hall for any valuables himself. Another locked door blocking the way to the bedroom. A large box next to a table across the wall with a map of the continents. ¡°The map is here my lord,¡± Metu said unsure and Glen turned towards them annoyed. ¡°I¡¯m not blind Metu,¡± he admonished the blinking Cofol. ¡°Remove that darn phallus from the table so we can sit down and not stare at it,¡± he ordered him. Metu nodded and walked to retrieve the offending item, Soletha and Vaelenn perking up intrigued. They turned around and walked after the Cofol, Glen watching them amused. ¡°It¡¯s a rather faithful representation,¡± Soletha commented casually, Metu watching them alarmed, the large wooden phallus in hand. ¡°There¡¯s some skill there,¡± Vaelenn yielded. ¡°I¡¯m not sure about the material, or the size,¡± Soletha argued scholastically. ¡°There was this artisan in Elauthin,¡± Vaelenn reminisced with her rival nodding. ¡°Used ehem¡­ rubber I think? It made it more pliable.¡± ¡°Mmm,¡± Soletha agreed, seeing her point. ¡°Much more pleasant to the touch, I was told,¡± She glanced at those present with a rare blush. ¡°Your words ring true Vaelenn,¡± she added quickly. Glen and everyone else present exchanged glances unsure how to intervene. Voldomir, who¡¯d managed to gulp down all that spicy cheese, started chuckling. ¡°Yer not exactly helping,¡± Glen grunted, very frustrated. ¡°These two haven¡¯t agreed on anything for centuries Hardir,¡± Voldomir explained very amused in contrast. ¡°I suggest you leave them to it and continue with the meeting.¡± Glen rolled his eyes, breathed once deep and then spotted Aenymriel¡¯s disinterested face. The Zilan shrugged her shoulders to his voiceless query. ¡°I¡¯m partial in flesh Hardir,¡± she purred and showed him her long nimble fingers. ¡°And hand worked clay.¡± Luthos stumbled on a pile of fresh turds, Glen thought with a snort and marched to the map frustrated. Face planted himself in it and got shite up his nose.
¡°What do you mean the reefs are unnavigable?¡± Glen grunted when his proposal was universally frowned upon. ¡°They said the same about Goras jungle, or the pale mountains and I cleared them both.¡± ¡°With armed adventurers, a wyvern and plenty of luck involved,¡± Fikumin said. ¡°They have a valid point Garth and these uncharted reef-plagued waters are extra dangerous for the ships. Captains rightly avoid them.¡± ¡°Has anyone attempted a crossing?¡± Glen insisted glaring at the colored map. Jinx had used her finger to paint a heart in white around the Sinking Isles. It didn¡¯t make the isolated mounds of land more appealing. ¡°Nor he shall whilst carrying cargo worth a fortune my lord,¡± Metu replied pensively from across the room. ¡°What about this canyon here?¡± Glen tried another way, not liking his defeatism. ¡°Under Desert Minor, why¡­ wait a minute. Is this a giant island?¡± ¡°Wetull is just a name,¡± Anfalon elucidated. ¡°It means the islands beyond. The islands being Goras, Elauthin and Cydonia.¡± ¡°Goras is part of a continent,¡± Glen corrected him. ¡°Eplas.¡± ¡°Eplas and Jelin are what the humans called their islands,¡± Anfalon explained and pointed at the painted wall. ¡°Continents,¡± he yielded. ¡°Beyond what?¡± Glen asked with a frown. ¡°Mithtull,¡± Voldomir replied, a bit of color on his cheeks. The fact he was standing upright a miracle according to Glen¡¯s assessment of the amount of cheese he¡¯d consumed. ¡°The land of Mist, or Mistland as scribled here. Kallister paraphrased. He did it a lot.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Glen grunted, making a note of the name. ¡°This Serpent Canal goes all the way to Lorsan Gulf, but one could disembark near the Sandalwood Forest, then cut straight across to reach our peninsula.¡± ¡°Eh, captains avoided the Torn Earth and Serpent Canal was navigable only from Quiceran¡¯s port in the Lorsan Gulf,¡± Voldomir said. ¡°Not the other way around.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a dangerous long journey over deep waters. Desert on one side, sharp rocks on the other, with no way to land until you reach deep in the narrow canal through Wyvern roaming lands and waters,¡± Anfalon said and eyed the two females that had returned from their animated discussion with Metu in tow. ¡°There¡¯s only one Wyvern,¡± Glen argued. ¡°Rather friendly,¡± he added unconvincingly. The looks on everyone¡¯s faces telling. ¡°Snake Mount is between the canal and Goras,¡± Soletha said. ¡°We¡¯ll deal wit the cultists.¡± ¡°It¡¯s also close to Abarat and Lord Rothomir,¡± Aenymriel reminded him and Glen gave her a stern stare. ¡°We¡¯ll deal wit that motherfucker too.¡± ¡°You want to bring a ship, through the Torn Earth, into Serpent¡¯s Canal,¡± Alfalon summed it up. ¡°Land at Eroshin River¡¯s knee, travel near its west bank and take one of the bridges still standing there hopefully to avoid Snake Mount. Pelleas will probably have guards at Ninthalor¡¯s stone bridge.¡± ¡°How soon can we have a demonstration of the unit¡¯s capabilities Anfalon?¡± Anfalon clenched his jaw. ¡°No better exercise than toughening it out in the field Hardir.¡± ¡°Soon then. We take the bridge and control the road from Goras to Serpent¡¯s Canal,¡± Glen agreed looking at the map with a satisfied smirk. ¡°We have a fucking trade route open to¡­¡± he glanced at Metu confused, the names of the cities there escaping him and not exactly rolling off one¡¯s tongue. ¡°Ahm, the Four Sisters,¡± Metu blurted out and Glen thought that was as good a moniker as any. ¡°The Four Sisters trade route,¡± he repeated and stared at Aenymriel. ¡°The meeting is over.¡± ¡°We haven¡¯t¡ª¡± Fikumin started, but he cut him off raising his hand. ¡°I have, but ye can continue in Metu¡¯s place,¡± Glen told him impatiently. ¡°I want a report on what was discussed Fikumin.¡± Glen returned to the map as one after the other left to continue their discussion. Aenymriel who had stayed behind, raised a cobalt brow when Glen lit his pipe. ¡°Flix truly liked you¡­ Glen,¡± Nym said, her expression changing. ¡°Ye didn¡¯t leave.¡± ¡°You wanted me to stay.¡± Glen smacked his lips and blew smoke out trying to create a circle but failing. Gods darnit. ¡°I want information,¡± he told her and Nym nodded crossing her arms in front of her chest. ¡°Give a fool power and he¡¯ll do the work for you,¡± Nym replied. ¡°Not you?¡± Glen probed a little surprised. ¡°I already have the power Glen,¡± Nym said with a small smile. ¡°It will raise eyebrows and I don¡¯t like been talked about in the open.¡± ¡°Who could do the work?¡± Glen asked her. ¡°Mmm, I think you have someone in mind already,¡± Nym purred. ¡°Din will make sure everything runs smoothly.¡± Yep, this is a smart one, he thought. She needs constant watching¡­ ¡°You intent to travel?¡± ¡°Openly being around people makes me anxious,¡± Nym said ambiguously and stared at their shadows, elongated from the light coming in through the open door. Glen looked at them as well and when he returned his eyes on Nym, the female Zilan wasn¡¯t there. He frowned glanced back at the wall and Nym¡¯s lingering shade gave him a teasing curtsy, afore it dissolved into nothingness. ¡­other than the troubling fact, she can do that apparently.
Three hours later Glen grabbed a stool under the pavilion¡¯s shade, weirdly called ¡®Bard with no name¡¯ in Common, the pretty young Zilan behind the counter ready to serve him pausing, when she heard Folen¡¯s voice. ¡°I¡¯ll take over sweet mother,¡± Folen said and glided next to his youthful ¡®parent¡¯. ¡°See to Sarya will you?¡± ¡°Sarya being yer sister, I reckon?¡± Glen queried mockingly, glancing at the long-legged Zilan waitress and ¡®Luthoris¡¯ snorted afore walking away sporting an even shorter dress than her. ¡°That would¡¯ve been nigh awkward last night,¡± Folen admitted, recoiling seeing Glen¡¯s frown and clearing his throat switched subjects quickly. ¡°A glass of excellent ¡®Goras Nectar'' to smooth spirits and wet the appetite?¡± ¡°Two things,¡± Glen told him placing both his arms on the table with a glare at Kirk that had nodded instinctively. ¡°First you can¡¯t use the moniker, serving whatever it is you have there.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve stepped on the grapes myself, felt the juices running down my feet Hardir,¡± Folen protested civilly. ¡°If this is not Goras wine, then I don¡¯t know what is.¡± ¡°Thus it shall remain, you not knowing and this not being ¡®Goras Nectar¡¯,¡± Glen retorted not convinced. ¡°The image was disturbing by the way.¡± ¡°May I offer rum?¡± Folen tried again. ¡°Second,¡± Glen continued with a warning stare. ¡°The lake¡¯s shores are mine and I don¡¯t need a crook operating near the resort.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have a cup,¡± Kirk said respectfully, when he finished. ¡°It¡¯s a service, a memorial to your fight with the Hydra and a spot for its visitors to rest avoiding the sun boiling their brains Hardir,¡± he poured Kirk a cup of rum and slid it his way, afore returning to an amused Glen. ¡°You¡¯ll shut us down? I have enemies Hardir working against me, but think of my mother and poor Sarya.¡± Glen sighed and scratched his neck with a finger, looked behind Folen at the various bottles there. ¡°You have anything legitimate?¡± ¡°Not for free,¡± Folen admitted. ¡°I haven¡¯t.¡± Glen smacked his lips, whilst Kirk paused sipping at his rum with a frown. ¡°Pour one cup for me,¡± he told him and got his leather purse out. Glen loosened the thin cords, the gleam of gold catching the Zilan¡¯s eye. ¡°That¡¯s not yer real mother right?¡± Glen said taking a gold coin out of the pile. ¡°This is a difficult query Hardir. I think I¡¯ll pass,¡± Folen said and opened an engraved old bottle. He filled Glen¡¯s goblet to the brim and gathered the excess that dribbled on the counter with a finger not to waste it. ¡°I don¡¯t need a tavern-keeper, or his ¡®mother¡¯,¡± Glen explained taking a small sip of the wine. He stood back stunned. ¡°The difference is shocking,¡± he told the blank-faced Zilan. ¡°Wit what ye are serving.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the water Hardir,¡± Folen admitted. ¡°A Hydra died in it. Leaves an aftertaste.¡± Fuck¡¯s sake. ¡°I don¡¯t need this as I said,¡± Glen continued, unsure whether to laugh, or punch him in the face. ¡°You need a bard though,¡± Folen guessed, pointing at his lute hanging behind the counter. Wrongly. Glen stared at him a little numb. ¡°No,¡± he finally said unsympathetically. ¡°Uhm,¡± Folen nodded and glanced at the patrons enjoying the lake¡¯s tranquil noon. ¡°What is it Hardir needs then?¡± ¡°Information,¡± Glen repeated what he¡¯d told Aenymriel earlier, crooking his mouth. ¡°As in more for me, less for others.¡± ¡°It sounds like a job for a man of clandestine action, perhaps military? I¡¯m better with a song Hardir.¡± Eh, no yer not. ¡°I don¡¯t trust them for this spot and the best candidate skill-wise while untrustworthy, refused to accept,¡± Glen explained. ¡°Yer a close second given the filth available.¡± ¡°Is this an audition?¡± Folen asked unsure not offended and Glen sighed. He stretched his back out, the Zilan waitress listening in to their talk smiling like a cat caught wit an unresponsive canary in jaws, having slid to his other elbow and pretending to clean the counter with a towel. Glen snorted, raised his left arm high and downed it abruptly smacking the Zilan right at the buttocks. She jumped over the counter with a yelp, which was an athletic feat unto itself that delighted the patrons, Glen¡¯s hand imprinted on the pale flesh clearly. ¡°The previous time was the audition,¡± the Monarch of Morn Taras explained, leering at the scowling female. ¡°This is the interview part felon, Foleen, or whatever you wanna call it.¡± ¡°What kind of part?¡± Folen asked, reaching for a large vase with ointment, which he tossed casually to a seething Sarya. ¡°That¡¯s not the right answer,¡± Glen told him and got up leaving most of his wine untouched. ¡°Ah,¡± Folen said and nodded, afore offering a small curtsy. ¡°Hardir,¡± he added, with a smirking Glen adding, a hint of razz in his voice. ¡°Welcome to the Council, Master of Songs.¡±
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 267. The Monarch’s Council (2/2)
Glen Arguen Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Monarch O¡¯ Morn Taras The Monarch¡¯s Council Part II -A matter of sentiment-
The fully geared hoplites stood in rows of ten per, polished black helms gleaming every time the sun popped out of the clouds. A black Thorax, the characteristic muscled hoplite cuirass Glen had first seen on Anfalon and the round -also black- shields with cuts for the spear called the Aspis, arranged one next to the other, a red two horned Wyvern¡¯s head painted on the shields and armour glaring at him. The men¡¯s stilled eyes, their faces hidden behind the sinister helms, staring forward almost as ominously. It was a mighty impressive spectacle. Glen cleared his throat, his esophagus feeling leathery after he¡¯d almost burned it to a crisp eating Seeyu¡¯s exotic Cofol cheese and glanced out the corner of his eye the most impressive Hoplite of them all, the wyvern on his new Thorax an engraved silver exemplifying the difference. Not that Anfalon needed it to stand out. ¡°They look¡­ brawny, well-trained,¡± he commented and Anfalon snorted. ¡°Best of the bunch unfortunately,¡± the rigid Zilan replied taking his words as a jest. ¡°What happened to the rest of them?¡± Glen probed unsure, fearing the worst. ¡°They didn¡¯t make it.¡± ¡°Surely they live still,¡± Glen blinked in shock. ¡°How many are we talking about?¡± ¡°One in four,¡± Anfalon elucidated gruffly. ¡°Be it injury, or weakness. I ordered them to leave the barracks afore nightfall.¡± Ah. ¡°Good grief. Where will they go? And how many do you have here?¡± Glen asked him licking his dry lips. ¡°A hundred. Half an Othrim.¡± ¡°Ah, can we use those you cut in another unit? They have received training already,¡± Glen insisted. ¡°Four hundred warriors, even mediocre ones, is nothing to scoff at.¡± ¡°They are not mediocre, not all of them,¡± Anfalon explained. ¡°They just don¡¯t have the mental capabilities to become a Hoplite. They fear death too much.¡± Don¡¯t we all? ¡°I was thinking of making another unit, less¡­¡± ¡°Like guards?¡± Anfalon probed. ¡°Rangers?¡± ¡°A ranger needs good tracking skills, to be adept in clandestine warfare and a good grasp of the bow and arrow.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have that?¡± Anfalon grimaced taking affront at his query. ¡°Of course I do. They don¡¯t.¡± Glen breathed once deeply, a wrinkle on his forehead deepening. ¡°How many have it from those cut?¡± He asked the scowling Anfalon, the field they were standing on completely level and well-trotted from the men standing at attention for about half an hour now. ¡°You¡¯ll get a quarter of them that can use a bow and move silently with some competence. Maeriel has received the training required from Faelar. None better than him. Fortunately she didn¡¯t follow him in exile. Now she¡¯ll have to inspect them herself, but I don¡¯t think I¡¯m mistaken,¡± Anfalon grimaced, smacked the hoplite helm he was holding in his hands and wore it over his head. ¡°When will the next bunch be evaluated?¡± Glen asked him. ¡°A month and I¡¯ll have a hundred more,¡± Anfalon replied stiffly. ¡°You¡¯ll also have more letdowns to work with. A main Othrim is what I¡¯m aiming for. Two hundred would be enough to take the bridge,¡± he added. ¡°But you¡¯ll need more to assault Abarat and I caution against killing Imperial citizens. You don¡¯t need to Hardir.¡± ¡°Lord Rothomir won¡¯t give up Anfalon.¡± The Hoplite stared at him silently for a moment. ¡°He¡¯ll have to Hardir. You assumed the Monarchy, filled the void, a challenger nowhere to be seen. He has no other choice.¡± ¡°What if he is stubborn?¡± Anfalon grunted. ¡°Rothomir is young, but he isn¡¯t a fool, nor is he that young. Someone spurred him to action and he presumed the road was clear. It isn¡¯t, I¡¯ve a better claim than him, so does Aenymriel. But you Hardir, have the Wyvern¡¯s blessing. It cannot be disputed.¡± ¡°I see,¡± Glen replied nodding his head. ¡°Who had the idea you think?¡± ¡°Palace officials, some of them are still around it seems,¡± Anfalon retorted and glared at the warriors, their talk over. ¡°This pitiful excuse of an Othrim shall run full sprint to Morn Taras and be back afore the first light! No stops, no sleep!¡± He bellowed. ¡°I¡¯ll give ye five minutes of head start. The first hoplite I catch, I punch in the face! MOVE YOU LAZY TRASH!¡± Glen waited a bit after Anfalon had sprinted in full gear after the trotting hoplites and then asked Kirk who was watching, standing a couple of meters behind him, with a frown on his face. ¡°Any humans made it in the unit?¡± ¡°A fucking Nord. Big motherfucker, excuse my language milord,¡± Kirk grunted. ¡°A completely illiterate lump of meat named Hobor from Willard,¡± he added. ¡°Wherever the fuck that is." ¡°Bigger than Soren?¡± Glen queried. Kirk frowned, then shook his head. ¡°No one is bigger than the big fella milord,¡± he added crooking his mouth. ¡°Between us, most people think his father was a giant.¡±
The strong heat from the burning furnaces smacked you in the face just standing at the entrance of Angrein¡¯s workshop. The villa rebuilt to accommodate his needs and the yard turned into a busy workplace. The number of artisans and blacksmiths working inside staggering. Angrein saw Glen standing at the large entrance, whilst wiping his face and walked towards him, muscular arms blackened despite the effort he made to clean some of it away with a dirty towel. ¡°Angrein I¡¯m impressed with the number of people you have here,¡± Glen admitted after they had greeted each other. ¡°I won¡¯t turn down anyone looking for his calling,¡± Angrein explained, dirty leather apron burned at spots. ¡°The woods provided little opportunity to learn a skill other than hunting, or gathering.¡± ¡°Are they skilled?¡± ¡°Some are. Of course not everyone is an artist Garth,¡± Angrein replied. ¡°Though not much skill is required to make a horseshoe, or a decent tool.¡± Glen nodded. ¡°I was told you have my armour finished,¡± he told him and Angrein nodded. ¡°Sen will also like your company. She intends to visit the Garden of Statues later,¡± Glen grimaced. ¡°Zilan make her nervous.¡± ¡°I shall make the time for Lady Sovereign,¡± Angrein replied readily. ¡°Ah, by the way I have something made for her and Inis-Mir. We talked about it the other day,¡± he made a gesture and one of the assistants run towards them, a small box in hand. ¡°You didn¡¯t have to,¡± Glen started, but Angrien shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Lady Sen-Iv has excellent taste and a practical mind,¡± Angrein said. ¡°A rare occurrence. Who do you have working on the statues? Eilven?¡± ¡°Him. Vaelenn suggested him.¡± Angrein nodded accepting the small box and sending the young Zilan assistant away. ¡°Eilven is good. Very skilled. Hyper-realistic in technique, he was ¡®pushed¡¯ aside for centuries. The Queen favored a more robust brush, just like her father.¡± ¡°I see. Well, he made Marcus pretty close to what I described,¡± Glen said. ¡°And Alix is a dead ringer for the annoying bastard,¡± The Zilan sculptor had finished the statue a couple of days earlier, the result stunning, as if someone had poured gold over the small smirking Gish thief. Watching Alix¡¯s smug face coming to life, arms crossed over his chest and brow raised tauntingly, had hit him hard. ¡°It¡¯s the memory, not the statue that holds value to us,¡± Angrein said seeing his expression. He opened the box and got a gold pendant out. Shaped like an oblong egg, or a scarab, a side having flames engraved on it, the other a rising sun, it had two small ears on one side. Angrein turned one of them carefully and like a scarab¡¯s wing one part of the ovule opened up, revealing a cut orange firestone encased inside. ¡°Whoa,¡± Glen murmured. Sen had long talked about the value of using the magic stones on everyday jewelry. Angrein nodded and closed it turning the small pedal the other way. He then opened the other wing and a bright light flashed out illuminating their faces. ¡°Haha, now that¡¯s useful,¡± Glen agreed with a nod. ¡°A bit expensive for the regular adventurer though right?¡± ¡°Perhaps, but not for Inis-Mir,¡± Angrein replied. ¡°I¡¯ve fashioned a thin steel chain for it, coated in pure gold to match it, but it isn¡¯t yet ready.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Glen told him truthfully. ¡°It¡¯s a lovely pendant.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just a useful piece of ornament Garth,¡± Angrein said. ¡°The fact that it¡¯s a gift Lady Sen commissioned for your daughter is what gives it the most value.¡± Glen couldn¡¯t argue with his reasoning. ¡°Let me show you the armour,¡± Angrein told him after Glen returned the stunning pendant to him.
¡°Why carve the wyvern¡¯s head in gold?¡± Glen asked holding the finely shaped cuirass in his hands. ¡°The First Hallowed has it in silver, but this is the Monarch¡¯s armour,¡± Angrein explained. ¡°The rims on the helm depicting it without standing out too much.¡± ¡°Uhm,¡± Glen murmured. ¡°Will it stop a bolt?¡± he jested. ¡°A small one,¡± Angrein replied seriously. ¡°I council against testing it afore a siege engine, or a Scorpio. The heavy bolt might not go through, say three out of four times, but the impact will pulverize your sternum Garth, four out of four.¡± Glen blinked. ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind,¡± he replied all serious. ¡°Haha,¡± Angrein guffawed mistaking his words again. ¡°Yep, only a mature Wyvern¡¯s scales can do that, though the whole impact force applied on the test subject conundrum remains. It is a wonderful concept though.¡± ¡°Anyone made one of those?¡± ¡°Isil Mehtar O¡¯ Mecatan,¡± Angrein replied solemnly. ¡°My tutor.¡± ¡°That the one that made Anfalon¡¯s weapons?¡±This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°The same.¡± ¡°Right. I¡¯m guessing not much material for that,¡± Glen added. Angrein sighed. ¡°A Wyvern¡¯s hide is hard to come by. Not impossible, as weather won¡¯t eat at it, or time. Everyone in the business is on the lookout for it and the bones,¡± he explained and pointed at the dagger, Glen had taken with him that day. ¡°The witch had access to Gimoss¡¯ carcass,¡± Glen revealed and Angrein stood back, those strange reddish irises glowing. ¡°I find that hard to believe,¡± the Imperial Blacksmith said. ¡°Gods don¡¯t die.¡± ¡°Trust me, this one kind of did,¡± Glen told him. ¡°But the real story is even harder to palate and twice as obnoxious.¡±
Folen, big lute strapped on his back, clad in an expensive claret longcoat with silver buttons and same colored boots, was waiting for him at the entrance of his villa, when he returned. Glen jumped from the saddle, tossed Outlaw¡¯s reins to Kirk and walked towards the frowning Zilan. Folen had combed his cobalt hair back behind his ears and used enough oil on them to keep everything in place. ¡°Folen,¡± Glen said with a glance at Fikumin standing defensively inside the open entrance, his pickaxe in hand. ¡°Do we have a meeting?¡± ¡°I just wanted to make a preliminary report Hardir and meet the Council, but the latter was impossible to accomplish. I was threatened with bodily harm, if I entered the premises,¡± Folen replied and a scowling Fikumin snorted. ¡°Are you serious?¡± Ah. Bing left with Sen-Iv and Angrein to visit the Garden earlier. ¡°Fiku, mister Folen will join us,¡± Glen told him. He¡¯d forgotten to inform anyone of the new member to their ¡®team¡¯. ¡°The bard?¡± ¡°Music helps me think,¡± Folen explained. ¡°Not as a bard,¡± Glen elucidated with a glare to the tidied up Zilan. ¡°A bartender?¡± The dwarf chanced. ¡°He will be our Master of Secrets,¡± Glen grunted not liking his tone. ¡°Sniff out info on stuff and seeing as he¡¯s a local, provide us wit rare insight on the criminal elements plaguin¡¯ Goras.¡± Fikumin sighed and pulled at his rich beard with stubby fingers. ¡°We have criminal elements in Goras?¡± he finally asked Folen. ¡°No major gang has formed yet, but we do have a ring of smugglers,¡± the Zilan replied. ¡°What are they smuggling?¡± Glen asked curious clasping his hands behind his back. ¡°Lightstones,¡± Folen smacked his dark red lips, big eyes the color of warm copper. Glen realized the Zilan had stage makeup on. ¡°The merchants are dying to get their hands on them for cheap.¡± What in the slovenly fuck! ¡°Put a stop to it,¡± Glen ordered him immediately with a frustrated growl. ¡°Whatever it takes, crash those fuckers Felon.¡± ¡°Foleen,¡± Folen corrected him, with extra emphasis in the vowels. ¡°Whatever,¡± Glen retorted abruptly. ¡°I¡¯ll need manpower and funds in order to run a good counter-smuggling operation,¡± Folen explained and glanced at the scowling dwarf. ¡°Fiku will get ye the coin,¡± Glen said and turned to look at his friend. ¡°A large number of warriors will join us as a defense force,¡± he informed him. ¡°They are trained and we¡¯ll arm them. Use them to create a city watch, after Maeriel has her picks for the rangers. See that the better fighters are kept to man Morn Taras guard.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll see you get a couple of warriors,¡± Fikumin told Folen, who stopped him raising a hand. ¡°I¡¯d like a skilled torturer right away, or absent that someone good with heavy pliers,¡± he told him. ¡°I¡¯ll use the girls in the meantime for muscle.¡± Glen rubbed his forehead with three fingers and then glanced at the frowning Fikumin. ¡°Would that be a problem?¡± Folen queried seeing their discomfort. ¡°I¡¯ll look into it,¡± Fikumin grunted and turned to Glen a little frustrated. ¡°The Council won¡¯t like having a dwarf controlling a small army inside the districts.¡± I don¡¯t care. ¡°You¡¯re my Shield Fiku. I frankly don¡¯t trust anyone else. You¡¯re the noblest of us all,¡± Glen told him and he meant most of it. ¡°Soletha will handle agriculture and trade, Voldomir won¡¯t touch anything but religion and Anfalon is the same with military affairs, since he practically lives in the barracks. Metu I trust with finances because he is scared shitless of me and I don¡¯t mind him skimming a bit off the top. I just need to find something for Vaelenn to keep the old guard happy.¡± ¡°Make her a judiciary,¡± Folen offered. ¡°But you don¡¯t need to worry about Vaelenn. She listens to Laedan, they all do. As long as you control him, the ¡®favored¡¯ won¡¯t budge.¡± ¡°The Denmaster?¡± Glen asked not expecting this piece of info. ¡°A member of the old palace,¡± Folen explained. ¡°His position holds weight still for the citizens. They had rallied around him after the disaster.¡± Vaelenn had lost an arm demanding Glen released the maimed official when they had first met. Seeing he was a practicing cannibal and a killer, Glen had kept him locked up until very recently, but still he wasn¡¯t allowed to go anywhere without a guard following him around, or leaving the city. Laedan was busy at work to restore the Wyvern¡¯s Den under Nesande¡¯s Temple. ¡°I see,¡± he commented, giving a frowning Fikumin a knowing stare. His pick had justified part of his small salary. Having said that¡­ ¡°What kind of budget are we talking about?¡± He asked Folen and the Zilan assumed a troubled expression immediately, his shoulders shagging. Fuck. Ye piece of shite! ¡°Alas Hardir,¡± Folen started sadly. ¡°I have to start from scratch here. Then there is Mother and Sister.¡± ¡°Ehm, who are they?¡± Fikumin queried unsure. ¡°The waitresses from ¡®Bard wit no name¡¯ fuck¡¯s sake, seriously?¡± Glen grunted. ¡°Their stage names Hardir. The girls have talent, but circumstances have forced them to dabble at lesser, even frowned upon jobs,¡± Folen explained. ¡°Circumstances and you,¡± Glen grunted. ¡°As their manager, I only want what¡¯s best for them.¡± ¡°Spying and torturing people is a step in the right direction?¡± Glen mocked him. Folen sighed. ¡°Regrettably Hardir,¡± he replied with fake humility, just as the sound of a horse galloping their way was heard. ¡°It is.¡±
Bing stopped his horse and jumped down, pausing to allow the dust to clear out a bit, afore addressing those present and busy cleaning their clothes irritated after his abrupt entrance. ¡°Lord Reeves,¡± he started, but stopped and cleared his throat, correcting himself. ¡°Garth I meant.¡± ¡°Go on,¡± Glen grunted sourly. ¡°Lady Sen told me to report Captain Jinx has arrived at Nesande¡¯s Temple.¡± You need to break the news to her first, was his wife¡¯s timely warning. ¡°I¡¯ll head out there immediately,¡± Glen murmured, afore barking. ¡°Kirk! Bring the horse around!¡± ¡°I have to go and smooth things out,¡± he told Fikumin. ¡°There¡¯s no way to do that Garth,¡± Fikumin admonished him. Gods darn it. ¡°Listen Fiku,¡± Glen started, but paused to collect himself. ¡°I never wanted anyone to get hurt.¡± ¡°They died Garth.¡± ¡°They did,¡± Glen grunted, his mood taking a hit. He smacked his lips and stared at Kirk bringing up the horses, then at the bystanders watching them per usual. Every Hardir appearance holding their interest. Glen forced a smile on his mouth and turned to the scowling dwarf. ¡°I won¡¯t forget to honor anyone. Norec has a place¡ª¡± ¡°A dwarf¡¯s place is under his mountain,¡± Fikumin stopped him. ¡°His statue made of solid rock and dwarven hands.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Glen hissed. ¡°I wasn¡¯t trying to insult his memory. You fuckin¡¯ know that!¡± Fikumin nodded and placed his pickaxe over his shoulder. ¡°Jinx isn¡¯t stupid, don¡¯t insult her as well. He¡¯s more valuable to you than I ever will be. She can understand yer way of thinking, even put it right, I can¡¯t.¡± ¡°I know that,¡± Glen replied stiffly. ¡°Uhm,¡± the dwarf grunted and walked away. ¡°Should I come along?¡± Folen asked a moment later, Glen still staring frustrated at the entrance to his villa. ¡°Can you ride?¡± Glen asked out of the corner of his mouth. ¡°Had I horse, I could,¡± Folen replied modestly. ¡°Bing, give him your mare,¡± Glen spat, seeing where this was going. ¡°Stay and guard the house. Start by closing the darn doors!¡±
Eilven wasn¡¯t around, the doors of the Garden still under construction and only part of the road paved with cut white marble. Glen jumped from the saddle, Sen¡¯s guarded face allowing for a small smile in greeting as he approached the small group. Maeriel and the other adventurers busy by the sides of the private road covering what appeared to be a hole under a large cinnamon tree. Not all adventurers were back. This wasn¡¯t a hole in the ground. What in Luthos name? ¡°Whisper,¡± he started seeing Sam¡¯s grave expression. The Gish glanced his way in pensive silence. ¡°There has been a development,¡± Glen said sensing something was horribly amiss. Where¡¯s Elaniel? ¡°What the fuck is going on here?¡± he grunted seeing Jinx wiping her eyes. ¡°We found out what happened,¡± Jinx said and walked in his arms. ¡°It didn¡¯t go very well,¡± she murmured into his chest. Glen glared at Sam Mathews. The adventurer returned his glare with one of his own and then stared at the gloomy faced Maeriel. The ranger seemed worn out. Everyone appeared dead tired, but this was something more. ¡°An accident?¡± he asked, mouth touching the top of Jinx¡¯s pink head. ¡°Ticu,¡± the Gish whispered. The what? Glen blinked unsure. ¡°Come again?¡± he probed. ¡°They¡¯ve taken over the port,¡± she told him. ¡°We run on to them. Lost Elaniel and Cole before working out an agreement, so you don¡¯t have to worry about that.¡± Glen stood back alarmed, a tick appearing on the left side of his face so severe, his eye closed completely, as if he just had a stroke. Fuck¡¯s sake. ¡°Glen,¡± Sen-Iv said softly seeing him turning red, his face distorting. ¡°It is better we return to the temple.¡± ¡°Mmm,¡± Glen murmured grinding his teeth. ¡°I¡¯ll stay,¡± Jinx told him. ¡°For a little while longer. You don¡¯t mind we placed her in yer garden right?¡± What? ¡°Of course not,¡± Glen croaked too emotional to speak intelligently. Extremely angry all of a sudden. ¡°I knew ye wouldn¡¯t,¡± Jinx told him and touched his face comfortingly. ¡°Uhm, Whisper I¡­¡± Glen worked his jaw, trying to find the words, but failed and just grunted in frustration. The Gish wiped her face with both hands and stood back. ¡°It¡¯s a lovely place you¡¯ve made here Glen. So they all can be together and keep each other company.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t intent to put anymore statues in here,¡± Glen blurted out, his chest hurting and blind from his left eye. Jinx sniffled and bobbed her head. ¡°Sen told me about Ottis. Stiles and Norec as well,¡± she revealed in a forlorn manner, the former thief hated seeing. ¡°The Gallant Dogs did good right?¡± Glen grimaced, his mouth dry. ¡°Over and beyond,¡± he croaked. The Jinx sighed and glanced at Elaniel¡¯s tree sadly. ¡°Ye put me by the entrance, if me time comes,¡± she told him seriously. ¡°So I can peek sneakily on those coming here first,¡± Jinx added with a restrained smile and turned around to go towards them. ¡°That ain¡¯t gonna plaguin¡¯ happen,¡± Glen grunted at her small back. ¡°Ye hear me? Gods darn it Whisper. I rather see everyone else perish first,¡± the Monarch of Morn Taras added seething under his breath, but while genuine in his sentiment¡­ He didn¡¯t.
The Third Era, while it never reached the heights of those that had come before it, brought forth a wave of artistry and sentimentality that had been lost during the Second. It wasn¡¯t in construction and there was much of that, or in Wetull¡¯s military might that also saw a resurgence. Neither in trade and the economy, despite the kingdom soon topping that list comfortably especially after the introduction of the Gilded Bank after 193 NC. It was that specific hyper-realistic style that dominated the arts and public works in Synia Goras originally, before it spread out to both continents that made it stand out. Life like statues and paintings. Intricate carved jewelry and tools. While it was during the first Monarch¡¯s reign that it was birthed, those living in booming Wetull and the travelers returning to the continents called it by another moniker. A play of words to celebrate its creator and perhaps distance themselves ¨Cmost times unsuccessfully- from their troubled past. - Vidal De Andrade Prologue in the famed archaeologist life¡¯s work, The Rise of Elven Architecture -A Primer- Circa 229 NC
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read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 268. The Road Diaries (1/2)
Sibren ¡®Solemn¡¯ Maats The Road Diaries Part I -Gut feeling-
There was bird shite on Ebenezer Framtond¡¯s face. Weather had turned it white at first alike paint and then half washed it down his neck and shirt. Not that it had bothered him. The renowned adventurer still stood with his legs spread slightly apart, hands resting snugly on hips and eyes set firmly south. The line of sight, if extended on a map, leading to Flauegran, or Cediorum. Turtle Isles after that and even Split Isles next, if the tales were true. Most tales told by the very man whose giant statue adorned Asturia¡¯s main square. Which made the whole thing kinda shadily convenient, Sibren Maats thought and pushed himself to stand up from the stone bench. The square relatively empty due to the bad weather and the cold wind sweeping over the Canlita Sea. It made the heavy humidity of the place unbearable for old bones such as himself. Sibren wasn¡¯t that old, at four and eight years, but the moment you reach fifty is much different than when you reached thirty, or even forty, the veteran adventurer mused. Sibren was one that much was true. As a matter of fact, an adventurer was all he had ever been. The thrill of it was in his blood and had slowly sipped in his bones. He knew it will never truly leave him. He¡¯d left Farvor, a modest town and port facing Ripel¡¯s Island in the Shallow Sea more than thirty years back, the summer of one and sixty. Theun ¡®the Cruel¡¯ Eikenaar¡¯s third year on the throne, after taking over from Arjan ¡®the Old¡¯. Sibren had gone south too at first like Ebenezer. From Trinir to Caspo O¡¯ Bor. Quarterport and Issir¡¯s Eagle after that, where he¡¯d caught sight of the young handsome king atop his horse. Riverdor and then into Regia. Aegium where he¡¯d his heart broken by a wench, then worked for a silver mine owner in Demames, afore heading to Cartagen. Over to Lesia and Cediorum where he¡¯d created his first company with Vernon and Milton ¡®Seven fingers¡¯ in one sixty seven. Across the desert to Armium and then the quest with ¡®Red¡¯ Atterton to find treasure at the Turtle Isles where Vernon had gotten himself killed. Back to Dokamna and up the Haggart River into the Stonemaze Peaks looking for the fabled silver cockatrice. The journey to Kadrek during the ¡®warbands rebellion¡¯ and Rifjordal where Milton had fought a giant and gotten his head cracked open on a shield. He sort of worked around that wearing a silver cap on it under his helm after that and the darn thing clanked ruining their ambushes proper many a times. All the way back to Anorum, where Jingo and Jester Grin had joined. Sibren had visited these places many times in the years that followed, went across the Shallow Sea twice and met the Duke of Raoz during a hunt. He had himself honored in five cities and three kingdoms, before he ran out of men and decided to call it a day. ¡°Are you sure?¡± the man to his right said, left side of his face burned from extreme cold, the skin there a darkened tan, almost black. ¡°Kell¡¯s warband never ventured so close to the cities.¡± ¡°Not much space left for ¡®em lads free-roaming the north passages,¡± his friend replied, a Forester Sibren kinda knew since this was his second winter in the city. ¡°Rogues more like, bound to cause problems,¡± the first man corrected him and smiled at Sibren¡¯s gruff unshaven face listening to them. ¡°Thinking of giving it a try ¡®Solemn¡¯ Maats?¡± he asked him and Sibren grimaced at the moniker. The adventurer had always a serious air about him people said, but it was something Sibren never went for. It had kinda stuck on him with time and seeing too many friends going into the mud, or had their innards spilt, which was basically the same. Milton had gotten his cracked head chopped off by a Horselord in Raoz, Spurius died to a snake bite gone bad and Jingo and Grin had gotten themselves killed a couple of years later across the Shallow Sea trying to recover a wagon of silver bars. ¡°I¡¯m long retired lad,¡± he grunted and turned to walk away from them and avoid the cold breeze blowing on his face from the docks. Sibren walked across the square, went under Ebenezer¡¯s shite covered statue and reached the large Adventurer¡¯s Guild building standing on the southeast corner all on its own. He crooked his mouth at a young man playing with a dagger on the sidewalk and went inside, his knees protesting half of it from cold and the other from arthritis, especially the left where he still had part of an arrowhead stuck in it. Sisenna Gavros who had the day shift behind the counter, bald head covered in wrinkles moved the toothpick from one side of his mouth to the other and slid a foamy goblet of beer his way. Sibren stopped it from going over and making a mess on the tiled floor, his pale blue eyes scanning the large hall. Only a table was occupied by a well-armed young warrior. Another Issir, he thought. That¡¯s a rarity so far east. ¡°New barrel?¡± he asked Gavros and the Asturian part-time leader of the Guild snorted. ¡°A payment,¡± Sisenna Gavros told him. ¡°Mostly caravan work these days.¡± ¡°Uhm,¡± Sibren murmured tasting the cold beer. ¡°Weather¡¯s getting worse.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll snow again,¡± Gavros explained and reached for his own goblet. ¡°This time for good.¡± ¡°You said mostly caravan work,¡± Sibren noticed, eyeing the serious young man. Not that young, just a lot younger than Sibren, but really serious. Sibren guessed the latter was also sort of like him. ¡°Mmm,¡± Gavros replied with a nod. ¡°Had a southerner come looking for guide, or muscle earlier. Fixing to head up North.¡± ¡°Which is it? Guide, or muscle?¡± ¡°I guess both,¡± Gavros said and glanced at the Issir warrior with the fancy chainmail under his heavy coat. ¡°Gave it to him, but he returned an hour later, so I don¡¯t know how it went.¡± ¡°Uhm,¡± Sibren murmured. ¡°What do you think happened?¡± ¡°Fuck I care? The man was weird, a snobbish prick.¡± ¡°How would you know?¡± Sibren teased him. ¡°You thought I was a prick as well.¡± ¡°Never said you weren¡¯t, nor did I change me mind,¡± Gavros deadpanned. ¡°But having you around helps the Guild¡¯s reputation.¡± ¡°Haha, is that right?¡± Sibren retorted and turned around to go talk with his compatriot. ¡°Ayup,¡± Sisenna Gavros replied. ¡°You¡¯re living proof adventurers can reach old age and retire. Most young fools believe that and pay the commission.¡± Sibren eyed him sourly. ¡°I may ask for more than cheap beer Gavros,¡± he warned him and the Guild leader shrugged his shoulders indifferently, afore replying with a smirk. ¡°Never said you shouldn¡¯t.¡±
Sibren reached the table occupied by the well-put warrior sipping at his tea, long fingers clasping at the warm cup. ¡°Mind if I join you?¡± He asked him politely. ¡°Name¡¯s Sibren Maats, I can throw in a beer for the trouble.¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. ¡°Gratitude but I¡¯ll stick to chamomile. Name¡¯s Shane,¡± the man told him. ¡°Are you from Farvor? Caught a slight North Grey Woods accent there.¡± Only a native would after all those years Maats had been away. ¡°Spot on,¡± Sibren replied and took the chair across from him. ¡°Midlanor?¡± Shane nodded. Other than a cut on his forehead, he¡¯d a clear face and intelligent eyes. ¡°We¡¯re both away from home,¡± Sibren said after a while and sipped at his beer. ¡°Are you in the Guild?¡± ¡°Working on it,¡± Shane replied. ¡°Won¡¯t call myself an adventurer yet though.¡± ¡°You seem to be doing alright,¡± Sibren noticed. The sword the man carried had a Chimera carved on its handle and he¡¯d plate strapped on his chest over that mail regularly, judging by the marks on it. No slouch could afford that unless he was an outlaw and Shane didn¡¯t look the part. ¡°Squired for a knight for a time,¡± Shane replied. ¡°But then life took me another way.¡± Sibren nodded, his eyes on Uher¡¯s Ankh gold pendant the man had hanging from his neck. A priest¡¯s symbol. Shane saw his eyes lingering on it and hid the pendant under his gambeson again. Obviously there was more to the story, but a man is allowed to have his secrets. ¡°Not the city for Uher,¡± Sibren told him with a nod of understanding. ¡°Naossis has her fingers and toes sunk into the city the locals say.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± Shane agreed a little relieved. ¡°Gavros told me you got the southerner job,¡± Sibren said after a moment of silent contemplation. ¡°You were looking to take it yourself?¡± ¡°Good grief no. I¡¯m just an old man looking for gossip,¡± Sibren cracked his mouth into a smile to sell the ''sort of a lie''. ¡°Came here to visit Valeria and learn to blow glass into shapes, but kinda hovered around the guild like a scorned wife these past couple of years and never got on that boat.¡± Shane nodded. ¡°Didn¡¯t take the job,¡± he replied with a small grimace. ¡°He wanted to travel to Kas with winter coming. I can¡¯t be away for that long, nor take the risk.¡± ¡°Yeah, the north is all a mess these days,¡± Sibren agreed. ¡°Then again Kaltha ain¡¯t much better. The king is incapacitated, so your old Lord named himself regent and put a baby on the throne. Kinda fucked the Vanzon¡¯s and the Crulls that were expecting a helping hand from the Throne, though he did help the Nords and Lucius aplenty.¡± ¡°The Council was split I heard,¡± Shane noted casually. ¡°Mmm, that they did. The Princess got votes, some say more, others deny it. Difficult to pick between a woman and a baby, but I can see the appeal of not wanting the Duke¡¯s boot over your head.¡± ¡°Maybe there was a legitimate reason?¡± Shane probed and Sibren snorted. ¡°Bah, the royal lass is greedy, or more like the Khan found a way to weaken Kaltha in the war. Whether he¡¯ll succeed in it, or not¡­ who knows? Why couldn¡¯t you take the risk?¡± Sibren asked him seeing his thoughtful expression. ¡°I bet he offered good coin. Was he a merchant?¡± ¡°More an academic,¡± Shane replied. ¡°He spoke very little. I¡¯d say he was spooked, but I barely talked with him to form opinion. He found a couple of warriors at the East gates and went with them,¡± he sighed and glanced at Sibren. ¡°I have a baby to take care myself.¡± Ah. ¡°Mother ain¡¯t around?¡± the veteran adventurer asked carefully. ¡°No. But I promised to take care of her,¡± Shane replied. ¡°Can¡¯t leave for the north right now. It¡¯s difficult to come back they say.¡± ¡°They do say that and you did the knightly thing I guess,¡± Sibren agreed with a nod and stared at his empty goblet, the beer¡¯s aftertaste in his mouth. ¡°Were they adventurers? The men at the gates?¡± Shane frowned and stood back on his chair, the armour he had on jingling. ¡°I couldn¡¯t say. Maybe the guards know them,¡± he told him and Sibren got up with a sigh. Perhaps it is nothing, he thought and glanced at Gavros, toothpick in mouth, checking his blackboard with the adventurers currently on mission. Yeah, it¡¯s a gut feeling, but then again you don¡¯t exactly have a stellar record there dude, not to mention it¡¯s none of your fucking business. Right? ¡°Think I¡¯ll take a stroll towards them gates,¡± he told Gavros and then gave a slight nod to the rather noble faced warrior still sitting at the table. ¡°Nice meeting ye Shane,¡± he told him earnestly and put a small leather purse on the table. ¡°Get the little lass something nice from me.¡± ¡°Mister Maats I¡¯m not partial to charity,¡± Shane objected a little red in the face, but Sibren dismissed his protests with a fatherly wave of his arm. ¡°Uher is son. He guides people to it. You know that better than me, I reckon,¡± he told him and left leaving the purse behind.
The east gates guard, a Lorian with a flattened face, nose expanding almost to the corners of his thick-lipped mouth, as if he¡¯d taken a spade to it repeatedly, grunted and tipped his helm back on his forehead. ¡°Never saw them afore,¡± he finally said and glanced at the sergeant slurping from a bowl of soup, with cut pieces of boiled fish in it. ¡°Sarge ye were there earlier right?¡± The sergeant raised his head, spillage on his mustache and eyed him. ¡°What of it?¡± ¡°Have you seen them?¡± Sibren asked him patiently, Sid snorting irritated under him. The horse would have rather preferred to spend the day munching on hay in the stable, than freeze his balls off carrying Sibren around. Sid was of the opinion he¡¯d done it aplenty in the past and had earned his retirement at the very least, as much as his longtime owner had. ¡°They came in the city yesterday and left with the tourist.¡± ¡°Tourist?¡± ¡°Not much muscle on him to call him anything else, or wares to be a merchant and he¡¯d an air about him I didn¡¯t much like. So yeah, you got a problem with that Lord Maats?¡± Sibren sighed and stood up straighter on the saddle. He¡¯d packed the saddlebags judiciously with supplies for a week and brought his old satchel along with his weapons out of habit. ¡°No problem none so ever sergeant,¡± Sibren replied evenly. He didn¡¯t remember his name, not that it much mattered. ¡°Got a good look at them perchance?¡± ¡°Of course I did. It¡¯s me fuckin¡¯ job! A man from Lesia and a mix-breed wit one ear missing. Would have thrown them in jail just for looking like brigands, but they sort of behaved and I was fucking bored to think of something,¡± the sergeant replied curtly and dug in to his soup again. ¡°Go away now old man. I¡¯m bloody busy.¡± Sibren grunted his mind made up and turned Sid around. ¡®Cleaver¡¯ Kell¡¯s right hand man went by the name of Gand ¡®One Ear¡¯. The tourist had hired the wrong muscle for the job. The gate guard waved as he went past him. ¡°They¡¯re headed for Whitetiger Castle,¡± he told him, guessing the adventurer was set on going after them. ¡°You cut across the plains and you¡¯ll catch them at Anorum, or just after it.¡± ¡°Which direction would they head after that, if I don¡¯t?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, but my guess is they are heading for the mountains and not Picker¡¯s River. The Lakelords have an intense dislike for their likes,¡± the guard said with a shrug. Sibren nodded as it made sense. Then again the Nords disliked anyone drifting into their lands equally. So there was that to consider as well. Nevertheless Sibren rode Sid outside the city gates and led him at a light trot towards the river Ruinal and Anorum. His intention was to satisfy his curiosity and make sure the man was safe. A short trip, he told himself and repeated the same words to his protesting horse. To clear our heads and fill our lungs wit clear air afore the heavy snows. Clear away a bit of that rust accumulated while at it and we¡¯ll be right back in Asturia in a week, two at the most. While his assessment turned out to be dead wrong, both in the time needed and the type of involvement the ¡®trip¡¯ required, Sibren had been erroneous afore many-a-times, so in the end he wasn¡¯t that surprised. You go about searchin¡¯ for thrills like a chump and trouble shall find ye nine times out o¡¯ ten, Milton ''Seven Fingers'' used to say to him and that dead bastard was rarely wrong on these matters. Gambling on them races though, eh, that was a different thing. 269. The Road Diaries (2/2)
Sibren ¡®Solemn¡¯ Maats The Road Diaries Part II -The Historian & a King¡¯s sword-
Sid hated long journeys and him being in his third decade would make one justify the old destrier, but he¡¯d been like that for twenty years and some of its personality had rubbed off on Sibren as well. So they made one stop the first day, then a couple the next three and settled on three per day after that. Older people and animals don¡¯t like hurrying. A week later found them traveling up the slopes towards the Howling Pass, after they resupplied themselves in Anorum. The Legion¡¯s City bustling with activity despite technically not housing a Legion anymore. The First Legion was stationed near the city of Alden for a while now and whilst at venerable Lord Holt¡¯s insistence, the Fourth training Cohort had stayed put in Anorum, -as apparently he didn¡¯t agree with the Council¡¯s decision to elevate King Jeremy to the throne of Regia- one Cohort does not a Legion make. Another conundrum this, Sibren thought of the affairs in Regia. Sibren knew that no King, accepted or not, liked his subjects objecting his decisions publicly. So Sibren expected trouble to come Asturia¡¯s way sooner rather than later, probably after the weather cleared. Unless the young King has no balls, or is weaker than the Lords backing him proclaim. A strange notion with him being married to a Crow and all, he mused. Sid snorted, jets of stream shooting out of his nostrils and Sibren agreed to pull near a flattened area of the cobblestone road for their final stop of the day. The horse protested, as there was nothing to eat at the near but black mud and rocks, the tree barks stiff and hardened by the cold temperatures of the approaching winter not whetting the difficult animal¡¯s appetite. ¡°Much colder here than back in Anorum,¡± Sibren commented looking about them for firewood. He chopped some broken branches into smaller pieces, his back protesting and clenched his jaw dragging everything to their camp. Looked in his bags for fodder, Sid almost biting his fingers off in protest at the small rations. ¡°Ain¡¯t my fault you can¡¯t carry more,¡± Sibren justified himself pulling away. ¡°Had I thought of getting a mule, then you¡¯d have to share so don¡¯t go blaming this on me mister.¡± His horse neighed his version of expletive and let out a stream of hot piss that splashed on Sibren¡¯s boots. The adventurer grunted, but it was his fault for not putting more distance between them and walked around the steaming pool of urine to find his bronze pot. The sky crackled above their heads, the clouds darkening and for a moment it looked as if it might rain, so Sibren hassled to have a fire started under a couple of hugging old Pines. It took him a while to get a good spark, the flintstone breaking against the blade of his small axe ¨Cthe smaller part unusable-, but the tinder caught that fat spark and he succeeded with a holler of triumph. Sid neighed tauntingly not impressed, looking over his shoulder at his handiwork and then it started snowing.
Sibren got a couple of hours of rest at most, but then he had to get back on his feet and feed the dying fire, whilst limping about with the right part of his leg from knee to hip turning numb. The snow had stopped, after managing to whiten the road and bring a thin mist over the treeline the moons highlighted ominously. ¡°Fuckin¡¯ cold came early,¡± he griped, water running down the mountains creating black veins that cut through the white patches of ground amidst the trees. Sibren walked to the road and for a moment he thought he heard someone coming up behind him, but it was only the wind. His mind and the dark playing tricks on him. With a grunt he made to return to their camp, but saw a gloomy yellow light a couple of kilometers from their position, further up the path. Grimacing, he stayed and watched the light of the distant fire for a while, his heavy leather coat damp and his feet cold in their boots bothering him. He¡¯d asked around the guards at Anorum about the small group he was following and they told him two caravans had passed afore him, along with them. The caravans had ventured for Picker¡¯s River to get over it before the weather caught them in the open. The idea was to head towards Brownfort and Eaglesnest after that via the Nor Maze Heights Legion road, but the smaller party had opted to travel east towards the Howling Pass instead, to reach Kas quicker. Now whether they made it there sooner, Sibren wasn¡¯t sure, but he would bet good coin that even if they did, the tourist might not live to see it. ¡°You know we could make up the time,¡± he explained to a scowling Sid, the horse¡¯s black eyes glaring at him. ¡°If we sort of trot up the path right away. I know how it sounds, but hear me out,¡± Sibren insisted. He¡¯d taken the habit of talking to Sid some years back, as it reminded him of bubbling about stuff with Milton over a fire. At every rest they took, many a cold, or warmer nights. It was usually a waste of time, but usually every other member of the team would get involved and some pretty wild ideas, or even theories had been discussed in the middle of the night. Mostly involving women and treasure. Others of Wyverns and mythical beasts of prey, or even mermaids. Which was sort of like talking about wenches, Sibren supposed, but wit a bit of more danger involved. A couple of good plans were hatched as well. Probably a few horrible ones somewhere in there, if ye want to keep it real, but time tends to mellow one¡¯s memories. Past journeys recollections having a romantic appeal to them, coated in nostalgia¡¯s garbs. Every danger and hardship seen under a different light, especially over a warm fire. Sibren called these memories, the road diaries. All fortune hunters had their own stories to tell, or remember. Nothing was written down, all the details bunched up in his brain and probably fated to die with him. Sid wasn¡¯t convinced and protested, but the large warhorse came after him up the cold path just the same as this is what horses habitually do. The moons lighting it up some coming through gaps in the clouds, making the smarting to the eyes white appear bluish at spots and the soft snow allowing the hard road to absorb the sound hoofs and boots made, as they went after that flashing glow in the darkness.
Hmm, can¡¯t make anything out from here, Sibren mused a couple of hours later, too cold to put it into words. The thrill of adventure had waned and left only tired cold legs and a smarting back behind. He wiped some of the frost off his face, the weather turning colder after the snowfall, his eyes on the campsite now visible by the side of the road. A spot much like theirs, but bigger and flatter amidst the rocks. A number of broken trees leaving tall stubs back where that big boulder had ripped through them with the floods and their rotten trunks and branches used to keep some of the snow away. Three horses and a couple of mules with supplies occupying one side of the opening, the large fire burning between them and the men they were following. Probably. Sibren sighed and walked to his own horse, careful not to make too much noise, as the night had turned rather quiet after the snowfall, on top of colder. Sid snorted, when he rubbed his long snout with a hand. ¡°Ye know we could be wrong,¡± Sibren whispered to his horse. He got out of his heavy coat, the cold biting and looked inside his saddlebags for that mail shirt to wear over his leather brigandine, a fancy piece of armour he¡¯d made in Cediorum a decade back for a pretty penny. The hardened pieces of boiled leather had straps at the sides and had aged poorly, but it still had a bit of life left in it. The chainmail was an older piece belonging to Vernon, but he had it repaired time and time again, so in a sense it was probably newer than his brigandine. The newer rings making bright patches next to the darker older ones. Eh. It was why he kept it in the bags. He could have bought a new one, but Sibren didn¡¯t since it was his way of convincing himself he¡¯d left the life behind. Plus it was serviceable armour and only younger adventurers think about fashion. It took him a long minute to put it over his head, the hole escaping him the first couple of times and the metal appearing shrunk for some reason around the belly. Sibren strapped his sword sheath on its hook, after he wore his harness. Slotted his good dagger on the other side and after some thought left his mace behind. Carrying too much in the dark would tire him even more, afore he reached the campsite and was noisy as all hells. He cursed himself for not bringing a helm along, but the one he had back in Asturia needed its innards replaced, the leather brittle and hard on his scalp and Sibren had never gotten around on fixing it. The fact he¡¯d the Guild¡¯s blacksmith available nagging at him all of a sudden. Them little details, Jester Grin used to say that big sad face looking at the flames. ¡°Now you stay here,¡± Sibren told his horse, keeping his voice low. ¡°If I don¡¯t come around, you turn back and follow the road to Anorum. You do whatever ye like after that, but give me a couple of hours. Right. There it is then. Not much reason to freeze our balls in the plaguing dark longer. Better to get to it. See if we are right, or wrong.¡±
The voice came from somewhere in front and to his right. Gruff and full of frustration. Sibren had his mind on the animals, a mule snorting and moving about sensing him approach in the dark and kind of gotten surprised hearing it, as he came around the woods side of the opening to avoid the road. A North accent speaking in common. ¡°Fucked the edge gods darnit,¡± the man griped, working at something metallic. ¡°Ye shouldn¡¯t have hit him so hard,¡± another voice replied a little judgmental, this one sounding like it belonged to a man from Lesia. ¡°He swallowed the fuckin¡¯ key,¡± the first man protested irate. ¡°Didn¡¯t see another way of opening it and got plaguin¡¯ frustrated!¡± ¡°All I¡¯m sayin¡¯,¡± the second man said. ¡°That second blow was unnecessary. Look at him.¡± ¡°He¡¯s a bleeder, it was wasn¡¯t that hard a knock. Wasn¡¯t expecting him to just stand there and take it like a fuckin¡¯ idiot. Most people duck,¡± his friend explained before guffawing. ¡°Hahaha!¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Coin. Big fuckin¡¯ purse and a couple of smaller ones.¡± ¡°What kind?¡± The second man asked, letting the matter of the injured silent man aside. ¡°Gold, haha! I knew it.¡± ¡°What else? It a big darn box this,¡± the man from Lesia asked. A Lorian wearing a heavy hide coat, with a chainmail hauberk underneath it. He¡¯d a sword strapped on his back, the wide belt a little loose to go over the coat. Sibren could see him, as he¡¯d stepped in to the light of the big campfire. The Northman who was facing his way, made to reply standing up from an open quality oblong box, but saw Sibren appear and gasped. ¡°Fuck.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± The Lorian queried a bit spooked and turned around, almost stepping into the fire. ¡°Greetings,¡± Sibren told them evenly, blinking to get his eyes used to the light. There was a third man present wearing an expensive leather coat, with his back against a broken tree stub. Half sitting there on his arse, bleeding down his face, left cheek cut and eye swollen grotesquely from taking a heavy blow. He appeared out for the count, or dead. ¡°Saw yer light,¡± he added leaving it at that. The Northman looked at his axe, he¡¯d dropped it next to the open box, a large broken padlock next to it and then returned his eyes on him nervously. ¡°It¡¯s a fucking campsite,¡± the Lorian spat, hostility mixed with fear in his voice, as Sibren was an ugly motherfucker to have snuck up on you in the middle of a cold night. It was probably the same in a warm night come to think of it. ¡°That¡¯s what I thought,¡± Sibren replied and took a step forward to shorten the distance between them. ¡°Listen¡­ old man,¡± the Lorian warned him. ¡°I don¡¯t know where the fuck ye came from, but¡ª¡± ¡°Name¡¯s Sibren Maats,¡± he cut him off. ¡°Came up the road.¡± ¡°Right, well I don¡¯t know you,¡± the Lorian said. ¡°And this is our god darn business here!¡± ¡°Tell him Levi,¡± the Northman grunted aggressively, sneakily backtracking to get at his discarded axe. ¡°Sure,¡± Sibren agreed, sucking at his right cheek. He¡¯d a chipped tooth there that needed fixing as well, but he wasn¡¯t brave enough to face the dentist¡¯s pliers. ¡°What¡¯s wrong wit him?¡± Levi grimaced and glanced at the now slowly coming about beaten up younger Lorian. The man was sniffling, Sibren noticed. What in Uher¡¯s name? ¡°He owes us money,¡± Levi finally said with a smirk, probably having an idea formed in his head. ¡°Matter of fact, if you¡¯re troubled yerself then ye can have a cut.¡± ¡°Aye, you can have his horse,¡± the Northman agreed, long beard the color of blood. ¡°Wex, is right. Walking about without one in this kind of weather¡ª¡± ¡°I know the name,¡± the young man said, spitting what looked like a bloody tooth between his legs. ¡°See? He¡¯s fine,¡± Wex grunted and touched his axe with the edge of his boot. ¡°Saw it in the Guild,¡± the young man continued and tried to get back on his feet. ¡°I never forget a name.¡± Mmm. ¡°What Guild?¡± Levi asked and frowned seeing that Sibren had taken another step forward. He needed to as this was never going to end whilst talking around the fire about wenches and good beer. Not that kind of story this. ¡°Written over the counter. Lord Maats Spot, hah,¡± the young fool guffawed, blood running down his neck, adding intrigued. ¡°That is rather extraordinary.¡± Sibren dropped his hand to the pommel of his sword and raised it to unsheathe the long blade with his left hand, tip pointing downwards, the right going for his dagger to confuse his opponent. Never let a fight drag on unnecessarily. Things have a way of getting complicated. Sibren had almost forgotten that. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.
Levi saw him draw his sword and ogled his eyes. He stepped back reaching for the blade strapped on his back, but that extravagant leather belt had a lot of give in it and he missed the sword¡¯s handle the first time. Sibren took another step forward flipping the sword in his left hand, almost dropping it as his fingers were stiff from the cold, despite the gloves he had on. Gods darnit. ¡°Watch the fire,¡± the veteran adventurer cautioned his opponent who had his eyes on the fancy and completely unnecessary swordsmanship, whilst trying to get his own blade out. Levi grunted, stepping into the fire and Sibren punched his dagger into his solar plexus, where the coat hang open. The blade cut through the rings and went in at least three fingers, blood gushing out steaming hot between them. Levi gasped and recoiled away from the blade, almost going down. He raised his left arm and put a hand on the dagger Sibren had let go, the other still trying to get his blade out. For a man criticizing the young Lorian, Levi had done a piss poor job to get out of the way himself. ¡°Eh,¡± Sibren grunted and placing the sharp end of his long blade on his panicked opponent¡¯s face, dragged it down casually cutting him across it. Levi went down with a yelp, his face a ruined mess and Sibren stepped aside switching hands, his eyes on the onrushing Wex. The Northman swung brutally with his axe not wasting any time and Sibren had to turn hard to avoid it. Immediately the adventurer realized he wasn¡¯t fast enough, darn boots sticking in soft mud pooling near the fire slowing him down even more, so he lashed with his blade mid-turn to parry the axe away. The blade caught the axe¡¯s edge with the flat and snapped in two, the shorter part of it still in Sibren¡¯s hands. By the fucking dead! He cursed inwardly, quickly jumping away from a return swing. It¡¯s one thing to fight a man wielding a war-axe with a longsword, another to fight him with a shorter one. While the first is difficult and always dangerous, the second was near suicide. ¡°Ye wrinkled piece of shite!¡± Wex growled seeing Sibren slipping away and rushed after him. Sibren hurled the broken sword, but Wex swatted it away, the blade bouncing off his shoulder guard and barely missing his face. The Northman paused a little spooked at the near miss, giving a bit of time to a distressed Sibren to twist around trying to find another weapon, the missing mace worth its darn weight in gold right about now and the campsite offering little choice other than Levi¡¯s own blade. The Lorian seemed worse for wear, but just as Sibren went at him circling around the fire, Wex charged him again going through it. Oh, for crying out loud! Sibren spun left, embers and pieces of burning branches flying everywhere, as Wex reached him. A scorching cinder caught him on the forehead, but he managed to put a hand on the axe¡¯s shaft just above the blade on pure instinct. Wex, who had gotten himself half-blinded, whilst half-burning his long beard charging through the fire, found his bearings quickly, but couldn¡¯t stop his momentum. He crashed on the adventurer and they both went down. They rolled in the mud and the smoking embers, Sibren putting a hand on Wex¡¯s snarling face and the Northman trying to bite his fingers off. Sibren pulled his hand away losing a glove, the other wrestling with his opponent for the axe and got punched at the ribs repeatedly by the younger man. He cursed and spat in his face, but almost lost the grip on the axe. Wex pushed it towards his neck grunting irate, the steel butt opening Sibren¡¯s chin and managed to get above him. Sibren grunted, his eyes blurring and at a disadvantage, but saw the ¡®tourist¡¯ stumbling their way, face swollen, his cheek a bloody mess and sporting a comically determined expression. The young man reached them, feverish searching his coat pockets for something, whilst Sibren managed to put his other hand on the axe to get a precious breath in. He got punished with another blow at the ribs by Wex and felt his strength waning, just as the ¡®tourist¡¯ found what he was looking for and got it out. He stepped forward taking his bloody time, Sibren gawking his way desperate, holding what appeared to be a thin nail. What in all hells! Wex got wind that something was up and looked to the side, the weird ¡®tourist¡¯ missing his neck and stabbing him in the right eye. The soft ovule exploded with a puffing sound, the Northman letting out a heart-wrenching squeal, watery bloody fluids splashing Sibren in his face and snarling mouth. He coughed up disgusted and shoved the injured screaming Wex away. Sibren rolled to the side next, covered in mud, blood and ashes, trying desperately to find a weapon. He stumbled on his feet, an injured but still in the fight Wex doing the same a couple of meters away and spotted the ¡®tourist¡¯ still standing with a surprised look on his swollen face, where they¡¯d been a moment before. ¡°The fuck are you doing?¡± Sibren snapped at him and he stared his way with an idiotic half-smile. ¡°The quill is mightier than the sword,¡± the young man declared hauntingly and showed him what apparently was a bloody writing tool that he still held in his hand. ¡°Are ye an imbecile?¡± Sibren growled and Wex let out an even bigger roar, holding his ruined eye in the palm of his left hand. He showed Sibren his bloody teeth and started marching slowly but determined, intending to chop them both in many pieces, axe in hand. ¡°Oh, shit,¡± the young man said, offering a manic Sibren little help and Levi still shuddering three meters away on the wrong side of the plaguing fire, even less. They had seconds to live and that because the maimed Wex appeared disoriented from blood loss and extra careful. ¡°Ye don¡¯t happen to have a real blade around?¡± Sibren asked him, his eyes on the approaching Wex, not really expecting the young man¡¯s answer. ¡°In the box.¡±
Wex tried to chop the young man¡¯s head off, but he did the smart thing this time and run away giving Sibren the chance to dive for the open box. He tossed the heavy coin bags away, one of them bursting and spilling its contents on the ground, hands digging deep under scrolls and even a couple of books for that blade. Sibren heard the Northman coming back just as he found it. It was wrapped in soft leather at the bottom of the box. The adventurer grabbed the long weapon and jerked away from Wex¡¯s axe reach. ¡°Old turd,¡± the Northman grunted, the hole where his eye had been grotesque. ¡°What you got there?¡± Sibren kept retreating while he unwrapped the weapon. First the handle came to view, a strange elongated design, arched inwards, made of black wood and engraved with intricate silver designs, the pommel curved outwards in a spike. The single edged, over a meter long blade, straight for one third of the way, but then arching upwards dissimilar to the handle. The steel a silvery color and covered in dark scribblings in a strange language. A humming was heard when Sibren freed the blade fully and the exotic sword gleamed catching the light of the scattered fire. The adventurer felt his frozen fingers warming up, the hurting joints loosening, as if healed from wear and tear. This ain¡¯t a sword human hands made, Sibren thought awed. Wex frowned and stopped his attack seeing Sibren wielding a strange weapon all of a sudden. ¡°That¡¯s mine Issir,¡± the Northman said after a contemplating moment and sneakily kicked a burning piece of wood his way. Sibren jerked his head away, hot cinders dousing him and heard Wex charging right behind the debris with a mighty bellow. No it¡¯s fuckin¡¯ not! The adventurer gasped, his hair and brows singed and lashed out blindly with the sword to keep him at bay, the blade hitting something afore continuing its journey in a wide arch. Buzzing all the time alike the cords of a giant lute, the vibrations reaching his bones. Sibren heard a heavy thud, followed by a smaller one, the clanging of metal and the ¡®tourist¡¯ who had come back in the meantime gasped loudly, before puking his guts out.
The veteran glanced at the shivering young man moaning pathetically holding his face, vomit mixed with mud covering his expensive boots and then returned his eyes on the many pieces of the late Northman named Wex. Everything under the sternum was still in one piece, the devastating cut starting right above it. The blade had gone through the axe¡¯s shaft, severed his right arm at the shoulder and angled inwards going through mail, flesh, chest bone ¨Cspine included- and out below the left shoulder chopping his other arm off as well. Effectively he¡¯d cut the Northman in two, a tad crudely. So this happened, Sibren thought seeing no point in dwelling more on something he couldn¡¯t change, much less understand it. Cockatrices mate for life for instance, but no one puts that in them books. He turned around, cleaning his unshaven face with a gloveless hand. Sibren realized he was missing his left eyebrow completely and he¡¯d a blister in the middle of his forehead smarting something fierce. Grunting the veteran adventurer approached the still groaning Levi and casually shoved his half-inserted dagger fully in his chest. The man gasped unable to fight him, then fouled himself with a shudder, just before his heart gave. Ye shited yerself afore turning to mud, he thought and spat down with a grimace. That¡¯s what this scheme got ye lad. No gold, or cunt. ¡°I think I¡¯m going to die,¡± the ¡®tourist¡¯ whimpered in a haunted voice. ¡°I¡¯m hurt really bad mister Maats.¡± Sibren grunted and got up, a jolt of pain running down his protesting back. Rolling about in the cold mud and getting your ribs pounded ain¡¯t for a man your age. ¡°Are ye a plaguing dottore perchance?¡± ¡°Actually,¡± the young man said sobering up. ¡°I¡¯m an aspiring historian and novelist.¡± Well, he has the courage to joke about stuff still, Sibren thought not believing him. ¡°Let me look at it.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve lost the eye, didn¡¯t I? No need to sugarcoat it mister Maats.¡± ¡°Nah, it¡¯s still there and I wasn¡¯t goin¡¯ to,¡± Sibren reassured him. ¡°Put a clean cloth on it, then some stitches for yer cheek and you¡¯ll be fine.¡± ¡°What about infections?¡± ¡°Son, nothing lasts long up here. Much bigger chance to die from blade, cold, or beast,¡± Sibren told him and smacked his leg. ¡°Get up. Where¡¯s Gand ¡®One Ear¡¯?¡± ¡°Ahm, he went up the path with Callum the other mix-breed,¡± The young ¡®historian¡¯ replied thoughtfully and Sibren all but jumped out of his skin furious. ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake, ye should¡¯ve told me sooner!¡± he grunted and turned around spooked upon hearing someone coming out of the half-frozen wilds. Sid clopped his way near the fire, staring at the other horses and stood there to warm himself up. Sensing a wild-eyed and tensed Sibren was glaring at him, the horse snorted and put his front leg forward in his version of the middle finger. ¡°Haha, it¡¯s a horse,¡± the historian guffawed, his mood changing alike a teenage girl¡¯s in the summer and Sibren grunted, grabbed him by the shoulder and shoved him towards the other animals. ¡°Saddle a horse up lad,¡± he told him. ¡°We got to move camp. Don¡¯t wan¡¯t to hear a word! You got one minute, or yer riding raw.¡±
Sibren used a branch to mess up the campsite and his footprints. Kicked the fire out, so one wouldn¡¯t spot the smoke from afar and moved the slain bodies out of sight and behind trees. Slotted the exotic sword on his saddle and put the coin purses with Sid¡¯s fodder. He thought about gathering some of those that had spilt and sunk near the fire, but he¡¯d no need for it and digging up the gore-covered ground in the dark wasn¡¯t appealing to him. ¡°Where are we going?¡± the Historian asked him half an hour later, less than two hours of night remaining. Sibren was properly tired and in a worse mood than his horse, now that the adrenalin had run out of his pores leaving old flesh behind. ¡°Anorum.¡± ¡°No, I need to get to Kas.¡± ¡°I ain¡¯t stopping you.¡± ¡°Which way is it?¡± ¡°Up the slopes, towards sunrise,¡± Sibren said and stared at his gloveless hand with a frown. You¡¯ve forgotten to retrieve that darn glove fuck¡¯s sake, he admonished himself. Went about the whole thing alike an amateur, leaving the mace behind and blocking wit the blade¡¯s flat. ¡°I won¡¯t make it on my own,¡± the young Lorian murmured with a pout and Sibren spared a glance his way. ¡°Where did ye get the sword?¡± he asked him hoarsely and watched him sobering up immediately. Only genuine thing about him was the fact his face was hurt and he was a bleeder. City-raised sly motherfucker with whore¡¯s manners. ¡°A historical dig.¡± ¡°Cut the crap son.¡± ¡°Right, ahm¡­ mister Sibren I¡¯m not sure I can trust you with all the details.¡± ¡°Listen¡­ fool,¡± Sibren started, hint of razz in his voice. ¡°Not talking about it with Levi would have gotten ye killed just the same and swallowing a key didn¡¯t prevent them from opening the box. Nobody here cares about details. You got to think these matters through more lad.¡± ¡°I have to reach Kas,¡± the man insisted. ¡°I¡¯m on a sensitive mission.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll be dead in less than a week on yer own. If I had to guess, I¡¯ll put me coin on a wolf. They have a thing for idiots.¡± The young man paled, but clenched his jaw for a moment, afore grimacing in pain. Sibren had never seen a man swell as much from a blow. ¡°Got a name?¡± He asked him through his teeth. You search for thrill and you find it. If thrill fails to kill you the first time, then it lures you in with something even more appetizing. ¡°Sirio Veturius,¡± the historian said and tended a shaking hand. It was left there hanging between them, until he retracted it chagrinned. ¡°I work for Lord Nattas,¡± Sirio added a bit flushed. That¡¯s a murderous cunt and a fuckin¡¯ half. ¡°Not exactly a stellar individual lad,¡± Sibren told him crooking his mouth and stopped Sid pulling at the reins. His horse protested with a neigh fearing the worst. ¡°That¡¯s the King¡¯s sword,¡± Sirio blurted out anxiously. ¡°Regia¡¯s king that is.¡± A bunch of stuff clicking together. Endariel. Knock me over wit a plaguin¡¯ feather! Now there¡¯s a bag of poisonous snakes dropped in yer lap, if there ever was one, he thought worried. It appeared his horse was right all along. Eh, at least you found a couple of mules. ¡°That¡¯s the road to the Howling Pass,¡± he grunted. ¡°But we need to head north to Gudgurth Fort in a days¡¯ time, afore the weather turns for the worse. The Screamin¡¯ Road after that.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll make it worth your time mister¡ª¡± ¡°Shut yer mouth,¡± Sibren cut him off. ¡°Never speak for no reason. The sound carries and direwolves have excellent hearing. We do this, them aggrieved lads will catch us either before the fort, or right after it in them narrows. Why?¡± Sirio''s swollen face looked at him wearing a blank stare. ¡°They are¡­ bad people?¡± he chanced hopefully and Sibren let out a deep sigh afore replying. ¡°You told them where yer going lad.¡± ¡°Oh, holly crap!¡± Sirio exclaimed in horror realizing it. ¡°You¡¯re quite right mister Maats!¡± Sid snorted in protest to get them moving and Sibren grimaced agreeing, his aged face covered in deep wrinkles and scars. He stood back on the saddle to stare at the snowed path ahead of them getting lost in the misty mountains for a moment and heard the sword¡¯s soft humming mixed in with the wind. Now that he had gotten the jitters out, it sounded to him like a girl¡¯s song, which was very close to the truth as a matter of fact, as Endariel had been created twenty two centuries ago to honor a king¡¯s lost infant daughter.
No one set ups to be a historian. Writing of other people¡¯s glories and accomplishments isn¡¯t exactly appetizing. People don¡¯t grow up dreaming of doing that and I¡¯m no different. I aspired to be a hero, before realizing that this was very difficult for people of my station and perhaps character. So I turned my sights to the equally exciting life of an adventurer. Alas a man of action is born out of circumstances, or he¡¯s not. I was fated not to walk in the footsteps of the past¡¯s giants like Ebenezer Framtond, Dubrot Snowguard, Dominique Valwarin and their admirers, but I¡¯ve seen and talked with heroes. Men and women of enormous statue. At some point much closer to the start of it all, I¡¯ve ridden with famed adventurers as well and got a glimpse of their exciting, but harsh life. I frequently pride myself in standing on my two feet admirably next to them, before remembering why one shouldn¡¯t write of his own fails and triumphs. - Lord Sirio Veturius Circa 208 NC The Fall of Heroes Author¡¯s second foreword inserted, before the penultimate chapter of his forty three tomes, a hundred and twenty volumes life¡¯s work, Chapter titled simply, The Road Diaries, Sibren ¡®Solemn Lord¡¯ Maats, -Bloody scrap at the Screaming Road- Second month of Winter, 191 NC)
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read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 270. At least yer sort of back in the North
Resolve separates men from mice. Instead of fearing yer untimely demise, Chance another throw of the dice. - Dictum written above Solemn Lord¡¯s spot, attributed to Sibren Maats, inside the famed Ebenezer Framtond¡¯s Hall, -Aka the headquarters of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild in Asturia- Circa 185 NC
Sibren ¡®Solemn¡¯ Maats At least yer sort of back in the North
¡°Farvor is near Sallowhall right?¡± Sirio asked, left side of his face still recovering and now sporting three colors, his natural, a putrid yellow and a strong mauve -almost black- around the stitches. Other than that, he was fine, as reaching Gudgurth Fort had lifted his spirits. A man that could change his mood in the blink of an eye seemingly. ¡°Closer to Pastelor I¡¯d say,¡± Sibren grunted, eyeing the passersby outside the open doors of the small tavern. Gudgurth was built on the Flat Peak, the name given to a ¡®flat area¡¯ just before the mountains long narrow crack that was the Screaming Road further to the North. Now, the strangely situated plateau amidst the peaks was neither flat, nor barren, but years of cutting the forest down had left the fort standing on its own in the middle of it. Every summer heavy water flooding from the melting snow and ice pouring down the surrounding heights, had slowly scrapped the soil off the rock clean, left the terrain barren underneath it. When the wind started was the saying, you better find wall, or shelter in Gudgurth. The latter the name of an Ice ¡®Troll¡¯ that had wandered into the mountain passes centuries in the past. Allegedly. ¡°This barbaric winter then, is a return to norm for you Mister Maats,¡± Sirio continued pleasantly. ¡°Different the cold when paired wit the sea, than up a mountain,¡± Sibren told him with a grimace of annoyance. Sirio wetted his index finger in his mouth and then used it to clear his quill afore dipping its tip in an inkpot. ¡°That¡¯s an excellent way of phrasing it sir,¡± the historian murmured writing everything down. ¡°There¡¯re nuances in winter.¡± ¡°This ain¡¯t no plaguin¡¯ winter. Not yet. It¡¯s just the North lad.¡± ¡°Uhm. So how do you know mister Parret?¡± Sirio asked changing the subject. ¡°He¡¯s a member of the adventurers Guild.¡± ¡°You¡¯re an Honorary Head of the Guild here?¡± Sibren glared at him. While polite the youngish man was extremely annoying in his queries and passive-aggressively demanding of sorts. ¡°There¡¯s no guild in Gudgurth, just a tavern,¡± he grunted. ¡°And I¡¯ve been given privileged membership in five cities. Caspo O¡¯ Bor, Asturia, Riverdor, Rida and Aegium. Farvor has made something as well, I heard it¡¯s a plaguin¡¯ plaque near a spring, but I haven¡¯t been there in thirty years.¡± ¡°That¡¯s impressive.¡± ¡°It was mostly done so I would agree to take less money for jobs I pulled,¡± Sibren explained to him. ¡°What you saw in Asturia is a marketing ploy. I rarely find a chair to sit in Gavros place, named spot or not. He does throw in a free beer at least.¡± He reached for the bowl of meat soup the wench placed on their table and brought it to his mouth. Sucked at it slowly, an awed Sirio watching him with a bronze spoon in hand. Sibren shook the bowl when he got all the soup out and chugged the hot small pieces of pork left in it down. ¡°You better finish this quickly,¡± he told the gawking historian. ¡°That spoon ain¡¯t gonna do it afore it¡¯s cold.¡± Sirio gulped and solicitously eyed his soup for a moment. He then used the spoon to bring some in his mouth cautiously. Half an hour later he was still at it and Sibren had almost fallen asleep on the chair, the heat coming from the lit fireplace comforting. Parret¡¯s return waking him up. ¡°Fuckin¡¯ wind scraped me beard clean,¡± the Lorian grunted and sat down on the free chair. His aged face sporting a trimmed beard with plenty of grey in it, but he didn¡¯t have much on his coal black hair. Sibren guessed the man to be in his early forties now. Years had flown by it seemed. ¡°The Legion patrol left early in the morning to return to Northwatch with a stop at South Fort. Another probably coming our way in the next couple of weeks.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s that?¡± ¡°South Fort? At the junction, on the new road leading to Northwatch. Engineers cut a path through the forest in two months during the summer.¡± ¡°Is that Lucius?¡± ¡°Ayup,¡± Elias Parret said with a grimace and grabbed Sirio¡¯s bowl. He brought it to his mouth and chugged all the leftover material down, used the historian¡¯s largely untouched beer to wash it down proper afterwards. The veteran adventurer let out a thunderous burp at the end. ¡°I haven¡¯t finish¡ª¡± Sirio protested, but Parret reached and gripped his arm below the elbow, his cold eyes stilled on his. ¡°Ye did, but it¡¯s okay,¡± he told him evenly, a hint of steel lacing his undertone. ¡°Now go fetch me another beer.¡± Sibren watched the frowning historian leave them to search for the waitress for a moment, afore speaking. ¡°He¡¯s Lord Nattas¡¯s man.¡± Parret stood back at his words. ¡°Principal of Secrets¡¯?¡± Sibren likened the one with the cripple in it more. ¡°Him.¡± ¡°You¡¯re working for Regia now Maats?¡± Parret asked him. ¡°It¡¯s not a job.¡± ¡°I¡¯m getting paid ye said though.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll get us to Kas and ye shall. Ten gold pieces on me word,¡± Sibren assured him. Parret nodded very pleased. ¡°So what¡¯s the deal? How did he get you out of retirement?¡± He asked next and Sibren sort of told him.
Nothing feels better than a creaky, old and well-used mattress, after a couple of weeks sleeping next to a fire, in early winter¡¯s embrace, unless ye share it wit a nervous cunt, Sibren thought, the gold light coming from the other bed of the room bothering him. He turned to the other side, but fixing the illumination problem, made him concentrate on the bothersome scratching sound the quill made on the parchment. ¡°Aren¡¯t you tired?¡± he grunted with his eyes closed, the smell of hay irksome as well all of a sudden. The scratching stopped. ¡°I couldn¡¯t write on the road,¡± Sirio replied after a moment of guilt-ridden silence. ¡°Feeling a bit nervous about forgetting important stuff.¡± ¡°You were sniffling in yer sleep, griped of cold around-the-clock when awake and feared wolves were following us,¡± Sibren summed it up for him. ¡°Which they did, but didn¡¯t tell ya.¡± ¡°Mmm, I¡¯m trying to keep a record mister Maats.¡± ¡°Not much record left, if ye leave ¡®em stuff out.¡± ¡°Mister Maats, I don¡¯t think¡ª¡± ¡°Call me Sibren and I¡¯ll return the courtesy,¡± the veteran adventurer replied cutting him off. ¡°This mister stuff is getting on me nerves lad.¡± ¡°I guess, it¡¯s time we moved past stiff manners after all we¡¯ve been through,¡± Sirio droned. ¡°Don¡¯t know about that, or what yer angling for here,¡± Sibren admitted with a frown. ¡°I think ye need to get out of your brain lad. Why keep a record?¡± ¡°Posterity. People will want to know what happened.¡± ¡°On the road to Kas?¡± The adventurer queried a bit perturbed. ¡°In general. I¡¯ve been privileged to see history unfold before my very eyes,¡± Sirio elucidated emotively. Sibren would have cuffed him once upside the head, but the man was injured and too far away to reach him. ¡°Near Lord Nattas?¡± Sibren asked instead, his tone indifferent. ¡°Mostly¡­ yeah.¡± Sibren snorted and raised he head to look at him. ¡°Why did he sent you on this crazy mission?¡± he asked the bookish man. ¡°Crazy? It¡¯s important.¡± ¡°Crazy because you would¡¯ve been dead already a couple of times,¡± Sibren explained. ¡°And because the King¡¯s sword shouldn¡¯t be in yer hands, or Lord Nattas¡¯. Besides had I opted to have another cheap beer, the King¡¯s sword would be in outlaws hands by now.¡± ¡°I opted to make it to Kas incognito. I could have hired more guards, but saw the value of traveling light and clandestinely,¡± Sirio ¡®defended¡¯ himself. The historian stood out in Asturia, but he was sticking out alike a sore thumb the further they traveled up North. ¡°I admit picking those two was an error,¡± he added seeing disbelief written all over Sibren¡¯s face. ¡°You don¡¯t get to correct errors in this life Sirio. You make them and it¡¯s over.¡± ¡°I learned a lesson is how I see it Sibren.¡± Sibren smacked his lips and stood up on the bed, putting his back on the wall. ¡°You trust Lord Nattas wit yer life?¡± he asked. ¡°He¡¯s an important man.¡± That¡¯s not an answer lad. ¡°Word is people tend to disappear after they do business wit him. Never to surface again. Corpses could wash ashore they say, remains found, unless they are buried deep, or they cross Lord Nattas. The ¡®Abominable Cripple¡¯.¡± ¡°I¡¯m married to his daughter.¡± ¡°One could read that either way Sirio.¡± Sirio stared at his parchments thoughtfully. ¡°Politics is a dangerous game,¡± he finally said. ¡°War as well and this time is plagued with both.¡± ¡°Uhm. Well war is dangerous for those losing it and because it¡¯s unpredictable for those thinkin¡¯ they¡¯re winning. It¡¯ll screw you when you least expect it. So is taking sides and you lads have done that. You more like, as Nattas could just deny his involvement and make it out alive. Fucking his daughter probably didn¡¯t endear him much. Why, he¡¯ll probably get rid of two birds with one stone.¡± ¡°Lucius claim is just.¡± ¡°Bullshit talk,¡± Sibren grunted. ¡°It may well be, but that ain¡¯t how things are done in the real world. In this world he¡¯s a rebel and if he loses, people will look at his sword, then look at you. They¡¯ll connect the dots and you¡¯ll lose yer head.¡± ¡°He¡¯s taken Kas,¡± Sirio argued. ¡°Halfostad as well.¡± ¡°Beat the Vanzon¡¯s and the Crulls,¡± Sirio added, not catching his mocking tone. ¡°Everyone I talked to speaks of Kas growing and the Legion¡¯s works.¡± ¡°What that got to do wit the throne of Regia?¡± Sibren asked. ¡°He just needs to lose one time and he¡¯s done.¡±Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°The man brought the Legion in the North,¡± Sirio told him. ¡°Shaped the political landscape and solved a decades old border mess.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know where you get all this Sirio,¡± Sibren retorted. ¡°He didn¡¯t solve the North¡¯s problem. He just took the land for himself with force. He didn¡¯t bring any god darn Legion here either. He just made one, which is impressive, but not that far-fetched.¡± ¡°Creating an army is an accomplishment.¡± ¡°Sure, but in the real world,¡± Sibren grunted. ¡°Bandits make gangs, a thief finds his crew, dancers gather in troupes and good generals built armies. It is how it¡¯s done, if the skill is there.¡± Sirio paused and stooped over his parchments to scribble words down. Sibren sighed and put both his legs down fully awake now. The historian raised his head, one eye still bloodshot and the rough stitches ruining what could have been a pleasant face. ¡°I had to write it down, very concise and refreshingly raw,¡± he defended himself. What are ye doing here lad? ¡°How is she?¡± he asked him a bit warmer. ¡°Nattas daughter.¡± Sirio bit his lip and stood back. ¡°She¡¯s¡­ different.¡± ¡°Lad it was a simple query. To tell ye the truth, I expected you to give me a flowery answer, so we can get some shuteye and ye managed to make it complicated. What the fuck does that mean?¡± Sirio blinked in shock. ¡°Ahm, nothing. She¡¯s the most interesting woman I¡¯ve ever met,¡± he blurted out. Now that, Sibren thought. Sounds better. ¡°You¡¯ve met a lot of them?¡± he probed and Sirio¡¯s face matched the color of his hurt eye. Aye, Sibren decided with a smile. That¡¯s what I thought.
The wind came screaming out of the path, blowing frozen snow and pieces of ice on their covered faces. Sid, who never much liked cold to begin with, neighed angry and shook his mane sending even more material on Sibren¡¯s face. ¡°Ah, gods darnit, weather¡¯s turning,¡± Patter yelled, leading their animals. ¡°Got to make the peak soon Maats. Drag the mounts ourselves, if we have to.¡± ¡°I ain¡¯t getting off the saddle,¡± Sibren grunted. ¡°See to find us a spot to wait it out.¡± ¡°It isn¡¯t time for a break,¡± Patter retorted. ¡°Plenty of life in the day.¡± ¡°Ayup,¡± Sibren agreed and pointed an arm at the trembling Sirio. ¡°But not in him.¡± ¡°Eh,¡± the adventurer snorted and turned his horse to push further up the snow covered path. Sibren glanced at the shivering historian, fully covered in hides and only his eyes showing behind the face cover. ¡°You think about putting the experience in words?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t feel my hands!¡± Sirio squeaked, his teeth rattling. ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t worry about it. Now, the cold feelin¡¯ gets to yer knees then yer in trouble, or your mount is dead. Make a sign then, or whistle really loud.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know how to do that!¡± Sirio screamed, getting a pretty high pitch in his voice. Sibren eyed him, under frozen brows. ¡°That¡¯ll do.¡±
The fire crackled amidst the sharp boulders, the turn of the path stopping some of it and the falling snow not as thick as earlier. It cut your skin though, if you turned against it and hurt your eyes. Sibren clenched his jaw, staring at the suffering Sirio stooped next to a whitebark tree that stood out amidst the pines. ¡°What¡¯s his deal?¡± Patter asked him, sipping from his cool tea. ¡°Politics and romantic notions, but mostly the former.¡± ¡°Mmm. What manner?¡± ¡°A king¡¯s sword, not in the king¡¯s hands.¡± ¡°That why ye wanted a new one made?¡± Parret queried. ¡°Sword is in my bags. I wanted a new one, because I broke mine.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a good blade this,¡± Parret retorted and Sibren checked the sword he¡¯d given him back at Gudgurth Fort. ¡°Looks like it. But looks can be deceivin¡¯. Don¡¯t you need it?¡± ¡°I have the axe. People fight ye face to face up here,¡± Parret replied and tossed the empty cup in his open bag. ¡°What happened to Grin?¡± ¡°We made a mess of it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s how it goes. What of the other Issir?¡± Parret asked with a grimace. ¡°Grin went out trying to save him,¡± Sibren grunted not wanting to remember it. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you go back to Farvor?¡± Sibren sighed and wiped some of the frost off his face. ¡°Thought of retiring in a warmer place.¡± ¡°Haha,¡± the other adventurer guffawed. ¡°And here ye are back in the North.¡± Sibren nodded. ¡°It might not seem like it,¡± he said to sort of justify his reasoning. ¡°But this is an important quest. Fate of kingdoms and such.¡± Parret chuckled, the wind blowing half-covering it and smacked his shoulder once getting up, taking his long-shafted Nord-type war axe with him. ¡°Keep telling yerself that my friend,¡± the adventurer told him still smiling. ¡°Yer here for the same reason I am. You¡¯re too afraid to die in yer sleep, or end up like him,¡± he added pointing at the shivering Sirio walking around the tree smacking his thighs to warm them up. Sibren grunted, the wind stopped suddenly allowing the snow to fall gently around them, hot steam rising from their fire and an arrow whistled from the nearby trees. The adventurer flinched realizing it for what it was and jumped on his feet. Parret who¡¯d walked about five meters away from him to check behind the turn of the path again, twisted around alarmed and the second arrow skewered him through the neck. The fletching¡¯s touching his chin. ¡°HIDE!¡± Sibren barked seeing his friend gurgling, drowning in his own blood, steaming gore spraying out of the wound and gasping mouth. He grabbed his sword, the semi-darkness of the approaching sunset not helping him locate the hidden archer and moved away from the fire. Sibren intended to reach the shocked Sirio, the historian had paralyzed on his feet staring at the collapsing Parret, but another arrow whistled angry by his head tracking him. Giving away the archer¡¯s position. Son of a cold-hearted bitch. There¡¯s yer plaguin¡¯ Ranger.
¡°Fuckin¡¯ luck of the adventurer,¡± Gand griped coming up from around the path. And here is the mix-breed. He¡¯d probably circled around them during the storm unseen. Has to have tired himself aplenty to make it in time, Sibren thought and found a tree to stand next to, hoping to cut the archer¡¯s angle. ¡°Not much luck,¡± he told the mix-breed Northman. Gand stood taller than him by a couple of fingers, the heavy leather armour he wore making him appear bulkier, but the thin orange beard down his face lessened his image somewhat. He¡¯d a large bastard sword in his right hand, the blade wider than usual. A custom sword, as most other things in the North. Gand spared a glance at the dying Parret, the blood covering the adventurer¡¯s armour and spat once, saliva turning to snow afore touching the ground. ¡°Callum was in Bas¡¯s rangers,¡± he told him walking on sure feet to close the distance. ¡°A fine shot. Good lads to have around ayup. You¡¯ve grown old since the rebellion days Maats. The North holds a grudge ye know that.¡± ¡°Kell left you off yer leash is that it?¡± Sibren taunted him, an eye on the Northman, the other scanning the silent woods for the sneaky ranger. He¡¯s probably busy moving to find a better angle, he thought. He has to come towards the path for that, but he won¡¯t fire if I¡¯m tangled up wit Gand. The latter holding its own problems. Gand ¡®One Ear¡¯ gave him a mean glare. ¡°Ye should have kept out of our business,¡± he spat and charged taking two quick forward steps.
Sibren parried the heavy blade away, bright sparks joining the snowflakes, made to cut Gand across the chest, but saw out the corner of his eye that the Northman¡¯s return swing would beat him to the punch and ducked under it. The heavy blade struck the tree trunk over his head splintering wood and Sibren stepped aside, switching his grip on Parret¡¯s sword. Gand swung again putting his shoulder behind it, blade whooshing, but he blocked it just under the tip and send it down with a grunt, his heart beating wild in his chest. ¡°Argh!¡± Gand growled, lips split and teeth showing. He pulled back with Sibren pressing forward to rob him of his advantage, as the Northman needed more oomph to wield the heavy blade. Sibren¡¯s boot slid on a loose rock and he cursed, stumbling sideways, but Gand who saw the opening overcommitted and slipped on the treacherous terrain as well. The Northman stumbled forward, going from having the advantage to losing it in less than a breath and Sibren who¡¯d been in far too many scraps to hesitate under immense pressure, slashed him once across the head right where his ear was missing. Blood painted his blade a rich red, Gand dropping to a knee with a groan and then rolling once to get away, exposed flesh revealing part of his jawbone. Blood running down his face and chest in gushes. ¡°Motherfucker,¡± the Northman grunted, voice hoarse from pain and severe shock at the mutilation, turning to another groan cut short. Sibren had stepped forward again, mouth permanently crooked in a scowl and run him through with Parret¡¯s sword from the sides. The blade slipping between the ribs and bending when he hit Gand¡¯s spine. Getting stuck in him. The fight over in a minute. Two tops. Was it enough time? He wondered twisting about panicked, the steel tip arrow aimed for his back, smacking him on the shoulder bone, after going through his armour. Sibren recoiled, the momentum hurling him back and he lost his footing. He put a hand out and found a tree trunk to crash onto, a breath and he spotted the fire on the other side than he remembered it, ears ringing. Sibren heard Sid¡¯s worried prolonged neigh, not a meter away. Damnit, he thought the horse¡¯s saddle out of immediate reach and glanced back at the sound of a branch snapping to spot Calum stepping out of the white foliage, the ranger¡¯s armour and garbs covered in ice making him appear like death¡¯s apparition. Another arrow slotted in his white fur covered bow. Sid neighed, eyes ogling in panic and desperately tried to untie himself from the branch to come to his aid, the other horses becoming agitated sensing the warhorse¡¯s anguish. Sibren cursed under his breath knowing it was futile, but went for the King¡¯s blade just the same. There¡¯s no right, or wrong way to fight a scrap, or get out of an ambush. No fancy unassailable strategy, or special skill to save you in a bind. Ye just dive in it and hope them details, Milton used to say, fall yer way. Sibren made a step towards his reeling horse and felt an arrow ripping through his lung, the steel curved tip exploding out of his chest breaking a rib. His mouth flooded with blood, left arm numbing useless and spat a mouthful of gore out afore dropping to his knees half a foot from his horse. Damnation. The Ranger¡¯s chuckle ringing in the small opening, the day¡¯s last moments peaceful at this part of the northern pass, other than the neighs of the agitated animals. ¡°Callum downed two adventurers in a day,¡± the Ranger declared all proud and Sibren turned around to glare at him. Sibren¡¯s throat clogged with blood instead of air each time he tried to suck a breath in, so he stopped breathing to keep his head clear. Callum slotted his bow on his left shoulder and reached for a long knife he carried on his right thigh. More like a shortsword, on a second look. The thick leather glove he wore on his right hand reaching his elbow. ¡°Where¡¯s the little cunt?¡± ¡°He¡¯s long gone,¡± Sibren grunted, grinding his teeth and feeling his strength wasting away. Fucking northern weather and rusted old fool camping in the open. ¡°He¡¯s a learned man, knows how to disappear. He¡¯ll become one wit nature and the elements. You¡¯ll never find him.¡± Callum frowned and glanced about the campsite unsure. ¡°I don¡¯t believe we¡¯re talking about the same man Maats,¡± he finally said and sure enough Sirio popped his head behind the tree he¡¯d hidden behind to see what was happening. Chance another throw of the dice, Sibren thought and moved just as Callum heard Sirio moving about like a nervous blind cat. The Ranger turned his head towards the sound and Sibren jumped to his feet clenching his teeth to the point of breaking, the arrow shaft scrapping on valuable organs inside him doing even more damage. Sibren groaned his vision blurring, but he put a determined hand on the exotic handle and pulled it out. He twisted around as if in slow motion, buzzing blade freed, Callum¡¯s head turning hearing the commotion and hurled it with the last of his strength, afore he collapsed again on his knees. Sibren saw Callum flinch seeing and probably hearing, the large weapon revolving twice mid-air as it traveled the distance between them, eyes growing afore realizing he could swat it away, or dodge. Not both. The Ranger swung with his shortsword, fearing the ground underneath might betray him, his weapon having a sturdy wide steel blade on it seemingly capable of doing the deed. It didn¡¯t. The exotic sword went through the shortsword as if it wasn¡¯t there, cleaved Callum right between the eyebrows, its momentum driving it downwards, splitting his skull in two, down the face, then the neck afore eating through half his chest cavity and stopping. Leaving a horrific mangled mess in its path. Sibren had seen wood stubs getting chopped similarly with a forester¡¯s axe. Almost, but not quite. Well that was¡­ darn right amazing.
¡°Oh no Sibren!¡± Sirio croaked and tried to move him, the adventurer smacking him once on the chest to leave him alone. ¡°Gods you¡¯re bleeding!¡± the historian cried out, dropping on his arse shocked. ¡°I¡¯m dyin¡¯ ye imbecile,¡± Sibren grunted with difficulty, gulping down his own blood. ¡°Let me pull it out¡ª¡± ¡°Leave it be¡­ fuck¡¯s sake,¡± Sibren groaned, with fresh gore bubbling out of his mouth. ¡°Let me get a plaguin¡¯ word out.¡± ¡°Mister Parret,¡± Sirio sniffled losing his composure. ¡°Forget him. Ye need to get¡­ on them horses,¡± Sibren croaked, seeing only from the one eye. ¡°Ride down the path¡­ world¡¯s biggest idiot couldn¡¯t get lost.¡± Sibren was only half-sure about the latter. ¡°The path,¡± Sirio repeated unsure, too shaken to understand even the simplest instructions. The fact he had tears rolling down his face unnerving the adventurer. ¡°Reach¡­ the junction,¡± Sibren coughed up a mouthful of blood and collapsed on his back. That darn arrow popping out even more. He brought his hand up, grabbed it at the base and broke it. ¡°What¡¯s in the junction?¡± Sirio asked him in a shaky voice, a thin finger poking his left cheek to check if he had died already. By the fuckin¡¯ dead! ¡°You¡¯ll¡­ figure it out,¡± He murmured and felt snow melting on his burning face. The touch feathery and soft, its coldness welcoming. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure you¡¯re not forgotten my friend. History shall speak of you,¡± Sirio wept and hugged his shoulders tight, smelling of horse and woman¡¯s perfume. Ugh. ¡°I don¡¯t¡­ care,¡± Sibren grunted, very frustrated. ¡°See to Sid, he¡¯s a bit¡­ difficult.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± Sirio asked and wiped his leaking nose with a shaking hand. But Sibren didn¡¯t bother answering him. Comes a point, when you¡¯ve said all there is to say. All he wanted now was to lie in the cold ground and feel the snow on his face. Ye never got to find yer way home, he thought and heard Milton¡¯s sniggering disagreement, his old partner sitting relaxed beside the frozen trunk a meter away, stretched arm pointing to the west, with only two fingers on it. The dead adventurer was plaguin¡¯ right. At least yer sort of back in the North. Ayup. Didn¡¯t go out in yer sleep also. So quit bitching about it... -
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 271. Lord Nattas Man (1/2)
Dark leather under the pauldrons, but me cuirass has faded Eighty coppers worth o¡¯ fate, but Krakenhall stands unraided Cracked is the Scutum, leakin¡¯ in the rains, But in the sound of the drum, on old boots wit fresh hobnails The unit marches morning-noon an¡¯ rest o¡¯ day, A way¡¯s away, a way¡¯s away! As far as Jelin¡¯s edge An¡¯ back to Regia¡¯s sands to attain Legatus¡¯ pledge an¡¯ lay the king¡¯s sword in his hands - Eighty Coppers III Legio marching song (Different versions of the song exist) Since 190 NC at least
Decanus Lucas Kato Lord Nattas Man Part I -Veturius-
3rd Legion (Abbreviated | III LEGIO, Bloody Third, Old Sister, III-LG, Panthera Tigris | Bronze and gold standard representing the head of a snarling Blacktiger, very similar to Regia¡¯s non-snarling banner, the royal Aldenus family crest and the First Legion¡¯s emblem) Organizational chart 2nd month of winter 191 NC (Overall strength ~2968 -Legio general staff not included) -2240 legionnaires, ~728 other units (150 mixed cavalry, ~200 heavy Slingers, 250 Scouts and Rangers, 200 Engineers, 28 medics) - Legatus Augustus | Lucius ¡®Bloody Tiger¡¯ Aldenus -Praetor Maximus after 191 NC Aide de Legatus | Marc Gripa Tribune Honoraris | Galio ¡®Old Oak¡¯ Veturius (Broad Band Tribune ¨Cunofficial until 192 NC, also acting Legatus after 192 NC) 1st Prefect | Varus ¡®The Book¡¯ Trupo (Lesia) also Scribe de legionis Centurion (of Medics) | Dottore Silvio Marianus LID officer | Vibius ¡®Vulture¡¯ Ramirus, (Legion Intelligence Department) Quartermaster | Ramsey Kolt, also Keeper of the Purse Optio | Potis Durio (Engineers) Panthera Tigris Signifer | Brim Solomon (Lesia) - 1st Cohort -Gold Standard Monikers -Red, ¡®Old¡¯ 1st ¡®Agricola¡¯ Century Centurion, Primus Pilus| Simon Gata 1st Decanus| Lucas Kato (first Maniple) Legionnaire| Mede Legionnaire| Petrus 2nd Decanus| Herius Asina (second Maniple) 2nd Century Centurion| Marcus Antonius Merenda Decanus Domus 3rd Century Centurion| Artur Mangas 4rth Century Centurion| Servius Capito - 2nd Cohort -Gold Standard (Monikers Blue, ¡®Sula¡¯) 1st Century Centurion| Gnaeus Ennius 2nd Century Centurion| Josi Vala 3rd Century Centurion| Ardi Damian 4rth Century Centurion| Spurius Dio - 3rd Cohort (Moniker Purple, ¡®Lucky¡¯) 1st Century Centurion| Cassius Falx 2nd Century Centurion| Placus Lepidus 3rd Century Centurion| Julius Sepofa 4rth Century Centurion| Jorgen Osmond - 4rth Cohort (Monikers Kas, ¡®the young¡¯, Macrinus Lads) 1st Century Centurion| Sextus Silvius 2nd Century Centurion| Keegan Dixon (Kas) 3rd Century Centurion| Jason Gordon (Kas) 4rth Century Centurion| Kaleb White (Kas) - Legio Scouts Centurion| ¡®Frostworm¡¯ Kaeso - Legio Cavalry Decurion| Kent ¡®Thin-knees¡¯ Long. - Legio Slingers Centurion| Mamercus ¡®Unhurried¡¯ Sorex - Legio Engineers Optio | Potis Durio Centurion (of engineers) | Sid Toma (Lesia) - Legio Medics Centurion | Marianus - Detailed: Legion Scouts (Strength ~250 warriors, (150 of Lady Faye Alden¡¯s warband -various mixed units of fighters, mainly axemen- under Logan ¡®Gray¡¯ Barret and ¡®Hulking¡¯ Layton.) + 100 Rangers under Centurion | Kaeso -Note: Centurion Pike¡¯s Rangers were transferred to the IV Legio - Legion Cavalry (Strength 150 mixed riders, included thirty men & women of Legatus¡¯ entourage) Lady Faye Alden (Nord) ¨Cnot active after Krakenfort- Decurion | Kent ¡®Thin-knees¡¯ Long (Nord) - Legion Slingers (Attached short range unit ¨C Semi-autonomous, usually deployed by the Legatus. Only unit employing women and men under sixteen) (Strength fluctuating due to casualties, usually ~200 men and women) Centurion | Mamercus Sorex -Note: Centurion Joe Fallon¡¯s Slingers unit was attached to the IV Legio - Legion Engineers (Leather aprons, ¡®Bestia¡¯) 50 Legio Engineers (the majority from Lesia) + 150 apprentices (engineers, blacksmiths and carpenters included) - Legio Medics 8 Dottore and surgeons ~20 nursesThe tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. - Around two thousand civilians (some soldier families), merchants and technicians (Civilian blacksmiths, carpenters, laborers, Armorers, hunters, trappers, whores, musicians etc.) following in the supply train. At least two hundred various-sized carriages and wagons carrying mostly foodstuff, cots, leather tents, precut wood, tools and weapons ¨Cincluding ten siege engines/scorpios - among other things.
Darn nail, Lucas Kato thought. It had broken though the sole of his boot and kept poking at his right foot for the last couple of hours. His feet finding rock and holes in a rhythm it seemed, since they left the finished part of the road behind. The snow making everything appear deceptively flat. Kato opened his mouth to order a stop, the wind blasting frozen bits of snow and pebbles on his face, but Mede beat him to it. ¡°South Fort!¡± the legionnaire bellowed ever keen eyed and the Decanus grunted as he couldn¡¯t see anything from the rear of the maniple. ¡°Maniple stop the march!¡± Kato barked. Hurrying to the front of the unit an ordeal. ¡°Are you sure about it?¡± he asked Mede. ¡°Black smoke Decanus, no one camps this time of day but ¡®em fort dwellers.¡± Kato grunted and eyed the three smoke columns rising to the sky. ¡°Should we march on?¡± Mede asked annoyingly. ¡°I¡¯m thinkin¡¯ about it!¡± ¡°What¡¯s to think about?¡± I¡¯ve a bad foot. ¡°Go on then Mede,¡± Kato grunted through his teeth and waited as much as he could afore going after them. At least he could have his foot looked after at the Fort, rest a bit, he begrudgingly decided. Sack full of cack as pillow.
Commander Tanicus, a forty year old Lorian from Bisonville a village located right on the south banks of Picker¡¯s River, at the disputed border between Asturia and Pascor ¨Cbasically a flat field knee-deep in cow turds and grass, no one was willing to relinquish to the other- rushed to greet them at the entrance of the small square wooden fort. ¡°Decanus,¡± Tanicus said gruffly, his darker skin making it look like an Issir might have fooled around with one of his ancestors. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of men.¡± ¡°Where the Decanus goes, his maniple follows,¡± Kato grunted, a grimace of pain on his face. ¡°With heavy winter here, I¡¯ve orders to inspect the forts commander.¡± As absurd an order as it sounded. But as the saying went, the army always reacts a month late to the elements. ¡°Eh, nothing is moving out there,¡± Tanicus said, receiving a hefty amount of murmurs from the freezing legionnaires. ¡°Bring the men inside Decanus. Just about feeding time.¡± ¡°Mede!¡± Kato barked, cutting through the murmurs. ¡°Move ¡®em in sire?¡± Mede asked tauntingly. ¡°What the fuck do ye think? Fancy a walk around the walls?¡± Mede didn¡¯t even hesitate. ¡°Maniple moves forward! MOVE IT!¡± Mede bellowed and Kato turned to the heavyset Tanicus, the man¡¯s bear hide coat nigh impressive and probably super warm. ¡°May I have use of your office?¡± ¡°I was about to climb the tower, but sure,¡± Tanicus said gracefully. Decanus glanced at the sole timber watchtower apprehensively afore going after him. The guard standing up there covered in heavy hides looking more like a frozen boulder than a person.
Kato bandaged his foot and fixed the nail on his boot, hitting it with the pommel of his sword under the amused eyes of Tanicus. ¡°Supply problems?¡± The commander asked him with a small smile. ¡°New pair, but that¡¯s a lot of road to cover from Kas, so new pairs get old fast,¡± Kato grunted and reached for his cup of warm ale. He had it slotted in the fireplace of the crude, but well-built commander¡¯s office. ¡°How¡¯s the fort?¡± ¡°Cozy, but it¡¯s not a palace,¡± Tanicus replied with fake modesty. ¡°We just barely finished it afore the first snows. Northwatch sent working crews to help.¡± ¡°How are the locals there?¡± ¡°Unhappy, but satisfied for breathing still,¡± Tanicus said callously. ¡°About a hundred guards are stationed there to keep them safe and checking up on Eaglesnest.¡± ¡°No guards stationed in the city?¡± ¡°For the better,¡± Tanicus shrugged his shoulders. ¡°No one wants to stay near that hag. People tend to get sick if she casts her eye on ¡®em.¡± That¡¯s a strong deterrent, he thought. ¡°Uhm,¡± Kato murmured, the warmth lulling him to sleep. He¡¯d slept for about an hour whilst marching, just as all good legionaires know how to, but it is a low-rest sleep this. It can get ye tired as quickly. ¡°You missed the patrol,¡± Tanicus continued. ¡°They left about six days afore you arrived, poor lads got caught in weather on the march.¡± ¡°We all did,¡± Kato reminded him sourly. ¡°Of course, but then legionnaires are paid better.¡± Not really, Kato thought. ¡°As you said commander,¡± Kato retorted. ¡°Yours is a cozy job.¡± Someone banged on the door. ¡°Yes!¡± Tanicus barked, very annoyed at the interruption. ¡°The watchtower reports men and animals on the path sire!¡± A soldier yelled from behind the unpolished wooden door. ¡°A Caravan?¡± Tanicus chanced getting up, a frown marring his square face. ¡°Don¡¯t believe it sire.¡± ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake, go and check it out then!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go see what¡¯s going on,¡± Kato said and got up with a grimace of his own. His one of pain and not annoyance.
¡°What¡¯s all the fuss about Decanus?¡± Mede asked him chewing on a piece of hard black bread, he¡¯d dipped in warm ale. ¡°After me,¡± Kato grunted, the cold of the yard blasting him in the face again ruining his mood. ¡°I¡¯m eatin¡¯ sire,¡± Mede argued. ¡°My boot in yer face soon enough. MOVE ye spoon!¡± Kato retorted irate without turning to look at him. He reached the gates and spotted the animals coming down from the path, a couple of soldiers leading them. ¡°That our boys?¡± Tanicus, who¡¯d followed him outside, asked. He¡¯d forgotten to throw his heavy coat on and was shivering now with the rest of them. Haha. The guard blinked once and then nodded. ¡°The patrol lads. That¡¯s Vocula for sure sire.¡± ¡°What is Vocula doing back so soon?¡± Kato asked, wiping some of the slowly forming frost off his face. ¡°I¡¯ve no plauguin¡¯ idea,¡± Tanicus admitted. ¡°We don¡¯t issue horses to the patrol Decanus.¡± Kato rubbed his hands together to get his blood going and eyed the group approach. There was a third man riding one of the bigger horses, almost every animal heavily laden. ¡°Vocula what you got there?¡± the guard asked them when they stopped afore the gates of the Fort. ¡°What is he doing back more like,¡± his commander snapped stepping forward. ¡°Something the matter wit the patrol?¡± ¡°The patrol is in Gudgurth Fort by now sire,¡± Vocula a man with Kato¡¯s shorter stature replied, head and armour covered in a thick layer of ice. The man with them, got down from his horse clumsily and started cleaning himself up from the snow. ¡°We found him on the path and the sergeant tasked us to bring him here.¡± ¡°Why here?¡± Tanicus barked. Mede had started examining the horses, still chewing on his interrupted meal. Kato walked near him and very close to the thin young man. ¡°At his insistence sire. He¡¯d been attacked on the path, some of his friends got killed,¡± Vocula replied and the stranger stepped forward, expensive pair of boots on his feet covered in frozen mud. ¡°What was that?¡± Tanicus barked and the young man intervened, a disconcerting smile on his face. ¡°I can clarify it gentlemen,¡± he said hauntingly and Tanicus frowned not expecting a civilian prying in military matters without being given permission. Kato took a quick step, raised his hand high and slapped him once right at the ear, bringing the stranger down on his knees immediately and quite unexpectedly as he hadn¡¯t put much in the blow. ¡°Thank you Decanus,¡± Tanicus said. ¡°Answer me query Vocula.¡± ¡°They fell into a trap, Kell¡¯s warband he said,¡± Vocula continued, the young man slowly standing up on his feet moaning, the left side of his face red where Kato had caught him. ¡°There are bodies here Decanus,¡± Mede reported and Kato flinched in alarm. The legionnaire was still searching the horses a couple of meters from him. ¡°Dead?¡± Tanicus gasped and Kato checked to see what Mede had discovered. Ayup. ¡°Frozen stiff, don¡¯t see ¡®em comin¡¯ back anytime soon,¡± Mede elucidated and Tanicus stare turned into a glare. ¡°Please sirs,¡± the young man mumbled, his hands and feet shaking. ¡°My name is Sirio Veturius¡ª¡± ¡°Seize that lying creep Vocula!¡± Tanicus barked cutting him off and Mede moved casually behind Sirio and grabbed him by the collar. ¡°Can I¡ª?¡± Sirio tried to say, but Vocula backhanded him once, splitting his lower lip and Sirio dropped on his knees again, Mede pulling him upright fiercely. ¡°Give me an explanation Vocula!¡± Tanicus growled, his blood boiling despite the cold. ¡°Told us he was bringing them to Kas sire,¡± the soldier replied tiredly. ¡°The patrol will know more. If they found no other bodies then he¡¯s lying.¡± ¡°Other bodies?¡± Tanicus snarled, the last thing he needed in the middle of an inspection from central command, was corpses dropping in his lap. ¡°Good grief,¡± he turned on the bleeding and swelling from both sides of his face Sirio. Kato thought that curious as well. ¡°Ye better give me a good explanation son.¡± ¡°Ahm,¡± Sirio mumbled, probably still shaken from the blows. He¡¯d a bookish air about him, Kato didn¡¯t much appreciate. ¡°I was with Sibren Maats when it happened.¡± ¡°Maats is dead?¡± Tacinus growled. ¡°Unfortunately he is,¡± Sirio replied sadly and Mede frowned seeing him sniffling at the end of it. ¡°Couldn¡¯t you bury the man?¡± Tanicus queried. ¡°I wanted to¡­ but couldn¡¯t break the ground enough,¡± the young man explained between sobs. It made everyone uncomfortable. When you get punished, do it wit a bit of dignity, Kato thought. Don¡¯t go about inconveniencing other people fuck¡¯s sake. ¡°Did ye kill them? Come clean. Don¡¯t go to yer death tortured, it ain¡¯t pleasant son,¡± Tanicus grunted not believing him. ¡°Of course not!¡± Sirio protested sounding desperate. ¡°I¡¯m trying to get to Kas¡ª¡± Huh? Wait, what was that name he¡¯d sprouted out earlier¡­ ¡°Bring him inside,¡± Tanicus barked cutting him off. ¡°Vocula see to the fuckin¡¯ bodies! Escorting them to the fort for crying out loud! What were you thinkin¡¯?¡± Mede pushed the young man forward, basically carrying him by the scruff like a dog, but Kato stepped in his path and put a heavy hand on Sirio¡¯s chest stopping them both. ¡°What was that name again?¡± he asked him. ¡°Decanus, I¡¯m freezing my arse here!¡± Tanicus grunted irate behind him. ¡°The name?¡± Sirio asked seeming desperate and utterly confused. ¡°You said Veturius, didn¡¯t ye?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s my surname,¡± Sirio agreed eagerly, getting his hopes up. ¡°Any relation to the ¡®Old Oak¡¯?¡± Sirio¡¯s face fell, his hopes crashed. ¡°Ahm, I¡¯m not sure¡­¡± ¡°The Tribune, ye share a name,¡± Kato pressed on patiently. ¡°I have an uncle, he served in the real legion¡­ I mean,¡± Sirio cleared his throat realizing he¡¯d put a foot in his mouth, Kato eyeing him, pondering whether the blubbering man needed another blow to the other ear to even things out in his brain. His words hadn¡¯t won him any favor with those present. ¡°He¡¯s with Lord Lucius, a retired Centurion. They left together from Alden, it¡¯s a couple of years now.¡± A plate of cold cack. ¡°He got promoted,¡± Kato grunted and stared at an alarmed Mede. ¡°Release him,¡± he barked over the objections of the commander. Mede did and the old Tribune¡¯s kin collapsed on his knees again not expecting it. So Kato ordered a chuckling Mede to resume carrying him inside the fort.
Kato¡¯s mind was on his hurting leg, but he couldn¡¯t remove his hobnailed boots again, so he waited for Sirio to finish his meal. The man was extremely slow at it, savoring each spoonful of meat soup. He didn¡¯t much look like ¡®Old Oak¡¯ truth be told. Of course he¡¯d a full set of hair, the color a rich black and strangely combed back, but more so it was his character that just didn¡¯t match the Tribune¡¯s. ¡°So,¡± he started rapping his fingers on the large table inside the barracks. Tanicus wasn¡¯t convinced Sirio was telling the truth and wouldn¡¯t admit him to his office. ¡°Your mother is the Tribune¡¯s sister?¡± ¡°Mmm, yes mister Kato,¡± Sirio replied after gulping down a spoonful of his probably cold soup by now. ¡°How does that work? You lads are marrying each other on principle?¡± ¡°My family has a tainted reputation in some circles. It is very difficult to find good prospects. My father was a distant cousin,¡± Sirio explained. Not answering why a ¡®not-so-good¡¯ a prospect wasn¡¯t considered. ¡°Agreed to marry her near the end of his life, to preserve the name. She was thirty years younger than him.¡± ¡°As good an excuse as I¡¯ve heard,¡± Kato mocked him. ¡°Ahm, I don¡¯t understand mister Kato¡ª¡± ¡°Better start stating my rank Sirio,¡± he cut him off. ¡°Don¡¯t go about cozying up wit people here without their consent. It¡¯s frowned upon.¡± ¡°I understand Decanus,¡± Sirio retorted, adding a small smile behind it that opened his lip again. He put a towel on it with a grimace. ¡°I need to reach Kas as I said.¡± ¡°To see the Tribune.¡± ¡°To see Lord Lucius.¡± ¡°Lad you¡¯ll never get near the Legatus without seeing the Tribune. To tell ye the truth, you probably need to jump a lot more hoops than that. Make a petition, wait yer turn and such. Folk don¡¯t go about meeting with the chief because they want to,¡± Kato told him. ¡°And I don¡¯t see you making it to Kas either.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a whim Decanus, but a mission. Lord Nattas expects me to speak to the¡­ Legatus.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s he?¡± ¡°The Baron of Moon¡¯s Haven.¡± Kato had no idea where that was. ¡°Ehm, Regia Master of Silence,¡± Sirio elucidated. ¡°Former dowager Queen¡¯s of Regia Shield. An important man.¡± ¡°Sounds like it,¡± Kato agreed. ¡°So what¡¯s the mission?¡± He asked him and heard the legionnaires returning outside. Sirio stood back, keeping the towel on his lips. ¡°I can¡¯t divulge the details Decanus.¡± Kato nodded. Mede entered the barracks, a wrapped up object in a blanket under his armpit and came to the table. ¡°The men finished the burial Decanus,¡± Mede reported and Sirio nodded sadly. ¡°We recovered a number of weapons from the horses. I kept them as it is unclear to the men, what the lad¡¯s status is.¡± ¡°The man is the Tribune¡¯s kin allegedly¡ª¡± ¡°Decanus, I assure you! I¡¯m telling the truth!¡± Sirio protested and Kato stared at him somberly for a moment. ¡°Whether you are or not, popping yer head in the middle of conversation won¡¯t endear ye to anyone Sirio,¡± he cautioned him. ¡°Now I would have asked Mede here to give you a good lashing out in the yard to get you all educated on the matter, but I¡¯ll forget about it given that you¡¯ve received some punishment already. Go on Mede.¡± ¡°Well, we found a sword in the bags that don¡¯t seem like it belonged to an adventurer sire.¡± Sirio stood up alarmed. Panicked being the more accurate word here. Hmm. ¡°What of it?¡± Mede placed the wrapped up object on the table and started unwrapping it. Sirio moved and put a hand on it to stop him from continuing. Kato smacked his lips annoyed. ¡°What are you doing lad?¡± ¡°This is the king¡¯s sword,¡± Sirio blurted out. ¡°The king¡¯s, as in it¡¯s very expensive, or¡­¡± ¡°Regia¡¯s king was my meaning,¡± Sirio croaked, just as Mede removed his hand forcefully to continue unwrapping the weapon. Kato stood back on the chair, everything creaking and the throbbing on his leg bothersome. ¡°I take it this is the mission?¡± he asked him and the young man nodded. Sirio looked sick and ready to collapse again, the left side of his face still swollen a bit and red. ¡°I must deliver it to Lord Lucius,¡± Sirio added without a breath. ¡°Sooner the better.¡± Kato sighed and rubbed his forehead with a calloused hand. ¡°Is he expecting it?¡± he asked tiredly. ¡°He knows about it for sure,¡± Sirio replied. ¡°Mede,¡± Kato started. ¡°You¡¯re bringing the maniple back. Tell Tanicus to prepare four horses for me and an escort.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll ride back?¡± ¡°Yes, to make it there quicker,¡± Kato grunted, thinking of his leg. ¡°Tanicus won¡¯t like it if we take his horses,¡± Mede argued. ¡°This is legion business, have him write to complain. With the amount of paperwork they¡¯re dealing wit, he is to expect an answer sometime in the next year,¡± Kato retorted and got up his eyes on Sirio. ¡°My lad, if yer lying and the Tribune confirms it, this whole matter will end very poorly for you.¡± Sirio gulped down nervously afore nodding once with his head. Good. ¡°Get yourself ready,¡± Kato told him and turned to walk outside. ¡°How much time do I have?¡± Sirio asked him and the Decanus paused unsure if he was jesting. ¡°The moment the horses are saddled we¡¯re leaving lad,¡± he grunted and Sirio frowned, eyes full of concern. ¡°The day is all but over Decanus,¡± he protested. ¡°So is my patience mister Sirio,¡± Kato warned him, steel in his voice. ¡°Get yer shit together, don¡¯t forget to bring the sword, if ye know what¡¯s good for you.¡± There¡¯s no way he¡¯s related to the ¡®Old Oak¡¯, he thought marching outside. Unless all that inbreeding messed him up. Ayup.
The legionnaires gathered in neat rows at a trot, ready to take the road back to where they had come from in less than half a day. The thin sun almost completely hidden behind the mountain range and the cold biting. Better to freeze everything, than turn to snowing again, he hoped. Kato grimaced and glanced at a barking Mede getting the stranglers in line. ¡°Ready Decanus,¡± Petrus told him, standing stiff on his horse and Kato nodded. He checked his cheekguards binding next, fixed the woolen cloth on his neck and wrapped himself in the heavy crimson-red military cloak. ¡°Maniple marches forward!¡± Mede bellowed and the men started up the path, taking the north turn at the junction leading to Kas. A moment and the last rows started singing a familiar tune. Dark leather under the pauldrons, but me cuirass has faded Eighty coppers worth o¡¯ fate, but Krakenhall stands unraided ¡°Petrus,¡± Kato barked giving the signal for their smaller group of men and animals to follow after them. ¡°We pass them from the right side, keep it civil, we¡¯ll open up after the ledge to make a bit of time afore nightfall.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll travel in the night?¡± Sirio blurted out and Kato glanced at the frowning sturdily built Petrus. ¡°Legionnaire,¡± he ordered him. ¡°Next time mister Sirio makes a comment, you tie him to the mule, so he can bring up the rear on foot!¡± ¡°Aye sire,¡± Petrus replied deathly serious and placed his horse next to the shocked Sirio¡¯s mount. ¡°Right,¡± Kato said pleased he got that out of the plaguing way and clicked his tongue to get his horse moving. ¡°Back to Kas it is.¡± See what the other Veturius thinks about all this.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 272. Lord Nattas Man (2/2)
The warm waves darkened the gold sands, making froth were they touched the short white-marble fence, the bronze oil lamps running the length of it and sending their bright light across the beach before the lavish estate. Sirio removed his glasses and blinked once, trying to read without them from his notes. There was a finished version of his story, but he always went back at it, looking for things he¡¯d missed the first time, or simply gotten wrong. He used the burning candle to lit the rest of them, but more light, while it drove away the shadows from their veranda, didn¡¯t reveal anything more from his scribbling. But for her approaching him while distracted that is. ¡°They¡¯ll never let your words reach the people,¡± Maja told him and she looked contentedly old now, her spell losing its potency with time. Still lovely to his eyes. Maja smiled and placed her rough hand on his softly. ¡°Each King will have a version, or chapter he likes presented, hide the rest,¡± she whispered, voice accompanied by the sound of the nearby sea. ¡°The one most insulted won¡¯t hesitate to have your head.¡± ¡°I think we both escaped that fate,¡± Sirio reminded her sourly. ¡°He hasn¡¯t,¡± his wife countered. ¡°You keep making changes, don¡¯t. People love their heroes, leave it be.¡± ¡°Heroes fall,¡± Sirio replied. ¡°Some they weren¡¯t heroes to begin with.¡± Maja sighed and got up with a grimace of pain. Humidity bothered her lately and she favored her right side when walking, but Sirio didn¡¯t want to bring it up. Keep your worries to yourself, if you can¡¯t offer a solution. Stuff one learns on the road, outside a library¡¯s embrace. ¡°You loved that bastard,¡± she told him reading his aged face. ¡°But you knew all along what was going on. There are no innocent parties in a war dear. That¡¯s the family game.¡± ¡°Kids are,¡± Sirio murmured not looking at her. ¡°And there is still right and wrong.¡± ¡°That¡¯s you, trying to play the knight you never were. I¡¯ve read your stories dear.¡± ¡°Maybe I¡¯m having trouble sifting through all the lies!¡± ¡°Does it matter?¡± Maja snapped, losing her temper. ¡°We¡¯re together twenty years! Never questioned a thing about you! You think I don¡¯t know?¡± She covered her face immediately regretting her outburst. ¡°What was the truth? What was the other half of the lie?¡± Sirio asked her keeping his eyes on the well-lit beach, a little hurt and equally ashamed. ¡°Did you have her daughter killed? Our son¡¯s sister?¡± Maja kept staring into his face, until he was forced to look at her. Good gods. ¡°What if he founds out?¡± He croaked. ¡°He won¡¯t,¡± Maja replied sternly. ¡°Not all truths come out dear. Not all truths are good. Some will destroy your life, ruin your future, or have you killed.¡± ¡°I think I¡¯m going to get sick,¡± Sirio murmured. ¡°Eh, have some wine, take a walk to the sea front,¡± Maja told him a little frustrated. ¡°Close the drapes on your return, leave the sheet on my side and remember witnesses are your real enemy. That¡¯s what doomed him, a momentary lapse of judgement, an act of pity, not gods. Not words and not thoughts, or a boy¡¯s dreams of adventure and mysteries. Let Silvio do what he loves in life unafraid. Much smarter people than you have taken care of everything else.¡±
Legatus Lucius Alden Lord Nattas Man Part II -People don¡¯t care about all that-
The Third Legion¡¯s permanent Castrum at the city of Kas grew out of the city¡¯s south walls and gradually became the strongest part of its fortifications. The internal gates leading to ¡®Little Sovya¡¯, or the East Sector of the developing city and Redmond¡¯s Hall, while the heavy stone external gates faced south towards the Bloody Ridge road and the path leading to the Dwarven Mines. The Gold Mine located on the west side of the mountain and the larger Bronze Mines carved out on the east. The stone instead of timber camp itself, build around the prominent Commander¡¯s Headquarters building, a three story high robust square tower. It had service buildings and warehouses behind it, sixteen large legionnaire stone barracks at its front placed in two rows, the large parade road between them leading to the gates. As Galio had said not impressed, this is like a copy of the Legion¡¯s home at Anorum, but with a smaller budget. This is the Third Legion¡¯s home Tribune. Only future will tell if it gets another, Lucius had reminded him. Budget though is a problem and it isn¡¯t small at all, Lucius thought, rubbing his tired eyes. The Legatus hadn¡¯t slept that well as Faye wanted Roderick kept near her and that had invited Canutia into their home to take some of the load off of her. With Gripa present as well, plus the messengers from the army, the city and the restless Roderick always willing to wake everyone up, it wasn¡¯t easy to find any shuteye. Lucius had taken the habit of sleeping in the camp during the day for a couple of hours and away from the city, but being in camp meant military or civilian matters and war council reports found him sooner. ¡°Macrinus protests Sula¡¯s request for additional weapons from the armory Legatus Augustus,¡± Prefect Trupo reported reading from a foot-high pile of scrolls and parchments, another two waiting their turn as high as his left shoulder. ¡°Sula is recruiting for the Fourth,¡± Lucius noted and glanced at Vibius Ramirus, the LID officer scribbling something on his own stack of papers before adding to Lucius voiceless query. ¡°Macrinus believes Lady Martha is chewing the ear of the Legatus of the Fourth on the need to rearm Halfostad as well,¡± Ramirus said. ¡°Word is, she is wearing him down Augustus.¡± ¡°Perhaps allowing her to visit Halfostad was premature?¡± Trupo suggested and Lucius stared at him, the hint of a smile on his lips. ¡°Martha had to go Prefect. She wanted to and her presence brought extra tension into my household,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°I value my wife¡¯s concerns more than Sula¡¯s nerves. He¡¯s resilient enough to handle her, while I am not,¡± he turned to the intelligence officer. ¡°What¡¯s the reasoning for her pressing Sula for weapons?¡± ¡°A fear of Lesia obviously,¡± Ramirus replied. ¡°The Jarl¡¯s people returning.¡± ¡°They won¡¯t,¡± Lucius assured him. ¡°Not through our land. Not right now. If they are smart they¡¯ll never make war again, but I don¡¯t believe they are. We¡¯ll deal with that problem when it arrives, if it arrives, but not sooner. As for Lesia I¡¯m not certain they¡¯ll risk a war in Sovya so soon. The Duke keeps trade open with them, we are not interfering there and Lesia needs timber, iron and hides. They won¡¯t risk the trade routes and a landing at Kadrek is too risky.¡± Lucius walked to the large map table and stared at it for a while, the officers standing up and following him there. ¡°Lord Holt¡¯s herald is still in the city?¡± He asked. ¡°I don¡¯t see him leaving afore winter¡¯s end,¡± Trupo replied. ¡°He sent three missives in a week to Asturia.¡± ¡°We might need some of his birds,¡± Lucius said thoughtfully. ¡°What was his report about?¡± ¡°Troop numbers, the general situation in the city and the fact you are married Legatus,¡± Ramirus replied, having read the Duke¡¯s correspondence. ¡°Anything weaved in the words?¡± Lucius queried with a frown, as Bernard¡¯s man more accurately, probably knew about Ramirus spying on him. ¡°This has Bernard¡¯s fingers all over it.¡± ¡°The Duke¡¯s youngest son?¡± Ramirus asked. ¡°Ahm, I couldn¡¯t glean anything more Legatus.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t Sir Rupert next in line?¡± Trupo noted, blond trimmed moustache rising in a smile. ¡°Sir Rupert is a fine knight, but no leader,¡± Lucius elucidated, remembering the always slightly overweight noble. ¡°So yes to your answer, but Bernard has the brains in the family.¡± ¡°What about his daughters?¡± Trupo asked, who had an eye for noble ladies despite it being the reason he got kicked out of the First Legion. ¡°Plenty of brains there too,¡± he added quickly seeing Lucius¡¯ reproachful glare. ¡°Lady Anne is married to Baron Clifford Prior of Anorum,¡± Lucius told him a warning tone in his voice. ¡°And Lady Monica well, I have no idea what she¡¯s being up to.¡± ¡°What would be Lord Holt¡¯s worry?¡± Ramirus asked to steer the conversation away. ¡°Would Van Calcar risk a confrontation over the Cattle Fields with the High King incapacitated and his heir in a cradle?¡± ¡°Regia is poised to strike at Lord Holt,¡± Lucius said returning his attention on a map of the northern routes. ¡°It is a good time to be bold for him.¡± ¡°Would the Lakelords agree on this?¡± Trupo asked. ¡°Impossible to know,¡± Lucius admitted. ¡°They never agree to anything, nor are they the best of neighbors.¡± ¡°Lord Holt needs to keep his attention on Jeremy¡¯s reaction,¡± Trupo insisted. ¡°Van Calcar¡¯s man seemed nigh pleased for the caravans going through again.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± Lucius murmured and stared at Gripa listening in to their conversation. ¡°Holt is cornered and Lord Sula isn¡¯t in a better situation. If we are to make something of it gents, we need to move pieces on this board and relieve some of that pressure.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll have to guess whether Lesia would strike at us or not Legatus,¡± Trupo reminded him. ¡°And guess right.¡± What would King Davenport do? Lucius thought his frown deepening, some of the wrinkles on his forehead permanent. He has to think of the Bank¡¯s interests and the Wine Barons abhorrence for anything that disturbs trade. The Duke of Sovya won¡¯t act against us with Martha on our side and he won¡¯t anger Lesia further. He¡¯ll keep the sea route open. A landing would disrupt that and it¡¯s a risky affair. It can succeed, but then you¡¯re stranded again with the fear of another Halfostad looming over your head. You can¡¯t support a campaign from the Northern Sea against both us and the Jarl¡¯s forces. His eyes roamed over the mountains, the impregnable mountain range separating Lesia from the Duchy, Uher¡¯s Throne Heights. The high rises ever spilling southwards and turning into the Stonemaze Peaks first and then the massive Four Sisters Mounts, their westernmost reach ending at the sources of the River Mabindon and the road to Cartagen. Close by the Tricorn Heights started deep in Regia, but there was a split there cutting through the mountains, the canyons leading north towards the Lorian Plains and Islandport and northeast through the peaks, towards the flat fertile virgin forests between the great Framtond River¡¯s tributaries and its sources.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. The greenest spot in all of Regia. Unclaimed land by man. Asturias soft underbelly. ¡°Have Durio¡¯s engineers finished the new legion road over the mountains, afore my father recalled them?¡± Lucius asked his officers. ¡°I don¡¯t believe they have Legatus,¡± Trupo replied evenly, trying to figure out what his thought process was. ¡°The canyon paths are bad for caravans. Everyone cuts through the plains and Islandport still.¡± ¡°If a Legio engineer can go through, then an army can,¡± Lucius replied thoughtfully. ¡°Lord Caxaton is an academy educated man yes?¡± ¡°I believe so,¡± Trupo replied in a guarded manner. ¡°King Davenport hasn¡¯t named a Lord Shield yet.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°This is a military problem, he¡¯ll put an expert on it. It¡¯s how Lesia does things. You hire the best man for the task at hand. Who has Lord Caxaton¡¯s ear?¡± ¡°Ettore Pintor,¡± Ramirus replied. ¡°Risen through the ranks of the First Legio, was let go by Lord Lennox after the ¡®Warbands Rebellion¡¯ for employing tactics unbecoming an officer, rehired by Lord Caxaton and installed as a Prefect according to most recent reports.¡± ¡°I remember him,¡± Lucius said reminiscing. ¡°He was basically the Bank¡¯s liaison at the war councils. Employed those mercenary companies right?¡± ¡°Ordered the assault over the Drek River near Kadrek behind enemy lines. It is believed Baron Theodore Hermon of Parmaport and commander of the Iron Fist, led the operation without consulting with the army command that was marching from Yepehir. Ley¡¯s Rangers and the Three Hundred were involved heavily in the affair.¡± ¡°Aye,¡± Lucius remembered. ¡°Lear Hik, another hired killer. They were stripped of their positions though. Pintor, Hik, I may forget someone. Not Baron Hermon though, he pays for the unit out of his pocket.¡± ¡°The Bank¡¯s pockets,¡± Ramirus noted. ¡°All these men have the same boss Legatus.¡± Lucius nodded agreeing. ¡°Now Pintor is back in charge of the Second Legion, which means we must assume his old friends are brought in as well. Ley¡¯s Rangers we already faced, Sula did that is. What would Pintor and his gang suggest Lord Caxaton should tell the King?¡± Ramirus stood back and watched Lucius dragging his finger on the map from Cediorum, to the Alesian Fort following the coastal road, pause at the junction, a leg leading to Cartaport and the other ever north through the Vine Fields of Flauegran hugging the mountains towards the legion road. Another junction there, he thought. Lesia has a Legion now, enough spears to pull it off. With no supply issues, wagons coming up beautifully paved road and good weather. ¡°Lord Holt could abandon Islandport and retreat behind the Framtond River,¡± Trupo said realizing what Lucius was suggesting. ¡°You can¡¯t force a crossing with an army waiting at the other bank, even if you take that bridge.¡± ¡°An army can have a bridge built fifty kilometers upriver, or a hundred, make a crossing there, where it¡¯s undefended,¡± Lucius explained. ¡°And a Lord can¡¯t abandon his land and subjects as easy as you make it appear. I don¡¯t believe Lord Holt can stomach losing Islandport and I can¡¯t see how he can guard the lengthiest river in Regia to its sources.¡± ¡°My Lord?¡± Trupo queried anxiously. ¡°Jeremy would never allow Lesia to cross into his territory. He¡¯ll risk bringing an army next to the capital? Nobody adheres to the treaties anymore, it¡¯s every man for himself. What''s the biggest price here? What stops Caxaton from veering west and hitting Cartagen?¡± Lucius sighed and stood back from the maps, his answer one word. ¡°Nothing.¡± Had he been in Lord Caxaton¡¯s shoes, Lucius would have gone for Regia¡¯s capital as well and secure that the resources of the Lorian Gulf and its two bigger port cities belonged to Lesia. With Jeremy busy dealing with Lord Sula and Lord Holt, Regia¡¯s borders were wide open. Put revenge on one side, everlasting glory paired with riches on the other, he thought, a knot in his stomach. See which way the scales point you. Now that is a rich enough target to make a King interested.
Lucius spent the rest of his day in the camp, first meeting with Optio Durio, who gave him an update on the paving of the road towards Gudgurth Fort, the most difficult of the public works the Third Legion had undertaken. Centurion Sid Toma was still at it in the field despite the worsening weather and the heavy cold of the Northern Winter. Durio told him that they had to dig out and widen the Screaming Road, the work here more difficult than back in Regia¡¯s mountains. The natural canyons there broader, but not without dangers. He briefly met with the dwarfs Bonearm and Onyxminer next, the Guild master visiting Kas to talk with the latter and newest member of the Elders Council. Onyxminer had to attend a Council Meeting next as a matter of fact, with Regan Booth and Mark Walsh, so Lucius returned to the city with him and Marc Gripa. Governor Macrinus who chaired the meeting, summarily rejected Walsh¡¯s proposal to preserve some of the forest facing the legion camp and the road to the mines citing ¡®security reasons¡¯. Lucius, who had agreed on the flattening of the terrain beforehand to set up farms and drastically increase the meat production of the city without relying on hunting as much, recognized the timber mogul¡¯s complains and promised to look for a better plan of action. He wouldn¡¯t as it wasn¡¯t in his list of priorities, but made a note to utilize Halfostad¡¯s market and forests equally, as the Legion¡¯s work-groups had almost stripped the surrounding area of material. First the stone piles had been exhausted and now it appeared trees and animals were threatened as well. Macrinus also kept recruiting for the army, despite the Third reaching its maximum size in Lucius original plans. The Governor called this new unit of regulars ¡®just some city of Kas guards to man the forts and patrol its borders¡¯, but the Legatus quickly realized Macrinus was working on a future timetable that didn¡¯t have the Third¡¯s patrols helping him. It appeared that like a living organism the different parts of the rapidly expanding army, given the freedom to act on their own, were working to create the foundations for further expansions. Everything has its use, Lucius mused Tyeus words, returning to Redmond¡¯s Hall at nightfall. A tool will think of harvest and a weapon dream of war.
Faye smelled of spiced mead and honey, the Northern woman smacking his armoured chest after kissing his mouth fiercely. The punch landing cleanly. ¡°Eh,¡± Lucius protested. ¡°I should have you arrested my Lady,¡± he told her with a smile. ¡°For assaulting a superior officer.¡± ¡°Hmm, not in here you aren¡¯t,¡± Faye retorted and eyed Gripa standing rigid at the door. ¡°We won¡¯t be needing you mister Gripa.¡± ¡°Allow the man to have a meal first,¡± Lucius told her and looked about them. ¡°Where¡¯s the little one?¡± ¡°Sleeping with Canutia,¡± Faye replied and blew her cheeks out. ¡°Keep your voices down.¡± ¡°Gripa is like a mute, right my good Aide?¡± Lucius grinned and reached for a chair to collapse on, pulling a barely protesting Faye into his lap. Gripa nodded, but said nothing. ¡°I have mead,¡± Faye offered, solving him that small mystery. ¡°Logan brought it from his friends at Fenford Burg. A couple of big barrels worth of it, but Layton somehow managed to drink one all by himself on the road and not die.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s is he?¡± Lucius asked her a little concerned and heard the guards outside knock on their door. ¡°Sleeping in the stables. Logan thought of moving him, but no one volunteered to shoulder the load,¡± Faye replied giggling, but her smile waned seeing Ramirus entering and walking briskly their way. ¡°It¡¯s late,¡± she told him austerely. ¡°Go away, he just came back curse ye.¡± ¡°Faye,¡± Lucius told her clearing his throat. ¡°Let the officer give his report.¡± ¡°Lady Faye, my apologies,¡± Ramirus bowed his head to the frowning redhead, checked to see no one was listening in from the top of the internal stairs, afore getting immediately to the point. ¡°The Tribune is back,¡± the intelligence officer reported. Galio was with the engineers inspecting their work on the road. ¡°With Decanus Kato,¡± Ramirus added. ¡°Fine,¡± Faye retorted wanting to get this over with. ¡°The men are back?¡± Lucius asked and allowed a murmuring Faye to stand up from his lap. She had gone back to her leather pants the moment that extra weight was gone, but Roderick kept her firmly away from the dangerous activities she loved, which was helping on one hand Lucius focus on the logistics of the coming campaign, but made her very restless on the other. ¡°The men are days behind them,¡± Ramirus stated. ¡°The Tribune had a visitor from Regia. A close kin apparently. It was an emotional meeting the word around the men is, mostly for the ¡®Old Oak¡¯.¡± Huh, Lucius thought surprised. ¡°Anything else?¡± he probed. ¡°Is that the reason Kato¡¯s back ahead of his column?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to speculate Legatus, but I don¡¯t believe it,¡± Ramirus replied evenly. ¡°The Tribune asked for an urgent meeting and knowing you¡¯ve retired for the evening, I¡¯ve set it up for early on the morrow.¡± Lucius stood back alarmed. ¡°I¡¯ll see him right away,¡± he finally said and Faye gasped in frustration. Lucius grimaced, feeling guilty about it, but if Galio wanted to talk with him then he¡¯d a reason for it. He knew the old officer for a long time now to trust his judgement. ¡°Make it happen Ramirus,¡± he ordered with finality and the young industrious subordinate saluted sharply afore walking away. ¡°You fear something bad happened?¡± Faye asked him and touched his shoulder. ¡°I can¡¯t rule if I¡¯m scared, or hide from news Red,¡± Lucius replied tiredly. ¡°We¡¯ll have that mead now. Gripa I know you favor chamomile, but let¡¯s not mix flavors today.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll get on it milord with Lady Faye¡¯s permission,¡± Gripa replied. ¡°Pfft, just do it,¡± Faye grunted shaking her head. ¡°Make no noise though, or yer singing lullabies. It¡¯s a bloody all-nighter.¡±
Ramirus returned an hour later, Roderick now in Faye¡¯s arms protesting fiercely and twisting this way and that, for not being allowed to roll on the conference table and make a mess of it. Galio¡¯s grey head came after him, followed by a pale bookish man, wearing an expensive southern-style coat and boots. Decanus Kato, covered in mud and carrying something in a wrapped up blanket, stood further back trying to clean himself up away from scrutiny. Lucius eyes went from Galio to the young Lorian, the man¡¯s hair oiled and combed judiciously, parting perfectly in the middle. ¡°Tribune,¡± he started, placing a hand on the table in front of him. ¡°You have us worried here.¡± ¡°Apologies milord,¡± Galio said stepping forward. ¡°I have the pleasure to introduce my nephew Sirio, me sister¡¯s kid,¡± the veteran officer said sounding moved and Lucius nodded at the blushing young man. Sirio seemed between twenty and twenty-five years of age. ¡°I have spoken of him to you afore,¡± Galio continued with a grimace of discomfort. The old officer felt more comfortable in the field than in a lord¡¯s hall. ¡°You have,¡± Lucius helped him out. ¡°You bring us news of Regia mister Sirio?¡± ¡°Lord Lucius,¡± Sirio said and bowed deeply as if they were in a court. ¡°I¡¯m elated to make your acquaintance. I¡¯m here at the behest of Lord Nattas.¡± Lucius thought he¡¯d recognized the curtsy from somewhere. Lord Nattas Man. Why sent Galio¡¯s relative my cunning friend? What are you up to Storm? ¡°How is our good Lord Nattas?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have any current news my Lord,¡± Sirio replied stiffly. The lad isn¡¯t forthcoming, Lucius thought, but he didn¡¯t want to press him in front of the old man. Touch¨¦ Storm. Roderick¡¯s lessons rubbed off on you. ¡°Eh,¡± Galio intervened. ¡°The lad is nervous,¡± he said, looking at Lucius apologetically. ¡°Tell him about the sword Sirio.¡± Lucius stood up straighter, his eyes turning to a nervous Kato, who froze, a boot scrapping against the floor to clean some of the mud off, afore snapping to attention. The sneaky Decanus put some extra oomph to it to get the rest of the material off his boots. ¡°I¡¯m listening mister Sirio,¡± Lucius said, his eyes on the sweating Decanus. ¡°Lord Nattas tasked me with bringing your father¡¯s sword to you my Lord,¡± Sirio said simply, a touch of haughtiness in his voice. Imperial Wetull steel, King Alistair said, his voice an intimidating snarl and a younger Lucius raised his head to stare in his father¡¯s hardened face. Doesn¡¯t break against other metals. Its secrets in the forging, in the skill of the maker and their magic. An unworthy man won¡¯t make a good wielder though, the King of Regia continued, nor elevate a poor fighter over a great one, eight times out of ten, but people don¡¯t care about all that. They¡¯ll pronounce the man who holds it a king and be done with it. ¡°Bring it here Decanus,¡± Lucius grunted standing up, Roderick cooing when Kato unwrapped Endariel and allowed its sound to resonate inside the Hall for a long moment. The Legatus touched the ever warm familiar handle for a moment, his eyes closed and heart heavy with childhood memories. The images coming and going fast in his mind, feasts, hunts and tourneys. Ralph sneaking into his room sword in hand and tossing it on his bed, a furious Roderick following right behind him giving him an earful and a couple of solid cuffs upside the head. His mother¡¯s chuckle and his father¡¯s boasts in a frozen field, before sending the cheering army forward the exotic sword in his hand. May Luthos guide you, through the pending struggles my son. Come back safe. For Regia. Those were Alistair¡¯s last words to a younger Lucius before sending him away. Lucius took the long gleaming blade with a steady hand and raised it high over his head, the sword humming softly and a young Roderick chuckling elated at the spectacle. ¡°The King¡¯s sword,¡± Ramirus announced somberly, loud enough for all to hear. ¡°In the rightful ruler¡¯s hand. All Hail, Praetor Lucius! The King of Regia!¡±
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 273. The useful Scholar
Legatus Lucius Alden The useful Scholar
The sword''s hum came from the weapon rack. A soft buzzing sound reacting to the sounds of the wind blowing on the closed windows wooden shutters. Lucius turned his head to listen to the exotic music and felt Faye¡¯s warm body stir next to his, a hand resting on his chest comfortingly. ¡°You¡¯re awake,¡± his wife murmured, her breath caressing his left ear. ¡°Thinking of the future,¡± Lucius admitted. ¡°Does it always hum like that?¡± ¡°Not always. Not the same.¡± ¡°Sounds like a lullaby,¡± Faye whispered. ¡°Put Roderick to sleep right away at least and for that I¡¯ll be forever grateful to it. Gods, I felt less tired campaigning wit you whilst pregnant.¡± ¡°Mmm. You are doing an admirable job Faye.¡± ¡°You got me trapped Alden, what else am I going to do now? I can¡¯t think of anything else than me two sweet boys,¡± Faye teased him with a comical pout. ¡°The story of me life.¡± Lucius pressed his lips on her forehead, recognized the familiar feminine taste of her skin and smiled. ¡°We both know you¡¯re far from trapped, or without influence. Poor Sula is at the end of his wits with Martha.¡± ¡°See, I told ye she was trouble. Them fake northern girls are like that,¡± Faye chuckled, fingers tracing the lines on his muscular chest. ¡°Fake because she¡¯s wearing a dress?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t play the fool wit me Lucius,¡± Faye warned him and gasped when he turned and trapped her under his arms, putting his weight on her. ¡°I yield milord,¡± she said smiling. ¡°Ye can punish me now.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll never do,¡± Lucius said throatily and the sword¡¯s humming changed, its notes sharper steering him away from his lewd intentions much to Faye¡¯s disappointment. ¡°Great,¡± Faye murmured when he let her go and put both his legs down the right side of their bed. ¡°You have my heart Faye Alden,¡± Lucius told her truthfully. ¡°I hope my countrymen return the love I¡¯ve received from yours. ¡°Aww, darn it,¡± Faye cursed and slithered naked towards him over the covers. ¡°You romantic beautiful specimen, me broth¡¯r tried to kill you, both of them. Plenty other northmen did. As for the other part, they are gonna hate me and you know it.¡± ¡°They better keep it to themselves.¡± ¡°Stop it,¡± Faye murmured. ¡°I knew our time here was limited. I wish I could keep you all for meself, but I can¡¯t. Fuck!¡± Lucius stooped to kiss her passionately and stop her cursing. It almost led them to another round of lovemaking afore they both calmed down. ¡°I need my head clear,¡± Lucius apologized. ¡°Just wait for your son to wake up again and you¡¯ll have plenty of headache through no fault of yer wife,¡± Faye grinned, but then her flushed face turned serious. ¡°What¡¯s on yer mind?¡± ¡°What did you think of Galio¡¯s kin?¡± Lucius probed her. ¡°Made the old man happy seeing him,¡± Faye retorted. ¡°But I was expecting something manlier, ehem¡­ I¡¯ve known girls with more muscles than him.¡± ¡°He¡¯s a historian Faye, worked in a library,¡± Lucius noted. ¡°What¡¯s that first thing?¡± ¡°A historian writes down events that happened in the past, like lets say¡­ our campaign against the Vanzons. He finds more about it based on witness accounts, written memoirs, or his personal study of the era and each event. His retelling of what happened of course is sometimes biased, or even inaccurate.¡± ¡°So like a common bard, but without the music?¡± Faye queried with a frown, only half-jesting. ¡°Haha, now that sharp barb would have you murdered in a library,¡± Lucius warned her smiling. ¡°You don¡¯t trust him.¡± ¡°He works for Lord Nattas.¡± ¡°Is he a big Lord then?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe Storm holds a title, but it wouldn¡¯t surprise me if he did by now.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t he a friend of yours? Took a risk to return yer father¡¯s sword me thinks,¡± Faye countered. ¡°Storm is a creature of the court,¡± Lucius told her. ¡°He owes everything to my father, but he¡¯s far from a saint and he lusts for things above his station. A lot of stuff don¡¯t make sense.¡± ¡°All people lust for stuff above their ¡®station¡¯ Alden.¡± ¡°Not all people are as capable as he is, nor half as ruthless. Storm would never risk his position, unless he¡¯d been cornered.¡± That position slipping through his fingers. ¡°Or for a friend,¡± Faye noted looking at him. ¡°Even for a friend.¡± ¡°You could find out more.¡± ¡°Galio wouldn¡¯t like me questioning his nephew,¡± Lucius admitted. ¡°Galio would never question an order from you and he doesn¡¯t have to know,¡± Faye countered. ¡°You know that Lucius. You just don¡¯t like it because you respect Galio. They are not the same man and you owe nothing to this sneaky fool. Fuck him and fuck this Lord Nattas, they should come clean. Curse ¡®em to all Hells, they should all come groveling an¡¯ ask for yer forgiveness for wronging you!¡± ¡°Why, my wife is ruthless enough to walk in a real court, but for the matter of cursing like a sailor,¡± Lucius replied with a frown. ¡°Do noble southern girls not blaspheme in bed milord?¡± Faye taunted him and there was that gleam in her eye Lucius had come to recognize as a line he shouldn¡¯t cross. Faye¡¯s biggest fear was her humble origins. ¡°They avoid it in court Red,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°But you¡¯re right, they do it in the corridors and when they gossip. When they¡¯re drunk and in whispers at dinners.¡± ¡°And in bed?¡± Faye probed. Lucius nodded with a clench of his jaw. ¡°In bed as well.¡±
¡°Lesia asked again for the release of Baron Palma,¡± Trupo continued reading from his reports, a couple of hours later. ¡°His family is offering a thousand gold coins and two thousand in silver and they proposed Kadrek, as a neutral spot for the meeting.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a lot of coin for a Baron, is the family getting a loan for this?¡± Lucius asked him, everyone present frowning. ¡°They are gentlemen. We will refuse again,¡± he continued not wanting to dwell on it further. ¡°The Baron will be returned from his ¡®northern vacation¡¯, when the King agrees to a written recognition of the status quo. Now anyone here understands why they are satisfied to slow walk this haggle?¡± ¡°They intent to strike against us,¡± Galio said, standing next to his nephew. The young man watching their morning meeting in silence. ¡°Or make us think they are,¡± Lucius said. ¡°But they are also looking for the opportunity to slip some of their agents through to Kadrek given the opportunity. Check on Sula¡¯s forces. No deal, the Baron stays put. Let¡¯s put an agent on the merchants that opt to stay longer than necessary there. Make it obvious.¡± ¡°Aye Legatus,¡± Trupo said and gathered his papers. Lucius glanced at Ramirus to give him the okay to proceed with their little plan and the LID officer stood up with a smack of his lips. ¡°I have another missive from Sula,¡± he started. ¡°He asks Macrinus for assurances on his previous orders. I held it from him, so we can comb through the details first.¡± That part of it was true of course, as while Lesia was fine with waiting for the right opportunity to strike, Lucius wasn¡¯t as inclined to give it to them. Move the pieces, his instincts were telling him. But don¡¯t tell anyone about it. ¡°Macrinus will do what he¡¯s told,¡± Galio intervened abruptly. ¡°Sula as well, end of discussion.¡± ¡°You should check it yourself Tribune just the same,¡± Lucius said. ¡°Then deliver it to the Governor and make sure we are all on the same page here. Ramirus you can go with the Tribune.¡± Galio stood up, his legion armour rustling and turned to his nephew, a signal they needed to leave the meeting. Lucius stared at the quiet man intently. ¡°Mister Sirio,¡± he said and Galio stopped to glance his way, Sirio¡¯s reaction a composed smile. ¡°I heard you were working in the Library of Alden, afore transferring to Cartagen.¡± ¡°That is correct my Lord,¡± Sirio replied hauntingly unable to control himself. ¡°I was restoring and sorting through the ancient texts in Alden. A very diligent task.¡±If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. ¡°Anything of importance discovered?¡± Lucius asked him with fake interest. ¡°It was a fascinating topic of discussion in my youth.¡± ¡°Why, actually there are plenty of details in the old texts that shed light to the histories,¡± Sirio replied, the probe on one of his passions and Lucius¡¯ interest deeply gratifying to him. ¡°I shall keep your nephew for a tad Galio. Talk of past events and secrets hidden in ancient texts,¡± Lucius told the expecting Tribune casually and Galio grimaced, but nodded. ¡°Of course milord, I will straightened out this deal with Macrinus,¡± he said with a salute and after giving another worried look at the pleased Sirio turned around and walked out of the meeting, followed by the acting inconspicuously Ramirez. Lucius waited for them to leave the hall and then turned to the young historian, Sirio dressed in a warm doublet under his heavy leather coat, with not a hair escaping his well-combed head. ¡°Sit down mister Sirio,¡± Lucius said gruffly and pointed at the chair nearest to his side of the conference table. Faye who was watching from a smaller table, her ear on Endariel¡¯s richly adorned handle, chuckled at the historian¡¯s startled reaction. Sirio managed to find the chair quickly though and calm himself down. He gets spooked easy, but recovers equally fast, Lucius thought impressed. Why? ¡°This is my wife, lovely Faye Alden,¡± Lucius said and Faye put the exotic sword down to return the affectionate term with a bright smile. ¡°My Lady, a pleasure,¡± Sirio blurted with a sharp bow of his head. ¡°Hang in there kid,¡± Faye mocked him and Lucius all but rolled his eyes at the inopportune timing of her jest. ¡°So, how did you get the job?¡± Lucius asked the historian to get them back on track and Sirio allowed himself to relax, perhaps expecting a more difficult query. ¡°My mother had petitioned the governor seeing as she was a widow,¡± Sirio said. ¡°I believe the name popped out of a report and someone brought it to the King¡¯s attention.¡± ¡°How fortunate for you. A lot of scholars wanted the job I presume.¡± Sirio of course had a family name well-known to academic circles. His story made sense. ¡°They did and it was a stroke of luck, but perhaps my uncle following you my Lord, played a role.¡± That part was prepared to strengthen his reasoning. It also made sense though. ¡°Enough to earn you the spot in Cartagen? That was a quick promotion to the top,¡± Lucius asked him. ¡°Or was that Lord Nattas¡¯ doing?¡± ¡°I think that was Lord Nattas my Lord,¡± Sirio admitted with a blush. ¡°How did you impress him?¡± Lucius asked with a thin smile. ¡°Storm is not the library dwelling guy. If I had to guess, I¡¯d probably put him at the very bottom of a long list.¡± Sirio grimaced unsure. ¡°Some of it was me helping him with a task the late King had given him.¡± Vague mister Sirio. You didn¡¯t expect me to question it further? Are you serving me a well-prepared script? ¡°What was the other part?¡± Lucius queried and stood up from his chair. Sirio blinked and stared at his hands. He¡¯d set them both on the table. ¡°I¡¯m married to his daughter Lord Lucius,¡± he finally said and Lucius frowned not expecting it. In fact he had to ask again, just to be certain he¡¯d not misheard him. ¡°Storm has a daughter?¡± Out of wedlock?¡± ¡°He does. It was a¡­ chance meeting,¡± Sirio said casually. ¡°One could say another stroke of luck my Lord.¡± Lucius rubbed his face and glanced at Faye, afore asking to give himself time to sort through the unexpected news. ¡°You favor mead mister Sirio? I¡¯m afraid staying in the north has widen my own tastes a bit.¡± ¡°I¡¯m always eager to try new things,¡± Sirio said, now recovered and surer of himself. Hmm. ¡°Gripa,¡± Lucius ordered his unseen Aide. ¡°Bring us a couple of cups if you please.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give him a helping hand,¡± Faye announced and got up to leave them alone. ¡°Thank you dear,¡± Lucius said. He walked to the map table, situated on the south wall of his hall and stared at it thoughtfully for a moment. Sirio fidgeted nervously on his seat behind him, the sword¡¯s humming probably unnerving him. ¡°It sings when exposed,¡± Lucius told him. ¡°Quiet¡¯s down when it¡¯s sheathed.¡± ¡°A marvelous weapon,¡± Sirio commented. ¡°I¡¯ve seen it in action.¡± ¡°Mmm. You are a lucky man,¡± Lucius said and turned to look at him. ¡°Endariel was rarely outside the King¡¯s hand, or his adjutant. Yet it appears this time it found itself in the hands of Lord Nattas and yours.¡± Sirio pressed his lips tight, an attempt at swallowing that probably failed. ¡°How did it happen mister Sirio?¡± Lucius asked him, although he knew the historian had a story prepared for this query. Something to make sense, but how could it? ¡°A young aide carried it after the battle,¡± Sirio started nervously. ¡°When the king¡­ perished, the aide had it on him still.¡± ¡°Murdered,¡± Lucius corrected him solemnly. ¡°The lords present wanted to nominate a successor and in the tumult someone assaulted the young man. Injured him gravely.¡± ¡°I¡¯m listening,¡± Lucius said seeing him sweating. ¡°Lord Nattas got his hands on it and hid it to stall the other lords,¡± Sirio continued nervously. ¡°Miranda assumed the regency, the realm had been secured until my return, why keep it hidden?¡± ¡°Precaution my Lord,¡± Sirio said. ¡°Not everyone favored you. The Lords cast a vote and Prince Jeremy won it. Queen Regent had to step down.¡± No she didn¡¯t. Unless the things got too bad for her, but how could they? Were the rumors true? Lucius kept his tempers checked. Sirio had attempted to dodge his question. ¡°How did Lord Nattas got his hands on my father¡¯s sword mister Sirio?¡± ¡°He was near when it happened my Lord.¡± ¡°Did he have the young aide killed?¡± Lucius grunted. ¡°Of course not, the matter was investigated my Lord. It was a mistake caused by a nervous palace guard.¡± ¡°Was he found?¡± Lucius asked. ¡°Killed on the spot,¡± Sirio said puffing out. ¡°By whom?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe, I know more my Lord,¡± Sirio croaked. ¡°You either do, or you don¡¯t,¡± Lucius told him and sighed. ¡°Anything in between is a concocted lie mister Sirio.¡± ¡°My Lord I¡¯ve told you the truth! You can verify my words easily,¡± Sirio protested and pushed himself to stand up from his chair, but Lucius cut him off with a wave of his hand. ¡°Truth needs no servants to be believed,¡± Lucius told him. ¡°Why is Lord Nattas not in the Royal Council meetings?¡± his question catching Sirio unawares and he all but went down on shaky legs. Remarkably the young man managed to calm himself down and assume a sincere look. ¡°Helping you my Lord,¡± he told Lucius. ¡°Comes with great risk. I believe Lord Nattas is paying for it.¡± Hmm. He¡¯d be dead more like. Too much time has gone by. The fact he isn¡¯t, means he has something on them and a deal was struck. It has nothing to do with me, although it rings true. Everything Sirio had told him ringed true, but Lucius felt the young man was lying through his teeth. ¡°Was the matter of the daughter the reason?¡± He asked going another way. ¡°My Lord?¡± ¡°She¡¯s a bastard,¡± Lucius snapped. ¡°Born out of wedlock. Was Storm fearing exposure?¡± ¡°He had her legitimized my Lord. The late King knew of her,¡± Sirio blurted out. ¡°Who is her mother?¡± Lucius asked him. Perhaps it was a matter of revenge, he thought. If Storm had a passion it was women. ¡°A whore,¡± Sirio told him without batting an eyelash. Ah. ¡°You¡¯ve done work for Lord Nattas mister Sirio,¡± Lucius said tiredly. ¡°I have my Lord.¡± ¡°Has he found out who had my sister killed?¡± ¡°He¡¯d given his findings to the late King,¡± Sirio replied. ¡°Most of the perpetrators were punished my Lord. That¡¯s all I know.¡± Lucius nodded. ¡°Is Scaldingport one of those involved?¡± ¡°Not to my knowledge. The suspects were fanatics, but they had help from the inside.¡± ¡°Give me a name mister Sirio!¡± Lucius blasted him. Sirio gulped down, turning pale in the face. ¡°Magister Gordian my Lord.¡± What? ¡°The Priest of Uher?¡± Lucius grunted. ¡°He confessed to it?¡± ¡°He did,¡± Sirio replied looking sick and on the verge of collapse. ¡°In writing my Lord.¡±
Lucius sighed and tasted the sweet drink an hour later. Sirio had departed in the meantime leaving him without anything more of substance. The fact that the priesthood had Silvie killed had shaken him. ¡°What do you think?¡± he asked Faye that was playing with a flushed Roderick. His son busy pulling at the cords of her leather top. ¡°He¡¯s scared to make a mistake, but what he said made sense for the most part. Your people are not very civilized Lucius, for all yer lofty words,¡± she told him. ¡°You¡¯ve seen him up close though. Eyes don¡¯t lie, the seers say.¡± Lucius grimaced at her superstitions. ¡°His eyes are haunted. He gets this shocked look at times, as if he¡¯s traumatized, or knows something that will have him killed.¡± ¡°Yet he aspires to put everything in writing?¡± ¡°Not everything written is the truth,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°You will win him over,¡± Faye assured him. ¡°Or you can send him back. He barely survived the first time. There¡¯s a solution there.¡± ¡°Faye you are not that cruel,¡± Lucius said. ¡°Think of the old man.¡± ¡°I ran with brigands afore I met ye,¡± Faye reminded him. ¡°And that old oak is as sturdy as they come.¡± ¡°Not on this matter. He¡¯s proud of him like a father,¡± Lucius countered. ¡°How come a brigand leading lash like you fears of the south?¡± Faye got up and walked towards him. She placed Roderick on the table in front of Lucius, the baby going for his papers curious. ¡°Never said I feared it,¡± Faye told him. ¡°But I worry about what it will do to you. To us. Nothing I¡¯ve heard today, eased my worries. I may have yer heart, but your mind dreams of Regia.¡± Faye my northern lash has poetry in her, he thought moved at her cute outburst. ¡°Let me work on those worries,¡± Lucius murmured affectionately, but she pointed at the wandering Roderick instead. ¡°What will ye do with him?¡± ¡°Our son?¡± Lucius asked and retrieved the gasping baby from the edge of the table. ¡°Ah,¡± Roderick said drooling over his armoured chest. ¡°The scholar,¡± Faye replied with a smile. ¡°He¡¯s useful,¡± Lucius said and gave Roderick his pendant to play with. ¡°I asked Ramirus to take him under his wing.¡± ¡°What need do you have of a historian?¡± Faye asked. ¡°We won¡¯t be waging war forever wife,¡± Lucius replied honestly. ¡°It may not seem like it now, but learned people are needed.¡± 274. A strong enough Ruler…
Legatus Nonus Sula A strong enough Ruler¡­
4rthLegion* (Abbreviated | IV LEGIO, Brazen Fourth, IV-LG) Dictum: Triumph beats Infamy Solem Rubrum Mons | Bronze and gold sign representing a red sun emerging behind a black peak (Comparable emblem to the City of Demames, but for the coloring) Organizational chart -Late Winter-Summer 191NC- Overall strength ~2440* (Legio general staff not included) -1680 legionnaires, ~760 other units Legatus Legionis | Nonus Sula (Demames ¨C His father was second cousin to Duke Sula of Demames) First Prefect | Declan Valens (Cartagen -Second son of the Grand Baron of Cartaport Sir Montague Valens, cousin to the Mayor of Cartagen Frederick Valens) Prefect | Harrison Jakobred (First non-Lorian senior officer, his family a cadet branch of the Redmonds¡¯ of Kadrek, founded by the Duke¡¯s younger second cousin Jacob. A political appointment.) Optio | Rufius Valens (Prefect Declan¡¯s younger brother. Rufius had sailed for Kadrek immediately upon receiving word from his brother.) LID officer | Hugh Bolton. (Kadrek- Late Rolo¡¯s cousin.) Aide de Legatus | Pete Dumont (Demames) Quartermaster | Sulpicius Scrofa (also Keeper of the purse) Solem Rubrum Mons Signifier | Duc Gratian First Cohort (ICH-IVLG) (Moniker the laconic ¡®Triumph¡¯) First Century (ICN-ICH-IVLG) Gold Standard (Monikers ¡®Them Crimson Banners¡¯, Sula¡¯s Guards) 200 Legionnaires (The vast majority of the century were awarded the golden Phalera after their heroics at Stad River, 2/4 of them posthumous) Centurion (Primus Pilus) Paulus Didicus Decanus Derio Papus (First Maniple) Decanus Baro (2nd Maniple) Decanus Trebius (3rd Maniple) Decanus Avienus (4rth Maniple) Second Century (IICN-ICH-IVLG) 120 Legionnaires Centurion Lar Montaus Decanus Badi Littera Third Century (IIICN-ICH-IVLG) 120 Legionnaires Centurion Sisena Draco Decanus Varo Bellator Fourth Century (IVCN-ICH-IVLG) 120 Legionnaires Centurion Publius Surinas Decanus Vala Second Cohort (IICH-IVLG) First Century Centurion | Opiter Carbo (Demames) Second Century Centurion | Glean Lale (Kas) Third Century Centurion | Winston Levy (Kas) Fourth Century Centurion | Gavin Page (Kas) Third Cohort (Halfostad, ¡®Cultured¡¯) (IIICH-IVLG) First Century Centurion | Luke Whitt (Halfostad) Second Century Centurion | Jim Chad (Halfostad) Third Century Centurion | Cornelius Cropp (Unknown, probably Halfostad) Fourth Century Centurion | Willie Page ¨C Gavin¡¯s twin brother (Kas) (Transferred from III Legio) Legion Slingers 100-200 Slingers (numbers vary due to severe casualties) Centurion | Joe Fallon (Transferred from III Legio) Scouts Legio ~180 Ranger-type units (A mix of mounted archers and light warriors) Under Centurion | Gerard ¡®Half-Ear¡¯ Pike ~70 Rangers + 50 scouts (A mix of Nords, Lorians and Half-breeds) + 50 Nord warriors (lightly armoured with axes and swords) Under Marlene Lake (only unit led by a female, mostly Gerard¡¯s Raiders) Legio Cavalry Around 250 horsemen (overwhelming majority from Sovya, mainly Halfostad) -150 Medium Cavalry under Decurion | Roger Bailey (Halfostad) -50 Heavy Cavalry & 50 mounted Karls under Sir (later Baron) Norman Gatrell (Yepehir) The Yepehir nobleman served as Lady (later Duchess) Martha Redmond¡¯s honor guard. Probably another political appointment. Legio Engineers (Isaak¡¯s Aprons) 100 apprentices (The IV engineer unit was built from scratch) Centurion (of engineers) Isaak Boston (Lesia ¨C transferred from the Third) Legio Medics Centurion surgeon | Dottore Borealis (credentials disputed, out of the medical academy of Novesium) + 30 nurses and medics *Around a thousand five hundred civilians, merchants, medics, carpenters and smiths, following in the supply train. The IV Legio had almost five hundred horses and various mounts, due to its larger than usual cavalry element, mostly drawn from Duke Redmond¡¯s troops.
Tyeus funeral pyres! Sula cursed seeing the youngster bursting out of the street corner bloody wooden club in hand. The young man spotted the stocky-build armoured Legatus jumping from his horse with a scowl and opted to run past him, keeping to the edges of the narrow cobblestone street. Sula landed with a grunt, his bandaged leg protesting, the injury a constant source of rage for him and hurled his ironwood cane to the running fast young ruffian. The cane missed the teenager¡¯s torso, but got him on his left knee mid-stride and shoved it aside. His legs got tangled up, Dumont letting out a curse from atop his horse seeing the teenager taking a crashing tumble that lost him the club and an arm sleeve on the sharp cobblestone street, along most of the skin up to his now exposed elbow. The large bloody piece of skin just peeled off alike the hide off a rabbit. ¡°ARGGH! Fuckin¡¯, stupid redcloak! Shit!¡± The young man cried out, rolling on the hard terrain and Sula approached him hobbling, grinding his teeth to combat the pain. Dottore Borealis had given him strict instructions not to test the leg, but Sula low-key only half trusted the Dottore when he was sober, less so when Borealis was sloshed, which was his norm. ¡°Ye son of¡ª¡± Sula stopped his cursing with a backhand that send the teenager¡¯s head along a couple of his teeth reeling back. He raised his muscular arm to smack him once more, but the young man collapsed unconscious in front of him afore he¡¯d time to land another blow.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. A flushed citizen that had come around the corner of his Halfostad house probably after the club-armed teenager, saw Sula¡¯s face under the legion helm and stopped panicked. He quickly turned on his heels to run away, but Sula stopped him with a frustrated roaring order. ¡°HALT RIGHT THERE!¡± ¡°Good grief,¡± Dumont commented jumping from his horse, the second citizen all but fainting, his color turning to the pale as if his blood had evaporated, frozen in place. ¡°What did he do?¡± He asked the now shaking citizen. ¡°Got¡­ into a fight milord,¡± the scared shitless man stuttered looking at his aide¡¯s boots. ¡°What¡¯s was the reason?¡± Dumont queried calmly, whilst Sula scooped his cane from the street. ¡°His father was killed in the riots, his mother and sister burned inside their house,¡± the scared citizen blurted out. ¡°Being causing trouble ever since. Fought my stable boy over a horse.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the punishment for that?¡± ¡°Eh, nothing was taken and he¡¯s been taught a lesson me thinks milords,¡± the man replied fearfully. ¡°Scrofa needs more hands,¡± Sula grunted and eyed the citizen. ¡°Pick him up, bring him to the Legion camp and find a Decanus to unload him for enlistment.¡± ¡°Aye milord.¡± Sula paused to glare at a couple of onlookers staring from a safe distance, but the door of his house opened wide before he¡¯d time to give them a tongue-lashing and Martha walked out. ¡°The army will straighten him out,¡± Martha told the gathered civilians with a fierce grin. ¡°Put a roof over his head and food in his belly as well,¡± she continued and glanced at the frowning Sula. ¡°Mayhap find him a horse to ride.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think he is cavalry material,¡± Sula grunted. ¡°I¡¯ve a spare horse,¡± Martha countered that glint in her eye taunting. ¡°An exception for a Lady is too much to ask Legatus?¡± she added loud enough for everyone to hear. Sula shifted on his legs, the right bothering him something fierce, as jumping from the saddle was on the list of the things one does not do, when sporting forty stitches. ¡°Dumont shall look into it. See if there¡¯s an opening,¡± he finally spat frustrated and Martha turned to his Aide, putting all her cute dibbles and white teeth to work. Eh, damn it. ¡°Ahm, of course¡­¡± Dumont replied charitably, putting up no fight at all. ¡°Anything for Lady Redmond.¡± ¡°You have my gratitude mister Dumont,¡± Martha gushed and the crowd seemed to enjoy the resolution, witnessing her influence firsthand. Sula hobbled to his house murmuring under his breath and all but kicked the door in, when he failed to open it immediately.
An hour later he¡¯d finished his meal, had a glass of fine red wine and was in the process on listening to Valens report, when a new set of orders reached them from Kas. ¡°Who¡¯s the other missive for?¡± ¡°Lady Redmond,¡± Hugh Bolton replied readily. The Sovya officer had joined them recently and had been very helpful in stabilizing the situation in Halfostad, but was another of Martha¡¯s creatures. Sula needed the Fourth to grow to its potential fast and Macrinus was slow-walking him. True to his character Sula looked to solve the problem and he searched for recruits nearer to his base of operations. One needs not be a volunteer to succeed in the army, his late father always preached. A sturdy hand can forge even unwilling units given enough time. Now his father was dead and no one seemed eager to punish those responsible. Sula wanted to strike at Kaltha, but the orders were sending him the other way. ¡°The Duke is using our birds with enthusiasm I see,¡± Sula noted sourly. ¡°Better to learn the news immediately Legatus,¡± Bolton said with a shrug. ¡°Than take cock raw up the arse.¡± ¡°Uhm,¡± Sula murmured. Bolton¡¯s family had long being used as swornswords, or housecarls from the Duke of Sovya and Bolton¡¯s older brother Rolo had followed Martha¡¯s sister to Regia almost a decade ago. Where apparently he¡¯d bedded Lucius then wife or lied about it, all but ruining the Augustus life and getting himself killed in the process. The redhead¡¯s pregnant sister soon following him. ¡°Plenty of things are better mister Bolton!¡± Sula blasted him with a nervous glance at a quietly watching Martha. The redhead loved politics and sticking her nose in all matters, but the thought of her bringing a lover in his Council infuriated him. Which is probably a scheme to keep you unbalanced, he mused. She¡¯s doing it since the first time you saw her. ¡°Well, this conversation took an unexpected turn,¡± Valens commended in his well-spoken Common. ¡°Rather shocking for anyone not fully engrossed in brothel life and sodomy.¡± Fuck''s sake! ¡°What does the Duke want this time?¡± Duke Redmond had pressed through Martha to have Sir Norman Gatrell and his riders join the Fourth, in exchange for warhorses. Sula had agreed as it was almost impossible to get his hands on sufficient numbers, or similar quality animals at Halfostad, plus the noble cavalryman and knight was a competent commander with trained men. Sir Gatrell, trimmed black mustache on his upper lip, stood up with a frown, his plate rustling. Well shite. ¡°The Duke requests the training of a cohort¡¯s worth of men and promises to send an equal number of recruits our way,¡± Bolton replied. Whoa there. That¡¯s more than five hundred men. Sula smacked his lips, an eye on the stiff cavalry officer. The Nord looking almost as Lorian as Nonus did, but for the height. Norman was a tall man. ¡°Sir Gatrell I appreciate the Duke¡¯s contributions to the Fourth,¡± Sula grunted to get it out of the way. The Third Cohort had been formed fully from Halfostad recruits. Mostly men allowed to return to their occupied city from the Duke. Several positions in the growing Legion were taken by former Sovya citizens. ¡°Also yourself in helping with the Legion¡¯s cavalry.¡± ¡°That¡¯s more Lady Martha¡¯s accomplishment,¡± Sir Gatrell replied modestly. ¡°The horses are part of her dowry Legatus, but her true value to Sovya and the Duke is immeasurable.¡± ¡°Hear-hear,¡± Prefect Harrison Jacobred agreed, beating the table with a gloved punch. The new Prefect was another man from Sovya and apparently distant kin to the Duke. ¡°Aww, thank you dear cousin. Sir Norman,¡± Martha babbled and took the opportunity to sit at the edge of the large table, long blue dress swooshing, curly long red hair over her right shoulder and a cluster of freckles around her upturned nose suddenly more prominent. ¡°Lady Redmond,¡± Sula grunted and got up, as no officer present seemed willing to continue with their meeting engrossed in her presence. Martha was a woman of great beauty. ¡°Refrain from interrupting the god darn council!¡± Martha raised a painted brow to his outburst. ¡°Does the Legatus want me to return to my chair?¡± She teased and a couple of the men chuckled afore taking control of their faculties seeing Sula¡¯s face. ¡°The Legatus would,¡± Sula droned hoarsely, sweat running down his collar and a couple of veins popping on his forehead. A dragging minute was lost, while Martha fixed her dress, pulling here and there especially around her modest Lesia-type square cut bust, with most men watching very interested in her technique. ¡°The Fourth Cohort isn¡¯t yet formed,¡± Valens said to get Sula back on track and the Legatus cleared his throat turning his attention to the conference table. ¡°Explain Prefect,¡± he grunted and Valens unfurled a scroll containing the headquarters latest decoded orders. ¡°We have orders to stop all training sir,¡± Valens replied. ¡°The Duke¡¯s men would have to train under Captain Arrun.¡± ¡°Uhm,¡± Sula murmured and snatched the missive from his hands to read it himself. ¡°Have Arrun¡¯s men entered the city?¡± ¡°Staying in the camp Legatus,¡± Valens said evenly. ¡°In the Fourth¡¯s quarters. They arrived very late yesterday evening.¡± ¡°How many men?¡± ¡°Four hundred at least.¡± Damn. ¡°Meeting is adjourned. Everyone back to your posts,¡± Sula announced with a frown. ¡°Bolton stay.¡±
Sula grimaced, the stitches on his thigh bothering him and rubbed his face with a hand staring at a map of the Greater Kas he¡¯d received a week earlier. It contained the strategic movements for the upcoming campaign. The maps were constantly updated, newer info written over the old and some parts getting so crammed with additional details, or unit placements, not much of the map was left visible. He had to use another smaller map for that, a bit cruder and mostly dealing with terrain. ¡®Paws of Harvest¡¯ was written with small letters at the edge of the map. The codename for the upcoming operation. ¡°Bolton something gets out of this room, or slips out of the Duke¡¯s mouth, people will get their heads chopped off, starting with you,¡± Sula grunted a warning. ¡°I have the blade for the job already made. Come to think of it, it could do wit a testing.¡± ¡°The Duke is committed,¡± Bolton replied, narrow face flattening at the chin. Not an attractive man, but sharp as a new dagger¡¯s edge. ¡°He won¡¯t risk exposure. It ends here Legatus.¡± ¡°We¡¯re years from it, forget about endings. I don¡¯t favor lofty words in my presence,¡± Sula countered. ¡°No one knows, but key personnel,¡± Bolton replied defensively. ¡°Is Lesia appraised on our movements?¡± ¡°Half the merchants in Kadrek have connections, or property in Lesia,¡± Martha said getting up from her chair to approach again. She placed a refilled goblet with spiced wine in front of Sula and found one of the empty spots to join their meeting. Sula tasted the wine, his eyes on her. Martha reached for a quill over the table, the cut swelling giving a hint of her covered breasts. She checked to see it wasn¡¯t dipped in ink and pointed at the map with it. ¡°Others have family and many Lesia merchants have houses in Kadrek. King Davenport sees everything.¡± ¡°Uhm,¡± Sula murmured not believing her. ¡°The drink will relax the muscles, help with the pain,¡± Martha added with a small smile. ¡°It is no bother,¡± Sula grunted, but had another sip from the strong wine. ¡°How would a merchant know our units?¡± ¡°The Legion uniform is easy to spot in a city. The camp is just outside the walls dear Legatus. Every arriving merchant from Kadrek has seen it,¡± Martha reminded him. Sula sighed at court dwelling people trying to appear smarter than experienced professionals. Military matters might appear simple at first glance, but being rigid wasn¡¯t being stupid and the army¡¯s lowermost parts had nothing to do with the upper echelons of its leadership. There you either had the skills to get the job done, or you didn¡¯t. It all boiled down to plain usefulness. No civilian could ever hatch the perfect plan and even if he did, he would need a competent army to pull it off. A competent officer that knows his men though could get the job done with a mediocre plan, or even a simple one. As Lucius had stated in his letter, get your pieces out of the bad position they found themselves into and you¡¯ve won half the battle afore it has begun. ¡°Did you understand my orders mister Bolton?¡± Sula asked the LID officer again and he nodded. ¡°Good, now see if you can find any of those ¡®spies¡¯ so we can ask them what they think of our plans. I don¡¯t need a gentle hand. I need results.¡± Bolton smirked and got up. He bowed once in the direction of Martha and saluted a looking bored Prefect Valens afore turning heel and leaving. ¡°Sneaky fellow, rather prosaic in looks,¡± Valens commended in his posh Cartagen accent and Dumont, a rather stoic man most of the times, almost got drown in his own spit trying to conceal a chuckle. ¡°He¡¯s extremely loyal,¡± Martha defended him. ¡°To the Duke?¡± Sula asked her with a guarded smile. ¡°To me,¡± Martha retorted looking at him with her richly green eyes. ¡°Since I happen to favor our good Legatus, Bolton will take a blade for you.¡± Dumont started coughing and Valens, who was too much of a gentleman to comment on a superior officer''s personal affairs, cleared his throat and started gathering his papers. ¡°I¡¯ll see to meet with Captain Arrun,¡± he said casually. An uncomfortable Sula breathed out and finished his goblet afore grunting a single word answer. ¡°Good.¡±
¡°Thank you Lady Martha,¡± she teased, when the officers had departed. Sula shook his head and got up from the table to approach the lit fireplace. He crooked his mouth, the flames warming his face and glanced her way. ¡°You only help to strengthen your father¡¯s rule and rebuilt Sovya¡¯s army,¡± he told her and the pink tip of Martha¡¯s tongue touched her full upper lip for a moment thoughtfully, before shrugging her shoulders. ¡°You needed men and I gave voice to your crude, gloomy orders winning you favor with the local populace,¡± she replied and got up herself. ¡°You needed horses and I convinced my father to open his stables for your Cavalry. He did it because he¡¯d rather have his daughter staying with an ally than a captor.¡± ¡°You were never treated as a prisoner,¡± Sula grunted. ¡°You also left the part out, where all this works in your favor also.¡± ¡°If the Legatus loses his war, what¡¯s left of Sovya would disappear as well. A great many people have hanged their hopes on him and you just don¡¯t see it. All you army boys,¡± Martha told him and approached, her short heeled boots carrying her slowly near the fireplace. ¡°The King will marry me forcefully with a Lesia noble, just like my younger sister and wipe the Redmonds off the history books. Had William not gotten himself slain, then I wouldn¡¯t have acted. He did, so here I am.¡± ¡°Lucius could force you to marry on the morrow, you¡¯re way past¡ª¡± Martha slapped his arm to stop him. ¡°Gods you¡¯re brutal sometimes,¡± she said with a gasp. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m twenty eight. Do you honestly think I haven¡¯t thought of that? I dreaded it, marriage that is. There I¡¯ve said it, but I need to get it done soon.¡± ¡°Your father could name a distant kin as heir.¡± ¡°He won¡¯t. William was his pick, just because I¡¯m a woman. Now, he has no other choice but to trust his daughter to pull it off. But I can¡¯t do it by myself. Alike other women I ain¡¯t satisfied to stand in the background and pray everything turns out all right. I¡¯ll act, if I have to. Mend what¡¯s broken.¡± ¡°Pull what off?¡± Sula asked her with a frown. ¡°I¡¯m not helping you for my father Legatus. Always did my own thing,¡± Martha said staring at the flames and Nonus thought she was glowing, as if her body, hair and skin¡­ everything was lit up. Her ambitious soul spilling out of the pores of her skin. But it wasn¡¯t pure ambition this, he thought. More like the unbreakable will of a survivor. Martha would never give up like her sister had done. Nor will she throw her life in a fruitless endeavor like her brother out of honor. ¡°When this is all over, you¡¯ll have carved out a name for yourself and I¡¯ll have come out of the storm safe. There are precious few prospects near my reach as influential as the Bloody Tiger¡¯s officers will be in the future. I feel it in my bones. None will be bigger than you. I¡¯ll make sure of it.¡± Sula turned to look at her flushed face. ¡°When did you come up with all that woman?¡± he grunted not liking all this future talk and Martha chuckled tossing her luscious head back, her long neck glowing in the light cast by the fire. ¡°The moment I heard there was a second legion,¡± Martha replied. ¡°And a Sula was leading it. I visited Novesium once. Still dreaming of Regia¡¯s golden beaches,¡± she purred and approached his hardened face, big eyes glowing. ¡°How is Demames my dear Nonus?¡± Sula reached with a callused hand and touched her warm face. ¡°Much drier, but its mountains are made of silver,¡± he said hoarsely. ¡°You¡¯ll never get that Martha.¡± ¡°Mmm. On me own, I wouldn¡¯t,¡± the Duke¡¯s daughter yielded and cupped his hand with hers. ¡°Then again I¡¯ll may settle with Sovya, if you are. All I want is a son with my name. It doesn¡¯t even have to be the first one. If my house survives this stupid war, I¡¯ll be content and you¡¯ll get to play soldier for as long as your heart desires.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not how things are done Martha,¡± Sula murmured, but she felt good in his arms, despite being as tall as him almost. ¡°A ruler shall enforce his will,¡± she whispered. ¡°Wit enough loyal spears backing him. It was always like that Nonus. Be it for land, or titles. Whether he swims in riches, lives a life of piety, desires of more wives, or to change common man¡¯s law. Cofols do it. A pirate can be the High King. The Issirs taught us that. All conform to the ruler¡¯s will. A strong enough ruler could shape the realm and change the future for the better.¡± Aye, Sula thought feeling her soft mouth searching his. Or burn it all to the plaguing ground.
People said and this author wholesomely attests to the fact, you could sense the Legatus¡¯ presence the moment he entered a room. Tall and athletic, extremely handsome, with his piercing blue Alden eyes and an acute intellect, Lucius stood above every other man, or woman present. His insight on most matters shocking to a clueless spectator. To be in his confidence a gift one rarely stumbles upon and a continuous learning experience. Everyone was better for being near him. He would give you his trust at no cost, if you were worthy of it. He would forgive most mistakes, if they were done without malice. An honest man with almost no vices, but the love for his country and family, could be unforgiving though on those willingly behaving in a depraving manner. Be it plundering, raping, torturing, murdering, blaspheming and sleeping with another man¡¯s wife. Lucius held men and women to his own Knightly standards. He would stop a meeting to admonish an aide, or an officer for foolish behavior. You heard him uttering his common saying ¡®I shan¡¯t condone it¡¯, you had better stand back and stop whatever you were doing. Lucius would turn around after putting everything right and plan one of the greatest feints in the war. He would do it whilst playing with his son, jesting with Lady Faye and scribbling verses, or dictating changes in maps. In the middle of summer 191 NC, Legatus Sula¡¯s First Cohort of the Fourth Legion, moved out of Halfostad accompanied by Lady Martha Redmond, traveled through the forest paths to avoid Kadrek and went over the second bridge on Drek River to reach Yepehir. The move a simple excursion on paper to allow Sir Norman Gatrell, son of the aging Baron of the fortified city, to visit his father. No one suspected anything as ¡®armoured legionnaires¡¯ under Captain Arrun kept patrolling the rebuilding city and the road to Kadrek in force throughout the summer. The truth of it was the Second and Third Cohort of the Fourth Legion was already in Kas by then and had marched straight for the Mouth a week later. Over the mountain path, to cut south following the Nor Maze Heights towards Eaglesnest. They camped by the road, the caravans heading north shocked at the sight of legionnaires so near the sources of Piker¡¯s River. Lord Van Calcar, the northernmost located Lakelord, had agreed to allow passage through his lands, if the legion stayed to help him alleviate his mounting problems with the Van Durrens. Praetor Lucius had agreed to lend him a legion as determent, but kept it vague as to which that legion might be. Van Calcar, equally vague and misleading if not more so, used the opportunity for his own personal benefit causing mayhem. With everyone¡¯s eyes on the Legatus and his mighty Third legion, the still recruiting fast moving Fourth slipped by undetected. Then just as the first snows started falling again to mark the end of summer, Lord Lucius moved again straight up the Bloody Ridge and followed the newly built legion avenue through the Screaming Road to Gudgurth Fort, where the elderly Baron Tiburs a Lorian, surrendered the city fort to the Legatus. The deal was struck earlier that summer, but wouldn¡¯t officially be announced until much later. It thus returned the old Regia city back to an Alden, but not to Regia in a strange turn of events. While the Legatus moved his pieces on the strategic board, his enemies in the west and south were doing the same. Lucius was aware vaguely of King Davenport¡¯s intentions, but missed the world changing beyond the Shallow Sea on the exotic continent of Eplas. Everyone did.
Lord Sirio Veturius The Fall of Heroes Chapter II (Lord Lucius Alden, -also addressed- Legatus Augustus, Praetor Maximus Southern campaigns, Third & Fourth Year Volume V-VII Sub-chapter title Tigers on the Plains Operation ¡®Paws of Harvest¡¯, also called the ¡®Summer Feint¡¯, Prelude to ¡®The Maiden¡¯s War¡¯ and the ¡®Mayhem at Serene River¡¯. VII volume starting with the ¡®Lost Cohort of Anorum¡¯ and ending with the overture to the ¡®Eighteen Months¡¯ & the battle at ¡®Storm¡¯s Rest¡¯ Summer-Fall 191 to Winter 192 NC)
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read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 275. He did my Lord
Baron Storm Nattas He did my Lord
¡°Dalbert¡¯s dead,¡± Sudi reported, left eye tearing up as he¡¯d developed cataract there, despite his health slowly returning. Nattas cleaned the sides of his mouth, the carameled onions leaving an aftertaste at the back of his tongue and reached for a goblet of Flauegran. The Molten Cherry didn¡¯t have a good kitchen, but he¡¯d improved it as much as he could, bringing wine from his own cellars as a finishing touch. ¡°How did it happen?¡± He probed casually not really surprised, given that Storm had ordered the man killed himself, whilst eyeing Zizel instructing a couple of young whores on where to sit inside the inn¡¯s tavern to attract more customers. The girls had returned and the old madam had slowly restarted her business in a different venue. Life was moving on. ¡°Fell into a shallow pool of water and couldn¡¯t get his head out of it,¡± Sudi explained indifferently, wiping the side of his face. ¡°Pretty unlucky.¡± ¡°Got to use your hands always. The weather is a killer,¡± Storm commented playing along and Servius Yanus, who¡¯d been promoted to run his agents after his predecessor had forgotten to breathe in his sleep and perished because of it, frowned. ¡°That seems strange right?¡± He queried. ¡°No it doesn¡¯t,¡± Lord Nattas argued convincingly. ¡°It pretty common if you¡¯re drunk in winter. Sometimes in the summer too, near cities wit a port.¡± He¡¯d replaced the one with the funny hat, he thought, the thin man with the name that rhymed both with ruffianus and anus, the Old Lorian words for ruffian and arsehole, not appearing convinced. ¡°Who¡¯s taken over?¡± Nattas asked to change the subject away from body parts. He¡¯d just had meal. ¡°It¡¯s a brawl between Frugi and Libanius,¡± Sudi replied. ¡°Don¡¯t we have a contract with Libanius¡¯ smuggling ring?¡± Yanus asked in turn and Sudi nodded. Storm eyed a pretty young whore washing her face and perk breasts through the open bodice with a wet cloth judiciously, afore murmuring a suggestion. The nipples quite bulbous for the amount of tit available. Mmm. ¡°Help Libanius, Yanus,¡± he murmured absentmindedly. ¡°The easiest way would be for Frugi to get an accident,¡± the perceptive agent noted. ¡°Then it¡¯s Luthos will,¡± Storm replied vaguely, his eyes on the blond girl that took her time to button up her top with a lewd wink. Ah, you sneaky cunt. ¡°Not our fault gents.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll see to it Baron Nattas,¡± Yanus said and left with a sharp bow of his head. ¡°What do we have on him?¡± Storm asked Sudi the moment his other lackey was out of earshot. ¡°I know where he sleeps,¡± Sudi replied ominously. ¡°How much does he know?¡± ¡°Only stuff on the periphery. He worked the docks for us in Novesium,¡± Sudi assured him and filled his own goblet with Storm¡¯s expensive wine. ¡°On an unrelated note, our man in Asturia reported your groom disappeared.¡± Storm gave up his ogling of the young whore with a scowl. ¡°Explain you idiot!¡± he snapped. ¡°That sounds ominous as fuck!¡± ¡°Ditched the guild¡¯s adventurer at the gates for suggesting he should hire a proper military escort, Probably a sage advice but eh,¡± Sudi elucidated. ¡°Our man assumed he would try again the next day and rushed to his hostel to get there afore him. He was probably hungry. Anyway Sirio never returned. Word is he ventured out alone, or with a group of strangers.¡± ¡°Good grief,¡± Storm gasped. ¡°You think he¡¯s dead?¡± That fucking idiot! Sudi didn¡¯t even hesitate. ¡°Aye.¡± Whoa there, talk about a vote of confidence eh? Storm thought. Not. ¡°What about¡­ the thing?¡± Storm asked glancing at Zizel, the old matron raising her cup of chamomile to him with a coy smile. ¡°Gone probably. But we will know more from Canutia, if he makes it.¡± ¡°Did he spent the coin on whores or something?¡± Strom probed frustrated. ¡°Flavia would know right?¡± ¡°Eh, I don¡¯t think he has it in him,¡± Sudi countered. ¡°Now, I do suspect his tastes a bit chief, if we¡¯re being honest.¡± Storm looked at him. ¡°Don¡¯t you think Maja will straighten him out?¡± He queried. Sudi puffed out, glugged down his wine and got up. ¡°Not unless she grows a cock boss,¡± his loyal lackey replied. ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± Eh, there are ways around that, Storm thought but opted not to comment further on the matter.
The Captain of the Alden City guards Canus Betto frowned seeing Lord Nattas strolling inside his office with Sudi in tow an hour later. ¡°Captain,¡± Storm greeted the knight with a grimace of his own as his knee was bothering him. It was probably the winter humidity and all that walking to lose Lord Doris¡¯ agents following them around like hounds. ¡°I¡¯ll take a seat.¡± ¡°Sure, Lord Nattas,¡± Betto said crooking his mouth and glared at the guard standing at the door. ¡°Leave us, but stay near,¡± he ordered him afore turning to the heavy breathing Storm. ¡°Ahm, anything the matter?¡± The Captain asked him vaguely. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Storm grunted. ¡°You tell me, it¡¯s why you¡¯ve gotten the fuckin¡¯ lofty position, right?¡± Betto pressed his lips into a thin line and glanced at the reports piling at the top of his desk. ¡°The King has stripped the city recruits away,¡± he finally said. ¡°He¡¯s given Ligur a free hand. I have the Legion¡¯s quartermaster practically living in my warehouses. They¡¯re taking everything.¡± ¡°Hmm. Lord Sula spooked them,¡± Storm commented. ¡°He almost took the city, raided the docks and retreated in order,¡± Betto explained. Sula¡¯s strike against Aegium had caught everyone flat-footed. ¡°What the fuck is Brakis doing?¡± Storm queried. ¡°Rotates ships around. What can he do? Attempt a landing in Demames?¡± Betto replied with a shrug. ¡°Sula would use his ¡®fire ships¡¯ to burn the heavy transports in the port, probably waits for Brakis to land to punch him in the face.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a rumor,¡± Storm cautioned him. ¡°The merchants don¡¯t report any work done on his ships.¡± ¡°My lord, you don¡¯t need much to set a ship alight if ye set your mind on it,¡± Betto countered. ¡°Brakis won¡¯t risk it, unless there¡¯s an army assaulting Demames walls.¡± Nattas sighed. ¡°Ursus won¡¯t cross the river and the King can¡¯t use more troops than what he has sent to Aegium. His first priority is to move against Lord Holt. Fuck¡¯s sake, at this rate it¡¯ll be better to just pray that the stubborn old fart dies of old age and his idiot son takes over.¡± ¡°There¡¯s talk about a disagreement in the Council,¡± Betto told him rubbing his face. The man had aged spectacularly since he¡¯d taken the job, Storm thought. Given Nattas had started getting grey hairs all over his body, it wasn¡¯t a surprise to him. Then again, Storm had the most difficult job out of everyone. ¡°The Crows want support against the High Regent.¡± ¡°Not our problem,¡± Storm grunted. ¡°The Scaldingport Queen is pregnant,¡± Betto told him. ¡°She has the King¡¯s ear.¡± Storm slammed his fist on the desk angrily. ¡°The deal was done to avoid a war with the Issirs!¡± He growled irate. ¡°It¡¯s not our fucking problem. Bloody idiots, I knew they would fuck it up!¡± ¡°Support don¡¯t mean¡ª¡± ¡°Shut the fuck up!¡± Storm snapped cutting him off afore he could finish and got up. ¡°Jeremy can¡¯t anger Lord Anker and he can¡¯t afford to sour Lord Ruud. Haha, we have a eunuch for a king! Bloody fantastic!¡± Lord Nattas paced furious to the window of the Captain¡¯s office and then glanced at the closed door. ¡°Is the guard loyal?¡± Betto gulped down nervously. ¡°He is.¡± You hesitated. ¡°Hmm,¡± Storm eyed Sudi for a moment. ¡°When is the next Council meeting?¡± ¡°They won¡¯t like it if you appear uninvited my Lord,¡± Betto told him. ¡°This whole thing will blow in our faces,¡± Storm warned. ¡°There are wolves on our borders and they¡¯ll smell weakness, taste the blood in the fuckin¡¯ water. Does no one else sees this?¡± He wondered and puffed out in frustration. ¡°We are a fucking mess. Get me in the meeting Captain, else I hurt your family,¡± the latter he added calmly, looking at him. ¡°You could have me killed afore I walk outside, but I swear I¡¯ll reach out of my grave and skin both your daughters. Am I serious?¡± ¡°You are,¡± a sweating Betto croaked and Storm glanced at Sudi. ¡°Get it done,¡± he ordered him and the half-Issir nodded. Walking casually with a sharp dagger in hand, he approached the closed door. Storm turned his head and eyed the shocked Captain. ¡°I didn¡¯t believe you earlier. The man has to go. There¡¯s a saying in Lesia,¡± he told him nonchalantly. ¡°It is what it is." The other being, you don¡¯t leave witnesses of your dealings. The latter might as well had served as Lord Nattas¡¯ family motto.
Storm took a carriage to the market, jumped off of it amidst the crowd and walked briskly after Sudi into a side alley to reach his house an hour later. He undressed and had a bath to rest his tired legs, then expended some time massaging his swollen knee. While the old pain wasn¡¯t there, the muscles still hurt if he overdid it. Storm wasn¡¯t going to use a cane again though. I¡¯ll get the leg going in the end, he vowed and stared at the scrolls on his desk. Fuck the pain. He walked there and checked the first couple of them, mostly reports and intercepted communications from his man working the Royal Birds. Sudi found him poring over them half an hour later still in his robes. ¡°Betto might talk,¡± Sudi told him and sat on the chair across from him, one of Storm¡¯s old silver adorned canes resting between his legs. ¡°We need him for a bit still,¡± Nattas replied. ¡°You messaged Canutia?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t have the time,¡± Sudi hissed. ¡°We need more people.¡± ¡°I¡¯m paying a fortune to Obsom,¡± Storm countered. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°He¡¯s recruiting at Moon¡¯s Haven,¡± Sudi reminded him. ¡°Not the most lucrative place to gather hired blades.¡± ¡°What wrong with it?¡± Storm grunted. ¡°Those fuckers have housing, clean water and the fucking beach!¡± ¡°It¡¯s a barrack building chief, the houses are for the villagers,¡± Sudi argued. ¡°Huh! Even worse!¡± ¡°It worked, people flocked from the city,¡± Sudi said. ¡°I would too, for free roof and bed!¡± Storm snapped irate. ¡°How many men does Obsom have?¡± ¡°More than two hundred.¡± ¡°It feels I¡¯m paying for more,¡± Storm complained. ¡°You¡¯re building a holding from scratch,¡± Sudi said. ¡°Sooner or later the King will take a look at your forest and might get ideas.¡± ¡°Not as long as Miranda lives,¡± Storm told him. He sighed and stood back on his chair. ¡°She wrote me?¡± ¡°She did.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll read it, have an answer prepared,¡± Storm replied. ¡°She¡¯ll have the baby soon chief.¡±Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°I know damn it,¡± Lord Nattas replied, a knot in his stomach. ¡°But I can¡¯t move there, else everyone will become suspicious. I don¡¯t want them wondering what I¡¯m doing in the middle of nowhere.¡± ¡°We control who crosses the bridge and with the watchtower finished we can see far,¡± Sudi assured him. ¡°The locals have built a shrine to your name chief. You turned a fishing village into a small city of very wealthy citizens.¡± ¡°Perhaps I should cut on the costs then.¡± ¡°I was speaking in jest milord,¡± Sudi deadpanned. ¡°Still you should find a way to see her.¡± ¡°She knew what was at stake from the start,¡± Storm replied, his mouth bitter. ¡°She¡¯ll manage. The knight is with her and Maja. We can¡¯t risk it now.¡± ¡°Uhm. You¡¯ve seen the report from Cartagen?¡± Sudi asked him. ¡°What¡­ no I haven¡¯t yet,¡± Storm searched through the unfurled scrolls. ¡°What does it say?¡± ¡°Valens was asked to send the guard to Novesium. Probably to reinforce Ursus.¡± Nattas snapped his head back, a vein throbbing above his right eyebrow. ¡°Tell me they used the road!¡± He blasted him. Sudi¡¯s ruined face remained calm. ¡°You know the Valens¡¯ family love of comfort chief,¡± he replied. ¡°The Mayor asked his cousin in Cartaport to allow the use of the fleet to travel in style.¡± Fuck. Shite! Storm got up furious. ¡°Get the blasted carriage!¡± ¡°Are we heading to the palace?¡± Sudi asked perceptively. ¡°I need to create a diversion¡ª¡± ¡°We are heading straight there, run over Doris¡¯ agents if we have to,¡± Lord Nattas cut him off and rushed to get dressed, banging his knee on the desk. Abrakas you revolting piece of trash, he cursed hobbling dangerously on one foot, both his head and knee hurting something fierce. ¡°You¡¯re okay there chief?¡± Sudi asked him concerned. ¡°What the fuck do you think?¡± Storm growled, after managing to land on his bed. ¡°I¡¯m not training arse-naked for the blasted circus, nor intend to try my luck on the striping-fuckin¡¯ pole for crying out loud! Of course I¡¯m bloody not. Now, grab me a pair of pants, I think I landed on the tail bone fuck¡¯s sake!¡±
Less than an hour later just after noon, Sir Herus Comes the commander of King¡¯s Guard ¨Cthe third haughty knight to hold the position in a short two years- placed his hand on the pommel of his sword and glared at the guard escorting a now dressed Lord Nattas. ¡°Baron I don¡¯t believe you have an invitation,¡± the knight spat. ¡°Kindly remove yourself from the premises.¡± His suggestion anything but kind. ¡°I will after I see the King,¡± Nattas retorted unafraid. ¡°King Jeremy is indisposed. Try again on the morrow through the propel channels.¡± Fuck your channels. ¡°Can¡¯t he speak?¡± He taunted. ¡°Baron, this is your last warning!¡± Sir Comes grunted. Suck on my meaty sword. ¡°I have important information to convey to his highness,¡± Storm countered not backing down. ¡°What manner?¡± ¡°I can tell you and lose valuable time, or speak to the King and speed this dreadful affair to its inevitable conclusion.¡± ¡°The King is¡ª¡± ¡°I heard ye the first time,¡± Storm cut him off. ¡°Where is he?¡± Sir Comes blinked in frustration and stood back. ¡°With the Queen.¡± ¡°Is she in labor?¡± ¡°No, but the King had a rough night,¡± the knight admitted. ¡°Escort me to the Queen¡¯s quarters,¡± Nattas suggested. ¡°It¡¯ll be brief.¡± ¡°Sir Rik De Weer handles the Queen¡¯s security¡ª¡± Oh, for crying out loud! ¡°Let me speak to De Weer then my good man,¡± Storm cut him off again. ¡°We are both embarrassing ourselves here in front of the guards.¡±
Sir Rik kept his sole eye on him, the other missing and covered with a leather patch that gave the Issir knight a sinister look. The dark grey plate cuirass of Scaldingport, prominently showcasing a carved silver crow landing at the front. The knight offered a thin smile and waited for him to sit on the chair. ¡°Lucius old quarters,¡± Storm commented when he did. ¡°I wasn¡¯t aware,¡± Rik replied and relaxed a bit. ¡°It¡¯s next to the Queen¡¯s.¡± ¡°He loved his mother,¡± Nattas informed him simply and the knight nodded, afore rubbing his forehead with a gloved hand. It was cold of sorts outside, but not inside the palace for the amount of armour the knight had on. The De Weers are a very distrusting caste of people, Storm thought. ¡°You refer to the late Lesia Queen,¡± Rik finally said. ¡°People still mention her.¡± ¡°She left a good impression on people,¡± Storm croaked thinking of Queen Vacia. ¡°Yet you serve as Shield for the one that came after her,¡± the knight noticed neutrally. I love her too just differently, Storm thought. I¡¯ve a big diverse fuckin¡¯ heart and an easily seduced cock. ¡°I need to speak to the King,¡± he said instead. ¡°He¡¯s sleeping,¡± Rik informed him. ¡°My sister had a rough night.¡± ¡°Is the pregnancy difficult?¡± The knight stood back on his seat. ¡°All pregnancies are Baron Nattas,¡± he told him and Storm frowned thinking of Miranda soldiering on miles away. ¡°It¡¯s a toss of the dice really.¡± Storm¡¯s mood worsened, thinking on Sudi¡¯s words. Oh, ye vile deity, he prayed. Don¡¯t even think about it. You¡¯re running out of fuckin¡¯ followers! ¡°Bring us some wine,¡± Rik told a servant hidden behind a heavy curtain. Another Issir with a sneaky dark face, though the latter probably couldn¡¯t be helped. ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± he murmured. ¡°But I¡¯ll accept the wine.¡± ¡°I could inform the King,¡± Rik helped him. ¡°The moment he awakes.¡± ¡°Uhm.¡± ¡°Baron Nattas?¡± The knight probed unsure. ¡°Your father knows we can¡¯t help him overthrow Lord Anker¡¯s heir,¡± Storm blurted out, cutting to the chase and Sir Rik frowned. ¡°Many consider the heir¡¯s credentials dubious.¡± ¡°Hence why I called him Lord Anker¡¯s heir,¡± Storm retorted and reached for his gold cup of wine with a glance at the servant. ¡°What¡¯s your name son?¡± ¡°He can¡¯t speak,¡± Rik informed him with a tired smile. ¡°My father hates gossip, so he proactively removes the means to create it. Ours is a quiet hall Baron Nattas.¡± But for the crows¡¯ caws was his meaning. Shite. Storm gulped down his wine with a grimace. ¡°You heard me earlier,¡± he finally said getting back on track. ¡°I did.¡± ¡°Why take the gamble?¡± Storm probed, thirsty for information. The time seemed ripe for it, over bonding words and surprisingly good wine smelling of Scaldingport¡¯s resin. ¡°The Princess is the legitimate heir.¡± ¡°The Princess is lost on Eplas, probably with a couple of slant-eyed kids in tow by now,¡± Storm argued. ¡°I heard Sigurd¡¯s scheme collapsed and he¡¯s hiding in Colle. Lord Anker will burn the city to the ground if he has to and your father can¡¯t cover everything from North to South Greenforest.¡± ¡°The South Greenforest was my sister¡¯s dowry,¡± Rik countered, his face hardening. ¡°My father wants Regia¡¯s men there as a deterrent.¡± ¡°I would to,¡± Storm told him. ¡°But then again, ye do that and some sergeant will give a middle finger to another across the river, people have grievances aplenty with Lord Anker, choice words exchanged after that, who knows even a blade to the gut. Then it¡¯s steaming turd for dinner and shite for salad for everyone.¡± Rik smacked his lips, but said nothing. ¡°And for what?¡± Storm continued. ¡°Your father has the Queen of Regia as ally, better to keep what you have in hand than go about looking for loftier treasures Sir Rik. Lord Anker would prefer a peaceful resolution with Scaldingport.¡± What the fuck I¡¯m missing? Storm wondered, seeing him pondering whether to speak or not. ¡°My brother is in Eikenport,¡± Sir Rik revealed and Nattas ogled his eyes alarmed trying to put his statement in the proper context, Sir Gust was in Devil¡¯s Cove the last time he¡¯d heard of him, but didn¡¯t have time to process it further as Rik made another one. ¡°The Princess is with him. Scaldingport has control of the port and a deal with the pirates. The Eplas sea route is open. Wetull as well.¡± Good fucking grief. Storm could hear the old Crow¡¯s cackle in his brain. He could also understand the cautious man¡¯s reasoning. Why settle for one Queen, when you could have both? Wait¡­ ¡°You said Wetull?¡± Storm asked draining his cup. ¡°I did. Princess Elsanne has a deal with the local ruler.¡± The local¡­ ruler? Storm stood back on his seat. One thing at a time. Regia comes first, he cautioned himself. ¡°I¡¯d like to speak to Lord Bach afore he gets himself killed,¡± Nattas said. ¡°You can¡¯t, Sigurd is on Eplas,¡± Rik informed him. ¡°The Lord of Castalor is reinforcing Colle. Lord Anker hasn¡¯t won yet Baron.¡± ¡°Riverdor and Badum will fall on you, leaving Lord Anker with enough men to smash the guard there. Midlanor is a very big city. Reinut had parked the army there for a reason. That valley is overpopulated. Not to mention Caspo O¡¯ Bor can supply the army on Eplas for as long as they breathe and give Lord Anker even more freedom.¡± Storm didn¡¯t believe the Issirs could succeed over the pond, then again Sir Gust had managed the impossible so the fuck do I know? ¡°The Van Durren have their own problems,¡± Rik told him enigmatically. Hmm. ¡°Don¡¯t force Jeremy into another war so soon into his reign,¡± Storm advised. ¡°He doesn¡¯t have firm control of his subjects yet.¡± ¡°Lord Sula will find himself in trouble soon,¡± Sir Rik said and got up, his armour and weapons rustling. ¡°That¡¯s the problem,¡± Storm retorted with a sigh. ¡°Moving the troops away from Cartagen is dangerous. The King must reconsider Sir Rik.¡± The knight from Scaldingport stared at him. ¡°It wasn¡¯t my decision Baron. It does help us get this over with though.¡± ¡°No it doesn¡¯t,¡± Storm said. ¡°Your problem isn¡¯t Lord Sula. Sula can¡¯t move with Brakis parked outside his port and even if he wins a battle or two he has no legitimacy. Your problem is Lucius and Asturia is keeping the road open for him. Weakening Cartagen¡¯s defense is just inviting more people to this dance Sir Rik. More players. You don¡¯t want that. Your father will risk losing the Queen wit the fucking throne, for a Queen ruling over the ruins on Eplas?¡± Sir Rik breathed out and then clasped his hands behind his back thinking about it for a long moment. ¡°I shall propose you talk to the Council and impart your warning to the King.¡± Storm nodded and got up. ¡°Thank you for listening with an open mind.¡± ¡°My father wants the Princess on the throne of Kaltha Lord Nattas,¡± the knight told him. ¡°It¡¯s a matter of pride for him and trusts Gust to pull it off. Call it a whim of old age.¡± Nah, Storm didn¡¯t believe it was a whim. Not only. ¡°What if he can¡¯t do both? Will he pick her over his own daughter? Will he do that?¡± Fuck, Sir Rik¡¯s face told him that the old Crow would if it came to that. The bigger fuckin¡¯ prize. It also told Storm that the young knight wouldn¡¯t. So that¡¯s why you¡¯re here. It turned out that despite the Old Crow¡¯s thrashings a bit of soul had survived in his son and kept the love for his sister intact.
Storm arrived to his house late that evening, the meeting with King Jeremy as distasteful an ordeal as pulling your own teeth out with a small plier. Sudi sensing his mood, didn¡¯t speak to him in the carriage and waited for Nattas to remove his drenched leather boots when they arrived ¨CAlden weather had decided to give them a winter downpour out of spite- before broaching the subject. ¡°How did it go?¡± ¡°I think I¡¯ve scared them enough,¡± Storm replied tiredly, feeling worn out. Whether he held a position or not, Lord Nattas worked the most hours for the kingdom out of everyone else. ¡°Almost gotten myself thrown in the dungeons again.¡± ¡°What will they do?¡± ¡°Jeremy should talk with King Davenport for starters. But I think they¡¯ll halt the troops and turn them back. Fuck Valens,¡± Storm replied and looked about for a servant hearing the doorbell ringing downstairs. ¡°That would be Yanus. I had him sent to the post office,¡± Sudi told him. ¡°He has a key.¡± Great. ¡°Why does he knock then?¡± Nattas grunted. ¡°Manners?¡± ¡°I¡¯d laugh, but I don¡¯t want to encourage you,¡± Storm said and collapsed on his chair. ¡°It was a poor joke.¡± ¡°Appreciate it chief. I aspire to reach yer comedic delivery one day.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a long road and ye lack the talent. Yanus,¡± Storm said didactically seeing the soaked agent appearing on the open door of his office. ¡°We were just talking about arses, imagine my surprise seeing ye here.¡± Sudi chortled almost drowning himself in his own spit and Nattas shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Lord Nattas?¡± Yanus blurted unsure. ¡°That¡¯s me,¡± Storm replied with a smirk. ¡°Am I under arrest? Know that I intent to place the blame firmly at your feet.¡± ¡°Ahm, no milord,¡± Yanus replied. ¡°I¡¯ve a missive from Canutia.¡± ¡°It would¡¯ve been nigh awkward for both of us to visit my quarters at this hour, if ye didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Milord?¡± Seeing the agent¡¯s pensive look, he decided to get down to business. ¡°My daughter is a widow? Bless her black heart, at least she got a couple of good fucks out of the kid,¡± Sudi chuckled at that for some reason and Storm glared at him. ¡°Eh, Sirio made it to Kas,¡± Yanus informed them, glancing at the laughing lackey unsure. ¡°Did he lose the fuckin¡¯ sword?¡± Nattas grunted sensing something was amiss. ¡°Hahaha!¡± Sudi roared doubling over, losing the hold on his cane. Darn thing clattering on the floor with an ungodly ruckus. Sudi really has a poor sense of what¡¯s bloody funny for an aspiring comedian, he thought sourly. ¡°He didn¡¯t my lord,¡± Yanus replied blinking. ¡°The important part of the missive is that he delivered it and now he is heading to Gudgurth.¡± Why in Abrakas mouldy cock would you come back son? Does no one understand simple instructions? Storm rubbed his face with both hands and glanced at the map he¡¯d on the wall of his office, showing the continent of Jelin with a bit of Eplas at the far edge of it. ¡°He was supposed to stay close to Lucius,¡± he rustled warningly and Yanus gulped down afore replying sounding strangled. ¡°He did my Lord.¡± Ah. There¡¯s your turd salad then. At least it¡¯d managed to put a stop to Sudi¡¯s irksome laughing outburst. But it did leave Lord Nattas with a right fucking mess.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 276. Gifts in her cradle (1/2)
Glen Arguen Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Monarch O¡¯ Morn Taras Gifts in her cradle Part I -It¡¯s good that you didn¡¯t-
Clink.
The sound of gold striking the polished tiles. Uh? A sweaty Glen gasped in his sleep. Ding-a-ling, the child cooed in her cradle. The night hot despite the open window. Soul Kin, Uvrycres rustled. With thin blood. Glen smacked his lips, the darkness heavy. His mouth tasting of orange and whatever else Sen had used in her bath water. There was that clinking sound again. A gold coin rolling on the granite tiles. Hmm. He found the edge of the large bed and placed his feet on the cool floor. Glen couldn¡¯t see anything, no light coming from the open window. The size of the latter impressive as everything the Zilan had built. As if the summer night had turned starless all of sudden. Big walls, big doors, he thought standing up. The coin found its destination with a loud clank, the sound different in quality. Metal on metal. Treasure. Precious, Uvrycres appeared to agree initially, before going another way. But very fragile. How can I hear you? Where have you been? Glen asked afore remembering he didn¡¯t have the dagger near. Ah, damn it, the former thief thought and woke up for real.
¡°Uhm,¡± Fikumin murmured, watching him coming down the stairs under bushy eyebrows. All Glen could see protruding over the table was that gigantic head of his, lots of thick hair all over it, two stubby hands and a bit of neck where the short robes parted. Lots of hair spilling out of there too. Whoa my dude. Fikumin could make himself a new wardrobe by just going to the barber once a week and keep the produce. The thought raising his spirits somewhat. ¡°Is that sheep milk?¡± Glen probed finding a chair to sit. Fikumin pulled the cup away from him, but Glen stooped deftly and snatched the bowl with fruit that was his real target all along. Haha. Ye sucker. ¡°A good thing they built roomy halls,¡± he told the scowling dwarf, whilst murdering a peeled banana. He just shoved the whole thing into his mouth, not bothering with the spillage. Fikumin couldn¡¯t really criticize his manners seeing as Glen had copied the dwarf¡¯s eating habits. He paused to swallow most of the mushy material down, afore continuing his diatribe. ¡°Else it would have been impossible to survive their humid, hot summers. In a sense them fools know what they¡¯re doing. Right?¡± ¡°It is an established fact,¡± Fikumin grunted. ¡°It¡¯s what I¡¯m saying dwarf.¡± ¡°Nobody had ever disputed the Zilan¡¯s ingenuity Garth, or their frugality, afore you came along,¡± Fikumin elucidated, as if Glen hadn¡¯t gotten what he was saying. ¡°Isn¡¯t that contrary? You don¡¯t make sense.¡± Fikumin stared at him solemnly. ¡°No, it isn¡¯t.¡± Glen shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Let¡¯s agree to disagree,¡± he retorted. Fikumin just wouldn¡¯t admit when he got something wrong. The poor man is drowning in his insecurities. Glen decided to cut him some slack. He slapped his thighs with both hands. ¡°So then, ah¡­ it¡¯s good to wake up early so we can have these talks my friend. Get a bit of work out of the way sort of speak.¡± Fikumin glanced at his scrolls, while Glen reached for a slice of an oversized neatly cut ripe mango. ¡°I don¡¯t believe we talked about anything of substance Garth.¡± ¡°Here¡¯s yer chance then,¡± Glen retorted readily, gathering the juices from the sides of his mouth. ¡°There¡¯s a meeting in a couple of hours.¡± ¡°Listen, I¡¯ll try to make it, but if I don¡¯t, go ahead without me.¡± ¡°The reason being?¡± Fikumin probed, being an annoying little shit. ¡°I need to visit Voron and that¡¯s a trip and a half in this heat,¡± Glen told him and looked for a towel as his fingers had turned all sticky. You find yourself covered in sweet juice in Goras, you better clean up fast else the bugs will get you. ¡°Voron sends reports at the end of each day. Very thorough.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t expect me to read that moron¡¯s scribblings right?¡± Glen protested and glanced to the side alarmed hearing a swooshing sound. Seeyu¡¯s tired face almost gave him a heart attack. Seeyu¡¯s uncanny ability to appear unannounced would get him in trouble someday, he mused. ¡°Master Garth,¡± the slave said pensively. ¡°I can prepare breakfast.¡± ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake,¡± Glen said. ¡°Don¡¯t sneak up on me mate!¡± ¡°He was standing right there all along,¡± Fikumin grunted. ¡°Well, I hadn¡¯t woken up fully,¡± Glen defended himself and his peripheral vision. ¡°Anyway, enough about your problems Fiku, I have stuff of my own to attend to,¡± he stood up and stretched his arms out. ¡°What do you think Seeyu?¡± Glen asked the smiling slave. ¡°Master Garth is in excellent form,¡± Seeyu replied honestly. ¡°Yeah,¡± Glen agreed grinning. ¡°Eat every day, fuck a lot and exercise,¡± he advised them and walked away intending to head for the stables. Two strides in, Glen paused with a frown and turned around to the expecting duo. Damnit. ¡°Seeyu,¡± he said all serious. ¡°Run upstairs to get me my boots and a shirt.¡± Ye can¡¯t waltz outside barefooted and that¡¯s a lot of stairs to climb back up again. ¡°Your blades Master Garth?¡± ¡°Them too,¡± Glen grunted a little frustrated with the sniggering dwarf.
Cat jumped him the moment he stepped outside, a flushed Phinariel running after the small lion to pick him up. The Nimra cub unwilling to let go of Glen¡¯s boot. ¡°Arguen Garth,¡± the pretty Zilan gasped, a high pitch in her voice. ¡°You got up so early?¡± ¡°I always do,¡± Glen lied helping her up. Cat snarled and then sneezed loudly failing to reach him with its small paws. Actually the cub was much bigger than a cat already. Perhaps a different name was in order. Hmm. Big Cat. Eh. ¡°I didn¡¯t know,¡± Phinariel admitted. Paws. ¡°Is there a reason behind your diverse schedule?¡± The curious teenager probed further. Fucking. ¡°Eh, I¡¯m a busy man,¡± Glen told her instead. ¡°I get tired.¡± One could argue rolling in the proverbial hay was as tiresome as digging. Absent callouses. Phinariel chuckled hugging the snarling Cat fiercely. ¡°I¡¯m such a fool! I always forget it. You are not a Zilan Arguen Garth. There¡¯s a song to remedy that.¡± Right. ¡°Ahm, Fiku is awake Phina,¡± Glen told her. ¡°So go along now, you don¡¯t want to be late. He needs yer help.¡± Phinariel beamed, bowed deeply and twirled around to run inside, taking the furious cub with her. A drowsy Alan Kirk making way for her, giving the long-legged female a thorough onceover, followed by a frown. ¡°Bing woke ye up?¡± Glen asked him. ¡°Aye, told me you were leaving,¡± the bodyguard replied with a yawn. ¡°What¡¯s wit the short skirts fuck¡¯s sake,¡± he blurted out, afore catching himself. ¡°Pardon me language milord.¡± ¡°She¡¯s young,¡± Glen replied. ¡°The strays are like that.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve a sneaky suspicion all of them are,¡± Kirk said conspiratorialy. ¡°Just pretend they aren¡¯t to please their elders.¡± ¡°How would you know that?¡± Kirk stood back not expecting the query. Hmm. ¡°You visited Folen¡¯s ¡®Hall of Pleasure¡¯ I take it?¡± Glen asked him. ¡°Milord,¡± Kirk replied solemnly realizing he was caught. ¡°I have.¡± Glen blinked. Wait a minute here. ¡°Aren¡¯t Cofol slaves working it?¡± ¡°I admit on sampling the expensive catalogue Milord,¡± Kirk said with a sigh. Expensive¡­ Glen scrunched his nose. ¡°Was Folen there?¡± ¡°He wasn¡¯t. His mother was,¡± Kirk replied with a grimace. ¡°And?¡± ¡°Ahm, we didn¡¯t talk much milord,¡± the guard said puffing his cheeks out. Glen frowned at the implications. Then he realized they were standing in the middle of the street talking about brothels, a small crowd slowly gathering around them to listen to their argument. He stood up straighter, wearing his ¨Cstill under construction- Monarch¡¯s grin. Several Zilan stepped back alarmed at his manic grimace. ¡°Greetings friends! The sun will come up fully soon,¡± Glen told them. ¡°Now ye better use the time to get to your businesses right?¡± ¡°As you wish Arguen Garth!¡± most of the citizens present replied, with a couple of them just nodding, before they all run away to follow his instructions. The street emptied spectacularly fast. Son of a whorin¡¯ goat! ¡°Eager bunch right?¡± Glen commented and Kirk who was standing next to his left shoulder glanced at him unsure. ¡°Kind of appeared scared to me Milord.¡± ¡°Haha! You have a problem mate! But there¡¯s no need for alarm,¡± Glen assured him with a grin, then slapped at his steel shoulder pads once and walked towards the stable. ¡°I have it too when I¡¯m fresh out of bed. Always miss stuff. Eat lots of fruit and everything comes back.¡±
Glen stopped Outlaw midway up the widened and paved road. He groaned, the sun in his eyes and poured water from a flask on his face, afore pushing his wild hair back. Kirk riding his own horse came to stand next to him and they both watched the disfigured Zilan that was Laedan, trotting down towards them, a worn out guard following him. A Zilan city guard from those Anfalon had cut months back. Laedan paused seeing the two riders standing in the middle of the rebuilt road and glanced back at the approaching soldier. ¡°Should I?¡± Kirk asked. ¡°Nah, let him pass,¡± Glen replied. Speak to the Denmaster. Glen flinched hearing the dagger¡¯s suggestion. ¡°Belay that, follow me Kirk,¡± he said and clicked his tongue to get his horse moving towards the scowling Zilan. Why talk now? He asked, but the dagger remained silent. Fuck you. I¡¯m not doing it, Glen cursed and pulled at the reins stopping the horse, sending dirt towards the waiting Laedan. ¡°Great,¡± the Denmaster hissed, one side of his face permanently maimed, the damage to the nerves, or something irreparable. Soren had done a number on him, Glen thought. ¡°Not only do I have to wait for this tool to catch up with me, I¡¯m getting covered in dust from our annoying palace resident!¡± ¡°You have a difficult personality,¡± Glen told him stooping on the saddle. ¡°I¡¯ve trained Wyverns for a living,¡± Laedan retorted. ¡°It rubbed off on me.¡± ¡°Were you at the castle?¡± Glen asked with a glare at the huffing and puffing soldier. ¡°Hardir,¡± the Zilan soldier greeted him. He wore the heavy hoplite cuirass in bronze, but carried a sword instead of a spear. No helmet. ¡°At ease my friend,¡± Glen said returning the nod. ¡°Take a breather.¡± Laedan snorted and shaded his eyes with a hand to stare at Glen. ¡°I went to see what that idiot is doing,¡± Laedan walked towards Glen and reached for his flask of water. ¡°Imagine my shock. Ugliest building I¡¯ve ever seen.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a sturdy castle,¡± Glen defended his ¡®creation¡¯. ¡°It looks like a big black turd protruding out of the ground, fatter at the base and sharpened up to not look like one. Is that an octagon? One could only hope. Could have been a gigantic obelisk, a tower to the heavens, but nah, he just lopped off the top of it. The man has brain damage for coming up with that and I¡¯m the one with the cracked skull,¡± Laedan hissed and glugged down some of Glen¡¯s water. ¡°You want it back?¡± He asked. ¡°I have another,¡± Glen replied sourly. It was a sturdy design. Difficult to sneak into. ¡°You carry two flasks of water with you?¡± The Zilan probed curious. ¡°I¡¯m well prepared.¡± ¡°For a trip up the ¡®castle¡¯?¡± Laedan snorted. ¡°It¡¯s half a day.¡± ¡°So? You got any food with you? I¡¯m famished.¡± Glen always had food with him. ¡°Ahm,¡± he glanced around them, the open cleared ground offering no shade and then up towards the plateau. Glen sighed, turned around and stared at the city they¡¯ve left behind. ¡°There¡¯s shade near the lake,¡± Laedan helped him and pointed with a finger. ¡°Much closer.¡±This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°Can you walk?¡± Glen asked him, deciding to talk with him a bit more. He didn¡¯t want to, but continuing up the road had lost some of its appeal. Fine, Glen was curious about his dream also. ¡°Are you offering me your horse?¡± Laedan asked securing Glen¡¯s flask on his old belt. Glen wasn¡¯t. The query was rhetorical for starters and he barely tolerated the Denmaster. ¡°I¡¯ll head there. See to catch up,¡± he told him with a shrug and turned Outlaw around. A slight press of his knees and the warhorse bolted east out of the paved street and towards the lake¡¯s shores.
Glen reached the west side of Taras Lake ten minutes later and jumped from Outlaw, under the shade of a group of palms that had been spared just before the beach. Looking to the south he could see the light bouncing off the buildings of the market where his own house was. Given the distances involved, Sinya Goras -the port- hundreds of kilometers to the east was a completely different small city, with the much more developed, resort-like Taras Lake District being another and the ¡®nearby¡¯ construction site at Morn Taras plateau a third. You needed almost a week to travel from Morn Taras to Sinya Goras port following the road. But the Zilan didn¡¯t see it that way. Goras encompasses everything was their deeply rooted belief, so human residents just went along with it in their presence using the ¡®District¡¯ descriptor, despite clearly differentiating between the three cities slowly forming over the ruins of the old one and calling them by different names. A bunch of bullshit, Glen -who wasn¡¯t ¡®married¡¯ to either belief camp- thought. He walked near the cool water that despite coming out potable up on the Eternal Springs, it really wasn¡¯t since that darn Hydra had ¡®died¡¯ in the lake. It would take time for the waters to clear again and Glen had to sign an order for people to avoid drinking it. People as in humans, since the Zilan knew that instinctively. Ye can swim in it though, he thought and removed his boots, to check on his maimed foot. Glen washed it with water first, afore stepping in the lake to his knees to cool off for a bit. He used a towel he¡¯d brought from his saddle to clean his feet, before stooping to examine his missing toe. The wound had healed, but it had left an ugly rough and blackened patch of skin behind that made walking difficult with Angrein¡¯s fake toe on. The whale-skin boots had helped him with that. Vycaris had done a good job and Glen made a mental note to send a gift to the leather artisan and Oelinael his mate. Hope they haven¡¯t killed each other, Glen thought and heard light trotting approach their position. With a last glance at the distant resort shore, where Zilan and humans were probably swimming to combat the heat, Glen turned and walked outside of this shallow part of the lake. Laedan reached the thin shade provided by the palms, smacked a fat blue bug away, a fist-sized sugar-fly preying at the sugarcanes located at the north side of the lake near the waterfalls, led astray from the heat and started undressing. The ascetic, but wiry Zilan tossed his old robes away, then the leather belt over them, removed his worn out sandals and walked to the lake without a word. Glen and a blank-faced Kirk watching him equally silent go past them, skinny arsed and hairless but with a long meat rod dangling between his legs. ¡°What the¡­¡± Kirk finally gasped in shock when the Zilan jumped into the water and swam away from them. Glen whipped his head towards him, equally shook and grunted. ¡°Enough talk,¡± Kirk blinked as he hadn¡¯t really said anything in half an hour, but nodded. ¡°Good. I have a fine piece of smoked ham rolled into a cloth in my bags, cut us a couple of good slices will ya? Don¡¯t touch anything else.¡± ¡°Right away Milord,¡± Kirk replied. ¡°May I help meself as well?¡± ¡°Of course, it goes without saying. Bring the whole thing here, the biscuits too,¡± Glen said and rubbed his face to get his bearings back. The question though still lingering after what he¡¯d just witnessed. ¡°How was Luthoris?¡± He asked the soldier and Kirk paused searching his bags unsure. ¡°Ah, Luthoris Milord?¡± ¡°Folen¡¯s ¡®Mother¡¯ fuck¡¯s sake,¡± Glen hissed at his ignorance. ¡°You didn¡¯t actually believe that, did ye?¡± Kirk frowned, unshaven jaw clenching hard. ¡°Milord, I asked her. Who would lie about such a matter?¡± A female conman? Would that be, a conwoman? Hmm. ¡°She lied. It¡¯s a ruse to get more coin in festivals from kinky fools,¡± Glen elucidated. ¡°Nothing to be ashamed of,¡± he reassured him proceeding to ask in a sterile scientific manner. ¡°Was she any ¡®different¡¯ given what we just witnessed here?¡± It was a knowledge-seeking query first and foremost. A man should know what is what and where stuff go. ¡°Eh, to tell ye the truth Milord, it was a peculiar experience.¡± ¡°You got lost in her roominess?¡± Glen chanced to keep it civil, but also justifiably intrigued. ¡°I honestly think the experience is tailored to each person,¡± Kirk replied a little flushed and Glen frowned. The fuck does that even mean? This shite is universal for crying out loud! From horse to man. Eh, perhaps fish are exempted. Laedan coming out of the water with his tool bared cut their conversation about Zilan female anatomy short and they both gave the Denmaster a wide enough berth to get his robes on. Glen had to tell him as a matter of fact. It quickly deteriorated in a yapping rebuke. ¡°Have you no shame? Put some clothes on! Kids might come by at any moment!¡± Laedan crooked the side of his mouth that still worked, the other permanently pointing down in a pout and looked about him. ¡°Children know everything since a young age.¡± Glen didn¡¯t. It had taken coin, a cheap brothel and bravery for him to learn. The experience mostly unpleasant and hazardous to one¡¯s health. ¡°It kinda explains the mess at the Valimae Lilt!¡± Glen argued yelling at him. ¡°Garth, it¡¯s a mating festival. Folk use it to unwind and enjoy life. Has Voldomir poisoned your ears? The Goddess wants servants, not slaves, or eunuchs. Naossis is her daughter. Reach far enough and you¡¯ll touch her mother,¡± Laedan finished. ¡°Let¡¯s avoiding reaching and touching stuff,¡± Glen dismissed his weird argument. ¡°Dress up, or you don¡¯t eat,¡± he turned his head around caught the soldier chewing on a piece of ham and barked. ¡°Kirk, start cutting more slices for everyone and bring me that bottle of wine here. All this riding about has me famished!¡± ¡°Is that smoked mutton?¡± Laedan asked and Glen glared at him. ¡°Cover that cock my dude,¡± he grunted a final warning. ¡°Else I¡¯ll use my blade on it and have ye eat sausage.¡±
Kirk snorted in his sleep, the guard had gone out after stuffing his mouth with the rest of Glen¡¯s meal. Taking the opportunity Glen turned to a relaxed Laedan, the Zilan was dressed now thankfully. Glen had send the soldier escorting him back to his unit. The guard was unfit to follow the older but much faster Zilan around anyway. ¡°So do you have dreams, while working with Wyverns?¡± he asked him, cutting to the chase. ¡°Uhm.¡± ¡°Care to elaborate a bit more?¡± ¡°Uvrycres is near,¡± Laedan replied, his eyes closed, hands behind his head. ¡°That¡¯s not what I asked.¡± ¡°If he¡¯s near and you have a connection,¡± Laedan said. ¡°A wyvern will reach out for you. Communicate through dreams. But distance isn¡¯t forbidding, if the connection is strong enough.¡± ¡°What determines a strong connection?¡± Laedan opened his eyes to stare at him. ¡°Time and kinship. You are obviously close in both parts, for he hasn¡¯t lay waste of the city, or turn it into his feeding ground yet.¡± ¡°They do that?¡± Laedan grimaced. ¡°Yes Garth. It takes time for a wyvern to learn this.¡± ¡°No it doesn¡¯t. You need to explain. Talk with it,¡± Glen told him. ¡°You use the Queen¡¯s dagger to do it,¡± Laedan said and stood up on his arse. ¡°She tried it as well against our advice.¡± ¡°Why? It¡¯s a shortcut.¡± ¡°The witch¡¯s shortcut assumes you are talking with a gullible person, but you aren¡¯t,¡± Laedan explained. ¡°Simple instructions are always better. When smart folks try to insert their logic and open conversations with a Wyvern they delve into the unknown against an alien intellect. It¡¯s a slippery path to take. The Queen had the arrogance to presume she could influence their thoughts, talk to the gods through them. It¡¯s not how it is done.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°There are variants always in magic Garth,¡± Laedan told him and tended his hand. Glen frowned. ¡°The Queen placed the dagger in Elauthin, traveled to Goras without it. Yet she had it on her leaving from Eikenport. Either the stories are wrong, or what you have there is something else.¡± ¡°Aelrindel made more than one,¡± Glen told him. ¡°That¡¯s a very intimate detail to know,¡± Laedan said and Glen reached to unsheathe the dagger. He tossed it to him and the Zilan caught it deftly. ¡°I won¡¯t attack you, if you¡¯re worried. Vaelenn told me of the things you¡¯re doing for the citizens.¡± Good on her. ¡°What do you think?¡± Glen grunted. ¡°I feel nothing.¡± ¡°No magic, or whispers?¡± ¡°Whispers,¡± Laedan murmured and flipped the Wyvern¡¯s Tongue in his hand. ¡°You know it¡¯s different. Do you know of her failed plan as well?¡± ¡°Failed?¡± ¡°It¡¯s been centuries. Whatever she wanted to accomplish obviously failed Garth.¡± Glen nodded. ¡°I believe that too.¡± ¡°Yet you talk of whispers,¡± Laedan said. ¡°Ask of Wyvern¡¯s dreams. What does it say?¡± ¡°Nothing.¡± Laedan returned him the dagger hilt first. ¡°It¡¯s a medium, what she made. Laced a spell on it. I¡¯m explaining it as plain as I can here. Witches of her mother¡¯s school did that aplenty. Usually trinkets and charms. It¡¯s still a tool though,¡± the Zilan continued. ¡°A door anyone with skill can find and use to come through.¡± Gimoss had done something similar. Had he used the dagger to channel his magic and snatch the corpse? Could one¡­ use it to bring forth magic and cast a spell? How does it work? ¡°How does it work?¡± Glen asked him. ¡°Could you channel magic through it?¡± Laedan shrugged his shoulders. ¡°You need a sorcerer to figure this one out. You speak of summoning spells, portals and dark magic. But this has nothing to do with a communication tool. I just don¡¯t understand why the witch would built something like this. Even stranger is the fact you have this knowledge.¡± ¡°I know stuff Laedan,¡± Glen grunted. And talked to gods probably. ¡°That¡¯s the weird part about you,¡± Laedan agreed and stood up, his robes covered in leaves and dirt. ¡°You are a crook and that¡¯s fine, since the wyvern doesn¡¯t appear bothered about it. But you are also more than that clearly. Even if it¡¯s luck, you know everything is on a scale Garth, never free and you¡¯ve only lost a toe so far.¡± ¡°Friends as well,¡± Glen spat, getting up as well. ¡°This is what I¡¯m trying to prevent Laedan. I have a lot at stake here.¡± ¡°Hardir would,¡± Laedan murmured thoughtfully, paying him no attention. ¡°Have a lot at stake, whilst beating the odds. Somewhere amidst the lies and the luck, there is a bit of skill obviously. A lot of it, but what is it I don¡¯t know. If I had to guess I would say cunning and dogged grit in godly doses. But what¡¯s the fuel for it? Greed? Fear? Love? Haha,¡± the Zilan chuckled finishing his thoughts. ¡°What¡¯s so funny about it?¡± Glen asked him, while giving Kirk a kick to wake him up from his stupor. ¡°Reinut was like that allegedly,¡± Laedan replied still chuckling. ¡°It could be as simple as that. Life making circles.¡± ¡°Uhm.¡± ¡°Milord? Are we leaving?¡± Kirk mumbled trying to find his footing. ¡°No magic was the wrong word,¡± Laedan added while Glen helped the soldier to stand up straight. ¡°What I felt was an increasing cold emptiness more like and it¡¯s not the same, nor it is natural,¡± the Zilan continued and Glen glanced his way surprised. ¡°Magic needs something to work, a trade, it doesn¡¯t work in a void, but everything can be a source for it. Bear in mind I was never a skilled student, hence the dens. This is a hot day and a great practitioner of the dark arts could had faked the whole thing through a simple trade. Made fools of us all.¡± Fake the emptiness was his meaning.
Glen left Laedan at the market, avoided the temptation to visit Folen¡¯s establishments and rode straight to the stables. Kirk stayed to deal with the horses and Glen walked towards his villa troubled, not paying much attention to the surroundings. The small crowd gathered at the entrance taking him by surprise. ¡°What is this?¡± He barked and run the final couple of meters, shoving people right and left to open the way. Bing spotted him and came out to help, most citizens stepping away from Glen when they realized who he was. ¡°Milord,¡± Bing said with a worried grimace. ¡°Thank the gods.¡± For what? ¡°Move aside,¡± Glen ordered him and went inside his hall. Fikumin was standing at the top of the stairs leading to his quarters. Seeyu was laid on the floor, neck turned the wrong way, a leg folded underneath him in an unnatural manner. What in Luthos painted toes! ¡°What happened? Did he fell down the stairs?¡± Glen grunted and stooped to examine the clearly dead slave. Good grief, he thought, turning him around. Ye poor sneaky fool. Seeyu had a strange color about him. A bit of blood leaking from the side of his mouth, but not much else. That color bothered Glen immensely. Was he poisoned? ¡°Stand back,¡± Angrein grunted from the top of the stairs and Glen turned his head to see what it was all about. The Blacksmith appeared next to the scowling dwarf, Fikumin had his pickaxe with him and then started coming down the stairs carrying what appeared to be a piece of fat black rope in his hand. The end of the rope stuck on his forearm weirdly. Glen blinked and felt a shiver running down his spine. That was no rope. ¡°Sen?¡± he croaked and jumped to his feet panicked. ¡°She¡¯s fine,¡± Angrein replied. ¡°The little one too. Seeyu stepped inside with her milk and took its mind away from the cradle.¡± Glen¡¯s mouth felt parched, his gums gluey and he tasted of bile. ¡°Is it dead?¡± ¡°What?¡± Angrein asked pausing, as he¡¯d turned to walk outside. ¡°Did you kill it?¡± ¡°It used its poison on your slave Garth,¡± Angrein explained. ¡°Sucks on my blood to replenish itself. It¡¯s harmless now, so I¡¯ll return it in the lake.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a snake,¡± Glen grunted and reached for his sword. Angrein face darkened, his red-rimmed eyes sad. ¡°Put that shite down,¡± A wild eyed Glen ordered him, his blade in hand. A Jackal¡¯s cackle reverberating inside the walls of his hall. Angrein nodded and forced the eel¡¯s mouth open pressing on a point of its covered with small white dots neck. Blood pouring out of the gnarly mouth. The Blacksmith tossed it high between them, the creature letting out a freakish hissing sound and coiling changing direction mid-air. Glen¡¯s blade catching it and slicing through its slickly body turning it into many bloody pieces. The different parts splashed on the floor, the one with its head still moving until Glen¡¯s boot came down hard on it and turned it into a disgusting bloody pulp with a loud crunch. ¡°Lock the doors,¡± Glen grunted, his heart beating wild and in a murderous mood. ¡°Search everything,¡± he ordered and the returning Kirk stopped dead in his tracks seeing the mess on the floor and Seeyu¡¯s crashed lifeless body. ¡°Nobody leaves Kirk,¡± he added and turned to run up the stairs to find Sen-Iv.
They found nothing more lurking in the corners. Glen searched every little spot thoroughly himself, Sen¡¯s shocked demeanor what infuriated him the most. Two hours later and with the large villa declared clear, all lower front-facing windows closed shut and the crowd outside dispersing, Glen stood on his throne-type chair glaring at those still present. Not that anyone he¡¯d found inside had been allowed to leave. The reason for it simple. ¡°How did a plaguin¡¯ venomous eel living in the god darn lake,¡± he growled hoarsely, Sen¡¯s fearful gasp creating more wrinkles on his forehead. ¡°Found it¡¯s fuckin¡¯ way inside my DAUGHTER¡¯S CRADLE!?¡± ¡°Garth,¡± Fikumin started. ¡°Nobody brought it here.¡± ¡°Are you serious?¡± ¡°Probably slipped inside a bag of supplies for the kitchen,¡± the redhead Iskay said. ¡°Snakes do that Master.¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t a plauguin¡¯ snake!¡± Glen growled. ¡°It¡¯s a fish thing living in water! It doesn¡¯t opt for traveling in bags away from it!¡± ¡°Glen,¡± Sen whispered to calm him down. ¡°Someone brought it inside the villa,¡± Glen continued grinding his teeth. ¡°Why are you here?¡± He asked Angrein. ¡°I asked him to keep me company,¡± Sen-Iv told him. ¡°He¡¯d nothing to do with it. I was with him all the time.¡± ¡°What about you?¡± Glen turned to the dwarf. ¡°Who did you meet with today?¡± ¡°Phinariel was here and Metu earlier,¡± Fikumin grunted, insulted at his tone. ¡°The meeting held in the hall, nowhere near your quarters.¡± ¡°Bing?¡± Glen queried the distressed guard. ¡°Sam Mathews,¡± Bing replied. ¡°Metu paid him and they left.¡± ¡°He went upstairs?¡± ¡°Of course not!¡± Fikumin snapped. ¡°Everything was done right here Garth.¡± ¡°What about the others?¡± Glen grunted. ¡°They stayed outside,¡± Bing replied. Fuck. ¡°Could someone had climbed the back wall?¡± He probed. ¡°Were the windows open?¡± ¡°It¡¯s five meters to the second floor windows Garth,¡± Fikumin reminded him. Glen could climb that easy with a good pair of shoes, or no shoes at all. An assassin? Then your friends are in danger as well, Nym had warned him. Who would try to kill a baby girl for fuck¡¯s sake? Where was Din? Glen blinked, the late hour making the light from the torches create shadows their radiance failed to reach. Din stepped out of the shades and stood next to his left shoulder. Everyone else gasping at the sight of him. Glen glanced his way. ¡°How?¡± he asked him. ¡°The Wyvern¡¯s window is always open. Found wet dirt at the base below it,¡± Din told him, his voice metallic and assured. The fact he¡¯d no tongue to make any kind of noise unknown to the others. ¡°Whomever did it, climbed that way, without fearing the eel¡¯s deadly kiss.¡± ¡°Who would do that?¡± Glen asked, his eyes flickering to the frowning Blacksmith. ¡°Someone fortified against all poisons,¡± the assassin elucidated calmly. ¡°Or unalive.¡± ¡°The eel bit you,¡± Glen told Angrein and the muscular artificer shrugged his massive shoulders. ¡°I¡¯ve had the Saereg,¡± Angrein replied simply and Glen caught out of the corner of his eye Sen coming out of her gloominess, to listen to the Imperial Blacksmith¡¯s words. ¡°Anyone else wit your particular fortitude?¡± Glen hissed. ¡°Not that I know of Hardir,¡± Angrein replied. ¡°It¡¯s a highly risky endeavor, few survive it. But I have been away from Wetull for centuries.¡± What the fuck? Glen shocked at the public admission. ¡°Find out,¡± Glen ordered Din and the assassin nodded once with his hooded head. ¡°I¡¯ll talk wit the culprit afore having him executed,¡± he added harshly. Probably feed his remains to Laedan, if Uvrycres isn¡¯t here.
Sen-Iv had fallen asleep a couple of hours later, her breath coming out haggard, an arm covering their daughter¡¯s small body protectively. She had moved her back to their bed and Glen hadn¡¯t voiced any objections. Iskay was sleeping as well on a couch brought next to the bed. Glen stood at the large open floor to ceiling window, the narrow balcony outside of it not even a foot in width and stared at the late night sky in silence. He was too stressed to sleep. The two moons light coming through this time, unlike in the strange morning dream. He saw the outline of the large Wyvern approaching whilst staring at Oras Eye. A black shadow right at the center of all the cold brilliant white. Uvrycres wings extended backwards as he dived for the ground, but then he banked hard left and traveled over the silent dark district at an incredible speed, barely missing the rooftops of the tall buildings. The Wyvern reached the open window silently and levitated there unnaturally for a moment, all that speed gone in the blink of an eye, its leathery wings extended outwards. His bulky rubicund eyes gleaming so bright, the glassy black scales of his elongated snout turned a shade of crimson. Glen stepped away from the window and Uvrycres put a scaly large claw on it to step inside. He barely made it through. The Wyvern had grown at least a meter since Glen had last seen him. Uvrycres snorted, the heavy smell of burning brimstone filling the large bedroom, glowing eyes examining the sleeping females carefully afore turning to look at the silent ruler of Goras. Glen brought his hand on the dagger¡¯s handle. ¡°What did I miss?¡± Uvrycres asked in his crackled baritone voice. Somehow it didn¡¯t disturb the women sleeping peacefully. ¡°Don¡¯t be a fool,¡± the Wyvern admonished, reading his thoughts. ¡°I used magic.¡± Glen stepped forward and hugged its trunk-sized head tight. The Wyvern felt warm to the touch and comforting. A black talon touched his shoulder and he pulled back to stare into Uvrycres glowing eyes, the large creature¡¯s breath burning on his chest. ¡°We almost lost her,¡± Glen finally replied with a glance at the bed. His daughter had sneakily crawled to the edge apparently awake, her pretty eyes awed and glued on the sinister wyvern standing inside their bedroom, blocking the light coming from the windows. Everything having a shade of red, from the shadows to the furniture and the expensive long silk drapes. ¡°It¡¯s good that you didn¡¯t,¡± the Wyvern told him. ¡°I¡¯ve brought her a gift.¡± Inis-Mir chuckled and Uvrycres other arm extended towards the bed, talon like long black fingers opening when it reached the edge, then dropping a large sphere next to his smiling daughter. The red shades and the red rays caught a warm golden hue in the blink of an eye, the scaly gold sphere rolling near the baby girl who stopped it with her tiny hands cooing and deeply awed at the spectacle. Is that a fucking gold ball? He thought with ogling eyes, remembering Arock and his stupid game. That¡¯s a couple of kilos worth of it at the very least. ¡°Qo¡­ dras,¡± Inis Mir mumbled and Glen stood back shocked at hearing her talk. Ah. Shit. ¡°Shsss, curious youngling,¡± Uvrycres whispered soothingly. ¡°Let him sleep for now.¡±
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 277. Gifts in her cradle (2/2)
Glen Arguen Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Monarch O¡¯ Morn Taras Gifts in her cradle Part II -You¡¯ve opened the door to fear-
¡°Boo,¡± Inis-Mir gushed, more a puff than a word and rolled on the bed with a frowned Iskay watching her. Sen-Iv standing on Glen¡¯s right side sighed and made to help, but he stopped her extending his arm. ¡°She won¡¯t fall,¡± Glen murmured. ¡°Was that a real word?¡± ¡°She can¡¯t talk,¡± Sen replied looking his way. ¡°Hmm,¡± Glen grimaced, but knew what he¡¯d heard last night. ¡°I¡¯ll have a bigger cradle made by morrow and installed where Iskay sleeps. The baby needs to move about. She¡¯s turning too fat.¡± ¡°Husband she¡¯s a small girl still,¡± Sen protested civilly and hugged his waist with a smile. ¡°But maybe it¡¯ll turn to boobs in time?¡± Glen returned the smile, deft hand reaching under Sen-Iv¡¯s roomy robes feeling the warm flesh underneath, one eye on her teasing stare, the other on the Hoplite standing next to the door in full gear. He cleared his throat recognizing the Zilan Anfalon had send under the sinister black Hoplite helm. Lyceron returned his stare with a small nod. ¡°Was there no one else available?¡± Glen grunted and Sen turned her head to glance at the sinewy Zilan. ¡°Othrim¡¯s best fighter to take good care of the princess,¡± Lyceron retorted confidently and Glen disliked him even more instinctively. ¡°Yeah, it won¡¯t do,¡± Glen told him and the Hoplite frowned. ¡°May I query as to the why Hardir?¡± ¡°No,¡± Glen replied sternly. ¡°I¡¯ll put someone else in charge of her security.¡± ¡°Anfalon won¡¯t like it,¡± Lyceron told him. ¡°He¡¯ll perceive it as an insult, or a failure on his part so soon after given the assignment.¡± Lyceron was probably talking about himself here. ¡°He¡¯s thick skinned enough me thinks to get over it and you can guard the door, if ye like. The one downstairs.¡± ¡°Husband,¡± Sen said thoughtfully. ¡°He seems rather skillful.¡± If Glen had any doubts about removing him this reply had vindicated it. ¡°Wife let me be the judge of one¡¯s skill in such matters,¡± he cautioned her and Sen blinked, but yielded with a soft supportive kiss on his lips that caught him unawares. ¡°I¡¯ll feed her now,¡± she told him standing back with a look at the whining Inis-Mir. ¡°Sure,¡± Glen replied unsure. Sen paused thoughtfully, the sun coming through the open window showcasing her figure under her thin robes charmingly. ¡°Was the gift for her birthday? It¡¯s a couple of months early for her second.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a golden egg Sen,¡± Glen reminded her. ¡°It doesn¡¯t feel like gold to the touch,¡± Sen noted. ¡°Nor does it look like an egg.¡± Glen raised a teasing brow and tapped his right temple a couple of times with his index finger suggestively. Sen responded with a quick curtsy and added in a well-trained meek voice. ¡°But my husband always knows best.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Glen agreed and watched her walking slowly towards the bed to pick up their rapidly growing daughter, praising the good illumination provided by the large floor to ceiling windows. The picture offered quite lovely. Glen snapped his head back abruptly, but Lyceron seemed to keep his eyes away from the women, or the crafty Zilan had better reflexes than him. Hmm. Sneaky motherfucker. Glen could sniff out a ¡®player¡¯ in a crowd and the young Zilan had a lot of game in him. ¡°Stand outside the door,¡± Glen ordered him gruffly, hearing Jinx raising a ruckus with the guards at the entrance. ¡°I¡¯ll head down. Anything untoward happens afore I find a better¡­ solution, you¡¯ll suffer Seeyu¡¯s fate.¡± ¡°Aye Hardir,¡± Lyceron replied faking professionalism, as if Glen didn¡¯t know you couldn¡¯t snap your fingers and turn into one in half a year. ¡°Rest assured, I won¡¯t allow anything to happen to our princess.¡± ¡°ARRGH CRAP!¡± Kirk cried out desperately from downstairs, apparently in pain. ¡°Oh, don¡¯t be such a cunt!¡± Jinx rejoined. ¡°Yer fine.¡± ¡°You spat in me eye!¡± ¡°It¡¯ll clean up soon,¡± Whisper assured him. ¡°Uhm,¡± Glen grunted and rushed to see what was going on.
¡°Why would you do that?¡± Glen protested with a glance at a furious Kirk. ¡°He was with me at the time!¡± Jinx frowned and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. ¡°I got mad,¡± she said with a sigh. The Gish turned to Kirk, the guard¡¯s left eye bloodshot from all the rubbing he¡¯d applied to it. ¡°There, I¡¯ll let you play wit Bobelo in the afternoon.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t want to play wit yer darn monkey!¡± Kirk grunted livid, but grimaced seeing Glen¡¯s hard warning stare. ¡°Apologies for the outburst milord. Lady Jinx,¡± he added pressing his lips tight and walked outside to take his spot at the entrance again. ¡°Whisper that¡¯s no way¡ª¡± Glen tried to say, but she stopped him before he could finish. ¡°How is she?¡± ¡°Seeyu walked inside at an opportune moment,¡± Glen replied. Not for the poor slave obviously. ¡°The eel had diverse tastes in food and went after him.¡± ¡°Damn. Metu was really heartbroken,¡± Jinx replied. ¡°I¡¯m very angry myself,¡± Glen told her. ¡°We had an excellent relationship.¡± ¡°Mmm.¡± ¡°Cut that shite Whisper,¡± he grunted. ¡°Any ideas as to who the culprit was?¡± Glen asked and watched Fikumin approach them. The dwarf had a long dagger strapped on his waist and no pickaxe this time. ¡°You don¡¯t think it¡¯s an accident?¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t,¡± Fikumin said stopping between them. They both had to look down on him, but it couldn¡¯t be helped. Jinx even tried to pat the dwarf¡¯s head for luck, but he swatted her hand away with a hiss. ¡°Go ahead,¡± Glen said, stopping Jinx from kicking Fikumin pulling her back by the shoulder. ¡°A wide selection of buildings around, people living in most of them, yet it came straight here,¡± Fikumin continued. ¡°Which they won¡¯t do. I asked around the neighborhood and at the lake. They just don¡¯t approach this part of the shore, but stay across the lake near the sugarcane coast.¡± ¡°Din is of the same opinion,¡± Glen agreed. ¡°Who is he again?¡± Jinx asked whilst trying to bite his hand. Glen was keeping it in front of her to avoid a stupid reaction out of the Gish. He also dodged the bite, turned his hand around and gave her a slight slap on her right cheek. ¡°Oi,¡± Jinx gasped with a shocked glare. ¡°Why ye did that for?¡± ¡°Out of love,¡± Glen retorted and Jinx blushed fiercely. ¡°As for Din, he¡¯s probably what Larn and Flix were. An assassin.¡± ¡°Whoa,¡± Jinx snapped out of it. ¡°Why do you trust him?¡± ¡°Din could have done it another way,¡± Glen explained, the thought very disturbing. ¡°Aye, this was done to induce horror on top of pain,¡± Fikumin agreed. ¡°How can anyone harm a child?¡± Jinx queried unable to fathom it. ¡°An evil bastard would,¡± Glen replied. ¡°Or an Aken.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± Fikumin agreed. ¡°They would.¡± ¡°You guys have seen one,¡± Jinx said worried. ¡°I haven¡¯t, but Fiku you came face to face with one right?¡± Glen replied and the dwarf nodded that great head of his. ¡°While you were injured,¡± the dwarf said, pausing to frown. ¡°Din said unalive though, which opens up the possibility of a construct.¡± ¡°Like that shit in Eikenport?¡± Jinx asked ogling her eyes. ¡°I don¡¯t want to even remember that!¡± Hmm, Glen thought. This makes it even weirder. ¡°No one does,¡± the dwarf agreed crustily. ¡°An Aken can¡¯t blend in out there,¡± Glen murmured. ¡°They are¡­ very distinct in appearance,¡± Fikumin agreed. ¡°Like what?¡± Jinx queried, but Glen frowned remembering Qanuq wandering about a while back and paid little attention to them. Could it be that lying creep had stayed behind? ¡°Hey, has anyone seen that priest?¡± Glen asked interrupting Fikumin¡¯s explanation. ¡°You¡¯ve told me that you¡¯ve sent him away,¡± the dwarf said. ¡°I had.¡± ¡°What priest?¡± Jinx asked curious but no one paid any attention to her. ¡°Did you make sure?¡± Fikumin asked. Glen stood back with a deep frown. ¡°It was during the trouble at Eikenport, then we lost Elaniel,¡± he murmured. Ah, you son of a whorin¡¯ goat, he thought angry with himself. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen him since.¡± Glen hadn¡¯t looked for him though. ¡°Why would he try something against Inis-Mir?¡± Jinx asked. ¡°We may have maimed him a bit during a botched interrogation,¡± Glen replied. ¡°You¡¯ve tortured him?¡± Jinx gasped in horror. ¡°Twas an accident,¡± Glen grunted with a glare, not liking her reaction. ¡°But this time I may do it on purpose.¡± ¡°Glen,¡± Jinx protested, but he snapped his arm to cut her off. ¡°Enough Whisper!¡± He rustled. ¡°Are you serious? After what he tried to do?¡± ¡°He worked with that Aken,¡± Fikumin said and Glen nodded. ¡°Kirk!¡± He barked getting angrier with every passing moment. Lyceron appeared at the top of the stairs and Glen glanced at him. ¡°Bing will stay to guard the house. You¡¯re with me and I want someone from your unit that can handle an interrogation. I want to learn what the fuck we¡¯re dealing with!¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know he¡¯s still in Goras,¡± Fikumin cautioned. ¡°Or if he¡¯s behind it.¡± ¡°Eh, my gut tells me I got conned here Fiku,¡± Glen replied. ¡°Lyceron?¡± He grunted at the watching Hoplite. ¡°I don¡¯t know Hardir,¡± Lyceron said unsure and Metu who had entered followed by Kirk added sternly. ¡°That¡¯s palace work my Lord,¡± the Cofol said, his face dark. ¡°You¡¯ll need someone with a firmer stomach.¡± ¡°Who would have the skillset?¡± Glen asked him turning his way. Metu had taken it upon himself to bury the murdered slave he¡¯d elevated to his old position. ¡°The Denmaster handled ritualistic executions in the empire,¡± Metu, well-read as most high-level Sopat slaves, replied. ¡°I believe his skills covered what you¡¯re looking for.¡±
Folen blinked, neatly trimmed blue hair glued on his head with plenty of oil, long ears protruding very pronounced and adorned with a big silver loop. ¡°A priest of the Painted God?¡± he asked just to make sure he¡¯d heard Glen correctly. ¡°Aye, that motherfucker.¡± ¡°They stand out Garth,¡± Folen said and signed for a pretty Cofol slave to go away. They were inside his ¡®pleasure house¡¯, but there was no door in his office, or to any of the adjoined rooms. A communal experience, he¡¯d justified it earlier, but Glen had opted to move on from the matter. ¡°He ditched the paint,¡± Glen retorted. ¡°I see. That is, I haven¡¯t seen anyone,¡± Folen replied. ¡°Though Cofols do frequent the premises.¡± ¡°Do they talk?¡± Glen asked. ¡°It¡¯s part of the ritual,¡± Folen replied. ¡°The ritual being fucking?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve sterilized the experience I¡¯m afraid. It¡¯s a human culture thing to do that,¡± Folen elucidated in his fulsome manner and Glen showed him his clenched fist suggestively. Glen¡¯s manner more direct and to the point. ¡°But yes, they do,¡± the Zilan added quickly. ¡°Could he have gone to the port?¡± Jinx asked. ¡°What does Soletha say?¡± Glen asked Laedan and the Denmaster smacked his lips. ¡°Her people keep records of the comings and goings right?¡± ¡°More opportunities here, than in the port,¡± the Zilan replied. ¡°Especially if he wanted to try something against you.¡± ¡°Fikumin had the guards on alert fast enough,¡± Jinx intervened. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t they have spotted someone trying to get out of the District?¡± ¡°Any caravans left?¡± Glen asked. ¡°Eh, not since yesterday,¡± Folen replied. ¡°But it¡¯ll be difficult to flush him out. You are the only one that knows how he looks Garth. Do we stop every Cofol out there?¡± Glen stared his way sternly. ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± he told him.
A frustrated Glen returned to his villa an hour later followed by Laedan, Kirk and Jinx. He found Anfalon waiting for him there next to a worn out Bing, the guard taking a second shift for the day, after Kirk had woken him up earlier. Glen had already decided to start working on an expanded bodyguard detail for his close family. ¡°Hardir,¡± Anfalon rustled, seemingly unbothered by the heat, his helm under his left armpit and in full battle gear. The latter fact the norm for the hardened Hoplite leader. ¡°I understand you¡¯ll deal with the Princess security yourself?¡± ¡°I will. I know typically the Phalanx provided a detail for the Queen,¡± Glen told him, wanting to move inside and away from the sun. ¡°But I prefer to use Maeriel for the task, when I¡¯m away.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Jinx gasped taken by surprise. ¡°It will make it difficult for her to carry out the training of the Rangers,¡± Anfalon noted. ¡°Lyceron is skilled enough for the task. If he fails, I¡¯d have failed in turn. He won¡¯t do that.¡±This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it ¡°Listen, how about we avoid failure and keep it practical?¡± Glen told him. ¡°Maeriel shall train a replacement, I believe she has one ready and stay near my daughter.¡± ¡°You trust her huntress instinct and hex discerning talents?¡± Anfalon asked and Glen nodded. Maeriel had an acute sense for danger and was familiar with most ¡®stealth¡¯ spells through her training. ¡°I¡¯ll miss her in the field,¡± Anfalon added, returning Glen¡¯s nod. ¡°Wait,¡± Jinx intervened and stepped between them. ¡°You can¡¯t keep Maeriel trapped in the city Glen!¡± Anfalon frowned and glared at her. ¡°Whisper, my first priority is to make sure no one makes it near my wife and daughter. Inform Maeriel to come here.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know where she is,¡± Jinx blurted out. ¡°Yer living in the same house Whisper,¡± Glen reminded her a little frustrated. Talking under the sun and out in the street wasn¡¯t his favorite activity. ¡°Eh, we have our problems,¡± Jinx told him looking away, not wanting to talk about it. Glen glanced at the scowling Anfalon and cleared his throat. ¡°Let us step inside,¡± he offered and wiped the sweat off his brow. ¡°I must return to the camp Hardir,¡± Anfalon grunted. ¡°Sure,¡± Glen said with a sigh. ¡°Any news from Kalac?¡± The Horselord Leader had taken the difficult task of reconnoitering the terrain and jungle paths to the two still standing bridges over the Eroshin River. ¡°They reported the second bridge has collapsed,¡± Anfalon said. ¡°Eh, can we repair it?¡± ¡°We can.¡± ¡°Did they approach the main bridge at all?¡± ¡°Wylinor and Shalia did,¡± Anfalon replied. Those were the first two rangers Maeriel had cleared as ready for duty. Poor Elaniel would have been the third, Glen thought with a frown. ¡°The Horselords are a noisy bunch despite their boasts.¡± ¡°Right. Which of the two could take over for her you think? In the field I mean,¡± Glen asked him. ¡°Wylinor is the more skilled of the two, despite Maeriel favoring females,¡± Anfalon replied. ¡°This is a risky operation,¡± Glen murmured and Anfalon nodded. ¡°Would Lord Rothomir try and hurt Inis-Mir?¡± He asked the ready to leave Hoplite. Anfalon thought about it for a moment. ¡°He would have gone after you. Rothomir campaigned with the Phalanx in his youth. We don¡¯t harm children Hardir.¡± ¡°But those in politics would right?¡± Glen insisted. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me all those people I hear about died naturally Anfalon, especially the exiles.¡± ¡°They didn¡¯t. You are correct Hardir.¡± ¡°Can I trust Aenymriel? Would she do something like that?¡± Glen asked him. ¡°Absolutely,¡± Anfalon replied without hesitation. ¡°But not to you. She talked of you long before you appeared in Wetull. Knew you were coming and did all she could to help you get here. Aenymriel¡¯s whole scheme revolves around you making it Hardir.¡± ¡°That¡¯s reassuring,¡± Glen replied relieved and Anfalon frowned. ¡°Never feel assured around her,¡± he cautioned him. ¡°Aenymriel¡¯s schemes are mostly self-serving. Question her counseling always.¡± Fantastic, Glen thought, his initial relief diminished and watched the sinewy Hoplite march away with determined strides.
Jinx stepped in front of him the moment he made it inside the Villa, his face and neck covered in sweat. ¡°Whisper,¡± Glen warned her. ¡°I need a drink.¡± ¡°We need more than one,¡± Laedan agreed coming up behind him. ¡°I haven¡¯t been so bored in my life listening to you two.¡± ¡°You could¡¯ve contributed something to this whole mess you know,¡± Glen admonished him and walked to the table to pour himself a cup of water from a carafe. ¡°What need have you of helpers?¡± Laedan snorted. ¡°You have a Wyvern.¡± ¡°Glen,¡± Jinx tried again, but Glen stopped her frustrated. ¡°Whisper, I need Maeriel here. We¡¯ll talk later,¡± he told her and Jinx puffed her cheeks out. ¡°She¡¯s not in a good place right now,¡± she said finally and Glen sighed. ¡°It wasn¡¯t her fault.¡± ¡°Sam believes it was,¡± Jinx replied. Glen grinded his teeth to keep his tempers from flaring up. A smirking Laedan reached for the carafe and started glugging down water directly from it, spilling some on his robes. ¡°Do you want some?¡± He asked Glen stopping for a moment. ¡°I¡¯ll have wine,¡± Glen grunted and turned to a solemn-faced Jinx. ¡°Whisper I don¡¯t blame her. She took a decision to keep some stuff from the others and kept her mind on your survival per my orders. While she messed up the mission, she brought you back safe. Tell her to come here immediately.¡± ¡°She talked to you about it?¡± Glen sighed. ¡°Aye Whisper. I asked for her report and she told me everything,¡± Maeriel didn¡¯t trust the adventurers enough to open up. It¡¯s one thing to make a team in words, another to put that team in the field and see if it¡¯ll work. Same thing with the Horselords and the Rangers. As for Maeriel losing Elaniel, well that was punishment enough for her. ¡°All that matters is I trust her more now for keeping my instructions in mind. The rest, she¡¯ll learn about and avoid in the future.¡± ¡°I can take care of myself Glen,¡± Jinx hissed showing her disagreement with his logic. ¡°So did Elaniel and Alix,¡± Glen reminded her sternly. ¡°They are both dead now. If ye don¡¯t mind, I¡¯ll do it my own way henceforth.¡± ¡°I mind,¡± Jinx argued. ¡°I don¡¯t care!¡± Glen deadpanned. ¡°It wasn¡¯t a question.¡± The Gish narrowed her eyes comically, but before she¡¯d time to respond Kirk walked inside bringing a cute heavy-bosomed Zilan along. ¡°Milord,¡± Kirk started unsure, seeing them confronting each other face to face sort of speak, as Jinx¡¯s head barely reached Glen¡¯s chest, ¡°Folen¡¯s¡­ mother would like an audience.¡± ¡°Mother¡­¡± Laedan commented with a smirk, making air quotes with his hands. ¡°Nice.¡± Glen puffed his cheeks out, an eye on Jinx to avoid a sneaky kick in the balls, the other on Luthoris. ¡°Anything the matter?¡± Luthoris blinked once to have her silvery eyes adjust to the darkness of his hall, took a big breath in making the cheap tunic she had on stretch to its limits and then started talking. ¡°Folen wants to inform Garth he may have found the Cofol¡ª¡± ¡°Hello there,¡± Laedan said impressed cutting her off midsentence. ¡°Laedan! Fuck¡¯s sake get ahold of yourself!¡± Glen blasted him. ¡°Thought it might pop oh, ye ultimate Monarch,¡± Laedan retorted. ¡°That¡¯s a mighty cheap button there holding everything together.¡± ¡°Where is he?¡± Glen grunted turning to the uncertain waitress/employee in Folen¡¯s venues and allegedly a former bard. ¡°In the beach side tavern,¡± Luthoris replied and waved a hand at a strangely silent Jinx. Another curiosity, for another time. ¡°What?¡± Glen flinched in disbelief. ¡°Are you sure?¡± Luthoris shrugged her shoulders. ¡°Don¡¯t know. But Folen said he asked for coin to pay for a caravan to return to Eikenport.¡± ¡°Kirk!¡± Glen bellowed, voice reverberating inside the hall, despite the soldier standing three meters away from him and Luthoris recoiled in panic not expecting the loudness that button popping and the parting cloth baring everything to her navel. ¡°Oi,¡± Jinx gasped looking from behind his back. Ah, for slovenly fuck¡¯s sake. ¡°Mmm,¡± Laedan hummed vindicated in his turn, with Kirk showcasing remarkable professionalism considering the amount of flesh displayed and his character. ¡°Bring the horses around sire?¡± The experienced guard asked casually. Glen just nodded, too frustrated to utter a single word.
Glen intended to ride to the ¡®Bard wit no name¡¯ and proceed discreetly from there, first making sure Folen had the right man and also avoid a public spectacle. As things usually go though, he recognized Qanuq drinking pensively by his lonesome on a stool in front of the counter and lost it. He rode a neighing Outlaw through the tables toppling chairs, tossing regulars down, Sarya losing her beer laden tray and a couple of men and women screaming at the top of their lungs at his wild semi-charge, as if they were being assaulted by a horde of Orcs in broad daylight. Outlaw sensing he¡¯d lost his mind tried to stop on his own, seeing the counter approaching fast, Folen¡¯s eyes growing twice their size, but his hooves slid on freshly installed tiles and Sarya¡¯s spilt beer. Qanuq who¡¯d turned his head alarmed from the commotion managed a terrified gasp and then the large warhorse crashed on his tall stool sending him flying backwards, drink still in hand. Damn. ¡°Every man for himself!¡± A patron yelled behind his back panic setting in, but Glen shook his head and jumped from the saddle not bothering with the chaos he¡¯d caused, landing on broken cups and destroyed furniture. ¡°Ye piece of lying scum!¡± He growled and rushed the trying to get up Cofol. Qanuq saw him charging and attempted to run the other way, but Folen who¡¯d recovered somewhat, reached with an adroit hand, found a bottle of rum that had been left standing, grabbed it by the neck and hurled it over the counter with a strange whistle. Qanuq managed a couple of strides away from a furious Glen, but the bottle connected with his left knee hard after curling at the last moment to avoid the former thief and sent him sprawling down again. Sarya who¡¯d gotten up in the meantime, flipped her empty silver tray around and smacked him once right in the face breaking his nose. The shocked crowd watching the priest¡¯s bloody head snap back, let out a collective gasp of horror. ¡°He didn¡¯t pay for the rum,¡± the pretty waitress -among other things- explained with a toothy smile and most patrons still there hurried to find their purses to avoid a similar fate. ¡°Get him up,¡± Glen rustled breathing heavy and pointed at the unresponsive Qanuq. ¡°Someone bring this motherfucker around!¡±
¡°Milord,¡± Kirk said worried, while Glen wiped his face and chest with a towel to clean up some of the spillage. He reeked of cheap rum. ¡°Keep the crowd back,¡± he ordered him and Kirk nodded. The soldier turned around, grabbed a five man strong City Guard patrol that had rushed to the pavilion alarmed at all the ruckus and spread them out in a loose cordon to keep the curious bystanders somewhat away. ¡°That him?¡± Jinx asked poking Qanuq with a thin finger, the groaning priest coming about and the blood crusted on his chin making him appear ghoulish. ¡°Aye,¡± Glen grunted and kicked the propped against the counter Qanuq between the legs. ¡°Arggh!¡± Qanuq moaned in pain, his head banging on the hardwood and fresh blood splashing out of his broken nose. ¡°What did I say?¡± Glen spat not caring for his protests. ¡°Why are you here?¡± ¡°Stop you philistine!¡± Qanuq cried out raising an arm, but Glen kicked him again catching his elbow with a satisfying crunch. The priest''s miserable screams infuriating him even more. ¡°Glen, let him speak,¡± Jinx said and tried to get in front of him, but he shoved her aside like a ragdoll and unsheathed his sword. A Jackal snorted from somewhere, its heavy breathing coming and going. ¡°Look at me,¡± Glen rustled and placed the point of the blade under his chin to lift it up. ¡°Why did you do it?¡± ¡°Did¡­ what?¡± Qanuq gasped, holding his broken arm. ¡°You¡¯re¡­ insane!¡± He looked about him desperately. ¡°He¡¯s nuts! Belongs in a fucking asylum!¡± Glen almost killed him right then and there, but Laedan intervened pushing the blade aside. He stooped over the shaking priest and stared at his scared pale face with solemn alien eyes. ¡°You¡¯ll talk yes?¡± he asked him. ¡°What¡­? I don¡¯t¡­¡± Qanuq tried to say, but Laedan stopped him gathering some of the blood from his face with a long index finger and licking it clean with a satisfied slurping sound. The Priest stopped talking horrified. ¡°You tried to kill my daughter,¡± Glen hissed grinding his teeth. ¡°Put a filthy creature in her cradle you foul turd!¡± ¡°Tell the truth,¡± Laedan cautioned him and reaching into his worn out satchel got a strange short knife out. A makeshift weapon made out of an iron spoon. ¡°I¡¯ll cut a small piece of flesh out for every lie.¡± ¡°What?¡± Qanuq croaked in disbelief and looked about him. ¡°Help me please! They¡¯re crazy!¡± ¡°A bigger piece,¡± Laedan explained and snatched his dangling arm by the wrist. He run his long fingers down the exposed flesh, paused at Qanuq¡¯s palm and spread the priest¡¯s fingers out carefully. Qanuq tried to shove him away, but Glen¡¯s sword smacked his right arm with the flat of the blade hard enough to send it flying back. ¡°For a bigger lie,¡± Laedan finished looking at him, exposed fingers trapped in his larger hand, the grip steely. ¡°You stayed back to take revenge for yer injury,¡± Glen tried again, the crowd gathered growing by the minute, but kept outside the pavilion as more and more soldiers arrived to help out. ¡°Sneaked into her room and placed a fuckin¡¯ eel near her! She could have died, but Seeyu lost his life in her stead. An innocent Cofol, but you don¡¯t care about that right? First it was the dwarf kid lost to the Aken and then this. Why? Why should I spare you? I told you to leave this place! Why are you still here?¡± Qanuq gulped down, deep red blood covering his mouth and chin. ¡°I tried to leave,¡± he started with a fearful glance at the watching him Laedan. ¡°Went to the port, but no ship was available for cheap. So I returned to¡­ find a way out on land. I was looking for a caravan¡­ to take me away from this fucking place!¡± ¡°You choose to come here and now you don¡¯t like it?¡± Glen hissed. ¡°You expect me to believe this? Ye take me for a plaguin¡¯ fool?¡± ¡°I came to preach, but no one would listen,¡± Qanuq blurted out nervously and Glen heard the crowd recoiling around them. A fearful murmur spreading and then the strong sun fading for a moment behind a cloud. But it was a clear summer sky above them a moment ago. EERRRRRRR Uvrycres shriek trumpeted ominously circling around the plaza and the crowd started dispersing fast. ¡°I don¡¯t believe you,¡± Glen told the petrified priest and Laedan moved fast, the sharp knife cut through flesh and bone, as one would clip the twigs off a rose bush, separating pinky and ring finger from Qanuq¡¯s trapped palm. ¡°NAH ARRGH!¡± The priest started screaming in agony. Glen frowned both shocked at his stubbornness and feeling the ground shake as Uvrycres landed amidst the fleeing crowd. Laedan gathered the chopped off fingers carefully with an old cloth, the blood spreading on the tiles and placed them in his satchel, afore getting up. ¡°Stop this please Glen,¡± Jinx pleaded and Glen glanced her way, but Uvrycres burst under the pavilion moving on four limbs, jaws snapping right and left, breaking even more tables and chairs. The Wyvern¡¯s horns ruining Folen¡¯s straw ceiling as it approached the counter rumbling, the whole structure creaking ominously around them. Qanuq¡¯s screams and moans adding to the madness of the scene. Glen placed his hand on the dagger¡¯s handle and turned around sensing the Wyvern¡¯s hot breath on his nappe. Laedan had moved away from the counter as well, but none had been faster than Folen himself, the former bard still whistling different tunes looking at them from a safe distance. ¡°Stop this!¡± Glen snapped at the new Council member and returned his eyes on Uvrycres¡¯ black scaly snout. ¡°You¡¯re scaring the people,¡± he told the smirking Wyvern that lathered his face with saliva using a long forked tongue afore replying in his baritone rumble. ¡°You¡¯ve opened the door to fear, I¡¯ll cement it for you. Is that him?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not as sure now,¡± Glen admitted. He¡¯d expected the priest to come clean immediately, or turn into a walking corpse. Wait¡­ He turned around and stooped over the shaking priest. ¡°How did you die?¡± Glen asked him and Qanuq blinked, his eyes feverish. ¡°What¡­ the fuck¡­ are you talking about?¡± The priest gasped, looking at him with preternatural horror. ¡°What manner¡­ of insane fiend are you? Why are you here?¡± Glen grimaced and stood up. No apparent change. Hmm. Luthos balls caught in a mousetrap! He stepped away from the groaning Qanuq and came to stand next to the Wyvern. A strange quietness had come over the usually lively Lake District, with scores of citizens watching from a safe distance. Glen sighed, feeling tired and confused. He stared at Jinx¡¯s hurt face, then at the slowly munching on something Laedan, a little blood running down the ruined side of his mouth. Glen frowned and saw Kirk trying to keep the more curious citizens away with threats of bodily harm and Folen with Sarya looking on pensively at their ruined tavern, the Zilan still trying low-key to whistle some tune or another. ¡°There¡¯s no need for alarm! Everyone return to yer businesses!¡± he finally announced, a merchant¡¯s smile on his face, voice cracking, but loud enough to be heard from everyone. ¡°The answer was,¡± Uvrycres rustled behind him addressing the maimed Qanuq, having moved a step forward without Glen noticing it. ¡°Turned to ash.¡± Fuck. The next moment the back of the pavilion was engulfed in a fireball, the heatwave so sudden and so violent, blazing material, beams, straw, furniture and exploding bottles were hurled to the front, outright killing a soldier that stood guard outside of it and severely injuring another. Glen had ducked for the floor the moment he felt the heat on his back coming and rolled to safety with only a slightly charred shirt. Nothing of the priest was ever found in the search of the tavern¡¯s smoldering carcass.
The next day Angrein was talking with a worried Sen-Iv on top of the stairs, the two of them increasingly close, while Glen stared at the Council members gathered to discuss the event. They had gone through most of what had happened, giving few details out and keeping the rest as vague as possible. His face grim and twice as angry as the day before for the messed-up conclusion. ¡°The Wyvern executed the culprit,¡± Fikumin repeated the official version of the story. ¡°It was a messy affair, but the citizens were ordered to vacate the premises beforehand and the soldier was lost in the line of duty. His family will be compensated, but no such action will be tolerated in the future. Make it abundantly clear to your constituents.¡± ¡°Executions should be held in the Den,¡± Vaelenn said with a frown. ¡°After a formal hearing.¡± ¡°The Judge is right,¡± Glen agreed. ¡°But the Den is not yet ready to house such an event. We shall keep such spectacles confined there henceforth.¡± Vaelenn nodded with a pleased smile. ¡°Anything else?¡± Glen asked them. ¡°On the matter of property destroyed,¡± Folen started, but caught Glen¡¯s murderous glare and backtracked quickly. ¡°We won¡¯t bother the Council more,¡± he blurted out and sat back down. ¡°Did he confess?¡± Fikumin asked him the moment everyone had left and Glen puffed his cheeks out, the start of a fresh migraine bothering him. ¡°It was chaos Fiku,¡± he replied wanting to leave it at that. ¡°You know he was involved.¡± ¡°I do,¡± the dwarf agreed and scratched his beard thoughtfully. ¡°I just can¡¯t understand how he climbed up the wall on a maimed foot. Do you?¡± Glen grimaced and stood up to walk away from the conference table. He never answered the Shield¡¯s query. On one hand this was a difficult climb for an unfit, lame priest and on the other, wounds heal in time. People adapt, he thought, but deep down Glen wasn¡¯t certain he¡¯d found the culprit. The silent ranger that had watched the whole Council meeting shifted nervously on her feet and Glen realized he¡¯d stopped in front of her. Maeriel was a tall Zilan female and despite the sadness in her expressive eyes, she stood confidently clad in her tight-fit leather armour. ¡°You talked with Whisper?¡± he asked her. ¡°Aye.¡± ¡°How are things¡­? I hope you girls are fine,¡± Glen said pressing his mouth tight in frustration. Jinx had given him an earful for losing control of the situation, as if Glen could read the Wyvern¡¯s mind and prevent it from handing out its own brand of punishment. What am I supposed to do? Block his mouth with my hands? Assuming I had the plaguin¡¯ time to do it! What a fucking mess. ¡°It was my fault,¡± Maeriel replied. ¡°Lost sight of what¡¯s important delving in the past.¡± ¡°Uhm,¡± Glen nodded and glanced at the still talking Sen-Iv. ¡°You keep things Maeriel,¡± he told her. ¡°You do it out of suspicion and bigotry, but also fear of letting ¡®nasty¡¯ details reach the people you care about. Not everything should be out in the open, am I right?¡± ¡°Hardir¡­ I erred,¡± Maeriel murmured, but Glen stopped her with a wave of his hand. ¡°I want ears around me to hear things I might miss,¡± Glen said. ¡°What I tell you, stays between the two of us and I won¡¯t betray your trust in return, nor judge you as long as you follow my orders.¡± ¡°Jinx won¡¯t betray you also,¡± Maeriel told him sounding hurt. ¡°Whisper is very noble in her thinking,¡± Glen explained. ¡°She has a big heart, but we¡¯re dealing with heartless nasties here.¡± ¡°The culprit is dead,¡± Maeriel said clenching her jaw, her eyes questioning. ¡°There¡¯s a two page letter stuck on the message boards stating the fact Hardir.¡± ¡°He¡¯s not,¡± Glen told her sternly. ¡°But that¡¯s not the only reason you¡¯re here. This is yer mission now Maeriel,¡± he looked into her pretty eyes with a pensive smile. ¡°He won¡¯t be the last and I won¡¯t always be at the near to protect her. You will from now on. Not a fancy gift for her, but a practical one. A gift of life. What you didn¡¯t do you for your pupil, you¡¯ll do for my daughter for as long as she draws breath. That¡¯s your way out of yer guilt and how you¡¯ll serve the Monarch. Will you do that for me Maeriel?¡± The seemingly hurting Zilan took a deep breath and then nodded with her intricately braided head once. ¡°Mother of Heavens above and Spirits of the Ancient Woods as my witness, I¡¯ll never leave her side,¡± Maeriel promised somberly and a satisfied Glen believed her. As far as oaths go, the former Imperial Huntress¡¯ oath stayed unbroken far longer than either of them had anticipated.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 278. Ana e Iliwe Sulwao (1/2)
Kalac, son of Duham Ana e Iliwe Sulwao Part I -It fits as well-
Kind Eyes neighed weakly to let him know someone was near. Kalac narrowed his eyes and searched the rich undergrowth, ears trying to discern any sound hiding behind Eroshin River¡¯s uproar. He¡¯d send a scout to hug the huge gulf ¨Ca volcano crater according to the rangers- further south, through the thick jungle in search of the massive Eodrass Temple complex, or its rumored ruins. The scout had returned a week later half-dead and on foot, as that part of the jungle was impossible to traverse on land and expect man or horse to survive it. Nimra and the Rangers had crossed to the other side of Eroshin, the idea being to travel keeping near its west banks against its flow towards Snake Mount, but on its blind side and sort of closer to Serpent¡¯s Canal. That was their goal per Hardir¡¯s instructions. Reach the ancient massive Teleniel Bridge -now in ruins supposedly- and bring back as much reconnaissance as possible. Kalac¡¯s main party had camped westwards of the Unscaled Overhang, but not too close that rather ornately sylvan plateau¡¯s ¨Cfabled- many caves located directly to their south and the jungle. Twenty days later, two months into their expedition, no one had approached the white marble and stone still-standing bridge, in all that time, neither Cultists, or Kalac¡¯s forward scouting party. No one they had seen, because this was a well-trotted part of Wetull. Remote, but not unlived. Kalac had found trees bunched up in forests, grass pregnant fields and animal paths, along some valleys roamed by many dangerous beasts. No sign of Cultists. Tarn, son of Badal, dashed across a richly grassed area between the banks of the river and their copse, stooped to avoid getting spotted and a permanent scowl on his face for not being able to use his horse. Kalac kept the animals close but at the rear, as they brought noises in the forest, according to Wylinor, one living in it isn¡¯t familiar with. As if someone would live up on those trees, Kalac thought eyeing the approaching Horselord. Even Pelleas has a village built on Snake Mount and no tree dweller ever came down his branch to break rocks and build himself a hundred and fifty meters long bridge. ¡°What is it Tarn?¡± Kalac rustled and the experienced Horselord twisted his mouth afore replying. ¡°Are they back?¡± Nimra and the scouts was his meaning. ¡°Looks like it,¡± Tarn said. ¡°They¡¯re trying to get a raft built again. Our line is still there, but the ol¡¯ raft got carried away from the water.¡± ¡°Belec, hand me the spyglass,¡± Kalac grunted and using a low cut branch, climbed a couple of meters up the rough trunk of an Ipe tree. Belec tossed him a spyglass and Kalac caught it with his good hand, after wedging the bronze one in the knee of a branch. He looked at the river banks, first to the south where the Zilan Rangers and Nimra¡¯s scouts where busy gathering and cutting wood for a custom raft and then to the north, towards the ancient, still-standing stone bridge. The columned top portion of it still largely untouched near the west bank, the collapsed roof of the bridge long cleared out with no debris left to block the way. Five great arches underneath it, still dressed with cut pale pink marble and polished stone rails fashioned in a rounded manner. Then a rider appeared out the columned top part of the bridge. The rider paused his -or her- horse, the sun rays blasting man and animal too strong to the eyes. The stranger turned on the saddle and made a sign that everything was fine to someone unseen and standing beyond the bridge on the river¡¯s banks. ¡°Nimra had no horses wit him,¡± Kalac grunted and tossed the spyglass to Belec so he could climb down. The Horselord frowned, but Tarn who was drinking water from a flask turned his weathered face his way and answered despite this not being a query. ¡°He still hasn¡¯t any. I just saw them across the river down the other way,¡± Tarn said just as Kalac landed on the soft ground with a grimace. ¡°What did you see?¡± ¡°There¡¯re riders on the bridge,¡± Kalac grunted and signed for the Horselords waiting a hundred meters away near the animals to approach. ¡°Ah, have they returned then?¡± Tarn asked. They had discovered old footprints a week back, a big group of men, or women, heading towards Snake Mount, but the bridge itself remained unguarded for whatever reason. ¡°They stand at the Canal side of the bridge,¡± Kalac said and Tarn frowned and glanced towards the banks he¡¯d just come from. ¡°Ride back to Nimra,¡± Kalac ordered and whistled for a horse to be brought near fast. ¡°Make sure he stops cutting trees down and circles around towards them. Will ye get the word across the river?¡± Tarn nodded. ¡°No attack, cut off their retreat,¡± he said just so they were on the same page. Nimra wouldn¡¯t risk an attack on his own. Unless they were seen that is, but the two groups were hundreds of meters apart. Kalac smacked his lips and glanced at Belec, the Horselord already checking the bindings on his harness and the small extra quiver he carried with him always. Belec shrugged his shoulders once. ¡°Aye. I¡¯ll hit them from the front,¡± Kalac decided. ¡°Pray it¡¯s a small group and hopefully we¡¯ll catch ourselves a prisoner.¡±
The rider had crossed the bridge, but paused at the edge of it, the beautiful white destrier half-turned around, its handler worried with what was happening on the other side. Kalac returned the spyglass to Belec and grimaced eyeing the open field between them and the bridge. The old tiled road leading there covered in overgrowth, short bushes and tall grass. Parts of it heavily walked on and dried up, but the rest of it clear of trees. A good two hundred meters offering little cover for a sneak approach, Kalac decided. A jaguar snarled hidden somewhere behind the tall grass making fun of his notion. ¡°I have a shot,¡± Belec murmured stooped next to him. The horses kept further back and into the last of the trees, not to give them away. ¡°What if ye miss?¡± Kalac grunted, furious he couldn¡¯t use the bow himself. ¡°He¡¯ll be back across the bridge and on the other side, afore we approach. Alert the others.¡± ¡°I can aim for the horse,¡± Belec said, but grimaced knowing Kalac would never assent to that. The animal was beautiful and well-cared for. It also wasn¡¯t Kalac¡¯s enemy. You don¡¯t fight horses. ¡°I¡¯ll approach the bridge casually,¡± he decided. ¡°See if I can get close enough to distract him. You follow me through the overgrowth, mind the jaguar and ditch that saber. I need a horse that makes a lot of noise,¡± Kalac finished and Delkra, one of Belec¡¯s two cousins smiled. His bone saddle adorned with everything he¡¯d gathered in their long trek across Eplas, from jewelry, bones and iron cuffs, to a Cataphract¡¯s chainmail and face mask helm. ¡°It¡¯ll do,¡± Kalac grunted.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.
¡®Silent Brood¡¯ snorted as they approached to warn the white destrier, as if all the jingling and creaking of the material Delkra had accumulated weren¡¯t noisy enough. The clopping of the hooves covered from the ruckus they created. Kalac raised his arm in greeting and stopped less than forty meters from the stranger that had heard his approach. She¡¯d spotted Kalac almost as fast as her horse. Tall and gracious, clad in a tight wrapped-front garment colored a light blue with intricate gold details and a large ornate broad sash at her waist. It resembled the Kimono dresses Lady Sen-Iv wore at times, the same long cuts at the sides reaching the hips and long square sleeves. Her extremely long cobalt hair pushed back behind the atypical ears, meticulously braided at the temples, but left to flow freely and straight down her nape and shoulders. Kalac had seen attractive Zilan females aplenty back in Goras, but this one seemed like it had stepped out of a fairytale. Untouched by the catastrophe, dressed in fresh expensive attires, clean and pure. The glow in her sapphire eyes mesmerizing. Damn, he thought suddenly unsure and conflicted. The Zilan blinked, a wave of recognition in her carefully painted face ¨Canother first for Kalac- and raised her delicate arm to respond to his greeting, index and middle finger pointing upwards, the thumb open creating the letter L. To the heavens our greetings, the elders used to say around the fires of the Steppe. The old Imperial salutations of their ancestors. Hearing it sang from a Zilan centuries later almost unnerving Kalac completely. ¡°Ana e Iliwe Sulwao,¡± the female said curious and added in rusted but well pronounced tongue of the Steppe, seeing as Kalac had turned into a mute plinth all of a sudden. ¡°What is a Cataphract doing in Wetull?¡±
¡°I got lost,¡± Kalac rustled nervously and lowered his bronze hand on the saddle. Belec would be approaching fast, concealed in the bushes and arrow nocked. ¡°The horse brought me to the river.¡± ¡°Yet, the river you were seeking,¡± the regal Zilan pointed raising a perfectly trimmed cobalt eyebrow. ¡°Why lie child of the Steppe?¡± Kalac frowned and glanced at her expensively decorated leather saddle. Hundreds of thin silver strands sewn at its edges, resembling a gleaming dancing curtain down the horse¡¯s belly, but only a dagger as a weapon, sheathed on the trilateral polished-leather bags. ¡°Got scared,¡± Kalac replied, tongue lodged behind his lower lip, trying to figure out a way to avoid bloodshed. ¡°Silly man,¡± she replied with a smile. ¡°I¡¯m Darunia, of Olonelis. I¡¯m not scary.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Kalac, son of Duham,¡± he rustled, sweat forming on his forehead and Darunia crooked her neck to the side examining him. ¡°Does it move?¡± she asked him perceptively. Angrein¡¯s bronze hand was her meaning. ¡°It does,¡± Kalac croaked and heard Belec¡¯s low bird-sounding call warning him. The Horselord was about to fire an arrow. He clicked his tongue and ¡®Silent Brood¡¯ started towards the white stallion and his alluring rider. ¡°Who made it, Kalac, son of Duham?¡± Darunia asked him smiling. ¡°Angrein, o Mecatan.¡± ¡°Noble Goddess,¡± she replied sounding impressed. ¡°Is he the one making funny noises of birds not native in the area?¡± Eh. ¡°DON¡¯T SHOOT!¡± Kalac barked, his head hurting, arm bothering him where he¡¯d tied the heavy bronze prosthetic and his face turned into a sweaty mask. Darunia opened her expressive eyes wide, the large stallion snorting disturbed at his warning and Kalac got the chance to reach with his good arm before she could turn away. He grabbed the reins she loosely held and Darunia¡¯s worried expression turned to fear. She dropped her other hand to get a better hold of the reins, but found Kalac¡¯s calloused hand instead. She felt warm to the touch. Almost burning. That warmth spreading, penetrating his skin and riding up tired aching muscles. Old injuries and new. A pleasant numbness poured into his veins that chased the pain away and calmed his heart down. ¡°Chief?¡± Belec asked perturbed, wild head popping out of the tall undergrowth, but Kalac kept staring into Darunia¡¯s eyes shocked. ¡°It¡¯s just a soothing spell,¡± she blurted out an apology. ¡°I¡¯m a healer. Academy certified.¡± Kalac frowned, gulped nervously and then grabbed her hand, Angrein¡¯s construct coming alive with a clicking snort. The Horselord hated when it did that. ¡°Come down from the saddle,¡± he told her with a half-awkward, half-apologetic smile. ¡°I¡¯m afraid yer under arrest milady.¡± Darunia glanced at her trapped hand unsure and then at the lined Horselord¡¯s face. ¡°My line has a permanent chair in the Council of Twenty,¡± she told him more astounded than angry. ¡°I serve in it alongside my mother. You can¡¯t arrest me without the Queen¡¯s consent.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Kalac had no idea what she was talking about, other than that there was no Queen calling the shots anymore. ¡°I have to Darunia. The alternative is killing ye.¡± ¡°Kalac, son of Duham!¡± Darunia admonished him civilly. ¡°Ulovir will be here shortly,¡± she added conspiratorially. ¡°It¡¯s better if we pretend this didn¡¯t happen.¡± ¡°How many?¡± Kalac grunted and glanced at Belec that had approached bow still in hand. ¡°My escort?¡± Darunia queried just to be sure. Kalac thought she wouldn¡¯t answer, but she did without much thought. ¡°Four. They are with Elwuin, out to investigate some sound across the river. Ehlark, Luvoel and Folwin I can influence, but Ulovir is an Imperial Hoplite and only answers to Roran.¡± Kalac blinked, then gave a quick glance to Belec so he would run to warn the others, Nimra might have gotten himself in trouble, afore returning his attention on the unassuming Zilan that was trying to free her hand from the bronze prosthetic¡¯s grip. ¡°It won¡¯t budge,¡± Darunia complained. ¡°Any others at the near I have to worry about?¡± Kalac grunted and helped her climb down from the horse after lithely jumping down himself. He never had a more cooperative, or more clueless prisoner. Waiflike beautiful, alike a Naiad. ¡°We were waiting for Onas to return, but he¡¯s late,¡± Darunia explained, turning his maimed arm around so she could examine the injury, when he released her. ¡°Onas might be more difficult to negotiate than Ulovir.¡± ¡°We¡¯re not here to negotiate,¡± Kalac rustled and Darunia looked in his face amazed. ¡°You¡¯ll have to Kalac,¡± she explained. ¡°You can¡¯t have me silly man. I¡¯m promised to Lord Rothomir.¡± Ahm. Kalac grimaced at the worrying, as much as uncomfortable detail and twisted around hearing hooves approaching led by Belec. He turned his head to yell at them to make less noise, but Tarn came galloping fast from the river banks waving his hand over his head. Fist opening and closing tightly. Nasty fight, the Horselord warned. Right now. Damnit, Kalac cursed. ¡°Over the accursed bridge!¡± he yelled at the approaching Horselords and glanced at the impressive white destrier. The great horse prize enough to fight it out, even without the female. He had the numbers. ¡°Will it take us both?¡± ¡°He will,¡± Darunia replied. ¡°What¡¯s his name?¡± ¡°Olossae Nyndari,¡± Darunia said in her singing and incomprehensible Court Imperial. ¡°What does it mean?¡± Kalac asked and she attempted to elucidate speaking slowly. ¡°Olo-ssae¡­¡± ¡°Sweet girl, I¡¯m in a hurry!¡± ¡°Snow Nymph,¡± she blurted out with a blush. Aye, Kalac thought and jumped on the stallion¡¯s saddle, afore tending an arm to the appealing Zilan. It fits as well.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 279. Ana e Iliwe Sulwao (2/2)
Kalac, son of Duham Ana e Iliwe Sulwao Part II -Lord Rothomir¡¯s Consort-
¡®Snow Nymph¡¯ burst out the other side of the long stone bridge galloping effortlessly, despite carrying twice the load as the other horses. The ruckus of many hooves thundering on the granite tiles so great it made his ears ring and his teeth rattle. The Great Horse cut south with a large jump, powerful hind legs blasting material in a wide arc as they dug the softer ground, away from the well maintained road continuing beyond the bridge. Kalac felt the female¡¯s warm body on his back, Darunia¡¯s elegant arms wrapped around his waist and for a moment questioned his decision to take her with him. The problem was, practical matters and strategy aside, the Horselord had found himself unwilling to release her, or leave her behind. A breath later, or two, they reached a lightly wooded area of Eroshin¡¯s west bank, about three hundred meters from the first bridge, but kilometers from the collapsed second and Kalac realized he was being foolish. Outright crazy in his decision. Nimra had lost two men already, a Zilan laid dead next to them pierced by two arrows through the chest, another sporting a cut on his thigh that bled profusely. Nimra along with three Horselords on foot trying to defend themselves against a fully armored Hoplite, with Shalia and Wylinor dancing around the other two clad in a different style armour Zilan soldiers. Kalac had found their horses at the turn of the road, back at the bridge¡¯s mouth. Nimra had gotten surprised it appeared, but fought back. ¡°Noble Goddess!¡± Darunia exclaimed on his back, just as Kalac pulled at the reins hard to stop the horse and went for his saber. ¡°Stay put,¡± he grunted and jumped from the warhorse, the Zilan placing her hands on its lush white mane to calm it down. ¡°Let me talk to them,¡± Darunia pleaded, just as the Hoplite swung his spear around, blocked an attack with his aspis and skewered Tarmac, son of Reman through the neck killing him instantly. ¡°Arggh!¡± Kalac growled and charged into the fight, the sound of many horses approaching behind him. One of the Zilan soldiers glanced at the Horselords arriving and got knifed in the ribs by Wylinor, the crafty Ranger swiftly jumping out of the way to avoid the retaliating swing of the wounded soldier. ¡°Shalia, keep him busy!¡± Wylinor barked at his female colleague and freed from his own faltering opponent sheathed his blade and reached for his bow. Kalac reached the Hoplite, but had to flinch away from the spear¡¯s steel tip, as the sinewy Zilan swung it in a great arc to keep them at bay, while he evaluated the situation. ¡°Kalac,¡± Nimra grunted, his face bearing the signs of Laedan¡¯s tortures still. ¡°They came out of nowhere.¡± ¡°Uhm,¡± Kalac nodded and eyed the Hoplite that had raised his shield to protect himself from Wylinor¡¯s arrows. The Ranger had fired one already that broke on Ulovir¡¯s shield and was now nocking a second. ¡°Belay that!¡± Kalac grunted stopping him. ¡°Give up Ulovir,¡± he rustled guessing it was him from the armour. It was a perfect match almost to Anfalon¡¯s troops. ¡°We have the numbers.¡± Ulovir took a step forward instead of replying, his shield aimed at Wylinor and the spear tip pointing to the ground comfortably. This son of a mule is going to attack, Kalac realized, the eyes under the Hoplite¡¯s helm focused. ¡°He¡¯s right Ulovir,¡± the injured Zilan said in fluent Common. Not the soldier, the one wearing the fancy, beads covered doublet. ¡°They have Lady Darunia.¡± ¡°Not my concern Elwuin,¡± the Hoplite replied austerely. ¡°Onas will be here soon.¡± ¡°He¡¯s not here now,¡± Kalac intervened seeing that the other soldier had stopped fighting and went to check on his colleague¡¯s injury. Ulovir shrugged his shoulders and changed his stance, flipping the spear in his hand deftly and letting it slide further in his grip to increase its reach. Ye stubborn dog, Kalac cursed and tensed up sensing Ulovir was going to charge him in a defiant attempt to take him out. Belec¡¯s warning ringing down the suddenly peaceful river bank, but for Eroshin¡¯s roar that is. ¡°Give up, or I¡¯ll slit her pretty neck,¡± Belec crackled, apparently not buying the Hoplite was willing to have her perish. What? Kalac thought disturbed, himself not even willing to entertain the notion. Kalac flinched and glared Belec¡¯s way, Ulovir moving at the same time. Kalac saw him coming and twisted around to avoid the sudden lunge of the spear, an arrow breaking on the Hoplite¡¯s helm and snapping it sideways helping him. ¡°I mean it dog,¡± Belec warned the frustrated Hoplite, just as Elwuin joined in, voice coming out strained and equally frustrated. ¡°Our Goddess¡¯ Grace Ulovir!¡± Elwuin protested. ¡°I¡¯m bleeding out here! You can keep your darn weapons!¡± Kalac frowned and stared at the unsure Ulovir. ¡°Let me tend to the wounded Ulovir,¡± Darunia said and pushed carefully Belec¡¯s blade away from her long neck. ¡°It¡¯s a simple favor.¡± ¡°Mmm,¡± Ulovir grunted and glared in his turn at the sneaky Wylinor, who¡¯d another arrow nocked in his bow, all the while circling him to find a better angle. Wylinor grinned, showing two pairs of beastly fangs and the Hoplite nodded grumbling under his breath in Imperial. ¡°Good grief,¡± a pale and feinting Elwuin exclaimed deeply relieved. He turned to Darunia who had rushed to assist the injured soldier and protested hauntingly. ¡°My good Lady, leave the brute. I need your help. Mine would be the greater loss.¡±
Darunia was making the rounds checking and helping the wounded with the fervor of a zealous priest. She worked diligently giving Horselords and Zilan her absolute attention, a mix of spells and elixirs from her saddlebags helping her, but also the good-old stitching needle. Darunia ruined one of her sleeves to get the thread she needed without a second thought. ¡°I don¡¯t trust him,¡± Tarn murmured interrupting Kalac¡¯s gazing of the Zilan healer at work. Soletha was one and Lymsiel, Anfalon¡¯s mate, but while Soletha had the skills, she didn¡¯t have Darunia¡¯s engrossing personality, nor the disposition most of the times. Lymsiel on par was an amateur. Kalac glanced at Ulovir, the Hoplite standing by his own, five Horselords watching him on their guard. ¡°How many killed?¡± he asked Tarn with a grimace. ¡°Two. Tarnac¡¯s brother is badly wounded. They lost the one called Folwin. Apparently these are Abarat¡¯s soldiers. Luvoel is injured and so is Elwuin, but I have a sneaky suspicion he ain¡¯t no fighter.¡± Uhm. ¡°Aye,¡± Kalac agreed and stared at the sun above their heads. ¡°We need to move.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t move afore she patches everyone up. You are running out of riders Kalac, son of Duham.¡± Kalac glared at him, not needing his criticism at this point. ¡°We are on the wrong side of the river,¡± Kalac explained. ¡°They expect help. Apparently this Onas character is late and they rode from the Canal to meet up with him.¡± ¡°We leave Marmet behind then? We don¡¯t have enough horses for everyone,¡± Tarn argued. ¡°Release the prisoners.¡± ¡°They would tell them everything.¡± Tarn grimaced and licked his lips slowly. ¡°Kill them,¡± he whispered and Kalac¡¯s attention returned to the attentive healer for a brief moment. ¡°No,¡± Kalac grunted and stared at their horses frustrated. ¡°Delkra stayed beyond the river with the supply mules and the birds. You ride to him over the bridge fast as you can. Send a missive to Goras and tell Delkra to hide the packs near the caves for now. I¡¯ll come to you in time.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Tarn asked and Kalac¡¯s eyes returned to the silent Hoplite. That bastard didn¡¯t even remove his helm despite the scorching heat. ¡°You intent to keep the healer whatever the cost. They won¡¯t allow you to take her without bloodshed. So you¡¯re bringing everyone along.¡± ¡°She surrendered to me.¡± ¡°You are reading it all wrong Kalac.¡± ¡°Do what I tell you Tarn, son of Badal,¡± he warned him. Tarn nodded and stood back. ¡°What should I tell Hardir?¡± ¡°Come soon, bring everyone,¡± Kalac rustled.
¡°What¡¯s at the canal?¡± Kalac asked her after Tarn had galloped away. Darunia turned her head to glance his way with a small smile. ¡°Not a bridge you can cross,¡± she told him. ¡°What¡¯s wit the smile?¡± Kalac grunted. ¡°We have good ears,¡± Darunia replied, her cheeks turning a deep red. ¡°I don¡¯t believe I¡¯ve surrendered Kalac. I simply didn¡¯t fight. There¡¯s a difference.¡± Not for Kalac there wasn¡¯t. ¡°You didn¡¯t answer my query.¡± ¡°A boat, docks at the shade of a ruined bridge,¡± Darunia replied finishing the stitches on Marmet¡¯s second wound. ¡°Will he live?¡± ¡°If he¡¯s rested and Luthos favors him, he will,¡± she replied and poured water over her bloody hands to rinse them. ¡°How big?¡± Kalac asked watching her drying her long elegant fingers with a towel mesmerized. ¡°Very big. You wish to steal our boat Kalac?¡± ¡°I¡¯m getting you over that bridge. Off to Goras,¡± Kalac told her and got up. Darunia stood up taking his hand and sighed. ¡°You work for Hardir,¡± she told him disappointed. ¡°His enemies are your enemies.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve a partnership. My enemies are his as well.¡± ¡°Does he have a Wyvern?¡± ¡°He does,¡± Kalac replied. ¡°Then he¡¯s in charge, Kalac, son of Duham. Not your equal,¡± Darunia said simply and glanced at the injured. ¡°I can¡¯t do anything more for them. I¡¯ve limited magic.¡± Kalac thought she¡¯d all the magic in the world in those eyes. ¡°Belec!¡± He barked and Darunia blinked not expecting it. ¡°Everyone ready to ride in five minutes!¡± Ulovir stood up from the rock he¡¯d spend the last hour and stared at him. ¡°I am not leaving Horselord,¡± he rustled. ¡°She does,¡± Kalac retorted and went to get that fine stallion.
Wylinor came back whilst they were halfway across the bridge an hour later. Kalac riding on his horse, as Darunia rode Snow Nymph with the injured Marmet, moved to the front of the wide bridge to meet him. ¡°Strong host,¡± the ranger reported. ¡°Half on foot, half on horse. They are past the plateau.¡± ¡°How many?¡± Kalac grunted. ¡°I counted forty riders at least, twice as many on foot.¡± ¡°Cultists?¡± Wylinor glanced at their sort of prisoners. Ulovir was fully armed still, but was flanked by Belec and Nimra. ¡°Not all,¡± the Zilan ranger replied. ¡°You need to move them out of the bridge.¡± Damnit. ¡°GET THEM GOING!¡± Kalac barked and kicked his legs to get his horse going. ¡°Can we break through to the caves?¡± he asked Wylinor, who had turned his mount around to follow him. ¡°Not with the injured slowing you down,¡± Wylinor replied. ¡°South?¡± Kalac queried crooking his mouth, not liking the option. Wylinor nodded. ¡°South, I¡¯ll notify Shalia.¡± No supplies then, he thought reaching the mouth of the bridge and turned on his saddle to glance at their slow moving group. ¡°We¡¯ve lived off the land aplenty right?¡± He murmured smiling and patted Kind Eyes¡¯ worn out mane softly. The loyal horse neighed in protest not finding any humor in it.
Belec waved his arm standing at the edge of the treeline two hours later and Kalac rode that way stooped on his saddle. Wylinor had returned with Shalia from a roundabout route to avoid the Zilan scouts. ¡°They¡¯ve fanned out the moment they reached the bridge,¡± Shalia explained, her medium length hair caught in a bun at the top of her head. Her oval face painted black with soot, to match her dark-green light leather armour. ¡°Too many fresh hoof prints.¡± ¡°They¡¯re coming here?¡± ¡°A blind man could follow us Kalac,¡± Shalia replied. Eh. ¡°Did you find the road?¡± Belec asked him. ¡°We are working on it,¡± Kalac replied and turned his horse around. ¡°How much time?¡± Belec smacked his lips, raised the spyglass to his eye and aimed it at the field they¡¯d retreated from. ¡°An hour,¡± he told him. ¡°At the most.¡± Kalac returned to their main group. The Abarat soldier in a group with Elwuin, an academic apparently and the other injured soldier, the rest of the Horselords gathered around Nimra. Kalac counted twenty of them, including the unresponsive Marmet. His group had thinned out spectacularly in three short years. ¡°Not much of a road,¡± Nimra informed him. Darunia had told them there was in fact an old road leading to the ruins through the jungle. The problem being the enemy scouts probably knew it as well. ¡°You found it?¡± Nimra pointed an arm amidst a couple of huge Rubber Trees where a group of Horselords were already working to clear out. ¡°They are going to reach us soon,¡± Kalac decided. ¡°They will, unless you cut them loose,¡± Nimra agreed. ¡°What about Marmet? We leave him behind?¡± ¡°If he can¡¯t ride,¡± Nimra said callously. ¡°I could have left you to get eaten by Laedan,¡± Kalac reminded him. ¡°But I didn¡¯t. Hardir came back for you as well.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not the Steppe¡¯s way,¡± Nimra argued and Kalac grunted in protest. ¡°I¡¯m not leaving the healer.¡± ¡°She¡¯s just a girl with fancy hair Kalac,¡± Nimra said. ¡°Plenty of ¡®em in Goras.¡± ¡°That¡¯s Lord Rothomir¡¯s consort to be Nimra,¡± Kalac spat. ¡°You steal your enemy¡¯s women and his livestock. Burn his crops.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see how it helps us,¡± Nimra protested with a grimace. Kalac stared at him soberly. ¡°As you¡¯ve said, the Steppe¡¯s way,¡± he rustled.
Ulovir shook his head hearing his suggestion. ¡°What about Lady Darunia?¡± A pale faced Elwuin asked, clenching his jaw to combat the pain.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°She comes with me as leverage,¡± Kalac replied. ¡°You¡¯ll leave us here without horses?¡± Luvoel protested as he could barely walk. The blade had broken one of his ribs. The rest of the Zilan protesting loudly. The distance to the bridge deemed too great on foot. ¡°Onas is near,¡± Ulovir said loud enough to shut them up. ¡°The old dog is on to them and he¡¯s running out of time.¡± ¡°Enough talk,¡± Kalac told him. ¡°You walk back the way we came Ulovir. See if you find Onas afore the morrow.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll take Darunia, but this road shall lead you nowhere Horselord.¡± ¡°All roads lead somewhere,¡± Kalac deadpanned. ¡°I¡¯ll leave a man here, so perhaps we can work out a deal later.¡± ¡°There is no later,¡± Ulovir warned him. ¡°You¡¯re trapped Kalac.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t come after me,¡± Kalac warned him and signed for Nimra to gather their mounts. With a last look back towards the now unseen river, Kalac rode into the jungle.
A strange bird landed on a low branch, it had a large ashen beak that curved at the tip and small black eyes -for the size of his head- dripping of pure malice. It made a strange noise, half a snort and half a cackle. ¡°That¡¯s the ugliest bird I¡¯ve ever seen,¡± Belec commented with a shiver. ¡°A Shoebill,¡± Darunia explained unperturbed. ¡°They bring luck.¡± ¡°To whom?¡± Belec wondered, a broken branch smacking him on the shoulder. The bird eyed him once more warningly and then flew away. Wylinor returned from the front of their procession to report they had broken through to a paved part of the ancient road. They also had lost another horse to a snake bite. Allegedly. ¡°We need to make camp,¡± Belec told him when the ranger moved away. ¡°No camp, we walk through the night,¡± Kalac replied and glanced at Darunia unsure. ¡°I can walk just fine silly,¡± she answered his query. ¡°Dark doesn¡¯t bother me.¡± Right.
A monkey pretended it was an owl two hours later, the imitation almost perfect, but couldn¡¯t help it in the end and gave itself up hurling a couple of coconuts at them. The night thick as oil and despite the lightstones all of them carried, you couldn¡¯t see two feet outside the abandoned path. It was an avenue at some point, finely built, but the jungle that had sprouted after the catastrophe slowly ate away at it. Even so if you cleared the bushes away, you could see its outline still, as the big trees avoided the granite surface. ¡°Is it the ground? Too hard for big roots to break through?¡± Kalac asked the blissfully humming Zilan healer. ¡°Yes. The engineers had burrowed almost four meters down, backfilled it with rocks. Supposedly it would survive with minimal maintenance, but enough time allowed nature to create another layer of soil on top of it, for smaller plants to grow.¡± ¡°You studied building roads in that Academy?¡± Kalac teased her. Darunia giggled her eyes shining. She wasn¡¯t using a lightstone. Just like all other Zilan, she didn¡¯t need one. Jinx boasted she didn¡¯t need one too, but Kalac had never seen her without one at the near. ¡°Not really, but I¡¯ve friends that were architects,¡± Darunia replied. ¡°I had friends,¡± she corrected herself with a frown. ¡°It¡¯s fruitless what you¡¯re doing Kalac. You need to turn back. I¡¯ll talk to Onas to convince him to let you go.¡± ¡°You will fail,¡± Kalac told her, using his machete to cut the biggest scrubs away. You could go through them, but not all scrubs were benign in Wetull. ¡°You lost a soldier. Others got injured. But even if that hadn¡¯t happened, this Onas won¡¯t allow us to leave.¡± ¡°Because you want to make war with Rothomir,¡± Darunia said. ¡°Do you trust this Hardir? They say he¡¯s a sorcerer.¡± ¡°He¡¯s no sorcerer,¡± Kalac replied. ¡°But he killed a giant Hydra and fought his way out of a lion den wounded.¡± ¡°Eh, you didn¡¯t answer,¡± Darunia complained. ¡°Did Rothomir have a chair in your Council?¡± Kalac dodged again. ¡°His bloodline wasn¡¯t that important.¡± ¡°Yet he got a promise from you,¡± Kalac pointed out. ¡°That was my mother,¡± Darunia explained. ¡°I need to have a child and Rothomir will provide that.¡± ¡°That sounds like a Cofol deal more than a marriage.¡± Darunia chuckled. ¡°Only a Monarch needs a marriage. That¡¯s not how we pick our partners Kalac.¡± ¡°So no feelings for Rothomir?¡± ¡°You appropriate romantic concepts, as if they are unique in humans. As if humans follow their heart in every decision,¡± Darunia argued calmly. ¡°Yes they are important, but this is a practical matter alas. So feelings aside, if Rothomir¡¯s seed is strong enough, our lines will fuse and create life anew. Only the oldest though shall survive. If it works, because nothing is certain.¡± ¡°You seem healthy to me,¡± Kalac replied. ¡°Well, Rothomir isn¡¯t my first partner,¡± Darunia said unperturbed. ¡°What happened to the first one?¡± Kalac asked before he could catch himself. ¡°We drifted apart. You know when it doesn¡¯t work. If it¡¯s real an offspring will come,¡± Darunia explained. ¡°I was still in Elauthin¡¯s Academy then. It¡¯s been three hundred years.¡± Damn. ¡°What¡¯s Rothomir¡¯s angle? He doesn¡¯t seem to get anything out of this,¡± Kalac taunted. Darunia covered her mouth shocked. ¡°Am I not enough?¡± she asked sounding hurt. Kalac stared at her for a long moment. ¡°For me,¡± he finally replied hoarsely. ¡°You are.¡± It was the unvarnished truth and Darunia stood back realizing he meant it. ¡°You are seriously going to take such a risk?¡± Kalac nodded. ¡°I¡¯m free to do what I want, risk be damned.¡± ¡°All is risk in politics, my mother¡¯s words,¡± an unsteady Darunia said, a hint of sadness in her voice. ¡°My family wants our bloodline secured and Lord Rothomir needs an important partner for legitimacy. It could work.¡± Nah. It¡¯s as dead as a carcass in the desert girl. ¡°Mmm. I don¡¯t think so,¡± he told her not holding back. ¡°You still follow your barbaric customs Kalac, son of Duham,¡± Darunia rebuked him that color back on her cheeks. ¡°Goddess you¡¯re so bucolic! Your disapproval means nothing to me. Break out of your lawless habits first, then offer advice and heed my words. Not fighting, doesn¡¯t equal submission in this land. You still need to earn your place in life.¡± Kalac grimaced not likening her words, a little angry with himself from getting all wound up for an alien girl. He listened to the sounds of the jungle for a while to calm himself down. Until he realized he could only hear their group cutting their way through it and nothing else. ¡°Belec,¡± Kalac grunted and the Horselord walking a couple of meters to his left paused. ¡°Find a dry spot. We¡¯ll make camp for a couple of hours.¡± ¡°What changed your mind?¡± ¡°I want to see if we are followed,¡± Kalac grunted. ¡°The Zilan don¡¯t need lightstones and we probably stick out like a sore thumb in this accursed darkness.¡±
Belec saw him cleaning his saber, after checking his armour and approached suspicious. Wylinor who had gone to search for an opening away from the jungle road, returned at that same time, the ranger almost unseen in the thick darkness. ¡°How far?¡± Kalac asked Wylinor. ¡°Around two hundred meters. We cross a stream and follow it north,¡± he replied. ¡°North?¡± Belec grunted. ¡°What is this?¡± ¡°Shalia will take Darunia there and Marmet, leave some of the horses on the path,¡± Kalac retorted, speaking to the ranger. ¡°See to it.¡± Wylinor nodded and walked away. ¡°Kalac, you¡¯re turning around?¡± Belec queried anxious. ¡°They know where we¡¯re heading and the path we¡¯re following,¡± Kalac explained with a sigh and tightened the straps on his bronze hand. ¡°All roads lead somewhere,¡± Belec repeated his words to Ulovir. Kalac nodded with a tired smirk. ¡°Sometimes they can lead ye straight into an ambush.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have the numbers.¡± ¡°We rarely had in the past.¡± ¡°A charge without horses?¡± Belec argued. ¡°What good is a horse in the jungle?¡± Kalac replied thinking of Darunia¡¯s words. ¡°Kalac I¡¯ve a son, another kid in the way,¡± Belec grunted unhappy. Kalac placed a hand on his shoulder. ¡°We are free to ride, we just choose not to,¡± he told him paraphrasing the Law of the Steppe¡¯s famous words. ¡°We¡¯ll be allowed to live, if we bleed for it.¡± Belec grimaced, his mouth crooking one way then the other and Nimra who¡¯d heard their exchange shrugged his shoulders in what was neither an acquiescence, nor an outright rebuff of Kalac¡¯s plan. Nimra rarely would chance anything above fifty-fifty odds anyway, so Kalac wasn¡¯t disheartened by it.
The first sunrays caught the steel shoulder pads of the leading soldier for just a tiny second, bounced off of them lighting up his face and by the time the next one came to view, the first Zilan was down. A bone tip arrow plunged in his left eye. Kalac burst out of the foliage and into their lines without hesitation, saber in hand. Concealed Horselords from both sides of the jungle road doing the same. The cultist column was marching mostly in twos, but for the leading fighter. Their scouts almost half a day ahead and probably at Kalac¡¯s camp that housed only their horses by now. Numbers don¡¯t matter in an ambush. You either succeed in it, or not. The Zilan twisted around hearing him running and tried to unsheathe his sword. He failed as he run out of arm, the stub spraying blood over both of them and his groan of agony breaking the relative silence of early dawn. Kalac knocked him aside, stepped forward and shoved his sword into his partner¡¯s unprotected back. The Zilan had turned to fight Nimra that had charged them from the other side. ¡°Eh,¡± Nimra gasped, blood splatter on his face and dived under a spear thrust. Kalac rushed the cultist and put his bronze hand on the weapon, the Zilan doing the same trying to stop the Horselord¡¯s blade with his free hand. The blade won. The Zilan jumped back with a scream, missing most of his fingers and Nimra stabbed him in the heart, the blade penetrating his light armour. Kalac grunted and ducked under a sword slash, the fight erupting across the Cultists lines fully. Friend from foe difficult to tell apart in the semi-darkness. A long knife came at him from the left side, but he swatted it away with his hand, the fingers clicking and coming alive. Kalac¡¯s left arm suddenly on fire it seemed. He cried out in pain, a knife stuck high on his back, the blade cutting through mail and gambeson. Kalac pivoted on one foot, his saber slashing backwards in an arc and connecting momentarily with something. Nimra shoved him aside, a Zilan missing a leg below the knee rolling in this mix of mud and rotten leaves alongside him. The Cultist snarled and lunged for his neck, pointy teeth sinking into soft flesh looking for the main arteries there. The Zilan¡¯s jaws snapped shut hard, blood pouring down the side of his collar and Kalac raised his bronze hand grinding his teeth like a madman and grabbed his delirious opponent by the neck. The metal fingers closing in a titan¡¯s fist on their own. A bleeding Kalac kicked the gawking cultist away from him, the Zilan¡¯s windpipes completely crashed, the neck flesh pulverized to the point of decapitation and jumped to his feet. He stumbled forward, feeling lightheaded, people getting slaughtered indiscriminately right and left. A half-blind fight, a murderous uncertain affair without any coherent plan. It was kill, or be killed. Simplest instructions in the bloody book.
Kalac swung hard with his saber, the blade snapping unevenly leaving a rugged thinner blade behind. The saw like part catching his opponent on the right side of his nose and peeling off everything to the bone. The cultist¡¯s head snapped back, half his face a detached bloody flap opening and closing showing crimson red skull bones underneath it. The Horselord growled maniacally and kicked him right at the knee, but the half-dead Zilan pulled it away and slashed him across his sword hand. The blade cut through the vambraces, the wrapped metal preventing a worst injury, but Kalac lost his broken saber and had to jump back. The horrifically disfigured cultist stepped forward, but Nimra shoved his blade between his ribs and stopped him dead for real. ¡°Bloody business,¡± Nimra cursed and tried to get his blade out of his opponent, but stopped with a violent shudder, a long steel tip arrow shot right through his left temple bursting out the right side. The gore painting Kalac face, pieces of brain and bones in the mix. ¡°Arrgh!¡± Kalac growled livid and rushed the archer, the Zilan¡¯s eyes flickering at the carnage coming to an end around them, afore nocking another arrow on his long bow. ¡°Son of dog!¡± The Horselord growled and reaching grabbed the knife he¡¯d still stuck on his back. He pulled it out and walked towards the archer, the arrow zipping towards him but exploding on his raised bronze hand. The archer stepped back, slotting his bow on his shoulder and unsheathed a kopis type sword, the wider tip of its blade curving forward. The Zilan''s other hand diving in his satchel to cast a haste spell probably. Kalac jumped him knowing he¡¯d nothing to lose either way, but before he could connect with the archer, his opponent was tossed to the side abruptly an arrow stuck on his chest. It had penetrated his studded leather armor, just below the lung. The archer ogled his gleaming eyes faltering and slashed the protruding arrow away, but in the blink of an eye another two sprouted near it, then a third. The latter exploding out his back. With a groan and spitting blood from his mouth, the archer collapsed on his face not a meter from an exhausted Kalac. ¡°Three quarters haste spell blend,¡± Wylinor explained imperiously stepping out of cover. ¡°Plus a quarter power shot. My recipe.¡± ¡°Grab those still standing,¡± Kalac grunted, himself barely standing on his two feet. ¡°We need to get to Darunia.¡± ¡°She¡¯ll reach us on her own,¡± Wylinor replied dismissively and stooped to collect his arrows from the dead archer. Disappointed when he realized he couldn¡¯t. ¡°Hmm. This type of armor needs something different,¡± he murmured thoughtfully and Kalac shook his head. Grinding his teeth he approached the corpse of Nimra and knelt next to it deeply saddened. ¡°Ride free Nimra lion of the great desert, son of Akenat, the steady,¡± he murmured and closed the bloodshot glassy eyes of his long time scout forever.
Darunia¡¯s shock at the carnage lasted seconds. Seeing he was injured she rushed to aid him, but Kalac grunted and directed her towards Belec, who¡¯d lost two fingers in the scrap and his left eye. ¡°You presume to tell me my business Kalac?¡± the Zilan told him surprisingly composed, given that her eyes glowed eerily. Whatever that meant, it can¡¯t be good, Kalac thought alarmed, but took his chance anyway. ¡°Aye, he¡¯s valuable to me,¡± he grunted stubbornly. ¡°You have me confused,¡± Darunia retorted thinking it through, whilst Belec was bleeding down his face stunned. ¡°I thought I was the object of your desire?¡± A hissing Kalac grabbed the satchel she carried and started searching inside her medical supplies and strange vials. ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing Kalac?¡± ¡°The man¡¯s dying,¡± he grunted and took a mustard-color vial out. ¡°Is that any good? I¡¯ll give it to him myself.¡± ¡°That¡¯s for diarrhea,¡± she explained and grabbed her satchel back. ¡°I don¡¯t believe it will help him much.¡± At least she went to help Belec after that. Kalac breathed out and closed his eyes, the sun getting through the canopy, burning his sweaty skin. The gore covering him long dried up by now. ¡°Nine dead with Nimra,¡± Wylinor reported, sounding like a clerk just about to take his lunch break. ¡°But Marmet woke up, so there¡¯s that.¡± ¡°How many horses?¡± Kalac asked tiredly, just as Belec collapsed in Darunia¡¯s arms, the lithe Zilan catching his head afore he covered her clothes with blood. ¡°Just enough,¡± Wylinor replied. ¡°You know she reminds me of a young Vaelenn right?¡± ¡°She¡¯s over three centuries old,¡± Kalac told him with a groan, the wound on his back numbing and making it difficult to move his right arm proper. ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m saying,¡± Wylinor retorted readily, eager to delve more into the subject. ¡°Vaelenn is pushing six. You could tell she has miles on her legs.¡± Kalac sighed and walked away leaving Wylinor to continue his diatribe on the advantages of older females on his own. The Ranger was skillful, but probably the most thick-skinned creature he¡¯d ever met. ¡°How¡¯s he?¡± he asked Darunia. ¡°I can¡¯t save the eye,¡± she explained in her professional tone. ¡°Yeah, I figured, since it¡¯s missing,¡± Kalac sneered. ¡°No, I mean there¡¯s a¡­ ahem, transmutation spell¡­ I think,¡± she gave him a conspiratorial look, afore whispering so no one could hear. ¡°It¡¯s dark magic. Very unpredictable,¡± placing a graceful finger on her lips. ¡°We don¡¯t use that.¡± Kalac didn¡¯t know whether to slap her, or kiss her. The fact he was hesitant to do any of the two, perhaps more shocking than anything else. ¡°Where will you take us next Kalac, son of Duham?¡± She asked seeing he¡¯d turned silent. Kalac frowned realizing the attentive Zilan was cleaning his face and small cuts in his hands without alerting him. ¡°It¡¯s a harmless calming song. Not trying to take advantage of you,¡± she over-explained with a blush. ¡°I just wanted you to keep still.¡± ¡°Goras,¡± Kalac croaked. ¡°Eh, I hated Goras. Plus Goras is gone,¡± Darunia complained, not particularly ruffled with everything that had transpired. ¡°We kinda fixed it back up again,¡± Kalac replied. ¡°How are you so serene?¡± Darunia glanced at him unsure. She reached for a clean cloth to finish up his face and then took his bronze hand in hers, fingers tracing the binding ever curious. ¡°My mother served two Monarchs. A King and a Queen. Lived through a huge war and the Fall of the Empire. She¡¯s a great teacher and I followed her around forever it seems. Nothing surprises her and I took from her a bit.¡± ¡°What part didn¡¯t you take?¡± Kalac asked with a tired smile, half asleep from her ministrations despite wanting to get moving as fast as possible. ¡°She can be very mad at times,¡± Darunia explained. ¡°Why don¡¯t you sleep? You need to, so you can heal faster!¡± she complained with an adorable pout. ¡°I¡¯m darn right stubborn!¡± Kalac grunted and get up on wobbly legs. The fuck she¡¯d done to him? He wondered. ¡°Back on the proverbial saddle?¡± Wylinor asked with a coy smile, his weird awkward joke flying over everyone¡¯s heads. Those still breathing and giving half a shite that is.
A week later Onas and his Hoplites were casually waiting for them at the edge of forest. ¡°That him?¡± The visibly old Zilan queried eyeing Ulovir. ¡°Yep, that¡¯s him.¡± Onas turned his eyes on Kalac, then at the blissful Darunia, humming on her great white horse. He scrunched his lined face one way, then the other creating even more wrinkles on it. Kalac had never seen a Zilan looking old. ¡°I¡¯ll just skip the greetings part my lad. Done it too many times and don¡¯t remember half of them. I take it Hardir wants Darunia, of Olonelis,¡± the Zilan noted with a grunt. His Hoplite armour so worn out, it appeared a dark grey instead of black. Darunia perked up on her saddle. ¡°No. But Kalac does,¡± Kalac replied, Darunia chuckling next to him. He glared at her and she shrugged her shoulders innocently, mouthing the words, it¡¯s the wrong answer silly, to him in secret. Of course both Onas and Ulovir read her lips, along the front row of the Hoplites. All thirty of them. ¡°You gotta give us something son,¡± Onas grunted. ¡°Let me pass and I''ll talk to Hardir,¡± Kalac told him and Darunia sighed. Onas stared at the healer frustrated. ¡°What should I tell your mother girl? I can justify a Hardir, even a fake one, but this is a rugged Horselord, slightly maimed, probably illiterate and Hardir¡¯s cheap lackey for the difficult jobs.¡± Kalac narrowed his eyes and glared at him. ¡°Kalac is a shitty diplomat, but doesn¡¯t lie,¡± Darunia said and Belec standing next to Kalac, a bloody cloth over his ruined eye frowned. ¡°He¡¯s Hardir¡¯s partner on a reconnaissance mission and he¡¯s already asked for his assistance.¡± What? ¡°He¡¯ll come here?¡± Onas asked and she nodded her pretty head. The healer just couldn¡¯t keep any kind of secret it appeared. Or she was playing him all along. Kalac closed his eyes in desperation. Onas crooked his mouth, bushy brows dancing, run a hand over his balding head and then breathed out harshly. ¡°You have animals near the caves,¡± he finally said to a scowling Kalac. ¡°Enough supplies to make it for a while I reckon. So we¡¯ll wait to see what you¡¯re worth.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not surrendering Onas,¡± Kalac grunted. Onas shook his head. ¡°Son, I have twenty archers in them trees behind you. Go ahead charge at the second Othrim if you want. They are a bunch of idiots, but they know how to use a spear. It¡¯s all they do! It¡¯s a good thing you wiped out the cultists for me, I was at a loss on how to do it and explain their loss to Rothomir.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± Kalac murmured and Darunia stooped near his right side, moving Snow Nymph closer. ¡°You are under arrest son of Duham,¡± she explained slowly, continuing conspiratorially. ¡°But you can opt not to surrender totally, like I did. Remember, not fighting doesn¡¯t equal submission.¡± Onas reached into his satchel and got a silver pipe out. He lit it with a firestone sucking at the smoke with closed eyes and blowing it out in circles. ¡°For crying out loud,¡± he admonished him. ¡°Don¡¯t look so gloom, look at her. You think such quality grows in the darn fields? It¡¯s politics son, what don¡¯t you understand? If Hardir wants to rule, he must showcase brains, alongside brawn. His allies too. The Council is always looking for alternatives. We are old as dirt, but open-minded. Eh, sort of, don¡¯t quote me on that. You should have lived through Baltoris reign to see what obnoxious is.¡± ¡°How is you setting an ambush for him a matter of brains?¡± Kalac grunted, not liking feeling cornered. Onas shrugged his shoulders indifferently. ¡°Semantics. Where you see a trap, he might perceive a negotiation.¡±
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 280. Second Othrim
Roran, of Saeveril Second Othrim
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Council of the Twenty The Elderblood lines (Detailed) - Kallister ¡®The Traveler¡¯, disappeared, unknown date, no known offspring. King Ninthalor (assassinated in his sleep, marking the end of First Era), later Queen Baltoris (Killed during Reinut¡¯s conquest marking the end of Second Era), Princess Lithoniela High Priestess Sintoriela, First Sibyl of the Coven (unknown fate, oldest Zilan pre-empire), High Priestess Edlenn ¡®The Night Moon¡¯ ¡®Fair Mother¡¯ (assassinated? in Elauthin, Second Era), Rinariel ¡®The Kind¡¯ (killed by Gimoss ¡®The Dead¡¯ in the Plague Isles, First Era), Aelrindel ¡®Moon¡¯s Daughter¡¯ also ¡®Hallowed Splendor¡¯ from her name¡¯s old Imperial Ael meaning holy/Divine, also ¡®The Vile¡¯ Olonelis ¡®The Astute¡¯, Darunia, ¡®Divine Physician¡¯ Onas ¡®Old Eye¡¯, no known offspring. Anfalon ¡®The Great¡¯ Paeris ¡®The Fair¡¯ Elwuin ¡®Scholastic¡¯, Falael (Died in the Fall) Quiceran, ¡®The Builder¡¯ (Died in the Fall) Elas ¡®The Wise¡¯ (Died in the Fall, near Nureria), Aenymriel ¡®Nym¡¯ Nuala ¡®The Archer¡¯ (Killed defending Cydonia by the Aken, First Era), Lyrael, (Died in the Fall) Galadriel, Second Sibyl of the Coven, the ''Ice Lady'' (Died in the Fall?, unknown fate) Calamer (Assassinated? on Nureria, Second Era) Isildor (Lost ¨Cpresumed poisoned by the Aken- in the Plague Isles, First Era) Edor (Assassinated? on Cydonia, First Era) Myrdiel (Killed by Gimoss ¡®The Dead¡¯ in the Plague Isles, First Era) Eroshin, ¡®The Green Wizard¡¯ (Killed By Gimoss ¡®The Dead¡¯ in the Plague Isles, First Era) Shaelor (Killed by the Aken riding Gilvaris ¡®The Old¡¯ near Coal Isle, First Era) Suraer ¡®The Mithren¡¯, Aelinole Nororis, ¡®The Blue Sorceress¡¯ (Killed by Gimoss ¡®The Dead¡¯ in the Plague Isles, First Era), Ena ¡®The Mad¡¯, Third Sibyl of the Coven (Severely injured in the Plague Isles campaign, preserved in a magically induced coma somewhere in Nesande¡¯s Garden)
There was a light-blue water lily stitched on the front of the dark-green sash, the leather armour lined with coiled black wire. The design ancient, but easily recognizable. The scarred female Imperial Ranger, her skin wrapped where the cheekbone had been shattered, glanced at her longtime partner Ievis, of Qildor and smiled. Woe to those, Axilyel, of Halanoris smiles to, went the saying in the Phalanx, for the mounted rangers of the ¡®Rokae¡¯ are right cunts. Roran grimaced in response and walked outside the lake. The waters shallow at that point, but then again Glae-Lin Tul¡¯s waters were always clear as the name suggested, but also very shallow, which it didn¡¯t. The elders were weird in their naming schemes, or the Fall had shaken everything so much nothing was clear anymore. But some things don¡¯t really change, Roran thought and picked up his dark short tunic to cover himself. ¡°I love a male in a dress,¡± Axilyel taunted, watching him getting his armour on. ¡°But I prefer you naked Roran, you¡¯ve grown muscles everywhere.¡± Ievis chuckled at that. ¡°No you don¡¯t,¡± Roran retorted and closed the clasps of his metal muscled cuirass. ¡°If you feared of me drowning in your pond, rest assured my feet touch the bottom firmly.¡± ¡°Tall and handsome Roran, of Saeveril,¡± Axilyel said, sounding jealous. ¡°We are to escort you back to Abarat. Make sure nothing happens to the leader of the Second. You¡¯re precious to Rothomir.¡± ¡°I know the road,¡± Roran argued. ¡°Only fools get lost in the plains.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a jungle out there now,¡± Ievis added, with a stupid grin. ¡°Delmuth sent you?¡± The Third Rokae of Lo-Minas had been the lesser of the Queen¡¯s knights, since those residing in Goras and Elauthin outranked them, but their leader had risen in the list of Imperial officers via the time-practiced and assured method of outliving his superiors through sheer luck. And a boring posting. ¡°Delmuth is out in the field to replenish Lord Mithren¡¯s horses,¡± Axilyel replied and used her long bow to lift his shield for him. Roran secured it on his back and stooped to gather his spear. ¡®Mithren¡¯ was a moniker for the Lord of Lo-Minas, the ¡®grey metal¡¯ lord of the ¡®shallow-lakes¡¯ town, given to him due to the color of his hair and his bloodline¡¯s dealings in Mithril metal back in Cydonia Cazan, though the mines producing it were now at the bottom of the Scalding Sea. ¡°How is Lord Suraer today?¡± ¡°Worried about you, just like yesterday.¡± There was a double meaning in her words. ¡°I said my piece. He¡¯s free to do whatever he wants.¡± ¡°How is threatening a member of the Council freedom?¡± Axilyel argued and stepped aside for Roran to walk past her. Roran paused in front of Ievis with a frown. ¡°You¡¯ve taken on weight girl,¡± he admonished her. The Ranger blushed furiously and glanced at her partner hurt. Axilyel eyed Roran warningly, but he shrugged his shoulders to show her truth can hurt sometimes. ¡°Rothomir has command of a fortified town, Suraer rules over the Queen¡¯s stables and holds the Old Granary grounds. Lo-Minas is important, but horses don¡¯t fight and tend to throw their riders on spears.¡± ¡°They also circle around a slow line, hit them from the rear. You have your answer.¡± Roran nodded. ¡°Rothomir doesn¡¯t need his vote. His orders are for Delmuth to bring his riders to Abarat.¡± ¡°Delmuth is busy training. Per his last written instructions he is to guard the stables. I¡¯ve seen the gold-lined parchment, it¡¯s difficult to read, but I¡¯ve good eyes.¡± ¡°I thought he was out looking for more horses,¡± Roran countered, not reacting to her quip. ¡°Will you need the escort Roran?¡± Axilyel hissed. ¡°I could always report I missed you. Aelinole will be saddened for sure.¡± ¡°She¡¯s with the squad?¡± Roran asked, Suraer¡¯s daughter an old friend. ¡°Lord Suraer won¡¯t let her approach Abarat,¡± Axilyel deadpanned. ¡°Word is that Rothomir is grabbing any female with influence and locks her in his tower.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not true,¡± Roran grunted. He pushed his hair back and wore the tight helm on his head tipped back so he could see his surroundings better. ¡°Are the girls to come along for the trip?¡± In reality it was a three weeks journey almost, if one kept a steady trot. Unless you used horses. Roran always counted the distances on foot out of habit. ¡°We have some boys now also, if you¡¯re interested,¡± the Imperial Ranger taunted and pointed at the path leading away from the lake and the North Gates of Lo-Minas. ¡°I have arranged for horses. Of course you are free to follow us on foot, if you prefer.¡± Roran didn¡¯t.
The tricorn-shaped castle of Abarat was built on the flat rise that carried its name. Every inch of the plateau had been covered, the ten meter thick walls¡¯ batter angled sharply and leading to a vertical additional twenty meters of fortifications. The crenellations at the end of it also sharply cut triangles, but the internal structures of the curtain walls, once sparse and used to house the Abarat Guard tasked with defending Elas Bridge and the approach to Nesande¡¯s Garden, had slowly covered its massive Bailey fully. The roomy barracks were still present, as was the commander¡¯s oval-shaped central keep, but every inch of space available had seen new buildings erected, mainly villas. Seeing as everyone wanted a view of the lake, the houses kept getting taller until they overcame the curtain walls and the citizens that had flocked to the safety of the castle town could now watch the sunset in the Great Acid Lake at the distance. The nearby forest had been pruned to allow fields to be created, but eventually the city had spilled outside the castle and towards the valley as the years had gone by, with some citizens building farms so close to the Lake appropriating virgin Imperial land, Lord Rothomir had to sign an order reminding everyone that it was forbidden and then building an actual wall to bar citizens from its shores, when the order was largely ignored. That was more than a hundred years ago. The wall of course was far from completed and the whole project eventually scrapped as the local stone quarries had been exhausted and Elwuin who¡¯d come up with the idea admitted it was fruitless in an emotional and tearful address to the citizens everyone present mostly ignored. The randomly assembled citizens/refugees from the whole empire were extremely difficult to rule over without royal decree, or executions. Rothomir and the Council wanted more people coming to Abarat, as absent slaves they needed the hands, so they opted to turn a blind eye to that too. As for the three meter tall unfinished stone wall, all sixteen kilometers of it, it still stood covered in vines as the Zilan used it to produce wine. So something had come out of it. Rothomir had managed to get an agreement with the ¡®nearby¡¯ ¨Calso spared due to its location- Lo-Minas district and the road had been repaired again utilizing the two provincial ¡®cities¡¯ resources. Lord ¡®Mithren¡¯ Suraer had the stronger bloodline and a chair in the Council of Twenty ¨Cthe number heavily depleted at the present- but the lesser final royal assignment. Since Rothomir had control of the soldiers and the Castle, plus the prestigious title of the ¡®Guardian of the Garden¡¯, but mostly just because the remaining members of the Council opted for the better weather of Abarat, the power was placed ¡®firmly¡¯ in his hands to get the ball rolling again. The power and the Second Othrim, the last unit of the Imperial Phalanx. The Queen had left it behind to guard the coast and Luthos spared them as the calamity caught them on the march. When Roran had realized there was no coast left as he knew it, no Cydonia, or any other of the large cities, he had turned the Second around and brought it to Abarat, where most of the Council survivors had flocked to. Roran believed Rothomir was doing a good enough job given all that had transpired and the total collapse of the empire, but then as things go Rothomir had decided that since he¡¯d the responsibility and carried the load, he should also enjoy the benefits. Lord Suraer who¡¯d let the matter slide on who should take charge ¨Che¡¯d been outvoted, so he didn¡¯t have much of a choice- drew a hard line on allowing Rothomir to take the throne. No throne was available, but it was the idea behind it that infuriated Lord Suraer more. Again, Lord Suraer had found himself without the needed votes from the remaining Council. True to his bloodline¡¯s historic stalwart steadfastness and his moniker¡¯s sturdiness, Roran¡¯s efforts to convince him to back Rothomir had drown in the shallow waters of Glen-Lin Tull¡¯s lakes. Suraer¡¯s latest proposal was to have the empty seats filled with some of the older surviving bloodlines, but that wasn¡¯t the law and either way no such elderbloods were at the near. Unless Hardir has some in Goras strolling about, Roran thought and returned Bellas¡¯, of Zyll salute at the entrance of Second Othrim¡¯s main camp. But then again why would they back Suraer? Assuming this Hardir was the egalitarian type. ¡°Roran,¡± Bellas said, his clever eyes darting at the twenty Rangers he¡¯d brought along and their fine horses. ¡°We¡¯re getting a horse detail in the Second?¡± ¡°No,¡± Axilyel replied gruffly, ten days on the road not improving her manners. ¡°You are not.¡± Bellas nodded, his eyes finding something of interest amongst the fancy rangers and smiling. Roran, who¡¯d jumped from his own warhorse lithely, cutting his shameless flirting short. ¡°Where¡¯s Ulovir?¡± he rustled. ¡°Across the pond¡­ehm, the canal,¡± Bellas replied snapping back to attention. Roran stared at the Othrim getting ready to march for the day¡¯s exercises led by Malon, his third in command. Roran¡¯s count coming up short a lot of helmets. ¡°Onas has taken a detail to Snake Mount,¡± Bellas added confirming his suspicion. ¡°Onas doesn¡¯t lead the Second Bellas!¡± Roran blasted him and Axilyel found it very funny. Roran whipped his helmed head her way. ¡°Axilyel your riders can find rest in our barracks. Food and water shall be provided for the horses.¡± Get the fuck out of my face was his meaning. ¡°Girls,¡± Axilyel said, the eight virile males in her unit snickering at the old moniker. ¡°We¡¯re being ushered to our rooms. Is there an escort available?¡± ¡°Bellas,¡± Roran grunted to the Hoplite. ¡°Seeing as you¡¯re loitering at the entrance, you get the job.¡± The fourth in rank Hoplite saluted. ¡°Do I get to ride on the horse sire?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Roran yielded. ¡°I¡¯ll walk to Malon. I assume he knows more.¡± ¡°He does Roran,¡± Bellas readily replied. Roran eyed the distant rows of armoured soldiers dressing up and getting ready to march. The camp had a diameter of five kilometers. Half of that to the central square. Get your legs working again, he decided and started walking briskly at first. All that riding about weakling crap, will turn you as soft as Ievis fat arse. So he sprinted the rest of the way.
Two hours later he found Lord Rothomir eating in the west side of his hall sort of speak, as the hall was ovular in shape and had its entrance facing the south. ¡°Ah, Roran,¡± Rothomir said from his dinner table, pausing to chew on the vegetables he¡¯d shoved in his mouth. ¡°Have a seat, there¡¯s enough broccoli and spiced onions here to put tears in your eyes.¡±Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°I don¡¯t favor them boiled,¡± Roran declined through his teeth. ¡°You¡¯re braver than me,¡± Lord Rothomir said with a thin smile sensing his mood. Roran, who had left his spear and shield with the guards to gain entrance faster, pulled a very high back marble chair from the table to sit more comfortably. ¡°Unwieldy things,¡± Rothomir commented watching him. ¡°I keep upgrading this place, but I just can¡¯t get rid of them. Been with me for six centuries and a couple of postings alike an old rash you can¡¯t shake,¡± he smacked his lips, then wiped them with a towel. ¡°You took your time Roran,¡± Rothomir added finally, seeing the Hoplite¡¯s solemn expression. ¡°I take it Suraer wasn¡¯t cooperative?¡± Roran wasn¡¯t that bothered with the Lord of Lo-Minas either. ¡°He¡¯d his schedule for the next couple of years fixed he said,¡± Roran rustled. ¡°It took him three months to finally grant me an audience, so I spent the time visiting the lakes, swimming and meeting with old friends. All in all it was rather enjoyable.¡± ¡°Mmm, was Aelinole around I wonder? How is our Lily of the Water really?¡± ¡°Still running with rangers, twice as skillful,¡± Roran replied keeping it modest. ¡°A waste of her talents.¡± ¡°Following her class and nature? I wouldn¡¯t call it that,¡± Roran argued and eyed the long-necked bottle of wine covered with silver adornments. ¡°Advised more like. Sensible even.¡± Rothomir grimaced, then scratched his right cheek with a long finger. ¡°Help yourself. My last slave died of old age a long time ago.¡± Roran reached for the bottle and poured some of the local vintage in a tall narrow glass that had the same silver adornments as the bottle. A nice set, most likely a gift, he thought. The crystals imported from Jelin centuries ago. ¡°Did anything come of it?¡± Rothomir asked, allowing him first to taste last season¡¯s wine. Everything was improving with every passing year. The sulfuric aftertaste from the soil still present amidst the various sucrose elements the wine-makers had added. Being so near the Great Lake with its brimstone bottom and the vapors bubbling to the surface, one quickly grew accustomed to the distinct air. Of course if you crossed the narrow land bridge to the other side, then the rich bouquet of the biggest natural assortment of flowers on Eplas made the lake¡¯s less pleasant smell disappear completely. As in any account, there was a little bit of truth and a little bit of untruth in this story too. ¡°The Imperial Stables never looked busier,¡± Roran replied, licking his lips. ¡°Lord Suraer¡¯s proposal was much like the last one though. He heard of Goras growing.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not Goras. Goras is at the bottom of the gulf,¡± Rothomir retorted. ¡°Who do we have there?¡± ¡°A couple of Pelleas¡¯ people stayed behind,¡± Roran said. ¡°Blended in. The place is booming. Humans, Gish and dwarfs roaming about. Slaves and imported goods. Trade caravans and working ports to the other Kingdoms. I don¡¯t see them going back to Snake Mount anytime soon. Feeding the Hydra loses its appeal after a while. Most prefer to dance till they collapse in drunken stupor and the occasional good ole shagging. And I¡¯m talking about the Zilan here.¡± Rothomir grunted and stood back on his uncomfortable seat. The gold and red-leather waist length doublet he wore was buttoned down its front with many tricorn-shaped golden buttons. He did all he could to appear more than he really was, but living so near the Elderbloods was wearing him down. ¡°Damn stubborn blind old prick,¡± he finally spat, anger spilling out. ¡°Ungrateful and short-sighted. No wonder he ended up shoveling dung in the middle of nowhere!¡± ¡°Lucky him,¡± Roran commented. Lucky you and lucky me. Much better characters have gotten the shaft so we can talk of dung right now. ¡°I won¡¯t spend more resources fixing that darn road to the coast,¡± Rothomir continued. ¡°I¡¯ve gone over and beyond my posting¡¯s obligations here. I don¡¯t even need his darn vote!¡± ¡°There are twenty votes in the Council,¡± Roran told him patiently, the politics not that interesting to him. He never got bored of his class himself, but if he had to pick something, delving into politics was at the bottom of his list. Wine making in contrast was much higher. ¡°You got Olonelis, Paeris, Elwuin and Onas. That¡¯s four votes. Suraer is against you. There¡¯re a lot of people missing Rothomir.¡± ¡°More than anyone else. I have Darunia as well.¡± Olonelis had put her in the Council, but formally her vote didn¡¯t count as she was to take her mother¡¯s place, when the old politician kicked the bucket. Olonelis could probably outlive everyone was Roran¡¯s guess. ¡°Sure,¡± he yielded to Rothomir¡¯s count. You do. For now. ¡°Well, the Queen is dead. The Princess¡­ pick me one of the stories. Who has seen her last?¡± Rothomir asked, a bit riled up. ¡°She¡¯s not in Goras obviously. Never made it out is my guess,¡± Roran replied calmly. ¡°The others though could be around.¡± ¡°Who? Baltoris served with half the Council seats filled. Exiled a couple of them herself just to make sure,¡± Rothomir argued. ¡°Edlenn is dead. Aelrindel? The sorceress is long gone, despite all that gossip about making good with the Queen. She wasn¡¯t as airheaded as people thought. Anfalon was last seen heading towards Quiceran¡¯s underground road and those with him reported he stayed behind to wait for Baltoris¡¯ return. Pelleas claims he was in Goras, but I don¡¯t believe him. Quiceran himself was buried in his academy trying to move a cart of scrolls to safety. Elwuin found his skull ¡®supposedly¡¯ eighty years ago. Whilst of historical value according to him, that dig almost did me in financially and that ruin is unlivable still. Elas got swallowed by the waves, or eaten by Ticu if he was lucky. His sister is a crazy murderer no sane person would ever trust in his home and Baltoris surely didn¡¯t after what had happened with her father. Ask Paeris, he¡¯ll tell you the story, if you don¡¯t mind the lewd details. I know my history Roran. I can go even further back if you want.¡± ¡°Despite the late Queen¡¯s decrees, the positions remain Rothomir,¡± Roran told him. ¡°Elderbloods and Elderborns shall fill the chairs. The lines present afore the First Era. That¡¯s the law laid down by Kallister himself.¡± ¡°Another lost character. Gone since the First Era. Let¡¯s call him dead what do you say? It¡¯s a safe fucking bet,¡± Rothomir taunted and reached to refill his glass. ¡°I wager not on these matters, or in the field,¡± Roran replied. ¡°Why is Onas beyond the Canal with my men?¡± ¡°Onas is training Pelleas¡¯ fanatics into proper soldiers. You know like he trained you in the Young Othrim. I wanted to boost his numbers.¡± ¡°Onas left the Phalanx.¡± ¡°Eh, what¡¯s the saying? You are the Phalanx hoplite and the Phalanx is in you. Right?¡± Rothomir argued with a pleased smirk. ¡°I¡¯ve spend fifty years with you lads. Can¡¯t say I miss the sordid experience.¡± ¡°Rank matters. The Second is my responsibility Rothomir.¡± ¡°By the Goddess¡¯ roses Roran! It was decided. It¡¯s done!¡± ¡°Ulovir could have led them. Onas hasn¡¯t left Abarat in centuries,¡± Roran insisted unwilling to drop the matter. Rothomir sighed and emptied his glass. He stared at his cold platter of vegetables a little frustrated afore speaking in a tired voice. ¡°Ulovir left a week later for Teleniel¡¯s Bridge. Whatever is left of it anyway,¡± Lord Rothomir murmured. ¡°Elwuin wanted to test the reason behind the structures failing throughout the empire¡¯s borders. In the field, the best experiments reveal the nature of things, he preached until I started bleeding from the ears. You ask a peasant, or the man jumping up and down the grapes out there and he¡¯ll tell you it was the earthquakes, or you know the five volcanoes going off one after the other, but nah, Elwuin is certain there¡¯s a flaw in our construction plans.¡± ¡°You sent Ulovir to protect Elwuin in his field explorations?¡± ¡°I tasked him to protect Darunia,¡± Rothomir replied. ¡°Elwuin is unkillable, he made it out of Elauthin because he stopped to observe the moons move unnaturally for the season. Started writing a thesis about them being projections on the skies through a filter, or a medium and not solid planetary bodies, while the world burned around him. Don¡¯t ever ask him to elucidate. That theory will send you down some really weird paths and the Realm¡¯s edges per Elwuin.¡± ¡°What is Darunia doing over there?¡± Roran asked to bring him back on topic. Rothomir shrugged his shoulders. ¡°She wanted to go. See the ruins, check the flora beyond the Canal for her elixirs, gather sandalwood seeds and sing with the squirrels. Olonelis didn¡¯t trust my soldiers, so I sent Ulovir on an excursion. They¡¯ll be right back.¡± ¡°When was this?¡± ¡°A couple of months now,¡± Rothomir replied. ¡°Couldn¡¯t you stop her? There¡¯s a strong possibility of trouble coming our way.¡± ¡°You know I can¡¯t really argue with her. It¡¯s pointless. An Elderborn healer running about among the injured. Good grief!¡± ¡°She¡¯s extremely skilled at it. Very sturdy,¡± Roran replied. He¡¯d taken Darunia with him on his first attempt to break through to the ruined coast well over a hundred years ago, just after the weather had cleared. ¡°Well, she¡¯s supposed to serve in the Council and in court, I¡¯d had taken a magic affinity instead of that, something academic, even artistic for crying out loud,¡± Rothomir argued. ¡°That¡¯s not how it¡¯s done Rothomir. Baltoris was a fighter. You are what you are irrespective of your station.¡± ¡°Baltoris rode atop a tri-horned wyvern,¡± Rothomir countered. ¡°Nobody remembered what her class was other than you probably.¡± ¡°When is Onas due back?¡± Roran asked him with a grimace, but before Rothomir could reply an officer walked inside briskly. Abarat¡¯s commander of the guard, Vulas, of Nortoris. ¡°Lord Rothomir,¡± Vulas said clad in his bronze colored cuirass, the Great Tree carved on its front. Sometimes, if the weather was favorable and you casted the Long Eye spell, you could see it rising over the canopy across the great lake kilometers way. ¡°Onas send word.¡± That was convenient, Roran thought. Luthos probably hard at work to make stuff go as wrong as possible to get one thing right. ¡°Is he coming back?¡± Rothomir asked giving him his full attention. ¡°Is the training over?¡± ¡°Ehm, he isn¡¯t.¡± That was an awkward pause on Vulas¡¯ part, Roran noticed. Roran stared at Vulas¡¯ nervous face intrigued. Lord Rothomir accepted the missive from him and pored over it quickly. He paused with a deep frown and Vulas who¡¯d waited for him to finish, gave him a second unfurled small scroll. ¡°A second message?¡± Roran asked while Lord Rothomir started reading clearly upset at the news. ¡°The same,¡± Vulas replied and Rothomir groaned and stood back on his chair. ¡°Goddess,¡± he murmured and tossed the missives on the table, next to his plate. ¡°Tell him Vulas.¡± ¡°An advance scouting party penetrated beyond Eroshin River,¡± Vulas started and Roran frowned. Advance scouting party? Penetrated? ¡°They made contact with Lord Elwuin and Lady Darunia¡¯s group. We had casualties. Fortunately Onas arrived in time to prevent them from abducting her and the others.¡± ¡°Abducting?¡± Roran queried trying to wrap his mind around it. Rothomir sighed suddenly deflated and overcome with worry. ¡°It was a Horselords raiding party, with Zilan scouts. They killed Onas first bunch of recruits to the last one,¡± Vulas explained visibly frustrated. ¡°Onas is convinced Hardir O¡¯ Fardor will soon follow with an invasion force.¡± ¡°Savages are at the gates,¡± Rothomir said gloomily. ¡°Tell him what he proposes,¡± he added his tone strange. Roran stood up from his chair, his sword banging on the table. Something was afoot here. ¡°He will attempt to lay a trap for him near the bridge at Eroshin,¡± Vulas replied. ¡°Or negotiate.¡± ¡°Negotiate what?¡± Rothomir barked irate. ¡°He doesn¡¯t have the men,¡± Roran noticed with a grimace of concern. ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear what the old fool suggests?¡± Rothomir blasted him. ¡°Rothomir, if Hardir has recruited Horselords they could ruin us in the open field. What are his numbers? Does anyone know?¡± Roran asked them soberly. ¡°Pelleas reported Horselords and Anfalon. Adventurers and exiles working together,¡± Rothomir replied. ¡°Old info, completely unreliable as I told you earlier.¡± ¡°The Second might not be enough,¡± Roran said thoughtfully. ¡°Every sword in Abarat would march along with you Roran,¡± Rothomir told him. ¡°How many swords?¡± ¡°Five hundred?¡± Rothomir replied. ¡°Do you think Suraer will send Delmuth and his Rokae? The horses might come in handy.¡± Onas had taken sixty Hoplites with him. The Second Othrim hadn¡¯t had any new recruits as well. The same problem Rothomir faced. No one wanted to fight. A farmer had become more valuable than a soldier after the Fall. Same for hunters. Artisans were better regarded than brilliant academics like Elwuin. Roran had four hundred Hoplites at most in camp. And Axilyel¡¯s rangers. If he could convince her to come along. ¡°If Onas offers him terms, we¡¯re done,¡± Rothomir said. ¡°That fucker will march here and take everything.¡± Roran grimaced and stood back. He realized that both Zilan males were staring at him. ¡°Onas would never fight if there is another option on the table. He¡¯s more a politician by now than a soldier,¡± he told them. ¡°The Council might want a deal.¡± ¡°Paeris doesn¡¯t want it. Elwuin is clueless. That¡¯s Olonelis for sure and Onas,¡± Rothomir hissed seeing what was going on. ¡°This goes to a vote, it¡¯s a draw at best,¡± Roran told him. ¡°Unless you get Suraer on board.¡± ¡°There¡¯s another way,¡± Rothomir argued. ¡°Paeris agrees with it.¡± ¡°You want to force a battle,¡± Roran said. ¡°You don¡¯t know if we have the numbers. There¡¯s a Wyvern involved Rothomir. Have you ever fought a Wyvern?¡± ¡°That¡¯s no god darn Gimoss!¡± Rothomir blasted him. ¡°He won¡¯t risk the small wyvern. It¡¯s too young. No, he¡¯ll see if he can win without it. That¡¯s what he did with Pelleas.¡± You don¡¯t know that. ¡°We have no sorcerers on our side,¡± Roran reminded him. ¡°Most scattered after Edlenn got ¡®suicided¡¯ and they weren¡¯t that many to begin with.¡± ¡°Ena is still inside the Garden somewhere. She could cast pretty darn well,¡± Rothomir countered. ¡°Who will wake her up? How are you going to break Edlenn¡¯s eternal cocoon? With a sledgehammer?¡± Roran asked with a frown. ¡°Be sensible Rothomir.¡± ¡°She used an Arachne for the spell,¡± Rothomir grunted. ¡°It can be done.¡± ¡°Let her be Rothomir. She served the empire enough. Her mind broke on Plague Isles. You¡¯ll be better off killing her,¡± Roran insisted. ¡°With you there Onas won¡¯t be able to take control of the situation right? Vulas answers to me and the Second will follow Roran,¡± Rothomir stared his way intently. ¡°Onas plan will collapse.¡± ¡°What about Olonelis? Elwuin?¡± Roran asked. ¡°I¡¯ll deal with her,¡± Rothomir told him. ¡°You make sure to get Elwuin and Darunia out of Onas hands.¡± ¡°Is the Abarat guard ready to march Vulas?¡± Roran asked the commander and he pressed his mouth tightly afore replying. ¡°Before the morrow Roran.¡± ¡°That won¡¯t do,¡± Roran replied and glanced at the setting sun. ¡°The Second can march in an hour. I give you two and that¡¯s it, then you¡¯re left behind.¡± ¡°You had them ready?¡± an amused Rothomir asked, not expecting it. ¡°The Main Othrim,¡± Roran replied, deeply affronted. ¡°Is always ready Lord Rothomir.¡±
Bellas stood rigid outside of formation, rows upon rows of Hoplites lined in columns, ten abreast. Malon at the far end of it, but on the long rectangular formation¡¯s other side. The full face cover black helms unmoving, spear blades pointing towards the dark skies and the well-maintained muscled cuirasses gleaming in the light of the torches. Roran cracked his neck left and right, glanced at the hard-faced veteran Axilyel and the smirking younger Ievis her longtime lover and then wore Theodas old helmet on his head. ¡°Lads say we¡¯re off to fight a Wyvern sire. Any truth to it?¡± Bellas said and Roran grunted, Ievis who was a baby when Gimoss had laid waste of everything in the Plague Isles campaign, grinning manically excited. Axilyel who had been in the front lines scouting for them and still carried the internal and external scars of the traumatic ordeal, just nodding soberly. ¡°Start the march, fourth Hoplite,¡± he ordered him disregarding his query. ¡°Vulas has moved down the road already. Let¡¯s make it to the bridge afore them.¡± ¡°Second Othrim!¡± Bellas boomed. ¡°Slot spears! Prepare to march! About turn!¡± The panoplies roared, weapons clanked and the compact Phalanx turned on its heel a hundred and eighty decrees to face east. ¡°Commence!¡± Malon barked, now leading the formation and the march started.
While the need for personal space and hygiene drives older architects to the monumental, it also encompasses the tangible risk of the loss of pliability. The higher the structure, or the wider, the more susceptible to tremors and quakes induced from naturally occurring phenomena. We must proceed into the future of our building utilizing perhaps different materials than the rigid rock, or opt for more sensible designs. We could discover as a species, what the cosmos perhaps already knows and showcases everywhere around us. We are just too blind to see it and too prideful to admit we have been wrong. In the same vein artistry and beauty can and will be attained in a small vessel as well and the larger carafe won¡¯t always contain the better wine. - ¡®Scholastic¡¯ Elwuin, Academic, Scientist, philosopher, Astronomer, Engineer, Member of the Queen¡¯s Council, Elderblood Council of the Twenty permanent chair, Conspiracy theorist. - Inelasticity in nature & modern architecture -A simple thesis- Foreword to his voluminous, Beyond the Plane, our Flat Realm & other mysteries of the simulacrum - Found in the Royal Archives of Sinya Goras Circa 228 NC, Circa 3434 IC ¨Cconsolidated- (3rd Era)* -
*(The different numbering Eras stopped changing with every new ruler with the assent to the throne of the Onyx Wyvern¡¯s Monarch¡¯s line)
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 281. Come soon, bring everything (1/5)
Glen Arguen Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Monarch O¡¯ Morn Taras Come soon, bring everything. Part I -Someone has to think things through-
(Right click to open image fully) - ¡°Black Peak?¡± Kirk asked Voron, disturbing Glen¡¯s rest under the shade cast from the thick banana tree. His query and the commotion of the workers that were finishing up the custom docks final portion probably equally guilty for waking him up. Damnit. ¡°No that¡¯s the Navel, what you¡¯re seeing poorly educated guard,¡± Voron replied in the ¡®upper district¡¯ Zilan haughty manner. ¡°The Black Peak is deeper inside the gulf.¡± Glen let out a grunt and grimaced. He also attempted to scratch his nose using his upper lip, but failed. A fat, hairy skinned Oldfly buzzing in front of his face extremely annoying and the culprit for the tickling. He raised his right arm high and smacked it once without opening his eyes. The sound of something heavy hitting the unsuspecting Atju on the head ending the conversation near him. Oldfly¡¯s reached the size of a medium brick with enough food around. Glen sighed and opened his eyes. ¡°You¡¯re alright there friend?¡± he asked the new slave Metu had brought in to take late Seeyu¡¯s place. ¡°Just shook a bit sire,¡± Atju replied coolly, face covered with bug juice and pieces of insect flesh, not showing it. ¡°Allow for a moment to clean myself up.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Glen agreed and pushed himself upright. He squinted his eyes hard when he reached the edge of the newly built docks facing what everyone called Garth¡¯s Gulf. Voron, Kirk and an anxious Vaelenn looking at a point in the distance. The judge sported a very lifelike wooden arm, painted very close to her natural skin and folded as if resting over her waist. The joints on it are working, Glen thought impressed. ¡°Yep,¡± Voron said interrupting his rude gawking of the uncomfortable under his scrutiny judge. ¡°There it is.¡± ¡°Ehm,¡± Kirk responded. Glen turned his head towards the misty gulf, but found nothing popping out of the blue expanse. ¡°Judge Vaelenn?¡± he asked and the Zilan blinked unsure. ¡°I see the sails Arguen Garth,¡± she said politely. ¡°Well then,¡± Glen retorted and clasped his hands behind his back. ¡°Let¡¯s wait for it to show up for the rest of us normal people. Atju bring the spyglass from my saddle in the meantime.¡± ¡°Right away sire,¡± the cleaned up slave replied readily. ¡°Good lad,¡± Glen commented in his lordly manner and yawned once, his eyes on the soon to appear ship.
Four hours later, the heavy transport moored near the custom docks and his bearded Captain jumped out of the boat that had brought him ashore lithely. The thirty year old Lorian having one blue eye, the sclera on the other a dark crimson, almost black. He approached a seething and furiously walking up and down the narrow platform Glen, an easy smile on his salt-burned rugged face. ¡°Captain of the ¡®Fat Libby¡¯, Archibald ¡®Birdeye¡¯ Tidus at yer service,¡± the pirate said, left upper side of his mouth a healthy mix of gold and silver teeth, with a gold bridge set under them to hold everything together. ¡°Reportin¡¯ the circumnavigation of the Fingers and Crabs Talons finished milord.¡± Glen blinked, used his right thumb to brush the sweat off his left brow and then sighed wearily, too tired to protest the Captain¡¯s extremely cautious approach to the shore, what with so many people waiting n¡¯ staring at the slow-moving ship like idiots and twiddling their thumbs. ¡°What¡¯s with the eerie eye?¡± he asked him instead and the pirate frowned, then whistled seeing the disapproving look on Voron¡¯s face. ¡°Got a splinter in it. Dottore wanted to take the eye out, but I didn¡¯t, so I left it in,¡± Archibald explained and added trying to be as civil as possible. ¡°Abrakas toes, mate ye should have ¡®em ears checked.¡± ¡°You presume to speak of your better¡¯s handsomer visage whilst naming your vessel, Fat Libby?¡± Voron hissed deeply affronted. Archibald frowned, a gold stud on his left prominent eyebrow gleaming. ¡°Why, Libby was a fine wench,¡± he retorted a bit hurt. ¡°I loved all of her.¡±
The hastily set up wooden buildings near Hardir¡¯s Port, the newest expansion in Goras peninsula and its fourth official city-sized district, needed more done to them still, but Glen opted not to hold a meeting under the sun and everyone gathered in the biggest of the lot to hear Archibald¡¯s tale of the month long trip. ¡°You could¡¯ve made it sooner?¡± Glen asked when he finished and the Captain nodded. Leona wanted one of her crew to take control of the ships Princess Elsanne had ¡®gifted¡¯ them, but the noble Issir had recommended Captain Tidur, an experienced navigator serving with Van Fleet and Glen had agreed. Seeing as the man had managed to bring the small fleet to Sinya Goras safe, Glen found no reason to replace him. He gave him another task instead. ¡°I could, now that I know how to navigate the reefs and wher¡¯ to use the oars. It¡¯s not a night journey though,¡± Archibald replied. ¡°The crew tends to light the lamps in the dark.¡± ¡°Why shouldn¡¯t they?¡± Kirk asked him. ¡°Mermaids,¡± the pirate retorted. ¡°Heard their singing, but they stayed away from the ship.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± Glen murmured. ¡°Can you make it all the way around to Greenwhale Peninsula?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a lot of rocks sprouting out of the sea milord,¡± Archibald replied. ¡°We might need one of yer friends aboard for that.¡± ¡°Pfft,¡¯ Voron hissed. ¡°He can¡¯t make it laden with produce,¡± the Zilan said. ¡°We should use a nimbler vessel to chart the waters, find the safest route first. Only then Garth, you can send a transport.¡± ¡°Can we build smaller ships here?¡± Glen asked him. Voron had the uncanny ability to get on his nerves with minimum effort. ¡°Why small?¡± Voron argued with a frown. ¡°I was thinking starting wit boats might be easier,¡± Glen replied, rapping his fingers on the rough table. ¡°I could always use Eikenport to order another ship. I¡¯m sending the other two transports fully laden with timber there. The pirates are very interested in this cargo.¡± ¡°Can they pay?¡± Kirk asked staring at the pirate Captain. ¡°Leona believes they can.¡± ¡°Eh, I wouldn¡¯t trust her Garth,¡± Voron argued. ¡°There¡¯s a potential source of revenue for them other than trading wit us,¡± Glen countered. ¡°Plundering?¡± Voron guessed with a smirk. ¡°That too,¡± Glen replied warningly. ¡°I expected a bigger city milord,¡± Archibald said after a tense moment of him eyeing the Zilan. ¡°You haven¡¯t seen anything yet mate,¡± Glen deadpanned and got up from the crude chair he was sitting on. ¡°I¡¯ll ride back to Lake Taras. Voron you stay here and direct the workers. We need a dock for bigger ships.¡± ¡°I suggested a bigger one from the¡ª¡± He indeed had for long and hard risking a life-ending injury, but Glen wasn¡¯t going to build another monstrosity afore he knew for certain that it was possible to use the sea route and this part of Goras. ¡°Get it done here, then ride back to Morn Taras posthaste,¡± he grunted cutting him off. ¡°Finish my god darn castle!¡± Lippy fuckin¡¯ moron!
Glen¡¯s party reached Anfalon¡¯s large walled military camp just before dawn, following the cleared and now rebuilt avenue-sized road connecting Taras Lake with Hardir¡¯s Port. Most of Voron¡¯s working crews and slave laborers already up and heading in long columns towards the plateau and Morn Taras Castle. They turned south at the lake¡¯s shores and headed at a pleasant trot to the ¡®Resort District¡¯, another moniker for the central city built between the lake and the two huge ancient Gatetowers. He left a tired Outlaw in the stables next to his villa and walked briskly to avoid bumping onto anyone and lose his chance to sleep for a couple of hours. As things usually went, Fikumin was already up and was talking with Iskay, a tired-looking Bing listening in from the entrance not really paying attention to the street. ¡°Milord,¡± Bing snapped at attention hearing them approach alarmed by Kirk¡¯s warning whistle. ¡°You¡¯re up early¡­ ahm back was my meaning.¡± ¡°Leave it,¡± Glen grunted with a glare. ¡°You can¡¯t save it. Kirk switch with him. What¡¯s that you¡¯re drinking Bing?¡± ¡°Sug ¡®n Caf¨¦ Milord,¡± Bing replied and showed him his mug with the sinister black liquid. ¡°Good grief man,¡± Glen admonished him, having no idea what he was talking about. ¡°Stop it, you look horrible!¡± ¡°It¡¯s a tonic milord,¡± as if anyone will buy that, Glen thought. ¡°Soletha suggested it,¡± Bing defended his weird drug habit, but Glen would have none of it. ¡°Bing I¡¯ve turned a blind eye to yer transgressions in the past, but that¡¯s the last time!¡± He blasted the worried guard, the fact that none was more into drugs than his nibs escaping him. ¡°Pour it down by the entrance. Do it, don¡¯t sulk. It¡¯s for yer own good!¡± ¡°Aye Milord.¡± ¡°Is she still hiding inside perchance?¡± Glen asked. Soletha was nowhere to be seen. ¡°She went to visit Lymsiel lord Reeves,¡± a sad Bing replied. ¡°She¡¯s giving out lessons to the new healers.¡± ¡°She does?¡± ¡°Yes milord.¡± ¡°We have schools running?¡± Glen inquired, feeling blindsided by the revelation. ¡°Most strays are looking to complete training on their class Milord,¡± Bing explained. ¡°Every artisan has taken apprentices. We do it the same way, but for the richer folk.¡± That was true, Glen thought. He¡¯d been educated himself in the fine art of stealing by Crafton. Eh, that¡¯s fine I suppose, he decided, wondering if he should look about for any talented burglars himself to give out some pointers. Then again, we don¡¯t need more crooks flooding the city.
Fikumin eyed Glen walking inside with a scowl, as the Monarch of Morn Taras brought some of the port¡¯s sand with him leaving footprints on the Hall¡¯s floor. Iskay bobbed her red head and rushed with a broom to clean after his mess. Kirk opted to stand by the entrance himself to talk with Bing ¡®about coffee beans and Soletha¡¯s virility potions¡¯ or something? Hmm. ¡°Is Sen up yet?¡± Glen asked thoughtfully, afore collapsing on the chair across from the dwarf, his back hurting from all the riding. ¡°Ninan has brought her water for a bath,¡± Fikumin said moving a plate with fruits he had away from Glen¡¯s reach. Mmm. ¡°Maeriel up there?¡± he probed and filled a goblet with water. ¡°With Jinx.¡±If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°Shite. Anything funny happened?¡± ¡°Maeriel is too professional for that Glen,¡± Fikumin retorted and placed a big stack of papers in front of him to carry on with his work. The dwarf had installed on a stand a smaller copy of the wall-map in Jinx¡¯s house to make corrections on it, both adding and erasing stuff. Goras center and the mountain range it was built around was mostly a gulf now with a narrow strip of land left amidst the three crests protruding from the waters. Black Peak, Vermilion¡¯s Peak and the Navel. ¡°Whisper isn¡¯t,¡± Glen countered raising his brows suggestively. Fikumin grunted and shook his head. Right. ¡°Angrein suggested we take his proposal for the armour,¡± Fikumin started. ¡°He was here again?¡± ¡°Earlier,¡± Fikumin showed him the gold and silver decorated goblets he used for paper weights. ¡°Brought me some gifts.¡± ¡°Hmm. Why not use the same as the Hoplites?¡± He asked and glanced at Atju bringing him a bottle of wine and a new plate with a freshly cut assortment of local fruits. Glen got his pipe out to have a smoke after breakfast. ¡°We don¡¯t have the steel for it,¡± Fikumin replied. ¡°We are buying most of it and Zilan don¡¯t enjoy digging inside mountains. Your best bet is to bring Folk from Brightos for that. It is how it was done.¡± ¡°That will take time.¡± ¡°This is why Angrein proposed we repurpose the old armour sets from the Temple. It¡¯s scaled armour, like the Cataphracts have. Keep the better plate for Anfalon¡¯s soldiers.¡± ¡°How many do we have to prepare? I can order more iron ingots from Eikenport.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll pay premium for it. You can¡¯t afford it,¡± Fikumin cautioned him. ¡°Anyway I need around eight hundred sets and as many weapons at least. Swords, spears, axes and maces.¡± ¡°Anfalon cut more of them?¡± Glen groaned and reached for a slice of mango. ¡°After training them for a month. I split them up in two groups. Zilan in the first one, humans in the other. But I need to arm almost four hundred of them, or they¡¯ll just spend time eating and drinking for free.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you give them to Voron?¡± ¡°Voron has enough crews Garth,¡± Fikumin replied. ¡°They are building an extension to Anfalon¡¯s Camp.¡± ¡°I noticed. That shite has the size of the Lake,¡± Glen murmured. ¡°Speaking of fresh dung, what¡¯s with all the turds in the streets?¡± ¡°The flock of sheep we bought comes through Taras to head to the Temple grounds to graze.¡± ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake!¡± Glen protested. ¡°Stop that Fiku, we¡¯ve enough turds around to bring in more!¡± ¡°Ahm, I¡¯ll look into it,¡± Fikumin replied. ¡°Leona wants to see you. She came by earlier and raised a hell of a ruckus. Apparently you two-timed her on a deal?¡± ¡°How did you get her to leave?¡± Glen asked and eyed Folen arriving whistling at a pensive Bing. The guard¡¯s mood improved dramatically for some reason and he stood up straighter. ¡°I told her about Folen¡¯s pleasure house.¡± ¡°Arguen Garth,¡± Folen said before Glen could learn more. ¡°Your streets are filled with shit. The citizens are concerned. It¡¯s not a rumor, people are speaking openly about it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m working on it!¡± Glen grunted and glared his way. ¡°You¡¯ve left Leona alone? She¡¯ll come here and pester me about the ships for crying out loud! Dude, I rather open my veins than listen to her drivel, I¡¯m fuckin¡¯ serious here!¡± Folen frowned, a ruby earring on his ear, where he had a silver loop yesterday. ¡°The pirate cunt is busy Garth,¡± he said and Fikumin glared at him. Glen who¡¯d no problem with his language with the girls upstairs shrugged his shoulders indifferently. ¡°Proceed,¡± he told him. ¡°She¡¯s imbibing in my wine with the same gusto she¡¯s digging between the daughter¡¯s fit thighs,¡± Folen continued assuming a professional air. ¡°Shall I demonstrate what I¡¯ve witnessed? I¡¯ve dabbled in mimes with moderate success,¡± the doors of his brothel hadn¡¯t been installed, or needed. Glen had heard both versions of the story. ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary,¡± Fikumin admonished him and Glen frowned, himself not as disinterested in hearing more about it. ¡°Finish up Folen. I have real work to tend to.¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t see her coming by with the amount of wine she¡¯s glugged down Hardir,¡± Folen said and clasped his hands behind his back. ¡°I need to grasp at this opportunity to ask for an increase in my budget¡ª¡± That was as far as he went with it. Glen had unsheathed his dagger and stabbed it on the table, Fikumin scowling seeing the damage done on the lacquered wood. ¡°No,¡± Glen told Folen just in case he didn¡¯t get the message. ¡°The girls are moving about bare-arsed Garth, the boys too,¡± Folen reminded him. ¡°It¡¯s the chilly season.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a brothel,¡± Glen retorted. ¡°Why, you¡¯ll make a killin¡¯ friend,¡± he added warningly. ¡°Or the girls and boys will revolt,¡± Folen replied unwilling to let go and whistled a tune to get him to see reason. ¡°Whatever it is you¡¯re trying to do ain¡¯t working on me,¡± Glen grunted and flipped the dagger in his hand. ¡°Or you¡¯re bad at it. Unless you¡¯re looking for a smack on the nose, then it does work. Why, the urge to punch ye is increasing steadily.¡± ¡°The Lord Treasurer and Castellan of Morn Taras master,¡± Atju announced interrupting their staring contest. ¡°Metu, the Glorious.¡± Huh? Metu kept adding titles to himself, but this was ridiculous. Glen eyed the slave not amused. ¡°Has he added the moniker himself?¡± ¡°He has, oh prodigious Garth,¡± Atju praised Glen whilst ratting Metu out skillfully. ¡°I see,¡± Glen replied. ¡°Thank you friend.¡±
¡°Metu once again I¡¯ve started working afore you,¡± Glen admonished the frowning Castellan among other things. ¡°What do you have there?¡± ¡°A missive from Kalac Garth,¡± Metu replied, the combed part on his oiled head leaving a bit of a bald spot at the top despite his best efforts to hide it. ¡°You¡¯re taking it to Anfalon?¡± Glen asked sheathing the dagger much to the nervous Cofol¡¯s relief. ¡°I made a copy of it. It¡¯s for you Garth. The original is probably in Anfalon¡¯s hands by now.¡± ¡°Hmm. What does it say?¡± ¡°Come soon. Bring everything,¡± Metu replied and Glen waited for a moment afore realizing that there was nothing more coming. ¡°Tarn wrote a second one right after. Kalac is between the canal and Eroshin River,¡± Metu added seeing Glen was staring at him blankly. Fikumin got up and walked to his map. ¡°That¡¯s strange,¡± he murmured. Glen sobered up immediately. ¡°What is it Fiku?¡± ¡°He went beyond the bridges.¡± Glen got up and approached him. ¡°With the full party? Why? And how? The second bridge was destroyed.¡± ¡°Probably used the main one,¡± Fikumin said. ¡°Forced to use everyone for some reason.¡± Hmm. ¡°It was left unguarded?¡± Glen asked thoughtfully staring at the confusing map. Of course where roads and travel stops were depicted jungle reigned now. ¡°Apparently.¡± Ah, enticing enough to lure him closer, or a fuckin¡¯ accident turned to opportunity, he thought. ¡°That¡¯s a problem.¡± ¡°You think they cut him off?¡± Fikumin asked. ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t he have seen them coming across the Canal?¡± ¡°Not if they rolled down from the Snake Mount at his rear,¡± Kalac¡¯s retreat was threatened in that case, even if he managed to return to the right side of the river. ¡°He had the mobility to lose them. This means he either lost the horses, or he has¡­ I don¡¯t know injured? I don¡¯t like this Fiku.¡± ¡°Glen!¡± Jinx yelled from the top of the stairs. ¡°Whisper I¡¯m busy,¡± Glen replied. ¡°What happened to Kalac?¡± Maeriel asked following after her. Darn big eared creatures, Glen cursed inwardly frustrated. ¡°There¡¯s no need for alarm,¡± he assured the couple, but it was a poor execution. ¡°Fuck,¡± Jinx grunted, her face paling. ¡°How bad is it?¡± ¡°Whisper! Don¡¯t twist things up,¡± Glen growled glancing at the worried Maeriel. ¡°Oh my goddess!¡± Jinx gasped in horror. ¡°Are they dead?¡± The female ranger narrowed her eyes, probably thinking of her pupils. Fuck¡¯s sake Whisper, Glen glared at her furious, a vein throbbing on his forehead. ¡°I¡¯ll straighten everything out!¡± He blasted the scowling Gish. ¡°Maeriel you can have the day off. Thank you for yer service.¡± ¡°Glen we can help,¡± Jinx told him, but he would have none of it. ¡°Whisper, the situation is under firm control. I¡¯m all over it,¡± Glen told her clenching his jaw. ¡°Take yer girlfriend for a stroll by the lake.¡±
¡°How fucked are they?¡± Glen asked Fikumin the moment they were away. ¡°If they managed to cut them off and they have casualties, then their only way to retreat is towards the Eodrass Temple grounds. But the place¡¯s too far and completely abandoned for centuries. They will also be moving away from the road and Goras.¡± Kalac wouldn¡¯t willingly shove himself deeper in the trap. No. ¡°The Cultists would have blocked the road anyway,¡± Folen said. ¡°They could hide in the caves for a bit I suppose.¡± ¡°Tarn¡¯s message says otherwise,¡± Glen grunted. ¡°Kalac wants us to help him out because he fears he might not make it out at all. He can¡¯t make it for whatever reason. Horselords don¡¯t get worried easily.¡± ¡°It could be a trap Glen,¡± Fikumin noted. Of course it is a plaguin¡¯ trap! ¡°Would Kalac talk?¡± Glen asked. If he got captured was his meaning. ¡°Someone would even if he stayed silent and the Cultists will execute the rangers for sure,¡± Fikumin argued. ¡°Probably kill them all.¡± Yeah, Glen feared that. ¡°Rothomir could be near.¡± ¡°Would he know about Kalac¡¯s party? I don¡¯t know,¡± Fikumin replied and there was commotion at the door. ¡°I can¡¯t sweep it under the rug,¡± Glen murmured. ¡°Maeriel won¡¯t accept it and Whisper will be livid at the suggestion.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t make it in time to Eroshin,¡± Fikumin said. ¡°Not before Rothomir reinforces whatever he has there, assuming it¡¯s more than Cultists.¡± Glen felt an ulcer starting in his stomach on top of the migraine. He puffed out to give himself time, but Anfalon clad in his Hoplite armour burst inside his hall and marched straight to their table almost trampling the diving away in panic Atju under his boots. For slovenly fuck¡¯s sake! ¡°Hardir,¡± Anfalon boomed, voice reverberating inside the walls of his hall. ¡°Give the order. The men are ready to leave in an hour. We¡¯ll be there in a month, if we make no stops and give it our all.¡± Eh. You perhaps. Everyone else would be dead long afore that. ¡°Hardir?¡± Anfalon queried eying him under his heavy helm. The motherfucker looks huge and is fit as fuck, but only horses can keep up with him, Glen thought with a frown and pressed a finger on the persistent throbbing to relieve some of the pressure and avoid an aneurysm. ¡°Bing close the darn doors! Fuck¡¯s sake this is not a lettuce store! No one enters without my say so,¡± Glen barked. ¡°Kirk run upstairs and keep Sen and the girls away! Atju clear the fuckin¡¯ table. Leave the wine!¡± He took a deep-deep intake and added hoarsely. ¡°I want to hear numbers and the semblance of a bloody plan afore I go anywhere!¡± ¡°We can¡¯t lose time,¡± Anfalon cautioned him. ¡°Use the Wyvern,¡± Folen suggested and Glen flinched. Uvrycres could kill everything probably, but this needed a surgical strike and not rushing in with a sledgehammer, or a fireball. ¡°On our own kin?¡± Anfalon grunted and turned to face the former bard, who took a precautionary step back whistling a mellow tune to calm him down. Anfalon didn¡¯t appear to mellow up at all. ¡°Who cares about the Cultists?¡± Folen argued respectfully, going another way. ¡°Rothomir is no cultist unskilled bard!¡± Anfalon blasted him. ¡°Uvrycres can¡¯t discriminate in the heat of battle,¡± Glen explained remembering the fight with the Hydra and the wyvern blowing up Folen¡¯s beach tavern. ¡°He may harm friends and foes alike.¡± ¡°There are Elderbloods with Rothomir as well,¡± Anfalon rustled. ¡°We can¡¯t turn the Wyvern on them Hardir. We should fight them in the field. May the best one wins.¡± Yeah, I¡¯m not that noble to risk that too friend, Glen thought and stood back puffing his cheeks out, the pressure getting to him. Push comes to shove, Rothomir burns along the rest of them. ¡°Someone bring me the numbers,¡± Glen said with a sigh. ¡°Anfalon, you start. What does Abarat have available?¡± ¡°A five hundred strong guard,¡± Anfalon replied. ¡°Every castle had a similar contingent of troops.¡± ¡°Anything else?¡± ¡°Could he have secured troops from Lo-Minas?¡± Folen asked. ¡°Unlikely,¡± Anfalon spat. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Glen probed. ¡°The Queen¡¯s stables,¡± Folen replied readily. ¡°If they are left standing. They are the nearest place he could find help.¡± ¡°When you say stables?¡± Glen asked him perturbed and Folen blinked afore replying. ¡°What the name says Garth. Picture the Sinya Goras and Taras Lake districts together as you call them. Nothing to worry about sort of speak.¡± Glen blinked in shock, feeling extra worried despite his assurance. ¡°If the Rokae are involved, we might want to ask Angrein to make us some caltrops,¡± Anfalon said thoughtfully. ¡°But no such rumor has reached us.¡± ¡°Rokae?¡± Glen croaked not liking the sound of that. ¡°Zilan knights,¡± Folen elucidated. ¡°A ceremonial unit mostly. The Cataphracts took over for them ages ago, but the empire kept them around for sentimental reasons. Like chariots, they are a thing of the distant past.¡± Not if they are stationed in Lo-Minas, he thought. They aren¡¯t. Luthos stepped on his unwashed cock. Up and gave himself cockrot, Glen murmured under his breath and found a chair to sit down. ¡°Hardir?¡± Anfalon probed him, eager to start heading towards Kalac¡¯s last known position. ¡°Give me a moment mate. Someone has to think things through,¡± Glen grunted livid. ¡°Go get your Hoplites ready. Fikumin, empty the warehouses with Angrein. Arm everyone with anything we have.¡± The semblance of a plan forming in his mind. ¡°Everyone Garth?¡± Fikumin replied. ¡°Kalac said everything, so yeah. Not the time to be frugal. I want every horse in all districts brought here. Strip the caravans and tell Sam to hire everyone that can lift a long knife. I¡¯ll eat the cost,¡± Glen replied and glared his way. ¡°Folen sent a bird to Voron. Tell him to drop the repairs on the port and rush to get ¡®Fat Libby¡¯ ready to sail as soon as possible.¡± Glen stood up and walked to the map again. Unsheathed the witch¡¯s dagger and placed its tip on Hardir¡¯s Port, then cut a line across the gulf to Eodrass¡¯ Temple ruins. How long? He asked the Wyvern¡¯s Tongue and the dagger answered him with a sinister hiss. Less than a week, faster if the gulf is navigable. Is it? Glen asked, everyone watching him thinking he was probably mulling things over. He was. Yes. -
282. Come soon, bring everything (2/5)
Glen Arguen Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Lord O¡¯ Morn Taras Come soon, bring everything. Part II -If it comes down to it-
(Right click on image to open fully) - ¡°No,¡± Glen said firmly and kept his eyes on Inis-Mir rolling her gold egg all over her huge new bed, Iskay rolling alongside her giggling. ¡°I¡¯m not staying behind husband,¡± Sen-Iv insisted setting her jaw stubbornly, seeing seduction hadn¡¯t worked. Well, it actually had worked fabulously, if one wanted to be precise, but not to advance her demand. ¡°The decision has been made,¡± Glen told her matter-of-factly and glanced at Maeriel standing at the door, the ranger¡¯s eyes on his daughter. ¡°It¡¯s a foray into hostile lands and jungle terrain unsuitable for babies.¡± ¡°I know of caravans,¡± Sen argued. ¡°Inis-Mir is safer near you. We both are.¡± ¡°This is the safest place Sen,¡± Glen countered. ¡°The supply train isn¡¯t a caravan. You stay, end of discussion.¡± ¡°What if someone tries again?¡± Glen grimaced seeing her worried. He didn¡¯t like that, but he¡¯d too much on his mind to add another problem to the task at hand. ¡°It won¡¯t happen.¡± Sen sighed and hugged his waist tight. ¡°I don¡¯t like it when you¡¯re nervous,¡± she murmured in his chest. Glen kissed the top of her head, then cupped her face with his hands and raised it to stare in her exotic eyes mesmerized. ¡°Say you¡¯ll stay here and be careful then and I¡¯ll stop being nervous,¡± he told her. ¡°I can¡¯t wait another year alone,¡± Sen warned him. ¡°That was torture.¡± It was, but there are worst things than that babe. ¡°I know. You¡¯re my treasure,¡± Glen teased her touching the small diamond on her nose, his finger tracing her shapely mouth. ¡°Literally. Let me get to the meeting please.¡± ¡°Can I keep you?¡± Sen-Iv purred trying again, kissing his knuckle. Yes. ¡°No. It¡¯s important,¡± Glen replied with a wink and pulled away. ¡°Do what Uvrycres says,¡± Sen said to his back and Glen paused with a frown. ¡°How do you know what he says?¡± he asked her and Sen raised a dark painted brow. ¡°The way you do,¡± she replied vaguely. Ah, girl. Glen checked to see he still had the dagger with him. ¡°I mean it Glen,¡± Sen-Iv whispered. ¡°I can¡¯t just kill them all arbitrarily,¡± Glen murmured knowing Maeriel was hearing everything. All he needed now was for Jinx to start calling him a murderous tyrant. As if there were rulers that weren¡¯t tyrants, or murderous. The Gish was suspicious enough already and fiercely disapproved of those wielding too much authority. No wonder they are stuck living on their islands. The Gish had never built a city, much less a kingdom. ¡°That¡¯s not how it works.¡± The thing is of course Whisper is right most times far as what¡¯s decent or not goes. ¡°Yes you can,¡± Sen argued harshly that darker side of her coming out. She would do whatever was necessary to solve a problem, however risky, or distasteful. ¡°And it is,¡± his Cofol wife added.
Anfalon was present, the Zilan had brought his exotic spear along all the other weapons, but the guards weren¡¯t brave enough to ask him to leave them at the door. It was doubtful Anfalon would anyway. Soletha had just arrived with Lymsiel and were standing further back, leaving the table to Fikumin, Folen, Aenymriel, Vaelenn, Metu and Voldomir. Angrein was busy, Voron was still at the new port and Leona passed out in the brothel for the second day in a row. The latter a good thing. ¡°How many have you gotten ready?¡± Glen asked staring at the map with a permanent scowl. ¡°A hundred and fifty have Hoplite armour on, four hundred and fifty have gotten the old weapons. The rest we can¡¯t arm adequately.¡± ¡°What do they have?¡± Fikumin eyed him sternly. ¡°They can¡¯t go Garth.¡± ¡°What else?¡± ¡°Sam enlisted seventy adventurers of sorts,¡± Fikumin replied. ¡°Half of them are criminals in my opinion. A number of pirates in the mix.¡± ¡°Criminals can kill stuff,¡± Glen deadpanned. ¡°What about the caravans?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have a problem with the Sopat¡¯s but I have three formal listed complaints here. They ask for leverage for their animals.¡± ¡°Not their guards?¡± Glen retorted. ¡°The guards will get paid by you.¡± ¡°How much do the merchants want?¡± ¡°More gold than what you have available.¡± Glen sighed. This was always going to hurt him financially. ¡°Pay them in wine.¡± ¡°The Zilan would want to get paid as well,¡± Fikumin cautioned him and Glen glared at Soletha. The female stepped forward and smiled. ¡°The producers will accept Garth¡¯s word for a later payment,¡± she started and Glen nodded pleased, frowning when the mature Zilan added. ¡°In writing.¡± Soletha had a thing for official decrees. Perhaps it was the fact she¡¯d been exiled for so long. ¡°How many Cofols?¡± Glen asked Fikumin who glanced at his papers. ¡°About a hundred, mostly horse archers, but they come armoured. These caravan units are neither full knights, nor light cavalry.¡± Expensive as fuck I bet. ¡°They get paid in coin?¡± ¡°Upfront for two months.¡± ¡°Six,¡± Glen countered readily. ¡°I get the option to renew their services.¡± ¡°The merchants need to return Garth,¡± Fikumin reminded him, but Glen shrugged his shoulders indifferently. ¡°They could hire a new bunch from Eikenport. The road is safe,¡± he glanced at Metu and the Cofol gave him a scroll with numbers on it. ¡°Supplies?¡± ¡°Nine hundred horses of various qualities, sixty mules and a hundred and twenty camels my Lord,¡± Metu replied. ¡°We scrapped the city clean.¡± ¡°How many soldiers can we load on the ship?¡± ¡°Less than four hundred men without animals.¡± Glen thought he should have brought all the ships, but he didn¡¯t know Kalac would get himself in trouble and expedite the campaign. There was a lesson to be learned here, he decided. Always plan for war the same as you plan for a robbery. Bad shit might happen, an alarm raised, or the owner returning early. ¡°Anfalon your boys will use the ship,¡± Anfalon had fully trained two hundred Hoplites. The procedure brutal and with no wiggle room for mistakes for those attempting it. He would cut a cadet without a second thought if they veered off his instructions. ¡°Plus another a hundred and fifty of the guard. All Zilan Fikumin and I want a commander.¡± ¡°You think Kalac might have gone to Eodrass¡¯ Temple?¡± Anfalon asked him. ¡°Aye. It¡¯s a small chance, but if he¡¯d made it there you can break him out using the ship. If not you¡¯ll march through the jungle road towards the bridge, but not engage afore you get word the rest of us have arrived.¡± The two groups would probably be a couple of weeks apart, even with Glen using a completely mobile force. Fikumin taking his cue cleared his throat and summed up the numbers. ¡°Four hundred and fifty regulars from the city guard will take the long road,¡± the dwarf said using a quill to write the final numbers down on a fresh scroll. ¡°Seventy adventurers and about a hundred caravan riders for the second group. This gives a total of six hundred and twenty. A bit more probably.¡± ¡°Everyone gets a horse?¡± ¡°We have horses. We don¡¯t have good horses.¡± ¡°Keep the best, return the others,¡± Glen ordered and stared at the map again. ¡°We must reach the neck of the crater as fast as possible gents. We will leave the supply train there, continue without it. Fiku we need a travel station built there. By the way that¡¯s an oversight on your part mate. Make it a small fort to control the south approach towards the Pale Mountains.¡± ¡°We are doing all we can Garth,¡± Fikumin replied scowling. ¡°Do better,¡± Glen retorted. ¡°Someone give me an estimation. I¡¯m running out of spit god darnit! What is this? Speak up my friends! How long to reach the bridge?¡± ¡°Less than a month for sure,¡± Folen replied cautiously. ¡°Two to three weeks.¡± ¡°Two or three?¡± ¡°It depends on the road,¡± Folen said. ¡°It¡¯s the rainy season.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t fear rain, but I¡¯m concerned about that Hydra. Soletha how did Pelleas manage to bring it here?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know Garth,¡± Soletha replied. ¡°It was here when we returned to Goras.¡± ¡°Vemoro wouldn¡¯t have moved from his marshes,¡± Anfalon elucidated. ¡°It is strange that he did.¡± ¡°How do we know it was the same? Anyone asked for its plaguin¡¯ name because for sure I didn¡¯t?¡± Glen probed curious. ¡°You think there¡¯s another?¡± Folen stood back with a frown. ¡°That¡¯s rather interesting.¡± No dude, it¡¯s rather disconcerting. ¡°All I¡¯m saying is, perhaps he had to move because things were getting crowdy back home, or whatever the fuck they call what that thing lived inside,¡± he grunted. ¡°You¡¯ll bring the Wyvern Garth?¡± Aenymriel asked innocently. Glen had almost forgotten she was there. Din as well, Metu almost had a heart attack seeing the assassin standing next to him. Soletha stepped forward and opened a vial in front of his face to bring the faltering Castellan about. Glen grimaced, but nodded once to answer Nym¡¯s loaded query. He had to. Glen couldn¡¯t afford to lose a potential confrontation. This is one of those rare times where the house owner comes at you with a cleaver, but ye have to make a stand and not leg it out of the window because the loot is un-fuckin¡¯-losable, the window five stories up with sharp angry rocks waiting underneath it. Ye better have a spear in hand then and skewer the motherfucker dead.
¡°Walk with me,¡± Glen told Aenymriel, the dressed in a simple dark blue kimono female following after him with a slight head nod. Her hair cut very short, in a military manner complementing her unadorned look. They walked outside and waved for Kirk to stay at the door while they rounded the first corner of his villa leading to a dead end alley. ¡°People might talk,¡± Nym taunted and signed for Din who¡¯d followed after them to guard the corner.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. ¡°What do people say when they do?¡± Glen asked her sternly. He had Folen¡¯s report of the general mood in the city, but Aenymriel¡¯s point of view was always interesting. ¡°The Horselord asked for help,¡± Nym whispered stooping near him. Up close she looked more female, her elongated ears very thin almost translucent. The small dark veins clearly visible under the pale skin. ¡°Is Glen interested?¡± she asked sensing his scrutiny and Glen blinked. ¡°I¡¯m just curious.¡± It was the truth. Nym while comely without making an effort was also chillingly scary. The crazy wench variant. He¡¯d something of Lith in her. Maybe it¡¯s all that old blood, he thought. ¡°Perhaps you should sample Folen¡¯s plebeian girls first? There are steps in pleasure one must take in turn. My tastes are rather fridge and frowned upon I¡¯m afraid. Eh,¡± Aenymriel hushed with the tiniest hint of a blush, but she circled her finger in front her mouth timely afore finishing and her words were scattered in the empty street unrecognizable. ¡°What?¡± Glen gasped not understanding the meaning of her gesture. ¡°It¡¯s a spell,¡± she explained. ¡°What I said after ¡®in turn¡¯ is of little interest to you.¡± Glen frowned. ¡°I¡¯ve heard everything,¡± he admitted with a shrug. Nym blinked slowly, her indigo eyes twitching in anger, but quickly relaxed her ire melting away. She then reached with a long thin index finger and tapped the pommel of his sheathed dagger once. ¡°Naughty witch,¡± Nym murmured with fake courtesy. ¡°A wyvern¡¯s bone hidden in plain sight.¡± ¡°Anything else?¡± Glen grunted. ¡°People wondered what your response would be,¡± Aenymriel replied. Glen had feared that. He couldn¡¯t show any weakness. Leaving Maeriel¡¯s pupils to get killed by the cultists would rile up the locals, even if no one cared about Kalac and his people. ¡°What is there we don¡¯t know about?¡± Glen asked her. ¡°Olonelis, Elwuin, Onas and Paeris are members of the Council of Twenty currently living in Abarat,¡± Nym said confidently. ¡°They backed Rothomir¡¯s claim for the throne.¡± ¡°What throne? There¡¯s nothing left,¡± Glen grunted. ¡°Yet, people say you¡¯re the Monarch with a wyvern friend.¡± ¡°Hardir was supposed to have a wyvern.¡± ¡°But not to assume the throne outright. Hardir O¡¯ Fardor was foretold that he¡¯ll pass judgement to the wicked. As for the Wyvern, Pelleas started his journey trying to be you. When he found no Wyvern to befriend, or tame, he went for something else. In a sense he¡¯s a Hardir as well.¡± ¡°He tamed the Hydra?¡± ¡°As much as you tamed the Wyvern,¡± Nym retorted calmly. ¡°Yet, you are backing me,¡± Glen countered. Nym nodded. ¡°I didn¡¯t care about Hardir the myth. But this Hardir is a Monarch I can get behind. I like your style oh Arguen Garth. It has exciting potential.¡± Hmm. ¡°How many other members are still breathing?¡± He asked her. ¡°Lord Suraer is one. He¡¯s difficult to approach.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s he?¡± ¡°Lo-Minas.¡± ¡°The guy is backing Rothomir?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe he will,¡± Nym replied. ¡°Anfalon fears it.¡± ¡°Anfalon thinks militarily. This is a different matter. You won¡¯t face riders in Eroshin.¡± Glen frowned not knowing whether to believe her or not. His instinct was telling him Nym wanted him campaigning against Rothomir. She had urged him since the start to take action. Would she downplay the danger? ¡°Anyone else that can cast a vote?¡± He asked her instead. ¡°Your Anfalon. The Sorceress.¡± Lith. ¡°You,¡± Glen said remembering Anfalon¡¯s words and deciding not to bring Lithoniela up. It was moments like these he missed those early days¡¯ and the friends he¡¯d found at the start of his adventure. Emerson as well. Yeah. Years later the image of Lith maiming their attacker didn¡¯t appear as disturbing. He¡¯d seen much worse since those days. ¡°I don¡¯t think the others would appreciate my presence Glen,¡± Nym said teasingly using his real name. ¡°I would appreciate yer vote,¡± Glen retorted. ¡°So what the others think I don¡¯t give a shite about.¡± Aenymriel stood back pleased. ¡°You only need one vote Hardir,¡± she said absentmindedly. ¡°If everyone else is dead.¡± Mine, was her hidden meaning and it chilled Glen¡¯s blood, because he realized the Elderblood assassin was deathly serious. ¡°Let¡¯s not go there yet,¡± he replied diplomatically and with a nod walked towards the corner. ¡°You are staying to guard my wife,¡± he told Din and the assassin glanced towards Aenymriel. ¡°Have you found anything else?¡± ¡°Din believes the killer is on the loose still,¡± Nym replied for him and approached them. ¡°Qanuq wore closed-type sandals and the footprints were from heavy boots. Pretty common unfortunately.¡± ¡°God darnit,¡± Glen cursed and pressed his lips tight. ¡°Any way to narrow it down?¡± ¡°They were made on Jelin,¡± Nym replied. ¡°Din thought he recognized the type of nails used on the soles.¡±
¡°Citizens of Sinya Goras,¡± Vaelenn finished her brief speech on the legality of his decision, with several historic examples of past massacres cited for the general assembly. Glen hoped it wouldn¡¯t come down to that. A crowd of almost ten thousand had gathered to hear Glen speak about the coming foray in the interior of Wetull. Zilan, Cofols and humans making the majority of it, but Glen spotted a couple of dwarfs and the pink head of a Gish amidst the crowd. The festival stand used to give him a good vantage point over the mostly unknown faces. On the west side of the packed grounds stood the Goras soldiers in full battle gear, the light rain making their armours appear slick and new. ¡°Friends, family, allies, associates and lowly slaves,¡± the judge continued in fluent common her voice rising menacingly. Vaelenn is one hell of an enthusiastic orator, fake hand, or not. ¡°Bow afore Hardir O¡¯ Fardor, celebrated Arguen Garth, First of his Bloodline, Keeper of the Onyx Wyvern, Lord of Morn Taras and the Monarch of Goras!¡± Damn old girl, Glen thought appreciatively and stepped forward accepting Vaelenn¡¯s deep curtsy with a broad grin, he quickly dropped to address the big crowd. The falling rain getting on his nerves. ¡°I could have gone another way,¡± Glen started nonchalantly. ¡°I found wickedness aplenty here right? But we had a contract made you and me,¡± he continued in a reasonable manner, but loud enough to be heard over the roars on the sky. ¡°A friendly understanding and an honest deal. We made things work here, kept each other safe by avoiding stupid shit. Some though think because we are peaceful and cultured individuals we ought to be made fools and taken advantage off. It won¡¯t do,¡± Glen paused to stare at the silent nervous crowd and then glanced at Uvrycres watching him speak from the rooftop of Folen¡¯s brothel. The Wyvern¡¯s snout covered in vapors as it breathed under the falling rain and its glassy black scales shining bright with every lighting, almost as much as its gleaming rubicund eyes. ¡°Maeriel¡¯s rangers are precious, the Horselords are precious. EVERY FUCKIN'' CITIZEN IS PRECIOUS!¡± Glen barked hoarsely getting all riled up. EEERRRRRRRR Uvrycres shrieked, the prolonged trumpeting menacing sound rattling Glen¡¯s teeth and the crowd reeled in panic fearing he would unleash another fireball on them, the remnants of the burned up beach tavern¡¯s footprint still visible on the granite tiles. ¡°Precious. Every citizen under my protection shall not fear any lord, any king and no FUCKIN'' CULTIST! Tomorrow the army of Goras shall march down the coast and remind everyone responsible for this sleight, of this simple god darn fact! Our contract shan¡¯t be broken! What I say goes and not otherwise. You know it, it¡¯s high time the rest of those cunts learn it as well,¡± he finished under the thunderous roars of the crowd, a healthy mix of screams in it as well, probably fueled by Uvrycres that decided to blast a long column of flame towards the black angry skies. For a moment the cool rain falling over the crowd turned to hot vapors, the warmth blasting a smiling Glen in the face very pleasantly. He waved at the delirious citizens and visitors and jumped from the stand lithely to walk towards his waiting council. ¡°That was pretty amazing milord,¡± Kirk commented sounding moved. ¡°Yeah,¡± Glen agreed grinning. ¡°I thought so too.¡± ¡°Excellent speech Garth,¡± Folen said. ¡°I liked the fireworks at the end.¡± ¡°Twas spontaneous,¡± Glen replied staring at Fikumin¡¯s guards picking up a few of the injured and unresponsive. Soletha rushing to offer her services. Lymsiel had followed Anfalon and his own group that had departed earlier for Hardir¡¯s Port to board ¡®Fat Libby¡¯. ¡°Let¡¯s hope no one died from it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s expected,¡± Vaelenn assured him with a rare smile. ¡°Am I to follow Garth to his conquest?¡± ¡°Foray,¡± Glen corrected her, wiping his face from the moisture. ¡°Aye, you will come along. Soletha too.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll make arrangements,¡± Vaelenn replied very pleased. ¡°Tell Fikumin to make a roof for the darn stand while at it,¡± Glen grunted, realizing he was soaked to the bone. ¡°A massive Auditorium is perhaps the correct word here,¡± Folen noted treading carefully. ¡°Someplace where talented people can perform, after Garth¡¯s rousing speeches.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± Glen murmured unsure, not liking the use of massive next to unknown words. ¡°Let¡¯s speak of this another time. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve the coin for it now.¡±
AERR EAEEEEEEEEERRRR ARRRRRERRR? The shrieking Wyvern was flying low over the rows of riders early at dawn the next day, the horses neighing disturbed when its shadow touched them and the sun coming behind the heavy clouds a putrid orange red. It painted the mounted men and women in its crimson hues ominously. Sam Mathews and his group leading the seventy strong mercenaries. The men and women staying loosely with their friends. Hush, Jingo and Hilton Marlo with Sam. Mary Clopton and Lydia Hyde behind them. Zacharia and his hard-faced lads after them and so forth. Ran-Sahor the Cofol mercenary captain with his hundred hardened guards. The giant Hoplite Hobor, the Nord atop his great warhorse and Lyceron next to him, leading the hundred and fifty strong Zilan soldiers Anfalon had cut originally, but found themselves in Hoplite armour and spears due to circumstances. Captain Caius Mutilus, a Legio veteran turned adventurer only to return to the army with a promotion and Lieutenant Barnaby Darcy his second, with the main force of three hundred guards clad in Cataphract scaled armour, swords and shields. Glen stood up straighter atop Outlaw, the loyal horse snorting probably not excited to start another journey into the unknown. He secured the gold rimmed hoplite helm on his saddle and glanced towards the stand where families and friends had gathered to bid the soldiers farewell. A heavy mood all about the square, Uvrycres unnatural trumpeting shrieks not helping at all. Jinx jumped from the stands to approach his group -Sen had stayed away for security reasons- and Glen smiled seeing her friendly face. ¡°Oi,¡± Jinx said and smacked his knee once. She looks tiny from atop Outlaw, Glen thought. A kid almost. Then he remembered that Jinx was still one in Gish years. While he was in his twenties and full manhood, poor Jinx had been left behind. ¡°I have written some things for you to look for,¡± She had a tattered, twisted piece of paper in her hand. ¡°Only grow on that part of the continent.¡± ¡°Whisper for fuck¡¯s sake, I¡¯m not going on a vacation,¡± Glen grunted and grabbed the paper with her unintelligible scribblings to glance at it. ¡°What in Luthos lost gonad, is cosmos and Rost orchis?¡± Soletha who was riding next to a rigid Vaelenn and a whistling annoyingly Folen, the Master of Silence had brought his lute along ¡®to inspire the troops¡¯, stooped and pored over the paper quickly. ¡°The first is a dark red leafed sunflower,¡± she commented. ¡°Very rare, used in the drugs you¡¯re smoking,¡± Glen frowned at her innuendo. ¡°The other is a ghost orchid, so you were quite close Garth. It means testicle in old Lorian.¡± ¡°She wrote nothing close to that!¡± Glen blasted her. ¡°That¡¯s the letter R clearly and its missing stuff on top of that!¡± ¡°I did!¡± Jinx protested a bit flushed. ¡°Look at the tight turn! It¡¯s the same!¡± Glen groaned and pocketed the crumbled paper. ¡°What does she need that for?¡± he asked Soletha. ¡°Nothing,¡± Jinx blurted out. ¡°Hmm,¡± Soletha murmured thoughtfully and reaching abruptly over the saddle slapped Folen squarely in the face to stop his whistling. ¡°Lady Jinx is hoping to catch the larvae of a giant sphinx.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Glen queried even more confused than a minute ago. ¡°None of yer business!¡± Jinx hissed and punched him in the knee hard. She howled miserably right after, hurting her hand. Glen wore hardened leather knee pads over his pants. Mail reinforced. ¡°A very big moth,¡± Soletha replied in her measured manner, whilst eying Folen disapprovingly. ¡°If dried and grinded you can use it in fertility potions.¡± ¡°Hahaha!¡± Soren, the other member of Glen¡¯s group, guffawed thunderously and Soletha glanced his way with a rare warm smile. ¡°Well that was not useful at all. More like disturbing,¡± Glen commented and signed for Kirk to get them going before it started raining again. ¡°Whisper, I trust you to keep my family safe,¡± he said as a final word. Jinx sighed and stood back from his horse still holding her right hand. ¡°Don¡¯t be a fucking idiot. It goes without saying Glen.¡± ¡°I meant you as well,¡± Glen told her seriously. ¡°You¡¯re part of it Whisper.¡± ¡°Uh? She¡¯s what?¡± Soren grunted and turned his red head. ¡°Since when? What is going on here Glen?¡± ¡°KIRK!¡± Glen barked after rolling his eyes so hard he almost damaged the nerve endings. ¡°GET US MOVING FOR CRYIN¡¯ OUT LOUD!¡± If it comes down to it, Jinx had written him under her list of ingredients Glen should look out for, get yer stupid arse back safe ¡®n loose the loot. A wish, as much as a pointed reminder of the time Glen had almost gotten himself killed over trinkets in Hellfort years back. Also a warning.
Garth had a thousand men and women with him younglings. Zilan, humans and two giants. As many mounts. It was late winter, the year of the New Calendar 191. The year changed on the road as a matter of fact. Yes, the numbers don¡¯t sound like that much today, but then you need to take into account the Wyvern. Uvrycres was young then, but still quite magnificent and the strongest wyvern of them all. Then there were the warriors that rode alongside him. Mighty Soren and the Majestic Lyceron. Aenymriel and the Great Anfalon. Hobor the Giant Nord and Noble Sam Mathews. All those that joined beyond the Canal. When Garth returned to Goras much later than he¡¯d anticipated originally and for a different reason, Wetull had a king and the phalanx marched behind him. The famed knights of Cydonia with their silver masks and magnificent horses came alongside them, from one continent to another. You don''t recognize the name for the people still call him today as they did back then, the dreaded King beyond the Pale Mountains. Duath Erin I Menel, the Shadow in the Sky. - Fikumin Flintfoot Jarl of all the Folk First Servant of the Onyx Wyvern Foremost Shield, of the King beyond the Pale Mountains, Lord Arguen Garth Aniculo. - Chapter IV -Prologue- (The Palace of Red & Gold) An Adventurer¡¯s Tale Circa 250 NC
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 283. Come soon, bring everything (3/5)
Roran, of Saeveril Come soon, bring everything. Part III -Death awaits in silence-
Roran had ordered all three ships that brought them across to stay with Onas¡¯ transport and persuaded Vulas to leave a small contingent behind to guard the ¡®docks¡¯ near Teleniel Bridge¡¯s ruins on the east side of the channel. Most of its base and giant arches remained, sprouting out of Serpent Canal¡¯s calm waters, but even Voron¡¯s monumental Second Era public works -one of Quiceran¡¯s better student¡¯s- had suffered in the quakes that had followed the Fall. The canal itself widening at some places, narrowing in others according to Elwuin¡¯s decade long measurements, yet another huge money-sink to Lord Rothomir¡¯s coffers. The former had always favored the research route more and famously had never finished something that was truly practical in its originally planned form. His biggest accomplishment the Aqueduct that started at Edlenn¡¯s Pond and reached Elauthin, was to be a hanging highway originally. A vain attempt to reduce travelling time across the plains by weeks. Amidst its construction, Elwuin realized elevation favored something entirely different and that he could use the current created in the lake by Shaelor River ¨Cone of the longer rivers in Wetull proper- to provide a source of water for the metropolis. Two centuries and countless manpower hours later, water did reach Elauthin, but the Queen declared it undrinkable due to its high sulfur concentration and decreed it was to be used for irrigation instead. While citizens used the water eventually in many parts of their everyday lives, it remained one of the most expensive a hundred and seventy kilometers of bridge ever build, mainly due to the iron used in it. The much simpler and inexpensive road Rothomir had ordered rebuilt in contrast, brought them near Quiceran¡¯s ancient walled Academy after a pleasant quick march, before they continued on for Serpent Canal. The sturdy building extensively damaged but still standing, a silent massive mausoleum for its respected namesake creator and most of his brilliant students. Roran would have preferred the very useful four kilometers long bridge ¨Cit was built at the narrowest part of the canal- to have survived instead. Not all of them could board the ships and sometimes in war you have to plan for a retreat, or lose everything. So they lost two days instead waiting for the ships to make the back and forth trip.
He heard Bellas ordering a halt responding to Roran¡¯s signal and Malon boomed from the front of the formation stopping the Othrim just before the stone bridge. Axilyel, followed by Ievis, reached him a moment later, her large Imperial Destrier neighing proudly and shaking its soaked mane. The rain had stopped, but had left a muddy terrain behind. ¡°Onas is camped half a kilometer from the bridge,¡± she reported. ¡°Neither guarding it, nor close enough not to allow someone from slipping through.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s not critique the Old Eye so soon,¡± he told her and removed his helm to better scan the terrain. ¡°Hug the river bank to the other bridge. See if they¡¯ve repaired it.¡± ¡°Ievis will go,¡± Axilyel replied and turned to her partner. ¡°Take two rangers with you. Eyes only, then bring your arses back here.¡± ¡°Bellas make camp,¡± Roran ordered his fourth in command. ¡°Vulas will arrive later. Let him move on towards Onas if he wants,¡± he turned to Axilyel again. ¡°Anything standing out in Onas¡¯ camp?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a roofed horse corral built, which is always fancy, but the horses graze outside of it,¡± Axilyel replied with a smirk. ¡°Soldiers guarding on the perimeter.¡± ¡°The prisoners,¡± Roran said. ¡°Anything else?¡± ¡°Ulovir¡¯s marching here,¡± Axilyel replied. ¡°Onas has a couple of scouts hidden in the Beewort patches on the other bank and they spotted us sniffing out the bridge. Pretty decent lads.¡± ¡°How could you tell where they were then?¡± ¡°Found red piss near the bridge¡¯s mouth. Chewing beets turns urine red.¡± ¡°Yep,¡± Roran agreed and turned his eyes on the damaged but still standing bridge. ¡°Find a spot for your rangers Axilyel. I¡¯ll talk with Onas and Ulovir first, then we¡¯ll work on a plan.¡± ¡°Onas will have one ready, your words I believe Othrim Leader,¡± Axilyel taunted and she was right.
Ulovir¡¯s face showed his relief seeing them moving out to greet him. ¡°Any casualties?¡± Roran asked after a warm brief exchange. ¡°Not from our guys,¡± Ulovir replied. ¡°Onas fresh recruits got wiped out to the last in the jungle.¡± ¡°Where in the jungle and why?¡± ¡°The road to Eodrass Temple,¡± Ulovir grimaced. ¡°They fought well, but fell into an ambush. Onas used them as bait to draw the Horselords out.¡± Roran nodded. ¡°They doubled back?¡± ¡°Yep. They also fought on foot.¡± ¡°Any Cataphracts amongst them?¡± They might have kept up the lessons learned while serving the empire, he thought. ¡°Nah, just fancy dressed Horselords. Radpour¡¯s kin rules on Eplas now. These though are rebels working for this Hardir of Goras. Savages. A couple of rangers with them. Zilan apparently.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I know Goras was loose on traditions, but I can barely understand what they¡¯re saying,¡± Ulovir reported. ¡°A couple of the lads from Goras claim their accent is alien. They might even be strays Roran.¡± ¡°You said rangers.¡± ¡°I fought them, they are trained alright. Very skilled, caught whiff of a couple of Faelar¡¯s tricks as well,¡± he added glancing at Axilyel, who¡¯d frowned hearing her old mentor¡¯s name. ¡°That fucker lost a Council position for a mere century they say. An unreformed and unrepentant Edlenn fanatic. You think he¡¯s still breathing?¡± Faelar had been exiled from Queen Baltoris well before the Fall in her purges. That was a very long time ago. ¡°If Faelar is in Goras,¡± Axilyel spat glaring at Ulovir. ¡°Then the Sorceress is there as well. He¡¯d gotten her out after her mother¡¯s murder. Most Edlenn¡¯s sympathizers escaped alongside her.¡± Hmm. ¡°There¡¯s no way Aelrindel has returned,¡± Roran grunted, not wanting rumors spreading and old disagreements surfacing anew. ¡°Those exiles Pelleas fought were pathetic wandering remnants worshiping a false Goddess. The Sorceress is most likely gone Axilyel. It¡¯s been centuries and the humans wouldn¡¯t have allowed her to live amongst them. If it¡¯s one thing I remember of Aelrindel other than her¡­ talents, is that she couldn¡¯t stay irrelevant for more than a minute.¡± Ulovir smacked his lips. ¡°Endowed all around, nicely shaped too,¡± Ulovir added needlessly and Axilyel nodded in agreement. They spent a moment silently ruminating on Edlenn¡¯s prettiest of offspring¡¯s. It ended when Roran inevitably recalled her tragic sister¡¯s death, his mood changing. He wouldn¡¯t be here today without Rinariel¡¯s help. The ranger shrugged her shoulders noticing it. ¡°I¡¯ll speak with those fake rangers,¡± she murmured and walked to her horse. ¡°Lord Suraer had a change of heart?¡± Ulovir asked when the ranger had moved away and Roran grimaced in response. ¡°Right. Of course not,¡± Ulovir answered his own query. ¡°What is Onas doing Ulovir?¡± Roran grunted now they could talk freely. ¡°Looking for alternatives. There might be an onyx wyvern coming Roran. The old man was with us back then.¡± ¡°I bloody remember. It¡¯s not Gimoss. This one is tamed Ulovir.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s crazy that we haven¡¯t got one for so long and the first one¡ª?¡± Roran cut him off with a wave of his arm. ¡°Enough fearmongering. Gimoss was killed in the First Era. Over a millennia separate the events Ulovir.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no black in the colors of the rainbow Roran. Black is death and it comes from Mistland.¡± Oh, for the love of the Goddess! Ulovir has spent too much time listening to Darunia¡¯s fantasies of noble mythic beasts. A beast is a beast. Colors have nothing to do with it. The Fall had spared no one. Wyverns and Zilan alike had turned to dust. Roran glared at him. ¡°You¡¯re citing superstitions. Wyverns can be any color, they god darn like! Separate foolish romantic tales from reality.¡± ¡°I will, but our side don¡¯t have one is my meaning,¡± Ulovir retorted setting his shoulders. ¡°Olonelis is on board?¡± Roran grunted. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Ulovir replied tensely. ¡°Rothomir wants to fight?¡± ¡°He can¡¯t do otherwise,¡± Roran said through his teeth. ¡°We can¡¯t just roll over Ulovir.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not Onas¡¯ plan Roran,¡± Ulovir retorted. ¡°Let me speak with him,¡± he hissed. ¡°Get your men back into the fold Second Hoplite,¡± Roran ordered and went across the bridge to find Onas.
Onas seemed as comfortable inside his tent as inside the Council meetings. Clad in his ancient armour, lit pipe in hand and his ruined eye visible. Onas never bothered to cover his injury. ¡°Roran, leader of the Second Othrim. Preserver of the Phalanx,¡± Onas taunted seeing him enter. ¡°Rothomir got scared and sent you to assume command?¡± ¡°Vulas is right behind me. He¡¯ll be here soon,¡± Roran grunted. ¡°How¡¯s the field treating you Onas?¡± ¡°Same shite,¡± Onas replied with a grimace and blew smoke out, then proceeded to empty his pipe. ¡°Different millennia.¡± ¡°Some things have changed,¡± Roran noted and seeing no spare chair, he remained standing. ¡°Everything comes and goes,¡± Onas rustled and pointed at a cut stub for him to sit down on. ¡°It¡¯s good you brought reinforcements. One can never have enough of that hehe.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the situation?¡±This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it ¡°Simple,¡± Onas replied soberly. ¡°He brings the Wyvern, we are fucked. The manner I¡¯ll leave to the historians.¡± ¡°Rothomir is working on a solution,¡± Roran told him. ¡°He gave you Scorpios? Because as you recall that shite didn¡¯t work that well back then.¡± ¡°He kept them. I wanted to move fast. Olonelis wants you to talk?¡± ¡°Olonelis doesn¡¯t command me,¡± Onas said staring at him angry. ¡°But she can listen with open ears. Good lass.¡± ¡°What are you doing here Onas?¡± ¡°Looking to solve a problem afore it turns into a catastrophe,¡± Onas replied. ¡°We have put someone in charge to fix the mess. Restored some order in Abarat and we might even get that old goat in Lo-Minas on board, preserve our way of life. In the meantime, the world changed around us and there¡¯s another lad in Goras roaming about with his wyvern apparently. Working on fixing the mess as well. We found ourselves a bit overcrowded at the top spot. Can two fat-arsed people sit in the same chair? I think not hehe. Right?¡± ¡°Not a Zilan. How can the Tamer of Beasts be a human? Worse yet, assume the throne? He¡¯s supposed to fight wickedness and he walks with exiles!¡± Onas shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Don¡¯t be emotional. You loved Edlenn, everyone did. Yes she wanted to crunch on the occasional rib from time to time, boil a finger, or two, for her spells. Let¡¯s be frank here, one old soldier to the other and away from these court cunts. One king is okay with magic and taking it up the arse with his wife watching, the other bans magic and frowns at sodomy. Baltoris was a rigid rock, a distrustful, brutally pious ruler that saw her parents slain and blamed the Old Ways for it.¡± ¡°Edlenn had quarreled for years with the King about not agreeing to end the war.¡± ¡°Edlenn hadn¡¯t the stomach for war anymore, not after losing as much as she had in that campaign. Everyone had,¡± Onas replied his face hardening. ¡°War will chew you out thoroughly, strip you of everything precious and leave you an empty husk, if you¡¯re lucky. You want to learn who killed Ninthalor ask Paeris he was sleeping in the same fucking bed!¡± ¡°I have. He recalls naught but a shadow and the blade that gutted him, it was a miracle he survived,¡± Roran grunted. ¡°Yeah it was, but I would have expected something more from him,¡± Onas argued. ¡°Eh, then again Paeris has never been the same after that night so he didn¡¯t escape completely unscathed. Edlenn though wasn¡¯t involved for sure. The High Priestess wouldn¡¯t have sent an assassin.¡± ¡°Who would?¡± Roran asked. ¡°That rabbit hole I ain¡¯t eager to dive into again my lad,¡± Onas cautioned him. ¡°A human can¡¯t rule Onas,¡± Roran snapped. ¡°You¡¯ll turn us into slaves? That is not the word!¡± Onas grunted and got up to stretch his back. ¡°I was pretty young when Sintoriela returned with Ninthalor and Kallister from Cydonia,¡± he started after a moment of thoughtful recollection. ¡°Still remember the ships turning at Witch¡¯s Dagger to enter the Old Port Canal. The crowd gathered at Elauthin. Uhm, plenty of enthusiasm, the three gongs sounding on top of the Crimson Temple. They made a palace out of it later, poured gold over the walls to hide the old cracks aye. The Lords of Cydonia had agreed the Zilan should have a King. Isildor had gotten outvoted. What a rush that was haha! A month of celebrations and Elauthin turned into a warzone when all control was lost. The new King fixed that is the tale, but the truth is people just sozzled down everything that was available, then fucked and murdered their way out of it. They just couldn¡¯t gorge themselves anymore and stopped. Sintoriela came up with her prophecies after that good old fashioned orgy. Galadriel had a few of those as well, visions of the future that is. Nororis, the Blue likewise. The King went with his favorite witch instead, the local girl and gave the other witches the shaft. It wasn¡¯t because Galadriel was from Cydonia. Nororis was from Goras and had gotten the same treatment.¡± ¡°Were their visions different?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t remember. It doesn¡¯t matter is what I¡¯m trying to say son,¡± Onas replied. ¡°They could be wrong. They could be right. Hardir could have been a Zilan, or a human. He may be destined to judge, or rule. Words are close in translation, the meaning vague. Here and now we must deal with a problem and citing prophesies counts for little out there.¡± ¡°The Elder¡¯s visions hold no meaning?¡± ¡°They do, but not in the field Roran,¡± Onas replied and clasped his hands behind his back. ¡°In the field you know very well we go by rank and simple instructions, or it¡¯s a fucking mess. Hence why Rothomir sent you. He wants to fight and win.¡± ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°If the Wyvern is here, we talk a lot,¡± Onas replied. ¡°If not and he brings the hordes of the Steppes with him we talk less.¡± ¡°If he doesn¡¯t?¡± ¡°I have Pelleas in the swamps. He¡¯ll swing around the rises and cut him off at the gullet,¡± Onas replied. ¡°I keep the bridge unprotected on purpose, the camp small and visible.¡± ¡°You want them to march straight for the river.¡± ¡°Yep. If he does and Pelleas cuts him off, we might have a chance to kill him,¡± Onas replied. ¡°Deal with a rogue Wyvern anew later.¡± ¡°Pelleas can¡¯t possibly hold him trapped Onas.¡± ¡°Always leave your opponent the option to retreat, in this case over the Cultists corpses.¡± Right. ¡°Rothomir wants to rouse Nororis sister,¡± Roran told him and Onas flinched in shock. ¡°After thirteen centuries? Noble is the Goddess my lad,¡± he grunted adding with a grimace of frustration. ¡°I¡¯ll take my chances with the fucking wyvern.¡±
Elwuin looked ill and worn out. The famed academic covered with a blanket under the corral¡¯s shade. The Abarat Scouts guarding the entrance eyeing Roran apprehensively when he stopped in front of them. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Roran grunted. ¡°Lord Onas wants them watched, Othrim Leader,¡± one of them replied. ¡°That¡¯s Elwuin over there,¡± Roran grunted. ¡°And that¡¯s Lady Darunia!¡± Darunia paused her ministrations on the Horselord and waved a hand his way. ¡°Orders are orders sir,¡± the Zilan scout replied setting his jaw. ¡°It¡¯s for their own protection.¡± Bullshit. ¡°Let me through,¡± Roran hissed and shoved them aside. Darunia got up and approached him with a smile. Her clothes were covered in mud and knowing her tidiness, they were in the field for a long time. ¡°To the Heavens our greetings,¡± Darunia said courteously and used a tattered cloth to clean her hands as best she could. ¡°Our hearts and songs,¡± Roran replied politely, not wanting to upset her. ¡°I look horrible,¡± Darunia told him with a blush. ¡°It¡¯s raining and the mud doesn¡¯t behave.¡± ¡°Stop it, you are a sight for sore eyes,¡± Roran teased her. ¡°Why are you in here Nia?¡± ¡°Eh,¡± Darunia chuckled and tapped his chest. ¡°I try to keep a patient alive.¡± ¡°Elwuin?¡± Roran asked with a glance at the miserable academic. ¡°He¡¯s fine, just rattled at not being allowed to visit Eodrass Temple and thinking of stuff. You know Elwuin, it can take him a month to get over things, but eventually he does. He really wanted to go,¡± she replied. ¡°You are tired. I have something¡ª¡± Roran stopped her. ¡°You have it wrong Nia. Onas is holding you here. I¡¯ll talk with him.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind and he¡¯s not really,¡± Darunia replied. ¡°A tent is no better than this roof.¡± ¡°These are prisoners,¡± Roran glanced at the scowling Horselords. The meanest of them sporting a bronze hand amongst his lesser injuries. ¡°Onas wants them alive,¡± Darunia explained. ¡°And he left you as deterrent to some fool wanting to take a shot at them?¡± Roran grunted and the pretty Zilan stepped back with a cute frown. ¡°I want them alive as well,¡± she told him simply. ¡°Hardir O¡¯ Fardor is coming,¡± lowering her voice to add meaningfully, much as she understood it. ¡°Woe to the wicked.¡± Damn it lass. Roran stepped back. ¡°Darunia you shouldn¡¯t be here. Elwuin as well. Stop spreading these rumors to the troops. This is not an expedition. I¡¯ll sent an escort to take you back to the ships.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not yours Roran, of Saeveril,¡± Darunia replied hauntingly. ¡°Nor beneath you. So I won¡¯t be ordered around and I won¡¯t go.¡± Sweet noble Goddess, Roran cursed and hanged his head. He glanced towards Elwuin and the conceited academic returned his stare with a glare, no recognition in his eyes. ¡°We have the opportunity to carve a way towards the Temple for the first time in centuries and what did those idiots decide to do? Hmm? They start killing each other! Run around for a bit, then start all over again!¡± He breathed once deeply frustrated. ¡°I got stabbed as well. Me! Who does that?¡± he pointed an accusing finger at the smirking Horselords. ¡°Those cretins did it! But I brushed it off, all in my effort to behold what¡¯s hidden behind the proverbial cosmic curtain. The hidden meaning. There¡¯s a wyvern coming they say, but no one thinks to visit Eodrass Temple? I can understand illiteracy and an idiot¡¯s inability to comprehend simple patterns, but at such big numbers it is bordering the absurd¡­ is that you, Roran?¡± ¡°In the flesh. I¡¯ll look to get you out Elwuin,¡± Roran said and Elwuin blinked, tossed the blanket away and got up looking about him all bewildered. ¡°Goodness me, there¡¯re horses outside the fence. Is this a prank?¡±
Hardir O¡¯ Fardor appeared right before sunset. He had crossed the gullet swiftly, the roaring sound of many horses coming down the valley loud enough to wake the dead. He stopped before the forest and near the edge of the Unscaled Overhang¡¯s caves kilometers away from Onas camp. Unwilling to move. ¡°He has men pouring inside the treeline,¡± Axilyel replied. ¡°Others searching the caves. Most of the soldiers left their horses at the rear. No Cataphracts, but they are horse archers present.¡± ¡°What else?¡± Onas grunted, as the army had made camp well beyond even the Zilan¡¯s ability to see, even if they used the Long Eye. So they had to send in the rangers to find out more. Not an easy task with dark falling fast. ¡°He must have arrived a couple of days earlier,¡± Axilyel continued. ¡°Rested the army before the gullet, then crossed it fast. He has Hoplites with him Lord Onas,¡± the Ranger said, her eyes on Roran. ¡°Pelleas had panoplies found on the dead, used it for his cultists,¡± Onas retorted. ¡°Weapons don¡¯t make the soldier.¡± ¡°They seem well drilled and these look like Hallowed Othrim colors.¡± No way. The Hallowed fell in Oakenfall to the last alongside Queen Baltoris. ¡°Who leads them?¡± Roran asked with a frown. Axilyel glanced at her partner Ievis who¡¯d approached the closest. ¡°A hulk Nord from Yalca,¡± she replied and seeing that no one believed her, she added. ¡°There¡¯s another one near Hardir. That¡¯s a giant for sure.¡± There was no Nord, Hulk or otherwise serving with the Hallowed. ¡°You¡¯ve seen him? This Hardir from Goras?¡± Onas queried, more interested in their mysterious opponent. ¡°He¡¯s in hoplite armour with gold details on the helm and the wyvern¡¯s markings on the cuirass. Stands separate from the hoplites but he has a lot of Zilan with him. Not all of them warriors.¡± ¡°Any sign of the wyvern?¡± Roran asked clenching his jaw. ¡°Everyone is looking at the sky,¡± Axilyel hissed. ¡°Many sightings, none credible.¡± ¡°Send a runner, I¡¯ll talk with him,¡± Onas decided. ¡°He doesn¡¯t have the numbers,¡± Roran reminded him. ¡°And he¡¯s only seen Rothomir¡¯s guards.¡± His Othrim kept beyond the river still. ¡°It¡¯s better to gauge a man¡¯s character when he believes he holds the upper hand,¡± Onas replied. ¡°If he¡¯s that confident he has our measure to not use the wyvern, then I might be inclined to listen to Rothomir¡¯s man.¡± Vulas had arrived later that morning. Roran saw Axilyel¡¯s troubled expression and turned her way again. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°We lost a ranger.¡± ¡°An animal? The local flora?¡± Onas queried. ¡°Some of the trees in the jungle are vicious.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s an animal, it ate her whole, bones and weapons included, which is unlikely. Trees don¡¯t do that at all, they only suck on the flesh,¡± Axilyel continued looking at them shook. ¡°Nor do they cut their prey¡¯s ears and nail them on a trunk with their own dagger.¡± ¡°Good grief,¡± Onas gasped. ¡°What does it mean?¡± Roran asked the troubled ranger. Axilyel could discern the Hunter signs as good as anyone he knew. The Imperial Ranger shook her head. ¡°Not a normal tracker¡¯s sign this. Not even a stern warning. We don¡¯t do that to one another. This a barbaric taunt from a twisted and sick fuck. Mocking our skill¡ª¡± ¡°A promise,¡± Onas said interrupting her. ¡°Din Nkwale. Silent death ¡®awaits ahead¡¯. It was the message left on the wall of the royal bedroom. Din Naicale means the Silent Dagger. It¡¯s an assassin¡¯s sign this and a clever wordplay of sorts. If one ¡®doesn¡¯t hear well¡¯ he might mistake one word for the other.¡± That¡¯s just bloody great. ¡°Who would know of this except for you Onas?¡± Roran asked. ¡°In this camp? Only me I¡¯m afraid,¡± Onas replied and rubbed his wrinkled face with a hand. ¡°Yeah, they have eyes on us as well.¡± ¡°Would they know of the Othrim?¡± ¡°The river is further back, not as easy to cross the bridge. Don¡¯t light any fires,¡± Onas cautioned him. ¡°I¡¯ll talk with Hardir.¡± ¡°Now?¡± ¡°It appears he has started killing us already,¡± Onas replied. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of night ahead of us son. Do you intent to sleep with your eyes open?¡± Roran didn¡¯t intent to sleep at all.
While Garth was busy on how to tackle the force that had camped near the bridge, Tarn one of the Horselords that had traveled with Kalac, arrived. He¡¯d managed to escape Rothomir¡¯s soldiers and avoid capture hiding in the caves. The scouts had retreated after finding the supply train and remained away for weeks. Tarn gave his version of the story and urged Garth to strike at the strong, but not as strong as they had feared idle force. Their numbers equivalent to what Garth had with him at the gullet, but probably less and without serious cavalry. Garth didn¡¯t want to fight in the dark, even if the Zilan had no problem with it. He also waited for Anfalon¡¯s hoplites to arrive, the better troops there enough to make the coming battle a formality on paper. There was a lot of back and forth, but Garth wasn¡¯t going to be persuaded. He sent Sam Mathews to control the forest on his north flank, placed the guards and Lyceron¡¯s hoplite-style armed soldiers in the middle and kept the south approach open. Anfalon was coming from the jungle road for sure, as according to Tarn, Kalac had turned back and had been captured or killed on the return trip. The problem with mercenary troops is they are very difficult to control when in such big numbers and in so expansive a battlefield. Tarn left livid at his decision and Ran-Sahor the leader of the caravan guards who had sided with Tarn on the merits of a surprise attack given the numbers, decided to test the Zilan¡¯s perimeter right away. As it happened the moment a rider from Onas arrived, the latter a Zilan Council of Twenty member present in the field, Ran-Sahor started his raid. There was no talk and the messenger never made it back. The manner of his untimely demise a mystery, nobody really bothered to investigate in the chaos that followed.
284. Come soon, bring everything (4/5)
¡®Noble¡¯ Sam Mathews Come soon, bring everything Part IV -Only fools fight in the dark-
(Right click on map to open fully) - ¡°Fast moth¡¯rfuckers,¡± ¡®Grimace¡¯ Oswald declared, lower portion of his mouth crooked where a mule had clipped it when he was little. Allegedly. He was talking about Ran-Sahor¡¯s caravan riders. As a matter of fact this was the same exact thing he¡¯d said half an hour earlier, when the Cofols had galloped the other way. ¡°Them nimble small horses,¡± the former pirate added, squinting his eyes to better see the group now returning in the direction of their large camp. There and back again. ¡°What are those slanted dicks doing?¡± Mary Clopton asked, the heavy-bosomed hunter wearing a mean expression on her face. ¡®Crusty¡¯ Glover another from Zacharias group grinned wide, gold teeth gleaming eerily in the light of the moons. The clouds clearing in the sky allowing their light to illuminate the flat fields beyond their tree line. Sam rushed stooped behind the long flat leaves of a fat tropic tree, heavy dampness soaking his clothes, found an even bigger one next and stuck his head out to better see what was going on. The bigger horse caught up with the Cofol in the blink of an eye. Its legs moving in a blur as it covered the distance so fast that by the time the man turned around to check whether he was being followed, the Zilan was right next to him. Similar scenes playing out across the field in the distance. Shite! Sam gasped witnessing the Cofol¡¯s neck breaking, head stuck in the mud when it pivoted and the Zilan Ranger snapped his head his way, eyes gleaming as if he could see Sam thirty meters away, hiding behind the local banana tree. The fruit of it full of seeds and not that flavorful. ¡°Tits on that blonde,¡± Glover said coming up from behind him. ¡°I swear¡ª¡± The arrow lifted him clean off the ground, mud and rotten leaves flying everywhere and hurled him backwards two meters to nail him on another moss-covered tree trunk. His words left unfinished. ¡°THEY¡¯RE COMING!¡± Sam barked at the top of his lungs and dived away. He rolled out of the flat meter-long leaves towards their positions, but found a Zilan sneaking up in there, bow in hand and aimed. Not towards him. Sam grunted, made to down his sword, but the differently dressed Zilan scout, jumped away on one leg, rotated mid-air bow turning alongside him and fired afore he landed with his back on another tree trunk. The arrow whistled over his head, Sam ducking in panic and his boots slipping on rotten shrubberies, leaves and termite gutted branches. He landed on an elbow his teeth rattling, heart beating wild and unready to fight for his life so soon. But fight he did. The Zilan jumped on him, blade gleaming in the dark and its face dark, but for the azure eyes. Sam twisted madly, trying desperately to find the arm holding the knife, catching the blade near its grip instead. The Zilan pushed hard to knife him between the ribs, the blade opening his palm, thump blocking it from going forward for a second. The next the long knife continued moving, its point digging into his mail rings and Sam growled frantic as he¡¯d his right arm blocked. The Zilan opened his mouth, smelling of gore and ripe fuckin¡¯ banana of all darn things and Sam lowered his head in a last moment good old fashioned head-butt. The forehead on nose-bridge variant. Blood splashed him in the face, the crunch of the bones breaking nigh satisfying and the Zilan recoiled with a groan. Sam didn¡¯t even breathe. He swung his sword to shove the blocking knife aside and cut the scout once across the chest through his armour. ¡°Bah!¡± The Zilan gasped and tried to move to the side, but Sam switched the grip on his sword and cut it once more vertically right at the collar bone, his sharply edged blade sinking to the lungs. He killed it dead. ¡°Damn,¡± Sam grunted breathing heavy at last. Fucker almost had me there. Knowing this was no time to celebrate he stepped over his opponent trying to locate where everyone else was. It wasn¡¯t difficult. There was intense fighting all about him, so he clenched his jaw and headed further inside the trees.
Lydia Hyde shot an arrow from almost point-blank range despite her surprise, but the Zilan scout put a hand on it and snatched it away as if the two of them were performing a number in a Lesian circus. Lydia cursed and jumped away dropping her bow, nervous fingers fumbling with the handle of her shortsword. The scout flipped the arrow in his hand and hurled it her way so fast and with so much force, it went into her thigh to the fletching¡¯s. The Lorian adventurer let out a scream and stumbled back a couple of feet in shock. With a snort the Zilan reached calmly for an arrow to finish her off, but Zacharias who was running towards her across from Sam dived rather adroitly for such a heavy-set man and bodied the scout to the ground. ¡°Moth¡¯rfucker,¡± Oswald cursed, a bleeding cut on his left arm, an arrow protruding out of his back and came faltering near them. ¡°Where?¡± Sam grunted and twisted about to locate the scout that had shot him, while the former pirate wrestled the other on the ground. ¡°I got her,¡± Mary Clopton informed them and stepped out of her hiding place. ¡°Popped her blue tit I did.¡± ¡°BIT O¡¯ FUCKIN¡¯ HELP HERE YE CUNTS!¡± Zacharias blasted them still fighting with the scout and Sam got a dagger out. He tossed it to Mary. ¡°Help ¡®em out,¡± he ordered her and sprinted away to find his friends.
Had Hush been naught but a finger taller she¡¯d been dead, Sam thought, the woman sporting a bleeding line where the arrow had grazed her sworn head. Jingo dodged the Zilan¡¯s shortsword, downed his axe to cleave the arm wielding it off, but got punched in the throat afore he could swing his weapon again and was pushed back. ¡°Galloping,¡± Marlo grunted parrying a similar blade away two meters to his right, a manic grimace on his rugged face. ¡°Fuckin¡¯ Goblin!¡± The Zilan jumped away with an affronted glare and reached for his satchel. ¡°Ignorant Sinya Nore,¡± he spat and flinched hearing Sam¡¯s tumbling sword plunging his way. The long blade zipped past Marlo missing him for a hair and despite the Zilan¡¯s desperate attempt to get out of the way sunk into his chest with a thud. ¡°Just pissed myself,¡± Marlo declared gravely and stuck his own sword into the slain Zilan just in case, afore turning to deal with the maimed scout that was trying to get away, the Zilan¡¯s hand on the stub to stop the bleeding. ¡°Twas a burst,¡± he clarified walking a bit funny. Sam stepped in front of the faltering scout, mouth pressed tight. ¡°Give it up mate,¡± he warned the Zilan, but before he could get a reply Hush sneaked up from behind the injured scout and opened his throat with her dagger. A torrent of blood splattering Sam¡¯s pants. ¡°Fuck you,¡± Hush spat, face covered in gore from her own cut. ¡°Well, that¡¯s a finger up the stinger,¡± Marlo agreed and stooped to get Sam¡¯s sword out of his opponent. He tossed it to him with a glare. ¡°Almost had me there lad. Not in a good manner is my meaning.¡± ¡°I had to think fast,¡± Sam admitted. Hurling the sword was a risky decision. ¡°That¡¯s the troublin¡¯ part,¡± the veteran adventurer said with a grimace. ¡°That you were thinking.¡± ¡°Any others sneaked up inside?¡± Sam asked him, while Hush went to check on Jingo. ¡°Who the fuck knows at this point?¡± Marlo grunted and wiped the moisture off his face. ¡°Let me talk¡ª¡± ¡°They are coming,¡± Hush said interrupting Sam and pointed with her arm beyond the treeline. The Zilan cavalry had stopped pursuing the Cofols in the distance and turned back, but there was a large black mass coming from the river now. A lot of soldiers moving together. ¡°Find the others and regroup,¡± Sam said and sheathed his sword. ¡°Stay in the trees. I need to inform Garth.¡± ¡°What are we supposed to do?¡± Marlo griped. ¡°I¡¯ve piss in my boots here lad. It¡¯s warm now, but swiftly coolin¡¯ off!¡± ¡°Rejoice for it¡¯s good for ¡®em calluses,¡± Sam deadpanned and added all serious. ¡°Stay in the plaguin¡¯ trees gents.¡±
¡°Five hundred,¡± Folen declared, a Hoplite-type blade in his hand, his lute strapped on his back. Garth, arms crossed on his chest, snapped his wild head his way. The curls on it twisting all over the place. ¡°Are ye sure? Cause I can¡¯t see a plaguin¡¯ thing!¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been a scout for a moon,¡± Folen replied and Garth grimaced not looking reassured despite his admission. Lyceron came trotting from the frontline, the three hundred strong guards already formed fifty meters away. ¡°They have the numbers,¡± the Hoplite informed them and Sam cursed looking at their leader thinking about it. ¡°Keep your men for now,¡± Garth told him. ¡°How are Ran-Sahor¡¯s costly idiots?¡± ¡°They lost twenty, as many horses are out of the fight,¡± Soletha said from atop her horse. Soren was standing next to her on foot, but she had to look up to him just the same. ¡°There are Imperial Rangers with Rothomir¡¯s troops. Ambushed them on the return,¡± she added smiling to the grinning Nord. ¡°What should I say to Ran-Sahor?¡± ¡°Hmm. Let them rest for a bit, but I expect them to be ready to help for real this time,¡± Garth grunted and glanced Sam¡¯s way. ¡°You¡¯ve seen any of them in the woods?¡± ¡°Not in the woods,¡± Sam replied. ¡°These were scouts most likely. No fancy armour. I¡¯ve seen one of them in the field riding like a specter right out of Oras Hells.¡± While still not heavy, the rangers wore a distinct tight-fit sturdy armor with interlaced strips of dark-green leather tightly knitted together and reinforced with steel wire. Maeriel had one and her pupils received the same upon finishing their lengthy basic training. Elaniel had one on when she was killed, the memory dampening Sam¡¯s mood. ¡°Mysterious rangers aside,¡± Garth said and walked to his horse. ¡°The plan stays, hopefully without any more surprises. Then again we¡¯ve plenty of crooks an¡¯ fools here to open a fuckin¡¯ guild!¡± ¡°Hardir,¡± Lyceron said, his eyes glowing under his helm. ¡°It is better to reinforce them now. Give me Hobor¡¯s unit and I¡¯ll hit them in the flanks.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a fuckin¡¯ big field, a wide front,¡± Garth grunted. ¡°Let¡¯s not increase it further. I don¡¯t want them lookin¡¯ too close to the south and the jungle. You stay put and Hobor, I need you for later.¡± ¡°For what?¡± Soren asked, but Garth didn¡¯t reply. He signed for Bing and Kirk to follow him and walked away to talk to a runner from captain Mutilus.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°Hey,¡± Soren yelled looking where the big Hoplite stood with his unit of fifty. About twenty meters away from their position. ¡°Where are ye from?¡± Hobor turned his huge helm and stared at him. ¡°North,¡± he replied, his heavy baritone voice heard clearly, despite the clamor of the coming enemy host. ¡°Hahaha!¡± Soren guffawed. ¡°Me too!¡± ¡°Mmm,¡± Hobor grunted. ¡°Sam, I need your men to stay in the forest,¡± Garth said returning. ¡°What is it Arguen Garth?¡± Soletha asked noticing something Sam had missed. ¡°We have trouble at the rear,¡± Garth replied with a frown. ¡°Up at the gullet. Ride to Ran-Sahor and tell him to get his arse on a saddle. I need him to chase Pelleas away.¡± ¡°How do you know it¡¯s him?¡± Sam asked and Garth pointed a finger on the dark skies. ¡°The wyvern told me,¡± he replied and grimaced seeing the rows of Abarat guards marching on their shieldwall. ¡°Folen tell Mutilus I want him to hold whatever the cost,¡± Garth said breathing out and reached for his own helm. ¡°Lyceron, you are helping them if they start cracking. I trust you not to fuck it up.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t Hardir,¡± Lyceron replied solemnly and returned to his hundred-strong unit kept as first reserve. ¡°We need Anfalon here soon,¡± Garth said stopping in front of Sam. ¡°You expect trouble?¡± Sam asked, glancing at the seemingly empty skies nervously to catch sight of the wyvern but failing. ¡°A fuck ton of it,¡± Garth murmured and gave his shoulder a slap. ¡°Tell me this isn¡¯t yer blood.¡± ¡°It isn¡¯t,¡± Sam responded with a frown.
The Abarat soldiers, their bronze colored cuirasses glowing in the moonlight, made contact with the Goras guards in a deafening clash of shields and swords. Such was the rumpus and the violence of their attack the three men deep line of guards reeled back and almost disintegrated on impact. Officers yelled, soldiers screamed and sparks ignited all across the line when blades connected with plate and shield. Metal on metal. The Goras Guard lines caving in right at the middle after the first casualties. ¡°Fuck,¡± Garth said and Sam glanced his way very worried. ¡°Kirk tell Lyceron to move in! NOW! Sam,¡± he snapped turning his way. ¡°Ride back, but don¡¯t engage. Be ready to help though, if this goes south.¡± Huh? ¡°How do I know when?¡± Because this doesn¡¯t look good at all! ¡°Look for Hobor, or Soren,¡± Garth growled and moved to approach the frontline. ¡°The moment you see ¡®em charge in, you move as well.¡± What in all gods, Sam wondered. ¡°Garth I should help right now!¡± he grunted running after him and the young Monarch of Goras paused, grabbed his shoulder and eyed him feverishly. ¡°There¡¯s twice their number beyond the river,¡± Garth told him. ¡°We can¡¯t retreat and they won¡¯t stay there forever. So shite hits the fan, you¡¯re comin¡¯ out of them woods. Ye get it now?¡± Good grief. ¡°Aye,¡± Sam grunted and Garth let him go. ¡°Good man,¡± he said.
Sam reached the first trees of the forest ten minutes later and found Marlo eyeing the unfolding battle sporting a deep frown. The rest of the adventurers had gathered at the edge of the woods as well to watch the struggle. ¡°How many did we lose?¡± Sam asked Marlo. ¡°Half a dozen.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°Some might have gone to loot Rothomir¡¯s camp. What am I? Their moth¡¯r?¡± Marlo informed him with a shrug. ¡°Seems as good a plan as any. Where are the Cofols? Could have used them now.¡± ¡°Garth sent them in the gullet. We have Cultists near the supply train,¡± Sam replied and checked to see if he could spot the Zilan camp from where they were. He couldn¡¯t. ¡°Fuck the supplies. He needs them here, they are creeping around our line,¡± Marlo grunted. ¡°Eh, here comes Lyceron at least.¡± Sam turned to watch the Hoplite¡¯s assault on their opponent¡¯s south side. Their arrival stabilizing the line and even pushing the Abarat soldiers back. ¡°We should attack now!¡± Hush yelled to be heard. ¡°Fuck are we waiting for?¡± ¡°Garth says there are enemy troops beyond the river!¡± Sam yelled back at her. Hush blinked, then nodded. ¡°You think Anfalon got lost?¡± Marlo asked only half-joking. I sure hope not. Sam sighed and gave a slight nod to Mary who had approached them to return his dagger. ¡°Gratitude Mathews,¡± the hardened adventurer said. ¡°I cleaned it for ye.¡± ¡°How¡¯s Lydia?¡± ¡°Bandaged. In pain. But she can shoot an arrow,¡± she replied and pointed at a resting at the base of a tree Jingo. ¡°What is he doing?¡± ¡°Got a knock on the head,¡± Marlo replied. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about him. Fucking bullshit,¡± he puffed his cheeks out. ¡°Only fools fight in the dark.¡± Aye, Sam thought. And Tyeus laughs at them.
Having been alarmed by Ran-Sahor¡¯s returning raid Garth prepared his force for Lord Onas response, but the Zilans didn¡¯t respond as ¡®swiftly¡¯ as he¡¯d expected. The mercenary riders had reached his camp earlier, killed a couple of guards and got tents and supplies set on fire. It¡¯s uncertain if they caught the Zilan sleeping and they probably didn¡¯t. Lord Onas¡¯ camp was mostly empty. Mounted Rangers came after the Caravan Guards and fought them all the way to the well illuminated Goras¡¯ force night camp. It is very likely the Cofols had more casualties, than what they ever inflicted. While the Ruler of Goras focused on the threat facing him, more danger lurked at his rear. Arguen Garth Aniculo upon learning that he¡¯d a hostile force near the supply train that was still slowly coming up the Gullet, ordered Ran-Sahor¡¯s chastised horse-archers to deal with the threat in his rear. In the meantime Vulas, the leader of Abarat¡¯s regulars was marching from the river. Such was the distance between the two camps due to Garth¡¯s caution that it was quite the time afore the Zilan reached their lines. When they did, whether due to the difference in numbers, or quality, Vulas soldiers almost broke through. Lyceron leading a force of a hundred Goras guards, older and longer trained, managed to block their advance and stabilize the frontline. Vulas¡¯ soldiers were apprehensive at the hoplite-type dragonhead-engraved cuirasses and shields, since the unit wearing them ¨Cthe venerated Hallowed- signified the presence of a Monarch in the field firstly and was an elite Othrim of the Phalanx secondly, no one really wanted to test. Vulas ordered the men back a hundred meters and the fight came to a pause, while the two groups redressed their lines. The Zilan also managed to spot humans amidst the hoplite-armour wearing opponents and that their leader wasn¡¯t a known warrior of the past, but a mere youngling like Lyceron. So not twenty minutes later Vulas ordered another attack and the Abarat soldiers advanced en masse. The second clash fiercer than the first. Brutal fighting ensued, but despite Vulas¡¯ men faring better this time against Lyceron¡¯s unit, the battle slowled down to a crawl. Lord Onas who was watching the fight, ordered veteran war hero and Hoplite leader Roran, of Saeveril to break the stalemate. Turn a grueling slow win into a fast victory. Lord Onas was equally worried himself that if the bloody affair dragged on for too long, the wyvern could make an appearance, or the situation change dramatically as it often had in many past battles. Roran¡¯s ancient Second Othrim went over the bridge at a steady trot unseen, marched the ten kilometers to the battle site in an hour and then engaged Lyceron¡¯s side from the flank. While they executed the maneuver perfectly, they failed to totally surprise the defenders as Garth charged them timely with a smaller force led by Hobor, the Nord and stalled them long enough for Lyceron to turn on them. From the other side of the field, Sam Mathews¡¯ adventurers abandoned the woods and attacked the rigid mass of Hoplites from their north flank, this time the dark working to their advantage. Five minutes in, Garth realized he was losing men at an alarming rate and rushed into the fight himself, bringing Soren and everyone else with him.
The horses had crashed amidst the sinister hoplite formation from the sides. Sam saw the shadowy shapes morph into coherent figures at the last moment and by the time the horse stopped, skewered through the brain by a spear, he couldn¡¯t appreciate the newfound clarity flying as he was over them. He landed on a hoplite and they both went down, the battle lines losing any semblance of order in this part of the field. Sam tumbled in the mud, grass and blood mixed in the mire, his opponent equally covered in it and equally shaken. He stopped on a smarting knee and immediately jumped into a punch, his left hook connecting with the helm-less Zilan¡¯s jaw and snapping his head back. Sam growled more than him, a broken fang lodged between his knuckles, darn thing piercing through his leather gloves like a knife through lard. Sam¡¯s hand was hurting from both sides now and bleeding equally at least. He stepped back, parried a spear thrust away with his sword, but got pierced by another, the blade punching through his shoulder pad. Sam roared and twisted around arching his swing. His sword clanked on a helmet and he dragged it down, cut a hoplite¡¯s face deeply. A shield bashed him from the side and he almost went down, black cuirasses all about him and shields with the red letter Z engraved on them, the Old Lorian number two (II) right under them. God darn it, he thought and rushed a hoplite defending against Marlo. The adventurers all out surprise charge had penetrated deep in Othrim¡¯s formation, which was good as it had disrupted their assault, but they also had gotten themselves as deep in the shite, which wasn¡¯t. ¡°WORST FUCKIN¡¯ IDEA!¡± Marlo roared defending himself like a madman against his skilled opponent. ¡°YER IN A PLAGUIN¡¯ ROLL TONIGHT MATHEWS!¡± Sam made to cut down the Hoplite, but another came at him. He jumped away, tripped on a body and went down. Mary Clopton¡¯s glass death stare unnerving him. He kicked away from her broken body, rolled on his shoulder and jumped on his feet just as Oswald got killed via multiple spear thrusts in his face and chest, his mangled bleeding body making the opposite journey. Sam grunted in rage and jumped a Hoplite his sword swinging. The blade landed on a shield, sparks lighting up his opponent¡¯s alien helm, the eyes behind the sinister long vertical slits cold. A spear whooshed coming at him and Sam ducked instinctively, but gotten a boot on the chest and was shoved back, the Zilan stepping forward. The spear arching around and buzzing as it returned like a scythe. Sam just grimaced, as he didn¡¯t have the time to parry, the battle around him chaotic and a hazy blur that is up until the Hoplite¡¯s armour disintegrated in an explosion of blood, pieces of flesh, bone and what was probably a lot of fucking innards. The heavy battle-axe bursting out of the gored in half Zilan¡¯s stomach. ¡°Gah,¡± Sam gasped covered in gore and a spade like hand reached through his haze to stabilize him, almost pulverizing his shoulder in the process. ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake,¡± Garth complained arriving behind Soren. ¡°Try to crack the heads only my friend, we might need the plaguin¡¯ plates!¡± ¡°Hahaha!¡± Soren roared and then another very tall hoplite came up next to him, the second giant not as amused. ¡°We charge again Garth?¡± Hobor asked, while the Lord of Morn Taras stepped forward, made another two quick steps and kicked an injured enemy hoplite in the head so brutally hard, the boot cracked his jaw and broken his neck at the same instance. ¡°Pull back,¡± Garth replied and stooped to pick up the corpse¡¯s spear. ¡°Let them come again,¡± adding with a glance his way. ¡°Sam you look like shite.¡± ¡°Fuckin¡¯ idiot,¡± Marlo agreed still pissed with him from earlier for whatever reason. None of this was Sam¡¯s idea, or plan. Garth¡¯s respite lasted five minutes.
A wall of spears, lacquered black cuirasses and helms marched on them, slotted through the black shields specially built in openings and this time the defenders were pushed back, the edge of their line caving despite their efforts. ¡°SPREAD OUT!¡± Garth bellowed chopping the shaft of a spear in two and jumping away of another. ¡°DON¡¯T BUNCH UP LIKE FOOLS!¡± ¡°We need to retreat!¡± Sam yelled at him, his left shoulder a bleeding mess, the arm attached on it not in a much better condition. ¡°GARTH!¡± he barked grinding his teeth. A Hoplite got out of the line and charged the Ruler of Morn Taras responding to his words. Sam tried to stop him, but he got speared through the shin by another coming up behind him and went down. Hobor stepped forward and blocked two of them from advancing on Garth¡¯s position, a third one dying for no apparent reason with his throat slit. Garth parried the first Hoplite¡¯s spear thrust away, kicked watery mud on his helm sneakily and attacked when his opponent reeled back half-blind. The Hoplite blocked Garth¡¯s blade with his shield, the metal wrapping and tried to decapitate him swinging the spear wide. Garth ducked under it, rolled on the ground lithely and used a strange silvery all metal axe to savagely strike at his opponent¡¯s knee. A weapon the old Gish used to carry. ¡°Bellas!¡± Someone yelled from the hoplite lines as the Zilan went down on his maimed knee. Garth flipped the sword in his hand switching stance, as he stood up from the ground and chopped the Hoplite¡¯s head clean off his shoulders without hesitation. He jumped away instinctively next, an arrow aimed for his face missing. Garth turned sharply right, another arrow bouncing off his helmet, two more narrowly whistling very near him. ¡°KILL HARDIR!¡± Someone yelled irate, most of the Othrim near their position losing interest in the rest of the fight and the unseen rangers firing arrow after arrow on an agitated Garth. He twisted and turned lithely, a strange dance in the mud trying to avoid getting skewered and surprisingly he succeeded, much to everyone¡¯s disbelief. ¡°What the actual fuck? Did ye see that shite?¡± Marlo commented, a big lump on his forehead and tended a hand to Sam. ¡°Think I broke me head, or something.¡± The Hoplites pulled back again, to redress their lines and Marlo dragged Sam with the help of Soren closer to their own much thinner positions. The battle raging in the center and the distant other edge of the frontline. But it was clear the Zilan were slowly winning as the Hoplite force was still largely intact. ¡°Is he dead?¡± Garth asked, stopping to glare at a Zilan Ranger scouting their position from about a hundred meters away, her silhouette clearly visible now that the waking up fiercely red sun slowly peeked over the heights behind them. Garth raised his arm, hand turned into a gloved fist but for the extended fat middle finger and aimed it at the seething ranger suggestively. This dude, the adventurer thought shaking his head at their leader¡¯s theatrics. ¡°The foot is fucked,¡± Sam grunted responding to his query, clenching his teeth to combat the mind-numbing pain. ¡°And so are we, when they come at us again.¡±
But the Second Othrim didn¡¯t. Not only that, but it had turned around and marched towards the river again. As Lord Onas had feared at the start of the night and the battle, things never stay in one¡¯s favor for long. Gods and war don¡¯t work like that.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 285. Come soon, bring everything (5/5)
The Onyx Wyvern turned its massive two-horned head, dragon eyes opening like lighthouses, red illumination painting the darkness and revealing the hellish landscape. Smoldering ground and debris. Vapors and smoke coming off of mangled torn up pieces of boiled flesh, where the Akens¡¯ large pile of restrained ¡®human lure¡¯ had been left to entice him. ¡°Now,¡± Edlenn hissed and Anfalon vaulted over the broken wall holding ¡®Wraith¡¯ his spear, hobnailed sandals scrapping the edge of it and legs kicking at the air. A breath and the elongated blade plunged in the wagon wheel sized right eye and broke through the gelatinous membrane. It made it pop and burst out like a sack filled with foul-smelling acid. Gimoss snapped his snout back violently with a mighty groan and Anfalon could have lost the grip on his spear, as he ripped it out the deflated fleshy orb. But he didn¡¯t. He hold on to it, left shoulder ligaments tearing and the bone cracking right at the socket joint. Anfalon grunted feet sliding five meters away in the smoldering grit, grinding his teeth as the Wyvern slowly got up on a winged front leg, blinded from one side. Now was the time to run, his instinct cautioned, but Anfalon pulled his remaining working arm back instead, holding the shaft behind its center with his fingers like a javelin. A growling Gimoss raised his black scaly head sluggishly, but very much breathing and stilled his sole dark red eye slit on him. A brave fucking idiot! The poisoned Wyvern blasted equally annoyed and hurting, its hex song bursting the Hoplite¡¯s eardrums. Anfalon gave him a head nod and then made to hurl the spear just the same, realizing mid throw that Gimoss was standing on a winged front leg on purpose and not because he couldn¡¯t use both. The courageous Hoplite grimaced, seeing out of the corner of his left eye the other trunk-sized leg coming too late for him to dodge, with the leathery dark-red wing extending behind it like the mystic sails of an ancient galleon. The next moment his body was thrown back over that wall, turning into a large flying object for a brief thirty meters and the unresponsive Anfalon woke up when he crashed through the cracked Dome, taking half the ceiling down with him. His helm that had restricted his vision enough to miss Gimoss¡¯ sneak attack, kept his brains inside his cracked skull. Well that and the fact Isil Mehtar O¡¯ Mecatan was the best armorer that had ever lived, on top of a very close friend. Anfalon dug himself out of the ruins after six grueling days, but by that time everything was over. He reached Sibara¡¯s torn down walls walking on a shattered shin he¡¯d stabilized with a broken spear shaft, a ruined shoulder and severe potion poisoning as he¡¯d glugged down everything inside his field satchel. Galadriel, the Seer Witch of Cydonia, spotted him first coming out of the ruins and rushed to his aid. There was nothing of Sibara left undamaged either by war, or fire. From the eighty Sorcerers, Witches and their pupils that had arrived to squash the Aken, but ended up fighting Gimoss instead, only a shell-shocked few remained to celebrate a victory that tasted more like a crushing defeat. None looking more hollowed out than the High Priestess herself. Sintoriela¡¯s spawn looked neither majestic, nor talented Anfalon thought approaching with the help of the injured Galadriel. She just looks broken inside. ¡°She can¡¯t find Rinariel,¡± Galadriel informed him, adding empathetically despite their well-documented rivalry. ¡°Better is the knowledge of one¡¯s certain demise, than the endless ambiguity of one¡¯s uncertain survival.¡± ¡°How¡¯s Ena?¡± Anfalon grunted and accepted a flask of water. ¡°What of the Hallowed?¡± ¡°They left with the King. Everyone thought you slain Anfalon. It was a suicide mission. As for poor Ena, she¡¯s badly burned and I don¡¯t think she wants to come back. Not after what happened to Nororis,¡± Edlenn replied clenching her jaw and gathering her robes stood up to allow the healers to take the unresponsive mystic away. ¡°The Blue Sorceress is dead?¡± Anfalon rustled and spat down to wash his mouth from dirt and old blood. ¡°Aye,¡± Galadriel said and took the flask from him. ¡°Enough, back to the ship you hard-headed fool,¡± she added with a courtly smile. Eh, Anfalon thought feeling her fingers warming up soothingly, where she touched his arm. The bone kind of gave, so I¡¯m not sure about that. ¡°Anfalon,¡± Edlenn asked him as they turned to limp away. ¡°Have you seen Rin? She was with the Young Othrim at some point. It¡¯s been ten days now.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll look into it,¡± Anfalon assured her looking back and she nodded clinging to hope. What is a mother to do? Or a father? He added thinking of his own killed daughter. How does one replace the irreplaceable? It¡¯s easier to put a new king on a throne. Or win a war. It took him a day to reach the ruined docks, but the last ship was still moored there and since the Wyvern had flown away, the sailors and injured aboard had been lulled into a false sense of security. Or they were just too traumatized to give a damn anymore, he thought and approached a sitting alone young cadet hoplite, wallowing with his back on the foremast. The injured Zilan, kept rubbing at a dented helm as if he could repair it with his fingers. ¡°You were with the Young Othrim?¡± Anfalon asked him and watched the young Zilan frown at first, then his eyes widening realizing who he was and attempting to stand. ¡°Stay down. What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°Roran, son of Saeveril,¡± the young Hoplite blurted out, his whole torso bandaged and sporting large blisters over both his arms and legs. ¡°Second Hoplite of the Young Othrim,¡± Roran glanced at the helm he was holding shocked as if he¡¯d just realized it. ¡°First, I guess.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t move up the ranks,¡± Anfalon rustled eyeing him. ¡°Unless the spot is vacated lad.¡± ¡°Aye Lord Anfalon.¡± Anfalon sighed and stood to watch at the ship being loaded. ¡°Is there another ship coming?¡± ¡°Edlenn asked for one I believe,¡± Roran replied unsure and Anfalon remembered why he¡¯d approached him in the first place. ¡°The High Priestess firstborn,¡± Anfalon started and the look on Roran¡¯s face told him a great many things. Some of them sweet and a bit foolish given where they were, but the most of it bitter and painful. ¡°Was it quick?¡± He probed to give her forlorn mother at least that. Roran hanged his head and grimaced, giving him the answer. Eh, Anfalon thought his heart heavy, Galadriel¡¯s words coming to mind. How is that better than not knowing Sorceress? How in all gods is that better?
''Great'' Anfalon, of Orloriel Come soon, bring everything Part V -First of the Hallowed-
Lymsiel¡¯s body was warm. Her skin soft and unblemished. At a hundred and sixty years, the young Healer had just started her teen years. Still a baby in a sense, he thought and frowned at her ministrations. Strays grow up faster in the woods it seemed. And old men allow time to wash the rules away. Then again even if one remained unchanged and unmoved alike a granite plinth, the rules themselves didn¡¯t, or there comes a Great Leveler at some point and wipes everything clean. ¡°What was her name?¡± Lymsiel murmured in his ear and Anfalon grimaced. ¡°You¡¯ve let me in, as I did,¡± the healer continued softly. ¡°You knowing don¡¯t mean, I want to talk about it,¡± Anfalon replied and moved, the female¡¯s body an enticing load he could easily cast aside. But he hadn¡¯t. Not the first time months back. Or the second. All the times after that. Old men can be self-serving. ¡°You changed the course of our lives,¡± she reminded him. ¡°The moment you marched into our village.¡± ¡°Maeriel did that.¡± ¡°Nah, it was all you and a bit of Phinariel. We wouldn¡¯t have left if you hadn¡¯t appear. We trust you Anfalon. I do that is. From the very first moment.¡± She wasn¡¯t subtle about it. The young healer had showed her heart from the start without fear and had never wavered. ¡°Hardir must succeed,¡± Anfalon cautioned her crooking his mouth. ¡°Else your trust might turn to regret.¡± ¡°It won¡¯t,¡± she murmured and for a moment they remained silent, each reminiscing of their past. ¡°Was there another after that?¡± Lymsiel whispered, so close to him she could sense his thought patterns. ¡°Many.¡± ¡°I meant another child,¡± she gasped hurt, her gloominess spilling on him. ¡°You know the answer to that,¡± Anfalon grunted and stood up, the shade of the ruined Shrine uncomfortable all of a sudden. ¡°Going another way, won¡¯t trick me into discussing it!¡± he admonished her. Lymsiel stood up as well and went to gather her discarded tunic. Anfalon kept his eyes on her while she put it on dejectedly. With a groan he reached for his undergarments as well. ¡°Speak,¡± he rustled. ¡°Out with it Lymsiel.¡± ¡°What if another came?¡± The healer asked him. Hmm. Anfalon should have figured that one out sooner. It was a concern of course. The strays had multiplied spectacularly in the wild. ¡°You¡¯re too young to conceive¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯m with child,¡± Lymsiel blurted out interrupting him. Ah. ¡°You wish to return to Goras?¡± ¡°All gods, didn¡¯t you just hear me?¡± Lymsiel bemoaned and the Hoplite on watch probably heard her as well. ¡°Lymsiel, it¡¯s standard practice for pregnant females to excuse themselves from campaigns. Signed in law I believe,¡± Anfalon replied calmly and walked to her. ¡°I¡¯m not going back,¡± the healer retorted stubbornly. ¡°Where I¡¯m from females can hunt and serve until the very last moment! This one will!¡± ¡°In the jungle yes, but campaigning is a whole other matter,¡± Anfalon added patiently ¨Cand you can¡¯t hunt to save your life girl- then frowned staring at the jungle around them troubled. He realized it sort of challenged his argument, seeing as they were campaigning in the jungle. Technically they were still in the Temple grounds, but Nature had invaded deep into the ruins. Hmm. ¡°You wish to come with us?¡± ¡°I wish to come with you! Goddess!¡± She bristled. Anfalon nodded maintaining his composure to her outburst and spotted ''Second'' Hoplite Diryel standing uncertain near a leafy wild flower shrub watching them. The watch must have been recalled and Diryel was looking to locate the strugglers. ¡°Yes?¡± Anfalon asked her and Diryel stepped forward with a glance at the flushed Lymsiel. ¡°Zanylon has the troops ready sire,¡± the female Hoplite reported. An excellent student, strong, resourceful and very brave, Anfalon thought and glanced at Lymsiel. Dependable, talented and an empath, Soletha had said, but his mind was moving down different paths. Casting personnel evaluations aside. Another won¡¯t necessarily perish afore you do. It¡¯s fear of loss that¡¯s stopping you, not her merits. ¡°We are ready to march down the road. The guards as well,¡± Diryel added treading carefully. His daughter had been a healer, alike her mother. He hadn¡¯t thought of it up until now. The coincidence worth of note. Anfalon had liked Lymsiel since the first time he¡¯d seen in her village, but for completely different reasons. He just knew. Like every Zilan did and it had nothing to do with merits and castes. Naught to do with the past and the pain of losing. Nor with fear, or stubbornness. All the laws in the Realm couldn¡¯t rule over one¡¯s heart. Unless he was dead. ¡°I¡¯ll catch up with you Second Hoplite,¡± Anfalon replied, his frown deepening. ¡°See to give me a bit of a challenge this time. The unit is seriously slacking lately!¡± ¡°Sire, I¡¯ll stay to¡ª¡± ¡°I need no escort Diryel,¡± Anfalon cut her off. ¡°Lymsiel shall walk with me, so she needs no other escort either. I¡¯ll suffice!¡± ¡°Of course commander,¡± Diryel replied and bobbed her helmed head. ¡°May I offer a personal word sire?¡± Anfalon frowned and stared at her. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Congratulations,¡± Diryel said and turning on her heels trotted away. It was more like a sprint. ¡°You think she¡¯ll tell the others?¡± Lymsiel asked standing alongside him. ¡°It¡¯s the army,¡± Anfalon replied indifferently. ¡°Everyone knows everyone. The news will spread. Nothing to bother ourselves about.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Huh? ¡°What for? It¡¯s the darn truth!¡± Anfalon responded with a glare, though he softened it a bit at the end. ¡°Can you use a knife?¡± He asked changing the subject sort of. She didn¡¯t look like a spear wielding person. ¡°Ahm, a bit,¡± Lymsiel replied unsure and blinked seeing the shortsword he was offering her handle first. Fine, it was a handbreadth longer than a knife, but one needs the reach in a scrap. ¡°I¡¯m a healer Anfalon.¡± ¡°A bit won¡¯t do healer. So you¡¯re training with enthusiasm until we leave the jungle behind. You¡¯re to be a mother first,¡± he deadpanned in a non-nonsense kind of way. ¡°But you can heal your enemies after you cut them up properly. So take solace in that.¡±
They found the ambush site a week later and the road turning much clearer after that. Scattered bones and rotting empty-eyed skulls remained at the drawn out ambush site. The slain left unburied and to the elements. The flesh eating plants had fought with the scavengers next and plenty of animal bones were mixed in with the human and Zilan remains. ¡°A mixture of armours and weapons. Good quality Abarat plates and blades left behind,¡± Zanylon reported, his young face strained. Death is the one thing you can¡¯t train for, Anfalon thought, an eye on Lymsiel wandering about off the path. It has to smack you in the face. Real battle being the second. With fatherhood a close third. ¡°Horselords?¡± He asked with a frown and reached for his spear. ¡°Mostly Zilan. If I had to guess by the Hydra amulets, these were cultists finely kitted. A good trap. Scouts came by days later and continued on after them,¡± Zanylon continued grimacing, when Anfalon hurled his spear in a sudden swift move towards Lymsiel. The ¡®Wraith¡¯ whistled flying true and sunk right through the flesh eating root sneaking up on her, nailing it on the trunk of a nearby tree next, after dislodging it from the ground. ¡°They figured Kalac was heading back,¡± Anfalon continued calmly while Diryel run to pick up his spear and console a shocked Lymsiel.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Ahm, yeah. They will squeeze them between two forces if they have more troops waiting at the edge of the jungle.¡± ¡°That¡¯s already done,¡± Anfalon replied and took the spear back to slot it on his back with the shield. ¡°Lymsiel stay in the path,¡± he added, eyeing the returning pale-faced healer. ¡°Leave flower gathering for later. This spot is tainted with the dead.¡± ¡°Should we send a scouting team ahead?¡± Diryel asked and gave the healer a flask of water to calm her nerves down. ¡°We don¡¯t have time to slow-foot this,¡± Anfalon replied. ¡°We cut west out of the path towards Eroshin¡¯s river bank. Look for the first bridge.¡± ¡°How do we cross it?¡± Zanylon asked. ¡°It¡¯s reported destroyed.¡± ¡°Plenty of ways to cross a river,¡± Anfalon grunted. ¡°The weapons will use a raft, the soldiers will swim using ropes and what¡¯s left of the bridge to fight the current. Either way we hug the river, even if we are forced to use the second one. Avoid the road.¡± ¡°You wish us to approach them from beyond Eroshin? The caves are on the other side of the stone bridge sire,¡± Diryel argued. ¡°So are Rothomir¡¯s troops if he has half a brain cell left. He loses the bridge and we control the approach to the canal, whilst severing his link with Pelleas. Planning a landing is more dangerous than defending land.¡± ¡°He could have men guarding both mouths of the bridge,¡± Diryel countered. ¡°True. But usually the rear sentries are prone to slackening given they have friends and not enemies on the other side of it,¡± Anfalon replied. ¡°And don¡¯t guard their own rear,¡± Diryel added with a satisfied smile. ¡°Despite orders given,¡± he retorted with an angry grunt. ¡°I¡¯ll notify the men commander,¡± she beamed nervously and trotted away. ¡°Was she flirting?¡± Lymsiel asked a little annoyed. ¡°Yep. She was nervous because she¡¯d missed the root sneaking up on you,¡± Anfalon replied and stared at her with the hint of a smile. ¡°I have given her specific orders Lymsiel. She¡¯s to watch over you at all times.¡± ¡°Ah,¡± Lymsiel gasped blushing and stared at her feet. The sandals there standard issue and of no particular interest, given the gravitas of their conversation. ¡°Gratitude,¡± she added softly. Anfalon snorted and pointed at her shortsword. ¡°How about being more careful? Your safety is of a great concern to me you fool! What? You just figured that one out? Good grief,¡± he sighed when Lymsiel leaped into his arms. Every soldier present looking away and to the canopy with renewed interest all of sudden. ¡°Eh, just use the darn blade the next time,¡± Anfalon murmured into her blue mane and kissed the top of her graceful ear. ¡°Stab it down its gullet a couple of times. They hate chewing on steel.¡± ¡°I rather hide behind you,¡± Lymsiel gushed and Anfalon fathomed that worked fine too.
There was a perfectly fine raft waiting on the other side of the collapsed bridge. Plenty of cut wood piled near it and ropes tied to the support beams. So his almost four hundred strong unit crossed the river in half a day. Anfalon wanted to leave Lymsiel back near the riverbanks along with their civilians and most supplies, but while he left most of them there, the healer refused to stay behind. So Anfalon tasked the hundred and fifty guards that were to follow after his fast-moving hoplites as a rearguard to watch over her. He needed Diryel in the frontlines. He knew the newly trained Goras soldiers were a question mark in the field. Even his hoplites were untested in battle. They might perform well, or not. The bigger the unit, the less the coherence. They heard the distant sound of battle on their approach to the half-hidden camp on the Canal¡¯s side of the stone bridge. The lights and the clamor of men and weapons. Garth had opted to fight away from the bridge, drawing away the majority, if not all, of its defenders. ¡°Do we cross sire?¡± Zanylon asked, large green eyes shining under his helm. Two hours marching in the night had everyone¡¯s eyes adjusted by now. ¡°Diryel?¡± ¡°My lord,¡± she whispered, her mouth pressed tight. ¡°Slot your spear and shield. Kopis in hand, after me,¡± he ordered and eyed the nervous Zanylon. ¡°Back to the others. Make no noise, but prepare them for a fast crossing.¡± Anfalon was moving afore the acting ¡®Third¡¯ Hoplite had time to answer him. Zanylon was fifth in rank in the full unit, with Diryel Fourth and Lyceron with Hobor, Second and Third respectively. The ranks given based on skill and on per unit basis. They were curved letter numerals on their helms. If the Phalanx was present in full force, then every Othrim¡¯s First had bronze regalia added on his helm, silver for the Leader of the Hallowed and Lord Superior of the Phalanx. If the Monarch was present his armor was decorated in gold details. Diryel came after Anfalon running hunched to take advantage of the tall beewort blossoming near the river. They dashed towards the bridge¡¯s mouth, but paused twenty meters away when they saw the sentries sitting near the still standing roofed portion of the bridge. Their interest on the distant unfolding battle across the river. Diryel signed with her hands, making a bow and placing a finger on her ear. Scouts, or rangers. Anfalon pointed at her sword and she offered it to him. Armed with both blades Anfalon got up and started walking briskly towards the bridge and the two sentries posted there, an eye on the mostly dark silent camp, the other on the backs of the two Zilan talking with each other about the unfolding battle in refreshingly formal Imperial. Apparently Garth hadn¡¯t used the Wyvern yet. Anfalon walked almost to the bridge¡¯s entrance, but three meters before reaching it, one of the sentries turned hearing his footsteps and paused unsure for a moment before seeing his armour. ¡°Any news sire?¡± he asked him relaxing and his friend turned to glance his way as well, but showing no signs of alarm, that is until Anfalon reached close enough they could distinguish the markings on his muscled cuirass. The Hallowed muscled cuirass was of course decorated differently. ¡°What¡­?¡± The first one said and got a foot of blade through his heart, the leather armor offering as much resistance as his sternum. Very little. Anfalon had used so much force in his strike, the sword punched out of the dead scout¡¯s back moving in a straight line and exiting between his shoulder blades. Anfalon left it there and swung around to deal with the second guard, hearing Diryel running to assist him. The Hoplite¡¯s feet hitting the ground as she approached, another smaller rabbit-like noise moving away from him. Uh? The second scout gurgled trying desperately to draw breath, carotid artery severed and spraying gore down his collar. He collapsed on his knees and slowly drowned in his own blood, the red at the sides of his gnarling mouth and sliced open neck frothing and bubbling. Anfalon twisted about, just as Diryel reached him breathing heavy as she¡¯d sprinted in full battle gear. ¡°Good job sir,¡± she gasped smiling and then frowned seeing the bodies of the slain up close. ¡°Sshh,¡± Anfalon warned her and scanned the bridge first and then their surroundings. ¡°Keep your mouth shut,¡± he whispered and stooped to retrieve his sword. He returned Diryel¡¯s and then walked away from the bridge, his eyes searching the ground for tracks left in the mud. He found none. Where? How? ¡°What is it?¡± Diryel whispered sounding spooked. I didn¡¯t kill the second scout, Anfalon thought nervously and then his eyes returned at the shadows cast by the bridge¡¯s supports. The heavy shadow of the roofed portion of it reaching inland ten meters at least away from the columned entrance. ¡°Give me a lightstone,¡± he ordered Diryel gruffly moving at the edge of the thicker cast shadows to block the way towards the seemingly abandoned camp. ¡°You need to burn incense or your blood for this part,¡± Anfalon said into the emptiness. ¡°Not enough free cover to shield you from my eyes.¡± ¡°Sir?¡± Diryel asked, deeply confused, but tossed him an oval lightstone. Anfalon raised it, waited for it to warm up reacting to his hand''s temperature and then placed it down between his legs. ¡°You have less than a minute. Diryel, toss me another one!¡± Anfalon took two large strides back, sheathed his sword and reached for his spear. ¡°Put it away,¡± a masked Nym chuckled and walked out of the shadows, directly behind Diryel, the tip of her thin blade looping to nick the Hoplite¡¯s chin from behind. Diryel flinched, feeling the blood running down her neck and turned around, gasping scared seeing the blank lacquered black-plate mask the assassin wore, with only her indigo-colored eyes showing through the round incisions. ¡°Step away from her,¡± Anfalon warned sternly. ¡°Put the stone away,¡± Nym chuckled, in a child¡¯s voice. ¡°Or the next cut opens an artery.¡± Anfalon stooped and picked up the lightstone. He tossed it in his satchel and Diryel stepped away from the wearing a thin long cloak, over her tight full body leather armor suit, female. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Anfalon grunted. ¡°There are two votes against Garth in the Othrim¡¯s camp. Thought I''ll find them in the one across the river, but eh, somebody very naughty moved them,¡± Nym started and seeing Anfalon had frowned, she added innocently. ¡°Ah, there¡¯s a part of the Phalanx fighting against Hardir. Right now uhm. I¡¯ve a man, or woman, watching him, but he is in grave danger. You should hurry up and help great Anfalon,¡± she lowered her voice for the next part, sliding near him without making any noise, but for the final two steps she took on her toes. The purposeful tapping sound that of a rabbit running away. Nym chuckled under her mask and added in a dramatic male voice. ¡°Cross the bridge, hit them from the rear,¡± mimicking a famed warrior¡¯s voice perfectly. The warrior being Anfalon. You could mistake her childish madness for stupidity. Innocent. Even playful. You could, if one was a fool. Anfalon raised his spear to keep the assassin away. ¡°Who¡¯s in the camp?¡± ¡°Hardir¡¯s enemies,¡± Nym replied ominously and showed him her empty hands, under her long cloak. ¡°Who¡¯s in the camp?¡± Anfalon repeated gruffly. ¡°Garth is losing,¡± Nym reminded him with a child¡¯s cackle. ¡°Our friends are dying great Anfalon. The Phalanx will march over their dead bodies.¡± ¡°Lead us,¡± Anfalon said with a grimace. ¡°Aww,¡± Nym half-purred half-griped, the final product a chilling snarl and glanced at the staring them intently Diryel. The hoplite had her sword out. Her grip on it so tight, muscles all tensed up, she would probably hurt herself instead of parrying an attack. ¡°Elwuin and Darunia,¡± Nym finally said. ¡°Onas is amidst a lot of blades, but we¡¯re working to thin that out. I hoped you¡¯d buy me the time. You know smashing them into submission with your manly arsenal of moves.¡± ¡°Elwuin is no politician,¡± Anfalon grunted, surprised hearing they were still alive. ¡°Heavens above and Darunia? What she¡¯s ever done to you?¡± ¡°We can use her to influence her mother?¡± Nym asked innocently. ¡°Not if she¡¯s dead!¡± Anfalon growled. ¡°Not if we put a knife on her neck to force her! You¡¯ll never gain her support that way.¡± Nym stood back with a sigh. ¡°Hence why the priority plan is to remove them completely,¡± she elucidated and then jumped away lithely to avoid Anfalon¡¯s spear thrust. Anfalon didn¡¯t intent to kill her. It was a warning. But accidents happen. You taunt, you must be prepared to dodge a spear. ¡°No,¡± he told her with finality. ¡°Unless Garth signs an order, which I hope he doesn¡¯t, you¡¯ll kill no one.¡± Nym reached for the hood of her cloak and put it on over her head. ¡°I¡¯ll kill whoever is marked Anfalon,¡± she retorted, neglecting to mention by whom. ¡°But I won¡¯t harm these two as a personal gift to you. I¡¯m a romantic at heart. We should work together yes?¡± ¡°Gratitude,¡± Anfalon rustled. ¡°But I rather you left me out of your schemes.¡± ¡°Hehehe,¡± Nym chuckled and sidestepped into the shadow cast by the massive stone bridge¡¯s roofed mouth. Diryel who was standing a couple meters away gasped noticing a silk white hankie lodged in her collar, slowly turning red with blood. ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± she assured the alarmed Anfalon. ¡°I¡¯m fine. I¡­ believe, it¡¯s another gift.¡± It most certainly isn¡¯t, Anfalon thought and breathed out to relieve some of the tension of the strange encounter. Then he sent Diryel to bring everyone on the double. It was time they marched against Rothomir¡¯s forces and hopefully Nym was lying about the Phalanx being there.
Lord Onas seeing a lot soldiers pouring to his rear come dawn and very near their main camp, tried initially to dislodge Vulas from the raging battle ¨Cnow in its third, or fourth reiteration- but the Abarat officer responded he feared his -slowly grinding down their opponents- men would have a collapse in morale, if he pulled them from the line. Lord Onas sent word to Roran, of Saeveril next and the Othrim leader, who had inflicted considerable damage to Garth¡¯s left (or south flank), agreed to retreat towards their starting positions to deal with this fresh threat. It was a sound decision taken in very brief a time and with the amount of info available, as the veterans of the Second Othrim could move swiftly across the battlefield and meet the unknown threat decisively. While it left the mauled Garth¡¯s flank free to help their pressured main line, it was believed the Abarat troops would last long enough for the Othrim to finish the job and return to assist them. No other unit could do the grueling back and forth march and fight at both ends of it, but they could. Roran marched every able bodied Hoplite he had available straight towards the bridge grieving for the loss of Bellas, one of his longtime friends and lieutenants. He was determined to smash this new force Hardir had pulled out of the hat and return to avenge his friend¡¯s death fighting Hardir himself. Roran wasn¡¯t a vain character to seek everlasting glory fighting a famed opponent, nor did he went out seeking it. Hours later and just after noon Lord Onas not liking the way the battle was going ordered the camp raised and sent a runner to inform Vulas that he should not attack again. Garth¡¯s defending force had been bled dry, but the Abarat troops had received appalling casualties and just couldn¡¯t break through. The reasons several, from the soldiers deep rooted fear that an outright rout could force Garth to use the wyvern, to the hardened spirited defense by the Goras warriors. Just as the runner was leaving Lord Onas command outpost, less than a kilometer from the frontlines, the Phalanx returned.
Nym wasn¡¯t lying. Anfalon rushed to the front of their lines, his unit spread out fifty wide, four deep, five hundred meters from the bridge and less than two hundred from Lord Onas main camp beyond the river. He had delayed a direct march against the enemy lines seeing the huge difference in numbers (the mere fact that there were two big camps feeding their opponents to Garth¡¯s one telling) and that Garth had slowly retreated towards the hills and the mouth of the gullet in the course of the night, narrowing the front so that he could defend it properly. At the same time negating his opponent¡¯s advantage in numbers. It was an ever delaying tactic bound to fail without reinforcements, as the Monarch of Morn Taras couldn¡¯t safely disengage. His mostly inexperienced troops would just break in complete disarray, if the order was given for a full retreat. Anfalon knowing that marching with two hundred men up the field wouldn¡¯t cause a sane commander like ¡®Old Eye¡¯ to overreact, opted to lose some time to bring the rest of his force up to the bridge. He set them up in such a way they could easily be seen from Onas¡¯ Rangers, but far enough to remain mysterious and cause them worry. A group of four hundred looks much more sinister from afar than half that number up close. It worked so well, Onas sent a whole Othrim against him.
Anfalon could discern the familiar armor and the engraved Z on the shields, as he reached the front of their own formation. Zanylon and Diryel standing rigid left and right of the compact mass of Goras hoplites waiting for the marching Otrhim to reach them. ¡°That¡¯s a full Othrim,¡± Diryel murmured nervously, when he walked beside her and Anfalon grunted. He tipped his hoplite helmet back to better see the thick lines of Zilan approaching. ¡°No they are not,¡± he finally replied after counting the rows of helms quickly. ¡°But they are close to it. Four units out of five, I would wager.¡± ¡°Widen the front sire?¡± Zanylon asked and Anfalon shook his head negatively. It was pointless as his backup plan was to retreat beyond the bridge and defend the mouth thus creating an even smaller front. That is, if longtime edicts had completely collapsed and his original tactic failed. ¡°As you are hoplite,¡± he told him and walked about ten meters in front of their formation, just as the Othrim and its officers came to a thunderous stop twenty meters away. ¡°Ten steps forward! HEY!¡± A Hoplite standing outside their lines bellowed and the Othrim responded with one roaring word, taking one large step forward each time. AUU! And the Phalanx moved closer in a deliberate slow step, the ground shaking. AUU! The shields raised, hundreds of spears poking outside and ever approaching. Now Anfalon could see the hoplites eyes, behind their slits, smell the sweat on their bodies and the oil on their blades. Some had blood on them still, but most warriors facing him hadn¡¯t the chance to fight yet. AUU! ¡°HALT!¡± The officer barked, another marching up from the back of their formation briskly. Anfalon cracked his neck right and left, reached to unhook his shield, allowed it to drop, but gave it a timely slap when it did and it rolled on the ground in an arc to rest on his greave-covered shins. ¡°What is this?¡± the officer berated his subordinate. ¡°Why did you stop?¡± ¡°The Hallowed sire,¡± the Hoplite replied tensely and the tall leader turned to stare beyond Anfalon. ¡°That¡¯s a female standing over there Malon,¡± he grunted his eyes returning on the soberly staring him Anfalon. Ah, it¡¯s you. Anfalon thought remembering the young injured hoplite he¡¯d met on a ship ten centuries ago. ¡°They are trying to fool us yet again. Bloody Lord of Lies is against us! We won¡¯t fall for looted armours again! Othrim¡ª¡± ¡°First Hoplite,¡± Anfalon boomed cutting him off. ¡°Since when does a mere Othrim Leader dress himself in silver panoply¡¯s honors?¡± The silver leader raised his right arm to stop the protests of the Othrim. ¡°Him who leads all Othrim,¡± the imposing warrior said turning to face him. ¡°Shall assume the white gold regalia.¡± ¡°Yet you still carry that old bronze helm,¡± Anfalon replied. ¡°Did you ever fix that dent, Roran, son of Saeveril?¡± Roran stood back, his eyes ogling in disbelief. ¡°I knew your father,¡± Anfalon continued. ¡°A man of the sea, went down in the line of duty. Yet here you are as I said, grasping at a higher rank dishonorably.¡± ¡°Ah, Oras Hells in Witch¡¯s visions,¡± Roran gasped too shaken to respond. The murmurs of the Hoplites standing in tight packed rows behind him ever growing, not in anger anymore, or in protest, but in awe. ¡°Is that¡­?¡± ¡°Wraith, Umbas and Acharn,¡± another in the front row said, eyeing Anfalon¡¯s named weapons. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s Great Anfalon alright,¡± added a third resolutely, the stout veteran hoplite anchoring the formation¡¯s corner. ¡°We don¡¯t move up the ranks, unless the spot is vacated lad,¡± Anfalon repeated what he¡¯d told him on that ship and Roran blinked stumbling on his feet remembering it. ¡°Will you do it now?¡± ¡°I saved the unit. Preserved the men and the arms,¡± Roran responded in his defense straightening up and stilling his eyes on Anfalon. ¡°I¡¯m the Phalanx,¡± he added simply. That is a firm no then. And that''s my fucking dictum! ¡°The Phalanx is in me ayup. But who am I Roran?¡± ¡°Anfalon, of Orloriel,¡± Roran replied, what everyone had figured out by now, sounding strangled. ¡°First of the Hallowed.¡± Oh well, he thought and stooped to pick up his shield afore setting his old eyes on them for a long moment. Those in the front row and the lurkers at the back. He then glanced at the one named Malon and the Hoplite bobbed his helmed head. ¡°You lot were much livelier a minute ago,¡± he boomed with a mighty voice disapprovingly. ¡°I expect the same pathos and enthusiasm henceforth. Roran, of Saeveril,¡± he continued looking at the shocked at the unexpected turn of events Othrim leader and his subordinate. ¡°Keep your chin up and fall back in line son. On the double. As for the rest of you, WELCOME BACK INTO THE FOLD!¡±
¡°Sire?¡± Diryel asked him the moment he returned to their lines, her young eyes enlarged with worry. ¡°What is going on?¡± ¡°Prepare to march after them,¡± Anfalon told her brusquely. ¡°Since you lads aren¡¯t broken in all the way through, you might want to issue a slight trot order Zanylon. Make it a half-sprint,¡± he informed the other young and worried Hoplite. ¡°Those cunts are going to move pretty fast. Let¡¯s not embarrass the unit.¡±
How in all gods old and new did Arguen Garth Aniculo, the name¡¯s translation impossible to discern, whether it describes the man, or the title and he had plenty of those, assume control of Goras? How did he subdue the Zilan factions? Never has so famed a reign secreted its origins so much. Yes one could read the official history in the Royal Archives in Sinya Goras, if he has permission to visit Tenebrous Castle, the vaunted Morn Taras. But doing so, or become friendly with the King Beyond the Pale Mountains has always been a vague notion then and now, years later. The lines blurring on what one must give up to enter the inner circle, until one realizes Arguen Garth¡¯s common word for friend was often times synonymous to the word servant. Be it servitude, or fear. Skill, or military brilliance. Magic, or the Wyvern¡¯s menacing shadow, Garth¡¯s conquest of Wetull has never truly been explored by an independent historian and remains shrouded in thick veils of mystery and deep-rooted superstition that borders the absurd. While unlikely and unscientific, for most learned people outside of Wetull, Arguen Garth just appeared out of nowhere. His ascension impossible to predict, let alone prevent. A notion I can¡¯t possibly and with a clear conscience get behind, both as a historian and a man of logic that has witnessed true political and military acumen up close, as it sounds and probably is, naught but an attempt by very prominent men and women to shift the blame of their monumental failures elsewhere. - Lord Sirio Veturius Circa 206 NC The Fall of Heroes Chapter L Addendum -Volume III - The Onyx Wyvern¡¯s ascent (Monarch of Goras & the interior, The Great Reefs ocean route, Bank of Goras & SETC* Spring/ winter 191- Spring/winter 192 NC)
Acronym for *South Eplas Trading Company -
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 286. Come soon- Aftermath
Glen Arguen Garth Aniculo Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Monarch O¡¯ Morn Taras Bring everyone ¨C Aftermath -Half of you will stay-
Campaign near Eroshin River''s approaches, Second month, Final Battle, Early noon of 2nd day, Eleventh hour, End of fourth assault - ¡°Buarrd!¡± Glen growled. It was half an attempt at forming a word, the word a synthesis of ¡®balls¡¯ and ¡®turd¡¯ or something equivalent and half an attempt at a gasp, a guttural expulsion due to imminent danger like a mouth fart. Or vomit. The Zilan soldier, sword raised high over his head, turned the tiniest of increments right to track his movement and got the early Wetull noon sun¡¯s full power in his goggling eyeballs. He went blind in an instant. Glen, who¡¯d barely moved out of the way since he¡¯d slipped in what was either a disturbed muddy ball of grass or a watery turd, the uncertainty the reason why his brain couldn¡¯t give him a more accurate exclamation earlier, clenched his gauntleted hand into a fist and punched his opponent in the throat. Right at the protruding cartilage. ¡°HAH!¡± Glen guffawed seeing the stumbling Abarat soldier trying to breathe, still blinded. He stepped forward, all his previous panic at getting cut down because Luthos was a cunt, gone and replaced by an immeasurable resolve to cut the Zilan down. And he did. Repeatedly. Mother. Fuckin¡¯. Piece. Of shite! Each word a chop. The jackal cackling all the time. Glen raised his arm to give the mutilated soldier another chop, realized his opponent was holding a bloody piece of lung, the hand holding it severed at the wrist and paused in alarm. He spotted out the slit of his helm, darn thing¡¯s peripheral vision poor as fuck, another Abarat soldier sneaking his way leading with his sword and stepped aside at the last moment. ¡°Umph,¡± went the soldier, blade scrapping the former thief¡¯s muscled cuirass under the left armpit. Glen downed his own sword, but realized mid-move he was hugging his opponent and he was just about to break his own darn arm at the elbow on the soldier¡¯s shoulder. So he closed his arm instead and wrapped it around the Zilan¡¯s helm. Bang went their helmets, the sound reverberating inside Glen¡¯s skull and they started dancing around dazed in the mud. Left and then a sharp right, followed by half a turn afore they tripped themselves up on a corpse and went down. It might have been half a corpse. Or a head. The Zilan started sawing at his mail sleeve under the armpit with his sword, but Glen did the same trying to dislodge his blade that was trapped under his opponent¡¯s neck. Realizing with amazing clarity given the insanity of his predicament that he didn¡¯t have to cut sideways, but just shove his opponent¡¯s unprotected neck onto his blade, Glen used his left arm, the one in danger to get sawn off, to do just that. A push and the Zilan¡¯s head was chopped off half the way through, alike an onion pressed on a sharp knife, his eyes turning to the white. Glen rolled aside breathing heavy and tried to get up, but got a kick in the ribs and was thrown down again. He rolled on a shoulder going with the flow, a sword whistling over the other and catching his vambrace, swung blindly backwards Angrein¡¯s sword cackling and sliced at something. Glen jumped on his two feet manically, his heart beating wild, scorching helm fused on his skull and sweat burning his bloodshot eyes. He kneed the doubled over soldier right in the jaw sending it all the way in. Teeth, chin bones and everything. His reinforced kneepads absorbing the blow thank the fuckin¡¯ gods for expensive armor! Glen roared in great frustration next for not being able to catch a break and take stock on what was happening. ¡°ARRGH!¡± What in all slovenly fucks? He cursed when an arrow smacked him in the back as if on cue, the tip finding flesh and twisted around to find that annoying ranger. She had been taking potshots at him the whole time. ¡°Milord!¡± Bing yelled a warning, the battle a chaotic all out brawl as the lines had slowly disintegrated, despite Glen¡¯s constant timely retreats back towards their supply train and the gullet. He flinched on pure instinct, zig-zagging the upper part of his torso and a blade clanked on the side of his helm, darn thing sturdy as all fucks, then hit his shoulder guards creating a huge spark that warmed up his face through the steel plate. ¡°Fuck,¡± Glen declared spinning to locate his opponent half-blind and mostly deaf. The terrain spinning with him, the many slain and the bloody body parts creating piles here and there, the sun revealing the distant starting point of their lines and the line of the dead the way they were heading all night. Bing shoved the Zilan away catching a blade intended for him, which was shocking to witness up close, but also right since the brave friend was doing his job. Glen would have done the same for him. But only at that very second and at that specific small moment in time. A moment later that brief flash of gratitude had been replaced by rage and common sense of sorts. ¡°YOU!¡± He bellowed finishing his earlier curse and smacked the Abarat soldier¡¯s blade away, his sword hissing, bright sparks flying, their light turning red on the return. ¡°SHITE!¡± Kirk yelled covered in gore, a bleeding cut down his face, thankfully not deep and run to his injured friend. Glen realized he¡¯d no more strength to stand on his feet and collapsed on his knees. The battle sounds replaced with moans and the more pedestrian sounds of many people cursing their luck, or crying for still breathing. Some laughter mixed in as well. ¡°There are pulling back!¡± Folen bellowed and sheathed his blade to reach for his lute. Soletha rushed towards Glen, jumping over the dead. The corner of their frontline had been hit very hard. ¡°He¡¯s been avenged,¡± Glen assured soberly a grieving Kirk that was holding Bing in his arms, the man¡¯s head a bloody mess. ¡°He¡¯s still breathing milord!¡± Kirk protested, clenching his jaw and Glen nodded not wanting to burden him further in his hour of sorrow, Soletha¡¯s stern face blocking the view of his two bodyguards the next moment. ¡°You¡¯re hurt Arguen Garth,¡± she informed him and Glen remembered the arrow still in him sort of. That stupid persistent bitch. ¡°Tis fine, the armor stopped it,¡± he assured her. ¡°You better help Bing.¡± ¡°Garth you¡¯ve a nasty cut on your forearm,¡± Soletha corrected him. Fuck! He did. The skin peeled off and flapping like a gutted fish. Ah, I¡¯m very sorry friend. I must live so I can avenge you further. ¡°It needs stitches,¡± she added and wetted the edge of a thread in her mouth afore slotting it through the eye of a curved needle. One of them big ones. Good grief! ¡°Do you need to bite on something?¡± The experienced healer and priestess asked him perceptively. Glen frowned and reached for the piece of thick leather she offered him, noticing her robes had been torn and her fit milky thighs were at full display as she¡¯d knelt next to him. Soletha is keeping in excellent condition for her age, he thought and put the bitter leather between his teeth trying not to think about such stuff given the venue. Glen had a thing for mature women. ¡°Vaelenn,¡± Soletha said with a knowing smile stooping to mend the large cut on his forearm where his vambrace had died saving his arm. ¡°See to Bing. You can touch, but keep your hand on the outside Lord Garth. I¡¯m in a relationship,¡± Soletha finished in a lower voice turning to him again. Glen stared at her for a moment blankly, but didn¡¯t take the offer. Soren and him were thick as thieves, but that was a line one doesn¡¯t cross. Soletha¡¯s needle took care of the rest of his lewd thoughts. And Bing dying of course.
¡°Where¡¯s Soren?¡± Glen asked five minutes later, every part of his body hurting and livid he¡¯d lost Sen¡¯s pendant in the scrap. He couldn¡¯t find the darn thing hard as he¡¯d looked amidst the corpses. ¡°Hobor got injured stopping that small break through,¡± Soletha replied distractedly, focused on finishing up her work. Glen had helped stopping it as well, but he let the matter slide. ¡°He¡¯s with him.¡± ¡°Is the big guy alright?¡± ¡°Which of the two?¡± ¡°Both.¡± ¡°Soren is fine and Hobor will make it I think. They are very sturdy,¡± Soletha said and cut the thread with her sharp teeth. ¡°It¡¯s a matter of constitution and ice hardening the blood.¡± Right. ¡°I¡¯ll need a potion.¡± ¡°A more serious injury might come. The battle isn¡¯t over.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take another,¡± Glen retorted and got up. ¡°Arguen Garth,¡± Soletha said softly, her tone didactic. ¡°You can¡¯t have more than one for a while. It¡¯ll poison your blood. It will be against everything I was taught and I don¡¯t want you hurt.¡± Yep, Soren got another good one. Bossy and motherly. The Zilan Zola with less arse. The memory heartening. ¡°It will also heal me a bit more,¡± Glen argued forcing himself to the gloomy present. He¡¯d sort of tested that theory. ¡°Make an exception for me wise Soletha. It¡¯s just a rule. Give me the potion.¡± The healer let out a deep sigh and then nodded.
¡°What the fuck are they doing?¡± Glen asked Lyceron his throat burning but feeling a bit better. The imposing hoplite sporting several small injuries, whilst managing to appear very much fresh and unruffled at the same time. ¡°They pulled away,¡± Lyceron replied. ¡°They lost a lot of people and are fighting with the sun in their eyes. We have a bit of time Hardir.¡± ¡°Hmm. How many did we lose?¡± Glen asked eyeing the gap between their lines growing as the Abarat soldiers were retreating taking their injured with them. ¡°Eh.¡± Eh? ¡°Where¡¯s Mutilus?¡± Glen asked not likening his response. ¡°Or Darcy?¡± ¡°Darcy was killed,¡± Lyceron replied. ¡°Mutilus is at the front. I¡¯ll sent a runner. Why, I¡¯ll do it myself.¡± ¡°How many do you have left?¡± Glen asked him before he could get away. ¡°Fifty, forty injured.¡± Damn. ¡°How many does Hobor have left?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve commanded his men as well after he went down Hardir,¡± Lyceron replied and a shocked Glen made to get the helm off of his head to wipe the sweat from his face. But paused mid-move and with a grimace he put it back on again. The losses were appalling. Folen¡¯s lute notes more annoying than pensive over the mostly silent battlefield. Annoying because they were pensive. ¡°Folen for fuck¡¯s sake!¡± Glen barked irate to shut him up and miraculously the Master of Silence was silenced. Glen looked to the skies. Gods, I thank you. ¡°You need to check on this Garth,¡± Folen said, the reason for stopping not Garth¡¯s order. Soletha¡¯s way is a better medicine for his annoying condition, he thought crooking his jaw.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. ¡°What is it?¡± he grunted and approached him fist clenched. ¡°There is commotion,¡± Folen said squinting his eyes to look down the battlefield and the rows of Abarat troops walking away. Glen relaxed his fist. ¡°What¡­ Kirk bring me a spyglass,¡± Glen barked over his shoulder. ¡°Give him a moment Arguen Garth,¡± Soletha intervened and signed for the approaching Vaelenn to hurry up. ¡°Vaelenn will cast the Long Eye and tells us what¡¯s going on.¡± Vaelenn frowned and made to protest equally worn out from tending to the injured as her colleague in the Council, but nodded when Glen turned to glare at her. ¡°I have to replenish my stamina,¡± Vaelenn said and Soletha dug a fancy vial out of her satchel and tossed it to her. Vaelenn caught it awkwardly with a disapproving stare using her right hand. The other was a prosthetic so she didn¡¯t really have another option. ¡°You¡¯re testing me?¡± Vaelenn protested. ¡°It¡¯s training your reflexes,¡± Soletha retorted firmly. ¡°Garth is waiting Vaelenn.¡± ¡°What is this?¡± Glen asked seeing the Judge gulping down the bright green liquid. ¡°It helps one recover his rest,¡± Soletha replied with a small frown, as if the query was pedantic. ¡°What do you use Arguen Garth?¡± Sleeping? ¡°Give me one,¡± Glen said. ¡°I can barely stand and your stitches feel like there¡¯s a rat gnawing at me arm.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t have another,¡± Soletha replied with a sigh. ¡°And I need to plan for an emergency. They are very difficult to produce.¡± ¡°Soletha we talked about this afore.¡± ¡°Garth your character forms habits very easy, it¡¯s dangerous to indulge you.¡± ¡°Yet, I like indulging very much,¡± Glen retorted and tended his hand. ¡°What does it taste like?¡± ¡°Mint?¡± Soletha said with a sigh and gave him another vial. Glen uncorked it and pour it in his mouth without hesitation. Yep that¡¯s mint, he thought and felt his vision clearing, his legs getting his strength back, but the pain remaining. ¡°What the fuck?¡± He cursed. ¡°It¡¯s not an analgesic Garth,¡± Soletha protested, Vaelenn¡¯s voice interrupting them both. ¡°The Othrim has returned.¡± Oh, great. ¡°Lyceron, I need the men to retreat towards the gullet fast,¡± Glen ordered and turned around. ¡°Has Ran-Sahor opened the way? Can Laedan move the supply train?¡± He asked Folen and the Zilan stepped forward readily. ¡°Sahor says they entered the marshes and his horses don¡¯t want to approach there. But the cultists didn¡¯t escape. They are lurking there still. As for Laedan he doesn¡¯t have the manpower to move from the narrows Garth, since most of his men are here tending to the wounded. We will need them to remain, if we are to take the injured with us.¡± Suck a bag of dicks, Glen thought glaring at him. Folen grinned from ear to ear and retreated whistling that pensive tune again. ¡°He¡¯s trying to keep our minds from despair,¡± Soletha explained. ¡°He was never very talented, but he¡¯s very persistent. Folen has tried his hand at everything almost.¡± ¡°What he¡¯s good at?¡± Glen grunted and Soletha shrugged her shoulders. ¡°Ahm, someone is coming this way milord,¡± Kirk said looking through his spyglass. ¡°Vaelenn?¡± Glen asked. ¡°I can¡¯t¡­ there are more than they were afore,¡± she murmured trying to figure out what was going on. Glen couldn¡¯t see anything, so he just scratched the lower part of his chin under his helm and squinted his eyes feeling sweat running down his ears. ¡°Kirk inform Mutilus we are packing it up. We might not have another opportunity,¡± Glen decided and glanced at the sky. The temptation to ask Uvrycres to give the ¡®Hydra¡¯ treatment to their opponents strong. Maybe I should have led wit that, Glen thought with a scowl and glanced at the cold body of Bings. This is the perfect chance since they are all bunched up safely away from us. Yes, the dagger agreed. ¡°I think I see Anfalon,¡± Vaelenn said interrupting his murderous thoughts. ¡°Where? What is he doing?¡± He snapped and twisted around to grab the spyglass from Kirk. ¡°Ehem,¡± Vaelenn murmured her eyes huge and glowing internally as if she had a fever. All in all she looked rather creepy truth be told. ¡°Talking?¡± What? EEERRRRRRR Uvrycres shrieked and came out of the clouds. ¡°Garth?¡± Vaelenn asked nervously. ¡°The rider is one of ours.¡± Wipe the slate clean, the dagger suggested with a hiss, but a pressured Glen went with the other option. Anfalon wouldn¡¯t betray him and the strays back in Goras.
¡°A truce?¡± Glen grunted an hour later, eyeing with hatred behind his helm¡¯s slits the ranger that had been trying to kill him for more than twelve hours. Her face maimed on one side, but from an older injury. Never thought I''ll see an ugly Zilan. Ugh. Vaelenn who was tasked with talking with her, since Glen didn¡¯t yet have the best grasp of their archaic Imperial nodded. ¡°Lord Onas cites favorable conditions for a resolution,¡± Vaelenn elucidated. ¡°Favorable my arse!¡± Glen spat. ¡°The hoplites turned on him and I have the numbers. Afore that he wasn¡¯t as keen in talking stuff out! No peaceful feelings then! Why, I¡¯m feelin¡¯ reluctant to stop fightin¡¯ so soon in the day tell this Lord Ass.¡± ¡°Onas,¡± the ranger hissed. ¡°Didn¡¯t catch the ¡®On¡¯,¡± Glen deadpanned. ¡°I can¡¯t hear ye on account of yer mouth being crooked. Ayup. Didn¡¯t want to mention it outright out of respect.¡± ¡°Only savages opt to fight when peace is on the table!¡± the ranger snarled in rusty Common. ¡°Hahaha!¡± Glen laughed hard and walked near her to laugh some more in her face sort of, as he kept a safe distance just in case she decided to stick a dagger in his eye slit. Scar-faced cunt looks all riled up for some reason. ¡°Funny how one remembers to parley, when he loses the upper hand,¡± Glen hissed turning serious. ¡°Or when he runs out of arrows.¡± ¡°What is your answer¡­ Hardir O¡¯ Fardor?¡± The ranger probed apathetically now standing back. ¡°I want to kick you between the legs,¡± Glen retorted and she blinked in shock. Vaelenn cleared her throat and tried to save it. ¡°Arguen Garth speaks in metaphors¡ª¡± ¡°No I don¡¯t,¡± Glen cut her off. ¡°I speak plainly. Try to pay attention dear Vaelenn.¡± Vaelenn gulped down her face flushed and backed off. ¡°I bear the truce colors,¡± the Ranger hissed. ¡°Yet, you care naught about what I decide here,¡± Glen retorted. ¡°She¡¯s from Lo-Minas,¡± Folen said. ¡°You can tell by the slight dung odor.¡± The Ranger glared at the former bard/bar owner and current Master of Silence of Goras. ¡°I expect a full surrender of the forces in the field and the release of both camps along their contents to my person,¡± Glen started channeling his inner Prince Sahand afore the gates of Rida. ¡°The soldiers are to be disarmed and remain prisoners until an agreement can be reached with Lord Rothomir. I want Pelleas delivered to me to answer for crimes against the citizens of Goras and for bringing man-eating beasts into a city.¡± Uvrycres shrieked loudly at that parked fifty meters away and busy eating the corpses left behind. Most of their own had been taken away, but the retrieval of bodies had stopped. The Wyvern abhorred getting disturbed whilst chewing on stuff, which was understandable far as Glen was concerned, as no one liked that. The Ranger blinked in shock. ¡°I¡¯ll inform Lord Onas,¡± she replied with a curtsy and walked to her horse visibly disturbed. Glen turned to Anfalon¡¯s messenger. ¡°How did he get them to agree?¡± he asked the young hoplite named Zanylon. ¡°All officers are outranked by the Lord Superior Hardir,¡± he replied. ¡°When he¡¯s present in the field the Phalanx follows him.¡± Right. ¡°Lord Onas? The other dude Vulas?¡± ¡°They are not with the Phalanx Hardir.¡± Glen smacked his lips. ¡°Mutilus is trying to figure out how many we lost,¡± he said loud enough to be heard by those gathered around him, less than ten meters behind the still thinly formed frontline. The battered group of tired soldiers numbering a hundred and seventy. With seventy injured dragged near the supply train and inside the gullet, this fight had cost him close to three hundred dead. Maybe more as he hadn¡¯t talked with Marlo yet. The adventurer had taken over the group he¡¯d kept hidden in the woods after Mathews had been injured earlier. He breathed out slowly and then continued. ¡°But while we were hurt the enemy failed to break our resolve. Remember this! They caved first and came groveling for a deal. We have all the validation needed won in the plaguin¡¯ field with our sweat and our blood! The truth my friends is staring us in the fucking face! Rest, heal and keep patient while I negotiate with them. Rest assured I shall bleed them dry. I¡¯m way better at dealing than at fightin¡¯ and ye all seen how much carrying I did back there! But hey, every single one of you will be rewarded,¡± he glanced at the moved Kirk standing beside him and nodded reassuringly. ¡°I keep my promises. Garth¡¯s friends shall never die, nor will they ever be forgotten!¡± ¡°HURAH!¡± The Goras soldiers yelled raising their swords and jumping to their feet. ¡°ALL HAIL GARTH!¡± Most of them cried out in unison. ¡°THE JUST!¡± A couple of them said, but the moniker didn¡¯t catch on. ¡°I¡¯ll have the horse brought forward milord,¡± Kirk said and Glen frowned stopping his basking and waving at the crowd to stare at his longtime bodyguard. ¡°What for?¡± ¡°Ahm, we are to go to the meeting?¡± ¡°I ain¡¯t moving an inch Kirk,¡± Glen retorted hauntingly and accepted a flask of water from a smiling Folen. ¡°This is a good position and I¡¯m quite famished. They¡¯ll have to come to me. Tis but a short distance on a horse.¡±
Burn those two? Uvrycres asked, breathing heavy over his head. Maybe, their small group too? We don¡¯t want to burn our friends, Glen replied, his hand resting comfortably on his dagger, the finally removed hoplite helm resting on Outlaw¡¯s saddle and his wild hair billowing in the late afternoon breeze. The weather was heading for another thunderstorm. Food can¡¯t be friendly, Uvrycres said. It will stab you in the back. You¡¯re sounding like the dagger. What are you talkin¡¯ about Glen? Uvrycres asked. Gimoss is in Rida. The Zilan officials stopped, followed by Anfalon and another similarly armoured hoplite officer. Lord Onas the only one appearing visibly old. It wasn¡¯t the wrinkles and old scars, or the thinned and washed out blue hair. Nor it was the missing eye, the emptiness there disturbing to stare at. It was the expression, Glen decided. That been there done that, Emerson had and that Bounty Hunter. ¡°Lord Onas, of Lyriel. Commander of Abarat Guards Vulas, of Nortoris,¡± Vaelenn read from the scroll one aide gave her. Glen was already vexed and tired of standing rigid and proud waiting for them to approach. ¡°Arguen Garth Aniculo, Lord of Morn Taras, Monarch of Goras. The Hardir O¡¯ Fardor.¡± Good grief, Glen thought. She just have to get it all out. ¡°Do we get a real name?¡± Lord Onas asked looking at Glen in fluent Common. ¡°You don¡¯t,¡± Glen replied sternly and the old Zilan nodded as if he expected it. ¡°You have the field my Lord,¡± Onas said. ¡°The how we came to this, I¡¯ll leave to the scribes.¡± ¡°You lost the battle,¡± Glen responded to help him out. ¡°By failing to win it in time.¡± ¡°Yeah, that about sums it up,¡± Onas agreed with a grimace. ¡°I¡¯m a member of the Council of Twenty, but I can only speak for myself.¡± ¡°Speak,¡± Glen said. ¡°This is enough blood spilt for me,¡± Onas said. ¡°More than enough.¡± ¡°Will Rothomir give up?¡± ¡°Lord Rothomir has to answer this query himself.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t surrender,¡± Vulas intervened. ¡°I was ordered to win by the lord of Abarat.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t,¡± Glen replied. ¡°The chance to do it is gone friend,¡± he added. ¡°Allowing Vulas to retreat will endear you to Lord Rothomir,¡± Onas proposed. ¡°I don¡¯t give a shite about Rothomir. Don¡¯t know him,¡± Glen replied sternly. ¡°Or you. Or any other fool you have back there. This isn¡¯t a negotiation. This is you trying to convince me to be more lenient. I must say I¡¯m not convinced Onas. I¡¯m tired though, malnourished and thirsty.¡± ¡°Hardir,¡± Anfalon said. ¡°Vulas should be allowed to return and speak to Rothomir.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°It will show you are reasonable and fair in triumph. Rothomir will appear unreasonable, If he decides to drag this conflict.¡± Glen breathed deeply and crossed his arms on his chest. ¡°How many soldiers you have left?¡± He asked Vulas. ¡°Three fifths of the force is available, not everyone can walk back,¡± Vulas replied clenching his jaw. So you got punched in the face as well, Glen thought. But we got our teeth kicked in here. Fucking piece of polished bronze bucket! ¡°Half of you will stay,¡± Glen replied grinding his teeth, the replica white gold one bothering him and Uvrycres growled in anger over his head not liking it. Everyone¡¯s eyes on the Wyvern and not on Glen. ¡°That leaves a hundred men to make the return trip.¡± He¡¯d cheated him on the numbers, but Glen knew he could get away with it. ¡°What about the others?¡± Vulas queried his face hardening. ¡°Leverage,¡± Glen replied. ¡°Or fodder for him. Your pick.¡± Vulas eyed the scowling, heavy breathing Wyvern for a brief moment. ¡°It¡¯ll do,¡± he blurted out nervously and Uvrycres snorted. ¡°What about the Council members?¡± Onas asked and Glen turned to look at him confused. ¡°What about them?¡± ¡°There are¡­ two more in my camp,¡± Onas replied. ¡°Elwuin,¡± Anfalon replied. ¡°And Darunia, she¡¯s Olonelis daughter.¡± The names meant nothing to Glen. He sighed unsure what to do and glanced at Folen, then at the injured Sam Mathews that had come to the meeting walking on crunches. ¡°It¡¯s better to keep officials near you my Lord,¡± Sam said and Glen noted saving them from certain death. ¡°They stay with us for now. Vulas you can go and inform Rothomir of my demands,¡± Glen replied and Vaelenn handed the officer a scroll she¡¯d hastily written half an hour ago. ¡°Is that understood Lord Onas?¡± ¡°It is Lord Garth,¡± Onas replied. ¡°Will we be fodder as well?¡± His jested and everyone took it as such. The old soldier¡¯s words holding a sinister meaning in light of the horror that followed.
Garth¡¯s men camped in the much more comfortable spot Lord Onas had picked for a couple of days and then moved towards the Canal after crossing Eroshin more than a month after he left Goras. They followed Vulas and his freed, but unarmed men, to Teleniel Bridge¡¯s ruins and watched them board one of the large Imperial Transports moored at the docks Rothomir had constructed. Similar structures had been built across the Canal and the decent sized docks housed the last six Imperial Transport galleon type vessels that had managed to survive by traveling up Serpent¡¯s Canal to moor at the shallows near the bridge at the time of the eruptions. The collapsed bridge had blocked them from escaping through the Torn Earth and to the sympathizing Greenwhale Peninsula, but had also saved them from the gargantuan catastrophic tidal waves that had followed half a day later. Vulas boarded one of the four ships moored on that side of the Canal and sailed across to reach Abarat, while Garth rested and recuperated his soldiers. With a big number of ¡®prisoners¡¯ and even more injured from both sides Darunia, Soletha and Lymsiel had gotten to know each other very well. The three physicians used their skill to bring most back to relative health in the next week or so, while Garth ¡®wrote¡¯ extensively to Sinya Goras trying to keep the news positive, by avoiding to mention the number of casualties he¡¯d suffered. He asked Lady Sen-Iv to prepare to travel to him, but his wife refused citing the difficulty of the long journey in Wetull¡¯s rainy season. Glen thought nothing of it at the time, his mind on a more serious development. Vulas and his freed men had never reached the other side of the Canal. The reason for it a mystery to those near Garth at the time, though rumors started circulating immediately with many suspecting the Wyvern. Others feared the Kraken might have sneaked inside the Canal, something that it had never done afore, but a good number also feared foul play orchestrated by Garth himself, or Lady Aenymriel his shadow councilor. Lord Garth, whether he knew what had happened to the disappeared soldiers and Vulas or not, remained silent on the matter that is until the first corpses and ship debris started washing ashore. ¡®While Lord Garth had allowed the soldiers to go free and return to their homes, the Wyvern didn¡¯t,¡¯ Lord Onas commented in a letter to a concerned Lady Olonelis, written to inform the important Council member that her daughter was fine. ¡®It is as simple as that old girl.¡¯
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 287. The youngling I just want you to smile Lady Sovereign. - Eilven, of Vorator Aka ¡®Resplendent Sculptor¡¯, Lord ¡®Alabaster¡¯ from his celebrated illustrated catalogue & manuscript, Conversations -with the Garden¡¯s Flowers- Chapter I (The Entrance¡¯s Hostess) The Celestial Opal of Lai Zel Ka -Lady Sen-Iv Sopat Circa 199 NC -
Whisper Jinx The youngling
That top worth¡¯s half a ship, Jinx thought watching Sen-Iv finishing the final touches to her attire. She flung a long white silk tunic over her expensive undergarments, the opening at the front starting at mid-thigh and the large hood attached to it covering her elaborate head. ¡°Tis raining. Give it a minute and that thing ¡®ll show everything,¡± Jinx commented masticating on a caramel syrup dipped date, sitting on Iskay¡¯s sleeping couch with her back at the support. Sen had the best sweets around the house and plenty of free food for a visitor to munch on. ¡°I¡¯ll use a carriage,¡± Sen replied and walked slowly to a nightstand to wear her hand jewelry. ¡°You have nothing urgent to do other than watch me dress?¡± ¡°Best live show in Goras,¡± Jinx retorted with a grin and Maeriel snorted. The ranger stood next to the door and was listening in. ¡°I¡¯ll visit Master Angrein,¡± Sen informed her. ¡°Fikumin has a guard detail on call Maeriel, if you wish to rest.¡± ¡°Gratitude Lady Sen, but I¡¯ll stay until your return,¡± Maeriel replied stiffly and Jinx rolled her eyes. She jumped up lithely and approached the little girl¡¯s cradle. She opened the door to it, Glen had ordered a larger one made, but to Jinx it looked more like a decorated, expensive cage now and took the small Inis-Mir in her arms. ¡°There ye are, drool machine. Ye should have the moniker hmm?¡± ¡°Ea-rgh,¡± the almost two year¡¯s old girl said trying to get back to her bed. ¡°Yeehaw? Yer thinking of the races?¡± Jinx asked her. ¡°No good place to bet here yet, but Folen¡¯s has a brothel that runs¡ª¡± ¡°Jinx!¡± both Sen and Maeriel cried in protest. ¡°Whoa the vice constabulary is here. I¡¯ll behave booby officers,¡± Jinx chuckled and stared at Sen. ¡°So what¡¯s the deal? Is it his hand size then? The thumb?¡± Sen frowned, but kept her composure to her innuendo. ¡°I need to talk of different stuff and I¡¯ll use the opportunities given.¡± Since when? ¡°Because you worry about Glen? You used not to.¡± ¡°Believing Glen will overcome a difficulty doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m not worried Jinx,¡± Sen replied patiently, but I got ye rattled, Jinx thought. What are ye hiding? ¡°He has a lot of good people with him,¡± Jinx assured her. ¡°Other than ¡®purple¡¯ most skilled Zilan are there also.¡± Maeriel blinked at that as she¡¯d purple strands of hair in only two places. Her conservatively braided head and the covered one. Jinx gave her a lewd wink and the ranger blushed. ¡°It¡¯s a battle, I fear war and I fear your people Maeriel,¡± Sen said looking at the trying to regain her composure ranger. ¡°There¡¯s evil everywhere Lady Sen,¡± Maeriel reminded her. ¡°Across all peoples.¡± Aww, Jinx thought moved and rocked the baby girl in her arms. ¡°My sweet purple cunt.¡± ¡°JINX!¡± They both snapped and Inis-Mir chuckled then burped loudly. ¡°Ea-rgh,¡± she said seriously and pointed both small arms towards her cradle. Jinx blinked not believing her eyes. ¡°Is that a golden ball?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure it¡¯s gold,¡± Sen replied and sighed. ¡°I¡¯ll leave you with her. Iskay will come up shortly. Please watch your language in front of her Jinx.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± Jinx murmured not paying her much attention and stooped inside the cradle to get to the round object. ¡°Inis yer getting heavy girl,¡± she told Glen¡¯s restless daughter still in her arms. ¡°Think I heard a crack in me back.¡±
¡°Does this look like an egg to you?¡± Jinx asked the baby. ¡°Is that what you¡¯re sayin¡¯?¡± She glanced at the ranger. ¡°What do you think?¡± Maeriel shrugged her shoulders. ¡°It¡¯s more like a ball, but sure, it can be.¡± Jinx got up and tossed her the heavy artifact. The Ranger caught it in her hands with a hiss. ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°I want a second opinion,¡± Jinx said rocking Inis-Mir in her arms. ¡°Look at you flyin¡¯! Weeh, wee Mir. Weeh!¡± ¡°Jinx, put her back please.¡± ¡°Oh, come on. She ain¡¯t going to break apart,¡± Jinx replied and approached her. ¡°What about it?¡± ¡°It still looks like a golden ball.¡± ¡°It ain¡¯t as heavy,¡± Jinx replied and stopped in front of her. ¡°The surface too glassy. Tell me about the gold Wyvern again.¡± ¡°Turlas? He had scales and a more reddish gold color, which changed when the sun caught it. It looked nothing like this Jinx.¡± ¡°Hmm. Give me the egg, take the baby,¡± Jinx decided and Maeriel sighed taking Inis-Mir in her arms. ¡°She¡¯s dizzy,¡± the Zilan added showing off her superior baby understanding skills. ¡°She¡¯ll be fine,¡± Jinx replied and took the artifact back into the cradle and gave it a roll on the soft mattress. Where did you get this Glen? ¡°Can you step aside so I can place her inside?¡± Maeriel asked and Jinx stood up to face her partner. ¡°Say please Jinx¡­ give me a pinch,¡± Jinx purred hypnotically, her eyes ogling. ¡°In front of her?¡± Maeriel gasped not falling for it. ¡°Seriously?¡± Damnit. ¡°She doesn¡¯t mind. You know I love kids Maeriel,¡± Jinx replied with a frustrated groan and retrieved the cooing girl from her. Inis-Mir stared at the tall Zilan with awe. ¡°Yeah, she¡¯s pretty hot,¡± Jinx agreed and deposited the baby back into the safety of Glen¡¯s gigantic cradle, closed the small door and secured it with a latch. ¡°I won¡¯t take a lover, but you can,¡± Maeriel said neutrally. ¡°Damn it, I miss my family is where I was going with it,¡± Jinx retorted and reaching for her collar pulled her down to kiss her. ¡°Me brothers and sisters.¡± ¡°Let me call up the guards,¡± Maeriel murmured touching her forehead on hers. ¡°And we can¡ª¡± ¡°Shhh,¡± Jinx stopped her. ¡°You are not listening.¡± ¡°I am Drool,¡± she gasped. ¡°How I can help you with this? It¡¯s all superstition. There. You can be on a ship for the Isles tomorrow.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about Purple. Abrakas is a dick.¡± ¡°I know more than you.¡± Pfft. ¡°Stop your sulking for the past then. Ye can¡¯t change that. Be in the present. Be with me,¡± Jinx replied and watched Inis-Mir crawling to the golden ball, then hugging it with arms and legs tight. She used it to roll back and forth from side to side. Whoa. ¡°You think I¡­¡± Maeriel sighed pensively and stood back. ¡°Shalia and Wylinor were taken by Cultists if they were lucky. I¡¯m focused on the hopefully still living more.¡± ¡°By playing guard for Glen? I¡¯ll talk to him,¡± Jinx decided. ¡°Guarding his daughter is a worthy task Jinx,¡± Maeriel argued. ¡°It won¡¯t¡­ Maeriel all your pupils will be in danger at one point or another,¡± Jinx said. ¡°Doing Glen¡¯s bidding¡­ damn it you¡¯re not listening.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t agree with you,¡± Maeriel said sternly. ¡°If that¡¯s a real Wyvern¡¯s egg, then that¡¯s the first one I¡¯ve seen up close, or touched. I¡¯m on this world far longer than you Jinx, but in all these years, all these stories, this is the first time a ranger is guarding a Monarch¡¯s spawn. You see it as a burden, but for me it¡¯s a redeeming honor.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Jinx said, cursing Glen inwardly. ¡°He can be manipulative, to get his.¡± ¡°You¡¯re the same, he¡¯s more Gish than a Zilan.¡± Not with that nose he isn¡¯t! ¡°He¡¯s also blind on stuff when distracted,¡± Jinx said with a grimace. ¡°I think Sen is having an affair.¡± ¡°Noble Goddess¡¯,¡± Maeriel gasped in shock. ¡°You¡¯re mistaken.¡± Jinx frowned. ¡°Something smells funny here and it ain¡¯t Inis-Mir pooping herself again,¡± she puffed her cheeks out and then grinned. ¡°Jinx no,¡± Maeriel warned her. ¡°Don¡¯t leave the premises sweet ears,¡± Jinx purred remembering one of Alix¡¯s favorite puns and ducked under her arms towards the door. ¡°I¡¯ll be right back so keep ¡®em warm for me.¡±
The rails are the best idea Glen had in a while, Jinx thought, big grin plastered on her face, gliding down the steep stairs at an incredible speed with the end coming fast. She jumped just before the rails stopped, performed a double somersault midair and landed on her arse spoiling it at the end and almost biting her own tongue off. Ouch. Iskay lost the handle on her large plate, the sliced in four mature pepino catapulting a meter above their heads, but Jinx rolled on the ground and snatched two of the yellow pieces timely. The other two splashing on the floor. ¡°Lady Jinx,¡± Iskay gasped holding her heart. The slave girl¡¯s knees were shaking. ¡°Thear, blah. Here,¡± Jinx said with a couple of false starts to get her tongue working and put the saved pieces back on the plate. ¡°Apologies for the floor. I¡¯ve run out of arms.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll clean it up,¡± Iskay replied regaining her composure. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± Jinx glanced at Fikumin working on his desk and nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve slept in yer bed,¡± she told the redhead and Iskay frowned unsure what to make of the information. ¡°Jinx,¡± Fikumin grunted from across the room. ¡°Leave her be!¡± ¡°What are you her mother?¡± Jinx hissed and walked towards him with a slight limp. Her left leg had gone completely numb. ¡°I was being civil.¡± ¡°Gliding down the stairs?¡± the dwarf grunted. ¡°You almost gave her a heart attack!¡± ¡°I was hurt too hair ¡®n brows!¡± Jinx protested and glanced at his scrolls. ¡°What you have there?¡± ¡°Work. For the City,¡± Fikumin grunted. ¡°You wish to help?¡± ¡°You know what? I do. I think you can help me on something though first,¡± Jinx said and dragged a chair to sit next to him. Fikumin extended his right arm, grabbed her chair and pushed furniture and Gish away easily. ¡°Whoa there, that¡¯s strength alright,¡± Jinx said using the table to drag the chair closer again. ¡°And that¡¯s brains.¡± ¡°What do you want Jinx?¡± Fikumin rustled and clasped his hands on the table. ¡°When ye get angry eyes and mouth are gone,¡± Jinx advised him. ¡°All that¡¯s left is the nose and we Gish find this disturbin¡¯.¡± ¡°Get used to it,¡± Fikumin growled. ¡°Everyone else has one but for the Gish. Do you want to know why?¡± Jinx narrowed her eyes. ¡°Why?¡± She asked because she was curious. ¡°You lot were too nosy and the Gods had enough,¡± the dwarf replied making the scissors gesture with mid and index finger. ¡°That was horrible Fiku,¡± Jinx said solemnly. ¡°A bit bigoted also.¡± ¡°Cut the bullshit. I¡¯m not Glen,¡± Fikumin replied. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°Where is Sen?¡± ¡°Lady Sen is on a social visit. I have her escorted,¡± Fikumin replied. ¡°Anything else? I¡¯m literally amidst reading military correspondence here.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it strange she¡¯s all friendly with this weird dude?¡± Jinx asked and Fikumin stared at her blankly afore replying channeling Glen. ¡°No.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t even give it a thought!¡± ¡°True.¡± Jinx sighed. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a stupid idea.¡± ¡°We haven¡¯t yet heard what the idea is!¡± Fikumin grunted and started combing his beard. He reached for a goblet of wine and had some afore replying taking his time. ¡°Sen is interested in metallurgy and jewelry. She loves looking into novel things and favors antiques with the same passion. Angrein is an artist. Her having interest in his work is perfectly normal. She¡¯s also interested in exotic meals, decorating and clothing. Has contacts with most merchants in Goras and of course her family. They have an office building two streets away.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± ¡°Did you actually think she spent her time sitting on the upper floor?¡± Fikumin continued. ¡°With Inis-Mir growing up some, she has more time.¡± ¡°Something is bothering her.¡± ¡°Maybe her husband being on campaign? The fact that someone tried to have her child killed? Shall I continue?¡± Fikumin said and Jinx thought of poking him in the eye, or wiping her sticky with juices hands on his beard. ¡°You have a towel?¡± ¡°Jinx I have work to do and a meeting in an hour,¡± Fikumin replied and tossed her a towel. ¡°Don¡¯t do anything stupid.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t.¡± ¡°I mean it.¡± ¡°Hey, calm down,¡± Jinx told him and got up. ¡°You want the towel back?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Pfft, it¡¯s all sticky now. Catch,¡± Jinx scoffed and tossed him the towel aiming for his head. She missed, but made it out afore the dwarf could climb down his chair and come after her. Haha.
¡°There¡¯s¡­ a silver ingot in that alley,¡± Jinx told the guard at the door of Angrein¡¯s workshop all serious. ¡°Come again?¡± The guard asked with a frown. A Cofol. He was part of a guard detail Lon-Iv had sent a month back to bolster Glen¡¯s security. ¡°Someone dropped it? You might want to check it out afore it starts pouring down again.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± Jinx shrugged her shoulders. ¡°Hey, did ye miss a silver ingot perchance?¡± she asked one of the apron wearing artisans coming out of the workshop. ¡°Where?¡± The Zilan asked. ¡°Back there,¡± Jinx pointed at the alley. ¡°Someone must have dropped it. A thief?¡± ¡°Come with me,¡± The alarmed artisan told the guard and they both run towards the alley as fast as they could. Jinx walked inside the workshop, hunched behind a table to avoid another guard and tiptoed behind an artisan carrying a heavy box towards the furnaces. She slipped between two weapon stands, saw Angrein entering his office and dashed that way stooped to avoid detection. Angrein pushed the door to close it behind him, but the Gish lodged her boot at the opening to prevent it from closing fully. She entered the large workspace and found a hiding spot behind a pile of armors. Jinx was close enough to listen. ¡°I¡¯ll place it on the desk,¡± Angrein said. ¡°See to use the gloves.¡± ¡°I want to touch it,¡± Sen-Iv replied excited. ¡°So I can tell the difference.¡± What? Jinx almost jumped up screaming bloody murder. ¡°Trust me, it¡¯s still hot,¡± Angrein insisted. Ye fuckin¡¯ muscular pervert. ¡°Mmm. Yeah, I can see the differences though.¡± Unfaithful ruffians. ¡°What¡¯s the biggest difference?¡± It¡¯s bigger?The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°It¡¯s not glassy. Can you recreate that?¡± Uh? What the actual disturbed fuck? ¡°You mean lacquered. Resin based to provide luster. Colorless.¡± Is she ordering a phallus? Jinx raised a mail sleeve so she could poke her head under and see what they were talking about. ¡°Would it change the feel of it?¡± ¡°What you¡¯re describing ain¡¯t gold Lady Sen. This is how a gold sphere looks like. On the outside, the rest is bronze,¡± Angrein replied. ¡°I¡¯ll have to look at it myself.¡± ¡°Perhaps you should. What about the other thing?¡± ¡°I can have it, but I strongly advise against it.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Sen asked in a whisper. ¡°Too great a risk, hence why it was forced upon slaves,¡± Angrein replied. ¡°You¡¯re not a slave Lady Sen.¡± ¡°We are not that far apart Master Angrein.¡± ¡°With all respect I believe we are,¡± he replied civilly. ¡°Who would know?¡± What are you looking for? Jinx thought and peeked from her cover seeing nothing incriminating. ¡°I told you.¡± ¡°No, I can¡¯t. My husband is away,¡± Sen replied. ¡°Perhaps it is for the better,¡± Angrein agreed. ¡°That he is.¡± Jinx grimaced and moved backwards to escape the office unseen. While Sen¡¯s conduct was still suspicious, Jinx hadn¡¯t discover anything really. The guard and artisans searching the alley outside hadn¡¯t discover any sign of the silver ingot also. And they wouldn¡¯t.
Jinx paused at the Hall of Pleasure, the marble columns and pavement in front of the brothel brand new with crews working on putting extra lightposts at its entrance. She glanced at the angry sky, but heard a clicking sound instead of a thunder, nigh familiar. She swung around alarmed, but saw nothing but emptiness. The weather keeping everyone inside in this late afternoon time of the day. Jinx pursed her lips and glanced at the distance where Taras Lake¡¯s shores stood hidden in a thick mist. A lighting came next and moments later the ground shook, the roaring thunder making her teeth rattle, more an explosion than anything else. Jinx almost pissed herself upright and jumped inside the brothel afore the downpour started again.
¡°Welcome,¡± Parisa the bountiful Cofol slave said and put her quill down. ¡°Almas will be available in ten minutes. He needs his fluids.¡± ¡°Ahm,¡± Jinx murmured and looked around the open hall with the many doorless rooms. ¡°I don¡¯t want to talk to him.¡± Parisa blinked. ¡°You favor another?¡± She probed. ¡°Let me call on the mother. You can talk to her.¡± Ah. ¡°How about I speak to the daughter?¡± Jinx countered and looked in the nearby rooms for Sarya. They were empty. ¡°She¡¯s with a client,¡± Parisa explained politely. ¡°You¡¯ll have to wait. I can offer a selection of liquors in the meantime.¡± ¡°Do you charge for them?¡± Jinx asked. ¡°Of course,¡± Parisa replied in her unruffled manner. ¡°This isn¡¯t that Goddess¡¯ Temple.¡± ¡°Can I stay until the rain stops?¡± Jinx asked. ¡°I know Folen well.¡± ¡°I doubt it,¡± Parisa deadpanned. ¡°But you know Arguen Garth and that will suffice.¡± Cunt. ¡°So do you hear stuff in here?¡± Jinx asked and walked away to check on the other rooms. ¡°Nothing much,¡± Parisa replied and came after her annoyed. ¡°Is that a Gish wit Sarya?¡± Jinx probed with a fake smile. ¡°What¡¯s his name?¡± ¡°Might have missed it? It¡¯s difficult to pay attention with the amount of work I have, plus the acoustics are terrible,¡± Parisa added feigning ignorance. The lie lasting less than two seconds. ¡°Damn it NIX!¡± Sarya cursed, afore exploding in a roaring. ¡°FASTER! WHAT¡¯S WRONG WITH YOU?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t breathe!¡± The Gish named Nix croaked, head pushed between the Zilan¡¯s breasts too tight for him to survive for much longer. Jinx watched the male Gish¡¯s arse moving fast as he plowed into the much larger than him ¡®Sister¡¯ with the desperation of a dying rabbit. Folen could get a crowd just standing in the corridor, looking into the open rooms and charge a ticket for it, Jinx thought. ¡°Do you know him?¡± Parisa asked after they watched the couple fucking for a while. He has a famous name, but no. ¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± The Gish replied. ¡°Should we help him?¡± ¡°Sarya is a professional,¡± Parisa assured her. ¡°Wanna go next?¡± Jinx didn¡¯t. ¡°I better get back home,¡± she decided. Jinx had entered the brothel because she¡¯d gotten scared outside and had just realized she was being foolish.
She went back to Glen¡¯s villa instead, a bit spooked to sleep alone with the night coming and the weather unloading buckets over Goras. Caught Sen¡¯s carriage returning from Angrein¡¯s workshop and rushed to get inside after her, but spotted the guard from before and twirled the other way. She rounded the carriage from the front sneaking behind the horses and walked confidently to the door, now guarded by the Cofols and two Goras Guards Fikumin had posted permanently outside. ¡°Evening Lady Jinx,¡± the Goras soldier greeted her, Jinx easy to spot even in less torchlight on account of her long fiercely pink hair. Now wet and curling like a pensive cat¡¯s fur. ¡°Not a night to stroll about,¡± Jinx replied with a casual grin and slipped inside Glen¡¯s villa again. The Hall illuminated a bit better, but still full of dark patches and thick shadows. The place just too big to illuminate properly. Glen only used lightstones and there weren¡¯t enough of them around. Sen was talking with Fikumin when she approached, the guard from the workshop standing protectively behind her. ¡°You walked outside in the rain after all,¡± Sen said ending her conversation with a scowling Fikumin. She was referring to Whisper¡¯s earlier comment to her. ¡°Eh,¡± Jinx replied trying to think of an excuse for being outside and the guard blinked slowly as if remembering something. Don¡¯t, Jinx warned him with a glare. ¡°We never found the silver ingot,¡± the Cofol said, slanted eyes full of suspicion. ¡°Are you sure it was there?¡± ¡°Might have been mistaken,¡± Jinx replied and glanced at Sen watching their back and forth in silence. ¡°They had to take inventory of the warehouse, recalled people from their sleep,¡± the guard continued, looking to get poked in the eyeball for being a fucking rat. ¡°The weather made searching in the dark an ordeal.¡± ¡°Someone must have taken it,¡± Jinx said. ¡°I would check the books again. Something is afoot.¡± ¡°You were at Angrein¡¯s?¡± Sen-Iv asked her. ¡°In passing,¡± Jinx deadpanned. ¡°Then I visited the brothel.¡± Sen raised her brows, but didn¡¯t comment further on the matter. ¡°Bohor, I¡¯ll retire for the night,¡± she told the soaked Cofol warrior. The man had a chained mail shirt that covered his hips under his longcoat. ¡°I¡¯ll show you where you¡¯ll sleep and then you can arrange the shifts to help out Maeriel.¡± ¡°Mistress,¡± Bohor replied with a slight bow of the head and Sen with another knowing stare at Jinx turned around and strolled at her own pace to the staircase, the guard following stiffly behind her. ¡°Jinx,¡± Fikumin grunted standing next to her. ¡°Don¡¯t start as well,¡± Jinx told him and walked to his desk. Basically the conference table. ¡°Metu was here?¡± ¡°Glen sent us news,¡± Fikumin said without moving from his spot. Jinx paused and turned to look at the scowling dwarf. Fuck. ¡°He won,¡± Fikumin said simply and Jinx gasped her knees weakening. ¡°Judging by the reports from the others present, it was a decisive victory. Kalac and Maeriel¡¯s rangers are saved.¡± Here¡­ The shadows sang. She nodded, too moved to speak intelligently, or notice anything weird to it. Fikumin approached her, small boots thudding on the tiles and Jinx hugged his big hairy head with both arms. Fikumin smelled of soft wool, like a clean lamb and spiced cheese. Hmm. ¡°Does Maeriel know?¡± ¡°She does.¡± ¡°He actually did it,¡± Jinx sniffled in his brownish red lion¡¯s mane and Fikumin pushed her away slowly. ¡°Sorry, you smell really good Fiku. Damn, I can¡¯t believe it still. I was really worried.¡± ¡°He defended Rida¡¯s port pretty well,¡± Fikumin reminded her and went to climb on his chair. ¡°But this was a dangerous open engagement against an exotic professional army. I¡¯m actually impressed. Few have bested the Zilan in a scrap.¡± ¡°No Wyvern?¡± ¡°According to the reports, Uvrycres wasn¡¯t involved.¡± Jinx wiped her eyes and drunk from his goblet to clear her throat. ¡°You don¡¯t seem too happy.¡± ¡°The fight isn¡¯t over,¡± Fikumin replied and stared at the map he¡¯d moved from the stands to the wall near the long rectangular table. ¡°I¡¯m pleased because this means we get to keep what we¡¯ve built here.¡± ¡°So what¡¯s eating you?¡± Jinx asked and put the empty goblet back on the table. ¡°Glen asked Sen to travel to him. They might stay for a while beyond the Canal.¡± Jinx smiled. ¡°That¡¯s great! We get to travel at last. Fuck¡¯s sake Fiku what¡¯s with the long face? Is my monkey dead?¡± Fikumin shook his head. ¡°Sen told me she won¡¯t travel. I have to tell this to Glen. Which means in turn your Maeriel stays here,¡± and you as well, Jinx added what he¡¯d left unsaid. ¡°Why?¡± She croaked not expecting it. Fikumin shrugged his shoulders and reached to fill another fancy goblet. ¡°What did you find?¡± he asked her casually. ¡°Nothing nefarious. But something is surely off with her,¡± Jinx said. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t she talk with you though?¡± Fikumin murmured. ¡°She¡¯s uncomfortable around Zilan since the start, but a lot of people are,¡± Jinx replied. ¡°I¡¯m bedding one. I really don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°So it¡¯s pride, jealousy?¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t seem like Sen at all.¡± ¡°What does?¡± Fikumin grunted in frustration. ¡°Because Glen is miles away about to cross into enemy controlled land and worrying about his family won¡¯t help him stay focused.¡± ¡°It¡¯s that darn attempt on Inis-Mir,¡± Jinx replied. ¡°It messed her up that they would try something like that.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll sleep upstairs?¡± Fikumin asked her after a thoughtful pause and she nodded. ¡°A sleepover. Maeriel, Iskay and meself. Wanna join us? There¡¯s room,¡± Jinx teased him and the dwarf didn¡¯t even dignify her query with an answer.
¡°What¡¯s beyond the mist?¡± a young Linx asked and tossed a pebble on her head, when Jinx failed to answer in a timely manner. She managed to bounce it twice on the water afore nailing her. ¡°Hey!¡± Jinx protested, spitting out water. ¡°Don¡¯t do that.¡± ¡°What? You didn¡¯t answer!¡± her little sister protested and splashed away towards the shore, when Jinx went after her. ¡°Oh, shit,¡± Linx gasped stumbling and dropped like a rock on the shingles. ¡°Ouch!¡± ¡°Are you alright?¡± Jinx asked getting out of the shallow waters herself and picked her up. ¡°Let me see it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Linx griped, a cut on her forehead bleeding. ¡°Tis nothing.¡± ¡°Use spit on it.¡± ¡°Eh, no thanks. I¡¯ll just wash it a bit with water. Let me go!¡± ¡°Urine works as well,¡± Jinx told her with a grin and rubbed her own head. ¡°You got me good there fool.¡± ¡°Suits ye for dodgin¡¯ me query,¡± Linx accused her and splashed sea water on her face. ¡°Ah, this stinks damn it!¡± ¡°I¡¯ve peed in it just so you know.¡± ¡°Har, har, funny. Well?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. Something probably, but I¡¯m more interested in Jelin,¡± Jinx replied with a sigh. ¡°Mayhap it¡¯s the sailor¡¯s tales.¡± ¡°You mean you¡¯re curious. Or ignorant,¡± Linx murmured and stooped lithely to clean her toes from all the stuck pebbles. She loved using new words. ¡°Sure sis.¡± ¡°Are all creatures curious?¡± a tiny Linx had asked her more than a decade in the past.
Victory¡­ The silence hummed waking her up. She felt Maeriel¡¯s arm around her waist, the Zilan¡¯s calm breathing on her back. Iskay snored a bit on the other side of the large couch and had a tendency to flay her arms dangerously in her sleep, so Jinx had placed Maeriel in the middle strategically to take the brunt of the blows. The bedroom was silent other than that. Sen¡¯s large curtained bed on the other side, with Inis-Mir cradle in the middle. Jinx raised her head gently and removed Maeriel¡¯s arm to get off the bed. It had stopped raining outside, but you could hear water trickling down the roof. Clack. Splash. Splotch. Clack. As if in a rhythm. Jinx naked feet stepped on the carpet, her toes sinking in the soft wool. She could see Ranor, one of the Cofol guards standing watch outside the open door to their massive bedroom. The light coming in adding to the two small night-lamps Sen-Iv had left on. One above the cradle, the other near her bed. Goras was sleeping outside, the night cool and humid. Here¡­ The shadows hummed and Jinx narrowed her eyes trying to pierce the thick darkness. She moved towards the curtained window, the long route bringing her close to Sen¡¯s bed. Then beyond it. Jinx walked another three meters until she run out of carpet. She felt moisture under the soles of her feet. Jinx knelt down and touched the wet floor. Not much. The curtains flapping slowly with the night breeze. Right and then left. The movement slow alike breathing. She licked her lips and glanced back to see if anyone had heard anything. When Jinx¡¯s stare returned to the cracked open window, there was a strange girl looking back at her behind the curtain. Had Jinx not emptied her bladder afore getting to bed, she would have lost control of it. She did that is, but not much trickled down. ¡°Aww,¡± Assara gushed, huge black eyes gleaming like mirrors. Abrakas toes. The young Ticu jumped down and rolled near her. Her wet hair leaving a wet trail behind. ¡°Shhh,¡± Assara whispered conspiratorially and pointed a thin arm towards the beds. ¡°Youngling listens.¡± Fool, Jinx thought rattled, but also less scared than she was a moment ago. Maeriel listens too. ¡°Drool,¡± an alert Ranger said gruffly from behind them. ¡°Step away from her.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Jinx replied staying where she was. ¡°I¡¯ll take her outside.¡± ¡°Jinx,¡± Maeriel warned her with a hiss. ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°Come here,¡± Jinx told the young Ticu and Assara¡¯s large eyes blinked, two different sets of membranes opening and closing. ¡°Gish,¡± Assara said and showed her two rows of prickly teeth. ¡°Jinx.¡± ¡°Yep,¡± Jinx replied and tended her hand. Assara took it and stood up. She was actually a bit taller than her. Even her well-shaped small breasts looked bigger up close. ¡°You might want to cover these up.¡±
A disheveled Fikumin stared at the alien girl greedily gulping down a bottle of sheep milk, looking like he¡¯d just rolled out of bed. Beard and hair all bunched up together. ¡°A Ticu?¡± He repeated in disbelief. ¡°I need you to order them, not to harm her,¡± Jinx said. ¡°Especially Maeriel.¡± ¡°They killed Elaniel!¡± Fikumin grunted grimacing in frustration. ¡°Give the order Fiku,¡± Jinx insisted. ¡°She wasn¡¯t to blame.¡± ¡°Jinx, for crying out loud,¡± the dwarf sighed, the villa slowly waking up around them. ¡°What am I going to say¡­ She was inside the bedroom.¡± ¡°She didn¡¯t bring the eel Fikumin,¡± Jinx argued. ¡°How in gods do you know?¡± He asked just as Assara burped and puked the milk she¡¯d gulped down on the table. ¡°Well, that¡¯s just great.¡± ¡°She told me,¡± Jinx lied. ¡°Ask him,¡± she added and pointed at the silent Din. Aenymriel¡¯s man nodded once with his head. ¡°Why did you let it inside?¡± Fikumin grunted. ¡°She,¡± Jinx corrected him. ¡°She probably slipped inside when the carriage arrived,¡± Din replied. ¡°I¡¯m not the one manning the doors.¡± ¡°How did she get in?¡± ¡°It¡¯s what they do. They use distractions. Move when you look away,¡± Din said with a shrug. ¡°As for why she¡¯s here ask your Gish. She¡¯s probably tracking her for a while.¡± ¡°Jinx,¡± Assara said covered in puke. ¡°Someone bring a big bucket of water here,¡± Fikumin grunted. ¡°A couple of towels and a blasted tunic!¡± ¡°We might need even more water than that,¡± Jinx told him and the dwarf hissed. ¡°Fine, Jinx she¡¯s your responsibility,¡± he warned her. ¡°Don¡¯t make me regret this.¡± ¡°Glen would have done the same thing,¡± Jinx told him with a wink. ¡°We¡¯re the good guys remember?¡± That or kill her outright. Even odds. Jinx was a gambler. ¡°Gods help us,¡± Fikumin retorted and went to get dressed himself.
Assara jumped on the table and paused on a knee before the large wall map of her main hall, Jinx¡¯s villa almost as big as Glen¡¯s. She and Maeriel of course stayed in the lower floor mostly. With Maeriel sleeping near Inis-Mir, Jinx hadn¡¯t visited her place in weeks. ¡°Depth¡¯s Father,¡± the Ticu said and pointed a thin finger at the large blue expanse of the Scalding Sea. ¡°Yeah,¡± Jinx murmured. ¡°Ticu,¡± Assara pointed at Barmont Isle and then opened her arms wide enough to engulf most of the Reefs, Wetull¡¯s shores, all the way to Jelin, through the Krakentrap Straits and Cepri Fort across from Caspo O¡¯ Bor. ¡°Right,¡± Jinx said. ¡°You guys have spread a lot.¡± ¡°Mine,¡± Assara agreed. ¡°No,¡± Jinx argued and tapped the table once. ¡°Get down.¡± ¡°Here.¡± ¡°Get. Down from the table,¡± Jinx repeated and Assara hissed, the bones under her pale skin moving, her expression turning mean. ¡°Don¡¯t do that.¡± ¡°Hungry.¡± ¡°You want more milk?¡± Assara snorted and Jinx started laughing. She reached into her pocket and got a piece of old cheese out. ¡°Come here little one.¡± Assara stared at the food in her hand curious. Her nostrils expanding. ¡°What is it?¡± Jinx asked and moved away from her. She found a chair at a nearby smaller table and pulled it out. ¡°Milk?¡± ¡°Cheese,¡± Jinx replied and flinched seeing Assara standing right behind her. ¡°Goddess¡¯ tits! Sit down,¡± she ordered her and pointed at the chair. ¡°Eat.¡± ¡°Tease.¡± ¡°Cheese,¡± Jinx corrected her. ¡°Pants.¡± Assara sniffed at the large piece she had given her and then tossed it into her ever expanding mouth. Jinx actually heard the joints on her jaws cracking, forced open to accommodate the fist-sized piece of yellow cheese whole. Damn. ¡°I have a pair of old pants here,¡± Jinx told the munching Ticu and stooped inside her garbs crate. She found a large pair inside belonging to one of the dead twins and got it out. A loose long shirt next. Jinx turned around, realized Assara was riffling through her crate and used the opportunity to gather the alien girl¡¯s long hair in a ponytail. The hair slicky and thick, her ears small and pointy at the edge like a Zilan¡¯s but not as pronounced. ¡°Fake skin,¡± Assara said holding a red leather shirt. ¡°Blood.¡± ¡°Leave that,¡± Jinx told her and gave her the pants. ¡°Wear this and then the other shirt over it. Now show me the other eyes.¡± Assara blinked, the bones moving under her skin again, those large black eyes changing shape. ¡°No pupils?¡± Jinx teased a little weirded out, but Maeriel walked inside afore the Ticu had the chance to answer. The Ranger¡¯s entrance agitating her visibly. ¡°Maeriel,¡± Jinx said and her partner pressed her lips tight, then signed at the door. ¡°Sen is here,¡± Maeriel said sternly. ¡°You¡¯re mad,¡± Jinx looked at her. ¡°Can I explain?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a big girl Drool,¡± Maeriel retorted. ¡°You have your reasons.¡± ¡°You had yours,¡± Jinx said. ¡°I pushed you¡ª¡± ¡°Goddess,¡± Maeriel cut her off. ¡°Lady Sen-Iv wants to talk with you. Don¡¯t anger her, please Jinx. We can talk later.¡± Jinx nodded and Sen wearing a single piece long dress walked inside. Glen¡¯s wife paused to look at the Ticu stooped to gather the large pants that had dropped down her legs, reached on her head got a pearl brooch pin out and walked slowly towards her. She stopped before a gawking Assara and offered her the pin to stop her pants from dropping. The Ticu took it and used it on her head instead. Right at the top. It was kinda cute, Jinx thought with a grin. ¡°I¡¯ll help her out,¡± Maeriel suggested and glanced at a worried Jinx. ¡°Seriously?¡± ¡°Sorry,¡± Jinx blurted out embarrassed. ¡°Jinx,¡± Sen started stepping away for Maeriel. ¡°You are worried.¡± ¡°I am,¡± Jinx admitted. ¡°Is this¡­ whatever this is, part of it?¡± Sen asked. ¡°She¡¯ll worth her weight in gold in Greenwhale.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll just pretend ye didn¡¯t just say that,¡± Jinx warned her and Sen frowned, glanced at the alien girl another time and sighed. ¡°Hard as I try, I¡¯ll never understand this part of you,¡± Sen-Iv admitted. ¡°Or some of Glen¡¯s ideas. I¡¯m at a loss sometimes to figure out the reasoning behind a lot of the things you two are doing. I mean what is more important here? How are we to endure in this realm?¡± ¡°Why stay away then?¡± Jinx asked her, not wanting to talk with the Cofol woman about how wrong her reasoning was on many things. ¡°Glen loves you.¡± ¡°Oh, you sweet fool. Without a heritor what he¡¯s trying to build will wither away and be torn down. Love alone won¡¯t shield it,¡± Sen exclaimed. ¡°It¡¯s his legacy I¡¯m trying to protect.¡± ¡°By staying away?¡± ¡°I¡¯m pregnant,¡± Sen-Iv replied calmly. ¡°I¡¯ll have a son come hell or high water, but I can¡¯t drop this in his lap right now. Nor can he learn about it still. He¡¯ll abandon everything he¡¯s gained and come back here.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s the wrong in that? He''ll try again,¡± Jinx asked her, Assara repeating Sen¡¯s words with a freakish smile. Come back here¡­ ¡°He needs to win now that everyone is looking the other way. This is not a game. Our lives are at stake. He must eliminate the danger to his rule, to his daughter and his son to be,¡± Sen-Iv explained standing back. ¡°As long as his enemies breathe, no one is safe. I can endure his absence and I love him more than you ever will. Let me be clear here. If I can do that, then you can as well. You shall Jinx, do you understand what I¡¯m saying?¡± Jinx nodded. ¡°What about young Assara?¡± She asked and Sen-Iv smiled thinly at the staring Ticu. Assara dressed in her baggy clothes looking like a curious young girl, but for the eyes. ¡°It¡¯s your problem to deal with, that¡¯s as much leeway you¡¯ll get though. I¡¯m done playing games,¡± Sen said evenly. ¡°Keep her away from my daughter.¡±
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 288. Death defying illusions (I/3)
Lithoniela, of Baltoris Death defying illusions Part I The Witch''s Acolyte
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Somewhere in Oakenfalls, Summer of 66 NC. Seventh into the reign of High King Lennert Eikenaar (the Bloody), of Kaltha Second into the reign of King Titus Alden (-us) of Regia - It had taken twenty years for the jungle to return, another fifty, or close to it, for the trees and tall grass to cover everything. For nature to conceal the destruction and secrete her mother¡¯s final resting place. A mere day, for scavengers and the realm¡¯s biggest scum ¨Cadventurers- to unearth her. Shift through her bones, break her fragile skull and take her stuff. All she had placed inside after digging through the ruins for years. Her sword and the dark-red scaled wyvern armour, the golden bracelets and her favorite obsidian dagger with five rubies at its handle. Shadowbite, the ¡®Hulking¡¯ Fergen O¡¯ Mecatan du Nord Blacksmith¡¯s cradle gift to Baltoris, of Ninthalor. The Queen of Queens. Lithoniela had tracked them through the trees and towards the ruined temple that was once the center of Oakenfalls, but she hadn¡¯t returned since Ovinet had dropped her off more than six decades ago. Lithoniela had pleaded for the Wyvern to take her away, but Ovinet just wouldn¡¯t listen anymore and had almost killed her in the attempt to push the distraught Princess away. ¡°THERE''S NO NEED FOR A SPADE!!!¡± The bard bellowed his refrain fighting with the cords in a manic crescendo. ¡°IN THE LOVELY SHAAADE¡­¡± ¡°Heaven¡¯s mercy,¡± the tall blond Lorian commented, his finely trimmed mustache dropping low on both sides of his chin, leaving his wicked mouth free. His eyes the color of the clear skies. He waved a ring adorned hand at the sweaty heavy breathing bard. ¡°Are you done Valwarin?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a deliberate pause,¡± Valwarin, a well-groomed Issir clad in rich carmine-colored leather replied, his white hair caught at the nape and the sturdy dwarf with the large Warhammer on his back scoffed at his reply. ¡°To increase the audience¡¯s anticipation,¡± he added eyeing the dwarf warningly. ¡°More like desperation, right Eb?¡± The dwarf grunted, much to the bard¡¯s ire and the handsome leader of their small group raised his arms high as if to stop this before it turned ugly. ¡°Gents, let us shift our attention to the plan at hand. Where in Junia¡¯s heavenly tits is that cock-sucking Gish?¡± ¡°Hahaha,¡± Valwarin guffawed as if inspired anew. ¡°From the Priestesses silken sheets FORLORN WAS THE SPAN!!!¡± ¡°Mountain¡¯s black sorrow,¡± the dwarf protested and stooped to pick a hefty rock to hurl at him. ¡°BUT TURNS OUT FRAMTOND HAD A PLAAAN!¡± Valwarin roared and ducked to avoid a rock through the brain. Luthos shoving him away from Lithoniela¡¯s arrow at the same time. Bothersome are the Devil¡¯s spawns, Lithoniela cursed and fumbled in her panic with another arrow, when she heard a branch snapping behind her. ¡°Hehe,¡± a painted Gish chuckled. ¡°You better run girl.¡± ¡°THERE!¡± Framtond bellowed spotting her. ¡°KILL THAT FREAK!¡± Lithoniela gasped and glanced at the female Gish. ¡°Run,¡± she told her in that heavy male voice. ¡°Whilst you still can. Chop, chop.¡±
Run. The large Moose snorted seeing her landing on the wrong side of the tree and Lithoniela rolled bow in hand, bounced off the ground and cartwheeled behind another trunk. The animal came after her, but she sprinted around it fast, boots gliding on rotten leaves and fresh mud. She stopped on a knee, arrow nocked and the smell of incense burning in the air. She fired three times in a breath, then jumped to the side. A tumble, the Moose thundering past her blinded from both eyes and crashing on a tree almost snapping it in half. The crack sounding like a close thunder on the moody sky. Her next arrow brought it down. She breathed out and blew a curl that had gotten loose away, Faelar¡¯s somber voice chilling her blood from somewhere above. ¡°You¡¯re dead.¡± Lithoniela turned to stare at the Ranger perched on the five meters tall branch and he pointed with an arrow low between her legs. Another arrow was lodged there, near her left ankle, stuck firmly in the soft ground. ¡°I could¡¯ve shot a couple of more, but that was a neck wound,¡± Faelar explained and jumped from the branch to land lithely a meter from her. ¡°So that would have been a waste of perfectly good arrows,¡± he continued and picked up his undamaged arrow. ¡°And a job for a sharp knife to put you out of your misery.¡± ¡°I was hunting a Moose,¡± Lithoniela protested a little flushed at being lectured again. ¡°A good excuse, I suppose,¡± Faelar retorted, his long ears turning to a distant sound. ¡°There¡¯s your friend coming. A mediocre ranger would have taken both of you out. Worked on your bodies afterwards. Either for food, or pleasure. I make soles for my boots from fools¡¯ skin.¡± Lithoniela narrowed her eyes. ¡°I could set a trap as well Master Faelar,¡± she hissed. Faelar nodded, his face turning mean. ¡°And you¡¯ll fail again. Your skill is well below your years your highness. An insult to your lineage.¡± I didn¡¯t have a teacher for centuries your prick! Lithoniela gulped down and bowed her disheveled head flustered. ¡°I¡¯ll strive to improve Master Faelar.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± the Ranger murmured and flipped the arrow he¡¯d gotten out of the ground in his hand, turned sharply and hurled it at the emerging from the bushes Zilyana. The witch gasped and a wind blew through the trees so sudden and so violent Lithoniela almost lost her footing. But it had taken the arrow away. ¡°Are you insane?¡± Zilyana snarled, crooking her pretty mouth. ¡°Fucking old prick!¡± Yeah, Lithoniela agreed with a grin, she kept at the minimum. Faelar smacked his lips, raised his right hand abruptly, a small unassuming stick in it and then hurled it without warning at the furious young sorceress smacking her right between the eyes. Zilyana went down without a sound and the veteran Ranger sighed in disappointment. ¡°Witches,¡± he said and stooped to help a moaning Zilyana to her feet. ¡°She blew her load to avoid an arrow. Do you know why you can¡¯t trust magic Lithoniela?¡± He asked her while he gave a dazed Zilyana a flask to drink some water. ¡°I¡¯m not a sorceress,¡± she droned worried about the welt on poor Zilyana¡¯s forehead. ¡°Yep. Unless you have one at your beck and call, you need to use resources sparingly and if you go the other way, remember an enemy will fight you on a rock and in the desert,¡± Faelar told her pressing a coin on Zilyana¡¯s forehead to reduce the swelling. ¡°But mostly in the fuckin¡¯ open.¡± ¡°I understand Master Faelar. Thank you for the lesson,¡± Lithoniela said politely. ¡°Hmm,¡± Faelar said looking at them both. ¡°On the morrow again. Sleep a little more tonight. I expect you at the gates two hours after midnight.¡± Noble Goddess! Seriously? ¡°I¡¯ll be there Faelar,¡± Lithoniela croaked, trying not to laugh at Zilyana¡¯s expression.
¡°How¡¯s the head?¡± ¡°I have a salve for it. I think?¡± Zilyana replied watching her cutting pieces out of the moose with a curved knife. ¡°How do you make it?¡± ¡°Eh, I stole it from Aelrindel,¡± Zilyana chuckled. ¡°You need to dive in a lake and pluck the roots out of a flower. I don¡¯t like that part at all.¡± ¡°Won¡¯t she be mad?¡± Lithoniela asked placing the bloody cuts on a cloth to take with them. ¡°Ahm, I won¡¯t tell her? Seriously I hate it.¡± ¡°The lake, or the potion making?¡± Lithoniela asked her with a smile. ¡°I don¡¯t have her patience.¡± Lithoniela gave her half the load to carry. ¡°She¡¯s that tolerant? I wouldn¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t go that far. In her craft she is meticulous though,¡± Zilyana replied and walked towards the edge of the opening towards the path leading outside the forest. ¡°But mostly it¡¯s practice, talent and her mother¡¯s teachings.¡± ¡°You sound like a love-struck acolyte.¡± ¡°Babe you need to take a good hard look at a mirror,¡± Zilyana deadpanned with a stupid grin. ¡°Mmm,¡± Lithoniela murmured watching the trees for another sneaky trap from Faelar. She wouldn¡¯t put it past him to ambush them on the return trip. ¡°I wish I had a teacher all those years,¡± she said changing the subject. ¡°Poor thing,¡± Zilyana teased her. ¡°I wish I had the freedom to wander about with adventurers. Or did you mean, you wished you had her as a teacher?¡± ¡°Stop it. Let''s move on. And adventurers ain¡¯t all that much. It depends on what Luthos will toss in your path.¡± ¡°Here,¡± Zilyana said cutting right and stopping near the river. The trees leaving a two meter gap near the path a traveler could rest unseen. ¡°What did Luthos toss in your path Princess?¡± ¡°Mostly rogues and killers,¡± Lithoniela replied and then thought of Glen. A younger version of him rushing her with a large sword that wasn¡¯t his. The Wyvern¡¯s Tongue and a sack full of Imperial gold coins. A knight¡¯s sword, the Witch¡¯s gift and a king¡¯s fortune in a young vagabond¡¯s hands. The memory put a smile on her lips. ¡°Some better than others.¡± ¡°In what way?¡± Zilyana asked a bloody piece of meat in her hand. ¡°I¡¯m famished.¡± ¡°Go ahead,¡± Lithoniela replied and found a trunk to rest on. ¡°Talented and funny. Very foolish some times. Very young also.¡± ¡°Sounds like a good story. How does it end?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± she replied truthfully. ¡°He¡¯s in Wetull now somehow. I hope all of them made it out and are safe.¡± ¡°Is that the ¡®Wyvern¡¯ guy?¡± ¡°Supposedly. That part is very strange,¡± she murmured. The witch smiled a bloody smile and then stared at her smeared hands with a frown. ¡°I got stuck in Dan for two hundred years,¡± Zilyana chuckled getting up. ¡°How was it?¡± ¡°Uncomfortably cold,¡± Zilyana replied and stooped near the river to clean her hands. ¡°It¡¯s not funny Princess.¡± ¡°Sure. See how you¡¯d like living like a stray, hunt for your food, without a warm bed to go back to.¡± ¡°Faelar has you spooked. Next time shoot an arrow in his knee without warning,¡± Zilyana said from the river shore. ¡°Or a fireball.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t.¡± ¡°Touch that exposed root, bind a ¡®thread¡¯ to it,¡± she told her, eyes gleaming while removing her boots. ¡°Like I showed you.¡± Eh, Lithoniela thought watching her undress. ¡°What are you doing fool?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t dodge. Come on. Fuck Faelar and his rules. You¡¯re an Elderblood. Royal on top of it. Don¡¯t you get points for that?¡± ¡°Zilyana, of Cydonia. You¡¯re an Elderblood as well.¡± ¡°Calamer never acknowledged me. If not for Edlenn I would have had Galadriel¡¯s fate,¡± she replied with a cute frown working with the shirt¡¯s buttons. ¡°Do it Lithoniela, I have something to show you.¡±This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Lithoniela was always uncomfortable with this side of her. ¡°Make a house in my head,¡± she murmured getting up to approach the leering witch. ¡°Start with a room. Knit it with threads. Brick by brick,¡± Zilyana teased, long legs sprouting out of her short shirt. ¡°Aelrindel¡¯s way,¡± Lithoniela murmured and saw her small imaginary cabin in the woods. Lithoniela had been working on it for almost a year. ¡°No bricks.¡± ¡°Also Edlenn¡¯s, Galadriel¡¯s, Eroshin¡¯s, Ena¡¯s and Nororis,¡± Zilyana corrected her, naming some of the famous sorcerers of the past. ¡°The moon wasn¡¯t conceived on its own. Her knowledge was passed down from the ancient Zilan of Cydonia. Us Islanders are the plinth your mother¡¯s kingdom was built upon, afore the Wyverns and the Phalanx¡¯s spears. Touch that root, light a fire in your little fireplace.¡± A fire, she thought opening the door. Her left hand started warming up, a tingling in her fingers. Lithoniela closed her eyes and there it was, a gold thread touching the tree she had been resting on, following behind her. Lithoniela turned to stare at the fireplace and the torch in her hand. A spark and smoke billowed at the oil-soaked tip. She wafted a dragging breath on it, the river¡¯s sound retreating. The torch caught and she felt the warmth on her face. ¡°Haha!¡± Zilyana guffawed in the present. ¡°There it is! You gorgeous talented doll. Puff it now towards the water.¡± Lithoniela opened her eyes confused and stared at the small bright flame burning on her palm. The feeling quickly turning uncomfortable. Extremely uncomfortable. Ouch. ¡°It¡¯s a torch,¡± she mumbled slowly panicking, despite putting up a brave face, an excited Zilyana urging her with large purple-blue eyes to get rid of the tiny fireball. Which was what Lithoniela wanted, but didn¡¯t know how. Her words finally penetrated Zilyana¡¯s fervor and forced her to action. ¡°Wait¡­ a what? That¡¯s what you used? Enchantress¡¯s knotted hair!¡± The witch retorted standing back in alarm. ¡°Toss the darn thing girl!¡± Ah. ¡°Toss the torch?¡± She probed just to be sure, clenching her jaw hard not to scream. ¡°Seriously?¡± Her friend hissed. ¡°Just DO IT!¡± Lithoniela turned towards Yeriden¡¯s waters and there it was, the reality merging with her fantasy¡¯s constructs. She chucked the ¡®torch¡¯ in the river and the water¡¯s surface fizzed followed by the rumbling sound of a small explosion. ¡°We are going to have to work on delivery,¡± Zilyana declared with a grimace and tossed her shirt away to dive into the river naked. Lithoniela frowned and stared at the boil in her palm. The skin around it hurting so much it brought tears in eyes. ¡°I¡¯m hurt!¡± She blasted the still under the waters witch and reached into her satchel for something to tie her hand. A scarf would do. ¡°Your lessons suck Zilyana,¡± Lithoniela griped bandaging her burn, the redness spreading and the boil leaking. She turned hearing the witch coming out of the river, but instead of her friend, Aelrindel stood there smiling mischievously. ¡°Ahm,¡± Lithoniela blurted as the Moon¡¯s Daughter approached tauntingly, hands resting on her soaked hips. Something was off in her face though. Damn, Zilyana got the other parts pretty darn close. ¡°What threw you off?¡± The masqueraded witch asked standing in front of her. ¡°The nose?¡± ¡°The mouth I think,¡± Lithoniela admitted, keeping her stare on the fake Aelrindel¡¯s face. ¡°That what you were thinking?¡± The query made her forget about the hand, the blood rushing to her face. Lithoniela stepped back, but Zilyana caught her. ¡°Let me into your cabin Princess,¡± she whispered near her face. ¡°I¡¯m outside the door.¡± ¡°How?¡± Lithoniela croaked, a shiver under her skin as pleasant as it was scary. ¡°I¡¯m witch of Cazan,¡± the fake Aelrindel gushed their noses touching, eyes large and the color of warm silver. ¡°We walk in all dreams, make covens to shape the reality to our liking and fuck a lot.¡±
The real Aelrindel, clad in her soft leather long coat, a bone-reinforced bustier underneath it and warm riding pants with tall heeled boots, looked as much furious as she was stunning. ¡°I don¡¯t want to talk to Prince Atpa,¡± she hissed walking back and forth to calm herself down. ¡°Tell him I¡¯m sick with the flu. Can¡¯t we poison him or something? He¡¯s very annoying.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t approach his quarters,¡± Faelar replied not amused. ¡°The army has sealed the city¡¯s center tight.¡± ¡°So what does he want?¡± ¡°You out of the palace and back in Rin An-Pur.¡± ¡°Is that all?¡± Aelrindel queried frostily. ¡°With the other wives was the full quote,¡± Faelar replied with a shrug. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to upset you.¡± ¡°You did.¡± ¡°So, if we are to go¡­¡± Faelar started, but paused seeing her recoil and the tongue of fire blasting out of the Duke¡¯s fireplace setting the carpet alight. He moved timely and stepped on the flames, wrapping the smoking carpet in the end to prevent the fire from spreading. With a sigh he tossed the ruined carpet in the fireplace and stood back to watch it burn. ¡°Afore Prince Sahand returns, we need to go now,¡± he finally said finishing his thought. ¡°Didn¡¯t you just see how frustrated I was?¡± The sorceress blasted him. ¡°How is destroying a small carpet answer your problem?¡± ¡°My problem?¡± ¡°Yes. You either leave your husband behind, or you don¡¯t. Unless he dies I don¡¯t see how you are getting out of this mess.¡± Aelrindel pouted and returned to the throne to sit down. She crossed her legs and eyed the two of them pretending they weren¡¯t there. ¡°Never have I seen so much mud on a Princess and a Witch before,¡± she commented dryly. ¡°Unless they were fooling around by the river and didn¡¯t wash afterwards.¡± ¡°It was cold at the day''s end,¡± Zilyana replied all serious, whilst Lithoniela hid under her hood. ¡°And you have a bathtub. Mistress,¡± she added to save it. ¡°Faelar leave us,¡± Aelrindel ordered the Ranger. ¡°Have our people informed of the new developments and call for Wulan to have some water prepared. Make it a lot of water.¡± ¡°Ralnor is en route,¡± the Ranger reminded her. ¡°He¡¯ll want to know of what you decide.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t wait for him to finish whatever side projects he¡¯s running Faelar,¡± she griped and rapped her long nails on the armrest impatiently. ¡°There¡¯s nothing in the city worth your presence Aelrindel,¡± the ranger insisted. ¡°Stop being so stubborn. We must move to Queen¡¯s Lake soon and out of their reach, or your plan won¡¯t work.¡± ¡°Just find Wulan,¡± Aelrindel gasped in frustration. ¡°My head hurts. Where is that darn cat?¡± Melon was missing in action for a couple of days per his habit. So the sorceress made a couple of meowing cats appear near her legs in his stead and stooped to pick one of them up. ¡°This better be good,¡± she told them when Faelar left them alone, while petting the fiercely gold pelt of her cat. But for the tail. That was a sparkling silver. Aelrindel had a thing for it.
Wulan paused at the entrance and waited for Zilyana to finish her praise on Lithoniela¡¯s new skills. Aelrindel listening with a blank face, her eyes flickering at her Cofol servant from time to time. ¡°What does Lithoniela think?¡± Aelrindel asked cutting her old pupil off. ¡°Don¡¯t you want to learn from Faelar? He¡¯s very well regarded as a teacher, old political matters aside.¡± Lithoniela thought him a mean bastard, but she also wasn¡¯t unwilling to learn more from him. ¡°I don¡¯t feel her enthusiasm spilling out Zilyana,¡± Aelrindel commented and glanced at Wulan again. ¡°Let her finish her studies under Faelar.¡± ¡°Tell him about the fire spell,¡± Zilyana urged her. ¡°What fire¡­ what spell?¡± Aelrindel hissed. ¡°Weren¡¯t you two at the river?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Zilyana replied. ¡°But more outside the walls than inside¡­¡± ¡°What does that mean?¡± Her teacher asked warningly. ¡°How far outside? By the gates?¡± Yep, thirty kilometers from them. ¡°Eastwatch Forest?¡± Zilyana guessed leaving it purposefully vague. ¡°Many trees about,¡± she added ruining it not very skilled in subterfuge. Aelrindel¡¯s face hardened. ¡°You¡¯re jesting.¡± ¡°She speaks the truth,¡± Lithoniela defended her friend, equally unskilled in lying under pressure. ¡°You shot a fireball inside the forest?¡± The old Sorceress gasped in horror. ¡°Eh, let¡¯s not exaggerate, it was more like¡­ this size? Are you going to tell it or not?¡± Zilyana asked Lithoniela frustrated. ¡°I made a torch,¡± Lithoniela said with a sigh. ¡°I threw it in the river.¡± The sorceress stood back. ¡°You made a torch.¡± ¡°No commands,¡± Zilyana mouthed off and the fake cat meowed raising her head curious. Aelrindel got up and approached her. Lithoniela returned her stare a bit nervous and excited at the same time. The sorceress mouth curved a tad on its left size in a half sneer. ¡°Is that yours?¡± she asked tauntingly pointing at a thin white thread Lithoniela had used to trace the perfect lines of her face, to commit it in her memory. And add it to her ever expanding cabin later. ¡°Yes,¡± she croaked embarrassed. ¡°What did she miss?¡± Aelrindel asked twirling her index finger around Lithoniela¡¯s thread and then snapping it. ¡°Zilyana?¡± she asked casually, but the Zilan caught her undertone. ¡°The mouth. You have like three different smiles Mistress,¡± Zilyana replied. ¡°Apologies.¡± ¡°Everyone does. More than that really, unless they are stiffs. Start with your own visage first,¡± Aelrindel told them both. ¡°Use a mirror. You need mirrors always to see what you¡¯re changing. But before experimenting with the human form try making a bird first, or a cat.¡± ¡°With a real cunt folk can use,¡± Melon¡¯s baritone voice added, strolling snuggly inside from the open large balcony. He sniffed under the fake cat¡¯s tail, the one resting under the sorcerer¡¯s chair and snorted waltzing away. Melon¡¯s hind legs walking on the tips of his paws and his own tail raised provocatively to showcase his swollen balls. ¡°I ain¡¯t putting my cock in that just saying, but wit such an amount of pussy on display, we¡¯re gonna have problems!¡± ¡°Wulan take the stupid cat for a bath,¡± Aelrindel hissed, furious at the interruption. Melon snorted and it turned into half a sneeze until he smacked his paw on his nose a couple of times to stop the tickling. ¡°Well, was going to offer a tongue bath meself, but with this kind of shitty attitude thrown my way, I¡¯ll just fuck the help.¡± Wulan stooped to pick him up with a glare, but the black cat jumped on her arm, twirled around and reached the back of her head in less than a second, despite her efforts to stop him. ¡°Head forth then,¡± Melon ordered clasped with all legs tight. ¡°My two-legged small-titty mount. To the baths!¡± Aelrindel sighed deeply and returned to her throne. ¡°Never put a charm on a cat,¡± she advised them and with a cute frown added. ¡°Or a goat.¡± ¡°Can I show Lithoniela your illusion techniques?¡± Zilyana asked innocently the troubled sorceress. Lithoniela almost chuckled at her friend¡¯s much belated attempt at gaining her mentor¡¯s permission. ¡°You¡¯re not that good at them Zilyana,¡± she told her absentmindedly. ¡°Better start with something more useful to compliment her other skills and I¡¯ll see to it personally at a later date.¡± Oh, we¡¯re way past the first lesson, Lithoniela thought her skin tingling. ¡°It does compliment her skills oh, wise old teacher,¡± Zilyana droned a bit too on the nose. ¡°Just not in a death defying manner.¡± ¡°Have a good night¡¯s rest girls,¡± Aelrindel retorted soberly. ¡°Sleep early, get your rest and avoid games. Lithoniela I know all this socializing is very exciting to you, but this place is getting too crowded at this moment and we can¡¯t afford any mistakes. Use caution and what you already know.¡±
The rows of Cofol Royal Cataphracts entering the palace premises were a sight to behold, she thought watching from the gates of the pyramid. The Prince¡¯s carriage surrounded by officials trying to get a glimpse on his condition. Sahand paused for a moment, covered in his cloak and waved at the small crowd reassuringly. He then followed his bodyguards past them walking slowly, the crowd staying behind. Some servants and officials lingered on inside the massive yard, some even trying to follow the Prince inside the pyramid, but most were turned away by the guards at the internal gates. Only those living behind the walls of the Duke¡¯s palace were allowed to stay and seeing as the night was getting late Lithoniela expected the few remaining curious bystanders to walk away. She spared a glance under her hood at the dark yard for any familiar faces, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. Lithoniela turned her head, secure in her shaded hiding spot and looked at the massive pyramid looming over her. The many lit windows slowly turning dark and only the flat top where the palace was remaining brightly illuminated. She found their sleeping quarter¡¯s window north from the throne room¡¯s floor and the Duke¡¯s Balcony. Aelrindel had come out for a moment to watch the injured Prince¡¯s return and then had slipped inside again. ¡°Someone get those patrols back on the perimeter,¡± a sergeant barked at the guards. ¡°Get those fucking people out and for Allgods sake remove the horses afore they shit on everything!¡± ¡°What about the Cataphracts sire?¡± ¡°There¡¯s stables for that adjoined to the walls. Tell them to use them for crying out loud!¡± he replied gruffly. ¡°Move lad, or it¡¯s early turd collecting duty on the morrow!¡± Lithoniela decided to return herself and moved away from her corner, after a group of guards trotted close to her spot, looking to get everyone left behind escorted outside the walls. She walked swiftly, not bothered from the dark and reached the stairs. Lithoniela waited for the disturbed officials and guards to settle down for the remainder of the night, before making her way to her quarters. She was to wake up soon anyway, unless Faelar had cancelled their training given the new developments. With a deep breath to calm herself down from the long climb, she pushed the door open and entered her bedroom. Wulan was with Aelrindel and the injured Prince probably, their much larger bedroom belonging to the late Duke on the other side of the long corridor, starting behind the throne room and reaching the back of the massive building. ¡°Is prince charming dead?¡± Zilyana asked sitting on the desk near the bed across from hers. ¡°Still walking. But he could have been playing it for the crowd,¡± Lithoniela replied and removed Zestari¡¯s cloak and hood to hang it next to her quiver. ¡°Did you see him?¡± ¡°Not really,¡± Zilyana said behind her back. Lithoniela sat on the edge of her bed to remove her boots. The right first then the left. ¡°That would have been nigh awkward,¡± her friend added ambiguously. ¡°Zil,¡± Lithoniela murmured seeing her improved naked ¡®illusion¡¯. ¡°Didn¡¯t we promise, not to fool around?¡± ¡°I made no such promise Princess,¡± Zilyana purred and knelt between her legs. She wrapped her long fingers around hers. One hand at a time from each side. First the right and then the left. Oh, you naughty witch, she thought her heart flattering. ¡°It doesn¡¯t feel right,¡± she whispered in her glowing face, feeling Zilyana¡¯s hot breath lingering. ¡°Knock, knock,¡± Zilyana teased hoarsely catching the weak lie, her nose touching hers and Lithoniela felt her body quivering in anticipation. ¡°Open up Princess,¡± the voice coming from far away, Aelrindel¡¯s face blurring, the immersion breaking and the illusion collapsing. Lithoniela¡¯s warmly lit, now much enlarged cabin, turning a dark and sinister place, her mouth, face and nostrils flooded with something gluey and brittle. Everything clogged and her sensitive ears ringing. The strange otherworldly sound reverberating inside her skull, as if her imaginary room had turned hollow. As if she was suddenly alone inside the once idyllic cabin. The connection severed. A frightened Lithoniela panted desperately trying to breathe and return to the safety of the bedroom, but everything felt as empty when she did and then the Princess wished she hadn¡¯t. Run... The masqueraded Gish¡¯s voice hissed in her ear. Her huntress¡¯ instincts trying to snap her out of it. ¡°Fucking royal cunts!¡± A ghastly voice bellowed and yanked a horrifically mutilated Zilyana away to get his bizarre weapon back, her friend¡¯s head completely destroyed, the injury so hideous and the brutal blade that had caused it so crude, the blow so powerful, even her upper chest cavity had exploded outwards. Lithoniela was covered in gore, pieces of skull and Zilyana¡¯s brains. ¡°Ah, it¡¯s you,¡± the cruel man said and stopped himself from swinging again. ¡°Hahaha! Well consider yourself avenged,¡± he barked at the traumatized and utterly paralyzed Lithoniela. ¡°The witch is fucking dead. AHAHAHA! Good riddance!¡±
289. Death defying illusions (2/3)
Sulynor, of Otholiel¡¯s warhorse pushed the bushes aside and stepped into the opening. The Rokae leader turned his white-gold smiling mask on them and pointed at a glowering Aelrindel. ¡°You ride behind me, Aeleniel will take Zilyana. Faelar will bring the others.¡± ¡°We¡¯re running?¡± Aelrindel hissed and pushed a crying Zilyana aside. ¡°Are you serious Lord Sulynor?¡± ¡°None of us is going to be lording anything no more,¡± Sulynol grunted and moved the big horse closer. She felt its hot breath on her face, smelling of grass, sweat and fresh blood. ¡°Get on the saddle. We need to move.¡± ¡°Where?¡± She blasted him. ¡°Kallister¡¯s Tower is too far away!¡± ¡°Mistress just go,¡± young Zilyana pleaded. ¡°I can¡¯t lose you as well.¡± No. You don¡¯t get to fuck me twice in a month! ¡°Rai-Minas troops are across Myrdiel River,¡± Sulynor explained. ¡°You¡¯ll never reach Witch¡¯s Dagger. You mother ordered us to take you North.¡± ¡°MY MOTHER IS DEAD!¡± Aelrindel exploded in anger, her eyes glowing. ¡°We must go with Calamer and Galadriel, strike back at Lord Elas! Turn his lands to glass!¡± ¡°Elas wouldn¡¯t have set up a meeting, only to bring poisoned blades inside the Garden. The Old Shield is a diplomat first and foremost,¡± Sulynor replied and tended his armoured arm at her. ¡°Faelar saw a burning Minue Mol jumping out of a window when the Orchard House was engulfed in flames. If that freak Mol was there, then the mute Dar Fenog and Dar Draug were near. Assassins of Nym¡¯s Circle wouldn¡¯t have moved against your mother without orders from above. It wasn¡¯t Elas. It was Baltoris. Cydonia isn¡¯t safe, nor beyond their reach, but the North is.¡± ¡°Curse them all to Oras Hells,¡± Aelrindel hissed livid, her face dark. ¡°Blackened be their last days, foul the air in their lungs and ashes covering their bones,¡± she vowed under the Goddess¡¯s Tree and grabbed the Imperial Knight¡¯s arm. ¡°What¡¯s in the North?¡± a worried Zilyana had asked her a month later, their fast ship leaving the Torn Earth behind and sailing with the gulf¡¯s current through the Wetull¡¯s Straits towards the land of the Cofols. Aelrindel draped in her shawl, with salt water burning her eyes hadn¡¯t answered her for a long moment. It wasn¡¯t the greedy slave merchants of Ani Ta-Ne, the uncouth hashish-selling cretins of Que Ki-La, or the blasphemous fishermen of Rin An-Pur. ¡°A place my mother built,¡± she murmured over the sound of the sails and the frothy waves. ¡°She called it Neil-Dan. It means faraway roots. It¡¯s an old poem her mother knew. My sister used to sing it to me when I was little. I couldn¡¯t speak the words fully and always mumbled ¡®ndani¡¯ instead. Returned.¡± ¡°Pay them back,¡± a young Zilyana had said with a cute frown shivering. ¡°We shall,¡± Aelrindel agreed and embraced her small body to warm her up. ¡°But we need to save ourselves first.¡±
-
Aelrindel, of Edlenn Death Defying Illusions Part II -Laitae ea Gimoss, in ulce Maetar-
She hadn¡¯t exactly pictured her return as a Horselord¡¯s spouse. Her second come back, since the first one had gone tits up. You work with what life drops in your lap sometimes. You make a plan, the plan fails and you make another. Then it fails as well, because that¡¯s what plans do. They are annoying and very unsatisfactory even when they sort of work. Not the way you¡¯d preferred, the rogue pirate being a two-timing murdering, unfaithful bastard probably something she should have caught on sooner, but that was done. I got Rida out of it, she thought with a frown. A hollowed out, burned and ruined Rida. So not exactly the deal she had in mind and she wasn¡¯t really controlling it truth be told. What she had instead was the privilege of getting plowed and flooded with thin seed by a philistine idiot, who was getting more difficult to control as years went by. Magic fades with time and when your heart ain¡¯t in it. ¡°Lenar,¡± the idiot who¡¯d almost gotten himself killed amidst a sea of troops tasked with guarding him said and limped her way. At least his face is still whole, she thought and allowed him to palm her through the thin chemise, using as much care on her as he did on his mares. Chest, thighs. Thank the Goddess he avoided the teeth. Aelrindel had to draw the line to the old ¡®thumb in mouth¡¯ routine. ¡°Gods I missed you so much,¡± Sahand grunted after he finished his inspection very aroused, ¡°Look at you smelling divine, I can¡¯t fathom another night with the horses. You know what they say, befriend enough horses and you¡¯ll turn into one.¡± Aelrindel had to bite her tongue not to reply at his stirring opening. ¡°The battle was a success?¡± She asked instead, Sahand¡¯s mouth munching on her neck and bodying her towards the bed. In his mind the Prince had said enough to get down to business. ¡°Why leave Reeves behind?¡± There¡¯s the bed, she thought and put a hand out to stop him from crashing her on it. It was a partial success, the bed creaking dangerously when they both landed on the soft mattress. ¡°Seriously Lenar?¡± Sahand protested, grabbing her ankle to pull her near him. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you in months!¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you very injured?¡± Aelrindel queried and slithered away from him, using her foot to propel herself. A nibble Sahand snatched it and started sucking on her toes unruffled. She had to push his head away next to stop his ministrations. She covered the Prince¡¯s forehead in saliva in the process. ¡°Have a cut on the thigh,¡± Sahand grunted trying to reach her again. ¡°Let us talk of this later.¡± ¡°I¡¯m really interested,¡± Aelrindel gasped with a grimace of pain, the Prince¡¯s hand finding an uncovered nipple. The rough pinch brought tears in her eyes. Goddess that¡¯s enough! She thought furious, when the pinch turned into a twist, barely managing to croak. ¡°In the logistics.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Sahand asked and paused to stare at her frustrated. ¡°It¡¯s Atpa. He¡¯s absorbing all the supplies and Altarin is starving. We had to attack.¡± ¡°You lost,¡± Aelrindel hissed, tying a thread on his hand with a song and hurling it back towards his face. Sahand dodged, not as injured as the rumors claimed he was and groaned finding her knee between his legs. Right at the swollen cock, no magic involved. ¡°You won¡¯t,¡± he grunted and winced when she applied more upwards pressure in warning. ¡°I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m letting you get away with bullshit like this. I didn¡¯t lose, but we can¡¯t dislodge them from the path without supplies and more men.¡± ¡°You had thrice their numbers,¡± Aelrindel murmured and collapsed on the mattress. ¡°How difficult can it be?¡± ¡°Almost as difficult as bedding you wife,¡± Sahand replied with a smirk stooping over her sprawled body. Fuck it, Aelrindel thought giving up and stared at the ceiling, trying not to hear the Prince¡¯s heavy breathing. She concentrated on the guards watching from the door, Wulan hurrying to prepare a cold buffet for the Prince and as her sensitive hearing adjusted, to the more distant sounds of the Palace. Everything mundane, except a single arrogantly thrown phrase followed by a frenetic laugh. The Witch is fucking dead. What? ¡°Oh I love these heavy juicy melons,¡± Sahand murmured working on her breasts. Good riddance. The voice added pleased. Who the fuck said that? She wondered narrowing her eyes and then a huge wave of sadness washed over her senses. It was so strong Aelrindel felt drowning and kicked with her legs to get the Prince off of her and escape. He was too darn heavy. ¡°Hey¡­ what are you¡ª¡± ¡°Au Ho Tu!¡± Aerlinder hissed, her eyes growing twice their size and Sahand was hurled to the other side of the room, the soft carpets saving him from breaking his neck. The sudden heavy breeze that had invaded their bedroom so violent both curtains were torn off their clasps and landed near the stunned Prince of the Khanate. Aelrindel jumped out of their bed and walked briskly towards the door, the guards blocking her exit. She paused and glared at them, Adi Putra¡¯s nervous eyes flickering from her angry face to her left breast that had popped out of the front opening of her ruffled short chemise. ¡°Move aside,¡± Aelrindel told him and Sahand¡¯s voice came from behind her really pissed. ¡°Adi, Indera bring her in!¡± He ordered them. An alarmed Wulan who was coming out of the kitchen, a large plate with pastries in her hands, stopped abruptly just behind the two undecided guards. ¡°Lady Lenar,¡± Indera started, black eyes blinking and his jaw clenched, the pearls adorning his thin long beard gleaming in the torchlight. ¡°Please return¡­ to the bedroom.¡± ¡°How about I don¡¯t?¡± Aelrindel retorted hearing Lithoniela¡¯s muffled cries and shoved both men away to get past them. ¡°But you can go ahead and suck the Prince¡¯s cock yourself Indera.¡± Goddess¡¯ shadow, what are you girls doing? Adi caught her right wrist, but she looped her fingers around, turned it and then sunk her thumb¡¯s long nail into his palm piercing the skin. The guard gasped not expecting it and Aelrindel pushed through determined to find out what was going on. ¡°Where are they?¡± she asked her slave. ¡°Ahm, in their room, I think?¡± ¡°Stall them,¡± she ordered an ogling Wulan, still carrying her tray and rushed down the long corridor to the other side of the Duke¡¯s throne room. Prince Sahand yelling behind her to his bodyguards. ¡°STOP HER! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? FUCKING IDIOTS!¡± Aelrindel saw the door of the second bedroom hanging open, the smell of blood reaching her nostrils immediately. Melon standing outside the door, turned his head and stared at her approaching barefooted. ¡°You don¡¯t want to see this Doll,¡± the stupid cat said, Sahand sounding livid behind her. ¡°GET THIS FUCKING BITCH OUT OF MY WAY!¡± See what? She thought with a shiver, hearing Lithoniela¡¯s incoherent rumblings and the smell of death coming out of their door so strong, her stomach almost revolted. Aelrindel took a big rugged breath and stepped inside.
Zilyana blinked, purple and gold mixed in her pupils and then smiled. ¡°The Prince asked me to be his wife,¡± she told her with a naughty giggle. ¡°One of his wives,¡± an exasperated Aelrindel corrected her and Faelar who had orchestrated the attack shrugged his shoulders not finding anything wrong with it. ¡°This isn¡¯t a fairy tale Zilyana.¡± The witch puffed her cheeks out troubled. ¡°What do I say to him? He¡¯s pretty eager to seal the deal. I can only stall him for so long?¡± Oh, for the love of Nesande the Bountiful, Aelrindel muttered under her breath and stood up, ancient Faelar and old Sulynor finding the matter nigh amusing. That is until she decided to save her mother¡¯s last pupil again.
¡°I can¡¯t¡­ put her back,¡± Lithoniela kept saying knelt on the blood covered floor, face and hands painted in thick layers of gore, rocking a mutilated, headless body back and forth. Oras Hells! Naaargh. NO. Aelrindel felt her knees weakening, the room moving about as if she was back in that ship and her mouth turned numb. ¡°I can¡¯t¡­¡± ¡°What did you do?¡± She muttered trying to keep her anger from spilling out and failing. ¡°WHAT DID YOU DO?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t¡­ put¡ª¡± Aerlinder slapped her so hard Lithoniela¡¯s head snapped to the side, blood from her split lip mixing with the gore and adding to the gruesome splatter on the wall behind her. Wulan screamed from outside, plates breaking and Sahand cursing irate. Aelrindel had to use all her self-control and she barely had any at that moment to stop herself from hitting the Princess again. ¡°Lithoniela,¡± she snarled through her teeth, the brutally mangled body of Zilyana haunting and so out of place, for a moment the sorceress thought she was having a nightmare in her post-coital sleep. She wasn¡¯t sleeping, but this was a nightmare. ¡°He¡­ killed her,¡± Lithoniela mumbled still holding on to the bloody remains of Zilyana. This can¡¯t be real. Good riddance. But it was. ¡°Who did?¡± Aelrindel growled, the Prince¡¯s voice cutting through her homicidal rage for a moment. ¡°By the desert jackals what happened here? What in allgods!¡± Sahand barked and stepped inside the room, followed by his guards. Adi carrying a bloody saber in his right hand. ¡°What the fuck is this thing?¡± The Prince queried ogling his painted slanted eyes to stare at the distraught and blood covered Lithoniela. The Princess hair loose, the cobalt luscious strands stained in dark red blotches and her long ears sprouting out of her head for all to see. And hence the how is revealed, Aelrindel mused her mouth dry and bitter as if she¡¯d just swallowed a bucket of hemlock. Fuck you Goddess. ¡°Adi,¡± Sahand grunted. ¡°Kill that fiend¡ª¡± He never got to finish. Aelrindel had stepped forward and closed her long fingers around his neck cutting him off midsentence. The Prince blinked in deep confusion, as the sorceress had lifted him off the ground at the same time with ease, despite being half his weight. ¡°Stupid plebeian, I want a divorce,¡± Aelrindel hissed in the gasping Prince¡¯s face. Alurae¡­
Nesande stopped time.
Sahand¡¯s eyes widening slowly feeling his skin and flesh drying up on his bones. Adi standing a meter from him still moving slowly towards the sorceress saber in hand. Aelrindel snapped her head towards him and reached with her free hand to touch a long index finger on his sweaty forehead. ¡°Virya Saereg Mi Nenar,¡± she said in the old tongue using Sahand¡¯s blood to make water, she then poured inside the onrushing armed guard. ¡°Tye,¡± the scowling sorceress added just to make sure she didn¡¯t accidentally kill her friends. The torches went out and time moved forward again. A dead Sahand crumbled on the floor, his joints breaking and his chest caving in almost as much as his cracking putrefying face. Eyes gone, dry white skin peeling off his skull and the teeth protruding from his sunken lips. Adi stopped abruptly, water bursting out of his mouth, eyes and ears. He stumbled losing his saber, desperately trying to use his flooded lungs to breathe and failing. Indera who was standing by the bedroom door gasped seeing the torches go out and then a ball of fire appearing in the pitch black, lighting up Aelrindel¡¯s otherworldly figure. The sorcerer¡¯s silvery eyes glowing like a night predator¡¯s. ¡°Don¡¯t do it Doll,¡± a concerned Melon said peeking from the door and an already freaked out Indera let out a panicked scream hearing a cat talk and turned to run away.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Moving fast for a man wearing armor. ¡°He¡¯s already dead,¡± the sorceress said and the Cofol soldier legging it down the corridor as fast as he could tripped up, face and hands covered in fiercely red boils. Two faltering screaming strides later, the boils ruptured and thick torrents of flames burst out, burning so bright they set the corridor¡¯s heavy woolen carpets and drapes on fire.
Oh shit. The corridor was on fire. Literally. ¡°Get up,¡± Aelrindel urged Lithoniela grabbing her elbow. The Princess moved sluggishly as if hypnotized and she had to carry her along. They made it to the door, the flames spreading and sucking the air out of the enclosed space heading for her bedroom and the open outside window there. Faelar appeared next to her a moment later, gaunt face sober and pointed an arm towards the door he¡¯d just stepped out of. The one leading to the throne room. ¡°Zilyana?¡± The Ranger asked and grimaced seeing all the blood on Lithoniela. ¡°The Duke¡¯s throne room is empty. Take her there,¡± he told her and rushed inside the girls¡¯ bedroom. Aelrindel got through the door and soldiered on into the large hall with the massive balcony overlooking Rida. She made it to the Duke¡¯s throne and stopped to check on the Princess. ¡°Lithoniela, you need to snap out of it,¡± she told her. ¡°We¡¯ve been made. The Prince is dead. We are not safe.¡± What¡¯s wrong with her? Aelrindel thought grinding her teeth, trying not to let the other female¡¯s grief overwhelm her. Faelar returned a moment later. ¡°I tossed them in the fire, but people are coming,¡± the ranger said carrying Lith¡¯s cloak and bow. ¡°You need to get dressed,¡± he added and Aerlinder realized she was still in the Prince¡¯s favorite silk chemise. I never really loved you anyway. ¡°I had to act¡ª¡± she tried to say, but Faelar stopped her with an impatient wave of his arm. ¡°It¡¯s done. But we can¡¯t explain this away. Everyone will half a brain will suspect the foreign spouse and Atpa was looking for any excuse to get rid of you. This leaves him room to be a hero on top of all.¡± Fuck that ugly snake. ¡°Wulan?¡± ¡°Cut down. I¡¯m sorry, but she¡¯s irrelevant,¡± the ranger said callously, then sighed seeing her stumble to collapse on the throne unable to stand. Aerlinder had watched the loyal Wulan grow up. She was bright and loyal. Not irrelevant, she wanted to shout inside the massive hall. These are my people! ¡°He killed her,¡± Lithoniela said monotonously. ¡°Everything is empty now.¡± ¡°Greyboar¡¯s hairy balls, what¡¯s wrong with her?¡± Faelar spat with a grunt, ears moving right and left listening to the waking up palace. Oh, you poor thing, she thought realizing what had happened. ¡°They were in each other¡¯s heads,¡± Aelrindel murmured and got up. ¡°Fuck the clothes. We are leaving down the stairs.¡± ¡°Can you cover us all?¡± ¡°You got my satchel?¡± ¡°The corridor is on fire,¡± Faelar grunted, but seeing no other way around the problem, he turned around and went back to get it. ¡°Who was it?¡± Aelrindel asked the muttering Princess and sighed seeing no reaction. She grabbed her bloody hand and laced her fingers on it. Slowly the sorceress drew her in a tight embrace, their foreheads touching. ¡°What do you have in there Princess?¡± she murmured soothingly. ¡°Let me see.¡± ¡°Zil?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Aelrindel whispered, a tear running down her face. ¡°It¡¯s me honey.¡±
Oakenfalls appears bombarded, she thought. The damage resembling what you¡¯d expect from Meteorites falling from the sky, or a thousand great fireballs. The fifty meters tall walls cracked and buckling at places, completely collapsed in others. The nearest buildings were caught in those explosions and completely gutted afore intense fire finished them off, their once smoldering ruins now frozen. Brittle white bones amidst the rocks, the ruins sprinkled with them. Empty eye sockets on cracked skulls peeking behind broken walls and unrecognizable debris of all sizes at the city¡¯s center. Aelrindel stopped her legs going numb, afore a still visible part of the stairs trying to fathom the level of destruction that had befallen the Empire¡¯s most modern city. ¡°The Queen retreated towards the summer palace, when the walls were breached,¡± Lithoniela said somberly standing next to her. ¡°The Hallowed gathered around her and they fell where you stand, their bodies scattered all the way into the building. The Issirs leveled the place.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve seen this?¡± Aelrindel asked wetting her dry lips and crossed both arms on her chest. ¡°I¡¯ve searched for it,¡± Lithoniela replied. ¡°Dug most of them out. Some I couldn¡¯t.¡± ¡°And you kept the image?¡± ¡°Someone should stand witness. Time has washed all you see away now.¡± ¡°Reinut did this?¡± It was a rhetorical question. ¡°His magic.¡± ¡°He had no magic Lithoniela,¡± Aelrindel said and stooped to gather the fine ash from the ground. It wasn¡¯t ash though. ¡°This is powder. Crashed rock, pulverized material.¡± ¡°Something brought the walls down Aelrindel,¡± Lithoniela insisted. ¡°I¡¯ll take my eyes over your belief. The Queen¡¯s grave was beyond the old garden.¡± ¡°Was?¡± ¡°Uhm,¡± Lithoniela nodded and pointed towards the jungle. It had encroached on the ruins whilst they talked, reached the center of the city and covered it as well, leaving only the huge mostly untouched pyramid temple away. A lot of time has gone by, Aelrindel thought. A lot of work went into recreating all this. Years of it. A lot of skill. ¡°One holds on to what¡¯s important,¡± Aelrindel told her a lump in her throat. ¡°Pleasant moments and places they miss.¡± ¡°What¡¯s important,¡± Lithoniela agreed resolutely and three adventurers came out of the jungle. Their stance and mannerisms so iconic, their faces so familiar, as they were depicted in statues and paintings, their deeds many a times rehashed in wandering bards tales, Aelrindel recognized them immediately. Framtond, Snowguard and Valwarin. ¡°What is old Ebenezer doing here?¡± she asked the scowling Princess. ¡°You don¡¯t find him dashing?¡± ¡°He was a murderous grave robber!¡± Whoa there. Eb, you stupid rascal. What did you do? ¡°So, what was he doing?¡± ¡°Looking for a way into Quiceran¡¯s Road.¡± ¡°Did he find it?¡± Aelrindel probed. ¡°He did,¡± Lithoniela replied. ¡°In my mother¡¯s grave. I couldn¡¯t stop them.¡± It wasn¡¯t your fault. ¡°Apologies,¡± Aelrindel murmured deeply moved and made to hug the gloomy female, but Lithoniela stopped her and pointed an arm at the columned street leading to the pyramid. The impressive still standing building coming closer, looking much more ruined than a second ago. Time had moved forward again and a young man stood knelt next to an old mare. Nibble hands packing a large saddle bag with gold coins. His pleased grin, when he finished checking about over the mare¡¯s saddle that his older partner wasn¡¯t looking, so wicked the Sorceress grinned herself unwittingly. And remembered him a bit older, wearing mismatched armor and riding a different horse outside the walls of Rida. Carrying her dagger. ¡°Glenavon,¡± Lithoniela said. ¡°That¡¯s the boy with the Wyvern.¡± ¡°Reeves?¡± Aelrindel croaked and tried to bring the image closer, but realized she couldn¡¯t. ¡°It¡¯s a name he picked to fool the Knight, I think,¡± the Princess replied. ¡°I don¡¯t believe he was telling the truth. Everyone else though bought it. He can be very charming.¡± Mmm, she thought remembering. Hiding in those amber mirrors of his were many nights under the stars, the belly of a mountain and ship. A pirate¡¯s eyes and a brigand¡¯s life. Lirue ni o linn, her mother sang and her heart fluttered at the memory. I don¡¯t understand, Sir Glenavon replied sounding genuine, the humming coming through the nearest trees, touching the cracked columns and circling the two females standing at the base of the temple now. ¡°Sorceress?¡± Lithoniela asked softly. ¡°Mmm,¡± Aelrindel muttered her mind elsewhere. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Lithoniela asked sounding a little surprised. Ah yes. ¡°I came to find you,¡± she replied with a smile and tended her arm. ¡°Let us leave this place your grace.¡±
Ten minutes later they were rushing down the stairs, a group of servants running the other way and the gongs banging monotonously at the top of the pyramid. The Duke¡¯s palace was burning, the fire lighting up the night. They reached the base and the chaos there was spreading as quickly as the fire above them. Some soldiers were marching upstairs without orders in an effort to help those slow to react and escape. Others were organized in large groups with officers barking orders to wake everyone up and bring tools, water and blankets to put the fire out. Aelrindel cloaked them until they reached the gates of the pyramid afore she used up all her supplies. Faelar pushed them outside, through the numb guards and the groggy servants, everyone at a loss on how the fire had engulfed the palace so fast and slow to react. ¡°Don¡¯t stop,¡± the hooded ranger hissed, the internal gates of the pyramid complex bustling with activity. ¡°The east gates are blocked,¡± Aelrindel told him and they turned to stare back at the still shaded in dark undertones red temple and its anterior. ¡°Let¡¯s head west.¡± They rushed around the massive building, a returning patrol not bothering with them, towards the palace¡¯s other exits. Four staircases circled the guts of the temple leading to four different exits out of the ancient building and as many external gates at the four sides of the surrounding walls. They reached the west gates running hard through the yard, the lights multiplying all about them and the gongs still echoing down the blazing top of the pyramid. The latter providing enough illumination to lift the veil of darkness from the surrounding terrain and the mostly grass covered yard grounds. The west gates were equally crowded. A detachment of Cataphracts had attempted to storm the gates, probably one of Atpa¡¯s marauding the streets mounted patrols and the guards loyal to Sahand had stopped them. In the brief clash a couple of them had gotten trampled under iron hooves, the tempers flaring dangerously. Several slaves that were working the night shift were running away from the armed soldiers and riders to save their lives. That is except for one that was walking stiffly towards the rowdy cluster of men twenty meters in front Aelrindel¡¯s escaping group. She had tossed the leather cloak over her shoulders, her bare feet covered in mud to the ankles, but while the sorceress was hooded like the rest of them, these are a lot of eyes to fool. ¡°LET¡¯S US THROUGH YOU MORONS!¡± A Cataphract spat through his silver-colored smiling mask. ¡°Nobody¡¯s is going in or out,¡± a gate sergeant barked back eyeing the crashed soldiers pulled to the sides unresponsive. ¡°Until we figure out what the fuck happened here!¡± ¡°The palace is on fire,¡± the Cataphract told him sounding incredulous. ¡°You should cordon the blasted pyramid!¡± The sergeant set his jaw stubbornly. ¡°We guard the gates. Move your horses out of my face. This is the last warning!¡± ¡°BAH!¡± The armoured rider groaned in frustration and looked about him for a solution. ¡°Damn,¡± Faelar hissed pausing undecided as they neared the gates. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of them.¡± Aelrindel took a deep breath and glanced at the frowning, still pale Lithoniela. Out of the corner of her eye the lonely servant carrying a very crude shovel over his right shoulder, continued his rigid monotonous stroll towards the guards. The sergeant spotted him coming as if with no care in mind, while the world burned around him and frowned in alarm. He opened his mouth to order a soldier to body the clueless slave away, but a guard beat him to it and turned around on his own. ¡°Hey you,¡± the guard said, the weird ruggedly dressed man pushing him away with a bump to continue towards the gates. ¡°Where do you think¡­? What in¡­ Stop!¡± ¡°That¡¯s him,¡± Lithoniela hissed, her longbow in hand. Aelrindel blinked in shock at her reaction, the worried sergeant noticing the armed female, slanted eyes growing to twice their size and his goatee adorned mouth opening again to order her arrested, just as Lithoniela¡¯s words registered. Oras Hells. The Princess loosed her arrow, the projectile whistling over the flinching at the sound soldier¡¯s shoulder, the Cofol had turned around to stop the unperturbed with the happenings wandering slave and then smacked said slave between his shoulder blades. ¡°Shit!¡± the sergeant cursed and went for his saber, the Cataphract waiting three meters away from him kicking his legs to get his horse going seeing his chance to break through. Lithoniela went for another arrow, Faelar grabbed Aelrindel to pull her away from the onrushing horse, the animal shoving yelling soldiers¡¯ right and left, the first guard reaching the servant just as he turned around. The arrow still stuck in him. ¡°Murderers!¡± the sergeant cried shook, voice drowned out in the tumult, the disfigured sickly looking man now staring with a milky eye at the guard paused unsure in front of him. The other was larger and sported two different colors at the iris, a thin slit at its mid-point separating them. It wasn¡¯t a human eye this. Not animal¡¯s. The heavy Cataphract blasted past him a moment later and into the yard, his friends outside the gates getting ready to charge inside as well. Everything turning even weirder than that really fast. ¡°WHO¡¯S THE SNEAKY CUNT THAT DID THIS?¡± The freakish man bellowed in the shocked guard¡¯s face, just as the Cataphract turned his horse around, spotted Lithoniela aiming her bow and made to cut her down whilst the sergeant sounded the alarm. Jump. Aelrindel told the warhorse and the animal reared on its hind legs afore jumping forward, the surprised Horselord¡¯s swing going wild. The Cataphract went down landing on his shoulder, Lithoniela rolled to the side finally getting out of her tunnel vision and the man carrying the shovel snapped his dilapidated head towards the rising sorceress as if he¡¯d heard her command. Which was absurd. Only a learned in the Goddess¡¯ ways can hear the Voiceless Tongue. Chaos had erupted everywhere around her.
¡°Fuck¡¯s sake,¡± the sergeant spat seeing the stranger lowering his stare on the long blade the scared guard had stabbed him with. ¡°You got the wrong man you fool!¡± No he didn¡¯t, she thought. The guard blinked, just before the stranger raised his left hand and grabbed his jaw. A savage yank to the left and the man¡¯s neck snapped. He went down on his knees abruptly and the stranger returned his eyes on the standing over ten meters away Aelrindel again curious. The stranger made to come her way, but the sergeant seeing his man collapsing with a broken neck, his head wobbling loose and staring the wrong way, ordered the guards after him. Half of them turned to obey, out of eight, as the rest were busy trying to keep the rest of the rowdy Cataphracts away. The latter had been enraged seeing their leader going down. Who are you? Aelrindel thought and allowed Faelar to drag her to the side. The ranger wanted to help the other female in their group, as the Cataphract had stood up dazed and had gone after her. Lithoniela fired an arrow almost at point blank range then jumped back, but the scaled armor stopped it easily, so she slotted her bow on her left shoulder and unsheathed one of the two shortswords she always carried. The Horselord¡¯s saber a much more suited weapon for the fight. Faelar glared at her to stay put and went after the dueling couple, while the stranger paused his advance to fight off the guards assaulting him from all sides. He did it mechanically and with complete disregard for his safety. A blade in the ribs was brushed off, for a punch that caved the guard¡¯s face sinking in his scrabbled brains to the wrist. The chop that flayed his thigh to the bone, met with a retaliating swinging shovel, the blade on it sharpened and its width shortened to turn it into a very crude large cleaver. With a heavy iron shaft. The custom tool/weapon connected with the ducking guard¡¯s conned helm, the metal caving on impact and the clang heard over the sounds of the heavy scrap. The gate guard went down, both eyeballs expelled out of their sockets in an explosion of gore and the top of his skull flattened. Noble Goddess! Aelrindel was stunned at what she was witnessing. The sickly-looking stranger parried the next guard¡¯s slash into his friend¡¯s face and swung again with his crude weapon catching the shocked soldier bellow the chin with the thin part of his blade. ¡°Shit!¡± The sergeant gasped horrified seeing the man¡¯s brutally cleaved head landing in the watery mud next to him with a deflated squelching sound. He made to get in the fight himself, but a Cataphract pushed aside one of the soldiers blocking the gates and charged his horse full force to get to his badly injured leader. Faelar and Lithoniela had all but killed the first Cataphract, injuring him seven times in a short minute. The Horselord was bleeding so much and from so many spots, his gleaming silver armor now sported a rough dark red coating. The ranger twisted around hearing a heavy horse galloping their way, stabbed his shortblade between his legs and went for his bow coolly. He nocked an arrow and fired in one fluid motion, striking the onrushing warhorse in its left eye right at the head armour¡¯s small opening. The warhorse swerved hard left with a pained neigh and on to the path of the advancing stranger. The Cataphract tried to control it, but the animal was already dead and they both barreled down on the unperturbed freak like an avalanche of steel and a ton of flesh. The stranger casually stepped aside and let them past him. ¡°Now is the time to leave,¡± Faelar¡¯s voice said, cutting through her trance. Aelrindel was staring at the approaching badly injured man, a Lorian with a Cofol¡¯s skin, she thought and a mutated eye. Smelling of ancient death and nothingness. A Construct? Her toes digging into the muddy grass, her right hand fingers stretched parallel to the ground. A glance and she saw the Cataphract had survived the death of his horse barely. The broken bone below his shoulder protruding through his torn armour, the blood spilling down his sides. The sorceress sent an invisible thread to him and let the breath she was holding out. ¡°HOW MANY BITCHES HAS THAT WITCH POPPED OUT OF HER CUNT?¡± The freak bellowed, when he realized who she was, his voice cracking and bleeding down the mouth. ¡°FUCKING BULLSHIT!¡± Alurae¡­ Hmm. The stranger showed her two rows of well-rotted teeth and petrified gums, black and yellow spots overwhelming the few healthy parts. It was a smile. ¡°He¡¯s dead,¡± he told her and pointed his shovel at the injured¡­ now dead Cataphract. ¡°I sucked him dry first. You¡¯re either the dumb spawn of the family, or you¡¯ve gone unfucked for too long and your brains have scrabbled. For which I have a remedy! HAHAHA!¡± No construct can do that. This is utterly ridiculous, she thought and reached to grab the approaching sergeant next. ¡°Who sent you?¡± She asked the mad bastard and the dilapidated rotten mouth turned serious, his expression almost affronted. ¡°Laitae ea Gimoss, in ulce Maetar,¡± he grunted irate citing what was written on the throne of Wetull. In noltare o in Lae¡­ Praise be Gimoss, the Evil Artist. ¡°Oras Hells,¡± a heavy breathing Faelar spat spooked. ¡°In witch¡¯s visions.¡± The Teacher of the Way. It can¡¯t be. ¡®Gimoss¡¯ sighed and shook his head right and left disappointed, afore he tipped his decaying thinning hairs back and roared hoarsely furious with himself. ¡°DON¡¯T TELL ME I SLEW THE WRONG DARN WITCH! FUCK!¡± But here it is, she thought astounded and then her wrath spilled out of her pores. A couple of meters to her right a bewildered Faelar dived on a bow aiming glowering Lithoniela and took her down out of Aelrindel¡¯s sight. ¡°Cante nae calae,¡± the livid Sorceress croaked not taking her time to aim and the tiny fire that had sprouted under her extended palm grew and grew, tripling and then doubling again in size that by the time Aelrindel hurled the fireball on him a second later, it was the size of the dead horse and her leather cloak was on fire.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 290. Death defying illusions (3/3)
Neledh Coroe galea et paen Yestae o olla an cante duinen Curuniel rent ae Aniculo Saereg Cante Calae leloca ae Cared e rham Ae se ta dostae hain pan. - Rather long incantation probably triggering, or referring Anaur-dostae (loosely deciphered from the Old Tongue* -Sunburn) The second rank of the prohibited Greater Spell of Fire After the much more widely used in the First Era Calae-Coroe (Firesphere, or Fireball) -
*Old Tongue, Old Witch Tongue, Coded ciphered language differing from the later Court, or Common Imperial variants. Created by the Sorcerers and Witches of Cydonia, mainly in the great Island city port of Cazan before the First Era. No translation or long texts exist. Also meaning, a dead language. -
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(Somewhere on Eplas) ... A remote parch of land where Desert Minor touches concurrently the sources of the river Vapi Arn Ria and Kraken¡¯s Spine Peaks. Last month of Spring, Imperial date 3202* of the Second Era, Twelve centuries since the Ruin of Sibara, & the signing of the Elauthin-Galith peace treaty -Year one thousand, one hundred and two of Queen Baltoris¡¯ reign -Six months after Reinut¡¯s Rape of Central Goras -Four years before the Fall - The construct Wiris ¡®Green¡¯ paused, the desert¡¯s scorching wind blowing snow white hair over her comely dark-skinned face and pointed towards the splintered huge basalt rocks to their east. Khix¡¯roon clicked her forked tongue excited, her yellow serpent eyes veiled under the thin red mesh face-cover she wore religiously. The towering Aken female rushed towards the shorter Wiris, unnaturally long legs with insect-like omni-rotating joints, moving with ease over sharp rocks and avoiding sand sinkholes on instinct. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m not doing that,¡± Aeleniel, of Miridor hissed, her head cover leaving her face uncovered. ¡°Fancy a climb Doll?¡± Aelrindel glanced at Zargatoh, but the Aken Elder seemed unbothered by the heat and the potential discovery. ¡°Is she wrong?¡± Aeleniel asked him with a frustrated grunt. ¡°I¡¯m strongly inclined to ask her to turn one of you into water. I¡¯ve more moisture in my boots right now.¡± ¡°She could try,¡± Zargatoh said, resting on his long ironwood staff. ¡°Then again, you could always suck on the soles adventurer.¡± ¡°Enough!¡± Aelrindel snapped and grabbed a scorching sharp boulder¡¯s edge to climb the slight slope. ¡°Let¡¯s try to find some semblance of shade at least. That¡¯s enough disgusting things I¡¯ve heard and witnessed to make me long for the cursed ice again.¡± ¡°Ice is good,¡± Aeleniel agreed coming after the flustered sorceress, pausing to look behind her light armoured shoulder and toss a last taunt at the ruggedly dressed old Aken. ¡°Are you coming handsome? Your skin ain¡¯t getting redder than that unless you use a skinning blade.¡± Zargatoh fluttered his eyelids, forked tongue moving over his mauve lips ruining whatever he wanted to accomplish and nodded. The first thing of Gimoss they found was his huge twenty meters in length, lacquered black segmented tail, the stinger on it sunk a meter deep inside a basalt boulder. Aelrindel stared at the huge cut entrance on the sides of the massive wyvern, an incredulous look on her sweat-covered tanned face. The latter an unwanted result of the desert sun piercing through the veil she had come to wear as well to protect her skin. ¡°Beasts?¡± She guessed and stared at the ominous large cave leading deep in the guts of the mountain. With no plants on this side of the Peaks and the nearest water source kilometers away, it seemed unlikely. ¡°Arachne?¡± ¡°There¡¯re old tracks here,¡± Aeleniel informed her, knelt near the entrance. ¡°Blood sipped in the sand, turned it to ruby stone. Boots. Not all human.¡± ¡°We know of this place for centuries,¡± Zargatoh explained, his accent easier to follow now after weeks in the desert. ¡°Some scavenging obviously occurred.¡± ¡°Where are the bones?¡± ¡°Look inside,¡± Khix¡¯roon suggested and Aelrindel glanced at her. Her nose crooking at the female¡¯s weird odor. The sorceress swallowed trying not to vomit. ¡°I¡¯m not getting in there!¡± Are you serious? Screw this, she thought. What am I doing here? ¡°Use the talons,¡± Zargatoh said, clicking his tongue. ¡°How do I break them?¡± ¡°You mentioned ice,¡± the Aken Elder swished and walked slowly further inside the echoing cave. Aelrindel wiped the sweat off her forehead with the back of her fingers, flinching when the sneaky Khix¡¯roon sniffed the soaked underside of her armpit. Noble Goddess! That was twice the Aken had been weird with her in the last couple of days. ¡°Hey copper-skinned freak,¡± Aeleniel warned the female. ¡°Leave her alone.¡± ¡°It¡¯s her time of the year. You had yours early in the journey,¡± Zargatoh explained tapping at a meter long small talon with the edge of his staff. ¡°Wiris don¡¯t have this problem. Tell them why sweetheart.¡± ¡°I was a male before,¡± Wiris said unperturbed, but for a narrowing of her pupils Aelrindel caught. ¡°Mmm,¡± Zargatoh murmured thoughtfully. ¡°And how did you die?¡± ¡°You flayed me alive.¡± Shit. ¡°Why?¡± The Aken probed with a satisfied smile. You repellant monster! May you burn until there¡¯s nothing left. ¡°You wanted all the bones,¡± a sickened Aelrindel replied for the construct, asking in her turn. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°One bone to make it whole,¡± Zargatoh corrected her. He had also shifted the conversation elsewhere but the sorceress remembered this detail much later. ¡°Ice is good, so is fire. One stops the rot, the other burns it away. Use the talons,¡± he added with a smack of his thick lips. ¡°Do it afore the sun goes down. This was a Desert Centipede¡¯s cave once. Monsters have a tendency to come back.¡±
Aelrindel, of Edlenn Lady Lenar, Moon of Neil-Dan, Nesande¡¯s Shade Moon Daughter Death Defying Illusions Part III -On a night like this-
Her arm was on a fire. A wildly galloping warhorse burst through the thick pyroclastic cloud, chainmail fused on its burning head and mane, partially melted legs digging at the smoldering ground. The hapless animal cantered past her in total silence and was lost in the foul thick soup of vapors. There was a strange reddish hue in the fog, her ringing ears making the otherworldly hellish scene appear rather peaceful. In a macabre manner. Aelrindel coughed trying to clear her throat, her long hair charred on one side almost to her hurting ear and rolled on the ground to get up. The soil warm and black, all grass scrapped off of it all the way to the gates. Where are the gates? Someone grabbed her shoulder and then ripped the burning sleeve off. Her arm covered in blisters. It''s color a fierce dark red. Faelar turned her around and pressed a vial on her mouth. Aelrindel stopped him, took it with her left hand and poured half of it down her right arm. Then tipped her head back and screamed so hard her ears popped and she could hear again. The pain on her burned arm making her teeth clatter uncontrollably. ¡°You blew the gates away,¡± Faelar explained tensely, as she used the rest of the healing potion on her face and ear. ¡°Almost killed us as well.¡± Aelrindel blinked, tears in her eyes half of it from her deep burns and half from the foul smokes covering the yard. ¡°Did I get him?¡± she gasped, allowing Faelar to lead her away. ¡°I wasn¡¯t looking,¡± the Ranger admitted and she noticed his leather cloak had been all but destroyed on his back. ¡°Lithoniela?¡± ¡°She¡¯s¡­ as good as she would be,¡± Faelar replied. ¡°We are going to the guard tower.¡± ¡°Why not use¡ª¡± Faelar stopped her with an angry grip on her good arm. ¡°Your fireball hit the gates. Never seen the likes afore. Blew everything away,¡± he explained speaking slowly. ¡°You killed the guards to do it. Your mother fiercely forbade the trade. The Queen would have had your head chopped off for it.¡± ¡°One guard,¡± she coughed, hearing the clamor of the uncontrollable fires burning at the walls, structures collapsing and the screams of many people coming out the thick smoke. ¡°Aelrindel,¡± Faelar said soberly. ¡°I saw them drop all at once.¡± No. I made sure. Didn¡¯t I? The ranger grimaced and stooping spat down to clear his mouth. ¡°We need to move.¡±
¡°The tower is unguarded, but there¡¯s a patrol approaching,¡± Lithoniela said minutes later. ¡°More than one.¡± ¡°We make it out of the walls,¡± Faelar explained gruffly. ¡°Clear the plateau afore everyone realizes what happened. They catch us on the move we¡¯re in trouble.¡± ¡°What about that thing?¡± Lithoniela asked. The Princess looked unharmed, other than covered in black soot and dried blood. Zilyana¡¯s. Ugh. ¡°We must make sure he¡¯s dead,¡± she hissed through her clamped teeth. ¡°Seriously?¡± Faelar grunted and shoved them both towards the entrance of the wall tower. ¡°He was standing two meters away. Everything between you and the gates turned to ash and bones lasses. I ain¡¯t going back to look.¡±
They made it out of the tiny metal gate, hidden in a corner of the walls, after Faelar used a steel peleg to break the heavy padlocks and remove the chains. It led to a path concealed in a narrow stream and towards the richly vegetated south banks of Yeriden, through a collapsed part of the outer walls, on the road to the distant Lilyana Fort and the Threeriver Bridge. The dark welcoming and the nearby plateau still lit up from the flames burning atop the pyramid. It made the huge structure appear rather daunting in the night. Other than the cries of panic and the gongs still sounding monotonously all over the ravaged waking up city that is. Aelrindel stopped first, too tired to even speak and collapsed near the roots of a wild cinnamon tree. ¡°What happened?¡± Lithoniela asked nervously, as the road was near and the many smaller paths all about them whispered of a well-used part of the river. ¡°She crashed,¡± Faelar grunted, signing for them to keep their voices down. ¡°Witches. There was a reason the army wasn¡¯t keen on using them. You get a talented angry dude start blowing stuff up, you better ride with a Wyvern.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Lithoniela asked and the Ranger grimaced. ¡°I was jesting your grace.¡± ¡°Gimoss,¡± Aelrindel croaked. ¡°I heard him,¡± Faelar replied. ¡°Pretty sure that wasn¡¯t a wyvern.¡± ¡°It was him.¡± ¡°Listen I understand you¡¯re rattled,¡± he licked his lips and turned his eyes on the road hearing horses approaching. ¡°He killed Rinariel, but that was on your mother and the others. She shouldn¡¯t have come in the first place. You can¡¯t out-magic a Wyvern.¡± ¡°Arrgh!¡± Aelrindel cried out and made to get up. ¡°You¡¯ll defend him!¡± ¡°Sit down. Keep your voice down,¡± Faelar rustled gravely. ¡°It needs years and many wars to become a battle mage and you ain¡¯t one,¡± he knelt over her, his face relaxing. ¡°It isn¡¯t skill. You have that. Rin did as well, many of the others. All dead now. Those that survived had one thing in common.¡± ¡°What?¡± Aelrindel croaked. ¡°They knew war,¡± Faelar replied and stood up to stare at the frowned Lithoniela. ¡°You have tunnel vision Princess and she was always too emotional to use strategy.¡± ¡°I used strategy with Nym¡¯s killers!¡± Aelrindel growled and got up. She wiped the drool from her mouth, hand dirty making it worse. Faelar smacked his lips and stared at the group of riders fifty meters away. Two of them had stopped their horses and turned around on their saddles at the sound of her scream. ¡°Damn it Doll. Your mother¡¯s biggest fear was your thin grasp of reality. This is the real world, not your birds and fairy-tales in your head. All of us swore to keep you safe, but you make it so god darn difficult,¡± he sighed deeply, wrinkles gathered on his taunt face giving a glimpse of his advanced age. The old guard is dying away, she thought sadly. My mother¡¯s people. ¡°Ralnor did,¡± the Imperial Ranger finally said and counted the arrows in his quiver. ¡°He always had a thing for you. Which is why Nym dispatched Minue Mol. You and him were lucky, the other two were busy doing allgods know what dirty deed for her. Had Din been there, or Draug, you¡¯ll both be dead. You know why?¡± Oh, buzz off old bones! She pouted, forgetting her previous thoughts. I¡¯m angry and hurting. I NEED NO GOD DARN LECTURE! ¡°Why?¡± Lithoniela asked curious and Aelrindel glared at her miffed. ¡°She strolled into the alley without knowing how many of them were still around and shined her light to cast away the shadows,¡± Faelar said and turned around to face the approaching riders visible through the foliage. ¡°For one brief moment, while her illusion had fooled the guards, every killer worth his salt knew who the real witch was.¡± Eh. ¡°Should we talk to them?¡± Lithoniela asked on his back and Faelar paused, bow in hand. ¡°On a night like this Princess,¡± he said soberly without looking her way. ¡°No one is keen to listen. Not unless you give up a piece of your soul.¡±
Lithoniela pressed her mouth tight and glanced at the sorceress. ¡°That doesn¡¯t seem right,¡± she hissed and Aelrindel moaned, her arm hurting and tickling at the same time in a maddening way. ¡°It¡¯s done,¡± Aelrindel said and riffled through her satchel for something to bandage it. She found nothing and went after her chemise instead shortening it even more under her ruined leather cloak. ¡°Living a year with them don¡¯t mean they like you all of a sudden. You heard the prince.¡± ¡°The prince?¡± Right. You were out then. ¡°Anyway,¡± she sighed and gave up on the bandage. Lithoniela approached to take over working on it. ¡°You can¡¯t spare them all.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t believe that,¡± Lithoniela murmured. ¡°I can sense it bothers you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been around them for a very long time,¡± Aelrindel told her with a grimace. ¡°Seen them grow and fail. Lie and cheat their way to one problem after the other, but somehow getting up again after each failure. They are resilient and they¡¯ll gang up against a common foe like hyenas.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t?¡± Lithoniela asked, her eyes on her work. ¡°We carry too much baggage. Your mother¡¯s father favored my mother, until he didn¡¯t. Your mother¡­ didn¡¯t like her as well, until she decided I was useful.¡±This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Lithoniela looked at her strange. ¡°Were you? Useful?¡± Aelrindel checked on her bandaged arm to stall, the younger female had dressed it up to the elbow, as she found herself conflicted. Whether it was because centuries of monotonous wallowing and hatred for those that had wronged her had finally worn her out, or her earlier encounter with the strange construct, the sorceress found herself unable to hate Lithoniela. It was a treat having her around and watching the two young females grow so attached had filled up a void in her heart. Perhaps the slightly snobbish elderblood is just too likable, she thought hearing horses approaching their hidden grove by the river. Or clearly innocent. Unburden by the older generation¡¯s baggage. ¡°Hmm,¡± the sorceress murmured. She ain¡¯t even that stuck up all things considered. You can¡¯t hold everyone to your own standards mini Rin. You¡¯re just too perfect baby. ¡°What is it?¡± Lithoniela asked and Aelrindel touched the tip of her upturned nose playfully once. Lithoniela blinked unsure at the gesture. ¡°Gratitude for the help Princess,¡± she told her pleased, dodging all those uncomfortable queries, whilst showcasing her own capacity for forgiveness at the same time, along with the importance of teamwork. Faelar¡¯s gruff voice cutting through their bonding moment. ¡°Get over here ladies to help me with the blasted horses. I need to go back and drag the bodies out of the road,¡± the heavy breathing Ranger grunted. ¡°Then you two are grabbing a pickaxe and start digging two holes, or one big one.¡± Wait¡­ what? ¡°I¡¯ve a hurt arm!¡± Aelrindel blasted him, Lithoniela dutifully moving to help the Ranger getting on her nerves. ¡°Use the other one,¡± Faelar retorted heartlessly. ¡°I won¡¯t say it again young lass.¡±
In late winter, the ending year of the New Calendar one ninety and one, Lord Prince Sahand Radpour, heir of the Eternal Khanate and the conqueror of Raoz found himself in a quandary. The hardened marines -descendants of Reinut¡¯s Blood Raiders- of the vaunted North Issir Fleet and half the Second Foot out of Midlanor that had managed to burn Yuetu Fort and take Ri Yue-Tu in a daring beach landing in the summer, now stood poised to strike at Altarin through the narrow Hellfort Pass. They had already severed the Khan¡¯s hold on Eplas¡¯ northernmost corner and blocked his only available sea supply route, leaving the two large conquered cities supplied by land, or the merchant ships. With Lord Rinus Van De Aesst assuming command of both North and South Fleets after the untimely demise of Lord Vanzon, a more unified plan was put in place over High Regent¡¯s Anker Est Ravn initial objections. The North Fleet that had started its return to Sallowhall for the winter was ordered to move on Altarinport instead. The Fleet did and established a brutal blockade moving against neutral merchant ships that attempted to break it. With Prince Atpa¡¯s ¡®Army of the Desert¡¯ parked in Rida, after the latter¡¯s ¡®triumph¡¯ at taking Sadofort near Queen¡¯s Oasis, the now fully open desert roads while bustling with incoming caravans from all over the Khanate, found themselves in a bottleneck at Yeriden. Not enough supplies were escaping the rebuilding Rida and the army¡¯s hungry clutches and Prince Sahand¡¯s equally large force started literally starving. The population of Altarin that had ¡®started starving much sooner¡¯ revolted against Duke Reeves rule and the city turned into a battlefield. The Prince realizing he was slowly losing control of the situation and with the two ambitious young spawns showcasing surprising astuteness in staying put inside the canyon, he decided to act. He sent half his force inside the city, the army¡¯s camp was too big and Altarin wasn¡¯t half-gutted out like Rida, to squash the rebellion whilst helping out Duke Reeves and they did, in three brutal days of indiscriminate slaughtering. The rest of his massive force, the Prince had over fifteen thousand men with him, split into different units, he moved up Teid River, crossed the wood bridge his brother Prince Nout had built two years ago and prepared a strike to break through the pass. The two ambitious noble spawns facing him, Sir Ton Van De Aesst, firstborn of the Duke of Caspo O¡¯ Bor commanding the marines and his friend Sir Thor Est Ravn, second son of Lord Anker now in command of the Second Foot as his brother was in Jelin trying to deal with the ¡®Succession Wars¡¯ that had sprouted there, had decided to stall as much as they could for a second front to open. They didn¡¯t want to pour out of Hellfort Pass and face the Khan¡¯s army in the open. It was much to their surprise that the Prince came to them instead. In the clash that followed the two armies fought themselves to a standstill over forty days. In one of the back and forth in the narrow canyon¡¯s scraps Prince Sahand caught a marine¡¯s throwing axe with his leg and was carried away from the field injured. Leaving pickets and patrols behind the Cofol and Horselords retreated beyond Teid river. They made camp there to live off the land and nearby outlaw infested redwood forests. Prince Sahand travelled back to Rida with a thousand strong bodyguard force ¨Calong with the King¡¯s Chariots- to recuperate near his spouse and threaten his brother if it came to it, in an effort to force him to relinquish the supplies the latter was hoarding away from the heir¡¯s starving army. Prince Atpa (the Khan''s third son), who had taken over half of Rida and its port by pouring his armies inside the city and crashing the gangs that had ruled for almost a year, probably wasn¡¯t pleased at being once again outranked in this war. A shrewd organizer he¡¯d managed to brute-force the rebuilding of the half-leveled city siphoning funds, supplies and manpower into it and didn¡¯t want all his hard work usurped by someone else. Whether his hurt feelings played a role in it or not, the ''confused'' security around the two Princes¡¯ faltered, brigands infiltrated the old palace premises and set it on fire. With the symbol of Rida burning, people and the army reacted instinctively with everyone rushing towards the Palace only to be met by another hellish firestorm near its west gates. Such was its power that the gates collapsed bringing part of the walls down. The Prince¡¯s inner gate guards, a patrol of Atpas Cataphracts that was somehow inside the palace walls, fifty royal bodyguards rushing to the scene from their wall-adjoined camp and another large group of Cataphracts that had just arrived outside, were burned to a crisp, or crashed under smoldering debris. Another twenty would succumb to their injuries later that day, bringing the total toll at over two hundred according to the official records. Amongst them the ¡®Rebels Slayer¡¯ Khanate¡¯s Heir Prince Sahand, his shield and sworn bodyguard Indera, Lord Adi Putra of Lukela aka ¡®the city of the Hashish fields¡¯, the Prince¡¯s closest friend and also sworn bodyguard, his spouse Lenar of Dan, the woman found mutilated and the son of Lord Elur-Sol Jain of the city of Que Ki-La, the famed Lord Larul, commander of the Khan¡¯s chariots. The latter¡¯s untimely demise and the discrepancy in numbers, the palace was empty when the fire started, attributed to another weird ¡®mishap¡¯ that happened that same night though kilometers away and in the abandoned fields near the road leading southwest towards Queen¡¯s Oasis. This third spontaneous firestorm ¨Cin the mid of mud infested rainy season for those keeping score- killing over fifty foot soldiers and the Peninsula Lord¡¯s son who was searching the area for the insurgents. It was said, the Khan got blinded from one eye upon receiving the news his heir had perished, all his decisions after that point in the war fueled by his desire to hurt those responsible for it.
An hour later, but with time still left for dawn, Faelar left them a horse and returned to Rida via a roundabout route to arrange for their ¡®forced¡¯ relocation with his contacts. When Lithoniela asked about them, he admitted these were Ralnor¡¯s henchmen, which was a code the Princess missed for ¡®criminal scum.¡¯ ¡°Take my hand,¡± Lithoniela said sitting atop the ¡®stolen¡¯ horse, the ranger¡¯s instructions clear that they should vacate their soon to be searched for the missing riders spot near the river and cut through the fields towards the road leading to Queen¡¯s Oasis and wait for him there. Aelrindel made to climb behind her with a snort, realized she couldn¡¯t move her arm that well and she wasn¡¯t wearing any undergarments under her chemise and puffed out frustrated. ¡°I can¡¯t ride on the saddle properly,¡± she announced leaving it vague as to the why and took Lithoniela¡¯s hand to sit in front of her sideways, her long legs dangling down the left side of their Cofol horse. ¡°Where to young lady?¡± Lithoniela said and she eyed her, the sorcerer¡¯s hair cut crudely earlier to match the length of the side she¡¯d burned away, making her appear like a very young feminine tomboy under her hood. If one was a blind eunuch. ¡°Through the fields. You find this funny?¡± ¡°No. But I can see the irony of it,¡± Lithoniela replied and send their horse through the thick vegetation, soon finding one of the wide paths the farmers used. Everything had been abandoned these past couple of years and the unattended canals watering the dry farmland had slowly dried up. When the winter rains stop, Aelrindel thought. The desert shall once again touch the walls of Rida. ¡°Eh,¡± she sighed and dug her long nails in the horse¡¯s mane, playing with the cheap colorful beads the Horselords still put on them. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for Zilyana,¡± Lithoniela murmured sadly. ¡°I should have payed attention¡ª¡± ¡°Stop it fool,¡± Aelrindel cut her off. ¡°He went through the guards and reached the palace. You couldn¡¯t sense him. I couldn¡¯t. He wasn¡¯t alive.¡± ¡°How can this be? I¡¯ve seen him with my own eyes.¡± ¡°You saw a body moving and talking,¡± Aelrindel explained, the horse¡¯s clopping almost lulling her to sleep and the not so distant burning city making the night stroll almost romantic in a sense. But she wasn¡¯t in a romantic mood. The sorceress hadn¡¯t been in one for¡­ eh, a very long time. Wulan had sensed it, but of course that poor thing was dead, since Sahand couldn¡¯t slap her away and that bastard Adi always went for his sword, or cock first. Wulan getting the short end of the proverbial stick. ¡°The Aken?¡± ¡°Gimoss,¡± Aelrindel corrected her. ¡°He was there controlling it.¡± ¡°How¡­ why do you think that?¡± ¡°A construct can¡¯t interfere with magic, or sense it. Never seen it happen and I¡¯ve seen some of them that were so old they had created a whole new life, or two and you would never sense what they were, unless you knew beforehand.¡± ¡°There is no coming back Aelrindel.¡± Don¡¯t go there. ¡°Gimoss is around. I¡¯ve sensed him near your Glenavon,¡± she told her. ¡°Glenavon isn¡¯t mine,¡± Lithoniela replied, her hands tensing up around her waist. ¡°Good to know,¡± she teased her and the Princess narrowed her eyes. ¡°What''s that supposed to mean Aelrindel?¡± The sorceress sighed, the road opening up, the wider path made of cobblestone that cut through the overgrown fields and met the road towards the Oasis less than ten kilometers away. ¡°What were you two fools doing really?¡± she asked her although she kind of knew. Lithoniela blushed and looked away, her eyes blinking in surprise. From another unseen path parallel to the one they were following a group of soldiers had appeared, about fifty-sixty meters in front of them. Around a score of them sporting spears and sabers. Light infantry. Lithoniela stopped the horse to turn it around and find another path, but another group appeared twenty meters behind them and just a couple of meters away yet another appeared, the latter smaller group carrying bows and long daggers. Scouts searching on foot, Aelrindel realized and the leading Cofol whistled once to alert the others. ¡°Your girl is thinly dressed,¡± the hard-faced wiry scout told Lithoniela in the Steppe Tongue mistaking her for a man due to her pants. ¡°For the time of day. Wait, it¡¯s the middle of the fucking night. Hehe.¡± ¡°We were hunting,¡± Lithoniela told him, her accent passable. ¡°Night owls?¡± The scout mocked her. ¡°How old are you kid?¡± ¡°Rabbits.¡± ¡°Well it¡¯s no surprise you got nothing. What¡¯s with the hoods? You don¡¯t happen to be them terrorists setting fires left and right now eh?¡± The scout had his eyes on Aelrindel¡¯s displayed creamy thighs more than their shaded faces and she helped him stay focused on that shifting his way a bit more. The man¡¯s slanted eyes widened, his eyesight keen, but it was an easy angle. ¡°Well then. Nice,¡± he started, Huh? Fuck you! Aelrindel cursed taking offense at the lukewarm description, but another scout interrupted their moment alarmed. ¡°She¡¯s a girl.¡± ¡°I know you idiot,¡± his leader admonished him a bit irritated, his eyes staying between the sorceress gratuitous split legs. ¡°The other one sire,¡± his man elucidated and the first scout frowned, a creepy smile on his face. Why settle for a free show, his mind telling him. When you can participate in the lewd festivities with minimum danger, or repercussions? Unescorted females weren¡¯t allowed to wander outside after sunset in the Khanate. The punishment for the offence nine times out of ten a gory death. One would be remiss to kill a wench afore sampling the goods, was Adi Putra¡¯s favorite dictum. Good fucking riddance. Fifty meters away the large group of soldiers had turned seeing the scouts¡¯ torches and waved theirs. Not twenty meters behind them a four-horse drawn lit up scythed chariot appeared from a turn of the cobblestone road, the armoured driver pulling at the reins to stop it upon seeing the road occupied at the order of the also heavily armoured, masked Cofol knight standing next to him. Smelly shit. ¡°Ael?¡± Lithoniela probed in a whisper. Should we run for it? Was her meaning. We should have paid more attention. We suck at this, Aelrindel thought sourly, cursing Faelar for not planning this better. ¡°Girls I have grave news for you,¡± the scout announced with a lecherous smile, his friends grinning behind him. Aelrindel, felt Lithoniela tense up her hand slipping towards her bow. She glanced the other way where the second group of soldiers had paused as well seeing the lights and then back towards the first large group and the illuminated by oil lamps on its sides large chariot. ¡°You never made it back from your hunt. Twas tragic your fate,¡± he added sadly and reached to take the reins from Lithoniela. Seeing no other way around it Aelrindel decided to act. She extended her left leg outwards and caught the scout leader right on the nose breaking it, his warm blood splashing her dirty foot and probably infecting the wound. The scout standing right behind him frowned not understanding what he was seeing, other than getting a fantastic view of Aelrindel¡¯s divine cunt and out of the corner of her right eye she spotted a third hideous head appear abruptly on the chariot¡¯s carriage, directly behind the two original drivers and just as she pulled her leg back to kick the dazed faltering scout leader again. Uh? Many things happened at the same time in the next five seconds. One and the horrifically wounded newcomer grabbed the driver by the collar and hurled him over the horses. The man standing next to him recoiled and made to turn around, but he shuddered and then collapsed on the carriage and out of sight, the freak taking his masked helm and putting it on his head. Two and Aelrindel¡¯s foot caught the scout leader on the jaw twice as hard and cracked it breaking four of his teeth and his chin. The man went down with a muffled cry, swallowing his severed tongue and the scout standing next to him found the fletching¡¯s of an arrow sprouting out of his hanging open mouth afore he could react. He went down, Lithoniela burning incense, while Aelrindel ordered the horse to turn left to give her reloading partner room to shoot. ¡°FUCK!¡± A scout growled and hurled his torch at them on the count of three, Lithoniela¡¯s next arrow catching him right at the lump on his throat and doubling him over. The final man in their group just barely managing to raise his bow, afore two more arrows smacked his chest and shoved him violently back and into the tall weeds. Four and the sound of a chariot¡¯s wheels moving was heard, the four long scythes whooshing as they started gaining momentum, two on the upper edge of the carriage and two revolving secured on the wheels. ¡°STOP RIGHT THERE!¡± A soldier bellowed and started running towards them after witnessing the scouts getting cut down. ¡°MURDER!¡± Came a yell from the other side and the other large group, just as Lithoniela hissed in her ear. ¡°Get us out of here Ael. For the love of the Goddess!¡± Aelrindel stooped over the horse¡¯s head her eyes on the onrushing chariot and the masked freak driving it¡­ sort of, as he just stood rigid on the carriage, burned out, bone exposed arms crossed on his hollowed out half-skeleton chest. Nesande as my witness. It¡¯s him! And the five seconds were over. ¡°Run like the wind,¡± Aelrindel gushed a song of courage, her heart beating wild and the horse bolted towards the fields, the illuminated chariot reaching the first rows of unsuspecting soldiers running after the two females in a breath. The next they had jumped into the tall weeds galloping as fast as they could, the screams and horrifying sounds of severed legs, hands and gutted torsos filling the darkness. Aelrindel swung her head around, the hood billowing off her face and saw the scythed chariot swerving right hard on command, the masked horrifically injured driver bouncing to the side. The undercarriage clogged with gore, flayed skin and body parts, two whole bloody heads included, stuck at the rails. Their pursuer recovered, stood up on the carriage again, reached and gotten his shovel out. He raised his right arm high, keeping the other crossed and then hurled the shovel towards them. From at least a hundred meters away. Turn, Aelrindel ordered their fast galloping horse, Lithoniela leaving the reins and swinging around to fire an arrow at the approaching war machine cutting through the field. The horse bolted right and the tumbling shovel caught its front leg as it swerved adjusting its course mid-flight and ripped it right off above the joint, the skin tearing along the flesh further up leaving exposed bloody bone and torn tendons behind. Defiant wind, Aelrindel gasped instinctively killing the horse afore they crashed down, the momentum propelling them downwards, despite the strong sudden breeze that blew on their faces. I should have gone with levitate, she thought tumbling feet over head midair. Damn it. She crashed on the weeds covered field, leaves, watery mud and bugs exploding right and left as Aelrindel was dragged on the ground for almost ten meters afore stopping. ¡°Gah, bleh,¡± she croaked spitting out the local flora. ¡°Shit.¡± Shiiite! She rolled in panic to the side and then on her knees the lit up chariot gaining on her with every ticking second. Weeds aplenty, she thought, forcing her scrabbled brains to work. ¡°FUCKING CUNT!¡± The freak bellowed seeing her, then reached for one of the throwing spears thingies and the overkill as the scythed chariot had already turned slightly to run her mutilated remains over sort of speak. The masked undead, or whatever the hells he was, raised his javelin ¨Cthere I remembered it- wielding arm again, twenty meters turning into fifteen in the blink of an eye. Goddess help me here. HELLO? Tab tye, a panicked Aelrindel ordered the wild vegetation, her unharmed left arm blackening up to the wrist and her mouth filling with blood. The field came alive around her and the plants reached out to kill the horses and block the wheels of the chariot abruptly, almost tearing it to pieces in the process, the scythed blades cutting a three meters path though the roots afore they lost all momentum. The only thing moving fast the next moment the masked freak. ¡°AHAHAHA!¡± he roared as he flew past two meters above the ducking sorceress and tried to stab the top of her head with the spear he was still holding. He would have succeeded but Lithoniela¡¯s timely hurled shortsword deflected the spear blade away. Damn. Aelrindel would have expected Lithoniela to use her bow. But I¡¯ll take the save, she decided watching as the scorched man crashed awkwardly without any attempt to protect himself on the ground and remained still. ¡°Think my arm broke. Heard it snap,¡± a pale Lithoniela griped, grinding her teeth and hobbled near her. Ah. Oras Hells! ¡°Yours look like Glen¡¯s. What was this?¡± Lithoniela added, dark circles forming under her eyes. "Goddess it hurts." ¡°A root spell,¡± Aelrindel murmured, flinching seeing her partner¡¯s clearly badly broken arm. ¡°Sort of. I¡¯m out of potions. What is this horrid sound?¡± What was that about Glen? ¡°The soldiers are coming,¡± Lithoniela informed her and glanced at the unresponsive creature. Though the sorceress could hear something moving under him. Come on, I can¡¯t fight this thing all night! Arrgh! ¡°Is that?¡± Lithoniela probed, grimacing from the pain. ¡°Yep.¡± ¡°How?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Is he?¡± Aelrindel heard the soldiers approach and sighed ruggedly. ¡°Hey,¡± she yelled at the crumbled corpse-looking freak. ¡°Are you dead?¡± ¡°No,¡± the freak said after a guilty moment, his disfigured shoulder twitching. ¡°Wanna talk about it?¡± She asked tiredly, her left hand fingers hard and black as coal. ¡°I¡¯m busy! FUCKING BRITTLE BONES!¡± ¡°How about a truce? I have a lot on my plate right now,¡± Aelrindel offered and stooped not to be seen from the approaching lights. She almost planted her face in the mud. The sorceress was running on fumes. ¡°Fuck I care?¡± ¡°Fine, what do you want?¡± ¡°My cock sucked. Come here and work on it. I just had it repaired.¡± Ugh. ¡°Seriously?¡± Lithoniela snapped. ¡°Let¡¯s go Aelrindel.¡± ¡°Same goes for you little cunt! Ungrateful brat!¡± Lithoniela reached for her shortsword. ¡°We need to get off this field,¡± Aelrindel hissed stopping her. ¡°Sounds like a you problem!¡± ¡°What are you doing?¡± Lithoniela protested through her teeth, left arm dangling. ¡°Damn you look horrible. Are you alright?¡± No. But I probably look better than you darling. ¡°A trade,¡± Aelrindel murmured dodging her question. They were running out of time. ¡°Let me turn around so you can reach it fully!¡± He blasted his response and started rolling on the ground, arms and legs broken, charred bones protruding from torn decaying flesh that was in a disgusting way slowly healing on its own. Lithoniela with a snarl rushed the reeling, half-burned corpse and kicked it hard. She lifted it clean off the ground. The irate Zilan went for her shortsword next, but stopped abruptly her body locking up. The mangled corpse rose slowly from the ground, flesh still growing on his hideous face, an eye socket empty and leaking white and yellow fluids, no lips around some of the regrown teeth, the rest missing along with the gums. He reached with a three fingered, flayed arm covered in blisters, tendons showing and veins dripping pus and grabbed the paralyzed Lithoniela¡¯s left breast over her hunter¡¯s attire. ¡°Gimoss,¡± Aelrindel said sternly, clenching her jaw, intending to cast another great spell even if it killed her. ¡°You don¡¯t want that.¡± ¡°Mmm,¡± he murmured as the first foot soldiers arrived at the crashed chariot, following the road it had created through the field and spotted them with calls of alarm. He squeezed her breast and pulled it next, as if undecided on whether to play with her, or eat her. ¡°What do I want witch?¡± Could he do that? Aelrindel wasn¡¯t in the mood to find out. What you took, the seer had said. Thou shall give back. ¡°A proper vessel,¡± Aelrindel replied risking a guess, the light of the torches blinding her and the taste of blood in her mouth making her dizzy. She was drained. ¡°Something fitting.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll betray your mother¡¯s friends?¡± Gimoss asked her and reached between the frozen, but crying younger female¡¯s legs. ¡°They were never my friends,¡± she said her heart sinking fearing the worst. ¡°Mortals and their Illusions. You run out of juice, forgetting you can¡¯t out-magic a wyvern,¡± Gimoss told her didactically letting go of Lithoniela and turned towards her. ¡°You seek to entice me with vague promises and sexual favors. ADMIT IT!¡± ¡°Never offered any favors,¡± Aelrindel retorted, trying to keep her composure. ¡°You¡¯re as vile as they said, but my promises aren¡¯t vague.¡± ¡°That¡¯s your moniker alluring harlot!¡± Gimoss corrected her in his typical ¡®cordial¡¯ manner. Standing back with a revolting brow-less frown. ¡°Forget that! Shite, you don¡¯t look very healthy up close. Ugh. Is it venereal?¡± What did that freak say? ¡°SPEAK! Why should I even entertain it?¡± Gimoss roared as loud as he could for absolutely no reason and with complete disregard to the fact he was giving their position away. ¡°I¡¯m her daughter,¡± Aelrindel croaked, her head hurting. The other one. ¡°Her daughter,¡± Gimoss murmured thoughtfully the line of soldiers approaching them in a semi-circle, the glint of many blades drawn mixing with the lights of at least forty torches. ¡°Aye. The witch is dead. I always forget that. FUCK!¡± A dark-faced Aelrindel nodded and tried not to flinch when the freak came to stand in front of her. ¡°WHO SAID THAT?¡± Someone yelled angrily. ¡°SHOW YOUR HANDS! STEP SLOWLY OUT OF THE SHADES!¡± A man bellowed brazenly. ¡°VERY SLOWLY!¡± his friend repeated, not to leave any room for doubt. ¡°THROW DOWN YOUR WEAPONS!¡± Cried another, his voice cracking at the end, sounding not as certain as the others. ¡°Suck on the finger,¡± Gimoss said tending his half-decomposing half-repairing index finger before her mouth and all the torches went out when she did. ¡°Three circles growing out o¡¯ each other. Start with trickle to make flood,¡± he chanted soberly the next moment in the Old Tongue, still forming eye only thing glowing. ¡°Witch¡¯s spittle an¡¯ dragon¡¯s blood.¡±
Make fire crawl an¡¯ build a wall. An¡¯ in it burn them all.
The Wyvern whispered in her mind afore she fainted. AHAHAHA!
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 291. The Pact
Don¡¯t take the trade, let thine dreams fade It is not the past¡¯s flood, but this is thine blood - Nesande¡¯s divination
-
Aelrindel, of Edlenn Moon of Neil-Dan, Nesande¡¯s Shade Moon Daughter The Pact
Aelrindel woke up with a headache on top of her right arm hurting as if she¡¯d left it in the oven for some reason. Then she remembered that she had sort of speak. The sorceress didn¡¯t recall having her head smashed on the oven''s door though, the back of it tender and not in a good way. ¡°Ugh,¡± she moaned and fluttered her eyes open wishing that she hadn¡¯t. The sun blinding, the parts of it that reached her through the tree¡¯s branches. A good day, she mused and tried to get up, her body reacting sluggish and her left arm ¨Cnot the cooked one- not working as it was supposed to. Then she remembered the rest of it. There was no oven involved, but a hell of a lot of cooking. ¡°Gah, oh shit.¡± ¡°Hey, there,¡± a pale-faced Lithoniela quipped lightly, the kind of thing one does when they are about to say something unpleasant. ¡°What happened?¡± Aelrindel asked and looked about her. ¡°What road is this?¡± Other than the sparse palm trees they had found cover under, the terrain was rockier and looked nothing than the fields. ¡°How long was I out?¡± ¡°Ah, a bit over twenty four hours.¡± Whoa there miss specific. ¡°Let¡¯s call it a day,¡± she groaned. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°Do you want the short, or the long version?¡± Lithoniela asked, her left arm bandaged heavily and looking like she hadn¡¯t slept for any of those twenty four hours. ¡°I haven¡¯t slept at all,¡± the Princess said on cue, as if she was reading her mind. Which of course she couldn¡¯t, Aelrindel thought and grimaced, her head a mess. Fuck happened to my hair? No. She jumped up panicked. ¡°Where is he?¡± Lithoniela pointed a finger at a partially recovered Gimoss sitting under another palm tree and staring at the road. Two spears, that shovel and a pickaxe in a leather bag next to him. Partially meaning he was now looking like a recently deceased one ¨Cfreaky- eye person and not a burned up and put through the grinder corpse. ¡°He seems much better,¡± she commented, her stomach burning ready to revolt at the memories coming back up. Speaking of coming back up, Aelrindel stooped and spat down, dry retching a couple of times in the process. ¡°The short version,¡± she croaked, her head hanging. ¡°He burned up the fields,¡± Lithoniela said. ¡°Killed some people.¡± ¡°The soldiers,¡± Aelrindel said, figuring as much. ¡°No. Yes, them too. I was speaking of last night,¡± Lithoniela explained. ¡°A small group of merchants. The animals too,¡¯ she pointed that same finger a bit to the right and the other side of a group of trees they were standing under. The dazed sorceress saw four fresh corpses bunched up there missing body parts, two mules and three camels. A woman amongst them. ¡°Eh, he wanted to juice up the process,¡± Lithoniela explained and Aelrindel bent between her filthy legs again and puked properly this time.
¡°You want some wine?¡± Lithoniela asked a moment later. ¡°We have a lot of supplies.¡± Hopefully some decent clothes in those packs. ¡°I get it,¡± Aelrindel grunted and grabbed the flask to pour some in her mouth. She spat it right out and tried again. ¡°I can¡¯t, it¡¯s bitter.¡± ¡°You get used to it. I can¡¯t burry them,¡± Lithoniela explained rubbing her broken arm. ¡°What are we going to do?¡± ¡°We probably have to move¡­ wait, how did I end up here?¡± She asked with a frown, the pain in her head a constant. Did I hurt a rock in that tumble? ¡°He carried you,¡± Lithoniela explained. Ahm. ¡°Alright,¡± she said unsure, glancing at the silent Gimoss. ¡°Shit, I need to sit down. Must have hurt my head and didn¡¯t realize it.¡± ¡°Well, you did,¡± Lithoniela agreed helping her sit down. ¡°He kind of tossed you like a sack of potatoes on that tree, when we stopped,¡± hey there, Aelrindel stared at her warningly. I¡¯m just a bit top heavy, ¡°I thought he killed you,¡± Lithoniela murmured. ¡°YOU PICKED THE SPOT SNEAKY LITTLE HARLOT!¡± Gimoss blasted her without looking their way. ¡°YOU DROPPED HER! STUPID MURDERING FREAK!¡± Lithoniela screamed back at him fiercely blushing probably equally embarrassed and angry. ¡°PERVERT!¡± ¡°AHAHAHA!¡± Right, ahm¡­ Aelrindel puffed out exasperated. She had nothing. Lithoniela was shaking all over. ¡°Are you alright? I haven¡¯t heard you raise your voice another time,¡± she asked her. ¡°I haven¡¯t,¡± Lithoniela admitted hoarsely. ¡°We are saved. Why are we still friendly with him?¡± ¡°How¡¯s the arm?¡± She asked her. ¡°Bad. I have no potions.¡± Gimoss snorted. ¡°Eat the corpses you dumb cunt! Put some calories in!¡± ¡°I can¡¯t cast for a while,¡± Aelrindel told her. ¡°He used me back there to burn the soldiers.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Gimoss agreed. ¡°Hearing the word from your mouth makes me think of hard fucking, why is that witch?¡± An insane on top of murderous and apparently also capricious Wyvern that¡¯s just great, Aelrindel thought. The spirit of a Wyvern, her practical mind noted. ¡°YOU¡¯RE A PERVERT!¡± Lithoniela blasted him again. Gimoss tipped his dilapidated head back and roared another one of his thunderous laughs, just as a group of riders came down the road from the North. From Rida, Aelrindel thought. The city probably more than twenty kilometers away.
Faelar¡¯s stoic expression was ruined despite his mostly blank stare by a slight nervous twitch in his left eye. The two hard men riding along with him, carrying another two free horses with packed saddlebags behind them, didn¡¯t appear as bothered seeing the two females standing up to greet them. Especially given that Aelrindel¡¯s long ears were visible through her shortened and disheveled washed-out blue hair. Lithoniela had put her hood on again, but the cloak-less sorceress didn¡¯t even want to think about spells at this moment. I need some clothes. A bath and a healing potion. A fine bloody meal and fruit juice. Orange with avocado. ¡°Well,¡± one of the men said, a Lorian with a wild black beard sprouting out of his face, a gap in his front teeth. He was wearing a leather brigandine with padded shoulder pads, ¡°I can see the appeal Brit,¡± he said in Common. ¡°Exotic Ladies, we have water, if you want to clean up.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± his friend Brit agreed with a leer. ¡°We¡¯ll keep watch hehe,¡± The bald Lorian having a heavy Lesia accent and sporting similar armor, but with less padding and a longer sword. A long beaded goatee, instead of a beard and all his teeth to compensate for what he is missing in hair and manners. ¡°This is Brit and Caruso,¡± Faelar grunted, glancing towards the still sitting under his tree Gimoss. ¡°We packed as fast as we could. There¡¯s chaos in the city and we barely made it out. We had to wait for dark again. It is good you decided to move further down the road. There are some very angry patrols scouting outside the city¡¯s walls,¡± he paused with a grimace. ¡°Is there an explanation for what I¡¯m seeing here?¡± ¡°I made a trade,¡± Aelrindel said and moved to look into the saddlebags for any clothes, Brit looking down her chemise with interest, the flimsy torn up cloth very loose around her, on top of scandalously short for the Sinya Nora. ¡°No clothes for me?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± Brit told her reassuringly. ¡°We¡¯re not bigoted and I personally think you¡¯re fine as spiced wine ayup. Mud and all.¡± ¡°It¡¯s blood and shit in there also,¡± Aelrindel retorted with a gnarly smile that made him back off on the saddle. ¡°I¡¯m still willin¡¯,¡± Brit said faking indifference. ¡°I¡¯ll look at the packs,¡± Aelrindel decided and turned around to walk away. ¡°I¡¯m not comfortable Doll,¡± Faelar warned behind her back and she paused. Gimoss slotted his index finger in his ruined eye and plucked it out, tossing the unformed piece away to start again properly. Good grief, she shuddered not expecting it. Aelrindel licked her lips and made to answer to the ranger but hesitated again, when Gimoss got up and put the Charioteer¡¯s bronze and silver full masked helm on. A copy of an ancient Imperial Rokae full face helmet, the expression on it sober, as each knight used a different design and the slain Cofol had honored the tradition unlike the Khan¡¯s Cataphracts.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! ¡°You,¡± Gimoss said from where he stood, about five-six meters away. ¡°Smell familiar. You owe me an eye.¡± ¡°Right. Now I¡¯m not squeamish but that¡¯s weird for me,¡± Caruso said raising a brow. ¡°Who¡¯s this guy?¡± ¡°I was stuck beyond the river. Constructs up the wazoo, neither the opportunity to pop my head out of cover, nor supplies, but an Aken¡¯s rotting foot. Got the news we had stopped fighting a bit late,¡± Faelar replied with a grimace at the memory of the slow to notify its advanced units Imperial Army. ¡°That was the Hallowed you fought against and the three sibyls¡¯ covens. It¡¯s a fourteen centuries old memory, so I may be wrong on the details.¡± ¡°Fuck is wrong wit him?¡± Brit asked and run his hand over his bald head. ¡°Is he a leper, or something? That shite is dangerous, right?¡± Gimoss snorted. ¡°Any of them cunts still living?¡± he asked the Ranger his manner surprisingly civil. Fuck is this? She thought with a pout. Camaraderie? Faelar nodded. ¡°Nay. Last I heard they were with the Queen in Oakenfalls. Reinut took care of that.¡± Aelrindel glanced at the strained face of Lithoniela concerned, but the younger Zilan said nothing. ¡°Don¡¯t give a shit about him. Thing is I can¡¯t get the fucking eye to work! FUCKING BULLSHIT!¡± Gimoss grunted and crossed his arms on his chest frustrated. He was wearing an expensive new green robe, long but without sleeves. A woman¡¯s white sash out of silk strapped on his waist, very wide in style. The whole attire bordering the absurd with the addition of the Chariot helm. Although Aelrindel liked that sash a lot. Ugh. ¡°Hey,¡± Brit said eyeing him. ¡°The deal was to pick up the girls, the Zilan females was my meaning,¡± he corrected himself seeing their scowls afore adding. ¡°It¡¯s not a good thing to change the details in a deal.¡± Faelar pressed his mouth tight and glared at Aelrindel. ¡°I wasn¡¯t aware we¡¯ll have an extra¡­ person.¡± ¡°AHAHAHA!¡± ¡°What the fuck?¡± Caruso recoiled at Gimoss¡¯ outburst. ¡°He¡¯s right Faelar. We¡¯re professionals. We have a name in this business.¡± ¡°The illustrious Brit and Caruso,¡± Faelar mocked him. ¡°We¡¯ve associated wit some good people,¡± Caruso protested. ¡°The Marauders, Adrian Stoner, Myrna Tiploft.¡± ¡°Tell him friend,¡± Brit agreed. ¡°Never heard of them and Myrna runs a tavern last I checked,¡± Faelar retorted. ¡°You¡¯re working for Ralnor now, which means you work for me.¡± ¡°We didn¡¯t bring an extra horse for him,¡± Brit argued and Aelrindel who had walked towards the packs left from the slain merchants to look for something to change into, heard Gimoss walking to his spot. The mask wearing undead stooped to search in his bag. ¡°I¡¯ll take Lithoniela on my horse,¡± Faelar offered and Lithoniela frowned unsure. Aelrindel turned to glare at the Ranger seeing his angle. For all his talk about her the fact of the matter was tutors don¡¯t mate with their pupils. If he wanted to train Lithoniela, then he couldn¡¯t bed her. Whatever the logistics, or needs dictated in order to preserve their lines, she wouldn¡¯t allow that. ¡°We¡¯ll make less miles like this,¡± Caruso countered and Brit agreed returning to his previous point. ¡°Listen, the man¡¯s clearly sick. Not much left in him,¡± he told a scowling Faelar. ¡°At the end of the day, we don¡¯t have a spare mount mate. Sorry,¡± Brit finished with a shrug of his shoulders, just as the whooshing sound of something heavy flying was heard in the small copse by the side of the road. Faelar flinched on the saddle at the crunching sound, blood spatter on his chest and face. Lithoniela gasped in horror and Aelrindel who¡¯d suspected something like that sighed deeply and hanged her head. Brit, the narrow pointy end of the pickaxe protruding out of the back of his bald head, the rest of the bloody tool lodged in his caved in distorted face, slowly toppled down from his horse without a word fully dead. The illustrious duo reduced in half. He crumbled on the ground in a pile and rolled once afore coming to a stop afore Gimoss that knelt and yanked the pickaxe out of the mutilated mercenary¡¯s/outlaw¡¯s face leaving a horrific bloody mess behind and something that didn¡¯t look like Brit¡¯s head at all. ¡°I know he claimed we were friends,¡± Caruso said quickly when the masked Gimoss stood up again and stared at him behind his sober mask. ¡°But that was an exaggeration on his part. Truth is, I never liked him,¡± he added. ¡°I¡¯ll take the spare horse!¡± Gimoss blasted him hoarsely. Caruso blinked comically and nodded with enthusiasm. ¡°It goes without saying! Aye!¡± He agreed and Faelar reached in his saddlebags for a cloth to wipe the late Brit¡¯s blood and brains from his face. ¡°With that settled,¡± the Ranger said somberly afore turning to her. ¡°Aelrindel, if it¡¯s not a terrible inconvenience, put some fucking clothes on. We¡¯ve all seen what you have there. So start with his pants. He won¡¯t be needing them.¡± Eh, she thought, not favoring the suggestion, or his tone. ¡°I¡¯ll see what else is available in the packs. It¡¯ll only be a minute.¡± Or two. ¡°Doll get the darn pants on now and hop on that saddle,¡± Faelar grunted his patience running thin. ¡°We are parked next to an ever increasing pile of blasted bodies!¡± Fine. Old prick.
They followed the road towards Queen¡¯s Oasis until sunset without stops or further incidents. A small caravan crossed paths with them, but the guards didn¡¯t appear suspicious of their group, both Aelrindel and Lithoniela covering their heads to keep a low profile and the news of what happened not yet spread far. Faelar had his hood on as well. A few looks were thrown on the stiffly riding Gimoss, but the masked freak just stared back at them with his sole alien eye and that was it. Faelar ordered a camp made near a rocky slope, as the terrain started changing the closer they came to the Great Desert. Caruso started a very small fire to prepare some tea and Lithoniela helped getting a quick meal ready. Aelrindel walked near the staring at the stars Gimoss determined to put their truce into a proper context. ¡°Fuck off,¡± Gimoss said before she could get a word in. ¡°I¡¯M BUSY!¡± ¡°We need to talk,¡± she told him with a scowl. ¡°You don¡¯t have to yell.¡± Gimoss looked at his saddle bags where his tools where. ¡°If we want this to succeed, you need to start being strategic,¡± Aelrindel added. ¡°And stop brute-forcing solutions. And yelling, no need for that too.¡± The freak turned to stare at her. ¡°What I¡¯m trying to say,¡± the sorceress continued. ¡°Is I can help with your problem, but I need you to give me the time to sort some things out first. Like where to live.¡± Gimoss said nothing. ¡°Right. So, I don¡¯t like you. But I¡¯m willing to see past that and into the future. You obviously managed something very difficult here. How did you do it?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have a clue how to solve my problem,¡± Gimoss said in a normal voice. That is slurring and with his teeth clattering disturbingly, but hey at least he didn¡¯t yell, she thought. ¡°THEN WHAT GOOD ARE YOU? FUCKING IDIOT!¡± Ugh. I spoke too soon. ¡°Follow me,¡± she told him and walked away from the camp site. Aelrindel stopped next to a big grey boulder three meters high and six wide, its surface eaten away by the elements. She put her back on it, feeling the rock through her shirt and Brit¡¯s leather pants rough on her legs. ¡°Reach through the robe, pull that cock out and start sucking,¡± Gimoss said stopping in front of her with his hands crossed on his chest. ¡°Noble Goddess! Stop it!¡± Aelrindel hissed. ¡°What is this madness?¡± ¡°You can¡¯t fulfill your end of the bargain, I assumed you brought me here to work some of the debt off another way,¡± he paused thinking it through. ¡°Is this foreplay? Ah, witch you¡¯re way ahead in this. Go on.¡± ¡°Arggh!¡± She snarled and snapped her fingers to shove him away. But she was completely drained. Her trained body had instinctively prevented the sorceress from damaging herself. Shit. Gimoss uncrossed his hands, removed his helm and dropped it on the ground. While part of his face had recovered somewhat, his Lorian characteristics, nose, position of the ears and reforming mouth were slightly different than before. Parts of his face remaining absent flesh underneath and the skin loose over the bones. Not to mention it was the wrong color. ¡°Where did you find the body?¡± Aelrindel asked curious forgetting her fear and then remembered it again when the freak grabbed her by the throat, banging her head on the rock once as if testing it. Ouch. ¡°Brittle bones,¡± Gimoss said and she screamed a panicked croak afore he could try it again. She could feel blood running down her neck, through the hair. ¡°WHAT? SPEAK UP!¡± ¡°Ah¡­ Can¡¯t¡­ Breathe,¡± Aelrindel gasped trying desperately to dislodge his fingers from her neck. She managed to break one and rip it away, but that was just about it. ¡°Gah¡­¡± Fuck. Help. Why in the world did you think this was a good idea? She cursed herself. ¡°It was a corpse an Arachne had taken over,¡± he told her and released his grip on her hurting throat. She almost went down on her knees, the wound on her head bleeding freely. Gimoss stooped to pick up the torn off finger and started chewing on it thoughtfully. The image so casually revolting it took her a moment to register. ¡°I pushed her out and took over, but haven¡¯t been able to make it work fully. Some parts I just can¡¯t remember, too much time spend drifting aimless.¡± ¡°Arah¡­ eh¡­¡± she croaked doubled over. ¡°How¡­ did¡­ you¡­shit, I¡¯m hurt bad.¡± ¡°You stopped feeding properly,¡± he told her. ¡°It¡¯s good your Faelar brought fresh food with him. I¡¯ll kill him in his sleep and give you the head. I don¡¯t like it.¡± ¡°No,¡± she gasped with a shudder. ¡°I meant¡­ how did you reach out? Djinns need a medium.¡± ¡°Fuck you blubbering about? I ain¡¯t no Djinn you dumb meat bag! WHAT¡¯S THIS A BLOODY NOVEL? And you still haven¡¯t recovered from casting a couple of good spells!¡± He stooped over her face. ¡°I used a medium,¡± Gimoss told her calmly, still working that finger in his mouth, the bones crackling and blood spilling out of his exposed teeth. Aelrindel shook her head, a hand touching the back of it coming up bloodied as well. Damn. That might be a cracked skull right there. It could have been the face though, so take solace in that. Thank you Noble Goddess. Fucking bitch! ¡°Something of you. Not any medium ugh. Where you near your body? Why not grab an Aken for crying out loud? They can take a fucking beating!¡± She asked finding purchase on the rock again. ¡°I had your fucking dagger!¡± Gimoss blasted her furious. ¡°STUPID BITCH!¡± Wait. ¡°Where did you find the dagger?¡± ¡°That idiot had it! Fuck! YOU¡¯RE USELESS!¡± He bellowed as loud as he could, spittle, finger bones and pieces of rotten flesh flying out of his mouth. Then punched the rock. Very hard. He was going for her face, but Aelrindel ducked under it and then rolled out of the way expecting it. ¡°SHITE!¡± Gimoss growled staring at his four broken fingers, then gulped down the remains of the mid one. ¡°Glenavon?¡± a heavy breathing Aelrindel asked perking up and Gimoss turned to glare at her frustrated. ¡°Glenavon my arse!¡± He grunted. ¡°Glen! Like a gorge sneaking through a valley! He was fucking lying about everything and you dumbbells slurped it all down!¡± Lying? A plan to fool me? Mmm. Why, you naughty boy. ¡°He may well be Hardir O¡¯ Fardor if he tamed the Wyvern,¡± Aelrindel told him and Gimoss stood back shocked. Then started laughing hard at her serious expression. ¡°What?¡± Gimoss shook his hideous head right and left as if not believing it. ¡°He¡¯d a reason for it is my meaning! Right?¡± Aelrindel protested remembering the young man outside the walls of Rida gazing at her toes with interest. Those were some good sandals. Unfortunately lost in the fire. Eh. Gimoss sighed, then raised his arm high, the one with the broken fingers ¨Cminus one and slapped her once right on the left cheek, snapping her head violently back afore sending a senseless sorceress twirling on the ground. ¡°Gah¡­ fuck¡­ why you did¡­¡± Aelrindel gasped seeing flashes of light in the darkness, lower lip split and gulping blood, whilst crawling on her knees dazed. ¡°To get it out of your system,¡± Gimoss explained. ¡°Are you aroused?¡± ¡°I¡¯M¡­ IN PAIN YOU SICK FUCK!¡± Aelrindel growled irate still trying to get up, but failing and landing on her arse. ¡°Good,¡± Gimoss retorted and stooped to pick her up by the hair with his good hand, ripping some of it off. ¡°There. Now tell me about the Aken.¡± ¡°What?¡± she croaked trying to save her scalp from his clutches. ¡°This trade you failed to fulfill,¡± Gimoss explained calmly. ¡°HEY! FOCUS!¡± he roared, not as calm. ¡°I need you to help me find them.¡± ¡°Let go. Of my hair,¡± Aelrindel warned the freak, but she¡¯d no problem agreeing to his suggestion. As Faelar commented seeing them return, her covered in blood and him missing body parts, ¡®you need to break eggs to make omelet¡¯. While they didn¡¯t make an omelet, the only thing broken being fingers and partially her skull, they had settled on a pact. Sort of. 292. Now you won’t have to fight them
Glen Arguen Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Lord O¡¯ Morn Taras Monarch of Sinya Goras Now you won¡¯t have to fight them
The Zilan buried their dead near the roots of old trees. There was a mystagogue surrounding the whole event held by the deceased closest friends, or family if present, a hierophant played by a respected older Zilan if they weren¡¯t. So Anfalon got busy with that for the next ten days and Glen who¡¯d seen one pyre too many by that point while simultaneously having no interest in the burial rituals of foreign peoples unless there was considerable loot deposits involved, just got himself busy with learning as much as he could about the situation in Abarat. Which meant first that he was busy ¡®healing¡¯ back up again via the time tested manner of visiting as many Healers as he could to get the best possible treatment and extra potions. In order of trust Soletha and Lymsiel were at the top of the list, but Lady Darunia¡¯s attentive personality could win over a granite plinth, plus she appears to be gullible as all fucks. He-he, right. Second, discover the fate of Vulas and his released soldiers carrying his offer to Lord Rothomir as a day into their crossing of the canal, parts of the ship washed ashore hinting at an accident. Which was of course one way to put it, when the fate of the ¡®freed¡¯ soldiers was revealed. Darunia blinked them big eyes and Glen blinked along with her afore catching himself. Keeping his expression as lordly as possible he waited for someone to say something. A long minute later he grimaced, a couple of nervous ticks starting on his face, Darunia refilled his goblet with some type of ¡®fruit juice mix¡¯, because it was ¡®healthy¡¯ or some other shite and realized no one present was going to speak afore him. ¡°Well fuck you very much,¡± Glen grunted unable to keep it in, just as Soletha grabbed the juice carafe from Darunia¡¯s hands and send the comely Zilan to sit a chair away from him with a curt nod. Folen took the opportunity to strike a high note on his lute sitting cross legged away from their field table. The weather above their heads lovely, the topic grave and the situation approaching the desperate. ¡°Arguen Garth,¡± Elwuin started absentmindedly reading from his many notes. ¡°Have you given thought on the matter of rebuilding the canal bridge? I¡¯ve sent you a detailed proposal.¡± What? When unsure deny everything, he thought. ¡°No.¡± ¡°You could avoid¡ª¡± ¡°Not the topic of this meeting Elwuin,¡± Lord Onas cut him off soberly. ¡°So we are to waste our time talking about something that can¡¯t be fixed and avoid looking to the future?¡± ¡°Just sit down,¡± Onas grunted crooking his mouth. Folen hit three deep notes while the academic found his chair murmuring under his breath. ¡°We should have a dance to celebrate the dead,¡± Darunia proposed next before someone could speak. Seeing Anfalon¡¯s and the military heads present sour at her words she crossed her arms on her chest with a cute pout. ¡°Hardir please continue,¡± Anfalon urged the distracted Glen and the Lord of Morn Taras frowned not remembering what he wanted to say. Ah. Yes. ¡°Give me an update first on where we stand,¡± he dodged under Folen¡¯s musical encouragement, this time with an epic four notes underscore. ¡°Does Garth wish to have him forcefully removed?¡± Soletha whispered stooping near his chair. ¡°You know what?¡± Glen retorted, while Anfalon sighed and grabbed a scroll from a Hoplite officer. ¡°I kinda got used to him, but I¡¯ll keep it in mind.¡± ¡°Bards must always be present. Every good story needs music. The bad ones need it even more,¡± Soletha replied. ¡°Arguen Garth,¡± she added with a bow of her head eliciting a giggle out of Darunia despite her desperate attempt to muffle it with both her hands. Even the usually stoic-faced Vaelenn smiled at her reaction. ¡°Fuck it,¡± Lord Onas said scratching the almost white brow above his missing eye. ¡°Pass me the juice carafe Soletha. I¡¯m willing to risk the bowel movement at this point.¡± Ha-ha. ¡°Go on Anfalon,¡± Glen said turning to the waiting Hoplite Leader. ¡°Three hundred and fifty four killed,¡± Anfalon started as gravely as one could and Glen¡¯s face dropped. ¡°A hundred still carrying various injuries, not life threatening and given excellent treatment by the healers present.¡± ¡°Gratitude Lord Anfalon,¡± Darunia said getting up. ¡°It is an honor to work alongside you.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t interrupt me Darunia. I¡¯m reading a casualties tally!¡± Anfalon admonished her. ¡°Get your arse on that chair and let me finish.¡± Darunia¡¯s face had turned white as snow. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± she croaked. ¡°What did I just say?¡± Anfalon grunted and the Hoplite officer next to him frowned. Roran, Glen thought watching him closely. He didn¡¯t trust any of the newcomers and Nym¡¯s advice to him was not to. The fact that he was missing his wife¡¯s pendant since the battle making him twice more suspicious of people. The pretty healer had collapsed on her chair crushed in the meantime and started crying which of course delayed Anfalon¡¯s report even more until she got back to her senses. Some desperate scenes ensued while her friends tried to help her recover. Sam Mathews, who never allowed a good deed slip by him, offered to take her to the canal, the recuperating adventurer had of course befriended the Elrderborn much as everyone else and Glen agreed forgetting to ask whether Darunia wanted that or not. But no one voiced any objections so he decided that it was fine. But of course wasn¡¯t.
¡°The men have scraped the place clean,¡± Anfalon continued twenty minutes later. ¡°The supply train can¡¯t keep up with the demand.¡± ¡°With so many killed we shouldn¡¯t have problems,¡± Glen argued sounding callous, but it was the truth. Half his force was gone. ¡°You need to account for the prisoners and the Phalanx, plus the men I brought with me,¡± Anfalon replied. ¡°In order to make good time, you brought the minimum supplies with you.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± That was correct. ¡°Anfalon is right Hardir,¡± Onas intervened. ¡°You need to move. Either retreat to Goras, or cross Serpent¡¯s Canal and head to Abarat.¡± ¡°Fikumin sent a caravan already,¡± Folen reminded him. ¡°They are to stop at Hydra¡¯s Marshes to build the fort there, but you can bring them straight here with a runner.¡± ¡°It will take weeks,¡± Glen told him. ¡°It will,¡± Folen agreed sheepishly. ¡°Can the more seriously injured move?¡± Glen asked Soletha. ¡°They can¡¯t. I suggest leaving them here Arguen Garth,¡± the graceful older Zilan replied. ¡°We need to guard the docks from the Cultists,¡± Glen started thoughtfully. ¡°Secure they don¡¯t harass our lines of supply until the fort is finished. Send the ship to Hardir¡¯s Port,¡± he decided. ¡°Bring more people in Chimera¡¯s Leg and repair the jungle road from Eodrass Temple. Cut rations in half for now to buy us more time for Lord Rothomir¡¯s response.¡± ¡°He might not answer at all,¡± Onas noted. ¡°Who would?¡± Glen grunted. ¡°Lady Olonelis, you have her daughter,¡± Onas said. ¡°She¡¯s not a prisoner.¡± ¡°Is she your subject? A noble female should be escorted by someone worth of note if he¡¯s available. It¡¯s another thing to scold her. The adventurer is a hired blade I wouldn¡¯t trust to walk my horse.¡± ¡°Sam is as a good a man as you¡¯ll get in these lands Onas and a friend,¡± Glen told him and Onas stood back on his chair with a grimace. ¡°Lord Onas, Hardir is foreign to our customs,¡± Anfalon reminded him. ¡°Humans devolved then?¡± Elwuin chuckled finding it funny for some reason. He was drawing something on a scroll, his fingers black with ink. Glen got up and glared at the one-eyed Council member. ¡°I know Sam and his people Onas. You on the other hand, I don¡¯t know. Darunia will be fine that¡¯s the end of it. Sam would take a blade for her. Now, I need a day to think on our next move. This meeting is over.¡±
Anfalon left with Onas and Elwuin, while Soletha went to her patients in the field hospital to help a hard-working Lymsiel out. Vaelenn and Folen stayed behind with the addition of Aenymriel who unsurprisingly appeared after the crowded table next to the small docks building emptied. The clad in a leather one-piece full-body outfit female, also wore a cloak over her uncommon attire and was escorted by a sinewy hard-faced Zilan with short dark-blue hair ¨Calmost black, fierce yellow-red eyes and a short beard one very rarely sees on a Zilan. Glen remembered him working the supply train with Laedan. He¡¯d assumed the Denmaster had picked him to help with the animals.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Apparently that wasn¡¯t the case. ¡°Eh,¡± Vaelenn said. ¡°He¡¯s tame,¡± Aenymriel assured the judge. ¡°This is Varg, of¡­ Cyran. He¡¯s very trustworthy.¡± Varg grinned a wolfish smile, his twin pairs of fangs thicker and more prominent. There was something feral about him, but he carried no weapons that Glen could see and he knew Aenymriel¡¯s people were all weird. ¡°Right then,¡± he said and turned to Folen. ¡°Sen isn¡¯t in the caravan?¡± ¡°She¡¯s not Garth.¡± Damn you girl, Glen thought and puffed his cheeks out. Realizing everyone was staring at him he sat up straighter and rapped his fingers on the table. ¡°Would Rothomir agree to a truce?¡± ¡°With his army lost, it is the prudent thing to do,¡± Vaelenn said. ¡°It is,¡± Glen agreed. ¡°It would be better,¡± Aenymriel started, but paused to stare at Folen and Vaelenn. ¡°Go on,¡± Glen urged her impatiently. ¡°Leaving the Council options is ill advised,¡± she said. ¡°We control the Council, the Phalanx. What can he do?¡± Glen countered. ¡°Anfalon controls the Phalanx, as long as your title is in question. He¡¯s very old.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not that much younger.¡± ¡°Eh,¡± Aenymriel chuckled. ¡°That was very Zilan of you Hardir.¡± ¡°Nah, that was all Jinx,¡± Glen retorted. ¡°You have a proposal?¡± ¡°Remove the army¡¯s alternative options.¡± Nym¡¯s suggestions had all something in common. Murder. ¡°No,¡± Glen said. ¡°We are not in the business of murdering people,¡± he added and a runner came to inform them more bodies had washed up ashore. Darunia had found them. Luthos you piece of degenerate turd, suck a bag of dicks!
¡°Well?¡± Glen asked eyeing the bloated corpses arranged in rows. Most of them carried bone deep burns on their bodies. Meaning the bones were scrapped clean of flesh and blackened. Ugh. ¡°Seventy seven,¡± Soletha replied with a grimace. ¡°These are Vulas¡¯ men and Axilyel¡¯s rangers.¡± ¡°How do you know?¡± Glen grunted. ¡°That¡¯s Ievis her lover,¡± Roran replied darkly pointing at a bloated head with most of his torso still attached, but nothing else. ¡°I knew her.¡± Ugh, right then. Well the ranger cunt, I didn¡¯t much like anyway, but this is a problem. Fucking Luthos doing me dirty again. ¡°Vulas?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t find him. The currents might have carried people on the other side of the Canal,¡± Soletha replied. ¡°The Wyvern did it,¡± Roran grunted. The Hoplite leader seemed all wound up and Glen could understand he was frustrated. Glen was frustrated as well, although he feared Uvrycres might have had a claw in the debacle since the start. He glanced at Laedan, but saw that the Denmaster was not looking too optimistic. ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe anyone made it,¡± Laedan replied and used a cloth to wipe the underside of his tearing drooping eye. ¡°Unless they could swim after getting blasted into the water.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± Laedan shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Berries in a bowl,¡± he added much to everyone¡¯s despair. Glen didn¡¯t get it at first, but pretended that he had and nodded soberly. ¡°I¡¯ll talk with him,¡± he finally said. ¡°It was a misunderstanding.¡± ¡°Hardir with all the respect,¡± Onas said setting an accusing eye on him. ¡°A lot of people were killed here.¡± Well, I lost a lot people as well, but I¡¯m not in your fuckin¡¯ face about it! Glen cleared his throat and eyed Anfalon. The Hoplite stood silent next to Onas. ¡°There¡¯s no need for alarm,¡± he assured them sternly. ¡°I will talk with the Wyvern and sort this thing out.¡± ¡°What would Rothomir think?¡± Onas asked him. ¡°Olonelis?¡± ¡°This is a war Onas. It wasn¡¯t my idea to start it,¡± Glen replied. ¡°I gave him terms and he¡¯s slow-walking us after getting defeated in the field. Make him see reason. I¡¯m patient and very reasonable, but Uvrycres isn¡¯t.¡±
¡°They¡¯ll think you ordered it Garth,¡± Folen whispered, when they reached his ¡®quarters¡¯. Glen glanced at a grim faced Kirk. ¡°Post guards. Our own people.¡± ¡°You think they¡¯ll revolt?¡± Folen asked. ¡°No. But I want to be sure they know I¡¯m thinking about it,¡± He replied. ¡°Kirk. I want an escort for Soletha readied. Arrange for supplies.¡± Kirk stood back with a frown. ¡°You¡¯re sending Soletha to meet the caravan?¡± ¡°No,¡± Glen replied in the negative again and eyed Aenymriel, followed by Varg moving towards the Canal shores to check on the bodies washing ashore. ¡°I want her back on that ship. I need her in Goras more than I need her here.¡± Sen-Iv not taking his offer to join him, had worried Glen profoundly despite not showing it. He realized most of his closest friends were away and even questioned his decision to leave Jinx behind. Then again perhaps it was for the better. ¡°Don¡¯t send Soren back,¡± he told Kirk with a grimace. ¡°I want him here.¡± ¡°Aye milord,¡± the bodyguard replied. ¡°I suggest notifying Sam and Hilton Marlo.¡± ¡°I shall,¡± Glen said with a nod. ¡°Kirk,¡± he said to the turning to leave ex-soldier. ¡°You¡¯ve done me great service these past years friend. Know that I have in mind to reward you for it.¡± ¡°Why, gratitude milord,¡± Kirk said moved. ¡°Twas quite the journey.¡± Yeah, Glen thought. It was, but it¡¯s not over yet.
The Hoplites were slowly boarding the transport ships two days later. Longer than any of the ships Glen had seen on his Isles, or on Jelin. Their lines narrower and carrying different decorations carved on their sides and the oar openings, along tall pairs of twin masts with different colored triangular main sails for each vessel. Anfalon and the Phalanx were to depart first and secure their landing by taking control of the docks on the other side of the Canal. The rest of the army would follow, bringing most men across, but a large portion of Goras soldiers Glen had decided to leave behind to guard their hospital and camp, along Ran-Sahor¡¯s riders. He¡¯d given Mutilus orders to make sure the caravan arrived safely and to finish construction of the small fort. To heavily escort everything until they neutralized Pelleas¡¯, but not to attempt to attack beyond the marshes. Soletha had left the day before to get on the ship and return to Goras. Fikumin had assured him everything was fine, but Jinx was silent and Glen wanted another set of eyes on his family. Soletha with all her baggage had always come through for him, since Glen had given her the chance to avenge her slain daughter and repatriated her people. He kept Folen with him and Vaelenn, since the judge and ex-High priestess knew her way around the old court. Laedan was a better option here, but Glen quickly realized the Denmaster wasn¡¯t well-liked by the old guard. The dead Queen¡¯s people, the dead King¡¯s men, the Sorceress¡¯ acolytes, the army and the pretenders. Followers of the Old Ways and the ¡®reformed¡¯ new Zilan. The strays. The intellectuals of Elauthin, the pragmatists of Goras, Nym, the Council of Twenty and the ancient aristocracy of Cydonia ¨Cmostly extinct now- all distrusting each other. Centuries upon centuries of old grudges, petty jealously, enormous egos and outright bloody murder. You gotta watch them all my dude. Glen groaned and puffed his cheeks out, feeling the ulcer in his stomach returning. He brushed his wild hair back, a couple of grey hairs sprinkled in them and heard the Wyvern¡¯s trumpeting shriek coming from the skies. Ah. There you are. Uvrycres came to land behind the people loading at the docks, most stopping to watch the ever-growing Wyvern fully extend its impressive black with dark-red underside leathery wings to cut its momentum. Uvrycres hind legs plowed at the soft ground, digging two long lines out as he slid for several meters and then he dropped on all fours, two-horned wedge-shaped head snapping right and left energetically, until his burgundy eyes settled on Glen. Everyone standing next or behind him had given the approaching -almost three meters tall and over five in length young Wyvern- the widest possible berth. He was taller than Soren and of course Hobor now. ¡°Where does all the food go?¡± Uvrycres jested in that peculiar Wyvern humor and clacked his glass-like sharp black teeth to form a deadly grin. Twice as many in his mouth than Glen remembered. Everyone else had heard the Wyvern shriek at him. ¡°You grew¡­ again,¡± Glen replied, resting his hand on the dagger discreetly. I did and so have you. Only less. You need to eat more food Glen. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have killed them Uvry,¡± Glen said and glanced at the silent crowd watching from the ships and the docks. You would have fought them again. This wasn¡¯t a clear victory Glen. Now you won¡¯t fight them. And it is. Glen licked his lips, a twitch in his eye. ¡°A misunderstanding then,¡± he announced for those listening in and there were a lot of keen-eared folk around. Let¡¯s kill them all. Burn Rothomir and his city. Feast on their corpses! Uvrycres bellowed in his mind and eyed him expectantly. No, Glen told him and turned to face the crowd. ¡°It¡¯s done. We accept it and move on!¡± He yelled. ¡°We march on Abarat to finish this stupid conflict! The sooner the better!¡± he added. The Goras faithful cheered but Glen spotted a lot of sullen faces in the crowd that dispersed slowly and got back to their business. They¡¯ll stab you in the back, the dagger whispered in his ear deciding to add its two cents. They¡¯ll come in the dark night. They¡¯ll come in the light of day. In your grave sorrow and in your feast of triumph. Close and afar. In your wake and in your sleep. Glen grunted and reaching closer patted the still staring him Wyvern on its scaly hot snout. ¡°Any survivors?¡± he whispered, rubbing between Uvrycres horns protruding like small swords and equally sharp. He could barely reach far back on the large head now. The Wyvern¡¯s segmented tail whooshed and made a protective loose loop around him, the wings shading Glen¡¯s body from the eyes of the crowd from both sides. Very few, Uvrycres replied in his mind, smelling of brimstone and earth. They¡¯ll bring the news and you¡¯ll have the city. You wanted to finish this fast friend. It¡¯s all you¡¯re dreaming about. That¡¯s true, Glen agreed. You are right. ¡°But you have to tell me in advance,¡± he said and pulled away. ¡°It¡¯s what friends do Biscuit.¡± The Wyvern blinked and blew warm air on his face. Then nodded with a horrifying smile as if getting it. ¡°A clever wordplay. Hahaha! Wait, you have one?¡± He asked cutting his laughter abruptly. Glen did. Never leave for a journey without enough food packed to feed a Wyvern. Uvrycres who got the joke tipped his head back and roared very pleased. In the commotion of people fleeing, or duck for cover fearing the worst a livid Kalac challenged Sam Mathews to a duel for Darunia. It sounded like a joke as well, but it wasn¡¯t and it derailed Glen¡¯s departure for a while. 293. The Bonemancer’s Effigies (1/2)
Lithoniela, of Baltoris The Bonemancer¡¯s Effigies Part I -Field of Bones-
The desert approach to Queen¡¯s Oasis Lake, Near the small border town of Sadofort Second month of 192 NC Great Wyvern! Caruso pulled his blade back, his dark-brown eyes concerned. ¡°Did I hurt you lass?¡± He asked seeing Lithoniela puckering her mouth. She moved her left arm right and left to get the feeling back to her numb fingers. ¡°Your blade is heavy,¡± she told him, readjusting her grip on Zestari¡¯s shortsword. ¡°It is,¡± Caruso replied. ¡°You¡¯re using your weak hand.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Lithoniela replied. ¡°Again.¡± Caruso shrugged his shoulder and slashed at her with his longsword. A custom made one, the grip and the blade belonging to different weapons. She tried to parry it away, the force of the bigger blade rattling her arm. The Lorian came at her again stepping forward, but she rolled to his left and then jumped on him. He pivoted trying to find an angle, Lithoniela¡¯s blade slapping his sides once, before rolling away on the sandy terrain. Caruso came after her and used the point of his longsword to push the lighter female Zilan back, steel tip touching her shoulder until she dropped on her arse. ¡°You were injured,¡± Lithoniela protested a little frustrated. ¡°Not enough to let you get away. You are dead lass,¡± Caruso replied and gave her his free arm to help her stand up again. ¡°But it was scary what you did there.¡± ¡°Ah,¡± Lithoniela hissed. ¡°Damn it.¡± ¡°You did well,¡± the fighter assured her with a smile. He¡¯d a tooth missing there that made it amusing. ¡°Nothing to be ashamed of,¡± he added. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Your face is funny.¡± ¡°Is it the beard?¡± Caruso asked. ¡°The tooth. Where did you lose it?¡± ¡°Never had one,¡± he admitted. ¡°The gap was always there. I can whistle pretty darn well though.¡± ¡°Ha-ha,¡± she chuckled and then her eyes found Gimoss watching the green Oasis bordering the lake, next to a covered head to toe Aelrindel. Lithoniela¡¯s face darkened. ¡°You don¡¯t want to think about him lass,¡± Caruso said. ¡°Why is that Mister Caruso?¡± Lithoniela queried and sheathed her shortsword. ¡°He did kill your friend.¡± ¡°Brit should¡¯ve kept his mouth shut,¡± the Lorian explained. ¡°I¡¯ve seen some bad dudes in my life. He¡¯s one of them. Ralnor is the other.¡± ¡°In what way?¡± ¡°There are three types of killers. The Leper dude is the type that doesn¡¯t give a shit,¡± Caruso explained. ¡°Ralnor does, but not enough to spare you. He¡¯s the practical one.¡± ¡°What is the other type?¡± Lithoniela asked narrowing her eyes, when Gimoss turned abruptly, shoved the distracted and probably half-delirious from the heat sorceress down and then started laughing hard at her incensed curses. ¡°Evil cunts that find pleasure in it. Pardon me language lass,¡± Caruso said. Lithoniela nodded and Faelar¡¯s wiry figure appeared returning at the distance. The Ranger had left during the night to scout the Lake¡¯s approaches for soldiers. Sadofort was kilometers away, but there had been several battles around the lake and its woods for months during the previous year. Several small skirmishes and a couple of big ones.
¡°There are guards at the fort,¡± Faelar reported after he unloaded two large leather water bags from his horse, they used to refill their flasks. ¡°One patrol reached the lake and stayed for a bit. Cofol riders. Didn¡¯t have time to approach close enough though. They have cut down the trees on that side to better nail you with the scorpios from the parapets.¡± His tone making it clear he wasn¡¯t interested to test their aim. ¡°Sadofort has a merchant town and a bazaar,¡± Aelrindel said. ¡°We¡¯ll blend right in.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t look like merchants,¡± Faelar argued. ¡°What about coin?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll charm whomever runs the hostel,¡± Aelrindel countered. ¡°We don¡¯t need it.¡± Lithoniela didn¡¯t doubt that. ¡°Where was the camp?¡± Gimoss asked staring at the palm trees. ¡°You mean Prince Nout¡¯s?¡± Faelar asked standing back. ¡°The other side of the lake, at the edge of the trees. It was overrun twice, burned and looted.¡± ¡°Why are we discussing this?¡± The sorceress protested. ¡°The plan was to go to Sadofort. That stupid town is half a day away!¡± Faelar stared at Gimoss puzzled. ¡°You¡¯ll not find anything of value there,¡± he told him. ¡°Other than the dead.¡± Aelrindel paled and snapped her head at the hideous monster, she had decided to bring along. A decision Lithoniela couldn¡¯t come to terms with. ¡°No,¡± she said hoarsely taking a step back. ¡°You¡¯re not having us dig up bodies Gimoss!¡± ¡°I doubt they are buried,¡± Faelar told her. ¡°Why do we need dead bodies Doll?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t,¡± Aelrindel hissed. ¡°He¡¯s looking for the Aken.¡± ¡°THAT¡¯S THE DEAL!¡± Gimoss bellowed as loud as he could, a manic expression on his dilapidated face. The healthy skin burned to a crisp since the mask he frequently wore along the helm reached boiling temperatures in the desert. ¡°The old camp,¡± Faelar murmured with a glance at Lithoniela. ¡°How is the arm Princess?¡± ¡°Much better,¡± she told him setting her shoulders and extending her still bandaged arm. ¡°But I¡¯m training in the blade also.¡± ¡°Not enough time for that,¡± the ranger grunted. ¡°So,¡± Caruso intervened treading carefully. ¡°We¡¯re going to look for corpses?¡± ¡°Arrgh! I can¡¯t¡­ Goddess!¡± Aelrindel moaned in frustration tossing her arms up and walked away stumbling comically in the soft sand. She seemed to get the hang of it after a couple of tiresome strides, but then she went down head first like a graceful ostrich. Fine, it was very funny, but everyone decided not to react out of respect for her plight. Other than Gimoss that is. ¡°AHAHAHA!¡±
Faelar raised his right arm, extended index finger pointing upwards and made a circle with it, signaling for them to gather around him. Lithoniela stood bend at the waist and hurried the twenty meters to the edge of the tree line where the ranger had taken cover. The rest of their group following after her stooped with the exception of Gimoss that just strolled after the sorceress snickering. ¡°What?¡± Lithoniela whispered and Faelar pointed at the opening the Prince¡¯s men had cut out of the Oasis to raise his large camp. Lithoniela slotted her bow over her head and crawled on all fours outside the rotting fallen trunk to peek at the camp. The perimeter wall had been torn down, large parts of it still standing though. Made out of cut palm wood it was a glorified fence more than a defense structure even in its hay day. Not much of the camp remained, the tents had been burned or broken apart, the firepits covered in desert sand. It extended for two kilometers in diameter and one could barely see the tiny white walls of Sadofort in the distance. A small branch coming from the Third Tributary -one of Yeriden¡¯s sources, or feeding, minor rivers- poured in the Lake from the North, but it was well behind them and the land leading to Sadofort was relatively flat terrain. Good for horses, she thought, her eyes scanning the different shapes and broken up structures of the old military camp. The Prince made sure he¡¯d room to use his cavalry. Prince Nout, now the Prince Heir, didn¡¯t have the time to finish his attack on Sadofort and he had retired to Yin Xi-Yan to recuperate. According to the reports they had received back in Rida, the third brother Prince Atpa had finished the job, but only after most of the trapped Issirs had escaped into the desert overrunning the camp. There were people moving about inside the camp. She also spotted a couple of them walking in and out of the Oasis but on the other side than the one they had taken cover. ¡°Well?¡± Aelrindel hissed. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Lithoniela replied. ¡°Scavengers?¡± Faelar nodded. ¡°There are more on the outside of the wall.¡± Across the camp was his meaning. ¡°You can see that far?¡± Caruso whispered. ¡°I went in and checked,¡± the ranger grunted. ¡°Keep your voice down.¡± ¡°Friendlies?¡± Lithoniela asked and Faelar shrugged his shoulders. He didn¡¯t know. ¡°What¡¯s on the other side of the wall?¡± Aelrindel asked washing her face and hands from the dirt they had picked up crossing the Oasis. Almost a month without a bath had brought the sorceress to the end of her wits. She wanted to dive into the lake immediately, but Faelar had forbade them from relaxing before they could assess the situation. ¡°They burned most of the dead there,¡± Faelar replied. ¡°They didn¡¯t do a good enough job and they probably just stopped altogether once the officers were away.¡± ¡°The Issirs probably didn¡¯t even bother and Atpa wanted to get out of the desert as fast as he could all of sudden,¡± Aelrindel hissed. ¡°Fucking snake.¡± ¡°They wouldn¡¯t know we¡¯re not fellow scavengers¡¯ right?¡± Lithoniela probed. ¡°We carry a lot of weapons,¡± Faelar pointed. ¡°People might get nervous.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± Aelrindel retorted and got up. ¡°Fuck. My back is killing me and I have something crawling up my leg that just won¡¯t die!¡± ¡°We two go first, check it out and then wait for nightfall to approach with the animals,¡± Faelar started looking at Lithoniela, but Gimoss rolled out of cover stiffly and walked towards the camp. ¡°Fuck,¡± the ranger cursed with a grimace. ¡°Now what?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t we just leave him do his thing?¡± Lithoniela asked equally frustrated. Aelrindel puffed her cheeks out, her tanned face and shorter hair making her look like a cute hoodlum. ¡°I want to agree,¡± she said and slotted her flask of water on her large leather belt. ¡°But in the grand scheme of things, I can¡¯t allow him to do whatever the fuck he wants.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Lithoniela asked. ¡°It¡¯s a cursed family responsibility,¡± Aelrindel murmured. ¡°Don¡¯t be an idiot lass,¡± Faelar grunted. ¡°He¡¯s looking for Aken Faelar.¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t see one for centuries,¡± he retorted. ¡°They tend to stick out. Most of the times.¡± ¡°Eh,¡± Aelrindel scoffed. ¡°I¡¯m not in the mood for war stories Faelar.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going after him,¡± Lithoniela decided and stood up, Caruso following right behind her asking in a casual voice. ¡°So, just for shits and giggles. What¡¯s an Aken lass?¡±
¡°You, ugly motherfucker!¡± Gimoss asked one of the shifty-looking vagabond¡¯s carrying a spear and a large bronze pot. ¡°Are you all together?¡± The Cofol half-breed paused to stare at him unsure. ¡°I¡¯m minding my own business,¡± he replied in Common, deciding to opt for diplomacy. ¡°This is mostly Derik¡¯s crew.¡± ¡°What about the other ones?¡± Lithoniela asked face hidden under Zestari¡¯s hood. ¡°Looking for jewelry,¡± the man replied eyeing her suspiciously. ¡°Are you from Sadofort? Them fuckers have stripped the dead clean already, if you¡¯re fixin¡¯ on finding gold.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Lithoniela replied and the man nodded with a grimace.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Sure¡­ kid,¡± he replied. ¡°Just finish afore the night falls.¡± ¡°Why is that?¡± The scavenger shrugged his shoulders and put the pot on his head like a helmet turning to leave. ¡°Weirdos come out at night.¡± ¡°Aha!¡± Gimoss grunted and the scavenger hurried to get some distance between them without replying. ¡°Aha?¡± Lithoniela probed the deformed freak now staring directly at the sun over their heads. ¡°We wait for night!¡± Gimoss barked and crossed his arms on his chest. ¡°Were you dropped on your head at birth? Don¡¯t answer you buffoon! It¡¯s a rhetorical query!¡± Lithoniela snorted and went to intercept the others that were cautiously approaching from the Oasis, signaling for Caruso to follow her.
Hoooo-ho-ho-ho-ho. The Desert Owl called looking at her. Its large yellow eyes and pale white plumage making it stand out on the branch of the old fig tree. While the Oasis outer layer was protected by the date palms, its innards housed a great variety of plants, mainly peach and olive trees, some showing heavy signs of cultivation. ¡°You started early,¡± Lithoniela told the spying bird and Aelrindel who had stopped at the edge of the lake to remove her dirty ¡®plebs clothes¡¯ snorted. ¡°It¡¯s a warning to turn around,¡± she said ditching clothes before Lith could avert her eyes, then grabbed her pants with both hands and shook them manically to find whatever bothered her. ¡°They¡¯re weird like that,¡± she added tossing the pants away. ¡°Uhm,¡± Lithoniela murmured numbly and watched her dipping in the lake with a scream of delight. There was this impulsive and naughty cheerfulness the sorceress possessed, as much a self-serving way to draw one to her and equally an innocent defense mechanism. No. But her mind was already comparing the real thing against the illusion. It made her feel dirty. Ah stop it. ¡°How was she? Zilyana?¡± Aelrindel asked perceptively, her head poking out of the surface, graceful long ears drooping soaked. ¡°You knew her for far longer than I did,¡± Lithoniela murmured not wanting to talk about it. ¡°Not like that, I didn¡¯t,¡± she replied. ¡°Do you want to know why?¡± You brought her up on purpose, Lithoniela thought sourly. ¡°Why?¡± She croaked hearing a branch snap on purpose. Faelar was within earshot. ¡°She was my pupil. Well, my mother¡¯s initially,¡± Aelrindel replied spitting water out. ¡°I took her role. It¡¯s what we do and what you will also do when you take a pupil. A teacher is a pedagogue and a mother, or father. The bond is very strong. Which is why we don¡¯t taint it.¡± ¡°It was just a game,¡± Lithoniela protested and looked away. ¡°It didn¡¯t mean anything for her, or me.¡± ¡°It did and I was talking about Faelar,¡± Aelrindel argued calmly. ¡°You can either have a trainer, or a partner. Pick one Princess.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re setting rules now? I thought I was free to do whatever I wanted,¡± Lithoniela murmured. ¡°If you were so close with Zil why befriend Gimoss?¡± Aelrindel slapped her hand on the water¡¯s surface angry and stood up in all her naked glory, the water stopping just below her navel. Lithoniela realized she was standing in the shallows all this time. ¡°I made the trade to save us both,¡± she replied sternly and crossed her arms on her chest. ¡°I was spent and you were injured. It¡¯s called survival. I can¡¯t befriend him, the bastard killed my Rin and Zilyana. He also killed many members of the Coven. He¡¯s a god darn monster. But sometimes you have to move forward, else you¡¯ll lose everything. Trying to kill him all over again will offer me nothing but a fleeting rush I never looked for a month ago. It won¡¯t bring anyone back, but it could rob me of those I care about,¡± Aelrindel sighed at that. ¡°There are a lot of monsters out there Princess. This monster has its mind elsewhere.¡± Lithoniela nodded and stared at her boots. ¡°Gimoss told me I was avenged, after he killed Zil,¡± she murmured. ¡°What did he mean?¡± ¡°Eh, let the past be. Best you keep away from him,¡± the sorceress griped and then dived backwards into the lake. A moment and her head emerged again out of the surface, her shorter hair plastered back on her skull and her eyes glowing in the coming darkness. ¡°Are they right?¡± Lithoniela asked. ¡°The birds.¡± ¡°They are,¡± Aelrindel replied her voice strange. ¡°They can see the threads of the future. Which is why you don¡¯t go about asking them.¡± ¡°You do.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± Aelrindel replied sadly. ¡°But I have already looked dear.¡± ¡°The Sibyls got stuff wrong all the time Ael,¡± Lithoniela said to cheer her up and she nodded a relieved smile forming on her luscious mouth afore she chuckled a reply. ¡°You know what Princess? You¡¯re darn right there.¡±
¡°What is he doing?¡± Lithoniela asked keeping her voice low two hours later. They had returned to the now fairly quiet destroyed campsite. Gimoss hadn¡¯t moved from the spot they had left him. ¡°Leave the wyvern to do his thing,¡± Faelar hissed and reached for her injured hand. ¡°Can you pull the string?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Ah. Stop lying. Stay behind me. Keep quiet,¡± he grunted dropping her hand and rushed across a large destroyed and half covered in dry mud tent. Lithoniela ran stooped after him, Caruso following two meters behind them but quickly left out of sight, whilst Aelrindel sprinted towards Gimoss. Faelar moved fast, zig-zagging to avoid discarded broken tools and gutted saddles. Some tents poles still stood, resembling long spears stuck on the ground, treacherous unseen lines connecting them. Lithoniela held her breath and leaped when the Ranger in front of her did it, then rolled behind the still standing west part of the torn down walls, next to him. ¡°Remnants of pyres. Them black mounts,¡± Faelar whispered, bright blue eyes glowing in the dark and Lithoniela popped her head to see for herself. The barren field uninhabited at first glance. Then she saw a shadowy figure stooped on the ground. Another two fifteen meters away. ¡°Are they?¡± she whispered and Faelar signed for her to keep quiet. ¡°They can¡¯t hear us,¡± she said lowering her voice even more. ¡°Can they?¡± ¡°I need to approach.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do it,¡± Lithoniela said and Faelar turned to stare at her. ¡°You don¡¯t know what to look for.¡± ¡°I want to learn Faelar. You are not tasked to protect me.¡± ¡°Eh, that was uncalled for,¡± the Ranger said with a grimace. ¡°I¡¯ve done Edlenn¡¯s bidding all this time. This I¡¯m doing for me Princess. Stay.¡± Damn it. He made to get up but paused undecided. ¡°She¡¯s half right you know. The sorceress.¡± Eh, a ranger¡¯s ears hear everything, she thought. ¡°What¡¯s the wrong part?¡± ¡°You need to preserve your line,¡± Faelar murmured. ¡°What about yours?¡± ¡°I had a son, the Queen¡¯s war and my stubbornness took him,¡± he said. ¡°But we can¡¯t squander yours. We almost went extinct in the blink of an eye.¡± ¡°I¡¯m way younger than Ael,¡± Lithoniela argued a little uncomfortable. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you speak to her first?¡± ¡°Ah, you grew up in the bloody woods, but you have your mother¡¯s wit,¡± Faelar grunted and then puffed out. ¡°Forget about the sorceress. Aelrindel got spoiled beyond repair since birth. She can¡¯t live without drama, or glory, but you can and you should. Something must be left behind. This is bigger than you or me Lithoniela.¡± She didn¡¯t exactly expect to think about that, given where they were, but the ranger sounded genuine. Even caring. ¡°You want us to have a baby?¡± Lithoniela asked him blandly only half joking and the old ranger shook his head. ¡°Can it wait after we finish whatever it is we¡¯re doing here?¡± Only the latter part was more a taunt. ¡°As I said equally witty, as pretty. Don¡¯t presume you¡¯ll be able to do it on the morrow, or that any of us will be available,¡± Faelar replied with the hint of a smile and covered his head with his hood. ¡°Try to stay in the dark,¡± he told her and jumped out of cover.
Lithoniela spotted three more human figures moving about in the dark and searching the ground for corpses. She heard movement coming from the nearby trees on the other side of this roundish half a kilometer wide field, hugging the west walls of the campsite. They were plenty of corpses around. Most rotted away leaving behind bleached or blackened bones where the fire had touched them. But it was a shoddy job this, she thought walking carefully over broken skulls and legs and crackling large piles of burned remains. Done in a hurry and abandoned when Atpa¡¯s army moved on. The guards at Sadofort uninterested to finish it properly. The dead were left to the elements, the Oasis moisture and the desert sun eating at them in the months that followed. No sign of who the dead were was left behind. Cofols, or Issirs now joined in silence. Their final resting place a field of bones. Faelar stopped near the first figure and the man slowly got up dropping the long radius bone he held down. A Lorian, his head and mouth covered with a scarf. ¡°Use the other pile,¡± he rustled eyeing the silent Faelar. ¡°This one is occupied.¡± ¡°Any loot?¡± the ranger asked casually. ¡°Nothing today.¡± ¡°What about the others?¡± ¡°Go and ask them. Fuck off was my meaning.¡± Faelar signed for her to move after him towards the next group. Lithoniela rushed after him a little spooked by the eeriness of the place. It reminded her of Oakenfalls and she didn¡¯t want that memory spilling out. But it did. Faelar paused and turned to glance at her worried. The two men digging in the ground at the base of the large long extinguished pyre stopped what they were doing and looked at them. ¡°We¡¯re looking for gold,¡± Faelar said in an unconvincing manner and Lithoniela touched his left hand comfortingly, her voiceless song assuring him she was fine. ¡°No gold,¡± the Issir said. ¡°But you might get lucky.¡± ¡°Right. Mind if I look around?¡± Lithoniela examined the two men. They were both Issirs, which was a bit strange, but they looked normal and dressed in simple tunics. Another man came towards them. This one clad in Cofol white leather armour, a saber strapped on his waist. ¡°Go ahead.¡± ¡°Are you a hunter? The Oasis is the other way,¡± the second Issir asked, a large bag held with a rope over his back, looking rather heavy. ¡°Looking for different prey tonight,¡± Faelar retorted tensely. ¡°What¡¯s in the bag?¡± Lithoniela took a sideways step unsure what had the ranger agitated, the approaching armed man answering with a query of his own. ¡°What¡¯s under the hood?¡± A Lorian, she thought. Pretty good looking. Wearing a Cofol officer¡¯s armour. Hmm. Faelar shoved her away and kicked the nearest Issir squarely in the chest hurling him back. Lithoniela gasped twirling around on a leg and realized the Lorian was rushing her way with his blade drawn. What in all hells? She thought and jumped away from his attack. The man paused and then came at her again his saber swinging. Lithoniela stumbled on cracking bones, a little panicked and unsure whether to use her shortswords or her bow, but found her footing quickly and stood up to face the approaching masqueraded Lorian. ¡°Did you steal that?¡± she taunted mostly to get her courage back, unsheathing her blades one after the other. ¡°What¡¯s under the hood?¡± The man repeated and Lithoniela realized she couldn¡¯t feel any emotion coming out of him. Neither anger, nor fear. Not even bloody curiosity. Oops. ¡°Hey!¡± Faelar bellowed and the man turned his way, a steel-tip arrow exploding out of the back of his cranium, the ranger¡¯s close shot nailing him between the eyebrows. Her opponent stumbled back, neck snapping violently the same way but faster than his body, a solid crunch as if something had broken and then he went down. Lithoniela gave him a glance and leaped over his body to help Faelar. The ranger had stabbed the second Issir below the left shoulder, the blade left there, then turned and fired an arrow on the Lorian. The first Issir, the one he¡¯d initially kicked, had gotten up in the meantime and lunged at him going for his neck. Faelar fell backwards taking the man with him and Lithoniela found herself climbed on the back of his opponent. The ranger punched him in the face snapping his head back and into Lithoniela¡¯s chest, but the Issir withstood it without a single moan, unlike the groaning female Zilan. The Issir reached and wrapped both hands around Faelar¡¯s neck next. ¡°Ah,¡± the Issir said seeing the ranger up close as the latter thrashed his head right and left to escape strangulation. The scavenger pressed down harder using their combined weight. He seemed to pin the ranger down for a moment, but the next he got stabbed by Lithoniela¡¯s blades through both ears and froze up completely. ¡°Hells!¡± Faelar croaked and shoved them both off of him, then grabbed his bruised throat with his hand. ¡°Are you alright?¡± She nodded and went to get her blades out, a shadow standing over her. ¡°Naah!¡± Lithoniela gasped and twisted away, a hand clasping her shoulder and pulling her back, fingers digging in through the soft leather. She screamed in the Issir¡¯s face afore her elbow cracked the man¡¯s nose, but he recovered surprisingly fast and reached with his other hand for her throat. Lithoniela jerked her head back almost breaking her own neck and then got gore in her eyes and mouth. She coughed it up, the grip on her shoulder relaxing and then Caruzo¡¯s voice was heard as the mercenary yanked her upright by her bad elbow. ¡°ARRGH!¡± She hissed in his face gulping down foul blood and then stooped to spit it all out again. ¡°What is this?¡± ¡°Apologies,¡± Caruso told her worried. ¡°I thought I cut you.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t,¡± Lithoniela gasped and eyed the ruined face of her opponent. Caruso¡¯s blade had exited out of the mouth creating a gruesome cross, like a bloody second opening there. ¡°I meant his blood tastes like lead.¡± ¡°He¡¯s a construct,¡± Faelar informed them and used his peleg to chop the first Issir¡¯s head off. ¡°Dismember the others quickly.¡± ¡°What?¡± Caruso asked ogling his eyes and the recently killed Lorian got up, Faelar¡¯s arrow still stuck on his cracked forehead. ¡°Mother of all griefs,¡± the mercenary said bewildered and turned around to face the reanimated construct. ¡°The fuck is this thing?¡± Lithoniela flanked the Lorian and the man¡¯s bloodshot eyes followed her disregarding Caruso. She got her bow out, her heart thundering in her hurting chest, nocked an arrow and loosed it nailing the approaching freak at the same time as Faelar. Her¡¯s smacking him in the chest going through reinforced leather and the ranger¡¯s hitting him under the right shoulder blade. The Lorian stumbled on his feet, but didn¡¯t go down. He just set his eyes on her blankly. Lithoniela had another arrow nocked, her right arm burning in pain, but Caruso¡¯s chop got to the staring Lorian first. The mercenary had used so much force, the chopped off head almost connected with Lithoniela and she had to step aside, a fresh coat of foul gore covering her. ¡°Here they come in the dead of night,¡± a voice sang coming from the nearby date palms in almost unrecognizable Common. ¡°A master and his pupil to add to the blight,¡± an unnaturally tall figure had come out of the foliage. Lanky and sinewy, carrying a staff, dressed in plain long robes. Hands, chest and neck painted white, ending just above his upper lip. Snake eyes and forked energetic tongue adding to his wraithlike appearance. It reminded Lithoniela of the freak in the woods outside Rida, but this creature clearly wasn¡¯t him. ¡°Suharto?¡± Faelar said gravely. ¡°You¡¯re not supposed to farm in Raoz.¡± The Aken stopped less than fifteen meters away and regarded them. ¡°Close enough King¡¯s Ranger. I¡¯m Grogoceq. Would it be remiss of me to presume that treaty annulled? Something about you lot getting the god¡¯s scorching steel shaft up the arse. He-he,¡± he sniggered and locked his eyes on Lithoniela with great interest. ¡°Absolutely fascinating,¡± he commented licking those mauve lips with a meaty forked tongue. ¡°I¡¯ll have you last.¡± Lithoniela opened her mouth to rebuke him, but sensed the shadows coming alive around them. The seemingly empty field now sporting many more silent figures standing up, as if awakening from their stupor. ¡°What in Naossis¡¯ tits?¡± Caruso gasped looking about him. ¡°Fall back!¡± A distressed Faelar bellowed and loosed an arrow at the smirking Grogoceq. The Aken dissolving into thin air and reappearing next to Lithoniela. The Zilan flinched backwards and dived left into a roll, turning around to fire an arrow when she landed on her feet. She missed everything, the Aken nowhere to be seen. Goddess! ¡°Get her out of here!¡± Faelar grunted slotting his longbow and getting his steel peleg out along with a long dagger. ¡°We can¡¯t fight a fucking Bonemancer in the dark.¡± ¡°He-he. I lied,¡± Grogoceq gushed in Lith¡¯s ear from behind, white elongated very veiny fingers wrapping around her free wrist, when she went to her quiver for another arrow. Lithoniela smelled burnt bone and then screamed feeling her own wrist-bones cracking. ¡°Mmm. I¡¯ll put them back. Don¡¯t worry,¡± the Aken whispered sounding aroused and dragged her near his insect like hard body. She heard a buzz, the air turning into a foul-smelling gooey substance, everything around her wrapping and dissolving. The camp, the sky and the Oasis gone. They landed inside the woods twenty meters away and back into their realm. The night turning into day a moment later.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 294. The Bonemancer’s Effigies (2/2)
¡°What¡¯s the bow made of Lith?¡± the boy asked from his frozen tree, his rich violet hair a curly mess and flustered from the cold long ears sprouting out tauntingly. ¡°Whispering wood,¡± Lithoniela replied, using her teeth to tighten the string¡¯s knot. She glanced at his surprised expression and smiled. ¡°Why is it painted like that?¡± he probed, strikingly handsome face ever curious. ¡°It¡¯s not paint. It¡¯s a song, you just have to listen to it,¡± Lithoniela said fixing the bow string on the ancient bow. ¡°It is a special tree that it¡¯s made of, only growing near Edor Lake in Cydonia.¡± ¡°Can we make more?¡± The tall boy asked and jumped lithely from the tree, dousing her in snow and ice on purpose. ¡°How much does it worth?¡± ¡°Not like this one, we can¡¯t,¡± she replied sadly, cleaning her long braided hair from the snow. ¡°And you can¡¯t buy it. You can only earn it.¡±
Aelrindel, of Edlenn The Bonemancer¡¯s Effigies Part II -Six and two hundred-
Aelrindel reached the unmoving Gimoss and kicked him hard in the knee to retaliate for some of the earlier abuse she had received. She then ducked under a retaliating punch afore jumping away just to be extra safe. ¡°What do you want harlot?¡± Gimoss rustled sounding annoyed. ¡°It¡¯s night,¡± she hissed. ¡°We are supposed to go after them. It¡¯s your bloody plan!¡± ¡°We¡¯ll approach, but wait for it to come out. They can¡¯t see me, but them are slippery motherfuckers.¡± This was the most sense he¡¯d made since she met him. Yet still Gimoss didn¡¯t make any sense at all. ¡°How do you know an Aken is around?¡± she probed and watched Faelar and the others reach the west wall of the camp. The place seemingly empty now of the day scavengers. ¡°You told me they are in Raoz. This is Raoz.¡± ¡°I said, we bumped into a couple in Rida,¡± she retorted crossing her arms on her chest mimicking him. ¡°That¡¯s a reach we¡¯ll find them here in the middle of nowhere!¡± ¡°That¡¯s a battlefield dumbbell. Where did you expect them to hang around? The local market? This is a Necros goldmine. Bonemancers are Necros with a lofty name. You get it? I hate dumbbells! Don¡¯t be one!¡± Gimoss growled. Aha. ¡°Still, I¡¯ll have you know I killed Zargatoh,¡± Aelrindel said pressing her lips tight a bit annoyed. ¡°So that¡¯s one less we need to worry about.¡± ¡°AHAHAHA!¡± Gimoss guffawed tipping his head back. ¡°I blew him up seriously,¡± she hissed and the dead wyvern put his chariot helmet on without replying. ¡°He didn¡¯t see it coming.¡± ¡°Even if that¡¯s true,¡± Gimoss grunted. ¡°He would have had a backup. Did you check the head?¡± Aelrindel licked her lips unsure. ¡°I don¡¯t understand. The head?¡± Not much was left. ¡°Only bone they can¡¯t remake. Something must be left behind. To make an Effigy of yourself you need to remove one of your own bones. Not all are extractable and the head is fatal to remove. Haha. Hah! AHAHAHA!¡± Gimoss stopped his insane laughing and stared at her with his freakish split eye. ¡°Be a good harlot now. Say thank you for the lesson oh, great Gimoss. Let me suck your cock out of gratitude. I know you¡¯re thinking about it. You didn¡¯t have to wash. I haven¡¯t repaired the nostrils fully.¡± Ugh, not this line again! ¡°Fuck you,¡± she hissed. ¡°As Glen would say,¡± Gimoss retorted tauntingly. ¡°Twas my meaning.¡± Wait¡­ What? ¡°Hey,¡± she yelled seeing the masked freak starting towards the partially standing wall, her friends had gone behind. ¡°Why did you let them approach first?¡± the sorceress asked running after him, since Gimoss didn¡¯t bother pausing to answer. ¡°Another dumb query. Cutting your hair has dropped your intelligence in half,¡± Gimoss said. Rotten piece of shit! ¡°You used them as bait?¡± She snarled irate and shoved him away to push through a crack in the wooden wall and into the open field.
Aelrindel got out behind a meter high pile of burned bodies and almost crashed on a retreating man heading for the opening she had just emerged from. ¡°Watch it kid,¡± the man said and pushed her away. Kid? What the fuck? ¡°Hey,¡± she hissed on his back and the man paused to look at her. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°The freaks are out. Safety is the other way,¡± the man replied and turned to run away stopping abruptly skewered right through the neck by Gimoss¡¯s spear. The undead brought him closer like a thrashing fish and reached with his free hand to finish him off. ¡°Noble Goddess! What are you doing?¡± Aelrindel admonished him. ¡°He wasn¡¯t a construct!¡± Gimoss tossed the man¡¯s ripped out bloody jaw away, the tongue still flapping on it and then removed his spear to slot it on his back again. ¡°Those are,¡± he said pointing with a gruesome blood dripping finger. ¡°He was just unlucky. Blame Luthos! Bad shit happens when you¡¯re out grave digging. He played the odds!¡± Aelrindel turned around with a hiss and spotted Caruso decapitating a Lorian fifty meters away. Lithoniela stumbling to her feet seemingly unharmed and Faelar chopping another body up as fast as he could. Shit. The sorceress rushed towards them, but she stopped again hearing Grogoceq¡¯s voice coming from the treeline across the opening Prince Nout had cut out of the Oasis. She snarled, boots standing on soft ground, old ashes, soil and bones all mixed in, her eyes looking about for more of them. As luck would have it there was a Cofol standing next to her. Dressed in pieces of armour, no shirt, but a saber in hand. He was listening to Grogoceq talking with Faelar. Aelrindel frowned turned her head around and spotted another one¡¯s back two meters away. This one had no armour on, but carried a longsword. Faelar yelled for them to fall back and Grogoceq blinked out of existence. Every construct moving silently towards her friends obeying to their puppeteer¡¯s command, but for one. He stood four meters away to her right, an Issir dressed in mail carrying a spear. The man blinked in the dark, but the sorceress could see his young face pretty well. He made a step towards her. Then another. ¡°More are here,¡± the soldier said and it was unclear to whom he was talking to. ¡°Leave.¡± Aelrindel raised her hand to blast him away, but a spear whooshed from further back and skewered the construct from the sides. In through the left, out the right shattering ribs and severing his spine. The ¡®Issir¡¯ folded sideways as if broken in half and went down still alive. A worried Aelrindel reached him with a thread and wished the night away to nullify Grogoceq¡¯s advantage. The Aken could travel really far in the dark. Kalina Gail¡­ The Bonemancer had grabbed Lithoniela. But she was still fighting him and they popped out of the woods again. A sphere of pure white light appeared over the field. It washed the darkness away and revealed Grogoceq¡¯s constructs. All twelve of them. Fuck.
Caruso cut an arm off and jumped away from a thrusting spear. Faelar rolled on the ground and shoved his dagger under the chin of a Lorian soldier, but had to dive out of trouble immediately as another three rushed him. Two Cofols and an Issir. Everyone was moving against them and Grogoceq had appeared at the edge of the trees he¡¯d come out from now still holding a dazed, but still fighting Lithoniela by her left arm. Aelrindel ¡®touched¡¯ another construct with an essence thread, but paused unsure on how to stop him and a plainly dressed Cofol girl shoved a small blade in her back grazing a lung. Aelrindel twisted around shocked and in pain and the girl blinked, bloody kitchen knife in hand. ¡°The witch is here,¡± she droned afore her head exploded. Gimoss had hit her so hard her spine snapped and ripped out of her navel. The smell of her innards, mixed with foul gore splashing the ground stomach-turning. ¡°Arrgh!¡± Aelrindel gasped, grinding her teeth and bleeding down her back. ¡°Didn¡¯t see that cunt!¡± ¡°There¡¯s another one,¡± Gimoss told her and shook his shovel to clean up some of the gore. ¡°They made you. We need to flash him out.¡± ¡°Fuck it,¡± the sorceress hissed and glugged a healing potion down. ¡°Go help them you bastard!¡±
Caruso killed a construct, but another came about missing an arm and attacked him. The mercenary retreated measuring his steps. Faelar had killed three of them and seeing Aelrindel approaching grabbed a handful of arrows, cracked a vial open and doused their steel tips with black naphtha. The ranger run the dripping tip on his belt buckle to create a spark and lit it. ¡°BURN THE WOODS!¡± Faelar bellowed as he started firing one flaming arrow after the other, his finely lacquered longbow singing and the smell of incense mixing in the air with that of blood and guts. His face looking a bright white under the levitating sphere of light hanging over the field. Aelrindel couldn¡¯t risk it. Grogoceq got a knee from a still hooded Lithoniela, but used his staff to smack her once upside the head and she went down. No. He made to approach her but stopped shuddering. Stay, the sorceress had commanded. The Aken stood back and stared at her stumbling towards him, a touch of surprise on his face. Then he took a forward step tauntingly and then another, tapping with a finger on his many bone ornaments and pendants hanging from his neck. One of them black as coal and vaguely familiar. Son of a bitch, Aelrindel thought grinding her teeth and breathing heavy. Be rooted. Grogoceq stooped to drag Lithoniela with him, but a long leaf wrapped around his arm and pulled him back. The Aken grunted and ripped his arm free, only to realize his legs had sunk into the soil and thin vines were climbing up his knees. ¡°Ah, you damn witch,¡± he spat with a smack of his lips. ¡°Naught but myself is here. I kill you both and no one will ever know.¡± Aelrindel glanced back and sighed relieved seeing Gimoss arriving to help the others finish off the constructs. ¡°Days old,¡± Grogoceq told her testing his bindings, fucker is not looking too concerned. The sorceress reached him gasping for air, taste of blood in her throat. ¡°Not a big loss. Easily replaced. How are you gonna replace her?¡± Aelrindel turned to check on Lithoniela, but the girl looking back at her wasn¡¯t Lith. She had her cloak on, but her plain scared face was that of a Cofol girl. No. ¡°You don¡¯t need magic to make illusions in the heat of battle,¡± Grogoceq told her. ¡°The mind sees, what the mind wants to see, if the alternative is too scary to fathom,¡± he added with a smirk and blinked out of existence, the smell of burned bone in the air. Aelrindel recoiled still shaken at his trickery and felt the Aken appearing behind her. She twisted around and the staff found the top of her shoulder instead of her head. The sorceress dropped on her knees with an angry groan and the Aken towered over her ominously. ¡°I¡¯ll make a harem of you. Make ye fuck yourself and then eat your own flesh. Over and over,¡± Grogoceq told her unable to contain his excitement. ¡°There are bones enough.¡± A livid Aelrindel whipped her arm out and grabbed his wrist, before he could use his staff again. Grogoceq flinched feeling his bones breaking, a smirk still on his mouth and reached for his pendants. For a moment Aelrindel thought she¡¯d seen one hand too many rifling through the Aken bone ornaments covered chest. Alurae¡­ ¡°DON¡¯T!¡± Gimoss bellowed to snap her out of her murderous trance. ¡°I need the body.¡± The fuck? The Aken showed her his teeth in the pretense of a smile, one snake eye turning slowly white as if rotting away. Faelar and Caruso came running as fast as they could towards them, the ranger already readying another arrow. You got to be kidding me! The sorceress cursed and stood up on shaky legs. ¡°Stay back!¡± She ordered Faelar. ¡°Don¡¯t shoot!¡± ¡°Where¡¯s Lithoniela?¡± Caruso asked, a welt under his eye the size of a small apple. ¡°Doll do you have him?¡± Faelar queried calmly not lowering his bow. ¡°No,¡± Aelrindel replied with a grimace. ¡°That¡¯s Gimoss.¡±
¡°Mother of all griefs,¡± a bewildered Caruso said not five minutes later, eyes darting from the corpse of Gimoss sprawled next to the towering Aken, the latter standing with long arms crossed over his chest, broken wrist dangling and a shovel instead of a staff strapped on his back. ¡°Someone explain what in witch¡¯s tits is going on here!¡± he breathed once deeply and glanced at a dark-faced Aelrindel. ¡°Apologies lass.¡± ¡°They took her,¡± she hissed not minding him, turning her head to glare at the ranger stitching her wound, the same way he would a dead cow for a roast. ¡°Another one?¡± Faelar said with a grimace and shoved her face forward with his free hand. ¡°The same,¡± Gimoss explained. The wyvern was wearing the Aken¡¯s body now. ¡°He¡¯s near.¡± ¡°How do we flash him out?¡± Faelar asked casually, apparently not too shocked at the revelation. ¡°Guys, I need someone to give me some insight here,¡± Caruso protested civilly. ¡°He¡¯s in the woods,¡± Gimoss replied. ¡°Probably made another copy to be able to handle the abundance of material.¡± Caruso looked about them, spotted a corpse still moving and went to finish it off. ¡°We need to burn the field again,¡± Faelar decided, finishing up her poor back. ¡°I¡¯ll go after it.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll stay,¡± Gimoss told him. ¡°The witch will come with me.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t trust you Gimoss,¡± Faelar retorted and glared at Aelrindel. ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s him?¡± ¡°Why did you kill Zilyana?¡± Aelrindel asked the snorting undead wyvern. ¡°Couldn¡¯t help myself. She looked like your sister and you I suppose. Better body,¡± Gimoss replied indifferently. ¡°I know you don¡¯t want to hear it, but this look is horrible harlot. You¡¯ve let yourself go.¡± The sorceress gulped down her face pale. ¡°That¡¯s him alright,¡± she croaked.
The sorceress accepted the dagger from a sullen Faelar, the old ranger looking ancient as if he¡¯d burned out his remaining years in a day. ¡°I can¡¯t let you go alone. I swore to your mother,¡± he told her a tick in his right eye and she touched his wrinkled face softly to sooth him. ¡°Do what you have to Faelar,¡± Aelrindel whispered. ¡°I can¡¯t allow him to take her. We kill the monsters right?¡± The ranger nodded, his eyes tensed. ¡°Right,¡± he croaked. ¡°That motherfucker is moving fast,¡± Gimoss grunted cutting them off. ¡°All this soft-arse bullshit ain¡¯t helping!¡± ¡°Go,¡± she hissed and stared at the mercenary. ¡°Finish up here Caruso. Use a heavy tool, if you can¡¯t get a fire going. I know Ralnor keeps details to a minimum, but no one expected this.¡± ¡°Worst job I¡¯ve ever taken lass, bar none and I raided Nikah¡¯s cellar,¡± he agreed with a grimace. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me. I¡¯m committed.¡± With a sigh, the sorceress rushed after the already moving fast Gimoss. His new body giving him much greater mobility and larger strides.
The darkness inside the woods was thick. It took a moment for her sensitive eyes to adjust, but still she found the terrain difficult to traverse. Bushes had sprang between the trees, vines interconnecting one with the other and for a while they moved in silence, with Aelrindel trying to keep up with the possessed Aken male. She didn¡¯t even know if that was the correct term. ¡°How did you do it this time?¡± she whispered when he paused to stare at a path created deep in the woods leading to the north side of the lake.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. ¡°You know,¡± Gimoss said keeping his voice low. ¡°He carried a bone with him to shield him from your charms. I just had to come close enough to use it.¡± Of course. ¡°What happened to him?¡± ¡°He¡¯s still here. Looking at the bottom of a pit of sorts,¡± Gimoss replied. ¡°He warned the other though. Talky motherfucker.¡± ¡°How do they do it?¡± Aelrindel asked, following after him when he started to move again. ¡°Is it a spell?¡± ¡°A radius, they can increase it if they burn someone else¡¯s life-force. They don¡¯t like that because it ruins the bones, so his copy might not have warned the others still. We must make sure he doesn¡¯t.¡± ¡°It will help if I know the plan,¡± Aelrindel griped slapping a curious bug away. The bug cursed her lineage and buzzed off to complain to his friends. No, fuck you! Aelrindel yelled at the creepy crawler. ¡°It won¡¯t,¡± Gimoss rustled. ¡°You¡¯ll talk in your sleep, or in your dreams. You¡¯ll whisper to your lovers to impress them and brag to your friends. It takes years to travel in this form and you¡¯ll fuck everything up in that time.¡± Whoa. ¡°I¡¯m not stupid Gimoss,¡± she hissed nigh insulted. ¡°I would laugh hard, but I don¡¯t want this sneaky cunt to know we¡¯re coming for him yet,¡± Gimoss replied surprisingly softly. ¡°But you¡¯ve spilled your guts to a duplicitous thug, whilst taking it up the arse with enthusiasm and then made deals with people far smarter than you. The first could be a rumor, but the latter I know for sure.¡± My pretty sorceress, the pirate murmured in her ear. ¡°Ehm,¡± Aelrindel hissed her cheeks burning. ¡°I had to do something!¡± ¡°Also¡­ something hitched a ride in your dagger,¡± Gimoss continued extending a long arm to stop her, cupping her breast fully in the process and giving it a good squeeze. Aelrindel recoiled angry. ¡°It whispers in that fool¡¯s ear I¡¯m sure. Whatever the Aken did, wasn¡¯t what they intended and they know it.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°You can¡¯t bind anything to a wyvern¡¯s bone, it¡¯s not a lamp. It hurts to connect with it in spirit form,¡± Gimoss rustled. ¡°But it can be a door for some powerful pain-tolerant motherfucker lurking between realms, if he can hold on to it and he has rage enough, or scores to settle.¡± ¡°Like you,¡± she hissed rubbing her hurting chest. Gimoss nodded. ¡°See?¡± he taunted. ¡°All you need is a good ole fuck and your brain will start working again. Don¡¯t pout, I needed it too. It¡¯s how these stupid weak bodies work. Fucking bullshit!¡± ¡°You said to keep quiet!¡± Aelrindel admonished him. ¡°That was then. He¡¯s twenty meters up ahead near the shore. They hate swimming,¡± he told her and stepped back several large strides to hide behind a large trunk. ¡°I had to warn him, so it can be believable you¡¯re alone. You¡¯re a walking idiot in the woods, but I need to remain unseen. Go get him sorceress. Save the girl, succeed where your mother failed. For poor Rin. May she be resting in pieces!¡± The Aken/Gimoss urged her popping his hideous head out, long arm appearing to give her a thumb¡¯s up and a wide disturbing grin. What? You fucking piece of shit! The crack of a snapping branch chilling her boiling blood. ¡°Is that you?¡± Grogoceq asked, in his slithering alien accent and then clicked his tongue. ¡°What happened?¡± Shit. Aelrindel glanced at the old tree, the last afore the large opening leading to the shore of the lake. She was never fond of climbing, but her hand touched the smooth trunk and felt the fig tree¡¯s heartbeat in her mind. The calling to reach the top of the canopy strong. ¡°Eh. He¡¯s gone, isn¡¯t he?¡± Grogoceq said and she saw his shady long figure moving about in the opening. The moonlight making his copper-colored skin appear a dark blue where it wasn¡¯t painted white. ¡°Is that you witch?¡± Ugh. ¡°How did you do it? Magic?¡± Grogoceq asked. ¡°I bet you¡¯re spent now eh? Come out, let us talk. I¡¯m more reasonable than the other guy.¡± Fuck it. ¡°I thought you were the same,¡± Aelrindel said and pushed the branches aside to step into the opening. An artificial one, trees cut and stubs uprooted at a ten meter radius to the edges of the water. Even the soil scrubbed clean and turned flat. Grogoceq took a step and touched the bottom of his long staff down. The top of his head bald and a little pointy. She couldn¡¯t find any difference between the two copies other than the different robes. This Aken Effigy had a pair of blue ones on and wore a woman¡¯s gold bracelet on his right hand. Or a girl¡¯s. He noticed her stare and grinned. ¡°I had to give her up. He insisted. Rank and all that. It was a good enough plan.¡± Faelar had sliced the girl¡¯s throat unceremoniously, before they realized she wasn¡¯t a construct. You face an Aken Bonemancer and you¡¯re never the same afterwards the old veterans always remembered back in Dan, when Sulynor and Faelar were in their cups. There was always trickery involved. ¡°Where¡¯s is she?¡± Aelrindel hissed and reached for that large tree with an invisible thread. ¡°Let¡¯s make a trade,¡± Grogoceq retorted and touched his bone covered chest. The vines jumped towards him, but they were late and coming from too far. A loud flapping sound was heard, as the pungent smell of burned bone reached her nostrils, an extended thin root going through his chest and then the Aken jumped away almost to the edge of the water. Unharmed. Aelrindel hissed irate and stepped forward, her right palm facing the ground, arm extended. Another step and her right boot stepped in squelchy mud, a three meter wide not very deep hole filled with it, but deep enough to trip her up. ¡°Watch your step,¡± Grogoceq snickered unable to contain his glee, as Aelrindel stumbled forward with a yelp arms flailing, then slipped properly and went splashing down in the thick muck. Shite! She thrashed right and then left in her attempt to find dry ground, her face and neck covered in badly smelling mire, but determined to get out. Grogoceq¡¯s staff smacking her once on the left shoulder when she did. Aelrindel felt her still healing, stitched wound below her shoulder blade open up again. Ouch. Fucking pig! Grogoceq flipped the long staff in his hands, pulling it back, but just as he whipped it forward again aiming for her head a powerful breeze blew out of the trees and pushed him backwards two meters. Aelrindel got up cursing under her breath and raised her right arm. Khael. The watery mud turning to ice behind her. ¡°Too far,¡± Grogoceq snickered and jumped away from the trees just in case, landing four meters to her left. A large heavy piece of hardened mud smacking the center of his body when he did. The tall Aken doubled over with a muffled pant of pain and then he was hurled sideways by another blast of roaring wind, several branches snapping all around them in a pandemonium and bombarding the Aken. The opening filled with debris. Grogoceq stumbled to his feet groaning and holding his left side. Cante nae calae. ¡°Fucking witch,¡± he cursed livid and ogled his snake eyes seeing the small fireball traveling towards him. The Aken blinked out of existence, the trees behind his disappearing body exploding in bright flames. Aelrindel reached for the next root to make another one, a large apricot tree dying nearby his fruits turned black, but smelled the Aken on her back and switched to a levitate spell to move away. She jumped impossibly high, her body weightless, but the long staff caught her right thigh on her ascend and messed up her landing. Bad. Oh, for crying out loud! Aelrindel plummeted to the ground, amassing bruises faster than an overworked port whore does rushes, arms flailing to find purchase and her left knee buckling when she did. ¡°ARGGH!¡± she cried livid and felt Grogoceq¡¯s long finger penetrating her ribcage and anchor on a thin bone. A savage pull and the edge of the bone snapped with a jolt of pain that pierced her brain, the skin tearing even more when his long finger exited covered in blood. Aelrindel went down on her hurting knees with a gasp, her legs turning to rubber. The emboldened Aken reached and grabbed her by the throat to lift her back up again. ¡°My first vote when I turned Elder,¡± he rustled in her face reminiscing, breath smelling of poison. ¡°Was to have you killed and turned into clay statues,¡± Aelrindel gasped, gulping blood and feeling her chest burning where the bone protruded out of the wound. Grinding her teeth she reached for Faelar¡¯s dagger strapped on her waist. Keep talking bitch. ¡°Flesh on the inside. I changed my mind. I¡¯m going to make a couple of hundred of you. More. Aye,¡± he decided and grimaced, one eye closing when her blade pierced his lung. ¡°That¡¯s what the other guy said,¡± Aelrindel spat and a groaning Grogoceq let her go faltering on his long legs, the dagger stuck in his chest. The sorceress landed on weakened knees and stumbled backwards herself, trying to find her footing and failing, a glowing hand pressing the bleeding hole to repair some of the damage. She didn¡¯t even see the staff coming at her. A crack and her head snapped back violently, the back of her dome turning numb. She lost her senses for a moment and found them when she crashed hard on her back. ¡°Gaah!¡± The sorceress whined hurting so much and in so many unlikely places she couldn¡¯t feel anything else but pain. Ugh. At first she thought her neck had broken, then her head, but other than a large throbbing swelling on her left temple and her scrabbled brains, the Aken¡¯s blow had failed to take her out somehow. ¡°I don¡¯t like dead subjects,¡± Grogoceq answered her riddle. ¡°It¡¯s not pleasurable. Others preach differently, but I¡¯m fixing to start my own school. Now seeing as I have been caught unawares in the past, I try to plan accordingly,¡± he added and removed her dagger, dark blood pouring out of the wound. The Aken were notoriously difficult to kill. He flipped it in his hand and slotted it in a harness under his robes, worn over naked skin. The fact she could see his thin copper-colored cock dangling underneath almost made her vomit. The Aken grunted and reaching grabbed her by her hurt leg, in order to drag her ten meters near the other side of the artificial beach, where he¡¯d set up a small now extinct campfire, right next to a pile of supplies covered with a blanket. The opening probably their base of operations. Grogoceq had been in Queen¡¯s Oasis Lake for a while. ¡°There she is,¡± he told her and pulled the blanket away to reveal a tied up with a thin hemp rope Lithoniela. The rope so tight, it had cut into her skin and turned dark with her blood. The female Zilan¡¯s torso naked, the skin a pale white, a long thin cut low on her belly fiercely red and still bleeding, the blood pooling at her navel. Motherfucker! ¡°Still alive,¡± Grogoceq assured her and pressed the thrashing sorceress back down on her arse with his long staff. ¡°Fire another fucking fireball. See if you get me this time,¡± he taunted. ¡°I fought a thousand battles you stupid bitch. The Painted God shall assure I live forever, times six and two hundred.¡± The number of bones his original body carried. Aelrindel blinked, set her jaw and tried again anyway. The dark opening deep inside the idyllic Oasis turning sinister, the top of the nearby trees bending and the moons turning brighter in the clear desert sky. Scratch one time out smelly fucker! The Aken¡¯s long leg caught the chanting sorceress right at the bleeding wound and lifted her clean off the ground, Lith¡¯s muffled gasp the only warning. Aelrindel felt the weakened cracked rib breaking properly this time and she got to hurt her right elbow on a sharp branch as a bonus. A large piece of skin tearing right off to her wrist and flapping over her hand like a long sleeve. Ugh. Ouch. ¡°Umph,¡± she managed to say, her mouth locked from agony. ¡°You¡¯re not worth the trouble,¡± Grogoceq decided with a grimace and then flinched trying to blink out of existence, Faelar¡¯s singing arrow faster than him. The Aken stumbled backwards, but found his footing and jumped over the tied up Lith, Aelrindel¡¯s knife in hand and an arrow protruding out of his back. ¡°Show some fucking backbone for once,¡± Faelar rustled and came out of the trees. Aelrindel was so happy to see him she started coughing up, blood mixed in her spit. ¡°What would Suharto say?¡± The Aken smacked his lips and stood up. Faelar slotted his bow over his shoulder and reached for his steel peleg. ¡°You owe him a leg. Twenty six fucking bones from his first body. Wasted,¡± Grogoceq spat angry and reached to extract the arrow from his back, the joints on his arm cracking, the angle unnatural. ¡°It was a good trap,¡± Faelar admitted proudly and glanced at the two females. ¡°I really hoped he¡¯d land on his bald head and rid myself of an Elder.¡± ¡°The war was over ranger. Fucking hypocrite,¡± Grogoceq grunted and sheathed his dagger on his harness again. Faelar¡¯s dagger technically. The former Imperial Ranger grimaced, old face hardening. ¡°Apparently it hadn¡¯t,¡± he rustled and sidestepped as the Aken had ¡®Walked between the Realms¡¯ again, a thought apocryphal dark magic spell the Bonemancers of Galith had perfected during the war and appeared next to him. Close, but not close enough. Grogoceq swung with his staff, but Faelar rolled under it and chopped him once above the knee. The Aken pulled it back, but he wasn¡¯t fast enough and the ranger¡¯s blade turned red. Faelar sidestepped out of the way, removed the satchel¡¯s strap over his head and tossed it towards the sorceress. It bounced on the ground once and rolled next to her injured hand. Grogoceq tried again swinging his staff like a two handed sword, but the ranger ducked under it and snapped his arm to cut him across his belly. The Aken blinked out of existence and the duel turned savage right after that.
Aelrindel reached inside the leather satchel, the rich smell of sage and incense reaching her when she opened it, Faelar was notorious for not expending supplies, a tearing eye on the two old enemies duking it out under the moonlight. Faelar jerked his head away, the ironwood whooshing a hair from his nose and then dived out of a brutal downward cut. The staff bounced off the ground, the ranger rolled again to his right, just as the Aken blinked out of existence again and reappeared where Faelar ended up. Down came the staff, the old ranger dodging it sidestepping and going for that hurt knee again. Grogoceq grunted, the smell of burning bone so thick, Aelrindel felt her stomach turning, despite burning incense herself to cast a rejuvenation spell. She needed ten fucking seconds, since this wasn¡¯t a battle spell. Or thirty, since her hurting mind just couldn¡¯t function under these horrible conditions! The Aken popped out behind Faelar, the staff already in full swing aiming for his neck, but stopping on a raised arm. Aelrindel heard the bone breaking from five meters away and flinched panicked trying to remember her chants with Lith¡¯s muffled horrified cries not helping her at all. Goddess! What the fuck! Where¡¯s that stupid wyvern! Faelar ducked under the returning staff, his jaw clenched and left arm broken below the elbow, a bloody bone protruding under his sleeve. Grogoceq roared irate at the near miss and jumped back, turning a swing into a lunge. Faelar parried it away with the exotic throwing axe and the Aken flipped the long weapon in his hand to come at him again. The ranger going as fast in the return with his own weapon. A gawking, manically chanting Aelrindel caught out of the corner of her right eye someone getting out of the lake. The blank-faced Issir wearing rusting chainmail and armed with a spear, walked slowly on to the beach, soaked white head covered in weeds. Faelar had wounded Grogoceq¡¯s other knee, the joint almost severed there, but the Aken blinked out of existence with a shriek and escaped him. Fuck! Aelrindel thought seeing the surprised ranger stumbling to his legs and then going down on a knee. His own dagger stuck in his chest. Oh, no god dammit! Noooo! A white-faced Faelar glanced at the shocked sorceress and then at the approaching her construct that had come out of the lake. He grimaced, Grogoceq limping slowly towards him bleeding down both knees and with a grunt flipped the peleg in his hand, caught its butt and hurled it across the large forest opening as hard as he could.
¡°There you are,¡± Faelar said looming over her and picked her up easily in his arms. ¡°Your mother wants to talk with you.¡± ¡°You smell funny,¡± Aelrindel gripped hugging his neck, naked legs dangling over his strong arm and sniffed at his dark-green leather armour. ¡°And I can walk, among other things,¡± she teased him with a wicked smile. ¡°I smell of foul monsters Doll,¡± Faelar replied and tossed her over his shoulder to give her a nasty slap on the bum. ¡°And you¡¯ll walk on your own someday, but not today.¡± ¡°Did you kill them foul monsters?¡± She asked with a pout that usually worked on him and her mother shook her head smiling seeing them approach, long legs resting on a small table in the shade of her Orchard. ¡°It¡¯s what your mother and I do,¡± he replied and with a twirl dropped her down to stand on her own. ¡°Any way we can.¡±
The steel axe smashed the construct that had reached the two females on the left side of his head, the cranium caving in and changing shape, red flaps of dark skin unfolding, face distorting and his eyes blasting out of their sockets in a spray of gore. Grogoceq cursed and kicked the wounded ranger down, just as the Issir collapsed on his destroyed head with a shudder. Aelrindel stopped her stupid spell and started another. Her essence reaching deep in the cleared out ground for the still living roots sleeping there. The Aken cleaved Faelar on the head breaking his cheekbone and then turned around to glare at the slowly getting up sorceress. ¡°For fuck¡¯s sake,¡± Grogoceq cursed and started limping towards her frustrated. ¡°You can¡¯t best a Bonemancer in the dark you stubborn bitch!¡± ¡°You can¡¯t best a witch in the woods you dumb fuck!¡± Aelrindel roared livid, bloody spittle flying out of her mouth and the ground opened under the Aken¡¯s injured legs, hundreds of small and bigger chasms, white roots bursting out of them to tie him up. ¡°Hah!¡± Grogoceq snickered and tried to move his leg, the roots tightening up and traveling upwards whilst pulling him down. The flesh opening at the joint, blood pouring down his sinewy elongated shins and the bone cracking until it snapped and his right leg detached at the knee. ¡°Shit! Oh well, I¡¯ll just do it the fast way,¡± he grunted grinding his teeth, whilst eyeing her with hatred and reached for his chest where his many bone-pendants where hanging. He never got to touch any of them. Another hand sprouted out of his exploding chest cavity, ribs and sternum cracking open outwards like a giant strange flower, the ornaments flying everywhere, this new hand covered in gore and equally long. The gory hand moved about, cracking and twisting at the joint and then reached upwards for the traumatized and utterly shocked Aken¡¯s neck. The brutal third hand grabbed its neck fully, long fingers wrapping around and pressing down hard. Grogoceq gasped trying to breathe, his mouth opened wide, forked tongue dancing this way and that, spraying blood. He tried to reach back with his left hand, whilst broken ribs, pieces of his torn blood-dripping lungs fell between his legs, along with half his yellow fluid leaking liver. Grogoceq, the one getting strangled through his innards from the back, found the other Grogoceq¡¯s snarling manically head and sunk his long thumb into his milky left eye viciously. The eye popped, white and red fluids soaking Gimoss¡¯ face and then the real Grogoceq¡¯s neck snapped with a loud crack, a moment before Aelrindel emptied her stomach between her legs. She didn¡¯t have time to open her mouth fully, so some of the puke came out of her nose.
¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± Aelrindel kept murmuring moments later, untying Lith¡¯s binds with trembling hands. The tortured younger Zilan groaned desperately when she did and spat a mouthful of blood mixed with pieces of flesh out, shaking even more than the sorceress. ¡°We¡¯ll heal you back up again,¡± Aelrindel assured her glancing at the body of Faelar. The ranger had crawled near the large fig tree, leaving a blood trail behind that appeared black in the dark, one side of the forest burning fully now, filling the opening with long sinister shadows. ¡°He cut¡­ something out,¡± Lithoniela gasped clasping at her bleeding wound. Aelrindel found another healing potion in the satchel and paused unsure for a moment, but then offered it to the pale-faced Lith. ¡°Take it,¡± she hissed, decision made. ¡°I¡¯ll see to Faelar myself.¡± She could cast another spell. ¡°He¡¯s gone,¡± Gimoss informed her indifferently. He was stooped over the dead Aken and slowly ripped the skin and scrapped the flesh off his face with his nails. The sound so disgusting, the scene so grisly, a distraught Aelrindel would have fainted, but for the blind rage that exploded out of her. ¡°Shut up!¡± She growled and stood up, her knees buckling, one of them swollen grotesquely. ¡°Where were you? You fucking rotten bastard!¡± Gimoss, now in the body of the twice killed in a night Grogoceq, an eye missing and leaking foul fluids down his hated face, picked up the bloody flayed head and looked at it closely for a long moment. ¡°Fuck you!¡± Aelrindel hissed livid at his indifference, tears running down her dirty face and made to walk towards the unmoving ranger. Gimoss dropped the bloody skull down and stepped on it. Once and the bone cracked. Twice and it gave, splattering the Aken¡¯s brains around his foot and on it. ¡°Oh, gods!¡± She gasped, having witnessed enough horrors to never sleep again. Gimoss extended an arm and stopped her when she tried to walk away. ¡°Use the axe to break the construct¡¯s head,¡± he told her. Aelrindel turned to stare at the dead Issir. Lithoniela had stood up, her expression dark and went to do the ghastly deed herself. ¡°What about the other bones?¡± She asked, her hands shaking and seeing black spots in her vision, the crackling lights of the spreading fire not helping. ¡°You pulverize the head and you¡¯re fine,¡± Gimoss replied. ¡°The rest is tales with little worth and superstition. Did you think I used the shovel, because I¡¯m weird?¡± Yes? She thought. They both watched for a while a crazed Lith chopping the Issir¡¯s smashed skull into ever smaller pieces with Faelar¡¯s axe, not bothered from the blood splatter soaking her. ¡°Same way you know if you killed the original,¡± Gimoss added and stepped out of the disgusting pile of mushed bloody bones and brains he was standing in. ¡°It¡¯s much more elongated than a human¡¯s, or a Zilan¡¯s skull. Not as robust as a dwarf¡¯s. Or the way a Gish¡¯s skull is rounder and smaller. Though much tastier.¡± Aelrindel blinked at the casually thrown remark, her swollen temple throbbing. Gimoss sighed and stared at the flames eating away at this part of the Oasis forlornly. Then he turned to glance at the still smashing the Issir¡¯s head Lith and the now sobbing Aelrindel. He smacked his mauve lips, long forked tongue darting in and out, snake eye slowly turning into his usual black and red wyvern colors. From a distance you could mistake it for burgundy. ¡°It¡¯s a better body this. It will do,¡± he told her, as if she cared about his stupid body. ¡°It helps in many ways witch,¡± Gimoss grimaced and stared at the night sky for a moment. ¡°Long road ahead of me. I reckon ahead of you, or short. Eh. You fought bravely today little witch. Aye. You made your mother proud. Never gave up, much as your sister.¡± Aelrindel shook her head in despair. She didn¡¯t want to hear this at that moment. ¡°Not many can stand their ground when certain death and mutilation stares them in the face,¡± Gimoss continued casually. ¡°Those that do, have a chance to grasp an unlikely win. It¡¯s not luck. Luck is no armor. The moment you believe it, you¡¯re back into the mud. Luthos offers ye the mummer¡¯s trade and he¡¯ll screw you raw where it hurts the most. But you did stand your ground, so take pride in that. Look ahead.¡± Aelrindel wiped her eyes with the back of her good hand. ¡°Wow. Here come the dead wyvern¡¯s wise words! You expect me to do this shit all over again?¡± the sorceress croaked, her mouth hurting when she talked. ¡°You can¡¯t be that stupid. It¡¯s fucking unnatural,¡± Gimoss grunted. ¡°I said you fought well, not that you would¡¯ve survived. Do you know what unlikely means? Anyway, you only breathe because we had a deal. That¡¯s it. If it¡¯s advice you seek, then I suggest you retire somewhere afar both of you.¡± ¡°Like in Wetull?¡± Aelrindel asked sniffling. Gimoss stood back with a frown, lanky body towering over her and shook his bald head disappointed. ¡°I take it back,¡± he grunted scrunching his mouth in disgust. ¡°You actually are a total buffoon. Dumber than a bag of hammers. A brick can run circles around you dumbbell! Fuck! PRAISE BE GIMOSS THE TOLERANT! Eh, that makes two of you by the way,¡± he murmured after his outburst, eyeing the mess Lith had made in her frenzy. ¡°Then again, add that other fool into the fucking mix and you girls can make a traveling troupe! AHAHAHA!¡± Gimoss, now in his Aken body that steel shovel strapped on his back, walked out of the burning Oasis that night and disappeared into the desert. Aelrindel was certain they won¡¯t ever see him again in her lifetime. But right at the end, she did.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 295. A worthy prize
¡®A dream¡¯, the disoriented witch thought in her slumber. ¡®What¡¯s a dream? An image of the past? A tale of the future?¡¯ ¡®Or a glimpse of the present?¡¯ The guard wearing the Great Tree on his bronze cuirass led the odd couple in. A worn-out officer and a scarred ranger, sporting a horrifically burned left arm. Though healed, the white deformed skin left behind showing big parts of her flesh missing underneath. ¡°Vulas,¡± the petty Lord said from his high-back chair. ¡°We feared the worst, when the bodies washed ashore.¡± ¡°The worst my Lord,¡± Vulas replied gravely and she realized part of his left cheek was completely missing, along the brow to the bone and the eye, the fire leaving a hole in the soft flesh there, he covered with a leaking scarf. It made his words come out garbled. ¡°Has already happened. Less than thirty survived. Half your force is enslaved by Hardir. Most of the Council as well.¡± ¡®My-my¡¯, she thought. ¡®The time of Hardir O¡¯ Fardor sister. That¡¯s how it always starts. But which time, I wonder?¡¯ ¡°Ah,¡± the Lord gasped in horror, trying to avert his eyes from his officer¡¯s condition. ¡°You did all that you could my old friend, it was an impossible task with a wyvern involved.¡± ¡°Roran joined Anfalon, Lord Rothomir,¡± the female ranger hissed. ¡°Hid behind his shadow.¡± ¡°Had Lord Suraer offered his help,¡± Rothomir replied bitterly. ¡°Perhaps this catastrophe could have been averted.¡± ¡°It wouldn¡¯t. He¡¯s Hardir and a sorcerer, a warlock at the very least,¡± the ranger spat. ¡°He¡¯ll kill us all unless he¡¯s stopped. Don¡¯t expect a deal to save your neck. His acolytes will burn everything down. He¡¯ll leave nothing standing!¡± ¡°I can¡¯t stop him!¡± Rothomir protested with a yell and got up frustrated. ¡°It¡¯s over.¡± ¡°That wrathful tarantula Aenymriel walks by his side. Here comes the reign of madness, exiles and killers.¡± ¡°Aargh!¡± Rothomir gasped and gestured for her to stop, but she didn¡¯t all fired up. ¡°You wanted the throne,¡± the ranger snarled and approached him, with Rothomir waving the guard away. ¡°That¡¯s how you get it.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t risk the city,¡± Lord Rothomir murmured and grabbed his head with both hands. ¡°Younglings, civilians. The wyvern will spare no one. He¡¯s proven that.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t fight him in the city. Let him have it,¡± a toneless voice said and a familiar face stepped out of the shadows. Familiar yet dull, his spirit diminished, but not his handsome face. ¡°But do what¡¯s necessary, or surrender the people to an evil tyrant,¡± Paeris advised him. ¡°He¡¯s not a benevolent arbiter Rothomir and he won¡¯t go away after he¡¯s finished. This is the worst possible turn of the Sibyls prophecy. The Empire is doomed.¡± Hmm. ¡°How do I do that?¡± Rothomir murmured in despair and the ranger tossed a sparkling piece of jewelry to his feet. ¡°Wake the witch,¡± the female ranger hissed, her eyes glowing with hatred. ¡°Avenge those slain. Don¡¯t let him rule.¡± ¡®Ah¡¯, the ancient sorceress thought interested. ¡®Imagine that.¡¯ ¡®A dream of the present.¡¯ ¡®Black and malicious.¡¯ ¡®Hellish.¡¯ ¡®He-he.¡¯
Glen Arguen Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Lord O¡¯ Morn Taras Monarch of Sinya Goras A worthy prize
You solve a plaguin¡¯ problem of sorts, then another immediately pops out of the god-darn woodwork, Glen thought sourly. Wylinor and Shalia, Maeriel¡¯s pupils he¡¯d freed after the battle of Serpent Canal, waited for him to reply standing stiffly before his field table. Fuck it, just let them go hunting. He waved them off with a gesture and they trotted away, Folen stepping forward when they did ready to say something, but hesitating. ¡°Yes!¡± Glen snapped irate standing up, the chair tumbling down behind him making a ruckus that was lost in the noise of many people hurrying towards the banks of the canal. ¡°There¡¯s some talk,¡± Folen started. ¡°About the affair.¡± ¡°Already?¡± Glen grunted absentmindedly and glanced at the overturned chair. ¡°What affair? There¡¯s no bloody affair!¡± ¡°Apparently Darunia wanted to look for some shade flowers¡ª¡± ¡°I have no idea what the fuck you¡¯re talking about!¡± Glen exploded and Vaelenn eyed the former bard, bar and brothel owner, now working as his Master of Silence reproachfully. ¡°Just wild flowers flourishing in the shade Garth,¡± Folen elucidated. Glen started rapping his fingers on the table, an eye watching the people rush towards the Canal. Is this fucking rumor real? What the hell? ¡°Like under the bridge¡¯s supports,¡± Folen continued. ¡°Right. So she went to look¡­¡± Glen murmured. ¡°Per your orders, Sam escorted her¡ª¡± ¡°I gave him no such order!¡± ¡°You did Garth.¡± You piece of honest shite! I did. ¡°Not to follow her under a plaguin¡¯ bridge!¡± He protested in righteous indignation for all to hear. That sounded shady as fuck. Who does that? ¡°He did. Upon their return Kalac, who¡¯d learned about their trip in the shade, confronted Sam Mathews,¡± Folen said quickly. ¡°Accusing him of taking his spoils of the raid.¡± ¡°THERE WAS NO GOD DARN RAID!¡± Glen blasted the blinking Zilan and Folen stood back to comb dishelmed blue hair with his fingers, afore continuing. ¡°In a sense there was. Sam didn¡¯t agree with Kalac and the Horselords present made to attack him. Mercenaries got mixed up in the brawl and Kalac suggested they settle the matter with a duel.¡± ¡°Kirk!¡± Glen yelled abruptly. ¡°Milord,¡± Kirk replied startling him, standing a couple of feet to his right. Good grief! ¡°Are the horses ready?¡± he asked in a normal tone, after cleaning his throat and grinning widely to the scared at his outburst pale-faced Vaelenn. ¡°Of course,¡± the always dependable Kirk replied. ¡°Garth, it¡¯s a pleasant and short walking distance,¡± Folen reminded him and Glen nodded, afore giving him his curt reply. ¡°For that you get to walk it truthful friend. Work on your cardio. Kirk, we¡¯re riding there now.¡±
Glen rode a fresh Outlaw hard near the shores, where a large crowd had gathered. Mercenaries, Horselords and Hoplites amongst the agitated civilians. A lot of armed very excited folk was a potent mix that could turn this ¡®affair¡¯ ugly fast. He jumped from the saddle lithely, with extra panache for the ladies present, landing with a grimace as despite his special boot, he was still missing a toe and tossed the reins to Kirk that had followed him in his mad and very irresponsible dash through the flocking to the shores people.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Glen spotted Marlo and a grim faced Sam immediately in a group, Darunia looking behind their broad shoulders curious, Kalac, Tarn and Belec in the smaller Horselords crowd and even Roran with a good number of Hoplites in another. ¡°Everyone disperse immediately!¡± He roared to be heard and walked between the parties. The crowd murmured and he turned his head about energetically to glare at them. ¡°Everyone but the culprits get the fuck out of here!¡± He blasted them irate, his eyes gawking crazy and the civilians dispersed, but most of the better armed folk remained. ¡°Kirk!¡± Glen bellowed and crossed his arms. ¡°Guards are coming here Milord. We¡¯ll deal with them,¡± Kirk assured him from atop his horse. Right. Glen walked to the mercenary, stopping a meter from him. ¡°Sam,¡± he said trying to keep it civil. ¡°What is going on here?¡± Sam Mathews scratched his unshaved chin with a gloved finger and stared at the scowling Horselords first, then at the Hoplites. ¡°Kalac took offense I got to escort Lady Darunia,¡± he finally said. ¡°Per my orders,¡± Glen added eyeing the stern Horselord leader. Kalac¡¯s face resembled a well-worn leather saddle, without the softness. Tarn ¨Canother weathered and scarred mug- scoffed at his words and Glen frowned not expecting the rebuke. ¡°They presumed I fooled around with her,¡± Sam grunted. ¡°Which I wouldn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Sam is very honorable,¡± Darunia added and Glen glared at her not seeing how that first name familiarity helped him defuse the situation. ¡°Maybe she bend from the waist to pick a flower,¡± Glen started spitballing a likely scenario. ¡°And you went to help her, someone passing by might have mistaken you standing behind her for¡­ ehm, something else,¡± a flustered Darunia giggling, finding it hilarious. ¡°I did no such thing!¡± Sam retorted sternly, genuinely affronted. Eh. Glen stood back. ¡°I believe you,¡± he said and turned around to go talk with the Horselords that had approached as well to hear their conversation. The still gathered crowd now turning relatively quiet. ¡°Kalac, you know Mathews,¡± Glen started but he never got the chance to finish. ¡°He knows you as well,¡± Tarn grunted. ¡°Longer than the mercenary.¡± ¡°Tarn, what the fuck is your problem here?¡± Glen retorted crossing his arms. ¡°Nimra,¡± Tarn replied and the Horselords nodded behind him with a loud murmur. ¡°And all those lost for this mission. We follow Kalac, son of Duham and he follows you. But what we lose don¡¯t balance the scale when we add the winnings.¡± Glen blinked slowly, crumpling his closed lips right and left over his clenched teeth. The one made of white gold bothering him. ¡°Darunia isn¡¯t part of the spoils,¡± he finally said. ¡°What you capture is yours, if the fight is won. The enemy is defeated,¡± Tarn said and Belec agreed nodding audibly. ¡°You spill blood for it, then in blood shall you be repaid, or in flesh. A leader not providing that shouldn¡¯t lead. A man losing what he captured, is no man,¡± the hardened horselord finished. His case made. Ah, Glen thought seeing Kalac¡¯s grim face. I see now. ¡°Darunia can¡¯t be part of any spoils,¡± Glen started. ¡°Justly won, or otherwise,¡± he added seeing the hard stares on their faces. ¡°Because she¡¯s promised to Lord Rothomir. We don¡¯t deal in women like furniture gents.¡± Tarn grimaced not agreeing with him. ¡°Well, one might argue that yer wife fits that description Milord,¡± Marlo said treading carefully. ¡°Just keeping it honest here.¡± Glen felt acid forming in his stomach and he had to dry retch to relieve some of the pressure. ¡°Rothomir lost the fight,¡± Kalac reminded him. ¡°He has no claim on her.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Darunia intervened sounding surprised. ¡°Is that a thing?¡± Glen whipped his head back to give her a warning glare. ¡°There¡¯s no way I let him lay a hand on Lady Darunia,¡± Sam said before he could think of a way around this new development. Glen eyed him frustrated and Roran who hadn¡¯t spoken up until now decided to voice his two cents. Rather dramatically. ¡°I¡¯ll fight whomever wins to the death,¡± the Hoplite Leader announced sternly. ¡°And keep Lady Darunia out of their hands.¡± Why in the slovenly fuck would ye do that? ¡°You¡¯re a friend of Rothomir or something?¡± Glen grunted. ¡°Nothing to do with that,¡± Roran replied stiffly. ¡°You fancy Lady Darunia perchance?¡± He hazarded a guess. He could kinda respect him sneaking in at the last moment to pinch her for himself, despite the latter not being helpful to Glen¡¯s plans. ¡°Roran? Aelinole is a childhood friend,¡± Darunia gushed, a bit scandalized at the prospect. Glen hadn¡¯t anticipated the conversation getting derailed so much. The Hoplite¡¯s face contorted, the Zilan visibly in distress, so there was something there, he decided. ¡°I¡¯m tasked with defending your line Darunia. I won¡¯t shy away from it,¡± he grunted. ¡°I¡¯m the noblest bloodline available.¡± ¡°What about Anfalon?¡± Glen probed curious and trying to buy himself time to think of a solution, mostly to pacify the Horselords without shaming Kalac, as he didn¡¯t really fear Sam and Roran would cause him much problems. Well, Roran might, he decided, not wanting to marry himself to the notion. He¡¯s too handsome to trust fully. ¡°Lymsiel is with child,¡± the Hoplite replied, what apparently was public knowledge in the ranks. Glen had no idea and milked it for all it was worth. ¡°You don¡¯t say,¡± he stalled, faking interest. ¡°Hardir, I just did,¡± Roran replied with a frown. ¡°Everybody probably knows.¡± ¡°I knew,¡± Darunia admitted shyly. ¡°She told me.¡± Great. ¡°What about Onas?¡± he asked. He¡¯s old as shit. ¡°Olonelis would have his balls,¡± Roran replied. ¡°He couldn¡¯t risk it.¡± Which meant Onas had considered it. Eh, you old goat you. Ha-ha. Ah, back to the grim reality, he thought, having formulated a solution of sorts. He was thinking on his feet here. ¡°Kalac you can¡¯t have Darunia,¡± Glen announced soberly. Raising his voice to prevent the inevitable outburst. ¡°Let me finish. Sam you can¡¯t have her either and neither does Roran.¡± There. Justice. Wow, he thought genuinely impressed with himself. Now I just add a bit of cheese to balance it out. If Glen could he would have patted himself on the back. It was a poignant half a second. ¡°Why?¡± Darunia asked with a pout. ¡°Mister Kalac said that I¡¯m free¡ª¡± ¡°Darunia let me finish!¡± Glen roared tipping his head back to stare at the sky frustrated. ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake!¡± ¡°Apologies Hardir¡ª¡± ¡°DON¡¯T TALK!¡± Glen growled cutting her off. ¡°Not another plaguin¡¯ word!¡± He paused to draw a long breath, sweat running down his face and then he let it out the mouth. ¡°God darn it,¡± Glen growled. ¡°What was I saying?¡± His mouth felt dry, the sun blasting him in the face not helping. The moment gone. ¡°They can¡¯t have Lady Darunia. Milord,¡± Kirk reminded him, stooping down from his horse. The horse snorting and releasing a big greenish turd down with a splash. ¡°Right,¡± Glen said a bit distracted at the size. ¡°Since I value your contribution though,¡± he continued turning to a scowling Kalac. ¡°You¡¯ll get to have a prize no other Horselord has ever claimed afore.¡± This was a gamble. ¡°What would that prize be?¡± Kalac queried his interest piqued due to Glen¡¯s usage of a lot of fancy words. ¡°Not a mere female, exotic or otherwise for sure,¡± Glen replied, as he¡¯d no females available to spare and he needed something in hand to convince this group. The alternative was to have them arrested, but that would look really bad. Not to mention the Horselords would probably resist arrest, then they¡¯ll get summarily slaughtered and more pyres prepared, since he couldn¡¯t let Uvrycres eat them in front of all Goras faithful. If you throw your allies under the proverbial wagon¡¯s wheels, after they bled to death, or got imprisoned following your orders ¨Ceh, sort of followed, but this kind of minutiae are difficult to explain to simple folk- then the rest of your allies might start considering when their own time might come. ¡°A mere female?¡± Darunia protested angry and stepped forward, despite Marlo¡¯s desperate efforts to quiet her down. Mathews whispered something in her ear and the comely healer blushed and then nodded, placing a slender finger on her lips conspiratorially. Hmm. ¡°What will it be then?¡± Tarn asked curious. ¡°This worthy prize.¡± Glen sighed. ¡°The lands from the jungle to the marshes,¡± Glen replied, over the murmurs of the Zilans present. ¡°And ahm¡­ Hydra¡¯s head.¡± Heads. Whatever. Brr. ¡°Hydra¡¯s head,¡± Kalac said a gleam in his eye. ¡°But we get to kill it without the wyvern, or I can¡¯t assume the honor.¡± What? Glen was talking about giving him the skulls Laedan had cleaned up and kept in the catacombs under Nesande¡¯s Temble. Without the wyvern? Are you nuts? ¡°Well,¡± he started, a tick in his left eye so severe, he had to put a hand on it and stare at the horselords with the other. Then he glanced at the captivated small crowd listening in. Luthos you slimy small-dicked gnome! ¡°Surely as a precaution¡ª¡± Kalac turned around not paying him any attention. ¡°Kalac, son of Duham will slay the Hydra. Take Snake Mountains and all the land until the jungle!¡± He announced triumphantly, giving himself a bit more than what Glen had suggested. ¡°The Horselord Fields!¡± There were marches, a whole mountain and a village on top of the flat fields in there. Even so the name he didn¡¯t mind. Fuck it, let him have the stupid marshes. It¡¯s the bloody Hydra I don¡¯t want to face again. ¡°You¡¯ll kill more of us, is that it?¡± Tarn grunted, not very excited at the prospect. Understandably. ¡°Are you fearful then, Tarn? Has Badal seeded a daughter?¡± Kalac taunted him and Tarn stood back his eyes narrowing affronted. Oh, for crying out loud! ¡°Enough!¡± Glen barked stepping between them. ¡°The decision has been made. God darn it! What is this shit? Fuck!¡± ¡°Milord?¡± Kirk asked just to be sure. Glen smacked his lips and then sighed deeply, whilst rubbing his tearing eye. ¡°Find Lord Onas,¡± Glen grunted his tone grave staring at his muddy boots and then at the large turd the horse had deposited on the ground. ¡°Inform that old goat I want to learn about Pelleas¡¯ village.¡± Hoping the Hydra had long eaten them all and migrated elsewhere. In Yalca, or whatever the hell that place was called.
296. Wake the Witch
Ena, ¡®The Mad¡¯ Third Sibyl of the Coven Wake the Witch
The old estate, a three stories high structure, crumbled on its footprint blowing debris, cemented large pieces of stone bricks the size of boulders and burning redwood beams that raped the Imperial Bank building across the street. And set it alight. The ground shook violently, cracks appearing on the red tiled street and dark soil spilled out. So many spells had been fired all at once, the air had vaporized, the vapors turned to ash and everything with a heartbeat had gone silent. The sound coming back periodically, amidst the subsequent explosions and the roaring blasts of the Flaying Wind. The Blue Sorceress made a circle with her staff, blue onyx crystal glowing like the sun and stepped through it. She appeared on the rooftop of the crumpling estate building, just as the massive Wyvern¡¯s horned head peeked out of the corner. A red eye glowing, the other hollowed out and leaking down its elongated black scaly snout. Nororis raised her staff high and the sun dimmed, the electrical discharge so powerful Ena¡¯s mouth locked up and she felt the muscles in her right arm tearing, the tendons snapping, when she hurled the burning five meter long beam towards the injured Black Onyx Wyvern. She dropped on her knees, shoulder banging on a meter high sharp stone block the bone shattering, her own covered in bloodstones staff clattering down amidst the debris next to her legs. The burning beam found the cracked, steam covered patch of scales the lighting had just struck and sunk two meters deep with a crackling sound. Black-red blood poured out of the cavernous wound at the Wyvern¡¯s sides, Nororis snapped a wild blue head her way, eyes turned to the white, as she had just foreseen her death and out of the half-collapsed rooftop came a polished black spear-sized stinger, sharp as blade. It caught the sorceress between the legs and sliced her in two, the bloody head remaining stuck on the stinger¡¯s gore covered tip. Ena screamed an otherworldly soul scarring sound, dislocating her jaw and the Wyvern¡¯s gnarly mouth that had turned her way vomited a fiery orb of lava that rolled down Sibara¡¯s main street and liquefied anything it touched for three longs seconds.
One¡­ shall give you voice, but he¡¯ll be human, Szilhali told Nym accepting her offerings in the Circle. Sssh, said Qerrali her sister, hard feet clattering on the tomb¡¯s tiles. I¡¯ll protect you! Sleep now sweet kinfolk. Two¡­ queens he¡¯ll crown. The First Sibyl had warned, but the king kept it hidden and took a male lover to prevent it. One he¡¯ll cover in gold, the other in ice and those who learn the thief¡¯s secrets he¡¯ll turn to stone. Agh, Agh¡­ Agh, a gutted Rinariel wept in her agonizing final moments, broken bones poking out her bloody chest and the lava swallowing her thrashing burning legs. Same words as the half fossilized Ena¡¯s answer to her hysterical mother days later. Three¡­ foes he¡¯ll vanquish. From three continents. Most cities he¡¯ll visit will burn. Only the good king¡¯s death will give him pause, if his line isn¡¯t severed. I¡¯m not going to Cazan, Galadriel, the Second Sibyl whispered in the memory, hand touching her cocoon. I¡¯ll perish there by blade, fire, or water. Someone must stop him, or he¡¯ll eat the Realm. Noooo! The distressed Arachne screamed in her dreams, the world crumbling and cracks appearing in the darkness. Leave her! Leave her alone! Bad souls. Away with you, the creature screeched. She¡¯s mine. ¡°Is that?¡± A male voice said sounding spooked. ¡°Cut the webs quick,¡± ordered another gruffly. ¡°Watch the fucking shadows!¡± ¡°Something is in here,¡± a female voice warned them. ¡°I can feel its eyes watching us.¡± Ena felt air pouring into her dry lungs. The heart fluttering, its tempo erratic and very loud. Boom. Boom-Boom. She¡¯d spider webs in her mouth. Down her throat. Her skin felt like porcelain, where the flesh was missing. Slick like almost dried up resin. A torch burned over her eyes, the colors red and brown. Black with shades of orange. ¡°Just get her out of the sarcophagus! Cut the darn roots away, I don¡¯t care!¡± the first man ordered, a hint of panic in his voice. ¡°You! Watch the bloody entrance. Are you deaf?¡± Hmm. Get away, the Arachne told her anxiously. I¡¯ll hold them off. ¡°Nelon! What the fuck is wrong with him?¡± ¡°Watch out!¡± the female yelled and then came the sounds of fighting. Ena opened her eyes. She stared at the initially dark, but quickly revealing its beautiful frescos ceiling where the webs had been disturbed and then tried to lift herself out of the ashen-grey granite large sarcophagus. Old resin breaking as she moved, thick webs packing the interior and healing stones scattered under her body. Spent. It takes eons to drain them, she thought and clasped the edge of the sarcophagus with a dark-orange hand. The skin color strange, its feel keratinous and completely translucent, her finger bones visible underneath. Fake skin, spell-forged to keep her soul trapped in her frail body. Ah, Edlenn, she thought recognizing the High Priestess work. Why waste your time? Why won¡¯t you listen? You can¡¯t save everyone. What has you spooked so? A crack and she detached herself from the bottom. Her emaciated body feeling light. Decaying garbs dropping as she jumped outside the wagon sized sarcophagus. Knees creaking, her breath rasping as it came out of dried up lungs. The smell of blood reaching her nostrils. Ena stepped into a pool of it and dipped a long thin finger in. She brought it to her mouth and opened her jaws slowly, muscles stiff and hardened. Parts of her jaw not made out of flesh at all.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Mmm. ¡°Is he dead? Fuck!¡± a soldier said breathing heavy. Ena turned her eyes on the female Ranger and she immediately twisted around sensing the witch¡¯s intense stare. Her face scarred, a hand burned and badly healed. Because no healing can bring back what isn¡¯t there. He-he. ¡°Faelar¡¯s acolyte?¡± She asked her, the voice coming out croaky and the taste of blood in her throat rejuvenating. The ranger recoiled, her hand dropping to her shiny axe. The guard gasped scared seeing her, the scarred officer grunting next to him, bloody sword in hand and the lord of her dream frowned. He gulped down nervously, but didn¡¯t lower his own blade. ¡°Hallowed Third Sibyl,¡± Rothomir started in pretentious Court Imperial, but Ena sent an invisible essence thread to loop around his throat and cut off his breathing, along with his haughty words. The male Zilan stumbled back dropping his blade, both hands clasped on his neck and the Ranger went for her peleg with a well-trained ¡®quickstep¡¯ to snap the thread looping at her feet. She¡¯s dangerous, the sorceress thought. Which means she¡¯s useful. ¡°Stay,¡± Ena commanded rooting her in place and reached for the rushing her scarred officer. ¡°I need your flesh, not your bones,¡± she told him using some of the Ranger¡¯s lifeblood to break his bones and the Zilan abruptly collapsed on her feet. Ena eyed the shaking soldier, the Arachne lowering over his head and stooping ripped the thrashing Vulas throat out with a claw like hand. She sealed the wound with her lips and drank with her eyes closed. The only sounds those of the suffocating Lord Rothomir, the muffled screams of the soldier Qerrali had started cocooning and her pointy feet clattering on the dusty granite tiles.
¡°Speak,¡± Ena said when she finished eating Vulas¡¯ heart and lungs. She had to pry open his chest cavity with her fingers to do it. Ah, yes. ¡°Qerrali empower him,¡± she told the busy cocooning Lord Rothomir Arachne. Devour? ¡°Free him. Thou can imbibe the soldier dry later. Don¡¯t be avaricious.¡± Delicious, Qerrali rhymed self-servingly per her species manner. The sorceress turned to the Ranger while the very frustrated Arachne cut her webs with the claws of her tarsus. Ena allowed the ranger to move again in the meantime and she stumbled on her feet with a gasp. ¡°Gods!¡± she cried and glared at her. ¡°I¡¯m awake,¡± Ena reminded her and wiped her mouth with a translucent hand. The ranger frowned in shock hearing her words repeated. ¡°You¡¯re not supposed to walk the Garden unattended girl,¡± Ena reproached her. ¡°This isn¡¯t a hunting ground.¡± ¡°There are no witches left,¡± she retorted. ¡°Or sorcerers. The Garden is just a forest now.¡± Ena blinked, one eye seeing only still images of the ranger, which was confusing. Sorry! An easily distressed Qerrali shrieked. I wanted to make you more, but the stupid witch wouldn¡¯t let me! ¡°I have an Arachne in my head. Linked,¡± Ena told the ranger. ¡°Which is something only Edlenn could do. Am I recalling things erroneously?¡± ¡°That was¡­¡± the female Zilan gulped down. ¡°Many centuries in the past.¡± ¡°So?¡± Ena probed and stared at her left hand, the one with flesh on. It had recovered somewhat. She glanced at the mutilated and half eaten Vulas. Hmm. ¡°Things changed witch.¡± ¡°Thou are disrespectful. Brazen and full of anger. Has the king been defeated?¡± ¡°The King is dead.¡± ¡°Baltoris rules?¡± Ena probed. ¡°She¡¯s dead. Everyone is dead witch,¡± the ranger spat bitterly, her misery having a fresher undertone. Ena glanced at Qerrali and the Arachne stopped poking holes in Rothomir with her front legs to wake him up. The large spider had enough eyes on the sorceress to know the latter was looking at her. ¡°Now is the time to convey what transpired,¡± Ena warned in her guttural voice and the ranger told her.
Rothomir used a cloth to wipe some of the blood from the many small puncture wounds Qerrali had inflicted on him, but paused in alarm feeling the Arachne climbing his back and four pairs of legs hugging him from behind. ¡°Be compassionate,¡± Ena urged him. ¡°She has just learned her species got wiped out.¡± The rare Wraith Arachne were native to Cydonia and with the interconnected large island chain now sunk to the bottom of the Scalding Sea, the possibility some of her sisters had managed to cross the waters and survive was very small. They hated water with a passion. ¡°Ahm,¡± Rothomir gasped and Qerrali clicked her mandibles sadly in his ear freaking him out. ¡°It¡¯s a monster,¡± Axilyel hissed all wound up. ¡°Let me free him.¡± ¡°He¡¯s her gift for staying loyal for so long. As for the other remark, so are Wyverns,¡± Ena replied. ¡°But they aren¡¯t as sweet.¡± Treat! Qerrali agreed, sneakily spraying web on Rothomir¡¯s feet, so he couldn¡¯t move fast. ¡°Not everyone felt comfortable next to them,¡± Axilyel snorted. ¡°Who survived?¡± Ena asked a shifting nervously Rothomir not bothering with her. ¡°Eh, I told you all I know.¡± ¡°Edlenn? She never left the Garden. If you fools at Abarat made it, I can¡¯t fathom her perishing to an earthquake!¡± ¡°She died here, not long after the war ended,¡± Rothomir replied. ¡°There was a disagreement with the Queen.¡± ¡°Baltoris had Edlenn killed?¡± Ena asked casually, her hoarse voice giving an ominous tone to the query. ¡°Why didn¡¯t the Council overrule her?¡± ¡°She didn¡¯t favor the Old Ways,¡± Rothomir murmured moving the Arachne¡¯s hairy leg out of his mouth. ¡°Her laws were enforced and those disagreeing left. She had the votes.¡± ¡°Or were killed,¡± Ena added. ¡°You all cowered, because she had the Wyverns. Goras and Elauthin ever causing mischief.¡± ¡°People wanted to move on. The Aken were gone. The Onyx Wyvern slain.¡± Only there¡¯s another one roaming about. ¡°Of what you said, only one thing is true,¡± Ena hissed her head hurting. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Ugh? This is what happened. The war was over. Peace for centuries. She didn¡¯t need magic.¡± ¡°She needed the Wyverns and her soldiers though. So there must have been some fighting,¡± Ena taunted him and got up from the floor. ¡°Go bring me a cumquat. Pick a rich orange one. Two. Thank the tree,¡± she ordered the frowning Axilyel. ¡°I have quite the appetite for it.¡± ¡°What are you going to do?¡± Rothomir asked. ¡°Does he have any witches with him?¡± Ena asked and picked up the expensive piece of jewelry in her hands. A Capricorn carved on it, the metal a rare white gold, its art passable. A trinket. But not his. ¡°Not that I know of. There are no witches. Most fled to Cydonia. The Queen rarely went there and well¡­ you know the rest.¡± Galadriel hadn¡¯t. ¡°Did she kill her daughter too?¡± Ena asked him staring at the light coming in from the tomb¡¯s open entrance. ¡°No. But they reconciled afore the Fall.¡± Ena thought of the young mischievous Aelrindel. Then of her own slain sister and her face hardened. ¡°There¡¯s no way that¡¯s true,¡± she hissed and glared at Rothomir. ¡°If she escaped then the sorceress has made more like her mother. Baltoris would never befriend her, nor would Aelrindel ever forgive her. She could hold a grudge for years. Whomever told you that story was lying.¡± ¡°She had to. Reinut had burned half of Goras, brought the walls down.¡± ¡°Reinut? That¡¯s not a Jelin name.¡± ¡°He¡¯s an Issir. They came from beyond the Scalding Sea. Somewhere south of the Sinking Isles. Even stopped there for a moon.¡± Uh? ¡°Mistland.¡± ¡°No, further east than that. They landed in Central Goras.¡± ¡°Mistland reaches as far the Sinking Isles! Noble Goddess! Where were you schooled? In Lo-Minas?¡± Rothomir frowned. ¡°I trained with the Phalanx¡ª¡± ¡°Enough!¡± Ena snapped not wanting to hear more. Rothomir tried again. ¡°What about Hardir? He has the Council¡ª¡± ¡°The Council betrayed you,¡± Ena cut him off impatiently. ¡°Why is Paeris not here? He is a bard, you needed him to unlock the spell. You didn¡¯t have to cut the roots!¡± Rothomir blinked and puffed out exasperated. ¡°Yeah but he hasn¡¯t sang a tune in years. People have stopped using magic Sibyl,¡± he replied and tried to pry his feet free. ¡°Vulas was my friend,¡± Rothomir added with a frown. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have killed him.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t,¡± Ena replied hoarsely and Qerrali clicked her mandibles excited. ¡°You did. I thought about sparing you to help me fill in the blanks¡­¡± she paused realizing Rothomir was no longer hearing her. Devour? Qerrali asked innocently and Ena let out a sigh afore nodding, then glanced at the cloak the first slain soldier had on, before her different eyes returned at the open tomb¡¯s entrance. If the fruit is sweet, I¡¯ll spare her. Ena had always a soft spot for Faelar and respected damaged souls. She felt a little apprehensive, even unsure about going out and into that strange world alone. The time of Hardir O¡¯ Fardor sister, the witch thought sadly, the lump in her translucent throat moving with difficulty. Her taste not all there. I wish you were here to witness the beginning of the Third Era with me. Make it black, wood stuck in a sack, the witch chanted with her eyes closed, when Axilyel returned with her fruits. Make it grow, but not thrive. Slowly in the womb to plough And open it like a shive. 297. Beyond Nether’s Veils (1/3)
Glen Arguen Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Lord O¡¯ Morn Taras Monarch of Sinya Goras Beyond Nether¡¯s Veils Part I -Turn on the road-
¡°Sword,¡± Glen said and took the blade to sheathe it at his waist. ¡°Axe thingy.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a peleg Garth,¡± Folen corrected him. ¡°Don¡¯t want ye to hand me an egg,¡± Glen deadpanned. ¡°Ahm,¡± Folen murmured. ¡°I can¡¯t feel it Garth sorry.¡± ¡°Kirk?¡± Glen asked for a second opinion. ¡°It¡¯s a small axe milord. Excellent pun,¡± Kirk replied and Glen eyed the former bard warningly before he secured it on his harness¡¯ belt. He wore it over his cuirass, a hoplite shield on his back. ¡°Supplies in the bags?¡± ¡°Packed,¡± Kirk said. ¡°Took the liberty of securing a mule for your personal favorites sire.¡± ¡°Good, good. Hardtack biscuits and salted lamb as well,¡± Glen told him. ¡°They taste like shit, but you don¡¯t want to run out of food ever and get to eat a real turd.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a bog,¡± Folen argued taken aback at his metaphor. Probably. ¡°Plenty of game about.¡± ¡°Like what?¡± ¡°Ahm, stuff¡­ I suppose.¡± Aha! ¡°Kirk?¡± ¡°Frogs come to mind Milord,¡± the bodyguard replied. ¡°Can you eat that?¡± ¡°Better than rats is the word,¡± Kirk elucidated. Glen frowned not as sure. Some rats have a lot of good meat on them. But if one wanted to be honest here, he hadn¡¯t missed the taste though. It always left a weird tang in his throat. Ugh. ¡°Wylinor and Shalia ready?¡± He asked hoarsely, after clearing said throat. ¡°Aye, the Horselords as well,¡± Folen replied. ¡°Don¡¯t care about them,¡± Glen retorted. He¡¯d send them to fight the Hydra by themselves, if not for the optics. ¡°Soren, the other big guy?¡± ¡°Hobor. Lyceron and a hundred Hoplites,¡± Kirk answered with a grimace. ¡°Not ours?¡± Glen probed. ¡°Anfalon wouldn¡¯t allow it.¡± Glen stared at Kirk thoughtfully. ¡°Who¡¯s leading it?¡± ¡°Lyceron. He took over from Bellas. It¡¯s a promotion for him.¡± ¡°What happened to the other guy?¡± Glen probed. ¡°You slew him milord.¡± Glen frowned not liking those words thrown out willy-nilly. ¡°Was I justified?¡± ¡°Of course sire,¡± Kirk replied. There¡¯s a solid lad. ¡°Do we have supplies for so many?¡± ¡°Anfalon will cross the canal, secure the docks with the Phalanx, so that will relieve some of the pressure,¡± Folen said and gave Glen his Hoplite-type helm. Sure. ¡°I was talking about our group,¡± Glen elucidated. ¡°As I said sire,¡± Kirk replied. ¡°Alternative ways of feeding the men have been explored.¡± Glen stared at him blankly not sure where he was going with this. ¡°They¡¯ll live off the land Garth,¡± Folen said. ¡°The bog if you want to be precise. I have a couple of good verses coming out. All this recent excitement has rejuvenated my dried up psyche.¡± ¡°Keep them in,¡± Glen retorted furrowing his brow. ¡°Look to fix that other thing. It sounds nasty.¡±
Glen stared at the nice map Lord Onas had given him, then at the tome carrying Zilan with the ponytail and the silk not very manly robes. The open-toed sandals dangling from the sides of the mule disconcerting. The Zilan had come with the map. A gift apparently. ¡°Fuck are you?¡± he grunted and the Zilan blinked. ¡°Kirk!¡± ¡°Milord.¡± ¡°Take this weird mute out of my face,¡± Glen said. ¡°Distinguished Arguen Garth,¡± the Zilan started. ¡°Belay that,¡± Glen told Kirk who had approached on his own horse to grab the Zilan. ¡°Continue,¡± he said to the bookish Zilan that had paused unsure if he was talking to him. ¡°I¡¯m Vulreon, of Kataer. Lords Onas asked me to join your entourage and take over a scribe¡¯s duties.¡± Glen had thought for moment he heard wife¡¯s duties there. He sighed missing Sen. ¡°Why?¡± Glen probed a moment later. He¡¯d spent it looking at the map in pensive silence. The army waiting patiently behind them. ¡°I¡¯m a certified scribe Hardir,¡± Vulreon replied readily. ¡°Worked with Melaneol in the Palace for six centuries.¡± ¡°That so? What is it you do?¡± ¡°Ahm, I write down your words my Lord. Keep a record.¡± Glen didn¡¯t like the sound of that at all. He scrunched his face, stared at the map again and sighed. ¡°Listen¡­ eh, I have a system here¡­ what was the name again?¡± ¡°Vulreon,¡± Kirk said with a snicker. ¡°I can learn your system Arguen Garth. A record should be kept of your campaigns,¡± Vulreon added. Glen didn¡¯t trust men that penciled their brows. Metu a prime example of it. Still the Cofol had been useful, he thought. ¡°A scribe,¡± he said mulling it over. Vulreon tapped his heavy leather bound pile of parchments. The ¡®tome¡¯ weighted a ton probably. ¡°I¡¯ve kept a blank notebook all this time,¡± he added proudly. Glen didn¡¯t care. ¡°Rothomir don¡¯t take notes?¡± He asked not wanting to do what others didn¡¯t. ¡°He has his own scribe Arguen Garth.¡± Hmm. ¡°Fine. Do you get paid for this shite?¡± Glen asked concerned, being as he was drained of funds due to all the animals and food he had to buy. Greedy mercenaries, blasted Caravan guards, slimy Merchants and the pompous wine sellers compensation. Not to mention manning a small fleet and Voron costing me both arms and legs already. The architect now busy gnawing at my innards! The long and short of it was the list was endless, the coin wasn¡¯t. ¡°Of course.¡± Fucking little weasel. Ruffian! ¡°We¡¯ll see about that,¡± Glen retorted. ¡°You can start. Now,¡± he said returning his eyes on the map. Why is the road crossing the swamp here?¡± ¡°It cuts through the corner of it milord afore turning towards Snake Mountain,¡± Kirk said and Wylinor moved his horse near and stooped to look over the map himself. Glen caught out of the corner of his eye Vulreon scribbling fast on the first page of his monstrous manuscript. ¡°What are you doing?¡± He barked irate and the scribe paused, putting a hand on the small inkpot he¡¯d secured on the saddle, not to drop it. ¡°Writing down everything Garth,¡± Vulreon said perturbed. ¡°That¡¯s where yer mistake lays,¡± Glen explained his tone didactic. ¡°Never do that. As a matter of fact, put that quill away and I¡¯ll walk you through what you need to write later.¡± ¡°Garth is a skilled transcriber? Noble Goddess!¡± Vulreon gasped a little womanly, sounding very emotional. ¡°I¡¯ll be humbled and very honored to study your lettering.¡±Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Ugh? Glen could barely write his own name in Imperial, though he could write the fuck out of it in Common and Cofol. ¡°You¡¯ll do all the lettering,¡± Glen told him matter-of-factly to get this out of the way. ¡°I¡¯ll just tell you what them letters will be about.¡± He¡¯d no idea what kind of system Rothomir was running, but you don¡¯t let an untrustworthy random person in on your scheme. That was the quickest way to the gallows.
The frog, a plump fat ball of green and white skin, ballooned his cheeks out, creating two smaller sized balls there and let out a burp like croak. ¡®Brahnk!¡¯ ¡°Good grief,¡± Marlo commented riding next to him. Kalac had moved on eagerly at the top of their column and the mercenaries had approached them. ¡°Bullfrog,¡± Hush said, a smile on her gloomy face. ¡°Very tasty.¡± The frog ogled his eyes at her words. ¡®Brahnk?¡¯ ¡°I¡¯m not eating that,¡± Glen decided and slotted a huge carameled biscuit in his mouth. Sen¡¯s recipe and not issued to the rest of the army. Uvrycres had declared the treat divine, but Glen had pretended he¡¯d no more of it. The Wyvern had started eating the whole bag, hemp sack and all, instead of out of it recently. The mule carrying it not exempt from danger. A week on the road, they had found a good rhythm and decent game for the troops. They left the Unscaled Overhang back on their east and cut north towards the green marshes. Trees and scrubs sprouting out of the fertile ground. The nicely paved road Lord Onas had repaired earlier that year helping them move fast until they reached the waterlogged swamplands. It cut through the jungle-like bog, following a narrow parch of land like a natural bridge that ended at Snake Mountain¡¯s slopes. Everything changed for the worse the moment they entered Hydra¡¯s Marsh, though the name was given later.
¡°GOD DARNIT!¡± Glen bellowed, his boots sunk into the treacherous terrain, foul water pouring in over the edge and soaking his feet. ¡°Stick on the road milord?¡± Kirk queried still on his mount. ¡°Standing on the sides,¡± Hilton Marlo said thoughtfully, stooped over the saddle. ¡°Might also be viable.¡± ¡°I was standing on the plaguing side!¡± Glen growled hoarsely, the humidity getting to him. Both in the heavy, bug infested air and on his feet. ¡°Whole thing just moved into the mire!¡± The ground was his meaning. He grabbed Kirk¡¯s arm and stepped out of the mud, pants covered in it and boots squelching on every stride. The troops were busy cleaning the way, as the bog vines and roots had covered the land bridge again. They weren¡¯t benign these plants at all. A Hoplite had been sucked into the murky waters already by something. While there was still hope he could be alive, Glen had written him off. After an hour you¡¯re either dead, or a fish. ¡°This place stinks, holy cow!¡± Glen grunted and Vulreon cleared his throat wanting to talk. ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± he warned him. ¡°We could use trunks to construct a stand for the night,¡± Kirk suggested. ¡°I will call on Laedan.¡± Laedan was bringing up the animals and the supply train. All the time they had gained on the open field, they had lost in the swamp. A week later had brought them no closer to Pelleas and while there was sun coming through the foliage, the terrain had a shady stillness to it, but for the occasional croak symphony. Darn things just wouldn¡¯t shut up once they started. ¡°Can he move the wagon?¡± Glen asked him, considering whether he should abandon the whole affair and return to the Canal. Kalac could just say the old skulls were his kill. We can even prop them up a bit, use some blood, or paint to make them look freshly skinned. Who would know? It¡¯s not like Hydras roam about in the bloody market! ¡°Yes, but he¡¯s blocking the road. Everyone has to wait for him to go over the difficult parts.¡± ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake,¡± Glen cursed and removed his boots. A couple of leeches already busy sucking his blood. ¡°Somebody light a god darn fire!¡± He barked and reached for the dagger.
Three big fires were lit initially, but they went out quickly despite the oil they used and almost suffocated the whole column as they created an ungodly amount of thick smoke. So they put them out and slept in the thin illumination provided by lightstones. Eating cold food in the dark, soaked to the bone and surrounded by still waters can break a man¡¯s spirit, he thought eyeing Angrein¡¯s creation. ¡°A Scorpio,¡± he told Laedan, the person responsible for it. The reason the wagon was so unwieldy apparent. Glen had seen it last in Goras just before they departed months back, but during the battle it had been left with the supply train in the Gullet and he hadn¡¯t the chance to use it. ¡°A Bolt Thrower,¡± Laedan explained patting the oiled iron machine he¡¯d uncovered. ¡°Three steel-tip arrows, another six in the magazine,¡± he pointed at the oblong storage box under the body of the machine. ¡°You can fire them all at once, or one at a time using the three levers. The torsion spring sends the arm back over the ladder when every bolt has been fired and it drags the next three out. You push the winch wheel to lock them in place, aim and fire again.¡± ¡°Can it move?¡± ¡°Not this model, you¡¯re thinking of Scorpio. The Lorians took the design very early over to Jelin.¡± ¡°How?¡± Laedan frowned, then wiped his teary eye with a dirty cloth. ¡°Bribery?¡± Glen nodded as it made sense. ¡°So you point and shoot?¡± ¡°You spot the enemy first, then fix this baby into position. This type we must position before the target. Angrein did a wonderful job recreating it.¡± ¡°What if the target moves to the side? You know out of the way? I would,¡± Glen asked seeing the obvious flaw in the whole thing. ¡°You have many of them. So you cover a wide front. Nothing comes through and even a wyvern will pause to think about it,¡± Laedan assured him. Or just fly over? This looked like a castle defense weapon more. ¡°Do we have another?¡± Glen asked again spotting too many holes in his arguments. ¡°Haha. Ahm¡­ no,¡± Laedan chuckled. ¡°It was a side project for Angrein.¡± ¡°Has any wyvern got the business from it?¡± Glen queried grinding his teeth. ¡°Garth, what are you talking about?¡± Laedan asked unsure. ¡°We had the wyverns. I brought it along to fire at soldier columns in a field. Maybe get a shot at the Hydra? Unwieldy beasts. Easy to spot usually but very rare. Not like Chimeras. Them are tricky.¡± Thank the gods. ¡°Usually?¡± Glen asked pressing his mouth tight that is until he landed a heavy slap on his own nape to kill a fat bug. ¡°Well, they are faster in deep waters,¡± Laedan replied thoughtfully. ¡°Or in a big bog.¡± ¡°Let me guess,¡± Glen commented sourly. ¡°This is a big fuckin¡¯ bog.¡± ¡°Actually it¡¯s both,¡± the Denmaster replied casually. ¡°This place is a natural lake. It just expands in the rainy season.¡± Well then. Lucky us, the rainy season is almost over.
Glen agreed with Lyceron on the need to post double sentries for the rest of the night. He returned to the middle of the column, numbering just over two hundred men, to talk with Soren and decided to rest nearby listening to the banter between the two very big Nords. ¡°Ye need an axe always,¡± Soren insisted not giving an inch. ¡°What for?¡± ¡°To cut wood for fire. Cook your food fool! Else it¡¯ll take ye ages to rip the meat from the plaguin¡¯ bone.¡± ¡°You can find wood easily,¡± Hobor argued. ¡°Wood and water.¡± ¡°What if you can¡¯t? Then you eat yer meat raw. And there¡¯s a place called dessert. No wood there.¡± ¡°Is it sweet?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t know, probably. No water there too. Ask Glen. He¡¯s smart as fuck,¡± Soren replied. ¡°What you do wit uncooked meat?¡± ¡°I season it, so I don¡¯t get what you¡¯re saying. Who¡¯s Glen?¡± Good grief, Glen had almost lost consciousness hearing them, despite having his head on a hard saddle. ¡°The little lord. Hmm. Season with what?¡± Soren asked, having managed to steer the conversation where he wanted. ¡°Have a dried up sack wit garlic on a camel, rock salt and spices.¡± ¡°Oh shit!¡± Soren retorted with a grunt. ¡°I have a water pig hidden under the supply wagon. I kicked it and it just died.¡± Glen opened his eyes, his interest piqued. ¡°What about fire?¡± Hobor asked. ¡°Forget about fire, let¡¯s season that fat thing. Come, you lift the wagon, I¡¯ll grab the pig,¡± Soren told him and they moved away. Glen got up, feeling cold and wet. It came as no surprise to him that he was in fact frozen stiff and soaked to the bone. ¡°Penetrates everything,¡± Kirk told him sitting on a shield. ¡°Fucking dampness.¡± Glen nodded and moved his arms glancing at the early morning sky. As much of it as he could see. ¡°We need to clear the vegetation,¡± he decided. ¡°Find the higher parches of land, then dam the lake to avoid the water spilling out. Turn this place livable.¡± ¡°Uhm,¡± Kirk murmured. ¡°Where¡¯s Mathews?¡± ¡°With the Healer,¡± Kirk said. Darunia had decided to come and apparently he¡¯d no legitimate reason to stop her from joining, given that he was lacking a good healer. Sam and his group had signed up to participate perhaps as much for that reason than anything else come to think about it. ¡°You don¡¯t think, they¡­¡± Glen asked and Kirk shrugged his armoured shoulders. ¡°As in doin¡¯ the thing¡­ Milord?¡± ¡°Well, yeah...¡± Glen murmured keeping the inane dialogue going for unknown reasons. It didn¡¯t last long as not a minute later a circling the skies Uvrycres not liking the terrain, decided to start renovations early.
¡°FIRE!¡± A sentry bellowed raising the alarm. The darkness dissolving as large swaths of vegetation and trees flamed up and quickly dissolved in an inferno about a hundred meters from the column. The dampness of the bog stopping it from spreading, although many soaked trunks and branches boiled from the inside and exploded creating chaos. ¡°Stop god darn it!¡± Glen yelled standing up to run near Lyceron¡¯s Hoplites and the Horselords at the front of their stretched out on the paved road formation. EEERRRR Uvrycres shrieked not bothering to answer and made a low pass over their heads scaring the pack animals and scattering the troops. It took them three hours, by then the sun was up on the sky fully, to assess the wyvern¡¯s damage on the bog. Uvrycres destructive passage had cleared both flanks of the road they were following almost ten meters from each side and then the wyvern had directed its fire right, or eastwards revealing an elevated parch of land like an island, heading deep into the deeper part of the concealed lake. There he¡¯d burned everything a foot deep, leaving smoldering black soil behind and thick vapors. The smell atrocious. ¡°The road heads straight north,¡± Lyceron told him, using a cloth to wipe the soot off of his fancy helmet. ¡°He just gave us a day of fast march. This turn though I don¡¯t get the reason behind it.¡± Glen stared at the smoking flattened small island, his feet still on the paved part of the bog. ¡°Does it look sturdy to you?¡± He asked Lyceron. ¡°I¡¯ll sent a soldier there,¡± Lyceron replied with the confidence of a seasoned officer. Some people are born with it, Glen decided and nodded. ¡°Kirk, find Wylinor, or Shalia. Have them check this also, but to stay visible at all times. Anyone caught whiff of any Cultists around?¡± ¡°Nothing,¡± Kalac said approaching, his wild face unshaven. ¡°Ran-Sahor licked them good and they retreated on the other side of the lake.¡± That was more than a month ago. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of time for them to cross the bog and this is the road leading to their village,¡± Glen murmured a little nervous standing in the open amidst the vapors. ¡°Is there another approach for them?¡± ¡°They¡¯ll know it,¡± Lyceron replied and put his helmet back on. ¡°I¡¯ll see to inform the rest of the column,¡± he said confidently, adding with a nod of his black helm, probably grinning underneath. ¡°Hardir.¡± Glen hated muscled swaggerers and smart-mouthed players. The soldier walking towards the center of the -less than two hundred meters in diameter- island was halfway there, when Glen spotted -at the far edge of his peripheral vision- a Zilan wearing a damaged hoplite cuirass painted with weird symbols appear abruptly on the road just ahead of them. The newcomer froze seeing so many armed soldiers packing the way and made to retreat as everyone had turned their attention on the smoking parch of land the Wyvern had exposed and not the road. ¡°HALT RIGHT THERE!¡± Glen bellowed at the top his lungs alarming everyone and shattering the relative calmness that had followed Uvrycres deliberate firestorm. Vemoro, who had spotted his hunting lair turning to ash, responded with a horn-hissing otherworldly sound that shook the vapor covered marshes. WHUOA HUISSSSS Pumpkin sized shit, Glen thought seeing the Cultist abandoning his retreat and turning around his gaunt face, a coil-shaped whistle Glen had missed on his lips. 298. Beyond Nether’s Veils (2/3)
Sam Mathews Beyond Nether¡¯s Veils Part II -¡®Kill the heads, eat ¡®em if you have to-
The robust Zilan guard wearing the bronze cuirass armor eyed him under heavy brows. Ehlark had stayed with Darunia and followed her on the adventure at Lord Onas insistence. The released Abarat guard had clashed with the Horselords afore the battle at Serpent¡¯s Canal and took to the task zealously. But of course the female Zilan isn¡¯t making it any easier for him, he mused. The healer parted her cloak to show Sam the high-ankle boots she had put on, but he kept his eyes below her uncovered knee. While Darunia kept teasing him for his unfortunate night vision every night, the flaming bog had dissolved much of the early morning dimness and Sam was far from blind. ¡°Hah,¡± Darunia chuckled sensing his inner conflict. ¡°I wear shorts underneath Sam Mathews. Everything else is firmly covered!¡± Not everything. ¡°Lady Darunia,¡± Ehlark protested, but she stopped him raising a graceful arm. ¡°Mister Mathews defended me dear Ehlark against an ally,¡± she turned her expressive eyes on the adventurer, specks of gold dotting those blue orbs. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Kalac was in the wrong,¡± Sam told her simply. ¡°Not by the ancient customs of this continent, he wasn¡¯t,¡± Darunia argued. ¡°I was his prisoner though I guess it was very brief, which he failed to mention. Poor thing was under duress. Does this count Ehlark?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t fathom a Horselord enslaving an Elderblood Lady Darunia,¡± the Zilan guard croaked. ¡°I can¡¯t answer your query. Apologies but I won¡¯t.¡± ¡°He just sees a pretty female,¡± Darunia told him and glanced at the uncomfortable Sam. The adventurer was almost ready to leave her company and rush to the front of their column. ¡°What do you see Sam Mathews?¡± Sam thought of young Elaniel bleeding out on a cracked ancient floor and grimaced. He made to rub his face, but found Darunia¡¯s long fingers wrapped on his gloved wrist. Her touch too light to feel, although he could. Ah. ¡°Is that girl equally appealing?¡± Darunia asked with a cute pout withdrawing her hand. As I am was her meaning. Her species deep-rooted narcissism not bothering him as much as the memory. ¡°She was a healer deep down,¡± Sam grunted hoarsely, not brave enough to say her name out loud. ¡°Despite efforts to become something else. Gone too soon.¡± ¡°I can see yet again why she favored you Sam Mathews. You could have defended her insulting me, but you didn¡¯t. A noble knight¡¯s quality,¡± Darunia glanced at the group surrounding Glen, the latter furious with the wyvern firing fireballs so close to their camp. ¡°I¡¯m an adventurer, much as he started,¡± Sam replied setting his shoulders. ¡°As for the other matter, I told you I thought it was wrong what Kalac wanted and I acted. No hidden meaning to it.¡± Maybe a little. ¡°I have upset you. Memories bring back feelings and what ifs,¡± Darunia murmured. ¡°Memories can¡¯t be brought back to life, feelings could fade away, but there¡¯s only one way to make certain you don¡¯t have regrets in the future.¡± Sam narrowed his eyes unsure and the Lord of Morn Taras bellowed at the top of his lungs for someone to stop. ¡°I¡¯ve seen him in Rothomir¡¯s court,¡± Darunia informed him, her eyes also better at great distances. ¡°He¡¯s a priest of Vemoro,¡± she added and Sam heard Hydra¡¯s call ripping through the waterlogged trees.
The scouting soldier that had reached the halfway point of the smoldering land-connected little island paused and turned around unsure. Lyceron ordered the Hoplites to form up, but Glen belayed that order. He barked for some of them to uproot the platforms they had placed down by the sides of the paved road and create a barricade for the animals and rear personnel first. In the meantime Sam had run as fast as he could to the front of the column, where the land forked, his boots thudding on the stone tiles lost in the noise raised by many animals and people moving about. Marlo tossed him a spear, Jingo carrying one as well and Hush just nodded when he continued past them without a word exchanged. The Hoplites had rushed to the front of the column as well, civilians dragging animals and wagons away, but for Laedan who was busy pushing his heavy wagon to bring it forward with the help of the two big Nords. Soren had what appeared to be the carcass of a large water-pig over one shoulder. Sam just couldn¡¯t fathom the reason why. ¡°Hah!¡± Glen guffawed seeing the Cultist with the whistle hit by both Wylinor¡¯s and Shalia¡¯s bows. He twirled around on his feet, the two arrows protruding an inch apart from his sternum. ¡°SHIT!¡± the second word out of their leader¡¯s mouth seeing the lone soldier snatched out of the ground thirty meters east of him and hurled up five meters, his scream otherworldly. Another giant snake¡¯s head appearing out of the vapors to cleave him in two gore-spreading pieces before he could hit the ground. A very big head. The mouth on it bigger than the Wyvern¡¯s, its neck fat as an old tree trunk and covered in ashen scales with a fat red line running down its length under the snout. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of piss down the drain,¡± a disturbed Marlo commented with a grunt, fixing the wet front of his leather pants. ¡°Completely justified.¡± Glen had gotten his sword out. ¡°We let it come out of the water,¡± he said. ¡°Fight it on sturdy ground.¡± ¡°Better we rush it,¡± Kalac argued holding the reins of his Steppe horse. ¡°Overwhelm it. Hit it from all sides!¡± ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure there¡¯s another head in there!¡± Glen snapped and a bookish Zilan raised a shaking hand. The only unarmed person in the group. ¡°WHAT?¡± Glen barked. ¡°The ashen Hydra is rumored to have more Garth,¡± the Zilan said in a small voice most failed to register. Sam immediately thought of the Hydra of Midlanor. ¡°Fuck did he say?¡± Marlo grunted, his tinnitus worsening with each passing year. ¡°It has five heads. The coat of arms of Midlanor,¡± Sam retorted, everyone looking alarmed at the eerie silent island. Glen stared at him intently, amber eyes narrowed and several grey hairs sprinkled on his wild head. Which was surprising since Sam was years older than him and he had none. ¡°Lyceron!¡± He barked to be heard from the Hoplite leader. ¡°Make assault groups to face multiple big fuckin¡¯ heads! If this goes tits up, we leg it and I call on the wyvern!¡± ¡°No!¡± Kalac grunted irate and jumped on his horse. ¡°You promised! This is my kill. We charge!¡± He bellowed to the rest of the Horselords afore galloping away and they started after him. ¡°Well that¡¯s a middle finger up the stinger,¡± Marlo commented looking at an equally livid Glen. ¡°Hit the heads Hardir?¡± Lyceron queried surprisingly calm, approaching under the ruckus of the marching behind him rows of Hoplites. ¡°Kill the heads,¡± Glen corrected him gruffly and glanced at the approaching war machine wagon. ¡°Eat ¡®em fuckers if you have to!¡± Everyone rushing forward with a roar, but for Marlo that glanced at Sam afore adding. ¡°Never thought they¡¯ll put that in the plaguin¡¯ menu, but here it is.¡±
Sam rushed onto the island, the Horselords already past the killed soldier¡¯s bloody pieces, the Hoplites splitting up in multiple teams in front of him and Glen followed by the rangers sneakily skirting the edges of the island to flank the Hydra. Uvrycres got the first strike though, or second, if one counted the opening fiery barrage. He fired three fireballs in quick succession into the thick vegetation, mostly tall cypress trees, covered in vines and blanketed in flowering moss, resembling lichen. The ground shook, huge tongues of flame leaping out of the overgrowth and everyone ducked for cover to escape getting bombarded by shattered wood, skewered by broken blackened branches, or burned in boiling water. Shit, Sam thought rolling on the smoking ground. He put an elbow out to break his momentum and caught out of the corner of his eye a giant head appearing out of a curtain of white fumes created by the rapidly extinguished fires. The adventurer jumped on his feet and then almost went down again, the ground shaking under him. ¡°That¡¯s as far as I go,¡± Marlo declared behind him watching the outline of a massive body through a foggy filter stepping on to the island with them. ¡°Fuckin¡¯ bullshit!¡± Sam grunted and got up just as the cries started.
One of Hydra¡¯s massive heads, now sporting half a dozen spears on its elongated scaly neck, shuddered and pulled back. Kalac and his riders ¨Ca group of ten- went after it galloping hard and firing arrow after arrow at the beast. Sam was certain you couldn¡¯t really harm the Hydra with an arrow unless you poked an eye out, but that was just about it. He hefted his own spear, an nervous eye on the two stories high cumbersome hippopotamus-like body, slowly moving its fat fin-like stubby legs, leaving wagon-sized footprints on the smoldering soft ground, the other eye on the dancing back and forth giant head that had just sprayed four Hoplites with jelly-like acid. A sharp gasp and he hurled it at the fast turning snake head, forked tongue slithering and snake eyes contracting when it spotted him. Sam made to dive out of the way, but saw the insides of a hideous mouth diving on him and rolled in the mud instead. The mouth hit the ground a foot from the bewildered adventurer, a huge amount of material exploding to all directions, a couple of stones in the muddy soil hurting like punches on his chest and gut. Sam got his sword out, gawking at the slickly scaly neck and letting out -a more-scared than courageous roar- cleaved at it clasping at the handle with both hands. The blade sliced through a meter-long scale cracking it and then stopped. Sam yanked it away almost tumbling backwards and realized he¡¯d less sword now than a moment afore. No adventurer likes losing a weapon when in the thick of battle against a Hydra. Or losing half of it. It wasn¡¯t the exact quote of the Guild this, but Sam thought he was allowed to add to it given the circumstances. No man alive had faced a Hydra since the days of Framtond and Sam was in his second one in less than two years. Damn, he thought and reached for his dagger, but dropped the idea and dived for a half-melted Hoplite instead. The giant neck started retracting and rising higher whilst Sam went corpse-robbing feverishly. He found a fancy Kopis, the belt stuck on the dead Zilan¡¯s melted torso right at the still visible gory spine. A yank and the weakened strap broke and Sam dropped to a knee trying to unsheathe the weapon. He heard a hissing sound over his head, glanced up just as he freed the blade, saw nothing, but heard Glen¡¯s manic growl ever rising. ¡°MOTHEEERFUUUCK¡¯R!¡± The Lord of Morn Taras yelped, holding on for dear life on his sword handle, legs kicking at the air, the blade sunk a good foot into the Hydra¡¯s long neck and said head whipping their dangling leader right and left to dislodge him. ¡°DUCK YOU BLOODY IDIOT!¡± Laedan bellowed from somewhere behind them, but before Sam could react a whooshing sound came, something whistled over his head and a bolt hit the monster¡¯s neck an inch below Glen¡¯s flaying legs. The Hydra let out a pained drawn out hiss that multiplied many times, foul gore spraying over the ducking Sam and then it dived for the ground, or dropped from almost ten meters high. ¡°SHIIITEEE!¡± Glen bellowed losing the grip on the handle along his helmet and he dropped backwards on the still stuck -protruding like a barbell- iron bolt his head missing it for a hair. Remarkably he grabbed it snapping an arm back as he was falling, probably popping his shoulder out and put the other hand on it screaming like a madman, as the giant head plunged for the sprinting out of the way Sam Mathews. A maniacally snarling Glen managed to swing once around like a circus acrobat, letting go with a somersault before the Hydra¡¯s head hit the ground.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Glen landed on his feet cursing amidst groans several deities in quick succession, knees bend to absorb the force and immediately rolled to the right looking to get his sword back. ¡°Fuckin¡¯ bullshit plans,¡± he griped and snatched his bloody sword out of the leaking wound. Sam realized the head had two more bolts sunk into it, one just below the snout, right at the two meters in diameter throat. ¡°Tell that idiot to aim for the blasted body,¡± Glen told him with a pained grimace, just as the ¡®dead¡¯ head started moving again.
The adventurer jerked his body to the right, lost his footing when the stubby thick appendage came down and cried out panicked feeling acid spraying his back. Sam turned the blade on him and used the edge to cut through the armor bindings getting rid of it, losing his gambeson in the process. He ripped a sleeve off his shirt next and used it to wipe some of the stinky secretion away from his left shoulder, grinding his teeth when a piece of skin peeled off along with it as big as his palm. The whole island the Wyvern had created quickly turned into a hellish battlefield, where Glen¡¯s force wrestled the Hydra up close and personal. Soldiers were hurled in the air, or melted down in bubbling acids pools, armour and all. The smell of burned wood, sulfur gasses and rot, mixed in with the poisonous vapors from the multi-headed monster¡¯s secretions. The Hydra had lost a head due to a frenetic Glen''s and Sam¡¯s heroics, Kalac and his horselords had blinded another scoring at least ten arrows per eyeball, paying a heavy prize for it and Lyceron¡¯s Hoplites kept the other three busy, but they had already lost at least ten soldiers in the bloody process. The Hoplites were running out of spears despite rotating their numbers in and out of the scrap. The darn Hydra is going to win this attrition battle eventually, unless it takes a big blow fast, he thought. ¡°Run to Laedan!¡± Glen growled in his face, sporting a heavy limp, ¡°Get Soren here posthaste. I¡¯ll bring this piece of lard betwixt his crosshairs. Don¡¯t fuck this up Mathews!¡± He finished and shoved him towards the land bridge where Laedan had parked his war-machine. Sam grunted and sprinted towards the Denmaster, Hobor and Soren running the opposite way towards the yelling and cursing Glen busy trying to get the beast¡¯s attention. The adventurer reached the aiming Laedan and yelled as he approached waving his arms. ¡°Don¡¯t shoot!¡± ¡°What?¡± Laedan asked with a glare. ¡°Are you nuts?¡± ¡°Aim for the body!¡± Sam explained with bated breath, using both arms to point. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Garth ordered it!¡± ¡°Fuck does he know? I¡¯m trying to get that front leg all this time!¡± Laedan admonished him. ¡°I want you to shove that square stake under the left side now. Use that sledgehammer!¡± The Zilan ordered him. ¡°You sure?¡± Sam asked and Laedan pointed at Belec getting a fat blob of dark yellow Hydra phlegm right on the chest, the giant blind head still dangerous. The Horselord rode for a couple of more meters and toppled from his horse. Kalac charged his horse to assist him, but another of Hydra¡¯s heads dived on him from the sides, the huge beast leaping forward. The Horselord leader jumped on his saddle and then off of it, but his unlucky panicked horse got broken in half almost. A roaring Kalac flew in the air incensed and it was unclear whether this was for the gruesome death of his animal, or for seeing Belec standing up in an attempt to move away, but with pieces of flesh dropping off him not making it far. First all the flesh from his right arm and then the arm itself when the bone snapped. Then his left leg and finally most of his hideously melted face just poured down in a thick gory and bubbling puddle. The Horselord died on his feet, but not much of him remained. Good grief, Sam thought and swung with the sledgehammer to lift the war machine supports higher. Laedan fired without bothering to warn him. The bolts whooshing next to his ringing ear, one after the other.
The Hydra toppled sideways, the stubby fin-like leg buckling with two heavy bolts in it and Hobor probably saved -a busy shoving the bolt deeper into the beast¡¯s knee- Glen¡¯s life, skewering a snapping giant snake head just below its left jaw and stopping it from spraying acid on him. The big Nord stilled his legs holding the spear with both hands when the Hydra tried to dislodge it, his boots plowing the black soft soil afore leaving it despite his efforts and great bulk. The arriving -even bulkier- Soren gave the turning upwards massive head a good chop with his battleaxe -right on its right eye- to make it drop down again, a gush of its foul blood exploding three meters out of the wound. Hobor pulled down with all his might, letting out a baritone mighty roar, the injured Hydra yanked the other way and his spear snapped sending the big Nord down. The beast opened its snake jaws impossibly wide looming over the thrashing Hoplite, but afore it could use its sword like hollow fangs, Soren¡¯s axe returned in a tremendous arching upwards swing that ripped them both out of its mouth and lodged so deep in the Hydra¡¯s viscous palate, its massive cranium cracked audibly. ¡°Fire again!¡± Sam barked at Laedan and recoiled seeing the Denmaster walking past him towards the injured beast. ¡°What are you doing?¡± He bellowed running after him. ¡°No more bolts,¡± Laedan said simply and gave him a javelin, along a reproachful stare. ¡°You better find some armour to put on kid. Not the time to impress the ladies.¡±
¡°GET BACK!¡± A gnarling comically, wild-eyed Glen barked in a hoarse voice limping towards them. ¡°Get everyone back! Fuck¡¯s sake! Bunch of plaguin¡¯ idiots!¡± Lyceron¡¯s Hoplites started retreating towards the land bridge, but Kalac was still hacking away at a head covered in gore, the rest of the galloping Horselords trying to help him. The massive beast was trying to pull away as well into its lake, but without the front leg it was very difficult to move that cumbersome body towards safety. ¡°Welp, that¡¯s a bloomin¡¯ mess. Funny thing is I can hear better,¡± Marlo commented approaching them, half his helm missing, leaving part of his face and head exposed. He sported a bald spot on the uncovered surface, missing the hair there and most of his right ear. The skin an angry red of leaking boils. ¡°Blasted me in the fuckin¡¯ face and almost gulped it all down alike a fresh port harlot,¡± the adventurer griped and spat a fat blob of bloody phlegm down. ¡°Always jerk that pretty mouth away lad.¡± ¡°Eh,¡± Sam retorted and moved to help the Hoplites dislodge the Horselords. Uvrycres beating them to the punch sort off.
The landing Wyvern ripped the Hydra¡¯s throat out in an almost decapitating move, using its segmented stinger like a sword and spat a sphere of molten lava in the other head¡¯s gullet, the snake jaws snapping shut instinctively but not afore the Hydra had gulped down the fireball. ¡°Shit,¡± Hush said probably thinking on Marlo¡¯s words still. The Hydra tried to back away, but it¡¯d run out of heads and its bulky body kept sinking in the cleared out island soil that was its lair, instead of retreating towards the nearby waters. The Wyvern hovered in a menacing manner over his defeated foe for a long moment, leathery wings extended impressively and with a snort banked a left turn kicking with his hind legs and flew away leaving the smoldering field in the bog behind. ¡°Someone go and get Kalac,¡± Glen said breaking the awkard silence that followed the Wyvern¡¯s departure, an eye on the still smacking the mauled snake head with his bloody sword and bronze hand Horselord, the other on the mayhem. ¡°And every axe we have available. I want this beast cut to pieces.¡± ¡°Let me see your head fool,¡± Hush told Marlo and then locked up abruptly, an arrowhead protruding out of her left eye. The wound horrific and the blood splattering a shocked Marlo in the face. No. ¡°Cultists!¡± A civilian yelled afore getting cut down by a sword hack on the head. ¡°THEY ARE ATTACKING!¡± Another yelled as everyone hurried towards the lost between the trees part of the road from where the Cultists were coming out of. Sam and Jingo sprinted after a fast moving Lyceron well ahead of the pack, the image of a distraught blood-covered and disfigured Marlo holding a thrashing in her final moments Hush in his arms, imprinted in the grieving adventurer¡¯s brain.
A group of about fifty Zilan members of the Veils of Nether rushed the barricades Glen had ordered them to hastily set up on the road and scaled over to reach their supply train. Ehlark leading a group of those trapped there, grabbed weapons from the wagons and stalled them long enough for the first fighters of the main body to return. They caught the Cultists between them. ¡°Humph,¡± an armed with a sword Cultist gasped skewered under the armpit by Lyceron, the Hoplite wrenching the spear out of the gory wound and plunging it lighting fast in the snarling face of the one standing next to him. Sam jerked away from a slash, the tip of the sword cutting a bloody line under his chest and cursed remembering he had no armour on. He ducked under the next slash, parried the blade away with the Kopis he carried almost losing the grip on it, Glen¡¯s hurled peleg saving his neck. The Zilan fighter stumbled, the steel throwing axe wedged in his sternum and Sam cut him once savagely across the mouth, mauling his face. He went after Lyceron, the nimble Hoplite slicing through the flanked Cultists and finished off those still breathing not feeling shame for it for a while. What had started as a dangerous opportunistic raid for the Cultists, quickly turned into a massacre as the frustrated arriving Hoplites let it all out on them. They had suffered against the Hydra, but the Cultists were an enemy they could fight on fair terms. Sort of, as the difference in skill was huge. Sam paused bloodlust withering away, then stepped back breathing heavy, his opponent bleeding from multiple spear thrusts and cuts all over his body. He¡¯d no stomach for indiscriminate slaughter, despite his grief over the loss of Hush. The melancholic woman had never gotten over the death of Cole, but that was no way to go out, he thought bitterly. The arriving outraged Marlo had no problem with slaughter, nor did he share any of Sam¡¯s sensitivities. He went straight at a surrendering young Cultist, the number of the emerging out of the vapors Hoplites had broken their will to fight and chopped his head off without a word. The adventurer turned around and run the next one in line through the gut, afore Glen¡¯s hoarse voice put an end to it. Again sort of, as Marlo had to be forcefully restrained to prevent him from killing everyone.
¡°Let me see it,¡± Darunia told him moments later, Glen trying to pacify the Horselords and calm down a furious Marlo not five meters away. The remaining seven Cultists had been bunched up behind a ring of scowling Hoplites, with Laedan directing people back in the still smoking island, where the Hydra¡¯s butchered massive body still lay. They were picking up the dead and some had already started cutting large foul-smelling pieces off the beast, trying to keep certain valuable parts per the austere Denmaster¡¯s instructions. Sam found it hard to believe he¡¯d managed to survive two encounters with that nightmarish creature. A sense of being part of the stuff of legends looming over him heavy. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. See to Marlo,¡± Sam murmured a reply, grimacing when the Healer¡¯s skillful fingers applied a cold salve on his shoulder. ¡°I shall, after I check on you,¡± Darunia reproached him playfully. ¡°Is it common to fight without armour mister Mathews?¡± ¡°I had to ditch it,¡± Sam replied uncomfortable. ¡°I¡¯m fine Darunia.¡± The Healer stepped back with a frown. Then she glanced at Kalac, the Horselord still in the field near where his horse and Belec had fallen. ¡°How did Radpour deal with the rest of the clans?¡± she asked curious. ¡°Kalac don¡¯t seem the type to listen to orders.¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t,¡± Sam replied. ¡°He just moved out of the Great Steppe and conquered the Peninsula. There are still Horselords roaming the plains. I guess not as many as afore.¡± ¡°Greenwhale is a naughty mistress,¡± Darunia told him with a smile. ¡°Deceptively tame, but unfaithful.¡± ¡°They helped him aplenty,¡± Sam said. ¡°I¡¯m sure they did,¡± the Healer replied and touched his face with a warm hand. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for your loss Sam Mathews.¡± He grimaced and glanced at Glen puffing out frustrated with what he was hearing. ¡°Marlo knew her longer,¡± he grunted not wanting to talk about it and jumped down from the wagon¡¯s rear. ¡°As tempting as it is, an adventurer¡¯s life comes with risk.¡± ¡°And rewards,¡± Darunia whispered her meaning vague. Sam nodded. ¡°That too.¡±
¡°So Pelleas isn¡¯t here? Fuckin¡¯ bullshit,¡± Glen griped, the busy bandaging his bruised shoulder Kirk sniggering at his outburst. ¡°Not among the slain, or those that surrendered,¡± Lyceron reported. ¡°You can ask them yourself.¡± ¡°Will they talk?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡± Glen snorted and eyed Marlo. ¡°Tie them up. I mean give ¡®em the business here. Arms and legs. We¡¯ll load them at the wagons.¡± ¡°Just kill them and be done wit it!¡± Marlo grunted. He¡¯d removed his ruined helm, but his face wasn¡¯t in a much better condition. ¡°I prefer not to,¡± Glen retorted trying to keep his composure. ¡°You need to have that looked at friend.¡± ¡°Argh,¡± Marlo protested and walked away fuming, Jingo following after him. ¡°Will he be a problem?¡± Glen asked him and Sam grimaced. ¡°Give him time. It¡¯s not easy to deal with losing a friend Garth,¡± he replied pointedly. ¡°I get that and I sympathize,¡± Glen replied. ¡°Hush was a solid lass, but we need to keep our heads clear here. We march into the village and hopefully take Pelleas out for good. No more surprises.¡± ¡°What if he isn¡¯t there?¡± ¡°Then he¡¯ll have run out of places to hide,¡± Glen retorted. ¡°We clear this plaguing swamp, open a proper road and connect it with the rest of Wetull. Civilization wins over right?¡± Sam smacked his lips and nodded tiredly. ¡°Sounds like a good plan my Lord,¡± he murmured. ¡°Gratitude for saving me back there.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be a fool,¡± Glen admonished him with a grunt. ¡°You are a friend Mathews. You would¡¯ve done the same. That¡¯s the bottom line here. We are trying to keep our eye on the big picture and use teamwork to make it out of this shite alive.¡± Eh, Sam thought, Glen was laying it thick there. Probably why people didn¡¯t trust him easily. ¡°Darn it!¡± Soren bellowed strolling near them, wild red beard sprouting out of his face and accompanied by a disheveled silent Hobor. ¡°Someone took my pig! Come clean now ye short sneaky bastards, who done it?¡± ¡°Where did you see it last?¡± Glen asked him with a kind and rare genuine grin. Soren stood back troubled and sighed deeply afore replying. ¡°That¡¯s the blasted problem Glen. I don¡¯t remember.¡± Hard as they tried they didn¡¯t find Soren¡¯s pig that day, or the next. But it didn¡¯t much matter as just before noon they spotted the first wooden dwellings on the small plateau sloping up to a hundred meters in elevation over the swamp with the peak of Snake Mountain behind it. If one stood at the edge of it, he could see the marshy green area underneath spreading out for many miles to the northeast. The small forest reaching to the banks of the Canal to the west. ¡°Last plaguin'' obstacle,¡± the Lord of Morn Taras told him atop his splendid warhorse, when the village buildings came to sight. ¡°Having said that, I probably just jinxed it. Dammit! What are you doing my dude?¡± he admonished himself much as he habitually did and as time and again had happen afore, Glen was right. 299. Beyond Nether’s Veils (3/3)
Glen Arguen Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Lord of Morn Taras Monarch of Sinya Goras Beyond Nether¡¯s Veils Part III -The Seer of Snakeville-
The white-back grey Vulture raised its ugly head, curving black beak covered in gore and set its beady eyes on the approaching ranger. Wylinor extended his arm back, signaling for Shalia to stop and then brought it behind his ear. Wueh! The large bird croaked. Glen lowered the spyglass and stared at Kalac. The Horselord¡¯s mood hadn¡¯t improved after their success against the Hydra. The fact that only six Horselords were left from his initial force probably playing a role to it. ¡°What are they doing?¡± Glen asked, looking through the spyglass again. ¡°That¡¯s a corpse milord,¡± Kirk replied. Glen could see the bloated half-eaten corpse by the side of the cobblestone path that had replaced Lord Onas¡¯ much wider road they had been following. Not even ten meters from the first simple houses of the village. ¡°Shalia is coming back. Keep yer eyes on Wylinor,¡± Glen murmured and with a last glance at the gloomy Kalac turned around and walked towards the stationary force. They had stopped four hundred meters from the village, not wanting to get ambushed in its narrow streets. It turned out there was only the one main street running through the center of the settlement and no cultist was waiting for them. But for the corpse left to rot that is. Which had given Glen pause. He ordered the army to rest by the side of the road, under the heavy shade of black-bark trees, Darunia called Nere, or Locust Bean trees, due to their colorful red suspended spherical fruit. The hairy fruit looking anything but eatable to Glen and he just tuned out the healer¡¯s diatribe after a moment. ¡°No sign of them?¡± Sam asked him and Glen nodded, rubbing his unshaven cheek. ¡°They thought the Hydra got us all and went for the supplies,¡± Lyceron said. ¡°The Wyvern burning all that soaked wood really helped.¡± With fifteen killed and two badly injured Glen wished he¡¯d insisted on going with Uvrycres immediately, but the problem with leading a lot of people, is you have to bother with stuff you wouldn¡¯t when you were riding solo. ¡°Alright, I want an assault group ready posthaste,¡± he decided not wanting to just wait for someone to spot them. They were really difficult to miss and sooner or later people would start wandering off, or fall asleep by the road. The sun was high on the sky, their third day in a row of good weather. ¡°How many?¡± Lyceron asked. ¡°Let¡¯s try not to make a ruckus, pick smart guys,¡± Glen thought about it for a moment. ¡°Twenty. Have the rest ready to charge in.¡± ¡°I¡¯m coming in,¡± the bandaged Marlo grunted. ¡°Jingo too.¡± Glen glanced at Sam and the adventurer nodded. ¡°I don¡¯t want us to start killing folk that have no intention of fighting,¡± Glen warned them. ¡°Marlo will behave,¡± Sam assured him. ¡°I make no bloody promises Mathews,¡± Marlo hissed. Glen sighed and turned to the approaching Shalia. The ranger had sprinted the distance, but appeared rather unfazed. ¡°No wounds that we could see,¡± she reported. ¡°Fuck does that mean?¡± Glen was well past his tolerance for vagueness. ¡°The vultures had feasted on the exposed parts,¡± Shalia blurted with a blush at the rebuke. ¡°We couldn¡¯t tell Garth.¡± ¡°How long was he dead?¡± ¡°She. A couple of days at the most.¡± ¡°No one bothered to pick her up?¡± He murmured not liking mysteries. ¡°Are they gone?¡± ¡°We could ask the prisoners,¡± Kirk suggested. ¡°Milord.¡± Glen nodded and stared at the sky for the Wyvern, but Uvrycres had gone sightseeing again. ¡°We approach carefully,¡± he said to those near him. ¡°Nobody relaxes until we figure out what is going on.¡±
Glen followed Shalia on foot until they reached the first houses. He¡¯d hurt his ankle mimicking the crazy Gish ¨Chis exertions born out of desperation and not an attempt at showing off- during the fight with the ashen Hydra and pulled something in his back, so walking wasn¡¯t exactly pleasurable to him. Nevertheless the houses were made out of nearby quarried stone and cut timber. They were very simple constructions really, with small triangular windows facing east. The fetching ranger stopped them from continuing with a gesture. Glen loved the rangers dark green leather uniform since he first seen it on Lith. In three months it would be four years to the day. He¡¯d just turned one and twenty. Ten meters further inside the settlement Wylinor was climbing nimbly on a slanted roof to better scout the large open space at the center of the village that was its square. Shroudcoast was twice as big the former thief mused and stooped to listen to Shalia¡¯s whispering words. ¡°Four more bodies,¡± the ranger said and Glen glanced at the vultures flying away from the street disturbed and crying in protest. They kept circling high above the houses, which is as plaguin¡¯ ominous as it could be, Glen thought. Wylinor pointed at his eyes with index and mid finger then at the square underneath him, before showing them the number thirteen. ¡°Eh,¡± Shalia said and turned nervously to translate the ranger¡¯s signals, as much purple in her eyes as light blue. Skin flushed and smelling of leather and the forest. Hmm. ¡°Speak,¡± Glen grunted, seeing her hesitation. ¡°More bodies in the square,¡± Shalia blurted and Glen realized her hand was touching his sword wielding arm. With a hiss he removed it and turned to the nervous Sam Mathews. ¡°They fought each other?¡± Glen asked and the adventurer twisted his mouth this way and that unsure. ¡°A sickness?¡± Glen chanced with a nervous glance at the street. ¡°We fought them up close Garth,¡± Sam reminded him and Shalia gasped at the thought. Fuck. Glen got up and stared at the rest of their group. ¡°Lyceron send for Darunia. We might have an arse-clenching situation here.¡±
The small round opening, a gathering place for the villagers -with an artificial pond smack in the middle- had twelve stone pillars set up in a semi-circle. Every single one of those pillars occupied. At the lip of the three meters in diameter fresh water granite basin an emaciated Zilan sat, still eyes staring in the Nether. Looking as dead as the tied up bodies on the pillars, but not as thoroughly picked by the carrion birds. Or as bloated. ¡°Good grief,¡± Sam murmured at the disturbing sight, the shrieking vultures flying above them not helping. ¡°Ayup, this is Gish Lament all over again,¡± Marlo agreed and Glen whipped his head to glare at the adventurer. ¡°Explain!¡± ¡°No Ticu,¡± Shalia told them and walked near the first tied up corpse. ¡°They are bind in silk.¡± Glen frowned not understanding what she was saying. Lyceron had directed a couple of his Hoplites to search the houses and Soren helped unlocking the first door, giving it a good shove that cracked it in half. So he gave it a kick next to send the broken up pieces, hinges and all, into the one story house. ¡°Don¡¯t know about that,¡± Marlo commented. ¡°But we didn¡¯t see any as well,¡± he paused to clear his throat afore adding ominously. ¡°In the beginning.¡± Glen eyed the eerie silent main square, if one ignored the vulture symphony and Soren¡¯s crude burgling style, then the trees behind the first couple of rows of buildings to the west. He stared at the sloping path leading to the barren mountain top next and the stone quarry. The village was built at the edge of the fertile swampy land, in fact Pelleas had picked the driest and rockiest spot. Perhaps it is the view, he mused. Or the closeness to the quarry more like. The again, who would want to sleep next to a Hydra? ¡°SNAKE!¡± Wylinor barked from the top of the roof behind them and Glen recoiled in panic. He twisted around dagger in hand, but the ranger had nailed the pale predator''s coffin-shaped head with an arrow. Wylinor¡¯s marksmanship impressive given the distance. ¡°Shit,¡± Marlo said and cut its head off with a casual hack. ¡°Jingo it almost got your foot. Eyes on the ground lads!¡± ¡°You were lucky human,¡± Shalia told the stoic Issir and stooped to retrieve the arrowhead from the severed snake¡¯s head, pouting when she realized it was ruined. ¡°The black mouthed asp is lethal out of the cradle,¡± she pressed the pale grey snake mouth open to show them its blackened viscous innards. Ugh. Glen had approached one of the pillars in the meantime and examined the corpse of the Zilan female on it. Her skull cleaned of flesh, gouged out eyes empty holes, but for the fat white worms eating her rotting brain occasionally peeking out of the sockets. The cadaverous smell so strong, he had to step back not to throw up. His face pale and the taste of acid in his throat. Glen glanced at the bindings, the silvery thin ropes looking less than ¡®ropes¡¯ and more like spider webs. He turned his head to ask Shalia about it, everyone else either looking about them for more snakes, or joining Lyceron in checking out the rest of the houses and realized the dead-looking man sitting on the fountain-like basin had stood up. His robes loose over his gaunt figure. The face familiar up close. ¡°Pelleas?¡± Glen asked unsure, the man standing not two meters from him.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Oh shit!¡± someone gasped spotting the still living leader of the Cult. ¡°Motherfucker,¡± that was Marlo. Pelleas took a forward step not bothering to answer and Wylinor¡¯s arrow skewered the side of his head, just below the right ear, down through the neck and out above the left shoulder. The Priest paused, then turned his milky eyes on them, skin tearing around the wound like paper, but no blood pouring out and then made another step forward. Shite. ¡°Motherfuck¡¯r,¡± Marlo repeated very impressed and moved to cut him off, afore Glen¡¯s warning could stop him. The adventurer hacked once at the Priest¡¯s chest, opening the decaying flesh revealing rotting organs and breaking bones. He raised his arm to cut Pelleas¡¯ head off but another snake unfurled itself from the Priest¡¯s waist and snapped at Marlo¡¯s chest. Luthos cock caught in a vise. Glen dashed to his aid, the bandaged adventurer jerking away, the mail saving him but the snake followed its initial attack with a flurry of angry bites, moving so fast the arriving Glen missed most of them. He hacked at the thrashing snake¡¯s body severing its spine, the coffin-shaped head¡¯s black mouth cracking shut on the metal covered tip of his boot, as it had immediately turned to attack him. The snake, now missing a fang, tried to coil to strike at him again, but it was missing a couple of feet of tail and was sluggish doing it. Glen¡¯s reinforced boot moving with the speed of a dropping hammer squashed its creepy head on the stone tiles of the village¡¯s square. The thud reverberating on the empty building¡¯s walls and the mountain slopes behind him. ¡°Gah,¡± Marlo gasped, his sword clattering on the ground. ¡°Gallopin¡¯ fucking Goblins.¡± ¡°Where did it get him?¡± Shalia asked rushing to his aid. Marlo had removed his right hand glove and showed her his middle finger. The ranger showed him her sharp hunting knife in return. The silent gestures bordering the absurd considering the gravity of the moment. ¡°Just do it!¡± a sweating Marlo growled sounding panicked. Shalia grabbed his finger with her left hand and severed it abruptly with her knife, the blood splashing her comely face. ¡°Ugh,¡± Glen flinched in shock seeing the gory finger hitting the tiles. ¡°ARRGH!¡± Malro cried out blinded by pain. ¡°FUCKIN¡¯ HELLS!¡± ¡°This thing is still moving,¡± that was Sam keeping his eye on the present. Glen swung around, the corpse almost on him and chopped a portion of his face off with the dagger. Another snake dropping between Pelleas legs. Fuck is this disturbing shite? Are ye plaguing kidding me? He wondered diving away in a roll, the snake jaws snapping shut a foot from his right ear. Glen jumped upright with a shudder, just as everyone was scattering away from the butchered but still standing corpse of Pelleas and unsheathed his sword. The Jackal¡¯s cackle mocking. The snake came at him moving with uncanny speed, but Glen hacked it right between the nostrils, slicing its snout in two flapping pieces and a couple of meters to his right a hurled spear smacked a stumbling Pelleas¡¯ in the throat decapitating him in the process. The Priest collapsed on his knees and all Glen could hear now in the eerie square was Marlo¡¯s curses and his thundering heart. Perhaps also the hint of something tapping at a hard surface somewhere near. Dammit. ¡°STUPID CUNT!¡± Marlo groaned, grasping at his bleeding wound. ¡°Didn¡¯t mean¡­ arggh! Fuckin¡¯ bullshit!¡± ¡°Put a tourniquet on it,¡± Sam advised cloth in hand, already trying to stop the bleeding. ¡°Tourniquet yer arse!¡± Marlo retorted his teeth clattering. ¡°Where¡¯s that plauguin¡¯ healer?¡± Darunia had just arrived in the village¡¯s square with Ehlark. ¡°Mister Marlo,¡± she said with a frown, then paused to examine the macabre decorations and the killed snakes with interest. ¡°Doc I love ye truly, but I¡¯m both poisoned and bleedin¡¯ like a cracked faucet here,¡± Marlo grunted grimacing manically. ¡°Half the blooming turd is out, but there¡¯s no more give, if ye get me meanin¡¯!¡± Darunia blinked, probably not getting it, or too bemused to answer, but placed a glowing hand on the snarling adventurer just the same. ¡°Garth?¡± Shalia asked seeing him looking about them energetically, avoiding the dead Pelleas. ¡°There¡¯s a Wraith Arachnus here,¡± he grunted and Sam perked up at that remembering the mountain¡¯s tunnels. ¡°An Arachne yes,¡± Shalia repeated correcting him and Glen realized she knew already. ¡°Where?¡± He grunted glaring at her. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± the ranger gasped. ¡°I thought I was wrong. That it was something random.¡± Glen realized she hadn¡¯t seen one afore and hissed in frustration. ¡°Warn Lyceron to watch out in the houses. Light up torches and burn the corpses. From a plaguing distance!¡± A bloody Arachne in a Snake-infested-ville, he thought eyeing the corpse of Pelleas sourly. You were a weird fucker my dude. Right disturbed in the brain. ¡°Milord?¡± Kirk asked rushing close to him with most of Lyceron¡¯s Hoplites. ¡°It¡¯s a fucking trap!¡± Glen spat hoarsely and the decaying, half-eaten corpses started shaking on the pillars unloading the snakes coiled on them down. A lot of snakes.
Glen sliced at the leaping predator, its angry hiss stopped abruptly and punched another with the guard sending it sprawling between his legs. He jerked his knee aside, the leather soaking in poison, but the hollow fangs missing the skin and stabbed the dagger on the scaly head afore it could try again. ¡°Wahh,¡± he breathed deeply jumping away, his mouth dry at the close miss. Glen twisted about saw Soren getting bit and then ripping the snake out of his thigh sort of, huge fist clenched around the base of its neck so hard, he de-fleshed it in the process leaving the vertebrae bone exposed. Lyceron lowering his Hoplite helm to deflect a flying serpent and then nailing it below the neck with his Kopis. Eight Hoplites had already collapsed and Marlo didn¡¯t look that well, whether it was from poison in his blood, or blood loss. Ugh. Wylinor escaped another snake that had climbed the roof he was standing on, leaping astoundingly on the next one and firing an arrow on its mouth twisting around midair, which Glen thought was a bit dangerous. The ranger crashing on his back and going through the wooden roof the next moment vindicating him. ¡°Darunia!¡± he barked at the healer trying to treat the many wounded. ¡°How serious?¡± ¡°We need to mush the Locust bark into salve,¡± she told him working feverishly. ¡°You have some on you?¡± ¡°I gathered some earlier. It¡¯s a very rare tree,¡± Darunia said and reached for her satchel. Glen stooped and killed a snake sneaking up on her, then barked at a nearby Hoplite and Kirk. ¡°Help her finish it fast!¡± Ah, ye son of bitch, Glen thought looking about the empty roofs, at the occupied pillars and the distant tree tops, afore glancing back towards the gleaming rocky slopes. Where in Hells are you? ¡°This isn¡¯t natural,¡± Shalia informed him, stumbling on her legs before going down. ¡°Darunia!¡± Glen growled and pointed at the pale-faced ranger. ¡°She¡¯s been bit.¡± They had killed the snakes. Almost thirty of them, now in many hacked pieces, scattered about them. ¡°STOP PLAYING GAMES!¡± Glen bellowed and a cloaked figure materialized on the roof Wylinor had jumped away from, not ten meters from him. Glen expected a giant Arachne, but this thing looks like a Zilan. The sun coming from behind going through parts of the body, mainly the exposed head and left arm, skull and long bones gleaming underneath. The skin a strange dark orange, a pliable translucent amber. The long hair reaching her knees and blowing in the light breeze, all white but for a couple of faint purple strands. A long elaborate staff covered in bloodstones, half-charred and crooking a bit to the left in her right hand. Great. A hag on a roof. What''s next? ¡°What if more come Hardir? The swamp is not far,¡± she asked in a raspy tomb-birthed voice. Snakes was her meaning. Hopefully. ¡°I lose one man,¡± Glen retorted stepping forward, seriously pissed with this fresh freak that had come out of the woodwork. ¡°I¡¯m gonna fuck you up.¡± The strange woman chuckled and a poisoned Hoplite died with a gasp, his helmed head cracking on the tiles. A jolt running through Glen, locking his muscles up momentarily. No. The dagger had said in its hissing voice. ¡°Huh?¡± the freak huffed and two more Hoplites gave up the ghost, her staff¡¯s butt striking the wooden roof. A pillar detaching and flying towards Glen with a thunderous crackle, but barely clipping him, though it caved a wall across the square. Bringing the whole house down in a deafening collapse. Glen¡¯s left arm had gone numb. Move, Uvrycres warned. ¡°One,¡± the freakish Zilan taunted. ¡°I¡¯ve already killed. Another and your line is severed.¡± Glen shivered, knowing she wasn¡¯t talking about the men she had slain already. ¡°Come down, let¡¯s talk about it,¡± he grunted hoarsely, fear for his family strangling his words, keeping an eye on the sky, the other on a grimacing Wylinor stepping out of the house he¡¯d crashed into a moment afore, loaded longbow drawn. ¡°Is it greed what¡¯s driving you?¡± she asked curious with that gravelly voice. ¡°What you used shall kill thee. What else you¡¯ve hidden inept Warlock?¡± ¡°A Wyvern,¡± a scowling Glen deadpanned and the sinister figure flickered out of existence, the fireball hitting the spot she was standing on in a huge explosion that demolished the small house and the two adjoined to it and set several nearby buildings on fire. EEEEERRRRR Glen had dived for the ground instinctively hoping Uvrycres wouldn¡¯t hesitate, but the Wyvern did, fearing he¡¯d hit him and the woman had escaped the blast unscathed. That is, but for Wylinor¡¯s arrow stuck in her chest to the fletching¡¯s.
Darunia¡¯s cry snapping him back to reality moments later. Shalia had stopped breathing. The Healer¡¯s frantic efforts to revive her doomed to failure. ¡°What the hells was that?¡± Sam Mathews asked, his face grim. Another witch. Also trying to have me killed, but not as pretty. ¡°She killed her to escape,¡± Glen murmured, his mouth bitter and stepped away from the approaching distraught Wylinor. ¡°On purpose,¡± he whispered. ¡°Why?¡± the adventurer croaked. ¡°I¡¯ve no idea, other than out of malice,¡± Glen replied shaken. ¡°To hurt me.¡± And because she heard us talking. Gods. He shook his head that uneasy feeling returning, remembering her threatening words. ¡°How¡¯s Soren?¡± ¡°Big bastard just walked it off. Never seen the like,¡± Kirk reported in bewilderment coming to stand next to them. ¡°Lyceron is scouring the buildings to find her. What do you want to do about the fire? We need to bring everyone here to put it out.¡± ¡°She¡¯s gone,¡± Glen said gruffly and realized he couldn¡¯t close his left fist at all. Pushing the glove away revealed hardened coal-black skin underneath, the knuckles as stiff as Kalac¡¯s bronze hand. ¡°Let it burn. Level the bloody thing,¡± he added and covered the hand back up again, Kirk who¡¯d seen it nodding and opting not to comment.
Arguen Garth Aniculo, having secured the newly christened Snakeville the outlaw Pelleas had destroyed ¡®in his fury¡¯ and neutralizing the threat presented by the ¡®Veils of Nether¡¯ bloodthirsty cult, returned from the Snake Mount after a month via the same marshes road. He left the Horselord Kalac, son of Duham near Eroshin River¡¯s banks to ¡®make camp and built a ranch of sorts¡¯ and allowed him to send a call out to the distant Eplas Steppes for more of his kind to arrive to the expansive ¡®Horselord Fields¡¯. The latter tasked Tarn, son of Badal with guiding them to Quiceran¡¯s Road and through the Pale Mountains. Tarn accepted the mission and left for the two year long journey. Tarn would succeed in his task, but opt to remain in the plains himself and spread the word of free lands away from Khan¡¯s yoke. ¡®The Steppe¡¯s folk not always grasped the true meaning of words.¡¯ Justifiably worried about the situation in Goras Arguen Garth considered returning to his family, but Anfalon, First of the Hallowed, informed them while they were still recuperating in the docks near Serpent Canal¡¯s bridge that he¡¯d entered Abarat. Lord Rothomir was nowhere to be found and Lady Olonelis had surrendered the castle city to his Phalanx. So Arguen Garth boarded the returning transport ships leaving a strong force behind and dutifully crossed the Canal. The King¡¯s words chronicled on the third/fourth month of 192 NC by Vulreon, of Kataer ¡®the Trusted¡¯ First Royal Scribe, King¡¯s biographer, Respected member of the King¡¯s Permanent Council In The Monarch¡¯s Campaigns (Official record) Chapter II Beyond Nether¡¯s Veils -Securing Chimera¡¯s Leg & Abarat- - Entered into the Royal Library, In 201 NC, Circa 3407 IC ¨Cconsolidated- (3rd Era)
300. Almost a grisly end
Glen Arguen Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Lord of Morn Taras Monarch of Sinya Goras Almost a grisly end
¡°Send another,¡± Glen ordered Folen and the Master of Silence nodded, with a glance at his lute. ¡°Leave it there. Go,¡± Glen repeated. ¡°Garth this is the third missive,¡± Vaelenn reminded him. ¡°What do you expect to hear?¡± Something horrible. ¡°Why isn¡¯t Jinx replying?¡± Glen argued and the judge stood back on her chair. ¡°Lady Jinx has no role in the administration Arguen Garth. Perhaps there¡¯s nothing to report?¡± Onas smacked his lips, eyeing the Judge of Sinya Goras a little amused. ¡°What is it Onas?¡± Glen grunted. ¡°With all the respect Hardir, the biggest issue right now is to secure Abarat,¡± the old Council member noted. ¡°While I sympathize, some Hydra-loving magic practitioner¡¯s words aren¡¯t enough of a reason to derail you from the matters of state. That is if you are intending to assume the burden, else we are all made to look like fools here.¡± ¡°My family¡¯s safety is enough of a reason Onas.¡± ¡°Of course, but your family is secure per all reports, Abarat isn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Anfalon has the city!¡± Glen snapped angry. ¡°He also has command of the Phalanx. Olonelis might think, well¡­ anyone really, if we should just give him the reins and be done with it. He has a better claim than Rothomir.¡± ¡°You said there was no sorceress with Pelleas?¡± Glen couldn¡¯t get the hag¡¯s words out of his head. Onas sighed and took a goblet of wine in his hands. He played with it for a moment and then set it back on the table. ¡°Pelleas had found a way to keep Vemoro from eating him,¡± the old Zilan finally said. ¡°Was it skill? Talent? Bloody luck? Who cares? He did it. He had a way with animals, but finding monsters to help you isn¡¯t easy. The Fall of the empire made his backwards little clique swell with members, but no legitimate sorcerer would ever befriend him. They fed their own to the Hydra to allow them passing through the marshes. Rothomir was desperate, I never condoned this alliance.¡± ¡°A witch killed a lot of people Onas,¡± Glen insisted. ¡°A nest of Mambas and the Hydra did,¡± Onas retorted. ¡°She used magic Lord Onas,¡± Darunia intervened, strangely silent up to that moment. ¡°What kind?¡± Onas grunted with a grimace, not liking the talk not moving to the events in Abarat. ¡°It was an Alteration spell I believe,¡± Darunia said. ¡°But I only seen the last part of it.¡± Onas scoffed. ¡°Conjuration, even necromancy, if undead were involved. Then telekinesis, what you¡¯re mumbling about. You lads are describing a Bonemancer and no Zilan since well¡­ a very long time, ever touched that shite.¡± ¡°There was a Wraith Arachne involved,¡± Glen argued. ¡°She could have turned Pelleas into that fucking zombie!¡± Onas pushed back on his chair, arms crossed on his chest. ¡°How could you possibly know they can do that?¡± He queried. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± Glen replied. ¡°I do. The fact there¡¯s a murderous witch loose in my rear is making me nervous Onas.¡± ¡°All the more reason to reach Abarat and assume control Garth,¡± Lord Onas countered, sounding frustrated. ¡°What am I missing here? You are supposed to drag us all through the finish line. I¡¯m not feeling it,¡± Onas grimaced. ¡°Then there¡¯s Aenymriel.¡± ¡°What about her?¡± Glen hissed, not liking being questioned in front of others. It wasn¡¯t a vanity thing. Glen just didn¡¯t like questions. They could lead to truth spilling out, plans derailed and folk getting hurt. Or worse. ¡°The King had kicked her out of the Council sessions. Her brother barred her from visiting Nureria and there¡¯s a lake there with her plaguing name!¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°When a non-skilled in magic person tries to look behind the curtain,¡± Onas explained. ¡°He might get injured, or killed. Most just go mad. No one is immune to that. Everyone has his talents and she went further than she should have. You are breaking bread with a crazy murderer Garth.¡± Glen stood back and stared at him intently. ¡°The Queen used her assassins plenty, when it served her.¡± ¡°Not to my knowledge,¡± Onas grunted. ¡°Are you a soldier or a politician Onas?¡± Glen asked him. ¡°Because you went further than you should have it seems.¡± ¡°Ah, war has strategy in it,¡± Onas countered. ¡°A fighter can have brains and see the right course of action to be taken. A fool trusts a disturbed killer no one trusted afore him.¡± ¡°Everyone afore me is long dead and¡­ probably buried, if they were bloody lucky!¡± Glen retorted his face darkening. ¡°Want to try again?¡± ¡°If you can¡¯t put the state and the fate of everyone else above your qualms Hardir,¡± Onas grunted and got up. ¡°Then no one will ever trust you enough to stop fearing you. You¡¯re human, how long will you rule like that?¡±Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Thank you for yer input Lord Onas,¡± Glen told him scrunching his mouth. The old Zilan hissed and stormed outside the dock warehouse they were using as headquarters. Darunia rushed after the Council member trying to calm him down. The Canal needs infrastructure, a miffed Glen thought staring at the open door. ¡°You found what I asked you?¡± He asked Kirk and the fighter gave him a small bag of dried redleaf mixture. Glen used it to lit Flix¡¯s pipe with a tiny firestone and sucked on the aromatic smoke for a while. ¡°Where¡¯s Soren?¡± he finally asked, eyeing the silently watching their meeting Vulreon. ¡°Elwuin took him to the bridge Milord,¡± Kirk replied. ¡°He needed help to examine whether the supports can still be used.¡± ¡°How is he¡­? Never mind,¡± Glen said. ¡°What have you written about Kalac Vulreon?¡± The scribe perked up. ¡°Ahm, I described your words to the Horselords in quite the detail Arguen Garth,¡± he started, then paused seeing Glen¡¯s expression. ¡°How you helped him solve a problem.¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t a problem,¡± Glen corrected him. ¡°It was wearing his men down to the bone with no end in sight. It might seem fine on paper, but the constant struggle for more glory can be exhausting.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t it qualify as a problem?¡± Vulreon asked. ¡°In a sense, but it was a mistake in strategy on his part,¡± Glen said blowing smoke out of his nostrils. ¡°Kalac didn¡¯t need a prize for him, but for his men. Darunia, or any other slave girl, would have provided naught but fleeting gratification. Soon the problem would have surfaced again, orphans left behind with no father, slain friends and a dwindling force that blamed him for all their misfortunes. He didn¡¯t need a temporary solution to his problem, but a change in vision. No bigger vision but a patch of land given to an oppressed people so they can start anew.¡± ¡°It would be difficult to find the votes for giving him all this land Garth,¡± Vulreon noted. ¡°Do I need to?¡± ¡°If Hardir wants to be a King then he¡¯ll need some legitimacy Arguen Garth. Fear you have already.¡± A King. Legitimacy. Right. ¡°How would a King do it?¡± Glen asked him. ¡°Secure Abarat and ask Lord Suraer to bend the knee I believe is the correct term,¡± the bookish Zilan said with a blush. ¡°Where did you hear that?¡± Glen asked with the hint of a smile. Vulreon blinked a panicked look on his face. ¡°The humans talk about it Garth and it spreads in the Zilan ranks,¡± he finally blurted out. ¡°Not that it have to. Everyone knows what needs to be done. It is the Old Way.¡± Of the Realms was his meaning. Ah. ¡°Would Lord Suraer do it?¡± Glen asked curious. ¡°The Lord of Lo-Minas wouldn¡¯t acknowledge Lord Rothomir because the latter couldn¡¯t secure Goras. Giving free reign to Pelleas lost him a lot of goodwill and didn¡¯t accomplish anything,¡± the Scribe replied slowly worming himself into Glen¡¯s good graces. ¡°Well you already have Goras and you would have Abarat,¡± Vulreon said and stopped at that. ¡°Remove the Horselords inner conflict from your notes,¡± Glen told him and emptied his pipe down. He used the table¡¯s leg to do it properly and got up. ¡°Give Kalac a steady plinth to stand on and an out,¡± Glen added. ¡°One day even the unschooled Horselords of the bloody steppe might read your little record scribe.¡± A sniggering Kirk offered him his reinforced leather sheath with his sword. ¡°Shall I ready the horses¡¯ milord?¡± The loyal bodyguard queried. ¡°Not this time. We¡¯ll take a ship,¡± Glen retorted and nothing else needed to be said.
¡°Hey, big guy.¡± Soren turned his big red head and looked at him a huge grin on his mouth. ¡°Hey Glen. Elwuin is up on the support.¡± Good grief. Glen nodded upset and glanced at the academic among other things, riskily navigating the half-collapsed parts of the bridge, an iron rod in hand to check on the sturdiness of the asphalt. The first couple of massive stone and concrete supports had a narrow connection still standing ¨Ca thin slash of roadway basically- but it had been gutted underneath, iron ripped out, a lot of material broken away to fall into the Canal. Elwuin was risking a pretty lethal drop, especially if he kept on pounding down with his stupid rod to check on the durability of what was left. ¡°He¡¯s gonna get himself killed,¡± Glen decided. ¡°Hahaha!¡± Soren agreed and gave him a light smack on the shoulder. Glen rode with it, making a twirl the Nord thought even funnier. Fuck¡¯s sake. ¡°Hahaha!¡± ¡°How is he going to come down from there?¡± He asked shaking his head at Soren roaring uncontrollably, fat tears rolling down his eyes. The Nord gasped, wiped his face and long beard and pointed at a hemp rope running the length of the wall of the final support. The ancient stairs and paved road that used to lead up to the twenty meters in height bridge had been turned into piles of debris a long time ago. Most of that material Rothomir had used to rebuild the docks. But not all. ¡°I¡¯ll help him down, much as I helped him up,¡± Soren told him. ¡°Pretty easy.¡± ¡°What happens if the rope snaps?¡± Glen asked eyeing the boulders, large pieces of stone and old debris still present at the base of the support. ¡°Ahm,¡± Soren murmured. ¡°Hey Elwuin!¡± He boomed and the academic poked his disheveled head from above abruptly, standing rather dangerously at the edge of the platform. ¡°What?¡± He barked irate. ¡°I¡¯m busy!¡± ¡°With what?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t I explain¡­? Argh. We could insert iron bars in the cracks, pour cement over them¡ª¡± ¡°What happens if the rope breaks?¡± Soren asked, cutting him off. ¡°The¡­ rope?¡± A perturbed Elwuin asked. ¡°It was a rhetorical query my friend,¡± Glen intervened with a groan and turning his head upwards to eye the bewildered scholar he barked hoarsely at the top of his lungs. ¡°GET YER STUPID ARSE BACK DOWN HERE!¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Elwuin recoiled extremely startled, his head snapping backwards, left foot slipping out the lip of the bridge. A yelping Elwuin tried to compensate putting pressure on the rod he¡¯d set down to use as a cane, but the clumsy scholar used too much force, his body twirled around the other way like Glen¡¯s had earlier, danced at the edge of the support for a couple of breathtaking as much as horrifying seconds and then tumbled abruptly with a scream into the shallow bank of the Canal. Missing the boulder-sized rocks, the rusted iron bars covered stone-like debris and the equally hard, gravel-packed ground for a couple of inches at the most. What in the slovenly fuck? Glen shuddered not expecting such a grisly end to that fool¡¯s story. ¡°Ehm,¡± Soren gasped in shock at the splash fearing the worst as well. ¡°GAAAH!¡± A wildly flaying Elwuin cried out popping out of the frothy brackish water a moment later, soaked to the bone and bleeding down his face, but relatively unharmed and stared at them with haunted eyes. ¡°The nethermost¡­ is unbroken,¡± the scholar mumbled sounding shook and not making any sense. ¡°It¡­ can be done. Hardir¡­ don¡¯t you see?¡± Ahm. No. All Glen could see was a crazy person, who¡¯d probably suffered brain damage, so he ordered Darunia to sedate him heavily for the journey across the Canal.
301. A matter of State (1/2)
Whisper ¡®Pretty Nose¡¯ Jinx A matter of State Part I -Pee in box, fool the fox-
The punch broke the heavy-set Lorian¡¯s jaw. Jinx heard it cracking, bone splintering and half a dozen teeth clattering on the tiles. The small invested crowd hollered or shrieked, with a few that had wagered good coin on the Lorian cursing civilly as it was a long shot. The wiry Zilan just looked more dangerous. Jinx had to manage Phinariel¡¯s fingers digging into her palm and keep an excited Assara at bay at the sight of blood. Folmon -the dangerous looking Zilan- took a moment from dancing around his doubled over opponent ¨CManius was busy picking up his teeth from the floor- to bask in the small crowd¡¯s appreciation. A couple of things must be noted here. For starters, the crowd was appreciative of the fact Folmon was going to give them a bit of coin back and not of his person. Secondly, the event Hulanor had set up, the latter being Folen¡¯s partner in the brothel business, was illegal in all ¡®civilized¡¯ cities on Jelin, or under the loftier umbrella of the gladiatorial games in Greenwhale Peninsula on Eplas. Because Glen hadn¡¯t bothered putting any law forbidding it, Hulanor had bought the villa next to the brothel and turned it into a mini arena to host such events. Secondly plus a bit, Jinx thought ¨Cnot wanting to ruin her argument- narrowing her eyes to glare at the hurt Manius, this wasn¡¯t just her taking the girls for a stroll in the shadier side of Taras. She was on a quest, while also trying to make a bit of coin. ¡°This is oddly exciting,¡± Phinariel murmured and judging by the state of those hard nubs poking at her thin tunic, she was telling the truth. It¡¯s all this well-oiled muscular male flesh displayed. Ye can¡¯t fault a girl for gazing. ¡°Don¡¯t you think?¡± the flushed Zilan added shyly. Just did babe. ¡°Blood,¡± Assara agreed licking at Jinx¡¯s palm, already hungry again. Eh. Jinx paused her glaring at the hurt fighter to figure out a proper response and Folmon decided this was enough basking for the evening and stooped to grab Manius hair in order to deliver his coup de grace. Manius kneed his extending hand breaking it at the wrist and the Zilan recoiled with a pained as much as surprised yelp. Everyone gasping audibly, but none more than the three females from completely different species. The sturdy Lorian rose up amidst that sudden silence, bloody mouth hanging half-open loosely, folded his arm at the elbow and used said elbow to deliver a seemingly devastating blow at the groaning Zilan. Right at his temple. Down goes Folmon, Jinx thought with a grin, as the crowd exploded in protest, but for the few that had risked their coin with the moaning, mostly toothless Manius. Them fuckers are now screaming with pure delight. ¡°We¡¯re going girls,¡± Jinx said and shoved the taller than her females through the angry crowd. ¡°Hey, get out of the way!¡± she yelled trying to reach Hulanor before someone lynched him. They made it at his small desk quickly, the plump Zilan, a couple of small gold loops dangling from his long ears very fetching, eyeing them in disbelief. ¡°Lady Jinx, with your¡­ ehm, unsettling friends,¡± he said, an eye on the crowd leaving the arena and slowly coming their way. ¡°I had wagered good coin on Manius,¡± Jinx told him cutting to the chase. ¡°A silver and two coppers,¡± Hulanor said reading his ledger carefully. ¡°The small bet on Manius, the larger on Folmon.¡± True. ¡°What was that?¡± Jinx recoiled faking surprise. Assara hissing at the frowning Zilan event organizer, bootlegger and brothel part-owner among other things. ¡°You wrote it wrong!¡± ¡°No,¡± Hulanor replied and signed for two equally sturdy-looking Zilan to approach and handle the angry crowd. ¡°I didn¡¯t,¡± he told her and pointed at his entry with a long fingernail. ¡°Are you serious?¡± Jinx bellowed, her screeching voice coming out stunningly powerful considering her small frame. ¡°HE WON¡¯T PAY!¡± ¡°Lady Jinx,¡± Hulanor said surprisingly calm given that the Gish¡¯s words had riled up the crowd even more and wiped Jinx¡¯s spittle from his cheek. That or he isn¡¯t as deep in the hole as his pre-game odds suggested. ¡°How about I give you a gold coin to go away?¡± Aha. You slimy bastard! I knew it. ¡°A gold coin?¡± Phinariel gasped sounding impressed. ¡°Why, she¡¯s in the wrong¡ª?¡± ¡°Fine!¡± Jinx yelled through her teeth, slotting her hand in Phinariel¡¯s mouth to stop her. The stunned scribe took four fingers in easily. Whoa! She grabbed the coin Hulanor was holding up for her and turned around to leave, but paused and turned around to pick Assara from under the desk. The action easier said than done as the snarling Ticu was pretty heavy and very strong. ¡°What in allgods favor is this thing?¡± Hulanor asked behind her back, but the angry customers assaulting his desk prevented him from delving into it further. The three females slipped into Folen¡¯s adjoined Pleasure House, just as the things turned ugly. These events always end up in a brawl, Jinx thought not too concerned about it. ¡°You tricked him,¡± Phinariel said following after her, Assara holding her hand and looking about with interest, the brothel¡¯s rooms missing their doors. ¡°No, I didn¡¯t,¡± Jinx replied. ¡°He just paid us to go away. I never lose. People think they¡¯ll anger Glen and always yield, though this time that wasn¡¯t exactly the reason.¡± ¡°How is any of this honest?¡± ¡°Phina there¡¯s no such thing. That cunt would¡¯ve been arrested in most cities for doing such stuff in the open! Or worse.¡± ¡°Sure, but you didn¡¯t answer¡­ goddess, what is she doing to him?¡± Phinariel asked, stopping to watch the gymnastics from the open door. The cries coming out of the bedroom disturbing. Haha. ¡°He¡¯s fine,¡± Jinx assured her and dragged the blushing young Zilan away. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡±
Assara looked around the mostly empty tavern located two blocks from the brothel, then opened her mouth impossibly wide and poured everything in her plate down her gullet. Meat, potatoes and vegetables. Material spilling out of the sides of that cavernous mouth and on their table. ¡°Noble Goddess,¡± Phinariel gasped dropping her fork down. Assara burped, made another weird sound and then puked everything under the table. She picked the plate and dropped it down as well. ¡°Dead,¡± the Ticu declared. ¡°Not good.¡± The shocked tavern keeper, a balding Cofol named Darvin, the tavern¡¯s name Culinary Delight, made to protest, but then thought better about it. I bet he wishes he¡¯d closed up early, Jinx thought and smiled warmly. ¡°Phina will clean it up,¡± she assured him, the Zilan frowning at her words. ¡°Do you have something¡­ ehm, redder?¡± ¡°Ahm, I can touch up a lamp steak?¡± Glen had brought a lot of sheep in Taras. ¡°How about you leave it untouched?¡± Jinx countered and Assara chuckled, her face changing as her black eyes grew into their natural size. Darvin shuddered and took a step back. ¡°Just bring it here with the juices,¡± Jinx added still grinning and a customer had enough and run out of the tavern screaming. It took them a moment to realize it was actually the cook. The naughty Ticu had slipped sneakily inside the kitchen to check on the fresh meat up close. Jinx had to go and get her out herself, Assara taking a slaughtered half-lamb with her, clutching at it desperately with her hands. The lower part. They found Phinariel sweeping the floor when they returned and Jinx decided this was enough excitement for the night.
¡°Where are you going?¡± Phinariel asked her back in Jinx¡¯s villa. A well fed Assara was soundly asleep next to the Zilan, the monkey snorting on her shoulder. ¡°I need to check up on some stuff,¡± Jinx replied keeping her voice low. ¡°What happens if she wakes up?¡± ¡°You sing something her, one of your poems and she''ll start singing too. If that fails you feed her the rest of the lamb. Not the monkey,¡± Jinx replied. ¡°I¡¯ll be right back.¡±
The wearing a dark-grey cuirass sentry outside Taras District ''Birds Post Tower'' blinked slowly, the three story square wooden structure located on the east side of the city¡¯s bulky stable¡¯s building and the road towards Sinya Goras Port. ¡°Jinx?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Jinx said with a wink. ¡°I knew you¡¯ll remember me!¡± The Cofol stood back unsure. Dammit. ¡°The Gish riding wit Lord Garth?¡± Jinx tried again with a groan. Whoa that sounds very ambiguous, she thought. ¡°Right,¡± the man said, remaining dutifully guarded. ¡°Ahm, are you lost?¡± ¡°I was thinking,¡± Jinx started pausing for extra emphasis. ¡°Of sending a missive to Eikenport.¡± The guard pointed at a closed large roofed cubicle set up next to the tower. ¡°Office is closed. It¡¯s the middle of the night. Come again in the morning.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a bit urgent you see,¡± Jinx insisted batting her eyelashes. Red-rimmed Gish eyes growing in a disconcerting manner. ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± the guard retorted honestly and pointed at the cubicle again. ¡°Come early, there¡¯s a line usually.¡± She used to be better at this. It is all these Zilan cunts making stuff difficult for the rest of us. ¡°Can I speak to Master Kamat-Fin?¡± That was the bird-whisperer or something. ¡°He¡¯s sleeping. Folk tend to do it in the middle of the night.¡± ¡°Maybe he¡¯ll wake up? I can wait with you. It¡¯s lonely at this time, right?¡± The sentry stared at an approaching City Guard patrol. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine Lady Jinx. Get your rest, come again in the morning.¡±If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Jinx thought about poking him in the eye, but decided the rest might take offense, so she smiled gnarly afore turning on her heels and sauntered away.
There was another Lorian guard outside Glen¡¯s villa, talking with a Cofol soldier, one of the twenty Sopat mercenaries Bohor used to secure the premises and act as Sen-Iv¡¯s bodyguards. Jinx cleared her throat, eyed the sky turning red as sunrise approached and headed straight for the door. The lowered spears stopping her. ¡°Boys,¡± Jinx taunted backing away. ¡°Are ye compensating for something? Hmm?¡± ¡°Lady Jinx,¡± the City guard said politely, one of Fikumin¡¯s under Captain Valentine Horton. ¡°Everyone is asleep.¡± ¡°Was going to check on Maeriel.¡± ¡°She¡¯ll be across the street after her shift is over,¡± the guard assured her. ¡°Like every morning. It¡¯ll be best for everyone if you waited for her across the street.¡± Whoa, Sen can hold a grudge. ¡°Can I speak to Fikumin?¡± ¡°The Lord Shield is asleep. It was a very big day yesterday,¡± the guard replied. ¡°Reckon it¡¯ll be equally tiring for him on the morrow.¡± Jinx knew that badge was going to be trouble the moment she spotted it on the dwarf¡¯s chest. It was that cunt Metu¡¯s fault for pushing all these ¡®reforms¡¯ and red tape on the people. ¡°Fuckin¡¯ cunt,¡± Jinx hissed and the guards frowned. ¡°I beg yer pardon?¡± the Lorian grunted. ¡°Not you,¡± Jinx retorted and with a last glance at the slanted eyed Cofol next to him, turned around and left them fuming in her small boots.
¡°Ticu,¡± Assara said and pointed at an island on the map, then moving her long slender finger she pointed at another island and repeated the word. Jinx sighed and stared at the bedroom door. ¡°Your mate sleeps,¡± Assara explained with a freakish shrewd smile. ¡°Let her sleep,¡± she replied and pushed back on her chair to spy on the villa across the street through the purposefully left open main door. ¡°There¡¯s Soletha again,¡± Jinx reported. ¡°Why?¡± Jinx stared at the unassuming girl. When she wasn¡¯t excited Assara looked like a normal human with strange eyes and small pointy teeth. Ugh. The Ticu was now wearing a short tunic Phinariel had brought her, the light green color contrasting to her jet-black gathered back hair and no shoes. She was also peeing on the floor of her hall without a care in the world. ¡°Assara!¡± Jinx scolded her. ¡°Stop!¡± ¡°Why?¡± she asked, the wet pool under her growing. ¡°We don¡¯t piss in our home girl! Where did you learn it? In the sea? Never mind, don¡¯t answer that,¡± Jinx decided and grabbed her arm. ¡°Come.¡± ¡°Where? Journey?¡± ¡°A small one.¡± Jinx dragged her out the back of the villa via a small door, the small backyard there facing the street behind them. The once empty neighborhood slowly coming back to life, houses and villas repaired, or even built anew, as more and more people opted to stay near the lake. The slowly rising castle up on the plateau overlooking the Taras valley and the picturesque lake the main attraction. As many Cofols and Lorians lived there as Zilan. Jinx pointed near a wild bush. ¡°There. Away from prying eyes. Ye get to do it like the Gish.¡± ¡°Pee outside,¡± Assara said and squatted down to resume her thing. Jinx nodded absentmindedly and glanced across the street, a Zilan sitting on her veranda glaring their way. Jinx raised her hand to greet the neighbor and the Zilan female hissed making a sour face. The Gish closed her greeting hand into a fist leaving the mid-finger pointing to the heavens. Annoying blue cunt.
Jinx spend the morning spying on Glen¡¯s villa, missed Maeriel leaving for an errant and only moved from her position when Phinariel returned after finishing her work with Fikumin. ¡°Is he free now?¡± ¡°He has meetings and the Council will be informed on the campaign developments later,¡± Phinariel replied. ¡°Anything else?¡± Jinx probed, flinching at the Ticu appearing next to the young Zilan. ¡°Not really,¡± Phinariel said and gave Assara her hug. She was working as a scribe near Fikumin for some months now and had showcased an exceptional ability in letters. Phinariel loved verses and writing down stuff, Maeriel¡¯s attempts to convert her to a ranger a total failure. ¡°There are a couple of things I can¡¯t talk about.¡± What? ¡°Come on,¡± Jinx urged her with a friendly grin. ¡°We don¡¯t care about all that right?¡± ¡°Ah, I can¡¯t. I¡¯ll ask Fikumin to brief you, if you want.¡± Bullshit. ¡°Pee outside,¡± Assara said and Phinariel frowned. ¡°Ahm, is she alright?¡± ¡°Outside,¡± the Ticu insisted taking her hand. ¡°Come.¡± ¡°Assara, Phina doesn¡¯t want to pee for fuck¡¯s sake!¡± Jinx exploded. ¡°Actually¡­¡± Phinariel started with a blush. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind. I might need to use your facilities.¡± It¡¯s all dirt girl, we own nothing but the skin on our bones, the Gish¡¯s eyes told her sadly. ¡°Why would I¡­? eh, go ahead. It¡¯s out the back,¡± Jinx said with a sigh, her mood pensive. ¡°I know.¡± ¡°Outside,¡± Assara agreed with a smile. ¡°Phin pee now.¡± ¡°Haha, she¡¯s rather cute yes?¡± Phinariel said following the Ticu to her backyard and walking past the spot Assara had used earlier to a small stone booth at the corner of the building. ¡°Ugh?¡± Assara grunted unhappy and a bit confused Phinariel had missed the spot. ¡°It¡¯s a lavatory,¡± the young Zilan explained pointing at the unassuming booth. No freaking way. I take the dirt comment back. Haha, imagine that! ¡°I love nature, but there are a lot of people peeking from windows out here right? Maeriel hates it, because she gets to clean it, but I¡¯ll clean up after me,¡± Phina added and stepped inside closing the small curtain behind her. ¡°Pee in box?¡± Assara asked hopefully next to a numb at the discovery Jinx. Her words a song. ¡°Fuck it,¡± she told the Ticu. ¡°Go wherever ye like kid,¡± Jinx paused thinking it through and then added. ¡°Except for the house. And my barrel, I only get to piss in there.¡±
Kamat-Fin was a slender, thin-necked Cofol, with slanted beady eyes and had a constant pained expression on his pale face, as if his bowels were bothering him. ¡°Lady Jinx,¡± he greeted her inside the Post Tower. The many small cages packed with plump birds of a couple of different breeds, but mainly pigeons with a rich teal-colored plumage. ¡°Something urgent?¡± Jinx had skipped the line outside. ¡°Eh. Any word from Eikenport?¡± ¡°Lord Shield has the latest mail. Castellan Metu was here earlier.¡± ¡°Uhm. You know, say I wanted to send a missive to Soren,¡± Jinx started. ¡°Could I use one of these birds?¡± ¡°The Lord¡¯s birds are on the last floor,¡± Kamat-Fin explained. ¡°You¡¯ll need the Shield¡¯s permission to use them for personal reasons.¡± ¡°Why is that?¡± ¡°There¡¯re limited in number,¡± the mail-official replied. He eyed an assistant coming inside with a stack of scrolls and sitting on a table to write them down in smaller-sized pieces of paper. ¡°So how do you know which bird to use?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a symbol on their leather pouch. Each city, or stop has a different one. The bird will return there always.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the symbol for the Canal?¡± Jinx asked. ¡°You don¡¯t need to know that.¡± Well screw you, bird-fucker! ¡°How about Eikenport?¡± She asked instead and Kamat-Fin pointed at a roomy cage with many birds squawking and looking about them nervously. ¡°Merchants have their own cages as well,¡± he explained. ¡°The bigger the need, the bigger the number of birds.¡± ¡°So ye write what you want and just release the bird?¡± Jinx asked innocently. Kamat-Fin examined her for a moment and then sighed. ¡°Lady Jinx I have work to attend to. If there¡¯s nothing more, I¡¯d like to get back to it. We need to make sure every message leaves here today. Time is money where I¡¯m from.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s that?¡± Jinx retorted. ¡°Lai Zel-Ka,¡± Kamat-Fin said, smiling thinly. ¡°The Gem Sister.¡± Damnit, Jinx thought. Sen has put her people everywhere.
¡°Fiku!¡± Jinx hollered and run after the procession marching down the street. Fikumin was at the lead with a sweaty Metu next to him and followed by the solemn-faced Captain Horton and six armed soldiers. ¡°Lord Shield was my meaning, haha,¡± she added sprinting to walk near him shoving a scowling Metu aside. ¡°Halt!¡± Horton barked stopping the group. ¡°What is it Jinx?¡± Fikumin asked her, his combed long beard luscious. ¡°Can we talk?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that what we¡¯re doing?¡± Jinx stooped near his ear. Not that you could spot one amidst all the hair. ¡°About Sen,¡± she whispered. Fikumin scowled even more and eyed those present frustrated. ¡°I¡¯m going to the stables. I have to inspect Voron¡¯s progress and be back afore the afternoon for a Council meeting.¡± ¡°So?¡± Jinx asked her voice trailing. ¡°I¡¯ll walk to the stables with Jinx Captain,¡± Fikumin decided with a groan, turning his head back. ¡°Follow me at five paces. Metu stay with them.¡± ¡°Speak,¡± he told her when they had gained some distance from his escort. ¡°What is Soletha doing here?¡± Jinx asked walking beside him. ¡°Glen sent her.¡± ¡°Something wrong with Sen?¡± ¡°Other than what is known? Not really. I¡¯m not an expert in human¡­ reproduction Gish,¡± Fikumin grunted and glanced about them. The stables guards eyeing them approaching. ¡°How is it with dwarfs?¡± ¡°Difficult,¡± Fikumin spat. ¡°Always.¡± Hmm. ¡°I have this feeling,¡± Jinx started. ¡°I can¡¯t shake it Fiku. Glen should know what¡¯s going on.¡± The dwarf stopped five meters from the stable entrance and stared at her intently. ¡°Lady Sen has informed the Council of her situation,¡± he told her. ¡°Glen is in the middle of a tricky campaign. Burdening him further won¡¯t help our leader make the best choices. So it was decided, to monitor her situation and inform the Monarch later. We couldn¡¯t force Lady Sen-Iv to reveal her¡­ status, without her consent. It would have stressed her even more, putting her in danger. It would stress Glen out also at a critical point, putting us all in danger. It is a matter of State Jinx. This has long stopped being just another adventure.¡± ¡°Fiku, is there something wrong?¡± The dwarf smacked his lips and Jinx realized he looked very tired. ¡°Glen left her in charge. Yes, he gave us power, but he¡­ I can¡¯t go against her wishes Jinx. Nor should you.¡± ¡°We¡¯re his friends,¡± Jinx reminded him and Fikumin grimaced in anger. ¡°She¡¯s his wife!¡± he grunted and scowled at the guards listening in. ¡°Is it serious?¡± Jinx asked. ¡°Does Soletha know? She has moved in the house Fiku.¡± ¡°Stop this,¡± Fikumin warned her. ¡°Whatever it is you¡¯re doing.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like secrets,¡± Jinx said stubbornly standing back. ¡°I know him longer than any one of you. He will want to know.¡± ¡°Rust and ruin! Jinx there¡¯s no plaguing secret!¡± Fikumin blasted her. ¡°It¡¯s a situation, we just have to be discreet. There¡¯s a bloody campaign in progress!¡± ¡°Is it that bad?¡± Fikumin puffed out exasperated. ¡°Glen is about to cross the Canal. Or went beyond it already,¡± he finally said gruffly. ¡°I have a ton of things to do Jinx,¡± the dwarf added tiredly. ¡°Sure go ahead,¡± Jinx told him and moved out of his way. ¡°Hey Fiku,¡± she said when he was halfway to the entrance and the dwarf stopped to listen to her. ¡°You never answered.¡± Which means it hasn¡¯t been a cakewalk, despite all the reports. ¡°Eh,¡± Fikumin snorted with a gesture and walked away.
¡°I¡¯m really nervous,¡± Phinariel said hours later and examined her hair for the third time in as many minutes. ¡°What am I supposed to say?¡± Jinx took her hands away from her weaved hair. The young Zilan was wearing the one piece silk tunic Sen had gifted her. The garment covering even less parts of the taller female than it did of the Gish, especially since Phinariel had started growing into her body. Phina used to be less modest when she was younger, Jinx thought. ¡°You¡¯ll read them a song about guarding duty,¡± Jinx repeated. ¡°Call it the Sentry¡¯s Hour.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have a song about that,¡± Phinariel murmured and stared at her painted red toenails. The cream-colored leather sandals showcasing them nicely. ¡°Trust me they won¡¯t pay attention to your words,¡± Jinx assured her and glanced at Assara. The Ticu wore her usual tunic and had a hooded light cloak that covered her head. ¡°She¡¯ll make sure they are distracted.¡± Assara whistled a tune without moving her lips, then gave them a toothy grin. ¡°Don¡¯t smile,¡± Jinx cautioned her and the Ticu stopped with a pout. ¡°It breaks the illusion.¡± ¡°Pee in box,¡± Assara agreed with a wink, her singing voice adding. ¡°Fool the fox.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right girl,¡± Jinx chuckled. ¡°Yer a fast learner.¡± 302. A matter of State (2/2)
Tingling skin sense the tingles Witness the sallow tree fronds cuddle ripples Fear and longing feel the same on yer nipples. Near a black-gravel lake Rest not yer head dear Black gravel Lake -The dead adventurer¡¯s song- - Sir (posthumously knighted by the Duke of Raoz) Dominique Valwarin, the Carmine Bard. Member of Ebenezer Framtond¡¯s inner Circle and a childhood friend. Sponsor of the adventurers¡¯ guild headquarters in Castalor, Altarin and Asturia. Original and only(?) surviving member of the ¡®Wicked quartet¡¯ party. The four adventurers being a Lorian, an Issir, a dwarf and a female(?) Gish. Born in the summer of 45 NC to a wealthy Issir family in ¡®The Crabs¡¯, near the then village of Tollor, in Kaltha. Died aged four and sixty from severe liver failure in the winter of 109 NC in Altarinport, in Raoz.
Whisper ¡®Pretty Nose¡¯ Jinx A matter of State Part II -The Monarch¡¯s bird-
Don¡¯t fall to yer death, Jinx advised herself, looking down from the second floor of the square tower. This is solid fucking granite down there. The Gish had gone a story higher than she intended initially because the first story window was covered with a grille, the opening large enough for a pigeon to go through, but not a Gish. So, Jinx had scaled higher, Phina and Assara looking smaller and a bit strange from above, the blushing Zilan whispering her poem to the enthralled sentry. First Jinx had tried the door, but that was closed. Then she had gone for the window. Fished an old turd out of the tub. The second story window was cracked open thankfully and no annoying grille had been installed yet. The fact it was ten meters high at least, made the likelihood of someone actually attempting to gain entry from there an absurd notion. Damn. Yet here Jinx was, the toes of her feet touching the stool of the window, left hand grabbing the head frame and the right reaching to open the wooden panes more. She had her laced boots hanging from her neck to use her nibble toes to climb, but the darn leather things were heavy and messed up with her balance. The weighty rope she¡¯d looped around her shoulder probably equally responsible for that. Eh. The window creaked, sound of birds cooing coming from the inside and Phina¡¯s singing with the help of Assara reaching her from below. Holding her breath Jinx stepped into the dark smelly room, almost toppling forward as the stupid frame was much higher than she expected from the floor. ¡°Fuck,¡± she whispered, a lot of bird eyes staring at her in the dark. The Gish took a step forward, gawking back at the cages and all the birds started ruffling their feathers disturbed. The ruckus raised ear-splitting. Shite. Literally. The room reeked of it. Knowing she needed to reach the last floor Jinx went straight for the door.
She found it open and escaped the maddening cacophony of all the disturbed carrier birds into the tower¡¯s staircase. Jinx dashed up the stairs in the dark, keeping her left hand on the wall and hissed in frustration finding the last door locked with a chain and padlock. The Gish riffled through her satchel, found a bronze pin and along with her dagger she started working on the sturdy padlock. Come on, she thought working feverishly, sweat rivulets running down her back and forehead. An annoying loose pink curl scratching her left eyeball. Don¡¯t be a fucking dick. Glen could crack a lock open pretty fast, almost as fast as Alix and Jinx knew the late Gish thief far longer than the islander. Just let it happen pink divinity, Alix¡¯s baritone voice counselled and Jinx chuckled at the weird memory, since it was even odds, or just as likely, the Gish was talking about lock picking there, or them fucking. The lock clicked loudly, the birds had calmed down downstairs in the meantime and with a loud metallic sound popped its shackle free. Jinx unclasped it from the thick iron chain, pulling the latter out of its metallic loops. A lot of clanging and banging was involved. The sound traveling down the empty dark staircase. Dammit, she cursed and pushed to open the door. Fuck is wrong wit ye girl? Coo, the birds inside the first cage, the one to her right, greeted her. Beady eyes shining eerily at the moonlight coming through the open large window. Also open, since now the drop to the granite tiles of the square was almost fifteen meters and that would give even an alley cat pause. The other caged birds replied from her left side. Six birds in the right cage, seven on the left. There¡¯s a symbol, Kamat-Fin had told her the other day. For each city, or home as we call it. We have to mark them for us, as they don¡¯t really need it. In a sense homing back is their special power. This dude fools around wit the birds, Jinx was sure of it and stood undecided in the smelling of bird poop narrow corridor between the large cages, hearing the fat pigeons call each other and ruffling their feathers nervously. The cage on her right had a blue ribbon on it and Jinx reached for a lightstone to see into the cages. Sure enough, the residents had a similar ribbon tied on their thin legs. She had to poke one with her dagger ¨Csoftly- to get it to move. The bird flew away using his wings more than it had to and send dust, shit, old hay and little pebbles in her face and mouth. ¡°Blah!¡± Jinx gasped and jumped away. She started spitting the bitter foul material down, her stomach lodged in her throat. ¡°Little shit!¡± Fuck. Too much noise. Was Kamat-Fin a heavy drinker? Surely yes. Who isn¡¯t? Jinx paused, her heart beating wild, to listen for sounds coming from the staircase, the room lively with the disturbed carrier birds in the two large cages. There were another two smaller cages inside the third floor of the Post Tower, nearer to the window, but those appeared empty. The Gish turned to the marked with a red ribbon left cage and stooped to read the tiny scribblings on it with the help of her light. LZK, the label read. Great. Leave at ze kanal? Jinx chanced unsure. Those Lesian dudes have pretty heavy accent. Then again Kamat is a Cofol. Jinx sighed deeply, but it turned into a small shriek hearing a door opening downstairs and dashed at the window to check on the girls. Phina was still talking with the sentry, but there was a patrol now parked there, the four newcomers pretending to laugh at something she said, whilst gawking at the Zilan¡¯s fit long legs. The sneaky Ticu rifling through the sergeant¡¯s satchel undetected. Nesande¡¯s tits. Jinx turned her head right and found a large ball of feathers looking at her. The bird had lowered its neck into its rich plumage, leaving only its black beady eyes showing and a bit of its bald head. Its neck and shoulders swollen, either by fat or muscle, if birds have that. No ribbon tied to its cage, but wearing that leather tube-like sheath on its back like all others. The chalk written word a capital M. The bird snorted and cooed once, its tone hoarse. Another smaller padlock locking the iron grid-like walls of its cage. Hmm. Jinx thought and inserted her dagger into the padlock¡¯s keyhole. Once, twice. A frustrated Jinx slotted the dagger in the shackle and yanked it open via the time-tasted manner of breaking it. ¡°Are you?¡± she asked the bird reaching to grab it with both hands. ¡°Who is that?¡± Jinx stared at the bird unsure at the question. It took a moment for her brain to register the simple fact that the pigeon hadn¡¯t uttered a single word. It couldn¡¯t. The agitated Gish shoved the big bird and the lightstone in her satchel and jumped from the now empty right cage to the always empty left one. She found her rope and unfurled a couple of meters of it on the floor. Jinx worked fast just as someone was heard climbing up the stairs, making her extra nervous and sweaty. She looped one edge of the climbing rope around the smaller bird cage and tied a fast knot to it, keeping the rest of the coiled thin rope in her right hand. A figure had appeared in the open doorframe, a lit torch making its long shadow dance on the dark floor. Jinx glanced at the open window nervously, hunched over her knees to become as small as possible. ¡°Is anybody here?¡± A hoarse Kamat-Fin asked. ¡°I¡¯ve heard you walking about.¡± He took a step inside the room, the oil torch lighting up the first cages. ¡°Speak thief,¡± Kamat grunted and walked further inside. ¡°Shit,¡± he gasped in horror. ¡°Who did this? The Monarch¡¯s bird cage!¡± Hah! Several things happened in the next couple of moments in very quick succession. Kamat rushed forward into the narrow corridor between the bird cages for starters, but his eyes were locked on the ¡®unlocked¡¯ cage and missed the poorly hidden next to the other cage across from him Gish. ¡°What a disaster,¡± Kamat gasped seeing his worst fear coming true. ¡°The bird is missing.¡± Coo-Coo. The bird went snapping its beak audibly and scratching at the inside of her satchel like a cat in heat. The Cofol mail official turned towards the sound alarmed, Jinx cursed jumping up, her right hand tossing the coiled rope out of the window and then followed after it with a distinct very loud whistle. Fifteen meters below her Assara paused chewing on the sergeant¡¯s spicy lamb-sausage, the action more creepy than lewd, spat it down and took a real bite out of his belt resting hand. The man¡¯s pained scream matching Jinx¡¯s ¨Chers a bit more hysterical- as she dived out of the open window, line looped once around her right forearm. This is gonna fuckin¡¯ hurt.
The small-bodied female blasted out of the open tower third story window, legs kicking underneath and arms pumping. She flew almost six meters in a straight line afore the rope pulled her violently to the side, the iron birdcage behind her uprooting from its stand, bouncing once off the floor and lodging on the window obliquely. Severing the diving to stop her Kamat¡¯s left arm above the wrist. Yank went the taut rope, a shrieking Jinx¡¯s shoulder popping out with a squelch as she traveled with enormous speed in a downwards at first arch, Kamat¡¯s desperate squeal of blinding pain mixing with the angry shouts of the bleeding sergeant. ¡°ARGGH! SHE BIT ME!¡± The man bellowed besides himself. ¡°She¡¯s just nervous!¡± Phina assured him in a high pitched panic-riddled voice, pulling a snarling Assara from him. Blood trickling down the kicking Ticu¡¯s chin. ¡°It¡¯ll close back up again!¡± ¡°She fuckin¡¯ took the pinky! GAH!¡± The sergeant protested vexing to stop the bleeding, the startled soldiers trying to get a look at his injury missing Jinx¡¯s spectacular flight over their heads just as the arc went from a dive to a lunge on the opposite direction, when the rope run out of give. ¡°Ugh,¡± Phina frowned in shock and glanced at the Ticu that had retreated under her hood. ¡°I don¡¯t see¡ª¡± ¡°SHE FUCKIN¡¯ SWALLOWED IT! LOOK!¡± The sergeant growled and went to grab the Ticu only to realize Assara was long gone. ¡°Ugh?¡± The sentry grunted seeing the shadow of Jinx going over their heads and then hearing Kamat¡¯s desperate screams of alarm. The swinging perilously Jinx was soon going to run out of rope and lose her right arm. She just couldn¡¯t take another yank at her hurt shoulder. The Gish saw the houses at the other edge of the street, a good twenty meters away. The newer less roomy, garden-less human variant and grimaced, used her good arm to free her numb-one mid-air, felt the rope vibrating and let go of it afore the shock reached her. The Gish somersaulted across the street, over ten meters off the ground in one of the biggest long leaps ever attempted without a safety net. One somersault. Two somersaults. Three full somersaults and a half, with four being the Gish record Jinx would break afore leaving this world. The manically screaming Jinx went through the window with her arse and lower back, dislodging the frames and tearing sheer fabric, feet scrapping the wood, catching a nail with her big toe and her head banging on the bed¡¯s edge, when she crashed between the couple furiously fucking. Coo-Coo. COOO! The freaked out bird cried out from inside her satchel. Jinx¡¯s face sandwiched between Luthoris tit and Nix¡¯s tongue, the latter licking her eyeball once. ¡°ARGH!¡± Jinx cried out half-blind and feeling so rattled she couldn¡¯t feel her teeth. ¡°STOP! Ye dumb cunt!¡± ¡°What?¡± Luthoris, or ¡®mother¡¯ gasped pulling away on the creaking and finally collapsing under them bed with a floor-shaking bang. ¡°Ahm, Mum?¡± A half-delirious Nix mumbled feeling up Jinx¡¯s boob over her shirt just to be sure? The fuck? Jinx¡¯s slap catching him right at his right ear. Down goes Nix, Jinx thought seeing the male Gish rolling half-unconscious away on the mangled hay mattress and she tried to get up groaning, her knees shaking and something sticking out of her big toe. A bloody nail. Whoa! What? ¡°Have you no shame?¡± She admonished the still bewildered Zilan prostitute that blinked trying to figure out what had happened and why the bed had broken in so many pieces. ¡°He¡¯s fucking yer daughter in the brothel!¡± Jinx grunted and banged her shoulder on the wall to get it back in. Ugh. Aaah. Luthoris stood up and kicked a moaning and disoriented Nix in the ribs, sending him across the room. Then the frustrated Zilan turned to eye a shocked Jinx with a scowl. ¡°I was doing him for free,¡± she explained and Jinx nodded, managing a pained smile. ¡°This yer place?¡± she asked with a groan. ¡°His,¡± the Zilan explained with a hiss. ¡°Back door?¡± ¡°Back window,¡± Luthoris retorted with a coy smile and crossed her arms over her perky breasts. ¡°What you got in the bag?¡± ¡°A fucking bird,¡± Jinx grunted and stumbled out of Nix¡¯s bedroom, leaving bloody footprints behind.
A hobbling Jinx entered Hulanor¡¯s office and apartment located behind his ¡®arena¡¯, two streets and fifteen minutes later, the sleeping Taras already waking up at the sound of gongs. The alarm raised the moment she walked out of Nix¡¯s house. ¡°Lady Jinx,¡± the plump Zilan grunted and made to close the door. ¡°We don¡¯t have an event today.¡± ¡°Nor will you have one on the morrow,¡± Jinx growled and kicked the door in. She shoved him out of the way to get inside with a grimace. ¡°You¡¯re hurt,¡± Hulanor noticed, closing the door behind them. ¡°I can have a chamomile readied.¡± ¡°Fuck you,¡± Jinx grunted and found a chair to sit on. ¡°I need to get out of the city. Not for long, just long enough to do something.¡± ¡°You want more coin?¡± ¡°I want your help, or I¡¯m telling everyone your events are fixed,¡± Jinx spat and wiped the sweat off her face. ¡°My help to get out,¡± Hulanor said, without denying her accusation. ¡°I assume all this ruckus is for something you did?¡± ¡°Listen up,¡± Jinx told him with a hiss. ¡°I know yer thinking to stall me, or some other bullshit, but I mean it. I¡¯ll ruin you. All I need is to talk to Garth and he¡¯ll close you down. Folen will have to drop your arse and good luck finding such a nice connection again here.¡± Hulanor grimaced, then used his finger to scratch his cobalt-colored eyebrow. ¡°Folmon shall travel to recuperate near Nesande¡¯s Temple. He had to take a solid hit to make it believable. Eh, it¡¯s part of the sport. Sen¡¯s Lake is a quiet place, now she ain¡¯t using it.¡± ¡°Sen has a lake in Goras?¡± Jinx gasped. ¡°Lady Sen-Iv bought the tiny island at its center. Which she used aplenty in the summer. But the name was catchy, so we slapped it on the whole thing hehe. The island approach is usually guarded, but it¡¯s a big place around that has a bit of tourism. Temple at the near for those seeking absolution and the fucking divine. Everybody profits,¡± the Zilan finished with a toothy smile. ¡°What do you have there?¡± ¡°A small Inn, I call the ¡®Distant Celestial Visions¡¯.¡± Ye ever expanding motherfucker. ¡°Lofty name. A bit disturbing.¡± ¡°Lofty neighbors across the water, or so people want to believe. It is what it is,¡± Hulanor replied modestly, afore turning serious. ¡°I¡¯ll tell Folmon to take you with him, but this is the last time you blackmail me Gish. If there¡¯s a next, I might decide to just risk it. Play the freaking odds. You could say I have a bit of a gambling problem.¡± Uhm.
The driver of the oblong covered wagon, two mules dragging it clicked his tongue to stop it in the back alley, behind Hulanor¡¯s arena. Jinx¡¯s greeted him, but the sinewy hooded man pointed his arm at the back without a word. All the city''s crooks are right under Folen¡¯s nose it seems. Or in his embrace. Jinx hobbled there with a grunt and climbed the back of the wagon. It was crammed with sacks and boxes of produce, the two benches on its longer sides packed as well, but leaving a small free spot at their edge for a person to sit on unseen from the outside. One of the two spots occupied by a bandaged Folmon.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it ¡°Hey,¡± Jinx said and planted her tired arse across from him, resting one hurting shoulder at the front hardwood-wall of the wagon-bed, right behind the driver, the other shoulder touching a row of onion-smelling heavy sacks. They had barely enough room in there to turn. ¡°How long is the journey?¡± ¡°Less than a day, but I never used this thing afore,¡± Folmon replied with a grimace, right side of his face very swollen and darker in color where that elbow had caught him. The wrist heavily bandaged. ¡°How¡¯s the head?¡± ¡°Manius broke my wrist on accident,¡± the Zilan wrestler explained. ¡°By the time I realized I had to roll with the blow, his elbow was digging in my skull.¡± ¡°Damn.¡± ¡°Yep,¡± Folmon offered her a toothy grin. ¡°Hulanor and I had pulled this trick a lot of times in the past. We¡¯re just rusty and Manius is new.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Jinx retorted, the wagon shaking and creaking as it moved through the empty alley, the sound of City Guards scouring the city audible in the night outside. ¡°You guys had stopped?¡± ¡°Due to the events. Did a bit of gardening for a while, a return to our bucolic roots. You know fishing and the like, so no tricks but mostly for sustenance after we run out of¡­ ehem, food.¡± ¡°Ever eaten a Gish?¡± Jinx asked him point blank. Folmon offered a smaller grin, showing just his pairs of fangs this time. ¡°Not fresh, I haven¡¯t,¡± the Zilan admitted looking at her. ¡°Didn¡¯t you guys had stopped or something?¡± Jinx queried. ¡°Not really. The streets of Goras were pretty violent Gish, not as well monitored as the palace grounds, or the rich neighborhoods. Haven¡¯t killed one, if that¡¯s what is worrying you. I don¡¯t remember your name,¡± he added sitting back. ¡°Jinx,¡± Whisper retorted. ¡°And I have killed plenty of you.¡± Not really, but she doubted Folmon was being fully honest here. ¡°Folmon,¡± the Zilan replied with a relaxed smile at the taunt, then switched to the Imperial tongue. ¡°To the heavens our greetings Skilled One.¡± ¡°Our hearts and songs,¡± Jinx replied, having learned pretty good Imperial from Maeriel.
They got out of Taras sort of, as the road leading to the ¡®Favored Hills¡¯ and Nesande¡¯s Temple was still part of the sprawling city, Jinx falling asleep at some point, after she¡¯d shared a potato with Folmon. The Zilan had eaten an onion they ¡®liberated¡¯ from the sacks as well. They had enough produce in the wagon to last them a month. Jinx woke up late the next day, the road turning rougher and the sound of water near. She wiped the drool from her mouth with a groan, her shoulder numb still and eyed the Zilan that had stood to check outside, pulling the closed rough leather fold at the back of the wagon aside. ¡°You¡¯ll stay at the inn?¡± Jinx asked him with a yawn. ¡°I¡¯ll sleep outside. Swim in the lake a bit. So that¡¯s my stop,¡± Folmon replied. ¡°Hulanor gave me the week off.¡± ¡°Lucky you,¡± Jinx said and stood up to check at the bird she still had in her satchel. She¡¯d fed it earlier and other than the fact it had dropped shit inside her stuff, the little bugger looked fine. ¡°Hey, I need a quill and ink.¡± ¡°The inn has,¡± Folmon replied and jumped down. ¡°Luthos favor upon you Gish,¡± the wrestler told her and walked away. The Gish thought she heard a gnome¡¯s naughty chuckle, when the flap closed after him. A preposterous notion.
The wagon stopped again half an hour later, the dark had returned again and Jinx had barely seen the sun all day. With a sigh, she navigated the narrow opening between the sacks and reached the back of the carriage to get out. Hulanor had cleared an opening in the heavy woods near the shore of the lake, flattened a hundred meters of beach and poured white gravel over it that ended at the front of his two-story redwood and stone inn. Fuck. That¡¯s pretty impressive, she thought. Jinx walked to the front of the wagon, the inn¡¯s lights off as the season hadn¡¯t really started yet. A small wooden fence circling a small yard before its entrance, filled with sturdy tables, nicely shaped stools and stands. In a couple of months, or in the summer this would be a fantastic place to visit. Jinx stopped on the left side of the driver¡¯s seat and glanced up to ask him if he had the key to the venue. She¡¯d rather not have to break inside another building so soon. There was no one in the wagon¡¯s seat. The Gish frowned, stood back and glanced at the dark inn¡¯s fence and then turned towards the nearby lake. The woods on each side of the empty beach, so idyllic a moment afore, now appearing sinister. Jinx felt her skin crawl from the hair follicles to the pink tips of her tits. Tingling skin sense the tingles, the old adventurer song went. Witness the sallow tree fronds cuddle ripples Fear and longing feel the same on yer nipples. The Gish swung around, clenching her teeth and ogled the big wagon again. She took a step back, then another, her eyes searching nervously for any sign of the driver, but finding none. Then the two moons appeared at the top of the wagon¡¯s taut leather cover and a lean hunched figure was highlighted there. The long hooded cloak flapping in the breeze coming from the lake. It looked like the driver¡¯s cloak, but it wasn¡¯t. Shit. Jinx narrowed her eyes, lips pressed tight and readied her muscles to bolt it as fast as she could, a hand reaching sneakily in her satchel and getting stabbed repeatedly by the hard bird¡¯s beak. Fuck¡¯s sake, seriously? ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± Din said, his voice coming to her ears from within her head, as the Zilan assassin¡¯s thin lips -visible under the raised hood- never moved. Jinx did. She dashed towards the inn, the brilliant lightstone hitting the gravel and the shades hissing disturbed around its light.
Jinx leaped over the fence, the bird rattling her satchel and cooing crazed. She landed in the small enclosed yard, the dark heavier here and all the windows apparently closed shut. Jinx cursed Luthos and rushed towards the nearest one to test the wooden shutters, but a shadow dropped from the roof of the inn two meters from her. The Gish shrieked in panic, boots sliding in the leaf-covered tiles, when she changed direction. The shadow breathed, Din getting out of it and Jinx kicked a stool in his legs and run the other way. Across the small yard, zig-zagging to avoid the bolted tables and jumping over the last one, arse gliding on the polished surface. Jinx landed with bend knees and then leaped over the fence again, her bandaged toe bleeding anew and making the inside of her boot slippery. A breath and she turned the corner, Din waiting for her half-in half-out of the building¡¯s shadow. For crying out loud! Din reached with an arm to grab her by the throat, but Jinx stooped lithely, forehead diving for the ground, a leg planted firm down, the other rising in a scorpion kick on the Zilan¡¯s jaw. Her boot¡¯s wooden sole connecting fully. Crack went the assassin¡¯s chin bones, his head snapping to the side and Jinx dived away from him. She landed on a knee, rolled over a shoulder and catapulted on her feet again to sprint into the woods. A hand grabbed her flapping ponytail and yanked her back violently putting a stop to that plan. Jinx screamed in pain almost getting scalped and landed on her back with a thud. ¡°Gah!¡± she gasped and saw a scowling Din stooping over her. Jinx made to move away, a hand reaching for her dagger, but the assassin pulled hard at her hair again to pin her down and grab her satchel. So Jinx slashed at his hand, the one holding the hair that is. She missed, but ripped her tail off, the pain blinding and brought her knees up to smack Din¡¯s other hand away. ¡°Ah, you little cunt,¡± Din hissed in her brain furious. Jinx twisted under him and tried to knife him in the jewels, but he jumped away with a snort. The Zilan opened his cloak to reveal his weapon harness and picked a blade out of many out. A long thin dagger. Jinx blinked, sweat burning in her eyes as she stood up and Din was suddenly on her. He slashed at her face, but she jerked away from it, a pink curtain getting in her eyes. The nibble Gish kicked at his knee, but missed in her turn, as Din danced to her right and tried to stick the dagger in her kidneys. A desperate Jinx twisted away from the blade and slashed at his gut in turn, but Din moved just enough to avoid the blade. Then punched her in the chest hard and shoved her back. Jinx groaned pathetically, almost biting her own tongue off and realized she couldn¡¯t win this. She twirled trying to get away, her arm slashing wild to keep him at bay, but Din blocked it early cracking her wrist, the dagger clattering down and then touched the tip of his own dagger on her left shoulder. With a heave he shoved it in through shirt, skin and flesh, the blade angling upwards and her arm turning numb. ¡°ARRGH! Rot in yer cock!¡± Jinx yelled both her arms useless and Din yanked his blade out, a thin spray of blood painting his face and smiled, afore punching her in the mouth. The Gish lost a tooth, which was bad, but she managed to snap her head and roll with the punch, a jolt of pain numbing the nape nigh worrying, but still the lesser of two evils. Ugh. Jinx dropped on her knees dazed and thoroughly beaten up. The Zilan stepped back and gave her a vicious kick right in the ribs cracking two of them, apparently not of the same opinion. Then another to make it three ribs. Fucking limp dicked leprechaun! Jinx coughed up miserably, tasting blood in her mouth mixed with grit and tried to get up. ¡°Stay down,¡± Din warned rounding the fallen Gish. ¡°The bird is in the bag?¡± ¡°Fuck¡­ you care?¡± Jinx retorted, bloody spittle flying out of her mouth, a gap in her teeth. ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± Din replied and grabbed the satchel. He cut the strap away quickly and reached inside to get to the bird. ¡°Blame the Sibyls.¡± Jinx had no idea what he was talking about and ogled in shock when the Zilan brought the pigeon near his face, opened his mouth and ripped its head out with his teeth. Good grief. ¡°Bitter blood,¡± Din said spitting the severed head away, along a couple of bloody feathers. He was properly covered in gore now. The assassin tossed the dead bird down, licking his lips. ¡°Never liked it,¡± he added and reached to dip his finger in Jinx¡¯s shoulder wound. ¡°Now Gish blood on the other hand,¡± Din licked the gory finger thoroughly, savoring the taste. When he came about Assara was gnawing at his boot trying to reach his ankle.
The Zilan recoiled and kicked his leg out to get rid of the Ticu. He managed it losing a good amount of boot leather and skin, but other than a low-guttural grunt Din remained unfazed. Assara jumped on his back, but came up empty as the Zilan dissolved into a shade, the smell of incense burning reaching Jinx¡¯s nostrils. Din reappeared behind the Ticu and despite Assara¡¯s timely reaction, he grabbed her by the throat and lifted her up. The young female fought him hard, kicking and hissing, but the Zilan¡¯s grip was steely and it slowly drained the gasping creature of her strength. ¡°Please don¡¯t,¡± Jinx begged him shaking, her ribcage feeling wobbly. ¡°Why?¡± Din asked and glanced her way unsure. ¡°Do you know what that is?¡± ¡°A friend,¡± Jinx croaked. The Zilan lowered the unresponsive Ticu down and stooped to check on her pulse. ¡°Two Queens, he¡¯ll crown,¡± Din droned looking at the pale face of Assara curious. ¡°What does that mean?¡± Jinx asked to stall him from doing whatever it was, he¡¯d come to do. ¡°It¡¯s a divination,¡± Din replied and stood up. ¡°If you believe in such things.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t,¡± Jinx groaned trying to move her swollen wrist, feeling lightheaded. ¡°Who does?¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± the assassin said and sheathed his dagger to get his axe out. ¡°I¡¯ll just keep some parts. Use the lake to dispose of the rest.¡± ¡°No,¡± Maeriel¡¯s voice said coming from the corner of the inn. ¡°You¡¯ll step away from her.¡± Din grimaced, not believing he was being interrupted yet again and glared towards the spot the voice had come from. A clenching her teeth Jinx trying to make her fingers close around her dagger while he was distracted. ¡°She¡¯s a danger to the Monarch,¡± Din reminded her, using his left leg to kick the dagger away casually. ¡°Not for you to decide,¡± Maeriel hissed. ¡°You¡¯ll never get out of the woods ranger,¡± Din grunted. ¡°You don¡¯t know who you¡¯re dealing with.¡± ¡°Sen knows I¡¯m here,¡± Maeriel retorted simply and stepped out of cover, bowstring drawn. ¡°You¡¯ll never step foot in Goras again.¡± ¡°Haha,¡± Din chuckled and shook his hooded head. ¡°Next time ranger, I¡¯ll know,¡± he warned. ¡°Next time,¡± a cold eyed Maeriel retorted. ¡°I¡¯ll shoot afore speaking.¡±
¡°How bad is it?¡± Maeriel asked her, the moment Din retreated into the shadows to leave them. Not that Jinx could be certain about anything. She groaned too shaken by the encounter and eyed the mutilated bird with a deep frown. ¡°Drool?¡± ¡°He was going to kill me,¡± Jinx told her. ¡°Check on Assara.¡± ¡°The Ticu? You¡¯re bleeding,¡± the ranger hissed. ¡°How did you know I was here?¡± Jinx groaned watching her checking up on the unresponsive Assara. ¡°Phina talked about your plan,¡± Maeriel hissed, letting her anger show on her pretty face. ¡°Hulanor talked even faster.¡± Eh. Jinx kind of expected that. She just needed a bit of time to write something down. Dammit. ¡°Are there any other birds in the Post Tower?¡± she asked and tried to get up. A rib pressing her skin funny forcing Jinx to abort that idea. ¡°Are you serious?¡± Maeriel blasted her. ¡°Kamat lost his hand! What is this? Have you gone completely insane?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with Sen?¡± Jinx croaked, her shirt turning slowly red. ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡± Maeriel grunted, grimacing in exasperation and rushed to help her patch up the wound. ¡°I¡¯m guarding Inis-Mir. Bohor deals with her security. Far as I know, nothing.¡± ¡°You¡¯re lying.¡± ¡°Ah, ask Soletha. We are going straight there anyway,¡± Maeriel retorted, her face flushed with anger. ¡°Don¡¯t ever do this again.¡± ¡°I did nothing,¡± Jinx replied stubbornly, although Kamat losing his hand was kind of shocking and not in her plans. ¡°Open your eyes darling. There¡¯s something going on here.¡± ¡°If you want to get in trouble Jinx, then you will,¡± her partner whispered, eyes gloomy and hurt, while working on her wound. ¡°This needs stitching. Goddess what¡¯s wrong with your ribs!¡± Eh, Jinx thought fading away. Most of them are fine.
Damn my mouth tastes like cotton, Jinx thought opening her blurry eyes. Soletha''s face appearing over her slowly, the healer¡¯s nibble hands fondling the underside of her tits. ¡°Mmm, I knew ye liked me Doc,¡± the groggy Jinx murmured, having trouble moving her tongue. With a snort Soletha slotted a finger in her mouth, dug inside there for a couple of awkward moments, until she found a piece of thin cloth and removed it causing Jinx to gag a bit. ¡°Is she better?¡± Maeriel asked, standing out of her peripheral vision. Oh crap! Loose lips sink ships! ¡°Honey, it didn¡¯t mean anything,¡± a blushing Jinx tried to say standing on her elbows. Soletha stopped her from moving too fast. The Gish¡¯s torso was tightly bandaged up to her armpits. Her wrist and shoulder as well. ¡°The rib will need time to heal and no gymnastics,¡± Soletha declared. ¡°The shoulder is saved, but it¡¯ll be a while before she can use the bow, or climb.¡± Jinx looked about her confused. ¡°Where are we?¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we tell Sen about Din?¡± Maeriel asked disregarding her and Jinx frowned. ¡°You task a killer to retrieve a thief,¡± Soletha retorted. ¡°There¡¯s a chance the thief would get killed.¡± Jinx decided to intervene. ¡°It was Din¡¯s idea. He said Glen would crown two Queens¡ª¡± ¡°What?¡± Maeriel interrupted, the ranger¡¯s mouth open in shock. ¡°Jinx are you insane?¡± Jinx realized they were inside Glen¡¯s villa. Hmm. ¡°Din said that?¡± Soletha asked gathering her needles and vials. Jinx felt the stitches pulling her where the healer had made a cut to set up the rib and on her shoulder. ¡°Interesting.¡± ¡°What does it mean?¡± Jinx asked with a grimace of pain. ¡°Jinx you¡¯re not having this conversation here!¡± Maeriel hissed furious and Jinx noticed the soldier standing guard at the door of the small servant¡¯s room. ¡°Soletha?¡± Jinx probed the skeptical priestess and healer. ¡°Each of the three Sibyls had its own prophecies. Similar but not exactly,¡± she murmured. ¡°Edlenn was a traditionalist and she followed after Sintoriela¡¯s divinations. The Moon¡¯s Daughter grandmother was the First Sibyl of the Coven. Not everyone did. This sounds like something Galadriel, the Second Sibyl would have said. People always try to shoehorn the future into their own wants. Sibyls as well, or their followers. And I suppose gods too.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± Jinx asked curious. ¡°It¡¯s been many centuries since I visited the Library, as many eons since I¡¯ve set my foot in Wetull afore Hardir came,¡± Soletha explained. ¡°I simply don¡¯t remember Gish. I live in the present.¡± ¡°What about the third?¡± Jinx probed narrowing her eyes. Soletha furrowed her brows. The Gish noticed streaks of white and purple in her blue hair. ¡°Ena was strange. Then again both the Cydonia witches were like that.¡± ¡°Edlenn¡¯s bloodline was from Cydonia also,¡± Maeriel reminded her and Soletha nodded once getting up. ¡°True, but she lived in Elauthin for so long, I believe her memory of the old places faded.¡± ¡°Din,¡± Jinx started, but Soletha stopped her with a soft touch on her bandaged shoulder. ¡°I¡¯ve written to Vaelenn about him. She¡¯ll talk to¡­ Garth,¡± Soletha replied with a small hesitation. ¡°Why not tell him directly? Why not just tell me what¡¯s going on?¡± Jinx grunted and put her feet down. She noticed the big toe on her right foot was bandaged as well. Damn. I probably look like a mummy. ¡°I can¡¯t talk about a patient¡¯s delicate situation child,¡± Soletha scolded her. ¡°Be sensible. Nor risk a confrontation with Aenymriel, when she stands so near Garth.¡± Whoa. ¡°Is Sen in danger?¡± Jinx hissed. The Healer stooped near her face and whispered so only she could hear. ¡°All pregnancies are difficult. You¡¯ll learn it when your time comes. Pain is part of it, as much as love. A mother knows and must take precedence,¡± she added her face darkening. Jinx gulped down. ¡°Are you sure?¡± she asked the gloomy old Zilan again and Soletha sighed. ¡°I¡¯m not. Nor am I the one calling the shots here,¡± she replied and Bohor entered the room. The Cofol commander¡¯s face a mask. ¡°Lady Jinx, Lady Soletha,¡± he said. ¡°Can she walk?¡± ¡°She can,¡± Soletha replied. ¡°Follow us,¡± Bohor told Jinx and gave a standing from the edge of the bed Maeriel a hard look. ¡°You can resume your guarding duties.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll come with you,¡± the ranger hissed, pressing her lips into a thin line. ¡°Wherever it is you¡¯re taking her.¡± ¡°No reason to get all flustered about it Zilan. Lady Sen is in the throne room,¡± Bohor replied with a snort. ¡°Isn¡¯t that right Castellan?¡± he asked over his shoulder. ¡°That is correct.¡± Metu¡¯s answer coming from somewhere outside the door.
Jinx hadn¡¯t seen Sen-Iv up close in months. The famed Cofol beauty and Glen¡¯s wife was visibly pregnant for a second time, but she had managed to keep her weight gain reasonably down per usual. Where her face glowed with health back in Eikenport though, Sen appeared dead tired and strained this time around. No amount of makeup could hide that, or light trickery. Bohor stopped ten meters from the throne chair, four large braziers behind her casting their light on the silent Cofol woman indirectly. Whether on purpose Jinx didn¡¯t know. Fikumin¡¯s large table was missing, since the dwarf had moved the Council meetings inside the finished part of Morn Taras, to give the Goras¡¯ first family their space and peace of mind. Gradually Fikumin had moved his stuff out of Glen¡¯s villa as well. There were at least ten armed soldiers inside the hall. Everyone facing Sen, but a scowling Kamat-Fin, his left arm in a sling and visibly missing the ¡®finger part¡¯ of it- a rigid Angrein and the impressive jet black Nimra Lion Glen had named Paws curled afore her bejeweled feet. Paws snarled warningly at the approaching crowd and Sen-Iv used her painted toes to scratch a spot between the raised tricorn ears, the big cat ¨CPaws was bigger than a dog already- grumbled licking with a nibble pink tongue his black-red lips and the protruding down its mouth long white fangs. ¡°Is this safe?¡± Jinx taunted the sitting female and Bohor snapped his head to glare her way furious, a tick starting on his left slanted black eye so severe, he had to put a gloved fist on it. ¡°Nothing is safe,¡± Sen told her. ¡°Some of it is guesswork, the other skill and experience,¡± she paused and allowed the lion to stand up. Paws strolled near them, sniffing and growling, everyone tensing up immediately. ¡°I¡¯m sorry about yer hand,¡± Jinx said. ¡°I was never going to attack you.¡± ¡°You stole the Monarch¡¯s Bird,¡± Metu said stepping forward. ¡°Injured an official in the process. Why, the man¡¯s a cripple for life and the bird is dead.¡± ¡°Shut your mouth,¡± Kamat growled. ¡°I need no props from you!¡± He grimaced and bowed his head to a silent Sen-Iv. ¡°Apologies for the outburst mistress.¡± ¡°Kamat shall seek no compensation, but the one I provide him,¡± Sen said her voice coming out strained. ¡°Ahm, I¡¯m not sure¡­¡± the mail-official started, but then yielded with a sigh. ¡°Of course, noble mistress,¡± Kamat said and gulped down trying to keep the emotions from his face. ¡°The bird we will replace somehow,¡± Sen paused as if she was short of breath, afore continuing. ¡°But you can¡¯t be forgiven Jinx. You went against my wishes.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m not buying all that crap honey. I ain¡¯t yer slave,¡± Jinx hissed, too tired and too injured to play nice. ¡°Give us the room!¡± Sen-Iv snapped furious, her voice cracking. ¡°Bohor its okay, Master Angrein shall protect me and Jinx won¡¯t assault a pregnant woman either way. She¡¯s just posturing.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll stay by the door, Lady Sen,¡± Bohor grunted and glared at Jinx afore leaving, taking that small crowd with him. Jinx set her eyes on the muscular robe-wearing Imperial Blacksmith. ¡°Why is he here?¡± ¡°Maeriel is upstairs,¡± Sen murmured dodging like a seasoned diplomat. ¡°I trust her, but you¡¯re sharing her bed. I can¡¯t best you in her heart for obvious reasons,¡± she added with a grimace of discomfort. Not because I couldn¡¯t if I wanted to, was her meaning. Which was straight up mean, Jinx thought. ¡°It¡¯s good to know yer true colors,¡± she taunted and Sen-Iv sighed tiredly. ¡°Soletha can¡¯t find anything wrong,¡± the Cofol woman finally said after a small pause. ¡°But it hurts me all the time. When I walk and when I eat. When I rest and in my sleep,¡± Sen continued and Jinx¡¯s stance deflated. She didn¡¯t want to be right that was never her intention. ¡°In my dreams, I see a piece of wood with sharp edges.¡± ¡°Sen, you could ask Soletha to term¡ª¡± ¡°The baby is fine!¡± Sen-Iv cut her off angrily and stood up from the throne with a groan, using both her arms for leverage. ¡°Soletha can feel it moving. I can.¡± ¡°If something¡¯s wrong,¡± Jinx tried again, but Sen wouldn¡¯t hear it. ¡°Some pregnancies are difficult,¡± she reasoned with a hiss and lowered herself back down again. ¡°Inis-Mir wasn¡¯t, but she is a girl. This must be a boy then,¡± Sen explained with a grimace of pain. ¡°It is just different. A test even. I have endured worse.¡± Or it¡¯s not. ¡°Nothing is safe,¡± Jinx repeated her words. ¡°But some things are dangerous to risk. Glen should know about it.¡± ¡°Glenavon crossed the Canal,¡± Sen-Iv replied tensely. ¡°Anfalon controls Abarat and they¡¯ll welcome him there with open arms. If Goras is a Grand Duchy, then adding another city, or two to it, he has a kingdom. A king fears no man Gish and gazes upon the realm¡¯s kings eye to eye.¡± Jinx stood back, her ribcage gnawing at her innards. ¡°Sen,¡± she murmured softly. ¡°A king shall have a proper heir,¡± the Cofol woman declared, her tone absolute. ¡°I won¡¯t have him decide the fate of a kingdom with fear in his heart, or worry about something that¡¯s my responsibility. Mine. Not yours, nor Fikumin¡¯s or any other vulture circling us. There¡¯s no other wife Jinx, this is my task to fulfill.¡± ¡°Glen already has an heir,¡± Jinx said hurt at her words. ¡°We¡¯re not with him for rewards. There were none on the horizon when I met him.¡± ¡°Speak for yourself,¡± Sen half-hissed half-groaned and Jinx realized the woman was in constant pain. ¡°Everyone follows him because they see the lord. Whether its Reeves, or Hardir, it matters naught. It¡¯s how things are and a lord needs a son in this world. Gish rules don¡¯t apply outside your isles.¡± ¡°They apply here.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t trust a Zilan if my life depended on it,¡± Sen spat bitterly. ¡°They don¡¯t have to kill you to take what you have. They can just wait for you to age and die! I can see it in their eyes Jinx. I can feel it in their fucking thoughts!¡± Jinx glanced at the frowning Blacksmith standing by her side. ¡°What is your remedy Angrein?¡± She snarled angry and moved towards them. The door burst open with a bang at the other end of the hall and heavy boots were heard approaching behind her. ¡°I serve the throne the Wyvern built,¡± Angrein replied sternly, as ambiguous a statement as Jinx had ever heard in her life. ¡°We are all on the same side Gish.¡± And as big a lie. No we¡¯re fucking not! ¡°Let it die,¡± Jinx hissed and a pale Sen-Iv recoiled in shock at her words. ¡°It isn¡¯t worth your life. Let Soletha cut it out Sen,¡± she shuddered feeling Bohor¡¯s heavy hand on her hurt shoulder. ¡°Whatever his solution, don¡¯t do it!¡± ¡°Enough!¡± Bohor growled bodying her roughly away. Jinx fighting hard, many arms coiling around her injured body. ¡°LET GLEN KNOW!¡± Jinx screamed hoarsely at the top of her lungs, gloved fingers trying to keep her mouth shut as she was dragged away from the throne. ¡°YOU¡¯LL RUIN HIM!¡± ¡°Stop!¡± Sen ordered and pushed herself up again, the agony she was experiencing visible for all to see for a moment, afore her face turned into a beautiful mask again. ¡°Glen is a lord of the Realm not some sentimental weakling. Born into it Gish. He knows what must be done to hold on to one¡¯s title!¡± You don¡¯t know him as well as I do, a younger Sen had told her in the summer of 189. Almost three years ago. But Jinx knew Glen better. She remembered him fumbling with a lord¡¯s sword back in Oakenfalls even earlier than that and heard her younger self deciding to spare him the arrow. Not because she¡¯d seen a haughty lord¡¯s scion fighting for his lofty rights, but because she¡¯d seen a desperate street urchin like herself in him that had come from nothing. Clinging to life with everything he got, because he had nothing else. Her gut had never been wrong. Jinx was a Gish. You err, yer fucking dead in the Sinking Isles. Abrakas never fooled around. ¡°You know that¡¯s not true,¡± she mumbled hoarsely. Feeling her wound leaking where Bohor had grabbed her. ¡°In yer heart you knew it since the fuckin¡¯ start. Open your eyes Opal of the Peninsula and see the truth. A man who has nothing fights for himself, but the same man will fight harder to protect what¡¯s his,¡± Jinx grunted. ¡°And break apart if he loses it, never to be the same again!¡± ¡°Lady Sen?¡± a heavy breathing Bohor grunted in her ear. ¡°Take her away,¡± Sen replied thoughtfully. ¡°Keep her under tight watch, so she can do no more harm to herself and unto others.¡± ¡°DON¡¯ DO IT!¡± Jinx kept screaming as they dragged her kicking and fighting away. ¡°HE WANTS NOTHING ELSE! HE HAS EVERYTHING!¡± You can¡¯t add more to it, she cried desperately. This is the mummer¡¯s trick. Luthos fills it all up to empty it all down. You can¡¯t play with the scales! You can¡¯t win, but you can lose him everything! A haunted Sen-Iv watching her from the throne shaking. Her famed eyes sparkling, face a brilliant white amidst the shadows cast by the braziers. Jinx thought for a moment her skin had cracked. Like an ancient painting, or a beautiful but crumbling statue. But it was probably just an illusion.
Addendum
Addendum -1-
KINGDOM OF KALTHA Known families & titles around 192 NC (Part II, expanded) The ¡®Big Three¡¯ A) The Van Durren (The Spearfish) Grand Duchy of Riverdor Riverdor (city) Riverdor Castle Tigerfall (Castle city near Wayford River) Lord Albert Van Durren (Riverdor, Foremost King¡¯s Shield) Sir Henk (Commander of the rebuilding First Foot) Sir Charles (Riverdor) Baron Mikel (Riverdor Castle) Sir Jan (Mikel''s son, Riverdor Castle) High Queen Nienke* (Died giving birth to Antoon the Third, in Midlanor?) Baronship of Badum Badum (city-castle, the ¡®Blue Lobster¡¯) Bearville (hunting village near the Small Peaks, part of the Great White mountain range) High Baron Lord Joep (Badum, KIA on Eplas, near Liyana Fort leading the First Foot) Sir Robert** (Badum, MIA on Eplas, with the remnants of the First Foot) Lord Janos (Badum, given the high baronship after Lord Joep''s death) Lady Aafke (Pascor, absconded in the court of the ¡®Wolffish¡¯, Lord Van Calcar) B) The Est Ravn (the Ashen Hydra) Grand Duchy of Midlanor Midlanor (city) Greywood Castle (large walled city in the Grey Woods forest, the ¡®Chimeras¡¯ sigil worn by everyone else but the Ravn of Midlanor) Roadfort (near Nordland Pass) Fordor (Hunting village near East Arid Peaks) Est Ravn¡¯s Garden (Fishing village at the knee of Comorego River) Lord High Regent, Anker Est Ravn (Guardian of Nordland Pass, Keeper of the Forests) Sir Mark (Lord Commander of the Second Foot) Sir Thor (Knight of Tyeus, leading a third of the Second Foot on Eplas ¨Cnear Hellfort Pass) Sir Shane*** (Killed near Issir¡¯s Eagle, former Commander of the Golden Spears Order, replaced by Sir Albert Kosters a fourth cousin. An ordained disciple of Tyeus.) Lady Klara (Midlanor, the ¡®Black lily of the forests¡¯) - Cadet branches (major) of the Est Ravn. The AredRavn (the Griffins) High Baronship of Farvor & Pastelor Farvor (town port across Ripel¡¯s Island) Ripel¡¯s Island Baron Dan AredRavn (from Ared Est Ravn, bastard of Lord Ruud Est Ravn, Lord Anker¡¯s father) Sir Luke (Leading the Third Foot in Midlanor) Pastelor (town port in the Shallow Sea) Sir Reinir Tellman (Pastelor, the ¡®Iron Griffin¡¯, second cousin to Baron Dan AredRavn) Sir Walter (KIA by Lucius Alden near Krakenfort) Lady Siske (Pastelor, the ¡®Daring¡¯, wed to Sir Evert Pek serving with the First Foot on Eplas) C) The De Weers (the Crows) Duchy of Scaldingport Scaldingport (City port in Veer¡¯s Gulf) Forestfort Toefort Timberville (part of Queen Janneke¡¯s dowry given to Regia) Hunter¡¯s Cot (hunting village near Boar¡¯s Horn River) Lord Ruud De Weer (the ¡®Old Crow¡¯, longest reigning ruler on Jelin) Sir Gust (leading Scaldingport¡¯s unsanctioned campaign on Eplas, known associate of the Pirate Queen, a knight of the Tyeus Order. The ¡®Raven of Dawn¡¯.) Sir Rik (City of Alden, the ¡®One-eyed Rook¡¯) Queen Janneke (city of Illirium, the ¡®Quiet Crow¡¯) Lord Mikkel (Toefort, Baron of Toe Peninsula, High Treasurer of Kaltha) Duchess Arabelle (Killed during the siege of Rida, Raoz. Wed to Duke Gideon Winfield.) Lady Leonie (Castalor. Wed to Lord Van Oord) - At least 3 known male bastards of Ruud''s exist (with four more females). Amongst them Mayor Sir Ron Bach, Sir Teun Bach with Lissane Reuten and Axel ''Mudriver'' with Ellen, of Forestfort the famous prostitute) The Lakelords D) The Hoff (the ¡®Standing Crab¡¯, ¡®Crabs¡¯) Duchy of TollorYou might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. Tollor (Large city port in the Canlita Sea, facing the Crabs) Edgefort (Large castle overlooking the island of Valeria, across Islandport) Crabsville (fishing port on the Crabs isles chain) Lord Daan Hoff (Tollor, the ¡®Duke of the Bogs¡¯) Sir Daan II Hoff (Junior) Sir Maas (Tollor) ''The Knight of Crabs'' Lord Morit (Baron of Edgefort) Lady Lauke (wed Janos Van Durren, after Aafke fled. The ¡®Young Bride¡¯) E) The Van Calcar (the ¡®Wolffish¡¯) Duchy of Pascor Pascor (City port in the Canlita Sea, facing the Wolffish Isles chain, near the mouth of Serene River) Brownfort (Large castle city near Calcar¡¯s Hunting Forest, guarding the East Nord Road and the road to Piker¡¯s River.) Bisonville (Disputed large town and river/lake port in the Cattle Fields, near Piker¡¯s River, it had access to the Canlita Sea via the river) Wolffish Isles (The ¡®Fish Folk¡¯, village port on the main isle, across the unpassable Hag¡¯s Fenlands. During dry seasons a land bridge formed to the Isles but was deemed deadly to navigate) Lord Ton Van Calcar (city of Pascor, the ¡®Dreadful Wolffish¡¯) Sir Dolf (Bisonville, Ton¡¯s younger brother, commander of Pascor¡¯s army detachment there) Lady Thea (Wolffish Isles, the ¡®Enchantress¡¯, wed to Sir Roger Blenk, the Duke¡¯s Shield) Baroness Tineke (Brownfort, wed to Baron Dilan Darvot, her third, or second cousin.) The Navy Lords F) The Van Oords (The Phorcys) Duchy of Castalor Castalor (Large city port in the Scalding Sea, the twin port city) Deadmen¡¯s Watch (town port in the Krakentrap Straits north mouth, a smuggler¡¯s heaven) Lord Basten Van Oord (Castalor) Sir Walter Lord Erland (Deadmen¡¯s Watch, Lord of Justice) Lady Marleen (promised to Sir Rik De Weer at birth, wedding put on hold by Lord Ruud for the ¡®Princess Tourney¡¯ in 188 NC and remained in that state for unspecified reasons) G) The Van De Aesst, or Aest. (The Black Hydras) Duchy of Caspo O¡¯ Bor Caspo O¡¯ Bor (Large city port across Cepri Island, Kaltha¡¯s North and Shallow Sea fleets winter port after the loss of Krakenhall, the ¡®Weeping Port¡¯, or ¡®Black Port¡¯ for the hundreds of iron hanging gibbets ¡®decorating¡¯ its entrance.) Trinir (fur, leather and timber trade town in South Grey Woods forest) Cepri fort (village port) Talontip Castle Lord Rinus Van De Aesst (Duke and High Admiral of Kaltha, Lord of Sea) Sir Ton (leading Kaltha¡¯s marines on Eplas alongside Sir Thor Est Ravn) Baron Wilt (Trinir) Lady Vera H) The Vanzon (house dissolved, titles lost) Grand Duchy of Krakenhall Krakenhall (Large city port in the North Sea, former summer anchorage for Kaltha¡¯s Northern Fleet, or ¡®simply the fleet¡¯. Last port the Issir migration armada¡¯s original remaining transports visited in 44 NC.) Krakenfort (large mining town near the Iron Quarries, overlooking Jelin¡¯s Edge plateau) Rockfort (Initially a Nord settlement turned into a large walled town by the Issirs near Alford River, taken back by the Northmen of Jarl David after Lucius a ¡®Hundred Days¡¯ campaign) Eleurhall (A trade route town on the Iron Road, taken by the Duchess of Krakenhall) Sallowhall (Town port at the armpit of Jelin¡¯s Blade peninsula. Former Northern Fleet alternative anchorage. An orphan baronship after the Fall of Krakenhall) Isker (fishing village port in the Frozen Lake, taken by the Northmen of Jarl David) Lord Floris Vanzon (Killed, or executed, during the battle of the Iron Quarry, or Krakenfort plains. Beheaded, disemboweled and smashed with hammers by men serving Zofia of Krakenhall. They were led by Dirk Kurd.) Aart Vanzon (KIA near Maza Burg two years prior during a successful bloody raid on Ludr.) Dier Vanzon (Former fleet instructor and academic of naval warfare. Lord of Shipbuilding. Surrendered to Sam ¡®Mad Wolf¡¯ O¡¯ Dargan¡¯s warriors after surviving a four month siege. He was sent to Ludr to be imprisoned along his young wife and unnamed son, but his escort was intercepted by a warband and they were never seen again. Presumed dead, murdered under orders from the Duchess of Krakenhall.) Lady Petra (forced to wed a Northman by Zofia. Died at childbirth.) Lady Lottie (Allegedly jumped to her death from Krakenhall¡¯s walls along her infant niece and Aart¡¯s daughter, amidst the negotiations for the surrender of the city) All the house Vanzon titles were usurped by Zofia O¡¯ Dargan of Ludr, with Lucius backing under the ancient right of conquest. Henceforth be known as Zofia of Krakenhall. An independent, later even hostile, cadet branch of the O¡¯ Dargans of Ludr. The ''Nords'' I) the Crulls (Three-headed Eagles) Minor Dukedom of Eaglesnest Eaglesnest (Highlands¡¯s walled city) Northwatch (large castle, taken by Lucius after the Legion Accords) Wolvesbane Castle (large castle, burned multiple times between 189 and 192 NC, taken by Jarl David into his Greater Jarldom of Ludr) Lord Bart Crull (Eaglesnest. Killed during Lucius Kas campaign, probably by his own men. Beheaded posthumously.) Sir Reggy (Killed by Sir Lucius Alden in a duel during the ¡®Battle of the Bridges.¡¯) Sir Hein (KIA in one of the scraps around Kas.) Bas Crull (Commander of ¡®Bas Rangers¡¯. Killed during the battle of Kas presumably. His body was never recovered.) Duchess Sanne Crull (Lady of Eaglesnest. Also known as the ¡®Old Crone¡¯ and the ¡®Ice Oracle¡¯ among other things. A rumored Seer.) - Minor Lords K) The Bach (The eye of Oras, A moon) Baronship of Colle Colle (Large town with a fishing port with the same name at the Boar¡¯s Ear gulf in the Shallow Sea. Right at the base of Boar Mountain and within North Greenforest) Lord Sigurd Bach (Eikenport? Master of Silence, former Minister of the Interior. Royal Tutor) Mayor Ron Bach (Colle, late Floris Bach¡¯s son. Rumored Lord Ruud¡¯s bastard with Lissane Reuten his wife) Sir Teun Bach (Colle. Royal Knight, member of the Royal Guard.) Lady Mona (Colle.) The prominent Reuten family of knights were closely related to the Bach of Colle (Sir Stans Reuten, Sir Jan Reuten-serving under Sir Gust De Weer on Eplas, Lady Femke and Lady Sonja amongst them) - Reinut¡¯s bloodline The Eikenaar (White Eagle with swords) Greater Principality of Issir¡¯s Eagle Issir¡¯s Eagle (Largest city in Kaltha. Reinut¡¯s landing spot after the defeat of Queen Baltoris at the site his old pet eagle decided to fly away from him. Build in a fertile valley served by two lakes and four rivers, near two ports towns guarding Reinut¡¯s Gulf. Eagleport (One of the neighboring town ports serving Issir¡¯s Eagle. A major trading port.) Quarterport (The other nearby town port serving Issir¡¯s Eagle. Build between Makolal Rill and Balworth River) Jaw Castle (A fort guarding one of the approaches to Reinut¡¯s Gulf.) Eagle Nest¡¯s Castle (A castle guarding the road to Riverdor and the Mudriver Bridge) Edge Castle (A fort guarding one of the approaches to Reinut¡¯s Gulf) - High King Antoon Eikenaar II (Issir''s Eagle. In a vegetated state after an assassination attempt) Prince Heir Kasper (Murdered at his betrothal ceremony to Lady Silvie Alden during the ¡®Virgins Wedding¡¯. Lord of Issir¡¯s Eagle, also known as the ¡®Child Groom¡¯ and the ¡®laughing Prince¡¯.) Prince Heir Antoon the Third**** (survived his mother¡¯s death, raised in Midlanor under orders from Lord Anker Est Ravn citing fears for his safety. Also known as Antoon the ¡®Phony¡¯ and the ¡®puppet Heir¡¯.) Princess Heiress Elsanne (Eikenport? Wed Prince Radin after the famous tournament, but reappeared after the throne was vacated to claim it. Her supporters were expelled from the Capital, but gathered at the city of Colle. Led a vicious campaign to discredit the young king, spearheaded by the Baron of Colle Sigurd Bach, Kaltha¡¯s former Master of Silence and Minister of Internal Affairs. Her former tutor. Amongst her allies, the powerful pirate fleets that united under her banner for the first time since the days of Reinut, famous knights Sir Gust De Weer and Sir Jan Reuter, the Van Oords of Castalor, the Bach¡¯s of Colle and rumored, but never confirmed officially the ¡®Old Crow¡¯ of Scaldingport himself. Also known as the ¡®Fair¡¯ Anne Burton, the ¡®Rebel Princess¡¯ and the ¡®Pirate Queen¡¯.) Lady Lotte (Riverdor. Wed to the Lord of Riverdor.)
*) Several rumors have Nienke dying in Issir¡¯s Eagle, or near it. Some confirming the birth of an heir (not all a boy), others denying it. **) In Sir Gust De Weer¡¯s version of the events and late Sir Mael Bolte¡¯s surviving army records, Sir Robert made it out of Rida and Raoz. Of course this turned Lord Janos¡¯ position as Baron of Badum invalid and highly disputed in the years that followed. ***) Sir Shane Est Ravn, the Priest Knight of Midlanor was rumored to have survived the High Queen¡¯s death. The rumors fueled by the adventures of an Issir Knight-errant with the same first name that traveled extensively in the Lorian lands the years that followed. The man accompanied by his young daughter. The famous Lesian song ¡®Ode to a Roving Heart¡¯ hinting they were the same person. ****) Huge red flags accompanied Antoon the Third¡¯s heredity, from the absence of an independent witness confirming Lord Anker''s story, missing the Eikenaar distinct eyes, or Nienke¡¯s and Elsanne''s light-colored jade pools, to his pedestrian looks and mediocre intelligence. A couple of decades later of course the truth would eventually come out.
303. Sheep, Dogs & Tyeusfort (1/5)
Sir Gust De Weer, Raven of Dawn Sheep, Dogs & Tyeusfort Part I -I couldn¡¯t do that either-
City of Scaldingport First month of fall, year of the New Calendar 181, Third into the reign of Antoon the Second The funeral day of Lady Danika Van Oord, late Duchess of Scaldingport Evening supper. One could barely breathe inside Blackcrow¡¯s Hall, the extra candles providing more smoke than illumination. The dark walls oppressing, the shields and banners difficult to discern, distorted and alien. Gust could see his father¡¯s throne stood empty. The Hall¡¯s tables though had some notable guests. Lord Sigurd was there, along his brother Floris the mayor of Colle. Sir Stans Reuten, with Lady Petra and their kids. The seventeen year old Jan and the young naughty twins Femke and Sonja. They were playing with the young Mona Bach, Floris daughter, her big brothers and knights Ron and Teun watching them smiling from their table. Their mother Lady Lissane Reuten, Sir Reuten¡¯s younger sister and Floris¡¯ wife also missing. The priest of Tyeus Sir Mael Bolte, the only person standing gloomy by himself, his plate and goblet untouched, though whether it was to pay homage to the departed, or due to his known austere character Gust couldn¡¯t tell. ¡°Sir Gust,¡± Mael said simply. ¡°Rik and Janneke are still in the crypt?¡± ¡°They just retired,¡± Gust grunted, eyeing the two smirking knights and the more guarded Jan. ¡°My condolences Sir Gust,¡± his father Sir Stans told him and his wife nodded along. ¡°A terrible thing. What madness¡ª?¡± Mayor Floris commented, but his brother Sigurd stopped him with a gesture of frustration. ¡°Know you have a friend in Colle Sir Gust,¡± Baron Bach said quickly, his thinning white hair making him appear older than his years. ¡°We share a border and a mountain. At these trying times we stand together.¡± Mountain and border ever moving and disputed, since Sigurd had gotten the young High King to increase Colle¡¯s hunting territory. Their visit initially political to discuss it with his livid father, but they had stayed more due to the unforeseen tragedy. Gust grunted not really in the mood to talk about it. ¡°Lord De Weer?¡± He asked hoarsely, with another glance at the empty throne. Sigurd shrugged his shoulders, his brother staring at his plate of honeyed potatoes with great interest. ¡°He barely had a cup,¡± Sir Reuten informed him earnestly. ¡°He left us immediately young Lord. One wants to stay with our loved ones as much as one can. It is not easy to say goodbye.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± Gust grunted, who knew Lord Ruud hadn¡¯t come down the crypt to visit his mother. He gave a nod to his father¡¯s guests and made to walk towards the door leading upstairs. To the Lord of Scaldingport¡¯s quarters. Ron Bach stood up from the next table to bar his way three strides later. His brother smiling from his chair. ¡°A toast Gust,¡± Ron said lifting a goblet. ¡°To Lady Danika. May she find peace and bliss, gods know she deserved more.¡± Than what she¡¯d received whilst amongst the living was his meaning. His mother¡¯s pale blue eyes staring back at him on the older knight¡¯s face, Lord Ruud¡¯s mouth smirking pleased with himself. Gust grimaced, a vein throbbing on his forehead and Sir Mael got up abruptly, his sword¡¯s ivory handle banging on the table¡¯s edge, the cups rattling. ¡°Apologize to Sir Gust!¡± Floris barked to his ¡®son¡¯. Everyone knew Ron and Teun were Ruud¡¯s bastards. The old lord probably fucking Floris¡¯ ¡®conveniently missing¡¯ wife upstairs even as we speak. Sir Ron crooked his mouth, stared at his goblet and made to smash it on Gust¡¯s head, the flat of Sir Mael¡¯s drawn blade slapping it away from his hand and on to the wall. The bang reverberating inside the smoky, badly lit hall. The crows up on their window waking up agitated and protesting with loud caws. ¡°ENOUGH!¡± Bugs barked from its own spot, putting a stop to their bickering, the large Raven sounding furious. ¡°You heard the raven,¡± Sir Mael told Ron, touch of steel in his voice, but looking at the snarling Gust. ¡°This is a mourning supper and we¡¯re all knights¡¯ lads. We behave appropriately is my meaning.¡± ¡°Step out of the way Sir Bolte,¡± Gust growled hoarsely. The veteran knight glared at him. ¡°Anger makes men stupid,¡± Sir Mael Bolte cautioned like he always did before beating Gust silly with the training stick to make him change his frantic approach to sword-fighting. ¡°There¡¯s water in the barrel outside. Go use it.¡± Sir Ron made to chuckle, but Mael¡¯s blade parked under his chin and put a stop to that. ¡°It is time to go to bed son. You¡¯ve had enough cups,¡± he told him sternly. ¡°Take your brother with you. He¡¯s about to make a fool of himself.¡± ¡°I did nothing Sir Bolte,¡± Ron protested and backed away. A younger Mael turned and stared at the still furious Gust. ¡°It¡¯s handled,¡± he had told him. ¡°Go and straighten your head out.¡±
Gust stared at the old ivory handle. A crow¡¯s head sculpted on the pommel, the engravings on its grip worn out from use and time. Mael had wrapped a thin leather strip around it carefully, the knot darkened with old blood. He heard the crack of a twig snapping and twisted around, but an older Sir Jan¡¯s calm voice reached his ears, before his eyes got used to the light coming through the foliage. The small pond behind the Black Market had slowly created a small copse inside the rather dry terrain of the city, Gust frequently used to get the sweat off his body and calm himself down. ¡°That¡¯s far enough,¡± Sir Jan had told a scared Solt, the Cofol boy carrying Gust¡¯s shirt and gambeson. Klaas following behind him with his armour. He had everything repaired after the wear and tear of months in the desert. ¡°Don¡¯t approach Sir Gust when he has his back turned boy,¡± the knight from Colle cautioned his young squire. Jan had gotten his lesson learned, although much of Gust¡¯s initial animosity towards him was for different reasons. Sir Jan wasn¡¯t his wayward aunt though and he had proven himself time and time again during the years campaigning with Gust on Eplas. The street urchin he¡¯d saved back at Devil¡¯s Cove nodded his eyes on Gust¡¯s impressive physique and Mael¡¯s naked sword. Relaxing in the pond out of his armour didn¡¯t mean Gust was unarmed. ¡°It¡¯s fine, just don¡¯t make a habit out of it,¡± Gust told Solt and tossed the sword to a startled by his retort Sir Jan. The knight snatched it by the handle with his left hand expertly just the same and turned it this way and that. ¡°Is it imperial steel?¡± Jan asked checking the blade¡¯s balance. ¡°I swear I remember this blade for years. Never seen him sharpen it.¡± ¡°He did. All blades need care,¡± Gust replied hoarsely and stepped into the market¡¯s cobblestone to take the shirt, soles under his naked feet hurting when they touched the burning crushed stones. Gust was half a head taller than Sir Jan Reuten, despite the latter standing just under six feet, but it was the muscles Gust carried on his dark-skinned body that drew the stares of the colorful pirate crowd roaming the market stands nearby. Cofols and even a couple of Issirs amongst them. Standing next to a gawking his way Mutiny Carter, the Princess of Kaltha herself, dressed much like the pirate wench and sporting the same stunned expression. Gust frowned and Mutiny winked at him suggestively. ¡°Just put the shirt on,¡± Sir Jan suggested with the hint of a smile. ¡°You¡¯ll raise the bar too blasted high for the rest of us my lord.¡± Gust narrowed his eyes and slipped the shirt on, the sun burning his skin already. Even early spring time in Eikenport was hotter than the warmest summers of Scaldingport. While the winter had been busy for everyone, the city still bore the marks of the fire that had ravaged its innards. The rebuilding efforts admittedly impressive especially when trade with Goras had opened up. ¡°You associate yourself with the pirates Reuten?¡± he grunted hoarsely. ¡°Allgods De Weer,¡± came Sir Jan¡¯s amused retort. ¡°I ain¡¯t about to pick a partner out of their lot, but this is a city and these are real women. Not to mention we¡¯re surrounded by them pirates.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t this how it starts?¡± Gust queried and stared at the heavy gambeson unsure. ¡°Just put the boots on my lord. Don¡¯t overthink it,¡± Sir Jan urged him. ¡°I¡¯m hungry. And I don¡¯t really mind. I¡¯ve sort of convinced myself we aren¡¯t returning to Jelin. Eikenport is the best we¡¯re gonna get.¡± ¡°We are serving the future Queen. So we are going back. I¡¯m pretty sure there is plenty of luster and lofty honors in your future, so ye better keep it in your pants. We can¡¯t behave like fools,¡± Gust scolded him, an eye on the two women quarreling all fired up like young sailors. Elsanne was furious as a matter of fact. ¡°Go rebels,¡± Sir Jan teased raising a fist. ¡°I bet they¡¯ll welcome us with open arms in Issir¡¯s Eagle, then chop our heads off promptly,¡± he shook his head afore asking casually. ¡°Garth¡¯s or Burton¡¯s tavern?¡± ¡°What¡¯s the difference?¡± Gust grunted and grabbed the gambeson from Solt to put it on, a sweaty Klaas waiting patiently with his armour. ¡°Well, Garth¡¯s District has the classier taverns and mercenaries, but Burton is where our Princess spends her time.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± ¡°Burton¡¯s it is,¡± Sir Jan murmured with a sigh. ¡°That scumbag is pissing in our drinks I¡¯m telling you. All them Lesia crooks are willing to risk our lives to line their pockets.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t drink his rum,¡± Gust retorted and stooped to wear his boots, before his feet got cooked on the scalding cobblestone.
¡°What will it be this time good knights?¡± ¡®Bald¡¯ Burton asked them when they got their table in the corner next to an open window. Antonia the tavern wench grinning from her spot at the counter. ¡°You have anything other than yellowfin tuna?¡± Sir Jan asked sitting down, grimacing at the chair creaking when Gust did the same across from him. ¡°Or lamb,¡± Gust added, his eyes on the pirates gathered around Elsanne¡¯s stool at the tavern¡¯s counter. ¡°It¡¯s tuna season,¡± Burton retorted much as he always did with an expensive smile. The amount of gold in his mouth impressive. The season was apparently never ending in Eikenport. ¡°I have steak, ribs also.¡± ¡°Pork?¡± Sir Jan probed hopefully. ¡°Lamb,¡± Burton deadpanned. ¡°And camel.¡± ¡°You butchered a camel?¡± the knight guffawed. ¡°It died on its own. Twas a suicide. Merchant left it on its lonesome, the poor animal was overcome with grief and slit its own throat,¡± the tavern owner replied grinning. ¡°Most people enjoyed it with a cup of rum to celebrate its life.¡±Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Ugh. His stories kept getting better to compensate for the lack of variety in his ¡®tavern¡¯. ¡°Bring us those steaks, no rum,¡± Gust grunted, grimacing at the familiarity the patrons showed to the Princess. Elsanne is insanely popular with the crews there¡¯s was no denying that, he thought. ¡°Robert retreated to Tirifort,¡± Jan told him the moment Burton left their table. ¡°But the Prince didn¡¯t take the bait.¡± ¡°Still lingers around Radin¡¯s Depot?¡± Gust asked. ¡°Yeah. He¡¯s much better supplied than our lads.¡± ¡°He¡¯s waiting for reinforcements,¡± Gust mused. ¡°We need to get moving Reuten.¡± ¡°You think Robert will answer?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. What does Sir Pek think? You befriended the man.¡± ¡°Robert looks to secure the baronship.¡± ¡°He won¡¯t secure anything fighting for the other side. They have a man on his father¡¯s seat already.¡± ¡°Either way he¡¯s trapped. Can¡¯t advance, but he also can¡¯t retreat, or look weak to the lads back on Jelin,¡± Sir Jan replied. ¡°The Prince is the one trapped, if we manage to move up the road and threaten Tyeusfort,¡± Gust reminded him. ¡°How are you going to convince them? Because we need help. You don¡¯t have the men my lord.¡± Gust stared at the colorful pirate crowd. Their fleet had left after a couple of months, but a lot of civilians had returned from Lord¡¯s Burrow in the time that had passed since then and there was a rumor Goras was sending back those big ships Elsanne had gifted them full of timber. Eikenport could turn into a very big city soon, he thought. ¡°Elsanne wants to move on Dia,¡± he murmured, pausing to stare at the Princess, until Jan tapped his foot under the table to get him going again. ¡°You¡¯re slipping De Weer and people might notice,¡± Sir Jan said. ¡°No wonder you can¡¯t get a word in with her all this time.¡± ¡°Are ye looking to get your teeth smashed in Reuten?¡± Gust said with a snarl. ¡°How did Sir Mael do it?¡± the knight asked shaking his head. ¡°Calm you down that is my lord.¡± Gust grimaced. ¡°He used a stick and then dunked me in a barrel, until he couldn¡¯t. First time I floored him, the old bastard stopped. Guess I respected him enough to listen to his counsel afterwards.¡± ¡°Fantastic. I ain¡¯t risking that,¡± Sir Jan admitted with a frown. ¡°Still, moving on Dia only helps the mysterious lad in Goras. We have crows serving with Robert in Tirifort.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not a crow,¡± Gust retorted still miffed by his earlier comment. ¡°Else you¡¯ll knew we are very patient and enduring.¡± ¡°No you¡¯re not,¡± Sir Jan grunted in his turn. ¡°You just don¡¯t have the heart to leave her¡­ eh, and at some point you got to let the past go my lord.¡± ¡°Is that what you would do? I don¡¯t like double talk Reuten,¡± Gust growled, his face flushed with anger. ¡°No double talk,¡± the knight retorted, just as Antonia approached with their platers and drinks. ¡°Each time and each thing are different was my meaning.¡± ¡°How are yer cousins?¡± Gust asked staring at his plate with a scowl. ¡°Teun is with the Royal Guard. Sir Ron retired after that tourney in Caspo O¡¯ Bor. Took over as Mayor when Lord Bach¡¯s brother died five years ago.¡± ¡°Meant to kick him in the gut,¡± Gust admitted reminiscing. ¡°I slipped in the mud.¡± ¡°Right. He had yielded the duel,¡± Jan commented with a grimace. ¡°There¡¯s no such thing,¡± Gust retorted. ¡°You stand against a man armed, you have to be prepared to lose something. Else you are a fraidy-cunt.¡± ¡°It was a tourney.¡± ¡°Which is why he still lives with a slight limp.¡± Never to ride a horse again. Jan rolled his eyes and watched him reaching for a rib. ¡°These are the meatiest cuts Sir Gust,¡± Antonia beamed still lingering. The Lorian girl had put in some effort on their meal this time. ¡°Must¡¯ve been a skinny ram,¡± Gust grunted, crunching on the bone to get something out of the bite. ¡°Good grief. He means it is excellent lass,¡± Sir Jan intervened with a flirting smile. Gust thought he looked ridiculous and considered punching him in the face to get his brains unscrambled. ¡°My compliments to the chef.¡± ¡°Ha-ha, no chef or such in here,¡± she replied honestly with a comely blush. ¡°I made it meself.¡± ¡°Why, I¡¯m impressed Antonia,¡± Sir Jan replied looking at her intently and Gust almost groaned in frustration, when the flirting knight added lowering his voice like a seasoned thespian. ¡°Thoroughly.¡± Antonia would have lingered longer but a glance at Sir Gust grinding his teeth and fuming on his seat sent her running back behind her counter. ¡°I think¡ª¡± Jan tried to say. Gust stopped him with a glare. ¡°We need to get the Dogs involved,¡± he grunted. Jan nodded. ¡°Mercenaries need coin to move their feet my lord.¡± ¡°Ruud can¡¯t spare any,¡± Gust said, grinding down the thin bones audibly. The taste decent at least. ¡°Anker is breathing down his neck and Rik is vacationing in Regia.¡± ¡°Helping King Jeremy,¡± Jan said. ¡°There¡¯s a mess there.¡± ¡°Eh, not our mess. Scaldingport needs to focus on our own matters.¡± ¡°Your sister¡ª¡± ¡°It ain¡¯t about my sister,¡± Gust stopped him. ¡°Ruud wants to block Anker from imposing his will. A couple of cities and lords won¡¯t do it, but Regia will.¡± ¡°Unless the Lakelords backstab him,¡± Jan replied. ¡°The Crabs are in bed with Janos.¡± ¡°What about Van Calcar? Robert¡¯s sister is in his court allegedly.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t trust him. I don¡¯t think Robert is happy about Aafke,¡± Gust retorted. ¡°Better the ¡®Wolffish¡¯ than that old sack of shit Janos,¡± Jan added and they both paused unsure about it. ¡°Set a meeting with Martel,¡± Gust said a moment later. ¡°I¡¯ll talk with¡­ the Princess.¡± ¡°She¡¯s over there,¡± Jan replied with a grin. ¡°I¡¯ll sent a runner later,¡± Gust said with a grunt. ¡°When she¡¯s less busy,¡± Elsanne''s heartfelt chuckle getting on his nerves, his appetite ruined. Although admittedly he¡¯d wolfed down his plate clean whilst talking, bones and all.
Gust returned to the tavern two hours later, the afternoon sun less harsh and riding his horse into the stable. He left Klaas to guard it not trusting the shifty stable master of sorts and marched down the street and into Burton¡¯s tavern. An amused Burton eyed him approaching the counter, dark grey plate gleaming well-oiled and sword sheath clanging on his waist. ¡°I have a meeting with the Princess,¡± Gust announced briskly and glanced at the first floor of the tavern Elsanne had turned into her quarters. The eunuch Jasi loitering at the internal balcony¡¯s rails his painted eyes on him. ¡°Want to leave yer sword?¡± Burton asked, moving a toothpick from once side of his mouth to the other. ¡°No,¡± Gust grunted. ¡°It wasn¡¯t a request Sir Knight,¡± the pirate warned him, a couple of cutthroats standing up from their table. ¡°Still,¡± Gust retorted, clenching his jaw. ¡°The answer remains the same.¡± ¡°She¡¯s expecting him,¡± Jasi told Burton from above. ¡°You are making everyone uncomfortable Sir Gust,¡± Burton told him. ¡°The other knights are more pleasant to be around.¡± Gust grunted not bothering to answer and climbed the staircase, his boots thundering on the steps.
¡°Sir Gust De Weer, of Scaldingport,¡± Jasi announced and Elsanne raised her head from the desk, still in her pants, a silk white shirt under her leather bust, its top buttons open so she could breathe. ¡°I know Sir Gust for well over a decade Jasi. He needs no introduction,¡± she replied a hint of nervousness in her voice. Her accent slowly taking bits and pieces from her long stay on Eplas. A hint of Cofol, a bit of Lesia and even some of the more colorful pirates jargon. But she could switch to formal Common in the blink of an eye. Elsanne was almost twenty now, a far cry from the aloof girl she once had been. Then again Gust¡¯s ability to judge her character and wants always hit a wall, afore failing. The fact he was there to argue against her wishes ¨Cagain- not lost on the equally nervous knight. ¡°I shall be outside,¡± Jasi said looking at him. If it was a warning to behave, then it was a foolish attempt. Gust could overcome the eunuch with an arm tied behind his back, using only his index finger. ¡°Will you take a seat?¡± Elsanne asked him. ¡°It¡¯s a sturdy chair and it¡¯ll strain my neck looking up.¡± The small joke flying over Gust¡¯s head. Gust stared at the chair in front of her desk unsure. ¡°It was a jest,¡± Elsanne gasped and made a face. ¡°Ahm, your man said nothing on the reason¡­¡± she pushed a white curl behind her shapely ear and Gust felt a vein throbbing on his forehead. He realized he was clenching his fists so hard, the bones were crackling. He breathed out and relaxed his stance a bit, moving on his feet. ¡°I hoped¡­ should I take a guess?¡± The Princess Heiress asked him with a sigh. Gods dammit! Gust admonished himself. Speak fool! Lord Ruud¡¯s roaring cackle reverberating inside the walls of his brain. ¡°We need to help Robert,¡± he grunted abruptly, sweating down his face. ¡°Sir Robert wanted to have me killed,¡± Elsanne reminded him again. ¡°Under orders from Lord Anker. Why should I lift a finger to help him?¡± she glanced at a map the pirates had ¡®freed¡¯ from a merchant showing the east shores of Eplas. ¡°I should use the opportunity to take Dia. I have people there I care about.¡± Gust grimaced. ¡°Most of my men are with him Princess,¡± he managed to say, finding his footing. ¡°Radin is between us, is he not?¡± ¡°Helping him will ensure the safety of Eikenport,¡± Gust replied. ¡°If he finishes Robert off then the Prince would come here. Taking Dia won¡¯t help us.¡± Elsanne stood back thoughtfully. Gust turned to look at the map to avoid staring at her. ¡°Boys and their friends,¡± she murmured, forcing him to turn his head her way. ¡°I ain¡¯t no boy and this isn¡¯t about that,¡± Gust retorted, his blood boiling. ¡°We need to act afore the Khan gets rid of Anker¡¯s forces up north, or Prince Atpa decides to move from Rida.¡± ¡°Am I not your Princess?¡± Elsanne asked, all flushed. ¡°Of course,¡± Gust replied, cursing himself for lashing out. ¡°The pirates won¡¯t march inland,¡± Elsanne told him and got up from behind her small desk. Gust nodded nervously as she approached to stand next to him facing the wall with the painted old map. Though taller than she was in her youth, the Princess was a small-bodied woman. ¡°So, I either use them where I can, or risk attacking Radin to help Robert and your men,¡± she added in a soft murmur. Dammit, Gust thought, his eyes ogling straight at the map, the lands blurring and unable to concentrate. While much shorter than him, the grown up Elsanne was still the most beautiful woman in the Realm for Gust. The latter hadn¡¯t changed in all those years. ¡°We need the crows Princess,¡± Gust croaked. ¡°Mmm. My decision stands,¡± Elsanne said and moved back to her desk. ¡°Will you respect it Sir Gust?¡± Gust had trouble breathing, the heavy armour suffocating him. ¡°Wow,¡± Elsanne pouted and tipped a fingernail on the desk¡¯s lacquered surface. ¡°You really want to attack Radin so much?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± Gust replied with a grunt. ¡°You¡­ really need to save the army.¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t about you,¡± Elsanne said looking at him with those jade eyes. Jewels for eyes, the pirates said. Our Anne Burton. Ugh. Two women in the same body. ¡°It isn¡¯t,¡± Gust admitted furrowing his brows. Not in that way. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you fight in my tourney?¡± she asked him, the query unexpected. Gust stood back unsure. ¡°What does it matter?¡± ¡°Indulge me Sir Gust,¡± Elsanne retorted showing it bothered her a lot, despite her effort to lessen it with a small smile. He hated tricky questions. Ruud would have lied through his teeth, but Gust didn¡¯t want to lie to her. So he told her the truth. ¡°That was no way to pick a husband,¡± he said and used his palm to gather the moisture off his face. ¡°Not for your grace.¡± Elsanne had raised her trimmed white eyebrows stunned. She appeared at a loss for words. Eh, Gust thought, you were always going to pick the wrong answer. ¡°You could¡¯ve come and not participate,¡± she murmured thoughtfully, looking at her painted white fingernails. ¡°I couldn¡¯t do that either,¡± Gust admitted, a little embarrassed at his cowardice. ¡°Because you were injured,¡± Elsanne mused, before pausing sensing there was more to it. Or just plainly reading the answer on his strained face. Hopefully. The answer being that Gust couldn¡¯t stand to watch the Princess get taken away by another man. Not his princess gods darn it! He just couldn¡¯t. So Gust had climbed up to the half a ton wild boar¡¯s cave instead and killed the beast dead. 304. Sheep, Dogs & Tyeusfort (2/5)
Rollon Martel The Commandant Sheep, Dogs & Tyeusfort Part II -The Dogs of Eikenport-
Flavius Super, first Sergeant of the Gallant Dogs veteran wing that is fighters with at least a year of service under their belts, scrunched the left side of his face, edge of his horseshoe mustache angling along with it. Crafton, the Nord member of the ¡®original committee¡¯ that is the ¡®gold badge¡¯ original founders of the unit, stared at his stack of papers as if to find the answer. Liko who had a ¡®gold badge¡¯ as well, but Rollon Martel had no idea why, just grinned which was funny when he was younger, but now it was just plain creepy. Martel pushed back on his chair, front legs lifting a bit from the floor of his headquarters¡¯ office and stared at his subordinate knowingly. ¡°What do you say?¡± ¡°Captain... Commandant,¡± Sergeant Super started afore correcting himself, with Martel goading him along. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± ¡°The boys have a legitimate query,¡± Super continued, with Martel interrupting him again to break his rhythm. One picks up a technique early in the service, something that fucking works and expounds on it. Honing, preparation, logistics mean nothing without good leadership. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Rollon asked. ¡°We need to have a vote on returning to the three-month pay routine, so they can plan on improvements in their living situation, or placate their wives,¡± the sergeant had just repeated his previous points. Most armies will work fine once ye get the aforementioned stuff figured out. ¡°Out of the question,¡± Rollon Martel said gruffly and Sergeant Super stood back repeating the same cycle of grimaces as before. Unless you run a mercenary company, then while the former are still important, what trumps it all is coin. A king can order men forward and into harm¡¯s way, a priest can cite the Allgods wishes to do the same, but a mercenary will give you the middle finger unless you have the coin ready and in time. ¡°Now Captain and I speak candidly here,¡± Super said shifting on his feet. ¡°This tone is really something that won¡¯t sit well with the men.¡± ¡°One month,¡± Crafton offered looking at his scrolls. ¡°Silver per day, almost four gold Eagles per month.¡± ¡°Two,¡± Super said. ¡°Silver?¡± Crafton asked ogling his eyes in horror at the prospect. ¡°Why, stick a dagger in my sphincter and spin me around!¡± ¡°Hahaha!¡± Martel guffawed at the ridiculous demand and Crafton¡¯s retort, almost toppling himself backwards along with the chair. Fuck¡¯s sake! ¡°Two months,¡± Super explained a nervous tick in his left eye. Martel breathed once deeply to calm his heart down. He had almost broken his neck right then and there. ¡°Out of the question,¡± he finally said, when everything slowed down sufficiently. ¡°I¡¯d like the reason,¡± Super argued. Martell used his index finger¡¯s knuckle to rub the underside of his nose hard. ¡°Garth has slowed down payments, due to winter. Why, the roads are practically meter-high in mud and water snakes.¡± ¡°It¡¯s almost summer and we¡¯ve a sea route open.¡± Eh. ¡°I was speaking about the previous months,¡± Martel replied undaunted and then glanced behind him at the wonderful sunny day. ¡°I find your skepticism disconcerting first sergeant.¡± ¡°I was tasked to put forth legitimate demands¡ª¡± ¡°Let me stop you right there,¡± Martel told him with a gesture. ¡°Do you know who said that?¡± He pointed at the first of the three large bronze framed colored portraits behind him with a thumb. Sergeant Super, a former guard from Rida that had risen in the ranks frowned and stared at the painting. Martel didn¡¯t have to turn around. ¡°That¡¯s Captain Dante Blackwood,¡± he told his sergeant. ¡°The Gallant Dogs founding member and its first officer.¡± ¡°I¡¯m aware,¡± Super grunted not liking Martel steering the conversation away. ¡°Blackwood is dead Captain.¡± ¡°Killed near Teid River at Hellfort. That¡¯s in Altarin,¡± Martel told him. ¡°He was under contract then by the same man who pays our bills today. Only our employer didn¡¯t have the gravitas he has now. Still Blackwood never questioned him.¡± The latter probably his biggest lie yet. ¡°Right,¡± Super grunted not convinced. ¡°The third portrait you know well. It¡¯s Captain Ottis,¡± Martel continued. ¡°What¡¯s the word I¡¯m looking for here sergeant?¡± ¡°Ahm, bravery?¡± Super chanced having lost the Captain¡¯s train of thought. ¡°Naivety?¡± ¡°Close enough. It¡¯s trust,¡± Martel corrected the sergeant with a scowl. ¡°The Dogs are working with Garth for too long to doubt him now.¡± What a bunch of bullshit. ¡°What¡¯s that got to do¡ª?¡± Super rightly protested and Martel sighed afore cutting him off. ¡°One month pay. Trust the system, put everyone in line,¡± he told the frowning sergeant. ¡°Protect the Company¡¯s coffers Flavius.¡± ¡°Are the coffers empty?¡± ¡°Of course not. It¡¯s emptying them what we¡¯re trying to avoid here good man.¡± ¡°Eh,¡± the sergeant grunted and marched out of his office. ¡°Can we afford that?¡± He asked Crafton the moment Super was out of the door. ¡°Not for long,¡± Crafton replied and waved for Liko to get them a bottle of rum. ¡°You drink that?¡± Martel asked him and Crafton furrowed his brows. ¡°I use it to clean the ink out of my hands.¡± ¡°Aha. Pour me a cup lad,¡± Martel said and turned to the man handling the Company¡¯s finances. ¡°We need to pressure Glen to resume payments.¡± ¡°He looks to campaign deeper in Wetull,¡± Crafton replied wiping his hands with the strong liquid. ¡°Between us, with the way he¡¯s spending coin we might not get any pay our way soon.¡± Good grief! ¡°That sounds irresponsible. You think he¡¯ll bring us in?¡± ¡°Not unless he wants to lose the summer and the city,¡± Crafton said. ¡°That¡¯s a long march and he needs the ships to make a bit of coin back.¡± ¡°Absolutely. Ye think the city is in danger?¡± Martel queried eyeing him worried. ¡°We have a rebel princess staying here. Pirates, Issirs and an aggrieved Cofol Prince. I ain¡¯t optimistic.¡± ¡°Speaking of the aggrieved,¡± Martel said. ¡°Liko you have Wyncall in this card? I can barely make the name out lad.¡± ¡°It¡¯s an appointment,¡± Liko replied sipping at a cup of rum. ¡°Wrote it on me knee.¡± ¡°For when? There¡¯s no time written on it,¡± Martel protested. ¡°Didn¡¯t know the time,¡± Liko said with a shrug. ¡°I can go call him now.¡± ¡°Might as well,¡± Martel murmured and glanced at Crafton. ¡°Why is he still here?¡± ¡°He pleaded to the princess and she released them to us as workforce,¡± Crafton replied what Martel of course knew. ¡°I mean, didn¡¯t we ask them to get the fuck out of our camp?¡± ¡°Mercenary code dictates you provide for fellow mercenaries,¡± Crafton said. ¡°We aren¡¯t in the Guild right?¡± Crafton pointed his finger at the picture of a dashing Dante Blackwood. ¡°He was. Registered in Castalor and everything.¡± Eh, Martel grimaced and then burped his stomach burning. It was the rum. Damnit.
¡°How¡¯s the arm?¡± Martel asked the former ¡®Gold Contract¡¯ company officer. ¡°It¡¯s fine Captain Martel,¡± Nathaniel Wyncall replied, tapping his right arm once. ¡°Much better that is.¡± ¡°It¡¯s Commandant Martel,¡± Rollon corrected him. ¡°Apologies.¡± ¡°You have a proposition Captain?¡± he asked moving on. ¡°I do. More than that really.¡± ¡°Before you start,¡± Martel said, glancing at Crafton taking notes. ¡°Why are you still here?¡± Wyncall stood back on his chair, his thin blond mustache dancing on his upper lip. ¡°The Bank doesn¡¯t like setbacks.¡± ¡°It was a bit more than a setback,¡± Martel pointed with a forced smile. ¡°It was,¡± Wyncall admitted. ¡°Which is why, I¡¯m in a delicate position. You fail the bank, you better disappear. I¡¯m a known officer.¡± ¡°The men sleeping and eating in my camp aren¡¯t,¡± Martel grunted. ¡°I have more workers than work available and hosting two hundred men is costly. Why, it¡¯s ruinous. I don¡¯t deal in slaves and I don¡¯t run a prison. They are free to go. So I¡¯d like to know why they are still here.¡± ¡°I may have expounded on the Bank¡¯s wrath for our failure,¡± Wyncall replied. ¡°To include them. You want them here,¡± Martel said. ¡°It increases my personal value,¡± the officer replied callously. ¡°It also drains the Dogs coffers,¡± Martel grunted. ¡°Hence why I have a proposal nigh beneficial for you Captain.¡± ¡°Commandant,¡± Martel corrected him. ¡°It¡¯s above captain.¡± ¡°It is,¡± Wyncall agreed all friendly. ¡°You need men. I have them. Well-trained, honest mercenary folk, Guild certified.¡± ¡°I have men aplenty,¡± Martel retorted gruffly. ¡°Yer men have killed a lot of people in Eikenport. Some out of combat. Plenty of them non-combatants as in womenfolk. So yer honest part is full of holes.¡± ¡°It was D¡¯Orsi¡¯s fault. We¡¯ll blame him.¡± ¡°We¡­ are not a thing. You claim innocence? I ain¡¯t as soft-hearted as the Princess.¡± ¡°You are a clever man,¡± Wyncall replied readily. ¡°First, I wasn¡¯t here.¡± ¡°Would you have vetoed D¡¯Orsi?¡± Martel stopped him.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Wyncall shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Does it matter? You have an opportunity here.¡± ¡°What I have is difficulty paying the men I employ,¡± Martel replied. ¡°Adding more¡­¡± he glanced at Crafton who was listening in. ¡°Would be a malarkey,¡± Crafton said. ¡°What he said,¡± Martel added with a frown. ¡°There¡¯s a rumor,¡± Wyncall started, moving forward on his chair. ¡°The princess might move on Dia.¡± ¡°That¡¯s absurd.¡± ¡°Not really. It cleans up the coast and road to Wetull. It will help you communicate with the man running the show.¡± ¡°We communicate fine and Garth ain¡¯t in bed with the princess,¡± Martel grunted. ¡°Eh, whatever the case may be. Your problem lies with the Khan. He will come for Eikenport,¡± Wyncall said. ¡°Unless it¡¯s¡­ what was the word?¡± He asked Crafton with a smile. ¡°Foolhardy to attempt it.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± ¡°The Khan comes here, you can forget your little district,¡± Wyncall continued. ¡°Which I find excellent by the way. A mercenary run city.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what this is,¡± Martel corrected him. ¡°Your company is the lifeline of the district. The district is the normal part of Eikenport. Yes the Cofols have their corner, but they are mostly merchants. This is the real heart of the city. I leave the pirates out of course.¡± ¡°They are the biggest part,¡± Martel said. ¡°So you can¡¯t leave them out.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll accept the Dogs pay, if we agree on a contract?¡± Crafton asked and Martel snapped his head to glare at him. More a half-angry half-surprised expression. ¡°Of course. Is it standard rate?¡± Wyncall replied. ¡°How much was the Bank paying?¡± ¡°Two gold per week. Three for the officers,¡± Martel almost drown in his spit. He blinked once in shock, but Crafton remained unfazed hearing the gold contract was a real thing. ¡°Less than half than that,¡± Crafton told him and Wyncall recoiled as if he¡¯d taken a hammer to his knee. ¡°Surely, you¡¯re jesting,¡± he croaked. ¡°Ye know Captain,¡± Martel said playing along with Crafton¡¯s plan, despite not knowing what the plan was. ¡°For a man looking to hide amidst the dogs, you appear rather penny-pinching.¡± ¡°How is it¡­?¡± Wyncall sighed deeply and stared at the portraits thoughtfully. He blinked a moment later looking amused. ¡°Is that a Gish?¡± ¡°Aye,¡± Martel said with a smile. ¡°She¡¯s the chief of the committee. Gold badge member, Mister Crafton as well. He deals wit logistics. So we have our own gold shit too. This is the time where you either take the deal, or pack up and ride into the fucking desert captain.¡± Wyncall gulped down and nodded with a weary sigh.
An hour later Martel was inspecting the repaired catapult the ¡®Three Hundred¡¯ had left them as present with sergeant of engineers Richard White, another Raoz ex-army soldier and engineer. ¡°I¡¯m not comfortable firing it from inside the walls,¡± he told him. ¡°No danger,¡± White assured him. A heavy set man, with absolutely no hairs on his head. He make up for it by having a sheep-like blanket on his chest. White kept his shirt open to showcase it to the ladies. ¡°What if it doesn¡¯t work? Or it strikes the wall and brings it down? Even worse lands amidst the houses?¡± Martel fired one query after the other, afore spotting Poole running towards them. ¡°Chief,¡± Poole said. A local fresh recruit that had just turned eighteen. ¡°The angry knight just rode through the gates.¡± ¡°Ahm,¡± Martel murmured, an eye on White fiddling with the levers dangerously, the other on the young Dog soldier. ¡°The one with the big raven?¡± the young soldier said. Shit. ¡°I¡¯ll be right there,¡± Martel grunted. ¡°Sergeant do not fire that thing!¡± He barked and White gestured with both hands to calm him down. ¡°We¡¯ll use a watermelon,¡± he assured him and signed for his assistant to proceed. ¡°A test shot.¡± ¡°I need to talk wit¡ª¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be a minute,¡± Sergeant White cut him off. ¡°Pull it Rick!¡± Clang went the catapult afore Martel could stop them. The long arm swinging upwards, the large bucket and the spring rattling when it released its payload. Martel watched along with the Dogs present and several bystanders the dark-green watermelon flying true for forty meters towards the outer walls reaching the top of its arc and then dropping for another forty. It clipped the blacksmith¡¯s wife head, the woman was returning with a case of tools in her hands and exploded on the wall of Heller¡¯s workshop with a shocking splash. Missing the outer wall by more than ten meters. ¡°Shit,¡± White said impressed, or thinking what would have happened if he¡¯d used the standard sixty kilo boulder, just as the apron-wearing Heller came out of his workshop alarmed and yelped seeing his wife sprawled senseless on the road. ¡°Go and deal wit it,¡± Martel grunted at the troubled sergeant and marched after Poole to talk with Lord Ruud¡¯s firstborn.
Some families were well-known. No way around it. Be it on Jelin, or even Eplas. While all known families were trouble to deal with, some were even more dangerous than others. Whether they were Issirs or Lorians it mattered little. The De Weers were one those houses you wanted to be on good terms both for professional and personal reasons. Sir Gust was a brawny knight. All knights appear beefy, heavily armoured, usually tall and well-trained and more often than not lethal in the field, but Gust was ever more impressive. The knight was clad in his dark-grey plate cuirass, arms and legs covered as well, a longsword strapped on his waist. He didn¡¯t have his dark priestly robes on and wore no helm. His angular face, a dark-brown color, his long white hair gathered back with a leather strap. The knight accompanying him not as tall and having a moon engraved on his chest, where Gust had a black raven. He looked just as dangerous, but for the hint of a smirk on his mouth, where Sir Gust had a scowl hearing his greeting. ¡°Martel,¡± Gust rustled as if he was ready to challenge the Commandant in a duel to the death. ¡°Sir Gust, Sir Jan,¡± Martel said civilly. ¡°What can the Dogs do for you? Unless it is a personal visit?¡± He queried just to be sure. ¡°It isn¡¯t,¡± Gust grunted. ¡°We need to talk.¡± ¡°No better place,¡± Martel retorted with a nervous smile showing his office. ¡°It¡¯s modest, but¡ª¡± ¡°Who¡¯s he?¡± Gust asked. ¡°That¡¯s Mister Crafton,¡± Martel explained. ¡°He¡¯s¡ª¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± ¡°What Sir Gust wants to talk about is sensitive,¡± Sir Jan intervened. ¡°Crafton is trustworthy,¡± Martel defended the Company¡¯s scribe and purse holder. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have used that word,¡± Gust grunted and shifted on his chair. Martel tensed up expecting the furniture to come apart but it didn¡¯t. ¡°Still if you vouch for him, he can stay.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Martel said unsure and Crafton cleared his throat nervously. ¡°What is it that Scaldingport wants?¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t about Scaldingport,¡± Gust retorted hoarsely. ¡°I¡¯m all ears was my meaning.¡± ¡°We want the Gallant Dogs to assist us in taking Tyeusfort and cutting off Prince Radin¡¯s supply,¡± Gust said straightforwardly. Haha. ¡°Ah,¡± Martel said seeing the knight was serious. ¡°Assault a castle you say.¡± ¡°A Cofol build,¡± Gust corrected him, downplaying it. ¡°Be that as it may, I assume there¡¯re walls involved and people manning them,¡± Martel continued with a grimace. ¡°A Prince as well roaming about.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Gust agreed. ¡°That¡¯s it.¡± ¡°Ehem, can I have an estimate on the numbers?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have them,¡± Sir Jan told him. ¡°Upwards of a thousand defenders for sure. A couple of thousand riders with the Prince.¡± ¡°So, an army basically.¡± ¡°Their forces are split,¡± Gust said and looked about the office. ¡°You have a map?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Martel said, being the opposite. ¡°Liko!¡± The young man popped his head from the door. He was standing outside listening in. ¡°Find Sergeant Super and bring him with his maps here,¡± Martel ordered. ¡°Ayup,¡± Liko said and sprinted for the barracks. ¡°Let me just say to get it out of the way,¡± Martel started stooping to clasp his hands in front of him on the desk. ¡°That we don¡¯t have the numbers required for the task my lord.¡± ¡°You have a city to recruit from,¡± Sir Jan Reuten noted. ¡°The best paid job in Eikenport.¡± Crafton frowned at his words and stared at his papers. ¡°It¡¯s not as you make it sound,¡± Martel replied unclasping his fingers. ¡°A recruit needs training and not everyone trained will make it. After the battle we had around six hundred new recruits eager to join. Very few stayed for the full month of trials.¡± ¡°How many do you have now?¡± Gust asked. Martel licked the front of his teeth thoughtfully. What the knights wanted was not only difficult, but also required a serious commitment in men and equipment away from the city, which wasn¡¯t in their contract details. It¡¯s one thing to guard a city, another to storm a Cofol castle miles away. Whatever the hells that meant. ¡°Crafton?¡± He said and the Company¡¯s record keeper ¨CCrafton handled a very big number of jobs along with Liko- cleared his throat afore replying. ¡°Three hundred and fifty on the payroll.¡± ¡°There,¡± Martel said. ¡°We simply don¡¯t have the numbers.¡± ¡°Plus two hundred from the ¡®Gold Contract¡¯ under Wyncall,¡± Crafton continued and Martel turned to look at him rattled. What are you doing? His eyes asked him. ¡°Around four hundred trained spears,¡± Crafton said looking at Sir Gust. ¡°Will they stay in front of a charging horse?¡± Gust asked. ¡°Very few people I know would,¡± Crafton replied truthfully. ¡°Our late Captain Blackwood did, if it¡¯s any indication to the unit¡¯s commitment.¡± What? ¡°Hmm,¡± Gust had resorted to his usual retort. ¡°We can¡¯t take raw recruits on campaign,¡± Martel protested. ¡°They¡¯ll cut them down for crying out loud!¡± ¡°Five hundred men,¡± Sir Jan murmured thinking out loud and Martel glared at him. ¡°Could storm a wall if a breach is made.¡± ¡°Use the spears to guard a flank, if the river is the other,¡± Gust said expounding on his thought. ¡°Have the cavalry block Radin for a while.¡± ¡°How much cavalry are we talking about?¡± Martel hissed besides himself for losing control of the conversation. ¡°Around two hundred,¡± Sir Jan replied. ¡°To stop a couple of thousand Cofols?¡± ¡°Robert must move out of Tirifort for this to work,¡± Gust said not paying him any attention. Martel sighed deeply and watched Liko returning with an armful of maps. The young man entered his office, bringing dirt inside and deposited his load on Crafton separate desk. ¡°Are the pirates going to help?¡± He asked the two knights. ¡°Because the other solution is to talk to Clint about using Sid Cross¡¯ Marauders and we don¡¯t want them unleashed on a foreign city. They barely behave in Eikenport.¡± ¡°You¡¯re talking criminals,¡± Gust grunted sounding troubled. ¡°When in a pirate infested city¡­¡± Martel started, then paused. ¡°I assume we have the Princess¡¯ blessing?¡± ¡°Well, let us worry about that,¡± Sir Jan replied. ¡°Right. Then there¡¯s the matter of compensation,¡± Martel continued not fully reassured by his reply. The guards at the gates of the Dogs permanent camp raising a ruckus for some reason. ¡°I have to charge you for men and material. Animals, supply train and war machines.¡± ¡°You have war machines?¡± Gust asked very interested. Martel thought of Heller¡¯s wife dropping like a rock earlier and coughed agitated. ¡°Let me worry about that, but yes we do,¡± he replied a merchant¡¯s smile on his face. ¡°They are very expensive, but nothing for rich folk like yerselves.¡± Now Sir Gust looked really troubled, his face darkened even more, coal black eyes stilled on a map Liko had unfurled and kept open. The sound of horses galloping inside the camp unmistakable. What in gods green realm? Martel thought and got up from his desk. Sergeant Super beating him to the punch bursting inside his office bringing even more material in. Dirt, mud and small pebbles, even hay. Fuck¡¯s sake! ¡°Chief,¡± the sergeant reported under the sound of many hooves approaching. ¡°Anne Burton just rode through the gates.¡± ¡°Who?¡± Martel croaked his mind not working. ¡°The Princess,¡± Super elucidated. ¡°She¡¯s coming right here.¡± Gods darn it! Martel looked about his dirty office frustrated. ¡°Liko put the maps down and grab the broom!¡± he barked getting around his desk, Sir Gust jumping on his feet as well the chair clattering down behind him afore coming apart. ¡°Pick up the broken chair as well while at it! Toss the pieces in the fireplace. Clean it up fast!¡± He bellowed half-panicked. ¡°She¡¯s outside Chief,¡± Sergeant Super reported peeking out the door. ¡°Eh,¡± Sir Jan chuckled and pushed himself up as well. ¡°What is she doing?¡± Martel asked eyeing Liko sweeping the floor as fast as he could, raising a ton of dust in the process inside the office. One could barely breathe in the cloud of dust he¡¯d created. ¡°Waiting on her horse chief,¡± Super replied. ¡°It¡¯s a big horse. I don¡¯t believe she can come down off of it.¡± Turd in the veggie soup! Damnit! ¡°Liko,¡± he barked and started walking towards the door flaying his arms to clear some of the dust cloud out of the way. ¡°Put the broom down and run to help her get down lad!¡± Liko dropped the broom and sprinted to the door, Sir Gust beating him there, shoving Martel away and putting an arm out to block the moving fast and fully committed to reach the princess young man. Liko pushed against Gust¡¯s arm, eyes ogling to overcome him, but then he was heaved backwards so hard and with so much force Martel¡¯s desk just couldn¡¯t stop him. So it came apart as well. Naossis beautiful fucking tits! ¡°Well,¡± Sergeant Super said moving out of Sir Gust¡¯s way leaving it at that. ¡°Eh, put it on the tab,¡± Sir Jan commented in a friendly reassuring manner, while Crafton helped pick a delirious Liko from the floor, Martel¡¯s office looking bombarded all of sudden. The commandant blinked and proceeded to the entrance, the dust slowly settling down and paused there. Not five meters away, the flushed Princess of Kaltha stood atop her great warhorse unsure, until Sir Gust marched there to offer his assistance. A big crowd of Dogs gathering around the headquarters. ¡°I¡¯m heavy,¡± the Princess warned the tall knight, when he reached with an arm to help her climb down her horse. So Sir Gust just lifted her off the saddle with both hands rather effortlessly and put her down before the small-bodied royal brood could get her gasp of surprise fully out. ¡°There¡¯s word,¡± Sir Jan told Martel coming to stand right beside him at the open door, the latter¡¯s mouth puckered at the bizarre day¡¯s happenings. ¡°He dragged a boar the size of that horse down a mountain some years back. On one leg.¡± ¡°Aha,¡± Martel grunted genuinely impressed, but also not forgetting a chief¡¯s main job was to take care of the unit¡¯s needs. ¡°Has the Princess agreed to your campaign Sir Jan?¡± he asked the handsome knight looking at the weirdly sheepish around each other couple. Two of the most powerful families on Jelin being all weird and awkward. Mmm. ¡°I pride myself on being a Knight of the three kingdoms Martel, so I rather not lie to gain advantage,¡± Sir Jan told him. ¡°She hasn¡¯t fully agreed.¡± Yeah, that¡¯s skirting the plaguing border my lad, far as truth is concerned. ¡°Has she fully disagreed? It would be nigh awkward to storm the Prince''s army only to realize his wife decided to patch things up wit him. That¡¯s gallows-worthy shite right there, if you pardon my Lesian sir Knight.¡± ¡°I cross my fingers,¡± Sir Jan replied truthfully looking at the approaching famed scions. ¡°They work it out. It¡¯s a very long story this.¡± And it was unclear to the commandant of the Gallant Dogs what Sir Jan meant, or to whom he was referring to.
305. Sheep, Dogs & Tyeusfort (3/5)
Elsanne Eikenaar Princess Heiress ¡®Fair¡¯ Anne Burton Sheep, Dogs & Tyeusfort Part III -Drunken captain¡¯s treasure-
¡°So ¡®Jade Eyes¡¯, what did he say?¡± Mutiny Carter asked casually, one leg crossed afore the other, her back resting on the beam next to the staircase. ¡°We talked politics mostly,¡± Elsanne murmured playing it down as well and jumped on the counter to find her goblet. She had it hidden underneath it. ¡°Must¡¯ve been heavy. Didn¡¯t seem very happy,¡± Mutiny commented and reached to refill it with Burton¡¯s wine, bought at the Cofol market. The pirate woman loved its taste. Or the fact she could drink it for free near Elsanne. ¡°You have to get used to him. He¡¯s mostly like that, but yeah I thought the same in the past.¡± There¡¯s a world salad, she thought just as Jasi returned to the tavern. ¡°Here I was speakin¡¯ of virile knights ¡®Rouge Lips¡¯,¡± Mutiny started spotting the Eunuch approach. ¡°And ye sail in the venue. Took the alcohol out me drink.¡± Jasi paused pondering whether to reply, but then decided against it. ¡°They went straight for the stables,¡± he informed Elsanne. ¡°With Sir Reuten.¡± ¡°Gust used to keep his distance from the Colle boys,¡± Elsanne mused. ¡°This is strange considering he¡¯s still not fond of Lord Bach.¡± ¡°I like him more and more,¡± Mutiny admitted with a sigh that turned into a shiver. ¡°Shite, got all wet between them legs and all I have to work wit is you ¡®Rouge Lips¡¯.¡± Jasi raised his right hand, pinky and thumb touching, three fingers kept straight. ¡°Ahm,¡± Elsanne intervened not wanting to know what the gesture meant. ¡°Where are they going?¡± ¡°You want to follow them? What was the ¡®meeting¡¯ about?¡± Jasi asked. ¡°Politics,¡± Mutiny replied mimicking Jasi¡¯s lewd gesture with her hand as if to figure it out. ¡°He wants to save the army. Attack Tyeusfort,¡± Elsanne explained. ¡°Just as he says something wonderful¡­ he goes right back. They are not taking me serious.¡± ¡°What would that be? That wonderful thing,¡± Mutiny asked. ¡°Politically speaking.¡± ¡°Well,¡± Elsanne replied, Jasi intervening to salvage the conversation from derailing completely. ¡°If he¡¯s looking for soldiers, then they are going to Garth¡¯s District,¡± Jasi said. ¡°If you want to get it out of his system, the best thing to do is show up and convince the mercenaries to reject their proposal.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± Mutiny murmured. ¡°I really don¡¯t like visiting the place,¡± Elsanne admitted. ¡°How am I going to convince them?¡± ¡°Same way you can force the knights to fall in line,¡± Jasi replied. ¡°Order them Princess and don¡¯t back down.¡± So Elsanne went for a ride across Eikenport with Jasi and Carter in tow. The small group starting together, but with the Princess being a better rider than both of them leaving them behind. That and her horse being way more powerful.
Fiend is a wonderful horse. Tall and proud, but also with sad eyes full of emotion, she thought staring at his rich mane. Tall being the crucial word here, as Elsanne wasn¡¯t really accustomed to the fine art of jumping off a saddle, or was really ever allowed to. She considered it, the moment dragging and soldiers gathering around her. Some coming from the gates the princess had stormed through almost getting shot at, but for a keen-eyed sergeant and from the neatly arranged wooden and stone walled barracks. Then Sir Gust marched out of the headquarters and stood rigid a meter from her saddle, right arm extended. Elsanne glanced at the knight¡¯s arm and then put hers on it, afore hesitating. ¡°I¡¯m heavy,¡± she warned, not wanting to embarrass him and Gust in his silliness stooped, grabbed her by the waist and put her down without a word. ¡°Ahm,¡± Elsanne gasped a bit shocked. Fiend snorted on one side. Sir Gust scowling not a foot from her on the other all tensed up. The moment awkward, despite this being the second time she¡¯d seen him in a day. ¡°Ah,¡± Elsanne sighed, trying to break the tension. ¡°You visit the barracks frequently?¡± ¡°No,¡± Gust replied scrunching his jaw. ¡°What are you doing here Princess?¡± Following you. Nay, that sounds more creepy than cute. Why would you want to be cute with Sir Gust? ¡°Am I not allowed?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Gust stepped back. The years had given him more bulk and height on her. Give him another decade and I¡¯ll need a ladder to reach that high. What? ¡°I wanted to see for myself,¡± she finally mumbled, trying to think of a plausible reason to be there. Gust frowned. ¡°You wish to use the Dogs?¡± Eh, no. Should I? ¡°You left abruptly,¡± she finally said with a sigh. ¡°And I wanted to¡­ ehem, some things weren¡¯t sufficiently explained to my person. It would be gainful, if we found a way to communicate better.¡± Oh my gods, she thought horrified. What the hells are you talking about girl? Sir Gust stared at her intensely. The stare as much exciting as horrifying. ¡°You¡¯ve reconsidered then?¡± He rustled hopefully. ¡°Mm,¡± Elsanne hummed not wanting to take it that far. Yes, it was stunning hearing him put in words the way she¡¯d felt about her ordeal all those years back, just before the tourney. Unexpected. As in, she didn¡¯t really thought him capable of sensitive thoughts¡­ ¡°Perhaps we can convince them. Time is of the essence,¡± Sir Gust continued eagerly interrupting her thinking. ¡°Wait,¡± Elsanne stopped him a bit annoyed, realizing they weren¡¯t talking about the same thing. ¡°I haven¡¯t reconsidered anything Sir Gust. I told you, I shall contemplate your proposal.¡± Rollon Martel had walked outside of his office to greet her in the meantime. ¡°Princess Elsanne,¡± the officer started. ¡°It is great seeing your grace again.¡± ¡°Mister Martel,¡± Elsanne retorted not in the mood to talk with him and the man frowned. ¡°Ah, I¡­ don¡¯t recall your rank dear Martel,¡± she added remembering her manners. ¡°Commandant. I¡¯ve assumed the leadership of our merry company,¡± Martel replied readily. Sir Gust had swallowed his tongue. Elsanne sighed and turned to the mercenary officer. ¡°Can we get inside? This heat is dreadful,¡± she griped, already sweating. Martel pursed his mouth. ¡°I was about to offer a tour of the new barracks your grace,¡± he started, blushing a bit. Elsanne stopped him. ¡°Some other time. I¡¯m really burning up here. Let us use your office,¡± she signed for him to lead the way and the officer grimaced afore complying. Order them Jasi had said, the eunuch arriving with Mutiny Carter. Elsanne paused to wave at the mercenaries that had gathered to watch her and followed after the flustered officer. Sir Gust coming with them looking like she¡¯d just killed his cat. The analogy probably falling flat on its face since Gust didn¡¯t really seem like a ¡®cat person.¡¯
Martel¡¯s office looked roughed up. Elsanne returned Sir Jan¡¯s greeting with a guarded smile and waited for the officer to navigate the ruins of his desk. The furniture was broken up in several pieces and there was even more broken wood thrown in the fireplace. Martel made to sit on his chair, saw the Princess standing and frowned. ¡°I apologize for the mess your grace,¡± the burly officer said. ¡°We had a bit of work done to the place. We weren¡¯t really expecting such lofty visitors.¡± Mm. There was a disheveled young man sitting on a chair behind another table, a pained expression on his face. An older Northman checking on his ribs. The young man beamed despite the pain he was in seeing the princess looking at him. Elsanne pursed her lips unsure and the mercenary leader cleaned his throat awkwardly to try again. ¡°Your being here answers one of the matters we were discussing actually,¡± Martel said and she turned her head to look at him, noticing Gust¡¯s expression souring. Wow. Can you calm down for a bit? ¡°What would these matters be?¡± Elsanne asked. ¡°The matter of the campaign against Tyeusfort obviously,¡± Martel continued. Aha. ¡°I assume by your grace¡¯s presence, you¡¯ve changed your stance on the matter?¡± ¡°Which was¡­?¡± Elsanne trailed, Sir Jan¡¯s face showing the signs of stress as well. ¡°Not fully agreeing I believe was the word,¡± Martel replied. Ah. ¡°You assumed wrong,¡± Elsanne retorted and felt Gust¡¯s eyes drilling holes at the side of her head. She glanced his way. Seriously? Why can¡¯t you just let it go? She puffed out. ¡°Was that the only¡­ ehem, obstacle to your scheme?¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t call it that your grace,¡± Martel said. ¡°We¡¯ve only touched on the details, but your blessing and the matter of compensation are big obstacles to consider.¡± ¡°Uhm,¡± Elsanne nodded, her palms sweating. That was a bit more palatable. At least they had considered her. She stared at the frowning Sir Gust, but the knight wasn¡¯t going to speak. ¡°What is the compensation you¡¯re seeking commandant?¡± ¡°If I may your grace,¡± the older Northman tending to the injured young man intervened. ¡°This is Crafton,¡± Martel explained. ¡°He handles the company¡¯s finances.¡± ¡°Proceed Mister Crafton,¡± Elsanne urged him politely. She glanced at the two knights again standing right and left from her and both appeared to be dying inside. ¡°For a three month effort, if the whole unit is mobilized we¡¯re looking at a four thousand gold Eagles per month, plus a thousand for the supplies. That would be a fifteen thousand gold sum. Of course the affair could last longer, but I¡¯m giving your grace the minimum here.¡± Martel glanced at his colleague appreciatively, as if he had just answered a question bothering him. Elsanne had no idea if that was a big sum. Judging from the pensive looks on the knights faces it was. Well boys, it seems your plan has hit a roadblock. So I¡¯m not to blame for this. ¡°You¡¯ll get paid after the campaign is over,¡± Sir Gust grunted unable to keep it in. That unwillingness to yield was actually quite endearing. ¡°Out of the question,¡± Martel deadpanned and Gust¡¯s eyes narrowed creating wrinkles on his angular face. Elsanne knowing this could turn ugly for the officer fast, decided to intervene. ¡°Would you accept a partial payment? You are aware of my excellent relations with Lord Garth and the fondness with which I regard the Gallant Dogs,¡± she asked and Gust blinked not expecting it. ¡°How partial?¡± Martel queried. ¡°A month up front, the rest after the campaign is over.¡± Martel smacked his lips, not as easy to turn her offer down as it had been for Sir Gust¡¯s and glanced at Crafton for help. ¡°Within three months,¡± Crafton haggled staring at a scroll he¡¯d grabbed from the table. ¡°After the campaign is over,¡± Elsanne repeated staring him down. ¡°And Captain Dawson will handle the matter of your supplies, which means that extra thousand gold per month, you must deduct from the sum Mister Crafton.¡± ¡°All the supplies?¡± Crafton queried. ¡°You want everything in order to leave yes?¡± ¡°That is correct your grace,¡± Crafton replied with a conman¡¯s smirk. Elsanne raised a brow, but frowned seeing the still sitting young man¡¯s goofy grin. ¡°Assume the matter dealt,¡± she started soberly. ¡°Now, can you deliver on your part?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll need to have a good hard look at what we¡¯re facing your grace,¡± Martel replied. ¡°While the unit can move within days, the planning part might take some time. We are obligated to ensure the district¡¯s safety.¡± ¡°Which is what this campaign is about,¡± Elsanne reminded him, then pouted. ¡°In a sense you should have done it for free commandant.¡±Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°Not seeing that sense from where I¡¯m standing¡­ your grace,¡± Martel replied with a frown. Elsanne shot an arm out to block Gust¡¯s advance and the knight let out a frustrated growl. Her father always said you can only push a man so far in a deal. Once that limit is reached, the partnership might turn sour even if you manage to shove the deal down his throat. ¡°A month?¡± She asked the Gallant Dogs officer to gauge how much time they had. Martel blinked unsure. Crafton answering for him. ¡°A month.¡± ¡°Gentlemen,¡± Elsanne said to the officers and turned around, Gust staring at her confused. ¡°I believe your meeting is adjourned dear knight,¡± she told him with a smile, Gust managing a half- strangled grunt. ¡°Hmm.¡± Eh. How about a thank you princess? You did a great job? ¡°Princess,¡± Martel asked behind her back. ¡°Do we have your blessing?¡± Elsanne sighed. ¡°You do, commandant,¡± she replied and Gust¡¯s face relaxed, Sir Jan chortling unable to contain his enthusiasm. ¡°Walk with me,¡± Elsanne told them and strolled outside the Dogs bombarded headquarters. ¡°Jasi, the knights will come with us,¡± she informed the sweating in the sun eunuch. ¡°Why, I be riding with Sir Gust,¡± Mutiny started saying but saw Elsanne¡¯s frozen stare and pivoted mid-sentence with a fierce smile that reminded Elsanne of the teenager inside Martel¡¯s office. ¡°Sir man was my meaning,¡± Mutiny gushed with the nonchalant knight correcting her civilly. ¡°Sir Jan Reuten,¡± the knight from Colle said and added a tease right at the end as if to demonstrate it on Mutiny. ¡°But yer right on both counts charming milady.¡± Mutiny Carter wasn¡¯t partial to sweet-talking, but she just gulped it all down and even purred a bit. Arr. Well, Elsanne thought amazed walking towards Fiend. There¡¯s an amiable knight girl. A waiting to help her up the saddle Gust¡¯s scowl wiping that smirk from the princess¡¯ face.
¡°What changed your mind Princess?¡± Sir Gust asked on the way back, just as Elsanne had given up on his mood changing, despite all she had done back there. You. ¡°I said I shall contemplate whether it was feasible, or not,¡± she replied going the diplomatic way. ¡°You must have left minutes after we did,¡± Gust argued sounding perturbed on top of mildly angry. Stopping Anker¡¯s men from killing me was your turning point. Up to then, you were pretty low in my mind. Though strangely I sort of knew you wouldn¡¯t let them touch me. So that was strange as well. ¡°Your princess is a quick thinker Sir Gust,¡± Elsanne retorted with a grin, since she couldn¡¯t say all that. Come on. You can say nice things, she urged him. Say something nice! Her eyes ordered. Something witty. Like I was never in doubt dear, or I¡¯m forever in debt and in awe of the way you handled it. Gust frowned, their horses keeping the same slow tempo down Eikenport¡¯s lightly busy main street that led to the docks. ¡°So you have the coin available?¡± Uh? ¡°The¡­ won¡¯t Lord Ruud foot the bill?¡± a bewildered Elsanne asked just like her father would. Gust snorted. ¡°Only if the men are saved and he¡¯ll look to delay it as much as possible.¡± ¡°Surely with you here, he won¡¯t chance it!¡± ¡°The point is, we need gold soon to get the mercenaries moving,¡± Gust rustled. ¡°Uhm,¡± Elsanne murmured with a pout. ¡°Are the pirates on board with supplying Martel?¡± Gust asked next. ¡°I¡¯ll talk to them!¡± she snapped. ¡°Eh,¡± Gust grunted and that pissed her off even more. ¡°You know, I¡¯m taking a chance with your idea,¡± Elsanne told him. ¡°What if Robert doesn¡¯t agree with your plan?¡± ¡°He¡¯s no fool,¡± Gust argued. ¡°Ehm,¡± Elsanne said thinking of the boastful teasing knight. ¡°He is plenty foolish.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡± Gust growled agitating the horses. Hmm. Elsanne had hit a nerve there. Mutiny¡¯s cackling from behind them snapping her out of her reverie. ¡°Jasi,¡± she asked glancing back. ¡°Is ¡®Yellow¡¯ Dawson still in port?¡± ¡°Corsair¡¯s Gold is,¡± Jasi replied readily. Corsair¡¯s Gold being Dawson¡¯s sloop-of-war. ¡°He¡¯s staying in the ¡®Palace¡¯, but since the Marquette returned yesterday, I expect the place to be packed,¡± the eunuch added warningly. ¡°The palace?¡± Sir Gust queried earning a ton of points in Elsanne¡¯s eyes, with the rapidly dropping in the same list Sir Jan expounding knowingly. ¡°A great place,¡± he declared. Mutiny slapping his arm and then yelping in pain as Sir Jan -alike Sir Gust- carried a lot of plate on him. When near a knight a girl must take care of her soft bits, or any bits.
A fiercely smiling pirate wench tossed a mug full of beer over the counter aimed at ¡®Lucky¡¯ Trifton¡¯s head but missed, the froth spreading mug smacking a pirate standing right behind him in the chest and splashing its contents all over his face. ¡°Grog be flying!¡± Someone shouted nigh enthused and hurled his half-empty mug back at the counter, the wench ducking under it, then standing up to laugh at the near miss but slipping in the spillage and toppling backwards feet taking the place of her wild head. Ouch. ¡°HAHAHA!¡± A pirate roared and the band moved in to play their repetitious catchy tune even louder. For the time of day. PLINK TA DUM PLONK TA DAM The sole drum a new addition to their band giving it his all to keep up. ¡°Tyeus spear!¡± Gust growled slapping an approaching pirate away, the man hurled on another group staring at a harlot¡¯s exposed tit, whilst bargaining the cost of unveiling the other. ¡°What is this treacherous place?¡± ¡°Hey Marcie!¡± Mutiny hollered to be heard by the harlot. ¡°Is Dawson moored at the back?¡± ¡°Remove the princess,¡± Gust ordered an amused Sir Jan and made to grab her arm, but a flushed Elsanne stopped him. ¡°Sir Gust,¡± she said as somberly as she could, given there were a lot of drunken people fighting, fucking and singing at the top of their lungs around them. ¡°We are here to speak with Captain Dawson.¡± ¡°Princess,¡± Gust rustled ogling his eyes. ¡°This is a house of ill-repute!¡± ¡°Trust me,¡± Elsanne replied with a grin. ¡°I was as surprised as you to find out.¡± ¡°That wasn¡¯t what I¡ª¡± ¡°Why, it¡¯ll be considered impolite matey,¡± a flushed pirate said approaching their group. ¡°Hurling a man across a room without sufficient reasoning given.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± another said backing him. Gust breathed once deeply and unsheathed his sword. PLONK went the lute dying as the place went quiet. ¡°Ye know,¡± a one-eared pirate said from his spot at the bar. ¡°Tis a big blade dis Rev. Just sayin¡¯, ye might consider takin¡¯ a step back.¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough,¡± Dawson¡¯s voice barked from the back of the venue. ¡°Move aside ye scallywags so I can solve this.¡± ¡°Hah,¡± Rev said with a grin. ¡°Ye be sleeping with ¡®em fishes soon,¡± he warned a scowling Gust, the silly man still breathing because Elsanne had stepped in front of the fuming knight. ¡°Shut up Rev,¡± Dawson hissed stepping out of the crowd. ¡°Abrakas curse ye, that¡¯s Anne Burton!¡± ¡°Captain Dawson,¡± Elsanne said. ¡°We just want to talk.¡± ¡°Parley!¡± someone yelled enthusiastically. ¡°I take it ye prefer a more private place?¡± the veteran captain asked rolling his eyes. ¡°If it¡¯s possible.¡± ¡°Mister Vail,¡± Dawson ordered scrunching his mouth. ¡°Is the backroom available perchance?¡± ¡°Leona be using it Captain,¡± Byron Vail replied with a nod at Elsanne. ¡°So it¡¯s pretty crowded.¡± ¡°It¡¯s been a day so she¡¯s either unconscious by now, or dead,¡± Dawson decided. ¡°Run in there and cover up the¡­ weird stuff, pay the girls to leave,¡± he gave Elsanne a reassuring fatherly look and a gold-toothed smile. ¡°It¡¯ll be a moment lass. Sir Gust kindly sheathe that blade if ye please. The princess friends are our friends as well. Right Rev?¡± ¡°Sure ¡®Yellow¡¯ Dawson,¡± the pirate griped not happy, but seeing no other way around it. ¡°Good lad. Have a pint o¡¯ grog on me,¡± Dawson said keeping that smile, though his eyes were now deathly serious.
Elsanne glanced at a comatose Leona covered with a sheet on a large bed inside Burton¡¯s brothel backroom and frowned. Dawson¡¯s aged face signing with his eyes for her to sit across from him. She did, Sir Gust remaining standing rigid behind her. ¡°You¡¯re familiar wit Byron Vail and ¡®Lucky¡¯ Trifton,¡± the pirate captain started. ¡°And I assume you¡¯ve run onto Leona as well.¡± ¡°I have,¡± Elsanne replied, pausing to phrase it in a civil manner. ¡°It was entertaining.¡± Dawson glanced at the knight behind her and nodded. ¡°One could call it that I suppose. What does the Princess want from the brotherhood? I guess this isn¡¯t a social visit given the venue and yer escort.¡± ¡°I want to strike at Tyeusfort, open a land route to Tirifort and Devil¡¯s Cove,¡± Elsanne said without mincing her words. She respected the pirate captain. Dawson¡¯s intervention had opened the door for her to escape and she couldn¡¯t forget that. The princess had never felt freer than in these past months in Eikenport. ¡°I know the pirate crews don¡¯t like fighting deep inland on Eplas, so I¡¯m thinking to use the Gallant Dogs for the task and save Sir Robert¡¯s army.¡± Dawson sat back on the chair and wiped his sweaty face with a hankie. The backroom was windowless and the light came from many oil-lambs on its walls that made eyes tearing up while raising the temperature a couple of degrees at least. ¡°There are brothers who would follow you, like Reinut¡¯s blood-raiders. Not everyone in Eikenport and Lord¡¯s Burrow likes sailing. I know how it sounds given our profession, but it is the truth,¡± Dawson finally said. ¡°I was thinking to supply the mercenaries for the duration and lessen the cost,¡± Elsanne replied. ¡°But I also like your suggestion Captain Dawson.¡± ¡°It was Van Fleet¡¯s idea,¡± the pirate replied with a shrug. ¡°He¡¯s quite taken wit you. Old men get foolish in their later years I reckon.¡± ¡°I see.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t overthink it,¡± Dawson added. ¡°But training a large group of men isn¡¯t a quick matter. Am I right Sir Knight? This must have been your idea.¡± ¡°The princess can decide for herself,¡± Sir Gust grunted unfriendly. ¡°But yeah, men need training afore being useful.¡± ¡°Never said they weren¡¯t useful right away,¡± Dawson retorted with a smirk. ¡°These lads know how to hold a blade and will cut a man¡¯s throat without a second thought. I was talking about turning them into a unit.¡± ¡°How many are we talking about?¡± Elsanne asked to avoid a potential escalation. ¡°Van Fleet took the ships to Burrow to test the waters in the taverns and find recruits. It was for a different campaign in mind, what you have discussed afore, but it behooves me they be useful in this one just the same.¡± ¡°What about the supplies?¡± Elsanne probed. ¡°You give us access to the Black Market in Merchant¡¯s Triage and the brothers will agree to help.¡± ¡°Triage?¡± ¡°The merchant¡¯s won¡¯t stop coming and I presumed you want control of the desert road,¡± Dawson replied. ¡°I¡¯m not sure the realm would look at me favorably if I condone piracy in these times,¡± Elsanne murmured. ¡°These times princess,¡± Dawson told her. ¡°Are shaping to be the age of piracy.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± Gust grunted behind her. ¡°What about coin? I need gold to placate the mercenaries,¡± she thought out loud. ¡°Will a month suffice for your father to help us? Two?¡± Elsanne asked turning her head around to look at the glowering knight. ¡°There¡¯s a treasure in Cediorum,¡± a drunken Leona blurted out raising her head, before Gust could reply. ¡°What treasure ye be talking about?¡± Dawson queried twisting around. ¡°Gold, as in fuckin¡¯ coins,¡± Leona had replied slurring her words. ¡°Tons of it.¡±
¡°She¡¯s drunk!¡± Gust growled breaking the silence that had followed the now snorting Leona¡¯s words. ¡°Are we to attack Lesia now? We can¡¯t be seriously contemplating such a thing!¡± ¡°No one said anything about attacking anyone,¡± Dawson cut him off and signed for Trifton to wake Leona up via the time-tested method of dipping her naked inside a water barrel. ¡°We are engaged in conversation and exchanging ideas De Weer.¡± ¡°About stealing?¡± Gust snapped. ¡°Princess we can find another way, lets go.¡± ¡°Gust,¡± Elsanne said and got up. ¡°While Leona¡¯s idea is distasteful, we do need the brotherhood¡¯s help.¡± ¡°That wasn¡¯t the plan,¡± Gust protested. ¡°There was no viable plan until I got involved,¡± Elsanne insisted standing her ground. ¡°How are we to win, if they hold all the cards?¡± ¡°They are talking murder and pillage,¡± Gust told her gruffly. ¡°Your campaign ¡®up the road¡¯ isn¡¯t?¡± Dawson retorted with a snort. ¡°Let¡¯s call it what it is.¡± ¡°Captain Dawson!¡± Elsanne snapped fearing the conversation would get derailed completely. ¡°Sir Gust is right. I can¡¯t have crimes committed under my banner.¡± ¡°How about raids?¡± Dawson asked hint of razz in his voice. ¡°Only if they can be justified,¡± Elsanne hissed. ¡°Anne, we¡¯re pirates. You¡¯re one of us,¡± Dawson told her. ¡°If you want to lay down your plans of something new or different, you need to come to Lord¡¯s Burrow and talk to the captains. We are not sheep, but we can listen.¡± ¡°Princess,¡± Sir Gust grunted. Elsanne puffed her cheeks out and nodded with her head. ¡°I¡¯ll do it,¡± she told him. ¡°I¡¯ll return to Burrow, but first I want to get Robert out of this mess.¡± ¡°He can do it,¡± Dawson said getting up, pointing at the hale knight. ¡°They don¡¯t need your presence.¡± ¡°It is better you stay here princess,¡± Gust agreed for the first time with the pirate captain and Elsanne all but screamed in frustration. ¡°Stop it!¡± she snapped. ¡°Both of you! I shall visit Burrow and I shall come with you Sir Gust to talk to Robert.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t in good conscience allow you to endanger yourself,¡± the knight grunted. ¡°I can¡¯t.¡± Aww... Elsanne turned around to look into his troubled face. ¡°Robert would want guarantees, an assurance he¡¯ll get his lands back,¡± she explained. ¡°Better to hear it from the horse¡¯s mouth. Anyone cracks a smile at this I¡¯ll slap him,¡± Elsanne added with a frown. ¡®Yellow¡¯ Dawson shrugged his shoulders, Gust just rubbed his face unhappy and Leona woke up, mess of a head bursting out of the barrel, her half-breed eyes haunted. ¡°Eight mustn¡¯t know,¡± she gasped spitting foul water out, but no one had any idea what the pirate captain meant.
With Prince Sahand injured and retreating to Rida -where he met his untimely demise later that year, the Khan found himself on the back foot for the first time in the war. Sir Ton Van De Aesst and Sir Thor Est Ravn seeing the prince¡¯s massive army retreating over Teid River came out of Hellfort Pass emboldened and marched straight for Altarin. But it was a long journey, the army slow to move out of the Pass and then it got bogged down in the small rebuilt bridge over the river. The two young scions managed to get the army going in three weeks and were halfway to Altarin when the scattered but present in the nearby redwood forest prince¡¯s cavalry burst out of the woods and caught them in the open road. It was a massacre. The crashed Issirs had to literally jump into the river and swim across to escape, Sir Thor¡¯s quick decision to destroy the bridge saving the supply train and the injured. Having lost half the soldiers and with Sir Ton injured, Sir Thor retreated to Hellfort again to regroup. A stubborn and ambitious man, he wanted to try again and asked Lord Anker and Lord Rinus for reinforcements. Lord Rinus would launch a naval assault on Alrarinport later that summer, partially successful, but the situation would remain fluid in that part of the front until the next summer. By that time the aggrieved Khan had moved out of Rin An-Pur on his war chariot and the war had changed dramatically on Jelin with the introduction of new players in the field. Lord Anker managed to negotiate a deal with the Royal Guard and he would have taken Colle in a surprise assault with the remnants of the Second Foot but Castalor had reinforced the city and he failed, despite the royal troops withdrawing to Issir¡¯s Eagle near the ailing Antoon. He ordered the rebuilt in part First Foot to move out of Riverdor to assist his firstborn Sir Mark, but Lord Janos of Badum had promised to help Lord Daan Hoff reclaim the marshes beyond Serene River due to the latter allowing him to wed his young daughter and petitioned the Lord of Riverdor for assistance, which blocked Lord Anker¡¯s order. Lord Albert Van Durren who was to make the final call found himself torn as his son Sir Henk wanted to get his cousin out of Lord Van Calcar¡¯s clutches and sided with Janos and the Lord of Tollor. With the First Foot otherwise engaged a livid Lord Anker ordered the Order of the Golden Spears to march to Issir¡¯s Eagle and then down the coast to Colle, but halfway into their journey news reached him that Lucius¡¯ Legions had come down from the mountains and Lesia was on war footing as well. Before the great Lord could put everything into proper context the funds he was counting on to replenish his coffers ¨CMidlanor had shouldered much of the war cost so far- went missing. It was at this point that Lord Anker realized he was fighting multiple enemies on many fronts and perhaps a different approach was needed. Lord Sirio Veturius Circa 206 NC The Fall of Heroes Chapter XXXV (Lord Anker Est Ravn, Duke of Midlanor, Keeper of the Forests, Guardian of Nordland Pass, Uher¡¯s First Sentinel and High Regent of the Realm.) The Bank¡¯s Galleass Fleet Volume I -¡®Mighty Saracen¡¯ & Forty tons of gold- Circa, Late fall 191 NC ¨C summer 192 NC
306. Sheep, Dogs & Tyeusfort (4/5)
¡®The best and prettier attend the tourneys. The bold follow the Raven up the mountain and grab Luthos by the balls. Then rip everything right off.¡¯ - Sir Walter Roon. A knight in the order of Tyeus. Born 151 NC in Forestfort, fell in 189 NC during the battle of the ¡®Endless Dunes¡¯ blocking Hi Yil¡¯s reinforcing guards from relieving Kuntur Tsuparin.
Sir Gust De Weer, Raven of Dawn Sheep, Dogs & Tyeusfort Part IV -Second shot-
Gallant Dogs (Banner -an ¡®aroused¡¯ black Molossus war dog) (Dictums ¨C ¡®Call the dogs¡¯, ¡®Do it for me Pretty¡¯, ¡®Pull it Rick¡¯, ¡®Bite their ankles off¡¯ ¡®Send for Liko¡¯ amongst others) *Command structure (192 NC) Gold Badge (the commitee) (Company¡¯s Staff members ¨C by seniority) Captain Dante Blackwood (KIA 189 Hellfort) Captain Ottis (KIA 190 Eikenport) Captain Whisper ¡®Pretty¡¯ Jinx (not with unit after 190) ¡®Mighty¡¯ Soren (not with unit after 190) Victor ¡®Pale¡¯ Hook (KIA 189 Teid River) Zola (KIA 190 aboard the Marquette) Kirk and Cassara (The twins- KIA 188 in Oakenfalls) (Commandant) Captain Rollon Martel ¡®Purse Officer¡¯ Crafton ¡®The Kid¡¯ Liko (later sergeant of First Office) Arguen Garth Aniculo (Rumored) - Old Dogs ¨C 350 soldiers (veteran armoured fighters) First Sergeant Flavius Super Second Sergeant Lu Douc-Re Gold Contract ¨C 220 soldiers (ex-300 company members) Captain Nathaniel Wyncall Sergeant Bardo Masin + The Grunts (Spear infantry) Around 400 (newly recruited soldiers) Engineers (With the supply train) Around a 100 (+ Six Scorpios, 2 Heavy Catapults) Sergeant (of Engineers) Ricard White Second (Engineer) Rick Willian Dottore Dalai-Tue *The company was stationed permanently in the Garth District of Eikenport in the ¡®Home¡¯, but had business interests in other districts and ports. Later it expanded in several cities and had recruiting agents in most Guild headquarters. According to the ¡®ledger¡¯ the Mercenary Guild¡¯s records in Castalor, the Dogs reached the status of being ¡®the richest¡¯ company in the realm around 193 (toppling the Iron Fists of Parmaport) and never lost it. Usually numbered around a thousand soldiers. 2) Rollon Martel was the last member to receive the original golden badge as it was replaced with the now common silver ¡®dog pendant¡¯ after 193 NC. 3) All original members were portrayed in commissioned paintings inside the commander¡¯s office in the headquarters¡¯ building, what Martel later turned into the company¡¯s museum hall to generate revenue, moving the headquarters¡¯ into the Watchtower after the Dogs ¡®camp¡¯ expanded outside its walls.
¡°What did Robert say?¡± Sir Gust asked the approaching Sir Jan Reuten, his eyes on the marching ¡®raiders¡¯. The four hundred strong unit remaining unruly three weeks into their training, almost two months after they had agreed to Dawson¡¯s suggestion. ¡°Eh, didn¡¯t mention the matter of the Princess,¡± Jan replied coming to stand next to him in front of the Mastaba square. Gust preferred to train Van Fleet¡¯s recruits there, as it was the better administered part of the city, if you didn¡¯t want to conduct your business watched by the Cofols and Gust didn¡¯t. Allies or not. ¡°The reason?¡± ¡°He¡¯s cornered.¡± ¡°What did Captain De Moss write?¡± Gust asked as they had sent missives to their own troops stationed with Sir Robert¡¯s First Foot as well. ¡°Read it for yourself,¡± Jan replied and gave him the small scroll his crows had brought back. Gust read it quickly and then returned it to the knight. ¡°Scouts sighted down the Merchant Path from the guards at Devil¡¯s Cove,¡± Gust murmured. ¡°You think they managed to rebuild Hi Yil?¡± ¡°They have to,¡± Jan replied. ¡°It¡¯s quite the distance to send an army without it. Though I don¡¯t believe they actually restored the castle. More like opened the wells again.¡± ¡°Who did? Moss says the Prince Heir is dead,¡± Gust grunted. ¡°A Cofol from Rida reported that. The fat bastard could have been lying,¡± Jan replied. ¡°Or this is Atpa¡¯s doing.¡± That was Sahand¡¯s younger brother and commander of Khan¡¯s Desert Army. ¡°Will Robert retreat?¡± Gust asked Jan and the knight shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Your proposal is the one freeing him up. Will he trust you to be there?¡± It was a rhetorical query. ¡°He would,¡± Gust replied just the same. ¡°What¡¯s with the statue? The Princess brought a lot of flowers there,¡± Jan asked a moment later whilst Gust was considering the implications of a second front opening. ¡°Mayor Marbet commissioned it. It was Clint¡¯s idea, apparently they saved the District and the Princess,¡± Gust grunted clenching his fists. ¡°You don¡¯t actually think our Princess had a thing for a pirate? Why, then there¡¯s the dwarf,¡± Jan probed curious. ¡°Hey, I¡¯ll just take over here,¡± he said to a marching away Gust¡¯s back. The fuming knight didn¡¯t even hear him.
¡°Sir Gust,¡± the painted eunuch said getting up from his chair. ¡°The Princess is resting.¡± Gust stared at the door to Elsanne¡¯s bedroom, but before he could reply the door swung open and the princess appeared. ¡°I¡¯ll see him Jasi,¡± she said regally, wearing a pair of loose Cofol-type pants with a long shirt. Gust just couldn¡¯t accept her clothing experimentations, even if the absence of a royal tailor justified it. Elsanne had taken a liking to Eplas fashion and had created a blend incorporating with it the male garbs the pirates used, ridiculous hats included. Gust burst inside her bedroom, although apparently it belonged to the Cofol wife of the dude running Goras and paused unsure at the dainty colorful interior. ¡°Just use that stool,¡± Elsanne said, squeezing past him and smelling of something flowery. ¡°I¡¯ll stand,¡± Gust rustled. It wasn¡¯t pride but caution, the stool was tiny and made of some white wood too thin to support his frame and heavy plate armour. Elsanne paused and turned around to stare at him. ¡°Then I¡¯ll stand as well,¡± she taunted. ¡°Hm.¡± ¡°I have the coin gathered,¡± the princess said. ¡°If that¡¯s what you came to complain about.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t,¡± Gust started then stopped. Elsanne blinked slowly, her stare hypnotic and not innocent at all. Where was that girl? What are you doing? He admonished himself. Are you trying to make a fool of yourself? ¡°Robert will come out of Tirifort and march towards the junction,¡± Gust rustled. ¡°Will he bend the knee?¡± Elsanne probed with a nod and a glance at the large mirror. ¡°I thought it better not to argue politics amidst a military operation,¡± Gust replied and glanced at the mirror as well, the princess showing him her tongue mockingly in the polished surface. ¡°Ahm, that¡­ and he avoided mentioning the matter,¡± Gust stumbled through his words not expecting the teasing grimace. ¡°Are my raiders trained?¡± Elsanne asked him pleased. ¡°The¡­ raiders, are still learning to march in a coherent manner.¡± ¡°Is this important? Marching,¡± Elsanne asked smiling and Gust scrunched his jaw not liking her teasing tone. ¡°They need to keep up with the rest of us,¡± he explained and clenched his fists even more. ¡°Can you relax a bit?¡± the princess asked him. ¡°I¡¯m trying to give report to your grace,¡± Gust croaked. ¡°You¡¯re not making it easy.¡± Elsanne stood back with a pout. ¡°We¡¯re not in the palace Gust,¡± she told him. ¡°I appreciate your love of decorum, but I¡­ don¡¯t you think we¡¯re past all this?¡± He never liked innuendos. ¡°I¡¯m sorry you¡¯re seeing it that way.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a good thing,¡± Elsanne sighed. ¡°I trust your judgement on these matters. Eh, politics I can do a better job I think,¡± she eyed him knowingly and Gust grimaced unsure. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you want me to say,¡± he reluctantly admitted. Elsanne chuckled. ¡°Yes princess. You are doing a fantastic job. It¡¯s a jest, you don¡¯t have to say it, if you don¡¯t believe it.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± Gust confessed a bit relieved he didn¡¯t have to lie and Elsanne started laughing even more, which was infuriating, but also extremely pleasing to witness. The door opened abruptly, Jasi popped his head in checked everything was fine and then announced in an incredulous voice. ¡°Leona Vale is here.¡± ¡°She¡¯s drunk?¡± Elsanne probed still chuckling, tears in her eyes. Gust frowned. ¡°She isn¡¯t,¡± Jasi replied. ¡°It¡¯s difficult to fathom. You can come inside,¡± he told the unseen pirate captain.
Gust crumpled his face in a grimace of disbelief, the half-breed female twirling her hat on an index finger finishing her lengthy incoherent verbal diarrhea. ¡°Savvy?¡± Leona asked with a cat¡¯s grin, waggling her eyebrows. ¡°What in allgods did she just say?¡± Gust grunted glaring at the flamboyant pirate captain. ¡°Why use words repeatedly,¡± Leona responded with a droll gliding on the floor to stop under his chin, dark-emerald eyes gleaming on the light caramel skin. ¡°When we can indulge ourselves in silent endless pleasure?¡±Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. ¡°Put her down,¡± Elsanne urged him and Gust realized he¡¯d grabbed a strangling Leona by the throat. ¡°I can understand her ramblings.¡± Gust let her go and Leona twirled around theatrically, afore replying with a hushed croak. ¡°I feel sufficiently squeezed good sir¡ª¡± ¡°Leona Vale!¡± Elsanne snapped cutting her off. ¡°Elsanne, our Ann of the Burrows,¡± Leona retorted readily in a hoarse voice. ¡°Why leave poor Leo out?¡± ¡°You ask us to forget about the treasure,¡± Elsanne hissed, steering the conversation back on track. Gust admired the princess stubbornness to make sense of their visitor, but the woman was clearly deranged on top of depraved. ¡°I did and I shall again repeat it,¡± Leona confessed. ¡°Let not my drunken ramblings steer you astray.¡± ¡°Aha!¡± Gust grunted at her admission. ¡°She¡¯s lying,¡± Elsanne said with a snort. ¡°Dawson was liverier than I ever remembered him. He¡¯d a reason for it right Leona?¡± ¡°Dawson is an old prick¡ª¡± ¡°Who¡¯s Eight?¡± Elsanne asked, not allowing her to finish. Leona sighed deeply and looked about the bedroom. Walked at the edge of the bed and jumped on it. Bounced a couple of times as if to check its sturdiness and then hunched between her legs abruptly to look under it. She came up with a bottle of Flauegran Elsanne had hidden in her previous stay, months in the past. Leona uncorked the bottle and poured the mixture down her throat, afore Elsanne could warn her. She grimaced at the aftertaste and blinked once flustered. ¡°Can¡¯t really see what¡¯s so special about it,¡± Leona croaked gawking, one eye more enlarged than the other. ¡°I mean I had better wine in some pretty shady venues, not all of ¡®em taverns.¡± ¡°She¡¯s never going to answer,¡± Gust growled. ¡°Eight and Garth both know about the treasure,¡± Leona told them and took another swipe at the bottle just to make sure. ¡°They expect a cut.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s¡ª¡± Elsanne tried to ask but Leona stopped her raising her index finger. Her hand shaking either from nerves or severe blood poisoning. Gust was on the fence about it. ¡°A big cut. So I need to get everything out of mine. Garth might negotiate, but I wouldn¡¯t count on it,¡± Leona continued. ¡°So me telling you about it, is potentially¡­ deadly for poor me.¡± ¡°Who cares about¡ª?¡± Gust snapped, but Elsanne stopped him putting a small hand on his chest. ¡°What if they don¡¯t know?¡± she asked Leona. ¡°Oh, they¡¯ll know alright.¡± ¡°Would Dawson back away?¡± ¡°No. You can¡¯t keep ¡®Yellow¡¯ away from gold,¡± Leona replied sadly. ¡°It will take a miracle, or the gallows.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the gold for?¡± Elsanne asked. Leona shrugged her shoulders. ¡°Nobody knows, but the armored wagons have been coming for a couple of years at least. The ship is ready though. Fully built.¡± ¡°How do you know?¡± ¡°I told ye, people are monitoring it for years,¡± Leona explained and put the bottle down with a shiver. ¡°By the harlot¡¯s tits, those crooks at Flauegran sell vinegar for wine ¡®jade eyes¡¯. Abrakas takes them!¡± Blood poisoning, Gust decided and watched the captain collapse backwards on the bed. Which was pretty lucky for her all things considered. ¡°Jasi!¡± Elsanne yelled and the eunuch cracked the door open as if he had his ear on it. ¡°Yes mistress?¡± ¡°Call the camp¡¯s Dottore,¡± Elsanne told him calmly.
¡°OLD DOGS MOVE FORWARD!¡± Sergeant Fuller bellowed two weeks later and the first rows of soldiers rolled down the street towards the west gates. Captain Wyncall giving the same command to his own troops. Sir Jan approached Gust and Klaas, with Solt the Cofol squire in tow, a couple of knights following behind them. Sir Wim Kramer, of Castalor and Koen Blooten, of Toefort. The latter followed by a hard-faced squire with a shaved head. Gust kept his distance from the knights of Toe peninsula since they were his uncle¡¯s men mostly, but knew all of them by now. ¡°Who¡¯s the squire?¡± He asked the veteran knight and Jan raised a brow turning his head to eye Sir Blooten. ¡°Late Sir Walter¡¯s squire,¡± the knight replied, long white beard sprouting down his square jaw. ¡°Lost mine in the desert. Goes by the name of Axel Mudriver.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a bit long in the tooth to squire still,¡± Gust said to the sober man. ¡°Are ye good wit weapons and horse?¡± ¡°He¡¯s good,¡± Sir Blooten replied. ¡°His blood isn¡¯t, aye.¡± Gust needed more heavy cavalry to replenish his losses and Sir Walter of Forestfort had been a solid knight. His poor horse had carried him through the early morning charge on Kuntur¡¯s camp. ¡°You¡¯re from Forestfort?¡± he asked the silent man, not much younger than him really. ¡°By the river,¡± the Issir rustled through his teeth. ¡°Have whore blood on my mother¡¯s side milord.¡± ¡°What of yer father?¡± Gust asked him with a grimace. ¡°The river is difficult to visit,¡± Axel replied looking at him intently. ¡°So he didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough Axel,¡± Sir Blooten told him gruffly. ¡°Get back wit the others.¡± ¡°So regarding the gold,¡± Sir Jan said breaking the awkward moment. The Gallant Dogs soldiers marching slowly outside of the City gates. ¡°This might well be Antoon¡¯s war loan,¡± the knight told him and Gust nodded his eyes following the galloping towards the other riders squire. Sir Evert Pek making the opposite journey to approach them. ¡°Hmm,¡± Gust grunted and reached for the reins Klaas held for him. ¡°Let¡¯s talk about things within our reach Sir Jan.¡± ¡°Beautifully phrased Sir Gust,¡± Jan agreed with a punch worthy smile. ¡°Shall we inform the ¡®raiders¡¯ of their duties?¡± ¡°We shall,¡± Gust rustled and climbed on his horse. A fresh one, he hadn¡¯t yet named and knowing him, he probably wouldn¡¯t.
¡°Harold ¡®Doubloon¡¯!¡± Gust barked at the leader of the raiders. One would¡¯ve been correct to mistake them for part of the crowd that had gathered to watch the mercenaries depart and they were a big ole crowd alright. ¡°GET THEM IN LINE!¡± ¡°Right away chief,¡± Harold replied, clad in new mail and sporting two shields, one on his back and the other hanging from his left arm. ¡°Confident Bolton! Be so kind to get the broth¡¯rs standing pretty as we have talked about for the chief.¡± ¡°YOU ARE MARCHING AFTER THE DOGS!¡± Gust roared besides himself, his horse turning this way and that until he slapped it once upside the head to calm down. ¡°You heard the man!¡± Harold barked at the stunned slow moving raiders. ¡°Bolton yer makin¡¯ me look bad here matey!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry chief,¡± a confident Bolton replied, the raider''s officer carrying a large cleaver, the blade turning hook-like at the tip. ¡°We be marching in due time. Ye just let the lads find their legs first.¡± ¡°HAROLD!¡± Gust boomed hoarsely and spotted the princess coming out of the crowd on Fiend, waving her hands at the crowd that was slow to recognize her because of the large hat covering her head, shading her face. Carter and ¡®Bronchitis¡¯ Sam accompanying the small bodied royal brood closely. ¡°Sir Gust, are we to leave with the supply train?¡± Elsanne asked smiling at the knights standing behind him on their horses. ¡°Gentlemen, good knights, it is a fine morning yes?¡± ¡°It is your grace,¡± Sir Wim Kramer said. ¡°Everything ready Sir Gust?¡± Elsanne asked turning to him. Gust murmured irate, kicked his legs and send his horse near Harold and Bolton. ¡°Listen up you miserable rascals!¡± He barked with Bolton nodding him along despite Gust addressing everyone present the officers included. ¡°This here lady is the Princess of Kaltha,¡± Elsanne raised her arm to greet the men much to their delight. ¡°That¡¯s Anne?¡± a pirate said, sole eye gleaming. ¡°She looks a bit small,¡± another commented truthfully. ¡°Nicely proportioned,¡± added a third equally truthful. ¡°You¡¯ll stick to her like a bad rash!¡± Gust growled to cut through their nonsense. ¡°You¡¯re not to let anyone untoward approach her, let alone touch a hair on her head! Your first and foremost duty is to protect her with your life! She moves, you move. She runs, you run. She walks through fire, you run like mad to open the fucking way! IS THIS CLEAR ENOUGH?¡± The silence following his words deafening. ¡°My raiders,¡± Elsanne started warmly and brought her warhorse near his. ¡°My Eagles. I salute you all!¡± What in allgods name is she¡ª? The raiders roared in unison, some whistling, others yelping in pain, or excitement and a couple at the front sobbing uncontrollably. ¡°March after the Dogs ¡®Fair¡¯ Anne?¡± Harold asked with a pleased smile and Elsanne nodded. ¡°Follow after me mister Doubloon,¡± she said and turned Fiend around clumsily, but raising a taunting brow at the seething Sir Gust when she did. ¡°I¡¯ll need a knight with my group to keep me apprised of the state of affairs,¡± Elsanne told him with a mysterious smile. ¡°Ahm,¡± Gust murmured unsure rubbing his face with a gloved hand. ¡°I meant you Sir Gust,¡± Elsanne said. ¡°It¡¯s a big journey, I¡¯d like your company.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Gust croaked, blood rushing on his face at the chuckles heard around the square. The acoustics of the darn place excellent. ¡°What was it?¡± Elsanne whispered a moment later that wicked smile still on her lips. Her jade eyes glowing with excitement. She looked about them, the pirates singing ¡®Fair Anne¡¯ of the Scalding Seas behind them drowning all other sounds. ¡°Like a bad rash? Why, you have a dirty mouth Gust. Any more¡­ surprises I wonder?¡± Gust frowned unsure where she was going with this and having been burned from her in the past, he decided to solve the problem with a solemn grunt. ¡°Uhm.¡±
In early fall, year of the new calendar 191, the Gallant Dogs left Eikenport and marched up the north banks of the river Felmond avoiding Ninthalor¡¯s Bridge and the caravan road coming down the other side of the river. They picked the straighter, but un-trotted path to avoid getting bogged down on the road and keep the news from spreading. The Gallant Dogs had been hired from Princess Elsanne to assist Sir Gust¡¯s campaign against prince Radin¡¯s force stationed near or in Tyeusfort. The princess was followed for the first time by Anne¡¯s Raiders, a four hundred strong unit acting as her bodyguards. The raiders and the knights following Sir Gust forming her close inner circle hence be known as Queen¡¯s Own. Amongst them Sir Evert Pek of Pastelor, Sir Wim Kramer of Castalor, Sir Jan Reuten of Colle and Sir Koen Blooten of Toefort. Taking stock that Sir Gust had lost Sir Mael Bolte and Sir Walter Roon earlier in the campaign one could say the ¡®Raven of Dawn¡¯ had taken the best of Scaldingport with him. He would partially be wrong as those following him on Eplas did it out of guts first and a thirst for adventure a close second. ¡®The best and prettier attend the tourneys¡¯, was late Sir Walter¡¯s motto. ¡®The bold follow the Raven up the mountain¡¯. The rest of the dictum too vulgar to repeat here.
Gust had never been so worn out during a march. While the almost two month slog was blessed with fine weather for the season, having to play three roles across their army¡¯s long marching lines was something he hadn¡¯t experienced before. Guarded and professional with the mercenaries. Relaxed and at ease amongst his knights and a blend of furious bewilderment near the Princess entourage. ¡°Eh,¡± Gust grunted staring at the brick walls of Tyeusfort ending where the sprawling city called the South Market started. ¡°These are some tall walls.¡± ¡°Can you send your raven to spy for us?¡± Elsanne asked face flushed, her eyes staring at Bugs eating a raw fish he¡¯d plucked out of the river. ¡°BEGONE RIPE TITS!¡± the raven bellowed eyeing her angrily. ¡°Goodness me!¡± Elsanne gasped recoiling. ¡°Who taught him such filth Sir Gust?¡± she asked accusingly, her skin turning a darker shade of chocolate. Elsanne is stunning to guise from afar, breathtakingly gorgeous from up close, a numb Gust thought and it had nothing to do with sleeping by the river. Eh. ¡°It¡¯s a raven. He taught himself,¡± Gust rustled and teared his gaze away to perceive Klaas eavesdropping on Martel¡¯s engineers discuss the fort¡¯s defenses. ¡°Bugs came to Scaldingport when Ruud was in me grandmother¡¯s belly. He could speak aplenty when I found him.¡± ¡°When was that?¡± Elsanne asked waving her hands manically to keep a buzzing river bug away. ¡°I was six,¡± Gust told her reminiscing. Twenty five years to the day. ¡°Out looking for ravens?¡± ¡°He was stealing chicken,¡± Gust replied. ¡°Went up there to put a stop to that.¡± ¡°Up there? Where?¡± ¡°Blackcrow tower. The last floor had no staircase then.¡± Treacherous beams to climb on. Good exercise for the arms. ¡°Did you? Stop it?¡± Elsanne queried curious. Gust showed her a deep scar on this forehead near his hairline. Bugs had almost cracked his skull with his steel-like beak. ¡°Ouch,¡± Elsanne commented and glared back at the big bird. ¡°I didn¡¯t, but we came to an understanding,¡± Gust replied simply and the raven half-chuckled half-croaked, bloody beak staying open to keep the call going, coal black eyes flooded with malevolence, which in turn agitated the crows populating the nearby supply train. The morning filled with angry calls of protestation¡­ CAW CAAWW "ENOUGH!" Until the huge raven put a stop to it that is. Bugs was prone to showing off for the pretty ladies. The last part Gust was sure he¡¯d gotten from his father. The pretty part he had added himself for the occasion. The occasion being himself realizing, it wasn¡¯t fear that made him all clumsy around her, since he¡¯d first seen the princess standing next to her brother. It was love. A feeling Gust hadn¡¯t really experienced growing up in Ruud¡¯s gloomy court and it took him years to understand it for what it was. It scared the brave knight shitless.
Martel slapped his hands to get the circulation going early the next morning. Sleeping near the river could freeze up the muscles. ¡°Right,¡± he said and glanced at the mercenary columns taking their places at a safe distance from the walls of Tyeusfort, afore returning his eyes on the maps. The field table¡¯s legs lodged in the soft ground, five meters behind the two large catapults. The engineers had worked all night to reassemble the parts after getting them out of the wagons. The supply train three hundred meters behind the main body. ¡°Let¡¯s give this plan another go, afore our good knights depart.¡± Sergeant White, who was responsible for the war machines, stepped forward. ¡°Everything is ready chief,¡± he said without hesitation. ¡°The distance calculated with a runner. The catapults can fire right away. The Scorpios will have to approach a bit more.¡± ¡°How much?¡± Martel asked with a worried frown seeing the loaded catapults. ¡°Well,¡± the sergeant thought about it, eyes scanning the terrain and the manned walls about two hundred meters from them. ¡°Fifty meters, a bit more I¡¯d reckon.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a lot of meters sergeant!¡± ¡°True, but we don¡¯t have another runner chief,¡± White yielded sadly. ¡°What happened to the first one?¡± Martel grunted and the sergeant pointed at a bloody corpse pierced by multiple arrows about halfway to the walls. ¡°Will the catapults reach the walls from here?¡± Gust asked eager to get going, as the knights and men-at-arms had already assembled to ride towards Radin¡¯s Depot, a week away. ¡°A demonstration,¡± White agreed and turned around. ¡°No, it was a question,¡± Gust grunted. ¡°Sergeant,¡± Martel warned his subordinate. ¡°The lever Rick!¡± White roared enthusiastically. Rick raising his head and looking back unsure. ¡°Pull it god darn it! NOW!¡± White barked, Martel bodying the sergeant to stop him. ¡°Belay that order Rick!¡± the commandant bellowed taking his subordinate to the ground under him, but it was too late. The arm snapped and the heavy boulder went flying towards the walls of Tyeusfort catching everyone by surprise. The soldiers still out of position, the knights watching from the road three hundred meters away, the supply train and the raiders watching from behind them and even the defenders looking at them from up on the walls. The rock flew high, arched sharply and then plunged straight for the ten-meter tall wall next to the east gates striking its base with a heavy thud. It raised a lot of dust and gotten a scared prolonged yelp out of the defending Cofols. ¡°AAAHH!¡± A mostly analogous cry from the attackers. ¡°AAWWW!¡± A moment of numbness following when everyone realized the walls remained unharmed. ¡°Well,¡± Gust commented, not impressed and Martel got up slowly from the ground, White standing up from under him covered in mud, but ogling his eyes manically. ¡°AGAIN! PULL THE OTHER!¡± The sergeant bellowed afore anyone could stop him and Rick sprinted the small distance, boots gliding on the morning thaw and slapped down the other. CLANK! WHAM! The second shot hitting the brick walls a meter higher and creating a seemingly unassuming crack that crept at start then raced abruptly upwards, all the way to the parapets. The crack grew, a thunderous rumbling was heard and then a part of the wall facing them crumbled and collapsed with an epic proportions earth-shaking racket, leaving a ten meter wide gap behind a mountain of debris. And a gigantic dust cloud. ¡°WATER FUCKIN¡¯ MELON!¡± Bugs croaked in shock and flew away. Sergeant White, the only man still having his wits about him, turned to a smirking Rick and his crew and roared like a crazy person at the top of his lungs to snap them out of their joyful trance. ¡°QUICK YE CUNTS! RELOAD!¡±
¡°Aren¡¯t they going to charge?¡± Sir Jan asked, when Sir Gust rode near the knights waiting for him twenty minutes later. ¡°They are mercenaries,¡± Gust replied gruffly and raised his arm at the tiny princess out in the distance waving her arms at them, whilst standing precariously on top of her saddle. ¡°They¡¯ll flatten the terrain afore risking their necks. That¡¯s our job,¡± he added and slapped his face cover down. Risking our necks was his meaning. ¡°I¡¯ve sent a scout up ahead,¡± Sir Jan informed him. ¡°The first sign of Cofols he rides back and brings them to us. A good thing, if they are manageable in numbers.¡± Not so much if they are not was what the knight from Colle had left unsaid. While they did find Cofols near Radin¡¯s Depot at the junction, the man himself wasn¡¯t there. 307. Sheep, Dogs & Tyeusfort (5/5) You are my solemn warden, my knight of all dawns. Tonight you don¡¯t get to perish. I forbid it! - Princess Elsanne Eikenaar (Eve afore the Rebel Queen¡¯s coronation) Circa 196 NC
Sir Gust De Weer, Raven of Dawn Sheep, Dogs & Tyeusfort Part V -Hell of a crowd milord-
The warhorse shook its black mane, iron horseshoes digging at the soft grass-covered ground, the terrain much greener between the two rivers than further east, but for the gravel covered road and the Depot¡¯s nine large buildings coming towards him fast. Gust glanced at the watchtower and the Cofol soldier ringing the bell to warn the guards, eyes returning at the men gathered in the street, pouring out of the barrack sized buildings. ¡°LANCES!¡± Sir Wim Cramer bellowed to his right, but Gust had lowered his already, left arm pulling the shield near his body and Sir Jan Reuten riding a horse body ahead of him crashing on the still assembling soldiers first. A breath and everything blurred, steel lance snapping, the jolt felt on his right shoulder hard as a landing sledgehammer. Something splashed his visor, gore burning his eyes and restricting his vision. The warhorse shuddering underneath him as he bulldozed his way through three opponents, hooves sliding in the packed gravel raising a thick dust cloud that veiled the charging men behind him. Gust saw the Cofol covered in scaled armour nurturing a crossbow three meters in front of his neighing panicked and spinning sideways warhorse, the man¡¯s eyes growing twice their regular size and knew he¡¯d no time to unsheathe his longsword. He ducked behind the shield heaving the shaft of his lance at the firing Cofol with his other hand. The next moment the bolt struck the top iron-reinforced edge of his heater shield, ripped it right off and glanced the side of his helm, dousing his face with sparks. Gust grunted, head snapping back, the Cofol diving out of the way only to be skewered under the armpit by Sir Blooten, who tossed him aside a moment later. ¡°Torch the buildings!¡± Sir Cramer yelled to the following men-at-arms that flooded the street behind them. ¡°FIND THEIR GOD DARN CAVARLY!¡± ¡°Ah,¡± Gust grunted and unsheathed Sir Mael¡¯s blade. He pressed his knees and the warhorse lunged forward, shoved a soldier coming out of the building back. The Cofol swung with his sabre cursing, clipped Gust¡¯s knee pad and then the knight¡¯s longsword came down screaming, opened the hapless soldier from clavicle to hip bone, tearing armour, fabric and flesh at a perfect straight line. The Cofol went stumbling down, blood turning the grey-yellow gravel a fierce red and Gust swept the longsword around parallel to the ground aimed at a heavy-set man charging him with an axe. It sheared the top portion of his head clean off. Conned helm, skull-bone and all. The iron cap hit the wall of the building across the street to his right, the Cofol¡¯s bloody brains splattering everything in a two meter radius and Gust who¡¯d kicked his legs to get the warhorse going again fell on his next opponent. The soldier yelped seeing him charging the small distance, threw his sabre down and tried to run away, but man and horse reached him in a second, Gust¡¯s spurred heavy steel-plated boot catching him on the sides breaking a rib. The screaming Cofol spiraled out of control in the middle of the street on wobbly legs. He started pleading for his life, Gust¡¯s ringing ears not hearing anything but an incoherent buzz and died to Sir Jan¡¯s miraculously intact lance. The steel tip bayonetting him through the open mouth shearing most of his lower teeth and tongue away.
The Depot was burning. Gust turned his warhorse around at the junction, trying to calm both of them down and Sir Cramer cantered next to him followed by a tense-faced Klaas. ¡°Horses rode hard west towards the thickets and the overgrown fields!¡± the knight from Castalor reported, bits and pieces reaching his ringing ears and Gust lifted his gory visor to make sense of his words. ¡°Where does the road lead?¡± He grunted when Sir Cramer reiterated his report. ¡°Blacksheep, the banks of Shifton River milord.¡± Gust stared at the wooded area west of the Depot, then at the burning buildings behind them. They had run through the small settlement in less than thirty minutes, killed everything that moved and encountered little resistance. Not much of a garrison as well. ¡°Where is the army?¡± Gust growled in frustration and grabbed a water flask Klaas tossed him to wash his face. ¡°Could they be they moved to Tirifort?¡± ¡°Eh, send scouts in the woods,¡± Gust grunted with a grimace and poured some water down his throat, afore returning the flask to Klaas. ¡°Make sure they are not hiding from us.¡± ¡°We let the cavalry escape?¡± Sir Cramer asked. ¡°No,¡± Gust retorted. ¡°The Prince might be with them.¡± He turned his warhorse and raised an arm to notify the knights they were heading west. ¡°What about the Depot?¡± Sir Jan asked when he reached their gathering spot. ¡°Let it burn,¡± Gust replied trying to readjust his plan on the fly. ¡°If Radin is retreating towards the river¡­ ah, why would he do that?¡± ¡°He knows about the assault on Tyeusfort?¡± Sir Blooten offered in the form of a query. A dent on his dark-grey plate had left a clear sliver mark behind. ¡°So he runs?¡± Gust snapped. ¡°The day is early, we ride after them. If we can¡¯t catch them soon, we turn back and wait for Robert to appear.¡± ¡°He might be a day away,¡± Sir Jan said as if to jog Gust¡¯s memory. Gust snorted and snapped his visor shut. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t in his stead. His, is the more precarious position.¡± Unless we run into a trap. Knowing Radin, he has something prepared. He had at least a four day warning.
In the fall, the year of the new calendar 191, Khan Burzin Radpour ordered the Khanate¡¯s Treasurer Elur-Sol, Lord of Que Ki-La to assume the title of War Leader, in the event Lord Chubin Amin of Lai Zel-Ka failed to report to the capital before the end of the year in person. He was to relinquish the lofty title to his second son and Prince Heir Nout now recuperating in the picturesque desert-lake city of Yin Xi-Yan, when the young scion was ready. The Khan himself left the capital Rin An-Pur, taking the majority of the army with him. The ten thousand strong elite Jang-Ju infantry, one thousand Cataphracts, one thousand medium cavalry, five thousand horse archers, three thousand slaves and twenty thousand horses, camels and other animals including twenty white elephants. The army slogged through the fertile and endless plains the great sprawling city had been erected, right between Kin Ton-Inn River and the mighty Son-Zan at the gullet of Khanate Gulf. They crossed the great bridge over Son-Zan a month later and were at the city of Dinar a month after that just as the year turned. In the winter of 192 the Khan would travel through the Cofol Steppe to Xuski Fort. The Khan¡¯s orders and departure from the capital shifted the khanate¡¯s strategy and changed the dynamics inside his domain dramatically, having a ripple effect on the ambitious people living under his rule. Lord Chubin Amin wouldn¡¯t make the travel to Rin An-Pur for starters and that elevated Elur-Sol giving him immense power. It also severed him away from the other Sisters of the Peninsula, though the Lord of Que Ki-La was never that close with the other Lords to begin with. While the Khan¡¯s strategy was sound, placing a loyalist in charge while he was away and his heir ailing, the Lords of Greenwhale had already decided to take action if the war continued for another year. Or so they later revealed. Instead of dousing the fire, the Khan¡¯s decree had strengthened it even more. The cunning Prince Atpa, who had found himself climbing a step closer on the ladder to the throne after his bigger brother¡¯s demise, had initially decided to resume Sahand¡¯s campaign in Altarin and finish it. Upon learning his father was coming with another army, the Prince decided to leave the Khan and Sahand¡¯s troops to deal with that and took the Army of the Desert out of Rida. Instead of traveling to Sadofort -he had to in order not to lose control of the army- the Prince travelled hastily towards Hi Yil castle. The destroyed castle was in no position to house troops, but Atpa had an uncanny ability to rebuilt ruins ¨Cmainly because he¡¯d appropriated Prince Nouts engineers and not so much out of skill, despite his war memoirs- so he went about re-opening wells and setting up a large camp and worksites. He also contacted Prince Radin ¨Cthe younger Prince busy trying to deal with the remnants of the First Foot, Sir Gust¡¯s expeditionary force and Princess Elsanne¡¯s pirates- after avoiding talking to him for a year. Learning about Radin¡¯s troubles, Atpa decided he couldn¡¯t hop over the desert without wings, nor was it practical keeping hold of vast parches of land stretching themselves too thin. So he ordered Radin to abandon his plans for Tirifort, retreat towards Merchant¡¯s Triage and then find a way to slip past Robert¡¯s men towards Devil¡¯s Cove, where Atpa intended to attack once he finished repairing the ruin Sir Gust had left behind. Radin found himself conflicted as he didn¡¯t want to lose his properties, mainly Dia Castle, but Atpa assured him the Issirs didn¡¯t have the strength to campaign that far south. ¡®They are trapped between Felmond and Shifton Rivers¡¯ he wrote to him. ¡®They just don¡¯t have the men to expand anymore, unless they find a way to magic troops out of thin air.¡¯ While Prince Atpa¡¯s main strategy wouldn¡¯t reveal itself until much later in the war and it had nothing to do with this part of Eplas, Radin agreed to it at the start of winter. Without knowing what Atpa had promised him, the youngest of the Princes isolation at the edge of the khanate, his ever increasing family both in the number of wives, offspring and even the hope for an ally in the power struggle that everyone knew was about to break out, played enough of a role in his decision to follow his bigger brother¡¯s will. In Tyeusfort, the Gallant Dogs managed to collapse part of the fort¡¯s wall the first morning of the siege, but had little progress after that. It took them a week to reduce the south tower to rubble and while everyone agreed in the need to destroy north tower as well, Princess Elsanne goading them to hurry up so they could help the missing Sir Gust, the engineers found themselves in a conundrum. They had run out of ammunition. After a thorough excavation of the river banks produced few ¡®quality boulders¡¯ for the job, the officers agreed on switching to hurling flammable material over the ruined part of the wall. Several suggestions were made, but a camel caravan seized ¨Cthe mercenaries were stopping all caravans heading to or from South Market for ¡®security¡¯ reasons- and then heavily plundered for meat, left them with enough hides to try something. The ensuing bombardment produced little result other than a fire that burned the fort¡¯s supplies and barracks. While sleeping on the ground was taxing for the defenders, they refused to surrender the fort without a fight until the merchants from South Market decided they just couldn¡¯t supply them via the east gates anymore. In the end and despite their best efforts to level, or burn the fort, the mercenaries¡¯ best tactic ended up being the fact they had strangled the nearby supporting merchant town from its income. So the Cofol commander decided to sally outside the ruined part of the wall very early the next morning to catch the Dogs unprepared. The reason for attacking instead of surrendering being a missive he received from Prince¡¯s Radin second in command that informed the hapless defenders they were going to attack the mercenary camp the next day.
Not even half an hour later Gust pulled hard at the reins to force his tired warhorse to stop abruptly. ¡°Whoa!¡± He yelled, arrows flying over his helm, one breaking on his right shoulder-guard, two missing his horse for a handbreadth and smacking the tree trunks right and left from the muddy road. ¡°GET BACK!¡± ¡°Keep them out of range Sir Cramer!¡± Sir Jan Reuten barked stopping next to him, afore turning his warhorse around. The Cofols had blocked the road to the livestock town, most maps on Jelin didn¡¯t even have marked. It wasn¡¯t a large obstacle, more like hastily cut down trees and Gust considered going through the woods on either side to flank them. ¡°Damnit!¡± Sir Cramer cursed jumping from his horse many men mimicking him. Gust¡¯s riders keeping a safe distance from the barricaded road. The incensed knight had an arrow stuck in his left thigh. ¡°How bad?¡± Gust asked jumping from the saddle himself. ¡°He is better off burning it,¡± Sir Jan said with a grimace, his helm¡¯s face cover raised, seeing the mud under their spurs. ¡°We can attack through the woods on foot,¡± Sir Blooten rustled still atop his horse. ¡°The men-at-arms can do that milord.¡± ¡°Ah,¡± Gust grunted looking at the thick at places mud-infested woods and vegetation. ¡°They¡¯ll retreat on their horses again using the road. They are stalling us Blooten!¡± ¡°You think they are leaving?¡± Jan asked him and Gust went to his warhorse again to climb up on the saddle without answering. He¡¯d spotted out of the corner of his eye a rider galloping their way coming from their rear. A lot of men had turned to watch him approach. ¡°No time to rest gents,¡± he grunted. ¡°Sir Cramer can you take the barricade with fifty men?¡± ¡°Soon as I burn and stitch the wound lord De Weer, I¡¯ll hit them from the sides,¡± the knight replied clenching his jaw when his squire removed the arrowhead using a small knife to widen the wound. ¡°What about the rest?¡± Sir Jan asked and Gust pointed at the sinewy scout riding so hard to reach them he almost crashed in the rear of their immobile procession. ¡°Sir Gust!¡± The young Issir scout said, face covered in watery mud and his nimble horse frothing at the mouth. ¡°We found the cavalry!¡± ¡°Where?¡± Gust barked, though he¡¯d suspected as much. ¡°They had hidden in the woods a couple of kilometers before the Depot sire,¡± the heavy breathing scout reported. ¡°Missed them the first time but a couple of us thought to have another look behind our backs down the road and caught whiff of them. Thing is, they saw as well.¡±Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Gust had left less than twenty men at the burning Depot. ¡°Did they retake the Depot?¡± he growled, though it was probably half-destroyed by now. ¡°Nah, but they pushed us back. We lost a couple of men,¡± the scout replied. ¡°They mean to keep us away. There¡¯re more than five hundred riders there sire. More than that continued towards Tyeusfort. Way more,¡± he added. ¡°Hell of a crowd milord.¡± ¡°Shit,¡± Sir Jan spat and turned to look at the scowling Gust. ¡°Do we leave those here?¡± ¡°We can¡¯t,¡± Gust grunted and turned on the saddle to look back towards the couple of hundred meters away crude barricade. ¡°They¡¯ll come at our backs afore the first dark. Sir Cramer you fix them there, but don¡¯t engage. Take no risks!¡± ¡°We can take them milord,¡± the wounded knight said. ¡°I don¡¯t care!¡± Gust barked. ¡°The first sign of trouble you hop on the saddle and retreat towards the Depot! We don¡¯t know the terrain,¡± he told him in a sober voice. ¡°Nor where the good or bad places for an ambush lay.¡± ¡°As you wish milord,¡± Cramer said with a slight nod of his helmed head. ¡°You¡¯ll take the road back?¡± Sir Jan asked. ¡°Aye,¡± Gust replied. ¡°But we¡¯ll cut south through the woods for the last part of it. They expect us to pop out at the mouth of the junction. We¡¯ll do what they did and hit their rear. Put them between us and the men holding the Depot.¡± Probably less than twenty of them left by now. It was a poor plan, as he had enemy cavalry already past him heading for the besieged Tyeusfort, but Gust hoped Robert would drag his arse from Tirifort at some point and that Martel had already finished with the darn fort. When you get to hope for something and it turns into a wish list, one of them things probably won¡¯t come to be.
¡°Tyeus spear!¡± Gust growled covered in mire and rotten leaves, pushing the warhorse through the last trees and onto more clear ground. He could see the fires burning at the Depot, more black smoke than fires now, four hours later. ¡°Any of our guys still standing?¡± Sir Jan asked coming near him, man and horse a muddy mess and the rest of their riders slowly emerging out of the tree-line. ¡°Can¡¯t tell, but those are Cofols,¡± Gust grunted and used a dirty cloth to clean his helm, banging it a couple of times on the saddle to get the stickier bits off. The Cofols were twirling around the smoking buildings loosing the occasional arrow through a crack, or a broken window. Too many to count. All bunched up at the south entrance of the settlement. Nice big timber buildings. A couple of them two-storied alike barracks, the rest long and rectangular warehouses. There was flour in there, salted meat and sausages. Boxes with arrows for sure and blades. Good chance there¡¯s proper fodder for the animals too, although this part of Eplas was the greenest Gust had seen, but for the irrigated part of the fields between Eikenport and the river. He¡¯d enough of the desert, occasionally arid land to last him a lifetime in three long years. If there was better land ahead or to the west, he wasn¡¯t as eager to know. Gust hadn¡¯t come to Eplas to explore it nor did he fear for his life afore. He didn¡¯t still, but now the knight was plenty worried of failure. You fail as a noble knight people might sing a song in yer funeral, he mused with a grimace. You fail as a rebel following the princess, you get yer head chopped off and she gets disemboweled in Caspo O¡¯ Bor if she¡¯s lucky. Gust didn¡¯t much mind the former, but the latter he couldn¡¯t stomach. He couldn¡¯t. Some of the riders saw them populating the gravel road, the terrain not perfect, but ten times better and much preferred than stumbling about in the darn forest on tired mounts. They paused whatever it was they were doing and rode out of the smokes restricting their vision. More and more coming out of the Depot. Horse archers, but wearing hardened leather, or mail and carrying sabres. Mercenary units, probably former Caravan guards that had found loftier employment. Gust had faced them afore probably three hundred kilometers north from there in Shifton¡¯s Camp. Bastards had almost killed him then and it seemed they got to try it again. ¡°Gust we can make a run after the big group,¡± Jan told him and Sir Blooten nodded. An older knight closer to fifty than forty, probably a good friend of his uncle. His beard more bleached than white, skin porous and wrinkled around the eyes. He¡¯d started as a tourney knight in his youth and Gust remembered him properly now. His killed squire as well. He glanced at the other knights with him then, their squires -the blank-faced Axel included- and the modest men-at-arms. Not knights, but the closest one can reach if he was willing to put in the effort and the coin. Heavy cavalry and heavy infantry in the same body. Scaldingport¡¯s best units. Tough as nails. ¡°We can¡¯t do that,¡± Gust rustled somberly loud enough to be heard and young Ronald Klaas, who had turned twenty the other day, so he wasn¡¯t so young anymore, wild beard sprouting on his cheeks tossed him a warspear his face pale. No more lances. ¡°Martel has a chance against them, if those cunts over there don¡¯t lend a hand,¡± he growled channeling Lord Ruud and Sir Blooten shrugged his armoured shoulders once taking it in stride. ¡°By the bloody dead,¡± Sir Jan Reuten gasped hoarsely and slapped his mud-covered visor down, probably unsure whether he¡¯d make it out this time. The knight from Colle had played the odds multiple times during the campaign. ¡°TITS FOR BRAINS!¡± Bugs roared flying over them in a dive and Gust thought it as good a signal to charge as any.
The warhorse neighed in pain, half-blinded by the smoke, the ground shaking under hooves and the sound of almost two hundred men charging rattling each man¡¯s bones as if to shake their souls off. And kill them a moment sooner. Gust punched his warspear through thigh and saddle, lethally injuring horse and rider. He felt it shattering in his grip, the jolt almost unhorsing him and twisted about on the saddle, the horse jumping over a mangled corpse in a blur. Maddened yells, pained screams, terrified neighs and the horrific sound of steel connecting with flesh, or armour. Most times both. Bones splintering, shields buckling, or breaking. Arms twisted and shoulders dislocating. The clatter of hooves on metal, or gravel. The smell of blood and excrement. Animal and humans. There¡¯s nothing good at the end of a charge. But there is death aplenty. Gust found the saddle with a grunt, reached for his sword, a leg kicking out to nail an unhorsed Cofol on the chest. The boot missing, steel spur peeling the man¡¯s face off from pointy chin to the hairline. A gasp and he felt his horse buckling, its head snapping back, eyes enlarged and bulging, blood in its mouth. Gust let go of the other stirrup, the horse dropping like a rock under him and saw the Cofol out of the haze swinging that mace again. Protruding wedges on it sharp as razors and covered in gore. Gust jumped back and off the saddle, the mace striking his shield that came apart, clipped his forearm numbing it and bounced off the wooden saddle cracking it. ¡°ARGH!¡± his opponent snarled irate and rushed to jump over the dying horse, Gust landing on the balls of his feet, heels digging the ground but still dropping backwards, his mind on getting the darn sword out more than finding the balance. If you are to fall, don¡¯t be a cunt about it. He crashed on the gravel, back of his helm banging on it, skin splitting and bleeding, a hoof coming down inches away making a crater and Gust had to roll immediately away to avoid the next one. A moment and he stopped on a knee. Sir Blooten dropping his broken spear and going for his sword some feet away. Everyone embroiled in a desperate fight all about them. Gust glanced at the nearest building, counted the distance to be less than ten meters and grinned manically at the charging Cofol with the mace whilst getting up. They had penetrated so deep into the gathered Cofol riders group, they had split their forces in half. That was a lot of dead slanted-eye bastards caught in the middle. A vicious chop and the charging soldier lost half a leg -the left one- a couple of fingers under the knee along the will to fight. He stumbled forward and Gust kicked him in the face proper, upper part of his midfoot encased in iron-reinforced boot connecting with the yelping man¡¯s lowered head. He lifted him clean off the ground, the Cofol making a backwards somersault afore crashing down dead. The ripped off head flying over the crowded battlefield, a bit of bloody spine still attached to it. Gust turned to parry a sabre away, brandished the longsword upwards in an arc gutting the rearing on its hind legs horse under the rider attacking him and then brought it back down again catching the falling soldier on the shoulder guard. ¡°Umm!¡± Gust grunted and kicked the brutally killed Cofol¡¯s chest hard to get the blade lodged to his ribcage out. An arrow breaking on his helm pushing him back. Gust grinded his teeth, his vision restricted and went for a Cofol fighting with a man-at-arms. He grabbed a leg and heaved him off the saddle, made to climb on his horse, but someone hit him high on his back. The force of the blow send Gust on the scared horse¡¯s side -already turning- and the better aimed plunge with the sabre glanced his plate and sunk in the saddle. The Cofol let go of the handle and reached for a long dagger, but Gust who had the same problem as him, they were standing too close to use their swords, close his left fist and punched him once under the right eye. Breaking the cheekbone and popping that eye out. The man yelped and tried to push it back inside the empty cavity, but Gust¡¯s punch had shoved him back over a meter and the knight raised his sword taking the chance. Then run the sharp edge against his opponent¡¯s neck-skin from tip to midpoint. Blood spurted out sideways, arteries severed and the man went down shuddering like a fish out of water. Gust turned around, drenched in sweat and in a fervor to find that horse, but caught the last bit of Sir Blooten getting skewered by a spear that went in from the right side of his neck and exited out the other. The Cofol rider that had managed the small charge, yanked the spear out, the veteran toppling from his warhorse lifeless and turned the horse around to keep Axel at bay. Gust made to rush there irate, but a spear flew over his head smacked the Cofol in the back with a thud and hurled him off the saddle. As dead as Sir Blooten. ¡°Milord!¡± Klaas yelled to be heard from atop his horse. ¡°I run out of spears!¡± ¡°Ah,¡± Gust grunted a bit disoriented, the clamor of savage fighting all about them not helping. ¡°Toss me the bloody mace!¡± He needed a shorter reach and much nimbler weapon than Mael¡¯s longsword. Gust could feel this was turning fast into a solid good ole close quarters scrap.
A fast galloping scout patrol warned Commandant Martel -the Gallant Dogs leader sieging Tyeusfort- of the approaching host. The message found the leader of the mercenaries early morning in his tent, but already awake. Martel burst out of his tent spyglass in hand and at first he thought it was only Sir Gust returning. Being cautious he sounded the alarm and rushed to the reserve force he was holding back, his best troops already in the field facing the walls, as they had decided to try the defenders resolve the previous night. Seeing a lot of steppe horses approaching and much more men than he anticipated Martel got a little suspicious, until a keen-eyed sergeant of engineers informed him there were white-leather armoured Cofol medium cavalry in the mix. Now sufficiently worried Martel lined up his spear infantry to cover his northern flank, warned the Princess¡¯s nearby large camp they had a problem and ordered Captain Wyncall to pull his heavy infantry from the line. He managed two of his three actions as the Tyeusfort defenders sallied outside their shattered walls and attacked his preparing for an attack veteran troops. While unexpected, the defenders assault wasn¡¯t as critical, since the startled and sleepy mercenaries were already lined up and facing them two hundred meters from the walls. They also had the assistance of several war machines aimed at the fort, mainly Scorpions that hadn¡¯t had the chance to run out of ammunition. Their crews, bored out of their minds and envious of their colleagues operating the bulkier catapults that had gotten free reign for a week to bombard the fort, opened fire afore Sergeant White had a chance to reach them. Seven out of eight bolts ripped through the charging Cofols blunting their attack, the eighth killing five mercenaries as it was short. Friendly fire aside the sally was met with great success by the Dogs and Martel released control of this part of the battlefield to Wyncall to deal with the incoming charge of the reinforcing Cofols. The Grunts in their first action of the campaign ¨Cmost had fought a bit during the siege of Eikenport of course- lost forty men in three minutes, but pushed the riders back inflicting an equal number of casualties at least. Martel rushed to the front line ¨Csort of- just as the Cofols cavalry retreated to cycle charge, but pausing to allow its large horse archer detachment to fire volley after volley into the packed spear infantry. They caused some casualties as most remembered to use their shields, but moral dipped dangerously. Martel had to resort to threats, curses and even pleading to keep the men from routing. Seeing their chance the cavalry returned galloping fast and fell on the reeling lines of mercenaries again -losing less men than afore, but killing even more ¡®Grunts¡¯ as they aimed their charge at the edge of their line. The Cofol commander, his name not known but this probably was Vijay Mirpur, son of Lord Zuti Mirpur of Rin An-Pur, the Khan¡¯s Master of Horses, pulled back to allow the archers to fire again at the disoriented spears and charged for a third time, this stint with every horse and man available to him. Whether he¡¯d seen Anne¡¯s Raiders pouring out of their camp in the chaos and clouds raised by his horses, or not, it¡¯s impossible to know now. It is highly likely the Cofol leader would have charged again even if he had, as he needed to break through the reeling mercenaries and help Tyeusfort¡¯s defenders that were dying fast afore its walls. With their sally failing against the hardened ¡®Old Dogs¡¯ and Wyncall¡¯s veteran troops, if they broke the mercenaries would follow them inside with nowhere for them to run. Whatever the case might have been, the Cofols charged en masse and almost broke through as the horse archers fired a volley at point blank to shatter the first row of defenders. Commandant Martel standing behind seven rows of spears found himself in a fight for his life with several Cofols. His staff as well, from map holders and even non-combatants like Purse Holder Crafton and his young prot¨¦g¨¦ Liko. In the chaos that ensued and with casualties mounting the raiders arrived. While probably useless in a line, or during a march ¨Cthe raiders were a notoriously slow footed unit- the mostly made up of pirates and cutthroats unit proved extremely effective at closer range. The use of custom weapons from long steel hooks, cleavers and even curved-spike hammers causing mayhem on the riders that were in advantage against the green spears at such a close range, but utterly vulnerable to face the raiders up close and personal. Horses were maimed, people dragged off the saddles and disemboweled, cut or quartered alive. The pack tactics of the raiders very effective and helped by the realization that amidst the chaos of the expanded battle, nobody really paid attention on what they were doing. The fight turned to a slaughter, with people butchered and plundered at the same time. Fingers severed to get the rings out faster, ringed ears sliced off, bejeweled cocks carved out and gathered in bags, with at least a couple of cases of sodomy reported, Martel decided later to sweep under the rag. Some days away, Sir Gust De Weer having missed Prince Radin for a month, almost fell into Vizay Mirpur¡¯s trap -the Cofol leader the former had left in charge- but managed to fight the superior Cofol force to a standstill mostly because the two opposing mounted troops were too entangled to separate, or retreat. What had initially started as a cavalry on cavalry charge turning into a melee amidst and around the burning buildings of Radin¡¯s Depot. Unfortunately for the extremely unlucky Cofols Sir Gust was excellent in melee ¨Chis brother rumored to be the better rider- as was most of his mounted extremely veteran force and he was the only man in the battles fought that day expecting reinforcements.
Gust switched his grip on Mael¡¯s sword and cleaved the Cofol¡¯s right arm off, using the mace to finish him off. He charged three meters, boots thudding the gravel and reached another group, three Cofols duking it out with a sword carrying Axel. The older squire keeping them at bay, but suffering a wound on his right leg that had slowed him down. The mace caught the nearest opponent right at the nappe, the spine crackling paralyzing him. The Cofol collapsed on his knees, but his sabre clanked between his friend¡¯s legs and the scout jumped away alarmed. Axel went after the third now that the fight had evened out and Gust murmured under his breath, afore trying again. A savage slash broke the Cofol¡¯s sabre above the hilt, the broken apart whipping past his head and nailing itself on the half burned wall. His opponent cried out in shock and made to run away, but Sir Jan who was fighting two sabers a couple of meters away, casually cut him once across the back and send him spiraling down in the middle of the street. A weary Gust turned to help Axel out, but a wounded horse came between them and he had to jump back. His legs a bit tired were slow to react and the horse¡¯s rear bumped him aside. The knight grunted livid, the adrenaline fueling his resolve and forced himself forward again. A step and a blade went through his plate from the side, but he stopped it dead downing his mace on the hand holding it. The Cofol screamed blinded by pain, his wrist bones and fingers squashed. Gust yanked the sabre out dropping the mace and run through his stumbling away opponent with it. The blade entering right above his right hip and exploding out of his belly. The knight cursed and stooped to pick up his steel mace, a Cofol bodying him dagger in hand. Gust stumbled back a step, grabbed the man¡¯s dagger wielding hand and twisted it, his sword blocked by the Cofol¡¯s body. He got a punch on the visor that bloodied his nose, but he heaved once, then pulled and dislocated his opponent¡¯s shoulder, turning the dangling arm and dagger useless. ¡°SHIT!¡± The man yelped afore abruptly stopping, Gust¡¯s helm connecting with his in a savage head-butt. The Knight went for another one, but sensed more than saw a man rushing his sides and made to twist around, the semi-paralyzed Cofol hugging him desperately, slowing Gust down. The man with the spear rushing their way was going to skewer them both like river trout. Eh, Gust gasped and attempted to turn just the same to put the brain leaking down his bloody face Cofol in front of him. Axel¡¯s blade chopped the charging Cofol¡¯s head off the next moment and the steel tip of the spear bounced off Gust¡¯s plate impotently. He hadn¡¯t managed to turn at all. With a grimace and a nod at the Issir squire, Gust reached with his left hand and shoved thumb and index finger into the Cofol¡¯s still hugging him ogling eyes. Then pressed hard until he heard the disgusting pop and warm fluids covered his glove. A mounted knight covered in fine powder like grit had emerged out of the dust cloud, the sound of battle still raging at the mouth of the settlement twenty meters away behind Gust. An Issir knight, he thought and dropped the blinded Cofol down to free his sword hand. He could make out the blue lobster engraved on the knight¡¯s chest. The fish tails on the helmet. A knight from Badum. ¡°Sir Gust,¡± the knight said recognizing the Raven¡¯s armour and lifted his visor to show his face. Sir Lowell Koel, Gust thought and raised his face cover to spit down. His jaw covered in blood from his leaking nose, plenty of it in his mouth. ¡°Kindly step aside so we can move in,¡± the knight added civilly. ¡°Sure,¡± Gust retorted and he had to unglue his lips from the dried up gore to do it, then signed for a solemn faced Axel to step aside as well. Bugs landed on the street, picked up a severed hand and came to stand next to them by the side of the road. ¡°Looks more impressive up close. That¡¯s the famed raven then?¡± Axel asked staring at the large bird crunching the fingers with his black beak. The late Sir Blooten¡¯s squire words ambiguous. Technically he was Sir Walter Roon¡¯s squire afore that, Gust thought tiredly and breathed out once, almost every part of his battered body hurting. ¡°Yes,¡± the Raven of Dawn had replied simply. 308. Rebel Queen’s Own
Elsanne Eikenaar Princess Heiress ¡®Fair¡¯ Anne Burton Rebel Queen¡¯s Own
First month of winter 192 NC Tyeusfort The skies had opened up for the third straight day. It wasn¡¯t like the winters in Quarterport, but Elsanne hadn¡¯t felt a proper winter since one eighty eight. The breeze cool on her skin, the cloak she wore not keeping the humidity out. Taking the shell of Tyeusfort hadn¡¯t provided the attackers with proper quarters. She glanced towards the north and the road to Shifton River, but there was nothing there as well to help lift her spirits. ¡°You can¡¯t take control of South Market with a promise,¡± Lord Sigurd Bach continued. ¡°You¡¯ll need troops stationed here your grace.¡± ¡°Where would these troops stay Sigurd?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have to rebuild the whole fort. This can be a smaller force.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t rebuild the fort for a while and I can¡¯t really use a small force when all I have is a small one,¡± Elsanne replied sternly. ¡°You expect me to keep paying the mercenaries for the next year?¡± ¡°The Dogs will return to Eikenport,¡± Sigurd insisted. ¡°Keeping the road open, keeps the wealth flowing into the city.¡± ¡°Eh, you talk of another campaign towards Triage,¡± Elsanne murmured. The Baron of Colle pressed his mouth tight. ¡°You can sign a trade agreement. Not everything is solved campaigning. I honestly didn¡¯t expect you¡¯ll bite so big a chunk out of the Khan¡¯s sides.¡± ¡°Scaldingport did most of the biting,¡± Elsanne reminded him. ¡°Don¡¯t expect Lord Ruud to just roll over.¡± ¡°You control this your grace,¡± Sigurd said. ¡°Lord Ruud might think of the big picture, but what sent Sir Gust on Eplas was you and a bit of my urging. And Colle¡¯s troops,¡± he added. Hmm. ¡°I don¡¯t remember you favoring the Crows Sigurd,¡± Elsanne pointed out. ¡°I always found it strange given your father was Old Crow¡¯s friend.¡± ¡°I know them better than your grace and this isn¡¯t favor, but necessity. Colle should expect a piece.¡± ¡°My brother always said Lord Ruud forced you on him,¡± Elsanne retorted. ¡°What changed?¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t out of friendship as I said,¡± Sigurd hissed, his face darkening. ¡°The Old Crow has no friends your grace, but he¡¯ll honor a decree from yourself.¡± ¡°What you gloss over is that you also have lost my confidence Lord Bach,¡± Elsanne reminded him. ¡°So I find myself not believing your words. Lord Ruud¡­ I prefer not to deal with.¡± ¡°Of course princess,¡± Sigurd agreed with a bow of his head. ¡°It is your prerogative.¡± Commandant Martel, sporting a blackened eye ¡®from trying to stop a knuckle with it¡¯, snorted when the Lord of Colle retired near Katers and his tent. ¡°Found a rattle snake in my pot once, sound asleep but still,¡± the officer reminisced. ¡°He brings back that same disconcerting feelin¡¯ your grace. Instead of getting it out, I just tossed the pot away.¡± ¡°He¡¯s a lord and a priest of Onas mister Martel,¡± Elsanne scolded him. ¡°Mind your words!¡± ¡°Haven¡¯t even factored that in your grace,¡± Martel retorted. ¡°Are the prisoners treated fairly?¡± Elsanne moved on to another matter with a frown. ¡°They are not getting killed, so that¡¯s an improvement,¡± Martel replied, starting with the good news first. ¡°But someone will have to feed them soon, or let them go.¡± Hmm. ¡°It has come to my attention that several crimes were committed during the battle as you¡¯ve said,¡± Elsanne started and stopped seeing the Dogs officer chuckling. ¡°You find this amusing mister Martel?¡± ¡°Pardon the outburst your grace,¡± Martel replied and pressed a finger under his swollen eye as if to test it. ¡°But seeing as yer lads made most of the murdering, I thought ye were jesting.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a jesting matter!¡± Elsanne snapped furious, her cheeks burning. ¡°You wish the men arrested?¡± Martel asked coolly. ¡°People were looting indiscriminately!¡± ¡°A good thing,¡± the officer agreed. ¡°A bit of looting helps one forget missing a payment,¡± he added staring her knowingly. Elsanne bristled not liking being questioned, or giving in. ¡°You¡¯ve carried two boxes out, belonging to the Cofol¡¯s fort leader,¡± she told him frostily. ¡°His quarters were thoroughly burned up your grace¡ª¡± Don¡¯t you ¡®your grace¡¯ me! She glared while stopping him short of finishing. ¡°The boxes were not,¡± Elsanne reminded him and opened her arms wide. ¡°This big I¡¯m told.¡± ¡°Yer point being your grace?¡± Martel asked patiently. ¡°The fort is mine Martel, so were the boxes,¡± Elsanne hissed. ¡°If you wish to keep them, then you have to forget about the ¡®missing¡¯ payment.¡± The commandant stood back with a frown. ¡°Fine,¡± Martel said after a small pause. How much gold was in those boxes? Elsanne thought surprised. ¡°Let the prisoners go,¡± Elsanne told him and he nodded. ¡°As you wish your grace.¡±
¡°What might be troublin¡¯ you ¡®Jade Eyes¡¯?¡± Mutiny asked getting out of her tent with a yawn. Jasi following after her a moment later. Elsanne frowned and glared at the eunuch. Jasi shrugged his shoulders, a smile on his painted lips. She turned to Mutiny but the pirate woman returned her stare blankly. ¡°I can¡¯t have my people behaving like animals Mutiny,¡± she griped. ¡°It was a battle dear,¡± Mutiny dodged. ¡°She¡¯ll get over it,¡± Jasi intervened seeing Elsanne¡¯s scowl deepening. ¡°But speaking of trouble Bach was right,¡± he continued. ¡°You need to assert your dominance over these lords.¡± ¡°You were listening?¡± Elsanne hissed. ¡°Yes,¡± Jasi replied shamelessly. ¡°I can multitask your grace.¡± ¡°You have an idea Jasi?¡± Elsanne asked frostily. ¡°Or that¡¯s one task too many?¡± ¡°Hehe,¡± Mutiny chuckled adjusting a large red hat on her head. ¡°I¡¯ll go see Harold about the doubloons he owns me,¡± she looked at them knowingly, grinning at her own pun and then walked away with a noticeable spring in her step. ¡°Did you¡­?¡± Elsanne asked the eunuch and Jasi frowned comically. ¡°I have to idea, what it is you¡¯re talking about your grace,¡± he replied, managing to sound affronted. ¡°In Kaltha we don¡¯t like this depravity,¡± Elsanne cautioned him not buying it. ¡°It¡¯s Eplas your grace and most call it a service,¡± Jasi retorted raising his hand in that lewd three-finger gesture. His fingernails painted blue. ¡°Like a priest.¡± ¡°You have a proposal?¡± a flushed Elsanne hissed and walked to the edge of the tent¡¯s leather shade cover to check whether it was still raining. ¡°You need the treasure,¡± Jasi said crossing his arms on his chest. ¡°The captains can¡¯t have a cut. Give them something else.¡± ¡°What would that be?¡± ¡°Mutiny is starved for an illusion of normalcy, or the chance to see Jelin without having her entrails pulled out.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t dictate terms on Jelin,¡± Elsanne reminded him. ¡°Not everyone will listen, but some would,¡± Jasi replied and a big group of riders appeared in the distance, on the road coming from Tirifort.
Sir Gust appeared worn out, his nose a bit swollen and armour covered in black mud from head to toe. Everyone in the Issir host caked in it, horses and knights. ¡°Princess,¡± Gust said gruffly, jumping from his horse. A different horse than the one he¡¯d left with. ¡°Is the fort secure?¡± ¡°It is,¡± Elsanne replied and stepped carefully on the muddy terrain. The rain had stopped at least. ¡°You had us worried Sir Gust. That¡¯s almost two weeks you are missing.¡± ¡°It was a long road your grace,¡± Gust replied and gave Klaas his battered Raven¡¯s helm. ¡°We caught some Cofols retreating and that stalled us a bit more.¡± ¡°I see,¡± she said and waved at the knights coming down from their horses. Some of them missing. ¡°Knights of Kaltha, I salute you!¡± Elsanne¡¯s eyes went over each one of them, noticing a couple that didn¡¯t seem like knights at all. ¡°Sir Cramer, Sir Reuten¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s Lode De Jager and his scouts,¡± Sir Gust stepped in hearing her voice trailing. ¡°You know Sir Lowel Koel, of Badum.¡± ¡°We haven¡¯t been formally introduced,¡± Elsanne replied looking at the gaunt knight¡¯s face. ¡°Princess, it¡¯s a pleasure,¡± Sir Koel said. ¡°My father Sir Martin carried the horn in a hunt for your father.¡± ¡°Uhm,¡± Elsanne who had never enjoyed a hunt in her life nodded and stared inquiringly at the solemn face of Sir Gust. ¡°Robert is half a day behind,¡± Gust explained. ¡°Did he give you an answer?¡± ¡°I left as soon as a horse was found,¡± Gust replied and glanced at the half destroyed fort. ¡°To offer assistance.¡± Elsanne made to touch his arm, but thought better about it. Stared at Jasi and the eunuch showed her the watery mud under their boots with a discrete gesture. ¡°Let us retire, so you can all rest,¡± Elsanne announced warmly turning to the expecting knights. ¡°There¡¯s food in the camp¡¯s kitchen and the South Market has some working taverns, I won¡¯t be visiting,¡± she ended with a jest that brought some good chuckles out of the tired men. ¡°Princess,¡± Sir Gust said a moment later, while the rest of the weary men and animals were dispersing. ¡°I have to talk to you about a couple of matters.¡± ¡°You weren¡¯t relieved Sir Gust. I need an escort,¡± Elsanne retorted with a formal smile. ¡°But you will clean that armor afore stepping inside my tent.¡±
The eunuch pulled the curtain so Sir Gust could change, the knight¡¯s head visible over the support and Klaas picked up his discarded armour to clean it up. Another robust Issir standing outside her large tent, sporting a bandaged leg and a hard face. ¡°I¡¯ll need the armour,¡± Gust warned Klaas. ¡°Leave the sword and finish up fast, because I need you also later.¡± An eye rolling Elsanne sighed and waited for the entrance cover to close before speaking. ¡°I thought you¡¯d perished, when the Cofols appeared,¡± she started accusingly. ¡°It¡¯s the last time you take such a perilous task upon yourself.¡± ¡°We had to block Radin¡¯s force,¡± Gust rustled unhappy inside the improvised ¡®fitting room¡¯ she had created. Jasi had in reality. ¡°There was no other way to make sure. Robert could have been late, or not show up at all.¡± ¡°Did he?¡± ¡°Appeared late, he¡¯s injured.¡± ¡°Is it terminal?¡± She taunted only half-jesting. ¡°That won¡¯t help us your grace,¡± Gust replied. ¡°Eh, I¡¯m not happy he sent people to kill me.¡± ¡°Arresting you was their primary order.¡± ¡°It is really not that better Gust,¡± Elsanne griped informally. ¡°What will you say to him?¡± ¡°Put him in his place,¡± Elsanne retorted. ¡°Was that what you meant?¡± Gust stepped out from behind the curtain, the silk shirt Jasi had given him too tight for all that muscle. It was one of Elsanne¡¯s front buttoned blue ones. While the princess¡¯s garbs left plenty of room at the bust, Gust just couldn¡¯t close a single ivory button, so he let the front open. The thick white hair on his chiseled chest narrowing and traveling straight down his covered groin. Ahm. ¡°The pants were too short,¡± Gust explained unsure, mistaking her intent stare for disagreement. ¡°So I kept me old ones.¡± Almighty Goddess, she thought her mouth drying up and knees weakening. ¡°Sir Gust is way above average,¡± Jasi commented sounding shook himself, or understandably envious. ¡°A wine good knight?¡± ¡°Pour me a goblet as well Jasi,¡± Elsanne told him and fanned her face with both hands, her own shirt suddenly too constricting.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°You wish to have your squire knighted?¡± Elsanne asked keeping all of Sir Gust in her field of vision. Her neck was cramping, but she couldn¡¯t push back from the table as the chair had no more give. ¡°I do,¡± Gust said returning and carefully sat on the chair Jasi had brought him, looking as uncomfortable as one can be, without getting tortured. ¡°He deserves it.¡± ¡°His father has a fishing market in Scaldingport,¡± Elsanne said sipping at her wine. ¡°And two fishing vessels. A wealthy family. Roland Klaas would be a good knight your grace,¡± Gust insisted. ¡°Is he literate?¡± ¡°He is. His brother married the commander of the port guards¡¯ daughter. He¡¯s second cousin to Baron Nate Grovel, of Rusted.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Tongue Peninsula.¡± Eh. ¡°That¡¯s not good enough for Issir¡¯s Eagle Sir Gust,¡± Elsanne noted. ¡°It is for Scaldingport,¡± Gust retorted clenching his jaw. Everything bellow the neck rippling. ¡°Sure,¡± Elsanne croaked and had some more of her wine. ¡°But Scaldingport will need to do something for me.¡± Gust narrowed his eyes and the princess all but purred. Arr. ¡°You¡¯ll have official trading rights on Eikenport and South Market, the port there is far more proper than Devil¡¯s Cove.¡± ¡°It is,¡± Gust agreed. ¡°Ruud would expect that as the bare minimum.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not how it goes Gust,¡± Elsanne told him. ¡°If Lord Ruud wants all that, then he needs to declare for me.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll never get that so soon from him,¡± Gust replied. ¡°Then he¡¯ll need to open up Scaldingport for the pirates,¡± Elsanne countered expecting his answer. ¡°You can¡¯t¡­¡± Gust stood back, the chair creaking and one of the legs cracking audibly. ¡°Why do you need that?¡± Aww, brains and brawn. ¡°I don¡¯t. But I need that treasure and something for the pirates in its stead,¡± Elsanne explained with a smile. ¡°I can¡¯t just keep asking without giving back.¡± The latter directed as much towards his stingy father. ¡°I¡¯ll send a missive,¡± Gust said and got up fearing the chair would come apart under him. ¡°What about Klaas?¡± ¡°You could have knighted him Sir Gust,¡± Elsanne noticed. ¡°I could and Ruud would have approved,¡± Gust agreed with a shrug of his big shoulders, the fabric giving a bit. ¡°But I didn¡¯t want a knight sworn to my father. I wanted a knight sworn to you.¡± Elsanne blinked quite moved. ¡°Would Klaas forego a god of the Five and tether himself to me?¡± ¡°He¡¯ll do it,¡± Gust assured her. ¡°For he¡¯ll be in Queen¡¯s Own.¡± ¡°A Queen¡¯s guard of one?¡± Gust nodded. ¡°It¡¯s where one starts your grace.¡± Elsanne pushed herself up wanting to hug his big head, but her status was too ambiguous to risk both their virtues, assuming the knight hadn¡¯t developed an intense dislike for her suddenly. Could it be? That wasn¡¯t a pleasant thought. ¡°I haven¡¯t treated you that well in the past Sir Gust,¡¯ she said vaguely to gauge where he stood, since despite all the fancy rhetoric above, Elsanne¡¯s mind had done plenty of naughty things with the hale knight in her sleep. ¡°Uhm,¡± Gust grunted not giving her much. ¡°I trust we¡¯ll find a way to work through it and face the future on a better footing,¡± what are you saying silly girl? She admonished herself. ¡°Jasi,¡± Elsanne said abruptly, her cheeks burning. ¡°Bring mister Klaas in.¡±
¡°Sir Gust?¡± Elsanne asked unsure about the words ten minutes later. ¡°Kneel afore the princess Roland!¡± Gust barked abruptly and Jasi yelped almost losing hold of the knight¡¯s longsword. He gave it to Elsanne and the princess grabbed it with both hands, the weight on it considerable. The length making it unwieldy. ¡°Ahm,¡± Elsanne murmured and stared at the rigid knight, poor Klaas on his knees in front of her. ¡°Here¡¯s my blade,¡± Gust rustled and used his hand to guide the princess¡¯s hands. The sword lowering dangerously on the hapless squire¡¯s shoulder. ¡°HERE¡¯S MY BLADE!¡± Klaas thundered in a great voice, sounding moved. Bless it and it shall cut through rock. Here¡¯s my heart. Take it and it shall fight to its last beat. Here¡¯s my soul. Offer it in battle and it shall be forever free. ¡°Offer it in battle and it shall be forever free!¡± Klaas roared tears in his eyes and Elsanne glanced at the stern face of Sir Gust. The knight moved his hand away and Elsanne turned to face the kneeling young man. Don¡¯t mess this up, she warned herself. ¡°I, Princess Heiress Elsanne Eikenaar, with the power bestowed upon my person, by Reinut¡¯s blood and the Throne of Kaltha, witness this. Allgods witness this. Sir Gust De Weer witness this. Jasi, of Dia witness this. Arise, Sir Roland Klaas of Scaldingport, a sacred knight of Kaltha and Jelin¡¯s Three Kingdoms. May you serve your future Queen, until your last breath,¡± she croaked ceremoniously and managed to lift the blade off of his shoulder clenching her teeth. ¡°This is yours,¡± Elsanne told him, when Gust took the longsword from her and gave the rising Sir Klaas an expensive silver and gold ring. The nicely sculpted eagle on it and thin shank making it a woman¡¯s ring clearly and it was her late mother¡¯s, but Elsanne hadn¡¯t brought any male jewelry with her. ¡°It¡¯s the Issir Eagle,¡± she added apprehensively, although it would have been absurd for Sir Klaas to mistake it for anything else. ¡°It depicts my person metaphorically,¡± Elsanne couldn¡¯t stop talking, her nervousness spilling out. ¡°I shall wear it always,¡± Sir Klaas replied and bowed his rather handsome head for a fisherman¡¯s son. ¡°And always be at your service your grace.¡± Aww. Elsanne grinned nervously but relieved, Gust frowned not likening the rapport and Robert¡¯s First Foot rolled down the road outside, their marching steps like the sound of approaching thunder. The pickets sounding the bells to warn of their approach rather needlessly.
Elsanne remembered Robert Van Durren as a dashing young knight, accompanying the brooding Gust on their summer vacations in Asturia. He recalled him ever boastful in Riverdor during the tourneys, even flirting. This Robert was boney, his face full of wrinkles, looked ten years older than Gust and used a custom crutch to help him walk. His eyes contemplated the officers and knights present before her tent, hundreds of soldiers from both camps gathered to greet each other, finally resting on Gust without recognizing Elsanne in her comfortable male garbs. Other than an appreciative glance that is that drew a snort out of Mutiny Carter. ¡°You found the fort,¡± Robert said hoarsely. ¡°Had not Sir Pek reassured me, I would¡¯ve thought this was a prank Gust to steal my horses and have me walk the rest of the way.¡± ¡°I had to hurry,¡± Gust retorted in the same vein. ¡°Seeing as you took yer time to appear, I gathered you¡¯ve given up riding.¡± Sweet goddess, Elsanne thought at their boyish taunts. I hope they don¡¯t wrestle it out in the mud! Robert nodded not minding the jab and stared at the knights and officers behind him. ¡°Sir Bolte?¡± ¡°Dead,¡± Gust rustled. ¡°By Sir Vegenuur¡¯s hand.¡± ¡°I assume then Vegenuur is gone as well,¡± Robert grimaced. ¡°I hoped the report was false.¡± ¡°They tried to murder the princess Robert,¡± Gust reminded him. ¡°On your orders. Knowing Mael and myself, you knew it could turn ugly. And it did.¡± ¡°The girl was supposed to surrender peacefully,¡± Robert grunted and shifted the weight from his good leg to the crutch. ¡°That princess might have done it. The one you remembered, not this one.¡± Why, that was very nicely put Sir Gust! Elsanne thought grinning. Robert grimaced. ¡°I didn¡¯t have a choice Gust gods damn it! They¡¯ve taken everything,¡± he sighed and stared about him frustrated. ¡°I never wanted this. I wanted to go back, reclaim what¡¯s mine!¡± ¡°You still can,¡± Gust said simply. ¡°The road to Eikenport is clear.¡± ¡°What about the city?¡± Robert asked with a frown. ¡°Pirates run it and the princess.¡± ¡°Where is she? The princess,¡± Robert asked searching again and stopping on the watching Elsanne. ¡°You look tired Robert,¡± Elsanne told him and the knight stood back his eyes growing in disbelief. ¡°Elsanne?¡± He mumbled unsure. ¡°That¡¯s Princess Heiress for you,¡± Elsanne retorted and heard the murmurs of the crowd rising. Robert glanced at the taut Gust and then at her again. ¡°Is this a trap then my friend?¡± ¡°Sir Gust vouched for you,¡± Elsanne replied afore a scowling Gust had the time to speak. ¡°He convinced me to hear you out.¡± ¡°Hear me out,¡± Robert murmured and looked about him again. ¡°You never wanted the throne¡­ princess, what changed?¡± ¡°We are not kids anymore Robert,¡± Elsanne replied sternly. ¡°If you want to talk in private we can, after you make things right.¡± ¡°Wow. You want an apology from me because I followed legitimate orders?¡± ¡°Leave out the orders and their legitimacy. I want you to bend the knee,¡± Elsanne deadpanned sternly. The weary knight pressed his mouth into a thin line. ¡°You¡¯ll have me crawl in the mud on a bad knee?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be a fool Sir Robert. I don¡¯t want to humiliate you,¡± Elsanne replied her tone unchanged. ¡°You can just nod.¡± Robert licked his lips, looked about him again, the number of friendly troops not in his favor, if one counted the mercenaries still present, paused to stare at the solemn face of Sir Gust and whatever he saw there made him sigh wearily. And then gave Elsanne her nod.
¡°Sir Koel,¡± Elsanne assured the tall knight from Badum. ¡°Jasi presents no danger to Sir Robert.¡± ¡°I was really thinking of Sir Gust your grace,¡± Sir Koel retorted. ¡°Just stand outside with Klaas,¡± Robert told him with a tired smile. ¡°Gust won¡¯t fight me while injured,¡± he paused to look at the frowning Gust. ¡°You don¡¯t have to answer that, good lord.¡± ¡°You can have the chair Sir Robert,¡± Elsanne offered. ¡°Why, I¡¯ll take that hit in my dignity princess,¡± Robert replied, quickly slipping into his old character. ¡°To save my legs. I believe I¡¯ve walked through half of Eplas.¡± Elsanne kept the smile from her face and found the chair behind her desk to sit down as well. Gust opting to remain standing, his arms crossed on his chest and back in his cleaned up armour. Elsanne preferred him in her shirt, or no shirt at all, but that was a matter she couldn¡¯t broach at that very moment. Eh. ¡°Why Robert?¡± Elsanne asked when he¡¯d settled that crutch resting on his thigh. ¡°You knew things could turn ugly.¡± The Van Durren scion looked at her intently for a moment as if to find the differences on her face. ¡°I thought it was a whim,¡± he admitted. ¡°You got bored¡­ having fun with the Prince and decided to test the waters. I was obviously wrong, though I¡¯m still surprised. Why fight Nienke¡¯s kid princess? It¡¯s not you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not Nienke¡¯s kid Robert,¡± Elsanne said clenching her jaw. ¡°Come on. Who told you that? Lord Bach? He¡¯s¡ª¡± ¡°Lord Bach is here,¡± Elsanne had cut him off. ¡°Jasi, bring him in.¡± Robert shook his head in disbelief and waited for Sigurd to enter.
¡°This looks more and more like home,¡± Robert admitted returning Lord Sigurd¡¯s greeting. ¡°What brings you to Tyeusfort Baron? Or do you prefer your priest¡¯s tittle given the robes¡­¡± ¡°Duty and what¡¯s right,¡± Sigurd retorted with a straight face. Robert snorted not believing him. ¡°Gust for fuck¡¯s sake,¡± he sighed and glanced at Elsanne. ¡°My court tongue is a bit rusty princess.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve lived with pirates so my ears are a bit more accustomed to vulgarity, but don¡¯t overdo it,¡± Elsanne droned all serious and Robert blinked in shock, afore clearing his throat. ¡°You have proof Lord Bach?¡± He asked returning to the previous topic. ¡°Sir Shane Est Ravn escorted Nienke out of the palace the night of the assassination attempt,¡± Sigurd replied confidently. ¡°Lord Anker¡¯s son.¡± ¡°Aye. They were attacked before the Red Bridge and Sir Shane perished along with the Queen.¡± ¡°Her son survived though,¡± Robert said patiently. ¡°Doubtful. The thing is, a knight visited a nearby inn that same night with a newborn baby. A woman helped it best as she could and the man departed a day later. I have confirmed her words myself.¡± ¡°Sir Shane survived?¡± Robert asked with a frown. ¡°We don¡¯t know, but that newborn was a baby girl. The woman swore on it,¡± Sigurd replied and Elsanne frowned, the detail kept from her. ¡°Nienke had a girl? So what about the boy?¡± Robert queried even more confused than before. ¡°There was no boy,¡± Sigurd retorted, very frustrated. ¡°Lord Anker just lied. I would in his stead given what was at stake.¡± ¡°The princess being away,¡± Gust murmured and Elsanne glared at him. That wasn¡¯t her fault! ¡°That¡¯s your evidence?¡± Robert scoffed. ¡°Much better than a boy that popped out of thin air in Midlanor a month later,¡± Sigurd grunted. ¡°Nienke couldn¡¯t have made that journey, or survive an assault. She could barely walk Sir Robert! I was there! If a baby was born it happened that very night!¡± ¡°So the boy is¡­¡± ¡°The boy has no drop of Antoon¡¯s blood in him,¡± Sigurd spat irate. ¡°What happened to the girl Sigurd?¡± Elsanne asked furrowing her brow. ¡°Who cares about the girl?¡± Robert countered with a grimace. ¡°We must alert the other lords about this.¡± ¡°I do. She¡¯s my blood,¡± Elsanne hissed angry. ¡°Also she would invalidate Lord Anker¡¯s ¡®heir¡¯ immediately.¡± Idiot. ¡°If you find her,¡± Robert retorted stubbornly and Elsanne thought about breaking the crutch on his head. ¡°Robert,¡± Gust warned him hoarsely. ¡°She is the king¡¯s daughter.¡± ¡°Apologies,¡± Robert puffed out. ¡°I don¡¯t like being taken for a ride.¡± ¡°There will never be an agreement on this. The lines are drawn,¡± Sigurd intervened. ¡°Lord Anker is trying to take Colle. Threaten Castalor after that.¡± ¡°Not if he keeps this front open,¡± Robert replied and glanced at Gust. ¡°Where will he find the troops?¡± ¡°No lord can win against the Khan¡¯s armies,¡± Gust rustled. ¡°We can¡¯t replenish our forces and every loss hurts. It¡¯s like trying to stop a river with a couple of sand bags. The water will wash you and the bags into the sea.¡± Robert smacked his lips. ¡°Well, I was hoping for something less dramatic, but Gust is right. We are fighting a war with no plan, or several that contradict each other, a hand tied behind our backs and half the lords not even giving a darn about it, or helping. We can¡¯t win like this, but we can lose spectacularly.¡± ¡°The Khan can¡¯t cross the Shallow Sea,¡± Elsanne said and a moment of silence filled her tent. The men staring at her a bit surprised. ¡°Not as long as the fleets are present,¡± she added quickly blushing fiercely. ¡°That¡¯s not a winning strategy,¡± Gust rustled and Robert nodded in agreement. ¡°Why?¡± Elsanne croaked hurt. ¡°The Khan has ships as well,¡± Robert explained. ¡°It¡¯s the distance, the north sea and the fear of losing them in a sea engagement that keeps him back. But the last couple of things can change tomorrow.¡± ¡°He only needs to secure a port to land,¡± Gust added. ¡°Then you need men to stop him and we have lost plenty with only these past months giving us something to show for it.¡± ¡°Securing the throne is of the outmost importance,¡± Sigurd hissed. ¡°Let Lord Anker fight the war. Else we¡¯ll be left with nothing.¡± ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure Eikenport, Tyeusfort and Tirifort are bigger than Scaldingport and Colle combined Sigurd,¡± Elsanne corrected him, determined not to appear stupid ever again. Not to mention controlling South Market and Lord¡¯s Burrow. Elsanne intended to return there as soon as possible and cement the pirate captains¡¯ loyalty. ¡°What about Badum?¡± Robert asked looking at her. ¡°You were the heir for as long as I remember Sir Robert,¡± Elsanne replied simply. ¡°Nothing has changed as far as I¡¯m concerned. Janos is as fake as my nephew.¡± ¡°Thank you princess,¡± he said hoarsely. ¡°I want you to secure Tyeusfort for me,¡± Elsanne told him. ¡°Rest the First Foot and rebuild the fort.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to visit Eikenport,¡± Robert replied. ¡°I need something more civilized princess, for a little while at least.¡± Ahm. She wasn¡¯t sure about that more civilized part, but he could tell the knight had been worn out fighting for more than two years in enemy territory. ¡°Who can stay here? Because I want Sir Gust and his Crows with me.¡± ¡°Captain Clement Wellins, former commander of Sadofort,¡± Robert replied. ¡°He can hold the fort¡­ rebuild it,¡± he corrected himself with a tired smile. ¡°Gust?¡± Elsanne asked forgetting her manners, but no one seemed to mind other Sigurd that frowned a bit briefly. ¡°Wellins is good for the job,¡± Gust replied sounding relieved. See? Elsanne thought looking at him. I fixed it for you. ¡°Where did you find the mercenaries?¡± Robert asked scratching the side of his jaw. ¡°They are stationed in Eikenport,¡± Elsanne replied. ¡°Wait¡­ who pays them?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a guy ruling in Goras,¡± Gust started, with Robert turning around and raising his thick brows amused. ¡°That sounds like the start of a solid joke,¡± he chuckled, Gust frowning not seeing the humor in it and it reminded Elsanne of older times again. Not as appreciated back then as they should have been. The thought made her famed jade eyes cloud, a tear running down her cheek she quickly wiped with the back of her hand. Not for the old times and her younger naive self, but for the coming struggles looming over all of them and an uncertain future. A throne you¡¯ll have then, the winged God had told the great Reinut two centuries in the past. As long as you can keep it. As much a promise, as a threat. Addendum II
Addendum II -2-
-Right click on map to open fully- -
The Lorian Lords Known families & titles around 192 NC (part II ¨Cexpanded) Volume I (Regia) KINGDOM OF REGIA The Old Families (Regia was splintered into fiefdoms afore King Lucius I wars of conquest. Members of the King¡¯s Council.)
A) The Aldenus ¨C commonly known as the Alden. (Blacktiger Head, ¡®By the sword¡¯) Great Principality of Cartagen Cartagen (Capital city) Cartaport (One of two big ports facing the Lorian Gulf, the other being Cediorum. Ruled by High Baron Montague Valens. ) Two Rivers Castle (Lord Curtius Vendor. The two Barons helped with the running of Cartagen when both the King and Queen were away. While not common, it had happened.) Elysium Fort (An old fort and mausoleum. Rebuilt by the Third Legio) *Novesium (semi-autonomous large port city between the mouths of Misty and Emerald rivers) Nova Sium (Archaic -sleep) Moon¡¯s Haven (village, later small town and Barony) Sand Bay Manor (Walled village port facing Nattas Cove) Grand Duchy of Alden (Archaic Al¡¯ Den) Alden (walled city- the five tower city. An agricultural center. The Lord Heir always ruled over it.) Aldenport (nearby city port in Alden Gulf) Demon horn Castle (Fort deep in the Blacktiger Forest) Sabretooth Castle (Massive desert castle guarding the road to Riverdor and Scaldingport) Vinterfort (Castle on the Carcass Plateau, deep in the Alden Desert on the road to Aldenfort and Asturia) Aldenfort (A fort on the south bank of the Canlita Sea and the road to Asturia) Duchy of Aegium (A red tiger strolling on the White Sands) Aegium (Rather wealthy city and port in the Salt Coast.) Saltville (Large village at the base of the plateau and massive quarry called Aegium Salts) King Alistair Alden the ¡®Stalwart Tiger¡¯ (Long reigning king and general. Injured gravely in an assassination attempt during the ¡®Conference of Lords¡¯ in 190NC at Riverdor. Succumbed to his injuries in the city of Alden a month later) King Jeremy the Third, ¡®the Lacking¡¯ (Alistair¡¯s third son from Queen Vacia. The Queen died delivering him. Lord of Alden and Cartagen, succeeded Alistair after an interim period.) Praetor Augustus Lucius Aldenus the ¡®Legatus¡¯, ¡®Bloody Tiger¡¯, ¡®Gods keep him¡¯ (Personal crest a snarling Blacktiger head. Legitimate Heir and claimant to the throne of Regia. Famed ¡®Bloody Tiger of the South¡¯. A Knight of Tyeus. Multiple tourneys champion. Lost only one time in a tourney, a forfeit to his brother Sir Ralph in Riverdor. Respected Academic, Engineer, Architect, city builder and Strategist. Renowned poet and writer. Lord of Greater Kas. Whereabouts unknown, somewhere in the North?) Sir Ralph the ¡®Valiant¡¯ (Famed knight and jouster. Multiple tournaments champion. Killed in Riverdor 188NC by Prince Radin in the ¡®princess tourney¡¯. His only loss.) Lady Silvie (Murdered at her betrothal ¨Caged only six- to Prince Heir Casper during the ¡®Virgins Wedding¡¯ on the later part of 189NC) Roderick Aldenus the ¡®Lion cub¡¯, ¡®Lord Tigon¡¯ (Lucius firstborn from Lady Faye Alden) Lord Doris (Duke of Aegium, Master of Treasure. Alistair¡¯s second cousin) Sir Deimos (KIA in 190NC during the ¡®Battle of the Turncoats¡¯, Lord Commander of the First Legion) Lady Jeanette (Late Duchess of Asturia. Lord Holt''s first wife. Lord Holt had ¡®taken¡¯ her back with him after a vacation trip to Aegium and she arrived there heavily pregnant. Lord Doris¡¯ father had disowned the young then Jeanette despite efforts from King Alistair to put a positive spin on the sudden ¡®marriage¡¯. Lord Holt upon learning it, had never forgiven him and kept a sour relation with his heir Lord Doris for the better part of three decades.) Queen Regent Miranda (Former Queen of Regia. Former Queen Regent. Alistair¡¯s second wife and cousin, then widow. Lord Doris¡¯ younger sister by his late father''s second wife. Age unknown, it is rumored she ¡®bled¡¯ after a year of marriage. The ¡®young & pretty, but Cold Queen¡¯ had her reputation ruined in the later years. Rumors of her delivering an out-of-wedlock child after the King¡¯s demise never stopped circulating, despite a military decree forbidding gossip on the matter signed much later.) Lady Sandra (An Alden from Aegium. The ¡®Petite Rhodium Rose¡¯. ¡®The Coast¡¯s Splendor¡¯. Third cousin to Lucius. Her mother was Lady Magdalena Riveras of the known Flauegran family the most ¡®expensive & gorgeous bride ever sold¡¯ according to the rumors of the time. Celebrated beauty herself right out of her cradle. Sandra was barely eight years old in 192NC when young Sir Virgen Davenport proposed to her in court and then killed himself not bearing her abrupt rejection. It is rumored a stunned Lord Doris had considered the idea ¨Cthe Davenports of the remote Levacum Castle could have brought him a personal alliance- so young Lady Sandra fearing she¡¯ll have Miranda¡¯s fate decided to act for herself.) The Twins (Yet unnamed, Jeremy¡¯s children with Queen Janneke, of Scaldingport) - B) The Holts, or Horts. Brevis from ancient Hortulanus ¨C Gardener (Naossis emerging naked from the waters. ¡®Fair Lady never forgets¡¯) Grand Duchy of Asturia. Asturia (Big, very wealthy city and lake port in the Canlita Sea. Near the island of Valeria. Busy Canlita Sea trade hub servicing Tollor, Pascor and vice-versa. Major tourist destination for most of Kaltha and Regia due to its excellent weather, the mild winters and cool pleasant summers. Only city with a dedicated priesthood to Naossis and a relaxed stance on its hard-working disciples.) Anorum (Semi-autonomous city built by the Legion near the sources of Ruinal River. Home of the famed military academy of Regia. A population of mostly retired officers and legionnaires with their families. The Legion¡¯s permanent Castrum and recruitment center located a mere two kilometers away. The birthing place for the hero cult of Lucians.)Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Whitetiger Castle (large castle guarding the bridge over Ruinal River) Islandport (Big tourist, trade and fishing port in the Canlita Sea facing the island of Valeria.) Valeria (semi-autonomous large island and very-rich village port in the Canlita Sea. Home of the Academy of Senses, a massive temple dedicated to the goddess Naossis and the famed Naossis Baths Complex. Ruled by its High Priestess Flavia. The last night of summer it hosted the Bacchanalia, a festival reminiscent of the older Valimae Lilt Imperial holiday. For that week, the saying went, Valeria¡¯s population dwarfed many prominent cities of the mainland) Holt¡¯s Stables (Large town in the Green Plains and the road to Tricorn Heights. Breeding ground for warhorses) Lord Hunter Holt, the ¡®Old Shield¡¯ (Duke of Asturia, Alistair¡¯s Shield for over thirty years. Former Lord Commander of the Lorian Legion. Veteran of the ¡®Warbands Rebellion¡¯ war. Twice widowed.) Sir Rupert, the ¡®Stout¡¯ (Known tourney knight and champion. Lord Holt¡¯s second son from Lady Jeanette) Sir Marcus, the ¡®Knight of Roses¡¯ (Lord Holt¡¯s firstborn. KIA in Yepehir in 174NC on his eighteenth named year. Youngest tourney champion afore Sir Lucius won at sixteen in Badum) Lady Anne Holt (Anorum. Married to Baron Clifford Prior of Anorum.) Bernard Holt (Asturia. Third son of Lord Holt by his second wife Lady Lucia of Islandport.) Lady Monica (Valeria, or Asturia. Second and youngest daughter of Lord Holt with Lady Lucia. Her mother died giving birth to her. A rumored priestess of Naossis something forbidden for noble women and a practitioner of Sapphism which was also frowned upon heavily.) - C) The Sula (A sun rising over God¡¯s Peak mount in silver and gold. ''Under its shade, we stand''.) Grand Duchy of Demames Demames ¨Cjargon either from ¡®Demon¡¯s mess¡¯, or brevis from the archaic demean ¨Cto humble oneself. Rumored spot where ¡®Demon¡¯ -Lord Delius Sula¡¯s warhorse- had drown trying to cross the river two hundred and forty years in the past. (Very wealthy City and port near Gods Peak at the banks of Crying Hag¡¯s River. Only city funding a military school and a standing army) West Silver Mine (A big village and mine in West Godswood) East Silver Mine (A big village and mine in East Godswood) Weeping Ville (Large fishing and timber village on the west bank of Crying Hags River) Dev¡¯s Mother, or Devil¡¯s Mother (Small trade town and caravan stop on the road to Aegium) Knuckle Tower (A tower overlooking the Knuckle Peninsula) Lord Paulus Sula, the ¡®Brusque¡¯ (Duke of Demames, Keeper of Godswood Forest) Sir Opiter, (Lord Commander of Demames Regulars, Lord Sula¡¯s firstborn) Captain Delius (Commander of Demames Flotilla) Lady Ateia (Demames. Lord Sula¡¯s daughter with Lady Salonia Cato, sister of his Shield Sir Rinus Cato, Baron of Dev¡¯s Mother.) Baron Drusus (Lord of the Mines, Sula¡¯s first cousin) Prefect Virgo Sula (KIA in 190NC during the ¡®Battle of the Turncoats¡¯, Lord Sula¡¯s second cousin. Prefect of First Legio) Legatus Nonus Sula (Commander of the IV Legio, Prefect Sula¡¯s third son. In Lucius army.) - D) The Brakis (A Trident. ¡®Salted we rise¡¯. From older surname Bracus, an ancient moniker for God Abrakas) Duchy of Illirium Illirium (Large city and fleet anchorage overlooking the Trident Peninsula and sharing the Salt Coast with Aegium. The Admiralty building stood bigger than the Duke¡¯s palace.) Bronze Mines (Labor town. Large quarry and mine at Bronze Plateau at the edge of Alden Sands) Rosebush (Wealthy picturesque village on the coastal road to Old Maiden¡¯s River and the city of Alden) Admiral Sissena ¡®Stan¡¯ Brakis, the ¡®Loud¡¯ (Duke of Illirium, Regia¡¯s Master of Sea. A famed baritone.) Captain Peter Brakis, the ¡®Young Kraken¡¯ (Lord Brakis only son.) Lady Elvira (Novesium. Wed to Lord Ursus.) Lady Octavia (Illirium. Papia¡¯s twin sister) Lady Papia (Illirium. Octavia¡¯s twin sister) Lady Claudia (Illirium. Lord Brakis youngest daughter.) Theodor Brakis (the Duke''s third Cousin. Envoy to King Jeremy) Ethan Brakis (Theodor''s young son) Baron Proclus Sextus-Brakis (Bronze Mines. Lord of Bronze, Cadet House of the Brakis, from Sextus Brakis legitimized bastard of late Duke William Brakis, the admiral¡¯s father. The Sextus-Brakis had mixed-breed blood in them as Duke William had ¡®a thing for the darker Issir women¡¯ according to the admiral himself.) Sir Vel Sextus-Brakis, the ¡®Black Trident¡¯ (A skilled knight in a family not known for them and commander of Illirium¡¯s marines. Despite the moniker he didn¡¯t carry a black trident. Whilst having blond hair, Sir Vel¡¯s skin was that of a pure-bred Issir.) Lady Eefke Sextus-Brakis (Vel''s sister) The Dedum (Local legend''s Basten Dedum''s descendants.) Carmichael Dedum (Mayor of Illirium.) Claus Dedum (Lieutenant in the city''s Marines. Very close friend of Sir Vel Sextus-Brakis) Ilythyia Dedum (The mayor''s youngest daughter) Other Lords. The Ursus (A palm tree. ¡®Ever different¡¯.) *Grand Barony of Novesium *Novesium the ¡®Palm Trees City¡¯ (semi-autonomous large port city between the mouths of Misty and Emerald rivers. An alternate travel and trade destination. Close enough to Cediorum to absorb some of Cartaport¡¯s trade. Despite being originally part of Cartagen it grew too big to control and was elevated to a Duchy by King Alistair¡¯s father. Alistair himself kept it under High Baron Valen¡¯s of Cartaport¡¯s loose jurisdiction, which enraged Lord Ursus and perhaps armed his hand.) Nova Sium (Archaic ¨Csleep. Large village on the road to Demames.) Moon¡¯s Haven (village, later small town and Barony. Rebuilt by Baron Nattas.) Sand Bay Manor (Grew into a walled village port facing Nattas Cove. The almost hidden behind the outer fortifications main building facing the small picturesque beach and port, was made out of expensive -much sought after- pale-pink and white Gold Wall Peak¡¯s marble, like the royal palace in Cartagen and the famed Academy of Senses Temple in Valeria. As a prominent visitor commended sourly ¡®one can¡¯t pour so much gold in a building on a civil servant¡¯s salary¡¯. His words a reaction to the small mausoleum¡¯s epitaph phrase.) Lord Barus Ursus (High Baron of Novesium, later Duke by King Jeremy''s decree.) Sir Gillmor (Commander of Novesium¡¯s guards. Lord Ursus son with Lady Elvira Brakis.) Lady Labiena (Novesium) Lord Victor (Lord Ursus younger brother, Nova Sium ) The Nattas (The Kraken) Baron Storm Nattas, the ¡®Abominable Cripple¡¯, ¡®Principal of Secrets¡¯. (Lord of Moon¡¯s Haven, Ruler of Turtle Isles and Keeper of the Golden Forest. Former Regia¡¯s Master of Silence. Queen Regent¡¯s Shield. Autodidact. A very rich Lorian. Never married.) Lady Maja Nattas (Moon¡¯s Haven. Lord Nattas older legitimized daughter. Unknown mother, but the rumor she was a prostitute came to no one¡¯s surprise. In a matrilineal marriage with Sirio Veturius, the famed Historian. The latter strangely rumored to be a homosexual.) Parkor Nattas (Alden. Lord Nattas nephew and his late sister¡¯s son.) Silvio Nattas (Moon¡¯s Haven. Either Maja¡¯s and Sirio¡¯s son, or another of Lord Nattas extramarital spawns. Either way Lord Nattas¡¯ legitimate heir.) - The Valens (In grandeur¡¯s vastness there¡¯s no dishonor.) High Baronship of Cartaport (A Sword over water, similar to Cartagen¡¯s sword in rock royal guard crest.) Cartaport (One of two big ports facing the Lorian Gulf, the other being Cediorum. Ruled by High Baron Montague Valens. Prefect of the IV Legio Declan Valens was the Baron¡¯s second son and its Optio Rufius Valens his fourth. The Baron had five sons, four surviving and one stillborn that killed his wife Veronica.) High (Grand) Baron Montague Valens (Lord of Cartaport, ruler in absentia of Cartagen alongside Baron Vendor of Two Rivers Castle. He had five sons from his wife, but both the fifth boy and the mother perished in labor.) Sir Antony (Lord Valens firstborn from late Lady Veronica of Cartagen) Prefect Declan Valens (Prefect of the Fourth Legion under Sula. Serving in Lucius army.) Sir Maximilian Valens (Cartagen palace. A knight of the Royal Guard under famed Sir Seleucid Merenda ''The Potent''.) Optio Rufius Valens (Optio of the Fourth Legion under Sula. Lord Valens¡¯ youngest surviving son.)
*Novesium was declared an independent Duchy by King Jeremy before 191NC. Lord Sula and Lord Holt refused to recognize the King¡¯s decree. Lord Sula openly raided Aegium soon after. ** It must be noted that King Jeremy was unable to visit the capital since his ascension. The two Barons kept running the principality until they were ordered to assist Lord Ursus against Lord Sula and still they slow-walked it until circumstances rendered the order null and void. 309. The gathering storm (1/5)
An avid desire for gain rules politics, along a complete absence of ethos, but sometimes saving face, or salvage one¡¯s honor, can worth more than a hundred gold-leafed columns in Uher¡¯s Temple. What tips the scale in the Philomath¡¯s favor is the ability to recognize and understand what the scale needs to balance out, or tip in his favor. However distasteful, hurtful to his psyche and alas unethical, might that something be. - The Morality in Life & Architecture Volume I (Designs of Ethos) Ninth Manuscript -Politics- Epilogue - Pompeo ¡®Calligrapher¡¯ Di Cresta, (Born city of Rochstab, near the Grand Port of Cediorum, Kingdom of Lesia in 101 NC - killed 194 NC Cartagen, Kingdom of Regia, when part of the domed glass roof he¡¯d help built collapsed on him during the siege cutting the elderly academic into five unequal pieces.) Renowned Scholar, Philomath, Architect and Engineer. Founder of the Gnostic School. Grand Instructor of Architecture, Engineering and Philosophy in the prestigious Cartagen Academy of Knowledge for fifty four years 140-194 NC. Preserved and translated many of the archaic Lorian language and its texts, such the Old Lords Genealogy and others. Designed the Dam of Ostrich River in Parmaport aged fourteen that helped turn a barren landscape into the Green Coast of Lesia. Finished building famed Uher¡¯s Temple in Cartagen that was left roofless for sixty years among other things.
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3rd Legion (Abbreviated | III LEGIO, Bloody Third, Old Sister, Lucius Legion, ¡®Scarlet Legion¡¯, Double L. Also LL, III-LG) Panthera Tigris | Reddish bronze and gold standard representing the head of a snarling Blacktiger, very similar to Regia¡¯s non-snarling banner, the royal Aldenus family crest and the First Legion¡¯s emblem) Organizational chart* 3rd month of winter 192 NC (Overall strength ~3578 * -Legio general staff not included) -2800 legionnaires, ~778 other units (200 mixed cavalry, ~200 heavy Slingers, 250 Scouts and Rangers, 200 Engineers, 28 medics) Legatus Augustus | Lucius ¡®Bloody Tiger¡¯ Aldenus ¨Calso Praetor Maximus after 191 NC (To differ from the Governor ¡®Legatus Proparetore¡¯ rank Macrinus of Greater Kas started using.) Aide de Legatus Legionis | Marc Gripa Tribune Honoraris | Galio ¡®Old Oak¡¯ Veturius (Broad Band Tribune ¨C acting Legatus in absentia after 192 NC) 1st Prefect | Varus ¡®The Book¡¯ Trupo (Lesia. Baron Trupo¡¯s of Flauegran, disinherited second son. One of the three powerful Wine Barons.) Also Scribe de legionis Centurion (of Medics) | Dottore Silvio Marianus LID officer | Vibius ¡®Vulture¡¯ Ramirus, (Legion Intelligence Department). A Centurion equivalent rank in the registry. Aide de LID | Sirio Veturius Quartermaster | Ramsey Kolt, also Keeper of the Purse Optio | Potis Durio (Engineers) Panthera Tigris Signifer | Brim Solomon (Lesia) 1st Cohort -Gold Standard Monikers -Red, ¡®Old¡¯ Strength 850 1st ¡®Agricola¡¯ Century Centurion, Primus Pilus| Simon Gata -400 legionnaires (in four 100-strong Maniples) 1st Decanus| Lucas Kato (first Maniple). A highly decorated minor officer. Cited for misconducts twice. Mentioned in Legion¡¯s Report multiple times. Legionnaire| Mede (A gold phalera recipient. Cited for misconducts twice. Mentioned in the Legion¡¯s Report twice.) 2nd Decanus| Herius Asina (second Maniple) 2nd Century Centurion| Marcus Antonius Merenda (One of three legitimized bastards of Sir Seleucid Merenda ¡®the Potent¡¯, Lord Commander of Cartagen¡¯s Royal Guard. The members of the Royal Guard ¨CKing¡¯s or Queen¡¯s own- weren¡¯t allowed to marry in the Three Kingdoms) -150 legionnaires (in three 50-strong Maniples) Decanus Domus 3rd Century Centurion| Artur Mangas (A decorated officer) 4rth Century Centurion| Servius Capito (A decorated officer) 2nd Cohort -Gold Standard (Monikers Blue, ¡®Sula¡¯) Strength 650 1st Century Centurion| Gnaeus Ennius ¨C 200 legionnaires (in four 50-strong Maniples) 2nd Century Centurion| Josi Vala ¨C 150 legionnaires (in three 50-strong Maniples) 3rd Century Centurion| Ardi Damian 4rth Century Centurion| Spurius Dio 3rd Cohort (Moniker Purple, ¡®Lucky¡¯) Strength 650 1st Century Centurion| Cassius Falx - 200 legionnaires (in four 50-strong Maniples) 2nd Century Centurion| Placus Lepidus - 150 legionnaires (in three 50-strong Maniples) 3rd Century Centurion| Julius Sepofa 4rth Century Centurion| Jorgen Osmond 4rth Cohort (Monikers Kas, ¡®the young¡¯, Macrinus Lads) Strength 650 1st Century Centurion| Sextus Silvius - 200 legionnaires (in four 50-strong Maniples) 2nd Century Centurion| Keegan Dixon (Kas) - 150 legionnaires (in three 50-strong Maniples) 3rd Century Centurion| Jason Gordon (Kas) 4rth Century Centurion| Kaleb White (Kas) Legio Scouts Centurion| ¡®Frostworm¡¯ Kaeso (A highly decorated officer. Also cited for multiple misconducts.) Legio Cavalry Decurion| Kent ¡®Thin-knees¡¯ Long. (A decorated officer) Legio Slingers Centurion| Mamercus ¡®Unhurried¡¯ Sorex (A decorated officer) Legio Engineers Optio | Potis Durio Centurion (of engineers) | Sid Toma (Lesia) Legio MedicsLove this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. Centurion | Marianus Detailed: Legion Scouts Strength ~250 warriors, (150 of Lady Faye Alden¡¯s warband -various mixed units of fighters, Mainly axemen- under Logan ¡®Gray¡¯ Barret and ¡®Hulking¡¯ Layton (Mentioned six times in the dailies, the Legion¡¯s detailed reports when in campaign.) + 100 Rangers Under Centurion | Kaeso -Note: Centurion Pike¡¯s Rangers were transferred to the IV Legio Legion Cavalry (Strength 200 mixed riders, Included thirty men & women of Praetor Maximus¡¯ entourage) Lady Faye Alden (Nord) ¨Cnot active after Krakenfort- Decurion | Kent ¡®Thin-knees¡¯ Long (Nord) Legion Slingers (Attached short range unit ¨C Semi-autonomous, usually deployed by the Legatus. Only unit employing women and men under sixteen) (Strength fluctuating due to casualties, usually ~200 men and women) Centurion | Mamercus Sorex -Note: Centurion Joe Fallon¡¯s Slingers unit was attached to the IV Legio Legion Engineers (Leather aprons, ¡®Bestia¡¯) 50 Legio Engineers (the majority from Lesia) + 150 apprentices (engineers, blacksmiths and carpenters included) Legio Medics 8 Dottore and surgeons ~20 nurses Around two thousand civilians (some soldier families), merchants and technicians (Civilian blacksmiths, carpenters, laborers, Armorers, hunters, trappers, whores, musicians etc.) following in the supply train. At least two hundred various-sized carriages and wagons carrying mostly foodstuff, cots, leather tents, precut wood, tools and weapons ¨Cincluding ten siege engines/scorpios - among other things.
*Final iteration before the ¡®Eighteen Months¡¯ campaign. 2) Worth of note is III Legio had two Military Governors still in their roster as no papers of release from contract had been filed, or would they ever be in the future. Governor Tutor in Krakenfort that was loosely under the rule of Duchess Zofia of Krakenhall and the extremely powerful in the later years ¡®Legatus Proparetore¡¯ Governor Macrinus of Greater Kas and Halfostad. A Military Governor post was a lifelong appointment according to the Legio Codex Book. It was given the same careful consideration as the elevation to the crucial rank of Legatus Legionis, since their ultimate task was to provide a safe haven and to secure the survival of the parent Legion, or its complete restoration, in the case the latter was destroyed. **First and Second Legions went after similar reforms but retained their differences. A three cohort legion with a 2000 legionnaires First Cohort (First Century of a 1000 in 4x250 Maniples, 2nd and 3rd Centuries of 500 in 2x250 Maniples), Second and Third Cohort still numbering 1200 (With a 3x400 Centuries in 2x200 Maniples led by 2 Decanus and 2 Sergeants) for an overall Legionnaires strength of 4400. They retained their stronger Cavalry detachments 400 per Cohort for 1200 scout cavalry (An extra 300 Men-at-arms for the Lesia¡¯s 2nd and a total of 1500) and differed in the Engineers, where Lesia used an extra two hundred, three civilian firms paid by M&M Bank for a total of 500. ***The I Legio totaling 5900 (300 engineers + 1200 scout cavalry) ****The II Legio totaling 6400 (300+200 engineers, 1200 scout + 300 medium cavalry) ***** Almost three thousand additional personnel following in the baggage train.
Praetor Lucius Alden The gathering storm Part I -Gain rules politics-
1st month of Spring 192 NC. Day 25th The mountain¡¯s mouth eighty kilometers after the frozen ¡®junction¡¯, the point where the Screaming Road from Gudgurth Fort and the Hollowing Pass coming from the large walled city of Yepehir meet. III Legio winter marching camp. Early dawn officers meeting. The wind came wailing down the frozen canyon behind them. It blew iced chunks out of tree trunks and snapped heavy branches, the hardwood breaking apart in pieces when it smashed on the solid mud drenched ground. There were screeching calls from the majestic northern eagles¡¯ mixed in there and the unseen fearsome direwolves howling rejoinders, but if one faced west down the rough cobblestone road and the slopes, despite the dark skies above, he could feel the difference. Even if the flat fields are hidden and no visible border is crossed. ¡®Beyond them mountains, your world ends Sir Lucius¡¯, Zofia O¡¯ Dargan had told him almost four years back and it was the bloody truth. It had forced him to make a new more palatable world to survive, but in the end it wasn¡¯t home. The winter, Lucius decided gloomily clad in his heavy fur coat still staring outside the Castrum¡¯s headquarters¡¯. And the wait, is over. ¡°I need to be marching fast towards the Fourth,¡± Legatus Sula grunted, the discussion continuing behind Lucius turned back, Tribune Galio Veturius snorting with arms crossed on his armoured chest. ¡°Ain¡¯t no fast marching in the mud Sula,¡± he scolded the much younger but higher in rank officer. ¡°You¡¯ll lose as many boots as soldiers.¡± ¡°Tyeus fucking pyres!¡± Sula cursed and Lucius turned to eye him reproachfully. ¡°I don¡¯t trust that Van Calcar and don¡¯t like this ¡®invite¡¯ into his lands! Why not let them pass the goddarn¡­ ah, apologies Praetor,¡± Sula grumbled glancing at Lucius afore adding. ¡°The bridge over Picker River was where I was going. Nothing but oaks and pines, grass and cattle after it, what is he afraid the Fourth and Valens will do?¡± Varus Trupo grimaced at Ramirus¡¯ knowing look, eminent thick blond mustache joined by his well-trimmed ¡®winter beard¡¯ for the occasion and then cleared his throat to speak. ¡°To be fair they probably need to replenish wood and meat after the winter Legatus,¡± the Prefect said and Prefect Harrison Jacobred of the Fourth agreed with a nod. ¡°While distasteful it must be done, but we can always compensate for the damages I think,¡± the haughty noble officer from Sovya added. The Fourth was noble heavy at the top. Trupo frowned not getting his meaning and Galio shook his head and stared at the map open on the squat but very wide table. ¡°You¡¯re thinking of hugging the mountains, cut through the woods, or turn north afore Anorum?¡± the veteran officer queried all serious. ¡°The fastest way,¡± Sula grunted. ¡°Lady Redmond could keep up Legatus?¡± Ramirus asked innocently and Lucius glared at him despite the need to get it out of the way. A more private moment was preferable, but the LID officer probably kept the possibility of Sula just running him through with his sword if they were alone at the back of his mind. Martha was pregnant and while Lucius had avoided her the past months after the two forces had started camping together, the news made him a little uncomfortable. Thankfully not in a bitter way. The army knew the kid was Sula¡¯s and the Legatus of the Fourth probably knew in turn everyone else was aware of their relationship. Martha was staying in his tent so it wasn¡¯t that big of a mystery. ¡°Lady Redmond is made out of sterner stuff,¡± a flushed Sula retorted brusquely and while Lucius wasn¡¯t certain about it, seeing as Faye had quite the trouble during her own pregnancy trying to follow him on campaign, he decided to cut the ruffled officer some slack. ¡°Let¡¯s leave the matter to the Legatus,¡± Lucius said austerely. ¡°You think Van Calcar has ulterior motives?¡± He asked a relieved Sula. ¡°Didn¡¯t like his man since the first time I saw him,¡± Sula admitted gruffly. ¡°Call me biased, but I¡¯m just not comfortable with Valens handling the talks. He¡¯s too civil.¡± ¡°One would call it a good thing,¡± Prefect Jacobred noticed, treading carefully. The Fourth was Sovya heavy also, Lucius thought. Also missing two cohorts. Sula¡¯s that was camped next to the Third and the fourth cohort that hadn¡¯t yet formed. The Fourth Legion was still undermanned as well, despite Macrinus¡¯ best efforts to train more recruits. The needs of the cities and forts he was running had drained the manpower, as well the many public works in his province. Not everyone went for glory and danger, when well-paid work was readily available closer to home. Northmen and ex-citizens of Sovya weren¡¯t as enthusiastic to follow Lucius in his southern excursion. A potential war against a kingdom that had beaten them thoroughly wasn¡¯t forgotten also. Twenty years are a long time, but not long enough, he thought. Nobody wanted to anger Regia and while Macrinus worked to bolster ¡®morale¡¯, he needed time. Lucius had given himself and the Governor a year to prepare. Time to act was nigh. ¡°What do you think is Van Calcar¡¯s reason for wanting the Fourth near Pascor? An ultimatum wasn¡¯t given,¡± Lucius asked Sula who had read the same missives as him from the acting commander of the Fourth. Sula shrugged his broad shoulders. The Legatus had gained some weight due to his leg injury, but he was fine now and running with the troops every morning to get back in shape. ¡°Neither the right to march out of his lands. There¡¯s army in Brownfort, even more stationed at Bisonville. Valens can¡¯t risk getting trapped on that bridge,¡± Sula finally said. ¡°As for the reason, eh¡­¡± Lucius turned to Ramirus. ¡°Lord Holt¡¯s¡­ Bernard¡¯s man isn¡¯t forthcoming on the matter,¡± the LID officer replied looking at his notes. ¡°He¡¯s also requesting to be relieved to travel to Asturia, or use our birds.¡± ¡°He can¡¯t,¡± Lucius replied sternly. ¡°We have no birds available ourselves and I can¡¯t risk his safety. The road to Anorum is treacherous they say.¡± Trupo scribbled down his response for the record. Most of what Lucius had said wasn¡¯t true, but for the danger of outlaws on the road. He couldn¡¯t just dismiss Bernard¡¯s man as the Legion was on the move and in campaign footing and Lucius didn¡¯t trust the herald Hostus Clarus to inform the old Lord without the information on his whereabouts leaking. The Fourth¡¯s presence near Brownfort had probably reached his rivals courts. Clarus would assure everyone he wasn¡¯t there but heading for Anorum, hence giving the ruse away. Lord Holt was also in the field either in Islandport or Holt¡¯s Stables to inspect the border with Alden and out of reach anyway. Keeping a secret in Asturia was futile. So Lucius had decided to ¡®keep¡¯ Asturia¡¯s protesting official secure within the Castrum. ¡°There was talk of trouble brewing with Lord Hoff back in Gudgurth Fort,¡± Galio rustled and Trupo chuckled at the old officer¡¯s sour expression. ¡°The Lakelords are always in one mischief or another,¡± Lucius said furrowing his brow. ¡°Be it light ¡®pirating¡¯ in the lake, or ¡®soft¡¯ raiding of cattle and hunting in another¡¯s lord¡¯s forest. Lord Holt would have fought them for Bisonville, but for my father¡¯s insistence to keep the treaties and general peace. Plenty of unofficial fighting has been done for decades though gents. There is a reason adventurers flock to Asturia and it ain¡¯t Framtond¡¯s lofty statue.¡± ¡°Would Lord Holt object to us marching in his lands?¡± Sula asked, thinking of how to reach the Fourth through the Cattle Fields. ¡°There¡¯s no way to answer this Sula without an official meeting,¡± Lucius told him and walked to the table to stare at the map. ¡°But I want to secure Anorum before I talk with the old man, or his sons. We need to anchor our supply lines, or create new.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way the Old Shield allows them to have a say sir,¡± Trupo commented. ¡°Right Tribune?¡± He asked turning to Galio who had served for five years under Lord Holt in the legion. ¡°He wouldn¡¯t,¡± Galio replied looking at Lucius. ¡°Nor would he abandon the ¡®camp¡¯ milord.¡± The Legion¡¯s headquarters were in Anorum. The First Legion was stationed in Alden now of course. ¡°What about Lord Pryor?¡± Lucius asked. ¡°Married to Lady Anne,¡± Ramirus replied readily. ¡°Very loyal to Lord Holt understandably. Their houses are pretty close and his sister has married Baron Julius Draco of Whitetiger Castle. They are a tight bunch.¡± Still Anorum was a semi-autonomous Barony. ¡°Lord Draco has fought with my father,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°Lord Holt as well. They will support my claim, but we mustn¡¯t let the matter in their hands. No Lord will give help freely, else he¡¯s a fool, or a bad ruler.¡± They were also old men, he thought and their heritors might have other ideas, other than supporting someone against the King of Regia. Not out of the goodness of their heart, or because it was right. Even if that someone was Lucius. Gain rules politics and a frequent absence of ethos, his old Instructor ¡®Calligrapher¡¯ Cresta always preached in his lessons. But sometimes saving face, or salvage one¡¯s honor can worth more than a hundred gold-leafed columns in Uher¡¯s Temple.
¡°You will let Sula go,¡± the old Tribune told him when the meeting was over. Lucius stopped looking at the map and glanced at him. ¡°The Fourth needs its leader,¡± he said simply. ¡°They¡¯ll spot him eventually. You can¡¯t march a cohort without anyone noticing.¡± ¡°He won¡¯t leave just yet,¡± Lucius replied thoughtfully. ¡°We will all go to Anorum first.¡± ¡°We will get spotted as well. Even more difficult to miss a Legion marching on the road.¡± ¡°Only by the caravans leaving for Yepehir,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°You think they¡¯ll risk using a bird so soon in to their journey?¡± ¡°They might,¡± Galio argued. ¡°We are closer to Anorum than anyone else,¡± Lucius said calmly. ¡°Lord Pryor knows Holt is for me and against my brother. By the time he¡¯ll get an answer from Asturia or Whitefort we¡¯ll be parked in front of his walls. Will he fight a legion?¡± ¡°I have friends in Anorum,¡± the Tribune griped. ¡°Most are probably married with big kids now.¡± ¡°Galio I won¡¯t be attacking the city,¡± Lucius reassured him. ¡°Fighting Jeremy will require more than calm words milord,¡± Galio retorted. ¡°Let¡¯s cross that bridge when we reach it.¡± ¡°He might attack Lord Holt this summer,¡± Galio insisted. ¡°Not with Lord Sula gnawing at their sides,¡± Lucius countered. ¡°Sula is surrounded and if the other Valens caves, we might lose both Demames and Cartagen,¡± Galio griped and got up frustrated to toss another log into the fire. ¡°Speaking of losing stuff. Gods I long for the days I can get my boots off and don¡¯t lose a couple of toes.¡± Lucius smiled at his familiar wrinkled face. What little hair Galio had left had turned as white as the North¡¯s snows. ¡°How¡¯s Sirio?¡± He asked to change the subject. ¡°Doing Ramirus work I suppose,¡± Galio murmured. ¡°While he gets to stroll about and sneak up on people.¡± ¡°Can Sirio switch places with him?¡± Lucius asked. ¡°Of course not!¡± Galio snapped afore catching himself. ¡°Sirio is a good lad milord. Learned, you¡¯ve seen him. I can¡¯t believe he got himself a wife.¡± ¡°A lofty wife,¡± Lucius added thoughtfully. ¡°Well,¡± Galio grimaced unsure whether to speak or not. ¡°I¡¯m not as sure milord. I guess a legitimized lass is as good as he could land. He¡¯s too passive and introvert.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t like Lord Nattas?¡± Lucius asked rubbing his eyes, the oil lamp¡¯s light bothering him. While it was morning, the natural light was scarce. They needed to get off the slopes. ¡°Eh,¡± Galio said. ¡°Out with it Tribune.¡± ¡°Rumor is the girl¡¯s mother was a prostitute,¡± Galio blurted embarrassed. ¡°Not her fault Galio,¡± Lucius retorted. ¡°Let us not visit a father¡¯s sins on their child.¡± Although he wasn¡¯t as sure as the Tribune that the daughter had come out of a prostitute. Storm would have never allowed such a matter to humiliate him in public. Would he have had the mother murdered? Lucius thought Nattas wouldn¡¯t have hesitated. ¡°I¡¯ll see to the supply train milord,¡± Galio said a moment later and Lucius nodded absentmindedly. ¡°See to yer wife and child.¡± ¡°I shall. Go rest yourself Galio. We have people responsible for that.¡± ¡°Ramsey Kolt is over packing milord¡ª¡± ¡°Go rest and see your nephew Tribune,¡± Lucius ordered, cutting him off brusquely. ¡°The Legio marches three hours before dawn on the morrow. I don¡¯t intent to stop ten times afore Anorum.¡± ¡°Aye milord,¡± the old officer replied and saluted before leaving his tent. ¡°Should I notify Lady Faye you¡¯ll visit her quarters?¡± Gripa asked ever present from his chair. ¡°Give me a moment,¡± Lucius replied and reached for a piece of drawing coal, then for a wooden ruler. He placed it on the map and started calculating the distances, minding to account for open premade roads, but also for unrotten terrain. He wrote down numbers on an unfurled blank scroll. Dates and the times required to cover a certain distance on foot, or by horse. In good weather, or not. Also looking for favorable terrain. Then turned the map around and did the whole thing from the beginning, this time not as himself but as an imaginary opponent with half-a-brain. Lucius quickly realized that in both cases, whether it was him, or the opposing general, he needed to capture at least two out of three bridges. One of the two already standing, sturdy and wide enough for two merchant wagons to pass side by side like its twin and another that was still unbuilt. A mighty river barring that approach, the approach itself worse than the road they had traveled since they¡¯d left Gudgurth. But not by much. 310. The gathering storm (2/5)
Praetor Lucius Alden The gathering storm Part II -The ¡®missing¡¯ Cohort-
Regia circa 194 Young Roderick stood upright the moment Lucius entered his personal quarters in the Castrum, splash of crimson-black hair over his cyan-colored eyes, darker blue spots dotting the irises. The tiny boy cast a daring stare on his towering father, young fists clenched tight. Just behind him on the edge of the bed the woman Roderick was ¡®protecting¡¯, a braiding her long red hair healthy-looking Faye, chuckled freely. Then she stooped and pointed a finger at Lucius, whilst the Praetor removed his legion officer¡¯s helm and placed it on a weapon stand by the wall. ¡°Yer father,¡± his northern wife said to their son in that heavy accent. ¡°See?¡± ¡°Fah,¡± Roderick puffed out relaxing and then went back to dragging logs piled next to the fireplace all the way to the middle of the room, little pale buttocks and wobbly knees red from constantly tripping over and falling down. ¡°Did he just cursed?¡± Lucius asked Faye kissing her. ¡°Nah,¡± Faye replied tasting of wine. ¡°But if he did then it¡¯s yer fault for having him living in a camp at this young age.¡± ¡°He lives inside a fine building,¡± Lucius protested and stooped to pick the baby from the floor, kicking the log back towards the fireplace. ¡°Why is he naked? It¡¯s chilly. Also what in Allgods mercy is he doing?¡± ¡°He¡¯s fine. Plenty of the North in him to fear a bit of cold,¡± Faye retorted and took the heavy boy from his arms to clean some of the bruises. ¡°I think he was fixing on making a fire in the middle of the room.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t have my son walking about with his cock out,¡± Lucius griped and Roderick wiped his face on Faye¡¯s bust and turned around to look at him. ¡°It¡¯s not considered civil son. Be a man of culture,¡± Lucius advised and Roderick slotted a small dirty fist in his mouth without a reply. ¡°His teeth are bothering him,¡± Faye chortled getting the dirty hand out and wiping the drool with her finger and a towel. ¡°Kept biting me nipples afore and now ye chew on other stuff hmm?¡± she told the boy, making a face as if to scold him. ¡°Kek,¡± Roderick replied with a burp and then started twisting about to free himself from her embrace. ¡°Mountain spirits!¡± Faye gasped fighting to keep him still. ¡°We¡¯ll enter Regia on the morrow,¡± Lucius told her finding a chair to sit down and remove his gloves. ¡°Hopefully we get a bit of sun, instead of another downpour.¡± ¡°You want to talk about the weather Alden?¡± Faye asked placing the kicking and twisting boy down. Lucius rapped his fingers on the table anxiously. ¡°If Lord Holt yields to pressure from the court, we might be left without a play here,¡± he admitted. ¡°We could still go back to Kas. You are like a Jarl now. Less land than Jarl David, but probably with as many warriors,¡± Faye replied her eyes on their playing about son. ¡°I could live there happy. He would, but not Lucius.¡± ¡°Faye,¡± Lucius started rubbing his face tiredly, but she stopped him. Faye got up and came to stand in front of a sitting Lucius, then knelt and grabbed his hands to kiss them. ¡°Apologies,¡± his troubled wife murmured and Lucius quickly helped her up on her feet again. ¡°I¡¯m fearful for the future, but I shouldn¡¯t have said that.¡± Lucius made room for her in his lap, but she pointed at Roderick bringing another log from the pile towards the center of the room. ¡°Roderick,¡± Lucius said sternly and the boy stopped moving. ¡°Come right here. Leave the darn log behind.¡± ¡°Wow,¡± Faye gasped giving a slap at his thigh. ¡°What was that?¡± ¡°My father,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°What was he like?¡± Faye asked. Lucius thought of King Alistair, something of his father in Roderick¡¯s scowl as he approached them. ¡°Intense.¡± ¡°What was his stance on Northern women?¡± She asked casually. Lucius cleared his throat, right hand pushing tiny Roderick¡¯s mess of a hair back to show his face. He didn¡¯t want to lie to her and Alistair¡¯s reasons had nothing to do with Faye, but more with Martha¡¯s twin sister. Another time, another peoples and despite Lucius feelings for the bride, more a treaty than a marriage. ¡°Alistair wasn¡¯t as¡­ sensitive, or patient. The king was a product of an older generation,¡± he finally said. ¡°Pfft. As if men changed. You are the only different¡­ decent man, I know.¡± Faye told him. ¡°Nobody else thinks like you.¡± ¡°You are wrong wife. There are many decent men out there. Knights, but also simple people making ends meet away from our scrutiny,¡± Lucius grimaced seeing her raising a quizzical eyebrow. ¡°Let me work on it,¡± he assured her, going back to their previous subject. ¡°I¡¯ll think of something.¡± ¡°You can always go through Lord Holt,¡± Faye offered playing with his hair. His wife was slowly losing the weight she¡¯d gained, turning soft skin into muscle again. Lucius wasn¡¯t going to allow her to fight again though. For all his open-mindedness Lucius agreed with his father in this. You don¡¯t send women to war. Not unless you are prepared to witness your mother, sister, or wife get hacked in the face and have their limbs chopped off. ¡°Not the preferred option,¡± he murmured talking with difficulty, answering both queries. ¡°Uhm. What about the Fourth? What am I missing here, other than to keep them guessing?¡± ¡°Lord Holt has troops stationed to guard his northern borders against a Van Calcar excursion. The Fourth Legion being within Pascor¡¯s borders keeps the Lakerlord busy and away from Lord Holt¡¯s lands.¡± ¡°So he can turn his full attention on Jeremy,¡± Faye said and Lucius nodded. ¡°What about Anorum?¡± ¡°Anorum is a problem,¡± Lucius admitted, not that having Valens cut off over there wasn¡¯t, but he believed the Lord of Pascor would prefer to keep the trade route to Eaglesnest and Kas open, than risk attacking Valens. Especially if he knew Lucius was still loose in Asturia to come and pay him an angry visit. Could there be another reason? There is always something else, he thought. You can never be sure. Valens should retreat, or stall until Sula reaches him. Everyday Lucius kept Sula around to bolster the Third¡¯s chances of success, was putting the Fourth at risk. I need to solve this, Lucius mused with a grimace. ¡°Lord Holt considers it part of his domain and while the old man can be appeased, his interest more in the Legion¡¯s matters, a heritor won¡¯t be as ready to give up a potential title, especially if he¡¯s not first in line for the big ones.¡± ¡°What does that mean?¡± Faye asked and touched his face softly. ¡°What difference does it make if the king has a subject, or a duke? The baron is under both of them.¡± ¡°It makes a difference,¡± Lucius countered. ¡°More loved is the king that holds fewer titles by himself,¡± he added with a tired sigh. ¡°By the people?¡± Faye asked sounding perturbed on why it was important and the Praetor had replied with a chuckle. ¡°His lords.¡±
There was no more snow on the fields. The ice had melted by the constant rain and the warmer weather had cleaned up the rest. It left fertile soft ground behind, the earth covered in greenery and flowers and the forest on both sides of the cobblestone road blooming. Oaks and pines, clusters of fir trees with strikingly bright red fleshy sanguineas sprouting on their roots, what people strangely called the snow flower. The long ¨Calso red- legionnaires¡¯ columns marching in three per row on the road and on either side of it. The supply train following already hours behind per usual, staying on the harder surface. Their singing covering the thudding of hobnailed boots just barely, thousands of them keeping up the marching rhythm with the colorful standards of each Cohort bobbing lively at every verse. THE UNIT MARCHES MORNING-NOON AN¡¯ REST O¡¯ DAY! ¡°Well?¡± Lucius asked on top of Stormbolt, the loyal warhorse a gift from his father the day he was knighted, fifteen distant years in the past. A WAY¡¯S AWAY! A WAYS AWAAY! ¡°That¡¯s Anorum,¡± the old Tribune agreed giving the spyglass back to Gripa. ¡°We stop for the day and march early on the morrow, or risk another five kilometers of marching?¡± Lucius clarified his query. ¡°I¡¯m aware that¡¯s Anorum Tribune.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s hear Kaeso first,¡± Galio replied. ¡°Call for the First Cohort to open the pace,¡± Lucius ordered, looking at the sun coming out of the clouds above their heads. ¡°Tell Gata, I¡¯m giving him three hours to keep up with the horses. Else I¡¯ll walk up to the gates myself Tribune.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll notify the Primus Pilus,¡± Prefect Trupo said and turned his horse around. ¡°Should I send for Long¡¯s riders Praetor?¡± he added hesitating. Lucius nodded his eyes on the open road and the walls of Anorum. ¡°Looks much bigger,¡± Galio commented. ¡°Everything is bigger henceforth Tribune,¡± Lucius retorted and turned to his aide that was scanning the terrain with the spyglass. ¡°Is that a rider approaching mister Gripa?¡± He asked. ¡°It is milord,¡± Gripa replied monotonously. ¡°A red cloth tied to the end of the javelin.¡± Kaeso¡¯s man sent ahead of the main group.
¡°The Centurion is monitoring their advance sir,¡± the legion ranger told them, hardened leather cuirass painted a darker red, the strap carrying his quiver black, alike his harness. ¡°They are advancing though,¡± Galio pointed out the worrying part. ¡°Rounded the walls of the city,¡± the young Northman continued. ¡°They came from the Legion camp. Paused for a bit there and then marched on the road.¡± ¡°They stopped,¡± Gripa informed him still looking through the spyglass from atop his horse. Lucius glanced behind at the rows of legionnaires standing still. A sense of apprehension in the air since the order to stop was given, but not followed by an order to prepare for battle. ¡°Probably thinking the same thing we are. Sun is up, let it cake the ground a bit,¡± the old Tribune commented through his teeth. ¡°Plenty of mud in the field. That ten meters of gravel on the road would be a highly coveted spot.¡± ¡°Numbers?¡± Lucius asked Gripa. ¡°Well over a thousand soldiers,¡± his aide replied. ¡°Pretty fancy gear milord. Nicely polished helms.¡± ¡°Do you see Kaeso?¡± ¡°He¡¯s keeping his distance,¡± Gripa replied. ¡°They are waiting for cavalry you think milord?¡± ¡°The news have reached the city,¡± Lucius decided, shading his eyes from the sun. He could feel it strong on his helm, but Lucius knew this was a chilly late spring noon. The men though are probably boiling in their armours. Feet and backs on fire by now, he thought with a grimace. ¡°Three hours for the supply train to catch up to us,¡± Galio informed him. ¡°Decurion Long?¡± Lucius asked loudly to be heard over the noise of the many horses of his entourage. ¡°Over here Praetor,¡± the cavalry officer responded and Lucius turned on the saddle to spot him. ¡°Are your men decent Decurion?¡± Lucius asked. ¡°Everything above the saddle is clean sir,¡± Long replied, perhaps the better ¡®reformed¡¯ Northern officer in the legion. ¡°Keep those helms on Decurion,¡± Lucius said and returned his eyes on the road ahead of them afore adding. ¡°You¡¯re coming along.¡± ¡°Maximus, you shouldn¡¯t lead a probe,¡± Galio grunted unhappy. ¡°Long can do it, clean legs or not.¡± ¡°Good grief Tribune,¡± Lucius retorted, raising his hand. ¡°How am I to talk to them then?¡±If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Milord?¡± ¡°Is that the cavalry I see approaching Kaeso¡¯s lads, mister Gripa?¡± Lucius asked not replying. ¡°Aye Praetor,¡± Gripa replied and offered him the spyglass. ¡°Keep it,¡± Lucius replied and waved his arm. ¡°Decurion, Tribune, Gripa with me. Trupo inform the Legatus he has command of the Legions, but he is ordered to stay put. Emphasize the latter Prefect. Tell Sula I don¡¯t want a fight.¡± ¡°I shall sire,¡± Trupo replied with a nod and turned his horse around. ¡°Lead the way Decurion,¡± Lucius ordered Kent ¡®Thin knees¡¯ Long and the officer left to call on his riders to follow after them.
Five minutes later, now a hundred meters from the gathered group of rangers and legion cavalry, Lucius ordered Decurion Long to halt their large host so he could approach ahead of them. ¡°Praetor Lucius,¡± Galio rumpled with a scowl. ¡°Is this wise?¡± ¡°Tribune Galio,¡± Lucius retorted with a tense smile, half hidden under his helm. ¡°Do you see them poised for a fight?¡± The large squares of legionnaires still stood half a kilometer from the walls of Anorum, about two hundred meters from the riders. Kaeso¡¯s rangers and the Lorian medium cavalry that had approached them ahead of the infantry. Several legion officers in that group, a Prefect, two centurions and a Decurion Seniores, a rank not given in the field. Lucius took a big breath as Stormbolt trotted leisurely to approach within a couple of meters from the waiting officers and Kaeso. ¡°Praetor,¡± Kaeso said, a direwolf¡¯s hide over his armour. ¡°This is Prefect Vibius Draco, commander of the Fourth Cohort and the Legion¡¯s camp.¡± The ¡®training¡¯ Cohort of Anorum. ¡°Praetor,¡± Draco, a well-put together officer said in a clear voice. ¡°Would you state your intentions?¡± ¡°Do you know who I am Prefect?¡± Lucius asked in turn, staring him intently. ¡°Lord Lucius Alden,¡± the Lorian officer replied with a small hesitation, his eyes on the blacktiger heads adorning Lucius armour. The Prefect¡¯s family ruling over Whitetiger Castle itself and the approach to Asturia. Lord Draco, Vibius father, was Lord Holt¡¯s Shield and an old wartime friend of King Alistair. ¡°Then you know why I am here,¡± Lucius said evenly. ¡°The Fourth Cohort is tasked with protecting the camp and the city my Lord,¡± Draco replied with a small grimace of discomfort. ¡°It shall do that.¡± ¡°The Fourth Cohort of Anorum,¡± Lucius said loud enough to be heard by everyone present, whilst looking each officer in the eyes. ¡°Is an orphan. Behind me stands the Third Legion. After it the Fourth Legion follows. Now the Fourth is missing a Cohort Prefect as luck would have it. I see two roads here,¡± Lucius continued in a confident voice. ¡°We either remedy this problem like an intelligent person would that is by putting the pieces neatly together, or¡­¡± he paused and set his jaw looking at the Prefect. ¡°You know why I am here Draco,¡± Lucius continued all serious. ¡°And you know I can¡¯t turn back.¡± ¡°I should inform Lord Pryor,¡± Draco started, but Lucius waved him off impatiently. ¡°This is a Legion matter. Who leads the Legions Prefect? It¡¯s in the book. I assume you know it by heart.¡± ¡°That would be the king, or the Lord Commander,¡± Draco yielded through his teeth. ¡°Obviously you don¡¯t recognize the king being still here instead of Alden,¡± Lucius retorted. ¡°The Lord Commander was killed and the new one is illegitimate, what does the book say then? Is the Army to wander leaderless alike a headless chicken?¡± ¡°Legatus Augustus assumes command,¡± the Prefect yielded. Lucius stared meaningfully at the officer and Draco gulped down, glanced at the two sturdy Centurions, afore asking in a professional tone. ¡°A Legatus pro Praetore is present Centurion Gratian?¡± ¡°As far as I can tell sire,¡± Gratian replied casually. ¡°Centurion Vulas?¡± Draco probed to cross his t¡¯s and dot the I¡¯s. ¡°Clear as day Prefect,¡± Vulas agreed. ¡°Decurion Narses?¡± Prefect Draco was nothing if not thorough. ¡°Eh, damn it Draco,¡± Narses protested with a grimace, sweating under his helm. ¡°What do you expect me to say? I ain¡¯t blind.¡± Draco breathed out and then turned on the saddle to face the waiting Lucius. The Praetor didn¡¯t know in advance whether he would¡¯ve succeeded in talking to them, but the fact they were there still in defiance to the King¡¯s orders had reinforced his decision to use persuasion. Outnumbering them heavily with two legions ¨CLucius had bloated the Fourth Legion¡¯s small presence on purpose- also played its role of course. ¡°What are your orders Praetor?¡± Draco asked and Lucius sighed deeply, guard-cheeks drenched in sweat and burning his face, afore he replied quickly. ¡°Get us out of the cursed heat Prefect, or we¡¯ll start losing men even without fighting.¡± Lucius had forgotten how a proper sunny noon felt in Regia.
Lucius watched from the large open window of the Lord Commander¡¯s office as Signifer ¡®big¡¯ Brim Solomon, black beard sprouting down his legion¡¯s helm brought Panthera Tigris on the elevated podium-like stone stand in the middle of the square camp and slotted it there. The detail of legionnaires from the III Legio banging swords on their shields to drive off evil spirits and notify the gods of the unit¡¯s arrival. Lucius turned around, the large office coming with a conference table, maps and the Commander¡¯s sturdy cedar-wood office lacquered a dark brown, to face the men that had followed him into the Castrum. Prefect Draco was waiting his signal forcing the officers to stand unsure behind him and Lucius obliged him pointing at the conference table and solving the bottleneck at the door. Trupo closed it behind him being the last to enter. ¡°Sit down Mister Draco, everyone,¡± he ordered and found the seat at the top of the table to rest his back himself. ¡°Is Legatus Sula coming?¡± ¡°The Fourth is standing outside the camp Praetor,¡± Galio reported and glared at Gripa talking with the headquarters¡¯ aides at the other side of the large room. More a meeting hall than an office really. Lord Holt had refurbished it when he served as the Legion¡¯s commander more than a decade ago. ¡°He¡¯ll be here shortly,¡± the veteran Tribune had added. Galio was well into his fourth decade already, in what was his third ¡®unofficial¡¯ commission with the Legion. Lucius wasn¡¯t sure if the experienced officer could go the full twenty years, but he wasn¡¯t about to bring the matter up. So the matter was left vague between them. ¡°Lord Pryor?¡± Lucius asked Draco. ¡°We found his wife my lord Praetor,¡± the Prefect replied. ¡°The Baron had been called to inspect the sewers. He¡¯ll be here shortly as well.¡± Ruinal went through Anorum with a diverting premade stone canal, but the rainy seasons after winter tended to double the narrow but long running river in size and flood its crests. ¡°Any damages?¡± he asked evenly turning his eyes on the old but detailed military maps adorning the walls. ¡°Cabbage merchants took a hit in the nearby market,¡± Draco replied nonchalantly but to the point and with examples. ¡°Some fish went back in the river and unless the mud is cleared off the streets we¡¯ll grow potatoes there this summer.¡± Trupo drowned a chortle, his mustache dancing comically on his upper lip, much more prominent than his beard. ¡°Let¡¯s hope it won¡¯t come to that,¡± Lucius commented. ¡°I want you joining the Third Legion¡¯s staff Prefect.¡± ¡°Praetor, I¡¯m a commissioned officer,¡± Draco replied unsure. ¡°Tasked with leading the camp and train units.¡± ¡°This is your seventh year,¡± Lucius replied reading the roster parchment nailed on a blackboard, next to a detailed architectural drawing of the Legion¡¯s camp and the position of its buildings. ¡°You are to be reassigned to the third legion Prefect. Congratulations, it is a promotion.¡± Draco nodded and glanced at the solemn face of Galio Veturius sitting across from him. The old man¡¯s stare cautionary. ¡°Who will¡­ take over training?¡± Draco asked with a grimace. ¡°Gratian I want with the Fourth Legion,¡± Lucius replied having thought about it on the way to the camp. ¡°So that would be Vulas. I have enough loud mouths in the unit.¡± ¡°His father is a farmer out of Islandport,¡± Draco protested. ¡°He¡¯ll be proud, I¡¯m sure,¡± Lucius responded with the hint of a smile. ¡°Ah, Sula,¡± he said seeing the Legatus of the Fourth Legion coming through the door. The soldier that had opened it made to announce the Legatus, but Sula stopped him with an abrupt wave of his arm. ¡°Close the door lad. They are expecting me,¡± Sula ordered the guard. ¡°Praetor,¡± Sula saluted once turning around and added, ¡°Gents. Quite the gathering,¡± afore removing his helm and following Lucius nod found the empty seat at the opposite side to sit down. ¡°Sula it appears you¡¯ve found your missing Cohort,¡± Lucius started without delay. ¡°Centurion Gratian will lead it, but you¡¯ll use the additional men how you see fit. I advise strengthening your First Cohort.¡± ¡°How many men Praetor Maximus?¡± Sula asked narrowing his eyes. He looked tired, or worried. Perhaps it¡¯s both. ¡°A thousand and two hundred,¡± Draco replied. ¡°Plus three hundred of newer recruits I started training when the first bunch didn¡¯t rotate¡­ after the king¡¯s death.¡± That is enough training, Lucius thought. Lucius smacked his lips. ¡°Sula you¡¯ll get the Fourth Cohort of Anorum into the Fourth Legion,¡± he said with finality. ¡°The rest of the recruits I need to replenish the Third and forward the plan.¡± ¡°As you command Praetor,¡± Sula replied with a nod. ¡°Am I to move towards Picker¡¯s River?¡± Lucius sighed at his persistence, but he was also right. The Fourth needed him back. ¡°Indeed. Keep me posted Legatus and don¡¯t start a war, if I wouldn¡¯t,¡± Lucius told him and Sula sprung to his feet keenly. ¡°I bid Luthos guides you in the pending struggles,¡± he added soberly knowing no plan could account for every peril, or shield one from danger. ¡°And you Praetor,¡± Sula replied in the same vein and bowed his head once. ¡°I¡¯ll strive to bring the Legion home as soon as possible.¡±
An hour later all officers had left the headquarters. Lord Pryor had agreed to a meeting in his court, with his wife Lady Anne wanting to be present as well. He had also released the Herald Hostus Clarus, which meant a bird was already flying for Asturia. More than one and to multiple recipients. One for Lord Holt and his entourage, another for his Heir Lord Rupert. One for the Duchy¡¯s Steward Bernard, another to Regia and his brother¡¯s court. ¡°Decanus Kato¡¯s Maniple plus a hundred legionnaires from Anorum, Kaeso¡¯s Rangers and Optio Durio¡¯s Engineers with a thousand labor force are ready to march towards Top Peak and then down Uher¡¯s Passage milord,¡± Galio informed him. The supply train had arrived, a lot of moving parts needed to be placed into position as time was of the essence. Pick the right terrain, or shape it if it isn¡¯t in your favor, he thought. ¡°Sula has already left. If he marches them at this tempo lots of men won¡¯t make it to Picker¡¯s River,¡± the Tribune finished. ¡°He¡¯ll use the road,¡± Lucius replied thoughtfully. ¡°Van Calcar fears an attack is coming.¡± Galio stood back on his chair alarmed. ¡°From us?¡± ¡°Nay, but he wants to use the Legion as a deterrent. Whatever grievances the Lakelords have, this is ripe opportunity to act on them.¡± ¡°What grievances? Over that girl¡­?¡± Galio argued. ¡°The Nords lost a battle over a woman¡¯s death Galio, but here it¡¯s an excuse to take advantage of the absence of a king.¡± ¡°Does Sula know that?¡± ¡°He doesn¡¯t,¡± he very much suspects it probably. Lucius replied and pushed an inkpot towards Pascor¡¯s borders. ¡°Lord Holt would never agree to a deal with Lord Van Calcar, so the details were kept on a need to know basis. Sula will learn about it in time and ask for clarification.¡± ¡°Would milord agree to a deal with the Lakerlord?¡± Thus angering Lord Holt was his meaning. ¡°Not at this point, but events might take the decision off my hands. Lord Holt understands you can¡¯t force a commander in the field to act how you want at all times. Sometimes you have to allow him the wiggle room to do what¡¯s right for the men under his command and even salvage the army. Holt has a soft spot for the legion.¡± ¡°Would his sons see it thus?¡± ¡°It¡¯s Lord Holt¡¯s decision. Your words Tribune,¡± Lucius reminded him. ¡°Even so you¡¯ll need something to keep the old man happy. Family is important as well milord,¡± Galio noted with a frown. ¡°He can be stubborn and difficult to agree on changes. Anorum is already too big an ask milord.¡± ¡°Lord Pryor might refuse us,¡± Lucius pointed out and the Tribune snorted. ¡°Even his guards have connections to the Legion milord. Why keep Draco?¡± Galio asked. ¡°To show his father I remember him,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°Plus we were missing a Prefect. Trupo can¡¯t just do everything.¡± ¡°He has a dozen aides, milord,¡± Galio griped. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of scribes.¡± ¡°I¡¯m aware Tribune,¡± Lucius retorted. ¡°Didn¡¯t you assure me the man is reformed?¡± Galio sighed. ¡°I was trying to help him,¡± he admitted. ¡°He¡¯s still a wayward cunt from Flauegran. They think they are cleverer than everyone else, but I¡¯ve seen worrying signs. If he asks for a leave of absence, we should lock him up.¡± Good grief. ¡°Is this because of the mustache? Don¡¯t tell me that works on the ladies,¡± Lucius smiled looking at his crumpled shaven face. ¡°We can¡¯t be sticklers with the minutiae in such a long campaign Galio. If it¡¯s any consolation Draco is and Trupo with all his ¡®faults¡¯ is really a by the book officer.¡± Galio grunted. ¡°What will you offer Lord Holt? I assume you want to keep his family on our side.¡± Lucius looked at the map of Regia¡¯s northern borders, from Sabertooth in Alden Gulf to Anorum up to Ruinal¡¯s sources and the unpassable Beast¡¯s Mouth Forest. ¡°Canlita Sea. Its south coast,¡± he finally replied, what it had taken him all winter to decide. ¡°Aldenfort,¡± Lucius added seeing the elder Veturius¡¯ expression. The Tribune thought it was too much, but Lucius instinct was telling him it might not be enough. ¡°Your father will turn in his grave. It was your sister¡¯s dowry for the Prince,¡± the officer noted guardedly. ¡°And he rather liked the old Lord more than Antoon.¡± ¡°My father had the rest of the kingdom backing him,¡± Lucius said simply. ¡°I don¡¯t.¡±
On the first month of summer, the year of the New Calendar 192, Praetor Maximus Lucius Alden shockingly ¨Cas the reports had him coming down from Eaglesnest- arrived at the old Lorian Legion¡¯s camp and the nearby city of Anorum. The easternmost city and region of Regia. Also one of the Northernmost. He¡¯d come down the Howling Pass with the Third Legion, Legatus Sula¡¯s still rebuilding Fourth already camping hundreds of kilometers away and in another Duchy and Kingdom near Calcar¡¯s Hunting Forest. Lucius secured Lord Pryor¡¯s of Anorum support in his cause, but he yet to meet with Lord Holt as the latter was busy preparing for King¡¯s Jeremy¡¯s reaction and wasn¡¯t in Asturia. A force was sent down Uher¡¯s Passage, the engineers repairing the small road there and working on a plan to widen it. The passage hugged the Hammer Mounts cutting through dense forest all the way to Shaft Peak and the unpassable River Groin, where two of the mighty Framtond¡¯s tributaries joined into a single river again. Optio Durio had strict orders to find a way to build a bridge across there. Whatever the cost. It wasn¡¯t a new plan, as the skillful engineer had old plans prepared that had marked this spot as a target for the distant new Legion road coming from Cartagen. The valley between Framtond¡¯s legs perhaps the most fertile land in all of Regia. Sula marched hard north, from Northpaw Forest to Wolf¡¯s Spine Mountain¡¯s base and then the imposing Pikerwoods named after the ancient explorer. Half a day before the bridge a force send from Bisonville, the large town had access to Pascor through the river, intercepted his two Cohorts. In less than a month, or thereabouts, all of Jelin knew Lucius had returned. Lord Sirio Veturius The Fall of Heroes Chapter II (Lord Lucius Alden, -also addressed- Legatus Augustus, Praetor Maximus Southern campaigns, Third & Fourth Year Volume VII-VIII-IX Section subtitle Tigers at the River Groin -Lost Cohort of Anorum- VIII starting with ¡®The Maiden¡¯s War¡¯ and the prelude to the ¡®Mayhem at Serene River¡¯. IX following with the long battle at ¡®Storm¡¯s Rest¡¯ that kick-started the ¡®Eighteen Months¡¯. Spring 192 to Winter 192-193 NC)
311. The gathering storm (3/5)
Lord Remy Van Calcar (or the Lord of Pascor) had three sons The firstborn they found bound in bloody leather thongs Deep in them reeds where the air cries in squishes. Old-Hag singing amidst the Wolf-fishes Thou should fear the lake witch¡¯s wishes - Between the rivers, the islands and nearby closed sea Here is another deep, far beyond the scalding sea, be waiting All them riches raining unto thee, just avoid the tall willow tree For over yonder, nobody will hear yer pleas, or dread¡¯s swishes Old-Hag singing amidst the Wolf-fishes Thou should fear the lake witch¡¯s wishes Both differing versions of the ancient ¡®Fenlands Song¡¯ -Its first turns and verses Unknown circa (various dates)
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Lord Ton Van Calcar ¡®The Wolf-fish¡¯ The gathering storm Part III -The Hag took him-
The morning bell rang. The sound coming distorted out of the mist surrounding the isles, the air heavy and very humid. It reeked of rotten mud and dead fish. ¡°I think I¡¯m gonna puke,¡± Aafke gasped in his back and Ton turned away from the open window facing the Hag¡¯s Fenlands. The Calcar Tower¡¯s walls darkened from soaking in the mud year in and year out. The summer sun caked the ground and if you cleaned it proper, which they did else the bugs spilled into the city, you could walk over the treacherous terrain all the way to Wolf-fish without using a boat. Of course the last part of this land-bridge was more watery mud, quicksand-like and there was a good chance you would get eaten alive afore reaching the town, so most avoided taking the chance. Boat-owning was a premium market near the big lake. ¡°The air stinks. Allgods it¡¯s like something died in my mouth!¡± Aafke complained, her pregnancy coming with some perks, like bigger tits and more meat on her bones, but also with problems. Her not enjoying Pascor¡¯s air being the least of them. ¡°Something did,¡± Ton rustled and turned around leaving the window open. ¡°We lost two fishermen yesterday.¡± Aafke¡¯s dainty green eyes stared at him mockingly. ¡°Asphyxiation?¡± ¡°They were eaten,¡± he told her finding his goblet. It was made out of clay and he¡¯d the taste of fish in his throat. Catfish and Carp fillet. Plenty of both in Pascor. Clay too. One could find good game in the forest, but fishing was more practical. ¡°Wolffish?¡± Aafke asked playing with her breasts on the bed. Or checking up on them. ¡°What?¡± He grunted. ¡°Were they eaten by fish?¡± Aafke asked and Lord Van Calcar thought of the remains Captain Kevin Assen had brought with him in the bag. ¡°No, they weren¡¯t,¡± he replied and sipped at the sour wine. Canlita Sea was a saltwater lake, but every season fresh water was pouring in it, weaning the sea part out according to the scholars but left the brackish aftertaste on everything else. ¡°How do you know?¡± ¡°Fish don¡¯t leave fleshy parts behind. They are not fastidious like that,¡± Ton replied with a grimace. But the mist had brought the Hag out again and she was. ¡°Your family is trying to fuck me up girl,¡± he rustled changing the subject. Aafke blinked and stopped touching herself. ¡°Well you did that aplenty, so yeah¡­¡± ¡°You were pretty willing,¡± Ton grunted. ¡°I was kidnapped!¡± ¡°Bullshit! Don¡¯t play coy with me lass,¡± he snapped and tossed the cup out of the window frustrated. ¡°Janos married that young cunt Lauke Hoff. Sent a fucking army in Tollor to celebrate the plaguing event!¡± ¡°You¡¯re frustrated,¡± Aafke said getting up. Ton liked her small swollen belly. It was a recent development and it had taken him by surprise. Him liking her in this state. Sir Blenk had immediately suggested they toss the girl in the lake upon finding out and avoid the trouble, but Ton had Aafke move to his quarters permanently instead. ¡°I can see it bothers you. Young Lauke is not that pretty.¡± Huh? ¡°Witch¡¯s tits! What in all-hells are you talking about? I rather cut my cock off than bed a fucking crab!¡± Ton exploded irate. ¡°Hoff having them soldiers stay for the summer is what bothers me! Them cucks having friendly discussions and looking my fucking way is what keeps me awake,¡± he finished breathing heavy. ¡°Haha,¡± Aafke chuckled and Ton grunted, sweat on his forehead despite the chilly morning. ¡°Let me see that cock,¡± she hummed that naughty look in her eyes again, the rest of his words flying over her pretty head. ¡°Listen to me,¡± Ton hissed putting an arm out to stop her approach. ¡°Hoff is going to try coming east up the road. He¡¯ll bring Janos lads with him using the ¡®get Aafke back¡¯ card. By the time Lord Anker gets wind of what¡¯s going on they¡¯ll be across the river. Antoon fucked us. Bloody idiot climbing down the stairs with his head. Stupid cretin!¡± ¡°Screw Janos,¡± Aafke told him. ¡°Old as fuck, you can take him.¡± Are you god darn serious? ¡°Huh? Ain¡¯t gonna arm wrestle that ancient bastard,¡± Ton grunted in bewilderment. ¡°But that other old prick Lord Albert gave him enough men to toss our arses in the lake. I want you to grasp the severity of our situation here.¡± ¡°I¡¯m your wife, he can¡¯t do anything about it,¡± Aafke retorted stubbornly with a glare. ¡°You won¡¯t let him. Right?¡± Eh, witch¡¯s tits on her, Ton thought and stood back feeling defeated. ¡°This will cost me,¡± he murmured. Truth was the Lord of Pascor was already working on a remedy of sorts for quite a while now. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say,¡± Aafke said softly, touching his arm. ¡°You can handle Lord Hoff?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t expect Janos to befriend him,¡± he admitted with a sigh. ¡°Badum hates Tollor.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± Aafke agreed with a teasing grin. ¡°We hate Pascor as well.¡± Ton frowned not expecting it. ¡°You do? Why?¡± ¡°I was trying to make a jest because you¡¯re so gloomy,¡± his young ¡®wife¡¯ said with a cute pout. ¡°But now that I thought about it again¡­ goddess the air here is right foul! I¡¯m going to puke out of your window my Lord,¡± she added all serious. ¡°Go ahead,¡± Ton retorted in the same vein. ¡°Just make sure to keep your head out fully and grab at them rails. It¡¯s a big fuckin¡¯ drop.¡±
¡°I have Emil guarding the pits,¡± Sir Blenk reported later that day. ¡°Carus keeping an eye on the road beyond Serene River.¡±This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. ¡°Are they still camped at Hoff¡¯s Tower?¡± Ton asked him watching the ships unloading at the busy docks. ¡°They are, but they have army parked at Crabville as well. They have well over two to one advantage.¡± ¡°You think he¡¯ll try a landing?¡± a nervous Ton queried. ¡°Not without taking the bridge,¡± Blenk replied thoughtfully. ¡°Then again I don¡¯t trust them to play it by the book. They¡¯ll try to trick us.¡± ¡°Not if we trick them first,¡± Ton grunted grinding his teeth. ¡°The Fenlands will dry up soon. I don¡¯t see them landing there so they¡¯ll have to come around the Isles.¡± ¡°They would probably.¡± ¡°We can catch them in the water then,¡± Ton murmured. ¡°They know that, so they¡¯ll probably make as wide a circle around them as possible,¡± the old Shield noted, but he didn¡¯t seem very enthusiastic on the idea. Whether on Tollor sneaking around the isles to their rear, or their own ability to stop them. Sir Blenk was notoriously difficult to read. ¡°I should pull Dolf out of Bisonville,¡± Ton hissed, face contorting in a tensed grimace. ¡°What of Lord Holt?¡± Blenk queried calmly. ¡°Fuck!¡± Ton cursed, much less calm. ¡°Why is everyone so slow to act?¡± He puffed out, the stench of the docks making his eyes burn. ¡°King Jeremy should¡¯ve attacked him by now. What in all cheap yet sick harlots is he waiting for?¡± ¡°I¡¯m more worried about the legion than the old general,¡± said Blenk, himself not much younger than Lord Holt. Ah, they did have a bloody legion camped near Brownfort. A smaller legion, but a legion none the-fucking¡¯ less. ¡°They haven¡¯t answered yet?¡± Ton growled, his mood worsening. ¡°Not a word,¡± Blenk retorted with a grimace that cracked his dark wrinkled skin even more. ¡°Are they going to just live in my lands is that it?¡± Ton griped looking about him frustrated and a young herald approached with a missive in his hand. ¡°They are waiting for orders,¡± Blenk replied to his previous query after reading it and gave him the scroll. ¡°It¡¯s from your brother. You¡¯ll want to read this.¡± Damnit. That sounds as ominous as a boil between the nuts! ¡°Not good news?¡± Lord Van Calcar asked and grabbed the scroll to read it quickly. ¡°Well that¡¯s just bloody great,¡± he griped half way through. ¡°What is this shite?¡± he added finishing it frustrated. ¡°Ayup,¡± Blenk agreed keeping it short. ¡°More legionnaires.¡± ¡°Is this a god darn ruse? Are they going to invade? Fucking sneaky Lucius. I thought we helped that fake-civil rebellious cretin!¡± Ton exploded and glared at his aide Hans Rupert that had made the trip to Kas the previous year. ¡°Didn¡¯t you talk to him?¡± ¡°Lord Darvot did the talking milord,¡± Rupert replied. ¡°Was he drunk? Didn¡¯t he assure me Lucius was accommodating?¡± ¡°He was,¡± his aide retorted stiffly. ¡°You think my cousin made a deal with the Lord of Snow? Come clean you parsimonious cunt! Has Darvot sold us out?¡± Ton grunted, only half-joking. ¡°Lady Tineke wouldn¡¯t let him even consider it. No, I don¡¯t think so,¡± Blenk replied to defuse the situation. ¡°Lucius is in Anorum.¡± ¡°Right. I fail to see how that helps us? Where is he getting the men? This I¡¯d like to know.¡± ¡°Sir Dolf can delay, but not stop their advance,¡± the veteran Shield added. The bad news spilling out like dead-eyed fish out of a rotted bucket. ¡°We are besieged from all sides. Cock in mouth, another plunging for our arses,¡± Ton grunted and started pacing up and down anxiously. The docks slowly emptying as the crowd and produce was moving back to Pascor and its market. ¡°What are we to do Sir Blenk?¡± ¡°We let them come into the mud milord,¡± he replied evenly and Ton nodded stopping to eye the nearby mist-covered Fenlands. Get out of their way, Ton thought his mind clearing. Hoff is a determined cretin, but half his army has a monumental hard on for Lucius. Put them nasty cats in the same bag. Swim sneakily into the undergrowth, then hold your breath long enough for angry shit to burst out. Mostly in pieces you can pick apart easily. Or you¡¯ll suffocate in the attempt. Eh. ¡°Send for a scribe,¡± he rustled and eyed the herald like a bug. ¡°You come with me.¡±
Later that evening Lord Van Calcar after writing to his brother and Baron Darvot in Brownfort, followed Captain Assen into the slowly drying up bogs. The cobblestone road lost under thin mud and herbaceous flora. Tall grass, rushes and reeds, but also gatherings of huge willow trees and solitary mangroves, appearing like silent giants through the ever present mist. The ground treacherous with wide flat and hardened elevations that turned into many small islands in the winter, but equally wide unsteady mires that could swallow a foot, or a horse if you didn¡¯t know your way. The locals did and used flat-bottomed boats to navigate the terrain, but even so accidents happened. ¡°There,¡± Assen said pointing at the rise. The lights of men still working amidst the trees visible in the night fog. ¡°Pretty close to the land bridge.¡± ¡°Move,¡± Ton grunted, always nervous coming into the bogs at night. But there was only so many hours in a day. ¡°Mind the give in the leading rope.¡± The boatman nodded, his head wrapped in a thin cloth like Lord Van Calcar himself. He used a long oar to push the elongated boat forward and follow the unseen path towards the island, the sounds coming from the awakened Fenlands all about them maddening. ¡°Anyone else gone missing?¡± He asked the pensive looking Captain Assen. ¡°Lady Thea came by earlier,¡± the hardened sailor grunted. She was the Lord of Pascor¡¯s first cousin and wife of Sir Blenk. The marriage hadn¡¯t produce an offspring unfortunately and the woman had slowly lost her mind in her later years. Blenk had adopted Emil at some point solving his problem, but Thea hadn''t come around to the young man. ¡°She headed into the mist sire.¡± ¡°Eh, let¡¯s not worry about her,¡± Ton retorted coldly. He had enough with her craziness and no stomach to indulge her like he did in the past. ¡°She¡¯ll be fine.¡± ¡°The men are whispering milord.¡± ¡°Thea is not a cannibal Assen,¡± Ton grunted in frustration, eyeing the lights growing bigger as they approached the island. ¡°She¡¯s a sad woman with not a lick of magic in her.¡± ¡°She saved the miller¡¯s daughter kid,¡± Assen reminded him. ¡°That was fever,¡± Ton snapped. ¡°She made a potion, stop being so god darn superstitious!¡± He added grabbing at the boat to avoid toppling over, the bugs buzzing over their heads, the Fenlands screeching like a thousand harpies were circling them and himself being the most superstitious of them all. His mind playing tricks on him, as he¡¯d heard that song again amidst the cacophony that made his bones vibrate. The membranes of his brain pulsating and for a moment Ton was a small kid again exploring the marshes with Johan. His bigger brother. Lord Remy Van Calcar had three sons, the song went.
The firstborn they found bound in bloody leather thongs. Deep in them reeds where the air cries in squishes.
A newer song, but nothing but a blend in reality of the same tune and much older saying. The refrain Old as the Fenlands themselves. Sang by the Blood Raiders when they reached Serene River. Between the rivers, the islands and nearby closed sea, that older and original song went.
¡®Johan?¡¯ Ton had asked the ever moving reeds, mud reaching his thin knees.
Eh, witch¡¯s swollen tits! He cursed with a shiver pushing the disturbing memories away. Ton jumped ashore, boots sinking in the soft ground, the lights coming and going. The air thick, drenching his face and garbs. Assen brought his own torch along to illuminate their way coming after him, the flames fighting the thickening fog and dancing shades amidst the trees. ¡°Do you see them?¡± Ton asked, heart lodged in his throat, trying to fight the memories from spilling out. ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake.¡± ¡°Over there milord,¡± Assen said, his voice cracking. ¡°That¡¯s where we found them.¡± Ton walked briskly, glancing nervously right and left, until finally they saw the men scouring the woods for the lost boy. Two fishermen had gone missing, then found half-eaten a couple of days later, but no one had found the young apprentice escorting them to learn the ropes. ¡°No boat comes up here,¡± Ton croaked, back of hand on his mouth. ¡°We¡¯re twenty meters from the plaguing water Assen.¡± ¡°They walked milord,¡± the captain replied. ¡°Left the boat behind. That¡¯s how we located them. Have no idea why.¡± Dammit. Ton turned about nervously, eyes trying to pierce the foggy darkness and failing. The huge tree trunks looming around them ominously. He breathed out, throat burning from the foul air and realized the Fenlands had turned quiet all of a sudden. The torches light penetrating the thinning mist as if the latter was retracting. The Lord of Pascor could hear the rustle of the soaked branches over their heads, the breeze touching the nearby reeds, stems moving slowly reacting to it and even the sound of the torches crackling. Humming. Coming from deeper in the small woods. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± a searcher queried sounding spooked. The mist dissolving, but the shadows remaining. The moonlight pushing some of them back, sneaking through the copse¡¯s canopy to offer assistance to their struggling torches. Some shades darting away, others retreating and one standing unnaturally still, not ten meters from their torches. The light skirting around the reedy alien figure. Long arms and fingers sprouting out of tattered dark robes, the left one holding a long staff with a crooked end. Mess of hair billowing in the night breeze and eyes glowing alike hot coals.
¡®You¡¯ll take this carcass¡¯s place,¡¯ the otherworldly voice had told a very young Ton almost twenty years back pointing a bony finger at his dead brother. The accent alien and terrifying in its strange allure. ¡®Deliver the warrior king in my embrace. Help me kill the Lord of Lies.¡¯
The figure raised her hand, three fingers extended in a forgotten greeting. Then the old Hag started humming again and the mist returned. ¡°Get back on the boats!¡± Ton growled, cold terror grabbing his innards and pulling them out. ¡°NOW GODS DARNIT!¡± He was reduced into a young boy in an instant. Run. ¡°Get back!¡± he bellowed fully panicked. Himself the first dashing out of the woods. Fuck it, he thought afore cursing himself for his weakness. Sorry lad, but that¡¯s as much as we could do. Allgods have mercy on yer soul. ¡°Start rowing,¡± he ordered the waiting boatman, breathing heavy and glanced back to see most of the men rushing their way. ¡°What about the search milord?¡± The Issir asked and Ton stared at him intently, eyes gawking and sporting a manic grimace on his strained face. ¡°He¡¯s gone,¡± the Lord of Pascor croaked, just as the rest of the men arrived to the boats, the Fenlands screeching all around them. Everything alive again. ¡°The Hag took him,¡± he added and that was enough of an incentive to get everyone going. 312. The gathering storm (4/5)
Lady Monica Holt The gathering storm Part IV -Priestesses of the sinful Goddess-
The sweet chorus of the young devotees humming echoed on the decorated walls of the Goddess temple. Not as grand as the ¡®Academy of Senses¡¯ in Valeria, or as prominent ¨Cin its phallic symbolism- as Tyeus Tower in the ¡®jewel of the Canlita Sea¡¯ city of Asturia. The spot where Naossis first visited when she escaped the confines of her isle. There by the mighty river¡¯s mouth, on the clean pebble beaches and under the Hammer Mount¡¯s shade she rested her weary body the story went. The villagers that had first laid their eyes upon her sleeping peacefully rejoiced in the Goddess¡¯ naked form and sang happy hymns, danced lewdly with abandon, then slept alongside her. She didn¡¯t turn them away, or fretted at their indiscretions for Naossis was childish and kind in her divinity. Also very much wicked in her sinfulness herself. This temple was smaller and circular, more fat than tall and it had space left in the middle for the three-storied Seraglio, just like the much larger Temple in Valeria. The structure also called the ¡®Fair Lady¡¯s palace¡¯ on Jelin, or the ¡®Divine Harem¡¯ on Eplas. A colorful glass domed edifice of archaic imperial design, it protruded at the top of the spherical building suggestively, inner thick glass walls and supporting pink marble columns covered in murals depicting Naossis adventures. And many faces, Monica thought pushing her numb neck back against the lip of the carved out of a massive piece of onyx-marble bathtub, slotted in the floor of the hall. One could smell the garden surrounding the structure through the narrow but very tall open windows. The Goddess¡¯ favorite trees and saplings planted with care and in a maze-like concentric pattern to hide the approach to the Seraglio. The visitors could interact with the priestesses at the outer halls of the temple, but this space was reserved for them. A whiff of aloe-wood, or agarwood the thin moldy sticks placed in vases on every window. The fruity, exotic aroma of the ¡®sacred horn-wood¡¯, what the priests of the Five call Frankincense and the fragile, not native on Jelin ¡®glowing trees¡¯ soaked in scented oils, what the locals called sandalwood. She exhaled gently, drowsy crystal-blue eyes -a gift from her father- tearing up, the water making her long coal-black hair ¨Conly thing she had of her late mother- heavy and soaked in the scented waters that caressed the tips of her excited breasts. Monica gazed at the ¡®Orea Augusta¡¯ Flavia -the striking High Priestess of Naossis- reclined on a velvet black sofa with her eyes closed. A content smile on her plump lips, luscious long blond hair spilling down her creamy shoulders and the red priestess¡¯s seer robes flowing down and touching the polished marble tiles. Her eyes stopped next at the five girls humming whilst playing their harps, afore swinging to the other side where ¡®First Idole¡¯ the bountiful Drusilla was pleasuring the only Issir priestess in the High Priestess¡¯ visiting entourage, the young white-haired Birgite. A hoarse gasp escaped her lips, when sweet Vita retracted the phallus, Monica¡¯s eyes closing momentarily when her lover raised a drenched head out of the water and then emerged slowly between her spread legs. The many faces of Naossis all in a room, she thought feeling the fit priestess¡¯ fingers on her excited nipples and the tip of the love instrument returning into her welcoming moist fold. The mother and the male/female lover. The receiver and the conqueror. The joyful singer and the seducer. Yes. The Empress of small pleasurable deaths. Aw. ¡°Open up love,¡± Vita purred over her face and she obliged hungrily their mouths melting, music, drugs and ecstasy dissolving her brain. Monica thought she heard Naossis giggle coming through the open window. The sensation divine.
But the moment fleeting and not everlasting. ¡°Sweet Sister Monica,¡± Flavia murmured in her distinct voice, while the spent noble scion¡¯s head rested on the soaked tiles, nape touching the lip of the cooling bathtub and the body of an exhausted Vita covering hers, the latter using her small teeth to work on Lady Holt¡¯s left earlobe. Mmm. ¡°Oh, Flavia¡­¡± Monica gushed opening her eyes and raised a hand to find the High Priestess gold rings. Flavia cupped her hand and pulled it from her right breast with the hint of a smile. ¡°I can go another hour,¡± Monica protested although she couldn¡¯t and Vita chuckled in her arms, the water splashing out of the bathtub. ¡°For you,¡± she added using a bit of voice magic and Flavia tapped her nose lightly with a finger to put a stop to her philandering. That wasn¡¯t like Flavia at all. ¡°What is it?¡± she asked with a grimace, Vita¡¯s teeth pulling at the tender flesh as Monica flinched to look at the stooped over them High Priestess. Flavia¡¯s robes had opened up spilling the goods out, as she was notorious for ¡®wardrobe malfunctions¡¯. A running joke in the Order. ¡°A group of sturdy men sent by Commander Virilis have penetrated our temple grounds,¡± Flavia said with a childish pout. Not a wrinkle on her comely face despite pushing forty. ¡°Not in a good way, praise be the Goddess,¡± the high priestess added. ¡°Disturbing the ¡®faithful¡¯ and apparently looking for you.¡± ¡°Why would they be looking for me?¡± Monica had just arrived with the other priestesses from Valeria to work on the summer festivities before Bacchanalia. Her favorite time of the season. ¡°How do they know I¡¯m here?¡± ¡°Nasica is with them,¡± Flavia said and Vita hissed like an angry cat. Her brother¡¯s right hand man. Monica had three older brothers and an older sister. Two from different mothers Marcus and Rupert, along Anne her sister. The oldest of them already dead a month before she was born. ¡°Apparently they expected you at the docks, but missed us. They got worried and are searching the city since yesterday¡­ the other day. Right Sister Drusilla?¡± Flavia asked a bit confused, or too drugged to remember. ¡°I can¡¯t think right now Augusta,¡± a groggy Drusilla replied from somewhere. The music had stopped at some point, when the festivities subsided and the Seraglio now stood tranquil. ¡°Anyway,¡± Flavia continued with an eye-roll. ¡°The man is insistent. I could offer to relieve some of his frustration, but he just doesn¡¯t seem the type who can tell a woman apart from a mare and my hip is still hurting to chance it.¡± Flavia had slipped ¡®playing¡¯ with the Goddess¡¯ lifelike statue in a fervent praying session back in Valeria and had taken quite the tumble. They had feared the worst. ¡°You want me to work on him?¡± Drusilla asked, ever eager to perform for the Goddess. Sweet soul. ¡°I want Sister Monica to get them out of our temple,¡± Flavia said evenly and got up, taking care to avoid the slippery parts around the round bathtub. ¡°The sooner the better,¡± she added turning serious and then walked away. ¡°Fuck,¡± Monica cursed unladylike, Vita mistaking her wrath for admiration of the walking away High Priestess¡¯ marvelously working hips. ¡°Yep,¡± her lover agreed and Monica pushed her away, making a mess. ¡°That¡¯s my brother and his stupid anxiety,¡± she hissed climbing out. Monica used both her hands and her knees to semi-crawl away in order to avoid an accident on the oily spillage, feeling soaked to the bone, but in a darn good way. The young scion stumbled about looking for her own red robes, her normal outfit left somewhere in the building and finding a set that looked like them tossed the flimsy garbs on, not bothering drying up her skin. ¡°Are you sure?¡± Vita probed raising a finely trimmed brow, the color of mature heartwood. It sent a warm shiver down her loins. ¡°They don¡¯t care about me,¡± Monica replied with a deep sigh and walked to the entrance to meet her brother¡¯s men.
¡°GOOD GRIEF!¡± A sour faced Flavius Nasica grunted as if he¡¯d seen a pregnant Hydra sunbathing. ¡°Carus Libo what in all hells are you gawking at?¡± He cursed irate whipping his head around abruptly and catching the burly Lorian thug eyeing a bare-footed still drenched Monica. Granted, Carus Libo was kind of keeping his gaze between her face and naked feet, but still¡­ Eh. ¡°Ahm, well¡­¡± Libo murmured intending to expound on Nasica¡¯s query, but the sinewy well-armed man cut him off frustrated. ¡°Don¡¯t explain it you imbecile! Give her your darn cloak now!¡± He bellowed glaring at the city guards escorting them, the latter pretending to admire the artistry of the temple in deep reverence. ¡°I don¡¯t want his stupid cloak. What are you doing here?¡± Monica snapped at the frustrated official and Nasica¡¯s face turned right mean in an instant. ¡°Get the cloak Lady Monica,¡± he warned her. ¡°I have instructions to bring you to the palace, any way I deem necessary. Preferably unseen. I brought a mule and a rope.¡± What? ¡°How about you go suck my brother¡¯s cock?¡± Monica retorted, her blood boiling at the insult. ¡°This is a temple you fucking philistine!¡± Nasica grimaced and shook his head disappointed. ¡°Naught but a fancy brothel,¡± he snarled impiously. ¡°Don¡¯t mistake our love of revenue for acceptance!¡± ¡°May the Goddess turn your dick all flaccid, your seed as thin as water,¡± Monica hissed a curse and accepted the ¡®smelly¡¯ cloak from the lecherously smirking Libo. ¡°I¡¯ve two bastards already,¡± Nasica retorted looking unfazed. ¡°Reckon I¡¯ll take the chance Lady Monica. Now put the bloody cloak on!¡± Get cockrot and piss blood in your sleep, a frowned Monica thought deciding limpness was too small a punishment for the creep and got into Libo¡¯s cloak, the heavy garment touching the floor.
¡°Are you decent?¡± Bernard asked two hours later after knocking at her bedroom door. ¡°Fuck off!¡± Monica blasted him irate. Bernard walked inside despite her outburst and stopped seeing her gazing out of the window in the nude. ¡°Allgods mercy,¡± he growled and shoved her away towards the bed. ¡°Get a shirt on, you are not ten.¡± Monica scoffed at his words and put her hands on her hips holding the pose. ¡°My tits are swollen,¡± she told him and watched his face twisting in anger. ¡°Guess from what Bernard. You have one chance. I¡¯ll help. I¡¯m not pregnant.¡± ¡°You are making things difficult,¡± her flushed brother hissed, pushing his blond hair back. Bernard¡¯s only similarity with their old father. ¡°Get dressed, people look to us in these trying times.¡± ¡°Oh, come on Bernie,¡± Monica retorted mockingly and found a long tunic to put on. ¡°Nobody looks at you! Haha! You only got the position because Marcus got himself killed when you were four¡ª¡± The slap had caught her low on the cheek and tossed her on the bed. Fucker. ¡°Damn you,¡± Bernard grunted nearing her. ¡°Let me see that,¡± he lifted her face and pushed the curls back to examine the skin. ¡°You need to learn to¡ª¡± Monica¡¯s hand on his cock had stopped him from continuing. Bernard made to pull away, but there was no mistaking he is getting hard fast. Will you look at that? ¡°You could just ask,¡± Monica purred a taunt in his sweaty face and Bernard grunted trying to pull away. ¡°Fucking hypocrite.¡± ¡°You¡¯re sick,¡± her brother croaked, but stayed where he was. ¡°You can visit the temple,¡± she told him, her other hand touching the mark on her cheek. ¡°Nobody will care. The festival is near. You could wear a mask, or you can just watch us.¡± ¡°Gods Monica! That¡¯s not how it goes. Where did you learn all this,¡± Bernard hissed and pulled away, when his sister loosened her grip. She pushed herself back on the bed, the tunic bunched up under her arse and leaving long creamy legs bare. ¡°A single mistake can bury you in politics.¡± ¡°Everyone spills their secrets to the Goddess,¡± Monica reminded him. ¡°You can tell me. I won¡¯t talk. You are not pious Bernie, nobody is and it won¡¯t help elevate you more. You¡¯re not much of a knight also, or a lord of anything despite your ¡®tittle¡¯. Hey you could still marry into a small barony somewhere. A Lesia girl, her cunt as dry as the desert.¡± ¡°Stop playing games and mind your tongue,¡± Bernard murmured and stood back, his hair a mess and eyes staying on her thighs. Monica spread them some more. ¡°We must be on our best behavior,¡± her brother added with difficulty. Weak, she thought. All flesh is weak. ¡°You will pay for hitting me,¡± Monica told him warningly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the occasion?¡± she asked, not believing him. ¡°Lord Lucius has taken Anorum.¡± Monica stood up on her elbows. ¡°Lord Pryor? Anne?¡± ¡°Our step-sister is fine,¡± Bernard grunted. ¡°Lucius has two legions with him.¡± ¡°Where did he find them?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not the point. He wants our father to declare for him Monica!¡± Bernard snapped furious. Was it sexual frustration? She wondered. The loss of Anorum didn¡¯t impact him, or did it? She thought of late King Alistair¡¯s firstborn. Always serious. Monica was eleven when she last had seen him. He¡¯d killed his wife was the word. Mayhap a sex game gone wrong. ¡°Lucius lost the throne, despite what father thinks,¡± Monica told her gloomy brother and got up from the bed. ¡°He wants it back and the old man will support him,¡± Bernard hissed. ¡°Jeremy is no match for Lucius.¡± ¡°Jeremy was pretty cute,¡± she countered and seeing Bernard¡¯s incredulous look, she added. ¡°But I¡¯ll jump into bed with Lucius. Naossis rolled in the hay with Abrakas. I¡¯ve seen the mural¡­ eh. With him it¡¯ll be like sleeping with a better looking Tyeus. Flavia has him top of her list and she¡¯s gone through most of it.¡± It was a long list. ¡°Monica!¡± Bernard growled furious. ¡°What does Rupert say?¡± She asked unperturbed. ¡°Rupert is back at the palace,¡± Bernard grunted, a tick appearing in his right eye when she approached him. Monica didn¡¯t like the fact he was a bit taller than her. ¡°Your only chance was him getting killed fighting the tourneys,¡± she whispered softly to calm him down. ¡°But he¡¯s strong as a bull and can take a tumble, so yeah. He¡¯ll be the next Duke of Asturia.¡± ¡°Not if King Jeremy wins,¡± Bernard retorted. ¡°You don¡¯t believe that,¡± Monica countered. ¡°I don¡¯t but the realm is a mess. If the old man finds out what you¡¯re doing he¡¯ll disown you and I¡¯ll be blamed for it.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t I be a priestess?¡± ¡°You know darn well that¡¯s not why you¡¯re doing it. Father won¡¯t have it. Remember Delia?¡± Monica closed her eyes at the memory. ¡°Delia left me. I¡¯m with someone else now,¡± she croaked and stood back defensively. ¡°She¡¯s at the bottom of a dry well in Whitetiger. Draco put her there,¡± Bernard blurted out. ¡°You¡¯re lying.¡± ¡°Sis, I¡¯m not,¡± Bernard puffed out and rubbed his face with a hand. A gold ring with a ruby on it, quite large. ¡°Valeria isn¡¯t Regia, or even Asturia. That¡¯s a whole another world. You can¡¯t bring it here and expect no pushback and you can¡¯t have a woman as a lover. This isn¡¯t Eplas, or Wetull.¡± ¡°Draco killed Delia?¡± Monica hissed narrowing her eyes and feeling the heart thundering in her chest. ¡°On the old man¡¯s orders,¡± Bernard replied staring at her worried. ¡°He allowed you a couple of years of respite, his mind on the kingdom and King Alistair. Now you¡¯re eighteen and that¡¯s over.¡± ¡°He won¡¯t harm the priestesses,¡± Monica snapped, her voice cracking the news ruining her mood.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°The temple won¡¯t fight the Duke don¡¯t be naive,¡± her brother whispered. ¡°You think all this influence and coin comes from sex? Flavia will toss you out, or worse. She moves in very dark circles.¡± ¡°You think I sleep with Flavia? I don¡¯t care for her that much!¡± ¡°I hoped you were,¡± Bernard admitted. ¡°Because she would know to keep you away. So you wouldn¡¯t get hurt.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t sent that creep Nasica to pick me up,¡± Monica murmured realizing what was going on. Bernard smacked his lips and sighed deeply. ¡°Rupert did,¡± he said sounding tired. ¡°He asked for your whereabouts. Soon the rumors might reach him. He¡¯s daft, but not completely stupid and does whatever our father tells him. You must understand people talk and have seen you in the temple. The Duke¡¯s own daughter cajoling like a harlot! The war might have slowed the tourists down, but locals still make the journey. I had to move fast and usher you away from the god darn docks afore his people returned.¡± ¡°His people?¡± Monica croaked bitterly. ¡°The Duke¡¯s people. Father¡¯s,¡± Bernard replied and looked at her desperately. ¡°I warned you that your time of fooling around is up. The old man is coming back.¡±
Lord Decius Hortulanus the Second had started building ¡®Asturia proper¡¯ utilizing a stone wall constructed parallel to the east banks of the Framtond River as base. The wall had failed to stop Lucius¡¯ father, Lord Remus Aldenus from raiding the settlement fifty years before Reinut¡¯s conquest and burning all its wooden structures to the ground. The almost forgotten from history Lord Remus had used the easy to land beaches of the nearby Canlita Sea forty kilometers from the river¡¯s mouth to avoid the headache ¨Cand danger- of testing the then wooden bridge. Lord Decius the First had rebuilt the wall in the years that followed and Decius the Second carried on building another wall that blocked access to the interior, if one managed to land on Asturia¡¯s beaches coming from the Canlita Sea again. The days before Reinut the Lakelords were mostly Lorians and Northmen that had settled near the lake to avoid the harsh winters. They as their Issir successors were thirsty for the richer lands across the water. The meat and the grain from the fields. White beans and the white-wine vines further back near the slopes. Lord Decius the Second kept building walls kilometers away from the settlement. He didn¡¯t go for height, or fancy designs just sturdy ramparts to stop an enemy. He constructed another wall twenty kilometers south from the beaches, draining the quagmires created because of the old granite quarry there and formed the slanted deep valley facing what is now called the Lake Wall Plateau, but it¡¯s just the Northwest side of the great Hammer Mounts range. Occasionally this now thick woodland will flood turning that part of the Asturia Forest into a bog. The latter extends from the lake to the Shaft Peak bordering the Framtond on one side, the Hammer mounts on the other, turning into wilderness despite heavy foresting. Lord Decius had left a very big area for people to start building again and they did. The ancient Lord¡¯s design resembling a trapezoid with its smaller side facing Canlita¡¯s shores, a tower protecting both the water and river mouth on the northwest corner, another on the east corner between the big main gates facing the bridge over Framtond and the smaller south gates on the sloped road towards the woodlands and the river city of Croton. While he failed to stop the next Aldenus that attacked the city years later and just after Reinut¡¯s wars had ended, Decius managed to negotiate a decent deal. History shames him as the first one to bend the knee, dooming the Sulas that had won in the south and were marching to Illirium, but Decius much as his father afore him were builders and not fighters. Lord Decius the Second reigned from 10 BNC to 26 NC, a long thirty-six years. He was succeeded by Duke Hunter Holt the First the distant 27 NC and he in turn was succeeded by Duke Rupert in 48 NC. In 79 NC another Decius, the third of his name (reigned 71-100NC) would construct in the now fully rebuilt Asturia¡¯s central square, hemmed in by the old library, the Adventurer¡¯s Guild building, Tyeus Tower and Naossis Temple a massive granite statue dedicated to Asturia''s most famous citizen Ebenezer Framtond. Decius the third, a fervently loathing risks man himself, preached Ebenezer was his father¡¯s bastard son with the ¡®girl from the lake¡¯. While the truth is Framtond¡¯s origins are ambiguous and the stone used to build his statue was leftovers from constructing the bridge, as its architect then young Tal Hibrida (49- 138NC), famed Pompeo Di Cresta¡¯s instructor, had overestimated how much they will need for the bridge across the river. The whole side of the mountain had been brought down and huge piles of unused stone were left clogging the streets, the banks of the river and the gates of the city. At over thirty meters tall not counting the three-meter high massive podium, the coarse statue remains the tallest statue on Jelin and the realm, until word of the forty-meter statues of Goras reached them much later. It could be seen on clear days by approaching ships from Valeria even without refraction, or from travelers approaching the river¡¯s bridge from Islandport. The disconcerting crooked grin of Ebenezer appearing behind the clouds has terrified many a unsuspecting visitors. It is worth noting here Framtond River was simply known as the river afore the stone bridge was built and named after him for being the first brave enough to cross it ¡®while under construction¡¯. The latter more a matter of necessity for the legendary adventurer, than academic curiosity, much less bravery.
Old Lord Holt burst inside his roomy hall clad in his engraved and much older than him plate armour. The polished bronze in the details making the steel plates taking a golden hue in the light coming from the many windows facing the lake. Not that you could see the lake from the palace. Built behind the walls and the North Gates, near the port but away from the river, the big estate resembled a big rectangular castle more than a villa, complete with a drawbridge dry moat and two small towers guarding its smaller sides. It had barracks and an armory within the inner walls, the Duke¡¯s Hall main building, kitchen, guard quarters, a stable and a large garden. Once the sturdy gates closed, you have to lay siege to enter it, or grow wings to slip away. Monica hated it. Once inside its bowels, you couldn¡¯t get out unless given permission. This palace was a prison even without the dungeons deep underneath it. The Duke was followed by Lord Hostus Mercator of Islandport and his teenage son Dima, Monica¡¯s third cousin from her mother¡¯s side. Sir Rupert, her bigger brother came next along with the Duke¡¯s Shield Lord Vibius Draco, the old man¡¯s eyes staying at the daring open bust of her dress, a tight corset keeping everything in place, if you breathed slowly. ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake,¡± Bernard cursed coming to stop beside her to greet their approaching father. ¡°Couldn¡¯t you wear something else?¡± ¡°Like a big hemp sack over the head? Or a blanket?¡± Monica hissed, managing a smile in response of young lanky Dima¡¯s lecherous grin. Wow that creep grew up, she thought, her cousin being three years younger than her, but already taller. ¡°Bernard,¡± Lord Holt grunted, deep lines marring his unshaven cheeks, the skin rough and full of blemishes. His cold blue eyes piercing through Monica¡¯s skull. She quickly bowed her head to avoid another blow to the face, as while Bernard could land a good one from time to time, the old man¡¯s rough hand was like a heavy plank full of splinters. You get it on the arse and it breaks the skin. You get one in the face, hah, you¡¯re dead girl. ¡°Father, it is uplifting to see you well¡ª¡± ¡°Cut the crap son, where¡¯s your sword?¡± Lord Holt stopped him and Monica almost burst out laughing at her brother¡¯s shocked expression. ¡°I keep Nasica close,¡± Bernard started, getting cut off again abruptly. ¡°I don¡¯t care! Nasica ain¡¯t my son, or a knight!¡± Her father growled already angry, which wasn¡¯t a good sign and she started breathing with small intakes feeling the heat and stress getting to her. The summer, like trouble came early, she thought listening to Bernard getting chewed and berated for his shameful display. ¡°I¡¯ll go get it,¡± Bernard gasped seemingly ready to collapse from the humiliation he had to endure, although those present kept a neutral expression on, but for Rupert who thought it hilarious. ¡°Give your coat to yer sister,¡± Lord Holt ordered brusquely, turning to look at her again. Go, she urged herself. Monica took half-a-step forward, picking her dress in a deep curtsy and went to kiss her father¡¯s hand at the end of it. Lord Holt grabbed her chin and pushed her head back revealing her neck. Ouch. ¡°Onas shadow what¡¯s this?¡± He rustled narrowing his eyes. ¡°Bernard¡ª¡± Monica attempted to throw her brother under the wagon¡¯s wheels, but Lord Holt wasn''t talking about her cheek. ¡°What?¡± Her father growled, Baron Draco furrowing his brow looking at her neck with interest. A hickey? ¡°I stumbled on a door,¡± Monica explained quickly, to avoid further scrutiny. ¡°In the stables.¡± Eh. ¡°With your neck? Eh, women shouldn¡¯t be anywhere near horses.¡± ¡°Quite right, milord,¡± Lord Draco agreed. Oh, fuck off, you old murderous prick! Her father let go of her chin after turning it this way and that much as one does to inspect a mare, afore adding. ¡°Cover yourself up.¡± Which one rarely says to a horse¡­ ¡°Yes father.¡± ¡°You know Dima,¡± Lord Holt added a hard expression on his face. ¡°He¡¯ll be a knight afore the year is out.¡± ¡°Hello cousin,¡± Monica murmured lamely forcing a smile on her face and another curtsy. Dima¡¯s grin turned a bit weird. What the actual fuck? Did he just looked down my bust? ¡°You¡¯ll show him the gardens later,¡± her father added half-pleased with their exchange. What? ¡°Now, while my other son looks for his sword, allgods helps us,¡± Lord Holt continued a bit dismayed, getting a laughter out of those present, but for the shocked and having difficulty to breathe Monica. ¡°We¡¯ll take a break and then we¡¯ll discuss the new developments.¡± ¡°Of course milord,¡± Baron Mercator said. ¡°Sir Rupert I¡¯d like to visit the armory with my son, if it¡¯s possible. Haven¡¯t had the chance to see it in years.¡± ¡°No worries, I¡¯ll take you there,¡± Rupert said and gave her a nod. ¡°You look nice sis.¡± ¡°Thank you Rupert,¡± Monica croaked, Bernard¡¯s cloak suffocating and heavy on her shoulders. ¡°Stop standing there and bring us a bottle of wine,¡± Lord Holt grunted still in a foul mood. ¡°Anne would have had everything ready by now. Now your sister is such a good lass. Right Vibius?¡± ¡°Excellent stock, Hunter,¡± Lord Draco replied enthusiastically, always fond of Anne despite losing her to Lord Pryor for ¡®political reasons and the good of the Dukedom¡¯ as he frequently liked to boast. Anne had taken the mild-mannered Lord of Anorum¡¯s hand and ran away as fast as she could. Better to live among legionnaires in the cold, her big stepsister always said, than sleep in Draco¡¯s bed and having to deal with Van Calcar¡¯s raiders. ¡°I didn¡¯t know whether you¡¯ll remain in the throne¡ª¡± ¡°Look at this, good grief,¡± her father cut her off again abruptly. ¡°Quick on the lip too. More man in her than Bernard!¡± ¡°Duplicitous my Lord. Unnatural,¡± Baron Draco said, not that he¡¯d ever disagree with the Duke and Monica glared at him. ¡°Uhm,¡± her father agreed with a nod, then pressed his mouth tight. ¡°No servants around Monica. I dismissed them. Get us those goblets now. You keep asking for punishment and you¡¯ll receive it.¡± Great, she thought and marched to the concealed servant¡¯s door. Uri standing behind it with a bottle. ¡°The goblets are on the south wall table,¡± the servant told her quickly. ¡°Ah, thank you Uri,¡± Monica replied and the aged servant grimaced afore adding worried. ¡°He knows.¡± Monica froze, the bottle almost dropping from her hands. ¡°How much?¡± she whispered and the servant shrugged his shoulders. He wasn¡¯t sure, but the rumors reached the servants very fast in the palace. ¡°How?¡± ¡°A missive, early this morning. The moment they crossed the river bridge.¡± ¡°A bird?¡± ¡°No, from someone in the city,¡± Uri replied.
Monica spent the next hour standing near the table, as the two old men talked about the realm. Some stuff pretty gossipy like the part about King Jeremy, the ¡®Lacking¡¯ and his pregnant Issir wife delivering twins. Dark skinned Aldens. ¡°It makes our case difficult,¡± her father admitted. ¡°I could risk an excursion down west, but by the time we reach Aldenfort they¡¯ll know we¡¯re coming. Even if we take it quickly, the Legion could march our way, fight us in the open fields.¡± ¡°Scaldingport has men-at-arms stationed at Sabretooth Castle,¡± Draco reminded him looking at an open map. ¡°The irony of that, not to mention it forces us to bring a lot of cavalry along to counter them. It will fill Lord Ton¡¯s brother''s head with ideas.¡± ¡°True. Also I can¡¯t help Lord Sula,¡± her father continued. ¡°We spent a year digging out the Tunnel Pass, but even if we finish there, what good is going for Cartagen would do us? Jeremy isn¡¯t in the capital.¡± ¡°Sula must take out Lord Ursus, the royal guard are Alistair¡¯s loyalists, despite Miranda¡¯s efforts to shove Aegium boys in. The Valens run the city and the High Baron¡¯s second son is with Lucius,¡± Draco continued. ¡°Your son as well,¡± Lord Holt pointed out. ¡°Aye. The Fourth Cohort marched with Sula¡¯s Legion towards Van Calcar¡¯s lands. But he kept my son with him. A Prefect today, is the Tribune of the morrow,¡± Lord Draco replied proudly. Sir Julius Draco was a boring but decent man, whilst his brother Sir Declan ruling over Draco¡¯s men at the town of Ruinal was just a brute, thought Monica. ¡°Lucius is telling us we are all in this together,¡± Lord Holt added. ¡°Will he fight the Lakelords? It isn¡¯t in his interests.¡± ¡°It isn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Can he afford to leave a Legion watching Van Calcar?¡± Lord Holt asked thoughtfully. ¡°Probably not, but it helps us.¡± ¡°He¡¯ll want to keep Anorum. He needs a Lorian city,¡± her father continued. ¡°Else the people will say the Lord of Kas has invaded our lands with his Nords.¡± ¡°With a Northern wife no less,¡± Lord Draco added disapprovingly. ¡°Eh, I told Alistair to keep him in Regia,¡± Lord Holt griped turning his eyes on her. Monica had opened the coat to allow herself to breathe and stopped to cocoon herself again under his glare. She could feel sweat rivulets running down her legs. ¡°Better to have given Zofia to Antoon, the lad was scarred and couldn¡¯t think straight.¡± ¡°Quite a boon for the O¡¯ Dargans to have Zofia ruling in Krakenhall.¡± ¡°Women are trouble, twice that if they rule. You just don¡¯t know what they¡¯ll do. Will she stand with him? And why not wed her for crying out loud? Look at what Miranda did, eh,¡± Lord Holt grunted. ¡°I loved both my wives, but they had no political bone in their bodies. No scandals, or disagreements.¡± Monica gulped down nervously. ¡°He got a son out of her at least,¡± Lord Draco commented. ¡°That¡¯s twice in a row. The lad is fertile. Both of them are, Alistair would have been pleased.¡± Go Lucius and Jeremy, Monica thought. Praise be the tiger¡¯s seed! She couldn¡¯t believe what they were talking about. ¡°Technically Roderick came first so that¡¯s a plus,¡± her father expounded on the finer details. ¡°But I don¡¯t see them reaching an agreement. Lord Doris is a vindictive bastard. Killed his own kin.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a rumor my lord.¡± Lord Holt grimaced his face darkening. ¡°I know the man better Vibius. He¡¯s ruthless.¡± As if they weren¡¯t cut from the same cloth! Monica thought. ¡°What did Lord Pryor say?¡± Draco asked changing the subject. It was no secret her father loved his first wife the most. Lord Doris cutting her off had stayed with him through the years. It wasn¡¯t the god darn dowry. Land I have aplenty, her father murmured when he was in his cups. It was that briny bastard thinking he was above them in station. It¡¯s one thing to respect a proper Alden, another to pander to the watered down scum of Aegium. ¡°Lucius has almost three thousand legionnaires there, as many in Lord Ton¡¯s lands. Scouts, Rangers and war machines. He isn¡¯t exactly begging for our help, but he isn¡¯t stupid, or too arrogant to believe he¡¯ll manage it by himself.¡± ¡°He might be able to break through to Alden, the First Legion is slow to rebuild,¡± Lord Draco noted. ¡°Ligur will do it. Had him as Prefect. Stubborn, Vinterfort lad. Dry and hard as the desert rocks. Kept himself upright during the battle of the Turncoats even after having his arm chopped off,¡± Lord Holt replied emptying his goblet. Monica went to refill it, but he stopped her putting his hand over it. ¡°The First will fight.¡± ¡°What should I say to the scribes my lord?¡± Draco asked the troubled Duke. ¡°If Lucius wants control of Anorum he¡¯ll need to give us something else,¡± her father replied. ¡°No words, or messages are needed, I¡¯ll talk with him personally. Know the lad since he was a boy.¡± ¡°What does Sir Rupert think?¡± ¡°Rupert will do as he¡¯s plaguing told,¡± her father grunted. ¡°I don¡¯t trust him running the city, but he won¡¯t veer off script and that¡¯s a plus.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll lose control of the northern routes,¡± Lord Draco insisted and Monica frowned not expecting him to keep arguing on this matter. Her father sighed and pushed back on his chair, glancing her way again. ¡°Mercator will support my decision,¡± the old Duke replied. Right, Monica thought melting on her feet and feeling lightheaded. ¡°I will as well,¡± Draco said. ¡°But are we to follow along without knowing his plans?¡± ¡°We won¡¯t¡­ I¡¯ll talk to him,¡± her father grunted a little frustrated. ¡°We¡¯ll march to Aldenfort together.¡± ¡°He left the Legion in Anorum my lord.¡± Wow, Draco is really pushing father in this, Monica thought. That¡¯s strange. ¡°We¡¯ll see what he says,¡± Lord Holt replied his patience running thin. ¡°Very well,¡± Lord Draco yielded and stood up. ¡°I will¡­ leave you to it then my lord.¡± Never a more ominous phrase was uttered, Monica thought with a shiver despite the heat, seeing the old Lord leaving them alone. ¡°Loose the coat girl,¡± her father ordered casually. ¡°You look just about ready to fade.¡± Monica had to restrain herself not to toss the expensive garment into the fireplace. Bernard was fearing of cold as much as he feared swords. ¡°Come here,¡± Lord Holt told her after she left it on a chair in the conference table. It slid and dropped down, but Monica pretended she didn¡¯t see it and left it on the floor. ¡°Yes father.¡± ¡°How did you grow up so much in two years?¡± He asked her when she approached him, her face covered in sweat and her hair plastered on her exposed back. ¡°Less than two years,¡± she corrected him. ¡°Ah, here it is, the lip again. What am I going to do with you?¡± ¡°Not marry me to Dima?¡± Monica asked hopefully. ¡°He¡¯s a good boy.¡± ¡°He¡¯s family,¡± she retorted, losing control of her tongue. Her father''s stare turned serious. ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s what bothers you, is it? Monica stood back and crossed her arms over her bust. ¡°You can¡¯t wed me to Dima. It won¡¯t give you what you hope,¡± she blurted out. Lord Mercator of Islandport was too close to the border with Jeremy. The King¡¯s men were circling the city port for a year. Everyone knew if the King¡¯s army came Islandport would burn, if Lord Mercator chose not to bend the knee. ¡°I opposed Jeremy because it wasn¡¯t his throne to take,¡± her father hissed, a warning tone in his voice. ¡°But Lucius took his sweet time to return. Lines were drawn and people had time to cool off and get used to the idea. I also understand what Lucius wants, same I understand your cousin¡¯s father concern. It¡¯s what lords do. We try to solve problems with what we have at our disposal. You¡¯ll wed Dima, bed him alike your mother did and give Lord Mercator a good heir. Your brother Bernard is too clever for his own good, but it is better to have a spare than see a foolish girl on the throne.¡± ¡°I understand,¡± Monica whispered bowing her head. ¡°No you don¡¯t,¡± her father growled, his anger spilling out. ¡°What did you mean?¡± ¡°Nothing.¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t about your tastes in¡­¡± he scrunched his mouth furious. ¡°Don¡¯t try to wiggle your way out of it. What¡¯s the problem? He¡¯ll do all the work, it¡¯s not fucking difficult and I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve learned how it¡¯s done cajoling wit the blasted priestesses of the Sinful Goddess!¡± Monica licked her dry lips slowly. ¡°What is it daughter?¡± Lord Holt growled and got up. ¡°You can¡¯t do even this for your god darn father?¡± He blasted her irate, dark veins stretching his neck¡¯s skin. ¡°The old Lords would have tossed you in a well for this malarkey, but I can¡¯t because you¡¯re my blood and I care for you. Your mother was a good woman, just too frail.¡± ¡°If I bed him he¡¯ll know,¡± Monica murmured, her face flushed. ¡°No he won¡¯t,¡± Lord Holt assured her. ¡°You think normal people believe the vile things they do over there are real? Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± Yeah, not that and lots of people know what¡¯s what. ¡°Dima will know I¡¯m not a virgin,¡± Monica elucidated with a deep sigh letting the cat out of the bag. Lord Holt blinked, a new vein throbbing in the middle of his forehead. Then Monica flew backwards senseless, her right eardrum torn, the Duke¡¯s heavy backhand almost breaking her neck. It took them a whole day to wake her up.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 313. The gathering storm (5/5)
¡®I want to trust you desperately, but I can¡¯t. This is my family, my longtime allies, I¡¯ve gone through hell with these people. I love them deeply. You talk of peace, but everywhere you went the army followed and families were ruined. Your justice is too harsh. You talk of me soliciting with monsters, but whatever you believe, what you¡¯ve build wants those kids dead. It¡¯s a soulless pious machine serving one man. If I can¡¯t stop you, then perhaps he will and so be it. Better the familiar beast that calls me his dear friend. History shall judge me, but I shall see no more death.¡¯ The Pirate Queen addressing Praetor Maximus Lucius Aldenus
Decanus Lucas Kato The gathering storm Part V -Half a bridge-
III Legio Durio¡¯s (forward reconnaissance & engineering) detachment. Detachment¡¯s commander general staff Optio (Engineers) Potis Durio (Lastport, Lesia) ¨CActing Prefect Centurion (Rangers) Kaeso (unknown) Centurion (Medics) Dottore Marianus Centurion (Engineers) Sid Toma (Lastport, Lesia) Heavy Infantry and other units present. 1st Maniple (part of ¡®Old Red¡¯ Cohort¡¯s, 1st ¡®Agricola¡¯ Century)¨Cabbreviated 3L1CH1CN1MN- 1st & 2nd Maniples from Anorum¡¯s Century (Acting commander) Decanus Lucas Kato (Asturia) Decanus Damian Tarsus (Anorum) Decanus Leo Brevis (Anorum) 100 Legionnaires + 200 Legionnaires from Anorum¡¯s Century Legio Scouts Centurion Kaeso Decanus Auridon +100 Legio Rangers (Logan ¡®Gray¡¯ Barret¡¯s Nords followed Lady Faye Alden to Asturia) Legio Engineers. +200 Engineers (and apprentices) Legio Medics Dottore Silvio Marianus (Ludr, originally Ruinal, Regia) Medic Telos (Gudgurth Fort) Medic Wilder (Issir half-breed, Krakenfort) At least 4 female Nurses 300 Legionnaires, 100 Legio Rangers, 200 Engineers + Around 800 support personnel (Workers, Carpenters, Blacksmiths, Cooks, Bards, various civilian crews of adventurers, also ¡®merchants¡¯- mainly prospectors, cartographers etc.) Fifty wagons, a hundred mules, thirty horses, four heavy cranes, two scorpios under the command of Centurion (EN) Sid Toma and Sergeant (EN) Toni Vargas.
-Maneuver known as ¡®Race to Framtond¡¯- Part of Lucius ¡®Inverted Bow¡¯ grand plan (One of the two vital anchoring pincers) Code named ¡®Plan C1B¡¯ Second month of summer, 192 NC The wildlands at the end of Uher¡¯s Passage Three kilometers from the River¡¯s Groin Day fifty eight
Darn helmet, Kato thought in his semi slumber. It kept slipping aside each time the wagon¡¯s wheels bounced off the rough path. Well, his head did mostly, the metal helm was just helping it. Sweat soaked his nape and shorn hair, the metal hot as the bottom of a cauldron not helping at all. The sweat kept lubricating the top of his helm, Kato was using it as a pillow of sorts, but instead of all that moisture giving him some relief from the ungodly heat, it just vaporized, but not afore ¡®helping¡¯ his resting head slip sideways and bang on the hard wagon¡¯s rail. Another hour of ¡®rest¡¯ would either give him a severe concussion, turn him into a vegetable, or outright kill me, a tired Kato decided, the latter probably the less bothersome option and cracked a heavy eyelid open to catch a glimpse of the position of the sun. The bright disk was still over their heads. Cat¡¯s piss and mule¡¯s shite! Since they had broken through the woods in the passage, Prefect Durio had decided that the natural path waiting for them, the latter created from animals and hunters, was good enough ¨Cwith a bit of work- to just push the wagons through. Several lies in the Prefect¡¯s statement were immediately apparent. Maybe not outright lies, but falsehoods. Now whether this was the same or not, Kato had no idea, but he had heard the word thrown around by Dottore Marianus a learned man. So he started using it himself. Ah, he thought, the back of his head slipping and banging on the hardwood of the wagon¡¯s bed this time. God damnit! Anyways, the path was far from good, or even decent. There were cracks on the ground, where water had rolled down towards the plains and stones as big as melons hidden in the soft black ground. Roots from fallen trees and sneakily empty holes from caved earth, or something. You could lose a boot there, or a foot and even a whole wheel at times. So these wrinkles on the path needed filling and smoothening per the manual, so they all got about a couple of hours of marching out of each day, or three. Then they paused to dig, cut and shovel earth about, which was also marching with a bit of additional work thrown in. Like flattening the terrain and removing the bigger rocks. That usually lasted until the late afternoon. Then there was setting up the Castrum for another three hours because you didn¡¯t want a lonely forest bear slipping in yer tent and chewing your face off. If you were lucky. Them bears be known to get horny after the winter. Aye. Sleep in turns and then do all of this again the next day. After a while, you longed for any respite and sleeping on the wagon instead of marching until the next stop, even at the risk of cracking your skull on the hardwood, was a plaguing boon. ¡°Decanus,¡± Mede said breathing heavy, helmed head bobbing up and down still trotting next to the wagon, since Kato got to ride the empty spot due to rank. ¡°We spotted a deer.¡± ¡°Is it dead?¡± Kato asked trying to lift his head to see the legionnaire the better. ¡°No. It run down the flatlands.¡± There was nothing flat on the ground they were traversing. ¡°So, the idea is¡­¡± Kato murmured standing on his arse, legs dangling down the back of the wagon, the tall grass tickling his shins. ¡°Kaeso says the river is just ahead of us.¡± Kato wiped the sweat of his tanned face with the inside of a palm. ¡°I¡¯m not following Mede,¡± he said tiredly. ¡°It went there. Fresh meat Decanus.¡± ¡°You want to go hunting? We have plenty of supplies left,¡± Kato queried with a frown and considered briefly jumping off the wagon right away, but reached for his helm instead to think on it some more. If you can¡¯t sleep, try to avoid walking for as long as you can at the very least. ¡°There¡¯s stuff growing on them biscuits Decanus,¡± Mede argued. ¡°Are ye going to join the unit?¡± Plate full of cack! ¡°Boil some water and dip ''em in,¡± Kato counseled him sourly and jumped from the wagon, his knees hurting when he landed and hobnailed boots sinking in the ground. The Decanus stumbled forward from the momentum for a couple of strides, afore coming to a stop. Mede stopped next to him, the grass almost to their chests. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Kato growled, his head hurting and the helm boiling his brains something fierce. ¡°Saw ye stop Decanus,¡± Mede elucidated and Kato grimaced just about ready to give him the business, but spotted Prefect Durio approaching them, the lofty rank much as the ¡®clear¡¯ path another falsehood. Haha. ¡°Kato,¡± Durio said brusquely stopping his horse. ¡°I need the river banks scouted thoroughly and the grass to the shores cleared.¡± ¡°Centurion Kaeso,¡± Kato started, but Durio stopped him. ¡°Is not here and I ain¡¯t waiting for him to return. I want to know afore nightfall. Now Decanus, get your men moving!¡± ¡°Eh, so scouting to the shores,¡± Kato had no idea they had reached the river, but everyone else was sure about it and he went along with them. ¡°And cleaning the grass,¡± he repeated to avoid any potential fuck ups. ¡°I¡¯ll use the workers for the terrain,¡± Durio cut him off. ¡°But I want to know what we have to work with as soon as possible.¡± Right. ¡°Mede!¡± Kato barked just as the Prefect kicked his legs to gallop to the front of the marching column, Kato¡¯s Maniple bringing up the rear and guarding the supply train. ¡°Decanus!¡± Mede responded with enthusiasm. ¡°What¡¯s with the smile? Get the men moving, fuck¡¯s sake!¡± ¡°They haven¡¯t stopped¡ª¡± ¡°Even better,¡± Kato barked irate. ¡°We¡¯ll get to move some more!¡± ¡°After the deer sir?¡± Kato stared at him blankly, the rest of the Maniple coming to a stop when it reached them. ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear the Prefect?¡± ¡°Scouting is a vague order Decanus,¡± Mede retorted with a big smirk. That bone-headed idiot was actually right.
An hour later Kato found himself gliding down the muddy sloped bank of the river, the drop coming hidden behind yellow-green reeds taller than him. The stems had just given away, helm saving his head from cracking wide open, the rattle of the impact still scrambling his brains proper and the Lorica getting soaked a moment later. He¡¯d entered the edge of the water feet first. ¡°Decanus?¡± Mede asked unsure stooped over the opening a couple of meters above him, afore a huge grin formed on his mouth. ¡°The river is found!¡± ¡°I fuckin¡¯ know! Fucking retard! Eat a bowl of old cack!¡± Kato growled, foul water in his mouth and crawled out of the shallows. ¡°Lower yer pilum to me so I can climb up the slope.¡± ¡°The shore flattens over there,¡± Mede pointed a right arm, not wanting to take the weight and Kato tossed him a warning glare afore he started walking through the vegetation. Mosquitoes, hornets, all-manner of smaller flying bugs buzzing over his dripping helm. But it was his soaked undershirt that bothered him the most. Darn all-tickling rivulets running down the arsecrack! The mud turned to grit twenty meters later, the sound of the big river flowing on one side and the many legionnaires leveling the approach to it on the other. Kato stumbled stubbornly out of the mire on squelching boots, towards the shining armoured figures and the level ground. He spotted Baldock and Ardas hacking their way out the thick foliage and opened his mouth, teeth clogged in foul sludge, to direct them his way. The order never given as he caught out of the side of his helm¡¯s opening something moving in the shallow water. Mede jumping down the slopes behind him spotting it as well. ¡°Hah! Look at them horns!¡± The Nord guffawed, Baldock hearing him perking up from ten meters away. ¡°The deer?¡± He asked and Kato frowned at how fast the word had spread. Also because that was no deer. ¡°The fuck,¡± Mede gasped seeing the stout bovine coming out of the water, all muscle on its broad hairy chest. High convex ridge between the pointy fat at their base white horns and large vine leaves-like ears protruding on each side. ¡°Is that a cow? With a cock?¡± ¡°Haha!¡± Baldock guffawed in his turn likening their chances even more, but his friend Ardas a well-traveled Norhman, since he¡¯d been raiding stuff in the Lord Holt¡¯s Cattle Fields for years afore joining the Legion, scrunched his square jaw troubled and spat down.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°Stay still boss,¡± he warned Kato and the Decanus, in the process of getting his sword out paused to glare at him. ¡°That¡¯s a Bison Gaurus. We call it Gaur. Mean moth¡¯r fucker.¡± The large bovine came fully out of the water snorting and grunting, darn thing the size of a rhinoceros with a funnier name. ¡°Garum?¡± Kato retorted, ears plugged with soot and the Gaur raised its front leg, shook its horned cauldron-sized head and charged him. It was like seeing a huge boulder coming your way, only with horns added and hooves digging out the ground. Tyeus¡¯ ¡­ fuckstick! Kato raised his hand and flung his helm at the incoming mountain of flesh afore jumping out of the way. The helm hit the Gaur between its horns right at the ridge, half its top side flattening and then it ricocheted away with so much force it chopped off a couple of fat saplings like a misshapen cleaver. Kato saw none of that busy as he was trying to stay alive. He landed on a shoulder and a bit of head, got a muddy bug up his right ear, fresh sludge in his face, but had the presence of mind to not cry about it like a cunt. With a defiant, incoherent cry of survival instead, the Decanus jumped up sword in hand. Mede¡¯s pilum skewering the Gaur¡¯s sides after missing him by pure chance. ¡°FUCKING HOODLUM!¡± Kato bellowed nigh infuriated for almost getting killed so soon after narrowly escaping getting killed¡­argh! Shite in the blasted wine! The darn bovine turning this way and that to dislodge the javelin, Baldock and Ardas approaching it, with Salle and Osteler flanking it from the other side, shields raised. ¡°Eh,¡± Mede replied either out of excuses, or stunned witnessing the unfolding situation, just before the Gaur lowered its horns and charged again, protruding pilum be damned. Osteler stood his ground, hidden behind his shield. A brave lad. But also dumber than a bag of rocks, since the Gaur had decided to break through. Shield be damned. KAPOW! Went the exploding Scutum turning into a thousand splinters and pieces, an armless Osteler hurled six meters away, sword flying one way, helm clattering the other and whatever was left of his arm lost in a red mist and spraying bits of pulverized flesh. ¡°Shite!¡± Mede commented, the rest of the legionnaires thankfully hurling their javelins after the groaning Gaur. Kato sprinting fast after it, his left knee buckling sideways a bit on every stride and that darn watery mud soaked undergarment plastered on his genitals like a bad rash. ¡°GET IT!¡± Ardas bellowed getting his own sword out as Kato run past them. ¡°The fuck Osteler went?¡± A shocked Salle gasped next to him voice coming out funny, armour and face covered in gore, a thin wooden splinter stabbed right through his bleeding nose. Young harlot sucks cock using all her teeth, Kato thought clenching his jaw, feeling pieces of grit on his tongue, as he run after the stumbling badly injured Gaur. Most of the Maniple coming after him, as they emerged out of the thick foliage near Framtond¡¯s shores and saw their officer sprinting like a madman after the wild bison. They found another two not twenty meters later.
¡°Tie him up,¡± Dottore Marianus ordered the two nurses, a sour expression on his face. Green robes over his armour soiled with gore. ¡°We need to set his rib-cage proper, else he¡¯ll never walk straight again.¡± ¡°What about the arm,¡± Mede asked holding a piece of forearm skin and a couple of broken bloody bones in his hands. Marianus sucked on his cheek thoughtfully and got up, proceeding to wipe his hands clean with a piece of cloth. ¡°Good grief! Are you serious soldier? I don¡¯t believe he¡¯ll make it,¡± he finally said reproachfully and a chastised Mede tossed the remains away with a grimace. Kato smacked his lips and turned away, stopping near Salle who had joined with Osteler in Maza Burg before they went over Ludriver to fight the Vanzons. ¡°I¡¯ll see he gets a nice retirement,¡± he told him. ¡°He¡¯ll make it.¡± ¡°Ayup,¡± Baldock agreed and kissed a small carved figurine he¡¯d hanging under his armour. ¡°Gods keep him and us.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Kato asked brusquely and Mede who had approached them, wiped his bloody hands on his knee length baggy pants and snorted. ¡°Nothing sire,¡± Baldock replied, Ardas spurring him along. ¡°Ayup.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll get the meat ready,¡± Baldock added and a bare-headed Kato nodded letting them go. They had gotten half a ton of meat, hide and bones out the whole ordeal, for the loss of a legionnaire. It wasn¡¯t an even trade. ¡°Men look to grab on to something,¡± Mede told him and produced a similar figurine out of his own shirt. ¡°Far from home, from one fight to another. Death lurking behind every scrub, or in every waterhole.¡± ¡°Like a tit?¡± Kato retorted crooking his mouth and reached to examine the weird tiny figure. Made out of polished black granite, it depicted a naked man with the head and claws of a tiger. It was creepy as fuck. ¡°Liger Hominis Panthera Divinus,¡± Mede explained taking the figurine back. ¡°They are Lucians. It brings them luck, shields them from danger.¡± Kato stood back bewildered. ¡°Ye actually believe this shit?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t,¡± Mede admitted and then pointed at the still armless, broken but still remarkably breathing Osteler. ¡°He should have been killed outright Decanus.¡± Kato licked his lips unsure. Stooped to clean his mouth right after, coughing violently since he was caked in an inch of grime at least. ¡°Fresh cack in soup!¡± He cursed. ¡°That¡¯s bullshit Mede,¡± Kato croaked, but he wasn¡¯t as sure inside as he¡¯d been a moment ago. ¡°Gods keep him they say. Nothing of this world can best the Bloody Tiger,¡± Mede replied knowingly and slotted the figurine under his armour again under Kato¡¯s ogling and a little worried eyes. You don¡¯t want to be the only dude running around unshielded in the army. All the enemies will just focus on you. ¡°Decanus?¡± A clean-cut sergeant of engineers said approaching them stopping his deep contemplating moment, the man looking energetically right and left at the signs of struggle and the slaughtered Gaurs. One of the Lesia lads. ¡°What is it Sergeant¡­ far-grass was it?¡± Kato grunted too scramble-brained to recollect his surname. ¡°Toni Vargas,¡± the sergeant hissed, his face turning red. ¡°Is that short for Antonius? What is it with you people and jargon?¡± Kato retorted and tried to get the muck off of his face. ¡°The Prefect send me to escort you back to camp Decanus,¡± Vargas grunted looking affronted. ¡°Can it wait?¡± Kato asked not caring about his feelings, but then he realized this wasn¡¯t an invitation. Shite!
That bone-headed idiot was utterly wrong. Another fucking falsehood. ¡°A MAN WAS MAIMED FOR LIFE!¡± Durio barked in his face, the well-mannered Prefect turning into an outright cunt as the months had gone by. Kato almost lost an eye to the commander¡¯s spittle and he had to close it in a weird wink. ¡°You find it funny? Am I amusing you Decanus?¡± Durio spat again, just about ready to have him flogged to the bone. Better to bathe in the Prefect''s saliva, he decided. So keep him talking. ¡°Nothing funny about it sir!¡± Kato thundered, now in survival mode. ¡°Didn¡¯t I give you specific orders?¡± Durio grunted and eyed the hidden under his helm Mede with suspicion. ¡°Loose the helm soldier!¡± ¡°Yes sir!¡± Mede bellowed. ¡°Wait, you were there too!¡± Durio barked. ¡°You¡¯ve heard my order clearly!¡± ¡°Yes sir!¡± ¡°Well then?¡± Durio growled. ¡°We scouted the area,¡± Kato started, Durio stopping him afore he could finish. ¡°People are roasting meat over there Decanus!¡± ¡°They are sir.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not denying it then?¡± ¡°Ahm, can you restate yer query sir?¡± Kato asked not wanting to commit to an answer. ¡°YOU WENT HUNTING ABOUT!¡± ¡°Some of it is true sir!¡± ¡°ARE YOU SERIOUS?¡± ¡°We scouted near the river sir!¡± Kato retorted keeping his wits about him. ¡°Decanus I¡¯m reporting you for punishment. For disobeying an order, endangering the unit and causing bodily harm to a fellow soldier. Three months pay and a month hard labor, or a thirty lashes. I¡¯m quite lenient as I need the manpower. What will it be?¡± Fuck. ¡°We were set upon by Gaurs during the scouting mission Prefect,¡± Kato blurted out quickly. ¡°You should have let them be,¡± Durio grunted. ¡°That¡¯s not an excuse Kato!¡± ¡°No excuse sir, the order was vague is all,¡± Kato retorted. ¡°Vague? What was vague about it?¡± ¡°What if we came upon hostiles sir? We would have gone after them, I think.¡± Durio stood back with a frown. ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Kato let out a breath he was holding. ¡°Still a man was injured seriously,¡± the Prefect continued, cutting his relief short. ¡°And you are smart enough to discern between hostiles and a plaguing buffalo! Are you not?¡± ¡°He is sir,¡± Mede ¡®propped¡¯ Kato up much as he understood it, giving the glaring his way Decanus a triumphant thumbs up. ¡°Smart as a whip.¡± Oh, for all petty fucks¡¯ sake. ¡°There it is then,¡± Durio decided. ¡°Sergeant write it down, three months without pay for the Decanus.¡± ¡°Eh,¡± Mede gasped not expecting it. Kato closed his eyes waiting for the other shoe to drop. ¡°I need people to bring the cranes near the river, but what I need the most is solid rocks to use at the foundations,¡± Durio told a sweating sour faced Kato and with a stern glare at the bewildered legionnaire next to him, turned around and marched away. ¡°That was vague again right? The Prefect has to work on that a bit,¡± Mede commented a silent moment later, the smell of roasting meat and Osteler¡¯s groans of pain reaching them. ¡°We¡¯re on rock finding duty,¡± Kato grunted and it took his all, not to punch the Northman¡¯s face. ¡°We?¡± ¡°Yes Mede,¡± Kato retorted with an evil smirk. ¡°Yer helping.¡±
-Third month of summer- Day 97 The west bank of the river Framtond
¡°Get the ferry out of the bloody water!¡± Kato bellowed, skin burned to a crisp, veins popping and muscles covering his soaked body after a month of hefting and carrying small boulders down the slopes for the crews to use. ¡°Pull at the rope you cunts!¡± The wagons did all of the carrying truth be told, but it was the finding, extracting and loading that did you in. Lest not forget unloading as well. Another beauty. He pulled at the rough rope, darn thing cutting through his leather gloves like knife, the massive raft with the heavy crane attached to it dancing at the current, the portion of the raised foundations as much help as a danger for the cumbersome vessel. The long lines securing it to the constructed part of the bridge that reached mid-river, taut and lethal to the crews on the other side if they failed. Three more cranes were working without stop, lowering big cut boulders on both sides of each ten meter in length support, though only the two meters at the top stood above the river¡¯s current. The floor of the bridge not yet laid, although the timber had been cut already and piled on the other side next to their camp. It would raise the final structure another couple of meters, arranged in three layers, but in the winter once the rains came, Framtond¡¯s levels will rise and spill out, cover the bridge and make it unsafe to cross. Whether it would stand firm for a year, or ten, impossible to tell and the only way to be sure is to use good quality stone Durio preached, like they had done in Asturia. But they had to finish as soon as possible and open that second route towards Cartagen and Regia. Lord Holt¡¯s crews were finishing the Tunnel Pass, another road coming from the Green Plains, but the plains anchored by the city of Islandport could be disputed territory on the morrow, their link to the capital severed. The Legatus wants the road opened and kept until the Legion is here, Durio had told them, totally consumed with the task to the point of obsession. Whatever he has left unfinished on the other side of the river, Kato thought hefting with all his strength at the rope, fifty men doing the same near him, haunts him in his sleep and in his wake.
That night with the Crane unloaded on the west bank and the exhausted men of his maniple sleeping where they had dropped after their brief supper, Kato dreamed of the familiar green fields at the edge of the Alden Desert. The road between Serpent¡¯s Tongue and Wayford Rivers. Between Riverdor and Badum. A great host of crimson legionnaires present, but also half-breeds amongst them and a multitude of banners billowing in the Small Plains breeze coming from the lake. The mighty castle burning behind them. Here they were, some he knew like the snarling tigers of the Legions, the Fair Lady and God¡¯s Peak. The swords over rock and sea. The black squids and the wolf-banners. The Legatus outside the tightly packed formations clad in splendid Alden red plate, legion fashioned helm on his head, its fiercely red crest as striking as his dark-grey spotted horse. Some he didn¡¯t recognize. Kato wasn¡¯t a learned man. Only two banners were visible across the field. The smaller force and arms completely alien to him. One banner he¡¯d heard about with its skulls and bones and another he¡¯d never seen before. All black with a rim of gold at its edges, a red beast at its center. The beast Kato knew and in his dream he felt it shading the army. ¡®The better to fight Centurion,¡± a nose-less, horrifically scarred Mede told him resting relaxed on his right side and the witch standing just outside their ranks five meters away heard them, despite the murmurs of thousands of men gasping in awe all around them and cast her ancient eyes on Kato piercing his soul. He literally felt nimble long fingers touching his face. ¡®You handsome boys shall not fight at this time,¡± she told them, just as the black clad soldiers across from them cried out abruptly with a mighty voice, answering the beast¡¯s terrifying shriek and Kato hoped the stupid alien cunt was right. The Witch beamed a gnarly smile as if she could hear his thoughts, which was weird since Kato was thinking inside a dream and raised a dainty hand holding a very thin golden thread looped at his feet. Her lips blew air out, the smile disconcerting and a little flirty and her singing words reached the Decanus in his stupor. ¡®But you¡¯ll fight today warrior. Don¡¯t die afore we meet brave Kato. This wasn¡¯t your revelation. You just peeked through the cracks.¡¯
Kato cracked an eye open, the sudden breeze chilling his bones and listened to the morning sounds. The sun still hidden behind the mountains in the east, the river''s noise as loud as he remembered it and the damp heat suffocating. He was drenched in sweat. ¡°Mede,¡± Kato croaked getting up and gave the sleeping legionnaire a kick. ¡°Has the scout patrol returned?¡± ¡°Mmm. Uh?¡± Gods darnit. Kato shivered all over spooked, from his toes to the lasts strands of hairs on his head. ¡°Ardas!¡± Kato growled and reached for his armour and weapons. ¡°Get your arse up. Wake up Baldock, Salle and the others.¡± ¡°What¡¯s got in to you?¡± Mede murmured and got up with a yawn, cock dangling as the Nords slept in the nude, the southern summer heat impossible to bear. Wait until you boys reach the coast, Kato thought and patted the legionnaire¡¯s arm. ¡°Get dressed.¡± ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake Decanus,¡± Mede griped and stooped to get his things. ¡°You have another one of those figurines?¡± Kato probed and watched the men slowly getting up, but for the six sentries of the morning shift. ¡°Sure,¡± Mede replied. ¡°Now ye have me worried! Bad dream?¡± ¡°Not for you,¡± Kato retorted readily with a last glance at the men gathering. There were a lot of familiar faces missing in that plaguing dream. His answer only partially true far as the unscarred Mede was concerned as well.
Centurion Kaeso¡¯s very advanced scouting parties beyond the river finally returned almost a hundred days into Durio¡¯s expedition and brought them word of another bridge under construction eight kilometers south of their position and on the river¡¯s west leg. ¡®Half a bridge¡¯, the tired Legio Ranger reported to a shocked ¡®acting Prefect¡¯ Durio. ¡®Has already being built over one of the two smaller tributaries. There are over five hundred wagons coming down from the mountain pass.¡¯ Lesia was going to sneakily cross further back than the spot Lucius had anticipated. Through the unguarded River Groin so as to avoid the hunter created paths coming from Croton. A gravely worried Durio sent word to Anorum immediately, but Lucius was visiting Asturia and the missive lost another four days afore it reached him in a very inopportune moment. The Third Legion marched immediately despite the sensitive political situation of that summer, to reinforce Durio who found himself with too big a task at hand. In Lucius¡¯ clearly defined priorities saving the army came first, even above his own personal, or political complications. Then again without the army there was neither a kingdom, nor a future and Lucius knew that. No Lucius, or his friends. No Faye, or Roderick. No Regia. This oath he just couldn¡¯t break.
Lord Sirio Veturius The Fall of Heroes Chapter II (Lord Lucius Alden, -also addressed- Legatus Augustus, Praetor Maximus Southern campaigns, Fourth & Fifth year Volume VIII-IX-X Section subtitle Bridge at the River¡¯s Groin -Prelude to the First Battle of Storm¡¯s Rest- VIII ¡®The Maiden¡¯s War¡¯, the prelude to the ¡®Mayhem at Serene River¡¯ & the Hag of the Fenlands. IX the long bigger and smaller battles before and after ¡®Storm¡¯s Rest¡¯ that kick-started the ¡®Eighteen Months¡¯ offensive. Summer 192- winter 193-194 NC)
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 314. None, but the Fair Lady tolerates it (1/3)
Lucius, Red Faye and ¡®Bloody Third¡¯ enter the city and received by undulating crowds - Slightly inaccurate large carved marble relief over the East Gates of Asturia Commissioned by its wealthy Mayor, Domitian Sidon Circa 193
Praetor Lucius Alden None, but the Fair Lady tolerates it Part I -The Firstborn-
-Right click on map to open fully- A day after they left behind Foxville, more than two after they crossed the bridge over the River Ruinal and left behind the dour walls of Whitetiger, Lucius¡¯ large entourage saw a mouldy giant head appearing out of the morning mist. The massive lake¡¯s shores on their right making the heat of summer mildly tolerable in the day, but when nightfall came the chill and humidity reached one¡¯s bones. Lucius pulled at Stormbolt¡¯s reins, the loyal destrier snorting in protest and he had to pat its black mane with a gloved hand as an apology. The familiar sight of Ebenezer¡¯s head had brought a wave of emotion on the homesick general so strong, he had paused abruptly to collect himself. With a few stoic though notable exceptions most of the men and women escorting him murmured either deeply moved upon witnessing Asturia¡¯s famous landmark, or shocked regarding it for the first time. A young nurse from Ludr fainting outright and collapsing on her feet, until they carried her to the wagons in the middle of their long procession. First Cohort¡¯s, Second Century following after Lucius group, led by Centurion Marcus Antonius Merenda, the rest of Primus Pilus Simon Gata¡¯s First Cohort with the Third Legion and Tribune Veturius in Anorum, but for the First Maniple that was with ¡®Prefect¡¯ Durio ¡®hopefully¡¯ at the other edge of Framtond by now. Logan ¡®Gray¡¯ Barret, Layton and their Northmen brought up the rear after the six wagons and the carriage with Roderick, Lord Pryor, his wife and their armed Anorum escort. Almost three hundred men in total. A clad in dark red leather armour Faye, both her swords strapped on her back broke out of the group marching slowly up the wide cobblestone road and cantered towards him, back kept straight on the saddle, long red hair billowing behind her, the overwhelming majority of the soldiers cheering seeing the warrior woman pass them by. The Bloody Third loved Faye almost as much as it did its Legatus. Lucius brought his left hand up and loosened the leather fastenings of his polished steel and bronze helm, then removed it and placed the engraved tiger¡¯s head on the saddle¡¯s pommel. He used his right hand¡¯s fingers to push his long black hair back and smiled at a proud Faye showing off her graceful riding skills. There was no denying his wife¡¯s talent in sword and horse, Lucius thought and heard First Prefect Trupo ordering a booming general halt, after seeing the Legatus had stopped himself. ¡°There¡¯s a scary giant lurking behind the walls Alden,¡± Faye said bringing her chestnut mare near a snorting very annoyed Stormbolt. ¡°Reckon I should ride in there and slay him dead.¡± Ha-ha. Framtond faces the Valkyrie that¡¯s a story worth reading about, he thought. ¡°Perhaps you should have taken the dress Lady Anne offered,¡± Lucius commented with a smile seeing her fierce expression. ¡°I took it,¡± Faye replied shamelessly, raising a crimson brow. ¡°Put it in a box wit the winter blankets. I¡¯ve cleaned my good armor for the occasion. Fixed the blades proper.¡± ¡°I can see that.¡± ¡°It¡¯s who I am Lucius,¡± Faye reminded him with a scowl, although he knew that also. ¡°And I love you for it Red,¡± Lucius replied honestly and reached to cup her flushed face. ¡°Will they love me as well?¡± ¡°They better do.¡± ¡°Eh, I don¡¯t care either way,¡± she replied and glanced at the men watching them to hide the small lie. ¡°I¡¯ll kiss my Legatus!¡± Faye announced hoarsely. ¡°Want no funny shit, or sounds!¡± she warned them, then stooped to grab Lucius¡¯ messy head and bring him closer. Faye smelled of milk and honey, dry leather, gritty sharpening oil and horse. Plenty of funny sounds and lots of whistling came from the soldiers, forcing a smiling Merenda to bark them down. ¡°Cut the bullshit ye cunts!¡± The Centurion bellowed whilst Lucius kissed his wife. ¡°Else ye all are sprinting to the gates! That¡¯s right! See if I¡¯m jesting, I dare ye!¡± ¡°Will you ride with us Lady Faye?¡± Lucius asked when she let go of his mouth. ¡°I¡¯ll ride with you until my last day,¡± Faye retorted and brought two fingers to her mouth to whistle loudly for the procession to move forward again. The northeast port gates of Asturia looming behind its busy docks. ¡°Praetor?¡± Trupo asked scratching his freshly shaven beard. He¡¯d left the thick blond mustache untouched, curved tips protruding bellow his tied cheek-guards, but had worked on his armour with enthusiasm. Each man adding small details as the years went by, either to cover up much needed repairs, or to commemorate personal moments during the long campaign. Trupo had a pattern of vine leaves carved on the seams as a nod to his estranged family, though either due to the crafter¡¯s lack of skill, or utter ignorance, Lucius thought they looked more like palm leaves. ¡°Get us going mister Varus,¡± Lucius replied with a smile. ¡°You heard the Lady.¡±
Inside the ramparts and fortifications Decius the Second had built Asturia proper grew. It spread westwards afore the central square, from Tyeus Tower to the river¡¯s mouth on the northwest corner where another guardtower stood and the southeast corner near the main gates facing the river. It touched the base of the walls there and then spilled out of the smaller south gates and the second guardtower. The ground there prone to flooding made the citizens turn their sights on the other side of the walls to the northeast and the port. Since the Duke¡¯s Palace had claimed the grounds inside that side of the walls and the lake¡¯s shores, the city buildings poured outside the fortifications. The small port turned into another attached town and to the south of the northern road leading inside the city another district had sprang with time, with houses constructed to the edge of the Lake Wall, overlooking Asturia¡¯s Forest and hugging the sloped harsh drops of the old abandoned now overrun quarry. Lucius¡¯ procession marched through the port-side gates, the port-district houses smaller near the lake, larger towards the slopes. Mostly out of white stone like the walls, with red tiled roofs and minimum two stories. Taller buildings started behind the gates, up to four stories high, typical Lorian villas on the side of the walls facing the lake¡¯s shores and some even erected outside of the Coast District Gates, roomy with internal yards and sculpted marble fa?ades one could rent for the summer, but most were purchased from rich noble families as a permanent vacation home. The alleys between these villas, all leading to the beach, named after their most famous owners. The Alden Street, where Lucius¡¯ family owned a lovely large villa, across Lord Holt¡¯s luxurious though ancient summer residence. The Lesia Corner where the wine barons and the Davenports had bought themselves a spot near Canlita¡¯s white pebbled beaches. Each villa ridiculously one-upping the other with Riveras¡¯ having a large pool built at its center and Napoli constructing a hanging-garden at its flat rooftop for his pet wolves. The sadly howling each night wolves died out or were secretly poisoned, the pool iced over during the winter and as the Coast District¡¯s allure enticed more noble houses, even austere Issirs, eventually the craziness calmed down. It was years since the howl of a direwolf was heard inside the walls of the city. A large nearby seashore tavern having the name of all of them -mostly to avoid the headache- was the most important spot of that part of Asturia. Each Baron putting his name first when offering a night out to their loftier guests. Riveras, Napoli and Trupo. Or Faro, Sava and Sartor if one went by their respective town-sized estate names bordering Flauegran. There thirty years ago, almost thirty two to be exact, King Alistair had met young Lady Vacia Davenport, Lucius mother. Late in the season with the summer¡¯s last month fast approaching, the city bristling with visitors from all sides of the realm and the prospect of another of Asturia¡¯s Bacchanalia at the gates bothering the more guarded Lorians of the Lesia coast, King Davenport¡¯s late father decided to take his teenage sons and daughters and leave while he still could. The journey back taking him through Sovya, with a ship waiting for them at the distant Kadrek. The young King Alistair¡¯s guards, the King carrying the sword Lucius had with him stopped the Lesia procession at the same gates his son had just crossed and demanded a bewildered Vacia¡¯s hand instead of Nike¡¯s, the older sister he¡¯d just refused to even consider earlier that month.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡®For political reasons I¡¯ve given them nigh hard a bargain¡¯, the late King Alistair liked to boast to his two older sons with their mother shaking her lovely head from her spot near the fireplace, but Lucius knew that decision his father had taken with his heart.
People had started gathering from the nearby markets seeing the legionnaires marching down the large main street leading to the palace grounds. The city guard got overwhelmed not expecting the large crowd. Whether it was Lucius¡¯ sudden approach, or just a case of this being a lethargic post without excitement they lost control of the people. It must be noted that even if they hadn¡¯t been, the numbers weren¡¯t in their favor. The nearby roads and alleys were soon swarmed with Asturians of all ages. The unruly crowd¡¯s noise increasing and despite the arriving from other postings guards¡¯ best efforts to clear their way, their pace crawled to a stop. The noise increasing as more and more people pressed on to see what was going on and those nearer commenting on what they were seeing for those behind them. Some speculating, others being surer in their conviction. Even disagreeing. ¡°That¡¯s the Alden banners. Allfather as me witness!¡± A young merchant boomed. ¡°The King storms the city?¡± A young lad with a tricorn hat gasped. ¡°What did that fool say?¡± An older woman with a bigger hat responded. ¡°No they aren¡¯t, you¡¯re mistaken!¡± A man with a brown mustache that rivaled Trupo¡¯s argued irate, though it was unclear with whom. ¡°That¡¯s Lucius, Silvanus don¡¯t be an idiot!¡± The merchant berated the man with the mustache. ¡°Ayup, that¡¯s him alright,¡± an older head with adventurer¡¯s eyes assured them smoking his pipe, as more and more curious citizens arrived to see for themselves. ¡°That¡¯s his horse and Regia¡¯s blade. Saw him leaving through them gates back in eighty eight.¡± His words spreading about and people cheering happy the Heir¡¯s name, until a constipated, sour-faced man pointed a finger further back. ¡°Is that a giant Nord? Cock in arse!¡± Damnit. An alarmed Lucius twisted on the saddle and eyed Prefect Trupo¡¯s excited face. Trupo¡¯s excitement turning to worry immediately. ¡°Protect the flanks,¡± Lucius ordered him soberly. ¡°Place the Nords in the center with the wagons. Get Lord Pryor out here and guard Roderick!¡± ¡°Merenda spread ¡®em out!¡± Trupo barked, over the increasing murmurs of excitement, the crowd easily in the hundreds and Lucius could hear the bells ringing at Tyeus Tower rousing the large city, responding to those in the palace and the two large guardtowers near the river answering them in the distance. Ebenezer¡¯s creepily smirking face now only a couple of kilometers away. ¡°Single file! Keep the crowd away.¡± ¡°RAISE SHIELDS!¡± Merenda boomed and the crowd¡¯s buzz turned different. There were cheers aplenty and exultation at Lucius¡¯ arrival, but also disbelief and even anger at the armed Northmen strolling down Asturian¡¯s streets. Soon many spotted the armed Faye riding next to Lucius and attempted to push through. The legionnaires shoved them back with excessive force. Whether their intentions were to approach Lucius in a friendly manner or not, Merenda couldn¡¯t risk it and ordered the soldiers to clear the main street, then break through to the palace¡¯s moat bridge, creating a hollow square formation the bottom side guarded by Barret¡¯s Northmen.
Lucius slotted the helm on his head and turned Stormbolt about, the warhorse rearing on its hind legs with an angry neigh that scared Faye¡¯s mare, the roar of the crowd turning wild. Trupo waved his arms at the confused people at the back and the angry citizens getting shoved aside by the soldiers at the front, but while yelling as loud as he could, no one could hear anything in the uproar. Merenda raised his fist and then lowered it abruptly, the legionnaires starting their slow deliberate march towards the moat bridge through the crowd blocking them. Overwhelmed city guards amongst them trying to keep order and failing. Lucius grabbed Faye¡¯s elbow to stop her from drawing her sword and then cantered towards the back of the surrounded formation towards the wagons and Logan¡¯s Northmen. ¡°No weapons!¡± Lucius barked at the mute warrior and Logan showed him his teeth in a wolfish snarl. ¡°I mean it Logan!¡± Lucius warned him and jumped from his horse to talk with Lord Pryor and his wife. Lady Anne had little Roderick in her arms. ¡°Good grief my lord,¡± Lord Pryor said, a short heavy set man in his fifties. ¡°Is it the festival already?¡± ¡°Silly goose,¡± Lady Anne told him with a carefree smile. ¡°Of course it isn¡¯t!¡± ¡°Lady Anne is correct,¡± Lucius agreed forcing himself to be as civil as possible. ¡°You need to be seen Baron. Calm down the crowd.¡± ¡°Of course, of course,¡± Lord Pryor replied with a nod and looked at their carriage. ¡°Ahm, do I climb over the top, or¡­?¡± he trailed unsure. The carriage was his meaning. ¡°Faye, I need your mare!¡± Lucius decided and jumped lithely on the saddle. ¡°Don¡¯t sulk yer pretty face, you ride with me. Lord Pryor, if you be so kind,¡± he said turning to the confused Baron of Anorum. Lady Anne slapped his arm to goad him along, Roderick still in her arms trying to kick him with both small feet but failing. Lord Pryor managed to get on the saddle, Faye jumping up behind Lucius with a fierce smile and the Legatus waited until an excited Lady Anne had returned in the carriage, a Decanus climbing inside after her, afore turning to glance at his wife. ¡°You¡¯re smiling?¡± he queried confused and followed after a clumsily bobbing up and down her horse Lord Pryor to the front of the slow moving square. ¡°This I understand,¡± she replied wrapping her arms around his torso. ¡°Plus it reminds me of Montfoot.¡± ¡°We were fighting for our lives then!¡± Lucius bemoaned at her dreamy expression, Lord Pryor waving his arms trying to calm down the crowd. ¡°Mmm,¡± Faye agreed. ¡°Exactly.¡±
Auspiciously Lord Holt¡¯s guards arrived, the large force led by Titus Virilis, not long after. They managed to break them out of the clutches of the crowd and into the palace grounds two hours later. Mayor Domitian Sidon flooded the city with criers soon after, sent Heralds to all Districts of the city and even hijacked the Adventurer Guild¡¯s boards paying out of his own pocket, in order to spread the news and restore order. Again fortunately no one was killed during the uproar, but sixty citizens and six guards had to be hospitalized for a while.
Lucius gave Gripa his helm, the excitement of their entrance slowly dissipating, as they waited for Hostus Clarus, the Herald he had released a month back, to usher them inside Lord Holt¡¯s main hall. The massive walled estate a small village unto its own, with the main hall¡¯s four story building situated near the side of the walls facing the Lake surrounded by a forest sized rich garden on both sides. ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± Faye asked him, her hair caught at the nape with a simple knot, pointing at one of the two large marble statuses standing afore the entrance. ¡°Lord Decius Hortulanus,¡± Lucius replied and used a cloth to clean his face as best he could. ¡°He constructed the river part of the wall.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s the other guy?¡± Faye asked with a nod. ¡°Lord Decius, the second,¡± Lucius replied with a glance at her flushed but clean face. ¡°He built¡­ the rest of the walls, I suppose. Much of the city and the¡­ garden we''ve just crossed.¡± ¡°He built all this?¡± Faye guffawed. ¡°That¡¯s the biggest city I¡¯ve ever seen! Fuck!¡± ¡°Not by himself,¡± Lucius replied with a grimace and tensed up, when the doors opened. Lord Holt¡¯s throne room coming to view, its walls depicting the diverse personalities of the many Lords of Asturia. The banners and coat of arms that Lord Hunter Holt valued. The reliefs and engraved marble columns, the expertly chiseled large windows his ancestors had built. The wealth of the city displayed in the quality of the furniture and massive bronze chandeliers, the rosy marble floor and the large silver and gold statue of Naossis holding a disk with a miniature old Asturia in her hands, standing tall behind the polished marble modest-size throne. Nothing vulgar, or excessive in the surroundings, but for the bare-breasted youthful-looking Goddess that is. ¡°Are all cities like that in Regia?¡± Faye asked, sounding impressed and Lord Holt clad in his father¡¯s legion-fashioned armour got up from the throne. ¡°No city is like Asturia,¡± Lucius admitted and walked inside the hall, the much older than he remembered him white-haired Lord Holt rushing to meet the Legatus halfway, his wrinkled face scrunched up and his familiar clear-blue eyes having a strange luster in them. ¡°Praetor Maximus, Lord of Greater Kas and the northern territories, Legatus Augustus of the third and fourth Legions, Sir Lucius Alden,¡± Clarus started reading from his scroll under Ramirus¡¯ severe scrutiny, a sweaty Sirio Veturius standing next to the LID officer with a sense of awe on his youthful face, oiled black hair tightly combed back on his head and eyes wide open as if not to miss anything. ¡°Eh, you¡¯ve left the best part out,¡± Lord Holt cut Clarus off curtly and eyed Lucius moved, afore grabbing the numb Legatus in a tight bear hug. He patted Lucius broad back fondly a couple of times and then pulled away, his eyes turning back to stay on the Lords and the rest of his family standing near his throne afore he addressed them. With Lady Anne behind Lucius and next to her husband, all living children of Lord Holt were present. But for one.
¡®That¡¯s Alistair¡¯s son,¡¯ the Duke of Asturia declared inside his courtroom. ¡®His firstborn. The true heir to the throne of Regia. We may agree, or disagree with him on the morrow, but this fact no mortal shall dispute in my presence. And he¡¯ll be addressed by no other name in Asturia.¡¯ Lord Sirio Veturius The Fall of Heroes Chapter II Unpublished, Addendum, Notes & Transcripts Subchapter Numbered *A14 Asturia-Two and a half months Lord Lucius Alden, -Also addressed- [sic] Legatus Augustus omnis legionis, Praetor Maximus, High Dictat of the Triads (3 seas & 3 gulfs), King of Greater Regia, Liger Hominis Panthera Divinus (after deification)
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 315. None, but the Fair Lady tolerates it (2/3) - All doors are open for the Fair Lady All lustful hours of the day and all veiled calls of each night. - (Common Priestess'' greeting & old hymn to Naossis Also the Goddess'' own words when she roused Abrakas from his slumber) Depth''s Hymns verse 1E:6 found in the Library Valeria, Academy of Senses -
Last day of Summer (2nd Bacchanalia) Early morning, The year of the New Calendar 58 Tenth into the reign of Duke Rupert I ¡®the Violent¡¯ of Asturia Dubrot snapped his huge head his way, reddish brown hair fully dried up by the summer sun and lack of proper sleep ¨Cas in a bed- now swollen like a wiry bush and not helping the dwarf appear any less thick. He boomed ¨Cthe thick dwarf did- hard as he could seeing the distant riders coming towards them from the coast road. ¡°FUCKING BUG-EYED KID! IDIOT!¡± ¡°What?¡± Valwarin protested, not believing he was to blame for losing their only horse. He turned to his friend, the whistling a catchy tune Ebenezer -the older teenager much taller than him, for support. Receiving none per usual. ¡°It¡¯s yer fault, for selling the other,¡± Ebenezer told him matter-of-factly and glanced back to gauge the distance from their pursuers. ¡°I made a deal!¡± Dominique protested furiously spittle flying out of his mouth. ¡°I got myself a lute!¡± ¡°FUCK YE NEED THAT FOR!¡± The dwarf bellowed tipping his head back, almost toppling backwards on the hard cobblestone. ¡°YE CAN PLAY FUCK ALL! BUFFOON!¡± ¡°That¡¯s not true! Ebenezer tell him!¡± Valwarin croaked hurt. His friend scrunched his nose first, light green eyes narrowing and then glanced the other way to the river, still a good hundred meters away. The bridge crews resting for the day and across the river already. ¡°Sorry mate, you suck¡­¡± Framtond started, but paused seeing tears running down his eyes and sighed once deep before adding. ¡°At notes, but that is how they all start.¡± ¡°They do? THEY DO!¡± Valwarin snarled at the sweaty dwarf, the latter huffing and puffing seeing the riders approaching. ¡°Ebenezer, if they catch us with the sword, we¡¯re dead meat. The roadkill variant,¡± he grunted ever the pessimist, extending his short arm to show the glaring him Dominique a stubby, very fat, middle finger. ¡°Don¡¯t I look like man that can own an Imperial blade?¡± Ebenezer queried waggling his bushy eyebrows. ¡°No, ye don¡¯t,¡± Dubrot Snowguard retorted, ever the truth teller. ¡°But ye do look like a hoodlum. So do wit that what you want.¡± ¡°And I shall my short angry friend. You¡¯ll stall them for a bit,¡± Ebenezer decided assuming his haughty pseudo-didactic manner, a sign he already had a plan -since Eb was always a quick thinker at least that was what a staring him in utter awe Valwarin thought. ¡°And I¡¯ll sprint to the Thieves Guild to unload it to Eight for a pretty penny.¡± ¡°How are ye gonna do that?¡± Dubrot asked, although he should have queried first on the how a thirteen year old up-and-coming bard and a shortish¡­ well, dwarf¡­ were going to stall Mercator¡¯s men. All ten of them. ¡°No boating across without coin. Do ye have coin?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll use the supports. Just give me a couple of¡­ hours tops,¡± Framtond declared and caught them both unawares. ¡°I¡¯m good at jumping as long as that. Tis nothing. All ye need is proper speed.¡± The first truth coming out of his friend¡¯s mouth in two whole weeks. The last being that he needed to take a shit. In his sleep. Anyway Ebenezer was faster than most. He could jump higher and longer than anyone else and despite how it sounded, his longtime friend could see in the pitch black the blacksmith¡¯s wife sleeping on the balcony when it was too hot. In the nude. Ebenezer had kept Framtond¡¯s ¡®accurate¡¯ drawing of her tits in his back pocket like a treasure. They buried him with it and the Gish¡¯s ivory pipe. And so over the river Ebenezer went and gave its now famed bridge his name. A couple of decades later another much mellower Duke named the river after him as well, since the old name was weird for the flocking tourists to pronounce and ¡®not good for business.¡¯ The new name strangely an old archaic phrase meaning ¡®across a level surface¡¯, or ¡®water¡¯ and most times than not, ¡®across a river¡¯. Or a lake.
Praetor Lucius Alden None, but the Fair Lady tolerates it Part II -No such thing, as a perfect plan-
-Right click on map to open fully- Here goes, Lucius thought nervously, suddenly fearful of all the small, or big details he¡¯d missed. All that he had forgotten and the always treacherous foe that was nostalgia. Henceforth everything is statesmanship. Let them talk first. Lord Holt beating him to it, the Duke¡¯s face revealing nothing, when his eyes settled on Faye. But settled they had. ¡°My wife, Lady Faye Alden,¡± Lucius was forced to introduce her, Lord Holt offering an appreciative nod, probably in response to hers. Faye wouldn¡¯t perform a curtsy for no man, or woman. ¡°Greetings Duke Holt,¡± Faye said surprising him. ¡°Yours is the biggest city I¡¯ve ever seen.¡± Eh. ¡°I serve her,¡± Hunter Holt replied with a small smile. ¡°Asturia was here afore me and thus it shall remain long after I breathe my last,¡± Alright I get it old bones, Lucius thought. ¡°You¡¯re not from Sovya,¡± Lord Holt added casually. ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± Faye replied and Lucius thought about interrupting them, but then that would have shown everyone he didn¡¯t trust her to speak her peace, which anyway they could barely tolerate on a Lorian woman anyway, much less a barbarian and Lucius didn¡¯t want them to think he was of the same mind. All he ruled over for now, was northern cities and peoples. ¡°Was born beyond the Great Ol¡¯ River,¡± Faye had answered the old Duke and he¡¯d nodded attentively in response. ¡°I fought for and against Valkyries in my youth,¡± he told her reminiscing. ¡°Ye must be a good warrior, if yer still here,¡± Faye retorted and Lucius glanced her way to stop her but his wife was on a roll. ¡°Or they were shit. Not everything wit tits can wield a blade proper.¡± Rupert found it hilarious and chuckled aloud from his spot. Lord Holt taking it in stride and turning to Lucius. ¡°Perhaps we allow the Ladies a respite, while we delve into old and current news,¡± he told him. ¡°Anne could show Lady Faye the gardens. The shade is lovely and the view best be divine for what I¡¯m paying for it.¡± Another row of laughter came, mainly from Trupo and Rupert, Bernard forcing a smile on his narrow face, the younger man wound up alike a coil. Is it the business with his Herald? Lucius wondered. Bernard was left running the city while Lord Holt had been away the previous years. ¡°Father I¡¯d like to see my sister Goddess willing,¡± Lady Anne replied her tone measured, clad in her yellow and light blue summer dress and looking younger than her years. She was five years older than Lucius, but didn¡¯t show it at all. Lord Holt¡¯s second child from his first wife. The much older Sir Marcus killed rushing the walls of Yepehir. One of the finest knights a young Lucius had ever seen competing in the tourneys, up there with the Iron Griffin and solemn Sir Emerson Lennox. ¡°Take her along to the gardens with Lady Faye, if she¡¯s willing to endure the stroll.¡± ¡°Not at this time,¡± Lord Holt replied brusquely and Lady Anne bit her lip, afore nodding. ¡°Lady Faye?¡± she asked Lucius wife. ¡°A walk in the woods?¡± she queried unsure. ¡°Well,¡± Lord Holt grunted, something bothering him. ¡°I thought it the more interesting activity. Visiting the city is perhaps premature until the crowd calms down and we only have stables, barracks and the armory as options here, unless you¡¯d like to be shown the palace, or gods forbid the dungeons.¡± Lucius cleared his throat looking at the thoughtful Faye considering her options. ¡°I¡¯m willing to show you everything dear Faye,¡± Lady Anne assured her in a friendly manner. Being older than everyone else, Anne always tried to mediate over the rest of the unruly noble scions during their vacations. It was said the Van Durren of Badum had tried twice to entice Lord Holt with marriage proposals, but either because she didn¡¯t want to live across the pond, marry an Uher-loving Issir, or some other reason a young Lucius never bothered to learn, Anne had stayed in Regia and but for Lord Doris¡¯ timely intervention she¡¯d have married his father. Perhaps that was the reason for marrying her late, he thought feeling a little awkward putting it together after all those years. ¡°I haven¡¯t the chance to visit home in years,¡± she finished in her refined Common. ¡°I want to see the armory,¡± Faye decided and Lady Anne blinked in a state of mild shock, her ¡®everything¡¯ not including it probably, but she recovered quickly, smiled at her father, paused to stare austerely at her two brothers grinning , but keeping their distance and then added with a deep sigh. Oh, sweet Red, Lucius thought, but couldn¡¯t fault her. ¡°I guess, I¡¯ll see the armory as well,¡± Anne said. ¡°There is always the first time for everything. Father, Lord Alden, Baron Draco, Rupert, Bernard, it was a pleasure¡­ we shall see each other later hopefully.¡± ¡°I shall escort the ladies my lords. After all the tumult, sightseeing sounds rather enticing,¡± Lord Pryor assured them, Lord Holt adding nonchalantly. ¡°Sir Battas shall come with you just the same.¡± ¡°Milord,¡± the unseen knight said and with another series of curtly greetings, they walked outside. Logan would probably follow after Faye, so Lucius didn¡¯t worry about that part. The awkward silence following her departure along Lord Pryor and his wife telling.
Lord Holt showed them to a marble table with similarly carved marble chairs located on the right side of Naossis statue. ¡°Let¡¯s us have a drink with Lucius,¡± he said. ¡°I know we have current matters to discuss, but I want to catch up with Lord Heir.¡± Lucius agreed with a nod and sat across from Lord Holt, the old Duke taking his place at the head. His sons sitting on either side, aged Lord Draco next to Sir Rupert, Trupo and Ramirez sitting closer to Lucius. ¡°Young man,¡± Lord Holt told Sirio. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind sitting at the scribe¡¯s spot,¡± he pointed at the small table behind the large statue. ¡°It¡¯s empty.¡± ¡°Of course my Lord,¡± Sirio said quickly, his sweaty face shining in the light coming from the open windows. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Holt stopped him. ¡°Your face looks familiar.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Sirio Veturius, Centurion Ramirus¡¯ assistant,¡± Sirio replied quickly, a slight tremble in his voice. Lord Holt glanced at Lucius amused. ¡°Galio¡¯s son? I¡¯m shocked he found time to get married. Never left the camp when I was there.¡± He still doesn¡¯t. Only Tribune willing to assign himself patrol duty when the numbers come up short. Galio would just wither away if they took the army away from him. ¡°His sister¡¯s kid,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°Where¡¯s that old boot? Haven¡¯t seen his sour mug in years.¡± ¡°Back in Anorum,¡± Lucius replied, Sirio moving his weight nervously from one leg to the other, breathing heavy and looking guilty as all hells. ¡°Didn¡¯t have the legs to come visit?¡± ¡°He sends his regards Lord Holt,¡± Lucius said. ¡°But I ordered him to take care of the Legion in my absence.¡± ¡°Solid officer material,¡± Lord Holt agreed, then grimaced. ¡°Would have promoted him myself, but his is a politically unsafe name,¡± he finished staring at the uncomfortable Sirio. ¡°Grab that bottle afore sitting down my lad and bring it here. Pour a cup for yourself, don¡¯t worry I¡¯ve plenty. You probably need it more than anyone else in here.¡± ¡°Haha,¡± Rupert chuckled. ¡°Seems like it!¡± ¡°Not the time to be the fool,¡± Lord Holt warned him. ¡°Open your ears. Both of you.¡± Lucius stood back on the hard, uncomfortable, but cold chair. ¡°You know more than me Lord Holt,¡± he said opening his arms afore placing them on the shorter than usual, but well-crafted table. ¡°I was with your father until the end,¡± Holt told him, wrinkled mouth scrunching this way and that. ¡°Fought like hell to pull through, but the damage was too great. Messed up his innards. Eh, riding and fighting didn¡¯t help.¡± ¡°Who did it?¡± Lucius asked. ¡°A Centurion of the First, Lord Ursus cousin. Distant, probably a legitimized bastard from that actress his uncle was fooling around with¡­ eh, it¡¯s an old story,¡± Holt said seeing Lucius¡¯ stare. ¡°Came up behind him during a break in the talks afore the south gates. We were trying to negotiate with the guards, Alistair wanted to get out of Riverdor.¡± ¡°Did Ursus order it?¡± ¡°There¡¯s suspicion, but we can¡¯t be sure. There was dislike sure,¡± Holt replied. ¡°They had that dispute about the High Baronship. Alistair should have just given him the title in hindsight. But he didn¡¯t like the man, or his family. He could have acted alone, but I don¡¯t believe it.¡± ¡°What did Jeremy do?¡± Lucius grunted, since he was of the same opinion. ¡°Made him a Duke, but it wasn¡¯t his decision, I¡¯m willing to wager on it. I don¡¯t think he has any control of the other lords and I¡¯m not sure he can handle Scaldingport or his Issir wife. They have army in Sabretooth and Alden. Heavy cavalry.¡± ¡°Was Scaldingport involved?¡± Lucius said and tasted the rosy Asturian wine Sirio brought them. ¡°Every year it turns out better,¡± the Duke told him seeing his appreciative expression. ¡°Keep it cool enough and it¡¯s a fine drink in the summer. Bernard thinks we can put those wines of the coast out of business. Give the Barons fits. It gave me pause politically speaking.¡± ¡°What of Scaldingport Lord Holt?¡± Lucius asked, putting the goblet down now that he gotten the gesture out of the way. ¡°Lord Ruud had the marriage,¡± he replied thoughtfully. ¡°A deal with Alistair, who he trusted. Why toss all that away?¡± ¡°The Throne of Regia.¡± ¡°Nah, no one could predict what happened, or you being away for years and Lord Ruud wanted assurances for his own schemes anyway. He¡¯s backing Princess Elsanne for the throne is the rumor. Has army on Eplas already and had to save Colle from the Midlanor¡¯s soldiers a couple of months back. Him and Castalor have their arms full to open another front with you. This was Lord Doris and Ursus mess. Probably Brakis followed along due to the pact he has with Novesium. The Lorian Coast is your culprit, but for the Sula that is, per usual they stand by themselves.¡± ¡°Ruud¡¯s backing one rebel already,¡± Lucius noted. ¡°It¡¯s Ruud, if the opportunity is there he¡¯ll take it,¡± Lord Holt told him. ¡°And it is there.¡± ¡°Would Jeremy step down?¡± ¡°He might consider it, but then there¡¯s his wife and kids. Lord Doris would want him on the throne after all that has happened. Ursus as well.¡± ¡°Why did Doris force his sister down? Better for him to have her on the throne,¡± Lucius probed. Most of what Lord Holt was telling him he knew, but his information was not second hand and it mattered. ¡°Doris wanted Jeremy on the throne, rightly he didn¡¯t trust a woman on it,¡± Holt explained. ¡°But he agreed to the compromise as it was in his favor.¡± ¡°Wanted Jeremy?¡± ¡°Eh, not initially. They wanted to knight him. Along with Miranda. Alistair wouldn¡¯t have it, despite the lad finishing the Hunt per the custom.¡±A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. ¡°Jeremy had no inclination for it,¡± Lucius murmured. ¡°But it isn¡¯t unfathomable to have him knighted. He¡¯s a man now. People change.¡± ¡°Alistair was right,¡± Lord Holt replied and glanced at his sons. ¡°Sometimes someone just doesn¡¯t have it, but perhaps again in hindsight¡­ he should have given in.¡± Not his father, he wouldn¡¯t. ¡°Why did Miranda step down?¡± ¡°Spoken to you of all I personally know Lucius. I don¡¯t like speculating on such matters,¡± Lord Holt stated warningly. ¡°Neither do I,¡± Lucius retorted in the same vein, ¡°but for Doris to agree, something happened.¡± ¡°Miranda was in Alden during the Conference of Lords, there¡¯s no way she could have found the opportunity, assuming the rumor is true, amidst your father¡¯s men.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the rumor?¡± Lucius grunted narrowing his eyes. ¡°Ah,¡± Lord Holt grimaced unwilling to discuss it. Bernard stooped over the table and looked at the frustrated general. Lucius returned the stare. ¡°I can put it to words,¡± Bernard started and Lord Holt turned his way with a warning glare. ¡°You may not boy! We don¡¯t soil a good man¡¯s name after he¡¯s gone!¡± Lucius grimaced. The Duke was worried about Alistair¡¯s reputation and not Miranda¡¯s. He wanted the truth, such as he could find it. ¡°My father would have liked me to know, so I can deliver his justice Bernard,¡± Lucius said steel in his voice. ¡°Word is the Queen Regent became pregnant well after the King was gone,¡± Bernard replied, over Lord Holt¡¯s disgusted hiss from across the table. ¡°She was seen¡­ Lord Heir.¡± Lucius pursed his mouth, but said nothing. Lord Doris had to force her to step down then, or he could have ended the pregnancy quietly. Lucius didn¡¯t believe Lord Doris had it in him to spare his own sister in order to avoid a costly scandal to his house. What stopped him? Why risk it? Miranda is lucky she¡¯s still breathing, he thought. The fact they even negotiated with her astounding. Who could have listened to her at such a dramatic moment, or risen to her defense? Why would anyone? They didn¡¯t need her to step down, they could have just gotten rid of her quietly or not. Maybe Doris negotiated a deal¡­? No¡­ She was an asset to him, now poisoned. Why would he even consider giving up coin, or some lofty position for a guilty wayward woman? He wouldn¡¯t. Then again how could Storm miss that the Queen had a lover? Granted they didn¡¯t like each other, Lord Nattas being from Lesia like his late mother, but still¡­ perhaps too much was going on and he got overwhelmed. He had his own mess to deal with, with an illegitimate daughter popping out of the woodwork. Perhaps what Doris had used to tie Nattas¡¯ hands? Lucius sighed. The story didn¡¯t make sense.
¡°Was Jeremy privy in the plot to have my father killed and removed?¡± Lucius asked tiredly a long moment later, leaving the matter of Miranda aside. Lord Holt pushed himself away from the table with a frown. ¡°Does it matter, whether he was or not?¡± he asked neutrally. ¡°He¡¯s my brother,¡± Lucius replied and eyed the silent Baron Draco. ¡°My mother¡¯s young boy. You council against restraint Lord Holt?¡± ¡°Eh, stop it,¡± the old Duke grunted. ¡°You came with an army Lucius, because you knew where this was going since the beginning. If you¡¯re looking for absolution, or to lay the blame elsewhere, you won¡¯t find it in this Hall. The boy knew taking the throne made him your enemy in Gods and peoples¡¯ eyes. It¡¯s too late now. Family hurts you as well as a stranger, sometimes more,¡± Lord Holt finished and stooped to grab his gem-encrusted gold goblet to sip from his wine. Lord Draco cleared his throat and a surly Lucius stared at him over the table. ¡°Why is the army in Anorum my Lord Heir?¡± The Baron of Whitetiger asked. ¡°Draco, we can talk of this later,¡± Lord Holt said, but Lucius gestured for the Duke to allow him to answer. ¡°The Legion is in Anorum, because I want them to head down Uher¡¯s Passage, through the mountains and hopefully reach Oras Navel at the Goat Plains afore your Tunnel Pass finishes my Lords,¡± Lucius told them. There. ¡°How will you go over Framtond?¡± Lord Draco asked furrowing his brow. ¡°Same as your ancestors and mine did,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°You want to reach Cartagen,¡± Lord Holt murmured. ¡°Take the capital, or save it. Deal with Ursus and free up Duke Sula.¡± ¡°Save it,¡± Lord Holt said skeptically and placed his goblet on the table, while Baron Draco stood bad a look of disbelief on his aged face. Rupert didn¡¯t seem particularly bothered by the revelation and Bernard was staring at his tied up hands on the table. He was squeezing that goblet so hard his knuckles had turned white. ¡°Save it from what?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve angered Lesia, but even I hadn¡¯t,¡± Lucius retorted trying to keep his voice steady. ¡°The temptation is too great and the city ripe for the taking. They¡¯re building up for an invasion. A chance to recover lost prestige, or gain coin. The latter would be my pick. Even both.¡± ¡°You think Lesia will attack Cartagen? Attack Jeremy to hurt you?¡± Holt grunted. ¡°It has nothing to do with that. They can¡¯t go another way safely,¡± Lucius argued. ¡°But I¡¯ve told you my reasoning. We are landlocked, your ¡®sea¡¯ exempted and this isn¡¯t a winning strategy. Even if we march all the way to Aldenfort and beyond, they could always land under our noses, hit us in the rear. As long they control the ports.¡± ¡°We are not fighting Lesia!¡± Baron Draco exploded, veins bursting at the side of his neck, his face flushed. ¡°You will have us open another front?¡± ¡°Calm down Vibius,¡± Lord Holt cautioned with a grimace. ¡°Lesia has been fighting me,¡± Lucius replied his voice hardening. ¡°You expect us to fight on our own?¡± Draco asked, on the verge of apoplexy. ¡°Lucius,¡± Lord Holt told him. ¡°What if Jeremy attacks us?¡± ¡°He hasn¡¯t. Even if he does, can¡¯t you hold the city?¡± Lord Holt puffed out exasperated. ¡°I can put numbers in the field, but I can¡¯t risk an open battle on the plains. Jeremy could send everything down the coast road.¡± ¡°It won¡¯t matter if you stay behind the river.¡± ¡°You want me to stay behind the river and abandon my holdings and subjects? What about Pascor? Do I retreat to Ruinal and abandon Whitetiger as well? You are not making it easy here for me Lucius.¡± Lucius smacked his lips and glanced at Ramirus. The LID officer gave him the scroll he¡¯d received, Lucius answer already traveling the other way, since despite discussing his plans with Lord Holt his decisions had been made much earlier. Asturia could take a punch and survive, but not if Jeremy gained control of the Lorian Coast, or if Lesia overrun everything whist they dwindled their thumbs thinking on potential risks. Now this, wasn¡¯t easy to say to the old Duke understandably. ¡°Sula and the Fourth will secure Van Calcar¡¯s loyalties,¡± he started not needing to read the missive again. ¡°So you only have one front to worry about Lord Holt.¡± ¡®You¡¯ll trust the Lord of Pascor,¡± Draco grunted, a hand rubbing his forehead in an attempt to alleviate a nasty migraine. ¡°You know what the fishermen say? You topple your boat near Pascor, better to slit yer own throat and sink to the bottom. You aren¡¯t getting back alive.¡± ¡°You want me to trust the fishermen words and superstitions?¡± Lucius retorted harshly. ¡°Or hear the Lord of Pascor himself?¡± ¡°What does he say?¡± Lord Holt asked tiredly. ¡°He invited me to his wedding,¡± Lucius started. ¡°I won¡¯t go, but Sula will with my blessings.¡± ¡°Lord Ton is getting married? How is that relevant?¡± Rupert asked, the stout knight¡¯s sole contribution to the discussion. ¡°Is it a close cousin? His sister? Word is the lass is nuttier than a shithouse rat. Wait she¡¯s already married! Haha!¡± Eh, half a contribution. ¡°Lady Aafke Van Durren, of Badum,¡± Lucius told them. ¡°Along with the invitation, the Lord of Pascor asked for a defense pact with Greater Kas and the Fourth to travel to Pascor. He vowed to bring them across the lake with his own ships after it.¡± ¡°Why does he need the Legion there? Why not let them travel through his lands to the bridge at Picker¡¯s and over it?¡± Bernard asked guardedly. ¡°Why do you think?¡± Lucius asked him. Bernard shrugged his shoulders. He had Lord Holt¡¯s blond hair, but a narrow face and was thinly built without much muscle for a knight. ¡°Lord Albert hasn¡¯t sanctioned the affair, so he probably fears repercussions with the High King incapacitated and every lord doing his own thing,¡± he said and Lucius nodded. ¡°That¡¯s true Bernard. Very astute.¡± ¡°Did you agree?¡± Lord Holt asked a little perturbed. ¡°I asked him to turn Bisonville into a free city and release control of the bridge over the Picker River to Whitetiger. If you built a fort there Baron Draco, the road to the North will be safe and you¡¯ll control the Cattle Fields again.¡± ¡°Through Van Calcar¡¯s lands,¡± Draco noted. ¡°Does he attack the caravans in his own lands? No,¡± Lucius said. ¡°He hits them on yours and taxes those that slip through. He won¡¯t do it again.¡± For a while. ¡°You can¡¯t trust the Lakelord Lucius,¡± Lord Holt said. ¡°I don¡¯t trust him, but he fears an attack on his own city and I intent to help him save his head. Whilst he¡¯s busy with that, he won¡¯t look to anger Asturia.¡± Bernard breathed out impressed. ¡°He wants the legion there as a deterrent, looking to avoid fighting if possible during the summer months, but you hope to provoke a fight instead. You want them to fight. Does Sula know?¡± ¡°The Legatus will do his part,¡± Lucius replied vaguely. ¡°By simply being there.¡± ¡°Mercator is a close friend and relative,¡± Lord Holt reminded him. ¡°I can¡¯t abandon him Lucius. I understand Anorum, but you can¡¯t ask me to throw my people to the wolves.¡± ¡°No one is in danger at this point,¡± Lucius assured him. ¡°There is time to move our pieces on the board afore they get wind of it my Lords. Bring everyone behind the river is my suggestion. With a bit of luck Legatus Sula could be here before Jeremy, or Doris make their move. By then the Third would be to Cartagen and with the Tunnel Pass finished, we will have full control from the Canlita to the Lorian Gulf.¡± Unless Lesia decides to get greedy. ¡°I¡¯ll need to think on this. Discuss it with Mercator¡­ eh, it¡¯s not an easy ask,¡± Lord Holt said and Lucius nodded. ¡°Will the Third stay in Anorum for the time being? What does your plan say Lord Heir?¡± ¡°There is no such thing,¡± Lucius replied evenly. ¡°As a perfect plan. So I can¡¯t answer your query truthfully Lord Holt. And I won¡¯t.¡± The old Duke clenched his jaw at his reply. ¡°Asturia needs more than that Lucius. While we haven¡¯t asked for anything, this appears more like punishment than reward. Goodwill and loyalty can only do so much when folk¡¯s livelihoods are in danger.¡± ¡°Aldenfort,¡± Lucius deadpanned without hesitation. ¡°You¡¯ll give me control of the junction and the south coast?¡± Holt asked standing back. Lucius nodded. ¡°Can I count on your banners Lord Holt?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t answer you truthfully at this time Lord Heir and you know it,¡± the Duke of Asturia replied evenly. ¡°So I won¡¯t.¡± Lucius had feared that.
Lucius had meal with Lord Holt at his Palace, Faye loving the many plates and varieties in foodstuff and drinks so much she had one cup too many. Thankfully nothing dramatic occurred at the table and Lady Anne came to take care of Roderick in their lavish quarters in the Palace. Anne had a teenage son with Lord Pryor, the boy Decius left behind despite wanting to come along. ¡°Boys are great until they start figuring things out,¡± Anne whispered, not wanting to wake Roderick, or his already snoring mother. Faye had fallen asleep the moment her body touched the soft fluffy mattress. ¡°Then they are trouble.¡± ¡°Were we trouble?¡± Lucius asked staring at the Duke¡¯s garden in the light of the setting sun. ¡°Not you, but Ralph was¡­¡± Anne paused with a frown. ¡°Apologies.¡± ¡°No reason for it,¡± Lucius told her civilly. ¡°I¡¯ve brought it up.¡± ¡°A gesture means more to my father,¡± Anne told him. ¡°Than anything else.¡± ¡°My old teacher used to tell me that,¡± Lucius said keeping his voice low. ¡°Back in Cartagen.¡± ¡°I knew him before you,¡± she reminded him with a motherly smile. ¡°How was he back then?¡± Lucius asked her. ¡°Di Cresta? Violent, brusque, foul-mouthed,¡± she counted. ¡°No way.¡± Lucius remembered the old scholar as a sage and understanding orator. ¡°He hated teaching girls after hours, despite the coin,¡± Anne replied. ¡°But father wanted all his kids to get the same education even if they never had the chance to use it. He rarely refused us anything.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know that. Sounds very open-minded for him.¡± ¡°He¡¯ll allow you to swim on your own. It can be liberating, but he expects a lot.¡± Lucius looked at her. ¡°Sounds like a good deal.¡± His father was a bit like that, but with a much tighter leash and Roderick¡¯s long stick. Ahm, Lucius realized his father appeared harsher in his younger years than he perhaps was. ¡°Not always, it isn¡¯t,¡± Anne replied solemnly. ¡°Removing walls doesn¡¯t mean they aren¡¯t there and having noble intentions won¡¯t always bring you the best possible outcome.¡±
Two hours later Lucius strolled out of the palace and into the gardens, the humidity and heat of the night not allowing him any sleep. Gripa followed after him, half-asleep and stumbling down the stairs. Lucius¡¯ mind was preoccupied with the many moving pieces of his plan, unfolding without him being present and out of his control. You can only do so much, he thought. You can hope for Luthos intervention, but that is a foolish wish to have. Luck comes at a terrible cost. He walked the well-maintained copse, its path covered with fine yellow grit, crashed stone from the now abandoned quarry that had built the city. A cool breeze was coming beyond the palace¡¯s walls and its moat. It was gusting over the port city and the coast. Lucius had an estate of his own there and he intended to visit it at some point in the next days. He had trouble remembering how it felt visiting the city with his family in the past. Like Lucius was a different person now, detached and watching the familiar roads, lights and buildings with indifference. When younger, Lucius liked to work on his verses on similar nights, or thinking on nature¡¯s silly little mysteries, like how could a closed lake be a sea? Was there a greater ocean under the earth, or it was just the waters standing much higher in the distant past? Had they retreated following the lower elevation towards the Lorian Coast? Life ever making circles, indifferent in its turn with petty human problems. He paused near the benches of the small lake, its waters shinning in the light of two moons and looked towards the city center. Lucius couldn¡¯t see it standing amidst the trees and the rich vegetation of the Duke¡¯s gardens, but he could make out the massive shape of Ebenezer¡¯s head over them. The still adventurer looking at the skies like a mythical giant, more than ten times the size of Layton, the statue a way for the crafters of that time to pour into his stone body all they had. A great city¡¯s dreams and ambitions, an unrelenting will to survive despite the many enemies coveting its riches. Above all an immeasurable pride in its conviction that in those ancient streets and on these shores, a Goddess had walked once upon a time, before returning to her island across the quiet lake¡¯s briny waters. The wind rustled between the leaves, dancing Alders and whistling ferns, with rows of giant elms watching over them. The pond¡¯s benches hidden behind clusters of flowers, mainly roses. Red, white and the blushing pinks Naossis favored because it remind her of the Gish. Blue like the sea as if touched by Abrakas who had loved her as much as he¡¯d loved her mother. Ah, Lucius thought surprised that he¡¯d let his poetic soul wander free, the respite needed to rest his troubled mind. He turned around intending to leave the pond, Gripa waiting stoically ten meters away, fighting to stay awake and paused hearing a woman¡¯s chuckle. Lucius frowned, the hour almost three in the morning, the palace grounds dead silent, but for the distant patrols that avoided the empty gardens. Then he heard a gasp and a murmur answering it. ¡°What is it milord?¡± Gripa asked hoarsely, perking up and the murmurs stopped abruptly. ¡°Show yourself!¡± Lucius barked and walked back towards the benches. A slim figure intercepting him midway. The young woman covered in a dark long cloak, a whiff of blond hair escaping her hastened clasped front to keep it closed. ¡°My lords,¡± the comely woman gushed. ¡°Blessings of the Goddess upon you.¡± Eh? Lucius stood back and glanced behind the much shorter than him woman. ¡°What are you doing here? Do you live in the palace?¡± ¡°All doors are open good knight,¡± she beamed, painted lips splitting, her sweet perfume reaching Lucius nostrils. For the Fair Lady, Lucius added and blinked, the young woman¡¯s smile growing seeing his expression afore adding. ¡°All lustful hours of the day and all veiled calls of each night.¡± Lucius pressed his mouth, a little rattled a priestess of Naossis was roving the Duke¡¯s gardens at this hour and then his mind told him that the priestess¡¯ voice wasn¡¯t that of the woman that he¡¯d heard laughing earlier. ¡°Oops,¡± the priestess murmured empathetically seeing his sharp eyes returning towards the benches and the second figure that was standing there, half-hidden in the darkness. Black hair billowing over her slim shoulders, as tall as her friend, but with an attractive, perfectly oval high cheeked face and familiar eyes. Lucius had spent his day talking with her father. ¡°Goddess, that¡¯s Lucius,¡± Monica Holt said stunned and the priestess moved to distract him again. She was one for sure since Lucius could see the sea shell tattoo clearly on the underside of her bejeweled forearm, when she raised it to perform a teasing curtsy. ¡°Lord Heir,¡± she purred. ¡°You are in our prayers.¡± What is this nonsense? ¡°Lady Monica,¡± Lucius grunted hoarsely turning his eyes on Lord Holt¡¯s fiercely blushing youngest daughter. ¡°The hour is ungodly late. What are you doing here?¡±
¡°I couldn¡¯t sleep,¡± Monica murmured and Lucius realized she was wearing a flimsy nighty under her loose summer cloak. ¡°So I came to sit down by the lake,¡± she added her voice gaining strength with each spoken word. ¡°In the middle of the woods?¡± Lucius asked and heard Gripa approaching behind him. The young woman shrugged her shoulders. ¡°It¡¯s really just a garden with big walls. No one can get in.¡± ¡°She did,¡± Lucius retorted and stared at the now silent priestess. ¡°Vita is a friend.¡± Yeah, that is not an answer girl. ¡°Does anyone else know you are here?¡± He asked her remembering Lord Holt¡¯s daughter had been absent the whole day. After talking with her step-sister, Lucius found it strange the Duke had kept her hidden from his visitors. ¡°It¡¯s my father¡¯s palace. I grew up under these trees,¡± Monica said returning his stare brazenly. ¡°I know its secrets. Don¡¯t worry yourself Lucius.¡± What? ¡°I¡¯m not worried Lady Monica, but your father will want to learn of this,¡± Lucius said harshly, not liking her tone and vague responses. Then Lucius remembered he wasn¡¯t in the North anymore and women behaved differently in Regia. ¡°I shall escort you back to the estate.¡± Monica pouted. ¡°Can I refuse?¡± Lucius blinked not expecting it. Gripa cleared his throat to remind him he was technically in the woods with an unmarried girl of age and a priestess of Naossis, very late in the night. ¡°You can¡¯t,¡± he retorted brusquely already frustrated she¡¯d ruined a fine evening for him and Vita stepped closer into his personal space, which infuriated him even more. ¡°Lord Heir,¡± Vita said softly. ¡°I shall take her back.¡± Ahm. Lucius grimaced, trying to keep it civil, being a guest in another Lord¡¯s house he didn¡¯t want to cause a scene. ¡°I don¡¯t know you,¡± he finally told her, his patience running thin. ¡°I won¡¯t say it again milady.¡± Monica made to move, but Vita used an arm to stop her. ¡°Gripa,¡± Lucius said indifferently. ¡°Wake the guards. Or find a patrol.¡± ¡°The gates milord?¡± His aide offered an alternative. ¡°Get all of them,¡± Lucius replied looking at the priestess, trying to keep the emotions from her face. What in allgods is your problem girl? ¡°We have intruders inside the walls. We might need the dogs.¡± Vita raised her brows, a nervous clench on her jaw. ¡°You¡¯ll harm a priestess?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll have your answer soon enough.¡± ¡°Fine good knight,¡± Vita retorted, her demeanor changing. ¡°I¡¯ll leave.¡± She raised the hood of her cloak, her priestess¡¯s robes underneath a fierce red and with less material than Monica¡¯s nighty. Lucius narrowed his eyes and heard Endariel¡¯s lullaby whistling amidst the trees. He had unsheathed it unwittingly, the sharp blade now resting under the priestess¡¯ chin. The lullaby turned sinister, resembling a paean, the air all about them humid and heavy. The sword as if it had a will of its own urged him to draw blood. To finish it here. Ah, what is this? Lucius thought clenching his jaw so hard it was hurting him. ¡°Stop it please!¡± A scared Monica gasped in panic ¨Cher first truthful emotion- and got between them, an arm pushing a frozen Vita away, the other clasping at his sword¡¯s hand at the wrist. Vita stepped slowly away a couple of steps on shaky legs. ¡°We don¡¯t take from the Goddess,¡± a pale faced Vita warned when she recovered some and a rattled Lucius almost run her through, despite Monica¡¯s desperate hold on his arm. He reached with his left and grabbed her small wrist. Using minimum force Lucius dislodged Monica¡¯s fingers freeing his right arm, kept twisting hers despite the young woman¡¯s efforts to stop him. ¡°Pull your cloak¡¯s sleeve up,¡± Lucius hissed. ¡°All the way,¡± he added eyeing the smirking priestess. ¡°Show me the arm.¡± Monica did with a nervous whimper, the skin smooth there but for the black ink.
The sleeping Naossis breathed out delicately, the breeze coming from her nearby Isle turning dry and smelling of aromatic incense. A touch of ripe lemon, of freshly-cut roses, sweet myrrh and burning sandalwood.
Oras shadow, Lucius thought shocked and let go of her arm, Monica covering it swiftly at the sound of the guards approaching. ¡°You¡¯re a priestess?¡± He asked, their strange behavior making sense now, along the secrecy of the spot and the peculiar time. Monica scrunched her comely face, her young beauty strangely vulgar now to his eyes. What folk called Nesande¡¯s Moon was shining its pale blue light over their heads, its disk full. Naossis mother. ¡°Let us go,¡± she pleaded, those clear-blue eyes that of a mature woman. Allfather. Does the old man know? ¡°Milord?¡± the returning Gripa asked unsure, the gate guards standing further back behind him in guilty silence. What is going on here? ¡°It was an animal,¡± Lucius rasped and sheathed his sword, the blade screeching disappointed as it submerged in the rough leather. ¡°It¡¯s gone now. Get the men back to their spots Gripa.¡± ¡°Of course milord,¡± his aide replied, without batting an eyelash and turned around to inform the guards about the false alarm. ¡°See you get out of the palace grounds,¡± Lucius told Vita soberly and she nodded without any fanfare this time. ¡°Lady Monica,¡± he continued turning his eyes on Lord Holt¡¯s daughter. As her sister had perceptively feared, or perhaps knew, sometimes noble intentions won¡¯t bring you the best possible outcome. ¡°You have until we reach your quarters to explain yourself,¡± Lucius added tiredly, wishing he hadn¡¯t stopped at the pond. The last thing Lucius needed at this junction of his life was to get mixed up in this type of upper-class angst-filled family drama. As habitually happens in these matters, even the shrewdest of mortals can be blind.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 316. None, but the Fair Lady tolerates it (3/3)
Praetor Lucius Alden None, but the Fair Lady tolerates it Part III -A small cut-
Monica stopped at the edge of the tiled path leading to the stairs of the large estate, its marble fa?ade appearing grey in the moonlight, all its windows dark much as the smaller buildings near it, but for the stone-brick guard-post. ¡°There¡¯s another way in,¡± she said keeping her voice low. ¡°Behind the gazebo.¡± ¡°Only thieves walk about, or sneak inside a house in the dark,¡± Lucius grunted, the whole situation trying his patience. ¡°Crooks and¡­ people of ill-repute.¡± ¡°How have I offended you?¡± Monica asked. ¡°You could have looked the other way. This is my life.¡± ¡°The pretense of ignorance offers no absolution to one¡¯s soul.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll cite Uher¡¯s words to me?¡± Monica argued with a frown. ¡°I serve Naossis. Nobody loves Uher in Asturia.¡± ¡°Do you hear yourself?¡± Lucius snapped, the estate guards at the entrance turning their heads towards them hearing the sound carrying. ¡°That¡¯s Tyeus¡¯ city too, but you didn¡¯t mention him at all. Yes, Uher has an austere stance not conforming to your Naossis, but you¡¯re also the Duke¡¯s daughter. We might in our cups argue about the differences between ¡®performing¡¯ for the Goddess and a harlot¡¯s shift by the docks, but simple people don¡¯t think like we do.¡± ¡°That¡¯s their problem.¡± ¡°No that¡¯s your father¡¯s problem and yours,¡± Lucius grimaced. ¡°If word gets out, you¡¯re ruined. No Lord will ever consider a marriage with a well-used wife. Hells not even some up-and-coming wealthy family looking to buy their way into relevance will want anything to do with you. There¡¯s a reason the festival is only for two days in a year and not every city favors it. Beyond the ¡®pond¡¯ they burn people for less. You need to think of the future.¡± Monica shrugged her shoulders, a stubborn look on her pale face. There was no denying she was pretty. Every part of her face proportional alike a statue. ¡°I don¡¯t care for a man, or a husband. You¡¯ve figured that out. My future is with the temple and my sisters.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t mean that,¡± Lucius cautioned. ¡°I know more about your temple than you do. Outside of these walls you¡¯ll find no freedom and no ¡®sister¡¯ lives on the Isle for free. You¡¯ll have to contribute and it might come to you as a surprise, but most ¡®visitors¡¯ won¡¯t be what you favor. Even if you didn¡¯t mind it, the better you perform, the farther you¡¯ll travel to offer services and buy favor. There are women with a deep purse in this realm, but you¡¯ll find them few and far between.¡± Monica stood back a little apprehensively. ¡°How do you know all this?¡± ¡°It¡¯s what most summer talks eventually devolve around here,¡± Lucius admitted. ¡°I was young once not that long ago.¡± ¡°The guards know you¡¯re outside with female company. They see us and it could have been anyone, although they probably know by now,¡± Monica noticed, her disposition changing. ¡°But they won¡¯t approach us. Is it fear, or reverence? How does it work? Does Lucius get to do whatever he wants? I wish I was you, down to the naughty parts. Oops, apologies. I had another word in mind.¡± She was taunting him, but also changing the subject and deflecting. The duke¡¯s daughter knew the problem and didn¡¯t want to address it whilst on the back foot. Monica looked for a way to get on the attack, as if this was some mere palace gossip. A game of wits. Exciting but faraway. Frowned upon for the simple folk, but not for her. In the world she lived in, her love-life and status were hallowed things and could only be discussed in the vaguest of terms. A perversion something you could just brush away with an ascetic glare. Her callousness on what was at stake beyond that for her father and the kingdom staggering. Then again, he thought, many people, or noble scions, don¡¯t really care. Or would have preferred this ¡®uncomfortable¡¯ throne-dispute to just go away so they could all go back to humoring their petty differences and small problems. Fight over cattle, or the fertile mud by the bordering river, they¡¯d never get to plow themselves. Taxes, comfortable seating, hunt, a variety of dishes and a new horse¡¯s combed mane, as his father used to say. And a whole lot of politics. Talk about the temple¡¯s gifts and sinful acts over expensive cups of fine wine, whilst bathing in the former¡¯s coin and turning a blind eye to what was really happening, unless it was one of their own daughters that participated in the activities. Wow. Lucius brushed his hair back with a hand, giving himself the time to remember how to navigate the muddy waters of court double-talk. ¡°I don¡¯t believe you¡¯d enjoy it,¡± he argued finally too tired to beat around the bush. ¡°Or that the duke could take the hit at this critical point. He won¡¯t risk the distraction, you are forcing his hand.¡± She looked at her small hands in numb silence. ¡°If I lose this war,¡± Lucius continued clearing his throat. ¡°I¡¯ll lose everything I hold dear eventually. If I win, then it would be against my last surviving brother. An uncle and perhaps my own step-mother. The easy thing would have been for me to stay away. With my wife and little son. Fix to have another one. I like many things and most I could enjoy without fighting the Three Kingdoms. Away. Safe from all this¡­ filth,¡± he sighed seeing her raising an inquisitive neatly-trimmed black eyebrow. ¡°I can¡¯t. I assured my father I would return. It¡¯s a matter of duty. Oaths and blood. You betray one, you¡¯ll be judged. You betray both, you¡¯re doomed. That¡¯s it. No indulgence of one¡¯s hobbies, or odd preferences can topple them in the end. Eventually you¡¯ll understand it, or you won¡¯t and life will shove you in it kicking and screaming.¡± ¡°You¡¯re like my father,¡± Monica murmured, looking towards the gazebo longingly. ¡°I¡¯m not that old,¡± Lucius jested and glanced at the stoic Gripa waiting for them to finish their conversation. Monica nodded. ¡°He won¡¯t break an oath easy,¡± she elucidated. ¡°I see,¡± Lucius said. He always feared that. Lord Holt was a notoriously difficult to budge man. ¡°You love your wife yes?¡± Monica said next surprising him. ¡°Very much.¡± She shook her head. ¡°Then I¡¯m like you as well,¡± Monica told him, though Lucius couldn¡¯t see how she had reached that conclusion. ¡°I can¡¯t take Mercator¡¯s son as husband, my heart is given elsewhere.¡± ¡°I thought the priestesses reserved their heart for the Goddess,¡± Lucius noted cautiously. ¡°This is an illusion Monica. Even at this we aren¡¯t free. Neither you, nor I have a choice.¡± ¡°Uhm, I wish you were less smart,¡± she replied with a pensive smile. ¡°Or a creep. But you aren¡¯t. I think you¡¯ll make a great king in retrospect. Can I use my little backdoor now Lord Heir?¡± Lucius stood back and shook his head at her cleverness. ¡°Beware of beautiful tales and lofty promises of boundless pleasure Lady Monica,¡± he told her in parting. ¡°They have lies woven in them.¡± None tale more horrifying than Naossis lewd affair with vile Abrakas and the offspring that came off it.
Lucius entered the lavish quarters of the estate¡¯s third floor west corner the Duke had given them and tried to make as little noise as possible undressing. Nigh impossible in the stillness of the estate¡¯s suite. He immediately gave up and waved Gripa away, opting to wait in his armour for the sun to come up. It was almost dawn. The door to the room Faye and Roderick were sleeping stood wide open, just like the windows that faced the west side of the gardens and the small gazebo the duke¡¯s daughter had disappeared behind. He removed the sword along its sheath and left it on a table next to one of the floor to ceiling windows. A moment later Gripa returned with a plate left from the servants earlier. ¡°Go ahead,¡± Lucius told him. ¡°I¡¯m not hungry.¡± ¡°But you¡¯re late,¡± Faye¡¯s voice came from the door, still wearing her ¡®good¡¯ armor that red head a mess, although she had made some effort to tame it. ¡°Went for a walk,¡± Lucius replied with a tired smile. ¡°Did I wake you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m up for hours,¡± Faye told him and came to take a seat at the table. ¡°I have a terrible taste in my mouth so you get no morning kiss. Plus I¡¯m pissed as fuck, so that¡¯s a minus too. Is it any good Gripa?¡± she asked ¨Cin a surprisingly calm manner- the wolfing down the leftovers aide. ¡°A bit salty milady,¡± he replied. ¡°That time of year, I reckon. I¡¯ll have a glass of wine then,¡± Faye decided and poured some in a cup. She downed it in a go, not bothering with the spillage, though she wiped her face with a cloth right after. ¡°So much stuff laying about,¡± she noticed tossing the expensive towel on the table. ¡°Twenty people could live in here. Wit their horses.¡± ¡°If that was a longhouse they could,¡± Lucius agreed. ¡°How was the garden?¡± Faye asked casually. ¡°Unexpectedly busy for the hour,¡± Lucius replied teasingly. ¡°I play at being courteous, but I¡¯m really not. Also I¡¯m not amused Alden.¡± ¡°Good acoustics?¡± Lucius probed seeing her sober expression. ¡°Ayup.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take this in the hall,¡± Gripa said and got up with his plate. ¡°Just call if the need arises sir. Any call will suffice.¡± Lucius waited for him to walk outside afore turning to his wife. ¡°I caught the duke¡¯s daughter in the garden with a priestess of Naossis,¡± he told her. ¡°Both of them are members of her temple really. It came as a surprise.¡± Faye nodded and reached to pour herself another cup of rosy Asturian wine. This cup went down as fast as the previous one. ¡°That sounds surprisingly worse than what I had envisioned,¡± she admitted. ¡°Were they decent?¡± ¡°Barely, depending on the city. You were swimming in the nude in Maza Burg, so perhaps I¡¯m off here.¡± ¡°I was looking to entice you!¡± Faye snapped her cheeks turning the color of her hair. ¡°I was thoroughly enticed,¡± Lucius assured her. ¡°Gods you¡¯re painting quite the picture here!¡± ¡°It is a shock for sure,¡± Lucius agreed. ¡°Not wher¡¯ I was going,¡± Faye retorted and then sighed. ¡°What was her excuse? I wouldn¡¯t think she had it in her to be unfaithful.¡± Ah. Good grief. ¡°It was Monica,¡± Lucius said quickly. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you thought Anne would wander outside after hours.¡± ¡°Monica,¡± Faye repeated narrowing her eyes. ¡°Wow.¡± ¡°The youngest daughter.¡± ¡°Uhm.¡± ¡°I let her slip inside,¡± Lucius explained. ¡°Though I believe the duke knows.¡± Faye grimaced, then reached and smacked his armour once. ¡°It¡¯s not your problem Lucius.¡± ¡°It isn¡¯t. But¡­¡± ¡°But?¡± ¡°It distracts Lord Holt and I don¡¯t want that. A concerned father is likely to be less patient to an unpalatable idea,¡± Lucius explained. His disheveled wife looked in his eyes for a long moment and then shook her wild red mane disappointed. ¡°I¡¯ve no idea what you¡¯re talking about. But I know I don¡¯t like this at all. This part of you is scary.¡± Lucius frowned. ¡°I¡¯m just thinking out loud. You know how I always try to see way ahead? Predict what others will do? That¡¯s one of the methods I employ to accomplish it. Uncovering small details, little secrets will reveal as much as a good spy. The more you know the better,¡± He said and Faye pouted, crimson freckles spotting her small nose where the sun had touched it. ¡°You¡¯ve nothing to fear,¡± he assured her tenderly and Gripa returned at that moment without his plate. An eagle-eyed Prefect Trupo right behind him. ¡°I don¡¯t fear you,¡± Faye whispered and reached for the bottle again. ¡°But I fear Regia.¡± Eh.
Damnit. ¡°When was this?¡± Lucius grunted and grabbed the small missive Trupo had in his hands. ¡°It just arrived,¡± the Prefect replied and glanced at a gloomy Faye sipping at her wine. ¡°Milady. Apologies for the tumult.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mind me,¡± Faye retorted hoarsely. ¡°Been awake for hours.¡± ¡°The date is almost a week old,¡± a preoccupied Lucius murmured with a grimace, rubbing his forehead and waited for Gripa to open the large map on the table after first clearing it. He returned Lucius¡¯ sheathed sword to him. ¡°What does the other message say?¡± ¡°The Tribune informs us that he will march to Durio as soon as he has gathered enough supplies,¡± Trupo replied and Ramirus with Sirio entered his quarters as well, carrying scrolls and the more detailed maps. ¡°Galio is already gone,¡± Lucius realized and stood back thoughtfully. ¡°A month afore he reaches the river,¡± Ramirus pointed out. ¡°Not for Galio,¡± Lucius corrected him. ¡°He¡¯ll make it there faster and on an already cleared road.¡± Trupo nodded reading the map. Next to him Sirio opened another one over it filled with markings and notes. ¡°Is this the revised numbers from the cartographers?¡± Lucius asked him and Sirio nodded. ¡°Get the new batch in and show them to me.¡± ¡°I will my Lord,¡± Sirio replied formally and Lucius frowned. Ramirus shrugged his shoulders and Trupo who was still reading the first map raised his head. ¡°Would Durio engage? We need to know the numbers sir,¡± he said working at the curved tip of his mustache with his fingers. ¡°The missive says engineers. Civilians,¡± Lucius replied and sighed. ¡°Unless Jeremy decided to start public works in the middle of nowhere and hire a Lesia firm for it, then this is our invasion gents.¡± ¡°Why come here?¡± Trupo murmured. ¡°I don¡¯t believe this is the main force,¡± Lucius said. ¡°But I¡¯ll need more details. Trupo check on the birds every half hour. Use only our own men though. Are the Northmen at the other side of the gardens?¡± ¡°Near the stables. We had the legionnaires stationed near the barracks to avoid a mishap.¡± ¡°Use the Northmen as runners,¡± Lucius decided. ¡°An officer going back and forth might alarm the guards.¡± ¡°They will know eventually,¡± Ramirus said. ¡°We need to buy ourselves time,¡± Lucius reminded him. ¡°I want to see those numbers mister Sirio,¡± he added soberly. ¡°Are you quite finished?¡± ¡°Yes my Lord,¡± Sirio blurted a fierce blush painting his cheeks, still scribbling down energetically on the map. ¡°Poor thing,¡± Faye commented from her spot. ¡°Have some wine, you¡¯re too stressed. He¡¯ll redo them all himself anyway.¡±
That summer, the year of the New Calendar 192, Baron Hostus Mercator of Islandport and one of the two Barons of the Plains along with Baron Marc Honorus of Aldenfort, traveled to Asturia with Duke Rupert Holt. They intended to solidify a very old alliance dating centuries in the past that had endured many hardships before King Lucius I wars of unification and after them, but had never wavered. It had divided the Lorian Plains between the two coastal cities with Honorus siding with Alden and Mercator with Asturia. The Lorian Plains were the expansive empty lands that sprawled from Canlita¡¯s shores to Gold Wall Heights ¨Cthe latter a mountain of marble and not gold surprisingly- under the name of Gold Plains in the west and from Islandport to Lake¡¯s Watch plateau and the massive Tricorn Heights in the east, under the name Green Plains. The latter the breeding grounds for the famed Lorian warhorses. Duke Holt had offered his youngest daughter from the late Duchess Lucia Tulla of Islandport, of the Tulla merchant family to Mercator¡¯s young son Dima. Lady Monica Holt a well-educated -like all of the old Duke¡¯s children, but also extremely attractive young woman was a very generous prospect for the rich Baron¡¯s firstborn. The ¡®Black Rose of Asturia¡¯, the moniker given for her characteristic rare -for the golden-haired Holts- dark hair and the famous rose-garden of Duke¡¯s palace where she¡¯d been born, wasn¡¯t getting older like her step-sister Lady Anne the Baroness of Anorum had been, to be forced to take a lesser prospect. Lady Anne had been considered as a frontrunner to marry King Alistair, but the latter had turned her down for the much younger and also his relative Lady Miranda of Aegium. Baron Mercator agreed overlooking the small difference in years not favoring his son, but upon arriving in the city the talks broke down and the Duke withdrew the offer. It caused friction between the two distant relatives and close allies. It also created a whirlwind of rumors in the always susceptible to heavy gossip large city. The reasons unworthy to comment here when history offers us the much more logical answer. Duke Holt offered Baron Mercator the forested province of Lourmar in exchange giving Islandport access to Framtond River, a huge boon that perhaps illustrates the severity of the insult the affronted Baron had suffered and they both agreed to think on it for some time afore a final decision could be reached. The reason for the delay, which wasn¡¯t in the Duke¡¯s interests, the fact that Lucius Alden had arrived in Asturia with his wife and son, along a strong force of legionnaires and Northmen. The general unwittingly brought with him the war to Asturia¡¯s doorstep. An alarmed Baron Honorus of Aldenfort upon being informed of Lucius¡¯ arrival in Asturia sent word of it to Tribune Faustus Ligur, who was commanding the First Legion located at Vinterfort in the absence of Baron Domus Scylla of Sabretooth Castle. Scylla left directly for Vinterfort notifying the King¡¯s Council of the new development, but Ligur who had rebuilt the legion in the years that had followed the Battle of the Turncoats marched from Vinterfort immediately not waiting for him. The acting commander of the First Legion, the one-armed resilient Tribune Ligur wanted to block Lucius beyond Framtond and force him to fight to cross in the plains. He knew that waiting for the consumed with their plans to crush Sula Council will slow-walk their decision to act and valuable time would be lost. Duke Doris, Admiral Brakis and Duke Ursus who were just about ready to launch their great offensive upon the surrounded Demames from all sides, both land and sea, were caught flat-footed by the news. As Admiral Brakis famously said in a tensed Council meeting, ¡®the fleet has already sailed. Ships, marines and sailors. Once ye uncork the bottom of the barrel you are on borrowed time and can¡¯t stop else you¡¯ll burn up much needed supplies.¡¯ Whether it was a supply issue or not, Baron Scylla vouched for the Tribune¡¯s plan and King Jeremy who had contributed little to the meeting gave him his blessing. It is worth of note that Sir Rik De Weers large cavalry force didn¡¯t move from Sabretooth Castle with Lord Scylla as the events at Colle had forced Lord Ruud to ask his son to keep his force closer to Scaldingport. High Regent Anker Est Ravn was just about to make his second attempt to crush the rebels, a much more successful attempt, eventually foiled by the ¡®Navy Revolt¡¯ of early 193 NC. So Ligur marched down the coast to Aldenfort, where he received reinforcements afore continuing to Tenor and then straight towards Islandport. Hundreds of kilometers away to the east and near the virgin grounds of Framtond¡¯s source tributaries the engineering detachment of Lucius Third Legion was about to be locked into a deadly fight in the mud. The First Battle of the River¡¯s Groin as it came to be known in Lesia (named the First & Second Battle of Storm¡¯s Rest in Regia), or Battle of the Half-Bridge for those who fought it, was just around the corner and would go on forever it seemed.
Ten days later Lucius had a clearer picture of what was going on with Prefect Durio¡¯s detachment having received two more missives from him. Everything at least a week old. ¡°How many kilometers beyond the Groin?¡± Lucius asked Sirio waiting for the Duke to call them inside his hall, the Praetor¡¯s mind on the men trying to finish the bridge in time. ¡°Eight my Lord,¡± Sirio replied. ¡°How many kilometers across at its narrowest point?¡± ¡°That would be afore the knee,¡± Sirio noted looking at the scrolls he carried with him. ¡°We don¡¯t have the numbers, but they¡¯ll try a reconnaissance mission on the peninsula to see their progress.¡± ¡°Armando Leys Boars are a ranger unit mostly,¡± Lucius murmured thoughtfully. He¡¯d already faced them in the North, but they were allowed to leave after Baron Palma had negotiated a truce. ¡°There must be infantry near there. Kaeso will have to search further out, even near the mountain pass.¡± ¡°That would be a risky mission my Lord,¡± Sirio noticed and Lucius looked at his stressed out face unsure. ¡°It is riskier to fight blind and expecting a different enemy than what you¡¯ll get,¡± he reminded him and got up to meet with the Duke.
¡°Ah, Lord Heir,¡± Holt greeted him sitting at his conference table. Bernard was there and the dour-faced Baron Draco. Two women clad in shrill fancifully embroidered red priestly robes and wearing shell-shaped silver busts underneath, along exotic long silver strands skirts. The outfits Lucius had seen again years in the past and in his brother¡¯s funeral of all darn places. The alluring blond-haired women wearing it familiar to Lord Heir. One he¡¯d seen recently inside the Duke¡¯s Gardens, the other Lucius remembered stirring up trouble during Ralph¡¯s funeral.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Lady Flavia was a difficult woman to forget. ¡°Please have a seat Lucius,¡± Lord Holt continued, looking worn out. ¡°We have gotten some alarming reports. A whole lot of them actually.¡± Lucius expected as much. With a last glance at the two priestesses of Naossis, he took his usual seat across from the Duke. The younger Vita returned it coldly, but Flavia kept her painted eyes on the statue of her Goddess indifferently. The resemblance uncanny, but it could be an illusion. Lucius believed he¡¯d gotten rid of them and hadn¡¯t given much thought on the matter, preoccupied as he had been with the reports coming from Anorum. He was still waiting the Duke¡¯s decision. ¡°What do the reports say?¡± Lucius asked, refusing with a wave of his arm a goblet of wine a servant offered. ¡°The Third Legion left Anorum,¡± Holt replied crooking his mouth. ¡°I confirmed it from several sources.¡± ¡°It¡¯s true,¡± Lucius said. ¡°The Legion is gone.¡± ¡°Gone where, Lord Heir?¡± Baron Draco asked hoarsely. ¡°Because it is not heading for Whitetiger.¡± ¡°That is correct,¡± Lucius said again. ¡°It is not. As a matter of fact it is going away from it and towards Framtond sources.¡± ¡°Is the bridge ready?¡± Holt asked, probably informed of the project by scouts from Croton. ¡°Almost,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°But Lesia is there, so the Third is heading that way as well to deter them from crossing over.¡± ¡°Lesia has army in Regia?¡± Holt grunted and stared at him intently. The old man might know more than he lets out. ¡°It¡¯s a civilian firm and crews. A mercenary company is present as well,¡± Lucius told them. Baron Draco puffed out troubled. ¡°Well it¡¯s¡­ alarming for sure.¡± ¡°Technically the¡­ahm, bring me a map Bernard,¡± Holt ordered and rubbed his face. ¡°The Groin isn¡¯t Asturia¡¯s territory, but unclaimed wildland.¡± ¡°It is not Lesia¡¯s for sure,¡± Lucius reminded him, using Baron Draco¡¯s words. ¡°It isn¡¯t. Has Jeremy allowed it you reckon?¡± Holt asked. ¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°The Third will find out their intentions soon enough,¡± he added and the two Lords faces soured just as Bernard returned with a cumbersome large furled map. ¡°Lucius, this strategy leaves Asturia and its subjects alone,¡± Holt finally said while his son unfurled the map on the marble table. ¡°To face your brother¡¯s forces.¡± ¡°My brother¡¯s forces aren¡¯t here Lord Holt,¡± Lucius retorted. ¡°Hah! That¡¯s great,¡± Baron Draco gasped throwing his arms up. ¡°He doesn¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Multiple sources are claiming a legion is marching up the coast,¡± Lord Holt informed him with a grimace at Draco¡¯s outburst. Lucius stood back on his seat. He glanced towards the priestesses again and Flavia met his eyes this time, a small grin forming on her full dark-violet painted lips. The color matching her eyes. ¡°How reliable are the sources?¡± He asked furrowing his brow. ¡°Very. The fleet has left Illirium also,¡± Holt added. The High Priestess smiled some more, then crossed her long legs, shrill long robes parting and leaving them bare but for the golden chains strapped at her sandaled ankles, the attire¡¯s cut cavernous and reaching above her hip. The silver metallic strands ringing alike a viper¡¯s rattle when they touched the marble chair. What are you doing here? ¡°Which part?¡± Lucius asked hoarsely and averted his gaze from the two females. ¡°The transports Lord Heir,¡± Baron Draco intervened. ¡°All nine of them.¡± Wow, he thought. It seems the Goddess has access to all manner of info in Asturia. Also that means the Sextus-Brakis marines are on the move. Ah, you cowardly fat bastard, he cursed the Lord of Illirium. I ain¡¯t dead yet. Here and now is when you finally decided to move fast. ¡°I can¡¯t let Mercator face a legion alone,¡± Holt grunted and stood up crooking his wrinkled mouth. ¡°Islandport has no defenses worth of note, it will be overrun and its port taken.¡± ¡°If you march to meet them in the field, you¡¯ll have your south flank exposed and anchored at Mercator¡¯s Inn which is an even less defensible village,¡± Lucius told him keeping his voice even. ¡°That¡¯s a huge front to maintain, Islandport is indefensible Lord Holt.¡± ¡°Do you have a solution for this Lord Heir?¡± The old Duke grunted. ¡°I can¡¯t have the man abandoned after I insulted him not half a month back!¡± Lucius pressed his mouth tight. ¡°He could evacuate the city, bring everything, but prioritize boats and ships to Asturia,¡± Lucius offered. ¡°Let Ligur come over the bridge or attempt a landing with rainy season closing in with each passing week. He won¡¯t do it. The Legion will die at the bottom of the Framtond.¡± ¡°He¡¯ll have the port, the city!¡± Holt snapped furious. ¡°Hells, he¡¯ll have the god darn plains, even have access to the Tunnel Pass!¡± ¡°That¡¯s a lot of ground to cover Lord Holt,¡± Lucius retorted keeping his tempers in check. ¡°He¡¯ll need three legions for that and he just doesn¡¯t have the men.¡± Nobody has. That¡¯s why he wanted to avoid a battle on the Lorian Plains. You don¡¯t risk everything for an empty flatland and a god-darn lake port, however valuable it may appear. The Lakelords were the key to controlling Canlita. Their fleets dwarfing anything they had. Islandport was useless in the grand scheme of things. A matter of pride. No. ¡°He¡¯ll never accept it Lucius,¡± Holt said gravely. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t in his stead. I wouldn¡¯t. I¡¯m not even sure what a promise of future gains, or lands, are worth to him at this point.¡± That wasn¡¯t exactly true. All a minor lord dreams about are loftier titles. ¡°Perhaps you should revisit the marriage idea my Duke,¡± Lord Draco offered, going another way. Holt stopped him with an impatient wave of his hand. ¡°It is done Draco!¡± The Baron scrunched his face at the rebuke, but relented. ¡°Your grace has the final word of course.¡± ¡°Let me think on it,¡± Holt said to soften it and a silent Draco nodded. He gave another curt nod to Lucius and then strolled out of the hall¡¯s doors. ¡°You need to stay behind the river,¡± Lucius said as soon as the baron was out of the room. ¡°What you lose, we will gain again,¡± he added looking at him intently. ¡°If you were in Mercator¡¯s shoes, would you have trusted Asturia ever again?¡± Holt asked bitterly. ¡°Your Aldenfort offer sounds hollow Lucius,¡± he added. ¡°And it god darn tastes that way too.¡± Lucius breathed out slowly and stared at the frowning Bernard. ¡°Would Mercator agree if your daughter weds his son? Will that be enough?¡± He asked. Lucius wanted to ensure the Duke remained a threat for his brother¡¯s forces. Asturia standing strong beyond the river to allow the chance to maneuver and secure much needed breathing room. ¡°Ah,¡± Lord Holt gasped and stabbed both his fists on the table, his eyes ogling at the map of his domain. ¡°Gods have truly cursed us.¡± ¡°He can take the plunge,¡± Lucius insisted and Flavia got up from her chair. Vita following her soon after. What in the¡­? ¡°Even if the Baron knows,¡± he added and Holt paled realizing Lucius was aware of the scandal looming over his head. He stumbled back and collapsed on his chair. ¡°Father,¡± Bernard started, a distraught Holt stopping him. ¡°It¡¯s over,¡± he told him gravely. ¡°It isn¡¯t,¡± Lucius pressed on. ¡°I¡¯ll talk to the Baron myself, convince him. He won¡¯t deny me. The king¡¯s word should be enough! People have gone to war for far less Lord Holt!¡± ¡°You can¡¯t give what you don¡¯t own,¡± Flavia¡¯s sugary voice interrupted the silence following his word, adding after a small pause. ¡°Dear Lucius.¡± ¡°Why are you here?¡± Lucius grunted, not liking the uncertainty her presence brought to the conversation and she shrugged her well-shaped shoulders. ¡°I was summoned,¡± Flavia replied. ¡°To remind the Duke we don¡¯t take from the Goddess.¡± There was that bloody phrase again. Or else was her meaning. The threat left unsaid. Hmm. Lucius got up abruptly, Sirio¡¯s startled effeminate yelp a little disconcerting on his left side, Flavia¡¯s guarded expression on his right. ¡°Else what?¡± Lucius rustled thoroughly unamused. ¡°Everybody learns about it. Truth gushes out freely, like nectar out of a flower,¡± Flavia replied sweetly. ¡°The Goddess rejoices.¡± Good grief. ¡°Mercator backed away Lucius,¡± Lord Holt explained, although he¡¯d already figured it out. ¡°And he knows half of it.¡± It didn¡¯t really matter. A persistent half-lie was as poisonous as the full truth. ¡°You can¡¯t hold a noble woman hostage,¡± Lucius warned the High Priestess. ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± Flavia replied. ¡°She came to us. Now she¡¯s a priestess, her fate in the hands of the goddess.¡± Perhaps Kelholt was right, Lucius thought, before stopping himself. A guard approached their table and offered the duke a small scroll. Lord Holt read it quickly and nodded, a couple of fresh wrinkles on his face. ¡°Mercator?¡± Lucius guessed. ¡°He refuses to evacuate Islandport,¡± Lord Holt croaked. ¡°You have¡­ you already talked with him,¡± Lucius said not expecting it. ¡°I did all I could to follow your plan, but this¡­¡± Holt stared at his son. ¡°He should not allow the ships to fall into their hands,¡± Lucius insisted. ¡°I need six months Lord Holt. Then we¡¯ll have the advantage. Write to him again.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry Lucius, I won¡¯t,¡± the old duke replied and turned to Flavia. ¡°A shamed man can still be honorable, if he keeps some of his oaths. And it¡¯s better than living as a two-timing coward.¡±
Lucius burst out of the Duke¡¯s hall livid. He marched down the corridor and up the stairs to his quarters trying to calm himself down. He needed to trust the old man would see reason eventually. Ligur wasn¡¯t coming to fight, this was an attempt to scare the minor lords into submission and strip Asturia of its allies. Create discontent and perhaps even turn people against him, when the news eventually spread they had abandoned Mercator to his fate. ¡°Lucius,¡± Faye said seeing his face and then frowned, when a heavy breathing Sirio entered their quarters, Gripa helping him to a chair. ¡°Run downstairs and find Trupo,¡± Lucius rustled at the doubled over scholar. ¡°And Logan.¡± ¡°All the way to the barracks my Lord?¡± Sirio mumbled, thinking of the kilometers ahead of him. ¡°And back again mister Sirio,¡± Lucius said, steel in his voice and Sirio all but fainted at the spot. ¡°You¡¯ll use a horse fool!¡± Gripa blasted, snapping him out of his haze and then summarily bodied the unresisting small man outside. ¡°The Duke won¡¯t agree to your plans,¡± Faye murmured pushing his hair back. ¡°It is the right thing to do, but they just can¡¯t see it.¡± Lucius pressed two knuckles on his forehead to alleviate some of the pressure, Faye smoothing the wrinkles at the sides of his eyes with her fingers. ¡°Fucking idiots,¡± she cursed. ¡°Faye, I ask too much from them,¡± Lucius murmured. ¡°They are scared, unsure. The enemy far stronger in their eyes.¡± ¡°Is it? Far stronger?¡± ¡°Probably, if they are half-competent,¡± Lucius admitted. ¡°Order them, they¡¯ll fall in line. You¡¯ll be king. Kings can do whatever all hells they want!¡± ¡°Not exactly. Not if the legion comes and Islandport burns,¡± Lucius said tiredly. ¡°Damn that Ligur he moved too fast.¡± ¡°He was supposed not too?¡± Faye probed, perking up to listen for Roderick misbehaving. ¡°They left him on his own and he probably worked twice more efficiently without a Lord meddling in his business.¡± ¡°The boys wouldn¡¯t be able to work without you,¡± Faye chuckled seeing his face. ¡°They would,¡± Lucius murmured thoughtfully. ¡°The army shall endure.¡± The Lords of the Realm were built differently. A gesture means more to my father, Anne had told him a month back. Than anything else. His mind slowly pulling the veil away. Reality rearing its ugly head.
¡°It wasn¡¯t me,¡± Lucius said hoarsely, emotion clogging his throat. ¡°I didn¡¯t kill her,¡± His eyes blurred, so he had to look away and tried desperately to take a deep breath, to get his wits back. Faye¡¯s hand touched his right shoulder, then her forehead. ¡°What did they say ye did?¡± Faye Numbers queried, her breath burning his skin. ¡°It was best for Regia.¡± ¡®Better to have a killer as heir¡¯, King Alistair had decreed, not an ounce of pity in his voice, when he¡¯d learned the news, ¡®than a darn fool¡¯. ¡°I believe ye, Alden,¡± Faye whispered and pulled away again.
Minor lords long for more titles, he thought. But the realm¡¯s great lords¡¯ hearts cannot bear the shame. Or the loss of pride. On the scales, even murder seems preferable. Be gone horrors of the past, this trail leads us away. You shall own it, never allow it to fester, or vanish. In the ploys of yester.
What tips the scale in the Philomath¡¯s favor, Di Cresta liked to say finishing his lectures, is the ability to recognize and understand what the scale needs to balance out, or tip in his favor. However distasteful, hurtful to his psyche and alas unethical, might that something be.
¡°You¡¯re like my father,¡± Monica had murmured, looking towards the gazebo longingly. ¡°He won¡¯t break an oath easy.¡± But he has done it already to protect you. You¡¯re still in his home. Lord Holt¡¯s biggest love wasn¡¯t the army, or Asturia. Alistair would have done the same for Lucius. He probably had and they killed him for it. So would Lucius. Each man¡¯s worth the weight of his word, against what his heart holds most dear. Come back, his father had said that fateful summer, because he knew him better than anyone else. For Regia.
¡°What?¡± Faye asked and pulled her hand away spooked. Ah, Lucius thought moved, hearing Roderick waking up in their bedroom. ¡°Go to him,¡± he rustled, his throat numb. ¡°Damnit,¡± Faye cursed seeing his face. ¡°How bad is it?¡± ¡°Let me work on it. I¡¯ll find something else.¡± ¡°Is there time?¡± ¡°Not really,¡± he admitted and a tear run down Faye¡¯s eyes. Oras shadow! ¡°It probably won¡¯t work. It¡¯ll be difficult to palate even if it does. It¡¯s not me.¡± I can¡¯t. This is madness. ¡°It¡¯s her isn¡¯t it?" she queried perceptively. "That vile noble cunt!¡± How do you do that? ¡°I don¡¯t even like her Faye. I fear the plan might fall apart and I¡¯m trying to prevent it,¡± he sighed deeply. ¡°I swear it was so much easier fighting in the north!¡± ¡°Do what you have to do,¡± she croaked. Damnit Red. ¡°I love you Faye Alden,¡± Lucius muttered feeling like a monster and hugged her tight, not to hear her sobs. He just wasn¡¯t brave enough. ¡°I can¡¯t let you go. I won¡¯t do it.¡± ¡°Then don¡¯t,¡± she gasped. ¡°Be selfish.¡± ¡°Huh? That would be even more difficult to¡ª¡± Faye pushed him away and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. ¡°I¡¯ll see to Roderick,¡± she whispered. ¡°I was always going to share you with Regia Lucius. It haunts my dreams for years. It is exhausting. Living in fear. Actually it might even be relieving to put a face to that little bitch.¡± Right. ¡°Might?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t push it Alden,¡± she warned him.
¡°Sire,¡± Gripa said later. ¡°You told me to remind you in an hour. It¡¯s been an hour.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s Sirio?¡± Lucius grunted looking at his wife playing with Roderick on their bed. You have to solve this. Men are dying for you in the field for eighty coppers. ¡°He fell from his horse milord,¡± Gripa reported. ¡°A broken leg. Never have I seen as bad a rider making it as far out of sheer determination. They are looking after him. Luckily it was near the barracks. Trupo is waiting downstairs.¡± ¡°I will visit Lord Holt,¡± Lucius said. ¡°Has he left?¡± ¡°He¡¯s in a meeting still,¡± Gripa said. ¡°Good,¡± Lucius said and got up, his stomach a knot. ¡°Gripa, have you ever thought of remarrying?¡± ¡°That would be unwise sire. I¡¯ve loved my wife too much. I¡¯ve nothing more to give,¡± Gripa replied his face a mask. Lucius smacked his lips feeling even more stressed. ¡°That¡¯s eloquently put Gripa. This is how a man should think and go about solving his problems.¡± ¡°A common man milord,¡± Gripa corrected him, which he rarely did. Adding with a knowing stare. ¡°Is luckily plagued by common problems.¡±
Lord Holt had aged a couple of more years in the span of a month, his return to Asturia not agreeing with him. Bernard standing next to his sister appeared sick and extremely angry. The same couldn¡¯t have been said for the two priestesses still present in the Duke¡¯s throne room that appeared quite satisfied with the conversation. ¡°Lord Heir,¡± Rupert Holt said tiredly. ¡°We are in the middle of a family matter. Can it wait?¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid it cannot,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°I have nothing more to say to you Lucius. You have your plan. May Luthos show you favor in the pending struggles.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t leave it to chance Lord Holt,¡± Lucius said hoarsely. ¡°My plan rests on Asturia surviving and if you opt to fight with Mercator, then I may find myself cut off as well. We will all fail. I shan¡¯t have it.¡± ¡°If you value Asturia so much, then perhaps you should recall the legion Lucius,¡± the old duke argued. ¡°Help us instead.¡± ¡°I value Asturia immensely,¡± Lucius announced. ¡°Because it¡¯s loyal and because it opened its doors to me without asking for anything. But this is not how one should behave. And I won¡¯t. I¡¯ll make you another offer Lord Holt. You almost had the same with my father. Here¡¯s your chance to have the likes of it with me.¡± The old Duke stood back on his throne unsure. ¡°Your father was my friend Lucius and my king.¡± ¡°Let me be the same,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°Here I am. I¡¯ll be your friend and I¡¯ll be your King. And to prove to you that I mean it, I¡¯ll ask for your daughter¡¯s hand.¡± Bernard blinked in shock and Vita¡¯s eyes narrowed menacingly. Flavia just gazed his way blankly, with Lady Monica clad in a normal dress mimicking the High Priestess stare. Lucius wasn¡¯t surprised at their reactions, with Lord Holt being the most eloquent of them all. ¡°Lord Heir,¡± the old duke of Asturia reminded him angry. ¡°You¡¯re already married!¡± ¡°I married the North for I rule there,¡± Lucius replied calmly. ¡°I shall marry Asturia for I intent to rule Regia next.¡± ¡°Lucius you can¡¯t do this,¡± Lord Holt cautioned him. ¡°This is common law.¡± ¡°This is my reign they¡¯ve stolen,¡± Lucius countered. ¡°I shall make the rules of it anew, so I can take it back.¡± ¡°What¡­ you know my daughter¡­¡± Lord Holt started, then stopped and glared at her frustrated. ¡°She can love her Goddess in spirit,¡± Lucius helped him. ¡°But not in flesh. This is an agreement Lord Holt. I shall respect her and she won¡¯t have to hide. I will consummate the marriage.¡± ¡°She¡¯s not chaste,¡± Lord Holt grunted with difficulty. ¡°I believe she is,¡± Lucius said and stared at the amused High Priestess. ¡°What would Flavia say?¡± Would the Goddess refuse a king? Flavia bit her lower lip impressed. ¡°She is,¡± she whispered. ¡°What?¡± Vita gasped in disbelief. ¡°Eh,¡± Monica mumbled very confused. ¡°Allgods, what is this?¡± Lord Holt grunted not believing his ears. ¡°Lucius the people won¡¯t easily accept it. The Gods above. She¡¯s a blasted priestess for crying out loud!¡± ¡°The people won¡¯t know for the word about it won¡¯t spread outside this room. If it does then the sword shall test the strength of silk and I¡¯ve seen Endariel cut through sturdier material,¡± Lucius countered looking at Flavia warningly. ¡°The gods above have many rules and people break each and every one of them every moment of every day. The gods¡¯ punishment may never come, but mine shall. And those in the wrong will be judged by my ancestors¡¯ sword.¡± Lord Holt sat back down on his throne stunned. ¡°You¡¯re serious. No lord will agree to this.¡± ¡°No Lord will perhaps, but it will matter naught if we win this and we shall. Then it shall be only one Lord¡¯s word that would matter,¡± Lucius argued and then added, ¡°and either way in the grand scheme of things and given the place¡­¡± He paused again and stared at the statue of the naked Goddess holding Asturia in her hands. ¡°None, but the Fair Lady would ever tolerate it,¡± Flavia murmured passionately, raising her arm to stop Vita¡¯s protests. And Naossis did.
-
¡°What now?¡± Monica asked him two weeks later, the embroidered bridal tunic she wore held by a gold clasp over her left shoulder, leaving the other creamy slender shoulder bare. ¡°Have you had enough to drink?¡± Lucius asked hopefully, this being one of the more difficult parts of the whole unpleasant ordeal. Having to tell Faye the worst of it by far. ¡°I couldn¡¯t,¡± she admitted standing next to the bed. ¡°Are you going back to her immediately?¡± ¡°Not tonight,¡± Lucius grunted not wanting to talk about it and puffed out looking at the double bed like it was a pit of rattlesnakes. ¡°Well, I guess we¡¯ll make an effort and see where it leads us,¡± he started looking to find the right words, but failing. He felt numb. ¡°See it as work, we¡¯ll take it slow,¡± Lucius continued mostly talking to himself and then turned to face his young wife. Monica nodded in understanding, which was nigh impressive, given that the news had taken her by surprise and her ''exotic taste'' in partners. ¡°I know it would be awkward, but rest assured I won¡¯t force myself on you. We shall just do what must be done,¡± Lucius assured her suddenly back in his teenage years confronted with his first wife and Monica much to her credit agreed with another casual nod, then reached with her small hand and unclasped the tunic. The white garb dropping like a heavy curtain and pooling at her naked legs. She wore very little underneath. That is naught but expensive jewelry and the gold clasp that had turned into a small knife in her hand. Uher¡¯s light, he thought impressed. Every part of her was proportional and feminine. ¡°I can make a cut now,¡± Monica said casually, her demeanor much older than her actual years. ¡°A cut,¡± Lucius murmured numbly. I should have had that blasted wine! ¡°For the blood," she deadpanned, then mimicked his voice, lowering hers an octave to recite his earlier words. ¡°They have lies woven in them.¡± Eh. ¡°Leave it,¡± he decided and followed the nimble naked woman to the large bed.
In the third month of summer, the year 192 of the New Calendar, Praise be the Five, the Praetor took Lady Monica Holt of Asturia as his second wife. He then traveled to Islandport and convinced Baron Mercator to evacuate the fleet and most of the civilians beyond the river. There was a huge crowd at the ceremony held two weeks later and then we marched to Croton after the ¡®Old Oak¡¯. Scarlet Legion, (An Account) -Year Three- Race to the river peninsula, Summer of 192 NC Legio rank, Tribune (retired), ''the Book'' Varus Trupo, Military Governor, Lord of Novesium, 3rd Legion¡¯s Historian, Military Scholar, King¡¯s Council (Greater Regia''s Military Commitee) -Circa 205 NC-
317. The Maiden’s Wedding (1/3)
4rthLegion* (Abbreviated | IV LEGIO, Brazen Fourth, IV-LG) Dictum: Triumph beats Infamy Solem Rubrum Mons | Bronze and gold sign representing a red sun emerging behind a black peak (Comparable emblem to the City of Demames, but for the coloring) Organizational chart -Summer 192NC, at the start of Maiden¡¯s War, final iteration- Overall strength ~3560* (Legio general staff not included) -2800 legionnaires, ~760 other units Legatus Legionis | Nonus Sula (Demames ¨C His father was second cousin to Duke Sula of Demames) First Prefect | Declan Valens (Cartagen -Second son of the Grand Baron of Cartaport Sir Montague Valens, cousin to the Mayor of Cartagen Frederick Valens) Prefect | Harrison Jacobred (First non-Lorian senior officer, his family a cadet branch of the Redmonds¡¯ of Kadrek, founded by the Duke¡¯s younger second cousin Jacob. A political appointment.) Optio | Rufius Valens (Prefect Declan¡¯s younger brother. Rufius had sailed for Kadrek immediately upon receiving word from his brother. The Baron was ¡®unaware¡¯ of his offspring whereabouts, the appointments revealed later due to the distance involved and the Fourth¡¯s participation in a different theater in the war.) LID officer | Hugh Bolton. (Kadrek- Late Rolo¡¯s cousin.) Aide de Legatus | Pete Dumont (Demames) Quartermaster | Sulpicius Scrofa (also Keeper of the purse) Solem Rubrum Mons Signifer | Duc Gratian (Centurion Quintus¡¯ second cousin) First Cohort (ICH-IVLG) (Moniker the laconic ¡®Triumph¡¯) Strength 850 legionnaires* First Century (ICN-ICH-IVLG) Gold Standard (Monikers ¡®Them Crimson Banners¡¯, Sula¡¯s Guards) 400 Legionnaires (The vast majority of the century were awarded the golden Phalera after their heroics at Stad River, 2/5 of them posthumous. The unit doubled its size with the addition of Anorum¡¯s cohort in early summer 192NC) Centurion (Primus Pilus) Paulus Didicus Decanus Derio Papus (First Maniple) Decanus Baro (2nd Maniple) Decanus Trebius (3rd Maniple) Decanus Avienus (4rth Maniple) Second Century (IICN-ICH-IVLG) 150 Legionnaires Centurion Lar Montaus Decanus Badi Littera Third Century (IIICN-ICH-IVLG) 150 Legionnaires Centurion Sisena Draco Decanus Varo Bellator Fourth Century (IVCN-ICH-IVLG) 150 Legionnaires Centurion Publius Surinas Decanus Vala Second Cohort (IICH-IVLG) Strength 650 First Century 200 legionnaires Centurion | Opiter Carbo (Demames) Second Century 150 legionnaires Centurion | Glean Lale (Kas) Third Century Centurion | Winston Levy (Kas) Fourth Century Centurion | Gavin Page (Kas) Third Cohort (Halfostad, ¡®Cultured¡¯) (IIICH-IVLG) Strength 650 First Century Centurion | Luke Whitt (Halfostad) Second Century Centurion | Jim Chad (Halfostad) Third Century Centurion | Cornelius Cropp (Unknown, probably Halfostad) Fourth Century Centurion | Willie Page ¨C Gavin¡¯s twin brother (Kas) Fourth Cohort (Anorum, ''The Missing'', ¡®Instructors¡¯, highest ratio of minor officers elevated from a unit after 193NC) (IVCH-IVLG) Strength 650 Former training cohort of Anorum, classes of 190-192 NC First Century Centurion | Quintus Gratian (Anorum, the Signifer¡¯s cousin) Second Century Centurion | Sextus Mellitus (Asturia) Third Century Centurion | Mael Prisca (Asturia) Fourth Century Centurion | Tarsus Zeno (Anorum) (Transferred from III Legio) Legion Slingers 200 Slingers (numbers vary due to severe casualties, 100 well-trained slingers were added in Anorum) Centurion | Joe Fallon (Nord, Maza Burg) Decanus | Drusus Thrasea (Anorum) (Transferred from III Legio) Scouts Legio ~180 Ranger-type units (A mix of mounted archers and light warriors) Under Centurion | Gerard ¡®Half-Ear¡¯ Pike ~70 Rangers + 50 scouts (A mix of Nords, Lorians and Half-breeds) + 50 Nord warriors, ¡®Marlene¡¯s Brutes¡¯ (lightly armoured with axes and swords) Under ¡®Ugly¡¯ Marlene Lake (only unit led by a female, mostly former Gerard¡¯s Raiders) Legio Cavalry Around 250 horsemen (overwhelming majority from Sovya, mainly Halfostad) -150 Medium Cavalry under Decurion | Roger Bailey (Halfostad) -50 Heavy Cavalry & 50 mounted Karls under Sir (later Baron) Norman Gatrell (Yepehir) The Yepehir nobleman served as Lady (later Duchess) Martha Redmond¡¯s honor guard. Probably another political appointment. Legio Engineers (Isaak¡¯s Aprons) 100 apprentices (The IV engineer unit was built from scratch) Centurion (of engineers) Isaak Boston (Lesia ¨C transferred from the Third) Legio Medics Centurion surgeon | Dottore Borealis (credentials disputed, out of the medical academy of Novesium?) Medic Dorothea + 30 other nurses and medics *Around two thousand five hundred civilians, merchants, medics, carpenters and smiths, following in the supply train. Six Scorpios, later twelve - plus a prototype ''Deliverer'' after 193, the classified weapon probably a copy of the archaic pre-Reinut Issir design. The IV Legio had almost five hundred horses and various mounts, due to its larger than usual cavalry element, mostly drawn from Duke Redmond¡¯s troops. The IV Legio spent almost half of 192 NC split into two large groups afore Sula resumed command during the summer.
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. -
Legatus Nonus Sula The Maiden¡¯s Wedding Part I -A matter of orders-
The smell of manure was overwhelming and as annoying as the flies following the herd of bovines ¨Cmostly cattle- slowly moving down the path towards the fields and away from the river, spreading their odorous ¡®fertilizer¡¯ as much on the rough cobblestone road leading to the bridge as over its sides. ¡°I¡¯m dying,¡± a flushed and sweaty Martha groaned from the separate inner part of his tent, the heavy leather and fabric over them offering little relief from the heavy sun of the plains. ¡°Everything smells like rot? Like more than yesterday?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just fresh cow shit and mud,¡± Sula elucidated, using a towel to clean his face and stared at a stoic Dumont standing near the opening. ¡°The summer has been pretty mild all things considering.¡± ¡°I dreamed of a sea, I¡¯ll settle with that darn lake if that¡¯s the best you could do, yet we get to slowly roast in the open plains,¡± Martha complained in a bad mood. ¡°What is happening Nonus?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a river. You¡¯ll get used to it.¡± ¡°Ugh? Seriously, what in witch¡¯s unplucked brows are we doing here? Do something!¡± Eh. ¡°Think of snow it might help dear,¡± Sula replied wearily and turned his attention on his aide. ¡°What did you say?¡± Martha screamed. ¡°Here they come sir,¡± Dumont informed him peeking outside the tent. ¡°The mayor and them other two.¡± ¡°Sir Dolf?¡± Sula queried. ¡°Ayup, with that son of a bitch Aad Menneken.¡± For some reason Dumont disliked the Captain the most. ¡°Nonus!¡± Martha shouted irate from her consealed spot. ¡°What the actual fuck?¡± ¡°Martha I need five quiet minutes,¡± Sula replied with a grimace and stood up to greet his visitors. ¡°We have guests.¡± That silenced the pregnant noblewoman. Martha was a trooper deep inside. ¡°No need to trouble her,¡± Sir Dolf a skinny Issir of medium height said with a disconcerting smile. He wore mostly leather armour despite being a knight, not much different than his aide Captain Menneken. The also armed Issir, heavily built and with his white hair fully shaven. The Mayor of Bisonville, Floris Van Dam was a man that liked his meat and fish equally, as he¡¯d told them many a times in the weeks they had stalled by the bridge waiting for a decision from Pascor. Variety is important, Van Dam preached, despite his rounded body offering little of that. Had he not have meaty limbs and a large protruding head, the mayor could have easily rolled down the sloped street and into the river. Cow dung be damned. ¡°The plains summer is difficult for a northern lass in her condition,¡± Sula replied and offered them the field chairs in front of his lacquered and sturdy small oaken table. ¡°The lake is worse,¡± Sir Dolf assured him taking his seat. ¡°Humidity penetrates yer bones. Your wife I assume?¡± ¡°Uhm,¡± Sula murmured not wanting to talk about his private life with him. He could barely stomach Dolf Van Calcar¡¯s presence and didn¡¯t trust a word coming out of his mouth. ¡°I¡¯ve brought beef ribs,¡± the mayor intervened, sweating so much that the front of his loose shirt hang heavy. ¡°Left the fat on them. All you have¡ª¡± ¡°Let us return to the matter at hand,¡± Sir Dolf interrupted him. ¡°You have word from Pascor?¡± Sula grunted, sweating as much as the mayor almost and he was wearing armour which didn¡¯t help at all. ¡°Even better,¡± Dolf said and stared at Menneken for support. The man nodded afore adding with a dispassionate, even gloomy voice. ¡°Very¡­ pleasing news.¡± For a moment Sula thought he¡¯d announced an outbreak of the plague, his tone out of place. ¡°The Legion can cross this side of Picker¡¯s River?¡± It was what he thought the more likely answer from Lord Ton would be. ¡°The one in Brownfort?¡± Dolf asked. ¡°It¡¯s the same plaguing Legion,¡± Sula grunted. ¡°No.¡± ¡°We get to cross and join with them?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Sula sighed. Dolf could turn to a man of few words at the snap of one¡¯s fingers. ¡°So Lord Ton decided we can remain in his lands?¡± Dolf pushed back on his chair thinking about it. ¡°Is it too difficult a query?¡± Sula taunted his patience running thin. ¡°Well, perhaps you should read his words for yourself dear Legatus,¡± Dolf finally answered and offered him a neatly furled scroll, nice flat golden cord tied on it. ¡°Avoid using endearments Sir Dolf. We¡¯re in the army,¡± Sula cautioned him and tried to untie the knot, but his fingers were too thick so Dumont gave it a try next without any success. ¡°May I suggest cutting it?¡± Dolf offered with a smirk. ¡°We are friendly people around here, even passionate, so I shall ask for your patience to our native verbiage.¡± Eat a plate of cack. Dumont had used his dagger in the meantime to cut the cord and Sula grabbed the fancy scroll to read it without answering the Issir knight. He smacked his lips after he did thoroughly confused. They had received a missive from Lucius that very morning with a very peculiar wording after they decoded it. When offer arrives. Agree and keep them busy. At first Sula feared a mix-up with the birds, someone using two parts of different messages to create one. Things like that happen in the army. There¡¯s a fuckup lurking behind every corner. Sir Dolf was grimacing excited looking at him. ¡°Your brother is getting married,¡± Sula murmured and scratched his forehead with two fingers. ¡°Very¡­ pleasing¡ª¡± Menneken droned, but Sula cut him off with an impatient gesture. ¡°I get it,¡± he grunted in frustration. ¡°Legatus this is the best possible outcome!¡± Dolf said enthusiastically. ¡°I can¡¯t leave the legion and travel to Pascor Sir Dolf!¡± ¡°Why, the legion can come as well,¡± he assured him. ¡°See the city, eh¡­ not much to see really, but there¡¯s the Fenlands at the near¡­ ye might not enjoy that as well, but you can gaze at the Serene River, which is¡­ a river, then make the trip to Wolffish Isles uhm¡­¡± Dolf paused trying to think of something else. ¡°Rejoice at the wedding of course, I mean¡­ that¡¯s a lot,¡± he finished, brushing the sweat off of his upper lip with a finger. Sula smacked his lips a second time and glared at him. ¡°Fine,¡± he finally said. ¡°Fine?¡± Dolf retorted. ¡°Dumont am I speaking in Cofol?¡± Sula queried. ¡°Negative sir,¡± Dumont replied readily. ¡°I hear Common. Perhaps it is the accent?¡± ¡°I do too,¡± Dolf assured them and got up. ¡°Legatus, ahm¡­ we shall see each other in Pascor, I reckon,¡± he added a little awkwardly. Apparently the meeting was over. Right. ¡°You won¡¯t travel with us?¡± Sula probed a little confused. Dolf shrugged his shoulders. ¡°I have a ship waiting across Bisonville,¡± he explained. ¡°I hate riding in this heat. Now walking, is for braver men than myself.¡± Make that a cauldron of cack, Sula thought and watched Dumont ushering them outside. Dottore Borealis pausing to let his visitors leave the tent. ¡°Is the suffering madam inside?¡± Borealis queried from outside the opening. ¡°No she¡¯s bathing in the blasted river!¡± Sula barked, the shifty Dottore nodding unperturbed afore replying didactically. ¡°It is good to stretch out her limbs Legatus. Nothing healthier than a dip in cold waters in the nude to liven the skin. I shall take her myself next time, but rest assured I¡¯ll stay close, so nothing untoward befalls her.¡± It was as if he had it prepared. You son of a goat. ¡°Get inside you cretin!¡± Sula grunted irate. The smartly dressed Borealis blinked at the term. ¡°There¡¯s no need for coarse language, or unfortunate epithets Legatus. A simple hand signal would have sufficed,¡± the Dottore reproached him walking past Sula and into Martha¡¯s quarters behind the Legatus¡¯ desk. Huh? ¡°Leave the drapes open,¡± Sula warned him turning his head around, dagger in hand and eyes ogling menacingly. That would be the same dagger Dumont had used to open Lord Ton¡¯s invitation. ¡°Else you¡¯ll never signal anything again and walk on blasted stubs!¡±
That busy summer, the year of the new calendar one and ninety two, Praised be the Five, the Issir Duke Ton Van Calcar, one of two most important Lakerlords of the great Canlita Sea, upon being informed that the partially rebuilt First Foot had camped near Crabville and the Lord of Tollor¡¯s army had crept up even closer to Hoff¡¯s Tower, decided to attempt a diplomatic solution of sorts. He sent word to the elderly Grand Duke of Riverdor and Van Durren patriarch Lord Albert that he wanted Aafke¡¯s hand in marriage for ¡®those blinded by passion must be allowed a chance at redemption in Uher¡¯s eyes¡¯. The teenage girl had been living with him for well over a year. It was a fanciful tale about the desperately in love girl finding her way to his lands and his person, no one really believed, but moved the almost senile by this point Lord Albert to tears. It wasn¡¯t well received neither by Baron Janos of Badum, nor Lord Hoff who had recently made a marriage pact of their own and had planned to carve out most of Van Calcar¡¯s lands. Lord Ton¡¯s plea for them to bury the hatch and not allow a ¡®foolish misunderstanding¡¯ to divert them from the bigger problems of the Realm, left the possibility for an agreement on the disputed lands. It was a vague promise, shrouded in fanciful words and a wedding invitation for the bride¡¯s family to attend to, difficult to refuse. Lord Albert made the trip to Tollor for the wedding intending to convince the other lords to opt for common ground between fellow Issirs, the old Shield also forced to action probably under heavy pressure from High Regent Anker, of Midlanor. The latter was livid that the lords of Kaltha were quarreling for ¡®petty bullshit¡¯ whilst the engaged in multiple wars torn kingdom was ¡®neck deep in real shite¡¯. Lord Janos Van Durren of Badum begrudgingly agreed, since he owed the old Duke patriarch his position and brought his very young, but already pregnant wife Lady Lauke Hoff with him. The ever-cautious lord of Tollor was less willing to make the trip either by foot or ship and send Lord Morit Hoff Baron of Edgefort, a first cousin, along his first son Sir Daan Hoff in his stead. He did travel to Crabville though where the army still resided, while the Lords made the journey by sea. There he found Sir Henk Van Durren, Lord Albert¡¯s first son and Commander of the First Foot. The young nobleman for whatever reason opted to march his large force to Hoff¡¯s Tower near Sir Maas Hoff¡¯s Tollor¡¯s regulars. The two forces numbering between five to just over seven thousand soldiers, the discrepancy not in Tollor¡¯s two thousand five-hundred soldiers, but in First Foot¡¯s incomplete records. A part of the force was in Riverdor after all under young and just knighted Sir Charles Van Durren, Lord Albert¡¯s youngest son. Was it half? (About 2500 soldiers). Two thirds? It is difficult to gauge the truth now so long after the event. The impromptu Maiden¡¯s Wedding was to host a number of very prominent Issir, Lorian and even Nord Lords and Dames. The still comatose High King¡¯s old Shield, Albert Van Durren, Duke of Riverdor. His younger step-brother and right hand man Baron Mikel of Riverdor Castle. High Baron Janos Van Durren of Badum and his wife Lady Lauke Hoff of Tollor. Lord Morit Hoff of Edgefort. Sir Daan Hoff the second, commander of Tollor¡¯s fleet and marines. Lord Ton Van Calcar of Pascor. His wife to be Aafke Van Durren of Badum. His brother Sir Dolf Van Calcar. Baron Dilan Darvot of Brownfort. Legatus Nonus Sula of the Fourth Legion, Prefect Declan Valens (High Baron of Cartaport¡¯s second son), Sir Norman Gatrell (Later Baron of Yepehir), Lady Martha Redmond (Duke of Kadrek¡¯s only surviving daughter), Sir Roger Blenk, Lord Ton¡¯s loyal Shield and his wife Lady Thea Van Calcar, the latter a disputed fact. The typically brief Issir nuptials focused on the feast more than the ceremony set to occur in the old mouldy halls of the half sunken Grime Citadel, a leaking stone-bricks castle at the edges of the mist-covered gloomy city of Pascor, built to guard the bordering land-bridge towards the Fenlands. Two weeks later the reunited Fourth Legion camped for the last time ten kilometers from Pascor, building its massive Castrum as far away from the lakes shores as it was possible. They had met near the junction of the river port across Bisonville, the rich city extending on both banks of Picker¡¯s River. Along Lucius forces traveled their old acquaintance Baron Darvot of Brownfort, who was heading himself to Pascor for the wedding without his spirited but bedridden wife, Lady Tinneke Van Calcar. The well-traveled Baron had spent the previous year in Kas negotiating on behalf of Lord Ton.
Sula walked to the Castrum gates four-meter tall wooden guardtower and climbed the narrow ladder, his boots covered in the lake¡¯s mud. No rains had plagued their summer and fast march, but close to this side of Canlita the ground never really dried up fully. ¡°Legatus!¡± the sentry saluted banging his fist on his chest and Sula grunted a response, his eyes on the heavy mist surrounding their walls. The lake¡¯s shores half a kilometer away, as they had opted to camp on the north side of the cobblestone road. That is, there were layers of crushed stones under foot, but the engineers had to dig half a meter down to reveal the sturdier surface and allow the heavy-laden wagons to roll down the well-travelled road. Lord Ton should consider the repaired road his wedding gift, Sula thought. ¡°The Baron says that once you cut the trees down, the ground gives away to mire,¡± his aide Dumont commented climbing on the small tower next to him. Sula glared at the guard standing close to them and the nervous legionnaire backed away a couple of feet afore he run out of real-estate on the narrow top and came to a halt again. The planks under their boots half-rotted away, the intact Van Calcar¡¯s forest kilometers away whatever was left of it untouched by decree, Pascor opting to import timber from the North instead. ¡°Half of Ice Troll¡¯s Plateau was brought down to be used as foundation for the city. The lands near Serene and the delta, are even worse than this.¡± ¡°Why built there?¡± Sula asked and smacked a hornet buzzing over his head down. His boot finishing the palm sized insect off with a crunch. ¡°The last Issirs that crossed over Serene, chased the Nords and Lorians away to Picker¡¯s River. The Lorians stayed on the other side of the lake, but the Northmen just declared the lands near East Nord Road free for raiding. Eaglesnest and the Crulls tried to hold back the tide, but warbands still roamed near the mountains. It seemed the safer spot, near what looked like a sea.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± Sula murmured his mind on Lucius orders. ¡°Is that Valens? Prefect!¡± He barked not waiting for Dumont¡¯s reply. ¡°Up here!¡± ¡°Legatus,¡± Valens said in his haughty manner. ¡°That¡¯s quite the crowd you have up there.¡± ¡°Join us Prefect,¡± Sula grunted and waited for the Prefect to climb up the two meters by two wide tower. The legionnaire having to relocate on the back wall, facing inside the Castrum. ¡°Is this a meeting?¡± Valens asked, wiping the front of his armour with a cloth. The humidity soaking everything after a while. ¡°What is the Baron doing?¡± Sula asked. The Prefect had spent a lot of time in Brownfort and had built a rapport with Darvot and his wife. ¡°He is excited to reach Pascor and the lake.¡± ¡°The lake is right there,¡± Sula pointed in the mist covered expanse of water. ¡°Nothing exciting about it. I swear it looks different from the other side!¡± ¡°Brownfort isn¡¯t exactly a city sir,¡± Valens replied. ¡°And when that breeze blows down the northern mountains you can shave with your fingers.¡± ¡°Dumont was telling me you had some questions,¡± Sula said, squinting his eyes to look up and down both sides of the road. They had patrols working on covering their rear and the approach to Pascor. The Legatus hoped to catch whiff of their return. ¡°Well, I fail to see how we are supposed to ¡®keep them busy¡¯ sir,¡± Valens said and eyed disapprovingly the legionnaire pretending he wasn¡¯t listening in. ¡°I understand diplomacy and manners, but the moment the wedding is over, we will have to return.¡± ¡°Mmm,¡± Sula said thoughtfully. ¡°It¡¯s a matter of orders Prefect.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t go about overthinking stuff like that,¡± Sula continued his eyes returning on the road. A patrol of legionnaires had appeared and was coming towards the gates of the Castrum, a lissome Issir female accompanying them. The dress torn and muddy at places, but of great quality, he noticed eyeing the comely woman approach. The Issir¡¯s long white hair and dark skin rich both in volume and color. ¡°West patrol, Second Century returning!¡± the leading legionnaire of the six-man group boomed. ¡°What¡¯s the password?¡± The guard asked behind their backs, completely unseen from the men under the walls. ¡°Legatus?¡± The patrol soldier queried unsure. ¡°Spotted¡­ eggs sir!¡± He yelled seeing Sula¡¯s mean glare. ¡°Dotted¡­ there¡¯s been a revised¡ª¡± the guard behind him said and Sula grunted in frustration cutting him off midsentence. ¡°Open the darn gates!¡± There were always minor, or even big fuckups in the army. You just had to kick the stuff in place with boot, or hammer sometimes and not always expect things to turn up all pretty ¡®n tidy. ¡°Why,¡± Valens gasped, sounding upset and not of the same opinion. ¡°That is quite unacceptable! By the gods! Have the officer of the watch report to me soldier! We must get to the bottom of this malarkey!¡± Sula was halfway down the ladder by then and missed the rest of their exchange.
¡°Legatus,¡± the patrol soldier saluted nervously hearing the Prefect yelling up on the guardtower. ¡°We found her by the lake. By herself.¡± Sula stared at the woman numbly. ¡°You have a name milady?¡± he asked, since despite being a bit ruffled up, it was obvious this was a woman of some statue. Walking about an hour afore the sun sets in the middle of nowhere. The Issir female smiled warmly taking him by surprise, a large commotion heard behind his back coming from the Castrum. ¡°Which Legatus?¡± She asked calmly, a tingling running down Sula¡¯s spine for no apparent reason. It wasn¡¯t a surprising query. Perhaps triggered by the fact it was the first query from a lost woman, picked up by a lot of well-armed strange men. Or good ol¡¯ gut feeling. ¡°The Fourth,¡± he grunted, clenching his jaw. ¡°I¡¯m Nonus Sula. What is your name milady?¡± he asked his voice hardening, Baron Darvot¡¯s shocked voice coming afore the Issir had a chance to reply. ¡°Praised be the Five!¡± The Baron gasped in genuine bewilderment. ¡°Lady Thea. You found her Legatus! Haha. Luthos favor upon us!¡± ¡°Lady Thea?¡± Sula repeated, his voice hesitant and the woman made a face as if it wasn¡¯t too big a matter. ¡°Lord Ton¡¯s sister,¡± the arriving from inside the Castrum Baron Darvot elucidated smiling. ¡°My dear Lady, we thought you lost. I got the message three weeks ago. Your husband is probably distraught.¡± ¡°I went by the lake,¡± Thea replied indifferently. ¡°Lost track of time. Then I heard the soldiers working and came to see if the famed Legatus was here,¡± she looked at Sula pleased. ¡°Eh, I guess you¡¯ll have to do. You are far away from God¡¯s Peak Legatus, but tell me this though. Are you here to fight, or hide?¡± Tyeus bent out of plaguin¡¯ shape spear! ¡°I¡¯m here for a wedding,¡± Sula croaked, glancing at the troubled face of Baron Darvot. ¡°That¡¯s all.¡± All Sula needed now was a crazy woman dropping into his lap and creating waves. Lady Thea stood back with a teasing stare, made a face then sighed and stared at her muddy soft leather shoes hesitantly. The mire drenching her once light-blue summer dress and ankles. ¡°She¡¯s a little¡­ ehm,¡± Darvot paused unsure and Thea looked at him with her large pale green eyes. For a moment Sula thought he saw white silver spots in them sparkling. ¡°Challenged by fate,¡± the Baron added with a grimace. ¡°The petty Lord-sentry of cattle¡¯s bridge and distant thinning forest, knows a lot about challenges,¡± Thea mocked him. ¡°Your wife is better this morning Baron. Beaming. It is a pity she didn¡¯t make the journey with you. Hers was a remarkable recovery actually.¡± ¡°Lady Thea!¡± Darvot grunted, face flushed at the insult and whatever his household troubles were, but the weird woman paid him no attention and turned her gaze on the frowning Sula instead. ¡°Very¡­ pleasing news,¡± Thea said evoking Menneken¡¯s words half a month back, with the addition of a knowing wink. Fantastic, Sula thought. Crazy seers, pregnant hornets, foul tasting humid air and vague orders. What could wrong? ¡°I offer the Legion¡¯s salutations Lady Thea. You are welcomed to our camp,¡± he grunted with a curt nod of his helmed head and she beamed, not a bad tooth in her well-shaped mouth and countered in fluent Common what was the full version of an archaic greeting a younger Sula had heard in Demames Military School years back. Perhaps the most boring lesson he ever had to endure. Histories of the Old Realms. By Old Oak¡¯s famed ancestor. ¡°All our greetings. Our hearts and songs,¡± Lady Thea had corrected him and pointed above their heads with a long graceful, but dirty finger. ¡°To the heavens above.¡±
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 318. The Maiden’s Wedding (2/3) Swift midnight call out the fog be coming Take heed of the tunes behind words Veiled are the Old Realms creature¡¯s songs, Locked rudder¡¯s chains ¡®n unfurled sails, sinister dark outlines¡­ Ever crackling Oh, ye children of the brines Unseen are black Oras signs Est Ravn preached, ¡®em stay the course, Which Van Oord elected not to endorse Aest wit De Weer dreamed of distant shores Beyond Calith¡¯s or Cazan¡¯s vile death¡¯s confines Calcar kept on until his wife¡¯s limbs turned to mud, frozen solid ships wit old rottin¡¯ beams ¡®n hanging masts¡¯ lines, sprouting stone walls ¡®n citadels, wher¡¯ gory gold still shines, far and away from the land of emerald pines¡­ Malice skulking Oh, ye children of the brines Unseen are black Oras signs Swift midnight call out the fog be coming Take heed of the tunes behind words Veiled are the Old Realms creature¡¯s songs, Inside grief¡¯s ¡®n pleasure¡¯s elaborate designs¡­ Be lurking Oh, ye children of the brines Unseen are black Oras signs - Midnight Call (also known as Children of the brines) Famed traditional (Pre-Jelin) funeral song of the Issirs Circa unknown (before the new calendar)
Lord Ton Van Calcar ¡®The Wolf-fish¡¯ The Maiden¡¯s Wedding Part II -Oh, ye children of the brines-
There is that bloody creepy feeling again, Ton Van Calcar thought, twisting about nervously. Sam Gong the tailor paused and stared at him strictly, long curving needles in mouth, seam ripper in one hand, measuring tape in the other. ¡°It¡¯s tight in the chest,¡± Ton grunted. ¡°Milord, it¡¯s a blue tartan cashmere slim redingote as base. All the rage at the moment. Fine blue velvet for the fish at the front, the details on the elbows and lapels,¡± Gong explained again keeping his professional tone. An ascetic man, with extremely clean hands and a small trimmed mustache to go along with equally well-shaped elongated sideburns, Sam Gong had learned his craft in Asturia, afore returning to Pascor to make his living among the ¡®uncultured¡¯, with clients all over the Canlita Sea as far as Badum. A rich living given what he¡¯s paid for two weeks of work and three rolls of fabric, Ton thought sourly, who had no option but to employ the known tailor to replenish his and Aafke¡¯s frugal wardrobe. The young noblewoman had just given birth to a healthy girl and needed all the help she could get to appear ¡®presentable¡¯. He¡¯d named her Rena. His daughter. Eh¡­ Ton thought with a grimace. Ye get whatever the tide carries ashore. Luthos willing. ¡°They favor wool in Asturia this time of year?¡± Ton murmured, sweat gathered on his forehead and Aafke groaning in her room, the assistants trying to get her into a similar material slim dress. You don¡¯t go for small sort when ye don¡¯t have the hips for it, his father¡¯s words talking about saddles, but fitting sort of. ¡°Not in the summer, but we have a chill on this side of the pond Milord,¡± Gong said, navigating the long needles in his mouth. ¡°Can¡¯t feel it¡­ the chill,¡± Ton grunted. ¡°Only occasionally. What do ye think that means?¡± ¡°Wedding jitters milord,¡± Gong assured him. ¡°Two people coming close together for the first time. Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± Ton¡¯s stared him blankly for a moment, afore adding warningly. ¡°It¡¯s still too tight.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll see to loosen it milord.¡± ¡°Anyway I can wear a bit of armor over it?¡± ¡°For the wedding milord?¡± Gong asked unsure if he was jesting. Ton had never been more serious in his life. That would be a hall full of people he didn¡¯t trust to spit on. ¡°We¡¯ll have the doors open,¡± Ton grunted, breathing with difficulty. ¡°Whilst chilly, it¡¯s the summer and the Fenlands are mostly dried up. You never know what might walk in through them doors.¡±
The wagons kept bringing material from the old stone quarries. A hundred meter flat area had been created outside the side of the citadel facing the Fenlands and crushed stone was poured over it. The winter rains and rising waters would probably bring the mud close to the gates again in a couple of months, but Ton wanted the area around the citadel building to be presentable. A dour, ugly square building with sturdy thick walls, the three storied Grime Citadel had been built not a kilometer from the land bridge heading into Hag¡¯s Fenlands, but with the passage of time the bogs had crept up closer to the old structure and its walls had collapsed on that side. Pascor had grown away from it, the outer walls touching the citadel on the north side and ending at the elevated cliffs, the rest of its walls running parallel to Serene River starting at ten kilometers from the delta and as close as five hundred meters at the far north corner, before the river docks. A misshapen, or asymmetrical city according to the locals, Pascor¡¯s center was sort of triangular with its best building being the Mayor¡¯s estate and dungeon with its stone scaffolds decorating the approach. There was a market in the gloomy inner city district and most of stores and businesses, but Pascor¡¯s better houses were in the inner north quarter (noble district) and the large port (town-sized) district, about seven kilometers to the east, where the narrow bogs ended. A natural lake harbor, the Port District faced almost directly towards Wolffish Port town, located on the biggest of the tiny isles spreading out from the mud mired fenlands. ¡°This is ruinous,¡± the Baron of Woffish Isles Jos Hagel complained, also the ¡®Lord of Clay¡¯ and ¡®Master of the Purse¡¯ in a foul mood. He was talking to Sir Emil Blenk, his Shield¡¯s adopted son. The boy¡¯s mother a distant cousin that had perished due to bogs fever, a common illness plaguing this side of the lake. You either learned to withstand the foul disease carrying insects feasting on yer blood, or ye didn¡¯t. Ton had lost plenty of his own family members to the fever. A good number to the lake and its Hag. Like his bigger brother. Eh. ¡°What was that?¡± Ton asked and the Baron grimaced as he hadn¡¯t seen him approaching. It¡¯s the new garbs perhaps, he thought. ¡°It would be better to use the material to repair the walls milord,¡± Hagel said quickly. Ton stabbed his boot down to test the repaired ground. ¡°See this Hagel?¡± he grunted. ¡°No mud splashing up my fancy garbs! Which is what we want. What we don¡¯t want are drunk lofty people stumbling in the dark and landing arse first, if they are lucky, in the plaguing mire!¡± ¡°It¡¯s barely worth it for a hundred meters milord,¡± Hagel insisted thinking Ton was open to discuss the matter further. Which he wasn¡¯t. ¡°It¡¯s enough to avoid the worst Hagel! Witch¡¯s tits, if someone wants to stroll about, then it¡¯s on them and not me!¡± ¡°The path is partially repaired,¡± Emil noted. ¡°Not that difficult to navigate.¡± ¡°My lad,¡± Ton said patiently. ¡°There will be no sightseeing whatsoever. Them fools have no idea how to walk on paved road and you want to let them loose in the bogs?¡± ¡°The Wolffish isle is nice this time of year,¡± Emil insisted. Again thinking Ton was open to discuss the matter. He wasn¡¯t. ¡°See right there is where yer mistake is,¡± Ton counselled him. ¡°Ye say that and you mean it is a good time to fish and then visit a tavern for some serious drinking, but these idiots understand it¡¯s alike Valeria¡¯s beaches, or Asturia¡¯s, all fancy pebbles, imported sand from Aegium and public umbrellas with restrooms. It isn¡¯t. No naked tits are sunbathing behind the bushes and if ye dip yer cock in them waters, you¡¯ll lose it afore I snap my fingers.¡± And he snapped them to make his point. Hagel shivered at the thought, but young Sir Emil frowned and stared at the misty Fenlands longingly. ¡°I was thinking, after this is over to visit¡ª¡± ¡°We don¡¯t do that. Valeria is not for us,¡± Ton cut him off before he could finish. ¡°I was thinking more about Asturia,¡± Emil argued. ¡°We don¡¯t do that either. They are crooks and yer father¡¯s coin is whatever my sister gave him, bless his poor soul. In a sense,¡± Ton continued looking at him sternly. ¡°It is my coin yer thinking to spend on them harlots.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t¡ª¡± Ton stopped him raising his arm, his new clothes too tight still. ¡°Enough. You were caught, just take it like a man. Are the ships here?¡± He asked changing the subject. ¡°They arrived at the port. Your brother as well,¡± Emil reported. ¡°You get the guards ready. See we don¡¯t have problems during the event,¡± Ton said. ¡°I¡¯ll double the patrols at the slums.¡± ¡°Fuck the slums, nobody will go there,¡± Ton cut him off. ¡°Keep them around the citadel, clean up the streets and somebody do something about the wilderness that is my fucking garden! We¡¯re almost cut off from the city!¡±This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it ¡°We have most of the crews paving your yard milord,¡± Hagel reminded him. ¡°It will be ruinous to hire more.¡± ¡°Umm,¡± Lord Ton grunted irate and walked away stabbing his boots hard down to test the quality of the work.
Dolf gave him the scroll while the crews brought the three very large and elongated wedding tables inside. Two long narrow benches fitted to each table for a total of six. The table in front of his throne inside his emptied out main hall was reserved for himself, Aafke and Pascor. The honored right side was for the Van Durren, then the Hoffs and their entourage. The Legatus, the Nords and the Lorian guests would take the other table, leaving the side near the double doors free for the servants to quickly come and go. Ton wanted the doors kept open, the white gravel covered yard illuminated for the guards remaining outside due to lack of space and to also allow ventilation for the old and windowless at its first floor main building of his Citadel. The rented band he would place behind him on a newly constructed stand and they had moved his bronze throne further back for this. Four lutes, two Flutes, a baritone Lyre and a tambourine. The latter he had to pay as well since it was part of the band out of Asturia. Lord Ton had to finish with the wedding afore the last week of summer, since the band of musicians was fully booked in Asturia for the festival. Pascor like most Issir cities didn¡¯t celebrate it, their much more sober ¡®Anchorage Day¡¯ coming much later each year in the fall and had usually no dances in it. Usually because there¡¯s always that occasional drunken fool that will find joy even in the gloomy tunes of ¡®Midnight Call¡¯, or a funeral. Old witch¡¯s swollen tits, Ton thought with a grimace reading at the scroll. You had to think that in yer wedding day? What the actual fuck? He admonished himself. Crunching his mouth at what he was reading, just as alarm bells rang in his city. ¡°Ah, that¡¯s the fire alarm probably,¡± Ton murmured and glanced at Sir Roger Blenk¡¯s squire bringing him another small scroll to read. ¡°Mayor Sequer, the marines have been loaded to the ships. The fleet is at Wolffish Port.¡± ¡°We could have used them milord,¡± Vance Sequer, the sturdy Mayor of Pascor said. A wealthy man with absolutely no sense of humor. ¡°Hoff¡¯s son brought five ships with him,¡± Ton explained. ¡°The rest he kept beyond the turn at the Watchtower, so I have to keep the fleet on alert.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the legion Lord Ton,¡± Blenk his Shield reported. ¡°It spooked the guards at the gates.¡± Thank god the hide market¡¯s stands are safe! ¡°They are coming inside?¡± ¡°Good grief no, they are building a camp near the Fish Market. But they¡¯ll probably send a lot of men here with the Legatus,¡± Blenk retorted and blinked in shock when a worker testing the benches toppled backwards and cracked his skull on the stone tiles. His brains splashing everywhere, the man dead within seconds. Fuck¡¯s sake! Ton thought nervously watching them carrying the diseased man out and then loading him on an open wagon to transport in the bogs via the planks-lined passage. Pascor had a graveyard, but it was costly to use and any waterhole in the Fenlands could do the same job in a couple of days¡¯ tops. Feed the fishes. Keeps yer nets full, his late father used to say. ¡°We¡¯ll clean it up milord,¡± the foreman assured him with a toothy smile and Ton nodded numbly. ¡°Nothing a good ole scrubbing won¡¯t fix.¡± ¡°Stefan Carus reports the First Foot is at Hoff¡¯s Tower,¡± he finally said some time later, the crews washing the blood off the floor and a couple of carpenters brought in to repair the dangerous bench. The ruckus inside his hall brutal to his eardrums. ¡°Less than two weeks march,¡± Roger Blenk commented. ¡°Uhm,¡± Ton agreed. ¡°Let¡¯s hope the presence of the Legion will give them pause. They won¡¯t fight us with them around hopefully. Then again, fuck I know? People are right stupid. Keep yer blade at the near Sir Blenk,¡± Lord Ton sighed deeply and glanced at the gloomy face of his old Shield. ¡°No sign of Thea?¡± A troubled Blenk shook his head negatively. ¡°There¡¯s some hope still,¡± he said hoarsely and Ton nodded with a grimace. He wanted to say something more, but the Lord of Pascor had a ton of problems more important than his lost sister. He loved her, but in about half an hour some motherfuckers that sort of hated his guts will appear and he just couldn¡¯t spare any energy on her. For a clairvoyant, he thought soberly. Thea is blind as fuck to danger. ¡°She has a good soul,¡± Ton reminded him. ¡°Gods shall protect her.¡± Not that gods gave a shite about what happened in Pascor. A herald entered his wide open doors at this time, hesitated in bewilderment seeing the chaos, hammers banging on the benches, workers sweeping pieces of brain off the floor and the hall dark for the time of day, since Lord Ton economized on the candles. The bills for the event had gone through the roof and feeding the Legion will probably ruin him for a couple of years. Oh, what the decent folk have to endure to preserve their wife¡¯s honor. Had he be given the opportunity to go back in time, Ton would have taken Blenk¡¯s advice and tossed Aafke overboard on his return from Riverdor. He liked the girl a lot yes, but he had to put the country first. And his purse. ¡°Sir Dolf Van Calcar,¡± the Herald announced. A white spearfish on his linen dark blue tunic nigh prominent. ¡°Escorting his grace Albert Van Durren, Grand Duke of Riverdor and the foremost King¡¯s Shield.¡± Eh, the king was more plant than human now, or straight up dead, since they were rumors about that as well, with some conspiracies suggesting he¡¯d faked the murder attempt in order to sail to Yalca, or even Wetull for some reason. Ton could only describe the timing as unfortunate. Allgods fucking damnit! ¡°Keep them in the yard!¡± he grunted and marched there himself, tip-toeing around the dark stain on the floor.
¡°Why,¡± Baron Janos of Badum told him, his young wife ¨Cthe Hoff girl- all swollen up, her skin like light chocolate. ¡°I must say Lord Ton, yer place is rather gloomy and the ¡®view¡¯ leaves much to be desired.¡± Bastard even made air quotes at the word. ¡°It¡¯s the summer,¡± Ton retorted dejectedly, glancing at the lords gathered in his yard whilst the crews finished up inside. A couple of tables and stools brought outside hastily, but the guests were too many to accommodate. The spot reserved for the guards had to be appropriated and the many armed men, Hoff and Van Durren soldiers bunched up outside the yard. ¡°When the rains come the water comes up to the doors, so it gives another perspective.¡± ¡°Do you use boats, or just close this side of the Citadel?¡± Lord Albert Van Durren queried ogling his eyes to peek through the afternoon mist. It was far less than the morning fog covering the Fenlands, but the old goat had poor eyes on top of his other ailments. ¡°It not even a foot of water,¡± mostly mud, Ton replied. ¡°We create walkways with planks. Very idyllic.¡± ¡°It must be nice,¡± Lady Lauke said, probably uncomfortable in her austere summer dress. ¡°You need to drain the swamp,¡± Lord Morit, Hoff¡¯s cousin advised him soberly. ¡°We have the same problem in Tollor.¡± ¡°How did it go?¡± Ton asked mockingly. ¡°Well, it¡¯s a struggle. Each season we go at it anew.¡± There you go. Ye have your answer. ¡°Am I to see my niece?¡± Lord Albert asked, a large hornet buzzing over his head. ¡°She¡¯s resting my Lord,¡± Ton replied and caught out the side of his eye a large group of armed men approaching from the stables road, the legion banners bouncing up and down. ¡°I bet it¡¯s the nerves,¡± Janos said creepily glancing at his blushing wife. ¡°The first time is always tricky hehe.¡± ¡°Uhm,¡± Ton murmured not wanting to expound on the reason. Aafke had just given birth and was still recovering. In a sense this is a first time as well, he thought feeling a little better about it. ¡°Allgods,¡± Sir Daan Hoff the second grunted seeing the Legionnaires approaching. ¡°What are they doing here?¡± ¡°They are camped outside the port,¡± Lord Ton explained. ¡°They caught me unawares. Let us keep it civil my lords. It¡¯s my wedding day. I have to invite them per the custom.¡± ¡°They murdered Lord Vanzon, laid waste to the Crulls Lord Ton!¡± Lord Morit admonished him angrily. ¡°Not this legion,¡± Ton retorted blinking. ¡°This is Sula of Demames. A friendly man. Let us keep politics out of this my lords.¡± ¡°Why, I¡¯m afraid we cannot,¡± Sir Daan grunted. ¡°Seeing as we have grievances with you Lord Ton.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s be polite,¡± Lord Albert cautioned him. ¡°No need for this tone young man.¡± ¡°Naossis Skirt Forest belongs to Tollor,¡± Sir Daan hissed. ¡°The tone is justified your grace.¡± ¡°I wish no conflict,¡± Ton told them with a sigh. ¡°We can work around this detail Sir Daan.¡± The young knight stood back. ¡°When will this be?¡± ¡°Let the man get married first,¡± Baron Mikel Van Durren of Riverdor Castle, the old Shield¡¯s stepbrother guffawed, just as the legionnaires reached them. Lord Ton¡¯s yard packed with soldiers despite the efforts to keep the men apart. The Legatus of the Fourth, a sturdy man of medium height, but wide at the chest and with thick muscular legs, stepped forward his legion helm in hand. ¡°Legatus Nonus Sula,¡± Sula grunted sounding thoroughly unfriendly. ¡°Fourth Legion. Lord Ton, I presume?¡± he boomed looking in their general direction. ¡°That would be me,¡± Ton said stepping forward to greet them. ¡°Apologies for the tumult Legatus. We are under a hectic timetable.¡± ¡°No need for it,¡± Sula retorted brusquely. ¡°Lord Ton,¡± he repeated. ¡°I recovered your sister.¡± Blenk gasped in shock. ¡°Is she dead?¡± Ton asked casually, since he had all but given up on her and Sula frowned heavily, his square-jawed Lorian face and thick blond brows meeting right in the middle of his forehead. ¡°She¡¯s fine!¡± Fuck off dude, I ain¡¯t deaf! ¡°Allgods,¡± Blenk said relieved. ¡°Where is she?¡± ¡°Prefect!¡± Sula barked at his large entourage, another pregnant woman amongst them. A striking redhead wearing fancy clothes with tits the size of watermelons. Lords have mercy, she¡¯s bountiful, Ton thought impressed at the size. What is she carrying in that belly, a fucking Maniple? His sister popped out of the crowd of armoured legionnaires looking worn out but very much breathing. ¡°Thea, praised be the Five you¡¯re safe,¡± the much older Blenk gasped emotionally and rushed to hug her tight. Might as well have hugged a fat wooden plank. ¡°Crabs, Spearfish, Lobsters and Wolf-fishes. Even Legionnaires. Quite the feast,¡± Thea chuckled, her brains still scrabbled, the trip in the Fenlands unsuccessful. ¡°Right,¡± Ton said to get everyone¡¯s attention away from his crazy sister. ¡°Lords and Ladies, I believe we can move away from the heat and into my hall,¡± he grinned, a painful feat to accomplish as his heart wasn¡¯t in it. He glanced at his sister, Thea having the hint of a smile on her comely face and then waved for his brother to get everyone inside and to their prearranged spots. Lord Ton needed a quiet evening to rest his weary body, along a good cup of wine, but he only got one of his wishes come true.
Three hours later the band started playing a mellow marriage tune, the narrow hall illuminated by almost a hundred torches and oil lamps. The smoke thick in it, the air irritating to the throat, despite the open doors that let some of the night chill in. The mist hanging away from the flattened and enlarged yard, almost two hundred soldiers packed in it, many sitting down with a bottle in hand and almost all tasting the many plates the servants were bringing from the overworked Grime Citadel¡¯s kitchen. Aafke had entered in her lovely, though quite roomy dress, under the sound of the happy music, the sour face of priest Laris following her along with all the other lords present. The devout priest of Uher wouldn¡¯t consent for the ceremony to be performed in his temple, since Aafke was ¡®unchaste¡¯, but Lord Ton who wasn¡¯t as devout, wanted the legitimacy of the church and had ¡®forced¡¯ him to agree to do it during the feast. Laris rushed through the words as fast as he could, never cracking a smile and glaring daggers at the nervous Lord Ton. At least the band was great. ¡°What gods and lords witness, no one shall dare question,¡± Laris hissed eyeing those present, his creamy yellow robes dirty at the edges. Everyone agreed with enthusiasm, the highlight of the evening and Aafke even shed a tear, bless her heart. Baron Mikel Van Durren -who was a boastful man when in his cups- decided to showcase his dancing skills, just after Lord Ton finished his toast to his lofty guests. Most welcomed the challenge and Mikel swiftly asked Lady Lauke to stand with him for the Issir dance. Baron Janos agreed to it, as he was too old for ¡®dancing like a fool around young girls¡¯, though not old enough to fuck said young girl, and allowed his young pregnant wife to follow Mikel to the space between the three large tables. Baron Darvot, visiting without Ton¡¯s wayward cousin, stood up next and asked Thea to do him the honor. Sir Blenk agreed, despite their strained relationship, since Darvot had courted his sister in the past, before Lord Ton had rewarded the loyal Shield with her hand for his longtime service to both him and his father. A couple of more ladies stood up to clap for the prancing lords and the band started playing a quicker tune much to everyone¡¯s delight. Ten minutes into it, wine, music and Lord Ton¡¯s good food had repaired the originally tensed climate inside his lit up hall and the Lord of Pascor breathed out relieved he¡¯d gotten that part out of the way. All he wanted really was to buy himself some time. A year, six months. By then a new High King might rule in Kaltha, Lucius could have won the crown back, or lost it. Pascor could survive outliving its opponents much as it always had, or if it came to be fight them when it was ready. Boots firmly planted in the mud. His sister twirled around leaving her spot in the middle of the room, several lords standing and talking to each other, the band playing behind him one catchy tune after the other and the roar of the soldiers¡¯ songs outside livening up the summer night. Almost midnight, he mused with a shiver recalling his earlier thoughts and shifted uneasily on his bench, hoping it wasn¡¯t the faulty one. ¡°They shall rule the whites,¡± Thea told a tired-looking Lady Martha Redmond standing over her red head, the Duke of Kadrek¡¯s daughter of all fucking things, a thin long finger touching her shoulder afore she twirled away with an excited giggle, her words heard clearly. ¡°The ports of salt and ice.¡± The Legatus furrowed his brow, the only man not drinking probably thinking of his wife, although Lord Janos had had plenty himself apparently not of the same opinion and was now using a fork to dig out any leftover carameled onions amidst his potatoes. ¡°Don¡¯t trouble yourself,¡± a sweaty Lord Ton said nervously over the table to the hard-faced Lorian. His sister returning to the center of the packed hall, amidst the clapping ladies and the cavorting inebriated knights. Several things happened in quick succession just as the bells rang midnight over the dark coastal city. A gush of wind came from the open doors. Humid air smelling of rot and thick fog crept inside the loud hall. His sister turned her white head around and stared through him, pale-green eyes gleaming alike pure silver in the light of the torches, towards the fast-playing band, her left arm raising slowly and the right grabbing Lord Mikel¡¯s elbow. Uh? The band stopped abruptly and a moment later switched to a different, much slower tune. Ton recognized it immediately since he had it in his head all morning. The thick-stringed Lyre starting it with the tambourine chipping once, afore leaving the lutes to take over, one after the other. Oh, ye children of the brines, the melancholic song went. The less inebriated Issir Lords hearing it pausing unsure as one didn¡¯t expect to hear it at a wedding, or a jubilant feast. ¡°What is this?¡± Sir Daan grunted angry perking up. Ton pushed himself up spooked and made to turn around to order the band to stop that nonsense, but Thea beat him to it, her graceful arm dropping and Lord Janos across from her still sitting at the table ducked his head sharply forward and impaled himself on his fork through the left eye. Suddenly only the sounds of ¡®Midnight Call¡¯ could be heard inside the foggy hall, along the dying Lord Janos body shuddering on the clattering table, the stunned guests unable to fathom what had just happened. ¡°Thea,¡± Ton gasped deeply disturbed breaking the silence. ¡°What have you done?¡± Thea looked at him with alien eyes, her right hand letting go of Lord Mikel Van Durren, the latter collapsing on his face like a sack laden with rocks, right where that worker had died earlier. His crazy sister closed her fist leaving only her index finger extended, thin finger unnaturally long and the nail on it sharp as a blade. She slashed down with it opening the stunned Lauke¡¯s whole front, disemboweling her from jugular to groin, cutting easily through fabric and skin. Blood, guts and a still attached gory fetus splashing down the stone tiles between the gawking horrified young woman¡¯s legs. ¡°Thea,¡± the Hag of the Fenlands informed him, mouth split in a gnarly smile, while the stupefied hall erupted in a livid pandemonium of cries and curses. ¡°Is with your brother. She is in pain no more.¡±
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 319. The Maiden’s Wedding (3/3)
Legatus Nonus Sula The Maiden¡¯s Wedding Part III -Oras signs & a feast of gore-
Martha grabbed his left arm above the vambrace with a gasp, hard nails digging into Sula¡¯s triceps and Janos¡¯ shuddering on the table across from him, the rattling sound macabre. The High Baron¡¯s face planted amidst the broken plates and a gory piece of iron that was the tip of his fork protruding out of the back of his skull. The blood spraying those sitting next to him coming out of the wound. Sula¡¯s eyes scanned the room, from the numb Issir lords across from them, to the gawking horrified Lord Van Calcar sitting with his bride at the centrally located wedding table. The Lord of Pascor¡¯s dark skin had turned a pale grey. What in allgods is going on here? Sula thought in the second that followed Janos suiciding himself and caught the tail end of Lord Mikel collapsing on the stone tiles in front of him, top part of his head cracking and then exploding outwards, the Baron¡¯s gory brains splashing his boots under the table. A moment later a gurgling Lauke dropped backwards gutted, her innards emptied out in a pile on the floor. The hall erupted in anger. Revulsion, dismay. Prefect Valens who was sitting in front of them twisted around in alarm, just as a numb and unsure of what was happening Sula jumped on his feet, feeling Martha¡¯s clenched grip cutting three bloody lines at the back of his arm. ¡°Murder!¡± Someone yelled from across the hall, several lords and knights jumping to their feet from both sides in an attempt to reach the ¡®dance floor¡¯ between the tables. Nobody really knowing what had really happened, but very quickly reality setting in. Two lords were dead, along with Janos¡¯ pregnant wife and Sir Daan Hoff¡¯s little sister, the latter crying like a wounded animal seeing Lauke¡¯s horrifically disemboweled body. All sense of logic lost in less than half a minute. ¡°What¡¯s this horror?¡± Duke Albert asked in disbelief encapsulating the happenings perfectly. ¡°Filthy animals!¡± Sir Daan roared sword in hand, several angry knights coalescing behind him. ¡°She did it,¡± Dumont hissed in his ear, Sula in the process of helping Martha up. ¡°Who?¡± Sula grunted and eyed the pale-faced Sir Gatrell. ¡°Get my wife out of here!¡± he barked at the stupefied Sovya knight snapping him out of his lethargy. ¡°Lord Ton¡¯s sister,¡± Dumont said, just as Lord Morit and Sir Daan rushed the panicky running away ladies, going after the coolly standing over the dead bodies Lady Thea. From Pascor¡¯s table armed men were coming that way also, but the lords of Tollor reached a blood covered Thea first, their table almost empty from guests but for the elderly Duke of Riverdor. Sula slid his leg over the table to go over it tossing plates, cups, utensils and foodstuff every which way, Declan Valens jumping to his feet as well, along with his younger brother Optio Rufius Valens and the LID officer Hugh Bolton of Kadrek, the latter armed with a custom-made long cleaver. A breath and Sula¡¯s boots touched the gory tiles, everything around him a confused haze of strange figures dancing in the fog, death and otherworldly screams. Where in Tyeus¡¯ spear had the blasted fog come from? Sir Daan downed his longsword at the creepy waiting for them Thea, blade whistling and Sir Blenk who was the nearest of Pascor¡¯s men approaching let out a cry of fear seeing his wife in grave danger. Sula, who was two meters behind Thea in his desperate attempt to stop a bloodbath from occurring for reasons unknown to him, saw the blade cutting through the frozen Issir woman, the sharp steel blasting out of her left shoulder and travelling diagonally through her lungs towards her kidneys. Thea¡¯s turned back splintering in a thousand tiny sheer glassy pieces that melted in the air with a hissing sound and was no more. Lord Ton¡¯s sister gone, the heavy distinct smell of incense clogging a stunned Sula¡¯s throat. Sir Daan¡¯s sword clanking on the stone tiles and bouncing back almost taking his eye out, the knight stumbling almost on a moving away Sula. Roasted turds! He cursed unable to process what was going on. ¡°THE HAG!¡± Lord Ton bellowed dread in his voice and still firmly rooted to his spot at the table despite most of his entourage up and at arms. Sula glanced his way but saw out of the corner of his left eye Sir Daan raising his sword again, eyes black with hatred. He twisted away, the blade¡¯s tip cutting through his armour and carving a three-finger long wound on his chest. Fuck. ¡°Legatus!¡± Prefect Valens yelled seeing him faltering, the sword spraying blood in Sula¡¯s eyes. The Legatus groaned and reached for his blade, Valens shoving him away to parry Sir Daan¡¯s return swing with his drawn weapon. The swords clanked and Valens cut the knight across his arm, before he¡¯d the time to pull away. Daan Hoff grunted irate and twisted aside, Lord Morit stabbing a long dagger in the Prefect¡¯s sides, right between the ribs and the bindings. Motherfucker! ¡°Argh!¡± Valens gasped blood in his mouth and dropped on a knee. Dumont rushed Lord Morit, with Optio Rufius right behind him and the Issir snarled manically afore jumping away leaving his bloody dagger in. ¡°Declan!¡± Rufius yelled, cries and sounds of heavy melee coming from all sides inside the hall. Everyone fighting for their lives, but no one really certain on who the enemy was. So they fought against anyone not their own much as people do. ¡°Out!¡± Morit barked at the seething Sir Daan who¡¯d lost his mind clearly and dragged him away, the distraught Optio stooped over his badly injured brother. Sula snapped his head to the exit, spotted Sir Gatrell, the knight¡¯s longsword drawn, bodying Martha outside and into the thick misty soup. ¡°Dumont get to Montaus!¡± Sula ordered hoarsely, his wound burning and blood sipping down his undershirt. ¡°Alert the Century and make sure Martha makes it out of the city!¡± ¡°Nonus you need to get out,¡± Dumont protested, but he stopped him abruptly. ¡°Leave, now!¡± He growled and saw the elderly Duke Albert walking towards them on shaky legs, a butter knife sticking out of the side of his wrinkled neck. The blood spraying out of the wound in thick rubicund gushes. ¡°Wicked girl,¡± the old Duke mumbled before collapsing on his knees and dying upright. ¡°Lord Ton!¡± Sula barked and grabbed Optio Valens elbow to get him off his fainting brother. The Legatus had no time to think, or process the Prefect¡¯s probable loss. Not with the events still unfolding. He walked towards the covered in fog table, hearing the fight moving outside to the yard. A lot of armed and inebriated soldiers that barely liked each other duking it out. ¡°Lord Ton!¡± Sula growled irate and the Lord of Pascor appeared at last followed by his Shield, Sir Blenk. Both men looking sick to their core. ¡°Legatus this isn¡¯t my doing,¡± Ton said hoarsely. ¡°The Hag of the Fenlands is here!¡± ¡°Shut yer mouth!¡± Sula barked in his face not caring for his excuses and anxious to get near Martha. ¡°Give word to yer guards to break the fight, else we¡¯ll have a feast of gore after the wedding and I ain¡¯t letting me n¡¯ mine get slain! I¡¯ll burn yer motherfucking city to the ground first!¡± ¡°Legatus¡ª¡± ¡°DO IT!¡± ¡°The Duke of Riverdor has been murdered,¡± Blenk told him gravely. ¡°Best to keep this contained. What¡¯s done is done.¡± What? ¡°The fuck are you talking about?¡± Sula grunted not believing his ears. He eyed the gloomy-faced Lord of Pascor. ¡°Where is Sir Dolf?¡±
At some point during the lovely evening ceremony -by Issir and Pascor¡¯s standards- a nasty misunderstanding occurred. A lord insulted Lord Janos¡¯ pregnant young bride during a dance and Lord Mikel Van Durren took offense. The insults turned to rage and during the exchange someone attacked Lord Janos, or the Duke of Riverdor with a utensil. Upon seeing the Duke gravely injured his entourage and the men from Tollor present turned on their host Lord Ton Van Calcar laying the blame on his feet. Whether the ill-reputed ¡®Woffish¡¯ was responsible or not, several Lords and prominent knights came to blows and a lot of noble scions got slain in the bloody furor. The latter was reported to a disconcerted Lord Anker by Sir Jan Van Durren, new Baron of Riverdor¡¯s Castle and late Lord Mikel¡¯s son, a month later. There are at least two more versions of the story of the now infamous ¡®Feast of gore¡¯ as maiden¡¯s wedding came to be known today. The first is locked away in the army¡¯s classified archives inside the Military School of Kas and can be read only by a Legatus of the Legions. The other is a rumor circulating out of Sovya attributed to the Baron of Yepehir who was present in the event and was given to the Duke of Sovya. The latter confessing it on his deathbed some years after the Maiden¡¯s War giving the creepy story credence. ¡®The Hag of the Fenlands,¡¯ Duke Redmond admitted ¡®came to the feast thirsty for blood, but seeing all we have suffered her black heart relented and spared Martha out of all the ladies present, along with my house.¡¯ Whatever the case may be the fight spilled into Grime Citadel¡¯s yard where the many lords¡¯ present armed escorts were feasting. Lord Morit and the firstborn of Lord Hoff made it outside and roused the soldiers to avenge the slain. The Hoff and Van Durren armed escorts attempted to enter Van Calcar¡¯s hall, but Centurion¡¯s Lars Montaus Second Century of the First Cohort that was also present in the yard moved to stop them as the Legatus pregnant wife, Lady Martha Redmond was in their way. The clash was brutal, fought under heavy fog and under torchlight, but the arrival of Pascor¡¯s alarmed night patrols and Sir Emil Blenk¡¯s city guards turned the tide.
Sula rushed to the yard followed by his staff, Lord Ton¡¯s bodyguards and his Shield Roger Blenk. The bells rang eerily at the distant unseen Uher¡¯s Temple, the sound reverberating on Citadel¡¯s gloomy inner walls and the remnants of the old ramparts. Decanus Badi Littera of the Second Century had taken control of the main hall¡¯s doors to ensure the Legatus could depart safely, Montaus blocking Hoff¡¯s men from reaching them. The ground was littered with slain soldiers. Sula¡¯s boots stepped on pools of dark blood, the smell of it everywhere, mixed with that of humid earth, rot and human excrement. ¡°Martha,¡± Sula grunted angrily and the Decanus pointed at Sir Gatrell slowly making his way towards the well-lit narrow path between the south inner walls of the Citadel (the side facing the Fenlands) and the garden heading for the Kitchens. He had a bloody sword in his good hand, the other protectively around a flushed Martha. Sula breathed out relieved then clenched his jaw and turned to head towards the clashing men. More and more soldiers pouring in the yard coming from the massive Guardtower at the River Gates, the lit corner tower adjoining the Citadel and the Duke of Pascor¡¯s own guards led by Sir Dolf his brother, Captain Menneken and Baron Darvot who had also vanished during the chaos inside to take Aafke to safety. Ah, Sula thought rattled by the savagery he¡¯d witnessed. He wasn¡¯t an easily spooked man, but it had taken him by surprise. Colossal fuckup this, he mused pressing a hand on the bleeding cut. And it¡¯s not even the army¡¯s. Or is it? ¡°Sir Daan Hoff!¡± He barked approaching the clashing soldiers, squinting his eyes to make out friend from foe, the legionaries easier to spot. The Second had created a slanted shieldwall and was slowly shoving the Issirs back step by step. The blades clanging on armour and garbs, finding swords and flesh. Banging, cutting and piercing. Gore spraying out and painting the once fine white gravel Lord Ton had used to pave his yard a black red. ¡°Halt!¡± Sula barked and slapped Montaus helm to get his attention. ¡°Legatus!¡± The sturdy Nord growled, square jaw protruding under his legion helmet. ¡°Halt the men Centurion!¡± Sula roared under the morbid sounds of heavy butchering. The tightly packed terrain perfect for the Century to massacre the unprepared for such activities mostly drunk Issirs. Montaus was heavily inebriated himself probably, but the Centurion preached he¡¯d formed a natural immunity to alcohol. Now whether the boast was true or not, Sula himself had never seen the Centurion affected by it and he knew the man since Krakenfort. ¡°Century Halt! Pull back! Decanus Dakar that¡¯s enough! ARE YE DEAF?¡± Montaus boomed dark veins forming on his thick neck and the sound of clanging blades subsided, not that Sula could see more than three meters beyond his nose, the fog as thick as lard soup and tasting much worse.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
¡°Damn you Legion thugs!¡± Lord Morit Hoff grunted, a bleeding cut marring his fine doublet, the mail worn over it torn at the sleeve and hanging loose. ¡°Fucking murderers!¡± ¡°Ye did the murdering,¡± Hugh Bolton reminded him, bloody cleaver in hand dripping. ¡°This is the butcher¡¯s bill.¡± ¡°He sent his sister to murder Lauke!¡± Sir Daan groaned, bleeding from several cuts himself, the cornered Issir soldiers gathered in a tight group near the ruined part of the inner walls by the Second Century and Dolf¡¯s guards from the Citadel¡¯s side, Emil Blenk¡¯s Pascor soldiers from the side leading to the river. No one was guarding the sinister path heading towards the Fenlands. ¡°That wasn¡¯t Thea!¡± Lord Ton countered hoarsely standing next to Sula. What? Sula frowned, the matter of Lord Ton¡¯s sister confusing to him. ¡°I¡¯ve cut the bitch down myself,¡± Daan snarled, bloody spittle covering his chin. ¡°No ye didn¡¯t,¡± Ton retorted and Sula remembered Thea exploding like a glass bottle and dissolving into thin air. He stood back with a grimace, Emil Blenk walking towards the Issirs with a determined look on his face. ¡°Give up Sir Daan,¡± Lord Ton offered unconvincingly, his brother standing across from them unsheathing a curved dagger with his left hand, the right armed with a longsword. ¡°You can¡¯t win this.¡± ¡°You miserable cunt,¡± Daan spat angrily, his eyes narrowing. ¡°Ungodly, wicked ugly pig. You¡¯re no fucking lord!¡± ¡°Surrender your blade Sir Daan,¡± Emil cautioned him. ¡°You¡¯ll walk out of here with your life. I give you my word of honor.¡± Daan glared at him furious. ¡°You¡¯ve got no honor,¡± he spat and swung with his sword upwards, the blade arching and catching the unprepared Emil right under the jaw. The steel splitting the bone, mauling his jaw and splitting the young knight¡¯s face from mouth to forehead. ¡°GODS NO!¡± His father cried out shocked and rushed the Issirs, Sula extending an arm out to stop him at the last moment. ¡°Enough!¡± He barked hoarsely, as Emil¡¯s body hit the gravel with a loud thud. ¡°Lord Morit put some sense into his thick skull,¡± Sula grunted scrunching his mouth with distaste, since the Legatus hadn¡¯t forgotten Morit gravely injuring Prefect Valens earlier that night. ¡°Don¡¯t force my hand!¡± Lord Morit spat down a mean expression in his eyes. ¡°You¡¯ve sided with murderers and life¡¯s scum Legatus. We¡¯re not walking out of this hellhole,¡± he said gravely. ¡°But you¡¯ll get what¡¯s coming to you.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be an idiot Baron!¡± Sula barked irate, his eyes ogling stressed. ¡°Just look at them,¡± Lord Morit retorted bitterly and wiped the sweat off his forehead, white hair soaked and disheveled. ¡°They smelled blood in the water. We are already dead.¡± Dolf¡¯s lips had split in a toothy smirk in response and Sula hang his head. ¡°Sir?¡± Montaus queried anxiously, eyes gleaming under his polished helm waiting for his order. By the time Sula gave it Lord Morit¡¯s words had come true.
Hours later the bells finally stopped. The sun hadn¡¯t found its way on the dark skies as if it was hesitant to shine its light on the gloomy city and the mist that had sneaked inside Lord Ton¡¯s Hall had retreated into the bogs again. The butchered dead were piled up in the flattened yard in front of Grime Citadel. The weary ¡®victors¡¯ of the engagement were standing to watch emotionlessly a group of sinister locals that had appeared out of the dark alleys strip the corpses of valuables, afore transporting them into the silent bogs for disposal. Sula had his aide Dumont working at his wound, his mouth crooked in a grimace and his eyes on the slain. A bitterness in his mouth, as if he had gotten poisoned, the foul air not helping him, or the sounds of hammers, cleavers and saws. ¡°They work for the Mayor, Floris Van Dam,¡± Dumont explained, pulling at the thread with his teeth to tie the knot and cut it. ¡°Pascor has only one sentence for those breaking the law.¡± Sula looked at his longtime friend. ¡°You can¡¯t be serious.¡± ¡°Ayup,¡± Dumont replied and carefully cleaned the edges of Sula¡¯s wound with a clean cloth. The stitches hurting and feeling tight there. ¡°They¡¯ll toss the remains in the bogs for lack of a proper sea.¡± Sula got up frustrated. ¡°I¡¯ll talk with him.¡± ¡°Sir Dolf said the First Cohort went through the ¡®Fish Market¡¯ Gates and are marching here,¡± Dumont countered. ¡°It¡¯ll be better to ask what he¡¯ll do about the Crabs coming answer to this travesty.¡± ¡°You fear the Crabs more? What about the Van Durren?¡± ¡°The Van Durren have a succession on their hands,¡± Dumont reminded him and Sula nodded. ¡°Lord Hoff just lost his firstborn and youngest daughter. A cousin. He won¡¯t wait.¡± Sula didn¡¯t believe the Van Durren would wait also and there is nothing better to solidify your place at the top by avenging your liege¡¯s murder. What had happened to Lord Albert and the others was murder, the Legatus had no delusions about it. With the exception of Lord Morit, who had gotten what he deserved. He put his hand on Dumont¡¯s armoured shoulder and gave him another sober nod, then walked stiffly through the bloody yard. The Mayor¡¯s men still working on the corpses. It needed a very strong stomach to be a witness to this and the majority of the weary legionnaires stood aside near their officers. Sula entered Lord Ton¡¯s Hall, the signs of carnage not as heavy in there, until you looked towards the side walls. Optio Valens was mourning over the body of the Prefect, with Hugh Bolton the LID officer watching in silence and the Legatus paused near them. ¡°We¡¯ll bury Declan in the Castrum,¡± Sula told the young scion with a grimace. ¡°Along those that had fallen outside. I¡¯ll talk with Lord Ton about it, pay it out of my purse.¡± Rufius wiped his eyes and stood up slowly. ¡°I¡¯ll see to it myself Legatus,¡± he replied firmly. ¡°Declan liked things put in proper order and hated not paying for his own business.¡± Sula pressed his lips tight, but then let out a weary sigh. ¡°You¡¯re darn right Optio,¡± he relented. ¡°Tell Montaus I¡¯ve given my blessing and to see to it posthaste. I don¡¯t want the locals near our people.¡± ¡°Lord Wolffish is back there,¡± Bolton informed him, hard eyes staring at the peaceful face of the deceased Prefect of the Fourth Legion. ¡°Thank you mister Bolton,¡± Sula replied and went to talk with the Lord of Pascor.
The freshly married Lord Ton was resting his back on the wedding table, arms crossed on his chest and as unhappy as any groom the Legatus had ever seen in his life. Make that twice that, he thought and stopped near the small group of men surrounding the Duke. ¡°Lord Ton,¡± Sula started sternly. ¡°I need an explanation.¡± Ton Van Calcar scrunched his face this way and that, eyes set on the gore-covered floor. ¡°The Hag wanted this,¡± he finally said hoarsely. ¡°Nothing we can do about it.¡± ¡°That was your sister,¡± Sula grunted. ¡°I was with her for days.¡± ¡°Thea is gone,¡± a distraught Sir Blenk replied. ¡°Emil too. Sweet boy, didn¡¯t deserve this.¡± Sula stared at him intensely, until his face relaxed. ¡°My condolences for yer loss Sir Blenk, but what happened here I can¡¯t explain. Where it would lead to though, is something I have a pretty good idea.¡± ¡°Henk Van Durren will bring the First Foot here,¡± Lord Ton said soberly. ¡°Duke Hoff will talk him into it. He¡¯ll speak and the man will listen. Pascor can¡¯t fight Riverdor. We can¡¯t fight Riverdor and Badum along with Tollor,¡± he grimaced in frustration. ¡°Witch¡¯s tits, we were given no choice!¡± ¡°How much time do you have?¡± Sula asked. ¡°If Assen and his raiders manage to deal with the ships in the port perhaps a month before they move,¡± Ton replied. ¡°Mere weeks if the word gets out.¡± ¡°You expect word not to¡­ wait, what ships?¡± Sula grunted glaring at him. Lord Ton returned it without blinking. ¡°We can¡¯t let them leave the port,¡± he said simply. ¡°Lord Ton you can¡¯t keep on killing people!¡± Sula blasted him, but the Lord of Pascor set his jaw stubbornly. ¡°No way around it Legatus,¡± he retorted. ¡°I tried for peace, but I failed through no fault of my own. Nobody will want to hear my side of the story, afore they kill me. Kill us all. Only chance we have is to kill them all first.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll do no such thing,¡± Sula growled and Menneken standing next to Sir Dolf frowned. ¡°Nasty¡­ business this,¡± the Captain said in his creepy manner. ¡°I¡¯m well aware,¡± Sula retorted. ¡°We can¡¯t behave like animals though.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t avoid what¡¯s coming Legatus,¡± Dolf told him and Sula eyed him frustrated. ¡°I could, if I took the legion out of the city,¡± Sula reminded him. ¡°But I understand you have an agreement with the Praetor.¡± Lord Ton¡¯s expression turned even sourer. ¡°I¡¯m under duress Sula,¡± he hissed angry. ¡°It¡¯s not noble to negotiate with a blade on one¡¯s neck.¡± ¡°Lord Ton,¡± Sula replied in the same vein. ¡°I¡¯m under duress as well and under orders,¡± he replied. ¡°Had I not been, then I would have sided with the Van Durren and the old Duke. They were your guests in yer blasted feast sir and ye fucking killed them!¡± Lord Ton licked his mauve lips thoughtfully, a tick on his left eye so severe it teared up and he had to wipe it with a gloved finger. ¡°I find myself unable to refuse your Praetor. This isn¡¯t a bargain, but outright and vile blackmail,¡± he finally crumbled hoarsely. ¡°Why, I¡¯d rather cut off a couple of me own fingers than relent at such an outrage, but at this time I don¡¯t believe that would be enough.¡± ¡°Good,¡± Sula retorted without pity. ¡°Where¡¯s her body?¡± Lord Ton stared at him raptly, left eye bloodshot small cracks covering the white of it. ¡°There¡¯s nothing left,¡± he finally said with a guttural grunt. ¡°She wasn¡¯t there when Sir Daan swung at her. It was a plaguing illusion!¡± Sula stood back in disbelief. ¡°How do you know?¡± Lord Ton sighed and shook his head wearily. Then he glanced at the grim-faced Sir Blenk his Shield, the older man mourning a son and wife in the same evening and swallowed with another grimace, as if bile had gone down his gullet. ¡°She told me,¡± he croaked bitterly. ¡°It¡¯s how I know. Oras signs in the night and witch¡¯s words out of the fog. I¡¯ve known the cursed Hag for all my life Sula. She took my brother. She took Thea. It was her.¡± Ton paused unsure, as if he¡¯d remembered something important. ¡°We should deal with her,¡± Sula grunted and Lord Ton started laughing his manner a bit crazy. ¡°If you go in the Fenlands looking for her Legatus,¡± he cautioned him sobering up. ¡°You¡¯ll regret it whether you live, or die. Stay away from her, if you love yer family. We¡¯ve enough in our plate to open this can of worms.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t wish to avenge yer sister?¡± Lord Ton showed him his hall. ¡°Look at all this Sula. I wanted peace, but she wanted war. I¡¯m the victim here, but I know when to stop and take a step back.¡± Sula frowned not understanding his reaction, but the Lord of Pascor was right also. They had a war coming at them and Lucius had ordered him to keep the Issirs busy. Whether he¡¯d foreseen this, or not, Lucius had used it to buy Pascor¡¯s favor and secure his northern flank. In a sense, he thought a shiver creeping down his spine. It is as if the god-darn Hag was working for the Praetor. Whatever that creature was, she hadn¡¯t touched their side of the table. They will rule, the fake Thea had told Martha during the feast. The whites¡­ The ports of salt and ice.
Almost two-hundred and fifty people were killed the night of Ton Van Calcar¡¯s wedding to Lady Aafke Van Durren. Perhaps a bit more than that as one can only guess their number adding up the guests, lords and ladies, their escorts and the sailors of the four ships Captain Assen¡¯s raiders butchered in Pascor¡¯s nearby docks afore taking them over. More lords had died that day than any other single day of the war until that point, or in as a brief a span. The list of those that had perished staggering. The venerable Grand Duke of Riverdor, the High King¡¯s Shield Albert Van Durren. His step-brother Baron Mikel, of Riverdor Castle. High Baron Janos Van Durren of Badum and his pregnant wife young Lauke Hoff, ¡®the young bride¡¯. Baron Morit Hoff of Edgefort. Sir Daan Hoff, the second, the Duke of Tollor¡¯s firstborn and commander of his fleet. Sir Emil Blenk, commander of Pascor¡¯s guards. Lady Thea Van Calcar, Lord Ton¡¯s sister. Prefect Declan Valens, the High Baron of Cartaport¡¯s second son. The repercussions of the massacre in Grime Citadel felt immediately on that side of the Canlita Sea, as Maiden¡¯s War started not two weeks later with First Foot¡¯s sacking of the Clay Mine, the vast workers town on the disputed side of Serene River. It was followed by the now famed prolonged battle, a naval engagement and even a daring landing in the months that followed, but almost everyone agrees that the war had started that fateful night.
Lord Sirio Veturius The Fall of Heroes Chapter XXX (Legatus Nonus Sula, -also known as- Lord of Salt, ¡®Solid Nonus¡¯ Lucius¡¯ Southern campaigns, Fourth Year Volume II, III -Maiden¡¯s War- Section subtitle A stand at Serene -Feast of gore- Starting with Maiden¡¯s Wedding and ending with the carnage in the Fenlands Late summer 192 to Winter 192-193 NC)
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 320. The Cripple’s son
Baron Storm Nattas The Cripple¡¯s son
Right click to open fully. The city maps are the artist''s representation on information given and not to scale Hah, at last a nice fucking day, Storm thought, the sun shining on the clear of clouds azure sky. Tropical birds chirping loudly, large sharp fronds over his head and the green on them watered-down almost khaki in its hue. His arms dropped down and touched fine sand with his fingers. The light breeze had brought it on the marble tiles. Powder like and sizzling hot. He¡¯d spent a small fortune to get the rocks out of Sandbay Beach as far as the port in Nattas Cove, where the crews had used the larger ones to pave the still unfinished docks. The manor¡¯s main building had been constructed, but there was still work being done to the outer wall following the banks of Emerald River, despite the latter not easy to cross without a boat. Moon¡¯s Haven kept growing with Mayor Reganus filing report after report asking to expand the thrice expanded already initial building plan. Storm would have had him killed for being annoying, but Sudi had reminded him that he was naught but a paid lackey playing a character to fool the citizens. So the mayor was spared. Eh, he thought. The moment you stop to rest your mind, another problem appears to ruin your mood. He needed to keep his schedule free for a day, enjoy the location and the ending summer. His eyes roamed the picturesque golden sand beach cut amidst the palm trees. Griet standing tall and thin in it, chocolate skin gleaming in the sun, coral beads adorning her hands and ankles, short tunic wrapping around her wiry body nicely. The small boy in her arms playing with the young Assassin¡¯s breasts. Hah, double nice. Find that nipple son. Speaking of nice breasts, Miranda emerged from the clear waters, as tall as Griet but fuller and more feminine in¡­ well, everything. While her skin almost matched the Issir¡¯s, Aegium girls favored bathing in the nude, and she had lost a ton of weight the past months Miranda was big where it mattered. The former Queen Regent laughed at their son¡¯s shenanigans, with Griet returning it since Silvio had an uncanny way with the women surrounding him. Storm pushed himself up so he could have a better view of the two women from the shaded veranda, his eyes mostly on the voluptuous Miranda. He could feel the beginnings of a raging hard on, so severe he felt light-headed for a moment. Storm grimaced and shifted position to accommodate his tools better. ¡°You¡¯re a shameful mongrel,¡± Maja hissed, her hands crossed over her chest, a large hat protecting her from the sun. ¡°For taking the time to look at my boy?¡± Storm asked and reached for his banana juice. It was good for the bowels according to Numerius Baro, the Dottore living in Moon¡¯s Haven permanently for the past year. Storm hadn¡¯t given him a lot of options during the brief ¡®negotiations¡¯. ¡°No shame in it,¡± he added categorically. ¡°You¡¯ve been ogling his mother and my pupil for half an hour!¡± Maja grunted plenty angry, but Storm kept his expression unchanged, eyes firmly set on Miranda¡¯s nicely wet sheer outfit. A bathing tunic, she¡¯d called it. Easy to remove, easy to put on. Storm had found absolutely no fault in her logic. ¡°No shame in that either,¡± he admonished her. ¡°As a matter of fact, I¡¯m going there to see if they need anything,¡± Storm added and stood up, carefully adjusting his swollen cock to avoid the stern faced Sir Barnard¡¯s scrutiny. The knight had his eyes on Miranda protectively. In a sense, Storm decided still in a good mood, whilst Maja threw her arms up having a fit of histrionics quite typical in older women, we both love the former Queen. We just love her differently. Hehe. Storm cleared his throat, gave a curt nod to the greying knight standing under the shade at the other edge of the Manor¡¯s massive veranda and walked onto the sand to reach the still playing near the sea trio.
¡°There¡¯s our good Lord Nattas,¡± Miranda beamed and turned to greet Storm, the soaked bathing tunic stuck on her like second skin. She tasted of crushed mango, sand and salt. Storm felt lightheaded again and used his right hand on Miranda¡¯s opulent hip to keep himself upright, fingers snaking inside the dip of her hefty rump. ¡°Lord of arses,¡± Griet retorted mockingly and Miranda chuckled at her expression. ¡°Griet dear, Storm doesn¡¯t favor the Five,¡± she reminded the leering young assassin and pressed her soaked body on him fully. Abrakas crooked toes! ¡°I stand by me words just the same,¡± Griet countered and Silvio bit on her nipple over the tunic hard, making her wince shocked. ¡°Little shit¡­ strange man,¡± she hissed and pulled him away. ¡°Haha,¡± Storm guffawed proudly. ¡°There ye go, answer given,¡± he said, Miranda panting in wonder feeling the state of his cock. Never had a more vigorous and virile chap walked the sands this side of the Scalding Sea, he mused thoroughly impressed himself. ¡°Why name him Silvio?¡± Griet asked oblivious to his plight. ¡°It¡¯s a Lesia name.¡± ¡°Storm suggested it,¡± Miranda replied hoarsely and left his side to take the boy in her arms. Silvio digging into his mother¡¯s more lavish bosom with enthusiasm. ¡°It was like he read my mind,¡± she added with an affectionate glance. Eh, just fuck it, Storm thought very aroused. I¡¯ll roll in the sands with her and explain what happened to Sir Bernard after. With the amount of vigor I¡¯ve accumulated I¡¯ll probably do Griet and Maja in the process. The thought worthy of serious consideration despite the danger involved in bedding two assassins and the even more dangerous former Queen. She wasn¡¯t the sharing type. ¡°Abrakas willed it,¡± he croaked and Miranda brought Silvio near, the boy swinging hard and catching Storm¡¯s nose as he stooped to play with him. The smack brought proud tears in his eyes. ¡°Wow,¡± Griet retorted not believing him, or just reacting to seeing Storm getting punched in the face. ¡°The God of Depths doesn¡¯t lie,¡± Miranda mused with a smile and returned the still swinging wildly Silvio to Griet. ¡°Take him to the shade. I¡¯ll come feed him.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind doing it,¡± Griet replied with a smile and walked gingerly towards the manor¡¯s south veranda. This side of the large paved yard coming almost to the washed out yellow sands and the pink-white marble tiles half covered with it sizzling hot. ¡°She likes him almost as much as your daughter,¡± Miranda murmured in Storm¡¯s ear, the Baron absorbed with the assassin¡¯s fit rear moving away. ¡°It¡¯s his biggest talent. He¡¯ll break great a many hearts.¡± ¡°Mmm,¡± Storm agreed, though he was of the opinion the boy needed to grow a real cock first as that dinky just wouldn¡¯t cut it. ¡°Let¡¯s make love in the deep waters Storm,¡± Miranda hushed and he grimaced, his forehead burning where the sun touched it. ¡°I can¡¯t swim,¡± he grunted. I¡¯m also almost fully roasted under this heat. The fat will start dripping any moment now. ¡°All Abrakas children can you horny fool,¡± she countered, but Storm turned serious. ¡°Didn¡¯t have the time to learn,¡± he explained with a sigh. ¡°Between working and my lessons, I never really had the chance for vacations.¡± Or the coin. ¡°Aww, should I teach you?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s get off the bloody sun,¡± Storm suggested with a pained grimace. Miranda looked at his face and then nodded. They walked together, her hand laced in his and Sir Bernard watching them not particularly pleased. The knight had picked sides though, so there was nothing he could do about it. ¡°You¡¯ve made this for me,¡± Miranda whispered and Storm breathed out, his lips kissing her knuckles softly. ¡°I had to,¡± he replied soberly. While it was seventy percent a lie that thirty percent of truth was important enough to almost move him to tears. Perhaps it was a bit more than that.
Miranda took Silvio inside the manor to feed and clean him, relaxing herself in the large internal pool-sized bath afore collapsing tired from her exertions on their bed, right next to the small boy. ¡°You are in a good mood,¡± Maja hissed an hour later. ¡°I take it you¡¯re not,¡± Storm retorted and poured some of his own wine in a silver cup to taste it. There¡¯s still work needed to get it right, he thought with a grimace after a sip. ¡°I¡¯m worried about Sirio,¡± Maja said frustrated. ¡°He¡¯s with Lucius, he¡¯ll fit right in,¡± Storm replied. ¡°You know he¡¯s not built for this kind of work.¡± ¡°Is this for real? Why do you care?¡± ¡°You promised that nothing bad will come to him,¡± Maja reminded Storm. ¡°Nothing shall¡­ probably. No one will ever harm that fool,¡± he assured her. ¡°I could have used Ard for this,¡± she said. ¡°Lucius would have never trusted him. I don¡¯t believe he trusts Sirio.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t Lucius on your side?¡± Maja probed a bit worried. ¡°That¡¯s the plan right?¡± Storm sighed and placed his goblet on the short marble table. A silver intricate pattern running its sides, resembling vines laden with juicy grapes. ¡°The plan is to save Regia and ourselves,¡± he explained. ¡°Using whatever means necessary.¡± ¡°Miranda is fine with Jeremy on the throne,¡± Maja argued. ¡°Nobody will ask for her opinion. Frankly speaking, her mind is on our son and that¡¯s fine by me, for a while,¡± Storm replied. ¡°Lucius isn¡¯t though and even if he was, Jeremy is easily swayed and now he has family of his own. I don¡¯t trust him to keep her safe.¡± ¡°Will Sirio bring Lucius to your camp?¡± ¡°You have to understand that nobody can sway him. He¡¯s all Jeremy isn¡¯t. What Regia needs is someone smart enough to see the trouble coming our way and react decisively afore it is too late.¡± Maja stood back and crossed her arms on her chest. ¡°The Khan¡¯s war will never reach us.¡± Storm grimaced. ¡°War, much like Lucius don¡¯t care for your opinion also. You can¡¯t speak of morrow with the knowledge of today. Things might change. Ursus is about to play the general and rumors say Lesia has thousands across the border at Cartagen. Who will react if that happens, or if the Khan comes here?¡± ¡°Without ships?¡± Storm rolled his eyes and pointed towards the distant harbor. ¡°I have ships, granted they are small, but I have also a big one some-fucking-where and I¡¯ve been Baron for a moon. It¡¯s one thing to fight a Lord, or two, another to fight a unified Kingdom. The Cofols and Lesia are whole, whilst Regia is torn apart. If those pious idiots at Kaltha fuck this up a bit more, the bowl might tip over and the soup spilled on our feet.¡± Maja grunted and Storm thought it as good a time to go and cuddle next to Miranda and Silvio, but he spotted the dilapidated head of the half-breed Sudi walking down the huge hall and frowned. The hall was cutting through the middle of the Manor from the main entrance to the beach. The cane his loyal right hand man carried clanking on the marble tiles.
¡°Well that¡¯s fucked,¡± Storm grunted instead of greeting a sour-looking Sudi. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t risk it,¡± Sudi countered glaring at the smiling Maja.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. ¡°Hello Sudi,¡± she said. ¡°You look much better today.¡± Sudi showed her the gaps in his mouth in a snarl, where the teeth had fallen off due to her poison. That was an adventure Storm would rather forget. ¡°Right,¡± Storm intervened and glanced behind the wiry scowling man. He had brought company with him. ¡°I take it we have a problem?¡± He guessed. ¡°What does she do exactly?¡± Sudi grunted dodging the question, which only fueled Storm¡¯s unease. ¡°Never mind that Sudi,¡± Storm replied. ¡°We have moved on to a different topic.¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t,¡± Sudi countered and Maja rolled her eyes afore strutting away. ¡°Fucking bitch. I hate her boss.¡± ¡°You must see past yer differences,¡± Storm advised him. ¡°Smart people bury the hatchet, fools fight to their last breath.¡± Sudi grimaced not convinced. Buffoon. ¡°Ursus is expecting a lot of ships,¡± Sudi informed him on the latest from Novesium. ¡°The harbor is bristling with activity.¡± ¡°Are we sure this isn¡¯t just preparations for the coming festival?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see Ursus interested in it chief.¡± ¡°The festival you mean? Because he¡¯s making a killing out of it.¡± ¡°He has about three thousand troops fully ready to march. They are going after Lord Sula.¡± Storm nodded. ¡°If Brakis messes this up timing wise and Sula catches him over the river, Ursus shall get arse-fucked so hard he¡¯ll open another brothel to work it himself.¡± Lord Ursus had made a fortune with his lax stance on whores. A decree that Storm wholeheartedly agreed with. Nattas liked Novesium so much, he¡¯d built a barony near it. But his eyes were always on the bigger prize. ¡°Ursus doesn¡¯t have the stomach to fight Sula in the open.¡± ¡°Hmm. They told him something enticing enough to steel his spine. Has Parkor heard anything?¡± Storm asked of his nephew still in Alden to run their network of spies. ¡°Ligur is gone is the word.¡± ¡°To Asturia?¡± Storm grimaced. ¡°He won¡¯t attack, unless he¡¯s certain of the win. Ligur is very cautious and Lucius knows it. This is a dead front for now. Lucius has another plan in the works and Holt won¡¯t move without checking it with him first. It¡¯s built in the old goat to follow orders.¡± ¡°Lucius is in Asturia per Sirio,¡± Sudi reminded him. ¡°He married Monica Holt.¡± Was that little cunt of age? She must be by now, he thought, trying to remember the ¡®Black Rose of Asturia¡¯ but failing. ¡°I would too,¡± Storm admitted looking about him worried and paused to eye the two lecherous armed men Sudi had brought with him. A half-breed and a Lorian. ¡°Excellent strategic move,¡± he added soberly. ¡°He didn¡¯t divorce his northern wife,¡± Sudi said. ¡°The news won¡¯t sit well with the Three Kingdoms.¡± As if Lucius cared about those wanting him gone. ¡°He has a son with her. It is not that strange if you look at it without sentiment,¡± Storm explained. ¡°Why do you think Lord Holt agreed? I assume the first wife has seniority, if we go by Eplas given they are more experienced in this fine custom.¡± Storm never thought Lucius had it in him, but then again the man had been away for so long, he probably was way different than what Storm remembered him. Sudi shrugged his shoulders. ¡°What happens if he gets another son?¡± he asked. ¡°Hmm. That¡¯s Asturia¡¯s problem, not ours. Is the Legion with Lucius?¡± Storm asked thoughtfully. And kids are easy to get rid of. Which is why he had to hide Silvio. ¡°Not all of it according to Sirio,¡± Sudi replied. ¡°The hells does that mean?¡± Storm grunted. ¡°They missed half of it en route? What does Flavia say?¡± ¡°They left a month after them, but they never reached Asturia,¡± Sudi explained. ¡°The priestesses are busy this time of the year.¡± ¡°Surely they can put the cock down for a fucking moment and scribble a couple of lines! Use the one hand for crying out loud!¡± Sudi blinked at his outburst. ¡°We could use the scribe to probe them, but I really don¡¯t trust Sirio near them chief,¡± he sort of offered. They¡¯ll probably probe him and not the other way around was his meaning. ¡°Mm,¡± Storm frowned and stooped to have some of his wine, but paused mid-move and grunted. ¡°Bring me a bottle of Flauegran and that map.¡± This shite is undrinkable still. ¡°What map?¡± Sudi probed just to be sure. ¡°Of the Sinking Isles,¡± Storm retorted blankly. ¡°Are you seriously considering it? Move ye wrinkled cripple!¡± He barked irate, his face flushed. ¡°You,¡± he grunted pointing a finger at the other half-breed. ¡°Fuck are you?¡± ¡°Ahm,¡± the well-armed thug mumbled, gold tooth cracked right the middle and plenty of rot under it. ¡°We was asked ta come milord.¡± ¡°Right as waturr,¡± his friend said with a smirk. Great, Storm thought and waited for Sudi¡¯s return to learn more. Another bunch of illiterate idiots. Just about what I should have expected.
¡°The Queen Regent is resting,¡± Sir Bernard informed him. ¡°I¡¯ll catch my rest in the anteroom Baron.¡± ¡°Very well,¡± Storm said and cleaned his face with a fresh towel. The knight nodded and marched away passing by the returning from upstairs Sudi. The latter placed a leather map on the table, a fancy bottle of wine next to it and proceeded to pour himself a cup from the bottle Storm had opened earlier. ¡°It¡¯s not ready yet,¡± Storm cautioned him. ¡°It needs work.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine chief,¡± Sudi replied with a grimace. ¡°Right boys?¡± ¡°Ayup,¡± the duo agreed with one voice. ¡°She¡¯s sleeping with the boy,¡± Sudi said next, pouring him a fresh goblet of red wine from the new bottle. ¡°Everybody is aware,¡± Storm replied. ¡°Maja isn¡¯t going to poison me again Sudi.¡± ¡°Usually the first time is the more difficult chief,¡± Sudi argued. ¡°Not with her life on the line. She won¡¯t try again.¡± ¡°Uhm. She likes the scribe that¡¯s the only leverage you have.¡± Nattas sighed. ¡°While that¡¯s true and an advantage, trust that I have way more than that.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t need her,¡± Sudi insisted. It was this time of the day and Storm respected his commitment. More than a decade after they had met, the half-breed was Storm¡¯s oldest underling. A friend even, the term used loosely around the Baron¡¯s circles. ¡°Better to have a tool and not need it,¡± Storm repeated his favorite mantra humbly and stared at the map trying to guess Lucius plan. The young heir had ruined many a maps in his youth trying to put his ideas on paper afore he learned to paint them himself much to the relief of his father. What will you do? Do you need the North lad? Obviously you do, because then all this trouble would have been for naught. Alistair¡¯s grant plan. Lesia will never move, the late King used to murmur years back when he had the time to think on the realm¡¯s future. After everyone but Roderick, himself and the young heir had left the throne room. They love coin too much and coin prefers unions, or easy conflicts. But this is the biggest one. What¡¯s left half-finished. We need a foot in the north Nattas. By force, or diplomacy. He who rules the north shall never have a want for good fighters. From Krakenhall to Kas, Storm thought. Sovya next, to come back using a feint. An army to Pascor to block the Lakelords from getting involved and sever the road to the lands of ice. Another in Anorum waiting. Not going straight to Asturia when they finally moved out. ¡°Chief?¡± Sudi queried with a grimace, the two lackeys behind him gulping down Storm¡¯s sour wine with enthusiasm. ¡°Why leave the army in Pascor?¡± Storm asked thoughtfully. ¡°The Wolffish is difficult to negotiate with, mayhap he couldn¡¯t find the middle ground.¡± Van Calcar would never fight a legion by himself, or Lucius risk it with the road from Yepehir open. This was done on purpose. Storm put his goblet down and placed a finger on the north banks of the Canlita Sea, then traced it all the way to the lake¡¯s turn at Badum. The Van Durren had put Lord Janos on the throne, then married him with the Hoff girl. This wasn¡¯t Lord Albert¡¯s idea, not even that hothead¡¯s Sir Henk also. This is that priest of Oras Charles. With moral Sir Robert out of the way he looks to put his hands on more of the lake. Someone had to get out of the way, to free up more real-estate. A great alliance of lords about to form across the great pond. Lucius had foreseen the danger. ¡°Or he did,¡± Storm said and sighed. ¡°The army being part of it. Easiest way to fight a pack of dogs is to ally with one of them against the pack.¡± ¡°Where would the other legion go?¡± Sudi asked. Nattas reached for his goblet. ¡°A Sula is running the Fourth Legion. If Lucius was coming here he wouldn¡¯t have sent him to Pascor. He¡¯s not coming to help Lord Sula. There¡¯s a stray dog about to enter the fight and he has moved preemptively to stop them. Lord Sula be damned. Hence why his kin is beyond the pond.¡± ¡°What are we going to do?¡± ¡°If the dog is Lesia Jeremy is fucked,¡± Storm said soberly. ¡°They¡¯ll run circles around him, move timely and with professionalism, not minding the cost. It would be an investment for them,¡± he grimaced. ¡°By the time our Council figures out what¡¯s going on, they¡¯ll be in Novesium and while I have a fondness for my motherland, I can¡¯t stand their frugal righteousness. I¡¯m a man of many vices Sudi.¡± Sudi nodded unsure. ¡°What are you saying chief?¡± ¡°We¡¯re going to help Lord Sula ourselves,¡± Storm said and got up. And fuck Lord Ursus in the process. ¡°Eh,¡± Sudi murmured without enthusiasm. ¡°Why did you bring those two here?¡± Storm asked him brusquely. ¡°Damion Grin Bert,¡± Sudi said and the duo got up after draining their cups and burping loudly. ¡°Who is that?¡± Storm asked and eyed the shifting nervously thugs. ¡°Pardon, I meant the Damion Grin Bert gang,¡± Sudi corrected himself. ¡°Damion and Grin are here.¡± Right. ¡°So who is Damion?¡± Storm asked and the half-breed raised a scarred hand, a woman¡¯s ring on it. Gold with a white pearl the size of a grape. ¡°They will be captains of the ¡®Reformed¡¯ unit out of Moon¡¯s Haven,¡± Sudi elucidated further. ¡°Are they reformed?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just a moniker chief, don¡¯t worry about it,¡± Sudi assured him. ¡°I was hopeful not worried actually,¡± Storm retorted. ¡°Well, it¡¯s a recruiting tool also,¡± Sudi explained. ¡°A ¡®haven¡¯ for those needing a change from a life of murder, pillage and stealing.¡± ¡°So like a ¡®legion¡¯ in a sense. A way to whitewash past sins away,¡± Storm said and Sudi smacked his lips afore correcting him again. ¡°As I said chief it¡¯s a recruiting tool and moniker, no change is happening, but these two are skilled enough to assume a leadership role. We have over four hundred very dangerous armed people in town. They need constant monitoring.¡± ¡°First let me commence by saying I¡¯m shocked these two are the best you could come up with,¡± Storm started. ¡°Having said that, I now realize the quality must be even worse than what I initially perceived, so disregard my whole argument. Shite,¡± he sighed heavily and wiped the back of his neck and hair with the towel. ¡°Ah screw it, fine,¡± he relented. ¡°It¡¯s your pet project, just have them ready,¡± Storm looked at the smirking ¡®reformed¡¯ captains thoughtfully. ¡°What happened to the third one? That Bert dude,¡± he asked curious. Damion took the initiative to reply, seeing as he was the more articulate of the two. ¡°He kicked the bucket chief.¡± ¡°An accident?¡± ¡°Smoked too many ¡®Moon Rocks¡¯ in that pipe o¡¯ his,¡± a sad Grin explained. Storm stared at him numbly. He¡¯d no idea what the fool was talking about. ¡°Sulphur dust mixed with poppy seeds mainly,¡± Sudi elucidated further, ever a well of knowledge on illegal drugs and the cheapest of whores. ¡°Good grief,¡± Nattas gasped. ¡°Was he suicidal?¡± ¡°Always reckoned it nigh odd he went out so young,¡± Damion replied, with Grin nodding in agreement, one eye closed the other ogling from the effort to think deeply. Or keep a nasty fart in. ¡°Lookin¡¯ at the hind dis was probably a hit milord,¡± Grin stumbled through his answer, taking Nattas incredulous look for permission to dig further into their conspiracy theories about a drug addict¡¯s death. It wasn¡¯t. ¡°Get them off my face!¡± Storm exploded irate having had enough, a vein throbbing on his forehead. ¡°They are dumb as knobs! GODS DARN IDIOTS! Fuck!¡±
Half an hour later Storm had paused at the doorway and was staring at the fiercely tanned Miranda, her skin flushing red and sweaty, sleeping next to a snorting Silvio. The boy¡¯s peaceful face covered in drool that dripped on his pretty mother, small hands hugging her. It¡¯s a bloody jungle out there son, Nattas thought, careful not to wake them. Cunning crooks and the realm¡¯s vilest of scum. Serial killers and stupid fools with too much power in their hands. Mad kings and air-headed Queens. Evil bastards like your father. Professional Assassins and real monsters. But also prizes and a mountain of fame. Treasures forgotten away but within reach. There¡¯s adventure and risk aplenty. Pleasure, travels and exotic fucking women. I¡¯ve built you a ladder. All you have do is climb it, or piss it all away. Silvio was gulping down sand earlier as if it was grain. So that was a concern. ¡°He¡¯s smarter than you chief,¡± Sudi whispered and almost gave Storm a heart attack. Nattas twisted around to glare at him, but the loyal lackey had a sober expression on his face that gave the heavy breathing Storm pause. ¡°So he¡¯ll make better choices hopefully.¡± ¡°See now, you are not sure,¡± Nattas murmured clearing his throat. ¡°Kids are fragile.¡± ¡°They are.¡± Storm nodded a little moved. ¡°In a sense you are family too,¡± he said glancing at the scarred face of the half-breed standing next to him. ¡°I know chief,¡± Sudi replied, using both hands on his cane to keep himself upright. Even more of a cripple than Lord Nattas. ¡°It¡¯s my boy as well.¡± Eh. Storm sighed, all this sentimental talk ruining his mood and then seeing Sudi still gazing at the large bed, he asked casually. ¡°Are you staring at the Queen¡¯s tits Sudi?¡± The half-breed replying without hesitation or a hint of shame. ¡°Can¡¯t help it chief. They are lovely.¡± Yep, Storm thought taking it in stride and caught both hands behind his back. Darn right they are!
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 321. Half a bridge (1/4)
Dosser Half a bridge Part I -Little hungry shit-
Kaeso¡¯s Rangers Group B (Dosser) Part of fourth attempt at reconnoitering in depth -First month of Fall- Operation Day 147 Northeast banks of the River Groin Framtond¡¯s east tributary -Battle of the Half Bridge- River peninsula flank Dosser rolled in the mud, reeds snapping and a water snake snapping its jaws near his calf, cold nostrils touching him. A gasp and he went over a rotten trunk, a bright-green gecko beating a hasty retreat chirping like mad, but not half as mad as the ranger that found himself in the cack again despite relocating. Drills will only get you so far in the field. The scout waiting him by the white-barked birch tree ¨Cthe river peninsula flooded with them- and the tall cattails loosed his arrow the moment Dosser went over the obstacle. Moth¡¯rfucker had run around in a circle and got a lucky guess, or this is a bigger patrol. Which was the difference between findin¡¯ one turd floating in yer soup, or a couple more. ¡°Eah!¡± Dosser cried unintelligently twisting mid-air, the arrow striking the protruding fletching over his left shoulder. Shot too soon. Nervous cunt! Dosser landed on a knee and rolled to the side, pants soaked and unable to breathe from the exertion. Or panic. Fear even. Aye, fear. Most fighting is done by people scared shitless. You start not wanting to get hurt and end up just taking the win. Even slightly maimed. Dosser stood on the other knee, not even thinking of going for his bow. Worst thing you can do in a scrap like dis, is fumbling wit shaking hands for an arrow, then nocking it and trying to aim with a mean motherfucker looking to do the same, but being ahead of you by a couple of blasted seconds. So he just got his large dagger out, flipped it once in his hand, the scout following his movement with bowstring drawn and another arrow nocked to nail his spastically moving person between the tits. Piece of Lesia scum! The scout loosed the arrow, but saw Dosser¡¯s fat-bladed dagger tumbling in the air screaming the short distance between them and flinched in panic messing up his aim. The arrow whistled over Dosser¡¯s head, the dagger thudding on the scout¡¯s left thigh, as he¡¯d made a mess of the hurl in his haste. ¡°GAAH!¡± The scout groaned like a pig getting knifed in the groin, more shocked than hurting, although he was probably plenty hurting too and Dosser jumped to his feet, feeling equally shocked and probably equally hurting to rush him. He made two quick steps, his right arm on his shortsword¡¯s handle, but another scout came out of the bloody cattails, this one a taller thinner version of the first with bow in hand. A patrol then. Well that well and truly sucks arse. ¡°Eh,¡± the second scout gasped seeing his friend doubled over and Dosser who was moving towards them already ¨Ca stupid decision to begin with- kept the momentum going for lack of a better plan and cause nine times out of ten, most folk just do random shite in a fight. You just hope something sticks, or you get Luthos in a good mood. Luthos being the cunt that he is, was probably on vacation and Dosser got to roll this one out solo. The second scout raised his bow and fired almost at point blank range, the arrow catching Dosser on the left cheek and ripping it away from his teeth partially. It felt that way at least to him, his left eye turning bloodshot, a red curtain dropping over it. He had managed to close the distance at least ¨Cobviously- and at arm¡¯s length the man holding the bigger blade had advantage. In this case the only blade.
¡°Arggh!¡± Dosser mumbled in pain gulping down blood five minutes of intense killing later, insects crawling up on his wound and that gecko now watching him from atop a piece of rotting wood. The cunning small lizard just needed to wait him out and he¡¯ll have food for weeks. ¡°Plisse¡­ o¡¯ slit¡­¡± Dosser grunted with difficulty eyeing the green little reptile. ¡°Ruffian!¡± Goff¡¯s voice reaching his ears and the gecko disappearing at the snap of one¡¯s fingers. Fast as death. Eh. Oh fuck me life. Here. ¡°H-liar!¡± he groaned and Goff¡¯s disheveled muddy face appeared above the trunk he¡¯d jumped over. The ranger looked at the two dead scouts intensely and then at the bleeding down his face Dosser, the latter¡¯s only eye ogling at him irate. ¡°Flack arr ye lookin¡¯!¡± ¡°Fuck!¡± Goff gasped in horror. ¡°You live! Good fucking grief Doss, I heard someone yelling liar or something and thought it a trap!¡± He went over the trunk and approached him. ¡°Dude I thought you gone, shit. Eh, I can see yer teeth from two places.¡± ¡°I¡¯m¡­ fine!¡± Dosser blasted him. ¡°There¡¯s a piece of yer face skin flapping¡­¡± ¡°Suck¡­ a-clock.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not making sense chief. Right,¡± Goff puffed out and looked around them. ¡°Anyone else?¡± ¡°Arrgh,¡± Dosser groaned and fumbled with his med kit.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Let me do that,¡± Goff told him and stooped to get the needles out. ¡°Placus and Lond are near, we got the other one.¡±
¡°Mmm,¡± a swollen, bloody faced Dosser moaned an hour later. Whatever stitching Goff had done on his face had made it difficult for the ranger to open his mouth and it was still leaking. Lond, or Lund the other Northman of their patrol, with Dosser being half-Issir and Placus -a Lorian scum from Anorum wanted for murder- smacked his lips, wild red beard dancing and then stared at the others. ¡°Kaeso wants the bank cleared so we can move on their camp,¡± he said. ¡°We are well aware of the plan Lund,¡± Placus rustled, blond hair cut very short on his ovule head, pale blue eyes cold. ¡°I think that qualifies as cleared,¡± Goff said. He and Lund were from Maza Burg and had joined after Placus. Kaeso had found Dosser first whilst looking for recruits for his special unit. Dosser didn¡¯t have to be asked twice. Being a half-breed in the north meant you take whatever is offered if it pays for food. Kaeso wasn¡¯t looking for builders, or scholars. He wanted nasty fucks that can get nasty stuff done, was the sales pitch. The Centurion being the worst of them all. ¡°Can you make it?¡± Placus asked, as they had quite the jungle to traverse. ¡°Mmm,¡± Dosser grunted and got up after finishing tying up a bandage over his head and half his face. Goff stared over their heads at the cloudy sky and then pointed with an arm. ¡°West is that way,¡± he said and without another word they got moving again, leaving the corpses for the gecko. Lucky moth¡¯rfucker.
The second day near noon, following a grueling trudge through the wilderness and after almost getting lost for a couple of hours when the skies opened up for a hellish downpour, the small group found the road cut by the Lesia engineers and the other advanced groups waiting nervously. They were the last to make it. Kaeso came to talk with them as he wanted to move immediately towards the bridge. ¡°Have it cleaned up, put this salve on it,¡± their leader grunted and tossed him a small square vial. ¡°You¡¯re late.¡± Dosser murmured with half his mouth, the left side of his face a nasty dark blue, red and yellow color, the eye itself resembling the inside of a tomato. ¡°Anyone has eyes on the shores Centurion?¡± Goff asked the wiry officer. Kaeso a man of medium height of unknown years, narrow-faced and with piercing wolfish eyes grimaced, deep lines cutting into his unshaven cheeks. ¡°Leys Boars are guarding it, but I was looking for the crews,¡± Kaeso replied staring at Placus working on Dosser¡¯s wound. ¡°Same as them really,¡± he added. Kill the crews and you stop the project. The project being the stone and wood bridge over Framtond, the massive undertaking ¡®almost¡¯ finished, though the final part of it was only long beams and supports over the deep running waters. The narrow flatland where they had attempted it just under two kilometers across, one of the narrowest points of the main river. It made use of two tiny islets near the middle, the bridge wider there, from almost four meters to seven, but the last four hundred meters were still under construction. The great Asturia Bridge in comparison was built over four islets out of cut hardstone, steel and concrete. It reached two kilometers and six hundred meters from bank to bank, secured by a hundred and twenty stone arches at a comfortable eight meters width that allowed three wagons to pass side by side. So it was a third fully built, two and something thirds of material put down enough for a couple of brave people to cross at a time, whilst allowing a flow of boats at its protected side. Most though called the still unfinished project half a bridge. In order to finish it fully, they needed complete control of Framtond¡¯s west banks and Lesia wouldn¡¯t let them have it. Durio had in his turn put a stop to their opponent¡¯s attempt to cross over the Groin building two smaller bridges over the tributaries. They had managed one, but the other had cost them a lot of people since Kaeso was setting ambush after ambush in the wilderness of the river peninsula. Armando Leys Boars responding in kind. ¡°Can you talk?¡± Kaeso asked, when Goff moved away to clean his hands and eat something. ¡°Es¡­¡± Dosser hissed, his mouth hurting, left side of his face tugging and making his eye tear up constantly. ¡°Kato has made a wall a couple of hundred meters from the shores with the material brought from the other side,¡± the Centurion explained. ¡°Not much of a wall really, but it¡¯s something. The problem is I¡¯ve seen Iron Fists banners in the mountain pass and they¡¯ll have machines with them.¡± ¡°Numb¡­ers?¡± Dosser muttered. ¡°Cohort sized, a bit bigger than the ¡®300¡¯,¡± Kaeso replied. ¡°Mmm,¡± Dosser thought the number manageable, but Kaeso seeing his expression added. ¡°Old Legion cohort size and as for the three hundred part, the bank¡¯s mercenaries are pretty peculiar in their naming schemes.¡± ¡°How¡­ ye know?¡± Dosser grunted, wiping the tears from his face with a cloth. Kaeso stared at the wilderness. The engineers had cleared four meters of road and packed it with rough gravel, but the reeds were creeping back again. The flora of the large land between the tributaries very aggressive and unwilling to give up to the humans. A good winter and spring and then the road would be gone, Dosser thought. ¡°My father worked the Green Coast for a moon,¡± the hardened Centurion rustled reminiscing. ¡°Run on to them in my youth.¡± ¡°Wher¡¯¡­ is lee?¡± Fuck¡¯s sake, I got to get a couple of words out! Kaeso gathered spit in his mouth, worked it and then spat a solid blob of phlegm and saliva on a green-black dancing bug between his legs nailing it dead center. Crushed it with his boot next. ¡°Most of him is in Parmaport,¡± he replied soberly and brought two fingers in his mouth to whistle for the rangers to get moving. Operation Day 150 Early morning Lesia wooden bridge at the River Groin Goff was supposed to fire that blasted arrow with Dosser nearer the sentries. The idea being to give him enough time to jump them with Placus and Lund in the confusion. Well, he fired it early, confusion did occur, a mercenary nailed through the chest and tumbling down the muddy terrain towards the water. His friends recoiled and went to help him, but the bastard cried out murder -too fucking loud- before gurgling and lost under the current, still much better than what Dosser could, given his condition. The sentries warned sufficiently twisted about and caught them approaching blades in hand, all gnarly teeth and mean looks. ¡°What¡­ to arms!¡± One of them boomed forthwith as there was no way to explain away their intentions differently. Dosser sprinted the last couple of meters, hobnailed boots splashing in the mire, rotten leaves and pieces of cut grass covering his soaked pants. The scout swung at him with a sabre, Dosser overcompensated in the sort of dodge sort of plunge and went right by his blade, the man missing in his swing. Dosser saw the next one lowering his shortsword to stab him in the face and since Dosser had already gotten mauled enough to have to pay extra in Anorum to have his cock sucked, he jerked away to save what little looks he had left. Even cheap harlots have standards these days. The blade found his left shoulder, scratched the iron plate over his leather armour and as he kept on dipping and flaying, both boots slipping in the sludge Dosser stabbed the scout through his right bicep afore he took his legs out. Never had a more unconventional attack been attempted. Successfully. ¡°Gaah!¡± cried the hapless scout, his left knee breaking with a loud crack, leg snapping violently the wrong way and a sharp protruding bone almost plucking Dosser¡¯s good eye out after tearing out of the scout¡¯s skin and hemp pants. Dosser lost his shortsword, got mud in his face and mouth, dragged a couple of meters in it with the scout collapsed on his back screaming and came to a stop near the river. Dosser rolled to the right shoving the shuddering and cursing his mother scout off of him, stood on a smarting knee just in time to see Placus chopping the first sentry¡¯s arm off at the wrist and Goff killing the third with the time tested manner of a dagger in the jewels to the hilt. ¡°THERE!¡± Someone yelled from the now visible bridge to their east about fifty meters from them and Goff¡¯s arrow intended for a sneaking up returning from somewhere Lesia scout, smacked Lund instead high on the back and dropped him to his knees. Plate full of cack! Dosser jumped on his feet reaching for his dagger, but the newly arrived scout swung his wood axe not paying any attention to him and caught the moaning Lund right in the face, chopping everything above his nose off. Shite! ¡°Fuck me!¡± Goff cried out seeing what he¡¯d done, Dosser stumbled to reach the retreating scout and Lund collapsed on his face, bloody brains mixed with the mud. Placus got to him first, almost lost an arm at the wild defensive swing of the bloody axe, but recovered fast like a seasoned killer and stabbed his shortsword through the scout¡¯s neck dropping him in turn. ¡°Fucking idiot!¡± Placus growled at the devastated approaching Goff. ¡°Blind motherfucker!¡± ¡°Me darn fingers slipped,¡± Goff mumbled distraught his face pale and eyes haunted. ¡°Gods what have I done?¡± he added and stooped to help his friend. Lund was missing half a head and most of his brains. It was pointless. ¡°Leave him. Got¡­ to move,¡± Dosser grunted managing to get the words out this time, everything hurting, his face bleeding anew and mouth flooded with foul mud. ¡°Kaeso¡­ is at the bridge.¡± A gecko appeared on top a soaked rock, energetic scaly head scanning the situation with enthusiasm. Little hungry shit. This is the worst blasted place in the whole realm.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 322. Half a bridge (2/4)
Decanus Lucas Kato Half a bridge Part II -Fake wall is same as no wall-
Early in the year 192 of the New Calendar, probably the first week of the second month of winter, Federico Mclean authorized the President of the Bank of Trust Claus Viceroy, to accept the King¡¯s Council first draft for Act ¡®White Carta¡¯ and give operational control of the two mercenary outfits they permanently employed to the crown. The Council had met several times under the leadership of rich Duke Luke Andal of Andatelia and his Shield Lord Caxaton, lord commander of the Second Legion. The ¡®lords beyond Andalus River¡¯ had been the driving force behind the meetings. Especially High Baron Persival Borginas of the distant but important castle city of Conium, as he had suffered the most with the situation in Kadrek. Lord Cornelius Mortymer, Lesia¡¯s Master of Silence and friend to Jacomo D¡¯Orsi the High Baron of Atetalerso, worked tirelessly to convince Duke Osmund Frye of Dokamna, Lesia¡¯s Master of Horses, to agree to the plan. High Baron Theodore Hermon was given overall command of the mercenaries since Armando Ley assumed some of the blame for the disaster in Sovya and Baron Palma was still held prisoner in Kas. The plan had two objectives. Gain control of Oras Navel at the mouth of the Stonemaze Peaks deep in Regia¡¯s wilderness, all the way to the sources of Framtond. Force a crossing there, near Asturia¡¯s remote underbelly, then hold the position until the other objective was successful. The idea was that if the first two goals were successful then a push to Anorum next would open a land route to the North again. But this just couldn¡¯t happen before at least the year 195 according to most calculations. It was generally agreed that Lucius alliance would collapse if Sovya was threatened from two fronts and Asturia was sandwiched between Lesia and the Lakelords. The known military strategists and Instructors at the Academy of Armium Jan Mantel and Yani Fiorin had agreed that at least a year was needed to secure both original objectives. Factoring in any potential mishaps, they decided that two summers was adequate time for the task and submitted their final proposal to the Council. It was to be picked up eventually under the early name ¡®Mantel & Fiorin¡¯ plan, what later became ¡®Act of White Carta¡¯. Baron Hermon marched hard through Flauegran, with Leys Boars ahead of him, reached the Old Fort and overwhelmed the garrison in a night attack. He waited for the Second Legion under acting ¡®Legatus¡¯ Ettore Pintor to catch up with him, released control of the fort at the junction of the New Legion Road to the arriving Legion and continued towards Oras Navel. He got bogged down in the narrow mountain path and the unfinished part of the road, so he send Captain Leys men ahead of his. Hermon faced difficulties getting his supply train through the difficult terrain, but kept at it under constant pressure from First Agent James Viceroy, son of the President of the Board Claus Viceroy who had married Diana Merck, one of the Bank of Trust¡¯s largest shareholders. Leys Boars and two engineering firms, the Crafts of Cediorum and the Soners of Dokamna reached Framtond¡¯s first tributary and begun construction of a bridge there immediately. The plan was to cross to the Groin, tame and flatten the terrain and built a second bridge over the second tributary gaining access beyond Framtond. It was believed that given the remoteness of the place and with Regia¡¯s mind on more important developments, no one would understand what was happening until Dokamna could send heavy reinforcements up the path. The King¡¯s Regulars had moved to Cediorum already but were held back in reserve for the Second Legion¡¯s more vital operation. As Claus Viceroy concluded in a letter to Lord Mortymer read in Court, ¡®we want to have fifty percent success here your grace. If half the plan comes to fruition we¡¯ll be the winners, but we shall of course make certain it is the half we prefer and not leave it to chance.¡¯ Which in turn translated from ¡®court tongue¡¯ and put in proper context didn¡¯t bode that well for Lord Hermon. His Iron Fists were the distraction and not Lesia¡¯s main objective.
Kato¡¯s command (1st Maniple-First Cohort, 3rd Legio, First & Second Anorum) -Second week, first month of Fall- Operation Day 152 West banks of Framtond The flatlands, three hundred meters from the bridge Eleven kilometers from the mountain path slopes -Battle of the Half Bridge- Center ¡°Here they come!¡± Baldock yelled running back as fast as he could to reach their lines. Kato¡¯s Maniple holding from the edge of the stone wall, the First Anorum under Damian Tarsus behind the latter and Leo Brevis Second Anorum keeping inside the birch forest on their north flank where the wall¡¯s other side ended. Kato could see the blocks of soldiers marching down the flattened terrain obliquely, the Iron Fists yellow and black banners flapping in the chilly breeze. He counted furrowing his brow, Mede nervously bumping his helm on his shield a meter to his right. Two hundred plus per block. One, two. Three. Mouldy boots. ¡°The fuck are they going?¡± Kato grunted glancing to his right. He spotted Decanus Tarsus sprinting towards their shieldwall, the mud splashing as high as his thighs. ¡°Send a runner Tarsus!¡± Kato barked at the Anorum officer. A stocky man nearing forty. ¡°More coming down the ridge from the mountain pass sir,¡± Tarsus reported breathing heavy and handed him a spyglass. ¡°They are not coming here.¡± ¡°The bridge is right behind us Tarsus!¡± Kato blasted him and looked through the spyglass. ¡°Our bridge sir,¡± Tarsus replied gruffly. ¡°Uhm,¡± Kato murmured seeing more mercenaries lined up on the sloped road coming from the distant mountain pass. ¡°They have a blasted city up there, what the hells?¡± He griped and turned his attention on the marching towards the forested part starting just before the River Groin first square of Lesia mercenaries. ¡°Mede any word from Kaeso?¡± Kato asked turning to the legionnaire. ¡°Nothing since yester¡¯ morning.¡± ¡°What was the word then?¡± ¡°They were going for the bridge. The other bridge,¡± Mede replied with a grimace. ¡°Tarsus pull your men from the wall,¡± Kato grunted seeing where this was going. ¡°You are going to march to this side of the Groin as well.¡± ¡°Down the bank sir?¡± Tarsus asked fully aware of being outnumbered heavily. ¡°We¡¯ll give them something to attack,¡± Kato replied. ¡°Hope they bite and keep some of them spears off yer boys.¡± ¡°Decanus Primus,¡± Tarsus saluted, fist on chest and sprinted back to his men. ¡°Who¡¯s going to guard the wall?¡± Mede asked casually and Kato glared at him frustrated. ¡°It¡¯s a wall. They probably don¡¯t see behind it,¡± he retorted. ¡°Get the lads moving¡­ ehm, twenty meters. Bang them shields Mede so they take notice!¡±
Two of the square blocks of mercenaries paused seeing the legionnaires coming out of their ¡®fortifications¡¯ and turned to face them. The wall the engineers had prepared just over a meter with earth packed on one side and crooked as a stray dog¡¯s cock. Durio was due to arrive that afternoon to see what the holdup was with his own eyes. ¡°There,¡± Kato grunted glancing south over his shoulder to see Tarsus men marching in the misty wilderness towards the bend of the river. ¡°Root shields Mede, prepare to hurl javelins.¡± ¡°ROOT SHIELDS!¡± Mede boomed, the thudding boots of the approaching mass of armoured soldiers reaching them. ¡°OPEN RANKS! SECOND ROW, JAVELINS!¡± The Lesia soldiers stalled their approach, men raising shields across from them, a closed black fist painted over yellow background and their ringmail cuirass over boiled dark-yellow leather armour appearing a dark beige in the cloudy day. With a roar coming from the skies above the clouds turned to rain. Fuck. ¡°LOOSE!¡± Mede barked at the top of his lungs and the soldiers facing them cried out ducking under their shields coming to a complete stop. ¡°CHARGE!¡± Their officer bellowed hoarsely after the horrifying barrage that left at least ten of them dead and as many out of the line with shocking injuries. ¡°Close ranks!¡± Kato barked at the same breath and then the two lines made contact.
Ardas rushed forward from the third row, Salle and Baldock after him along two lads from Anorum. Kato who had moved in the scrap to plug the gap, the Iron Fists spilling over their left flank and rushing to the shore, cursed a bitter bug¡¯s mother, half the fat insect still living in his front teeth, the rest of it down his gullet and shoved a muscular mercenary with fancy vambraces back with his shield. ¡°Hey!¡± The man grunted, two rows of teeth amidst the tanned face, light brown eyes ogling under the flat-top soaked steel helmet the lads called ¡®bucket¡¯, the leather cheek-guards worn out and dripping. Kato kicked mud in his face instead of answering, the rumble of many men fighting, along heavy rain pouring down. The many blades clanging on shields, spears thudding on chest armour and helms making it difficult to hear anyone, unless he was standing in front of you. There was a lot of men yelling. Plenty of cries and curses mixed in. The mercenary ducked to save his eyes, Kato stepped forward, got a spear thrust on his shield, top right corner splintering and hacked at his turned opponent with a clench of his jaw. Once and he chopped a bigger piece of shield off. Twice and the man twisted, right shoulder rising to block his blade. Thrice and Kato downed his sword again on the return, his ears ringing and soaked to the bone, the blade drumming that twitching shoulder and biting at the metal pads. The soldier cried out and got a face full of shield as Kato pushed forward again. The mercenary stumbled back sans a dozen teeth and half an upper lip, everything under the nostrils mauled and turned the color and feel of fresh grinded mince. Kato tried to stab him through the gut, eyes gawking but the spear returned went through his shield and pierced his armour just below the nipple. ¡°GAAH!¡± Kato growled and jumped away from the blade, shield, armour and flesh connected with it until the blade¡¯s tip ripped out of his wound. The mercenary soldier pulled to dislodge the spear, but Kato wasn¡¯t going to allow him to get away to try again and turned his shield aside to stop his momentum. ¡°Legio scum¡ª!¡± He managed to say afore losing his tongue, Baldock¡¯s blade coming out of the back of his neck after entering through the open mouth. The legionnaire yanked the bloody sword out, the mercenary with the gigantic red mouth dropping dead between them and said with a hoarse voice staring at a manically grimacing Kato. ¡°Sir, you¡¯re bleeding.¡±
And hour later Kato bit at the small stick, the needle working in and out of him fast as if to mend an old cloth at the quick, which was reasonable since the Dottore had more than a dozen injuries to deal with after the groaning Decanus.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°Salve it, clean with alcohol, or clean water. Find Telos if it turns color,¡± Dottore Marianus advised him and got up. ¡°Since we lack most of that but for water,¡± Kato argued and wore his soaked bloody tunic again. ¡°Why don¡¯t we just burn it?¡± ¡°You can have fire, the rest of the unit can¡¯t,¡± Marianus reminded him with an austere glare. ¡°Everyone gets the same treatment. The stiches are fine.¡± There was a shoemaker beyond the river that worked wonders with leather so Kato was skeptical about the Dottore¡¯s assurance, but since he couldn¡¯t swim across to use the man, he forced himself to go along with it. Drink warm piss Doc, Kato wished him with a phony smile. ¡°Of course sir,¡± he agreed instead and the Dottore gave him a satisfied nod. ¡°The rain saved you today, but you did a good job Kato. I¡¯ll mention it to the Prefect.¡± Great. ¡°Gratitude sir,¡± Kato grunted and reached for his battered armour. He marched out of his field tent and found Mede standing under the rain with a sour expression on his face. Most of his row with him in a semi-circle. ¡°Boys,¡± Baldock announced wearily. ¡°He lives.¡± ¡°Any news from the Fists?¡± The Lesia mercenaries had retreated after the initial attack, the rain making their withdrawal far more taxing. ¡°Don¡¯t see them trying again today,¡± Mede replied hoarsely. ¡°Tarsus is missing.¡± ¡°He¡¯s at the Lesia bridge Mede,¡± Kato grunted and wiped his face, feeling the stubble under his fingers. Mede spat down with a grimace. ¡°Might as well be dead sir,¡± he rustled. ¡°Cause he¡¯s missing from the line and there are plenty more of them fuckers coming down.¡± ¡°How many is plenty?¡± Kato grunted. He didn¡¯t want any more problems. ¡°We¡¯ll know at night, or if the rain stops,¡± Baldock another Northman replied. ¡°I owe you one mister Baldock,¡± Kato told him to get it out of the way. The legionnaire shrugged his shoulders. ¡°You¡¯re a nasty dick Decanus,¡± he replied truthfully. ¡°But when you¡¯re about to suck plenty of cock, it¡¯s better to pick one you¡¯re familiar wit to ease ye in.¡± Eh.
Durio had aged a couple of years in a few short months, but his energy hadn¡¯t diminished at all. The Prefect had quickly inspected the camp and wall after he had disembarked off the large heavily laden rafts. ¡°They are going after Tarsus you think?¡± Durio asked with a glance at the dark sky. At least it had stopped raining, but everything was dripping wet. Men and earth. Weapons and tools. ¡°Kaeso probably kicked them off the peninsula.¡± ¡°Can he hold it?¡± ¡°Not without infantry. At least we managed to split their numbers and Tarsus will distract them.¡± Durio frowned and sucked on his teeth thoughtfully. ¡°We don¡¯t have the numbers Decanus,¡± he finally said. ¡°More of them up the mountain path?¡± Kato probed. ¡°A thousand five hundred is what the Fists are usually numbering,¡± Durio replied, familiar with the Lesia outfit. ¡°We are heavily outnumbered.¡± ¡°Hop on the rafts sir?¡± Kato jested, as hope dies last. ¡°We can¡¯t do that,¡± Durio murmured. ¡°You need to hold here Decanus and hope Kaeso can flank them from the south.¡± ¡°Kaeso might not come out of the Groin sir,¡± Kato pointed out. ¡°I¡¯ll bring reinforcements from the workers, we have some willing to use a spear,¡± Durio said. ¡°You need to build a better wall. A fake wall is same as no wall.¡± No shit. ¡°I don¡¯t believe I¡¯ll manage it afore they attack again,¡± Kato retorted. ¡°What do I do with civilians?¡± ¡°Man the wall,¡± Durio replied. ¡°And pray to whatever yer god is Hermon ditched his machines to cross the mountain.¡± Plate full of cack. ¡°Say he was reluctant to do it,¡± Kato hypothesized. ¡°Is it even possible for him to bring them over?¡± ¡°It is,¡± Durio replied with a grimace. ¡°I¡¯ll load a Scorpio on the next raft, but I need the rest to block the bridge,¡± if you lose here was his meaning. ¡°By the way I can install two more flat beams as early as next morning.¡± ¡°Wide enough for a wagon to come over?¡± ¡°Three people¡­ carefully,¡± Durio replied. ¡°The timbers are slippery when moist.¡± Fantastic. Operation Day 156 Early morning ¡°Tarsus is engaged on the flank sir!¡± Baldock reported, a thunder¡¯s roar covering his words. Kato had his eyes on the busy forward camp the Iron Fists had created not a kilometer from their position. Busy motherfuckers. ¡°Kaeso?¡± ¡°Keeps them from the bridge, but they slowly exchange scouts with heavy infantry,¡± Baldock continued accepting a piece of stale bread from Mede to chew on. ¡°Where are the freed up scouts?¡± ¡°Probably looking to hit Tarsus on the flank or slip by and needle us from a safe distance,¡± Baldock mumbled, his mouth full of bread. ¡°I¡¯m worried about the Scorpios more,¡± Kato grunted, his wound bothering him. The Iron Fists had brought dismantled machines down the slopes and were busy building them back up again. Hopefully they threw away some vital parts, Kato thought. ¡°Fuck is that ungodly thing?¡± He barked at Ardas who was handling the spyglass. ¡°A trebuchet sir,¡± Ardas replied nervously. Sans the protruding bit. ¡°That what they are doing poking us in the forest?¡± Kato hissed. ¡°Ayup, probably the arm weakened in the journey. Turned unusable.¡± ¡°Find Brevis,¡± Kato grunted. ¡°Tell him to send a squad further up and kill every motherfucker carrying an axe that enters the woods.¡± ¡°Them Scorpios are about ready to fire,¡± Mede informed him. ¡°Should I bring ours forward?¡± ¡°Leave it hidden,¡± Kato replied with a grimace. ¡°Pack more earth behind the wall, wood, whatever we have available. A couple of sacks of that bread might even do the trick. Shit is hard as stone.¡± ¡°You think they¡¯ll run out of bolts sir?¡± Baldock croaked curious, after swallowing the contents of his mouth, probably damaging his throat in the process. ¡°We have ten shots,¡± Kato reminded him. ¡°So I reckon this line of thought isn¡¯t helpful Baldock. You run back to the shore now and bring those volunteers here.¡± ¡°Decanus, Mede is fully rested,¡± Baldock protested. ¡°Mede I need to entice Leys scouts to reveal themselves because he¡¯s tall thus noticeable,¡± Kato retorted angrily and the legionnaire murmured unhappy afore trotting away. ¡°Thanks chief,¡± Mede said with a smile and Kato eyed him sternly. ¡°Don¡¯t thank me fool,¡± he told him. ¡°I wasn¡¯t jesting. Put that helm on.¡±
Baron Hermon¡¯s Iron Fists finally arrived at the flat valley between Framtond¡¯s westernmost tributary and the Groin almost two months behind Armando Leys Boars. Upon being informed of the situation Hermon acted fast and send the five hundred men strong Third Division that was leading the march to assist the scouts. The latter were embroiled in a bitter back and forth, a brutal guerilla type scrap with Centurion Kaeso¡¯s Rangers for the Peninsula for almost three weeks. Kaeso had managed to take control of Lesia¡¯s second bridge over the mid tributary and Leys Boars had a difficult time dislodging him. Hermon marched the Third Division down the valley but was intercepted halfway through by legionnaires coming out of the mist. The local commander turned and attacked Decanus Kato¡¯s men but was repulsed and had to retreat. Hermon¡¯s infantry kept coming down the pass and started building a camp to house the massive supply train following behind him spread in the pass for almost fifteen kilometers. Upon learning that there was heavy infantry guarding the west bank of Framtond, Hermon ordered the Third to be split into smaller groups and then attempt to relieve Leys Boars during that same evening. Almost two hundred soldiers filtered through and stopped Kaeso¡¯s sneak attack dead. A fierce battle started in the wilderness hugging that side of Framtond. A force arriving from Kato¡¯s camp led by Decanus Tarsus broke through Leys Boars north flank and made contact with Kaeso¡¯s cut off force. By the time Kaeso opened the way to Lesia¡¯s bridge again, the Iron Fists counterattacked Tarsus small force and pushed him back. Now the mercenaries had a narrow corridor that led to the flanks of Kato¡¯s main force across the river, but they were slow to take advantage of it. Prefect Durio reinforced the men over the river, his own camp safe beyond it, just as Hermon¡¯s war machines started arriving with his supply train. The Baron wanted to smash the defenders without risking a frontal assault, but James Viceroy realizing there was an almost finished bridge being built in a more favorable and direct position than their own vetoed his order, threatening not to pay the ¡®death toll¡¯ the fixed sum of gold each mercenary¡¯s family received upon his death. One of the Bank¡¯s famous gold contract clauses. A row started in the mercenaries¡¯ camp, the Baron turning livid at his frugality and greed in the middle of a campaign, the two men finally coming to blows. The sturdy Baron true to his company¡¯s moniker had beaten the Bank¡¯s agent to submission is the rumor, giving him a severe concussion and two black eyes. Two days later the Iron Fists started bombarding Kato¡¯s position, the wall the Decanus had built providing minimal resistance, but the tenacious officer¡¯s craftiness gave the Baron fits.
TWANG Multiplied ten times. Turd in soup! The bolts came whooshing, the machines ever coming closer and the wall coming apart as more and more bolts broke right through after bouncing off the ground in front of their wall. The explosions sending stones, earth and the usually crooked bolt cutting over the men¡¯s heads afore stopping in the muddy terrain nearer the river¡¯s shores. ¡°Three hundred meters!¡± Mede bellowed glancing over the corner of the wall, the rest of the Maniple held fifty meters back and towards the left flank. ¡°We have parabolic range sir,¡± Karson the engineer informed him, the two Scorpios behind them. ¡°Can you hit anything like that?¡± ¡°I can fire twice as fast,¡± Karson retorted with a meaningful smirk. Yeah, we don¡¯t have the ammo for that mate. ¡°Don¡¯t fire until they are a hundred meters away,¡± Kato ordered him and sprinted towards the wall, just as a huge boulder hit the ground five meters before it, bounced once leaving a crater behind, went over the wall and the men behind it and landed with a dull thump in the mud. Digging a seven meter ditch afore it stopped. ¡°Shit!¡± A legionnaire cursed eyeing the almost a meter tall gigantic rock. ¡°FUCK THAT CAME FROM?¡± Another bellowed sounding properly worried. ¡°Mede!¡± Kato barked no other way around it. ¡°Decanus?¡± ¡°We charge the Scorpios after they fire,¡± Kato told him, an arrow whistling over his head making him flinch. ¡°Eh, let¡¯s think this through Decanus,¡± Mede argued, another arrow landing on the ground next to them. ¡°If they find the range we¡¯re turning into paste,¡± Kato explained and glared at the enemy scouts that had emerged behind the trees on their flank. ¡°The next rain will wash us in the Canlita Sea.¡± ¡°I¡¯m willing to take the risk,¡± Mede insisted not willing to give up, more arrows coming their way. Worn out boots! ¡°Either we hit the Scorpio crews, or Brevis does it,¡± Kato relented. ¡°Baldock we¡¯re going scout hunting.¡± ¡°THEY¡¯RE ABOUT TO SHOOT AGAIN!¡± Baldock protested. ¡°I¡¯ll run to Brevis,¡± Mede decided puffing out. Please rain again, Kato prayed. ¡°Send a civilian, you¡¯re coming with me,¡± he ordered him and turned around to return to his spot, but not before giving Baldock a good kick to rouse him from his cover. Mede kissed the figurine he had under his armour and followed after him.
Kato charged thirty men into the woods on their south flank and caught half a dozen scouts between his group and a team Tarsus had send to plug the gap. A brief skirmish ensued, but Leys Boars broke and scattered quickly. Kato ordered the second group, all ten of them to guard the tree line and trotted back as in the meantime Decanus Brevis had come out of the North woods and flanked the Scorpio crews killing a number of them and ruining two of their machines. He was quickly overwhelmed by soldiers coming from all sides and had to retreat, the legionnaires gathered in a testudo, shields on every side. He was going to get wiped out. ¡°Swords out,¡± Kato ordered, breathing heavy seeing the catastrophe unfolding not two hundred meters away. ¡°Advance.¡± ¡°SWORDS!¡± Mede boomed glaring at his back irate. ¡°ADVANCE!¡± Kato started towards the Iron Fists coalescing on the trapped slow moving Maniple. Every legionnaire came after him, along almost two hundred civilians armed with spears, eight adventures, six hunters and Dottore Marianus with a couple of medics. ¡°Charge or feint?¡± Mede asked hopefully coming to march next to him, Baldock and the others forming up in a long line. Kato¡¯s mouth had dried up completely. You would think wit the amount of plaguing humidity all around them and the bloody weather I¡¯d have a bit more moisture to play wit. But he didn¡¯t. So he grunted, after clearing this throat, something between an instruction and the croak of the doomed in the arena. ¡°Charge.¡±
323. Half a bridge (3/4)
¡®I don¡¯t believe you¡¯ve solved the riddle, for the danger remains unnamed and even Elderbloods don¡¯t understand it. You can¡¯t read what¡¯s yet to come. The future is a tricky maze, the path to it, a mummer¡¯s road.¡¯ - The Second Sibyl of the Coven (also referred to as ¡®Ice Lady¡¯) addressing the King of Kings Ninthalor of Wetull sometime in the First Era.
Decanus Lucas Kato Half a bridge Part III -Mentioned in the Dailies-
Decanus Brevis surprised the Iron Fists getting out of the birch woods on the northernmost side of battlefield. The mercenaries had pushed their war machines forward in order to demolish the fortifications Kato had set up and were caught flat-footed as they were mostly focused on the happenings on the south flank near the river peninsula bridge. There Kaeso despite being heavily outnumbered initially kept getting reinforcements from Durio, who managed to build a small pontoon bridge over the easternmost tributary and funnel supplies over the wilderness. With the wooden bridge secure Kaeso split his rangers into smaller groups and set ambush after ambush against the Iron Fists second division¡¯s battle groups present, a force of about four hundred. Helped by the terrain and the weather and fighting in the dead of night, the rangers¡¯ constant murderous attacks prevented the mercenaries from crushing Tarsus small force and kept Baron Hermon¡¯s eyes on them. The Baron knew he needed to get control on one of the two bridges to be able to control the field. Thinking he was facing part, or most of the Third Legion initially, he had opted for a conservative approach in the center. His intentions were to prolong the battle for as long as possible, as he had control of his retreating lines even through the mountains and expected to receive reinforcements from Oras Navel. Brevis penetrated deep and mauled the engineers of the Iron Fists that broke and run away towards their main camp. Hermon who was holding the First Division in reserve reacted to protect his center and together with the soldiers holding the lines they attacked Brevis from all sides. The Decanus retreated towards the tree line, but he quickly found himself cut off and surrounded by superior forces. Kato advanced his whole line out of their fortifications to bail him out and crashed on the Iron Fists'' center in a brutal struggle. The already mentioned in the Legion¡¯s Dailies the previous day for acts of valor Decanus wanted to open a corridor so Brevis could retreat to relative safety, afore Tarsus broke or lost control of the south flank, which would cause his own much larger force to in turn get trapped in no man¡¯s land.
¡°PUSH!¡± Mede boomed, his helm resting behind his shield, thick neck swollen from the effort to help his left arm and hobnailed boots digging in the mud. A line of eighty legionnaires mimicking him extending far into Kato¡¯s right. Heave, half a step and then stab with the sword through the gap. Another half a step put forward. Another hard shove, then a thrust of the blade. Rinse and repeat. Bang. Clang. Men grunting unintelligibly, all clenched teeth and gnarly faces. The sharpened steel tips finding ringmail half the time. The edge of shields some of the rest and one time out of four digging into mostly soft flesh, or exposed thighs. The blade tearing guts out on the return, slicing through muscle and tendons. Severing arteries and opening veins. Blood and viscera gushing out, mixing in shallow watery pools with mud, turning it a rusty copper color. Excrement and urine under their boots, pieces of skin, fingers and partially slayed people. Ye stepped over, or on them and you could feel them still stirring under you. Kato caught a blade on the shield, several civilians with spears behind him extending their weak flank, growled feeling the stitches holding on his chest, but his skin failing and leaking anew. He lunged with his straight Legio sword, found cloth and yanked it back to go at it again. Kato¡¯s opponent barely visible, half his own head behind the Scutum, his helm limiting his vision. Something clang on his left shoulder and he realized it was a broken arrow shaft. The scouts now out of the woods firing pot shots into their ranks, not every arrow finding legionnaires. Kato stooped, put his shoulder on the inner part of his shield and thrust his arm forward, helping out with his neck muscles and legs. His opponent stumbled back, another rushed to take his place, but spears plunged into the gap and Mede with Baldock found the crack in the line and widened it with timely cuts. Three more mercenaries went down, the gap widening as more and more became exposed to the penetrating legionnaires. Kato twisted under a spear, the blade denting his helm and stabbed a mercenary in the ribs, blade plunging flat between the thin bones, but then cranking vertical when Kato turned his wrist with a manic grunt. The man groaned miserably, ribs snapping at their base and got stabbed multiple times in the chest and face by the civilians with the protruding spears. Kato could see red cloth, amidst all the yellow. The roar of battle so otherworldly for a moment the Decanus thought he was dreaming. A great shadow flying over them. The cloudy day turning darker. The colors waning and the sounds of battle lowering. The ringing in his ears increasing in volume. A piercing otherworldly shriek. You won¡¯t fall today, he thought and glanced at the collapsing mercenaries trying to get out of the way of the slow-moving approaching testudo and the advancing legionnaires of the main line. ¡°BREVIS YOU CUNT!¡± Mede growled breaking through his haze and snapping Kato back to the present. ¡°GET MOVING FUCK¡¯S SAKE!¡±
¡°Let them through!¡± Kato barked, ducking under another arrow whistling over his head and trotted back out of the line to check on their flank. ¡°Pull back sir?¡± Ardas asked as he pivoted so Kato could pass through. ¡°Slow does it Ardas!¡± Kato ordered him. ¡°ONE STEP BACK!¡± Mede bellowed, as he read his lips from five meters away. ¡°ONE!¡± He warned them as the line stopped and then detached from their opponents. Kato stopped breathing heavy and tried to find a runner. He grabbed an advancing civilian by the arm and shoved him the other way. ¡°Get to the wall and find a way to contact the Prefect, or Tarsus. Tell them we are falling back!¡± He barked in his face. He could see the large block of mercenaries coming to reinforce the center. Late to prevent Brevis from escaping with most of his men, but close enough to overwhelm them in the open. The Iron Fists must have over six-seven hundred men in the field at this point, he thought. If that nasty cunt has kept a reserve on top of that, we¡¯ll be dead afore the day is over. Eh. No. That¡¯s not how this shit will go. ¡°You!¡± He grunted at another of the retreating civilians, as the legionnaires were keeping the front from disintegrating into a rout. ¡°Find Sid Toma, the Centurion, or Karson! They are behind them cattails near the bridge. Tell them to push the Scorpios forward!¡± ¡°You want me to walk all the way¡ª¡± Kato whacked abruptly the flat of his blade on his shoulder, the man losing the spear and almost going down on a knee. The long shafted weapon rattling down between them. ¡°You¡¯ll run,¡± Kato rustled warningly correcting him, steel in his voice and eyes glaring. ¡°Fast as a roused hare.¡± And the man did.
Kato managed to break out a hapless Brevis saving his command and then retreated the whole front behind their fortifications, which was mostly a short stone rampart of sorts, just as Hermon¡¯s reinforcements entered the fight. The Iron Fists officers called for the engineers to return, but it was difficult to restore order and some of the machines had been damaged or overturned in the tumult, so in order not to lose the momentum, the officers present ordered the men after the retreating legionnaires. Hermon who had fought for a week under minimum light, cloudy skies and mist caught the first break in the battle at the same time a mini catastrophe touched his attacking force. The mercenaries assaulted the barricade en masse pushing the thin line of defenders back at places, in a wide front over two hundred men long. Then his southernmost flank got mauled by Centurion Toma¡¯s Scorpios, Durio had ferried another one over realizing they were on the verge of losing the battle. Toma fired four times in quick succession killing, or maiming almost forty men in five minutes. Hermon¡¯s flank cracked and the mercenaries holding there retreated in disarray. They were winning in the center though and it was difficult to disengage, but luckily Toma couldn¡¯t fire so close to their lines and didn¡¯t. The sun came out of the clouds for the first time in days and the mist retreated, just as the officers gave the order for the Iron Fists to retreat. Hermon watching through a spyglass from afar realized he wasn¡¯t fighting a legion, or even part of it. Viceroy who had a swollen face from the abuse he¡¯d received earlier realized the same thing and verbally assaulted the High Baron, who almost had him executed on the spot, but for calmer heads getting in the way. Thoroughly humiliated Hermon ordered his reserve to march down the slopes and caught the second break of the day.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Suddenly all the luck seemed to swing in favor of the mercenaries. Tarsus weakened and heavy fighting for days force holding the road to the Groin blocked had cracked under severe pressure and with casualties mounting, the Decanus retreated towards the Half Bridge, leaving Kaeso cut off again. The Iron Fists of the second division marched after him through the woods, with Kaeso forced to pull back in turn towards the bridge at the peninsula under pressure from Leys Boars that had regrouped in the meantime. Tarsus got out of the woods and marched up the shore towards Kato, but quickly realized, or was informed that he couldn¡¯t bring more trouble on their main line. The Decanus ordered a halt and turned the tired men around deciding to block the advancing after them mercenaries whatever the cost and save the center. Hermon who had ridden his warhorse nearer to the field to scold his scattered engineers saw the unfolding scene and ordered a large block of two hundred to attack obliquely between Tarsus shieldwall and Toma¡¯s Scorpions and peel Kato¡¯s whole south flank wide open. It was still late morning, the best day of the month. The Baron turned to his second in command, the Marquise Leroy Drumo who had just arrived with a cavalry force of the Baron¡¯s knights and told him they¡¯ll have Durio¡¯s bridge in two hours at the most. ¡®Gods above, we¡¯ve won this Leroy,¡¯ Hermon had declared, much relieved. The Baron was correct. Had they finished off Kato in a couple of hours they would have. But when one gets one break too many in a day, he should be wary of Luthos¡¯ depraved sense of humor on the morrow.
Operation Day 156 Battle of the Half Bridge Center Five hours later, late afternoon ¡°ARC LEFT YE CUNTS!¡± Mede barked hoarsely, seeing Tarsus line pushed back and about ten soldiers pouring in the gap. Kato had rushed there with thirty civilians (a couple of adventurers in them) clashing with the Iron Fists heavy infantry for every meter. The arriving Kato kicked a shield and shoved the man holding it back, chopped a piece of elbow off, bone marrow sticking to his armour and had a blade split his own shield down to the vambrace. A yank and it came apart, the leaping sword glancing at his cheekguard. He felt his left temple cracking from the rattle. The Decanus stumbled back, another mercenary stepped forward to cut him down but got his blade blocked from a civilian¡¯s chest and lungs, blood spraying everyone in a two meter radius. Turd in soup! Kato cursed and parried the sword away, then hurled the shield on his opponent¡¯s face catching him on the shoulder. The mercenary standing next to him tried to take advantage of the opening, but Ardas kicked his knee in and the man dived forward head first, Kato¡¯s savage chop splitting his ¡®bucket helm¡¯ down the middle. The blade lodged deep in the man¡¯s forehead, but the men coming behind him dislodged it, hurling their mauled friend down. A spear plunged in an eye socket, the fight turning vicious as the light diminished all about them, Kato chopped another arm off, cut piece tumbling in a bloody arc over their heads. An ear, several fingers, gory pieces of flesh and two whole heads. Kato kicked one of them afore it touched the ground on a mercenary¡¯s face and the man swatted it away not even flinching. Their thin line was pushed towards the abutment and Kato realized their center was about to get cut off from its retreat. ¡°Mede!¡± He barked ducking under a slash, the legionnaire holding the edge of the side that had moved to cover the space between Tarsus front, the machines and their main fortification. ¡°Pluck some men out and get here!¡± Tarsus had been hit hard, but he retreated slowly towards them, before getting overwhelmed. Kato had moved thirty legionnaires there earlier to deter the maneuvering Iron Fists, but the disparity in numbers made it difficult to keep them away. Kato glanced towards the river shore where Toma¡¯s engineers were fighting a group of scouts that had sneaked up closer to them in the chaos. Hours in it most men were but shells of themselves more dead than alive. But very few people will settle and accept they are dead afore they get killed proper. He rushed there, just as Mede arrived with a small group of friendlies, the center holding in the distance under Brevis, but their lines now paper thin, the number of casualties mounting as tired limbs made more and more mistakes. Kato tweaked his knee stepping on a mutilated corpse, grunted stumbling forward and a scout swung his head around and spotted him. The mercenary, a silver boar stitched at the front of his light armour, reached for a hatchet, but Kato bulldozed into him afore he could use it proper. The two men crashed down together, but the hatchet plunged deep in the scout¡¯s chest and his arm broken in two places, ensured that only Kato rolled away in the mud. A grunt and he hacked off a leg above the ankle, hoping it wasn¡¯t an engineer looking the wrong way. The scout went down, a gory Kato rising at the same time and saw an injured Toma opening and closing his mouth inaudibly a dozen meters away hand on the lever of his Scorpio, the other missing. Wood splinter in the gonads! A deaf Kato dived for the ground, found a knelt scout at the end of it, the man flinching in panic seeing the Decanus gliding between his legs. He jumped upwards intending to land with both feet on the officer¡¯s face, but Kato twisted his sword and stabbed him in the gap finding the groin, just as a bolt whooshed over them the next second. The scout impaled himself on Kato¡¯s blade like a harlot sitting on a client¡¯s cock, the bolt ripping through the bunched up Iron Fists gathered to squash a frantic Mede¡¯s thin line. Half a dozen of them killed in an instant. Gods darn it, he cursed, the ringing in his ears subsiding and Toma¡¯s voice reaching him along the cacophony of the raging battle. ¡°Tarsus is down,¡± the engineer told him gravely, stooped over his machine and bleeding out. ¡°Tell Durio to finish the cursed road.¡± Kato had no idea what the fuck he was talking about, but since there was a bridge at the near he chucked it to blood loss and didn¡¯t dwell on it further. He kind of had his plate full anyway. ¡°Ardas!¡± he yelled moving away from the overrun machines waving for Mede to retreat as well. ¡°Move to the bridge, Tarsus is dead!¡± ¡°Fuck. Ye sure?¡± ¡°Ain¡¯t discussing it right plaguin¡¯ now Ardas!¡± ¡°Right away boss. Back!¡± Ardas barked and an arrow stabbed him on the shoulder. Shite! Kato cursed. ¡°Gods damnit. Sneaky little bitches,¡± the stunned legionnaire cussed in turn and went to remove it, but another ripped through his forearm. It shoved him back and Kato rushed to drag him away, as more and more scouts had jumped out of the woods, streams of Iron Fists infantry mixed in their ranks. The flank had disintegrated. Not a panicked retreat, most had just died where they stood. The sun dipped behind the mountains in the distance, but still enough light was there. ¡°Decanus!¡± Mede grunted running towards them, the mercenaries pausing to stare at their officers for instructions. Go for the Half Bridge, or attack Brevis¡¯ cut off center? That''s Hermon''s fancy dilemma. ¡°Roll that beam forward!¡± Kato barked to him. ¡°Block their way! Get everyone on it!¡± The mercenaries grouped up and turned towards them again. The gap widening as Brevis¡¯ flank was pushed inwards and to the north woods. Numbers were gonna do it, unless the night came fast enough. ¡°They won¡¯t have time to do it,¡± Mede rustled looking at the injured Ardas making a brace for his arm from a dead man¡¯s tunic, the arrow still stuck in it. ¡°They don¡¯t need much time,¡± Kato grunted and shoved a couple of armed civilians into the line. Not much of a shield wall. He counted nine legionnaires amongst them. His head hurting something fierce forcing him on his knees. ¡°Sir?¡± Mede asked, worry in his voice. ¡°I ain¡¯t dying today,¡± Kato told him brusquely and grabbed his shoulder to stand up again. But most of you boys, I ain¡¯t so sure about.
The mercenary grabbed the spear and dragged the man out, his blade bursting out the back. Mede hacked him brutally caving his chest in, the blade cracking and broken rings raining everywhere. Kato pushed a sword aside, kicked a shield back, but he slipped in the mud and landed on his back, head banging on the bridge¡¯s ramp. He coughed and rolled to the side, a boot landing with a thud where his head had been and slashed parallel catching the boot on the retreat. A hefty piece of leather and wood detached, some of the foot still in it, his blade striking the ramp next. Kato grunted and pushed himself upright, a blade piercing his sides, in and out. He swung wide with a cry of pain and caught the mercenary in the eyes, the sharp tip gouging both of them out. Ardas got another one, fighting with one arm, but a third chopped him at the clavicle and send him sprawling down. Mede stomped the mercenary in the face with the hilt and broke his nose, but caught a blade with his on the return and was hurled backwards covered in gore. Kato stooped to grab a spear, slotted it under his armpit pointed the right way and walked on dead legs towards the dazed enemy soldier. The mercenary shook his head, the waters of the river turning a sinister red color right before dusk, but spotted a scowling Kato approaching covered in gore. He squinted his eyes and changed his stance, left arm unsheathing a long dagger, a sword in his right. Then he saw the spear leading two meters from the Decanus and recoiled, but it was too late. The blade pierced him slowly, while he tried to back away, boots sliding in the sludge and a fast feinting Kato ever pressing forward. A crunch and he felt it entering his chest, butchering his lungs. Another crunch and it came out of his back, stopping at the inside of his armour. The mercenary gasped, blood in his mouth, hopeful as he felt the spear loose from Kato¡¯s grip, but his wound was lethal and he died upright stooped over the shaft like a grotesque crooked scarecrow. Kato saw none of that as he¡¯d collapsed on his back. All he could see was the sky above him and a bit of the fields in the distance, where torches had appeared as the armies pulled away for the night. Torches on Brevis¡¯s side as well, their center pushed to the trees almost, half the wall brought down or abandoned. Fuck.
¡°Chief,¡± Baldock grunted some time later whilst pouring water on his face. ¡°Ye live?¡± ¡°Arggh,¡± Kato grunted, everything a blur and his eyes smarting. ¡°Bloody¡­ idiot!¡± ¡°Ardas is bad, Mede too,¡± Baldock started sadly, trying to wipe his face with a cloth. ¡°Mede will make it, some-fucking-how,¡± Kato assured him hoarsely, a numbness spreading on his body. A weird one, more warm than cold. ¡°Right,¡± Baldock murmured and removed his helm. You won¡¯t. ¡°We¡¯re just prolonging the inevitable here Decanus.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see about that. We still hold the bridge,¡± Kato rustled and tried to move but failed, which was alarming. That¡¯s a barrel of stale piss down the gullet. Fuck¡¯s sake. ¡°How do you know?¡± the legionnaire asked him and Kato watched the two moons silvery-blue light coming over the battlefield. Shadows and fires mixed in, cries of agony and despair still coming from all sides, the river flowing unstopped behind him, but the gore on the ground drying up and the frozen dead watching in contemplating silence. There was a lone figure standing at the edge of the ruined stone wall. Tall and elegant, but more exaggerated than proportional. Extremely long white hair blowing in the soft breeze, shapely body outlined under her long dark tunic. She used her staff to climb down from the wall, moving slow but surely, a grace in her gait deliberate and alien. Damn, Kato thought awed when she came close enough to show him her face. Which goddess are you? She smiled at his words and stooped, long fingers wrapped on her engraved staff, the metal on it silvery, crystalized with sparkling blue quartz and arching at the top. ¡°He would have lost on the east side of the river brave Kato,¡± she told him in her archaic accent. ¡°The future is a tricky maze, so many roads for the ignorant soul to navigate. Not all leading to the same place. Now, he¡¯ll have his chance,¡± the exotic female paused with a small frown as if unsure, then her eyes turned on him again. Sparkling pools of blue and silver, the colors twirling and clearing up, the gleam behind them unnatural, her voice a sad, but lovely song biding him farewell. Fucking beautiful. ¡°Decanus?¡± Baldock queried haunted seeing Kato¡¯s eyes glowing for a moment and the breeze turning chillier, the night whispers turning into a howl that came and went. The other survivors near the Half Bridge gathered slowly around the Northern Legionnaire and the staring at the nether expired Decanus, no one paying attention to the myriad of lights seen stretching out on the river¡¯s distant east shores across from them, from the opposing abutment and as far as the Groin. ¡°I¡¯m truly saddened I won¡¯t get to meet you,¡± the witch had told him in her mourning voice. ¡°You should have sent Brevis to help here.¡± 324. Half a bridge (4/4)
Lucius on Stormbolt crossing the Framtond¡­ - Famous Ireneo Sarkozy* oil painting (born in Faro, Lesia 170NC- Died in Lourmar, Regia 229NC) Found in Tiger¡¯s Citadel at Storm¡¯s Rest
*The famed painter, ex-mercenary and adventurer was a surviving veteran of the Battle at the Half Bridge (official name First and Second Storm¡¯s Rest) serving with Armando Leys Boars mercenary company
Praetor Lucius Alden Half a Bridge Part IV -We¡¯ll ride tonight, rest on the morrow Prefect-
Operation day 150 Lucius entourage (build around Merenda¡¯s 2nd Century and Logan¡¯s warriors plus fifty men-at-arms paid by Lord Bernard Holt of Asturia escorting Lady Monica under Flavius Nasica) ¡°Goddess¡¯ noble bosom!¡± a flushed Monica snapped the moment her heeled boots touched the ground. The expensive footwear sinking into the soft mud to her long blue velvet coat¡¯s embroidered hem. ¡°What is this ungodly wilderness? Are we completely lost?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a hunter¡¯s road,¡± Faye said jumping out of the carriage after her and then hopping once to reach sturdier ground. ¡°Ye need to get out of the road.¡± ¡°What road?¡± Monica wondered but accepted her arm. Faye hauled her over easily despite being a tad shorter than the Duke¡¯s daughter. ¡°Gratitude,¡± Monica said trying to gather her dress and coat. ¡°Goodness me you¡¯re strong Lady Faye!¡± she beamed sounding impressed. ¡°You just need to get out more,¡± Faye retorted and stared at the dark sky roaring above them. ¡°I can¡¯t argue with that,¡± Monica replied unsure. ¡°Though I had something completely different in mind than discovering new lands beyond the river.¡± ¡°It¡¯s still yer father¡¯s forest this,¡± Faye grunted and started towards the men that had created a shade to get a fire going. ¡°So I don¡¯t know what yer blabbering about.¡± ¡°Wow,¡± Monica gasped following after her. ¡°What about?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t be frank for I don¡¯t know what wiggle room I have Lady Faye,¡± Monica replied. Faye stopped and turned around to eye her. ¡°Let¡¯s say I was wondering if you enjoy anything else than swords?¡± Eh, damn it girl, Lucius thought, as he was keeping an ear on their conversation, just in case Faye got angry and lashed out. He didn¡¯t believe Monica could take a punch. Lucius patted the impressive stallion with a gloved hand. The Asturia warhorse was young and almost as big as Stormbolt. He¡¯d named it Nightsilver because of its light patches on its snout, head and joints of its powerful legs. The rest of the horse a dark grey that gleamed in the flashes coming from the sky. It was a wedding gift from Lord Holt, the best horse in his stables. Lucius hadn¡¯t ridden it much, as Stormbolt didn¡¯t take kindly to him smelling of another and could turn right mean at times. He could feel the loyal horse glaring at him from the sides. ¡°Riding,¡± Faye replied gruffly and Monica nodded. ¡°Practicing¡­ with swords I guess,¡± Faye added thinking about it and glanced his way longingly, Lucius assuming a blank look. Although he loved sparring with her, Lucius was trying hard to steer Faye away from fighting. ¡°Ye wanna try it?¡± ¡°Ehm,¡± Monica hummed unsure. ¡°When you say practicing with swords¡­¡± Faye unsheathed one of her blades and offered it to her. ¡°It¡¯s as good a time as any,¡± she told the stunned ravenhead. ¡°Can we use a smaller one?¡± Monica asked hopefully. ¡°Something not metallic?¡± she added unwilling to let go. ¡°Not if ye want to grow stronger,¡± Faye retorted. ¡°I really don¡¯t want to do this,¡± Monica argued with a pout. Faye shrugged her shoulders and withdrew the blade. ¡°Nor do I,¡± she replied sternly. Lucius had moved towards Stormbolt in the meantime, a smile on his face. The horse giving him a solid bump with his large head. ¡°What? You¡¯re my boy,¡± Lucius said with a grimace and a pained smile. Stormbolt snorted not convinced and bumped him again almost knocking him over. Lucius spent several minutes rubbing the rich mane with his hands and patting his strong back, a couple of times whispering into the horse¡¯s ear about how good it was. Not long after he caught sight of a man waiting for him patiently and broke the bonding moment off with a sigh. ¡°My Lord,¡± Ramirus started. ¡°Will you call for a meeting before supper?¡± ¡°Not with two women and a little boy¡­¡± Lucius replied, but paused. ¡°Unless a bird found us.¡± ¡°A hunting post up ahead. It relays news to Croton,¡± Ramirus explained and Lucius turned around completely to stare at him. ¡°A missive?¡± ¡°Aye sire.¡± ¡°Not ours?¡± ¡°It was for the Duke, but the hunter remembers it word for word,¡± Ramirus explained. ¡°The moment he spotted our men he came to report on it.¡± ¡°Duke will have the word?¡± ¡°Aye. In a couple of days.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Lucius asked. ¡°There¡¯s a battle across the river according to him,¡± Ramirus replied. ¡°A long one and it has stopped construction of the bridge.¡± ¡°How does he know?¡± ¡°Most hunting parties know about the bridge by now and visit the site.¡± ¡°How does he know?¡± Lucius repeated sternly. ¡°They carried scores of injured to the other bank,¡± Ramirus replied tensely. ¡°It¡¯s a big struggle the man says. Both from the tributary and the main river. The letter said our boys might not hold.¡± Hmm. ¡°Where is Galio?¡± Lucius grunted angry and marched towards the 2nd Century¡¯s hastily constructed camp. They had no time for a proper one as his instincts were telling him to hurry and even so it seemed they were going to be late. ¡°No Legion at the near,¡± Ramirus said coming after him. Gripa talking with Centurion Merenda raised his head seeing Lucius expression. ¡°Probably got bogged down due to the heavy rains. It must be three times worse for Galio. But he can¡¯t be far.¡± A little late just won¡¯t cut it, Lucius thought frustrated. ¡°Shall I see to the Ladies and the young gentleman milord?¡± Gripa asked perceptively and Lucius nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll keep a plate.¡± ¡°Ahm¡­ damn it. I¡¯ll be busy for a bit Gripa.¡± ¡°Very well milord,¡± Gripa replied and left to take care of them. Faye would probably come straight to him sooner rather than later, the moment she suspected something was up. ¡°Merenda, have you set up a tent?¡± He asked the square jawed, but boisterous as much as handsome Marcus Antonius. The man getting two names since by the time his father Sir Seleucid Merenda, the Lord Commander of Cartagen¡¯s Royal Guard legitimized and gave him the name of his late father Antonius, everyone was calling the brass child Marcus. So he kept them both. ¡°More a shed Praetor,¡± Merenda replied with a broad smile. ¡°I carry the planks with the supply train.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Lucius grunted. ¡°We¡¯ll talk there Centurion,¡± he added. ¡°Find Trupo and Sirio. I¡¯ll need his maps.¡± ¡°The lad can hardly walk¡­¡± Merenda started still grinning, but he got ahold of himself seeing Lucius¡¯ stern stare and added quickly. ¡°But he¡¯s easy to carry Praetor, so I¡¯ll bring him myself.¡±
Trupo, Merenda, Ramirus, a miserable hobbled Sirio, Logan and Nasica were present inside the Centurion¡¯s three by four meters shed the Century had set up. ¡°I don¡¯t think this is within regulations Merenda,¡± Trupo commented shifting on his stool, the hefty field table leaving room for little comforts given that one wall was occupied by Merenda¡¯s oaken bed. ¡°Prefect, I¡¯m looking to expand the walls,¡± Merenda assured him. ¡°I was speaking about the bed.¡± ¡°I¡¯m spared a bad back,¡± the Centurion quipped whilst Lucius pored over Sirio¡¯s additions to the maps of this relatively uncharted area of the Kingdom. The Legion didn¡¯t have access to Durio¡¯s more detailed maps, since the Prefect had escaped the First with only the clothes on his back. ¡°Your point being?¡± Trupo asked, his mustache showing great annoyance. ¡°I¡¯d like to keep it thus Prefect. Haha!¡± Merenda boomed and burst into laughing afore he caught himself and assumed a more serious expression. ¡°Are you quite finished mister Merenda?¡± Lucius asked without looking his way. ¡°Absolutely sir. I¡¯m done,¡± the lively Centurion replied with a toothy smile. ¡°The bed goes. The load can¡¯t be justified,¡± Lucius said and then tapped at the map for Sirio to have a closer look at. ¡°Aye Praetor. Don¡¯t much like it, consider it gone,¡± Merenda agreed, pretending he wasn¡¯t bothered by the turn of events. ¡°Why has Durio poured resources here Sirio?¡± Lucius asked not minding him, having already moved on to the next topic. ¡°The east tributary we completely control my Lord,¡± Sirio replied, pale and flushed at the same time. Also smelling strangely. ¡°Furthermore it is narrower. Durio used it to funnel supplies and men to Kaeso, so we must assume his mission was successful.¡± Durio had reported a couple of weeks back, the missive reaching them in Croton, about the Centurion¡¯s rangers attempting to stop Lesia¡¯s engineers from controlling the peninsula. ¡°Kato doesn¡¯t have the men to hold the valley,¡± Lucius murmured. ¡°Anyone has exact numbers on the Iron Fists?¡± ¡°Three divisions of about five hundred heavies each,¡± Nasica replied. ¡°Lesia¡¯s companies all use the old Lorian system. The Second Legion is another thing though. They kept it close to the chest there.¡± ¡°I assume we would know if another Legion was present,¡± Lucius said looking at the hardened man from Croton. ¡°Or any Legion. Apparently Galio is late.¡± ¡°The weather must have been atrocious up the mountains,¡± Trupo said. ¡°He can¡¯t be more than a week away,¡± Ramirus intervened. Trupo smacked his lips, smoothed his mustache but said nothing. ¡°Nasica your men have horses,¡± Lucius stated matter-of-factly. The Duke had gifted almost a hundred animals to the Legion and while Nightsilver was the best of the bunch by far, the warhorses were of high quality. ¡°We do milord,¡± Nasica replied. ¡°Any Knights between them?¡± ¡°No, but they are well-trained riders milord.¡± ¡°They have the weapons for it,¡± Lucius noted and Nasica shrugged his shoulders. ¡°It¡¯s a well-paying job milord,¡± he replied with a leer. ¡°So men invest in their gear.¡± Probably working for Lord Bernard didn¡¯t harm their purses none, Lucius thought, but he couldn¡¯t find a fault to what the man was saying. ¡°You¡¯ll come with me on the morrow,¡± he told him firmly. ¡°We¡¯ll create a nimble mobile group to reach Durio faster.¡± Nasica stood back with a frown. ¡°What about Lady Monica milord?¡± It bothered Lucius he hadn¡¯t thought of Faye, but he could understand the hired blade¡¯s priorities. ¡°My wives will be fine,¡± Lucius replied his face hardening. ¡°I can ensure it mister Nasica.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Bernard¡¯s man said with curt nod. ¡°I shall give word to the lads.¡± Lucius watched him leave the shed in silence, Merenda breaking it first. ¡°Praetor, about the bed¡­ ah,¡± he started and Lucius stopped him raising his hand. ¡°You¡¯ll bring it to my headquarters Centurion,¡± Lucius said. ¡°Gift it to Lady Monica from the troops.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Merenda cleared his throat flustered. ¡°I don¡¯t¡­ I suppose you have a reason sir,¡± he finally said after a couple of false starts. ¡°I do,¡± Lucius replied and got up. ¡°Gents the vacation is over,¡± he announced to their blank faces. ¡°We need to help Durio, or this will forever stain our honor.¡±
¡°I¡¯m not leaving Roderick without his mother,¡± Lucius said firmly to a flustered Faye half an hour later. ¡°Wow that¡¯s¡­ a low blow Alden,¡± the redhead hissed in annoyance. ¡°Am I wrong?¡± ¡°So you¡¯ll get to do Galio¡¯s job?¡± Faye griped through her teeth pacing up and down their tent. The large commander¡¯s tent big enough to house two bedrooms and a reception area where they currently stood. ¡°Faye, I need to take control of the situation,¡± Lucius told her patiently. ¡°I don¡¯t like this at all,¡± Faye retorted stubbornly. ¡°You rarely do, but this is just a matter of me stepping in to help. Galio might be there on the morrow and everything finished by the time I arrive.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t just watch from the sidelines Lucius,¡± Faye griped and approached him. ¡°You are really making me mad lately.¡± Lucius hugged her, frowning at the sword hilts protruding over her shoulders. ¡°I haven¡¯t gone to her at all,¡± he murmured, lips buried in her red mane. ¡°What else can I do to make up for it?¡± ¡°Reminding me wasn¡¯t smart fool,¡± Faye grunted and pushed her hands on his chest to look in Lucius face. ¡°Are you thinking about it?¡± ¡°Allgods no,¡± Lucius gasped seeing her anger just about to spill out. ¡°You have it the wrong way. It is not duty, but fondness that matters and I choose to be with you. Look at me,¡± he added hoarsely. ¡°Stay with Roderick, be safe. I¡¯ll whip the situation there and by the time you¡¯ll arrive all will be fine again. Just let me work on it without worrying about you two.¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. ¡°Aww,¡± Monica purred exiting her bedroom. ¡°That¡¯s so romantic. Is this a group hug?¡± ¡°No it isn¡¯t,¡± Faye retorted frostily. ¡°Arr, shame,¡± Monica shivered to sell it, those blue eyes narrowing betraying her irritation. ¡°Anyways, I¡¯d like to thank you for the lovely bed Lucius.¡± Duke Holt¡¯s daughter needs a thorough spanking, Lucius thought sourly. ¡°It¡¯s from the troops,¡± he grunted, Faye stiffening in his arms. ¡°A good-will gesture.¡± ¡°Damn,¡± Monica retorted unladylike but softening it with a cute grin right at the end. ¡°I guess I¡¯ll have to thank them all. The Goddess¡¯ will is ever generous,¡± she added theatrically, with Lucius glare nipping it in the bud. ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary. I received your gratitude milady,¡± he told her sternly. ¡°So you already thanked the Legion.¡± ¡°Haha!¡± Faye chuckled before she could stop herself. ¡°I¡¯m going to test my bed,¡± Monica announced sternly and left twirling on her heels. ¡°You won¡¯t be able to keep her locked up forever,¡± Faye whispered in his upset face. ¡°How does this work out usually?¡± Lucius grimaced and kissed her forehead. ¡°If love isn¡¯t there then upbringing takes over. Most noble households are pretty solemn places to grow up into.¡± ¡°But not yours. Your father¡¯s was a union of love,¡± Faye murmured softly. ¡°So this arrangement is as much a struggle for you too.¡± Not all his marriages, he thought sourly. ¡°I can handle it. Done it afore,¡± Lucius replied with a grimace. ¡°She shall endure it as well. Holts are tough as nails. It¡¯s you I¡¯m more concerned about. I vowed not to hurt you again and it scares me that I might.¡± ¡°She¡¯s just a girl still.¡± ¡°Just trust me on that one, she¡¯s way ahead from both of us in some matters. My mind is firmly set on ensuring you¡¯re not hurt, I mean it.¡± ¡°Stop it. You won¡¯t ever hurt me, not intentionally. It¡¯s not in you,¡± Faye assured him and glanced at the room of their bedroom. ¡°Maybe a little¡­ until Roderick wakes up? You are not leaving for an hour yes?¡± ¡°Lady Faye!¡± Lucius objected, but it was a weak protest and mostly fake. Operation day 156 Late afternoon Not a week later Lucius fast moving host arrived at Durio¡¯s expanded camp and workstation, the Prefect¡¯s crude wooden buildings, warehouses and even opened dirt roads heading towards the bridge and the distant mountains constructed with an austere symmetry that made the chaotic camp appear tidy. The mood though was dire, despite the excitement of seeing the Third Legion¡¯s columns marching down from the north approach to the camp, some advance elements of the First Cohort already arriving at the outskirts of Durio¡¯s camp. ¡°The weather just cleared,¡± Durio reported tensely. The task aging him spectacularly in a few short months. ¡°It helped us clear up some stuff, but it emboldened the Iron Fists and hurt the men across the river.¡± ¡°Is the battle lost?¡± Lucius asked wearily, still covered in mud from riding as fast as he could without killing the horses for days, stopping only to rest the animals and then hitting the road again without delay. ¡°We don¡¯t know, but runners on the bridge say Kato is holding through the skin of his teeth,¡± Durio replied. ¡°Can we use the bridge to reinforce him?¡± Lucius asked glancing at the sky. ¡°We have a couple of hours.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t send horses over, not past the midpoint, we must wait for infantry to push them back,¡± Durio replied. ¡°But we¡¯ll be sending men piecemeal into a meat grinder. If the front has shrug more, it is suicide Praetor.¡± Leaving those men to perish without at least making an effort to save them is outright murder, Lucius thought furrowing his brow, but kept the matter to himself not wanting to burden the worn out Prefect further. ¡°Trupo, how far back is Logan?¡± The northern fighters were itching for a good brawl for well over a year. ¡°Six hours, they had less animals than us sir and worse riders,¡± Trupo replied, wiping some of the muck off of his face. ¡°Send them over as fast as they arrive,¡± Lucius ordered Trupo and he nodded. ¡°Durio you are relieved,¡± the ¡®acting¡¯ Prefect paled. ¡°You¡¯ll work on finishing the bridge Durio it¡¯s not a demotion. Find a horse, I want to see the other one.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a bit of a ride Praetor,¡± Durio said with difficulty. ¡°Nasica that¡¯s enough water,¡± Lucius ordered looking at the leader of the men-at-arms. ¡°We have work to do.¡± Nasica nodded, his eyes on the sun. ¡°It¡¯s late in the day milord.¡± ¡°It is,¡± Lucius agreed. ¡°Not much time for them to plan anything big. But we are not concerned mister Nasica, for we have plenty to do in front of us.¡± ¡°Can I inquire as to the plan milord?¡± Nasica queried unsure. ¡°We¡¯ll pay Kaeso a visit,¡± Lucius grunted and reached for Stormbolt¡¯s reins. ¡°I assume you worked there today Prefect,¡± he added to steel a depressed Durio¡¯s spine, showing him he would get to keep the rank. Probably not what bothered Durio the most, but when someone needs a boost, anything really, to stand on his feet again, you can¡¯t be frugal. ¡°Minimum supplies Nasica, grab every horse you can find and raid the wagons for spears. Any man that knows how to stay on a horse is drafted gents. Trupo, I want a runner to reach Galio and the cavalry posthaste. I want them at the pontoon bridge¡­¡± he stared at Durio. ¡°It¡¯s a three hour ride,¡± he murmured unsure. ¡°I don¡¯t know how far are Galio¡¯s other columns.¡± ¡°Two hours,¡± Lucius decided glancing at the sun to gauge the time. ¡°Pray Kato holds out for the day,¡± he told them. ¡°This is on us.¡± Trupo approached on his horse while Nasica galvanized his tired men. ¡°You intent to fight on tired legs my Lord,¡± he said treading carefully. ¡°After another long trek? It¡¯s half a day across the peninsula, perhaps even longer.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll ride tonight, rest on the morrow Prefect,¡± Lucius retorted gruffly. ¡°Men will not be sleeping across the river tonight and neither shall we. You fear of riding not even a hundred kilometers on fine dirt road? Is this not the Legion?¡± Sirio thought it was eighty, as little as forty at the Groin¡¯s edge and ballooning to over four hundred kilometers near the mountains, but Durio had probably cut through the narrowest point, as would the Lesia engineers. A straight line from bridge to bridge, trotted by men, carts and animals for almost a month. A part of it paved over. It can be done. ¡°Eh, I¡¯ve heard the term tamed jungle used as well,¡± Trupo argued a little flushed, but then pressed his mouth tight, thick mustache hiding his lips and added. ¡°Then again, seeing as this is the army, things are probably blown way out of proportion sire.¡±
Tribune Veturius Third Legion spent over a month trapped in the quagmire of Uher¡¯s Passage, the weather horrible for traversing the poor ¡®roads¡¯ there. The supply train lost contact with IV Cohort that was bringing up the rear and the acting Legatus made superhuman efforts to battle the elements even using soldiers to drag the wagons out of the mud. Seeing he was losing time and the weather wasn¡¯t improving the veteran officer ordered Prefect Draco to force-march the I Cohort, taking Decurion Long¡¯s Cavalry with him along Centurion Sorex¡¯s Legio Slingers. The latter volunteering to help his longtime friend Centurion Kaeso. Draco soldiered on ahead of them, but the rest of the legion slowly but surely found rock-strewn paths after Shaft¡¯s Peak and made better time. The split Legion units eventually arriving to Framtond¡¯s tributaries less than a day apart. Praetor Lucius that was coming up the river¡¯s east banks from Croton following a similar road, but facing better weather, upon being informed of the happenings reacted the same way. It wasn¡¯t an easy decision since he left two wives and a young son on the road to rush towards Durio. He was followed by a Cavalry force from Asturia under Nasica and Logan¡¯s mounted warriors, as Merenda¡¯s Second Century stayed with Lady Faye almost three days back. Lucius made it in camp first, but immediately realized Hermon had all but realized his two main objectives for the almost two month long battle. So he headed straight for the pontoon bridge and the embattled Kaeso¡¯s forward position, the hardened Centurion controlling a huge parch of land for the amount of men he had under him. Decurion Long¡¯s Cavalry, one of III Legio¡¯s first units to arrive hours later was directed to the smaller bridge as well by Prefect Potis Durio who was relieved of command the same day he received a promotion in the field. On a side note this was the fourth Durio of distant Lastport to reach the rank of Prefect in a Legion and the second to do it whilst serving with the Legion¡¯s Engineers after his great-grand uncle Tito Durio. Lucius now reinforced Cavarly force crossed the pontoon bridge right at sunset to land on the River¡¯s Groin and riding nonstop on fortuitously good terrain for the river peninsula reached Kaeso¡¯s rear positions ¨Cmanned by civilians and adventurers with remnants of Tarsus destroyed Maniple- nine hours later. Half an hour later Lucius was at Lesia¡¯s bridge and probably witnessed along those on this side of the river the gigantic light show that was the slow arrival of the III Legio on the opposite banks. Baron Hermon knowing there was a small city across the river itching to cross over opted not to sleep at all and reorganized his force into two attack groups. With full info on his opponent, he decided to strike decisively on the remnants of Decanus Brevis command. Brevis who had taken over after Decanus Kato had been killed in the final action of the previous day, moved his weary men during the night having received reports that reinforcements were due and recaptured, or reoccupied Kato¡¯s old position and the remnants of the stonewall. Knowing he was going to get attacked from all sides the Decanus setup an oblique but thin defensive position, putting legionnaires and civilians in the line and tried desperately to rouse moral. He was probably successful whether due to his own oratory skills, or the news that Lucius had arrived with Galio, the Praetor¡¯s presence unexpected as he¡¯d just gotten married back in Asturia, were enough to galvanize the survivors. Hermon ordered the First and Third Division of the Iron Fists to smash through and take control of the Half Bridge, the moniker not giving credit to Durio as the large bridge was traversable even if it was unsafe, effectively blocking the Legion arriving on the other side of the river. His second order was to the battered Second Division, or a big portion of it ¨Caround two hundred men- to attack on first light through the forest, dislodge Kaeso¡¯s annoying rangers and then destroy the smaller bridge over the West Tributary. Marquise Leroy Drumo, of the Drumo of Miloville, an old family related to Hermon that at one point controlled Parmaport itself even reaching the rank of Marquise by the King¡¯s decree, but now were no more than petty Barons using an extant title, proposed to charge his small cavalry force on Brevis positions. Hermon disagreed, their argument being more a matter of losing valuable soldiers and the cost in replacing them than of any substance and Viceroy intervened again proposing a retreat towards the slopes. An increasingly frustrated Hermon spent the night mulling it over and had to compromise relieving the Bank¡¯s Agent and his supply train, whist placing Drumo behind both groups to act in case of an emergency. The Baron believed he had at least the coming day before the slow moving Legion could react and attempt a crossing so soon after their arrival from Anorum, but he¡¯d used up all his luck the previous day. In hindsight the Iron Fists should have probably attacked during the night, but there was a clause in the men¡¯s contracts that made it outrageously expensive to allow a night engagement and the mercenary Guild was notoriously stingy in giving in on their articles. Lucius rested his animals briefly with his eye on the coming dawn, failed to find Kaeso, but left orders with one of his trusted lieutenants a man named Dosser to attack after him. With the sun slowly emerging on the strangely clear for a second day in a row sky, the men of the Second Division marching towards the forest saw scouts belonging to Leys Boars running out of the treeline to the plains in panic. Right after them came the thundering roar of a large host of cavalry, probably around three hundred strong and Lucius banner. ¡®It was like the Bloody Tiger¡¯, as eloquently stated in a hastily written letter to his pregnant wife ¨Cpublished with his memoirs in 199NC- by Sir Mauro Drumo the Marquise¡¯s second son, who was also present in the field, ¡®had up and leaped over the blasted river.¡¯
Operation day 157 Second month of fall 192 Early morning Battle of the Half Bridge Lucius command Stormbolt neighed his voice lost under the sound hundreds of hooves digging at the caked ground, black head snapping right and left in the effort to keep up with the other horses. Their front fifty wide and six deep. The earth shook in an earsplitting uproar and Lucius felt the familiar sudden surge of adrenalin pouring into his veins and he was a younger man again bouncing on the saddle and leading a charge during the games. No undulating crowds in this field though, no sense of pride, or vanity for a perfect score. No fancy tavern waiting at the end of it, but another round of struggle. Failure meaning not a repeat in the next town, or the disapproving stare of his father. No Ralph waiting to tease him for a missed opportunity waiting by the stands grinning fiercely and making gestures to distract him. Just a bunch of uncaring professionals waiting to cut him down and kill him dead. Lucius realized he¡¯d never had more to lose than at that moment. A lot of people had set their hopes on his success and risked doom in his failure. The field came at him as the sun slowly popped, a fierce red and yellow on the sky, the green and black of the dug earth, the gleaming ringmail with the dark-yellow leather cuirasses under it and the ever growing soldiers scrabbling to get into position, death rushing their way with each rugged gasp of breath.
¡°ARRGH!¡± A sergeant-at-arms cried out a moment, or ten later, a broken spear stuck in his thigh, the leg nailed on his wooden saddle. Lucius pulled at the reins to turn Stormbolt around, blood splattered on his engraved helm and his whole right arm covered in dripping gore. The cavalry hunting the broken Iron Fist soldiers and killing them on their feet. The large column had disintegrated caught in the march, at least seventy killed outright and the rest splintered in many smaller units looking to survive more than fight back. ¡°Decurion!¡± Lucius yelled trotting towards the gathering Legio Cavalry, Nasica¡¯s armoured riders¡¯ still hunting lone soldiers about. ¡°Can the horses make it to Kato?¡± Long slapped his helm to set it right and nodded. ¡°We might have to limit our speed a bit milord,¡± the Northman replied. A race of peoples that never really trusted horses, Long and Faye¡¯s love for the cavalry was nigh impressive, with the Decurion a legend amongst his people. ¡°Send a runner to Dosser, or Kaeso,¡± Lucius ordered hoarsely and reached for his father¡¯s sword. ¡°Tell them to attack towards the Half Bridge with whatever they have. Logan¡¯s men are probably crossing the river to reinforce them even as we speak.¡± ¡°The Baron will react milord,¡± Long said prophetically and Lucius spotted riders appearing in the field. ¡°Nasica!¡± Lucius barked, Stormbolt neighing under him nervously, horses and men all bunched up around their easy to spot leader. ¡°GATHER YOUR MEN AND FOLLOW US!¡± ¡°Praetor, you can sit this one out,¡± Trupo advised, a strained look in his eyes, the Prefect not a friend of riding and taking unnecessary risks. ¡°You will in my stead,¡± Lucius ordered brusquely, softening his tone for the next part. ¡°See that the rangers move out of the woods Trupo. Stay on that horse Prefect.¡± ¡°Milord,¡± Long protested his face flushed. ¡°We have this.¡± ¡°If one fears to lead men in battle himself,¡± Lucius retorted and checked on his shield¡¯s straps. ¡°Then perhaps he has no right giving the blasted order!¡±
The warspear glanced on the rim of his shield, splinters rattling on his helm as Lucius lowered it to save his eyes, the famed sword¡¯s tune that of a taut chord echoing afore the distinctive clang of blade striking blade. Lucius twisted on the saddle with a gasp, riders clashing brutally in the open field, shields coming apart or folding, blades shattering and plate wrapping. Horses neighed wounded, men tumbling down, snapping their necks or dislocating limbs. The smell of oil and boiled leather in his nostrils, lungs hurting, the colors turning a blur. Stormbolt blasted through the Lesia cavalry, a knight with a Lynx engraved on his chest throwing his broken gory lance and reaching for a steel mace afore coming after him. Lucius turned the wildly galloping warhorse, glanced back at the approaching knight and then rode hard towards another, this one with the twin hammers of Dokamna displayed on his armour. The sturdy knight raised his longsword to hack him across the face, but Lucius cut hard left ruining his angle and twisting on the saddle slashed first with his own blade. Endariel whipped over a fiercely protesting Stormbolt¡¯s head and ears, found metal reinforced hardwood and cut through it, as Lucius blasted close enough to the knight that he could smell his sweat. The Knight from Andatelia following after him letting out a stunned growl seeing the man¡¯s severed arm fall off along a part of the ruined shield, Endariel gauging a deep wound on the knight¡¯s low sternum mauling the plate as it dipped. The sword¡¯s tune changing into a child¡¯s otherworldly scream and a disturbed Lucius pulled at the reins and turned around, as he¡¯d spotted the second Knight stopping as well. The knight slotted his mace and reached at his saddle for a warspear. He touched it on his closed helm next and gave Lucius an apologetic nod. ¡°Come on boy,¡± Lucius whispered and pressed his knees on the tired warhorse¡¯s sides. ¡°We¡¯ve done this a thousand times afore.¡± He sheathed his sword and reached for his spare spear as well. The weapon shorter than a lance, but working under the same principles. Stormbolt snorted, white froth in his mouth, black mane covered in sweat and dirt from the long travel. With a shudder the large horse burst forward, Lucius feeling the force on his lower back and started galloping towards the Knight that followed suit lowering his spear. Lucius changed direction once to throw the incoming knight off and bring him to his left side, where the shield covered him better. The two warhorses charged the last couple of meters, the battlefield shrinking spectacularly around them, Lucius eyes on his spear and every muscle on his body tensing up. Stormbolt cut away from the onrushing warhorse with a violent tremor, the knight¡¯s spear dipping then rising, but striking Lucius¡¯ right side of his helm as he ducked under the shield at the last moment. The clang rattling his skull, from the hairs to his clenched teeth, the sound weirdly muffled. His own spear blasting though the top part of the Knight¡¯s shield afore snapping. Lucius threw the spear away and reached for his sword again, Stormbolt turning to come around, hooves digging in the earth and the injured Knight did the same cutting his shield away from his hurt left arm with his drawn sword. ¡°Whoa,¡± Lucius said stopping four meters from the Knight. The Lesia cavalry had been all but wiped out, the difference in numbers probably one in six. ¡°You lost Sir,¡± he told his groaning opponent. ¡°I can¡¯t in good conscience surrender my Lord,¡± the knight replied through his teeth. ¡°My father won¡¯t have it.¡± ¡°Better than getting killed for nothing,¡± Lucius retorted tiredly. The Knight shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Some of us have to claw our way to the top Sir Lucius,¡± he replied with a sigh. ¡°It wasn¡¯t meant as an affront my lord. I admire your courage and respect your cause,¡± the young man said adding with a small hesitation. ¡°Apologies for your horse. It is what it is.¡± With a pained drawn out cry Stormbolt collapsed under him. Gods no! To his credit the Knight allowed a distraught Lucius to gather himself, much as he could and even dismounted to fight him on fairer terms. As far as duels go this was a swift one.
Lucius cavalry charge smashed through Hermon¡¯s rear lines and opened up his south flank. The Praetor could have reached the Baron¡¯s forward camp right then, but he paused until midday while Kaeso¡¯s attack forced the Iron Fists to pivot sending Third Division to push them back. With Brevis position getting reinforcements with every passing hour, the situation quickly became untenable and Hermon ordered a general retreat abandoning his forward camp. The battered Iron Fists retreated towards the slopes, Lucius cavalry pulling back to secure the tributary¡¯s bridge. The Baron found his camp half empty as Viceroy had already departed that night and set about organizing his troops. He intended to defend against an attack from the Legion, but since the Legion was still gathering across the river, the attack never came that day. A pensive Lucius visited the heroic Brevis camp on a fresh mount as he had his famed warhorse killed under him earlier and praised everyone present for a ¡®darn fine job¡¯. Later that day a captured and injured Armando Ley surrendered to Lucius for the second time in a few short years, with the dejected mercenary commander calling it a day right then and there. ¡®At some plaguing point lads,¡¯ a retired Armando reminisced talking to his timeworn surviving associates years later. ¡®This shite stops being funny.¡¯ The still not finished battle had already caused big casualties to Durio¡¯s detachment, with even Dottore Marianus ending up among the injured. Centurion Toma, Decanus Tarsus and Decanus Kato among the fallen. Lesia¡¯s most noteworthy casualty being Lord Leroy Drumo, the ¡®Marquise¡¯ of Miloville that was killed during Lucius charge, his son Mauro Drumo who lost an arm and the fourth son of Duke Luke Andal, the aspiring Sir Hector Andal, who had won his first tourney in Armium six months earlier unhorsing the famed ¡®Charming Knight of Armium¡¯, Sir William Davenport in a shocking result. He met Lucius in the field and fought a brief duel with him that cost the Praetor his horse and the young knight his life. There is a well-known arched stone bridge near the city of Storm¡¯s Rest today. Build several years after the battles fought there it helped turn a remote part of the kingdom into one of its richest provinces. Most curious tourists visiting it assume this was the spot where Durio¡¯s crossing happened. But they are mistaken, or fooled by greedy travel agents. About fifty meters from it to the north, amidst the thick tall cattails and wilderness of the fertile shores the old remnants of the wooden legion bridge still stand, along the footprint of the stonewall. People rarely use it unless they want to escape the tolls and smuggle goods over the river. This bridge known as Kato¡¯s Bridge is where the veterans of the First Maniple gather on the first day of the second month of Fall to celebrate the life and death of a man that was twice mentioned in the III Legio¡¯s Dailies in the same day. Lord Sirio Veturius The Fall of Heroes Chapter II (Lord Lucius Alden, -also addressed- Legatus Augustus, Praetor Maximus Southern campaigns, Fourth & Fifth year Volume VIII-IX-X Section subtitle Storm¡¯s Rest -Prelude to the Second Battle of Storm¡¯s Rest- Fall 192- winter 193-194 NC)
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 325. Storm’s Rest
Vacia had been crying, Roderick thought and got up, waving the old warrior off. He walked to her, a deep frown marrying his handsome face and stood next to his younger sister. The raven-haired young girl¡¯s slender face strained, her expressive large blue eyes swollen and the small fists clenched to her sides, barely visible under her long heavy coat. ¡°What happened?¡± he asked and eyed the small group of Northern teens gathered around the tavern. ¡°Did you go inside alone? Gods Vacia!¡± ¡°I just walked past it, wanted to see who was singing,¡± Vacia sniffled and he gave her a hug, feeling her thin body shivering. ¡°Are you cold?¡± He asked, as she just couldn¡¯t handle the Kas weather that well and they had to cocoon her, which always made her sad. ¡°I¡¯m angry,¡± she replied in his chest. ¡°What did they say?¡± Roderick asked narrowing his eyes. ¡°I don¡¯t want to talk about it.¡± ¡°Vacia, you wouldn¡¯t have come straight to us, if you didn¡¯t,¡± Roderick said patiently and lifted her face. His sister was livid. These were tears of rage. ¡°I was going for Logan,¡± she hissed. ¡°These are pretty big bastards.¡± ¡°Is this a taunt little lady?¡± Roderick admonished her. ¡°Logan knows only the blade¡¯s way. You wish to start a feud? They take these matters pretty seriously up here!¡± ¡°They called her an aberrant harlot,¡± Vacia snapped angrily and this was more like the girl he knew. ¡°That tall one?¡± ¡°The others were involved also,¡± Vacia murmured, glancing behind her shoulder. ¡°But I don¡¯t want you hurt.¡± ¡°Not going to sis,¡± Roderick retorted a little flushed. ¡°You know what they say. The taller they are the harder they fall.¡± ¡°Who says that? One of your army buddies?¡± Vacia asked and he paused for a moment afore replying with a confident smile. ¡°He¡¯s not in the army, but he is a giant.¡± ¡°When will I get to meet him?¡± Vacia asked opening her eyes pleadingly. It was difficult to say no to her. His sister skills were not in her muscles. ¡°When you manage to get through a winter without falling sick,¡± Roderick retorted and stood up straighter to march towards the leering group. He glanced at the watching them Logan to see if he was going to lend him a hand, but the old warrior grimaced in disgust, his hard eyes telling him to stop being a cunt and get it done. Thinking on the alternative which was getting the ancient warrior involved, Roderick was about to do them a favor. But they opted not to see it that way.
Storm''s Rest circa 195-199
Praetor Lucius Alden Storm¡¯s Rest
Operation ¡®Rush to the River Groin¡¯ day 159 Second month of Fall 192 NC Minus (-) twenty days for the Eighteen Months offensive The sky had darkened after a brief two day respite of fine weather. Heavy clouds that allowed sunrays to fall perpendicular, but failing to illuminate the valley. Lucius using a thin stylus with a lead core, a map drawing instrument, was working on a blank piece of velum despite the lack of proper lighting. Ramirus and Sirio were standing near him, along the massive Nord Layton. Three hundred meters away the forest leading to Framtond¡¯s west tributary started, the rich undergrowth of the flatlands extending all the way to Baron Hermon¡¯s captured forward camp. Parts of the Legion had already traversed the pontoon bridge and were crossing the river peninsula to reach their position, with others still trickling over the river using Durio¡¯s unfinished bridge. Prefect Trupo had released control of the operation to Tribune Veturius, Sirio¡¯s uncle and rode to where Lucius entourage was standing, near the extinguished funeral pyres and the graves. I got to go boy, Lucius said to the large parch of disturbed earth in front of him and finished up his sketch. But I shall return. ¡°Praetor,¡± Trupo started stopping at a respectful distance. ¡°My Lord the First Cohort is marching to the camp.¡± ¡°Kaeso?¡± Lucius probed thoughtfully, his eyes roaming the now quiet battlefield. ¡°With Mamercus. Long is keeping an eye on the Fists. He sent a runner earlier, but I didn¡¯t want to disturb you.¡± ¡°You have the casualties?¡± Lucius queried. ¡°I may need a couple of more days to sort through everything sir,¡± Trupo replied. ¡°Ramirus?¡± The Legion¡¯s Intelligence Officer cleared his throat and read from a paper Sirio handed him, the scholar¡¯s leg was still bandaged, a brace keeping it steady and he used a support cane to move about. ¡°We have a count of a hundred and twenty from all Maniples, half of them injured,¡± he said and Trupo eyed him frustrated. ¡°So we¡¯re missing one hundred and eighty sir,¡± Sirio gave him another scroll. ¡°Durio issued three hundred spears¡­ and various other weaponry to civilians, only half of them were returned sir. Though there must be a number of cases of thievery in there as well¡ª¡± ¡°Let them keep the weapons,¡± Lucius cut him off. ¡°Trupo you have Durio¡¯s list?¡± ¡°Affirmative sir,¡± Trupo replied. ¡°Marianus was hurt,¡± Lucius noted with a grimace. ¡°He¡¯ll live Praetor,¡± the Prefect replied. ¡°Stitched himself up. It was disturbing.¡± ¡°Why is that?¡± ¡°The wound was at the inside of his thigh sir. The Dottore insists on airing his privates since yesterday to avoid an infection.¡± Good ole Marianus. ¡°We should perhaps keep an eye on those armed¡­¡± Ramirus suggested changing the subject. ¡°Make it clear we¡¯re not looking to strip them away of their arms,¡± Lucius stopped him. ¡°Those that fought to win us this land shall have a right to settle here without fear of punishment Ramirus.¡± ¡°You¡¯re thinking of making a post here milord?¡± Trupo asked standing straight, arms behind his back. ¡°This shall be a monument, the whole area,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°I¡¯ll talk to Durio about it. As a matter of fact, you¡¯ll have him come at my headquarters later Prefect.¡± ¡°Very well sir.¡± ¡°A statue right here,¡± Lucius continued and pointed at the graves. ¡°Gates to the plains afore it, a large road leading to the monument¡¯s square and the rest of the settlement build facing the west tributary on its smaller side and as far as the mountains on the other.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound like a Castrum sire,¡± Trupo noted. ¡°Because it isn¡¯t. The Legion can have its Castrum anywhere it wants. In my mind this is bigger than Anorum.¡± He offered the Prefect his drawing and Trupo accepted it scrunching his mustache. ¡°It¡¯s a fine horse sir.¡± ¡°It was,¡± Lucius corrected him, very moved. ¡°None better.¡± ¡°Might I inquire on the¡­ settlement¡¯s name milord?¡± ¡°Stormbolt¡¯s Rest,¡± Lucius replied hoarsely. ¡°An oxymoron,¡± Sirio blurted out interrupting him and Lucius stared his way. ¡°Storms don¡¯t rest,¡± the scholar added nervously his voice dying at the last word. ¡°An artist would like a pose from you to get yer semblance sir,¡± Trupo noted to help the struggling under Lucius scrutiny Sirio. ¡°He carried me throughout his whole life Prefect,¡± Lucius replied sternly. ¡°Won¡¯t have him do it in death as well, nor rest alone.¡± Stormbolt hated the wilderness.
That night on the Legion¡¯s camp built near the dismantled Hermon¡¯s, Lucius held a senior officers meeting that brought the Third¡¯s core group in the same room for the first time in months. ¡°Galio we may have to fight again on the morrow,¡± Lucius said starting. He¡¯d gotten little rest during the previous days, trying to get up to speed with everything that had happened and come up with a strategy for the near future. ¡°Then we will fight on the morrow milord,¡± Galio replied. ¡°What does Hermon have mister Long?¡± Lucius probed with a small smile. ¡°How will the rain affect us up the slopes?¡± ¡°There¡¯s more gravel than rocks beyond the mouth sir,¡± the cavalry officer replied. Long hadn¡¯t had the chance to change into a clean outfit as he¡¯d ridden straight from the field to get to the meeting in time. ¡°Durio has worked on the road there and he¡¯ll have more facts than me. The Baron is trying to dig in, but it¡¯s not good ground up there and he¡¯ll have to retreat even more to find the narrows.¡± ¡°Ramirus?¡± Lucius asked, his eyes on Sirio unfurling a map he¡¯d finished updating that afternoon. Several maps were open on top of each other. The idea already on Lucius¡¯ mind to create a permanent office to deal with the load. ¡°Around eight hundred soldiers is my estimate Praetor,¡± Ramirus replied. ¡°Leys Boars surrendered, but we only have about a hundred of them held as prisoners. Armando Leys thinks they are at least as many deserters in the woods.¡± ¡°Will they be a problem?¡± ¡°They are mercenaries,¡± Ramirus said with a shrug. ¡°Don¡¯t see them sticking around when word gets out Armando relieved them from contract.¡± ¡°Galio, can we dislodge the Fists from the slopes?¡± Lucius asked although he¡¯d a plan to make defending their camp untenable already formed in his mind. ¡°Respectfully, we¡¯ll kick their teeth in so far back milord,¡± the old Tribune grunted. ¡°They¡¯ll have to crawl back to Lesia to find them.¡± ¡°Durio, how many machines has Toma in his possession?¡± Lucius asked. ¡°The Centurion was killed sir,¡± Durio replied. ¡°Decanus Karson has assumed command of the machines. That would be sixteen Scorpios, four catapults and a broken trebuchet in total sir. I¡¯m thinking of promoting Karson given the size of the unit.¡± ¡°You go ahead,¡± Lucius said thoughtfully. ¡°Galio you¡¯ll issue promotions and handle commendations for those deserving. Tarsus had family in Anorum, see they receive a monthly stipend from the Legion¡¯s coffers until his sons are of age and a future commission. Kato¡­ ahm, I¡¯ve read your report Durio. Equal in praise and reproach.¡±This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°Every bit of it the truth sir,¡± Durio replied, clenching his jaw. ¡°The praise worthy of a gold Phalera.¡± ¡°The man¡¯s dead, give his name to the First Maniple and write it first on the wall under Agricola¡¯s,¡± Lucius decided. ¡°Anyone from the old Centurion¡¯s unit still living?¡± Trupo looked at his papers with a grimace. ¡°Mede, Baldock, Ardas¡­ scratch the latter, he died from his wounds. Ahm, well¡­ Brevis suggested Mede should be commended sir. I suppose a promotion to Decanus to fill the spot? He has the same record as Kato that is worth equally of praise and reproach.¡± ¡°Brevis will keep command, he did an excellent job keeping the men fighting and didn¡¯t shy away from the challenge, but promote Mede also. Let¡¯s see how he does, Kato was like that as well,¡± Lucius decided. ¡°He¡¯s injured, but I¡¯ll make a note to notify him once he recovers sufficiently,¡± Trupo said. ¡°Do it now. It¡¯ll help him recover faster.¡± ¡°Of course sir.¡± ¡°Galio we¡¯ll move all the machines near Hermon¡¯s positions on the morrow if it¡¯s possible, or the other day. I want the men rested first. We¡¯ll take our time and do it right. Repair that trebuchet Durio also.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll bombard him milord?¡± Galio asked. ¡°Look at all the material he left behind in his camp. It¡¯s an ugly sight Tribune, built on our land,¡± Lucius retorted sternly. ¡°We¡¯ll return them to the Baron along with an uncouth eviction notice.¡± Day 161 Also known as minus (-) 18 to 18 ¡®2nd Storm¡¯s Rest¡¯ The rain stopped in the night and then started again -though much weaker- just before sunrise. It was a dour moment, not much light to see all the details, but more than enough to watch men and machines moving up the soft inclines towards the mountain paths. Everything was gradual and unseen, but once committed you could feel the difference in your knees. The Baron¡¯s fortifications were extending out of both sides of his fortified camp, sturdy stonewalls with battlements and even wooden wall-walks behind them they reached almost two hundred meters out. The north protrusion touching the steep mountain wall. The Baron has been building this for a while, Lucius thought, lowering the spyglass and patting Nightsilver¡¯s gray mane with a gloved hand. It only reinforced his original belief that Lesia would never commit to a campaign up North on its own. The distance was unfathomable and the sea route had a narrow window to be successful near Kadrek afore the winter ice blocked the attacker and cut him off from supplies for a long time. Lesia had to strike Cartagen and mainly Cartaport to secure the Lorian Gulf and its own flanks, or sea trade routes. If it was left unchecked and Lucius won against Jeremy, then Hermon¡¯s force ¨Cany force- could soon become trapped on the mountains without the possibility of escape. So Hermon decided to stand and fight here to give time for better defenses to be built down the line, or just simply gain time. ¡°Praetor?¡± Prefect Draco asked, much thinner than Lucius remembered him, but twice as rigid. ¡°That was their original plan,¡± Lucius told him and the Prefect grimaced unsure seeing as he was not privy to Lucius¡¯ thoughts. ¡°Is why half his camp is missing, the supply train already gone afore we made it here,¡± he pressed his mouth, moving his jaw left and right in an attempt to adjust the bindings on his wholly engraved Legion type helm. Lucius now had three different helmets made for him, a closed full-face tourney helm, or tiger-helm, the Legatus helm and this one, as the blacksmiths kept coming up with ideas as far as Kas and he didn¡¯t have the heart to refuse them. This one had been sent to him from Anorum as a matter of fact, made during his absence and taken by Veturius before he left the city. ¡°The moment they realized we were waiting on the other side it came in effect. Hermon was never going to cross Framtond, not by himself.¡± ¡°Centurion Karson is requesting permission to fire range finding shots sir,¡± Draco explained, his mind firmly set on the difficulties of the present and Lucius puffed out pensively. Then he raised his gloved right arm, the long rows of legionnaires in the field afore Hermon¡¯s camp extending far to the northeast turning completely silent in an instant. Almost five thousand men and women were present, as the whole camp had come out and most of Durio¡¯s crews. You could hear the sound of metal clinking to metal, or stone. Wooden wall-walks creaking as men were trying to figure out what the Legion would do and animals neighing, or flapping their tails. The raindrops rapping on the men¡¯s helmets and shields when the breeze picked up, then died again and the squeaking of many machines set up in a perfectly straight line, with the massive trebuchet standing twenty meters behind them like a bizarre giant insect. Here it is then Baron, Lucius thought. Your answer. His arm came down and one after the other the siege machines started firing. Some not made to best stone fortifications such as these, but working better against exposed men in the field, others ideal for the task and the last behemoth created to bring down far sturdier walls. And it did with its first accurate shot.
The ramparts crumbled in several spots, but the engineers led by a resolute Centurion Karson kept firing volley after volley tearing through walls and the fortifications of Hermon¡¯s main camp for a full hour. A devastating shot fired by the large trebuchet ¨Ca hundred and fifty kilo rectangular slice of black granite dug out of the riverbed- dissolved the wooden gates, killed or maimed nine men standing behind them and pulverized Hermon¡¯s hapless aide that was holding the reins to his horse, injuring the Baron in the process. Galio wanted to send the First Cohort in first, but Lucius stopped him and ordered the Fourth Cohort to march against the battered defenders, followed by the Third and Second. The Tribune didn¡¯t like it, pressed as he was by the men that wanted to avenge Kato. ¡®We¡¯re here to deliver justice and not vengeance,¡¯ Lucius explained to the aggrieved men of the First that had stayed behind. ¡®The First has proven its valor again and again to me, so you get to sit this one out,¡¯ he continued under the soft rain. ¡®Plus you¡¯re missing Marcus-Antonius and I really don¡¯t want to have to deal with the Centurion¡¯s whining for being left out!¡¯ The Iron Fists managed to defend the first wave near the openings, but Karson¡¯s Scorpios started firing parabolic shots over them targeting rear personnel and animals. The mercenaries holding the wings retreated, but those inside the camp didn¡¯t and they got assaulted from the flanks as the rear rows of the advancing Cohorts turned inwards. A brief massacre ensued, mostly due to the mercenaries being slow to realize they were getting killed too fast for it to be sustainable, or the legionnaires pretending they didn¡¯t understand their cries for surrender. While this was happening in the surrounded center and the camp, the retreating towards the mountain paths flanks were attacked by Long¡¯s well-rested Cavalry that broke through the advancing legionaries lines and galloped after them. Most run for the slopes to escape the horses, but Kaeso¡¯s Rangers and Mamercus Sorex slingers ¨Cthe two units had been camping together for days now- had sneaked up the steep slopes surrounding the paths the previous night and picked them off one by one. As an outraged Trupo colorfully commented in the after battle briefing ¡®Gods damnit, half these kills were murders.¡¯ Kaeso who had just received another gold Phalera for his heroics back at the River Groin and the success at the Lesia Bridge, got cited for ¡®violent acts¡¯ and ¡®conduct unbecoming an officer¡¯ which earned him thirty lashes. Lucius halved the punishment, but sidelined the Centurion fining him with half-a-years wages. A mysterious character, Kaeso got to earn those wages later that year, but he continued to flip-flop between commendations and punishments for the rest of his spectacular but brief career in the legion. Lucius had been forced to show some tough love to the men, as the Iron Fists had suffered disproportionate casualties ¨Cthe III Legio lost only sixteen soldiers and had twenty wounded in comparison for this last part of the struggle- and the ratio of dead vs injured was non-existent. Meaning there were no injured mercenaries amongst those that have surrendered mainly inside the camp. A seriously injured Hermon managed to escape with his entourage and the company¡¯s books, but he lost part of the purse and valuable supplies and tools. In total around fifty mercenaries made it out of the mouth, which for a strong company numbering well-over a thousand men ¨Ca thousand five hundred at the start of the campaign- it was deemed catastrophic. In fact such were the losses that despite Hermon vowing to rebuild the unit back in Parmaport, the attempt all but ruined him financially, took him at least three years and by then it was too late to be of any use. While it still remains a respected company it never again reached the heights it had before Storm¡¯s Rest and the Baron never got to lead his beloved unit in the field again, as he died bedridden in 196. Storm¡¯s Rest construction started that fall with the plans laid down by Lucius himself. An aesthetically pleasing, cleanly build city, it is built between the two bridges and has access to the River Peninsula with some of its districts moving across, like its hide industry. With stone and bronze quarries to the south near the mountains, fishing, clay and water from the river, hunting, timber from its several nearby forests and perhaps the most fertile ground in all of Regia, Storm¡¯s Rest ballooned in population. It had already more than three thousand people living there a year into its construction, seven by the third and well over twenty thousand by 199 when the walls were finished. It stands close to fifty thousand today ¨Cseven years later and fifteen after it was first planned- and it keeps growing as it is one of the kingdom¡¯s vital administrative centers and also its newest duchy. As its citizens fondly call it, ¡®Greater Regia¡¯s Spine¡¯.
Two weeks before the start of the Eighteen Months offensive. Code-named minus (-) 15 of 18 Second month of Fall, year of the New Calendar 192 III Legio¡¯s camp a kilometer from where Storm¡¯s Rest West Gates stand today ¡°Praetor,¡± Galio started, but paused to allow him to read through the missive for a second time. Lucius grimaced and stood up pushing the chair away, opened his mouth to curse the bird handlers from Asturia, but paused in turn seeing Gripa walking inside with a solemn look on his face. Great, Lucius thought unhappy. Gripa had arrived the previous day with Merenda and his family. Lucius had moved his busy headquarters to a wooden adjoining second building to allow them some rest and privacy, as Roderick got excited around the officers and it was difficult to calm him down afterwards. ¡°Can it wait?¡± he asked hopefully and his aide glanced at the rigid Tribune thoughtfully. ¡°I would caution against it milord,¡± Gripa said. ¡°But the decision is yours.¡± ¡°Gripa we¡¯re in the middle of a campaign!¡± Galio blasted him, grinding his teeth. ¡°There are Lesia scouts in the mountain paths and disconcerting reports¡ª¡± ¡°Let us deal with the fresher news first,¡± Lucius intervened with a sigh. ¡°What in all hells is Sula doing?¡± ¡°Got himself in a bit of trouble milord,¡± Galio replied scrunching his wrinkled face this way and that, whilst still eyeing the solemn faced Gripa warningly. ¡°I trust the lad to navigate it with a calm head.¡± ¡°What calm head¡­?¡± Lucius griped. ¡°We have quite the body count here Galio. Allgods, the Duke of Riverdor? People will believe we¡¯re outright criminals!¡± ¡°Van Calcar was the host milord, to him the onus shall be firmly placed upon,¡± Galio argued with a grunt, in what was a prepared statement on his part that smelled of his nephew. ¡°Can Sula take on Riverdor and Badum? Tollor was a difficult task already,¡± Lucius murmured and glanced at the waiting Gripa. What was the matter? He thought. Is Faye alright? I was just there and they appeared fine. ¡°It will be a long campaign, I trust the Wolffish not to go down without a fight,¡± Galio replied. ¡°That¡¯s a horrible place to defend, but an even worse place to attack milord.¡± ¡°Worse than here?¡± ¡°This a flat valley, let us forget about the Groin. In the summer the fields are like Alden. Pascor is literally knee deep in mire milord and surrounded by swamps in the summer. There¡¯s a lot of water pouring into that lake.¡± ¡°Asturia seems to handle it nicely,¡± Lucius countered. ¡°Asturia shores are standing higher, but the beaches flood aplenty if you recall,¡± Galio replied and Lucius nodded, his own estate had been damaged by light flooding and several years of abandonment. ¡°They opted for gravel instead of sand for a reason. Canlita beaches aren¡¯t like those of Aegium.¡± ¡°Do we order him to retreat?¡± ¡°In two months it will be all over,¡± Galio replied. ¡°A Sula would never retreat, them boys just can¡¯t do it and you knew that.¡± ¡°I did.¡± ¡°So he stays.¡± ¡°He does.¡± Galio puffed out and glared at the frowned silent Gripa. ¡°Plaguing hells, what¡¯s the matter Gripa? You¡¯re making me feel like a cunt here and I don¡¯t much like it son! Ye should be ashamed of yourself!¡± ¡°Lady Faye requests your presence sir,¡± Gripa started keeping his cool. ¡°For a matter I¡¯m not at liberty to discuss in front of the Tribune.¡± Galio ogled his eyes affronted, a deep red covering his wrinkled cheeks, but the aide stood his ground. ¡°I¡¯ll be right back Tribune,¡± Lucius decided. ¡°Send for Trupo and Ramirus. We might have to move fast towards the Navel, take control of the Tunnel Pass approach and open a shorter road to the plains.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll get them here,¡± Galio grunted, still frustrated and got up.
Faye was knelt next to a short table and was washing the floorboards with a cloth when he entered her large but simple quarters ten minutes later. ¡°Wife,¡± Lucius said a little amused. ¡°Gripa can handle this and has a detail of men eager to wash and sweep your floor at any time¡ª¡± Faye whipped her red head towards him and he stopped, but kept the smile on his face. ¡°Are the swords needed for the task?¡± he teased and approached to see what the damage was. ¡°Was this Roderick? Is he sick?¡± ¡°Lucius,¡± Faye grunted and got up. She glanced behind his back at the silent Gripa and lobbed the dirty cloth to him. ¡°This is serious.¡± Lucius stood back with a frown. He checked on her, even reached with his arm to place a hand on her mostly flat belly. Faye had leather armour on unsurprisingly and they hadn¡¯t had the time to sleep together since she had returned. So he wasn¡¯t sure if he had missed something. ¡°You¡¯re with child?¡± He asked her. ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± Faye responded curling her lip upwards. ¡°Though I¡¯m working on it. Not much more to do than being a wife so I get to take advantage of it I guess.¡± ¡°Lady Faye,¡± Lucius protested. ¡°I value every sacrifice you¡¯re making¡ª¡± ¡°That little shit is pregnant,¡± Faye cut him off. Lucius stood back thoroughly confused. ¡°That¡­ little shit?¡± ¡°Yer fancy wife,¡± Faye grunted thoroughly unamused. ¡°The other one that is. Plenty of fancy on dis one as well.¡± Lucius gulped down and stared at the closed second bedroom door. ¡°Ahm, are we certain¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re not going to ask, how did it happen right?¡± Faye taunted warningly. ¡°It¡¯s yours, unless she snuck out on the road and found a native living in the woods. No soldier would have taken the risk.¡± ¡°I only went to her once,¡± Lucius puffed out and glanced at the silent Gripa holding the dirty cloth rigid as a board. ¡°Lucius that was her,¡± Faye said and pointed at the stain. ¡°She¡¯s puking everywhere like a headless chicken.¡± ¡°Right.¡± ¡°Right?¡± ¡°What do you want me to say?¡± Lucius protested feeling cornered. ¡°She¡¯s fertile, but it was always a possibility.¡± Ah, Alistair¡¯s wording perhaps wasn¡¯t the best approach here, he thought and Faye quickly jumped on him frustrated. ¡°She¡¯s¡­ Allgods! What are you blubbering about? She¡¯s your wife,¡± Faye sighed and grimaced. ¡°Some support is needed here Lucius. You don¡¯t plan for it, you just do it.¡± ¡°Faye I have a campaign to run,¡± Lucius said anxiously, feeling weak all of a sudden. ¡°I¡¯ll go to her, but I can¡¯t stick around. It¡¯s not a matter of callousness, or fear, but duty and cold logic. We need to act, this coming summer is crucial. Every day is crucial, Sula is in a bind up North and Lesia is going for Cartagen¡ª¡± ¡°Lucius, Regia will be fine for half an hour,¡± Faye stopped him. ¡°It¡¯ll be alright after that,¡± she added softly. Lucius grimaced and stared at her glowing face. ¡°Are you sure? You don¡¯t mind?¡± he murmured. ¡°I can¡¯t hate kids,¡± she replied and gave him a hug. ¡°Not if they are yours fool. Even if they aren¡¯t.¡± ¡°Faye!¡± Lucius grunted choking and she chuckled waving Gripa off with her hand. ¡°I had to do it because this side of you is stupid, but now I want you to do your job also,¡± she murmured in his ear huskily. ¡°And don¡¯t give me no half-arsed effort Alden.¡± Lucius had never half-done anything with her, since the first time they had met and neither had she. So to keep up with the tradition, the soon to be a father again twice over Praetor gave it everything he could.
326. Carrot & stick
Baron Storm Nattas Carrot & stick
Ah, that is quite the view, Storm thought spreading his legs on the rest stool placed in front of the comfortable sea tavern¡¯s bamboo armchair. Novesium¡¯s well-maintained ¡®public¡¯ beach, less crowded now weeks after the festival had ended, but the weather and comforts of the city ever pleasurable. There was another beach if one followed the coastal south street outside the city, more private and with even more pleasurable view, frequented by the younger citizens that wanted to fool around away from prying eyes, but Storm hadn¡¯t gone there for many years. ¡°She really wanted to visit,¡± Sudi commented laid back on a similar chair, a large hat protecting his skull and eyes. Miranda was his meaning. ¡°She¡¯ll grow out of it,¡± Storm retorted not likening the interruption. ¡°I got her that dress from the tailor,¡± Sudi said. ¡°A couple of undershirts and some bed sheets.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with the ones we have there?¡± ¡°They are from last season?¡± Storm stared at him blankly and then reached for his iced green tea. He hated the darn thing, but everyone was drinking the foul stuff outside and Storm looked to avoid being seen as an uncouth plebe in Ursus city. ¡°What about the ships?¡± A fleet had arrived in the port the previous day. ¡°Unloaded troops as you feared.¡± ¡°Redshark is Peter Brakis ship,¡± Lord Nattas grunted and stood up straighter in the chair, the sun bothering him and the tea making his mouth numb. ¡°How many?¡± ¡°At least five hundred marines. Not that much considering we counted nine transports there and four Brigs.¡± ¡°Still that¡¯s most of the fleet,¡± Storm said with a grimace. A waitress approached. She wore sandals on her tanned feet, the quality of the skin¡¯s color ¨Ceasily seen going all the way up the rest of her leg through the thin garb- telling the Baron she was visiting the ¡®naughty¡¯ beach in her spare hours. The thought of her bathing in the nude stirred his blood something fierce. Abrakas toes! ¡°Anything else Baron Nattas?¡± She asked in her Novesium accent, all dimples and heavy perfume for the time of day. Storm almost slipped up, but he got ahold of himself and waved her away. ¡°Is the tea any good?¡± A relaxed Sudi asked. His right hand man was having a coconut based juice because it helped his teeth regrow or something. The teeth were long gone, but Storm allowed him to hope for a miracle since it cost him nothing. ¡°Like stale piss, but tasting of unwashed arsehole, or feet.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the beach, all the sweat,¡± Sudi remarked sucking on his sunken cheek. Ugh. ¡°I almost asked her to suck my cock,¡± Storm admitted and sighed trying to remember what they were talking about afore the girl¡¯s appearance. Ah, yes. He turned to Sudi, but his lackey made a gesture not to and Storm paused to glare at the approaching official. ¡°Lord Nattas,¡± Seth Darius said, airing his face with a fan. The Mayor had the unfortunate habit of wearing a woolen cape over his shoulders, which kept him warm in the mild winter and twice that in all other seasons. ¡°I was informed you were in the city.¡± ¡°Darius,¡± Storm retorted mockingly. ¡°I¡¯m shocked. I was trying to sneak in and out without anyone noticing.¡± The bookish man frowned thinking it through and Nattas took a sip from his tea, the taste worsening by the minute. ¡°How was the festival?¡± he asked, seeing as the official had turned into a mute. Probably on the verge of a heatstroke. Loose the cape ye buffoon. Good grief! ¡°A great success,¡± Darius replied waking up. ¡°Considering¡­ the circumstances.¡± ¡°So not as great,¡± Storm argued half-mockingly. ¡°As in previous years?¡± ¡°Well,¡± Darius grimaced and wiped his face with the back of his hand. ¡°Anyway, ahm, Lord Ursus would like to extend an invitation to you Baron. Say before noon?¡± Hmm. ¡°It¡¯s quite the walk to the palace dear Darius,¡± Storm replied. ¡°Can he take a raincheck?¡± ¡°Not with his coming schedule Baron,¡± the Mayor of the city retorted. ¡°I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll have to inconvenience yourself.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t want to inconvenience the Duke of course,¡± Storm murmured sourly. ¡°Right. I¡¯ll leave you to it,¡± Darius agreed not catching his undertone. ¡°The sun is really bothersome here.¡± Storm watched him navigating the tables for a moment, a phony smile on his face that changed as soon as the man was out of earshot. ¡°That sounded ominous as fuck,¡± Sudi noted stating the obvious. ¡°How many men do we have in the city?¡± Storm grunted under his breath. ¡°You¡¯re thinking of breaking out?¡± ¡°What? No you idiot, I¡¯m thinking if that cretin has me killed, you¡¯ll get to avenge me!¡± He glanced around frustrated and then got up. ¡°Let¡¯s return to the port.¡± ¡°He might just be curious,¡± Sudi argued getting up as well. ¡°That doesn¡¯t prevent him from murdering me, so your point is mute,¡± Storm countered stringently. ¡°Still I could perhaps navigate this. He might be worried about his plan leaking and me being here.¡± ¡°What plan? Everyone saw the ships mooring in the port,¡± Sudi protested a little pissed Storm has dismissed his earlier argument without a second thought. The Duke knew how to run brothels but not a campaign so Lord Nattas left that last query unanswered.
¡°Are they still there?¡± Storm probed after they had walked out of the tavern. He had to wait for Sudi to pay the owner, but the respite helped him collect his thoughts. ¡°The waitresses?¡± Sudi asked a guilty look on his decrepit face. ¡°The ships,¡± Nattas grunted with a glare. ¡°I¡¯ll have Damion check it out.¡± ¡°Have that other idiot meet us at the restaurant,¡± Storm hissed and started strolling down the road clasping his hands behind his back. They cut vertically to Harbor Street and strolled slowly ¨CStorm not wanting to tire his sore leg and Sudi due to carrying a cane- towards the port and the junction that was West Street. Storm paused there mostly to catch his breath, but also spy at the ships in the harbor. Damion approached them navigating the busy street, casting hateful glares at the citizens and workers bumping onto him. ¡°That thug will get himself arrested,¡± Storm commented with a grimace. ¡°Chief, milord,¡± Damion said addressing them both. ¡°They are gone.¡± The transports was his meaning. ¡°Where¡¯s the other idiot?¡± Nattas grunted. ¡°Grin is checking on the lads,¡± Damion replied. This was an actual sentence, Storm thought bewildered. ¡°Meet us at the restaurant,¡± Sudi said. ¡°We¡¯ll discuss it there.¡± ¡°Might as well all walk together,¡± Storm griped with a last look at the large harbor and started up the street leading to the large City Guard building. ¡°You found them hostels?¡± ¡°Cheap,¡± Damion replied. ¡°Away from yours milord.¡± ¡°Mmm,¡± Storm grunted. ¡°Any spare coin you give to Sudi.¡± ¡°None was spared milord,¡± the crook replied sadly. An ambiguous retort at the very least. ¡°You kept a receipt for the expenses though, yes?¡± Sudi asked to prop his man up. Damion turned even unhappier. ¡°Not at these venues chief, I didn¡¯t. They don¡¯t like the practice.¡± ¡°No thief does,¡± Storm noted sourly ending the conversation afore the temptation to have the thug killed and tossed in the harbor overwhelmed his shallow clemency.
Baron Ursus had always been a thinly constructed man, not too tall and not particularly short, with a protruding small belly he hid under a brace, the latter concealed under his doublet. The small detail given to him by a whore, not overly important. The Duke of Novesium had a sword strapped on his fiercely green satin sash to appear more dashing, but the whole image was ruined by his nervous fidgeting and dark hollows under his eyes. He shifted on his gold leaf covered throne, the design more garish than elegant and eyed the stiff Nattas with a grimace that hard as the Duke had tried, it still failed to resemble a cordial smile. Storm buying Moon¡¯s Haven from under him and then turning it into a Barony right in his back yard had soured their¡­ not particularly friendly relations. Of course they knew each other for a while, with Ursus making his fortune mostly in the brothel business and Storm spending a good portion of his there. Novesium had a whole district of pleasure houses. Not the temples, or priestesses variant ¨Cthough there was a temple of Naossis in the city- but straight up good quality harlots. ¡°Dear Storm,¡± Ursus said through his teeth. ¡°I thought the worst when you missed the festival.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t have the legs, nor the glutes for it Duke Ursus, so I stayed in my humble abode.¡± ¡°How was¡­ Moon¡¯s Haven version?¡± ¡°Rather pale in comparison,¡± Storm retorted truthfully. ¡°Uneventful.¡± ¡°Always a bad outcome at the festival,¡± Ursus commented. Storm shrugged his shoulders and eyed the chair a manservant had brought him. ¡°Let¡¯s use the table,¡± Ursus said cordially. ¡°I¡¯ll have dinner later.¡± Nattas waited for him to take a seat at the nearby conference table and pulled a chair out across from him to rest his weary legs as well. Behind them the manservant carried the chair he¡¯d brought away, wearing a sour look on his face. ¡°So, to what do we owe your visit?¡± Ursus asked brusquely deciding that was enough of court manners to last both of them the whole month. ¡°I came to get some supplies for the winter,¡± Storm replied. ¡°Yourself? You economize on the help Nattas? Building that village must have cost a lot.¡± That¡¯s unfortunately true. ¡°It¡¯s half a day journey, no reason not to see the city Ursus. I really like Novesium.¡± ¡°As do I, so you understand that having the former Master of Silence in my backyard at this crucial time is making me nervous.¡± ¡°Retired,¡± Storm said. ¡°There¡¯s a new guy running the show.¡± ¡°How do you know?¡± ¡°I took a guess,¡± Storm deadpanned. ¡°The position was vacant.¡± ¡°Jeremy¡­¡± Ursus rolled his eyes. ¡°Appointed Marc Laudus.¡± ¡°Ah, you don¡¯t say,¡± Storm pretended ignorance. ¡°Baron Scylla¡¯s man,¡± Ursus grunted. ¡°Military guys sneaking in from one side, navy from the other.¡± ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s a prudent strategy given what¡¯s at stake.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to tell me Nattas,¡± Ursus snapped. ¡°I¡¯ve the most to lose here. But I¡¯ll take a lot of people down with me afore that happens. Which it won¡¯t by the way.¡± ¡°Never doubted you¡¯ll find your footing Ursus,¡± Storm replied. ¡°My concern is where you¡¯re heading,¡± the Duke measured him up. ¡°You¡¯re not really retired Nattas.¡±If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. Storm shrugged his shoulders. ¡°I got a small piece of land and served the realm for years. I¡¯ve modest tastes to be honest and an easily satisfied character dear Duke.¡± ¡°You¡¯re still young enough.¡± Younger than you. ¡°You know my condition,¡± Storm replied. ¡°Each year makes it more difficult.¡± ¡°You seem better.¡± ¡°Only because I walked away from the game.¡± The Duke smacked his lips and stared at the table for a moment. ¡°You know Sula is finished,¡± he finally said. ¡°I didn¡¯t actually. He seemed fit as a bull last time I saw him.¡± ¡°Brakis will attack from sea and land,¡± the Duke continued with a grimace of annoyance. ¡°And I will move down the coast, squeeze him from the other side. He¡¯ll give up.¡± ¡°Lord Sula is extremely unlikely to do that dear Duke,¡± Storm told him truthfully. ¡°Has Brakis started the assault already?¡± ¡°He has.¡± The fuck are you waiting then? Storm wondered. Get moving you cretin! ¡°You give him too much credit Nattas,¡± Ursus said. ¡°This is Regia¡¯s south coast. Warm and friendly. A fucking tourist destination. We sell vacations and make good trade deals. Whether it is a nicely smelling cunt, a decent wine, or fine cotton bed sheets.¡± You do, Storm thought but did not stop the man from sharing. The truth was that the Duke¡¯s final point had alarmed him. ¡°My point is,¡± Ursus continued. ¡°We don¡¯t like that uncouth fool smack in the middle of it disturbing the natural course of events.¡± Storm eyed the silver goblets on the tray the returning manservant had brought to the table. ¡°Demames has more silver than all Regia¡¯s cities combined Ursus. He doesn¡¯t need, nor want tourists. They are still running everything as if they are a fiefdom unto their own. The King had decreed there was no need for a military school in Demames, but they built one anyway. It¡¯s better to give in than argue with a Sula. It is just too bothersome. Have you ever felt the need to visit Atetalerso by the way? No. Do you know they don¡¯t have an animal market? The Bank uses nearby Faro¡¯s for that and will fine you for leaving turds on their asphalt. Not the King¡¯s law. Their own. They just don¡¯t like cobblestone. They prefer bitumen. They put it on buildings, pour it on their streets. A black dour place. Unattractive. Inhospitable. But it¡¯s on purpose and because they care little for other people¡¯s opinions other than their own. They are too rich and powerful to bother.¡± ¡°As I said Lord Nattas, you value him too much,¡± Ursus grunted. ¡°He¡¯ll bend the knee, because he¡¯s surrounded from all sides.¡± ¡°How many men you have here?¡± ¡°Enough.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve thought this through,¡± Storm replied with a shrug. ¡°I have,¡± Ursus assured him. ¡°I also have a proposal for you. Your daughter is married I heard?¡± Sit on Abrakas cock. ¡°Uhm.¡± ¡°Any children?¡± ¡°A son,¡± Storm replied, cursing under his breath. ¡°It¡¯s a pity you allowed the marriage to go through Nattas,¡± Ursus commented. ¡°I¡¯ve a son that could have taken her off your hands.¡± Ah. There¡¯s a carrot somewhere here, Storm thought doubly worried, since the unassuming vegetable was known to prefer foul company. ¡°It¡¯s a matrilineal union Ursus,¡± he murmured. ¡°Good for you, still the groom isn¡¯t exactly something to talk about.¡± ¡°We¡¯re not in Kaltha. It¡¯s a long lineage that has produced both scholars and public officials,¡± Storm pointed out, but the Duke shrugged his shoulders in turn. ¡°Not anymore. Anyway I¡¯ve a daughter also,¡± he added switching the subject. From his second wife Lady Elvira. ¡°Good blood in her. Ursus and Brakis aye. You are bachelor Lord Nattas yes? What do you think?¡± Wow. ¡°I admit I stand bewildered at this moment dear Duke.¡± ¡°You know Labiena?¡± No. ¡°Sure, of course,¡± he said instead. ¡°I had her with me some years back, during a King¡¯s Hunt in Alden.¡± ¡°She came along?¡± A stunned Storm just couldn¡¯t recall her. ¡°What? Stayed back of course haha. We¡¯re not Issirs Lord Nattas!¡± ¡°I believe they bring them along as d¨¦cor dear Duke. Now the Northmen are a different matter altogether,¡± Nattas retorted stalling as long as he could while gulping down nervously. ¡°Well?¡± Ursus asked him and poured himself a cup of white wine. ¡°I can¡¯t possibly¡­ you honor me Ursus. But is the girl of age?¡± Storm croaked and pinched his own thigh under the table to focus. ¡°What do you care? She¡¯s almost there,¡± Ursus retorted and stood back on his chair satisfied. ¡°Well, it appears the answer for your longevity is pretty simple dear Nattas. You wish to hear it?¡± Storm hated being surprised, but he just nodded irate absent other options. Ursus returned the nod. ¡°You have absolutely no moral compass, not an iota of loyalty.¡± Said the brothel owner and ruffian that probably had his own king killed, afore helping usurp the throne from his firstborn. For a plaguing Duchy. While Nattas could understand the motive, even justify it, he couldn¡¯t pretend it wasn¡¯t a crime worth of having your head chopped off. Or getting knifed in the kidneys. ¡°I¡¯d like to meet the girl,¡± he told him. ¡°There¡¯s time for that,¡± Ursus dismissed his proposal and stared at a map of Regia hanging from the east wall of his hall. The large room painted a light green and yellow. From the open windows the peaceful sounds of the two small artificial lakes and the Baths entered the silent hall. Here it comes, Storm thought. ¡°Cartagen will send me two thousand men,¡± Ursus said his face hardening. ¡°Enough to guard the city and strike at a preoccupied Sula¡¯s sides. They¡¯ll be here in less than a week.¡± Storm stood back on his chair, breathing out slowly. Lord Nattas wasn¡¯t going to sample it initially, but he reached for his already filled Valeria-glass silver adorned goblet and had some of Ursus¡¯ bitter local, but strong wine. Woke him up proper. ¡°Brakis didn¡¯t return to Illirium,¡± Storm finally said and Ursus smiled as if he had been vindicated. ¡°Nope. That wouldn¡¯t have been much of a plan.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll bully Valens into releasing the men to you.¡± ¡°The King¡¯s men,¡± Ursus reminded him. ¡°Cartagen isn¡¯t Valens city.¡± ¡°You need more men than that and what about Lesia?¡± Storm asked shifting on his chair nervously. ¡°Eh, dear Storm I knew you had your ear planted firmly on the ground,¡± Ursus replied with a smirk. ¡°Lesia wants a piece of land to have access to the new road. They are not really a threat to the King.¡± To this king they might be fool, Storm thought and grimaced, his stomach burning. ¡°This union will help us both,¡± Ursus reminded him. ¡°Don¡¯t squander the opportunity Nattas. There is really no other road for you.¡± Storm nodded, his face hurting trying to pretend he was pleased with their conversation. ¡°I¡¯ve never considered another road dear Duke,¡± he croaked. I need to have this motherfucker killed soon, Storm thought. But the opportunity might have slipped through my fingers.
¡°Boss, how it went?¡± Storm asked him much later while they were dining in a fancy restaurant on West Road very near a villa he owned in the city. Storm had no appetite at all. ¡°Ursus wants me to marry his daughter Labiena,¡± Storm said and Damion paused chewing on the chicken wing, juices running down the sides of his mouth. Nattas tossed him a towel frustrated. He missed his face, but got him good on the chest, the towel landing in his plate. ¡°The big one?¡± Sudi asked casually. Huh? ¡°You know her?¡± Storm asked surprised. ¡°Seen her in the baths,¡± Sudi admitted. ¡°The girl is difficult to miss.¡± ¡°What where you doing¡­ never mind that,¡± Storm blurted out. ¡°When you say big. Do you mean bountiful?¡± ¡°Ah, no just fat. She¡¯s has a lot of lard on her and meat, I guess,¡± Sudi retorted with a shrug and Damion shallowed to avoid chuckling, which almost killed him outright, the ¡®mercenary¡¯ rolling on the ground gasping for breath and Storm staring him but not moving to help, until Sudi did. ¡°So, that was the carrot,¡± Nattas continued after Sudi managed to save Damion ¨Che¡¯d turned blue in the face in the meantime, several patrons present murmuring quick prayers to Oras to take him quickly so he wouldn¡¯t suffer- and they both returned to their chairs rattled. ¡°Wait, you¡¯ve accepted?¡± a heavy breathing from the effort Sudi asked. ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°Sudi, you can¡¯t not take the carrot,¡± Storm explained. ¡°Else the stick will get you.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the stick?¡± ¡°Brakis went to Cartagen to bring more men here,¡± Storm grunted. ¡°So we are in a bit of a conundrum all of a sudden.¡± Damion cleared his throat and blinked in the effort to speak. ¡°What?¡± Storm asked giving him a glare. ¡°The ships returned milord,¡± Damion whispered. They had left very early in the morning and it was not that late in the evening. Bullshit. ¡°Are you drunk?¡± Storm probed not amused. ¡°Me throat hurts. It bleeds,¡± Damion complained. Storm didn¡¯t give a shit about his health. ¡°You saw the ships return?¡± Sudi asked, stopping a livid Storm from breaking his cane on the lackey¡¯s head. ¡°Aye. Not all of them though.¡± Huh? ¡°How many?¡± He snapped. ¡°Four¡­?¡± Damion showed him five fingers. Storm blinked a bit confused and a sweaty Grin entered the fancy venue drawing stares from the few patrons still enjoying the chilly but pleasant evening and waltzed straight for their table. Vile Abrakas, you are to sodomize me even more at this crucial moment? Storm wondered unhappy. ¡°Missive¡­ from Moon¡¯s Haven,¡± Grin stumbled through his words under their scrutiny. ¡°What does it say?¡± Storm grunted irate and wiped the sweat off of his brow. ¡°Ahm¡­ he can¡¯t do it milord,¡± Damion said sadly. ¡°Tis bad lack to speak letters loudly.¡± ¡°What?¡± Storm gasped not believing his ears. ¡°Also¡­ I can¡¯t read?¡± Grin added smiling toothily. That bastard has a donkey¡¯s crooked teeth in that mouth. Fuck¡¯s sake! ¡°Give it here,¡± Sudi intervened, seeing Nattas ogling his eyes on the verge of apoplexy. He hummed reading it, wrinkled face loose on the cheeks where he was missing most of his teeth and frowning, afore he wiped his shaved skull with a hand. ¡°It makes sense,¡± Sudi concluded after checking it a second time. ¡°What does?¡± Storm croaked and glared in frustration at a couple murmuring and looking their way annoyed with the tumult coming from their table. The man made to stand up, but Damion turned his head and gave him a warning stare, so he sat back down deflated. ¡°Brakis landed in our port,¡± Sudi said and gave him the missive. ¡°He stopped there?¡± Storm asked not looking at it. He hadn¡¯t turned superstitious. Nattas just felt completely drained. ¡°He didn¡¯t have much of an option boss,¡± Sudi replied. ¡°They came in a boat sort of. The Mayor has taken prophylactic measures per your orders to keep the ladies safe.¡± They were under arrest was his meaning. ¡°What happened to the rest of the fleet?¡± Storm growled, not minding the murmur of the crowd.
In the early Fall, the year 192 -praised be the Five, Admiral Brakis used the force assembled at Aegium and Illirium¡¯s strong marine force to solve the Lord Sula problem for King Jeremy. The two thousand regulars and over three thousand marines were split in two groups, the first group marching on Dev¡¯s Mother straight down the road under the command of Sir Vel Sextus-Brakis and Regia¡¯s transport fleet under Peter Brakis landing almost two thousand marines three kilometers behind the lines in the barren shores. The surprise attack overwhelmed the defenses of the walled town, but word got out and Lord Sula all but marched down the road, before his advisors and close family stopped him from reacting too hastily. They feared a direct landing on the blockaded Demames, but the attack stalled and didn¡¯t come immediately. While an angry Sula ¨Cthe Duke¡¯s Shield Baron Rinus Cato had been cut off in Dev¡¯s Mother- worked on a plan to strike at Aegium through the desert from the direction of the West Silver Mine, where he had a decent force assembled -as the Duke was preparing another raid himself- Peter Brakis¡¯ busy Fleet reached Novesium. He resupplied there unloading a smaller force to bolster Lord Ursus numbers and then sailed the next day for Cartaport. The Council under Lord Doris, Lord Scylla and Brakis had agreed on a plan to neutralize Sula while Ligur kept Lucius and Holt in check beyond Framtond. Peter Brakis was to land in Cartaport and force High Baron Montague Valens to release the King¡¯s Guard stationed in Cartagen to them. He would then load them on the transports and bring them to Novesium. This now much bigger force would strike at Lord Sula over Crying Hag¡¯s River and catch Demames in a stranglehold. They were hoping Sula would see reason and surrender rather than fight without possibility of relief, with all his allies thousands of kilometers away. Whilst there were holes in the plan, it was a decent idea weakened by the number of troops Lord Sula had already trained on top of his old-legion sized standing army, his willingness to fight to the bitter end and Lesia¡¯s attack fleet sailing that same week for Cartaport. The Bank of Trust jumped at the opportunity to use the cover of the large departing transport fleet and dispatched their newly built armoured massive three-masted galleass Ocean Harpy (the archaic imperial design still favored in smaller sizes on Eplas), her sister ship Crying Valkyrie and three brigs to leave the gulf in the cover of darkness. The two Lesia navy squadrons split in the dark with the smaller fleet traveling towards the edge of the Novesium peninsula at full speed. The reason for the secrecy understandable, but not known at the time, as the Ocean Harpy as it was known then was carrying an outrageous fortune in gold coins. Kaltha¡¯s wartime loan intended to keep their additional armies and navies in the field. Peter Brakis also fast moving transport fleet met with it outside Nattas¡¯ Cove in the middle of the night. The large mercenary force hired to protect the gold reacted violently to the encounter with the surprised Regia¡¯s mostly transport vessels. The Lesia captains were also aware of the landings that were underway and probably acted under some sense of camaraderie for their fellow sailors. In the savage night naval battle, Brakis managed to ruin two of the escorting Brigs, but his smaller force was quickly overrun by the superior numbers and massive galleasses that could fire two large catapults from bow and stern, his own ship Redshark sinking with almost all hands after the powerful Ocean Harpy rammed it amidships and split it in two. The transport fleet surrendered and was escorted back to Cediorum by the Crying Valkyrie, one of the two remaining escorts and the Ocean Harpy with the other one ¨Ca surviving brig- continued its sailing away from the coast in the dark, never to officially be seen again for years. An injured Peter Brakis found an upturned boat and climbed on it along some survivors until he washed ashore in Nattas Cove that morning. Five slow moving transports managed to turn around and escape to Novesium, bringing the news of the catastrophe to Lord Ursus. With the plan already underway, the Duke decided to move with the force he had available and informed King Jeremy of the events in Cartagen. Lesia had dispatched the Second Legion, Armium¡¯s and Cediorum¡¯s regulars (the latter swearing to avenge Lord Lennox after a rousing speech by his niece the Black Baroness of Balard¡¯s Castle given in the large city¡¯s central square, which a very moved Queen of Lesia and the late Shield¡¯s daughter had attended.) The Barons of Flauegran had taken it upon themselves to secure the northern approach and the new legion road coming from Oras Navel, until the professional force marching from Dokamna reached them. While all these events were unfolding in the Lorian Kingdoms, Lord Anker¡¯s third attempt to take Colle was successful. A new weapon helped the High Regent¡¯s armies penetrate the city¡¯s defenses, so powerful that when the bombardment ended, there was no one left to fight back and the Second Foot marched in the devastated city without resistance. The defenders had either fled to a suddenly exposed Castalor, were piles of unrecognizable dead flesh, or were simply gone. ¡®Turned to smithereens.¡¯ The phrase coined by a shocked Sir Mark Est Ravn reporting to his father in a letter written later that day ending with the ominous, ¡®Colle is no more. We should have never opened the vault.¡¯ Ironically the first use of the weapon that came to be known as the ¡®Deliverer¡¯ was to come a week earlier -though in a lesser scale- in the misty shores of Serene River by the engineers of the First Foot causing Lord Van Calcar a lot of distress. Lord Sirio Veturius Circa 206 NC The Fall of Heroes Chapter XXXV (Lord Anker Est Ravn, Duke of Midlanor, Keeper of the Forests, Guardian of Nordland Pass, Uher¡¯s First Sentinel and High Regent of the Realm.) The Bank¡¯s Galleass Fleet & the Navy Revolt Volume II -The legend of the ¡®Mighty Saracen¡¯ & Forty tons of gold- Circa, Fall of 192 NC ¨C winter of 193
Addendum III
Addendum III -3- Right click to open image fully The Lorian Lords Known families & titles around 192 NC (part III ¨Cexpanded) Volume II (Lesia) KINGDOM OF LESIA (Also known as the land of the six rivers) -
The old ¡®High Barons¡¯ (Lesia was splintered into many Baronies afore King Divinus Colenus I (Colin I) wars of unification. Members of the Council of Barons.) A) The Davenius (from the moniker ¡®Divinus¡¯), Davenport ¨C (the name an amalgam of the known phrase ¡®Divinus Army port¡¯ that birthed both the name of the capital Armium and the Davenport family name.) Royal city of Armium Coat of Arms, the ¡®White Boars¡¯. Dictum ¡®Endure & Overcome¡¯. Armium (Capital city, port). Large city facing the Lesia Gulf at the delta of Dave¡¯s River (Old Dwarf name Da Rivrumm). Armium, despite not being bigger than Cediorum in population was the only city in Lesia and on Jelin to hold an Admiralty, a Military School, an Academy and big temples of worship for three of the Five gods of the pantheon. Tyeus, Uher and Oras. Naossis wasn¡¯t favored in Lesia as much as in the neighboring Lorian kingdom and the short in statue Luthos -despite having the mighty dwarven ruins of Gargulor deep in the Lesia Plains dedicated to him- was per usual overlooked completely.) Dave¡¯s Fort (Desert town fort guarding the Long Road to Levacum) Dave¡¯s Stables (Royal holding on the River Plains turned into a small city) Sisterville (Large hunting and fishing village in the King¡¯s Forest) The Desert Barony of Levacum Coat of arms, a desert Vulture. Levacum (Remote city castle, a very rich holding near Leviathan Oasis) Diamant (Famed mining village inside the Maze, mainly for diamonds and gems) King Frances (archaic styled name, Frances Divinus of Davenport, First of the Alesian Barons) Queen Saskia, of Cediorum (Lord Lennox¡¯s daughter) Lady Saskia the young, (named after her mother, a very vain woman) Sir William (Saskia¡¯s twin brother, the Charming Knight of Armium. A famous tourney knight and multiple times champion that did lose to Sir Hector Andal some months before the latter was killed near Storm¡¯s Rest by Lucius in 192.) Sir Darius IV Colin IV (the King¡¯s youngest son) Baron Angelo, Davenport of Levacum (Baron of the Desert, the Diamond Baron. The Levacum Davenports were a cadet house of the Davenports of Armium. One of the two ¡®Guardians of the Sands.¡¯) Sir Virgen, the Rejected, of Levacum (Shockingly took his own life falling on his sword aged only twenty, after a failed marriage proposal to a very young Lady Sandra of Aegium in the summer of 192.) Sir Heracles, of Levacum, the ¡®Tall Knight of the desert¡¯. Lady Octavia B) The Lennox (Brevis from archaic ¡®lenis noxis¡¯, the serene pain, a moniker of the first Baron of Ballard) Grand Duchy of Cediorum Coat of Arms, a gazing green Stag. Dictum ¡®Strong deeds, gentle words.¡¯ Cediorum (Very large city at the Lesia Turn overlooking the Lorian Gulf, one of biggest ports on Jelin. A massive natural harbor.) Alesian Fort (Large Fort near the large freshwater Alesian Lake. The Second Legion¡¯s permanent Castrum was built very near it. The myth is that the first Lorian settlers traveling down the Barren Coast stopped there to rest in the idyllic environment and emboldened marched on finally finding Rochestab River. The name adopted by the people of the Kingdom that kept on journeying further trying to find a way over the endless mountain ranges in the north and the desert in the south. Stubbornly and river by river until they reached another lake with frozen cold waters and ¡®the Turn¡¯ as they named it. Where the North started.) Rochstab (Large commercial town less than fifteen kilometers from Cediorum, right on the road leading to Rochestab¡¯s River First Bridge. Named after the nearby river.) The old High Baronship of Ballard. Ballard Castle (Large Castle city near the banks of Rochestab or ¡®Rochstab¡¯ River, overlooking the massive Stag¡¯s Forest, mainly the famed Lemon Trees grove.) Coat of Arms, a giant black Elk. Dictum ¡®Hard but just, like the land.¡¯ Jackal¡¯s Fort (A castle built near the mid-bridge over Rochestab River directly across Desert Howl Peak.) Lord Miles Lennox, the Honorable (also the Old General) King Colin¡¯s III and King Frances¡¯ longtime Lord Shield, Former Lord Commander of the Lorian Legion (1st), a Knight and veteran of the ¡®Warbands Rebellion¡¯. KIA during the Battle of Kas along his warhorse in the summer of 190 aged sixty five, despite efforts to revive him. He had sustained a freak injury by Layton the Nord. Duke Roman the second (Miles firstborn. A Knight. Commander of Cediorum Regulars.) Queen Saskia (Miles daughter. King Frances Davenport¡¯s wife.) Sir Patrick (Lesia¡¯s Lord of Sea) Captain Gareth (Lord Patrick''s son, captain of the Belvoir) Baron Marc Lennox, Lord of Alesian Fort. (Miles first cousin) Lady Vinia (Marc¡¯s daughter. Married to Sir Otelo Zaro ) Ed Lennox (Marc¡¯s son) Sir Emerson Lennox, a Knight Errant, the Exiled, former Lord Baron of Ballard. A famed knight and tourney winner on Jelin. A grand champion of the Pits of Fu De Gar on Eplas. (Also Mista Savar in archaic Cofol, the Pale Jackal, the Gray War Leader, or the laconic ¡®Ballard of Lesia¡¯.) Sir Emerson bequeathed his title to his sister Lady Lila for unknown reasons. High Baroness Lila Lennox, the Black Baroness. The solemn lady of Ballard. Ruler of Ballard Castle, Keeper of Stag¡¯s Forest and through the control of Jackal¡¯s Fort one of the two Guardians of the Sands. (Remained unmarried for decades despite several lofty offers from all over the Kingdom and bequeathed in turn her titles to her brother¡¯s son in a very controversial decision.) Sir Tony (Emerson¡¯s third cousin. Commander of Jackal¡¯s Fort guards.) Emerson ¡®the young¡¯. (Also known as Mista Savar¡¯s son. The ¡®Eplas Lord¡¯. The Golden Jackal.) The lesser ¡®Dukes¡¯, High Barons, or the King¡¯s ¡®Marquises¡¯ Duchy of Dokamna Coat of arms, the ''twin hammers''. Dokamna (Large city near Haggart River) Frye¡¯s Hold (large town and horse breeding center facing the Lesia Plains) Stingray (Town near Gates Peaks at the sources of Haggart River. Big hide market.) -The Frye- Duke Osmund Frye, Lord of Dokamna (His Marquise title was turned into a permanent Duchy title during Colin the Third¡¯s reign. Master of Horses. Guardian of the Plains.) Sir Gundi (Osmund¡¯s firstborn and Lord Commander of King Frances Royal Knights/Guards) Doni ¡®Haggart¡¯ Frye (Legitimized bastard of Sir Gundi. The Knights of the Royal Guard weren¡¯t allowed to marry.) Sir Manuel Baron Feld, Lord of Frye¡¯s Hold and Keeper of the Stables.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Willie Frye, the ¡®Fool¡¯ (Feld¡¯s son. A wild horse kicked him in the head at a young age leaving him impaired in his speech, but otherwise functional.) -The Mortymer- Lord Cornelius Mortymer, petty Baron of Stingray, Lesia¡¯s Master of Silence. A very distant relative to Lord Frye. Close friend to Jacomo D¡¯Orsi. Lady Liliana, of Stingray (Mortymer¡¯s daughter) High Baronship of Parmaport Coat of arms, the ''Iron Fists''. Parmaport (Large city port facing the Green Coast and one of Lesia Fleet¡¯s anchorages.) Miloville (Large town in Dwarf Forest and old river port turned into a lake port. It now faces the east banks of the artificial large Cresta Lake. The Dwarfs Crafter¡¯s Guild has a building purchased near the town¡¯s center. Rumored that it is build close to the secretive Dwarf city Eth Dehur, which means ¡®The Deep¡¯ in the Old Tongues.) Di Cresta: Original name ¡®Ville de Di Cresta¡¯. (Originally a large village, turned into a resort town, ideal for hunting, fishing, or swimming. It was built to accommodate the thousands of workers (over thirty thousand according to sources for the twenty years of the construction) that had been employed to work on the famed architect¡¯s dam at Ostrich River. With the creation of the Cresta Lake after the dam was finished, the picturesque rural area became a cherished vacationer¡¯s destination and the town named also after the scholar, grew in turn disproportionally. Di Cresta himself never visited the place after the work was finished as he hated the humidity of the area. A large lifelike statue of a younger scholar stands today near the Mayor¡¯s palace.) -The Hermon- High Baron Theodore Hermon. Lord ¡®Iron Fist¡¯. (Commander of the mercenary company the ¡®Iron Fists¡¯, one of the three ¡®armies¡¯ employed by the Bank of Trust. Was injured during the second battle at Storm¡¯s Rest and had to retreat. Was ruined financially after the defeat of his famous outfit and despite rebuilding it in the years that followed out of his own pocket as he lost the contract, he died in 196 without taking the field again.) Julius Hermon (After 196 High Baron of Parmaport. A Knight and later commander of the Iron Fists. Theodore¡¯s son.) Sir Ramsey (Theodore¡¯s younger son.) Lady Renia (Theodore¡¯s daughter.) -The Drumo- Lord Leroy Drumo. Petty Baron of Miloville (Former Marquise, his family had been elevated by King Marco ¡®The Unlucky¡¯ around 151 NC, when they controlled Parmaport, but they lost favor under King Colin III and were stripped of the title. The Drumo kept their crests and coat of arms, their wealth and bribery allowing them to gain a relative support for their return to at least a High Baron status -especially after Miloville boomed in population with the construction of the Cresta Dam, but they never managed it. KIA in a cavalry charge during the battle of the Half-Bridge, probably by Decurion Long, in 192. Close family friend of the Hermons despite their rivalry.) Sir Mario Drumo (Later Baron of Miloville, the Decent. Leroy¡¯s son. A cripple as he lost his right arm during the battle of the Half-Bridge in 192, his humble personality endeared him to King Frances, but nevertheless he as his father afore him remained petty Barons.) Roy Drumo (Mario¡¯s son.) -The Wine Barons- High Baronship of Flauegran Coat of arms, ¡®Vines¡¯. Dictum: ¡®Bound by nothing¡¯. Flauegran (Large merchant city near the grey sandstone cliffs range, at the northernmost side of the massive Flauegran valley that extends as far the Alesian Lake to the south, Old Fort in Regia to the west and the city of Atetalerso in the east. It is surrounded by vine fields and three Estates the size of small towns. Sava, Sartor and Faro. While the High Baron position exists it changes every two seasons via a vote in their holdings. The three ¡®Wine Barons¡¯ hold significant power even after one of them is appointed as High Baron and can veto any decision via a majority vote of the Small Baron Council. Eligible for the positions of power are the members of three families ¨Can unheard of practice- which is the remnant of an older type of government before the birth of Lesia¡¯s Kingdom and hasn¡¯t changed. The city has extremely close relations with the nearby city of Atetalerso due to the heavy investment of the Bank of Trust in the wine business. The rich red, flowery in taste and sweet wine produced in the valley is perhaps one of the most valued commodities in Jelin, reaching as far as Eplas. Extremely expensive and sought after it is even rumored to have ¡®mild therapeutic properties¡¯, a fact never fully proven and enjoyed almost two centuries of dominance over lesser variants, or brands of wine, such as the white-gold sweet Aegium wine, the strong bitter white of Novesium, or the brusque reds and whites of Asturia. Only when Castalor first and then Scaldingport started importing the exotic ¡®Goras Wine¡¯ from Wetull and the Pirate Reefs the Wine Barons dominance was threatened. For them the rival wine was a bigger threat to them than winning the war against Lucius and they acted accordingly.) Petty Barony of Sava (Large estate town located in North Vine Fields belonging to the Napoli family.) Petty Barony of Sartor (Large estate town located in the massive South Vine Fields belonging to the Trupo family.) Petty Barony of Faro (Large estate town located in the coveted East Vine Fields where the best quality of berries were produced belonging to the Riveras family.) Baron Arturo Napoli (Sava, Flauegran¡¯s Treasurer) Lady Mikaela (Sava) Maurice Napoli (Arturo¡¯s son) Sir Jan Napoli (Arturo¡¯s son, a rare knight out of Sava.) Baron Dominique Trupo (Sartor. Voted twice to serve as High Baron.) Anton Trupo, the third. (Dominique¡¯s firstborn, Mayor of Flauegran) Varus ¡®The Book¡¯ Trupo (Prefect of the Third Legion under Lucius. Scribe de Legionis. Disinherited second son. Surprisingly several members of the ¨Cfrequently sporting a prominent mustache- Trupo family had served in the Legion, but none had managed to return after getting thrown out like Trupo. A very educated man like all the Baron¡¯s sons, he later became a military historian before rising further than any Trupo, or wine baron for that matter, had ever had afore him.) Domus Trupo, the ¡®Mustache¡¯ Lady Domitia Trupo, ¡®Petite Domina¡¯. (Dominique¡¯s daughter.) High Baron Enzo Riveras (Flauegran. Perhaps the most influential and rich of the three wine Barons. Served several times as the High Baron mainly during the war years.) Mikael Riveras (Armium. Enzo¡¯s firstborn. An advisor to King Frances.) Sir Paris Riveras, of Faro (¡®Sir Graceful¡¯. A Knight of Tyeus. Traditionally the second son of the Riveras family became an ordained knight. Faro had an excellent, but small cavalry force.) Lady Biby Riveras, the ¡®Burgundy Bouquet¡¯. Lady Vivina Riveras, the ¡®Lady of Vines¡¯. -The Coin Lords- Mclean & Merck High Baronship of Atetalerso (A modest to small city, housing mostly business buildings, several merchant enterprises and very little agriculture or other professions. It does house a massive training camp for mercenaries near the city. The mercenary Guild presence in Atetalerso is thus prominent. Originally a small village, it has bought the High Baronship more for administrative and tax purposes, although Atetalerso pays nothing to the King due to a special arrangement with the Treasury. Perhaps the dullest and safest city on Jelin, Atetalerso city¡¯s center streets can only be walked, as the use of horses or carriages is prohibitively expensive.) Coat of Arms, a ¡®Gold Coin¡¯. Atetalerso (city) High Baron Jacomo D¡¯Orsi (Armium. The Baron¡¯s position while hereditary had mostly devolved in being the Bank¡¯s spokesperson in Court. Jacomo had bought a share in the Bank through careful maneuvering and stood at better negotiating position than his predecessors. The ¡®300¡¯ mercenary company that got destroyed in Eikenport was his pet project. He replaced it with another company he aptly named ¡®333¡¯. The reason for the naming remains a mystery to this day.) Dino D¡¯Orsi (Atetalerso. The Baron¡¯s Shield.) Tussio D¡¯Orsi (Jacomo¡¯s cousin. KIA in Eikenport. By Unknown in 191, or early 192, probably by knights serving with Sir Gust De Weer¡¯s expeditionary force. Last commander of the ¡®300¡¯ mercenary company. The unit was disbanded. All serving are presumed lost.) Primo D¡¯Orsi (Atetalerso. Commander of the ¡®333¡¯ mercenary company.) Eleonora D¡¯Orsi (Jacomo¡¯s niece. Married to Fausto Mclean. Unknown whereabouts.) Marquise Federico Mclean, (Empty title given by the Throne of Lesia for services rendered. Majority owner of the Bank of Trust. While not a full-blooded Lorian, the Mclean family is one of the oldest now in Lesia.) Simon Mclean (Atetalerso. Director of Special Projects. Bank¡¯s Vault keyholder.) Lady Manuela Mclean (Unknown whereabouts. Requisitions Task Force Director.) Fausto Mclean (Unknown position in the Bank. Unknown whereabouts.) Lady Delia Mclean (Armium. D¡¯Orsi¡¯s Wife) Lady Diana Merck ¡®Miss Black Gold¡¯. (Claus Viceroy¡¯s wife. According to the strict marriage certificate her children ¡®were Merck¡¯s when serving the Bank, Viceroys¡¯ for everything else¡¯. A very weird arrangement. Minority owner in the Bank of Trust. An Issir-Lorian half-breed with rare blond hair.) Benito Merck-Viceroy (Cediorum. Diana¡¯s son with Viceroy. Naval Engineer, Director of Security.) Claus Viceroy (the President of the Board in the Bank of Trust. A Merck puppet. A survivor of the Battle of the Half-Bridge in a sense, though Claus¡¯ role kept him well away from the frontlines.) Lady Laura Merck-Viceroy (Diana¡¯s young daughter.) The Lords beyond Andalus ¡®Duchy¡¯ of Andatelia Coat of Arms, the ¡®Cave Devils¡¯ Andatelia (Remote but extremely rich city near Andalus River. The small Duchy owed its title to the massive Gold Mines located in the cliffs located at the edge of their holding. The Bank of Trust paid them premium for exclusivity which slowly but surely enriched the Lords of Andatelia near the level of much bigger and more easy to reach cities, or markets.) Telus Port (Natural port and town near Andalus River. An anchorage for the merchant fleets of Lesia during the winter.) Andal Gold Mines (Expansive gold and platinum mines found inside natural caves at the mountain range hugging the Uher¡¯s Heights in the distance reaching kilometers under the basalt rocks. Relatively close to the so called ¡®entrance¡¯ of the inaccessible Troll Valley deep in the mountains and the Bronze Mines of Con.) -The Andal- Duke Luke Andal. The ¡®Gold Duke¡¯. (Armium. Lesia¡¯s Treasurer.) Sir Oscar Andal. The ¡®Lone Eye¡¯ (Andatelia. Luke¡¯s firstborn. Moniker given for missing a pupil due to birth defect.) Sir Hector Andal (KIA in 192 during the Battle of the Half-Bridge near Storm¡¯s Rest in a duel with Lucius Alden, aged twenty one. He killed Lucius¡¯ famed warhorse Stormbolt during the struggle. An aspiring knight and tourney champion Sir Hector managed to unhorse Sir William in Armium earlier that year.) Lady Leonia Andal (Andatelia. Luke¡¯s daughter.) Santo Andal (Armium. In the Military School.) The Caxaton (A Cadet branch of the Andals) Lord Godfrey Caxaton (Petty Baron of Telus Port) Vicus Caxaton (his firstborn, Telus Port) The Testa Baron of Andatelia Umberto Testa Sir Mario Testa (Killed in Kas 190 NC) High Baronship of Con Coat of arms, a ¡®Bronze Pickaxe¡¯. Conium Castle (Large Castle city near Hope River that has its sources in the Cold Lake. The last city settled by the Lorians of Lesia, trying to flee from the Zilan and later the Issirs. The Borginas and the Andals remained ¨Cwhile antagonistic to each other- cautious, even suspicious to the agreements the Davenports made with the Aldens and the Issirs. They remained aloof and living under a much earlier version of the Lorian customs and avoided signing deals on paper unless absolutely necessary, believing that a ¡®word spoken aloud, is contract enough. Breaking it means breaking one¡¯s own soul.¡¯) Lastport (Important but modest in size port and town. The last port before the Turn, the point where the icebergs coming from the North broke into smaller, but still dangerous pieces due to the current. A vital stop for the merchant ships making the risky journey to Kadrek and the closest of Lesia¡¯s ports to the distant vassal Duchy. It lost some of its significance after Sovya broke away due to Lucius Northern campaigns, but remained important enough, as the trade never really stopped even during the war. The well-known Durio family among others has produced many officers that have served in the Legion and due to Lastport¡¯s small but well maintained Engineering School, some brilliant engineers, naval architects and well¡­ miners.) Con¡¯s Bronze Mines (Very large bronze deposits discovered just like the ones near the Andal territory deep inside ¡®natural¡¯ caves in the guts of the mountains. A major income source for Conium, along the trade for iron, hides and hardwood from the North.) -The Borginas- High Baron Percival Borginas (Armium. Keeper of Cold Lake. Guardian of the Northern Border and Lord of Lastport.) Sir Tobias Borginas (Armium. Percival¡¯s son. A Knight of Tyeus.) Lady Bianca Borginas (Percival¡¯s daughter. Married Prospero Grimani, Captain of the 333 Lancelot Grimani''s brother) Lady Carmen Borginas (Percival¡¯s daughter.) Daniel Borginas (Conium Castle. Tobias cousin.)
327. Maidens War (1/5)
Legatus Nonus Sula Maiden¡¯s War Part I -Scorching hot clay-
The clouds had an indigo hue with plenty of black in it. They roared with every thunder, each lighting turning a portion of the skies white and illuminating the mist covered ground. For a brief moment it resembled cold ash. The important thing is that it hasn¡¯t rained since yesterday and that was a dripple, Sula thought watching the Third Cohort marching slowly towards the bridge, Prefect Jacobred waiting for the engineers to set up their wagons to follow with the Second Cohort. Optio Valens was standing next to Sula on the wall-walk at the meter wide embrasure looking with the help of a spyglass towards the river. Baron Josh Hagel, the Master of Purse and Clay had dispatched Captain Stefan Carus with his Rangers and five hundred soldiers to the Clay Quarry to evacuate the civilians unwilling to leave their homes. Few had, the fear of losing their few belongings to raiders, or thieves, greater than the danger the approaching First Foot presented. The population of the Quarry significant enough, both in workers and other professions for the Baron to lose. Be that as it may that force had come in contact with fellow Issirs marching up the coastal lake road towards Pascor the previous day. The late night briefings held between Sula, Lord Ton and his advisors all agreeing they needed to secure the safe return of at least Baron Hagel¡¯s force as the brief ¡®contact¡¯ had resulted in a bloody unfriendly skirmish. ¡°Centurion Whitt stopped,¡± Optio Valens reported. The young officer had a somber expression on his face, as the death of his brother during Lord Ton¡¯s ill-fated wedding had hit him hard. Whitt was the Centurion leading the Third Cohort. ¡°Uhm,¡± Sula murmured and stared at his aide and longtime friend Pete Dumont. ¡°Pete?¡± Dumont grimaced and glanced at the early morning sky. ¡°It isn¡¯t raining beyond the river too Nonus.¡± ¡°The Third is letting people come down the road,¡± Valens reported still looking through the spyglass. Sula grunted and turned to climb down the guardtower next to Pascor¡¯s outer walls facing Serene River, ordering the Optio to stay and watch what was happening outside the city¡¯s River Gates. Sula burst out of the tower minutes later breathing heavy from the exertion of navigating the narrow staircase and marched towards the Gates followed by Dumont and a couple of legionnaires. Prefect Jacobred with the men of the Second Cohort standing still on the cobblestone road behind him saluted seeing the Legatus appearing at the open main Gates. The first of the civilians Centurion Whitt had let pass him through arriving, the men and women coming towards the city looking none pleased, Sula noticed. ¡°Report Prefect,¡± Sula grunted, glancing back at the guardtower where Optio Valens was still scanning the road leading to the bridge. ¡°Carus is retreating sir,¡± Jacobred replied. ¡°Some of the civilians opted to stay.¡± Eh, Sula had feared that. The lowly workers working the clay quarry had little animosity towards the Issirs of Tollor, or Badum. ¡°Where are the rest of them?¡± He asked crooking his mouth. ¡°They¡¯ll attempt to cross towards the old docks further up north,¡± the man from Sovya replied. ¡°Why?¡± Sula asked with a frown and stared at a civilian walking past him, the man¡¯s clothes covered with dark drown clay. The Prefect pressed his mouth tight, eyes glancing at the paused in the middle of the road Third Cohort not a hundred meters from them and then replied with one word. ¡°Panic.¡±
Sir Henk Van Durren¡¯s advanced units of the First Foot, now the freshly anointed Duke of Riverdor ¨Cin fact no ceremony had been held as the brusque knight had marched towards Pascor the moment news of his father¡¯s demise reached him- had made the journey in less than two weeks and attacked Carus¡¯ Rangers at the outskirts of the Clay Quarry. Carus¡¯ force retreated inside the settlement and blocked the narrow roads and alleys to stall the soldiers of the First Foot, but hours into the confusing initial skirmish the engineer wagons arrived and Henk ordered them to bombard the barricaded men of Pascor. Carus split his force into smaller units and gave ground inside the massive settlement sending another force to control the bridge over Serene nine kilometers to his rear. Two hours later the shelling had subsided without accomplishing anything worth of note. It had left a lot of broken windows, several cracked mudbrick walls behind, with a couple of injuries in civilians and livestock faring the worst. While it had appeared that this was the end of it, one of the bigger stone buildings near the center of the settlement belonging to the miners Guild exploded abruptly. Such was the power of the blast a whole square was flattened leaving smoking piles of debris behind and over twenty people dead. A concerned Carus ordered the majority of his force to slowly disengage and retreat near the river side of the Quarry, mainly around the sturdy customs building district. He also sent scouts to find out what had happened, with rumors spreading like wildfire. Some talked of magic, or even the wrath of gods. Carus was an even-keeled Lorian local as his family had opted to stay and work with the Issirs a couple of centuries back and didn¡¯t believe any of it. It was a cloudy day, the skies angry and it wasn¡¯t unheard of for a lighting to blow a man up. Granted this was a whole building, but the Rangers leader couldn¡¯t allow himself to walk down the path of superstition. Henk wasn¡¯t a magician and the only witch Carus had been aware of lived in the Fenlands. Sure the scary Hag would eat younger folk occasionally, but hadn¡¯t yet blown up anyone that Carus knew of. Well, the Hag¡¯s culinary tastes aside, an hour later the Custom¡¯s two-story building west side exploded inwards. The roar of the explosion a rattling dissonance of bangs that sounded nothing like a thunder. Large broken beams, sharp pieces of cement, glass and masonry ripped through the gutted building, killed everything hiding inside and blasted out the back side bringing the whole structure down in less than ten seconds. The dust cloud rising high above the settlement and pieces of debris found as far as twenty meters from the impact. Carus became a believer and ordered his men out. Had he not given the order the rangers would have retreated by themselves following the panicked civilians and workers. The crowd rushed towards the bridge, but the soldiers stationed there stopped them using plenty of force and so the majority headed north following the banks of Serene River, the mud making the journey quite arduous and tried to cross at the site of the old docks to reach the large fishing settlement on the other side. Legatus Sula original idea was to hold the bridge and he had already mobilized two Cohorts for this, but had to divert the Fourth Cohort to a fishing settlement twenty kilometers north of Pascor in fear the Issirs might make a landing there amidst the chaos of the fleeing refugees. The other two he kept to guard Serene Bridge and the road to Pascor, with the First held inside the city in reserve. Lord Ton had around a thousand soldiers available, plus another thousand with the fast retreating Carus (both rangers and infantry), but had to dispatch his best men, the over a thousand strong Pascor Raiders ¨Ca marine type infantry unit- to the Port District and Pascor¡¯s Fleet since he feared a naval engagement south of Wolffish Isles. A landing to their rear would cut Pascor off from the rest of the Duchy and even a large portion of its districts and port, as despite being walled, Pascor was a poorly outlined city. With the soldiers needed to man the extensive walls facing the river, not much was left to help Sula. The Legatus quarreled with Lord Ton to draft more men from the civilians and Ton assured him reinforcements were on the way both from the local citizens and Baron Darvot who had fled to Brownfort after the wedding. Sula doubted they would sniff the wayward Baron again afore the summer, judging by the man¡¯s shameful conduct in Kas the previous years.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Carus¡¯ force reached the bridge late in the day and before the first light appeared on the sky the next morning the First Foot crossed the bridge and found the barricaded legionnaires blocking their way. Further up the river a detachment of scouts landed on the fishing docks, crossing the river on rafts, or boats left behind and took control of the settlement briefly. The arriving Fourth Cohort under Centurion Quintus Gratian of Anorum counterattacked and threw them back into the river, retaking control of the river docks. In the center the First Foot fared little better and their initial push was repulsed almost back to the bridge, but Sula didn¡¯t want the legionnaires to take it fearing Duke Henk had machines aimed at the stone bridge from the other bank of the river and halted their march. The Issirs regrouped, with more units crossing the bridge and finally Duke Henk¡¯s main army body arrived from the Clay Quarry. Sula expected more units to cross before the day was over, so he ordered the First Cohort to ready itself to reinforce the center, if needed. The hard-pressed Legatus had also the option to retreat behind the walls and use the guardtower and battlements to strike at the exposed First Foot, but Pascor¡¯s walls were also not fully complete near the Fenlands and while Lord Ton assured him no one would ever come through there, Sula just couldn¡¯t take his word for it. For Sula retreating wasn¡¯t a winning strategy, ¡®unless you intend to launch a counterstrike for your opponent¡¯s gullet,¡¯ but given the situation he might had to do it and buy himself time for the navy situation to resolve itself one way, or another. As it happened, he didn¡¯t have much of an option.
IV Legio Field Headquarters, City of Pascor, Late first month of fall 192 Part of the larger Battle of Serene River, (the delta approaches, the bridge & the main gates) also known as Siege of Pascor. Maiden¡¯s War first week ¡°The men are digging hard sir!¡± The runner informed them and Sula nodded standing inside the gateway just after the inner portcullis, the entrance tunnel blocked and maps displaying the movement of units penciled by his aide Dumont, Hugh Bolton also present, along Lord Ton¡¯s Shield, the still grieving a wife and son Sir Blenk¡¯s face grim. ¡°Is the First Foot holding?¡± Sula queried, his eyes on the icon of the Fourth Cohort that was engaged north of the city. He¡¯d a Decanus posted on the North Gates tasked with informing him with news of the unfolding situation, not to mention Decurion Bailey¡¯s and Sir Gatrell¡¯s cavalry stationed outside the walls of Pascor between the Fourth Cohort¡¯s position and the North Gates ready to provide relief if it was needed. ¡°They are sir, each hour will make it more difficult to jump over the ditch.¡± ¡°A ditch won¡¯t hold them,¡± Sula grunted. ¡°But a moat would have been nice,¡± the latter he addressed to the dour-faced Sir Blenk. ¡°A moat would flood constantly, make the road useless and block the gates,¡± Blenk explained. ¡°We have plenty of water to make room for more Legatus.¡± ¡°We have plenty of useless water and we still get to defend with knees deep in mud either way Sir Blenk!¡± Sula blasted him. ¡°Has Scrofa issued extra javelins?¡± he asked Centurion Paulus Didicus, the Primus Pilus of the First Cohort. ¡°He has Legatus,¡± Didicus replied sternly. ¡°The left flank of the Prefect is exposed sir,¡± he added for the second time in ten minutes. ¡°Centurion the Fenlands are unpassable when it rains,¡± Sula explained him. ¡°Absolutely,¡± Blenk agreed. ¡°It hasn¡¯t rained sir,¡± Didicus insisted. ¡°Lots of show, clouds and shit, but not a drip of water.¡± ¡°Centurion there¡¯s water aplenty¡­¡± Sula grunted his mind on the surprise attack he wanted to deliver on the arriving Issirs with Sir Gatrell¡¯s cavalry. He paused seeing a sergeant-at-arms standing at attention near their table. He was part of the main gates and gaurdtower¡¯s force. ¡°Yes? Speak sergeant, not the time to be shy right now!¡± Sula grumbled, irritated with the less than ideal situation and Martha¡¯s challenging pregnancy. This should have been her last month give or take a week, but the woman kept swelling with no end in sight. ¡°Optio Valens spotted movement at the bridge milord,¡± the Pascor gate sergeant reported, his dark face covered in a wild white beard that would have gotten him cited in the Legion. ¡°What kind of movement?¡± Sula asked unsure and then went over the table unwittingly losing his balance, the earth shaking under their feet, dust falling from above and the otherworldly roar of a volcano exploding ¨Cthe sound reverberating inside the wall of the entrance tunnel probably increasing it tenfold- heard all over the worried city.
Sula rushed outside the gateway, exiting out of the inner portcullis and glared at a pale Optio Valens looking down from the guardtower eight meters above him. ¡°Optio what in allhells?¡± Sula growled, still shaken from the sudden earthquake. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°It was the Duke Sir!¡± Valens yelled to be heard over the rising murmurs and cries of the citizenry and soldiers manning the walls. ¡°What did he do?¡± Sula barked, just about ready to run through the tunnel and out of the main gates to see for himself. ¡°A large hole before the walls! Bloody big motherfucker sir!¡± A disheveled Dumont had stopped beside him. His aide had been thrown under the table and had his uniform covered with black dripping ink, as far up as the underside of his jaw and the front of his neck. Sula glanced his way and then turned to the bright eyed young Optio looking out of the crenels. ¡°What good is a plaguing hole there?¡± He grunted. Had they tunneled under the earth already? Impossible. ¡°Tyeus spear, how did they manage that?¡± ¡°They missed sir,¡± Valens replied sounding worried. ¡°Two wagons can fit in that hole sir,¡± the Optio added. ¡°That¡¯s absurd!¡± Dumont spat gruffly, he¡¯d a cloth in hand kept under his chin to gather some of the ink. A hapless task. ¡°You can¡¯t bring a trebuchet over that bridge. You can¡¯t,¡± he added, but not with as much conviction as before. Sula''s tunnel theory not considered, what with the river so close. Fish could have done it, but the Legatus had no knowledge of fish using a pickaxe. ¡°Get eyes on them Optio,¡± Sula decided and turned around to trot through the gateway to check it for himself, his entourage following him, but for those that stayed to gather the maps and clean the mess up inside the tunnel. The Legatus got out of the main gates, the men of the two Cohorts blocking the road two hundred meters away, the First Foot just outside of arrow¡¯s throw beyond them in a cohesive solid block of soldiers seemingly and hidden behind the Issirs the approaches to the busy bridge. ¡°Optio?¡± Sula yelled the moment he got out, his eyes unable to spot where the catapult had hit their walls, if that was what it was. ¡°They brought machines over sir!¡± Valens yelled from above. Sula whipped his helmed head back and stared at the frowned Dumont. ¡°I¡¯ll order Centurion Boston to bring the Scorpios forward Nonus,¡± his friend said solemnly. ¡°Should I order the tower guards sergeant to fire the catapult from the guardtower?¡± ¡°It¡¯s too far I think,¡± Sula murmured thoughtfully. ¡°What¡¯s taking them so long to fire again?¡± He wondered aloud, still troubled on what the Issirs were using to cause such problems. ¡°Tell him to fire a lighter load, slinger shot even, but try it the furthest he can,¡± he decided. ¡°Aim for the rows of soldiers. Let¡¯s hope he clips a head, or pokes an eye out.¡± Dumont gave the order, the sergeant fired a grapeshot and the Issirs retaliated using their strange weapon again. Their second shot striking the crooked protruding part of the wall a hundred and fifty meters north of a stunned Sula dead center causing another thunderous explosion and bringing a small part of it down, leaving a two meter opening behind and multiple cracks that spread far out and were well visible from the guardtower and the main gates. Good grief. ¡°Legatus,¡± a haunted Valens said minutes later, Sula doubled over his knees, his ears ringing and eyes tearing. A thick dust cloud had covered the main gates, the roar of the skies gone and a strange silence dominating this crowded portion of the city, with the occasional lurid distant terrified scream breaking it at irregular intervals. ¡°It¡¯s a god darn machine!¡± Turd hard as rock in the water barrel! Sula cursed, his mind on the report from Carus he¡¯d dismissed earlier that day as outright fictitious. The clay turned to porcelain, a shook Carus had told them. Scorching hot and as sharp as glass. ¡°Get the men back!¡± Sula barked to an approaching runner from an alarmed Prefect Jacobred, sent to investigate the explosion to his rear. The moment a volley shoots well over your head, then you know standing pat is inviting a world of hurt on you. ¡°Dumont get Boston out here posthaste and tell him to aim for the prepared lines of sight. I want that machine destroyed, the moment they bring it closer!¡±
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 328. Maidens War (2/5)
Legatus Nonus Sula Maiden¡¯s War Part II -Bloody week-
Lord Charles Van Durren, the Kingdom of Kaltha¡¯s new Master of Silence, elevated to the position after Lord Sigurd¡¯s ¡®rebellion¡¯, sensing victory in the Wyvern¡¯s Throne succession question, turned his greedy eyes on Pascor and Lucius. The youngest of Lord Albert¡¯s sons with support from Sir Jan Van Durren, now new Baron of Riverdor¡¯s Castle and the High Magister Kelholt¡¯s Golden Spears was instrumental in pushing for the use of ¡®Uher¡¯s Light¡¯ on Colle. Due to timing and distance the ¡®weapon¡¯ was first used on Pascor, but not with the same devastating ¡®success¡¯ mostly because it lacked the presence of its ¡®inventor¡¯ in the field. The infamous Wim Luikens, a student of the alchemist Rogier Rosman and now responsible for at least eight thousand civilian and soldier deaths -a third of Colle¡¯s population, had traveled to Colle to personally oversee the ¡®experiment¡¯ after escaping the city of Alden through the skin of his teeth years earlier during Lord Nattas ¡®Long Knives¡¯ event. Lord Charles himself traveled to Tollor where he sided with Duke Hoff¡¯s naval assault and landings idea, over his own bigger brother¡¯s direct approach. Lord Henk Van Durren had used the weapon on the first days of the war pushing Pascor forces over the river, but due to its ¡®sensitive¡¯ nature and the fear of a ¡®freakish¡¯ accident -though also due to him just not having enough of it is this writer¡¯s humble opinion- he¡¯d reserved its use after the first week. Sula had kept the weapon away from his men outranging the First Foot engineers firing from the battlements and the siege of Pascor devolved to raids across the no man¡¯s land with meagre results. Lord Henk had tried to land a few kilometers to the north of Serene again, but Sula wasn¡¯t going to allow him to set a foothold there and flank Pascor¡¯s North Gates, so the attempts were mostly fruitless. So Duke Hoff went ahead with his well-thought out naval plan, using Tollor¡¯s thus far idle troops and marines. The weather that had miraculously left Pascor dry for much of the fall, while half of Jelin had all but drown in water, decided to confuse the matters for Tollor¡¯s navy with heavy mist just as the operation started four weeks into the siege. The assault called for a quick journey around the Wolffish Isles and an attack either at the small main isle¡¯s port, or Pascor¡¯s if they caught Lord Ton unprepared. Most of the fleet was used for it, but only three large transports followed the flotilla around the Isles. With almost twenty smaller and bigger vessels this lake fleet was nothing but a distraction. They had orders to avoid a naval battle with the dangerous Pascor fleet that would operate much closer to home waters and to flee for Asturia¡¯s lands if a landing was impossible. The bulk of Tollor¡¯s transports and fishing boats that had made the journey the Duke had kept to surprise Lord Ton. The week of the assault Lord Charles with two of Wim Luikens best students, remarkably not members of the Golden Spears despite the religious Order¡¯s heavy presence around the weapon, cleared the ¡®Deliverer¡¯ for operations again. The reason for the month of delay unknown today and varying from a religious matter of the Order, to the machine being unable to handle more than a couple of throws, or the simpler scarceness of the ¡®secretive¡¯ material as I have stated above.
Main gates Guardtower, IV Legio¡¯s center, City of Pascor, Last month of fall 192 Part of the larger Battle of Serene River, (No man¡¯s land, the main gates) also known as Siege of Pascor. Maiden¡¯s War, the start of fifth week ¡°Legatus?¡± LID officer Bolton asked keeping his voice low and Sula opened his tired eyes to stare at the reddish and purple sky. Sunrise is close, he thought and grimaced in the attempt to straighten his hurting back. Martha had gone into labor two days earlier, a very difficult one, but she had pulled through and delivered two boys, seconds apart from each other. Although they were twins, the tiny rascals had shared Sula¡¯s and Martha¡¯s hair. A washed-out blond for the first boy, he¡¯d named Virgo to honor his late father and his mother¡¯s scarlet red, Martha had named Jacub to honor hers. Despite Dottore Borealis pessimistic predictions due to her age ¨CMartha was almost twenty eight- the mother made it, but it had taken a toll on her. The Dottore had stayed with her through it and in a sense he had made it as well, as Sula came close to having him executed a couple of times. ¡°Any movement?¡± he rustled rubbing his face and looked out of the crenel for the lights in the First Foot¡¯s advanced camp. A rough rampart really to protect themselves from the shelling Boston had inflicted on them daily. The people of Pascor had dug out every boulder they could find and the ¡®rock finding¡¯ activity was perhaps one of the more profitable jobs during the siege, along the ale and whore business. Lord Ton had been impressed so much by the profit margins that he almost reconsidered giving permission to a visiting from Valeria priestess of Naossis to open a small temple there. Eventually he didn¡¯t and the brothels remained illegal in Pascor, though it appeared almost every soldier seemed to know where exactly they were. ¡°The Fleet left the port again,¡± Bolton informed him. ¡°We could use those men in the field milord.¡± ¡°It¡¯s Lord Ton¡¯s city,¡± Sula reminded him. ¡°And they might try something else seeing as this isn¡¯t working for ¡®em.¡± ¡°This will never end,¡± Bolton murmured crossing his arms. ¡°All wars end eventually,¡± Sula replied hoarsely, his back cracking and the armour heavier after two restless nights. ¡°Just not at your convenience. Any luck in convincing the Mayor to send more patrols into the Fenlands?¡± ¡°They¡¯ll never do it,¡± Bolton said and crooked his mouth. ¡°Scared shitless of the Hag.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve seen her yes? It was Lord Ton¡¯s sister,¡± Sula rustled, thinking on the witch¡¯s words. ¡°Clear as day, though I had no idea what the girl looked like afore.¡± ¡°Eh, nasty business this, difficult to justify,¡± Sula murmured. ¡°What did Lord Lucius say?¡± ¡°Hold firm,¡± Sula replied. Lucius was traveling towards Framtond¡¯s tributaries. This could either end in triumph, or with every one of them on the torturer¡¯s table. The scaffolds and hanging metal cages ¡®decorating¡¯ the Mayor¡¯s palace an ominous reminder on the hazards of failure. ¡°They are moving again,¡± Bolton pointed out. ¡°It¡¯s the brief orders that scare me the most milord.¡± ¡°Wake Centurion Boston up and send a runner to Lord Ton,¡± Sula ordered gruffly and slapped both his cheeks to rouse himself proper. ¡°I want an answer on those troops so I can pull the Fourth from the blasted village!¡± he added with a grimace. ¡°They might wait for ice and winter to arrive, but I ain¡¯t spending winter in Pascor with a sick wife.¡±
¡°The bloody mist is thickening Legatus!¡± Centurion Didicus reminded a scowling Sula. ¡°I¡¯m aware Centurion,¡± Sula grunted, clenching his jaw. The First Foot had taken advantage of the low visibility and crept up closer to the walls. Their darn machines had followed. Now their shots were landing with much more success. Centurion Boston¡¯s engineers answered from the walls and the Guardtower, but they were firing blind and Sula worried a nasty surprise, or two, might come their way afore winter. ¡°I¡¯ll have Decanus Papus and Baro hit them from the side of Citadel, along with Gatrell¡¯s cavalry, put them in a pincer and rip their gonads out.¡± ¡°Avienus has horses to relay the message,¡± Dumont informed him. The Decanus was stationed at the distant North Gates to be in contact with the Fourth Cohort and their cavalry camped outside the walls on that side of the city. A month sleeping in the field and the livestock roaming there ¨Cmostly mountain goats visiting from the distant peaks- the noble knight had turned into a wilder bucolic version of himself, according to the words of his aide. Sula liked Gatrell¡¯s character for finding the best in any situation. ¡°We might need something faster to signal them,¡± Sula murmured. ¡°The temple¡¯s bells.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll use Uher¡¯s Voice to start a military maneuver?¡± The sober Mayor of Pascor Vance Sequer queried with a frown. ¡°The god¡¯s reach is mighty,¡± Sula countered tauntingly and the Mayor nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll talk with the magisters,¡± he yielded evenly. Not easy to rattle a man that has decorated his palace with scaffolds. Sula grunted and looked for the Lord¡¯s man, Lord Ton was more worried about a potential naval battle than the army at his gates. Sir Blenk who was at almost every meeting with Sir Dolf taking it upon himself to lead the navy with Captain Assen and Menneken, grimaced under his scrutiny. ¡°They can¡¯t break through Legatus,¡± Blenk insisted. ¡°The mud will swallow them.¡± ¡°We¡¯re in the same fucking spot Blenk!¡± Sula blasted him. ¡°No we¡¯re not. We paid the blood tax to the Hag,¡± Blenk argued bitterly and the machine that had stayed silent for weeks blew a hole in the upper part of the wall next to the Guardtower, the loud explosion sending material on a house twenty meters away near the river street and half-destroying it. Two Pascor soldiers were killed outright, Sula finding a bloody couple of pieces of one of them when he rushed to the scene, just a mangled left arm attached to half his melted torso absent any internal organs and a boot that still had a foot in it. ¡°They fucking moved that thing closer,¡± Dumont cursed eyeing the gory remains. ¡°The fact they are using it again is the biggest snag,¡± Sula muttered and stared at the frowned Sir Blenk. ¡°Will the citizens fight with us?¡± he asked. ¡°This is our land Sula,¡± Blenk replied gravely. ¡°It might not look much to you, but it is all we have. Death won¡¯t cower us. Out of the mud we came and there we shall return afore we give it away.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s hope we don¡¯t,¡± Sula retorted with a grimace of disgust at his fatalistic attitude. The man was grieving family no one argued that, but Sula had a new family he wanted to kind of keep alive for as long as it was possible.
The first day of that week the First Foot engineers operating the ¡®Deliverer¡¯ fired seven or eight times and managed to destroy a portion of the outer walls facing the river, part of the main gates fortifications and gut the guardtower. The heavy mist that came instead of a thunderstorm, or even the first snows helped the attackers approach and fire at the still visible target that was the city walls outlined by the oil torches used to relay information.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. The weather had turned against them in that part of the battle, but on the scale it was still even, though the Legatus didn¡¯t know that. Sula stopped the lightshow seeing the damage done, spent the night finalizing a plan to attack the advancing soldiers utilizing the ruined part of the walls near the Fenlands, after sucking them inside the walls. He placed the First Cohort in the center behind the destroyed part of the fortification, along a detachment of Pascor¡¯s soldiers. He left Carus¡¯ Rangers on the walls along with Centurion Joe Fallon¡¯s legion slingers, but Pike¡¯s Rangers and Marlene¡¯s Brutes he kept in reserve as Sula needed a mobile force inside the city to plug any potential collapse. The citizens had been mobilized, but a man with a shaft, a shovel, or a spear can only do so much. The idea was to counterattack with the Second and Third Cohort, push back the First Foot¡¯s waves of soldiers and smash their south flank facing the delta to reach their rampart hiding their machines. It was the flank that had seen no action due to it being a muddy, insect infested terrain, covered in cattails, reeds and thick weeds, the better terrain located near the walls and Lord Ton¡¯s citadel. The First Foot marched under the cover of the mist as the sound of the walls coming down had been heard clearly and encountered no resistance, but the occasional arrow pot-shot coming from the walls finding someone unlucky. Sula pulled his own machines away from the walls and barricaded the main streets leading to the gates and the destroyed part of the fortifications. A brave commander without a doubt, he left control of the Second Cohort to a hardened Centurion out of Demames named Opiter Carbo and took position next to Centurion Whitt of the Third Cohort out of Halfostad, his wife¡¯s people. It is this scholar¡¯s opinion that the ¡®Cultured¡¯ Third Cohort would have fought for Lady Martha even without the Legatus presence. But it was a meaningful and welcomed gesture.
Sula could barely hear the bells ringing inside the city. The clanging of blades and the manic yells of thousands of armed men parked in a very small piece of land had drown out everything. Well, but for the officer¡¯s barks for the legionnaires to keep the steady forward momentum. ¡°AT ¡®EM BOYS!¡± Whitt bellowed, just outside the marching rows of soldiers coming up behind the engaged first line. Sula five meters behind, next to a nervous Decanus adding more men and shields to push the backs of those in front of them through the Issirs. ¡°THEY¡¯RE PULLING THE MACHINES BACK!¡± Optio Valens yelled from the half-collapsed walls. He meant the Scorpios the Issirs had started pushing forward to bring inside the city, when Sula¡¯s counterattack from three sides had caught them flatfooted. ¡°PUSH!¡± Whitt barked hoarsely, shields banging, men screaming, blades smashing on helms and chests. Thuds and clanks. The sound of cloth and flesh tearing. The enemy hidden in the heavy mist and the mud that greeted them when they stepped outside the walls, soft and well-trotted already turning to a soggy as much as sticky mire that sucked your foot in. And wouldn¡¯t let go. Sula turned feeling a hand on his arm and saw Dumont¡¯s helmed head. ¡°Get that sword out Pete!¡± Sula urged him with a fierce smile. The Legatus much preferred this brutal, but straightforward solution to their problem, with friends and brothers in arms at the near than dying of worry staying idle behind the walls of the gloomy city. He hated Pascor with a fierce passion by now. ¡°Decanus Baro stayed at the Citadel,¡± Dumont yelled in front of his helmed face. ¡°Papus?¡± Sula asked with a frown and glanced at the wall of legionnaires pushing through the soldiers of the First Foot that had tried to enter the city through the ruins of the main gates. ¡°He has engaged the south flank, but can¡¯t move forward with the men he has!¡± ¡°What in Tyeus¡¯ spear is wrong with Baro?¡± Sula growled and turned to tap the shoulder of Centurion Jim Chad of the Third¡¯s 2nd Century. The sturdy Northman from Halfostad stopped with a frown until he recognized the stocky figure of Sula. ¡°Pete for fuck¡¯s sake!¡± Sula blasted his longtime friend, who seemed to have trouble getting it out. ¡°There is fighting¡­ inside the city,¡± Dumont reported and Sula¡¯s mouth went dry. ¡°Baro is trying to keep them out of the Citadel.¡± ¡°CENTURION!¡± Sula barked irate. ¡°Sir?¡± Chad asked standing not a meter from him, despite the ruckus of heavy fighting he could hear Sula plenty well. ¡°Tell Whitt to break through to that machine, chop it to pieces, kick, or eat it, but not allow it to fire again, or get pulled to safety!¡± Sula ordered the nodding Centurion and then turned to the expecting Dumont. ¡°I have horses behind the gates and notified Marlene,¡± Dumont assured him. ¡°We just have to march all the way back inside Nonus.¡± Sula opted to sprint the distance in full gear instead. Martha and the boys were inside the Citadel, along Lord Ton¡¯s young wife, but Sula didn¡¯t give a damn about the girl that had started Maiden¡¯s War.
Grime Citadel was lit up and glowed ominously in the thinner mist coming from the Fenlands. Strangely the visibility was better nearer the bogs that started not a kilometer from the ruined part of the wall and the gates. Sula rode to the scene and almost got killed immediately falling on a group of heavily armoured infantry, the boiled leather cuirasses covered with chainmail shirts, the rings painted with grotesque, single pincers creatures and many ceratinous legs. There¡¯s your Tollor lads. Damnit, Sula cursed catching the shaft of a harpoon afore it gutted him with his left hand. The Tollor marine yanked it out of his grip, tearing at his gloved palm and Sula twisted on the saddle bringing his horse between them. The Crab soldier stabbed the animal¡¯s chest and the horse reared in pain almost throwing him off the saddle. Sula grunted, kicked a leg out as he turned and caught the enemy marine on the shoulder shoving him back. He jumped from the saddle, landing heavy on the fine gravel Lord Ton had used for the wedding and almost got skewered again by another Tollor soldier that charged at him from the sides. Sula slapped the nasty harpoon away with his hurt hand and dragged his own blade on the man¡¯s face cleaving flesh away from skull. The mutilated soldier gurgled spraying blood from everywhere and dropped to his knees. Sula put a hobnailed boot through his weakened cranium with another forward kick, killing him on the spot and hacked the kneecap out of his returning first opponent. The Crab went down as well his knee giving out and Sula finished him with a blade through the gullet. ¡°Limp-dicked cowards are retreating!¡± Marlene yelled colorfully, a fierce manic grimace on her flushed rather ugly face, the large Northern female hurling her battleaxe in a two hand throw and stopping one of the running away enemy soldiers. She caught him between the shoulder blades and the man gasped in shock, afore stumbling forward and crashing on his head. ¡°Legatus, allgods damnit Nonus!¡± Dumont cursed reaching him, the man still on his own horse. He sighed seeing Sula was unharmed despite his horse bleeding out a couple of meters away and added. ¡°They didn¡¯t penetrate too deep.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± ¡°You¡¯re bleeding. Better check that out.¡± Eh, a heavy breathing Sula thought wiping the gore off his blade, not of the same opinion. ¡°Where¡¯s Lord Ton¡¯s men?¡± He asked eyeing the lone figures of Tollor¡¯s raiding party disappear into the mist of the Fenlands. ¡°Find me Sir Blenk, or the Mayor!¡± he ordered and started towards the Citadel and Baro¡¯s 2nd Maniple of the First Century that had blocked the access to the interior of the estate just behind the gates. ¡°Anyone went through?¡± Sula asked the sweaty Decanus. ¡°They were heading for the city sir,¡± Baro replied. ¡°But we managed to intercept them.¡± ¡°Everyone just up and left?¡± ¡°Difficult to know, I don¡¯t think so.¡± ¡°Damn it,¡± Sula cursed and spat down, getting little out of his dried up mouth. ¡°How did they do that Decanus?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve no idea sir,¡± Baro replied. ¡°Should we go after them?¡± Sula stared at the expanding bogs starting just where the south walls of the mire-infested city ended. That¡¯s a very big chunk of land and we¡¯ve no idea how many are in there, he thought. Shitty, bug-infested land, but big as a motherfucker. ¡°Dumont find out what is going on with our center. That¡¯s a whole lotta booms I¡¯m hearing and they aren¡¯t coming from the sky,¡± he ordered his aide with a deep sigh and grimaced seeing the hefty Marlene approaching with an armful of ring-adorned ears she expertly tied in a necklace with a string and a bloody needle. Fuck¡¯s sake. Take the jewelry, leave the god-darn ear behind woman! ¡°Anyone alive?¡± Sula croaked more than a little disturbed at the ghastly sight, but too drained to argue with the warband¡¯s leader. ¡°Nah,¡± Marlene replied and used her teeth to tie the knot and finish her ¡®necklace¡¯. ¡°They died pretty fast milord.¡±
Duke Hoff¡¯s risky feint was a partial success. It would have been a complete knockout punch given the timing, but several unnatural occurrences interfered inconveniencing the Lord of Tollor to put it mildly. His fleet reached the Isles undetected, but then got plagued by a mist so thick it was impossible to navigate through and it turned the flotilla immobile soon after. They spent the night tightly bunched up together just outside the small port of Wolffish isle, the biggest island in the small chain surrounding the Fenlands. In the early morning they sent a couple of ships to search the nearby waters and just as they approached the shores, Sir Dolf¡¯s patrolling Pascor fleet caught them when the mist dissolved without warning. The two fleets had almost run into each other and after a brief shock to tell friend from foe a vicious naval engagement begun not ten miles from the port. While this was happening Tollor¡¯s marines landed on one of the smaller islands near the usually sunk at this time of year path leading to Pascor¡¯s soft underbelly, probably with the help of bribed locals, marched through the terrible terrain sticking to the old road for hours and reached the elevated central portion of the Fenlands. They set up a camp there, about three hours from the shores and their boats. These inner isles, were a wilderness basically, but the locals living on the outer Isles, the ¡®Fish Folk¡¯, knew how to find the way out of them and Lord Ton had made considerable efforts to create a workable road initially, before giving up. He realized that whatever progress he made during the lake¡¯s summer, the bogs would undone in the winter. A large raiding party scouting ahead, found the road to Pascor and they decided to test its defenses early the next day. The rest of Tollor¡¯s considerable landing force cleared the path towards their camp working fast and sent word to Duke Hoff that they could launch a substantial coordinated attack within forty eight hours, if the signal was given. The scouts sent to infiltrate Pascor got overzealous in their butchering and plundering ways alerting in turn the heavily engaged Sula of the danger to his flank. Sula pivoted part of his force to plug the hole and managed it, but a lot of raiders had entered the city in the chaos. In the center Sula had surprised the advancing First Foot and pushed them back in disarray, some centuries reaching Duke Henk¡¯s rampart and attacking its machines. A bloody scrap was fought near the steel, giant ballista-like Deliverer, with legionnaires trying desperately to break the sturdy machine, losing valuable time and stalling their assault on Henk¡¯s hard-pressed force. The Duke that had just defended a heavy cavalry charge by Sir Gatrell on the north side of the battlefield, rode back hard and ordered his reserves forward. Sula¡¯s forces that had pushed and split the First Foot away from the walls and towards the river, got pushed back in turn and with the south flank crumbling as the Pascor officers had overreacted to the raiding party leaving a single maniple holding the line, Prefect Jacobred ordered the Legion back. A relieved Henk didn¡¯t order a pursuit towards the walls of the city, as his force had gotten mauled hard in the mist that had covered the center of the battlefield specifically, but opted to regroup near the bridge trying to salvage as much of his war machines as he could. The Deliverer was spared, much to Sula¡¯s dismay, when he was informed of the last part of the day¡¯s activities, despite considerable losses in men from both sides. Ironically while the heroic attackers and defenders near the calamitous machine had suffered equally ¨Cwith more legionnaires killed near it than anywhere else in the field especially in the four explosions that decimated half a maniple- the desperation of the defenders that hurled the weapon¡¯s ammunition to stop the Legionnaires stubborn advance had dire consequences for them as well. An unnamed legionnaire hurled a javelin that killed one of the weapon¡¯s operators just as he was about to use whatever it was they were using in the device on them. The operator, one of Wim Luiken¡¯s most promising students, was shoved backwards losing control and the subsequent massive chain of explosions killed nine out of ten engineers standing behind him ready to throw their load as well and thirty bystanders. It teared them apart in so many pieces it was difficult to tell one from the other. The tenth member of their team just dissolved, leaving not even a hair behind. Try hard as he did, Duke Henk got no one competent willing to risk his life on the machine again and decided to proceed with Lord Hoff¡¯s plan that was a combined assault on Pascor from two sides, provided the bulk of the landed in the Fenlands large marine force moved en masse this time and in the hopes that the fleet would manage to open another front at the rear pushing Pascor¡¯s defending fleet aside. As much as these things habitually go, these were a lot of hypotheticals Duke Henk was counting on breaking his way and the stubborn Sula had showed him already that the IV Legio was a very difficult nut to crack. Also as difficult Pascor was to defend, given its modest fortifications in contrast to most other Issir, or Lorian cities, it was much more difficult to attack or control. Without permission¡­
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 329. Maidens War (3/5)
¡°What¡¯s beyond the big lake?¡± Ebhen asked his mother and she paused at her table, mixing vials spread over its surface, some still bubbling and their colors all the hues of the rainbow. Some he knew, others she wouldn¡¯t allow him to touch. ¡®You¡¯re too young and this path must come to you. Or it won¡¯t. Not the other way around.¡¯ Her old ways and stories of doom and gloom. Ebhen wished he could understand her more, but even if he could speak her tongue, some things about her were shrouded in mystery. Like her name. ¡®The Realm listens¡¯, she always cautioned him. ¡®What you speak aloud creeps ever closer. Life is a maze dear, but there are roads out of it, you don¡¯t want to take.¡¯ "Well?" He insisted. ¡°Another human city,¡± she replied cautiously, rapping her long nails on the table. ¡°Is my father there?¡± ¡°Your father¡­ was unimportant,¡± she murmured staring at her fingers. ¡°A lapse in judgement on a feverish summer night. Loneliness getting the better of an old soul and the Gods intervening to have their laugh with me.¡± ¡°I want to visit him,¡± Ebhen insisted stubbornly and got up. A black cat approached him, but the cat wasn¡¯t real. He kicked it away just the same. ¡°I want to make friends, away from this place.¡± ¡°We visit Pascor,¡± she reminded him. ¡°You don¡¯t like it.¡± That town was a fucking dump, but that wasn¡¯t the main reason for not liking it. Ebhen showed her his bare arm, the shirt he wore one of her old robes cut and turned into a small tunic for him. ¡°Not my people.¡± ¡°Neither are those beyond the lake,¡± she told him and got up to approach him. His mother was tall and gracious, long flowing mostly purple and blue hair, with some white in them. She cupped both sides of his face and brought her forehead near his. The long finger tracing his ears, stopping at the pronounced tips, nowhere near as elongated as hers, but different if one paid them close attention. ¡°They¡¯ll never love you.¡± ¡°Unless?¡± Young Ebhen croaked sensing there was more to it. ¡°There¡¯s a path,¡± his mother murmured and touched her soft lips on his forehead. ¡°That may give you what you seek, but it¡¯s full of dangers.¡± ¡°What else?¡± he probed stubbornly and she pulled away with a deep sigh. ¡°Fame, trinkets¡­ sex,¡± Ebhen frowned, as he didn¡¯t care about that. ¡°You will,¡± she said, reading his mind. ¡°What else?¡± ¡°Friends, lots of travels,¡± she replied after a small pause. ¡°A life away from me.¡± Ebhen longed for all those things. But he loved her also. She was the only person he really knew. ¡°You could come with me,¡± he offered eagerly, already smiling at the prospect. ¡°I can¡¯t,¡± his mother had told him sadly. ¡°I must wait here, for the raiders will come this way again. By the time it¡¯s over, I fear you¡¯ll be long gone.¡± ¡°How do you know? It hasn¡¯t happened yet. Many roads remember mum?¡± Ebhen countered curious and she¡¯d looked away to hide her tears, strained voice coming out a whisper. ¡°I¡¯ve seen your stupid statue in all of them.¡±
Nard Maiden¡¯s War Part III -Crabs & Hag¡¯s Garden-
Shhh, the Hag whispered in his head. Let me hear this part. ¡°What¡¯s across the mere, fish boy?¡± The Crab soldier asked, black face covered in week¡¯s old growth white as snow. Eyes a sickly yellow and skin cracked from exposure to the elements. Nard turned his eyes beyond the edge of the old stone path, the stones unseen, sunk deep under soft mud and cut grass. The old Willow trees standing crooked over the shallow still water, their weirdly leafed branches touching it at spots and blocking the view of the land behind them. ¡°More trees,¡± Nard replied and hopped over a fallen trunk, landing on the trotted path cut through the Fenlands. The Duke had built bridges and brought wagons upon wagons of large boulders to elevate the terrain, poured gravel and crushed stone to beat back the bog, but each season the mud gained more ground. The terrain was traversable all the way from the Isle, if one didn¡¯t mind getting a little wet and Nard didn¡¯t mind. You just followed the scrubs and the cattails, the brighter green road marking the real path, as the larger black-barked trees couldn¡¯t grow on the hard packed terrain underneath the mud. The Duke¡¯s efforts were partially successful in that regard. ¡°How the fuck does Pascor get these type of trees here?¡± The marine from Tollor grunted eyeing the ominous misty grove beyond the flooded path they were following. A Captain had asked him the same question a couple of days back. Nard didn¡¯t know. That is, he kind of knew, but he wasn¡¯t going to tell them. Shhh, boy. You hear that? Silence is bliss. And rare. Uhm. She always could do that. Speak to you without anyone noticing. Nard believed she did it to everyone visiting the Fenlands, but the grownups were too prideful to admit it. Sometimes she would come to his dreams if she was bored. Nard had touched her once in his dreams. Though she looked a bit different then. Her skin was cool and slick like porcelain. Her hair were white like a purebred Issir, but with purple strands in it. That skin a pale white and flawless, but for the small blue veins at her wrists and the sides of her heavy breasts. She had come to him naked. Nard hadn¡¯t told anyone about it. It wasn¡¯t pride, or fear, because there was plenty of the latter, but pure greed. He didn¡¯t want to share the moment with anyone else. ¡°Are you deaf?¡± The Crab soldier snapped and grabbed him by the shoulder. Nard snaked away from him. ¡°Fucking weirdo.¡±If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Aye, these people are right creepy,¡± his friend agreed with a grimace. A younger man, wearing that same armour. Issirs from Tollor. They have taken his father. Snatched him from their fishing boat and onto their big ships. Red crabs painted on their banners and armed to their teeth. They are up to no good Nard, his father had warned him. You do what they say now and worry not about me. So Nard had brought them to the Duke¡¯s place near the edge of the Fenlands. Showed them the paths and kept his mouth shut for the whole way. Eighty had gone to Pascor, but only ten had returned. Not all of them had died there. The Wolffish was a harsh lord. Nobody really liked him, but you ain¡¯t supposed to like your lord. You are allowed to hate outsiders though, Nard thought. Hate is a strong word hehe. Ah, just come over the water, the fish are sleeping. They¡¯ve taken my father! Nard retorted angrily and grinned stupidly at the scowling soldier. We need to get him back! Joris is dead boy. We, are not a thing, she chuckled, a bird flying away from a branch breaking the stillness of the humid spot. It wasn¡¯t quiet of course, but after a while you got used to the sounds of the swamp. Tuned them out. The usually permanent mist covering everything opting to stay around the inner island grove like a grey blanket. The mist like everything else unnatural. What? No! He had flinched in shock and the wary soldier narrowed his eyes. How do you know? Nard¡¯s grin had turned into a snarl and the Tollor soldier frowned and glanced at the rest of his patrol, but they shrugged it off with a scoff. Their camp huge and quite some time down the opened path to the south. They had patrols covering the route to Pascor and watching for the Duke¡¯s reaction. But they were few and far between mainly due to the distances involved. The Fenlands were a huge parch of land and water, the Isles tiny in comparison. I caught a fat Wolffish yesterday and told me it had Joris for dinner. Nard reached for his machete and freed it from the custom made rough leather sheath. He gripped it with his right hand tight and then started walking towards the group of armed soldiers talking amongst themselves about some operation and plunder. One of the Crabs saw him approaching, a determined look on his tanned face, but didn¡¯t think much of it. He turned to his friends again, four of them, to continue their discussion, but paused the words dying down abruptly. Nard stopped himself and listened for the usual sounds of the bogs, but all he heard was a deafening silence. It made his ears ring. ¡°Uher¡¯s light,¡± one of the Tollor marines gasped. ¡°Where did she come from?¡± Nard crooked his head from where he was standing, a couple of meters from the group, to see what they were seeing. There in the middle of the well-trotted muddy path, the woman of his dream stood. Only she didn¡¯t look much like a woman now. ¡°What the fuck is that sprouting out of her head?¡± A soldier queried sounding bewildered. ¡°Are those plaguin¡¯ ears?¡± ¡°Oras hells,¡± another cursed equally stunned. ¡°You¡¯re god darn right sarge. Fuck!¡± ¡°Hey! You freak,¡± the third barked, a hand reaching for his blade. ¡°Can you speak? Come over here!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not getting in the water,¡± the Hag argued, her Common accent weird, but strangely pleasant, a strange gleam in her silvery large eyes. Nard realized the patrol was standing much further to his left now, out of the path and waist deep in the shallow mere. The color of the suddenly wildly stirring water turning a dark red fast. The screams of the terrified men getting eaten alive disturbing the silent wilderness and erupting a thunderous response. Just like that birds started chirping loudly, insects clacking and buzzing, frogs croaking, snakes slithering unseen in the mud and the moist branches and tall grass moving with a hissing whisper at the touch of a soft breeze. ¡°The fish get mad, if you disturb them in their sleep,¡± the Hag elucidated with a shrug and used her long staff to shove a squeaking marine trying to get out of the water back in. The man¡¯s lower body shredded apart, his bloody pants ruined and the flesh torn leaving the bones exposed. Another tried to escape crying desperately and she stooped over him as he crawled out using his arms and elbows to dig in the soft mud. The Hag grabbed his chin with her long fingers yanked it once to the side, the crack heard so clear, a numb Nard dropped his machete without realizing it. With a sigh, as if the dying men splashing about desperately in the shallows were annoying her, the Hag plucked the dead soldier¡¯s right eye out casually and slurped it down her gullet. ¡°Mmm,¡± she let out a pleased hum and Nard¡¯s stomach contents burst out of his mouth and nose so fast, he didn¡¯t have time to direct the putrid torrent down. The Hag stared at him vomiting for a moment and then pointed a bloody thin finger at the gruesome site that had been an idyllic pond just moments ago. ¡°Wash your mouth and face. Don¡¯t drink from this spot,¡± she cautioned him. ¡°But do bring me that torso that¡¯s floating near. I haven¡¯t had ribs in a while.¡±
An hour later Nard was still near the tranquil waters, the bloody remains quickly devoured from the Fenlands fauna. A rare spotted jaguar had made an appearance, along a giant white snake that had just unfurled over the water hanging from a branch and examined the floating remains thoughtfully, before going away. The sounds of the Hag cracking the bones to reach at the fresh marrow surreal. He wanted to run away, but he was too scared to turn his back to her. So Nard had just stood there and watched her gnawing at the torso he¡¯d brought out of the water for her. Strangely the wolffishes had left him alone, just as she had predicted. ¡°There¡¯s some left,¡± she told him, producing a cloth to wipe her bloody mouth. ¡°Some preferred it as a roast, but you lose on the meat¡¯s potency.¡± Allgods. ¡°How long?¡± Nard croaked, a sabre added to his waistband along a couple of harpoons, he¡¯d taken out of the water and tied over his back. ¡°They were in the water? Moments,¡± the Hag replied casually. ¡°The spell breaks easily, if pain is inflicted¡­ or pleasure,¡± she chuckled at the latter, finding humor where there was none. ¡°You didn¡¯t look like this in the dream,¡± Nard noted with a grimace. ¡°You were too aroused to notice. It has happened before,¡± the disturbingly alluring and shapely Hag paused with a frown and got up. She was much taller than him and in his sixth and tenth year, Nard wasn¡¯t a short young man. Her long pale blue robes dirty and covered in mud. ¡°I had to move fast to intervene,¡± she explained seeing his eyes staying at her garbs. ¡°I forget how sensitive your species can be to loss. Joris was a good boy. He used to bring me stuff when he was little.¡± Nard licked his dry lips and attempted to step back, when she came closer to him. He failed, his legs unwilling to obey. The Hag¡¯s expressive eyes changed color, taking the muddy green of their surroundings for a moment afore returning to that gleaming liquid silver. ¡°Do you want to see my garden?¡± she asked with a smile. The twin fangs in her mouth scary and belonging to a predator. ¡°It¡¯s rather nice.¡± ¡°Ahm¡­ all trees are the same,¡± Nard murmured not wanting to go with her. ¡°No they are not,¡± she replied with a glare. ¡°That¡¯s a silly notion.¡± Nard glanced at the misty grove beyond the mere and gulped down nervously. ¡°Can I refuse?¡± She frowned and stood back. ¡°Mmm. No,¡± the exotic creature admitted. ¡°You can¡¯t.¡± ¡°Will you let me leave?¡± ¡°If I do, you¡¯ll talk about it. It will get you killed Nard,¡± the Hag explained. ¡°I don¡¯t want that. You can hear me, not many can.¡± Nard nodded and sighed. ¡°You said it happened before,¡± he murmured and frowned seeing the mist expanding towards them. ¡°What came of it?¡± The Hag gave him her hand and he took it unsure. ¡°Ebhen,¡± she whispered reminiscing. ¡°A divine gift to this realm.¡± Nard followed her inside the shallows again, still apprehensive of the fishes swimming between his sunk legs. ¡°Was it? A gift?¡± Nard asked apprehensively, as crossing the water in the blind was the fastest way to get you killed in the Fenlands. Cajoling with the Hag being as dangerous, he supposed. She paused and turned around to look at him for a long moment, lost in her thoughts. It ended with a gnarly smile that strangely had a lot of fondness in it, as much as it was familiar. ¡°Ebhen was a naughty boy,¡± the Hag explained. ¡°So he went his own way.¡± Familiar because it reminded Nard of his late mother. ¡°Where did he go?¡± he asked and felt her hand warming up, the feeling running up his arm and soothing his tired muscles. ¡°Home,¡± the Hag replied sadly and that was that.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 330. Maidens War (4/5) Lord Remy Van Calcar had three sons The firstborn they found bound in bloody leather thongs Deep in them reeds where the air cries in squishes. The feared Wolffish still roams the bogs writing wrongs Rotten, whispery murmurs, bones and untold buried riches The third be lording in Pascor and in ¡®em sultry songs While he tends to the blue lobster lass¡¯ wishes Old-Hag singing amidst the Wolf-fishes Thou should fear the lake witch¡¯s wishes - The ancient Fenlands Song Here the full controversial verses of its first turn (Circa 193)
Lord Ton Van Calcar Maiden¡¯s War Part IV -The Wolffish-
Ulf Vicard, his bodyguard, waved the Mayor¡¯s man away to give Ton some time to catch his breath. He¡¯d ridden fast from the port district upon hearing of the assault on the Citadel, but by the time he arrived, the situation had sort of resolved itself. ¡°Jos,¡± he greeted Lord Hagels, his Treasurer and the disheveled Baron of the Isles gave a nod with his head from across the room. ¡°My lord.¡± ¡°How many did we get?¡± he asked tiredly walking to a cupboard to find something to wash the bad taste from his mouth. He opted for a bottle of Aegium wine. Sweet and stomach turning enough to make you forget everything else. ¡°About fifteen of them,¡± Vicard replied. A Nord-Issir half-breed he¡¯d personally risen in status and kept around for the stuff weaker palates couldn¡¯t handle. He belched, the burning in his stomach increasing. ¡°Mostly around the market and one in the slums. A brothel.¡± Ton nodded and eyed Sir Blenk returning probably from a meeting with Sula. ¡°Anyone alive?¡± ¡°In the dungeons,¡± Vicard replied, his square jaw and black skin contrasting to his yellow-orange short hair. ¡°Weren¡¯t the cells flooded?¡± Ton asked and Vicard shrugged his broad shoulders indifferently. ¡°Bring him here¡­no,¡± he decided seeing Aafke coming out of her quarters to greet him. ¡°To the stables old building. Aafke, I¡¯ll come to you in a moment,¡± he added. ¡°The worst is over.¡± She nodded, looking at the men surrounding him, but Ton doubted she¡¯d believed him. Aafke was young but not stupid. ¡°How the fuck did they manage to slip by Sula?¡± He grunted the moment the young woman left them, directing his ire on the worn out Sir Blenk. ¡°They didn¡¯t,¡± Blenk replied. ¡°They came from the Fenlands. We¡¯ve multiple witnesses confirming they returned there also.¡± No way, they just waltzed through that plaguing place! Is the Hag dead? ¡°Hagels,¡± Ton rustled seeing the Baron poring over a map open on a large conference table near the west wall of his throne room. One of the three used in his wedding, the other two he had them made into a coffin for Blenk¡¯s son. Ton walked across the hall to approach the busy Lord of the Purse. ¡°The west approach is out of the question. The currents coming from the river delta and the terrain make it impossible to land there, more so find your way towards Pascor. Has something changed, I¡¯m not aware of?¡± ¡°They didn¡¯t come from there,¡± Hagels assured him. ¡°They landed either on the Isles, or the side of the Fenlands facing the north, where the land is sturdier.¡± Blenk rubbed his face with a gloved hand tiredly. ¡°We still control the Isle Port,¡± he informed him. ¡°Dolf is engaged with the Crabs fleet,¡± Ton murmured and made to have some more of his wine, but decided against it. ¡°Someone bring me a beer, or a carafe of ale,¡± he ordered one of the guards and the man nodded leaving the hall and closing the door behind him. ¡°Right,¡± Ton continued and stooped over the map of the Lake Hagels was reading. ¡°You think they peeled off the transports and made a landing afore Wolffish Isle? Fishermen use those beaches. A good number of boats can unload troops there.¡± ¡°So they marched through?¡± Blenk asked looking over the leather map. ¡°How did they know where to find the paths?¡± ¡°They obviously did,¡± Ton said. ¡°If they managed to stumble upon our road¡­ a big if this. Huge. Anyways, then it¡¯s easy to find Pascor. You just follow it back.¡± ¡°The path is probably unusable,¡± Hagels murmured. ¡°Unless there are a lot of soldiers cutting through the bogs, a lot of hands can open a path. Then it don¡¯t much matter.¡± There¡¯s an elephant in the fucking room no one wants to address it appears, he thought. ¡°What does Sula say?¡± Ton asked. ¡°He expects an all-out attack from Duke Henk afore the end of the week. That¡¯s a couple of days¡¯ time, or less,¡± Blenk reported clearing his throat. ¡°Even if they come over the wall, we will fight them street by street up the slopes,¡± Ton said gravely. ¡°They¡¯ll run out of men.¡± But having that sneaky motherfucker Hoff on his flank is a problem, he thought sourly. Unless Dolf wins the naval battle, then it¡¯s still a problem, but not as big. Unless¡­ ¡°Hoff wouldn¡¯t have risked all his marines in the Fenlands right? Without even knowing where to go? That attack came too close¡­ we would have spotted the fleet. This was done in one trip. Right?¡± Ton asked thoughtfully. ¡°You think he has help?¡± Hagels asked and raised his head from the map. ¡°Obviously he does,¡± Ton grunted. ¡°I could get lost in there and I built the fucking road!¡± He breathed once deeply to calm himself down, the burning in his stomach increasing and then grimaced. ¡°There¡¯s a ruffian in all cities, at least one,¡± he explained looking at them. ¡°The thing is, why is she letting them come here? Or is she?¡± ¡°You are not suggesting the Hag is on our side milord,¡± Blenk grunted, his arms shaking trying to combat his rage. ¡°Surely you can¡¯t be thinking that!¡± Ton smacked his lips, a severe tick on his left brow, then used his thumb and index finger to press at the bridge of his nose to alleviate some of the pressure and give himself time. ¡°Blenk it was a simple query,¡± he finally said hoarsely. ¡°The moment I trust the Hag, I¡¯ll be a dead man,¡± Ton sighed. ¡°She killed my brother. Killed my sister. I have no love for her. But this is war and Hoff has no idea what he¡¯s stepping into. What seems implausible to us, might appear logical to him from afar. Now would he have unloaded his forces afore engaging Dolf?¡± he asked them again. ¡°If the answer is yes, or maybe, then we must know.¡± ¡°What do you want me to tell Sula?¡± Blenk asked furrowing his thick white brows. ¡°He wants to counter Duke Henk¡¯s assault and for that we have to secure his flank.¡± ¡°How is he going to counter¡­?¡± Ton asked a little perplexed as all Sula had to do was stay behind the walls and wait for winter, or reinforcements in his opinion. Let them come again and again. ¡°He wants to attack across the river,¡± Blenk replied. ¡°The machines have him spooked.¡± Witch¡¯s tits. ¡°Anyone has any idea where that cunt Henk found it?¡± Ton grunted, but his query was met with a lot of blank stares. Vicard¡¯s return livening the atmosphere somewhat. ¡°Milord,¡± The trusted warrior reported. ¡°The prisoner is in the stables.¡± Hagels raised his head with a perplexed frown. ¡°What prisoner?¡± He hadn¡¯t heard them talking about it earlier. ¡°You sit this one out Jos,¡± Ton replied with a thin smile. ¡°But do visit the Mayor to learn whether the citizens of Pascor are ready to murder us yet, or not. We have to know how much wiggle room we have here.¡±
Shit. The blood spurt had sprayed him in the face. Ton turned away and used a dirty cloth to clean some of the gore away. ¡°I nicked a vein milord,¡± Vicard apologized, trying to stop the bleeding applying a tourniquet on the man''s almost severed right arm. The Tollor soldier squirming in pain, his muffled cries through the cloth Vicard had shoved in his mouth nigh disturbing to the animals. ¡°Difficult not to,¡± Ton noted dryly and stooped over the soldier again. ¡°Hey, you¡¯ve got another arm. So this isn¡¯t a total loss. Now I¡¯ll make another question, or two. This time I want aye, or nays for answer. Free his mouth,¡± he ordered Vicard and waited for his man to finish the task afore asking gruffly. ¡°More than a thousand?¡± The whimpering prisoner nodded grinding his teeth. Jolts of agony making him squirm this way and that on the chair. ¡°Do they know the road?¡± Ton asked, forgiving him for not managing to speak immediately. ¡°Aye¡­ gods!¡± The soldier cried out. ¡°Hmm. Tell the truth now and all this will be over. What about the Hag?¡± Ton queried. ¡°Ah¡­ it hurts so much. Please. I don¡¯t know¡­¡± ¡°You know there¡¯s a vile witch living in the swamp, right?¡± Ton continued patiently. ¡°No¡­ what¡­ witch?¡± Damnit, Ton cursed and used the bloody cloth to clean his face some more. They didn¡¯t meet her at all. Is the Hag dead then? Was her fucking up his wedding a last act of malice towards his family? Is that it you vile witch? Have you kicked the bucket at last? ¡°Cut a bit of the other arm milord? Or use the screws?¡± Vicard asked unsure, bloody steel bonesaw in hand, the Tollor soldier gasping in horror. He ogled his eyes pleadingly unable to speak. ¡°Huh? No reason,¡± Ton replied and the soldier all but cried out in hope afore the Lord of Pascor finished his thought. ¡°Just kill him and toss his body in the bogs with the others.¡±
An increasingly worried Sula watched as the First Foot regrouped, a portion of it securing the north flank against another attack from Gatrell¡¯s cavalry. Henk had his reserve troops, mainly Tollor¡¯s force that had stayed beyond the Serene (around two thousand soldiers) brought over. It was most of his force, as the Duke had left the north flank across the north docks guarded by scouts and a detachment of regulars. The failed attempts to take the fishing village the previous month had soured him to that option. His decision heavily influenced by the presence of Tollor¡¯s marines, almost twelve hundred well-trained men -though the number had been given as high as two thousand, inside the Fenlands. With that flanking force on Sula¡¯s south he trusted that if he engaged the by now crumbling and poorly manned walls of Pascor directly, the defenders would retreat further inside the city. Once there panic and citizens turning on Lord Ton could probably seal Pascor¡¯s fate. Sula fortified main street arteries and the houses, blocked access to the north part of the city, but Pascor was built in such a way that it was easy for an attacker to penetrate the large south vines field, all the way to the small lake before the East Gates and cut the city in two. Especially if an attack from the south overwhelmed or knocked out the Citadel¡¯s defenses.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. The biggest reason for not favoring a fighting retreat was that Henk could receive reinforcements from Badum, or Riverdor. Even if Tollor couldn¡¯t commit more troops, the other two larger cities could. Despite the losses in men due to the catastrophe in Rida, the Van Durren had the bigger pool to replenish their manpower, even to a lesser extent. Sula had nothing, but Lord Ton¡¯s hope that Brownfort would support him. Even if he did, the Baron might come too late and if Lord Ton was overthrown, then the Fourth would have found itself in enemy territory and without any allies at all. Lord Ton, luckily for the Legatus, had returned to the city and took control of the situation from the slow moving Baron Hagels. The Duke had spent most of the siege in the half a day away Port District worrying about Tollor¡¯s fleet. His fear of a landing to his rear, where the terrain was more favorable, was alleviated when news finally reached him that Pascor¡¯s defending fleet had found, fought and eventually won against Hoff¡¯s invading force. The caveat being that the force had already landed in the Fenlands and was now moving against him. Lord Ton had around eight hundred men, plus Marlene¡¯s Brutes that could be used to defend the south flank, where the walls had been ruined by the encroaching swamp. He had the option to wait for the Tollor marines to come out of the Fenlands and defend the Citadel, or venture forth into the wilderness himself. Sula proposed, quite unsurprisingly an attack. They knew the way they were coming, he elucidated in a very long and tense war council that dragged deep into the night. Lord Ton wasn¡¯t enthusiastic about fighting in the Fenlands, but the Legatus suggestion while risky held merit. The men knew the land, they also feared as much as respected it, but Hoff¡¯s men had no idea what they were getting into. So he begrudgingly agreed to Sula¡¯s bold plan, deciding to lead the men himself and ordered Sir Dolf that was to bring the battered fleet to port along Pascor¡¯s marines and then inside the city, to instead turn around and follow the remnants of Tollor¡¯s fleet that were ahead of them. If Hoff¡¯s remaining ships didn¡¯t lead them to the transports, or if the latter were gone, then Sir Dolf was to follow and assault the fleeing fleet again if they anchored near the beaches west of the Clay Quarry. Sink the ships and cut off the Duke from his reinforcements. Sula didn¡¯t want to survive the battle. He wanted to win it decisively. But first Lord Ton had to march into the Fenlands, win and come out.
¡°Milord,¡± Vicard said clad in hardened leather armour. The Wolffish painted on his chest, its gnarly mouth open and mean eyes glaring. ¡°The men are ready to march over the bridge.¡± Ton stared at the white gravel he¡¯d used for his wedding. It had held up surprisingly well, the lack of rain helping and with only the dark spots where the gore had sipped in, marring its rather fancy appearance. He turned his eyes on the Grime Citadel next and wondered why he hadn¡¯t moved away from the bog. There was land away from it. Good land near the mountains and material to build a better home. Aafke with little Krista in her hands waved at him from the tiny stone balcony and he nodded trying to appear nonchalant about their adventure. ¡°Get them started Vicard,¡± he rustled and fixed the sheath of his sword on his waist. Checked his dagger and the shortsword as well. The mail vest loose on the sides, but a tight fit on the shoulders. ¡°There¡¯s word Sir Dolf captured five ships, sunk seven, milord,¡± Vicard said and Ton realized they were already walking over the half-rotten wooden bridge. ¡°We lost four and Captain Assen.¡± ¡°Mmm,¡± Ton murmured, his boots thudding in the muddy cobblestone. The road almost four meters wide, but holding surprisingly well with dutiful pruning. ¡°Assen was a good man.¡± Vicard frowned unsure. ¡°Whatever you say milord. The win will bolster the lads for sure.¡± ¡°Tollor can build more ships,¡± Ton said crooking his mouth. ¡°But marines he can¡¯t make as easy. Nor troops.¡± ¡°They are not coming out of the bogs milord,¡± Vicard assured him and Ton stared at the rows of fighters walking before them. As many following after them. The thing with the Fenlands was you couldn¡¯t bring animals inside, not in numbers. Any excursion involved a lot of walking. Swimming, if ye were unlucky. Wit creepy company, if Luthos wanted to make an example out of you. He shivered all over at the thought. ¡°If it starts raining,¡± Ton commented glancing at the cloudy sky. ¡°We might find it difficult to get back as well.¡± ¡°Only thing I fear is the Hag,¡± Vicard argued, as if Ton¡¯s bigger concern was the blasted weather. He¡¯d take on twice as many marines if that meant he wasn¡¯t going to face the witch. ¡°But the men say she¡¯s gone. The Crabs killed her. Maybe she got injured at the wedding. She¡¯s gotta be almost two hundred years old by now right?¡± Wouldn¡¯t surprise him none if that thing was ten times that. Ton sighed and smacked one meaty bug away with his gloved hand as the terrain started changing and the wild flora surrounded them from all sides. Gods help us. ¡°You and I know,¡± he rustled, glancing about him nervously. ¡°The Crabs have no idea she was even there.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s she then?¡± Lord Ton didn¡¯t know the answer to that so he said nothing. Battle of the inner isles, Hag¡¯s Fenlands Late fall 192 Part of the greater siege of Pascor, Also known as the ''Battle at Serene River'', -Native name ¡®Wolffish & the blotting mire¡¯- Sixth week Eight hours later Unknown location ¡°AAAAH-HEERLG!¡± the Tollor marine running towards him, both arms raised above his helmet to swing that long sword-cleaver of his, had his furious bellow turned into a yelp of pain, then a weak gurgle. He¡¯d stumbled abruptly, left boot finding a sink in the mud and staying rooted behind him. The tall man had lurched forward, bone snapping at the knee joint and then shockingly tearing away completely, everything under the knee staying sunk in the mire¡¯s hard grip, long sword-cleaver ¨Cthe blade on it more than a meter- flying towards a wildly grimacing Ton that ducked under it losing his own helmet in the spastic attempt. Lord Ton rolled on the loose gravel, reached the end of it and splashed inside the water that snaked around the rises all about them. He jumped out of it panicked the next moment, landed next to the still shuddering in his death throes marine, the man had nailed his neck on a sneakily sharp protruding root clean through, carotid to back of nape. Ton grunted in disgust when another Tollor marine jumped out of the foliage and trotted towards him, nasty steel-bladed harpoon in hands. The initial scrap had turned into an all-out battle deep inside the bogs, with Ton¡¯s force splitting in smaller and smaller groups, as men got lost inside Fenlands¡¯ misty innards and its wilderness, which was in a sense exactly what had happened to Hoff¡¯s invading force. A big, long battle, fought in many smaller skirmishes, further and further away from the carved road Ton had tried to build. Hours in it, Ton had given up trying to win and was just determined to make it out, as he had no idea if Hoff¡¯s men would ever reach Pascor. They appeared hopelessly lost and that first initial success a fluke, or a cunning lure. Ton parried the harpoon aside, darn thing scraping down his left leg, cutting through his pants and injuring his ankle. The Lord of Pascor retaliated with a brutal off-hand dagger in his opponent¡¯s face, the thin blade snapping when he tried to yank it out of the horrific wound. Ton growled in pain, the half-dead marine recoiled spraying hot blood everywhere and another group of five came running out of the wilderness. Blood in my piss. ¡°Milord!¡± an injured Vicard cried out, with a grim-looking Sir Blenk following right behind looking for him. Ton opened his mouth to warn them, had no breath to spare and grunted, unsheathing his shortsword instead. The Tollor marines reached his position, recognized the bronze, gnarly-looking fish-heads, on his shoulder-pads and flinched half-excited half-scared shitless. In a rare proud moment for that horrid day, Ton Van Calcar realized it was as scary for his enemies to face him in the swamp as it was for him and grinned a toothy smile. Initial surprise aside, the Tollor marines rushed him with cries of fury, loud enough to alert Vicard and Sir Blenk, as despite the day not being over yet, the thickening mist and diminishing light made it difficult to spot stuff in the swampy wilderness. Which was of course outright murderous in a close fight. Ton blocked a sword with his, the blades flashing where steel met steel and pushed it back. He stabbed a second man right at the hilt, mistaking his blade for shorter. His opponent lost three fingers, one of them smacking Ton on the nose, but his sword tip ripped his mail vest where it was loose, the rings breaking and the force making the bindings snap. Ton groaned and kicked violently the inside of the Crab¡¯s right thigh, got punched in the left ear with a bloody hit and twirled around dazed as a trout brought over the boat¡¯s rails. The Tollor marine with the missing fingers went for his dagger, left hand fumbling with the handle in his panic, mutilated right spraying blood like a rotten sewer hose. Mud, roots and decaying leaves. Drenched foul smelling grass and bleached bones popping out of the sludge as he faltered backwards trying to find his footing. Vicard bodied a Tollor marine with a roar, the scrap losing any semblance of tactics, or plan and devolving into a chaotic brawl to the death with no visible, or clear objective other than staying alive. Blenk severed an arm downing his longsword, the unwieldy blade striking the watery mire and sinking to the midst. The knight made to wrench it out, but got more than a foot of shaft through the back, the harpoon¡¯s blade exploding out of his wrapped plate, a handbreadth to the left side of his navel. ¡°Duck!¡± Ton growled furious, the injured knight heard him and complied stooping over the messy bloody wound and Ton¡¯s blade whipped with a scream over his back, caught the Tollor marine bellow the chin. It was just a touch as the man had jolted his head back to avoid the slash, but it was enough. The torrent of blood jumped a meter high and then fell like rain over them, but Ton paid him no more attention already moving to help Vicard, who was getting knifed in the kidneys repeatedly from behind by a cursing marine, while he was busy sawing another¡¯s head off with his custom fat cleaver-like blade. The man under him, using his own hand to stop the gnarly blade going back and forth, but despite steel grinding on bone, it didn¡¯t slowed down at all. Ton stumbled forward on a bad, still bleeding, ankle and hacked at the Crab¡¯s hard leather armour with his sword. Once and it bounced off the metal shoulder pads, the blade slicing the screaming man¡¯s ear clean off, the severed piece of bloody flesh flying away into the mist. Twice and the injured marine dropped his dagger and twisted away, but got nailed under the nape just the same as Ton had followed him, the split in the armour showing white bone afore filling with gore. Thrice and the snarling soldier turned around, gawking scared green eyes huge, Ton¡¯s blade plunging towards him without pity. Ah. Ton coughed a splotch of phlegm down and yanked the blade out of the caved in Tollor marine¡¯s face, some of the pulverized brain matter spilling out of the split skull along gory liquids and pieces of splintered bone as the blade has turned in Ton¡¯s hand at the last moment. All Ton could hear was a swamp frog burping between croaks and Vicard¡¯s pained groans. A fucking mess. ¡°You need¡­ to get out of the accursed bogs Ton,¡± Blenk grunted, the loyal Shield sitting under an ancient moss covered tree, blood trail leading there looking like just darker shaded mud. ¡°We did all we could.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± Ton murmured and stared at Vicard¡¯s bloodshot eyes. The half-breed had his opponent¡¯s severed head still clenched in his gore-covered hands. Drink as much ale as you can milord, was Vicard¡¯s motto in life and die fighting like mad over clean frozen snow. It was as close as it can be Ulf, Ton thought, but that was all he could do for him. ¡°I¡¯ll take you back on the road,¡± he told a fainting pale Blenk and glanced up trying to catch a glimpse of the cloudy sky. The mist had cleared a bit, but there was no visible sun above them, or sky. A green and brown mouldy canopy. When his eyes returned on the still, misty opening deep inside the bogs, a young half-Issir half-Lorian man was standing two meters from him. He had stitched garbs on and no armour, but was armed to the teeth. ¡°What are you?¡± Ton grunted raising his sword. ¡°Where did you come from?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Nard, of the Wolffish Isles,¡± the young man said, a strained look on his face. ¡°Milord.¡± Eh. A bloody native. ¡°Any more of them that way?¡± The young man shook his head in the negative. ¡°They emptied their camp and marched in three large groups. One following the other and the path,¡± he said in his Fish-Folk heavy dialect. ¡°A village walked inside the bogs milord heading for your city.¡± ¡°What happened?¡± Ton knew they hadn¡¯t face that many, or perhaps they had and he didn¡¯t know. ¡°They didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t what boy?¡± ¡°Made it milord,¡± Nard replied and smiled toothily, a creepy undertone in it. The Fish-Folk of the Isles were a weird breed of people. All they knew was fishing and the ways of the Fenlands. Ton glanced at the still breathing Blenk and gulped down. ¡°You¡¯re going to help me carry him back on the path. You know the way¡ª¡± He paused and stared at the blade the young man had shoved in his ribs. The blood pooling around it and leaking down that weakened part of his armour. Little shit. Ton slashed wide with his sword, but Nard jumped away from him nimbly and stopped two meters away, afore getting up. The murderous native had tears in his eyes. The Lord of Pascor tried to move towards the crazy teenager, but the blade had cut him bad and he stopped to get it out. The pain blinding, so he went slow at it. It probably didn¡¯t help at all. ¡°Why?¡± he groaned grinding his teeth, eyes narrowed and his injured bleeding ear ringing. ¡°She made me do it,¡± Nard cried, a harpoon held tightly in his hands. Ton cursed and stumbled, then dropped on a knee frustrated. Fucking¡­ bitch. ¡°YOU FUCKING BITCH!¡± He growled tipping his head back, the roar echoing about the sinister drenched moss-covered trunks, the rotten branches and the bloating already attracting hordes of insects¡¯ corpses. Ton used his sword as a cane, but failed to lift himself back up. The blade sinking in the mud slowly unable to take his weight. He dropped on his arse, breathing heavy and eyed the distraught Nard looking at him from a safe distance. ¡°Where is she?¡± He spat angry and the lurking Hag stepped out of the tall reeds, walking carefully to avoid the watery sludge, using her long staff to keep her balance. She stood next to the bleeding out Blenk, the knight on his last moments and grimaced. ¡°He loved your sister,¡± the Hag told him and chuckled seeing an incensed Ton trying to force himself upright. ¡°Don¡¯t blame the kid.¡± ¡°Curse his rotten lineage. Fuck his blasted village and fuck him!¡± Ton growled irate, too hurt to move and feeling his strength draining. ¡°I have,¡± the Hag replied and frowned as if surprised he¡¯d figured it out. ¡°But it is unimportant. I have to go now Lord of Pascor. Our deal is completed.¡± ¡°We¡­ had¡­ no plaguing deal!¡± Ton growled, his mouth flooded with his own blood and a bit of vomit, the hand kept on his sweltering wound drenched in it. It was warm and sticky. ¡°You ruled in your brother¡¯s stead and brought the general here because you were greedy and lustful,¡± the Hag explained. ¡°Your brother that is not as greedy, but has more ambition where it matters, shall take over. Make a couple of good kids out of your bride and honor his deals. And yours I suppose. I can¡¯t have you backing out.¡± Screw you. ¡°Drink piss and¡­ die,¡± Ton croaked and looked about him with bloodshot eyes for something... anything, to use against her. ¡°You won this Wolffish, but you¡¯ll never get out. One in two, it¡¯ll have to do, eh?¡± the Hag replied tauntingly and with a sigh stared at the sad Nard. ¡°Are you ready my clumsy lover? Let¡¯s go visit the city and leave Lord Ton to his own accords. Sshhh,¡± she warned the livid, scornful Lord of Pascor. ¡°Noise will hurt you.¡± Ton watched her walking away, followed by the young man, until the mist covered her completely. He stayed there, where he¡¯d dropped for many hours and was alive for most of them. Even survived stubbornly having his whole face slowly eaten away by bugs and succumbed to severe blood loss eventually, a quivering madman, leaving a gnarling bloody skull behind.
The mud had claimed all signs of the scrap a day later, or two and a heavy rain that started a week after that and lasted for well over a week, took care of the rest. Nobody knows what happened to the Lord of Pascor, or his entourage and while there is an official version told by the few survivors that made it out ¨CPascor lost all but a hundred men inside the bogs- the story the natives whisper until this day, is that Lord Ton took the Hag¡¯s place in the Fenlands after killing her. The Wolffish is still lurking about in the clammy mist, amidst the reeds and the Willow trees. Lord Hoff¡¯s whole marine force had the same exact fate. Nobody has seen or heard from them again.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 331. Maidens War (5/5)
Legatus Nonus Sula Maiden¡¯s War Part V -Hard headed, steely resolve-
Siege of Pascor, Late fall 192 Also known as the ¡®Battle at Serene River¡¯, -Native name ¡®Lobster day¡¯- Sixth week Late morning IV Legio center, Vines Forest edge & Citadel corner Five street junction afore Admiralty boulevard Sula¡¯s command, 1st Century Henk¡¯s second piercing assault The boulder plunged on the hard cobblestone, pulverized it on impact, stones turning to fine dust, bounced half a foot high and hit the base of the barricade with a deafening thud, cracked but still relatively intact. Then went right out the other way. ¡°Thick-skinned bitch,¡± Dumont cursed, seeing the inside of the barricade exploding, smashed pieces of rocks, bricks, broken timber and plain dirt ripping through the men standing behind it. A wrapped legion helmet covered in gore came tumbling towards their position. The sound of injured soldiers screaming, drown by the sound of the Issir infantry advance. ¡°Papus!¡± Sula barked getting out of from behind the building. The Decanus had appeared from the other side walking briskly towards the dust covered opening. ¡°Bring the Maniple here!¡± ¡°Sir, Trebius is injured, the Centurion wants me to take over!¡± Papus yelled and stooped instinctively as a Scorpio bolt plunged three meters right of their position, after striking the wall of a two story building and ricocheting their way. ¡°Where are the medics?¡± Sula grunted and followed after him trying to see through the chaos and over the barricade. ¡°Most have rushed to the Citadel corner. The main attack is towards the Admiralty building sir!¡± Papus reported and accepted a shield from a legionnaire, to inspect the damage. Slingers were firing over the barricade at the approaching enemy soldiers, the metallic dull ringing of lead shot hitting armour and helmets coming in hair-raising waves. RAT-A-TAT-TAT. Sula glanced at Trebius being carried away, his left arm a mess and gathered in half a bloody blanket and grimaced, deep lines forming on his strained face. ¡°We got this sir,¡± Papus assured him and saluted. Ah. Sula nodded and turned around towards the frowned Dumont, his aide¡¯s dirty face fully hidden under his tightly knotted cheekguards, but for the eyes and a bit of his unshaven chin. They were all covered in filth and reeked of sweat. Dumont had brought their horses out. ¡°They have brought machines inside the Vines,¡± his aide reminded him. ¡°That shot could have gone either way Legatus.¡± ¡°Damn it Pete,¡± Sula sneered climbing on the wooden military saddle. ¡°You got as lucky back there.¡± ¡°Indeed sir,¡± Dumont yielded and expounded on his reasoning. ¡°Which is why this was a warning addressed to the both of us.¡±
Sula found out that the Third Cohort had retreated to the edge of Pascor Lake forest, half of it manning the barricaded approach to the Admiralty cadet barracks. Dumont had to get between him and Prefect Jacobred who had ordered the retreat, as the Legatus exploded in anger when he realized the Citadel was in danger. ¡°They used the undergrowth and the Vines to attack the walls,¡± the flushed Prefect explained. ¡°There¡¯s fighting happening right now in the Duke¡¯s stables. If they take the estate¡¯s walls, the men would be exposed to arrow fire in the open. I had to pull them to cover Legatus.¡± ¡°Is the Citadel evacuated?¡± Dumont asked to give Sula time to get ahold of himself, the fuming Legatus pacing back and forth watching the smokes coming from Lord Ton¡¯s estate in the distance. ¡°Everyone of any import is at the Noble Quarter, up in the North District,¡± Jacobred explained. ¡°Lady Martha and the children are safe Legatus.¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t about Martha!¡± Sula grunted. ¡°We can¡¯t let them take East gates Prefect.¡± ¡°The Admiralty buildings are sturdy sir.¡± ¡°Flanked by Duke¡¯s Garden on the south and this darn forest on its north,¡± Sula puffed out and stared at the men bringing their own Scorpios forward. ¡°Will the Duke¡¯s men hold the Citadel?¡± ¡°To keep the way for Lord Ton open,¡± Dumont elucidated and the Prefect from Sovya grimaced. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know sir, they tend to retreat a lot,¡± he replied honestly. It¡¯s because the officials don¡¯t have as much skin in the game. Ton plays his head here, but a Mayor can work with a different administration. ¡°Is Baron Hagels around?¡± He asked tiredly. ¡°He had a meeting in the Merchant¡¯s Guild building,¡± the Prefect replied. ¡°I need to tend to the Cohort sir.¡± ¡°Do it,¡± Sula urged him and turned to Dumont. ¡°Grab a runner and get the Baron to our headquarters. I know he holds the purse, but he can talk business after the siege for crying out loud!¡± ¡°What about the Mayor? He has soldiers kept in reserve in the center,¡± Dumont probed, signaling for an Issir sergeant of the guards to approach. ¡°He won¡¯t release them,¡± Sula replied and returned to their horses. ¡°What worries me is we haven¡¯t heard from Centurion Gratian¡¯s Fourth Cohort yet. Wouldn¡¯t Decurion Bailey know?¡± The Decurion was with Sir Gatrell¡¯s cavalry scouring the north fields outside the walls of the city looking for a way to strike at the rear of Henk¡¯s force. With Pascor¡¯s cavalry force added to his men, Gatrell had more than half a Cohort of mixed riders roaming. They had kept a whole division of Henk¡¯s troops locked on his north flank, enough to prevent a pincer maneuver there, but it had forced the Duke to empty his reserves from beyond the river, which is what Sula was looking to take advantage of with an even wider counterattack. ¡°It¡¯s pretty chaotic now Nonus,¡± Dumont replied, pausing to instruct the sergeant briefly. ¡°But word might have reached headquarters.¡± Sula nodded and glanced at a small fire that had started in the distance. ¡°Even without much rains falling,¡± he grunted and kicked his legs to start his mount going. ¡°At least Pascor won¡¯t burn easy, or at all,¡± Sula added with a tired grimace. It tells a lot about the quality of a place, if the main man tasked with defending it is kind of uncertain on his feelings about the latter notion.
¡°Using the cadets in the north was your idea Legatus,¡± a worn out Hagels reminded him. He¡¯d gotten chewed out by the merchant¡¯s guild agents for losing them property in Clay Quarry and the suspension of caravans towards Kaltha. As if a caravan could cross no man¡¯s land with both sides firing at each other using the road to the bridge as a measuring stick. ¡°I had to reinforce Gratian,¡± Sula explained. He¡¯d given him Pike¡¯s Rangers as well. ¡°He needs to take the docks Baron.¡± ¡°We have lobsters and fucking crabs inside the city Legatus!¡± Hagels protested, losing his temper. ¡°I thought that was your plan,¡± Sula countered, raising his head from the city maps. ¡°Half the population is clogging the road to Bisonville Baron. That¡¯s the other way from the plaguin¡¯ front!¡± ¡°You expect women and children to fight to the death?¡± Hagels snarled and gestured at the map. ¡°Henk stopped attacking the walls,¡± he added tensely. ¡°I think he¡¯s bringing the Spearfish division inside to bolster the force attacking towards the Admiralty.¡± ¡°All of them?¡± Dumont asked. ¡°Nah, he rotated some of Tollor¡¯s reserves there,¡± the Baron continued. ¡°They are digging a ditch, but they can¡¯t cover the wall approach, so Gatrell still has a corridor. The better one.¡± ¡°We need to wait for a signal from Gratian. The moment he¡¯s at the bridge¡ª¡± Hagels stopped him. ¡°I heard the pitch yesterday Dumont. Didn¡¯t like it then and I sure don¡¯t like it now.¡± ¡°Any news from Lord Ton?¡± Sula queried, accepting a scroll from a runner. He read it quickly. ¡°Nothing, other that no Crabs have attacked the Citadel yet. Then again Henk¡¯s attacking them from the other side, so there¡¯s that,¡± the Baron griped and crossed his arms frustrated. ¡°What is it?¡± Dumont asked him. ¡°Carbo¡¯s Second Cohort counterattacked at the Guardtower, almost pushed Henk¡¯s center back,¡± Sula replied thoughtfully. He rubbed his face hard and swallowed, his mouth bitter. ¡°The Duke has sent a lot of men around the walls facing the delta to flank the Citadel defenders,¡± Dumont murmured staring at the map that had painted wooden figurines representing different forces at different points inside and out of the city. ¡°He has men pushing out of the Vines, attacking the stables and the gates of the citadel.¡± An immobile front to cover the north side of the walls from Gatrell, Sula thought. Men committed to the main push through the city¡¯s center trying to reach Uher¡¯s temple. ¡°He¡¯s running out of men,¡± Sula rustled and remembered the Wolffish¡¯s words. ¡°Son of a bitch.¡± ¡°Nonus¡­ Legatus?¡± Dumont queried, the sound of a wayward catapult shot bringing another wall, or house down rattling the table and knocking some of the small figurines down. ¡°His engineers are here,¡± Sula pointed at the map. ¡°He¡¯s bringing some of the Riverdor division to cover them and reinforce his center,¡± Sula explained and Dumont nodded. ¡°Not push further inside. He¡¯ll wait for Hoff¡¯s men to come out of the Fenlands for that.¡± ¡°Praise be Uher, what is he talking about?¡± Hagels grunted, his tensed face flushed and eyes ogling. ¡°The Duke¡¯s spent,¡± Dumont elucidated and stood back with a frown. ¡°Bring Centurion¡¯s Montaus, Draco and Surinas Centuries to the front,¡± Sula ordered gruffly and reached for his dirt covered helmet. ¡°At the junction?¡± Dumont asked. ¡°We need the signal from Gratian Legatus.¡± ¡°Have the men ready,¡± Sula replied and put his helmet on, an austere expression on his face. ¡°The Fourth Cohort will come through.¡± They had to.
In the crack of dawn, at the end of the sixth week of Pascor¡¯s siege, the year of the new calendar 192, a hundred and twenty rangers led by Centurion Gerald ¡®Half Ear¡¯ Pike, a force of Nords, half-breeds and few Lorians crossed the Serene River more than ten kilometers away from its stone bridge and at least two from the berths of the fishing village docks. They traveled the bog-mired wilderness and assaulted the force guarding the opposite docks Henk controlled since the beginning of the siege. In the ruthless fight that erupted in the dark, the rangers had the advantage of surprise and the fact they were facing mostly (less armoured) scouts in the beginning, but an hour into the struggle, a detachment of regulars camping nearby was alerted. They counter-attacked and pushed the rangers back and away from the river shores. While all this was happening, Centurion Gratian¡¯s ¡®the instructors¡¯ of the Fourth Cohort, an extremely well-trained unit out of Anorum, along two hundred cadets from Pascor¡¯s marine school used rafts and boats to land at the thinly protected flat river banks across the village. The landing was done under ideal conditions for both the defenders and the attackers, but despite the initial casualties (a boat was overturned striking a wayward tree trunk drowning most of the legionnaires aboard, whilst another took on water and capsized with few making it out half-drown) Gratian¡¯s force was superior in numbers and at least equal in skill. While the young marines lost half of their force in half an hour, especially when the regulars pivoted and counterattacked Gratian¡¯s men, the legionnaires of the Fourth were determined not to allow this to be their first loss of their brief history.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. And they didn¡¯t. Gratian routed Henk¡¯s guarding force across the river and along with Pike¡¯s returning rangers killed everyone that surrendered without mercy. Sula had given the Centurion strict orders not to stall for any reason. The orders are still debated today in some circles not favoring the old Legatus as ¡®being purposefully too open-ended¡¯, but whether that is the case, or not, it is difficult to pass judgement now so far removed from the events and with today¡¯s political ¡®bias¡¯ influencing every debate. Henk who had managed to break through the destroyed part of the walls south from the also mostly ruined main River Gates, found success using the difficult to defend vine fields and reached the inner Citadel walls. With that part of the city almost under control, as a loyal to Lord Ton force was still holding on to the Citadel and most of the estate¡¯s buildings, the Duke ordered part of the fresh First Division loitering to the north of the battlefield (comprised of Riverdor troops) to move towards the main gates. He intended to reinforce his center that had been weakened due to casualties suffered when the Second Division had forced its way inside Pascor earlier that morning. With most of Tollor¡¯s force attacking the Citadel trying to reduce Lord Ton¡¯s personal holding, the rest of Hoff¡¯s regulars were thus redeployed north to take the First¡¯s place in the frontline and keep watch on Gatrell¡¯s always worrisome cavalry. The Duke had brought his own cavalry force over the river during the night and prepared a trap for the Sovya nobleman, leaving purposefully the frontline thinly manned and Tollor¡¯s force kept in reserve. The idea was to entice Gatrell to commit to another attack, bog down his cavalry with the infantry and use his own cavalry to smash through and open the road towards Pascor¡¯s north gates. If the scheme was a success, the Duke could then attack the rear of the Fourth Cohort holding the distant fishing village (probably named Serene like the river, but the name has eluded history as Pascor¡¯s city moved away from the lake shores in the decade that followed and swallowed it) and then completely bypass the city¡¯s defenses and strike towards the outer districts, or its port. Duke Hoff had come over as well later that morning. He¡¯d learned of the defeat of his fleet near the Isles, but he had also gotten word that his marine force had started moving towards Pascor the previous day and would be there hopefully afore sunset. While the loss of the naval battle made supplying the marines inside the Fenlands impossible, the Duke believed the men would try ¡®their damnest¡¯ to make it to Pascor as fast as they could. The stranded Tollor marines did move fast, after clearing some of the paths and marking the way with the help of local collaborators. They also made contact with Lord Ton¡¯s intercepting force, but the details of the engagement are murky to say the least. A Nord female warrior Marlene made it out with most of her force intact, but she probably got lost soon upon entering the bogs and barely encountered any of Hoff¡¯s marines before returning early the next day. Some of the celebrated survivors from Lord Ton¡¯s force had sworn they ventured deep inside the Fenlands following the old road and fought portions of Tollor¡¯s troops in many small engagements. Given the numbers involved and the huge numbers of men lost (around six hundred of Pascor¡¯s men along Lord Ton, Sir Blenk and many of his captains, a thousand five hundred, or eight hundred of Tollor¡¯s marines) it is difficult to fathom a small number of skirmishes was all that came out of it. While there is the official story (and holiday) that a big battle was fought deep in Hag¡¯s Fenlands, this writer¡¯s opinion is that no evidence for it exist and perhaps another reason must be explored. While there is little on the whereabouts, or heroics of the ill-fated Duke of Pascor, there are plenty of witnesses of what happened during the siege of his city. The two Dukes were in a war meeting, attended by Lord Charles the then Master of Silence of Kaltha, discussing the merits of a small operational pause to give Hoff¡¯s marines the time to reach the now disputed south part of the walls. Hoff pressed for more reinforcements to be sent from Riverdor (A division from the recently rebuild First Foot was still forming there), but Henk wanted to win the siege first, as he was under pressure from Lord Anker to give him assistance against the rebels. While the High Regent had won at Colle, the defeat at Altarin had strained the large militarized city¡¯s capability of supporting war on so many fronts with only Caspo O¡¯ Bor''s help. The latter had big difficulties supporting two large fleets (it had ¡®inherited¡¯ Krakenhall¡¯s hefty Northern Fleet but not its huge resources) at sea at the same time. In order to solve his treasury problem Lord Van De Aest asked Lord Anker to allow him to retrieve the ships blockading Rida for almost three years now and bring them to port for much needed repairs, while also giving time for their worn out crews to rest. Lord Anker didn¡¯t want to pull the fleet, as a return to port meant the crews needed to get paid a lot of wages. While the coin had been allocated from the treasury, the campaign had dragged on for far longer than Antoon had anticipated. Thankfully for the two quarreling over funds lords, the Bank of Trust informed them in a sterile letter that the comatose High King¡¯s war loan was at last, years after it was ordered, en route for Issir¡¯s Eagle. So given that welcomed influx of much needed coin, Lord Anker begrudgingly agreed and Lord Van De Aest ordered the stationed at Yeriden¡¯s delta fleet to return to port. The Duke of Midlanor was forced to split the Third Foot in two, leaving a part across Mudriver Bridge and Forestfort to keep an eye on Lord Ruud. He sent the other to Quarterport, his intention being to bring it closer to home for security and ordered Duke Henk to ¡®stop this farcical foolhardiness, or finish it swiftly for the love of Uher,¡¯ in the same letter forbidding him from using the recruiting division against Lord Ton. ¡®By allgods Van Durren,¡¯ Lord Anker wrote him. ¡®I understand you feel aggrieved but Lord Albert was all but gone my lad. Let Uher judge the Wolffish¡¯s sins and the Lakelords bleed each other dry, you¡¯re the god darn Duke of Riverdor. Return to your city and I¡¯ll agree on you marrying my daughter on that condition. If not, apologies but I rather Klara dies a maiden than marry a numskull.¡± So a flustered and irritated Henk was in the process of explaining to the much older, lesser in rank though equally livid Duke that, when an aide informed them both that a IV Legio Cohort had taken control of the stone bridge to their rear. The tense moment immortalized by a rather famous painting by Ireneo Sarkozy I had the privilege to admire in Tiger¡¯s Citadel ¡®Memories Hall¡¯ last summer. Sula had given the order for the attack the moment a rider from the promoted to Prefect that same morning Rufius Valens, still holding firm the walls of the River District, informed him that Henk had pivoted his reserves and the Tollor force marching to reinforce his north flank to his rear. He was returning to the bridge. Dumont tried to persuade him to wait for confirmation, but Sula thought that Gratian had his hands full already and sent word to Gatrell to make another attack. ¡®Don¡¯t probe,¡¯ he wrote him in the brief note. ¡®Lick them hard Sir Norman. This is it.¡¯
Sula rushed after the legionnaires pushing the retreating towards the ruined guardtower Issir soldiers, Pascor¡¯s fortifications and much of the town facing the river reduced to rumble, shouting for them to keep marching forward and not let the enemy disengage. He picked an injured man up, pressed a cloth on the cut of his thigh to stop the bleeding and told him to get back in line. Dumont running after him, got an arrow at the top of his helm and cursed all gods, old and new. Sula saw a group of enemy soldiers blocking a collapsed part of the walls, behind them archers climbed on it firing arrow after arrow in the Surinas 4rth century¡¯s advancing squares and he glanced back with a snarl. He found Decanus Bellator of the 3rd Century twenty meters away. They had pivoted left to find the Duke¡¯s forces cut off inside the Vines still fighting with Prefect Jacobred¡¯s Third Cohort as far deep as the Admiralty¡¯s buildings. Sula filled his lungs with air and let out a mighty roar. ¡°BELLATOR!¡± The Decanus flinched hearing Sula¡¯s bellow amidst the chaos of their advance and whipped his helmed head back, eyes gawking under the rim of his legion helm. ¡°Sir?¡± ¡°Pluck a squad out of the last row and bring it here posthaste!¡± Sula barked an arrow striking his shoulder pad, another whistling angry next to his knee. Dumont stooped under a third and dived for a discarded shield. Eight Legionnaires trotted energetically back the other way towards the Legatus, now the focus of the archers that had recognized his officer¡¯s armour. ¡°TAKE AIM!¡± Sula barked eyes glaring, an arrow smacking him in the chest, the steel tip piercing deep enough to draw blood. He deflected another with the flat of his sword, Dumont rushing to his aid with the shield grimacing in horror. ¡°LOOSE JAVELINS!¡± The Legatus ordered hoarsely, jerking away from another volley, the latter missing badly as the archers had spotted the projectiles hurled their way and panicked. Four went down, a javelin decapitating one of them, another tripping over his feet in the attempt to save himself and cracking his head open on an angled boulder. The others turned and run, jumping over the crumbled part of the wall. Sula raised his sword and waved the small squad forward as well. ¡°After them gods damnit!¡± he yelled hoarsely. ¡°We have ¡®em on the run boys!¡± ¡°Sir, what of Draco¡¯s assault on the vines?¡± Bellator asked, running after the fast moving Sula. The Legatus worked the arrow out of his armour and tossed it away afore replying without slowing down. ¡°He¡¯s a blasted Draco, but way down the plaguing order,¡± Sula explained jumping lithely over the collapsed and now abandoned wall, as the soldiers that had attempted to hold there had run after their archers, fearing that the sudden presence of Sula running after them would bring overwhelming force on their exposed position. ¡°The Centurion will go for the win with everything he has. Don¡¯t worry about him. Steely resolve wins most battles.¡± And the will to better one¡¯s position. Sula didn¡¯t believe the cut off Issirs inside the city had what was needed to last long attacked from the rear.
The attacking force led by the Legatus himself clashed with Issirs retreating outside the south walls from the direction of the Citadel, mainly from Tollor and was pushed back. Sula found a shield and fought climbed on the rumble alongside Bellator, so furiously that the Issirs stepped back. They turned towards the river marching through the tall reeds and the heavily breathing Legatus took the opportunity to jump back inside the walls to find out what was going on in the other parts of the battle. The first officer they found was Primus Pilus Centurion Didicus who had advanced on the abandoned from the retreating Issirs main street with the 1st Century. ¡°Legatus,¡± a shocked Didicus gasped seeing Sula trotting his way. ¡°What¡­?¡± ¡°You need to march on to the gates Centurion,¡± Sula cut him off impatiently. ¡°They are all but ready to break, but if they manage to push Gratian off the bridge this will be for naught.¡± ¡°There are enemies in the city sir,¡± Didicus argued with a grimace. ¡°Let the locals deal with them and Jacobred,¡± Sula grunted and glanced back at the ruined gates. ¡°They¡¯ve nowhere to go. Do I have to take over Centurion?¡± ¡°Nonus for the love of gods!¡± an exasperated Dumont protested behind his back. ¡°Of course not sir!¡± Didicus yelled. ¡°Papus get the men moving! Out of the gates!¡± ¡°You heard the Primus Pilus!¡± Papus barked at the top of his lungs. Everyone was yelling, but still the chaos and roar of heavy fighting coming from all sides made it difficult to grasp everything clearly. ¡°Find us a horse Dumont,¡± Sula grunted and grimaced pressing a finger on the tear of his armour. He could feel the wound bleeding down his chest. ¡°How bad is it?¡± His aide asked tiredly. ¡°If it was bad,¡± Sula retorted and wiped the sweat from his face, as despite the chill of the day, he was drenched in sweat from the exertion. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be running around my friend.¡± Dumont furrowed his brow and then shook his helmed head right and left. ¡°What?¡± Sula queried and looked around to find any loitering unit to send after the retreating Issirs. ¡°Nothing you crazy bastard, I¡¯ll find us a couple of horses,¡± Dumont replied with the hint of a smile. Eh, Sula thought with a frown. Pete has let the north rub off on him.
An hour later, near late afternoon, Sula rode outside the gates of Pascor with his loyal aide Dumont following after him to inspect the reforming First and Second Cohort that had marched out of the city as well, the moment Gatrell¡¯s cavalry had broken through Henk¡¯s poorly manned north flank. They had been counter-charged in turn by the Duke¡¯s own cavalry with a bit of success, but despite heroic efforts the Issir riders had found themselves exposed in no man¡¯s land with the First Cohort glued on their retreating infantry narrowing the field spectacularly for maneuvers. The horses slowed down to fight it out like mounted infantry, but Gatrell broke away towards the still manned by Pascor soldiers walls and the advantage he had turned overwhelming. Henk ordered the cavalry to make a run towards the open north fields realizing the battle was lost and they did, over a hundred and fifty of them escaping towards Red Wolf¡¯s Peak. He positioned the Tollor regulars of the smashed North flank in the center, a part of the First Division on the north of his formation and the remnants of the Second Division that had made it out of the city to guard the south. The rest of the First Division, around five hundred men he led across the bridge trying to push the Fourth Cohort back. It was an impossible task without war machines and plummeting morale. Despite the not that big a difference in numbers, as Gratian had been forced to fight two more battles before taking over the two large camps on the other side of the river and had over two hundred casualties on top of an exhausted from the hard marching all day force, the young Duke needed twice the number and light to have even a small fighting chance. Back inside the city, the Tollor force attacking the Citadel got assaulted by Prefect Jacobred¡¯s Third Cohort and Pascor soldiers that had won the battle of the Admiralty¡¯s camp. They were forced to retreat towards the south wall but quickly realized they were cut off and broke trying to escape inside the wilderness of the Serene Delta. The Third Cohort pivoted away from them and marched towards the Legio¡¯s banners, but the Pascor soldiers pursued their opponents through the tall grass and sludge of the terrain all the way to the river¡¯s mouth taking no prisoners. A recurring phenomenon, it was only the Legatus presence in the center of the field that saved some of Duke Henk¡¯s force as it was doubtful the locals would have showed them any mercy. Still the aftermath can''t absolve him of fault despite his famous victory. Pascor¡¯s casualties from the siege both in manpower and material were heavy. But the defeat the attackers had suffered was so catastrophic, so disastrous and so unexpected given they had the city all but taken it changed the nature of the war in a day. Or two, if one count¡¯s Lord Ton''s presumed ¡®victory¡¯ in the Fenlands. I¡¯d add half a week¡¯s time, with Sir Dolf¡¯s naval battle. This was the time it had taken for Duke Henk¡¯s and Duke Hoff¡¯s over a month long campaign to go from certain victory to a humiliating defeat. An ugly war, with a shameful beginning, it would turn uglier after the end of the siege and outright vicious afore it ended.
Lord Sirio Veturius The Fall of Heroes Chapter XXX (Legatus Nonus Sula, -also known as- Lord of Salt, ¡®Solid Nonus¡¯ Lucius¡¯ Southern campaigns, Fourth Year Volume II, III -Maiden¡¯s War- Sixth & seventh week Prelude to one of his more controversial chapters that made him persona non grata with everyone above Canlita Sea and soured his relationship with the powerful Sula family, the Van Durren & the Van Calcar The Duke of Riverdor -& a devil¡¯s affair- Late fall 192 to Winter 192-193 NC)
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 332. The Duke of Riverdor
Legatus Nonus Sula The Duke of Riverdor
Siege of Pascor, Late fall 192 Also known as the ¡®Battle at Serene River¡¯, Seventh week Morning after Gratian¡¯s defense of Henk¡¯s bridge attack I, II and III Cohorts united front Three hundred meters from the stone bridge A horse¡¯s neigh rang up and down the relatively quiet long rows of legionnaires standing still in full battle gear on both sides of the stone road. Prefect Valens patted its mane to soothe the stressed animal and glanced at the solemn Legatus of the IV Legio in nervous anticipation. Sula sitting atop his own horse grimaced, the fresh stitches on his chest still raw and straightened his engraved helmet using a gloved hand, afore closing the front of the heavy crimson cloak he had on. The chill coming from both the river and lake, along the insane humidity of the place had forced most of the men to dig into the Legion quartermaster¡¯s winter supplies, which always made Scrofa as unhappy as an old mare in a stable packed with long-legged fillies. Duc Gratian, the Signifer carrying the Solem Rubrum Mons, had his eyes beyond the Issir lines at the barely visible in the thin mist stone bridge, where his brother with the missing from the legion¡¯s battle line Fourth Cohort was. Pike and his rangers as well, Sula thought and turned to signal for Didicus to advance all cohorts, but Dumont who was wrapped in a similar woolen cloak stopped him. ¡°A rider is coming with the colors,¡± Dumont reported and pointed with an arm at the edge of the Issir¡¯s assembled lines. Sula didn¡¯t have the numbers yet, but this was close to an even thing, with the battered Issirs having spent an awfully cold night with little food and no tents weighing in his favor. The late evening attack aborted by the Legatus of the IV, when he realized the Cohorts were as spent as Duke Henk¡¯s trapped force. Gratian had to hold on his own eventually, but he had. A bird informing them an hour afore dawn that Sir Dolf¡¯s marine force first advanced units had already started reinforcing them the previous evening. ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake,¡± Sula grunted and pushed at the knot of his cheekguards that was restricting his breathing, his tired eyes on the approaching rider carrying the plain white cloth of truce. ¡°I thought they were going to try again for a moment.¡±
¡°Legatus, dear officers,¡± the dirty, a bit disheveled, but clad in an expensive embroidered cloak young man greeted them. Almost at Sula¡¯s age actually, around twenty six, just less worn out. His shortish white hair, combed back away from his dark face neatly, reminded the Legatus of Sirio, their bigger difference being ¨Cother than their skin color- in the eyes. The Issir had a hardness in them that was difficult to conceal and a fox¡¯s cunning. A cornered fox, Sula reminded himself. He also realized he¡¯d missed the Issir¡¯s name, but Dumont intervened saving him from the minor embarrassment. ¡°This is Legatus Nonus Sula, lord commander of the Fourth Legion. I¡¯m his aide Pete Dumont. Any relation to Duke Van Durren, Lord Charles?¡± Dumont asked in a sterile, but polite manner, casting a sideways eye at the frowning Sula. ¡°My brother,¡± Charles replied and stood back on his saddle. ¡°Legatus I assume you¡¯re in charge here.¡± ¡°You assume correctly,¡± Sula grunted. ¡°Do you surrender?¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing more we could do here,¡± Charles admitted with a polite smile. ¡°You could try attacking across the bridge again,¡± Sula snarled, not returning it. ¡°Mayhap that¡¯s what yer doing right now? Are you stalling us to try it Lord Charles? This breeze is chilling my thighs and I¡¯m thinking a good morning trot might be a fine remedy for it. A charge might even be better.¡± ¡°As long as you assure the lives of the men, the Duke is willing to lay down his sword Legatus,¡± Charles replied. ¡°The Duke couldn¡¯t say this himself?¡± ¡°He suffered an injury yesterday. You have his apologies.¡± Sula nodded. ¡°This is Pascor¡¯s land, but if you surrender I¡¯ll do everything within my power to ensure you are treated justly.¡± ¡°Pascor¡¯s justice isn¡¯t exactly celebrated through the realm Legatus,¡± Charles argued. ¡°The Dukes would like Wolffish to put his seal on it with you as a witness.¡± ¡°Lord Ton is unavailable,¡± Sula countered. ¡°The Legion¡¯s word is all you can get at this point Lord Charles.¡± Charles pressed his mouth tight and stared at the solemn rows of legionnaires for a brief moment. ¡°I shall give your assurances to the Dukes, dear Legatus,¡± he finally said. ¡°And return with an answer.¡± ¡°You have one hour,¡± Sula replied sternly. ¡°It¡¯s a cloudy day and a rain might come eventually. I prefer the men to fight on sturdier ground.¡±
Charles turned his horse around and returned to the Issir lines. Sula did the same and rode behind the legion¡¯s squares after giving orders to the two Prefects present to inform him of any developments. The Pascor¡¯s walls visible in the distance half destroyed, parts of the city still smoking. ¡°They¡¯ll surrender,¡± Dumont assured him after they left their horses to the care of a soldier. They had reached the field headquarters hastily prepared behind Centurion Boston¡¯s machines. The engineer conversing with LID officer Bolton, their talk on the possibility of taking a closer look on the machine Duke Henk had used on the city. The Issirs had dragged it over the bridge earlier that week, but Gratian had taken control of it. ¡°Any news mister Bolton?¡± Sula rustled at the intelligence officer. ¡°Nothing concrete on Lord Ton sir,¡± he replied. ¡°A couple of survivors exited the Fenlands. We¡¯re still sifting through reports.¡± ¡°Any of ours?¡± ¡°Marlen¡¯s Brutes got out relatively intact. She has six missing still though,¡± Bolton replied and the Centurion of engineers standing next to him saluted and then excused himself to return to his machines. ¡°What does he think?¡± Sula asked. He had already gotten Boston¡¯s vague official opinion earlier. He now wanted the gossip. ¡°It¡¯s a ballista-type engine sir,¡± the LID officer replied. ¡°But it has no wood parts. It¡¯s all metal according to Gratian and weirdly built.¡± ¡°By allgods Bolton!¡± Dumont grunted. ¡°What does that even mean?¡± ¡°It fires spoon like projectiles Dumont,¡± Bolton retorted with a grimace. ¡°I know how it sounds, but that¡¯s what Gratian wrote. Enclosed tip, spoon-shaped bolts was his wording. I¡¯m as befuddled as you.¡± ¡°Any engineer figured out how they cause so much damage?¡± Sula hissed. ¡°They are looking pretty stupid from where I¡¯m standing Bolton!¡± ¡°Other than that the tips are hollow no sir,¡± the officer admitted. ¡°As a matter of fact, most agree it shouldn¡¯t.¡± ¡°That¡¯s Hagels,¡± Dumont informed him a tense moment later, the sky roaring over their heads. The clouds darkening and the morning turning dimmer. ¡°With company.¡± Sula stared at the approaching group of Pascor riders narrowing his eyes. The conduct of the local soldiers had been bad to put it mildly and this whole affair had left a sour taste in Sula¡¯s mouth. A lot of lads from the Legion had misbehaved, which is of course what happens when you¡¯re getting bombarded and attacked repeatedly for weeks. It was the after the battle stuff, Sula didn¡¯t like. ¡°Sula, I can bring around a thousand men to your rear,¡± Hagels informed him. ¡°We have retaken full control of the streets and the Citadel buildings, much as it¡¯s left of it. Gatrell has regrouped and is holding in the north, but I have tasked the Pascor cavalry to hunt for Henk¡¯s men that escaped.¡± ¡°I would have preferred you¡¯d have left them with Gatrell,¡± Sula grunted not likening the Baron moving forces around without his knowledge. ¡°Our North flank is weak and I need to move infantry there to reinforce it.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t have them roaming the land Sula,¡± Hagels argued. ¡°Baron they offered to surrender. The siege is over,¡± Sula snapped. ¡°A city can handle a hundred riders!¡± ¡°Lord Ton hasn¡¯t returned,¡± Hagels replied tensely. ¡°Everyone¡¯s on edge Sula.¡± ¡°Any survivors from his group?¡± Dumont intervened, knowing Nonus was considering knocking the teeth out of the Treasurer. They had clashed numerous times during the siege, but it was the insufferable Mayor Sequer that had saved the Baron, as Sula disliked him the most. ¡°Plenty, but they had lost contact with him. Sir Blenk as well. Vicard and his bodyguards are all missing.¡± ¡°They fought with Tollor¡¯s marines then?¡± Sula grunted. ¡°Nothing major. Small groups popping out of the wilderness. Both commands got lost in the mist Sula,¡± Hagels replied. ¡°I understand Hoff¡¯s men wandering about, but Lord Ton had good knowledge of the Fenlands Baron! So had the men under him!¡± Hagels stood back with a scowl. ¡°They followed the paths Sula.¡± ¡°So?¡± ¡°The paths got them elsewhere. It happens in there,¡± the Baron spat. ¡°Oh, for crying out loud,¡± Sula exploded in frustration. ¡°Not the plaguing Hag again!¡± ¡°Ahm, perhaps¡ª¡± Dumont tried to say, but the Baron cut him off as frustrated as the Legatus. ¡°You¡¯ve seen her at the wedding Legatus,¡± he snarled. ¡°I saw Lord Ton¡¯s sister!¡± Sula snarled back at him, spittle flying out of his mouth and sweating despite the cold of the morning. ¡°The rest is a blur, since you people started knifing each other with no regard of talking things through! I lost some pretty darn good men in this whole affair Baron! Damn it and for what?¡± He stopped breathing heavy and glared about him. ¡°I¡¯ll return if I have more news,¡± Hagels murmured through his teeth and Sula waved him off disgusted. ¡°Nonus, how do we inform Lucius? A bird will reach Asturia first, then Anorum,¡± Dumont asked treading carefully. ¡°Relay it to Croton first. Lucius would have left instructions on how to reach him.¡± ¡°The Duke would know.¡± Of Asturia was his meaning. ¡°What do you want me to do Pete?¡± Sula griped. ¡°He married the man¡¯s daughter!¡± Dumont breathed in deeply and then let it all out. ¡°You might have to negotiate here, if Lord Ton is not around.¡± ¡°This is Pascor¡¯s business.¡± ¡°Without an order from Lucius, we can¡¯t disengage,¡± his aide argued. ¡°We are keeping a lot of cities busy here.¡± ¡°The thing is Pete,¡± Sula countered tiredly. ¡°We can¡¯t realistically fight them all. Just take a look at the preliminary casualty numbers and you¡¯ll see I¡¯m right. Give me a battle to fight with our group and I¡¯ll do it, but this is a whole war we¡¯re talking about. We need our own supply lines, fresh recruits. Asturia¡¯s ships haven¡¯t anchored for over a month and I don¡¯t blame them. We might as well be on Eplas. They need a resolution here and we need someone local to offer it. Neither Pascor, nor any other city will peace out on a Sula¡¯s advice. Then again with all the savagery that happened in the wedding I¡¯m not sure they are there, or sated enough.¡±
An hour later Sula was back at the frontlines and Lord Charles had returned with a bigger group of officers, including the dejected old Duke of Tollor himself. Had Sula being in Hoff¡¯s shoes, he¡¯d be feeling pretty gnarly too, but seeing as Hoff was present during the Conference of Lords years back and had sided against Alistair and his family Sula felt no sympathy for him. None. ¡°Is Lord Ton not going to grace us with his face?¡± Hoff asked staring at Sula¡¯s entourage. ¡°The Lord of Pascor is missing,¡± Sula retorted. ¡°Do I have your surrender?¡± ¡°As long as assurances are given for our survival,¡± Charles repeated. ¡°The Dukes agree you have the field Legatus.¡± ¡°I have the field either way,¡± Sula grunted and Dumont glanced at him worried. ¡°But I shall offer the same assurances I offered you earlier. The men won¡¯t be harmed.¡± ¡°What about us?¡± Hoff queried, a couple of lines of worry added to his wrinkled face. It was difficult to gauge an Issir¡¯s age, but Sula thought the Duke was close to fifty. ¡°Pascor will decide on compensation I imagine,¡± Sula replied harshly. ¡°I¡¯ll have your swords gentlemen.¡± Hoff grimaced and stared in his face. ¡°You¡¯re responsible for whatever happens Sula. The Wolffish killed my son and my daughter after inviting us to his wedding. Lauke was pregnant for the love of Uher!¡± Sula crooked his mouth. ¡°Lord Ton¡¯s sister went crazy Hoff. I won¡¯t justify her actions but your son assaulted one of my officers. A noble lad, Baron Valens¡¯ son. He¡¯s dead.¡± ¡°You expect me to believe this?¡± Hoff protested. ¡°I don¡¯t care,¡± Sula retorted. ¡°Whether you believe it or not. It is what happened. You expect me to believe you didn¡¯t conspire to have King Alistair killed in the conference?¡± ¡°What does this have to do¡ª?¡± ¡°My father served with the Legion!¡± Sula growled cutting him off. ¡°He¡¯s dead as well.¡± ¡°You¡¯re looking for vengeance is that what this is?¡± Hoff murmured. ¡°You¡¯ll attack me for Antoon¡¯s folly?¡± ¡°I ain¡¯t attacking you,¡± Sula retorted through his teeth. ¡°You did and now you¡¯ve surrendered. I¡¯ll have that sword Duke Hoff.¡± Dumont sighed pensively standing next to him, but Sula had tried to be as diplomatic as he could. He wanted the field cleared and secured first and foremost, then they could try this dance all over again.
The First Cohort got the honors of keeping an eye on the surrendered Issir forces. They were to remain in the fields outside of Pascor, which was inconvenient for the dejected and tired men, but Sula couldn¡¯t provide them any semblance of protection from the locals, if they entered the city again and he decided it was the lesser of two evils. Later that day with the winds bringing the first rain of the month as a farewell gift from the departing autumn, Sula was outside of the city again with Dumont, to welcome the returning men of Gratian¡¯s Cohort and Sir Dolf Van Calcar. The Duke¡¯s younger brother had landed at the beaches near the Clay Quarry and after a strong march he¡¯d brought his marines to the Fourth Cohort¡¯s assistance and helped them defeat Henk¡¯s desperate last attempt to break out of the noose. Sir Dolf¡¯s contributions to the victorious outcome considerable and despite the first impression Sula had of him back in Bisonville, he¡¯d proven himself capable in both the field and the sea. ¡°Gratian, Sir Dolf,¡± Sula greeted them, trying to gauge the numbers of the Fourth Cohort, noticing the decimated group of Pascor¡¯ young cadets marching proudly next to their more experienced colleagues. ¡°Darn good job gents,¡± he added returning the Centurion¡¯s salute. ¡°Legatus,¡± Gratian reported. ¡°The Fourth Cohort returns victorious. All objectives were realized sir!¡± ¡°At rest Centurion,¡± Sula said. ¡°Have the men find quarters in the city and look for Boston to take the machine off your hands. Pike¡¯s at the bridge?¡± ¡°Aye sir,¡± a dead tired Gratian replied. ¡°Sula,¡± an equally weary but smiling Sir Dolf said stepping forward. He paused unsure, but then tended his arm and Sula took it. ¡°I thought of hugging you, since I find myself really fond of your dour visage.¡± ¡°Better that you didn¡¯t,¡± Sula assured him curtly. ¡°Hah, yeah I knew I guessed correctly,¡± Dolf agreed, a smile splitting his dark lips. Menneken, a bit of growth on his shaven head adding in his dispassionate, creepy tone. ¡°A cautious¡­ approach,¡± the captain said, ever slow to get the words out. ¡°Right,¡± Sula retorted. ¡°There¡¯s a meeting in the Mayor¡¯s Palace in an hour Dolf, so we have to move I¡¯m afraid. I have horses waiting, so no more march today.¡± ¡°How bad are things in the city?¡± Dolf asked with an appreciative nod. ¡°The west side took a beating,¡± Sula replied. ¡°As you¡¯ll soon see for yourself. Sequer wants a decision on the prisoners tonight.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s my brother?¡± the knight from Pascor asked and seeing Sula¡¯s face, pressed his mouth in a tight line. Then he glanced at Dumont. ¡°Help me out Dumont. I can¡¯t tell by his expression.¡± ¡°The Duke¡­ ahm, didn¡¯t make it out of the swamps,¡± Dumont replied after a false start. ¡°Surely it¡¯s too early to tell,¡± Dolf argued standing back. ¡°A lot of men returned, it¡¯s two days almost,¡± Sula explained. ¡°Any Crabs made it?¡± ¡°Not a soul,¡± Sula replied. Dolf licked his lips. ¡°Ton knows the Fenlands. He¡¯s made it out many times in the past Sula.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t argue that,¡± Sula replied. ¡°But I have a meeting coming and I need someone to stand for Pascor that¡¯s not Sequer, or Hagels.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with them?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t have a Mayor judge a Duke Dolf,¡± Sula replied. ¡°Or come to an agreement on how to end this.¡± ¡°Not¡­ good optics,¡± Menneken agreed in his hoarse monotone. ¡°I¡¯ll speak with Sequer and Hagels,¡± Dolf decided and sighed deeply. ¡°I feel less enthusiastic than I did a couple of minutes ago Sula. Damn it. You always do that.¡±A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
As high as two thousand soldiers of the First Foot surrendered at the end of Pascor¡¯s siege. The conservative number given around a thousand five hundred. Two regiments worth of troops, with a couple of more trained in Riverdor, meant he¡¯d lost a thousand (or a thousand five hundred) soldiers and the majority of his cavalry numbering around three hundred. Tollor had lost at least one thousand five hundred of its marines (a conservative estimate) and had about five hundred regulars surrender from its original two thousand, which meant it had suffered more than three thousand losses during the siege. Pascor had lost at least six hundred men along with Lord Ton, another thousand killed during the siege and all but fifty from a class of two hundred cadets. It had also suffered around two thousand civilian casualties and had a quarter of the city (along two thirds of its west outer wall and the Citadel buildings all but completely ruined). As a matter of fact after the winter snows came and the subsequent rains of Spring half the lower portion of the city would be buried in mud and turn unlivable. The new south border of Pascor ending at the battered Admiralty complex and cadet camp. Almost half its population moved away from the lake and flooded the north fields above the north district, the slums and the river, as far the fishing village docks. The weird S-shaped city turned into three large districts eventually. The River District built around the old village, the Old District around the old city center and the Port District built near the slums and Pascor¡¯s port. But while we know a lot about the fate of the surrendered soldiers, the fate of the prominent lords that lost the battle is left to speculation.
¡°Mayor Sequer,¡± Sula said gruffly. ¡°Baron.¡± His eyes roamed the Hall of the large, but dour stone building while Sir Dolf greeted his countrymen and stopped when he spotted Martha coming down the stairs with Lady Aafke. His wife looked much better, but still hadn¡¯t recovered that rosy color he¡¯d come to appreciate on her. ¡°Nonus,¡± Martha said touching his unshaven face. ¡°Couldn¡¯t they built a shade for you?¡± ¡°They did milady,¡± Dumont griped. ¡°But he didn¡¯t stay under it. The Legatus gathered mud from all over Pascor in yer absence.¡± ¡°Pete is exaggerating per usual,¡± Sula grunted and kissed Martha¡¯s hands. ¡°How are the boys?¡± ¡°They are sucking me dry,¡± Martha retorted with a scowl. ¡°Tell me this is over Nonus.¡± ¡°The siege is over,¡± Sula replied leaving it vague. ¡°Legatus,¡± Aafke interrupted them quietly. ¡°What of Lord Ton?¡± Sula grimaced and looked at his wife for help. Martha narrowed her eyes and glanced at the gloomy faces of Pascor¡¯s lords also present. ¡°Lady Aafke,¡± Sir Dolf started glaring at the two others for leaving him to be the bearer of bad news. ¡°Half-sister, be assured we will do everything in our power to find my brother.¡± Sula grimaced even more and Martha touched his hand reassuringly. Then moved close to the distraught young bride and mother to hug her in support. ¡°What if you don¡¯t?¡± Martha asked Sir Dolf and he furrowed his brow surprised. ¡°You don¡¯t appear very confident good knight.¡± ¡°It¡¯s¡­ as I understand¡­ Ehm, we have reports that paint an ominous picture Lady Martha,¡± Dolf grunted. ¡°The weather has taken a turn for the worse.¡± Aafke started crying in his wife¡¯s arms overcome with despair, everyone present short for words, but for Menneken who did offer a couple, putting everything into a macabre context. ¡°Winter¡­ is nigh.¡± For crying out loud! ¡°It is custom for men in the old North,¡± Martha started looking at a troubled Dolf. ¡°To take care of their brother¡¯s family. Assure their survival. It¡¯s in your best interests Sir Dolf,¡± she added knowingly. Damn it Martha. Don¡¯t get involved here. Dolf cleared his throat, perhaps not expecting to be put on the spot in front of everyone else. His face darkened and his angry eyes returned Martha¡¯s bold stare. ¡°This isn¡¯t the North Lady Martha and this a delicate matter,¡± he growled and Sula glared at the affronted knight¡¯s way not appreciating his tone. ¡°It isn¡¯t the North Sir Dolf I¡¯m aware,¡± Martha replied tauntingly. ¡°But you¡¯re a man are you not?¡± ¡°Martha!¡± Sula grunted, as Dolf stepped back like he¡¯d been slapped. ¡°Dolf my wife is still recovering from labor,¡± he rustled through his teeth, praying the knight would take it, else Sula would have to step in and that would put a real dent in his relationship with Pascor. ¡°It¡¯s alright Sula,¡± Dolf assured him, speaking with difficulty. ¡°Your sharp-tongued wife does have¡­ a point here. I shall of course make sure Lady Aafke is safe. She¡¯s family after all,¡± he sighed deeply and eyed the two Issirs watching him intently. ¡°Assuming my brother is dead. I¡¯d like some confirmation of that gents.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take her upstairs,¡± Martha informed a tensed Sula and he nodded, Dumont puffing out as he¡¯d been holding his breath all this time. His aide looked pale in the face. ¡°We have a couple of witnesses,¡± Mayor Sequer said after an awkward moment. ¡°Fish Folk.¡± ¡°Hagels, them yours?¡± Dolf mocked the Baron of the Isles. It was known fact Hagels spent the bare minimum of his time there. ¡°Not really my lord,¡± Hagels replied gruffly. ¡°I don¡¯t really employ them on the Isle.¡± ¡°Great,¡± Dolf murmured, his day probably not going exactly how he¡¯d envisioned after winning a couple of very tricky battles. ¡°Bring them in.¡±
Two relatively low-ranking officers walked in. One Decanus working under LID Centurion Isaak Bolton named Rod Zerou out of Yepehir and a sergeant of the Pascor Guards escorting a young couple of half-breeds. Both having richly tanned skin and golden-brown hair with washed out dark-grey eyes. The boy had an empty sword sheath on his waistband and a military type weapon harness over his cheap garbs. The girl wore a long blue woolen tunic and had her medium-long hair gathered in a messy ponytail that snaked freely around her neck. ¡°The numbers?¡± Dumont asked Decanus Zerou and he nodded after saluting. He offered Dumont two scribbled scrolls and with another sharp salute left the room out of the guarded doors. Sula glanced at a troubled Sir Dolf using the Mayor¡¯s throne to rest his legs and then turned his attention to Baron Hagels¡¯ conversation with the sergeant. ¡°They came after Higgins¡¯ group?¡± ¡°Aye milord,¡± the man replied. ¡°The boy was carrying a fine sword made here in Pascor for the armory and a number of other weapons made in Tollor according to their markings.¡± ¡°Hmm. Scavengers you think?¡± Hagels queried and the Mayor perked up. ¡°Corpse looters?¡± ¡°Call the prison guards,¡± Sequer said harshly and walked towards the duo. ¡°Have them deal with this. I can have them hanged by morrow.¡± ¡°Sequer, by witch¡¯s swollen tits!¡± Dolf exploded, the young female raising her brows more amused than shocked at the hoarse language. ¡°We are looking for information here!¡± ¡°From criminals?¡± The Mayor argued. ¡°Laris will be here shortly. Let¡¯s ask him, to learn Uher¡¯s will.¡± ¡°Why is¡­ never mind that,¡± Dolf retorted and glared at the two vagabonds. ¡°You¡¯ve seen what happened to the Duke of Pascor?¡± ¡°Aye milord, we think,¡± the young man said his voice cracking. ¡°You think?¡± a frustrated Sequer queried with a sneer. ¡°Lying more like.¡± ¡°I saw the Wolffish¡¯s armour aye,¡± Dolf grimaced hearing it and hang his head. ¡°Near the rises inland.¡± ¡°What in allgods were they doing there?¡± Hagels asked pulling at his lower lip with his fingers nervously. ¡°That¡¯s way out of the path.¡± ¡°You need to head east to reach the wolffish isles,¡± Dolf murmured. ¡°So you get pretty close there.¡± ¡°The engineers never worked on that part lord Dolf,¡± the Mayor reminded him. ¡°Ton had no reason to veer off so far. Was he lost? Why not turn back?¡± ¡°The Crabs were there,¡± the young man explained nervously. There was something about him Sula didn¡¯t like. Guilty sentries had it, or returning patrols reporting to their superior officer. The sentries for napping on duty and missing a thief, the patrol for taking the shorter route and missing said thief sneaking away. But what had the young man done he felt guilty of? Stealing a sword? Corpse looting? ¡°So Ton found them then?¡± Dolf asked raising his head. There¡¯s a man that aged a couple of years in a few odd hours, Sula thought and glanced at Dumont reading the casualties list with a grave face and felt his own stomach fill with acid. Small round turds in our soups. ¡°Aye. There was a big battle,¡± the young man replied. ¡°Many¡­ killed. Injured.¡± That was new. ¡°Was the Duke among those?¡± Hagels probed with a grimace. ¡°He was,¡± the girl said and bowed her head. For a hybrid, she looked more like a dark-skinned Lorian than an Issir. Sula guessed she was around the young man¡¯s age, perhaps a couple of years older, judging by her mature figure. ¡°Eh,¡± the Mayor gasped. ¡°Well then.¡± ¡°You saw it as well?¡± Dolf asked the young man and he nodded. ¡°What¡¯s your name son?¡± Sula intervened and they both turned their heads to look at him. ¡°Nard sir. This is my sister¡­¡± ¡°Leirda,¡± the young woman said. ¡°What kind of name is that?¡± Sula argued. ¡°Is it a reuse of Leda the Muse of beauty?¡± The famed priestess of Naossis had left her mark on history. ¡°No. I made it myself. ¡®Leda¡¯ was a lying cunt,¡± Leirda retorted brazenly and Hagels intervened. ¡°They are Fish Folk Legatus. Weird remnants of earlier times,¡± the Baron explained, raising his shoulders to show Sula he couldn¡¯t expect better from them. Sula didn¡¯t and had the sense the sister had derailed the conversation away from her brother on purpose, but eventually decided not to pursue the matter further. The Legatus had too much on his plate to deal with a couple of lying street urchins. ¡°Did you steal the weapons from their bodies?¡± Dolf had asked hoarsely in the meantime. ¡°I found them in the wilderness milord. I didn¡¯t steal them,¡± Nard protested and Sula believed him this time. Which makes his earlier guilt even more mysterious. Hmm. He caught the girl staring at him and frowned. ¡°I say we hang them and be done with it,¡± Sequer suggested, opting for the easiest way to solve the problem. ¡°Nah, they¡¯re witnesses. They are either telling the truth, or they aren''t. Can¡¯t pick and choose the parts you don¡¯t like Mayor,¡± Dolf scolded him. ¡°Of course my Lord.¡± ¡°Take them away,¡± Hagels told the sergeant. ¡°See to feed them.¡± ¡°Can I have the sword back?¡± Nard asked. The Baron answering without a moment¡¯s thought. ¡°No, but you can have thirty lashes for stealing it.¡± Nard nodded thoughtfully. ¡°In that case, I don¡¯t want it milord.¡±
Dolf got up from his throne and sighed, his long white hair messy around his strained face. Everyone was waiting for him to say something. Sula wanted the meeting over to deal with the imprisoned lords and reach a solution soon, but he could feel the dynamics in the room changing with every passing moment. ¡°Is the searching party gone already?¡± Dolf finally asked the Mayor of Pascor. ¡°Since a couple of hours my lord,¡± Sequer has made his decision already Sula thought. ¡°We¡¯ll give them a couple of days,¡± Dolf rustled unsure and clenched his jaw. ¡°No one talked of a big battle,¡± Hagels argued. ¡°I find it hard to believe such a large group of men got lost.¡± ¡°Not if they were after the Crabs,¡± Dolf countered. ¡°We need to collaborate the stories¡ª¡± ¡°Dammit Hagels!¡± Dolf snapped. ¡°With what? Those that haven¡¯t seen anything? Probably run away leaving my brother behind!¡± ¡°We can¡¯t have that spreading right now my lord,¡± Hagels warned him. ¡°The city needs heroes and tales of a win against all the odds.¡± ¡°Sure. But at least those two have given us a glimpse of what happened,¡± Dolf retorted still aggravated with the Baron. Sequer walked to the door and talked to his guards standing there. He returned after a moment. ¡°Priest Laris is here your grace,¡± the Mayor informed them. ¡°It is too soon,¡± Dolf replied. ¡°We have to decide on the Dukes Dolf,¡± Sula reminded him. ¡°You understand, I don¡¯t really give a darn about those bastards right?¡± Dolf grunted. ¡°Still,¡± Sula insisted. ¡°Those bastards can¡¯t be held indefinitely and this matter needs to be addressed.¡± ¡°What¡¯s to talk about?¡± Sequer asked. Back off lad. ¡°A lot,¡± Sula snapped at him. ¡°But you ain¡¯t going to have a say there Mayor!¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Dolf intervened. ¡°Let¡¯s get this over with. This is as good a place as any. You¡¯ll stay Sula?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Sula replied sternly.
The bells sounded an hour afore midnight, the hour late on a short day, but on this one it felt like it was already early morning. Nobody was happy being there, least of all Duke Hoff and Lord Charles, the missing Duke of Riverdor¡¯s brother. ¡°Where¡¯s the duke?¡± Sula asked in a low voice Dumont, his aide was sitting next to him in the chairs setup for them. Dolf had taken his place on the Mayor¡¯s wooden throne in the middle of the large dark Hall, despite the at least a dozen oil lamps burning at its elongated walls. After weeks of siege Pascor had run out of candles among other things. Patience. Kindness, if there ever was any. Sanity, he thought. Hopefully not. ¡°Word is he¡¯s injured,¡± Dumont whispered. ¡°Haven¡¯t seen him since this morning.¡± He had looked pretty fine to Sula, other than a hurt leg. The Legatus had stitches on his chest that made it difficult to breathe at times and hadn¡¯t had an hour¡¯s rest. ¡°Why is my brother not present?¡± Charles asked. Hagels, who was standing next to the sitting Dolf, glanced at the freshly anointed acting Regent of Pascor, whatever that meant. The power was in Dolf¡¯s hands now unless Ton made it out of the Fenlands still breathing. Sula would have wanted a bit more effort dedicated in finding the Duke, but he could understand the task was too much for a city that was trying to stand on its feet again after weeks of destruction and lick her wounds. Ton wasn¡¯t the only one missing after all and presumed dead. Well over two thousand people from both camps had been swallowed by the bogs and after the initial survivors made it out, another day had gone by with no one appearing. With the rain falling for hours now, soon the paths would become impossible to navigate and all traces of the missing would vanish into the mist. ¡°It¡¯s like someone scripted this,¡± Sula murmured under his breath and Dumont stooped his way. ¡°What?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like this at all,¡± Sula grunted. ¡°Lord Charles, you can visit him,¡± Dolf countered. Sula had missed part of their conversation and he shifted on the chair, to rest his back without success. He did make a lot of noise though and a sour-faced Duke Hoff glanced his way. ¡°Right now?¡± Charles asked and Dolf waved for a guard to approach. Sula spotted Menneken entering the Hall and walking across from them under one of the lights. ¡°Show him to the Duke¡¯s quarters and bring him right back here,¡± Dolf ordered the guard and Lord Charles left leaving only Duke Hoff standing in the middle of the Mayor¡¯s throne room. ¡°You could have given me the courtesy of a seat,¡± Hoff grunted at Dolf and Ton¡¯s brother returned the glare with one of his own. ¡°You don¡¯t deserve it,¡± Dolf told him bitterly. ¡°You came here to murder, pillage and destroy our city. Standing is barely an inconvenience.¡± ¡°You rotten sack of shit,¡± Hoff growled irate. ¡°Who do you think you are? Where¡¯s your brother?¡± ¡°Ton didn¡¯t make it out of the Fenlands,¡± Dolf replied his face hardening. ¡°But he made sure yer marines fertilized the soil there aplenty.¡± Duke Hoff stood back and stared about the room thoughtfully. ¡°I hold your brother responsible for killing my son and daughter,¡± he said tiredly. ¡°If he¡¯s gone, then I can be satisfied with ending all this. May his soul forever rot and he finds no peace in death.¡± Sula turned his eyes on Dolf. They say you learn what a man really is, when power is placed firmly in his hands. Or wealth. A man¡¯s character never truly revealed until he¡¯s standing above everyone else. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be,¡± Dolf replied sternly, an index finger rapping at the armrest. ¡°As satisfied.¡± ¡°You wish compensation?¡± Hoff grunted and grimaced. ¡°Fine. A three year stipend to rebuild that ruin he called a palace.¡± Dolf smacked his lips and returned Sula¡¯s questioning stare. ¡°Ton had agreed to turn Bisonville into a ¡®free¡¯ city right Legatus?¡± He asked. ¡°You were there,¡± Sula replied gruffly. ¡°He did.¡± ¡°That halves our income, since our rich neighbors would pay nothing to use the facilities there. Probably push a lot of good people out of their market wit foreign coin invading. It¡¯s a hit right Hagels?¡± The Baron and Treasurer nodded solemnly. ¡°Undoubtedly your grace.¡± ¡°Purses¡­ empty of coin,¡± Menneken droned pensively from his spot. ¡°What does this have to do with Tollor?¡± Hoff grunted. ¡°Do you wish this conflict to continue lad? Because you might not be so lucky next time.¡± ¡°Asturia will swallow us,¡± Dolf replied. ¡°So while this might appear like a good opportunity to end this devil¡¯s affair, it might not be.¡± ¡°What is this?¡± Hoff protested. ¡°You won. Take it. You expect we¡¯ll make the same mistake twice? He won¡¯t be here to offer assistance in a year Dolf. What then? You think Riverdor will let it slide? Or Badum? I¡¯m your best shot at ending this.¡± ¡°You¡¯re desperate,¡± Dolf hissed. ¡°And I¡¯m not my brother. He tried to reason with you. I don¡¯t wish it. What I want Duke, is to ensure Pascor¡¯s survival.¡± Hoff stood back shocked. Then his face turned furious. ¡°Naossis Skirt Forest,¡± Dolf continued and smirked. ¡°Belongs to Pascor. To ensure no one uses it without permission, so does Dolf¡¯s Tower. I believe it comes with Crabsville. I¡¯ll work out a name later.¡± ¡°Fuck you,¡± Hoff cursed and stepped forward his fists clenched. Menneken stopped him moving quickly with a hand on his chest, afore any of the guards had a chance to react. ¡°Get yer darn hand off of me!¡± Hoff growled and the Captain took it away. ¡°You either accept my terms Dolf, or we¡¯ll spent the winter here and come summer Riverdor shall be at your door again! You idiots killed the Duke¡¯s father! The King¡¯s Shield, bah. You won¡¯t get better than my offer!¡± he finished grimacing in disgust. ¡°I believe I will,¡± Dolf replied and stood up his face hardening. Sula got up as well, trying to think of a way to resolve the matter, but he couldn¡¯t. Lucius shouldn¡¯t have gotten us involved here, he thought frustrated. He could understand the reasoning and the bigger picture, but this could turn uglier than either of them had anticipated. ¡°As I said Hoff, I wish to ensure Pascor¡¯s survival not yours,¡± Dolf finished measuring his words. Sula blinked unsure what he meant, Dumont cursed and Hagels closed his eyes as if giving up. Out of the corner of his eye the Legatus saw Menneken move again, a jolt of the arm and Duke Hoff stumbled forward grabbing at his neck, managed a couple of steps and then twirled around his axis, afore collapsing on the stone tiles without a word. A pool of blood slowly spreading around his disheveled head. Fucking hells. ¡°Nasty¡­ business this,¡± Aad Menneken commented in his sluggish manner. A fuming Sula glared at Dolf intently, his fists clenched at the sides so hard, the knuckles had turned white. ¡°Lucius wanted a partnership. Ton was more traditional in his thinking, kept some boundaries and looked for the middle ground. I¡¯m not. Lorian, Issirs, I don¡¯t give a shit,¡± Dolf explained. ¡°This is the cost of it. Asturia gets something. Pascor gets something as well,¡± he turned to Menneken, his right hand man had retrieved the dagger from the slain Duke Hoff. ¡°Bring Charles here,¡± Dolf said evenly and returned to the throne. ¡°Let¡¯s talk with the Duke of Riverdor.¡± Son of a bitch, Sula thought dismayed.
It is impossible to accept in good conscience Duke Charles Van Durren¡¯s explanation of the events that followed the end of Pascor¡¯s siege. Or Duke Dolf¡¯s and in this vein Legatus Sula¡¯s. According to them Duke Henk¡¯s wound turned bad overnight and the young virile lord perished a couple of days later. Duke Hoff had a stroke apparently that same day realizing all was lost, when it really wasn¡¯t. Sir Maas Hoff, the new Duke of Tollor asked for Lord Anker to mediate the dispute and investigate his father¡¯s untimely demise, but unfortunately for him the High Regent had his plate full with bigger, way more pressing concerns at the time and couldn¡¯t deal with the Lakelords mess. The loss of most of the First Foot, its second iteration, was what bothered Lord Anker the most and his rage for the ¡®numskulls and fools lucking their way into a position of power¡¯ was so great, he forbade anyone mentioning the Lakelords in front of him for a whole month. So Duke Maas Hoff had to retreat and lose control of Hoff¡¯s Tower, along Crabsville and spent the winter trying to recuperate his considerable losses. Badum left leaderless, but under the custodianship of the returned to Riverdor Duke Charles, offered little assistance to the aggrieved young Maas, who saw a brazen Dolf occupying the two holdings and taking control of most of Naossis Skirt Forest. Duke Charles himself would look to avenge Duke Dolf after the summer of 193, when the latter petitioned for Lady Aafke to take control of the High Baronship of Badum as the closest surviving relative with healthy heirs. His reluctance to even consider the offer from a man that had allowed him to leave Pascor a Duke, shows a deep distrust and casts doubt to the story he had endorsed a year earlier. Unfortunately Sula¡¯s version of the events casts doubt on the sincerity of the Legatus, as his report of not being present at the events just cannot be collaborated by an independent witness not sworn to him. Lucius who was informed of the siege¡¯s resolution well over a month after its end and in the second month of winter 192, had no reason to doubt Sula¡¯s report and even if he did, the Praetor never showed it in public, or outside his very close inner circle. While Lucius bears no blame about events happening far away from him, the same cannot be said for the leaders of the IV that had won a spectacular battle. Maiden¡¯s War made the Fourth Legion¡¯s name, but glory and its just rewards must come with some responsibility. Triumph can¡¯t always beat infamy even if it¡¯s the unit¡¯s dictum. Not if you¡¯ll pass the harshest of judgment on others down the line. It is this writer¡¯s personal opinion that if one wishes to claim the moral high ground, then sweeping the ¡®mysterious¡¯ loss of so many noble lords under the rag should be held against them. If they are allowed to make a mistake and cover it up, then so do others, else we are nothing but a bunch of hypocrites. Lord Sirio Veturius Circa 206 NC The Fall of Heroes Chapter XXXVI (Lord Dolf Van Calcar, Duke of Pascor, Lord of the Fenlands, Ruler of Canlita Sea) Chapter II Epilogue (Only full copy saved in Goras) The Duke of Riverdor -& a Devil¡¯s affair- Circa, winter of 192
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 333. Abarat (1/3)
Glen Arguen Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Lord of Morn Taras Monarch of Sinya Goras Abarat Part I -Broken gold arm-
The road had taken them away from the lake and the basalt flat rises in a long half a loop through an exotic but clearly pruned forest straight next to a massive mound of rubble. The local flora hadn¡¯t spared the ruins, but for spots¡­ And square, finely cut holes, the experienced burglar in Glen recognized as entry points. Folen¡¯s lute chords jingling rapidly at the touch of the bony pick ¨Conce part of a finger- and his nimble thumb working the thicker strings in the encore, accompanied by his rhythmic humming. ¡°Ta tum ta-taaaa!¡± Folen droned on top of his horse, a leg crossed over the saddle reminding Glen of Jinx, to better control the music instrument. ¡°Tum tata, tum tatum taaa, uhum,¡± the humming repeating at an increased pitch, almost alike an aroused cat in a hot summer night getting gangbanged by the whole hood. Most annoying music Glen had ever heard. The top five had three of Folen¡¯s ¡®own¡¯ tunes. ¡°FUCK¡¯S SAKE!¡± Glen roared all riled up, Outlaw neighing disturbed underneath him at the sudden brouhaha, afore stopping altogether. Kirk that was riding next to him pulled at the reins to stop as well a moment later. ¡°It is a catchy tune,¡± Soren said crunching on a spherical red fruit. Either the mother of all tomatoes, or a pepper, if he was lucky. There were a lot of spores dropping from that thing. ¡°Adventu¡­ ehm¡­¡± ¡°¡­rery!¡± Folen helped him finish the incorrect word stopping his singing and playing, Darunia heard still droning right next to an amused Sam Mathews, afore stopping herself with an embarrassed cute gasp. Eh. ¡°There¡¯s no such thing!¡± Glen growled. ¡°Heard it from a bard no less,¡± Folen argued, striking a couple of more notes for emphasis. Onas who was riding at the front, turned around abruptly and hurled a small stick he used to scratch his nappe at him. Folen dodged it managing to stay on the saddle somehow, which Glen thought was nigh impressive given his position. ¡°Adventurers through and through,¡± Folen added a little peeved with the old Zilan. ¡°When was that?¡± Glen grunted and spotted Elwuin leaving the trail and heading for the large mound of ruins. Luthos had a boil amidst the balls! The long procession was coming apart at the seams. ¡°Hey!¡± He yelled at the distracted scholar. ¡°Eh, a mere hundred years ago and some change,¡± Folen replied and Sam frowned. ¡°Gods darnit,¡± Glen cursed having moved on to more pressing matters. ¡°Somebody stop that fool!¡± ¡°He¡¯ll be back,¡± Folen assured him. ¡°You want me to go get him Glen?¡± Soren asked and Glen sighed. ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡± ¡°Nonsense,¡± Vaelenn said, the Judicar of Goras had a fine light-blue mesh over her wet hair, since she had ¡®dipped in a spring¡¯ while they were watering the horses with Darunia. ¡°Master Sam should go.¡± ¡°Ah, leave it Sam,¡± Glen retorted. ¡°Elwuin needs special care.¡± ¡°Pfft,¡± Lord Onas differed audibly. The legit adventurer of their group along with Jingo and Marlo, the latter a more dour version of himself after Snakeville shrugged his broad shoulders. The three men had membership to the Guild and everything. ¡°Wasn¡¯t going to go after him,¡± Sam admitted crooking his mouth. ¡°Just got a bad vibe from the Judge there is all.¡± ¡°Your services are no longer needed is why,¡± Vaelenn hissed hauntingly and Glen puffed his cheeks out unsure what was this about. He clicked his tongue and with another glare at Folen who had sneakily started thumbing the chords seeing him on the move, Glen left the road and rode after Elwuin.
¡°Elwuin!¡± Glen yelled. He¡¯d reached the base of the massive structure and jumped from his horse, who proceeded on tasting the prairie sprouting out of the flat ground. ¡°Shite!¡± he cursed, stumbling on a rock hidden under the grass. ¡°Motherfucker!¡± ¡°Lord Garth?¡± Elwuin¡¯s voice came from one of the openings. ¡°Here.¡± ¡°Where?¡± Glen grunted climbing the slippery slope to reach it. ¡°Found anything in the hole?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a door,¡± Elwuin explained and Glen walked through the dark opening towards the light coming from the other side. Almost cracked his head open stepping out of it, his boot plunging down to the void without warning. The terrain was starting much lower than the lip of the threshold. Over a meter in difference. Glen had to roll midair and turn sideways to land on a shoulder, luckily not connecting with any of the protruding rocks. Plaguin'' cretin! ¡°Beware,¡± Elwuin murmured stooped over a pile of rubble, next to what had been a staircase. The inside of the massive building gutted, the ceiling collapsed and few walls still left standing of what once had been at least a six-story high structure. ¡°The floor has caved somewhat.¡± ¡°Gods damnit,¡± Glen growled hoarsely, rubbing at his hurt knee. ¡°You could¡¯ve told me that sooner!¡± ¡°Uhm,¡± Elwuin replied cleaning what looked like a piece of porcelain with his sleeve. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of caving,¡± Glen griped approaching him now sporting a slight limp. ¡°There are a couple of floors under us,¡± Elwuin explained absentmindedly. ¡°Is it safe?¡± Glen asked and looked about them. The open sky above them letting plenty of light in to shine on the devastated surroundings. ¡°Nothing is safe,¡± Elwuin replied. ¡°A bug can sneak in your throat, when you attempt a morning yawn. Get stuck in there. Die, or lay a million eggs.¡± ¡°Right. I get the picture,¡± Glen grunted with a shiver. ¡°Was this a palace? It is pretty massive in size.¡± ¡°An Academy.¡± ¡°Uhm. Lots of students?¡± Glen asked, checking around his boots for any snakes. There were dangerous-looking holes on the debris covered floor, dark and creepy. ¡°Not really, but Quiceran loved large spaces,¡± Elwuin said licking the porcelain to clean it better. Glen shook his head and caught the glint of something in one of the larger chasms. Something metallic and yellowy. He walked there and started moving rocks out of the way. ¡°Any mining lessons given?¡± Glen asked preoccupied with unearthing the item. ¡°Other than alchemy, everything else was either art, or architecture. Engineering for those looking for something to get their hands dirty.¡± He found a moss covered cup first, attached to a hand. ¡°Shit!¡± Glen recoiled. ¡°Animals come over to nest¡ª¡± ¡°No ye fool,¡± Glen interrupted him annoyed and breathing heavy. ¡°That¡¯s an arm holding a cup right here!¡± Not a corpse. A genuine gold cup, held by a gold-looking arm. Half an arm. Eh. Hmm. ¡°Help me out here,¡± he urged the distracted scholar. ¡°I think dis is gold gods damnit!¡± ¡°Haha, yeah it is,¡± Elwuin agreed coming closer to see for himself. ¡°The main hall had these golden statues about. Pretty garish, but for Nuala and Naossis I suppose,¡± the scholar continued, although Glen had stopped listening after the ¡®golden statues¡¯ part. ¡°When you say gold¡­¡± he queried lifting the unearthed piece of treasure up. ¡°Do ye mean, like hollow?¡± Glen turned it around to see for himself. That thing weighed a ton.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°Nah,¡± Elwuin replied, the chopped off arm slipping from a stunned Glen¡¯s fingers and hitting the rocks under him. It cracked the cup right the middle. ¡°The Rock was basically a gold mountain. No need to be frugal on the material.¡± ¡°The Rock?¡± Glen asked stooping to pick up the hefty piece carefully. ¡°On Cydonia Cazan,¡± Elwuin elucidated and Glen¡¯s mouth turned numb. ¡°A gold mountain,¡± he repeated slowly, feeling dizzy. ¡°That sounds¡­ rather big. Mm?¡± ¡°Haha, yeah it was Lord Garth. Or eh... I don¡¯t really know how things are over there now.¡± ¡°Your meaning is?¡± ¡°Well, the place went under, but for the peaks I suppose,¡± Elwuin explained and examined the piece of the statue Glen held in his arms. ¡°So¡­ there¡¯s a peak,¡± Glen murmured thoughtfully. Of fucking gold! ¡°Luthos,¡± Elwuin said cutting his internal excited outburst short. ¡°Luthos willing?¡± Glen guessed. It made sense, but still¡­ ¡°No, that¡¯s Luthos statue you have there,¡± Elwuin corrected him. ¡°Now that¡¯s quite unlucky.¡± ¡°Why is that?¡± Glen asked narrowing his amber eyes. ¡°Well, that fool¡¯s statue was the smallest one,¡± Elwuin sighed pensively looking about the destroyed structure. ¡°Somewhere under the rubble are much bigger pieces and much more important finds than gold I suppose.¡± ¡°Gems?¡± Glen perked up. Sen loved gems. He did as well. Diamonds the most, because they worth a fuck ton of gold coins. Haha! ¡°Eh, no¡­ people, old perished colleagues,¡± Elwuin replied with a frown. ¡°Encased in valuables?¡± Glen probed peacefully not to disturb the dead. ¡°No. Just robes, these were scientists Lord Garth. Pillars of knowledge.¡± Fuck them then. ¡°Uhm. Well, first chance we get, we need this place properly cleaned and everything of worth dug out,¡± Glen decided and tried to slot the arm in his satchel, but it was too big. So he kind of held it with his right hand, but it weighted him to the side a bit, which was bothersome. But not enough to leave it behind. Hah. ¡°You mean that?¡± Elwuin asked sounding moved, afore catching himself. ¡°It will mean a lot to have all those poor souls placed near a tree properly. The people will cherish the gesture Lord Garth.¡± Glen stared at him blankly for a moment unsure what he was talking about and then nodded. ¡°How do we get out?¡± He asked the scholar, among other things. ¡°Back through the opening,¡± Elwuin replied nonchalantly and started walking on the bombarded floor to the direction of the now much higher exit. ¡°You mean climb?¡± Glen grunted following after him. ¡°I thought you knew of another way damnit! A carefully placed rope, or something! Dude no offense, but ye suck arse at looting! I¡¯m bringing Jinx next time.¡± And Soren, for the heftier pieces. Belaeg Oel IL-Hoer (Great Acid Lake) South banks, Vines Wall approach to Abarat Summer of 3398 IC (Third Era) 192 NC A lithe Zilan wearing a simple short tunic paused at the narrow top of the long wall of vines and looked down at their long procession curious. The twenty meter tall ¡®wall¡¯ was wider at its foundation and about two meters thick at the top. It was fully covered with vines, wiry branches heavy with large colorful grapes and had thick knotted ropes dangling down every three or four meters, all the way to the ground. It continued on for kilometers following the banks of the mist-covered lake, leaving a large empty weeds-covered no man¡¯s land on the other side and ¡®restricted¡¯ access to the giant lake¡¯s shores. Dozens of Zilan were walking its top and worked on gathering the grapes in large leather sacks they carried over their shoulders. As many Glen spotted climbing down the other side using another set of knots-covered ropes carrying long sticks. The sonorous sound of many bronze Lurs came from the distance, probably the towers of Abarat. One moment the fine granite road they had been following was quiet and even idyllic, the wilderness of Nature so characteristic in the jungles around Goras tamed somewhat, or perhaps cultivated, the other, Zilan appeared on top of the Vines Wall and structures sprouted near its foundations. Yards and bizarre scalene triangle shaped houses, three-four human stories tall, but in typical Zilan fashion mostly one regular one story buildings with very tall ceilings. Space was everything. Most rooftops so high they connected to the top of the wall with narrow suspended bridges. Some of the perilous rope-bridges as long as a hundred meters. A veteran burglar would have a panic attack crossing these motherfuckers, Glen thought. But it can be done. Colorfully dressed locals appeared at the thresholds, some very near Phina¡¯s age, or even younger than the curious female. Others followed by laden ostriches carrying supplies, or in small groups. Most pausing, or moving away from the weary horses. A few raising their arms, thumb and index finger extended in the old Imperial salutation. Glen stood up straighter at the saddle, glanced nervously at the sky to make sure Uvrycres wasn¡¯t going to dive on the clueless citizenry and blast them to smithereens, afore turning to Vaelenn for advice. Folen whispering before he could get a word out. Too low, given the cursed horns/lurs, or whatever the allhells those things were, blasting his ears out, for Glen to hear him. ¡°What was that?¡± ¡°The supports for the wall are on the other side,¡± Folen repeated. ¡°Garth has poor ears.¡± ¡°Other than the fact I don¡¯t give a shite about it, Folen is missing teeth in his future,¡± Glen retorted curtly. ¡°Do you know how it happens? Bring your face closer lest the secret gets out.¡± ¡°I rather not, oh ye great tamer of beasts.¡± ¡°Hmm, while you¡¯re right, I don¡¯t believe you mean it.¡± ¡°He¡¯s nervous,¡± Vaelenn intervened with a sigh. ¡°It is better not to speak a lot Hardir. Remember you don¡¯t have to explain yourself in the open.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to,¡± Glen replied sourly eyeing Folen suspiciously. ¡°But I¡¯m also not against the idea of a good word salad, if it gets the needle going in our favor.¡± ¡°What needle?¡± Folen queried annoyingly, having moved out of Glen¡¯s reach. Or so he thought. Glen reached for a hardtack and then flicked it expertly from the hip, catching the Master of Silence ¨Cthe position quite ironic considering Folen had strained everyone¡¯s nerves in the trip with his ¡®songs¡¯- right between the eyes and snapped his head back. ¡°On the cosmic scales,¡± Elwuin started eyes closed as if visualizing the scene and everyone groaned mimicking the pained Folen not really wanting to expound on it. The scholar had approached on his mule, but Folen gave the animal a smack on its rear and it jolted forward away from their row, with the distracted academic continuing his long monotonous diatribe on whatever had caught his fancy.
The walls of Abarat were taller than the wall Lord Rothomir had built. They stood angled, inclined outwards at its foundations, then shot straight up, the polished granite blocks it was made out of seamlessly joined. Built on a hilltop, its main gates were so big they almost reached the top of the inverted triangle shaped crenels and they were ovule-shaped. Made of wrought iron plates painted a dark bronze. Like its walls. ¡°Abarat means strength,¡± Vaelenn informed him, but Glen¡¯s eyes were set on the Zilan riding a fine white stallion, its long mane braided with gems and colorful strings. She wore a long purple, silk-like chiton dress and had her hair caught loosely away from her austere Zilan face. Her clean long hair a pure white with several purple strands in it, which judging by Anfalon and Onas meant she was ¡®old¡¯ by Zilan standards. ¡°This is Olonelis ¡®The Astute¡¯, Darunia¡¯s mother,¡± Vaelenn added with a small frown. ¡°Coming to meet you at the gates,¡± she added knowingly, as if Glen was some philistine brute that would start berating the old but charming Council member for not doing it, or even throwing pieces of food at her. ¡°Uhm,¡± Glen murmured after clearing his throat, as their horses climbed the sloped terrain towards the gates of Abarat. The approaches to the walled city mostly covered with fields and neat exotic estates like the ones in Goras. In fact, much of the city seemed to have spilled out of its walls and grew around them up the gentle slopes. The severe Hoplite helmet and figure of Anfalon standing at the end of a long row of his men inside the Gates, the first familiar thing Glen had spotted for a while. ¡°Abarat salutes Hardir O¡¯ Fardor, Arguen Garth, the Ruler of Morn Taras and the Monarch of Goras,¡± Olonelis started in refined, but by now more or less comprehensible Imperial to Glen, her long arms clasping the horn of her engraved wooden saddle. Granted she had used words he was pretty familiar with. ¡°The Council of Twenty recognizes his claim over the land and Olonelis speaks for the Imperial citizens that have found refuge in the city¡¯s embrace. Abarat yields Hardir, we shall not fight.¡± ¡°Um,¡± Glen grunted and gave a solemn nod, unwittingly sucking at his upper lip afore catching himself and assuming a more grave expression, as befitting men of his station and stature. The moment dragging. ¡°I¡¯m Vaelenn, famed Olonelis, Judicar of Sinya Goras,¡± Vaelenn thankfully said in as fine Imperial, seeing as Glen had a nervous tick starting on his left eye he could barely contain and he didn¡¯t want to move his hands away from the saddle¡¯s pommel, if things got worse. ¡°To the Heavens above our greetings wise Elderblood. We come in peace.¡± Bearing no fuckin¡¯ gifts. Other than a heavy broken gold arm, he wasn¡¯t going to give up that easy. Finders keepers old lady, he thought eyeing the wise Zilan female warningly. ¡°Our thoughts and prayers,¡± Olonelis replied in Imperial with the hint of a smile and with a nod probably to her daughter that was standing next to Sam Mathews a couple of rows behind Glen and Vaelenn, for much of the journey now that Glen thought about it, she turned her magnificent mount and waited for them to enter. Oh well, Glen decided with a shrug, some of his uneasiness settling and clicked his tongue to move Outlaw near the rather tall council member and Elderblood apparently. While Olonelis was a fine looking female, Darunia was besting her mother on that department by a good margin, he thought, which was a weird line of thinking to delve on given the timing and the place, but Glen did it anyway. Because he could.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 334. Abarat (2/3)
Belaeg Oel IL-Hoer Elas Bridge Summer of 66NC Eighteen years into the reign of Duke Rupert I ¡®the violent¡¯ of Asturia A hundred and twenty into the reign of Lord Rothomir of Abarat 2274 years into the reign of Lord Suraer ¡®the Mithren¡¯ of Lo-Minas Seventy two years after the Fall
¡®Let me try this again¡¯, Valwarin thought, tip of his tongue out the side of his mouth, the nineteen year old busy checking the chords and the tuners on his scratched lute again. Folen the willowy Zilan, well combed and oiled blue hair on his head, big golden loops hanging from his rabbit like ears, watching him carefully with those gleaming large eyes. ¡®Creep.¡¯ The narrow weeds covered land bridge teeming with life from colorful bugs, to the watermelon sized frogs that feasted on them. A flock of Ostriches had gone past their spot a couple hours earlier and had all but run over Valwarin and their Zilan guide. Well, Folen had admitted on being a part-time guide ¡®among other things¡¯ so there was that. Like for instance a smuggler and procurer of ¡®exotic females¡¯. When Ebenezer had inquired what he meant by that ¨Cas if he didn¡¯t get what the Zilan meant- their guide had remained vague on the species not wanting to commit perhaps, or just because this was a new scheme he was working on. There were crooks in every species, his uncle used to say. ¡°I used to be an adventurer like you,¡± Folen jested in his terrible common, the joke running old by now. ¡°Ahm, I¡¯m a musician really,¡± Valwarin replied and eyed the resting on a dead giant turtle¡¯s shell Zilan. ¡°A bard, aye. Eb and Dubrot are the action heroes.¡± ¡°Hah!¡± Folen guffawed, smacking a buzzing hornet with the flat of his palm. The bug exploding midair. ¡°Shit! A gusher! Well, I¡¯ve done a bit of that as well. Uhm, bet you I can play any tune you come up with.¡± ¡°Is that so? I¡¯ll have you know I delve in verses as well,¡± Valwarin retorted and thumbed the chords expertly. ¡°Though I¡¯m a bit hoarse at the moment due to the ungodly humidity of this hellhole.¡± ¡°Just don¡¯t drink the water. Enough Sulphur in it to boil yer innards,¡± Folen advised him, looking about them. They had stopped near the end of the land bridge. Elas Bridge, the Imperials called it. Which would have been irrelevant since the High King had declared they were extinct for the most part, but wasn¡¯t, seeing as they were pretty lively far as Valwarin was concerned. Scary as fuck as well. And modestly helpful, meaning they were lucky Ebenezer spoke their language fluently. Folen had admitted that he thought of eating him in a drunken confession in Abarat. The problem with Eb was of course that he was as untrustworthy as the Zilan guide. His youthful looking friend, Ebenezer was six and thirty already despite looking not a day older than the first time Valwarin had met him in 57 NC, was always getting them in trouble. He had Zilan blood in him of course, but he looked more human than his mother which was something. Other than the ears. Those were¡­ well, big for a human. Just like Durbrot¡¯s head was huge in comparison, though the dwarf just wouldn¡¯t admit it. Dwarfs were seriously angry motherfuckers. Valwarin cleared his throat, a blue and red ugly bird landing on a fiercely red-leafed maple tree, winking at him once and then stepping back awkwardly to disappear into the environment. ¡°Give me an E,¡± Valwarin told the cleaning his hand Zilan. ¡°Like what?¡± ¡°Just use whatever word comes to mind, I haven¡¯t thought of verses yet.¡± ¡°Tum, Tum¡­¡± Folen started, nailing the fifth semitone like a pro. Valwarin taking over, flicking his fingers on the chords. ¡°Ta tum ta-taaaa!¡± he hummed accompanying the notes, the bird squealing and flying away in panic, heavy boots splashing in the mud coming their way. Out of the tall weeds burst Dubrot, lower part of his beard covered in mud and teeth clenched in his snarling mouth. ¡°What?¡± Folen gasped and jumped to his feet, Dubrot grabbing Valwarin¡¯s arm as he went past them and all but lifting him clean off the ground. Valwarin yelped desperately holding on to his lute, the dwarf sprinting fast despite his weight and short stubby legs. ¡°MOVE! YOU FOOLS!¡± Dubrot bellowed cutting through the vegetation, Valwarin tripping over his feet trying to follow after his friend, Folen catching up with them and then pulling ahead with ease sending mud and rotting material on their faces. ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± Valwarin cried out, half delirious from the sudden exertion and he heard the thudding of hooves rushing up behind them, Ebenezer¡¯s characteristic voice cutting through his panic induced haze. ¡°LEG IT BOYS!¡± Their leader yelled and there he was out of the foliage, riding a magnificent horse. Valwarin stumbled and almost went down, gulped down a sweet grape that was probably a sugar-fly given his rotten luck and glancing back to see Ebenezer catching up with them, he spotted the riders pursuing their fleeing group. Oh, the horror! ¡°FOLEN TAKE DUBROT TO THE GARDEN!¡± Ebenezer yelled in common galloping wild and slouching sideways over the saddle grabbed a screaming Valwarin by the waist, lifted him off the ground a second time in as many minutes, his legs still kicking and then deposited the squealing at the top of his lungs bard on the horse behind him. As much dashing as humiliating an experience for the scared bard. ¡°Damnit Eb,¡± Valwarin cried, Dubrot cursing them both in his heavy southern dwarvish dialect. ¡°What did you do?¡± The adventurer turned and showed him a beautiful Mithril shirt he had slotted in the saddlebags, while whispering for their horse to pick up the pace. They literally blasted through the narrow land bridge ahead from their pursuers sporting the ¡®Stallion by the lakes¡¯ crest of Lo-Minas on their armoured chests. ¡°Where did you find that?¡± Valwarin screamed hoarsely to be heard over the thundering hooves. It came out a croak, his music future ¨Csuch as it was- threatened with such attempts. ¡°Remember I¡¯d spotted Aelinole bathing wit Darunia the other day? Well, she goes by herself as well,¡± Ebenezer yelled through his fierce wolfish grin and glanced back to watch their opponents falling behind. ¡°Had them running in circles for a while haha!¡± He exclaimed with enthusiasm and seeing Valwarin¡¯s disheveled sweat and drool covered miserable face looking at him with ogling eyes, he shrugged his broad shoulders afore adding. ¡°She took the darn thing off and left it by the shore. Almost didn¡¯t take it, but I had to.¡± ¡°Why¡­ you almost didn¡¯t?¡± Valwarin croaked miserably, not wanting to die in the middle of nowhere and then get eaten by their guide. He hated Folen so much at that moment. ¡®Allgods!¡¯ ¡°Not all naked arses are created equal, so I split afore I lost it,¡± Ebenezer retorted somberly. ¡°The alternative would have doomed us all my lily-livered friend,¡± he added and left it at that.
Glen Arguen Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Lord of Morn Taras Monarch of Sinya Goras Abarat Part II -A whole lot of dates-
Lord Rothomir¡¯s Abarat guards¡¯ headquarters tower is the biggest building that had ever sported the title, Glen thought and gazed at the expanding hall and impossible to discern high ceiling seeing as it was angled. The covered in polished silver sheets ceiling reminding him of mirrors, giving even more height to the hall. The twenty white marble thrones placed in a large semi-circle in front of his also out of fine white marble, beautifully engraved seat, dominating the otherwise empty space. Glen sighed and marched to the lonely throne. He parked his arse on it, grimacing as he found it a bit narrow for his tastes. Kirk came to stand next to him and Folen followed a moment later after Aenymriel, Olonelis eyeing both his council members suspiciously. Folen especially was ¡®too quiet¡¯ from the moment they had neared Abarat. Vaelenn and Anfalon had remained with Onas and Olonelis, but after a brief exchange of looks they each found a throne to sit on. Aenymriel sighed, more a scoff, but remained standing near an increasingly bored Glen. He had agreed to remain silent for diplomatic reasons, but the Zilan behaved as if they had all the time in the world, which in a sense they had and in that same vein, he didn¡¯t. Shit. ¡°So,¡± Glen started in Common and Olonelis turned to look at him inquisitively. ¡°Where is Rothomir?¡± Onas stared at Olonelis, his wrinkled face equally curious and she returned his one-eyed stare a little annoyed. Glen could understand that, the old geese had a disturbing intense glare. ¡°Lord Rothomir, has left Abarat and released the city to me,¡± she replied in Imperial. Now Glen could understand the gist of what she was saying, but he wasn¡¯t as fluent, or cooperative, so he probed in Common again, using a bit of his own sauce of ¡®jargon Imperial¡¯ favored in Goras for flavor. ¡°Let me get something out of the way girl,¡± he cautioned the graceful, but austere female Zilan. ¡°I¡¯m way past circling the drain, or fiddling the berries,¡± Onas cracked a smile at his incoherent rumblings, Vaelenn scrunched her face to hide her embarrassment and Olonelis blinked in shock, which Glen appreciated. It made her look younger. ¡°So when I ask a question Nely, I expect a reply with a bit more meat in it,¡± he finished and stood back on the uncomfortable throne. The polished marble made his arse slide forward slowly and he had to still his calves to stop the forward momentum.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. It would have been nigh awkward if he glided off the throne and onto the marble tiles while waiting for an answer. Fuck¡¯s sake! ¡°Ahm¡­ what was the query Hardir?¡± Olonelis asked, a little redder in the face. ¡°Rothomir is missing,¡± Glen reminded her tensely. ¡°He fled with his entourage. That is all I know,¡± Olonelis replied. ¡°I would appreciate if you remembered my name Hardir.¡± ¡°I do,¡± Glen retorted. ¡°It was a moniker.¡± ¡°She prefers Nel when she has a cup too many,¡± Onas commented with a chuckle and Olonelis showed him her teeth not appreciating it. ¡°What? Oh, come on old lass. He¡¯s a rustic lad,¡± Onas scolded her. ¡°Ninthalor was even worse, he could barely string a couple of sentences together, when he wasn¡¯t drunk.¡± Glen furrowed his brow unsure if that was a praise. ¡°Could he have gone to Lo-Minas?¡± Aenymriel asked evenly and the other members of the Council of Twenty present turned to look at her. Elwuin was missing, since he¡¯d work to do according to his own abrupt statement made the moment they had reached the center of the castle city. ¡°I don¡¯t believe it,¡± Anfalon replied. ¡°Lord Suraer has sent a missive.¡± ¡°He wants to talk?¡± Aenymriel asked and Olonelis hissed in annoyance. ¡°Why is she here?¡± She probed. ¡°Hardir wants her in the Council,¡± Onas stated and Olonelis puffed out exasperated. ¡°Is Hardir informed on the circumstances that led to her removal?¡± She asked patiently. ¡°I don¡¯t believe he is,¡± Onas replied. ¡°I don¡¯t care,¡± Glen said and eyed them warningly. ¡°This is a new start. I shall judge her performance and not you.¡± ¡°Hardir¡­¡± Olonelis paused and licked her lips. ¡°As you wish. Will you allow the Council the courtesy of questioning her?¡± Glen glanced at Aenymriel and then at the other Elderbloods. ¡°Let me think on it,¡± he finally said. ¡°How many members of the Council are around?¡± ¡°Lord Suraer and Paeris are the only ones not in Abarat,¡± Onas replied. Glen nodded. ¡°Paeris is a scholar?¡± Aenymriel made a small sound like a giggle. ¡°Of sorts,¡± she whispered. ¡°He is an artist, but hasn¡¯t performed in years,¡± Olonelis explained. ¡°How many years?¡± ¡°Ahm, around fifteen centuries?¡± she replied not fully certain and Glen cleared his throat, a bit weirded out at the numbers being thrown casually. ¡°So Elwuin, Onas, Anfalon, Aenymriel, Nel, Lord Sure¡ª¡± ¡°Suraer,¡± Folen corrected him. ¡°Whatever,¡± Glen continued with a warning side glare. ¡°Paris,¡± Olonelis opened her mouth to correct him in her turn, but close it back down seeing Glen¡¯s eyes lock on her. ¡°Who am I forgetting?¡± ¡°Well, would some of the exiles still survive out there?¡± Onas asked thoughtfully. ¡°Like Aelrindel?¡± ¡°You know of the sorceress?¡± Olonelis probed quite interested. ¡°I¡¯ve met her,¡± Glen replied smugly. Lith as well, but I¡¯ll keep it to myself. ¡°Anyone else?¡± ¡°Eh, there¡¯s Ena in the Garden,¡± Onas murmured and scratched his balding head with a hand. Glen caught Olonelis tense up in her throne. He turned his head around and stared at Nym, now in a fetching long light-grey tunic. ¡°What of her?¡± Glen asked keeping his eyes on Aenymriel. ¡°She¡¯s incapacitated,¡± Onas replied and glanced about the room sensing the tension in the air. ¡°Right?¡± ¡°As far as I know,¡± Olonelis said and Nym stooped in Glen¡¯s ear, her breath teasing and whispered. ¡°She¡¯s a witch.¡± Glen shivered and stood up on the throne remembering the freak in Snakeville. ¡°Speak so we can hear lass,¡± Onas grunted. ¡°I thought you people hear everything,¡± Glen retorted mockingly. ¡°She used the ¡®Silent Tongue¡¯,¡± Anfalon explained and Olonelis grimaced in disgust. Ah. Din does it, but the dude has no tongue allegedly. Glen hadn¡¯t exactly checked to be sure. ¡°A fighter delving in dark magic and doing Oras biding,¡± Olonelis hissed. ¡°Warlocks do and mystics,¡± Aenymriel replied sternly standing up straighter. ¡°Oh, please. You didn¡¯t learn a whole new class to help others! You did it to obscure your dark designs like now,¡± Olonelis snapped at her. Hey, old crow. She was helping me here. ¡°I¡¯ve done what many have done in the past afore me. All you need is the will and a bit of crazy stubbornness,¡± Aenymriel said, a bit of anger in her voice. ¡°You didn¡¯t have the talent for it, but you¡¯re clearly fluent now,¡± Olonelis hissed. ¡°I knew your brother! You¡¯ll use his defense of your craziness as your backstory? Elas lied to save you!¡± ¡°Why?¡± Glen asked. ¡°Can we direct our attention on present matters?¡± Onas grunted, his wrinkled face sweating. ¡°You¡¯ll talk of something that happened in 2090 IC Lady Olonelis?¡± ¡°The question has never been sufficiently answered!¡± Olonelis snarled at him. ¡°Wait,¡± Glen intervened. ¡°This happens in the future?¡± The room turned silent, but for Kirk who nodded as confused as Glen. ¡°Ehm,¡± Vaelenn said in a small voice, the Judicar very quiet around the Elderbloods. ¡°I believe Lord Onas was referring to the Imperial Calendar.¡± ¡°The old one?¡± Glen asked and repositioned his butt on the throne. ¡°No that¡¯s another,¡± Onas replied. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, it¡¯s in the past.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the date on the one you were talking about?¡± Glen asked him curious. ¡°What is it?¡± Onas asked his colleagues. ¡°I¡¯ve lost track.¡± ¡°Ninety eight, three hundred and three thousand,¡± Aenymriel replied calmly. ¡°The Third Era.¡± ¡°What about the years since 3206?¡± Olonelis asked. ¡°What happened then?¡± Glen asked trying to keep up. ¡°Baltoris fell,¡± Onas replied pensively. Lith¡¯s mum, Glen thought. That¡¯s a lot of fucking years. ¡°The middle ages?¡± Aenymriel offered and the others seemed to go along with her suggestion. ¡°So, what happened in 2090?¡± Glen asked although he¡¯d guessed already. When you learn of the old King¡¯s fate, Flix had advised, ask what happened to Elas sister. Every story has a beginning, a middle and an ending. ¡°The King and his wife were murdered,¡± Onas replied hoarsely. ¡°The killer was never caught.¡± Glen stared at the blank-faced Aenymriel. ¡°She was cleared?¡± ¡°Not everyone was convinced she couldn¡¯t have done it,¡± Olonelis argued. ¡°The Queen consort was an Imperial Ranger.¡± Glen could see the appeal, that darn uniform was something. Though Nym¡¯s assassin tight-fitting garbs were noteworthy as well. He wanted to keep it fair. ¡°Did she have a name?¡± ¡°Kythaela,¡± Olonelis replied. ¡°She was very skilled, but a master assassin could slip through.¡± Onas scoffed at that and Aenymriel took offence. ¡°I trust your brother¡¯s assessment,¡± Onas told her with a shrug. ¡°Know that there¡¯s a place in the army for you still. Always thought that all you needed was a good drilling and seeing ye now I believe I was bloody right. A fighter wears armour lass.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll pass on the drilling Lord Onas,¡± Aenymriel retorted icily. ¡°I don¡¯t have the legs for it,¡± although she clearly had legs for days. Ye better sleep wit an eye open old goat, Glen thought, a grin creeping up on his sweaty face. He had to push some of his unruly hair back and out of his eyes, in order to keep everyone under appraisal. ¡°Anyone else capable of doing it?¡± Glen asked casually keeping the sneakily stepping back Aenymriel in his field of vision. The short haired boyish-looking female raised a cobalt eyebrow impressed. ¡°Not at her level,¡± Onas assured him, the conversation not to his liking, since he obviously considered the matter resolved. Military heads don¡¯t like rethinking past decisions. ¡°Not unless the killer was a corpse. There were three Zilan in that bedroom, two Elderbloods and a very skilled Ranger.¡± ¡°Who was the third?¡± Glen asked. ¡°Paeris,¡± Onas replied. ¡°He almost died in the attempt.¡± Hmm. ¡°Is he with Rothomir?¡± Glen queried making a note to revisit the matter in the future. ¡°Wait, is Ena in the garden still?¡± He asked and Aenymriel sighed in relief as if she was waiting for him to make the connection. To Glen¡¯s defense he had been bombarded with too many details whilst being very hungry from the journey. A whole lot of dates. It was his defense, in the sense Glen had made it himself to justify not jumping on the witch as the logical culprit faster. ¡°Where else could she be?¡± Onas asked and glanced at Olonelis again. The Council member rolled her eyes. ¡°The site is disturbed,¡± she finally said. Of course it is. ¡°And?¡± Glen probed. ¡°You don¡¯t expect me to send innocent people inside the tomb right?¡± Olonelis snapped and then grimaced. ¡°Apologies Hardir, these past days have gnawed at me.¡± Wow, a tomb is way out of the left field, Glen thought not minding her outburst. He had expected a lonely shed in the woods, or an old retiree¡¯s field with tomatoes. He cleared his throat and glanced at Kirk, the bodyguard¡¯s expression very troubled. ¡°That¡¯s alarming,¡± Onas grunted. ¡°Anfalon you need to check it out.¡± ¡°Ena would have come here,¡± Anfalon informed them calmly. ¡°Or head to Elauthin, if her brains are still scrabbled.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no Elauthin,¡± Onas grunted. And she didn¡¯t come here, because the bitch went to Snakeville to ram her fist up our arseholes, an acerbic Glen thought scrunching his face and eyeing each person present in turn. Aenymriel let out a soul deep sigh and caught sight of Folen admiring her figure. It was a loose tunic for her standards. Again Glen could understand the need to show off a bit. ¡°I always admired your courage Lady Aenymriel,¡± the former bard/tavern and brothel owner, current Master of Silence blurted out quickly. ¡°To delve into different things unafraid and unapologetic. I just wanted to get that out.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t sleep with males wearing garish earrings,¡± Aenymriel said, disregarding his diatribe. ¡°If jewelry is involved I¡¯ll take a woman. They have better taste.¡± ¡°So if I lose the earrings¡­¡± Folen haggled and Glen slammed his fist on the armrest, darn thing hard as¡­ marble and cut him off with a roar. ¡°For slovenly fuck¡¯s sake!¡± he cursed froth in his mouth and eyes ogling enraged. ¡°I need a team to check on that tomb! They get in, check for value¡­ ehm, worthy targets and sneak right out!¡± His tongue had slipped there unwittingly, despite not thinking about grave robbing at that moment. ¡°You should send him,¡± Olonelis replied disapprovingly and pointed a long nicely manicured finger on Folen. ¡°He has delved in lots of sneaking in the past. Why I bet you he has visited the tomb already!¡± ¡°Lady Olonelis,¡± Folen protested weakly. ¡°I find all this hostility towards my person unwarranted and way past its due date¡ª¡± ¡°Oh shut it you crook!¡± she snapped. ¡°You still owe Lord Suraer a Mithril shirt!¡± ¡°Hey, I didn¡¯t take it!¡± Folen protested nervously. ¡°I¡¯m the patsy!¡± Oh boy, Glen thought and collapsed on the throne. Not a moment later he started sliding forward slowly and after a soul-searching second moment Glen gave up and jumped to his feet. ¡°I¡¯ll go,¡± he grunted and eyed the guilty-looking Folen. ¡°You¡¯ll come too and you,¡± he pointed at Aenymriel. ¡°I hate the Garden,¡± she retorted a little annoyed. ¡°I don¡¯t believe you,¡± Glen deadpanned. ¡°Either way I want to find everyone here when I return. Call it a precaution. I would suggest a change in garbs.¡± The tunic is good, but them leather overalls are even better, he thought and then realized all the guilty-looking females in the room were subtly trying to influence him all this time. Wow, the dagger hissed inside his head in disbelief. You actually figured it out. See that you forget it in the next five minutes.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 335. Abarat (3/3)
Sam Mathews Abarat Part III -A tomb in the Garden-
A young Zilan carrying a huge round loaf of bread turned the corner and almost fell on an amused Marlo that was debating whether to enter the small bakery or not. The young Zilan managed to avoid the adventurer, the boy looking curiously at their weapons and run on Soren, the giant putting a spade like hand out to stop him. The Zilan gasped in shock seeing the giant Nord towering over him, the round loaf of crusty bread flying upwards until Soren caught it. ¡°There ye are,¡± Soren said in common. ¡°Mind if I take a bite out of it?¡± Darunia translated for him, but paused mid-sentence. ¡°Sam Mathews, is there a different meaning in the phrase?¡± she asked him and Sam who was still taking in the exotic castle city turned to answer unsure. He stared into Darunia¡¯s sapphire eyes and felt that pleasant warmth washing over his senses again. Damn. Darunia smiled, neat sharp twin incisors bleached white like the rest of her smaller but equally sharp teeth. ¡°Well, I used ¡®em words aplenty,¡± Marlo admitted and used his ring finger to scratch his jaw, since he was missing the mid one. Made using a weapon with his offhand a bitch, but it was for all the ¡®other uses¡¯ the adventurer was missing the finger the most. ¡°Just cut a piece out with yer hand. Mathews has blacked out. Hey, snap out of it lad!¡± ¡°Uh? I¡¯m fine Marlo,¡± Sam grunted a little peeved, returning to the present. Soren shrugged his massive shoulders seeing he was getting no answer and teared out an equally massive portion of the large loaf, almost down the middle and returned the remainder to the astounded young boy. ¡°Thanks buddy,¡± Soren said and took a large bite out of the well-baked dough. The Zilan grabbed it and run away as fast as he could. He had probably resigned to the fact the giant Nord wasn¡¯t going to leave him any and took no chances. ¡°Hah, it¡¯s pretty nice guys!¡± Soren guffawed without pausing his enthusiastic chomping. ¡°Gods darnit,¡± Marlo cursed and went to grab the bread from him. ¡°Give it here! Let me have a bite as well big guy! Let. Go. Of the loaf!¡± ¡°Well?¡± Darunia asked him stepping closer. ¡°Do I get an answer?¡± ¡°You can¡¯t work as an adventurer,¡± Sam told her, thinking on their previous talks. ¡°Silly Sam Mathews,¡± Darunia replied and touched his face with her right hand. ¡°Was this a dodge for my real query?¡± Darunia could go from a daydreaming teenager to a shrewd debater in a split second and could be nigh impossible to fool at times. Wiser than her years, he thought and then realized he didn¡¯t really know how old she was. Her youthful, fresh appearance and character making it easy to forget Darunia was an Elderborn. ¡°I wish I had more magic,¡± she whispered suddenly very close to his face. ¡°My threads wither so fast, it¡¯s not fair. But it is nice, because I get to touch you again.¡± Sam stared in her large cerulean pools mesmerized. ¡°I don¡¯t understand what you¡¯re saying,¡± he murmured, feeling her breath. ¡°Hey guys,¡± a chewing Marlo said. ¡°If this is going for a roll in the hay, or anythin¡¯ nastier, ye better do it fast because that¡¯s Ulovir approaching. Moth¡¯rfucker looks pissed as all fucks.¡±
¡°Lady Darunia,¡± the Hoplite Ulovir rustled, eyeing the unlikely duo munching at the corner of the busy street near the market. ¡°Your mother thought it wise to send me to summon you to the Guards Headquarters. Rothomir¡¯s tower of sorts, Sam translated. The Hoplite making it clear he wasn¡¯t pleased with running errands for the Council member. ¡°I¡¯ll have master Mathews escort me dear Ulovir,¡± Darunia replied pleasantly. ¡°That would be prudent,¡± Ulovir replied icily. ¡°He¡¯s invited as well.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± Darunia said with a cute frown. ¡°Does Glen need anything?¡± Sam asked the peeved Hoplite. ¡°Garth that is. Hardir.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t informed. I serve the Phalanx, find a palace herald for gossip.¡± ¡°And we value your service Ulovir,¡± Darunia said tactfully. ¡°Hey,¡± Marlo asked. ¡°Do they serve dinner there? Or if you can point us to a tavern¡ª¡± ¡°What am I?¡± Ulovir grunted, getting all fired up again. ¡°A tour guide? You have legs human, just walk the market!¡± ¡°A bug crawled up yer arse?¡± Marlo retorted belligerently. ¡°Loose the helmet lad, reckon it boils yer brains.¡± ¡°Alright that¡¯s enough!¡± Sam intervened. ¡°You¡¯ll come with us Marlo. Where¡¯s Jingo? Get him as well. Glen has found food for sure. We¡¯ll be fine.¡± Darunia sighed. ¡°What is it milady?¡± Sam asked. The fuming Ulovir had marched away from them. ¡°I prefer the shires at times like these,¡± Darunia replied. Right, Sam thought and glanced at the veteran adventurer for help. ¡°Don¡¯t look at me,¡± Marlo scolded him. ¡°I married twice and still don¡¯t remember their names, or why I did it. That is if it was legal even.¡± Uh? ¡°Really?¡± Soren asked curious. ¡°Ayup,¡± Marlo replied. ¡°One in Badum, the other in Aegium. Got too drunk and forgot about the first one. By the next morning, I had no idea who the second girl was as well. That sweet wine can turn yer brains to mush, aye. Mess ye right up,¡± he sighed reminiscing. ¡°There¡¯s a lesson here lads.¡± ¡°What is?¡± Soren asked, combing his beard to get rid of bread crumbs with his fingers. ¡°Never drink wit an empty stomach,¡± Marlo replied soberly.
Glen was arguing with Anfalon over an engraved into a map of the old empire portion of the marble-tiled floor, right behind the Lord¡¯s throne. A Zilan artist repainting some of the washed out parts with Glen not agreeing with some of his color choices. Rothomir¡¯s Hall had the thrones of the Council of Twenty facing his, an exact copy of the now destroyed palace in Elauthin according to Darunia, ¡®but much smaller¡¯. Seeing as this was a depressingly large and rather empty of furniture or decorations hall, Sam thought it was perhaps for the better. Her mother, Lady Olonelis stood alone some twenty meters from them across the room, under a fresco showing a bloated naked Nesande giving birth to the divine triplets, the light carrying Uher, the spear wielding Tyeus and the blackened stillborn Oras. The gory scene vulgar as much as terrifying, despite Darunia¡¯s efforts to present it in a light way. ¡°That¡¯s enough dear,¡± Olonelis said austerely and turned to look at them. Her face resembling an older Darunia but for the less pronounced high cheek bones and the darker green spots in her piercing large Zilan eyes. ¡°Yes mother,¡± a chastised Darunia replied. ¡°It¡¯s elating to see thee unharmed,¡± her mother continued in fluent though a little archaic Common. ¡°It is for me as well,¡± Darunia said with a relieved smile, while Sam tried to fix his leather belt and sword sheath wondering what he was doing there. ¡°As much it is upsetting given what has transpired, the rumors spreading since this morning and your company,¡± her mother continued and reached to touch the side of her daughter¡¯s now worried face softly. ¡°Can I address the rumors in private?¡± Darunia asked, glancing at the furious Glen wrestling for the artist¡¯s brush, the Zilan protesting in turn to Anfalon who offered a duel to the death outside not wanting to take sides, which seemed to calm the artist down immediately. So Glen got to paint the waters of the lake by himself. How hard could it be? He stated before diving into it with enthusiasm. ¡°You may not,¡± Olonelis had replied sternly in the meantime. ¡°For I do not believe I would like it.¡± ¡°Mother¡­ a lot has happened¡ª¡± ¡°Gods I hope not! Rothomir has left Abarat and I fear that he may not return,¡± Olonelis cut her off. ¡°About that¡­¡± Darunia started, but she was summarily interrupted again. ¡°I decided it is for the better if your union was severed,¡± Olonelis said. ¡°So we must look through the available pool for something better and befitting your legend.¡± ¡°Can leeway be offered given the times?¡± Darunia asked with a small voice looking at her hands and Olonelis set her eyes on an uncomfortable Sam afore replying strictly. ¡°Out of the question.¡± ¡°Surely¡­¡± ¡°As a matter of fact dear, a much more skillful and higher ranked suitor must be found,¡± Olonelis argued. ¡°Like Lord Suraer?¡± Darunia taunted, which her mother received with a sour press of her lips. ¡°I won¡¯t have your childhood friend¡¯s father bed you,¡± Olonelis scolded her with a snarl and a blushed Darunia gasped. ¡°It was a jest!¡± She protested. ¡°Clearly thy humor has deteriorated in the past months daughter,¡± Olonelis retorted. ¡°Mayhap it is your new and of bucolic-origins company?¡± Hey there! ¡°Master Sam has saved me from enslavement!¡± Darunia snapped and then recoiled hearing her voice reverberating inside the roomy hall. Glen paused and raised his head to look at them. ¡°What is your profession master Samwise?¡± Her mother asked mockingly. ¡°Just Sam Lady Olonelis,¡± he corrected her tensely. ¡°I¡¯ll have you know I may be foolish, but good at heart. Any fault lies with me and not your daughter.¡± ¡°That implies a transgression came to pass?¡± She hissed. ¡°Nothing untoward,¡± Sam argued feeling very embarrassed and glanced at the approaching Glen with Anfalon. ¡°How would you know?¡± Olonelis queried and Darunia blushed to the roots of her blue-purple hair.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°She¡¯s jesting,¡± Darunia said quickly. ¡°I¡¯m certainly not,¡± Olonelis insisted gruffly. ¡°Can we talk about it in private?¡± Darunia pleaded. ¡°Hey, Mathews!¡± Glen shouted reaching them, blotches of paint in his hands and armour. ¡°I have good news friend.¡± ¡°I want to talk about it even less now,¡± Olonelis complained. ¡°How could you?¡± ¡°He¡¯s an adventurer,¡± Darunia blurted out and Glen furrowed his brow, face full of suspicion. ¡°So was Eben and look at what he did!¡± ¡°Aelinole didn¡¯t sleep with him,¡± Darunia protested and Sam stood back as he had no idea what they were talking about. ¡°You want me to go into the details, or the yield of his actions?¡± Olonelis countered and Glen stepped between them arms stretched out, his left almost cupping Olonelis breast, but she managed to jerk away from him. ¡°Sorry about that,¡± Glen said suavely. ¡°Thought I had more wiggle room there. In my defense it is a loose tunic Nely. Stuff bounce about.¡± ¡°Hardir¡­¡± Olonelis croaked, adjusting the front of her tunic. ¡°I¡¯m not seeking a partner at this time, if that is your intentions.¡± ¡°Could¡¯ve have fooled me earlier wit yer antics,¡± Glen reproached her and Darunia¡¯s mother turned as red as her daughter in the face. ¡°Now, I don¡¯t know what this is, but if it is what I¡¯m guessing,¡± with that he eyed Sam disapprovingly. What? ¡°I think I can help.¡± ¡°Glen I did nothing,¡± Sam protested. ¡°But offering a helping hand to a Lady.¡± ¡°Aww,¡± Darunia gushed very moved. ¡°Yer not helping yourself friend wit all this hand talk,¡± Glen cautioned him. ¡°I was like you in my youth,¡± Glen was several years younger than Sam Mathews despite his greying at spots hair. ¡°And got in trouble once.¡± ¡°What happened?¡± Sam grunted. ¡°Why, I met Sen,¡± Glen replied with a frown, which turned into a grin. ¡°Actually it turned out rather well for me. Hmm.¡± ¡°Hardir, I won¡¯t have her mate with an adventurer! Better to have me exiled!¡± Olonelis exploded losing it. Glen nodded, Darunia screamed in panic and Sam felt his knees weaken. ¡°She asked me to join the group,¡± Sam explained to set matters straight, Darunia covering her face with both hands, but leaving a crack to stare at him through her fingers. ¡°She¡¯s persistent, but I wasn¡¯t going to give in.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± Darunia murmured a little disappointed. ¡°You don¡¯t mean that Sam Mathews.¡± ¡°Join your group,¡± Olonelis hissed and Glen puffed his cheeks out flabbergasted. ¡°Surely you¡¯ve taken the hint.¡± What? Was there interest in his part? Of course, Sam thought. But he would never act on it. ¡°Lady Olonelis I assure you¡ª¡± ¡°Darunia?¡± Olonelis asked cutting him off. ¡°I like adventuring with Sam Mathews,¡± her daughter admitted dreamily. Ah. Dammit sweetheart. ¡°Which is why you won¡¯t leave Abarat again on your own,¡± Olonelis retorted angry. ¡°Much less with him!¡± Glen sighed and hang his head. ¡°Right. Well this turned out as best as it could¡¯ve considering the circumstances,¡± he finally said after an awkward moment. ¡°Sam we are going to explore a Garden,¡± Glen announced casually next. ¡°You¡¯ll get paid the standard rate. I¡¯ve run out of coins though. So we¡¯ll have to work something else out.¡± Sam grimaced, his mind on the conversation he just had and the sullen Darunia. ¡°Marlo wants to see some coin Glen. We¡¯ve lost good men here, friends and I need him to recruit some more when we get back in Goras. Won¡¯t happen if he complains about your frugality.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t do it. No coin. But I might have something else tucked away. Gold alright. Clean and solid. Pure stuff,¡± Glen argued, giving it a thumbs up to sell it better. Sam looked at him. ¡°I need something upfront at the very least.¡± ¡°A couple of fingers,¡± Glen relented. Huh? ¡°A what?¡± Sam raised his brows taken by surprise. Glen shrugged his shoulders, a clenching his square jaw Anfalon right next to him saying nothing. The helmet-less Hoplite had managed to stay out of the whole ordeal. ¡°Yer a tough one friend,¡± Glen replied. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll throw an almost new gold cup in it. Darn thing fell off anyway.¡± Belaeg Oel IL-Hoer Elas Bridge Late summer of 3398IC (192NC) Third Era The mature ostrich stared at them through its long eyelashes, long ugly neck shooting straight up for more than a meter, a leg paused midair and its even uglier face holding a mean expression. ¡°Whoa,¡± Glen said stopping his horse. ¡°What¡¯s this bird¡¯s name?¡± Folen stooped to tell him again and the ostrich charged their way with a dissonant screech. The horses reared, the whole procession coming to a stop and Wylinor the ranger reached for an arrow. ¡°Wait!¡± Glen yelled and turned to Soren. ¡°Put it to sleep friend,¡± he told him and the giant Nord jumped from his mount, much to the animal¡¯s delight and walked towards the impressive large bird in his sluggish but covering quite the distance strides. ¡°They usually come in¡­¡± Folen started reminiscing, but Soren thwacked the bird once and sent it to the ground abruptly afore he could finish his sentence. ¡°Shit,¡± Marlo gasped very impressed. ¡°Anyone likes bird brains, has to dig ¡®em out of the mud!¡± ¡°Damnit Soren,¡± Glen sighed and climbed down his horse. ¡°What happened there?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t expect the skull to cave in Glen,¡± Soren admitted sadly. ¡°Well, fret not hale friend,¡± their leader reassured him in a comforting manner. ¡°Birds have thin bones, or something to fly the more easily. Though these don¡¯t apparently. Right Folen? You were going to offer us some input earlier.¡± The lute carrying, but acting as a guide for the mission, Master of Silence sighed deeply. ¡°They come in flocks Garth,¡± he said and rubbed his worried face with a hand. ¡°What was that?¡± Glen perked up and another ostrich came out of the foliage screeching towards him. Glen rolled nimbly ¨Chis reaction impressive as always- out of the way, but a third blasted out of the weeds, bumped onto to him hard ¨Chis reaction not as keen this time- and sent him crashing down with a yelp. He cursed livid, everyone scrabbling to react, got his sword out jumping to his feet and chopped a leg off the nearest of the two. A pandemonium of cries erupting from all about them at the sudden explosion of violence. ¡°IT¡¯S A TRAP!¡± Glen roared his eyes ogling wild and decapitated the next bird in line easily. Everyone rushing to defend themselves as a large flock of screeching two-legged large birds rushed them. Sam grunted and jumped from his horse sword in hand, but yelled and waved with it more than used it, trying to scare the birds away. Marlo and Jingo taking no chances next to him. They carved a bloody path through the assaulting flock until the ostriches broke and run away from the murderous company of adventurers. ¡°Haha!¡± Glen bellowed with a manic snarl, half-covered in gore and grey-black plumage, much like the rest of them, at least ten ostriches slain all about them. ¡°Look at them legging it. Fucking ruffians!¡± ¡°Milord,¡± a disturbed Kirk said giving him a cloth to clean his face. ¡°I think perhaps we should camp further down the path.¡± Glen nodded and stared at his garbs. ¡°Shit. You¡¯re right. Folen, where does this end?¡± ¡°Across the lake,¡± Folen replied, his clothes clean compared to the rest of them. ¡°But if you¡¯re to use the water, it¡¯s only good for stain removal.¡± ¡°Did we bring water with us Kirk?¡± Glen asked. ¡°We have milord.¡± ¡°There is plenty of water in the Garden,¡± Folen assured him. ¡°How do you know so much about it?¡± Glen asked and walked to his horse. Folen puffed out and stared at his hands. ¡°I dabbled as a guide in the past Garth,¡± he admitted. ¡°Were ye any good?¡± Glen queried reaching for the reins. ¡°How to judge one¡¯s ability? Can we really?¡± Folen asked to appear modest. ¡°You get us out of this bug-infested strip of land, yer fine,¡± Glen replied readily. ¡°Ye don¡¯t, I punch you in the nostrils and you aren¡¯t.¡± A good guide, was his meaning.
Huge Sycamore trees started at the edge of the narrow land bridge across the great lake. They hadn¡¯t seen much of it and it had taken them a whole day to move across it, camping for an hour and abandoning the idea quickly as the place was teeming with wild life. From large bloated frogs that could swallow a man¡¯s fist with ease ¨CMarlo had the misfortune of experiencing it and they had to cut away the creature to unstuck it- to myriad snakes, ostriches, water pigs and flying monkeys. The latter zipping from branch to branch ahead of them, the impressive wilderness looking more like a forest than a garden, though there was a clear paved road leading straight inside. Damn, Sam thought and turned on the saddle to stare back at the lake¡¯s shores. They hadn¡¯t seen much of the lake as stated, but they could feel its presence in the humidity of the air, as much as its foulness. It had burned their lungs and reminded him of the stories about the Hfrial Depths Phinariel loved to talk about back in Goras. Though this was a much bigger lake, as big as Canlita Sea even, though Marlo didn¡¯t think so. A gasp was heard and he turned just in time to catch Aenymriel leap from a branch and landing next to Wylinor, the ranger recoiling scared, until the lithe black-leather clad female placed a steady hand on his shoulder to stabilize him. ¡°A careless ranger,¡± Aenymriel cautioned him. ¡°Has his corpse eaten by monkeys,¡± the final bit she delivered with a boyish toothy smile. ¡°Girl, I thought ye got lost,¡± a tired Glen griped from his horse. ¡°How did ye get ahead of us?¡± ¡°I walked Hardir,¡± she chuckled and nimbly danced on the tips of her toes towards them. Covering twenty meters to stand next to Glen¡¯s horse in the blink of an eye. Outlaw snorted and sidestepped away from her. Wow. What the actual fuck? Sam wondered. ¡°Impressive,¡± Glen said, not sounding impressed, which caused the Zilan to pout in annoyance. ¡°Anyone knows where the darn tomb is?¡± Wait¡­ what? Sam thought alarmed. ¡°Wait, what?¡± Marlo grunted even more alarmed. Glen whipped his head their way and grinned fiercely. ¡°An empty one. Fear not. There¡¯s no need for alarm.¡± Anyone knowing him feeling immediately ill at ease. ¡°Why should we fear, if it¡¯s empty?¡± Marlo queried understandably worried. ¡°It¡¯s a witch¡¯s tomb,¡± Aenymriel elucidated. ¡°So caution is advised¡­ always.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s a finger up the stinger,¡± Marlo commented sourly and glared at Sam. ¡°Should¡¯ve known when ye gave me them fingers mate, something¡¯s was plaguing amiss!¡± ¡°Marlo¡­¡± Sam protested. ¡°I didn¡¯t know.¡± ¡°That makes it better?¡± the veteran adventurer griped shaking his head. ¡°Might as well slot that gold finger in the missing spot and use it to clean me nose while I still can!¡± ¡°Fingers and clogged nostrils aside,¡± Glen intervened to nip it in the bud. ¡°Folen will lead us to the tomb, so we can check on the hag¡¯s whereabouts!¡± Folen cleared his throat. ¡°Yes¡­ friend?¡± Glen asked, in an unfriendly manner. ¡°Eh, I don¡¯t actually know the way there Garth.¡± ¡°You know of a way near it?¡± Glen chanced. Folen reached for his lute nervously. ¡°It¡¯s been years. I have reached the bridge and as far as the old Greenhouse,¡± he said thumbing out a couple of gloomy notes. ¡°Put that back,¡± Glen grunted sternly. ¡°Fuck where ye doing in a greenhouse? Why not pick a blue, or a pink one?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a cultivating house milord,¡± Kirk said stooping near his shoulder. ¡°I knew that!¡± Glen blasted the bodyguard, afore catching himself. ¡°Speak Folen.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a witch¡¯s greenhouse. Was that is,¡± Aenymriel chuckled unwittingly and Glen glared at her. ¡°How do you know?¡± The female Zilan frowned. ¡°I rather not tell Hardir.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± Glen hummed audibly. ¡°Anyone thinks it¡¯s kind of weird that all these structures belong to witches around these parts?¡± Marlo noted scrunching his timeworn face this way and that. ¡°Just saying, it¡¯s kind of disconcerting, right Jingo?¡± The solemn Issir didn¡¯t even bother answering that. ¡°You lead us there then,¡± Glen decided turning to Aenymriel. ¡°If he can¡¯t.¡± ¡°The Greenhouse,¡± she repeated just to be sure. ¡°And the tomb after it,¡± a tired from the lack of sleep Glen grunted not amused. ¡°They can¡¯t have her buried far from there. They might have even tossed her in the greenhouse for all I know! Fuck¡¯s sake, let¡¯s move away from the darn lake. There were snakes crawling up my arse all night!¡± A still rattled from missing Aenymriel earlier Wylinor proving his point just then, killing a viper with a well-placed arrow.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 336. A Witch’s resting place
Glen Arguen Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Lord of Morn Taras Monarch of Sinya Goras A Witch¡¯s resting place
There were almond and fig trees, bright citrus and flashy apricots hanging from laden branches, neatly arranged rows of cherry trees and elderberries, the latter poisonous unless boiled. The different lines of fruits expanding outwards from a center, carefully measured and arranged, the space left between them flattened and pruned, with crushed marble powder turning the soil grey instead of a rich black, where the outer layer of limestone tiles had crumbled away. Tall weeds and wildflowers had slowly filled the gaps, climbing roots and thin vines had crossed the empty spaces and had fashioned a thick mesh overhead, a surprising low-slung green canopy in comparison to the forty meters tall sycamore trees forest they had left behind teeming with native fauna. ¡®You¡¯ll know when you enter the garden proper¡¯ Folen had said and he was right in a sense for once. Glen slotted a lemon sized cherry grape in his mouth and chewed on it slowly, the sweet juices refreshing his dry throat. He turned his eyes on Soren, the giant Nord working his battleaxe as a cleaning tool, hacking down saplings, branches and wayward birch trees blocking their path. Doing the work of five men on a half-a-man¡¯s wages. With a sigh the elevated ¡®former¡¯ crook climbed down from Outlaw, grimacing when he landed awkwardly on his missing toe and walked towards the bearded Soren. ¡°Want a grape?¡± Glen queried and tossed him a couple of big ones first, then another dozen he had stuffed in his well-used satchel. ¡°Got any bigger ones?¡± A sweaty Soren griped afore pouring everything in his mouth one after the other. Half a bucket of fruit. ¡°Biggest of the bunch I managed to pilfer out of the pile friend,¡± Glen replied with a smile and wiped his own moist forehead. Aenymriel had tasked Marlo with gathering them. ¡°Uhm,¡± Soren murmured chewing. ¡°What you found there?¡± Glen asked and looked about them. The rest of their group busy clearing the terrain to locate the stone tiled road they were following the previous day. This was day number three, since they had crossed the bridge. A week into their journey. ¡°Some broken tiles,¡± Soren grimacing when he crunched at the bitter cores. ¡°You might have to call on the wyvern. Burn the forest away.¡± ¡°The locals might riot at that,¡± Glen chuckled, giving his swollen, massive shoulder a slap. Soren turned his head and looked at the spot unsure on what he¡¯d felt touching him there. Glen cleared his throat and caught Wylinor calling on Folen to approach. The ranger worked some distance from them. ¡°What did you find Wyl?¡± Glen asked and stepped back for Soren to swing his large battleaxe again. ¡°Someone cleared a path, heading westwards,¡± Maeriel¡¯s former pupil reported. ¡°On the old road?¡± Glen asked and strolled that way, clicking his tongue for Outlaw to follow after him. Kirk was keeping the rest of the animals and their supplies safe about fifty meters to their rear. ¡°At spots it touches the edges of the road, but they weren¡¯t looking to reopen the path,¡± Wylinor said and showed him the narrow and slowly fading away route. Abarat kept everything rather clear, especially the old stone paved road from Elas Bridge to the springs near the mountain slopes under Turlas Peak, following Marionel River. They had crossed the small bridge over Marionel trying to find the vaunted ¡®Greenhouse inside the Orchard¡¯, but it was clear Abarat couldn¡¯t maintain this part of Nesande¡¯s Garden as well, either due to a lack of resources, or manpower. Despite its expansive building plan ¨CMarlo thought the Zilan occupied enough land to fit Issir¡¯s Eagle inside- Abarat was town-sized at best by Jelin¡¯s standards. Then again the three cities/districts back in Goras had the size of the Duchy of Asturia with barely over ten thousand inhabitants. In the same vein this wilderness was huge and could easily support a couple of Duchies at least, or a small country, as it didn¡¯t lack on anything. Wetull, at least at this point in time and a couple of centuries after the destruction it had suffered, had recovered as well. This part of Wetull has that is, Glen thought and followed after the ranger inside the path.
Glen returned to their group an hour later after having walked at least a couple of kilometers deep inside the progressively more untamed jungle. The recently cut path had turned north after a while according to Wylinor and it kept on towards the slopes that led to Desert¡¯s Watch mountains. ¡°Anything? Aenymriel asked, her large black-leather bag over her shoulder, used as prop to rest her head under an old oak¡¯s shade. ¡°It goes on,¡± Glen murmured tiredly and used a dirty cloth to wipe the back of his neck. He wanted to remove his cuirass, as his undershirt had been drenched and felt glued on his skin, but it didn¡¯t seem prudent at this point. ¡°Where¡¯s Soren?¡± ¡°He kept on chopping down trees,¡± she replied and cracked a small vile open to sip a taste, before reaching back to return it in her satchel. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Glen asked. ¡°An elixir, to better see,¡± she teased. Nym¡¯s humor had a creepy undertone in it, Glen just couldn¡¯t place. ¡°See what?¡± ¡°Through illusions,¡± Aenymriel replied. ¡°Give me some.¡± ¡°It¡¯s toxic¡­ Glen. You need to imbibe it bit by bit over several years. You¡¯ll either grow accustomed to it, or your bones will melt before your skin,¡± Aenymriel explained. ¡°I could start now,¡± Glen argued, not buying the threat. ¡°Seriously, I can¡¯t risk you falling ill, or worse,¡± she insisted. ¡°This is highly concentrated, you need a lesser potion to start. This is not the time for that.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll revisit the matter,¡± Glen warned her and she stepped forward, well into his personal space, all but touched her small nose on his. Far as Zilan went, she was on the short side. Her proportions closer to that of a normal young woman. Her dark indigo eyes examined his face with interest. ¡°Do you mind?¡± Glen grunted and Aenymriel whispered barely opening her lips, hint of malice in her voice. ¡°Soren is gone for a while.¡± Undersized bitch.
¡°Soren!¡± a worried Glen yelled moving through the opening the Nord had created. It was moving west at an arc away from the path, but five strides in a toppled tree¡¯s roots revealed broken tiles. The Nord had turned again and followed the hidden road towards a less vegetated area of the garden. A very large meadow with tall yellow grass and short sickly looking saplings. ¡°Fuck are the trees?¡± Marlo asked and stopped next to a frowning Glen. ¡°Shit,¡± Folen said standing behind them and a troubled Soren appeared, twin-bladed battleaxe over his right shoulder coming from the center of the field. Damnit big guy. ¡°What¡¯s over there?¡± Glen asked and hurried towards him. His boots hitting the hardened, but brittle ground. The grass crumpling and breaking in his path. ¡°Bad land,¡± Soren replied, a crease on his wide forehead. ¡°Not much else.¡± Glen reached the place himself moments later and looked about with interest. He knelt with a grimace and scooped some of the soil with his hand. Fine dirt, with tiny bits of grit in it. He reached for one of the sickly-weeds and uprooted it with ease. There was barely a finger of good soft soil for its thin twine like roots to dig into. Glen shoved his own finger inside the small hole in the ground and felt the hardness of the soil underneath. ¡°What is this?¡± He murmured. ¡°This is like the ground at Hellfort.¡± ¡°Aye,¡± Soren agreed. ¡°There¡¯s solid rock underneath it, nothing goes through. Basalt, or granite. Can¡¯t dig it out.¡± ¡°Who builds a greenhouse over solid rock terrain?¡± Glen wondered and stared at Aenymriel, then at Folen. ¡°It¡¯s better now than it was then,¡± Folen told him. ¡°We were shocked the moment we reached this emptiness inside the jungle.¡± Glen stared at the expansive circular field and the edges of the trees all around them, about fifty or sixty meters away. Some smaller trees are creeping towards the opening though, he noticed. Right at the imaginary circumference. He stabbed his boot down once just in case and when that didn¡¯t work, Glen walked towards the more desolate part of the field. The barren ground there colored a washed out brown, where it wasn¡¯t covered in wild flowers. A stride and his boot stumbled on a hard protrusion, rock-like. Glen caught himself and turned around to examine the terrain again. ¡°Folen bring a pickaxe here, or a shovel,¡± Glen ordered. ¡°Garth I¡¯ve never dabbled in digging¡ª¡± Glen stopped him raising his left arm. ¡°Now that¡­ is a big lie,¡± he scolded him. ¡°If you came here afore nature blanketed everything then yer friends and you looked under the ground. Bring the tool here so we can look again.¡± ¡°What did you find Glen?¡± Sam asked. He¡¯d brought the horses with Kirk as the opening was excellent for grazing, or camping. ¡°Either a very long protruding rock,¡± Glen murmured thoughtfully, using his fingers to trace the outile of the protrusion. He kept cleaning the dirt and digging more of the foot-thick obstacle out, but it kept on going, until it angled sharply right and continued seemingly forever. Hmm. ¡°Or the outline of a building with weird concrete-like walls.¡± Leveled.
The Greenhouse had a perfect square base. Each side measured at fifty meters, but for the east one that was broken in two, twenty-four meters in length smaller parts, leaving a couple of meters at its center for a door-like opening. Glen wiped his forehead and glanced at the bright sun moving over their heads towards noon. ¡°That¡¯s enough Soren,¡± he decided. ¡°I¡¯ve broken a part out Glen,¡± the determined Nord yielding their last pickaxe grunted. He¡¯d broken the other two already, the second iron blade wrapping and turning unusable. ¡°Let me see it,¡± Glen murmured and stooped to pick up the part he¡¯d dug out. A very heavy and sharp piece of shining quartz apparently. Not bedrock then. ¡°Is that¡­ a diamond?¡± Marlo gasped taking it out of his hands. Glen glared at him frustrated. ¡°It¡¯s not,¡± he griped. Glen had thought the same thing initially, but then he remembered where he¡¯d seen this type of rock again. ¡°It¡¯s quartz. Glass rock.¡± Eikenport. The fused buildings. ¡°Shit,¡± Marlo cursed and hurled it away angry. ¡°We¡¯re down to our last pickaxe Garth,¡± the adventurer hissed. ¡°We might need to dig with our hands soon and I ain¡¯t losing another finger lad!¡± ¡°Dig what?¡± Sam queried. ¡°Aren¡¯t we looking for a tomb? We might need tools for that. This ain¡¯t it clearly,¡± Marlo reminded him. No it isn¡¯t, Glen thought. Whatever happened here is a whole other story. Or is it? ¡°You know what happened here?¡± He asked the silent Aenymriel. ¡°Not all quests,¡± she replied cryptically, her face blank. ¡°Are successful, even when all tasks are fulfilled.¡± ¡°Milady wit all the respect,¡± Marlo intervened. ¡°You¡¯re not making any god darn sense!¡± ¡°Is it important to you that I do?¡± Aenymriel calmly probed out of the blue. Oops, Glen thought. Marlo scratched his head taken aback and looked at Sam. ¡°See what I told ye? Do you know what the more dangerous, but rewarding answer here is?¡± Aenymriel chuckled and Glen rolled his eyes and went to stop the stubborn Soren from swinging the pickaxe again. ¡°No,¡± Sam admitted and Marlo sighed, eyed the aloof Zilan and replied gruffly. ¡°It plaguing is!¡± ¡°Then I shall remedy that adventurer,¡± she replied and winked at him afore twirling away following the path that had brought them there. ¡°That¡¯s such bullshit!¡± A livid Folen protested. ¡°Alright,¡± a bemused Sam Mathews said, pulling at his earlobe. ¡°What the allhells just happened?¡± Glen tapped him on the shoulder going past him and after the strolling away, fine¡­ medium-sized and fit Zilan. Glen was in a forgiving mood. ¡°Some queries have double meaning Sam,¡± he told him knowingly and Sam rumbled after his back frustrated. ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°If that¡¯s the greenhouse,¡± Glen yelled without looking back reaching the fast moving Aenymriel and gesturing for Kirk to bring the animals. ¡°Then the other path leads to the tomb for sure!¡± Cut either by the witch, or the fools that got her out. Onas thought it impossible without a sorceress at hand, but Glen knew that magic could be wielded by all kinds of folk. With varying results, but notable successes. ¡°What did you mean earlier?¡± he asked the Zilan Elderblood. ¡°The killer had motive,¡± Aenymriel replied and paused to look at him under the shade of the trees. They had catapulted there in no time. Glen frowned and glanced back at the meadow after stopping next to her. ¡°It¡¯s a bubble,¡± she explained with a chuckle. ¡°Stand near a ¡®friendly¡¯ caster, or ¡®allowed in¡¯, depending on the school and you¡¯ll partake in the benefits.¡± ¡°The second part, I didn¡¯t get,¡± Glen admitted. ¡°But you don¡¯t need motive. You¡¯re an assassin.¡± ¡°No one is one thing only Hardir,¡± she hissed. ¡°Who else had motive, Nym?¡± Glen asked. He assumed they were talking about the King¡¯s killer. Nym licked her lips. ¡°Don¡¯t use that name,¡± she cautioned him. ¡°You are horrible at keeping secrets.¡± Well, everyone thinks that, which is why I¡¯m so good. ¡°Eh, you¡¯re way wrong there. Tis not even close,¡± Glen taunted. ¡°Who else?¡± ¡°The King¡¯s adversaries.¡± ¡°Why did they suspect you?¡± Glen asked taking the opportunity to learn more with the others away. ¡°I was the easy target.¡± Uh, nah¡­ there must have been a solid reason. ¡°Come on, those guys don¡¯t look like fools to me!¡± She sighed and glanced over his shoulder. ¡°We¡¯re not alone,¡± she finally whispered so only he could hear. ¡°What¡­? Of course we¡­¡± Glen paused and looked about them in alarm.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°What happened to your suspects?¡± He asked not seeing anyone and feeling silly. ¡°Is the culprit dead?¡± ¡°The first I have already answered,¡± Nym replied her eyes glowing and raised her palm, a small coal burning hot in it. She blew the aromatic smoke on his face and then dissolved into the shadow pooling under her legs. As for the other, lately I¡¯m not as sure, Nym¡¯s childish voice told him, a soft breeze taking the shades away and through the trees, the smell of incense left behind, along the hint of the putrid sweaty tang emanating out of a predator¡¯s thick pelt. Nesande¡¯s Garden, Edlenn¡¯s Orchard northern edges, Near Desert¡¯s Watch mountain range Late summer of 3398IC (192NC) Third Era Three hours of traversing the narrow route through the jungle brought them near the Desert Watch¡¯s slopes. With the light dwindling, despite the trees now sparser and the wilderness retreating, Glen decided they should make camp and examine the rocky dark rises again in the morning. The looming mountain blocking the view north, but to their east and beyond the huge hundred meter tall sequoias of the coast, lay Serpent¡¯s Canal. They had looped back in a sense towards it. ¡°If there¡¯s climbing involved,¡± Marlo commented sourly. ¡°I¡¯m out lads.¡± ¡°There are more fingers coming yer way, if you stick it out,¡± Glen assured him. ¡°Milord wit all the respect, I find the topic disturbing.¡± ¡°How about a gold forearm?¡± Glen haggled. ¡°Say, as big as Soren¡¯s?¡± Marlo asked willing to explore the option. Glen smacked his lips. ¡°You¡¯re not that valuable friend,¡± he countered. ¡°But is it a tall person?¡± ¡°No, but thickly built,¡± Glen replied. ¡°Can I see it?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t have it on me,¡± Glen dodged, though he had it in his saddlebags. ¡°What do you say Sam?¡± Marlo asked. ¡°We¡¯ve come this far Marlo. We ought to see this through.¡± ¡°Lad, this kind of logic shall get you killed.¡± ¡°Alright that¡¯s enough,¡± Glen grunted. Seeing valuable time wasted, he had reconsidered his plan. ¡°Kirk take first watch. The rest of you catch a bit of sleep. Marlo stay with Jingo. Sam, Folen, with me.¡± ¡°Ahm,¡± Folen cleared his throat and put his lute down. ¡°In the interest of full disclosure, I¡¯m a better top Garth¡ª¡± Glen stopped him with a manic roar. ¡°What in the slovenly fuck are ye talking about?¡± He blasted him spittle flying out of his mouth in copious amounts. ¡°Stop! Don¡¯t even think of going there ye lecherous buffoon!¡± ¡°Am I to come with you?¡± Aenymriel asked coming back from wherever the allfucks she had disappeared to. Glen was too frustrated to talk with her at that moment, so the Ruler of Morn Taras just nodded after he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
Ooh. Ooh-ooh. Ah-ah! The monkey mocked them from a lone ancient fig tree and hurled a rock that rattled on the cobblestone, clearly visible now that the thickest part of the jungle had been left behind. Glen glared at the little devil and paused to examine the modest drop caused by rain water, next to the path. He had spotted Aenymriel¡¯s weak light returning. She probably used it to avoid startling them, or as a warning, Glen supposed, looking at the abrupt crack-like decline thoughtfully. Everything now dry and brittle, the ground soil chockfull with small rocks and gravel all the way to the boulders at the base of the limestone mountain. ¡°The path continues north probably following the rises around Desert¡¯s Watch and the river banks Glen,¡± Sam said stooping to see what he was looking for. Glen had moved near the three meter wide trunk of the tree sprouting at the edge of the path and eyed the darkness of the slope. ¡°Heading for the Torn Earth according to their maps,¡± Glen murmured and flinched when a fig bounced off his shoulder pad. ¡°Darn monkeys,¡± he lowered his feet over the lip, a hand on the trunk of the tree and the other reaching into his satchel. ¡°Let¡¯s see how far down this goes,¡± Glen said and dropped a lightstone down, after he kept it in his hand for long enough to ignite. ¡°Folen we might need a rope,¡± Sam said to the Zilan bringing up the mule. ¡°Tie a line around the trunk and someone get rid of that monkey,¡± Glen grunted and jumped down. ¡°It¡¯s less than a two meters drop.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that way?¡± Sam asked looking down. ¡°The east side of the mountain. A couple of kilometers at the most. There¡¯s no reason to bring the road all the way here, only to turn out of the blue and round the whole darn thing to reach the sea,¡± Glen replied. ¡°This is a fake path. The real road is back that way, near the river banks, if there is one. But we are not looking for that. Alert the others.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± the adventurer asked. ¡°If the way was correct she wouldn¡¯t be back so soon,¡± Glen replied and glanced at the mass of the mountain, a black wall contrasting at the starlit night sky. A bit of solid moonlight would¡¯ve been nice, but this wall of stone is blocking it. ¡°Plus have you ever seen a Zilan building facing the west?¡± ¡°Under the mountain¡¯s shade and in the garden¡¯s dark,¡± Folen hummed. ¡°Where the path strayed, looking for the witch¡¯s mark.¡± ¡°You better not touch that lute,¡± Glen growled looking at them from under the ridge. ¡°It¡¯s a befitting song of yer adventures Garth,¡± Folen protested weakly. ¡°Let me hear it after dis is over,¡± Glen snapped, not really intending to give him the time. ¡°Now get yer arse down here, I need more light!¡± ¡°How deep is it?¡± Soren asked looking over the rim. He¡¯d just arrived with the others. A barely rested but livid Marlo cutting in afore Glen could reply. ¡°Galloping fuckin¡¯ Goblins,¡± he griped and then sucked on his unshaven cheeks hard. ¡°That¡¯s too blasted ominous a query! Ye know what this means lads?¡± ¡°It¡¯s either dangerous up ahead, or a whole lot of nothing wrapped in folly?¡± Aenymriel queried leaping over the rim. She landed lithely next to a scanning the branches for the monkey Glen. ¡°Lass, ye took the gist of it out of me mouth, somehow mixed it up and made it better,¡± Marlo replied, sounding moved. ¡°Yer going to get me in trouble.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± Aenymriel said and hurled a lemon-sized lightstone over her left shoulder abruptly. It smacked the hiding over them monkey right in the neck. The little animal gurgled, grabbing at his throat and hit the ground a moment later. The female Zilan made two quick steps, raised her right leg and crashed the writhing monkey¡¯s head with the heel of her light leather boot. Splashing its brains over the rocks and the Fig tree¡¯s roots. Shit. Glen hadn¡¯t exactly meant for her to kill it. ¡°Good grief,¡± Marlo blurted out half-impressed half-scared, a collective gasp escaping from the group. ¡°Now that be something ye ain¡¯t seeing every day!¡± It wasn¡¯t meant as a compliment but Nym grinned a gnarly smile. ¡°He¡¯s married,¡± a dejected Folen ratted him out a moment later. ¡°Twice.¡±
Glen licked the front of his teeth, his tongue finding the fake one and spat down with a frustrated grunt. He watched a silent Aenymriel getting out of one of the caves under the flat ridge, a couple of tall Sycamore trees sprouting on the giant step-like plateau at the sides of the mountain. The trees visible though more than a hundred meters above their heads due to the increased moonlight, the vines and foliage covering the sharp wall like a green blanket. Several cave entrances gaping at the limestone wall like the black mouths of some petrified beast. ¡°How the fuck do trees grow up there?¡± Marlo cursed, blade in one hand, a lightstone in the other and an extra lightstone hanging from his neck. ¡°Isn¡¯t this shite pure stone?¡± ¡°Ancient trees grow over stones,¡± Folen hummed. ¡°Black roots wrapped on bones.¡± ¡°Shut it,¡± Glen admonished him. ¡°Sam what have you found there?¡± he asked the returning adventurer. Wylinor¡¯s light appeared coming out of another of the many caves in the area. ¡°Debris and plenty of old webs,¡± Sam replied tiredly. ¡°How far inside you went?¡± Glen asked perking up. ¡°There¡¯re a lot of debris in there Glen, all over the floor,¡± Sam said. ¡°Looked like a collapse of sorts.¡± ¡°No collapse in the other cave,¡± Aenymriel reported. ¡°Lots of bats though, if anyone fancies a stress relieving potion.¡± ¡°Mmm,¡± Folen droned. ¡°Nothing came out,¡± Kirk noted instead and she shrugged her shoulders. ¡°I was quiet?¡± ¡°Right,¡± Glen decided. ¡°Sam let me see your cave for myself,¡± he said and followed after the adventurer, his light creating elongated shadows on the rocks and the hanging vines coming alive eerily. ¡°There,¡± Sam said and pointed at the debris scattered on the rather flat floor. The cave entrance standing at a meter in width and two in height, deceptively small as the inside of the cave was like a large hall extending far beyond the big pile of debris that had stopped the adventurer. ¡°Lots of cracks on them walls.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± Glen murmured and stepped on the broken rocks to cross over the other side. ¡°Only this part was affected.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know that,¡± Sam warned him standing back. ¡°Can you see in this fucking dark?¡± ¡°No,¡± Glen rustled feeling a light draft on his face and pointed the light right and left, then upwards. He dragged his boot on the ground and felt soft dirt. ¡°But this shit is even bigger in the inside. There¡¯re roots hanging from the top, sink right into the soil here.¡± ¡°What soil?¡± Sam asked and went over the pile of debris to approach him. ¡°Why¡­ you¡¯re right.¡± I built a wall, Gimoss had bragged to him back in Lebesos. From one side of the canyon to the other. Filled the gap and turned it back into one solid mountain. Can you build with magic? He wondered. Glen started walking down the large cavern that narrowed again twenty meters in, the sides turning a polished white that bounced the light off of it, straightly cut and the ceiling lowering over his head. The cave turned into a familiar tunnel and soon enough he spotted a wall-torch. Then another. ¡°This looks like Quiceran¡¯s Road, only smaller,¡± Sam murmured following after him. ¡°Get the others,¡± Glen ordered seeing the twin open doors at the end of the underground corridor and the stairs leading down. ¡°Leave some to guard the cave and bring a lot of light. Get those wall-torches working Sam.¡± There you are, he thought and pushed on. The soft breeze blowing sweaty curls off his face. The left open doors leading to a small staircase. Twenty steps out of flat, finely cut stone and then an elongated high ceiling open area, part of it showing signs of collapse with roots penetrating the tiles and spreading out inside the dark room. That¡¯s a vault alright, Glen decided spotting the open sarcophagus near the west wall still covered in vines and piles of spider webs. A lot of severed roots and snapped branches tossed over the tiled floor. His boots thudding as he approached and the sound reverberating inside the sinister dark tomb. Glen stepped on something that cracked audibly and he recoiled, his boot kicking a metallic object away. He heard it clattering on the tiles across the room and stopping with a bang, after disappearing under another silvery curtain of spider-webs concealing that part of the hall. The netting covered everything really, meshing with the hanging vines and the night flowers, but for the disturbed part around the open sarcophagus. ¡°Well?¡± Aenymriel asked standing over him when he stooped to pick up a shattered skeleton arm from the floor. The hand bones missing, but the scapula still attached with rotting bug infested ligaments. The rest of it disturbingly clean. ¡°She¡¯s not here,¡± Glen replied and the assassin nodded agreeing, her gleaming eyes examining the still dark tomb, despite the many lights the others had brought in. Nobody in the mood to comment, or crack a joke yet. ¡°You knew that,¡± Nym murmured thoughtfully. Or was it spooked? Glen felt that breeze on his skin again and glanced at the ceiling. Was there a draft coming down from above them? Ah, the dagger said reminiscing. There you are old girl. What happened to you? What in the slovenly fuck? Glen cursed, not expecting the weapon¡¯s input. The hell are you talking about? ¡°Shit is emptier than an old harlot¡¯s purse,¡± Marlo commented peeking inside the sarcophagus and impressively jumping away in the same motion. ¡°Best we leave,¡± Aenymriel cautioned them sounding spooked. Hmm, Glen thought pressing his mouth tight and looking about the disturbed vault. A light humming coming from its darkest shadow covered parts. Sam standing apart from them and near the east wall busy burning the extra webbings away with a torch to reveal more of the interior. Lirue ni o linn, the shadows crooned. The burn netting dancing away from the flames and the lightstones flickering, their light dying for a moment afore coming back. The vault heard breathing. A breath held for long and then let out. ¡°There¡¯s another sarcophagus here,¡± Sam rustled. ¡°Where?¡± Glen grunted clenching his jaw. Everyone had turned skittish all of sudden, what with all the humming and weirdness inside the vault. ¡°Behind the spider webs,¡± Sam replied. Glen walked there determined to get some answers. ¡°Lid is closed shut.¡± ¡°Bring the tools here,¡± Glen growled to snap everyone out of their jitters. ¡°We¡¯ll crack it open.¡± ¡°Leave it be,¡± Aenymriel pleaded. ¡°Kirk, get moving!¡± Glen barked and glared at her. ¡°Who¡¯s in the tomb?¡± ¡°You have what you came here for,¡± she replied tensely. ¡°I don¡¯t have shit!¡± Glen snapped at her angry. ¡°That witch is out there and it gnaws at me she might do something!¡± ¡°She can¡¯t harm you from afar,¡± Aenymriel insisted. ¡°That¡¯s not how it works. But this is sacrilegious.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care,¡± Glen retorted and grabbed the pickaxe from Kirk. ¡°I won¡¯t take moral lessons from you.¡± He worked the blade into the seam of the heavy granite lid and looked to find some purchase to pry it open. ¡°Kirk, Sam work on the other edge!¡± Glen grunted, the lights flickering again. ¡°Hardir,¡± Nym hissed, her voice caught and reverberating inside the tomb. Hardir O¡¯ Fardor, the shadows whispered. ¡°Who is it?¡± Glen bellowed wrenching the pickaxe hard, once, twice and then lifting the lid with a loud crack. ¡°The Night¡¯s Moon,¡± Nym whispered and the sarcophagus¡¯ heavy cover was pushed aside with the help of Sam and Kirk. ¡°Apologies Goddess.¡± Ah, Glen thought and knelt to look inside the stone coffin. A gold mask looking back at him, the crumbling remains of a mummified body, blackened thin fingers clasping at a long intricately engraved ivory staff with a sparkling silvery curved end, a large milky crystal attached there. The gold mask shining in turn when their lights illuminated the interior of the sarcophagus fully, two grape sized diamonds where her eye-openings were sparkling with uncanny brilliance. It was a woman¡¯s face. A Zilan¡¯s that is, a beautiful, serene-looking death mask. ¡°Grab the mask,¡± Marlo said looking over the side. ¡°That shite is worth a lot of gold fingers milord.¡± Kirk reached inside and worked on dislodging the stuck with a keratinous substance burial artifact and he managed it, while Glen looked to take the fine staff off of the long dead Zilan. He had to break most of the fingers to do it, which was an ugly job, but grave-robbing was paying good coin for that very reason. Not many had the guts to do it. ¡°What are you?¡± Aenymriel wondered seeing Glen prying the long staff away, but Sam¡¯s gasp of horror stopped him from replying. Kirk had removed the golden, diamond adorned mask from the mummified corpse, but under the fine-looking mask was a grotesquely mauled and disfigured head. Most of the face missing but for the lower part of her jaw, the top part of her skull gone and the bones angling outwards as if they had exploded. The few crystalized pieces of skin remaining full of fissures and as blackened as her now broken fingers. ¡°Galloping fuckin¡¯ Goblins,¡± Marlo uttered shook. ¡°Guess we know how she went out right?¡± ¡°What did this?¡± Glen asked Nym and the sober-looking assassin grimaced afore answering. ¡°An out of control fire spell,¡± she hissed and licked her lips apprehensively. Glen thought of the ground turning to glass, meters deep back at the destroyed Greenhouse. ¡°Why out of control?¡± He asked and moved the staff about curious. ¡°The caster died shortly after starting it,¡± Nym replied and with a last glance at the corpse inside the sarcophagus walked out of the vault. ¡°You want to look for other caskets?¡± Marlo asked. ¡°Not at this time,¡± Glen replied. ¡°Close it back up,¡± he ordered Kirk. ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here.¡± ¡°Do you know who the dead witch is?¡± Sam asked coming to stand next to him, the voices still whispering inside tomb. But they were mindless echoes probably, he thought. ¡°Not really, though I believe I might have met her daughter,¡± Glen replied and stared at the staff in his hands. ¡°It might be for the better to keep this shit from her milord,¡± a disheveled Kirk said. ¡°Goes without saying,¡± Marlo agreed and grabbed the gold mask to look at it. ¡°Give it here,¡± Glen grunted. ¡°We shall not talk about this gents,¡± he warned them. ¡°What happens in the garden stays in the garden.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that what they say about Valeria?¡± Marlo wondered aloud sparking a flurry of replies from the others, but Glen was already heading out of the witch¡¯s final resting place and didn¡¯t hear the rest of their conversation.
Nym was at the horses already, a sullen version of her, all that playfulness gone. Glen secured the staff and mask on Outlaw in awkward silence, before speaking. ¡°You don¡¯t know me,¡± he told her. ¡°I don¡¯t trust you enough for that to happen.¡± ¡°Yet you do enough to bring me here,¡± Nym replied through her teeth. ¡°How do we kill the witch?¡± ¡°Have you considered, she might be dead already?¡± Nym suggested. ¡°Your ranger got her pretty good. He swears on it. Is he lying?¡± He had. It wasn¡¯t enough though. ¡°I can¡¯t take that chance,¡± Glen retorted stubbornly. ¡°Was she an adversary?¡± The witch in the tomb was his meaning. ¡°A much younger version of me thought so,¡± she replied and climbed on her horse with ease. ¡°You¡¯ll ride?¡± ¡°I¡¯m tired,¡± Nym admitted. ¡°Worn out. You¡¯re not?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll rest later,¡± Glen replied and climbed on Outlaw with a pained grimace. ¡°Fulfilling all the tasks can still fail you the quest right?¡± he asked seeing her lost in thought. She nodded. ¡°Only if you miss the real culprit Hardir,¡± Nym sighed deeply, reached for the reins and added in a whisper. ¡°But settling the score will. Then all the past¡¯s faults can be wiped clean.¡± Glen didn¡¯t believe that was the case and he didn¡¯t think the assassin believed it either, but decided to leave the matter be at that point. He turned his eyes on the entrance of the tomb, a bitter taste in his mouth a little uncommon after a fruitful job, the soft breeze still circling him and the gentle humming ever comforting. Kind and loving. Forgiving. I¡¯m sorry, Glen told the lingering spirits. You didn¡¯t deserve this. I¡¯ll make it up to you one way or another. The spirits answer coming full of understanding and a touch of sadness. No, Hardir. You won¡¯t.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 337. Broken, burned out things (1/2)
Ralnor ¡®Larn¡¯ Dar Eherdir Fae O'' Elum Broken, burned out things Part I -Half an arrow shaft-
The guard paused at the large gates, the building refurbished to house a different corporation, but still remaining in the same business. The Bank of Dinar, the carved gold label easily read above his head. He grimaced, the morning sun in his eyes and retreated inside the entrance. Ralnor moving the moment his figure disappeared. He crossed the road, not as busy as one would expect given the time and the centrality of the location, but then again Rida wasn¡¯t the big city it once had been. He reached the bakery, the big round pastry an idiotic joke from the former owner of the place the Guild had kept in place, well¡­ Ralnor didn¡¯t know the thinking behind it, nor did he indulged in humor easily. The assassin paused for a moment at the open entrance, glanced back the way he¡¯d come from and nodded for Toutatis to get moving and circle around the small building, afore he crossed the threshold. The half-breed standing in the relative dark next to the counter, a Cofol with pirate Issir blood, saw his figure lit from behind materialize at the doorstep and frowned. His skin a sickly gold, which would have given him the moniker Dar Tulca, a play on ¡®yellow¡¯, even without all those gold incisors added. Ralnor stepped into the roomy, but empty bakery, the difference in temperature noticeable. ¡°Ugh,¡± Dar Tulca gasped, common name Rhys Vandran ¨Cboth names made up- and moved a couple of steps towards the back exit of the shop, Ralnor¡¯s voice stopping him. ¡°Don¡¯t be a fool. The way is covered.¡± ¡°Shit,¡± Rhys cursed and tossed the blade he¡¯d pulled out on the counter, the clattering sound bouncing off of the empty walls. The blade¡¯s hilt circling twice afore stopping within his left hand¡¯s reach. ¡°Wasn¡¯t involved,¡± he rustled. ¡°Where¡¯s she?¡± Ralnor asked testing him, whilst taking another step inside. His eyes slowly adjusting to the difference. ¡°Don¡¯t know. Haven¡¯t talk to Maja for years,¡± Rhys replied. ¡°Brit and Caruso left with a client claiming he knew you.¡± Hmm. One. ¡°A male?¡± Rhys narrowed his eyes. ¡°A man aye. Didn¡¯t see him.¡± ¡°Why are you here?¡± Ralnor asked, taking the time to evaluate the information. He hadn¡¯t seen Dar Tulca in over ten years. ¡°Been working Rin An-Pur,¡± Rhys replied relaxing a bit, but not enough not to glance behind his back at the narrow corridor leading to an alley exit and out of the shop for any danger. ¡°When word reached me through the grapevine that the ¡®Fading Light¡¯ considers retirement.¡± ¡°When is the vote?¡± Ralnor asked and stepped away from a table to have more space to maneuver. ¡°Before the end of the year,¡± Dar Tulca replied. ¡°I traveled with the Khan¡¯s army. Rida isn¡¯t what it used to be.¡± ¡°What do you know of the fire at the palace?¡± ¡°Killed a lot of people,¡± he said and hearing the crack of the door opening behind him paused in alarm. ¡°Go on,¡± Ralnor urged him. ¡°They clean it up some. It¡¯s not easy to learn more with the Khan present.¡± ¡°Any news from Brit?¡± Ralnor asked. ¡°It¡¯s been months since, right?¡± ¡°Brit is dead. Merchants found his remains by the road,¡± Rhys Vandran informed him. ¡°The next day. He was hidden, but not well.¡± ¡°Which road?¡± ¡°Southwest. Towards the Oasis,¡± Rhys replied nervously and glanced behind him. Toutatis raised a dirty small hand in greeting. ¡°What in the¡­?¡± ¡°You have any pastries?¡± the scarred boy asked with a murderous grin. ¡°Not now Toutatis,¡± Ralnor grunted. ¡°What happened to him?¡± ¡°He fought an Imperial Assassin,¡± Ralnor elucidated. ¡°It was a rewarding lesson.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Rhys nodded unsure. ¡°How many extra animals they had with them?¡± ¡°A mule and three horses,¡± Rhys replied. ¡°No extras, if your man was the client.¡± Hmm. ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°I could check with the stable guy,¡± Rhys grimaced, his gold incisors biting at his lower lip. ¡°Why is she stepping down?¡± ¡°Family reasons,¡± Ralnor rustled crooking his mouth. ¡°Find out more. I¡¯ll return. Better if you didn¡¯t leave the city,¡± he added warningly. ¡°Then I¡¯ll be forced to come after you.¡± ¡°Sure Larn,¡± Rhys replied and recoiled seeing Toutatis playing with his blade. The boy had slipped behind the counter. ¡°Can I keep that?¡± Tot asked him hopefully. ¡°Leave it,¡± Ralnor ordered. ¡°We got work to do.¡±
The Khan¡¯s massive camp had covered most of the old Duke¡¯s palace grounds, the top of the red pyramid showing the ruins of the once expensive building, now blackened and partially collapsed. ¡°You think Ael is dead?¡± Toutatis asked him, whilst he waited for Jati bin Anuar, an officer tasked with governing the city, to appear. The small corner tea pub, one of many businesses that had sprouted in Rida, reminiscent of the Cofol cities across the continent. Ralnor had ordered a chilled carafe of water with a twist of lemon in it, much to the boy¡¯s despair. ¡°We don¡¯t know what happened,¡± he rustled the matter bothering him. It was a shock to learn of the disaster in the palace. Unexpected, but also in a way, the sorceress remaining here for so long had caused it. They had dodged the killers once, but apparently, they had come again. ¡°But you¡¯ll find out,¡± the one eyed boy hissed angry. He loved the witch fiercely, especially after she had revived him. ¡°Make them pay.¡± ¡°Vengeance can¡¯t make out for what¡¯s lost,¡± Ralnor cautioned him hoarsely. ¡°Never forget that. But avenge them we shall.¡±
Jati Bin Anuar sighed, wiped the side of his face with a lavish silk hankie and loosened the front of his robes, under his fancy leather vest. He had some cold tea, smacked his lips and eyed the silent Ralnor unsure. ¡°A hundred gold pieces,¡± the officer/governor said in his heavy Cofol accent. ¡°I expected someone from Mclean & Merck.¡± ¡°Gold has no father, or mother,¡± Ralnor reminded him. ¡°Hah, true¡­ hmm,¡± Jati glanced at his men waiting in the street under the strong sun. ¡°What is your business mister Larn?¡± ¡°Information.¡± ¡°Seems profitable.¡± ¡°It is, as much as it is dangerous.¡± ¡°What do you want to know?¡± Jati asked with another sip at his sweet black tea. ¡°The night Prince Sahand was killed¡­¡± ¡°I can¡¯t comment on the prince¡¯s circumstances,¡± Jati stopped him. ¡°His consort died also,¡± Ralnor continued without bothering to protest. ¡°That¡¯s true. Why is this important?¡± ¡°As I said. There¡¯s a market for it,¡± Ralnor retorted. ¡°Hah. No lewd stuff happened. It was an assault mister Larn,¡± Jati reached for his hankie again to wipe the sweat forming on his forehead. ¡°They slipped inside and killed everyone on the royal quarter¡¯s floor, set the place on fire to escape, killing many guards in the process.¡± ¡°A part of the gates and wall was brought down. Over a hundred soldiers killed in a field on the road to Liyana Fort, the Lord Commander of the Khan¡¯s Chariots amongst them.¡± ¡°It was a difficult night,¡± Jati commented icily. ¡°Any arrests?¡± ¡°Some of the intruders were killed of course,¡± Jati said with a sigh. ¡°Prince Atpa could have done a better job. No wonder he opted to leave the city than face his father.¡± ¡°I thought Prince Sahand¡¯s bodyguards were tasked with securing the palace,¡± Ralnor noted. ¡°Prince Atpa had overall command of the city.¡± ¡°How big was the force that assaulted the palace?¡± ¡°Large enough.¡± Bullshit. ¡°How did they slip inside?¡± Ralnor probed. ¡°The alarm wasn¡¯t raised until the fire broke out.¡± ¡°These are rumors mister Larn,¡± Jati retorted grimacing annoyed. ¡°Listen, I think that¡¯s enough.¡± Ralnor stooped over the small round table and eyed him coldly. ¡°I reckon it is not.¡± ¡°You must be joking,¡± Jati hissed and barred his teeth insulted. ¡°You don¡¯t actually think I woke up today and decided out of the blue to spend a fortune to learn more about the whole ordeal right?¡± Ralnor warned him. ¡°Who put you up to it?¡± ¡°Someone high enough to not fear your small inconvenience,¡± Ralnor retorted. ¡°You can always opt to leave this venue, although I would counsel to follow Prince Atpa¡¯s plan and not stop afore you reach Sadofort.¡± Jati gulped down with a sour grimace and then had more of his tea to wash the taste from his mouth. ¡°We don¡¯t know,¡± he finally said. ¡°The Queen Consort we recognized from her clothes and jewelry. Not much of the head remained and the fire had done a number on all of them. The Prince hadn¡¯t any wounds, so we assumed the smoke got to him, eh¡­ I don¡¯t want to speculate on the matter.¡± ¡°You make it sound as if she was the target of the attack,¡± Ralnor grunted, the information painful. ¡°She was killed inside a servant¡¯s room, the prince in the corridor,¡± Jati replied. ¡°How many women dead?¡± ¡°Her servant and herself on that floor, another twenty or so inside the palace and the yard.¡± ¡°The yard?¡± ¡°Some fighting was done there as well,¡± Jati said. ¡°There were four women sleeping there. The Consort and another three,¡± Ralnor insisted hoarsely. ¡°No, you¡¯re mistaken,¡± Jati argued and seeing his expression added. ¡°Now perhaps a couple of slaves might have run away, so¡­ in a sense you could be right.¡± Zilyana wouldn¡¯t have run away, nor Lithoniela, Ralnor thought frustrated. If Aelrindel was hurt then they would have tried to help her and died in the attempt. Something isn¡¯t right. ¡°No attacker was found?¡± He asked the sweating official. ¡°I told you¡­¡± Jati sighed deeply. ¡°We are not certain. The Khan wants answers, but we have nothing concrete¡­¡± he paused unsure. ¡°Go on,¡± Ralnor urged him calmly. ¡°Some guards claim the culprit was one man,¡± Jati puffed out troubled. ¡°Others saw a hooded archer laying waste to soldiers in the yard and some woman using magic spells. How can any of this be brought to the Khan?¡± ¡°What kind of spell?¡± Ralnor grunted. Zilyana could cast and so could Aelrindel of course. ¡°Something with fire obviously, whatever the fuck that means,¡± Jati replied and stood back on his chair. ¡°The Khan is angry. You don¡¯t want the Khan angry,¡± he murmured to himself. ¡°Whoever did this, will come to regret it.¡± Kaltha was his meaning, but nothing Ralnor had heard pointed to Kaltha. Or the Guild. As a matter of fact, this attack made absolutely no sense. The numbers hinting at a void.
Faelar would have gotten her out, he thought troubled hours later, standing outside the door of the pastry shop. Come hell, or high water. We owe it to the ¡®Fair Mother¡¯, Faelar had told him many centuries back in Neil-Dan. Everyone here would be dead either by the Empress¡¯ hand, or nature¡¯s wrath, if not for her foresight. Probably used Brit and Caruso to do it. It was him inside the yard fighting¡­ who were you fighting old friend? ¡°He¡¯s inside,¡± Toutatis informed him, the governor¡¯s hankie tied on his small wrist. A skilled thief more than a killer. Though the boy was pretty darn good with a knife.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°You¡¯ll need to learn using a bigger blade,¡± Ralnor told him. ¡°You said I¡¯m too little for it.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll grow,¡± he rustled and pushed the door open.
Rhys downed his goblet of beer and put it on the counter. He had light armour on this time, the intertwined boiled leather cords creating a sturdy mesh, reinforced with steel wire. ¡°Really hoped you¡¯d leave the city,¡± he griped burping. ¡°I learned nothing else. Other than that your man was present for the gathering of the supplies and that he paid in rather old coins.¡± ¡°Three horses,¡± Ralnor repeated. ¡°Yep. What now?¡± ¡°You want to lead the Guild Rhys?¡± ¡°Whilst I can still walk Dar Eherdir, I¡¯d like to wear the eye of Oras,¡± he admitted. ¡°Don¡¯t have much pull on Jelin though.¡± ¡°You know where Barlow is?¡± ¡°Haven¡¯t had dealings with him in years.¡± ¡°You won¡¯t. He betrayed the Guild,¡± Ralnor grunted. ¡°Something its leader should perhaps deal with,¡± Rhys replied and eyed Toutatis. ¡°Where are the girls?¡± ¡°Only the one survives.¡± ¡°Sorry about that, it¡¯s the job right?¡± Ralnor pressed his lips tight not answering. ¡°Will she support me?¡± Rhys asked him after a quiet moment, his mind on the vote. ¡°She¡¯ll do as I say.¡± The assassin nodded. ¡°What¡¯s the job? I assume there¡¯s one coming.¡± ¡°We find Caruso. It might take a while.¡± ¡°I got a horse ready,¡± Rhys replied readily. ¡°Leave at dawn?¡± ¡°As soon as you lock this place up,¡± Ralnor countered. ¡°We have ways to go.¡±
A week later they were on the road to Queen¡¯s Oasis, the rebuilding Rida left behind. Toutatis leading the way of sorts dragging a laden mule after him, with Ralnor and Rhys following after the boy. They camped briefly in the day to avoid the worst of the heat and used most of the night to make up for the time. The journey uneventful but hard and trying on Ralnor¡¯s nerves. A difficult to trust and solitary person, Ralnor always took the losses of those close to him hard, even when he didn¡¯t show it. A Silent Servant shouldn¡¯t form bonds was the dictum, but one can¡¯t live as long as he had and avoid it. He couldn¡¯t fathom a life without the sorceress¡¯ presence. This truth had followed him since his youth, but it had taken the ancient assassin a while to come to terms with. Another week brought them the first green color they had seen in a while and the dancing haze created by the large lake¡¯s humidity in the distance. A patrol of scouts as well, ten of them. The numbers still a mess, but this was easy to figure out. ¡°You do the talking. See to get rid of them quickly,¡± Ralnor ordered Rhys and eyed the tanned Toutatis. ¡°You do not talk at all.¡± ¡°Ugh,¡± the boy murmured. ¡°Bounty hunters?¡± Rhys asked, keeping his voice low, eyes on the approaching riders. They carried too many weapons to play the merchants. ¡°Looking for the killers,¡± he replied with a nod and stooped over the saddle to better move his hands.
¡°Greetings riders,¡± Rhys said to the leader of the patrol in the Horselords tongue, the Cofol¡¯s pointy metal helm and long white cloth flaps hanging from it making him look like a priest of Uher. ¡°Where are you chaps heading to?¡± he asked, the riders spreading behind his left and right shoulder, men and animals covered in powder-like desert dirt. ¡°Sadofort,¡± Rhys replied, Ralnor eyeing the scouts silently one after another. ¡°We¡¯re bounty hunters looking for an honest payday.¡± ¡°What you be looking for?¡± ¡°The Prince¡¯s killers,¡± Rhys replied. ¡°Is there a bounty for that Tamir?¡± The leader of the patrol asked and his colleague shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Anyone?¡± ¡°Jati Bin Anuar is paying it out of his own pocket,¡± Ralnor rustled and the scout leader crooked his head to the side to look at him. ¡°The governor came into coin?¡± ¡°Apparently, or he was forced to come up with something,¡± Ralnor replied. ¡°Well, there are no killers, or rebels here,¡± the Cofol officer argued. ¡°Word in Rida is they did the deed and then split,¡± Rhys intervened. ¡°Travel in small groups now, or alone. They could be hiding in the castle, or the forest.¡± ¡°Not many places to hide in Sadofort,¡± the scout leader noted. ¡°As for the forest, they only have half of it to use.¡± ¡°What happened to the rest of it?¡± Rhys asked and Ralnor placed a hand on Toutatis arm to force him to sheathe his knife. The boy had brought his horse next to Ralnor¡¯s. ¡°A fire happened,¡± the scout retorted with a shrug. ¡°Big one. North and west sides of the forest are gone, messed the lake up.¡± ¡°What started it?¡± Ralnor asked and Rhys glanced at him surprised for dragging the conversation out. The Cofol smacked his lips, slanted eyes narrowing even more. ¡°A reflection off a discarded shield, or blade. Prince Nout¡¯s camp had been built there. Fought over twice. Stuff were thrown about.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll look at it just the same,¡± Rhys cut in with a forced smile. ¡°Give Sadofort a visit next.¡± ¡°Boy is family?¡± The scout leader asked, not bothering to answer. ¡°He¡¯s a scout,¡± Ralnor rustled. ¡°If you say so,¡± the man retorted and grimaced. ¡°On your way then chaps. Prince Atpa has camped near the west gates, see to avoid nearing it with all that hardware. People might get the wrong idea.¡±
¡°You know I was jesting about looking in the forest right?¡± Rhys complained an hour later, the noon sun burning over their heads and the oasis offering less relief than they had expected, despite the difference in humidity. The damage done by the fire visible and extensive. ¡°The forest is that way,¡± Ralnor grunted and jumped from Dar, his boots sinking in soft sand. It turned darker near the water, the lake¡¯s shore retreating at least five meters leaving a muddy treacherous terrain behind. ¡°Beyond the remnants of the camp.¡± ¡°What are we looking for here then?¡± Rhys queried not wanting to climb down from his horse. Toutatis was already splashing in the mud. The assassin stared at the burned out, broken and scattered trunks and branches of the forest. Blackened bulges spreading about and the desert sands creeping closer to the diminished lake. One side of Queen¡¯s Oasis had been obliterated completely. It would take a couple of seasons to recover, years for the forest to return to its former glory. ¡°We¡¯re being thorough,¡± Ralnor answered. ¡°Why?¡± Rhys sighed, back in his teen years again. ¡°Be thorough and diligent afore anything else,¡± he droned remembering his lessons. ¡°Don¡¯t speak for no reason. Be thrifty when you do. Fuck¡¯s sake Larn.¡± ¡°Eat food when it¡¯s available,¡± Toutatis added his own and Rhys chuckled, which was a rarity. The sound carrying over the desolated field before the lake¡¯s shores, they had been circling the latter for a while, to the abandoned remnants of the camp and across it, to the damaged but still thick forest hugging its east side. Ralnor spotted the people searching the debris. A couple shifting sand near a torn down rotted tent pole, another staring at the lake blankly, a third group gathered near the remnants of the small gatetower and looking to evaluate their loot. The camp had been thoroughly looted, burned and raided since Prince Nout had last used it, but people still drifted that way looking for something others had missed. Broken, burned out things. Sometimes hold value. Ralnor caught the glint of metal coming from the caked mud, four meters from a large wet quicksand pool ¨Cdeceptively, though naturally camouflaged- and walked that way, careful to keep his steps light. A piece of a vambrace, half sunk in the brittle sand. An Issir design. The arm still attached in it. Mostly bone now, the flesh eaten, or rotted away and pieces of dried up skin fused on the metal. It was crystalized fat, not skin he noticed upon closer inspection and the arm led to a shoulder, the bone cracking and then breaking away from the socket. Ralnor tossed it away and dug deeper finding part of a cuirass. A yank and he pulled it half out, bones, pieces of decayed petrified flesh and plenty of sand emptying out of the badly burned armour, the corpse¡¯s neck snapping and the skull rolling on the brittle caked almost dry soil, loose bony jaws clacking funnily. A stick stuck in its blackened bony forehead. Half an arrow shaft. ¡°What did you unearth there?¡± Rhys asked and approached. ¡°He almost made it to the lake. The waters were much closer afore the fire.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a problem,¡± Ralnor rustled and used the thick piece of a branch, the wood turned to black coal to smash at the sides of the skull. The weakened bone coming apart easily. ¡°That he died so close to the fire,¡± he reached with his dirty hand and dislodged the burned arrow shaft from the skull carefully. Turned the steel tip this way and that to examine it. ¡°That¡¯s been repaired a bunch,¡± Rhys noticed with a frown. ¡°A deserter?¡± ¡°Started the fire to get away?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not out of the realm of possibility.¡± ¡°Other than it is a year after the army left,¡± Ralnor countered. ¡°And that is not a Cofol-type arrow.¡± ¡°Looks like it. Sort of twin broadhead blades, incurvate and all,¡± Rhys argued. ¡°There are Cofol scouts roaming about. ¡°There¡¯s a curve on one side,¡± Ralnor grunted and slotted the arrowhead in his satchel. ¡°And ridges like veins running it a bit worn out, but there.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± Rhys sighed. ¡°What does this mean?¡± Ralnor grimaced and turned his eyes on the treeline again, pausing to examine the looters roaming about. ¡°Could be nothing. Stay with the kid,¡± he rustled and stood up. Ralnor walked towards the camp. He went past the pair digging under the tent, intending to reach the part of the forest that had been spared the fire, but paused next to the Lorian staring at the lake. The man wore a worn out cloak, dirty boots protruding underneath it. There was a part of the old camp wall near his left leg, about half a meter high, the timbers burned out but visible. ¡°What¡¯s in the lake?¡± Ralnor asked casually. ¡°Nothing probably,¡± the man replied. ¡°You were with the army?¡± Ralnor queried, the man had a shell-shocked look about him. ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± he said and looked at him. About thirty years of age, but lacking visible injuries. Didn¡¯t mean the man wasn¡¯t damaged. ¡°Uhm,¡± Ralnor grunted and caught the lone figure watching the field hidden at the edge of the trees, about forty meters away from the center of the camp. He left the man behind, cut across remnants of broken carts and ruined tents and then dashed for the trees twenty meters before the spot he¡¯d seen the figure ducking under. A lunge and he grabbed a thin branch, heard it crack but let go afore it snapped and caught another. Ralnor pulled himself up, run on a thicker branch across to a bigger fig tree. He landed for a second and then jumped again ¨Ca solid four meters to the next, grabbed a palm tree¡¯s leafy branch to help him cut momentum and dropped next to the archer. She swung around abruptly, her eyes on him all this time and fired at point blank range aiming for his chest. Ralnor had grabbed the arrowhead though ¨Calmost an exact copy to the one he¡¯d dug out of the corpse¡¯s skull- its momentum ruined and yanked it out of her bow. ¡°Princess,¡± he admonished her, a cut on his palm bleeding. Lithoniela¡¯s eyes opened wide, dark circles marring her youthful face. ¡°Give me the arrow,¡± she hissed angry. Well that¡¯s not a warm greeting, he thought sourly. You can¡¯t expect one, but it isn¡¯t unwelcomed given the journey he¡¯d just put himself through. ¡°There¡¯s no danger over there,¡± Ralnor snapped and returned the arrow to her. ¡°Where¡¯s Aelrindel?¡± ¡°In the city.¡± Thank the goddess. ¡°Zilyana?¡± Lithoniela¡¯s face fell and she looked away. Oras will be done. ¡°What happened Princess?¡± Ralnor hissed, barely keeping himself from slapping her out of that sickening lethargy. ¡°We couldn¡¯t fix her,¡± Lithoniela replied hauntingly. ¡°So we left her behind.¡± What? ¡°Why¡­ where¡¯s Faelar?¡± Ralnor grunted and then his eyes fell on her familiar bow. He stepped back spooked, the whispering wood whistling a greeting in his ears. I¡¯ll fire three times afore you make it here, the Imperial Ranger had warned him. Relocate and fire again boy. ¡°Naah,¡± he gasped, feeling numb. ¡°Who did it?¡± Lithoniela pointed at the field he¡¯d come from. ¡°There are over there.¡± He grabbed her shoulder and turned her around. ¡°What are you saying?¡± Ralnor grunted through his clenched teeth. ¡°Looters killed Faelar? Have you lost your god darn mind?¡± He cursed himself for losing his composure and sucked on his bleeding palm to calm himself back down. The blood tasting of iron and sweat. ¡°Aken,¡± Lithoniela replied and grimaced, afore nocking the arrow in Faelar¡¯s bow again. ¡°The Aken are here?¡± ¡°In the field.¡± ¡°No they are not,¡± Ralnor hissed, clenching his jaw furious. ¡°I just came that way!¡± ¡°A construct,¡± she insisted and took aim forcing him to stop her, putting his hand on her arm. ¡°Princess,¡± Ralnor gulped down his throat dry. ¡°Who killed Faelar?¡± ¡°Grogoceq,¡± she replied hanging her head. ¡°There were two of them.¡± Ah. ¡°Where is he now?¡± ¡°Dead. He killed Zil and then killed the Aken. Does it make it right?¡± Lithoniela asked, not making any sense and turned to attempt to fire her bow again. ¡°Stop,¡± Ralnor hissed. ¡°You can¡¯t do it.¡± ¡°Why? He hasn¡¯t moved for hours. A child could make this shot and I was Faelar¡¯s pupil.¡± Sweet child. ¡°You kill him like this, it will be messy and we¡¯ll have to murder a score of people to cover it up. I have people in the field,¡± he explained. ¡°I can¡¯t risk it.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t allow him to get away,¡± Lithoniela insisted and Ralnor almost yelled in her face, but got ahold of himself and sighed. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of it. Stay that arrow Princess. Do not leave this spot,¡± he grunted and started back towards the camp again.
Rhys and Toutatis saw him coming out and started walking towards him leaving the lake¡¯s shores behind. Ralnor went straight for the Lorian still watching the lake standing at the edge of the camp with a troubled expression on his face. ¡°I thought it was a lake,¡± the man said seeing a sullen Ralnor coming to stand next to him again. ¡°But it wasn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Where?¡± ¡°In my dreams,¡± the man replied. ¡°I can¡¯t recall a lot of stuff.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not from Rida?¡± ¡°How is Rida?¡± ¡°Much bigger than this,¡± Ralnor said, pointing at the distant walls of Sadofort to the south with one arm, fishing a long steel spike out of his harness with the other. ¡°A river near it, a port.¡± ¡°There was a port, but it wasn¡¯t big¡­ the town,¡± the man reminisced. ¡°Near the sea.¡± Eh, his brain is cooked, Ralnor thought. Whatever happened to him, has nothing to do with Faelar. He isn¡¯t even armed. Rhys paused ten meters away, a hand on Toutatis¡¯ small chest to stop the boy from running near him, sensing something was amiss. The Princess lost it, Ralnor mused and shook his head in despair. ¡°Heading for the sea might be the prudent thing,¡± he told the confused Lorian and felt his blood dripping down the spike and then on the sand. ¡°I¡¯ll need a horse for that,¡± the man agreed, pale face livening up. ¡°Umm,¡± Ralnor nodded and turned to walk away, with a glance at the frowned Rhys watching him unsure, but the Lorian¡¯s voice stopped him. ¡°I remember the mayor talking,¡± he said. Ralnor turned around. He was worried about Lithoniela firing an arrow across the field, hitting Toutatis¡¯ good eye in her confusion. ¡°You do?¡± he croaked. ¡°What did he say?¡± ¡°Eh, I can¡¯t remember the words,¡± the man replied and Ralnor grunted in frustration. Dude you¡¯ve eaten away a lot of my time, he thought. Good luck in your life. He made to leave, but the Lorian placed a hand on his shoulder, his eyes gleaming happy. ¡°Remember his name though,¡± he told a thoroughly uninterested Ralnor, adding with a smile. ¡°Lord Tellman¡ª¡± His smile freezing on his mouth, both eyes turning bloodshot and losing focus, the left one leaking blood down his cheek and the assassin¡¯s spike the only thing keeping him upright. Ralnor used his other hand to stabilize the shuddering man¡¯s body, the spike buried in his right temple, the tip breaking through the other side. He carefully lowered him to the ground next to the torn down remnants of the camp wall, retrieved his spike and then covered his shocked face with a dirty cloth Rhys handed him. ¡°So, what did he do?¡± the assassin he¡¯d trained fifteen years back asked and Ralnor grimaced afore glancing back to the trees uncertain. ¡°Probably nothing,¡± he hissed and wiped the blood off his steel spike with a hand. ¡°But the Tellmans rule in Pastelor and that¡¯s an Issir port.¡± ¡°So?¡± Rhys asked looking at the dead Lorian. ¡°That¡¯s all,¡± Ralnor replied with a sigh. Rhys grimaced and then dug another cloth out of his satchel to clean his face. Tossed it to Ralnor next to clean his hands. ¡°Lithoniela is alive,¡± Ralnor told Toutatis. ¡°Ael as well.¡± ¡°Where?¡± the boy asked with a grin, then seeing his face paused. ¡°There¡¯s more.¡± ¡°Umm,¡± Ralnor nodded. ¡°Right,¡± Rhys said and followed after them and the animals. Toutatis dragging the horses with him. ¡°What¡¯s a Lithoniela?¡± Ralnor stopped and turned to eye him sternly. ¡°I can live without knowing,¡± Rhys assured him, the earlier query not as valuable in the grander scheme of things. ¡°A Zilan,¡± Ralnor said, decision made. When the numbers are silent go with your gut. Or Luthos. Eh, the latter best you avoid. ¡°He¡¯s serious?¡± A bewildered Rhys ¨Canother rarity- asked Toutatis and the boy assumed Ralnor¡¯s unsympathetic expression. Somehow the scarred one-eyed kid pulled it off more menacingly. ¡°Good grief. You know what? I can also live without leading the Guild¡ª¡± ¡°It¡¯s too late now,¡± Ralnor cut him off gruffly. ¡°Assume you¡¯re in control.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t feel¡­ is there, do I get some of the perks¡ª?¡± Dar Eherdir stopped him again. ¡°It¡¯s a probation period. Survive it and you¡¯ll get the job permanently.¡±
338. Broken, burned out things (2/2)
Aelrindel, of Edlenn Broken, burned out things Part II -A mother¡¯s warning-
¡°Why,¡± the cavalry leader said, black eyes staying on her. Romir something. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of meat on your slave mister Caruso. What exactly is she good at?¡± Excuse me? What she¡¯s not great at you dick! ¡°Cooking,¡± Caruso replied and the Cofol merchant chuckled showing her another roll of fabric, the stand providing little shade and the heat blowing from the nearby desert making life inside the walls of the large sandstone-brick castle an ordeal. ¡°She¡¯d a big Horselord for a father.¡± ¡°It explains them hips,¡± the Cavalry man noted with a leer. ¡°Damn heat,¡± he grunted next, wiping the sweat off his penciled brow, the paint leaking down his sideburns. ¡°I thought we¡¯d see more action when I joined, but all I got out of it is visiting Sadofort twice in as many years and the ruin of Rida.¡± ¡°Unlucky,¡± the merchant commented with a frown seeing her pushing his offer aside and pointing at a smaller roll of white silk. ¡°That¡¯s left over from the Prince¡¯s order,¡± the merchant explained. ¡°Very expensive.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t be more than a couple of meters of fabric,¡± Aelrindel countered in common Cofol, keeping her voice low. ¡°Still the quality is pricey,¡± the merchant insisted. ¡°Meant for healthier purses and loftier families.¡± ¡°Haha,¡± the officer of Atpa¡¯s army guffawed. ¡°You don¡¯t really expect to find these kind of clients here Ribar? Rida maybe¡­ just give her the darn thing.¡± ¡°So how come your friends are not here?¡± Caruso asked. He knew the Cofol from Rida, where he¡¯d been stationed previously. ¡°They headed down the Merchant Path,¡± the officer replied and watched her unfurling the fabric to measure it. He¡¯s going to ask Caruso to rent me out for the night, she thought. I¡¯m going to have his cock for dinner. The problem being, what to do with the rest of his body afterwards. ¡°So the story that the army is in Sadofort¡­?¡± Caruso asked nervously, the interest of his ¡®friend¡¯ in his ¡®new¡¯ slave girl a bother since the morning. ¡°Partially true. The Prince is here, but half the army is heading to Xi Yil to join with the other Prince,¡± his ¡®friend¡¯ replied. ¡°Which Prince is that?¡± Radin. ¡°Why do you care?¡± The cavalry officer asked with a frown. ¡°The Khan ordered it.¡± ¡°Will they go for Eikenport?¡± Caruso insisted. ¡°Not that I heard of. Hey Ribar, how much for the roll?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll pay for it,¡± Caruso insisted. ¡°Ten gold,¡± Ribar replied. ¡°Fuck off! That¡¯s half a tunic at most and if¡­ on her, it mind even be less,¡± he added eyeing Aelrindel¡¯s figure appreciatively. She looked Cofol under the sheer mesh covering her head and shoulders, but a tall one, since you can¡¯t hide height without hilarious mishaps. Like bumping things off without touching them. ¡°Well,¡± Ribar shrugged his shoulders. ¡°It¡¯s good for a pillow at the very least. I traded one for a horse the other day.¡± Must have been a sickly horse, she guessed. ¡°I tell you what,¡± the officer suggested, but Caruso stopped him before they heard his counter. Not that anyone cared. As a matter of fact in this horrid heat a man could have a ¡®heart attack¡¯ and drop dead at any moment now, she mused. ¡°We¡¯ll be moving on, I have a job lined up,¡± the mercenary working for the Guild explained, fearing the worst. ¡°Damn it man. I start patrolling this month around the lake and I rather watch wall paint dry,¡± the officer complained. ¡°Was thinking to have Moira¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be here in a month for sure,¡± Caruso offered stopping him again with an apologetic smile, the gap in his front teeth always making it look a bit donkey, which Aelrindel thought was funny. ¡°Yeah. Be seeing you then Caruso,¡± he murmured unhappy, nodded at the merchant and with a last look at the silent Cofol slave girl, he turned heel and moved away from the small market stand. ¡°How much?¡± she asked touching Ribar¡¯s warm hand over the counter. "It¡¯s a small piece of fabric really for the price," he stalled. ¡°I have more affordable full rolls.¡± ¡°I like small skirts,¡± Aelrindel teased and felt his pulse quickening. No magic, just natural charm. Eh, sort of natural, she thought pouting. A bit of magic too. A tiny bit, like the skirt. ¡°I like them too¡­ that is, I can see the appeal,¡± the merchant blurted out, now properly aroused. ¡°Mmm,¡± she purred, a sharp fingernail tracing the inside of his wrist, to better help him see the appeal. ¡°Not for ten golds,¡± Caruso reminded her. Goddess. I¡¯m working here you plebe! ¡°Two,¡± Ribar said quickly. ¡°I wanted to drive him away.¡± ¡°Aww, sweet Ribar,¡± she gushed stooping over his balding, sweaty crown. The merchant a good head shorter than her at least. He smelled of sweat and cinnamon. ¡°You should come for a cup of tea.¡± ¡°I¡¯m very fond of the practice,¡± the merchant admitted and made to cup her hand, but she twisted it around easily without hurting him and freed hers. ¡°Master you should pay him,¡± she said sweetly and Caruso grumbled behind her back reaching for his purse. ¡°Somehow this arrangement isn¡¯t giving me what one would expect,¡± he murmured digging inside for the coins. ¡°Just putting it out there.¡± ¡°What does Ribar think?¡± Aelrindel chuckled at his discomfort. ¡°The man is a fool obviously,¡± Ribar droned without hesitation. ¡°In fact he can work the stand and I¡¯ll take you home Moira bin Manar.¡± The name a play of words from the archaic Lorian Moira which meant fate and the Cofol-used Zilan word Manar, which meant fortune. The cultured merchant had scored more points with her in precious few minutes, than the cavalry officer had since morning. But in the end it didn¡¯t really amount to anything for either of them. ¡®Moira¡¯ wasn¡¯t in her best of moods these past months.
Mmm, the sorceress mused letting her burning sweaty body sink into the chilled waters of the small bronze bathtub. The water splashing out, shapely left calf and heel resting on the flat lip and her nape touching the thick soaked towel she¡¯d covered the headrest with. She closed her eyes to enjoy the icy water, but Caruso cleared his throat from the door of her small bedroom, the two story hostel one of the cheapest they found in the small town and forced her to open them up again. ¡°I thought you went downstairs,¡± Aelrindel murmured. ¡°Eh,¡± Caruso said turning his head to stare away. ¡°It¡¯s just an ankle Caruso and a bit of leg. By the goddess,¡± she sighed. ¡°Where¡¯s Lithoniela?¡± ¡°Not in the stable, or downstairs obviously.¡± ¡°You think, she went looking again?¡± ¡°Aye I do,¡± Caruso grunted. ¡°I can¡¯t spent any more time there,¡± Aelrindel griped. ¡°Nature is to be treasured in small doses, or excursions. Plus we looked pretty thoroughly already.¡± ¡°She doesn¡¯t believe we got them all.¡± Our Princess the Aken huntress. ¡°Nonsense. She¡¯ll be back in the evening. Get some rest,¡± she retorted. ¡°You can use the bathtub after I finish.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a bucket in the kitchen,¡± Caruso dodged. ¡°It¡¯ll do.¡± ¡°She¡¯s blind to you,¡± Aelrindel snapped with a moist gurgle. Water had flooded her mouth. She coughed some of it out frustrated. ¡°Not why I¡¯m worrying Moira,¡± the mercenary reminded her, as if she could forget. Aelrindel closed her eyes again and relaxed, in her second attempt to survive Sadofort¡¯s heat.
¡°He gave me this,¡± a grinning Zilyana blurted out nervously. Everyone on edge and unsure how to handle the situation. ¡°It¡¯s silk and leather, with real rubies!¡± ¡°Also a slave collar,¡± Aelrindel hissed and got up from her engraved silver and alabaster throne. Sulynor, of Othoniel¡¯s austere face not betraying his emotions, but Faelar didn¡¯t have the subtlety of the former Rokae leader. ¡°The man expects a meeting soon,¡± the Imperial Ranger elucidated for those not privy on the finer details of the young witch¡¯s expedition. ¡°The settlement is keeping inside due to ¡®weather¡¯ for now, but this can¡¯t last. Eventually someone will step in a room with Horselords present without a hat on and then this will turn ugly.¡± ¡°I can bed him tonight and we¡¯ll have an alliance,¡± Zilyana insisted, uncomfortable under the elders¡¯ scrutiny. I bet you would dear, she thought. ¡°Which the Khan will break once you get caught,¡± Aelrindel countered. ¡°You can¡¯t keep the illusion running in his palace. You will have to live there, with all his other wives.¡± ¡°She can¡¯t pull it through,¡± Sulynor announced with finality. ¡°Wow, so what¡­ I send him back to the Khanate?¡± Zilyana protested. ¡°He knows the way priestess mother.¡± ¡°I could charm the prince into living away from his father,¡± Aelrindel murmured. ¡°No,¡± Faelar grunted with a glare. ¡°Let us hear her Faelar,¡± Sulynor intervened. ¡°You¡¯ll trade the teacher for the pupil Sir Sulynor?¡± Faelar snapped angry. ¡°Ralnor will keep me safe,¡± Aelrindel cut in looking at the silent and standing a bit apart from the others Zilan. A rebel stray unable to break from traditions. ¡°He¡¯s been living with the humans for centuries now.¡± ¡°Wait, you get to bed the prince now?¡± Zilyana protested all flushed, but determined. ¡°That¡¯s enough child,¡± Sulynor scolded her. ¡°You¡¯re not contributing. Better to step out of the room.¡± Zilyana hissed all teeth and glowering eyes. ¡°I feel uncomfortable with this,¡± Faelar murmured and glanced at Ralnor. ¡°Can you clear the Prince¡¯s court of dangers?¡± ¡°All I need is time,¡± Ralnor assured him. ¡°And her cooperation.¡± ¡°Aww, he¡¯s so dependable right? Our trustworthy killer,¡± she mocked him for his jab. ¡°Aelrindel!¡± Faelar grunted. ¡°This is serious.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll charm the earrings off the prince and the crayon from his lips,¡± she assured him and stared outside her glass walls at the falling snow. ¡°In ten years we shall control the Khanate. At some point, we have to act old friends.¡± Act, she murmured in her sleep, the dream spreading inside the room. It reached the open window and leaped outside. Over the brick walls and the desert where the burning sands ruled. The mountains at the far edge of it, down the slopes and into the garden. The disturbed spirits pausing to listen. Lirue ni o linn, they urged the miserable sorceress. Sing her a song. Saam Phanti paused unsure, weak smile on his painted black lips and thinning hair oiled back carefully on his bony head. ¡°Why would we send your grace Lady Lenar?¡± he asked with enough fake respect to almost be an insult, an eye kept on a bored Prince Sahand. ¡°I can ask politely,¡± she explained returning the jab. ¡°The Khan will never agree,¡± Phanti said, wanting to end the conversation. ¡°He doesn¡¯t have to know.¡± The First Advisor to the Khan recoiled. ¡°A visit could mask a query is her meaning,¡± Sahand intervened. ¡°Imagine if the Khan asks the High King,¡± she added. ¡°And the King rejects his offer to amend the treaties. The insult will be monumental to his person.¡± Phanti stepped back with a series of grimaces, mulling it through. ¡°The old Duke won¡¯t insult the Heir¡¯s spouse,¡± Sahand assured the hesitant official. ¡°Even if he feels the inclination.¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. Eh. I¡¯ll feast on your eyes! An insulted Aelrindel snarled. A humming reaching her ears, nigh distracting. The dream growing, scenes entwined with others. ¡°Can Radin do it?¡± she asked a more troubled than angry prince. ¡°I suppose,¡± Sahand relented. ¡°He knows them. All those years on Jelin.¡± ¡°He doesn¡¯t have to know them, or even speak for that matter,¡± Larn intervened hoarsely and the Prince eyed him unsure on what was his role inside the court. ¡°All he has to do is deliver a simple letter of complaint and do nothing foolish for a few months. A mule could do the job I¡¯m certain.¡± Damn it Ralnor! Sahand narrowed his eyes at the insult to his royal brother. ¡°He¡¯s from a faraway village where mules are valued greatly. More so than people,¡± Aelrindel quickly sang to soothe the Prince¡¯s anger, feverishly working her threads around him. ¡°Uhm,¡± he murmured with a nod. ¡°I can respect that.¡± Khix¡¯roon clicked her forked tongue, the dream losing cohesion and changing its purpose the more she stayed in it. The humming increasing, a soft breeze smelling of flowers touching her cold skin. The Aken female clasping at her arm before she could drag it away. Her body heavy and sluggish, the smell of blood in her nostrils strong. The place bombarded, alien. ¡°This time they succeeded, where they had failed afore,¡± Khix¡¯roon whispered in her ear. ¡°But they are not sure they have got it right again.¡± Or maybe she said ¡®fear they haven¡¯t¡¯, the Aken¡¯s words lost in a cacophony of other sounds and pieces of future conversations. ¡°Sly little witch¡±, Wiris the construct said, wearing the face of another. All the Aken gathered turning to stare at her. Snakes eyes, human eyes. The dead restless. ¡°I can hear your chanting¡±.
A gentle hand pulling her back. Her mother¡¯s voice cautioning. Don¡¯t go there. You¡¯re not real, Aelrindel whispered stirring from her stupor. The voice now coming from afar. Go back to Neil-Dan. A gasp and the sorceress woke up, water splashing out of the lukewarm bathtub, the darkness thick inside her room. Hours had gone by. The shadows around her created from the light coming from the open window and the cracked open door dancing as her eyes adjusted to the dark. But for one. Sneaky fool. ¡°Was that her?¡± Ralnor asked sounding spooked and stepped out of the darkness, pale gaunt face once scary, funny before Nym, but now just familiar. Ah. Aelrindel glanced at the ghostly figure sitting next to her bathtub and slowly losing cohesion. ¡°Spillage from a dream,¡± she murmured and pushed herself out of the water. Aelrindel stood on her soaked feet, breathed once deeply and then rushed to the silent watching the ghostly figure Ralnor. She hugged him tightly, the assassin¡¯s many weapon handles and sheathes harsh on her soft bits. ¡°Goddess you smell of sweat, blood and rot,¡± she complained and planted a kiss on his shaven skull. ¡°I thought you were gone,¡± Ralnor murmured hoarsely and Aelrindel clasped his face with both hands to stare in his ashen eyes. ¡°I¡¯m not, but my Zil was killed,¡± she sniffled, the assassin¡¯s stench making her uncomfortable. Where had he rolled himself in? She wondered. Goodness me. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. We lost Faelar as well.¡± He nodded and she stepped back with a pout. ¡°You know.¡± ¡°I found Lithoniela in the woods,¡± Ralnor rustled, a tick in his eye. Aelrindel sighed and looked to find a piece of clothing to put on. She didn¡¯t have much, as her wardrobe had been lost in Rida. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you can think of sex at this point,¡± she admonished him with a hiss. ¡°I wasn¡¯t, until you mentioned it,¡± the assassin retorted and watched her throwing a simple front closing tunic on. ¡°Is she alright?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think she is. What happened?¡± ¡°Grogoceq hurt her, but I healed her in time,¡± Aelrindel replied scrunching her nose. ¡°The one with Suharto,¡± Ralnor noted. ¡°By himself. Well, twice over.¡± ¡°Why go after the Aken Doll?¡± Ralnor griped. ¡°What possible reason¡ª?¡± ¡°Gimoss came to Rida. He killed Zilyana,¡± she hissed and stepped back to breath once deeply. ¡°The Wyvern¡­¡± Ralnor started, voice pregnant with disbelief. ¡°Stormed the Duke¡¯s palace?¡± ¡°It was him,¡± she snapped. ¡°And yes, he did. Caused quite the mayhem.¡± ¡°How could so many miss a huge wyvern? Ah, you are not making any sense as well,¡± he griped shaking his head in despair. ¡°Goddess! Who said anything about a wyvern¡­? I mean yes, the wyvern was there, but he came wearing the body of a man!¡± Aelrindel admonished him. Ralnor smacked his lips and stared at the bathtub, where the ghost of her mother had been. ¡°Where is he now?¡± ¡°Gone. I struck a deal with him. Let me finish¡­ He wants to find the Aken that took him down.¡± ¡°Faelar agreed to this?¡± Ralnor queried trying to keep his anger from spilling out. ¡°Faelar wasn¡¯t there. I made the call!¡± Aelrindel sighed and walked to the window, her naked feet splashing on the rough wooden floor. ¡°So we came here, found that creep Grogoceq, both of them and killed them. Faelar¡­ was wounded gravely.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s the wyvern Doll?¡± Ralnor grunted. ¡°He took the Aken¡¯s body, killed the other. Gimoss is gone Ralnor,¡± she explained and turned to look at him. ¡°He¡¯s like a Lich now.¡± ¡°Great, the good news keep piling up,¡± Ralnor grunted mockingly. ¡°Why did he kill Zilyana?¡± ¡°He thought it was me,¡± Aelrindel puffed out and returned near him. ¡°They were fooling around with Lithoniela. Just a game.¡± ¡°I fail to see the pleasure in it,¡± Ralnor retorted gruffly. ¡°Goddess! Stop it! How could they have known?¡± She snapped angry. ¡°We have an Aken problem,¡± he informed her tiredly. ¡°Barlow is a construct and Faelar is dead. I don¡¯t have enough information to deal with this.¡± ¡°Who is this Barlow?¡± ¡°I had him running the finances of the Guild, but he was killed years ago,¡± Ralnor explained. ¡°Someone else took his place and continued doing the job, though obviously they have an agenda. I¡¯m missing a ship full of corpses!¡± ¡°Grogoceq¡¯s constructs were pretty basic,¡± Aelrindel noted. ¡°Plus he¡¯s hopefully dead.¡± ¡°I found one staring at the lake,¡± Ralnor countered. ¡°What about Suharto?¡± ¡°Suharto was a general in the war. His creations soldiers and war things, according to the old heads.¡± ¡°I wrote to Sulynor. Told him to get his old arse in Rida,¡± Ralnor informed her. ¡°Anyone else?¡± ¡°If no one figured him out for years,¡± she replied thoughtfully remembering her dream. ¡°Then Zargatoh comes to mind. Mother knew him. An Elder of Calith.¡± ¡°We had met one in the woods outside Rida. Lithoniela was with me,¡± Ralnor reminisced. ¡°It could be him.¡± ¡°He¡¯s too old now,¡± Aelrindel murmured. ¡°But he¡¯s on Eplas as well.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Ralnor asked perceptively. ¡°I had a vision,¡± she replied. ¡°Parts of it. It might have something to do with that.¡± Don¡¯t go there. ¡°Well?¡± the assassin probed impatiently. A rarity for him. Ralnor was rattled. ¡°I can¡¯t¡­ I can¡¯t make sense of it. I need time to think it through¡ª¡± ¡°Good grief,¡± a male voice said, a wiry half-breed standing at the doorway. His skin a dark gold almost, thick braids caught tight at the back of his head. ¡°The miracles keep multiplying.¡± ¡°I like your skin,¡± Aelrindel told him and then remembered she was in her real form. ¡°I like, your everything,¡± the man admitted and Ralnor intervened afore she killed him. ¡°He knows. Works for me,¡± the assassin informed her calmly. ¡°As a matter of fact he might be the next leader of the Guild. His name is Rhys.¡± ¡°Might?¡± Rhys frowned and then smiled nervously. ¡°Rhys,¡± Aelrindel said softly. ¡°Milady,¡± the assassin answered in the same vein. Quick in the tongue and smart. Hmm. ¡°I have my sandals under the bed,¡± she told him. ¡°Bring them to me downstairs.¡± ¡°No problem,¡± Rhys replied readily and Ralnor all but groaned in frustration. ¡°Let¡¯s go visit Lithoniela,¡± Aelrindel told the sullen Zilan. ¡°I¡¯ll wash my feet in Caruso¡¯s bucket.¡± ¡°There are heeled and flats here?¡± Rhys queried from the back of the room. ¡°Bring the flats,¡± Aelrindel said with a shrug and strolled down the staircase.
She paused in the middle of the stairs to nod at Caruso, the mercenary was heading to the kitchen and eyed a gloomy Lithoniela repairing her arrows at the other side of the room. With a sigh Aelrindel walked down the final steps, moist feet leaving impressions on them and returned her eyes on the young Princess to scold her for going out on her own again. A man¡¯s familiar voice stopping her at the second to last step, before her foot touched the floor. ¡°What in all rusty hooves?¡± Captain Romir snarled, as much shocked as furious. ¡°What are you? What is this shite?¡± Aelrindel turned to look at the Cavalry Leader, apparently not gone patrolling yet for whatever accursed reason and his men entering the hostel one after the other. Caruso had lit up every oil lamp in the place, with the owner Dilmor probably working at the stable, to help Lith better see what she was doing. Everyone present benefiting from it. ¡°Look at them ears!¡± Another yelled standing behind him, eyes ogling as if he¡¯d ever seen a better pair in his miserable plebeian life! ¡°Why, that¡¯s a¡­ Zilan Captain,¡± a third grunted. ¡°Holy shit!¡± Romir''s mouth forming a snarl and rushing her way. Aelrindel stepped forward to stop him raising her hand, forgot about the last step and when her naked foot found it, she slipped. ¡°Eeeh!¡± she screeched, eyes snapping to the ceiling, legs splitting in a cunt revealing kick afore she dropped backwards and hurt her hip on the last darn step. ¡°GAAH!¡± she cried out double mad and Romir was on her. Everything happening in seconds. He reached with his left arm for her hair, the right wielding a large knife. An arrow whistling and shoving the hand away, piercing his wrist through to the fletching. ¡°AARGGH!¡± Romir growled and made to swing with his knife at her gnarling face. Aelrindel put her hand on his other wrist moving much faster and hurled him across the room. The Captain smashed a table before he stopped, but a second Cofol took his place, a saber in hand. The blade clattering on the floor afore he could use it, a throwing knife buried in his right eye. Down went the Cofol, another charging her, stopped by Ralnor that had leaped from the top of the stairs after he¡¯d hurled the knife and kneed him in the neck. The hostel turning into a war zone in the blink of an eye. Aelrindel stumbled to her feet groaning and not believing the turn of events, right hip barely working and hurting like she¡¯d been kicked from a bad-tempered mule. She snarled all teeth at Lithoniela, the Princess arrows zipping over her shoulder and shrieked seeing the heavy Cofol swinging a mace at her. The sorceress dodged barely, made to grab the big rider but missed, the Cofol getting smacked by a sandal right on the nose a moment later. ¡°Ugh!¡± he gurgled nose broken and Ralnor¡¯s steel peleg split his cranium down the middle splashing gore and brains everywhere. The silence following the thud of the heavy Cofol hitting the floor deafening. Broken by a returning from the kitchen with bread, onions and a couple of carrots Caruso. ¡°What in allhells¡­¡± the mercenary mumbled in deep bewilderment witnessing the bloody chaos. ¡°Happened here lads?¡± ¡°Eh, ouch¡­ oh crap,¡± a pained Aelrindel cursed limping towards a chair. Only one left standing upright. Six Cofols dead on the hostel¡¯s floor, sporting various injuries and many arrows Lithoniela judiciously went about retrieving. ¡°Ahm,¡± Rhys murmured standing next to the door unsure. ¡°We need to get the bodies out of here guys.¡± ¡°Where?¡± Ralnor grunted and eyed Caruso. ¡°The horses too,¡± the mercenary mumbled crunching on an onion, giving a carrot to a busy Lithoniela. She slotted it in her mouth and kept pulling arrows out of bodies. ¡°I¡¯ll take them to the stables.¡± ¡°They can tell them apart easily,¡± Ralnor grunted. ¡°But it¡¯ll have to do for now.¡± ¡°Moving the bodies afore Dilmor returns is more urgent I think,¡± Aelrindel groaned from her chair, a hand rubbing at her hip wondering whether to use a potion, or magic. A frowned Dilmor shoving Rhys aside and stepping inside his hostel with a cry of shock afore she could make a decision. Eh, damn it. He¡¯s gone, she thought with a pout as she kind of liked him and Dilmor collapsed on the floor, shuddering and spraying blood everywhere from his slit throat. Rhys wiped his knife on the hostel owner¡¯s pants and shrugged his shoulders at all those glaring at him. In a sense the assassin was right. It was the simplest way to solve their immediate problems.
¡°Want an onion?¡± Caruso offered and she waved him away frustrated. The health potion messing up her stomach and the unexpected mayhem that had occurred doing a number on her nerves. ¡°Caruso go help Toutatis with the horses,¡± Ralnor grunted and took a chair next to her. ¡°How¡¯s the hip?¡± ¡°Better,¡± Aelrindel murmured, using both her hands to keep her chin up. ¡°Where do we go now?¡± ¡°We could head to Hi Yil, or Devil¡¯s Cove. Find a ship to Jelin,¡± Ralnor replied. ¡°Jelin? Goodness me! And what¡¯s that last one?¡± ¡°A Lorian port, under Lazuli Peninsula. I have connections on Jelin Doll, hideouts, properties controlled by the Guild and politicians willing to turn a blind eye.¡± ¡°Lorians, not to mention Issirs are the worst Ralnor.¡± ¡°The Khan is too close for comfort and we can¡¯t use your prince to learn their intentions,¡± he grunted. ¡°You have a better idea?¡± ¡°I rather chance the Great Desert.¡± Not really. ¡°Well, we could stop at Lebesos, think it through calmly¡ª¡± Wow. It¡¯s a jest you mule. ¡°What does Lithoniela think?¡± she cut him off, which always infuriated him. ¡°Are you kidding me?¡± Ralnor hissed and got up his face red. ¡°Listen, I have Selussa in Devil¡¯s Cove, she can find us a ship.¡± ¡°How¡¯s the kid? I haven¡¯t seen him yet.¡± ¡°Doll this is serious!¡± Ralnor breathed in once and then exhaled. ¡°What is the problem?¡± ¡°If we try to force Lithoniela to come with us, she might snap and leave on her own,¡± Aelrindel explained with a sigh. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with her? Is it her mind?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. It might be, but I fear¡­ we might need a Dottore, or a healer.¡± ¡°A¡­ can¡¯t you figure it out?¡± Ralnor murmured with a grimace. ¡°She won¡¯t talk about it.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you¡­ charm it out of her?¡± he offered and she glared at him. ¡°I won¡¯t do that. And I meant¡­ a proper healer.¡± It was painful to admit this. ¡°Great. Welp, we can¡¯t stay here. The corpses will start reeking by morrow and the missing captain might lead them right on your doorstep, since you were seen with him!¡± ¡°Caruso, not me¡­ but yes you¡¯re right,¡± she added seeing him clenching his jaw angry. Rhys entering at that moment and interrupting their staring contest. ¡°In a day of many firsts,¡± the ambitious assassin said standing at the door, hands resting at his hips and legs open under him. ¡°I just had the most hideous cat follow me from the stables.¡± ¡°Rhys, I¡¯m in the middle of an important¡ª¡± Ralnor growled, Aelrindel stopping him. ¡°What kind of cat?¡± ¡°Stray? Fuck I know?¡± Rhys retorted. ¡°Pardon the language milady. I¡¯m rather rattled I admit.¡± ¡°Eh, we dabble in risqu¨¦ words ourselves, right Lithoniela?¡± Aelrindel teased to get her out of her sullen mood. ¡°Not we don¡¯t,¡± the Princess replied curtly chomping at her carrot. Eh. ¡°Anyways,¡± Rhys continued. ¡°Darn cat kept pestering me wit queries and curses which in a day of many firsts as I said takes the cake.¡± Aelrindel narrowed her eyes and turned to stare at the troubled assassin noticing a burned out, boils covered cat, missing most of its hide but at random spots and behind the ears that had sprouted between his legs. ¡°Fucking pussies left me hanging! Stabbed me in the back!¡± Melon roared, Rhys recoiling in panic and jumping two meters away with an unmanly yelp. ¡°Sitting all cozy and enjoying life whilst I had to jump out of a fucking burning building and then cross a plaguing desert! ON PAWS!¡± ¡°Melon!¡± Lithoniela squealed happy and run to take him in her arms. ¡°You made it!¡± ¡°Hey round tits,¡± Melon purred, charred face and left eye half closed, whilst the princess caressed his fur-less belly. ¡°Watch them nails. Cock and balls fused near the arsehole a bit, so when I fart, I also spray a little.¡± Ralnor let out a pained groan and rubbed at his shaven skull exasperated. ¡°Oras hells,¡± he grunted, Rhys circling around the princess and the talking cat keeping the widest of berths. ¡°Of course the darn cat survives!¡± ¡°Gnarly motherfucker,¡± Melon admonished him irate. ¡°Fuck are you talking about? I¡¯m down to a couple of lives since I started running with your stupid crew!¡±
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 339. A gnarly smile
Even so fall it shall, These words won¡¯t be written in scrawl burned blisters thy riches growing out of foul Crown Gal Past¡¯s lineages cocooned in lament¡¯s purple shawl - Sintoriela, High Priestess of Nesande First Sibyl of the Coven. Partially destroyed alabaster wall-size tablet (herein the south wall) inside the ruins of Nesande¡¯s massive temple complex in Elauthin, known as Crimson Palace. The pre-empire (?) prophecy (?) ¨Chere only the last lines of it- and part of the Seers Floor inside the temple (the specific room called ''Dialogues'') is impossible to reconstruct due to lack of context after over three millennia and of course the absence of any living witnesses. -
Ena, ¡®the Mad¡¯ Third Sibyl of the Coven A gnarly smile
Fire. Hurts more than steel. Quick¡­ quick! Qerrali screeched, nervous little feet clattering on the glass rock. Let me close that! ¡°Bad blood¡­ must drizzle out,¡± she hissed through her clenched teeth, breaking pieces of the keratinous skin away to open the wound. Oh-oh¡­ crimson spills! Cave gives me chills! ¡°You¡¯re a spider,¡± Ena murmured spreading the salve in the cut. Her repairing lung still hurting and only half-working. ¡°Spent centuries in one.¡± Kinfolk! Same the Kinfolk are, but not alike! ¡°Crazy soul, what did you use?¡± she asked the anxious Wraith Arachne. Illusions in the flesh, the Traveler had called them. Bloodmagic, Bonemagic¡­ but better. Put a name on it, doesn¡¯t matter. Magic has no father, or mother. Like gold. The First Sibyl who knew him the longest thought this was the reason another should lead.
A scholar like Falael -new things to discover, since Elwuin is like yester¡¯s ale. A gardener like Olonelis to make these new things grow. A fighter like Anfalon to win battles and to defeat''s ruine not our future bestow. Perhaps a builder like Quiceran, or better yet his brilliant pupil Ninthalor, form an empire hopefully too big to fall from envy¡¯s fault, or lack of valor.
Aye, the eloquent Sintoriela used to say always adding¡­ Not a sorcerer. A sorceress herself, she got her wish. Old stories! Qerrali screeched anxiously. Seal the wound! ¡°Edlenn couldn¡¯t have done it without you,¡± Ena told her and pushed herself up to examine the large cave under what once was a mighty granite mountain, but now was just a flat plateau bordering Hunter¡¯s Watch. The stone had been quarried away, massive amounts of it and transported to Goras in order to build Ninthalor his bridge between Black Peak and White Peak, from Chimera¡¯s Leg to Goras Peninsula. There was no need for it, but building is what builders do. The Black Peak was still there the Ranger had told her, but the White Peak was long gone now, grumbled underwater and such was the fate of the King¡¯s bridge and the King¡¯s empire. ¡°If a creator is judged by his creations, then you surviving and still being useful, points us to a clear winner in this argument,¡± she finished with a grimace of pain. Same, Qerrali reminded her stubbornly. But not alike! ¡°This brew tasted funny,¡± Ena griped not wanting to go over it with her again and wobbled towards the hollowed out underground quarry. The Cave, essentially just an even bigger portion of the mountain missing, extracted with magic and machines. My secretions make it last longer! Qerrali screamed rushing after her. Good for webbing, better to preserve and to secure! ¡°Is there another exit a human could use?¡± She asked looking about for the traces of routes carved on the walls of the cave. Some still there leading to dark openings. No path leading here! Too high, no bipedal is that spry! The Arachne leaped forward and upon landing immediately span in a circle, rigid hairy legs clattering for purchase spraying webs from her spinneret. She covered a cracked rocky protrusion with those thick ropes of silk netting making it comfortable. Ena sat on the crude chair created in minutes with a groan of pain. ¡°Your hard fake skin deflected that arrow enough to save me sister,¡± she told the skittish large arachnoid. Qerrali was the size of a dog, with thin black lines running her grey-white legs. Her body of similar, but darker color. ¡°That ranger has a steady hand.¡±This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. How? Qerrali wondered thinking of Hardir. ¡°A Wyvern¡¯s bone to thin the magic,¡± Ena murmured rethinking the encounter. ¡°Made into an amulet of sorts. Something he looted. A familiar¡¯s help to ¡®quickstep¡¯ out of danger without casting. If the gods have a hand in this.¡± He did cast, but it didn¡¯t last! Qerrali protested with a screech. Hmm. ¡°An untrained pupil can¡¯t do it,¡± Ena hissed. ¡°What did he use?¡± Himself? The Arachne guessed. ¡°No human can withstand the shock. The first couple of times would knock him out and scare him shitless,¡± Ena explained listening to the sounds of the empty and dark large cave. ¡°Never to attempt it again.¡± Who could teach him the unknown, Qerrali shrieked in frustration, how to stop afore turning to stone? Ena made to answer, but the sound of rocks collapsing reverberated on the hundreds of meters high walls and ceiling of the underground cavern like a thunder, before she had the chance. ¡°See what that was,¡± she told Qerrali and the Arachne reacted instantly her pointy feet clacking on the hard surface. Ena got up and walked slowly away from the custom seat, her eyes piercing the colorless blackness further than any human¡¯s would, but this was a massive cave. She listened for sounds, but silence had returned again and even Qerrali knew to mask her movement when it was absolutely necessary. Fallen rocks, but nothing walks! Qerrali informed her. Ena planted her staff down and closed her eyes. The cave breathed, the realm a living thing. It mixed with the soft breeze coming through the many cracks. Others created by water gathering after a heavy rain and sipping into the rock. Some whistling, a few whispering. Hidden wild flowers responding, moths flying away intrigued. The vapors creating droplets that tapped the sleek granite, where red iron-rich moss flourished. What walks this dark place hidden? The witch asked the whispers. A Wyvern, they eagerly replied and an alarmed Ena chanted for illumination. A ball of light popped out of the top of her staff and catapulted for the ceiling expanding with each second. One and the walls came to view. Two and the shadows skirted away. Three and the cave¡¯s ceiling became a solid black gleaming sky with its own moon, but for the lighter spots playing the role of clouds. Oh-oh! Came Qerrali¡¯s startled gasp and a large ball of fire came down from the ceiling. Big as a wagon¡¯s wheel. Ena transferred her weight to the Arachne¡¯s crude seat, the rock heard cracking and she leaped out of the fireball¡¯s way. A strange sucking sound leading before it, the light turning a warm yellow and the heat increasing with each passing second. The sorceress¡¯ feet touched ground just as the ball of fire struck the spot she had just been standing on. A wave of scalding gasses, debris and pulverized rock blasting outwards while Ena stumbled hurriedly out of the way. The light flickered and died the next moment, the cave walls crackling in the pandemonium and she put her back on a sharp standing boulder welcoming the darkness. Some smaller rocks still tumbling down and the ground glowing a fierce red twenty meters away, right where the fireball had landed, Qerrali¡¯s rocky ¡®seat¡¯ turned to a three meter wide pool of lava. Not at the entrance! The Arachne warned, but Ena knew where the Wyvern had come from. Sneaky young creature, who taught you this? She reached with a spirit thread and sucked all that rich flourishing moss dry. Kept the water in the roots and charged it into small lighting rods with some of her blood. Nororis favorite spell. Ena got out from behind the boulder and hurled them all upwards in an arc, two meters apart to cover more ground. The shards spread and catapulted for the ceiling, glowing electric bolts creating a strikingly beautiful light show in the blackness of the cave. The small explosions rattling the rock and cracking it, debris falling down and smashing on the hard ground. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. Twelve of them covering the spot from where the fireball had originated. The cave shaking with the sound of multiple thunders coming in sharply quickening intervals. Her ears ringing as she relocated fast. Up the worn path near the east side of the cave wall, old heart beating fast, adrenalin flooding her innards, back in the war again. Her staff touching the lip at the edge of the carved out of the rock road and her free hand following the rough wall for guidance. Ena reached the first cave thirty meters higher, gold threads spreading out inside the cave, under and above her position looking for the Wyvern. The threads snapping where it had moved through, the route it had taken arcing in turn towards the walls and away from the ceiling. Hmm. She moved again, another narrower path cut out of the wall leading higher, the wyvern moving as well back the other way, a hand digging in her satchel for the resin incense cubes the ranger had brought her. Not as potent as she would have preferred, but Ena burned through them fast and reached for the fallen pieces of granite littering the floor of the cave now more than fifty meters below her. The Wyvern¡¯s pool of lava, a small red circle right at its center. ¡°Move,¡± Ena chanted in Witch Tongue stepping back towards the entrance of the second tunnel to protect herself. ¡°And to your places, return!¡± The sea of debris leaping up with the speed of catapult shots and bombarding the ceiling and the walls of the cave in a hundred meter radius. The cave shaking and roaring, much more material coming down than what it had gone up, clouds of mixed pulverized dust, dirt and granite turned to gravel forming and blasting everything. Ena ducked inside the dark tunnel¡¯s entrance, already preparing a ¡®poison the elements¡¯ paralyzing spell. It wouldn¡¯t stop the wyvern but it will slow it down enough, she thought. To give me time to get out of the cave and seal it behind me. Her ears ringing, the discordance of many small rock slides and sharp cracks opening up on the ceiling echoing all about the cave and walls of the tunnel. Ena started chanting again, but stopped with a blink, her sky-blue glowing eyes turning to the white briefly as an instinctive vision kicked in. Her body crashed at the bottom of the cave. Thou can¡¯t be a proper witch little Ena, much less a Sibyl, Sintoriela scolded turning Galadriel¡¯s piece of dough into foul mud in her mouth, a young Nororis chuckling unable to control herself. Ena¡¯s name meaning ¡®once more¡¯ in the old tongue. The old sorceress sighed in frustration afore adding with a warning glare and a hiss. If thou can¡¯t foresee your own death. ¡°Leave! Find her,¡± Ena warned the approaching Qerrali and the Arachne screeched in preternatural agony in her head, as she¡¯d just shared part of the Third Sibyl¡¯s vision. The sorceress turned around to face the blackness of the tunnel, the roar of the collapsing cave coming to an end slowly behind her. A tensed but serene Ena felt a hot breeze blowing her ravaged hair back, smelling of naphtha and brimstone, just as she restarted the spell. Out of the thick darkness a scaly large head materialized, rubicund dragon eyes glowing like torches, sharp twin protruding horns gleaming like black glass and that beastly mouth forming a smug as much as hideous gnarly smile. ¡°GEAH!¡± Ena cried out and jerked back her body not as fast as in her youth, or before the war, the scorpion like stinger part of the Wyvern¡¯s tail catching her right arm and ripping it away clean, right at the shoulder joint. Her staff clanging on the wall. She faltered out of the tunnel¡¯s entrance, realized part of the keratinous skin had been torn away exposing her blackened shoulder bones along the area where the arm was missing. Blood spraying out in an arc, but her mind numb to pain from the severe traumatic shock. Then the tail returned, opened her up from left hip to under the chin, sending her gouged out entrails and the lower part of her jaw flying in an explosion of gore. Ena saw most of that falling back and over the narrow stone-cut path. NAAHHH! A delirious Qerrali screamed in her head, the ceiling¡¯s blackness turning into a mirror for a brief moment showing her gutted, horrifically mutilated body dropping towards the ravaged rocky terrain underneath her. It was the black Wyvern flying silently outside the tunnel, time slowing down, the cunning beast turning its scaly head to witness her downfall. What Onyx Wyvern fights like a cowardly rascal, lurking by the side of a road? The plummeting to the nadirs sorceress wondered in amazement, her last conscious thought an order to the screeching distraught loyal Arachne. Tell Galadriel what happened. And then Ena was no more.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 340. Forty tons of gold (1/5)
Jasi opened a tired eye hearing her enter the small living room. He was resting on the divan, a half-finished cup of wine set on a small table next to him. ¡°That was a long goodnight,¡± he commented pointedly. ¡°Uhm,¡± a flushed Elsanne agreed and walked to the water barrel. She splashed her face with water, worked some of it down her neck and bosom. She clasped the lip of the barrel with both hands, then breathed in and out to calm down, quickly realizing she couldn¡¯t. With a soul deep sigh Elsanne walked towards the stairs leading to her bedroom, but stopped and turned around. ¡°Gods,¡± a half asleep Jasi murmured, his eyes closed. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Typically,¡± Elsanne started nervously crossing her arms before her chest, disregarding his plea. Loes was missing so she needed someone to talk to. ¡°Would you say, I¡¯m still married Jasi?¡± The eunuch groaned. ¡°Typically such a conversation is better reserved for the morning after a cup of tea, or good luck finding one here, a cup of coffee.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a simple query,¡± Elsanne snapped and went to sit on his couch, shoving him further inside with her arse. ¡°Yes,¡± Jasi grumbled. ¡°You are. There.¡± Elsanne pouted and gave him a solid slap on the chest. ¡°Didn¡¯t Sigurd say that I can do whatever I want? Hmm?¡± ¡°Ouch¡­ sure,¡± Jasi moaned with a grimace of pain. ¡°Here I am a free¡­ man, beaten yet again. Where¡¯s the justice one wonders?¡± ¡°So given the time apart, this marriage is over right?¡± She asked not listening to his rumblings. ¡°The marriage was over the moment you started thinking for yourself,¡± Jasi said and tried to find some room but failed and gave up. ¡°Aye, but typically, it isn¡¯t a good look to be seen, not that I was¡­¡± Elsanne paused unsure. ¡°Find a priest and annul it,¡± Jasi blurted out. ¡°Your Grace can pick any priest. Ordain one for crying out loud!¡± ¡°Like Abrakas? They seem to call on him a lot here,¡± Elsanne chanced. ¡°Whelp, anyone but him,¡± Jasi advised her. ¡°Can your Grace relocate to your room now, so I can get some sleep?¡±
-
Elsanne Eikenaar Princess Heiress ¡®Fair¡¯ Anne Burton Forty tons of gold Part I -We won¡¯t object-
Early second month of winter, 193 NC Pirate Reefs straits Lord¡¯s Burrow approach ¡°How is it?¡± Elsanne asked Jasi, the eunuch busy trying to pluck a hair out of his nostril using her metal tweezers. ¡°Ouch!¡± Jasi griped with a grimace, his shaven head snapping away from the bronze mirror, the Corsair¡¯s Gold creaking and groaning like it was ready to come apart and the weather that had weakened since they had entered the narrow channels through the reefs, still clearly heard into their small captain¡¯s cabin. ¡°Can I be frank your outmost Excellency?¡± ¡°Please, I¡¯m looking for an honest opinion Jasi.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a shirt your grace.¡± Elsanne narrowed her eyes. ¡°A fine silk shirt under an almost new red cloak,¡± she pointed out. ¡°I advise to close the front, the wind is murderous,¡± Jasi retorted checking his nose for any bleeding. ¡°Those you wish to impress fancy dresses and the rest of the local crowd makes outrageous fashion selections to be impressed by a shirt.¡± Elsanne pursed her mouth. ¡°Get the door,¡± she ordered him tartly. Jasi opened the door for her with a smile and a curtsy. ¡°I shall strive to be less honest your grace,¡± he murmured as she walked past him. Elsanne stepped inside the corridor leading to the main deck, Sir Klaas snapping to attention seeing her. ¡°At ease dear knight,¡± Elsanne said. ¡°You¡¯ve found a cabin?¡± ¡°I was outside your door the whole night Princess Heiress,¡± the newly minted knight replied tensely. ¡°Oh, well then¡­ we¡¯ll be there shortly,¡± Elsanne assured him. ¡°I shall visit the deck Sir Klaas.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll get the hatch your grace,¡± the knight said and walked past her trying not to touch the unmoving Princess too much. ¡°Thank the allgods,¡± Jasi murmured standing behind Elsanne. ¡°He¡¯s tall and fit. That thing is a nightmare to push open.¡± ¡°I need help to climb the ladder,¡± Elsanne reminded him and the Eunuch sighed sadly. ¡°A vision urged me to stay at Eikenport, but I opted not to follow its sage advice,¡± Jasi muttered. ¡°Your Brilliance needs a workhand more than an advisor.¡± ¡°Poor Loes is still with Radin,¡± she pouted looking over her shoulder, the eunuch¡¯s reply coming without hesitation. ¡°Not what I meant your Grace.¡±
The black basalt walls of the coral-covered reefs shot up straight from both sides of the ship, port and starboard. The men used long oars to keep it away from danger and help guide it through the breathtaking waterway. The rain had stopped, but the gushes of wind kept everything soaked spraying seawater on the deck of Corsair¡¯s Gold. The beige painted sloop-o-war, with the mustard colored sails wasn¡¯t unknown to Elsanne. She had sailed with it years ago after Prince Radin had won the tourney at Riverdor. The distant summer of 188 NC. Gust was watching the sailors struggling to keep the vessel going with its main sails gathered, but it was controlled chaos really, as the pirates knew what they were doing. Elsanne approached, keeping a hand on her face to protect her eyes from the bursts of salty water. ¡°It is really beautiful we think!¡± she yelled and the tall knight from Scaldingport turned his head to look at her a bit worried. ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Elsanne assured him, losing her footing but regaining it quickly with the help of Sir Klaas. ¡°Lots of pirate blood in me!¡± ¡°I think half the crew is drunk,¡± Gust grunted. ¡°And keep drinking!¡± ¡°They have a high tolerance!¡± Elsanne replied with a grin. ¡°I think they work better intoxicated!¡± ¡°Uhm,¡± Gust murmured unsure. ¡°So, you will love Lord¡¯s Burrow,¡± Elsanne started, but seeing Gust¡¯s expression reconsidered her words and went with something less loving. ¡°You¡¯ll be intrigued, it¡¯s a unique city.¡± ¡°The pirates call it a port,¡± Gust noted clenching his square jaw. ¡°That too of course,¡± Elsanne griped, her shirt quickly getting soaked making it stick on her bustier all wrinkly which was an annoyance. Also cold as allhells, but she could withstand pain and cold for style. ¡°Robert has taken the news relatively well,¡± Gust commented staring at the black rocks going past them. They were standing on the starboard side of the ship to get a glimpse of Burrow immediately after the last turn. ¡°He was relieved his sister is still breathing!¡± Elsanne yelled, as the crew raised a ruckus, the watch bell ringing to warn the approaching Marquette to slow down. Leona was coming up behind them. A livid Captain Dawson had to come down from the quarterdeck, spyglass in hand to gauge the distance and spot who was sailing the Barque. The moment the Marquette reappeared turning after them, he started cursing very colorfully its captain. ¡°Gods darn drunks,¡± Gust cursed as well watching them, distrust marring his gloomy face. ¡°Apologies Princess.¡± Eh. ¡°Sigurd was devastated, but he tried to play it down,¡± Elsanne said not bothered with his language and briefly touched his left hand that was clasping the deck rails. Briefly because she wanted to see where Sir Klaas was standing, her initial plan was even more daring, but weather and a crowded deck had ruined it. Jasi had remained near the hatch and its arch arbor not wanting to bathe in salt again. She thought of using him as a shield, but glancing back to call on him could ruin her bun and Elsanne had already a lot of loose curls plastered on her face. ¡°What happened at that wedding is more disturbing,¡± Gust argued and stared at her retreating hand. Elsanne felt her cheeks flame up, all the cold lessening and her wet skin drying up. Metaphorically. ¡°Poor Aafke must be devastated,¡± she gasped nervously. ¡°More about losing her husband one would hope,¡± Gust retorted and Elsanne frowned unsure on his meaning. ¡°LAND AHOY!¡± The boy from the ship¡¯s watch shouted at the top of his lungs, an arm clasping a line and half his body dangling perilously over the edge. ¡°Here it is,¡± Elsanne said and stepped closer to the always warm knight to show him better. ¡°I only see docks your Grace,¡± Gust commented hoarsely. ¡°Am I missing something?¡± ¡°They are built in layers of platforms, small bridges linking them, narrow passages from door to door in the role of alleys, even from roof to roof sometimes. It¡¯s built in half-rings and it goes five rings in. It even has a small central square constructed right in the middle of the main docks,¡± Elsanne took a deep breath and realized Gust was listening to her intently and not looking at the approaching port. ¡°Give it a chance, Sir Gust,¡± she added nervously. ¡°I shall,¡± Gust replied and the bow of the Marquette appeared next to them and gaining fast. ¡°Abrakas blooming tail!¡± Dawson cursed ogling his eyes at the dangerous maneuver so close to land. ¡°What¡¯s that salted bush be doin¡¯ mister Trifton?¡± ¡°Reckon she be wantin¡¯ to moor first for the brags ¡®Yellow¡¯!¡± A visibly intoxicated ¡®Lucky¡¯ Trifton replied. ¡°I ain¡¯t blind!¡± Dawson blasted him and then stooped to glare at the crew loitering under him. ¡°Unfurl the main mister Vail! Wake Barnet up! Unless he¡¯s passed away, then don¡¯t!¡± ¡°We can make it on this speed Dawson!¡± the quartermaster protested, but gave Barnet a good kick for good measure. ¡°Not first we ain¡¯t,¡± Dawson hissed grinding his teeth, the startled Barnet jumping to his feet and then ducking behind the main mast thinking they were under assault. ¡°Hah,¡± Elsanne laughed nervously, seeing Gust furrowing his brow at their shenanigans. ¡°A bit of friendly banter and competition!¡± she played it down, fat ¡®Grizzly¡¯ Weiss hanging half-out the port side of the Marquette showing them a crooked middle finger as they pulled ahead. Eh. That was rude! ¡°Struder!¡± Gust barked at the group of Castalor¡¯s crossbowmen sailing with them. ¡°Next time that fat whoreson sticks his head out put a bolt through it!¡± ¡°Gust!¡± Elsanne gasped in shock, the veteran Captain nodding. He got a couple of the heavy crossbowmen up with a curt signal. ¡°Captain Struder, belay that order!¡± she yelled. ¡°Don¡¯t fire!¡± ¡°I won¡¯t your Grace,¡± Struder assured her nonchalantly. ¡°Unless he does it again.¡± It was a very tense final approach to the crowd filled docks.
¡°Seems old Atterton has gotten the word out,¡± Dawson commented glaring at Leona jumping from the stern of the Marquette spectacularly using a long line and landing directly on the docks, tumbling once and then crashing head first through a produce stand luckily carrying empty baskets. People thought she had just killed herself, but the lithe captain jumped to her feet when they tried to help and refused any assistance. ¡°That¡¯s so nice of him,¡± a soaked Elsanne replied and stepped on the docks carefully, the waves splashing making the terrain slippery. She crossed the difficult part with the help of Gust and Klaas, Jasi murmuring behind them about the lack of proper passage and helping servants. ¡°Klaas get that sword out,¡± Gust ordered the young knight, after eyeing the gathering of locals. ¡°Half of them are armed.¡± ¡°Gust they¡¯re pirates, haha,¡± Elsanne admonished him nervously, a smile plastered on her cold face. She raised her right hand just over shoulder height, all fingers kept together and moved it slightly left and right to greet the colorful crowd. The hard moist bustier was making a number on her nipples and the cold wasn¡¯t helping in that affair at all, or the traditional waving. ¡°Is that the Princess?¡± someone asked unsure. ¡°Must be!¡± said another, much more excited. A third asking a little perturbed. ¡°What¡¯s she doin¡¯ wit the hand?¡± A smart one raising his own hand mimicking Elsanne¡¯s wave. The rest of the crowd following with a couple of enthusiastic younger lads raising both hands. ¡°Princess,¡± a smiling Atterton greeted her stepping forward. Van Fleet, Quint and Mutiny Carter grinning proudly behind him. ¡°Seeing your return to Lord¡¯s Burrow has excited the people and all but moved me to tears.¡± ¡°Thank you mister Atterton,¡± Elsanne replied warmly, her teeth clattering at the breeze blowing over the docks. ¡°My heartfelt gratitude goes to the people of Burrow! Why, it feels like being back home here!¡± she yelled turning to the delirious crowd of mostly pirates. Lorians and Issirs, Cofols and half-breeds in the mix. A weird pink-haired kid watching from a rooftop. The crowd responded with a wild roar, those that heard her that is, but the rest followed the first rows wild cheering and it spread out fast.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. ¡°HURRAH FOR ANNE O¡¯ BURROW!¡± ¡°THE HEIRESS!¡± ¡°THE LORD¡¯S KIN!¡± ¡°THE PIRATE QUEEN!¡± Elsanne chuckled at their enthusiasm despite the cold and then walked slowly through them, touching their undulating hands and even waving once more much to the gaudy crowd¡¯s delight that responded readily to her greeting. Atterton led them away from the black market district and towards the central portion of the settlement, where the taverns, shops and brothels were located. ¡°Adele Vale¡¯s is the more respectable establishment,¡± he explained apologetically. ¡°I gave orders for a small feast to be prepared.¡± ¡°Is that Leona¡¯s mother?¡± Elsanne probed, sandwiched between Gust and Klaas who had feared the worst at the reaction of the crowd. ¡°Her aunt. Captain Erlad¡¯s sister,¡± Atterton explained. ¡°Her parents are deceased?¡± ¡°Aye, your grace¡­ that¡¯s one way of putting it,¡± the old pirate replied. ¡°Place is called the ¡®Purser¡¯, just like his ship.¡±
In the twenty minutes it took them to enter the Vale family tavern, the winds changed. A soft rain started falling again, but the temperature went from chilly to scorching hot, the scalding gushes coming from the south twirling in the Pirate Reefs natural almost enclosed harbor area, Burrow¡¯s docks and platforms, its alleys and its squares. Elsanne found herself breathing heavy in her cloak, clothes drying up, as she took her place at the head of the many tables placed one after the other to create a big one. Atterton sat at the other edge, with Gust, Jasi, Klaas, Sigurd and Struger on Elsanne¡¯s right and left. Dawson and Van Fleet doing the same across from her, followed by Leona Vale, with several other pirates finding tables at the far end of the large tavern amongst them ¡®Mutiny¡¯ Carter, ¡®Salty¡¯ Reed, ¡®Blackmane¡¯ Quint from Van Fleet¡¯s crew, Byron Vail, ¡®Lucky¡¯ Trifton and Barnet from Dawson¡¯s and of course ¡®Weasel¡¯ Clark, ¡®Grizly¡¯ Weiss and ¡®Blunder¡¯ Hook from Leona¡¯s. ¡°We have a barrel of seawater trout thrown on the coals your Grace,¡± Adele Vale informed with a clumsy curtsy. ¡°Two bottles of red and white wine for you and choice grog for the esteemed captains.¡± ¡°Gratitude for taking the time to prepare everything,¡± Elsanne said, the heat slowly getting to her especially inside the packed tavern. ¡°And to the chef as well.¡± ¡°No chef in the premises Princess,¡± Adele replied readily. ¡°We don¡¯t favor the practice here.¡± Right. ¡°Ahm,¡± Atterton intervened clearing his throat. ¡°What will our choice grog be dear Adele?¡± The middle aged of Lorian origins tavern hostess eyed him austerely. ¡°Plenty of beer for the crew, ale for you and rum. We do not discriminate on the quality here Mister Atterton.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have the rum,¡± Atterton decided, Adele stopping him. ¡°You¡¯ll have whatever grog I find afore me, unless Leona wants to help search the cellar,¡± Leona blinked unsure, more restrained than usual. ¡°I¡¯ll help Miss Adele,¡± Mutiny offered from the back. ¡°But I want nothing untoward. This wench be carrying plenty o¡¯ sharp blades,¡± she warned her colleagues, who assumed affronted looks that didn¡¯t convince anyone. ¡°Just with the cups, I have hired help for the food,¡± Adele told her. ¡°It¡¯s coming right out your grace.¡± ¡°Well,¡± Van Fleet said after she went in the venue¡¯s kitchen. ¡°This certainly ranks very high as far as dinners go. What with a Princess, a Lord of Scaldingport, the Baron of Colle and prominent captains present. I be offering a toast Princess, but alas Adele started serving these buckets of bread first.¡± Elsanne glanced at Gust and the knight paused his chomping at the fresh fist-sized dough and swallowed. ¡°The fish might be tasty,¡± she whispered his way. ¡°You don¡¯t want to ruin your appetite early Sir Gust.¡± ¡°I find that fish needs help to fill one¡¯s stomach Princess,¡± Gust replied reaching for a carafe of water. Adele and two younger servants returning with large platters of roasted fish. Six of them to start, each plate containing one fat, well-roasted in olive oil and crashed garlic mixed with tomato sauce trout. It was served with steaming coral mushrooms the pirates imported from Eikenport and red caviar. Adele had gone all in, Elsanne thought and looked for butter for her bread, but not finding any on the table she scooped some of the salty dish with the help of a piece of bread. Jasi cut a thin fillet from the fish sides and placed it on her plate, placing a smaller piece on his along with some mushrooms, everyone digging in. Gust reached with a dagger he produced out of his waistband, cut the almost meter long silvery seatrout right the middle and used a fork to carry the hefty portion to his plate. ¡°Would perhaps the big platter have been more useful Sir Gust?¡± Jasi asked, seeing as the piece was much larger than his plate. ¡°No,¡± Gust replied and started working on his slice diligently. Elsanne chuckled at his appetite and wiped her forehead with a soft hankie, she then returned into her bosom. Everyone was busy eating with enthusiasm not really bothered by the heat the turn of the weather had brought on Lord¡¯s Burrow. Leona who had already downed a goblet of rum stood up and cleared her throat. ¡°I¡¯d like arr¡­ to make¡ª¡± ¡°It behooves me tis too early for toasts Vale,¡± Van Fleet cut her off rudely. ¡°Which is why I opted for an announcement in its stead.¡± ¡°What kind?¡± Atterton asked her, cleaning the sides of his mouth with a towel. ¡°It be¡­ well, not a toast¡­ obviously,¡± Leona murmured. ¡°The¡­arr cargo, which we won¡¯t name,¡± she paused to wink at those present¡­ twice, as not everyone was in her field of vision. ¡°Is on the move again.¡± ¡°What cargo be that?¡± Atterton asked. Ah. ¡°Should we speak of this now Captain Vale?¡± Elsanne cautioned her. ¡°Leo,¡± Leona retorted and gulped down some more of her drink. ¡°I don¡¯t see another way Jade Eyes.¡± ¡°What is she talking about?¡± Van Fleet grunted slapping his hand on the table before he could control himself and his monstrous dog Pete was heard barking outside the tavern angry. Leona paled and had some more of her grog. ¡°Why is the matter discussed at this moment?¡± Dawson queried sounding annoyed. Gust swallowed not fearing the bones and growled hoarsely. ¡°There is a reason for it I reckon,¡± the hale knight¡¯s plate clean of food. Gust glugged down his goblet of water next, Elsanne refilling it with her wine. ¡°It¡¯s too much for me,¡± she explained softly, whilst batting her eyelashes, when Gust looked at her surprised at the gesture. ¡°What reason?¡± Dawson grunted. ¡°Where is the ship?¡± ¡°Wait,¡± Van Fleet said sounding aggravated and glared at the pirate captain. ¡°You know about this?¡± ¡°Leona, kindly resume your¡­ whatever it was ye were doin¡¯, so we can all be illuminated. It is a feast for the Princess and you¡¯re steering us astray,¡± Atterton intervened calmly but firmly. ¡°The elusive ¡®cargo¡¯ ships¡­¡± Leona continued looking at ¡®Yellow¡¯ Dawson. ¡°Were spotted loitering outside Illirium. They had stopped out of the port in the deep and used a merchant ship to restock their supplies is the word of my source,¡± it was the first time Elsanne had heard her talk like a normal person. ¡°So it had damage then,¡± Dawson noted. ¡°And company,¡± Leona added. ¡°What manner of cargo?¡± Van Fleet asked not amused at their banter. Elsanne stood up with a deep breath. Everyone stopped talking and she made a face to apologize and had some of her wine. Not the best she had tasted, but far from the worst. The princess then let all that air out with a puff. ¡°A ship carrying¡­ possibly a war loan for Kaltha,¡± she explained to her audience. ¡°Issued to the Bank of Trust.¡± ¡°Coins?¡± Van Fleet asked Dawson and he sighed pensively afore nodding. ¡°You rascal. Excuse me language Princess,¡± he grimaced and glared at Atterton. ¡°First time I¡¯m hearing about it,¡± Atterton assured him. ¡°Only Leona and Captain Dawson knew of the details,¡± Elsanne explained. ¡°The ship left Cediorum months ago, but never reached our waters. It was rumored that it had been involved in a naval battle near Novesium and part, or all his escorts had to return to port. We¡¯ve lost contact after that.¡± ¡°They repaired at sea then,¡± Dawson murmured thoughtfully. ¡°They couldn¡¯t go to Regia obviously with all the tumult and apparently the south ports of Kaltha are not trustworthy enough.¡± ¡°Turtle Isles?¡± Atterton asked. ¡°Could be. With enough crew,¡± Dawson replied and grimaced. ¡°What kind of escort? Did he learn that?¡± ¡°Who might be that?¡± Van Fleet queried. ¡°Nigel Grim,¡± Leona replied. ¡°He has a cut as well.¡± ¡°Who else?¡± Atterton probed. ¡°I assume the Princess and Dawson.¡± ¡°A hundred of my raiders shall assist Leona,¡± Elsanne elucidated and Atterton nodded in understanding. ¡°My employer,¡± Leona added with a deep sigh. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of interested parties,¡± Van Fleet mused. ¡°It¡¯s a very big ship,¡± Leona retorted. ¡°The escort is a brig according to Grim. Two of them remain out of three. One o¡¯ the two big ones, the others went back to Cediorum. The mix up happened there. Obviously this one has the gold.¡± ¡°How big?¡± Atterton asked. ¡°Grim says it¡¯s a Galleass.¡± ¡°That like a galley Van Fleet?¡± Atterton asked and the Issir captain stood back on his chair thoughtfully. ¡°Is there a mistake? Does it have towers bow and stern?¡± Van Fleet queried. ¡°I reckon Grim knows his business, so aye¡­¡± Leona replied with a smack of her lips. ¡°What manner of business?¡± Atterton grunted. ¡°Lad be working an afterhours schedule is my guess,¡± Dawson said and rubbed his face with both hands. ¡°You don¡¯t have the crew to handle both,¡± Van Fleet told him. ¡°Mmm,¡± Dawson murmured and stared at his goblet for inspiration. ¡°It would be remiss of me not to offer me assistance,¡± Van Fleet said. ¡°Mmm,¡± Dawson grimaced. ¡°Atterton?¡± Van Fleet probed and the old captain pressed his wrinkled mouth tight. ¡°One last score eh?¡± he looked at the Princess. ¡°What will be the plan for the loot Anne? Apologies, but it seems more a brotherhood matter than a courtly one eh?¡± ¡°I need to fund my claim and assist my allies on Jelin,¡± Elsanne replied crossing her arms on her chest. ¡°You need to keep the trade route to Eplas open for them as well, but also reinforce your own position. While I understand the need to have a share of the treasure, it shall be better if you used it to repair the facilities at Eikenport. Controlling the city means nothing, if Garth and the Cofols make the most profit out of it.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t talk me out of my share Anne,¡± Dawson argued. ¡°Pay your crews,¡± Elsanne countered. ¡°By all means. But use the coin to make Burrow a rich port. It¡¯s in your hands. In fact, I was thinking Eikenport should have a governor the Brotherhood trusts. Like Captain Van Fleet.¡± ¡°Princess,¡± Van Fleet said not expecting her suggestion. ¡°While I enjoy the place, I¡¯m still a captain.¡± ¡°I think you can be a better governor,¡± Elsanne insisted. ¡°Whip that place in shape was the phrase I believe?¡± ¡°Ahm,¡± Atterton said unsure. ¡°You get her meaning,¡± Gust grunted from his place at the table. ¡°You find yourselves with two ports and Scaldingport¡¯s open for your ships to trade safely. Caravans from Eplas are still coming from Triage. Trade won¡¯t stop.¡± ¡°What about Castalor and the Straits?¡± Atterton asked. ¡°Leave Struder out of it,¡± Gust countered. ¡°Castalor has its hands full with Lord Anker and the Kaltha Fleet. Take the deal on the table and chance it through the Straits if you fancy a raid, but keep away from the southern ports.¡± ¡°It does open up possibilities,¡± Atterton said to the other captains. ¡°We could get our hands on iron for better ships among other things.¡± ¡°Lesia won¡¯t be happy, or the Bank,¡± Van Fleet murmured. ¡°I reckon they won¡¯t be,¡± Gust agreed. ¡°But I also think they are about to have their hands full.¡± ¡°Word is King Jeremy can barely control the situation,¡± Atterton countered. News from Jelin were reaching Burrow faster now that they had opened the trade route to Scaldingport. ¡°The lad has his capital under siege.¡± Gust stood back on his seat, the chair creaking at the point of breaking and scowled. ¡°His fleet was smashed at Novesium,¡± Dawson defended Atterton¡¯s opinion. ¡°Part of his fleet, but mostly empty vessels and Jeremy isn¡¯t Lesia¡¯s biggest problem,¡± Gust replied. ¡°The late Wolffish didn¡¯t win at Pascor on his own. A legion helped him and Lucius has another one in Asturia. Allegedly.¡±
An hour later Elsanne walked in front of Gust, Klaas and Jasi following behind them on their way to their quarters. The night thick on Lord¡¯s Burrow and the sounds of the sea calmer now that the rain had stopped. The southern breeze was still blowing though and kept the winter night strangely warm. She smiled at the frowning knight, Gust had a lighter mail shirt on, much as Klaas, the latter just hadn¡¯t a plate armour made yet. Apparently it was very expensive. Elsanne had promised to fund the order at Scaldingport, but it would take a while for the armour to be delivered. ¡°I particularly enjoyed you defending my plan Sir Gust,¡± she told him with a twirl, made possible due to her pants. Warm they were, but allowed for dangerous pirouettes, a dress could jam her legs and send her over the platform into the dark waters underneath. ¡°It was a solid proposal your Grace,¡± Gust rustled, probably well fed as he had eaten a whole trout by himself and her bowl of mushrooms. Jasi had taken the unfinished bottle of wine with him. Elsanne nodded with a grin. ¡°You haven¡¯t¡­¡± Gust stopped in front of her quarters, a two story wooden apartment belonging in the slums, but surprisingly clean and while small, it lacked for nothing almost with a kitchen, a bath/cleaning room, a floor-sized bedroom and a small living room downstairs. Atterton¡¯s daughter Rose used to live there, before she had been killed on the job. Elsanne hadn¡¯t pressed the drunk Commodore for more. ¡°None of this mess is your fault Princess.¡± ¡°It¡¯s my brother¡¯s.¡± ¡°Not really. What could Antoon have done in retrospect? The Khan had prepared for war obviously. Could he have avoided to move as quickly to Rida? Then the city would have been lost either way. Now the tourney was a matter of luck and bad timing, even a mistake, again in hindsight.¡± ¡°Radin was better that day,¡± Elsanne argued not wanting to think of the past. ¡°Not if Rik fought through his injury, or if Ralph could just make sure Radin wouldn¡¯t get up afore dropping his guard.¡± ¡°Sir Rik had lost an eye,¡± Elsanne reminded him. ¡°And everyone thought Radin had lost the duel by that point.¡± ¡°Rik could have fought on and the duel ends when your opponent is unconscious or dead,¡± Gust grunted and Elsanne rolled her eyes, then approached him slowly. ¡°You¡¯re trying to steer the conversation away from the beautiful night Gust,¡± she teased. Darn good retort girl, Elsanne congratulated herself proud. ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± Gust replied and Jasi groaned. ¡°I¡¯ll go to lie on the couch,¡± he hissed, bottle in hand. ¡°Never felt so tired in my life. Sir Klaas?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll stay with the Princess,¡± the young knight said. No Klaas. You can go¡­ eh. Hmm. ¡°As you wish. Goodnight Sirs, Princess,¡± Jasi said and opened the door to their place. ¡°Klaas a royal knight is sworn to secrecy right?¡± Elsanne probed. ¡°Absolutely Princess,¡± Klaas replied. Good. ¡°Stand at the edge of the building please,¡± Elsanne told him. ¡°Princess,¡± Gust protested, but she stopped him putting her fingers on his mouth. She did it unwittingly before thinking it through. Ahm. ¡°Isn¡¯t Burrow lovely in the night?¡± Elsanne blurted out moving her hand from his mouth to his jaw and then his left cheek. To his credit Gust remained polite during her ministrations. Also warm as a fireplace in winter, which didn¡¯t help. ¡°The lights in the streets and the late night taverns,¡± Gust furrowed his brow, as four out of six venues on their street were brothels, but again kept that strong-willed mouth shut and his eyes on her face, illuminated by the slowly appearing Oras Eye on the night sky. ¡°How it plays on the waters, surrounded by the tall stone walls, as if we¡¯re standing at the center of the world. You can¡¯t say it isn¡¯t a beautiful place.¡± Elsanne puffed out and stared at the towering silent knight. ¡°I rather watch you speak about it,¡± Gust admitted and her heart skipped a beat. Arr... ¡°That¡¯s¡­ you can truly voice quite the unexpected and brilliant compliments Gust,¡± she purred and her thumb traced his lower lip daringly. Pulse quickening, a feeling of weird giddiness washing over her. ¡°Haven¡¯t had much success in the past,¡± Gust confessed. With you was his meaning. ¡°That head,¡± Elsanne remembered, her mind on other things. ¡°A trophy of your enemy,¡± Gust said. ¡°Never to threaten you again.¡± Aww, now I get it you big fool you! ¡°I do not feel threatened,¡± she whispered knowingly. ¡°At this time.¡± The hale knight stooped near her unsure. ¡°Princess?¡± he asked gently. ¡°Mmm,¡± Elsanne purred guiding his head nearer. ¡°Elsanne,¡± Gust murmured hoarsely. Do it, by the all gods! ¡°We won¡¯t object,¡± she assured him, gleaming jade eyes closing. Gust tasted of fish, salted caviar and wine, but Elsanne didn¡¯t mind. The Princess tasted alike herself.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 341. Forty tons of gold (2/5)
Leona ¡®Foxy¡¯ Vale Forty tons of gold Part II -A bad day for sailing-
Lord¡¯s Burrow Tavern ¡®The Purser¡¯ Princess Heiress dinner ¡°Damn it Roy,¡± a tired Adele complained hearing the ¡®musicians¡¯ fiddling with their organs. ¡°Couldn¡¯t ye played something like this earlier while she was here? It¡¯s a good one,¡± she gave the dirty plates to the young boy helping her to take to the kitchen, the rest of the captains and pirates relaxing after ¡®Jade Eyes¡¯ departure along her sober Jelin escort. ¡°Not playin¡¯ it Miss Adele,¡± Roy replied stopping his abuse of the lute. ¡°Tis called tuning.¡± ¡°Wasn¡¯t that what I just said mister Atterton?¡± Adele complained looking for support and the leader of the pirate port looked at the small band austerely. ¡°Now young man, give us a tune to finish the night and Adele¡¯s long lost rum,¡± he advised and seeing the older woman¡¯s angry stare added. ¡°For which we¡¯re eternally grateful. I shall strive to visit yer venue more often me dear.¡± Wow, Leona thought. Drunk Atterton fancies my aunt. Not that is a disturbing thought. She polished off her drink, the rum stale, or from a cracked bottle and burped. Leona blinked with a quiet yelp, everything going hazy for a moment and the table dancing before her. That be enough grog for the evening, she thought surprising herself. Need to be sailing as soon as this is over. PLINK TOING PLONK Roy started, the Issir kid clearing his throat and the timpanist drooling on the leather membrane of his drum half-unconscious, convulsing and waking up to join in. His contribution to the simple rhythm coming a bit out of order. Free styling, Roy had called it when someone did that, but no one knew what he meant. The Sovya musician had washed up on the reefs half a decade ago half-drown and never left. He had helped start a local musical scene in Lord¡¯s Burrow that had been exported to Eikenport. Again, whatever the allhells that meant. ¡°Ol¡¯ ¡®Bald¡¯ Burton was a dangerous man to cross!¡± The Issir bard hummed in his croaky voice and as all pirate tunes go he assumed a know-it-all expression much to everyone¡¯s enthusiasm. TA DUM ¡°Leona stay,¡± Van Fleet asked her and Leona realized she had gotten up to leave while everyone was distracted or singing at the top of their lungs. The whole tavern vibrating. FOR HE WON THE ALL CAPTAINS COIN TOSS! The room roared. ¡°Have a ship to prepare,¡± she told the older captains. ¡°You all as well. Tis time we bid our farewells gents, for the hour is late and the sea beckons!¡± ¡°It isn¡¯t,¡± Dawson replied, ever the difficult turd to amuse. ¡°Ther¡¯ is the matter of the share.¡± ¡°Worth considerin¡¯ is his meaning,¡± Van Fleet added. Another old turd with a gravedigger¡¯s personality. Abrakas briny nutmegs! Leona pushed a wayward curl behind her ringed ear, the gold loop on it prominent and glared at their wrinkled faces. ¡°The matter has been settled,¡± she hissed. ¡°Grim is taking half the loot,¡± Dawson reminded her. ¡°There are no seas in dis realm or any other, wher¡¯ dis is considered settled.¡± ¡°Ayup,¡± Atterton agreed. ¡°Old Yellow is in the right lass.¡± Kiss me arse ¡®Red¡¯. I¡¯m having words wit Adele about yer horny, wrinkled n'' drunken mug! But it was with Dawson that she was mad with the most. ¡°You gone ''n told... them?¡± Leona snapped angry at the gloomy pirate, but paused mid-sentence, glanced at the others singing and dancing close by and lowered her voice to finish her query. It was pretty impressive. SERVED YE RUM MIXED WIT SEAWATER! ¡°Anne has a war to win and a throne to take. Yer employer might have switched to this Goras dude and still be sounding shady,¡± Dawson retorted pushing back on his chair. ¡°We can appreciate all that, but not an informant getting half ¡®o it!¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t the coin to help Eikenport ¡®Honest¡¯ Fleet?¡± Leona grumbled. ¡°This isn¡¯t an argument against Anne¡¯s plans,¡± Van Fleet told her with a crook of his mouth. ¡°But for her really. She needs more help and while we stand to gain as things are right now, we be gaining more with her on the throne.¡± Leona stood back and placed her hands on her hips. ¡°Jade Eyes will never rule Kaltha, not the way ye make it sound.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s not pretend we know the future,¡± Atterton argued. ¡°Nobody¡¯s talking of Kaltha here lass. But we need a lot more than a claim to hold the ports, else our children will die on this rock,¡± the latter he added emotionally. ¡°Did ye ask Anne about her opinion?¡± Leona retorted. ¡°She¡¯ll come around,¡± Dawson said. ¡°The Princess is very practical at heart. You¡¯ve no idea where she started her journey and where she is now.¡± ¡°You like her enough to give her your share?¡± Leona taunted him. ¡°Cause that dude in Goras and Grim sure won¡¯t. I can guarantee ye that knowing them both.¡± ¡°Grim can¡¯t have half the loot,¡± Dawson repeated. ¡°He¡¯ll get a cut and that¡¯s it, or else.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s going to tell him that?¡± Leona asked raising her brow. ¡°You should. Seeing as yer the one that made the deal,¡± Van Fleet hissed warningly with Atterton cutting in. ¡°I don¡¯t think he needs to know.¡± AN¡¯ CALLED THE PIRATE QUEEN HIS DAUGHTER! Leona licked her lips, tasted her aunt¡¯s rum on them and roasted trout. ¡°Leona,¡± Dawson warned her. ¡°We called for a vote.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t vote,¡± she croaked bitterly. ¡°Grim is here. He¡¯ll come after me.¡± ¡°We can solve this problem,¡± Dawson told her, but she breathed out. ¡°I¡¯ve a feeling it might be a big one,¡± she sighed again. ¡°Grim is in the Thieves Guild.¡± ¡°The Brotherhood deals with matters of the sea,¡± Atterton said after the initial awkward silence that had followed her words. ¡®Silence¡¯ used loosely here as Adele¡¯s tavern was louder than Rin An-Pur¡¯s big market in the summer. ¡°That be a difficult topic to raise wit him,¡± Leona replied with a grimace. ¡°Matter of fact, it be best not to raise the matter at all.¡±Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.
Leona fixed the large hat on her head, after covering her hair under the red headscarf and stared apprehensively at the cloudy dark sky. ¡®Weasel¡¯ came out of the tavern heavily inebriated next and paused unsure seeing her standing near the rails of the platform. ¡®Grisly¡¯ Weiss and ¡®Blunder¡¯ Hook coming out right after him still humming Roy & the Scallywags greatest hits. ¡°Is that ye Captain? Leona?¡± Clark asked. ¡°In the flesh mister Clark,¡± the pirate captain told her aging quartermaster twirling on her heels. ¡°Salted, but soon watered down I fear.¡± ¡°Ye be beholdin¡¯ the weath¡¯r Leona?¡± Clark asked with a burp, small nose as red as a ripe tomato. ¡°There¡¯s wet and then there¡¯s drenched to the bone,¡± she retorted with a droll. ¡°Is Kidd and the Joneses aboard the Marquette?¡± ¡°Aye, they arr ma¡¯am,¡± Hook replied instead of him and used his ring finger to clean the scarred area around his missing left ear. The ring finger because he was missing the pinky as well. The ear he¡¯d lost to a taut line, the pinky in a scrap. ¡°Ye be joinin¡¯ us soon?¡± Leona nodded and then beamed to usher them along. ¡°Get her ready¡­ me loyal mates. We sail in an hour!¡± She had spotted the figure of Grim standing at the corner of the Dagger¡¯s Sheath, which despite its misleading label wasn¡¯t a weaponsmith¡¯s shop.
Leona walked toward the thin wiry silhouette, Nigel Grim¡¯s black cloak was draped around him tight, the large leather hood covering half his dark Issir face, but for part of his chin. He greeted her without turning her way, back resting on the wall of the noisy brothel to protect himself from the thin rain. It had started soon after her crew had left for the lit up docks. ¡°Captain Vale,¡± Grim rustled, his voice always kept low. ¡°I assume you¡¯re leaving tonight? You¡¯re cutting it close.¡± ¡°Yer assuming correctly,¡± Leona retorted and came to stand next to him under the lip of the bungalow¡¯s rooftop. Seeing them this close one could have mistaken the thief and the pirate for a couple. ¡°Any last minute developments?¡± Grim asked casually glancing at the open front of her leather coat and the disheveled shirt under her vest. ¡°Nothing comes to mind,¡± Leona replied raising a penciled brow. ¡°Fancy a tit grope mister Grim?¡± she chanced with a leer. ¡°The peril,¡± the thief said all serious. ¡°Outweighs the inclination captain.¡± ¡°If the predisposition is present, then perhaps we could work on minimizing the risks?¡± Leona probed, not really fancying Nigel, although the thief was far from a donkey, but wanting to see if she could have him on her side of the boat. Famous courtesans had climbed many a ladders riding on their skills of trade, she mused. Granted Leona was a pirate captain, but she had also dabbled as a bar hostess of sorts for years, so the trade was far from unknown to her. This wasn¡¯t a dish to any bar hostesses, which Leona valued greatly, but a reality for the wenches working a pirate port. Or any port really. Grim appeared to consider it for a moment. ¡°Perhaps,¡± he yielded, changing the subject with his next sentence. ¡°I couldn¡¯t help but notice, there are more ships getting ready than yours and ¡®Yellow¡¯ Dawson¡¯s.¡± ¡°One can¡¯t see the docks from here Mister Grim,¡± Leona teased nervously. ¡°One can''t indeed, but I trust my sources,¡± he replied sternly. Umm. ¡°Your latest news forced me to ask for assistance,¡± Leona admitted, seeing no reason to attempt to conceal it. ¡°A heavy warship might be a difficult nut to crack.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t harm the ship,¡± Grim hissed. ¡°Else we might lose the cargo Vale!¡± ¡°Call me Leo,¡± Leona retorted and stooped near his face. ¡°Trust me to know what I¡¯m doing, savvy?¡± ¡°It¡¯s your share,¡± Grim warned her. ¡°See you don¡¯t get betrayed out there.¡± ¡°Your concern warms me poor heart,¡± Leona taunted and snatched his right hand out of her coat. ¡°I was merely attempting to fix the mess,¡± came Nigel Grim¡¯s retort and she let go of his wrist. ¡°Had I wanted to steal from you Leo, I could have done it,¡± the thief teased, left corner of his mouth angling upwards. ¡°Without you knowing it. I¡¯ve a notoriously light touch.¡± Leona licked her lips suggestively. ¡°I find meself intrigued by your subtle flirting mister Grim.¡± ¡°I find myself intrigued by the amount of risks you¡¯re taking,¡± Grim replied and pulled back. ¡°Get us that gold Leo and then we can all rejoice in a bed of roses.¡± ¡°That sounds painful, but get me drunk enough and I¡¯ll try everything,¡± Leona griped with a smile and took a step back as well. ¡°Naught but an expression dear,¡± Grim said with a sigh. ¡°Have a good day hunting.¡± Leona nodded touching the rim of her hat. A good day for hunting it may be, she thought, but it¡¯s shaping to be a bad day for sailing. The weather was turning for the worse.
Leona danced on the deck an hour later, boots slipping in the brines, but managing her balance without trouble and yelled at Kidd manning the wheel. ¡°Turn it to port, soon as the topsail opens Mister Kidd! Wind beam reaching!¡± ¡°AYE CAPTAIN!¡± The muscular sailor replied. The rain falling harder now amidst the roar of thunders and the lightshow above them. The waves splashing on the deck of the Marquette, froth forming under the men¡¯s feet and the ship rocking back forth heading away from the reefs. ¡°Dawson be signaling to spread out captain!¡± Hook yelled, excitement in his voice, mixed with fear. ¡°Keep him in view Mister Hook!¡± Leona retorted hoarsely and climbed the stairs to the quarterdeck to find ¡®Weasel Clark¡¯. Troy Jones greeting her from the main mast, waving with both arms whilst keeping steady with his thighs. ¡°Ye should rope him on it Leona,¡± a pale faced Clark warned. ¡°Else I see him divin¡¯ for Abrakas gullet. Gods helping without bouncin¡¯ off the deck first!¡± Leona nodded with a snarl and grabbed a line to keep herself standing, the vastness all about rising to swallow them and the frothy waves ever bigger the further they ventured into the ocean. ¡°Will they brave a turn away from Scaldingport to catch the wind running towards the Straits Clark?¡± She asked through her teeth, eyes ogling at the angry seas and body rocking back and forth. Corsair¡¯s Gold was dancing above the waves far to their port side, Van Fleet¡¯s ¡®Pillager¡¯ and Atterton¡¯s ¡®Bouquet¡¯ night lights barely visible to their starboard. Clark scrunched his face, the aging quartermaster keeping his eyes on Kidd fighting with the wheel to keep the rudder steady. Half the sails open, but even so the ship creaking at the strain of the blowing scalding winds. ¡°If they want to make it out of the straits in a day aye,¡± Clark replied. ¡°But these winds are weird lass. I fear we might don¡¯t see ¡®em funneling.¡± ¡°You fear of waterspouts?¡± Leona yelled to be heard over the blasting winds. ¡°Tastes like it captain,¡± the veteran quartermaster replied and wiped his drenched face with a hand. ¡°We¡¯re right at the border for ¡®em and the season¡¯s ripe.¡± Eh, Leona mused unhappy. ¡°Keep the heading east,¡± she told Clark. ¡°Don¡¯t lose sight of that magnetic needle Clark!¡± In the guidance box was her meaning. The Duke¡¯s ship had one installed near the wheel like most warships built in Kaltha¡¯s naval yards, but it wasn¡¯t always accurate, nor did they know how to work it. It showed you the North and that was it, but at nights like these it helped more than looking for distant shores, or releasing the birds.
Hours later she went for the narrow staircase again, her hands grabbing at the slippery rails for purchase. Leona¡¯s fine-leather boots hit the deck and she navigated the soaked floorboards going from stern to bow for the fifth, or sixth time already. The captain had kept constantly on the move to check on the condition of the ship. The weather had calmed down a bit the deeper they went, but it was a deceptive calmness this, as a huge wave could come out of nowhere and take you under in seconds. Plus everyone understood there was bad weather all around them and the night, while nearing its end, still dark as Oras Pits. ¡°It¡¯s like looking for a needle in a haystack, but we get to look for the smaller needle,¡± Hook complained. ¡°Dawson and Atterton have the most chance to spot her sailing at the edges.¡± ¡°I lost the draw,¡± Leona griped breathing heavy. She felt her garbs heavy and drenched, hat drooping over her eyes, the latter mostly washed up from makeup. ¡°Dawson is unbeatable at the odds.¡± ¡°Same wit cards,¡± Hook retorted with a grimace. ¡°So it comes as no surprise lass.¡± Leona looked at him a little embarrassed. ¡°I¡¯ve dragged you into uncertainty Bristol,¡± she rustled. ¡°What would my father have done in me shoes?¡± Hook chuckled at her gloomy face and placed a heavy hand on her shoulder. ¡°Erlad would have gone for the treasure captain with ¡®em blinders on,¡± he assured her. ¡°Killed every man under him to get to it,¡± Hook sighed, glanced at the vapors forming around the ship and added hoarsely. ¡°And himself I reckon.¡± Leona nodded, very moved and made to touch his face but soon as she did the vapors dissolved with a strong gush of wind and the red light of dawn broke through the clouds above the Marquette. It thinned the darkness, outright defeating it in the east, red skies contrasting the still angry seas, allowing them at last to have a real glimpse of the way they were heading. ¡°SHIPS AHOY!¡± Wil Jones, Troy¡¯s brother, yelled at the top of his young lungs from the foremast¡¯s lookout. Hah, Leona mused all negative thoughts forgotten. No pirate worth his salt will write down everything, her father¡¯s papers had told the fiercely grinning woman. No instructions shall drop a treasure safely in yer lap. One has to see the journey in his mind. Brave its perils, overcome Luthos¡¯ hurdles and when his hand is on the reward, never let go. Come hell, or high water. In my lap ye drop just the same, she thought, her emerald half-breed¡¯s eyes gleaming. Not even twenty minutes after that, the enemy ships still a way¡¯s away, the first range-finding catapult shot disabusing that notion out of her.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 342. Forty tons of gold (3/5)
¡®Here we be sailin¡¯ me Brethren of the Reefs. Wit fear in our belly, but valor in our hearts, to face Kraken¡¯s mouth ¡®n death¡¯s black teeth, hopin¡¯ to find the calm seas beyond the pale n¡¯ comfort in noble gold¡¯s bright gleam.¡¯ ¡®Grisly¡¯ Weiss, a pirate. First month of 193, somewhere in the Scalding Sea.
Leona ¡®Foxy¡¯ Vale Forty tons of gold Part III -Death came a-knocking-
The darkening skies angry roar rattled Leona¡¯s teeth, but it was the men working one of aftcastle¡¯s catapults that worried her the most. She danced on the floorboards, nimble feet moving with the ship as it rocked on the increasingly bigger waves, her left eye looking through the spyglass intently. ¡°The Brig be turnin¡¯ Captain!¡± Hook informed her, eyes wild. ¡°I¡¯m aware Mister Hook!¡± Leona yelled hoarsely. ¡°Keep the wind close hauled Mister Kidd!¡± ¡°KEEP. CLOSE HAULED!¡± Clark barked relaying her orders. ¡°How fast are they reloading captain?¡± Harold ¡®Doubloon¡¯, the leader of the detachment of Anne¡¯s Raiders, asked her nervously working on his cheek with his teeth. Another shot splashing a couple of hundred meters before their bow, piercing a five meter tall wave and bouncing twice on the water¡¯s surface afore going under. ¡°It¡¯s the amount of machines that worries me ¡®Doubloon¡¯!¡± Leona grunted going backwards with nimble steps and then returning, most experienced sailors doing the same, but for some raiders that tumbled all the way to the quarterdeck¡¯s walls and stopped there. ¡°How many?¡± Hook rustled eyeing the enemy ships splitting up, the faster Brig swinging around, sails half-open to come at them. The larger and slower Galleass, named Ocean Harpy, also turning to port sluggishly for unknown reasons. ¡°Eh, two on each castle me thinks!¡± Leona spat. ¡°But I think they have mounted Scorpios as well Boatswain!¡± She ducked under a loose line and forced her way towards the front of the Marquette. ¡®Grisly¡¯ Weiss loitering near the forecastle deck. The Marquette had no castle there, just the floorboards afore the Bowsprit. ¡°Atterton be closing in Leo!¡± Weiss yelled, a wave splashing on the deck dousing them both from head to toe in briny waters. Leona glanced at the ¡®Bouquet¡¯ and then at the ¡®Pillager¡¯ on their starboard side, but three hundred meters away, following a parallel route with them. ¡°That Brig is coming for us!¡± Leona warned him pointing with a hand. She turned around, grabbed a raider and yelled in his face. ¡°Tell Kidd to turn to starboard! Swing around her!¡± ¡°Her?¡± the young man asked unsure. ¡°The blasted Brig! Avoid it, we go for the big one!¡± Leona roared irate. ¡°RUN DAMN YE!¡± The raider nodded and sprinted towards the main mast amidships, but lost his footing right after that ¨Cthe ship rocking wild, tripped on a coil of rope trying to find his balance desperately and was hurled sideways with a panicked yelp. Over the rails and into the brines. Gods. ¡°Shit,¡± Weiss cursed seeing the man getting swallowed by the waves. ¡°I¡¯ll relay the order captain,¡± he assured a shocked Leona. In the distance Atterton¡¯s approaching ship was hit by a shot on the left side of its bow and another that ripped through its deck and came out its right sides. The ¡®Bouquet¡¯ groaned and creaked injured and the huge three-masted Galleass, easily twice as big as any of the other ships present with a length that looked to be a hundred meters from bow to stern and fifteen in breadth, started slowly turning its side to the rest of the pirate ships racing against the wind towards her. Leona snapped out of it and using a line, walked on the Bowsprit, then looked through the spyglass at the exotic design ship. Not a cargoship, yer not, she murmured. Damn it. ¡°Avoid her broadside Mister Kidd!¡± She yelled and jumped down, hands and legs flaying, her hip banging the rails and a huge wave missing her for a dog¡¯s hair. Leona run back yelling at the top of her lungs. ¡°AVOID HER BROASIDE!¡± ¡°Blimey Leo!¡± Hook growled seeing her returning, waving and screaming. ¡°That Brig is going to catch us if we turn again!¡± ¡°CLARK DO IT!¡± Leona barked straining her neck to look at the quarterdeck and the quartermaster. The veteran seadog gave her a nod, then shoved Kidd aside with a grimace to grab the wheel himself. ¡°Unfurl the main topsail! Broad reach!¡± Leona roared hoarsely at the sailors hanging on to the masts netting for dear life. They needed an extra oomph as that Brig was coming for them straight up. Atterton had been left behind probably and the worsening weather and vapors made it difficult to see your opponent. You could for a minute that is, but then you also lost him for five straight and while it seemed this was not much time, a lot could happen in five minutes. ¡°It¡¯ll bent us down to the waves!¡± Troy warned her from above and Hook grabbed the spyglass from her to look for himself what had her so spooked. His baritone growl coming not a second later. ¡°UNFURL THE TOPSAIL YE BILGE-SUCKING RATS!¡± Hook boomed, his strained grimace distorting his weathered face so much it turned into a weird grin. The Brig gained on them in no time as the Marquette swung away from the slowly turning with the help of its extended oars Ocean Harpy. The large Galleass looking like a gigantic insect that had landed on the frothing waves, its many legs trying to propel it back to a distant shore. Abrakas salted shite! Leona cursed eyeing the approaching Brig coming from their starboard side to cut them off, then at the turning Galleass on their port. ¡°Mister Doubloon, get ¡®em blades out!¡± Leona ordered hoarsely, her hands shaking. She spat down, looked about her with gawking eyes and seeing as Hook was closer reached in his loose open shirt with a wet hand. ¡°Leo¡­ allgods,¡± Hook gasped recoiling. ¡°I¡¯ve always thought of it, but tis the worst timin¡¯ me lass!¡± ¡°Keep it in yer pants Mister Hook,¡± Leona advised him, her throat hurting and got the veteran seadog¡¯s metallic flask out of its hiding place. Hook had it tied with a cord around his torso. She ripped the cork out with her teeth and glugged down its contents with a thirst fueled by fear. The liquid tasting of smoke and caramel. Black Whiskey. ¡°Eh,¡± Hook grunted a little disappointed and she tossed him the empty flask, a gleam in her eye. ¡°Let¡¯s get through dis,¡± Leona promised him. ¡°And I¡¯ll let ye return the favor Bristol!¡± ¡°BRIG CLOSING IN!¡± Troy warned with a yelp. ¡°THIRTY METERS!¡± The skies roaring above them, rain pouring down harshly for a moment, stopping the next and despite all the humidity and the valleys of water surrounding them, the atmosphere was uncannily hot. It hurt your lungs to breathe. Leona burped, the strong alcohol vapors coming back up her gullet and reached for her cutlass, Wil who was keeping an eye on the other side of their ship responding to his brother¡¯s call with one of his own. ¡°SWING THE MAIN BOOM! HELM TO PORT!¡± ¡°What is that Knave be talking about?¡± Hook grunted and run the breadth of the ship to see for himself. ¡°CORSAIR BE COMING!¡± Wil yelled dangling from a rope above their heads. Leona snatched the spyglass away from a stunned Hook watching the Corsair¡¯s Gold cutting in front their bow nimbly and moving twice as fast as them. She scanned the deck of the familiar mustard-colored ship and spotted ¡®Yellow¡¯ Dawson waving his hat at her. The veteran pointed at the Galleass, slotted his right fist into the hat and gave her wink. ¡°Dawson¡¯s goin¡¯ to tie her up,¡± Leona gasped in horror. The Brig was her meaning. ¡°Wit dis kind o¡¯ weather?¡± Hook grunted not believing it. ¡°It¡¯s blasting north to south, it¡¯ll drag them in ¡®em deeps!¡± ¡°KEEP THE HELM STEADY CLARK!¡± Leona barked with a croak and rushed to the quarterdeck without answering him. They had to get near the Ocean Harpy, else the warship¡¯s siege weapons would sink them to Abrakas Gullet. Far as Leona was concerned the sea was deep enough right where they were.
The Corsair¡¯s Gold crashed on the sides of the incoming Brig and shoved it away from the larger Barque. Lines with hooks at their ends tossed over immediately and the two ships hugging with a distressing outburst of creaks and bangs. Sails mixing up together, masts bending and snapping, the ships rigging getting all tangled up. ¡°Steady!¡± Leona croaked keeping her eyes on the approaching Galleass. It had turned broadside to fire with all its Scorpios ¨Ceight on each side- and catapults ¨Ctwo of those per- but the Marquette had dodged it and came at it from the bow. Leona¡¯s ship had also slowed down as they were going against the strong winds, but be that as it may we are going to get there. ¡°They are aiming the forecastle¡¯s catapults!¡± Doubloon informed them, his face pale. Everyone could see that. ¡°BRACE YERSELVES!¡± Hook roared, as unhelpful an order he could give as speed wasn¡¯t their problem, or the lack of place to hold on to. Cover we be lacking, Leona thought, but sometimes you have to say something to steel a man¡¯s, or woman¡¯s spine. ¡°Here we be sailin¡¯ me Brethren of the Reefs. Wit fear in our belly, but valor in our hearts,¡± Weiss murmured reverently next to her, his axe in hand. ¡°To face Kraken¡¯s mouth ¡®n death¡¯s black teeth, hopin¡¯ to find the calm seas beyond the pale n¡¯ comfort in noble gold¡¯s bright gleam.¡± His words all but moving a tensed, snarling Leona to tears.
The lead sphere ¨Cas big as a sweet melon- ripped through the Marquette¡¯s fore deck, planks exploding outwards and sharp splinters killing a raider afore the shot squashed his chest and hurled him back ten meters. Leona ducked for the soaked floorboards, the second catapult shot hitting the foremast, then broke through the main deck and stopped at the keel of the Barque. Men yelping out of the way to protect themselves when the mast creaked, then snapped and toppled over their port side, dragging sailors, sails and rigging with it into the sea. ¡°Cut the lines!¡± Bristol Hook barked, his voice strained. Leona got up and run to the starboard side, yelling for the raiders to gather there. They needed to board the Ocean Harpy and neutralize her machines, else the next volley coming would be fatal. ¡°Get ¡®em grappling hooks ready!¡± Leona yelled hoarsely. ¡°We jump as soon as we have the angle. Don¡¯t be waiting for the perfect moment. Them scorpions be firin¡¯ on us at point blank gents!¡± She reached with a shaky hand and wrapped a hemp rope around her left forearm, started working on swinging the hooked part of the line over her head with the other, like most of those near her. Wil and his brother doing the same from their elevated posts. Wil had managed an impossible escape going from one mast to the other, saving his life. Gods be watching¡­ eh, whatever. Tried to think of something else to steel her nerves, but Leona couldn¡¯t even speak for a moment. ¡°They can¡¯t fire the catapults!¡± Clark informed her, sliding down the staircase using the rails. The Marquette was slowly coming closer to the Galleass sides, breaking the oars that some of her crew used to keep them away. Leona could see those manning the mounted at the sides machines clearly now. Those heavy bolts aimed at them. Abrakas salted cock! ¡°NOW!¡± Leona barked and hurled the grappling hook at the larger ship¡¯s side netting. She yanked at it once and it moved aside afore stopping, possibly for good, or not, but she had run out of time. ¡°OVER IT!¡± The young captain croaked, her heart lodged in her throat and swung one foot over the rails, used the other to propel her over the three meter gap, just as the Scorpios started firing one after the other. THUMP WHOOSH ¡°AARRGGH!¡± Leona screamed hysterically, since there was no reason not to do it, what with dangling over the angry waves, two meter long iron bolts zipping under your flaying legs.
The screaming captain flew over the desperately trying to reload engineers manning the machines, hit the netting with her left shoulder, something popping out with a crack, let go of the rope twirling in the air and crashed on a man holding an axe. They both went down, Leona using the man¡¯s body for cushion, the Lesia sailor not that bothered, as he¡¯d cracked open his forehead with the butt of his axe. Come to think of it, the heavily bleeding sailor probably hadn¡¯t felt a thing.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Ugh, almost. Leona groaned and rolled to the side, smacked her shoulder on a meter high coil of thick rope, groan turning to a squeal of pain at the new crack and tried to stand up on shaky legs. Raiders landing all over her, the Marquette¡¯s sides no more than three meters away appearing gutted and dozens of people laying dead and on their way there all over her main deck. Shite! She hefted her blade and charged at the engineers. The closest to her turned holding the heavy bolt he carried to use it as a spear. Leona flinched away from the sharp tip and slashed him across the arm. The cut bleeding down freely. ¡°Give up!¡± She urged the injured Lorian, but he slotted the bolt under his armpit and came at her again. Leona cursed, adrenalin flooding her veins and dodged right to get at his unprotected side. The man dodged away lithely as well, a surprise, Leona slipped in the briny deckboards, an even nastier surprise and the bolt came at her again with a shriek. It caught the faltering forward snarling Leona right at the left ribs, at least one cracking audibly against the iron shaft and hurled her like a ragdoll onto a loaded Scorpio. The darn thing rotating on its fixed base, when she clasped at it to stop her momentum with a groan. Leona swung around, the Scorpio turning inwards, her back hitting the rails with a bang and she slapped at the lever releasing the bolt. ¡°Oh, cat pissed in me rum!¡± She cursed a moment later, Hook pulling her up with a yank of her hurt arm. ¡°Did I get him?¡± Leona hissed with a grimace of pain, trying to orientate herself through it. A savage scrap was unfolding all about them. ¡°Huh? Ye hit the main sail Captain,¡± Hook replied, a cut on his cheek bleeding, but missing no more body parts. ¡°Don¡¯t know where it went after that.¡± Ugh, bugger then.
They had managed to push back the mercenaries defending the Galleass¡¯ port side and the raiders and crew that had made it across were regrouping to assault the men coming down from the aft and fore castle. These were armoured marine type fighters, wearing heavy leather and mail cuirasses, armed with swords and harpoons. A group of crossbowmen had gathered at the aftcastle¡¯s first floor terrace to fire at them over their colleagues. ¡°Van Fleet is attacking starboard side captain!¡± Doubloon yelled, the sound of Scorpios firing their lethal projectiles clearly heard coming from across the deck along the clash of men, despite the roaring winds that pushed the damaged ships south. The waves reaching as high as the Ocean Harpy¡¯s deck. ¡°Leave Fleet!¡± Leona yelled and looked about for her hat she¡¯d lost in the scuffle. ¡°We charge them reinforcements lest they be catching us in the middle!¡± She added and waved her sword to get the attention of the men. ¡°TO THE BITTER END MISTER HARROLD!¡± Leona added and pointed at the looming in the distance ship tower and the men pouring down its stairs. ¡°Darn it all to Oras hells!¡± Harrold cursed and started yelling at his raiders to attack the coming mercenary marines. The first bolts landing around them, striking men, rigging and the deck with no particular preference. Leona turned and run to the rails, stabbed her sword down and boomed at the sailors still loitering on the deck of the Marquette. ¡°ALL ABOARD COME ACROSS CLARK!¡± ¡°You¡¯re leaving the ship?¡± ¡®Blunder¡¯ Hook queried giving her the sword back. ¡°If we don¡¯t win dis,¡± Leona replied through her teeth, each breath hurting her innards. ¡°They are dead either way Mister Bristol!¡±
Leona ducked under a thrown harpoon, the steel tip hitting the main mast behind her and then slid on the wet deck, stabbed a burly Lesia sailor in the gut. The blade sinking in the soft flesh, through cloth and getting stuck somewhere as she went past him. She cursed and let go of it, reached for a flat-bladed dagger and got it out, but the heavily injured man punched her in the chest right at the heart ¨Cfat bronze ring on his finger doing the most damage and her fingers turned numb dropping it. Almost popped her left tit out completely and turned it a nasty purple color that all but matched her shirt. ¡°GAARH!¡± She gurgled stumbling backwards. The pain blinding, vomit in her throat tasting of whiskey and broccoli. The sailor grunted, a foot of creamy intestines hanging out of his torn belly and came at her again, but was stopped with a savage cleave by a heavy¡­ well that be a cleaver, wielded by none other than ¡®Salty¡¯ Reed. Van Fleet¡¯s second in command and right hand man. Mutiny Carter rolling next to her the next moment. ¡°Leave her,¡± Reed rustled pitilessly and forced Leona to her feet himself with brute force. ¡°See to the captain!¡± Mutiny nodded and danced out of focus, the fighting now spread to Ocean Harpy¡¯s whole deck almost, with two pirate crews trying to overcome the reinforcements coming from the two towers. ¡°Mister Reed,¡± Leona groaned, shoving her mauled breast flesh back into her shirt. ¡°Yer a sight for sore eyes.¡± He really wasn¡¯t. ¡®Salty¡¯ was a hard-faced weather beaten thug that Fleet used as his enforcer and punisher/torturer. Word was he¡¯d given ¡®Blackmane¡¯ Quint his chest tattoos as punishment for doing the dirty with a port harlot. Leona had been too busy to learn more and didn¡¯t much care about Quint either way. ¡°Get yer men moving Vale,¡± Reed spat snapping her out of her pain and alcohol induced reverie. ¡°Fleet will attack the forecastle. Ye need to get up there, else they¡¯ll fire more bolts at us.¡± ¡°What bolts?¡± Leona croaked and got her bloody sword out of the butchered sailor. Plenty of gore covering the deck, despite the water splashing over it. ¡°They have a couple of ¡®em bolt throwers up there!¡± Reed roared and grabbed her elbow to pull her away from the masts to show her. Scores of men ¨Cand a few women- were lined at the corridor left near the edges of the large warship, some missing a leg or an arm, severed limbs tossed here and there, a couple of torsos with no limbs at all in the mix as well. One of them still screaming. Leona gulped down and flinched at the sound of iron bolts zipping down from the aftcastle not a moment later and ripping through Van Fleet¡¯s -still gathering to assault the front of the ship- crew. ¡°NOW VALE!¡± Reed barked and Leona sprung to action. She dashed on shaky legs towards the smashed by the Pillager¡¯s assault starboard wooden rails of Ocean¡¯s Harpy, found a line dangling from the mizzen mast and looped it around her left arm. ¡°Leo! Where away?¡± Young Wil asked, seeing her jumping the steps leading to the raised quarterdeck alike a mountain goat. ¡°After her boy!¡± ¡®Weasel¡¯ Clark grunted and shoved him forward, following after him as fast as he could on old legs. Leona glanced back as she run the bombarded slippery deckboards, jumping over torn sails, collapsed rigging, broken beams and drenched corpses, saw ¡®Salty¡¯ Reed coming after her with a determined look on his face and grimaced. Her eyes returned forward, the line she was carrying turning taut and with a sigh, Leona cut hard right towards the sea and sprinted as fast as she could. A breath and her body went over the lip of the ship¡¯s sides, the dark angry ocean groaning underneath her feet, black as a Kraken¡¯s mouth. The line arching afore turning rigid and yanking her back towards the ship, Leona letting her body loose to make as wide a loop as possible. She prayed for height and velocity. ¡°What in allhells?¡± Reed was heard cursing seeing Leona¡¯s deadly acrobatics from up close. Dead menfolk convey no tall tales, she thought, a manic desperate snarl on her distorted half-breed face, whislt flying with insane speed towards the four story monstrous aftcastle. See to survive to convey mine ¡®Salty¡¯.
Leona right boot caught the lip of the rails after she let go of the line and she plunged on the aftcastle¡¯s top deck head first. She planted her forehead in the groin of a cursing officer directing the men reloading the Scorpios, the edge of the plate he was wearing splitting her skin from eye to eye, just above both brows. The man doubled over, curse cut short, Leona going through his spread legs next toppling him on top of her. She scrapped the briny deck, twisting around like a tigress caught in a trap, her heel catching the man¡¯s jaw in a blind backwards kick. ¡°Errgh!¡± The officer gurgled, trying to pick his severed tongue from the deck, as Leona jumped to her feet breathing heavy, to spot an ever growing Reed flying in the air just behind the officer. He let go of the rope, went over the rails with ease -calmly gathering his legs and cleaved the top of the stooped, still searching for his tongue man, when he landed without a scratch. Eh. ¡°Get the loaders!¡± Reed spat hoarsely and hurled his custom made long-bladed cleave to one of the sergeants, probably the crew working the catapults earlier. Leona nodded and turned to attack the sailors near the mounted Scorpios, almost getting herself impaled in a harpoon one of them managed to pick up. She put a hand on the shaft to direct it away, the steel blade tearing at her drenched coat ¨Cher only coat- and then jerking her hard right, when the man attempted to dislodge it. Leona stabbed him in the neck once forcing the sailor to let go of the harpoon to stop the bleeding. The torrent of blood getting in her mouth, as she was caught like an inexperienced wench working a flesh rod for the first time. ¡°Ugh!¡± Leona retched and faltered on the next man working the machine. The young Lorian turned, recoiled at the sight of her bloody face and instead of standing still for Leona to stab him like his friend, he ducked under her clumsy effort and kicked her in the crotch. Right amidships and she¡¯d clenched in her panic stopping it at the entrance. ¡°Moth¡¯r¡­ fuck¡¯r,¡± Leona groaned, slashing at the blind and missing everything. She staggered, the Lorian went to punch her and she raised her left hand irate not wanting another swollen tit to match her blackened cunt. Her foolish intention to grab his fist and stop him. Not checking whether the man was holding anything in his fist. The knife¡¯s blade opening her palm right between mid and ring finger, stopping at the bone joint. ¡°GAARGLHH!¡± She screamed and yanked her butchered hand back, retaliating with a brutal hack of her sword that caught the lunging at her again sailor on the left ear. The blade cutting to the cranium and cracking it. The sailor stumbled and dropped to his knees, eyes turned to the white and she did the same, trying to stop the bleeding at her hand. Leona ripped her scarf from her head and tied it feverishly around the two dangling parts as tight as she could, feeling she was about to lose consciousness. Reed¡¯s harsh voice bringing her back. ¡°The kid is dead,¡± he informed her pointing at a glassy eyed Wil Jones. ¡°Caught a harpoon wit his neck. You need to man the bolt thrower Vale. Just pull the lever.¡± ¡°Uhm,¡± a pale faced Leona nodded, her ears ringing and hurting from too many spots to care, other than the hand that is. The agony coming from her mauled limb excruciating. ¡°Aim where?¡± ¡°Their crossbows first, then their backs,¡± Reed replied with a leer. ¡°Might kill a couple of more of yer crew as well.¡± ¡°Kiss me arse Mister Reed!¡± Leona snapped angry and glared at him. ¡°There ye fuckin¡¯ go,¡± he replied with a satisfied nod. ¡°Get to the machine Vale. We don¡¯t have much time.¡±
¡®Blunder¡¯ Hook managed to break through the staggered lines of Lesia marines after the second shot a scowling Leona managed to send into their ranks. Men hurled right and left, the bolts ripping through two, or three at a time, bodies tumbling forward and onto her men¡¯s spears, harpoons and axes. The brutal struggle fought without quarters and quickly turning into a pitiless butchering. An injured Clark got hacked in the chest during the chaos, right before the breakthrough occurred and went down as well and she cried hoarsely, adrenalin and pain the only thing keeping her upright. Hook who surprisingly given his track record was unharmed stooped over the exhausted Leona half an hour later and touched her softly at the shoulder. ¡°Doubloon is moving to assist Van Fleet¡¯s men,¡± he informed her with a glance at the corpse of young Wil Jones. ¡°Troy is well at least.¡± ¡°I fail to see how that will help him,¡± Leona croaked and tried to get up with his help. It was an ordeal. ¡°Better to mourn, than keep company to Abrakas kin,¡± he rustled emotionally. ¡°We might win this Leo.¡± ¡°How¡¯s Van Fleet?¡± ¡°Lost a leg to a bolt, but they patched him up,¡± Reed replied which probably sounded much better than it was, himself sporting a cut on his neck. ¡°Atterton¡¯s ship is gone and Dawson got sucked in ¡®em deeps of the South by the winds,¡± he looked at her sternly. ¡°We¡¯re about to have the same fate Vale.¡± ¡°Can we take the forecastle?¡± Leona hissed and stumbled to the edge of the sterncastle deck to see for herself. The large ship appearing bombarded, but the Marquette still tied on her, looked even worse. ¡°Need to cut her loose captain,¡± Hook informed her. ¡°She¡¯s taking on water and will drag us down the bottom.¡± ¡°The Pillager?¡± ¡°Better, but not by much,¡± Reed replied. Leona nodded, her jaw hurting for some reason and she¡¯d a sticky crust over her brows that still leaked blood down her face. ¡°Finish taking the forecastle. Ask them to surrender,¡± she murmured and coughed to clear her throat. ¡°It¡¯s a trip down Abrakas Gullet for ¡®em Vale,¡± Reed countered starkly and Leona grimaced, but she¡¯d no strength to argue with him. ¡°Weiss?¡± she croaked, thinking of her lost friends. ¡°He¡¯s fine. Losing Clark though hit him hard lass,¡± Hook said and gave her shoulder a squeeze. ¡°Yer father would be darn proud of ye,¡± he added, but a sniffling Leona stopped him with a grunt. ¡°We¡¯re still between the Devil and the blue sea Mister Hook,¡± she countered hoarsely. ¡°And have a fear Death came a-knocking for us and ain¡¯t goin¡¯ away anytime soon.¡± The dark angry skies over their heads roaring, the huge waves pushing the tangled ships further away towards the vastness of the ocean. Where they still drifting south? Leona didn¡¯t know. They were heading away from the reefs for a day for sure by now. In the distance waterspouts could be seen rising out of the black brines and shot straight for the clouds. Too many too count. Her eyes returned on the deck and she spotted men breaking open the hatches leading to the ship¡¯s cargo holds. The first iron reinforced chests swiftly coming up. One of them hammered open already, the glint of gold coins flashing before her eyes, illuminated by lightings. A small fortune spilling out on the gore covered deckboards and scooped up by the cheering men. She went to stop them, but ¡®Salty¡¯ Reed put an arm on her hurting chest and she recoiled away with a curse. ¡°We need to get the gold out Vale,¡± he rustled in his baritone and Leona went to answer, but spotted Mutiny standing next to him, a bloody cutlass in her hand and a deep frown on her face. ¡°Fleet¡¯s orders,¡± Mutiny informed her. ¡°We¡¯ll load the Pillager up. Twenty large chests shall fuel Anne¡¯s plans nicely.¡± All others shares be damned. ¡°What about the injured? The Marquette¡¯s crew and the raiders?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll take the raiders, not the injured, but that¡¯s just about it,¡± Reed informed her. ¡°Fleet gave me command. It¡¯s my call Vale.¡± ¡°Most will be saved Leona,¡± Mutiny assured her. ¡°And think of the gold. Enough to make a difference, if we keep our mouths shut and we will.¡± Leona shook her head, some of her bleached white curls dancing over her strained, bloody face. ¡°They won¡¯t make it anyway crowded on the deck and the Pillager is hurt badly. More could topple her and kill us all,¡± Reed elucidated and showed her the chaos around them. ¡°We can¡¯t steer this monstrosity Vale.¡± ¡°How many are injured?¡± Leona asked hoarsely. ¡°Thirty, some won¡¯t last the next hour Leo,¡± Hook replied. ¡°How many of our crew remain?¡± ¡°Just over twenty¡­ captain we can¡¯t do this,¡± Hook told her worried at her expression. ¡°I can¡¯t let it go,¡± Leona snarled clenching her jaw stubbornly. ¡°I¡¯ll stay,¡± she decided. Reed stood back with a raise of his brows. ¡°We cut both ships off of her, Marquette sinks and this shite will catapult wit the winds. Half the sails are rogue, the rigging messed up Vale. You¡¯ll drift to nowhere. ¡®Yellow¡¯ risked it for a chance at the gold and we got something out of it, you¡¯re throwing yer life away for nothing.¡± Never let go. ¡°Finish up soon Mister Reed,¡± Leona grunted, a determined look on her face. ¡°See the men back safely.¡± Reed nodded and glanced at Mutiny. ¡°Hook?¡± he asked next looking at the frowned veteran. ¡°Ye go ahead ¡®Salty¡¯,¡± Hook replied raspingly. ¡°I be stayin¡¯ wit the captain.¡± ¡°Bristol, ye darn fool,¡± Leona protested emotionally. ¡°Get on that darn boat!¡± ¡°I trust ye more than dis fool captain,¡± Hook argued. Reed sighed pensively, shook his head right and left and then walked away grabbing an unsure Carter¡¯s elbow to drag her along. ¡°What about the others?¡± Leona asked, her mouth numb and her lips white from the brines. ¡°Troy¡¯s right there,¡± Hook replied and pointed a thumb over his shoulder at the mourning young sailor. ¡°Nobody be leavin¡¯ ¡®Sly¡¯ Elrad¡¯s daughter stranded lass.¡± Leona gulped down and stared at the chests of gold getting carried over to the Pillager, the sound of fighting still coming from the faraway forecastle. The cargo holds packed so tightly with it, the reason the ship was so darn unwieldly in its maneuvers. The fortune the pirates were looting just scooping from the top of an iceberg. ¡°How much gold is in there?¡± she croaked, holding on to her throbbing hand that was bleeding through her headscarf. ¡®Blunder¡¯ Hook smacked his lips thoughtfully for a moment, then said in a sober voice. ¡°Forty tons at least me dear lass. Never seen the like.¡± Technically he still hadn¡¯t seen it, as most of the gold coins remained inside Ocean Harpy¡¯s cargo holds and there was a good chance she was due for the bottom of the ocean, unless the weather cleared and allowed them to patch her up. As if on que the rain stopped, but another wind came from the east to wrestle with the north breeze that pushed them deeper to the Scalding Sea¡¯s notorious distant shores and deadly waterspouts as it had for the hapless Dawson hours earlier, the new current altering their course for another equally distant and equally alien land.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 343. Forty tons of gold (4/5)
Nulanos ¡®Toloth¡¯ Forty tons of gold Part IV -All trinkets hold value-
Scaldingport Late last month of winter 192 The small girl stared at her mother with gawking pleading eyes, drool running down the sides of her mouth. The mother, comely mouth pressed tight on a decent face ¨Cwhich bonded well for her daughter given her profession- hissed for a second time they needed to go. No pastry, or cake for her. The small corner bakery just outside the port¡¯s gates keeping its door open despite the chill to entice those returning from the docks. Or going, I suppose. Most white cream covered pastries sold already with only four left in a glass bowl, but there was plenty of cake left, its large pieces hard by now but still eatable and glazed with strawberry jelly at the top. Not much strawberries in the jelly, but the taste was still pleasant judging by the smell. The Issir baker stared at him unsure, Nulanos dark skin hinting at Issir lineage with something else mixed in. Nothing else was mixed in of course, but Nulanos wasn¡¯t going to tell him that. The large rim of his hat shading his eyes. ¡°I¡¯d like one of your pastries,¡± he said coolly and placed both his gloved hands on the narrow counter. ¡°It¡¯s half a silver per pair,¡± the man lied, sensing he was a foreigner carrying a heavy purse. ¡°Real goat milk in the cream and sugarcane syrup.¡± Mmm. He turned his left hand around and showed him the round gold coin under it. ¡°Keep a silver, but I want the rest in silver as well,¡± Nulanos told him in that same tone. The Baker nodded. ¡°I need to step in there to get my coin box. Keeping only coppers here,¡± he replied pointing at the open door behind him. The workshop and stoves clearly visible. ¡°It¡¯ll be a second.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Nulanos agreed, the Baker stepped into his workshop and he returned in seconds with his box, just as his customer was fixing the large hat on his head casually. ¡°Here it is,¡± the Baker said giving him the change and taking the gold Eagle. He pushed two pastries from the large plate towards him and Nulanos picked them up carefully with both hands. ¡°Thank you for the trade,¡± he told him politely and the Issir nodded with a satisfied smile. He walked out of the bakery and into the busy street leaving the port, paused for a moment to locate the slow walking mother and daughter, then headed after them. Nulanos ate one of the pastries en route, the taste decent, if a not bit undercooked and reached the two slow-walking females in less than a minute. He cut in front of them nimbly and smiled without splitting his lips. ¡°Ladies,¡± he said in a pleasant voice. ¡°I believe you¡¯ve forgotten something back there.¡± ¡°Ehm,¡± the mother murmured unsure, narrowing her eyes. Dark circles under them from working all those late hours. ¡°I don¡¯t think we have¡­¡± she paused seeing him offering the pastry to her daughter. The little girl taking it with a squeal and burying her cute face in it. ¡°Mister¡­¡± ¡°Neil,¡± he helped her and removed his hat to get to the cake he¡¯d hidden under it. ¡°I believe this is yours.¡± She stared at his blue-black short hair confused. ¡°You¡¯re not an Issir,¡± she said and frowned. ¡°I can¡¯t¡ª¡± ¡°What¡¯s her name?¡± Nulanos asked flipping his hat and wearing it again. ¡°Evelin,¡± her mother murmured. ¡°It¡¯s a gift,¡± Nulanos explained. ¡°It worth little for me, but it means a lot to her. As for this,¡± he pointed at the slice of cake in his hand. ¡°This will cost even less. A mere trade¡­ Lady¡­¡± ¡°Liene,¡± she replied and glanced around them with a frown. They shared a name. A lovely gesture and an indictment for a missing father perhaps. ¡°Mister Neil, ehm¡­ perhaps later?¡± ¡°All I want is information,¡± Nulanos explained. ¡°What kind?¡± ¡°A ship moored this morning and is difficult to approach without drawing attention on my person,¡± he explained. He could have done it of easily course, but giving her the opportunity to trade, seemed the better tactic. ¡°I¡¯d like a name so I can use with the guards.¡± Liene had worked the docks all night. ¡°Ido Tols, an Issir,¡± she said after a small moment of hesitation, the hint of blush on her dark cheeks. Nulanos gave her the cake and three silver coins. ¡°Thank you Mister Neil,¡± Liene gasped, adding hopefully. ¡°We have a small place near the market.¡± Ah. ¡°I have to see a man about a ship,¡± Nulanos replied, touching the rim of his hat. ¡°Stay safe ladies, the port is full of crooks.¡±
Ido Tols stared at the pirate that had brought him there and then at the silent Nulanos. ¡°Never seen ye afore,¡± he rustled, yellow eyes examining his long fine black coat and soft leather boots. Nulanos was a wiry, tall individual. ¡°Mister Neil?¡± ¡°I¡¯m looking to catch a ride to the Reefs,¡± he elucidated. Ido raised a thick white brow. ¡°We don¡¯t run a traveling agency matey. Dis is a¡­ merchant ship. Doing¡­ trade stuff.¡± The pirates standing near them nodding, smiling unconvincingly to sell it. ¡°Let me see, if I can trade for it,¡± Nulanos said raising his right hand, a silver coin lodged between mid and index finger, no numbers on it, or other markings, but a carved skeleton¡¯s skull. Ido stood back shocked. ¡°You¡­,¡± he paused, scrunched his face and glared at him. ¡°Where did you get this?¡± ¡°This? I got it from a man named Erlad, I think,¡± Nulanos replied calmly. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say you¡¯re a friend of the Brotherhood?¡± Ido grunted. ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve used it,¡± he explained. ¡°Didn¡¯t know if it was still good.¡± ¡°It ain¡¯t milk to spoil mate. Well anyways, Erlad ye say hmm,¡± Ido said. ¡°How long ago did you get it?¡± ¡°Years.¡± ¡°Ye don¡¯t look that old.¡± ¡°Do I get to sail with¡­?¡± Nulanos¡¯ voice trailed. ¡°The Black Eel,¡± Ido said, then added a little apprehensively. ¡°We might change it to ¡®Lucky¡¯, for commercial reasons.¡± Nulanos nodded. ¡°It¡¯s a good idea Captain Tols.¡± ¡°First Mate, ¡®Calm¡¯ Carson Zain captains the Black Eel,¡± Ido corrected him. ¡°Apologies, I shall strive to remember it,¡± Nulanos replied and flipped the coin on his hand, turning it to a simple silver, he then dropped in a small pocket at the side of his coat. ¡°No free cabin available,¡± Ido warned. ¡°Ship is packed with grain and whiskey, just so ye know. It¡¯s either that, or the deck.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll find a corner on the deck,¡± Nulanos replied readily. ¡°But I might want to taste that whiskey Mister Ido.¡± ¡°Haha,¡± the pirate guffawed more relaxed now. ¡°Don¡¯t we all matey. Don¡¯t we all.¡±
Four days later and two into another year, the weather brought heavy clouds over the nimble brigantine, but no rain, so Nulanos stayed on the deck to watch the sunset. Not much of it, but the change of colors on the clouds. Ido came to stand next to him under the small balcony of the quarterdeck, fine ebony pipe in hand lit. ¡°We be getting to the Reefs pretty soon,¡± he told him smoking with his eyes closed. ¡°We need to wait for light though to enter the channel. It¡¯s a bit tricky to attempt it in the dark.¡± ¡°All jobs are,¡± Nulanos agreed and glanced at his pipe. A small trinket. ¡°Smells like Levacum tobacco,¡± he noted casually. Ido nodded blowing smoke out of his nostrils. ¡°Ye know yer tobacco Mister Neil.¡± ¡°One learns with time,¡± Nulanos replied. ¡°What brings you to Lord¡¯s Burrow?¡± ¡°Pleasure?¡± Nulanos jested. ¡°Haha, yeah right,¡± Ido guffawed. ¡°Yer a witty one. Get yer pipe out, I have some left.¡± ¡°You know, I think I forgot it someplace,¡± Nulanos said. ¡°Eh, more for me I guess,¡± Ido replied with a shrug. ¡°I have some Red Leaf though,¡± Nulanos tapped his pockets, pretending he was searching for it, then got the small wooden box out. ¡°Hmm, heard about it. Difficult to find on Jelin,¡± Ido said and eyed him as he opened the small lid. ¡°Is that it?¡± Nulanos got a couple of small dark spheres out, like beads. ¡°It¡¯s a pulp really, turned into these globules. You crash them into the bowl and well, the rest is easy.¡± ¡°Right.¡± ¡°Here,¡± Nulanos offered the two he¡¯d gotten out to him. ¡°You give it a try. Only take care not to be on duty for some hours. They make you sleepy the first couple of times.¡± Make you envision things that are not there. A dangerous thing when one walks a ship¡¯s deck.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°Haha, no shift till morning. Then it¡¯ll be all hands on deck for the crossing,¡± Ido retorted and grabbed the beads with his free hand. ¡°I¡¯ll just try ¡®em as you say and go get some shuteye.¡± ¡°Sounds like a solid plan,¡± Nulanos agreed with a thin smile. ¡°See you in the morning Mister Tols.¡± ¡°Same Mister Neil.¡±
They barely saw each other the next morning, what with Ido being busy navigating the ship through the narrows and Nulanos disappearing in the busy docks afore the Black Eel had even started unloading. He walked around the pirate port for a couple of hours, familiarizing himself with the place. It had grown steadily since he¡¯d last visited, but space in the surrounded by ridges of dark basalt opening was running out. Nulanos spent the rest of the day visiting the different shops and venues, never staying anywhere for more than half an hour and keeping his purchases, or ¡®trades¡¯ to a minimum. With the night coming again, he stopped at the edge of the docks, nearer to the taverns and lit the ebony pipe he¡¯d taken from a passed out Ido the previous night. The aromatic smoke helping him appreciate the lively pirate port in the warm winter night. His eyes on an old head sitting on a bench overlooking the docks and the ships moored there. One of them badly damaged. The kind of damage that doesn¡¯t happen from weather. With a disappointed sigh for he had missed its entry, Nulanos walked towards the old pirate and stopped next to him. ¡°A Kraken?¡± he jested and the old Lorian turned to look at him pensively. ¡°Atterton is dead,¡± the old pirate said. ¡°Red went out captaining his ship and after he brought it back. A good one ¡®Old Red¡¯ was.¡± Nulanos nodded. ¡°I just refilled it,¡± he told the old pirate and offered him the loaded ebony pipe. ¡°Hah, give it,¡± the man retorted with a smile, mouth sporting more gold teeth than real ones. ¡°It smells wicked from here.¡± ¡°Aye,¡± Nulanos replied and went to light a stick from a nearby port lamp. He brought it back and gave it to the old pirate, the tip still smoldering. ¡°What happened to the other ships?¡± ¡°No one has a clue yet. Word is Dawson might have gone under,¡± the pirate murmured and inhaled deeply with a grimace of satisfaction. ¡°Darnit that¡¯s some good shite me lad. What is it you do?¡± ¡°I¡¯m in the trade,¡± Nulanos replied. ¡°Anyone knows what they were after?¡± ¡°Nah, just rumors,¡± the old man replied. ¡°Are you with anyone? Or are ye looking to join?¡± ¡°I run my own business,¡± Nulanos said and grimaced. ¡°I was looking for a venue, owned by a Vale.¡± ¡°Is that so? Ye know Adele?¡± ¡°Is she close by?¡± The man turned and pointed at the platforms three hundred meters from the west edge of the port. The road turning there and while dark had fallen over Lord¡¯s Burrow, the neighborhood was well lit up and noisy. ¡°The brothel street?¡± ¡°Haha, Adele runs a tavern, the Purser,¡± the old seadog replied. ¡°That¡¯s a gods darn good blend ye got in here me lad,¡± he added. ¡°Been a while since I¡¯ve gotten me hands on the like.¡± ¡°Keep the pipe,¡± Nulanos replied and handed him the small box with the Red Leaf beads. ¡°I appreciated the talk.¡± ¡°You sure? Why, ye have an old man¡¯s gratitude,¡± the pirate looked at him. ¡°Was nice talking to ye as well matey. Didn¡¯t catch yer name.¡± ¡°It¡¯s Neil, ¡®Quick¡¯ Finch,¡± Nulanos replied and old Hamil Finch stood back surprised, smoke covering his wrinkled head. ¡°We¡¯ve met briefly some time back.¡± ¡°By gods, I don¡¯t remember ye son. Must be quite the time,¡± Finch murmured and Nulanos nodded with a small smile. ¡°Quite a time indeed Mister Finch,¡± he replied and tipped his hat, then turned and headed for the busy street in a roundabout way. You were but a boy back then. Drugged out of yer mind. All trinkets hold value, but a precious few of them someone shall always appreciate more. To trade is to correct the imbalance and place stuff into the proper hands.
After taking his time to make sure no one had followed him and allowing the night to fully embrace the port, Nulanos finally strolled towards the lit up street, though there were plenty of dark spots and sinister side alleys all about, if one wanted to put forth the effort to find one. The harlots and the already inebriated pirates gathered at the ill-reputable establishments¡¯ entrances arguing over prices. Comely wenches darting out of equally low-quality taverns to entice clients away using the same tricks and a couple of more serious groups discussing ¨Cgrog in hand- about the days¡¯ happenings. The newest rumor being that another ship had returned in the time it had taken Nulanos to reach the Purser. Since thirty minutes wasn¡¯t that long for the news to have spread so fast, so he guessed a bird had been sent midway to their return to warn the port of their imminent arrival. Among other things. His eyes found the label with the words on it, realized he¡¯d already visited the place that morning and had a cup of decent beer in exchange for the cup, stopped at the last moment afore entering it again and stared two hundred meters away at the entrance of a two-story hostel opening abruptly. His trained, but also gifted, eyes easily picking up the young knight exiting, sword strapped on his waist and mail gleaming in the dark. He took a position at the entrance with a glance at the noise coming from the street Nulanos was dawdling. Hmm. There is another trinket in there. A fancy one and in the flesh. Precious to some, reviled by others. He made to step through the open door but paused again, the music coming from the tavern a horrible rendition/misappropriation of a song Valwarin had written some a hundred and twenty five years in the past, already a stupid tune then ¨Cmade worse. Nulanos sighed, his hooded ears tuned in on the conversation a couple of pirates were having and made his third attempt to enter Vale¡¯s tavern, when he spotted a familiar figure ducking into a side alley and stopped, this time giving up on his plan. Luthos had given it his all to stop him and one should at least listen to the trickster god. A second after Grim had slipped inside the alley, two shifty looking thugs had followed after him, a part of a crew of four that were shadowing the skillful thief. Make that ten, Nulanos decided noticing a couple of more groups casting glances at the trying to hide in the shadows Grim. Hmm. And now those things the bird whispered are revealed. Nulanos went by the open door, stooped adroitly to pick a hefty but worn out browcorn broom left just inside and next to a wooden pan, a hand opening his coat, the other sticking it under as he moved away from the tavern and towards the alley. Never leave a place empty handed. He turned the corner, an eye on the men casually approaching as well, but not paying him any attention, as they had seen him loitering around the venues since the morning, the other on the two thugs ten meters in front of him. Nulanos opened his stride, just as they slowed theirs to jump on a retreating Grim who had found the end of the alley ¨Ctowards the inner ring of the city port- probably blocked by their friends. Ah, Nigel, what did you do lad? He wondered a small smile forming on his mouth, whilst letting the front of his coat open fully and flipping the broom in his right arm, the shaft more than a hundred centimeters long and of thick wood, its end flat but battered and thinned out from all the sweeping. Nigel paused seeing the two thugs approaching, long knives in hand and made to jump on a side wall, flip over the narrow alley and grab the lip of the wall across it, to escape on the roof. ¡°It¡¯s a loose roofing,¡± Nulanos warned him, his voice ringing down the dark alley standing not a meter behind the two local ruffians. Grim recoiled with a gasp, lost his footing and almost run head first onto the wall. Eh. The thugs yelping and cursing at the same time startled, the one standing on his right twisting around to glare at Nulanos, the other just going after the stumbling Grim taking the opportunity. The man that had turned around got the business end of the heavy broom at the left side of his face, the shaft breaking above the tail and his head snapping violently the other way. Nulanos flipped the shorter broomstick in his hand expertly, an eye on the dodging a knife Grim and used it again to guide the dizzy faltering thug towards the brick wall with the broken tip, after slotting it under the flaying man¡¯s armpit. Gave him a good heave at the end, the thug¡¯s cranium cracking with a solid bang that rattled the building and then collapsed like a sack laden with rocks. Nulanos glanced at the entrance of the alley, saw light from torches approaching and danced forward, smacked the swinging knife out of the hand of the second thug with a brutal whack of the broomstick, Grim having his shortsword out already and swung at the groaning, more shocked than hurt ruffian, catching him right at the bridge of his nose. And squashing it. WHAM! ¡°Gaarggh¡ª¡± the thug cried, his nose splattered on his distorted face, but Nulanos kept his focus flipped the broomstick again and speared him in the throat with it just enough to cut his groan short. He then planted it on his chest and shoved him backwards into Grim¡¯s blade. The thief knifing him twice in the kidneys finishing him off. Grim made to speak, but Nulanos cuffed him once upside the head to stop him, run two steps to the left and jumped lithely for the edge of the roof. He swung his legs around and climbed it, then turned and offered his hand to his pupil. A livid Grim grunted and followed his example, using Nulanos¡¯ arm to climb next to him. Without speaking Nulanos run to other side of the dark roof, following the sturdier vertical rafters and avoiding the weakened planks. A cursing Grim following after him, stumbling twice afore his eyes got used to the more illuminated rooftop. Nulanos reached the edge and jumped down the new alley, collided with a startled pissing squatted on her knees harlot, stopping her scream with a brief kiss and offering the broken shaft of the broom for the trade. ¡°Ehm,¡± the young harlot murmured, unsure whether to be embarrassed for getting caught with her skirts raised given her profession, or look to get more from the touchy customer other than a broomstick. ¡°Any place at the near serves black whiskey?¡± Nulanos asked her afore she¡¯d time to decide, a silver coin gleaming between index and mid finger. The young harlot¡¯s favorite trinket easy to guess. She snatched it out of his hand fast as a viper and smiled a rotten smile that solved Nulanos the riddle of their earlier kiss¡¯ horrid aftertaste. Ugh. Nothing a cup of alcohol wouldn¡¯t burn out. Gods be willing. ¡°Dagger¡¯s Sheath is right the corner, where I¡ª¡± ¡°Leave that,¡± Nulanos cut her off with a perfect, but gnarly smile he couldn¡¯t keep in. ¡°Offer another.¡± ¡°The Silken Ferret?¡± The young woman guessed, apparently knowing few venues outside her ¡®industry¡¯. ¡°Run now little port bird,¡± Nulanos urged her with a light slap at her now covered buttocks. ¡°See if anyone¡¯s standing there and give us a good whistle for another silver.¡± The harlot chuckled in delight and sprinted at the edge of the alley, Nulanos turning around and heading the other way briskly. Grim followed after him to the exit of the alley, through the second ring of Lord¡¯s Burrow and into its now closed workshop street, where their own safehouse was located. ¡°Eight,¡± Nigel Grim hissed. ¡°Luthos curse ye. What are you doin¡¯ here?¡± Toloth, the elder of Uruma Isle counted in the Old Tongue and paused afore starting again, long bronze rod in hand covered in gore. For each misdeed child. To balance the scales. The Coal Isle mostly gone now, but for the still standing Coal Mountain according to that crook Ebe. Along most of the Mori-Zilan like the old goat. And him of course. Nulanos sighed, loosened the bindings on the drenched in sweat shirt he was wearing underneath his coat and stared at the half-asleep half-busy partying pirate port. ¡°They cut you off,¡± he explained austerely, as this was important. ¡°Either Vale¡¯s spawn, or the Brotherhood has betrayed you Nigel, put a hit on your head.¡± ¡°Shite,¡± Grim cursed furious. ¡°Gods darnit,¡± he continued even more livid and kicked a rail breaking it off the platform. ¡°That fucking bitch!¡± ¡°You¡¯re fine,¡± Nulanos reminded him evenly. ¡°It¡¯s a good trade Nigel.¡± ¡°Eh,¡± Grim grimaced and stopped pacing the platform. ¡°Van Fleet said the gold is gone allegedly. Vale went down with the ship.¡± ¡°Has everyone left his ship?¡± Nulanos asked. ¡°Only Van Fleet, he¡¯s badly injured,¡± Grim murmured and then paused to narrow his eyes. ¡°You don¡¯t think¡­ but the Pillager is too small!¡± ¡°Maybe not all is lost,¡± Nulanos replied. ¡°Each one values a trinket differently. Is willing to do more or less to get it in the scales.¡± ¡°This is a god darn treasure¡­ Eight,¡± Grim had paused to whisper the last part. ¡°To them perhaps. Do you think they killed Vale for it?¡± ¡°She¡¯s like a bad rash,¡± Grim spat still unsure whether to like her or not, given he didn¡¯t know who wanted him dead. ¡°But I don¡¯t see her leaving those coins behind.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± ¡°What does that mean?¡± Grim asked a little frustrated at the way his night had turned out. The score was important to him, since he intended to retire a rich man after it. Nulanos had tried it several times in the past but his favorite trinket was the life itself and he just couldn¡¯t let go. ¡°Nothing,¡± he replied and reached in his side pocket, got a worn out leather purse out and emptied it in his hand. A couple of silvers and twenty coppers in it. Grim crunched his jaw this way and that looking at the coins. ¡°That the thug¡¯s?¡± he queried. ¡°Uhm,¡± Nulanos replied affirmatively. ¡°More than enough for a meal and a nice drink, but nigh pitiful a sum for having a man of your stature killed,¡± he finished with a soft chuckle at how little Grim¡¯s life was worth to those ruffians and the thief rolled his eyes exasperated at his leader¡¯s weird sense of humor. But it is, Nulanos thought still chuckling. Very entertaining.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 344. Forty tons of gold (5/5)
Fourteen menfolk covered in dawn¡¯s dark cloak Carried forty tons of the King¡¯s gold, Out of the Mighty Saracen¡¯s cargo hold Lo ¡®n behold they reached the Siren¡¯s lair, Gory skull carried out by its maiden long hair, The count on the return givin¡¯ eleven, Ol¡¯ ¡®Scalpel Fingers¡¯ amidst ¡®em havin¡¯ only seven, Fourteen menfolk knew the way to ol'' Captain¡¯s treasure Accursed be all those that seek to find its measure Popular Pirate song of the south coast Circa 193 NC and beyond
Leona ¡®Foxy¡¯ Vale ¡®Scalpel-Fingers¡¯ ¡®Scourge of the Scalding Seas¡¯ Forty tons of gold Part V -The Siren of Lyari-
¡°SHIP LIGHTS! THREE POINTS OFF PORT QUARTER!¡± Troy yelled from the main mast¡¯s crow¡¯s nest, the loose topsail flapping dangerously near him. The night had come swiftly, the Ocean¡¯s Harpy still drifting at wind¡¯s whim. Leona who could barely move without wincing in pain, rolled down the stairs leaving a desperately fighting with the helm Kidd behind. She paused to stare at the covered in white sailcloth bodies of Wil and Clark, until Hook put his hand between her shoulder blades, his voice urging her forward. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of lights Leo,¡± Hook told her. Leona nodded. ¡°What kind of ship it is?¡± she asked. They had some lights on, but just the minimum required to tend to the wounded and make repairs. Both tasks very difficult. ¡°Look mighty similar to dis one.¡± Great. ¡°What is it looking for?¡± ¡°Probably us,¡± Hook replied. ¡°But either they don¡¯t look this way, or we look like a smaller boat in the dark. ¡°There¡¯s a lot of night still ahead of us,¡± Leona murmured. ¡°But if they stay near they¡¯ll figure out what happened and spot us for sure.¡± She would pray for a worsening of the weather, but it was rough seas still and didn¡¯t believe their ship could handle it. Not with so few capable crew aboard. ¡°Not the way we¡¯re going me thinks,¡± Hook argued sadly. A waterspout popped out of the waves, water spinning in a screaming buzz that raised your hairs and the vortex sucked them again out of course for a while. Course used loosely here as she couldn¡¯t tell where they were heading. Leona would have given an eye for that guidance box aboard the Marquette, but Abrakas had claimed that. ¡°Fix the topgallant sail first, then open a trysail at the stern to help Kidd steer us,¡± Leona ordered hoarsely. ¡°Use the moonlight when it¡¯s available, don¡¯t light any more lamps and keep these concealed if possible.¡± ¡°We need the whole main mast repaired,¡± Hook grunted. The Galleass had lost her foremast to a wayward catapult shot that had cracked it initially, to topple later. The first hour after being left on their own, the crew had spent freeing the ship from the destroyed mast¡¯s rigging and cleaning the deck from debris and mercenary corpses. Ocean Harpy being as big as she was and as heavily loaded, they needed all her of sails to journey properly against the wind, or at least the main mast¡¯s to at least steer back to land, if it wasn¡¯t already too late. ¡°If we don¡¯t find land in the next couple of hours then we are shooting straight for Abrakas Gullet,¡± Leona countered. ¡°I don¡¯t think we are, since we¡¯d have spotted Dawson by now if the winds had stayed the same.¡± ¡°Dawson hav¡¯ gone under me thinks, all tangled up, smaller ships¡­¡± Hook said and grimaced. ¡°Be talking wit Troy about sending people up them ladders. Rest a bit Leo, ye look half-dead.¡± Eh, Leona scowled and glanced at her mangled still bandaged and hastily stitched left hand. She could feel the fingers, but moving them was a different beast, fit for braver women than her.
¡°Didn¡¯t think you¡¯d stay Mister Doubloon,¡± Leona murmured half an hour later, the mystery ship that had appeared hours after the battle, now lost in the night and probably still searching the waters for survivors retracing the original route of the convoy. The leader of the raiders sighed and stared at the cluster of injured men left behind. Ten of them had managed to stand on their feet sporting lesser injuries, five they had to toss overboard after they succumbed to theirs and a group of about fifteen of them they were still trying to patch up. The latter having serious, but not as life-threatening wounds like missing limbs, ears, or eyes, though given time and a good fever these also could take a turn for the worse. ¡°I sent ¡®Confident¡¯ Bolton with the others, but it didn¡¯t look right to abandon them Captain,¡± Harrold replied. ¡°I¡¯m also hoping you have a plan.¡± ¡°No full plan, but I have a couple of half-plans in the works,¡± Leona assured him trying to appear nonchalant but her grin resembled a snarl more, seeing as a jolt of pain from the loose rib run through her mid-sentence. ¡°Umm,¡± Harrold nodded and glanced at the sailors helping a tied up Troy perilously stretch out of the crow¡¯s nest, three-meter long hooked staff in hand, to reach the flapping large sail. The young lanky sailor tried once and failed the moon ducking behind clouds making his effort even more difficult. ¡°Bring an oil lamp up here!¡± One of those helping him called. ¡°Do it,¡± Leona hissed to a raider watching at the base of the mast. He nodded and looked to find one, Hook grabbing her elbow to turn her around. ¡°You can¡¯t risk it,¡± he grunted and pointed an arm at the distance, far beyond their starboard side, where the outline of a black mass could be seen contrasting with the pale moon¡¯s illumination. ¡°What am I looking at?¡± Leona snapped. ¡°That¡¯s Crab¡¯s Talons,¡± Hook expounded gravely. Ah. ¡°Which one?¡± ¡°The way it¡¯s curving, I reckon it be the south one Leo,¡± Hook replied. The winds had blown them way out of course, but also towards land. ¡°Can we bring the ship closer?¡± ¡°That¡¯s over a hundred meters of sheer cliff, a granite wall, there¡¯s no mooring there, but plenty of smashing against it,¡± Hook grunted. ¡°We¡¯ll swing around it, turn the ship enough¡ª¡± ¡°You¡¯ll run in them reefs.¡± ¡°Archibald Tidus did it aboard the Fat Libby no less!¡± Leona hissed. ¡°Damn it Leo! ¡®Birdeye¡¯ hugged the shores, retraced the Fingers never venturing out more than a mile, on a good ship and during the plaguin¡¯ day!¡± Leona stood back and eyed him breathing heavy after his outburst. ¡°I won¡¯t be cowered by the supernatural Mister Hook,¡± she cautioned him. Hook shook his head. ¡°Ain¡¯t about that, them reefs will crack our hull before those mermaids get us.¡± ¡°I need two good sails and I¡¯ll steer it,¡± Leona insisted. ¡°Turn yes, there¡¯s no steering through there in the blind,¡± Hook argued. ¡°Many have attempted it, few returned.¡± ¡°What stopped them?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a heavy mist coming out of the waters,¡± Hook replied. ¡°It comes and everything is hidden. The reefs moving in the night and land that looks fine from afar turns sinister after you approach.¡± ¡°This sounds like fear,¡± Leona retorted. ¡°GET THEM A LIGHT!¡± She barked and turned around to hobble away, managing to stay upright despite the ship rocking on the waves.
Troy managed to take hold of the wayward sail at the clew with the hook, brought it closer heaving hard and getting pulled in turn by the sailors holding on to his rope. His hands got cut through the leather workgloves, but they retied it to a stayrope and yelled for those watching underneath with batted breath to try it. Leona standing next to a nervous Kidd, the experienced navigator pale-faced and looking sick from lack of sleep, placed a hand on his shoulder and said in as calm a voice as she could. ¡°You turn us starboard now Mister Kidd, as soon as the Spanker opens.¡± ¡°Aye Captain,¡± he replied. ¡°BRACE YERSELVES!¡± Leona barked and climbed down the long narrow aftcastle staircase. ¡°GIVE ME THE DARN TOPGALLANT MISTER WEISS!¡± she yelled next and grabbed a ratline, she looped around her injured arm above the elbow. ¡°UNFURL THE MAIN¡¯S! BEAM REACH STARBOARD!¡± Leona turned to Hook and nodded. ¡°SPANGER¡¯S OPEN AFT!¡± Hook boomed and Leona barked for Kidd to turn them against the wind. ¡°NOW MISTER KIDD!¡± The Ocean¡¯s Harpy creaked and groaned, a side of the deck rising, the incline steep enough for one injured raider to topple overboard, loose barrels tumbling from one side to the other, broken beams crackling and banging on rails and the moonlit horizon giving way to the rising black sea. ¡°ARGRH!¡± Leona snarled, teeth clenched tight, drenched in frothy brines feeling the large ship rocking and the wind ripping through the deck, blowing on her tearing bloodshot eyes. The Ocean¡¯s Harpy bobbed and danced over the angry sea, but turned west she did towards the Talons, although they hadn¡¯t seen them for a while now.
¡°LAND AHOY!¡± A worn out Troy yelled two hours later, both hands bandaged and taut face making him look older than his not even twenty years. Leona cracked her eyes open, head heavy and body hurting from resting on the stairs to keep an eye on the deck. ¡°What manner?¡± She croaked and got up with a groan. ¡°REEFS!¡± Another one on the crow¡¯s nest warned them and she grimaced. ¡°Cut the sails,¡± Leona told the approaching Hook. ¡°Where have ye been?¡± ¡°Found three sailors in the cargo hold,¡± the man explained. ¡°I want no one down there Bristol!¡± Leona snarled angry. ¡°Were they armed?¡± ¡°Young sailors. Joined in Cediorum for a taste of adventure,¡± Hook explained. ¡°Have them tied to the mast.¡± ¡°Will they join our cause?¡± Leona asked and stooped over the port side deck rails to gauge the approaching reefs. ¡°Not likely Leo,¡± Hook commented gruffly. ¡°Damn ye Bristol,¡± she hissed for bringing it to her. ¡°Yer call captain,¡± the man countered. ¡°Ye wish no witnesses, only one way to do it.¡± ¡°Mister Doubloon!¡± Leona barked with a glare at the aging seadog. ¡°I want raiders to man the oars!¡± They had to approach this carefully, she thought licking her salty lips, mouth numb and throat thirsty for a pint of grog. At least.
¡°Give us a bit more light here!¡± Leona yelled, the bell ringing warningly at the sight of more sharp rocks sprouting out of the hazy waters. ¡°Keep it slow!¡± She glanced over the side at the black basalt, gleaming like crystal doused in their lights, the Ocean¡¯s Harpy lumping through the treacherous waters and the forest of boulders, some as tall as towers, others barely visible under the thankfully short waves. The breeze had lessened as well, but vapors hugged the reefs and the only thing Leona knew for certain was that they were heading westwards, but needed to turn to the North at some point. ¡°Keep it steady Mister Kidd!¡± Leona yelled and limped up the staircase to enter the spacious captain¡¯s quarters. A divan inside, large as a bed. A cupboard with bottles of liquor, maps on a large round table and even a weapons stand. Nothing fancy about it. Sturdily built though. ¡°Anything on the maps Mits?¡± She asked a literate Issir pirate from Colle. ¡°Nothing about these waters captain,¡± he replied tensely. ¡°Let me see,¡± Leona murmured wiping her hands and face with a towel. ¡°I remember some of my father¡¯s papers.¡± All lost now with the Marquette. She sighed and stared at the drawing, her eyes smarting, but she refused to let the tears flow. A captain is a rock rooted in ¡®em deeps, her father had told her. Unmovable. ¡°Anything?¡± Mits Corn asked. ¡°There¡¯s land at Oyster Anchorage, across it and across the Third Finger,¡± she croaked, paused to clear her throat and tried again. ¡°But we are further in I think.¡± Deeper in the Reefs was her meaning. ¡°It¡¯ll be day soon captain,¡± Mits pointed out. ¡°Aye,¡± Leona agreed. ¡°But we need to rest the men. We need sixty to row us forward and we barely have twenty.¡± The raiders were exhausted and the crew was without sleep for a second night in a row, after heavy fighting and sailing in a storm for the duration. Leona knew she could lose control soon, the only thing helping being the abundance of supplies the large warship was carrying. Along a treasure in gold coins. ¡°LAND!¡± someone yelled from outside. ¡°Directly ahead!¡± ¡°Guard the door,¡± Leona ordered Mits and grabbed another shortsword from the weapons stand, she slotted on her waistband.
The coming misty shores appeared dreamy in the morning fog, a touch of white sandstone and grey gravel, a flat elongated piece of land amidst the sprouting black basalt rocks. The approaching route curving and at one point narrow enough a gnarly rock came as close as one meter from Ocean¡¯s sides. A nimbler ship could clear this though, she thought. Leona a permanent snarly grimace on her satin-cream colored face, touches of white on her cheeks and mouth corners from dried up seawater, watched tensely their ship¡¯s slow progress. The rising sun sneaking its rays from the clouds, illuminating the fog even more and giving it a a strange glow. The bell ringing and the oars coming out again once they cleared the last of the reefs fifty meters from the island, six per side barely giving enough thrust for the cumbersome warship to slog its way to the slanted shore. Rougher looking the more they approached it. ¡°That the island?¡± Hook queried out of the side of his mouth standing next to her near the bow. ¡°TWELVE METERS!¡± The leadsman hanging from the main mast shrouds outside the rails yelled and started gathering the sounding line again lifting the plummet up, or lead. ¡°I¡¯ve no idea,¡± Leona whispered tiredly. ¡°Good call keeping it to yerself,¡± Hook agreed. ¡°NINE METERS AN¡¯ RISING SHARP!¡± the leadsman cried out warningly. ¡°Anchor it here. We¡¯ll use the boat to land,¡± she told the wary pirate. ¡°DROP ANCHOR! REVERSE!¡± Hook boomed and grimaced. ¡°Prep the boat Weiss!¡±
¡°Alright gents,¡± Leona addressed the weary, dark-faced crew and raiders gathered on the deck of the Ocean¡¯s Harpy. The familiar ship¡¯s creaking and clinging sounds, along the sound of soft waves splashing, now joined by new sounds coming from the interior of the island they had anchored near. Mainly birds chirping and sea lions dissonant barking creating most of the ruckus. ¡°A small group shall accompany me to ascertain our whereabouts. It may take us as far inland as we can venture. Our main priority remains to repair the ship and make sure our wounded recover enough to help us get off this place.¡± ¡°Pretty eloquent captain,¡± Weiss commented. ¡°I strive to be Mister Weiss,¡± Leona retorted. ¡°Twas one of yer better efforts,¡± the ship¡¯s carpenter agreed. ¡°Anyone wants to join me ashore?¡± Leona grunted. ¡°I need six to man the oars and a helmsman. Mits Corn will come wit me as well.¡± Hook went to volunteer, but she stopped him. ¡°Mister Hook shall stay to oversee the repairs. Also make a list of things we will need, mainly timber. Abrakas be willing, there is some good wood beyond the gravel.¡± ¡°I can bring six raiders along,¡± Doubloon offered. ¡°Ye better stay as well Harrold,¡± Leona said. ¡°But I¡¯ll take two of your raiders, along with¡­¡± she stared at her remaining crew. Lord¡¯s Burrow natives and Eikenport¡¯s recruits. ¡°Dasten, ¡®Riot¡¯ Merton, ¡®Beard¡¯ Savant, Kendal and ¡®Three Teeth¡¯ Gloom.¡± ¡°Son of a biscuit eater!¡± Gloom cursed looking unhappy. ¡°You¡¯ll steer Mister Gloom,¡± Leona assured him and the short wiry man offered her one of his infamous smiles. ¡°Me hearties,¡± he said leering to the others eyeing him. ¡°Ye heard the captain. Put those muscles to good use now, eh?¡±
Leona jumped from the boat, boots splashing in the brackish water and the terrain hard when she stepped ashore. The gentle slope of the beach leading to thick green forest up ahead, sharper cliffs to their south and a misty swampy area of sorts to their north. ¡°There¡¯s a whiff of tar in the air mister Corn?¡± Leona asked trying to orientate herself with the sun. ¡°Seems like it captain,¡± Mits replied and fixed the washed-out top hat on his head. Leona had lost hers and the bandana needed cleaning as she had used it to dress her wound initially, the red cloth now around her neck. ¡°I can check on its source.¡± ¡°Start wit the swamp, it reeks from there is me guess,¡± Leona said and stared at the men pulling the boat out. ¡°Dasten, Kendal hop in it again and return to the ship. Tell them to bring the other boat here as well and all able-bodied crew.¡± The reason for changing her strategy so soon obvious to them, but she pointed it out just the same. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of timber up there needin¡¯ cutting,¡± Leona said with a smirk.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°What do we do?¡± Merton asked. A Northman living in Burrow since he was a teen. How he¡¯d gotten there a story that varied depending on the season and the company. ¡°You stay with Corn. See to keep him breathing me lovelies,¡± Leona cautioned them and watched both groups move away, Corn slow walking towards the reed infested swamp and the boat returning to the massive ship moored twenty meters away from the beach. ¡°You don¡¯t trust the lads from Eikenport captain?¡± Gloom asked, carved ebony teeth in his mouth, but for three made out of alabaster that had a creamy natural color, the denture work costly as much as weirdly colored. The alabaster was too much for his purse, Gloom always said. Only had enough coin to make three teeth out of it, but the Dottore did have a piece of solid ebony wood that the toothless pirate swore was almost as costly as the alabaster. ¡°Did you know my father Mister Gloom?¡± Leona asked and started walking following the edge of the noisy hardwood forest, the black trunk almost a meter thick and close to thirty meters tall. Weird yellow fruit dropped on the ground, astringent in taste and uneatable. ¡°As a teen aye, I¡¯ve seen him a bit,¡± Gloom replied and sniffed at the fruit she had cut in half to check. ¡°Dis looks like Pale Moon Ebony,¡± he told her and to be certain he cracked a low branch, then cut it again with a small axe. ¡°Sink me! Look Captain!¡± he cried excited and showed her the black enlarged black heart of the hardwood. There was a lot of teeth to be made out of this forest, she mused. ¡°Can we use it Mister Gloom?¡± Leona grunted standing up. ¡°No, but it worth a fortune,¡± the pirate said. ¡°Eh, I see some redwood over there that¡¯s more valuable to me,¡± Leona retorted. ¡°Pray there¡¯s enough of it around.¡± ¡°Uhm,¡± Gloom murmured and followed after her towards the gentle crag of limestone. ¡°So why then?¡± he asked going back to his previous query. ¡°Easier to find acceptance among people that knew him,¡± Leona admitted and paused to listen for water coming down. Some of the sea lions moving from them and towards the beach with irritated barks. ¡°Yer a good captain,¡± Gloom assured her. ¡°That yer a lass don¡¯t matter so much in the Brotherhood.¡± Eh, not exactly accurate. ¡°Is that the general opinion?¡± ¡°For now yes,¡± the wiry man replied, dark face difficult to read. ¡°What about the raiders?¡± Leona asked and checked a crack on the rock, the chasm a meter wide and three tall, the ground polished from the trickling fresh water coming out and spilling down towards the shores, now more than three hundred meters away and unseen. The forest was spread around the rocky rise, the spring almost hidden. ¡°Landlubbers pretending to be pirates,¡± Gloom replied. ¡°Dreaming of courts and fortune near Anne.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t think she¡¯ll deliver?¡± Leona asked but didn¡¯t hear his reply, as she had entered the narrow corridor to check how far inside the mountain it went. Her voice echoing in the dark interior, the cave much larger than what it appeared initially. ¡°Damn.¡± ¡°Ye need a torch captain?¡± Gloom asked. ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Leona replied and reached for a lightstone she¡¯d bought in Goras. ¡°Alert the others that I found us clean water.¡± ¡°Aye Captain,¡± Gloom replied, his voice multiplying inside the empty cavern and Leona hanged the lightstone on her neck, her eyes on the gleam of the small stream running all the way to the exit and pouring out. The lightstone came alive suddenly, pure white light spreading out hurting her eyes, the cavern turning into a gigantic hollow structure cut inside the limestone mountain, its walls polished and covered in thick black moss, stalagmites coming down from the ceiling like ancient roots and half the at least a kilometer long cave a silent underground lake. The rest flattened ground for the most part. ¡°Damn,¡± Leona said again and turned to examine the serene lake, a strange naked woman standing not a foot from her. Breathtakingly alluring, but it was an exotic, if not spine-chilling attractiveness this. Eyes black as the waters and unnaturally large. Her hair long, the round mounds of her chest prominent, a flat stomach and a hairless crotch. She¡¯d a big rock in her hand seemingly out of place. ¡°Hey,¡± a stunned Leona said, the woman smiled a gnarly smile, swung the rock and smacked the head of the slow to react pirate captain once. Everything fading to black.
Leona came around with a groan, her injured and bleeding head hurting her less than the hand she¡¯d bandaged the previous day. She opened her blurry eyes, saw the creature gnawing at her fingers, the sound of bone crunching and flesh getting mauled too traumatizing to comprehend. The pain enough to snap her out of her dazed state. ¡°ARRRGH!¡± She cried out and tried to get her hand out of the cavernous mouth, blood covering the female¡¯s chin and neck. The grip on it steely. Leona reached for her shortsword with her right hand and the mermaid raised that bloody rock again to whack her across the face. Good grief! ¡°Stop!¡± she croaked, teeth rattling, the feeling of flesh getting torn off her fingers and splintering small bones uprooted turning her stomach, her pulse thundering at her temples like a sledgehammer. ¡°Please¡­ don¡¯t!¡± The beautiful cannibal paused mid chomp, but kept the large rock near her head. ¡°Why?¡± The mermaid queried with a singing metallic voice, after swallowing. Leona was on the brink of fainting again. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ friendly,¡± she pleaded, tears running down her soot-covered face. ¡°Please stop.¡± ¡°Blade is unfriendly,¡± the Ticu noticed. Leona raised her good hand, shivering all over and the pain blinding. ¡°There¡­¡± she grunted, her teeth rattling. ¡°Only a couple of fingers left,¡± the creature told her. ¡°Make even?¡± ¡°No,¡± Leona groaned and tried to get up, a bout of dizziness almost sending her flat on her back again, the ground hard and unforgiving. ¡°I need them.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need you,¡± the Ticu said and dropped her mangled bleeding hand. ¡°But I¡¯ll take a male and bring him here,¡± she chuckled, the smile a bloody horror splitting her comely face in two. Abrakas severed cock rots in a jar, Leona thought looking at her gnawed missing fingers. The image so shocking it seemed unreal. The shaken captain had no idea what she was talking about, but tried to keep her talking while attempting to stop the bleeding. ¡°I can¡­ help,¡± she croaked panicking. ¡°I¡¯m the captain.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± ¡°The leader¡ª¡± ¡°I know what it is,¡± the Ticu cut her off. ¡°Why come here? You break the deal once, you¡¯ll do it again. Sneaky creature.¡± ¡°I be¡­ fainting,¡± Leona gasped, breathing hard. ¡°Need¡­ to stop¡­¡± ¡°Sshh,¡± the Ticu hissed and used a bony protrusion that came out of her right hand knuckles to open the palm of her left hand. Thick black blood pooled there. She hunched over her abruptly next and snatched Leona¡¯s injured arm. ¡°Why?¡± An almost passed out pirate captain groaned. The creature smeared her blood over the open wound, the substance burning like acid, Leona shuddered violently, almost biting her own tongue off and lost consciousness again.
Tick. Tack. Water dripping. Leona cracked her eyes open, the lightstone''s luminance hurting her, but she almost wished the soft pain back, when feeling returned to her battered body. Grinding her teeth not wanting to pass out again, she rolled to her right side, keeping her injured hand away from the ground. No bleeding on it, but the flesh still mangled and only index and thumb remaining there. The bandage from her previous wound, a deep crusty red and soaked in her blood. She groaned -an animalistic guttural sound and the female half inside the still lake¡¯s water turned around to look at her. The light from Leona¡¯s pendant touching the lithe drenched body as it walked outside making little noise, but a soft tap-tap from the thin blue membranes that were connecting her naked toes. The skin turning from white to an alien dark green and back to white in a brief second. ¡°What¡­ are you?¡± Leona croaked hoarsely. The blatant nakedness of the creature disturbing, but it was difficult to take her eyes away. The creature clicked her tongue. ¡°Ticu,¡± she said in that strange voice and it came out a hum that reverberated inside the emptiness of the cave, afore silence returned again. ¡°Vivirah.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not¡­ yer enemy,¡± Leona assured her, voice coming through clenched teeth and eyes looking about to orientate herself. Vivirah had dragged her further inside the cave. ¡°You came to the ruins and killed many,¡± Vivirah argued serenely and kneeled next to her. Her crotch at full display. Leona looked away frustrated with herself. ¡°Now you return. Perhaps you wish to kill again?¡± ¡°I fear ye have us mistaken¡­ for someone else,¡± she moaned and stood on a knee, a bout of dizziness turning her stomach. ¡°Hmm.¡± ¡°We¡¯re here for repairs,¡± Leona explained quickly. ¡°Soon as we finish we¡¯ll leave.¡± ¡°Maybe you will,¡± Vivirah replied. ¡°I had a lover once. He left to bring me treats, but never returned. A killer got to him.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± Leona croaked and wondered if she could slash at her with the blade. But she couldn¡¯t trust her shaky hand for the task. ¡°We don¡¯t need females,¡± Vivirah explained. ¡°But we can¡¯t have male Ticu as well.¡± ¡°Who says that?¡± Leona groaned and wondered what was in the creature¡¯s blood to stop the hemorrhage so fast. ¡°Depth¡¯s Ruler,¡± Vivirah replied. ¡°Abrakas is a cunt,¡± Leona spat and the Ticu opened those huge eyes and chuckled throaty. Oh, for fuck¡¯s sake girl, Leona admonished herself for feeling aroused by the creepy flesh-eating monster. Is it the lack of alcohol? Yer brains? ¡°Not all listen, so we hide our secrets,¡± Vivirah explained and looked about, her eyes blinking rapidly like an insect. ¡°Will ye let me go?¡± ¡°Why? You¡¯ll return again,¡± Vivirah noted. ¡°I won¡¯t,¡± Leona assured her pleadingly. ¡°You¡¯re interested,¡± the Ticu noticed and reached to touch her feverish face. The skin slimy and cool, fish like. ¡°Foul, greed-soaked, depravity. Abrakas will love you.¡± Leona put her hand over it, felt the scaly protrusions and its slow serene pulse. ¡°I be willing to indulge in a round of depravity,¡± she murmured and Vivirah blinked, symmetrical face showing her surprise. ¡°A Ticu can mate to procreate,¡± she explained to the injured, but also mesmerized captain. ¡°But only loves Abrakas, or has its face eaten by her sisters.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a bullshit rule,¡± Leona croaked half disappointed, half relieved and Vivirah pulled away with a frown. ¡°Your life for a new mate,¡± she haggled. Leona licked her lips. ¡°What if he doesn¡¯t want to come?¡± The Ticu chuckled and hummed from her long throat, the vibration tingling all Leona¡¯s soft bits not hurting too much. And even some of those badly injured. It reached her core and for a brief moment, the pain was gone. The scars though remained.
¡°Captain!¡± Gloom gasped seeing her coming down the slope limping and holding her left hand. ¡°We were about to come up there again!¡± ¡°How long have I been missing?¡± Leona grunted and plopped down on a stool Weiss had brought ashore. A part of the gravel beach cleared, several trees cut down and dragged there to be turned into planks and beams. ¡°Nine hours,¡± Hook replied eyeing her. ¡°What is it Leo?¡± ¡°Can I talk with you?¡± ¡°The men were thinking perhaps you were gone,¡± Hook replied. ¡°We sent a party to the cave, but there was no one there.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a big cave, I wandered about,¡± Leona retorted. Hook came near her and put a hand on her right shoulder. ¡°What happened to the hand Leo?¡± Leona pushed his hand away. ¡°They wanted to put someone else in charge?¡± she whispered looking at the crew and raiders working in shifts to gather materials. Corn having barrels filled with tar and brought near the beach. ¡°Bard ¡®Brass¡¯ Godfrey,¡± Hook whispered. ¡°The Eikenport crew?¡± Leona whispered. Nine of them had gathered around the man himself, the burly Lorian with the shorn hair eyeing her with a leer. ¡°Aye.¡± ¡°What of the raiders?¡± ¡°They fight for Anne Leo,¡± Hook said keeping his voice low. Gloom coming to stand near them with a yawn. ¡°Wish we had a bottle of rum,¡± he said aloud with a wink at them. ¡°Right captain?¡± ¡°There is liquor gents,¡± Leona replied loud enough to be heard. ¡°Not a lot, but enough to make the night pleasant after all we¡¯ve been through.¡± ¡°Ay! For captain Vale!¡± One of them hollered. ¡°Arr!¡± Came most of the others response. ¡°HO!¡± Merton cried out and even Godfrey¡¯s group nodded. ¡°So what¡¯s the plan?¡± Gloom asked them. ¡°We¡¯ve even numbers, but Corn is no fighter,¡± Leona whispered waving at the cheering crew and the smiling raiders. ¡°Neither is Kidd and he is on the aftcastle all the time,¡± she added. ¡°We might lose the ship,¡± Hook agreed. ¡°Can you fight with that hand?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll fight with the other,¡± Leona hissed. ¡°But the thing is I found a Ticu in the cave,¡± she showed them her mauled hand. Gloom ogled his eyes freaked out and even Hook shivered all over. ¡°How does that help us?¡± Hook said carefully. ¡°If we are to turn towards the Third Finger and follow Archibald¡¯s path to Hardir¡¯s Port, we need to lighten the ship. The depth is uneven and treacherous near the Reefs and we might not make it. A scraping an empty ship can handle, but them rocks could crack her keel if she is so loaded.¡± ¡°Unload the gold,¡± Hook murmured and glanced about them. ¡°Aye. Make the journey without it, on a faster ship,¡± Leona replied. ¡°Even a different one of sorts.¡± An idea forming in her head. ¡°What are you saying captain?¡± Gloom asked keeping his voice low. ¡°What about the Ticu?¡± ¡°Listen to me. Forget about that for a moment. It¡¯s difficult to give us the drop on land. Much easier on the ship. We have more weapons here and they have mostly tools at the near,¡± Leona explained. ¡°If raiders keep out of it, then it isn¡¯t as daunting an advantage and we can make it better.¡± ¡°How?¡± Hook queried. ¡°Who knows about the cave?¡± Leona asked. ¡°Gloom, Merton, Savant and meself,¡± Hook replied. Burrows crew. ¡®Three Teeth¡¯ had remembered her words, she thought a little relieved. ¡°Can we carry the gold there?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll need more people for that,¡± Gloom protested. ¡°Troy, Weiss, You,¡± Leona told Hook. ¡°Corn, Merton, Savant, Dasten, Kendal, Gloom and Kidd,¡± she counted, recognizing her fingers only went up to seven. The realization a punch to the gut. ¡°You¡¯ll need more men,¡± Hook grunted nervously seeing her stalling. ¡°Godfrey and his two buddies. Voss and that creepy Wemu guy.¡± The most dangerous ones. ¡°The Cofol?¡± Gloom asked unsure. ¡°That nutcase is always armed captain.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care,¡± Leona retorted. ¡°Will that number be sufficient mister Hook?¡± ¡°It shall,¡± Hook replied. ¡°What will you tell the others? People be wanting to know wher¡¯ the gold be going Leo.¡± ¡°What would me father have done?¡± Hook scrunched his face in a grimace of despair. ¡°Ye don¡¯t want to go down that road me good lass.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll make a map for it,¡± Leona decided with a pained grin, the jolt coming from her hurt rib this time. Half the pain though was for the girl Bristol remembered that had died in the cave. ¡°Split it evenly among the crew. Twenty pieces,¡± she muttered, the grimace on her face turning right vicious, fueled by her mutilations and desperation. ¡°Right it down Mister Gloom, so I don¡¯t forget it.¡±
Weiss built two large narrow carts that could handle a strongbox, or two of the medium ones. It needed six to eight men to slowly push the carts up the gentle slope and near the cave. Ropes to drag them through the opening on iron sleds and another round of pushing the four-wheeled carts inside the cave itself near the west wall, behind one the great stalagmites. Leona counted two hundred steps from the opening walking parallel to the small lake. A turn there to your left shoulder and another one hundred and eighty long strides to the wall of stalagmites. She shoved a long iron deck nail to the correct one, tied a rope to it, but kept it low on the ground, without a light impossible to spot from ten feet away. The cave silent after nine days and nights of hard work and the men finally bringing the last couple of chests inside the haphazardly packed with strongboxes hiding place. But for two. She¡¯d emptied half of the smaller one at the beach and paid the crew with it, even the raiders. Forty gold pieces per raider, fifty for the crew. Barely scrapped the surface of the box, so they brought it to the cave as well and she split it evenly amongst those that knew of the spot. Fourteen pirates gathered around the piled fortune and gotten a share of over a thousand gold coins for each. One thousand, four hundred, ninety nine to be exact. They used crude, but strongly built small wooden boxes to put them in, each pirate having his own padlock and key. Some wanted to take the fortune back to the ship, but a few opted to hide it inside the cave, near the entrance. Everyone had kept away from the lake and its eerie waters, though they used it to refill their water flasks and on the final day Leona gathered everyone near the entrance for a last time.
¡°We keep our mouths shut me mates,¡± she told them, face gaunt and heavy dark circles under her emerald eyes making the young captain looking much older than her age. ¡°We finish painting the ship and sails, its repairs and then we attempt to head north towards the Fingers and Goras. Archibald did it and we shall do it as well.¡± ¡°What happens when we sail in Hardir¡¯s Port?¡± Godfrey asked her, shirt open on his muscular chest, thick white hair prominent there. ¡°People might talk.¡± ¡°They got paid, why risk Garth¡¯s wrath?¡± Leona asked. ¡°We tossed the gold overboard to save the ship. Garth shall receive¡­ how much is it?¡± she asked Corn, who had the patience to count the coins in one of the larger boxes. ¡°Around forty thousand,¡± Corn replied without batting an eyelash. ¡°Anne got more, I think,¡± Wemu hissed, silver loop on his right ear gleaming. ¡°You might want to throw a couple of more boxes at him.¡± ¡°We bring more gold back, people might get nervous,¡± Leona warned them. ¡°How much was the cargo?¡± Godfrey asked with a leer. ¡°Over a million gold Eagles,¡± Corn replied vaguely. It was way more than that actually. ¡°Another box might placate Garth¡¯s greed,¡± Hook suggested looking at her. ¡°Fine. It¡¯s important we keep our lips sealed gents,¡± Leona warned them. ¡°Why go back?¡± Voss the other Issir asked her, pursing his mouth. ¡°I need to touch known land, afore I do anything else,¡± Leona argued. ¡°Where do you want me to go Voss? How about we head for the Turtle Isles afterwards. Crew properly there and then come back¡­ what to get the rest? Is that a better plan? Can you survive, a year, a bit more on yer cut?¡± She taunted and the pirate chuckled. ¡°I could Miss Vale,¡± he replied. Fuck your shithole. ¡°Want to help me with the box?¡± Leona asked him instead and he nodded. ¡°Hook, wait outside with the others.¡± ¡°Sure Leo,¡± the aging seadog replied looking at her worried. ¡°Ye be needing more hands for it,¡± Godfrey said with a smirk. ¡°How about I stay as well captain? Wemu as well. The more the merrier, the quicker to finish.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll stay as well,¡± Troy offered, but Leona glanced at him. ¡°Yer insulting me boy,¡± she told him. ¡°I can carry me share of loot,¡± Leona added tensely and the men chuckled. Godfrey stopping next to her and whispering in her ear after the large group had left them alone. ¡°Lead the way Vale. I would but ye kept us at the entrance, so I may take a while to find the boxes on me own.¡± ¡°I was always going to show ye wher¡¯ it is ¡®Brass¡¯,¡± Leona teased with an inviting smile and Godfrey raised a thick white brow surprised. ¡°What in allhells is that thing Voss?¡± Wemu asked in his exotic accent pointing with a dagger he¡¯d gotten out to the dark. Godfrey turned his head around and glanced at the approaching Vivirah. The naked ashen-skinned Ticu¡¯s figure illuminated by their torches looking almost ethereal. ¡°Shiver me timbers,¡± Voss cursed with a grunt dumbfounded. ¡°Them dairies on her!¡± Vivirah hummed, the sweet inviting notes tingling Leona¡¯s skin. Her eyes turning hazy. ¡°Shite,¡± Voss gasped a moment later, seeing the alluring creature inches from his face and then felt sharp bony fins penetrating his sternum and ripping his heart out. The blood spraying everyone close in a gory gush and the Ticu hurling the still beating heart back towards the black lake. Voss collapsed on his knees, crooked mouth gaping and something like a hissing groan coming out. Wemu moved to attack Vivirah somehow unaffected, but she stepped away from his blade, twirled on her feet lithely and ended up on the cursing Cofol¡¯s back somehow. Wemu slashed violently with his dagger trying to get her off, but she kept dodging until she sunk her needle-like teeth on his neck, bit down hard to pierce skin and then ripped it all out, the torn veins squirting blood two meters high. The Cofol pirate growled irate and dived backwards to pin her down, but Vivirah rolled away faster than him and kicked the dagger out of his hand. Wemu put a hand on his neck to stop the bleeding, but a breath later his eyes rolled to the white and collapsed on his back in utter silence. Godfrey hadn¡¯t moved, Leona noticed and took a step back, just as Vivirah turned around with a bloody pleased smile. ¡°No sex glans,¡± she explained pointing at the corpse of Wemu and then turned her alien black eyes on the unmoving Godfrey. There was enough lust in Vivirah¡¯s eyes to make Leona a little jealous, considering what she¡¯d given up to her. But it was just a drop, drown in a bottomless sea of bile. ¡°He¡¯s mine,¡± the Ticu elucidated further and approached the sweaty Issir. She reached with a gore-covered hand, fins retracting with a sucking sound and run those very long fingers on his hairy chest, clacking her teeth excited. ¡°Make me another yes?¡± She asked the braindead Godfrey, the pirate completely consumed by the Ticu¡¯s song. Leona licked her dry lips, made a forward step on shaky legs, right hand clenching tight at her shortsword¡¯s handle and stopped right behind the preoccupied Ticu. ¡°Mmm,¡± Vivirah purred, scaly tongue lapping Godfrey¡¯s muscular neck, the pirate¡¯s face relaxed, but his eyes haunted. The Ticu paused its ministrations sensing something was amiss. ¡°Sneaky¡ª¡± Leona¡¯s blade had gone through the base of its neck and had come out of its mouth severing that scaly tongue. She¡¯d used so much force in the plunge, a gurgling in her own blood Vivirah collided with the paralyzed Godfrey, their foreheads banging hard and the pirate was shoved backwards with a nasty cut and a groan. A scowling Leona let go of her shortsword, reached for the blade she had taken from the captain¡¯s cabin and used its sharp tip to open the Ticu¡¯s throat diagonally. Vivirah dropped to her scaly knees, black blood covering her neck, chest and belly. Her hair more dark blue than black under her light and that gnarly frothy mouth opening and closing, but only a bubbling hissing sound coming out. ¡°Mess wit a Vale at yer own peril,¡± she spat angry, Godfrey¡¯s struggled voice interrupting her tirade, just when it was to become interesting. ¡°Blimey! Whatever¡­? What in Abrakas tail happened here Vale?¡± Leona turned around and stepped away from the faltering Ticu. Godfrey recoiled seeing it and made to reach for his cutlass, but stopped with a violent shudder realizing he¡¯d half a foot of blade sticking out of his sides and his burst spleen leaking. ¡°What¡­ curse ye¡­¡± he croaked hoarsely and turned to glare at Leona furious. ¡°Eh,¡± Leona griped with a grimace, smacked his hand away from the grip of his sword, reached and unsheathed it for herself. ¡°Yer fired Mister Godfrey,¡± she spat and cut him once more across the face, the heavy blade caving the gawking mutineer¡¯s skull in afore cracking it alike an egg and a small piece of bone hurled away from the top, bloody scalp sounding like a pregnant butterfly flying away inside the silent cave. Leona stumbled back, her strength drained from the effort to pull it through and dropped to her smarting knees near the dead Vivirah. The Ticu¡¯s right arm stretched out as she had tried to cut Leona from behind earlier, but failed to reach her. Abrakas wants this, she thought. The bony fins extended out of the knuckles sharp as razors. The pirate captain reached, a determined look on her gaunt face and hacked at them trying to find the joint. When she did, Leona gathered the scalpel like claws and slotted them in her waistband. Then she chopped off Vivirah¡¯s head with two savage blows. Covered in gore, severed Ticu head in hand held by the long caked in blood hair, she turned around to exit the cave, but paused seeing a small-bodied figure, child¡¯s face and mouth caked in blood, looking at her with black soulless eyes. There was grief in there aplenty though, she realized and a silent humming, much different in tone. Leona pursed her lips, mouth numb and gums hurting among all her other ailments and stared at the small Ticu in contemplating silence. Then her eyes lowered down its belly and spotted the small cock sprouting between his legs. She blinked not expecting it, but then nodded with her head remembering the freshly orphaned male Ticu mother¡¯s words. The fact she was carrying Vivirah¡¯s severed head in her hand not escaping her. ¡°Ye look after me treasure now kid,¡± Leona told him gravely. ¡°Whence I return, we¡¯ll solve dis proper.¡±
¡°Leona,¡± Hook gasped seeing her returning to the beach hours later. ¡°Allgods me lass! What happened?¡± She hurled Vivirah¡¯s head on the gravel and it bounced once, then rolled under the men¡¯s shocked murmurs until it came to a stop near the rest of Eikenport¡¯s crew, those black eyes still open and staring at each one of them in unnerving silence. ¡°A vile Ticu fell on us out of the blue,¡± Leona rustled eyeing them one by one in her turn. ¡°Brought a spring upon their cable and cut them down in a gory manner, but I stopped her dead. Avenged ¡®em afore their bodies turned cold, but her accursed black eyes witnessed all who know and shall cut down those that speak of it in their sleep.¡± The pirates and raiders staring at her ghostly, bloody visage unsure, not answering. ¡°All hail captain Leo Vale,¡± Gloom cried out, squeaky voice ringing down the desolate beach, his call answered by the sea lions watching from afar first and then one by one from the remaining crew. ¡°ARR!¡± ¡°HAIL VALE!¡± ¡°CHEERS TO THE CAPTAIN!¡± ¡°The Scourge of the Scalding Seas!¡± Bristol Hook boomed joining the cheers, a proud glint in his eye. ¡°THAT¡¯S RIGHT!¡± Weiss thundered from amidst the small crowd. The men from Eikenport joining in the cheering as well and the black ominous figure of the repaired ship casting its long shade over them as the red sun started setting. Black were its sails and its keel. Tarred its deckboards and a polished ebony its two towers. The black skull and bones flag flapping in the dusk¡¯s soft breeze in a silent salute. ¡°What should we call the ship?¡± Corn asked her later that night, while Leona was fitting the sharp talons on her maimed hand with leather strips and a repurposed glove. ¡°The Mighty Saracen,¡± she had replied after a moment¡¯s thought. The name meaning nomad in the old pirate jargon. ¡°For we roam the open seas and our home exists not in any of the Realm¡¯s ports, but within our bond and in this very ship.¡±
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 345. The Sinking Isles (1/3)
Worst that can befall ye, Is gettin¡¯ measured fer yer chains*. Most else is naught but an improvement. Welp, unless ye ¡®get a crack at Jenny¡¯s tea cup¡¯ in Deadmen¡¯s Watch, or find a Gish in yer bed. Then it¡¯s not. - Wayland Dawson, Pirate Captain. -Personal file from the Admiralty¡¯s archives in Castalor- Found guilty in Caspo O¡¯ Bor and pending execution in any of the King¡¯s cities via gibbeting after first broken on the wheel, or hanged drawn & quartered (manner left at the local magister¡¯s discretion). Wanted for excessive plundering in Castalor, Eagleport, Caspo ¡®O Bor, Parmaport, Aldenport, Aegium, Rida & Altarinport, Cediorum. Murder on Jelin. Fornicating with a noble woman in Novesium. Excessive abduction of good folk, slave trades, public exposure in Demames, hoarse language & lewd gestures, Heresy & blasphemy to the Five, escaping the King¡¯s justice in Caspo O¡¯ Bor, crops stealing, livestock stealing, skullduggery, treason, dressing as a noble without being one, impersonating a priest at Lord Elrad Van Oord¡¯s wedding & an officer of the courts in Armium. General vandalism. Born Telus Port, 149 NC ¨C Died unknown - *Getting outfitted for a Gibbet Cage, usually before a public execution
Wayland ¡®Yellow¡¯ Dawson ¡®The Corsair of Ducuril¡¯ The Sinking Isles Part I -A famous landing-
-right click to open fully- - 3rd day of First Month of 193NC Deep South in the Scalding Sea Crossing the border to ¡®Abrakas Gullet¡¯** - **The unfathomably deep, unchartered slanted triangle-like area of the Scalding Sea between its three vertices of Turtle Isles to the Far East, the Sinking Isles to the West and Split Isles in the distant far South. The Unknown Ocean starting at its base. - Thumb up a cat¡¯s bum! Wayland thought seeing the Lesia sailor energetically hacking at Corsair¡¯s Gold main mast with an axe. He¡¯d managed to sneak aboard their deck while they were busy killing the sailors on the bank¡¯s Brig. So the captain rushed to the rails grabbed a line still dangling loose from their earlier jump and did the whole thing in reverse. Dawson landed on the slippery deck, boots slipping in the brines, almost a foot of water constantly on both entangled ships decks both because they had taken on some during the continuing storm and because they were sailing without guidance to the blind. He cursed the sailor¡¯s mother, swung at him using the momentum he¡¯d gathered from the lunge intending to chop his axe wielding arm off, but caught him right when he had his axe raised and missed. Dawson¡¯s heavy blade hit the battered mast, the man turned and hack at him instead given the opportunity. ¡°HUH!¡± Dawson grunted letting go of his sword to step away, the axe¡¯s blade catching his right coat sleeve and ripping it all off along the shirt underneath it. Deskinning his arm from shoulder to the elbow in the process. ¡°Fuckin¡¯ dog!¡± The pirate captain cursed and punched him in the mouth splitting his lips and cracking a tooth with his big ring. The sailor¡¯s head snapped back, blood on his teeth and chin, cursed, spat half a tooth out and swung again with that darn axe. Dawson jumped behind the mast to escape mutilation, furious for having to deal with this himself and stooped to grab a weapon from the deck boards. He found nothing at the near, the sea raging, along with the scrap on the Brig and the sailor rounding up the mast equally furious for getting punched in the mouth. Absent other weaponry at the near and not wanting to use his small apple cleaning pocket knife, Dawson grabbed a lead line, the plummet on it still attached and jumped away from another swing of the sailor¡¯s axe. The younger man, all fit and energetic looking to corner his riper opponent towards the port side rails of the deck. Dawson whipped the line out, the lead plummet hitting the man¡¯s chest and shoving him back with a pained grunt. He recovered quickly and made to attack again, but the rope returned and thrashed his left knee. The leg bending the wrong way. He went down this time, the ship rocking this way and there made him slide to the rails and Dawson gave him a good kick as he slithered past him to help the little wanker overboard faster. Over the man went much to a tired pirate captain¡¯s delight, but he grabbed the line Dawson had dropped and falling backwards pulled at it hard, the darn thing lodging at the rails and turning rigid. Dawson run to see if the man had gone under, but found him dangling perilously over the angry waves both hands clasping at the line, body banging on the Corsair¡¯s Gold port side. He just wouldn¡¯t let go and drown like a normal person. ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake!¡± Dawson cursed and found his pocket knife. The blade on it rather small and not well-sharpened. He started working on the taut hemp rope with it, the tiny blade unfit for the task and the sailor seeing him cutting his lifeline desperately heaving to climb back up the deck. ¡°Take a darn breather!¡± A soaked Dawson grunted an eye on the sailor, the other on the small knife cutting at the rope. ¡°It¡¯ll be a while! Don¡¯t be all worrying for no plaguing reason!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t cut the rope ye piece of shit!¡± the young man growled angry, eyes gawking and veins popping in the effort to reach him. ¡°Ye scallywag be ruining me mast!¡± Dawson blasted him irate, not believing the lip on the bastard, chin clenched in a nasty grimace, his arm hurting and bleeding, but also tiring from seesawing with the small blade. ¡°Just let go and die ye motherfucker!¡± He cursed the approaching stubborn sailor. ¡°NO!¡± He cried out with a mean grimace. Dawson swung his left leg over the rail and shoved his boot on the man¡¯s face. Smashed him twice, the sailor letting go of the rope and going for his boot instead, but failing to catch it. With a desperate yelp he finally fell, his head cracking on the keel of ship and disappearing under the waves. ¡°Hah!¡± Dawson guffawed and stumbled back on the empty deck of the Corsair¡¯s Gold breathing heavy from the exertion. ¡°Boss?¡± He heard ¡®Lucky¡¯ Trifton¡¯s voice coming from the Brig over the angry ruckus of the sea. ¡°What are ye doing there?¡± ¡°Wanted to¡­¡± Dawson tried to say out of breath and pointed at the damaged but still standing mast. ¡°Abrakas curse ye¡­ how¡¯s the fight going?¡± he growled after a moment. ¡°They are barricaded abaft sir in the captain¡¯s quarters!¡± Trifton yelled. ¡°For what purpose?¡± Dawson asked. ¡°Surviving?¡± Trifton guessed. ¡°Blimey!¡± Dawson cursed and stood upright as he¡¯d almost kissed the deck in his attempt to draw breath earlier. His balance of course on the deckboards was legendary and he¡¯d managed not to tumble forward. ¡°Toss me a blasted line so I can cross over again!¡±
¡°Just come out of it!¡± Dawson barked irate at the barricaded door. ¡°What this shite be? Have ye no shame?¡± ¡°You ain¡¯t getting the ship pirate!¡± A man yelled from behind the sturdy door. ¡°I don¡¯t care about yer ship!¡± Dawson growled and wiped his face, the wound on his arm smarting and his coat ruined. ¡°We be sailing in the blind for hours!¡± ¡°Do I have your promise sir,¡± an older man asked, more refined in his manners. ¡°The men will be spared?¡± Dawson frowned and glanced at ¡®Cruel¡¯ Tack working to get a gold ring out of a severed man¡¯s thumb. Byron Vail three meters from him tossing a couple of corpses overboard and ¡®Dour¡¯ Barnet playing ¡®hack-a-hand¡¯ with a man trying to hold on to the port side deck rails. The chop sending a ring-less finger flying into the brines. ¡°Of course,¡± Dawson lied. ¡°I¡¯m not convinced sir,¡± the man replied behind the door. ¡°Yer calling me a liar?¡± Dawson grimaced at the affront. ¡°You are a pirate scum, are you not, sort of by default?¡± Huh? Eh¡­ yeah, he begrudgingly admitted to himself. ¡°Can we hack it down?¡± Dawson asked the returning Vail, his quartermaster. ¡°It¡¯s reinforced wit iron,¡± Vail replied and flinched at the scream of the man getting his hand severed at the wrist from Barnet. Dawson sighed and walked frustrated down the Brig¡¯s deck, most of the crew killed already, but they had lost a lot of good men as well, especially to the marines. He found a pirate leaning against the foremast and made to touch him, but realized the young buccaneer was nailed there with a harpoon that had gone through his stomach and out of the left side of his chest afore hitting the mast. The fact he was still breathing a blasted miracle. ¡°Can¡¯t¡­ move me hands,¡± young Alder croaked, blood dripping down his pants and deck to be washed off by the waves. ¡°We¡¯ll get ye out o¡¯ there son,¡± Dawson assured him pursing his wrinkled mouth. ¡°Thank¡­ you,¡± Alder replied. Dawson moved away with a scowl and looked to find Roscoe to send him up the lookout. He spotted him and gave the order to the lithe short sailor. ¡®Kid¡¯ Roscoe hopped from one ship to the other with ease moments later despite his age. He was about forty now, despite his moniker. Roscoe had gotten it young and it had stayed with him. Then Dawson returned to the aft of the Brig to deal with the remnants of its crew. ¡°Fire is out of the question,¡± Vail was admonishing Trifton when he arrived. Dawson sighed and stared at the door. ¡°Hey,¡± he yelled. ¡°We have no grudges wit the Bank!¡± ¡°Funny way to show it,¡± the man from earlier replied. ¡°What¡¯s the heading? I assume you haven¡¯t freed your ship yet to be here talking with me again.¡± Ye witty bastard. ¡°South is my guess,¡± Dawson hissed. ¡°How do you know?¡± ¡°Nothing but open sea for hours.¡± ¡°How many hours?¡± ¡°It¡¯s close to sunset,¡± Dawson admitted. ¡°Have the rest of the crew surrendered?¡± Dawson smacked his lips and flinched when Trifton touched a cloth on his wound.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. ¡°Apologies captain,¡± Trifton murmured. ¡°Leave it,¡± Dawson retorted. ¡°You can say they have,¡± the latter he said to the barricaded men inside the captain¡¯s quarters. ¡°You could be lying sir,¡± the infuriating officer noted. ¡°Of course I be lying ye shit for brains!¡± Dawson exploded. ¡°What did ye expect me to say? Huh?¡± ¡°Is sparing the men a nonstarter then?¡± Dawson sighed deeply too tired to continue this for much longer. ¡°Can we cut the ship away?¡± He asked Vail. ¡°Who¡¯s going to watch the door? Could be ten, or fifteen men sardined in there.¡± ¡°We have plenty of men left,¡± Dawson replied loud enough to be heard. ¡°Leave them here and the rest we¡¯ll do the job just fine.¡± They didn¡¯t have enough men, but he was going to risk it.
¡°GIVE ME A SAIL! ONE MORE ALLGODS DARNIT!¡± He barked an hour later onboard the Corsair¡¯s Gold. The two ships separated at last, hours into the night, but while they had managed to strip anything of value from the Brig, their own ship was in no condition to sail away from the wind without repairs. ¡°Ain¡¯t no way dis thing holds,¡± Vail commented eyeing the work being done on the main mast. ¡°Better to reattach the foremast to lessen the load.¡± ¡°How are we supposed to do that Byron?¡± Dawson grunted, the bandage on his right arm restricting his movement. ¡°Rope it and pray for a gentle breeze?¡± ¡°Ye have steering with the Spanker,¡± Vail insisted. ¡°Say we turn then what? Fancy a trip to Wetull? Cause its closer than anything else at the near!¡± Dawson growled spittle flying out of his mouth, not that the soaked to the bone Vail cared. ¡°Not the worst thing,¡± Vail admitted. ¡°Friendly port and all.¡± He wasn¡¯t wrong in that. ¡°LAND AHOY!¡± Roscoe yelled from the lookout. What? ¡°Where?¡± Dawson gasped and hurried down the ladder to sprint to the bow of the ship. The broken foremast tied to the port side useless, the rigging and sails barring his way, but he could navigate the deck of the Corsair with his eyes closed. Half-closed. ¡°Don¡¯t see no blasted land ¡®Kid¡¯!¡± He barked hanging outside the bowsprit from the loose shroud. ¡°SWEAR IT WAS RIGHT THERE ¡®YELLOW¡¯!¡± ¡°What do ye mean¡ª?¡± Dawson started, but stopped abruptly seeing the huge black rock coming out of the frothy waters. The bell ringing warningly raising his hairs. ¡°ASHES TURN TO PORT!¡± Dawson barked at the top of his lungs. The helmsman reacting timely and the nimble Corsair¡¯s Gold despite being battered turned violently away from the lethal reef. ¡°What in Abrakas tail?¡± Vail cursed running to the helm himself to help out. ¡°LAND!¡± Roscoe warned again hoarsely. Shit. Dawson opened his eyes to spot it from his lower position, got a barrel of brackish waters in the face and almost turned blind, but stubbornly kept his smarting bloodshot eyes open to see the treacherous rock. ¡°IT¡¯S GONE!¡± Roscoe informed them, the ship rocking this way and that, but the sea calming down and the waves lessening. This is not always a good sign when in open waters. ¡°What do ye mean it¡¯s gone?¡± Dawson barked at him irate. ¡°Tack climb up there to give me a second bloody opinion!¡± ¡°Aye Captain,¡± Tack replied and jumped on the shrouds of the main mast. ¡°YE BE PUTTING TOO MUCH WEIGHT ON IT!¡± Vail blasted him from the bridge and Dawson snarled, drown in problems and turned to go deal with the matter himself, but the massive mountain appeared again, rising out of the waters and missed them for a leg and a bit of foot. Dawson watched it scrapping past them with bloodshot, gawking eyes and a comical gnarly snarl.
¡°FURL ALL SAILS! NOW YE RASCALS!¡± He barked ten minutes later. ¡°GET THE OARS OUT!¡± Dawson run back the starboard side of the ship to check for any sprouting reefs coming at them out of nowhere, after doing the same port side. Apparently we¡¯ve found a boulder gathering in the middle of the blasted ocean. ¡°Vail, I need an explanation¡ª¡± ¡°LAND AHOY!¡± Roscoe warned afore he could finish. ¡°MORE REEFS PORT SIDE!¡± Tack yelled as well. Fuck. Bugger it arse and mouth. Fuck! ¡°Captain?¡± ¡®Red¡¯ Ashes yelped, their only northern lad of the crew. Surviving that is. ¡°I¡¯m thinkin¡¯ on it Mister Ashes!¡± Dawson retorted eyeing the landmass approaching. ¡°STARBOARD IS CLEAR!¡± Roscoe yelled. Are ye plaguing kidding me? ¡°HOW?¡± Dawson barked. ¡°TURN STARBOARD SIDE?¡± Ashes asked increasingly worried. ¡°IT WENT UNDER SIR!¡± Roscoe cried out. ¡°Rocks don¡¯t do that!¡± Dawson retorted. ¡°TURN¡ª?¡± Ashes probed again, Dawson cutting him off with a snarl. ¡°Vail grab the wheel and don¡¯t flinch it either way unless I tell ye!¡± He ordered nervously and blinked to clear his eyes again. The reef rising from the depths in silence too close for them to miss it. ¡°BRACE YERSELVES!¡± Roscoe yelled with a panicked shriek. The ship rocked violently, a shudder rattling its joints and loud crackling heard from its keel, the bang sending men and equipment tumbling the other side. Dawson grunted, dangling outside the deck from a piece of the shroud, feet kicking at the water underneath him, a boot lost to the bottom. ¡°GAAH!¡± He gurgled spitting water out and climbed up the spilled outside ropes, a small barrel smacking him on the shoulder narrowly missing his head. Cursing all gods in the pantheon the pirate captain made it back on the deck, drenched to the bone and tired as a dog after the races. He collapsed on the boards with his back breathing heavy, the men coming about slowly and calling to see if anyone had gone overboard. Other than the captain that is. ¡°LAND AHOY!¡± Roscoe warned again. ¡°BIG ONE!¡± ¡°Curse ye lineage!¡± Dawson griped and turned on an elbow to get up. A seagull whipping past his soaked drooping hat almost giving him a heart attack and sending him back down. ¡°Look,¡± Vail muttered hoarsely standing over the cursing captain and tossed him a spyglass. Dawson snatched it and stood on shaky legs, dancing forward with small steps and then backwards to the rhythm of the ship, much as the experienced Vail. He examined the nearing landmass, extending far as his eye could see and watched the waters rising to cover it slowly afore retreating again. ¡°It¡¯s going under,¡± Vail murmured. ¡°Not it¡¯s not,¡± Dawson murmured seeing the reefs sprouting out of the waters again around them, following the water¡¯s movement on the bigger landmass. ¡°It is the tides Mister Vail. High and low.¡± ¡°Where have ye seen tides doing that?¡± Vail protested. ¡°Nowhere,¡± Dawson admitted. ¡°Not in so quick a span, but we had a big storm for two days we left behind,¡± he eyed the redness on the dark sky. The moonlight helping them see further, as most of the clouds had retreated. ¡°So?¡± ¡°Rocks don¡¯t move Vail, period,¡± Dawson insisted. ¡°But if this is a much deeper spot of the ocean, or Abrakas Gullet, then the difference might be bigger than normal and a storm could stir the waters enough to drown lowlands, or the reefs, afore subsiding again. Look, there are almost no waves now.¡± The island blocking their horizon and a distant mountain clearly visible doused in red-gold light. More and more seabirds appearing above their ship that bobbed on the soft waves, touch of wind breezing at their backs. Ho! I¡¯ll be a hair on monkey¡¯s arse! ¡°Hmm,¡± Vail murmured seeing the leer forming on his mouth. ¡°It¡¯s a mirage Byron,¡± Dawson elucidated and returned the spyglass to him. ¡°You know what dis means?¡± ¡°Ahm, reefs don¡¯t move?¡± Vail chanced unsure thinking on their conversation. ¡°Aye, they don¡¯t, that wasn¡¯t¡ª¡± ¡°We be taking water sir,¡± Trifton reported interrupting him. Lucky hadn¡¯t a scratch on him from all the brouhaha. ¡°How much?¡± Dawson grunted in alarm. ¡°Eh, lads say we¡¯re sinking fast,¡± Trifton confessed pursing his mouth sadly. ¡°Open the sails,¡± Dawson growled after a small moment of utter shock, a vein throbbing in the middle of his forehead. ¡°Which¡ª?¡± ¡°ALL OF THEM!¡± He barked in a stunned Trifton¡¯s face, his jaw hurting and eyes bulging menacingly. ¡°You¡¯ll crash us ashore!¡± Vail grunted running after him as he sprinted to the bridge. ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± Dawson retorted and glared at him. ¡°Wayland¡­ captain,¡± Vail protested and eyed the approaching shores. ¡°Why?¡± Dawson sighed and hang his head, the hat falling off and splashing on the deck. He went to grab it, but a sneaky wave came, took it out of his numb fingers, danced it across to the other side and poured it over and into the sea. Monkey¡¯s arse! ¡°Damn,¡± Vail gasped seeing his good yellow hat gone. Dawson grimaced, grinding his teeth, the gums on his gold ones bleeding and after another deep breathing moment to calm himself down, he replied with a hiss. ¡°It¡¯s a particularly high tide land dis Vail,¡± the captain said tiredly. ¡°So if we want to have a ship to work wit on the morrow, assuming this shite won¡¯t stop on our account, we need to land further in.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll ruin her¡­¡± Dawson stopped him raising his injured arm. ¡°She¡¯s hurt already mate, I¡¯m trying to save her.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t even know where we are!¡± Byron griped and Dawson put a hand on his shoulder and swung him around to see the sun rising in the east sending its light on the approaching island. ¡°Look at them big trees Vail, smell the air. That¡¯s Eucalyptus forest, beyond the dancing reefs, the border to Abrakas Gullet,¡± he said hoarsely in his ear. ¡°As the old sailors tales go, hither be lie the Sinking Isles. Savvy?¡± ¡°Damn,¡± Vail repeated staring at the large landmass coming to view under the clear sky. All they needed now was a swift nice landing and a flat beach. They failed on both counts, but be that as it may it was a famous landing.
Crack. Clack. A crab was clipping at his big toe. The one on his left foot, where that boot was missing. The water was splashing him in the face, froth, seaweeds and pebbles mixed in, a rock under his back lodged between the shoulder blades hurting, but not as much as the pincher that had cut through the woolen sock and was working on the flesh. ¡°Moth¡¯r¡­¡± Dawson cursed, coughing up water. The stuff getting out of his nostrils bitter like bile and kicked the leg out to dislodge the persistent creature. He managed to free the toe, the crab hurled away in scowling silence, pincer still snapping at the air stubbornly and he pushed back on his elbows to escape the waves splashing the shore. A rocky shore this, with gravel pouring in the chasms, but better further ahead after the rocky barrier. A small pool of seawater, ten meter wide, where he¡¯d landed. Dawson had been launched over the bowsprit and into the sea, as the depth fooled them in the final approach and the Corsair¡¯s Gold had found more rocks than water near the finish line. The sandy beach he¡¯d spotted having a nasty barrier guarding it like a royal knight guards a naughty princess¡¯ virtue. ¡°Son of Castalor¡¯s harlot!¡± he grunted reaching the sands and placing his sunburned and salt covered head on it. The sun not helping and coming much later than he¡¯d have preferred. He breathed out slowly trying to gauge how injured he was and felt something riffling through his pockets first and then untying his sword sheath and lifting it off of him. Dawson cracked an eye open to see if the crab had brought back reinforcements, already boiling the darn thing in water for a fine meal in his mind. But saw nothing. The sword was missing though and light footsteps were heard near his head. The pirate captain swung around on an elbow, the arm smarting and bandage darkened in his blood and glared at the beach through blurry, bloodshot eyes. There was a kid two meters from him, wearing a loincloth, thin legs tanned to a crisp and a washed out mop of red hair on his weird face. The kid looped the large leather belt over his head and secured the sheath with Dawson¡¯s sword on his back. The cutlass too big for him. Pink hair, he decided and pushed himself up with a groan that startled the kid. He also had no nose, like someone had punched him there and it got sucked into his face, leaving two small nostrils in its place. A Gish. ¡°You live!¡± the Gish hollered and gave him the thumbs up with both hands. The thieving Gish. ¡°Give me¡­¡± Dawson croaked and coughed a mouth of phlegm out in the attempt to clear his throat. ¡°Wow,¡± the Gish gasped in disgust seeing the large splotch on the sands. ¡°Fuck is wrong wit you? Huh?¡± ¡°Nothing¡­ arr, give me the sword back kid!¡± Dawson spat and cleaned his mouth with the back of his hand. ¡°What sword?¡± ¡°The one ye have strapped on yer back, ye lousy rascal!¡± Dawson barked and the Gish jumped back scared. ¡°Tis mine!¡± ¡°Ye stole it!¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t!¡± ¡°Ye piece of arse-colored scum, I saw ye doing it!¡± Dawson growled and lunged at him, but he stumbled on the sandy beach, wearing the one boot, the other soaked and full with sea water and he got away. ¡°You were dead!¡± The Gish protested backing away. ¡°Admit it!¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t! Give me my sword,¡± Dawson warned him irate. ¡°I saved ye, so this is my reward!¡± The Gish countered. ¡°How did ye¡­ Dis is yer last warning kid,¡± Dawson grunted and the Gish narrowed his eyes, raised a thin arm and gave him the middle finger, afore bolting it down the beach. Small feet sending sand back, but fast as a gazelle on half the legs no less. ¡°Motherfucker,¡± Dawson griped standing on the beach watching the small bodied Gish running and heard light crunching coming from his right side. He twisted around panicked, but there was nothing there. Then his eyes lowered a bit more and found an even shorter Gish standing barely above his knee, long pink hair reaching her back and chewing on a lemon-like fruit soberly. ¡°What the allgods are ye?¡± Dawson asked the female Gish. She also wore a loincloth and had her small breasts uncovered. ¡°Virtix,¡± the Gish replied mid-chomping. ¡°That was Rabix that took yer blade.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Dawson rustled and looked about him spotting another Gish that looked exactly like her sitting on a rock ten meters away and covering his body with leaves. Dawson guessed he was a boy by the shorter hair. ¡°That¡¯s Vitrix,¡± Virtix explained. ¡°My brother. We¡¯re twins,¡± she elucidated and offered him her half eaten fruit. ¡°Trade?¡± ¡°Ugh?¡± Dawson gasped, in deep bewilderment and unsure on who was who. ¡°My fruit for yer scarf,¡± Virtix said calmly, then grinned unconvincingly. ¡°I don¡¯t like yellow, so ye only get half of it, which is fair. Right?¡±
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 346. The Sinking Isles (2/3)
Wayland ¡®Yellow¡¯ Dawson ¡®The Corsair of Ducuril¡¯ The Sinking Isles Part II -The Corsair of Ducuril- Episodes A through C
Episode A -A trek over Suduril- Virtix wrapped Wayland¡¯s yellow scarf around her small torso, tied it at the front and then twirled it around to wear it like a breast cover, the two long tails touching her calves. Dawson mumbled still perturbed with the encounter and took a bite out of the weird fruit. ¡°Monkey¡¯s arse!¡± he cursed and spat it right out. ¡°What be dis ungainly flavor?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not ripe enough,¡± the young Gish explained and walked towards her brother, still rubbing leaves on his skin. Dawson grimaced unsure and took another bite out of it. More bitter than lemon like. ¡°How does it look when it¡¯s ripened?¡± ¡°Sort of rose,¡± Virtix replied. ¡°Like in color?¡± ¡°In taste.¡± Great, he thought and smacked his lips. ¡°Helps disinfect wounds and cleans the bowels,¡± Virtix added. ¡°Rum will do that for ye lass,¡± Dawson informed her and eyed the small boy hiding something behind the rock. ¡°We don¡¯t have that.¡± ¡°Whiskey?¡± Dawson chanced not liking what he was hearing. Virtix narrowed her red-rimmed eyes, the core darker almost black. ¡°Any grog at all?¡± Dawson asked now worried. ¡°Grape juice.¡± ¡°Wine? Hah! Well, that¡¯ll suffice I suppose,¡± Dawson said with a leer. ¡°Hey¡­ kid,¡± he asked the male Gish. ¡°What do you have there?¡± ¡°Nothing,¡± Vitrix replied defensively. ¡°Why do you wear only one boot?¡± Huh? Why ye sneaky shit. ¡°I lost the other one,¡± Wayland replied with a snarl. ¡°Can¡¯t you put both yer feet in it?¡± Vitrix asked seemingly interested on the matter. Lad¡¯s a buffoon, Dawson decided, but still... ¡°What do you have hidden there?¡± ¡°Told you nothing.¡± ¡°I saw ye covering it with Eucalyptus leaves kid,¡± Dawson warned. ¡°Name¡¯s Vitrix!¡± ¡°Answer me query!¡± ¡°Hey!¡± his sister protested and Dawson glared at her. ¡°Stay out of it lass!¡± he grunted and Virtix opened her eyes wide and burst into a wailing cry, fat tears running down her eyes. ¡°AEEHH!¡± Horny tails ¡®n broomsticks! Dawson thought shocked and stood back. Her brother jumped from the rock, sprinted on the sand and stabbed the pirate¡¯s foot with his, bony heel nailing his hurt big toe. ¡°Hey!¡± Dawson grunted angry hopping on one leg. ¡°Do that again an¡¯ I¡¯ll rip yer ballsack out!¡± Vitrix paused, his scowl turning into a desperate grimace and he started wailing as well, joining his sister. ¡°EAAHHHM!¡± ¡°AEEEEHH!¡± Hairy rat be sleepin¡¯ in the rum barrel! Dawson cursed in horror taken aback by their joined outburst of distress. ¡°Stop it, allgods darnit!¡± He yelled at them, but they didn¡¯t. ¡°Let¡¯s make a trade!¡± Wayland decided grinning manically. ¡°LOOK! I¡¯ll trade ye the boot!¡± Vitrix stopped crying and stared at him. ¡°Really?¡± he sniffled. ¡°Sure!¡± Dawson said and stared at the bawling girl creature. ¡°We be friends! Hehe¡­ right lads?¡± ¡°For what?¡± Vitrix asked. Little shit has recovered pretty fast. ¡°What you got hidden under ¡®em leaves,¡± Dawson retorted and pursed his lips. Reached in his pockets found a cotton hankie and wiped Virtix¡¯s face with it a bit. Made to retrieve it but the now calmer Gish put a small hand on it and stopped him. Dawson let go of the hankie, she quickly hid in her nonexistent bosom. ¡°You sure?¡± her brother asked. ¡°Yep,¡± Dawson replied gruffly. The boy went to his spot, rummaged through his leaves pile and brought back the pirate captain¡¯s missing boot. Wayland blinked not expecting it, puffed out a little exasperated and then said in a non-threatening voice. ¡°Dis is me boot kid.¡± ¡°No it isn¡¯t,¡± the little brat had the audacity to argue standing back. Dawson sighed. ¡°You can¡¯t¡­ the boots are too big for ye me lad,¡± he offered reasonably. ¡°My feet are as big as yours!¡± Vitrix blasted him affronted. ¡°What are you implying recently drowned mister?¡± his sister asked casually. Dawson nodded with his head seeing where this was going. ¡°Fine,¡± he decided. ¡°Take the boots lad. But I want to head back to me ship now.¡± ¡°Haha!¡± Vitrix guffawed and waited eagerly for Dawson to remove his other boot. He then proceeded to wear them both on his small Gish feet. Took a step in them with difficulty, then a second. The third stride failed, the tip of the boot hitting the ground and he planted his face on the sand with a shriek. Well, at the least the stupid part is real. ¡°Your ship is that way,¡± his sister informed a bemused Dawson. The pirate sighed deeper this time, his eyes on the boot wearing Gish that rolled on the ground, jumped up, tanned face covered in sand, afore he started coughing and spitting out what he¡¯d just gulped down. ¡°I¡¯ll just keep on the sand,¡± Dawson decided and started walking down the beach avoiding the rocky edges. He was going to get that crab, but not with his toes out.
The Corsair¡¯s Gold was in one piece, but there was a three meter chasm on its port side. Near the stern side of its keel. It had slid on the sand for twenty meters drawn by its sails and now lay slanted on its starboard flank like a dead giant whale. The image hurting his soul. Byron Vail, the ship¡¯s quartermaster for twenty years raised his head seeing Dawson approaching with the two young Gish siblings in tow. He rushed towards them, relief evident on his weather-beaten face and paused seeing the boy taking another spectacular tumble, his fourth in the five minutes they had strolled up the rocky beach, as the sand part was were Dawson had ended up. The waters much higher then, had dragged the pirate captain away. ¡°Wayland¡­ captain, we thought the waves had taken ye,¡± Vail said hoarsely grabbing Dawson¡¯s sleeved arm, his eyes on the two unassuming Gish. ¡°Praise be Vile Abrakas.¡± ¡°Anyone¡­ gotten any ideas?¡± Dawson asked eyeing the remnants of his crew. ¡°Not really,¡± Vail rustled. ¡°Truth be talking ¡®Yellow¡¯, no one wants to step up considering the situation.¡± ¡°What of it?¡± Dawson grunted with a pained grimace his feet burning, which forced him to hop on the rough gravel every second word. ¡°The ship is still in one piece ye rascals!¡± He bellowed and the crew slowly stood up hearing his voice. A precious few cheered even. ¡°We¡¯ll patch her up and be sailing back soon!¡± Dawson barked. ¡°The Realm thinks we¡¯re dead, but we got out of the worst of it right?¡± This got a few more nods, mostly unenthusiastic. ¡°I¡¯ll need a pair of boots¡­¡± Dawson started, but paused to glance at the pink-haired duo. ¡°We got any¡­ smaller sizes?¡± ¡°From the corpses¡­ washed ashore, is yer meaning?¡± Vail asked eyeing the two Gish with a frown. Vitrix placed a large leaf on his forehead and kept it there with his hand, while his sister smiled innocently at the hardened pirate. ¡°Aye,¡± Dawson replied. ¡°Ehm, these are siblings. Found them on the beach. They are local¡­ Gish. Natives let¡¯s say,¡± he said louder for the crew that had started gathering around them after they spotted the two aliens. ¡°Now seeing as we be a friendly bunch,¡± he continued. ¡°We¡¯ll seek agreement wit ¡®em natives and secure supplies to repair the ship.¡± ¡°Umm,¡± Roscoe said, a large cut on his forehead badly stitched. ¡°Aye,¡± Trifton agreed. ¡°Good luck getting supplies from ¡®em kids,¡± Barnet scoffed. ¡°Don¡¯t be an idiot and a pessimist,¡± Dawson admonished him. ¡°Be one of the two, not both.¡± ¡°Here are the boots Captain, ¡®Bad¡¯ Penny said and gave him the soaked pair. ¡°Kid¡­¡± Dawson started turning to the brother. ¡°Vitrix,¡± his sister reminded him. ¡°Tricks she said?¡± someone wondered. ¡°Brazen lassie. That¡¯ll get ye blinded in Armium.¡± With a hot iron was his meaning. ¡°Here is a better pair for you,¡± Dawson said louder to cover the murmurs of the crew. ¡°Trade me the old pair for these.¡± Vitrix thought about it crossing his thin arms on his chest, the leaf dropping from his forehead and floating to the ground. The moment it touched it, he nodded. ¡°I accept,¡± the male Gish said somberly. Ye little critter. ¡°Much obliged,¡± Dawson retorted and gestured at a weirded out Vail that everything was fine.
¡°So¡­¡± Dawson started ten minutes later, the sun almost at midpoint on the sky and the boots back on his feet, minus the left sock. Most of the crew gathered around the two Gish and examining them with curiosity. They had seen a Gish in Lord¡¯s Burrow of course, but he was older and taller. Not anywhere near tall for a person. A tall kid perhaps, or half a human. ¡°Ahm,¡± he paused again to gather his thoughts. ¡°How many are we here then?¡± ¡°Vail, Barnet,¡± Trifton started looking about him. ¡°Roscoe and Ashes. Tack and the Bills,¡± that would be Bill Jung and Bill Lurd, no relation. ¡°Yerself, Clive and Penny. ¡®Unfunny¡¯ Zander and Sawyer.¡± ¡°Sawyer made it?¡± Dawson asked. He was the ship¡¯s carpenter. ¡°He¡¯s up on the ship,¡± Trifton elucidated. ¡°What about Adler?¡± Dawson probed remembering the young pirate. ¡°Killed I think,¡± Vail said. ¡°Was living last I saw him,¡± Dawson noticed. ¡°Eh, I don¡¯t remember him on the ship boss,¡± Trifton replied. ¡°He was on the Brig!¡± Dawson growled. He breathed out slowly. ¡°Anyone remembered to check on him?¡± Nobody had given their guilty expressions. He sighed and stared at his boots for a moment in pensive silence. ¡°Right then,¡± Dawson said and rubbed some of the dirt off his face. ¡°Lass, is there a city at the near we can talk about supplies?¡± Virtix stared at him perturbed. ¡°A town?¡± Dawson chanced. ¡°Village will suffice.¡± ¡°We gather mostly over the other side of Surudil,¡± the small Gish said. Hah, this backwards island has a name. Who would have thunk it? ¡°In a settlement?¡± Dawson probed looking to find common ground. ¡°Everyone has a place if he can make it,¡± she explained. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ well, I stand mildly befuddled and parts puzzled by yer response,¡± Dawson replied. ¡°Am I to assume dis famed gathering of homesteads is at the near?¡± ¡°Over Surudil,¡± she replied and pointed with a dainty hand. Dawson and the pirates guised at the mountain range extending to the south in thoughtful silence. ¡°Surudil is a mountain?¡± Dawson probed non-threateningly, despite being on the verge of yelling at her. She nodded shyly. Bless yer heart. ¡°Eh, we are in for a short walk it seems gents,¡± Dawson decided. ¡°How far is the settlement?¡± ¡°Two nights. Three,¡± she corrected herself unsure. A brief journey. ¡°Lad?¡± Dawson probed looking at the marching about in his new boots Vitrix. The boy raised his hand, five fingers extended. Paused, then added another two. A casual expedition. The pirate captain smacked his lips, stared at his crew and they stared at him, a couple of them grimacing, or furrowing their brows troubled. ¡°Vail,¡± Dawson said. ¡°You stay with Sawyer and built us a camp here away from the water. Keep as many as you can to fix the ship with what we have available. I¡¯ll take Trifton, Barnet and Zander and travel to this settlement. Chop some of those trees down on our way to pick up on the return,¡± he paused and glanced at the Gish watching them. ¡°It¡¯s a stupid query, but there are horses available on this rock yes?¡± Virtix stared at her brother, who apparently while stupid knew stuff and he shrugged his small shoulders, skin turning a nasty red color from the sun, despite his efforts to ¡®oil¡¯ it. ¡°Like Garix¡¯s donkeys,¡± he explained to her. There ye go. ¡°Yes,¡± his sister replied. ¡°We shall buy horses and use them to carry¡ª¡± Dawson continued turning to his crew, the brother interrupting him. ¡°You can¡¯t.¡± ¡°Kid, of course I can. It¡¯s how market works. I¡¯ll pay for them,¡± Dawson explained. ¡°There are no horses,¡± Vitrix argued. ¡°Didn¡¯t ye just say they are like¡­?¡± Dawson stopped, puffed out exasperated and stared at the sky for a moment. ¡°No horses. But there are donkeys right?¡± ¡°Garix¡¯s donkeys,¡± Vitrix agreed. ¡°We shall buy Garix¡¯s donkeys and carry them here on the return,¡± Dawson finished at last worn out and at the end of his tether. Episode B -Garix¡¯s donkeys- Seven days ¨Cand nights- later Dawson, Trifton, Barnet and Zander came down the mountain path of Surudil Peaks along its flatten plateau-like rises and reached the other side of Ducuril Island. The name of the place they had landed. The journey started bad for the unaccustomed to marches pirates, but they found a rhythm a couple of days in and even came to appreciate some of the walking, especially the view and clean dry air. There were trees on the way and they cut some down the first day, but decided to focus on reaching civilization first and abandoned the practice. After four days on the road, the two Gish who were very energetic at the beginning had to be carried on the pirate shoulders, too exhausted and weak to continue. Trifton took the brother and Dawson carried Virtix on his shoulders, her reedy legs dangling on his chest. They made one more stop per day, since they carried large haversacks, on top of the arms and smaller bags, but still managed good time. With all its oddness, the island and the lake-like water expanse beyond it was really pastoral in its beauty from up high. There were Eucalyptus trees and massive Kapok. Wild fruit trees starting lower in the valley and corn fields, with cabbage, cauliflowers and broccoli gardens in crude farms. There was also no town, but clusters of dwellings not always close to each other, but never too far apart either. They spread out near the water and the mountain¡¯s base without any plan, or visible roads. Whatever planning was implemented though was clearly defined in a rustic way, with grass sprouting at the corners, or blocking alleys. Some houses made of stone, others out of wood, or even reeds. Goats roaming about and donkeys the Gish used to carry heavy stuff and produce.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°How were ye going to return?¡± Dawson asked Virtix while taking a breather, the light female staying on his shoulders greatly weakened in the journey. ¡°Swim probably, around¡­¡± she replied playing with his greying hair. ¡°I think your hair is falling here,¡± she added. ¡°I wear a hat,¡± Dawson griped. ¡°Where is it?¡± ¡°I lost¡­ eh, twas a fine yellow hat,¡± he said and had some water, then gave some to the Gish. Several springs along the way with clear water coming out of the rocks had helped them refill their flasks, as what they had saved from the ship didn¡¯t last. The crew had managed to get two large rum barrels out of the holds and one smaller with whiskey and Dawson had brought some of that with him along the water. They all had. ¡°Yellow is not that great of a color,¡± Virtix murmured, still wearing his scarf. ¡°Looks good on ye young lady,¡± Dawson teased her and she chuckled, which made him smile as well. The rest of the way they made it with ease, the day cooler on this side of the mountain.
A Gish with her hair braided in an elaborate bun carrying a bucket with water, almost dropped it seeing them stroll in the rather expansive settlement. No walls guarding it, though some of the Gish were armed with bows and smaller blades. They paused to stare at them walking by, some raising their hands in a strange salute, index and thumb extended pointing upwards, a couple of younger ones using the longer finger only in a less hospitable gesture. The small group stopped near the fenced stable like structure that had several donkeys of various ages roaming about, after what was a couple of hours passing through the clusters of dwellings. The farm large enough to be considered an estate with none of Jelin¡¯s garlands. The building itself made out of crudely cut limestone and crooked on its left side, a balcony with no rails having a barrel on it. An older looking Gish getting out of it and jumping from the three meter tall lip to greet them. The aged Gish landed with a wince, thinning washed-out pink hair long and a girthy cock dangling between his legs. He stood there with his thighs parted, hands on his hips as if to dry everything with the soft breeze¡¯s help, but seeing the strangers a little apprehensive to his immodesty whipped his head to the right and barked with a strong voice for his lungs. The Gish¡¯s head barely reached Dawson¡¯s belly despite being on the chubby side. ¡°Larinx!¡± ¡°Aye!¡± A female barked from inside the house. ¡°Fuck ye want?¡± ¡°Bring me a towel dear,¡± Garix -apparently- said with a reassuring smile in an understandable Common dialect. ¡°We have visitors.¡± ¡°Did he say larynx?¡± Trifton asked behind Dawson¡¯s back. ¡°What manner?¡± Larinx yelled in her croaky voice and came out of the large house towel in hands. Almost Garix¡¯s size, also plump especially at the hips and looking much younger than him. Thankfully wearing a hemp tunic. ¡°It¡¯s my daughter¡¯s daughter,¡± Garix explained taking the towel and using it to dry his body, rubbing thoroughly between his legs afore wearing it like a skirt. ¡°Have her learning the ropes,¡± he added and cleared his throat, Larinx standing numb next to him, her mouth hanging open from utter shock. ¡°Name¡¯s Garix.¡± ¡°Arr,¡± Dawson started, himself thoroughly bewildered at the start of their meeting and after grimacing trying to appear friendly added. ¡°We be¡­ travelers from Jelin, stranded onto yer far shores.¡± Garix raised a hand and used his index finger to scratch his nostrils. Larinx still standing with her mouth open and completely still next to him. ¡°It¡¯s a continent really,¡± Dawson continued and checked at the setting sun. Damn, we be walking about for hours in this haphazardly constructed settlement, he thought. He pointed north towards the mountain range. ¡°That way, beyond the sea.¡± Garix nodded still cleaning his nostrils. ¡°We be looking for supplies and mounts to carry them. Help to get back to our home,¡± Dawson explained. ¡°Where¡¯s that?¡± Garix asked. ¡°Just told ye.¡± ¡°You¡¯re living on a continent?¡± ¡°An island near it,¡± Dawson hissed. ¡°Wow,¡± Larinx gasped. ¡°They are humans! Damn. Are you going to eat the kids?¡± ¡°Of course not!¡± Dawson retorted not believing his ears. ¡°Oops, wrong species. Humans don¡¯t that¡¯s right,¡± Larinx grumbled blushing. ¡°Yep,¡± Garix agreed eyeing them. ¡°At first I thought they weren¡¯t humans out of shock, but now I gotten used to the height, I can see it.¡± ¡°What else could we have been?¡± Zander asked not amused. ¡°Imperials, not dwarfs obviously haha,¡± Garix smiled at that, his teeth on good condition. ¡°We have all manner of stuff come out of the sea.¡± ¡°A giant came once on a whale,¡± Larinx added in her croaky voice. ¡°That was part of him dear, inside a whale-shark,¡± Garix corrected. ¡°Bafix embellishes stuff.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± Dawson asked. ¡°An elder. Pfft, fifty years more don¡¯t make a Gish wiser,¡± Garix retorted. ¡°I¡¯ve raised over ten thousand donkeys mister¡­¡± ¡°Dawson,¡± Wayland said. ¡°Dough was yer father?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s my surname. Me first name is Wayland,¡± Dawson grunted. ¡°Ah, well that¡¯s even weirder,¡± Garix decided. ¡°Still I¡¯ve heard of the practice.¡± ¡°Rudix does it as well,¡± Larinx added. ¡°The two names thing.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± Dawson snapped before he could control himself. ¡°The blacksmith on Grilix Isle,¡± Garix explained. ¡°We live there,¡± Virtix murmured. ¡°For a couple of years now.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Dawson decided that was enough. ¡°Mister Garix,¡± ¡°Yes?¡± Garix interrupted him. ¡°We be looking to acquire some of yer donkeys,¡± Dawson continued through his teeth. ¡°Five cabbages for a week per animal,¡± Garix replied readily. ¡°Eh, is there nothing else we can offer?¡± The pirate captain grunted. Garix looked at his kin. ¡°Go bring me my rates scroll dear.¡± ¡°I want to watch the strangers!¡± She protested and Garix scowled at her, urging her with bushy eyebrows to get going without embarrassing him, afore turning to offer a merchant¡¯s smile to the tired pirates. ¡°Out of the top my head,¡± he started. ¡°It¡¯s a sack of cornflower, two jugs of grape juice¡­ ehm, let me check,¡± Garix grabbed the tattered leather vellum from Larinx and scrolled down quickly pursing his lips. ¡°Mmm, ah yes¡­ a bag of potatoes always per and for a week of usage, or a bucket of ripe lime fruit. None of that bitter stuff, I shit whilst walking for days if I eat it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s good for you!¡± Virtix protested above his head. ¡°I give a silver, or four to buy one outright,¡± Dawson countered, not to let the conversation venture down smellier paths. ¡°A silver ingot?¡± ¡°Coin.¡± ¡°Haha, yeah we had some of those as well,¡± Garix nodded. ¡°Some folk even gather it, ayup. But what do I¡­ fine, you can have one donkey for the silver coins, but the rest you¡¯ll have to trade in the standard rate.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a farmer mate.¡± ¡°True. But one donkey won¡¯t be enough to fix your ship,¡± Garix replied. ¡°You see I¡¯ve seen some wrecks in my days and the Elders were there when the big fleet arrived. Those were some large boats I tell ye. How big is yours?¡± Dawson grimaced. ¡°I¡¯ll see to get you the rest. I¡¯ll be back for that donkey.¡± ¡°Good,¡± Garix said. ¡°Nice talking to you human. You are like the twentieth I have conversed with, not counting the dead ones haha. We have some of those each year as well.¡± Episode C -Across Ilvilix- ¡°We should look for Derix,¡± Virtix offered whilst they camped near a farmhouse close to the lake. No hostels, or taverns in the traditional sense on Ducuril and while they got some offers to sleep in some of the houses, Dawson didn¡¯t trust the stealing natives. Plus they were a large group with nothing of value to trade. That is nothing of value willing to trade. ¡°Where is he?¡± Dawson rustled head resting on his haversack. ¡°Near Linx I suppose, or out hunting,¡± Virtix replied, the siblings gathered up between him and Trifton. ¡°She probably follows Ubix though. He is considering joining a band and travel the isles.¡± It might be a short tour. Might even need a strong donkey to carry all the potatoes they¡¯ll pay him at the fairs. ¡°How many siblings are there?¡± Dawson asked, hearing the sound of a flute from afar playing an exotic tune, but with familiar notes sprinkled in. ¡°Two more boys and a girl,¡± Virtix hummed the music of the song. ¡°Two girls, but our bigger sister left years ago.¡± ¡°How did she leave?¡± ¡°With a human that lived here for years, my brother knows more,¡± she replied a sadness in her voice. ¡°Near where your ship has crashed.¡± ¡°That why ye went there?¡± Dawson murmured. ¡°Rabix said he knew where it was, the route through the sea.¡± Rabix be looking for plunder and fools to carry it more like. ¡°Is he around?¡± ¡°Rabix lives with his family east of the Suludir,¡± Virtix said. ¡°Mostly. But visits here.¡± ¡°Let me venture a guess,¡± Dawson snarled. ¡°He lied.¡± ¡°Maybe. Maybe not.¡± Eh, me lass. Ye better open yer eyes to the rascals of the realm. ¡°What about yer mother?¡± ¡°When the waters rise you need to get away from the small pond near the shores,¡± Virtix explained. ¡°Sometimes tired Gish fall asleep, or are busy gathering food. Swimming. Abrakas creatures come in then and they take you.¡± Dawson grimaced. ¡°Where¡¯s the father?¡± ¡°Gish mate when it is their time to procreate for it may not come again for years. Usually it does though for three or four years in a row,¡± Virtix said and Trifton cleared his throat apparently not sleeping. ¡°So she didn¡¯t know and they rarely come forward.¡± I bet they are not. ¡°It happens¡­¡± Trifton added. ¡°Mean to say it¡¯s common on Jelin as well lass.¡± ¡°We get it ¡®Lucky¡¯,¡± Dawson admonished him. ¡°How old is your brother?¡± Zander asked, apparently not sleeping as well. ¡°Two and twenty,¡± Vitrix replied. ¡°Ubix is a year younger. Linx is nineteen almost.¡± ¡°We¡¯re fourteen,¡± Virtix added. ¡°Yer mother been havin¡¯ a lot of bouts of fertility,¡± Barnet commented. Fuck¡¯s sake. It seems no one is sleeping, Dawson thought frustrated. ¡°All right that¡¯s enough,¡± he ordered gruffly to nip it in the bud. ¡°Try to get some shuteye. What in Abrakas tail is that music? Do people not sleep here?¡±
Linx was tall for her age. Face rounder and her hair caught loosely at the nape. A sass about her that belonged to an older woman, but the young Gish was on her way there. But for the nose-less face that made them all look a bit silly, Dawson would have called her very pretty, in a dollish way. The skirt tunic she and the ¡®more¡¯ adventurous older females favored scandalously short, her simple leather string sandals riding high on her fit calves. ¡°What are you?¡± She taunted seeing them approach a hut she was staying in without a door, or windows. Linx had a fish in her hand and was cleaning it with a small blade. ¡°They are friends Linx!¡± Virtix cried happy and run to her bigger sister. ¡°Look at my yellow scarf!¡± She made a twirl around to show her. Linx kept her large eyes on them. ¡°What did ye trade for it?¡± Linx asked. ¡°It was a gift,¡± Dawson grunted not liking her implication. ¡°We watched them over the return from beyond Suludil.¡± ¡°What were they doing there?¡± ¡°I think ye know,¡± Dawson retorted. Linx nodded. ¡°Clean the fish miss Virtix, get your brother to help you,¡± she told her and gave her the knife. ¡°I want this back, cleaned. Boots are yours?¡± She asked her brother next. ¡°Aye!¡± He snapped and marched to the hut. ¡°Help yer sister,¡± Linx said. ¡°Or you¡¯re not eating,¡± she then turned to them again. ¡°If you didn¡¯t bring your own food, you won¡¯t eat as well.¡± Wow. ¡°Well then,¡± Dawson decided, not wanting to get in a shouting match with a hormonal teenager, or the Gish equivalent. ¡°Seeing as the family is reunited, we best be going lads. We got work ahead of us.¡± ¡°What work?¡± Linx asked and went to the nearby shore to clean her hands. Trifton pursing his mouth when she sat nimbly on her heels to do it. ¡°Our ship has crashed on your¡­ ehm, island country,¡± Dawson replied glaring at his First Mate. ¡®Dour¡¯ Barnet shook his head. ¡°Trouble came a-knocking,¡± he predicted. ¡°How big?¡± Linx asked sounding interested and stood up, using the excess water to clean her well-proportioned legs. ¡°It¡¯s a¡­ big ship, but not the biggest,¡± Trifton blurted out in a bout of honesty and Dawson all but smacked him once upside the head. ¡°Hmm,¡± Linx hummed and circled around them curious. Her eyes on their weapons and clothes. Pausing to stare at Zander¡¯s large red hat, the leather belt on it covered with multicolored seashells. Zander took a step back, when she came into his personal space, walking much more feminine all of a sudden. ¡°I like red,¡± Linx purred and Zander cleared his throat, Dawson sniffing the scent of a wet cat all of sudden. ¡°Listen¡­ lass,¡± Dawson cut her off. ¡°We need to be going now.¡± ¡°Where?¡± Linx asked. ¡°Back to Jelin.¡± ¡°Will you make it?¡± She probed casually and turned to look at him. ¡°Aye, I believe we will. Tis a good crew, with a better Captain,¡± Dawson said, bragging instinctively, but telling the truth. ¡°My sister is on Jelin¡­ probably. Have you ever seen a Gish there?¡± She asked and approached him. Dawson looked down in her comely face. ¡°I have. A male. Heard of females as well, but that don¡¯t mean yer sister made it. Sorry lass.¡± He knew what she was thinking. Linx touched a heavy necklace she wore under her tunic, small breasts perking up when she got it out. Long and it dangled loose between them. The pearls on it a white-golden color, big as grapes and worth a fortune. ¡°Shite,¡± Trifton blurted out, whether for the pearls or the hard nubs poking at the fabric Dawson didn¡¯t know. He gulped down, his mouth dry. ¡°Where did ye get dis?¡± he asked her hoarsely. ¡°Jinx gathered them for us afore she left,¡± Linx replied hypnotically, a finger tracing the pearls one by one. ¡°She is good at finding precious things.¡± ¡°How much has she gathered?¡± ¡°How much for a place in yer ship?¡± Linx countered. Eh, damn it. Dawson stood back and sighed. ¡°You can¡¯t come wit us lass.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Linx argued and it was ¡®Unhappy¡¯ Zander who answered pensively. ¡°Not a good life for a girl,¡± he said. ¡°We¡¯re¡­ buccaneers me lass,¡± Dawson explained with a grimace. ¡°An unforgiving bunch.¡± ¡°Pirate lords,¡± Linx said thoughtfully. ¡°No lords amongst us I¡¯m afraid,¡± Dawson admitted. ¡°Are you not a Captain?¡± Linx probed. ¡°Aye, still the answer is the same,¡± Dawson replied and glanced at the twins cleaning the fish carefully. ¡°Best ye stay wit yer siblings and keep ¡®em pearls hidden.¡± ¡°They are trinkets, not that valued here,¡± Linx replied with a cat¡¯s grin. ¡°And they are old enough to take care of themselves. Gish learn to swim, or die at a young age Captain.¡± ¡°Name¡¯s Dawson,¡± Wayland replied sternly. ¡°And me answer stands.¡±
Two hours later and after walking some of the length of the massive lake, the pirates stopped near a cluster of huts to ask for produce to trade for the donkeys. A Gish accepted a silver for a cabbage, a scarf for two and a gold ring for a sack of potatoes. It was the worst trade Dawson had ever made and felt violated at the meagre returns. ¡°Welp, I say we take the one donkey and eat the potatoes,¡± Trifton offered, everyone hungry from all the walking of the past days and the little food they had. ¡°We can drag a log behind it.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll take us double the time to return,¡± Dawson grunted. ¡°With the animals we will make it faster and use them to bring supplies.¡± ¡°We really don¡¯t have what to trade to them, unless we start hunting water boars boss,¡± Trifton argued. ¡°I¡¯m thinking on it mister Trifton!¡± Dawson barked and saw a Gish wearing boots approaching them. He blinked. It was the little brother. ¡°What is it little one?¡± Dawson asked the kid. ¡°Linx went over Ilvilix,¡± Vitrix said somberly. ¡°The lake? What¡¯s on the other side of it?¡± Dawson asked curious. ¡°Terbville Isle,¡± he replied. ¡°Where old Silix lives.¡± ¡°So?¡± Dawson queried not familiar with the name. ¡°That¡¯s not the point,¡± the small Gish argued. ¡°Someone said more pirate scum have landed across North Egg¡¯s shores and she went to talk with them.¡± Dawson snorted not believing a word out of his mouth. ¡°Where¡¯s yer sister?¡± ¡°She went to get Derix. They probably left after her already,¡± he explained. ¡°I thought of calling you.¡± ¡°Listen kid. There are no other pirates other than me crew¡­¡± Dawson paused midsentence and stared at his colleagues. Barnet sighed pensively feeling vindicated. ¡°Ye don¡¯t think?¡± the pirate captain started. ¡°It¡¯s not out the realm of possibility Yellow,¡± Trifton said with a shrug. ¡°And it begins,¡± Barnet prophesized. ¡°What ye be implying?¡± Dawson growled and glared at his dour face. ¡°First it was the princess,¡± Barnet griped and Zander nodded, although he favored Anne more than anyone else other than Dawson. ¡°Ye have a ¡®damsel in distress¡¯ syndrome Captain.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no such thing!¡± Dawson blasted him. ¡°Anne might get yer sister and family a place where she can grow the land, live like a normal person!¡± ¡°Helping Anne has us stranded in the arse end of nowhere, two thirds of the crew killed,¡± Barnet retorted with a scowl and Dawson backhanded him abruptly, his big gold ring splitting his lip. The pirate stumbled back with a groan, but stood upright slowly and spat down a blotch of blood. ¡°The truth needs no arm twisting to be believed Yellow,¡± he added hoarsely. Arggh! Dawson grimaced furious, his eyes on the sun and then at the peaceful waters of the strange lake. Then he looked down at his knee and the expectant pirate-boot wearing little Gish. Allgods darnit. She¡¯s gonna get herself killed, or worse. ¡°We need¡­ there might be supplies on that Brig,¡± he grunted, face flustered and not liking the way Barnet was eyeing him. Knew the man for fifteen years, but comes a time where even good friendships sour. ¡°So, perhaps we need to get over there and see we pay ¡®em Bank motherfuckers a visit!¡± Trifton nodded and stared at the large body of water thoughtfully. ¡°How are we going to do that Captain?¡± he asked and Dawson made to answer, but out of the reeds came a bountiful, pretty Gish and stopped him dead. Short skirt leaving fit tanned thighs bare, a tight top with wooden buttons covering the upper portion of her body. Tight because of the amount of flesh hidden of sorts underneath and not the absence of fabric. Naossis swollen dairies! Dawson thought stunned ogling his eyes, the left gawking more than the right as the grimace had come instinctively and caught him unawares. ¡°That¡¯s Minix,¡± the little Gish said reverently. ¡°She¡¯s a healer and Silix¡¯s daughter.¡± Apparently Silix was too silly to dodge his responsibilities. Dawson blinked, the long haired minx paused unsure seeing the large pirates barring her way and then smiled. Her hair a striking hot-pink, not as common in the settlement. What she lacked in the nose department Minix had in abundance everywhere else. Nothing mini about her where it mattered the most. ¡°Here we be falling in a faraway land,¡± a still bleeding Barnet started pensively. ¡°Our stories lost to the¡ª¡± ¡°Put a lid on yer mouth!¡± Dawson barked and immediately smiled at the surprised mature female. ¡°Milady¡­¡± he started and she chuckled throatingly. Trifton pursed his lips staring at her intently. ¡°Will you swim across?¡± She asked. ¡°You can follow me. It¡¯s a quick journey.¡± ¡°How quick?¡± Dawson croaked not really favoring swimming, but willing to give a try with her. ¡°A couple of nights, days¡­ as you people say.¡± ¡°You know of us?¡± Dawson grunted. She shrugged her shoulders, two large golden loops on her dainty ears, visible through her thick mane. ¡°My father saw the fleet come and he was there when most of them left,¡± Minix replied. ¡°A race uprooted looking for a new home,¡± the eloquent pretty Gish continued and pointed a finger on Zander. An Issir. ¡°I guess they made it there.¡± She is talking of Lord Reinut, Dawson thought thoroughly befuddled, which was turning out to be common on the Isles. ¡°I can¡¯t swim,¡± Zander said to get it out of the way interrupting his reverie. ¡°And I¡¯m reluctant to learn.¡± ¡°Take Velix¡¯s raft across,¡± Minix offered and walked to get past them. She paused to check if they were following her a moment later and everyone was like automatons. Vitrix stumbling a couple of times, the smaller boots still too big for him, until Trifton picked him up easily and slotted him over his head. ¡°You¡¯ll need something to trade. Velix loves grape juice,¡± she revealed with a lewd wink. Might have been innocent even, but Dawson didn¡¯t think it was and felt all warm up inside. He hadn¡¯t felt like that since before ¡®finding¡¯ Corsair¡¯s Gold. ¡°Will he have rum instead, or whiskey?¡± He asked in a hoarse manner. Minix licked her plump lips unsure, so Wayland gave her his flask and she sipped at the black liquid, her throat moving in an alluring manner. ¡°This is?¡± she asked him a little flushed. ¡°Black whiskey,¡± Dawson rustled. ¡°Keep it, give him the other stuff,¡± she decided and with a pout she returned his metallic flask. ¡°You know of rum?¡± Trifton asked. ¡°My father had tasted it a couple of centuries it must be now,¡± Minix replied. ¡°Knocked him out for a week, but it might have been a stronger sort than yours.¡± ¡°Trifton give me yer flask,¡± Dawson grunted. ¡°Oh, come on Yellow,¡± he protested. ¡°Take Barnet¡¯s, he¡¯s already pissed at you.¡± ¡°Which is why I don¡¯t,¡± Dawson explained. ¡°Now hand me the darn rum flask!¡± It turned out Velix¡¯s raft was moored not a hundred meters back from where they had come from, hidden behind the tall reeds and a cloud of mosquitos. It had a crude wooden label stabbed on the muddy ground, too short and ineligibly written to be seen, or read from anyone. The raft¡¯s name equally unoriginal. Across Ilvilix, the label said in common, which was also the name of Velix¡¯s raft. Far as searches go, it was the easiest of the whole ordeal.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 347. The Sinking Isles (3/3)
Lice covered black chimpanzee be hangin¡¯ from a cannabis tree Nutmegs black as tea be danglin¡¯ beneath a black schlong facing a banshee. A wicked man, in his wicked ways, be doing wicked things - Lewd pirate shanty Unknown date -
Wayland ¡®Yellow¡¯ Dawson ¡®The Corsair of Ducuril¡¯ The Sinking Isles Part III -The Corsair of Ducuril- Episodes D through G
Episode D -A night on the lake- Velix and his family of three, two boys and a female were eating fish soup on their raft. The vessel impressive in size at twelve meters in length and width, with sturdy rails made out of wicker, crude cots and even tables with seats, shaded by a rattan roof that covered half of it. It was obvious Velix lived there as well. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s not a good time,¡± the boatman cut them off rudely immediately upon seeing them. ¡°What are you talking about Velix?¡± Minix asked him, waving at the Gish eating at the table. ¡°Bafix hasn¡¯t reached a decision on them yet,¡± Velix replied, prominent pink brows raising. ¡°He¡¯s waiting for Silix to give his first so he can find the flaws in it. It will take time, but I¡¯d like to hear his opinion afore I decide. Business is a-booming, so I need the rest.¡± Sure, Dawson thought and glanced about the deserted shores, this being the wider part of the elongated lake, no wonder the crickets be havin¡¯ a field day. ¡°Have you gone nuts you lazy chimp? They are here for days already and my father probably has no idea about them still. Bafix might have to wait another month or two!¡± Minix protested. ¡°Well, if that¡¯s what it takes,¡± Velix said with a shrug and had some more of his soup, slurping at it loudly on purpose. Dawson stared at Trifton and he reached for his cutlass. If they could not get him to cooperate, then they were just going to seize the ship¡­ raft. Whatever. ¡°Velix,¡± Minix purred and pulled his chair back and away from the table, showing surprising strength. Then she sat on his lap, Velix putting his wooden spoon down and placing his hand on her thigh. ¡°Minix,¡± he said somberly. ¡°I¡¯m sadly widowed of a partner dear, but willing to succumb to your ministrations.¡± Dawson furrowed his brow and reached for Trifton¡¯s sword himself, but his man stopped him. ¡°Velix,¡± Minix replied sugary. ¡°Everyone knows Lucraix left you for the Knup boy. She¡¯s living an exciting life.¡± Velix scowled. ¡°You don¡¯t know that for sure!¡± ¡°They say he¡¯s fit as a boar,¡± Minix whispered in his ear. ¡°Tall as¡ª¡± ¡°Boars ain¡¯t that fit,¡± Velix grunted unhappy cutting her off. ¡°You¡¯re ruining my day for no reason Minix,¡± he warned her. ¡°Have a drink and forget about her,¡± she offered. ¡°You know you deserve a break from work.¡± ¡°You brought me something?¡± Velix said snaking his hand further inside, but she jumped away lithely and fixed her short skirt quickly gyrating her hips and pulling it down. Everyone paying close attention to her technique. ¡®Lucky¡¯ Trifton¡¯s pursed lips and squinting eyes mimicked by young Vitrix comically. ¡°Rum,¡± Minix said. ¡°He did.¡± ¡°Is it better than grape juice?¡± ¡°Are you serious? It¡¯s clean as water for starters and not smelling of feet!¡± Minix protested. Ugh, Dawson thought troubled at the detail. Velix eyed Dawson seeing where this was going. ¡°What do you want in exchange?¡± ¡°What I was going to ask for earlier. Take us across and wait to bring us back,¡± Dawson replied and tossed him Trifton¡¯s flask. ¡°I be wanting the flask back,¡± he added. Velix opened the cork and sniffed at the contents. Kept sniffing at it engrossed, until Minix smacked his leg once to snap him out of it. ¡°No piss or shit aboard,¡± Velix warned standing up. ¡°Use the lake.¡±
They spend the night on the raft, Velix watching his remaining family rowing them slowly across the peaceful lake¡¯s waters whilst sipping at Trifton¡¯s rum. Brackish, but drinkable, Minix had informed them, but Zander who had a mouthful, burped loudly after swallowing and advised them not to fill their water flasks. Dawson sat on a bench at the edge of the raft and watched the stars on the sky trying to spot the differences. The moons out in force making the chilly, but not unpleasant night appear rather peaceful. The land itself as if frozen in time. ¡°Why are you visiting Terbville Isle?¡± Minix asked coming to sit next to him. She gathered her legs under her body, feeling all warm and nice smelling. ¡°Linx might do something stupid,¡± Dawson said and stared at her brother snorting next to a sleeping ¨Cand snorting- Trifton three meters away. ¡°Luscious Linx,¡± Minix purred. ¡°Eolix was the prettiest Gish my father said,¡± she told him. ¡°Her mother. Her sister as well. Much sought after. Abrakas rest her soul. I thought it an exaggeration, but her mother left them early also and that was a tragedy.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not about that,¡± Dawson replied and Minix rest her head on his lap, her face turned towards him. ¡°These people are not part of my crew.¡± ¡°These pirates,¡± Minix murmured teasingly. ¡°They are not pirates. They are mercenaries working for¡­ a Bank,¡± Dawson explained. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Eh¡­ an institution that gathers the folks money.¡± ¡°What for?¡± ¡°Ah, to loan them back to the folk that need them?¡± Dawson replied. ¡°Why gather them in the first place then?¡± She asked, not understanding how it worked. ¡°I think ye got a point there me lass.¡± ¡°Will they not listen to you? You are a captain,¡± she said. ¡°That¡¯s not how it works,¡± Dawson replied. ¡°They might not harm her, but it is also very likely that they will.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°It¡¯s difficult to explain. It¡¯s how the world works,¡± Dawson grimaced. Those pearls will turn their heads the moment they see them. ¡°Pirates have come here afore, didn¡¯t bother the Gish.¡± ¡°Most people haven¡¯t seen a Gish in their life,¡± Dawson retorted. ¡°Nor do they care about them. But they care about gold.¡± ¡°Do you?¡± ¡°You know what a pirate does right?¡± ¡°The Corsair lords had different characters,¡± Minix replied. ¡°Silix says some were bad, others good. Desperate perhaps. Which one are you?¡± ¡°More a criminal I reckon,¡± Dawson replied. ¡°Was Reinut bad?¡± Minix frowned unsure. ¡°Which one was he? Father will know.¡± ¡°The biggest of them all,¡± Dawson said surprised. ¡°Each vote counted the same in the Triarchy of the Issir,¡± Minix recited from memory. ¡°Each city port offering parts to their name to form it. Ikete, Sessi and Irde.¡± Dawson hadn¡¯t heard this before and doubted Zander had despite being an Issir. ¡°Reinut created a kingdom, he called Kaltha,¡± he rustled. ¡°That sounds like the name of the country they came from. Kaletha,¡± Minix noticed puckering her mouth. ¡°But it sort of makes sense, I guess. How did he get the others to step down willingly?¡± she asked and touched his face. Don¡¯t know about willingly. But reckon the old fashioned way, was Dawson¡¯s guess. Made ¡®em walk the plank. ¡°This part no one talks about either,¡± he admitted. ¡°Hmm. Is a criminal bad?¡± ¡°Well, what happens if a Gish is caught stealing?¡± Dawson asked. ¡°Gets a punch? Or you steal back from it,¡± Minix replied. ¡°Who doesn¡¯t steal? You find something you like and you take it. Don¡¯t you steal from trees all the time?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not as casually perceived on Jelin,¡± Dawson said and cupped her small hand with his. ¡°In what manner?¡± ¡°If ye get caught, you¡¯ll get a flogging until yer skin falls off at the very least, or an arm chopped off. Killed even.¡± Minix gasped in shock. ¡°Why? What good comes of it?¡± Dawson shrugged his shoulders. ¡°You don¡¯t punish folk here?¡± ¡°I told you.¡± ¡°What if a Gish kills another Gish?¡± Dawson asked. ¡°If it wasn¡¯t justified, then he owes them a life. Cast out is what usually happens, or revenge from a family member, but then the cycle opens again. Of course there are always exceptions,¡± Minix replied. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Who decides that? The Elders?¡± ¡°The rest of us. The Elders are advisors on life because they are old. Sure they are valued, but you won¡¯t see anyone bowing afore my father, or keeping his hands away from his daughter,¡± Minix replied. ¡°We are fascinated by lords, because we believe it is silly to elevate one above the others.¡± Dawson stared at his hand, then in her face. Suddenly the absence of a prominent nose didn¡¯t seem so odd. Living amongst them for a while, he had gotten used to their looks. There could be a time, he thought when each different species could find harmony together. ¡°Do you¡­¡± he cleared his throat and removed his hand. ¡°Are you married?¡± Minix blinked and then chuckled throatily. ¡°We think that silly as well, but to answer I¡¯m free at this time.¡± ¡°As in now?¡± ¡°Yes Dawson,¡± Minix replied patiently. ¡°The place offers little privacy,¡± he murmured looking about. Their group sleeping, Velix passed out drunk and only the rowers still leisurely busy at work. ¡°What does¡­?¡± Minix pouted deep in thought. ¡°You don¡¯t find me attractive?¡± ¡°Eh¡­ allgods, I do,¡± Dawson croaked anxiously. ¡°I¡¯ve two grown children,¡± Minix added and raised her head up. ¡°But it may be a while afore I¡¯m in my year again. Is that yer concern?¡± Dawson blinked still processing the kids part. ¡°When you say grown¡­?¡± She chuckled. ¡°Abrakas toes!¡± Minix reached for his mouth, but failed and used her right hand to lower him towards her, grabbing at his collar. ¡°I forgot this detail about humans haha. They are old enough to live away from me. You¡¯ll be fine,¡± she gushed and kissed him. Dawson felt her plump mouth on his and she tasted of lemons and whiskey, whilst burning up as if she had a fever. Monkey¡¯s arse! He cursed when she stranded him fiercely. ¡°Wait,¡± he croaked, an eye on the rest of the raft¡¯s crew not that far away from them. ¡°They don¡¯t mind, we¡¯re Gish,¡± Minix explained hoarsely. Trifton and the rest ain¡¯t, he thought. ¡°Meant to ask about yer age, I¡¯m quite old in the tooth,¡± Dawson murmured desperately, suddenly caring about not hurting her. Could this work? Was it possible? He thought anxiously. ¡°How old?¡± Minix asked retrieving her long tongue from his mouth. ¡°Ehm, closer to five and forty by morrow,¡± Dawson admitted. ¡°Heh, I¡¯m two and eighty,¡± Minix chuckled and paused to add, before diving for his face again. ¡°We¡¯re both young silly!¡± Episode E -Died of hemp fever- Trifton paused to stare at the settlement a day later, hand over his eyes and little Vitrix doing the same riding on his shoulders. ¡°This looks more like the same design Yellow,¡± he noticed. ¡°Eh, where is your father lass?¡± Dawson asked the appealing Gish healer. Also dancer and ambassador between the two Elders. ¡°Beyond Bucunil Peaks,¡± she replied, the mountains in question standing imposing to their south behind the huts and hovels of Terbville. Shit. ¡°I¡¯ll head there now, what is the holdup Wayland?¡± Trifton frowned hearing they were on a first name basis. They had come much closer than that as a matter of fact. Their rigging becoming all entangled. ¡°I need to head after Linx,¡± he reminded her. ¡°How? We don¡¯t know where she went,¡± Minix looked about her puzzled. ¡°The lake is huge.¡± ¡°Who would know?¡± ¡°Fishermen, or hunters roaming about,¡± she murmured and stopped a Gish carrying a sack of something over his shoulder walking by, the local¡¯s gaze on the imposing visitors. ¡°Rimix dear,¡± Minix said sugary. ¡°You have news of humans?¡± ¡°What are they?¡± Rimix asked with a grunt nodding their way. ¡°Orcs?¡± ¡°Eh, Corsairs¡­¡± she replied sweetly. ¡°Umm. They¡¯ve taken over Pifilix¡¯s farm up west. These humans,¡± he finally said crooking his mouth. ¡°People have sent for your father and some even went there to see if the rumors are true.¡± ¡°What rumors?¡± Dawson grunted. ¡°Some misunderstanding probably,¡± Rimix replied eyeing their weaponry. ¡°They say a local working the fields died.¡± ¡°Was it natural?¡± Minix asked unable to fathom the alternative. ¡°An accident?¡± ¡°More like to a blade,¡± Dawson grunted and the male Gish shook his pink head right and left in the negative. ¡°Rope. Rumors say, twas a hanging,¡± Rimix replied and Barnet cursed, his eyes burning holes on Dawson¡¯s back. Minix had lost her color. She stood back horrified and turned her stare on Dawson. Trifton cleared his throat ready to ask him the plan as well. ¡°I¡¯m thinking on it, mister Trifton!¡± Dawson grunted. ¡°What¡¯s to think Yellow?¡± Barnet taunted. ¡°Once folk start dying of hemp fever, not much talking can be done, which leaves one option, since yer unwilling to entertain another.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the other?¡± Dawson rustled without looking at him. ¡°Get our supplies and leave,¡± Barnet spat. ¡°Afore it¡¯s too late.¡± ¡°I warned ye not to be an idiot and a pessimist,¡± he told him. ¡°How are we to repair the ship afore they find their way inland? Or hop to the next? You¡¯ll leave ¡®em roaming?¡± ¡°The locals can handle it,¡± Barnet retorted and Zander grimaced. Maybe if the Brig¡¯s survivor¡¯s numbers were low. But what about Linx? Would she had stayed away? ¡°Captain?¡± Trifton asked. ¡°How do I reach this farm to check for myself?¡± He asked Minix. ¡°You walk west keeping to the shores and you¡¯ll come across it,¡± she replied. ¡°It¡¯s on the road from their wreck,¡± Vitrix said. ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°Aye Captain!¡± Vitrix yelled. ¡°Trifton see to make a map of the place. Trade for a vellum,¡± Dawson decided. ¡°We¡¯ll try to sneak near them to gauge their numbers.¡± ¡°Then what?¡± Barnet taunted. ¡°Then we¡¯ll reevaluate the situation.¡± ¡°Huh!¡± the dour pirate grunted. ¡°You know what¡­ you have a point,¡± Dawson decided. ¡°You head back to the raft and return to Ducuril. Take Garix¡¯s donkeys and ride back to our camp. Tell him it¡¯s an emergency. Then bring the others here and as many weapons you can carry.¡± ¡°That¡¯s at least ten days Dawson,¡± Barnet grunted. ¡°What¡¯s the point?¡± ¡°Leave me yer blade,¡± Dawson retorted. ¡°Time moves slower in these parts for everyone.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll stop them with a blade?¡± ¡°They won¡¯t brave the inland without info,¡± Dawson rustled and glared at him. ¡°We know much more about the lay of the land and I don¡¯t see the locals talking to them, if they¡¯ve already killed one, do you?¡± Barnet nodded, his lip still a mess and untied his sword buckle to toss it on Dawson¡¯s feet. The pirate captain glanced at the small Gish on Trifton¡¯s back and gave him a reassuring smile. ¡°Do you think they have her?¡± Minix whispered and laced her hand with his. ¡°Best not to talk about it right now lass,¡± Dawson cautioned her and returned his eyes on Barnet walking back towards the docks and Velix¡¯s raft. ¡°Might stir the others Yellow,¡± Trifton warned in his turn, but for another reason and Dawson nodded once, afore stooping and taking the sword with his left hand. Find land first, he thought. Worry about the landing later.
They found the lights of the farm two hours after midnight. The torches burning near the center of the small settlement, another gathering of huts and farmhouses near mostly blossoming hemp fields. The island climate very mild despite the season. Pifilix the patriarch and owner was an older Gish farmer that had kept his extended family near him. ¡°There are pillars set in front of the bigger house,¡± Trifton informed him, as he¡¯d approached to have a better look with the spyglass at the lit up area. ¡°Couldn¡¯t make who is who, but ¡®em wooden pillars have folk tied on them.¡± ¡°How many?¡± Dawson grunted keeping near the reeds of the lake. The sound of the many insects living in the fertile area making it difficult to hear anything coming from the settlement, no more than two hundred meters away. ¡°At least twenty posts captain.¡± ¡°How many Gish be living here you think?¡± Dawson asked and Vitrix that had come along pointed a small arm. ¡°Virtix,¡± he said.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°I know yer¡­ wait,¡± Dawson looked to where he was pointing and spotted a touch of pink in the moonlight. His sister burst out of the reeds she was hiding in and rushed to the pirate captain with a squeal. ¡°You came balding Dawson!¡± Virtix cried happy hugging his leg, then bursting into sobs. Eh. ¡°There now,¡± Dawson said taken aback and lifted her up. ¡°It¡¯s alright lassie,¡± he told her caressing that mess of hair. Virtix calmed down slowly and Zander who was standing with their bags shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t like this,¡± he said forlornly. Wayland made to admonish him as he¡¯d just managed to comfort the little Gish, when a taller, wiry Gish came out of the reeds armed with a bow. He pointed it at him, a miffed expression on his face. ¡°Let go. Of her,¡± the dressed in rough leather garbs Gish spat warningly, stopping for emphasis. ¡°Else I shoot you in the knee.¡± ¡°Blimey!¡± Trifton gasped. ¡°That be unwelcomin¡¯ matey.¡± The Gish pointed at Trifton with his short-cut pink head. ¡°Then I shoot him in the face.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like this,¡± Zander decided and reached for his cutlass. ¡°Derix,¡± Virtix said somberly. ¡°These are our pirate friends.¡± ¡°Zander keep that sheathed,¡± Dawson ordered and Derix pursed his mouth unsure. ¡°Sis there are no good¡ª¡± ¡°I resent yer allegation mate,¡± Trifton cut him off mid-sentence. ¡°Lad,¡± Dawson intervened. ¡°We got nothing to do with them. Came here to help.¡± ¡°They are murdering people over there,¡± Derix retorted, but lowered his bow. ¡°Frankly you don¡¯t appear much better.¡± ¡°Derix, they are!¡± his sister snapped. ¡°They gave me these boots,¡± his brother added. ¡°Let¡¯s keep our voices low,¡± Dawson cautioned and then glanced at the nearby farming settlement. ¡°Do you know where Linx is lad?¡± ¡°They have her,¡± Derix hissed. ¡°But they are too many to approach.¡± Monkey¡¯s arse!
¡°Their ship crashed on Ilvilix¡¯s west mouth, across from Egg Isles,¡± Derix explained keeping his voice low. ¡°When the water is high the sea pours into the lake over the rocks creating reefs, or even openings. From afar it might even resemble a natural harbor, but it isn¡¯t. They tried to turn that way, but the land swelled afore they could navigate it. They were close enough to the shores to make it through the shallows on foot and reach the farms.¡± ¡°How many?¡± Dawson rustled feeling the half-asleep Virtix¡¯s breath on his neck. She had climbed on his shoulders mimicking her brother. ¡°I saw six or seven. Large¡­ humans, wearing armor and carrying many weapons,¡± Derix replied. ¡°One of Pifilix¡¯s grandchildren Aersix that made it out raised that number to eleven.¡± ¡°How many Gish over there?¡± ¡°Probably around forty, mostly females and children in that number turning hemp to rope, or clothing. No warriors, or much of weapons though.¡± ¡°What else did she say?¡± Dawson asked. ¡°They wanted to buy supplies and things were going well for a while, but then one of Pifilix¡¯s children took a fancy on a pair of gloves and took them.¡± ¡°Ye mean stole them,¡± Dawson retorted. ¡°The humans caught him wearing them and their leader ordered him hanged to set an example,¡± Derix hissed. ¡°The rest gathered to protest his decision, but they rounded up the mostly young protesters, tied the more vocal ones to posts and locked the others in a barn. Pifilix asked for a peaceful solution as some of those working the fields were angry enough to fight, when they returned. Their leader agreed, the rest of the settlement surrendered and the humans hanged his son either way.¡± ¡°Tis Armium law for stealing lad,¡± Trifton said and Derix narrowed his eyes. ¡°Are you insane? For a pair of gloves?¡± ¡°For a loaf of bread, or any article of clothing,¡± Trifton retorted, well versed in criminal law seeing as he¡¯d a rap sheet as big as Corsair¡¯s Gold foresail himself. Derix blinked. ¡°I don¡¯t like this at all,¡± Zander said pensively. ¡°Not now Unhappy Zander,¡± Dawson grunted. ¡°Why did they arrest Linx? She wasn¡¯t one of the locals.¡± ¡°How is being one of the locals reason enough to have you killed, or tied to a post?¡± Derix exploded angry. ¡°They supported the thief,¡± Trifton explained. ¡°It¡¯s common law, else be known as ¡®collaborators guilt¡¯ lad.¡± ¡°Human law!¡± Derix grunted. ¡°Armium¡¯s, but I guess yer in the right there,¡± Trifton yielded. ¡°The pearls,¡± Dawson murmured and Derix turned to look at him. ¡°What?¡± ¡°The reason yer sister got in trouble,¡± Dawson explained. ¡°She showed them her necklace, offered it in a trade.¡± ¡°A trade for what?¡± Derix snapped clasping at his forehead, as if his head hurt. ¡°She wants to go to Jelin. Sail back,¡± Dawson explained. ¡°They don¡¯t have a ship!¡± came Derix¡¯s exasperated retort. ¡°And is this a crime too?¡± ¡°She wouldn¡¯t have known that and it isn¡¯t depending who you¡¯re talking to. Now these rascals the moment they saw ¡®em pearls, they also saw a way out of their troubles.¡± ¡°Treasure lost, treasure gained,¡± Trifton agreed pensively. ¡°Why keep her after they got the necklace?¡± Derix asked hoarsely. ¡°To get more. There is more me lad, am I right?¡± Dawson asked. ¡°Of course. You just have to gather them,¡± Derix replied and puffed out. ¡°Females use them as decoration, necklaces, bracelets¡­ but pink gems are prettier, so they use them more. But you have to dig for those and visit Rudix Knup to have them cut.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like this,¡± Zander murmured sadly, whilst Trifton perked up to the Gish¡¯s words. ¡°Pink or purple?¡± Trifton asked pursing his mouth. ¡°What does this¡­? Dark pink, more purple I guess,¡± Derix sighed and reaching into a pocket got a nice small knife iron knife out, polished wood on the handle with a large amethyst slotted at the pommel. ¡°I had this made for her, but didn¡¯t have the time to give it.¡± ¡°Best that ye didn¡¯t,¡± Dawson assured him. ¡°Listen, I¡¯ve sent for me crew. Minix shall speak to her father to send people here.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s your crew?¡± Derix asked still looking at the knife he wanted to gift his sister. ¡°Ducuril.¡± ¡°What? It¡¯ll be nights afore they reach here!¡± Derix protested. ¡°I¡¯ll go there and get her out myself!¡± ¡°Best that ye didn¡¯t,¡± Dawson repeated. ¡°So your solution, is to hide in the reeds and wait for them?¡± Derix protested. ¡°What if they hurt her?¡± Dawson grimaced and stood back. ¡°Mister Trifton, perhaps it be time to parley?¡± He rustled. ¡°Is it auspicious though¡­ the timing, or enough of it?¡± Trifton wondered. Dawson smacked his lips. ¡°We ought to buy ourselves more time is what Mister Trifton is saying.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like¡ª¡± Dawson stopped Zander with a bark. ¡°Not now Zander!¡± He breathed once deeply, Virtix drooling on his nape waking up startled. ¡°I shall go to the settlement and parley wit their leader. Pretend to be someone else. A lowly member of the crew.¡± He¡¯d done plenty of impersonating in his youth. ¡°He¡¯ll remember yer voice from the ship,¡± Trifton reminded him. ¡°Trifton¡ª¡± Dawson said changing the plan, but Trifton stopped him afore he could finish. ¡°He¡¯ll remember mine as well captain. We¡¯ve exchanged some choice words,¡± Trifton added. ¡°Twas in the heat of the moment, but still¡­¡± ¡°Mister Zander,¡± Dawson continued with a weary sigh, changing his plan yet again. ¡°Ye shall go to the leader of them rascals and¡­ ask for a meeting.¡± ¡°Where to?¡± Zander asked resigning to his fate. ¡°Near here, but not near enough to spot the kids,¡± Dawson replied. ¡°Tell them ¡®Yellow¡¯ Dawson has a deal for them nigh profitable.¡± ¡°Assuming they don¡¯t hang me next to the Gish,¡± Zander said as unhappy as Dawson ever remembered him in the ten years they¡¯ve known each other. ¡°What do I say about our ship? He¡¯ll ask seeing as theirs is pretty smashed.¡± ¡°We moored safely,¡± Dawson replied. ¡°Linx might have told them¡ª¡± Trifton tried to say, but Dawson cut him off. ¡°They¡¯ll never trust she knows what she¡¯s talking about,¡± he told him and eyed the restless Gish. ¡°Derix I need ye to be patient and take yer siblings out of sight for a while.¡± Episode F -Be doing wicked things- Zander returned an hour later, the meeting setup in two about a hundred meters from the settlement. Dawson had spent the time mulling on a story in his head and sharpening Barnet¡¯s heavy blade. Virtix wiped the oil off when he finished with the hankie he¡¯d given her the day they had met at the beach. ¡°What did they say?¡± ¡°Captain Giunta wasn¡¯t enthusiastic with the proposal,¡± Zander explained. ¡°He hoped we were dead is me feeling Dawson.¡± Dawson hoped the same for them too, so he could understand the Brig¡¯s captain. ¡°Go on.¡± ¡°But Commander Carini thought they need to listen,¡± Zander continued and seeing Wayland¡¯s expression he added. ¡°The leader of the marines. I saw a couple of sailors, but at least ten mercenaries were loitering about Yellow.¡± ¡°What did he say?¡± ¡°Well, I told them we learned of their plight and as fellow humans, we thought to reach an agreement after a meeting and perhaps a show of faith.¡± ¡°That¡¯s pretty reasonable,¡± Trifton commented. ¡°What are you going to say to them?¡± Zander asked. ¡°The moment you speak of the girl they might get suspicious.¡± ¡°Now you¡¯re being like Barnet,¡± Dawson admonished him. ¡°They don¡¯t give a shite about Linx, or any of the Gish. Coin and a means to get off this island is what motivates them.¡± He stared at the knife he had taken from Derix. The gem on in it sparkling in the moonlight, a fine polished purple. Big as a pigeon¡¯s egg. ¡°They might rush us,¡± Trifton said. ¡°You stay back with Derix and the kids, but make some noise, so they know there are more of us. No giggling, or games,¡± Dawson added and seeing Trifton ogling his eyes comically, he added with a weary sigh. ¡°Wasn¡¯t meaning you Lucky, fer crying out loud.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t think ye were,¡± Trifton replied pursing his lips. ¡°We have company¡­ is all.¡±
Captain Eriberto Giunta, the polite man behind the Brig¡¯s iron-reinforced door, was a forty-something Lorian, dressed in quality leather garbs that had been through the wringer. He¡¯d a sword on his hip and a mail shirt on. A taller, wiry Lorian stood next to him, wearing leather armor laced with mail rings and carried two swords and a harpoon. Three more heavily armed mercenary marines were standing behind their leaders, carrying swords and long shafted axes with holed blades. Motherfuckers had decimated his attacking force and it had taken hours to cut them down to size back in the Brig, mostly because they had retreated to lock themselves up in the aftcastle. You should have broken that door down, had ¡®em all walk the plank. ¡°Accursed ¡®Yellow¡¯ Dawson,¡± Giunta said, less polite but still in his refined Common. The man had come out of Admiralty¡¯s classrooms, probably looked for better pay after some years in the navy with the Bank¡¯s merchant fleet. ¡°In the flesh,¡± he had a thin mustache over his goatee that made him appear aristocratic despite his tattered clothing. Then again, the saying was there¡¯s a Baron under every rock in Lesia. ¡°Regrettably yer name don¡¯t ring any bells,¡± Dawson replied and stabbed his stick with the white cloth in the soft ground. The cloth was his other sleeve he had to rip out himself as no one had any colorless garbs to spare. ¡°May I inquire as to the condition of the natives?¡± ¡°Why the interest?¡± Giunta asked narrowing his eyes. ¡°This is a big island,¡± Dawson told him. ¡°Another to the north, one more further to the east. A chain of them around these three.¡± ¡°The Sinking Isles,¡± Giunta added with a leer. ¡°We have figured out where we are Mister Dawson.¡± ¡°Gish land,¡± Dawson insisted. ¡°As in, there are a lot more of them than us,¡± he looked at them and noticed Jacomo Cariri was concerned to his words. The hardened mercenary knowing numbers could turn out to be a problem. ¡°We can handle the primitives. Thieving, backwards creatures with no morals,¡± Giunta preached angry. ¡°Filth! A corrupted tissue that needs to be excised and the land cleansed Mister Dawson.¡± Same words, but for a different bunch of folk. Dawson had heard this type of reasoning a number of times in the past. Didn¡¯t like it then, wasn¡¯t fond of it now. ¡°You can¡¯t do that with ten men Giunta,¡± Dawson cautioned him. ¡°Better to leave the cleansing to the church, or a proper army.¡± ¡°Eh,¡± Giunta scoffed. ¡°A word of advice. Rounding up farmers is easy. But if ye face a thousand, twice that number, or more of armed Gish, you might think differently,¡± Dawson said hoarsely. ¡°How many are out there?¡± Carini asked. Too many for you lot. ¡°Impossible to tell. As I said these are not the Free Isles Carini,¡± Dawson replied. ¡°Ten times the size of Turtle Isle at least and the population unknown, but they are armed enough and pretty skilled with a bow. A learned man should know that about the Gish.¡± ¡°They make good scouts,¡± one of the soldiers agreed and Giunta glared at him pissed. ¡°These Gish are thieves Dawson, I understand a pirate turning a blind eye on their digressions¡ª¡± Motherfucker ye were pleading for your life on the ship! ¡°Spare me the lecture,¡± Dawson stopped him angry. ¡°Where is Linx?¡± Giunta stood back affronted, blood rushing to his face. ¡°I don¡¯t know¡ª¡± he started, but Dawson cut him off again. ¡°The girl wit the pearls,¡± the pirate captain spat. ¡°Ah,¡± Giunta said and nodded. He lodged his tongue under his upper lip and then worked it in his mouth. ¡°Carini is the girl around?¡± ¡°Per your orders sir,¡± Carini grunted. ¡°See Mister Dawson,¡± Giunta said. ¡°She¡¯s fine. I stopped the men from roughening her up. She¡¯s held in a separate house you see and one could get wicked ideas in his head out of people¡¯s eyes. But I decreed the wench was not part of the outlaws living here and put a stop to it.¡± ¡°How roughed up?¡± Dawson asked through his teeth. ¡°She was cooperative,¡± Carini assured him and Dawson grinded his teeth, but kept his composure. ¡°You want more pearls,¡± he told the Captain of the Brig. ¡°I find myself in a breach of contract,¡± Giunta hissed. ¡°Unable to return under the threat of jail, or worse. I must find myself alternative means of income and this place, this land Mister Dawson while backwards is rich and ripe for the taking.¡± ¡°You need a ship to get back,¡± Dawson said. ¡°Is this your suggestion? Split the loot as you pirates say?¡± Giunta asked with a leer. ¡°In exchange you¡¯ll deliver us in Eikenport let¡¯s say, or Turtle Isles. Somewhere to gather enough like-minded people of your ilk and return. Do I have your plan figured out?¡± It was more Giunta¡¯s plan, but Dawson nodded. ¡°I want the girl though, you can keep the pearls,¡± he tossed him the knife and it landed a meter from him. Giunta stooped to pick it up and stared at it in the light of their torches. ¡°There are more than pearls here,¡± Dawson added. ¡°Why is she important?¡± Giunta asked thoughtfully. ¡°I¡¯m a wicked man,¡± Dawson recited in a rustle, half-truth half-a-lie, a chimp cackling at the irony from afar. Or in a warning. ¡°In me wicked ways, I have wicked plans for her.¡± Giunta nodded and pocketed the knife, after giving it a good look. ¡°Say we agree, how far is your ship?¡± ¡°Far enough. I need ten days and yer word you won¡¯t harm anyone else.¡± Giunta stared at Carini and smirked. ¡°Why would I believe a word you say Mister Dawson?¡± he asked with a toothy snigger and turned to stare at him. Lice covered black chimpanzee be hangin¡¯ from a cannabis tree, Dawson thought and pressed his mouth tight. ¡°I reckon you wouldn¡¯t,¡± he replied wearily staring at his worn-out boots. ¡°Your people move,¡± Giunta said with a satisfied leer. ¡°I kill the Gish wench. See now, you twist an arm Mister Dawson and all manner of things come out. Like how ye rejected the offer to take the pearls from her in the first place. Why would she¡­ lie about that?¡± Shite. Episode G -Ungainly problems, call for unclean solutions- ¡°Reckon she wouldn¡¯t,¡± Dawson conceded and unsheathed Barnet¡¯s blade, Giunta¡¯s washed out blond eyebrows raising mockingly. ¡°But they are not my people either, so they might move just the same.¡± His meaning less ambiguous and more a warning. Giunta¡¯s smile dropped and a male Gish came out of the brushwood six meters to their right with a loaded bow. The Gish loosed the arrow, Giunta flinched reaching for his sword, but the arrow struck the ground in front of him and the Gish calmly went for another from a packed quiver. This was a clear warning. ¡°You piece of filth!¡± Giunta grunted furious and right and left of the bow-aiming Gish more came out of the reeds and the bushes blossoming near the lake¡¯s shores. Armed with bows and carrying small blades. Behind Dawson Trifton and Zander approached swords in hands, along with Derix. ¡°Captain we need to retreat,¡± Carini warned Giunta and gestured for the soldiers to move forward. The one further to their right raised a wooden shield, but an arrow whipped past it and smacked him on the shoulder. The armour splitting there and the mail rings barely stopping it from doing more damage. The man growled and stumbled back. ¡°NOW, GIUNTA!¡± Carini barked and diplomacy took a back seat. Ungainly problems, call for unclean solutions, Dawson thought and rushed towards the retreating group. Hoping yer time here would¡¯ve been peaceful and idyllic was naught but wishful thinking me lad, he admonished himself. A marine twisted seeing him approach, keeping his shield to the circling much lighter armoured Gish, though they almost all carried bows and used his sword to slash at Dawson. The pirate stepped out of the way, the blade slicing at his coat, made to hack at the soldier, but he jumped back. Dawson grunted and stepped forward, an arrow whistling and breaking on the shield. The soldier recoiled and kept retreating the lights of the settlement coming closer. The night coming alive with yells and cries of fury and fear. He jumped to the marine¡¯s left, the blade slashing at his bandaged arm, but Dawson expected it and slapped it down with the flat of the heavy blade. Raised it next to hack at the Lorian, but he turned his torso and put his shield up to block Dawson¡¯s blade. BANG, went the sword striking at the shield¡¯s iron rim, cutting through it and splitting the wood. The soldier grimaced, went to swing at his knees, but two arrows struck him in quick succession. One going through his left elbow, the other entering below the same armpit. Its bone tip exiting at his chest and tenting his armour from the inside. ¡°GUEH!¡± the man gasped, blood spraying out of his mouth and twisted about, his left arm useless and the shield banging on the ground, grip lost from his numb fingers. Dawson raised his sword, but Zander got to the man first and hacked once splitting his clavicle afore flooring him with a kick to the chest. Dawson jumped over him almost turning an ankle, heart thundering mad like a drum in a Cofol festival, cursed and stumbled forward ¨Cnot as good fighting on still land- and Giunta paused fifty meters from the settlement to eye him. Two soldiers had been cut off from the attacking Gish and were defending against multiple yelling opponents. While they sported several wounds already, their heavy blades had downed five hot-blooded Gish. ¡°Giunta!¡± Carini barked anxiously, the furthest away from their group. ¡°Leave him, we need to get to the prisoners!¡± Sick whore of Castalor! Dawson attacked the captain of the Brig immediately upon reaching him, but Giunta sidestepped and opened a wound on his sides, his tattered heavy coat saving him from the worst. Dawson stumbled on his feet, the cut smarting and bleeding. ¡°You owe me a ship Yellow Dawson. But you owe the Bank a treasure. McClean will never forget,¡± Giunta warned him. ¡°Word will get out from your drunken filth of a kin, in every port they visit and it will reach the headquarters,¡± he hacked at him, but Dawson twirled away cursing his mother. ¡°Five years, or ten. The Bank will find that accursed Vale and then it¡¯ll come here looking for retribution.¡± Dawson spat down breathing heavy and faked a high slash, going for his legs instead, but Giunta parried it away. He saw soldiers coming from the settlement and Carini waving for them to get back and get to the prisoners. The mercenary has the right idea, Dawson thought worried and almost gotten himself killed from Giunta¡¯s savage attack. The arriving Zander slashed at the captain, but he saw him and jumped away, slashing at him when he landed opening a nasty gash on his chest. Zander recoiled with a grunt and Derix rolled a meter from him, landing on a knee and loosed his arrow at the attacking Giunta. The captain jolted and tried to slap it away with his sword, but he directed it to his thigh instead, the wound superficial. Giunta growled and grabbed at the arrow to pull it out, but the rising up Derix fired another one from two meters away and right at his chest. The captain was shoved back with a groan, made to get that out too, but a third arrow nailed his left hand next to the second one right through the wrist. ¡°You¡­ piece of filth!¡± Giunta grunted and slashed wide at a lithely circling him Derix, the Gish reloading fast and firing a fourth arrow to his face. Giunta lost the grip on his blade and it clanged down, faltered wildy, an arrow sticking out of his right eye, gore covering his face and then dropped flat on his head, breaking it. ¡°Get Carini!¡± Dawson barked at the snarling Gish glancing back, whilst running after the mercenary. Zander dropping on his knees with a groan and then lost behind a large host of approaching Gish, some of them carrying the mercenaries weapons and shields.
Dawson reached the settlement a minute later, sweat smarting his eyes and breathing heavy alike a dog that wandered out of the desert. The mercenaries had gathered some prisoners and were leading them towards the west side of the farms. Carini dragging a badly mauled Linx from her hair, a large swell on the young Gish¡¯s face under the eye bleeding. ¡°Ye rascals can¡¯t escape an island on foot!¡± Dawson rustled nearing them. Carini glanced at him with a tense grimace, his eyes turning to the crowd following after the pirate captain and bared his teeth in a cornered animal¡¯s snarl. He shoved a groaning Linx to a subordinate. ¡°Viola they take another step, you slit her throat.¡± ¡°Aye sir,¡± Viola, a burly Lorian replied and got a long dagger out of a sheath. ¡°Ye kill her and yer finished,¡± Dawson warned him, hefting his cutlass with a sweaty grip. ¡°I want out of this cursed place Dawson!¡± Carini growled furious. ¡°Ye ain¡¯t leaving son,¡± Wayland rustled. ¡°None of yer lot is. Let them go and ye might still breathe on the morrow.¡± ¡°You expect me to believe you?¡± Carini spat nervously, black eyes filled with despair. At least two hundred Gish had surrounded his men. Even simple sticks without bone tips could kill you if all those bows fired at once, Dawson thought. A hundred hurled river rocks might even do it as well. ¡°I give ye me word,¡± Dawson told him tiredly, Trifton coming to stop next to him, little Vitrix appearing between his legs carrying a large bloody dagger on his bony shoulder. ¡°What¡¯s the alternative?¡± ¡°Sir?¡± Viola asked, the blade touching a grimacing Linx¡¯s chin. Carini grimaced and stared around him frustrated, then at his less than ten men. The odds insurmountable, since Silix¡¯s ¡®send the hunting parties after them¡¯ suggestion had tipped the scales of the conflict dramatically. Considering most of the hunters were away, Giunta didn¡¯t stand a chance once the Gish decided to fight back. ¡°Fucking hells,¡± the mercenary grunted and tossed his sword down. ¡°Gods above, see to keep yer word Yellow Dawson!¡± he growled and gestured for his men to throw their weapons down as well. Wayland breathed out relieved, when Linx was released and she stumbled back to their lines until a grim-faced Derix caught her. He helped her near the screaming twins and she collapsed on her knees crying. The Gish freed their own, cries of joy and of despair mixed in, as several of the locals were still hanged in front of huts, their corpses rotting and infested with flies. The stench of death overwhelming. Two large boxes filled with valuables, pearls and gems, plain jewelry and amethyst adorned knives, along what looked like a silver, strangely engraved guidance box. The latter not belonging with the treasure, but Dawson could see why the mercenaries had taken it. This was ancient Issir technology from Reinut¡¯s armada. ¡°You gave your word Dawson,¡± a pale-faced Carini reminded him when he approached them later with Trifton in tow. The eight mercenaries had been tied to the posts in the middle of the settlement after their previous owners had vacated them. Zander¡¯s gloomy prophecy had come true and the Issir pirate had breathed his last where he¡¯d fallen. Virtix was inconsolable for the loss of the ¡®corsair seer¡¯. Zander wasn¡¯t one, but he was loyal in a business where loyalty was scarcer than gold. ¡°What be the punishment for a pirate forcing himself on a noble woman?¡± Dawson asked hoarsely. Carini gawked his eyes and went to protest, but he stopped him and turned to Trifton. ¡°Mutilation of the genitals and burning,¡± Trifton replied without batting an eyelash. ¡°She was no noble woman!¡± Viola growled furious, the others glaring at him with hatred. ¡°How do you know?¡± Dawson retorted gravely. ¡°What be the punishment for torture and killing an innocent?¡± ¡°You son of a bitch! You¡¯re a disgrace to your species!¡± Carini blasted him spittle flying out of his mouth. ¡°Mister Trifton please enlighten us if ye please, afore dis turns philosophical,¡± Dawson continued, clenching his jaw at his outburst. ¡°For murder, or the like,¡± Trifton said and then pursed his lips thoughtfully. ¡°I believe hanged, drawn and quartered ¡®Yellow¡¯ Dawson.¡± Dawson nodded. ¡°YOU BASTARD!¡± Carini yelled furious. ¡°Lying scum!¡± ¡°What be the Gish punishment for the same offenses?¡± Dawson asked and Derix who had approached stared at the humans with his red-rimmed alien eyes. ¡°We don¡¯t have rape,¡± he explained with a frown. ¡°A Gish might persist stubbornly, but will never force the issue. It¡¯s unthinkable. For murder, its exile, unless the family wishes retribution. Pifilix wishes the matter to end here. Enough blood has been spilt.¡± Carini ogled his eyes stunned, not believing the decision, sweat covering his face and the rest of the mercenary soldiers murmuring in shock. ¡°Unfortunately fer you,¡± Dawson started gravely. ¡°In yer case human law applies seeing as humans are present to deliver it.¡± ¡°What?¡± Carini gasped in horror. ¡°Mister Trifton,¡± Dawson said harshly. He couldn¡¯t allow them to live. If one of them got out, the Realm would know it was possible to reach the Isles and the locals weren¡¯t ready for it. ¡°How soon can we have enough twigs and logs for a good fire? No blood spilt per the old geese¡¯s wishes.¡± ¡°A couple of hours,¡± Trifton retorted readily. ¡°If the Gish help.¡± ¡°Mister Derix?¡± ¡°There¡¯s firewood aplenty,¡± Derix replied not as forgiving as the old patriarch. ¡°DAWSON YOU PIECE OF SHITE!¡± Carini growled furious. ¡°YOU¡¯LL ROT IN ALLHELLS YOU BASTARD!¡± ¡°Say yer prayers to Oras,¡± Dawson told him sternly. ¡°Me sins are mine, but ye lads did this unto yourselves.¡±
The fires still burned at dawn. Black smoke and the putrid smell of burning flesh cleansing the rot away from the center of the settlement. The next week found us returning to Terbville to meet with old Silix. The Gish elder so overcome with emotions at meeting the famed Corsair of Ducuril, he all but tumbled down the sloped path to his house and was saved by his nimble pretty daughter. He did collapse later at a feast held in his large stone estate covered with memorabilia of a long life and a time when the realm was different. The reason not his advanced ¨Ceven for a Gish- age, Silix was in his third century, but Yellow Dawson¡¯s black whiskey he had insisted in glugging down with fervor. Silix had managed to indulge us with fanciful stories of the great Armada that had changed Gish history and purged the wyvern lords away from the Isles. Dawson kept the detail of a wyvern lord returning to Wetull not wanting to sadden the old Gish, but we were all intrigued from the stories of the ruined Issir Star, the port city the Issirs had built facing Armada¡¯s Gulf and later abandoned in the three years they had spent with the Gish. The old Captain decided to visit the ruins with the help of old Rudix Knup, the Issir-Gish half-breed that frequently made the journey to visit his father¡¯s grave. The ¡®tallest and blackest¡¯ Gish ¡®Yellow¡¯ and the crew had ever witnessed. ¡®Dour¡¯ Barnet thought the trip unnecessary and a way for ¡®Yellow¡¯ Dawson to prolong his stay in the Sinking Isles which further soured their relationship. This, as much as the journey to Grilix Isle and traversing Snake¡¯s Tail to reach Armada¡¯s Gulf, is another story though. ¡®Yellow¡¯ would remain in the Sinking Isles for a whole year before making the journey back to honor his promise to young Linx, which is of course yet another tale and time is getting late for this old seadog. Anyways it was obvious to all that knew him best that his heart never left and it was just a matter of time afore he would return. - Byron ¡®Gem Eye¡¯ Vail, (Born in Armium in 150 NC, died of the shivers in late winter of 214 NC in Turtle Port.) Sailing beyond Abrakas Gullet, -A buccaneer¡¯s memoir- Chapter Nine Old ¡®Yellow¡¯ & the Sinking Isles (Compiled in the Turtle Isles city of Head, by Renly Coburn and commissioned by a character named Sudi. A man rumored to be working for the Baron of Moon Haven and the Turtle Isles in 211 NC.)
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 348. Beyond Lo-Minas (1/2)
Glen Arguen Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Lord of Morn Taras Monarch of Sinya Goras Beyond Lo-Minas Part I -The Queen of Queen¡¯s Stable Master¡¯s daughter-
Abarat Early Fall 3398IC (192NC) Mueah, Glen yawned ineligibly rubbing his face, the sun coming from the prominent balcony doors of Rothomir¡¯s Hall blinding as it multiplied on the mirror-like ceiling. The headquarters building dabbling as a personal house and a public office coming with the usual Zilan hatred for walls and small windows. Vulreon who was scribbling down his words dutifully paused unsure on the spelling and turned to glance at a sweating Glen. Glen ignored him and eyed Folen who was busy trying to figure out Onas decrypting of the ancient map and how it translated to a new one they were creating with the updated facts and sans the missing portions of land, or infrastructure. ¡°¡­ stop and head west before Edlenn¡¯s Pond, this lake,¡± Lord Onas continued, tapping at the map with a long stick, he frequently used to prevent Folen from penciling something down erroneously. ¡°The road is overrun and you can¡¯t round up Windbreak Heights to reach the bridge at Shaelor River, assuming the bridge is still standing.¡± ¡°But the road is ruined for the most part west as well,¡± Folen countered, Glen staring at the map as well but having no idea what they were arguing about, too bored to even bother paying attention. He turned his head the other way, spotted Aenymriel wearing a simple long kimono with a white ribbon on her head pretending to listen and smacked his lips. ¡°Yes, but the Aqueduct still stands partially and if you follow it will point you the right way and the sea, or you stick with the road of sorts until you find Vasati River son. It¡¯s good you avoided the army,¡± Onas argued censoriously. ¡°Hey, how about we have a taste of those fine silver carafes Olonelis has send us?¡± Glen asked Aenymriel and she glanced at the fancy platter. Lady Olonelis had excused herself citing a ¡®family emergency¡¯ earlier. ¡°It¡¯s juice I believe,¡± she said. ¡°Would you like some?¡± ¡°Was my meaning,¡± Glen replied raising his upper lip to show some tooth with his friendly grin. He stared at the map again for a moment and the two men arguing, until the dressed in ¡®civilian garbs¡¯ Nym to ¡®keep some semblance of secrecy going¡¯ in Glen¡¯s court, returned with a goblet of red juice. Glen started gulping it down, but paused midway and stared at the assassin, who had some as well from her own goblet with an equally unconvincing smirk. ¡°What does it matter?¡± Nym whispered and she wasn¡¯t talking about the possibility to have had his drink spiked. ¡°It doesn¡¯t,¡± Glen agreed and turned to the map-studying officials. ¡°We¡¯ll just go to Lo-Minas,¡± he told them with finality. ¡°See if Lord Suraer has something figured already about what¡¯s still working or not. How long ago was Roran¡¯s expedition?¡± ¡°Six years,¡± Lord Onas replied. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of time,¡± Glen decided. ¡°Did he talk with Lord Suraer the last time he was there?¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Is he running the stables by himself?¡± Glen chanced, only half-joking. Nym chuckled always appreciative of a jabby retort. ¡°Of course not,¡± Onas retorted, not favoring it when on the receiving end, or addressed to members of the upper caste he respected. ¡°Then it¡¯s settled,¡± Glen said with a shrug. ¡°Have¡­ hmm, I¡¯ll need a portion of the Phalanx to come with me.¡± ¡°Anfalon?¡± ¡°That Roran dude. Anfalon I need here to keep the peace.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no unrest in Abarat Hardir,¡± Onas grunted. ¡°But for the Wyvern scaring folk doing their business.¡± ¡°A good thing,¡± Glen agreed, although Onas wasn¡¯t agreeing obviously. ¡°Think of the alternative Lord Onas.¡± Onas sighed and then stared at Aenymriel. ¡°Thinking of marching with the lads lass?¡± ¡°She¡¯ll ride with me,¡± Glen replied for her. ¡°Are you sure about Roran?¡± Onas asked with a grimace of incredulity. ¡°What¡¯s the matter with him?¡± ¡°Nothing, he¡¯s a fine officer,¡± Onas replied. ¡°But¡­ he has fallen out with Lord Suraer?¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s gossip. He worked for Lord Rothomir is all and Suraer didn¡¯t see eye to eye with him.¡± ¡°You worked for Rothomir as well,¡± Glen pointed out. ¡°I¡¯m a member of the Council,¡± Onas grunted. ¡°I serve the Monarch and the good of the realm.¡± ¡°Me,¡± Glen elucidated. ¡°You, Hardir,¡± Onas agreed.
¡°Where¡¯s Vaelenn?¡± Glen asked after Lord Onas departed. ¡°And what¡¯s this weird fruit for crying out loud?¡± ¡°Strawberry, peach and a touch of melon,¡± Aenymriel replied. ¡°Hmm, why mix it up?¡± Glen asked curious. ¡°Seems a waste and the taste is funny.¡± ¡°A different offering to the palate? Olonelis fruit cocktails are famous,¡± she replied sipping at hers with a pleased smile. ¡°Ehem,¡± Felon cleared his throat, Vulreon scribbling down their words. ¡°A moment,¡± Glen interrupted Felon. ¡°Give me the page,¡± he ordered the scribe. ¡°I haven¡¯t finished Hardir,¡± Vulreon replied nervously. ¡°You don¡¯t have to,¡± Glen retorted. ¡°Take a break. Walk to the market. Find me some redleaf. Don¡¯t write it down afterwards.¡± ¡°Ahm, any other blend, if I can¡¯t find it? It¡¯s pretty heavy stuff Hardir,¡± Vulreon queried. ¡°Varg can find it,¡± Nym whispered. ¡°Just head to the kitchen, see they prepare us some¡­ cake for the road,¡± Glen yielded. ¡°What flavor?¡± Vulreon asked just to be sure. ¡°Strawberry,¡± Glen retorted readily. ¡°Just put them in whole and no mixing up.¡± ¡°Ehm,¡± Felon started the moment Vulreon left. ¡°What?¡± Glen snapped. ¡°Vaelenn¡­ she¡¯s with Elwuin reviewing Abarat¡¯s library,¡± Folen replied. He¡¯d split his hair right the middle and oiled them so much they had turned almost black. It made his ears look huge and the loops he had on didn¡¯t help. There¡¯s big ears and then there¡¯s stretched skin to its limits. ¡°That sounds dreadfully boring,¡± Glen retorted. ¡°You know what¡¯s interesting though?¡± ¡°The gossip surrounding Roran and Lord Suraer,¡± Nym whispered. ¡°No it¡­ shite!¡± Glen cursed and glared at her. ¡°Aye, that¡¯s right. What the actual fuck girl? Is this a magic trick?¡± ¡°I just guessed Hardir,¡± she replied coolly. ¡°Don¡¯t do it in my presence,¡± Glen admonished her. ¡°It¡¯s disturbing.¡± ¡°I shall strive to avoid it,¡± Nym replied, her voice barely audible. ¡°Any ideas?¡± Glen asked after an awkward moment. No one knew, so he called for an end to the meeting. Just in time as well. Glen could barely stand the blasted sun on his face and jumped from the throne immediately to find a quiet spot with a shade.
He rushed down the corridor, Kirk coming after him seeing Glen bursting out of the council room. Glen all but left the main Hall grounds intending to head to the kitchen, but he spotted a gloomy faced Sam Mathews there and turned the other way not wanting to deal with the adventurers. He owned them a bit of coin still. Almost run on Lady Olonelis exiting her quarters that were adjacent to Rothomir¡¯s Hall main building east side. Since he couldn¡¯t avoid her on the empty path, he paused and smiled at the lovely mature council member. She wore a similar wrapped-front green garment, but more sophisticated than Aenymriel¡¯s with no ribbon on her made in a long braid hair. ¡°Hardir O¡¯ Fardor,¡± Olonelis greeted him with a small bow. ¡°Lady Olonelis,¡± Glen returned the greeting hoarsely, Kirk nodding unsure on the protocol for guards. Glen had no idea if there was one. ¡°Out for a morning walk?¡± she asked casually. ¡°A breather after the meeting,¡± Glen replied, sweat rivulets reaching his collar. ¡°Apologies for missing it.¡± You didn¡¯t miss anything. Wait. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that,¡± Glen said. ¡°But I have to ask¡­ what is the gossip with Roran and Lord Suraer?¡± Olonelis glanced about them and then walked under a big hardwood tree with pink flowers casting its shade at the edge of the path. ¡°Why would Hardir inquire of this matter?¡± Olonelis asked Glen after he approached, immediately noticing the difference in temperature in the shade, the humidity not as pronounced also. ¡°Is it of a personal nature?¡± He asked. ¡°Doesn¡¯t Nym know?¡± Olonelis responded and looked about them. ¡°She¡¯s not¡­¡± Glen started to say, but Aenymriel had appeared next to the grey-brown cracked trunk looking a little miffed. Hmm. ¡°What gave me away?¡± she asked the frowning older Zilan. ¡°You smell of peach and strawberry,¡± Olonelis replied. ¡°The breeze is blowing towards Hardir and there no fruit trees on this side of the grounds.¡± Serves ye right for eavesdropping haha! ¡°Right,¡± a grinning Glen said interrupting them. ¡°She knows?¡± he asked Nym. ¡°I was in the Queen¡¯s inner circle,¡± Olonelis replied. ¡°Lord Onas?¡± ¡°Never bothered with this side of the court¡¯s business,¡± she rejoined. ¡°Most think Aenymriel got so deep into her brother¡¯s research and manuscripts she lost her calling, tried to turn into a sorceress, but failed.¡± ¡°Is this true?¡± Glen asked the silent Nym. ¡°There¡¯s truth in all stories,¡± she replied. Glen admired her ability to pout without showing it. Olonelis grimaced. ¡°Baltoris turned a little paranoid at the end of her reign, looked for any kind of paths out of her troubles.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve helped the realm,¡± Nym argued. ¡°Better than you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve kept a portion of our people functioning,¡± Olonelis retorted. ¡°Digging the earth and planting roots anew. There¡¯s hope now, where there was nothing for years.¡± ¡°Back to my question,¡± Glen intervened not wanting them to start slapping each other or worse. Nym was a killer after all and he didn¡¯t believe strong words could put her down. ¡°I never bothered with Roran,¡± Nym whispered. ¡°Roran has been a very good friend with Lord Suraer¡¯s daughter Aelinole for centuries,¡± Olonelis replied staring at the annoyed Nym. ¡°But they had a falling out after the empire¡¯s collapse.¡± ¡°Was there anything more?¡± ¡°Lord Suraer is notoriously protective of his daughter. He soured when she became unhappy with Roran,¡± Olonelis replied stiffly. ¡°It¡¯s not unreasonable.¡± ¡°Her mother?¡± Glen probed. ¡°Nuala¡¯s sister Lyrael, or Nuala herself,¡± Olonelis replied. ¡°Suraer had been a dashing Rokae in his early years. They are both diseased of course. Nuala was killed and Lyrael got lost in the Fall as she was visiting Cydonia at the time.¡± ¡°Is this important?¡± Glen asked. ¡°Well she¡¯s an Elderblood from both her parents, which isn¡¯t very common,¡± Olonelis replied. ¡°What did Roran do?¡± Glen asked. ¡°Wasn¡¯t this when¡­?¡± Nym started, but Olonelis cut her off. ¡°Gossip is what you claimed robbed you of justice Aenymriel,¡± she cautioned her. ¡°If you wish for us to forget the past and welcome you back, a certain maturity is expected.¡± Nym licked her lips. ¡°You talk of Nuala, a master Ranger. Kythaela was her friend and best pupil. An assassin couldn¡¯t have entered without her spotting his shade. No such assassin ever existed and I researched the matter for centuries. No skill escapes me,¡± she hissed and Olonelis grimaced in annoyance. ¡°Still at it,¡± she murmured disapprovingly. ¡°You poisoned Baltoris¡¯ head with the ¡®old¡¯ spells and ¡®dark¡¯ magic theories one time, returned to do it again all over again.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t,¡± Nym jeered her eyes narrowing. ¡°Baltoris didn¡¯t trust the old sorceress, because she held a grudge and thought the witch blamed the King for her daughter¡¯s demise and trying to annul the treaty. As for Aelrindel, she did something to assist Reinut, someone did and she was here!¡± ¡°Who told you this?¡± Olonelis retorted and Glen stood back deciding to enjoy the rich shade, without interrupting the vexed females. He did place his hand on the pommel of his sword just in case this turned violent. ¡°Semilor had the Queen¡¯s final orders,¡± Nym hissed. ¡°He¡¯s dead conveniently,¡± Olonelis scoffed. ¡°The Queen¡¯s Herald never reported to the Council during the campaign.¡± ¡°I have no reason to lie and I was wrong about Edlenn, but not Aelrindel,¡± Nym rustled.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. ¡°You might be wrong again,¡± Olonelis replied. ¡°Anyway, the witch¡¯s daughter is dead.¡± ¡°She¡¯s not,¡± Nym snapped. Olonelis stood back and breathed out slowly, her face flushed. ¡°You can only pin one of the two sins to Aelrindel,¡± she said tiredly. ¡°Who was it then? If not you, if not Edlenn, because it¡¯s not the young sorceress for sure.¡± Nym pursed her mouth tight. Olonelis shook her head disappointed. ¡°The trail has gone cold Aenymriel. Let the past die, move forward.¡± ¡°I took a contract,¡± Nym hissed stubbornly. ¡°Maybe, but you got blamed for it before that happened and lost your mind,¡± Olonelis argued. ¡°Gossip can poison the well. It led you down a dark path. Come back, Elas was a great mind. You are fouling his memory.¡± ¡°Not great enough to figure out the truth, or stand up for his sister,¡± Nym retorted spitefully. ¡°All that knowledge, all this magic and power,¡± she continued. ¡°Counted for naught and now you all bow to a human.¡± ¡°Nym,¡± Glen warned her and she stood back. ¡°I¡¯m on your side Hardir,¡± Nym whispered, her expression turning serene again. ¡°She is too,¡± Glen cautioned her. ¡°I¡¯d like to keep it that way.¡±
An hour later Glen had informed those he intended to take with him that they were leaving on the morrow. The reason for wanting to travel beyond Lo-Minas simple. Glen wanted to find the distant west shores of Wetull. He sought to see personally if it was possible to reestablish connection with Greenwhale Peninsula, something he¡¯d promised the Sopat years back and was certain it would please Sen, but also out of the more selfish desire to bring Emerson into his life again. While they had assured him the old knight was fine Glen thought it would be for the better to check for himself. Roran, an impressively fit Zilan and second in seniority and skill inside the Phalanx after Anfalon, was a bit taller than Glen even with his hoplite helmet off. The square jaw and angled face showing his slight displeasure for plucking him out of the unit currently returning from trotting around Abarat¡¯s walls. Atju tsk-tsked disapprovingly and carried Glen¡¯s food near the Ruler of Morn Taras, leaving the large plate on a table they had positioned next to the throne ¡°Anything else master?¡± Atju asked, the third slave holding the surprisingly difficult job. ¡°Bless ye no,¡± Glen jested, his witty reply not registering with the stoic Cofol. He cleared his throat and reached for a piece of strawberry cake, nicely baked dough with whole fruits in it. Glen ate the piece, thought of having another, but decided to get the business out of the way first and gestured for Kirk to have a bite himself. ¡°Roran, I¡¯ve given it some thought. You¡¯ll bring a detachment of the 2nd Othrim along. Enough soldiers to deter Lord Suraer, but not too many so as to strain the supply situation here and appear to the old¡­ Lord, we¡¯re invading.¡± Even if we are. ¡°Lord Suraer won¡¯t fight against the Phalanx without provocation,¡± Roran assured him. ¡°That¡¯s nice for we don¡¯t want the man provoked,¡± Glen agreed with a nod. ¡°I understand you¡¯ve visited Lo-Minas a couple of times lately.¡± ¡°Nine times since the Fall,¡± Roran replied sternly. ¡°That seems like a lot, but probably isn¡¯t given the time involved,¡± Glen said. ¡°Are you on good terms with Lord Suraer?¡± ¡°Few people are,¡± Roran replied. ¡°Any way to befriend him?¡± Glen queried and slurped down some water to clean his mouth. ¡°He¡¯ll either like you, or he won¡¯t Hardir.¡± Yeah, I can¡¯t risk that. ¡°Does he like you Roran?¡± Glen probed sitting back on the uncomfortable chair using his elbows to avoid sliding forward. ¡°I respect him and believe he respects me,¡± Roran replied and eyed Felon approaching with a map, he opened on a table behind the badly constructed throne. With the Council¡¯s seats occupying the area in front of Glen, apparently not to be moved, he had to use the area behind his own throne to install some extra furniture. ¡°Ah, Folen,¡± he said and got up. ¡°Come Roran,¡± he told the Hoplite and walked near the stooped like an old man Zilan. ¡°I want you to show me on the map how far you went last time.¡± ¡°I reached the shores,¡± Roran replied and eyed Folen thoughtfully. ¡°Mmm,¡± Glen said staring at the map. ¡°Can a ship moor at the old port?¡± ¡°Most of the old port is destroyed, or underwater Hardir,¡± Roran replied narrowing his eyes troubled for some reason. ¡°Still some of it, is there,¡± Glen murmured and pointed further west. ¡°What about Rain-Minas?¡± ¡°It is doubtful anything survived.¡± ¡°If the old roads are there, we could reopen a trade route at this spot, or convince the Cofols to brave the Torn Earth and dock under Teleniel¡¯s Bridge¡¯s shade,¡± Glen thought aloud and noticed Folen standing cowered next to his left shoulder. ¡°Good grief, stand upright like a normal person!¡± he admonished him. ¡°You,¡± Roran grunted. ¡°Who?¡± Glen asked turning towards him, the Hoplite looking livid. ¡°You¡¯re that sneaky guide,¡± Roran added recognition on his face. Ahm. Glen stared at Folen surprised, the latter assuming a weird grimace in an attempt to change his facial characteristics, whilst humming under his breath. ¡°Fuck are ye doing?¡± Glen told him, Roran turning a tomato red from all the blood rushing to his head. ¡°You¡¯re the guide,¡± he repeated with conviction. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about,¡± Folen blurted out and jumped away when Roran rushed him almost going through a stunned Glen. ¡°Stop!¡± Glen barked, Folen whistling notes and ready to dodge if the Hoplite rushed him again. ¡°Roran what¡¯s the meaning of this aggression friend?¡± ¡°He brought that cretin here!¡± Roran growled pointing an accusing finger on the gawking and appearing shocked Folen. Also guilty-looking Glen had to admit. ¡°What cretin?¡± Glen asked not wanting to assume Roran was talking about him, but it was an alarming thought. ¡°Ebe, argh!¡± Roran grunted clenching his fists. Eh, someone else then. ¡°Calm down,¡± Glen told Roran. ¡°Folen explain what happened,¡± he ordered the sweating Master of Silence, his nicely parted hair now disheveled. ¡°I wanted to make ends meet,¡± Folen croaked, switching to pleading and sad pity-inducing storytelling. ¡°Offered them sweet mother and sister¡¯s services¡­¡± Wow, dis came out all wrong, Glen thought with a frown. Roran scoffed and Glen stepped in to douse the fire. ¡°They are not related,¡± he explained to the fuming Hoplite. Roran looked the conservative sort. ¡°It¡¯s not as bad as it sounds. Ehem¡­right then, continue Mister Folen.¡± ¡°They wanted a guide to the interior and I took the job,¡± Folen admitted. ¡°Anyone would¡¯ve done the same in my position.¡± ¡°You lying scum,¡± Roran grunted. ¡°A guide doesn¡¯t help a perverted thief escape justice! Then he¡¯s a blasted accomplice!¡± ¡°Wait,¡± Glen stepped between them again to deescalate the matter. Ah, shit¡­ I need more info. ¡°What did he take?¡± Although the ¡®perverted¡¯ had stricken him as the strangest part in Roran¡¯s words, Glen avoided to inquire about it. ¡°Aelinole¡¯s shirt,¡± Roran spat bitterly. Ugh. Glen stood back with a frown. ¡°That¡¯s it? I mean sure¡­ that¡¯s condemnable, but mayhap he mistook it for his?¡± ¡°A Mithril shirt!¡± Roran growled. ¡°You pretend he didn¡¯t have it on him?¡± he asked the grimacing and humming different tunes Folen. Nothing was sticking though. ¡°A shirt is easy to hide under clothes,¡± Glen said to help Folen. ¡°She had her shape. Until the day she breathes her last,¡± Roran grunted the matter hurting him. ¡°She had it from her cradle.¡± ¡°Did she stay small growing up?¡± Glen asked a little confused, but not wanting to provoke him, or offend Suraer¡¯s daughter femaleness. Jinx was petite, but a lot o¡¯ woman regardless. ¡°It was a Mithril shirt,¡± Roran explained. Alright, so what? ¡°I had no idea he was going to do that,¡± Folen told him and the Hoplite whipped his head around angry. ¡°What did you do next?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t¡ª¡± Roran¡¯s backhand had almost decapitated the sweaty Zilan. A groaning Folen flew over the table with the maps, landed awkwardly and stopped near two stools and a smaller table Atju used to have his meals. Roran going after him. Shit. A shocked Glen run after the Hoplite, rounding the big map table and arriving there just as Roran landed a kick to a humming and bleeding down his mouth Folen and sent him back across the room with a yelp. Glen got in front of Roran. ¡°That¡¯s enough,¡± he warned him, not really wanting to fight the hoplite for no reason, or with little reason, but Glen couldn¡¯t let him kill Folen. It was difficult to find another person to do the job back in Goras, he could semi-trust with not fucking it up. ¡°He helped him escape punishment,¡± Roran grunted furious. ¡°I understand,¡± Glen nodded. ¡°A thief steals a¡­ valuable small shirt,¡± Roran frowned. ¡°Bigger elastic shirt,¡± Glen corrected. ¡°Fine, you can¡¯t put the blame on the guide, even if he should have perhaps reported him.¡± ¡°He knew what he was, you heard him,¡± Roran said bitterly. ¡°You don¡¯t bring a bastard like that near noble people.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know, swear on my mother,¡± Folen protested from the floor wiping the blood from his face, his left cheek swollen and turning blueish. Still he attempted to whistle. Eh, that¡¯s a lie, not to mention we don¡¯t know which mother ye mean here, Glen decided and eyed the fuming Hoplite, but not before admonishing the injured humming Zilan. ¡°Cut it out you fool, it¡¯s not plaguin¡¯ working and yer making it worse!¡± Glen growled and then turned to address Roran. ¡°You said perverted earlier,¡± he started. ¡°What did you mean?¡± ¡°A liar weaving his way into a higher caste lady¡¯s affections,¡± Roran grunted. ¡°Taking advantage of their kindness,¡± Glen furrowed his brow. ¡°Even playing them against each other. We don¡¯t do that, who does? Nor do we invade another¡¯s privacy, without permission.¡± ¡°When you say¡­ privacy?¡± Glen asked seeing him struggling to get the words out. ¡°He didn¡¯t touch her!¡± Folen croaked standing up. ¡°All he wanted was that darn shirt!¡± ¡°Ah, curse your lineage!¡± Roran grunted and clenched his fists. ¡°You¡¯re a piece of trash Folen! What are you doing in Hardir¡¯s court?¡± ¡°He serves a function,¡± Glen replied sternly. ¡°Roran, I think you should take a moment to calm down. My decision stands. We¡¯re leaving on the morrow.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need me there Hardir,¡± Roran grunted and stood back breathing heavy. ¡°You served Rothomir and I want Suraer to see for himself, he holds no more power,¡± Glen replied. ¡°He knows that,¡± Roran replied. ¡°Still, it will help.¡± ¡°What about Lord Rothomir?¡± Roran asked tiredly and Glen reached into his shirt and got a gold ring out. Nicely engraved with the roots of a tree all around. ¡°I found this in the Witch¡¯s grave.¡± Roran took it and examined the ring thoughtfully. ¡°This is Abarat¡¯s Guard symbol. Vulas ring.¡± ¡°Hoped it was Rothomir¡¯s but the other skeleton parts had nothing on them,¡± Glen replied a little disappointed. Unless the adventurers had pocketed the loot whilst I was busy talking with Nym. Eh. I guess I don¡¯t own them crooks shit! ¡°He¡¯s dead?¡± Roran asked in disbelief. ¡°Did he actually opened the tomb?¡± ¡°I think he is and that he did,¡± Glen said. ¡°But I prefer not to have to explain to Suraer what happened. Frankly, I¡¯m not sure myself.¡±
Half an hour later a worn out Glen sat on the stool at Atju¡¯s table, the slave bandaging Folen¡¯s ribs and face, a cup of wine in hand. ¡°Who was this Ebe?¡± he asked the injured official. ¡°An adventurer,¡± Folen replied with a grimace of pain, his nose swollen as well, which made it half his face. At least he sort of looks different now, Glen thought. Now if the swelling remains perhaps he can tag along without anyone else recognizing him. ¡°Right. So, he took the shirt. Anything else of value? It¡¯s best to be thorough on these matters.¡± ¡°What matters?¡± ¡°Just answer the plaguing question!¡± Glen blasted him losing it. Fucking ruffian! Collaborator! ¡°I don¡¯t think he did.¡± Drink piss through the nose. ¡°Anything else?¡± Glen rustled not believing him, but forcing himself to calm down. ¡°The Ranger really liked him,¡± Folen grunted. ¡°Had a way with the ladies,¡± he explained. Glen thought of punching him once on the other cheek to even the swelling out, but managed to restrain himself. ¡°Darunia was fond of him as well. Roran is jealous.¡± ¡°Did she like him enough to take a roll in the hay?¡± Glen asked through his teeth. ¡°He denied it, but they were almost caught in the lake,¡± Folen murmured. ¡°I can¡¯t fathom¡­¡± ¡°What lake is that? The one at the near I don¡¯t believe qualifies.¡± ¡°Near Lo-Minas. We visited during the festival.¡± ¡°Uhm. How did he get the shirt off?¡± Glen probed. ¡°She was bathing at the time,¡± Folen replied. ¡°Does Roran know this?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what happened afterwards. We had to leg it out fast and we couldn¡¯t return to Abarat,¡± Folen explained reminiscing. ¡°So we skirted past the patrols and cut through the garden, but turned around upon reaching the Orchard. Crossed Myrdiel River Bridge and traveled to Old Port Canal following the shores.¡± Glen tried to remember the map. ¡°So you know of Rain-Minas?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t remember it. There are ruins there, but nothing worth risking your life over. I told them, but it was futile.¡± ¡°Who were his accomplices?¡± ¡°That dwarf, the bard and later that stupid Gish,¡± Folen griped and touched a finger on his swollen cheek carefully. Wait¡­ could it be? ¡°You¡¯re talking of Ebenezer Framtond?¡± Glen asked not expecting it. ¡°Haha. No way. Really?¡± ¡°Ebenezer is known?¡± Folen stood back, his brows raised in a grimace of disbelief. ¡°Really? I thought he¡¯d never make it back.¡± ¡°He is and he did,¡± Glen shook his head. ¡°We used Valwarin¡¯s key to go through the tunnel at the mountain.¡± ¡°Pfft,¡± Folen scoffed. ¡°How did they make it past the Arachne?¡± Glen asked furrowing his brow. ¡°I don¡¯t know, I left them at Goras,¡± Folen admitted. ¡°That was enough adventuring for me. But he did have the ¡®soothing ring¡¯ on him, so he may have used it, if they had enough forewarning. Usually it was the other way around with Dom¡¯s stupid loud mouth.¡± ¡°What did the ring do?¡± Glen asked curious. ¡°It calms predators down for a while.¡± ¡°How long?¡± ¡°Nowhere near long enough.¡± ¡°Where did he find the ring?¡± ¡°His mother gave it to him,¡± Folen shrugged his shoulders. ¡°He was a half-breed and this I learned from the bard. Ebe was lying even when he was talking in his sleep.¡± Glen could appreciate the skill and shook his head. ¡°Could he have made the story up?¡± Glen asked crossing his hands on his chest. ¡°About the¡­ flexible shirt?¡± ¡°What did he have to gain? The lady¡¯s escort almost caught him in the act,¡± Folen replied. ¡°Of stealing,¡± Glen added. ¡°Of course Hardir. What else?¡± Hmm. North Lake¡¯s approaches, Above Royal Cobra River and the border to Glae-Lintul, (Shallow Lakes Lands) Less than a day from Lo-Minas Mid first month of Fall 3398IC (192NC) A large hawk lithely dived for the ground, grabbed an unassuming fat rabbit minding its own business and elevated rapidly towards the sky, running into Uvrycres waiting gnarly open mouth and flying straight for his gullet. The black jaws snapped close, the Wyvern silently banking a hard left over their party and even twirling once showing off. ¡°Haha,¡± Glen guffawed seeing the scene unfolding, whacking a buzzing Oldfly heading for his open mouth away with his hand. ¡°Son of a goat!¡± he cursed and glared at Kirk, the bodyguard raising his shoulders. The long procession marching slowly for over a week, the road well maintained between the two cities and the land relatively tame. The soil rich and covered in green grass teeming with wildlife that stayed away from them. The forest beyond it thick, but not the wilderness that he had encountered at Goras. Glen stood up on the stirrups, tipping his hoplite helm back over his brows, Outlaw snorting probably pissed on traveling on hard cobblestone, when there was perfectly fine and nutritious grass on each side of the wide road. The lake¡¯s crystal clear waters to their southeast, the forest that started on Great Acid Lake¡¯s shores hugging the road over the flat terrain to their northwest. He sighed, Uvrycres shrieked warningly from above, his large shadow shading their advanced group and a score of riders appeared four hundred meters away slowly coming their way. Men and horses covered in gleaming silver armour. The horses Chamfron or head-cover equipped with protruding steel horns attached to the plate mask. The riders wearing a long scalemail shirt that covered their hips and triangular metal plates on the chest, polished engraved silvery metal and same quality solemn masks on their helmed head hiding their faces. They resembled the Cofol Cataphracts in armour and weaponry, but the Khan¡¯s cavalry appeared poor in comparison. Glen had counted twenty of them, one in their group sporting gold details on his armour and helm, but then he saw another one that didn¡¯t look like a Cataphract at all. With her braided cobalt hair caught at the nappe, elongated ears prominently displayed unadorned and a squarish face for a girl, the clad in a dark-green leather ring-reinforced armour female -the heaviest variant of the Imperial Ranger outfit Glen had ever seen- kicked her encased in leather legs and trotted in front of the slow to react Zilan Knights. ERRRRRRRR Uvrycres trumpeted from the skies, the ever growing Wyvern circling over the group, scaring their horses. The ranger halved the distance between them, Wylinor reaching for an arrow next to Glen as he had hurried to the front of their procession to better see the strangers. ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± Glen ordered the Goras ranger and the female Zilan stopped her proud horse and twisted around with it expertly in the middle of the ancient road, its hooves tapping rhythmically. Stopping then starting again, forward and then rearing without missing a beat, the dressage a pure expression of absolute skill. Glen raised his left arm in a greeting and the female smiled fiercely, then let out an ululating cry that was answered by the approaching and initially startled at her initiative Zilan knights. The mask wearing Rokae sounding otherworldly on the flat plains between the lakes. ALALAE! ALALAE! RRRRRRRREEE EERRRHHH The Wyvern answered with a thunderous ear-splitting shriek from above them and then dived making a very close pass barely two meters over them that almost scattered both groups, but for the stoic Glen ¨Cother than an abrupt dodge with his head to avoid Biscuit¡¯s stinger that attempted to flick the helm from his head- and the fiercely staring his way female ranger. ¡°That¡¯s her,¡± Folen croaked and glanced back to make sure Roran was still far behind with the hoplites. The wiry, but still strikingly feminine Zilan in her Valkyrie fierceness justifying Roran¡¯s anger towards the Goras official, former guide/bard/bar and brothel owner and Glen could have missed a couple of professions there without a doubt. ¡°You came to wage war on Lo-Minas Hardir O¡¯ Fardor?¡± Aelinole, of Suraer & Lyrael asked in fluent Imperial and Glen grabbed the helm that had almost toppled from his head, grinned as fiercely as her and answered in his most lordly manner in not as fluent Imperial. ¡°The thought, never crossed my mind Aelinole.¡± Lying through his teeth like a hair-growing snake-oil merchant fresh out of stock.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 349. Beyond Lo-Minas (2/2)
¡®Three-teeth¡¯ Gloom came to stand next to a frowned Leona at the aftcastle¡¯s rooftop. The bell ringing warningly and the lights of the ship dousing the dark misty waters. The black reefs sailing by them in the dark in eerie silence. But for the bell Merton worked with fervor, only the calm waves and the creaking of the large warship disturbing it. The captain¡¯s eyes set at the distance where that ship had appeared heading west through the reefs further away than the island and Wetull¡¯s shores. She had seen its lights once and for about five minutes and then the mist had thickened again as they were moving away from it heading north. The mystery ship had disappeared in the humid fog. ¡°Was it the same ship?¡± the pirate asked her squinting his eyes. ¡°The one that came looking for us after the battle?¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t mister Gloom,¡± Leona replied hoarsely with a grimace of pain coming from her mutilated hand. ¡°Caught a glimpse of its shape then?¡± ¡°I have,¡± Leona replied thoughtfully, remembering the heavily laden Barque that looked like the Marquette but wasn¡¯t obviously. Her sails larger, with similar rigging though and figure. A huge lily flower carved at its bow. The packed with crew deck and masts staring at their lights unmoving as if mesmerized, but no one interested enough to look for a spyglass or signal them. ¡°It looked like a merchant ship.¡± ¡°What ye think could its cargo be?¡± Gloom queried. Leona licked her salty lips and then closed her spyglass. ¡°I have the sneaky feeling mister Gloom,¡± she rustled returning to the wheel and an anxious Kidd steering it. ¡°That it carries people.¡± ¡°Where to?¡± Gloom asked wobbling after her. ¡°That¡¯s the thing,¡± Leona replied unsure. ¡°Their course is weird and dangerous. Dead set west towards the blasted lands. I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll make it.¡±
Glen Arguen Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Lord of Morn Taras Monarch of Sinya Goras Beyond Lo-Minas Part II -You have to-
Delmuth, the Zilan knight ordered his riders to fan out at the edges of the road in a loose half ring and the procession started moving again. Aelinole came to ride next to Glen. Folen, Vulreon and Kirk coming right behind them. ¡°Is that Roran I see back there?¡± Aelinole asked straightforwardly, her manner less haughty than the other noble Zilan he¡¯d met. ¡°That¡¯s him,¡± Glen replied, his understanding of Imperial stretched thin already but he didn¡¯t know if the Ranger was fluent in Common. So he kept his answers short now that Folen wasn¡¯t near him. Nym had managed to drop all the way back to the last row of the Phalanx with the adventurers and was chatting up Marlo, or whatever it was they were doing. Glen had the impression the dressed in a dark-brown, loose riding tunic assassin was making an effort to socialize, starting with the easier targets. ¡°Hmm. Lord Rothomir?¡± ¡°Unknown. I shall¡­ speak to Lord Suraer,¡± Glen replied staring at the first cultivated farms appearing on the north side of the road. A thin, but rich forest hiding the lake¡¯s shores on the other side but for some cut through the vegetation parts. ¡°You seem older than the rumors,¡± she noticed carefully. ¡°It¡¯s been a rough couple of years,¡± Glen replied and pushed his greying unruly hair back. ¡°I meant wiser Hardir, apologies,¡± Aelinole elucidated with a light purse of her mouth. ¡°Perhaps we should speak in Common?¡± Glen smacked his lips and stood up straighter on the saddle. ¡°It¡¯s been a rough couple of years,¡± he repeated with a small grin and she nodded, clicking her tongue to calm her large horse down, as it had been spooked by the patrolling wyvern. A sneaky fool tracks you, Uvrycres told him, when his hand touched the dagger. Where? Hides in the trees. Is she armed? ¡°My father is in the field, inspecting horses,¡± Aelinole said, but Glen had stopped paying attention to her. He spelled out! ¡°Ugh?¡± Glen grunted and the Ranger paused and looked at him surprised. Or was it alarmed? Hah. An illusion spell, Uvrycres sniggered. That fool thinks he is a mage. ¡°Shite!¡± Glen cursed in Common, Aelinole¡¯s eyes opening wide and Delmuth turning his masked head around. Apparently everyone here knows a couple of languages at least, Glen thought and kicked his legs to get Outlaw going. Mayhap it¡¯s the long living. After a while you sort of learn stuff, or just hear a lot of cursing? Yeah. He cut hard towards the forested part of the lake, leaving the road under the startled murmurs of those near him. Kirk reacted trying to follow after the galloping away Glen, but Aelinole was the one that dashed after him. ¡°Where?¡± Glen asked the Wyvern and saw Uvrycres diving towards the forest¡¯s canopy a hundred meters in front of them. He disappeared behind the trees and Glen opened up the pace, Outlaw galloping hard on the grassland and entering the treeline a minute later. The peaceful lake appeared amidst the foliage, Outlaw¡¯s hooves digging at the soft fertile ground scaring the birds away. The flap of small wings and the chirping maddening, but the thicker part of the forest gave away without any incident. Glen reached the lake¡¯s shores, most of it covered with blossoming canes, with insects buzzing over them and the humidity making the air taste of flowers and wet weed. ¡°Whoa!¡± Glen said stopping Outlaw. The horse snorted and turned away from the alluring water reaching for a nearby lush bush to feed. Damn it, where¡¯s is he? He asked the unseen Wyvern, the breeze coming from the lake blowing curly hair off his flushed face. Glen looked about him, the well-trotted path cutting through the forest offering a good spot for someone to watch the nearby road and their large procession. He stared at the disturbed grass, the path Outlaw had taken clear, the horse¡¯s legs covered in wet dirt and then at the canes near the shores. A frustrated Glen jumped from the saddle, grimaced when his boots landed, as the missing toe bothered him and the breeze blew over the lake again creating small waves and moving all the greenery about. Small stems bending to its touch but for an unassuming cluster less than eight meters away, facing south. The reflective shape resembling a crude rectangular at first, a meter wide and less than six feet tall, but as Glen kept staring at it, a figure emerged. A yellow-green glass man standing still. Weak! Uvrycres commented and landed on the shallows, wings extended to break the momentum, hind legs sinking in the soft bottom and a couple of barrels worth of water splashing Glen¡¯s way dousing him. Three frogs that found themselves on land out of the blue croaked in panic, Glen cursed half covered in mire and the translucent cane-resembling man gasped in fright. He shuddered and jumped away from the approaching, walking on all fours large Wyvern. A small hut couldn¡¯t welcome Uvrycres inside anymore. The black scales shining, the water sparkling as it dripped off of him. Glen wasn¡¯t paying attention to the terrifying creature, but was busy running after the legging it away hooded male. The man ¨Cnow slowly turning solid- jumped over a thorny bush, cleared it with ease with a following Glen twisting around it and Uvrycres cursing in his head irate. Fuck¡¯s sake! You were supposed to keep him out of the trees! Not scare him away! What? Are ye serious? Learn to talk plans aforehand! A snarling Glen retorted running hard, the man glancing back to see if he was still after him. He danced right behind a tree and out of sight, but Glen rounded the trunk sprinting determined, but rolling nimbly away a stride in. He got mud plastered on his fine pants, leaves and bird shit on his shining cuirass and a gigantic fat bright-yellow and black caterpillar got stuck on his forehead somehow. At least he dodged the sneaky opponent¡¯s straight baton. The man cursed his lineage in Imperial, Glen stopped his roll on a tree trunk and stood up saying quite a few shocking words about the man¡¯s unknown mother in Common, just as the green-eyed man rushed him. Glen jolted left to avoid a stick to the cranium and punched the skinny man right at the solar plexus, angling his knight¡¯s ring to dig into flesh. His opponent stumbled back with a groan, Glen retreated as well and unsheathed his sword, the Jackal¡¯s cackle reverberating on the shaded dark-brown rough trunks. Glen¡¯s next move was to remove the caterpillar from his forehead with a shiver. ¡°Eh,¡± the man said, hood pushed back over his head, short blondish hair with several darker strands on them wet from the forest¡¯s humidity and twisted the edge of the baton. It clicked and turned into the sheath for a straight blade, a little shorter than Glen¡¯s, who sighed and unsheathed his Hoplite sword as well. No cackling for the blade he¡¯d taken from Abarat¡¯s well-stocked armoury, but the steel on it pretty darn sharp. ¡°Hardir?¡± the strange man said. Strange because Glen could spot his pointy ears sprouting out the sides of his head. First blond Zilan Glen had ever seen. Glen flipped both blades needlessly and when his opponent raised a trimmed brow, the former thief kicked a bucket of mud, rotten leaves and rooted out grass on his face. The man dodged right to avoid the worst, but Glen cut his path. The blades clanged, but he managed to open a wound on the Zilan¡¯s shin with the spare weapon, before his opponent could jump away. ¡°Where¡¯s the magic?¡± Glen queried in Imperial, looking for a way to finish this quickly. The sound of galloping coming from the shores, no more than fifty meters behind them. The man checked the bleeding cut above the rim of his boots and grimaced. ¡°It doesn¡¯t work.¡± ¡°Poor plan,¡± Glen retorted with a nod and attacked again. A low feint with the Kopis to draw his attention to the smarting leg and the longer blade screeched leaping for his face. An arrow striking the flat of the blade just as he was angling it to shorten the man¡¯s head to the ears.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. It shoved his sword away. The Zilan lashed at him with his blade, but Glen parried with the Kopis and twisted away, glancing with a gawking eye for the arrow firing culprit, the other on his retreating opponent. ¡°Let him go,¡± Aelinole said getting out of the trees, bow in her arms loaded. ¡°Please.¡± Plaguing bitch, Glen cursed angry. ¡°Put that down else the Wyvern will turn Lo-Minas into a desert,¡± he warned her. Fuck them all, Uvrycres agreed. Burn that shit! Gods darnit, where are you? Ye were supposed to back me up! Too many trees to land, the wyvern explained, a frowned Aelinole sidestepping to approach the standing still Zilan, keeping her bow on him steady. Thought of clearing this part of the lake, but you may get a bit singed? Uh? Glen grimaced, trying to figure out what was going on, whilst ensuring the wyvern didn¡¯t kill them all. Nothing serious probably, the wyvern added with a thoughtful pause. Hey, there¡¯s always the lake at the near. Want me to hurl a fireball? ¡°Are you alright?¡± the Ranger asked the scowling male, concern in her voice evident and lowered her bow. No, Glen retorted in his head talking to the wyvern and lowered his blades. ¡°What is this madness girl?¡± He asked her in Common. ¡°You¡¯ve just blown a potential alliance apart.¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t about Lo-Minas,¡± Aelinole replied, her ears turning to the sound of a much bigger host of riders approaching. ¡°But it matters to my family.¡± ¡°So it is about it in other words,¡± Glen rustled and puffed out eyeing the weird Zilan. ¡°You take the loss? It¡¯s no shame.¡± The young Zilan furrowed his brow. ¡°I didn¡¯t lose Hardir.¡± ¡°Berthas!¡± Aelinole reproached him and slotted her bow over her shoulder. Berthas pursed his mouth, the sound of horses and calls coming from all around them. ¡°I usually brag about this stuff, but ye were half-dead dude,¡± Glen said and sheathed his swords one after the other. The Kopis on his back and the longsword on his hip. ¡°And you had a wyvern above yer head to deal with. What was the plan?¡± ¡°I wanted to see Hardir O¡¯ Fardor,¡± Berthas said and went to pick up his baton. ¡°Why not try it like a normal person?¡± Glen asked and glanced at Kirk coming out of the foliage. ¡°We¡¯re fine,¡± he told him. Berthas sheathed his blade, grimaced returning the bodyguard¡¯s stare and then raised his hood to cover his head. ¡°Who¡¯s the lad?¡± Kirk asked sensing something was amiss. ¡°My son,¡± Aelinole replied and then walked to him in order to check on his wound. Ah, the plot thickens. ¡°Everything alright sir?¡± Kirk asked and Glen nodded with a look at his dirty garbs. ¡°Bring me a cloth to clean up a bit and a bucket. Me skin is tingling,¡± he ordered him, scratching at his enflamed forehead. Fuckin¡¯ bugs flying out of nowhere! ¡°And keep this between us.¡±
¡°Piss on it,¡± Laedan suggested and tossed a slain fox to the rolling on the grass wyvern. ¡°Lather it up thoroughly and ye¡¯ll be fine.¡± ¡°I¡¯m about to speak to Lord Suraer,¡± Glen grunted. ¡°I ain¡¯t doing that.¡± ¡°Use a cloth, hold it there for a bit and then wash it off,¡± the Denmaster explained watching Uvrycres crunching on the carcass. ¡°You need to feed him more.¡± ¡°He¡¯s feeding himself,¡± Glen retorted and walked behind a bush to have some alone time and do his business. They had stopped after his abrupt detour and prepared a campsite. Earlier Aelinole had ordered Berthas to return to Lo-Minas afore following after them. ¡°You need to know what he¡¯s eating Hardir,¡± Laedan insisted, unwilling to give him some privacy. Glen came out of the bush the wet smelly cloth pressed on his forehead. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about him. Good grief, stand back! I swear to allgods dis better work friend.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll get used to their sting after a while,¡± Laedan explained, staring at him tying up the front of his pants rudely. ¡°To speed up the procedure we can gather some and reapply the poison until you get used to it.¡± ¡°No,¡± Glen replied sternly without hesitation. ¡°Kirk keep everyone at distance and leave the water bucket. Laedan I don''t want to see yer mug until the morrow.¡±
Lo-Minas was wide and long where Abarat was triangular and restricted on its plateau. It was also without walls, or battlements of any kind. Extending between North and West lakes and basically two rivers, it faced Glae-Lintul¡¯s fertile flatland to its south, the latter reaching as far as Edlenn¡¯s Pond and the Gullet. So basically it¡¯s three lakes, Glen thought, rash washed off his forehead after he reapplied Laedan¡¯s remedy the previous night. They had spent it on the road after losing time in the day, but the morning brought them inside the ¡®provincial¡¯ city abruptly. The fields turning to farms and the typical Zilan estates morphing to large Mastabas near the spread out city¡¯s center. Six grey pyramid-like granite rectangular structures made out of dark-stone bricks, flat-roofed and with inward sloping sides. Glen had seen one of those still standing in Eikenport, but here they had three per side of the twenty meters wide main road of Lo-Minas and two kilometers away the stone-tiles boulevard ended before a bulky step-pyramid with three wide steps, its flat-top sporting a slanted walled tower-like structure. It reminded him of Rida and Duke¡¯s Palace, but not as massive. ¡°Stables to the east, warehouses to the west. It¡¯s a copy of Elauthin¡¯s grand central square in a more practical manner. My father believes in filling the empty spaces with either produce, or animals. Not all see the appeal, but during the ¡®dark summer¡¯ we had enough supplies to survive,¡± Aelinole explained a little apprehensively. She had spent the night without commenting on what had almost happened the previous day. Glen had kept the story for himself as well. Roran who had come to greet her at some point, left visibly disappointed without pressing the issue, after receiving an emotionless reception from the noble female. It was obvious she was faking indifference, as her eyes had lingered on the Hoplite when he walked away. ¡°Lord Suraer¡¯s palace is far away, but I¡¯m afraid the smell reaches its walls. Most visitors favored staying at the estates near the lakes.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind horse dung,¡± Glen assured her. ¡°Unless I¡¯m sleeping on it, then I do. So you sweep them floors and we¡¯ll have no problems.¡± ¡°Why would Hardir sleep on the floor¡­?¡± Aelinole started as Glen had messed up some of the words there, but paused unsure. ¡°As I said, while my father is inspecting livestock today, we can head straight for the palace.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s make a stop near the stables, rest the animals,¡± Glen decided and turned around to spot how far away the marching columns of the Hoplites were. ¡°Give Roran time to arrive,¡± he added. ¡°As you wish,¡± Aelinole replied and clicked her tongue to get her horse going towards the Zilan knights cordoning the head of their procession. ¡°Where to milord?¡± Kirk asked approaching. ¡°They actually use Mastabas for stables,¡± Glen said not bothering to answer. ¡°Or warehouses.¡± ¡°You did that in Eikenport in a sense,¡± Kirk replied, talking of Glen locking Uvrycres there afore turning the building into a warehouse. Locked him sort of, since Eikenport¡¯s Mastaba lacked a ceiling initially. ¡°Right? Haha, I fucking did,¡± Glen agreed nodding as they trotted down the large boulevard suited for horse races, or tourneys and with a last glance at the distant palace, he turned his mount left and the east, just as Lord Suraer¡¯s entourage rode out of the mid Mastaba¡¯s massive square west side opening (each half-pyramid on the ¡®stables row¡¯ had two, one facing the central boulevard ¨Cwest- and one facing the city to the east) the two heavy wooden flaps of the gates closing with the help of bovines and pulleys.
Lord Suraer stood straight on the ivory adorned saddle of his magnificent cinnamon-color stallion, clad in a timeworn studded leather armor with a long grey cloak over it, dark leather pants, vambraces, rough-hide gloves and fine-leather but dirty high boots with steel spurs. His prominent forehead sweaty, thinning long white hair with touches of purple caught loosely at the back of his head. A stocky Zilan with a lined square jaw that resembled his daughter and piercing gray-blue eyes. ¡°Lord Suraer,¡± Glen said after raising his arm in a traditional greeting. ¡°Your city is impressive.¡± ¡°Hardir O¡¯ Fardor,¡± Suraer rustled after he repeated the words and returned the gesture, glancing at his daughter. ¡°It started as a stable, but city folk tend to turn open land into labyrinths to palate their anxiousness. At least we¡¯ve kept the worst of the offenders out of the center.¡± Glen glanced at a group of stable workers leading a large herd of thoroughbreds down the roomy boulevard and towards the fields. ¡°I intended to leave the animals in the shade,¡± he started. ¡°But you know the place better.¡± ¡°Let us ride to the palace, there¡¯s room for them there and they can be as cultured as any one of us, unless you favor walking,¡± Suraer offered pressing his mouth. ¡°We haven¡¯t had a wyvern visit us for centuries and Baltoris landed on the West Lake when she was in a good mood. Or where we¡¯re standing right now if she wasn¡¯t. Many a good animals have perished.¡± ¡°Difficult landings?¡± Glen jested and Lord Suraer chuckled. ¡°Ovinet knew to pick her spots to be nutrition rich. When you get to eat the spoils, you¡¯re inclined to create more of them,¡± he replied and waved at Delmuth¡¯s Rokae. ¡°Get them to the stables Sir Delmuth we don¡¯t need an escort. Plus they are shitting all over my street and I can¡¯t have people pulled out of feeding this week to clean it up again. I see you lingered at the grass fields on your way back. See to give them some hay and seeds afore you leave the stables to balance their diet and lots of clean water.¡± ¡°Right away Lord Suraer,¡± Delmuth replied in his muffled voice. ¡°I¡¯ll order Uvrycres to stay away from the animals,¡± Glen assured him. ¡°But sometimes he may cheat.¡± I want to land on the boulevard! Uvrycres boomed in his head, but made a pass over them and headed west towards the rest of the city not to put Glen on the spot immediately. Suraer stared at him thoughtfully. ¡°That he sometimes listens is impressive Hardir. Let¡¯s hope he does. Laedan if I catch you killing livestock to feed him we¡¯ll have words,¡± he added spotting the disfigured Denmaster amongst Glen¡¯s group. ¡°Race you to the palace Hardir?¡± Glen didn¡¯t want to do it, but he didn¡¯t want to lose also and galloped after the Lord of Lo-Minas. In the end and despite a valiant effort from Outlaw, Suraer¡¯s rested and probably of excellent stock stallion won by a body. Glen was disappointed, but he clenched his teeth in a gnarly smile and pretended he was a good sport, which brought another bout of laughter out of the brusque, but candid Lord Suraer. ¡°A man shouldn¡¯t like losing,¡± he told him. ¡°But being a gentleman about it is important. Knightly even. You¡¯re a knight perchance Hardir?¡± ¡°I was knighted in Rida by the Duke of Raoz,¡± Glen said relaxing and wiped the sweat from his face, the palace¡¯s fat shade cooling on his skin. ¡°The Gods heard the old Rokae and brought a knight to his threshold,¡± the Zilan replied cryptically. Lord Suraer jumped from his horse lithely and waited for him to climb down, the rest of their escort still galloping towards them down the boulevard. The ancient Zilan tended his right arm and took Glen¡¯s in an elbow grasp, the two males standing at the same height. ¡°Welcome to Lo-Minas Hardir O¡¯ Fardor,¡± he said candidly. ¡°I told Onas the man who tames a wyvern and rules over either Goras, or Elauthin should have the throne. I didn¡¯t, the old geese didn¡¯t, Rothomir ruled over what the Queen had given him and you did both. That you came here yourself and didn¡¯t sent another emissary showcases you don¡¯t fear rejection and want to cut to the meat of the matter.¡± ¡°I do,¡± Glen said. ¡°What¡¯s beyond Lo-Minas Lord Suraer?¡± The old Zilan stood back and stared at the gates of the grey Mastaba and the many external stairs leading to his palace. ¡°Whatever, whomever, made it out¡­ ugh. They did it in the first two-three years, if they were still able to breathe, or think. Those that stayed behind, were either trapped, or too damaged to move. You may find trinkets Hardir, but the real treasures of Wetull are under the waters or have turned to dust. If you wish to judge the rest of us, then start at the top and leave the rest untouched. All mistakes lie with those that rule.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t come to bring judgement and the seers that spoke of it without knowing me were probably crazy,¡± Glen replied. ¡°Since I¡¯ve met one, then I¡¯m almost convinced about it. As a matter of fact, if I don¡¯t see another one in my lifetime I¡¯ll be a happy man.¡± Suraer glanced at him a little surprised, Glen returned his stare apprehensively cursing himself for letting his mouth blurt out nonsense that could trigger an avalanche of bad luck against him. Luthos, ye twisted toed ape, I misspoke! ¡°Sometimes it¡¯s humorous,¡± Suraer said encouragingly and Glen groaned not liking where this was going. ¡°Their response. Other times the humor is painful, or bitter to palate. But you have to.¡± ¡°What was it in yer case?¡± Glen asked, a bit stunned that Lord Suraer was nothing like the other Zilan had described him. Or perhaps it was their arrogance that angered the old Lord and admittedly some were very difficult to stand. ¡°Pride,¡± Suraer admitted his face darkening. ¡°For saving the people here, the animals. For saving my daughter and the possibility of my line continuing even after an event that ended much more important Zilan than myself. I¡¯m just the Queen¡¯s stable master Hardir.¡± ¡°What did the gods do?¡± Glen asked remembering the boy at the lake. Almost a mage, but not quite. Lord Suraer crunched his face, creating even more wrinkles on his tanned weather-beaten skin. It made him look like a humble hard-working provincial noble more than an important Imperial official. ¡°Tried to rob me of a future,¡± Suraer replied. ¡°Cruelly hurt me through what I value most in this realm. But as I said Hardir, difficult to palate, but you have to. Take the loss and live on. You learn to love it and look to the future. Not everyone does though.¡± ¡°So you stayed home, since going anywhere without yer daughter all of a sudden, would have been nigh awkward and uncharacteristic of you,¡± Glen said and Suraer narrowed his eyes alarmed. Glen offered him a reassuring smile and pointed at the long way to the top of the Mastaba. ¡°I¡¯m ready to climb up those stairs now Lord Suraer. Allgods there are many. Let¡¯s make stops, let the view sink in. No reason to do them all at once.¡± And they didn¡¯t.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 350. The King beyond the Pale Mountains (1/3)
Sing O¡¯ Muse, so our heroes in history¡¯s calends be entered The Third Era¡¯s legends thus escape Lethe¡¯s grim embrace - Phinariel, the Boorish Poet* Zilan Psalm, (Song of the Third Era) First verses Around 210 NC (3416 IC) - *Phinariel¡¯s manuscripts and poems were gathered in five hefty tomes named King¡¯s Anabasis, A Monarch¡¯s Solitude, the Moon¡¯s return, Desolation and Apotheosis (known as the King¡¯s Heritors) also contained a long lament inspired by the Song of Dawn, an earlier psalm the shrewd poet favored immensely.
Lo-Minas 193 NC
Glen Arguen Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Lord of Morn Taras Monarch of Sinya Goras King beyond the Pale Mountains The King beyond the Pale Mountains Part I -King¡¯s Anabasis-
Glen paused upon entering the impressive hall to stare at the three thrones and the statues behind them. A couple of females carved in polished white marble and a rider standing between the two, the horse¡¯s head lowered as if grazing. ¡°Nuala and Rylael,¡± Lord Suraer said seeing him examining the unrealistically large statues. ¡°From left to right.¡± They were both impressive, but Glen could see Nuala was given a more heroic stance by the artist with her bow out, lowered to the ground and an arrow nocked, whilst her sister just stared at the distance with her hands crossed. ¡°Nuala was fierce and her beauty could stop your heart afore her arrows,¡± Suraer explained and walked to a nicely carved cupboard to pour some golden-red liquor from a long-necked glass decanter to two tube-like glass goblets. The glass engraved with silver details. The fancy cupboard was the only adornment inside the hall other than the statues and the typical Zilan frescos on the walls. He tasted the liquor and offered the other goblet to him, an old custom reaching across cultures and species. Glen took it and tasted the flavorful, but strong alcoholic drink, whilst Lord Suraer¡¯s eyes stayed on the statues for a moment. One of them really. ¡°But you favored Lyrael,¡± Glen said and gulped down the liquor, the thick fluid burning his throat in a nice way. ¡°You¡¯re married Hardir?¡± Suraer asked and smirked at his empty goblet. ¡°It¡¯s raspberry juice with brandy and vanilla extract,¡± the Lord of Lo-Minas told him and refilled his glass. ¡°Meant to be sipped, but I guess I do that too when on my own,¡± he added his smile genuine and finished his, to refill it as well. ¡°I am. My wife is in Goras with our daughter,¡± Glen replied and this time he sipped from his drink. Suraer nodded. ¡°You can favor a horse and a female I suppose. The Zilan will only take a partner if the match is fertile. Marriage is for kings, but the concept is the same. You choose for life. I would have stayed with Lyrael even if we couldn¡¯t procreate. I loved her.¡± ¡°Is that you on the horse?¡± Glen asked, respecting his sincerity and wanting to move to a less heavy topic. It reminded him of Emerson but in a different way. He also remembered Maeriel words for Jinx and respected her decision as well. The rider was wearing a mask and he couldn¡¯t tell. ¡°Lord Lobros. Which means steed¡­ bizarrely,¡± Suraer replied with a grimace. ¡°He was Lord here before me.¡± ¡°You could have lied,¡± Glen noticed. ¡°A father and his daughters,¡± Suraer said. ¡°It would have been cheap to insert myself in the picture.¡± Right. Well there¡¯s obviously a bit of ancient history here as well, Glen thought and accidently gulped down the rest of his liquor. He was used in larger portions and bigger cups so the fault didn¡¯t lie with him. ¡°A ruler climbs the stairs to his throne alone,¡± Suraer said looking at the empty central throne. ¡°Ninthalor did it and Baltoris after him.¡± ¡°Does it matter?¡± Glen asked remembering Nym¡¯s words. ¡°Not to me,¡± Suraer admitted and gestured for Aelinole that had entered silently to approach. ¡°How big is Lo-Minas?¡± It looked huge to his eyes, but he knew Zilan wanted the extra space to feel comfortable. ¡°I had two thousand working with me here, plus the Knights. Now there are only about two hundred of Rokae left from them, mostly due to Sir Sulynor the old commander leaving after the Queen¡¯s decrees came to force. The city though has grown to almost twenty thousand anyway in the last two centuries. Some refugees continued to Abarat, but enough stayed to change the landscape.¡± ¡°What was it like afore?¡± ¡°Horse fields,¡± Suraer replied. ¡°But I don¡¯t mind the grain, nor the vines. Food is important.¡± ¡°It is,¡± Glen murmured. ¡°Father,¡± Aelinole said. ¡°Hardir O¡¯ Fardor,¡± she took Lord Suraer¡¯s hand and touched it with her forehead. ¡°You feared Delmuth couldn¡¯t handle our visitor?¡± Suraer asked, a warm look in his eyes. ¡°I feared the wyvern might scare the horses and wanted to impress Hardir,¡± she replied. ¡°Did she?¡± Suraer asked and Glen cleared his throat, knowing he needed to remain diplomatic and close the deal for once smoothly. ¡°She was the best rider I¡¯ve ever seen,¡± Glen said. ¡°She is,¡± Lord Suraer agreed proudly. ¡°Crimson Palace,¡± he added looking at Glen. ¡°It¡¯s a temple in Baltoris Port. A part of Elauthin.¡± Glen nodded. ¡°Where the old kings went.¡± He already knew there will be many stairs involved. ¡°Some of the old court that survived will want to see it,¡± Suraer said. ¡°I have my own court,¡± Glen retorted, but paused to work it through in his head. ¡°Anyone prominent?¡± ¡°In their heads they all were. Rybel was the Master of Ships, caught with the transports in Serpent¡¯s Canal and then he retired here, as he couldn¡¯t stand Rothomir.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have a ship guy,¡± Glen said. ¡°A specialist will come in handy.¡± The one in charge now was a former pirate. ¡°Not sure you will on the morrow,¡± Suraer replied. ¡°There¡¯s Feyras, the Priest of Eodrass that should have drowned when his ship went down, but survived. I don¡¯t have time for him. Also Kilynia and Rimeros two of her advisors that were probably kicked out of the inner circle.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Suraer stared at his daughter in a silent query. ¡°I tend not to overthink a Monarch¡¯s decisions,¡± Lord Suraer replied, which was vague on whether he went along with the decisions he didn¡¯t agree, or not. ¡°Is this blood?¡± The latter he had addressed to his silent daughter. Aelinole had cowered a little after Glen had almost killed her son in the woods. Berthas had tried to attack first, so in his mind it was justified. ¡°Not mine, but everything is fine,¡± Aelinole replied. ¡°Let me finish with Hardir,¡± Suraer told her not convinced. ¡°I¡¯m sure you want to rest today,¡± he said turning to Glen. ¡°If you wish to visit the Crimson Palace, I¡¯ll shall take you there. I have a hundred horses that need to get miles under their hooves.¡± This sounds like a big journey.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°He knows,¡± Aelinole said staring at a grimacing Glen. Oh, for slovenly fuck¡¯s sake. What do you want me to do about it? Glen wondered a little miffed as he didn¡¯t want to talk about their personal matter. His plate was full and Glen wanted to finish here quickly to return to Goras at some point. Why should I get involved thick-thighs girl? I¡¯m not familiar with yer plaguing customs! Suraer furrowed his brow, a clench on his jaw forming more lines around his mouth. ¡°Not all old bloodlines served in the council,¡± Suraer started, then paused to finish his drink as well, clamping his teeth in another half-grimace -the topic difficult. ¡°Some missed out more due to circumstance and timing. Still lines were drawn. After¡­ the chaos, the old castes lost their coherence. People were more open to look towards a bigger pool of candidates. Goras was already like that, but here and in Cydonia Cazan¡­ eh, I was always proud of Aelinole¡¯s lineage.¡± ¡°Father¡­¡± she murmured. ¡°He doesn¡¯t need¡ª¡± ¡°If he knows,¡± Suraer countered stopping her. ¡°He knows. If it¡¯s important to him and I¡¯ve read him wrong he can say it himself, I¡¯ve kept the title for far too long anyway. I was difficult afore, but turned very skeptical after the catastrophe. I wanted the best and hoped that would come when the empire stood back on its feet. A lot of prospects were turned down, some new and some that were always there and I even favored.¡± Glen sighed and approached the table to refill his goblet. He had a pretty good idea of what had happened. ¡°When Berthas came, I knew something was wrong¡­ ahm,¡± Suraer glanced at Aelinole and she pressed her mouth, a touch of color on her pale cheeks. ¡°Something was different.¡± ¡°The hair?¡± Glen chanced. ¡°The hair were purple then, so small he was,¡± Suraer replied. ¡°When they doused him in water, he turned it warmer since it was cold and we realized he might be a mage. Which he couldn¡¯t be.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Aelinole is a ranger from her mother, could have been a knight like her father,¡± Suraer replied. ¡°Elderbloods are like that. There¡¯s no randomness in the skill, it passes down a generation.¡± ¡°What about the father?¡± ¡°Everyone wanted to know where she was,¡± Suraer said. ¡°Some even tried to press the issue, until I stepped in.¡± ¡°It was my idea,¡± Aelinole explained. ¡°We told them I mated with a refugee of prominent lineage that had survived to squash the rumors.¡± ¡°Roran wasn¡¯t convinced,¡± Glen guessed. Aelinole opened her eyes not expecting his words. ¡°He knew me very well. It caused friction with the other interested Zilan in court and even in Abarat,¡± she finally said. ¡°So I had to remind him that we were never something more than friends, very publicly.¡± ¡°To stop the gossip,¡± Glen guessed. ¡°Did it stop?¡± ¡°It birthed more lies,¡± Suraer said bitterly. ¡°The mysterious ¡®father¡¯ was lost to an accident and the child disappeared from public view.¡± ¡°Will they accept him as a stray? A bastard?¡± Glen asked them. ¡°I can¡¯t do that. Renounce him?¡± Aelinole replied nervously. ¡°He¡¯s my son.¡± ¡°I¡¯m guessing he¡¯s not happy being treated like a leper right?¡± ¡°He¡¯s not¡­ Berthas is having a much better life than others of his¡­ it¡¯s not so bad,¡± Suraer glanced at his daughter. ¡°You live on,¡± Glen repeated his earlier words and the Lord of Lo-Minas nodded, his face relaxing. ¡°When you¡¯re old as I am, you realize few things matter. Pride isn¡¯t one of them,¡± he added. ¡°No one expected Hardir to be human, feared what his stance on the Zilan would be.¡± ¡°Less austere than yer laws for sure,¡± Glen replied and stared at Aelinole. ¡°You fear bringing him forward, because what you did or said then¡­ wait, when did this happen?¡± ¡°More than a hundred¡ª¡± Suraer started, but she cut him off. ¡°Summer of 3272,¡± she blurted out and seeing Glen narrowing his eyes having no idea what this meant, she added. ¡°As I understand your calendar started in 3206 of the Imperial Calendar, so summer of 66 in yours. Berthas came in the summer of 67.¡± ¡°That was a long pregnancy¡­¡± Glen commented with a blink of his eyes, the ¡®kid¡¯ was almost a hundred and thirty years old, then seeing Aelinole standing back unsure, he added. ¡°But of course Zilan take a bit longer in that as well, or am I completely wrong here?¡± ¡°Each month must be experienced in the womb,¡± Aelinole recited. ¡°But this won¡¯t guarantee the baby will survive birth.¡± ¡°Was it a surprise?¡± ¡°Not for me,¡± Suraer admitted. ¡°I didn¡¯t suspect it, then I realized she had taken a huge risk bringing him full term.¡± Glen sighed and felt a burning sensation in his stomach, the third goblet of liquor probably too much for the time of day. ¡°What is Hardir¡¯s suggestion?¡± Suraer asked looking at him. Ugh? Eh, am I supposed to advice on these matters now? ¡°Your idea was right,¡± Glen replied. ¡°If he¡¯s part of your life, then it¡¯s better to bring him forward. It¡¯s been over a century, good grief. Goras has gone completely the other way. We literally brought the jungle strays into the fold.¡± Though I had no idea it was as big a thing then. Aelinole hanged her head. Yeah, Glen thought. It will be awkward to admit it and apologize, but it can¡¯t be helped. Folen had in a sense. Took him a week to fix that nose and the rib is still bothering him, but hey Roran didn¡¯t like him in the first place. Not to mention he¡¯s nowhere near as appealing as you. In your very-fit womanly stature. Eh. ¡°Bring him forward, when you take the throne,¡± Suraer added just to be sure, his words measured. You old steed¡­ nicely played. ¡°I don¡¯t mind if he was introduced there,¡± Glen assured him with a restrained smile of his own. People would be too preoccupied to be stunned by a bastard half-breed with funny hair. If they are, they¡¯d be less inclined to make a scene in front of him. ¡°Thank you Hardir,¡± Lord Suraer said and they heard the wyvern landing outside in the palace¡¯s large yard at the top of the Mastaba. Uvrycres didn¡¯t need to take the stairs. Could he fit through the doors? ¡°I¡¯ll go see to him,¡± Glen said and paused to elucidate. ¡°My guess is he left Laedan a kilometer behind at least. He¡¯s playful like that.¡± Unless he killed him. The Denmaster always said it¡¯s the flip of a coin whether you¡¯ll survive the next visit to a wyvern¡¯s lair, or not, due to their capricious characters and short fuse. Triggered by the wrong word, or a simple matter of yester¡¯s dyspepsia. Which come to think of it, puts Laedan¡¯s persistent queries about Uvrycres diet into the proper context. Shit.
The two Zilan knights at the entrance had wisely kept their distance from the resting Onyx Wyvern. They turned their eyes on Glen exiting Suraer¡¯s Hall and then followed him as he made his way to the large creature. Uvrycres lay on his stomach, hind legs gathered, winged front legs creating a shade for his wedge-shaped horned head. His long neck coiled and staring at the guards and him. Glen waved Kirk away, the bodyguard had made it up the Mastaba and was talking with the adventurers at the stairs. He kept his back straight and his strides confident, despite the discomfort on his legs and thought of using something for his hair that had grown considerably the past months. Uvrycres breathed deeply, a heavy smell of brimstone reaching him and sort of blinked with its strange reptile eyes once. The leathery outer eyelid not closing, but the three different clear ones did, closing and opening one after the other, changing the clarity on the large vertical pupil. That familiar burgundy color appearing lightly lit from the inside. It¡¯s annoying they have so few tall buildings here, the wyvern said gutturally. The dagger translated the beast¡¯s loud shriek in his head and Glen sighed, found a spot on the hard warm and scaly body to put his back on. Right next to the wyvern¡¯s head that now stood higher than his hips. They stared at the masked guards thirty meters away and the guards stared at them. Then at Sam, Kirk and the adventurers, plus a heavy breathing arriving Folen. Uvrycres eyes turning mimicking Glen¡¯s. ¡°They have this one and the stables,¡± Glen murmured. ¡°Solid height.¡± The stables are better, much bigger roof, but I sense they don¡¯t want me near their livestock, Uvrycres replied. Yeah, they don¡¯t. ¡°It comes as no surprise Suraer keeps the stables better than his Hall,¡± Glen chuckled, but he quickly sobered up. ¡°Where have you been?¡± Looked for the witch. ¡°Did you find her?¡± I won¡¯t be looking for her anymore. Glen nodded and breathed out relieved. He patted the wyvern with his left hand between the horns and rubbed its slick scales to its ears. He noticed Uvrycres kept an eye on him. ¡°What is it?¡± Glen asked sensing his mood. ¡°You¡¯re awfully quiet.¡± Want me to scare these fancy guards off the edge? It¡¯s a twenty meter drop. Bet ye a biscuit they¡¯ll scream like girls afore they get splattered all over the granite tiles! ¡°No,¡± Glen decided. ¡°You dodged. When did you turn so sneaky?¡± Mmm. It¡¯s the company. When did you? Glen nodded seeing his point. ¡°We might have to make another journey to this Crimson Palace. This is taking far longer than I had originally anticipated.¡± Assuming the throne? ¡°No, I didn¡¯t count on that, the journey was my meaning.¡± Who else should rule other than us? I¡¯ve figured out where this was going years ago! Glen crooked his mouth, looked in his satchel for his pipe and then remembered, he was out of the good stuff. Fucking Gish should have given me something easier to find, he griped, a strange feeling creeping up on him. A sense of gloom and solitude. He gulped down, as it was a feeling Glen remembered very well from his youth. It didn¡¯t use to bother him as much back then. His thoughts mostly on getting the next small score and secure food. Then again he didn¡¯t really have any company worth missing back then, other than the old thief he had left with the Galant Dogs and frankly didn¡¯t miss at all. Liko and Crafton were better off there anyway. Anabasis, the Wyvern said still looking at him intently. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Glen asked hoarsely and rubbed his face to drive the strange uneasiness away. A king¡¯s ascension on the throne is never easy, even when no foes, or menaces are visible. ¡°Who am I missing?¡± We could find out, but we need a Seer for that and I prefer not to approach another one soon. It is not pleasant. ¡°This is the most mature I have ever heard you speak,¡± Glen told him proudly. ¡°Right?¡± Hmm. ¡°What else?¡± The king makes it alone and remains solitary after that. ¡°They don¡¯t have friends, family?¡± Glen asked not liking this pessimistic outlook on future. Everyone but the gods stand under the Monarch Glen. Those you mentioned as well. For good, or bad, the Wyvern replied, then stared at Folen ducking behind the corner of the entrance upon seeing Lord Suraer and Aelinole exiting. At the far edge of the building, where the guest quarters were, a lone figure stood and watched them all in curious silence, the face vaguely familiar. Berthas, ye poor kid, Glen thought and the wyvern interrupted his reverie with a solemn hiss. It is sadness Glen. And not maturity was his meaning.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 351. The King beyond the Pale Mountains (2/3)
Glen Arguen Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Lord of Morn Taras Monarch of Sinya Goras King beyond the Pale Mountains The King beyond the Pale Mountains Part II -The stairs of Crimson Palace-
Wetull, 193 NC - The doors of Suraer¡¯s Hall were kept open to allow more citizens to attend. Glen had taken the throne between the Lord of Lo-Minas and his daughter Aelinole, but it was the old Zilan that was speaking to those gathered. ¡°We can¡¯t predict the future,¡± Suraer said in the Imperial tongue, his reasoned manner difficult to argue against. ¡°That¡¯s what I believe. We catch a glimpse of it, but the inferences we might entice from that small revelation might be incorrect. Hardir is here and so is his wyvern. You¡¯ve seen it, there¡¯s no doubt on this matter. Laedan can attest to it. You also realize Lo-Minas is still standing and those of you from Abarat can attest for your city in a similar vein,¡± he paused to gather his thoughts and continued in that dignified steady voice. Had Glen being a horse he would have welcomed him on his saddle. Which was mildly disturbing a thought and there was a bit of ¡®influence¡¯ probably in play here as well. Hmm. ¡°Instead of wiping everything out, Hardir decided to take the throne and start rebuilding.¡± Suraer turned to Glen and he pushed forward on his seat. ¡°I don¡¯t believe,¡± Glen said taking the thread as they had agreed. ¡°The Seers had a natural disaster in mind, something so total and leveling,¡± he said in his less fluent Imperial. ¡°But it happened. It brought the buildings down, earth got swallowed by water and the land turned to desert, or wilderness. I¡¯ve used most of my fancy words for this bit,¡± he added with a smile the crowd received numbly, though someone chuckled abruptly before stopping seeing the others not as enthusiastic. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you what I said in Goras. Help me rebuild this land, connect the cities and open up trade. Get along, even when it is unpalatable and don¡¯t cause me problems. It will work, or you will suffer. Don¡¯t mess with me and mine, or you¡¯ll see a version of Hardir that¡¯s far from pleasant. I don¡¯t do warnings well, but I¡¯ve a punishing hand.¡± ¡°Hardir will climb the stairs of the Crimson Palace and sit on the throne,¡± Suraer added seeing Glen had worked himself into a mini frenzy and was trying to calm down scowling. ¡°Those that wish to see it can come along. I¡¯ll provide transportation. It¡¯s ceremonial, a symbolic gesture to show he is here to rule and not punish. Let¡¯s not give him reason to change his mind.¡± Suraer is a great official, Glen decided. That he¡¯s almost universally panned by the other Zilan officials goes to show how crooked they are. Glen fueling the problem by inserting more flawed individuals into the system. I¡¯ll take loyal to me, over an honest rebellious saint, he decided after pondering on it while Suraer talked. But care to keep the more straightforward to my side and that means Suraer stays, since he controls the knights. Thank the allgods for sozzled daughters, wet loins and silver-tongued vagrants, Glen thought and stood up from the throne. ¡°I wish no fanfare,¡± Glen said although he wouldn¡¯t mind some thrown his way. ¡°No gifts,¡± again there was nothing wrong with the practice, ¡°Or worshiping. Hard work, honesty and common sense can accomplish everything, with a bit of fun thrown in,¡± nothing of the above applied to him other than the fun part. ¡°I¡¯ve a council set up already in Goras and there is the Council of Twenty in Abarat as well,¡¯ he paused to stare at the mostly unknown large eared creatures, a couple of comely ladies in the mix, but a couple of donkeys as well, in the Zilan ¡®more-demanding¡¯ standard. ¡®But I will need some of you to participate as well. I¡¯ll see the rest of you on the morrow and in the journey.¡± He turned to Suraer as the crowd gave small nods, or bows, murmuring and slowly dispersed, most eager to catch a glimpse of the wyvern still resting in the yard. ¡°Where¡¯s the ship guy?¡± ¡°Rybel,¡± Suraer rustled loudly and a Zilan stopped and turned around. Glen noticed a couple of fancy dressed Zilan had also stayed behind and were staring at him with eager eyes. The female wearing a blue, embroidered tunic and a blue tall hat made out of peacock feathers. She looked like a very tall bird, the nose prominent though well shaped and not ruining her looks completely. ¡°Damn it,¡± Rybel said, the Zilan clad in a simple but nice leather jacket and cotton pants, also wore a large white hat on his head and had the rim lowered at the eyes. ¡°That him?¡± Glen asked and Rybel sighed. ¡°Serves me well for coming in the first place,¡± he griped. ¡°Come now Rybel,¡± Suraer advised him. ¡°Be more accommodating lad.¡± ¡°Leave that shit for your horses,¡± Rybel retorted not falling for his charms. ¡°Mister Rybel¡­ is this Lord Rybel?¡± Glen intervened diplomatically. ¡°Rybel will suffice,¡± Rybel said, less diplomatic though he softened it next. ¡°I¡¯m retired, hence the hat Hardir.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a nice hat,¡± Glen pointed out with half a smile. ¡°It is.¡± Wow, another punchable dude what the actual fuck! ¡°I want us to have a proper fleet up and running,¡± Glen continued with a small grimace. ¡°The starts of it are there, but I want us to have the ability to make our own in the ports available.¡± ¡°You have ports open in Goras?¡± Rybel asked evenly. ¡°Two. One just west of the Narrow Gulf in Sinya Goras and the other across the Navel,¡± Glen replied. ¡°The first was a fishing port for tuna coming from the Shallow Sea. It got trapped in the warm waters there. You could construct a small boat in the place I suppose,¡± Rybel said not impressed. ¡°The other you mentioned must be new. Have you repurposed one of Goras ports?¡± ¡°Nothing remains from the old ports. They were built around a volcano for some reason.¡± ¡°Good minerals-rich soil. Is Baltoris Port and naval yards naught but ruins as well?¡± Rybel probed. That was also over one apparently. Soil is probably excellent there as well. Plenty of dead to fertilize it! ¡°They are. No facilities remain,¡± Suraer replied for the unable to answer Glen. ¡°I don¡¯t see the means to create a fleet, what I saved is what you have Hardir,¡± Rybel replied. ¡°I have three more big transports and a Barque,¡± Glen countered, unwilling to back down. ¡°Opened up trade with Eikenport already and we¡¯re expanding towards Jelin through the use of Scaldingport.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± Rybel thought about it for a moment. ¡°Any facilities in that second port?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with Sinya Goras?¡± Glen asked. ¡°Facilities we could build.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t want your naval yard facing your enemies,¡± Rybel replied. ¡°I assume the humans won¡¯t take kindly to your rebuilding efforts.¡± Glen stood back. ¡°This is the kind of input I want from the man having the position,¡± he finally said. ¡°Well, since my answer is no,¡± Rybel argued. ¡°I wish you luck finding him.¡± ¡°Rybel,¡± Suraer grunted, his patience tested. ¡°You need to contribute.¡± ¡°I am,¡± Rybel retorted. ¡°I¡¯m looking to start a family.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve have two already!¡± Suraer blasted him. ¡°Three offspring from them! No one ever cracks two and those with a couple are few and numbered!¡± ¡°All gone sadly to the disaster. My mates and children,¡± Rybel replied. ¡°But I¡¯m hopeful to make more.¡± ¡°What¡¯s this nonsense? Tarmiel is in Abarat! Very much breathing!¡± ¡°Ungrateful daughters are like a corpse. You can¡¯t interact with them,¡± Rybel countered solemnly. ¡°You¡¯ve seduced her childhood friend!¡± Suraer argued and Glen sighed, as he¡¯d seen this before. The Zilan were completely self-centered and blind to their own faults. ¡°She caught you in the vile act!¡± ¡°Pfft. The lass was eager to learn from an experienced lover and I straightened her keel proper,¡± Rybel rejoined unapologetic. ¡°I¡¯ve much more to give my Lords, but the empire is gone so I¡¯ll just focus on my personal life.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not,¡± Glen replied. ¡°Think on it Rybel. A position might give you more opportunities to indulge in your passions.¡± ¡°Hardir is jesting of course and be glad he sees humor in your behavior,¡± a vexed Suraer intervened. ¡°But having a responsibility, an opportunity to serve, is reward enough!¡± Rybel¡¯s eyes stayed on Glen a hint of surprise in them and the former thief raised his left brow knowingly. Rybel stood back not expecting the opening. ¡°Well,¡± he said thoughtfully. ¡°I¡¯ll consider it Hardir.¡± ¡°You have until the morrow,¡± Glen retorted sternly. ¡°Lucrative positions have a tendency to be taken quite fast Mister Rybel.¡±
He¡¯ll accept, Glen thought as the old Master of Ships walked away fixing that large hat on his head and smiling at a couple of comely female citizens lingering inside the Hall. One of the fancier dressed hissing at him angry. ¡°Hardir O¡¯ Fardor,¡± the bird lady said syrupy. She had approached him whilst he was distracted that lanky thin frame towering over him disconcertingly. The nose looking more and more like a beak. There are tall women, Glen reasoned with a shiver and then there are creepy ostriches wearing feathery hats. ¡°Ehem,¡± Suraer said clearing his throat. ¡°This is Kilynia and Rimeros, former advisors to the Queen.¡± Rimeros bowed abruptly, the attempt shocking to his back probably and he managed to almost fold himself in two in front of an astounded Glen. Kilynia approached even more taking the opportunity and clasped a speechless Glen¡¯s right hand, eagerly rubbing it on her forehead with warm hands. Good grief! ¡°Ahm,¡± he started unsure as Rimeros unfurled himself, the tall Zilan managing to find his footing after his dangerous gymnastics. ¡°What is it you can actually do lady Kilynia?¡± ¡°Anything,¡± she replied readily. Glen blinked and retrieved his hand from hers. She resisted him for a tense moment. ¡°I know the inner palace needs inside and out,¡± she added ambiguously. ¡°I¡¯ve a man for that. His name is Atju¡­¡± ¡°Bless ye,¡± Kilynia offered. ¡°A Cofol,¡± Glen continued. ¡°A lovely wife and her servants, I don¡¯t need another.¡± ¡°I know the peripheral court needs inside and out,¡± Kilynia countered. ¡°The position is covered.¡± ¡°I can take on difficult tasks, like festival arrangements, or rituals,¡± she continued desperately. ¡°Can you work under a dwarf?¡± Glen asked. ¡°I haven¡¯t tried it, but I¡¯m willing to explore,¡± Kilynia retorted and Suraer blinked unsure on her meaning. Glen frowned much more versed in double talk and then nodded. Rimeros made to approach, but Glen stopped him. ¡°You do that shite again from where ye standing now, you are nailing me with that bony forehead between the eyes,¡± he explained to him warningly. ¡°You¡¯re hired.¡± ¡°I am?¡± Rimeros asked not expecting it. ¡°In what capacity?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll work with Metu¡­¡± he stopped him afore wrong conclusions were drawn. ¡°It¡¯s a Cofol slave name. Former slave. He kept the name. You¡¯ll work under him.¡± ¡°ATONE!¡± A loud garish voice came from the yard along a general commotion and noise. ¡°BEG FOR FORGIVENESS!¡± ¡°Ah,¡± Suraer commented a little disappointed. ¡°I really hoped the priest had left us.¡± Glen had the sense he meant permanently.
¡°ATONE!¡± The lanky Zilan bellowed waving his staff around threateningly to the crowd gathered to watch Uvrycres resting in the sun. ¡°DROP TO YER KNEES AND PRAY!¡± The priest wore a long dark blue tunic that had seen better days and well-worn sandals. He had a pointy head with badly cut short hair and wild, unforgiving silver eyes. If Kilynia resembled a bird, he looked like a vulture, the heavy pendant hanging from his neck, a solid gold piece carved into the shape of a three-horned wyvern. ¡°ATONE!¡± He yelled and rushed a small group of Zilan that run away from him, the priest swinging his staff but missing them. ¡°DROP TO YER KNEES AFORE THE WYVERN!¡± Feyras admonished them. ¡°Can someone calm him down?¡± Glen asked furrowing his brow. ¡°LEAVE OFFERINGS!¡± ¡°Laedan,¡± Suraer ordered the scowling Denmaster. ¡°Do something!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not qualified to handle him. Beasts, Wyverns and Hydras that¡¯s it,¡± Laedan griped circling the priest to reach the wyvern. ¡°He¡¯s going to have us all killed.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need for alarm,¡± Glen assured the worried crowd, just as Uvrycres stirred and got up on his four legs. ¡°Shite,¡± Marlo cursed immediately worried and jumped from where he was sitting near the stairs. ¡°Grab that axe Jingo!¡± ¡°Where¡¯s the food?¡± Feyras grunted and moved on the Denmaster. ¡°Where are the offerings? Have we fallen so low?¡± ¡°Feyras,¡± Suraer growled. ¡°Get out of the sun, you¡¯re embarrassing us!¡± Feyras turned to glare at him. ¡°SHAME ON YOU LORD SURAER!¡± He bellowed. ¡°Where is the temple? Where is the Den? Six stables you¡¯ve built. SIX! YOU GREEDY HORSE-LOVER!¡± ¡°Enough!¡± Glen barked and jumped between them as a couple of knights were advancing on the furious priest to protect Lord Suraer. ¡°Stand back!¡± he warned them. ¡°The wyvern doesn¡¯t like being cornered like that!¡± ¡°Hardir! IT¡¯S YOU!¡± Feyras bellowed and pointed at Glen with a triumphant leer. ¡°YOU ARE ALL DOOMED FOOLS!¡± Shite. ¡°Feyras,¡± Glen started and stepped closer to him, the priest relaxing his face to his words. ¡°I¡¯ve never strayed milord,¡± the Zilan said very moved that he knew him by name. Glen hadn¡¯t heard of the crazy bastard before that day, but decided not to comment. ¡°Kept the faith strong in me, but alas couldn¡¯t convince them. I¡¯m afraid nine out of ten are beyond salvation. Best to wipe the slate clean and start anew.¡± ¡°Eh,¡± Glen stalled and puffed his cheeks out. Hurl a fireball? Uvrycres suggested. No. The priest makes good points. He doesn¡¯t. The priest is nuts. Crazy people can raise good points, yes? Uvrycres argued. No. I¡¯m not as convinced and willing to hear more, the wyvern countered and eyed Laedan approaching with a couple of bloody pieces of meat in hand. These portions are a joke, he added uncertain. ¡°Mmm,¡± Feyras hummed and raised his arms in prayer. ¡°Mmmm.¡± You¡¯re well fed. ¡°MMMMM,¡± Feyras increased his chanting waving his staff at the smirking wyvern. Laedan whipped his scarred face around furious. ¡°Stop it you blasted zealot!¡± He tossed the meat to Uvrycres and then nimbly rolled away. ¡°That¡¯s it. The final insult,¡± Feyras decided and eyed the numb crowd. ¡°Milord unleash the Wyvern! We did all we could!¡± RRRRRRRRRRRRREE Uvrycres shrieked dragging it on purpose and the panicked crowd bolted down the stairs, a Zilan stumbling and catapulting to the bottom in a fatal plunge. His head literally disappeared inside his torso, the splattering sound horrifying but drown out from the loud screams. Feyras urging with arms and cries the wyvern after them. ¡°ACCEPT YER FATE!¡± The priest bellowed using his staff to trip a Zilan female and bringing another that went to help her on his knees with a brutal whack on the head. ¡®THERE, START WITH THESE TWO!¡±The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°That¡¯s it Feyras,¡± Suraer grunted and reached for his sword. ¡°You went too far this time!¡± ¡°Leave,¡± Glen told Uvrycres and the Wyvern turned to glare at him. ¡°Fly away.¡± I could eat the priest, the wyvern suggested. Although he makes the most sense on this platform. It¡¯s a yard upon a roof top and no he¡¯s not, Glen retorted. ¡°Hardir,¡± the priest said cleaning his staff from the blood. ¡°I will help, but we must work quickly before the rot dripping from those unbelievers spreads!¡± ¡°I will convert them back!¡± Glen snapped his voice a hiss and Uvrycres scoffed and opened his wings to fly away. ¡°They are beyond salvation!¡± ¡°Are you willing to believe?¡± Glen questioned the shocked female that was holding the unresponsive bloody Zilan in her arms. ¡°I am,¡± she agreed eagerly. ¡°With all my heart.¡± ¡°There,¡± Glen grunted scrunching his jaw. ¡°Now, lower that darn staff Feyras!¡± Early last month of Fall 192 NC Over Shaelor River, Road cutting through Aqueduct and Geese Feet Seventy kilometers from Vasati River Outlaw was busy chewing on the lush grass covering the valley on both sides of the cracked and repaired in several spots road. The heavy meter long granite tiles at its edges still visible and the cobblestone holding up despite years of abandonment and water damage. A kilometer to their south the arcs of the massive aqueduct were casting long shadows on the terrain, the light rain that had come in the night giving the ground a darker color. Glen¡¯s eyes following the elongated ruins until they disappeared into the vapors to the west. ¡°The Naval Yards,¡± Suraer informed him, a month of riding rejuvenating for the old knight. In contrast Glen had started losing his youthful eagerness after years of traversing Eplas. If it wasn¡¯t for his hatred of the deep waters, he¡¯d have risked the journey on a ship. ¡°Right between the Gymnasium and the merchant warehouses district. Elauthin across from it, but you needed to sail from the main port to dock there.¡± ¡°City center was an island?¡± Glen asked and eyed Aelinole returning with Wylinor from scouting up ahead. ¡°There was a bridge over the canal, but yes. Though initially it was a small peninsula before they opened the canal entrance,¡± Suraer replied. ¡°Behind the port stands the Crimson Palace and on a good day you could see the island¡¯s mountain tops from its roof despite them being kilometers away. And at their edges one could even spot Nureria.¡± Nym¡¯s home. At least afore they kicked her out. ¡°Not everyone has yer eyesight,¡± Glen murmured. ¡°You have a spyglass and there was one there, a big one for the tourists,¡± Suraer replied. ¡°Did the water really reach the city from so far away?¡± Glen asked turning to stare at the arched construction again. ¡°It did. It had the breadth of a small river hanging overhead, almost five meters deep and it filled seven water tanks up on the plateau afore it poured inside the port again.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t believe everything is just gone,¡± Glen said and clicked his tongue to get his horse moving again. Wylinor had given them the sign the road to the bridge was clear. ¡°The volcano in Elauthin was underwater,¡± Suraer explained. ¡°It broke the port¡¯s bottom and sucked most of the island into its depths. The explosion sent back so much material and water that there are stories of people stepping on still moving squids, octopuses and deep water fish right where we are Hardir.¡± ¡°And the waves wrecked Cydonia,¡± Glen said. ¡°It wiped out the flatlands, leaving only the peaks behind,¡± Suraer replied with a grimace. ¡°Some valued the mountain air and survived, I suppose, but Cydonia was an island chain like no other, half of it build over water. Its population probably the best of our species. The birthplace of the Seers.¡± ¡°The land of the Mori-Zilan also,¡± Glen pointed out. ¡°Feyras thinks everyone not believing in Eodrass is an Infidel,¡± Suraer retorted. ¡°His views are parochial, but the Coal Isle had a high number of non-conforming to the norm folk coming out of it.¡± ¡°Wait, if Eodrass wasn¡¯t the god of choice there, nor Abrakas and I¡¯m guessing the Goddess had its most influence on the mainland, then to whom did these Zilan adhere to?¡± ¡°The Gnome god Luthos. In their perverse view of the Realm,¡± Suraer replied with a frown. ¡°All in life is chance, naught but a cruel joke. Only way to fix the mess is to constantly change things and redistribute the fragments until you have a match.¡± ¡°Do they?¡± Glen asked curious. ¡°Ever have a match?¡± ¡°Who knows? Haven¡¯t seen one in ages,¡± Suraer retorted with a shrug. ¡°Word is Galadriel¡¯s Watch and Coal Isle were hit the worst. No one¡¯s left there probably. Trust me more worthy souls were lost during that time Hardir.¡± To you perhaps Lord Suraer, Glen thought, but he didn¡¯t pursue the matter further seeing as Suraer¡¯s face had darkened at the memories. To someone else, those folk were family.
The moment they went over the ancient arched stone bridge, the columned and shaded archway echoing the sounds of their horses over the running river and reached the other side of Vasati River two weeks later, a striking dark peak was highlighted by the setting sun. It protruded out of the flat terrain, the fertile land between Vasati and Bemere Rivers once thoroughly built over now left to the elements. Much higher than any structure near it, well over the still standing remnants of the old fortifications near the west port gates and the only building retaining most of its initial shape. This pyramid was even bigger than the one in Rida. Made out of the same iron-rich rock, it had a golden point, or capstone at its top that had cracked and now stood slightly slanted, but other than that it was whole. ¡°The west side has significant damage,¡± Rybel explained, the Zilan had joined their group. Everyone making the journey on horseback, with some of the Hoplites getting teased from the knights for their poor riding skills. Feyras was by far the worst rider of the large caravan. With as many as twenty camels, thirty mules and two hundred and twenty horses making the trip, Glen thought they qualified. In the end they had to tie the priest on a camel to secure him and there was an eagerness in restraining him, especially after he started offering the better of their supplies to the Wyvern. ¡°Some of the rooms and internal halls ruined beyond salvation,¡± the newly minted Master of Ships of¡­ Glen¡¯s council added. He needed to come up with a better name. The ¡®also master of all-ports, seas and fleets¡¯ that Rybel had added himself, Glen had summarily removed from the title despite his protests. ¡°Any looting?¡± Glen asked casually. ¡°Some stuff water, or air can¡¯t dislodge,¡± Rybel replied knowingly. ¡°But a pickaxe, or a pry bar can.¡± Glen nodded. ¡°Ye think Ebenezer reached as far?¡± ¡°Yep, but he was mostly interested in gold, magic artifacts and rubies,¡± Rybel commented. ¡°Allegedly.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know him, nor have any relation,¡± Glen defended himself. ¡°Actually he¡¯s mostly described as an adventurer these days back on Jelin.¡± ¡°Haha, goodness me,¡± Rybel guffawed almost chocking himself. ¡°Well, it¡¯s like pirates and buccaneers in a sense. They could be different, but most of the world will only seem them one way.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± Glen murmured and climbed down from Outlaw. ¡°Damnit, I think my back is split in two.¡± ¡°Not used to riding Hardir?¡± Rybel probed with a smile and jumped down, immediately fixing the hat on his head. Glen suspected the Zilan probably tried to hide a balding spot there. ¡°On the contrary,¡± Glen rustled curtly. ¡°I¡¯ve done too much of it mister Rybel.¡±
But it was the climbing part he hated the most. ¡°I have the whole day planned,¡± Kilynia said eagerly touching his elbow, until Glen removed it and extending his left arm shoved her away a couple of meters. The Zilan gasped, but smiled all pearly teeth and sharp fangs, then halved the distance again alike a hungry chicken, until Glen put his right hand on the pommel of his sword stopping her advance for good. ¡°I think we ought to check if the King¡¯s Hall is safe first,¡± Suraer argued and stared at the almost three hundred meter tall pyramid. The massive structure¡¯s shade so thick on that side, the place was dark despite this being a sunny morning. ¡°The day part is concerning,¡± Glen said and Folen frowned seeing Roran approach and stepped behind Sam Mathews. ¡°That¡¯s about seven hundred steps to the top,¡± Rimeros elucidated. ¡°But you only need to reach the penultimate balcony Hardir.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not shaving that much,¡± Glen griped and stared at Lord Suraer. ¡°I¡¯ll have Kirk following and the priest. We don¡¯t need to drag this out¡­¡± seeing everyone¡¯s blank stares he added. ¡°I¡¯ll sit on the throne, if one is present and that¡¯s it.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a ceremony following,¡± Kilynia started looking at her papers. She even had sketches drawn of little people with names over their heads and a diagram of the Hall. ¡°Assuming it¡¯s safe,¡± Glen corrected her. ¡°That Hall is high up there and there¡¯s a big hole right underneath it. We don¡¯t want to put weight on them floors.¡± ¡°A King enters the Hall alone with Eodrass!¡± Feyras blasted them. ¡°All other stuff is meaningless.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see a god anywhere near,¡± Glen retorted. ¡°And Uvrycres is a big body to have walk on a cracked floor on top of everyone else!¡± ¡°His priest will suffice Hardir,¡± Feyras argued. ¡°These people haven¡¯t prayed in years!¡± ¡°I pray diligently Hardir,¡± Rimeros lied and bowed deeply, Glen grimacing at the abuse his spine must¡¯ve suffered. Feyras violently smacked him once with his staff for the obvious lie and send him sprawling on the ground with a groan. Probably causing even more damage. ¡°Right,¡± Glen said clearing his throat whilst a knight helped a pained Rimeros up on rubbery legs. ¡°Let¡¯s use this day to put everything in place and I¡¯ll make the decision later on how we¡¯ll handle this.¡± ¡°What about a crown?¡± Aelinole asked and Roran turned to look at her intently. The Hoplite still had his helm on. Dude, Glen thought. You¡¯re going to wish you¡¯d stayed in Abarat. ¡°There was a strongbox in Ninthalor¡¯s hands,¡± Kilynia started. ¡°The statue,¡± she answered Glen¡¯s query. ¡°Go on from the strongbox part,¡± Glen urged her firmly, the matter interesting. ¡°If it¡¯s there we could use the crown of horns,¡± she added quickly. ¡°It¡¯s a ceremonial offering,¡± Suraer admonished her. ¡°You¡¯ll plunder the king¡¯s gift to the temple?¡± ¡°The old horse is right for once,¡± Feyras agreed and reaching slapped Kilynia across the face for her insolence. ¡°Leave now and don¡¯t return afore you¡¯ve prayed for six hours,¡± he told the stunned official. ¡°I¡¯m lenient since you were well meaning. Next time I¡¯ll put a nail through your tongue.¡± Fuck¡¯s sake! ¡°How do we know¡­?¡± Glen growled, trying to contain his anger and failing. Living with so many Zilan at the near had pushed him at the end of his wits. ¡°The crown is still there?¡± ¡°Who would dare steal the first king¡¯s gift?¡± Suraer asked, seeming horrified at the thought and Glen stared at him numbly for a moment. Folen heard humming and whistling behind Sam to soothe the rising tempers and divert attention to someone else. His bard skills being as they were really poor having the exact opposite effect. Glen sighed and turned his attention on the many stairs and then the strangely columned road they were standing in the middle off that led away from them. The road extending towards the ruins of a large building, many of its columns knocked down, the marble tiles cracked and even broken to pieces. Their color a deep pink, almost red. ¡°Hardir?¡± Suraer asked seeing him walking to one side of the road and stooping over a collapsed column. Its surface covered with moss and dirt, the golden details on it ruined and difficult to decipher now, but in its heyday it would have been quite the sight. A red road, leading to the red pyramid. Both the road and the pyramid gleaming with touches of gold. At times engraved adornments, or gold-paint on the sides bordering the long stairs. When the sun reached the top and doused this facade with its light, the sight must have been wondrous. He¡¯d also seen it in a dream years ago. Glen could barely remember the dream now, but he remembered the pyramid. Its halls and its frescos. How? ¡°I¡¯ve never been here afore in my life,¡± Glen said numbly and a little spooked. ¡°But I have seen it.¡± ¡°The god¡¯s dreams penetrate our psyche,¡± Feyras recited fervently from memory, eyes wild and if one was being honest to himself, filled with insanity. ¡°Steer us along the right path.¡± Glen blinked and gave a small nod, his face darkening. He¡¯d asked a god about it and the God had refused it was him. Blamed Luthos instead. The problem in this being that Luthos only played games and the dream was more like a memory. Which left a disconcerting option open as to the culprit being someone else. The worst part of the latter being Glen had no idea who that person was. A faint presence lurking near him since the very start. ¡°Bring me yer suggestions,¡± he decided and gulped down, his mouth bitter. ¡°Someone find me a bottle of wine. I¡¯ll rest for a bit and I suggest you start building a camp friends. It might get chilly in the night.¡±
¡°Kirk,¡± Glen ordered an hour later. ¡°Find Folen.¡± ¡°Aye milord,¡± Kirk replied and left him alone. Glen stared at the weeds covering the ruins, parts of walls several stories high still standing. The large boulevards tiled with large stone bricks still holding the wilderness back at places, but a large portion of the buildings near Bemere River were overrun. The temple complex built on a rise gently sloping towards the river¡¯s banks and the port. At some point the sea was further away than it was now. Glen removed his left glove and stared at his stiff hand. The skin had returned its color for the most part months after the fight with the witch, but he always lost some feeling to it for days. Unsustainable. I need to find a way to secure this plaguing thing, without creating anymore trouble for myself. It is impossible not to lose control of these creatures unless I turn brutal, or become another Baltoris. What would make it past their craziness? Restore the fate? A common foe? Even if it isn¡¯t there? What vanity would unite them all? The hazy horizon and the distant waters of the port that split the old capital in two and allowed it to grow out in seemingly never-ending concentric half circles, each part shaped like a piece of cake, now lost to time. The Gymnasium, Baltoris Port, the Crimson Palace, the Aqueduct fields and the Canal district where the port had its entrance. Elauthin was a country and a city, much like Goras had been. Only the Zilan would have built something so gargantuan and so fragile at the same time. A taunting cry to the heavens. We¡¯re here now and we rule this land. Feet firmly set upon volcanoes. Madness. God darn corpse and stupid bag of gold. That¡¯s as far as I¡¯m willing to run. The Realm¡¯s edges. You brought this on yourselves. It¡¯s time I push all you motherfuckers back. ¡°Milord,¡± Kirk said. Glen hadn¡¯t heard him approaching. ¡°I¡¯ve brought Folen.¡± ¡°I ask permission to return to Goras. I fear for my safety Hardir,¡± Folen started immediately, Glen stopping him with an impatient wave. ¡°Where is it?¡± He asked, his tone threatening. Folen stood back. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know.¡± His body language screaming that he did. ¡°Bet that you do,¡± Glen argued. ¡°It¡¯s not in the box that¡¯s scrupulously looted already, or I¡¯ve a third eye on my forehead,¡± he grimaced keeping his pair of amber eyes on the former guide among many other things. ¡°Would he had brought it with him on Jelin? Too much of a taunt back in those days, even today. A commoner wearing a crown, right Kirk?¡± ¡°Outrageous milord,¡± the soldier agreed, himself blind to the irony. ¡°He had to have left it somewhere near to slip by the Zilan as well. It¡¯s one thing to carry loot in a bag, but a crown?¡± Glen continued. ¡°Where is it mister Folen? The pyramid? In another room?¡± Folen smacked his lips and stared at the rest of the Zilan spread about the old temple complex in groups and examining what was left with curiosity. A couple of them sad, some amused and few interested in one detail or other they remembered, or had heard described differently. ¡°You¡¯ll never find it,¡± Folen replied and puffed out. ¡°He hid things without us knowing.¡± Glen followed the old columned road to the other end and the remnants of the large estate. ¡°What¡¯s left of the old royal quarters?¡± He asked casually remembering the bedroom in his dream and Folen gawked his eyes in shock. ¡°Snap out of it,¡± Glen admonished him. ¡°And help out. Contribute friend, or I¡¯m dropping yer arse in the Hoplite camp. You¡¯ve followed that dastardly crook, a half breed or not, you¡¯re still a Zilan and can see things humans can¡¯t. Ebenezer was raised with humans, had a field day running circles around them. But this part he would have never learned. Dealing with his own.¡± ¡°He hadn¡¯t,¡± Folen agreed, a little impressed. ¡°But the place has turned into rubble¡ª¡± Glen stopped him raising a hand, his extended fingers kept close. ¡°It¡¯s under the floor in one of the corners. Find me the crown mister Folen and I¡¯ll keep the Hoplite away.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a rumor,¡± Folen started, sweat darkening his collar. ¡°Lady Aelinole spends the night with a man. It has the brute vexed to no end.¡± ¡°Trust me,¡± Glen retorted curtly. ¡°Truth will vex him even more. Bring me the crown Folen and I¡¯ll allow you to return to Goras whilst you still can.¡± Kirk watched the frustrated Zilan leaving, the ruins of the estate over a kilometer away and then turned to a thoughtful Glen that had reached for his spyglass. ¡°The view is better from the top Milord,¡± Kirk told him and Glen nodded. ¡°Anyone back down from it?¡± ¡°Wylinor, but found most working halls empty.¡± ¡°I bet you lots of ¡®adventurers¡¯ made it here,¡± Glen commented wryly. ¡°But left it out of their memoirs.¡± You can¡¯t get rid of looters. They are like cockroaches, ever waiting under furniture, or watching with greedy eyes from a corner. Eh. ¡°I don¡¯t believe Framtond wrote the tales,¡± Kirk argued. ¡°If you don¡¯t see that these tales are ¡®massaged¡¯ to create a narrative friend, then you¡¯ve let the heart fool yer mind and eyes,¡± Glen countered. No thief will ever tell you where the gold is buried, unless you start cutting parts out of him and there¡¯s no better way to scare suitors away than a haunted tale of unreachable lands and monsters lurking in the shadows. The night went by with a couple of minor incidents, a fifteen meters long monster of a crocodile venturing out of the river to feed on a mule and the Zilan sleeping on it being the highlight and his family of equally large scaly predators patrolling one of the river approaches to look for him after the monster failed to return, being the other. Apparently the beasts¡¯ part of the tale was real.
A determined Arguen Garth, O¡¯ Nielek Aniculo, climbed the long stairs of Crimson Palace ahead of a long procession of faithful Zilan and humans. He ascended with dignity without pauses wearing the old Horned Crown. At the entrance he turned around and stared back at those following after him. Lord Suraer of Lo-Minas and Eodrass cruel Priest Feyras, the commander of the Royal Rokae Sir Delmuth, brave Aelinole and the giant Soren, who had come from a land North of Jelin. Aenymriel of mythical Nureria where Elas had lived and perished, famed Roran the Second Leader of the Phalanx then and a slew of notable officials. Some of them still in the Council today. The Master of Ships Rybel, Vulreon the First Scribe and industrious Kilynia. The lute-carrying Folen, the Master of Silence and Sir Kirk of Goras that never strayed far from Garth in the years I¡¯ve known him. Noble Sam Mathews and his band of adventurers. The trusted Ranger Wylinor and of course majestic Uvrycres, the Onyx Wyvern. The latter had landed on the gold capstone atop the pyramid and roared for long to scare the dark spirits away. The bright sun cast its light over the stairs and the gilded decorations. The brilliance blinding and the red fading on the walls of the pyramid like old blood. Those watching from bellow say that Garth dissolved into the golden light for a moment and the next time they saw him inside the King¡¯s Hall, he was sitting on the old cracked throne. Feyras chanted of the empire¡¯s return and lamented of past glories, but those watching the human occupying the throne say it felt that the Monarch had his mind elsewhere. While this could be just memories changing with hindsight, a day into the traditional month-long celebration Arguen Garth would decide to return to Goras sort of proving their assumptions correct. Whatever the case may have been for his supposedly sour mood and it¡¯s not important to mention here, on the ides of the first month of winter, the year of the Imperial Calendar 3398, the official beginning of the Third Era came to be and the King ¡®beyond the Pale Mountains¡¯ assumed the throne of Wetull. The Onyx Wyvern¡¯s reign had thus begun. - Phinariel, the Boorish Poet, Royal Scribe, Member of the Queen¡¯s Council in King¡¯s Anabasis -Arguen Garth, O¡¯ Nielek Aniculo- Celebrated in the Austere Cofol of the Four Old Sisters as, Noble Ruler, of Onyx Wyvern. Referred to as, Ruthless Lord of Tenebrous Castle (Morn Taras) in both Jelin & Eplas, But commonly known as the King beyond the Pale Mountains. Chapter IV (Crimson Palace & a Crown of Horns) -Epilogue- - Entered into the Royal Library, In 210 NC, Circa 3416 IC ¨Cconsolidated- (3rd Era)
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 352. The King beyond the Pale Mountains (3/3)
Glen Arguen Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Lord of Morn Taras Monarch of Sinya Goras King beyond the Pale Mountains Aniculo Rokae The King beyond the Pale Mountains Part III -The Capricorn Pendant-
¡°All-Tylyal! Arguen Garth!¡± ¡°Minue Vala Arato!¡± If it was only the one thing the Zilan knew how to do well, then that thing would be acoustics. It was directly connected to their tendency of building tall first, then wide for as long as possible. At some point stability and gravity started working against them and the designs tended to slant inwards, the roofs getting pointier. Glen wasn¡¯t an architect, had no idea about buildings in general, unless it was a small dam in a creek, then he had a couple of thoughts on how to do it. All his ideas involving tossing logs into the water, or variants of it. Now acoustics he understood they were related to the internal volume available for the sound to spread about, bounce, or whatever the fuck Folen had told him about the temple. Since each floor was as high as twenty meters at the base, the makers of the structure painted themselves into a corner the higher they went and for the pointy part of the pyramid they were forced to settle for a modest eight meters for the throne Hall. The walls were slanted, cracked on the west side, the roof over that spot caved in a bit where the capstone had sunk, which made the roof crooked and less tall above Glen¡¯s right shoulder. The throne was made out of bronze and had been encased in a thick layer of pure gold at some point, but someone had taken a chisel on it and ripped most of the gold away, leaving a beaten up and creaking mess behind. Glen put a folded cloak over the sharp edges left on the seat afore he lowered his arse on it and still he could feel the sting. ¡°Hail to the Noble Keeper!¡± ¡°Foremost Divine Champion!¡± Nothing hurt as much as the Crown of Horns though. A hefty Imperial steel piece for its base, finely polished and engraved to resemble folding dragon scales. A prominent red ruby right at the forehead, slotted in a white-silver carved lozenge-shaped frame. An outer ring of sharpened slick black and glass-like wyvern bones angling outwards, all six of them. Another three real and thicker horns, like those of a small wyvern -probably about a year old- secured on the front of the second inner ring and protruding upwards sharp as knives. How the crafters of the crown had gotten their hands on wyvern horns he didn¡¯t know, but he intended to find out once the cheering part of the festivities was over. The mostly black and silvery ominous piece of jewelry ¨Cother than the egg sized ruby Glen had attempted to pry away for academic reasons, but couldn¡¯t in the time he had- was heavy as all-fucks and probably sturdy enough to block a blade to the cranium, or cave an opponent¡¯s face in with a timely head-butt. Those horns would shred him even if the head-butt isn¡¯t timely, Glen mused raising his arm and all but giving a thumbs up to the ululating crowd that had packed the weakened floor of the temple¡¯s King¡¯s Hall. He had three gestures prepared for the event and given he felt worn out from the brutal climb it was for the better. Fine, any event really. The common wave, which he settled for at Kilynia¡¯s eager nodding. All them feathers dancing about over her ogling eyes making him dizzy. The thumbs up and the middle finger. ¡°Hail to King Garth!¡± A Zilan yelled above everyone else, the voices reverberating on the walls and the tremendous acoustics that had all but knocked him out initially after Feyras had finished his interesting to start foreword, but quickly devolving into a fierce reprimand of the crowd present that understandably wasn¡¯t well received from the weary climbers. The heavy jeering didn¡¯t deter the priest at all and he persisted for a grueling half-hour until his mouth dried up and paused to ask for water. Nobody volunteered, which gave Lord Suraer the chance he was looking for. He rushed to the front shoving the priest away and into the arms of two knights and called for the crowd to acknowledge the King¡¯s Seat taken, which led the weary crowd to explode with enthusiasm marking the end of Feyras monologue. None wearier than Glen, who had all but given up in the attempt to reach the Hall earlier, collapsing on the stairs breathing heavier than a pregnant mare, mouth hanging open and clasping at his sweaty collar to pry it open, but despite his efforts still not getting enough air into his lungs. Twice he almost tumbled backwards for a death plunge down the granite steps, his only consolation the fact that he intended to grab as many of the Zilan following him and drag them along on the way down. It was at times like these he could see reasoning in Gimoss¡¯ insane behavior. Murderous thoughts aside and given that no one wanted to climb up and help him, Glen could have honestly perished of a heart attack around step number five hundred and seventy nine and the whole thing turned into a catastrophe of epic proportions. Glen didn¡¯t die, but pushed on sweating and cursing the aforementioned Zilan architects mothers, sisters and more marginal family members, using many a colorful epithets and some ingenious curses. ¡°Long may he reign!¡± Another Zilan screamed hoarsely, the cheering going on and on, the Crown slowly piercing his scalp and sinking into his head, the rim pressing hard over his brows forcing him to squint his eyes to keep them open. What is this shite? Good grief! ¡°A hundred cheers!¡± A younger Zilan yelled jumping up and down, several of those standing near him nodding and urging the rest for another round of applause. ¡°One!¡± A comely female cheered. ¡°All Hail Arguen Garth O¡¯ Nielek Aniculo!¡± ¡°Two!¡± A thick browed fancy dressed male said next, the crowd clapping and screaming. ¡°Hail to the Wyvern King!¡± Feet thudding down and rattling the floor. It was about to turn into a dance. Or a riot. ¡°THREE!¡± Another screamed. Oh, for slovenly fuck¡¯s sake! Glen thought seeing where this was going and stood up abruptly, the crown dropping a bit on his forehead. ¡°Friends¡­¡± he croaked pushing the crown back, cutting his finger on a sharp edge. ¡°MY FRIENDS!¡± He bellowed when no one appeared to listen to him and the crowd thankfully stopped their cheering, but for a couple that kept on for a little while longer. ¡°I appreciate your enthusiasm, but Kilynia has prepared a short toast to mark the occasion.¡± ¡°A TOAST!¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Glen said with a grin. ¡°Let¡¯s have some wine, but I¡¯ll partake in a bit of water as well,¡± he added to a loud round of applause. Kilynia waved to the helpers she had tasked to bring the plates with goblets forward and everyone reached for a cup eagerly, giving Glen a few minutes to gather his thoughts. ¡°Your Majesty,¡± Lord Suraer said not half a minute later. Ugh. ¡°I hereby release Sir Delmuth to you. The Rokae shall protect the King of Wetull, if the King so wishes.¡± ¡°Ahm,¡± Glen started, then cleaned his dry throat and reached for a cup Atju had brought him. He couldn¡¯t refuse him. ¡°Of course dear Lord Suraer,¡± he said. ¡°The King welcomes Sir Delmuth,¡± Glen nodded at the mask wearing Knight, who placed a gloved right hand over his heart. ¡°It¡¯s an honor to serve the Monarch!¡± Delmuth boomed. His lungs trained to be heard over loud galloping. ¡°The Rokae shall never leave your side Arguen Garth!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s keep the spacing sensible for starters,¡± Glen retorted. ¡°Work from there Sir Delmuth,¡± the last thing he wanted was a bunch of marching armoured and mask-wearing brutes following him around. ¡°Sensible spacing shall be maintained your Highness,¡± Delmuth agreed and saluted again. That¡¯s right, Glen thought and sipped from his cup. ¡°Hear, hear,¡± a Zilan said from across the room and raised his glass, everyone mimicking him. ¡°To the Monarch!¡± Glen nodded and went to drink again with a warning stare to the eager Zilan not to do it again, but Suraer waved for Aelinole to approach and stopped him. The fit female made the small trip ¨Cover ten meters separated the crowd from the throne- but was stopped two meters before she reached her father and the grimacing Glen by a burly Rokae. ¡°Sir Maderas,¡± Aelinole said reproachfully to the armoured knight. ¡°We grew up together.¡± ¡°Apologies Lady Aelinole,¡± Maderas replied. That was it. He didn¡¯t say anything else, nor did he move out of her way. ¡°My good knight, let her approach. I¡¯m sure Lady Aelinole won¡¯t shoot me in the face wit her bow,¡± Glen ordered and Maderas turned his solemn mask his way alarmed. Shit. Dis came out wrong. ¡°Is this the Monarch¡¯s wish?¡± Not really, but I thought it funny at the moment. ¡°I¡¯d like to hear the noble Lady,¡± Glen elucidated instead. The knight nodded and stepped away. Hah. ¡°Arguen Garth,¡± Aelinole started and raised her glass. ¡°I toast to your good health. Here is to a thousand more good summers and twice as many winters. May your reign bring everlasting glory to the empire and endless agony to its enemies!¡± The crowd cheered at her words, Aelinole was favored by the Lo-Minas heavy presence, but for the adventurers who glanced at each other unsure. Folen was nowhere to be seen. Glen was more troubled he couldn¡¯t get the full benefit of her wish, than what probably had been Lord Suraer¡¯s prepared toast to palate his countrymen afore the big reveal. ¡°Allow me to introduce my son Berthas,¡± Aelinole said tensely and waved for the young hooded Zilan to approach. Berthas stepped forward, the crowd¡¯s noise coming to a stop immediately. Glen gestured for Sir Delmuth to allow him to come near his mother. ¡°We hope he¡¯ll find a way to train his skills fully now that the empire¡¯s roads and laws are open to all citizens.¡± ¡°What is his talent?¡± Glen asked. He was supposed to gloss over this part, but Glen thought it was better to get everything out of the way, than revisit the matter of his ¡®reforms¡¯ later. Aelinole licked her lips and stared at her solemn father. ¡°Answer the King¡¯s query child,¡± Lord Suraer rustled. ¡°He¡¯s skilled in the Magic Arts great Monarch,¡± Aelinole replied tensely and the crowd gasped unsure. ¡°Great,¡± Glen retorted to the crowd¡¯s astonishment. ¡°Nothing wrong in that. I¡¯ve allowed the practice in Goras,¡± he stared at the hooded Berthas next. ¡°We don¡¯t hide our face from the King lad,¡± Glen cautioned him, because that¡¯s what Monarchs do. Lords do it as well and knights, but Monarchs do it more. Probably. Berthas removed his hood and bowed. ¡°Apologies Arguen Garth. Please forgive me.¡± ¡°Yer forgiven,¡± Glen replied with a smile, the stunned crowd staring at the half-breed in horrified disbelief. Berthas only lacked a bit in the ears and he had that blond and purple hair. So Glen couldn¡¯t see what the big deal was. Personally he¡¯d mistaken him for a normal Zilan initially. Someone collapsed on the ground creating a ruckus of epic proportions and Glen glanced that way to find a pale Folen sprawled under an overturned table. Hmm. You didn¡¯t know then. Guess you got conned as well. ¡°Now,¡± he continued with a roll of his eyes at what had been obvious to him since the start. The real mystery here is why go after Aelinole, if Darunia was available? Unless the comely Healer wasn¡¯t as easy to dupe as the fierce Ranger. Then again Lord Suraer¡¯s daughter is equally impressive and perhaps old Ebenezer had really fallen for her. Um, nah¡­¡°Let¡¯s allow Kilynia¡ª¡± ¡°Arguen Gath,¡± Roran grunted cutting him off, silver details on the Hoplite¡¯s helmet making him stand out from his many colleagues coalescing around him. ¡°This can¡¯t be glossed over!¡± ¡°Roran,¡± Glen said pushing back on his throne, not sure if the Zilan had a looser court protocol. Or a debate hour? Is that what it is? ¡°You know I allow magic practitioners in Goras yes?¡± ¡°I was talking of the half-breed!¡± Roran rustled sounding strangled, but managing to add in the end. ¡°Great Monarch.¡± ¡°The King knows his name Roran!¡± Aelinole snapped at him hurt. ¡°Was this your ploy? I don¡¯t recognize you,¡± Roran replied bitterly. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± Glen intervened staring at the fuming Hoplite. ¡°I did. I¡¯ve also forgiven his sins,¡± Glen continued and Feyras frowned, but then shrugged his shoulders and finished off his wine. Aelinole had stood back upset. ¡°The lad shall serve the realm with a clean slate.¡± ¡°A¡­ clean slate?¡± Roran croaked not believing his ears. ¡°A new beginning,¡± Glen elucidated calmly and gave his goblet to Atju. ¡°A new king can do that, am I wrong?¡± ¡°No, Arguen Garth you are not,¡± Roran replied. ¡°Let us celebrate,¡± Glen continued. ¡°Allow the past to die friend. See to a different future.¡± Roran stepped back and crossed his arms over his muscled cuirass. It¡¯ll do, Glen decided. The man just got punched in the gut. He¡¯ll hopefully recover, though it may take time. Aenymriel had appeared near the shaking Folen in the meantime and helped him to his feet. A wild haired Zilan shading her, clad in a dark cloak. Glen had seen him afore. Varg. Where the fuck had ye disappeared all these months? ¡°The King has spoken,¡± Lord Suraer announced for all to hear, the old Zilan appearing rejuvenated, much more than his daughter who stared at the silent crowd with worrying eyes. ¡°Let no one stray from his words,¡± he continued and gestured for another round of wine to be served.
Glen spent his day on the throne, where he received one after the other the Zilan that had made the journey with him. They talked of the long years of uncertainty and their old lives they now had built anew. Missing, or long dead kin. Lovers, husbands, wives, mates, kids and friends. Even slaves, or pets. Some reminisced of the old empire¡¯s laws and the customs, with Glen leaving it vague whether he¡¯ll reinstate, abolish, or keep them.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. His head hurt, mostly due to the crown, but also from the effort to keep it diplomatic and pleasant. To not ruin the moment. Because despite some hiccups it was a pleasant day and most enjoyed Lord Suraer¡¯s wine, trying to know their liege. At some point they made their way down the great pyramid to visit some of its famous Halls in large merry groups. He followed Suraer and Berthas to the Seers Floor, some of its rooms on the west side badly damaged and exposed to the elements for centuries impossible to visit. The young Zilan stayed close to his grandfather in what was probably a rare treat for him, but insisted on entering the ¡®Dialogues¡¯ room, despite the damaged wall giving them a view of the river and the battlements at the distance. The gates and a corner of the walls still standing and looking capable to defend against an attack over the river. ¡°What¡¯s beyond Bemere?¡± Glen asked whilst Berthas attempted to read a partially destroyed epigraph, the engraved inscription depicting the words of the First Seer, Sintoriela. Who apparently was Aelrindel¡¯s ¨Cthe witch that had married Prince Sahand- grandmother, the detail amusing to Glen. Ena was a crazy bitch, he had commented and Suraer had frowned, but said nothing. Whether he knew that she was dead, alive, or simply having a different opinion, Glen didn¡¯t know. Lord Suraer was like that. ¡°If you travel west at some point the costal road splits,¡± Suraer replied to his present query. ¡°Head straight to Rain-Minas or south across the narrow peninsula they call the Witch¡¯s Dagger,¡± Glen narrowed his eyes at that. ¡°As far as Kallister¡¯s Tower.¡± ¡°Who was that?¡± ¡°The Traveler was one of the first wizards,¡± Berthas replied, a learned lad apparently. When you don¡¯t have friends you read, if you are rich. If you¡¯re not, you go out to steal yer next meal. Suraer stood back to listen proudly, especially after seeing Glen focusing on his kin¡¯s words. ¡°Sintoriela learned much from him and she birthed the Coven of Witches in Cydonia Cazan, they then brought to Wetull proper.¡± ¡°So whatchamacallit was from there?¡± Glen asked with a nod, stepping away from the opening as the crack on the floor ¨Creaching to the middle of the room- didn¡¯t appear safe. ¡°Sintoriela? She was from Nureria, but grew up in Isildor.¡± ¡°The dude,¡± Glen countered. ¡°Probably from Cyran,¡± Suraer helped. ¡°But he journeyed across the Unknown Ocean for centuries and returned to the isles, ahm¡­ when was it?¡± he asked Berthas. ¡°Six centuries before Ninthalor¡¯s ascension,¡± Berthas replied eagerly. Or the First Era, Glen translated. ¡°That the tall statue behind the throne?¡± Glen asked. The looters had taken the strongbox and broken the King¡¯s arms in the attempt much to the despair of some of the Zilan, but for Feyras who outright laughed at the old king¡¯s expense. ¡®A brusque lustful man with no time for praying, a knack for endless wars, a cunt in mouth and cock in arse,¡¯ he commented over the protestations of a couple of old heads that knew Lith¡¯s grandfather and Lord Suraer, the conversation turning violent quickly, glasses tossed at Feyras and the priest retaliating with a couple of timely swings of his staff. The general brawl stopping when Delmuth confiscated the dangerous weapon from the fuming priest and earned himself a place ¡®in Oras hells, just like his horse-pleasuring mother.¡¯ Glen was surprised Feyras hadn¡¯t being sent back to his temple, or outright knifed in the kidneys and dropped in the lakes as fodder to the local fauna, but Suraer explained to him that most priests had refused to leave their temples and had perished. Banning one of the last remaining ¡®holy men¡¯ seemed harsh. Glen told them Voldomir had made it and this surprisingly calmed Feyras down, as the two were good friends. Knowing both of them, Glen wouldn¡¯t be surprised if they didn¡¯t knock their teeth out in their ¡®friendly¡¯ meetings. ¡°Yes,¡± Suraer replied. ¡°You¡¯re hitting four millennia here,¡± Glen warned him. ¡°Kallister and Sintoriela, some of the older ones, where of the first races. Zilan have their differences as well,¡± Suraer explained, paused unsure whether to speak and added. ¡°Like the Mori-Zilan, or Aenymriel¡¯s creature.¡± ¡°Varg?¡± ¡°Him.¡± ¡°So, he¡¯s different how?¡± ¡°Perhaps you should ask her,¡± Suraer asked. ¡°I¡¯ll take a Gish over him.¡± Glen went to comment, himself favoring the Gish, but then remembered the Zilan had ambiguous definitions on what the ¡®favoring¡¯ part meant ¨Cranging from sexual preference, to a culinary treat- and decided not to go there. Gimoss had the same problem as well, only he wasn¡¯t vague about it. ¡°What¡¯s over the Unknown Ocean?¡± He asked instead. ¡°Hah,¡± Suraer guffawed and pointed at a part of the inscription. ¡°There¡¯s the old girl Olonelis mentioned,¡± he said shaking his head. ¡°Our girls were really good friends in their youths,¡± he added and glanced at Berthas. ¡°Actually Darunia is still without a mate. Hmm.¡± Too fucking ambitious man, Glen thought. Best to start with Folen¡¯s sister, or mother. Work his way up the ladder sort of speak. ¡°Galith is somewhere south of the Plague Isles, but no one knows for sure,¡± Berthas replied, some color on his cheeks now. ¡°Mistland is huge they say.¡± ¡°They don¡¯t know,¡± Suraer interrupted him. ¡°Kallister claimed he found two more continents, or a very big one. Several huge islands and the land where the Wyverns came.¡± ¡°What about the Issirs?¡± Glen asked. ¡°The pirates?¡± Foul-mouthed lads that kicked yer arse. Aye. ¡°No one knew about them,¡± Suraer replied. ¡°Then again, Sinya Nora came from somewhere as well.¡± ¡°They have?¡± ¡°The Northmen were always on Jelin, as were the Cofols on Eplas. Then came the Lorians with their iron and steel. Thick-boned and cunning. With their solemn language and their roads, they pushed them back. They gobbled up a whole continent and forced us to clean our act to put them in their place. We owe them that I suppose.¡± ¡°You could work as a history professor Lord Suraer,¡± Glen said raising his brow and the Lord of Lo-Minas tapped his blue temple with an index finger and smiled. ¡°I¡¯ve a good memory,¡± he replied. ¡°But no patience for people. You¡¯ll take Berthas to Goras with you?¡± ¡°Aelinole would not like it.¡± ¡°She can¡¯t teach him. The lad is hopeless with a bow and I have a couple of smart horses that can use a blade better than him¡­ don¡¯t pout, so some respect to the King Berthas!¡± he grunted seeing the young Zilan¡¯s reaction. ¡°She¡¯s holding him back.¡± Glen grimaced. ¡°A mother should have a say,¡± he finally said. ¡°But I¡¯ll consider it.¡± ¡°Can I ask something about Jelin?¡± Berthas queried and Suraer glared at him. ¡°He¡¯s dead,¡± he admonished him harshly. ¡°Trust me it is better than the alternative son.¡± Glen frowned, but decided to stay out of this family problem. Having learned nothing of value from the visit, but bits and pieces, he nevertheless filed away to use if the opportunity arose in the future, Glen returned to the throne room, already sick and tired of the endless stairs of the massive pyramid.
The place rocking with the Zilan rendition of the songs he¡¯d heard on Valimae Lilt, probably the original versions. Folen thumbing his lute along the band that had followed them from Lo-Minas. The music and the Zilan dancing wildly paused abruptly when Glen entered followed by a slew of knights and a weirded out Kirk and Glen stared at them for a long moment afore saying in a clear lordly voice. ¡°As ye were friends.¡± With that significant personal contribution the festivities continued. Kilynia had planned out the short variant, which run for thirty days into the new year (of the New Calendar), which Glen thought was absurd, but hadn¡¯t the strength to argue and Suraer footing the bill alleviated his concerns on the expenses. For being a parsimonious race, the Zilan loved spending another person¡¯s coin with gusto. So he walked through the jumping around crowd, his eyes on the weakened floor, a wrinkle on his forehead deepening and the Crown of Horns slowly doing permanent damage to his cranium. ¡°You can remove it,¡± Nym whispered when he collapsed on the throne, waving and smiling at the twisting and rolling on the floor citizens of his kingdom. Some of the gymnastics extremely risky. Madness. ¡°I¡¯m afraid the skin will come off as well. The scalp still attached on it,¡± Glen admitted. ¡°I can try. I¡¯ve a surgeon¡¯s hand,¡± Nym offered and he looked into her indigo eyes for a moment. ¡°Was it a joke?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the truth,¡± Nym replied, but then chuckled like a very young kid, which was very creepy and added. ¡°I¡¯ve had some of Suraer¡¯s wine.¡± ¡°A new experience?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± she replied thoughtfully. ¡°I¡¯m really a humorous soul Hardir.¡± ¡°Most drunk people are. Wait¡­ eh, no they are not,¡± Glen decided remembering Tom Spencer smacking him on the head with a bronze carafe, the injury not justifying the two coppers the drunk had in his purse. He slowly removed the crown. Glen kept it in his hands unsure, the darn thing¡¯s horns cutting like his dagger¡¯s blade¡­ which was probably not unusual seeing as they were made out of the same material. ¡°Where did they find the wyvern bones?¡± ¡°Not all wyverns reach maturity,¡± Nym replied. ¡°Sometimes in the wild they fall prey to other predators.¡± ¡°I can see that happening, but as usual you sort of dodged.¡± ¡°I admit not knowing the crown¡¯s history,¡± Nym said with a pout. She had a red ribbon on her hair that day and a red belt at the waist of her white tunic. ¡°I like the ribbon and the belt,¡± Glen told her and the assassin smiled, then made a small twirl raising her hands. There¡¯s still a bit of woman in her for sure. And she¡¯s probably using those charms right now. ¡°Gratitude Lord of Morn Taras. Do you want to know what people say?¡± Nym replied ceremoniously with a smile. ¡°Sure,¡± Glen retorted with a half grin. ¡°I guess you¡¯re sort of our King beyond the Pale Mountains now,¡± Nym whispered in his ear. ¡°People say that?¡± Glen queried raising a brow. ¡°Eh¡­ I do,¡± she replied looking into his eyes. ¡°How will the king spend his evening?¡± ¡°I¡¯m thinking of staying on the terrace. Speak to the Wyvern,¡± Glen replied as diplomatically as he could. Intended or not, right or wrong, you don¡¯t outright and publicly reject an offer from a master assassin so close to yer neck.
The night had come over Baltoris Port. The moonlight shining on the ruins and the massive partially lit and loud pyramid. The Zilan still partying inside the King¡¯s Hall with no sign of slowing down and knowing them, they wouldn¡¯t until the wine run out. Glen walked to the edge of the large open terrace and stared at the distance towards the south. The Six Peak Isles chain unseen, but earlier he¡¯d spotted Nureria through the powerful spyglass the pyramid had near its top. ¡®Viewing Lenses¡¯, the Zilan called it. As everything they built it was the size of a horse. Nym had turned silent after that and retired into her shadows. Everyone has personal demons to deal with, Glen thought. He heard Kirk standing near the entrance to the King¡¯s Hall, but keeping his distance and the slow voices of the knights talking with his bodyguard. The breeze coming from the distant sea warm, despite the season being mid-winter, but he hadn¡¯t really experienced cold in years. A large shade covered the moons for a moment, the wyvern turning for its final approach and probably having already spotted him. He reached for the dagger and got it out. The black glass-like talon sharpened and straightened out with magic. Had Lith not told him what it was, Glen would have never figured it out. He thought of the young Princess of Wetull, the last time he¡¯d seen her not pleasant for both of them because of Larn and Glen¡¯s narrower view of things. He thought of Emerson stranded in the Peninsula doing the Sopat¡¯s bidding. An acceptable expense, Lon had told him. Considering the stakes. What the Sopat were planning difficult to fathom and Glen had long decided to bring the old knight back at the first chance. He¡¯ll put some sense into this mess, he decided. Plus I owe him a ¡®sparring¡¯ now that I know which end of the sword goes where. Not to mention I need to give him the blade back. I can find another weapon and he might need it the most. Where were you? He asked the silently landing large Wyvern. Uvrycres extending his reddish sheer leather wings, now at more than four meters each, to break the momentum and then dropping on all four legs to approach. He did it in a clunky manner, elongated scaly body moving right and left, the wings sweeping the tiles and the claws heard scratching stone clearly. Over the Reefs, the Wyvern hissed and clacked his jaws, sharp black teeth snapping. The smell of brimstone reaching him and the beast¡¯s breath scalding hot. Done some light hunting. Over the waters? Over the ground. Twas a roast. Anything of interest? Food. Glen nodded and stepped back to absorb the head bump that came a moment later. Still it was bruising. Yer head, is like a boulder. RRRRREEEH? Uvrycres protested and eyed with those large burgundy eyes the stirring nervously knights at the doors. ¡°It¡¯s surreal,¡± Glen murmured putting a hand on the hard scaly foreleg, the skin cool to the touch and slick as polished marble. ¡°I¡¯m the king of Wetull,¡± he told the large predator and Uvrycres¡¯ long neck twisted around, the neck now as thick as a horse¡¯s back. ¡°It¡¯s just dawned on me.¡± Glen shivered and puffed his cheeks out, good growth covering them after weeks on the road. The hairs hard as nails and thick. Manly. ¡°Thing is if I remove the bronze throne, they¡¯ll probably riot and that shite ain¡¯t worth the trouble, haha!¡± he shook his head and stared at the terrifying face of the Wyvern looking at him. The head touched the tiles, but it was almost at his eyesight now. ¡°Damn. How big are ye going to get?¡± Big? You grow¡­ until you¡¯re the biggest. It is how it goes. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s not the same for everyone else mate,¡± Glen retorted. ¡°What¡¯s with the silent pauses?¡± Uvrycres unfurled his right wing, extending his foreleg, or arm in the process. The four talons opening, the long three outwards and the shorter sideways. The glint of white-gold catching Glen¡¯s eye. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Glen asked curious and made to take the jewelry the wyvern kept at arm¡¯s length. I was late, Uvrycres replied pensively with a guttural growl. Glen licked his dry lips and then stared at the gleaming familiar pendant again. ¡°Where did ye get this?¡± He croaked and reaching snatched it away from him. The chain clinging on his ring when he closed his fist on it. The Capricorn ornament dangling like a pendulum under his hand. Left. Right. The count silent. The witch had it on her, Uvrycres said and Glen stood back feeling the extended wing touching his shoulders. The Wyvern had covered him completely with its body. The large head rising slightly off the ground, the eyelids opening and closing rapidly. No, he thought immediately. ¡°When¡­?¡± Glen gasped hoarsely. ¡°How did she...?¡± He¡¯d lost it in the battle at Unscaled Overhang near Eroshin River. A ranger took it probably. Or that sneaky Arachne. ¡°Why give it to the witch?¡± Glen snapped angry. The Wyvern breathed out, its eyes glowing a fierce red. Ah, no allgods darnit! Glen cursed, his hands shaking and feeling panic creeping up on him. What¡¯s done is done, Uvrycres rustled and Glen exploded, his teeth clenched in a maniacal snarl. ¡°THE FUCK DOES THAT MEAN?¡± You know. ¡°No,¡± Glen hissed and shoved his large scaly snout away. ¡°NO! NO I DON¡¯T!¡± He placed the pendant on his forehead and closed his eyes trying to breathe and failing. ¡°Why didn¡¯t ye tell me? You had it all this time! WHY?¡± You can¡¯t turn back time. You pick a thread and you follow it to its bitter end, the wyvern replied. But you can lose the opportunity to rule, in the attempt. What is this bullshit! ¡°I could have made it back!¡± It wouldn¡¯t matter. This happened long ago. Glen couldn¡¯t accept that. ¡°They would have told me if something happened to her. They would. No,¡± he turned around feverishly. ¡°I need to leave immediately. It¡¯s¡­ fuck. FUCK! It¡¯ll be months afore I return! CURSE YE! LUTHOS YOU BASTARD! CURSE YE ALL TO HELLS!¡± He roared and started pushing and shoving the wyvern to free himself. ¡°LET ME GO! I SWEAR TO ALLGODS,¡± he snarled, eyes ogling desperately. ¡°I¡¯ll cut you! I mean it!¡± The spell was cast before you reached Abarat Glen, Uvrycres rustled and opened his wings, then retracted them to allow him to move. It was too late already. Glen felt his knees weaken and a sharp pain in his chest almost send him to the tiles. Is that the Crown of Horns? The Wyvern asked staring at the crown he had sort of shoved into his old satchel. What? Glen scrunched his stressed face this way and that. ¡°Who the hell cares?¡± It¡¯s done then? ¡°I don¡¯t give a darn about the festivities!¡± Glen blasted him and the knights perked up, their solemn inhuman silver masks turning their way. ¡°Fuck it. I¡¯m getting on that blasted horse.¡± You don¡¯t have to. You¡¯re Hardir O¡¯ Fardor. Aniculo Rokae. ¡°Buddy, I¡¯m under a lot of pressure here and I¡¯ve months of journey ahead of me!¡± Glen warned and turned to walk away, the wyvern¡¯s forearm returning, a talon grasping at his shoulder sharp as a dagger. ¡°Get that claw off of me!¡± A wild eyed Glen growled twisting around, his hand dropping to his sword. Uvrycres kept it there, his burgundy pools of light blinking once afore adding. We could be there in a day. And they did.
Sam stared at the ¡®young¡¯ Gish¡¯s familiar red-rimmed eyes. The round face, even in the absence of a nose as beautiful as he remembered it. Though she was much older now than what her sister had been and much closer to his age. It made his heart bleed at the cast aside memories of his youth and he had to clench his lined mouth hard to keep the tears in. ¡°What happened next?¡± Linx asked him curious folding her shapely legs under her lissome body and reaching stole some of the wine from his untouched cup. She poured it in hers and returned it casually. ''You take what you need, but allow the same unto others,'' Jinx used to say when in her cups. Which was frequent. ''No reason holding on to stuff. I did it, it''s pointless. Ayup. No one leaves this realm alive.'' The hour late, the drunk patrons slowly leaving the place and the music ending with a final beat of the drum. ¡°He disappeared. One moment he was standing there in front of them and the next he was gone,¡± he rustled and Linx stopped drinking to look at him. Her scent intoxicating. Eh, you weren¡¯t lucky then on these matters and you¡¯re too old now to still have hope, he admonished himself. ¡°The king left that night and returned to Goras.¡± ¡°What, he jumped? On his horse?¡± Linx queried and touched his calloused hand with hers. Then seeing his face, she added with a small gasp. ¡°Oh¡­ Shit.¡±
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 353. A shadow over Goras (1/3) -
Let thy tongue roll O¡¯ Goddess, so Garth & ¡®majestic¡¯ Uvrycres¡¯ shadow also courteously rendered Along Shaelor & Gilvaris ¡®the old¡¯, Edor & Qaitess ¡®the fast¡¯, ¡®Brazen¡¯ Ninthalor & Turlas ¡®the gold¡¯ Don¡¯t stop sweet enchantress until all the Aniculo Rokae names are thus justly tended From Elenaril who was Calamer¡¯s lover & Nenderu ¡®the green¡¯, to Baltoris & Ovinet ¡®the red¡¯ who was the Onyx Wyvern¡¯s mother - Phinariel, the Boorish Poet Zilan Psalm, (Song of the Third Era) Verses 3-6 Around 210 NC (3416 IC)
Glen Arguen Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Lord of Morn Taras Monarch of Sinya Goras King beyond the Pale Mountains Aniculo Rokae A shadow over Goras Part I -A Day-
RRRRRREE AAAAHH... AARRHHRG! ERRR? ¡°FUUUCK!¡± Glen screamed tumbling backwards feet over head, the wyvern¡¯s tail smacking him once on the back and sending him forward again over its body. Glen flipped in the air against the wind, scraping at the scaly torso, but snarling maniacally managed to grab the base of a foreleg, the leathery wing flapping underneath it and willed himself towards the wyvern¡¯s neck. Face distorted from the blowing wind, teeth rattling and the tears pouring out of the sides of his eyes drying up immediately. ¡°SHIIIITE!¡± He cursed trying to find purchase on slicky scales and reach the head. I need to grab at the small spikes, he thought in full survivor mode, afore it¡¯s too late. What are you doing? The wyvern asked banging right to stabilize him as he¡¯d started slipping off again. ¡°TRYIIING¡­ TO HOLD ON¡­ FUU¡­CK!¡± Glen bellowed, his cheeks ballooning and making it difficult to get the words out. Just stay still. Stop moving about! Choke on a plaguin¡¯ biscuit! A desperate fighting for his life Glen cursed. The King of Wetull dug his gloved fingers in the ridge at the base of the winged monster¡¯s head and pressed his thighs tight around the thick neck. The wind blasting him in the face threatening to dislodge the thrashing ¡®former¡¯ thief at any moment. He couldn¡¯t see anything but a blurry white void. ¡°I¡­ CAN¡¯T¡­ SEE¡­ THE GROUND!¡± Glen yelled his voice hoarse and full of horror. Ah. It¡¯s well below the cloud deck. ¡°ARE YOU NUTS? WHY?¡± It¡¯s called flying Glen. ¡°DROP LOWER FER PITTY¡¯S SAKE!¡± Glen blasted the witty creature, a bout of fierce coughing ravaging him. What is dis shite? His muscles strained and his stomach lodged in his throat. ¡°YER GOING TO KILL US YE CRETIN!¡± You don¡¯t want me flying lower. ¡°JUST DO IT!¡± Glen growled, blinded from the one eye and leaking fluids from both eyes, nose and mouth.
That empty blue and white whistled past him, clothes drenched in the vapors and they blasted out of the clouds, the ground coming to view under them. A strange ground, map-like as seen from above, but a strange map this extremely detailed. ¡°LOOK HOW SMALL IS THE PYRAMID!¡± Glen yelled dumbfounded, his jaw straining to work against the wind. It¡¯s the same size actually. The wyvern flew lower, the details becoming more pronounced, the shores and the blue sea appearing to his right. Glen felt his ears pop, a bout of dizziness overcoming him. He forced his right arm forward and found the bony numbs at the back of Uvrycres skull. Then he slowly pulled himself closer and pressed his calves on the wyvern¡¯s hard shoulder joints. Ducks, Uvrycres said. Ugh? A perturbed Glen raised his head and stared between the wyvern¡¯s large black horns. Something whipped past him. Then another something. A white blur hit Uvrycres snout next and exploded sending blood, internal organs, actual shit and gory feathers on him. ¡°Gaaargl!¡± Glen retched, pieces of flesh and bitter bloody plumage in his mouth and face. His eyes burning, he reached with a hand to clear some of the gore away, but managed to smack himself in the face with his own hand instead. The force too great. Glen cursed, adjusted his position as he had started falling backwards again and a hooting bird punched him in the sternum, bounced off of his cuirass and disappeared from sight.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. ¡°WHAT¡­the actual fuck?¡± Ducks, the Wyvern elucidated. I¡¯ll blast the larger flock. Glen blinked to clear his bloodshot eyes, spitting out bird poop, or a very small liver that had lodged in his teeth and the darn thing splashing all over his forehead on the return. ¡°When you say blast¡­¡± he started and felt a terrible heat rising between his legs. ¡°NAAAH!¡± Glen screamed as Uvrycres spat a ball of flame out and dived for the ground to dodge the fiery aftermath. A shrieking Glen ducking for cover behind the back of the wyvern¡¯s skull, cutting his face on one of the many bony protrusions peppering its black scales. A loud hissing sound engulfing them and then the heat was everywhere, the fire searing and the smell of burned flesh clogging his airways. And puke. Are you serious? Uvrycres blasted him irate turning its vomit covered head a bit to glare at him. ¡°ARRGLLH!¡± Glen mumbled spitting and retching to get the bile out of him, the wyvern¡¯s body covered in steaming vapors and burned out fleshy debris falling all around them. ¡°Stupid¡­ idiot¡­ you¡­¡± he croaked, covered in soot, gore and vomit, as everything he spat out came back at him, until he figured out how to do it properly. Stoop to the side, a livid Glen reminded himself and looked down.
Wishing that he hadn¡¯t. The lush green ground came at him and he clamped up from arsehole to nape, the ground ending over a large body of water, as Uvrycres had dived for the Vasati River. In and out afore Glen could utter a single word. A moment later, man and wyvern thoroughly cleaned, still covered in steaming vapors and drenched to the bone, Glen managed to find his wits again, opened his mouth to blast Uvrycres for not warning him, but closed it back down again seeing a twisting black cloud coming at them. The Wyvern flew straight up to avoid the swarm of disturbed insects but didn¡¯t have enough lift so he decided to cut through them instead. Oh, shit. SHIIITE!
A green, white and red painted Glen ¨Con top of thoroughly soaked- reached in his collar and retrieved the large locust munching at his skin. He squashed it in his fist and regretted it immediately, as his glove turned all sticky for no reason. Mumbling frustrated under his breath, he cleaned the worst of the gooey spillage on Uvrycres head and glanced back at the distancing ground. You want me to fly low again? Glen refused to reply. He had discovered through try and error, a lot of error and a lot of trying¡­ Anyways, he discovered that if you relaxed your stance after getting a solid grip on the Wyvern¡¯s back you could stay on it, just like on a horse. Provided Uvrycres flew straight and warned you about taking a sudden turn, or flipping over for fun. Because they did that to. They also twirled and spiraled in their dives. Changed direction in the blink of an eye and reached great speeds which was taxing on the rider. Was it easier than horse riding? No. Was it safer? Hells no! More interesting? Yeah, if you got your stomach used to the forces involved. Or your eyes adjusted. It¡¯s a lot of fun, Uvrycres added to his internal list. Stop being petty. ¡°How am I petty? Are ye serious?¡± Glen griped and carefully reached with his hand to clean some of the sludge and insect juice from his face. You fear the most ridiculous things, but don¡¯t fear what could actually kill you. ¡°Oh yeah? Like what?¡± Bugs, snakes, pillows¡­ flying is safe. ¡°Listen buddy,¡± Glen grunted, his mouth numb and the taste nauseating. ¡°This shite can kill me fer sure. We¡¯re like two-three hundred meters up¡ª¡± A kilometer. Glen tried to scowl, but the wind blasting him in the face was giving the King of Wetull a permanent grimace and he gave up on the attempt. The ringing in his ears subsided somewhat when Uvrycres started flying on a smoother straight line over Wetull. The view breathtaking and the places he¡¯d traveled to reach Baltoris Port returning one after the other, seen under a different perspective.
The lush meadow afore the Vasati River and the valley between Geese Feet mountains and the long Aqueduct. The collapsed stadium and amphitheaters of Gymnasium over The Tear. Over and beyond the wilderness before the bridge at river Shaelor, named after a dragonrider who was Lord Suraer¡¯s father. Gently hovering over the tranquil Edlenn¡¯s Pond and turning south after Windbreak Heights. The dark aquamarine waters of Lorsan Gulf appearing afore the jungle at Chimera¡¯s Leg. Before that Barmont Isle growing underneath their feet as the Wyvern flew by the massive Abrakas Temple¡¯s ruins there shrieking in a childish drawn out taunt at its inhabitants. RRREEEEEEEHHH EEERRR! ¡°Luthos stepped on his flaccid cock,¡± Glen mumbled in bewilderment, holding on for dear life as any change in elevation, or direction was potentially lethal. ¡°Warn me afore¡­ what is dis shite?¡± he paused ogling his eyes. ¡°LOOK! AT ¡®EM NAKED WENCHES!¡± Glen bellowed seeing one of the white-yellow gravel beaches from up close. ¡°Wow, what in allfucks!¡± he gasped in shock seeing some of them swimming towards, or away from the shore creating long silver arrows of froth over the waters. ¡°Them island chicks are faster than the fishes!¡± Are you sure? ¡°Didn¡¯t you just see how fast they went? Are ye blind?¡± Glen screamed, the air blowing his cheeks out and away from his teeth making his bearded face appear bloated. I have four different vision modes! Came Uvrycres affronted retort. Whether they are human was my meaning, he added after a moment of silent seething. ¡°Listen buddy,¡± Glen grunted, saliva traveling up towards his eye, until he risked using his right hand to wipe it off. His arms were hurting. Wrists, fingers and shoulder joints strained to their limit, same as his legs and thighs, but Glen had managed to stay on the wyvern for hours. The fact he was flying on the mythical beast had not yet dawned on him, mostly due to the initial panic, screaming and several rounds of puking. Uvrycres had beaten the latter out of him sort of speak, diving each time in the nearest deep waters. ¡°I¡¯ve beheld more than my fair share of naked women and I know a pair of bouncing tits when I see them.¡± They weren¡¯t human. ¡°Zilan? Fine. Yer delving in semantics. As Jinx says if it has a nipple on it, it¡¯s a blooming tit!¡± Glen scoffed as they flew towards South Watch in a straight line. ¡°I¡¯ve seen a couple of them blue wenches nude as well, just so you know. It¡¯s a skill I have, but yeah, it¡¯s also mostly timing.¡± Only from afar, Uvrycres corrected him afore adding, voice thick with razz. Those were Ticu by the way. Oh, ye great lover. Glen stared at the back of the Wyvern¡¯s black scaly head and antlers puckering his mouth. ¡°No they weren¡¯t,¡± he finally said and with a thundering screech the large Wyvern turned around almost hurling him off its back, to then plummet in the distant waters underneath. ¡°FOR SICK FUCK¡¯S SAKE!¡± Glen growled irate his arm muscles straining, body and feet swung to the side and over the abyss. ¡°YER GONNA KILL ME!¡± The Wyvern trumpeted tauntingly and dipped once, just enough to return a screaming Glen on its neck again, the hard ebony scales brutalizing his loins. Glen groaned in blinding pain, his fathering days threatened to be cut short. Uvrycres scoffed at his plight, made another pass over the beach ¨Cthis time much closer- and shrieked at the basking in utter bliss in the nude unassuming Ticu that screeched in preternatural horror in their turn and started running for their lives. Some of them switching into their real forms just before they dived for the waters. ¡°Shit,¡± Glen grunted, bloodshot eyes hazy and tearing up again. That was it, he said nothing else.
The Onyx Wyvern flew silently over the sinister reefs as day turned into night, large extended reddish wings flapping in the soft breeze and steering long tail zigzagging alike a snake behind its black body and loose hind legs. Its black shadow making a turn there, a tiny ship sailing the other way to the southwest and more open waters with all its sails open. When the mass of Goras appeared, the dark blue water and the grim rocks gave way to a lush colorful jungle bathed in the two full moons light. Dark green and sickly yellow. Bright naughty pink and garish red, even a crazy orange. The shadow going over the 2nd Finger and Knuckle¡¯s Edge, the large familiar and graceful temple of Nesande ¨Cseen from above it was obviously much different than the one in Baltoris Port- appearing and after it the Avenue of Legends with its massive broken statues cutting through the jungle. The flat-top pyramid shining like silver in a silent greeting. Uvrycres shadow glided following the large boulevard towards Taras and went over the ancient North Gates and the Towers much slower now to allow a solemn Glen to see the work being done to the expanding city. The coming dawn painting the heavens briefly in an ominous dark mauve color, as the moons slowly faded on the clear sky and the night gave way in its turn to a new day.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 354. A shadow over Goras (2/3)
Glen Arguen Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Lord of Morn Taras Monarch of Sinya Goras King beyond the Pale Mountains Aniculo Rokae A shadow over Goras Part II -Blackened oily wood-
Uvrycres landed near the lake, powerful hind legs tearing at the soft ground and the momentum almost throwing a yelping Glen over the wyvern¡¯s head. The king of Wetull wedged himself between the two horns, the left digging in his cuirass and going through metal then cloth to pierce skin. Uvrycres tipped his head back to return him to position while he used the large opened wings to stop, managing it ten meters later next to a Zilan fishing by the lake with a rod. The Taras citizen tossed it away and jumped in the lake with a high pitched shriek. For a male. ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake,¡± Glen griped checking on his wound after he jumped down. His knees weak and rubbery after a day of riding on Uvrycres shoulders barely keeping him upright. The ground feeling strange under his feet, the still dim morning having a chill in it, if one compared it with the weather at Lo-Minas. Glen stared at the fisherman getting out of the lake and then at a couple of late partying Lorians still loitering in nearby taverns that had sprouted in the coveted resort. A new one taking the place of Folen¡¯s destroyed venue. ¡°There¡¯s no need for alarm,¡± he assured them with half a grimace, half a grin. Uvrycres shrieked gutturally, his own version of a cackle and the citizens decided that it was time to return to their homes. As fast as they could, given their drunken condition. ¡°Well, that¡¯s¡­¡± Glen sighed shaking his head and glanced at the smirking Wyvern. ¡°I¡¯ll walk to my place. Stay near¡­ ahm, I mean find somewhere that won¡¯t scare the locals.¡± I¡¯ll visit the den. ¡°Right.¡± So I¡¯ll be near. ¡°I can handle this part,¡± Glen said and checked the blood on his fingers. ¡°So much for good armour, I guess.¡± You can find better. ¡°Yeah,¡± Glen murmured and started walking towards the main street that led to his villa. He paused a couple of strides in and turned to look at the Wyvern. ¡°I¡¯ll never forget this. It was terrifying but also mind-blowing buddy.¡± Glen, Uvrycres replied very calm for his standards. We shall do it again.
Twenty minutes later Glen reached his villa, the light coming over Taras and the sky still clean of clouds despite the relative chill in the air. A couple of guards posted outside the closed entrance and right across the street Jinx¡¯s place appeared closed as well. Glen walked to the Goras guards, a solemn look on his face and sporting a slight limp. A Lorian and a half-breed part Lorian and Issir, stopped their talking and yawning when they saw him approach. A moment and then realization set in and they jumped to attention. Shouting at the same time. ¡°Milord!¡± ¡°Lord Garth!¡± ¡°Who is inside?¡± Glen asked cutting to the chase. ¡°Ehm, the place is empty Milord,¡± the half-breed replied. ¡°Where is my wife gods darnit?¡± Glen rustled narrowing his eyes fearing the worst. ¡°At the castle?¡± the Lorian chanced unsure. Eh. Glen had so much tension in him trying to come out all at once that it took a very long moment to process the guard¡¯s words. The half-breed blinked and almost dropped his spear, the seething Glen whipping his eyes on him like a viper. ¡°Fikumin?¡± Glen grunted finally still processing the information. Being in the castle wasn¡¯t bad. Perhaps it is ready, though it isn¡¯t, since they had managed to kind of observe it from afar. ¡°He¡¯s in Sinya Goras dealing with the traders¡¯ guild,¡± the Lorian replied quickly. Ugh? ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Dealing with the whole Bedale debacle?¡± the guard replied squinting his eyes trying to figure out if it was a trick question. ¡°Milord,¡± he added after a small pause and stood back pleased. Glen smacked his lips and eyed him numbly. ¡°That a ship name?¡± ¡°Aye, the transport Milord. It was raided?¡± Bedale, Concorde and ¡®Fat Libby¡¯ were the three ships Glen had received from Princess Elsanne as reward. Big transports belonging to the ¡®Three Hundred¡¯ mercenary company. The Marquette captained by Leona Vale he¡¯d no idea where it was. ¡°Pirates raided our ship?¡± Glen grumbled, not surprised but disappointed. You shook the hand of a pirate, might as well count yer fingers next for anything missing. The fingers included. ¡°No Milord, it was boarded by a Lesia warship and the cargo confiscated outside Scaldingport.¡± Might as well have talked to him about knitting a sweater. In court Imperial. Glen had no idea where that had come from. ¡°What in allgods was a Lesia warship¡­?¡± Glen started but paused in frustration. ¡°Why?¡± he asked. ¡°The Wine Barons had filed a complaint with King Davenport and they were granted the right to seek compensation for damages done.¡± ¡°Stop!¡± Glen barked. He couldn¡¯t deal with this right now. ¡°Soletha couldn¡¯t handle this? She¡¯s in charge of the port!¡± ¡°They wouldn¡¯t talk with a Zilan and Soletha is with your wife, I know no more Milord,¡± the guard replied. This was concerning. ¡°What are your names?¡± Glen hissed through his teeth. ¡°Razo and Hagen Musa Milord,¡± the Lorian said. ¡°We¡¯re brothers from another mother,¡± he added seeing Glen¡¯s expression. ¡°Our father adventured in his youth, afore he died from hemp fever.¡± They had become a crooks haven. ¡°Follow me,¡± Glen said. ¡°What about the villa? The next shift won¡¯t be here in hours,¡± Razo asked, surprisingly duty-conscious. Fikumin had done a good job picking men for his guards, Glen had to give the dwarf that. He wasn¡¯t shying away from boring work, unless riding and swimming was involved. Little guy goes straight for the bottom and he has problems with bigger horses. Medium ones as well. Eh. ¡°It¡¯s empty,¡± Glen retorted after a small thoughtful moment. ¡°Who¡¯s your commander?¡± ¡°Captain Valentine Horton, Milord,¡± Hagen replied. ¡°Right. Where¡¯s Metu? The Castellan? Or whatever he calls himself now,¡± Glen queried. ¡°His place?¡± Razo guessed. Metu had a villa on a parallel street to the one they were now, very near the lake as well. ¡°We¡¯ll visit him there,¡± Glen decided and marched across the street for the alley near Jinx¡¯s place. The two guards coming after him after a small hesitation.
Glen kept banging on Metu¡¯s door until someone opened it. A comely Cofol female wearing a short kimono and no shoes. Her toes painted a garish red. ¡°Yes?¡± the slave said, a mark on her arm revealing the owner to be someone named MT, the tattooed letters inside a crown. ¡°Where¡¯s Metu?¡± Glen grunted and she frowned. ¡°The master is resting.¡± ¡°Get him down here right away!¡± Glen blasted her and instead of answering she slammed the door shut in his face. Luthos inbred offspring! ¡°RAZO!¡± Glen barked irate. ¡°Break the door down!¡± ¡°Break the door,¡± Razo repeated just to be sure afore committing. Glen stared him like one eyes a slow moving bug approaching his foot. ¡°Right away Milord. Get that mace out Hagen,¡± he told his brother. ¡°Wait!¡± Metu yelled anxiously and opened the door a moment later. The disheveled Castellan stepped outside, a pair of open toed leather slippers on his feet and closing his bright green silk robe. ¡°What is the meaning of this¡­?¡± He paused, eyes ogled. ¡°Lord Garth?¡± Metu mumbled in deep shock. ¡°The army is here?¡± ¡°I¡¯m here,¡± Glen grunted. ¡°Awa didn¡¯t know,¡± Metu started. ¡°I¡¯ll thoroughly punish her my Lord. Rest assured she¡¯ll never do it again.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t a give a rusty copper about her,¡± Glen snarled. ¡°Why is Sen in Morn Taras?¡± Metu stepped back and turned to stare at the two guards. Hagen who still had that mace in his hands hid it behind his back. ¡°She moved there due to her condition,¡± the Castellan explained keeping his robe closed in front of him. ¡°It was deemed the safer place.¡± ¡°Metu you have a couple of seconds to come clean,¡± Glen warned him. ¡°Is she well?¡± ¡°It is difficult to have news,¡± Metu replied. ¡°I¡¯m not in her circle.¡± ¡°Who is?¡± ¡°Bohor, her brother¡¯s people.¡± He¡¯d no idea who that was also. ¡°Maeriel?¡± Glen asked at the end of his tether. ¡°With Inis-Mir.¡± ¡°Jinx?¡± Glen hissed. ¡°Metu you are very tight-lipped and I don¡¯t like it. You¡¯re about to be punched on the mouth.¡± ¡°Lady Jinx is locked up,¡± Metu replied with an affronted grimace. ¡°She had a falling out with Lady Sen.¡± ¡°And she locked her up?¡± Glen asked incredulous at the news. ¡°Dress up. We¡¯ll get to the bottom of this¡­¡± he paused considering the distance to Morn Taras. ¡°I need a horse. Find us some horses Metu. For everyone. Wait. Razo you do it. Run to the stables and brings some mounts. Say it¡¯s for the King.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have Awa dressed Lord Garth before he returns,¡± Metu replied. ¡°Metu,¡± Glen retorted not amused. ¡°Leave yer slave here.¡± ¡°Of course. Though it¡¯s a long ride and she can be helpful when we stop to rest,¡± Metu said. ¡°I¡¯ll need a moment¡­ to make myself presentable.¡± ¡°There¡¯ll be no stops. You have until Razo comes back,¡± Glen replied curtly. The guard already trotting energetically towards the nearest stables. ¡°You mentioned King¡­ my Lord?¡± Metu queried curious still standing in front of Glen. Seeing the murderous look on his face the Cofol former slave nodded once and turned around to get inside.
¡°What was the condition?¡± Glen asked Metu twenty minutes later, their group riding the newly built road leading to the slopes of Morn Taras following the lake¡¯s idyllic shores. ¡°The matter was brought to the city council my Lord,¡± Metu said carefully. ¡°But eventually the Sovereign¡¯s spouse had the final say.¡± Glen unsheathed his sword with a sigh. He kept it in his right hand, his body rocking on the saddle and listened to the clopping sound of hooves for a moment. Metu cleared his throat realizing Glen was going to run him through with another delay and blurted out nervously. ¡°Lady Sen was with child.¡± Which is why she didn¡¯t want to travel before the summer. Ah sweetheart, you can¡¯t shield us by staying away. Nobody could. ¡°What happened?¡± Glen croaked staring at the horse¡¯s head. ¡°Very few people know. They shut everyone out after they relocated to the castle my lord,¡± Metu replied. ¡°Fikumin was probably aware and Voron who is in charge of the site, but no more news came out. We were not allowed to visit.¡± ¡°She¡¯s alright though?¡± ¡°Aye. That¡¯s what my sources say.¡± ¡°Soletha?¡± ¡°With her, since she returned,¡± Metu replied nervously. Glen cast him a sideways glance. ¡°Yer not lying to me?¡± Metu shivered. ¡°I can¡¯t possibly bother you with rumors my Lord. I just don¡¯t have the willpower to go through with it.¡± ¡°What were the rumors?¡± Glen hissed, his sword still in hand. ¡°Bohor killed two people that were caught speaking of it. Cut out their tongues and ears first,¡± Metu whispered scared. ¡°He¡¯s a slavemaster leader working for the Sopat¡¯s guards. He¡¯s pitiless my lord.¡± ¡°Damn it Metu yer not a slave still!¡± Glen admonished him. ¡°And Bohor isn¡¯t running Goras! Killing people needs a reason!¡± ¡°Your wife¡¯s orders were followed my lord,¡± Metu replied shaking. ¡°You can¡¯t expect someone to stand up against them if it means angering you. Who will you give right to? She¡¯s your wife. Qanuq¡¯s fate is something no one wants to face again.¡± ¡°Qanuq tried to kill my daughter!¡± Glen bellowed. ¡°Bohor had a reason as well,¡± Metu replied.
Glen stopped his horse outside the large castle¡¯s finished west gates. They created a triangle around the black mass of the citadel at its center, three towers on each point, the two at its base facing west unfinished, but the third at the top looking to the east already standing. The ringed tube had battlements on each of its eight floors, it was tall enough to clear the walls easily, dwarf the citadel and overlook Lake Taras and the city sprawling under the plateau. A large part of the Yew Forest had been cleared, the extremely valuable wood used to construct bows already sent to the workshops. He eyed the city guards stationed there solemnly. ¡°They are about to fall asleep,¡± he commented and Metu nodded. ¡°Bohor¡¯s soldiers guard the Citadel,¡± the Castellan explained. ¡°Mmm,¡± Glen murmured and swung his leg to climb down his horse. He heard a high-pitched yelp, turned around just in time to catch a black blur rushing him and then the large lion jumped in his arms. ¡°Oh, shit!¡± One of the guards gasped. ¡°It¡¯s that Nimra lion again. Quick get me a javelin!¡± ¡°Wait!¡± Glen barked struggling to keep on his feet, the large cat weighting half a ton and clasping at his shoulders, a hind leg mashing his groin, hard nails digging in, large tongue lapping at Glen¡¯s face, nose and eyes. ¡°Gods darnit! Calm down Paws!¡± he admonished the excited predator trying to avoid further lubrication. The large lion¡¯s fangs protruding from its mouth almost as big as its late mother¡¯s dangerously close to his face. ¡°We call him Raro,¡± a girl said stepping out of the bushes by the road, where the Nimra had been hiding. ¡°Down Raro,¡± Glen ordered and the black lion jumped down and snarled at the approaching cautiously gate guards. Razo and Hagen were returning with Metu as the predator¡¯s charge had scared the horses away. ¡°Stand back, that¡¯s my cat!¡± Glen barked at the soldiers who nodded and retreated in the same cautious pace towards their spot. ¡°I heard the wyvern returned,¡± Phinariel told him approaching clenching her fists nervously. ¡°So I rushed here to see if you¡¯ll appear.¡± ¡°Phina,¡± Glen said petting the purring Nimra¡¯s hairy head. ¡°It¡¯s nice to see a friendly face,¡± he added with a smile and she jumped towards him excited. Glen accepted her hug, the young Zilan smelling of flowers and the forest. She is going to be a tall girl, Glen thought touching her shaking shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m alright,¡± Phina sniffled and let go of him. She wiped her large eyes with the back of her hand and grinned. ¡°Your absence was felt keenly Arguen Garth,¡± she added trying to collect herself. Raro returned to her and rubbed on the scribe¡¯s long legs purring. ¡°You¡¯re my favorite Zilan,¡± Glen told her with a wink and she blushed. ¡°Why Raro? Is it because he¡¯ll roar eventually?¡± ¡°Both words mean lion,¡± she explained and stooped to hug the black Nimra. They bumped foreheads once very at ease with each other and Glen grinned, the smile freezing on his lips seeing the pale-faced girl watching them hidden in the bushes. A cold beauty, with straight and long black hair dressed in a simple tunic. ¡°That¡¯s Assara,¡± Phina explained. ¡°She¡¯s shy with strangers.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Glen said with a tick distorting the left side of his face. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll¡­ I¡¯m going to see my wife Phina. Come inside, you shouldn¡¯t stay by the road.¡± ¡°We were not allowed,¡± she replied and waved Assara off, which was weird. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I helped Jinx steal a bird,¡± Phina replied and stared at her sandaled feet. Glen noticed she had painted them a light blue, which she never did, but live enough time in the city and the jungle habits are beaten out of you. ¡°Yer forgiven,¡± Glen said and reached for his horse. He climbed up and then offered his arm at the comely Zilan.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. ¡°Ride with you?¡± She panted inhaling deeply and blushing so much her long ears turned pink. ¡°It¡¯s a five minute trip,¡± Glen retorted not seeing the big deal. ¡°Tell yer creepy-eyed friend to keep the cat.¡±
The Cofol soldier coming down the twin external staircase leading to the elevated main hall of Morn Taras stopped a couple of steps from the end and stared at the approaching small group of riders. The two brothers of the Goras Guard, Metu and Glen with Phinariel. Glen pulled at the reins to stop the horse, the brown destrier protesting at the abuse and then helped the flushed female riding behind him dismount, the Zilan dress code and thus short loose tunic giving the frowning Cofol guard quite the spectacle. Thankfully Phina¡¯s earlier no-undergarments days were over. ¡°Stand aside and bow,¡± Metu announced in his manlier voice. ¡°Before the Lord Morn Taras!¡± He glanced at the climbing down the saddle Glen nervously and added sort of improvising, or so he thought. ¡°The heralded King¡­¡± ¡°Of Wetull,¡± Glen added to help him out and the clad in creamy hard-leather and mail Cofol with a Capricorn crest engraved on it, pursed his mouth. ¡°Who¡¯s this?¡± The guard standing next to the double doors at the top of the stairs asked. ¡°Call Bohor,¡± the first Cofol ordered gruffly and then bowed once towards Glen. ¡°Lord Garth you¡¯re welcome.¡± ¡°Uhm,¡± Glen retorted and worked his way up the stairs followed by Metu, Phina and the two guards.
He entered his citadel¡¯s dark main hall and paused seeing the curtains covering much of the back of the elongated room and the lighter drapes hiding the stairs leading to the second floor at the north side of the Hall. Another two soldiers approaching him sharply. The older Cofol, a medium height wiry warrior with a pointy chin and golden-green slanted eyes. Not a peninsula lad this, but a Steppe¡¯s warrior gone astray, or following the money. ¡°Lord Garth,¡± Bohor presumably said, ¡°We weren¡¯t notified of the army¡¯s return.¡± ¡°The army is close to Elauthin,¡± Glen retorted and wiped some of the sweat from his wild beard. ¡°Where is my wife?¡± ¡°Lady Sovereign is resting,¡± Bohor replied and waved for the soldiers to return to their spots. ¡°I take it you¡¯re familiar with the situation.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not seeing as I wasn¡¯t informed,¡± Glen grunted. ¡°Is Soletha here?¡± ¡°The healer is resting as well. She was up all night,¡± Bohor replied. ¡°Iskay?¡± ¡°Hartor,¡± Bohor ordered the guard near the internal staircase. ¡°Wake the slave.¡± He disappeared behind the drapes and was heard running at the double quick up the stairs. ¡°We did our best to contain the situation Lord Garth,¡± Bohor continued with a grimace. He was closer to forty than thirty years of age, Glen guessed. ¡°You killed Goras citizens,¡± Glen hissed. ¡°Running their mouths,¡± Bohor rejoined. ¡°What were they saying?¡± ¡°That you¡¯ll trade anything for more power,¡± Bohor replied clenching his jaw. ¡°Even if it¡¯s true, it¡¯s your prerogative Lord Garth.¡± Glen stood back not expecting the answer. ¡°What did I trade?¡± He asked hoarsely. Bohor stared at the two guards that had escorted him and then Metu. His eyes pausing on Phinariel with a hint of recognition. ¡°You trust the soldiers?¡± He asked a scowling Glen, but before he could answer the redhead Iskay came out from behind the drapes, her anklets and bracelets jingling, the sheer red skirt with the side openings matching her top and her painted a darker shade of red hair. Iskay prostrated herself effortlessly before Glen ignoring the others present. ¡°Master, I shall rouse the Mistress,¡± she whispered holding the position. ¡°Let her rest,¡± Glen replied suddenly uncomfortable with the amount of people surrounding him. ¡°Bohor take your men and empty the hall. I¡¯ll have these two guard the doors.¡± Bohor licked his lips, but nodded. ¡°As you wish Lord Garth. We shall remain near the East Tower.¡± ¡°You do that,¡± Glen agreed curtly and turned to Iskay to help her upright. She took his hand and pressed it on her forehead, something he¡¯d seen Zilan do. ¡°Enough,¡± Glen stopped it and asked with a glance at the silent Phinariel. ¡°Since Soletha is resting as well, I shall go to her briefly to make sure she¡¯s alright.¡± ¡°Of course master Garth,¡± Iskay said and waited for him to usher her along. So Glen did with a brief word to Phina and Metu to wait for him downstairs. ¡°Did the baby make it?¡± Glen asked on the long climb to the second floor, as Voron had given the maximum height possible to each floor of the Citadel, which resulted in the well over six stories high structure to have only three out of all that real estate, effectively halving the initial estimates. Granted they were roomy and offered a certain mystique to it, but this meant that most of the other necessary buildings had to be built at the back of the Citadel towards the East Tower. Since that was also the narrowest part of the yard, the front reserved for gardens and the fresh water ponds, it meant everything from the Kitchens to the stables were a bit crammed. He knew the answer to the question, but try as he did to avoid hearing it, Glen had and he stopped his climb for a moment to gather his thoughts. Ashamed he felt relieved that the spell had missed its target and horrified at the loss. Or had it? ¡°How bad was it?¡± He asked hoarsely. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen anything more horrible in my life,¡± Iskay replied and clasped her mouth dismayed. Probably also fearful she had said too much. Glen nodded. ¡°Was Soletha here?¡± ¡°She was. She did all she could, but it was impossible to save¡­¡± ¡°Yes?¡± Glen croaked his eyes urging her to continue. ¡°It¡¯s a miracle she¡¯s alive,¡± Iskay whispered glancing at the lightly lit corridor outside the royal quarters. The two massive bedrooms interconnected, but having different entrances. Another four smaller rooms/bedrooms on this floor, for slaves, children, or bodyguards. Centuries old experienced Healers, Glen thought seeing light on a third room next to his wife¡¯s. Another light next to his, probably for Maeriel and Inis-Mir. ¡°I won¡¯t wake her,¡± he murmured and the long-serving slave nodded. Glen paused and touched her face. ¡°Thank you Iskay,¡± he told her raspingly. ¡°For being there.¡± The redhead pressed her lips on the back of his wrist above his glove and then backed away with another deep bow to leave him alone. It dawned to Glen that Iskay would have been there whether she wanted to, or not. She had no say in the matter. It was a strange thought this to have, afore he entered Sen¡¯s quarters.
While the four meters high rectangular windows were open at the back of the bedroom, four of them in what was the east side facing the tower, heavy drapes kept the light at the minimum and only two oil lamps were lit, one on each of the other walls. Sen slept on the massive square bed, four ivory columns keeping the white thin mesh curtain steady over it, the blue satin sheets leaving her torso and face uncovered. Glen approached the bed, pulled the mosquito net away carefully and stared in her sleeping face, one hand under the large white pillow and the other loose in front of her chest. There was a sheen of sweat on her forehead and he removed his gloves to wipe it away softly, not wanting to rouse her. You should have let me know sweetheart, he thought. How many times do I have to explain it? You¡¯re not a burden. Never have been. You¡¯re not a slave, or another Cofol wife. You¡¯re my girl. My treasure. Mine. If I win nothing more, I¡¯ll be happy with you two. Nothing beyond that darn river was worth the fucking risk, as long as I have the wyvern. Push came to shove, Uvrycres could have won this by himself and we could have left those that survived concoct whatever story they wanted. In this realm, monsters are everywhere. So it doesn¡¯t matter, he thought. In the grand scheme of things. We are not heroes. Never pretended to be, no one here believes it in their hearts and for this sin no one could ever accuse us. Glen sighed and stood up carefully closing the mesh again. He grimaced and then walked slowly towards the window to look outside. The sound of work starting from the other side of the castle livening the otherwise barren yard of Morn Taras. No one breathing will ever attack this, he thought staring at the granite parapets and stone corridors running behind them. The soldiers gathering at the base of the tower, naught but small caricatures and the sun hidden behind it creating a halo at its edges. With a puff he turned around and walked slowly towards the door of the bedroom, Sen¡¯s weak voice stopping him not three strides later. ¡°Glen?¡± she murmured groggily. Then more excited as she recognized his dark figure. ¡°My Glen,¡± Sen gasped and made to get up, with Glen rushing to her. ¡°Have yer rest,¡± he told her, but she put her feet down and stood up from the bed. Stumbled towards him and Glen realized how thin she was. The white tunic she wore not hiding it. Her face had lost its vitality and big dark circles covered her striking eyes. Seeing his reaction, Sen paused apprehensive and tried to fix her hair. ¡°Stop it,¡± Glen grunted, a lump in his throat and hugged her tight to block her flaying arms. ¡°Everything will be fine now,¡± he whispered in her bejeweled ear and she started shaking in his tight embrace. ¡°I lost little Glen,¡± she cried with heavy sobs. ¡°I couldn¡¯t keep him alive.¡± Glen had trouble understanding her at first, heavily affected by her outburst, but when he did, his face darkened. ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± he croaked although it wasn¡¯t. The words coming out hollow. ¡°The important thing is that you¡¯re alive. It wasn¡¯t yer fault.¡± ¡°Of course it was,¡± Sen sniffled and pulled away. ¡°You don''t mean it. I¡¯m not stupid.¡± ¡°Never said you were.¡± ¡°Then what¡­ we tried everything, but I just couldn¡¯t bring him out safe!¡± Sen wailed and stumbled backwards and almost back on her bed again. The witch¡­ Wait, you can¡¯t tell her that! Glen admonished himself. ¡°It¡¯s always a risk,¡± he croaked and took her hands in his to kiss them. Sen felt his beard curious, her swollen eyes staring in his face. ¡°Nobody¡¯s fault,¡± Glen finished through his teeth. Sen reached back and sat down on the edge of her bed, collapsed more like. ¡°I¡¯m too weak,¡± she whispered. ¡°No you¡¯re not,¡± Glen argued and sat next to her. He clasped her hands with his again, her silent sniffling cutting into his soul. ¡°You look older,¡± Sen whispered and touched her head on his shoulder. ¡°But your scent is the same. You¡¯ve camped recently? I smell of smoke.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the wyvern,¡± Glen replied hoarsely. ¡°Some of it natural, the rest from real fires. He likes spraying death from above.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a wyvern Glen,¡± Sen murmured her eyes closing, the small exertion draining her already. ¡°You should rest,¡± Glen decided trying to keep the worry from his voice. ¡°I¡¯ll be right here.¡± ¡°Promise?¡± Sen asked as he lowered her slowly over her pillow infested bed. ¡°Aye,¡± Glen murmured emotionally and watched her strained face drifting to sleep. He checked the frail female¡¯s breathing for a while, then wiped his eyes and stood up carefully.
He reached his daughter¡¯s bedroom and paused at the open door, Iskay returning near her mistress behind him. She walked lightly and there was a heavy carpet covering the corridor¡¯s floor, but Iskay was too loaded with jewelry to approach anyone unnoticed. Glen wasn¡¯t and he could be twice as silent, but Maeriel¡¯s face turned right after her perked up ears heard him stepping inside his daughter¡¯s not much smaller bedroom. ¡°Hardir,¡± the ranger greeted the solemn-faced Glen. ¡°I take it you went to see Sen first?¡± ¡°Where¡¯s Jinx?¡± Glen grunted, in a much worse mood now than what he had been initially upon learning his wife had survived. ¡°In the tower,¡± Maeriel retorted tensely. ¡°With the guards?¡± Glen asked. ¡°In the cellar,¡± Maeriel hissed. Glen licked his dry lips in silence. ¡°You¡¯ve let them lock Jinx in a dungeon.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a cellar for your wine,¡± Maeriel replied through her teeth. ¡°And I couldn¡¯t do much. I have orders to stay with your daughter.¡± Glen looked at the small girl sleeping peacefully next to the golden ball Uvrycres had brought her. A wyvern¡¯s egg, Angrein had told him many months back. ¡°How long?¡± he finally asked tiredly his head hurting. ¡°Months,¡± Maeriel spat bitterly. ¡°How was the campaign?¡± ¡°You¡¯re talking to the King of Wetull,¡± he retorted curtly. The Ranger gasped and took a step back, then bowed her blue head deeply. ¡°I apologize to the Monarch,¡± Maeriel managed to say clenching her teeth. ¡°You know what?¡± Glen decided with a weary sigh. ¡°Yer forgiven as well.¡± If there was someone to blame here it was him. He should have found that ranger and killed her. Negotiations be damned. Onas would have caved anyway and Roran would have gotten mauled either by Anfalon, or Uvrycres. The body count probably horrific in that case. But worth it.
Glen stayed with the little girl and its guardian for a while and then left wanting to get Jinx out of her prison. The moment he stepped out of the bedroom though, a heavy bout of sorrow overcame him. Glen stumbled near Sen¡¯s door, but he couldn¡¯t face her in this condition, so he collapsed on a chair outside the healer¡¯s room instead. Soletha discovered him a bit later, head in hands and staring at a point on the carpeted floor, without really seeing anything. The healer placed her hand softly on the side of his neck under the wild hair, long fingers lacing around his nape and a calmness flooding Glen¡¯s senses, until he put a stop to it getting up. ¡°Hardir O¡¯ Fardor,¡± Soletha said serenely. ¡°Apologies.¡± ¡°Umm,¡± Glen grunted and grimaced looking at the dimly lit corridor. ¡°I was going to visit Lady Sovereign,¡± she said in her singing Imperial accent. ¡°She¡¯s resting. Leave her be,¡± Glen rejoined and cleared his throat, as it had come out stronger than he had intended. ¡°There was nothing anyone could have done¡­¡± Soletha hesitated and Glen turned his amber eyes on her, then following her stare down he noticed his well-worn satchel had opened, probably when Glen had plunged himself on the chair. The corpse¡¯s belongings weathering away gradually. The Crown of Horns protruding out of it. ¡°You reached the Crimson Palace,¡± Soletha whispered. ¡°Hardir actually climbed the stairs.¡± ¡°Rejoice for you¡¯re part of the Empire again,¡± Glen said bitterly. ¡°It won¡¯t be easy keeping everything together,¡± Soletha noticed. ¡°Monarch.¡± ¡°I just want Sen to be well again.¡± ¡°As I said nothing¡ª¡± ¡°I know,¡± Glen cut her off frustrated. ¡°How could you know Hardir?¡± Soletha probed perceptively. Older women, gone through tragedy, are not easy to lose focus, he thought. Fuck. ¡°It was an expression,¡± Glen spat scrunching his jaw. Too soon. You should have played the confused card. The Healer stood back furrowing her brow. ¡°At first I thought something had been set wrong,¡± she started thoughtfully, Glen¡¯s expression heavy. ¡°The baby turned¡­ but then I realized that each time I worked on its position, it changed shape. Either softer, or harder. It refused to come out.¡± ¡°Eah!¡± Glen rumbled not wanting to hear about it. ¡°Time and again I tried,¡± Soletha continued. ¡°I used charms and potions,¡± Glen groaned angry and stepped away from her. He could feel her eyes on him. ¡°But in the end I had to cut it out.¡± ¡°What?¡± Glen croaked in disbelief. ¡°She was refusing to let go and it was killing her,¡± Soletha said and crossed her arms on her chest, eyes gleaming in the dim light of the corridor. ¡°It can happen, if the baby is dead, but this wasn¡¯t natural. It had roots in her, thin black living needles out of strange wood. Dripping black oil and foul poison.¡± ¡°Enough!¡± Glen barked irate, trying to breathe but failing. ¡°I respect what you did,¡± he croaked, his mouth numb and a throbbing hammering at his temples. ¡°I couldn¡¯t do anything, but try to save her Hardir,¡± Soletha retorted. ¡°What I got out of her womb was no human. It wasn¡¯t a Zilan as well, or any other living species. Whatever it had been at some point, magic had consumed it. A dark spell cast, ebony silky threads severed, but still living on their own. A construct birthed out of a powerful caster¡¯s curse, no healer could ever hope to mend.¡± It reminded him of his hand, but he pushed the thought away. ¡°Soletha,¡± Glen grunted clenching his fists. ¡°I don¡¯t hold you responsible.¡± ¡°Yet you sent me in advance, as if you knew something was wrong.¡± ¡°It was a hunch, nothing more,¡± Glen rustled. Soletha nodded after staring at him silently for long. ¡°She thinks your son died. Wanted to see the body and mourn it, but there was no body to show to her. What I had cut out, I placed in a box and locked it shut. She needs to know it wasn¡¯t her fault.¡± No. ¡°So she can live in fear?¡± He asked her instead sobering up. ¡°I¡¯m no magic expert, but I¡¯ve lived near the Moon¡¯s daughter for a time. She could make things linger and appear living, but she was young then and her creations never lasted. That thing is still scratching at the iron box Hardir. Trying to get out. A very old witch cast this spell and if I was you, or her, I would be living in fear. She, or he has something and can reach you¡ª¡± ¡°No, she hasn¡¯t,¡± Glen growled and turned to glare her way. ¡°She¡¯s dead.¡± ¡°Hardir knows,¡± Soletha noted not really surprised. Oh, fuck off old lady. ¡°He does.¡± ¡°She must learn about it as well. It will help her,¡± Soletha insisted. Glen breathed out slowly and stepped near the tall priestess. ¡°I¡¯ve helped you avenge yer daughter Soletha,¡± he said austerely and she nodded. ¡°Brought you to Goras and allowed yer exiles to stay in the new port.¡± ¡°And I supported every decision you¡¯ve made,¡± Soletha replied a little surprised that he had gone there. ¡°Then you¡¯ll support this one as well,¡± Glen countered. ¡°A Monarch can¡¯t enforce his will on a Healer. My duty is to my patient first,¡± Soletha protested hurt. ¡°This Monarch can and he will,¡± Glen rustled warningly. ¡°She doesn¡¯t need to know. It will freak her out. It is for the best to let the matter end here.¡± Soletha opened her eyes wide and stepped away from him horrified. ¡°Best for whom though really? For you Hardir? Was the attack directed at you? Is that what you fear coming out?¡± ¡°Nothing will come out,¡± Glen hissed. ¡°For you won¡¯t say anything. If I suffer your people will suffer priestess, worse than what they did with Baltoris.¡± Kill her now, the dagger advised him. It hadn¡¯t spoken in months, but it seemed to think this was an opportune moment to offer its two cents. The place is almost empty. ¡°Is this your wish?¡± Soletha asked tiredly. ¡°It is.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll need a witch to cleanse the poison out of her,¡± Soletha advised her expression grave. ¡°I tried with scalpel but something might have hidden in the flesh.¡± ¡°Won¡¯t it wash away?¡± Glen asked, his mouth bitter. ¡°I don¡¯t know what it could do, or if it can spread again,¡± Soletha replied. ¡°I don¡¯t think it will, but I¡¯m not an expert.¡± ¡°Who would be?¡± ¡°The Sibyls,¡± Soletha replied. ¡°It was one of them,¡± Glen snapped and grinded his teeth. ¡°The rest are also dead is the consensus.¡± ¡°There is another one,¡± Soletha started. Ah. ¡°Do you take me for a fool?¡± He asked hoarsely. ¡°I¡¯m not bringing another goddarn witch here priestess!¡± Soletha gulped down and nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll do what I can Hardir.¡± Glen thought of Berthas and grimaced. ¡°I¡¯m sure you will,¡± he replied and allowed her to leave his presence. She¡¯ll talk, the dagger hissed in his ear. You¡¯re either lying, or yer lacking brains, Glen scoffed. She¡¯ll never risk it. Her community is a family to replace the one she lost to Pelleas.
An hour later Glen stood outside the East Tower, the sun directly above his head and the throbbing in his head maddening. Bohor who didn¡¯t appear much happier than him waited for the guards to bring Jinx out, pressing his lips so tight they had turned white. You¡¯re gone on the next ship, back to her brother, Glen thought eyeing him. Jinx¡¯s wild pink head interrupting his thoughts. The Gish sauntered casually outside the gate, glanced at Glen once to make sure it was him and then turned abruptly and kicked one of the Cofol guards between the legs doubling him over. One of his friends tried to grab her by the shoulder, but she sidestepped and tripped him to the ground. Sprinted the small distance and kicked him with both legs in the arse sending him sprawling onto his friend. Bohor made to move against her, but saw Glen¡¯s expression and thought it through, deciding to drop the matter in the end. ¡°Shit,¡± Jinx said getting up from the gravel and rubbed her behind with both hands. ¡°I had something better in mind.¡± She turned to look at Glen and her face fell. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°Sen survived,¡± Glen murmured and opened his arms to hug her. Jinx smelled of mould and wine. ¡°What in Luthos¡­?¡± ¡°Thank Abrakas for that. She¡¯s tough but also a bit of a cunt. Ah, I¡¯ve partaken to some of your wine and some of yer clothes are at my place. I don¡¯t know how they found their way there,¡± Jinx explained shoving everything in the same sentence to confuse him and sniffed his clothes, then slipped a hand inside his satchel to riffle through its contents. ¡°Ouch, what is dis¡­?¡± ¡°A crown,¡± Glen replied. ¡°Why steal a bird and kill it?¡± ¡°To warn you and I didn¡¯t kill it that freak Din did. You should have him flogged. Where did ye get a crown?¡± Jinx replied taking the crown out to look at it. ¡°Hmm. Hey about Sen. I¡¯m glad it worked out. I guess it wasn¡¯t so¡­¡± she looked at him and sighed. ¡°How bad?¡± ¡°We lost the baby and she¡¯s not that well,¡± Glen admitted sadly, trying to keep the tears in. Jinx hugged him and started sniffling as well, which didn¡¯t help him at all. She was also shoving the horns of the crown low on his back where the plate ended and he could feel them piercing the top of his hips. ¡°Jinx, give me the fucking crown,¡± he rustled. ¡°Or raise yer hands higher. What are you ten?¡± ¡°Ugh?¡± Jinx mumbled and looked up with red-rimmed ogling eyes. ¡°Ye think I want to hug yer arse? You¡¯re just too tall for a human! Admit it!¡± ¡°Phina is here,¡± Glen said with a groan of despair to change the subject. ¡°She brought a¡­ weird friend along.¡± ¡°Assara?¡± Jinx asked sniveling afore cleaning her nose with her free hand, she then cleaned in turn on his pants absentmindedly. ¡°I think so,¡± Glen grunted and reached to take the crown from her. ¡°She¡¯s a Ticu,¡± Jinx said nonchalantly. ¡°You don¡¯t take the King¡¯s crown¡­¡± Glen griped, but paused as the Gish¡¯s words had just registered. ¡°She¡¯s a what?¡± ¡°Who?¡± Jinx asked pretending she didn¡¯t know. ¡°Didn¡¯t you just say she¡¯s a Ticu?¡± ¡°Said she grew, ye misheard me silly. You¡¯re in shock,¡± Jinx corrected him, a huge grin on her rosy face. ¡°Have ye seen her boobs?¡± she showed him with her hands. ¡°What?¡± the Gish protested seeing his scowl. ¡°She was in my bath, but there was plenty of room so I stepped in it as well. Girls do that! Lose the beard by the way, it adds years and ye look old as fuck already.¡± Why you¡­ The best thing about Jinx was that if she realized you were in a bad mood, she could yank you out of it in an instance and steer you another way. So for the first time since that morning Glen managed to breathe freely and release some of the tension. Some of the accumulated anger and bitterness. Most of it out of guilt.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 355. A shadow over Goras (3/3)
Glen Arguen Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Lord of Morn Taras Monarch of Sinya Goras King beyond the Pale Mountains Aniculo Rokae A shadow over Goras Part III -While you were away-
Early third month of Winter 193 of the New Calendar Year 3399 of the Imperial Calendar (Third Era) A week into Mighty Saracen¡¯s arrival, two days after the first advanced units of the Army started returning with Fat Libby. Morn Taras (Tenebrous Castle) Goras There were eight very large mirrors adorning two of the side walls of the Lady Sovereign¡¯s bedroom. Those that faced north and south. The east wall being the one with the windows and the west leading to the internal corridor connecting all rooms of the first floor. Made out of bronze and glass they were also covered with thin yellow-gold sheets and Glen had to remove one so he could finish buttoning his tight shirt. The latter was a dark red color and made out of soft leather, reinforced with cotton fabric on the inside. Glen had abandoned wearing a gambeson and locked the plate black cuirass on top of it with the help of Iskay. The reasons being the added weight that made it cumbersome and the warmer weather ¨Ceven during winter- in Wetull. He paused to stare at his reflection. The young rascal that had escaped on a sinking boat from Shroudcoast was still visible under the little scars he¡¯d accumulated in the years that followed. Only it was an older, more troubled version of him. Plenty of grey on his trimmed thick wild hair adding to an illusion of wisdom Glen knew was as much as everything else in life, an illusion. ¡°Master is very handsome,¡± Iskay praised him and he nodded once. The slave girl retired to have her own breakfast and Glen walked away from the mirror, pausing to look at his wife¡¯s bed. A pale Sen watching him with those exquisite opal eyes in silence. ¡°They are downstairs,¡± Glen explained. ¡°I can hear Voron.¡± ¡°You could bed her,¡± Sen said with a small smile. ¡°She¡¯s getting restless in her sleep.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to fuck yer slave,¡± Glen retorted and pursed his mouth frustrated. ¡°Nor am I so beset wit lust to have it on my mind constantly.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s not me and not her, then you¡¯ll drift elsewhere,¡± Sen noticed not affected by his outburst. Glen puffed out exasperated. ¡°You¡¯re still healing.¡± ¡°The scars will never disappear unless I visit a tattoo parlor and paint them over, which I shall,¡± Sen replied and moved to get up. ¡°That¡¯s it, I should be fine with time, yet you treat me like I am not. Does my husband know something that I don¡¯t?¡± Dodge. ¡°That¡¯s not true,¡± Glen murmured looking away. ¡°And I don¡¯t mind the scars.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t show it,¡± Sen whispered and approached him slowly. ¡°I¡¯d rather you slept with Iskay than one of them.¡± Glen clenched his jaw and she put a hand on his shaven cheek. ¡°Why did you sent Bohor away?¡± ¡°He killed two citizens,¡± Glen replied and cupped her hand with his. ¡°Locked Jinx up,¡± Sen added with a weary smile. ¡°I can find more like him Glen. Just so you know, I did that.¡± ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have,¡± Glen murmured and kissed her small palm. ¡°She meant well.¡± ¡°She must learn to obey orders,¡± Sen replied. ¡°Treat the King as she must. You know I like her, but worrying you in the middle of a battle could have been fatal to our cause.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to lose,¡± Glen stooped and scooped her in his arms. He then carried her back to the bed. ¡°I still have the wyvern.¡± While she was better, Sen wasn¡¯t gaining any weight back and it was worrying to everyone near her especially the healer. Sen gasped when he laid her down, then grimaced feeling the hardness of the metal armour on her chest. ¡°You¡¯ll stay?¡± She asked in a husky voice. ¡°I won¡¯t risk it. Not yet,¡± Glen replied and her face fell. ¡°What is Soletha telling you?¡± She asked trying to hide her frustration. I don¡¯t need Soletha to tell me that getting you pregnant again is the last thing we need. ¡°You should trust the Zilan more, at least those I have told you,¡± Glen dodged and pulled away to give her some breathing room. ¡°And locking Jinx up was a mistake, but she won¡¯t hold it against you.¡± ¡°She wouldn¡¯t have stopped. People were getting hurt,¡± Sen reminded him. ¡°It was my decision. I should be the one offended.¡± ¡°I should have known,¡± Glen insisted trying to steer the conversation away from an argument. ¡°You can punish me anytime you want, but don¡¯t behave like she¡¯s above me husband,¡± Sen countered upset. ¡°It hurts worse than a beating.¡± ¡°Ah,¡± he grunted getting up. ¡°Don¡¯t do this. She is on our side. I need to speak to Voron,¡± he added with a small hesitation. ¡°You want me to open another window?¡± ¡°We have slaves for that,¡± Sen replied solemnly. The illness had soured her mood. ¡°Eat something solid,¡± Glen said not wanting to argue with her about the new group her brother had delivered to their doorstep. It was what it was with the Sopat. Sometimes it felt like they were blind and deaf, their customs finding fertile ground with the Zilan of Goras. It seemed as if the ¡®Sisters of the Peninsula¡¯ had never left the empire. ¡°I¡¯ll come back as soon as I finish work.¡± ¡°The King¡¯s work,¡± Sen whispered with a proud smile, her head sunk in her pillows. ¡°I have a throne getting build for you,¡± Glen reminded her. ¡°It cost me an arm and a leg,¡± he teased. ¡°So you better like it my merchant lady. I don¡¯t think I can get a refund in this market.¡±
A well-dressed but frustrated Metu went for a deep bow upon seeing him coming down the stairs. He then approached with a bundle of scrolls before Glen had time to seat on his throne. Made of black granite stone, with polished ebony wood armrests adorned with white-gold life-like dragon scales. Its seat layered with lacquered dark-brown cedarwood to be more comfortable. The central throne¡¯s cost was half of the bronze and gold throne that the craftsmen were building next to it, or the marble one on its right side. It stood though twice as big. Three steps elevating it even more to better see the columned space of his hall. ¡°What is this?¡± Glen grunted trying to get the crown on his head. ¡°Can¡¯t you give me a couple of minutes to settle and get some fluids in me?¡± he protested and grabbed the scrolls from Metu. Seeing as they were a fuck ton of them, he returned most of the parchments to his Castellan and kept the first couple only. He perused at the fine print and then checked the next one, the letters here bigger but with a certain flair on them. The calligraphy going overboard at the edges. Also completely indecipherable. I¡¯ve read enough shit to know ye don¡¯t do that. Overindulge at the expense of readability. Emerson¡¯s grueling first writing lesson had been space is valued, even when you use the ground as your page. Even Zilan knew that, those that had served in the court that is. Glen raised his eyes from the scrolls and looked at the frustrated Metu. Then at the haughty, I¡¯ve much better places to be, look of Voron. Phinariel, dressed in a new clean cream-colored tunic right next to him, large eyes open wide in anticipation. The sound of a chisel interrupting his assessment of the situation coming from his left side. Glen turned his head and stared at Eilven, the master artist working at the gold finishing of the gold throne. ¡°My good man,¡± Glen said and the Zilan with the braided in gold thread hair paused his work and looked at him surprised. He was a character easily absorbed in his art. Thin as a rail, tall and always difficult to make meaningful conversation with. ¡°Hmm,¡± Eilven said and got up to check on the details on Glen¡¯s throne. He used a thin rasp to grind some unseen kink out and paused again to go find another tool from his large bag. ¡°Mister Eilven,¡± Glen said diplomatically. The Zilan stopped hearing his voice and turned around. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the King, I¡¯m in session,¡± Glen explained calmly. ¡°Ah,¡± Eilven said and nodded. ¡°Perhaps I can provide transportation for you?¡± Glen continued. ¡°Have you worked in the Garden this week? We can drop you there.¡± Eilven frowned. ¡°But what about the throne?¡± ¡°You can finish it another time?¡± Glen offered with a strained leer. ¡°So we can finish in turn without flinching every moment?¡± The Zilan sculptor breathed in and pursed his mouth, the decision difficult. ¡°I¡¯ll clean up and head there,¡± he finally decided, Glen stopping him. ¡°We have slaves for that,¡± he assured him. ¡°Just head on right away. Hagen!¡± He barked loud enough to be heard across the large and badly lit hall to the entrance doors. ¡°Get Eilven a horse posthaste.¡± ¡°A small carriage for the tools and material,¡± Eilven politely corrected him, raising his bejeweled index finger. It was highly unlikely the distracted artist knew he was in the King¡¯s Hall. ¡°MAKE IT A CARRIAGE!¡± Glen bellowed and the doors were heard opening. ¡°PUT AN ARMED ESCORT ON IT!¡± Eilven habitually carried enough gold and jewelry with him to be a target.
¡°Now,¡± Glen said the moment Eilven was escorted away. ¡°Who wrote this?¡± He held the second scroll high and Phinariel gasped seeing her handiwork. ¡°It is pleasantly presented,¡± Glen continued not wanting to berate the young scribe and Voron raised a brow, then glanced at the excited female unsure. ¡°Overly so, for what it is¡­ what is it exactly, Phina?¡± ¡°Pfft,¡± Voron scoffed. ¡°An account of your adventures in Elauthin Arguen Garth,¡± Phinariel explained proudly. ¡°Have you read the army¡¯s report?¡± Glen sure hadn¡¯t as Vulreon was with Anfalon still en route to Goras. Roran had headed out per his orders with a smaller group to reach Rain-Minas and report on the viability of rebuilding a port there. Glen had informed the worried officials in a letter written more than month back that he was still alive and had returned to the capital. ¡°I talked with some soldiers yesterday Arguen Garth,¡± Phina told him. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Why¡­ Gods in heavens! May I enquire as to the reason, is the proper form of addressing the Monarch!¡± Voron said looking at her with ascetic eyes. ¡°Learn to speak proper Imperial, or at least passable Common!¡± He added getting all worked up. Himself one of the most rude officials in existence it came out as a joke to Glen¡¯s ears. Probably the reason for his outburst being he saw Phina beneath him in station. ¡°That¡¯s enough Voron,¡± Glen said sternly. He turned to the chastised scribe. ¡°It is a lovely thought Phina. Work at it on your spare time, but try to keep it close to the official version.¡± ¡°I will Arguen Garth,¡± Phinariel blurted out embarrassed. ¡°I¡¯ll go through the reports immediately.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± Glen stopped her. ¡°They are boring as fuck. They are also a work in progress sort of speak. Just let it breathe first Phina.¡± ¡°Let it breathe,¡± the cute scribe repeated breathlessly and Voron rolled his eyes to the white. ¡°Celebrated King Garth,¡± Metu started taking the chance, himself one of the more eloquent speakers in Common and Imperial. ¡°I must offer here a trifling protest on the matter of holding the briefings in Tenebrous Castle, seeing as the Council meets in Taras. It is a two hour trek my lord.¡± ¡°I¡¯m here,¡± Glen retorted. ¡°Seeing as I¡¯m not going to make the journey every day, you get to do it for me. Rejoice Metu, it is a prestigious office you are holding.¡± ¡°Of course my lord,¡± Metu croaked. ¡°As you read in the first report Lord Fikumin had to agree to compensate the Traders Guild¡ª¡± Glen had stopped him raising his right hand. ¡°Lord Garth?¡± Metu queried unsure. ¡°First,¡± Glen said. ¡°I haven¡¯t read the report and second why do we get to pay the traders? We are the ones that got robbed!¡± ¡°It was the first report I¡¯ve given¡ª¡± ¡°Answer my fucking question!¡± Glen blasted him. He had read the first couple of lines before he got distracted with Phina¡¯s scribblings and drawings. Voron chuckled at Metu¡¯s misery and Glen eyed him frustrated. ¡°We had agreed on a contract and they expected a delivery. So we have to return the coin we¡¯ve gotten upfront, eat the cost of the journey and the produce lost, finally compensating for the loss of revenue, since they can¡¯t sell what they hoped to originally, given that the wine is gone my Lord.¡± ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake,¡± Glen protested not believing his ears. ¡°What manner of lousy scam is this? Who got in bed with these kind of crooks?¡± ¡°It¡¯s standard merchant law,¡± Metu croaked. ¡°You make a promise on good faith and we need to show we can handle a setback without screwing our clients over. Else we¡¯ll lose the market.¡± ¡°Twas no setback!¡± Glen blasted him not expecting he would have to deal with something like this. ¡°We got robbed blind! Why is Lesia interested on who sells wine for crying out loud?¡± ¡°It¡¯s political my lord. The king needs to placate the Barons,¡± Metu explained. ¡°They are in dispute with Regia over a number¡ª¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care!¡± Glen growled and got up, the crown dropping over his brows. He pushed it back with a finger carefully and glared at Metu. ¡°Don¡¯t you see what¡¯s going on here?¡± ¡°My lord?¡± Metu asked sweating in his fine garbs. ¡°They are trying to swindle us out of our profits,¡± an angry Glen explained and walked down the throne¡¯s podium. ¡°Next time they¡¯ll give word again to them crooks out of Flauegran, so they can rob us blind in turn and split the god-darn loot! Don¡¯t you see it for what it is, are you plaguing kidding me?¡± He roared in Metu¡¯s face covering him in spittle. ¡°We¡¯re gonna lose the market my lord,¡± Metu insisted bravely, but he looked all but ready to collapse or piss down his robes. Glen took a precautionary step back to avoid an outburst of urine on his new garbs. ¡°Write to Fikumin and tell him to halt the next shipment,¡± Glen decided. ¡°Where¡¯s that drunken wench?¡± ¡°Captain Vale is repairing the ship she brought back,¡± Metu replied. ¡°Huh? Bullshit she is,¡± Glen grunted. ¡°Stupid drunkard bitch lost me my darn ship!¡± he cursed and clenched his teeth in a manic snarl. ¡°Technically she did bring coin back,¡± Metu argued in a small voice. ¡°To cover the loss and then some Lord Garth.¡± ¡°I had to take her share out of her pocket to make it worth,¡± Glen retorted. ¡°Not to mention I don¡¯t trust them pirates. They probably kept some of the gold hidden somewhere. You know what? Have everyone under watch. See to find out more Metu. I smell a fucking rat here!¡± ¡°It¡¯s Folen¡¯s job to handle¡­¡± Metu started, but nodded eagerly tears in his eyes, seeing Glen¡¯s pitiless glare. ¡°I¡¯ll see to it, your outmost excellency.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Glen said and breathed once deeply. ¡°Yer dismissed,¡± he told the worn out Castellan and then turned to the uninterested Voron. ¡°Now you condescending motherfucker are next,¡± Glen started getting more fired up with each word. ¡°Don¡¯t look so surprised ye cretin! What in allhells is this shite you dropped on me! I told you not to put the kitchens next to the stables!¡± ¡°There are barracks in between,¡± Voron protested with a frown. ¡°Bring the stables on the side facing the lake!¡± Glen blasted him. ¡°Find the space Voron, you¡¯re good at it!¡± ¡°The plan is for lush gardens to hug the main road towards the Citadel. A celebration of life to counteract the gloominess,¡± Voron replied arrogantly as if he was talking to an uncivilized brute. ¡°You¡¯ll build stables in the gardens?¡± ¡°It¡¯s either that or a cheap mausoleum. Use the granite leftovers to drive down the cost,¡± Glen deadpanned somberly. ¡°It¡¯ll be for the Castle¡¯s stubborn architect. I wager he¡¯ll find peace there amidst all them flowers.¡±
Glen had just returned from the construction site, which was most of the north and south corners of Morn Taras, his head pounding and covered in mud. The former because hammering at rocks produces insane amounts of noise and the latter due to a sudden downpour that caught him on the saddle. He was in the midst of swallowing a nice cut piece of roasted lamb shank, doused in lemon-based sauce and still in his drying shirt, when Jinx slipped through the guards and entered the throne room. The Gish paused and then spotting Glen eating near the thrones platform run towards him at full sprint. Allhells what now? Her dirty boots leaving muddy impressions on the polished black tiles. Glen put his fork down and wiped his mouth with a towel, the Gish plopping her nimble arse on a chair she dragged from the nearby scribe¡¯s desk. The screeching noise maddening to Glen¡¯s already abused ears. ¡°Luthos cock rots in a fucking jar,¡± Glen cursed clenching his square jaw. ¡°Can you be a little quieter?¡± He protested to the rude female, who used his fork to nail a round potato and slotted it in her small mouth. ¡°Sen-Iv might be resting!¡± ¡°She¡¯s not and the acoustics aren¡¯t that great in here just so you know,¡± Jinx argued mid-chomping. She swallowed, then reached for his goblet of wine, but Glen slapped her paw away. Jinx retaliating with an under the table kick at his ankle. ¡°ARGH!¡± Glen cried out and pushed back from his chair to grab at his sore foot. ¡°I¡¯ve an old injury there! Have ye gone completely nuts?¡± Jinx gulped down as much of his wine as she could, before a furious Glen took it away. ¡°Not yet,¡± she replied and jumped away from her chair to avoid his backhand. ¡°Hey!¡± ¡°What?¡± Glen snapped with a scowl and sat back down, as chasing Jinx inside the hall was futile. ¡°You started it ye uncivilized wench!¡± ¡°Wow¡­ language mister Garth,¡± Jinx retorted, her hands resting on her hips. ¡°Ah, tell that Lorian fool that the rain extinguished the fire.¡± ¡°What?¡± Glen asked, but then heard commotion coming from the end of the large hall and he saw a frustrated Razo walking briskly towards them leaving even more mud on his floor. ¡°Yes?¡± Glen spat through his teeth and the recently upgraded to the palace guard soldier saluted afore reporting. ¡°There¡¯s a fire started at the kitchens milord,¡± Glen stopped him afore he could finish and glared at Jinx who was scooping some of the sauce away from his plate with a piece of bread. ¡°The rain took care of it Razo,¡± he grunted. ¡°Ah, I guess Hagen run there for no reason then,¡± Razo said and nodded. ¡°The kitchens are not yet fully working,¡± Glen added. ¡°Nothing to burn but a hovel is my meaning.¡± ¡°That¡¯s quite fortunate Lord Garth,¡± Razo agreed. ¡°I¡¯ll¡­ return outside.¡± ¡°See you put a rag by the door to wipe them boots,¡± Glen cautioned him. ¡°I know the place is not ready, but people are living here.¡± ¡°Apologies milord,¡± Razo replied and saluted. ¡°Lady Jinx.¡± A thoroughly stuffed with food Jinx gave him a thumbs up. ¡°This needs to stop,¡± Glen told her the moment the soldier was away. ¡°You can¡¯t just do whatever you want here. Show some god darn respect to a king¡¯s place for crying out loud!¡± ¡°As in the office?¡± Jinx asked swallowing. ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t believe in that shit at all. Do you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m the plaguing King of Wetull!¡± Glen exploded. ¡°Listen¡­ you want me to treat you differently because of that?¡± Jinx asked and burped. ¡°Of course not! But some consideration must be given, other people are watching you!¡± ¡°So what? They are not going to rebel, half of them owe you for sleeping under a roof,¡± Jinx replied. ¡°The other half are either slaves, or of similar mentality.¡± ¡°Jinx.¡± ¡°Ye can let me leave. I¡¯ll go to Eikenport¡ª¡± ¡°Out of the question!¡± Glen barked and pushed back on his chair. ¡°I¡¯ll use the roads.¡± ¡°No. Jinx I ain¡¯t risking you getting killed over some bullshit, until I figure out a solution to this¡­ whatever it is you are dealing with.¡± ¡°You need to kill the Kraken.¡± ¡°Can it be done?¡± Glen asked curious. ¡°Are you serious? Of course not,¡± Jinx replied. ¡°You want to fight Abrakas is that it? I¡¯m not worth that much.¡± ¡°You are quite valuable, yer selling yourself short,¡± Glen argued. ¡°Aww,¡± Jinx purred and stared at the bottle. ¡°Can I have it?¡± ¡°For crying out loud, if you need coin, I can give you some,¡± Glen protested, leaving it vague on the amount given his situation. ¡°You don¡¯t have to take stuff,¡± he added. Coming from him this showcased the young Gish¡¯s problem. Sort of. ¡°I¡¯ll have the coin, but I want that bottle,¡± Jinx countered and he pushed the bottle of wine her way. ¡°Sen was with Angrein earlier,¡± she told him after uncorking the Goras product and gulping down half of it. For a small sized person Jinx had quite an appetite. ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to be?¡± Glen grunted. ¡°A trade,¡± Jinx retorted with a shrug. ¡°You know the natural way of things?¡± ¡°How is¡­¡± Glen exhaled and reached for his goblet. Found it empty and glared at the Gish. Jinx poured some of her newly acquired wine in his empty goblet and grinned. ¡°You drunk from that bottle,¡± Glen griped and sipped at the wine. ¡°I¡¯m clean, just swam in the springs,¡± the witty Gish assured him. ¡°Plus I got a lot of rain on me coming to warn you.¡± ¡°Why would you swim in¡­?¡± Glen sighed. ¡°Warn me about Sen and Angrein? I told you that your theory was wrong from the start. It was a difficult period and she was looking for solutions. That¡¯s how she is, no great mystery, or conspiracy, but you being super annoying to people.¡± Jinx stooped near him over the table, her feet probably not reaching the floor, but she was nimble like that and stared into his eyes hypnotically. For a brief moment, then she winced in pain. ¡°Shite,¡± Jinx groaned and pulled back rubbing at her stomach. ¡°I don¡¯t have the abs for dis. Fuck me tits!¡± Glen rubbed at his forehead wearily. ¡°Listen ehm, I¡¯ll catch some rest. I have a long day and tomorrow is even worse.¡± ¡°Your fear of the unknown worst case, is blinding you at the obvious,¡± Jinx said. Which sounded like Nym¡¯s gibberish. ¡°What the fuck is that supposed to mean?¡± Glen grunted and stood up. ¡°If yer implying my wife is sleeping around then you¡¯re an idiot!¡± ¡°That¡¯s your fear, but it crossed my mind. I told you what I suspect happened,¡± Jinx replied. ¡°How do you explain the stories?¡± ¡°What stories?¡± ¡°People say Soletha had to burn the baby because it wouldn¡¯t die,¡± Jinx said and Glen groaned in frustration and walked away. He turned around and walked back towards her. ¡°The drunkards and lowlifes ye hang around can say whatever they want,¡± Glen told her. ¡°But this goes beyond the pale! How could would listen to this shite and even worse repeat them here? She might hear you!¡± ¡°She doesn¡¯t know?¡± Jinx asked. Glen gulped down nervously. ¡°No baby was burned. Yer talking about my son Jinx, Gods darnit. Show a bit of compassion!¡± ¡°Hey, fuck off!¡± Jinx protested. ¡°News travel and stories are birthed, but there¡¯s always a root cause. Sen hasn¡¯t been seen in public for almost a year!¡± ¡°You know it was difficult,¡± Glen started, but she cut him off, grabbed her bottle and turned to leave. ¡°Seriously?¡± Glen grunted. ¡°I¡¯m on yer corner, since the bloody beginning!¡± Jinx hissed really angry. ¡°Not wit words, or fancy gifts. I¡¯ve lost friends for yer arse and expect to not be lied to like some stupid guard!¡± Glen puffed out and then glanced at the empty hall thoughtfully. ¡°First of all that was uncalled for,¡± he started. ¡°Also these two are good lads and thirdly, forget me what does Maeriel say?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t talk, I¡¯m angry with her,¡± Jinx replied and walked back to the table. ¡°You got much better at dodging wit age.¡± ¡°Thank you. Is this Assara a new lover?¡± ¡°Abrakas smelly toes! Of course not!¡± She spat. It looked genuine to him.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°Then what? Maeriel couldn¡¯t leave her post. Sen was in charge!¡± He probed derailing the conversation completely. ¡°She can¡¯t be more loyal to you than me. It¡¯s not that much to ask,¡± Jinx replied bitterly. ¡°Then the trade isn¡¯t equal.¡± ¡°She came to save you,¡± Glen reminded her. ¡°You can¡¯t expect everyone to support your theories without evidence.¡± ¡°Have you looked?¡± Jinx asked him, never one to allow someone else to have the final word. ¡°For evidence?¡± Gods darnit Pretty!
Glen had spent the night at the foot of the bed not wanting to disturb her sleep. He slept very little, the nights of Goras quieter at the top of the plateau and inside the castle. At times voices reached him from the open windows, animals from the forest, a bird, or a late-night arriving caravan going the long way. Glen would wake with first light, the sun pushing through the drapes when the clouds were missing. He walked the quiet lavish bedroom, as Sen had started decorating from that room and worked her way out and then downstairs. The amount of stuff she had brought in herself, bought in the local markets, or specially delivered through the desert staggering. Sen¡¯s wealth could have kept the city¡¯s economy afloat without any other trade routes. It turned into expensive oval bronze mirrors, enough pillows to accommodate an Othrim or two, rolls of satin sheets and drapes, wool carpets and rugs, fine but thicker cotton curtains for the summer. Again pillows of all sizes, a year¡¯s worth of shoes and all types of dresses, undergarments, five small boxes of jewelry, a strongbox of bracelets and anklets, dress ornaments, fine engraved glasses and simple diamonds in fine leather purses. The stuff filling cupboards, dressers and cabinets. A wall of fancy closets and two multi-level nightstands. Glen stopped before the latter and stared at Sen¡¯s fragrances. Her perfumes and expensive colognes. The many different little bottles of scented oils. Some of the bottles probably worth more than the product they carried. Though Glen wouldn¡¯t wage on that. Gold little bottles, silver adorned vials, small wooden squares encrusted with gems, one having so many rubies on it Glen couldn¡¯t decide what the original material had been. One of the vials simple. A thin tube really with a wax cork on it. The glass stained and darkened with time. It stood out and his experienced eyes that had missed it the first three agonizing days and nights after his return, had spotted it on the fourth morning. ¡°Angrein called it the Saereg,¡± a groggy Sen murmured seeing him examining it. ¡°Dragon¡¯s blood.¡± Fuck¡¯s sake. ¡°What does it do?¡± Glen asked returning it on the nightstand. ¡°If it works, some of the wyvern¡¯s skills are passed on to you,¡± Sen whispered and approached him barefooted, her small feet sinking on the blue carpet. ¡°What¡¯s the catch?¡± Glen queried and hugged her from the side looking to avoid the large cuts that run her belly in a crisscross manner. Soletha had used potions and two hundred forty six stitches, both internal and external to put her back together. Three Cofol nurses that had worked with her had disappeared after the procedure was over and one mercenary guard. Probably the one Bohor suspected he¡¯d leaked the details of the night to the two citizens. The horselord not sparing his own from the Lethe¡¯s blade. ¡°If it doesn¡¯t work you die,¡± Sen had replied in his ear. ¡°If it does, you know Angrein. His skill is beyond reproach. Some of the jewelry in here are his.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really know him,¡± Glen rustled and seeing her face, he sighed. ¡°I like him. This is not Jinx talking. This is me saying the man¡­ what is he exactly?¡± ¡°A mere human lasting as long as them. The biggest gift, but on the scales the trade was daunting,¡± Sen said wearily. Glen helped her back to bed without answering. ¡°I couldn¡¯t do it,¡± his wife whispered and he had to stoop over her pale lips to listen. ¡°I thought¡­ I did it once on my own. I can do it again. No reason to risk it,¡± Glen grimaced and made to stand up, almost missing her next words. ¡°We don¡¯t need their magic. We can succeed, if we but try hard enough.¡± Not with this you couldn¡¯t, he thought looking at her sleeping peacefully.
Berthas looked just about to collapse. The young Zilan had taken the first ship, his mother following Roran the other way. The latter an attempt from Lord Suraer to fix a mistake he¡¯d made in the past. Glen thought it very optimistic. Whatever Roran have felt for his daughter and she for him, a lot of stuff had happened to make it difficult for them to find common ground. The worst of it was Olonelis had sent Darunia with them, mostly to separate her from the adventurers, who had returned to Goras with the same ship. Glen wanted the healer in Goras, but Olonelis would rebel if he pressed the issue and he couldn¡¯t explain the reasons in a letter. The rest of the army waiting at Serpent Canal would return on the next trip, but for those that would stay behind. Either way Glen had already ordered the Zilan ships to work the route, making as many trips per month as it was possible. The water was the faster route and he intended to use it, until the roads were rebuilt fully. Even then it would be faster. ¡°Soletha is a healer,¡± Glen explained. ¡°She¡¯s very open-minded.¡± Berthas nodded and removed his hood slowly. He had cut his hair very short to sort of blend in, but Soletha gasped and looked at Glen in shock. ¡°Aelinole¡¯s son?¡± She asked. ¡°A Mage,¡± Glen explained. ¡°I haven¡¯t really,¡± Berthas tried to say, but Soletha approached him and touched his ears. Long fingers running the length of them and stopping at the straight tips. Berthas had turned a nice tomato-red at the healer¡¯s ministrations. Soletha hummed and then caressed his blond head, worked her hands down his chest and arms. She turned his palms so she can examine them carefully, her thumbs pressing on his wrists. Glen feared Berthas would have an orgasm in front of her and then it would be impossible to introduce him as a serious person. I should have taken him to Luthoris and Sarya first, Glen thought nervously. Folen¡¯s partners would have gotten this shite out of the way. ¡°Fascinating,¡± Soletha murmured. ¡°Right?¡± Glen laughed anxiously. ¡°He¡¯s a good lad.¡± ¡°Mmm. How did you meet?¡± ¡°Near the lake¡ª¡± Berthas blurted, but Glen intervened cutting him off mid-sentence. ¡°Lord Suraer arranged it,¡± he told her. ¡°He thought you would have a better understanding on his plight.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know Lord Suraer valued my skill, or opinion,¡± Soletha noted not convinced. ¡°I helped exiles. He¡¯s a half-breed. Although Aelinole might have been tricked in the act.¡± ¡°She wasn¡¯t tricked¡ª¡± A flushed Berthas tried to say, but Glen cut him off again. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I ask Hardir to defend my mother¡¯s honor,¡± Berthas protested and Glen stared at him coolly for a moment afore replying. ¡°Request denied. Go on Soletha.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a lot of¡­ Zilan in him,¡± Soletha replied with a motherly smile. The kind that had Soren turn into a fool. On a second thought, Soren wasn¡¯t the best example to use perhaps. ¡°Continue,¡± Glen croaked, Berthas tearing up at her words. ¡°But if he¡¯s skilled as a mage, then somewhere in his lineage there is one,¡± Soletha said thoughtfully. ¡°To be able to overwrite Lord Suraer and his mother¡¯s genetics¡­ it¡¯s impressive.¡± ¡°He¡¯s skilled,¡± Glen said. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know that,¡± Soletha replied. ¡°Has he apprenticed with someone in Lo-Minas?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you just say, his lineage is like all fine and shit?¡± Glen grunted and Soletha reached with her arm to grab his wrist. Glen snatched his hand away. ¡°You were getting angry,¡± Soletha explained. ¡°Because I wanted to?¡± Glen rustled. ¡°You don¡¯t calm down people like that! What is this shite with you healers?¡± ¡°I respect your skill Lady Soletha,¡± Berthas said to the frowned healer. ¡°Shut up you,¡± Glen snapped. ¡°Sneaky little shit!¡± ¡°The Monarch is frustrated,¡± Soletha said calmly. ¡°Perhaps if he explained the reason for bringing him here, I could alleviate his frustration another way?¡± There was a hint of dirty in those words, but Glen pretended he didn¡¯t notice it. ¡°He can kill the thing,¡± he told her and Soletha stood back. ¡°The thing?¡± Berthas asked. ¡°No. It¡¯s too dangerous,¡± she finally said. ¡°What thing?¡± Berthas queried unsure. ¡°I have a sword.¡± ¡°You can undone a spell can¡¯t you?¡± Glen asked him. ¡°Sure,¡± Berthas said with the eagerness of youth and fools. ¡°He has no idea what you¡¯re talking about,¡± Soletha hissed. ¡°You¡¯re eager though,¡± Glen said. ¡°Are you not a good citizen? I think you are.¡± ¡°Hardir O¡¯ Fardor!¡± Soletha admonished him. ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it.¡± ¡°I already have,¡± Glen replied sternly. The healer walked up to him frustrated, but paused with a grimace of pain and pursed her lips tight thoughtfully. ¡°Have you seen your threads?¡± She asked him. ¡°I have,¡± Berthas replied with Glen nodding him along, although he¡¯d no idea what it meant. ¡°Can you make a connection to more than one point and then sever it on your side?¡± Berthas frowned. ¡°Where would the other¡­ that¡¯s alteration.¡± ¡°Something living, of flesh. An animal,¡± Soletha replied. ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± Berthas gasped turning pale. He gulped down. ¡°Why?¡± He croaked. Soletha stared at Glen intently. ¡°Goddess helps us.¡± ¡°Answer him,¡± Glen hissed. ¡°So we can kill it,¡± Soletha replied her face paling. ¡°But how we would do it? What if it escapes?¡± ¡°It won¡¯t,¡± Glen replied and crossed his arms on his chest. ¡°I¡¯ll use the wyvern.¡±
Whoo. Whoo. The night owl called over the silent Taras Lake. Normally at its northeast side and under the rocks of the plateau where the Eternal Springs Falls poured inside the lake you wouldn¡¯t find citizens wandering about. The district had been built on the south side of the lake and the road coming from Morn Taras was next to its west banks. Here the jungle and vegetation still creeped near the clear waters, but Glen couldn¡¯t hear anything else above the sounds of Eternal Springs, but for that bird. He stared at the two guards carrying the metallic box and then at a nervous Berthas, before settling his eyes on the Healer. ¡°Is this a good spot?¡± Glen asked Soletha, his boots stabbing at the rocky damp terrain. It had rained earlier on top of everything else, but while the mud was unpleasant on their way here, the sky had cleared of clouds and it made it easier to sneak out of town. The two moons illuminating the lake and the waterfalls nicely being an extra bonus. ¡°I have no idea,¡± Soletha admitted. ¡°Will the Wyvern find it?¡± ¡°Oh, he will,¡± Glen replied and stared at the lake¡¯s surface, then at the sky. ¡°Does the boy know what to do?¡± ¡°I explained what I remember,¡± Soletha griped. ¡°That¡¯s not how things are done Hardir.¡± ¡°I get it,¡± Berthas assured him. ¡°I go in, tether the thing to the goat and then I jump out.¡± There that¡¯s the plaguing spirit! ¡°Razo!¡± Glen barked. ¡°Get that goat here!¡± ¡°Aye milord,¡± the soldier replied and returned to their horses. ¡°Bring the box,¡± Glen ordered Hagen. ¡°Place it on that flat opening, away from the water.¡± MAA MAAA The goat cried out whilst Razo carried it to the opening. Hagen placed the hefty box down and then tied a hemp rope first on the small goat¡¯s neck and then around the base of the box. The opening had slates of cracked limestone going out for about ten meters totally clear of any vegetation, before the first trees and bushes started. Thirty meters to their front the frothy waters of the waterfalls falling down from the overhang and into the lake kept everyone¡¯s clothes moist. A shine covering the polished rocks and large stones, the terrain slippery and the air damp. ¡°You need to feel it without touch and sight,¡± Soletha explained to a heavy breathing Berthas. He nodded anxiously. ¡°What¡¯s in the box milord?¡± Razo asked in a casual manner. ¡°Nothing you need to worry about,¡± Glen assured him and unsheathed his sword. ¡°Arm yourselves.¡± Razo blinked, pressed his mouth taut, but then reached for his blade as well. Hagen getting his spear out, whilst Soletha went over the details with the nervous mage. Technically he wasn¡¯t a mage yet, but Glen didn¡¯t have anything else at the near. He wanted to kill the stillborn and hopefully break the spell to free Sen-Iv. With the witch dead something kept the woman from healing fully and the culprit should be that thing in that box. Soletha didn¡¯t believe it, but he wasn¡¯t going to wait around for the situation to deteriorate. ¡°Open the box Razo,¡± Glen rustled and stepped forward to see inside. Everyone had lightstones hanging from their necks and with the plentiful moonlight of the evening this remote part of the lake was lit up adequately. The colors coming in variants of grey, white and washed brown. ¡°Don¡¯t linger,¡± Soletha hissed as Razo opened the heavy lid after releasing the iron chain and jumped back comically. ¡°Tether it to the animal and let go.¡± Glen looked over the lip of the box and into the black interior. ¡°I can¡¯t see shit,¡± he grunted through his teeth. ¡°What is it we¡¯re supposed¡ª¡± Hagen probed a little confused, his brother who was standing much closer to the box cutting him off sounding overly tensed. ¡°Shut up Hagen. Don¡¯t say another word!¡± Whoo, the owl called from a nearby tree branch. The goat tried to walk away from the box and while it stirred it some, the small animal failed to drag it along. ¡°Razo,¡± Glen ordered hoarsely. ¡°Get yer hand in there and pull it out.¡± ¡°No,¡± a haunted Soletha intervened, Berthas humming next to her. ¡°Nobody touches it! We talked of this!¡± Ugh? ¡°He¡¯s wearing gloves!¡± Glen grunted and she turned to glare at him, large emerald eyes glowing with their own light, when a black thorny root came out of the box. It hovered in the air for a moment and then dived down to meet the rock. Bounced off the hard surface, split in two, the tearing raising Glen¡¯s hairs, sounding more like flesh than wood. One new thinner thorny root heading for the nervous jumping around goat and the other straight for Razo. There was a blackish smoke-like substance coming out of the sinister moving root that dripped off of it. It painted what the shade touched an oily black color. What in the slovenly fuck, Glen thought and made to attack the swaying roots with his sword. Soletha¡¯s extended arm stopping him. ¡°I feel it,¡± Berthas murmured his eyes closed. ¡°Don¡¯t linger,¡± Soletha hissed, her face turned into a tense mask. ¡°Find the goat and let go!¡± MAA! ¡°What is this thing?¡± Hagen said half-awed half-freaked out. ¡°Ah,¡± Berthas said, just as the goat started shaking. ¡°It cries.¡± ¡°LET IT GO!¡± Soletha yelled her voice ringing over the opening and the tree branches thrashing with a sudden breeze. The box clanged then vibrated, the root that was heading for Razo stopping. An oily black slab of wood carved like an effigy of a baby started rising from the box, standing on many insect-like thorny branches. They moved splitting and then reconnecting again, tearing sounds reverberating and mixing with the ruckus of the waterfalls, the terrain blackening around the box. Where it painted, the wooden effigy went. ¡°It got out!¡± Hagen yelled scared shitless, Glen watching with ogling eyes and his jaw clenched, a hand on his dagger. Now? Uvrycres asked from above. We need to get it inside the fucking goat fully! It¡¯s in the goat already! You fools are watching a replay! Uvrycres blasted him. Shit. ¡°BACK AWAY!¡± Glen bellowed and grabbed Soletha¡¯s arm to pull her away. Hagen cursed and jumped away as well, the black effigy dissolving in front of their eyes, but that dark shade spreading in an ever growing circle. ¡°NOW GODS DARNIT!¡± Your mage is holding the wrong spirit thread, Uvrycres cautioned him. It¡¯s not his, but this tube shall suck him dry. A worried Glen turned around and rushed the humming Berthas. He reached him in a breath, grimaced unsure on what to do and then clenching his fist tight punched him between left eye and base of the nose, breaking the bone there. Berthas bloody face snapped back and a black line appeared painted on the ground between his legs and reaching all the way to the goat. The small animal busy dragging the box away towards the forest with ease. You piece of sneaky turd! Glen cursed. ¡°Hagen stop the goat!¡± Glen barked irate and shoved the staggering Berthas back. Hagen frowned in shock, then took a step forwards hefting his spear and hurled it to the moving animal from four meters away. The heavy spear skewering the body of the goat, the sound weird as if the blade didn¡¯t go through flesh and bones, but solid wood. Fuck! The goat stopped abruptly. Thin roots started coming out of its hide, the thorny rhizomes extending outwards and the main body of the small animal bloating grotesquely. ¡°Wake up!¡± Soletha yelled at the collapsed unresponsive and quivering young mage, trying to open his frothing mouth to pour a potion in it. Hagen reached for his mace with a curse, the spear cracking as the goat doubled its size and Razo who was approaching from the other side paused and turned to leave but realized he couldn¡¯t. ¡°IT FOUND ANOTHER TARGET!¡± The healer screamed snapping Glen out of his trance. Razo turned to look at them, thin black vines coming out of his eyes and mouth. The skin blackening and turning oily like that of the wooden effigy. With a voiceless hiss the mutating soldier jumped over the flaying goat ¨Cthe black mass resembling nothing of the hapless animal- and landed in front of the King of Wetull. He raised an arm to grab him, many thin tendrils extending out of its palm and fingers, but Glen stepped away. When the arm followed him redoubling its length, bone heard shattering and flesh tearing at the joints, the jackal cackled maniacally and chopped it away. Razo lost an arm to Glen¡¯s vicious sword, but he tried again with the other one. The infected soldier turned trying to follow a dodging Glen, but the former thief dived for the ground, rolled on a shoulder and when Razo twisted his crackling torso that way to face him, Glen hacked his left leg away below the knee. ¡°NOOO!¡± Hagen cried seeing his brother getting hacked to pieces by a furious Glen. ¡°Don¡¯t hurt him!¡± Razo didn¡¯t feel a thing is the biggest problem, Glen realized, when the mutilated soldier kept coming at him doggedly replacing limbs with sprouting thorny roots. He glanced back with a gnarly grimace, eyed a devastated Hagen standing next to the lake and then at a desperately dragging away a thrashing Berthas Soletha, much further and nearer their horses. ¡°Run,¡± Glen rustled raspingly at Hagen and stood up to glare at the slow moving creature. Behind it the still mutating cockroach-resembling goat was still trying to reach the forest whilst he was distracted pulling that heavy box behind it. Fire in the bowl? Uvrycres asked. ¡°Milord?¡± Hagen sniffled and turned to look at him, his gawking scared eyes seeing the King of Wetull sprinting his way sword in hand, teeth clenched in a schizophrenic sneer. Glen dived for the lake, left shoulder smacking Hagen in the chest and shoving him back and above their heads a blistering column of fire coming down on the small opening. Glen and a screaming Hagen hit the waters, behind them the rocks engulfed in an inferno. The water muffling the sounds of the tremendous explosion that rattled the bottom of the lake, destroyed the opening and set the forest on fire. Three meters under the surface Glen swam desperately away from the falling boulders and debris, as part of the waterfalls of this ancient picturesque part of Taras collapsed inside the lake as well. They would have drowned for sure, but Uvrycres dived inside the lake and scooped them up. Well, he picked up Glen really. Hagen he just dragged by a leg with his tail, the soldier¡¯s head half-in half-out the surface of the water and then hurled him ashore next to the horses.
A covered in soot, thoroughly soaked and disheveled Glen stood up, a scowl on his tensed face and eyed the catastrophe Uvrycres had caused to the landscape. ¡°Did you get it?¡± he asked hoarsely and stooped to help a half-drown Hagen stand up. The soldier started retching and vomiting, so Glen just left him drop down again and walked towards the shaken healer that was still trying to revive Berthas. I turned everything to glass, Uvrycres replied. The thing? The spell is lingering, but it can¡¯t touch the outside again. I had to try buddy, Glen replied not liking the jab. I understand. ¡°How is he?¡± Glen asked and knelt next to Soletha to check on the young mage. ¡°What the fuck happened to his hair?¡± Berthas head had but a few white strands of hair left on it, the skin wrinkled and droopy. ¡°The blowback from the spell almost sucked him dry,¡± Soletha replied caressing the young Zilan¡¯s face. ¡°Will he make it?¡± Glen asked with a grimace. He had sort of promised Lord Suraer to take care of his grandson. While he hadn¡¯t committed definitely and the Lord of Lo-Minas had acted a little hastily there, Glen couldn¡¯t use that excuse if the young mage perished. ¡°He won¡¯t live as long as he would have,¡± Soletha murmured sadly. ¡°He has plenty left in the cistern. What about the hair?¡± Glen probed. ¡°The hair?¡± Soletha scrunched her face. ¡°I mean white is a color you lads are sporting right?¡± ¡°If we are very old,¡± Soletha hissed, some white strands on her blue hair. ¡°Purple also.¡± ¡°Nice,¡± Glen decided and stood up to stare at the burning forest. ¡°You think we got it dottore?¡± ¡°Hardir,¡± Soletha griped through her teeth. ¡°I don¡¯t know, nor do I understand what you were trying to do here.¡± ¡°I tried to fix what you said couldn¡¯t be fixed,¡± Glen retorted and wiped his dirty face with a hand. His gloves ruined. ¡°I¡¯m not much of a resign to yer fate guy believe it or not.¡± Girl, the wyvern warned him. What? A girl is watching. A couple really. The Wyvern had taken to the sky again. Where? South part of the forest. I think they are returning to Taras. ¡°Hagen!¡± Glen barked coming alive immediately. ¡°Milord me poor brother. Ye cut his leg off,¡± Hagen cried miserably shaking all over and Glen grabbed his shoulder to stabilize him. ¡°Snap out of it my good man. Show some backbone for cryin¡¯ out loud!¡± he admonished him. ¡°He died a hero. Don¡¯t foul his memory!¡± ¡°How am I doin¡¯ it?¡± the mourning soldier protested. ¡°Get on that horse,¡± Glen said changing the subject. ¡°And follow me.¡±
They galloped after the escaping witnesses and caught the girl, a god darn Cofol of all things, at the edge of the forest. Glen run her over with his horse, shoving her to the ground with a scream and whipped his head around to glare at the following Hagen. ¡°Find the guy!¡± He barked and jumped from his horse. Glen reached the thrashing young woman that tried to limp away and grabbed her by the hair. ¡°Please!¡± she screamed desperately. ¡°I didn¡¯t see anything!¡± ¡°Calm down,¡± Glen hissed looking at her broken ankle. ¡°I¡¯m not going to hurt you.¡± ¡°Ye broke me ankle milord!¡± she cried out. ¡°Yer pulling my hair out!¡± ¡°What were you doing in the forest?¡± Glen asked hoarsely and let go of her hair. ¡°Nothing!¡± Lie. Glen checked on her slave markings. ¡°Who¡¯s yer owner?¡± ¡°Perhar, he¡¯s a merchant!¡± the slave girl sniffled. ¡°How is a slave roaming about in the dark? Hmm?¡± He queried. ¡°What¡¯s yer name?¡± ¡°Silica my lord,¡± she replied, her teeth rattling. ¡°What were you doing out at this hour?¡± Silica shook her head, clenching her mouth tight. Her black hair plastered on her wet face, leaves and dirt covering her tunic. She had lost a sandal in the attempt to get away from him. ¡°Where is the man going?¡± Glen asked puffing out and eyed Soletha approaching bringing up the horses and a pale-faced Berthas. The mage actually looked half-dead. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t lie to me,¡± Glen growled and glared at her. ¡°I can tell, when you do.¡± ¡°Goddess help me,¡± Silica cried. ¡°Please, it wasn¡¯t my fault!¡± ¡°Whose fault was it?¡± Glen queried tiredly. ¡°Speak gods darnit!¡± Cut her eye out, the dagger advised. ¡°SHUT UP!¡± Glen bellowed and Silica started pissing herself, tremors rattling her body. ¡°For fuck¡¯s sake!¡± he cursed in frustration. ¡°Hardir,¡± Soletha said serenely. ¡°What did she do?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Glen replied feeling worn out. ¡°I didn¡¯t¡­ we just watched,¡± Silica mumbled her tunic darkening with warm urine and her ankle ballooning where the bone had snapped. Eh. ¡°On whose orders?¡± Glen croaked. ¡°Perhar, my master,¡± Silica admitted her teeth rattling. ¡°It hurts my lord please.¡± ¡°Watch for me?¡± ¡°The Healer,¡± Silica said and Soletha furrowed her brow in worry. ¡°It¡¯s been going on for months.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Glen grunted. ¡°He wants to know.¡± Luthos cock dipped in the vipers jar. ¡°Where¡¯s your master from?¡± A haunted Glen asked although he knew. ¡°The Amethyst Lake, of Lai Zel-Ka,¡± Silica had replied. Ah, sweetheart, Glen thought his mouth dry. Why can¡¯t you just give it up? ¡°Hardir,¡± Soletha asked gruffly. ¡°What do we do?¡± Glen stared at Hagen returning empty-handed and sighed. ¡°Return to Taras,¡± he decided. ¡°Lock the girl up and see to help Berthas.¡± He then turned to Hagen. ¡°You ride to Captain Horton,¡± he told him. ¡°Raise the alarm and lock the city down. Send a patrol of guards at Morn Taras. I¡¯ll head to the Castle immediately.¡± ¡°Voron has guards at the wall gates,¡± a grim-faced Hagen informed him. ¡°Do they rotate?¡± Glen asked and reached for the reins of his horse. ¡°I think so. Why milord?¡± Hagen asked. ¡°Sen would have bought them off,¡± he explained and jumped on the saddle with a weary sigh. He glanced at Soletha. ¡°She was going to find out about the baby. You should have showed her a normal dead one and close the fucking deal. Bohor, everyone trying to hide it, myself included are just trying to plug a rotten pipe.¡± Soletha stood back. ¡°Make the lie bigger?¡± Glen clenched his teeth. ¡°Healer there¡¯s no small, or big lie. The moment you took it away, we all started lying for different reasons. The amount is irrelevant. It¡¯s only the good lies that survive scrutiny.¡± But not always.
A sour-faced Glen burst inside the Citadel with two guards, the distant horns of Taras reaching the castle and the fire still burning bright underneath its slopes to their east. A disheveled Voron, the architect was sleeping in the third floor, but was working in the main hall until late in the evening, raised his head alarmed seeing him. ¡°Lord Garth,¡± Voron said perturbed. ¡°This is a lively night.¡± ¡°Who else is here?¡± Glen enquired. He had already questioned the guards about it. ¡°In the citadel?¡± Voron asked and Glen grimaced. He turned just as one of the guards was going for his sword and run him through. The blade punching through his armour savagely and blasting out of his back. The guard gurgled, blood in his mouth and he kicked him back to face his lying friend. The Lorian licked his lips, a hand on his sword. ¡°You unsheathe that, you¡¯ll die screaming and in many pieces,¡± Glen warned him and stooped to retrieve his sword from his dying friend. ¡°We were told to keep it quiet,¡± the guard grunted. ¡°Who? Bohor?¡± The guard nodded. ¡°Voron?¡± Glen asked his eyes on the nervous guard. ¡°Who came earlier?¡± ¡°Angrein,¡± a confused Voron replied and brushed his blue and purple hair off his face. ¡°What is the reason for this ungodly tumult?¡± he added glancing at the bleeding out on the tiles soldier. ¡°The man will soon perish Hardir.¡± ¡°Where is he?¡± Glen asked not caring about that and Voron turned to point back towards the table he was working on. The Imperial Blacksmith¡¯s burly figure appearing out of the badly lit place. ¡°I¡¯m here,¡± Angrein replied gutturally. ¡°What does Hardir O¡¯ Fardor need?¡± ¡°Cut the plaguin¡¯ crap!¡± Glen growled and advanced on him. ¡°You¡¯ve talked with Sen! What did you say to her?¡± ¡°I answered her queries truthfully,¡± Angrein replied. ¡°I have always treated the Lady Sovereign and yourself with respect Hardir.¡± ¡°You told her about the woods ye son of a bitch?¡± Glen grunted, a throbbing on his head flaring out. ¡°She knew. Her people run the birds,¡± Angrein replied not affronted and crossed his huge arms over his broad chest. The blacksmith was as brawny as they came. ¡°Was overly concerned you were present.¡± Glen closed his eyes briefly and then stared at the frowning Voron. ¡°I told no one else,¡± Angrein explained. ¡°Never had. I also never lied Hardir.¡± Glen licked his lips. ¡°What did she ask?¡± he croaked. ¡°If Saereg can burn the poison.¡± Glen¡¯s mouth turned numb. ¡°Can it?¡± Was Jinx¡¯s instinct wrong? ¡°That¡¯s not how it works Hardir,¡± Angrein replied and stared at a pretending not to listen Voron. ¡°Voron,¡± Glen rustled. ¡°Get that piece of shit locked in the tower,¡± he ordered and pointed at the soldier. ¡°My Lord!¡± the man protested. ¡°Don¡¯t be an idiot,¡± Voron admonished him. ¡°Take the win and come with me.¡± ¡°Speak,¡± Glen spat after they left them alone inside the throne room. ¡°It will bond with pure, fresh blood,¡± Angrein explained calmly. ¡°Like a good metal, it will flush out the impurities with fire. If the blood is foul, then a connection can¡¯t be made.¡± ¡°What about poison?¡± ¡°If the blood is fouled, then a connection can¡¯t be made,¡± Angrein repeated and seeing his despair, he added. ¡°But if the union is successful, the witch¡¯s curse wouldn¡¯t have worked.¡± Glen nodded. ¡°So there was nothing she could have done¡­ anyone really. She should have gotten it aforehand,¡± he murmured and rubbed his face, feeling just about ready to collapse from the exertion. Angrein stood back and stared at his calloused, cracked thick fingers. ¡°Your spouse came to the same conclusion Hardir,¡± the Imperial Blacksmith replied. Glen nodded and puffed out wearily. His eyes roamed the silent hall, then at the stairs leading up to the bedrooms. They returned to the black granite throne and the two flanking it. A pure gold one and another made of white-gold and marble. A night owl¡¯s call reached his ears, perhaps the same from back in the burning forest. A soft breeze bringing it through the upper floors open windows. The breeze dancing over the stairs and the walls of the massive citadel. Carrying words and songs with it. The songs wild and sad. Scrapping off the polished granite walls like blades on armour. Tapping lightly like a skilled dancer¡¯s heeled feet on the tiles and the ceiling. A familiar baby¡¯s cackle turning into a grown woman¡¯s laugh of ecstasy. A lute¡¯s strings and a golden wyvern¡¯s wings crackling. The dream¡¯s words those of an ancient goddess, now repeating. Behold what thou asked for, Nesande¡¯s Seer shushed crowing like a hag. No.
¡°The truth shall hurt you traveler,¡± the aged seer opened her right hand, fingers stretched. ¡°It is not what you seek.¡± ¡°Do you know me? What you say, makes little sense. I¡¯ve a woman already.¡± The seer tended her left hand, clenched in a fist. ¡°She¡¯ll birth a queen, but the girl shall be only half yours. Do you want to know her name?¡±
Inis-Mir, a horrified Glen thought and turned around to run up the stairs two at a time. No gods darnit, he thought stumbling halfway there and hurting his knee. Glen stood up with a groan and hobbled the rest of the way all the time pleading for the gods to protect his child. He reached the first floor breathing heavy and stumbled over the lip of the stairs, through the corridor towards the young girl¡¯s bedroom. Maeriel standing outside the door turning her braided head to watch him approach surprised. ¡°Where¡¯s¡­ she?¡± a shaking Glen grumbled almost going down again. Maeriel furrowed her brows, a wrinkle of worry splitting the perfect skin on her forehead. ¡°With her mother. She took her while you were away,¡± the Ranger replied confused. It quickly turned into alarm seeing Glen¡¯s devastated expression. ¡°Garth¡­ she wouldn¡¯t,¡± Maeriel whispered and Glen growled like a wounded beast and turned to burst into Sen-Iv¡¯s room. Iskay appeared at the door, but he shoved her away so violently the slave¡¯s head hit the side of the door and she collapsed unconscious to the carpeted floor. A pale, but blank-faced Sen-Iv watched the scene unfolding without commenting. She stood with difficulty from the edge of the bed and tossed the small vial at the feet of a dumfounded Glen. ¡°What did you do?¡± The King of Wetull asked hoarsely, although he knew. ¡°I¡¯m not weak. Won¡¯t be prey to their vile magic,¡± Sen replied gravely, her voice barely above a whisper. ¡°Neither will my daughter.¡±
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 356. A Mummer’s song
Aelrindel, of Edlenn A Mummer¡¯s song
Show me a truth, a future tale of the astral plane Make it blooth, lift the veil of this realm¡¯s bane And with its demise return our lives rightful gain
The witch¡¯s incantation went. The desert breeze coming from the west bounced off of the limestone cliffs and hugged her sweat covered body from all sides. Aelrindel closed her eyes, the sound of Lithoniela breaking the bundle of sandalwood stems and tossing them in the fire bowl, naught but a soft rattling. They caught fire with a sizzle, mixing with the burning cinnamon sticks. The citrus, frankincense, opium and amber resin balls boiling in her blood. Smoke rising and covering her face and hair, touching her skin and eyelids. She inhaled, felt the burning in her throat and lungs, her pupils dancing under the thin skin.
The temperature lowering to a pleasant chill. The smell of oil burning and ink. Scrolls and new furniture. The crackling of pages turning and feet dragging. The clanking of armour and blades in sheaths. Aelrindel opened her eyes and the desert camp turned into a familiar-unknown, great but gloomy Hall. A double paradox. The king in his black armour, with his dragon shoulder pads painted red, the gold wyvern head carved on his scaled chest and the sculpted beast¡¯s head helm, the face-cover that of the Rokae knights of old, but also black. The top of his helm horned and sinister, until she realized this was just an addition and the king had incorporated the Crown of Horns in his armour. What insolence, she thought and glanced at the other knights present. The silver solemn masks staring her way¡­ nay, staring at the table where a slave girl had left a box. This is the vision filling out details I don¡¯t know, or I''m not supposed to know. Why? ¡°Leave us,¡± the king said and got up from his throne. A massive ugly thing, especially if one considered they were two better choices to his right and left. ¡°Not for me,¡± he told her reading her stare. ¡°This though, I believe it¡¯s yours.¡± Aelrindel stared at the box and the redhead opened the lid. A door opened and she walked inside. The castle turning into an old forest. The tree trunks as big as hovels, they traveled forever towards the unseen dark canopy. Mildew, white and grey mushrooms growing on their rough covered in old cracks bark. Vines dropping from above and underneath her feet she felt the hard ground under the rich grass. At spots chasms had formed that allowed the soil beneath the grass to appear. Black, glassy rock, polished like a mirror and sharp. It cut her hand when she touched it. The grass and branches moving with a soft breeze, the humidity making the tree trunks sparkle and the spirit threads stir. Loose thin strands, next to taut ropes. Gold, silver and blue. Pink, green and white. Some black ones hidden amidst the tree roots and the illusionary vines. She cut a berry from a bush and tasted it. Its sweetness brought tears to her eyes. ¡°How long did it take you?¡± she asked this realm¡¯s builder. ¡°To make all this?¡± This was part of a bigger room. A box inside a box. What was the trade to make such a thing? The breeze danced on the trunks, the forest breathing, but remaining silent. She followed the threads around, unwilling to leave empty-handed and just before the witch surrendered to despair she saw Gimoss¡¯ steel-encased phylactery gleaming under a slab of rock. A prize for her. ¡®Here¡¯s a shiny trinket¡­¡¯ her mother hummed. A reason to leave. She thought of removing it, but that wasn¡¯t why she was here. The forest picking the verses up and singing that old children¡¯s tune. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. ¡®Here¡¯s a shiny trinket just for you Wish and squish, till thee die of bliss All yer pretty things kept in a zoo Under lock & key, drop of blood on your shoe Here¡¯s to help your garden grow Wish and squish, till thee die of bliss All yer pretty slaves dangling from the bow Dead birds, cats & herds, eyelids stuck with glue¡¯ ¡°Enough, curse you!¡± She screamed and her voice carried over the giant trees to the hidden meadows beyond. Ever repeating with the fading music as its company. ¡°Ah, nice trick,¡± Aelrindel admonished the darkness sipping inside a brown yew tree trunk like acid and the singing stopped. ¡°Who taught you that?¡± ¡°No trick. A real prize. A life, or your death.¡± ¡°A mummer¡¯s words,¡± she taunted. The shade hissed and spilled on the grass, the latter turning into white sand under it. The fine sand spun outwards and turned into a yellow storm, an emaciated long arm pointing west, the other south. The witch turned her eyes away distracted and found herself back in the dessert.
Damn. ¡°The loop ended in the desert,¡± she said. ¡°What does this mean though?¡± Lithoniela asked intrigued. ¡°Probably nothing,¡± Larn griped and scoffed at Lithoniela¡¯s glare. ¡°I¡¯ve seen this crap before,¡± he told the excited princess. ¡°Nothing good ever comes of it and two times out of four the visions are naught but outlandish mushroom trips.¡± ¡°These are pretty good odds fuckface,¡± Melon meowed wasting their water to cool off his spot. Rhys and Larn replying at the same time. ¡°Not in our blasted business, it isn¡¯t!¡±
Lithoniela came to sit next to her later that evening just before they started moving again. She plopped down on the still warm sand and placed her braided head on the witch¡¯s shoulder. ¡°What else did you see?¡± Aelrindel stared at the endless dunes, her left hand finding a white scorpion hidden under a small rock and charmed it to climb on her knuckles. She closed her eyes, raised the hand with the still creature before her face and found its life''s sparkle. Tethered a thin thread on it, reached with her right hand and dug inside the blackened bowl''s sludge for small seeds. She found one and soaked it in her mouth for a bit, the taste bitter. Then left it on the sand between them, stared at the watching Lithoniela and they said the words together. The scorpion died for the seed to flourish. ¡°How long will it last?¡± the princess asked. ¡°Until morning, a few hours,¡± she replied and touched the frail tiny green stem sprouting out of the desert sand softly. ¡°There will be a new king in Wetull,¡± Aelrindel added to answer her previous question. Lithoniela nodded. ¡°How was he?¡± Dark, foreboding. ¡°Nothing like you described him. Our definitions of silly are very different.¡± ¡°Mother¡­ she said the dagger helped her grow things. Anything good or bad. I told him it could do that,¡± Lithoniela replied thoughtfully. ¡°Perhaps I shouldn¡¯t have.¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t supposed to,¡± Aelrindel said and blew the scorpion¡¯s ashes away. ¡°That was Gimoss?¡± ¡°I thought so¡­ for a while.¡± ¡°Caruso wants to learn what¡¯s in Lebesos,¡± Lithoniela said after a small thoughtful pause. ¡°The ruins of the old realms,¡± Aelrindel replied with a smile and kissed the top of her head. ¡°I¡¯ll have to borrow your boots again.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with yours?¡± ¡°Eh, I tossed them away before we left,¡± Aelrindel admitted and stared at the boils on her sandaled feet. Look at my poor beautiful toes! ¡°I hoped we¡¯ll travel with a bit more style and shade.¡± ¡°You have the better horse and there¡¯s no shade in the desert,¡± Lithoniela griped and slapped her shoulder. ¡°Stop complaining.¡± Not if we had a carriage. ¡°It¡¯s not a complaint if it¡¯s the truth,¡± the sorceress retorted furrowing her brow. ¡°And it¡¯s still just a fucking horse. I¡¯ve no emotional connection to it!¡± ¡°Can I have it?¡± Lithoniela asked pointedly. ¡°What? No,¡± she replied with a scowl. It¡¯s my horse! ¡°See?¡± the princess chuckled and shrugged her shoulders, a scarred Melon¡¯s arrival interrupting their moment. The cat wagging his dilapidated tail and arse in bristling bravado, to match his uncouth loud voice. ¡°What¡¯s the hold up, pussies?¡±
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 357. An old man’s plan (1/2)
Sir Emerson Lennox Mista Savar The ¡®Pale Jackal¡¯ An old man¡¯s plan Part I -Scorned sisters bear no gifts-
(right click on image to open fully) Third month of winter 193 NC Greenwhale Peninsula Mista Savar Settlement Morning ¡°Hah!¡± an overcome with enthusiasm Don-Iv Sopat guffawed, bronze face painted in a sheen of thick sweat, calves covered in sand and ivory adorned ring-mail clattering as he jumped forward. Velox, the Lorian gladiator stepped aside moving swiftly and checked on the cut. The blood a bright crimson in the hot winter sun. ¡°Damnit stay put!¡± Don cussed very frustrated and tried again swinging his long blade around dangerously. Velox grimaced, then faked with his shoulder forcing the aristocrat to turn and attacked like a viper at his sword wielding hand. At full speed this time. Don downed his blade in a clumsy parry, Velox angled his, sparks blossoming and flying away at the point of contact, then slipped easily the rich scion¡¯s defense. The curved sword¡¯s tip opening the rings and digging into Don¡¯s right shoulder, under the metal pad. ¡°ARRGH!¡± Don cried out and twisted away, Hasti gasping next to Emerson -the younger one of the two- cutting the baby¡¯s yawn short. ¡°Bastard!¡± Don cursed seeing the blood painting his shoulder. ¡°Cursed criminal! Insolent lowly scum! Seize him!¡± He called at the slaveguards watching from the sides of the small training arena. ¡°Don¡¯t ye want to finish the duel lord Sopat?¡± Velox asked mockingly. ¡°It stands a draw. Folk have placed bets.¡± ¡°Lowly son of a bitch,¡± Don cursed furious. ¡°You did it on purpose! Nertor get him!¡± The slavemaster scrunched his face eyeing the scores of gladiators present, some training, but most had stopped to watch Don getting his arse kicked in the sands. The numbers not in his favor. ¡°Best you finish him off yourself Master Don. It¡¯s bad luck to steal one¡¯s win,¡± Nertor replied diplomatically, opting to survive the day and navigate the morrow when it arrived. ¡°Don,¡± Emerson rustled -the old one- and got up from the bench. ¡°Let¡¯s call it a draw. No one loses face.¡± ¡°What?¡± Don grunted and glared at him. ¡°That uncouth brute cut me! What do I care if he loses face? I want him flogged until his ribs show!¡± ¡°Ye wanted a ¡®real¡¯ sparring experience. Authentic was the word ye used,¡± Emerson cautioned him approaching. He checked on the seething scion¡¯s wound. It was a superficial cut. ¡°Wash that well and have Hasti stitch it up.¡± ¡°This is preposterous!¡± Don protested and glared at the gladiators laughing at him. ¡°Phon won¡¯t like it one bit Ballard!¡± ¡°That yer brother?¡± Emerson asked and nodded at Ziba-Ra that had brought them food from the kitchen. Troy and Qathor having an animated conversation with the two female gladiators Citata and Rubi-La. The first a half-breed Nord with some Cofol in her and the other a pure Cofol. Citata almost twice as big as her friend and lover. Troy was arguing on the needs of having a cock around in their love-sessions, with Qathor greatly enjoying their disagreement. ¡°Aye, motherfucker up and showed up just when I was getting the hang of things,¡± Don protested and watched Hasti pressing a clean cloth on his wound. ¡°I think I need a thorough cleaning sweet lips. From toes to neck,¡± he told her, while massaging a covered breast absentmindedly. Emerson crooked his mouth. ¡°What is it you do exactly?¡± Emerson asked. Don shook his head, the makeup mixing with his sweat making a mess of his face. ¡°The most boring and crucial part of the business,¡± he told Emerson. ¡°Reading quarter reports, handling the slavemasters deliveries, checking on the gem mines and I just renewed our deal with Nasar for their best drugs and tea.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that illegal? Not the tea, although one could argue on that as well,¡± Emerson probed and allowed Ziba-Ra to hug him. ¡°There¡¯s nothing illegal in making profit,¡± Don retorted. ¡°Redleaf is five times more potent than Hashish.¡± ¡°Will yer brother come here?¡± ¡°Nah, he¡¯s staying in Lai Zel-Ka. He wants to open another trade route,¡± Don replied. ¡°Where to?¡± ¡°Your friend?¡± Glen successes in Wetull sounded mythical in their retelling, but lies aside Emerson was proud he¡¯d managed to keep his head straight after losing everything and build himself back up again. Another could easily have taken a road of crime, or worse, but the young man had showcased healthy ambition and moral values instead, helping a fallen peoples stand on their feet. ¡°How are you going to cross the reefs?¡± he rustled, Troy getting punched in the face across the arena sands, but rolling with it and avoiding the worst. To showcase he was fine, the cocky gladiator danced on the sands, did the splits and then rolled away, afore jumping to his feet. He earned a round of applause and loud cheers for that. ¡°Ships. The boy wonder has ships and he¡¯s looking for a port, or a safe way. You want to know where he found them?¡± Don asked. ¡°Where?¡± ¡°A gift from the Princess of Kaltha,¡± Don replied. ¡°I kid you not. Fuck, I¡¯m feeling all that adrenalin from the fierce duel rushing to my cock! Hasti you have to do me here sweet lips. Just clean it a bit and work¡ª¡± ¡°Don!¡± Emerson blasted him. ¡°You want to fight, ye stay. You want to have yer cock sucked, get your arse out of the sands!¡± And away from my son! Don stared at him dumbfounded. ¡°Why?¡± he asked hurt. ¡°What¡¯s the harm?¡± ¡°If one doesn¡¯t get it wit words, then he needs to be taught another way,¡± Emerson grunted and eyed him warningly. Don sighed pensively. ¡°Come Hasti, let¡¯s go to the house I¡¯ve built and let them train alone in the arena I¡¯ve built,¡± Don finished with a knowing stare at the frowned knight, who reached and untied a thick belt he had on his waist. Don-Iv left them alone without further comments.
¡°I¡¯ll take our son out of the sun,¡± Ziba-Ra whispered in his ear and Emerson allowed her to take the baby away. He watched the maturing young woman navigating the tables where the men and women were eating for a moment, the young boy looking at him over her bare shoulder. Thalion, the ¡®Old Viper¡¯, smacked his lips seeing his worried stare. A freed slave and former champion of the Pits before the ¡®Unyielding Gargoyle¡¯, he¡¯d returned to the sands to help Emerson train the men. Thalion was fifty, but still had most of his skills and a well-trained wiry body even if some of his speed had left him. ¡°You know Ballard,¡± the Cofol-Lorian half-breed said in his raspy manner. An old throat injury had messed up his singing voice, as the old gladiator liked to say, ¡°If you want the boy to grow up away from the sands, yer on the wrong path.¡± ¡°I owe the Sopat for Ziba,¡± Emerson grunted. ¡°I was talking of the boy,¡± Thalion argued and sipped from his honeyed wine. ¡°She¡¯s as fine as they get, but ain¡¯t worth the risk.¡± ¡°A boy needs its mother,¡± Emerson countered with a grimace. ¡°Reckon the boy might need its father more given the circumstances.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t weigh people¡¯s value on the scales Thalion!¡± ¡°The Khan will return and this will be over,¡± Thalion argued soberly. Not for many years he won¡¯t. This war will be much more difficult to end, than it was to start. The Kings who started it might not even see its final day. ¡°This¡­ you heard of Chubin Amin¡¯s response?¡± Emerson asked crooking his square jaw. ¡°Aye. Elur Sol gave him enough time to reconsider.¡± ¡°You think he¡¯ll have him arrested?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the word, but he ain¡¯t staying in Lai Zel-Ka with Phon-Iv there,¡± Thalion replied. ¡°He¡¯ll back away? Sell him out?¡± ¡°Ballard the Sopat live to trade and making profit. If they find their arses cornered, eh¡­ you heard him. Fresh business is opening up.¡± ¡°You think Chubin will come here?¡± Emerson asked. ¡°He¡¯s on his way is the word.¡± ¡°Can Elur-Sol reach this far?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think he gave him time out of the goodness of his heart,¡± Thalion replied and got up. ¡°Which means the Khan¡¯s people will come here and then this business might turn ugly.¡±
Mista Savar Camp, had turned into a small barricaded village in the two years after the games in the Pits of Fu De-Gar. Built near the sources of Kineham River under the Cedar Sisters Mountains, right between Ani Ta-Ne and Fu De-Gar. The road leading to it a simple turn north at the Old Imperial Watch ruins cutting through the east part of the Great Oasis between Kineham and Tani Rivers. The barracks made out of mudbricks, hardened clay from the banks of the river and straw, same as its walls. The arena simple and lacking stands as no crowds paid tickets to watch the men train in the wilderness, but like the three workshops forging weapons and armour it never stood idle. The best trainers of every Ludus had accepted the job of producing a thousand gladiators in a year, which they then gave to Emerson to turn them into soldiers. Velox, Thalion with the help of Troy, Qathor and the rest of the working together best of the three Sisters Ludi, had managed to churn out almost three thousand gladiators in two years. Emerson had kept a third of them and the rest he left to Thalion. He wanted a multipurpose unit. Good with blade and spear, capable of riding a horse. Men-at-arms of the desert, Troy had joked in the months that followed. Emerson wanted something different. You can¡¯t make knights out of slaves, but you can make a difficult to break unit that fights as one person like the Phalanx of old, or the Cohorts of the Legion. He named it the Chiliad, the ancient Lorian word for one thousand. The soldiers wore pieces of half-plate cuirass over hardened leather padding that covered their chest and back. The exposed ¨Cor weapon- arm was fully protected with gauntlet, rerebrace and pauldron for the hand, elbow joint and shoulder respectively. The steel arm-sheath clipping in one piece and attached to the half-plate. The other arm usually had only a vambrace as it carried the steel coffin-shaped shield. It reached a soldier¡¯s chest from the ground, but it was lighter than the Legion Scutum before the steel plates were added over the iron thread reinforced leather attached and stretched on the hardwood rim. Greaves and a segmented steel helm, or spangenhelm, were the final pieces. The full-face cover on the helm having large square holes for the eyes, the rest of it filled with rows of smaller round openings to allow the air to reach the soldier¡¯s face.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Every man joining with a single purpose in mind. Setting themselves free. Emerson had in fact cut many good warriors and gladiators that were forced by their masters to accept this assignment instead of the lucrative bloody sands of the arena they preferred and kept those that wanted to win their freedom instead. The matter of making sure they got their wish in the end of this ordeal gnawing at him. The Lords of the Peninsula wouldn¡¯t agree to free them aforehand, but Emerson had secured that inside the walls of Mista Savar they would live as free men in the Pale Jackal¡¯s army. ¡°How¡¯s the knee Ballard?¡± Ziba-Ra asked feeding the young Emerson. She had insisted on naming the boy after him. You don¡¯t get to use the name much and since I can¡¯t be the only one speaking it, this is the best solution. ¡°I don¡¯t see yer reasoning. I have a father¡ª¡± Ziba-Ra had cut him off. ¡°Who got lost and never returned. Yeah, I don¡¯t like it. Moreover I fancy sucking your cock and now it will be weird asking it right? People will get confused!¡± He¡¯d given her a good spanking for that, but the pretty slave had enjoyed it as foreplay. A strange creature from a strange land, Emerson thought smiling at the milk covered face of his son. ¡°It locks up still,¡± he rustled and rubbed his leather-strapped knee. It also hurt after a couple of steps, some of the bone splinters still moving about and flamed up when it was too hot. ¡°Let Troy run about in the sand,¡± Ziba-Ra prompted, plopping a nipple in the boy¡¯s mouth. ¡°Paikan has a couple of pregnant slaves. If you could buy them, we could use the extra milk,¡± she added thoughtfully. ¡°I¡¯m not using coin intended for freeing you to buy slaves,¡± Emerson rustled. ¡°It¡¯s for your son,¡± she protested. ¡°I had only me mother¡¯s mixed wit that of an old goat and he¡¯ll be fine with the same diet,¡± he grunted. ¡°Yes, but it tires me and I want to spend more time with the fighters,¡± Ziba taunted looking for another spanking. ¡°I don¡¯t like this manner of talk girl!¡± Emerson growled and got up. ¡°You¡¯re trying to rouse me why?¡± ¡°If I tell you, you¡¯ll be mad,¡± she pouted and wiped the boy¡¯s mouth. He¡¯d fallen asleep feeding. ¡°Speak!¡± ¡°I can¡¯t abstain from intercourse any longer,¡± Ziba admitted. ¡°You¡¯re torturing me. I can¡¯t live like this.¡± Emerson stood back with a scowl. ¡°See? I¡¯ll take a spanking though, just aim between the buttocks some?¡± she teased nervously and turned around to present her behind. A slave had appeared at their open door. Left open on purpose to keep a draft going as they were near the desert. Despite the mountains shade, the river¡¯s waters and the green of the Oasis, the heat could become unbearable even in winter. ¡°You can speak!¡± Emerson rustled still furious with the blond girl. Mostly because she always managed to arouse him enough in the end to get what she wanted. ¡°Master Don-Iv requires your presence in the Blue House.¡± A former barracks building Don had appropriated to use in his visits, encased in a marble fa?ade spending a fortune, opened multiple windows and of course had painted blue instead of the dull yellow-grey of the rest of the large village. ¡°He¡¯s still here?¡± ¡°Yes Mista Savar,¡± the slave replied. ¡°I hate Don so much,¡± Ziba-Ra admitted and poured water in a large cup. She glugged it down trying to quench her thirst, but Emerson knew he¡¯ll have to deal with it in the evening. The moment Ziba-Ra had recovered from giving birth, her appetite had returned and Emerson needed to keep some of his strength to train the men. It wasn¡¯t easy navigating both tasks. ¡°I¡¯ll see what he wants,¡± he told her and got up from his chair. ¡°I told Hasti to keep him well-drugged, stupid cunt,¡± she hissed not paying attention to him and Emerson sighed, made two pained strides and smacked her once right at the large right buttock with his hand. The smack making her jump and lose control of her bladder along the grip on that cup that clattered on the table adding to the spillage. Damnation! A stunned Emerson thought, Ziba casually walking out of the pool at her feet and towards a bath barrel a pleased expression on her face. The middle-aged male slave blinked and said in a calm professional voice. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of it Mista Savar, worry not. All of Paikan¡¯s house slaves have a weak bladder.¡± ¡°Not all of it is piss,¡± Ziba protested shamelessly getting rid of her tunic to step inside the barrel. ¡°Not another word!¡± Emerson grunted grinding his teeth and marched straight out of the modest, low ceiling house.
Don was sitting cross-legged on the shaded veranda, a towel covering his hips and a knelt Hasti moisturized his shaved legs with a damp scented cloth. A bandage on his shoulder too big for the injury he¡¯d sustained earlier. An older Cofol of medium height standing with his back on one of the posts wearing a typical creamy-colored hard-leather and mail Cofol armour with a Capricorn crest engraved on it. The wiry warrior had a pointy chin and golden-green slanted eyes. Emerson hadn¡¯t seen this Sopat creature before and he knew Nertor¡¯s slaveguards well. ¡°Ah, just paint the toenails next. Blue to match the walls,¡± Don said with a weary sigh. ¡°This position is killing me. All the fighting and fucking today wore me out Ballard.¡± ¡°You called me here to watch ye paint yer toes?¡± Emerson grunted still in a bad mood. Don groaned and uncrossed his legs to brazenly air his private region. The older man, not a Peninsula Cofol this, Emerson thought keeping him in his peripheral view, cracking a leer at the Sopat scion¡¯s shenanigans. ¡°I wanted to return to Ani Ta-Ne,¡± Don admitted with a sigh. ¡°I¡¯ve had enough of the Garites to last me a lifetime. Eh, but Phon has a way of shoving his arm up your arse raw and work it vigorously when you least expect it.¡± Emerson pursed his mouth, wild black and grey beard itching and his blood boiling. ¡°Perhaps he should have used a stick in yer younger days, lessen his troubles in the future,¡± he grunted finally. ¡°My sister loved that,¡± Don reminisced fondly, his thought-process always disturbing to Emerson. ¡°Ah, the good times. Welp, anyways¡­ Chubin Amin is in Fu De-Gar.¡± ¡°Go on,¡± Emerson hissed. ¡°Elur-Sol has soldiers sent to Lai Zel-Ka to arrest and then bring his old arse to Que Ki-La.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± ¡°Phon declared publicly that the man left the city and produced witnesses of the fact,¡± Don continued. ¡°So the soldiers stayed in Nasar to restock in cheap drugs right out of the fields, haha!¡± ¡°They know he¡¯s here?¡± Emerson asked thoughtfully. ¡°Yes Ballard. Why, you little minx¡­ it¡¯s all shaved?¡± Don said working his hand between Hasti¡¯s legs. The short skirt easy to navigate. ¡°Let me see¡ª¡± ¡°Don!¡± Emerson blasted him irate. ¡°Will they come here?¡± He asked breathing heavy and his knee throbbing from standing for so long. ¡°Good heavens,¡± Don reproached him. ¡°What is this anger? They might, but I think Elur Sol might sent an army down Dor O¡¯ Cof-Ol instead and box him in.¡± ¡°First to Ani Ta-Ne and then here,¡± Emerson elucidated. ¡°The road goes only the one way, unless you take a ship straight for us,¡± Don replied. ¡°What do the other Lords say?¡± That would be Dekerut Tsuparin and Zeke Letakin. ¡°They are not pleased, but are unsure if we are ready to rise up,¡± Don said and the older man scoffed at his words. ¡°You¡¯ll never be, if you fear losing,¡± Emerson grunted. ¡°Show me on a map.¡± ¡°Pelin dear,¡± Don called not moving an inch from his comfy bamboo armchair. ¡°Find us a couple of maps will you?¡± ¡°Maps of what master?¡± The too old to still be of service slave asked politely from the door. Don stared at Emerson bemused. For the love of allgods, Emerson thought shaking his head in despair. ¡°Of the Peninsula,¡± he rustled glaring at the nodding Don, a garishly painted paper folding-fan in his hand used to send even more air between his open legs. ¡°Right,¡± Don agreed and stared at the older leering Cofol. ¡°This is Bohor by the way. Phon¡¯s right hand man. We have another matter to discuss.¡±
Emerson rubbed his wrinkled forehead, wiping some of the sweat off in the process. He was studying the fine maps Pelin had carried outside, along with a table. Emerson had helped him with the heavy furniture, over Don¡¯s objections. He then kicked the chair sending the Sopat scion glide outside the shaded veranda with a yelp and got a couple of angry slaps from a furious Hasti in return for assaulting her master. After Don returned leaving the chair there to sit on a new one, thoroughly aggravated at the unprovoked abuse as he called it, Emerson turned his attention on the maps of Greenwhale Peninsula. ¡°How many men does Elur-Sol have at his disposal?¡± Emerson asked and Bohor approached to stand next to him. ¡°At least five thousand. The Khan left him control of the capital¡¯s guard. Their replacements that is. The Jang-Ju left with the Khan.¡± ¡°That¡¯s their total number?¡± ¡°Close to eight thousand, but word is he left some back, Rin An-Pur is a big city to manage Ballard.¡± ¡°Cavalry?¡± ¡°Infantry. Mounted. The Khan took the best cavalry units with him as well.¡± ¡°Shao Na-Lan can reinforce him yes?¡± ¡°Yin Xi-Yan is your problem,¡± Bohor replied. ¡°Shao Na-Lan is Prince Atpa¡¯s city.¡± ¡°Who is in Yin Xi-Yan?¡± ¡°Prince Nout, the Heir,¡± Bohor replied. ¡°Atpa might be persuaded. He¡¯s Tsuparin¡¯s favorite Prince.¡± ¡°What does this mean?¡± Emerson growled. ¡°Atpa loves the games,¡± Don replied stiffly, since he hadn¡¯t forgiven Emerson from shoving him outside. ¡°And? This is his father¡¯s domain. He¡¯s campaigning for the Khan right?¡± ¡°Eh, Tsuparin can work on him, but the ¡®Gold Leopard¡¯ might be more difficult to fool, impossible to persuade. Nobody can approach him anyway with such plans and live,¡± Bohor said. ¡°Word is he¡¯s sick. His skin melted or something,¡± Don replied. ¡°Some say it¡¯s something he caught on the road, but I think it¡¯s a disease he contracted from fucking his horses.¡± Absurd! Emerson had met Prince Nout, fought against him at Hellfort¡¯s Pass. He glared at Don. ¡°Will he move to reinforce Elur-Sol?¡± ¡°Does he need to?¡± Bohor asked looking at Emerson. ¡°Say Elur-Sol sends the bulk of his force down the road towards Ani Ta-Ne,¡± Emerson said. ¡°Can we stop him there?¡± ¡°For how long?¡± Bohor asked. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you later. Will your brother make sure the force in Nasar stays put?¡± Emerson asked Don who furrowed his trimmed brows unsure. ¡°When you say stay put¡­ you mean by force?¡± he asked. ¡°I reckon asking nicely might not work,¡± Emerson rumbled. ¡°What if he uses ships to land here?¡± Bohor queried. ¡°A strong enough force can be dispatched afore we can gather ours. Are your men ready?¡± The two Lords had each split the two thousand ¡®spare¡¯ gladiators amongst themselves and Letakin had taken his in Ani Tan-Ne. The Sopat had footed the bill for the Chiliad. ¡°Let¡¯s make sure he does,¡± Emerson said raspingly and stared at the map. ¡°We can¡¯t ambush him on the road, the settlements will warn him, or the caravans and you can¡¯t hide in the plains. Can you cross the desert though?¡± ¡°Wait,¡± Bohor said stopping him. ¡°You propose that we give Chubin Amin up?¡± ¡°Pretend that we want to. It can¡¯t be that difficult to palate son, your boss is already considering it!¡± Emerson rustled and the slavemaster grimaced. ¡°Either you all work together freely, or you¡¯ll be forced to do it by circumstances.¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t heard a plan yet Ballard,¡± Bohor retorted through his teeth. ¡°Let¡¯s do this first,¡± Emerson countered. ¡°Make sure the Lords are in for a fight, then we¡¯ll see about the plan.¡± ¡°Elur-Sol would send the army down the road either way, he¡¯s looking to block the routes,¡± Bohor argued and Emerson scoffed, showed him the map next. ¡°You can¡¯t block anything with ten thousand men, this isn¡¯t Jelin, or East Eplas. This land is mostly a huge open terrain. You lads are just not used in discomfort. Once you do, ye¡¯ll see plenty of routes opening up.¡± ¡°Why are you so eager to fight Ballard? Another couple of years of this and you¡¯ll be rich enough to relocate everyone,¡± Bohor had asked him and Emerson returned his stare, but said nothing. Emerson wanted to be back in Ballard afore he turned fifty with his son and Ziba. He wanted to see his sister, who he hadn¡¯t seen in almost twenty years and learn how her life had turned out. Smell his motherland¡¯s soil, touch it again. But he couldn¡¯t. Not in this manner. A knight, or a man, doesn¡¯t start something difficult, only to abandon it the first chance he gets, even if those he owes to are having second thoughts. Emerson had given his word to the men of the Chiliad their service would free them and the Lords wouldn¡¯t agree if he allowed them to cave in. They¡¯ll just toss them in the sands of the arena again to make back the lost coin. ¡°Playing a trick on that fat bastard has a certain charm in it,¡± Don murmured fanning his sweaty face. ¡°What is the saying? I fear of the scorned wife bearing gifts? Well, this is the sisters that have been scorned right Ballard?¡± ¡°Ah! Yer confusing two different sayings,¡± Emerson rustled eyeing him just about ready to cuff him on the ear. Never has a brat existed more deserving of a beating than Don-Iv. ¡°It¡¯s Lorians I think. Heard it from Lesia guys,¡± Bohor said, saw Emerson¡¯s angry scowl and added after clearing his throat. ¡°But I could have been mistaken.¡± Don puffed out and stared at the demurely sitting in a chair Hasti. ¡°Whatever, you lads got my gist right?¡± He retorted with a shrug. ¡°Let¡¯s make a break here and resume in¡­ eh, thirty minutes?¡± A flushed Hasti grinned toothily. ¡°Make it an hour. No point in wearing ourselves down to the bone! Rest that leg Ballard and stop scowling so much. Good grief man, you¡¯ll run out of unwrinkled skin soon!¡±
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 358. An old man’s plan (2/2)
Troy Titan of Novesium An old man¡¯s plan Part II -A forbidden pearl-
¡°Where are you going?¡± Qathor asked him, chocolate skin gleaming with oil. ¡°The boys are heading to Vaderas place next.¡± Eh, I scraped off enough chlamydia last time to open a stall in the market. Troy paused and rubbed his sweaty nape with a hand. The wild blond hair dark at spots and clammy. ¡°Was thinking to check on the old man.¡± ¡°What for? Seven slaves he brought this time. Seven! That¡¯s like one for every¡­ ten-fifteen men? Tyeus spear! Need to be served first in this venue else you¡¯ll carry back more than you¡¯ll deposit!¡± Yeah, that¡¯s what I was thinking. ¡°Just come pick me up for a couple of cups, I might not participate,¡± Troy murmured and walked away from the oiling tables. He jumped out the door¡¯s threshold and followed the gravel path towards Emerson¡¯s house. Troy greeted young Telos on the way, one of his friends yelling drunkenly. ¡°Here¡¯s the Titan of Novesium!¡± ¡°A champion of the arena!¡± Hear, Hear! Troy twirled nimbly on his feet and bowed at the praise, creating the letter O with his arms to showcase his well-defined triceps and then got up raising both arms over his head for a bit of biceps goodness. ¡°Wow!¡± A young gladiator gasped thoroughly impressed, though he gave Troy cinaedus vibes. ¡°You got swollen even more Troy!¡± ¡°Look at ¡®em abs!¡± yelled another. ¡°What the fuck?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not only dead lifting weights lads, eating boiled testes and an overflow of virility,¡± Troy retorted walking backwards confidently. ¡°But also dedication. Ye got to work all muscles at all hours, of every day!¡± He showed them thrusting his hips back and forth energetically. ¡°HAHA!¡± ¡°THAT¡¯S RIGHT!¡± Yeah, this is how life rolls. Troy stopped at the open door of Emerson¡¯s house and popped his head inside. Seeing light coming from the second room he strutted inside with his chest puffed out. ¡°It¡¯s too early to retire for the day Ballard!¡± He bellowed and Ziba-Ra appeared on the door of the bedroom with a crying baby. Ah, shite. ¡°Where¡¯s the old coyote?¡± Troy asked the frustrated Lorian slave girl. Ziba hissed for him to be silent and shoved him out of the way trying to calm the boy down. ¡°What¡¯s wrong wit him?¡± ¡°You woke him up,¡± Ziba replied and ushered him outside. ¡°Go, he¡¯s not here.¡± ¡°Where is he?¡± Troy asked watching her place the baby on a table and then popping one of her engorged breasts out. Fuck, them things have gotten huge! ¡°Went to speak with Don-Iv,¡± she said feeding the boy to pacify him. ¡°It¡¯s been hours.¡± ¡°Paid him off already?¡± Troy asked his eyes on the baby working that nipple like an expert. ¡°Don¡¯t think Don will let him go that easy,¡± Ziba murmured, a cute frown on her tanned face. Damn. ¡°It¡¯s not about making profit out of me. The Sopats pull coins out of their wells right?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t know that one,¡± Troy admitted. ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll look to sell him a slave after he gets bored with Hasti. I have excellent taste.¡± ¡°Pfft, no you don¡¯t,¡± Ziba replied and tucked the baby inside a small soft towel. ¡°You¡¯ll fuck any hole that fits your cock in, mayhap a couple that don¡¯t.¡± She gave him the baby to hold. ¡°That¡¯s not true¡­ those need to be lubricated first¡­¡± Troy paused and stared at the cooing little bugger. ¡°What am I supposed to do wit that?¡± ¡°Hold him while I change,¡± Ziba replied. ¡°We need a slave to help around,¡± she continued walking inside the bedroom. Troy walked backwards to have a good look inside. ¡°You think you can convince Ballard to buy one? He has coin.¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s not an easy one blondie,¡± he replied watching Ziba undress. Naossis fucking bosom! ¡°Maybe you¡¯ll suck his cock and suggest it in the act?¡± Troy added lamely. ¡°I tried it,¡± she admitted using a wet cloth to clean her chest and stomach. Troy felt his cock stir something fierce and then stared at the boy looking at him and grimaced. Eh. ¡°Didn¡¯t work,¡± Ziba added and tossed a sheer short tunic over her head. ¡°You know¡­ I better head out,¡± Troy decided and gave her the baby, his arms shaking a bit. ¡°I have to see Qathor about¡­ a thing.¡± Ziba laughed at his expression. ¡°Nice to see I can still arouse you in my state.¡± ¡°Eh, there¡¯s nothing wrong wit yer state,¡± Troy argued backing away. She raised a trimmed blond brow. ¡°I¡¯ve taken on weight.¡± Troy grinned showing a lot of teeth. ¡°All in good places Zibara,¡± he assured her and bowed afore exiting the place.
Qathor almost run him over, the tall Issir smelling of sandalwood oil. ¡°Wow there! Scared ye proper eh?¡± Qathor said beaming. A touch of white on his face amidst all the black. Qathor had started shaving his head lately. Troy recovered with a dexterous pirouette and then assumed an arrogant pose. ¡°I tried to jump you mate. I wasn¡¯t surprised!¡± ¡°Right,¡± Qathor said unsure. ¡°Where¡¯s Ballard?¡± ¡°Not here,¡± Troy replied quickly. ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°Vaderas has a group of pleasure slaves brought in¡ª¡± Salvation! Of sorts¡­ ¡°Let¡¯s check them out!¡± Troy cut him off eagerly not seeing something better at the near. He drew the line on using his phallus on animals, despite the latter being a thing lately. ¡°Ye weren¡¯t as enthusiastic before,¡± Qathor noted suspiciously. What are ye, me mother? ¡°I feel the juices flowing, blood pumping. Let¡¯s get ¡®em wenches!¡± Troy replied and jumped around energetically to get himself going. ¡°Wait, you don¡¯t really like girls right?¡± ¡°See this?¡± Qathor showed him all the oiled dangling parts lifting his chiton. ¡°Shade that thing!¡± Troy admonished him. ¡°That¡¯s for Vaderas ha-ha!¡± Qathor guffawed. ¡°I¡¯ll keep him company.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear about it!¡± Troy retorted closing his ears and marched away. ¡°The venue is the other way!¡± Qathor yelled at his back. Fuck. ¡°You¡¯re alright there Troy?¡± his friend asked worried after he turned around to march in the other direction. ¡°Seem a bit rattled.¡± ¡°Shut up, I¡¯m fine!¡± Troy barked trying to get the image of Ziba-Ra out of his head. Just fuck that shit out yer system, he advised himself. Pound the living shit out of it. Burn it all to the fucking ground! You¡¯ll be fine.
¡°OIII!¡± The girl cried in his ear and snapped her mouth on his deltoid like an alligator, small teeth drawing blood. Pain mixing with pleasure. Aggh! It fucking works! ¡°YEAAHH!¡± Troy growled working his hips vigorously, naked flesh slapping on flesh, sweat pouring out of him in buckets and mixing with the girl¡¯s, whose name he just couldn¡¯t remember. Ahm. Fina. Rila. Myrtle? His next words incoherent loud guttural grunts. ¡°FUUUCK!¡± The nameless plump slave gushed more eloquently, the wall banging and the floor slipping under his feet, the whole place rocking with similar sounds of pleasure, or immense pain. Not everyone had Troy¡¯s technique. He closed his eyes to get over the finish line, feeling all that tension building up. His heart pounding erratically in his chest. BOOM. BOOM-BOOM. Screams, gasps and slashing sounds. Heavy clattering. Like taut leather drums beating and sticks pounding at polished wood. The rhythm primordial. Sand under his naked feet, the crowd roaring and the wounded Gargoyle getting up. A mountain of flesh. He couldn¡¯t move his legs and he searched with his eyes at the faceless spectators at the stands. One face he recognized. Soft golden hair flowing down her graceful shoulders, eyes an azure with milk in it, alike a pearl. Naah! He groaned, the slave girl screaming in his ear. ¡°YEEESS!¡± Blowing his eardrums off. Fuck. ¡°Goodness me!¡± She hoarsely cried out overcome with emotion as they collapsed on the wet floor. Someone had toppled a bottle of wine and made a mess of it. All Novesium harlots! Troy cursed trying to shove the sweaty slobbering girl off of him. Qathor walked outside the venue¡¯s office, his thick black cock leading a foot out dripping oil and cursing like he had stepped on it. ¡°I don¡¯t believe this crap man!¡± He roared tipping his head back. ¡°What?¡± Troy growled the Cofol slave slurping at his deflating cock trying to keep it alive, her dirty small feet slapping his face as she turned around completely to better reach for it. ¡°The old dog is back,¡± Qathor griped and looked at them nigh befuddled. ¡°What in Naossis¡¯ tits is dis position?¡± ¡°What does he want here?¡± ¡°Apparently it¡¯s on,¡± Qathor informed him and stared at the slave girl¡¯s failing efforts. ¡°Hey Lifa, want to work on this for a while? I need to get dressed and your boss passed out on me.¡± That was the blasted name, Troy thought and tried to get up. ¡°Shit,¡± he grunted. ¡°What?¡± Qathor asked moving closer so Lifa could accommodate him. ¡°I think I sat on a bottle?¡± Troy griped snaking away panicked from Qathor¡¯s meaty tool. What is this? The horse market? ¡°Yeah,¡± Qathor agreed knowingly. ¡°You need to ease that shit in dude. Don¡¯t take unnecessary risks.¡±
Emerson stared at them entering with black judging eyes. ¡°Yer late,¡± he rustled leaving it at that and pointed at a spot. ¡°Stand there and open yer ears.¡± Troy looked at the others present in the yard. Mostly the heads of each platoon of the Chiliad. The unit was divided in ten platoons of a hundred soldiers/gladiators each with an officer and two sub-leaders. Emerson crossed his arms on his chest. ¡°The Lords of the Peninsula will surrender Chubin Amin in Ani Ta-Ne in a weeks¡¯ time,¡± he started in his baritone voice. ¡°A force has been dispatched by Elur Sol with a galleon to pick him up and transport him to Que Qi-La.¡±The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Velox the Nord with a lot of Lorian in him raised his muscular arm. ¡°Are they giving in then Ballard?¡± he asked curious. ¡°They are not,¡± Emerson replied. ¡°We¡¯ll use the time to gather our forces in Ani Ta-Ne, but afore we do that we need to make sure those coming off that ship and the ship itself are destroyed.¡± ¡°That will anger Lord Elur-Sol,¡± Qathor commented still covered in oil. ¡°Exactly,¡± Emerson said and pursed his mouth. ¡°We¡¯ll make sure word reaches the force coming down Que Ki-La Road and him. They¡¯ll rush to attack Ani Ta-Ne and Thalion will be ready to meet them.¡± ¡°There are no walls in Ta-Ne,¡± Troy noticed and Emerson nodded, his eyes staying on him for a while. Troy shifted on his feet feeling guilty. ¡°There are not, but perhaps something could be arranged, either way Thalion will do his best to stop them.¡± ¡°Numbers?¡± Thalion asked. ¡°We don¡¯t know for sure,¡± Emerson replied. ¡°But Elur-Sol sent some three thousand out of Que Ki-La about three months back. A thousand of them are at Nasar and might not move from there at all, so count on facing the rest ¡®Viper¡¯.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have a very small advantage, but reinforcements will be coming down the road soon,¡± Thalion argued. ¡°They could opt to turn towards Rohir and wait for them, even in defeat they could just retreat and come again.¡± Emerson nodded and then stared at each one of the officers. ¡°There will be no reinforcements,¡± he finally said. ¡°But first we¡¯ll have to finish this. Safely assume over two hundred soldiers will disembark. We¡¯re leaving on the morrow lads. Expect a fast march back into Fu De-Gar. We¡¯ll use ships and we¡¯ll arrive at night in Ani Ta-Ne. We must not be seen as the city is defenseless.¡± ¡°Does Elur-Sol know about the extra soldiers?¡± Velox asked. ¡°News come out,¡± Emerson replied. ¡°But everyone telling the story knows we¡¯re in Fu De-Gar. Which is why we proposed Ani Ta-Ne for the meeting and why it¡¯s happening so soon. It might not work, but I think it will.¡±
¡°You are more talkative usually,¡± Emerson told him later after everyone had dispersed. Troy puffed out. ¡°I¡¯m pretty drained Ballard.¡± ¡°Worried?¡± ¡°About what? Eh, we¡¯ll get them.¡± Emerson smacked his lips. ¡°If it¡¯s bravery, then it¡¯s commendable. I hope it is. The alternative is idiocy. In the next fight Elur will have the advantage Troy. Might turn into a proper battle.¡± ¡°I get this strange feeling yer not talking about us assisting Thalion,¡± Troy murmured. ¡°The ¡®Old Viper¡¯ will fight his own battle,¡± Emerson replied. ¡°We will make sure the Lords don¡¯t back away from it is all.¡± ¡°You think they¡¯ll look for a compromise?¡± ¡°Yes. But we¡­¡± Emerson said his face darkening. ¡°¡­we¡¯ll show them a bigger win.¡± Troy nodded unsure. ¡°Will it be? A bigger win?¡± He asked the older man. ¡°For a while,¡± Emerson replied gravely. ¡°Enough to commit. After that, it¡¯s anyone¡¯s guess, but desperate people fight better in a scrap I¡¯ve found.¡± ¡°Do they win Ballard?¡± Troy asked a bit worried now. ¡°Every man baptizes victory something different,¡± the ¡®Pale Jackal¡¯ had replied. ¡°Now, if it¡¯s encouragement you¡¯re looking for son I once witnessed a boy best a plaguing assassin. So anything is possible.¡± A week later The port of Ani Ta-Ne Charging Dolphin mooring spot ¡°That Chubin Amin?¡± Qathor asked him standing under a balcony¡¯s shade. The cloak he wore like everyone else while out of thin cotton and long it didn¡¯t conceal the fact he was armed to the teeth. ¡°Keep yer mouth shut,¡± Emerson grunted his eyes on the two groups of people and the large galleon. ¡°How many came off the ramp?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t count them, I can see their arses over there,¡± Qathor retorted. ¡°Telos might not find the ship empty,¡± Emerson grimaced angry and stared at Troy next. What¡¯s this morning school? ¡°He¡¯ll be fine,¡± Troy assured him. ¡°Thalion will rush them from the west, we¡¯ll cut them off from the north,¡± Emerson repeated to the platoon leaders that dispersed after his words towards their squads. ¡°But we have to make sure that ship doesn¡¯t leave and tells a different story.¡± ¡°The truth?¡± Troy chanced with a smile that didn¡¯t sit well with the brusque older warrior. ¡°Aren¡¯t knights supposed to be all for that?¡± ¡°Comes a point son, when ye have to get yer hands dirty first, ask for clemency later,¡± Emerson snapped. ¡°Now hop on that deck with Qathor and see to help our lads.¡± ¡°How is me and him going to make a difference?¡± Qathor griped. ¡°Yer giving us the shittiest jobs Ballard.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sending the Titan of Novesium,¡± Emerson retorted looking at him. ¡°That¡¯s plenty.¡± Troy grinned wolfishly. ¡°Fucking idiot,¡± Qathor cursed resigning to his fate.
Troy rushed across the port and reached the docks, groups of Cofol soldiers walking about around them. The port had been cleared of civilians, but it wasn¡¯t a perfect arrangement and some of them were still present amidst the armed men. The gladiator reached the spot where the Charging Dolphin had moored, made to run up one of the ramps but paused seeing the nearby soldiers rushing up another further away. The sound of fighting coming from the ship. ¡°Did he swim?¡± He asked a scowling Qathor and reached for his helm. A Cofol patrol approaching the ship to investigate spotting them and turning their way, the bulk of the soldiers about three hundred meters away in the port¡¯s square. ¡°Eh,¡± Qathor grunted leaving it vague, the first Cofol staring at both of them perturbed. Troy made to slot the helm on his head, the man¡¯s eyes watching him carefully, but paused. ¡°What are you guys doing here?¡± The leader asked. ¡°Look like slaves to me Bilot,¡± a soldier said standing on his left shoulder. ¡°Gladiators. Freemen,¡± Troy retorted with a grin and showed them the fancy helm. ¡°Now,¡± he whispered to Qathor. ¡°Ugh?¡± Qathor gasped not catching his meaning. ¡°Don¡¯t see an arena at the near,¡± Bilot commended. ¡°Best you get away from here.¡± ¡°Now,¡± Troy repeated nervously under his breath that grin turning into a grimace. ¡°We heard some commotion,¡± he told Bilot. ¡°Is why I¡¯m telling you¡­ wait, you lads are fully armed?¡± Bilot said furrowing his brows. ¡°What is this¡ª¡± Troy¡¯s helm connecting with his forehead stopping him. ¡°NOW!¡± Troy yelled and rushed after the faltering officer. The helm bouncing off, the man¡¯s head snapping back and his friends ¨Cfour of them- looking perturbed, trying to figure out what happened to him. Troy jumped, legs scissoring in the air, towards the stumbling Bilot that managed to stabilize himself, shook his head a hand on the welt on his forehead and then saw Troy flying a manic grin on his handsome face. ¡°To arms¡ª!¡± Bilot barked, his voice cut short as he got kneed in the jaw, the lower part digging in the upper and severing his tongue. Troy walked on him opening his cloak and reaching for his swords. Bilot hit the ground with his back before his men that jumped away to avoid him stunned at the development. Not everyone had remained idle though and the moment Troy walked over the thrashing mauled officer a soldier came at him. The sabre slashed at the air coming for his groin, but Troy parried it down with his right sword, run the blade of the left across the soldier¡¯s neck. Stepped away and used both blades to block the next one, kicked the soldier attempting it in the groin -with great success- doubling him over. He twisted away, right sword hacking at the doubled over soldier¡¯s nape once, the left slashing away half of his friend¡¯s face. BANG! Went the defaced Cofol¡¯s helm hitting the ground and rolling away. The fourth member of the patrol attacking him with furious swings and gnarling his teeth shocked at the explosion of violence. Troy parried once with his left, then with his right and then attacked in turn twice as fast as the Cofol soldier. He went high and his blade was blocked, but his other sword opened the inside of the man¡¯s thigh. The Cofol cried out and stumbled away, but Troy¡¯s next flurry of attacks lost him an arm and then an ear, as he managed to dodge at the last moment. The next, the gladiator¡¯s blade pushed his sabre aside and its twin sunk in his gut abruptly. A heavy breathing, blood covered Troy stepped aside and turned around to see Qathor walking calmly towards the still thrashing officer Bilot and stabbing him through the throat once. ¡°The fuck! Didn¡¯t ye hear me?¡± Troy blasted him and wiped the bloody sweat off of his brow. ¡°Not really, plus ye moved too fast and by the time I came to it,¡± Qathor explained. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to mess up yer fine rhythm.¡± It was a lie, but a beautiful one and Troy grinned a bloody smile not minding it. ¡°Up the ship?¡± Qathor suggested the sound of fighting coming from all over them and spreading to the distant square. ¡°I just need to find my helm,¡± Troy agreed and looked about the messy scene. Qathor grimaced and walked past him. ¡°It went in the water. Just mind not to block wit yer head.¡±
A Cofol marine was running with his head cracked open, top part of the cranium missing, with pieces of his spilt bloody brains held in his hands protectively. Telos who had lost his narrow-bladed axe splitting said helm and skull, ducked under a spear thrust with a curse, his hob-nailed sandals slipping in the brines and his knee banging on the deck. A marine appeared on top of him, both men screaming at the top of their lungs. One with excitement as he had the upper hand and Telos panicked for the most part, certain he was going to have his previous opponent¡¯s fate. Troy who had just bitten a nose off messing up a head-butt, rushed to assist him. Long story short he¡¯d remembered mid-move he lacked a helm and hit the brakes, turning the butt into a bite instead. Hah-hah. Back to the present, the gladiator leaped over a coiled meter-high hemp rope, saw Telos twisting away from a chop losing an ear and some change, realized he didn¡¯t have time to reach him and hurled the forward-curved Kopis he held in his right hand. The weapon buzzed twirling alike a small windmill¡¯s blade, travelled five meters in the blink of an eye and smacked the marine right in the face. With the pommel. ¡°BULL¡¯S BALLS!¡± Troy cursed seeing his sword bouncing off of the Cofol¡¯s cut face and the man stumbling back dazed, but relatively unharmed. Telos reached with his free hand, the other trying to put his severed ear back in its place and grabbed the marine¡¯s right leg. The Cofol lowered his head to glare at him, but his left eyeball just fell off and was left dangling from a thin strand of gory sinew. The shocked and more seriously injured marine than what Troy had initially thought, raised his arm to hack at the snarling Telos, but Troy reached him with another great leap, flipping the sword from left to right mid-air and chopped his arm off at the elbow joint. The groaning desperately, badly injured Cofol toppled on his back and Troy landed next to his head, missing it but squashing that dangling eye unwittingly. His boot slipped in the mushy gore and he went gliding another two meters, putting an elbow down to not bang his head on the deck. Troy stopped next to the middle mast or thereabouts, went to retrieve his sword, but caught out the corner of his right eye a gnarling soldier running his way hefting an even bigger axe than the one Telos had misplaced. ¡°AAAHHH!¡± The Cofol roared maniacally, feet thudding on the hardwood deck and hacked viciously, both hands on the shaft, intending to chop Troy¡¯s arm off. ¡°NAH!¡± Troy cried out and pulled that arm back, the blade hitting the deck and splitting the wood four fingers deep. Troy stood up with an ugly snarl and went to cut him across the face, but the burly Cofol reached with one calloused hand, the other still on the stuck axe to dislodge it and grabbed his wrist fast as a viper. ¡°Whore¡¯s spawn!¡± the heavy-set Cofol spat perceptively, his grip steely and tried to head-butt him. Troy jerked his head back almost breaking his own neck ¨Cthe pain felt sharply on his lower back and the conned helm punched him on the sternum instead. CLANK! His plate taking the brunt of the blow, but rattling him bad enough to almost swallow his tongue. The Cofol shook his head and pulled back to gain more momentum to try again, but an ogling Troy turned his trapped wrist enough for the released sword to slap the Cofol¡¯s forearm with the flat of the blade and bounce off of the hard-leather vambrace. ¡°Hah!¡± His opponent guffawed at the miss, then paused seeing the blade rotating once and Troy¡¯s free hand snatching it from the air. ¡°Shit!¡± he cursed and then got stabbed below the chin. He let go of the shaft and Troy¡¯s wrist to jump away bleeding badly down his chest, but slipped on a pile of entrails. The burly Cofol swayed violently left, found the ships deck rails and went over them. A worn out shaking Troy paused to suck air in as fast as he could, covered in sweat and gore. ¡°TROY!¡± Qathor bellowed fighting two soldiers by himself, as another patrol had rushed up the bow¡¯s ramp to reinforce the ship¡¯s defenders. ¡°TYEUS¡¯ MEATY SPEAR! Stop jerkin¡¯ yourself around and lend helping hand! YE SHOWBOATING CUNT!¡± Fuck you, ye stupid arse-lover! An exasperated heavy breathing Troy cursed inwardly, but run to help not to lose face.
Elur-Sol¡¯s ultimatum appeared to cower the Lords of the other three distant Sisters and an agreement was reached to surrender the defiant Chubin Amin to his men. A force was dispatched from the small port of Rihtur ¨Cthe word meaning horse land in old Imperial- aboard the heavy galleon Charging Dolphin to arrest him in Ani Ta-Ne. The warship reached the large merchant city port, but the negotiations broke down. It was probably a ruse and the around three hundred strong heavy marines force was annihilated inside the port in front of the stunned bystanders by an even stronger force of gladiators. The warship got assaulted at the same time and taken over in an audacious broad daylight action. Two days later a bird arrived at Que Ki-La informing the celebrating Elur-Sol of the tragic events in Ani Ta-Ne. The Master of Treasure and War Leader was shocked at the news and asked the commander of the advancing army Nancin to stall until he had more information. Nancin paused near a settlement called Rohir ¨Cthe name meaning horse masters in old Imperial- at the border of the stallion fields and less than a week from Ani Ta-Ne. Arik Sartak who was commanding the Rin An-Pur guard and the Jang-Ju recruits, but had moved auspiciously out of the capital, marched over Kin Ton-Inn River and was camped near the city of Lukela days from Que Ki-La, urged Elur-Sol to squash the insolent Lords immediately. Elur-Sol stalled not wanting to rush and sent a missive instead to commander Esugen camped near the rich trade city of Nasar on the road to Lai Zel-Ka to gauge the Sopats intentions. ¡®This may be Leta-kin losing his mind, the man is in serious debt¡¯ he told his staff, but Arik Sartak who was in communication with Prince Nout¡¯s people, the convalescing Heir was monitoring the situation from afar, ordered Nancin to strike at Ani Ta-Ne and execute both Amin and Leta-kin the two main conspirators, along their families, whilst enslaving the majority of the population. Apparently Prince Nout had never believed the Sopat excuse knowing they were close with Chubin Amin ¨Ceven through marriage- nor trusted the increase in recruitment of the last of couple of years, seeing as games weren¡¯t held frequently and the cities weren¡¯t contributing in the war effort. The Prince¡¯s suspicions aside, Nancin moved to attack Ani Ta-Ne, over a livid Elur-Sol¡¯s orders. The latter had no choice but order Esugen to ready for a move on Lai Zel-Ka, a much more well defended city than Ani Ta-ne, boasting many mercenaries, forts and even fortifications though not in Jelin¡¯s standards. Esugen steadfastly refused to provoke the Sopats with his smaller force and asked for reinforcements, so Arik Sartak sent a force of Jang-Ju recruits from Lukela to help him. While Elur-Sol lost two or three weeks ¨Cwith the exception of the fast moving Nancin- there was no real urgency to his close circle of advisors as the ¡®incident¡¯ was deemed a local issue even if it was very serious. No one could fathom that all three cities would rebel, or that a highly trained army that came to be known throughout the Peninsula as the ¡®Unbroken Chiliad¡¯, was already cutting through the ¡®Dry Sea¡¯ desert -from Hippo¡¯s Back Mountains to Wind Cut Road passage, intending to reach Rihtur from the west and cut off Nancin¡¯s supply route. At the same time blocking Elur-Sol from reinforcing him. ¡®A famous win by one of the Sisters most beloved sons,¡¯ Mista Savar had told his close circle of trusted gladiators, speaking of the force commanded by Thalion. ¡®To entice the Lords of the Peninsula to fight and to make sure painful death awaits them if they lose and endless torture at the hands of the Khan.¡¯ Which was true for all of them. - Embellished by Lord Sirio Veturius Assembled from notes, oral memoirs, and the vulgar, unreliable but famed plays of the slave merchant turned writer Asmudius, who traveled with the Chiliad Circa 206 NC The Fall of Heroes Chapter XXIV (Sir Emerson Lennox, Ballard of Lesia, Mista Savar) Tales of Greenwhale Peninsula ¡®Three Sisters Rebellion¡¯ -- Volume IV Months 1-4 (Across the Dead Sea) -500 kilometers & the bloody water wells of Rihtur- Prelude to the Battle of the Dates Plantation From late winter-early Spring of 193 to late summer-early Fall of 193 NC
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 359. A tale for yer son to read
Chiliad (The Unbroken) Moniker given from a phrase in a play written by Asmudius Organizational chart (late 192 to early winter 194) dates of personnel changes haven''t been saved - Mista Savar ¨C Ballard of Lesia, ¡®Pale Jackal¡¯ ¨Cnumerous monikers like Grey War Leader, Slayer of Madrox etc. Won the great games in the Pits of Fu De-Gar stopping Madrox. Retired undefeated. (Sir Emerson Lennox) 2nd in command ¨C ¡®Titan¡¯ Troy, ¡®Mad Fuck¡¯ ¨C many monikers some self-proclaimed others given from Asmudius like ¡®Divine Blades¡¯, ¡®Dimachaerus Supreme¡¯ etc. One of the two living ¡®Gods of the Arena¡¯ along the ¡®Pale Jackal¡¯ and in the four best gladiators of the modern era, or any era who ever stepped foot on the sands along Madrox and Thalion. Won the great games in the Pits both as a slave and as a freeman. Undefeated. (Novesium, captured former slaver, smuggler.) 3rd Qathor ¡®Aroused Bull¡¯ (Issir unknown origins, born a slave. Known sodomizer.) 4th Velox ¡®Surgeon¡¯ (Lorian unknown origins, born a slave. One of Fu De-Gar¡¯s best trainers.) - Ten Platoons (100 gladiators each) Known leaders Telos ¡®Half Face¡¯ (Half-breed, born a slave.) Citata ¡®Big¡¯ (Nord-Cofol half-breed, born a slave. Killed three men in the Arena.) Rubi-La (Cofol, born a slave.) Asper ¡®Scythe¡¯ (Cofol. Audax¡¯s brother, Fu De-Gar, born a slave. Bought himself out, but got in debt soon after and got enslaved again. Never spared a defeated opponent. Trainer.) Audax ¡®Harpoon¡¯ (Cofol. Asper¡¯s brother.) Toros & ¡®Sweet¡¯ Sylia (A couple. Lai Zel-Ka. Bred by the Sopat. Of Nord, Lorian and Issir origins.) The three Platoons of Ballard, Troy and Qathor always fought as one unit, named ¡®The Champions¡¯ which acted as the army¡¯s center. - Strength at the start of the campaign. Mostly through the Sopat notes & payroll records One thousand mounted gladiators. 300 hundred mounted archers under Samir of Ani Ta-Ne (Mercenaries paid by the Leta-Kin) 150 slave guards and slave masters under Bohor and Nertor a mixed-fighter unit (Paid by the Sopat) amongst them Asmudius the famed play-writer and comedian (the latter is disputed). 350 civilians (merchants, medics, blacksmiths and engineers) under Sim Ib-Lurd of Fu De-Gar, Karit Tsuparin¡¯s advisor. 700(?) hundred slaves (Ranging from simple labor force, to pleasure companions, medics, cooks and gatherers) 50+ wagons 100+ camels 200+ mules 1400+ horses For a total of ~1450 effective fighting force and 1050 in the supply train, along 1700+ animals.
Sir Emerson Lennox Mista Savar ¡®Pale Jackal¡¯ A tale for yer son to read
Early Spring of 193 NC Dry Sea (Dead Sea), south of Wind Cut Road passage Almost 400 kilometers from Ani Ta-Ne The blistering wind raged over the dunes as the morning sun came over the desert. The covered from head to toe in thin robes rider stood atop the large camel leading the goat herd and the caravan wagons. He brought his hand over his eyes to watch their scouts approach. Behind him the small group of herders stopped their camels as well, a few armed guards amongst them, one of them leading a desert leopard from a chain coming to the front. Their scouts galloped down the dune¡¯s slopes, kicking even more sand and approached with yells and cries to keep everyone close as visibility wasn¡¯t great. They greeted the animal merchant and his herders under Emerson¡¯s watchful eyes from atop the dune. The merchant turned his head after listening to the scouts and watched the rows of riders coming over the top of the large dune in groups of ten. A look of astonishment on his weather beaten Cofol face. Emerson kicked his legs and galloped near the caravan as well, passing by Samir¡¯s mounted archers, a hand holding the cloth on his face to protect his eyes. His skin had turned a rich bronze after three weeks in the desert, but the wind wasn¡¯t something one could get accustomed to. The merchant saw him approach, the gold patched leopard snarling warningly, froth in its gnarly mouth and Emerson raised his arm in greeting. The blowing desert wind making it difficult to hear and the sound of many horses and camels coming up behind him adding to the pandemonium. ¡°Never have I seen,¡± the middle aged Cofol merchant started in Common with that Peninsula singing accent. A remnant of the extinct Imperial language the local Cofols had kept along many namesakes, but also words about food, dances and different habits. The Peninsula had been a major trading hub of the Empire, the trade route going all the way to the Plague Isles. ¡°Such a great host of men in this remote part of the desert,¡± he told him. ¡°Name¡¯s Birik-Nel, a merchant out of Rihtur.¡± ¡°You¡¯re using it,¡± Emerson rustled loud enough to be heard. ¡°The path. Why?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not rich. I look to avoid the Khan¡¯s taxes,¡± Birik stared at Samir¡¯s archers approaching and then the slaver scouts. ¡°Some of the Lords as well. They suck away at my profits, so I don¡¯t use their roads.¡± Where there¡¯s land, Emerson thought. There are paths and men who navigate them. ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°To the Levai Mines, under the Opal Mountains,¡± Birik said and showed him with an arm. Emerson couldn¡¯t see anything in the soup created by the heat and the strong wind. ¡°Breeze is coming from the passage. Whistles through the canyon. Songs of the desert that speak of riches beyond the golden sands,¡± the merchant explained in their eloquent manner. ¡°But it¡¯s a shortcut as well.¡± ¡°Which way is the canyon?¡± Emerson asked him. ¡°A goat could take you, if you¡¯re interested in a trade,¡± Birik replied with a smirk. ¡°How much for the goat?¡± Bohor asked approaching. ¡°All is cheap for Lord Sopat,¡± Birik said demurely. ¡°A droplet in a sea sort of speak he-he,¡± he added and waved for one of his men to bring one of the goats forward. ¡°Will this work?¡± Emerson asked the scowling Bohor. ¡°I should have him arrested,¡± the slaver murmured eyeing the merchant¡¯s guards and some of his slaves. ¡°Focus lad,¡± Emerson grunted and turned his horse to face him. ¡°Will it work?¡± Bohor nodded with his hooded head. ¡°Aye. The goat will know the way back.¡± Good. ¡°Pay him, get the goat,¡± Emerson said and paused to eye the herd. ¡°Get a dozen more. We¡¯ll camp the rest of the day, wait the storm out and travel in the night.¡± ¡°You want a feast Ballard? I¡¯m not going to buy fresh meat. We have supplies.¡± ¡°I want the men fed something nice before this last part and be in good spirits,¡± Emerson replied gruffly. ¡°See to galvanize yours Bohor. We might need them.¡±
Hours later, the afternoon slowly giving away and the sun almost gone from the sky, Emerson sat on a saddle placed on the soft sand and watched the men finishing up their meal. They did it with loud songs and stories, the light breeze that gushed at the sands making them shift as if they were living things lacing around the words and the music. The camp buzzing like a Cofol bazaar back in Ani Ta-Ne. Back in Ta-Ne. Emerson closed his eyes, mind drifting almost a month to the recent past.
¡°Oh,¡± little Emerson coughed in the attempt to speak, face covered in drool. He rocked him in his arms this way and that, the baby gasping awed at the game. Ziba-Ra watching them from the door of the Ludus they were temporarily staying. The cells unlocked, but uncomfortable to her psyche, as if a reminder that her fate could still change. If ye taste freedom, you can¡¯t go back to play the slave again. ¡°I¡¯ll return to Fu De-Gar with him but I don¡¯t trust Don-Iv,¡± Ziba murmured, a silk blue fishnet cover over her blond hair. ¡°The Sopat are not like normal people. They only value coin and gems. Trade routes and deals. People are very low on their list.¡± ¡°A merchant is as good as his word,¡± Emerson had replied showing the baby his teeth in a half-snarl half-smile. ¡°He¡¯ll honor the deal, since he likes it so much and won¡¯t touch you until I return.¡± ¡°Yeah? And when is this going to end?¡± Ziba asked nervously. Emerson walked to her and put a hand on her small shoulder, the other holding the boy with ease. ¡°You¡¯ll be free. I gave you my word. Never broken it in me life,¡± Emerson assured her hoarsely. ¡°It might be some time afore I come back though. Months,¡± he stared at the small boy with the few strands of blond hair on his head alike his mother and the colored a very pale green eyes. That¡¯s my jaw though, he thought. And forehead. This perhaps is unlucky, but you have time to grow more hair. ¡°Perhaps more,¡± he rustled and gulped down Ziba hugging him over the Jackal armor. ¡°Can you win against Elur-Sol?¡± she asked silently. ¡°I don¡¯t fear the coin master of Rin An-Pur,¡± Emerson replied. ¡°But the Khan¡¯s response. We might have to negotiate at some point from a more favorable position.¡± ¡°What position is that?¡± ¡°Better to lose three than four,¡± was Emerson¡¯s cryptic answer and stared at his son playing with his vambrace. ¡°You take care of him now Ziba,¡± he rustled. ¡°See him grow to leave this place, whatever happens make sure of it, know I will think of you two all the time.¡± ¡°Shut up. I don¡¯t like this talk,¡± Ziba stopped him. ¡°And you make it sound as if Jelin is something mythical. Just how different is Ballard anyway?¡± ¡°It isn¡¯t,¡± Emerson rustled very moved, but he hid it under a frown. ¡°There¡¯s even a desert at the near like this one, over the river and the bald mountains.¡± ¡°So?¡± ¡°It¡¯s home. Where his family lives,¡± he explained and raised the giggling baby to kiss its mostly bald soft forehead. ¡°And we¡¯ll get him back there.¡±
¡°Want half a hind-leg Ballard?¡± a drunken Troy asked almost walking over Citata and Rubi-La that were making out on a blanket, under another one kept upright with two sticks. He knocked one of them down collapsing the crude construct. Most slept out in the open, under whatever shade they could construct. ¡°Apologies for the disturbance,¡± Troy said with the politeness of a drunk. ¡°May I stand and watch whilst I chew on dis?¡± ¡°Suck my cock Troy!¡± Citata growled glaring at him. ¡°Didn¡¯t know ye had one,¡± Troy retorted blinking unsure. ¡°Upon learning it, I now see ye in a different light Cit.¡± ¡°Oh, fuck off!¡± the female gladiator cursed and a shifty Lorian with large brown eyes wearing a slaver¡¯s outfit approached laughing. ¡°Food and intercourse galore! What a life!¡± the man said still chuckling, his eyes pausing to look at Rubi-La¡¯s uncovered fit thighs. ¡°This isn¡¯t the army, but a traveling circus! Right?¡± He continued looking at Ballard, Troy guffawing as if he¡¯d heard the funniest thing ever. The slaver glanced at the dark-faced knight and then at the chuckling gladiator. ¡°This man gets it,¡± he said humbly. ¡°Lad thought the goat walking past him was funny,¡± Emerson cautioned him. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t get my hopes up.¡± ¡°The man¡¯s a legend,¡± the slaver replied. ¡°But you Mista Savar are the colossus of our times!¡± ¡°Eh,¡± Troy murmured chewing on the leftover roasted goat leg, more bone than meat on it. ¡°Slavers are over yonder,¡± Emerson warned him. ¡°Best you return to yer kin.¡± ¡°Name¡¯s Asmudius,¡± the man revealed with a lecherous smile. ¡°Wanted to be a gladiator in me youth, so I changed me name early in life,¡± he chuckled at the thought. ¡°Then I realized those fighting in the sands are mostly slaves and are as frequently killed. So I took me father¡¯s job instead.¡± ¡°Selling people is yer family business?¡± Emerson asked not impressed. ¡°You look Lorian.¡± ¡°Most of me,¡± Asmudius admitted. ¡°My mother was a slave born out of a Lorian slave and my father took a liking to her for a while. Thankfully kept me around after he sold her off. There is a market for light-skinned babies around these parts ha-ha.¡± Emerson got up with a scowl. ¡°I see you don¡¯t enjoy my banter, perhaps I can entertain with a light jest. In good spirit of course,¡± Asmudius offered. ¡°Looking to turn into a comedian?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a learned man,¡± Asmudius said. ¡°I believe myself talented. An excellent storyteller.¡± ¡°Not in the mood for a joke lad,¡± Emerson replied. ¡°It¡¯s time to start packing.¡± ¡°Say one until I finish off this shite,¡± Troy said wiping some of the grease off of his mouth. ¡°There was a slave girl wit tiny tits, no bigger than an apple,¡± Asmudius started, Emerson stopping him with a grunt. ¡°Better not be a bigoted lewd joke son!¡± ¡°Ahm, well¡­ of course not! He-he,¡± Asmudius¡¯ trimmed brows moved about on his forehead. ¡°No bigotry in my bones. Well then, there was a naked Gish with big tits¡ª¡± Emerson stopped him. ¡°Is yer brain not functioning? What did I just say?¡± ¡°Eh, don¡¯t get all worked up! Cast bigotry aside. Off to lewdness! There was a Lorian girl with medium-sized¡ª¡± ¡°Mister Asmudius!¡± Emerson blasted him. ¡°I don¡¯t see the humor in it!¡± ¡°Ha-ha! He-he-he, ugh¡­ shit, ergh¡­¡± Troy doubled over chuckling and holding his throat, eyes bulging for lack of air. Emerson sighed and walked near the struggling gladiator and smacked him once with an open hand between the shoulder blades to unstuck whatever he¡¯d gotten lodged in his throat. A tearful Troy managing to breathe finally, face covered in sweat and turning a bit blue in color. ¡°Not seeing the humor in it,¡± a dejected Asmudius was heard muttering behind his back repeating the knight¡¯s words. ¡°The man all but died laughing!¡± Ten days later The walls of the barren canyon gleamed a wishy-washy yellow, darker rocks running its vertical slopes like rotting vines searching for the ground. Emerson led his skinny horse, the animal covered in dust just like its rider. Thick layers of grime plastered on everyone, the men reaching the edge of the dry inhospitable passage through the cracked rocky rises resembling statues left to the elements for far too long. Living ruins still moving after the arduous journey, with little rest during the day and the temperatures while better than in the summer ¨Cwhen the route was deemed unpassable- above boiling.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Think a piece of my arse fused to the saddle,¡± Troy griped riding closer to him. Emerson¡¯s eyes on the opening and the flat terrain, the color of dry grass on it almost black to his bloodshot eyes. ¡°Climbing down might hurt more than losing that tooth to Sylia¡¯s rock soup, right?¡± ¡°No rocks in the soup that was dried up vegies,¡± Velox commented gruffly, the trainer had lost whatever fat he had and was now standing lean on the saddle, all bones and muscle. ¡°Tomato¡­ tomato,¡± Troy griped pursing his mouth. Lips white, his blond beard the color of sand. The skin plastered dry and filled with cracks as if he¡¯d fallen face first in cement. ¡°Where¡¯s Asper?¡± Emerson grunted and reached for his spyglass. ¡°Found water?¡± Velox asked hopefully as they were running out. ¡°Motherfucker is splashing about probably,¡± Troy complained trying to move carefully on the saddle. ¡°Get your platoon ready to march,¡± Emerson said and pressed his knees to move the horse forward. ¡°Everyone after you. We are getting out of this gods forsaken place.¡± Velox stared at the group of slavers approaching. ¡°Nertor how far is Rihtur?¡± ¡°Three hours riding, we¡¯ll see the fields,¡± the Cofol replied gruffly. ¡°Rihtur is a day away.¡± ¡°Any fresh water afore that?¡± Troy asked staring inside his empty flask, then turning it over his head to see if anything would come out. Nothing did. ¡°There are wells across the road, don¡¯t know about fresh,¡± Nertor replied. ¡°Fodder warehouses and ranchers corrals for the horses.¡± ¡°How close to the road?¡± Emerson queried. The slaver frowned. ¡°Close enough. You¡¯re thinking of raiding the locals?¡± ¡°We have two thousand people, if more,¡± Emerson grunted and turned his horse around. ¡°Our own horses are dying of thirst. We need supplies lad. We could ask them, but they may not enjoy seeing an army marching through their fields.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know if Elur has forces at the near.¡± ¡°Reckon we can ask them about that too,¡± Emerson replied dryly. ¡°See what comes of it.¡±
A force of gladiators led by Asper reached a small settlement of farmhouses and horse breeders probably in the first month of Spring of 193. The Chiliad had crossed the desert bypassing the main road coming from Que Ki-La traveling on goat paths through Wind Cut Road. The locals surprised at the many heavily armed men appearing at their doorstep called for Kire an officer guarding the road to help them and arranged for a meeting with the men under Asper. The gladiators were in need of supplies and water for their animals so agreed eagerly. Reaching the series of troughs used to water the horses -near the settlement for the upcoming meeting- they rushed to the first one, but quickly realized the water was unsuitable, or poisoned. It¡¯s difficult to assess now whether it was an accident, or a matter of contamination by compost ¨Cmanure based fertilizer produced in the farms and used in the fields, or sold to Rihtur- but a fight broke out. Asper¡¯s men butchered the farmers, raided three farmhouses for supplies in a radius of five kilometers before Kire intervened with his patrol force and the Chiliad who was approaching from the west desert passage found them engaged in a brutal battle near the wells and the troughs. The struggle that followed caught everyone by surprise, but mostly the gladiators who didn¡¯t expect the locals to turn on them. Kire had scrapped together around four hundred men, a mix of bow carrying locals, spear cavalry and his heavy scout type policing force.
The scout paused his nimble Steppe horse, eyes accessing the situation and then reached for an arrow. Emerson urged his mount to ride faster and it did, hooves thudding on the grassy terrain and all around him the rest of the platoon followed. The arrow zipped past him, the scout turning his horse around to retreat seeing the numbers descending upon him and a cry came out from the charging mass of Samir¡¯s archers that sent a hundred arrows after him. Emerson galloped towards the first farmhouses, fences sprouting out the tall grass. The corrals perfect squares one after the other, some packed with animals, others empty. Ten meters later he saw the gravel road, cutting through the plains and the farms. Each had several small and bigger buildings on top of the enclosures. Each farm a couple of kilometers from the other spreading out from the sides of the large road. The dead scout¡¯s horse covered in many arrows reached the road by itself and a large host of men turned and charged them after firing a shot from their bows. Emerson ducked instinctively at the last moment. The jackal¡¯s helm restricted his vision and he almost missed the coming volley. An arrow broke on his armour, another ripping the ear off of his horse¡¯s head and whistling past his own. Damnation! He unsheathed his heavy sword, the blade modified again to resemble a shorter longsword, but the first charging scout reached him too soon in order to use it. The Cofol slashed at him and he jerked away taking a hit on his armbrace that almost tossed him from the saddle. Emerson clenched his jaw, ears ringing and a rush of adrenalin flooding his senses, cut left and away from an oncoming opponent then turned right again lowering his blade to skewer the next. The steel digging into the man¡¯s chest through cloth and the leather armoured vest underneath it. He lifted him clean off the saddle, the jolt almost breaking Emerson¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Aaah!¡± the knight grunted, as the horse lost momentum and found himself amidst the Cofols. All around him the shocking sounds of horses colliding, men thrown off saddles and weapons clanging on plates, or slashing at flesh. Pandemonium. A Cofol slashed at his injured horse, but Emerson kicked a leg out and caught his opponent¡¯s animal right at the jaw, the boot nails ripping part of it away. The hapless animal reared jerking its head away and the slash went short. Emerson¡¯s lashing blade didn¡¯t and the scout toppled from the saddle with a shocked gasp, his lungs ruined. The noise increased, dust rising mixed with cut dry grass and the smell a strong bouquet of rancid sweat both from horses and people, dug earth and steaming blood. A m¨ºl¨¦e tastes and smells the same wherever ye decide to savor it, he thought. Not that he did. It just came naturally to him, experience leading the knight as much as skill. He pulled at the reins, turning the horse one way to block a scout from engaging him, parried a slash down in the other and raising his own blade opened up a Cofol sideways, from thigh to armpit. Emerson switched the grip on his raised sword, twisted around on the saddle, his back protesting and hacked viciously at the blocked earlier Cofol¡¯s neighing mount. With a cry of rage and surprise the scout plunged to the ground and under Emerson¡¯s horse¡¯s legs. His mount jumped over the thrashing scout, a hoof clipping his helmed head and landed two meters away where Samir was defending against another. Emerson aimed his leading sword between the Cofol¡¯s ribs from the left side professionally, he was close enough for the tip of the steel blade to touch the distracted fighter and then heaved a third of it in through the bindings of the leather armour ruining the spleen. The Knight yanked the blade out, gore spraying in an arc over him and then turned the horse around. He never got to finish the move. Emerson found himself on the ground when the injured and overworked animal died under him. The knight coolly rolled away from the collapsed horse, only a jolt of pain from his bandaged knee distorting his expression. Emerson¡¯s retrieved sword clanging on the horn of the saddle and almost slipping away from his grip what incensed him the most. A dead horse from exhaustion and blood loss can happen, not minding yer god darn arms and losing the plaguing blade it¡¯s on you, he thought. He stood up with a scowl, reached with his free arm and grabbed a nearby scout¡¯s leg. Another heave to lift it off the stirrups and over the saddle. The Cofol went down screaming, but twisted around his axis finding his balance and landed on his feet. Darn right impressive it was. Emerson had hopped on the saddle in the meantime with a grunt, raised his arm and simply smacked the cursing Cofol in the face with the steel pommel. Got to mind yer head though son. Caved the left side in brutally, the zygomatic bone splintering. Cheek and eye turning into a bloody mush. A blade slashed at his sides from the other way, carving at the armour with a clang and opening a wound on his new mount¡¯s nape when it bounced off, the rich brown mane turning a darker shade. Emerson put his left hand on the flat of the blade to stop it, turned with a grunt, his own sword raised over his head. The sneaky scout¡¯s gnarly expression turned into that of pure despair, but he did yank his blade back opening Emerson¡¯s hand through the glove, before the knight shoved a foot of sharpened steel through his right eyeball and out the back of his skull. ¡°Bull¡¯s swollen balls!¡± Troy yelled appearing in front of him, riding weirdly and a look of astonishment on his face, seeing Emerson putting a boot on the thrashing slaughtered scout¡¯s chest to get his gory blade out. ¡°What the actual fuck, ye murderous old dog!¡± Emerson glanced at the dispersing scouts, more like galloping away as fast as they could with Samir¡¯s faster moving riders hot on their trails. He grumbled under his breath and twisted about, but all he could see was rows upon rows of mounted gladiators flooding the field from all sides. ¡°Velox!¡± he barked spotting one of the platoon leaders. ¡°SECURE THE FARMHOUSES!¡± ¡°By Novesium¡¯s fine harlots!¡± Troy gasped with a grimace of pain. ¡°We smashed them man.¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t an army fool!¡± Emerson grunted and turned the nervous horse to follow after the mass of fighters heading for the farms. ¡°Ye know I thought ye died there for a moment?¡± Troy yelled galloping after him, each bounce on the saddle sending a fresh jolt of pain on his tanned face. ¡°Think I lost half a meter of arse skin trying to help ye all-gods darn it!¡± the gladiator griped trying to catch up with the galloping knight, his voice lost under the sound of hundreds of hooves thudding at the ground. The earth shaking. Emerson wanted to know what had happened and didn¡¯t even bother answering him.
Kire''s haphazardly gathered force surprised Asper¡¯s men and pushed them back initially towards the warehouses, but the gladiators regrouped very fast and stood their ground there, the battle turning into a melee in the blink of an eye. As it would be showcased again and again in this brutal campaign, there was no way to win a close combat brawl against men trained for the arena, not unless overwhelming numbers were involved. Kire had an advantage of four to one briefly, but his four had farmers and hunters in them, mounted scouts being his best troops. They died too fast for no gains and Asper lost six men, with another eleven wounded whilst managing to lay waste to half of Kire¡¯s force. The rest retreated to regroup but fell on the approaching advanced units of the Chiliad and got annihilated in less than twenty minutes. Such was the carnage and death toll -the gladiators went for the kill not out of cruelty except in Asper¡¯s case but instinct- that by the time it ended the modest population of the farmhouses settlement had been reduced by ninety percent. Emerson had ordered the men to stop killing everything that moved, but due to the locals not realizing what was happening and the efficiency of the fighters unleashed upon them, his orders came too late to make a difference. The shocked survivors rode for Rihtur, a despaired Kire amongst them. ¡®A great host of men your excellency,¡¯ he wrote to Elur-Sol that very day. ¡®Beasts out of the pits of Fu De-Gar are murdering everyone and are coming for Rihtur my Lord. Thousands of gladiators is my guess and the crests of Libra, Capricorn and Scorpion all present in the field. This is a rebellion. I shall hold the town and the port if I can, but you need to send help soon and warn Nancin. They cut the road. I restate it in the plainest of words my lord, the road is cut.¡¯
Emerson walked stiffly accompanied by an even more hobbled Troy towards the larger of the stone and wood warehouses of the settlement. His eyes on the scores of butchered people cast aside by the road or in ditches and his expression hard. ¡°Mista Savar,¡± Audax greeted him with a leer, the many gold loops on his thick wrists clinging. ¡°The enemy has been wiped out.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± Emerson grunted and walked past him to speak to his brother. Asper was tending to a cut on his arm and eyed him with amber slanted eyes as he approached. ¡°Some of the water wells are poisoned, other have dead people in,¡± he informed him. ¡°Best we check afore we allow the animals to drink.¡± ¡°It¡¯s been handled,¡± Emerson assured him and pressed his mouth tight. ¡°What happened here son?¡± Asper grimaced and made another stitch with the long needle. ¡°They tried to stall us, poison our horses, but I got wind something was up. Then we talked no more,¡± he finished and stared at him. ¡°We need to negotiate at some point,¡± Emerson reminded him. ¡°Else this will never finish.¡± ¡°You talk of endings and freedom Mista Savar,¡± Asper replied and got up wiping his bloody hands. The Cofol¡¯s body all hard muscle and tanned a rich gold. ¡°But my brother is still a slave. Except now he isn¡¯t, as long as this lasts. Myself alongside him aye.¡± ¡°Listen to me,¡± Emerson grunted clenching his jaw. ¡°We need to win enough to bring them to the table. They¡¯ll negotiate a deal with the three cities and you and yer brother will be freemen.¡± ¡°They¡¯ll never be a deal that involves us living free, or living period,¡± Asper retorted and smacked his lips. ¡°If the cities win they won¡¯t need us, but allowing us to leave will be too scary a thought for the lofty lords of the Peninsula. A former slave army, roaming the lands. Yer vision is a dream Mista Savar. One slave can be freed, be it through winning in the arena, or an ungodly amount of coin, but an army of them? Never.¡± Emerson stood back with a frown. ¡°What are you doing here then?¡± Asper grimaced. ¡°As I said. This is it. I get to ride with my brother. This is freedom.¡± ¡°It isn¡¯t son,¡± Emerson replied shaking his head. ¡°This is war and wars tend to end. Trust me for I¡¯ve been through it. Better the chance at a life after it, than the certainty of death in an endless struggle. A man falls, but rises back up again. The future isn¡¯t set.¡± ¡°Maybe in yer world it isn¡¯t,¡± Asper replied and nodded once with his head leaving him alone. Troy approached a moment later holding the left side of his arse. ¡°The Titan has been bested by a saddle,¡± he griped. ¡°What do you want to do with the slaves?¡± Emerson stared at him unsure. ¡°What slaves?¡±
Bohor and Nertor were busy examining the large group of slaves the gladiators had spared and were now gathered in a nearby large stable emptied of animals. The two slave masters talking between themselves in a hushed tone, a good number of their men watching them. ¡°Bohor,¡± Emerson grunted and eyed the mostly women and children looking fearful at the armed slavers. ¡°You¡¯ll let them go.¡± Bohor furrowed his brows and turned his way. ¡°Let them go¡­ where?¡± ¡°Not our problem. Their masters are dead.¡± ¡°That would give the wrong message Ballard,¡± Bohor replied and Nertor shrugged his shoulders always keeping his options open. ¡°We are not here to deal with politics,¡± Emerson said hoarsely. ¡°We have to march on Rihtur and its port on the morrow.¡± ¡°We can take them with us,¡± Bohor offered. ¡°There are some good slaves here.¡± ¡°We have enough mouths to feed as is,¡± Emerson grunted angrily. ¡°I can have some men escort them to Ani Ta-Ne.¡± ¡°Ani Ta-Ne is attacked by Nancin¡¯s force and I need yer men here!¡± Emerson blasted him. ¡°You are either following my orders or I¡¯m replacing you Bohor!¡± ¡°I work for the Sopat,¡± Bohor replied. ¡°This is coin wasted and we don¡¯t do that.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t give a plaguin¡¯ penny!¡± Emerson barked. ¡°Nor am I saying it again,¡± he added with a glare. Bohor stood back his face hardening. ¡°We could just leave them,¡± Nertor offered and his superior glared at him furious. ¡°Taking Rihtur is a priority is all I¡¯m saying,¡± the slaver argued cautiously and Bohor grunted in frustration. ¡°Leave them,¡± he decided and glared at Emerson. ¡°See to deliver on yer promise Ballard. We are risking too much already for this to be a failure.¡± ¡°If this fails,¡± Emerson warned him returning his stare sternly. ¡°Then it¡¯s all our necks up on the chopping block Bohor. Pray you don¡¯t end on the other end of these chains. Folk might not see kindly to yer likes.¡± ¡°Eah!¡± Bohor gasped and through his arms up exasperated. He turned around and marched away with Nertor after him attempting to calm him down. Emerson watched them moving away and then glanced at the group of slaves that had escaped the carnage. Their fate still in question. ¡°See to find shelter far from hither,¡± he advised them in Common, a couple of Lorians in the mix translating, his accent not easily understood from everyone. ¡°Stay away from the cities, live off the land, or in remote places, if you can find them.¡± He turned around with a heavy heart and Asmudius who had approached him out of the crowd of armed slavers came to walk with him. ¡°I¡¯m not in the mood for one of yer jokes lad,¡± came Emerson¡¯s curt warning through his teeth. ¡°Not all times are fertile, you dear sir are correct!¡± Asmudius roared, a smile on his face. He concealed it under a grimace seeing Emerson¡¯s side glare. ¡°They won¡¯t get far,¡± he added in a more subdued tone. ¡°Some will escape,¡± Emerson replied and stopped to stare at the slaver. ¡°You¡¯re having a change of heart Asmudius?¡± ¡°I told you, I¡¯m considering a career change,¡± he replied and smacked his painted lips. The fact he¡¯d put crayon on afore the battle appearing ludicrous to Emerson. That he was mostly of Lorian blood making it even more infuriating, but Ziba was of Lorian blood and she had been assimilated by the Peninsula. Emerson wished this didn¡¯t happen to him, or his son. ¡°A comedian¡¯s act won¡¯t put food on yer table,¡± Emerson told him. ¡°Yer just not that good.¡± ¡°He-he, nice one¡­ well, I¡¯m thinking,¡± Asmudius started. ¡°Listen to me lad, I¡¯ve work to do,¡± Emerson stopped him. ¡°Yes of course. The working bee, falls prey to the lurking hornet,¡± Asmudius said meaningfully. ¡°Never heard of it.¡± ¡°Which is what might happen to all of us,¡± Asmudius agreed readily pleased with himself. ¡°Unless someone puts this epic tale on a piece of paper,¡± he added. ¡°Might be a scroll, or parchment. I have a¡­ bundle that¡¯s half decent actually. Let¡¯s be absolutely honest about it though. Aye. Crystal clear! I found it¡­ recently, is the truth of it.¡± Emerson eyed him half in the mind of cuffing him upside the head to unscramble his brains. Then decided not to waste anymore of his time, but soon as he turned to walk away towards Troy and the others, Asmudius stopped him again. ¡°You have a son Mista Savar, am I right? People talk,¡± the slaver looking for a change in profession asked. ¡°What of him?¡± Emerson grunted turning around. ¡°Well, I could write down what happened,¡± Asmudius explained. ¡°Hmm.¡± ¡°Or I could write about say the Titan of Novesium,¡± Asmudius continued his creative juices flowing. ¡°Describe yer story as well through his eyes. If he gets killed soon, I could swap him for another gladiator. Velox is intriguing, the girls¡­ eh, folk might not be ready for that on Jelin. Muscular Sapphic action might be too much for their sensitive palates he-he! Which is why I can¡¯t consider Qathor, best not dwell over that as well, right? Anyways and I¡¯m thinking ahead here, marketing is important. As you said, food on the table. I¡¯m taking a huge risk at this point, seeing as I¡¯m leaving a well-paying honest job with a secure future.¡± ¡°Do whatever ye plaguin¡¯ like,¡± Emerson grunted a tick appearing on his left temple. ¡°But leave me out of it.¡± ¡°Sometimes it¡¯s all one leaves behind Ballard,¡± Asmudius called on his back as the knight had again started walking away from the excited slaver. ¡°A tale for your son to read and not just a name that would mean nothing to him!¡±
Kire gathered every abled body man that he could find and even called on the moored ships to assist with marines. Some ships complied, but most opted to sail away. The force he managed to assemble, probably larger than the first one he had lost. He set up defenses in the town, but Rihtur wasn¡¯t fortified. An animal trading center, mostly of stallions, but also goats, sheep and cows, it was a difficult task to handle and the minor officer found himself in deep waters. Most of the population evacuated to Shao Na-Lan and the authorities were notified ¨Cmainly the local commander Aquila-Dorr one of Prince Atpa¡¯s childhood friends- but the large city port was busy with providing supplies to the Army of the Desert half a continent away, the majority of its fighters away for years on campaign with the Prince and couldn¡¯t offer immediate assistance. Aquila wrote to Atpa to inform him of the developments. Prince Nout who was stationed kilometers to the east near the Desert Lake reacted faster than his younger brother, despite getting informed a week later. The convalescing Prince got on his horse despite the advice from his doctors and raced towards Khan¡¯s Gulf. His bodyguards followed him and part of the loyal men that had traveled with him years prior on his epic campaign through Raoz. The Gold Leopard leaped over the desert, but time, distance and his failing health didn¡¯t allow the Prince to reach his brother¡¯s city until well after the Chiliad had taken Rihtur and its port. Kire¡¯s second haphazardly assembled force fared little better when the hardened gladiators charged and jumped into their midst. They melted away, the scenes of carnage unfolding for half a day turning the streets of Rihtur a crimson red, the blood sipping inside its many wells and waterholes according to the legends. When the dust settled and with the road cut, the only force available to deal with the emboldened Chiliad was the men Arik Sartak the commander of Rin An-Pur had brought from the capital to assist Elur Sol. This force was hard marched towards Rihtur to deal with the Chiliad. It was also the only force standing between Emerson and Que Ki-La on the endless plains of east Peninsula with Esugen¡¯s reinforced troops busy with the Sopat and Nancin, who had retreated upon hearing the news after an initial bloody skirmish outside Ani Ta-Ne, getting surrounded and fighting for his life against Thalion outside Rohir. As it happened both armies had moved towards each other at the same time and met at the outskirts of the expansive palm and dates forest hugging the road through the fertile Dor O¡¯ Cof-Ol plains. - Embellished by Lord Sirio Veturius Assembled from notes, oral memoirs, and the vulgar, unreliable but famed plays of the slave merchant turned writer Asmudius, who traveled with the Chiliad Circa 206 NC The Fall of Heroes Chapter XXIV (Sir Emerson Lennox, Ballard of Lesia, Mista Savar) Tales of Greenwhale Peninsula ¡®Three Sisters Rebellion¡¯ -- Volume V Months 4-6 (The Gates of Que Ki-la) -Bloody Palms- Also known as the Battle of the Dates Plantation First month of summer 193 NC Prelude to the sacking of Que Ki-La and the burning of Ani Ta-Ne that led to the massive battle before Simun Gates and the Small River several months later. Also detailed in Prince Nout¡¯s chapters 8 & 9 under the joint name -The Leopard¡¯s Claws- Also detailed in Prince Atpa¡¯s chapter 3 titled -An Asp dreams of ascension- Also detailed in Arguen Garth¡¯s chapter 11 titled -Firestorm-
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 360. Durios road
3rd Legion (Abbreviated | III LEGIO, Bloody Third, Old Sister, Lucius Legion, ¡®Scarlet Legion¡¯, Double L. Also LL, III-LG) Panthera Tigris | Reddish bronze and gold standard representing the head of a snarling Blacktiger, very similar to Regia¡¯s gold non-snarling banner, the royal Aldenus family crest and the First Legion¡¯s emblem used in banners and armour. After 193 the banners and armours changed to use the more easy to mass-produce IIILG logo, leaving only the officers and the First Cohort still using the more difficult to maintain tiger embroidery and engravings (mainly on the shoulder guards). It remained present on the crimson shields though throughout the campaign and is being used also on liturgical symbols today.) - Organizational chart* To summer of 193 NC (Overall strength ~3628 * -Legio general staff not included, supply train personnel not included) -2800 legionnaires, ~828 other units (250 mixed cavalry, ~200 heavy Slingers, 250 Scouts and Rangers, 200 Engineers, 28 medics) - Legatus Augustus | Lucius ¡®Bloody Tiger¡¯ Aldenus ¨Calso Praetor Maximus after 191 NC (To differ from the Governor ¡®Legatus Proparetore¡¯ rank Macrinus of Greater Kas started using.) Aide de Legatus Legionis | Marc Gripa Tribune Honoraris | Galio ¡®Old Oak¡¯ Veturius (Broad Band Tribune ¨C acting Legatus in absentia after 192 NC) 1st Prefect | Varus ¡®The Book¡¯ Trupo (Lesia. Baron Trupo¡¯s of Flauegran, disinherited second son. One of the three powerful Wine Barons.) Also Scribe de legionis 2nd Prefect | Julius Draco (Whitetiger, Regia. Son of Baron Vibius, the Duke¡¯s Shield.) 3rd Prefect (of engineers) | Potis Durio (Lastport, Lesia. the fourth Durio of distant Lastport to reach the rank of Prefect in a Legion and the second to do it whilst serving with the Legion¡¯s Engineers after his great-grand uncle Tito Durio.) Centurion (of Medics) | Dottore Silvio Marianus (Decorated for bravery in the field) LID officer | Vibius ¡®Vulture¡¯ Ramirus, (Legion Intelligence Department). A Centurion equivalent rank in the registry. Aide de LID | Sirio Veturius Quartermaster | Ramsey Kolt, also Keeper of the Purse Panthera Tigris Signifer | Brim Solomon (Lesia) - 1st Cohort -Gold Standard Monikers -Red, ¡®Old¡¯ Strength 850 1st ¡®Agricola¡¯ Century Centurion, Primus Pilus| Simon Gata -400 legionnaires (in four 100-strong Maniples) 1st Decanus| Brevis (first ¡®Kato¡¯ Maniple). A decorated minor officer. Mentioned in the dailies. 2nd Decanus| Herius Asina (second Maniple) 3rd Decanus | Mede (Third Maniple. A gold Phalera recipient. Cited for misconducts twice. Mentioned in the Legion¡¯s Report twice.) 2nd Century Centurion| Marcus Antonius Merenda (One of three legitimized bastards of Sir Seleucid Merenda ¡®the Potent¡¯, Lord Commander of Cartagen¡¯s Royal Guard. The members of the Royal Guard ¨CKing¡¯s or Queen¡¯s own- weren¡¯t allowed to marry in the Three Kingdoms) -150 legionnaires (in three 50-strong Maniples) Decanus Domus (First Maniple) 3rd Century Centurion| Artur Mangas (A decorated officer) 4rth Century Centurion| Servius Capito (A decorated officer) 2nd Cohort -Gold Standard (Monikers Blue, ¡®Sula¡¯) Strength 650 1st Century Centurion| Gnaeus Ennius ¨C 200 legionnaires (in four 50-strong Maniples) 2nd Century Centurion| Josi Vala ¨C 150 legionnaires (in three 50-strong Maniples) 3rd Century Centurion| Ardi Damian 4rth Century Centurion| Spurius Dio 3rd Cohort (Moniker Purple, ¡®Lucky¡¯) Strength 650 1st Century Centurion| Cassius Falx - 200 legionnaires (in four 50-strong Maniples) 2nd Century Centurion| Placus Lepidus - 150 legionnaires (in three 50-strong Maniples) 3rd Century Centurion| Julius Sepofa 4rth Century Centurion| Jorgen Osmond 4rth Cohort (Monikers Kas, ¡®the young¡¯, Macrinus Lads) Strength 650 1st Century Centurion| Sextus Silvius - 200 legionnaires (in four 50-strong Maniples) 2nd Century Centurion| Keegan Dixon (Kas) - 150 legionnaires (in three 50-strong Maniples) 3rd Century Centurion| Jason Gordon (Kas) 4rth Century Centurion| Kaleb White (Kas) Legio Scouts Centurion| ¡®Frostworm¡¯ Kaeso (A highly decorated officer. Also cited for multiple misconducts.) Decanus | Kiri Dosser Placus Goff Legio Cavalry Decurion| Kent ¡®Thin-knees¡¯ Long. (A decorated officer) Flavius Nasica (Croton, on loan from Bernard Holt) Legio Slingers Centurion| Mamercus ¡®Unhurried¡¯ Sorex (A decorated officer) Legio Engineers Prefect | Potis Durio Centurion (of engineers) | Toni Drano (Lesia, recently promoted.) Legio Medics Centurion | Marianus Detailed: Legion Scouts Strength ~250 warriors, (150 of Lady Faye Alden¡¯s warband -various mixed units of fighters, Mainly axemen- under Logan ¡®Gray¡¯ Barret and ¡®Hulking¡¯ Layton (Mentioned six times in the dailies, the Legion¡¯s detailed reports when in campaign.) + 100 Rangers Under Centurion | Kaeso -Note: Centurion Pike¡¯s Rangers were transferred to the IV Legio Legion Cavalry (Strength 250 mixed riders, Included thirty men & women of Praetor Maximus¡¯ entourage and 50 men-at-arms under Flavius Nasica of Croton) Lady Faye Alden (Nord) ¨Cnot active after Krakenfort- Decurion | Kent ¡®Thin-knees¡¯ Long (Nord) Legion Slingers (Attached short range unit ¨C Semi-autonomous, usually deployed by the Legatus. Only unit employing women and men under sixteen) (Strength fluctuating due to casualties, usually ~200 men and women) Centurion | Mamercus Sorex -Note: Centurion Joe Fallon¡¯s Slingers unit was attached to the IV Legio permanently after 193. Legion Engineers (Leather aprons, ¡®Bestia¡¯) 50 Legio Engineers (the majority from Lesia) + 150 apprentices (engineers, blacksmiths and carpenters included) Legio Medics 8 Dottore and surgeons ~20 nurses Around two thousand civilians (some soldier families), merchants and technicians (Civilian blacksmiths, carpenters, laborers, Armorers, hunters, trappers, whores, musicians etc.) following in the supply train. At least two hundred and fifty various-sized carriages and wagons carrying mostly foodstuff, cots, leather tents, precut wood, tools and weapons ¨Cincluding sixteen siege engines/scorpios - among other things.
Praetor Lucius Alden Durio¡¯s road
- Third month of winter, 2nd month in the year of the new calendar 193 Code named 18 (plus) 2, sixty days into the eighteen month offensive. Durio¡¯s Road (the rough cut opening through the mountain paths) Seven kilometers from Oras Navel dry basin One kilometer from the south turn towards the Goat Plains, & the gates to the uncharted underground labyrinth Ebenezer Framtond had claimed it led him all the way to Lesia, without anything else to collaborate it other than a habitually cursing dwarf that spoke little else in Common. III Legio Castrum ( walled main marching camp) Legatus Legionis Headquarters Early evening, the end of the military briefing - Lucius finished up Kaeso¡¯s rough drawing from his advanced scouting mission, blew on the parchment to clear some of the excess coal away and stood back on his folding field stool. He glanced at the crude black and white map for a brief moment and then tossed it over the table to Sirio who picked it up with a nod. The scribe would work with the cartographers on adding the details to their field maps.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. ¡°The matter of enemy patrols seems a poor excuse for not bringing us some more accurate numbers. All these retiring and rotating units seems a bunch of nonsense. Might as well hop on a horse and see for myself milord,¡± Galio griped, weathered cheeks covered in grey growth. The Tribune was approaching fifty, though he kept the matter out of discussions. ¡°Kaeso was under orders not to engage, or be seen,¡± Lucius reminded him and eyed Ramirus over the table. ¡°Let me sleep on it Tribune,¡± he offered to palate the old officer. ¡°Of course. Praetor, I shall take my leave,¡± Galio said and got up. Trupo standing right after him. Prefect Draco was dealing with camp matters and Durio was still in the field overseeing the road construction. They couldn¡¯t finish it whilst on campaign, but the engineer wanted to take measurements and leave instructions for a second group of engineers that were coming from Anorum in order to help build Storm¡¯s Rest. Lucius was going to use them first to fix their main line of supply, as the passage through the mountains was difficult for the wagons. And people. ¡°Sirio, let¡¯s go my good lad,¡± Galio said to his nephew, but Lucius intervened as he had need of the LID officer and scribe. ¡°Stay Sirio.¡± Sirio nodded a panicked look on his face. Lucius waited for the two senior officers to leave his headquarters small hall and turned to Ramirus. ¡°How many are missing?¡± ¡°Three. Two Nords and a Lorian,¡± Ramirus replied checking his notes. ¡°Same unit?¡± ¡°Aye, Praetor.¡± ¡°We didn¡¯t have problems with Northmen deserting afore,¡± Lucius murmured thoughtfully. ¡°Is it the prospect of battle? Have the rumors spread?¡± ¡°Not really. The vast majority have no idea where Cartagen is, or how Regia¡¯s shores look,¡± Ramirus replied and eyed the nervous Sirio. ¡°Officer Sirio has some input here I believe.¡± ¡°Speak Sirio,¡± Lucius urged him patiently. ¡°We can find solutions to life¡¯s mysteries if we act and make mistakes, but we will remain ignorant if we stay comfortably idle.¡± Sirio cleared his throat, the attempt failing and turning a deep red, but he pushed through, his voice a squeak. ¡°We are too far away my lord.¡± ¡°From the North?¡± Lucius asked getting his meaning. ¡°Aye. This is the first winter that most men have seen no snow. It scares them for the future.¡± ¡°It snowed a bit yesterday,¡± Lucius noted. ¡°Not by their standards Lord Alden.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the other reason?¡± ¡°Most have a lack of coin,¡± Sirio blurted out. ¡°They lived on the merchants salty prices in Storm¡¯s Rest,¡± Lucius said and hearing the door opening turned to see Faye standing there. ¡°Everything is expensive for a reason, it¡¯s the frontier Sirio.¡± ¡°Every city they¡¯ve been to has cleaned them out,¡± Ramirus added. ¡°I understand Asturia, but it happened in Anorum. Fancy houses, late night venues with live bands and nice smelling girls with shaved legs and armpits,¡± the LID officer stopped horrified realizing Faye was standing at the back of the room, a cup of wine in her hands. ¡°I¡¯ve always shaved me legs Ramirus,¡± Faye retorted. ¡°Did it wit a small sharp knife and cleaned the blood wit snow. Ye perhaps had northern female bears in mind?¡± ¡°Apologies Lady Faye,¡± Ramirus replied with a grimace. ¡°Was speaking in jest.¡± Not to your Praetor you didn¡¯t, Ramirus. She isn¡¯t stupid. Faye continued. ¡°Now me armpits I only cleaned up for yer Praetor as the mail bits on¡ª¡± ¡°That¡¯s quite enough Faye,¡± Lucius intervened. ¡°We are now sufficiently informed on your hygiene routines.¡± ¡°Am I lying?¡± Faye retorted narrowing her eyes. ¡°Never,¡± Lucius said and shook his head smiling. ¡°Mister Ramirus please wrap up your argument. I¡¯ve one pregnant complaining wife and you¡¯re looking to create me problems with the other.¡± ¡°Apologies. I have nothing more to add Praetor,¡± Ramirus replied stiffly. ¡°And now I won¡¯t get any more input,¡± Lucius told Faye and she approached with a scoff. ¡°I¡¯ll trade input wit you don¡¯t worry,¡± she teased and eyed a red faced Sirio. ¡°You are married lad yes?¡± ¡°I am Lady Faye,¡± Sirio replied uncomfortable with her direct tone. ¡°Happy to see her soon?¡± ¡°Of course, if all works well.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what they¡¯re missing,¡± Faye told Lucius and sat on the table, the creaking worrisome. I know Faye, but I can¡¯t give them that. I won¡¯t lie to them also. Army life comes with a certain life-commitment, many are starting to realize now years in the service. It¡¯s a lot of years left still. Though Galio would argue they weren¡¯t enough. ¡°I¡¯ll see you gentlemen on last watch, good evening,¡± Lucius said dismissing them both.
¡°Your slutty pregnant wife told me she feels like a widow but without all the perks,¡± Faye said twirling the wine in her cup and then leaving it on the table. Lucius got up and gathered the maps to protect them from an accident. He went to an open trunk and placed them inside. ¡°Wow,¡± Faye said on his back. ¡°Yer concern chills me bones. It¡¯s like I¡¯m in the North again.¡± ¡°Faye, I have Marianus practically living here and he¡¯s a difficult man to be around. Gripa asked for the day off and he doesn¡¯t do that. So you know it¡¯s bad.¡± ¡°Oh, come now. The man has been slaving for years,¡± Faye retorted. ¡°Monica didn¡¯t marry Marianus,¡± she frowned. ¡°Damn, it doesn¡¯t sound as bad right?¡± Lucius sighed. ¡°I¡¯d like to sleep. We have an early meeting and I¡¯m thinking to move into Oras Navel.¡± ¡°To fight Lesia again,¡± Faye said. Lucius nodded and approached her working on the bindings of his armour. ¡°How far is Cartagen?¡± ¡°Very far still,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°How do they maintain two forces?¡± ¡°They are a kingdom with recourses,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°Do their birds fly further than ours? ¡°No, but they have many.¡± ¡°Can they take the city?¡± Faye had a flurry of questions all of a sudden, which meant she was nervous about something. ¡°There are two cities there close to each other. One is a port,¡± he started, but it was impossible to explain it. ¡°Like Asturia¡¯s but bigger, though located much further. The capital itself can last for a very long time, but the port can be taken.¡± ¡°They didn¡¯t take it?¡± ¡°It was a partial success,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°But I need better info. I also need to break through here, so I can guard Asturia¡¯s flanks.¡± ¡°Asturia is months away,¡± Faye noted and hugged his neck with both arms. ¡°Why trim the beard?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a Nord,¡± Lucius smiled seeing her expression. ¡°Strategically we need to open a road to the sea, else Lesia will run circles around us. Everyone really.¡± ¡°How far to Sula¡¯s city?¡± Faye murmured kissing him. ¡°From here to Kas almost,¡± Lucius replied biting her lower lip. ¡°You could have said you used a razor that was too much.¡± ¡°Damn that¡¯s far as fuck,¡± Faye groaned feeling his hands on her fit hips pressing. ¡°I could have also knifed him in the face, but I didn¡¯t,¡± she added hoarsely, then gasped and jumped on him locking both legs to his waist. ¡°You¡¯ve retaken some of that weight wife?¡± Lucius asked her teasingly between kisses and soft bites. ¡°I think I¡¯m pregnant again,¡± Faye murmured barely audibly and Lucius didn¡¯t register her words until after their love session was well over.
The next morning the Praetor left at first light careful not to rouse the sleeping Faye and rode to find Durio who hadn¡¯t returned the previous night. He found the engineers half-way through the narrowest part of the natural path ¨CLucius was approaching from the north that hadn¡¯t been worked on at all- where the walls came closer and a huge collapse had all but blocked the road completely. He led Nightsilver carefully near the engineering crews working there all night, but a few kilometers from Oras Navel. Lucius still mourned the loss of Stormbolt, but told himself that a man that has two wives expecting shouldn¡¯t complain. Gods give same time as they take. ¡°That¡¯s where Hermon¡¯s large wagons got stuck. Fucked him up proper and gave Kato a fighting chance,¡± Galio Veturius commented pursing his mouth. ¡°And there¡¯s Durio all pensive and shit, about to tell us we can¡¯t move forward. Milord.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s hear him out Tribune,¡± Lucius cautioned him. ¡°If Hermon did it, we shall do it as well.¡± ¡°Praetor, Tribune,¡± Durio saluted and stopped, his face pale and looking tired. Even worn out. The Prefect had half-a-pair of hobnailed sandals in his hands. An old weathered out and muddy leather thing he kept trying to clean with dirty nails. ¡°Eh, we need to clear it a bit I¡¯m afraid,¡± he said talking about the path. ¡°The rains had brought more material down the slopes.¡± ¡°Huh!¡± Galio grunted and glared at the Prefect. Lucius nodded and stared at the inhospitable mountain walls. Some parts of it sporting huge cracks that run to the rock-infested ground, others a pale white and deathly grey, or pure black boulders firmly creating vertical walls that reached as high as two hundred meters. The only route other than the collapsed half-blocked rocky path leading to Oras Navel was about three hundred meters ahead of them, an opening leading to the Goat Plains and then disappearing southeast into a labyrinth of canyons, or gorges. But even if they weren¡¯t heading there, they couldn¡¯t reach it another way. He furrowed his rich black brows and turned his blue Alden eyes on the engineers milling about to clear the ground of the bigger rocks. A couple of them lingering near the huge pile of collapsed debris, the small rise reaching easily fifteen meters and leaving a small wagon-sized opening at the edge of it, too close to the other vertical wall for all their wagons to pass. And if, Lucius thought and watched Centurion Toni Drano, the man recently promoted after the loss of Toma who had fought across the river with Kato, sitting on a flat rock next to the debris and gaze unfocused at the distance. ¡°We could work on opening it some,¡± Durio offered sucking at the inside of his left cheek with his teeth. ¡°Still the wagons will go through single file and the machines should stay behind.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a hefty scoop of turds ye shoveled our way Prefect!¡± Galio barked grinding his teeth. ¡°You¡¯ll have us spend spring on the mountains as well? Is that it son?¡± ¡°Is the road opened beyond the collapse mister Durio?¡± Lucius asked calmly. ¡°Aye Praetor. But this goes on for a hundred and forty six meters,¡± Durio replied tensely, still working that military boot in his hands. Lucius noticed he wasn¡¯t missing one. ¡°The road cut beyond is three wagons wide but left unattended for years.¡± An unkempt road is passable. ¡°Did you work the other part yourself?¡± Lucius asked and patted Nightsilver¡¯s mane to ease his worry. There was nothing at the near for the horse to munch on, neither grass nor water. ¡°With the First sir, under my uncle,¡± Durio replied pensively. ¡°We had to leave though back in the winter of 88 to come to Alden.¡± Lucius nodded and stared at the debris. ¡°This happened while you were working here?¡± ¡°Aye my Lord. An accident. We were breaking the limestone parts out to make a larger station here. We were working to reach the top and create a permanent lookout there, but a large sheet of it came down. Killed quite a number of the crew.¡± ¡°You found the boot here?¡± Lucius asked pressing his mouth. ¡°The other way of the narrows,¡± Durio replied hoarsely and stared at Lucius. ¡°I think it¡¯s mine sir. Thought I lost it, but it was under the rocks all along. Waiting.¡± ¡°See to clear as much as you can in the next three days Durio,¡± Lucio said hoarsely realizing how hard it must be for the engineers to return to this place. ¡°I don¡¯t care about the wagons, but I want the men to march safely through this spot.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do my outmost sir,¡± Durio replied and saluted. Lucius nodded and turned his horse to leave, a troubled Galio following after him, but stopped some meters later and turned his head around. Durio was still standing there with the ruined boot in his hands. ¡°The moment we break through Oras Navel,¡± he told him clasping both hands on the horn of his saddle. ¡°You¡¯ll turn around and come here to finish this part mister Durio. See you find those lost and given them proper honors. Those that perish performing their duty shall be honored. In the army a shovel and a pickaxe are as noble a tool as the legionnaire¡¯s weapons and the tasks one undertakes with them are valued equally. You¡¯ve built me a fine bridge Durio and you will built me a road here through the mountains, is that right?¡± ¡°Aye Praetor,¡± Durio replied moved at his words. ¡°It shall be done.¡± It wasn¡¯t an attempt from him to lift the officer¡¯s spirits. Lucius had spoken from the heart.
¡°It will be half a month for the wagons to go through,¡± Galio griped on the return trip. Their six man escort leading the way. ¡°The war machines would stay on this side of the path and you¡¯ll have to pray we don¡¯t get spotted. If it doesn¡¯t happen it would be nigh humiliating for them, seeing as their scouts would have to shove our lads aside to patrol up the path.¡± ¡°We will have to fight without the train Galio,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°Only a few supply wagons would come with us. To stall is to give them time to count our numbers and change their plan if they have any. Among other things.¡± ¡°We also don¡¯t know their numbers milord.¡± ¡°Better to play by the same rules.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t fight more than two days in this manner,¡± Galio argued. ¡°They¡¯ll have supplies at the near and I¡¯m talking weapons. Rations men can carry for longer.¡± ¡°This can¡¯t be a grind,¡± Lucius said. ¡°Time isn¡¯t on our side and we¡¯ve a long road ahead of us.¡± Asturia is also sitting on burning coals with the Legion across the river. ¡°We don¡¯t know if they¡¯ll fight you¡¯re correct Milord.¡± ¡°Oh, they¡¯ll fight alright,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°They need to stall us here.¡± ¡°They¡¯ll never take the city no matter how long they stall us,¡± Galio said. ¡°Their plans are probably to control the Lorian Gulf and force Jeremy to negotiate.¡± ¡°He¡¯ll never do it milord,¡± Galio argued with a scowl. ¡°Perhaps, or he may agree to some compromise seeing as he failed to reinforce the Barons,¡± Lucius countered and scratched his beard with his gloved fingers. ¡°Did he really lose the ships outside Novesium?¡± ¡°Difficult to make sense of the rumors milord,¡± Galio replied. ¡°By the time news reach Asturia and then us, lots of mileage has thinned the truth in them.¡± ¡°If they tried to squeeze Lord Sula from both sides, then Ursus has his eyes on Demames and not the Capital,¡± Lucius murmured. ¡°Jeremy¡¯s strategy is to hang on to the throne until the Lords give up and Lesia will apply pressure there.¡± ¡°A siege seems a mighty effort just to make a point milord,¡± Galio noted. ¡°Lesia gave the job to professionals,¡± Lucius said. ¡°Those more qualified for the task. A military man will not shy away from taking more, if more is available, but I firmly believe their whole strategy is to threaten with the bigger price, in order to get what¡¯s practical.¡± ¡°Cartaport?¡± Galio asked. ¡°Mmm,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°What happens if the generals in the field win the siege?¡± ¡°Then the King will accept the gift and even press towards Novesium,¡± Lucius said with a grimace of distaste. ¡°I fear that if Lord Sula manages to pull a miracle out of the bag like his kin frequently does, we¡¯ll lose more in the grand scheme of things.¡± ¡°Unless we win in two days,¡± Galio summarized it, since he by now understood Lucius far-reaching but structured manner of thinking. Lucius nodded and clicked his tongue to hurry back to the camp, his answer all but lost in the sound of Nightsilver¡¯s hooves galloping towards their escort. ¡°Or sooner.¡±
In the winter months of 192 and 193 following the second phase of Mantel & Fiorin¡¯s grand battle-plan doctrines, Baron Erasmus Feld of Frye¡¯s Hold hard marching force from Dokamna was stalled to assist Lord Caxaton¡¯s two thousand troops (a split force from the initial six thousand regulars out of Cediorum and Armium under Duke Roman II Lennox and Sir Darius IV Davenport) break through the Flower Heights forest. They had been caught there by a combined force coming out of Cartagen numbering three thousand (a thousand regulars from Two Rivers Castle under Baron Vendor and the two thousand royal guards of Cartagen under Sir Seleucid Merenda ¡®the Potent¡¯) and gotten himself trapped and unable to disengage. The initial plan had fallen apart when the two of the three prongs of the combined assault from sea and land -the 2nd Legion under Ettore Pintor had made it to the gates of Cartaport from the east road and smashed through in a ferocious night action- failed to coordinate and in the case of the fleet¡¯s marines make it in time. The rest of the regulars of the second prong under Duke Roman and Darius attacked, sneaking through the Carta Gulf¡¯s narrow strip of forested shores located in the south east of the city, the smaller naval yard¡¯s gates there but failed to take control of them. The reason for that being part of the navy had been involved in a naval battle with Peter Brakis outside Novesium that was won by the Bank¡¯s accompanying fleet, but with casualties. It forced the navy commanders to stall the transports to assist the returning damaged ships and pick up survivors. The delay ruined the timing of the thousand five hundred strong marine force that made their attack and landing after Duke Roman¡¯s troops had engaged three days prior. A grieving Baron Valens ¨Che¡¯d just been informed of the death of his second son Prefect Declan in Maiden¡¯s Wedding in Pascor- realizing this was a full on invasion left Cartagen under Sir Antony (his firstborn) after mobilizing its four thousand regulars to man the walls and the many gates. He followed Baron Vendor¡¯s assaulting force to the Flower Heights and then traveled that same day to Cartaport. Seeing the 2nd Legion already inside the east part of the city, he ordered the troops engaged in the port district ¨Cassaulted by both land and sea- to retreat towards the slopes and North district. The two thousand regulars of Cartaport managed to stall the Legion¡¯s advance in a brutal house to house and street fight. With the North Gates of Cartaport under his control ¨Cthe gates leading to the Capital secured his supply lines- Valens pulled Vendor¡¯s hard pressed force back up the slopes allowing Caxaton to get out. With the situation stabilized Valens would be busy in the next several months defending on multiple fronts. Cartaport¡¯s North district with the reinforced with Vendor¡¯s regulars local troops ¨Caround three thousand, the Grand Bridge over Mabindon to the west using Elysium Fort¡¯s troops ¨Caround four hundred, the slopes leading to Cartagen and the Capital itself with six thousand combined normal and Royal Guard soldiers and knights. Leaving the lengthy matter of the events in Cartagen and Cartaport aside, the force out of Dokamna under Baron Feld after saving Lord Caxaton ¨Che was to attempt to attack Cartagen from the northeast and take the Wine and Flower Bridges, but by the time he made it there the city was on high alert- marched to the occupied Old Fort to resume following the plan. Baron Feld had with him three thousand regulars and eight hundred cavalry. The predicament was that the force out of Flauegran that was supposed to hold the road and Oras Navel until they plugged the gap left by Hermon¡¯s defeat, had turned restless. The Barons wanted to avenge the loss of income and the defeat of a large part of Regia¡¯s navy had opened the road for a strike at the insolent Lord of the Ruins. This guarding force was comprised of 600 hundred troops out of Sava under Sir Jan Napoli, five hundred out of Sartor under Domus Trupo and a thousand out of Faro plus a hundred and fifty men-at-arms under Sir Paris Riveras. Anyways, the moment the Barons got wind of the Dokamna force marching up the New Legion Road they started withdrawing from Oras Navel. To their defense in the months since the battle at the Half-Bridge nobody had appeared to bother them but for several wayward goats out of the Goat Plains and the supposed appearance of a foul-mouthed dwarf that had scared a small patrol to death speaking with the voice of a giant. Baron Feld quarreled with the withdrawing Barons and begrudgingly continued up the path. It must be mentioned here that Domus Trupo ¡®the Mustache¡¯ has been accused of knowing the whereabouts of his brother but even if that was true and it isn¡¯t, no one could blame him for not wanting to fight his bigger brother. Tribune Veturius characterized the performance and coordination of the Lesia forces as ¡®outright embarrassing¡¯, but it was mostly an unfortunate domino effect starting with Brakis surprise night naval action that derailed the well-thought out battle-plan, especially considering that the Bank of Trust¡¯s winning naval force got lost months later somewhere in the Scalding Sea probably to pirates. As the military scholar Mantel commented later that year after an academy lecture, ¡®it was never going to go smoothly. We didn¡¯t expect it, but then again nothing really worked and we found ourselves with too many fronts to cover. Auspiciously Sula¡¯s actions and the events in Novesium solved a part of our problems.¡¯ This optimistic outlook can be interpreted to mean that all other parts of their problems remained, or perhaps even grew. - Lord Sirio Veturius The Fall of Heroes Chapter II (Lord Lucius Alden, -also addressed- Legatus Augustus, Praetor Maximus Southern campaigns, Fourth & Fifth year Volume IX-X Eighteen Months Offensive Part I Section subtitle Twenty Hours Also known as the battle at Oras Navel -Prelude to the race down the slopes and the siege of Old Fort-
361. Twenty Hours (1/3) ¡®Primus! LANCERS¡ª!¡¯ - Legionnaire marked simply Timo A. on the Wall of the Fallen in Elysium Fort. Serving with the 3rd Maniple, 1st Century, II Cohort, during the Battle for Oras Navel. Addressing his commanding officer Centurion ¡®Primi Ordines¡¯ Gnaeus Ennius, who was standing right next to him in the line His last words.
Praetor Lucius Alden Twenty Hours Part I -On tired arms & knees-
Spring, 3rd month in the year of the new calendar 193 Code named 18 (plus) 3, sixty six days into the eighteen month offensive. An hour afore Midnight III Legio¡¯s Castrum Legatus Headquarters building Monica came out of her bedroom and paused to stare at him putting his riding boots on. Lucius tied the leather shoelaces, but left the steel stirrups in the shoe trunk. He¡¯d dragged a chair next to it the moment Faye had gone to sleep. ¡°Sneaking out to visit the mistress?¡± his young wife teased and approached, her belly swollen, but kept well hidden under her loose night robes. ¡°Monica,¡± Lucius said not taking the bait and finished up with his boots. ¡°You¡¯re not tired?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been sleeping for half the day,¡± she replied and sat in the chair at his office desk. Reached for his goblet and sniffed it. ¡°Any wine left in the bottle?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure you should drink in your current state,¡± Lucius argued and got up. ¡°My state needs it.¡± ¡°Not according to Marianus.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s going to tell him?¡± ¡°Monica¡­ listen, I understand this is tiring for you,¡± Lucius started, but she stopped him making a mocking face. ¡°Campaigning?¡± ¡°The baby.¡± ¡°Ah. There is that also.¡± ¡°I know you think staying in Asturia would have been better, but it isn¡¯t viable at this point,¡± Lucius explained. ¡°The Praetor¡¯s wife travels with him.¡± ¡°New law?¡± ¡°Common practice when at war.¡± ¡°Or a way to avoid leaving a valuable piece out of your control,¡± Monica retorted. Lucius nodded. ¡°I don¡¯t have to explain my reasoning, you are not stupid.¡± ¡°My father would have protected me.¡± ¡°I prefer my family to stay near me at this point,¡± Lucius countered. ¡°I can¡¯t risk it.¡± ¡°Family.¡± ¡°Yes Monica, family. You are a part of it,¡± Lucius said and walked to her. ¡°Will you love it?¡± She asked looking at him. ¡°More than his mother?¡± Lucius sighed and sat on the desk. He reached to touch her soft cheek with a hand. ¡°Of course I will. I also value his mother for facing this ordeal bravely,¡± he told her and she frowned. ¡°I don¡¯t feel it.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll make an effort to spend time with you after the battle,¡± Lucius said. ¡°More, when the baby joins us.¡± ¡°I can find intimacy without bothering you,¡± she offered. ¡°Out of the question,¡± Lucius grunted and withdrew his hand. ¡°You¡¯re in my house and you¡¯ll behave decently as befitting your station and my name. I don¡¯t want to talk about this again.¡± ¡°You¡¯re about to fight your brother,¡± Monica hissed her face flushed and pushed herself up to stand in front of him. ¡°Yet you speak about your family as if they are something holy. It isn¡¯t. Your family had its hand in plunging the realm into this whole mess.¡± ¡°My father¡¯s family is what you speak of,¡± Lucius said evenly, avoiding again to take the taunt. Fighting with her wasn¡¯t the answer to their problems, though it would perhaps satisfy the teenage bride. ¡°I was speaking about mine, what we have here. We can make it work. I¡¯ll put in the effort and you¡¯ll try harder. You know what you¡¯re supposed to do.¡± ¡°Faye might not like it.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know Faye.¡± ¡°But I do Lucius,¡± Monica replied and patted his chest with a hand. ¡°We play with Roderick together, sleep in the same house¡­ whatever this is and is the only woman around really.¡± For a reason. ¡°The boy is tiring her.¡± ¡°He does, but she doesn¡¯t complain. Faye wants to be here with you. This is her dream. I can¡¯t be like her.¡± ¡°You need to start learning to like it,¡± Lucius replied and she grimaced moving away. ¡°Monica this is a difficult period, but all wars end. Then things will be better for you.¡± ¡°Can you win tomorrow?¡± she asked looking at the oil lamp burning on the wall. ¡°Aye.¡± ¡°Could you lose? Get hurt?¡± ¡°Aye.¡± Monica turned to look his way, her youthful face strikingly beautiful, but strained. ¡°What happens to my baby if you do?¡± ¡°Our baby,¡± Lucius corrected her patiently. ¡°I¡¯ve answered that. Nothing changes. The baby is part of our family, as are you.¡± ¡°You think people will respect your wishes when you¡¯re not around?¡± Lucius furrowed his brows and walked to the door. He paused there and turned around to stare at her. ¡°You¡¯ll be the Queen of Regia, a Duke¡¯s daughter. Faye doesn¡¯t know what this means but you do, so you¡¯ll help her and she¡¯ll help you. Most of the people around me shall respect my wishes and the army loves her. It will learn to love you as well.¡± ¡°The army. Not the Lords of the realm.¡± ¡°Yes Monica,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°As long as the army is around, you shall be safe. Regia shall be safe and the realm in peace. I intent to make this happen one way or another. I¡¯ll root out dissent so my children won¡¯t have to face what father and myself have.¡± ¡°Not everything is as cut and dry Lucius.¡± Lucius shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s the priestesses talking in your head. Trying to justify their sinful behavior, the tale of the pious knight led astray by the maiden. You were led astray. The knight was young in the tale and so were you. Disturbingly it happened. I¡¯ve read it all. A just man might make a mistake, but he¡¯ll try to correct it. Else he wasn¡¯t just to begin with. A woman as well, if she¡¯s given the chance. In politics though fear rules above all else. Nothing brings more fear than military might. Not gold, nor allies matter if you can¡¯t best your opponent in the field.¡± ¡°If they can¡¯t defeat you in the field,¡± Monica cautioned him. ¡°They might try another way.¡± ¡°They¡¯ll try,¡± Lucius replied pressing his mouth. He turned and opened the door, the guard standing at attention outside. ¡°Stay,¡± he told him and gave a nod to the silent Monica. ¡°I¡¯ll walk the camp alone.¡±
Lucius marched through the dark silent camp. He walked past the armoury, the stables and the officer quarters until he reached the soldiers neatly arranged tents. A wooden sign naming the units, each tent identical and meant for ten people, but for the one housing the Legion¡¯s and each Cohort¡¯s banners, where the Signifer slept. He paused seeing a campfire burning outside a tent in the auxiliaries¡¯ side of the camp and approached to see who it was. Mamercus and Kaeso were sitting by the small fire with blankets over their legs. Lucius walked there and found a flat rock to sit on, the two officers glancing his way amused. ¡°Gentlemen,¡± Lucius said warming his hands over the fire, the night chilly. ¡°We haven¡¯t done this in a while.¡± ¡°Praetor,¡± Mamercus grunted. Kaeso nodded with his head, working on the burning coals with a long stick. ¡°It¡¯s not uncomfortably cold,¡± Lucius commented looking at the two familiar faces. ¡°Not really milord,¡± Kaeso said. ¡°After the Ice Lake everything seems pretty warm.¡± ¡°The march to Krakenfort was pretty frosty as well,¡± Mamercus added. ¡°That was darn frosty indeed,¡± Lucius agreed with a nod reminiscing. ¡°Gods, the boots were getting stuck if you stalled on the next step too much. Horses were losing their shoes all the time. People getting frostbite right and left.¡± ¡°Or died,¡± Kaeso added. ¡°We lost some men that way true,¡± Lucius agreed and grimaced, looking at the flames. ¡°At least we got the job done sir,¡± Mamercus said. ¡°Mmm,¡± Lucius murmured. ¡°Got Zofia a throne,¡± Kaeso added with a smirk. ¡°We thought you¡¯d keep her around milord.¡± ¡°I couldn¡¯t,¡± Lucius replied thoughtfully. ¡°She had a child out of wedlock. Though my mind was mostly to secure her future and a strong ally.¡± ¡°How¡¯s the new wife milord?¡± Kaeso asked. ¡°She¡¯s clever,¡± Lucius replied and stared at him warningly. ¡°We just don¡¯t see her around,¡± Kaeso said quickly. ¡°Faye is trying to have her take weapon¡¯s training,¡± Lucius added. ¡°You have family Kaeso?¡± ¡°Not anymore milord.¡± ¡°Mamercus? How¡¯s your brother?¡± Lucius asked. ¡°Haven¡¯t heard from him in a while sir,¡± the Centurion replied sadly. ¡°It¡¯ll be easier to communicate now,¡± Lucius assured him. ¡°What is this¡­ we left the summer of 88 right?¡± ¡°It will be five years this summer sir,¡± Mamercus said and Lucius nodded. ¡°Don¡¯t need the rest for tomorrow?¡± He asked them. ¡°Not afore a battle milord,¡± Kaeso replied. ¡°We sleep later, after we talk about stuff.¡± ¡°I understand,¡± Lucius said. ¡°Anything I can do for you gents?¡± Mamercus shrugged his shoulders unsure, but Kaeso stooped near the fire to better see him and asked. ¡°You could learn about his brother milord.¡± ¡°What was the name?¡± Lucius asked. ¡°Secundus Sorex,¡± Mamercus said. ¡°How long since you had news?¡± ¡°A couple of years almost.¡±Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Lucius furrowed his brow. ¡°He wrote to you afore?¡± ¡°To Canutia, got them all at once, but then he stopped,¡± Mamercus said troubled. ¡°I asked some friends about him, but nobody knows where he is. He just disappeared sir.¡± ¡°Where was he last?¡± ¡°Aegium.¡± Lucius stood back. ¡°Working for Lord Nattas right?¡± ¡°Ayup.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± Lucius rubbed under his tired eyes with a finger¡¯s knuckle. ¡°Storm got kicked off the Council, did some time in the dungeons. He might have let him go. The man moved on next.¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t he write to his brother about it?¡± Kaeso asked. He would. ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t know what happened,¡± Mamercus murmured unhappy. ¡°He fears Secundus might be dead,¡± Kaeso explained. ¡°Don¡¯t jump into conclusions,¡± Lucius admonished him. ¡°Sirio will know. He was with Nattas at the time.¡± ¡°The book guy?¡± Mamercus asked. ¡°Works for the Vulture,¡± Kaeso reminded him and Mamercus frowned. ¡°Now, I¡¯ll pretend I didn¡¯t hear that,¡± Lucius cautioned them and got up with a groan. ¡°I¡¯ll leave you to it gents, but I shall check it out with Sirio. See if I can find anything out.¡± ¡°Gratitude sir,¡± Mamercus said and made to stand, but Lucius stopped him. ¡°Rest up, get ready for the morrow,¡± Lucius told them and left their fire.
There was light outside and inside Ramirus¡¯ tent and the guard, one of the soldiers working for the Legion¡¯s Intelligence Department saluted sharply, fist thudding on his armour seeing the Praetor appearing out of the darkness. ¡°At ease,¡± Lucius told him and glanced at the large tent. ¡°Ramirus is awake?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Ramirus said and stepped outside. ¡°Praetor. I was poring through some messages.¡± ¡°Anything new arrived?¡± Lucius asked. ¡°Nothing official sir. Just soldiers personal correspondence I open.¡± Lucius nodded. It was Ramirus¡¯ job to look into things. ¡°Sirio around? Sleeping inside?¡± He asked. ¡°He¡¯s over there,¡± Ramirus replied and pointed with an arm at the east wall of the Castrum. ¡°Looking at¡­ the stars sir.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll speak with him,¡± Lucius said. ¡°No, stay Ramirus. We better be safe in our own camp, or all this is pointless.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll stay at a distance Praetor,¡± Ramirus insisted and Lucius smacked his lips, but agreed with a nod.
Sirio almost jumped onto the hard timbers hearing his voice. The easily scared young man took a moment to recover his wits under Lucius amused scrutiny. ¡°You didn¡¯t hear us approach?¡± Lucius asked him. ¡°I was¡­ distracted Lord Lucius,¡± Sirio croaked, grimacing as if he was in pain. ¡°You¡¯ll make for a poor sentry mister Sirio,¡± Lucius noted. ¡°Yes my Lord,¡± Sirio said sadly. ¡°Anything of interest?¡± ¡°Ahm, not really¡­ I was trying to determine if one could measure their position.¡± ¡°For what reason?¡± Lucius asked him. ¡°See if they move my Lord?¡± ¡°I can see the appeal,¡± Lucius decided and stared at the stars for a moment. ¡°If they do move then they remember to return to their positions,¡± he added. ¡°For we know some of their shapes mister Sirio.¡± ¡°Yes my Lord that¡¯s true.¡± ¡°Know a man named Secundus? He¡¯s Centurion Sorex¡¯s brother,¡± Lucius asked and turned to look at the nervous scribe and LID agent. ¡°Ahm,¡± Sirio murmured pursing his mouth. ¡°He worked security for Lord Nattas,¡± Lucius added patiently. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m familiar with him.¡± ¡°Do you know where he is?¡± Lucius asked trying to determine whether Sirio was nervous about something other than his usual skittishness. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen him in a while my Lord.¡± ¡°When was the last time you¡¯ve seen him?¡± Sirio pressed his lips and then grimaced his hands shaking. ¡°That would be¡­¡± he started then paused. Lucius glanced at Ramirus watching them. He was standing much closer now. ¡°Right about the time¡­¡± Sirio was really having trouble remembering. ¡°You are keeping notes yes?¡± Lucius asked. ¡°Aye.¡± ¡°What do the notes say mister Sirio? You could go check them out, or did you leave them back in¡­ where was it you were staying in Aegium?¡± ¡°Lord Nattas had rented a place.¡± ¡°Secundus was around then?¡± ¡°He was.¡± ¡°Around the time Nattas was arrested, when the Queen stepped down,¡± Lucius continued and Sirio nodded a sad look on his face, his eyes swollen as if ready to start crying. ¡°Secundus left that day,¡± Sirio croaked. ¡°He feared they would arrest him as well?¡± Lucius probed starting to lose his patience. ¡°I don¡¯t know my lord,¡± Sirio gasped desperately. ¡°Perhaps.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright Sirio,¡± Lucius assured him. ¡°I appreciate your candidness.¡±
¡°The man is lying,¡± Ramirus told him on the return to his tent and Lucius nodded. ¡°I could ask around.¡± ¡°Carefully,¡± Lucius said and breathed out. ¡°It could be something simple,¡± he finally said and stared at the LID officer. ¡°A case of running away, Nattas has enemies and Secundus might have feared retribution against him.¡± ¡°Or he knew something,¡± Ramirus added. Eh, Storm wouldn¡¯t have let a hired guard in on anything important. ¡°He couldn¡¯t have been in on anything sensitive, but he could have overheard something,¡± Lucius agreed. ¡°Was that enough to have had him killed you think?¡± ¡°The reason behind the Queen stepping down?¡± Ramirus offered. ¡°Secundus wouldn¡¯t have been anywhere near the Queen and Nattas has a very tight circle of friends,¡± Lucius replied thoughtfully. ¡°I¡¯m not even sure if he has any friends. I was shocked to hear he actually had a daughter.¡± ¡°I shall be discreet,¡± Ramirus assured him. ¡°Keep your energy for the battle for now,¡± Lucius ordered him and decided to catch a bit of rest himself afore the last watch of the night. The Legion was marching out right after it. A day later Code named 18 (plus) 3, sixty seven days into the eighteen month offensive. Two kilometers from the mountain road¡¯s exit in Oras Navel. The flat rise above III Legio¡¯s Day Camp called Vacant Balcony overlooking the basin The Praetor¡¯s entourage Early dawn Lucius returned the spyglass to the communication officer and turned to Galio, who was standing three meters behind him with the horses. Lucius had stepped as close to the lip of the drop as it was prudent to better see the flat terrain underneath them ¡°Anything?¡± Galio asked hoarsely. ¡°They haven¡¯t set up yet, but they are gathering,¡± Lucius replied and walked to the horses. ¡°Numbers?¡± ¡°What Kaeso gave us earlier seems correct.¡± ¡°This is a huge camp,¡± Galio noted while he got up on NightSilver, the warhorse neighing and shaking its rich mane right and left. ¡°Not all of it used and it¡¯s not connected,¡± Lucius replied and started down the narrow path to reach their own basic camp at the rear of their formations. Ten wagons had come down with them and that was it. The men had carried their supplies and weapons with them. They had left their heavily laden haversacks back to the campsite to not burden them during the battle, but be that as it may, they didn¡¯t have enough of anything to last more than a couple of days. Even water was scarce here, unless they discovered some spring at the near. ¡°What does¡­ why would they build two camps?¡± Galio asked crooking his mouth. ¡°They wouldn¡¯t,¡± Lucius replied tensely, his mind on a hundred different things. ¡°Different units, or older camp, perhaps Hermon¡¯s?¡± ¡°First in the center?¡± Galio asked moving on to the next matter while they rode towards the camp. ¡°Yes,¡± Lucius replied and stopped his horse before Mamercus¡¯ Slingers that were trotting towards the south side of the massive battlefield. Only a small portion of it shall be used though, unless we force it, or they do. ¡°I¡¯m concerned about the horses.¡± ¡°Might have been the supply train,¡± Galio argued. ¡°I¡¯m more concerned on fighting on tired arms and hurting knees. Both can get a man killed.¡± ¡°I trust Kaeso¡¯s eyes,¡± Lucius countered with a grimace at the Tribune¡¯s ever pessimistic view of things and continued to the camp, where Long¡¯s Cavalry was gathering to gallop towards the north side of the battlefield where the Rises where. A labyrinth of granite boulders and sharp inclines near the mountains. ¡°We¡¯ll see horses today Galio,¡± he added staring at the hard ground with the poor vegetation and sickly looking strips of grass. ¡°Which side?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll cover the north to avoid them sneaking up on us hugging the Rises,¡± Lucius said hoarsely and reaching the camp jumped from the saddle. A soldier approached him with a missive and immediately after another appeared from Trupo. ¡°It¡¯s a toss for them lads in the south,¡± Galio grunted biting the inside of his lip. ¡°It may turn out nice, or pop out the bowl like a turd.¡± ¡°Mmm,¡± Lucius murmured reading the missives quickly. Galio stared at the sky and shook his head. ¡°Well?¡± He asked. ¡°Duke Frye¡¯s banners in the field,¡± Lucius replied licking his dry lips, as multiple reports had spotted the twin hammers of Dokamna. ¡°Eh,¡± Galio grunted and checked on the bindings of his helmet. ¡°Horses it is then.¡±
In early spring in the year of the New Calendar 193 and at the crack of dawn of day sixty eight, the celebrated Praetor¡¯s preceding year created battle-plan and sometimes referred to in military circles ¡®as the Eighteen Months Offensive¡¯, begun for real. Lucius wanted to achieve local superiority moving during winter months and attacking the Lesia forces at the very end of it. It caught his opponent amidst rotating its considerable forces, the Wine Baron¡¯s troops withdrawing and leaving behind Sir Jan Napoli of Sava at their old Camp. Baron Feld Frye who was to take their place anyway had started arriving the previous month and got busy rebuilding the smaller camp at first, before finally giving up and just starting a new one next to the one Baron Hermon¡¯s Iron Fists and the Wine Barons forces had used for the previous year. The reason being he needed much more space for horses and warehouses, but also housing as his supply train had brought with it a lot of workers and Lesia engineering firms to pick up where Hermon¡¯s failed expedition had left them the year before. The new strategy and objective same as the old one. Keep control of Oras Navel and then retake control -when the weather improved- of the road leading to Framtond and Asturia¡¯s soft underbelly. Build a bridge there, or take over Lucius¡¯ if one was present and defeat the rebel general in the field, if it was possible. If it wasn¡¯t, Feld was to make certain Lucius couldn¡¯t interfere with the events in Cartagen, or do it after the hard-pressed King Jeremy had been brought to the negotiating table. The Lesia war planners knew that Lucius had been stretched thin with army present over Canlita Sea attacking Tollor and him beyond Framtond. They intended to make it even more difficult for him by attacking Kadrek and the Praetor¡¯s base during the summer that is if the hardened Lords beyond Andalus River agreed to participate. Only Lord Caxaton of the important but on the smaller size distant Telus city and its nearby port had been in favor of the King¡¯s decision the previous years. Caxaton was involved directly in the siege of Cartagen probably through his longtime friendship with the Legatus of the 2nd Legio Ettore Pintor. Hypothetical strategies and pre-campaign theories aside, Lucius¡¯ decisive drive over the mountains bought him the early advantage in the battle for Oras Navel. Because everything was against the soon to turn thirty one Regia¡¯s legitimate Heir. Baron Feld had only half a day warning and a couple of earlier reports about activity on the blocked part of the passage they had intentionally left unrepaired, but he sent an urgent runner to the last of the Baron¡¯s forces departing from his rear area, the infantry of Sir Jan Napoli a force of about six hundred men with a small cavalry force attached to it, but too few to make a difference on their own, unless the timing was auspicious. Sir Jan, who had sent his own supply train away already, couldn¡¯t outright refuse the Baron and stopped his force. He was to appear in the field later that day. In the meantime Feld assumed he was facing a full legion ¨Cthe lessons of the still held captive Baron Palma¡¯s, but also Duke Lennox¡¯s, High Baron Hermon¡¯s earlier defeats learned well, although the ¡®guide to defeat Lucius Alden¡¯ hadn¡¯t been written yet- and decided on a plan to negate the legionnaires anterior advantage. He split his considerable cavalry force in two, the north (or left side of his line) he left to Sir Manuel Frye¡¯s four hundred and fifty strong cavalry force. Feld preferred to keep the left and center of his line merged in one long, but not long enough line, to entice an attack there by Lucius¡¯ right. The idea was to catch the legionnaires slowly moving squares advancing from the sides with the faster moving cavalry and maul them with repeated charges. The nearby gullies and ravines filled terrain ideal for a force to sneak close enough to do it. His center with both his divisions together under experienced Commander August Asade numbering two thousand soldiers in a block of spears that extended well to the right of Lucius¡¯ center. To the Baron¡¯s own right, or south side of the line, Feld Frye placed Captain Braccio¡¯s one thousand troops to block Lucius left (that would be the 2nd Cohort under Centurion Ennius), reinforced by a force of three hundred and fifty riders by Sir Rik Phoca (or Foca). The latter a matter of heavy dispute between Sir Manuel the High Baron of Dokamna¡¯s son and his uncle. Sir Manuel wanted more riders with him as they considered Sir Phoca¡¯s role in the battlefield ¡®decorative¡¯ ¨Cprobably more accurately Sir Manuel said ¡®a lure¡¯ according to other sources- and a way to keep Lucius from committing his smaller cavalry in one spot. The heartened young Knight¡¯s dreams of a decisive cavalry battle aside, Lucius reinforced the 3rd Cohort under Centurion Falx and Lepidus with Decurion Long¡¯s Cavalry (a force of just over two hundred) and Kaeso¡¯s Rangers (a force of about a hundred lighter riders). He placed Prefect Julius Draco there as the opening to the Baron¡¯s line ¡®left excellent terrain for a cavalry charge¡¯ as he noted, coming from his Northernmost opposing side and kept his eyes on that part of the battlefield. Trupo and Ramirus who were stationed on the Vacant Balcony plateau to observe from afar informed him when the sun came up that the Baron¡¯s right (Lucius¡¯ left or south) was considerably stronger than Centurion Ennius¡¯ 2nd Cohort, who had Mamercus Slingers covering his flank that extended to his south into the expansive Goat Plains, but the wilderness had much worse terrain than the basin of Oras Navel. Lucius decided to send Logan ¡®Gray¡¯ Barret there with his Nord fighters and kept Nasica¡¯s small but heavy cavalry force to the rear initially. At the center he placed the veterans of the 1st Cohort (his best fighting unit by far) under the field command of Centurion Gata with Tribune Veturius assisting and right behind them the newest 4th Cohort out of Kas under Centurion Silvius to rotate after the 1st made the initial assault. Fearing that Feld would bring forth machines from his distant camp, a pressed for time Lucius ordered the center to attack without delay to close the distance and the flanks to follow at a steady pace. The III Legio started its attack with the first light and marched down on Lesia¡¯s packed lines determined to finish the job before the bright disk dipped under the horizon again. Twenty minutes into the battle and with the two army centers barely touching blades, Lucius right flank was attacked by Sir Manuel¡¯s considerable cavalry force that threatened to ride around the 3rd Cohort¡¯s own north flank afore Decurion Long intervened to stop their advance (the veteran was elevated to Optio in the field before the day was over). With the battle raging and the view restricted, Lucius rode to the north side of his embattled lines, when reports reached him an hour and something into the slow-grinding fight that Centurion Ennius had been killed when a large cavalry force had stricken the 2nd Cohort¡¯s south flanks riding through the wilderness and moving too fast for the locked with Braccio¡¯s regulars in a bitter struggle legionnaires to react. Layton and Logan had ambushed the charging riders out of the weeds and bushes, but most had gone through, Mamercus Slingers getting caught on their own flanking move and suffering appalling casualties. Realizing he was about to lose the south flank completely, as the mauled 2nd started retreating ¨Ca portion of it pushed towards their center, the other towards the Goat Plains- Lucius ordered Galio to reinforce them with the men of the Fourth Cohort. Tribune Veturius who was managing the center informed him that the fourth had been rotated to the front and that he would sent one of 1st Cohort¡¯s semi-rested Centuries to stabilize the south flank. The Tribune who could see the Legion¡¯s center smashing through Feld¡¯s center despite their bigger numbers, as the regulars just couldn¡¯t match their opponents¡¯ brutal efficiency and experience, didn¡¯t want to interrupt its advance pulling men out of the frontline. Lucius agreed notifying Nasica to move his riders further south to assist the dispatched century. The officer tasked to push back the emboldened Braccio¡¯s division and Sir Phoca¡¯s free roaming Cavalry could make a name for himself, or suffer Ennius¡¯ tragic fate in a day. Perhaps thankfully for all involved the tenacious as much as flamboyant man plucked out of the line by Tribune Veturius was even more determined than anyone else in the field to ¡®finish this horrid ordeal afore the sun is down.¡¯ The reason being he hated sleeping on the army¡¯s standard issued hard leather folding cot.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 362. Twenty Hours (2/3)
¡®I¡¯ve given the brat a life and my name to not be a bastard till he breathes his last. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn¡¯t. Caught him bedding a wench I favored and kicked him out. A boy that knows how to use his cock deserves no further assistance.¡¯ - Sir Seleucid Merenda¡¯s curt written reply to Prefect Draco, then commander of the recruiting IV Cohort in Anorum, who had asked the Lord Commander of the Royal Guards in Cartagen to vouch for his sixteen year old son Marcus Antonius ¨CBorn Mabindon* afore taking his father¡¯s name- to join the Legion. The young teenager¡¯s request was denied. Circa 186 NC From the I Legio archives. - *Bastards of at least one named (prominent, or high born parent) were usually given a close-by important landmark as surname ¨Cunless legitimized- a muscular for males (names of rivers, mountains, forests) and a more feminine for females (name of flowers, fruits, lakes, springs etc.) - Initium, Medius et Terminus Ancient Lorian dictum - - - ''There are three stages in one¡¯s life. The beginning, the middle and the end. The first and the last¡­ one can¡¯t avoid. But one can change the middle and shape the ending.'' - Di Cresta, lecturing on faltering Ethos and expounding on ancient sayings. His least attended classes.
Marcus Antonius Merenda Twenty Hours Part II -Corona Vallaris-
Part IIa -Medius- - Battle for Oras Navel Fifth hour III Legio¡¯s south flank (bordering Goat Plains) Inside the first Century¡¯s ¡®faster¡¯ -than the compact traditional- ¡®hollow Testudo¡¯ formation A rectangular formed to defend against free-roaming Cavalry attacks There was so much noise and pandemonium about him that Merenda couldn¡¯t hear his own thoughts. The sound bouncing off of his helmet like thrown stones, the recoil rattling his cranium and blurring his vision. Most of the ruckus caused by hooves thudding on the hard terrain, but not all of it. The soil rough, dusty and covered with gravel under foot, so many men and animals working it, the raised cloud clogged your throat and sneaked inside every opening. He couldn¡¯t see shit through the cracks of the Scutums the men at the front held locked together. Antonius had good vision but not with his eyes hazy and filled with dust particles. Fucking travesty! He thought furious and glared at Decanus Domus ¡®Tenor¡¯ of the 1st Maniple. The man a hazy figure, all dirty armour and gleaming Legion-type helm. ¡°MOVE!¡± Decanus Titus Afer boomed from the other corner of the oblong formation. ¡°ONE! TWO!¡± ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake,¡± legionnaire Lurco griped standing a foot away from Merenda. The Centurion opened his mouth, the metallic cheek-guards by now glued on his skin resisting him, but closed it having nothing to add. He worked his tongue around his teeth to gather moisture, but created a bitter sludge in his mouth and spat it down frustrated. ¡°ONE! TWO! KEEP SHIELDS UP!¡± By the time a slow walking Merenda raised his head again, Decanus Domus had turned around with his mouth gaping to show the gold fillings. The hoarse yell he released a warning for the whole formation. ¡°LANCERS! CHARGING!¡± Merenda clenched his mouth tight, the left side of his face hurting and sweat rivulets running down his brows. He felt the ground dancing under his tired hurting feet. The sound of a huge avalanche approaching, hooves digging in and coming ever closer, men cursing, or screaming, officers repeating instructions, until the cacophony of the onrushing Cavalry covered everything else completely. Insanity. A brief collective gasp defeating it briefly and then a soldier was hurled backwards violently, a massive explosion-like sound following. The whole earlier ruckus changing completely, metal twisting, wood splintering, bones shattering, flesh tearing and armour clattering. Nothing though could beat the gut-wrenching groans of wounded men and animals. Merenda stumbled back along unnamed legionnaires, found his footing, heavy blade in hand clanging on helms, greaves and laminar armour, a shield¡¯s corner almost breaking his nose. Then a hoof clipped his left shoulder guard and twisted him around, the terrified horse landing on top of a hapless legionnaire that was standing right next to him. Lurco, his brain informed him. Shite! No. Lurco disappeared under the landing horse with a horrid yelp. ¡°By Tyeus!¡± Merenda cursed, the horse tumbling one way the knight the other, shoving soldiers aside and the whole formation shaking as the cohesion broke down. He stepped over a man, boot slipping in gore and hacked at the knight trying to get up, the man¡¯s leg trapped in the stirrups. Merenda¡¯s longer than standard issue blade carved the plate, the tip digging in to open flesh and then legionnaire Murena stepped in. He grabbed the knight¡¯s arm, shoved it aside and stabbed half a foot of blade through the plate¡¯s side bindings. ¡°Murena!¡± Merenda barked, hand trying to fix the helm on his head that had moved with all the twisting about like that Foxville wench during Bacchanalia. ¡°Find Domus and tell him to dress the front row! I can see open field from here and I couldn¡¯t just a minute ago!¡± ¡°Domus is somewhere back there!¡± Murena replied hoarsely yanking his shorter blade out of the dead knight¡¯s sides, blood pouring out of the wound freely. ¡°Man afore him at the corner had his shield broken, turned to mush and the Decanus took the rest of it!¡± The flying man. No dammit! Frothy conium! Merenda thought stunned and turned to stare at the slowly closing by the rattled legionnaires opening, the horses pulling away at the background amidst thick clouds of dust, leaving some of their friends behind and another group of them appearing with lowered lances fixing to hit that corner again. ¡°Grab a plaguing Scutum!¡± Merenda barked at Murena and stooped to take one himself. ¡°We need to plug that gap!¡± Part IIb -Initium- - Three hours earlier Rear of III Legio¡¯s engaged center The lines of the rotating Centuries of the First and Fourth Cohorts. 2nd Century¡¯s resting area ¡°Hey Centurion,¡± Legionnaire Indus teased, whilst bandaging the ring finger of his right arm with a strip of cloth. ¡°You think they¡¯ll crack afore lunch?¡± Merenda paused cleaning his long blade and raised his head to stare at the Lorian-Issir half-breed amused. Vegetius and Lucan who always sat together chuckled spotting the scene. Lurco was talking with Murena in another group with Domus, Afer and Polus standing to their right, the Century¡¯s Decani talking about water rations. Which was going to be a problem, even if clouds covered the sky. While chilly in the morning, when you march and fight, you grow a thirst quite fast. ¡°Now, good Legionnaire,¡± Marcus Antonius said and got up to sheathe his blade. A longer sword custom ordered in the weapon smiths of Anorum and then made especially for him, since he always preferred it. He¡¯d enough fighting with the shorter Legion sword the previous years. Merenda had been trained in the long blade by his father, who was a famed swordsman. The old man giving him little else, along a passable education and a surname, which in the ranks was more than enough to impress the men. And the women of Regia. The Northern lasses had no idea where Cartagen was. That and a thirst for life, he supposed. ¡°Why do you think them cracking before lunch will help us?¡± Merenda asked evenly and glanced at the combat lines. He could see the backs of the men in the last rows a hundred meters away extending to his left and right. The Fourth Cohort¡¯s Centuries doing an excellent job. ¡°The sooner to eat?¡± Indus croaked unsure if the Centurion was in a mood or not. Merenda had a wide spectrum of emotions, especially when in his cups. ¡°Have you boys checked on the day¡¯s rations?¡± Merenda queried and reached inside his square hard-leather satchel, found a metallic flask of wine there and the hard biscuits next to it. Got one out and tossed it on the legionnaire, the hardtack hitting Indus¡¯ laminated cuirass and dropping afore his feet. The ringing heard by the men nearest to them, although most of the Century had started hovering around its Centurion after the latter returned from the meeting with the Tribune, right after the ¡®Old Oak¡¯ had rotated them out. ¡°There¡¯s meat also Centurion,¡± Indus protested, a perennially hungry man that stood thin as a rail, stooping to take the biscuit and slot it under his helmet. Merenda made a face and pretended he was reaching again inside his satchel, this time for a piece of meat, the nearest of the legionnaires laughing out loud familiar with his humor. ¡°Trust me good legionnaire,¡± Merenda assured him and raised his arms to calm down the tired men watching their exchange. ¡°This spot, right now, is the best we¡¯ll get all day, unless we get lucky,¡± he finished with a smile over the sound of near and distant fighting, the air heavy with the smell of death making their chuckles sound hollow and nervous. Which was expected, Merenda thought and caught a messenger approaching on the double quick. He pressed his mouth in a thin line, trying to hide his own nervousness and keep his cool for the good of the men. Also because you want to appear good when you can. If it¡¯s not possible, then just stay alive. Or die fast. ¡°Centurion Merenda!¡± the communication¡¯s soldier yelled thudding his fist on his chest. ¡°Urgent orders from the Tribune sir!¡± ¡°In writing?¡± Merenda jested and the man blinked unsure. ¡°Go on,¡± he counselled the young soldier. ¡°This must be important. I talked with the Tribune not ten minutes ago and I can see the backs of the Fourth Century of the Fourth Cohort¡­ still fondling their balls waiting their turn to start butchering our fellow cousins turned enemies.¡± The men of the Second Century of the First Cohort roared in laughter some of the tension released. Hit me lad, but be gentle, Merenda thought looking at the bewildered messenger and he did. ¡°The Tribune says the south flank has cracked,¡± the young man said. ¡°The Praetor has been informed.¡± Right between the eyes you rascal you. ¡°Domus!¡± Merenda barked tipping his head back, the power of his voice cutting the men¡¯s laughter short. ¡°GET THEM READY TO MARCH!¡± He paused and glanced at the stunned messenger. ¡°You want something else?¡± Merenda queried civilly. ¡°I assume the orders are to go help Ennius.¡± ¡°The Centurion is dead sir,¡± the man croaked and nodded. ¡°You are correct though.¡± ¡°Domus!¡± ¡°HEARD YE THE FIRST TIME!¡± The Decanus protested. ¡°ON THE DOUBLE QUICK!¡± Merenda thundered out his counter and tapped the messenger¡¯s shoulder in a friendly manner. ¡°You want to come along lad?¡± ¡°I have to go back sir,¡± the soldier retorted anxiously and Merenda nodded. His tone and reply crisp. ¡°I would too, if I could.¡±
Twenty minutes of fast marching later the Century rolled near the extended south flank, the terrain here not permitting a continuous line. The rougher stone covered ground, getting even worse half a kilometer ahead of them where the opening of the Goat Plains started. Grass and thorny bushes peppering the dark soil, wild spruces painting some of its edges a fierce green. ¡°Battle line ahead!¡± Afer warned them marching at the front of the 2nd Maniple. ¡°That¡¯s a small Cohort,¡± Merenda commended and fixed the helmet on his head, retying the leather cords under his chin tight. Too tight. ¡°FORM LINE!¡± Polus barked. ¡°Javelins!¡± ¡°Belay that!¡± Merenda ordered, seeing the backs of the Century not twenty meters away through the thick dust clouds. ¡°AFER GET TO THEIR LEFT! POLUS GET TO THE OTHER!¡± ¡°A runner,¡± Domus informed him as Merenda had veered towards Polus to direct him to the right of the embattled line. ¡°The First Cohort?¡± The approaching legionnaire asked breathing heavy and looking at them with tired eyes. ¡°Only the Second Century,¡± Domus retorted. ¡°Who¡¯s fighting here?¡± ¡°Centurion Josi Vala¡¯s 2nd Century of the II Cohort,¡± the legionnaire replied. ¡°It¡¯s a blocking force we¡¯re facing.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s the rest of the Cohort?¡± Merenda asked returning with a fast trot. The soldier shook his head. ¡°The cavalry cut through us, right at the seams between the 2nd and 3rd Centuries. We lost them in the chaos sir.¡± ¡°How much cavalry?¡± Merenda grunted. ¡°A fucking lot sir.¡± ¡°Centurion?¡± Domus asked, the men of the First Maniple on his back waiting for his orders. ¡°STAY ON THE ALERT!¡± Merenda barked hoarsely to be heard over the ruckus of battle. ¡°2nd and 3rd Maniples flank them and loose javelins, then charge with blades at their sides!¡± ¡°FLANKING RIGHT! ONE! TWO! TURNING RIGHT!¡± Afer started yelling to his men, Polus doing the same for his and Merenda turned to the waiting legionnaire. ¡°Tell Josi to pull the last row of troops and rotate them out, we¡¯re going in.¡±
Marcus Antonius Merenda''s 2nd Century¡¯s arrival in the south flank found the Second Cohort split in two. A portion of it built around Centurion Josi Vala¡¯s 2nd Century was pushed back and towards the army¡¯s center, but managed to regroup. They attacked Captain Braccio¡¯s advancing force and stalled it in a bitter struggle for every meter of ground. The other, larger portion of the hard-pressed Second Cohort almost lost cohesion after the devastating surprising charge of Sir Phoca¡¯s medium lancer cavalry. Wearing half-plate that covered their chest and half their arms, they carried a small triangular metal shield and a very long steel-tipped lance, each man having four more secured on either side of his elongated saddle pointing upwards like ship¡¯s masts, along a typical sabre. Not as heavily armored as a proper Knight ¨Cthough there were several knights¡¯ present in their ranks following the chargers- or even a man-at-arms, this specially trained Lesia unit was faster than heavier cavalry, maneuverable and packed a very serious punch close to that of the Cataphracts of Eplas, but sacrificing heavily in defense and had no bows. An older times unit, as the rest of Jelin had begun training heavier Cavalry units from non-nobles, Lesia¡¯s distance and terrain -at least in large parts of its core territory- favored them. It also had a much larger pool of men to draw from and the Throne paid to maintain and equip them, mainly Dokamna who was the city that trained them in big numbers for cavalry units. Be that as it may, Centurion Ennius¡¯ 1st Century and part of the 3rd were on the receiving end of a brutal one-two flank attack. The first hit the legionnaires in a slanted manner coming from behind them or southeast. Men were ripped away from the edges like skin peeling off an orange and the inner rear rows lost cohesion trying to pivot towards the new threat. Ennius who had seen the last part of the charge run to the left of his formation to form a square but was caught from the second cavalry charge and killed outright, although no one close to him survived to report what happened. Decanus Avitus of the 3rd Maniple of the 1st Century that had received both the attacks was killed as well and the Maniple lost forty out of fifty men either killed or maimed. The rest of the Centuries retreated under Braccio¡¯s push. For thirty minutes they fought a delaying action while Centurion Spurius Dio of the 4th Century and Centurion Ardi Damian of the Nord-heavy 3rd Century tried to galvanize the rattled men and stop the fighting retreat. That they didn¡¯t break during the chaos is commendable, as Sir Phoca¡¯s Cavalry focused on them and attacked at least three more times, before he paused and returned to the rear to change horses and furnish fresh lances, probably Lesia¡¯s Cavalry most flawless performance of the day. It is wholly credited to Sir Phoca, who had to rest, or switch mounts and is not responsible of what happened in the meantime. In the meantime Merenda¡¯s hardened 2nd Century of the lauded First Cohort arrived near the pressed Centurion Vala. The latter had to deal with a smaller portion of Braccio¡¯s force as despite the livid commander¡¯s orders his still relatively inexperienced in large battles troops lost sight of the objective and went after the bigger fragment of the Second Cohort and its retreating towards the Goat Plains legionnaires. They did that instead of striking at Vala¡¯s much smaller force and then piercing Lucius center almost from the rear. The part that listened to Braccio¡¯s orders still managed to push the heroic Vala¡¯s men back slowly, but Merenda¡¯s arrival changed the dynamics of the battle. The brass Centurion created two prongs with his Maniples to engulf the enemy¡¯s flanks, rotated out Vala¡¯s tired troops and countered pushed the tiring Lesia Regulars from three directions. The prongs closed slowly around the soldiers, who had the numbers still but not the spirit or the legs. The regulars fought admirably despite losing three men for every legionnaire they injured or killed and for twenty minutes ¨Cmaybe a little more than that- the outcome was uncertain. Then an officer went down, the lines quivered, morale dipped and the regulars cracked. Braccio who was reporting to Baron Feld¡¯s aides and was getting orders to leave the remnants of the Second Cohort to Sir Phoca and attack with everything he had against Lucius still advancing center, realized something was afoot when Lesia soldiers started running back from the front. It must be noted here that due to terrain the front wasn¡¯t coherent but for the center and it turned difficult to even find in the flanks, with Lucius North flank¡¯s struggle turning into a cavalry duel in small ravines and gullies that while it helped a force come near its enemy, it was unsuitable for any decent cavalry warfare and outright murderous for horses.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Braccio realized that his 2nd officer Virone Nappo had lost the engagement and rode to his own south flank to speak to a man named Alvaro Fino ¨Ca former mercenary who was serving as his 3rd in command. Fino was trying to regroup the larger force of regulars pushing Centurion Dio¡¯s men. Upon arriving there, covered in thick disturbed dust clouds and in a dry, bushy terrain Braccio was informed by Fino that they couldn¡¯t disengage as on top of legionnaires so far to the south of the battlefield they were fighting light troops, Slingers, Nord axe fighters and a giant. A bewildered Braccio being as he was hard pressed for time and without knowing what was coming from the freed up center of Lucius army, he ordered Fino to find the men ¡®any men allgods darn it, give me a force to stall whatever they send our way!¡¯ and rode back to his rear to try and galvanize the broken retreating regulars. A hapless task and with time slowly passing and uncertainty flooding him, Braccio urged a reluctant Sir Phoca¡¯s regrouping Cavalry to attack again.
Part IIc -Medius again- - Forty minutes later 2nd Centuries of both First and Second Cohort regrouping area Border of the Goat Plains Deep in the south side of the battlefield Merenda used a cloth to dry up his sweaty face and had a sip of water that tasted like mud that had spent time near dry turds for too long. ¡°Vala wants to pursue,¡± Domus reported and Merenda smacked his lips, trying to get his mouth working again. ¡°The Praetor wants him to shadow the center¡¯s left flank,¡± he finally said hoarsely. ¡°When did the Praetor¡­?¡± Domus argued and Merenda grimaced. ¡°Go Domus. Tell him what I just said. Tell Afer he has five minutes to catch a breather and then we are marching again after the rest of the Cohort.¡± ¡°We have secured the¡ª¡± Merenda stopped him with a tired gesture. ¡°My good friend, we haven¡¯t secured shit,¡± he explained too pressed for time to put it more eloquently. ¡°Those hunting the Cohort will come right for us if they finish them off, plus there¡¯s an elusive Cavalry roaming the field and so much dust everywhere, they could be coming for us right now.¡± Domus scowled, but nodded. ¡°Marcus,¡± he started as Domus knew him since they were kids. Two bastards of prominent men growing up together. ¡°Antonius,¡± Merenda corrected him. ¡°The full name is all I got Domus and I ain¡¯t about to lose it too.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll speak to Vala.¡± ¡°Convince him and hurry up,¡± Merenda said with a tired smile and had another small sip of water. ¡°We¡¯re leaving whether you¡¯re here or not.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll see not to miss the fun,¡± Domus had replied the fool that he was. Fifth hour of the battle A snarling Merenda planted the Scutum on the ground and peeked from its right side briefly as Murena locked his own large shield next to his. Merenda felt a heavy forearm on his back and grunted to the unseen legionnaire. ¡°Keep that hand above waist,¡± he said without turning back and the man replied with an affronted scoff. ¡°Ain¡¯t touching your sweaty arse Centurion!¡± Merenda chuckled nervously along with the closest of the men, Murena hissing through his teeth, as the sound of hooves approaching returned. ¡°Lurco isn¡¯t moving much.¡± ¡°The fact he¡¯s moving at all,¡± Merenda retorted and heard Afer booming for the men to prepare to receive a charge. ¡°Is nothing short of a miracle.¡± Give me another one, he prayed to no god in particular. Which was for the better. Keep them confused and unsure, to avoid them coming back with the bill. The ground started shaking again under his boots, Polus joining in the good fun. ¡°LANCERS! INCOMING!¡± ¡°Eah!¡± Merenda gasped, his teeth rattling and ears ringing, his jaw cracking when he opened his mouth to yell at the top of his lungs. ¡°READY JAVELINS!¡± Hoping the man behind him would keep his arm on his back, as the order was always given to the third row. Merenda closed his mouth and attempted to take a deep breath, but was shoved violently two meters back, the joints on his left elbow and shoulder almost tearing away. His hobnailed boots plowing at the hard, dead weeds covered soil and a foot of lance punching through the upper top of his shield. The steel tip missing the Centurion¡¯s helmed head that had just clanged on the inner part of the Scutum for a short arsehair. A dazed Merenda groaned maniacally and twisted the shield left, the lance still stabbed through it. A horse¡¯s head appeared, covered in mail Saffron with openings at the eyes and the frothing toothy mouth. The horse reared panicked, a leg raising to kick him in the face and a legionnaire stabbed the rider¡¯s thigh with a sword, seesawing the blade in and out a couple of times for maximum effect per the manual. Merenda jerked his head away on instinct, the hoof missing him. Blood sprayed out of the rider¡¯s wound in front of him and the horse turned away neighing. An absolute chaos erupting all around them as the riders tried to disengage and the legionnaires didn¡¯t let them. No, gods darnit! ¡°BACK ONE STEP!¡± Merenda barked opening the horse¡¯s neck with his blade to unblock his path. The horse neighed and went down shuddering, Murena taking a quick step forward to kick the toppled injured rider on the head. The conned helm caved in where the metal-reinforced front of the boot connected with it, but Merenda could barely hear anything. Not even himself. The shock of the impact had rattled him, everything inside had moved out of position and was very slowly returning to function, with his hearing suffering the most. In the meantime the legionnaires retreated one step away from the riders who turned around to gallop away, in a ringing surrealistic scene that unfolded in less than five seconds. One and the legionnaire behind him grabbed Merenda¡¯s shoulder and forced him down, Murena screaming in his ear something incomprehensible, until he turned his stare on the now opened ground to his front, other than the dead horse and mauled rider half hiding him. He saw another wave of riders galloping their way in an ever rising cloud of thick dust. Two and he nodded eagerly with his head stooped on a knee, his ears ringing and his left arm numb and hurting. More hurting than numb. Three and the distant riders were less than ten meters away, only their horses armored heads and the steel tips of their long lances showing outside the thick hazy soup. Merenda reached for the dropped shield, his fingers unresponsive and the Centurion¡¯s ears popped as his hearing returned. VWOOP! Went the eighty javelins the 2nd hurled towards the incoming Cavalry and Indus who was standing behind him all this time grabbed the Scutum and raised it to cover the struggling with his grip Centurion. Every shield raised next to them. The second impact much more weakened than the first. Merenda didn¡¯t feel the rattle, but a legionnaire got impaled in the left eye under the lip of the helm three bodies to his right, when the lance punched through the top of his shield and died instantly. Merenda lowered the Scutum, saw the disheveled broken state of Lesia¡¯s Cavalry, as several riders and horses dropping afore their friends¡¯ hooves had blunted the final approach and snapped out of his trance. The dead riders suffering from multiple javelin wounds, some of them horrific and others plunging head first to their deaths when their horses collapsed under them. ¡°AT THEM!¡± Merenda bellowed raising his sword high and the legionnaires roared in response and jumped out of their lines to reach the desperately trying to disengage Cavalry. Ten minutes later ¡°MEDIC!¡± Murena yelled at the white-robed figures running from one legionnaire to the next to check on their wounds or declare them beyond salvation. Or dead. Bloody travesty. Their diagnosis not always accurate. Merenda turned his head the other way and observed the Lesia regulars that had pivoted and were now regrouping. They had to retreat to do it, losing a hundred meters of valuable flat terrain at the edge of the Goat Plains and the tall Northman Ardi Damian the Centurion of the 3rd Century of the Second Cohort waltzed across the opening left to greet the men of the 2nd Century of the First Cohort. ¡°Merenda ye son of a goat! When did you turn so beautiful?¡± Damian howled, red beard protruding under his helm like a fox¡¯s tail. ¡°Seriously, what are ye doing here?¡± ¡°Heard you ugly mugs got lost,¡± Merenda replied standing up straighter on tired legs to not look like a midget in front of the taller Northerner. ¡°So I came to save you!¡± ¡°Haha!¡± Damian chuckled and slapped his hands on Merenda¡¯s shoulders rattling him. ¡°No seriously¡­ where¡¯s Josi?¡± Merenda pointed back the other way with a bloody thumb. ¡°Left him to guard the Praetor¡¯s flank. Any more Cavalry around?¡± ¡°Lots more,¡± Damian replied and spat down. ¡°Brought any water?¡± ¡°Not much. Dio still breathing?¡± Damian nodded. ¡°He¡¯ll bring the Centuries here. You heard about Ennius?¡± ¡°I heard. How many do you have there?¡± ¡°Three centuries, well the 1st is badly mauled but still over a hundred men.¡± ¡°Will they fight?¡± Merenda asked and watched the medics trying to revive Domus but giving up. His face darkened. ¡°You have the Praetor¡¯s orders?¡± The Tribune¡¯s. ¡°Sure,¡± Merenda replied and turned to stare at the Lesia squares dressing up, then at the open but bad terrain of the Goat¡¯s Plains further south. ¡°What do we do?¡± Centurion Damian asked. ¡°Same plan as before,¡± Merenda said and tried to loosen the leather bindings under his chin, as they had cut into his skin. ¡°We win afore the sun comes down.¡± ¡°When did they issue¡ª?¡± Damian narrowed his sky-blue eyes, but Merenda stopped him dead with a slap on his chest armour. ¡°What¡¯s the dictum my good Centurion?¡± He asked with a broad smile and Damian stood back bemused. ¡°When in doubt¡­¡± Merenda helped and Vegetius with Lucan who had approached to listen in the officers¡¯ talk murmured with one unhappy voice, familiar as they were with their Centurion¡¯s shenanigans. ¡°Always attack!¡± ¡°Ha-ha,¡± Merenda guffawed and Damian smacked his lips afore nodding once. He then trotted back to his own approaching Century. Merenda turned to the two legionnaires leering behind him and glared at them. ¡°Fucking travesty Centurion?¡± Lucan the shorter of the two stocky build legionnaires asked sensing his inner worry. ¡°I need a Decanus,¡± he croaked. ¡°Murena is a good choice,¡± Lucan suggested. For you two rascals perhaps. ¡°Tell Indus he just got promoted!¡± Merenda barked abruptly. Lucan grimaced and glared at him, Vegetius commenting more diplomatically. ¡°Indus is an egotistic hungry bastard, a right cunt sir. Nobody likes him.¡± Merenda pursed his mouth, his lower lip cracked and bleeding. ¡°Good,¡± he said simply and turned around to check on Domus¡¯ condition. It was auspicious that he did.
Merenda¡¯s marching in testudo Century got attacked by scouting Cavalry to prevent him from joining with the cut off Centuries, but he survived it with several casualties. The reformed Second Cohort, First Cohort¡¯s 2nd Century taking the place of Vala¡¯s 2nd in a bizarre coincidence, now regrouped to defend against Alvaro Fino¡¯s and Braccio''s regulars. Braccio had broken away from the other Centuries fearing an attack on his left (North facing) side, retreated and then reformed in two solid squares to attack again. Sir Phoca¡¯s Lancers, who had just had a whole squad acting as scouts wiped out, as their tired horses couldn¡¯t disengage fast enough, regrouped as well and prepared another assault on Merenda¡¯s men. The two Lesia officers had agreed in a brief meeting while the men rested, to loop around the legionnaires again after they had committed and locked with the attacking regulars and strike their southernmost flanks. The plan got interrupted when the four Centuries ¨Cthe 1st was only at half strength and Merenda had placed them as reserve behind the other three- started marching energetically to close the distance with the Lesia regulars. The time was almost noon, but the sun disappeared behind a flock of clouds for a moment and when it came out again Braccio realized Merenda was actually attacking instead of staying back to secure the army¡¯s flank. ¡®Well then Sebastian,¡¯ the experienced former mercenary commented to his worrying aide. ¡®The man has a solid pair hanging, I give him that.¡¯ The engagement turned brutal, but again the regulars didn¡¯t perform as well when locked with the legionnaires. Sir Phoca who saw the danger ¨Cthe 2nd Century placed at the southernmost edge of the line was angling inwards as it overlapped the Lesia right flank intending to hit them from the side- ordered his three hundred strong Cavalry force to charge. The Lancers crossed into the Goat Plains again, riding on difficult terrain which forced them to a canter instead of a gallop, and looped around the extended Merenda¡¯s left flank in order to reach his rear. What had been an almost perfect maneuver five hours earlier turned into an ordeal and a half this time. The horses found the terrain more difficult the further inside they went (Merenda¡¯s Century marched beyond the border of the rock infested Goat Plains) and got ambushed repeatedly by Sorex¡¯s Slingers who pelted them with lead bullets from all sides. Helmets exploded, eyes were gouged out both from humans and horses, knees shattered and bones splintered. The harrowing approach through the thorny bushes covered plains ending when the first riders found better ground and charged through a thick dust cloud towards the lines of the red-clothed legionnaires. Merenda, who had kept his eyes on the sinister extending plains at his flank, ordered the men of his Century ¨Cstill not engaged with the regulars- to rotate with the 1st Century and turn about to defend a charge. Shields were planted on the ground, javelins slotted next to them protruding outwards and the onrushing Lancers veered to the sides, a part of them looping west to hit the legionnaires at the seams and the bigger group cutting hard east to make an ever bigger circle. Which brought them on the path of the returning on foot Logan ¡®Gray¡¯ Barret¡¯s fighters and that hulking huge Nord called Layton. Standing well over seven feet tall and closer to eight, the rumored to be a giant¡¯s spawn warrior instilled heavy fear into the charging horses. The tale of Sir Phoca¡¯s second major action of the day a bloody one.
Part IId -Medius end- - Battle for Oras Navel Seventh hour Mid noon Goat Plains Southernmost part of the battlefield Merenda¡¯s command, 2nd Century (ICH-2CN) ¡°INDUS!¡± Merenda roared hoarsely, pieces of bitter dry grass in his teeth, half his armour covered in dirt from the tumble. He got up seriously pissed off, saw a Lancer galloping his way through the thick dust cloud, visibility coming and going depending on the gushes of the Plains wayward wind and stooped to pick up his sword. When he stood up again the rider was a meter away, the horse a dark blurry thing and the ground danced under his boots something fierce. ¡°Ueah!¡± Merenda growled ineligibly absent the time to form a proper word of panic and jerked away from the oncoming long lance. The steel tip ripping his shoulder guard clean off, part of the plate twisting and tearing. He was twirled around and to the side, his wildly swinging blade thudding on a mail-covered thigh and carving a deep red gush on the horse¡¯s belly. The flesh burst unable to hold the animal''s entrails inside, the horse dying stepping on them and Merenda stumbled in bewilderment for a couple of meters trying to find his footing. The Lesia rider doing the same behind him using his head and shoulder much less gracefully. The Centurion gasped ruggedly in desperate need of oxygen, but got a mouth of dirty air instead that did him little good. He coughed a piece of lung out, eyes blurring and spotted a group of legionnaires engaged in close combat with the immobilized lancers, sabers out and hacking at helmets, whilst trying to defend against stabbing attacks on their legs and waists. Blood covering the dry ground and turning it into a dark sludge. Dead and wounded sprinkled about, half inside thorny bushes, a foot here, an arm there. Arms and shields discarded and many butchered horses neighing miserably in their death throes. Merenda hacked a foot off above the angle, the bloody piece still inside its boot dropping between the horse¡¯s hind legs and his owner squeaking like a pig above the Centurion¡¯s head. Merenda grunted and cursed in the same breath again nothing worth of note and parried a saber slash away, slashed upwards on the return, his arm tiring and his legs shaking. The Lancer died fouling himself, the stench horrible and Merenda jumped over him and landed heavy on hurting knees. He fixed his helm that had dropped over his stinging bloodshot eyes and sort of saw three knights riding confidently towards their group to break their friends out. In the chaos of the struggle, there was heavy fighting to the west, more of the same to the east and south, it was a miracle the knights had found their way there. Who knows what¡¯s happening in the center? Merenda wondered. He jerked his blade to clear some of the gore off and stepped away from the dead rider, his eyes on the heavily armoured knights. The one with the fancier armor, the twin hammers of Dokamna engraved on his gleaming plate chest piece, reached back to his saddle and found a heavy lance. He lowered it and then kicked with his spurs to get his large warhorse going. The knight charged directly for him, the other two following their leader¡¯s example. ¡°Fucking travesty,¡± Merenda commented and grimaced in disgust seeing the lethal trio coming at him. The tired Centurion set his eyes on the leader, his grip on the blade slippery and his arm shaking a bit, intending to get a good swing at him afore he got skewered like a chicken over the burning coals. His mind numb and unwilling to run away. Merenda had decided that this was going to be the end of him. To be honest, he wasn¡¯t exactly thrilled, nor satisfied with what he had accomplished in his short life. Merenda also found himself missing the many pleasures lying ahead of him, which was a rather shallow thing to ponder on given his situation, but Marcus Antonius had never lied to himself nor did anything with moderation. The Dokamna Knight centered his lance aiming for his chest and approached like a wild bear charging out of the woods. One moment he was but two meters away from the standing still scowling Centurion and the other the Knight along with his horse were thrusted brutally to the left and onto the charging third Knight. The first of their group, or the knight charging at Antonius from the right side of their small formation, being the reason their leader had been shoved so violently off course. The knight had somehow found himself flying briefly sideways afore connecting with his leader and his warhorse. The impact so brutal, the force that had propelled the hapless knight so monstrous that a befuddled Merenda actually heard bones breaking and plate twisting over the pandemonium of the heavy brawl all about them. ¡°Tyeus blunted spear!¡± He cursed seeing the third knight trying to avoid men and horse but failing and trampling all over them, a heavy iron-encased hoof pulverizing the leader¡¯s helmet and cranium. The knight¡¯s head literally flattened on the ground unable to take the full weight of the landing warhorse. The shocked knight tried to stay on the saddle, his boot slipping from the stirrups and finally managed it. With an angry curse he went for his longsword and Merenda, who had no idea what had just happened, moved to attack him. Managing only a couple of quick strides afore a man passed by him walking casually and without hurrying at all. The reason he managed to move faster than the giving it his all on tired legs Merenda being the man was a giant. Each slow step he took covered almost three of the Centurion¡¯s. The muscled behemoth, wild and long red hair reaching his back and a head the size of a small cauldron raised a huge double-headed battleaxe he carried over his shoulder -ever slowly- afore downing it on the desperately jerking away and yelping freaked out Lesia knight. Splitting him in two unequal parts in one fell swoop. Ugh. ¡°Damn,¡± Layton resounded in his booming voice and turned to look apologetically at the frozen Centurion. ¡°Ye wanted his armor little guy? It¡¯s worthless now. Better check on the kid without a head. His is in much better condition.¡± The last words Layton he accompanied with a broad toothy smile.
Sir Phoca, a rather heroic Lesia knight if one reads the tales going on about him today, was apparently killed dueling the giant Nord Layton in an epic struggle. Other less complimentary reports from men present in the field during the battle describe his untimely demise in different colors. The biggest difference in the fanciful tales mostly around how long this supposed duel lasted. Sir Phoca¡¯s defeat in that fateful botched charge, while not damning on the Knight¡¯s honor since he had performed his duty admirably that day, spelled doom nonetheless for the men under Captain Braccio. The Lesia regulars, already exhausted from the prolonged fight started retreating under the relentless advance of the much more resilient and battle hardened legionnaires. Their lines compressed even more with each passing moment until they were unable to maneuver at all and started dying in great numbers. Braccio seeing the catastrophe facing him squarely in the face ordered a controlled retreat. Instead of that the regulars broke in panic and run away dropping their weapons. Some units kept their cohesion by they were quickly overwhelmed and succumbed to Merenda¡¯s men¡¯s unforgiving blades. Half an hour after Sir Phoca¡¯s death, Feld¡¯s south flank disintegrated. Trupo who was watching through a spyglass from above the plateau sent word to Tribune Veturius at the center of their extended lines. Veturius informed Lucius about the unfolding events, but the Praetor had veered off to the north of the battlefield and was engaged in the Cavalry action happening in the ravines. So the missive reached him an hour later, or perhaps two, as there is a dispute in the official record -justified since a message delivered at a certain moment from an aide, isn¡¯t necessarily read by the Praetor the next, especially if he¡¯s in the field and difficult to reach. Whatever the case may be, Veturius ordered Merenda to halt and wait for the center who had grinded away at Feld¡¯s forces there to catch up with him. The Tribune was right in his call as the Third Legion¡¯s initial straight battleline had now turned rather slanted, the center and the south flank had moved forward and the north had remained relatively as it was in the morning. Merenda didn¡¯t get the missive, or pretended that he didn¡¯t, again the record is vague and makes it difficult to condemn or exonerate an officer in such a difficult to navigate battle and field. Anyways the Centurion marched after the running Lesia regulars aiming for Feld¡¯s camp. The Baron seeing the south flank turning, ordered the slowly arriving from the New Legion Road Sir Jan Napoli from Sava to stop the Second Cohort. Napoli marched his men towards the south part of the battlefield, but almost missed Merenda that had moved further northwest aiming for Feld¡¯s camp. Napoli turned his force around and attacked the marching legionnaires from the flank, but he botched the approach and the lush much greener terrain near the forest and the southwest slopes didn¡¯t provide him with any dust cover. Merenda realizing there were Lesia troops at the near paused, then marched back veering towards them and the two forces met near Feld¡¯s camp eleven hours into the fight. While Merenda had the more tired force, also casualty ridden, he had two things Napoli sorely lacked at that point in the fight. Experience that came from already bloodied troops and the small but potent heavy Cavalry led by Nasica. The latter had moved nearer the Second Cohort seeing that Merenda had marched ahead to cover their rear. Napoli¡¯s initial mistake of not spotting the marching legionnaires was devastating. By turning his force inside towards the camp to face Merenda he missed Nasica¡¯s fifty men-at-arms approaching. Nasica had no qualms about orders, being as he was temporarily attached to the Legion at that point and without hesitation he ordered his fresh riders to attack Napoli¡¯s exposed east flank. The charge wasn¡¯t as effective as Sir Phoca¡¯s earlier that day, but Nasica¡¯s men were pretty good at close range and could even fight off the saddle. Napoli found himself attacked from two sides and decided this was a lost cause. Two or three hours after he had arrived in the field, the knight from Sava ordered his men to start retreating towards the New Legion Road. Nasica pulled his own men back to avoid costly losses and Merenda who had initially wanted to go after the energetically backing away Lesia soldiers, realized after a mini mutiny that the Cohort had had enough and decided to begrudgingly allow them to rest. He did it in style marching inside Feld¡¯s camp and taking it over. It is said Tribune Veturius almost had an apoplexy when he heard the news, but the events in the center kept him focused there and he left the matter of the brass Centurion aside for later. While the respected Tribune was adamant on matters of discipline and Lucius himself very strict according to all biographers, Merenda never faced scrutiny for his actions that day. Or ever for that matter. On the contrary, Lucius elevated the Centurion not only in rank later, but as he famously noted ¡®in his very heart.¡¯ ¡®Some men you respect, others you tolerate. But sometimes you meet someone that despite all his flaws and many sins serves you better than anyone else instinctively.¡¯ While the Praetor was perhaps exaggerating in his euphoric bliss ¨Cthe words were spoken after a feast- nevertheless Marcus Antonius Merenda was awarded the Corona Vallaris after the battle in prestigious gold. The resembling a Castrum crown was a rare and esteemed military honor, over the golden Phalera and was awarded to the first man that entered the enemy¡¯s camp in a battle. The biggest honor of his life though according to a drunken Merenda himself was that ¡®the Praetor had considered me a friend. This alone my good colleagues, cultured brethren and lovely ladies, would have been a rewarding enough terminus for a casted aside bastard¡¯s life, if it ended right here, right now.¡¯
And it didn¡¯t.
363. Twenty Hours (3/3)
¡®Beyond the rough rocks, basalt boulders, winter¡¯s snow and the ever-spring¡¯s muddy routes. The forbidding alien icy mountains and the sinister white-barked forests, hear me out men of the Third. Here lies a road we know where it leads, for we recognize the soil and the grass, the color of the leaves and the fruits hanging from the trees. For it¡¯s a taste of home, sweet and unambiguously familiar, alike our cherished mother¡¯s voice. That¡¯s how one knows, he¡¯s on the correct path.¡¯ Lucius Alden, From Tribune Varus Trupo¡¯s autobiography, Circa 193 NC
Praetor Lucius Alden Twenty Hours Part III -A taste of home-
Battle for Oras Navel Twelfth hour Afternoon of ninth day of first month of Spring 193 NC Edge of the labyrinth Rises Army¡¯s Northern Flank Lucius entourage A concerned Lucius set his eyes on the top of the barren knoll to his right and the black smoke rising over it. It stirred and snaked its way up caressed by the soft breeze that whistled through the passages. Salvian one of the three aides near him along with Gripa approached with the spyglass, but Lucius stopped him hearing horses approach. He turned Nightsilver around, the dark grey with patches of white warhorse snorting irritated and its iron hooves clopping on the gravel raising dust. A horrifically scarred Legion Scout jumped out of the deep gully, tripped and made to drop on his head, but kept on running awkwardly stooped forward using arms, legs and even knees, managing to avoid it. The scout had released a yelp finding the opening, the sound of galloping increasing behind him and waved his arms wild at Lucius, who reached calmly for his spear and pulled it out of its saddle sheath. ¡°Dosser,¡± Gripa informed him as they all watched the dirt-covered scout closing the distance, the sound of horses covering his yells. Lucius nodded, his eyes on the narrow chasm between the tall rocks and sure enough a rider appeared leading his horse the final meters out of it. The Lancer paused disoriented coming from the darker ravine to the better illuminated opening, spotted the scout twenty meters away and lowered his lance. Lucius had angled Nightsilver in the meantime, changed his grip on the warspear raising his arm over his shoulder and then heaved it towards the rider just as he was starting his charge. The committed Lancer finally caught sight of the riders standing forty meters ahead of him, half so from the running away scout. He clenched his jaw nervously, left hand twitching to change course, but the spear thudded on his chest whipping past his horse¡¯s head and stopped him. The Lancer was thrown off the saddle, the horse continuing for some meters afore stopping and behind him at the ravine two more appeared following after their leader. ¡°Want another spear milord?¡± Gripa asked just to gauge his plan, but Lucius who couldn¡¯t hear more horses approaching glanced at Salvian the former Black Skull, the aide wearing a lighter fancier version of the Cavalry armor nodding with his helmed head. ¡°Nero, Lanus,¡± he barked to the other two Cavalry men. Lorian men, but for Nero who had Issir blood in him and a darker skin. ¡°Let¡¯s give them a good charge afore they turn away!¡±
The three aides cornered the Lancers and finished them off one after the other, as they had turned to run away towards the ravine again. Lucius grimaced and then turned to the approaching, breathing heavy disheveled scout with the terrible face injury. ¡°Dosser,¡± he told him kindly. Lucius knew him from the Battle of the Groin. ¡°Where¡¯s your horse?¡± ¡°Broke its leg in a dip,¡± Dosser explained and untangled his bowstring from his neck. ¡°Kaeso saw a group circling about towards the rear. He sent me to see where they were heading.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s the Decurion?¡± ¡°The Prefect and him are battling over the two stones sir,¡± Dosser explained. Prefect Draco had pulled Centurion Lepidus¡¯ 2nd Century from the line to block Sir Manuel¡¯s riders. Lucius had agreed with his suggestion. ¡°It¡¯s a waste of men and horses. There¡¯s no way to surprise us anymore.¡± ¡°Yet they slipped through,¡± Lucius grunted and stared at Gripa. ¡°Find a runner to inform Long. Dosser get on a horse and ride to Kaeso. I need his men after them.¡± ¡°He¡¯s pursuing already sir with Placus and Goff. I came here to warn you,¡± Dosser replied. ¡°They are pretty nasty fuckers if they catch you in the open.¡± ¡°They are not that good,¡± Lucius retorted in frustration. ¡°We just haven¡¯t dealt with serious cavalry afore.¡± It¡¯s one thing to practice in the training grounds, another to face it in the field.
Sir Manuel Frye after failing to penetrate Lucius¡¯ right flank (north side) in the first action of that morning, stubbornly attempted it a couple of more times with diminishing results afore retreating to recuperate for an hour. For the loss of about fifty riders he¡¯d put seventy of Long¡¯s men out of action permanently and chased Kaeso¡¯s scouts off the field to the Two Stones, one of the entrances to the rocky maze hugging that side of Oras Navel. The last action (of his first and most successful attack, though nowhere near as crucial as Sir Phoca¡¯s some kilometers away) lost him the most men as Kaeso¡¯s retreat towards the ravines pulled his Lancers in pursuit and they got ambushed by the lighter and longer range troops Lucius had stationed at the rear. While they continued to hold the advantage pushing Lucius flank back with each charge, they gained nothing as the scouts and Long¡¯s Cavalry shadowed them inflicting damages from range. While he rested his riders thinking on a different strategy, as he couldn¡¯t attack the flanks of the angling inwards and advancing Third Cohort in fear that Long would strike his rear after he had committed, the enthusiastic knight thought of using the maze. Find a way through the gullies to loop around the legionnaires and strike at their rear. Baron Feld who wanted him there to avoid facing three Cohorts in the center, ordered him to stay the course. Feld had learned of Sir Phoca¡¯s and Braccio¡¯s successful actions and wanted to stall Lucius center enough to have him encircled. Lucius who had his eyes on the large cavalry force since the start of the battle, moved after an hour closer to Draco¡¯s command to intervene and help out. He ordered Centurion Lepidus to pull out of the line with his Century (2nd of the Third Cohort) leaving Centurion Flax under Veturius in the center. Seeing that the center was performing well Lucius drifted to the north with his entourage, anxious for a breakthrough there. Sir Manuel¡¯s return to action was even less successful the second time. Lepidus blocked his route towards the center and Kaeso had kept his men hidden in the Rises. Long defended another couple of attacks from him with minimal losses for both sides, but Sir Manuel was suffering attrition if he veered right, or left to disengage hunted by the approaching legionnaires and roaming scouts. With the struggle dragging, Sir Manuel had one advantage (other than superiority in cavalry, but almost no infantry support, but for two hundred men guarding Feld¡¯s center). He had a lot of fresh mounts and each time he returned at full mobility in the field, while Long¡¯s horses started breaking down one after the other. It was a slow affair Sir Manuel would have eventually won. While that was true to a degree, Braccio¡¯s disastrous attack on the south flank and eventual collapse shook Lesia¡¯s command. Feld panicked and asked Sir Manuel to turn Lucius north flank whatever the cost ¡®else we¡¯re doomed to Oras Hells¡¯ as he aptly added given their location. Sir Manuel who wanted to act brazenly since the start of the battle, ordered his second in command Sir Liam Virgo ¨Ca childhood friend- to engage Long¡¯s cavalry again, while sending a force to keep Lepidus in testudo formation and largely immobile. He gave him three hundred Lancers to do it and told him not to hold back. In the chaos that followed Sir Virgo¡¯s massive multiple charges on Lucius lines, Long suffered heavily and Lepidus almost lost a distracted (due to low visibility) Maniple. Lucius seeing the danger rode almost to the front and ordered Draco to ride with his entourage and stabilize the situation. While this was happening Sir Manuel slipped through the chaos and the dust clouds into the Rises. He was spotted by scouts and some of Long¡¯s cavalry but they didn¡¯t have rested horses to catch him. Sir Manuel had around fifty Lancers with him and almost got lost in the ravines, losing his horse and several men in the struggle, but managed to emerge behind Lucius north flank. In fact he had strayed so far, the journey brought them very near the mouth of Durio¡¯s Road where Quartermaster¡¯s Kolt¡¯s Supply Train was slowly emerging hours behind the main army. Kolt had the lighter wagons with foodstuff and water at the front, leaving the cumbersome machines, camp tools and equipment behind at the back end of the line. He also had a large force of adventurers, Asturia merchants perusing the newer routes to the capital and the usual camp civilians who had rode to the front on mules and donkeys. Amongst them the Mayor of Croton who was visiting with his family and had decided to follow the army at the insistence of his young son. A sergeant of Engineers who was checking the road ahead (Durio himself had stalled at the back of the more than three kilometers extending caravan to deal with the larger wagons breaking down on the rough mountain path) informed Kolt that there was action in front of them. The Quartermaster rode forward himself spyglass in hand, just as one of Prefect¡¯s Trupo¡¯s nervous aides arrived with news about the battle. Some old and good, some alarming. The biggest worry in the Legio¡¯s camp the fact that no one could locate the Praetor at that point. Kolt smacked the messenger once irate sending the young aide to the gravel (Kolt had a famous heavy hand) and then grabbed him by the back of his collar to lift him up. He gave him the spyglass and pointed at the cavalry action at the edge of the Rises not that far from them. ¡®There¡¯s yer Praetor,¡¯ the Quartermaster informed him. ¡®Now be useful and tell those prancing fools back there to lift their skirts and circle the bloody wagons!¡¯
Chaos at the rear. Lucius rode in front of his group towards Kaeso¡¯s engaged men. The scouts were bravely duking it out with the Lancers, throwing themselves in their way to prevent them from breaking out in open ground. This negated their long range advantage as despite the Lancers being lighter armoured, they were still better at fighting from horseback and were on less tired mounts. But not as fresh as they had been afore navigating the Rises. ¡°AFTER ME!¡± Lucius bellowed hefting his warspear and charged in the thick of it. There was no delay in switching to battle mode. Everything came back to him like a familiar well-worn outfit. The adrenalin taking care of the rest. The last few meters a sense of clarity enveloped the charging Praetor. Nightsilver galloped hard, the young warhorse¡¯s powerful legs propelling it even faster with each stride, hooves striking the gravel and Lucius¡¯ trained loose body moving with it on the saddle. One. Two. By the Gods-father¡¯s grace and Tyeus spear, he prayed calmly. Three. Nightsilver crashed on the Lesia Lancer from the sides, Lucius¡¯ spear skewering the hapless rider through the ribcage and almost breaking him in two. The Lancer went down taking Lucius spear with him and the heir turned around unsheathing Endariel. A child¡¯s laughter echoing amidst the pandemonium of close combat and the rest of his group arriving. They hit the Lancers hard taking out their targets with equal success and then they were engaged as well.
Endariel hummed a creepy lullaby. The blade snapped the Lancer¡¯s sabre and ravaged his face through the helmet. Lucius pulled at the reins hard left to turn Nightsilver, the horse responding with a kicking short jump whilst twisting. He sucked a deep breath in, his blade rising sharply and a severed arm tumbling down. The blood painting the dusty armour and the horse¡¯s head. Lucius blocked a sword stab with the flat of the blade and steel guard, his sword corkscrewing still touching his opponent¡¯s to slice off two of the man¡¯s fingers that had slipped and left exposed over the guard. The Lancer lost the grip of his blade, Lucius pressed with his knees Nightsilver¡¯s sides to urge him forward, flipping the grip on Endariel to hold it backwards -so it rested on Lucius right arm with the point towards his shoulder- and run the length of it on his opponent¡¯s exposed neck as he moved past him.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. ¡°MORE RIDERS COMING!¡± Gripa warned him and Lucius rode around in a tight circle, covered in dust trying to spot them. ¡°They are not Lesia¡¯s!¡± Salvian informed them taking a slash on the arm and cursing. He parried the next and hacked down viciously opening a gush on his yelping opponent¡¯s thigh. Lucius lunged four meters forward to shove a Lancer away from an injured scout with his horse and when the man turned to attack him, Lucius parried the blade away casually and whipped his sword out in a tiny circle to wring out his right eye through the helm¡¯s round opening and part of his nose. ¡°SIR LUCIUS!¡± A knight flanked by two others barked, face hidden under a sallet helm with only his square jaw showing. ¡°I¡¯ll fight you sir!¡± Lucius turned his horse towards the voice, an eye on the trying to break away Lancers, the other on the approaching from behind them large host of riders. He thought he spotted mules in the mix and what appeared to be an actual donkey. Kolt¡¯s Train, he thought. He sent everything he had down the slopes. ¡°I have you surrounded sir,¡± Lucius yelled back to be heard as the fighting started to subside with the approach of the very large group of riders from the east. ¡°I win, you allow our men to leave,¡± the Dokamna knight countered hoarsely. ¡°I¡¯ll ask clemency for them, if I fall.¡± ¡°How about you give me your sword? Avoid a needless funeral?¡± Lucius told him with a grimace. ¡°I¡¯ll fight the ¡®Bloody Tiger¡¯,¡± the knight argued stubbornly. ¡°For the honor of it.¡± Lucius glanced at the watching men and Kaeso who had appeared. The scout was covered in gore and grime. He also sheathed his sword and reached for his bow. ¡°You attacked Regia,¡± Lucius reminded him harshly. ¡°Even as we speak. You have no honor sir. Yours are the actions of a criminal.¡± ¡°You fear¡­!¡± the knight growled, but he stopped him with an impatient wave. ¡°Pick up a spear,¡± Lucius grunted and Gripa ¨Chis scowl showing Lucius how much he disagreed with it- tossed him a spare warspear. Lucius caught it with his left gloved hand and eyed soberly the two knights with his opponent. They both turned their horses and rode away from their leader, whilst Lucius sheathed Endariel and gripped the shaft with his good hand. ¡°I¡¯m Sir Manuel of Dokamna¡ª¡± the knight declared, Lucius cutting him off again. ¡°It makes little difference,¡± he told him and clicking his tongue Lucius sent the anxious Nightsilver into a sudden charge.
The warspear punched Sir Manuel below the heart and snapped in two, the knight¡¯s lance grazing Lucius¡¯ sides and wrapping the armor there. Lucius twisted back on the saddle properly galloping away, then tossed the broken shaft down and unsheathed his sword. Endariel¡¯s humming turning mellow. He rode next to the relatively motionless knight, Sir Manuel had dropped his lance and was trying to dislodge the spear that had ruined the front of his plate, right next to the hammers. The fingers clumsy and the broken part slippery with his blood. ¡°It¡¯s difficult to aim with the long lance,¡± Lucius told him without anger and sighed, his eyes on the worrying Lancers. Some of those that had broken away returning now near their leader. ¡°In a tourney the course is flat and straight, your opponent comes right at you.¡± ¡°The¡­ men,¡± Sir Manuel gasped his hand dropping on the saddle covered in gore and his sweaty grime covered chin touching the collar of his plate. Lucius nodded with his head, a pain at his ribs where the lance had glanced him and whispered stooping near the dying knight. ¡°Your men were safe,¡± he told him, but Sir Manuel was already gone.
Sir Virgo¡¯s charge didn¡¯t manage a breakthrough and eventually he had to pull back to rest his men. With Sir Manuel¡¯s defeat very near the supply train and Lesia¡¯s center crumbling, Feld took the news in sullen silence. He decided to retreat (the Lesia¡¯s center was losing ground for hours anyway) but Merenda sent three Centuries to block his way. He kept his back to deal with the retreating soldiers form Braccio¡¯s flank. While Braccio got himself cut off near Goat Plains and ended up fighting surrounded with Vala¡¯s advancing Century and Logan¡¯s fighters who were supported by the survivors of Sorex¡¯s Slingers, Fino led a large body of men to the woods near Lesia¡¯s camp taking advantage of Merenda¡¯s fight with Sir Napoli. It is unknown what the fate of Braccio was (it is widely accepted the officer was killed when he lost his helmet and a lead shot went through his right temple and out his left eye), but Fino managed to slip away with nightfall coming and followed after the fast retreating Napoli. Merenda captured part of the latter¡¯s supply train, which brought the material haul -given he¡¯d already taken over Feld¡¯s camp and animals- to impressive heights. Feld found himself cut off and steadily pushed towards the mountains, especially after Mangas¡¯ 3rd Century rounded up his left flank under orders from Gata, who had Veturius in his ear. The Tribune had found himself near the front lines taking Lesia¡¯s remaining command with him and leaving a desperate Trupo at the rear (who had rode down from the plateau) without anyone to report about the general situation. There was eagerness in the men¡¯s spirited fight. For some of them reaching the road to the capital seemed like a landmark of sorts, for others it was curiosity, or perhaps simply the notion of seeing the finishing line. Most of III Legio¡¯s men were already fighting in their fourth year and some (few though) in Lucius entourage like the surviving Black Skulls that had been absorbed into the Praetor¡¯s entourage or the 1st Century of the First Cohort, were months from their fifth year in service. Feld ordered Sir Virgo¡¯s remaining cavalry to break out and head to safety. The knight had a lot of riders still with him, but he had lost the ability to change horses, or rest with the loss of the camp. He decided to make a run for it towards the forest with night closing in and Feld retreated nearer to the mountains to make his last stand. While Sir Virgo never made it out of Oras Navel, the knight either died from injuries, or took his own life not wanting to report to Baron Frye the loss of his son and close friend, a lot of his cavalry escaped as well. Lucius ability to control the vast battlefield diminishing due to tired legs and exhausted horses. Nasica¡¯s patrolling force caught some of them on the retreat, but didn¡¯t bring any prisoners back. They did bring bloody trophies though. The final chapter of the battle was written early that evening, well after the night had set, when Veturius ordered the men of the First Cohort, supported by the Third to make contact with the Lesia Regulars that were recuperating in the field. In the night action the Lesia soldiers surrendered in droves and Gata who was unwilling to end the fight unsure about their true intentions in the pitch black, was reprimanded by Tribune Veturius in the field, although Lucius later that night rescinded the punishment to the Primus Pilus. Lucius was shocked to learn the full details of the dangerous earlier action to his south flank. He hadn¡¯t fully grasped how close Braccio had come to winning the whole affair and was hard on himself for having tunnel vision for most of the battle. He vowed not to let himself lose sight of the objective next time and congratulated all the officers that had kept his risky attack from turning on its head, especially Marcus Antonius Merenda. The Praetor had come to know the Centurion well, as they had travelled and stayed close in Asturia, afore traveling together again for part of the way during the Battle of the Groin. With preliminary reports still coming in and despite the euphoric climate after the battle, there was a sense of relief in the camp. The road was not open yet, but as the pleased Praetor had lyrically declared during Merenda¡¯s and the other officers¡¯ lavish tribute held two days later, ¡®it¡¯s a taste of home, sweet and unambiguously familiar alike our cherished mother¡¯s voice.¡¯ The Battle for Oras Navel lasted almost twenty hours from early dawn to late night. It dealt a crushing blow to Dokamna¡¯s Regulars with almost eight hundred men surrendering in the field and over two thousand casualties. Sir Manuel Frye second son of Osmund Frye of Dokamna, Sir Phoca, Sir Virgo, the experienced Captain Braccio who was a veteran of the ¡®Warband Rebellion¡¯ along many other officers amongst the losses. Baron Feld Frye, Lord of Frye¡¯s Hold and Keeper of the King¡¯s Stables surrender hurt Lesia¡¯s prestige, but the loss of over four hundred Lancers and two thousand horses (many of which Lucius took as spoils) was damaging to the war effort. While Osmund Frye would rebuilt the Cavalry around the survivors in a more coherent and useful force, men cannot be replaced and neither can good warhorses in their prime. Mantel used the ¡®opportunity¡¯ of the catastrophe to block the Wine Barons petition for a naval and landing action against Goras, but they orchestrated a personal attack against him and one of the architects of Lesia¡¯s ¡®White Carta Gulf¡¯ was arrested two months later and thrown in Armium¡¯s dungeons. It forced Legatus Ettore Pintor to split the 2nd Legion to cover Lord Caxaton¡¯s side of the siege and sent his friend to guard Old Fort. The dilapidated, but strategically situated old hold being the last obstacle to Lucius afore the Capital. Be that as it may, the Old Fort was too small a fort and with the main road of Cartagen visible from its single tower along a good portion of the distant Flower Heights, it was readily understood that Lucius was going to reach the Capital sooner or later. The III Legio suffered around five hundred killed and over a thousand injured (though more than two thirds were serviceable a month later at the siege of Old Fort). The four hundred and eighty confirmed deaths a shocking number for Lucius, with the majority of heavy losses coming from three units. Ennius 1st Century of the Second Cohort that lost more than half its strength, Sorex¡¯s Slingers that lost a hundred and twenty out of two hundred and newly promoted ¡®Optio of Horse¡¯ Long¡¯s cavalry that had all but gotten decimated with a hundred killed and fifty injured out of two hundred and fifty. Lucius asked for Anorum to send him reinforcements, a politically difficult decision as Asturia was still facing a full Legion beyond the river. They would immediately comply and a full new Cohort of troops left a week later for Storm¡¯s Rest. The Praetor sent the prisoners to the latter as well to help with building efforts until they reached an agreement with Lesia. Two weeks after the battle with the Legion ready to depart, Kaeso¡¯s Scouts and Long¡¯s Cavalry had already traveled down the New Legion Road to report on Lesia¡¯s response, when a part of the rocky mountain slope, next to the Rises and on their northwest side, collapsed leaving a small opening behind. Through it several hours later a thick browed but bald engineer and architect named Theodor Karakas, a native of Valeria of all things, appeared covered in fine grit and powdery dust.
¡°What happened?¡± Lucius asked and jumped from his horse, a red-eyed Merenda doing the same after him. Gripa sighed pensively and stared at a sour-faced Salvian approaching from the camp with the others. Lucius had moved too fast for them to follow. ¡°This man,¡± the legionnaire started, the dressed in working clothes Lorian interrupting him. ¡°Theodor Karakas.¡± ¡°This man,¡± the soldier repeated pointedly, glaring at the stranger under the brim of his helm. ¡°Claims that there are working crews coming from the side of the collapse sir.¡± ¡°Controlled collapse,¡± Karakas explained. ¡°Your ancestor worked on Asturia¡¯s bridge,¡± Lucius told him. A century and a half in the past. ¡°Indeed sir¡­ could it be I¡¯m speaking with Lord Lucius?¡± ¡°You are.¡± Karakas wiped some of the sweat from his bald head. ¡°It¡¯s an honor my Lord. I hereby formally inform you that I have a free working schedule after we finish this bit¡ª¡± ¡°Asturia broke through the Pass?¡± ¡°We bored through it, so let¡¯s call it a tunnel pass,¡± Karakas explained. ¡°My lord.¡± ¡°The road goes back to Asturia?¡± ¡°Well it goes to Holt¡¯s Stable, but the King has those now¡­ the bad king,¡± Karakas corrected himself. ¡°I would refrain from slandering my family if I was you, mister Karakas,¡± Lucius warned him sternly. ¡°Of course¡­ ehm, so one needs to cut through Lourmar Woods to reach the bridge,¡± Karakas continued. ¡°The woods are unpassable!¡± Lucius blasted him. ¡°Eh, easier to cut a tree down than a boulder,¡± Merenda commented and Lucius turned to look at him amused. ¡°That¡¯ll be a lot of wood Antonius.¡± Merenda shrugged his shoulders. ¡°I happen to know womenfolk that would call it a sage thing¡­ Praetor,¡± he jested and seeing Lucius¡¯ expression, the witty Centurion added. ¡°Unscrupulous ugly rascals, barely females that is. Do we really know anyone these days?¡± ¡°That¡¯s better?¡± Lucius probed, but smiled at his stupid grimace. ¡°Mister Karakas, does Legatus Ligur know of the finished tunnel?¡± ¡°He¡¯s aware of the work being done, but I doubt he believes we can finish with everything on our plate.¡± ¡°No patrols come this far south?¡± Lucius probed. ¡°He has three hundred men at Holt¡¯s Stables that¡¯s it, but the terrain favors a quick response from him.¡± ¡°From Islandport?¡± ¡°Mercator¡¯s Inn is where the First Legion¡¯s main camp is. So it¡¯s less than half a day for horses to respond if signal is given.¡± Right in the middle. Good old-fashioned and cautious Ligur. Easy to retreat and difficult to surround with plenty of room at the back and towards the Canlita Sea. A big city port at his flank. Nice work old man. ¡°You think Ligur will move afore next winter?¡± Lucius asked the Asturia contractor next and he frowned not wanting to anwer at first. ¡°Speak mister Karakas.¡± ¡°Duke Holt might not want this coming out¡­ I overheard it.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve the Duke¡¯s daughter in my camp expecting our child,¡± Lucius admonished him on purpose. ¡°We¡¯re family Karakas!¡± ¡°Of course my Lord. Without a doubt.¡± ¡°Ha-ha, the man¡¯s not easily scared good Praetor,¡± Merenda commented taking a swing from a metal flask quickly and slotting it in his satchel. ¡°This better be scented water Merenda,¡± Lucius grunted and snapped at Karakas warningly. ¡°Speak mister Karakas, it¡¯s an order.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe he will my lord,¡± Karakas replied quickly. ¡°Rumor is, he¡¯s building fortifications.¡± Cartagen it is then, Lucius decided relieved and glanced at the clear sky. ¡°Frothy conium,¡± Merenda commented reading his mind. ¡°Lose the crown Centurion,¡± Lucius ordered him. Merenda was still wearing Corona Vallaris on his head prominently. ¡°Grab a helmet, the second is marching with the Praetor on the morrow.¡± ¡°Will there be horses available good Praetor? Given we had an influx lately. I¡¯m asking for the lads.¡± Ha-ha, Lucius thought and stared at him soberly. ¡°Plenty my good Antonius, but nothing for you or your lads,¡± he finally replied. ¡°Now hand me that flask or you are fined five gold.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll pay the tithe Praetor,¡± Merenda replied equally sober and Gripa reached in his cloak to get Lucius purse out having anticipated his answer. ¡°Who do you want to leave behind?¡± Salvian asked when Lucius got up on his horse to return to camp. ¡°Ennius century, they need rest and healing,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°Have them guard the tunnel.¡± Ligur might not want to venture that far, but it is better to find men waiting for him, if he does. ¡°Who¡¯s going to take his place and lead the Second?¡± Lucius glanced at the crown-wearing Centurion coming towards them talking with the men of the patrol and Karakas animatedly. ¡°Merenda,¡± he said simply and that was that. Nightsilver neighed and rocked his luscious mane right and left opening up on the other horses of his entourage, until Lucius yelled for him to calm down and allow the rest of the horses to catch up with them. ¡°Have you ever seen Regia¡¯s shores?¡± Lucius asked his new horse, a tang still in his heart for the one he¡¯d lost and Nightsilver snorted, still pissed for stopping his free gallop. ¡°It¡¯s quite the sight,¡± Lucius added deep voice laden with emotion. Aye it is.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 364. Abominable Cripple (1/2)
I fear no other beast but the one living in the depths, Far out in the angry seas, or near silent ports Dark shores with briny shingles covering their lengths Eyes wide open to dutifully observe Beyond causes, or musings folk foreknow they deserve For only those that see the Kraken¡¯s glassy eye up close Shall realize whither the wind blows - Ancient verses sung at secret night liturgies and a hymn to Abrakas, the Vile. Circa unknown.
Baron Storm Nattas Abominable Cripple Part I -I¡¯ll take the cheapest option-
Late second month of Winter 193 NC The rebuilt stone bridge over Emerald River (Also called Bridge of Silence by the locals) Near Lesia Gaze Peaks mountain range Province of Novesium Petty barony of Moon¡¯s Haven Early noon The man supposedly watching the bridge was sound asleep under the cool winter sun. He snorted with occasional spasms that rattled his body and produced funnier sounds than one would expect. The patrol from the nearby watch-tower nowhere to be seen, probably playing cards, or a game of dices. Lord Nattas'' coin wasted at alarming rates on them. Fucking great, a worn out from the journey Nattas griped and stopped his horse over the guard. ¡°That be Bart,¡± Damian commented from his own horse. Storm eructed loudly as the food had moved about inside him seeing as they were riding since morning. ¡°He guards the bridge approach Milord.¡± Yes. And virgin harlots are a thing. ¡°Outstanding job. Do you rotate him, or does he sleep through the whole shift?¡± Storm retorted and reached to pick Sudi¡¯s cane to smack the snorting cretin once on his conned helm. The ringing almost as satisfactory as his stunned reaction. ¡°What?¡± Bart gasped rolling on the ground and then tried to get up. He looked about for his spear, but he had it used as a coat rack behind him and missed it in his hazy state. ¡°Who you be?¡± ¡°Your wayward mother,¡± Storm replied curtly. ¡°Me mother¡¯s dead mister,¡± an affronted Bart murmured. ¡°Here comes the lip from the culprit caught in the fucking act. The realm is going to shit,¡± Storm grunted not believing his ears. ¡°You were sleeping on duty you stupid cretin!¡± He blasted the disheveled guard. ¡°Captain Damian,¡± the man protested. ¡°The sun was in me eyes for hours! I passed out!¡± ¡°What are you looking at him for?¡± Nattas hissed. ¡°Do you know who I am?¡± Bart squinted his eyes trying to see Storm¡¯s dusty frock¡¯s sigil. ¡°Ahm,¡± he mumbled unsure. ¡°It¡¯s a squid,¡± Storm helped him and returned the cane to Sudi. ¡°The man is an idiot,¡± he declared with a sigh seeing no recognition from him and turned to Damian. ¡°Where¡¯s the rest of ¡®the unit¡¯?¡± ¡°They are probably resting at this hour milord,¡± Damian replied. ¡°I¡¯m sure they are,¡± Storm retorted. I could have figured that out on my own.
If Moon¡¯s Haven had one thing going for it was the neatly built small houses and its decent straight streets. Not many of them, or everywhere as the village had been built in the shape of a simple square at its center, but it had grown with huts at the periphery. The expansion abandoning the road system completely. Which hurt the image of the village as you had to travel through them to reach the better part of it. Eh. Good luck finding that architect now for a refund. ¡°I¡¯m still shocked at the chaos I witnessed,¡± Storm griped at Sudi while Damian and Grin were waking up the men. Apparently several were missing on ¡®an expedition¡¯ to the Golden Forest. A euphemism for a hunting trip on Storm¡¯s coin. ¡°We¡¯ll tear them down, Mayor Apicius has signed the order, but we need the slums for recruitment,¡± Sudi explained. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°They are cheap?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see it. This elusive cheapness. The budget is ruinous. Aye, a mountain of it,¡± Storm argued reasonably with a concerned frown, his hands tied behind his back. ¡°I¡¯m considering whoring you out my friend. You need to contribute, I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°This is the cheapest option chief,¡± Sudi assured him with a scowl and Nattas stared at the shifty looking armed thugs gathering outside their barracks. While nicely armed with swords and dressed in second-hand refurbished mail and leather armour ¨CNattas had gotten a fine deal in the black market for old weaponry- they didn¡¯t look like soldiers. A mercenary gang more like. Put them in dark robes and you can even mistake them for cultists. By the young harlot¡¯s perky tits! ¡°Will they do the job?¡± He grunted. ¡°If you keep it simple.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t make it simple, or complicated,¡± Storm grumbled even more frustrated. ¡°What am I the Wish Fairy? It is what it is! They need to fight on command, is that too much to ask?¡± ¡°Oh, they¡¯ll fight chief,¡± Sudi replied sucking at his sunken cheek. ¡°It¡¯s stopping them after they do that worries me, especially inside a city. You remember Alden.¡± ¡°Those were thugs!¡± Storm protested, then paused and grimaced his face distorting. ¡°I walked right into this one,¡± he admitted. ¡°Ayup,¡± Sudi agreed with a toothless smile. Good grief! ¡°Enough Damian, just give us the report later,¡± he yelled at the half-breed. ¡°We¡¯ll be at Sandbay Manor with Lord Nattas.¡±
Maja who was watching Silvio playing at the top of the grand shaded entrance to the Manor¡¯s main building, the encased in pink alabaster with the sculpted leaf details main columns appearing a brilliant white under the light, turned her head to look at them approach. The little boy stood up on two small legs and walked to the edge of it much to Storm¡¯s surprise. ¡°Look at him,¡± he told Sudi proudly. ¡°He¡¯s quite clever chief,¡± Sudi agreed stopping his horse next to Storm¡¯s. Silvio seeing them and the animals took a shaky wide stride forward, but missed the step and went plummeting down under Lord Nattas shocked eyes. He bounced off the third step with his head, landed on his bottom and kept tumbling the length of the twelve steps stairway like a ball of hay. Maja caught him in her arms near the half of it, the woman taking two tumbles of her own afore stopping with Silvio resting on her chest. Abrakas oily brows! ¡°Eh,¡± a stunned Sudi managed to say and Storm glanced at him frustrated before climbing down the saddle to rush to the former leader of ¡®Silent Servants Guild¡¯. ¡°How is he?¡± Storm asked Maja worried and she used a large silver coin she had produced to softly touch a spot on the quiet boy¡¯s head. ¡°Buk,¡± Silvio said ineligibly and Storm feared severe brain damage, afore remembering Silvio didn¡¯t actually talk. ¡°He¡¯s fine, just a bump on the head,¡± she said and sighed. ¡°I think I dislocated my shoulder.¡± Who cares? ¡°You¡¯ll get over it,¡± Storm grunted and stooped to take the small boy in his arms. ¡°Why in all hells did you do that hmm?¡± he asked him and Silvio raised his arm almost poking Lord Nattas¡¯ right eye out chuckling. ¡°Allgods no. He¡¯s an idiot too,¡± Storm groaned in frustration. ¡°Or blind, it could be that.¡± ¡°He¡¯s happy to see you, so he¡¯s not,¡± Maja explained and reached for him. ¡°I¡¯ll use some spirit to disinfect the cut.¡± ¡°What happened Maja?¡± Miranda asked, the glorious sun highlighting her richly tanned body through the thin tunic. The winter had never touched this part of Regia¡¯s shores. ¡°Nothing. I¡¯ll clean him up inside,¡± she replied quickly and got up with a wince. ¡°I missed a step.¡± ¡°You shouldn¡¯t hold him coming down,¡± Miranda admonished her and glanced at Storm. ¡°Lord Nattas we haven¡¯t received word from you in a month.¡± ¡°I was busy with manor business,¡± Storm replied and climbed after the limping former assassin to reach her. Miranda gave him a nice smelling hand to kiss and Storm worked on it up to the inner dip of her elbow. ¡°Sweet Storm,¡± Miranda gasped, his ministrations affecting her and the tips of her breasts poking at the yellow cloth prominently. ¡°It¡¯s quite early. Let¡¯s discuss your absence.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s do that later and no, for me it isn¡¯t,¡± Storm replied hoarsely. He had a surge of adrenalin from the earlier scare and didn¡¯t want to waste it talking. ¡°As you said dear, it has been a month.¡±
Two hours later Storm came down from the bedrooms and crossed the main hall to his office. Sudi was there with Damian treating themselves to a bottle of his wine. Since it was from the local vintage, Storm didn¡¯t mind it so much for two reasons. They needed to get rid of the stuff somehow to make room for a better batch and he had just finished a fantastic erotic session with Miranda. The last round inside a large bronze bathtub had left quite the soggy mess behind. Storm took his place behind the office, pushed the chair back to have room for his spread legs and air his genitals, his long green robes covering him hanging loosely and stared at a wall-painting of a Ticu getting plowed by a sailor whilst eating the man¡¯s face. The scene equally lewd and gory, the colors vivid. What the fuck? ¡°Who commissioned this atrocity?¡± ¡°I did chief. It¡¯s the theme of the Manor.¡± ¡°Cannibalism?¡± ¡°The sea and its creatures¡¯ chief.¡± Skirting around depictions of Abrakas so as not to be blatant to an unannounced visitor, or ruffian, had taken a whole other meaning for the artist. ¡°What disturbed mind thought of this?¡± Storm hissed, not liking his witty retorts. ¡°A local artist chief. Old friend of Titus from his sailing days,¡± Sudi replied. ¡°He has skill.¡± ¡°As a pornographer?¡± Storm scoffed. ¡°Some gut stuff ayup,¡± Grin agreed, the Lorian was sitting near a library section on the other side of the room and Storm had missed him. ¡°I want you both to start reading lessons so you can speak passable Common,¡± Storm grunted and glared at Sudi. ¡°Else you are not stepping near my son again. I fear he might catch your stupidity. Why, I¡¯m feeling dumber already!¡± Damian went to say something, but decided not to and sipped from his cup thoughtfully. ¡°We have the numbers for the Reformed,¡± Sudi said after a moment of silence and Storm turned to look at him. ¡°Four hundred and twenty¡­¡± ¡°Three,¡± Grin helped. ¡°Well armed¡­ folk, the majority good with the short blade¡ª¡± Sudi continued afore he got interrupted by Storm this time. ¡°How short?¡± ¡°A dagger,¡± Sudi replied readily. ¡°But with the help of Sir Barnard Rottas they have improved and can utilize the long one decently.¡± ¡°Uhm,¡± Nattas urged him along impatiently. ¡°Around forty of them can use a Harpoon, or spear.¡±The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Where did we get those?¡± ¡°Fishing crews, deserters from the fleet.¡± ¡°Excellent,¡± Storm taunted. ¡°How do you want to use them?¡± ¡°Bring me that map of the city,¡± Storm ordered the pensive Grin. ¡°Yes you. Get up, reach at that library shelve and pick it up. Slowly walk towards us and unfurl it on the desk. You mess it up I¡¯ll have you flogged.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Sudi said cleaning his throat and then scratched the underside of his decrepit cheek. ¡°Now with Mayor Darius in charge our objective should to be take over his villa at the center, neutralize the City Guards building, before turning our attention to the army barracks and the Palace in the North sector.¡± ¡°Give me numbers for the army,¡± Storm murmured. ¡°Most have left with the Duke.¡± ¡°But for a couple of guards at the gates?¡± Nattas retorted mockingly. ¡°Fifty.¡± ¡°The City Guards?¡± Storm asked and watched Grin opening the fancy painted vellum map. ¡°When you finish open that cupboard. On the lower shelve there is a bottle of Flauegran. Bring it here as well with a clean goblet.¡± ¡°Eh, that bottle is gone chief,¡± Sudi said. ¡°On vacation?¡± ¡°The Queen found it.¡± Thirsty girl with an expensive gullet. ¡°How can you possibly know this?¡± ¡°She left it in the garden returning from the beach,¡± Sudi explained. ¡°The costly gardener we brought from Novesium habitually observed her from afar¡­ for security reasons I suppose. I had him watching the Manor as a side job to justify his pay.¡± ¡°Can I talk with him?¡± ¡°He drowned,¡± Sudi replied without batting an eyelash. ¡°It was his last report.¡± ¡°In the sea?¡± ¡°In the garden¡¯s fountain. He clumsily fell asleep with his head under the water. I have it marked in the ledger as a work accident.¡± Storm stood back on his comfortable armchair and smacked his lips. ¡°Was he a clumsy man?¡± He chanced. ¡°A maladroit?¡± Sudi blinked unsure. ¡°It¡¯s the same thing, what we call a synonym,¡± Storm explained patiently. ¡°Not to my recollection, but I suspect he might have observed the wrong woman bathing and he was caught. It is not a big loss,¡± Sudi replied, while the two much cheaper thugs and Captains of the Reformed were watching their exchange being equal parts mesmerized and apprehensive. ¡°The bottom line here is,¡± Storm continued looking at them with distrust. ¡°There is no more good wine.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a barrel of black Whiskey from Castalor,¡± Sudi told him and waved for Grin to bring it from a case hidden behind the cupboard. The several bottles there reused wine bottles. ¡°I had it transferred to bottles¡­ we first cleaned thoroughly.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± Nattas murmured not thoroughly convinced of the latter. ¡°Pour Lord Nattas a cup,¡± Sudi ordered Grin and he did spilling some on his desk. He wiped the stain with his sleeve carefully. Storm had a sip, then another. ¡°There¡¯s a coal aftertaste in it,¡± he commented. ¡°They use smoked barrels, it¡¯s almost as expensive as the wine.¡± ¡°Leave the bottle,¡± Storm told Grin. ¡°Go back to your seat. Next time take a bath afore coming to the manor.¡± ¡°Yes milord,¡± Grin agreed sadly. ¡°Go.¡± Sudi took the chance to continue their conversation. ¡°The City Guards have a strength of three hundred normally, but the Duke took most of them with him. Based on patrols we observe in the port, I¡¯d say¡­¡± Sudi stooped on the scroll to calculate the numbers. ¡°Ten men patrols, rotating three times a day, plus those guarding the three major roads and the building itself.¡± ¡°Around two hundred,¡± Storm said with a deep sigh. ¡°How did you¡­? Ehm,¡± Sudi replied unsure, still counting. ¡°Ursus took a hundred guards with him, a whore told me. She heard from their Captain,¡± Storm explained. ¡°So I went at it from an easier route. Captain Caster is in charge of the Guard in the Duke¡¯s absence along the Mayor.¡± Sudi nodded. ¡°Can we buy him off?¡± Storm probed to speed this along as he was feeling hungry and the whiskey burned his stomach, which was a pleasant thing at start, but now it was getting annoying. ¡°He¡¯s friends with Sir Gilmor the Duke¡¯s son,¡± Sudi replied. ¡°Very expensive then,¡± Storm agreed and nodded with his head. ¡°Damian? Have you got anything to contribute to our discussion?¡± ¡°I¡­ eh,¡± Damian cleaned his throat, more a nervous cough, afore standing up straighter on his chair. ¡°Nothing of notice milord.¡± ¡°Note,¡± Storm hissed. ¡°That too,¡± Damian agreed with the unnerving smile of an idiot. Nattas stooped over the desk and rested his head in his hands. Rubbed his face next and stared at Sudi. ¡°What did the reports say?¡± ¡°Sula had his cousin Baron Drusus ambush them near the Dry Mashes,¡± Sudi replied and found another scroll to read from. He¡¯d several in a small leather bag. ¡°That the Lord of the Mines?¡± ¡°Aye, the same. He was stationed with troops to strike at Aegium, but he redirected him towards Novesium when word of the approaching army reached him.¡± ¡°How do you get ambushed marching on an open road?¡± ¡°They found the bridge over the Salty River unguarded and assumed Sula had retreated to defend against Sextus-Brakis.¡± ¡°Do we have a report of the battle?¡± ¡°No, but we know Duke Ursus returned to defend over Salty River and is staying at Nova Sium with his brother.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a day away from the front.¡± ¡°Aye.¡± ¡°Our opponent¡¯s mounting failures bring him closer to us and messes up with our own plans,¡± Storm hissed infuriated. ¡°Stupid cunt merchant couldn¡¯t even stay away for a bit longer fuck¡¯s sake!¡± He sighed ruggedly, all his good mood ruined. ¡°Will Drusus Sula attack over the river with Demames in trouble?¡± Nattas asked after a moment of silent seething. ¡°The assault on Knuckle Tower was surprising, but it still stands,¡± Sudi replied. ¡°Illirium needs help to take the city. They don¡¯t have the numbers.¡± ¡°They never did,¡± Storm grunted and got up. ¡°Imbeciles, cunt and clothes merchants, alongside young lords playing war games! Fucking buffoons that meddle with stuff they know little about thinking what came out of their mouths was a great idea and not a foul smelling fart! Arrgh!¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so vexed chief,¡± Sudi said worryingly. ¡°Dottore said you need to avoid excitement for some time.¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Storm grunted. He¡¯d collapsed from the heat in the summer, but it wasn¡¯t medical. He just had too much to drink. ¡°They need to bring Ligur back for that,¡± Sudi continued carefully. ¡°They have the numbers then.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s Lucius?¡± ¡°Not at Oras Navel yet,¡± Sudi replied. Storm grimaced and walked to the window to look at his garden. The other matter now, great. ¡°Where is he?¡± He finally asked tiredly. Lord Brakis son was his meaning.
Peter Brakis seemed in good health, considering he was held for some months in Apicius¡¯ small basement. He got up seeing him enter the Mayor¡¯s office where they had brought him earlier, his thin frame a stark contrast to his father¡¯s famous larger figure. ¡°Lord Nattas?¡± the younger Brakis growled. ¡°Your man has me held here under false pretenses! For months¡¯ sir! This is a disgrace.¡± ¡°I can see your point. I came as soon as I found out,¡± Nattas assured him. ¡°Your story was difficult to palate Captain Brakis. You have to give the mayor that. The man just didn¡¯t believe you.¡± ¡°What story? It was the truth! Does my father know of this?¡± Brakis snapped. He was wearing a clean tunic that was loose on his body and a tad short. ¡°Nobody knows about your whereabouts,¡± Nattas told him patiently. ¡°Cartagen is under siege.¡± ¡°I feared that,¡± Peter Brakis said and frowned. ¡°Please be seated Peter,¡± Nattas said in a friendly manner. ¡°I¡¯ll have the Mayor reprimanded for this. I hope he at least was careful.¡± ¡°He kept me locked up in a basement!¡± Brakis growled. ¡°There are worse things,¡± Nattas found a chair to sit as well and gestured for the younger man to do the same. ¡°Please take a seat.¡± ¡°Am I being released?¡± Nattas stared at him for a long moment, his face a blank mask. Brakis stared at the door of the office. ¡°You¡¯ll never make it,¡± Storm warned him. ¡°Everyone here works for me Peter. Everyone. Even the kids selling cakes in the market. It¡¯s an expensive endeavor.¡± Brakis grimaced. He¡¯d a tanned skin, sea weathered, but handsome. ¡°So you are working for the rebels,¡± he finally said and took a seat across from him in front of the Mayor¡¯s desk. ¡°I work for myself,¡± Nattas replied tapping his fingers on the cheap wood¡¯s surface. ¡°And the realm. The wrong king is on the throne.¡± ¡°Not for you to decide Lord Nattas.¡± ¡°Can the king help Cartagen?¡± Storm asked him not taking the bait. ¡°We must prepare an answer for certain.¡± ¡°The fleet, what¡¯s left of it, is supporting Sextus-Brakis against Sula,¡± Storm told him. ¡°The Legion is near Asturia, or thereabouts and the King is in Alden.¡± Brakis stood back on his seat and stretched his legs. ¡°What are you saying?¡± ¡°The capital will fall eventually. Lesia will control the Gulf and then it would be difficult to take it back. An attack over land against an elongated distant naval country that can strike all along the coast. There is a reason the first King paused and made friends with Davenius. They might be less war inclined, but they are practical, rich and righteous. The latter mostly in their heads with exceptions.¡± ¡°Their Legion is fresh.¡± ¡°Our Legion is packed with rather fresh troops as well but for a Cohort.¡± ¡°Ligur has them in shape.¡± ¡°Ligur is half a continent away,¡± Storm snapped. ¡°He can¡¯t help. The best generals are with him trying to find a way to hurt Lord Holt, but again¡­ there is a reason the first king avoided fighting with Hortolanus as well. You can¡¯t win a war against a strong opponent without hurting yourself in the process. Can the young King take a hit and survive it?¡± ¡°What are you proposing?¡± ¡°If Cartagen is lost, then a win against Sula would be useless. King Jeremy won¡¯t survive it,¡± Storm elucidated. ¡°He¡¯ll have not much of an army left with Ligur locked up in Asturia and he¡¯ll be dragged to the negotiating table with King Davenport without any leverage. That is if he wins. If Sula survives, then what do you have? Novesium? Lesia will come here a month after Cartagen falls. Two at the most. Waltz right in. Why, there are no walls facing east. Ursus never finished the project. His father not this Ursus. This one is even dumber than him.¡± Brakis smacked his lips and stared at a wall painting depicting a vase with red flowers. If they were roses, the artist was either unskilled, or too cheap to bother with realism. ¡°Sula should have obeyed the king. He raided Aegium that¡¯s criminal behavior. Illirium was obligated to assist its neighboring city,¡± the young captain murmured. ¡°Peter that¡¯s not how you take a throne,¡± Storm explained stooping towards him. ¡°It is how you start it, but you need to make certain of some crucial details afore you finish. You kill the legitimate heir. His wife, kids and friends within a week, a couple of months tops. That very day would have been ideal. Put everyone faithful under the knife to protect yourself from reprisals. That¡¯s a lot of knifing you need to do Peter. If you don¡¯t and you allow it to fester, then it will slip out of your fingers. Grow and then consume you whole.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not¡­ What are you talking about?¡± ¡°You want me to repeat it?¡± ¡°Lucius wasn¡¯t there. A decision needed to be made.¡± ¡°He wasn¡¯t and panic set in,¡± Storm agreed. ¡°Which is why we needed to buy time.¡± ¡°The Queen could have chosen to stay on the throne,¡± Brakis argued. ¡°They didn¡¯t let her. Circumstances,¡± Storm grimaced. ¡°Even so, it could have been avoided with some cooperation. You¡¯ve let a couple of greedy men drag you into a stupid affair Peter. Your father as well.¡± ¡°If Sula loses then my father will come up the shores and reinforce the city.¡± ¡°If¡­ but unfortunately¡­ Ursus lost and is returning to Novesium.¡± ¡°You¡¯re lying.¡± ¡°Sula licked him outside the Dry Marshes. He retreated over the Salty River,¡± Storm elucidated. ¡°Even if Sula stays put, Ursus would never try again. He doesn¡¯t have what it takes Peter. What he wanted all along, he now has. Fighting isn¡¯t in his blood. I bet he¡¯s scheming for a way out already.¡± Peter Brakis puffed his cheeks out and grimaced his face dark. ¡°We¡¯re going to lose the capital.¡± ¡°We will. Within the year, a couple of months more,¡± Storm agreed. ¡°The Barons will defend well enough, but Lesia will bring more troops in, land behind Mabindon, or even here. Sever the lines of supply and move inlands from both sides. If they cut the road at Elysium Fort, then all they have to do is creep up to Tworivers Castle and the city would be cut off completely. No population fights well when supplies stop coming in. They have time and all they need is another naval win to completely dominate the Scalding Sea.¡± He¡¯d laid it thick there perhaps, but Storm needed Brakis to understand. ¡°So what¡¯s your play?¡± ¡°Sula can reinforce the capital.¡± ¡°Ursus would never agree,¡± Brakis argued. ¡°Assuming you get an agreement out of Sula and the King.¡± ¡°Sula would do it and Ursus can be persuaded.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± Brakis grimaced. ¡°His force may not be enough again.¡± ¡°It will be if Lucius comes down from Oras Navel,¡± Storm said and got up as well. ¡°Lucius is at the Navel?¡± ¡°He¡¯s the reason we still have a chance,¡± Storm explained walking near him. ¡°Why Lesia is moving so slow. They had to deal with him all along. But they can¡¯t. Just like in the games. He¡¯ll make fools of them all. No one had ever won while he competed. When he is committed, you can¡¯t beat him. He is committed, trust me.¡± ¡°What do you want from me?¡± Brakis asked standing back from him. ¡°I¡¯m not the devil Peter,¡± Storm replied. ¡°I¡¯m a patriot really. Lucius is the one they fear. Put him on the throne and Lesia will back away.¡± ¡°This is treason Nattas.¡± ¡°What you guys did was treason Peter,¡± Storm corrected him. ¡°You¡¯ll find no clemency for that my young friend, unless you help now. Then I can have Lucius see reason. Keep you out of trouble. Think of your young sisters selling themselves for coin!¡± The thought surprisingly erotic. Hmm. ¡°Lord Nattas!¡± Brakis growled. ¡°You and your father get your head chopped off for treason. It could happen and you know it,¡± Storm told him with a shrug. ¡°Tell me you see another future for them.¡± ¡°Am I free to go?¡± Brakis hissed pursing his mouth. ¡°Of course,¡± Nattas said and walked back to his seat. ¡°I told you this was done without my knowledge.¡± ¡°I could have you ousted to the king,¡± Peter said and Storm tapped the squid on his sigil once drawing his eyes there. ¡°I fear no other beast but the one living in the depths,¡± he recited and Brakis narrowed his eyes. ¡°For I¡¯ve my eyes open and observe. See, what needs to be done and where the wind blows.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve changed the words,¡± Brakis hissed through his teeth and Storm chuckled shaking his head. ¡°Only an Abrakas follower would have noticed it Peter,¡± he told the young seadog. ¡°I have no quarrel with the ¡®young kraken¡¯ or his father. Never had,¡± he added in a rare truthful statement. ¡°I don¡¯t have a ship,¡± Brakis told him, after a moment of deep thought. ¡°You do,¡± Storm replied and turned as Sudi who was listening in, opened the door whilst sheathing his trusty dagger behind his back. ¡°It¡¯s not a big ship, but I¡¯m poor petty Baron.¡± ¡°Say we find common ground,¡± Brakis said looking at the scarred face of the half-breed. ¡°What do you want in exchange for this agreement? We were not part of the whole ordeal as you said.¡± ¡°Eh, let¡¯s keep lies out of it,¡± Storm cautioned him. ¡°You may have to sacrifice something, or someone for this to work.¡± ¡°I see.¡± ¡°As I said. I¡¯m poor and modest. You agree to give me ownership of Turtle Isles and I¡¯ll speak of a brave fight we both gave against the conspirators three years back now. Or keep silent, if this doesn¡¯t work for both our good.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a whale fishing port,¡± Brakis frowned. ¡°I get the oil is enticing though. Novesium and Aegium have to agree, they are equal partners on the title.¡± ¡°No they won¡¯t be,¡± Storm assured him. ¡°Illirium¡¯s would be the sole available vote when the matter is brought up in the distant future. As you remember one must be present on these matters.¡± ¡°How do you know?¡± Peter Brakis asked him and Storm shrugged his shoulders indifferently. ¡°I can see the future,¡± he admitted and to his credit the young captain nodded cracking a small smile. Whether because Peter could see the future as well through the Kraken¡¯s visions, or thought him a delusional braggart Storm didn¡¯t know. But he also couldn¡¯t back away at that point. With Jeremy on the throne and his allies winning, Storm was a dead man walking. With Lucius in power, then there was a lot of goodwill coming his way, especially if he appeared un-greedy and modest. All he needed to do was be the only one from that council meeting still breathing when the official account was going to be written. ¡°You could discuss it with the others as well,¡± Sudi reminded him later that evening as they watched Peter Brakis climbing up the small transport in Manor¡¯s port. He had to travel at night to slip through Lesia¡¯s fleet patrolling ships. ¡°I¡¯ll take the cheapest option at this junction,¡± Storm had replied readily and his loyal right hand man had nodded in agreement as they were hard-pressed for time. But also really deep in the hole financially. So between another bribe and the knife, Storm had chosen the knife.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 365. Abominable Cripple (2/2)
¡°Something for the boy mister Lotus?¡± the Lorian tavern keeper asked working the toothpick in his mouth expertly. ¡°Just water,¡± he replied and stared at the wiry blond woman checking on the busy street standing half-in half-out the tavern''s open door. ¡°Lot¡¯s of good crowd this morning,¡± the tavern keeper commented pouring him a glass of wine. ¡°Expensive this stuff. Aye. Could¡¯ve have given you a bottle of local vintage for the coin you burn here mister.¡± ¡°I like the taste of it,¡± he replied and worked on it in his bitter mouth. ¡°Helps the palate awaken they say.¡± ¡°Ha-ha. Well, on a fine day like this I was bound to hear something new,¡± the tavern keeper replied smiling and corked the bottle of Flauegran carefully afore returning it to the shelves behind him. ¡°You seem rather gloomy. Favored the rebels hmm?¡± ¡°Nothing of the sort. Just tired that¡¯s all,¡± he replied and helped the silent boy drink from his cup. ¡°Big journey.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t want to miss the good King¡¯s justice huh?¡± ¡°Aye,¡± he said and reached for his purse to pay for the wine. ¡°How much for the bottle?¡± ¡°You¡¯re rich, is that it? Never seen the likes of you with that much coin afore.¡± ¡°As I said mate,¡± he told him allowing the insult to slide and got up from his stall with difficulty. ¡°I like the taste. That¡¯s all.¡±
Baron Storm Nattas Abominable Cripple Part II -The Luck of Cowards-
¡°You¡¯re leaving again?¡± a drowsy Miranda asked at his back. Nattas was staring outside the large window of the main building towards the still dark sea. This bedroom had access to windows at both the front and back. It was bigger than the royal bedroom in Cartagen¡¯s palace according to the builders. All the coin he¡¯d gathered for years Storm had spent creating the Barony. Profit would come again eventually. All the businesses he still owed would help refill his coffers legitimately. Taverns and hostels. Part or outright ownership in trading contracts and Merchant caravans. Ships and animals. Properties and land. Companies. From fishing stalls and leather shoes to bakeries. No brothels. He was too smart to go that route. Every deal had left him something. You shook Lord Nattas hand and he owned you. What he didn¡¯t remember Storm wrote in a heavy leather-encased ledger. Not everything. ¡°There¡¯s an estate in the town of Head,¡± he started. ¡°Where is that?¡± Miranda asked putting a pillow on her naked back to stand on the bed. Her mature round breasts richly tanned skin gleaming like gold in the light of the four oil lamps. Aegium girls loved bathing in the nude. Those that favored Abrakas that is. The Queen of fucking Regia in his bed. Concentrate. ¡°Turtle Isles,¡± Storm replied hoarsely. ¡°A lovely spot with a sugarcane field. Makes a ton of coin. It¡¯s under the name mister Lotus.¡± ¡°Who is he?¡± Miranda asked thoughtfully. ¡°Sudi. He doesn¡¯t know he owns it,¡± Storm replied. ¡°Like that river in Badum? He¡¯s a bastard?¡± ¡°He¡¯s a half-breed,¡± Storm retorted, but caught himself and added patiently. ¡°And the river is in Tollor. It¡¯s where I met him.¡± ¡°What were you doing there?¡± ¡°Work,¡± Storm replied pursing his lips. ¡°For the King.¡± ¡°Did you meet her mother there as well?¡± Miranda asked. Storm smacked his lips and turned to look at her. ¡°Maja is a capable girl,¡± he said. ¡°She¡¯ll protect Silvio from everything like her life depends on it. But you can¡¯t be seen publicly with him, not for a long time. It is important to remember that. You got sick, but recovered. My help mellowed you to me, but not enough that you can call me a friend.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t leave him.¡± ¡°Then you¡¯ll kill him,¡± Storm replied sternly. ¡°I can¡¯t let you do that dear.¡± ¡°For how long?¡± She murmured with a troubled frown. ¡°Long enough,¡± he replied and walked to a locker to retrieve his sword. ¡°If I come to owe the Isles it won¡¯t matter and this could be avoided. Nobody knows us there. It¡¯s the end of the world.¡± ¡°How did you find it?¡± ¡°Titus knew of the spot,¡± Storm replied. ¡°An old associate of mine.¡± ¡°Is he around?¡± ¡°Not anymore,¡± Lord Nattas said and strapped the leather sheath to his waist. ¡°Ours is a dangerous business dear. Were you out when the gardener had that accident?¡± ¡°Mmm?¡± A distracted Miranda asked, her face sober. ¡°No, I was sick with the sniffles those days. Why?¡± Aha. ¡°No reason. We need to break your brother¡¯s alliance,¡± Storm dodged. ¡°Why? What good having Lucius in charge would do for us? Jeremy is a good king.¡± ¡°Jeremy isn¡¯t the one that saved you,¡± Storm paused to calm down, his nerves getting to him. ¡°I did. Your brother controls him, or Lord Ruud. Both would happily see me dead.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t want that,¡± Miranda griped with a scowl. ¡°No,¡± Storm glanced at her one more time and sighed. He needed to go. ¡°We don¡¯t.¡± A week later Last month of winter 193 NC City of Novesium Edge of the Olive trees field The intersection of the road coming from the Barracks and the Blacksmiths workshops. The road leading through the Silos and the Customs buildings to the Admiralty parallel to Harbor Street. One hour after midnight. Sudi approached using his cane to navigate the rough terrain. The men under Damian and Grin filtering through the neatly arranged rows of olive trees into this now dark and silent part of the city. ¡°No patrol for the next hour,¡± Sudi told him nervously. ¡°The Mayor had a meeting in the Admiralty and returned to his estate.¡± ¡°Vergos knows to stay out of it?¡± Captain Vergos was instructor of Novesium¡¯s officers, but most good recruits were opting to study in Illirium, or Cartagen as Ursus wasn¡¯t willing to spend on the navy. ¡°He¡¯s aware. Most of the cadets had followed Brakis to their deaths, the building is empty.¡± ¡°A tragedy,¡± Storm commented. ¡°How much did he cost?¡± ¡°He was Alistair¡¯s appointee. The moment I mentioned we ¡®have¡¯ Lucius backing, he agreed.¡± You know who¡¯s going to win when people do things for him for free. ¡°Mmm. We head for the Mayor then. Will Damian manage the guards?¡± ¡°He¡¯ll go straight for the headquarters, get Commander Castel.¡± ¡°He¡¯s there?¡± Sudi grimaced. ¡°We don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°What about the Barracks?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll head there next, then to the palace.¡± ¡°We need to get his wife and daughter,¡± Storm explained. ¡°Does he value them at all?¡± Sudi asked. ¡°Probably not, but it¡¯s better to have them just in case he does,¡± Storm replied. ¡°Will Sula come?¡± ¡°He¡¯ll attack across the river,¡± Storm told him. ¡°I was persuasive that Ursus hold on the city is shaky. But Drusus was going to do it either way. He gave me that impression.¡± ¡°Ursus will have to fight him else he¡¯ll come right to his gates.¡± ¡°Exactly,¡± Storm said and sighed wearily, his stomach a knot. ¡°Best case he surrenders, or dies hopefully.¡± ¡°Will he come here?¡± ¡°If we have the city, it would be pointless,¡± Storm replied. ¡°If we don¡¯t, it might not matter.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a brave man chief,¡± Sudi said sounding moved. ¡°Don¡¯t be an idiot,¡± Nattas grunted. ¡°I got no other play other than running away. I won¡¯t run afore trying something. I pretend I¡¯m a coward because I love life. You know why Sudi?¡± ¡°Life is good?¡± ¡°If you know how to live it fully,¡± Storm agreed and fixed the leather gloves on his hands. ¡°I hate walking, but in this case we have to. Sometimes you just have to do unflavored things to get what you want. But the taste you can always fix later.¡±
Many events happened during the first quarter of 193. In one of the less famous Baron Storm Nattas, former Master of Silence for King Alistair, Queen Regent¡¯s Shield and member of Regia¡¯s Council for two decades took active role in helping Lucius Alden, who he supported secretly for years. With Duke Ursus busy trying to deal with Duke Sula¡¯s first cousin Baron Drusus, Lord Nattas decided to take control of the city port of Novesium. He was forced into action as Lesia had the capital under siege and while their attempts weren¡¯t as successful at first, they slowly adapted to the new situation. Especially after Legatus Pintor used the fleet to bring machines in order to test the long walls. The problem with Cartagen was that as it was built on a plateau one needed to take control of Cartaport and the road up the gentle slopes towards the south gates to reach it, or ensure he controlled the two northernmost bridges over Mabindon, the mighty river hugging the edges of the city to the waterfalls. It also skirted Tricorn Heights, an unpassable mountain range, which made the road over it and the famed Wine and Flower Bridges as they were known, vital in order to assault the North Gates and the weaker there walls. The plan to have Lord Caxaton attempt it failed due to the botched initial attack and by the time Lord Caxaton attacked Wine Bridge, Valens had reinforced it. The first attempt was catastrophic for the well-trained but inexperienced troops as they attacked on a single narrow point a determined force. They had been bloodied earlier that month, but had performed poorly against Merenda¡¯s Royal Guard and had to be rescued by Pintor¡¯s legionnaires. The latter while equally inexperienced had the benefit of the Second Cohort, the only intact unit of the old Lorian Legion (now first) that led by example taking the gates of Cartaport and pushing its soldiers to the North District. It also helped the Second Legion find its footing slowly. Duke Roman Lennox and his regulars, along the marines fared much worse, but he slowly managed to get his men going stabilizing their hold on the port and the city of Cartaport, but for the Northern upper portion. He also attempted to take control of the Grand Bridge, an arced stone bridge over the main tributary of Mabindon on the west main road coming from Novesium. He used Sir Darius Davenport for the task and the young knight initially took control of the bridge that brought him into the Mabindon Delta, but his subsequent attempt to cross the First Bridge further west and secure the army¡¯s flank failed spectacularly. The soldiers stationed at Elysium Fort defended the vital crossing and then launched an attack of their own when reinforcements arrived from Tworivers Castle to assist them. Sir Darius retreated over the Grand Bridge to avoid encirclement and the Navy asked if it could use its marines to find another spot at the Gulf. Sir Patrick Lennox, a half-brother to Miles and Lesia¡¯s Lord of Sea who was in charge of the fleet, met with Duke Roman inside the occupied part of Cartaport to discuss it. Pintor used the opportunity to get his machines and the plan for another naval landing was pushed back for spring, or even summer. Lesia had its mind on Lucius¡¯ progress and Baron Feld¡¯s force preparing to check his advance. So they didn¡¯t want to commit to another front if they could avoid it. Florin the second Military Scholar (with Mantel) who was present in the siege campaigned for the need to take the North bridges afore anything else. Push back the force trying to break through to their west over the Grand Bridge being the second objective. ¡®Then,¡¯ he argued, ¡®we could bring machines closer and bombard the walls to make an opening or force the gates. While it¡¯s a big city we can attack in two places at once and Valens has to defend both positions whilst maintaining control of the part of Cartaport he still has.¡¯ While this was happening, Duke Ursus attempt to reach Demames was unsuccessful. He went over Salty River easily but his haphazardly created force (parts of Novesium guards, regulars and a force of marines from Illirium) got beaten by Drusus Sula and then hunted back over the river. This created a problem for Sextus-Brakis as Sir Vel¡¯s daring assault on Knuckle Tower had cut the peninsula from Demames, but offered little to his father¡¯s attacking soldiers. The brave knight had to be rescued with the use of ships from the blockading the Demames port force, as his sieging of Knuckle Tower got him encircled in the narrow peninsula in turn. Duke Sula had mass-produced a cheaper smaller variant of the Scorpio, easy to use by a single engineer and had ninety of them set on the small hills before the final approach to Demames. It made the road unusable for the Illirium forces as the fast reloading machines cut down men usually safe from typical arrows. Admiral Stan Brakis suggested they use the navy to land east of the city and cut off Drusus, but Sula almost broke the blockade to his port using fireboats and smaller ships during the night and destroying a brig, damaging one of Brakis heavy galleys. Since he only had two, the Admiral turned his attention on that and abandoned opening another front. Illirium asked for reinforcements from the King, but Lord Scylla intervened and brought the fresh batch of troops to Islandport. This infuriated Brakis and it forced Lord Doris to send another thousand troops from Alden later that month. In the meantime Sula would turn from a nuisance to a nightmare for King Jeremy. The biggest mistake of their whole approach being that Jeremy was trying to solve a land problem, with the navy mindset of the men in charge because he had his best generals for these type of situations at Islandport and Asturia. Once Admiral Brakis¡¯ surprise attacks failed, Illirium didn¡¯t have the patience or knowhow to win a prolonged land battle against Lord Sula. They needed the Legion and the main army and their inability to adjust timely, turned to total paralysis when the whole situation in Cartagen was revealed and realization set in that they couldn¡¯t help the capital. In this climate Lord Nattas¡¯ actions could have been crucial.
An hour later Storm walked fast towards the Mayor¡¯s estate down King¡¯s Road. Grin who had secured the building waved for his men to let them through. ¡°Well?¡± Nattas asked checking at the bleeding out guards next to the gates. One of them had a dagger sticking out of his right eye. ¡°Did we get him?¡± ¡°Plenty,¡± Grin replied and led them inside the yard. ¡°I¡¯m not comfortable with his answer,¡± Storm griped to Sudi, the loyal lackey following behind them as fast as he could keeping his thoughts to himself. ¡°His family is safe,¡± Grin elucidated. ¡°Milord.¡± Storm stopped and glared at him. ¡°Where¡¯s the Mayor?¡± he hissed warningly. ¡°In the living room, big ole place,¡± Grin replied pensively. ¡°Get out of my way!¡± Storm grunted and rushed up the stairs to enter the building.
The chaos inside the ransacked grand living room disoriented him for a moment but he quickly spotted the body of man laid under a bloody yellow curtain. When Sudi pulled it back Storm recognized Mayor Seth Darius not from his face, as the latter had been hacked at repeatedly with an axe or heavy blade and looked more like chopped meat sprinkled with pieces of bones forgotten at a butcher¡¯s counter, but from his famous woolen cape. ¡°Eh,¡± Sudi grumbled looking at Grin with hatred. ¡°Here it is what the cock-pleasuring brigade, harlot¡¯s detachment will get you,¡± Storm commented sourly and hang his head disappointed. ¡°I need a smart idea on how to control the city, other than scooping up the Mayor¡¯s brains from the floor with a spoon and putting them back in his head,¡± he added. ¡°Get Commander Castel,¡± Sudi offered. ¡°He has the authority now.¡± ¡°We have him? He was at the headquarters?¡± ¡°Nah,¡± Sudi grimaced.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°What does this mean?¡± Storm grunted. ¡°Is the man killed?¡± ¡°He wasn¡¯t there.¡± Storm licked his lips and stared at the destroyed living room. A crying scared woman standing in her nightdress with a teenage daughter at a corner of the large room, guarded by three of the leering Reformed brigands. If Storm had to pick one of the two, he would have fucked the mother, but this is neither the time for sentimentality, nor an incest flavored orgy. ¡°Do you know who I am lass?¡± He asked her, praying that she didn¡¯t. Or lies expertly. ¡°Baron Nattas,¡± she spat with hatred. ¡°The Abominable Cripple. We¡¯ve met last year during the festival.¡± I knew you had a lewd spark in you. ¡°Former cripple, not anymore. Nice to see you again by the way at this difficult hour for all,¡± Storm replied politely, his eyes turning cold and stared at Sudi knowingly. ¡°Until the next time ladies, you have my condolences for your loss,¡± he said to the two distraught females civilly. ¡°I bid you both farewell.¡±
Nattas walked outside the estate and eyed the sleeping city anxiously. One of the Reformed approaching to inform Grin they had gathered in the empty market for an assault on the Palace and the barracks. ¡°Does Damian has the City Guard building taken?¡± Storm asked them impatiently. ¡°Stormed the headquarters he did, but some of the City Guard troops were at the West Gates milord,¡± Grin replied sadly. ¡°Not anymore?¡± Storm taunted. ¡°You said were.¡± ¡°They are there,¡± Grin assured him sounding confused. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know milord.¡± ¡°Why is the gods darn west gates not in our control?¡± Storm growled irate. Grin cleared his throat. ¡°Damian can¡¯t approach the tower. If he gets spotted, they could turn the ballistae inwards.¡± ¡°So?¡± Storm argued. ¡°They have the numbers. By the time they reload after that first volley they¡¯ll be too close and safe. It¡¯s a soldier¡¯s job, people get killed doing it! Order him to attack and secure the gates!¡± Storm turned around hearing Sudi¡¯s cane approaching and his man nodded once, the scarred Sudi looking like he¡¯d aged a couple of years the half-breed didn¡¯t have in the tank. Then again, the bastard could outlive us all, Nattas thought with a bad taste in his mouth. You make mistakes, people get hurt in the attempt to correct them, he reasoned. ¡°How many to storm the barracks?¡± He asked. Do we have available, was his meaning. Spending time with the brigade of the Reformed had watered down his vocabulary. ¡°We have thrice their numbers,¡± Sudi declared. ¡°They are no more than fifty. Then we¡¯re on to the palace. We¡¯re ahead of schedule, lots of night left.¡± The barracks had about two hundred soldiers gathered under Captain Castel preparing for something, so Sudi¡¯s prediction was way off.
¡°FIRE!¡± A guard yelled, not a regular but one of the City Guards who were visiting or something the soldiers barracks. One of the buildings had been set alight, which provided some illumination to the happenings and the chaotic engagement. The Reformed had rushed the sentries, killed them swiftly and then poured inside the camp, but by the time they ¡®cleared¡¯ the first building they had woken up the rest of the camp. Soldiers came out of the many adjoining barracks and a fight broke out in the relative darkness. ¡°We need Damian¡¯s men!¡± Storm growled at the scowling Sudi. ¡°The palace might be lightly guarded chief,¡± he replied and walked to a couple of retreating brigands. He talked to them for a moment and then came back to him. ¡°I¡¯ll sent a dozen men in,¡± Sudi explained. ¡°See if we can grab the Duke¡¯s family.¡± ¡°Use it to convince the Captain to surrender?¡± Storm probed and Sudi nodded. ¡°That¡¯s a half-decent idea. I should give you a bonus Sudi. Now you know we are hard-pressed for coin, so it¡¯ll have to wait¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯ve taken it myself Chief,¡± Sudi replied readily cutting him off. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡±
The Baron¡¯s rebellious patriots and mercenaries rushed vital points inside the city. They secured the port and taken control of the City Guard headquarters, but while attempting to arrest the Mayor to end the conflict Seth Darius was killed along with his family. The how is difficult to determine since their charred bodies were discovered days later. His estate had caught fire either by arson or accident that then had spread to the Admiralty building before getting under control by the remaining staff. No witnesses of the event are left to describe what happened, so it¡¯s better to avoid speculation at this point. In the chaos that followed Nattas¡¯ men attacked the barracks, but Captain Castel was preparing a force to help Duke Ursus replenish some of his forces and the strong group of dressed to march the next morning soldiers managed to repel the attack of the ¡®Reformed¡¯. The moniker, what Baron Nattas¡¯ brigade out of Moon¡¯s Haven is still called today. They pushed them back, but the rebels attacked again and again during the night setting part of the grounds on fire. With alarms sounding inside the large city, one of the Baron¡¯s longer serving aides Sudi Locust, penetrated the palace grounds and captured Duke Ursus family. His wife Elvira, his daughter Labiena from his first marriage and his youngest son. With the hostages at hand the Baron attempted to negotiate with Commander Castel, using Captain Vergos a local officer that sympathized with his cause as a medium. The negotiations broke down when a decent force under Lord Ursus himself appeared at the West Gates on the other side of the city. The Duke had fled back to Novesium upon hearing of Drusus Sula¡¯s troops crossing Salty Bridge and pushing his men stationed there back. Instead of rushing there to galvanize their resistance he went the other way and arrived at Novesium half a day later, a couple of hours before dawn. His men attacked the Reformed that had just managed to secure the Gate Tower at the West Gates but had posted no sentries looking outside. They routed them, the heavier armed guards and soldiers with Ursus too much for the trained but undisciplined Reformed and the Baron, who had cornered the outnumbered Captain Castel after the negotiations had failed, found himself in danger of being surrounded himself inside a hostile city with the furious Duke Ursus forces closing in through the dark streets. The God of Luck was with the cowards that night.
¡°Arrggh!¡± Storm growled livid and turned to a tired and injured Sudi. He¡¯d a cut in his left arm, the blood dripping on his cane. ¡°We need to get out.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right chief,¡± Sudi replied. ¡°We failed.¡± ¡°Ah, the burning feeling of a nail pushed in your prick from the pee-hole,¡± Storm spat bitterly, never absent inspiration for a good turn of phrase. ¡°I¡¯ll pull the men,¡± Sudi decided, but Nattas stopped him. If you can¡¯t save them all, save yourself and what¡¯s valuable, using them as fodder. ¡°Give Vergos command of those in the camp,¡± Storm told him. ¡°Inform him that Lucius values his brave sacrifice tonight. Tell the old goat to fight to the death for Regia. The blood of heroes shall feed the rightful king¡¯s claim even more and pave the way for his just return!¡± Sudi licked his dirty lips not buying any of it, but nodded with his dilapidated head. ¡°Grin will take you to the Market Chief. Then straight down the vines road to the Blacksmith district. You¡¯ll find the way to our boats there.¡± ¡°Hurry up,¡± Storm agreed. ¡°We might have to prepare a defense of our own, if that idiot Drusus isn¡¯t here soon enough.¡± ¡°Chief by the time Drusus arrives we might be dead.¡± ¡°Finish up here,¡± Nattas grunted warningly. ¡°And rush after us you pessimistic fuck!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be there chief,¡± Sudi replied with a smile.
¡°THERE!¡± A keen-eyed soldier sporting a palm tree on his cuirass growled, detecting them amidst the olive trees. ¡°MORE OF THEM REBEL CUCKS! ATTACK!¡± Abrakas you vengeful cunt. Why? Storm rushed after the stream of men retreating, breathing heavier than most, only to stop a dozen strides later and bark at Grin. ¡°Halt you stupid cretin!¡± ¡°They are approaching milord!¡± Grin retorted not slowing down. ¡°Endless gratitude for the fucking update! Are you kidding me?¡± Storm hissed, slimy sweat covering his face. ¡°I¡¯m out here running for the sport of it, in the god¡¯s darn crack of dawn!¡± ¡°Ten more coming from the Emerald Beach,¡± a Reformed reported cutting through his tirade, used helm tied on his head with a hemp cord looped around it. ¡°They might beat us to the fishing docks milord!¡± Cut them off the boats was his meaning. ¡°Stop the men!¡± Storm barked loud enough to be heard. ¡°Now Grin!¡± ¡°For what purpose?¡± Grin asked in protest. ¡°We need to smack them once in the mouth to slow them down,¡± Storm growled and removed his cloak in order to unsheathe his sword. Several of the brigands stopped as well, with some using their shields to sit on the ground. ¡°Form a line here. Do it.¡± ¡°Amidst the trees?¡± the brigand queried wasting valuable time. ¡°You wish to cut them down first to make it spacious princess?¡± Sudi retorted mockingly, stopping the man afore he could answer. ¡°It was plaguing sarcasm ye imbecilic buffoon! Not a query. Raise that fucking shield it¡¯s not a pillow to sit on!¡±
The soldiers got surprised by the Reformed turning to fight them. A man that runs after another all pumped up and sure of himself, isn¡¯t necessarily ready to fight him up close and personal, Storm thought and savagely run the startled soldier through the gut with his sword. ¡°Ergh!¡± The soldier gurgled feeling his blade tearing at his innards and spat blood out of his mouth. ¡°Suck my cock,¡± Storm retorted and kicked him aside. Took one step and hacked at the next one, feeling all rejuvenated and the adrenalin pumping inside him. He had turned forty-one a couple of weeks back, but Storm had never felt more alive than at that moment. ¡°You too,¡± Storm told the bleeding down his face soldier. ¡°Bloody cocksuckers! Slurp at it with gusto!¡± A burly soldier charged him right after his outburst, but Storm parried his longsword aside with his shorter straight blade. The clanging making his ears ring. He sidestepped found a root with soft soil under it, the left boot hooking afore sinking a bit and when he tried to turn Storm heard a loud pop. Ugh. Then a tearing sound and Nattas completely lost sense of his maimed leg for a moment. The next, a huge surge of unfathomable agony hammered his temples from both sides after running through his body and he almost swallowed his tongue. With his eyes ogled and swelling outwards, Nattas tried to dislodge his trapped foot, but failed. The pain ravaging him so much it brought tears in his eyes. The burly soldier came at him again, thin beard under his chin a washed out blond and teeth clenched. He slashed cutting him above the chest as Nattas jerked away cursing. The gush right above the nipple bleeding down his redingote. ¡°Son of a bitch,¡± the soldier cursed not expecting Storm would risk even more damage to his leg to jerk away the rest of his body. Storm¡¯s ability to react under pressure legendary. He tried again and Nattas parried furiously afore slashing him across the chest on the return. The cuirass protecting his opponent but rattling him. ¡°Hah,¡± the soldier gasped standing back trying to find his footing. Storm made to answer but his own leg gave under him and Nattas went down folding it the wrong way and almost passing out. ¡°Yer truly fucked milord,¡± the Novesium regular added with a pleased smirk. ¡°Never underestimate,¡± a flushed Storm rumbled breathing heavy whilst glaring at him from the ground, right under the olive tree. ¡°The pleasure a well-oiled phallus can bring you,¡± he counselled the burly soldier just before the arriving Sudi knifed him in the balls from behind doubling him over. The man groaned, blood painting his pants, spurting out of his clasping fingers and then crashed face first next to the awkwardly knelt Nattas. Storm flipped the blade in his hand and then plunged it in the back of the soldier¡¯s cranium with another pained groan. ¡°Are ye alright chief?¡± Sudi asked kneeling next to him. ¡°Can you move?¡± ¡°What do you think?¡± Storm spat through his clenched teeth. ¡°I stopped here to enjoy my rest or try gymnastics? The knee is fucked you cretin!¡±
¡°Well,¡± Dottore Numerius Baro said hours later near noon, examining his swollen knee and the shin dangling under it loose. ¡°The leg is fucked milord.¡± ¡°No shit. Never have I received an expert¡¯s opinion and felt not an iota more cognizant afterwards!¡± Storm hissed angrily, half of it a groan. ¡°Can you fix it you charlatan?¡± ¡°There¡¯s¡­ the ligaments are torn. The damage is catastrophic. Severed almost, flesh mauled and the bone splintered,¡± Baro replied wiping the sweat from his face anxiously. ¡°I could amputate¡ª¡± Storm had slapped the Dottore abruptly across the face stopping him. ¡°I could cut it open, slot a rod in the bone¡ª¡± This time it was a backhand that sent the Dottore on the ground with a groan of his own. ¡°A wooden brace!¡± Baro cried out from the floor a hand on his red face. ¡°Until the muscles recover, but there¡¯s nothing holding it together milord! You¡¯ll never recover motion!¡± ¡°Bring me my sword,¡± Storm ordered a worn out Sudi. ¡°You could walk on it like before, if you can withstand the discomfort!¡± Baro screamed miserably. ¡°Please I have found a wife in Moon¡¯s Haven milord!¡± Storm grimaced. ¡°Can you have it done in half an hour?¡± ¡°Not a permanent one,¡± Baro sniffled. ¡°Do it,¡± Storm grunted and turned to Sudi. ¡°Are they at the bridge? Have they crossed the river?¡± ¡°They don¡¯t know we escaped from there,¡± Sudi told him and sighed. ¡°We killed those in the olive fields, but the bulk of the Duke¡¯s soldiers had gone straight for the palace.¡± ¡°His family?¡± Storm asked. ¡°Lost them in the struggle,¡± Sudi replied. Eh. ¡°Are they gone?¡± Storm asked calmly, the pain making him flinch. He¡¯d forgotten how much agony that leg could bring him. Like an old friend that you never liked, but couldn¡¯t get rid of. Or a rush in the groin. ¡°No, they just escaped. Probably knew the fields better than us.¡± ¡°Bullshit. That fat daughter of his could barely walk. They just hid,¡± Storm grunted and breathed in and out slowly. ¡°How many do we have here?¡± ¡°Less than a hundred made it back. I have the guards under alert and posted patrols across the walls.¡± ¡°The walls can¡¯t hold for long,¡± Storm murmured and tried to get up, failed and Sudi gave him one of his old canes back. Nattas took it with a solemn grimace. ¡°Life makes circles. Like flies over a forgotten apple pie, or a corpse. A turd over a drain could be used here as well, I suppose.¡± ¡°We could evacuate the Manor. You think Ursus will come here?¡± ¡°Someone was left behind that can point a ruffian¡¯s finger at us,¡± Storm replied with grimace of pain. ¡°Ursus doesn¡¯t need a whole lot just a name and an excuse.¡± ¡°Will he come here?¡± Sudi insisted. ¡°Sula is coming for him.¡± ¡°Why retreat? He can¡¯t hold the city,¡± Storm griped and managed to walk with difficulty on his old cane towards the window overlooking the Manor¡¯s port. ¡°What¡¯s his play? Eh,¡± he said and blinked to clear his eyes. ¡°What is it?¡± Sudi asked him sounding worried. ¡°Do we have Brigs at our disposal?¡± ¡°No. You know we don¡¯t. Other than that Barque you¡¯ve bought back then,¡± Sudi replied and approached to observe himself out of the open window. ¡°That¡¯s not it,¡± Storm replied shaking his head. ¡°Fucking ruffian. Lilly-livered scum,¡± he murmured under his breath and started limping towards the door. ¡°Chief?¡± Sudi asked as he¡¯d spotted the Stag banners of Cediorum on the war vessel himself. ¡°What do we do?¡± Nattas paused at the door to his office and stared at him with feverish eyes. ¡°We weather the storm and outlive the motherfuckers,¡± he told him. ¡°It¡¯s not a pun, here¡¯s what you will do.¡±
The warship¡¯s crew had taken over the docks inside the small port. Armed marines eyeing the locals with suspicion under the brims of their helms. Its captain, a tall austere man with dark brown hair cut short and a trimmed goatee, eyed the approaching Nattas and his group in silence. An adjutant stepped forward to bar Storm¡¯s way and he had to stop with a weary sigh losing all momentum. Storm grimaced in unfathomable pain, he swallowed to remain standing under the sun. ¡°This is Captain Gareth Lennox of the Belvoir, Lord Admiral¡¯s Sir Patrick Lennox¡¯s son and second in command of the Royal Fleet,¡± the young officer announced pompously. ¡°You shall return to your dwellings mister¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m Baron Storm Nattas,¡± Storm grunted. ¡°These are my docks gentlemen and my humble abode is the building in the distance. May I enquire on the reason of your visit?¡± ¡°Is that him?¡± The adjutant asked Captain Gareth and the young noble furrowed his brow. ¡°Are you a Lucius sympathizer Baron?¡± He asked. ¡°As in a personal level?¡± Storm stalled to gauge how much Ursus had told them. He had to have sent the missive afore he departed. The letter filtering up the Lesia command to reach the Captain¡¯s father. A meeting took place, the offer discussed and then action had been ordered. A semi-decent noble sent to meet with him, or close the deal. What did he know back then? The Duke couldn¡¯t have been sure about Nattas¡¯ plan, but he would have painted him in the worst possible colors to the Lesia higher ups. ¡°I know the lad, but I never supported all this chaos.¡± ¡°We have an agreement with Duke Ursus to use the docks,¡± Gareth explained. ¡°Here and in Novesium. His word is binding to you yes?¡± ¡°Not really,¡± Storm replied. ¡°I have been given the tittle directly from the king.¡± ¡°Baron would you oppose to Lesia mooring here?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a small port for a fleet.¡± ¡°It¡¯s accommodating for smaller vessels.¡± ¡°Sure, I have no quarrel with Lesia,¡± Storm yielded with a pained smile. ¡°I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t depend on your word for it,¡± Gareth replied without a smile. ¡°I have conflicting reports painting you as a rebel.¡± ¡°From Lord Ursus?¡± ¡°No, my good Baron, from Lord Mortymer.¡± Lesia¡¯s Master of Silence. ¡°How¡¯s Cornelius? He must know I¡¯ve vacated the position,¡± Storm said cursing inwardly. ¡°You grew up with Lucius, which makes your argument thin,¡± Gareth replied unmoved. ¡°Now Ursus wants you arrested and delivered to him when we moor in Novesium to check on the facilities, which perhaps is the best option here.¡± ¡°On what charges? Because a fondness for Lord Lucius is Lesia¡¯s problem also. I¡¯ll rather be delivered there and face King Davenport¡¯s justice. The Duke wants to have me killed quietly, then my family, to take over my tittles.¡± ¡°That¡¯s preposterous!¡± Gareth spat. ¡°Duke Ursus wouldn¡¯t resort to such despicable behavior Baron!¡± ¡°Ursus is a traitor Captain,¡± Storm replied. ¡°It won¡¯t weigh heavy on his consciousness. You need to spare my family at least.¡± Gareth frowned. Come on you righteous fucking bastard! Do the right thing. ¡°Captain?¡± His adjutant queried nervously. ¡°I can¡¯t¡­ this isn¡¯t something I¡¯m authorized to intervene Baron. A Regia dispute we know nothing about, as much as it sounds distasteful,¡± he sighed and narrowed his eyes. ¡°Nattas you say?¡± Gareth asked Storm and he licked his dry lips anxiously. ¡°That¡¯s right Captain.¡± ¡°Like the vintage?¡± Gareth queried, thinking it strange. Could a Baron be a bastard? Storm loved that wine not just because it was expensive, but for it tasted of home. ¡°My family¡¯s name is on the famed North Faro fields,¡± Storm explained tiredly not believing what ancient detail would surface at this crucial point. Abrakas throwing him a bone. ¡°Best of the three variants of Flauegran wines, most just call it Faro, unless they are of high enough stature and familiar with the wine¡¯s history. A true wine connoisseur knows the minute but crucial differences.¡± ¡°Your father lost it all is that it?¡± ¡°Sold his share to Lord Riveras.¡± ¡°A gambling debt was the rumor?¡± ¡°Horses,¡± Storm retorted in disbelief nobles still gossiped about that stuff. ¡°Worked near the King¡¯s for years after he lost everything as a stable hand, afore taking his own life after another relapse.¡± ¡°A man¡¯s vices shall doom him.¡± Oh, spare me the liturgy. ¡°Gods don¡¯t much care about any of that.¡± ¡°A tragedy still,¡± Gareth argued sympathetically. ¡°Did he leave you anything?¡± ¡°Just the name and the King¡¯s sister ear,¡± Nattas replied. ¡°This, I built myself Captain from the ground up. I won¡¯t give it away.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t have a Lesia native, an old nobleman at that cut down like a common thug,¡± Gareth decided. ¡°You¡¯ll come with us Baron. I¡¯ll sent message for a ship to bring you to Cediorum. You¡¯ll be under arrest, but not under threat. We don¡¯t do that in Lesia.¡± Oh yes you do, ye righteous prick. But I¡¯ll take it. ¡°Can you climb up the ramp?¡± Captain Gareth asked him. ¡°I need to keep you held until we rest and contact Lord Ursus.¡± ¡°He¡¯ll want me surrendered to him. Probably spewing even more vitriol and lies,¡± Storm warned him and Gareth frowned. ¡°He has no authority over my ship, or my prisoners,¡± the Captain snapped angrily. ¡°He might lose Novesium also,¡± Storm warned him. ¡°Lord Sula¡¯s forces are about to take the city.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll take it under consideration. We¡¯re not amateurs to moor in a hostile port Baron!¡± Gareth grunted. ¡°Just saying,¡± Storm said in a friendly manner, despite the strain in his face. He had to rob Ursus from reinforcements. ¡°Better to keep out to protect the ships until the dust is cleared.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± Gareth murmured and stared at the docks one more time, then at the smaller unassuming vessels moored near his ship. ¡°I¡¯ll need a sturdy chair,¡± Storm interrupted the Captain¡¯s thought process, as he needed the boats to evacuate Miranda and Silvio afore Ursus arrived to gut them like pigs. Also before the Captain realized he ¡®housed¡¯ the Queen Regent in his Manor. That¡¯ll make for a very strong prisoner and despite all his talk Nattas wasn¡¯t about to deliver to Lesia nothing but his crippled sorry arse. ¡°And a couple of strong lads to carry me up the ramp,¡± he explained to the surprised Gareth Lennox and the young man stood unsure before nodding in understanding. Sudi who had watched the whole exchange worried, locked eyes with him for a moment and Storm with another pained grimace said to him casually. ¡°You open the cellar now mister Lotus, ask the wife about it,¡± his lackey¡¯s face flinching at the rare mention of his bastard surname. Also a destination. ¡°See them taken care of now eh? Take charge of things in my absence. No reason to create a ruckus doing it and by morning when our fishing boats return we¡¯ll serve a fine breakfast with the fresh deliveries. We don¡¯t have as good a wine vintage here dear Captain, but it goes down well enough when served with slowly roasted fish over hot coals and fine garlic sauce.¡± Captain Gareth a man favoring a good garlic sauce and fresh fish fillet smiled for the first time pleased. Storm would have smiled as well, but the agonizing pain in his swollen leg had numbed his face muscles and all he managed was a crooked teary snarl.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 366. Training Day Move with the breathing wind Move when the branches creak and when the leaves whistle Move when the crickets chirp and the owls hoot Counted strides like the notes on an ivory flute, hushed comes death at night, wearing a slayer¡¯s suit Following a spider¡¯s route. - Dar Nalta, Verbal Silent Servant¡¯s Magna Codex of the Circle, Unknown date -
Ralnor ¡®Larn¡¯ Dar Eherdir Fae O'' Elum Training Day
¡°Where is it?¡± Aelrindel complained and stopped her horse frustrated. She grew a shadow that a white boulder cast on the desert sands and used it to shade herself. ¡°My beautiful toes are sweating,¡± she declared and Rhys who made an effort to stay near the sorceress offered in a serious voice. ¡°I can have them wiped for you milady.¡± ¡°Goddess,¡± Lithoniela gasped in frustration. ¡°Yes?¡± Aelrindel replied casually. ¡°Just stop it, this is ridiculous!¡± The princess snapped the heat getting to her as well. ¡°I¡¯m not doing anything dear,¡± Aelrindel replied. ¡°You haven¡¯t stopped!¡± ¡°Why do they argue?¡± Toutatis asked him curious. ¡°They are usually friendly.¡± Ralnor stared at the boy with his grey eyes and then smacked his lips, before attempting to block the two Elderbloods voices out of his mind. He failed. ¡°Well?¡± Toutatis asked, his partially maimed face tanning unequally and making the scarred tissue there more prominent. ¡°Female friendships are like that. Caruso is fond of Lithoniela and the sorceress makes sure Rhys remains beholden to her.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Some things are difficult to answer,¡± Ralnor replied. ¡°That¡¯s enough talk.¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing more to do here,¡± Toutatis argued. ¡°Remember that grave near the rocks?¡± Ralnor turned on the saddle to check on the two females. ¡°The Legionnaire?¡± ¡°Uhm,¡± Ralnor replied. ¡°What of it?¡± ¡°I had him killed in Rida,¡± he replied narrowing his eyes as something on the dunes ahead of them didn¡¯t seem natural. ¡°Found his body in the desert.¡± ¡°Ralnor I want to stop,¡± Aelrindel protested. ¡°The sun is up already.¡± ¡°Not fully,¡± he retorted with a glare. ¡°Yeah I¡¯m stopping here. These rocks are as good as we will get,¡± she decided. ¡°FUCK!¡± Melon cried out as she almost tossed him off the saddle in her attempt to climb down her horse. ¡°Watch the arse pillow tits!¡± ¡°There are ruins two hundred meters ahead of us,¡± Ralnor said tiredly. ¡°Get back on that saddle sorceress.¡± ¡°No,¡± Aelrindel responded and placed her hands on her hips to glare at him. ¡°I won¡¯t.¡± ¡°That¡¯s Lebesos,¡± he explained with a sigh and wiped the sweat from his forehead. ¡°That means there are springs over that dune.¡± The sorceress pursed her plump lips, whilst lifting first one leg and then the other, as the hot sand was burning her feet through the thin soles of her sandals. She had discarded a pair of boots as impractical, an opinion no one else held, but had decided not to argue. Ralnor had gathered her boots and placed them in his saddle bags just in case Aelrindel changed her mind. No shoemakers at the near. ¡°Rhys,¡± Ralnor grunted. ¡°Help her up on the saddle,¡± he ordered him and Lithoniela scoffed not believing her ears. She rode next to him and pouted. ¡°She¡¯s doing it on purpose.¡± ¡°Princess,¡± Ralnor replied raspingly. ¡°I know her for a long time. She always does it when other females are around, but unwittingly for the most part. It¡¯s not your fault. She hates competition.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± Lithoniela murmured and rode towards the dune. Caruso followed her after a couple of moments. ¡°Ael should get all the attention,¡± Toutatis decided. The sorceress biggest fan. ¡°You know it better than anyone else.¡± Ralnor watched her chuckling at Rhys¡¯ hands on attempts to make sure she was well placed on the saddle, until Melon jumped on him and slapped him repeatedly with both his paws on the face. Calling him a long litany of colorful names. ¡°Aye I do,¡± Ralnor replied and Aelrindel turned to look their way, a pleased smile on her face as she was probably listening in shamelessly. ¡°We might need your magic,¡± he whispered to the alluring sorceress. She nodded hearing him despite standing well away and Melon¡¯s cursing that had created a pandemonium. Never change, he thought and Toutatis nodded with his head in turn, as if he could hear Ralnor too. Which was ludicrous.
Ralnor walked past the first half-buried ruins, the sides of the ancient houses sporting dark chasms in them hence golden sand poured out. Some parts were sticking out more, the rooftops and even balconies, others he could only see a partial outline on the ground. ¡°There¡¯s the green of the springs,¡± Lithoniela announced and jumped from her mount to approach the muddy soil of the old oasis near the base of the slopes. ¡°Not much water here,¡± she commented standing under the shade of a weather-beaten palm tree. ¡°The desert shifts with the winds,¡± Ralnor explained walking towards her, with Toutatis following after him. ¡°The city is never the same.¡± ¡°We dig here,¡± Caruso offered. ¡°Reveal more of the water. It is still coming out.¡± ¡°Cast a wind,¡± Ralnor told the sorceress, who was still standing on her horse. ¡°Clear us a part.¡± ¡°You want to unearth the city?¡± she complained. ¡°Push the desert back?¡± ¡°Something less evasive,¡± Ralnor grunted. ¡°Was what I had in mind?¡± ¡°He has dirty thoughts too,¡± Aelrindel revealed to Lithoniela. ¡°But hides them under sneaky wording and tasks.¡± ¡°Ha-ha!¡± Melon guffawed and walked near a muddy pool to sniff it. ¡°Busted fuck-face!¡± ¡°I could kill the cat,¡± Rhys offered, his skin a darker shade of gold after all this time in the desert. ¡°Just say the word.¡± ¡°She won¡¯t like it,¡± Ralnor reminded him and the assassin frowned. ¡°I won¡¯t kill the cat,¡± he decided. ¡°For I don¡¯t want to mess up my chances.¡± ¡°Rhys,¡± Ralnor rustled tiredly while Aelrindel rode next to the remnants of the flora to find stuff to use for a spell. ¡°The time to fool around with her was centuries ago. At her age and needs, she¡¯s a lethal companion.¡± The assassin showed him his enlarged gold incisors. ¡°I have the teeth for it.¡± ¡°No,¡± Ralnor replied. ¡°You don¡¯t.¡±
The wind came abruptly. Many small columns of spinning vortexes that grew gathering sand and material. Dry leaves, broken branches, ancient pieces of furniture and even small rocks. It blasted out moments later starting near the springs and ravaged the ancient walls and houses. Whipped past the hidden streets, blowing the desert away down to their worn out marble tiles. A neighborhood appeared, then the next. Part of the outer walls, a still standing tower, the last floor missing. Remnants of ancient gardens and yards. Parts or even full elaborate statues of the people that had lived there at one point in time still adorning their dried up ancient flower beds. Skeletons. Pieces of them. A skull here, a femur bone there. The part of a caved in torso. Human-like and several that they were not. ¡°STOP!¡± Ralnor barked at the sorceress and she glanced at him frustrated. ¡°Stop the spell!¡± He growled running towards her, as they had hidden themselves away from the epicenter to avoid getting swept away as well. ¡°I don¡¯t control it,¡± she yelled back at him, white and blue hair blowing wild over her flushed tanned face. ¡°What?¡± ¡°It¡¯ll blow away towards the desert don¡¯t worry,¡± Aelrindel assured him and breathed out tired. ¡°Look! Water is coming out with force now!¡± ¡°Where will the typhoon go?¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be miles away afore the evening. Then it shall cease on its own,¡± she explained and started discarding her robes quickly. Then got rid of her skirt tossing it in a dry spot and walked inside the shallow but rising central pool of water. There the sorceress removed her last piece of clothing and hurled it at the silent assassin. Ralnor caught the drenched undergarment with a hand before it smacked him in the face and Aelrindel chuckled mischievously at his expression. ¡°In ten minutes child of the streets, I¡¯ll be under the water,¡± she purred. ¡°Away from your lustful eyes,¡± the sorceress added theatrically dragging her voice using a hunter¡¯s echoing spell. ¡°There are Arachne inside the city,¡± Ralnor murmured his eyes on her divine figure. ¡°Don¡¯t be silly. How did they come here?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. But they did,¡± Ralnor growled and turned around. He grabbed a giant mandible Toutatis was carrying on his shoulder and tossed it next to her naked thighs. The water was rising fast. Aelrindel flinched and stepped back. Everything moving about as she splashed inside the pool. ¡°Wow,¡± Toutatis commented fully engrossed at the sight with Lithoniela sighing. ¡°I want to enjoy this too but without an audience,¡± she griped. ¡°Ralnor you don¡¯t know these aren¡¯t old trophies eh? Anyway, please give us some privacy. Take the others with you.¡± ¡°Fucking elusive water,¡± Melon said hoarsely standing at the edge of it and touched its surface fearfully with a paw. ¡°Nice, but dangerous!¡± ¡°That¡¯s too many carcasses to be trophies, not to mention too fresh,¡± Ralnor argued but backed away. These creatures hadn¡¯t died ages ago. The bone was sturdy and not brittle from sun exposure. The size of it impossible to fathom. He walked to the nearest now fully revealed building, a two story stone Zilan design that was missing part of its roof, but had plenty of shade inside. ¡°What¡¯s an Arachne?¡± Toutatis asked and picked the sorceress'' top from where Ralnor had left it. He¡¯d carried it with him unwittingly. Trophies. ¡°Leave that,¡± Ralnor grunted and removed his cloak. He wiped his sweaty face with a cloth and then got out to bring their horses in the shade as well. The house had enough room and while it wasn¡¯t a stable at its heyday it had enough space to turn into one easily. He returned after taking care of the animals and tossed a longer blade to Toutatis. He caught it and twirled around with it playfully. ¡°This is a shortsword,¡± Ralnor explained, his voice even though a bit hoarse. ¡°It¡¯s longer than a dagger, or a throwing knife. It has a sturdier blade one can sharpen to perform the duties of the knife and in a tight space it could provide more value than a normal sword. ¡°Is this a tight space?¡± Toutatis asked curious. ¡°No,¡± Ralnor replied. ¡°But this time, you¡¯ll defend inside the circle.¡± With that he stooped and drew a circle with his finger on the sand around the small sandaled feet of the boy. ¡°Eh, why can¡¯t I go out of it?¡± ¡°Because there is no space other than what you have,¡± Ralnor retorted gruffly and went to pick up a spear. ¡°Seriously?¡± ¡°Next is the axe,¡± he told him returning whilst flipping the shaft on his inner left wrist over his head and then, rotating his hand nimbly, on the outer part of it. Ralnor let the spear roll on his shoulders lowering his head and when it reached his other arm the assassin lunged forward. He attacked with the butt of the spear, dropping on a knee to put more force on his shoulder and hit Toutatis on the chest violently. The boy was lifted clean off the sand-covered ancient floor and landed two meters away on his back with a desperate pained cough and remained motionless. ¡°Ouch,¡± Rhys commented from the door of the large ruined hall. ¡°I think you knocked him out.¡± Ralnor stared at the unresponsive boy for a moment. The next Toutatis gasped and rolled to the side to empty his stomach. ¡°He¡¯s tough,¡± he replied. ¡°He¡¯ll never take a spear thrust to the chest again. Why?¡± ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake Larn,¡± Rhys griped not believing he was testing him. ¡°Because you¡¯ll use the steel point next time,¡± he recited with a pained expression, the memories still vivid. ¡°It doesn¡¯t always work you know. Sometimes people, or stuff sneak up on you.¡± ¡°If they do,¡± Ralnor replied and kicked the retching Toutatis to get him to stand up. He gestured for him to go stand inside his circle again. ¡°Then a small stone could kill you, or a finger.¡±You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
An hour later Ralnor left Toutatis with Rhys to bandage his wounds, nothing too serious of course and returned to the south edges of the buried city where the two females were still bathing in what was now a decent pool of water. ¡°How deep?¡± Ralnor asked splashing some on his face and shaven skull. ¡°Over two meters,¡± Lithoniela replied and sunk playfully to show him. He grimaced and cursed inwardly for having to play the mature role while they were having fun. Granted the princess needed it to heal her psyche from whatever Grogoceq had done and the sorceress had that in mind, but it was only half the reason for her at most. Ralnor admired that side of the sorceress character. The subtle ways of offering healing instinctively. Something she had inherited from her mother and probably her -rather famous for it- talented and long dead bigger sister. While he¡¯d never met her, Rhinariel¡¯s absence was always weighing heavy on Edlenn and her very young then second daughter. ¡°Ralnor your mood is giving me a headache,¡± the sorceress moaned sensing his thoughts, thoroughly wet and muddy from her spot at the edge of the pool, with the water stopping just above her comely navel. ¡°You found some bones and a spider carcass, so what? There¡¯s a snake licking my big toe right now.¡± ¡°There are no Arachne outside Cydonia,¡± Ralnor rustled, half of it because he was insulted, the other from arousal at the picture she had painted for him. And while Lithoniela was perhaps not doing it on purpose, the sorceress did to torture him. ¡°Never have been. There was water separating the continents and whoever ¡®used¡¯ one, knew to keep an eye on it and not release it in nature. Even if they did, why here? Why in the middle of the desert?¡± ¡°We could look¡ª¡± Lithoniela tried to say, but the sorceress stopped her. ¡°Listen to me Ralnor,¡± Aelrindel told him face turning serious, although the mud and leaves covered heavy breasts moving as she breathed on her naked torso, thinned the gravity of the sorceress¡¯ words. ¡°The Arachne can¡¯t procreate. They are spell-forged creatures sure, but I doubt they can swim. My mother had one for years. She practically lived in our atrium in a sense.¡± ¡°She?¡± ¡°Qerrali,¡± Aelrindel replied. ¡°They were all females, yay big¡­¡± she showed him over the surface of the water. ¡°Elas had one. Ours had been Sintoriela¡¯s first. A gift from Kallister, who had them made somehow. That was way before my time. Anyways, cute little thing, so nervous! Six in total they were. That was it. I think most of them are dead now.¡± ¡°That mandible looked like it¡¯d come from a bigger creature,¡± Ralnor hissed. ¡°Nothing cute about it!¡± ¡°Look at how angry he is,¡± she told Lithoniela. ¡°He hasn¡¯t had sex in ages,¡± the sorceress whispered in a fake conspiratorial tone. An insulted Ralnor opened his mouth to argue, feeling his blood boiling, but Lithoniela intervened afore he could speak. ¡°Maybe they escaped?¡± The princess argued to stop the conversation from derailing completely. ¡°How? The place blew up!¡± The sorceress countered and splashed out of the pool frustrated. A water viper followed after her a moment later, but stayed docile near her feet hissing. ¡°We stopped here to rest and rejuvenate our skin and weary bodies. The sun can be harmful in big doses.¡± ¡°Dar Minuet Bol talked of the surviving Circle and Dar Nym,¡± Ralnor replied trying to keep his tempers in check. Centuries of training couldn¡¯t prepare one to remain calm around ¡®sweet¡¯ Aelrindel. ¡°Nym?¡± Lithoniela asked following the sorceress out of the water. While she had most of her outfit on, she was equally enticing to Ralnor¡¯s eyes. She paused in front of him thoughtfully. ¡°That¡¯s what my mother called Aenymriel in private. She was always so formal it stayed with me,¡± Lithoniela murmured, her hard small nipples pressing at her soaked top and a warmth emanating from her in waves. Ralnor gulped down slowly, blinking once, his mind too numb to process the information. ¡°Lith,¡± Aelrindel said soothingly. ¡°Stop it.¡± ¡°Ah,¡± Lithoniela gasped and blushed fiercely. She stepped back and looked away. ¡°Apologies master Ralnor.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need for that,¡± he croaked still feeling her influence strong. ¡°I¡¯m available to be used princess.¡± ¡°Aww, such strong vibes here,¡± Aelrindel gushed happy they were all getting along. ¡°Let¡¯s all come together tonight under the moonlight. It¡¯s as good a place as any.¡± ¡°Nym,¡± Ralnor rustled glaring at her. ¡°Aenymriel was Elas¡¯ sister,¡± the sorceress explained rolling her eyes. ¡°She was mad as a hat. An ugly disturbed and useless thing.¡± ¡°She was working in the palace. Always came after council meetings,¡± Lithoniela argued. ¡°My mother was sending her all over the realm on errands.¡± ¡°Nym is a female?¡± Ralnor murmured still too shocked and affected to pay attention to the princess¡¯ words, or look at her. ¡°What was her role in the palace?¡± Aelrindel asked, unbothered by Lithoniela¡¯s aroused state, or her own complete nakedness. ¡°Nothing nefarious. She was a surveyor,¡± Lithoniela replied. ¡°Hmm,¡± Aelrindel said thoughtfully and stooped to pick up the snake. It slithered up her forearm and coiled around her neck. ¡°Stay there, it¡¯s cooling,¡± she ordered the dangerous serpent to normal folk, afore turning to the waiting and despite the nearby water¡¯s presence, sweating Ralnor. ¡°How did I miss her?¡± ¡°Were you in the palace?¡± Lithoniela asked and that seemed to wake the sorceress up. ¡°Once, very briefly,¡± Aelrindel replied. ¡°Perhaps that explains it.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t even know she existed,¡± Ralnor grunted. ¡°If Nym is there now then we¡¯re in danger.¡± Would Reeves have allowed her near him? Does he even know? ¡°She would never harm me,¡± Lithoniela said. Yeah, I¡¯m not as sure. ¡°She¡¯ll harm her though,¡± Ralnor replied instead. And me, if I don¡¯t get to her first. Now, he had a target. After so many years getting hunted, Fae O¡¯ Elum finally gets the opportunity to hunt his pursuers. Kill them all. Oras has spoken. ¡°I¡¯ll handle her another way,¡± Aelrindel said interrupting his murderous thoughts. ¡°Bol said the Circle is still active that means Dar Fenog or even worse Dar Draug could still be breathing,¡± he grunted putting the situation into the proper context for her. Sometimes she needed to be reminded of the rest of the world and its workings. Well that, or a boot in the arse. Aelrindel''s face turned pale and the viper raised its compact wedge-shaped dark green head and hissed warningly at them. ¡°Who are they?¡± Lithoniela asked and walked near the upset sorceress. ¡°Witnesses from the day her mother died have long claimed three assassins had entered Nesande¡¯s Garden that day under disguise. Bol, Varg and Din. Nym¡¯s lieutenants were always five like the basic elements. Bol was like the breeze of air striking from afar, Varg was one with the earth and nature, Din was ever fluid on his approach like water and Dar Eherdir who was like the Aether. Never there.¡± ¡°The fifth was you?¡± Lithoniela asked calmly. Ralnor grimaced knowing what she was thinking. ¡°I had a contract. It¡¯s how the Guild works. I¡¯ve done work for your mother as well.¡± ¡°You lied to me,¡± Lithoniela said turning cold. ¡°I didn¡¯t,¡± Ralnor replied angry with himself and Aelrindel for lulling him into a trap. That¡¯s why you keep your darn mouth shut and don¡¯t talk. Oras Hells! A gossipy Silent Servant is perhaps good at parties but useless as an assassin. And probably not long for this realm. ¡°Reeves survived,¡± Aelrindel intervened. ¡°The fault lies with me. I did have a quarrel with his family, but decided to follow your suggestion and forget the past. You should perhaps do the same princess.¡± ¡°Have you really though?¡± Lithoniela asked her accusingly. ¡°Forgotten about the past?¡± ¡°I try your highness truly,¡± Aelrindel hissed her eyes narrowing. ¡°Your mother had mine killed. I¡¯d say it¡¯s a bit more serious than an attempt on a cute human¡¯s life!¡± ¡°A friend!¡± Lithoniela snapped blushing. ¡°My mother!¡± Aelrindel snapped back and tossed the nervous viper away in anger. When has that Reeves fool turned cute in their talks? Ralnor wondered with a frown. What is this fresh malarkey? ¡°Who was the fifth member?¡± Lithoniela asked with a pout matching that of the sorceress, who was shockingly sucking on the bloody bite marks left on her tanned forearm in the meantime, apparently to get the poison out. Eh. She had developed an immunity to most poisons after playing with them for centuries, so it wasn¡¯t alarming. Probably. ¡°Dar Nalta, the fiery light. The lit fire, or glittering reflection,¡± Ralnor replied hearing the clanging of blades on the mirror surface of the Circle again with a shiver. ¡°But it never left the Circle.¡± ¡°A physical place?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. I think so,¡± Ralnor murmured and turned to look at her. ¡°Back in Cydonia?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Then he¡¯s dead. Or she,¡± Lithoniela said thoughtfully. ¡°Right?¡± ¡°So is Bol,¡± Aelrindel reminded them. ¡°You could be wrong about the other two.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not the point,¡± Ralnor retorted and turned to her in frustration, a huge white-grey spider lowering itself over the sorceress silently cutting his words short abruptly. ¡°What¡ª?¡± Aelrindel gasped a little concerned seeing his face, then the steel peleg he now held in his hand. ¡°Arachne,¡± Ralnor hissed in a warning low voice his eyes on the creature. Easily the size of a wagon, so nowhere near ¡®yay big¡¯ as she had told them. ¡°Don¡¯t move a muscle.¡± The sorceress of course did the exact opposite thing.
Ralnor returned to their commandeered ruined building, about three kilometers away from the springs, two hours later with the two silent females in tow. He sported a huge gash at the side of his neck, slowly healing and his leather armor was damaged where the Arachne¡¯s foreleg had stricken him. His chest still hurting. He tossed the head of the Arachne in the middle of the sand covered floor and Caruso who was resting using a saddle for a pillow jumped on his feet with an unmanly yelp and run ten meters away to the other wall of the spacious abandoned ruin. ¡°That¡¯s not food fuckface,¡± Melon commended opening an eye, afore returning to his nap. Rhys smacked his lips and stared at his old trainer, while a curious Toutatis used a dagger to work on the severed and still leaking foul fluids smashed head. ¡°It¡¯s an Arachne,¡± Lithoniela explained and Caruso retorted still standing well away. ¡°There¡¯s more of it?¡± ¡°That¡¯s only the head.¡± ¡°Fuck¡­ apologies Lady Lith, but god darnit¡­ fucking hells!¡± Caruso could barely speak, shivering all over. ¡°That¡¯s a huge¡­ huge! Spider¡­ by the allGods, I hate spiders!¡± ¡°It¡¯s an Arachne,¡± Lithoniela corrected him. ¡°Looks like a spider to me!¡± Caruso shrieked on the verge of panic. ¡°It smells foul,¡± Toutatis commented, sniffing at his dagger. ¡°There are more of them?¡± ¡°Absolutely,¡± Ralnor replied and glared at the pouting sorceress. She had almost gotten him killed. Again. He had to shove her out of the way and the Arachne rushed him instead. Had he not gotten it between the compound eyes with the first chop, Ralnor would be in the beast¡¯s stomach now. Or sucked dry out of fluids and left for the babies. ¡°That¡¯s not a female,¡± Aelrindel protested a little embarrassed for being proven wrong afore an audience. ¡°It¡¯s not a magical creature.¡± ¡°Fuck does that mean?¡± Caruso asked still rattled. ¡°Pardon the hoarse language miladies, but I¡¯m under a lot of stress here!¡± ¡°So¡­ more of these gnarly creatures,¡± Rhys started, seeing the bigger picture. ¡°Are roaming the ruins?¡± ¡°Aye,¡± Ralnor rustled still glaring at the sorceress. ¡°I panicked,¡± she griped and then added accusingly. ¡°Your warning sucked!¡± ¡°I told you not to move!¡± ¡°Wow, she got you all rattled up Larn?¡± Rhys asked with a smile. ¡°All them training lessons, eh,¡± the half-breed assassin added as if he knew what he was talking about. It would be nigh disturbing if his pupil knew something Dar Eherdir didn¡¯t. Ralnor breathed out in frustration. ¡°We need to get out of here.¡± ¡°Males can¡¯t procreate,¡± the sorceress insisted unwilling to admit she was wrong on this one. ¡°What you see here is a monster, but I found no threads spreading. It¡¯s just a creature out hunting.¡± ¡°Alright, I like her a lot,¡± Rhys admitted with a grimace. ¡°But I don¡¯t understand what she¡¯s talking about Larn, which has me concerned. I want to know with what the fuck we¡¯re dealing here. Unknowns can kill ye fast in our line of work.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not a line of work I¡¯m prepared to entertain!¡± Caruso growled. ¡°I¡¯ve enough dealing with the other thing!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care about the how,¡± Ralnor replied. ¡°I care about the now. We have a problem. Two more can be dangerous, but I sense a lot more are lurking about.¡± ¡°What was it doing at the springs?¡± Rhys asked. ¡°Came for water I suppose.¡± ¡°We did restart the oasis ecosystem in a sense,¡± Lithoniela added to his words. ¡°Fauna will return.¡± ¡°Milady with all the respect and admiration, there¡¯s fauna and then there is that thing,¡± Caruso argued shivering, still keeping his distance. ¡°Let¡¯s burn it, just to be sure.¡± ¡°If there are more,¡± Aelrindel griped stubbornly. ¡°Then they stay in the dark, or underground. A cellar, or a cave.¡± ¡°Now this I get,¡± Rhys said scrunching his jaw. ¡°And I must say I don¡¯t like where it is going at all?¡± ¡°Do you really want to go looking?¡± Ralnor grunted. The sorceress shrugged her shoulders. ¡°I want to see their female. This shouldn¡¯t be happening. Melon can¡¯t procreate¡ª¡± ¡°I can fuck plenty pillow tits!¡± Melon blasted her and jumped to his feet. Sniffed at the large severed head and hissed. ¡°Good grief that¡¯s nasty. Count me out pussies! This cat is staying in the sun.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be dark soon,¡± Rhys reminded him. ¡°Well, suck my hairy dick furless dude, but not with those fangs,¡± Melon retorted and eyed the assassin with a half-decrepit face, still showing the burns he¡¯d suffered. ¡°I¡¯ll stay with the horses. Throw them under the wagon if it comes to that,¡± he turned to the silent horses at the far edge of the hall. ¡°Sorry long mugs, but I¡¯m afraid your lives just aren¡¯t worth that much.¡±
Toutatis stood atop the cracked ancient wall and waved with his small arm at Ralnor who was atop another building and was staring down the empty street. The sorceress spell had attacked the desert in a large part of the buried city near the springs and cleaned some of it away. It had carved out the old streets again and revealed some of the still standing sturdier buildings. There was still sand inside and everywhere else really, softer gusts slowly bringing it back. In months the desert would be back, unless nature managed to rebuild the barrier near the springs. If it did then some life would be back in Lebesos. The city though just couldn¡¯t be saved. And life is already here, Ralnor thought his eyes on Aelrindel standing in the middle of the large street chanting. He closed his eyes, the city silent as if listening to the words spoken in the old Witch¡¯s Tongue and the night equally still, but for the short gushes of air. Move with the breathing wind, Nym whispered in his ear the words he heard inside the Circle. A baby¡¯s voice, then a grown woman¡¯s. Move when the branches creak and when the leaves whistle. Move when the crickets chirp and the owls hoot. Counted strides like the notes on an ivory flute, hushed comes death at night, clad in a slayer¡¯s suit¡­ Following a spider¡¯s route. A ball of pure white light shot twenty meters up released from the sorceress¡¯ hands and hovered over that part of the ancient city. Ralnor opened his eyes slowly, dark and grey turned to the bright yellow of the ruins and the sands. The pink on the marble columns and the grey and blue of the statues. Gold and silver. And white with dotted red lurking where once shadows ruled. Repeated clanging was heard. Many sharp keratinous feet stabbing at the mostly cleaned of sands tiles. Like steel blades now that the protective layer had been removed and something flickered in his numb mind, like a buried horrified memory. Buried, or scratched out of his brains with a scalpel. Ralnor rolled on the edge of the rooftop, metal crossbow in hands aimed low. He breathed out gently, his eyes on the slowly emerging white-bodied Arachne pouring into the street. Their numbers staggering. He glanced across to Toutatis and blinked seeing another giant eight legged creature approaching the boy. Toutatis returned his stare with a grimace and a tiny warning gesture, whilst remaining perfectly still. The boy had spotted it. Ralnor slowly turned his head around and glanced behind his own back. Sure enough a two meter tall Arachne was standing there, chelicerae clicking once warningly. ¡°SPEAK TO ME!¡± Aelrindel cried out from down the street and Ralnor flinched, a drop of sweat slowly running down his left brow. The Arachne twitched nervously at the vibrations of the sorceress¡¯ voice. It moved sideways looping around the knelt assassin. ¡°WHERE IS YOUR WISE MOTHER, OH YE BROODS OF THE WEB?¡± Aelrindel sang lyrically even louder. Fuck¡¯s sake doll, Ralnor cursed inwardly and the nervous Arachne moved again twice as fast the other way. The looping maneuver bringing it closer to him. TAK-TAK-TAK. Oras Hells and witch¡¯s visions. ¡°Ana e Iliwe Sulwao,¡± Aelrindel insisted from the street, now surrounded. ¡°A Na-Marie. Etsen Vanwa Naina Silome! Vaktele O¡¯ In Ithil, Opo Lein Lasta!¡± What? Ralnor gasped and the Arachne made to lunge to get him whilst distracted, Dar Eherdir¡¯s steel bolt disappearing into one of its compound red eyes putting an end to that. The Arachne dashed with a drawn out hiss right, but Ralnor was already traveling mid-air, landed on its turning hairy back and stabbed both his shortswords into its neck repeatedly. One, two. Again. In a cycling butchering rhythm. Eat steel you foul beast. ¡°They¡¯ll talk,¡± an excited Aelrindel said from the street stopping him -sort of. ¡°Don¡¯t do anything silly now.¡± Ugh. A heavy breathing Ralnor glanced at Toutatis, the boy gave him a thumbs up with one arm, the other flipping its dagger expertly to keep its Arachne distracted and Ralnor slowly sunk down disappearing from the boy¡¯s field of view, as the injured creature died under him and its hairy long legs gave out. ¡°There¡¯s a brood mother here,¡± an animated now unseen sorceress cried from beyond the raised lip of the rooftop and a covered in gluey green and orange insect gore Ralnor grunted, but remained otherwise silent. ¡®To the Heavens above our greetings,¡¯ the talented witch had said earlier. There wasn¡¯t a creature breathing she couldn¡¯t communicate were the legends. Or find a way to do it. ¡®Ever be well. Forget past laments this night! Trade with the Moon, before thy sight!¡¯ And the Arachne had.
END OF WINGS O¡¯ FATE | PART II
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 367. Blood Kin
The Old Realms ~ACT V~ The Wings of Fate PART III
Remember Traveler; Calamity awaits those who forget. - Histories volume II The Old Realms Chapter IX -Epilogue- - (Proscribed Edition) Gallio Veturius circa 99 NC
Glen Arguen Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Lord of Morn Taras Monarch of Sinya Goras King beyond the Pale Mountains Aniculo Rokae Blood Kin
Late Spring 193 NC Year 3399 of the Imperial Calendar Morn Taras (Tenebrous Castle) Goras
Daddy?
¡°The Merchant¡¯s Guild of the Peninsula would like a meeting to discuss the new opportunities of the sea route great Caliph,¡± Glen stared at the Castellan with cold unsympathetic eyes. Metu¡¯s face contorted briefly. ¡°Illustrious Monarch, they require but half an hour to offer their ideas in person. They have a letter of introduction from Lord Sopat.¡± Glen remained silent sitting slanted on the black granite throne. Eilven had just finished it. ¡°Voron needs, right¡­¡± Metu said seeing his stony expression. ¡°Fikumin has called for a full Council meeting. He also needs a decision on the Bedale matter. Four suggestions have been approved for your eyes. That¡¯ll be the transport that was raided indisputable Sovereign.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll raid one of their own,¡± Glen rustled. ¡°Great Monarch this isn¡¯t perhaps¡ª¡± ¡°Next matter,¡± Glen cut him off impatiently scratching the polished granite arm-supports with his nails. Metu stared at his scrolls. ¡°Captain Horton needs a plan for the disturbance¡ª¡± ¡°Next,¡± Glen grunted. ¡°Lady Jinx would like¡ª¡± ¡°Wait, wasn¡¯t she here last night?¡± Glen asked. ¡°She¡¯s still here impervious Monarch.¡± ¡°She¡¯s using official letters to talk to me?¡± ¡°Ehm¡­ that would be affirmative¡­ aye. She learned of the practice recently.¡± ¡°What else do you have?¡± Glen hissed through his teeth. ¡°Roran¡¯s expedition report, Abarat correspondence. Let¡¯s see, a letter from Lady Olonelis, a letter from Lord Onas, several from Lord Folen, a petition from Lord Elwuin to rebuild the bridge over Serpent¡¯s Canal, also attached in the same letter two proposals. One for the restoration of Quiceran¡¯s Academy and the beautification¡ª¡± ¡°Leave Elwuin, move to the next,¡± Glen cut him off. ¡°Anfalon signed off on Vulreon¡¯s official report of the Campaign and your ascension. With your permission I¡¯ll insert it into the records.¡± ¡°No,¡± Glen said. ¡°I¡¯ll need to look at it first. How big is it?¡± ¡°As in¡­ well it¡¯s a hefty manuscript.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll study it together Metu,¡± Glen said. ¡°Are you finished?¡± ¡°The army is due back. Sam Mathews¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯ll see them later. Anything with adventurers is a financial matter. What else?¡± ¡°Kilynia and Rimeros, along with Rybel are expected with the next ship. They asked for accommodations.¡± ¡°As in housing?¡± Glen asked. ¡°Something near the lake.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have anything. And these are very coveted pieces of real estate. Soletha can put them in Sinya Goras port.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a week away. They are members of your Council. The Master of Ships and two advisors.¡± Glen sighed ruggedly. ¡°The other port then. It¡¯s nearer. You must be finished by now.¡± ¡°High Priest Voldomir is outside.¡± ¡°Does he have an appointment?¡± ¡°I believe his words were¡­ no doors are closed to Nesande¡¯s faithful?¡± ¡°These doors are,¡± Glen grunted not amused. ¡°He¡¯s not going to leave peacefully superb Monarch,¡± Metu argued. ¡°I really don¡¯t want to speak to the priest friend,¡± Glen said and got up from his throne. ¡°Well then. Vaelenn has asked in a personal letter if she¡¯s to remain in Abarat.¡± ¡°She is for the time being. Now that¡¯s it Metu. Get out,¡± Glen ordered impatiently. ¡°You need to start working on your presentations they are long and tedious.¡± ¡°Apologies Monarch. I¡¯ve left Lo-Minas out, but I¡¯ll see to make a summary of it,¡± Metu replied and turned to walk outside the long hall. Glen watched him drag his feet towards the double doors. He knocked, Hagen opened the right and Voldomir burst inside. The priest¡¯s feet were covered in mud and some of it was on his robes as well. He glared at Metu, waved his staff at the scowling Hagen and then continued down the hall towards Glen¡¯s distant throne with the guard following him. Damn it. ¡°It¡¯s alright Hagen. I¡¯ll see the Priest of Nesande,¡± Glen told the frustrated guard and he stopped and walked back outside. ¡°The Monarch of Wetull has the High Priest wait outside the hall!¡± Voldomir roared approaching. He left dirt on the polished granite tiles and imprints of his muddy sandals. ¡°Two days. For two days I¡¯ve walked from the temple to see you and this is the treatment I receive?¡± ¡°You have horses at your disposal Voldomir,¡± Glen replied and poured wine in a silver goblet. Voldomir grabbed it and drunk it in a go. ¡°There¡¯s some goat cheese in the bowl,¡± Glen offered filling another goblet for himself. ¡°Hmm,¡± Voldomir murmured and reached for it. ¡°Any grapes? Your table is rather poor for a King of Wetull.¡± ¡°Voldomir I really don¡¯t have time.¡± ¡°What is it you have to do that¡¯s more important than speaking to the High Priest?¡± Ah, pretty much everything else? ¡°On what matter?¡± Glen asked tiredly and returned to the throne. The distance from the tables at the side walls around twenty meters. Voron¡¯s architecture asked for fit well-trained folk to survive it. Glen climbed up the many stairs and collapsed on the throne. Voldomir approached and sat on the silver throne next to him. ¡°Well, this seat sucks,¡± he commented. ¡°It¡¯s not finished. There¡¯s a leather cushion that will soften it.¡± ¡°Hmm. Can you actually see down the corridor?¡± Voldomir asked squinting his eyes. ¡°Not really, but we economize on the candles until I bring more lightstones in.¡± ¡°Where will you find them?¡± ¡°In Quiceran¡¯s road?¡± Glen looked at him. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t know that.¡± ¡°The tunnel collapsed¡­ its ceiling revealed them,¡± Glen explained. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Earthquake?¡± Glen shrugged his shoulders and sipped at the wine, his mind elsewhere. ¡°Arachne digging in.¡± ¡°Arachne, in the tunnels?¡± Voldomir asked. ¡°You find it strange? I¡¯ve found them in the desert also. At Lebesos.¡± ¡°Are you sure? Lebesos was wiped out in a moon, perhaps less¡­ ah, it''s centuries old story,¡± Voldomir replied reminiscing. ¡°A plague?¡± ¡°Nobody knows. The desert claimed everything and people just stopped going there. Like Tarsos it succumbed to the elements when the water turned scarce. There¡¯s probably some detailed explanation somewhere, but this happened¡­ during the First Era Garth.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°Twenty¡­ and some change centuries back. Might be much more come to think of it. Hmm.¡± ¡°Most normal folk would have said years there, decades¡­¡± Glen groaned and smacked his lips. ¡°You wanted something Voldomir?¡± ¡°How¡¯s the princess?¡± The priest asked without hesitation. ¡°It¡¯s a personal matter,¡± Glen grunted and glared at him. Daddy? The girl had asked. ¡°I¡¯m the High Priest,¡± Voldomir retorted undaunted. ¡°You put me in charge of matters of the state with the position. I didn¡¯t ask for it, but you did it anyway. I can¡¯t perform my duties when rumors circulate the temple.¡± ¡°What rumors?¡± ¡°The Lady Sovereign lost a child. Don¡¯t you scowl now, rumors spread,¡± Voldomir replied. ¡°People fear we might lose another.¡± Glen got up frustrated and walked to the edge of the lacquered stand and the stairs descending from the throne. The gigantic dark hall ominous to his eyes, like a deep underground cave. ¡°You should have forced Voron to open windows,¡± the priest said. ¡°Wyverns live in caves Garth.¡± ¡°Inis-Mir is fine,¡± Glen told him keeping his voice steady. ¡°If the faithful ask you about her concerned, this is what you should answer priest.¡± Voldomir nodded with his aged Zilan head and got up with a grimace of discomfort. He glared at the unfinished silver throne. ¡°A child can be fragile in its infancy. Zilan or human,¡± Voldomir said compassionately. ¡°A loss is always part of nature, but the Goddess knows better.¡± ¡°It was a curse,¡± Glen spat bitterly. ¡°What killed it¡­ him I guess.¡± ¡°By whom?¡± Voldomir asked, not particularly surprised. ¡°A Sibyl named Ena.¡± ¡°Who let her out of her tomb?¡± ¡°Rothomir.¡± Voldomir nodded and stooped over, placing both hands on his staff for support. ¡°What of the princess?¡± ¡°No curse,¡± Glen replied and looked at him. ¡°I¡¯ve kept secrets for many kings and queens. I can keep one for the King beyond the Pale Mountains,¡± the ancient priest replied. ¡°Who says that?¡± Glen asked. ¡°The Merchants. Cofols, Lorians pfft¡­ this is Wetull. You¡¯re its Monarch. Don¡¯t concern yourself with petty matters.¡± ¡°What you know of the Saereg?¡± Glen asked deciding to ask for an outsider¡¯s opinion. Voldomir furrowed his thick washed out blue brows and then returned to the silver throne. He sat on it keeping the old staff between his legs. ¡°Who gave it to her?¡± He asked evenly. ¡°Does it matter?¡± ¡°You had it laying about?¡± Voldomir asked. ¡°It¡¯s a potion.¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°It came from Angrein.¡± ¡°Mehtar O¡¯ Mecatan,¡± Voldomir said. ¡°The ¡®Swordsman¡¯s arms-maker¡¯. Cim-tan they used to call them. Blade-makers, but then old Isil came along and made the metal sing. Fergen was at that time more popular for he was cheap and quick to produce all manners of tools. Like your peleg.¡± ¡°It belonged to a friend,¡± Glen said. ¡°Isil took few pupils to teach his secrets, but his best one was Angrein. By then the name of the artisans had been paraphrased to mean Imperial Blacksmith. The boy turned to a man aging fast -for he was a human from the Split Isles brought over the divide and Isil sought to salvage his skills from perish.¡± ¡°Is that what it does?¡± Glen asked trying to process the information. ¡°It wasn¡¯t supposed to. A mage and alchemist working for Kallister looked to create an elixir to boost the magic in Zilan blood. Make it more potent and stop it from aging its caster if he delved into the forbidden paths. Tinyssos aye¡­ a bit before my time though I heard it when I was young. Master Tinyssos tried everything and finally used a Wyvern¡¯s blood in the mixture. Don¡¯t ask for the ingredients for I don¡¯t know them. I heard many things over the centuries. Pulverized Chimera bones, liquid gold, a basilisk¡¯s glans, a baby dwarf¡¯s toe and a live blue frog among others.¡± ¡°How did they find Wyvern¡¯s blood?¡± ¡°Tinyssos turned to the Imperial Blacksmiths and your friend Laedan. They handled the young Wyverns. They provided a young one, a baby. It didn¡¯t survive the procedure. They couldn¡¯t have taken blood from a mature Wyvern of course.¡± ¡°Did it work?¡± ¡°Tinyssos tried it on himself and died soon after from it,¡± Voldomir replied. ¡°The mixture he created was lethal for a Zilan. His student Dudrina the black witch, took over from him and kept working on the potion herself.¡± ¡°Why black?¡± ¡°She was¡­ dark skinned and dark haired. Both she and Tinyssos were from the Coal Isle in Cydonia. Nasty people. Luthos lovers. They¡¯ll attempt anything just in case they luck out.¡± Glen¡¯s face remained calm. ¡°Not all favor Nesande priest.¡± ¡°Few with brains don¡¯t. That rebellious Soletha prays to the Moon¡¯s Daughter. Hah-ha! But the ¡®Moon¡¯ which was that airhead¡¯s mother was the illustrious Goddess¡¯ priestess. Named after Her moon that stays over our heads. The other choices are either a cruel Dragon, or the vile Kraken. You tell me who is best to work with.¡± ¡°What about the new Gods?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll bow to the children and scorn their parents?¡± Glen sighed. ¡°It worked on humans¡¯ right?¡± He asked abandoning the talk on religion. ¡°Well, she went to the King with it for funding. Ninthalor a person of great curiosity and equal measures of vanity, decided to use it on his slaves. Killed four in a row with the potion afore one survived. I¡¯m forgetting his name. I believe he was killed by the Queen consort some time later in a hunting excursion. She shot him through the mouth, when the inebriated King praised his oral-pleasuring skills in front of her.¡± ¡°Go on,¡± Glen said over his shoulder going to refill his goblet. It was a trek and a half. ¡°I¡¯ll bring the leftover cheese for you priest.¡± ¡°Ask for some mature grapes as well for the road back, or salted nuts well dried and dipped in honey. Surely you have a slave or two around.¡± ¡°The temple has run out?¡± ¡°The temple feeds everyone bringing gifts. They lick their plates clean to get their money¡¯s worth back.¡± ¡°Gifts which you collect,¡± Glen said returning to the thrones. ¡°Yes, but I can¡¯t eat the trinkets Garth. My teeth aren¡¯t what they were.¡± ¡°You are very uncourtly in yer manners unlike the others.¡± ¡°If you wanted a courtly priest, you would have kept Vaelenn, or put Soletha in my place,¡± Voldomir replied. ¡°I met a friend of yours called Feyras, a priest of Eodrass in Lo-Minas.¡± ¡°Bah, stay well away from him,¡± Voldomir advised. ¡°He¡¯s lost it aye. Never was that well to begin with.¡± ¡°Why keep him on the job?¡± ¡°The priest of Eodrass,¡± Voldomir said looking at him sternly. ¡°You don¡¯t just remove Garth.¡± Ah. ¡°He¡¯s rather fond of you.¡± ¡°Was he drunk? On mushrooms?¡± ¡°He was I believe. The first, but I wouldn¡¯t outright dismiss the latter.¡± ¡°That explains it.¡± ¡°What happened after the potion worked on Ninthalor¡¯s slave?¡± Glen asked changing the subject. ¡°The King forgot all about it, but Dudrina kept looking for funding for her research, as she was not well-accepted by the Witches of the Coven it was difficult for her. Rich Zilan started using it to preserve their most beloved slaves and also for economic reasons as retraining a new one was deemed a waste of the previous investment in time and coin.¡± ¡°Get to the point Voldomir.¡± ¡°The point King Garth is,¡± Voldomir retorted chewing on the cheese and washing his mouth with wine. ¡°Good slaves died right and left, with few successes so the potion was set aside and soon it was all but forgotten.¡± ¡°But for those that had taken it,¡± Glen said. ¡°Aye. It brought longevity. Angrein is proof of that, but little improvement in the other skills that I know of. Of course since most were slaves, they kept the details for themselves.¡± ¡°Any of them around other than Angrein?¡± ¡°Baltoris released them from their long service. One of her first acts. Some had continued far beyond their natural living capacity. There was a Gish that lived over six centuries as a slave afore being released. He was found dead in the streets some weeks later. A suicide.¡± ¡°They lasted that long, the others?¡± ¡°Nobody knows. Some drop dead without warning, others like Angrein are still standing. It remains a mystery really why it reacts differently.¡± He stared at him and Glen returned his stare. They both were thinking of Luthos probably. ¡°What was the difference you believe?¡± Glen probed a bit further as he couldn¡¯t rely on luck. ¡°Was it perhaps the degradation of the potency after the first couple of batches?¡± ¡°Sure a lack of materials or ingredients played a role, especially after Baltoris banned ¡®risqu¨¦ practices¡¯ and the Wyverns stopped reproducing.¡± ¡°Inis-Mir seems healthy and it is some time now,¡± Glen said his stomach not favoring the wine all of a sudden. ¡°Anything out of the ordinary?¡± Voldomir asked. Daddy? His daughter called in his sleep. Look what I found. ¡°Nothing that I¡¯ve noticed,¡± Glen replied with a nervous twitch on his left eye.
Glen climbed the stairs to the royal chambers of the castle some time later and nodded at Maeriel standing outside his daughter¡¯s bedroom. ¡°Jinx?¡± He asked. ¡°She stayed for a bit and then left.¡± ¡°Out of a window?¡± ¡°Aye, Arguen Garth. I gathered the rope she used. She hates reporting to your guards.¡± It¡¯s called palace security for crying out loud. ¡°Where did she find so much rope?¡± ¡°She jumped the final portion.¡± ¡°Is she breathing still?¡± ¡°Aye, but your lemon tree perished.¡± Glen saw Iskay appear at the door of Sen¡¯s quarters. The redhead bowed her head once and Glen pressed his mouth tight. ¡°I¡¯ll see to her in a moment,¡± he told Maeriel and walked to the slave. Iskay moved away from him and Glen paused to glare at her. ¡°Is she awake?¡± ¡°Yes master Garth.¡± ¡°See to have a meal in the kitchens now.¡± ¡°Aye master Garth.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not angry at you Iskay.¡± ¡°I can understand master Garth,¡± she replied in a low voice. ¡°If you are.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m not,¡± Glen retorted and walked inside to see Sen.
Sen had gradually improved, but it was always one bad day away for all the progress to be lost in a cruel setback. Soletha thought that as long as she kept fighting the poison could slowly be expelled and she kept administering healing potions and elixirs to fortify her constitution. His wife was fighting harder than anyone Glen had ever met that was for certain. ¡°I knew you¡¯ll come,¡± Sen-Iv told him and got up. Even in her weakened state his wife¡¯s face was beautiful, eyes bright and opaque irises filled with different colors depending on the reflections of the light on them. The only difference being in the harder lines on her cheek bones and black circles covered by makeup. ¡°I always do,¡± Glen replied and hugged her thin waist. ¡°Whatever happens, I always will.¡± ¡°Mmm. If I wasn¡¯t sick you¡¯d have me cast away,¡± Sen murmured. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have,¡± Glen grunted and kissed her braided head. ¡°Don¡¯t waste your time with thoughts like these.¡± ¡°How is she?¡± ¡°You see her every day.¡± ¡°I have to go to her.¡± ¡°Maeriel can bring her here.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t invite a Zilan in our bed,¡± Sen retorted. ¡°You¡¯ll have to do it husband.¡± ¡°Sen this needs to stop.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t answer,¡± she whispered. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Inis-Mir is fine. She escaped it,¡± Glen assured her grabbing at her shoulders tight with both hands to force Sen to look at him. ¡°It was a rotten situation, you did what you believed was right. The Gods spared us more anguish. Take the win. Don¡¯t let her understand that something is wrong. Please darling, I need you to be smart here.¡± ¡°Is there something wrong?¡± ¡°No there isn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Her hair turned red.¡± ¡°Kids hair change color all the time,¡± Glen replied and sighed. ¡°I¡¯ll take it. It means nothing.¡± ¡°You hate me inside, I can sense it.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t sense shit,¡± Glen snapped in frustration, then regretting it. He stepped back and looked at his boots. There was mud on them as Voldomir had left a mess behind that needed thorough cleaning by a crew. ¡°Apologies for that. I have something made for you. A week from now, you Lady Sovereign will sit on your golden throne. Just as I¡¯d promised your brother.¡± ¡°Not my dream.¡± ¡°Just say thank you lover,¡± Glen grunted. ¡°Thank you lover,¡± Sen whispered with a smile. ¡°We are among friends,¡± Glen told her. ¡°Our foes defeated. Dead and buried. We shall endure and rule together darling. The worst is behind us.¡± ¡°You¡¯re tempting Luthos,¡± Sen warned him. ¡°The Gods fucked me plenty,¡± Glen said hoarsely. ¡°I don¡¯t owe them shit.¡± ¡°There¡¯s that anger.¡± ¡°Not for you. You need to understand that.¡± ¡°Phon has a problem,¡± Sen said her tone changing. ¡°Are you seriously going to switch to business now?¡± ¡°You want me to live as a sick, slowly dying person?¡± Sen-Iv asked him pointedly. ¡°Of course not,¡± Glen croaked. ¡°You¡¯re not dying.¡± ¡°Can I see little Glen?¡± ¡°Out of the question,¡± Glen grimaced. ¡°Phon wants me to hear out the merchants he sent.¡± ¡°They are not merchants,¡± Sen replied and walked to her boudoir to retrieve a hefty leather satchel. Glen went to help and he brought it back to their bed. He went to drop it on the silk sheets but Sen pointed at a small round table next to it. ¡°Seriously?¡± ¡°It¡¯s dirty,¡± Sen explained in her non-negotiable tone. Glen sighed and placed the heavy large satchel on the table. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Contracts, maps and letters. Contacts, the Merchant Guild¡¯s dirty secrets and routes to recourses from surveyors I¡¯ve been sending out for almost two years now.¡± ¡°On Greenwhale?¡± ¡°In Wetull. Greater Goras peninsula mostly,¡± Sen corrected him with a smile. ¡°But what you need is that bundle of scrolls wrapped in the blue silk cloth.¡± Glen took the large package out and undid its bindings slowly. It had a map of the Peninsula in it, very detailed and letters with numbers addressed to Sen-Iv. ¡°What is this wife?¡± ¡°The Sisters of the Peninsula decided to fight each other and the Khan for he wouldn¡¯t listen to reason,¡± Sen explained in her soothing voice. ¡°One Sister stands with the Khan against the others, but my brother believes they can win over her.¡± ¡°To what end?¡± Glen asked. ¡°Is that what Phon wanted to talk about?¡± ¡°Yes Glen. But he couldn¡¯t announce it openly. You are trading with the Khan in Eikenport and Dia.¡± ¡°I am?¡± ¡°We are,¡± Sen replied. ¡°For years.¡± Glen stared at the papers. ¡°What does Phon want?¡± ¡°Weapons, men and resources to wage war. Soldiers ultimately.¡± ¡°Not a trading route.¡± ¡°Eventually it will be one, but right now, in this very moment the Sisters ask for our help,¡± Sen explained. ¡°If we intervene the Khan will fight us,¡± Glen said trying to think of a way out. ¡°For real.¡± ¡°The Khan can¡¯t fight your Wyvern,¡± Sen-Iv said hoarsely and then found the bed to sit on. ¡°Sir Emerson is already fighting on Phon¡¯s side.¡± ¡°Emerson is fighting for your brother? You freed him yes?¡± ¡°Of course. He had won it himself anyway. Mista Savar is a hero of the Peninsula.¡± ¡°Sounds like the old man alright,¡± Glen replied and licked his lips. ¡°I¡¯ll talk with Anfalon for a viable plan to assist them.¡± ¡°We might need to act more decisively than that. You have Princess of Kaltha¡¯s ear,¡± Sen told him. ¡°That¡¯s a much bigger war. The Khan might give in to some concessions for the cities, but the fight for Raoz has spilled over both continents. Especially if he crosses over.¡± ¡°His fleet would lose on the approach to Ripel Island, they¡¯ll never make it to Ri Yue-Tu. He can¡¯t defeat Kaltha¡¯s navy in the sea.¡± ¡°Maybe, but things can change and while everyone talks of the navy, I keep remembering that the two continents are this close at Krakentrap Straits.¡± ¡°Across Lazuli Peninsula?¡± Sen breathed in and out to collect her strength. ¡°Can it be done?¡± ¡°I did it. There¡¯s a path through the Burning Crests according to Zilan lore.¡± ¡°Kaltha controls Shavemont Plateau via Devil¡¯s Cove,¡± Sen pointed out. ¡°For now they do,¡± Glen agreed and sighed. ¡°Get your rest. That¡¯s enough politics for you pretty lady. Does Phon realize he shouldn¡¯t task you with his problems?¡± ¡°Lai Zel-Ka¡¯s problems are my problems Glen,¡± Sen-Iv had replied simply but steady despite her tired state. ¡°You married a daughter of the Peninsula, but she¡¯s not worth much if we allow the Khan to wipe it out of the map. And he shall. Cruel is the old Horselord¡¯s heart.¡± Glen disagreed vehemently with her logic about her worth, but he understood what Sen¡¯s worrying heart was saying to him. In a sense he knew that all along.
¡®Daddy?¡¯ Inis-Mir had told him a month back, when they had finally discovered her inside the unfinished Morn Taras¡¯ gardens. ¡®Look what I found!¡¯ A pool of blood around her small naked feet. Tiny toes sinking in the soft sludge. A fox¡¯s carcass laid next to her, the fluffy hide torn and opened at the belly. The guts spilled out and the internal organs snatched out one by one. Some he could still see discarded all about the roots of the Cinnamon tree. The smell of its fruits unable to mask the stench of gore. The bloody heart Inis-Mir still held in her small hands. She was covered in blood to her elbows and at the front of her short yellow tunic. Those opaque irises that used to resemble her mother¡¯s now filled with reddish dots. Like touches of blood on milk with some orange and green hugging them. Spectacular to look at and terrifying if one could see through their beauty. Glen had seen enough such creatures to know one. The eyes of a familiar monster.
A daughter thou shall have, the Seer had said years back. But she shall only be half-yours. Inis-Mir was awake and was standing near her open window. She stood unnaturally straight for such a young girl. Shoulders pushed out and her small arms crossed over her chest. His daughter had started talking soon after that night and was learning more words with each day. Only one creature matured so fast that he was aware of. Or was as smart. She turned her small pretty head around sensing him and smiled broadly at his silent figure. Rich straight dark crimson hair reaching the small of her back. ¡°Where are your clothes?¡± Glen asked raspingly and walked near her. ¡°What need have I of clothes father?¡± Inis-Mir asked him all serious, but Glen found her sleeping tunic on the bed and picked it up. ¡°You put this on, afore your mother sees you,¡± he told her gruffly. ¡°She¡¯s not well,¡± Inis-Mir said sadly. ¡°What are you doing about it?¡± Glen felt tears coming to his eyes and he turned his head away. ¡°Put your tunic on,¡± he told her gruffly. ¡°Now.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll never leave you,¡± his daughter said dressing up. ¡°I can do what my brother would have done for you. I can. I shall rule this land.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about stuff like that,¡± Glen grunted. ¡°Not before other people. You hear me? You don¡¯t talk about it with other people.¡± Inis-Mir approached and he knelt to hug her small frame. ¡°She listens with her big ears and sees with her big eyes,¡± his daughter whispered creepily in his ear. ¡°But she won¡¯t talk for she is loyal. Not all of them are.¡± ¡°Shush now, just be quiet for a little while,¡± Glen murmured and lifted her up with ease. ¡°You should be sleeping and not evaluating palace personnel. That¡¯s your mother¡¯s blood in you.¡± ¡°In my dreams I fly high above the clouds,¡± she whispered hanging from his neck. ¡°It¡¯s scary. I don¡¯t want to be alone. But another part of me isn¡¯t scared at all. There¡¯s something in my blood. It roars when it breathes and it craves of flesh.¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing¡­ stop talking nonsense. That¡¯s just your imagination. You won¡¯t be alone,¡± Glen said hoarsely and carried her to the curtained bed. ¡°We are all going to stay together. You and your mother. All those people, friends that worry about you and love you. You¡¯ll never be alone. Never.¡± Inis-Mir sighed and rested her face in the crook of his neck. Her answer haunting. ¡°All your friends are dead in the dream daddy and you¡¯re gone.¡±
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 368. The Monarch’s celebration
His mother was walking up and down the length of the narrow hall, a fierce look on her rosy face. Vacia was praying to her statues rocking back and forth on her feet nervously. The aged men of the Numbers warband gathered in a big group, the doors of the longhouse open and the cold wind blowing in. The scarred man¡¯s footsteps still visible on the snowed doorstep just outside. Everyone still nervous minutes after he was gone. Roderick rarely saw them rattled in all the years he knew them. Or all the old warriors gathered in one place, even when they visited Kas. Four winners of the circle amongst them. Torcal MacCee, Adam ¡®Jaws¡¯ Hough, Ned O¡¯ Farrell and even Logan ¡®Gray¡¯ Barret. ¡°Red Faye,¡± Torcal rustled getting up, chainmail under his thick bear hides ringing. ¡°Nothing coming out of his mouth can be trusted.¡± Logan grunted angrily at him. ¡°We like Mad Wolf,¡± Ned added after Torcal sat down in his turn. His mother stopped and glared at him. She had her steel cuirass on and the red greaves and armbraces, over the hard leather shirt. Roderick had seen her getting them out of the trunk earlier as if she knew. ¡°I¡¯ve fought wit Mad Wolf back in eighty nine alongside you,¡± Faye reminded him hoarsely. ¡°A year afore that and the years after it all the way to Krakenhall and back again. While Alana still breathed and well after she didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m saying Red Faye,¡± Ned said and sat back down. ¡°Steele fights with Juter in Rifjordal and what does Sam do?¡± She rumbled glaring at them. ¡°The Duchess took Rockfort,¡± Adam protested and Logan turned to eye him with his cold eyes. ¡°Sam lost face at a crucial point.¡± ¡°If Steele beats Juter he¡¯ll be the next Jarl,¡± his mother told him through her teeth. ¡°If the Mad Wolf can¡¯t understand that then that¡¯s his problem. What I owed him I¡¯ve repaid years ago to his father.¡± ¡°Do we owe the Duchess?¡± He asked and she turned to look at him surprised. His sister gasped and started shaking whether from cold or fear he didn¡¯t know. One didn¡¯t talk back to Red Faye. His mother stared in his face fiercely for a moment and then walked to the open door, the wind blowing those thick locks of red hair away from her face. ¡°In your father¡¯s greatest need the Duchess came,¡± Faye told him raspingly staring into the Northern sky. ¡°I care not about Zofia, but for that and because I won¡¯t see the Painted God rule in Ludr, my decision is made. Is there a third reason Torcal? You were rather vocal afore a minute.¡± Torcal scrunched his pale wrinkled face this way and that, glanced at the frowned still standing Roderick, then answered her. ¡°We have a score to settle wit Steele Red Faye going back decades,¡± the old warrior rustled and Logan banged his fist on the table getting up. He glared at the other men hard for one long moment and then turned around. Logan walked to the weapon stand and got his mother¡¯s blades out. A straight double-edged sword and a slightly longer blade with an exotic design. Logan cracked the blade a bit out of its sheath and the sound of an otherworldly lament rang inside the longhouse. Then he snapped it close and tossed the swords to his mother one after the other. Reached over his back, found his old well-used sword and got it out. Glanced at Faye and she nodded solemnly. Logan turned around, flipping the blade in his hand and offered it to him handle first. Roderick reached and took it, feeling the soft leather at the grip and its weight. ¡°I¡¯m coming along?¡± He asked not expecting it and his mother tipped her head back and laughed freely, tears in her eyes. Logan frowned not expecting it perhaps. ¡°No son you are not. You are a kingdom my love and this is a dispute between allies. Plus you can¡¯t go to war afore stepping in the circle and you are not allowed to do that,¡± Red Faye had replied when she came about. ¡°But you need a proper weapon to protect your sister just in case.¡± ¡°What about Ralph?¡± He asked very disappointed. ¡°Your brother is quite safe with Macrinus,¡± his mother reminded him still smiling. ¡°Better be on yer best behavior whilst I¡¯m gone.¡±
Fikumin Flintfoot Lord Governor of Goras Monarch¡¯s Shield First Seat in the King¡¯s Permanent Council The Monarch¡¯s celebration
Bodmulir Blunthorn used to say a folk finds his way in the end, or dies thinking he has. Fikumin had left his mountain up north behind to see the world and its wonders. He¡¯d seen some of the realm and witnessed enough of its wonders. Some of the latter he still remembered with a sadness in his heart and perhaps a question mark for the innocent soul he¡¯d buried on a remote slope half a continent away. Others he¡¯d come to know on a personal level, from the willowy Zilan that had taken a path away from them and the annoying Gish, to the simplicity that was the big-hearted giant Soren. There¡¯s your adventuring crew master Fikumin, he told himself pushing back on the carriage¡¯s leather couch. Their leader an aloof one, un-learned for a noble scion, uncouth for a knight and prone to criminal thoughts for a hero of old. But also capable and smart, more charming than annoying. Worse kings than him have sat on thrones throughout history. None of them others had a Wyvern, unless he¡¯d been a Zilan. Glenavon could make a difference. If he is kept on a straight noble path and avoids emotional turmoil, or trauma he never handles too well. The latter a deep concern for the worried dwarf. ¡°Hardir O¡¯ Fardor,¡± Theron Gravelbrow rustled sitting on the couch across from him. A dwarf from the city of Glorfalc which meant ¡®Golden Cleft¡¯ deep in the Nor Maze Heights, bringing him news from Brightos and Rodos Gondobar, the biggest dwarf city in the North, near the human city of Fenford Burg but on the other side of the frozen Iron Valley. Which was where Fikumin had come from. That coming fall it would be twenty years since he¡¯d left. ¡°Uhm,¡± Fikumin nodded with his head, eyes half-closed lost in his thoughts and the carriage traveling fast on the tiled road transporting them to Taras. ¡°But you knew since the start eh?¡± Theron insisted stooping forward over his knees, the couch too big for him. ¡°I didn¡¯t,¡± Fikumin admitted furrowing his thick brows. ¡°The princess of Wetull favored him and I was inclined to listen.¡± ¡°How was she?¡± ¡°Tall, very young.¡± ¡°I fear tall women,¡± Theron decided with a grimace. ¡°But I can keep an open mind.¡± ¡°The princess is well out of your league Gravelbrow,¡± Fikumin retorted. ¡°I wasn¡¯t talking about her highness Lord Flintfoot. Lots of forest spirits in Wetull you¡¯ve said earlier,¡± Theron argued with a leer. ¡°Perhaps the titles have gotten into your head.¡± ¡°Responsibilities are given to those that can shoulder the load,¡± Fikumin countered. ¡°There is talk about that,¡± Theron returned to their previous topic. ¡°Thersin Bonearm and Dorad Onyxminer brought the Crafters Guild¡¯s proposal for a contract with the humans. They have already agreed themselves with a war leader named Lucius Bloody Tiger. For three mines. THREE! Across the open Kas valley. Dwarves are digging there in the open Lord Fikumin!¡± ¡°Calm yourself down,¡± Fikumin grunted. ¡°You need a king¡¯s seal of approval for anything. Bonearm could find himself out of a contract when real authority steps in. Perhaps even in personal danger of reprisals.¡± ¡°The Jarl of all Northmen went to war with him. Supports his claim. This Lucius talked him into agreeing to open the borders. Folk are buying property in Kas!¡± Fikumin stood back, hands crossed over his chest and the sound of the horses drawing their carriage a distant symphony in the background. ¡°On what throne?¡± ¡°Regia¡¯s hence the tiger part,¡± Theron replied and laughed pulling at his long black beard with a stubby hand. ¡°Regia has a king. Bonearm is leading folk astray.¡± ¡°Bonearm has a dream to sell and folk love trading and gold. Digging anywhere they want!¡± ¡°That would never be an option,¡± Fikumin stopped him. ¡°Blunthorn should put a stop to that.¡± ¡°Blunthorn fears his days are numbered.¡± ¡°What would Glorfalc vote for?¡± ¡°Everyone hears whispers of the Zilan coming back under new management,¡± Theron replied. ¡°The world belongs to the first Folk and the spirits of the woods. The humans would have to back down!¡± Dangerous musings have gotten in my brethren¡¯s heads, he thought. ¡°Have you ever met a real Gish? They are Folk as well. They can¡¯t lead anything and I¡¯m not talking about a country here. Just a mere household or a carriage. How about a Ticu? How about we let them run things! Hah! Such words mean nothing Gravelbrow! But they can bring doom to all mountain folk. Working with the sun walkers, or the humans was always a bloody affair. They like to unload their problems on us,¡± he added gravely. ¡°I came to ask for your assistance. You helped Brightos out of their mountain, opened Goras to the Folk,¡± Theron grunted. ¡°We don¡¯t need the Guild¡¯s deals slaving us to their interests I agree. Bonearm isn¡¯t the Jarl of the mountain Folk!¡± ¡°THERE¡¯S NO JARL OF THE FOLK! Never has been for thousands of years!¡± Fikumin blasted him jumping up from his couch irate. ¡°No dwarf shall decree what each city would do. What of the South then? Don¡¯t they have a say? What you speak of needs blood spilt on the rock to make happen. I¡¯ll see no more folk perish.¡± ¡°Better to fight than let the Guild take over and talk for all!¡± Gravelbrow roared. ¡°If Snowguard was still breathing¡ª¡± ¡°Snowguard was a fictional dwarf in a plaguing story!¡± Fikumin blasted him and it pained him to admit it, as he¡¯d grown up reading an Adventurer¡¯s Tale. ¡°My mother knew him! Saw his statue in Brightos. Tallest dwarf that ever lived!¡± Theron grunted and jumped down from the couch himself, the wooden floor rattling at his considerable weight. Fikumin had seen the statue as well, wasn¡¯t that delusional to believe it was on scale. ¡°Where was she from?¡± ¡°Eth Bennoth,¡± Theron replied. ¡°Was still there when they cut him down in eighty two and the news reached them. The mountains cried!¡± ¡°Had Dubrot Snowguard really proposed for someone to step forward and speak for all the Folk?¡± Fikumin asked not expecting it. Theron was much older than him apparently. Obviously he¡¯s lived an easier life than you, he thought sourly. ¡°He meant himself. The south backed his claim as it was expected, the most famous dwarf, a legitimate adventurer, his name in human books! The war drums sounded in the caves of the Four Sisters Mounts! But alas not all saw it the same way.¡± ¡°Dwarfs had him killed?¡± ¡°Heh, who knows? His claim died with him.¡± ¡°No one will support the Crafters.¡± ¡°If Blunthorn kicks the bucket and Rodos Gondobar aligns with the dwarfs of Fenford Burg, Glorfalc would have to agree despite many of us not wanting so much power in the hands of Bonearm. The Guild should not dictate policy and what Bonearm did, is taking sides in a conflict that could affect us to that I agree with you. You see the bigger picture, which is why I came to you. You¡¯ve travelled as far as Snowguard Fikumin. The King of Wetull has you govern in his absence!¡± ¡°That¡¯s not quite true. What of the South cities?¡± Theron shrugged his shoulders. ¡°The dwarves there have a long memory,¡± he replied. ¡°What of Brightos?¡± ¡°You came from there. You tell me,¡± Fikumin dodged an answer, the letter from Brightos burning his pocket. ¡°Mmm,¡± Theron stared outside the window of their carriage. ¡°Everything you¡¯ve told me, I agree with. If we let some greedy merchant, a human warlord, or a Northern Jarl always dictate our future, then we¡¯ll wake up as slaves one day Flintfoot, or worse. We¡¯re one crazy bastard away from extermination and unlike our southern brethren, the humans know where our cities are back home.¡± ¡°Jarl David was always kind to the mountain Folk.¡± ¡°What of the next one? His daughter rules in Krakenhall now out of her father¡¯s yoke. Will she allow her children to bow afore a new Jarl? Will the next one agree with the old Jarl¡¯s policies? Bonearm wins back home and we¡¯ll have tethered ourselves to one or the other, assuming a third claimant don¡¯t pop out of allhells depths!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll speak to the Monarch, if opportunity arises,¡± Fikumin rustled through his teeth, seeing Taras landmarks appearing out of their window. ¡°A good moment is around the corner you told me.¡± ¡°Aye. A grand celebration after a trying period,¡± Fikumin had replied and walked out of the door the moment it opened for him.
Fikumin rode with his escort of guards to Glen¡¯s old estate he¡¯d commandeered after the Monarch had moved his family to Morn Taras. Castellan Metu was waiting for him at the door and rushed his way immediately with the Commander of the City Guards Valentine Horton and Phinariel his assistant in tow. ¡°Master Fikumin!¡± Phinariel gushed all flushed in youthful exuberance. ¡°Lord Shield, there are a mountain of papers waiting for your approval,¡± Metu said and Horton who got ambushed by the other two just greeted him with a curt short word. ¡°Milord.¡± ¡°Give me a moment,¡± Fikumin told them and stepped inside the spacious dark hall. ¡°Open a window and find me a plate with something to fill my stomach.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go to the kitchen,¡± Phinariel offered and sprinted nimbly down the other way of the hall afore he could reply, her short skirt blowing over her long legs. ¡°By the Maker¡¯s Stones!¡± Theron grunted ogling his thick-browed eyes. ¡°The length is unnatural!¡± ¡°Ahm, greetings mister¡­¡± Metu said unsure. ¡°Gravelbrow! Theron,¡± Theron barked in a friendly manner glaring at the taller Cofol. ¡°A fitting surname,¡± Metu commented, raising a painted finely trimmed brow himself. ¡°You¡¯ll be staying with the Lord Shield?¡± ¡°What does he mean?¡± Theron asked suspiciously and reached for the steel war-hammer on his back. ¡°He¡¯ll be staying here,¡± Fikumin intervened to save Metu¡¯s brains from getting splattered all over the lacquered tiles. ¡°Atju is with the Monarch,¡± Metu explained. ¡°We can manage without help,¡± Fikumin assured him. ¡°Is there wine in this unsteady building?¡± Theron asked looking about the tall walls and the ceiling. ¡°Bring whatever you have at the desk,¡± Fikumin ordered Metu. ¡°When is the meeting with Lord Garth?¡± ¡°Ehm, I haven¡¯t had the time to arrange for one Lord Shield.¡± ¡°I asked for it two weeks ago!¡± ¡°Hah! You should spend less time painting your toes Metu!¡± Theron roared with a broad smile. Fikumin sighed. ¡°You¡¯ve talked to Lord Garth?¡± ¡°I get more done talking to that wall!¡± Metu is at his breaking point it appears. ¡°Still you do report to him for the love of Luthos?¡± ¡°Every day,¡± Metu hissed. ¡°He¡¯s under a lot of stress.¡± ¡°Lady Sovereign is better?¡± ¡°He doesn¡¯t talk about it.¡± ¡°I see. The princess?¡±Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. ¡°Never brings it up.¡± ¡°Uhm. Yet the celebration involves them yes?¡± ¡°Of course. It is handled by the Zilan of Morn Taras.¡± ¡°Be specific,¡± Fikumin eyed him sternly. ¡°Kilynia and Rimeros. Two advisors he brought from Lo-Minas,¡± Metu retorted. ¡°I shall meet with them.¡± ¡°Good luck my Lord.¡± ¡°Mister Metu, there¡¯s no luck involved in our work. Trust me to know Luthos better than you. What you need is persistence and a plan to break through to him.¡± ¡°Any ideas?¡± ¡°Start with something he¡¯s likely to be interested in. In other words, learn to listen and forget about what you knew,¡± Fikumin replied tiredly and stared at the chair. ¡°Where is my step?¡± ¡°Servants took it. I¡¯ll find it,¡± Metu groaned not believing what he was tasked with. ¡°I¡¯ll manage,¡± Fikumin grunted. ¡°But see to it Metu.¡±
¡°What do you mean, Rokae have taken over security?¡± Fikumin asked Commander Horton over the sounds of the snoring Theron. The dwarf had collapsed on a couch after eating and drinking for three people. ¡°Zilan under Sir Delmuth and a detachment of Hoplites guard the Castle.¡± ¡°Was this Anfalon¡¯s idea?¡± ¡°Anfalon actually suggested the opposite. He wants the Hoplites to guard the Monarch on campaign as it was the tradition. Lord Garth split the duties between the two. The Knights guard the citadel and the Hoplites the Castle itself. An Othrim. He also switched two guards Hagen and Razo Musa to his personal detail under Alan Kirk.¡± ¡°I know Alan Kirk,¡± Fikumin replied. ¡°He¡¯s with Glenavon¡­ eh, Lord Garth since Rida. Why the changes? He doesn¡¯t trust the Goras Guard?¡± ¡°The matter of Lady Jinx has soured him to them I believe.¡± ¡°His wife¡­¡± Fikumin stopped to calm himself down. ¡°Lady Sen-Iv had the final say to that and Jinx had maimed an official, not to mention stealing a valuable bird.¡± ¡°I think he wanted us to allow Lady Jinx free reign on the matter.¡± ¡°Over his wife? What if word got out? We all feared the worst in the middle of a campaign. Is there something we don¡¯t know?¡± ¡°I deal with security not gossip. Here is a fact milord. Razo Musa is dead. Not a day after he got reassigned. We got no body but a letter from Morn Taras informing us of his demise.¡± Fikumin stood back shocked. ¡°How did this happen?¡± Horton pursed his mouth and grunted. ¡°I have no idea milord.¡± ¡°Who was with him?¡± ¡°Lord Garth, a Zilan named Berthas from Lo-Minas, Soletha and his brother Hagen.¡± ¡°Where was this? When?¡± ¡°At the falls, on the northeast side of the lake. The day after he returned.¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing there Horton.¡± ¡°Still isn¡¯t milord, but the Wyvern leveled the forest and burned the ground. We barely stopped the flames afore the hunting logs. In the middle of the night.¡± ¡°What was the Monarch doing there?¡± Fikumin asked. ¡°Nobody knows.¡± ¡°Is Aenymriel around?¡± ¡°Haven¡¯t seen her. She¡¯s probably with the last of the army.¡± ¡°Jinx?¡± ¡°Lady Jinx hasn¡¯t returned to her estate.¡± ¡°Metu,¡± Fikumin said at the returning with his step stool Castellan. ¡°What have we learned about Lady Sen¡¯s condition?¡± ¡°Other than that she lost the baby?¡± ¡°Aye,¡± Fikumin grunted. ¡°She¡¯s unwell.¡± ¡°You have people in the Palace?¡± ¡°The Kitchen Lord Shield. I know the slaves there.¡± ¡°He¡¯s still having slaves in the palace?¡± ¡°You expect Lady Sen-Iv to run out?¡± Metu asked a little surprised. ¡°The Sopat have built a small town near their mines at the Opal Mountains and the Levai River for their crews. The last time I was in Levai Mines as they call it, a mere teenager, it had over twenty thousand slaves living there. The village, not Lai Zel-Ka.¡± ¡°Anything else of note?¡± Fikumin grunted and stared at the stack of papers in front of him. ¡°The Princess painted her hair red.¡± ¡°The¡­ you mean her mother. Seriously, the child? Why? How old is she now? Is this a¡­ ritual or something they favor in the Peninsula?¡± ¡°Not that I¡¯m aware of. I haven¡¯t the courage to ask directly. It will be wise to pretend we see nothing out of the ordinary during the festivities,¡± Metu replied. ¡°What about the transports?¡± He asked to change the subject. ¡°I asked for compensation from the Bank of Trust. The ships were operating under lease from them. The Wine Barons have no port of their own. We could agree on how to split the market, but they don¡¯t seem to take us seriously.¡± ¡°Lord Garth want us to retaliate.¡± ¡°As in ask the pirates to raid Lesia ships? I have reports that we had an incident already,¡± Fikumin murmured and then seeing Metu¡¯s expression paused. ¡°What? Are you serious? He said that?¡± ¡°He did Lord Shield. The Marquette is lost by the way and Captain Vale sails a Galleass in its stead.¡± ¡°What is that?¡± ¡°I have no idea. But it¡¯s a huge warship according to witnesses,¡± Metu replied. Fikumin glanced at Horton and he shrugged his broad shoulders, himself an infantry man through and through. ¡°Get me a horse, or a carriage,¡± he decided. ¡°I¡¯m going to Morn Taras.¡± ¡°He won¡¯t let you in without an appointment.¡± Fikumin glared at him frustrated. ¡°Have you lost your mind? I¡¯m the Lord Shield!¡± His roar had woken up Theron and stopped his snoring. ¡°That¡¯s the finest tunnel I¡¯ve ever seen in a hundred years,¡± the still sleepy dwarf commended staring at the mirrors on the ceiling. ¡°Excellent work master Flintfoot. I salute you.¡± ¡°You¡¯re inside a Zilan building,¡± Fikumin informed him with a grunt and turned to Horton. ¡°Keep him here. Get my orders to the City Guard. I know the plan is for everyone to go to Morn Taras but still we need to keep the city and the port safe. That means no more fires in the middle of the night.¡± ¡°By the Maker¡¯s steel rod!¡± A shocked Theron gasped getting up, wild hair and beard a tangled mess. ¡°You¡¯re god darn right Flintfoot! Hah-ha!¡±
The solemn white-silver mask of the clad in the intricate engraved armour Zilan stared at him in deafening silence, towering over the frustrated dwarf. ¡°I¡¯d like to see Lord Garth,¡± he repeated louder this time. He turned to the Hoplite that had escorted him to the entrance of the Citadel. Morn Taras¡¯ towers still haven¡¯t finished construction and much of the yard¡¯s internal buildings, but the main structure was almost complete. ¡°Lyceron what is this?¡± ¡°That¡¯s Nuvian,¡± Lyceron started and the Rokae snorted angry glaring at him. ¡°Eh, Qildor. Apologies for the mix up sir Qildor. I can¡¯t tell you apart with the mask on, but that guttural rumble helped,¡± Lyceron jested but the solemn Rokae didn¡¯t appear sympathetic to his humor. ¡°Lord Suraer runs a tight ship¡­ stable, eh. Not a funny bone on them hence the look.¡± ¡°The Monarch is busy,¡± Qildor informed them in a hollow voice. ¡°Come back after the festival.¡± ¡°Are you serious?¡± Fikumin roared. ¡°Get me Alan Kirk.¡± ¡°For what purpose?¡± ¡°Can I go get him?¡± Lyceron asked. ¡°Not without permission.¡± ¡°Open the god darn door!¡± Fikumin grunted. ¡°That¡¯s an order Sir Qildor! I¡¯m a member of the Council and the Monarch¡¯s Shield!¡± The doors opened behind the Rokae and a tall Zilan, also wearing an elaborate armor and that ridiculous mask stepped outside. ¡°Lord Fikumin?¡± ¡°Aye,¡± Fikumin grunted irate. ¡°No other dwarf serves in the blasted administration!¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± the second Rokae murmured and stared at the grinning Lyceron. ¡°The disheveled Hoplite stays. Lord Shield, you may come inside.¡± ¡°What? Hey, can I come in also? Come on!¡± Lyceron probed while Fikumin marched fuming pushing aside the tall knights. ¡°I want to see the little princess.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll never see the princess if you stay on this behavior,¡± Sir Delmuth informed him austerely. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure of it.¡± ¡°Wow, what¡¯s with the unfriendly attitude? A handsome face needs no mask¡ª¡± Lyceron was heard protesting afore Delmuth slammed the doors closed. Fikumin paused to orientate himself, as the massive long hall leading to the black polished granite throne platform was shockingly spacious. The black massive columns right and left poorly lit and the general atmosphere an oppressive semi-darkness that left the illuminated with several lightstone staffs throne at the distance shine ominously. ¡°I want no escort,¡± he grunted at the silent Rokae and Sir Delmuth replied unemotionally. ¡°None will be provided.¡± Luthos give patience, Fikumin prayed inwardly and started down the long hall.
A disturbingly tall Zilan female with a long neck and a face resembling that of an exotic bird¡¯s, wearing a multicolored dress with many layers of lace rushed to meet Fikumin the moment he emerged from the darkness. ¡°Who is this short person?¡± she screamed, at least that was what Fikumin thought until he realized it was her natural voice. When she got a little excited that is. ¡°Lady Kilynia?¡± he chanced looking at the unknown Zilan female. ¡°Yes? Who am I speaking to?¡± ¡°Lord Shield, Fikumin Flintfoot,¡± he replied mustering all his patience, but quickly running out. He looked behind her at the black throne and the sitting sideways with his legs on the armrest King of Wetull. ¡°You think this is funny my Lord?¡± Fikumin asked. ¡°Not really,¡± Glen replied. ¡°Kilynia leave us.¡± ¡°Celebrated Monarch, the mountain Folk are devious creatures,¡± Kilynia said and glanced at him apologetically. ¡°You know it¡¯s the accepted reality.¡± ¡°Not where I¡¯m from,¡± Fikumin grunted. ¡°Leave us,¡± Glen repeated sternly. They watched her walk away frustrated for a few moments and disappear inside the dark hall. Fikumin then turned and approached the stairs leading to the throne. ¡°Are you going to come down of it?¡± Glen pointed at a rare lit column. A table was visible behind it. ¡°Meet you there. Everything we say on the podium is heard down the hall. Voron¡¯s special design. I would have changed him, but the damage is done.¡± Fikumin walked to the table murmuring under his breath and pulling at his beard with a hand. Climbed on the chair with difficulty and went to grasp for a goblet and a bottle of Goras wine, but realized he couldn¡¯t. Glen reached him a moment later and got the bottle. Opened it with his teeth, spat the cork on table and poured them two goblets of red wine. ¡°What¡¯s the matter with you?¡± Fikumin asked grabbing at the goblet. ¡°Have you lost your mind?¡± ¡°My son is dead,¡± Glen replied taking a sip from his wine. His voice calm but his demeanor tensed. ¡°Sen is unwell to put it mildly.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry for your loss, but this¡­ what are you doing Glenavon?¡± ¡°Jinx tried to warn me, you locked her up instead.¡± ¡°It was Sen¡¯s order, I couldn¡¯t overrule it.¡± ¡°You could have informed me.¡± ¡°You were months away.¡± ¡°I had the means to return.¡± ¡°And do what? Prevent a bad pregnancy? Glenavon, this¡­ it happened and no one believed you could come back in time. What about the campaign?¡± Glen sat on the edge of the table and stared at the dark hall for a moment. ¡°Lord Suraer wasn¡¯t going to fight. Rothomir caused as much damage as he could of course. But the campaign was pointless, given the loss.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t believe that. You sit on a throne,¡± Fikumin paused and then placed the goblet on the table. ¡°What is going on Glenavon? You were like that when you found out about Lithoniela.¡± ¡°Like what?¡± ¡°Rattled. Angry¡­¡± ¡°I should be happy? Celebrate?¡± ¡°You are hosting a celebration for all of Goras.¡± ¡°I have to,¡± Glen replied bitterly. ¡°I need to do something pleasant.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± ¡°No you don¡¯t,¡± Glen argued and stood up. He grimaced and walked a couple of meters, before coming back to stare at him feverishly. ¡°I have lost people as well Glenavon,¡± Fikumin told him. ¡°It¡¯s not easy. It never is. It won¡¯t go away, but you can¡¯t allow it to consume you. No one is to blame.¡± ¡°A witch did it. Someone is always to blame,¡± Glen murmured. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t¡­ eh, very few people know. But no one can offer me help on this.¡± ¡°Does Jinx know?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t tell her. She¡¯ll get upset and it affects me. But she suspects something is off. I¡¯m afraid she¡¯s going to figure it out and then it¡¯ll be difficult.¡± Fikumin stared at his goblet. ¡°Jinx would never betray a secret, not if it hurts you.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be difficult for her to pretend. Her grief is loud and in the open,¡± Glen murmured. ¡°But we have a deal me and her. Two kids from the isles would never betray each other, I know that.¡± ¡°What happened to Razo Musa?¡± Fikumin asked evenly. ¡°The curse just wouldn¡¯t die,¡± Glen said with a deep weary sigh. ¡°Fucking old bitch, I should have leveled that village. Never gone inside that square.¡± ¡°What village?¡± Fikumin asked. ¡°I haven¡¯t read the report yet.¡± ¡°I¡¯m holding it back,¡± Glen replied. ¡°It needs work. Snakeville.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a name that won¡¯t bring in many tourists,¡± Fikumin jested. ¡°Yeah, plaguing place,¡± Glen agreed. ¡°A horror show from Pelleas.¡± ¡°The Witch was there?¡± ¡°A fucking Sibyl. A half-dead deranged sorceress they plucked out of a fucking tomb!¡± Glen grunted breathing heavy. ¡°I walked in there. Amidst their graves.¡± ¡°The tomb?¡± ¡°To find her, stop her,¡± he explained. ¡°You knew?¡± ¡°I suspected¡­ eh, all along something didn¡¯t sit well wit me,¡± Glen murmured. ¡°But I didn¡¯t know. Didn¡¯t want to believe she¡¯ll go there. Who does that?¡± ¡°What did she do?¡± Fikumin asked calmly and reached for his goblet. He needed something for his dry mouth. He noticed a series of stands further behind the table half hidden in the semi-darkness. Many paintings from Eilven¡¯s skillful hand, judging by the realism and the quality of the colors. Some unfinished, but others already in their expensive gold and silver frames. All had the same subject. A single person depicted in them. Fikumin turned his attention on Glen¡¯s words with his heart heavy. ¡°A curse Soletha believes. Berthas¡­ a young mage, tried to lift it, but it fucked him up. Killed Razo.¡± ¡°That happened afterwards. What of the baby?¡± ¡°It killed¡­ made a monster of it.¡± Eventually magic would touch them. It was what Fikumin feared the most. Yes the wyvern was on their side, but magic fought against them in the past. Magic. He remembered Grogoceq years back dissolve in thin air, heard the sound of hammers smashing flesh and bones to make sure his constructs remained dead. His stomach turned and Fikumin felt sick. ¡°It was horrible,¡± Glen murmured sounding haunted. ¡°I see it in my sleep and she¡­ I can¡¯t bridge¡­ balance what she feels for it with my disgust and fear. Sen wishes¡­ to mourn what was taken from her and I don¡¯t want to even remember it. How do I explain it? Then¡­ eh,¡± he stopped clenching his jaw. ¡°Then what?¡± Fikumin croaked trying to gather his wits. ¡°Sen will recover right?¡± ¡°Soletha does all she can. It¡¯s a powerful curse Fiku,¡± Glen croaked. ¡°Way out of everyone¡¯s league.¡± Fikumin nodded. ¡°So you changed security. Put the Zilan around the palace to stop the word from spreading. How bad is she?¡± ¡°Nobody that is aware can tell me whether she¡¯ll recover or not. They just don¡¯t know and I can¡¯t exactly ask around openly. She reaches a point, like someone struggling up a steep slope and then tumbles back down. One day,¡± Glen said with difficulty. ¡°She might not have the power to get up and try again. What am I to do then?¡± You¡¯ll mourn. Then you¡¯ll move on, for your daughter. But Glen wasn¡¯t ready to hear that yet. ¡°How many know of it?¡± He asked him instead. ¡°You and me. Berthas. Soletha. Some of her people, but not the whole story so it¡¯s not the same. Voldomir.¡± ¡°The priest.¡± ¡°Uhm.¡± ¡°Does she know?¡± ¡°She learned,¡± Glen said. ¡°From Angrein.¡± ¡°The Blacksmith,¡± Fikumin said and he stared at his goblet. This didn¡¯t make sense. ¡°I understand the priest Glenavon. Why would you tell him though?¡± Glen looked at him over the table. ¡°It doesn¡¯t¡­ do dwarves deal with elixirs?¡± ¡°You know we do. But Soletha makes excellent potions. I¡¯m an amateur compared to her,¡± Fikumin replied. ¡°Ever heard of the Saereg?¡± ¡°No. What does it do? That sounds like a Zilan word. Write it down.¡± Glen searched his pockets and gave him a small scroll with a female Zilan¡¯s intricate script on it. ¡°It looks like the word for blood, with the letter ¡®a¡¯ added. What does it stand for? They use this marking for potions. It¡¯s an alchemist¡¯s codex more I¡¯d say than a wizard¡¯s. They just use a different name. Most times made up.¡± Glen got his dagger out and tossed it on the table. Fikumin stared at the vicious magical weapon apprehensively. He touched it with a finger, felt it cold under his skin. The surface glassy, but it was made out of Wyvern¡¯s talon. Fikumin knew that. Ah. ¡°Aniculo sereg,¡± he murmured. ¡°Dragon blood. No dwarf has walked down those paths Glenavon. Very few Zilan also. Is it a cure? You can¡¯t break a curse with a potion, but I could be mistaken.¡± ¡°You could partially,¡± Glen replied and puffed his cheeks out. ¡°But you need to fortify yourself afore the curse is cast.¡± ¡°Glen you have a Wyvern you can talk to,¡± Fikumin said tiredly not liking the roads his despair was leading him. Unless there was something else going on and Glen was keeping it from everyone. ¡°If its blood can break the curse, he¡¯d know. Or I hope he would.¡± ¡°I asked,¡± Glen murmured. ¡°You didn¡¯t like the answer.¡± ¡°No,¡± Glen said with a grimace. ¡°I didn¡¯t.¡± Fikumin climbed down from the chair. ¡°I need to see you in a Council meeting,¡± he told him. ¡°Find the time, but we can leave it for after the celebration, unless you can do it.¡± ¡°Emerson fights for the Sopat in the Peninsula,¡± Glen said evenly. ¡°Put that in your agenda. We might have to help out.¡± Fikumin furrowed his brows unsure, but then nodded. Went to walk away but paused. ¡°You don¡¯t mean¡­ you are talking of materiel, foodstuff and so forth right?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s discuss it in the meeting,¡± Glen stopped him. ¡°Right,¡± Fikumin said and turned to head for the exit, but stopped a couple of strides later and turned around to look at Glen. He was standing at the edge of the table again and had a strange expression on his face. Fikumin hadn¡¯t seen it afore. ¡°Glenavon,¡± he started, but Glen stopped him raising a hand, as if he knew in advance what Fikumin was going to ask. Expecting it, or fearing it. ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± the Lord of Morn Taras urged him sternly. ¡°That¡¯s enough Fiku. Walk away now.¡± Fikumin had nodded and walked out of the Citadel¡¯s Hall for real this time, his query left unvoiced.
Metu who had stayed with the Hoplites at the castle¡¯s external west gates saw his troubled face and started huffing and puffing all stressed out. ¡°He fired you?¡± ¡°No he didn¡¯t,¡± Fikumin replied and climbed the few stairs to get inside the carriage. He banged a fist on the wall for the driver to get them going. Metu sat opposite him and looked nervously at his nicely ironed orange robes. The Cofol¡¯s fashion sense rather exotic even in Goras. ¡°Learned anything?¡± He asked finally ten minutes later. ¡°I want to speak to Angrein, the Blacksmith,¡± Fikumin replied. ¡°Arrange it without raising suspicion. Use one of our own people to do it.¡± ¡°What about?¡± Fikumin eyed him austerely. ¡°You don¡¯t need to know,¡± he said in a warning tone. ¡°I mean it Metu. Not a word to anyone.¡± ¡°As you wish, my Lord Shield,¡± Metu replied dutifully and bowed his head. ¡°Is the monarch¡¯s celebration still on for tomorrow?¡± The meaning quite different from what he¡¯d originally envisioned. ¡°It is,¡± Fikumin replied gruffly and stared in the Castellan¡¯s painted face with dark demanding eyes. ¡°Metu if this gets out I¡¯ll know it came from you. This is the only warning you¡¯ll get. I¡¯m a North Mountain dwarf, we mean what we say and we¡¯re unforgiving. Broke into pieces the skull of a sweet girl I really liked once, because there was no other way. Used an old war-hammer to do it. I still have that weapon. Don¡¯t force me to use it again.¡±
369. A throne over the clouds (1/3)
Glen A throne over the clouds Part I -Come fly with me-
¡°Can you do it?¡± he had asked and the Wyvern closed and opened its translucent eyelids one after the other, its dragon eyes that fierce burgundy color a tad darker now. ¡®Her thread was much longer than yours. Not anymore,¡¯ Uvrycres finally said in his guttural voice that matched Glen¡¯s when he was angry. An acoustic illusion, the Wyvern used to say. All in the Realm are affected by magic. Fate and fortune. Dreams and nightmares. Life and death. Better or worse health. ¡®If the foul essence is gathered in one place I can cut it out and bury it like the boy,¡¯ Uvrycres had added. ¡®It doesn¡¯t affect me.¡¯ ¡°One place,¡± Glen had murmured trying to wrap his mind around what the Wyvern was suggesting. ¡®An arm or a leg would be the easiest part. But it will be brief the opportunity and the shock could do more harm than good.¡¯ ¡°The shock.¡± ¡®I¡¯ll inject poison in her. The curse will try to save itself like with the goat running away from it. It chooses an arm¡ª¡¯ ¡°At random?¡± Glen croaked. ¡°What do you mean cut it, say¡­ it does behave how we want?¡± he asked with a deep frown. Uvrycres snorted, rapped his talons on the granite tiles of the yard and eyed the Hoplites looking at them from afar, forked tongue licking at his black lips. ¡®You can use one of them, if you can¡¯t do it yourself.¡¯ Glen¡¯s face dropped and stood back horrified. ¡°Are you insane? I can¡¯t do that¡­ allgods curse ye! What are you saying? Keep carving her up until we get it all? This is your cure?¡± ¡®There is no cure. But she might live a full life with fewer body parts¡ª¡¯ ¡°Stop it!¡± Glen cried out and walked to the edge of the tiled part of the yard they were standing on. He glanced up toward the mass of the citadel and its few lit windows in the second floor. ¡°I can¡¯t do that,¡± Glen finally whispered tonelessly, but the Wyvern heard him anyway and clacked his black teeth. ¡°I can¡¯t hurt her Uvry.¡± ¡®Then the witch wins and hurts what she couldn¡¯t at first,¡¯ Uvrycres replied and approached surprisingly light on its feet for such a big creature. ¡°I can¡¯t do it,¡± Glen repeated tonelessly feeling despair flooding his senses. ¡°How long?¡± ¡®I don¡¯t want to see some things,¡¯ Uvrycres admitted sadly. ¡®I can¡¯t do it. Living life like you experience it is much more interesting.¡¯ ¡°What of Inis-Mir?¡± ¡®She¡¯s much tougher than you,¡¯ Uvrycres replied with a snort. ¡®Blood kin.¡¯ ¡°Bullshit she is. You¡¯re lying,¡± Glen grunted. ¡®Frequently,¡¯ Uvrycres admitted. ¡®But rarely to you.¡¯
¡°We¡¯ll place the more prominent castes at the front,¡± Kilynia was saying under the approving slow head nods from Rimeros. ¡°So we¡¯ll need to leave space between the chairs. Further to the sides we¡¯ll place officials and other prominent Folk, humans. Behind them the visitors and further to the back the strays.¡± ¡°I think using nicely divided wings will be better,¡± Fikumin argued. There¡¯s another way, the dagger whispered in his ear while the dwarf continued. ¡°Place the Zilan on the left, the officials in the middle and other citizens on the right.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll have Lord Anfalon shoulder to shoulder with a stray?¡± ¡°Lord Anfalon has impregnated and living with a stray,¡± Fikumin retorted glaring at her. ¡°He¡¯ll be fine.¡± He¡¯s keeping it from you, the dagger continued. We can make it whole. How? Glen asked losing track of the conversation. It¡¯s not that he could arrange stuff better than those he had installed to do the job. It didn¡¯t really matter to him where everyone would sit. Didn¡¯t care. All he wanted was for Sen to enjoy the festivities. Built it anew. Her. You mean her, Glen grimaced. Same as before, the dagger agreed. With magic? An illusion? Sturdier than that. Flesh and blood. Human almost. You talk of mancer bullshit? I didn¡¯t talk out of my own volition, the dagger replied. You asked. ¡°I didn¡¯t,¡± Glen grunted from the throne and Fikumin furrowed his brows. He turned to look at him. ¡°You don¡¯t agree Lord Garth?¡± the dwarf asked. ¡°Everyone should be able to see the royal family.¡± Yes you did. Glen nodded clenching his jaw tight. ¡°Just go ahead with your plan Lord Shield,¡± he rustled. ¡°Celebrated Monarch,¡± Kilynia protested. ¡°You¡¯ll have citizens mixing up in front of the throne?¡± ¡°They do it at Bacchanalia,¡± Glen grunted. ¡°Plenty of mixing it up then.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that? Oh, Great Monarch,¡± Rimeros asked taken aback. ¡°Valimae Lilt,¡± Fikumin explained. ¡°If that¡¯s alright with Lord Garth I¡¯d like to talk of some matters of state Lady Kilynia. Lord Rimeros.¡± ¡°Voron wants to start building the west tower,¡± Rimeros said. ¡°Not during the festivities,¡± Glen spat. ¡°I see a building crew walking in the yard I¡¯ll punch him in the face.¡± Rimeros blinked in shock. ¡°Punish,¡± Fikumin translated. ¡°Of course,¡± Rimeros blurted out. ¡°I¡¯ll speak to the Master Architect.¡±
¡°Lesia is besieging Cartagen, the whole of the Lorian coast is engulfed in civil war also,¡± Fikumin explained. Glen was doing superhuman efforts to keep his attention in his words. Sweat rivulets were running down his face and a strained expression had creeped up to the surface. ¡°The Khan is in Rida and he might move down towards the Lazuli Peninsula. Or attempt a landing across the Shallow Sea now that Kaltha has removed the Fleet from Rida.¡± ¡°Why did they do it?¡± ¡°Pirates hit a convoy with gold,¡± Fikumin explained. ¡°The word got out and the crews demanded to get paid what they were owed, so the Admiralty returned them to base.¡± ¡°Can they pay them?¡± ¡°Not everything I guess. I don¡¯t know. Kaltha is at war for years now,¡± Fikumin replied. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of wages Glenavon.¡± ¡°Elsanne¡¯s cause is in trouble though with Colle in the hands of her nephew¡¯s armies.¡± ¡°That¡¯s mostly Lord Anker of Midlanor that is in charge there and the navy out of Caspo O¡¯ Bor.¡± ¡°Only the navy might be in trouble,¡± Glen murmured, not believing Leona¡¯s failed raid could mess up a whole kingdom. Failed, because he hadn¡¯t seen much of that coin and Elsanne hadn¡¯t received much more than him. A lot of gold was missing. Nobody knew how much exactly as they had to unload the ship to save it. Allegedly. Glen hadn¡¯t believed Leona¡¯s story from the first moment, but he was too concerned with personal matters to go about looking for hidden pirate treasurers. A younger Glen would have. This Glen couldn¡¯t sleep at night fearing the worst. Inis-Mir came near them walking in front of Maeriel. She paused near Eilven¡¯s paintings of Sen-Iv. A new canvas already set up for her to pose later. The young girl stared at them silently and then turned her pretty head to look at him. ¡°I wanted to talk to you about the North,¡± Fikumin said seeing he was distracted. ¡°But I¡¯ll¡­ leave it for later.¡± ¡°Thank you Fiku,¡± Glen told him. ¡°What is happening in the North?¡± ¡°The dwarfs hear the world outside move and believe things change. That they miss out. So they look to peek out themselves, join in the fun.¡± ¡°Brightos did and we have no problem with them here,¡± Glen reminded him. ¡°Because of you.¡± ¡°They saved¡­ you saved my life. You think I¡¯ll forget that?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the thing Glenavon. The Folk up north don¡¯t have that. They talk with humans about agreements, but a human that needs you today might not need you tomorrow. He might even turn against you.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Dwarfs dig metal out of the earth. We find stuff and get it out. More than metals really,¡± Fikumin explained. ¡°Humans always come to take what we find. Sometimes they are polite about it. Others, when they feel strong, they take it by force.¡± ¡°Those dwarfs don¡¯t know that?¡± Glen asked and watched Inis-Mir stopping near Fikumin, the dwarf not much taller than her, but thrice wider and much more hairy. She stared at him curious and even sniffed him a couple of times until Maeriel hissed for her to behave. ¡°The Guild looks for contracts, new mines and profit. War brings profit. A deal with a warlord brought them profit, lands and legitimacy. But wars end, or take a turn for the worse. Then what?¡± ¡°Like gambling.¡± ¡°A vice.¡± ¡°What do you want to do?¡± ¡°I want Wetull to assure them that Blunthorn will have a friendly ear here.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t know him,¡± Glen replied and took Inis-Mir in his arms on the throne. ¡°I made my hair,¡± she told him all serious. ¡°I see. They are lovely,¡± Glen smiled at her face. ¡°You don¡¯t believe your father?¡±If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± she admitted with a pout. ¡°Should I?¡± ¡°Listen to her,¡± Glen chuckled. ¡°Well Fiku? I¡¯m all for backing this Blunthorn, but can he find the support he needs? What does he have to offer that the Guild doesn¡¯t already give your people?¡± ¡°Not much,¡± Fikumin murmured. ¡°Just bring me your suggestion. I¡¯ll look into it, but Emerson is a priority for now,¡± Glen reminded him. ¡°A transport ship would be the easiest way to help them at this point,¡± Fikumin told him. ¡°Make a draft, I¡¯ll discuss it with Anfalon after the festivities.¡± ¡°What do you need the ring for?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to Knight Alan Kirk,¡± Glen replied and returned Inis-Mir to Maeriel. ¡°I want to be a knight,¡± she told him. ¡°You are a princess,¡± Fikumin reminded her. ¡°That¡¯s way above a knight.¡± The princess stared at him warningly from Maeriel¡¯s arms afore replying curtly. ¡°I don¡¯t care.¡± Which a stressed Glen found hilarious but no one else had shared his enthusiasm.
¡°Let¡¯s use the golden drapes,¡± Eilven suggested. ¡°This is beautiful white lace Lady Sovereign. I love the Peninsula designs. They are so First Era classics,¡± he said fixing the cream-colored intricate carved wooden couch, to get more natural light in through the window. ¡°What do you think husband?¡± Sen asked her feet resting on the velvet pillow. I just love the low cuts and the sheer fabrics. ¡°I liked the red tunic best,¡± Glen told her sipping wine from his goblet. ¡°Like your daughter,¡± she commented. ¡°Red is too garish a color.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Glen retorted. ¡°We¡¯re garish people. It¡¯s how we roll.¡± ¡°The Reeves household,¡± Sen said with a smile posing for a judiciously painting Eilven. ¡°What if I was just a lowly rogue roaming the caravan that night?¡± Glen asked thinking to light his pipe, but deciding against it. ¡°I thought you were,¡± Sen replied making a surprised face. ¡°You weren¡¯t?¡± ¡°Would you have gone through with it?¡± ¡°Phon-Iv would have had you skinned. I had no choice,¡± she said. ¡°You had just saved me.¡± ¡°He meant it?¡± Sen-Iv stared at him sideways, her profile extraordinary according to Eilven who had worked on every angle for his bigger project. ¡°You know he did. I couldn¡¯t risk it.¡± ¡°You did in a sense.¡± ¡°I did,¡± she replied mischievously. ¡°You were easy on the eyes back then.¡± ¡°Too late now.¡± ¡°Stop it, you are my rogue. My rogue is forever agreeable with me,¡± Sen replied huskily. ¡°Plus I trusted my instincts.¡± Maybe you shouldn¡¯t have, he thought and stared at his goblet. ¡°Isn¡¯t it early for that?¡± Sen commented. ¡°Early meeting,¡± Glen replied and walked to the cupboard to leave the goblet there. ¡°I¡¯ll help your brother.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Glen nodded. ¡°Eilven tell her about the throne.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not finished,¡± Eilven retorted. ¡°Lady Sovereign,¡± he added raising his eyes. ¡°He means it¡¯s done, but for small details, right Eilven?¡± Glen insisted glaring at him. Eilven grunted, but gave a half-hearted nod. ¡°Why three?¡± She asked. ¡°Voron had a reason for it, but I guess for Inis-Mir.¡± ¡°It¡¯s too big for her.¡± ¡°Maybe, it¡¯s too early for her perhaps,¡± Glen murmured and sighed. ¡°I feel better today,¡± Sen told him. ¡°I was thinking,¡± Glen started. ¡°This is tiring for you.¡± ¡°Posing? Not really,¡± she replied. ¡°What will you do with them? Never favored paintings. There¡¯s no market for them really.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll make a room for it. We have a lot of empty walls about. Just slap one on every ugly corner. You are the best decoration we have in Morn Taras.¡± ¡°Ah, an elaborate compliment. Is my bed to be warmed tonight?¡± she teased. ¡°I had something else in mind,¡± Glen admitted and approached to kiss her bejeweled toes. ¡°Perhaps later Lady Sopat.¡± ¡°Mister Eilven is he lying?¡± Sen asked with a warm smile. ¡°They usually do Lady Sovereign.¡± ¡°What?¡± Glen grunted. ¡°He-he,¡± Sen chuckled. Eilven raised his head to look at them unsure. ¡°What was the query your highness?¡± ¡°Is the Monarch lying to me?¡± Sen asked him between chuckles, her eyes serious. ¡°Rarely have I seen someone love so much,¡± the Zilan said looking at him. ¡°It¡¯s really unhealthy.¡± ¡°Is it love or fear though?¡± Sen probed and moved her feet away from Glen¡¯s mouth. ¡°I¡¯m tired Eilven. Let¡¯s finish tomorrow.¡± ¡°Of course Lady Sovereign.¡±
¡°You can smoke that horrid pipe,¡± she told him. ¡°Stand near the window.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Glen grimaced, his eyes on the painting. ¡°That stone is another color.¡± ¡°Sunstones are too dark, so he went for a topaz for the brightness,¡± Sen explained coming to see the unfinished painting. ¡°Why so many?¡± ¡°They are not for me,¡± Glen replied. A half-lie. ¡°I¡¯m not going anywhere.¡± ¡°You are in about ten minutes,¡± he told her with a mischievous smile of his own. Glen didn¡¯t use the brows this time. ¡°Do I need to dress up?¡± ¡°I¡¯d say dress down probably,¡± Glen replied. ¡°Find something warmer than this.¡± ¡°It¡¯s hot outside,¡± Sen argued. ¡°Where we are yes,¡± Glen agreed and reached to take her hand. ¡°Tell me you can make it to the yard.¡± His wife narrowed her eyes. ¡°What if I can¡¯t?¡± ¡°Those stairs are a killer,¡± Glen admitted. ¡°But I¡¯ll get you there.¡± ¡°Mmm. This sounds strangely erotic?¡± ¡°More like hard labor,¡± Glen jested and Sen tapped his nose once with her index finger warningly. ¡°I can walk just fine,¡± she said and then turned around to head for her bedroom door. ¡°You are walking too slow wife,¡± Glen said following her measured deliberate strides. ¡°I¡¯m doing it on purpose,¡± Sen-Iv chuckled with a backwards glance.
Sen looked at Glen¡¯s outstretched arm unsure, then at the smirking Wyvern. Well, Uvrycres¡¯ version of a gnarly smirk anyway, he thought. You¡¯re scaring her, Glen warned the lowered to the ground Wyvern, an inviting smile plastered on his own tanned sweaty face. Fool it¡¯s working! Uvrycres replied. Look! She¡¯s clearly aroused. More like scared, Glen retorted the moment dragging. It has the same effect! ¡°What is this husband?¡± Sen-Iv finally asked keeping her voice remarkably calm and casual under their intense scrutiny, as if they were out in Taras¡¯ market to pick up groceries. Which of course they never did. Glen because he ate whatever there was available from other people who favored the practice and Sen-Iv had slaves for that. For bathing and dressing. Cooking and embroidery. Hairdressers and calligraphers. Dancers. She could do all of the above and Sen frequently did. Better than anyone else. Never had she lost control of her life.
¡°You¡¯re not allowed outside,¡± He had elucidated to her calmly that night years ago. ¡°You¡¯re someone¡¯s slave,¡± although he couldn¡¯t see a collar on her. Maybe they take it off, Glen had mused. Maybe she¡¯s ¡®that kind¡¯ of slave. His young mind drifting, imagining the young woman taking that collar off, then her top; down her naked bejeweled navel his eyes had drifted, following the route of his lewd thoughts, her frustrated hiss stopping him. ¡°Everyone is someone¡¯s slave, Lorian,¡± his wife to be had told him.
¡°And I¡¯m not just another slave you picked up in the market,¡± she had replied a week later, Sen-Iv¡¯s whispery voice clear and now that Glen could hear her so near his ear, extremely soothing. ¡°I can be your wife. I can be your friend and I will be your lover, but if it¡¯s honesty you most want, then I would like that as well, from you.¡±
It was the only thing he feared to do with her. Glen had fought to give her everything else. A real home and a title. A country and a throne of gold. Servants to not have need of slaves.
¡°Sign the contract, Glenavon,¡± she had insisted and Nigel Grim who worked for the Thieves Guild smiled as if he knew something Glen didn¡¯t and they both watched a man named Brock who didn¡¯t work for the Guild turn to his wife. ¡°Give me your hand Lady of the Isthmus,¡± Brock had told her. Tick and tock the old scales went. The clacking of the beads was heard. And the elder sitting by the fire in a faraway forest, stopped working on his bones.
¡°I my dream I was flying on top of a Wyvern,¡± a drowsy Sen-Iv had told him in Eikenport months into their future. Glen could see her eyes shining like gems in the dark. ¡°In the dream I was pregnant.¡±
¡°An invitation,¡± Glen said in the present putting all the charm he could muster in his stance and voice. From the leering smile, to his set shoulders and even the slight teasing movement of his fingers. This time he used the brows. Sen-Iv stared in his amber eyes nervously, but Glen reached for her even more from atop the Wyvern and took her small hand in his. The former thief¡¯s voice warm and emotional. ¡°You¡¯ve dreamt of it back in Eikenport sweetheart,¡± he told his uncertain wife. ¡°You mean it?¡± ¡°I do,¡± Glen assured her. ¡°Now come fly with me daughter of the Peninsula.¡± And she did.
No one knows where Arguen Garth flew with the Lady Sovereign. They were missing for a whole day and returned the next morning with the Wyvern. The Monarch never talked about it in public in the years that followed. The celebration for his ascension in Morn Taras had to be moved a day later, which helped Lady Kilynia to prepare for it better. It helped everyone really. Those closest to him always say this was the day the King reached the end of his personal Anabasis, but I¡¯m not of the same opinion. - Events recorded on the Third month of spring, the year of the Imperial Calendar 3399 (Third Era) Six months into Arguen Garth¡¯s reign by Phinariel, the Boorish Poet, Royal Scribe, Member of the Queen¡¯s Council In A Monarch¡¯s Solitude -Addressed in Zilan Court Script as ¡®Palan-Hinnen (f¨ºted) Arguen Garth, O¡¯ Nielek Aniculo¡¯- Celebrated in the Austere Cofol of the Four Old Sisters as, Noble Ruler, of Onyx Wyvern. Referred to as, Ruthless Lord of Tenebrous Castle (Morn Taras) in both Jelin & Eplas, But commonly known as the King beyond the Pale Mountains.) Chapter I (A royal flight & a rancorous celebration) -Prologue- - Entered into the Royal Library, In 210 NC, Circa 3416 IC ¨Cconsolidated- (3rd Era)
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 370. A throne over the clouds (2/3)
Phon-Iv worked the large gold ring on his finger, the garnet on it catching the light of their tent and sparkling far above its worth. ¡°We¡¯ll be out of the desert soon,¡± he assured her reading the list of the orders they wanted to place on Jelin. Being in Rida offered them the rare opportunity to peruse the distant markets for prospects not available in the Peninsula. ¡°I swear the Khan¡¯s pride is going to ruin a ton of very good deals if this doesn''t stop soon.¡± He sighed and rapped his fingers on the table, her silence always unerving him. ¡°Where is that darn slave?¡± ¡°You sent him to sleep,¡± she reminded him, after she finished checking on her long cloak. ¡°I did,¡± her brother agreed looking at her. ¡°I was thinking, we could look to Jelin for more than a business deal.¡± ¡°Uhm.¡± ¡°You agree?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll wait for the rest of it before giving you my answer.¡± ¡°Our father spoiled you.¡± ¡°You¡¯d have had him beat me more?¡± ¡°Not what I meant damn it!¡± ¡°Who do you have in mind?¡± ¡°Regia has its heir unmarried.¡± ¡°Widowed.¡± ¡°True.¡± ¡°They¡¯ll never marry a Cofol, too bigoted.¡± ¡°Lesia¡ª¡± ¡°Even more.¡± ¡°You really need to find someone of worth. The Khan might look to approach us again. I can¡¯t smile to his people with all the vomit in my mouth.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t bed a horselord ever, how¡¯s that for an answer?¡± ¡°You might not have a choice. I could,¡± Phon-Iv started but she stopped him. ¡°That¡¯s Don-Iv talking. I won¡¯t bed a brother also. It gives nothing to the family and even less to me.¡± ¡°I heard they might look to find someone for Prince Atpa. He¡¯s too busy fucking his slaves and looking for fighters to marry.¡± ¡°At least I¡¯ll see a lot of the arena then. Lucky me,¡± she replied mockingly and got up to wear her cloak. ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°You¡¯re not going to work on the list,¡± Sen-Iv said. ¡°You¡¯ll call that bigfoot to suck your cock in about ten minutes.¡± ¡°She doesn¡¯t have that big a feet,¡± Phon protested and then sighed. ¡°Iskay has matured nicely. You think she¡¯s asleep yet?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll sleep with my slave?¡± ¡°We¡¯re on the road. I¡¯ve a limited pool to draw from. Is she any good?¡± ¡°Inexperienced,¡± she replied and closed the cloak. ¡°Again. What are you doing?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going out,¡± Sen said. ¡°To look at the sky.¡± ¡°What in allgods is there to look at?¡± She shrugged her shoulders. ¡°What did you think of the adventurers?¡± ¡°They are not adventurers.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°They are not equipped for it.¡± ¡°Brigands?¡± ¡°Lorian brigands on Eplas?¡± ¡°We¡¯re near Raoz,¡± Sen pointed. ¡°Plenty of Lorians there. Fugitives?¡± ¡°Alright what is this about?¡± Phon asked curious. ¡°You can¡¯t go out. They might see you!¡± ¡°Why does it matter?¡± She asked him. ¡°Whether I find someone with means, or power?¡± ¡°You know why.¡± ¡°I have the means no husband will ever have and power is a fleeting thing.¡± ¡°Not always.¡± ¡°What are you planning brother?¡± Sen asked looking at his painted face. ¡°We used to have trade routes to Kadrek at some point. I was looking at the old ledgers. Ancient more like.¡± ¡°And Goras, Eikenport. You long for the Imperial years?¡± ¡°I wish out of the Horselord¡¯s yoke. Don¡¯t you feel insulted for passing you over for that unknown cunt?¡± ¡°She must know to use it well to lure Prince Sahand out of his stables,¡± Sen commented. ¡°Unless the rumors are true.¡± Phon-Iv got up frustrated. ¡°I wanted to cut him down. Idiot horse-faced uncouth bastard!¡± ¡°Phon you are no general. How are you going to fight the Khan?¡± ¡°Others might join. This war is an opportunity.¡± ¡°You just said it¡¯s bad for business,¡± she reminded him calmly. ¡°Which is why it¡¯s an opportunity. Nobody is happy.¡± ¡°Uhm,¡± she murmured and walked to the entrance of the large caravan tent. ¡°Sen-Iv,¡± Phon warned her. ¡°You¡¯re not going out.¡± ¡°Rogues,¡± she told him. ¡°I think they are rogues with something extra. A layer I can¡¯t figure out and it¡¯s eating me. You know I¡¯m good at reading people. All mysteries intrigue me. I never feared venturing forth and I shan¡¯t fear the darkness.¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± ¡°I can stay here, but I¡¯ll never know. I want to know what it means.¡± ¡°Sen-Iv!¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never met a rogue before,¡± Sen replied truthfully. ¡°Of all the talk we just had about prospects, my mind is still on him.¡± ¡°Him?¡± Phon-Iv croaked his eyes ogling. ¡°Seriously?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t sent the guards,¡± she warned with a stern stare. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine.¡±
Sen-Iv A throne over the clouds Part II -Sweet rogue o¡¯ mine-
Ten more minutes, she thought pushing herself even more. You can do it. One finger of liquor in your glass Two strikes for the naughty lass Three pieces of cloth to show class Sen reached for the toes with the tips of her fingers. Touched them, found a hold and pulled until she felt her left calf protesting as much as her stretched back. Iskay who was sitting on her right leg to keep her touching the ground got up and walked around Sen to sit on the other. ¡°The mistress will dance?¡± she asked gathering the front folds of her panel skirt to sit down. ¡°The mistress wants the master in her bed again,¡± Sen explained taking a deep breath, before reaching for the other toes bending over her stretched leg. ¡°He always comes. Fear keeps him away lately,¡± Iskay commented. She didn¡¯t want to go there. ¡°Today it''s fear, tomorrow a lither long-eared wench might catch his eye,¡± Sen murmured. ¡°He wouldn¡¯t do it.¡± ¡°His cock would.¡± Iskay got up and stooped to wipe her forehead. ¡°Enough mistress. When you¡¯re hurting you speak nonsense.¡± ¡°Bring me my stick,¡± Sen told her sternly and breathed out. ¡°That¡¯s ten on the buttocks.¡± ¡°Can I get them after the festivities?¡± Iskay asked. ¡°I want to wear a shorter skirt.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t wear one, so you won¡¯t,¡± Sen replied and groaned trying to get up from her splits. ¡°You¡¯re alright?¡± ¡°I need to get to the kitchen,¡± Sen told her and kneaded at her sore thighs. ¡°I¡¯ll do it. You have to meet with Kamat-Fin.¡± ¡°Mmm. Did we pay him?¡± ¡°Bohor did before leaving. The sum was in the expenses list,¡± Iskay explained and helped her out of her sweaty tunic. Uhm. Sen walked naked to the bathtub and stepped inside. She lowered herself in the cool scented water that touched her chin. ¡°Rama took over after him.¡± ¡°I knew his father. A grabby old man,¡± Sen commented. ¡°You¡¯re getting the stick after the festivities.¡± ¡°Thank you mistress.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve taken a lot of liberties lately Iskay,¡± she told her. ¡°I need you focused on your tasks.¡± ¡°I¡¯m focused.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll find someone to bed you. You¡¯re well of age.¡± ¡°I could come to you.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll respect the customs of the house you sleep in,¡± Sen cautioned her. ¡°Not my brother¡¯s, or the Zilan. You live in Morn Taras, only the Monarch¡¯s will matters.¡± ¡°The Gish gets to do whatever she wants.¡± ¡°The Gish is not my slave and she is Glen¡¯s friend. Aim lower Iskay and watch your tongue.¡± ¡°Inis-Mir¡¯s outfit is ready,¡± Iskay dodged. Not until I see it for myself. Sen stared at her and then at the sun out of her window. ¡°I haven¡¯t slept at all, but I don¡¯t feel tired.¡± ¡°Where did you go?¡± ¡°Over the reefs,¡± Sen murmured remembering the stunning view and the feeling in her stomach. The wind blowing her hair back and Glen¡¯s hand between her legs. The latter made her shiver. ¡°Was it scary? Anything left?¡± ¡°Most of it is still there and one could travel through it,¡± Sen murmured with a small grimace at a jolt of pain from her ribcage. ¡°Phon should send a ship to Rain-Minas. Roran is almost, if not there already.¡± ¡°Kamat-Fin would know more.¡± ¡°Is he here?¡± ¡°Aye mistress.¡± ¡°Send him in.¡± ¡°Sir Delmuth won¡¯t allow it.¡± ¡°Tell Sir Delmuth the Lady Sovereign would either be happier with his decision or very unhappy during the festivities.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll see that Maeriel expects you after. Will you get out?¡± ¡°I shall. Bring me that cream and gold short robe.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a lot of leg showing.¡± ¡°The less I have to pay him,¡± Sen replied and pushed herself out of the tub with a sigh. ¡°I want Rama to get Lon to change a shipment. No more black tiles. I have a load of cut white stone waiting in Eikenport. I ordered it in Aegium via Scaldingport.¡± ¡°Voron would be unhappy. Granite builds faster and higher,¡± Glen and the Zilan¡¯s favorite mantra. ¡°It¡¯s also cheaper.¡± The latter mostly Glen. She smiled at that. A man who is careful with coin will never run out. ¡°So is gravel stone. Earth is cheaper still. Anyway, the Citadel is high enough and I won¡¯t have Inis-Mir grow up in the Zilan version of a Mausoleum. He¡¯ll dress the second floor with cream colored tiles and fine layers of gold sheets. He can carve whatever Eilven comes up with on them, but for hunting scenes or anything gory. I want more light, silver and yellow glitter on the walls. I have four architects that can do it, if it¡¯s out of his league.¡± ¡°I like gold,¡± Iskay agreed. She¡¯d almost a kilo worth of it on her constantly. She twirled around showing a lot of hip to spite her and cat-walked towards Inis-Mir¡¯s room. ¡°Maeriel might get ideas,¡± Sen warned her. ¡°I wish,¡± Iskay replied. ¡°But her eyes only see pink mistress. I only have a bit of that between my thighs and no skirt is that short.¡± Iskay has grown up, Sen thought looking herself in the mirror. I may need to find a younger slave to help with Inis-Mir. Her mind is elsewhere. She pressed a finger on the black spot forming near her ribs with her fingers and winced. There you are again.
She was messing up her letters, the quill not moving with the usual flow Sen had been accustomed to. She returned it in the silver ink pot and got up. Walked to her writing desk¡¯s mirror and checked on her reflection again. Sen used an ivory goat hair brush to put some more rouse on the high cheekbones, her skin paler as it was missing the sun. Less gold and more white in it. She used a fine liner next to retouch her carefully plucked eyebrows and changed earrings to match her robes. Placed her fingers on the Capricorn pendant she wore on her neck with Glen¡¯s gold ring on it. She relaxed her face and turned to watch Kamat-Fin enter her quarters. Sir Delmuth right behind him. ¡°Keep the door open,¡± Sen told the masked Rokae and he nodded after eyeing the Taras official hard for a long moment. ¡°I¡¯ll be a step away,¡± Sir Delmuth said raspingly. ¡°And we appreciate you for it,¡± Sen told him sweetly. ¡°Lady Sovereign,¡± Kamat-Fin said with a traditional Cofol deep bow, an arm behind his back. ¡°I thank you for the honor.¡± ¡°How is the hand master Kamat?¡±Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. ¡°I¡¯ve lost three fingers on it mistress,¡± the Master of Birds replied. ¡°You got three kilos of gold in the trade,¡± Sen said shaking her head. She moved her left leg over the right, the calf resting at the knee. Kamat pursed his mouth keeping those Cofol eyes on her face. Hmm. ¡°You wish for more?¡± She asked him. ¡°No I don¡¯t, mistress.¡± ¡°Is the matter settled?¡± ¡°It is.¡± ¡°Your man talked Kamat,¡± Sen explained to him. ¡°You know why?¡± ¡°You¡¯re Lady Sovereign. The mistress of the Sopat House.¡± Everyone talks to you was his meaning. ¡°A sufficient punishment was meted out and generous compensation offered,¡± Sen continued. ¡°No further action is to be taken against her. Your man understood that. Do you?¡± ¡°Of course Lady Sovereign.¡± ¡°Are my legs not to your liking?¡± Kamat gulped down and started sweating. ¡°I haven¡¯t¡­ they are¡ª¡± ¡°Don¡¯t doom yourself Kamat,¡± Sen warned him and uncrossed her legs to toss the robe over them. ¡°There is no good answer here, but displeasing me is the worst. There is the window, just walk out of it. It¡¯ll be less painful.¡± ¡°Aye mistress Sopat.¡± That¡¯s settled then. ¡°You have word of my brother?¡± Sen asked changing her tone and moving on to the next subject. ¡°The gladiators won near Rihtur and are moving towards Que Ki-La.¡± ¡°What about our forces?¡± ¡°Lord Phon-Iv is negotiating with Esugen.¡± Sen got up slowly. She picked up her finished letter and walked towards him deliberately. Sir Delmuth appeared at the open door keeping an eye on them. She stopped in front of the sweaty official and stared up into his poorly painted face. The man was much taller than her. ¡°Esugen is Erul-Sol¡¯s creature,¡± Sen said in a measured voice. ¡°He¡¯s stalling him waiting for reinforcements or the Princes¡¯ moving. If he¡¯s willing to talk, then that¡¯s what Phon mustn¡¯t do.¡± ¡°All the Princes of Rin An-Pur are far away mistress.¡± ¡°Nout is in Yi Xi-Yan. I bet he¡¯s already moving. I never place bets. It¡¯s a waste of coin. I¡¯m willing to do it in this case.¡± ¡°The Prince is very ill.¡± ¡°A sick person can still move,¡± Sen cautioned him. ¡°Function and act out of sheer will. Prince Nout never met a conflict he didn¡¯t enjoy and he¡¯ll sink his teeth in this one as well, even if it¡¯s the last thing he does. Don¡¯t give him time. The leopard moves fast on open terrain. You will send this letter to my brother. Use three birds to make sure it gets to him. He¡¯s to attack Esugen immediately with everything he has. Forget about the trade routes. I¡¯ll handle those, or Lon. Open the road so he can assist the gladiators. The time to be a merchant has gone. Now he needs to be a warrior just like he always wanted. Warriors don¡¯t look for deals.¡± ¡°I shall relay your wishes mistress. With your graces,¡± Kamat-Fin bowed deeply and Sen-Iv nodded once that he could leave her presence.
Inis-Mir put the crayon down and turned to look at her. ¡°Wipe your face little lady,¡± Sen told her. ¡°You¡¯re coming with me.¡± Maeriel shifted on her feet nervously. ¡°You can stay, or take the day off ranger,¡± Sen said turning to the tall Zilan female. ¡°Arguen Garth has tasked me to follow her when she leaves her quarters,¡± Maeriel replied. ¡°I shall do that.¡± ¡°She¡¯ll visit her mother, I¡¯ll handle my husband,¡± Sen told her evenly. ¡°I can¡¯t disobey the Monarch.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll obey his wife.¡± ¡°Maeriel is pissed,¡± Inis-Mir chuckled and Sen stooped over her. ¡°Show me that hand Inis-Mir,¡± she told her daughter. ¡°I didn¡¯t say anything bad!¡± the girl protested. ¡°Iskay take her to my quarters,¡± Sen ordered. ¡°Lady Sovereign,¡± Maeriel said clenching her jaw. ¡°I wish to talk to her alone,¡± Sen replied. ¡°You will respect it or you have no heart and shouldn¡¯t be anywhere near her.¡± She turned to leave but paused and turned to look at the frustrated Zilan. ¡°You can protect her and have a life away from your duties,¡± she told the ranger. ¡°Inis-Mir shall always have people to care for her, but Maeriel might not. You must learn to do both, or you¡¯ll only live half a life ¡®Spirit of the Forest¡¯, however long that life may be.¡±
Sen-Iv stopped brushing the princess¡¯ hair and stared in her daughter¡¯s face on the mirror. ¡°I like the color,¡± she told her fighting back tears. ¡°I like your jewelry.¡± ¡°They are too big for you.¡± ¡°Are there any smaller? Am I cursed to never wear them?¡± Sen kissed the back of her head. ¡°What have we said about lashing out?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like your rules,¡± Inis-Mir retorted. ¡°Father has much less than you.¡± ¡°Your father leaves the rules part to me,¡± Sen explained. ¡°He¡¯s not a girl so he avoids difficult discussions.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t do that in front of strangers.¡± ¡°Fine.¡± ¡°What else we don¡¯t do?¡± Sen asked her casually, resuming the brushing of her luscious hair. Such a strong crimson with some black in it, she thought marveling at the change. All it did was change the color. I should have used it on me, but perhaps I can still can. ¡°We don¡¯t get angry.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a weakness that offers little return.¡± ¡°What else?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t show sadness to strangers and we keep our thoughts to ourselves.¡± ¡°Unless we are with our special someone,¡± Sen continued. ¡°Then we let him know, unless it makes him uncomfortable. We don¡¯t do that to those we love.¡± ¡°You said love is as rare as gold.¡± ¡°Which is why we don¡¯t do that.¡± ¡°Wyverns are rarer.¡± ¡°Forget about them. You are too young for that also. Remember we don¡¯t buy love, or go out searching for it. Be suspicious of those professing it freely. Look for honesty instead or a mutually beneficial deal. If love is to find you, it will. You can¡¯t force it.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll never remember any of this by tomorrow,¡± Inis-Mir said looking at her through the mirror. ¡°Um, I think you will little lady. Why though?¡± Sen asked in a teasing manner. ¡°I love you mum,¡± Inis-Mir told her. ¡°I love you more,¡± Sen replied and kissed her head again. ¡°But I don¡¯t want to hear this kind of language from you.¡± ¡°You curse sometimes with dad.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not cursing Inis-Mir,¡± Sen explained. ¡°It may sound like it, but it is not.¡± ¡°Jinx says she can tell when dad has rolled in the hay with you by his step.¡± ¡°Jinx should learn we don¡¯t talk about everything with four year olds,¡± Sen murmured and stood up to look at her. ¡°I think she killed herself.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°She jumped out of a window with a short rope,¡± Inis-Mir explained. ¡°I saw her dropping down screaming. It was very funny!¡± ¡°She survived it,¡± Sen said and pressed a finger on her forehead, right above the bridge of her nose. ¡°You alright mum?¡± ¡°Just a little tired probably. I haven¡¯t slept last night. Your father kept me well awake.¡± ¡°How was it?¡± ¡°How was what?¡± Sen asked narrowing her eyes. ¡°Flying?¡± ¡°If I had to describe it with a word. I¡¯d have to say useful,¡± Sen replied with a smile and took her to the dresser to pick a new outfit.
¡°There¡¯s father,¡± Inis-Mir said in her formal voice, quickly slipping out of character. ¡°When we get to sit on the throne?¡± ¡°When they announce us,¡± Sen explained again. ¡°Keep your chin up. You are a princess of Wetull, a King¡¯s daughter and a scion of the house Sopat. No one will ever rule over you. We walk unhurriedly and standing upright,¡± Iskay turned an elaborate red head to look at her. ¡°Unless we have a reason not to. Then¡­ we don¡¯t.¡± ¡°What reason?¡± ¡°Here¡¯s dad,¡± Sen dodged. ¡°Smile Inis-Mir, he needs encouragement. It¡¯s our first task this. Never forget it.¡± ¡°Ladies,¡± Glen rustled, clad in a leather outfit. A silk red shirt underneath his black doublet, a polished intricate half plate over it. ¡°Why do I get winter clothing and you get the fancy lacy stuff?¡± Sen approached him glancing at the backs of the Rokae parked in front of them, blocking the crowd from seeing the royals. She fixed the coral of his shirt and pushed his unruly hair back, Glen¡¯s arms around her waist. ¡°Let¡¯s ditch these fools and go back upstairs,¡± he told her hoarsely sending butterflies down her loins. ¡°A rogue would do that,¡± Sen whispered in his ear. ¡°Without a second thought.¡± Glen pulled back unsure. ¡°I can¡¯t tell if you are serious sweetheart, but I¡¯m willing to risk it.¡± ¡°We can make it to the end of the evening,¡± she told him with a smile. Inis-Mir came to hug them both and Iskay stooped to pick her up. ¡°We don¡¯t have the right number of chairs,¡± Kilynia squeaked rushing near them. ¡°Monarch, Lady Sovereign. Someone needs to stand along the strays.¡± Glen frowned and puffed his cheeks out which was so adorable it should have been outlawed. ¡°Well¡­ you are ambushing me here Kilynia,¡± he grunted. ¡°It¡¯s not a good look.¡± ¡°Let the adventurers stand with them,¡± Sen intervened keeping her voice casual. There was a numbness spreading on her sides. ¡°They have many friends with them.¡± ¡°You heard her,¡± Glen said and kissed her hand. ¡°Problem solved. Someone tell Kirk to stop drinking, we may need him upright as well.¡±
¡°Esteemed officials of Taras and Sinya Goras. From Abarat and Lo-Minas. Dignitaries from Greenwhale Peninsula, Eikenport and the city of Scaldingport. Visitors from Brightos the distant Glorfalc, form Kaltha, Regia and Lesia. Friends from Lord¡¯s Burrow. Lords and Ladies of Wetull, Members of the King¡¯s Council, Members of the Council of Twenty you are welcomed to Morn Taras,¡± Rimeros paused his pompous address in strict Imperial almost half the audience didn¡¯t understand and eyed the colorful crowd. Zilan and humans in it. A group of dwarfs sitting with the frowned Lord Shield. The smiling broadly giant Soren, several Gish, an inebriated Jinx amongst them and a Ticu pretending to be a normal girl holding her hand. Young Phinariel dressed in a scandalous outfit made out of intricate blue and white lace, which was what most upper class Zilan females had preferred, impressing Sen since she put a lot of the upper caste ladies to shame. ¡°The Impervious prophesied Hardir O¡¯ Fardor,¡± Rimeros started raising his voice to silence the murmurs of the crowd. ¡°An Aniculo Rokae returned, the Lord of Morn Taras and Sinya Goras, Protector of Abarat and Lo-Minas. Keeper of Nesande¡¯s Temple, Warden of the Temple of Eodrass, the King beyond the Pale Mountains, from Merodras River to Gish Lament, from Goras to Rain-Minas and from Nesande¡¯s Garden to the port of Baltoris and the city of Elauthin. The Monarch of Wetull, Palan-Hinnen Arguen Garth, O¡¯ Nielek Aniculo!¡± ¡°My Glen,¡± Sen whispered -tears in her eyes she fought to hold back- to a grimacing Glen at the crowd¡¯s rowdy response that tested the excellent acoustics of a proud Voron to the limit. A distracted Eilven appeared briefly next to him as he rounded a massive black column, chisel in hand, looking for imperfections. ¡°They cheer for you Glen.¡± ¡°Sir Delmuth,¡± Glen said loudly to the leading Rokae. ¡°Move aside so I can tell them to shut the fuck up afore they blew my eardrums off!¡± ¡°Oi, you hear that?¡± Inir-Mir gasped at his words and Sen pushed him gently through the tall Knights. Rimeros trying to quiet down the crowd but failing. ¡°Maeriel you keep them safe now,¡± a concerned Glen said and started walking from the internal stairs towards the three thrones.
The Monarch¡¯s Celebration affected all of Taras. The visitors and guests stayed in the lake town as it was much easier to make the journey to Morn Taras from there. Some stayed in the Castle itself. Like Lord Onas who had come from Abarat, Kilynia and Rimeros the two advisors from Lo-Minas, Berthas of Aelinole Lord Suraer¡¯s kin, the Rokae of Sir Delmuth, Lady Aenymriel the palace¡¯s surveyor, Lady Soletha, Soren, Lady Jinx and Vulreon the First Scribe. Some stayed in the Phalanx¡¯s barracks like Lord Anfalon and Lymsiel. Most found lodgings in the two hostels and the many taverns popping out around the lake¡¯s shores, or to villas if they owed one like Lord Shield and his guests, or had the gold to rent some of the renovated buildings Lord Voron¡¯s crews worked on when they stopped repairs on Morn Taras that month. Some like Lord Folen owed a tavern themselves, or a ¡®Pleasure House¡¯ that according to him was a hostel in a sense its guests never left ¡®unsatisfied¡¯. Master Vycaris and his companion Oelinael got busy creating outfits for the citizens that could afford them, or those like this humble scribe that had found a sponsor for theirs. Many merchants had started buying property in the outrageously expensive Taras, but mainly in Sinya Goras the port facing Jelin, or even Hardir¡¯s Port that faced the Navel and beyond it Vermilion Peak and the sea route to Eodrass¡¯ Temple. Each prominent guest brought a gift to Arguen Garth, who stayed unimpressed for most of them and spoken a few, or many words of praise for the simply dressed Monarch. The Crown of Horns seemed to weigh heavy on his head all night, but while the Monarch¡¯s ancient crown was impressive to see again for the Elderbloods, the one Lady Sovereign wore for the occasion stunned those that had the fortune to witness it up close. Created by Angrein O¡¯ Mecatan especially for Lady Sen-Iv, it was a stunning gold and white-gold diadem build around two of the largest and most striking opals ever unearthed in Lai Zel-Ka. The identical but for their size Aurora Opals precious gems that resembled the Lady Sovereign¡¯s famed eyes distinctive color patterns, were centered one atop the other at the front of the diadem and sparkled at the lights of the packed hall creating a rainbow halo over her face. It was the only time the elusive Crown of Gems, or ¡®Aurora Crown¡¯ was ever worn by anyone in public and it was never seen again after that night.
Inis-Mir giggled jumping on her throne excited despite the efforts from a clad in her cleaned and polished Imperial Ranger outfit Maeriel and the radiating Istay to control her. Glen had just finished reminiscing the first time he met Alan Kirk in his first posting back in Rida and while it was obvious the soon to be a Knight loyal man remembered it differently, he had the presence of mind to go along with the enthusiastic Monarch. He had a few drinks too many, she thought smiling at Lord Onas¡¯ comment suggesting they hurl the sharply dressed Alan Kirk out of the door, or get this over with, so he could dance with her. ¡°My wife dances only with me Lord Onas,¡± Glen retorted, never losing a back and forth as long as she remembered him. ¡°It¡¯s how it goes in this venue. You wish for a wife to dance wit you, then get yourself one mate. You¡¯re getting quite long in the tooth.¡± The silence that followed his words broken when the one eyed Lord Onas tipped his head back in a roaring laughter that sparked a similar outbreak for the rest of the crowd. Even the stressed out Lady Kilynia chuckled at that and Glen having gotten the difficult part out of the way whispered quickly to Alan Kirk while the crowd was distracted. ¡°Damnit kneel Kirk. Just drop to yer knees man. I¡¯m starting to forget the wording with all the brouhaha. You wish to be ordained to a specific God?¡± He asked this time loud enough for the bystanders to notice, their pre-arranged and rehearsed back and forth starting. Glen had a touch of the theatrical in him. ¡°Milord, I wish to serve the Aniculo family and the Black Throne.¡± ¡°Now, are you sure my good man? It might be quicker for me,¡± Glen said standing over him with his sword in hand. ¡°But you need to know this is a difficult task you¡¯re taking on.¡± ¡°I¡¯m fully aware milord and I insist.¡± ¡°You know a sworn sword to a Royal Household, is a Knight that doesn¡¯t get to fool around with the ladies eh?¡± ¡°Ehm, I¡¯m married milord,¡± Kirk lied as they had agreed aforehand in order to circumvent the rule. Glen¡¯s only order to Alan Kirk had been not to fool around with his wife and daughter else he¡¯d have the Wyvern eat him. Sir Delmuth turned his masked head towards the throne unsure about the wording and Glen shrugged his shoulders. He had to fix the crown on his head afterwards. ¡°Can¡¯t have the man up and divorce her,¡± he argued tactfully and the crowd went along with his explanation as it seemed reasonable. ¡°What about the kids right?¡± ¡°What?¡± Jinx blurted out from her corner, Phinariel looking at Glen with pleading eyes to not break up the man¡¯s family. Glen eyed the Gish warningly, pausing unsure at the sight of the staring back at him unblinking Assara and then continued. ¡°Very well then. With that out of the way,¡± Glen said formally raising his sword and placing the flat of it on Kirk¡¯s right shoulder. ¡°In the name of Eodrass the Wyvern God depicted on this crown I trust you to be brave. In the name of Nesande and her moon that ever shines its light upon this throne I trust you to be loyal to its tenant. In the name of Vile Abrakas that never forgets, I trust you to keep your vows, protect this Realm and the citizens of Wetull. My words were heard in this hall and witnessed. The King witnessed it, the Lady Sovereign witnessed it, the Lords and Ladies of Morn Taras witnessed it. All Gods old and new witnessed it. Arise Sir Alan Kirk of Taras, a sacred Knight of Wetull.¡± Sir Delmuth marched forth, a polished white-silver Rokae mask in his arms, as a solemn faced Kirk stood up and Glen stepped back for him to receive his ceremonial mask. A Rokae served faithfully forfeiting personal desires at the king¡¯s behest. They all had the same face for that reason. ¡°Sir Alan Kirk of Taras, is a member of the Sacred Rokae and he¡¯ll serve the King of Wetull along with his brothers,¡± Sir Delmuth announced to the hall in a commanding voice. ¡°But he¡¯ll need a fresh set of armour which the Throne shall provide,¡± he added and Glen frowned at first, but then gave a slight nod with his head. The crown needing a refit to stand on his head, but with Angrein busy creating hers the matter had been left for later. ¡°Now, then¡­ ehm,¡± Glen continued after the two knights went to the rest of the Rokae and officials that wanted to congratulate Sir Kirk. ¡°The matter of the adventurers Exulted Monarch,¡± Metu said with a small voice from his corner. The well-dressed Castellan always apprehensive in front of her. A former slave of her cousin Lon-Iv Sopat that Glen had deemed useful to free. Sen-Iv never fully trusted him and she stared at the nervous Metu for a long moment, until Sam Mathews, Clinton Marlo and the half-breed Jingo stepped forward in their cleaned, but well-used armour and leathers. Sam Mathews nodded at her and she returned it, her eyes going to the rough-looking Marlo next and then at the blank-faced always parsimonious Jingo. They had all served Glen for years undertaking missions and even fighting for him. Sen respected that in professionals. If you get paid then you should do a good job. It was also a matter of pride for them surely and manners. ¡°I know Sam Mathews for quite some time now,¡± Glen was saying. He had climbed down the stairs for this part of the festivities. ¡°The mark of a good adventurer is taking on a task and coming back on his two feet. Aye, no good can come from dying on a lucrative job, covered in gold and spider webs.¡± ¡°Hopefully it¡¯ll be more gold and less spiders¡¯ going forward milord,¡± Marlo commented, paused at Glen¡¯s raised brow and added just to get it out of his chest. ¡°And digging graves. I don¡¯t have the fingers for it.¡± ¡°I count nine fingers, mister Marlo,¡± Glen retorted. ¡°So there are plenty of fingers left. But if you¡¯re so inclined, I still have a couple of gold ones left in my satchel.¡± Sam laughed, Marlo scratched his face with the hand missing the finger and Jingo remained uninterested on his feet. Rimeros approached with three gold rings, depicting a likeness of Uvrycres as a baby, to give to the three adventurers. Sen glanced at her daughter, frowned at Inis-Mir¡¯s serious face and gestured for her to smile for the crowd. Then her eyes returned on the three warriors receiving their gifts, along a heavy leather purse of gold coins, what Glen owed them for a couple of years and she had insisted they paid back with interest. Sam took his and put it on his gloved finger with a warm smile, Marlo bit his first to make sure it was solid gold and Jingo removed a leather cord he had, pulling it out from inside his leather shirt and over his shaven head. A cheap pendant hanging from it and the half-Issir obviously intended to slot the ring there as well. A black cylindrical piece of wood Sen-Iv thought initially, but then her experienced eyes recognized the surface of the wood from where she was sitting. She had seen a similar trinket again many years back in the port market of Lai Zel-Ka and inside the palace of Rin An-Pur. A talisman from the Plague Isles. A pendant made out of Wyvern¡¯s bone just like Glen¡¯s peculiar dagger. ¡°Can I see it?¡± She asked Jingo and Glen turned his head hearing her voice, the hall turning quiet. ¡°Apologies mister Jingo, but I always wanted to buy one, but never got the chance. My King we talked of this.¡± ¡°Ah,¡± Glen grimaced and stared at Jingo. Marlo turned his head around and glared at the undecided adventurer as the moment dragged. ¡°What¡¯s the matter wit you?¡± he admonished his friend. ¡°Give it to the Lady Sovereign! Ye get to keep the darn ring fool.¡± ¡°It¡¯s mine,¡± Jingo replied. ¡°We¡¯ll return it mister Jingo,¡± Glen assured him not wanting to create a scene. Sen wasn¡¯t going to return it of course. She intended to buy the amulet from the adventurer and have Angrein look at it. ¡°Blasted gallopin¡¯ Goblins!¡± Marlo snapped angry and grabbed the cheap-looking pendant from him. ¡°Gimme that thing,¡± he turned around and tossed it to a readily catching it Glen, the murmurs inside the Hall increasing as everyone was trying to understand what all this was about. ¡°Here ye go, milord King.¡± Glen walked back to the stairs and gave the pendant to Iskay, who had rushed down the podium to take it. Iskay brought it to her and Sen-Iv stared into Jingo¡¯s intense black eyes. ¡°I appreciate your kindness mister Jingo,¡± she told him unable to read his expression and traced her fingers around the cool glassy bone to examine it. Sen felt the tiny carvings on its surface and dismissed it at first as imperfections, until she realized they were carved in a helical pattern following the seams. She brought it closer to her face to check on the tiny and hidden alien script. She could barely see it for what it was, but for when the light shaded the surface of the pendant at an angle. Some of it she recognized. Proto-Imperial cuneiform script. Not all the letters though. Glen turned his back to the thrones podium to talk it out with the adventurers, Jingo still looking her way and Sen¡¯s fingers turning numb slowly. The pendant slipped away and she had to pick it up from her lap. How is it so cool? She thought trying to get her hands working again. The well-illuminated for the day hall, as considerable effort had been put to it, started dimming gradually before her very eyes. Its massive towering black columns that travelled down the long and packed with a restless crowd hall, started disappearing in the coming darkness. The furthest of them first and then one after the other. All of them, until only the final two were left and two thirds of the whole hall had been covered in thick blackness. Jingo grimaced, his first reaction of the evening, Sen tried to moist her lips with a slow to react tongue and the Crown of Gems rolled down her white satin gown, over the gathered elegantly kept together legs and then dropped on the podium¡¯s lacquered tiles. The Lady Sovereign watched the rolling crown travelling to the edge where the stairs begun mesmerized, all the colors of the rainbow sparkling on it and then going over. It hit the granite tiles at the bottom of the stairs and despite the crowd¡¯s murmurs and noise, as everyone was animated after a great evening, or the fact he himself was talking with Sam Mathews, Glen somehow heard it. He turned around alarmed and stared immediately at her. Give me ten more minutes, the Celestial Opal pleaded.
But you can''t bargain with the Gods when you''ve nothing to offer.
My sweet rogue, a struggling to breathe Sen had said from the gold throne. There¡¯s script written on it...
So she only got the first part out.
371. A throne over the clouds (3/3)
Arguen Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Lord of Morn Taras Monarch of Sinya Goras King beyond the Pale Mountains Aniculo Rokae A throne over the clouds Part III -I¡¯ll wake you when it¡¯s over-
Treachery, the dagger had whispered. Glen blinked not expecting its voice to pop in his head, as it rarely did after he¡¯d threatened to toss it in the ocean more than a year back. Sam was talking apologetically. ¡°He¡¯s a bit uncouth, you know him,¡± he explained to a nervous Glen. He¡¯d half forgotten about all the stress and fear for the future during the festivities. A bit of talk, people cheering you on and reminiscing of the past while handing out and receiving gifts can do that to you. Also glugging down half a bottle of wine in the quick to steel his nerves for the sake of the girls. He made to glance back towards the thrones, as he just couldn¡¯t get enough of them the last couple of months, but Marlo intervened, both of them anxious he had taken offense with their gruff friend. Glen hadn¡¯t really. If he ever wished for a magical power though it would be to freeze up time. That¡¯s what his instincts were telling him. Screaming really. Freeze the moment. Don¡¯t go any further. It won¡¯t get any better that this. This is it. ¡°Had his head rang back in Raoz by them bandits guarding the silver nuggets,¡± Marlo explained. ¡°Made the trip after Sibren Maats had retired. Milton, Sibren, Jester Grin and Jingo were a tightly knit bunch like that. Knew them for twenty years aye. Grin bought the farm though on that mission. Am I remembering it correct Jingo? Fuck¡¯s sake man help us out here!¡± Glen glanced at Jingo and the half-breed grimaced looking elsewhere. He frowned and then heard something valuable clanging behind him. Glen twisted around fearing the worst and caught Sen¡¯s words through the noise of the crowd. ¡°My sweet rogue,¡± his wife said throatily. Glen glanced at his feet and saw her pretty crown there. He stooped to get it and got up again. ¡°Looks fine,¡± he told her and walked to the stairs, leaving the adventurers behind. Glen started up the stairs with a sigh. Sen¡¯s head had dropped low, chin touching the swell of her breasts and that rich long hair were covering her face completely. It looked like she was sleeping and while they had skipped rest the previous night Glen almost lost his footing, because he knew Sen would never do that. Inis-Mir was lecturing Maeriel on weaponry, the crowd lost in their gossip and even the Rokae spread around the podium were relaxed at their spots. ¡°Sen?¡± Glen asked rushing up the final steps and headed for her gold throne. He reached her in a breath and grabbed her limp arms to see her face. Sen¡¯s head moved back, the hair parting, those familiar eyes open staring empty and black liquid running out of their corners like black tears. No. ¡°Sen?¡± Glen murmured shaking her gently, trying to feel for a pulse, her body loose on the throne not responding. Lifeless like a doll made out of warm flesh. Don¡¯t do this. ¡°Sweetheart wake up. Please,¡± he begged, the noise of the hall lost to his ears. A numbness turning into a pain grasping at his heart when she didn¡¯t respond despite his frantic efforts. ¡°Help,¡± Glen croaked turning around drenched in sweat. ¡°Someone. HELP!¡± Sir Delmuth moved from his position with Kirk right behind him. Fikumin jumped from his chair way down at the main hall seeing something was off and Maeriel who was standing nearest to him, stepped in front of his daughter to block her view of her mother. ¡°Damnit girl. Why would you do that?¡± Glen grunted hoarsely and tried to lift her up, but he¡¯d no strength in his arms from the severe shock. ¡°Monarch,¡± the arriving Sir Delmuth said, the crowd gathered inside the hall stopping gradually their conversations realizing the drama unfolding on the lavish podium. ¡°Find Soletha now,¡± Glen croaked rocking Sen¡¯s body in his arms. ¡°Now dammit!¡± ¡°Monarch,¡± Delmuth repeated stooping over him. ¡°What¡¯s that on the Lady¡¯s Sovereign¡¯s face?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing!¡± ¡°You need to step away my Lord,¡± Sir Delmuth urged him through his solemn mask and Glen snarled back at him angry. ¡°I won¡¯t leave her!¡± ¡°What happened to mum?¡± Inis Mir asked fighting with a sobbing Iskay to free herself. ¡°Maeriel,¡± a manic and wild eyed Glen growled menacingly turning his sweaty face on the numb Ranger. ¡°Get my daughter away from here!¡±
She is getting colder, a desperate Glen thought rubbing her shoulders and arms. This isn¡¯t good. ¡°Let me see her,¡± a grim Soletha clad in her best dress urged him, Soren¡¯s large head looking over her worried. ¡°My lord please step away.¡± ¡°She¡¯s not waking up,¡± Glen told her, reluctantly taking a step back from the throne. ¡°Everyone step away from the podium,¡± Soletha ordered. ¡°Lord Garth you need to clean yourself up,¡± she ordered trying to get through to him. Glen stared at his hands. That gluey substance on it. He couldn¡¯t think, nor did he understand how it had gotten there. Sen¡¯s face covered in the stuff. It had spilled on her beautiful satin tunic, down the opening at her neck and darkened her jewelry. ¡°It could spread about.¡± ¡°Secure the Monarch,¡± Sir Delmuth ordered and Kirk grabbed his shoulder to pull him away, but Glen roared and shoved him back violently. The sound of Inis-Mir crying from atop the stairs struggling to get free from Maeriel and Iskay piercing his ears. ¡°Glenavon,¡± Fikumin said gravely touching his leg. Glen turned around, heart beating in an erratic rhythm. ¡°What is this? Who did this?¡± Glen stared at him and then at a sober Jinx numbly. His mouth hurt and everything inside the hall had turned a blurry incomprehensible series of images. ¡°You need to save her,¡± he finally said turning back to a frantically working on Sen Soletha. She had cut open her dress, used parts of her own gown she¡¯d teared out to wipe some of the foul mixture away and had emptied her satchel on the ground trying to find something amidst the chaos that started spreading inside the shocked hall. ¡°Murder!¡± Someone yelled. ¡°The Queen has been slain!¡± ¡°Sir Delmuth,¡± a flushed Kirk still without his mask grunted. ¡°You need to clear the hall.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Delmuth replied sounding unsure. ¡°My Lord?¡± ¡°Get Lord Anfalon to do it,¡± Kirk urged him. ¡°Bring the guards from the gates here!¡± ¡°Soletha,¡± Glen grunted hoarsely stooping over the Healer to catch another glimpse of his wife. ¡°Whatever it takes, you need to bring her back. I might have found something to help her.¡± Uvrycres brutal solution looking rather merciful now. There¡¯s another way, the dagger hissed and Glen groaned shaking his head, everyone stepping away from him. But you need to deal with treachery first. ¡°Arggh!¡± Glen roared and Soletha collapsed on her bottom next to his unresponsive wife. Glen moved to cover Sen¡¯s exposed breasts with the torn pieces of her tunic and the healer groaned frustrated getting up again. She pushed him away from her. ¡°She¡¯s gone,¡± Soletha told him frustrated and Glen backhanded her. The healer snapped her head away lithely to avoid the worst and a furious Glen moved on the healer blinded by rage, Soren¡¯s massive palm on his chest stopping him. ¡°Get out of my way!¡± Glen blasted the towering Nord. ¡°She¡¯s not lying small Glen,¡± Soren said in his baritone voice. ¡°Bullshit!¡± ¡°Her lungs are full of it,¡± Soletha rumpled. ¡°We might all be infected.¡± ¡°Who would know?¡± ¡°Berthas could tell us.¡± ¡°Get Berthas over here!¡± Glen barked and Kirk gulped down but nodded his face pale. He turned to the Healer. ¡°Try again,¡± he told her angry. ¡°Use a healing potion. Two. Do it!¡± ¡°Glenavon you need to calm down,¡± Fikumin said and Glen all but screamed in his face. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me to calm down dwarf!¡± ¡°Can Lymsiel offer her assistance Lady Soletha?¡± A sober Anfalon asked standing a couple of meters away. ¡°She¡¯s very worried.¡± Soletha shook her disheveled head right and left. ¡°I can¡¯t¡­ she can¡¯t. It¡¯s not illness or poison Lord Anfalon.¡± ¡°That leaves very few possibilities for what I¡¯m witnessing,¡± the ancient Elderblood commented sourly. ¡°I¡¯ll tell her to vacate the hall,¡± he said with a glance at a shell-shocked Glen that stared at his wife¡¯s face in disbelief. ¡°She¡¯s with child Lord Garth.¡± Glen nodded and stared at his stained hands. The oily substance smelled of wet coal. ¡°Soletha,¡± he finally said. ¡°Just bring her back for a few moments. Whatever you want I¡¯ll give you. Anything. You can ask for anything.¡± Soletha gulped down her eyes sad. ¡°I wish for my daughter¡¯s life be returned Lord Garth, but I know in my heart that she¡¯s gone. Apologies, but so is Lady Sovereign. I¡¯m a healer, I can¡¯t mend what¡¯s not there.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll refuse to help?¡± Glen grunted, a tick appearing in his left eye. ¡°AFTER ALL I¡¯VE DONE FOR YOU?¡± Berthas arrival defusing the situation as a desperate Glen grabbed the white-haired young mage and dragged him forcefully over Sen¡¯s body. ¡°Find a way,¡± he urged him hoarsely. ¡°You can do it.¡± An ashen-faced Berthas nodded and gathered the long sleeves of his blue robes. ¡°Don¡¯t be an idiot!¡± Soletha blasted him. ¡°You can¡¯t do that! It¡¯ll jump into you!¡± ¡°SHUT UP!¡± A furious Glen snapped at her and went to draw his sword. ¡°YOU CLOSE YER FUCKING MOUTH!¡± Kirk grabbed his sword arm, Fikumin grabbing the other, but an out of his mind Glen moved both of them forward, until Jinx stepped in front of him, her eyes swollen and smelling of Goras wine. ¡°They are your friends,¡± the Gish told him raspingly. ¡°They are doing all they can Glen.¡± ¡°They are not,¡± Glen grunted and Berthas stooped over Sen¡¯s body placing both his hands on her neck. ¡°DON¡¯T DO IT!¡± Soletha screamed irate and Soren had to restrain her as well. ¡°You are listening to a madman!¡± ¡°Kirk arrest the healer,¡± Glen ordered the newly minted knight. ¡°Hagen!¡± ¡°Milord!¡± an anxious Hagen yelled from the back. ¡°Assist him. Sir Delmuth!¡± Glen barked next loud enough to be heard down the hall. Stupid Voron¡¯s acoustics. He pointed at the three adventurers he was talking with ages ago it seemed. ¡°Keep them here, under watch! Keep everyone here! NOBODY LEAVES THE PREMISES!¡± ¡°Aye Lord Garth,¡± Sir Delmuth replied and moved on the stunned adventurers. Well, Jingo didn¡¯t look surprised. Just saddened. Motherfucker. Ruffians. Glen turned his attention on the chanting Berthas, trying to block Soletha¡¯s warnings from his ears. ¡°Tell them the truth!¡± The Healer was yelling while they dragged her away. Two Rokae on her and four trying to stop Soren who wanted to follow after Soletha. ¡°Let the dead lay. Let them rest Lord Garth!¡± ¡°Eh,¡± Berthas said with a shudder and pulled his hands back. ¡°Well?¡± Glen asked anxiously. The young mage got up slowly and pressed his pale lips into a thin line. Then shook his head. No. ¡°What does she mean?¡± Fikumin asked looking at the healer and priestess getting removed from the hall. ¡°Glenavon?¡± Glen walked next to Sen¡¯s body and collapsed on his knees next to it. He took one of her lifeless hands in his and squeezed it gently.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Come on baby. You can do it. Don¡¯t give up. ¡°I know what she means,¡± Berthas said behind his back to the concerned dwarf. ¡°But whatever she had inside is dead now. There¡¯s nothing there. Unfortunately.¡± Glen wiped his eyes and stared at him from the floor. ¡°Where did it go?¡± ¡°It turned to this,¡± Berthas showed the dwarf his dirty hands. Glen got up with Sen¡¯s body in his arms and walked to her throne again. He lowered her there carefully and spent some time trying to mend her ruined tunic. When that failed, he used his shirt. Glen just ripped it out of from under his armour to clean her face up and neck from the foul substance. He then covered her chest with it. Fikumin¡¯s hushed conversation with Berthas not interesting him, nor the sound of protests from the guests his guards were instructing to remain inside. But then one of Fikumin¡¯s questions broke the veil of numbness that had engulfed him. ¡°What killed the curse?¡± Fikumin had asked. And he felt something under his boot, at the leg of the gold throne. Glen stooped under it, a hand caressing Sen¡¯s cold ankles, the other picking up that cheap pendant from the floor. A piece of plaguin¡¯ wood. Trinkets, she had told him back in Eikenport. Brought from the Plague Isles. Made out of Wyvern¡¯s bone. Ah. ¡°I have no idea,¡± Berthas admitted. ¡°Nor why it decided to die along its host, when it had behaved differently.¡± ¡°When was that?¡± Fikumin probed interest in his voice. Glen got up and looked at Kirk. ¡°Guard my wife,¡± he told the knight and Kirk nodded with a small hesitation. ¡°Berthas,¡± Glen said next. ¡°You say one more word, you¡¯ll never see the light of the sun again. This is not your business to discuss!¡± ¡°Apologies Lord Garth,¡± Berthas said quickly. ¡°I¡¯ll never¡ª¡± ¡°Just shut yer mouth!¡± Glen grunted and marched down the stairs of the podium. I knew it, he thought getting angrier by the moment. Treachery, the dagger goaded him on. Fucking ruffian.
Sam looked distraught. ¡°Lord Garth you have my deepest condolences. Everyone is in shock,¡± the adventurer told him. Glen just growled under his breath instead of answering and went for Jingo. Sir Qildor who stood in front of the half-breed made to step away, but Glen bulldozed his way through the Rokae and punched Jingo in the mouth. The adventurer stumbled back, but Glen kneed him in the kidneys next and sent him sprawling down. Jingo groaned and rolled on the ground saving his head from Glen¡¯s stabbing boot that came down with a thud. Glen kicked him on the chest as he was trying to escape, the crowd nearest to the scene gasping in horror at this sudden explosion of violence. You don¡¯t see the king trying to beat a man to death inside his hall every day. There were mercifully a lot of guards present, Rokae and even Hoplites in full gear between them and the guests, sort of concealing some of what was going on before the thrones. But not everything. Jingo rolled on a knee and got up, Glen moving on him with feverish eyes. He dodged a backhand, but Glen unsheathed his sword next, the cackle of the weapon reverberating inside the hall. Glen hacked at the adventurer, but he managed to escape him again with a minor cut on his leg that bled freely on the polished black tiles. ¡°Milord!¡± Marlo yelled and rushed to stop him, Sir Qildor¡¯s sword coming out as well and stopping his advance. ¡°Garth for the love of Uher!¡± Sam cried from his spot. ¡°He didn¡¯t do anything!¡± ¡°Arggh!¡± Glen roared grinding his teeth. ¡°Get your weapon out you fucking ruffian!¡± He barked at Jingo. ¡°Snake! You came to stab me in the back!¡± ¡°GLENAVON!¡± Fikumin boomed from the podium with a mighty voice. It rattled the walls and shocked the crowd, but for the dwarfs who were with him. They just scowled some more. ¡°That is enough!¡± Glen turned to glare at the small figure coming down the stairs of the podium. Fikumin¡¯s shadow that of a much bigger man. ¡°You don¡¯t order me around dwarf,¡± he hissed angrily. ¡°What did he do?¡± Fikumin rustled approaching fast on his stubby legs. ¡°Explain and I¡¯ll kill him myself.¡± Glen stood up straighter and licked his bitter lips, drenched in sweat and curls of wet hair on his face half-concealing it. He reached in his armor and got the pendant out. A groaning Jingo got up on his feet, a silence coming inside the sinister hall. ¡°He gave her this.¡± ¡°Garth¡­ My lord,¡± Sam protested. ¡°She asked for it. I heard it with my own ears!¡± ¡°Tell them what it is,¡± Glen told the grimacing Jingo. ¡°Tell him allgods darnit!¡± Marlo urged him. ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake! Now is not the time to turn mute on us!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not your enemy my lord,¡± Jingo finally said. ¡°Answer the king¡¯s query!¡± Sir Delmuth blasted him under his mask. ¡°It¡¯s an amulet,¡± Jingo said. ¡°That¡¯s all.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you fucking play this game wit me!¡± Glen growled and slashed at him. Jingo tried to dodge, but the blade cut a gush on his right forearm that bled down his sleeve freely. ¡°Good grief!¡± Marlo gasped. ¡°I didn¡¯t kill the Lady Sovereign,¡± Jingo said in a calm voice. Glen blinked, his hands shaking. He¡¯s lying. Ask him. Do it, the dagger hissed. Shut up! ¡°How did you die?¡± Glen croaked and Fikumin gasped hearing him. Jingo¡¯s face contorted, the half-breed aging a couple of years in a moment and he stumbled back. ¡°What did he say?¡± Marlo asked sounding bewildered. Sir Qildor lowered his sword. His body-language also showing confusion, despite the mask hiding his facial expression. ¡°Garth,¡± Sam said who had understood the query. ¡°We know Jingo.¡± ¡°Do you?¡± Glen asked him hoarsely eyeing the unresponsive adventurer. ¡°Does he appear normal to you?¡± ¡°Milord,¡± Marlo said reasonably not wanting to aggravate him further, but also determined to at least attempt to save his friend. ¡°I¡¯ve known them for years.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s ask this Sibren guy. We can write to him,¡± Glen retorted. ¡°I can wait and he¡¯ll stay locked up until then.¡± ¡°Maats was killed up North,¡± Marlo grunted and then smacked his lips. ¡°But he¡¯d told you that that¡¯s Jingo. He was wit Grin in¡ª¡± Jingo tipped his head back and then shook it right and left. ¡°You have something to say?¡± Glen asked him. Jingo smacked his lips and stared at the cut on his forearm. It was the most animated that Glen had seen him in years. ¡°The amulet killed the curse Lord of Wetull. It¡¯s what it does, it breaks down spells,¡± he told him in a strange broken accent. Half-Common Half-Imperial with a touch of something completely alien. ¡°But the curse was the only thing keeping her alive.¡± Glen blinked. ¡°You¡¯re lying.¡± ¡°Ask your healer,¡± Jingo said and made an uncertain step forward. He stopped after he did as if surprised at the success. ¡°Where¡¯s Jingo? The real one?¡± Glen asked. ¡°He died trying to save his friend,¡± Jingo replied. ¡°It¡¯s not polite to remind a person of something so traumatic. You did, which means you are a knowledgeable human.¡± ¡°Man what are you saying?¡± Marlo asked him and turned to Glen. ¡°He¡¯s hurt and in shock milord.¡± ¡°No. He¡¯s a construct. A killer,¡± Glen replied. ¡°Not all are,¡± Jingo corrected him. ¡°As I said. I¡¯m not your enemy Lord of Wetull. But you have enemies aplenty. One at least, is inside this very Hall.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± Glen agreed coldly. ¡°You,¡± and attacked him.
¡°Ugh!¡± Marlo gasped horrified seeing Jingo going down, the slash opening his neck and then cutting down the left side of his chest through the leather armour. ¡°You killed him!¡± He yelled at Glen, who watched the bleeding adventurer going down on a knee and then collapsing on his back on the granite tiles. ¡°Theron!¡± Fikumin barked at someone inside the hall. ¡°Bring your war-hammer here!¡± ¡°I also got an axe wit a short shaft?¡± Someone yelled from the back or hidden behind a taller person. ¡°Bring that too!¡± Fikumin retorted. ¡°Poor lad,¡± Marlo sniffled wiping his eyes. ¡°He was hurt bad, never the same. Now he¡¯s cut down ¡®n bleeding like a pig¡ª¡± ¡°That wasn¡¯t Jingo Clinton,¡± Sam rustled his face dark, cutting the older adventurer¡¯s lamentation short. ¡°The story always struck me strange.¡± ¡°He¡¯s not dead yet,¡± Glen told them and stepped near the bleeding adventurer/construct. Jingo¡¯s right arm went up, then down with a gurgling sound. He pushed himself up on an elbow, blood gushing out of his neck for a while in thick spurts that quickly turned to a dribble. ¡°Who told¡­ you,¡± Jingo gurgled blood coming out of his mouth. ¡°You¡­ wouldn¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Game¡¯s up,¡± Glen spat and hacked at him severing his arm at the elbow. ¡°Orcs and Ogres!¡± Marlo cried out seeing Jingo hit the floor again, but keep on moving using his remaining limbs. Glen followed him stepping through the pool of blood and stabbed him through the spine, the tip of the blade hitting the tiles. He yanked the sword out breathing heavy and Jingo turned around slowly. ¡°The one who¡­ came from afar,¡± the adventurer rumbled. ¡°Found¡­ a way,¡± his mouth opened up wide, the skin tearing at the edges like old fabric showing gore-covered molars and a strange feminine sound coming out of it, like a scream, or a maiden¡¯s cry of horror. ¡°He¡¯s¡­ here. You¡¯re dancing¡­ to a mummer¡¯s¡ª¡± ¡°Shut the fuck up!¡± Glen roared and swung at him viciously taking most of his head off, the cut right at lower lip and the wound catastrophic. The crowd screamed in horror, the adventurer¡¯s bloody severed head traveling in the air for a brief moment and striking one of the black granite columns with a crackling splash right under the lightstones bronze bin. ¡°Milord,¡± a shocked Kirk croaked from the podium. ¡°He went after my daughter first,¡± Glen hissed and wiped the blood on Jingo¡¯s clothes. ¡°Then my wife. Burn him. Leave nothing.¡± He slotted the pendant in his pocket and walked back to his wife.
Glen carried Sen to her bed and placed her there. He sat at the edge of it and mourned for long holding her cold right hand in his tightly. Her skin turned hard and rigid after a while, but he didn¡¯t mind. Some hours later and well into the night an unknown Cofol appeared at the door of her quarters. ¡°What do you want?¡± Glen asked him hoarsely. ¡°Lord Garth,¡± the Cofol replied. ¡°We are here for Lady Sovereign.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know you. Fuck off!¡± Glen growled angrily and the man recoiled at his words. Another appearing behind him. ¡°Who in the allhells are you?¡± ¡°I¡­¡± the Cofol tried to say, but Iskay appeared and placed her hand on his arm to stop him. She then moved past the first anxious man and approached the Lord of Morn Taras who was sitting at the dark side of the bed, to keep Sen¡¯s face in the light. Iskay prostrated herself before him and remained there until Glen was forced to speak to her. ¡°What do you want Iskay?¡± ¡°Master Garth,¡± Iskay whispered her forehead touching the floor tiles. ¡°Per the ancient laws of Greenwhale Peninsula these men are here to present you with an assortment of slaves for you to choose.¡± ¡°Are you plaguin¡¯ serious?¡± ¡°Master Garth,¡± Iskay continued. ¡°At least three slaves must accompany Mistress Sen-Iv to her journey. Anything less will be an insult to her station.¡± ¡°She doesn¡¯t need slaves now,¡± Glen grunted. ¡°Get up.¡± ¡°Master Garth, I implore you to punish me for failing her wishes,¡± Iskay pleaded not moving from her position. ¡°I¡¯ll go with her. You don¡¯t have to take any other slaves.¡± ¡°Go where?¡± ¡°To the funeral pyre,¡± Iskay replied shaking. Glen blinked and then stared at the men standing at his door. ¡°What¡¯s yer name?¡± He asked hoarsely. ¡°Rama master Garth.¡± ¡°Who do you work for?¡± ¡°Mistress Sen-Iv.¡± ¡°The other guy?¡± ¡°He does as well.¡± ¡°Who else?¡± ¡°Kamat-Fin and many others.¡± ¡°We are not burning my wife,¡± Glen told them and they grimaced in pain as if he had just punched them in the face. ¡°Nor any slaves. What¡¯s the matter wit you?¡± He growled seeing their pensive looks. ¡°You¡¯ve just killed us master Garth. Her brother will never forgive us,¡± Rama replied his voice shaking. ¡°Her brother will do what he¡¯s plaguing told. Or to put it in proper context, I don¡¯t give a fuck about Phon¡¯s wishes.¡± ¡°It won¡¯t save us master Garth,¡± Rama pleaded with him. ¡°Better to cut us down yourself.¡± Glen got up and almost stepped on the head of the still prostrated Iskay. With a frustrated hiss he stooped, grabbed her by the hair and lifted her up. To his amazement she didn¡¯t protest at all. ¡°This is my wife,¡± Glen said in a gruff voice. A lot of pride mixed in it. ¡°I¡¯ll find an appropriate place for her. We are in Goras. She¡¯ll be treated in the Goras manner.¡± ¡°As you wish Master Garth,¡± they both said and retreated with deep curtseys towards the door. ¡°Wait,¡± Glen said stopping them. ¡°What else did you do for her?¡± He asked curious to learn more about this part of Sen¡¯s personal life he¡¯d missed and her people told him.
The night the Lady Sovereign died, Arguen Garth carried her to their quarters and remained with her until the first light. When he came down the stairs, his hair had turned a pure white and looked like a different person. He looked, but he wasn¡¯t that different in reality. Perhaps changed is the better word here. An order was given for a period of mourning to start immediately and a decree that she was to be entombed in a lovely place. It was a touching small address to the Council. The King was not seen for many weeks after that day. Lady Sen-Iv was placed inside a hermetically sealed glass and gold sarcophagus then carried in a large procession from Morn Taras to the Garden of Statues that was still unfinished then. The large sarcophagus was loaded on a boat in the lake bordering the Garden and ferried into one of the tiny islands at its center. One cannot visit the islet without permission from the Palace. Lady Sovereign¡¯s crystal domed tomb resembles a large intricately carved marble throne at an angle from outside. Its internal walls and columns layered in gold sheets, mirrors and precious stones. The structure covers almost the whole of the luscious flower trees covered islet that bears her name today. For that fact the small docks to reach it are rarely used despite the large resort area that has been built today near the shores of the lake. If one wants to see a realistic depiction of Sen-Iv today, he can do it once per year, when the Room of Paintings in Morn Taras and the Garden¡¯s gates open to the public. In the latter her white-gold statue stands just after the gates and shows her sitting on the gold throne during the Monarch¡¯s Celebration. The King removed both thrones from the main hall soon after, which made the large podium appear rather empty. While there¡¯s speculation about the Lady Sovereign¡¯s end, it was never brought up officially. The day of remembrance which coincides with Sen-Iv¡¯s birthday was a day before the first Valimae-Lilt of summer and it still is. Fittingly it makes it a two day and two nights celebration of the coming summer. Her Royal Highness Sen-Iv Sopat Aniculo, Lady Sovereign of Wetull, the famed Celestial Opal of Lai Zel-Ka was laid to rest on the last month of Spring of 3399 in Goras. She was days shy from her twenty seventh birthday.
Glen put his weary back on the glass sarcophagus and stared at the Wyvern resting under the shade of the sandalwood trees from the open gates of the spacious tomb. He used a cloth to clean the dusty crystal carefully and then reached inside his old satchel. He found an old wrinkled scroll and unfurled it gently not to break it. Glen sighed and then turned his eyes on the intricate script he¡¯d learned to read years after the letter was sent to him from Eikenport. Sen¡¯s calligraphy flowing on the aging vellum like a painting in black and white. ¡°You know this part,¡± he told her despite the tears in his eyes. Sen had written to him about her pregnancy and the birth of Inis-Mir. About her fears for his life and the future. The stress of bringing a girl into a world that was so hard on them and to him who needed an heir to secure his tittle. ¡°She¡¯ll be fine,¡± Glen assured her. ¡°I won¡¯t let anything touch her and I¡¯ll make sure she goes into the world with her eyes open.¡± He cleared his throat and tried to read the script through his blurring eyes. ¡°As I said sweetheart, you know this part, but I really like it,¡± Glen paused briefly breathed out and then continued. ¡°So you sleep now while I go through it. Catch your rest sweetheart,¡± he told her voice crackling and wiped his face with the back of his hand. ¡°And I¡¯ll wake you, when it¡¯s over.¡± My Glen, the letter started and as usual he didn¡¯t manage to read much further than that.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 372. Itll never work
Dudrina O¡¯ Tinyssos Curu Nulema* It''ll never work
3 years afore Lord Ninthalor¡¯s ascension And the start of the First Era The massive six-island complex of Cydonia Cazan, Coal Isle, Urma Port (Only port facing the gargantuan Nasto Cas** Gulf of North Mistland over the Unknown Ocean)
* A mage¡¯s pupil had the tutor¡¯s name incorporated into her/his name. The word Curu translated as -a witchcraft practitioner- and old-school wizards used it before their moniker. Here Nulema, which means the Black Sorceress because her school of Magic was considered unsanctioned and delving in the Black Arts which the Coven of Witches shunned and it was later forbidden/banned outright in the Imperium. It was not for her race (A Zilan-Mori) as it was later erroneously believed by many bigoted Zilan historians. ** Pro-Imperial language still used by the Aken, translated -Beast¡¯s Head Gulf
big map, distances not on scale (for practical reasons - the ocean is much bigger in reality and some things are impossible for any artist to get right which is more on me for making stuff complicated). Right-click to open fully. Mistland isn''t part of this saga and the story isn''t focused there, but since it''s mentioned... there it is a portion of it''s northern shores It wasn¡¯t working, Dudrina thought anxiously and doused the fire with water, the smoke and acid vapors making her eyes tear up. Allhells fire on my tits! She coughed, her throat hurting and lungs burning, and pulled away at first, then ran outside her laboratory to breathe. Tinyssos found her tearing at her smoking clothes doubled over a bench facing the docks and pale as an old marble. ¡°I appreciate the offer,¡± he told her in his raspy voice, long white beard braided with ivory buttons down his dark face. ¡°But I¡¯ve just had lunch with an Aken merchant so I¡¯ll pass.¡± Ugh? Sure. Dudrina gathered the loose green robes that had presented her naked backside to her tutor but had to stoop again to get a pebble that had lodged between her toes. So she unwittingly gave him another show. ¡°Ah, the youth are so eager,¡± Tinyssos murmured pursing his mouth. ¡°I was working on the mixture,¡± Dudrina started her mind on the work she''d left behind, but he stopped her with a sober stab at the ground with his staff. ¡°I told you to drop it. I have a bad feeling about it,¡± her tutor admonished her. ¡°Eh, it''s probably the food. Was it shellfish? Anyway, my Gnome started talking,¡± Dudrina blurted out running after him, as he had turned around and was walking towards their villa again. ¡°A spell?¡± Tinyssos asked half-interested, which was his way of showing her the subject she¡¯d picked was dreadfully boring to him. ¡°The potion,¡± Dudrina explained and ducked to avoid the backhand the old Zilan-Mori launched at her without looking her way. ¡°Didn¡¯t I just say to drop it?¡± ¡°It worked,¡± she said rolling away from him, showing a bit more arse in the process. Dudrina had used half her inner tunic as a filtering agent for her brewing. The rest she had forgotten to put on. ¡°I told you!¡± she yelled after him forcing the older Zilan to stop. Tinyssos sighed and pursed his mouth again thoughtfully. ¡°How much?¡± ¡°A quarter of the vial used for a healing potion,¡± she showed him her dirty index finger to help him visualize the size. Tinyssos was lousy with vial sizes and rarely used them believing he could determine the correct amount without guidance. ¡°Mmm,¡± Tinyssos murmured while she tried to clean the finger on her robes. Wow, it''s like charcoal! ¡°It lives still?¡± Her tutor asked. Eh, did I let it out of the lab? Hmm. Fuck it. ¡°Aye.¡± ¡°How many days?¡± ¡°Three?¡± ¡°You need to wait a week, then write down the changes and the added ingredients,¡± he told her. ¡°So it gave it speech?¡± ¡°I think it made it smarter?¡± ¡°Can it write?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Can it sing?¡± Who can really? ¡°Mmm. Nah.¡± ¡°Can it read?¡± ¡°Eh, no.¡± ¡°Does it know that it speaks?¡± Dudrina licked the front of her teeth unsure. ¡°Ahm, I think so?¡± ¡°Come back in a week, I¡¯ll look into it myself,¡± Tinyssos told her. They had reached their villa¡¯s front gates and walked through them. A Gish slave ran fast to notify them they had visitors. Ouch. Right on the nostrils. Dudrina helped the Gish up as Tinyssos backhand hadn¡¯t missed this time and cleaned his split lip with the help of her increasingly dirtier robes. ¡°You¡¯ve let them in?¡± Tinyssos grunted. ¡°In my house!¡± He started chanting under his breath and she rushed to calm him down. ¡°Step aside pupil!¡± He blasted her hoarsely. ¡°Just yesterday I chased that bastard thieving kid Nulanos out of a window! This is why you are not accepted in the Coven,¡± he continued, smacking the Gish upside the head once with his staff, swinging it behind her back. Dudrina grabbed his arm and got slapped in the face for her troubles. ¡°Other than that you are right stupid sometimes! You¡¯ll defend him?¡± ¡°Just hear him out,¡± Dudrina croaked her ears ringing and her mouth tasting like a sewer. Which was strange since she hadn¡¯t chewed on anything too nasty since the other day. Or had she? Hmm. ¡°Raza Sapthan is here master,¡± Drolix said in his funny accent. ¡°He walked in with the Elderblood.¡±Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°What?¡± Tinyssos snapped in shock. ¡°You should have told me immediately!¡± He shoved her out of the way and rushed inside lifting his robes with a hand not to trip on them on the three steps before the entrance.
Dudrina had taken a moment to clean herself up some, slapped at her robes to get the nastier stuff out, which made it worse, and crushed a flower to rub her face and armpits with it. Drolix stared at the jingling full breasts as she worked on them. Her body was full of intricate tattoos of power words and protective drawings she had made herself, so they were relatively accurate. She could visit a professional but it was expensive, the talk ended in a trade of sorts, which meant all sex and no painting in the end. Not her fault. ¡°They are black,¡± the Gish said with that creepy smile he had on when he was aroused. Eh, dark caramel but sure buddy. ¡°It¡¯s just a skin color,¡± she explained not bothered by his ogling stare. ¡°Like humans have red hair or blond.¡± ¡°No black skin though,¡± Drolix said and picked up another flower for her. ¡°You still smell,¡± he explained. Bad he meant. He was being nice. Aww. ¡°Coal Isle,¡± she told him and stooped to gather a bit of the rich black soil before the stairs. ¡°For the mountain, for its soil and its Spirits of the earth.¡± ¡°It¡¯s rare,¡± Drolix told her impressed and she shrugged her shoulders. ¡°Not really according to our visitor,¡± she¡¯d answered him afore heading inside, fixing her messy black hair as best she could.
This is the handsomest Zilan that had ever graced this witch¡¯s path, she thought her gaze kept low, but also kept the nicely dressed, gorgeous male specimen in her peripheral view, which was a skill she''d learned from a wild deer. Until Raza spotted her that is. ¡°Dudrina,¡± he said in his whispery voice. ¡°You¡¯ve grown.¡± For centuries but thanks? ¡°She¡¯s very skilled,¡± Tinyssos admitted glancing her way. Dudrina gathered her very dirty toes into her worn sandals to hide them. ¡°I¡¯m doing all I can master.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± Raza said, his cold washed-out green eyes ¨Cthe color of dying grass- staying on her appreciatively. Then noticing her interest was elsewhere he frowned. ¡°Unclothe yourself,¡± he ordered. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t wear a mage¡¯s robes, if you are not ordained yet.¡± Dudrina gulped down nervously but got rid of her robes fast. ¡°She¡¯s dirty as a pig rolling in the shit,¡± Raza commented. ¡°Smells as one too, though I sense other odors in the mix. What are you working on child?¡± ¡°Nothing,¡± Tinyssos intervened blinking once at her nakedness as if it was her fault. Dudrina glanced at the handsome Zilan hopefully but he was clearly not interested. ¡°You¡¯ll finish what you started,¡± Raza told her. ¡°And bring it to him. He¡¯ll know if it works and then you¡¯ll know as well.¡± ¡°Of course, Master Raza,¡± Dudrina replied dutifully. ¡°Come here.¡± She approached him slowly and Raza reached to cup her breast. Worked on it for a while staring at her uncomfortable but watching tutor. Raza knew how to work a nipple. There''s skill and then there are professionals. ¡°The Patriarch had enough with the Triarchy of Kaletha,¡± he told him. ¡°Who are they exactly?¡± Tinyssos asked unsure. ¡°Matter¡¯s little,¡± Raza cut him off and worked his hand down her flat stomach. Played with the agate gem on her navel appreciatively for a moment afore continuing. Every girl needs one piece of jewellery at least. ¡°By the time they finish with them, Ikete, Sessi, and Irde would be unlivable, or gone. Good riddance. It¡¯ll also make you lot special¡­ in a sense.¡± ¡°That sounds rather terminal,¡± Tinyssos commented unsure how to take the information. No one had traveled as far as Raza, nor had seen as much. ¡°In the meantime, we¡¯ll have another system here, more organized,¡± Raza continued working his fingers into her moist folds, which she didn''t expect but had to pause again his explanation after he¡¯d extracted his digit to bring it to his mouth in order to slurp at the juices. Goddess help him. He grimaced and smacked his lips. ¡°Still, better than an Aken,¡± he praised her sort of. Dudrina wanted to pee badly, but she held it in, her left leg shaking a little. ¡°This system Sintoriela has in mind is rather restricting for me. The king will be more accommodating.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you order her to comply? She¡¯s your student,¡± Tinyssos argued. ¡°Not really and not since her beginnings which is what counts. She¡¯s reluctant on some elementary stuff. Weak-willed, dreamy, and too sentimental. It¡¯ll create a record also and I¡¯ve my reservations there as well. You never know who might read what after stumbling on it in the dark a couple of years down the line. Or a thousand.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t describe her that way.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a coward so you¡¯re easily intimidated,¡± Raza replied indifferently. ¡°Your student isn¡¯t,¡± he said looking at her. ¡°You¡¯ll do well Dudrina. You keep pushing them fancier cunts and not back down. Finish what you started, and credit it to him if they give you too much trouble. You¡¯ll be fine.¡± Tinyssos made to argue but he stopped him grabbing at his mouth with the hand he¡¯d used to dig into her loins. The mage protested with muffled cries at the abuse and Raza let him go, her tutor¡¯s lip split by his large steel ring with the razor protrusions. She hadn¡¯t noticed it on his middle finger. ¡°You¡¯re bleeding,¡± Raza elucidated and she felt blood trickling down the inside of her thighs. What in allhells? ¡°But you took it all without noticing, do you want to know why?¡± He asked as she stumbled back, the ache in her sensitive area sharp like she¡¯d stuck a knife in there. Ouch. ¡°An Illusion,¡± Dudrina croaked in shock and hurting, but not so much as not to ask. ¡°How?¡± ¡°Elementary stuff,¡± Raza explained. Pompous fuck. ¡°I can have you live inside your mind as a rabbit and you wouldn¡¯t know, or put you in a hole and you¡¯ll dream of being in the jungle singing with the monkeys.¡± Dudrina gulped down nervously. ¡°He¡¯s the finest creation the Patriarch had ever seen,¡± he explained. ¡°Made by a like-minded individual that thought he was building something else, afore I took over and finished it for him since the artisan died on the job in a manner of speaking. So you can also say the male you so crave is a half-orphan now. I did it as a test.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± she asked intrigued because Dudrina was such a person and Raza smiled pleased with her curiosity. Just don''t give me another finger. ¡°The Patriarch never knew what it was,¡± Raza explained. ¡°It was such a pleasure watching them getting outplayed in their own game, I fucked a Matriarch that night. Almost died in the attempt, which was fortunate since in my death throes I had this vision,¡± Raza continued pausing to glance at the Zilan watching them indifferently. ¡°If you die in Galith their elders say,¡± he pressed his mouth tight turning his eyes on her. ¡°You are allowed to interact with the living as long as Eatoth gives permission. Their Elders do it, bring shards of souls back to bind them into their constructs. Dogs on a leash, what happens if the leash breaks?¡± ¡°You talk of dark gods and foul arts Raza,¡± Tinyssos said anxiously. ¡°You¡¯ll bring bad luck on us.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be an idiot atop of a coward, you can see the gnome¡¯s games from a mile away and avoid them,¡± Raza admonished him. ¡°Turn it in your favor even. All you need is skill and paying some god-darn attention! Plus you¡¯re missing the point, right girl?¡± Dudrina winced, a hand between her legs where he¡¯d cut her to stop the bleeding. ¡°A Lich is partially free, but is more a demon than a person, un-whole, forever cursed and un-living,¡± she said through her teeth and he stood back, a tall Zilan, over a head taller than her but nowhere near as tall as the Aken. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°It has no physical body and if it finds one, it won¡¯t be its original or a close copy.¡± ¡°On the inside,¡± Raza added. She nodded. Can I have a healing potion now? Stitches? ¡°The body won¡¯t hold and it¡¯ll break down eventually, continue dying after the Lich¡¯s magic is exhausted. You can¡¯t remake the same person without all its parts. As you said a soul shard will forever be missing along the proper body. Its thread held by Eatoth in the Between Realms,¡± Dudrina said since she was pretty good on all topics. ¡°You¡¯re paying attention,¡± Raza seemed pleased. ¡°Not always,¡± she admitted with a grimace of pain. ¡°Dudrina!¡± Tinyssos barked angrily. What? ¡°Does the God let go?¡± she asked the Traveler and he smiled a gnarly smile. ¡°When the soul moves over eventually, Eatoth loses interest and lets us go,¡± he revealed. ¡°It¡¯s a tiny light, it flickers out of existence in a sea of darkness with many other tiny lights, easy to miss and then you¡¯re free.¡± Eh, that is nowhere near as simple as you make it sound. ¡°And fully dead,¡± Dudrina argued and the edge of Raza¡¯s mouth crooked upwards lightly in something that was either a smirk or a sneer. Nah, it''ll never work. How do you hide from a god? She wondered intending to look into it after she had healed herself, but she forgot all about it. Then Raza Sapthan would leave them some years later for another one of his journeys after the King¡¯s coronation and no one would ever see him again. Four hundred years later an Aken that had washed ashore near Lai Zel-Ka would tell them how he died. The King who read the report was more interested in the Aken spreading about on the nearby Plague Isles looking for more recourses. The war that had engulfed their homeland was still raging on and it had split them in factions. The king sent a secret envoy to Galith to demand an explanation from their Council. The Aken replied in a rather big leather scroll made out of the Envoy¡¯s skin that since their deal was with Raza and he had been conveniently dead for some time now, they had no reason to stay on their side of the ocean. Sure they had no ships, but they could work around that apparently. As Lord Onas had commented coolly to her six months later when she was visiting Elauthin looking to find sponsors for her work, ¡®I guess we¡¯ll fight them for Sibara. We could use a skillful Witch Dudrina, I don¡¯t mind yer color lass. I¡¯ll talk to Lady Edlenn.¡¯ Dudrina had politely declined after a night of passion with the Hoplite leader. She didn¡¯t care for war but wasn¡¯t about to pass on a member of the Imperial Phalanx. So Dudrina went back to her Isle to continue her work and Lord Onas had traveled with the Phalanx and the Hallowed of Lord Anfalon to fight the Grand Sire of the Aken in the Plague Isles. The war would drag on for centuries and then the Coven of Witches would join in as well, but by that time Dudrina had stopped paying attention to what was happening in Elauthin. It wasn¡¯t intentional. She was dead by an assassin¡¯s hand and all her research and breakthroughs along with that of her Tutors -both of them- left behind in her abandoned villa and underground laboratory, had died with her in a sense. Lost under a mountain of ashes and a hundred meters of ocean water. At least.
373. Roadblock (1/4)
Well then, best we fall from fucking sight Robert. I saw this one coming and it doesn¡¯t end well for the smaller fish. Aye that means your gang as well and it may last a while. Lest they fear waiting and prefer to turn, spread cheeks to present arse and let me ram a wooden phallus in to get it over with. - Lord Mortymer, Lesia¡¯s Master of Silence Speaking in private, after his aide finished reading King Davenport¡¯s intercepted mail Late summer 193 NC
3rd Legion (Abbreviated | III LEGIO, Bloody Third, Old Sister, Lucius Legion, ¡®Scarlet Legion¡¯, Double L. Also LL, III-LG) Panthera Tigris | Reddish bronze and gold standard representing the head of a snarling Blacktiger, very similar to Regia¡¯s gold non-snarling banner, the royal Aldenus family crest and the First Legion¡¯s emblem used in banners and armour. After 193 the banners and armours changed to use the more easy to mass-produce IIILG logo, leaving only the officers and the First Cohort still using the more difficult to maintain tiger embroidery and engravings (mainly on the shoulder guards). It remained present on the crimson shields though throughout the campaign and is being used also on liturgical symbols today.) - Organizational chart* To fall of 193 NC Updated after Oras Navel (Overall strength ~3818?* -Legio general staff not included, supply train personnel not included) -2800 legionnaires, ~968 (1018) other units (250 or 300 mixed cavalry, ~200 heavy Slingers, 270 Scouts and Rangers, 200 Engineers, 48 medics)
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Legatus Augustus | Lucius ¡®Bloody Tiger¡¯ Aldenus ¨Calso Praetor Maximus after 191 NC (To differ from the Governor ¡®Legatus Proparetore¡¯ rank Macrinus of Greater Kas started using.) Aide de Legatus Legionis | Prefect Marc Gripa (Promoted to 4th Prefect in the 2nd half 193) Tribune Honoraris | Galio ¡®Old Oak¡¯ Veturius Broad Band Tribune ¨C acting Legatus in absentia after 192 NC. The most respected high-ranking officer in III Legio and the soul of the army. He served a full term of twenty-five years in the First Legion and retired with honours plus a Centurion¡¯s pension. He came out of retirement to start a new full term with the Third Legion from which he famously never retired. Reached the rank of centurion twice and was named first a Tribune without being a noble (He was from a prominent family though. A privilege he¡¯d lost due to his ancestor¡¯s actions and he regained it through his service later in life) and later Legatus. The closest officer to Lucius and part of his inner circle. 1st Prefect | Varus ¡®The Book¡¯ Trupo (Lesia. Baron Trupo¡¯s of Flauegran, disinherited second son. One of the three powerful Wine Barons.) Also Scribe de legionis. A member of Lucius'' inner circle. 2nd Prefect | Julius Draco (Whitetiger, Regia. Son of Baron Vibius, the Duke¡¯s Shield.) 3rd Prefect (of engineers) | Potis Durio (Lastport, Lesia. the fourth Durio of distant Lastport to reach the rank of Prefect in a Legion and the second to do it whilst serving with the Legion¡¯s Engineers after his great-granduncle Tito Durio.) 4th Prefect (Praetor¡¯s General Staff) | Marc Gripa. A member of Lucius'' inner circle. Optio (of Cavalry) Kent ¡®Thin Knees¡¯ Long. Centurion (of Medics) | Dottore Silvio Marianus (Decorated for bravery in the field) LID officer | Vibius ¡®Vulture¡¯ Ramirus, (Legion Intelligence Department). A Centurion equivalent rank in the registry. A member of Lucius'' inner circle. Aide de LID | Sirio Veturius. Very old family of historians. The III Legio Tribune¡¯s nephew. Infamous Lord Nattas¡¯ son-in-law through marriage. A later prominent historian who wrote extensively about the turbulent period mainly from Regia¡¯s and the Praetor¡¯s perspective. It soured his relationship with many prominent lords. A known Luciophile, his writings are not widely accepted as accurate especially beyond the Shallow Sea and parts of Jelin, but he¡¯s considered a superb source for the period by most academics regardless of that. Quartermaster | Ramsey Kolt, also Keeper of the Purse Panthera Tigris Signifer | Brim Solomon (Lesia) 1st Cohort -Gold Standard Monikers -Red, ¡®Old¡¯ Strength 850 1st ¡®Agricola¡¯ Century Centurion, Primus Pilus| Simon Gata (Gold Phalera recipient)-400 legionnaires (in four 100-strong Maniples) 1st Decanus| Herius Asian (first ¡®Kato¡¯ Maniple) 2nd Decanus| Mede (second Maniple) Nord. Famous legionnaire risen through the ranks. A gold Phalera recipient twice. Cited for misconduct multiple times. Mentioned in the Legion¡¯s Report multiple times. 3rd Decanus | Gurus (Third Maniple.) 2nd Century Centurion| Brevis. A decorated, risen through the ranks officer. Gold Armillae (arm-band) recipient for saving a unit from destruction. Mentioned in the dailies. -150 legionnaires (in three 50-strong Maniples) 3rd Century Centurion| Artur Mangas (Nord. A decorated officer) 4rth Century Centurion| Servius Capito (A decorated officer) 2nd Cohort -Gold Standard (Monikers Blue, ¡®Sula¡¯) Strength 650 1st Century (previously 2nd of the First Cohort -moniker Mark-Antony¡¯s lads-) Centurion| Marcus Antonius Merenda (Corona Vallaris in gold recipient for taking over an enemy¡¯s camp. Mentioned in the dailies multiple times. A very controversial but beloved commander in the Legion. One of the four most trusted and influential officers in Lucius'' army (alongside Veturius, Trupo and Sula). Transferred from the First Cohort. One of three legitimized bastards of Sir Seleucid Merenda ¡®the Potent¡¯, Lord Commander of Cartagen¡¯s Royal Guard. The members of the Royal Guard ¨CKing¡¯s or Queen¡¯s own- weren¡¯t allowed to marry in the Three Kingdoms) ¨C 200 (150 of them fresh recruits) legionnaires (in four 50-strong Maniples) 1st Decanus ¡®Ravenous¡¯ Indus (1st Maniple, Half-breed, promoted in the field.) Decanus Domus (Tenor. He was still on the roster, but seriously injured for the rest of the year. Golden Phalera recipient.) Legionnaire Murena (Gold Phalera recipient) Legionnaire Vegetius Legionnaire Cucan Decanus Titus Afer (2nd) Decanus Lar Polus (3rd) 2nd Century Centurion| Josi Vala ¨C 150 legionnaires (in three 50-strong Maniples) 3rd Century Centurion| Ardi Damian 4rth Century Centurion| Spurius Dio 3rd Cohort (Moniker Purple, ¡®Lucky¡¯) Strength 650 1st Century Centurion| Cassius Falx - 200 legionnaires (in four 50-strong Maniples) 2nd Century Centurion| Placus Lepidus (Decorated officer) - 150 legionnaires (in three 50-strong Maniples) 3rd Century Centurion| Julius Sepofa 4rth Century Centurion| Jorgen Osmond 4rth Cohort (Monikers Kas, ¡®the young¡¯, Macrinus Lads) Strength 650 1st Century Centurion| Sextus Silvius - 200 legionnaires (in four 50-strong Maniples) 2nd Century Centurion| Keegan Dixon (Kas) - 150 legionnaires (in three 50-strong Maniples) 3rd Century Centurion| Jason Gordon (Kas) 4rth Century Centurion| Kaleb White (Kas) Legio Scouts Centurion| ¡®Frostworm¡¯ Kaeso (A highly decorated officer. Part of Praetor¡¯s inner circle. Also cited for multiple misconducts.) Decanus | Kiri Dosser (Decorated minor officer) Placus Goff Legio Cavalry Optio | Kent ¡®Thin-knees¡¯ Long. (A decorated officer. Gold Armillae recipient for stopping a superior force from advancing in the field) Flavius Nasica (Croton, on loan from Bernard Holt and Duke Holt after the spring of 193.) Legio Slingers Centurion| Mamercus ¡®Unhurried¡¯ Sorex (A decorated officer. Part of the Praetor¡¯s inner circle.) Legio Engineers Prefect | Potis Durio Centurion (of engineers) | Toni Drano (Lesia, recently promoted.) Legio Medics Centurion | Marianus 2nd Dottore | Riminus Detailed: Legion Scouts Strength ~270 warriors, (170 of Lady Faye Alden¡¯s warband (40 joined after Oras Navel under Ned O¡¯ Farrell) -various mixed units of fighters, Mainly heavy axemen, but also swordsmen- under famed Logan ¡®Gray¡¯ Barret and ¡®Hulking¡¯ Layton (Mentioned six times in the dailies, the Legion¡¯s detailed reports when in campaign), featuring several ¡®named¡¯ Northmen like Torcal MacCee, Adam ¡®Jaws¡¯ Hough, Ned O¡¯ Farrell and the brothers O¡¯ Dolan, Cole and Aiden from the distant Rifjordal. It must be noted the unit was oath sworn to Red Faye and kept receiving skilled new fighters every season from Fetya, mainly the distant Blonden province, more specifically the remote Iron Mountain¡¯s Numre Burg (meaning Numbers in old Nordic) from where her warband hailed from. + 100 Rangers (50 of them fresh recruits of Anorum) Under Centurion | Kaeso Decurion | Dosser Legion Cavalry Strength 250 (300?) mixed riders, 150 of them fresh recruits from Anorum, Included thirty men & women of Praetor Maximus¡¯ entourage and around 50 (or a 100?) men-at-arms under Flavius Nasica of Croton. Nasica received reinforcements from Asturia, mainly skilled riders wanting to follow the action, despite the agreement between Lucius and Duke Holt not to drain each other¡¯s pool of manpower. The number is not known as the Duke who allowed them to depart paid them out of his own pocket after encouragement from Lord Bernard. At least fifty men-at-arms according to Sirio.)If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Lady Faye Alden (Nord) ¨Cnot active after Krakenfort and she spent most of her time in the rear or with her warband after 192 NC - Optio | Kent ¡®Thin-knees¡¯ Long (Nord) Flavius Nasica Legion Slingers (Attached short-range unit ¨C Semi-autonomous, usually deployed by the Legatus. Only unit employing women and men under sixteen) (Strength fluctuating due to casualties, usually ~100 men and women +100 fresh recruits from Asturia and Anorum still in training) Centurion | Mamercus Sorex Legion Engineers (Leather aprons, ¡®Bestia¡¯) 100 Legio Engineers (the majority from Lesia) + 100 apprentices (engineers, blacksmiths and carpenters included) Legio Medics 8 Dottore and surgeons ~40 nurses Around two thousand two hundred civilians (some soldier families), merchants and technicians (Civilian blacksmiths, carpenters, laborers, Armorers, hunters, trappers, whores, musicians etc.) following in the supply train. At least three hundred and fifty various-sized carriages and wagons carrying mostly foodstuff, cots, leather tents, precut wood, tools and weapons ¨C at least twenty one (21) pre-built war machines, including fourteen Scorpios, six Catapults of mixed munition, one long range Trebuchet and a variety of siege engines - among other things.
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Praetor Lucius Alden Roadblock Part I -The turn at Oldfort-
In the spring of 193 NC the first advanced units of III Legio that started arriving at the mouth of New Legion Road found themselves facing a determined opponent and a series of defensive works. Commander Zachary Crane of Dokamna, left in charge by Baron Feld eight months earlier had started digging at the hard ground at the start of the canyon. First straight trenches were created a hundred meters in length and two wide situated five to ten meters from each other in a random pattern. Rows upon rows of ditches were excavated, some vertical, in a depth that was almost three hundred meters at the narrowest point, but went as high as four hundred at the sides. He never got to finish whatever he had in mind before Lucius arrived due to a lack of men and laboring crews. Oldfort had a garrison of two hundred and fifty soldiers left behind. The maze of trenches he did manage to build was exposed to the rains of winter that turned the terrain useless for horses and ruined the road for the few merchants that wanted to use it. When spring came it further diluted the original idea that was to fortify or block the exit of the canyon completely, with copious amounts of mud, dirt, and loose gravel coming down the mountains half-covering the ¡®Crane¡¯s Fields¡¯, but while one could now navigate the deeps and cracks on the ground, it was still unsuitable for battle or commerce. Abandoning that idea he built a wooden palisade three meters tall extending from the edge of the slopes of Oldfort¡¯s walls for three hundred meters, complete with a tower fixing its west end. The palisade ended near East Richforest, the thick woods providing the timber for the industrious commander. While not particularly fearsome as far as walls go, it did increase the effective blocking range of Oldfort, the castle itself overlooking the approach from New Legion Road and much of the trenches. When Sir Napoli returned humiliated from the battle of Oras Navel, Sir Paris Riveras who had remained with Faro¡¯s force near Cartagen ordered him to stay put and rushed to reinforce him. Trupo¡¯s Sartor force ¨Caround six hundred men- continued marching ignoring the young Riveras scion, or simply following Baron Trupo¡¯s orders who didn¡¯t want his sons meeting in the field. It could be that the order might have come from higher up, perhaps Duke Lennox¡¯s camp, as the war had made everyone nervous as it dragged on. Again, while the extended protrusion of the defensive wall helped control the approach to Oldfort, the huge forest on its west flank that ended at the river¡¯s banks left it vulnerable to a flanking attack. Luckily for Crane, but mostly due to the make of the position, Richforest was thrice as long as it was wide, ending at the road heading to the Wine Bridge thirty kilometers away. It was traversable of sorts and nowhere near as unpassable as the overgrown quagmire that started some kilometers behind the rocky dry soft slopes the Oldfort had been built a hundred and fifty years ago. Starting as a single square stone tower built on a natural motte overlooking the turn, it added five-meter tall perimeter walls through the years around it extending out to the motte¡¯s sharp north edges, a fortified gate facing west behind that defending the barely visible rocky incline there, with a stone wall securing the castle¡¯s sturdy square keep. Part of its weaker east wall facing the mountains had been destroyed by a collapse after a landslide that brought huge boulders to crash onto it after the earthquake of ninety-nine. The site had been cleared but the work on the walls had never finished. Lesia had used this weakness to overwhelm its defenders the previous year, but Lucius coming from the opposite direction couldn¡¯t reach the spot directly. After an initial skirmish with the fort¡¯s defenders, Lucius ordered the Legion engineers to the front seeing the danger of huge casualties looming. It took them a month to bring everyone to the III Legio¡¯s enlarged main camp at the mouth of the mountain road, but he spent it trying to evaluate the situation while testing Crane¡¯s defenses. It didn¡¯t take him long to realize that The Turn at Oldfort could potentially become a huge roadblock that could derail his whole plan.
- Artist''s rendition of the Turn for narrative purposes, not on scale - Summer, 7th month in the year of the new calendar 193 Code named 18 (plus) 7, two hundred and fourteen days into the ¡®Eighteen months¡¯ offensive. The start of the New Legion Road, where the large canyon that acts as a border for Tricorn Heights and West Stonemaze Peaks meets the fertile strip of land between Flauegran and Mabindon¡¯s East Leg sources. The Turn as it is locally called starting at Oldfort and then splitting in two directions. West towards Mabindon Falls and Wine Bridge, the road to Cartagen and Southeast towards North Vine Fields and the estate town of Sava, the road to Flauegran. Siege of Oldfort End of the second month The old landslide created plateau overlooking the ¡®Dead Zone¡¯ and Oldfort¡¯s north walls. Lucius entourage Early morning DADUM! WHOOSH! The fiery projectile traveled in the morning sky leaving a trail of black smoke behind it and struck at the rock protruding ring, right at the base of the wall. It rocked the whole structure and caused a mini rockslide down the sharp northern slopes of Oldfort but no fires this time. The defenders fired their machines using their premade range markers, but Durio¡¯s engineers had done this song and dance with them for months now and had pulled their catapults back leaving only the heavy Trebuchet firing from further back. ¡°Eh,¡± Lucius grunted and lowered his spyglass. ¡°This might take a while Prefect.¡± ¡°One good shot at the joints and it¡¯ll crack like an egg Praetor,¡± Trupo replied combing his overgrown mustache with his fingers. ¡°But it¡¯ll be a difficult climb up the slope.¡± ¡°Mmm,¡± Lucius agreed and used the long-seeing tool to inspect the rest of the battlefield. The stalemate had tired the men out, not physically but mentally, but it was their supply train that had been hit the worst. Having to live so near the Castrum with its regulations and the officers of the Train unwilling to relax their stance had all but driven the less accustomed to the hardships civilians to riot. About half of them had petitioned Galio for the opportunity to return to Storm¡¯s Rest and the Tribune, probably the most unyielding on the regulations officer in their camp, had arrested four merchants from Croton, an Asturia ¡®Lena¡¯ and her two whores, three adventurers from the cattle village of Ruinal and a dwarf of unknown origins who had slipped into their camp under their noses to ask for a trade contract. He then ordered Ramsey Colt to his quarters -another harsh disciplinarian- and when the supply officer/Keeper of Purse arrived Galio told him to ¡®fix this son, or I¡¯ll find another tool for the task¡¯. A chastised Colt had responded brutally drafting the majority of the Civilians into the Legion under the vague, unused in ages but mentioned in the ¡®Book¡¯ ¡®civic recruits¡¯ moniker and putting them to work in shifts mainly cutting timber from Richforest for the machines, or breaking stone to fill in and flatten Crane¡¯s Fields. Lucius had rescinded the latter order and kept it from the record, but didn¡¯t allow the word to spread since Colt¡¯s brutal solution had brought peace into the enlarged civilian camp again. He did allow the dwarf to leave and return with his wares. The rarely-seen creature had claimed he could provide Lucius with raw materials, or high-quality metal tools. When Lucius had inquired whether they could make blades, or weapons for him as they had trouble repairing everything on the road, the dwarf had shown him a steel war hammer he had on his back and brusquely asked him to check for himself ¡®whether his tool was good enough for the job.¡¯ It was. ¡°Tell Gato not to probe today,¡± Lucius ordered Trupo and walked towards his horse. Gripa handed him the reins and he climbed on the saddle. ¡°They cleared the path?¡± He asked his aide and Gripa nodded. ¡°The path skirts around the face of the mountain,¡± he told him. ¡°Potentially a good number of men can reach their north yard, but it¡¯s walled also but for its front. If there¡¯s a path around that wall towards their rear and the ruins, it¡¯ll be contested.¡± ¡°Can Kaeso do it?¡± ¡°He¡¯ll be pretty isolated on the slopes and the fort could reinforce or turn a scorpio on them from the citadel.¡± ¡°Not easy to fire over the walls that way,¡± Lucius argued, who had visited the castle in his youth. ¡°And the peaks have the east side always in their shade. He¡¯ll have ten hours of darkness, or close to it.¡± ¡°How to break through and reach the main gates in that time though?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll attack the palisade and then the gates ourselves,¡± Lucius replied, the thought he worked in his head for over a month. ¡°Give them enough to worry about for Kaeso to scale the walls, or reach the ruined part.¡± They followed the path down the slopes of the plateau in silence for a while, listening to the sounds of the Trebuchet firing every ten minutes, afore Gripa asked riding next to him. ¡°You can¡¯t take the palisade if you don¡¯t secure the woods milord.¡± ¡°True,¡± Lucius said. ¡°It¡¯s a huge forest.¡± ¡°Nothing¡¯s infinite Gripa. Soldiers sure aren¡¯t,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°There are reinforcements arriving from Cartagen. Armium colors.¡± ¡°The less men they¡¯ll have to use there.¡± ¡°We won¡¯t receive any in a while.¡± They had received about half a thousand men from Anorum. Lucius had used some of them ¨Ctrained legionnaires- to reinforce Sorex¡¯s and Kaeso¡¯s men, the Second Cohort, but also Long¡¯s cavalry that had been almost destroyed at Oras Navel. He had the horses, but needed more men. ¡°Which is why we need to work smarter than them,¡± he told Gripa. ¡°Every battle we fight with Lesia they¡¯ll adapt and show us something new. We are not in the North here Gripa. No grand assaults to come our way, or senseless charges, but carefully planned probes. They¡¯ll retreat and try again. Lesia can beat us if this drags on as they are learning, or remembering how to fight. While a long war hurts them financially, it hurts our chances more and their coffers are full. We are not a kingdom yet and if we give Ligur enough time to prepare we might need Tyeus himself to dislodge him.¡± This was what worried him the most. Lesia, he could understand their strategy. Stall him on the mountain paths, buy themselves time to break into the capital, or completely secure Cartaport. If Cartagen was taken, or Jeremy caved in fearing a collapse and asked for terms, then they would turn all their armies against him. A carefully orchestrated strategy with a lot of wiggle room to avoid unnecessary losses and with two supply veins at least for their men, both from sea and land kept close by. Lucius¡¯ supply lines stretched back to the unfinished Storm¡¯s Rest over rough terrain and then a month of travel to Anorum and Asturia. Unfeasible. He couldn¡¯t retreat though. Nothing worse than lacking the option to maneuver when everyone knows where you are. He had to move forward and he would, but Ligur wasn¡¯t a stupid young officer fresh out of the Academy. He¡¯d started as a centurion of the First Cohort and won his promotions in the field during his father¡¯s campaigns. He had the experience and skill to make sure the border stayed at Framtond and there was a limit on how far Lucius could go following the coast and taking city after city to force him to leave his position. That was another year or two of sieges, and Oldfort had shown him ¨CCartagen also- that sieges weren¡¯t how one advanced his agenda. Neither fighting a war on many fronts. Not to mention attacking his countrymen in their homes was something he didn¡¯t want to do. With Cartagen secured he needed to start thinking about other options, beyond another military campaign west or east. He needed Lesia off his back and out of Regia first though. He knew of one way to make them back off. Hurt their purse. The Lorians of Lesia abhorred the senseless loss of coin without anything to show for it. It was a sin for them. What made them dangerous, their caution and prudence was also their biggest weakness.
¡°I want the woods secured,¡± Lucius explained to the war meeting an hour later, the machines still duking it out over the Dead Zone. The place where both armies could hurt the other from a distance. ¡°We opened some paths,¡± Draco started. ¡°But we don¡¯t know the woods at all Praetor.¡± ¡°Neither does Lesia,¡± Lucius said evenly. ¡°Which way does the wind blow Tribune?¡± He asked. ¡°Out of the mountain in the morning. Don¡¯t know what happens after that milord.¡± ¡°It comes from the sea,¡± Lucius explained showing them the map. ¡°Glances on the vertical slopes and follows their shape looping here, afore meeting the northern breeze and blasting west towards the river¡¯s sources through East Richforest.¡± ¡°Not for the whole day Lord Lucius,¡± Sirio said from the back of the room. Lucius glanced at him. ¡°Speak up mister Veturius. Not everyone has my ears.¡± Sirio got up nervously. ¡°I¡¯m saying the southern wind ceases, or might even fail to push against the current coming out of the canyon.¡± ¡°In winter,¡± Lucius said. ¡°We¡¯re well past that.¡± ¡°That would be correct my Lord.¡± ¡°Anyone has the date?¡± Lucius asked. Trupo cleared his throat. ¡°It¡¯ll be the Second Month of Summer, tomorrow Praetor,¡± he informed them. ¡°The heat might trouble us going forth gentlemen,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°And the south winds coming from the Scalding Sea will increase.¡± ¡°How is the wind going to help us milord?¡± Galio asked gesturing for his nephew to sit down. ¡°I¡¯m going to obscure the battlefield,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°They know where we are sir,¡± Trupo pointed out. ¡°We¡¯ve been staring at each other mugs for so long, I sort of recognize some of the lads I see through the spyglass.¡± ¡°I wish to speak to mister Barret,¡± Lucius said not commenting. ¡°You have your orders, see we don¡¯t have any leaks. No whore visiting tonight, or on the morrow. Men will stay away from the civilian camp.¡± ¡°That won¡¯t go well,¡± Trupo commented. ¡°It was an order so it doesn¡¯t matter,¡± Lucius retorted and ended their meeting.
With the siege of Oldfort dragging and Lord Caxaton learning from his mistakes and changing tactics in his struggle for the Wine Bridge, the siege of Cartagen going on for over six months by that point, Lucius decided to force the issue. After a series of fruitless probes and one costly assault during the first month, it was obvious to him the fort couldn¡¯t be taken quickly. So he stalled to reorganize the III Legio, created a larger separate camp for the civilians, constructed more machines, or repaired those he¡¯d gotten from Baron Feld. Upon receiving reinforcements, he split the battlefield into three sectors. He placed the Fourth Cohort near East Richforest to follow after Logan¡¯s group that was to advance through the woods in his west flank. In the center and behind Durio¡¯s engineers he positioned the First and Second Cohorts under Gato and Merenda with Falx¡¯s Third Cohort reinforcing them. He pulled Lepidus Century out though and sent them after Kaeso¡¯s rangers at his other flank. The latter were tasked with scaling the slopes in the dark, navigating a narrow path, and attempting to sneak assault Oldfort¡¯s east walls. Before that, the Praetor had decided to try something new that Lesia didn¡¯t expect and keep himself out of the action to coordinate the army better. The latter, the most difficult of the actions for him.
Lucius jumped from Nightsilver, Salvian with Nero and Lanus stopping right behind him, and walked towards Veturius¡¯ busy field headquarters. Gripa arrived a bit later than them, as the Praetor had galloped up ahead and had left him behind. A lot of officers were present in and around the large tent from different units, but Lucius spotted the Northmen and headed there immediately. Layton raised his trunk-like arm to greet him, the other holding a large loaf of bread one-third of it already eaten and the grey-haired Logan turned around to gaze at him approach with wolfish eyes. ¡°Little general,¡± Layton said smiling. ¡°Big Nord,¡± Lucius replied and the giant laughed finding it funny. ¡°Logan,¡± Lucius said next nodding at the other men present in their separate group. ¡°I¡¯m going to need that probe to get past the palisade.¡± ¡°Mmm,¡± Logan grunted. ¡°They guard those parts of the woods like packs of dogs a herd,¡± a hardened tall Northman said. He had a large battle-axe on his back and two more blades slotted on his waistband, along a double mail shirt. His dark-red bead sprouting out of his face wild. ¡°That¡¯s Torcal MacCee,¡± Ned O¡¯ Farrell told him, another northman that had come about a month back with fresh fighters from Numre Burg. Faye¡¯s old holdings were near there, the place beyond Fenford Burg and the Iron Valley, but afore Blonden Port. Half the continent away. ¡°I appreciate you gentlemen making the trip,¡± Lucius said. ¡°Mister MacCee you¡¯re with us for a while now, if I¡¯m not mistaken.¡± ¡°Since Krakenfort,¡± Torcal replied. ¡°Milord.¡± ¡°That¡¯s correct,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°Ned anything you need for the new lads?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll talk with Red Faye milord but we came ready,¡± Ned replied. A young man around twenty five, with fiercely red hair and clear blue eyes. He favored a bastard sword. ¡°Erg,¡± Logan grumbled glaring at him. ¡°Any chance she¡¯ll come along?¡± One of the O¡¯ Dollan brothers asked. Aiden, Lucius thought making a conscious effort to remember their names. The younger is Cole. ¡°She¡¯s with child mister Aiden,¡± Lucius told him. ¡°Mmm,¡± Logan seemed unhappy with the conversation. ¡°He¡¯s right,¡± Lucius said. ¡°Torcal I want those patrols swept away from the woods. Find a clear path for the soldiers to follow.¡± ¡°A clear path?¡± Torcal asked. ¡°There will be openings.¡± ¡°Why strike on the morrow?¡± a man named Adam Hough crackled. In his thirties, he¡¯d a prominent jaw protruding out of his angular face, partly covered with a thin red beard and unnaturally large hands. He favored a custom war-hammer with a long shaft. A very nasty weapon. ¡°I need the time,¡± Lucius explained vaguely. ¡°It may be even later and you¡¯ll have to venture forth after Kaeso has left. He¡¯ll leave the previous night. So it¡¯s the rangers moving first, then you lads and hopefully the center.¡± ¡°Any instructions?¡± Torcal asked, the northmen dropped formal language very fast and Faye despite some efforts to familiarize them with the southern culture had given up eventually, as it made her appear weak. Which angered her and Lucius didn¡¯t want an angry pregnant Faye waiting for him at the end of the day. So he dropped formalities with them as well. ¡°Scare them out of the field would be ideal. You¡¯ll face regulars, some from Armium probably. Well trained. They know of forests and deserts but are not very experienced in this type of combat. If they learned something in these past months is city fighting and sieging,¡± Lucius replied openly. ¡°Logan I can¡¯t hold you back in this assignment. You fight it how you think it is best and look to survive if you can. All of you. I don¡¯t want to have to face Faye afterwards.¡± ¡°Uh,¡± Logan said and grimaced. He¡¯d never cracked a smile in the years Lucius knew him, but the rest of the group cheered likening his jest. But for Layton that is who had somehow managed to slot the whole loaf of bread in his mouth and couldn¡¯t speak. At all.
Kaeso was watching the group of soldiers and a couple of engineers carrying several small barrels and loading them on horses. Two per animal. He winced seeing one of them almost dropping a barrel and went to check it for cracks afore returning to where Lucius had stopped with his entourage. ¡°Second-rate mixture,¡± Kaeso explained biting at the inside of his left cheek anxiously. ¡°But still plenty flammable.¡± ¡°Hasn¡¯t rained for five weeks now,¡± Lucius commented. ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m saying,¡± Kaeso replied, remembering his rank. ¡°Milord.¡± ¡°Cut the crap. Will it work?¡± Lucius asked him. ¡°I just helped build the stuff,¡± Kaeso complained. ¡°Steal it, sell it,¡± Lucius added with a smile. ¡°Let¡¯s not go down that road Kaeso.¡± The Centurion nodded. ¡°Spread it near old, dried-up trees, or pines if you spot them. In vertical lines and not in pools. Hope the wind blows their way.¡± ¡°The wind will blow every way eventually. So long as it goes towards them I¡¯ll be pleased. All this is a giant bowl Kaeso, the forest just obscures it.¡± ¡°What about the turn?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no turn like in Oras Navel,¡± Lucius grunted and wiped the sweat from his brow. ¡°Yes, the forest is a physical barrier, but it ain¡¯t no mountain and you can remove part of it, or gut it.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be hell on earth in there, even a day after,¡± Kaeso warned him and Lucius nodded sternly. ¡°Half-a-day Kaeso and aye it will,¡± he told him. ¡°But your task isn¡¯t much easier.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t do easy,¡± Kaeso replied with a smirk. ¡°We¡¯re rangers.¡±
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 374. Roadblock (2/4)
Fall of 182 NC Eight years after the ¡®Warbands Rebellion¡¯ Murky Woods near Iron Mountain Six kilometers outside Numre Burg Fetya
A fierce red. Rubicund. ¡®Cursed Geary did it,¡¯ Arlo Numbers had said holding his butchered lungs. He¡¯d blood crusting on his chin, more coming out of his mouth. The color rich and contrasting with the snow. ¡®On orders from Keelan Steele.¡¯ Not my fault, he meant to say. I just went along for the ride. ¡®Rik Gilmore fought with Oscar Steele and he lost. Mya went feral and went after me instead, I had to put her down and then Alan Barret just couldn¡¯t let it go.¡¯ So Arlo had cut him down too. Logan didn¡¯t much care for the old man, or Gilmore but he loved his sister. He didn¡¯t much care for Arlo¡¯s sad story also, about how Keelan and Geary had betrayed him to the Jarl afterwards and put the blame on him for the raid. So Logan cut him down in his turn. It is how things went in the North. Turned around and went after Geary and Steele next. Caught them on their return from Numre Burg with the Numbers girl. They were six of them on horses to move faster ahead of the raiding party. They were going back to Blonden Port with the girl. Logan killed the first two with a dagger afore drawing his sword. Slashed the first one¡¯s face off and stabbed his friend in the hip to the hilt, right where the leg connected to the body. Geary didn¡¯t like the odds and made a run for it, but Keelan was an older prouder man and stayed to measure his skill against Gray Barret. He figured the odds were good, three against one. So Logan killed him last to show him the error of his ways. Then cut the girl loose, since he didn¡¯t wage war on young lasses. Now, bigger lasses carrying a blade were a different story. Two kilometers later Faye had jumped on him out of a bush and almost killed him with a dagger he¡¯d left behind. Fought him proper she had, her hair in his face and teeth clenched in a snarl. A fierce red. Rubicund. Logan could have killed her, but he didn¡¯t. Just kept the dagger. You kill a girl¡¯s father, ye better look after her then. See that she comes into no harm, even if she asks for it. ¡°You know,¡± a sour-faced young Oscar Numbers told him three days later. ¡°I could start with you, then work my way to them bastards in Blonden Port. Avenge my father proper.¡± ¡°Yer father got what he deserved,¡± Logan warned him eyeing the rest of their group warningly, especially that fool MacCee with the short fuse. ¡°What about my sister? Got her face all swollen, huh?¡± Oscar growled. A cunning lad, good with the blade. ¡°Half of it is from me,¡± Logan admitted. ¡°But she gave me most of it back.¡± ¡°Well as I said,¡± Oscar decided. ¡°I¡¯ll start wit you, then head for Blonden.¡± ¡°Ye¡¯ll never reach it,¡± Logan repeated his warning. ¡°This is where yer revenge will stop. In this gulley.¡± ¡°Earh!¡± Oscar grunted, blood rushing his youthful face, but Benton stopped him with a bark and then turned to face Logan. ¡°You¡¯ll give us Faye?¡± ¡°I ain¡¯t keeping her for sure,¡± Logan replied honestly. ¡°Fuck you Barret!¡± Faye cursed behind his back from her horse. Logan had to tie her up. The lass had a heavy hand and knew how to use it. ¡°I¡¯ll fight you now. Just untie me!¡± ¡°There¡¯ll be no fighting girl! You¡¯re twelve for crying out loud!¡± Benton roared her in silence. ¡°The Jarl gave Numre Burg to Keelan Steele. He¡¯ll hunt us down. I won¡¯t have Brugavik Burg come after us too.¡± ¡°You won¡¯t have to worry about that Benton,¡± Logan assured him. ¡°I¡¯ll kill ye myself. That¡¯s not much of a party you have here.¡± Benton snarled, eyes wild and the mark of a dangerous man only lacking in experience. ¡°You¡¯ll give us my sister and we call it even?¡± he asked him. ¡°Done enough killing for the week,¡± Logan replied. ¡°Come on Faye,¡± he told his sister that was glaring at him. ¡°Get over here.¡± ¡°Benton we can take him,¡± Oscar protested. ¡°Shut up Oscar!¡± Benton snapped. ¡°Twotrees only lost one fight and it was to Barret.¡± It was a wager, no blades involved. Twotrees had a weak chin for such a big guy. ¡°You go your own way then Logan,¡± Benton told him watching his young gang untying Faye¡¯s hands. ¡°And we go ours. After Keelan and Geary.¡± ¡°Forget Keelan. He¡¯s in the mud what¡¯s left of him. You attack Blonden Port with what you have here, you¡¯ll get yer sister dead. All this would be for naught,¡± Logan rustled cautioning him. ¡°You think I should rouse Numre? Make a bigger fight for it? O¡¯ Dargan won¡¯t like it.¡± ¡°There are few good men here. Everyone¡¯s went with the Jarl to fight the three Kings. Most didn¡¯t return,¡± Logan replied. ¡°You want to get what¡¯s yours back ye need to wait for yer chance lad. This ain¡¯t it.¡± Faye kept her eyes on him. Red hair blowing in the cold breeze. A fierce red. Rubicund. Like his sister¡¯s.
Logan ¡®Gray¡¯ Barret Roadblock Part II -The color of ash-
Third Month of summer 193 NC Edges of East Richforest Oldfort Kingdom of Regia Third month in the siege ¡°Gray!¡± Colors, Logan thought looking at the fires ravaging the forest. Large waves of it dancing over the treeline, black and white smoke covering the open field to their east, ever expanding following the firestorm. It burned for half a day now and it was almost night. The light losing the fight for hours and both camps staring at the inferno awed. It¡¯ll stop at the river, Bloody Tiger had said. Or afore it. But it¡¯ll cut through the drier parts for kilometers. It¡¯ll also get everyone out until it¡¯s finished. Then everyone will get back in was his meaning. But they¡¯ll find fewer trees blocking their way. And it¡¯ll be killing time again. The tiger could smell the sea and he wouldn¡¯t be denied. You allow a man like that to grow and he¡¯ll go through you like an avalanche. Logan had him figured out since Maza Burg. Two things he liked about him. He¡¯d keep his word and Faye loved him. The latter more important than the first. Still, Logan had to make sure the tiger didn¡¯t get her killed. A man wanting to take a throne carries ruin with him and is bound to make a lot of enemies. Even amongst his friends. So Logan had come along for the ride to make sure the lass would be fine. It was a good thing that he had. ¡°Allgods darnit old blade,¡± Adam ¡®Jaws¡¯ Hough grunted approaching him. A Brugavik lad, as hard as they came. Not much smarter than a rock, but a good fighter. ¡°Have ye gone deaf on top of a bloody mute?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a lot of ruckus,¡± Cole O¡¯ Dolan said looking at the forest burning. ¡°Haven¡¯t seen a fire this big afore.¡± ¡°Neither have I,¡± his brother Aiden agreed, the rest of the men approaching nodding with their heads. Adam sat across from him with a weary sigh and scrunched that big chin of his this way and that. ¡°We are supposed to get in there?¡± He asked looking at his big calloused hands. Logan kept cleaning the oil from his freshly sharpened blade. Good dwarven steel, old and trusty. No cracks on it. Only Gutrender was finer. An Imperial blade now carried by Sam ¡®O Dargan. Not that ¡®Mad Wolf¡¯ knew fuck all about swords. He could chop down things that was it. ¡°Ayup,¡± Adam Hough continued seeing as he was getting nothing from him. ¡°Ain¡¯t no way to fight this, right? Hurling stuff from afar. Burning shit and sweating our arses off. Fuck is this heat man? Then ¡®Bloody Tiger¡¯ goes and starts an even bigger fire!¡± Logan finished cleaning the blade, gathered the cloth in his satchel and sheathed the sword. Then started working on repairing the leather wrappings at the iron handle. ¡°Thanks for the bloody talk ¡®Gray¡¯,¡± Adam grunted and got up frustrated. ¡°Yer an inspiration mate.¡± ¡°Horses coming,¡± Torcal informed. An older Torcal this, still easy to stir trouble, but with a longer fuse. ¡°Couple of fancy armours there.¡± Logan raised his greying head, the long hair on it caught at the nappe, but haphazardly, lots of curls loose and some red still in them. He stared at the approaching party, but it wasn¡¯t easy to see clearly amidst the smoke and the dimming light. Torcal who had better eyes guffawed. ¡°Hah, that¡¯s Red Faye Lads!¡± He bellowed happy. Logan got up from the cut stub he was sitting on. The engineers had cleared part of the woods already to make the camps and if they were allowed to keep on for another month, the Lord of the Lorians wouldn¡¯t have needed the fire. But he didn¡¯t have the time to wait apparently. Big ambitions. Big enemies. Lots of them. He could see the red now as Faye was galloping ahead of her group with her long hair loose. ¡°Mm,¡± Logan grunted and Ned O¡¯Farrell turned to stare at him surprised as he hadn¡¯t talked for three days. It wasn¡¯t that Logan didn¡¯t want to talk. He just couldn¡¯t get much out. Ludriver had tried to kill him and failed, but gave him a good hurting in the process. So the old fighter had to economize on the words as much as he could. You never know when you¡¯ll need them out. For real.
This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. ¡°You don¡¯t look happy to see me?¡± Faye yelled jumping from the horse. Logan grimaced knowing she carried a child. You wouldn¡¯t know it seeing her, as she was fit like a snow cougar and wearing good armor and pants. Maybe in the chest. She¡¯d filled out there a lot the last couple of years. Most of the men noticed, as Faye had turned from a scrawny wiry girl into a fierce beautiful woman. ¡°Why the long faces ye sorry fucks?¡± Red Faye queried eyeing them as they gathered around her. ¡°Is this how we¡¯re going to get them white cloaks out of the woods? Shame them to vacate the field?¡± ¡°Yer coming along Red Faye?¡± Ned O¡¯Farrell asked with a smile. Faye turned to glance at the men escorting her. The half-breed Nero wearing the Legion segmented armor frowned under his helm. ¡°Mister Nero? What''s me status for this operation?¡± Faye taunted. ¡°The Praetor gave us strict orders Lady Faye,¡± he said through his teeth. ¡°We¡¯re breaking them right now. That¡¯s too close to the front.¡± ¡°I see no front at the near,¡± Faye replied and turned towards them again. ¡°But I can¡¯t sour me Lucius with another wife in the house right boys?¡± It was a thorny matter for her despite trying to hide it. Not easy accepting yer not enough. Logan knew the southern customs were different, but this was mostly the tiger looking to gather more allies and not on her. Big ambitions. Big troubles. Faye was learning it slowly. Logan wasn¡¯t that worried about that. No one would put another woman over her if he had half a brain and the tiger wasn¡¯t stupid. ¡°I want you to give it your best, aye,¡± Faye continued. ¡°This is my fight as well make no mistake about it. I want Lucius on the throne something fierce. We should all want him to succeed and he will allgods darnit!¡± She paused and stared at them. ¡°The North fights here against people that have hurt us in the past! We kicked them out of Krakenhall, let¡¯s kick them bastards out of this forest as well!¡±
¡°Well they seem enthusiastic enough. Wanted to say something else but got all worked up and lost me thoughts,¡± Faye commented hoarsely after blowing her lungs out yelling and coming to stand next to him. She¡¯d sweat on her forehead and the roots of her hair were darker, cheeks rosy and healthy, her sky-blue eyes excited from being near the men. Her blood aching for a good fight. Ah, Logan thought and grimaced. ¡°What is it Barret?¡± She asked seeing his face. ¡°How difficult?¡± ¡°Um,¡± Logan grunted and shrugged his shoulders. ¡°That bad?¡± ¡°Ergh,¡± Logan rustled and pointed at the burning woods now well away from their position. ¡°Yeah, I can¡¯t tell from the map how far they go,¡± Faye agreed and pursed her lips. ¡°You walk a place and learn it, but they like their maps here.¡± Logan wasn¡¯t worried about maps. Deep in them woods, a map can¡¯t help you. ¡°That¡¯s Cartagen somewhere beyond that river,¡± Faye murmured wrapping her arms around her chest. ¡°Not that we¡¯ve seen it. The darn river. Then there is another river after that and then you reach it. Big city apparently. Three times the size of Ludr, four times the people.¡± Logan didn¡¯t know about that. It seemed too big a number. ¡°Another near it, a port. Bigger than Krakenhall, can you imagine that?¡± ¡°Ahm,¡± Logan said as he couldn¡¯t. Faye furrowed two fine red brows. The red spots on her face gathered near her upturned nose. Logan put his scarred hand on her shoulder comfortingly. ¡°Aye,¡± she said with a deep sigh. ¡°A lot of cities still. Imagine the armies they can gather.¡± Logan didn¡¯t know about that either. In the North every man could fight, but most of the Lorians he¡¯d seen in Asturia couldn¡¯t. Some like Sirio who had come from further south looked outright incapable of even defending themselves from an old woman or a kid. That didn¡¯t mean they weren¡¯t dangerous. Beauty and muscles mattered little in these things. The scariest women Logan had seen were the priestesses in the Duke¡¯s palace. Pretty as Goddesses but with the alluring gaze of a mature viper. ¡°He wants a compromise, but I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll find one,¡± Faye continued now sounding worried. ¡°I don¡¯t think this land likes him as much as we did. He¡¯s too good for them. Some they do like him yes. Others have all their ambitions fulfilled next to his shadow. But beyond that forest are people who had decided they didn¡¯t want him on the throne years back. Will they change now? He¡¯s the same man.¡± The tiger didn¡¯t need people to like him. He could force them to bend the knee and they would, or they would lose their heads. That¡¯s how the realm worked. Logan had fewer friends than Lucius and he was still breathing. Then again. Big ambitions. Big troubles. ¡°We can¡¯t lose Barret,¡± Faye said her voice cracking. ¡°They¡¯ll kill us all. Roderick, the baby.¡± Logan gathered her in his arms without a word, his cold eyes on the burning forest, now illuminated in the darkness. A fierce glowing red. ¡°We¡­ won¡¯t lose,¡± Gray rustled in her ear and he felt her shudder. He was going to kill them all first. Eight hours later Early dawn East Richforest Heat. Cracked hot earth and cracked black trunks. The wind blowing through the smoking gutted trees. Ashes billowing to its command. They painted the armours, stuck on skin and boots. Lathered up the carcasses of the blackened trees that had died where they stood, turning them a sickly lighter shade. The fires still glowing in the distance an otherworldly red. There was light, but not much of a variety in colors. Black for the burned-out wood. And the color of ash on everything else. Washed-out lead. Grim silver. And Gray. The soldier opened his mouth wide to scream an alarm, the blade of his dagger penetrating his palate behind the front teeth stopping him. Blood gushed out of the ruined mouth, a couple of teeth in it and doused his white hand into a garish red. Logan yanked his dagger out, placing the free hand on the soldier¡¯s forehead to keep him steady in his death throes, making the wound even worse. He stepped aside, boot sinking in the soft grey-white powder and glared at his friend. The Lesia soldier regular took two steps forward and then dropped to his knees, afore collapsing on his face in the ashes. The back of his head pulverized. ¡°Motherfucker turned to look at you,¡± Adam commented coming out of the artificial fog, covered in the white powder-like substance and looking like a corpse that had walked out of his grave and found a bloody war hammer to carry. ¡°Um,¡± Logan grunted and started after the others with a cursing Hough following after him. They had split into large groups led by MacCee, Farrell and the O¡¯Dolans. Layton had gone ahead on his own to see the damage done by the fire. Or something like that. Logan had taken the fewest warriors with him as he needed to move fast and couldn¡¯t suffer fresh fools tripping over their feet. He could barely tolerate the old ones. They found their group duking it out in the semi-darkness, under the shade of the still smoking trees and ground, raising enough ash clouds to make the scrap interesting. They fell on them like wolves on a pack of dogs.
¡°ARGGH!¡± The soldier groaned, his arm severed below the elbow joint and slashed at him with his sword. Logan moved his head out of the blade¡¯s arc, then followed the blade as it retreated, ears ringing, blood pumping in his veins and only the sounds of battle coming through. Screams and yells. Groans and a lot of pleading. Blades clanging on blades. Blades hitting armor. Blades thudding on burned out tree trunks. Or flesh. Other weapons doing the same with a good degree of variations in the acoustics. The sharpened tip of his sword found the man¡¯s neck under the nervous protrusion, arm extended behind it and his opponent backed away in panic trying to keep his flesh from the sharp steel. Three shaky backwards steps later he found the turned back of another soldier and stopped unwittingly with a gasp of despair. Logan who¡¯d followed after him to keep the blade touching his neck kept on moving. A heave and he shoved his sword through both of them, the angle favoring a double kill, blade coming out of the back of the armless soldier¡¯s head and stabbing his friend at the nappe under the edge of his helm afore coming out the underside of his jaw in turn. An eerie silent Logan put a dirty boot on the chest of the first one to retrieve his sword but caught out the corner of his eye a sergeant rushing him from the sides through the fog, boots thudding on the ashes-covered ground and let go. Logan twisted to the right moving away from the collapsing duo, the furious hack clipping his left sleeve shaving the skin away from his flesh there along the jacket¡¯s leather. The Lesia sergeant growled at the near miss and turned around emboldened, Logan jumping back sporting the same expression since the start of the fight ¨Ca sinister mean scowl- and landing on a butchered corpse half-buried in the soft ground. The sword returned now traveling parallel to the ground until it didn¡¯t. Logan had stricken the blade with his dagger to change its direction, the dagger¡¯s blade breaking, the weapon coming apart in his hand. A good blade ruined. He fell back, turning mid-air to a half-roll. Logan landed on a shoulder, ashes in his face and jerked away from the sergeant¡¯s boot that landed where his head had been. Fast motherfucker, not easily rattled, he thought frustrated and stopped on a knee, his left hand scooping up some of the warm soil mixed with ashes, the right going for his axe. A single bladed weapon Logan used to cut wood mostly, but he¡¯d installed a new shaft in it recently made out of hardwood, worked on it to give it a bit of a curve to better swing at a target. Be it wood, or wearing chainmail. The sergeant grunted, seeing him slow to get up and rushed the distance jumping over the corpse that had almost killed Barret. Logan glanced at the corpse, mostly to evaluate his position in the chaos of the scrap and recognized David Egan, a good lad running with the O¡¯ Dolans. Hells cries over shallow graves, he cursed realizing they had lost their way in the woods and then the sergeant was on him with a roar. Cut short, a mouthful of earth mixed with ash down his gullet and in his eyes. He saw Logan move lithely up and then to the side and probably realized he had encountered the worst opponent he possibly could. Not all wolves run with the pack. Some they just follow it around to better pick out prey. But they prefer to kill it on their own. The axe whistled and the sergeant tried to twist away, but Logan had aimed low, chopped his right leg off instead to make sure he wouldn¡¯t run away. The man went down on the stump with a groan, blood spraying out of the artery and Logan circled around him without saying a word, flipping the axe in his arms, cold eyes on the events unfolding around him. Looking for the next kill. ¡°Allfather¡¯s mercy¡ª¡± the man screamed a last minute plead afore his head detached from his shoulders, flew briefly leaving a gory trail behind and smacked a burned, hollowed-out trunk with an echoing bang. Managing not to lose the iron helm in the process. Logan missed all of it as he had already turned around to go and retrieve his sword from the other two corpses, but kept the bloody axe out just in case some fancy motherfucker pops out of them bushes all offended and shit. No motherfucker did.
¡°Allgods darnit Gray!¡± Aiden O¡¯ Dolan yelled at him ten minutes later. ¡°Cole is hurt.¡± Cole was dead. He was missing a lot of body parts to put back together. Egan too. A lot more of them would be in the mud afore the day was over. ¡°The bloody fire turned,¡± Aiden continued his face dark. ¡°South is that way!¡± ¡°Mm,¡± Logan grunted stopping him with a slap on his chest. He pointed east and the sun trying to pierce the smoke clouds over the destroyed part of the woods. ¡°We¡¯re past the palisade,¡± Adam translated since he knew Logan¡¯s mind well by now. A crack was heard a burned tree toppled and crashed down ten meters from them and the giant Nord Layton appeared from where Adam had pointed. ¡°Lots of little soldiers back there,¡± Layton said, his eyes red and tearing up. ¡°Gathering up I reckon.¡± Logan grunted and started that way. ¡°What the fuck?¡± Aiden cursed on his back. ¡°Wanna avenge yer brother,¡± a covered in gore and ashes Adam told him going after Logan. ¡°You follow after him. Everyone. Where Gray goes Oras follows is the word. Move and there shall be more killing coming yer way.¡± Logan didn¡¯t adhere to any of the nonsense the men believed. The circle of shields was a fancy way to kill a man and call it honorable. A named fighter was a fool people ached to stick a blade in, preferably in the back and make a name for themselves. So it gave ye nothing but trouble. In war you try to finish your opponent fast, keep on killing him until he runs away, or he runs out of men. No wiggle room. Nothing in between. Layton grinned, ever in good spirits when in the field and started after him in his slow deliberate tempo that wasn¡¯t slow at all in reality. You run as fast as you can, Layton will catch up with you eventually walking energetically. The big guy never got tired.
A weary Logan eyed their different groups coalescing at the edge of the forest hours later. Almost a kilometer away the legionnaires were coming, marching their way through the ravaged woods and following the corpses Logan and his men had left behind. Lads from a lot of places painting the burned ground with their blood. Nords, Southerners and a couple in between. The Lesia regulars gathered in rows, shields gleaming in the sun. Boars on them. Or vines. Conned helms, spears and swords. Their lines neatly arranged, but only three rows deep now that Logan could see them a bit better. ¡°Go around them?¡± Adam ¡®Jaws¡¯ Hough asked tiredly. A cut on his face bleeding freely. Logan spat down to clean his mouth but said nothing. No need to use words here, he thought. Best to leave it for an emergency or to speak with someone more worthy than the likes of him. He glanced at Layton and then showed him the soldier lines. A good run to get at them of about thirty meters. They were right at the edge of the woods, the field covered in smokes behind them but visible sort of. A bit of the wooden tower as well showing in the background. ¡°I go through,¡± Layton told him with the others listening a little freaked out. ¡°I¡¯ll grab four from each side. Ye come after me little man. See they don¡¯t poke me in the eye wit a spear. It hurts.¡± Logan nodded agreeing and cleaned his gory blade on his pants. Then reached behind his back to get his axe out as you never know when ye mind need a good ole hack to open space in a tight scrap. He¡¯d have preferred the dagger, but he left that broken back in the smoking woods. He sighed pensively at the loss. It was a good dagger Logan had since his youth. ¡°Eh,¡± he grunted and turned to glare at the warband leaders waiting for his decision. ¡°Shit,¡± Aiden O¡¯ Dolan cursed realizing that what the crazy Nord had just sprouted out of his big mouth was the plan. Ayup. That was it. Ye don¡¯t pussyfoot yer way around a fight. Let the southerners do that. Do it your way Logan, the Bloody Tiger had told him, who knew when to get his hands dirty, or who to send to do a nasty job if he couldn¡¯t. ¡°Was going to empty me fucking bladder,¡± Adam commented pursing his cracked lips. ¡°Reckon I leave it for afterwards. Don¡¯t want to get the cock out in front of you ladies.¡± Logan grunted angrily grinding his teeth, looking every man near him in the face and they all turned sober. Logan knew what was ahead of them. All they had to do was follow him into the meat grinder. Let the chips fall where they may. He was going to put the fear of Oras in them motherfuckers either way. Screams and yells. Groans and a lot of pleading. Blades clanging on blades, or shields. Blades hitting armor. Blades thudding on burned out tree trunks. Or skulls. The fine ash on the ground turning a dull red with all the gore spilt on it. Not red like the fires still raging out in the distance, or Faye¡¯s hair that fierce rubicund, but a dull soulless hue. Ugly and tasting bitter. The men came after them in their ferocious charge. Layton arriving first and Logan right behind him. The rest had followed not that far behind them finding their courage along the way. The route they took led them to Lesia¡¯s lines and then out of ¡®em smoking woods.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 375. Roadblock (3/4)
In the last month of summer, the year of the New Calendar 193, the stalemate at Oldfort was finally broken. Three months into the siege III Legio¡¯s artillery turned early that morning and fired two volleys of flaming pots and bundles of clothed hay into Richforest. The surprise ¡®assault¡¯ wasn¡¯t a mistake and it started a wildfire that spread incredibly fast shocking both camps. The reason for the uncontrollable inferno was that the previous night the trees had been doused with thick ¡®black oil¡¯, or some form of naphtha to a great extent. The strange mixture and its ingredients kept with the supply train in three special heavily guarded wagons that had arrived straight from Anorum and had been worked on for several months from engineers answering to Centurion Ramirus. While the exact make of the substance used remained a secret few had access to, its effects were spectacular. The subsequent intense fire caused the exceptionally dry barks of the local trees to ignite immediately and it burned through them for kilometers until it reached close to Mabindon¡¯s Falls and the banks of the river itself. There the forest was more difficult to burn due to the heavy humidity. It didn¡¯t stop the fire outright, but it slowed it down until it went out by itself hours later. To the south where it had found more fuel it caused complete devastation. In less than two days over half of Richforest had been burned or damaged. The firestorm forced the Lesia soldiers out of the woods and towards their central lines around the palisade. It also made it impossible to see most of the battlefield as the winds that were pushing the fire west for much of the morning turned around and drowned the valley in thick smoke for the rest of the day. With visibility low, breathing made difficult and the men suffering in both camps, hostilities stopped for much of that day as everyone stood witness to the destruction. The Burning of Richforest as it came to be known caused a number of reactions that influenced the siege of course, but also the fighting further away. The nearest of these battles was happening kilometers away around Wine Bridge. There Lord Valens¡¯ forces seeing the fires burning at the distance like a strange midnight sunrise and learning of Lucius forces being so near them were roused to a frenzy. Small groups started assaulting the lethargic Lesia forces across the river, the battle had turned into another stalemate here as well, urging their officers to order a general attack to break the siege. Lord Grand (High) Baron Montague Valens who was having his hands full with the gradually advancing II Legio inside Cartaport, ordered his son Sir Antony who was defending that sector of the city to stop these activities from spreading. But word of Lucius arrival had ignited a sense of patriotism in the hearts of Cartagen¡¯s citizens and its guards, which the rather conceited locals weren¡¯t really famous for and Sir Antony was met with resistance. While no official order was given that exists in the record, the Cartagen guards attacked beyond the river, surprised the crews operating the Lesia machines ¨CLord Caxaton had brought a good number of them forward- and reached as far as North Division¡¯s camp some kilometers away. It was a stunning success that quickly turned into a nightmare. Part of a detachment from Armium sent to reinforce Sir Napoli and Crane came out of Richforest to their rear. It effectively cut them off the bridge trapping almost six hundred men in no man¡¯s land. The Armium regulars had retreated from the burning forest and kept following the paths cut through it from Lesia engineers all the way to Lord Caxaton¡¯s lines. It was a mistake as they were supposed to head east towards Oldfort but they got lost. Two thirds of the force went the wrong way amidst the chaos of the retreat. Whatever the case may be they overwhelmed the men the Cartagen defenders had left to their rear and Lord Caxaton who had woken up that day being under siege himself suddenly had control of the bridge unbeknownst to him. In the confusion that happened due to younger Valens¡¯ attack, Lord Caxaton¡¯s force almost scattered. The supply train started moving back towards Sava and Flauegran which threatened to block the road as supplies were still coming the other way. The force from Armium ¨Calready across the Wine Bridge- defended a desperate counter attack from Sir Antony. The latter realizing what had happened, immediately informed his father asking for reinforcements to free his men, but he was ordered to get everyone away from the Vine Garden ¨Cas the narrow land between the two bridges was called in the flat gorge left between East and West Tricorn Heights- and defend the Flower Bridge which was their fallback position. While this was happening, Lord Caxaton was informed in turn that he had forces controlling the bridge behind the men besieging his camp. He roused his men, sent messengers to the supply train to stop it from retreating further and ordered a counter attack by all the scattered Lesia forces on the cutoff Cartagen guards. His orders were haphazardly sent out of the camp and by the time his men started reacting to them, the Cartagen guards realized they had been cut off and started retreating themselves. They reached the Wine Bridge and a ferocious battle started there just before nightfall and well into the night. Lord Caxaton¡¯s arrival the next morning would win Lesia an unlikely triumph. Not by getting control of the bridge itself, though it did bring them much closer to Cartagen- but with the destruction of a very big number of Valens¡¯ north defending force. To plug the gap and defend the vital second bridge Lord Valens had to draw troops from the city itself and that left Cartaport increasingly isolated. Lord Caxaton marched across the Wine Bridge and immediately attacked the Flower Bridge half a day later making the same mistake he had done months back at the start of the campaign. His eagerness to get more glory for his cadet house was uncharacteristic for a Lesia Lord, but then again he hailed from beyond Andalus River so his ilk was different. Sir Antony redeemed himself heroically defending the second bridge, getting seriously injured in the process and forced Lord Caxaton to order a halt until his machines and main units arrived. While the front was moving back and forth near Cartagen almost two days after the fire had started burning, in Richforest and the besieged Oldfort another battle was about to be decided. A hardened force of Northmen fighters ¨Cpart of the Legion Scouts, but separate from Kaeso¡¯s Rangers- led by Logan ¡®Gray¡¯ Barret had penetrated the still smoking woods trying to flank Crane¡¯s defenses. Oldfort¡¯s commander had asked for the men to remain in the woods during the night, but most opted to stay at a safe distance. It wasn¡¯t cowardice. They just couldn¡¯t breathe and the firestorm could cut them off in minutes destroying them. The Lesia patrols that finally returned when the fire passed by their positions found themselves assaulted by the ferocious and even outright murderous Nords. Built around Lady Faye¡¯s warband Logan¡¯s force was extremely capable in close combat fighting. They also worked and attacked independently following their leaders which caused numerous gaps to open in Lesia¡¯s west flank. Commander Crafterson who had arrived from Armium and then redirected to Oldfort to assist Crane gathered his force at the edge of the burned, still smoking and unsuitable for battle gutted forest. He was missing a big chunk of them, lost during the previous day, but still managed to create a capable blocking force. Sir Napoli who was at the center of Oldfort¡¯s defenses was informed of the happenings and ordered his own force ¨Cguarding the palisade- to turn towards the forest. Sir Riveras was caught by surprise as he was with his knights¡¯ hours away not expecting a development and dismissing the reports of a ¡®deliberate wildfire¡¯ as outright ludicrous. While Logan¡¯s men were wreaking havoc on the burned ground inside the woods, Kaeso¡¯s rangers on the opposite side of the battlefield were attempting something even more difficult, high up on Oldfort¡¯s rocky slopes.
Dosser Roadblock Part III -Bloody Rocks-
Third Month of Summer 193 NC Near narrow path Oldfort Kingdom of Regia Third month in the siege The Ranger popped his head from behind the sharp-faced boulder¡¯s edge and glanced at the dark parapets. The open stone-riddled terrain created a natural lip from the base of the walls to the start of the vertical drop of the northern slopes that offered little cover. They needed to cross that part and reach the far corner of the walls where the east mountain came within seven meters from them. A made out of stone stability curtain had been built there, six meters in height and reinforced with chains, to keep the vertical mountain wall from coming down on the castle. Beyond that where the plateau flattened out creating a mouth in the castle¡¯s east side no such precautions had been taken. The mountain sides had cracked creating a massive rockslide at some point ¨Cthe date had been mentioned in the pre-mission briefing, but Dosser had dosed off during that part- that had stricken the walls there causing massive damage. While the opening had been cleared in the years that followed and was used as warehouse and rear area, the walls had been only partially rebuilt. The west gates protected the castle¡¯s opposite approach as one had to scale even more difficult terrain to reach it from the rear and the south. Lesia had taken the gates that way in a surprise attack, but with Cranes improvements and Lucius'' angle of attack this wasn¡¯t feasible this time. So Kaeso¡¯s men had climbed the mountain path the local goats used to do it another way. ¡°Don¡¯t see them,¡± Goff whispered in Kiri Dosser¡¯s ear. He was supposed to keep his bow on the parapets to hopefully take a keen-eyed sentry out. With the fire raging to their west and everyone¡¯s eyes there perhaps no one was looking their way. Still it is a very risky bet to take this, Dosser thought and wet his lips with his rough tongue. ¡°Fucking blind moth¡¯rfuker,¡± Placus grunted from somewhere near. He hadn¡¯t forgiven Goff still for fatally injuring Lund back at the Groin. ¡°Shut yer mouths!¡± Kaeso hissed stooped twenty meters away looking back at them. ¡°I want a runner to reach the corner and aim a bow on that corridor.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s the rookie?¡± Placus said. ¡°You. Arius.¡± ¡°Fuck off Placus,¡± Arius snapped. ¡°I trained as a legionnaire ye ignoramus cuck!¡± ¡°Can you use a bow?¡± ¡°What¡¯s that got¡­ can you?¡± ¡°Now, ye don¡¯t turn the query on me¡ª¡± ¡°What did I just say? Why are ye cunts still talking?¡± Kaeso grunted irate and pointed a finger at Arius. ¡°Get under that corner!¡± ¡°Piece of cack. Ruffian,¡± Arius murmured under his breath, the curse directed at a smirking Placus and then started sneaking towards the ramparts. The few lights on them spread about, the shade of the mountain walls thick and the most illumination coming from the firestorm raging some kilometers below their feet and to the west. ¡°Dosser,¡± Kaeso hissed and slapped the backs of two of the rangers in his own group to follow after Arius. ¡°The moment he touches that wall, you get ¡®em all across the opening on the double. Unless they start firing at him, then we¡¯ll reconsider.¡± ¡°Ha-hah,¡± Placus guffawed nervously. Dosser grimaced and checked his gear. They all had darkened hemp robes over their armour and had wrapped their weapons not to gleam in the night, but now every man was getting them out. He repositioned the bow on his back, the scar on his cheek itching. He ignored it, tied the cords tighter on his covered with a dirty cloth helm and took a deep breath, his eyes on the running stooped Arius and the other two.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°Don¡¯t see any movement,¡± Goff informed them speaking subdued as the sound carried on the vertical slopes. There was noise coming from the castle itself and lights on the walls facing the fields and lower where the palisade¡¯s tower was. No commotion on their side of the battlefield and the thick smoke was slowly obscuring everything coming their way. ¡°He¡¯s at the wall,¡± Placus reported. The words repeating around by the rangers hidden in the dark. Kaeso raised his left arm and gestured for him to move. Here goes, Dosser thought half-standing with a soft groan. Our turn to be served. ¡°What ye think is for dinner?¡± Placus asked who had the same gloomy thoughts as him probably. ¡°Plenty of yellow turds pretending to be potatoes,¡± Dosser hissed, gave the signal and started running towards the stone walls of Oldfort.
Dosser run with his mouth clenched in a permanent snarl, avoiding to breathe, heart beating in his chest and his feet navigating the treacherous terrain on instinct. The fucking walls further away than what they appeared from his safe spot. The parapets old and mouldy, the stones sporting dark cracks on them where the light touched them. Not a lot of touching was done, the lights few and between, the parapets empty of sentries seemingly. Arius looking energetically first above him, the ranger had put his back on the base of the wall and then south behind that corner to the narrow corridor under the stone blanket/curtain the engineers had used to keep the mountain back. ¡°Ugh!¡± Placus grunted behind him, probably turning an ankle and Dosser glanced nervously at the parapets again, almost turning his. He stumbled forward, arms flailing wild and quiver rattling on his back like a dancer¡¯s sistrum without the juicy parts. ¡°What is Dosser be doin¡¯?¡± Goff asked seeing him dancing spastically in front him. ¡°About to crack his head on them boulders,¡± Placus informed him. Dosser didn¡¯t, managing to find his balance, scrapping a hand on the sharp rocks and stopped four meters from Arius to take a rugged breath in. He kept his eyes on the top of the wall, the pause momentary to get his bearings, listening to the sound of footsteps approaching from behind him. Arius gestured for him to move again and Dosser nodded, made a step forward, saw the light blasting out of the dark passage growing and stopped again. He opened his mouth to warn Arius, but paused as he was still standing in the open and reached for his bow. ¡°Shit,¡± Placus said behind him. The light came at them, creating shadows on the stone vertical slant and the walls. Dosser fumbled with his bow, got it over his head almost taking his helm out and reached for an arrow. Arius saw him stalling still exposed, made to repeat his warning, but then probably noticed thirty rangers standing frozen behind Dosser and whipped his head around to glance behind the illuminated corner. A Lesia guard gasped in shock seeing his head peeking out of nowhere, a hand on his chest where his heart was. The guard survived the heart attack and glared at the now empty corner. ¡°Who goes there?¡± He asked angry, the men of his patrol stopping behind him alarmed. ¡°I¡¯ve seen yer stupid head! Don¡¯t try to hide now!¡± the guard growled angry at the sudden scare. Arius remained silent, slowly drawing his shortsword out of its sheath, his friends doing the same. Dosser still frozen in the open, but standing in the relative dark, nocked his arrow numbly, sweat rivulets running down his face and raised it slowly at the exposed and well-illuminated guard. ¡°Get out from behind that corner soldier!¡± the guard barked loudly and then his eyes looked in front of him ¨Cthe distance about seven meters- and saw a grimacing Dosser aiming his bow at him. ¡°Allhells¡­¡± he cried out doubly scared, just as a nervous Dosser loosed the arrow. Dosser missed everything, his arrow hitting the rocks and breaking apart, but the guard turned into a porcupine as most of the rangers behind Dosser had the same idea as him and better aim. Eh, most of them. An arrow did glance off his helm rattling his brains. A centimeter lower and Dosser would have been a goner. The guard went down without another word, but the rest of his patrol that were standing behind him raised quite the ruckus. ¡°ALARM!¡± ¡°TO ARMS!¡± ¡°INTRUDERS!¡± Were the most commonly used words.
¡°UGH!¡± Arius groaned losing a finger to a slash, his shortsword plunging between the soldier¡¯s clenched teeth and breaking through creating a mess of a wound. Dosser reached for another arrow as the rest had charged towards the patrol, but by the time he got one nocked the soldiers had been cut down. ¡°WHAT¡¯S GOING ON THERE?¡± someone asked with an authoritative voice from above. ¡°Everything is fine!¡± Placus yelled back at him, bloody sword in hand and face covered in gore. ¡°Who are you?¡± the man from the parapets asked not convinced and a light shown down on them. ¡°YER SISTER!¡± Dosser turned the bow on him and fired an arrow. He missed again, suddenly his aim gone to shite, but the arrow hit the merlon, found the crenel and smacked the sergeant on the helm above the ear. Someone fired back at him, the arrow flying wide and voices were heard calling men to arms. ¡°RUN!¡± Kaeso yelled sprinting towards them with the others. ¡°ALLGODS DARNIT! MOVE YE FAT CUNTS!¡± Shite, Dosser cursed and run to the now dark passage after the others. The place narrow, his boot first slipping on gore, then stepping on a broken lantern and flames dousing his pants. They run out of the corridor parallel to the east walls and found an open area with some buildings at the back, more walls to the west and an open door. Not that high an obstacle this, but still, a wall is a plaguing wall, he thought and slotted the bow over his head as he obviously didn¡¯t have the eyes for it that night. He reached for the sword he¡¯d taken from that mercenary back at the Groin and it felt good in his hands. What didn¡¯t feel good was the soldiers coming out of that door, some still looking to put their helms on or fix their harnesses, with one even coming out without any pants on. ¡°AT THEM!¡± Kaeso barked and shoved him forward, a bolt whistling over his head and taking a ranger standing behind him in the face. Went clean through. ¡°FUCK!¡± Placus bellowed. ¡°They got that shit,¡± he explained ducking under a slash, afore punching his shortsword in a soldier¡¯s gut to the hilt. A rotating ballista was his meaning. A smaller weapon, just a bigger crossbow really, you didn¡¯t have to carry, not that you could. Still plenty nasty to defend against. ¡°CHARGE!¡± Kaeso bellowed seeing the writing on the wall. Dosser run into the thick of it aiming for the guy without the pants. He had a pair of boots on, skinny hairy legs a pale color. He slashed at him, but the soldier dived out of the way. A friend of his took offense and charged at him with a bloody spear. Dosser jerked right, the point nailing his mail and spinning him around. He twirled on his feet, a darn fine pirouette and hacked at a gawping at his acrobatics Lesia soldier. Black blood leapt into the air, turned red when it splashed his armour and robes. Men yelling, groaning and jolting right and left. The spear wielding thug came again and he turned to slash at him, felt the blade bite. A curse rang, then a grunt, something slapped him in the face and he ducked after it did. Blood in his eyes and the ground slippery. Head full of wails and cries of misery. Dosser slid on a bloody hand, a ring still adorning the middle finger, ducked under that son of a goat with the spear again and swung around trying to find his footing. He almost swallowed his tongue in the attempt to shove some air into his lungs. The soldier followed him determined to poke him with the spear, as he¡¯d picked out Dosser from a score of men at the near to skewer. ¡°Eat cack!¡± Dosser spat and slashed wildly to keep him away, but the man had the reach and gave him a stab bellow the left chest. The mail splitting and the leather yielding, the tip of the spear hitting a rib. ¡°Mother¡­¡± he growled through his teeth and jerked away, the walls and the old citadel at the distance looming over him. The gates and the lights mixing with the dark and the men dancing all about him. Slash, snarl and blood spattering the rocks. Dosser reached for a dagger he kept in a sheath on his belt, blood and sweat in his eyes. The helm turned slantways restricting his vision even more. Blasted cheap gear! ¡°EAHRG!¡± The soldier bellowed lips split in a manic snarl and charged him leading with that spear. Fucking blooming turd, Dosser cursed anxiously retreating, giving up on unsheathing the dagger. The Lesia soldier took two large strides halving the distance and then an arrow sprouted out of his right eye, another struck him over the nose and popped out the back of his helm. The second arrow turned him around it did and the man managed a couple of more strides afore he went down fully dead. Good fucking riddance! ¡°Hah! We both got him!¡± Goff guffawed five meters behind him. ¡°Friendly fire!¡± he explained. Dosser shook his head, then slapped his own helm once to set it straight and run towards the contested gates to help the others.
A bull of a man bodied him with a shield, the rim splitting his upper lip and cracking a tooth. Dosser hacked at the shield, the blade banging on it and almost slipping from his numb fingers. The Lesia burly defender pushed a sword out aimed for his stomach, but he put a hand on the base of the blade before the hilt, the edge cutting through his glove. The man pushed again, Dosser kept the blade from plunging in his guts with a gnarly snarl, but the fucking sword moved forward slippery as it was with his blood. His opponent turned the shield to smack him in the face again and Dosser hooked his blade over it and started moving it about in the blind. He got his helm with a clang, then slashed at the tip of his nose, the burly man¡¯s sword ever pressing forward and the mail Dosser had on yielding inwards. Dosser kicked a boot-wearing leg out, found a knee and felt it crack under the iron hobnails. The man groaned, blood covering his face, the slashed nose spraying gore on them both and tried to retreat. Dosser didn¡¯t want to let him go, but the sword slipped through his bleeding hand. He cried out, the pain blinding and went after the hobbled soldier. He hacked, but found that shield again and turned aside to round him up. A fancy dressed officer almost taking his head off, the blade whistling in front of his eyes. Dosser cursed ineligibly, reached for the dagger whilst jumping away, but realized he was missing a finger in his bleeding hand. The pinky, but still it was a shock. He got over it in the quick, the dressed in fine robes officer slashing at him again. Dosser blocked with his blade, made to turn it aside, but the officer was a better swordsman than him and slashed the ranger across the chest. Dosser stumbled back, his armour in ruins, the leather underneath it split and a cut stinging just under that. He roared, more scared than angry, but it worked. The officer paused his attack, probably realizing he was too exposed in his night clothes and Dosser hacked at him. His opponent turned it aside, but Dosser¡¯s blade found his chest on the return and split it open. The fancy robes ruined.
¡°Get in the yard!¡± Kaeso yelled from the door, the bells ringing in the castle and the light of dawn hidden behind the mountain. But there were more soldiers coming out of the barracks and forming up to come to the gates. ¡°Better to hold them at the gates!¡± Dosser barked, blood in his mouth and tying a piece of bloody robe over his severed finger. ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake! You¡¯ll have us all killed!¡± Kaeso grimaced and eyed the Oldfort¡¯s soldiers preparing to push them back. ¡°Three hours,¡± he told him through his teeth. ¡°At least.¡± We need to hold until Lepidus is here he meant. His heavy legionnaires following after them up the slopes, but having more trouble moving as fast. ¡°Eh,¡± Placus grunted, surprisingly unharmed for the amount of gore he had on. ¡°Goff!¡± He barked up the wall they had managed to take over. ¡°It¡¯s not a woman¡¯s tit! Hells are ye fondling it for?¡± ¡°I¡¯m reloading ye blasted idiot!¡± Goff yelled back at him busy working on the ballista. ¡°Just aim it at the enemy and fire! Look to hit something this time!¡± Placus growled, as the rest of the rangers looked for shields and spears to defend against the coming heavier infantry. ¡°NOW YE BLIND FUCK AFORE THEY ARE ON US!¡± ¡°This turned out pretty gnarly, eh Decanus?¡± Arius asked with a grimace coming to stand next to him in the second line, himself missing a finger as well, but still breathing. ¡°The Ice Lake was gnarly,¡± Dosser mumbled, his lip flapping and the pain blurring his vision. ¡°This is pretty standard stuff.¡±
In a daring surprise assault that was his bread and butter, ¡®Frostworm¡¯ Kaeso took control of the backyard gates at Oldfort and part of the rebuilt east wall. He kept it doggedly for four hours, until the first reinforcements arrived under Lepidus. The little known outside III Legio¡¯s circles battle of Oldfort¡¯s backyard, or ¡®Bloody Rocks¡¯ as it came to be known was a legendary feat of will for his unit who lost fifty six killed and thirty injured before it was over, effectively almost getting wiped out. Kaeso would lose his left arm in the fight for the east gates, but despite the stories you might hear from veterans of the eighteen months campaign, the Centurion¡¯s assault was just a distraction in the Praetor¡¯s plan. The more important Logan¡¯s wild charge into the Lesia regulars west flank at about the same time, had managed to break through down in the valley and forced an anxious Sir Napoli to commit his reserve troops there to keep the bloodlust Northmen from taking the palisade. It gave the fast marching Gato and the First Cohort the chance to cross the Dead Zone, under the cover of smoke and with the help of Durio¡¯s engineers that repaired the terrain before them. The First Cohort and Second Cohort to its left side, marched on the palisade taking advantage of the flanking actions of that morning and the firestorm. This was the most important action of the day. The packed lines of legionnaires were met by a bombardment from the machines Crane had installed on the walls both from Oldfort and the wooden wall, but kept on under a hail of arrows, rocks, iron bolts and exploding pots through the smokes. ¡®For twenty hellish minutes,¡¯ Trupo commented a month later, ¡®the killing was one sided.¡¯ Then, it evened out.
376. Roadblock (4/4)
Mede Roadblock Part IV -Twenty minutes-
1st Cohort -Gold Standard, a square red banner, on spear-shaped staff with an oak tree in gold depicted on it, for its first commander Galio Veturius. Monikers -Red, ¡®Old¡¯, Gold Oak Strength 850 1st ¡®Agricola¡¯ Century Centurion, Primus Pilus| Simon Gata ¡®Gato¡¯ (Gold Phalera recipient)-400 legionnaires (in four 100-strong Maniples) Gold Standard bearer | Acilius Maro 1st Decanus| Herius Asian (first ¡®Kato¡¯ Maniple) 2nd Decanus| Mede (second Maniple) Nord. Famous legionnaire risen through the ranks. A gold Phalera recipient twice. Cited for misconducts multiple times. Mentioned in the Legion¡¯s Report multiple times. Baldock Venius ¡®Caligula¡¯ Gata (the Primus Pilus first cousin) Surus Tertian Felix Donlon 3rd Decanus | Gurus (Third Maniple.) 4th Decanus | Marcus Agrippa (Fourth Maniple) 2nd Century Centurion| Brevis. A decorated, risen through the ranks officer. Gold Armillae (arm-band) recipient for saving a unit from destruction. Mentioned in the dailies. -150 legionnaires (in three 50-strong Maniples) 3rd Century Centurion| Artur Mangas (Nord. A decorated officer) 4rth Century Centurion| Servius Capito (A decorated officer) Primus Pilus Simon Gata, III Legio army center, Oldfort siege, summer of 193 NC -a painting by Ireneo Sarkozy artwork by @intheblackveil Siege of Oldfort Army¡¯s center First Cohort gathering area Early morning Richforest wildfire second day ¡°Is that tall fuck Brim Solomon wit Maro?¡± Baldock asked while Mede was busy fixing his harness, his eyes swollen from the thick smoke that had covered the battlefield. It mixed with the morning mist of the valley, turned heavy and stuck on your skin and armour like a dark sludge. ¡°Is the Panthera Tigris there?¡± ¡°I think.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t tell?¡± ¡°It¡¯s plaguing hells baths here Decanus!¡± ¡°Are ye nervous?¡± Mede asked him raising his head. ¡°Yer not?¡± Baldock snapped. ¡°I had this dream¡ª¡± Mede stopped him raising a hand. ¡°Don¡¯t wanna hear it.¡± ¡°I saw¡ª¡± ¡°Not a word,¡± Mede stopped him again. ¡°Kato was like that those last days.¡± Did him no good. ¡°Is why I wanted to talk¡ª?¡± ¡°That¡¯s all I¡¯m going to say on the matter,¡± Mede cut him off midsentence again. ¡°Ah, here¡¯s our Primus Pilus coming this way. All warmth and tender feelings.¡± ¡°Hah-ha,¡± Surus guffawed and then glared at the younger of their group Venius. They called him Caligula, since his feet were too small when he¡¯d joined at sixteen back in Maza Burg. So they had to make special boots for him. Gata¡¯s cousin, he was a silent soldier for the most part with few friends. Everyone kept their distance around him given his relation to the Primus Pilus. Tertian slapped Surus shoulder to cut his bullshit and leave the younger legionnaire alone. Although he was just out of his twentieth year Venius was a veteran of course. ¡°That¡¯s battle number seven right?¡± Tertian asked. ¡°Surus keeps the score,¡± Mede dodged trying to focus on his imminent conversation with Centurion Gata. ¡°Eight,¡± Surus replied. ¡°That is if you count only the big engagements. Now if you take each scrap on its own then we¡¯re close to twenty.¡± ¡°Do they give a bonus or something after a certain number Decanus?¡± Tertian asked and Mede glared at him to shut his mouth. He had his eyes on the arriving Primus Pilus. ¡°Mede, you march after Herius Asian,¡± Gata started without a prologue, helm tightly secured on his head and the leather cords cutting into his weathered cheeks. ¡°Gurus and Marcus Agrippa right after you. You keep the distance, even the space out for each row and keep it tight. We¡¯ll be moving on a prearranged path. Any idiot stepping out of formation to trek on his own in search for titties,¡± he paused to glare at Baldock¡¯s group who were high in his list of idiots. ¡°Is bound to break an ankle or a leg. If it¡¯s an ankle, I expect you to keep on marching on it, finish the fight and then I¡¯ll punish you myself. If it¡¯s a leg, you¡¯ll stay in the ditch and I¡¯ll break the other leg when I¡¯m finished. Any queries?¡± He finished reasonably. Mede had a lot of them, but knew he wasn¡¯t about to get any answered. ¡°No queries Primus Pilus,¡± he replied steadily, as it was also a known trick question from the officers. Baldock cleared his throat behind him. ¡°Legionnaire¡­¡± Gata started narrowing his eyes to better focus on Baldock. ¡°Baldock sir.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t give a shit,¡± Gata rebuked him. ¡°You be lookin¡¯ to grow that beard more?¡± ¡°Eh, I¡­¡± ¡°Get that issued dagger out,¡± Gata grunted. ¡°Shave that red crap off yer face afore the march starts. We¡¯ll be receiving burning pots filled wit oil soon and they¡¯ll light it up just like that,¡± he¡¯d snapped his fingers sharply to give him the time it¡¯ll take. ¡°Burn yer face off. I see ye wit that bullshit in the line, my boot is going up yer arsehole up to the bindings. Any queries?¡± He asked again. ¡°None sir!¡± Baldock cried out. ¡°Mede, I want us under them walls in less than twenty minutes,¡± Gata said in parting. ¡°Is the smoke shielding us all the way sir?¡± Mede asked and he paused to glare his way. ¡°Smoke isn¡¯t shielding shite. The moment the wind blows one way or the other and they spot us coming through the haze, they¡¯ll just start shooting in it until they run out of ammo, or we stop them. And just to get it out of the blasted way. They won¡¯t run out of ammo Decanus, so ye better move yer feet.¡±
¡°First Cohort marching!¡± Gata barked and one after the other all Maniples started moving into the thick soup created by the burning for hours now wildfire. They were headed towards the little flags the engineers were waving to direct them through the Lesia works and Crane¡¯s Fields. The ground torn and cut, the ditches filled with sharp rocks, caltrops and sharp burned-shaft spears, the trenches not always immediately noticeable and every meter of the distance in front of them especially the last three hundred before the walls pre-measured and marked from the defenders. Many of those range-finding markers had been removed, but it was difficult to know what they had used in advance despite the efforts of the crews. Merenda¡¯s Second Cohort was to climb the small incline to the base of the stone walls of Oldfort and Gata¡¯s First Cohort was to strike straight at the palisade and its double Scorpio armed tower. The outer rows of the maniples carrying four-five meters long ladders to use in the last part of the assault. The biggest problem coming from the bigger machines up on the stone walls and the rooftop of the citadel that could fire bolts, rocks, lead shrapnel, sacks with caltrops and flaming pots with oil on the approaching soldiers. The latter dangerous even when they typically missed to hit a target as they created a local inferno you couldn¡¯t most times bypass. ¡°Second Maniple!¡± Mede boomed, left side of his face crooked from the tension and the buzz of the blowing winds and smoke clouds restricting his vision adding to his nervousness. ¡°Fast march! Keep tempo! SHIELDS FRONT!¡± The sound of men¡¯s boots thudding, shields and swords clanging on armour coming from in front of him, the men of the 1st ¡®Kato¡¯ Maniple under Herius Asian slowly disappearing into the white smoke. Baldock who was the first man to his right, Mede was standing outside the formation, started marching with measured strides, Surus and Tertian coming after him with Venius Gata following and Felix with the other Nord Donlon bringing up the rear rows. Mede started after them sprinting to reach the first row and then slowed down again. He glanced backwards to spot Acilius Maro bringing up the standard with Centurion Gata near him and further to their rear Brim Solomon¡¯s group with Panthera Tigris marching after the First Cohort as well to showcase that the Legion was on the move. Surus brought a figurine to his mouth and kissed it murmuring a quick prayer, several men doing the same and Mede touched his Liger Hominis Panthera Divinus as well, the half-man half-blacktiger figurine he carried under his tunic. Get us through good Praetor, he prayed. It¡¯s a nasty place to die. The first of the young engineers they met, long stick with a white cloth attached at its end, urging them on shaking his fist. ¡°Four hundred meters!¡± He warned them. ¡°Luthos be with you lads!¡± ¡°Think they¡¯ll miss us approaching?¡± Tertian asked from somewhere to his right, the bridging planks loose under his boots and the terrain treacherous. ¡°Not how I saw it,¡± Baldock grunted still thinking on the dream. ¡°Can¡¯t see shit,¡± Surus commented. ¡°Three hundred meters!¡± The next engineer warned them. ¡°Angle right five strides!¡± ¡°ANGLE RIGHT!¡± Mede barked. ¡°Don¡¯t break formation! Half-step second row!¡± ¡°HALF STEP SECOND!¡± Surus roared. ¡°KEEP SPACES EVEN!¡± ¡°SPACES EVEN!¡± The wind blew from the west, the smoke clouds billowing and his throat hoarse, mouth tasting bitter. Mede realized he could now see a lot of gleaming bronze-colored helms in front of him. To the near distance over his left shoulder the dark stone walls of Oldfort came to view, banners flying over them and bristling with men. To his right, the tar black wooden palisade popped into view behind the smokes for a moment. The noise changing in the battlefield, bells ringing, loud yells of alarm coming from the fort. They had spotted them. ¡°TWO FIFTY!¡± the next engineer yelled a warning. ¡°IN RANGE!¡± ¡°SHIELDS!¡± Mede barked. ¡°STEADY STRIDES! KEEP FORWARD!¡± ¡°STEADY FORWARD! RAISE SHIELDS!¡± ¡°INCOMING!¡± Baldock roared.Stolen story; please report. Wood splinter in the gonads, Mede cursed using one of Kato¡¯s favorite expressions, clenching his jaw tight hearing the machines firing one after the other. The sound sharp and cynical. TWANG! WHOOSH! ¡°MOVE!¡± Mede barked recoiling instinctively seeing a round fifty-kilo boulder bouncing off of the ground three meters in front of him, breaking in two large pieces and whistling next to both his left and right ear barely missing him. A bolt sunk next to his boot next, more than a meter of iron shaft still protruding from the ground and he saw the men of the 1st Maniple shaking in front of him afore he realized everything was dancing under the heavy bombardment. The ground, the marching men and even the walls of Oldfort to their east side where Merenda was heading, as Durio¡¯s engineers had sneaked their own machines nearer in the confusion and started pelting the defenders with everything they had. The worst being the flaming pots hurled back and forth from both camps. One such shot exploded ten meters away to their right, the flames shooting up half that number and leaping forward towards them twice that distance. ¡°SHITE!¡± Surus yelled, Scutum and helm set alight. He hurled the shield away, the helm next and dived on the ground to extinguish the flames. Mede grabbed him by the arm and shoved him forward walking over the burning ground. His eyes smarted, the breeze sending material mixed with smoke on them. Men groaning and cursing, officers barking to get through the chaos created from rocks and arrows striking shields or the ground. The ricochets as dangerous as they could injure a soldier¡¯s legs or groin. ¡°KEEP THE SPACES!¡± Baldock yelled to his group that got doused with another shot of burning oil and shuddered. ¡°ONE! TWO! MOVE!¡± Mede opened his stride, jumped over a half-filled ditch, landed on a gutted legionnaire and stumbled forward with a curse. Blood on the ground. Painting the rocks and soil. Entrails and urine mixed in. Arms still holding swords, a leg here, half of it over there. Helms and shattered shields peppering the field and the smoke clearing for a moment and thickening again the next. The clamor of battle engulfing a huge part of the battlefield. It made it impossible to distinguish the origins of each cry, or order. A shot from a catapult pulverized a legionnaire from the 1st Maniple, the lines coming closer as the first rows slowed down under the hail of enemy fire. Pieces of armour and flesh splattering on the rocks, part of his helm striking Baldock¡¯s shield and forcing him back. Mede grunted, his throat hoarse making breathing painful and rushed to order Herius unit to open the pace. They couldn¡¯t stop in the middle of the field. Their opponents would decimate them. ¡°Decanus!¡± He yelled ducking under a plunging bolt and seeing the walls of the palisade now closer through the smokes. Herius turned to see who it was and another bolt ripped through him. In through the left side and out of his stomach. The officer¡¯s body hollowed out immediately and he collapsed on the ground face first. Shite. ¡°MOVE FORWARD!¡± Mede barked hoarsely running towards the 1st Maniple, kicking and slapping at the backs of the men. ¡°MARCH YE CUNTS!¡± He roared getting his sword out and the rows started moving again. Mede glanced back and yelled at the approaching 2nd Maniple to keep the pace, everything turning into a confusing blur. Rocks hitting the ground, bolts whistling and flames leaping out of fresh pools of oil. Men groaning, some injured trying to move leaving body parts behind, their own artillery finding the range and taking out part of the palisade as if in a dream. Everything was burning, breaking or dying around him. The sound a cacophony, a constant indecipherable buzz and his mind trying to piece together what was happening. The next moment a gap opening at the approaching 2nd Maniple splitting the unit in two. Mede paused to order the ranks dressed again, but a severed arm smacked him on the shoulder and twisted the stunned Decanus around, only to get hit by a rock, or a lead sphere at the top of his helm a moment later. His brains scrabbling and ears popping. A dazed Mede dropped on a knee covered in gore and the 1st Maniple quivered wildly as it was getting pummeled both from the Citadel¡¯s Scorpios about eighty meters to their east and the wooden tower¡¯s machines less than twenty meters away. Fuck, he cursed and tried to get up, slipping in the gory sludge and almost going down again. ¡°GET ¡®EM GOING!¡± Someone barked and slapped him hard on the helm, which didn¡¯t help the rattled Decanus. ¡°DO IT!¡± ¡°Eh,¡± Mede gasped trying to find his bearings. Gata stooped into his face deathly serious. ¡°Mede ye have thirty seconds. Fix the second, I¡¯ll handle the first! We¡¯re almost there lad,¡± the Centurion added seeing him hurt. ¡°Aye sir,¡± Mede replied instinctively and stumbled back towards the stalled unit. ¡°Baldock,¡± He said to the man standing at the edge of the row and the legionnaire glared at him under the rim of his helm. ¡°Baldock¡¯s line is gone,¡± he told him. ¡°It¡¯s Felix Decanus.¡± Turd in soup. ¡°Felix,¡± Mede croaked, realizing he couldn¡¯t see from the right eye. The Decanus grimaced blocking everything out and used all the air he¡¯d left to bark in the legionnaire¡¯s face. ¡°GET THE MEN MOVING OR WE¡¯RE ALL JOIN HIM!¡±
The First Cohort that had marched against the palisade got focused on by Oldfort¡¯s defenders as the angle was better and Merenda had moved diagonally up the gentle slope into the smoke again. Decanus Herius Asian got killed and his Maniple stalled in the open. The Tower¡¯s defenders operating the machines knowing there was a scrap to their west and near Richforest, did all they could to stop the First¡¯s advance. In the chaos and with casualties mounting, Centurion Gata took control of the 1st Maniple to urge them forward and Tribune Veturius had to ride to the rear of the First Cohort to galvanize the troops. The Cohort had instinctively used slow-moving defending squares or testudo formations to protect itself, which worked for the arrows but not for the bolts or rocks hurled at them. When this didn¡¯t work, Gata walked out in front of the formation, stood in the middle of the field ¨Ca mere ten-fifteen meters from the wooden palisade where everyone could see him- and gestured with his raised sword the First forward in an iconic scene. The latter captured in oil in a painting by Ireneo Sarkozy the ex-mercenary that was watching from the east battlefield plateau with the rest of the general staff and LID personnel along this writer. Gata¡¯s brave gamble worked and he managed to get the men going, but the Primus Pilus got hit either by a double bolt, or a catapult shot and was killed, his body never to be recovered. Centurion Brevis who arrived moments later with the 2nd Century took control of the situation from Decanus Mede who had been left alone in the absence of another officer. Three minutes later the First Cohort reached the wooden palisade and the twenty minutes were over.
Mede rushed up the ladder a spear striking his shoulder guard and almost dropping him. He hacked wildly opening a nasty gush on the Lesia defender¡¯s unprotected neck running vertically under his chin. Mede shoved the gurgling soldier back and over the walkway. Donlon arrived a moment later climbing up the other ladder, with Tertian screaming as he tumbled on the shields of the men bellow them from his, cracked head covered in blood. Mede kicked a leg out and snapped a shin turning the bone inwards, put a shoulder on a face next the nose caving in and hacked at a mail wearing officer opening him up like a fish, from chest to groin. He slipped on the fresh gore, entrails pouring down the walkway¡¯s lip and stabbed another defender in the ribs from the sides as more and more legionnaires came up the ladders. The trip short but lethal. Arrows hit the inside of the merlons fired from below and he rushed to the stairs followed by Donlon and a helmless Surus. Mede jumped the two meters skipping the steps and crashed on the two archers, Surus taking an arrow in the chest behind him. They tumbled together on the ground, his body hurting, ears ringing and disoriented. He bit, hacked and slashed, then head-butted in the blind all the time growling like a madman. Blood splattered him, another fresh coating over the old, his hands covered in gore to the elbows and the armour turned a dull red-brown color. Somehow he made it out of the scrap still in one piece. A rugged breath later Mede realized he was over the wall, as he spotted Oldfort¡¯s west side gates thirty meters away over his left shoulder. He turned his head back, watched legionnaires climbing or jumping over the short parapets and barked to the nearest of them. ¡°Pilums!¡± His voice cracking and ineligible, a Lesia soldier rushing him with a spear cutting it short. Mede parried it away on instinct, smacked the soldier in the mouth snapping his head back and breaking most of his teeth. A sword stab and the young man stopped screaming. ¡°DECANUS!¡± Brevis roared from the top of the contested wooden palisade. ¡°March east now! I¡¯ll defend here.¡± ¡°East sir?¡± he queried very confused. ¡°The gates Mede,¡± Brevis said jumping over the slaughtered bodies covering now the inside of the walls just as they did the outside earlier. ¡°They are retreating to form up the slope. Mede they are turning the machines even as we speak!¡± Mede crooked his mouth and stared at the rocky terrain leading to the incline before Oldfort¡¯s stone gates. His right eye had completely closed and Mede couldn¡¯t use it. Donlon helped an injured Surus climb down the stairs three meters away. The fact Surus had made it up the ladder impressive given he lacked a shield. That he was still walking with an arrow sticking out of him darn right bizarre. Venius Gata coming right after him, the young man¡¯s face haunted from just witnessing his kin getting brutally killed before his very eyes moments earlier. ¡°Form up,¡± Mede croaked, his voice crackling and barely audible. Brevis groaned in frustration and turned to the men himself. ¡°AFTER THE DECANUS! MOVE YER ARSES YE FUCKING IDIOTS!¡± He roared and shoved a barely standing Mede forward to get him going. ¡°UP THE SLOPES! ONE! TWO! MOVE!¡± ¡°There are enemies at the near Centurion!¡± Donlon argued and Brevis smacked him on the shoulder with the flat of his blade. ¡°March away soldier!¡± He growled irate. ¡°Leave him,¡± he yelled at another with a glare carrying a bleeding injured legionnaire. ¡°He¡¯s gone.¡± The Decanus hobbled forward for a couple of strides before realizing he¡¯d the spike of a caltrop sticking out of the front of his boot. The leather darkened with blood. Nail went clean through yer sole, Mede mumbled, his mouth numb and froth covering the sides of it. He waved his sword and the men of the 2nd Maniple that had made it in started heading towards the gates. With a muffled groan Mede hobbled after them.
Crafterson was killed in Logan¡¯s ferocious charge on the Lesia Regulars lines. The men watched in disbelief as the Northmen hacked and slashed throwing their bodies on the spears with little regard for their safety. Once they were close enough their superior ferocity led them through the shattered thin in depth lines and Crafterson¡¯s men were split in two. With their commander dead, half of them retreated under heavy pressure towards the tower and the rest broke and run south with Northmen after them. Logan¡¯s assault stalled as Sir Napoli¡¯s reserves helped galvanize the defenders momentarily, but Brevis who¡¯d taken over the palisade led two Centuries against them and hit them from the rear. Durio¡¯s machines, they kept approaching taking advantage of the fort¡¯s defenders focusing on the advancing cohorts, managed to critically hit the tower. They destroyed the crews at the top and set it alight. This freed up a large portion of the legionnaires, who followed the remnants of the 1st Century up the slope towards the west gates. At this point Sir Napoli was killed trying to redeem himself for failing to help Feld some months back and Faro¡¯s troops without Sir Paris Riveras counter-attacked coming from the south. It was a poorly led effort, the burning tower and palisade adding to the plummeting morale of the defenders along the collapse of their west flank and center. Merenda who had managed to reach the top of the north stone walls had found himself cornered there fighting the fort¡¯s defenders that had rushed to reinforce their friends from the Citadel. This gave Lepidus -who had arrived to help out an injured Kaeso- the opportunity to break through the east and march across the yard against the west gates defenders effectively splitting Crane¡¯s forces in two. In a battlefield covered in smoke, the burning tower adding to it, Durio¡¯s machines found themselves having a free reign suddenly after months of suffering against the better positioned Oldfort¡¯s engines. While they had suffered casualties initially at this point they had the opportunity to aim and unleash a devastating barrage on the citadel itself. And they did. Unfortunately it caught Merenda¡¯s and Lepidus forces as well causing great harm to friends and foes. Durio hadn¡¯t issued the order as he¡¯d been injured seriously in the leg earlier and Centurion Toni Drano would be court-martialed after the battle for his callous decision. Callous or not, the Citadel was ravaged and set alight in turn, trapping Crane and fifty men inside, along his family and some other Lesia officers¡¯ wives. The Faro forces seeing Oldfort covered in smoke and flames lost their spirit. They started retreating south as well, but Logan and Brevis followed after them and soon the retreat turned into a rout. Brevis ordered his men to stop not having a clear picture of what was happening. Centurion Mangas had been killed earlier when part of the flaming tower collapsed on him and that had left him the only Centurion in the center, with Centurion Capito injured moments before and Gata killed before the walls of the palisade. While the Legionnaires stopped their pursuit of the Faro forces Logan and his Northmen didn¡¯t. The rout turned into a savage butchery as the Nords killed indiscriminately taking no prisoners for about half a kilometer. Sir Riveras heavy cavalry put a stop to that charging on the Northmen out of the edges of Wild Vines woods and killing Aiden O¡¯ Dollan one of the leaders. The man had lost his brother earlier that day and was unwilling to stop fighting. Sir Riveras shocking charge caused great casualties to the northerners and Lucius who had left the rear galloping near the front fearing such a setback, ordered Optio Long¡¯s nearby still untrained force to save the Nords that had gotten caught in the open road far beyond the palisade. Sir Riveras seeing enemy cavalry approaching and Oldfort burning in the background decided to withdraw. He had started to lose knights either way due to Logan and Layton¡¯s dogged resistance and while he¡¯d the advantage locally, it was a sound decision. Layton decapitating a charging horse and then goring the knight riding it in the same blow just afore his eyes probably helping him reach that decision quicker. The remnants of the defenders that escaped, mainly Faro troops marched south following the road to Lord Caxaton¡¯s positions hoping to organize a counter attack but found the camps empty and abandoned. Lord Caxaton was kilometers away beyond the Wine Bridge by that point assaulting the second crossing over Mabindon to get near the walls of Cartagen. Without knowledge of what had happened Sir Riveras retreated towards Sava, stopping the supply caravans that were still coming up the road and turning them back. He had around seven hundred men with him and most of his excellent men-at-arms. Six hundred were from Faro out of a thousand, which meant that he¡¯d lost about forty percent of his force in less than an hour, mostly to Logan¡¯s men. Sir Paris Riveras severe casualties paled on what others suffered that day. Commander Crane¡¯s force was killed to a man, himself and a good number of others burned alive inside the citadel. Late Sir Napoli¡¯s Sava troops were completely decimated bringing the total to eight hundred and fifty, plus the men of the also killed Commander Crafterson from Armium that had defended the woods. From an initial force of six hundred men, two hundred and fifty had stayed near Oldfort and died there, the rest traveling to the Wine Bridge and then following Lord Caxaton against Valens guards. The III Legio¡¯s casualties were varied. The vaunted First Cohort lost three hundred men, the First Century losing the majority of its officers. Primus Pilus Gata, Centurion Mangas, Decanus Herius, Gurus, Damian and Cercus were killed, with Decanus Agrippa, Prefect Durio, Decanus Mede injured. Merenda and Lepidus lost a hundred and twenty men, most to casualties coming from friendly fire near the end of the struggle. Centurion Kaeso was injured and his unit left with fourteen rangers and thirty wounded, as he added fifty six men to the tally. Logan lost around eighty men, fifty from Sir Riveras cavalry but his unit accounted for a huge number of Lesia soldiers deaths. In the final day of Oldfort¡¯s siege Lucius lost five times more men than what he¡¯d lost during the entire siege and while the outcome shocked the Praetor it opened the road wide for him to advance again. The Roadblock had been removed. The III Legio had broken out of the mountain paths just as the summer came to an end. Four days later with the ruin of Oldfort still burning, the first advance units of Optio Long¡¯s rebuilt cavalry reached Lord Caxaton¡¯s old campsite and cut the road that supplied Lord Lennox¡¯s whole northern pincer, trapping over four thousand soldiers and rear personnel inside the fertile narrow strip of land between the two bridges, an idyllic flat wooded gorge left between East and West Tricorn Heights hugged by Mabindon¡¯s legs called the Vine Garden. - Lord Sirio Veturius The Fall of Heroes Chapter II (Lord Lucius Alden, -also addressed- Legatus Augustus, Praetor Maximus Southern campaigns, Fourth & Fifth year Volume IX-X Eighteen Months Offensive Part II Section subtitle Tiger in the Vine fields -The Vine Garden encirclement, the road to Sava & the King of Cartagen- Late summer of 193- to winter of 194)
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 377. The Ghosts of Oldfort
Praetor Lucius Alden The Ghosts of Oldfort
Nightsilver cantered through the smoke coming from the collapsed palisade and the tower, even more smoke rising from the naturally created motte where the citadel was still burning. Part of the north face of the stone structure had collapsed as well, the three floors yielding one after the other and the guts of the building left exposed. Lucius slowed down when he approached, Salvian, Gripa and Lanus who were riding after him doing the same. Trupo who had come and found him earlier, had followed as well bringing Ramirus, Sirio and a couple of civilians with him. Ireneo Sarkozy an ex-mercenary following that group as well. Lucius had ordered the civilians to return to the rear and ventured with the rest towards the front. It was late afternoon, hours after the battle, but the field was still being cleaned up. Some of the patrols and medics, along with some engineers cheered seeing him and Lucius returned the cheers raising his fist high. He¡¯d slowed down reaching the frontline, because of the wounded and the killed covering the field, but the spectacle was to turn even more gruesome behind the ruined walls. Lucius stopped his horse and climbed down, eyes turned up the soft incline to the still burning citadel behind the destroyed west gates. Then he turned and stared to the south where a group of Long¡¯s cavalry was returning. While the news of Lesia retreating had already reached him half an hour earlier, Lucius hoped the Optio might have more current news for him. ¡°There¡¯s Galio, pestering the medics,¡± Trupo said, moustache darkened and soot covering his face. ¡°Salvian go get the Tribune away from the building, will you? That wall seems just about ready to collapse as well!¡± ¡°Right away sir,¡± Salvian replied and galloped up the slopes to where the Second Cohort had gathered after the end of battle. They were trying to save the people trapped inside, but judging from their expressions it was futile. Lucius spotted the banners of the First Cohort up there as well and even those of the Third Cohort, which were probably Centurion Lepidus¡¯ men that had gone after Kaeso. ¡°Praetor!¡± Decurion Ford ¨Ca young Nord from Maza Burg- saluted raising his arm after stopping his horse near them. One of the two Decurions Long had immediately promoted after receiving his honors from Lucius, the other being the half-breed Nolan Remus. ¡°Decurion,¡± Lucius said approaching the group followed by Gripa and the others. ¡°Any changes on the earlier report?¡± ¡°The Optio has men following the retreating enemy, sir,¡± Ford replied, his skin blackened like that of an Issir, excited blue eyes gleaming in contrast. ¡°And their cavalry are watching us, but no more skirmishes.¡± ¡°How big a force?¡± ¡°Around a thousand, but they have a lot of wagons in there, civilians,¡± Ford grimaced seeing the medics carrying the dead away to clear the field around them. ¡°I don¡¯t see them fighting before they reach Sava.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll take some birds with you,¡± Lucius decided. ¡°Ride back and tell Long he¡¯s to keep scouts on what I assume must be Sir Riveras men out of Faro, but do lead a strong force to the Wine Bridge hence we become informed of Lord Caxaton¡¯s position." ¡°Aye sir, right away!¡± Ford saluted and turned his horse slowly around to head for the rear and Legion¡¯s camp. ¡°Caxaton wouldn¡¯t know. I think he might have cornered himself, milord,¡± Trupo commented. ¡°Riveras is heading back to Sava. I doubt very much that he informed the Baron in his panic.¡± ¡°Almost certainly he did and was ordered to protect the road to Flauegran,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°And I don¡¯t think Sir Riveras panicked. He had to retreat to save his men. Don¡¯t belittle a man for making a sound decision Trupo, lest we find ourselves in his shoes. You won¡¯t wish to be judged as harshly.¡±
¡°They¡¯re gone,¡± a covered in dirt and soot Galio reported, his red cloak torn and hands covered in dried-up gore. ¡°Lots of dead in the yard, burned, most not whole, aye,¡± he crooked his wrinkled mouth and spat down with a cough. ¡°Darn smoke makes it difficult to breathe Milord.¡± ¡°Merenda?¡± ¡°Claims he bounced a hurled rock with his helm right back, killed the man that hurled it,¡± Galio grunted. ¡°People actually believe his bullshit.¡± He¡¯s trying to cheer the men up, Lucius thought and nodded. ¡°Lepidus? Kaeso?¡± ¡°Lepidus is unkillable, no flesh to hurt on him, but that fool Kaeso lost an arm. He¡¯s pretty bad. The unit was not ready.¡± ¡°They did pretty darn well,¡± Lucius retorted. ¡°I guess they did. Lepidus wants Durio court-martialed by the way. He used stronger words than these. Claims he¡¯d raised the banners on the walls and they still fired on them. Lots of maimed and killed. Can¡¯t sweep it under the rug.¡± ¡°Durio gave the order?¡± ¡°Durio is unconscious. A bolt killed his horse, went through the leg. He may not make it,¡± Galio informed him. ¡°I¡¯ll find out who was in charge, see to address it.¡± Lucius nodded and glanced at the burning citadel. ¡°Logan¡¯s men got caught by Cavalry,¡± he said tiredly. ¡°It was bad.¡± ¡°Maybe but it was a darn good plan, Milord,¡± Galio responded looking at him intensely. ¡°We pushed them aside.¡± ¡°Yeah, I should have reduced the walls first,¡± Lucius replied with a grimace and crossed his arms over his chest. ¡°Or make more machines to out-duel them. Maybe wait until the end of this month.¡± ¡°We might not have a month milord,¡± Galio argued and glared at the silent Trupo. ¡°Tell him. Don¡¯t stand back there fondling yer darn moustache!¡± ¡°We have no fresh intel on Lesia¡¯s plans, but we could learn more directly from Cartagen,¡± Trupo said his face flushed. ¡°This was pretty gnarly Tribune.¡± ¡°This was a blasted win. A knockout punch. They are picking their teeth out of the mud,¡± Galio admonished him, his voice rising. ¡°See to get the message across to the lads and leave that defeatist bullshit out of yer words Prefect!¡± Lucius stared at him warningly and the Tribune calmed down with a grunt, as the men were watching them. ¡°I¡¯ll visit the men up there,¡± Lucius finally said and rubbed at his forehead with a gloved finger. ¡°Milord,¡± Galio told him as he turned away. ¡°That¡¯s three wins in a row. There¡¯s no god darn ¡®strategic foresight¡¯ or whatever ye fancy learned lads say that covers that much losing. A stupid man would take notice and start worrying a plaguing lot. Don¡¯t think they are stupid and they defended here as hard as they could. This place they wanted to keep. We got them on their heels.¡± ¡°Caxaton has a big force and we might have to fight again soon,¡± Lucius countered. ¡°Or the Lord is caught with his pants down and he¡¯s on pins and needles now, his arse on fire. Better yet he doesn¡¯t know.¡± Lucius nodded. ¡°This is the most optimistic thought Tribune. Best we keep our hopes low and expect a timely reaction from them.¡±
But Galio was dead right on this, whether it was the old officer¡¯s instincts or just a guess. As a matter of fact the position Lord Caxaton found himself in was deemed untenable to everyone in Lesia¡¯s army hierarchy, but the most clueless dreamers and the lords back in Armium that is. Which created a problem.
¡°We could move most of the army near the bridge,¡± Draco suggested two days later. The funeral pyres had stopped burning and the south breeze mixed the ashes inside the valley, the sight of the destroyed Oldfort and the devastated landscape of the gutted Richforest shocking the civilians that had arrived with the supply train. ¡°Secure that they can¡¯t break out.¡± ¡°They have nowhere to go anyway,¡± Lucius said looking at the maps of the general area. ¡°If he doesn¡¯t know he¡¯s cut off, then he¡¯ll learn it within the next couple of days,¡± Trupo said. Hunters had informed them that Lesia had crossed the Wine Bridge and they were assaulting the Flower Bridge, which had brought them near the north walls of Cartagen. ¡°You don¡¯t need the whole army to defend the bridge,¡± Galio pointed out. ¡°But you¡¯ll need it to defeat them in the field if we attack beyond it.¡± A cut-off force may fight, but they won¡¯t fight well and they might not even fight at all. ¡°We¡¯ll march on the morrow,¡± Lucius decided and got up to walk to the edge of the tent¡¯s sunshade. ¡°Lepidus with Falx and the Third will continue after our scouts, under Prefect Draco. Most of the cavalry will go with him towards Sava and the North Vine Fields.¡± ¡°Are we going to head for Flauegran next?¡± Galio asked.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Lucius turned to look at the Legion officers solemnly. ¡°We head for Sava and Baron Napoli¡¯s home,¡± he told them. ¡°Far as they know that would be our goal. But I want the force threatening Cartagen removed gentlemen and the road opened. We¡¯ll start with the men currently inside the Wine Garden.¡± ¡°We have no way to communicate with Valens,¡± Trupo argued. Lucius stared at Ramirus and the man nodded. ¡°We¡¯ll find a way,¡± Lucius assured him. ¡°Caxaton will learn about the developments and he¡¯ll see enemies to the west and to the east.¡± ¡°He might retreat towards the mountains,¡± Draco offered staring at the maps. ¡°Let him,¡± Lucius said. ¡°They might try to break him out,¡± Galio noticed. ¡°Either from Flauegran, or through the Flats, the road comes up only the one way,¡± Lucius replied and furrowed his brows seeing Faye berating the leaders of her Warband, face all flushed and eyes staring daggers at them. Roderick was looking at his incensed mother stunned. Faye was probably using a lot of colorful words, he thought afore returning his attention to the officers. ¡°A grueling march with little preparations or supplies to come at us. We shall be waiting for them, but first we need to open the road to Cartagen and rejuvenate the spirits of those defending it.¡± ¡°The First needs some work,¡± Galio said getting up. ¡°I have some suggestions for a new Primus Pilus and ehm¡­ we¡¯ll need to promote some lads, or transfer from other units¡ª¡± ¡°No transfers,¡± Lucius stopped him. ¡°The First will pick its own officers from the inside.¡± ¡°As you wish Milord. Brevis was recently promoted,¡± he noticed. ¡°And yet again he dragged a unit through the finish line, reacting timely to save a lot of people,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°They call him ¡®Sturdy¡¯ Brevis already.¡± ¡°And ¡®baldie¡¯ sir,¡± Galio commented. ¡°On account of him having more skin than hair under the helm.¡± ¡°See to it Tribune,¡± Lucius said having made his decision and Galio nodded. ¡°What about the Second Century?¡± ¡°That Nord, Kato¡¯s friend.¡± ¡°Mede? Eh, he has a full record, not all the stuff in there pleasant and he¡¯s injured.¡± ¡°He¡¯ll pull through?¡± Lucius asked. ¡°I think he has a detached eye milord,¡± Galio pointed out. ¡°If he can still serve and wishes it, Mede will lead the Second Century,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°See to promote Gata¡¯s cousin to a Decanus and make sure any family he has receives a sum for his service.¡± ¡°Aye milord,¡± Galio replied. ¡°What about Kaeso¡¯s unit?¡± Lucius breathed out. ¡°Kaeso will rebuild it and the survivors shall be rewarded Tribune,¡± he said finishing the meeting.
Faye and Monica, the latter in her last months of pregnancy could barely walk, stayed in the camp the Legion was to leave behind with a small guard. Another force already traveled from Storm¡¯s Rest along with some engineers that would repair some of the fort¡¯s buildings and finish clearing the fields and road. The sight of the piles of blackened corpses had shocked the young noblewoman to tears. Such was her discomfort at the gruesome scenes Lucius considered leaving her back briefly but decided against it. ¡°You¡¯ll want us with you,¡± Faye told him that night. ¡°When we enter Cartagen.¡± ¡°How do you know, I intend to enter the city?¡± Lucius asked taking his sword from Roderick¡¯s hands and placing it on the table over the maps. ¡°It¡¯s what Lucius would do,¡± Faye said and approached to pick their son up. ¡°Is that wise? He¡¯s heavy.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t do wise,¡± Faye replied and kissed him. ¡°Fuck, he¡¯s like a stone!¡± ¡°Hah, give him here,¡± Lucius smiled and retrieved the boy from her. ¡°Bone!¡± Roderick yelled and grabbed his armour. ¡°Stone,¡± Lucius corrected him. ¡°Ohm, eh¡­¡± Roderick replied and slapped his small hand on the metal with a frown. ¡°Lucius would want to enter the city,¡± he told his northern wife. ¡°How do you push Lord Caxaton aside?¡± she asked playing with the boy¡¯s soft curly different shades of red hair. ¡°There¡¯s talk that he has close to four thousand men with him,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°You can¡¯t support that number surrounded and completely cut off. If he opts to fight, then with the rains of Fall and Winter they are in for quite the ordeal. An army that big can turn on you.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t tell with those Lorians from Lesia,¡± Faye murmured. ¡°They are not here to die for Lord Caxaton,¡± Lucius explained. ¡°He¡¯s from Andalus River, a place called Telus. These men are from Armium, Cediorum mostly.¡± ¡°Ever been there, Telus?¡± ¡°Nay, but my mother was a knowledgeable woman,¡± Lucius replied, remembering Queen Vacia. ¡°Very decent, cautious in her words, but when she talked, you listened.¡± ¡°I wish he¡¯d gotten yer hair color, or your mother¡¯s,¡± Faye said and gestured for Gripa to take the drowsy boy to his room. His aide had just returned from the kitchen and another meeting held by minor and high-ranking officers. ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± Lucius replied and lowered the boy down. ¡°It reminds me of you,¡± he added. ¡°What¡¯s the verdict?¡± he asked Gripa. ¡°Flagellation,¡± Gripa replied. ¡°Durio wanted to take the punishment himself and Galio told him flat out it¡¯ll kill him. There was a bit of a back-and-forth there, but it saved Drano. So I expect around thirty. You¡¯ll attend my Lord?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe my wives would appreciate the spectacle,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°But it¡¯ll be unfair for the men to miss it.¡± ¡°Merenda leaves on the morrow,¡± Gripa said. ¡°The Praetor can do whatever he wants and following the army is a priority.¡± ¡°Pleasing his wife¡­ wives isn¡¯t?¡± Faye asked him. ¡°I have no answer for your query milady,¡± Gripa admitted stiffly. ¡°Right, take the boy away Gripa,¡± Lucius said to save his aide from the corner he¡¯d painted himself in. Stooping forward from his chair, he hugged the redhead¡¯s waist and pulled her on his lap over her protests. ¡°I¡¯m heavy,¡± Faye hissed in his face when Gripa had left them alone. ¡°I believe Monica is much heavier,¡± Lucius teased her. ¡°Say that around her and you¡¯ll have a problem,¡± Faye warned him. ¡°She¡¯s taking it hard.¡± ¡°Some women grow more,¡± Lucius offered, his tone didactic. ¡°You are not an expert on all matters Alden,¡± Faye retorted grabbing his chin. ¡°In this one you¡¯re wrong.¡± ¡°I can admit when I am,¡± Lucius countered with a smile at her angry frown. ¡°Logan did all he could,¡± he said changing the subject. ¡°He always splits down command,¡± Faye replied. ¡°Which gives people the opportunity to fuck up, or bathe in glory. A lot of people were killed, but it won¡¯t faze him. He has a weird belief that if you¡¯re not worth it, ye might as well be dead.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not the idea I got from him,¡± Lucius said. ¡°He almost fought me back in Maza remember? I thought he had a thing for you.¡± ¡°He took an oath to protect me. He might have done it as penance to his lost sister. I don''t know his reasons,¡± Faye explained. ¡°Then I left with the warband and he went with Twotrees since they had a friendship of sorts? After that my brothers¡­ were killed and Logan decided I needed more protecting.¡± All men need a reason to go on living after they lose everything, Lucius thought. They''ll create one if none is available. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Logan thinks I¡¯m too careless sometimes," Lucius was of the same opinion, but wisely allowed her to finish. "You know I tried to kill him twice?¡± Faye asked. ¡°Years back aye.¡± ¡°I can understand why you would want it.¡± ¡°My father Arlo was a bad man,¡± Faye replied hoarsely. ¡°Oscar was like him. He loved the warband for all the wrong reasons. Did things we didn''t agree on, but he was family I guess. Anyway, I tried again to cut Logan down. I was in the wrong to attempt it after he¡¯d spared me once already and I learned it from him the second time. You can only take as much as yer owed. Be it love, coin or revenge. Over that it¡¯s a sin and the gods will strike ye down.¡± ¡°Red,¡± Lucius said and touched her freckled face. ¡°There¡¯s no woman like you. Not in this Realm.¡± ¡°Spare me the fancy talk Alden,¡± Faye said and wiped her eyes. ¡°I¡¯ll bed ye without it.¡± Allfather''s mercy, Lucius groaned inwardly. ¡°I wasn¡¯t¡ª!¡± But she didn¡¯t allow him to finish. ¡°You saved me life. I would have died for nothing before the Montfoot. Roderick too. I won¡¯t easily forget, nor shy away from it.¡± Lucius sighed. ¡°I was trying to say I¡¯m very fond of your character milady,¡± he finally said. ¡°Aye,¡± Faye replied and hugged his neck with both arms. ¡°I love ye too me knight.¡±
That night Lucius saw that moonlit desolate field in a dream again. Walked over the billowing ashes to the long rows of faceless men and women that stood at attention. Roderick didn¡¯t appear as he had the previous time, but Lucius recognized the armour of the Third and the banners immediately. Everything was more coherent years later and Roderick¡¯s words still vivid in his head. ¡°You¡¯ll kill many more,¡± Roderick had told him years back, ¡°All ¡®em lads you see over yonder and those at the back -ye don¡¯t, whose faces ye will never remember. People shall forever die in yer name.¡± I can¡¯t keep killing old man, Lucius thought. But I understand what you were trying to say. And while there¡¯s nothing perhaps I can do to prevent it, I shall try just the same. He stayed for a long time across from them, staring at the rows of dead soldiers. The dead stared back at him, but no words were exchanged.
¡®Those we lost,¡¯ Lucius Alden had said before the Legion departed. ¡®Shall march after us. They¡¯ll watch over the Third. See it keeps on. We shall open the road to Cartagen. We might have to fight for it, or we might not. If Lesia decides to come at us again, then we¡¯ll stop them. We shall win and at the end of our journey we shall rest assured we¡¯ve done our duty. To the land and to the people, to yer Lord, the Gods above and to yourselves. We shall rest,¡¯ he¡¯d added before the silently listening legionnaires and the many civilians attending ready to march down the road. ¡®And the Ghosts of Oldfort shall rest alongside us.¡¯
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 378. The King of Cartagen (1/2)
¡°How many are up and running?¡± Duke Lennox asked his adjutant noticing the group of people riding up the gentle slopes towards his camp. The camp was a house located at the northwestern edge of Cartaport. ¡°Eight trebuchets are firing since the morning sire,¡± Lionel Rosewall reported in his posh accent. A man out of the village of Rosewall located near Palms Grove outside Cediorum, son of a bastard his late father had elevated. Lionel had served the old man for years and now had followed Roman to this adventure. Not distant, as they were across Cediorum in a sense, in one of the most known places on the Lorian Coast. The south gates of Cartagen. But plenty dangerous and difficult. ¡°Any progress?¡± ¡°Two hits on the walls. Seven merlons destroyed at the top east corner near the round tower.¡± ¡°Two hits? Out of¡­?¡± ¡°That would be eleven shots, sire.¡± ¡°Eight machines fired eleven times in a day?¡± Roman snapped furious not believing what he was hearing. The group of visitors stopped their horses outside his headquarters and talked to his guards, another rider approaching in a bigger hurry in the distance. ¡°Two broke down in the first attempt, the counterweights were not right. They were stored in the ships for too long your uncle Lord Patrick reported,¡± Lionel stated calmly. ¡°Four were not properly secured, one came completely apart killing three, maiming two of the crew. A civilian firm, so expect a complaint there, but I¡¯m preparing a reimbursement package for their widows. The engineer responsible is fined sire for poor maintenance.¡± ¡°So the last two worked?¡± Roman asked rubbing his unshaven face tiredly. ¡°They did. Fired four and three shots respectively,¡± Lionel said squinting his bespectacled eyes at their visitors. ¡°Three shots went over the walls, two of them went far wide and stricken Uher¡¯s Temple causing damage to the roof according to spies inside the city. They missed the Hippodrome somehow, either a good or a bad thing depending on whether one is a betting man or not.¡± ¡°Good Gods,¡± Roman grunted in dismay. ¡°As I said two found the walls and two were short sire. Range finding is the term they used in their report.¡± ¡°Why the poor performance?¡± ¡°The incline is unfavorable to machines unless we approach. If we do, it negates our advantage and they can shoot back at us. Pintor needs to clear out Cartaport¡¯s northeast districts to allow the engineers access to better terrain, for more satisfactory results.¡± Right. ¡°Here¡¯s Pintor¡¯s man,¡± Roman murmured with a grimace, seeing the legionnaire shoving aside the plainly dressed but in a high-quality doublet gentleman ¨Capparently they weren¡¯t together- and his escort. ¡°Centurion Julian Pavo, Second Legion Information Branch, my Duke,¡± the sergeant following after the officer announced pursing his mouth. ¡°Thank you, Paul,¡± Duke Roman said. ¡°I remember him from yesterday.¡± ¡°Duke Lennox,¡± Pavo started immediately. ¡°Legatus Pintor wants the First Division to attack east behind the northwestern district.¡± ¡°Mmm,¡± Roman said, his eyes on the blank-faced young man and his comely escort. ¡°I¡¯m reinforcing Sir Darius already with the Fourth Pavo to the west of Cartaport,¡± he told the IB officer. ¡°That would leave me very thin and I need to push the machines closer. Baron Vendor likes to foray outside the walls and cause me great mischief as you¡¯re well aware.¡± ¡°They are withdrawing from the port milord,¡± Pavo hissed. ¡°It is our chance. We can¡¯t allow them to fall back.¡± ¡°Let them get inside the city,¡± Roman replied indifferently. ¡°You want more prisoners?¡± ¡°Pintor wants the defenders weakened. We¡¯ll fight them again behind walls this time, Duke Lennox.¡± ¡°Just take the bloody District for crying out loud,¡± Roman admonished him. ¡°I haven¡¯t been to my home in months. It¡¯s a lovely place, I sorely miss Centurion.¡± ¡°My Duke, the Legatus wants the First to attack east,¡± Pavo repeated through his teeth. ¡°We have tied up too many men in this front with little progress as you said.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± Roman grunted. ¡°Wars take time Centurion. You rush things and you¡¯ll have my father¡¯s fate. It is better to move with caution.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll convey your words to the Legatus,¡± Pavo said and saluted to return to his horse. The trip back to the Second Legion camp was at least two hours. ¡°Fausto Mclean and Eleonora D¡¯Orsi,¡± Sergeant Paul said stepping aside for the couple to approach. Roman eyes were on the rider who jumped off his horse, the sweaty man covered in dirt and quarrelled with his guards who went to stop him from entering the yard. ¡°Duke Lennox,¡± Fausto said in his dry accent. ¡°My father offers his regards.¡± ¡°How is the Marquise?¡± Roman asked a little distracted. ¡°Apologies dear lady, Fausto. I need to address this,¡± he said and turned to the guards. ¡°Let him through!¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Fausto said politely. ¡°War is the business of the day.¡± ¡°Mmm,¡± Roman said and nodded at the newcomer¡¯s salute. ¡°Duke Lennox,¡± the young messenger said. ¡°A missive from Lord Patrick Lennox. It¡¯s urgent sire.¡± ¡°Lionel,¡± Roman said and his adjutant retrieved the scroll. He gave it to Roman who unfurled it with a small grimace. Read a couple of lines and then gave the scroll back to his adjutant. ¡°I can¡¯t make sense of this. Whoever wrote it must be drunk, or drugged out of his mind. The Admiralty¡¯s message relay office has gone to shite.¡± ¡°Anything of note?¡± Fausto asked. ¡°Someone from Baron Riveras entourage reported to your father Lady Eleonora that there are rebel forces outside Sava,¡± he told Baron¡¯s D¡¯Orsi of Flauegran''s daughter. The girl had a certain air about her worth exploring at a more opportune time, he thought afore remembering she was married to Fausto. Eh. ¡°Sir Paris, his son,¡± Lionel added reading the scroll himself. ¡°He was with Crafterson at Oldfort.¡± Roman frowned. ¡°He¡¯s not anymore? It must be a mistake.¡± ¡°No mistake sire,¡± Lionel said dryly and completely unexcited about the developments. ¡°Oldfort has fallen to Lucius. Commander Cranes force is destroyed and the Third Legion is outside Sava.¡± ¡°That¡¯s two plaguing days from Flauegran Lionel!¡± Roman blasted him losing his temper despite the effort to appear calm. Eleonora paled at his words. But Lionel in contrast remained unruffled and elucidated in his fake aristocratic voice. ¡°That would be a day on a good horse sire.¡±
Praetor Lucius Alden The King of Cartagen Part I -Not all roads-
Two hundred and nineteen days into the eighteen months campaign Code named 18 (plus) 8 Less than half a kilometer from Wine Bridge at Mabindon River Kingdom of Regia Early dawn Their horses neighed disturbed at the approaching rider. The scout cut hard when he reached them and raised both arms afore saluting. Salvian had his sword out despite the fact they controlled the bridge. The heavy mist made it difficult to discern who was approaching. Lucius got up from his field chair with a gesture for Gripa to stay with the horses and approached the young scout. ¡°Some riders came near our sentries, but they turned around and galloped away,¡± Salvian relayed the scout¡¯s words. ¡°Scouts?¡± Lucius asked him. ¡°Civilians Praetor. Far as we could see,¡± the man replied. ¡°Get your rest. Have something to eat afore returning to your unit,¡± Lucius said and returned to Merenda¡¯s headquarters tent. The Centurion was standing outside clad in his armour. ¡°Caxaton has brought his supply train across the Vine Garden. So he has a lot of civilians in tow,¡± Lucius told him and the officer scratched his unshaven jaw with mid and index finger. ¡°How soon can the Second Cohort secure the other bank?¡±The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°Half a day we¡¯ll be across and set up nicely,¡± Merenda replied confidently. ¡°In two days? Eh, we¡¯ll have a nice wall built with a ditch in front of it. Now give me more time than that and I¡¯ll lock this down for years.¡± ¡°Looking forward, I¡¯m not sure Lord Caxaton has years of supplies with him,¡± Lucius said. ¡°Praetor, looking forward I¡¯m not sure I can sleep in nature for much longer,¡± Merenda replied sadly, in a serious tone although he was jesting. ¡°A man should have breaks between discomforts, lest one of them leads him to permanent injuries.¡± ¡°You¡¯re complaining about the bed again?¡± Lucius had ¡®confiscated¡¯ the furniture for Monica. ¡°I have found another one,¡± Merenda admitted. ¡°How can you order a bed in the middle of a campaign? From where?¡± Lucius asked with a smile. ¡°Cartagen,¡± Merenda replied. ¡°Through Ramirus¡¯ contact.¡± ¡°Ramirus¡¯ contact is a carpenter?¡± ¡°A brothel madam. Her business took a hit lately, so she branched out to both camps.¡± ¡°Ah. So the bed in question,¡± Lucius said shaking his head. ¡°Is a rental in a place of ill repute?¡± ¡°Praetor we can shun the woman¡¯s ethics all we like,¡± Merenda replied with a shrug. ¡°But her beds are the innocents of this whole affair. I shall defend them if it comes down to it.¡± Lucius sighed at the Centurion¡¯s early morning spirit. He glanced at the Decanus carrying the maps. ¡°You have a table perchance mister Marcus Antonius? I love the chairs but I¡¯d like to look at the maps.¡± ¡°Several,¡± Merenda replied and gestured for a guard to bring one out of a wagon he kept near his tent. ¡°Dear Indus,¡± he said in a friendly manner to the unfriendly and very thin half-breed. ¡°Do bring the maps here will you?¡± ¡°How¡¯s Domus?¡± Lucius asked sitting on the chair across from him. ¡°Startlingly he¡¯s fine,¡± Merenda replied, Decanus Domus voice coming from inside the tent interrupting him. ¡°I¡¯m not fine!¡± ¡°The Praetor is here!¡± Merenda yelled back over his shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m not fine Praetor!¡± Domus roared even angrier than before. ¡°He¡¯s a little banged up ha-hah,¡± Merenda played it down. ¡°A horse¡­ fell on him sort of.¡± ¡°Nothin¡¯ sort of about it!¡± Domus croaked. ¡°Praetor,¡± he added. ¡°It was a heavy animal,¡± Merenda commented and glanced at the thin as a rail Indus that unfurled the maps on the table. ¡°I¡¯ll get something to eat, milord, Centurion,¡± Indus said stiffly and saluted. ¡°Of course,¡± Lucius said. The officer seemed quite starved. ¡°Gripa has a couple of rations in the horses saddlebags.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll visit the kitchen, Praetor,¡± Indus replied and saluted again afore leaving them. ¡°You need to issue more food to the men,¡± Lucius admonished Merenda. ¡°The man¡¯s barely standing upright.¡± ¡°It¡¯s his gimmick don¡¯t concern yourself with him,¡± Merenda replied. ¡°Has Valens gotten it right you think?¡± Lucius smacked his lips. ¡°He has a good force gathered beyond the bridge. Caxaton has eyes on them.¡± ¡°It¡¯s three days to reach them.¡± ¡°You won¡¯t have to march that far,¡± Lucius told him. ¡°Caxaton will have to retreat.¡± ¡°Where?¡± ¡°North.¡± ¡°The mountains?¡± Lucius stared at the map. ¡°In the gorge, he¡¯ll defend the mouth and wait for rescue.¡± ¡°We ain¡¯t letting his birds fly over us.¡± ¡°Birds will come through,¡± Lucius said with a shrug. ¡°But no help. Not for a while. He doesn¡¯t have that much.¡± ¡°A month?¡± ¡°If he kills the animals two. But then he¡¯ll have problems with the civilians with him. I can see them deserting as soon as next week.¡± ¡°That leaves Duke Lennox¡¯s response,¡± Merenda noted. ¡°What did the high-ranking staff say in the meeting?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t have you attending every meeting my friend,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°Draco would do as he¡¯s told. Which is nothing hopefully, but appear intimidating.¡± ¡°He can nail the part. The man¡¯s all brows and good posture hah-ha. I can picture him standing in the middle of the road glaring at the locals,¡± Merenda guffawed and pushed his light brown hair back. ¡°They¡¯ll assume the whole Legion is behind him. They can¡¯t chance it,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°So they¡¯ll need to react there, which will help Valens hopefully.¡± ¡°They bombard the city,¡± Merenda noted sobering up. ¡°I can do nothing to prevent that,¡± Lucius replied thoughtfully. ¡°Other than getting in there so people can see me and Lesia can hear it.¡± ¡°That shall confuse them.¡± ¡°Uhm,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°I just want Sula to return to Asturia before the winter.¡± ¡°Eh, he might take a bite at Ligur,¡± Merenda commented. ¡°This I don¡¯t want,¡± Lucius said. ¡°Which is why we must find a way to finish this part soon.¡± Easier said than done. ¡°Too many moving parts Lucius,¡± Merenda said furrowing his brow. ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± he replied and got up. ¡°How are the lovely wives?¡± Merenda asked changing the subject. ¡°They are doing the best with what they have,¡± Lucius said pressing his mouth tight. ¡°At some point, I must provide them both with something more. I¡¯m raising a family whilst campaigning across the continent Antonius. It¡¯s not fair to any of them.¡± But Regia had to come first for without it, there could be no future. ¡°Not all roads are covered with flowers,¡± Merenda told him and he nodded. ¡°Not all roads,¡± Lucius agreed. But I¡¯ve already picked mine.
Duke Roman Lennox, who was commanding the Lesia Regulars, had reached the southwest corner of the walls of Cartagen at the end of summer. Bringing his heavy siege machines closer he started a tremendous bombardment of the city that caused serious damage to Uher¡¯s Temple cracking its famous dome and even hitting the Hippodrome¡¯s racetrack. Ettore Pintor who had all but managed to dislodge the Cartaport defenders had reported to him that the last of them were leaving the northern districts. The latter would have allowed them complete control of the port city, but also bring the Second Legion siege engines next to the southeast corner of the walls. Inopportunely for them, in the first month of Fall of 193 NC the young Duke was informed via Cediorum¡¯s Admiralty that Flauegran was in danger and that enemy soldiers had appeared in the fields outside Sava. Baron Riveras of Faro and Baron D¡¯Orsi of Flauegran asked the King for assistance as they didn¡¯t have the manpower to deal with Lucius¡¯ force. It must be noted here that the Wine Barons had sent a large military force to Cediorum. They were to attempt an ¡®incursion¡¯ to Wetull for an unrelated reason and were stripped of fighters. While they had plenty of men working the fields nobody was willing to disrupt production and tossed the matter in the hands of the King. The Palace was shocked and King Davenport ordered the Royal Guard to depart Armium immediately reinforced with a force from Levacum, but Cediorum which was the biggest city near the front was tied up with the siege of Cartagen and asked King Davenport for time to inform the Duke. King Davenport, under heavy pressure from his wife Queen Saskia, refused to give them time, but his advisors urged him to involve the army and after a night long Council they decided to stall the departure of the guards haphazardly until word from the heads of the army reached them. The army¡¯s headquarters were of course stationed in Cartaport at the time (Admiral Sir Patrick Lennox famously staying on his luxurious ship Talia, named after his wife) where the news of Oldfort¡¯s defeat created a ripple effect through the ranks. His nephew Lord Lennox, a cautious man after the first months of the siege, but under family pressure as well to avenge his father, asked the military heads present for a viable solution to the problem. The problem was Lord Caxaton¡¯s large force that had been trapped between two rivers and was now pressured by Lucius¡¯ army and Cartagen¡¯s forces. The latter had withdrawn men from Cartaport ¨CSir Antony Valens¡¯ blunder equally responsible for this- which had allowed Legatus Pintor to clear the port after months of struggle. Pintor ¨Ca good friend of Lord Caxaton- suggested taking the Second and march through the Flats towards the junction of the road between Flauegran and Oldfort. It would have been a grueling two or three weeks journey with the weather worsening to face a prepared Lucius and the outcome was deemed uncertain. It was widely communicated that Caxaton had about two weeks of supplies and with heavy rationing perhaps three, but inside the military circles dealing with the problem, everyone knew the time was much less. Anyways Duke Lennox was conflicted about the proper action, as while they had caused some damage to the walls after months of little progress, they needed more time to open a proper way into the city. With Cartagen now having another road of communication and supplies open this was becoming very difficult. Of course, Lord Caxaton commanded a very big number of troops they couldn¡¯t just abandon to their fate along with many civilians. Fiorin, a military academic and architect, declared Caxaton¡¯s force lost and suggested that while moving the Second Legion towards Flauegran held merit, he considered the famed city lost as well. While the lords present at the meeting could palate with difficulty the loss of some thousands of men and Caxaton (other than his friend Pintor perhaps), the loss of a whole city (along several estate towns due to Flauegran¡¯s topography) was too much. The chance that the King would favor the first was very slim to non-existent and there was a wide consensus among those attending the meeting that he¡¯d hate the second with enough passion to have some of them executed for incompetence. Or all. Lord Mortimer, Lesia¡¯s Master of Silence, who ¡®learned¡¯ of the conundrum suffered a severe case of ulcer and almost died from internal bleeding. It was to torture him for the rest of his life. With Lesia paralyzed mostly due to the fear that had crept up the military command that they couldn¡¯t deal with Lucius in the field, events elsewhere were about to change the outcome of the siege completely. The first was that Lucius who had reached Flower Bridge a week later discovered the road open. Caxaton had retreated towards the mountains intending to dig in and defend long enough for Lesia to break him out, or the city to fall. None of the above were to happen in his lifetime, or ever, but a very emotional at the sight of Cartagen¡¯s walls and massive crowds of cheering, local clove pink flowers holding defenders Lucius did enter the city through its North Gates after crossing the Flower Bridge. Twenty days into the Fall of 193NC, almost nine months into the Eighteen Months campaign and five years since he¡¯d departed for the North, the exiled ¡®Bloody Tiger of the South¡¯ had returned to the coast of Regia. With the second event we will deal with in the next chapter. - Lord Sirio Veturius The Fall of Heroes Chapter II (Lord Lucius Alden, -also addressed- Legatus Augustus, Praetor Maximus Southern campaigns, Fifth year Volume IX-X Eighteen Months Offensive Part III Section subtitle The winter of the Two Kings prelude to ''a road of Flowers'' Fall of 193- to winter of 194)
379. The King of Cartagen (2/2)
There was a strange buzz around the city that day. The kid running down the street holding a basket filled with freshly cut flowers making it even more surreal. The reason for it was lost on him but it was present in the air. In the taste of things and the noise. It crept at you at the turn of each corner, each alley and Tullus had taken a lot of them to avoid the crowds gathering in the main street. Old men and old ladies of all classes had decided to take a stroll that morning. Younger men and younger ladies had the same inclination. The stroll had bogged down apparently, people standing in the middle of the great avenue splitting Cartagen in two, from North to South Gates and the City Center from the three distinct large districts. Not the only districts in the large city, but the more well-known of them. No offense to the West or the River parts of the city, but the White, the Merchant and the People¡¯s District were nigh famous. His tutor would say that this showed the decadence of a populace. When even Hippodrome ¨Ca glorified stable according to him- had a place named after it or the rich folk, the slimy merchants and even the lower classes, but not Academia. The latter lumped up in the City Center, behind the market and the King¡¯s Baths, across the Palace almost, but not quite. As if hidden, Pompeo Di Cresta always preached, for people are ashamed of their stupidity and look to hide it. So Tullus had cut through the Central Market, danced around the King¡¯s Baths, strangely empty for the time and crossed the street coming from the Wheat Silos to the Artisan Shops District. He paused crossing the avenue, an officer of the guard glaring at him and his large bag as if trying to decide whether to search him or not. With the city being under siege for months the guards had turned even more thorough than before. At first, it was a big thing the siege, then people got back into a certain rhythm again and for a while life moved on. Yes, there were refugees from Cartaport and sad stories about atrocities, or destroyed property. Curses for the ¡®absent King¡¯ in Alden not lifting a hand to help them, although Di Cresta thought the whole matter an exercise in futility. ¡®People should help themselves, else they¡¯ll be victims to bad kings, or even benefiting from good ones,¡¯ he¡¯d commented sourly. When Tullus had asked the ancient academic why was the second part that bad, he¡¯d replied that it was ¡®equally bad to suffer without it being your fault, but also receiving gifts you¡¯re not worthy of receiving. Anything gained without a solid effort is a product of luck and luck works in a simple way. It removes something from its rightful place and deposits it in your corner. What you took yesterday you owe back today and sometimes if it¡¯s unearned it may be difficult to do so, because thou shouldn¡¯t had it in the first place.¡¯ ¡®The bigger the unearned rewards, all the more difficult for you to balance the scales later,¡¯ Di Cresta had said. ¡®Or return what you owe.¡¯ The guard had let him through, his tutor vague in his answer and the man driving the wagon colorful in the epithets hurled at Tullus for making him stop. Tullus snaked around an elderly couple, people surrounding the immobilized wagon and the guard marching towards the driver, a mean expression on his face. He left the avenue behind and entered Salonius Emporium. The large three-story building was unaccustomedly empty given the crowds just outside it. Tullus smiled warmly at Verania the young clerk returning it and frowned at the sight of Percy the manager staring outside the window with hatred. ¡°It¡¯s twisted,¡± Percy hissed looking at the crowds packing the pavement. ¡°Suddenly if you¡¯re not selling flowers you might as well not exist. In the middle of a siege!¡± He glared at him. ¡°This must be brought to the Mayor. Such activities must be cordoned and remain near the camps or the Palace.¡± Tullus had no idea what he was talking about and he had strict instructions from his tutor to get back as soon as possible. ¡°Ehm, Mister Di Cresta wants¡­¡± he started, Percy talking over him very frustrated. ¡°I have a fresh cheese delivery stuck at the West Gates. Six wagons. One, two, six!¡± Percy said counting with his fingers. ¡°A prime deal, fine goat cheese in barrels. Pure white deliciousness! Thick with fat and salted just enough to get more beer down. We¡¯re talking huge profit margin given the shortage in diverse nutrition. Mister Salonius had to go over there to push it through. They have it tossed in the warehouse next to the olives! This is twisted business Carantus.¡± ¡°Has Salonius brought the order of parchments for Master Di Cresta?¡± Tullus asked quickly. They were working on his lecture for two weeks buried in notes and time was of the essence. ¡°What parchments?¡± Tullus gave him Pompeo¡¯s thickly written scroll. Percy took it and read it for a bit afore stopping and yelling at Verania to approach. She did strutting sensually on her heels and Tullus tried not to appear interested, but he failed. That soft yellow dress accentuated her female attributes very distractedly. ¡°Read this. I can¡¯t make sense of the handwriting,¡± Percy told her and she started looking at the scroll raising her painted brows. ¡°Mister Carantus,¡± Percy said catching him ogling. ¡°Verania is in the clothes department, perhaps she can show you around? Fancy a new tunic?¡± ¡°Ahm, I¡¯m not in the market for new clothes Mister Percy,¡± Tullus replied. Nor did he have the coin for it. ¡°That¡¯s your first mistake,¡± he deadpanned. ¡°And her only job.¡± ¡°It¡¯s that large special vellum order from Novesium. The one with different sized tan-colored blank canvases. That¡¯s beautiful archaic-styled script by the way,¡± Verania said looking at him with a cute smile. Tullus blinked and gulped down slowly. ¡°Let¡¯s hire him to write our labels then. Novesium you say. There¡¯s a war going on,¡± Percy grunted not overly impressed. ¡°Come again next week.¡± ¡°Will it be here in a week?¡± ¡°You know what? Probably not. Come again in two weeks,¡± Percy replied and showed him the door. Tullus got out on the busy street again, the buzz even more noticeable now and the crowd growing. He tried to cut across but was pushed forward by scores of excited people trying to head north towards the turn at the White District. He fought against the current at first, but he was bodied, shoved and then carried forward forcefully. Most people had flowers in their arms. Pink Clovers, the celebratory Carnations and their faces showed an excitement that was palpable. You could feel it in your bones. A vibration. It didn¡¯t help Tullus though and he had to get back before Pompeo started his next lesson. He wanted his presentations done in writing first so nothing was missed or forgotten due to an interruption during his lecture. ¡®A stupid query, given in a timely manner can ruin a week¡¯s worth of preparation and all you¡¯re left with is the idiot¡¯s grin in the trade.¡¯ Tullus cut hard left through the crowd, pushing flower wielding citizens aside, stumbling over a kid picking up petals from the ground ¨Cthe streets covered with them- and crashed on a burly officer of the guard that kept the crowd away from the turn towards the Merchants Guild. The road leading to the Palace grounds next and of course Cartagen¡¯s Academy. The officer lost his balance with a curse, twirling funny on his feet, several people breaking through and the nearby guards snapped their heads towards them. Mostly Tullus that had found himself in the flowers covered strangely pink cobblestone. He got up a bit dazed, the leather strap of his heavy bag strangling him. Tullus tried to fix it over his shoulder, his dark blue tunic torn and the commotion turning into an explosion of cheers. Even more flowers were hurled on the street, raining pink petals everywhere, the ground shaking at the sound of many hooves and the guards¡¯ boots rushing at him. Tullus ogled his eyes and ran across the large avenue panicked, a guard tackling him from behind and sending him on the ground again. His teeth rattling, the buzz tuning into a pandemonium and with a cut on his forehead bleeding, Tullus tried to get up again. A backhand stopped the young assistant. Then a punch in the gut and someone got him in a vicious headlock, another guard shouting in his bloody face irate. Tullus opened his mouth to speak struggling for air, but nothing came out, the cheering of the crowd stopping abruptly and a huge dark grey warhorse with patches of white on its snout towering over them. ¡°Lord Alden,¡± the guard said as the insane sound subsided and the huge crowd turned to watch the unfolding event. ¡°He tried to go through but we stopped him sire. It¡¯s the dungeons for him.¡± A scared Tullus stared at the man atop the magnificent warhorse, the sun gleaming on the bronze and gold details of his armour, the engraved epaulettes, the fierce red cape and the face half-hidden under that imposing gold helm. It had the head of a Blacktiger sculpted on it, the eyes of the man under the helm piercing through his soul. ¡°What does the old man have you do?¡± He asked in a deep cultured voice, a hint of tease in it and the crowd gasped aloud unsure on his meaning. ¡°That¡¯s an Academy clerk¡¯s tunic and given you¡¯ve almost got run over by horses to cut through a well-publicized official parade, no other thought in mind,¡± the man on the great horse continued this time smiling. ¡°You must be working for Professor Di Cresta.¡± ¡°He has¡­ a lecture starting in less than an hour,¡± Tullus croaked, the guard allowing him to speak loosening the hold on his throat. The man nodded in understanding. ¡°You can¡¯t miss that,¡± he said warmly and staring at the guards Lord Alden had added. ¡°Let him through.¡± And they did.
Praetor Lucius Alden The King of Cartagen Part II -Place it on the scales-
Twenty days into the Fall of 193NC North (Flowers) Tower Cartagen Lucius accepted the silver and gold adorned leather reins from Gripa and climbed on Nightsilver. He checked the bindings on his heavy parade helm, then his newly finished armour and then glanced at the suspiciously staring at the fancy royal carriage clad in her ¨Calso new- red and black leather armour Faye. The driver¡¯s assistant smile now frozen on his face as the moment dragged and the man¡¯s back that remained bent at a half-bow probably hurting already. ¡°Eh, just blame the Goddess,¡± a bloated but dressed in her loose silk gown Monica hissed at Faye¡¯s side and took the officer¡¯s arm to climb up the three steps breathing heavy. ¡°At least we¡¯ll be in the shade. My head is hurting more than my back. Not many body parts are left, so I better save my legs gentlemen.¡± ¡°You got to get in there too Red,¡± Lucius told her. ¡°Else they¡¯ll not move.¡± ¡°I can ride a horse Alden,¡± Faye argued. ¡°This looks like a good box to carry hides.¡± ¡°The smell is close it. Cleaning oil, leathery. Bet it stays on our bottoms,¡± Monica commented and Lucius glared at her to keep her witticisms to a minimum for the time being. While she enjoyed the fanfare, Faye could start a fight. ¡°You¡¯ll hide us in a box?¡± The redhead asked him, her reason for objecting more clear now. ¡°I would never. Now speaking of boxes, it¡¯s a fancy one yes? And speaking of horses, you aren¡¯t riding one my lady.¡± ¡°I want to see the people¡¯s faces!¡± ¡°It has windows Faye, Gods have mercy,¡± Lucius countered and Monica chuckled from inside the carriage. Mercifully his northern wife finally yielding. ¡°Move aside and keep yer hands to yerself,¡± Faye warned the accommodating still half-stooped assistant and climbed inside as well. ¡°Stay in your couch girl. It¡¯s for yer own good,¡± she warned Monica that went to hug her for support. ¡°I want to have room to draw me blade proper.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Monica asked sounding equally sad and shocked. ¡°I¡¯ll tell ye later.¡± Lucius turned to the stoically listening in Captain Percival Gaeta, Lord Valens adjutant waiting patiently on his horse without commenting. ¡°Keep your men at the outside of the formation Captain. The Second Cohort will march after us, so we shall keep a steady tempo and make good time.¡± ¡°As you wish Lord Alden,¡± Gaeta agreed coming alive, clad in his polished Cartagen cuirass with the engraved longsword stabbed in rock crest on his chest. The Captain was commanding the Cartagen guards stationed at the West Gates before the High Baron had assumed overall command. Lucius started his horse going down the cleaned large avenue that went parallel to the outside walls for a while, following the Mayor¡¯s Vines. The Mayor being Paulus Messor, one of the two most powerful families of merchants in the city along Claud Salonius that is. It would turn south alongside the lush black and rich-gold grape-laden vines, the time of the year just before harvest, then continue until the Merchants Guild building turn, passing by some of the richest villas of the capital built directly east over their left shoulder. ¡°We have quite the crowd assembled my Lord,¡± Gaeta commented in his pleasant familiar accent. Not as rigid as the Common spoken in Armium his late mother used to speak, or as curt as those of Riverdor and Issir¡¯s Eagle, but equally refined and nowhere near as informal, flowery or coarse as the language spoken down the rest of the Lorian Coast. Or the North of course. The city sprawling before his eyes bathed in the morning sun. Its modern truss roofs, or the older prop-and-lintel method of the smaller marble temples. A predominance of engraved columns at the fa?ade, a uniformed ibrex and tegula type overlapping roof tiles at the top made out of reddish fired clay, but also marble and even gilt made waterproof with the same technique. ¡°I can see them,¡± Lucius replied standing up straighter on the saddle. ¡°Lord Valens?¡± ¡°You have his apologies my Lord. We had a breech in the walls last night and his lordship went to oversee the repairs. I¡¯m informed he¡¯ll join us at the palace. Perhaps Baron Vendor as well, if Lesia takes the day off.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s not disturb the city¡¯s defense,¡± Lucius said, glancing at the first signs of the crowd trying to break through the corner at the turn, the guards stopping them. Pink flowers were hurled over the soldiers from the cheering citizens and dropped before their horses¡¯ hooves on the cobblestone. ¡°You repair the damages then?¡± ¡°All the time,¡± Gaeta replied. ¡°We have tons of building material and just use King¡¯s Bridge to bring them in the city.¡± ¡°Food?¡± ¡°Some rationing, but Cartagen had always enough to export down the coast. Maybe some specific products. Like cheese, some garbs and red meat. We have fish though aplenty.¡± ¡°The North walls were a bit worn down,¡± Lucius noticed. ¡°Flooding. Last couple of winters, maybe three, not much work was done there,¡± Gaeta replied. ¡°No pressure from the King¡¯s men?¡± ¡°No King has visited the city,¡± Percival Gaeta replied enthused. ¡°Since your father perished my Lord.¡± And afore Lucius was his meaning.
They say everyone in Cartagen remembers where he was when Lucius Alden returned to the capital. While most of them were probably outside packing the Main Street and raining it with carnations there were several that weren¡¯t and not all flowers were of one type. Red and white roses were present as well, gladiolus and orange daisies blooming in abundance at the Flower Heights. The men defending the walls under Baron Vendor couldn¡¯t be there, other civil servants and notably Lucius¡¯ old Tutor Pompeo Di Cresta who had a lecture on photosynthesis and the importance of sunbathing the whole of a plant and not just its branches. Famously the lesson was attended by the scholar himself and a couple of clerks but no students or other academics. Even so, Di Cresta finished talking to the empty seats of the auditorium and retired to work on a solution to the shortage of quality vellum that plagued the besieged city. His detailed work on it and the formula to a thick pulp made out of wood chippings was left unfinished and the product he envisioned called Carantus Papyrus today, or commonly paper, was finally created by his famed student and academic Tullus Carantus ten years after the scholar¡¯s death. Lucius'' large procession, his close entourage and aides, a six-horse carriage bringing his wives Lady Faye and Lady Monica, his young son Prince Heir Roderick, several other officials, officers of the Third Legion and the 2nd Cohort led by Centurion Merenda entered the city from the North Gates, turned south at Mayor¡¯s Vines turn and slowed down to a crawl facing the crowds that had gathered in the Main Street. They say half the city, or two-thirds of it was out in the streets. A ludicrous notion for some today as that would mean that more than a hundred thousand people were sardined in the streets. Having been present myself, I attest to the number and perhaps raise it some. The crowd that gathered outside the palace grounds at the end was the largest I have ever seen in my life. More like a colony of ants than people, the buzz and thunderous ovations still ringing in my ears. Anyway, it proceeded slowly from there, the civilians cheering the Praetor¡¯s name in an increasing frenzy and the road covered with flowers. Such was the passion of the crowds that the ruckus was heard beyond the south walls and gates all the way to Lesia¡¯s camp like a distant thunderstorm. Women and children were dressed in their finer clothes and for a moment a much divided city turned into one entity to welcome Regia¡¯s legitimate heir. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Under thunderous cheers and scenes that have been described in bards¡¯ songs and many official and unofficial retellings, Lucius reached the Palace grounds where a contingent of Royal Knights waited under Sir Seleucid Merenda himself and the freshly arrived from the frontlines Baron Valens. For the first time since King Alistair¡¯s death years earlier the four large bells at the four top corners of the massive Palace of a Hundred Windows rang continuously, the festive racket reaching every part of the besieged city. The thousands in attendance that had followed Lucius and his men poured inside the Central Market and the edges of the nearby baths to watch from afar as he stopped his horse at the Palace ground gates, turned and waved at them placing a hand on his heart for minutes, before entering the premises.
LUCIUS! THE KING IS HERE! ALL HAIL REGIA¡¯S TIGER! KING LUCIUS! GODS KEEP HIM! A sweaty Lucius climbed down from his horse afore the long stairs of the palace, his head hurting and ears ringing from the noise of the people that could be heard cheering even now a kilometer away from them, the crowd still gathering outside the gates and the palace ground walls. He nodded at the Royal Knights standing at attention and walked to the carriage to check on his wives, but spotted a weary Baron Valens coming down the stairs and had to stop, turn around to greet him. The commander of the Royal Guard Sir Seleucid, Antonius¡¯ father walking briskly behind the Lord of Cartaport. A mountain of a man, still imposing in the fifth decade of his life. ¡°My Lord Lucius,¡± the Baron said and bowed his head. ¡°I welcome your highness to Cartagen and apologize for not waiting by the gates.¡± Lucius nodded and tended his right arm. Valens grabbed it with both hands and bowed his head again. ¡°Your presence lifts the heart my Lord,¡± he said and Lucius touched his left shoulder comfortingly. ¡°I appreciate your efforts good Baron,¡± Lucius said. ¡°Know I won¡¯t easily forget it.¡± ¡°Gratitude my Lord. We did all we could,¡± Valens replied. A much older-looking man than what Lucius remembered him. ¡°My condolences for your father and royal sister,¡± he added visibly uncertain on the proper protocol for the occasion. Lucius didn¡¯t care about that. ¡°And you have mine for your son Declan,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°He fell a hero to a coward¡¯s blade. An excellent officer.¡± ¡°I appreciate your words my Lord. We all mourn losses unfortunately. It is a time of sorrow, but your presence brings the hope for a better morrow.¡± Lucius nodded, suddenly feeling rusty engaging in normal polite conversation after so many years living with the army. ¡°Is Sir Antony here?¡± ¡°He¡¯s badly injured, but we hope for a recovery,¡± Valens replied with a grimace. ¡°Sir Maximilian is. He¡¯s standing over there,¡± he pointed at a young Royal Knight behind them. ¡°Let¡¯s pray to Luthos for a swift recovery,¡± Lucius replied finding his footing. ¡°Sir Seleucid, I believe you¡¯ve grown a couple of inches?¡± ¡°Hah-ha,¡± the hale knight chuckled. ¡°Only at the waist my Lord. It¡¯s the helm and the new plumes,¡± he replied in his baritone voice. ¡°I¡¯ve your son Marcus-Antonius standing outside the gates,¡± Lucius informed him. ¡°A Centurion no less.¡± ¡°Best to leave him there,¡± Sir Seleucid replied furrowing his brows under his open helm. ¡°Your wives are quite lovely and refreshingly round Lord Lucius. I wouldn¡¯t trust him near them.¡± Lucius stood back unsure and Baron Valens intervened diplomatically. ¡°Let us enter the Palace and offer the Ladies a refreshment, perhaps the opportunity to rest?¡± ¡°Ahm, yes¡­ Lady Faye,¡± Lucius said turning to introduce his wife that had exited the carriage holding Roderick¡¯s little hand. ¡°Lady Monica Holt and that is my son Roderick.¡± ¡°Big!¡± Roderick said aloud pointing at the Palace. ¡°Quite so Sir Roderick,¡± the Baron said with a smile. ¡°Lady Faye, Lady Monica, if you be so kind to follow the good knights up the stairs.¡± ¡°Eh,¡± Monica griped fanning her flushed face. ¡°I¡¯ll need help. All this roundness comes with certain demands Sir Knight,¡± the latter she had addressed to the smiling Sir Seleucid. Lucius glanced at Faye, but she marched up the stairs with Roderick in tow and he went to help the pregnant young woman, waving a couple of eager knights away. Gripa and Salvian followed after them leaving Nero and Lanus to take care of their horses.
Lucius paused at the entrance to return the palace guards salute and noticed the elderly Chamberlain Cyrus Falx, distant kin to Centurion Falx and longtime serving member of his father¡¯s court. Cyrus was close to seventy years old. ¡°Your highness,¡± the dignified old man said, dressed in simple but clean clothes and escorted by a young man resembling him. ¡°I came to welcome you in person. This is my son. Cyrus the younger.¡± ¡°Appreciate it dear Cyrus. I was going to come inside. You didn¡¯t have to wait in the sun. These are my wives and son,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°Lady Faye, Lady Monica and little Roderick.¡± ¡°I have retired after the King¡¯s death Lord Lucius,¡± Cyrus elucidated. ¡°The Queen had brought her own people in and another Chamberlain. It was getting rather crowded sire.¡± ¡°I see,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°Well, you seem healthy enough to me and I heard the Queen¡¯s people left with her.¡± ¡°That is correct my Lord. As you said also, I¡¯ve plenty of years left in me.¡± Lucius smiled and glanced at the flushed Faye standing next to an equally frustrated Monica. ¡°How soon can you return?¡± He asked the elderly palace official. ¡°Right away my Lord.¡± ¡°Then I believe we should go inside now Cyrus,¡± Lucius said and walked through the entrance.
Baron Valens immediately ordered some of the Knight¡¯s to open more windows in the central hall. The marble throne at the center had large windows on both sides all the way to the double doors afore the corridor coming from the entrance. Despite the lushness and well-preserved familiar surroundings it was evident the place hadn¡¯t being used in a while. Faye stared uncertain at the statues situated on the east side and next to each columned floor-to-ceiling windows there. She had paused, then walked to the first one, Monica stopping at the first chair and sitting down with a groan to rest, little Roderick following after his mother. The procession stopped abruptly, Faye unaware of the protocol and the knights assuming her higher status not wanting to risk insulting Lucius on what was the first day on the job. ¡°Is that a pet tiger?¡± ¡°It is. That¡¯s Lord Remus next to it, the first King¡¯s father. He finished building the walls of Alden around fifty years afore the New Calendar started,¡± Lucius explained, pointing at the next statue in line, then the one after it. ¡°That¡¯s King Lucius the First. He took over from Remus twenty four years later, assumed the throne three decades after that and in 10 NC brought the capital here. Reigned until 24 NC and died a very old man to be succeeded by his younger brother Caius, who reigned only until 29 NC being up there in years as well.¡± ¡°I got beaten to learn the dates in school and still don¡¯t recall them. Good grief, where were you then to help out?¡± Monica groaned from her spot in dismay. Faye¡¯s gaze fell on the long row of Kings and then further back at the tall throne. ¡°This is yours then Alden?¡± she asked unsure. ¡°It belongs to Regia,¡± Lucius replied humbly and Baron Valens who was listening in cleared his throat and added having made his mind up in the time it took them to enter the Palace of a Hundred Windows. ¡°With all the respect my Lord, if I could answer Lady Faye¡¯s query,¡± the Baron of Cartaport had said. ¡°Lord Lucius is Regia my Lady.¡± His words making a deep impression on Lucius wife.
Lucius spent another ten minutes showing his wife around the great hall and as soon as Faye departed with Roderick and an exhausted Monica for their second floor quarters escorted by Cyrus, his son and Sir Maximilian, he turned to the expecting Baron Valens and his adjutant Percival Gaeta. ¡°Gentlemen I¡¯m all ears,¡± Lucius said calmly. Gaeta grabbed an armful of maps from a young aide and placed them at a conference table on the west side of the illuminated hall. The Palace¡¯s main building complex had twenty windows on each side of the cross-shaped facade. ¡°You have my support Lord Lucius,¡± Montague Valens started. ¡°Baron Vendor''s as well of course. I wasn¡¯t asked and by the time the news reached us it was too late. We were left to believe Queen Miranda would have stayed on the throne until your return.¡± ¡°I understand Baron Valens,¡± Lucius said. ¡°Sula and Holt complicated things refusing the arrangement outright, but we couldn¡¯t go against the Queen¡¯s wishes.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s the Queen Sir Seleucid?¡± Lucius asked the sober Merenda. ¡°It is widely presumed that she left with Sir Rottas Barnard after stepping down from the throne and was never seen again.¡± ¡°My father had given Sir Rottas to her. What are you saying?¡± ¡°He is the Queen¡¯s own guard my Lord. The one closest to her,¡± Baron Valens intervened. ¡°I refuse to believe Sir Rottas Barnard had an affair with the Queen Regent, while my father was in his deathbed,¡± Lucius said through his teeth. ¡°If that¡¯s what you¡¯re implying.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± Valens replied. ¡°But he was the last man seen with her.¡± ¡°We are missing the former Queen of Regia?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a turbulent time Lord Lucius, but while I could, I would never throw gossip, or rumors at you.¡± ¡°Who would?¡± ¡°Marc Laudus is the new guy. Works for your brother.¡± ¡°Nattas?¡± ¡°The Petty Baron¡¯s whereabouts are a mystery. If he¡¯s alive still.¡± ¡°Jeremy would have him killed?¡± Lucius asked narrowing his eyes. ¡°He tried to overthrow Duke Ursus and take control of Novesium. He failed and we haven¡¯t heard from him since.¡± Lucius breathed out and stared at the busy checking on the maps Gaeta. ¡°What is the situation?¡± ¡°We were in trouble for a moment,¡± Valens replied. ¡°But your appearance destabilized Lesia¡¯s plan.¡± ¡°What is their plan in your opinion?¡± ¡°Taking control of Cartaport, which they have managed unfortunately,¡± Valens said with a grimace. ¡°I had to reinforce our troops at the Flower Bridge.¡± ¡°How many did you lose?¡± ¡°We have close to two thousand casualties, but half of them we lost in the North front.¡± ¡°Lesia has at least six divisions in Cartaport, plus the 2nd Legion,¡± Lucius started stooping over the map that had valuable updated details about the enemy forces. He hadn¡¯t had access to them before and Lucius immediately realized something he didn¡¯t know. ¡°Their marines are there as well. A division attacked at the Grand Bridge, but they couldn¡¯t hold on to it, or advance.¡± ¡°That would be Sir Darius, the king¡¯s son,¡± Valens agreed. ¡°Tworivers defends there with the troops from Elysium Fort,¡± Lucius said reading the numbers. ¡°Eight hundred men.¡± ¡°That¡¯s correct.¡± ¡°Assuming they raised six, or six thousand men. Two divisions Lennox kept west of Cartagen and two at the center, one he lost with Caxaton. That¡¯s it then, plus the marines¡­ and the 2nd Legion.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a lot of well-trained troops.¡± ¡°Nowhere near enough though and we have control of the North front,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°I have a couple of thousand prisoners already and they probably have nothing left in Flauegran, if Sir Riveras rushed to retreat there.¡± ¡°How many does he have?¡± ¡°A thousand, but I have a Cohort blocking them,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°Two at the Wine Bridge. Assuming Lesia will sent the 2nd Legion¡­ hmm. Can they maintain the front with Duke Lennox¡¯s men?¡± ¡°You are talking of an assault?¡± ¡°Sir Seleucid you have the royal guard at the south walls?¡± Lucius asked disregarding the Baron¡¯s query. ¡°The Cartagen regulars hold the walls,¡± Merenda replied. ¡°Lord Lucius¡ª¡± ¡°Allow me to finish Seleucid,¡± Lucius stopped him and turned to Baron Valens. ¡°You have enough forces to push Duke Lennox away Baron, but it will be costly. So we¡¯ll try a feint. Use the 2nd Cohort and the Royal Guard to attack them immediately, or as soon as possible. Try and damage their siege engines. They¡¯ve pushed them up the slope I see. Not easy to move them on the quick.¡± ¡°Attack them,¡± Valens repeated. ¡°A night attack. The men are there, the weather still fine. We¡¯ll use Legion banners.¡± The Baron licked his lips. ¡°What would be our intention my Lord?¡± ¡°Hit them hard and retreat in a timely manner behind the walls,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°They¡¯ll see legionnaires and assume I¡¯ve brought the Legion here.¡± ¡°So they will then move against the Cohort at Sava? How is this helpful?¡± Valens asked. ¡°No. They don¡¯t know which Legion is there and it¡¯s incredibly difficult to have trustworthy information at such distances,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°Logic will dictate I brought both legions here with Sula not in Asturia using the same route I¡¯ve taken. Since I don¡¯t have three Legions at my disposal, they¡¯ll notify Caxaton to attempt a break out. We¡¯ll tell him ourselves if they fail. They¡¯ll attack us as a distraction and we¡¯ll keep the 2nd Cohort visible on the walls, but move your regulars towards the North Gates and reinforce the forces there.¡± ¡°You want Caxaton to attack.¡± ¡°I do,¡± Lucius replied sternly. ¡°So I can finish him off.¡±
¡°She¡¯s sleeping,¡± Faye replied that night. ¡°Quite pleased on the quality of her bed I might add.¡± ¡°Lady Faye your command of the tongue has improved,¡± Lucius teased her and walked to the open window to stare at the silent gardens and the lights of the city. Not all parts of Cartagen were illuminated, but the White District was and it was quite the spectacle. ¡°Fuck me, it¡¯s her fault,¡± Faye cursed and approached him. ¡°King Lucius the Third,¡± she murmured. ¡°Those people love you. It¡¯s scary.¡± ¡°Crowds are like that.¡± ¡°Not where I¡¯m from. I haven¡¯t seen that many people. Not even in Asturia,¡± she replied. ¡°We brought hope. It helped,¡± Lucius played it down. ¡°How can you be unaffected?¡± She asked curious. ¡°I was shaking allover at the sound. That was otherworldly.¡± ¡°You should see the crowd¡¯s reactions in a big tourney,¡± Lucius smiled. ¡°They really go wild.¡± ¡°You grew up with all this. All the noise, the crowds, huge estates and riches,¡± Faye told him and hugged his waist, placing her cheek on his shoulder. ¡°Left it all to bring Zofia home. Pushed everything away even at some point and lived the life of a warlord. The North made you forget it, until it didn¡¯t. And through all of it you remain unfazed.¡± No. I¡¯m not. ¡°I need to keep a level head. It¡¯s my duty. People need to see that everything will be alight. Yes, I was moved for being back home. I teared up on the saddle, but after that, the crowd¡¯s reactions¡­ can¡¯t rattle me further than that. I¡¯m just better trained than you. There¡¯s no mystery here.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not easy for anyone else Alden.¡± ¡°What are you saying Red?¡± ¡°People love you instinctively for good reason.¡± ¡°Not all people. Some lords for sure don¡¯t.¡± ¡°How many is enough?¡± Faye asked. ¡°That¡¯s not what I¡¯m looking for,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°The North. All of Regia. That¡¯s a lot of people.¡± ¡°The Kingdom must be whole,¡± Lucius said. ¡°It falls on me to make it happen. I never pushed that away, nor have I ever forgotten.¡± ¡°I know,¡± Faye replied with a deep sigh. ¡°It is fear by the way what those lords feel. All of them really. Them priestesses back in Asturia,¡± she added. ¡°Not hatred or love. Monica had said that and now I understand it. They need you desperately now. They tried it their way and failed. They need you and slowly they¡¯ll realize it. Your brother never had a chance eh?¡± ¡°Jeremy lost his way. Listened to bad advice.¡± ¡°Or maybe he¡¯s bad like Oscar was,¡± Lucius grimaced at her words. ¡°What happens when they don¡¯t need you anymore?¡± Faye asked after a small pause. ¡°I won¡¯t leave them that option Red. Life seeks balance and people want to avoid ruin. They¡¯ll place everything on the scales and see reason. Hopefully,¡± he replied and kissed her head. ¡°Logan can stay inside the palace,¡± Lucius added noticing the campfires inside the palace gardens. ¡°Better that he doesn¡¯t,¡± Faye said with a chuckle. ¡°All this is alien to him, much more that it is for me.¡±
The crowd had recognized Lucius as the King of Cartagen. No ceremony was held and he got busy immediately with the unfolding events in the field. It was like a void that had been left open for too long had suddenly been filled. It changed the dynamics of the siege for starters. A foray outside the walls brought legionnaires almost to Duke Lennox¡¯s camp near the farm settlement of Greenville and overran his machines. Lesia regained control later in the day bringing reinforcements from Cartaport, but the rattled Duke halted Legatus Pintor from departing. Lord Caxaton would attempt to break out a week later, but he got mauled in the battle of the Vine Garden, the demoralized soldiers splitting into many smaller groups and abandoning the field. Lord Caxaton would retreat again to spend the winter close to the mountains, but with the conditions worsening and Cartagen¡¯s defenders pressing him all the time in many smaller skirmishes, his force would melt away in less than two months. In the meantime, Lesia¡¯s response to the threat at Sava was to be delayed again, as Drusus Sula won the brief siege of Novesium and Duke Ursus had to escape in a ship leaving his family behind. Further down the coast, Duke Sula defended against Brakis forces and when they retreated he followed them back to the gates of Aegium. He attacked there and lost after a spirited defense by Sextus-Brakis marine forces. Drusus asked his cousin if he wanted to come to his aid or continue towards the Capital and Duke Sula told him to ¡®keep on advancing.¡¯ That was it. His full written reply. Drusus did, marched up the coastal road and joined forces with the Elysium and Tworivers troops. They attacked beyond the Grand Bridge in a coordinated action with the defenders inside Cartagen and pushed Sir Darius¡¯ outnumbered division back. Duke Lennox had to narrow his front and retreated in turn towards Cartaport, with the relocated to that side of the front 2nd Legion stopping Drusus outside Cartaport in a bloody engagement that won Lesia time, but nothing else. On the coast, the Illirium forces attacked the falling back Duke Sula that same month, but the Duke of Demames, a difficult to demoralize, known counter-puncher general, won the second battle three days later and routed them off the field. It came as no surprise when in the last month of that year, Duke Paulus ¡®the Brusque¡¯ Sula¡¯s battered force -after years of fighting- entered Aegium and captured several members of Lord Doris¡¯ family inside the palace, amongst them the young ¡®Petite Rhodium Rose¡¯ Sandra Alden. When brave Sir Opiter, the Duke¡¯s firstborn and commander of Demames Regulars asked the young noble scion to follow his men, Lady Sandra famously replied that she wouldn¡¯t ¡®since the weather is awful outside,¡¯ and ordered the hardened knight to vacate her quarters. King Jeremy asked Lesia for a resolution and an end to hostilities as he had the bulk of his forces tied up in Asturia, but Lesia while wanting to be accommodating couldn¡¯t. There was another King in Cartagen that had them tied up on two distant fronts. In Sava where they had gathered forces to dislodge what they believed was the Fourth Legion and in Cartaport where they were trying to hold on against the Third Legion. Lesia¡¯s false intelligence, helped by Nonus Sula¡¯s legion missing from Asturia as he was still held up beyond the Canlita Sea in the siege of Tollor, led Regia¡¯s Council to attempt to blindside Lucius moving against Asturia, or cut him off with an excursion at the Tunnel Pass after the winter. Lucius who remained in Cartagen for a couple of months due to Lady Monica giving birth to twins in the second month of Fall -a girl named Vacia and a boy they named Alistair- would move faster than them again. Praetor Maximus Lucius Aldenus the Third, officially assumed the throne of Regia on this date the early Fall of 193 NC ¡®with voice and sword¡¯ as Trupo writes in his memoirs, although many insist this happened when he entered Asturia a year earlier, or seven months after that in 194 NC. The Bloody Tiger of the South was thirty two years old and he would be a father for a fourth time five months later to another boy by Queen consort Faye Alden. In a strange coincidence with the exception of Prince Heir Roderick, all his other children were born in Cartagen.
Lord Sirio Veturius The Fall of Heroes Chapter II (Lord Lucius Alden, -also addressed- Legatus Augustus, Praetor Maximus, King Lucius the Third Southern campaigns, Fifth year Volume X Eighteen Months Offensive Part IV Section subtitle -The leaping Tiger- Prelude to the series of battles fought in the Lorian Plains Winter of 194)
380. The Siege of Tollor (1/2)
4thLegion* (Abbreviated | IV LEGIO, Brazen Fourth, IV-LG) Dictum: Triumph beats Infamy Solem Rubrum Mons | Bronze and gold sign representing a red sun emerging behind a black peak (Comparable emblem to the City of Demames, but for the coloring) Organizational chart -Summer of 193NC, during the siege of Tollor- Overall strength ~3782* (Legio general staff not included) ~2800 legionnaires, ~982 other units (350 cavalry, 180 ranger/scouts, 200 slingers, 220 engineers, 32 medics) Legatus Legionis | Nonus Sula (Demames ¨C His father was second cousin to Duke Paulus Sula of Demames. One of the four more influential officers in Lucius Army, some would argue the most influential, but not everyone agreed.) Aide de Legatus, Prefect (General Staff) | Pete Dumont (Demames. The Prefect was Nonus Sula¡¯s closest friend and advisor.) Prefect | Harrison Jacobred (First non-Lorian senior officer, his family a cadet branch of the Redmonds¡¯ of Kadrek, founded by the Duke¡¯s younger second cousin Jacob. A political appointment.) Prefect | Rufius Valens (Prefect Declan¡¯s younger brother that got promoted in his place after the latter was killed in Maiden¡¯s Wedding. Rufius had sailed for Kadrek immediately upon receiving word from his late brother. The Baron was ¡®unaware¡¯ officially of his offspring whereabouts, the appointments revealed after Lucius entered Cartagen. The reason given the distance involved and the Fourth¡¯s participation in a different theater in the war. Gold Phalera recipient for his spirited defense of the walls during the siege of Pascor.) Prefect (of engineers) Isaak Boston (Lesia. A decorated officer.) LID officer (Centurion rank) | Hugh Bolton. (Kadrek- Late Rolo¡¯s cousin.) LID Sergeant Rob Zerou (Yepehir) Optio (of Cavalry) Roger Bailey Quartermaster | Sulpicius Scrofa (also Keeper of the purse) Solem Rubrum Mons Signifer | Duc Gratian (Centurion Quintus¡¯ second cousin) First Cohort (ICH-IVLG) (Moniker the laconic ¡®Triumph¡¯. Sula¡¯s personal red and black Demames banner, embroidered in gold at the corners of the square.) Strength 850 legionnaires* First Century (ICN-ICH-IVLG) Gold Standard of a painted red sun (Monikers ¡®Them Crimson Banners¡¯, Sula¡¯s Guards) 400 Legionnaires (The vast majority of the century were awarded the golden Phalera after their heroics at Stad River, 2/5 of them posthumous. The unit doubled its size with the addition of Anorum¡¯s cohort in early summer 192NC) Centurion (Primus Pilus) Paulus Didicus (Decorated officer) Decanus Derio Papus (First Maniple) (Decorated Legionnaire) Decanus Baro (2nd Maniple) Decanus Trebius (3rd Maniple) Decanus Avienus (4rth Maniple) Second Century (IICN-ICH-IVLG) 150 Legionnaires Centurion Lar Montaus Decanus Badi Littera Third Century (IIICN-ICH-IVLG) 150 Legionnaires Centurion Sissena Draco (A distant kin to Baron Draco) Decanus Varo Bellator (A decorated minor officer. Cited for misconducts several times.) Fourth Century (IVCN-ICH-IVLG) 150 Legionnaires Centurion Publius Surinas Decanus Vala Second Cohort (IICH-IVLG) Gold Standard, a bronze plaque with the number of the Cohort in red. (Moniker, the ¡®Solid¡¯) Strength 650 First Century 200 legionnaires Centurion | Opiter Carbo (Demames) Second Century 150 legionnaires Centurion | Glean Lale (Kas) Third Century Centurion | Winston Levy (Kas) Fourth Century Centurion | Gavin Page (Kas) Third Cohort (Halfostad, moniker the ¡®Cultured¡¯) (IIICH-IVLG) Strength 650 First Century Centurion | Luke Whitt (Halfostad) Second Century Centurion | Jim Chad (Halfostad) Third Century Centurion | Cornelius Cropp (Unknown, probably Halfostad) Fourth Century Centurion | Willie Page ¨C Gavin¡¯s twin brother (Kas) Fourth Cohort (Anorum, moniker the ¡®Instructors¡¯, highest ratio of minor officers elevated from this unit after 193NC) (IVCH-IVLG) Strength 650 Former training cohort of Anorum, classes of 190-192 NC First Century Centurion | Quintus Gratian (Anorum, the Signifer¡¯s cousin. Gold Phalera recipient for his maneuvers and capture of the bridge during the siege of Pascor.) Second Century Centurion | Sextus Mellitus (Asturia) Third Century Centurion | Mael Prisca (Asturia) Fourth Century Centurion | Tarsus Zeno (Anorum) (Transferred from III Legio) Legion Slingers 200 Slingers (numbers vary due to severe casualties, 100 well-trained slingers were added in Anorum) Centurion | Joe Fallon (Nord, Maza Burg) Decanus | Drusus Thrasea (Anorum) (Transferred from III Legio) Scouts Legio ~180 Ranger-type units (A mix of mounted archers and light warriors) Under Centurion | Gerard ¡®Half-Ear¡¯ Pike (Decorated officer) ~70 Rangers + 50 scouts (A mix of Nords, Lorians and Half-breeds) + 50 Nord warriors, ¡®Marlene¡¯s Brutes¡¯ (lightly armoured with axes and swords) Under ¡®Ugly¡¯ Marlene Lake (only unit led by a female, mostly men from Gerard¡¯s Raiders) Legio Cavalry Around 350 horsemen (overwhelming majority from Sovya, mainly Halfostad) -150 Medium Cavalry under Optio (of Cavalry) | Roger Bailey (Halfostad) Decurion Ville Hunt (Halfostad) -50 Heavy Cavalry & 150 mounted Karls under Sir (later Baron) Norman Gatrell (Moniker ¡®Whitebark Knight¡¯. Known Gatrell family from Yepehir. An excellent cavalry officer, knight and nobleman. Was mentioned in the Dailies despite not being in the Legion¡¯s roster. A rare praise.) The Yepehir nobleman served as Lady (later Duchess) Martha Redmond¡¯s honor guard. Probably another political appointment. Legio Engineers (Isaak¡¯s Aprons) 20 engineers plus two hundred apprentices (The IV¡¯s engineer unit was built from scratch and was given plenty of resources in the Fourth Legion) Prefect (of engineers) Isaak Boston (Lesia ¨C transferred from the Third) Centurion (of engineers) Reb Cable (Lesia) Sergeant (of engineers) Jack Harbor (Unknown) Legio Medics Centurion surgeon | Dottore Borealis (credentials disputed, out of the medical academy of Novesium?) Medic Dorothea + 30 other nurses and medics *Around two thousand five hundred civilians, merchants, medics, carpenters and smiths, following in the supply train. Twenty Scorpios, later thirty-five (the Sula historically favored the deployed of war machines in large numbers), four Catapults plus a prototype ¡®Deliverer¡¯. The classified weapon probably a copy of the archaic pre-Reinut Issir design. The IV Legio had almost five hundred horses and various mounts, due to its larger than usual cavalry element, mostly drawn from Duke Redmond¡¯s troops. The IV Legio spent most of 193 involved in Maiden¡¯s War aftermath and Duke Dolf Van Calcar¡¯s campaign against ¡®the Crabs.¡¯
Legatus Nonus Sula The Siege of Tollor Part I -Stubborn Crabs-
Duke Dolf Van Calcar, after winning at Pascor marched down the coastal road through Naossis¡¯ Skirt Forest and took over Hoff¡¯s Tower (he swiftly renamed the castle as Dolf¡¯s Tower), then the nearby Crabsville. Instead of remaining there, his part of the forest secured, the young Duke continued on and a reluctant but without the ability to communicate directly with Lucius, Legatus Sula followed with the IV Legio. Four months later and through the summer of 193, Dolf¡¯s forces attacked Tollor and its new Duke Maas Hoff both from land and sea. Despite their defeat months earlier, the people of Tollor defended their city and port valiantly, while Pascor¡¯s navy got bogged down trying to take control of the Crabs. A cluster of small islands in the Canlita Sea across from Tollor. Dolf¡¯s inadequate forces got repeatedly thrown off the walls, the latter in much better condition than Pascor¡¯s and he asked Legatus Sula to assist him. Sula was unwilling to commit units to the assault, but ordered his engineers to bombard the besieged city and sent patrols to the coast in order to block Duke Maas from reinforcing and supplying the defenders of the isles. More than three months later, with the rains falling and the chill of fall upon them, the front hadn¡¯t moved significantly. Dolf was still outside the walls of Tollor, a force of rangers led by Stefan Carus had taken over Bogville at the edge of Bogbeast Marches and north of the city, but Edgefort started receiving supplies and volunteers from Badum and Tigerfall Castle during the summer. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. The reason for it being that the Duke of Riverdor, refused to bequeath Badum to Aafke and her daughter Rena, as Dolf had brazenly proposed. While typically a male heir should have been considered first, the absence of one did offer the opportunity to Lady Aafke to claim the baronship. Anyway the souring of the relations between the two Dukes, led in Badum helping Tollor openly. The latter managed to keep control of the road towards Lotus River, while soldiers from Badum secured the village with the same name near its bridge. With Edgefort resupplied in men and materiel, Duke Maas pressed against Dolf¡¯s forces for control of the Marshes and was able to keep the defenders spirits high despite relentless bombardment from Sula¡¯s and Dolf¡¯s war machines. They did manage to damage the walls though in several places and burned half the city afore the rains saved the defenders from that ordeal. Through it all, Tollor refused to give in, probably because no one trusted Duke Dolf to keep his word.
Sula¡¯s left boot had sunk in the mud. He could feel moisture spreading from sock to foot and he had to move from his position, the rain pouring down on them relentlessly for four straight days. The waters had risen, small wayward streams coming out of the flooded marshes penetrating the forest and the mostly ruined by now outer districts of Tollor to the north of the city. The water being what it was didn¡¯t stop there and rolled down the shores to the walls of their camp afore pouring into the large lake. Everything was under a foot of watery mud, with some exceptions and the road was like a small river you could still cross or follow, but only if you resigned to getting soaked to the bone. ¡°That¡¯s Baron Darvot and the mayor¡¯s son that Ribar Sequer fellow,¡± Dumont commented, water dripping from his chin, his helm and armour gleaming at the lightings thoroughly soaked. Sula watched the small assault team climbing the destroyed part of the wall near Tollor¡¯s East Gates, most men slipping in the mud and rocks, afore tumbling down the four meters of elevation. The defenders using smaller hurled rocks to defend against them, keeping their ammunition for a better day. ¡°The machines can¡¯t operate today,¡± Dumont reminded him as the Baron approached with Captain Sequer. ¡°Keep it vague Nonus.¡± Sula murmured under his breath, dripping water and his left boot thoroughly soaked and covered in mud that hopefully would wash away soon. ¡°That¡¯s a pouring eh?¡± The Baron guffawed and looked to stand on a flat rock to avoid the worst of the mud. ¡°It might give us an early snow this season,¡± he added. ¡°That¡¯s better?¡± Sula grunted and eyed him under the rim of his helm. ¡°We could do with a good freeze,¡± the Baron replied. ¡°But it doesn¡¯t get as bad here, as in Brownfort.¡± ¡°Uhm,¡± Sula rumbled. ¡°So, the Duke asks whether it would be favorable to fire a couple of volleys on them to clear them off the parapets,¡± the Baron said casually, hands crossed behind his back. Sula considered shoving him off the rock he was standing on. The smaller Baron would tumble nicely all the way to the shores and into the lake with a bit of luck. The distance was less than a hundred meters. ¡°We would damage the torsions,¡± Sula replied what Prefect Boston had told them. ¡°Perhaps the Duke should consider talking with Tollor again?¡± ¡°They are a stubborn lot,¡± Darvot replied puffing out. ¡°I would too in their place,¡± Sula retorted. ¡°Seeing as the last time they agreed to a ceasefire your lot murdered them.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what happened Legatus,¡± Darvot protested. ¡°I was there Baron and you weren¡¯t,¡± Sula retorted. ¡°So I¡¯ll trust my eyes and ears over whatever Hagels wrote in his chronicles.¡± ¡°What am I to say to the Duke?¡± ¡°Tell him to stop for the day. Wait for the weather to improve, or talk with Maas,¡± Sula suggested with a shrug.
Sula stood at the door of the Legion headquarters¡¯ building, the yard of the Castrum flooded and the water covering the two steps of the raised wooden square structure. The sky above them clouded and the occasional thunderous lighting showing black clouds and no sign of the two moons anywhere. It had stopped raining. The humidity chilling to the bones and the soldiers suffering in their search for a dry spot to rest. He rubbed his eyes, the lights inside the walled yard otherworldly, the many small campfires afore the tents giving a thick white smoke that added to the lake¡¯s usual misty waters near the Crabs. On a clear summer night one could see the distant Valeria Island from the highest rise of the Crab isles, the latter connected with Tollor via a thin strip of land that was now underwater, the locals called the Tail. Pascor Marines had landed there in the summer, but the narrow terrain favored the defenders and the navy had to evacuate them a week later. Most of Duke of Pascor¡¯s attacking plans have ended that way. Dolf was a good naval commander, but lacked his brother¡¯s strategic mind despite his cunning. ¡°Dolf will never take the city,¡± he told his aide that stepped outside with a bronze cup in his hand. ¡°Even if he does, he won¡¯t be able to hold it. The Duke¡¯s greed is larger than his stomach. What do you have there?¡± ¡°I savor your wine,¡± Dumont replied with a grimace. ¡°Is it any better?¡± Sula had received it from Martha who had stayed in Crabville with the twins. ¡°I''d rather drink rum. You think we¡¯re turning into pirates?¡± His friend jested. ¡°It¡¯s better than the water here,¡± Sula griped. ¡°We have close to a hundred men sick again.¡± ¡°You would think it would be better.¡± ¡°Maybe north of here, not in the lowlands. The wells have flooded as well. All manner of shit poured in.¡± ¡°Well, if I live long enough to retire,¡± Dumont commented. ¡°I won¡¯t do it here or in Pascor for sure.¡± ¡°Aye,¡± Sula agreed thinking of the twins. Virgo and Jacub. Their mother as well. ¡°Any word from Lucius?¡± ¡°There¡¯s word he won at Oldfort. But it¡¯s from Asturia and the Duke puts out a lot of propaganda to demoralize Ligur.¡± ¡°Ligur lost an arm during the Battle of the Turncoats. Kept on fighting. Steered the first out of trouble and brought a part of it back in Alden,¡± Sula replied. ¡°He won¡¯t get rattled.¡± ¡°Baron Scylla has reinforced him they say. Them Sabretooth lads are well trained.¡± ¡°You think Lord Ruud is helping them?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a safe wager. It ain¡¯t easy for him of course with Lord Anker breathing down his neck,¡± Dumont replied sipping at the wine. Sula glanced at the sky and spotted a bit of the moonlight coming through. The quiet yard of the Legion Camp, but for the occasional curse heard, now better lit. The pools of water gleaming. ¡°Then again there¡¯s word the crews have revolted in Caspo O¡¯ Bor and took over the harbor there.¡± ¡°That sounds like a big problem for the High King.¡± ¡°Heh, most say he¡¯s dead. Or as close to it as one can get. Rumors say his flesh melted. Who knows?¡± Sula glanced his way. ¡°That¡¯s a hell of a mess there. Still better than the Cofol Princess taking over,¡± he finally said. ¡°You trust Lord Anker?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t give a shite about him,¡± Sula grunted. ¡°But rules are rules. The boy is next in line, unless she can prove otherwise. Given her allies are the Crows, I¡¯d say I¡¯m less than convinced and more interested in Regia¡¯s affairs.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll get inside?¡± ¡°I want to check on the gates. Haven¡¯t seen a patrol in a while,¡± Sula replied. ¡°You¡¯ll have us walk through the mire?¡± Dumont griped, the Legionnaire standing guard by the door frowning at his words, but saying nothing. ¡°If you are not willing to get wet,¡± Sula retorted his eye on the blank-faced soldier. ¡°Then those patrolling the perimeter might be inclined to follow yer example Prefect.¡± ¡°Vibius,¡± Dumont said and the soldier stood at attention. ¡°Grab that oil lamp legionnaire and lead the way.¡± ¡°Right away sir!¡± Vibius said. ¡°I step into a bucket of turds again,¡± an unhappy Dumont told a thoughtful Sula. ¡°I¡¯m blaming you Nonus and charge a new pair of boots on the Legatus. Scrofa better not say a word.¡±
¡°Legatus!¡± The legionnaire snapped at attention, feet splashing in the sludge that mercifully had started retreating after the rain stopped. Sula walked out of the gates with a curt nod and stared at the peaceful lake¡¯s dark waters in the near distance. Then up the slope they had dragged their machines on, neatly arranged in a row to fire at the besieged city. The Legion camp was not even half a kilometer from Tollor, Duke Dolf¡¯s even closer. People were coming out of a couple of boats not two hundred meters from him, Oras Eye Moon sudden emergence and pale light revealing them. As if to help him see better, Nesande¡¯s Shade Moon also appeared behind it the clouds retreating, its soft blue light making more details visible. ¡°Vibius,¡± a troubled Sula said to the guard standing a meter from his left shoulder. ¡°Who is the Decanus of the night shift?¡± ¡°Vellator sir. Third Century, First Cohort,¡± Vibius replied readily. He was in the officer¡¯s unit. ¡°Get him posthaste.¡± ¡°Allgods darn it,¡± an approaching Dumont griped looking for a rock to clean the mud off of his boots. ¡°You¡¯ve seen anything?¡± ¡°Boats.¡± ¡°Ours?¡± Sula had no idea. ¡°They have no lights on. Ah, there¡¯s the patrol arriving walking slow as fuck. Grab them. Vellator also and come after me!¡± ¡°Good grief. Stay where you are,¡± Dumont scolded him. ¡°Vellator!¡± He barked at the approaching Decanus. ¡°Prefect!¡± a disheveled Vellator responded gruffly, his young face sporting a crooked healed sword cut on the right cheek half-covered by the helm guard. ¡°Gather the men from the gates and follow after us,¡± Dumont told him. ¡°You have thirty seconds. Twenty-nine,¡± Vellator blinked but ran as Dumont kept on counting down and raised the guards with loud yells. It made the men who had come out of the boats redouble their efforts to reach the slopes. They are going for the machines, he thought and slapping Vibius'' helm started trotting that way the legionnaire following him. A moment later, two Maniples of the 3rd Century came after them as the alarm was raised inside the sleeping camp.
Sula arrived first drenched in muddy grime, hacked at one of the men that turned to stop him and cut a piece of a round wooden shield off. Vibius bodied the Tollor ranger the next moment and they both tumbled down with loud curses. The Legatus ran to the next intruder, parried a sword slash aside and crashed on the shield with his left shoulder, the Issir gasping wild not expecting the power packed behind the burly Legatus. He retreated, raised his sword to come at him again, but a javelin thudded on his chest and sent him sprawling down as well. Sula jumped over him, boots crunching a wrist when he landed and Dumont cursing his stubborn ancestors both living and departed behind his back. He climbed up the soft slope grinding his teeth in a mean snarl, slipped near the first catapult and almost went down, but found his footing and kicked a tall Tollor soldier hacking furiously at the machine with an axe, right at the ribs. He heard bones snapping. The man¡¯s head smacked the large catapult¡¯s heavy iron bucket with a loud bang, which would have incapacitated him anyway, but another turned to hack at the charging Legatus. The axe whistled an inch from his face, the unfazed Sula¡¯s blade going for the man¡¯s head the next moment. The ranger jerked it away spastically, but lost an ear just the same and a bit of cheek flesh. The gory piece flew away and hot blood splashed out. Around him people yelling, bells ringing and both camps coming alive. Dumont chopped an arm off, the axe it held bouncing off of the muddy ground ¨Cwhich was a miracle- and got him on the knee with the flat of the blade ¨Cwhich was plain bad luck with a tease from Luthos. Dumont cried out in pain and Sula had to shove him away from the one-armed Tollor saboteur that came at the injured Prefect with a dagger. A hack and the man lost another arm, this cut after the wrist, blood spraying the watery sludge and his cries of pain otherworldly. Sula grunted, then swung again opening his neck and the man was silenced.
¡°How¡¯s the knee?¡± a tired, sweaty and very dirty Legatus asked his close aide and friend an hour later, all the saboteurs dead but for one that missed an ear. Sula remembered him from the brief scrap. You maim a man, you better remember his face, he thought with a frown. ¡°Fucking swollen and the bone is moving funny,¡± Dumont rumbled. ¡°Have Dottore Borealis look at it,¡± Sula suggested and Dumont grimaced. ¡°That¡¯s what I fear the most,¡± he admitted pensively. ¡°Eh, he¡¯s not that bad,¡± Sula said, but Vellator smacked his lips unsure. ¡°How much damage did they do?¡± Sula snapped at him angry. ¡°Two catapults are out,¡± Vellator reported. ¡°One damaged, but not critically.¡± Turds floating in the meat soup! ¡°You¡¯re an engineer now Vellator?¡± Sula growled. ¡°Because for sure you¡¯re not doing a good job guarding the unit!¡± ¡°Duke¡¯s fleet has blocked the port sir. Don¡¯t know how they slipped through. They killed the sentries coming out of the sea¡ª¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care!¡± Sula barked. ¡°And I saw what happened. You want to know why?¡± ¡°Nonus,¡± Dumont said. ¡°I fucking saw them!¡± Sula growled irate and then grimaced trying to calm himself down. ¡°The enemy walked in our camp almost and tickled our plaguing toes Decanus! We almost got a cock up the arse! Write him down for a punishment Dumont. Twenty lashes. First thing in the morning, to wake everyone up proper!¡± ¡°Vibius! You heard the Legatus,¡± Dumont grunted. ¡°Take the Decanus away. Ah, no stay, sergeant you do it.¡± Sula licked his lips and eyed the destroyed machines for a moment. The men had brought torches and were now searching the boats for any survivors lurking about. He spat down, mouth bitter, touched his chest armour that was covered in caked mud and turned to glare at the prisoner. They had given him a cloth to hold over his wound to stop the worst of the bleeding. ¡°I can have those machines repaired,¡± Sula told him gruffly. ¡°Not afore the winter milord,¡± the man replied through his teeth. ¡°You guys threw your lives away for this?¡± Sula retorted. ¡°The Duke¡¯s orders.¡± ¡°Answer my query!¡± ¡°Aye, we did,¡± the man said. ¡°It¡¯s our land and we¡¯ll defend it milord. What are you doing here?¡± A legionnaire stooped over him, then swung a beefy arm back and forth. The blows coming fast and heavy. ¡°Halt!¡± Sula barked and the legionnaire stepped back, another grabbing the prisoner and setting him upright. The man¡¯s face was swollen on top of bleeding now. Head hanging loose as he had fainted from the punches. ¡°Wake him up,¡± Sula ordered and breathed out in frustration. ¡°Bring him to the camp and tend to his wound.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take a horse,¡± Dumont said with a grimace of pain. ¡°I¡¯ll walk some of the steam off,¡± Sula retorted. ¡°Most men would have none left after a bloody scrap,¡± his friend countered. ¡°Vibius,¡± Sula grunted. ¡°You walk with me back to the camp. Give our legs a good workout eh?¡± ¡°Yes sir,¡± a tired Vibius replied, looking like he¡¯d rather do anything else. ¡°For the love of Uher,¡± a half-jesting half-serious Dumont said on his back. ¡°You spot something else, just call the guards Nonus.¡±
¡°What are we doing here Vibius?¡± Sula asked five minutes later, the walk back bringing them to the lively Castrum¡¯s gates longer on the return than he remembered. ¡°Ahm. That would be assisting in the siege sir?¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Lord Alden¡¯s orders sir,¡± an uncomfortable heavy breathing Vibius replied. ¡°I think.¡± ¡°Vague orders,¡± Sula replied, glaring at the energetic guards at the gate who saw him approaching and pretended they searched about for any mischief. They had so many lights on, the place was lit up as if it was a festival. That will eat in our supplies, he thought sourly and turned his head to bark at a lively Centurion fresh out of bed, probably Surinas given his large head and nose, to put some of the torches away. Sula paused mid-move, Vibius stopping abruptly next to him, as he¡¯d spotted out of the corner of his helm an unlikely group of three loitering blissfully fifty meters from the gates. Near the lake¡¯s waters and some large rocks covered in dark blue seaweed. The guards for all their boastful fakery, had missed them apparently. There will be a good morning talk on the morrow, Sula decided with a scowl. Straighten them up proper. He walked there, the ground turning soft under his boots and the lake¡¯s waves peacefully splashing at the sandy shores. The scene idyllic, if one forgets about the siege going on behind them and the moonlight reflecting on the dark surface of the waters. Pale white and washed-out blue. ¡°You,¡± Sula grunted at the armed, wearing a Pascor armour Issir standing near the other two. ¡°What are you doing? Your camp is half a kilometer that way.¡± The Issir turned his head, the man about thirty years old, to look at him. Seemed a little surprised when he recognized the Legatus of the Fourth Legion patrolling the shores at that hour. ¡°Milord?¡± he said unsure. ¡°We had a bit of a problem,¡± Sula started, his eyes on the couple picking at the algae. A girl and a boy. A young woman and a younger male. Half-Breeds, their faces familiar. ¡°An excursion that¡¯ll set us back,¡± he continued, the young woman turning to look at him with those large pretty eyes. A dark-skinned Lorian, as if her Issir side had drawn the smaller stick, while her brother had more of the latter in him. Fish Folk, Dolf had said back then. ¡°You¡¯ve seen anything¡­ what in Oras hells are they doing here?¡± Sula asked curious. The Issir soldier stared at the couple with a frown. ¡°We¡¯re visiting the lake,¡± he droned in a casual manner, as if Sula had met them shopping in Demames market when on leave. ¡°What are they doing in Tollor?¡± Sula grunted and the girl stood up, her plain dirty robes parting at the leg, the cut revealing no underwear underneath. ¡°I thought the Duke left them in Pascor months back.¡± ¡°Ehm, we followed after the army,¡± the man said and for a moment Sula thought he was an idiot, or seriously confused. Even unsure of what they were doing there. ¡°Then came here to visit the lake.¡± ¡°Algae came from the deeps,¡± the girl said in her singing voice that accent an assortment of many different ones. ¡°The weather gave us what we couldn¡¯t easily reach, if one knows how to use it.¡± Great. ¡°Who gave the order?¡± Sula grunted eyeing the brazen island girl suspiciously. Her brother was busy sifting through the seaweed flowers as if he was looking for gold. ¡°No order. She wanted to come here,¡± the man explained furrowing his brows. ¡°She?¡± ¡°Leirda-Lag. So I thought¡ª¡± ¡°Is it a crime Legatus?¡± She cut him off smiling, her hands making a circle in front of her belly, she then turned counterclockwise. The gesture incomprehensible. ¡°Following your Legion?¡± The girl added amiably, eyes gleaming naughty as if they had just shared a small secret. Sula had no idea what her game was. ¡°Little lady, I had intruders sneaking up on me in the middle of the blasted night and ruining army property,¡± Sula grunted angrily. ¡°You¡¯re too far from your isles.¡± ¡°They failed,¡± Leirda said. Apparently, her name was longer. Sula glanced at her silent brother. ¡°The dark betrayed them after pretending it was their friend. Will they try again, or fall into despair?¡± Sula licked his lips. ¡°Does Dolf know?¡± he asked her narrowing his eyes. ¡°Why do you care about him? He doesn¡¯t,¡± she taunted. ¡°Answer my plaguing query!¡± Sula roared in his parade voice and the Issir soldier blinked in shock stepping back. ¡°Look at what you did now,¡± Leirda said in a teasing lightly scolding manner and reached to touch the man¡¯s hand softly. ¡°You scared me heh-heh. Nard,¡± she told her brother. ¡°That¡¯s enough for a couple of doses.¡± Sula stared in the Issir¡¯s eyes and he saw nothing in there. The man was in a trance. What in the name of Allgods old and new, he thought and reached for his blade. ¡°You need to leave Tollor Sula,¡± Leirda said calmly stopping him. ¡°The Wolffish¡¯s kin campaign will end on the morrow.¡± ¡°What?¡± Sula grunted and glared at her comely face. Something isn¡¯t right here, he thought, but Sula couldn¡¯t understand it, his mind unable to focus as if he had drunk all that wine Martha had sent him. ¡°You¡¯ll use Dolf¡¯s fleet to reach Asturia. Take us along. I long to see the city again,¡± Leirda continued and walked near him. She wasn¡¯t very tall, but strangely the girl could stare him in the eyes when she stopped afore the numb Legatus, as if she had grown a couple of inches mid-stride. ¡°But then sent them back immediately for they have another job after that. You need to remember this last part or it may turn tricky heh-heh.¡± ¡°What is this crap?¡± Sula rustled and stepped away from her on shaky legs. ¡°You expect me to listen to your words lass? Vibius!¡± he growled and Leirda shrugged her shoulders. ¡°Take them to the camp immediately. I¡¯ll decide about her in the morning!¡± ¡°What about him sir?¡± Vibius asked a little confused. Sula glared at the silent Issir and sighed. ¡°Leave him. Let Dolf deal with his own people.¡±
Dumont stared at his frustrated face half an hour later surprised. Sula grumbled under his breath and tossed his muddy boots away, then removed his soaked socks. Realizing he was covered in mud the Legatus collapsed on a chair and stared at the closed door of his headquarters. ¡°You intend to sleep at all? The last patrol and shift starts in ten minutes. Might as well go along with them,¡± Dumont teased and limped on his bandaged knee to help Sula get out of his armour. ¡°I caught that couple sneaking around the camp,¡± Sula murmured trying to make sense of what had happened in his mind. ¡°They had told us that story about Van Calcar back in Pascor. Didn¡¯t believe a word of it!¡± ¡°I heard,¡± Dumont said. He placed the armour down and gave him a clean tunic to change into. ¡°That lass is plenty weird,¡± Sula rustled. ¡°That brother too. Sneaky, rat-faced motherfucker.¡± Leirda Lag, the soldier had said and the half-breed turned her hands. The scene returning to his mind. Right becoming left, the ending turned into a beginning. ¡°Fish Folk,¡± Dumont said with a shrug. ¡°Wow, you seem spooked. What did she say?¡± his aide asked him. ¡°She said the siege will end on the morrow,¡± Sula murmured replaying the encounter in his mind again. ¡°Hah, I wish,¡± Dumont replied and limped away with a groan. ¡°I hope you didn¡¯t pay any coin for that Nonus. More than half the camp prays to Tyeus for that. You got swindled my friend, but hey, she¡¯s comely, in a disturbing local manner.¡± ¡°Mmm,¡± Sula retorted looking at his dirty hands and left it at that.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms or enjoy it again at Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ The chapters are re-edited and re-posted regularly at both places 381. The Siege of Tollor (2/2)
There came silence after the rains (Dum-dum Ba da bum!) Rocks, floods. Loud ¡®n uncouth illicit gains Darn Bogbeast ruined Tollor¡¯s walls Afore Oras shone over the white witch¡¯s shawls (Dum-dum ba da bum!) For she came down the muddy aisles Oh, ye sweet old lass of the Isles - Crafty Dolf dropped like an oaf (Dum-dum Ba da bum!) Blue like he¡¯d swallowed fresh uncut groat A gallant Crab recalled past¡¯s pains Looked to bring peace back into the planes (Dum-dum Ba da bum!) For she came down the muddy aisles Oh, ye sweet old lass of the Isles - -Lass of the Isles- Jan-Bert Luffy Modern very popular and rowdy tavern song (with a famous trumpet opening) in Tollor and most of the Canlita Sea ports. First written and performed by a young teenage Issir bard named Jan-Bert Luffy, or simply JB-Luff. It must be noted here that JB-Luff still has an outstanding bounty in the city of Pascor fifteen years after he first performed the song, to be paid upon the bard¡¯s delivery, or proof of his death. It is the biggest bounty ever posted from the legendary frugal port city. Circa 195 NC
Legatus Nonus Sula The Siege of Tollor Part II -Wolffish Isles girl-
After a great downpour lasting for days that flooded the city and both camps, the weather cleared on the second week of the first month of Fall 193 NC. Duke Dolf that had asked Baron Hagels to recruit more men in preparation for a last offensive before the winter slept frustrated at the meager numbers his rebuilding city had managed to assemble and woke up with news that a detachment of troops had attacked Captain Carus¡¯ rangers in North Bogbeast Marshes and routed them out of Bogville. Carus retreated in shock at the numbers assaulting him and Duke Dolf ordered his regulars to stop the advancing through the marshes enemy soldiers. That weakened the force he¡¯d assembled at Tollor, but he was unwilling to relieve the pressure at the center. With the weather clear the Duke of Pascor wanted to knock on Duke Maas¡¯ walls again while the window of opportunity was open. The two armies met at the edge of the swamp east of Bogville in a brutal engagement that ended in a stalemate but cost Duke Dolf around three hundred casualties in valuable men he simply couldn¡¯t afford to lose. Pascor had been bled dry in the year and some months the conflict known as Maiden¡¯s War had lasted.
Sula woke up with a splitting headache, his usual solution didn¡¯t fix. Drenched in cold water the Legatus got out of the barrel, dried himself up and wore his uniform and armour. He left a hurting Prefect Dumont at the Legion Headquarters and went to the morning assembly to watch Vellator receive his brutal punishment. With the lashes administered and the bleeding Decanus removed by Dottore Borealis so he could receive treatment, Sula called for a brief meeting, knowing Prefect Boston had work to do on his machines. So he assumed they weren¡¯t going to use them that day. Sula blinked and stared at the face of Baron Darvot. The Issir noble looked like he hadn¡¯t slept at all the previous night. ¡°Bolton help me out here,¡± he said to his LID officer. ¡°Can they take the walls with eight hundred men?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe they can with twice that sir,¡± Bolton replied. ¡°The Duke wants you to bombard the opening,¡± the Baron explained a little frustrated. ¡°So they stay back.¡± ¡°They sabotaged three out of our four catapults last night,¡± Sula retorted with a glare at the small-bodied baron. He wasn¡¯t much taller than him, but Sula had way more muscle and weight on his body. ¡°So we have only one. I have men working on repairing them. But the work won¡¯t finish today.¡± ¡°We need to hit them today,¡± the Baron snapped frustrated. ¡°Whilst they have most of their force in the marshes!¡± Sula grimaced and stood back on the chair. The meeting had been held in the small LID building next to his headquarters. ¡°Tell me the plan Baron,¡± he finally said, thinking on the girl¡¯s words. ¡°You bombard them to clear the walls with everything you have,¡± Baron Darvot started. ¡°We bring the marines in to reinforce our regulars and punch them right at the big opening.¡± ¡°What big opening? It¡¯s barely two meters, the crack¡­ I can defend there with fifty men against your whole force,¡± Sula noted. ¡°One catapult can¡¯t cause panic and the bolts are useless against solid stone. Assuming you¡¯ll fire yours at the other tower, then I don¡¯t know. Do we move them all together?¡± ¡°How many men did Maas use in the swamps?¡± Bolton asked from his chair. ¡°There, an intelligent query,¡± Sula agreed. ¡°Baron?¡± ¡°Over one thousand, probably twice that number,¡± Darvot replied. Can Dolf even hold the north flank? ¡°What¡¯s the garrison of Edgefort numbering?¡± ¡°Usually five or six hundred.¡± Sula looked at Bolton who was dictating at Sergeant Rob Zerou his aide. ¡°Edgefort has sent twice that number inside Tollor this past month according to our reports,¡± Bolton replied. ¡°We have different numbers mister Bolton!¡± Darvot protested. ¡°Badum?¡± Sula guessed, disregarding the Baron. A petty Baron commanding five hundred soldiers assumes two thousand men is a great number. The Fourth had the size of a small town in comparison at six thousand souls and the 2nd Foot or better yet the Khan had fielded over twenty thousand men routinely. Bolton nodded. ¡°If the First Foot is guarding the Small Plains, then he may have siphoned into their recruits. He controls Riverdor and could make up the numbers from there, so Lord Anker wouldn¡¯t be too mad, or aware.¡± ¡°Unless Lord Anker wants Dolf to stop here,¡± the LID officer pointed out. Sula wanted nothing more but an end to this insanity as well. ¡°Lord Anker is busy,¡± a frustrated Darvot countered. ¡°This is still an opportunity gentlemen.¡± ¡°Baron,¡± Sula told him patiently. ¡°I understand you want to please Dolf and your wife, but at some point, this could turn against you. Are you sure Tollor has used part of its own force to retake Bogville?¡± The Baron nodded. ¡°It¡¯s their hunting grounds. They lose that and the swamp, they have nothing left. We still control Canlita.¡± ¡°Badum might repurpose its merchant fleet,¡± Sula noted. ¡°Riverdor could foot the bill. You don¡¯t have the numbers Baron.¡± ¡°I trust the quality of our crews Legatus. They have proven themselves the masters of the Canlita Sea.¡± Petty backward nobles with delusions of grandeur, Sula thought angrily. Had Tollor not had its marines trapped in the Fenlands that naval clash might have turned out differently. ¡°Your crews might perish under the walls before the winter is over,¡± Sula spat and got up frustrated. ¡°Order Boston to fire at the crack with whatever he has,¡± he ordered going for the middle ground. ¡°Bolton see to it and notify Prefect Valens to have the Cohorts ready for action.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll join us in the assault Legatus?¡± Baron Darvot asked hopefully. Sula stared at him, fighting the urge to punch him in the face, but decided to crash his hopes instead. ¡°Negative. I may need my men ready to save yours though Baron.¡±
¡°We have missives from Crabville,¡± Bolton informed the Legatus as the latter was about to walk out of the LID building. Sula paused at the door and turned to look at his subordinate. ¡°My wife?¡± ¡°Centurion Luke Whitt.¡± Whitt was with the ¡®Cultured¡¯, IV Legion¡¯s 3rd Cohort stationed in Crabville. ¡°Give me the dispatch,¡± Sula grunted and Sergeant Zerou brought the small decoded scroll. Sula read it quickly and grimaced. ¡°Gatrell wants to come here?¡± ¡°I believe Lady Redmond might be the one issuing the order sir,¡± Bolton replied truthfully. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s just great,¡± Sula grumbled before he could control himself. ¡°Of course, I want them near, but not during a siege Bolton. Not in this place.¡± ¡°I understand sir,¡± the Lesia man said. It must be noted here that the man was raised in Kadrek, his father a rich merchant friend of Duke Redmond. ¡°But it¡¯s difficult to argue with Lady Redmond historically.¡± ¡°Historically?¡± The LID officer smiled. ¡°I was trying to remain candid.¡± ¡°I appreciate yer candor, mister Bolton,¡± Sula grunted. ¡°Anything else?¡± ¡°We have twenty cases of dysentery.¡± ¡°Half the camp will turn into a hospital soon,¡± Sula griped and shook his head. ¡°Tell Borealis that I will personally whip him if he doesn¡¯t find a solution for this malarkey.¡± ¡°We need to move near clear water sir,¡± Bolton said. ¡°Or boil thoroughly what we have. Not everyone does it.¡± Sula nodded and then turned around to return to his headquarters.
The Legatus marched across the Castrum¡¯s yard, an eye on the assembling Cohorts under Prefects Jacobred and Valens, the other scanning the perimeter of the walls for any irregularities. He spotted a legionnaire carrying a wooden armchair walking ten meters away from him and stopped to watch where he was going. The soldier walked past the kitchens and the barracks of the First Cohort and turned the corner disappearing from his eyes. Sula went after him. He turned the corner, a scowl on his face and saw the legionnaire stop next to the Castrum hospital, but instead of heading there, the man headed to the smaller building next to it. The penitentiary. ¡°Halt right there!¡± Sula boomed and the legionnaire jumped almost scared out of his wits. The young man turned around and gawked at the frustrated Legatus marching straight for him. ¡°Name and unit!¡± Sula barked stopping in from the legionnaire carrying the armchair. ¡°Norman,¡± the man said. ¡°3rd Maniple, 2nd Century, Second Cohort sir!¡± ¡°That Centurion Glean Lale¡¯s unit?¡± ¡°Yes sir!¡± ¡°Yer unit is at the parade ground Norman,¡± Sula snarled through his teeth. ¡°Why are you sneaking around?¡± ¡°I¡¯m detailed at the jail sir! As a guard!¡± Sula stabbed his boot down. ¡°The jail is over there legionnaire and no one guards it¡­. What in allgods is that yer carrying?¡± he snapped irate. ¡°An armchair sir!¡± ¡°I can see¡­ where did you find it?¡± Sula growled, a couple of medics coming out of the hospital to see what was going on. ¡°Took it from the train sir!¡± ¡°You stole it?¡± Sula berated him. ¡°It¡¯s a chair for the penitentiary sir! Carpenters made it!¡± What? Sula stood back alarmed. He glared at a heavy-bosomed nurse giggling, the laughter dying on her lips afore retreating inside the building and then turned his eyes on the sweating legionnaire. ¡°Norman, I¡¯m going to ask this only one time. Now, you reply truthfully to me, you get a good smack on the mouth and run back to your unit. You lie to me and I give yer sorry arse a new skin to wear on yer back and show the ladies in the summer. What do you say lad?¡± ¡°Ahm¡­¡± Norman stalled unsure on the query. ¡°Who ordered an armchair made for the Jail?¡± Norman blinked as if confused. ¡°She did?¡± ¡°Are you asking me son?¡± ¡°Miss Leirda wanted a new chair, sir,¡± Norman replied confidently. Sula breathed in sharply, pressed his mouth tight and then backhanded the legionnaire under the nose with the knuckles, the hard callouses there splitting Norman¡¯s lip down the middle.
Nard was sleeping in the wooden cot, the small room having also a couch and a table in the corner under the small window. His sister was standing there working a dark paste inside an army-issued bronze bowl, another filled with the weird-smelling stuff right next to it. Sula cleared his throat once to get her attention and she raised her eyes on him. The Legatus stepped aside and a bleeding Norman walked inside dragging the armchair. He placed it in the middle of the room and Sula kicked it towards the young woman. Leirda stopped it extending a nibble arm, turned it around and sat on it to test whether the furniture was comfortable enough. For fuck¡¯s sake! ¡°You are not permitted¡ª¡± he started, but Leirda raised an arm to stop him. She pushed one of her bowls forward. It slid on the table and stopped near its edge despite having enough momentum to fly overboard. It was weird. ¡°Get this to Borealis,¡± she ordered the rattled legionnaire. ¡°Tell him to administer a spoonful for each case.¡± Sula blinked unsure, equal amounts angry and confused. ¡°What is this crap?¡± He grunted and blocked Norman from retrieving the bowl with a forearm. ¡°Medicine,¡± Leirda replied with a pout as if it should have been obvious. ¡°To stop your men from fouling themselves, Sula.¡± ¡°Um,¡± Sula grumbled taken by surprise. ¡°Who ordered this?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a trade,¡± Leirda replied and stretched on the armchair. ¡°Are you serious?¡± Sula snapped. ¡°You¡¯re a prisoner!¡± ¡°Do you want your men healed?¡± Leirda asked annoyingly, then gestured with her eyes for Norman to get the bowl.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Halt right there!¡± Sula growled at the legionnaire who had moved to obey. ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°Sula,¡± Leirda said and got up with a sigh. ¡°It¡¯s medicine. I¡¯ll have more made.¡± Sula licked his lips. The encounter wasn¡¯t going as he had envisioned it. He eyed the half-breed unsure and then Norman. The legionnaire was holding his bleeding mouth. ¡°Anyone dies from this,¡± he warned her. ¡°I¡¯ll hang you by the neck outside the hospital.¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t address it soon,¡± Leirda countered with a hint of a smile. ¡°Everyone shall die from it. Your wife included.¡± Tyeus spear!
Sula waited for Norman to get out and then twisted around to face the young woman who had returned to her armchair pleased. ¡°Are you a seer? Is that it? A healer?¡± Leirda rolled her eyes. ¡°Goddess. I¡¯ve told you already.¡± ¡°Are all Fish Folk like that?¡± Sula grunted, who couldn¡¯t remember that she had. ¡°Look at Nard,¡± Leirda chuckled and the creepy boy stared at him. Sula turned a bit to keep him in his peripheral vision, as that urchin had the looks of someone who would operate on your kidneys inside a dark alley and then eat them raw. ¡°Does he seem special?¡± ¡°You can¡¯t order my soldiers around lass,¡± Sula warned her, as he couldn¡¯t understand where she was going with this. ¡°I just asked for a chair Sula. Working on my feet is tiring,¡± Leirda replied and went to work on her paste again. She poured water from a cup in it, inserted a long finger inside, tasted the mixture and then washed it. The color of her skin changing when water touched it. From dark tan to a pale white. Sula narrowed his eyes, but her skin became normal again darkening in a moment, as if he had imagined the whole thing. Leirda stopped washing her hands sensing his scrutiny. Used a moist finger to write something on the surface of the table. The sound of long nails scratching the wood sharp and eerie. Sula saw those long fingers creating an oval-shaped circle again in his mind and then turning once, the top becoming the bottom as the left hand switched places with the right. ¡°I¡¯m your friend,¡± Leirda said, her casual tone serious all of a sudden. ¡°I¡¯ve proven that Sula.¡± ¡°How?¡± Leirda sighed and passed her hand over her writings once, fire leaping out of each letter and burning the surface of the table. It died instantly, but Sula could smell the charred wood and he stepped back, a hand on the pommel of his sword. The boy had got up from the bed. Sula unsheathed the sword clenching his jaw. ¡°Stay back,¡± he warned Nard. ¡°Or I¡¯ll cut you in half.¡± ¡°The Legatus won¡¯t harm us Nard,¡± Leirda assured him. The girl from the Wolffish Isles speaking with confidence and in a mature different voice. Sula had heard the voice before coming out of the mouth of a mad woman. Months back at Maiden¡¯s Wedding. Motherfucker. What in allhells is going on here? ¡°You died in the feast,¡± Sula rustled measuring the distance between them. The half-breed pointed at the table and Sula glanced that way trying to figure out what she had written on it. At first, he couldn¡¯t make out the calligraphic letters. Then he could. ¡®They shall rule the whites¡¯, Leirda had burned on the surface. ¡®The ports of Salt and Ice.¡¯ Fuck. ¡°I¡¯m your friend,¡± Leirda repeated. Only she wasn¡¯t Leirda. ¡°Martha wants to see the Scalding Sea. You¡¯ll bring her there eventually. But first, you need to leave Tollor Sula,¡± I¡¯ve brought her inside the camp gods darnit! ¡°You shall help me and I¡¯ll forever assist you,¡± the Hag of the Fenlands added. ¡°Dolf will lose the siege,¡± Sula croaked wanting to strike at her, but feeling his arms unable to move despite his efforts. Small veins had appeared on his temples, red cracks in the white of his ogling from the effort eyes. ¡°You were wrong witch.¡± ¡°Never said he will win,¡± she replied softly. ¡°I said the siege will end today.¡± Sula cracked his mouth open to raise the alarm, but she brought a thin finger before her lips. ¡°Shush stubborn Lorian,¡± the Hag demanded. ¡°Listen!¡± Sula couldn¡¯t understand what was happening at first, but then the earth shook under his feet, a mighty roar raised like a whole mountain had suddenly come down on them. The sound of rocks tumbling down, stones cracking and people screaming in awe and preternatural horror.
Prefect Boston, who had found himself without catapults that morning and wanted to get on with rebuilding what was broken, was forced to stop working and oversee instead the sole machine they had available. He was to assist with it Duke Dolf assault the walls. Despite the general consensus that a single machine couldn¡¯t cause any meaningful damage to the walls, or the defenders who could see it coming, his engineers opened fire. After about ten shots and everyone staring unimpressed at the happenings, a frustrated Prefect turned to Captain Ribar Sequer who was in charge of Parcor¡¯s first attacking group and refused to waste any more time or ammunition on the whole ordeal. Captain Sequer took offense, but with the second group assaulting the northeastern Tower already he ordered his men forward. Pascor had about five hundred men stationed there and four hundred marines reinforcing them. The defenders that had kept hidden, or simply ran away from the rocks with few casualties, allowed the attackers to approach and then pelted them with arrows, slingshots, rocks and few javelins. Sequer pressed forward, reached the collapsed part of the wall near the east gates under heavy shelling and charged inside. He got mauled in the kill zone the Tollor defenders had created and lost fifty men in five minutes, a hundred in ten, but fought valiantly, some of the ladders reaching the intact side walls and pushing the defenders aside. For a moment everything was balancing on a knife¡¯s edge and Sequer sensing he was almost there ordered his adjutant to raise the flags for the marines to advance. They had landed that night, effectively abandoning their assault on the Crabs. The marines marched down the field and towards their colleagues dying at the walls, but just as they reached the base of the soft slope, the weakened from months of shelling, the heavy rainfall and flooding east defensive wall of Tollor came down like a house of cards. So sudden was the collapse, Captain Sequer was buried under the rumble along with most of his regulars and about a hundred of the marines. Tollor lost the bulk of its forces defending the walls and most of those blocking Captain Sequer from penetrating deeper into the city. The destruction pulverized in two short minutes or thereabouts more than seven hundred of Pascor¡¯s attackers and around the same number of Tollor¡¯s defenders, half of them civilians. A shocked Duke Maas who was watching from the rear ordered almost a thousand fresh troops over the smoking ruins, his well-planned trap to crash Duke Dolf¡¯s army going differently than he¡¯d envisioned it. He intended to attack while everyone was numb from the shock and rout Dolf, who had a good portion of his army (basically whatever was left) tied up north near the swamp, out of the Crabs once and for all. Legatus Sula¡¯s IV Legio waiting for him down the slopes of his ruined city stopped the young Duke dead in his tracks. While debating whether to attempt the assault or wait for further reinforcements, Sula rode on his horse out of the packed lines of the three Cohorts present in the field and waved the truce colors to him. Maas, being as he was at a disadvantage and beset by grief, the catastrophe crippling his plans and city, jumped at the opportunity and agreed to meet with the Legatus later that afternoon. With the night coming fast the two (three in reality) camps met on neutral ground near Boston¡¯s machines for an honest discourse. With the sound of despaired engineers and mourning civilians digging corpses out of the rubble and the massive casualties in both warring camps, the mood was grave and the ¡®discussion¡¯ deserving a play in itself.
Third Week, the first month of 193 Outskirts of the besieged city of Tollor, the Crabs. Kingdom of Kaltha, Early evening. The light from the many burning torches added to that of the two moons shining on the clear dark sky, the night shockingly peaceful after all that had happened the previous weeks and even that very same morning. Sula eyed the officials from Tollor, the young Duke Maas Hoff and the Mayor of the city. Their bodyguards spread out, over a thousand soldiers waiting across from the three Cohorts and the smaller but equally well-armed crowd from Pascor. Duke Dolf Van Calcar was there with most of his remaining officers and nobles. Both dukes have brought their own chairs and refreshments, the two entourages waiting for Sula to mediate the meeting. Prefect Dumont, leg still bandaged and in pain, was sitting next to him with Prefect Valens taking the lead given his education to set out the main topics of the discussion. Two hours later with the sun lost and the darkness falling over the ruined city and lake, Valens was still talking with the two teams. ¡°Vibius has the right idea,¡± Dumont jested near his ear, the legionnaire standing guard near them snapping at attention hearing his name. ¡°He mastered the art of sleeping on your feet and appear awake.¡± Sula glared at the legionnaire, who had the decency to appear affronted at the Prefect¡¯s words. ¡°I can¡¯t blame him,¡± Dumont continued, while Sula grimaced and stared at the solemn faces of those present. Not every face. Nard for example was sound asleep, his back at a wagon¡¯s wheel used as an elevated stand for those wanting a better vantage point, the fact that he was there in the first place infuriating. Sula glanced at the innocent-looking young woman, or whatever the allhells she was, standing next to him and scowled. Infuriating, but not surprising. Leirda could come and go as she pleased it seemed. Whatever magic she used worked wonders for her. Sula had decided to play along, mostly because the shock of seeing the east walls of the city turning into piles of debris had shaken him. He knew of war and logistics, leading men and winning battles, but the Legatus had no idea about magic, mystics or whatever the allhells the witch called herself. One thing he knew for sure because she had told him, was that she hated being called a hag. Sula guessed that in her shoes, he wouldn¡¯t have liked it as well.
¡°The matter of Crabville is settled,¡± Dolf was saying from his seat, placed on two large Catapult ammunition boxes to look down on his opponent. Duke Maas had brought a wooden platform out of the half-collapsed east gates but he was standing on lower ground. ¡°No it isn¡¯t,¡± the esteemed Mayor of Tollor, Marnix Phaf argued. A learned man, having studied irrigation and law at the academy in Issir¡¯s Eagle. Dolf, a mostly self-taught man as the Van Calcar had no coin to spare on higher education, would have none of it. ¡°You are clearly in the wrong Phaf,¡± he said and Menneken agreed. ¡°Clear as¡­ this night,¡± he said after a long pause that kept everyone wondering what he would say. ¡°The law states that if an agreement is forfeited due to a party¡¯s actions, then the benefits derived from it are null and void. Common law actually, since the days of Reinut.¡± The Tollor crowd agreed with his words praising the Mayor for setting the record straight. ¡°What agreement is that?¡± Dolf asked pretending he didn¡¯t know what the subject was. ¡°You agreed to stop hostilities after usurping Crabville and Hoff¡¯s Tower¡ª¡± ¡°Dolf¡¯s Tower,¡± Dolf corrected him with a hiss. ¡°The name is also forfeited if the agreement is voided.¡± ¡°No, it isn¡¯t,¡± Dolf argued this time. ¡°You have no ground to stand on Duke Van Calcar,¡± Phaf countered. ¡°Actually,¡± Valens said. ¡°He could argue that since time has passed since the agreement, he gained right on the land.¡± ¡°What time?¡± Phaf protested. ¡°He never stopped campaigning!¡± ¡°As little as a month. In agricultural law¡ª¡± Valens argued, but the Mayor stopped him. ¡°Lorian Law! We¡¯re Issirs, my lad.¡± ¡°Mayor you should use my rank and avoid epithets.¡± ¡°It was an endearment.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t wish to be endeared by your likes,¡± Valens snapped. ¡°Alright,¡± Sula said loud enough to be heard, putting a stop to that. ¡°Let¡¯s leave Crabville and the Tower. We need to reach a consensus on the freshly disputed territory.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not disputed,¡± Maas grunted. ¡°Freshly or otherwise. You are standing on Hoff land Legatus!¡± ¡°I can see the center of the city from where I¡¯m standing,¡± Dolf taunted. ¡°You lost the battle Dolf,¡± Maas warned him. ¡°Not from where I¡¯m standing,¡± Dolf argued with a smirk. ¡°I have reinforcements on the way and you have no walls.¡± Sula was the one who had reinforcements en route. The Third Cohort was the one unit that would never fight for Dolf nor Gatrell¡¯s Carls of course. Martha loathed Dolf for murdering the Duke of Riverdor. It wasn¡¯t certain that he had, but Sula had witnessed them cutting down Maas¡¯ father afore his eyes and he couldn¡¯t argue for Dolf with her. Not that Sula wanted to. ¡°I outnumber your men,¡± Maas hissed. ¡°All you have is the blasted Lorians holding your cock you murderous scum!¡± Dolf got up furious. ¡°You stinking cunts came to my brother¡¯s wedding and tried to kill us all! Fuck you and yer lineage!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not talking with murderers,¡± Maas spat. ¡°Had I not been a Knight I would have cut you down like the rabid dog you are!¡± ¡°Halt this nonsense!¡± Sula barked stepping between the two camps. ¡°We are not here to solve past grievances but to settle the matter of this blasted war! Everyone should take a step back and decide on a painful solution.¡± ¡°The border stays at Crabville,¡± Dolf said. ¡°Crabville is not yours. You lost the right to it when you attacked Tollor breaking the truce!¡± Maas blasted him. ¡°I don¡¯t need the Legion,¡± Dolf warned him. ¡°I¡¯ll be here next season with a bigger force while keeping the blockade going and you¡¯ll spend the winter boarding the windows and burning furniture if the rest of your city doesn¡¯t crumble into the lake.¡± ¡°Next season Dolf,¡± Maas hissed. ¡°You might find yourself without any allies at all.¡± ¡°Crabville shall be the border,¡± a woman said from the back. Everyone stopped arguing, a couple of the men sheathing daggers and blades they had half gotten out. Then stared about them confused. ¡°That¡¯s ludicrous,¡± Mayor Phaf said. ¡°Who said that?¡± asked Dolf glaring towards the wagons. ¡°Both cities shall share the forest, if the forest so wishes,¡± the voice added. Sula turned to stare at the half-breed. Witch. The Hag of the Fenlands. What are you doing? He thought alarmed. ¡°Is that the Fish cunt?¡± Dolf grunted squinting his eyes. ¡°Baron get that filth out of here! What is this folly? Why is she even here¡ª?¡± The Duke of Pascor stopped abruptly, a savage cough ravaging him. He stumbled back, tried to speak again but failed, eyes ogling and face turning a deep blue color. Dolf grumbled backwards onto the chair, the momentum toppling both of them over the large cases. A loud gasp was heard as the Duke of Pascor crashed behind the square boxes, the chair breaking apart. People rushed to help him and the murmurs returned stronger until Leirda stepped forward and came to stand next to the glowering Legatus. Sula stared at the stunned men present, trying to think of something to say and wondering if Dolf was dead. ¡°The Wolffish¡¯s kin lost today,¡± she continued calmly but in a clear voice while Sula was seething in silence. ¡°Tollor remains in Crabs hands.¡± ¡°Who is this woman?¡± Mayor Phaf asked but Duke Maas stood up and gestured for him to hold his tongue. ¡°What about Hoff¡¯s Tower milady?¡± Maas asked looking at her impressed. Sula frowned and turned to look at Leirda. The Legatus, a very difficult to rattle character, all but recoiled from the shock. The plain Fish Folk female had turned from a half-breed into a very tall, cultured Lorian-looking lady wearing light blue robes. She had very long, pure-white hair and the raised hood left her symmetrical -stunningly elegant- face features visible for all present to see. ¡°Your father wanted more than what he deserved, Knight of the Crabs. He wagered on it,¡± she told him. ¡°So he¡¯ll lose what was named after him in the trade.¡± Maas breathed in sharply, glanced back at the crowds gathered at the edges of the city. The people of Tollor, small tiny figures watching from afar, climbed on the ruins of the city¡¯s walls and then at the worried soldiers standing near his entourage. He grimaced, returned his eyes to the gawking with his mouth open at the tall woman standing next to him Sula and nodded, a bitter expression on his young face. Sula snapped out of his trance, just as the people of Pascor brought a new chair for a sweaty, ill-looking Dolf. They helped him sit down and he slapped their hands away furious, his bloodshot eyes on the tall witch. ¡°I¡¯m not my brother,¡± Dolf hissed, sounding strangled, but full of hatred, ¡°I won¡¯t fear you. You won¡¯t rule over me Hag. I shall burn the Fenlands if I have to!¡± Apparently, the Lakelords had figured out who she was instinctively. Then again had she appeared to me in her true form, assuming that this was her, I might have¡­ the Legatus sighed pensively. Alas, he wouldn¡¯t have known was the long and short of it. He still wasn¡¯t sure what was going on. ¡°You can¡¯t burn water fool,¡± she taunted and raised her arm, fingers pointing at the skies like a sprouting flower slowly opening up. Dolf flinched in panic almost toppling backwards and breaking his new chair or his back this time. A distant thunder was heard over their heads. Then another. A lighting came. Then another. The moons ducked under the clouds and just like that the rains returned.
It is said Dolf Van Calcar broke his right arm during the rowdy negotiations. Some claim he broke it trying to prove a point, whatever that point might have been, while others fueled by rumors, colorful retellings as the meeting¡¯s details remain a badly kept secret, insist he fell from his chair after a sudden bout of cough. As the famous song the Duke hates hearing goes, ¡®Crafty Dolf dropped like an oaf, Blue like he¡¯d swallowed fresh uncut groat.¡¯ Pascor agreed to retreat from the walls of Tollor ending the siege. The Duke brought back less than half the men he¡¯d brought with him and this forced Pascor to watch from afar as some very important matters for the realm were settled in the coming years. Perhaps for the better as the strained city needed peace even more than the ravaged Tollor. Duke Maas Hoff, having secured the minimum gains he could given the circumstances, came out of the war diminished in land but vindicated in the eyes of his compatriots. Maiden¡¯s War didn¡¯t solve the problems, or bridge the rift between the two cities, but it weakened them both to such a degree they stayed away from large-scale conflict between them. Pascor would benefit from the funds poured into the city from opening up trade with Asturia and for the years it enjoyed a naval dominance inside the Canlita Sea. As with everything, good spells rarely last that long. Legatus Sula took advantage of the cease in hostilities to depart from the north shores of the huge lake where he had remained for far longer than he had initially intended. Duke Dolf¡¯s ships took over transporting the massive IV Legion across the Canlita Sea for a hefty fee, Sula begrudgingly agreed to pay probably because he wanted to get as far away from his ¡®ally¡¯ as he could. It is rumored Duke Redmond footed some of the bill, elated upon the news he had a grandson named after him. Partially due to bad weather and in order to replenish their water supplies, the large fleet (Pascor had utilized thirty-six or forty-two vessels for the journey depending on the sources) had to stop at the nearest source of pure clean water. The Daughter¡¯s Nectar, the famed springs on the picturesque island of Valeria was an easy choice. It was also highly irregular for a military fleet to moor there, but after negotiations the priestesses agreed to allow the Fleet to port at Valeria¡¯s port and the IV to camp near the same name idyllic village. While several officers and civilians made the small trip to the nearby fabled Naossis¡¯ Temple of Senses the Legatus, a notably somber and of course happily married officer, opted to remain in the camp, conducted all his meetings with the locals there and only visited the village once with his family. The fleet would depart a week later and arrive in Asturia during the last month of the year. Famously Nonus Sula, who had stayed in the North and beyond the Canlita Sea more than any other officer in Lucius¡¯ army except for those that had taken over permanent posts in cities, would never return to the lake¡¯s northern shores again. He would though fight in one of the bigger engagements of the campaign across from it. ¡®All the glory, all the infamy. Triumph and horror,¡¯ as he supposedly said to the historian of the Fourth, the man from Sovya Isaak Bolton, ¡®always lies in wait for me near water.¡¯ Lord Sirio Veturius The Fall of Heroes Chapter XXX (Legatus Nonus Sula, -also known as- Lord of Salt, ¡®Solid Nonus¡¯ Lucius¡¯ Southern campaigns, Canlita front Fifth year Volume IV -Cross armistice in Tollor- Section subtitle -A hefty sum- ¡®A week in Valeria¡¯, the ¡®IV in Asturia¡¯ and ¡®a darn unpalatable order¡¯ which is the prelude to the ¡®Battle of Islandport¡¯ or ¡®Battle of North Flank¡¯ commonly known as ¡®Bloody Port¡¯, part of the greater Battle of the Lorian Plains. Fall of 193 to winter of 194 NC
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms or enjoy it again at Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ The chapters are re-edited and re-posted regularly at both places 382. ‘All veiled hours of each night’
The Northern Sea brought an icy wind over the reforming glaciers beyond Krakenhall¡¯s Port. It turned to big lumps of hard snow that dropped in the water and turned to ice slowly. The port itself would soon completely freeze over as it did when early fall came, the ice covering the roads and the sturdy stone houses. But Krakenhall will continue living after the winter¡¯s real cold arrives, as its people know how to handle winter and don''t fear it. Zofia could feel the chill penetrating her direwolf fur coat, her intricate chainmail armour and the woolen shirt she wore underneath it. Hard leather pants kept her warm enough and the only part of her body protesting was her lost toe because Zofia had been standing before the open window of the castle for so long. She loved keeping the Mayor Jerome Otter unsure on her intentions. In the fourth year of her reign Zofia had learned how to handle everyone in her court. Nine parts cruelty and a touch of sweetness. ¡°Duchess,¡± Otter said finishing his report on the talks with Governor Tutor of Krakenfort. The Governor had written his reply on her demands. ¡°That would be all.¡± Zofia turned to stare at him, the wind on her back making the torches and giant the fireplace¡¯s flames flicker in the distance. Her long shadow reaching Otter¡¯s feet. It was always rather gloomy inside the stone walls of Krakenhall¡¯s citadel and full of shades. ¡°How many loads of iron?¡± ¡°The usual amount, plus the rivets already made numbering twenty-five thousand but we¡¯ll need way more than that.¡± ¡°Melt them down as well. You¡¯ll make splint mail for the warriors,¡± Zofia said. ¡°No cuirasses, but for the Citadel¡¯s troops. Talk to the Guilds.¡± Mayor Otter blinked. ¡°Ringmail and plate had been made traditionally in the area. Tutor is using the army¡¯s designs for the segmented armor he ships to Kas and he''s using a lot of artisans to do it. This has reduced our production and you want to halt¡ª¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care what Tutor does. Krakenhall has tons of thick leather rotting in stores. We shall use it. If the crafters don¡¯t like it, I¡¯ll have their heads and work with the apprentices,¡± Zofia hissed and Otter¡¯s face paled. He glanced towards the silent Curd sitting near the fireplace and then cleared his throat nervously. ¡°Will the Duchess wish a suit made for her?¡± ¡°No,¡± Zofia replied. ¡°I prefer mail for I can move better with it.¡±
¡°Why are you still here?¡± Zofia asked him. ¡°I wanted to see me boys,¡± Dirk rustled and got up from his seat. Steven and baby Lud. ¡°Better that you didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°I really don¡¯t¡­¡± he grunted. ¡°This fuckin¡¯ arrangement is plenty one sided,¡± Dirk finally said more confused than angry. ¡°I have a meeting with Captain O¡¯ Leary. Best he don¡¯t see ye here as he fancies me. You need to get yer rest anyway and depart. You have a long road ahead of you. See you keep away from the main paths.¡± ¡°I know the way,¡± Dirk protested adding with a grimace. ¡°He knows. Most do.¡± ¡°You need to understand something Curd,¡± Zofia said and approached him. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter what some may know, if they can¡¯t speak of it. And they won¡¯t. That¡¯s how it is.¡± ¡°That¡¯s just a bunch of fancy bullshit lass,¡± Dirk spat. ¡°That¡¯s called ruling.¡± ¡°Umm. Dead men speak the fewer words is me personal experience,¡± Dirk argued scrunching his face. ¡°I don¡¯t want young Kent De Vent wit me.¡± ¡°His presence will inspire the locals.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want them coming along either. I¡¯ve enough men. They¡¯ll slow me down,¡± Dirk rustled and she touched his hand softly to stop him. Fear didn¡¯t work with Dirk Curd. ¡°You¡¯ll need numbers, but most of all I need soldiers that have seen battle,¡± Zofia explained and retrieved her hand. ¡°My needs are above yours Dirk why?¡± ¡°You¡¯re the Duchess of Krakenhall,¡± Dirk murmured. ¡°And I always repay me debts,¡± Zofia added. Dirk Curd grimaced and then nodded. With a last look at the fireplace, he turned around and walked towards the doors of the hall. ¡°Don¡¯t get yerself killed Devious Dirk,¡± Zofia called on his back and Dirk paused. ¡°I¡¯ve more need for ye likes.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not exactly inspiring lass far as words go,¡± Dirk retorted. ¡°But I¡¯ll take the shaggin¡¯ sentiment.¡±
Nard ¡®All veiled hours of each night¡¯
Semi-Independent Island of Valeria, Fall of 193 NC A kilometer from the village Port of Valeria Valeria Settlement, marketplace Third Week of 3rd Month. Second Day of IV Legio¡¯s stay on the Island Early morning ¡°You should stay in the sun more,¡± Jan-Bert offered following after him. The young man getting more annoying with each passing day. Nard had met him in the ship, the Tollor youth working the decks. Mostly sweeping, repairing and carrying ropes for the sailors. Singing. Nard wanted to knife him in the throat during that time, but their ship¡¯s deck was crowded with people packed there so it could carry more. So Jan was spared Nard¡¯s knife and managed to stick to Nard like glue. Having everyone else avoiding him wasn¡¯t helping to get rid of the young Issir. ¡°Then your skin would darken more and no one will ever know!¡± Jan-Bert added. ¡°It doesn¡¯t work like that,¡± Nard retorted stopping to glare at the idiotic smiling young Issir. Jan had short-cut hair but left plenty at the top so he could comb it back with grease. Nard just cut his enough so they didn¡¯t fall on his eyes. He carried what looked like a crooked flat plank on his back tied with a hemp rope, he¡¯d gotten from the ship. ¡°How do you know?¡± Jan replied staring obliquely at the witch approaching them. In her half-breed form, since apparently it was better for people to not know where they had disappeared to. ¡°I was born like this,¡± Nard hissed. ¡°You go away now. Back to the ship or whatever other jobs you have.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± Jan replied beaming. ¡°They don¡¯t want to pay me for the time we are moored so I get to go wherever I want!¡± Shite! Nard glanced at the approaching witch nervously. She had told him to avoid speaking to anyone on the trip. But while the silent, stupid Fish Folk routine worked on the other Issirs and the Lorians, it didn¡¯t work with Jan-Bert. ¡°I say better ye go away now,¡± he told him, but the witch intervened before Jan could answer. ¡°Nard, don¡¯t be so severe with the good lad,¡± she said sweetly and Jan stood up straighter at her words. The fool that he was. ¡°Warm greetings fellow Fish Folk lady,¡± Jan said with a toothy smile, an eyebrow raised in what was intended to be a seductive expression, but just made him look like an idiot. ¡°I¡¯m Leirda,¡± the witch said and tended a hand. Jan grabbed it and bowed. ¡°Jan-Bert Luffy, at yer service,¡± he said warmly. ¡°You were in our ship,¡± Leirda said. ¡°I was¡­ still am that is. We¡¯re in the same ship was my meaning,¡± Jan replied that fool¡¯s grin plastered on his mouth. ¡°What¡¯s that on your back love?¡± Leirda asked. ¡°Ahm¡­ that would be a lute, sweet lass.¡± ¡°Your name means that,¡± Leirda elucidated. She was always difficult to please. ¡°It wasn¡¯t an endearment.¡± Hah-hah. Fuckin'' dufus. ¡°Ah. I won¡¯t retract mine just the same,¡± Jan replied unfazed. ¡°It¡¯s a moniker. I¡¯m an artist.¡± ¡°Does it work? Your lute?¡± Why do you care? Nard thought. Why did you keep him from me? The Hag asked in his head. ¡°Well, I need to hollow out the cavity a bit more and add at least one more string to it, or two,¡± Jan admitted in turn. ¡°But I can already play it. As a matter of fact, I¡¯ve already written a song.¡± ¡°You have indeed,¡± Leirda agreed as if she was interested. ¡°What is it about?¡± Seriously? ¡°The White Witch of the Isles,¡± Jan replied. What? ¡°What did she do?¡± Leirda asked strangely pleased now. ¡°Saved Tollor of course,¡± Jan replied. Bullshit she did. The witch glared at him. ¡°Are you from Tollor Luffy?¡± ¡°Yes Leirda,¡± Jan said openly flirting with her. ¡°I¡¯m also more experienced than I look.¡± Stinking bloated fish! ¡°That¡¯s enough Jan,¡± Nard said. ¡°You had that thing to work on remember?¡± Jan frowned. ¡°No, I didn¡¯t Nard. You¡¯re confused man hah-hah!¡± ¡°Better to check it out wit the captain,¡± Nard insisted. ¡°You don¡¯t fear the witch then?¡± Leirda asked ignoring him. ¡°I¡¯ve seen her. I stood amazed in her splendor,¡± Jan replied reminiscing. ¡°Her memory weakened by your own alas.¡± You slimy son of an ugly crab! What an idiot. These cheap stupid words won¡¯t work on the Hag fool! ¡°Perhaps we share it then, all the splendor,¡± Leirda chuckled apparently enjoying the fool¡¯s words and pointed at the market. ¡°Why don¡¯t you buy a lute Luffy?¡± ¡°Too expensive, but hey, I¡¯m working on it as a backup plan!¡± Jan replied with enthusiasm. ¡°How much do they pay you?¡± ¡°A copper Eagle per day.¡± Wow, might as well you worked for free, Nard thought and shook his head. ¡°How much for the lute?¡± ¡°Two Gold ones. I¡¯m still ways away,¡± Jan admitted. ¡°And I¡¯m only employed for this trip.¡± Tough luck buddy. ¡°You have one?¡± ¡°Sure, I keep them here,¡± Jan replied and got a round copper coin out. He gave it to her and Leirda took it in her hand to give it a good look. Nard all but groaned in frustration not understanding what she was doing and fearing it won¡¯t end well for the amateur bard. ¡°Hmm,¡± Leirda said and tended her arm to return it, her fist closed. Jan opened his palm, the witch opened her fist and a gold coin fell on Luffy¡¯s hand. He almost dropped it, the large square coin heavy. ¡°Eh, that¡¯s not¡­ it¡¯s not mine,¡± Jan said with a shocked grimace. ¡°Not yet, it isn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Wow. Is that gold? It is. Why square?¡± ¡°It worth¡¯s more than the others,¡± Leirda said. ¡°So I guess you could be lucky Luffy.¡± ¡°But it¡¯s not mine,¡± Jan argued. ¡°I can¡¯t accept this Leirda.¡± ¡°He-he. We will make a trade silly bard. A copper and something for my gold coin,¡± she replied with a shrug. ¡°Do you want it?¡± ¡°What is that something?¡± Jan said. ¡°A simple choice and you could have it.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the choice?¡± Jan asked. ¡°Nothing difficult. Will you go to the temple Nard?¡± The witch asked surprising him. The locals called it the Academy. ¡°Why?¡± Nard asked suspicious of her intentions. ¡°I would go,¡± Jan retorted biting on the coin with his large front teeth. ¡°Can¡¯t miss that!¡± ¡°You¡¯ll need to offer a gift of entrance Luffy,¡± she explained. ¡°What type?¡± ¡°Gold, jewelry, but mostly gold,¡± she explained. ¡°You could offer them that coin.¡± Jan stood back thoughtfully. ¡°The coin isn¡¯t mine,¡± he finally said. ¡°If it was,¡± Jan sighed and stared at the local market. ¡°I would use it to have a proper lute made.¡± With that, he made to return it to her, but Leirda stopped him. Her hand touched his dark-skinned face, the watching Nard grimacing as he feared the worst. The witch pouted her mouth instead and retrieved her arm. ¡°The coin is yours Luffy,¡± she said and stepped back. ¡°May your songs be heard until your light extinguishes¡­ and for many years after it does.¡± Right. ¡°I¡¯ll speak to the priestess again,¡± the witch told him, while Jan looked at his coin entranced and she pointed at the rather heavy middle-aged woman wearing a long purple hemp robe she was talking with earlier. ¡°That¡¯s a priestess?¡± Jan asked snapping out of his reverie. He blinked unsure. ¡°Eh, well I guess¡­ I don¡¯t know. What do you think Nard?¡± Nard wanted nothing to do with any of it. ¡°You know Jan, now you have yer coin, you should go back to the ship,¡± Nard told him. ¡°Hah-hah, nice one,¡± Jan said laughing. ¡°You¡¯ve got a sly type of humor Nard.¡± Idiot. ¡°I¡¯ll ask her about letting us inside,¡± Leirda explained. ¡°Us?¡± ¡°Yes, Luffy. Don¡¯t you want to come?¡± ¡°It¡¯s gonna be too expensive.¡± ¡°Luffy,¡± the witch said looking into his sweaty face. ¡°I¡¯m not going to pay for it.¡± Jan-Bert frowned unsure, but while Nard thought he knew what the witch would do, the young man was wrong as well.
¡°Priestess Hermione,¡± the witch said to the older Lorian woman. ¡°Priestess Leirda,¡± Hermione replied respectfully with a nod. ¡°You¡¯ve brought company.¡±This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Huh? ¡°This is Nard and Jan-Bert,¡± she replied. ¡°Hello boys, or is it young men?¡± ¡°The latter,¡± Jan replied readily. Nard just grinded his teeth uncomfortable. Priestess? ¡°We¡¯ll take a carriage,¡± Hermione said. She looked more like the local baker¡¯s wife than a priestess of Naossis. Not that Nard had ever seen one, but the sailors had never stopped talking about them during the journey. The driver had a shaven head with a blue ribbon tattooed around his gleaming skull, his eyes penciled and he was built like a prize bull under the plain robes. They climbed inside, Nard not liking the tight space and Luffy pressed on him, the ¡®lute¡¯ knifing his shoulder with the crude arm. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen an amulet of the Daughter¡¯s Mother before,¡± Hermione commented sometime later, the carriage bouncing on the cobblestone towards the distant Academy of Senses. A couple of geedy groups of visitors following it on foot, the road itself cut amidst cultivated pink blossomed Crape Myrtle trees and the willowy Wisteria with its purple hanging flowers. ¡°But have seen the Blue Moon plenty to know what it was.¡± ¡°No other priestess appeared?¡± The witch asked, while Nard kept himself ready for any abrupt developments. You never knew what the witch had in her mind. Luffy in comparison was staring outside the narrow carriage¡¯s window quite excited, wild head sprouting out to better absorb the scenery. ¡°Not in my lifetime, or that of my mother¡¯s,¡± Hermione replied. The Island¡¯s Custodian, the witch had told them. Sort of like a mayor with plump hands and legs and a sweet motherly smile. ¡°It smells pretty nice this forest! Right fellow travelers?¡± Jan-Bert yelled at those they passed by. ¡°Your apprentices?¡± Hermione asked unsure. ¡°The Issir is a bard,¡± Leirda replied and then looked at him. ¡°My brother¡­ doesn¡¯t have the gift, but he¡¯s skilled in other ways.¡± ¡°The Crugs are like that,¡± Hermione agreed. ¡°Bear and his brother Acqer.¡± ¡°A predator and a ¡®meadow of Oak Trees¡¯. Or graveyard,¡± the witch pointed out. ¡°Not all in life is love and wine,¡± Hermione replied and glanced at the stretching Jan-Bert. ¡°You know any new songs from the mainland young bard?¡± she asked him and Luffy smiled full of confidence. Shite! ¡°Many, but I have one written myself,¡± he started getting his custom made lute out, hitting Nard¡¯s head with it a couple of times in the tight space. ¡°Would you like to hear it sweet Hermione?¡± He asked in a fake lower voice after clearing his throat. What a fucking idiot. That¡¯s a firm no of course. A grown-arse woman wouldn¡¯t fall for¡ª ¡°I¡¯d love to. It¡¯s quite the trip,¡± she replied with a warm smile cutting through a frustrated Nard¡¯s thoughts. Jan-Bert¡¯s loud voice and brutal thumping on the cords coming out of their moving carriage and picking up the tempo with each gaudy verse. No one loved it more than the Hag though, despite managing to keep a neutral expression throughout the whole ordeal. For she caaame down the muddy aisles Oh, ye sweeeet old laaass of the Isles! The Temple of Senses was a round columned dome-shaped structure twice the size of Duke Hoff¡¯s castle. Not because it had as many buildings or towers housed in it, but because the two thousand long, very polished red marble and stone columns enclosed a large garden inside it and at its center a glass-walled atrium. The Goddess had built it was the story, but it was probably made along the rest of the temple or Academy eight or nine centuries ago, when the first merchants arrived at the shores of Valeria and discovered the community of priestesses living there. Then again, Nard didn¡¯t know which of the stories the sailors had told him during their travel was real. What was very real was the beautiful twenty year old priestess waiting for them inside the temple. Not much taller than him, wearing that short thin red robe depicted on the walls with the irregular hem, the cavernous side-split that reached the armpit where the long sheer lace-sleeves started. She had dark honey-colored hair that curled at the ends and her long legs and painted blue toes had a pair of strappy heeled sandals on. They were made out of silk string and white pearls. Nard had never seen such a weird pair of shoes in his life. ¡°It¡¯s an Imperial design,¡± Leirda explained and the Priestess nodded with a naughty smile, her fingers also painted blue in the local style. ¡°Lorians and Cofols have copied it.¡± ¡°Not everyone can wear them,¡± the Priestess said and bending right at her waist started untying the cords. ¡°I¡¯m sure you can,¡± Leirda retorted. ¡°Heh, well I have to remove them. Everyone please remove your footgear,¡± she told them and Nard slapped Jan-Bert¡¯s chest to wake him up, as the bard was gawking with his mouth open at the priestess¡¯ heavy breasts left exposed through the robe¡¯s opening. Nard was looking as well, but he could do it discreetly. Those melons were a moving! ¡°I¡¯m the First Idole of the Academy Drusilla,¡± she told them while working on the other sandal. ¡°The Atrium¡¯s floor is very expensive to preserve. It¡¯s very impressive.¡± Drusilla had folded in two almost, but maintained her balance which was equally darn impressive, Nard thought. Then seeing the witch was glaring at him, he added in his mind. But less so if one considers she¡¯s trained all her young life for it. She¡¯s over thirty, Leirda hissed in his head. Ah. That¡¯s an awful lot of training. ¡°Is the High Priestess available?¡± Leirda hissed when Drusilla got rid of her sandals to lead them inside the richly decorated Atrium. The glass had been stained with age on the walls and it wasn¡¯t easy to see inside through it, but enough light reached from afar to give a green and red illumination on the surface of the large pools of clean water, with touches of gold coming from the adorned oil lamps hanging from the unseen ceiling. Not oil lamps. While there was incense burning a plenty, it was done in separate basins. The lamps contained stones in them that were glowing. ¡°She might be. Is everyone here looking for a sermon?¡± ¡°How expensive is it?¡± Jan asked and she stared at his smiling face intrigued. ¡°The Goddess appreciates any gift accordingly¡­¡± she paused expectantly. ¡°JB-Luff,¡± Jan replied lips split in a disconcerting grin. ¡°I could sing for you sweet princess¡­ priestess! Was my meaning.¡± ¡°As could I,¡± Drusilla replied unimpressed, adding in a more promising tone. ¡°But I¡¯ll sing all the more with a gold trinket between my toes,¡± she had raised a nimble leg with that, the painted toes jiggling invitingly to the young bard. ¡°He has a gold coin,¡± Nard blurted out. Jan was never going to make it as a bard anyway. Might as well put that coin to good use, he thought. ¡°JB-Luff,¡± Drusilla purred and Jan blinked in the effort to keep ahold of his functions. ¡°Thank you for your assistance,¡± Leirda cut in frostily. ¡°We don¡¯t need you anymore.¡± ¡°Ah, as you wish sister,¡± Drusilla replied sweetly, lowering her leg. ¡°Perhaps we shall see each other again.¡± ¡°Pray to the Goddess,¡± the witch countered solemnly. ¡°That we don¡¯t.¡± Nard stared at her unsure on her meaning, as she rarely said anything without reason, but Drusilla walked away from them, the sun penetrating her robes when she stooped to pick up her sandals from the Atrium¡¯s large open doors and all manner of revelations were exposed for him to see. Allgods ¡®n devils darn it! ¡°Flavia will try to seduce you,¡± Leirda said austerely snapping him out of his aroused state. ¡°See you perform better than this. Both of you. Reveal nothing and don¡¯t speak unless I tell you to.¡± ¡°Hah, your sister is really bossy,¡± Jan replied. ¡°But you can¡¯t stop Luffy from performing around the ladies. Rest assured though that I¡¯m always in control and on sure footing sweet Fish Folk lass.¡± Eh. Jan marched ahead of them deeper into the Atrium, intending to navigate between the curved artificial pools, but only made three or four strides afore slipping on the damp mosaic floors and catapulting head-first inside a shallow pool with a yelp and a huge splash. Nard had to get him out half-unconscious before Jan drowned himself as he kind of liked the bard deep down. He got soaked to the bone in the process.
¡°Is he alright?¡± A woman asked in a controlled very polished voice. Nard sighed and then stood frozen in his soaked tunic, leaving Jan to drop on the colored tiles like a heavy sack of potatoes. The stunning woman stepped out of one of the deeper pools, her long blond hair wet and curling, wearing nothing but a pair of long thin gold chains. One around her narrow waist, connected to a gem at her fit navel and another around her long neck, hanging loosely between a pair of heaving breasts. All her skin pores reacting to the light chill of the large humid Atrium. ¡°He¡¯ll live for quite a while,¡± the witch replied stiffly stopping to examine with interest one of the paintings set over a columned altar, with small lighting stones and incense burning under it. ¡°That¡¯s good to hear,¡± Flavia replied huskily this time and approached them after picking up and tossing a red tunic made of sheer lace over her dripping wet body. She used a silk belt to close it, but Nard could still see everything almost. The lacy outfit darkening and sticking on the priestess¡¯ skin immediately. Mother¡¯s milky grace dripping from the heavens! Nard averted his eyes with superhuman effort and stared low before the approaching blonde woman. Flavia¡¯s naked fingers and toes were painted gold. Nard blinked. So were her bulging nipples and the trimmed strip of soft hairs at the part of her legs. The gold paint sparkled in the light of the stones. Magic. Flavia walked moving all parts of her body it seemed. A deliberate, slow and taunting approach. His leg started shaking uncontrollably and Nard had to put a hand on it, left eye tearing from the effort to keep a neutral face. And failing spectacularly. The High Priestess of Naossis paused in front of him, a mature woman for sure, probably around forty, but despite not having any makeup on there were very few age wrinkles on her face and body. Nard could forgive the tiny imperfections given the sum of all parts on display. When you spend time sardined in a ship with a lot of smelly sailors, war-weary men and a witch that ate a couple of them in the trip, you can appreciate beauty like this all the more, as the equally lovely Drusilla would say. Nard hadn¡¯t forgotten about the low-ranking priestess. ¡°They are so young,¡± Flavia commented with the hint of a smile. ¡°As are you priestess Leirda.¡± Eh. You¡¯re way wrong there ruler of the soft flesh. But yer forgiven. Flavia turned to approach the witch still examining the painting unaware of his lewd thoughts. It depicted a raven-haired Lorian girl in her birth suit sitting on a lavish throne with them long legs open, (the artist sparing no details) another girl kneeling in front of her, the second girl¡¯s hands clasping at the fit parted thighs for better purchase. Good grief. One would have to be an idiot not to guess what was happening there. ¡°Priestess Leda,¡± Flavia elucidated for the witch. Nard would have liked a bit more details on the painting, but just stood there ogling at the soaking fast tunic of the priestess in silence. ¡°Way before our time. The Muse of Beauty though graces us still with her presence. Gives inspiration at our difficult times.¡± She does indeed. ¡°Her hair was more red than black,¡± the witch replied without looking at her. She was in a bad mood. Flavia had reached to touch the witch¡¯s shoulder in the meantime, but stopped at her words alarmed. ¡°She had plenty of the North in her, but Leda liked to pretend it was just paint,¡± the Hag of the Fenlands added. Flavia stood back, her demeanor changing briefly, afore she gave a nonchalant shrug. ¡°Artists always take liberties. You serve at a temple then Leirda?¡± She asked next changing the subject. Yes, Nard thought. But it¡¯s not as lovely as this, nor has as interesting employees. ¡°It¡¯s an unusual name. I like it though. It gives me a certain tingling,¡± Flavia added meaningfully. ¡°A small one,¡± the witch replied still looking at the garish painting oblivious to the priestess¡¯ flirting. ¡°In the Fenlands.¡± Flavia nodded in silence and retreated towards a small table next to the altar. She reached for a vial of perfumed oil and poured some in her hands, the color a golden yellow, rubbed the palms together and then spread it at the opening of her tunic up to the base of her wet neck slowly. ¡°Are you her apprentice then?¡± she asked casually stooping and picking up a strange gold piece of jewelry with a rough crimson stone attached on it. Flavia made to touch the strange stone on the wick of a fat black candle, but Leirda¡¯s voice stopped her. ¡°It is better they don¡¯t know. Your sisters,¡± she told the priestess. Flavia pouted and stared at the witch apprehensively. ¡°Better for whom?¡± ¡°You,¡± the witch replied and reaching picked up the black candle to examine it. ¡°Do you know who gave this to her?¡± ¡°It was my great grandmother¡¯s,¡± Flavia replied. ¡°A gift from the High Priestess,¡± she added glancing at the painting. Ah, yer grandmother had looked lovely from the back, Nard thought looking at the painting with a newfound interest. The witch touched the aforementioned girl in the painting that had her lovely back turned with a finger. She traced the whole of the painted body, from the exposed round bottom to the luscious head, the nail cutting the old canvas with an eerie scratch until it reached the belly of the ancient High Priestess and then cut her in half as well. Nard gulped down nervously. ¡°You can¡¯t gift what isn¡¯t yours,¡± the witch said evenly. ¡°If you lie in the trade,¡± she added turning to the priestess. ¡°Then the trade is forfeited.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the way of the Temple,¡± Flavia retorted narrowing her eyes. Nard had no idea what they were talking about. The Priestess¡¯ perfume was making him dizzy and he had a raging hard on that he kept at bay with a forearm pretending to scratch his leg. Jan groaned from the floor coming about almost giving him a heart attack. ¡°Let me see you,¡± Flavia asked Leirda in the meantime and a muffled breeze whistled inside the Atrium. The lights flickering, the colors dimming for a moment. The Hag had become the lady of his dreams again. ¡°You crowned a king recently,¡± the witch told the awed high priestess. ¡°That¡¯s not the way of the Temple child. But you did it. Why?¡± ¡°There was no trickery in the trade,¡± Flavia replied, wetting her lips. ¡°I ripped a sister¡¯s heart out of her chest. It was earned.¡± ¡°Perhaps, but she¡¯s still breathing,¡± the witch said. ¡°All those whispers in your temple and you are deaf to them.¡± ¡°I¡¯m aware, but the next King of Regia will be blessed by the Goddess. He¡¯ll never forget that. The Goddess shall walk prideful again in Alden land.¡± ¡°Beware of men that don¡¯t easily forget young Flavia and the madness of broken hearts,¡± Leirda told her. ¡°Those who wish to rule the realm must always be vigilant. All veiled hours of every night and fear their pupil¡¯s touch in their sleep.¡± ¡°She¡¯s gone,¡± Flavia replied. ¡°I¡¯ve sent her away.¡± The witch grimaced and stared at a white-haired young Issir Priestess enter accompanied by an unlikely couple. A large muscular male and a thin slanted-eyed female. ¡°Augusta,¡± the priestess asked blinking once. Leirda was standing next to the High Priestess again, but Nard could see the witch¡¯s true form reflecting on the surface of the nearby pool. ¡°You wish us to perform for your visitors?¡± Nard wanted nothing to do with the burly bald man. ¡°I shall do it myself dear Birgite,¡± Flavia replied casually. ¡°I¡¯m in the mood today.¡± ¡°As you wish,¡± Birgite had replied and turning to the couple, she added the witch¡¯s eyes on them. ¡°Laila, Acqer, come. We shall leave the Augusta to her own devices.¡± Nard stared at the High Priestess and she returned it with a half-smile. The young man tried to decipher its meaning, but Flavia took two small quick strides while he did and reached for his arm. Her fingers oily and smelling of something really nice, the priestess¡¯ hand fondling a lot of cock probably by accident. ¡°Mmm,¡± Flavia hummed in his face smelling of roses and honey. ¡°You need to get out of these wet garbs Nard,¡± she counselled him. ¡°You might catch your death.¡± Nard glanced at the witch unsure, but she was walking towards an empty pool already. Leirda paused sensing his query and turned around to stare at him. ¡°Don¡¯t be an idiot. You¡¯ll never have the chance again boy,¡± the witch scolded him and Flavia chuckled at her words. The tunic parting from all the commotion and then dropping between them. ¡°Damn divine inspiration!¡± Jan-Bert gasped loudly from the floor having a rare underside view. ¡°Realm¡¯s hallowed spirits living inside goddess¡¯ deep folds¡­ holds!¡± He croaked in panic. ¡°Was my meaning,¡± but Nard had stopped listening to him already.
A patrol of legionnaires intercepted them on their return. They brought them to the village and then the legion¡¯s camp. The Legatus of the IV waited for the soldiers to exit his office before speaking. ¡°You¡¯ve left the village,¡± Sula growled and his aide, another hard-faced Lorian examined them one after the other. He paused briefly on the grinning Luffy, as if wondering what the bard was doing there, afore turning his eyes on the witch again. ¡°To visit the Temple. What was the reason?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a lovely place.¡± ¡°Nonus, what¡¯s the purpose of all this?¡± the Prefect asked. ¡°You¡¯ll get it soon. Remember the girl from the meeting?¡± ¡°Not easy to forget that. Though I lost her afterwards,¡± the officer replied. ¡°What do the men say?¡± ¡°A witch came out of the lake, or Dolf¡¯s dead sister.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the witch over there.¡± ¡°The Fish Folk girl?¡± The officer blinked unsure. ¡°Ah, I don¡¯t know. She¡¯s¡­ she just doesn¡¯t look like her at all Nonus.¡± Sula glared at the witch. ¡°Do that thing. Change¡­ into, you know darn well what I mean!¡± He blasted her and Leirda chuckled and gave him the black candle she had taken from the Priestess. ¡°Nonus,¡± his aide said grimacing in the attempt to get up. He still had that leg bandaged, but Nard got himself ready to hoof it for the door if things turned nasty. ¡°Calm down,¡± Leirda told him, then turned to the fuming Legatus. ¡°Better to have a story no one can verify, than a witch¡­ however comely, her presence you can¡¯t possibly justify Sula.¡± ¡°Lass,¡± the Prefect told her angrily. ¡°I don¡¯t know what game you¡¯re playing¡ª¡± ¡°Sit down Pete,¡± Leirda ordered him and he took a seat with a groan. ¡°Rest that leg. You¡¯ll carry that till the end of your days.¡± ¡°Hey!¡± Pete protested. ¡°Take that back!¡± ¡°Too late,¡± Leirda retorted pursing her mouth. ¡°Enough Pete! You as well!¡± Sula barked to break their back and forth. ¡°What does this do?¡± He asked wearily next deep in thought, looking at the candle. ¡°It will break an illusion if you stay in its light,¡± Leirda replied. ¡°You don¡¯t want to harm me Sula,¡± she added reading his mind. ¡°I can¡¯t have you doing whatever the fuck you want!¡± Sula grunted. ¡°I just want to reach Asturia,¡± the witch replied. ¡°I¡¯ve given you a win.¡± ¡°A war you started!¡± Sula growled and thudded his fist on the table. ¡°Valens is dead because of you!¡± ¡°Ton had to go,¡± the witch replied callously. ¡°He¡¯d have mellowed the heart of the old Duke, gotten an agreement out of it and used the opportunity to penetrate deep into Holt¡¯s lands, reach as far as the walls of Anorum.¡± ¡°I could have handled Lord Ton!¡± Sula argued irate. ¡°Lots of people died witch!¡± ¡°Eh, you¡¯re so easily angered. The old man will wait for you to act and cut you down. He has people in your camp Sula. In Asturia. Everywhere.¡± ¡°Spies?¡± ¡°Patriots, but with a different king in mind,¡± Leirda replied. ¡°Point them out!¡± ¡°If I do, this future will change,¡± she explained with a sigh. ¡°You can only lightly steer things, more than that and it¡¯s a different plot altogether.¡± ¡°What the allhells is she talking about?¡± Dumont protested from his chair. Sula grunted thinking it through. ¡°If you know them aforehand you should tell me witch.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not how it works Sula. I sense them, recognize their shades when I¡¯m near. Their smell, or voice. But if I act on that knowledge then this isn¡¯t what I saw, is it?¡± ¡°Then what help are you?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no danger lurking at Canlita¡¯s northern shores,¡± the witch replied. ¡°One less foe to worry about. You call that nothing? Lucius will be stuck at that mountain for months and you will be left¡ª¡± ¡°Lucius is in Cartagen,¡± Sula cut her off with a scowl. ¡°Yer visions are a bit shaky witch.¡± Leirda took a step back and furrowed her brows. ¡°Hmm.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± Sula rustled. ¡°Well that¡¯s plaguing great! Now what?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t¡­ someone¡¯s manipulating the threads.¡± ¡°What in Tyeus spear¡­?¡± Dumont griped. ¡°Are you making sense of all that Nonus?¡± ¡°Pete I¡¯m trying to get the gist of it so I can tell you,¡± Sula retorted with a sigh. ¡°Who?¡± He asked the witch. ¡°Is there another witch on the loose we have to worry about?¡± ¡°No witch left,¡± Leirda said but she didn¡¯t sound certain. ¡°But there might be something else in Wetull.¡± ¡°A what?¡± Sula gasped in total bewilderment. ¡°Wetull?¡± Dumont asked curious. ¡°An old prophecy best we leave unmentioned.¡± ¡°How about we don¡¯t?¡± ¡°If I tell you, then I can¡¯t risk it getting out,¡± the witch explained calmly. ¡°I won¡¯t. So you better off not knowing Sula.¡± ¡°Man your sister is something,¡± Jan said in his ear when the conversation devolved into a shouting argument. ¡°Is she really a witch?¡± Nard turned to stare at him. ¡°Jan do you think a Fish Folk girl would ever talk back to a Lord or a Legatus?¡± Jan-Bert Luffy thought about it for a moment then nodded. ¡°Yeah, I do,¡± he replied surprising Nard who expected the complete opposite answer. ¡°What? If she¡¯s crazy,¡± the young bard argued and raised his hand, wiggling his fingers to count. ¡°Drunk, under the influence, his mistress on the side¡ª¡± Nard reached and poked hard at the large knob on his temple to stop him. Jan had it there since the fall inside Flavia¡¯s shallow pool. Jan howled in pain and everyone in the room turned to stare at them peeved. ¡°What are these two idiots again?¡± Dumont asked rubbing his face tired. ¡°That shit-faced urchin was with her,¡± Sula replied eyeing them. ¡°The other grinning idiot, I haven¡¯t seen afore.¡± ¡°JB-Luff!¡± Jan introduced himself with a bow. ¡°Milords and officers of high rank, I have a song written about current events, with many more coming soon and taking the opportunity I¡¯d like to give you¡ª¡± Jan ducked under an inkpot Sula hurled at him cutting him off mid-sentence. ¡°A song he said? Why?¡± Dumont was heard wondering, while Jan stood on his feet again and declared in a serious voice. ¡°I¡¯m a rapidly rising in fame bard milords. So what do you say?¡± With Sula¡¯s retort coming over the witch¡¯s delighted chuckle being equally serious. ¡°Vibius!¡± The Legatus of the Fourth had barked to the guard standing outside his headquarters. ¡°Throw this fool out posthaste!¡± ¡°Out in the yard sir?¡± Vibius had asked coming inside to make sure he got it right. ¡°No, in the pen,¡± Sula had replied brusquely. ¡°Don¡¯t want to see his stupid mug in here again!¡± So Jan spent the rest of our stay in Valeria in the camp¡¯s prison, where he performed his first concert behind bars for the nearby nurses, medics and Dottore Borealis himself who loved the young bard¡¯s talents, bought him a real lute and sponsored Jan¡¯s tour of the Lorian coast the next year, starting from his home city of Novesium. Bizarrely enough the Dottore run a smuggling ring there, but that¡¯s another story. 383. The Girls (1/2)
Whisper ¡®Pretty¡¯ Jinx ¡®The Girls¡¯ -Little Sister-
Summer of 193NC Morn Taras Early evening Psst. The young girl raised her head from behind the other side of the bed and stared at the open window. For a moment she looked without understanding at the Gish suspended upside down, pink hair caught in a ponytail dancing under her head and Jinx¡¯s arm already numbing from the effort to keep a solid grip on the rope. ¡°Come here,¡± Jinx hissed, her face slowly turning red. ¡°Why?¡± Inis-Mir asked suspiciously. ¡°So we can talk without interruptions?¡± ¡°Why are you hanging outside my window?¡± the little girl elucidated. Ah. ¡°I don¡¯t want Maeriel to see me.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°We¡­ it¡¯s a grownups thing you do when you fight wit a special friend,¡± Jinx explained vaguely sweating and feeling a desperate need to piss, which wasn¡¯t a problem usually as the Gish pee everywhere, but when yer hanging upside down then most of it will douse yer face. He-he. ¡°What¡¯s special about it?¡± Inis-Mir asked approaching, her small feet silent on the rich carpet. ¡°It just sounds silly. You look silly. Are you a silly creature?¡± Jinx swung once, twisting her body the right way like an acrobat and put a foot on the window, an eye on the rope¡¯s hook she¡¯d tied earlier. A long one, basically three ropes linked together to avoid killing another tree. She had a scratch running her face from forehead to chin that made crooks nervous, but it was the one on her arse that had hurt her the most. And throwing the clothes away of course. ¡°Forget about that,¡± Jinx said, looping the rope around her arm again. ¡°Do you wanna see the Temple?¡± ¡°How are we going to go there?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll climb down this window,¡± Jinx glanced at the twenty-meter drop at the side of the citadel. Piece of cake, she thought. ¡°Will the rope hold two people?¡± Inis-Mir asked wise beyond her years sometimes. ¡°We¡¯re small people,¡± Jinx explained getting tired in the uncomfortable position. ¡°You¡¯ll get punished,¡± Inis-Mir chuckled at the thought. ¡°Not if you say otherwise.¡± ¡°Why would I?¡± ¡°You¡¯re the Princess,¡± Jinx explained and tended an arm. ¡°Are you scared Inis-Mir?¡± The little girl narrowed her red eyes. Opaque irises filled with red and orange/gold dots they were spectacular to look at. Like Paws eyes, there was nothing human in them or Gish. Jinx didn¡¯t much care about any of that though. She wanted to get the girl out of the castle that had turned into a prison for months now. ¡°I¡¯ll think about it,¡± Inis Mir replied finally. ¡°Coming?¡± ¡°No, about defending you later,¡± the princess replied and grabbed her arm with surprising strength. ¡°Wow, you smell funny.¡± Jinx grinned, then grimaced when the girl closed both small arms around her neck. ¡°It¡¯s the summer,¡± she explained. ¡°I¡¯m sweating buckets and need a bath,¡± adding with a smart wink. ¡°Don¡¯t scream.¡± And the little princess didn¡¯t.
Jinx reached the yard with a meter of rope left and gestured for Inis-Mir to stay quiet while she checked for the light of the patrol coming from the East tower. ¡°They already passed by,¡± Glen¡¯s daughter said standing next to her. ¡°Fuck, yer a smart one,¡± Jinx glanced at her. ¡°Maeriel will know soon though, or Qildor.¡± ¡°I covered Qodras and a pillow with a sheet,¡± Inis-Mir replied. ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± ¡°My gold wyvern.¡± Ah. Alright there kiddo. ¡°How did you know beforehand?¡± ¡°I saw you tying the rope.¡± Jinx nodded very impressed. She stood up to look at the distant light again, Assara appearing next to her with the extra cloak giving Jinx a good startle. Jinx glared at the sneaky creature, but Assara just blinked those large black eyes and offered her the cloak. With a sigh Jinx helped the little girl climb on her shoulders and put the long hooded cloak over both of them. ¡°Why is she like that?¡± The curious Inis Mir asked. Assara clacked her teeth at the princess. ¡°She¡¯s a Ticu.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Keep quiet now,¡± Jinx cautioned her. ¡°We need to pass the gate guards.¡± ¡°What if we can¡¯t?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll think of something.¡± ¡°Drink their blood?¡± Assara offered smiling with a mouth full of gnarly teeth at the small princess hidden under the large hood. ¡°She¡¯s joking,¡± Jinx said quickly and Inis-Mir whispered creepily in her ear. ¡°No, she isn¡¯t.¡±
The guard at the gates eyed the two cloaked girls under the brim of his helm. A Lorian from Raoz, he recognized Jinx. ¡°Lady Jinx, you won¡¯t be staying the evening?¡± ¡°It¡¯s pretty hot inside,¡± Jinx replied. ¡°Thought of going for a trip down the lake.¡± The guard gazed at the cloak she wore perturbed, but decided not to press the issue. ¡°You need an escort for the road? Horses?¡± ¡°Nah, we have friends coming to get us,¡± Jinx retorted. ¡°Right. Well, have a good evening ladies,¡± the guard replied and stepped aside. Jinx walked through the gates pleased, stopped some meters outside of the massive portcullis with a curse and turned back. She walked through them again to find the Ticu. Jinx grabbed Assara¡¯s hand when she found her. The Ticu had stayed behind still staring at the uncomfortable guards and a frustrated Jinx had to drag her out. ¡°What were you doing?¡± She scolded the Ticu on their way to their hidden horses. Nix who was waiting there for hours was fast asleep and Jinx had to kick the male Gish awake. ¡°He was interested,¡± Assara replied while Nix stood up with a yelp, but quickly recovered seeing Jinx. ¡°Damn,¡± Nix cursed rubbing his red-rimmed eyes. ¡°You¡¯re a tall one milady,¡± he mumbled looking at her, then added looking at the equally tall Ticu. ¡°You too, ahm¡­¡± ¡°Assara,¡± the Ticu reminded him. ¡°Yep, Assara. I was always fond of your¡ª¡± ¡°You used that line already Nix,¡± Jinx cut his flirting short. ¡°We¡¯re leaving afore they are on to us.¡± ¡°Why would they be on to us?¡± Nix asked thoroughly confused as Jinx had kept the operation on a need to know basis. ¡°No reason,¡± she deadpanned. ¡°They are weird like that.¡± ¡°We are going to my place to pick up some provisions,¡± Jinx explained at a brief stop by the road, near the lake¡¯s west shores. She also helped Inis-Mir climb down from her shoulders and onto the saddle, Nix staring at the small princess alarmed. ¡°She¡¯s my niece,¡± Jinx replied to his query. ¡°She¡¯s human.¡± Eh, not exactly. ¡°So what? I¡¯ve a diverse family,¡± Jinx retorted. ¡°Are those gold bracelets?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Inis-Mir replied scaring him. ¡°With rubies.¡± ¡°She talks?¡± ¡°Are all Gish silly?¡± Inis-Mir asked Jinx. ¡°Hah-ha, well¡­ they probably are,¡± Jinx admitted with a grin. ¡°Now, we keep our cool when we reach the city and by morrow we¡¯ll be at the Temple.¡± ¡°We shall visit the city,¡± the princess said. ¡°Wait, why are you hiding her?¡± Nix asked and Assara seeing everyone talking at the same time added. ¡°Let¡¯s go into the lake. Eat the fish.¡± Jinx raised both arms, index fingers pointing upwards to stop them. ¡°Let me do the planning and all yer questions will be answered.¡± ¡°Fish?¡± Assara asked hopefully. ¡°Later,¡± Jinx replied. She turned to Nix who was about to speak. ¡°We took her from the castle. It¡¯s best if we move fast now.¡± ¡°What?¡± Nix croaked his face turning pale. ¡°Breathe,¡± Jinx counselled. ¡°We shall visit the city and my people,¡± Inis-Mir droned with a pout. Jinx sighed and looked in her comely face. ¡°Alright princess. We shall.¡± Not a minute down the coastal road Nix probed again, this time sounding very worried. ¡°When you say we took her¡­ you mean,¡± Jinx stared at him knowingly. ¡°That sounds bad. Abrakas toes. Tell me that princess was an endearment at least!¡± ¡°Yes and no,¡± Jinx replied. ¡°What does that mean?¡± Nix queried riding next to them and Inis-Mir pointed a small arm his way annoyed. ¡°Stop talking. Silly Gish,¡± she ordered regally. Nix grimacing in horror at the realization. ¡°We¡¯re fucked,¡± he croaked. ¡°He cussed,¡± the princess whispered to a peeved Jinx. ¡°You should punish him. Ten strikes with the stick will suffice.¡±
¡°The princess¡ª!¡± Nix gasped hours later, Jinx¡¯s slap stopping him. ¡°Keep yer voice down,¡± she hissed at the Gish holding his right cheek. ¡°People are sleeping.¡± The guards at Fikumin¡¯s place looking at them, but thankfully the Zilan street was wide enough to make it difficult to see in the dark. ¡°Is that you Lady Jinx?¡± One of them asked, apparently keen-eyed for a human. ¡°Aye,¡± Jinx replied through her teeth. ¡°Have a couple of friends over!¡± then with a pause, she added half-hysterically. ¡°Random people!¡± ¡°That¡¯s nice,¡± the guard replied, his friend giving his approval with a nod. ¡°Variety breaks boredom.¡± Wow, thanks dude. ¡°The princess,¡± Nix repeated in a subdued voice this time, pointing at the girl standing at the porch of her villa, clasping at her hands behind her back just like her father. Jinx glared at him and waved an arm at the guards across the street in greeting. And to get their attention away from the little girl. ¡°Open the door,¡± she told Assara out the side of her mouth, but the Ticu blinked and sniffed at the entrance instead. Assara was in her weird state all night. ¡°Nix,¡± Jinx hissed, stooping to pick up the heavy little girl. Wow, I hope it turns into height baby, else yer going to get really big fast. ¡°Get the fucking door!¡± Inis-Mir slapped her once warningly, Jinx grimaced, Nix went to knock on the door, but it swung open and a disheveled Phinariel appeared, a hand trying to keep her short light-blue robes closed, the young Zilan showing as a lot of tit and leg in the process.Stolen novel; please report. Hmm. ¡°Jinx,¡± a blushing Phinariel mumbled, desperately trying to get everything covered seeing Nix¡¯s gawking and very indiscreet stare, Paws growling from behind the door at the Ticu and Assara responding with an irritated hiss. ¡°Phina,¡± Jinx replied, Nix pursing his mouth and raising a pink brow engrossed. ¡°Eh, I was¡­ I¡¯m having,¡± Phinariel tried to explain, glaring at the male Gish and then her eyes stopped at the short girl Jinx held in her arms. The young Zilan gapped her mouth in shock. ¡°Is that?¡± ¡°Everyone get inside the darn building!¡± Jinx snapped, her mind on the guards across the street. ¡°Is this?¡± Phinariel tried to ask again, but Jinx shoved her aside and waltzed in, almost stepping on the Nimra lion resting in the dark. The lion snarled, but then recognized Jinx and went back to licking its balls. ¡°Why is the scribe living in your home?¡± Inis-Mir asked while Jinx urged everyone to get in, with curses and gestures. Nix stopping well into Phinariel¡¯s personal space and staring up into the perturbed scribe¡¯s eyes intently. ¡°Never have I seen such well-proportioned¡ª¡± Nix started, but Jinx snatched his right ear and stopped him, then used it to guide the protesting Nix inside. Assara following after him. ¡°Close the darn door!¡± Jinx growled at the flustered and confused Zilan. Phinariel closed it, Jinx took a deep breath, then sniffed at the air once. Twice. Her eyes returning on the panicking young scribe. ¡°I have a visitor,¡± Phinariel blurted out quickly and Jinx grimaced. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you were coming back tonight!¡± She protested and rushed towards the living room that short robe giving everyone a nice view of her firm arse. It was Jinx¡¯s robe, but Phinariel had started using a lot of her clothes as they had the same body type. Other than Jinx being way shorter that is. ¡°It worth the fuckin¡¯ risk,¡± Nix admitted arms crossed on his chest watching the bare-footed scribe trot away. ¡°For the opportunity to know her.¡± Jinx all but groaned. ¡°I think she¡¯s having a lover in there,¡± she told him, but Nix gave a shrug remaining undeterred. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of woman for one lover,¡± he retorted.
The white-haired aged Zilan -who wasn¡¯t that old in reality by Zilan standards- jumped on his feet from the couch he was sitting on and grimaced comically glancing at Phinariel. At least he was dressed. ¡°Alright,¡± Jinx told the worried Berthas. ¡°I know ye were slurping at her honey. Calm down. I don¡¯t care.¡± ¡°Ahm,¡± Berthas retorted and Phinariel opened her mouth to protest. ¡°We weren¡¯t¡­ he wasn¡¯t¡ª¡± ¡°Better you leave it at that,¡± Jinx warned her. ¡°Else I¡¯ll tell Fiku what ye do in the nights.¡± Phinariel blinked in shock. ¡°Lord Fikumin? Why would¡­ what do you mean?¡± Oh, shit. She didn¡¯t know, Jinx thought and grimaced. ¡°Lady Phinariel would never¡ª¡± Berthas tried to defend the scribe¡¯s honor Assara hissing at him from her spot and Jinx cutting him off mid-sentence. ¡°She¡¯s no lady. We picked her up from the woods,¡± Jinx retorted and glared at the blushing scribe. ¡°Don¡¯t get all worked up about it. It¡¯s yer truth. Who you are. You want to climb up that ladder, you need to make better choices honey.¡± ¡°I¡¯m an Elderborn¡¯s son!¡± Berthas snapped pursing his mouth. ¡°And a bastard last I heard.¡± ¡°Lady Jinx, I¡¯ve been recognized afore the Monarch and the Lord of Lo-Minas!¡± Berthas retorted angry. Jinx looked at the tall Zilan with narrowed eyes, sucked audibly at her front teeth once and said reasonably surprising everyone. ¡°Ye don¡¯t seem that bad on a second look.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°Yer still a noble bastard,¡± Jinx replied curtly. ¡°And she¡¯s too young for ye likes.¡± She was more worried of that foreign Zilan taking advantage of Phinariel more than anything else. And a little for the always pensive dwarf that seemed to like her. ¡°I¡¯m not that young,¡± Phinariel argued with a small voice. Apparently not, but still¡­ ¡°How old are ye Berthas?¡± Jinx asked. ¡°Just over a century,¡± he replied vaguely standing back. ¡°She¡¯s not even twenty.¡± ¡°I¡¯m aware.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you are,¡± Jinx retorted. ¡°Ye seem to have searched her up thoroughly.¡± ¡°Jinx!¡± Phinariel croaked. ¡°Hmm,¡± Jinx murmured and walked to a table with a couple of goblets. Grabbed the first one, but found nothing in it and went for the other. She downed its contents, burped and stared at the frustrated scribe. ¡°Where did you get the good wine?¡± ¡°Lord Fikumin¡¯s gift,¡± Phinariel replied. ¡°Uhm,¡± Jinx said. ¡°What?¡± Phinariel queried narrowing her eyes. ¡°Ye know very well.¡± ¡°I¡¯m bored,¡± Inis Mir declared and everyone turned to look at her. ¡°We shall go to the city.¡± ¡°Jinx,¡± Phinariel said her demeanor changing. ¡°What is¡ª?¡± ¡°Ye keep your pretty mouth shut now,¡± Jinx cut her off. ¡°And I¡¯ll keep mine. Nix, we¡¯re leaving.¡± ¡°I was thinking of staying with mister Berthas and Phinariel,¡± Nix argued. ¡°They shall require a fresh hand to augment their activities further after all this tumult.¡± ¡°No, we won¡¯t Gish,¡± Berthas retorted. ¡°Best you go with her.¡± ¡°Phina, not a word,¡± Jinx warned the nervous scribe. ¡°I can¡¯t allow you to do this,¡± Phinariel replied. ¡°I¡¯m not doing anything and you should stay out of me business,¡± Jinx hissed. ¡°To keep yours. This doesn¡¯t concern you.¡± ¡°What does she mean?¡± Berthas asked. Phinariel gulped down. ¡°He¡¯ll listen to me,¡± Jinx reminded her. ¡°And you¡¯ve weakened yer position fooling around wit him.¡±
They cantered down the relatively empty roads of Taras, some corners illuminated and noisy despite the time. The shores of the lake were crowded though, a row of lightposts lighting up the surface of the peaceful waters and the open-air taverns packed with visitors of all races. The sound of music rowdy. People had moved on. Life continued after every misfortune. Not all people. ¡°They are partying,¡± Inis-Mir commented, sitting in front of her at the saddle. ¡°Each has something small to celebrate on,¡± Jinx replied. ¡°A bit of profit, a new lover, the promise of a rich yield from his fields or just the summer and the good weather. There¡¯s a world outside yer castle princess.¡± ¡°We better get away from the crowds,¡± Nix cautioned them. ¡°Let¡¯s go to Folen¡¯s place,¡± Inis-Mir decided. Hah-hah. Yeah, nope. Let us not do that. ¡°That we can¡¯t do,¡± Jinx argued. ¡°But we can visit the temple.¡± ¡°The Wyvern¡¯s Den!¡± ¡°Sure, we¡¯ll climb down the catacombs,¡± Jinx murmured not very keen on the idea. ¡°Let¡¯s go then,¡± the princess ordered. ¡°Eh, we shouldn¡¯t travel at night,¡± Jinx countered. ¡°Nix,¡± Inis-Mir said turning to the anxious male Gish. ¡°Will you take me to the temple tonight?¡± ¡°Ahm, sure¡­¡± Nix glanced at the scowling Jinx and lost his words. ¡°That is¡­ eh, perhaps we ride the night out sort of speak?¡± he asked, adding with a nervous smile. ¡°Princess?¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± Inis-Mir thought about it. ¡°No. We shall go to the temple, or Folen¡¯s place. Ah, there are some city guards,¡± she added and raised an arm to get their attention. Damn it. Jinx turned the horse around to hide the small girl waving at the guards and with a hiss of frustration galloped away from the lake. Nix following after her after a moment of confusion. Assara was riding behind him. Jinx intended to get the princess outside Taras briefly and then bring her back, when the dark roads towards the large lake with her mother¡¯s name and beyond the Old City Towers scared her. As always in most plans hatched by the Gish, the princess was unafraid of the dark, very stubborn due to her genetics and Goras riches had brought all manner of folk to the peninsula. Some of the unsavory kind amongst the lot. Or most of them, as Glen would have said.
Jinx spotted the wagon stopped in the middle of the dark road and pulled at the reins of her large horse, an arm around the small body of Inis-Mir protectively. She glanced at the sides of the road for any movement and then examined the closed wagon. A couple of mules at the front and sacks of produce marking it as a merchant¡¯s or farmer¡¯s vehicle. The owner slumped next to the front wheel with an arrow sticking out of his chest. Abrakas rotting fingers. ¡°Nix,¡± Jinx whispered. ¡°Get your weapon out.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve no weapon,¡± Nix replied sounding spooked. ¡°I¡¯m a dancer, dabbling as a pleasure worker to make ends meet.¡± Jinx grunted, turned the horse around, her ears listening for sounds coming from the dark trees by the sides of the road and glanced at the distant but visible giant towers they had passed by earlier. Assara had jumped from her horse in the meantime and was walking towards the wagon. ¡°Assara,¡± Jinx hissed. ¡°Get back on that horse.¡± ¡°Blood,¡± the Ticu replied in her strange voice. ¡°I smell sweat.¡± A branch snapped, the sound carrying down the empty road. Jinx reached for her bow, but stopped as a human voice was heard, plenty of surprise in it. ¡°Smell she says from ten meters away. Never saw a dog wit such a pair of tits again,¡± the man said sounding fascinated, afore his voice changed into a more ¡®professional¡¯ tone. ¡°Where are ye lonesome kids going?¡± Jinx scrunched her face, but got her bow over her head, Inis-Mir putting a small hand on her arm to stop her. ¡°There¡¯s another man hiding there,¡± she told her and Jinx turned right to check the spot for herself, the first man getting out from behind the bushes from the other side. He carried a longsword in his right arm and wore quite a few pieces of different type of armour on his fit body. ¡°Several,¡± the man said as he¡¯d heard the girl speaking, the night very silent. Abnormally so, Jinx thought angry with herself. She should have been more cautious. ¡°Posco and Rutilo,¡± the brigand elucidated. ¡°Good wit the bow as well. Name¡¯s ¡®Jolly¡¯ Larsa by the way. We are roving suppliers lookin¡¯ for good deals.¡± ¡°We go our way,¡± Jinx haggled, the numbers not in their favor. ¡°We¡¯ve seen nothing of yer deals.¡± Larsa nodded politely. A forty year old Lorian with a weathered face and heavy wrinkles at the sides of his mouth. ¡°It¡¯s a fine suggestion this. Aye,¡± he said pretending he was thinking it through. ¡°Had we been common burglars let¡¯s say caught in the act, but as I said we¡¯re suppliers young lass,¡± Larsa smacked his lips and Jinx heard more commotion coming from the top of a tree further behind them. A very tall tree. The sound of nibble feet landing on the ground next. ¡°We have nothing of value,¡± Jinx argued. ¡°You have a mature voice for a girl. Quite the asset in me line of work,¡± Larsa replied. ¡°Is that yer mother? Yer little sister?¡± He pointed at Assara first and then at the princess. Greed in his eyes. Fuck, Jinx thought. They weren¡¯t just brigands. These were slavers. ¡°You really should let us go,¡± Jinx warned him and whispered to Inis-Mir. ¡°Hug that saddle tight Inis and keep yer head low,¡± her fingers closing on the nock of an arrow. ¡°Lose the arrow Gish,¡± a voice said coming from the wagon. This voice didn¡¯t belong to a human. ¡°I can see you.¡± Motherfucker. ¡°That¡¯s Sorn,¡± Larsa explained in a reasonable manner. ¡°Skilled in all kinds of weapons he-he. A Gish eh? Well then. This turned out a nigh profitable evening. ¡®Scurvy¡¯ Webb will be pleased.¡± ¡°Two Gish,¡± Sorn replied, the clad in leather armour Zilan coming out of the wagon. Paused to check on the dead driver and then eyed the silent Assara three meters from him. The Ticu hadn¡¯t moved at all since the start of their conversation. ¡°And a¡­¡± Sorn blinked, furrowing his brow. A dark-skinned Zilan with bright green eyes, Jinx hadn¡¯t seen before. ¡°¡­ by Luthos grace,¡± he grunted in alarm. ¡°A Ticu.¡± ¡°A what?¡± Larsa gasped turning his head around, just as the two other brigands appeared from the other side of the road. A Cofol and another Lorian armed with short-bows and long knives. Jinx¡¯s mouth turned into a snarl, Sorn reached for a blade he carried on his back, Larsa¡¯s face distorting as the strange Zilan¡¯s answer dragged and in the light of the two moons a cloaked figure appeared in the middle of the road behind Posco and Rutilo. Its long shadow reaching the two men and Jinx who caught it out of the corner of her eye. Then the encounter turned really weird.
Sorn glanced briefly at the newcomer and the Ticu moved the moment no one was looking at her. She did it so fast Larsa almost had a heart attack seeing her popping out in front of his face, the tall female creature a couple of inches taller than him. Larsa cursed and raised his arm, the one with the longsword but Assasa stooped nimbly and closed her cavernous mouth on his wrist. Larsa started screaming, the Ticu¡¯s teeth ripping through flesh and thin bones, Sorn returned his eyes on Assara and their two friends raised their bows to fire at her. Only to pause in profound bafflement realizing they were missing their arrows. Posco blinked and went for another, Rutilo the Cofol twisting about, right hand reaching for his knife. He¡¯d spotted the stranger out of the corner of his eye. The newcomer casually poked Rutilo in the aforementioned left eye, long finger penetrating the soft flesh with a loud pop, very surgically. In and out. The deflated eyeball plopping out, watery fluids and blood following. In the meantime Posco¡¯s hand almost found his arrows, the man carried a short round leather quiver on his right side, but the newcomer had kicked a leg out while plucking out Rutilo¡¯s eye and caught the quiver¡¯s bottom pat. Jinx had almost missed the second part of his assault. The timely kick pushed the quiver out of Posco¡¯s fingers and spilt the arrows everywhere. Posco cursed in great bewilderment, turned to see who the culprit was, the desperate groans of pain coming from his friends unnerving him and Jinx raised her bow to fire at Sorn that was attacking Assara. She loosed her arrow, but Sorn dodged and it smacked Larsa at the right shoulder and twirled him around, blood spraying from his maimed hand. Jinx went for another, a gloved hand stopping her. She cursed and tried to turn around, but the man moved faster keeping out of her sight. What in allhells? Posco got his knife out, but then he got stabbed just behind the toes with Rutilo¡¯s blade now in the hands of the newcomer. He groaned, the blade skewering his foot through the boot and bent instinctively at the waist to get it out, getting a raised knee right in the mouth in the attempt. Posco¡¯s bloody head and distorted face snapped back, while the newcomer stepped aside calmly to avoid the spray of gore and broken teeth. He stooped nimbly to pick up one of the spilled arrows and stabbed it savagely in Posco¡¯s right ear, the tip exploding out of the other.
¡°Oras fiends in the night!¡± Sorn cursed and jumped away from Assara, his ogling eyes on the newcomer and his friend now standing on the other side of Jinx¡¯s horse. ¡°It can¡¯t be!¡± She knew that man. The Issir from Eikenport. ¡°There is no coming back,¡± Sorn hissed sounding very spooked and retreated away from the bloody Ticu. ¡°You died when Larea Macar went down!¡± ¡°Sorn,¡± the newcomer said in his refined accent. ¡°Ask thyself. Could I have gotten out of those chains?¡± ¡°The gods helped?¡± ¡°Just a talking gnome,¡± the stranger replied. Sorn grimaced, then stared at the crying one-eyed Rutilo, the dead Posco and the groaning in pain Larsa, afore returning his eyes on him. ¡°Is Valydra still around?¡± the stranger asked and Nigel Grim gestured for Jinx to keep quiet. ¡°Maybe she is,¡± Sorn replied regaining some of his confidence. ¡°Maybe she isn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Give her my greetings,¡± the dark-skinned Zilan said with an easy smile. ¡°Leave what you took near the wagon. You¡¯ve lost it in the trade.¡± Sorn pursed his mouth one way then the other, but nodded and dropped a small sack he had on his back next to the front wheel. Eyed Nigel once and then walked away. ¡°Mister Grim,¡± Jinx hissed turning to the man of the Thieves Guild, but she had to pause and turning her head yell at Assara. The Ticu had pinned Larsa down and was eating his face. ¡°Assara leave him!¡± ¡°Blood,¡± she protested, her pretty face covered in gore. ¡°Ye had enough,¡± Jinx grunted and Nigel Grim nodded his eyes on the Ticu. ¡°I see you always keep the most exotic of companies,¡± the thief told her and glanced at his silent friend that was playing with one of Inis-Mir¡¯s bracelets. The Zilan had approached her like a seasoned pro. ¡°Another licensed thief I presume?¡± Jinx asked, when the stranger returned the bracelet to Inis-Mir with a kind smile. The princess stared at him enthralled. Nix¡¯s stunned voice drowning Nigel¡¯s answer. ¡°Allgods help us!¡± The Gish cried out snapping out of his stupor. ¡°We¡¯re under attack!¡± ¡°Go get Assara,¡± Jinx barked at him. ¡°You could¡¯ve helped a bit you know!¡± ¡°Are you insane?¡± Nix retorted and flinched at a cry of pain coming from the maimed brigand/slaver named Rutilo. ¡°I did the best I could do. Stayed out of yer way!¡±
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms or enjoy it again at Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ The chapters are re-edited and re-posted regularly at both places 384. The Girls (2/2)
Arguen Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Lord of Morn Taras Monarch of Wetull King beyond the Pale Mountains Aniculo Rokae ¡®The Girls¡¯ Part II -A part of her-
A day earlier, Goddess¡¯ Wall The desolate flat area at the top and the fourth kilometer mark of the inactive volcano, named Ovinet¡¯s Nest. RRRRRRRREEEE EERRRR Glen stopped, a boot placed on the dark yellow quartz boulder and glanced at the sky. It had cleared up again after a persistent breeze had pushed some of the clouds away. The tall peak rested among them and now he could spot the large black Wyvern as it circled over his head. The weary King of Wetull crooked his mouth next, reached in his satchel and grabbed a flask of water he had there. He drunk some of it and used the rest to clean his unshaven face. Amber eyes roaming the barren terrain all the way to the lip of the peak where the rock had turned a polished glass and ended with a massive drop. On a clear day, the view of Jade Lake¡¯s valley and the green jungle spreading to the north is spectacular, he thought. This was a clear day. Yet, there was no sign of the creature. Glen had only seen its massive -thinly covered with wiry long black hairs- head briefly. By the time he¡¯d reached the spot it had disappeared. While a smaller creature could find cover in the rocky terrain, some of the boulders were almost two meters in height, this¡­ Troll seemed to be taller than Soren by a good margin judging from its head. Uvrycres had called it a mountain Troll. Ugly motherfucker with a proboscis-like nose drooping down its face and bulbous white eyes. He¡¯d given him quite the scare. ¡°Fuck did you go, eh?¡± Glen wondered aloud. He secured his flask and then climbed over the round boulder. He walked towards the edge of the flattened quartz area, wary of the damp slippery ground. Peaked over it once, saw nothing but the great beyond and pulled back to retreat to safety. The nest ended at the massive crater at the center of the peak, the rocks there rougher and more a black color than a dark yellow. The smell of sulfur making it difficult to breathe. ¡°If that son of a goat explodes again,¡± Glen murmured. ¡°Just pointing out that it¡¯s going to be one hell of a Kaboom buddy.¡± EEEERRR ¡°I didn¡¯t get that,¡± Glen said and touched the dagger. Sometimes the Wyvern could speak to him without it, but Uvrycres was lazy to put in the effort. ¡°What¡¯s the importance of this plaguing place? Assuming you didn¡¯t just want to show me that ugly thing?¡± It¡¯s my mother¡¯s nest. It holds sentimental value, the Wyvern added. That which remains. A small part of her. ¡°Right, of course,¡± Glen wrinkled his nose and moved away from the crater. ¡°You think it went in there?¡± Obviously. ¡°Hey, maybe it¡¯s friendly? Not all ugly monsters are hostile.¡± It¡¯s a Troll Glen. They are hostile as fuck. He glared at the circling wyvern. ¡°Well, I ain¡¯t climbing down the darn volcano,¡± Glen grunted. ¡°You go get him, if yer that bothered about it!¡± What manner of Ruler of Monsters fears a monster? Uvrycres wondered mockingly. Glen stopped at the end of a large crack coming from the crater, the elongated chasm about two meters across and stared at the nest area again where at least you could sit sort of and rest. Well? The wyvern insisted as it made another pass, lower this time. Uvrycres was going to land seeing Glen had given up on the search. ¡°It¡¯s a crater that might have burning lava at its bottom. Four kilometers deep, in a mountain made out of brimstone!¡± Glen retorted angrily and turned to find better ground again. ¡°By the way, I fear no plauguin¡¯ Troll!¡± He grunted and a calloused arm came out of the chasm accompanied by a long-drawn-out cacophonous roar. MOOOOAAAHH Oh, for the love¡­ seriously? A giant ugly head and then the rest of the Troll following after it. That is it jumped out for the last part, its bloated fat body that of an elephant standing upright but with long trunk-like very hairy arms. All fat muscle and thick dark veins. It landed with a thud next to Glen, the latter¡¯s twisting and snarling face showing his displeasure for getting suckered into the confrontation by the wyvern and if one¡¯s wants to be honest here, plenty of fear. What? I had nothing to do with it! Uvrycres protested and the Troll swung that beefy arm to squash any expression off of Glen¡¯s face. He twirled nimbly under it, the Troll pretty slow in its movement and went to unsheathe his blade with an indignant hiss, but the giant creature swung the other arm pretty fast considering its size and stopped him. ¡°AAAAHHHRG!¡± An airborne Glen cried out, the backhand catching him on the right shoulder and hurling the smaller human five meters away. Glen tumbled once fully midair and crashed on the flattened area again on his hurt shoulder, either fixing it brutally or causing even more damage to the abused joint. He slid on the humid glassy rock cursing and groaning, revolving twice more on his back afore coming to a stop. Fuck¡¯s sake, he thought seeing the mountain of flesh coming towards him again with large ¨Cvery slow- strides. Glen rolled left, landed on shaking knees and got his sword out. The breeze changed direction and brought the clouds that had cleared for a while back onto the peak. When it rains, it gives ye a pouring! The ground shaking as the Troll approached well over three meters tall and almost as wide it seemed. Arms that of an overgrown gorilla, far longer and way out of proportion all but touching the ground. Luthos hairy balls, yer an ugly fucker, he thought and glowered back at the monster absent a better defensive plan. It is one thing to search for a big head, another to fully see the creature said head belonged to, come straight at you. The moment arse-clenching. Glen body tensed up, heart beating wildly inside his chest and his left hand clasping at the dagger¡¯s handle, just as the approaching Troll disappeared into the silvery mist. I CAN¡¯T SEE SHIT! The wyvern yelled in his head. The Troll coming out of the misty haze again, a moaning roar trumpeting its arrival before it reappeared. Glen snapped into action, that large foot coming down and landing a meter before him. A sharp lunge, the sword cackling in deviant delight, the blade opening rough skin and cutting flesh just above the ankle. The Troll¡¯s large calloused hairy hand flying over his head, as Glen danced around it after his strike, black blood splashing the dark yellow and sheer white glassy terrain. The Troll¡¯s roar turning into a groan when Glen attacked again slashing it across the back of its left thigh. Glen jerked away from a backhand, boots sliding on the polished quartz-like rock as if he was skating on an ice lake. Fuck it, Uvrycres decided. I¡¯m about to blast the nest clean! Hells no! Glen cursed and glanced at the sky, but saw nothing. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare send any flames here!¡± Just move away! Uvrycres protested. It¡¯s a plaguing mountain! ¡°We¡¯ve talked of this already! Place is packed wit sulfur!¡± Glen blasted him. ¡°There¡¯s nowhere to run!¡± Plus I can¡¯t see shit, he thought and seeing the Troll¡¯s fist slowly coming for him Glen found his footing and ducked under it like a seasoned professional, then started moving around his massive opponent energetically. He hopped on the tips of his toes, moved back and forth, swaying from on one foot to the other, then faked a left attack to strike from the right, the blade opening bloody gashes on the clumsy monster. ¡°Hah!¡± Glen guffawed a surge of cockiness energizing him even more and danced on his feet loose around the injured Troll. ¡°Bet ye didn¡¯t think of that sucker!¡± he taunted and heard the Wyvern landing near them, its large wings flapping and blowing some of the clouds away. Where is it? The unseen Uvrycres grunted apparently approaching in the blind. ¡°Stay back!¡± Glen snapped glancing that way, but noticing the Troll moving against him again, he twisted out of danger nimbly. He slipped a closing fist, as big as a small wagon¡¯s wheel and opened a cut on the retreating hand, almost severing a fat crooked finger. Black blood spraying out of the wound. The Troll groaned in blinding pain and twisted around with a newfound surge of energy to come at him with the other arm. Glen gasped and jerked away, run in a circle and then went to hack another finger off, but saw the bleeding arm returning from the other side and grimacing planted his feet to stop. His boots skating on the polished terrain and ruining his dodge. Completely. Shite! The Troll got him with the inside flat of its large palm on the chest, wrapping the armour there and send him flying again the other way. Glen lost the grip on the sword, but used the freed arm to sort of stop the momentum when he landed, the smooth wet terrain not much of a help in that effort. So Glen slithered in the blind briefly with arms and legs flaying, made three more bounces on the hard ground and then came to a full stop. Disheveled head over the lip at the edge of the nest. Nothing but kilometers of steep side under him. With a panicked gasp Glen twisted away from the edge and started looking for his sword on all fours. The Troll approaching unbothered by the thick mist as if it could smell him. With that nose, Glen decided, it comes as no plaguing surprise! Ah, Uvrycres was heard, sounding pleased for some reason. There it is. Charge! Clawed legs heard striking the ground repeatedly as the Wyvern started moving fast towards them. Glen jumped on his feet with a jagged gasp, the Troll¡¯s bulbous eyes looking at the smaller man struggling to move aside with hatred and the ground shaking, the shriek of the charging winged predator reverberating the top of the volcano. RRRRRRRRRRREEE!!! Fuck! Glen panted, just as the Troll paused a meter from him, turned that torso around and punched the coming out of the mist Uvrycres right in the mouth. It snapped the large wyvern¡¯s head back, stopping all momentum and Uvrycres groaned more shocked than hurt, though receiving that kind of smack under the nostrils must have hurt plenty too. The Wyvern used its opened wings to stop, clacked a gnarly mouth shut, twisting its creaking jaws right and left to see whether something had broken and then hissed irate at the Troll. The tall ugly creature snorted in response and moved against the wyvern unafraid, missing Uvrycres¡¯ sneaking from the sides stinger that skewered it through the neck once. In through the left side, right under the ear and out the right. Black gore splashing out. The Troll gurgled, the gaping wound bubbling and spraying out a frothy mixture of blood and dark green wyvern poison, stumbled backwards towards Glen that used the opportunity to stab it repeatedly right at the right ankle. He used the dagger to do it, getting some good hits in afore the hurt Troll twisted around with a mighty roar and a flustered Glen had to jump back and away from it. Remembering he was standing very near the edge mid move, the scowling King of Wetull twisted desperately to the side, using arms and legs to navigate himself but the momentum almost threw him clean off the mountain. He landed on his stomach at the edge and immediately started fighting for purchase. Glen clawed his fingers into the glass rock making little gains, both boots dangling in the air and scrapping at the vertical rock, but even so he slowly started pulling himself to safety again out of sheer will. Seemingly. In reality, with the ground slippery and the angle not in his favor, a gawking Glen was losing as many inches as he gained moving forward. He was going to fall over and Glen quickly realized it. Lamest death ever left unrecorded. By the time someone would think to look for him, the rains would have completely washed out the bloody sludge and pulverized into paste fleshy remains, from the bottom of the mountain. The Troll seeing Glen was pinned down and helpless gurgled again struggling for air, vomiting blood and foul poison out of its mouth in the process and then came at him determined. Apparently it had a lot still left in it to finish off a maniacally snarling Glen. The large creature reached the edge, towering over the still snaking for safety but mostly sliding towards the chaos Glen and raised a very-dirty hairy, crook-toed foot to squash his head like an egg. Glen thought of letting go of the ground and jumping to grab at the foot, if it missed, then work on a better plan from there, but while he was pondering what to do and ever-so-slowly slipping beyond the lip of the plateau, something weird happened. The Troll locked up that leg still raised ominously over Glen¡¯s head, the wrinkled black ball sack of the creature fully visible under its jug-sized paler cock ¨Cthe Troll had no clothes on- then stumbled forward quietly and went over him. Dropping in deafening silence towards the distant ground. Uvrycres snout and gnarly smile appeared though the mist directly over the shocked but still struggling to hold on for dear life Glen. Took a while, but the poison fucked it up proper hah-hah! The wyvern guffawed that smile growing, all black teeth and glowing pleased rubicund-colored eyes. A very peeved, heavy-breathing Glen¡¯s reply curt and devoid of any joy or friendliness in comparison. ¡°Don¡¯t just stand there laughing like an idiot!¡± He¡¯d roared in righteous indignation. ¡°Quickly lend me a claw ye stupid fuck!¡± Why? Uvrycres asked very perturbed and mildly insulted. ¡°What the fuck? I¡¯m slipping!¡± Glen croaked hoarsely not believing they were discussing it and grabbed at the Wyvern¡¯s right winged arm with both hands when Uvrycres finally extended it.
A drenched in sweat, thoroughly exhausted Glen stayed for a while on his back sucking air in with deep rugged intakes whilst staring at the clearing skies. The breeze had driven the clouds away again and the sun was blinding to look at, but Glen was just glad he could still see the sun. Until he couldn¡¯t that is and turned his hurting bloodshot eyes away with a groan. ¡°Gods darnit,¡± Glen griped trying to get up, every part of his body hurting and smelling of a month¡¯s old urine. What in Luthos¡¯ name? It pissed itself, Uvrycres explained. You got most of it in the face hah-hah! Good for disinfecting wounds though. So it¡¯s a win-win thing. ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake!¡± Glen grunted getting up and coughed, then spat down. Grabbed his flask and poured water over his head and face trying to get the worst of it off. ¡°Ye almost killed me there mister!¡± I told you to get away. ¡°I had no room to maneuver!¡± Glen blasted him frustrated, then groaned giving up. ¡°Is it dead at least?¡± It¡¯s gone for sure. ¡°How sure?¡± Ninety percent. More really. Glen would take a wager in the arena with such odds. Good, he thought. ¡°How did you miss a whole goddarn Troll?¡± Glen griped, finding some of his wits again. ¡°And if ye didn¡¯t, why didn¡¯t you tell me aforehand?¡± I didn¡¯t know. Glen sighed and wiped his face with a hurting hand, one of his fingers dislocated and his right shoulder a hurting mess. He stared at the large crater, some of the mist still lingering over it. ¡°What¡¯s down there that drew the Troll here?¡± Nothing much and it didn¡¯t, Uvrycres replied. I probably brought it here. ¡°How?¡± Our presence heals magic threads. It must have drawn it out of the ground. ¡°Well, that was a bunch of yer usual gibberish,¡± Glen retorted and smacked his lips, then grimaced as his jaw hurt. ¡°Let¡¯s not visit Nenderu¡¯s place today,¡± he decided tiredly. ¡°Let¡¯s go back. See if we can slip inside unannounced, change clothes and have a proper drink.¡± A good bath. We can take her along, Uvrycres offered. Next time. Glen eyed its beastly face. ¡°She¡¯s fine where she is. Safe.¡± Caged. ¡°Fuck off,¡± Glen snapped hoarsely. ¡°Not a word about this,¡± and grunting he added staring at his ruined armour. ¡°I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m covered in actual Troll¡¯s piss for crying out loud!¡± What is dis shite?
¡°Monarch,¡± Rimeros said in his Imperial accent a couple of hours later, seeing him coming inside from the open second floor window balcony like a skilled burglar. The cavernous openings Voron had left on the upper floors of the citadel allowing a pleasant breeze in that cooled the interior. Only the hall¡¯s windows had small balconies though. The wyvern had landed on the north one to allow Glen to get inside undetected sort of, given that the bells were ringing throughout the palace announcing his arrival. The Zilan official waiting for him shrunk his nose a couple of times afore adding. ¡°We have clean clothes in your quarters.¡± ¡°Umm,¡± Glen murmured and removed his gloves, then tossed them down. Rimeros picked them up from the floor and walked after him. Glen entered his quarters, a separate bedroom than the one they have used with Sen on the other side of the large floor and started removing pieces of his armour and inner garbs. ¡°I¡¯ll have Kilynia over,¡± Rimeros said gathering the discarded garbs in a pile. ¡°There¡¯s food ready.¡± ¡°Go away. No, bring me a bottle of that whiskey first,¡± Glen grunted and stepped inside the bathtub he¡¯d brought over from the other bedroom. The water cold, but soothing to his muscles. ¡°There¡¯s a Council meeting in an hour,¡± Rimeros informed him. ¡°I¡¯m busy,¡± Glen replied and pushed his white hair back. They were as rich as they were before other than the color, just a bit more rough and wiry. Part of it was probably the Troll¡¯s piss. ¡°Have you ever seen a Troll Rimeros?¡± He asked, chin touching the fast dirtying surface of the water. Rimeros frowned. ¡°A Troll. Ahm, I can¡¯t say I have. Where would one see a Troll Monarch?¡± ¡°The top of a mountain?¡± ¡°A mountain Troll then. Very rare. Did your highness see it up close?¡± ¡°Uhm.¡± Could count the hairs on its arse. ¡°Anything else Monarch?¡± Rimeros asked. ¡°Has Inis-Mir being fed?¡± ¡°The princess is sleeping sire.¡± ¡°She can¡¯t miss her breakfast,¡± Glen said. ¡°Wake her up. Go tell Maeriel to do it.¡± ¡°She¡¯s difficult to handle afterwards my Lord.¡± Glen glared at him frustrated. ¡°Bring her downstairs. We shall eat together and I¡¯ll talk to her.¡± ¡°Of course Monarch,¡± Rimeros replied with a bow. ¡°What about the meetings?¡± ¡°Are there a lot of them?¡± ¡°Forty seven petitions my Lord.¡± Suck on a bag of dicks, Glen cursed and grimaced. This part of the deal he hated. The whole plan with him taking over the burden was to keep Sen safe and that had died with her. His face darkened, wrinkles forming in the effort to push the thought of her away. The whole process hurting him more than the Troll¡¯s blows.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. He wished he was back on that mountain again. Rimeros seeing Glen¡¯s sorrowful expression left his quarters without saying another word.
Sir Alan Kirk appeared very worried. ¡°Milord, you¡¯ve been gone for two days again,¡± he started, Glen sitting on his throne with a glass of black whiskey in his hand. ¡°We didn¡¯t know where to look.¡± ¡°Wanted to clear my head,¡± Glen replied. ¡°We could have arranged for a hunt,¡± Sir Kirk argued. ¡°Sir Delmuth is all for it.¡± ¡°I killed a Troll,¡± Glen informed him. ¡°So I¡¯m covered on that.¡± ¡°The eggs are cold, but I reheated everything else,¡± Kilynia said approaching with the plates. ¡°I took the liberty of finding a slave to help around the palace oh, Great Monarch,¡± she placed everything on the conference table at the east corner of the hall, next to one of the massive black columns and stared at him. ¡°The yellow cheese is fresh and I had them cut it in sticks and left it melt over the boiled potatoes.¡± ¡°No slaves,¡± Glen told her and got up to approach with Sir Kirk in tow. ¡°The Throne can afford them Monarch,¡± Kilynia insisted. ¡°I don¡¯t want them around,¡± Glen replied and sat down. ¡°You¡¯ll join me Kilynia?¡± ¡°I shouldn¡¯t,¡± Kilynia said. ¡°I don¡¯t care for the gossip my Lord. You¡¯re widowed.¡± Right. ¡°Maeriel does it.¡± ¡°Her preferences are well known,¡± Kilynia insisted. ¡°But if it¡¯s your wish, I¡¯ll stay my Lord.¡± ¡°I just offered you food and ye made it all weird,¡± Glen grunted. ¡°Just go away Kilynia.¡± ¡°Tensed lady,¡± Sir Kirk commented seeing the lanky Zilan walking away keeping her head high. ¡°Very mindful of protocol.¡± Glen slotted a hot cheese covered potato in his mouth and breathed in to cool it off. Opening and closing his mouth like a fish caught in a hook when that failed. ¡°Use the drink milord,¡± Sir Alan Kirk advised and Glen poured the contents in his mouth to bring the temperature down. ¡°Gods,¡± he gasped gulping everything down at once with a pained grimace. ¡°It burned my tongue off!¡± ¡°At least the tongue is still working milord.¡± Glen cleared his throat, refilled his glass and pushed the plate away from him. ¡°Where¡¯s Maeriel? What is taking her so long?¡± he asked and glancing upwards noticed Sir Qildor¡¯s masked face looking over the rails at him, Iskay¡¯s red hair billowing as she run past him in panic. Glen furrowed his brow, eyes kept on the silent knight. ¡°Anything the matter Sir Qildor?¡± he asked casually, a tang of worry circling him. ¡°I was¡­ looking whether the princess was with you Hardir,¡± the knight replied. Glen smacked his lips and sipped some of the whiskey afore placing it on the table. ¡°Where is she?¡± He asked calmly. ¡°She¡¯s not in her bedroom,¡± Sir Qildor replied. Glen had that figured out from all the panicky reactions. ¡°Checked her mother¡¯s room?¡± Glen asked, trying not to assume the worst. ¡°We are searching the whole floor sire.¡± That was a no. The rest of it alarming as it implied the girl had gotten out past a lot of guards patrolling the upper floors or awake for the whole night. ¡°I¡¯ll go look for her,¡± Kirk said. ¡°She¡¯s probably hiding in a closet or something.¡± ¡°She does that?¡± Glen asked hopefully getting up to follow after him. ¡°When you¡¯re gone milord.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± Glen replied sourly climbing up the stairs, his eyes on the worried Maeriel. ¡°Master,¡± Iskay said getting out of Sen¡¯s locked bedroom. ¡°She¡¯s not¡ª¡± ¡°Maeriel?¡± Glen asked walking fast towards the ranger. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a rope outside her window,¡± Maeriel started, Glen passing by her and entering his daughter¡¯s bedroom. The room was adjoined to Sen¡¯s with a small side door, now closed. ¡°And someone had created an effigy of her on the bed, covered in sheets. Used the egg for a head.¡± Glen stared at the disheveled bed and then at the open window. Too tall for Inis-Mir to climb out of without assistance. His mind went on the night they had found that eel in her cradle. ¡°A rope,¡± he murmured trying to keep his tempers from flaring. ¡°She climbed down the citadel?¡± ¡°Jinx was here last night,¡± Maeriel replied tensely. ¡°She had done it afore.¡± Jinx, Glen thought, a tick appearing at his left temple. ¡°Taken Inis-Mir?¡± ¡°Climbed down the Citadel that way,¡± Maeriel elucidated. ¡°Has she taken Inis-Mir?¡± Glen asked and glared at her. ¡°She left last night with that girl,¡± the ranger explained. ¡°The guards didn¡¯t report anything out of the ordinary.¡± Eh, Jinx could slip a wagon under their noses. ¡°What girl?¡± Glen growled. ¡°Assara.¡± Glen had no idea who that was. ¡°A new lover?¡± he chanced and Maeriel¡¯s face distorted. ¡°I¡¯m missing my daughter, to hell wit yer feelings!¡± Glen growled. ¡°Think fast ranger!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe they have something going Hardir,¡± she croaked. ¡°Where¡¯s Jinx?¡± Glen asked Sir Kirk and he pursed his mouth unable to answer. ¡°Find Hagen,¡± Glen ordered and with another scowl he turned around to walk outside the room. ¡°Iskay message Captain Horton. Notify the city guard. Find Jinx.¡± ¡°Yes master,¡± Iskay replied with a deep bow and trotted away in her sheer slave outfit. ¡°Iskay!¡± Glen barked at her back and she paused shaking. ¡°Put something on for fuck¡¯s sake!¡± The slave nodded and sprinted away as fast as she could. ¡°Monarch I take full responsibility,¡± Sir Qildor said standing rigid. ¡°I was outside the door but didn¡¯t suspect a thing.¡± Glen grinded his teeth. ¡°They are sneaky,¡± he hissed. ¡°Hardir?¡± Sir Qildor queried not understanding. ¡°Notify Sir Delmuth,¡± Glen told him. ¡°Search the premises.¡±
Glen stared at Hagen an hour of intense searching later in the yard of a buzzing with frowned guards Morn Taras. ¡°You found Folen?¡± ¡°Hasn¡¯t seen her milord,¡± Hagen reported. ¡°But a couple of Gish were spotted early last night near the lake¡¯s taverns.¡± ¡°Jinx took my daughter to a tavern?¡± Glen asked and walked to his horse. ¡°Not according to the witness sire,¡± Hagen replied hesitating. ¡°But there was another sighting across Lord Fikumin¡¯s place.¡± ¡°Speak!¡± Glen growled spittle flying out of his mouth and Outlaw snorting spooked. ¡°A small girl might¡­ have been with them.¡± ¡°Them?¡± ¡°The girls sire,¡± Hagen replied in visible discomfort. ¡°Lady Jinx, her friend and Lady Phinariel. They all live at the Gish¡¯s place.¡± Glen grimaced and jumped on Outlaw with a scowl and a groan, his back and legs stiff from all the bouncing off of rocks wrestling with that Troll. ¡°Where to sire?¡± Sir Kirk asked atop his own mount the Rokae silver mask covering his face. ¡°The Council meeting is in Fikumin¡¯s villa in Taras right?¡± Glen grunted. ¡°Aye milord.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s take a ride and talk with that smart scribe,¡± Glen added tensely.
Twenty fully armed, clad in gleaming armour Rokae, Hagen and Glen rode hard into Taras an hour later, galloped through the streets injuring four citizens and killing a sleeping dog and stopped in front of Fikumin¡¯s villa (that used to be Glen¡¯s afore Morn Taras had been built). The confrontation with the guards at the entrance ending when a furious Glen walked towards them. ¡°King Garth,¡± a nervous city guard mumbled. ¡°Step aside,¡± Glen hissed and the man did as fast as he could. Glen burst inside the hall of the Villa, half the Council present and glared at them. Fikumin paused, a long stick in hand pointing at a map of the Peninsula, Anfalon standing next to him and an ogling Phinariel on their other side, with a stack of scrolls in her arms. Seeing Glen¡¯s eyes focusing on her the scribe squealed in panic, tossed her papers and run towards the open window screaming. Reached it in a breath and jumped outside, Glen¡¯s accusing finger pointing at her lithe arse disappearing out of it. ¡°GET THAT SNEAKY SCRIBE! CEASE HER!¡± The Knights reacting with yells for those outside to stop the fleeing young Zilan. Glen running after Sir Delmuth and Hagen back out of the doors. A stunned Fikumin rushing after him. ¡°Lord Garth,¡± the surprisingly fast moving dwarf called after him. ¡°What¡¯s the meaning of this?¡± Glen got out of the door, just as Phinariel ducked under Sir Kirk, rolled past a cursing Sir Qildor and sprinted across the street with a galloping Sir Nuvian charging straight for her. Phinariel made it halfway through before the warhorse send her crashing down the road with a pained yelp. ¡°Glenavon!¡± Fikumin cried seeing him run after the slowly getting up scribe. ¡°Stop!¡± Glen yelled at her. ¡°Don¡¯t move a muscle!¡± Phinariel did jumping away from Sir Nuvian¡¯s horse and run towards Berthas who came down the stairs of Jinx¡¯s house worried. Sir Nuvian reached the young Zilan again just before the villa but just as he reached to grab her by the hair, a large wooden sheet ripped out of a villa¡¯s window, flashed across in the blink of an eye and smacked him hard off of the saddle breaking apart in the process. Wow. The knight went down, his horse galloping away, but ten more angry knights ¨Cnot all of them on horses- and Glen rushed the screaming scribe just as the sorcerer turned towards them a determined looked on his aged face. ¡°Berthas,¡± Glen warned sternly reaching for his sword. ¡°Stand down, else I¡¯ll send yer fucking head back to your mother! In a box!¡± ¡°I can¡¯t let you harm her my Lord,¡± Berthas replied nobly. ¡°Suit yerself,¡± Glen retorted and unsheathed his blade. ¡°Cut him down!¡± He ordered the Rokae, Phinariel¡¯s scream answering before they could move. ¡°Please don¡¯t!¡± She begged crying. ¡°I won¡¯t run Lord Garth!¡± Glen grunted in response and walked towards the shaking scribe while the knights bodied the young sorcerer roughing him up in the process. They had all drawn their swords seeing the King had drawn his and were all but ready to kill the scowling bloodied Berthas. Glen reached the retreating inside the house Phinariel, kicked the snarling Nimra lion away when it tried to rush him and grabbed her by the throat afore slamming her on a nearby wall. ¡°Where is she?¡± He hissed near her ear, smelling the scribe¡¯s fear. ¡°In the yard,¡± a sniffling Phinariel replied breathlessly. ¡°Glenavon!¡± Fikumin barked standing behind him. ¡°Let go of her.¡± Glen allowed the scribe to collapse on the floor, her legs not holding her. ¡°They took Inis,¡± he told the scowling dwarf. ¡°The Princess is missing?¡± Fikumin said and stooped to help Phinariel up. Well, the dwarf didn¡¯t have to bend that much truth be told. He offered her a hankie to wipe her face looking at her with worried eyes. ¡°It¡¯ll be alright lass,¡± Fikumin assured her and Glen all but rolled his eyes at his friend. Phina had a boyfriend on the side or he was blind. Unless Berthas likes getting his shit pushed in for the fun of it. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure you¡¯re not harmed,¡± Fikumin added in the meantime. ¡°Where¡¯s that fucking yard?¡± Glen asked looking about him still frustrated and she pointed at a door at the end of the large hall. Paws snarling at him angry from a safe distance. ¡°Shut up you,¡± Glen snapped and with a last glare at the sniffling scribe he marched towards the door leading to the back of the villa.
A familiar face standing just outside, his back on one of the supporting columns. Clever eyes watching the girls and that male Gish playing on the rich green lawn. Glen stopped next to him, staring at his daughter riding the shoulders of a tall black haired girl as if it was a bull and charging at a short male Gish holding a sheet in front of him. He pulled away at the last moment escaping the two girls and Inis-Mir yelled in frustration and ordered her ¡®mount¡¯ to turn and charge at the chuckling Gish again. They did in what looked like it would be a repeat of the previous attempt, but Jinx tackled the Gish sneakily from behind and the charging duo bulldozed through him this time, the smaller male hurled to the ground with a yelp of pain under the thunderous cheering of the girls. ¡°Few things in life are truly precious my master always says,¡± Nigel Grim said without looking at him. ¡°They don¡¯t have to be gleaming like gold, or valued by all in the same way. What is precious to thee might not be what I long for. It¡¯s our own minds and hearts that¡¯ll determine if something should be treasured. What its real worth is or isn¡¯t,¡± the thief added, face hidden under the rim of his raised hood. ¡°Nine times out of ten, family is worth more than gold.¡± Glen cleared his throat, his eyes on the happy group wrestling on the lawn of the villa. ¡°You¡¯re here on Guild business mister Grim?¡± he asked smiling unwittingly at his daughter¡¯s chuckles and faces. ¡°Indeed I am my lord,¡± Nigel Grim replied and moved from his spot, managing to stay in the small shade. ¡°But this isn¡¯t the time for it. The Guild provides for its own,¡± he added meaningfully and tipped his head afore walking inside the villa again. ¡°Daddy!¡± Inis-Mir yelled finally spotting them and rushed to hug a moved Glen. ¡°Thought I lost you too,¡± Glen said and picked her up, not minding his protesting spine. He buried his face in her dark crimson curls and rocked her gently in his arms. ¡°Don¡¯t ever do it again,¡± his eyes returning on a gloomy Jinx looking at them. ¡°I almost fucked up,¡± she told him and Glen nodded. ¡°We¡¯ll talk of this later,¡± he replied sternly.
Hours later with Inis-Mir safely back in her room and Morn Taras returning to a semblance of normalcy, Glen returned to the central Hall with Fikumin that had come along. The light almost gone and the fading sun marking the end of the stressful day. Glen sat on the scribe¡¯s table after releasing Vulreon from his duties and cracked open a bottle of Goras wine. He poured a cup, pushed the bottle towards the dwarf and then reached for his pipe and lit it, while Fikumin served himself. ¡°Hell of a day,¡± Glen commented blowing smoke from his nostrils, the drug soothing his pained body. ¡°But at least she¡¯s safe now.¡± Fikumin scowled, thick brows connecting in the middle of his prominent forehead and glugged down the contents of his cup. He immediately refilled it. ¡°I¡¯m going to have Voron bar the windows,¡± Glen continued. ¡°Maybe put a heavy padlock on that door, have few people have a key. Not Jinx for sure. When the final floor is fully finished, I¡¯ll put her there.¡± ¡°How about we lock her in the treasury?¡± Fikumin taunted. Glen stood back on the chair pursing his mouth. ¡°You have something to say?¡± Fikumin grunted his reply. ¡°Phinariel is distraught. I had to send her home. Berthas has a broken arm by the way. There¡¯s an injury list.¡± ¡°They¡¯ll heal. As for those two, they conspired to have my daughter kidnapped,¡± Glen reminded him. ¡°They got off easy.¡± ¡°That was Jinx and you know it. Even so, you don¡¯t really believe she wanted her harmed. Yes, our friend is an idiot, but that¡¯s the Gish for you. They don¡¯t follow rules, or etiquette.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll deal with her later,¡± Glen hissed. ¡°You don¡¯t seem worried for what could have happened.¡± ¡°I am,¡± Fikumin replied and comped his wild beard with a stubby hand. ¡°But behaving like this makes everyone nervous.¡± ¡°Phina needs a good slapping for not running straight to me with it,¡± Glen said. ¡°I understand you like her Fiku, but this was a mistake.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not about her only,¡± Fikumin replied uncomfortably. ¡°It¡¯s you.¡± ¡°You want me to rejoice at a time like this?¡± Glen grunted. ¡°It won¡¯t change on the morrow, or the day after it,¡± Fikumin insisted. ¡°You need to move on.¡± ¡°Says the most pensive person I know. You¡¯re constantly unhappy Fiku!¡± Glen retorted and placed the pipe down to have some of the wine. ¡°I have plenty on my mind,¡± Fikumin rustled scowling some more. ¡°And I don¡¯t?¡± Glen argued and sighed. He stared at Metu entering the Hall accompanied by Hagen that carried a bunch of maps with him. ¡°Is that for the report?¡± Fikumin nodded deep in thought. ¡°Fiku, I just need a bit more time,¡± Glen told him. ¡°I¡¯m in the right about today.¡± ¡°Not in the way you believe Glenavon,¡± Fikumin replied. ¡°Right. Well then, mister Metu is that a map of the Peninsula?¡± ¡°It is, eminent Tsar,¡± Metu replied. ¡°The fuck is that?¡± ¡°An archaic term for Khan my Lord,¡± Metu elucidated with a deep bow. ¡°Go on then,¡± Glen said with half a smile. ¡°I have the latest reports marked on the map to make it more pleasant visually,¡± Metu continued. ¡°Lord Phon is still near Nasar.¡± ¡°He hasn¡¯t moved?¡± ¡°He¡¯s besieging the town exulted Monarch,¡± Metu replied. ¡°Thalion?¡± ¡°He sent reinforcements, but he¡¯s still at Rohir,¡± Fikumin said. ¡°Emerson has moved in Dor O¡¯ Cof-Ol and approaching Que Ki-La. He¡¯s probably closer than what it shows on the map already knowing him.¡± ¡°They¡¯ll have the old man fight alone?¡± Glen asked and got up. ¡°With Thalion¡¯s troops, unless Phon moves faster.¡± ¡°Order him to do it,¡± Glen grunted. ¡°How long for a missive to reach there?¡± ¡°Two days to Fu De-Gar if we use their birds. Four for Phon to read it,¡± Fikumin replied. ¡°What does Anfalon think? Or Lord Onas?¡± ¡°He wants to move the Phalanx in Ani Ta-Ne.¡± Glen grimaced. ¡°How long will it take?¡± ¡°Too long to help Emerson if things go awry,¡± Fikumin admitted. ¡°We could use all of the fleet. Right now we have two transports sent already with supplies and war materiel, but we can¡¯t fully take on the task at this point Glenavon. Wars are expensive.¡± ¡°We need to help Emerson, I hadn¡¯t realized things were so critical,¡± Glen murmured and rubbed his face. ¡°I¡¯ll look over all this Fikumin. Speak to you again in the morning.¡± ¡°As you wish my lord,¡± Fikumin said his face relaxing. ¡°We are helping them, but they need to act for themselves.¡± ¡°What is this figure?¡± Glen pointed at the map. ¡°That would be the crest of Prince Nout sacred Ruler,¡± Metu elucidated. ¡°The Gold Leopard.¡± And here you are Lord Reeves, the Gold Leopard had told a young Glen in that narrow canyon-like passage almost five years back. ¡°That¡¯s his last position?¡± An alarmed Glen asked staring at the map. ¡°We don¡¯t know his last position Monarch,¡± Metu replied. ¡°Other than that he¡¯s moving towards Shao Na-Lan. We assume to reinforce Que Ki-La.¡± That slant-eyed motherfucker will try to corner us again, Glen thought remembering the Cofol Prince riding that fancy horse and his gold smiling mask. Here you are you are again yerself, always sneaking up. ¡°He won¡¯t land in Que Ki-La,¡± Glen said worried fingers digging in his left cheek. He pointed at the smaller port with the rebels flag on it right across Shao Na-Lan. ¡°The Prince shall strike here. Like he did in Rida. That¡¯ll be his Esterlam¡¯s Crevice allover again, right between the Three Sisters forces.¡± ¡°He¡¯ll chance a landing at Rihtur?¡± Fikumin asked and Glen nodded solemnly.
Glen walked out of the Room of Paintings an hour later and returned to the Great Hall of Morn Taras alone. He reached the raised platform and the sole black granite throne there but didn¡¯t climb on it. Glen stalled near the end of the stairs, his eyes on the familiar polished floor and the sound of a golden crown rolling to his feet in his ears. The massive hall dark despite all the lightstones installed on the columns and on its walls. The predominant black color of the room not helping. The memories making the place even more sinister and oppressing. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Jinx said snapping him out of his sullen reverie. The small-bodied Gish had approached without him noticing it. Sir Kirk following after her. Glen waved the knight away. ¡°What were you thinking?¡± He asked in a harsh tone the depressed-looking Jinx. ¡°Taking her outside the castle without an escort! You know how dangerous the world is Whisper.¡± ¡°I wanted to free her,¡± Jinx murmured. ¡°Seeing her like that breaks my heart.¡± ¡°She¡¯s in her home!¡± Glen grunted. ¡°Free her? She¡¯s not in a blasted prison Whisper!¡± Jinx furrowed her pink brows at his outburst. ¡°It¡¯s been more than a month Glen. Almost two. That¡¯s a lot of time, she hasn¡¯t stepped outside the palace.¡± Since Sen died was her meaning. ¡°She doesn¡¯t need to!¡± A hurting Glen blasted her. ¡°She¡¯s a young girl gods darnit! Inis-Mir isn¡¯t ready to walk about the city, or roam the streets at night and she shouldn¡¯t¡­ she won¡¯t do it. It¡¯s too soon.¡± ¡°She¡¯ll never be old enough in yer eyes,¡± Jinx replied. ¡°Ever. You¡¯ll have her locked in here like a precious trinket and she¡¯s a living thing Glen.¡± ¡°She is precious!¡± Glen growled and glared at her. ¡°To me she is.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant damn you,¡± Jinx snapped angry. ¡°Open your eyes. She needs a father and not a warden!¡± ¡°What do you know of family?¡± ¡°More than you apparently,¡± Jinx retorted. ¡°Hah, says the Gish that abandoned her siblings to run away wit a sailor!¡± Jinx stepped back, her face paling as his words had cut her deeply. ¡°I was young,¡± she said bitterly. ¡°And I regret it.¡± ¡°Huh,¡± Glen grunted and sat down on the stairs before his throne. ¡°Yet you come to offer advice.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t regret the journey or the friends I made,¡± Jinx murmured crossing her arms over her chest. ¡°But not seeing my brothers and sisters growing up. That¡¯s on me. Not knowing what they become and if they are happy. I was an orphan trying to learn about the world like you, but Inis isn¡¯t¡­ not completely.¡± Glen grimaced and stared at his hands. The ring finger on his right still swollen at the knuckle and a deep red color. ¡°I can¡¯t have her exposed to all them nasty things out there,¡± he said in a measured tone. ¡°It¡¯s too dangerous.¡± ¡°It is. But you have people to protect her.¡± ¡°Yeah, like you did? You almost had her killed!¡± Glen grunted pursing his mouth. ¡°Climbing down the citadel with a rope!¡± ¡°Not dangerous. That part at least.¡± ¡°Whisper!¡± Glen snapped at her. ¡°Tis the truth. But we almost got kidnapped for real,¡± she added thoughtfully. ¡°What? In the city?¡± ¡°Near Sen¡¯s Lake.¡± ¡°What in Naossis tits were ye doing there?¡± Glen blasted her and got up. ¡°Shit. It¡¯s not important,¡± Jinx said. ¡°I apologized for that!¡± ¡°Wasn¡¯t aware of the whole incident! So it doesn¡¯t count!¡± Glen argued irate. ¡°Who were they?¡± ¡°Slavers,¡± Jinx replied and seeing him ogling his eyes on the verge of apoplexy, she added. ¡°They are dead. Eight took care of them.¡± ¡°Eight?¡± Glen croaked and stood back. ¡°Nigel¡¯s friend?¡± Glen licked his lips slowly. Jinx was either on to something or speaking out of her arse again. ¡°Anything else I need to know?¡± He asked her narrowing his eyes. ¡°Probably,¡± Jinx replied. ¡°But I sense yer not in the mood to hear it, so I¡¯ll leave it for another time?¡± she grinned at that, then ducked under his hand. Glen kicked a leg out and caught her twirling, the Gish going down with a loud shriek that ended abruptly when she banged her head on the tiles. Fuck, Glen thought worried and rushed to see if she was still breathing. He turned her around and Jinx kneed him between the legs doubling him over. Glen groaned and grabbed her fleeing foot, as Jinx had jumped up after pretending she was hurt and attempted to run away. A heave and the Gish went down again with a pained yelp. ¡°Stupid beefy cunt,¡± she croaked when he approached her again holding her pink head with both hands. ¡°I¡¯m hurt.¡± ¡°Thought ye were faking it,¡± Glen said through a pained grimace rubbing at his groin. ¡°I was. I pretended I was unhurt dumbass,¡± Jinx admitted and stood up blinking in the attempt to clear her blurring eyes. ¡°How did ye get that strong?¡± she protested sourly. ¡°I fight wit Trolls in me spare time,¡± Glen replied with a sigh. ¡°And ride a plaguing wyvern.¡±
Inis-Mir was sleeping in her bed. The furniture huge for her small body, the long silk chemise she had on leaving only her pale tiny feet uncovered. The small painted toes covered in rings, as she loved sleeping in her jewelry. Glen pulled the expensive rosy-colored sheet over them and sat next to her at the edge of the bed. He stared at the poorly lit room and at Maeriel¡¯s shadow coming through the open door. His eyes roamed the nightstand and then returned to the redwood bed again. Twelve pillows arranged on it, the numbers of the months written on them. Her dolls and figurines. Glen placed a hand on the large gold egg Inis-Mir always kept near her and felt its lukewarm surface. A Wyvern¡¯s gift, he thought. What will you be when you get out? What creature you¡¯ll become when you grow up? Will you take care of my daughter? You better do. A small part of her, the Wyvern had told him up on that mountain. ¡°I love sitting near you too much,¡± he admitted to his sleeping daughter. ¡°I like your smell and the sound of your voice. You¡¯re my girl. The way you walk and all your little gestures. I don¡¯t want to share you and it¡¯s not healthy. I fear the day you¡¯ll walk away to write your own story and love someone else. I loathe those that will try to hurt you and make you sad. You¡¯re my treasure, a part of her I can¡¯t lose. I can¡¯t¡­¡± Glen paused and made to raise his hurt hand to wipe his eyes but realized Inis-Mir was holding it with hers. The tiny fingers grip strong on his, gold bracelets clinging when she raised it to touch his wet face softly. ¡°I¡¯ll never leave you,¡± she assured him with that atypical for her age tone. ¡°Yeah?¡± Glen asked raspingly and scooped her up with one arm. He raised her high towards the ceiling, the girl chuckling at the brief flight and then let her drop some freely, only to catch her immediately again. ¡°Why go out then?¡± Glen asked her flushed face. ¡°I wanted to see the Den. The wyvern asked for it,¡± Inis-Mir had replied sobering up. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t punish Jinx.¡± ¡°It¡¯s too late now,¡± Glen replied and her face fell. ¡°I had her arse executed,¡± he added with a smirk. ¡°You¡¯re lying!¡± she squealed still scared and then slapped his shoulder. ¡°Also you shouldn¡¯t use that word in public.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t, but only if you stop climbing out of tower windows,¡± Glen haggled with a smile. Inis-Mir considered it for some time then added with a firm pout just like her mother would have. ¡°That¡¯s not a fair trade. You need to offer me something more daddy.¡± And obviously a much moved Glen had.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms or enjoy it again at Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ The chapters are re-edited and re-posted regularly at both places 385. The Plains of Dor O’ Cofol (1/3)
Sir Emerson Lennox Mista Savar ¡®Pale Jackal¡¯ The Plains of Dor O¡¯ Cofol Part I -Screaming Palms-
Late Spring of 193 Dates Plantation Forest Near the village of Palar, Dor O¡¯ Cofol Good ground for cavalry. The whole east side of the Peninsula really. Emerson had knelt to touch the harsh grass under his boots. Large herds of fawn-colored gazelles had grazed it almost to the roots. They had done it overnight in order to avoid the heat of the plains. The Khanate¡¯s Gulf brought a constant warm breeze from the east and the occasional heavy rains of winter had thinned considerably that last month. So the grass had lost some of its color or outright died out at spots, but them gazelles still favored it aplenty. He let his eyes roam the open flat field, from the last dwellings of the village Palar on his back to the edges of the Great Palm forest. Some of it cultivated, but at some point they had lost control of it and the tall palms had spread towards Clear Lake past Que Ki-La all the way to the banks of Small River and beyond it. A hundred meters to his left a lonesome large rhinoceros, black skin hairless and the horn on its massive head more than a meter long, snorted irritated at the sight of his mount. Or smell. The large beast was almost blind the locals had told them. Best to avoid it, as it considers what it doesn¡¯t recognize hostile and attacks unprovoked, they preached trying their best not to anger the armed gladiators. A land whose inhabitants were easily cowered before authority or great power. Not all its inhabitants of course. It was easy to make that mistake lulled by the soft music, the sweet dates and the warm nights. Emerson didn¡¯t have the bones or legs to do that dance again with the proud beast, so he returned to his horse and climbed up the saddle. Turned it around with a respectful nod at the scowling large beast determined to hold its ground and returned to the Chiliad¡¯s large camp next to the village of Palar.
¡°I can clear that wagon with a sprinting jump,¡± Troy insisted. ¡°Then I get to bed your Issir slave Sim Ib-Lurd. Mix me honey-blond curls wit her dark-chocolate goodness,¡± he added and the Cofol thought about it for a moment. ¡°Eh, you don¡¯t have any coin Troy. What you had you¡¯ve already spent on booze and whores. What happens if you don¡¯t jump over the wagon?¡± ¡°Ye get a good laugh about it?¡± ¡°Not a good trade,¡± Sim, an advisor to Lord Tsuparin of Fu De Gar replied unamused. ¡°I rarely find humor in athletics absent a hefty bet¡­ in coin.¡± ¡°Ye don¡¯t visit the circus back home? Them acrobats are as nibble as monkeys!¡± ¡°I have monkeys aplenty in my villa. Two male orangutans. But I enjoy the arena more. You agree to work for me when this is over Titan,¡± Sim replied. ¡°You have yourself a deal.¡± ¡°Not a good trade,¡± Troy retorted using his words against him and seeing Emerson approaching, pushed his naked chest out to showcase his musculature. He snapped both beefy arms forward, fists clenched and planted a kiss on his swollen right bicep. ¡°Ye need to scrap yer coin boxes clean and oil up a couple more of yer slaves afore you get to enjoy all dis!¡± ¡°There¡¯s a challenge for you Master Ib-Lurd!¡± Asmudius guffawed slapping his hands. ¡°Cease the moment and grab the Titan¡¯s meaty cock for yourself!¡± ¡°Troy gather everyone,¡± a solemn Emerson cut into their conversation. ¡°Bohor as well Asmudius. I hope you opened yer mouth to agree afore trotting away,¡± he warned him. ¡°I¡¯ll bring the Slavemaster to you Mista Savar,¡± Asmudius said with a sneer. ¡°I find alarming yer not moving though,¡± Emerson grunted and the slaver did with a roll of his eyes. ¡°Samir¡¯s scouts reported Lord Elur Sol¡¯s army is a couple of days away,¡± Troy reminded him. He stopped near Emerson and grimaced. ¡°You are not lifting the men¡¯s spirits wit that long face.¡± ¡°What that¡¯s supposed to mean?¡± Emerson grunted. ¡°That¡¯s it. No hidden meaning,¡± Troy retorted. ¡°That¡¯s flat ground. The Cofols will cover it very fast, no hidden meaning there also,¡± Emerson said through his teeth. ¡°I want eyes on that forest. Better yet I want control over it.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with the plains?¡± ¡°Ye can¡¯t hide in them,¡± Emerson replied and Troy nodded puckering his mouth. ¡°Think the Lord of Coin knows that?¡± ¡°Someone in his camp must,¡± Emerson said and glanced at the mass of date trees and palms extending on their west flank as far as the eye could see. ¡°Check those plantations at the edge of it. It¡¯s been a day but they haven¡¯t send anyone to the village. Either they don¡¯t like our smell or they are stalling to give us a warm welcome.¡± ¡°Local cunts?¡± Troy chanced with a stupid grin. ¡°Local steel,¡± Emerson grunted and cuffed him upside the head for being a smart mouth.
Velox, the experienced Lorian former Gladiator and trainer from Fu De-Gar, made another pass with the sharp curved dagger over his oiled shaven head. There were no more hairs to shorn but it always soothed him he said and helped the hardened fighter think all the better. He¡¯d another curved blade dagger on his waist, a scalpel tattooed on his right chest but it was his skill with the short blade that had given him his moniker. ¡°You can¡¯t control the forest, but we can take the plantations,¡± the ¡®Surgeon¡¯ finally said after mulling it in his brain, everyone else taking his cue from the senior trainer present to add their two cents. ¡°I trust Ballard wit this,¡± Troy said, never one to overuse that part of his body. ¡°Better to fight in the shade,¡± Qathor the tall dark-skinned Issir decided, always liking his small comforts. A bottle of greasy lube hanging from his neck ¡®not to ruin a good fuck on a gory arsehole.¡¯ ¡°Eergh,¡± the horribly scarred half-breed Telos grunted, sole eye gleaming with hatred. ¡°How many Platoons?¡± the cunning Asper, the other Cofol trainer from Fu De-Gar, asked looking at Audax his taller brother. ¡°Yours,¡± Emerson replied. ¡°Audax and Toros wit ¡®Sweet¡¯ Sylia will help you with theirs. So you¡¯ll be in good company.¡± Asper nodded, Qathor grimacing for missing his opportunity and Troy cracked up at his friend¡¯s disappointed face. ¡°You¡¯ll move first, but the rest of us won¡¯t stand idle,¡± Emerson continued and put his calloused finger on the crude calfskin map of the plains. ¡°We¡¯ll build a wall here, long enough to get every man behind it.¡± ¡°Why not use the village¡¯s buildings for cover?¡± Velox queried. Elur Sol was bringing a lot of archers with him.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°We shall, but not in the way you propose,¡± Emerson replied and turned to Sim Ib-Lurd. ¡°You¡¯ll bring the slaves inside Palar.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no place left for them. The civilians have taken over most of the spare shacks and houses,¡± Sim argued. ¡°You¡¯ll toss the locals out in the street?¡± ¡°I want most of the village leveled,¡± Emerson retorted and the rich Cofol stood back with a frown. ¡°The material used to erect the barricade within a day. Only the foundations left behind us, so we can retreat if needed to a place they can¡¯t burn.¡± ¡°Huh,¡± Sim stared at the others present inside the commander¡¯s large leather tent to see whether he was serious. Emerson had stayed in the camp outside Palar. ¡°It can¡¯t be done,¡± he added realizing Emerson wasn¡¯t pulling his leg. ¡°A thousand men can build a small tower in a day, if they put their minds to it. Two thousand? They¡¯ll have a simple wall erected pretty fast.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll have merchants work¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have everyone work.¡± Sim used a tongue to wet his painted mauve lips. ¡°The slaves are very poor workers Ballard.¡± Emerson was more worried about his civilians. ¡°We¡¯ll give them incentive to work harder, your civilians as well,¡± Emerson elucidated. ¡°We can¡¯t ask¡ª¡± ¡°You are confused I reckon. I¡¯m not asking.¡± ¡°Right. What about the slaves, offer them more food?¡± ¡°Freedom.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll free almost a thousand slaves? Have you got any idea how much coin¡ª?¡± Emerson stopped him banging his fist on the table once rattling it violently. ¡°Something eludes you Ib-Lurd,¡± he rustled gravely. ¡°I see it aplenty around here, but mostly in yer circles,¡± he eyed Bohor and Nertor at that, the slavers frowning at his words. ¡°You¡¯ve killed the Khan¡¯s people and took them as slaves. I know you¡¯ve done it. All them pretty young girls and boys weren¡¯t with us from the beginning. I¡¯m good with faces,¡± Emerson continued warningly. ¡°While I¡¯ll deal wit you about it that¡¯s not the plaguin¡¯ point I¡¯m trying to make here,¡± he took a deep breath and looked each man inside his quarters in the eye. ¡°Let me tell you how wars end and what happens afore and after they do. A bloodletting. Aye. There¡¯s no profit in it, no showmanship or cheering crowds. No leaving the arena early if the spectacle is not to yer liking.¡± ¡°Ballard,¡± Troy intervened as he¡¯d heard him talk about it before, but Emerson stopped him with a glare. ¡°Let me finish.¡± Troy stood back raising both arms. ¡°Go ahead old man.¡± ¡°When the ¡®Warbands Rebellion¡¯ ended those that had started it were still breathing,¡± Emerson continued. ¡°So seeing the writing on the wall and the pile of dead bodies they surrendered. They lost their heads just the same, all the great houses of Sovya put under the blade and the Redmonds who had failed to control them left with a single male heir. People condemned the barbarity but no one stepped forward to save them and eager men were found to do the foul deed. That was on Jelin,¡± Emerson continued. ¡°Where people care about those things, value nobility, praise chaste maidens and pretend to believe in the laws of the Five. Here, killing is a lucrative sport that sells tickets and the Khan¡¯s law absolute, no religious heads to ask for clemency or academics to condemn such philistine actions. What will the Khan do if we lose this war?¡± No one wanted to answer him so Emerson answered his query himself. ¡°The gladiators will die out there for they are not going back to the arena. Your families sold to slavery, your cities burned or reduced and yourselves shall burn for the Khan¡¯s pleasure. You think Elur Sol will spare you Ib-Lurd? The Lords of Rihtur forgive you? How about you Bohor? How many will step forward to ask the Khan to spare a slaver? Samir? You think the Sopat can buy themselves out of trouble? I say the Khan will take over running the mines, the slavepits, the arenas and the spice ports. He has men to do the deed eagerly, sons and generals ready to enrich themselves further. They¡¯ll dance on your graves. All of our graves.¡± Emerson breathed in once and added hoarsely. ¡°If we lose. All of us are dead. I trust the gladiators to fight for their freedom Sim Ib-Lurd. Will you fight for yer life? Will the Lords of the Peninsula do it? If the answer is yes, then you¡¯ll raise yer fancy sleeves and build a wall to force them archers closer or make Sol nervous enough to order his men to come and take it.¡± Velox nodded and Asmudius clapped loudly with both hands his eyes misty as if he was a theater spectator in a great play not yet written. ¡°When they do,¡± Emerson finished his thought that solemn expression still on his face. ¡°We¡¯ll retreat a few meters and fight them on the other side.¡±
¡°I¡¯m not against returning to the arena,¡± Troy told him when everyone had left to rouse the camp. ¡°Just putting it out there that I¡¯m entering my prime years. I have more to give to my followers is all I¡¯m saying.¡± ¡°There¡¯s more to life than the arena¡¯s sands, the prized tourneys and an enthused crowd¡¯s cheers,¡± Emerson replied thinking of his son and his crying sister a world away. ¡°One day you¡¯ll figure that one out Troy. It¡¯ll be useful if yer still breathing when you do.¡± Troy pulled his lips away from his teeth in an uncomfortable grimace. ¡°Yer a barrel of laughs sometimes Ballard,¡± he griped adding after a small pause. ¡°Forget that. Most of the fucking times!¡±
Arik Sartak, Lord Commander of the Rin An-Pur Jang-Lu recruits, upon learning of what happened in Rihtur messaged the still grieving for the loss of his son Vijay at the distant Tyeusfort Lord Zuti Mirpur, the Khan¡¯s Master of Horses that had been left in the Capital and asked for reinforcements. Five hundred horse archers left Rin An-Pur immediately for Lukela, but Emerson¡¯s fast advance meant they weren¡¯t able to arrive in time. Elur-Sol wanted to attack immediately at the arriving in Palar advanced units of the Chiliad, but Sartak opted first to control the approach to Que Ki-La and the massive battlefield¡¯s west flanks. For that he sent his best troops inside the palms forest. The edges of it were dominated by large date trees plantations and it was difficult to know where the forest ended if you weren¡¯t local. Sartak¡¯s men ¨Crecruits from the Capital- took control of most of the buildings there days before Emerson¡¯s supply train arrived. Elur Sol moved the rest of his force into the plains. Around a thousand spear infantry, two thousand archers on foot although they could turn in mounted units easily and a cavalry force of about five hundred men. Three hundred medium lancers, some Cataphracts from his personal guard and two hundred camel riding mercenaries, mostly repurposed caravan hands. Sartak spent his time securing the forest with his smaller force of infantry, probably around a thousand men but the number is difficult to trust given the source. Asmudius who wrote extensively about the campaign gives a colorful account of their numbers, but I strongly believe they were much less men present in the field. The Khan had taken the bulk of the army left with him and the Princes¡¯ had control of the rest. Given the numbers that would appear in the following battles elsewhere, it just seems implausible and the local official records aren¡¯t easily accessible today given the political climate and my personal circumstances. Despite my efforts and the long time since the events, it is impossible to convince the unforgiving Zilan officials in Goras for access to the Royal Library that holds the Monarch¡¯s personal account. Speaking of the Princes, the Khanate¡¯s Heir chariots reached the city of Garya that month, eighty kilometers from Shao Na-Lan after a grueling fast march and were immediately confronted by Aquila¡¯s Dor rear units that were loyal to his brother Atpa. In the ensuing confrontation Prince Nout routed the guards refusing his force entrance and took control of the city. He issued an ultimatum to Dor to have the larger city port open for him when his army arrived, else Nout would tie him to his chariot and drag him all the way to Rin An-Pur while Dor still breathed. Aquila Dor caved in but notified the distant Prince Atpa of his brother¡¯s actions. Prince Atpa¡¯s whereabouts are unknown at this time. Officially he was marching across Eplas to meet with Prince Radin at Devil¡¯s Cove port, but there are accounts of a big portion of the Army of the Desert still camping near Sadofort. Atpa wanted to keep his forces intact as the Khan had absorbed Sahand¡¯s troops stationed in Rida into his own army. While the Khan was informed of the developments in the Peninsula, the window of opportunity that had opened for him was too enticing to lose. Prince Nout assured his father that he would win the war back home and to go ahead with his invasion. Perhaps the best general the Khanate had and his father¡¯s favorite son, the still ailing Prince convinced the Khan to leave the matter to him. If there was one man to fix the mess created by the Three Sisters rebellion it was him. By the time Prince Nout reached Shao Na-Lan to be greeted by a sour-faced humbled Aquila Dor the situation had deteriorated spectacularly across Khanate¡¯s Gulf. It is often said great military heads rise through adversity and in this case it is true. But not all great war stories have a great ending. The first action of the battle was to come before noon near the largest plantation bordering the palms forest just as summer arrived on Greenwhale Peninsula. A large force of Gladiators led by a warrior named Asper made contact with a patrol of Cofols guarding it. In the ensuing battle the Cofols were helped by two hundred slaves, their guards and the locals owning it. They raised quite the ruckus with screams to notify the nearby Jang-Lu recruits so the gladiators put everyone to the blade. Such was the immense clamor raised by so many people getting slaughtered that Asmudius writes of a concerned Emerson dispatching Samir with his horse archers to report on what was happening. An action that left him without ranged support in an otherwise well planned out battle, which the usually avoiding such thorny topics play-writer nevertheless implies that it was intentional. If that¡¯s the case, then Sir Emerson¡¯s support from his allies wasn¡¯t as robust as histories written after the war and the writings under the many monuments to the man himself will have you believe. - Embellished by Lord Sirio Veturius Assembled from notes, oral memoirs, and the vulgar, unreliable but famed plays of the slave merchant turned writer Asmudius, who traveled with the Chiliad Circa 206 NC The Fall of Heroes Chapter XXIV (Sir Emerson Lennox, Ballard of Lesia, Mista Savar) Tales of Greenwhale Peninsula, Volume V ¡®Three Sisters Rebellion¡¯ - 6th month -Bloody Palms- Battle of the Dates Plantation First month of summer 193 NC
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms or enjoy it again at Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ The chapters are re-edited and re-posted regularly at both places 386. The Plains of Dor O’ Cofol (2/3)
Toros ¡®The Black¡¯ The Plains of Dor O¡¯ Cofol Part II -I dreamed of freedom Habba-
Sylia turned those slightly slanted, sunlit hazel-colored eyes on him, a nervous expression on her heart-shaped Lorian face. There was some Cofol in her along a bit of the North but it wasn¡¯t as prevalent anywhere else but in her eyes and reddish-blond hair. Toros had a lot more Lorian in him than her in comparison and his skin was the color of coal. As Lord Phon always said, ¡®Breeding slaves is like the gems market on week''s seventh day, you never know what the flavor of the day might turn out to be.¡¯ While the leader of the Sopat family had no clue about gladiators, he knew how to mix and match the better slaves. Toros had been gifted with strength, Sylia with grace and in Master Sopat¡¯s eyes this could produce a more expensive flavor. So ¡®Black Toros¡¯ got the better part of the deal pairing with her since they were kids. Then Phon¡¯s brother Don decided Sylia should grace with her presence the arena and Toros had followed in her footsteps to keep her safe. From the gold sands of Lai Zel-Ka to the lush green oasis of Ani Ta-Ne and the grim pits of Fu De Gar he had killed men and women having her back. A score of them. Before they got their chance at a title and freedom which was what Sylia wished for, Mista Savar had appeared and gave the Lords of the Peninsula another more interesting sport to wage their coin on. Similar to the old one but even more dangerous for those participating. The reward perhaps the same but equally elusive. ¡°Let me head in there,¡± Audax, the tall muscular Cofol, told his brother Asper. ¡°I¡¯ll clean out the buildings so we can anchor ourselves properly.¡± Asper stared at Tibost, a half-breed as pale as Toros was black they called ¡®Ash¡¯. ¡°Lord Baryal has two large plantations here.¡± ¡°That what Rustam said?¡± Asper asked. Rustam was Lord Baryal¡¯s man running the village of Palar in his absence. ¡°You think the Lord of Dates is here?¡± ¡°Probably hides in Que Ki-La,¡± Tibost rustled. ¡°Mouth either full of fruit or cock.¡± Asper nodded. He¡¯d served in Baryal¡¯s Ludus for years before moving to Fu De Gar to be near his brother. ¡°Toros I need you to check those palms for freshly cut paths. Audax will rush the guards in there.¡± ¡°What if we find them paths?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll sneak up to Que Ki-La. Might even reach as far as the Sopat, or Simun roads,¡± Asper replied. ¡°If that¡¯s where they¡¯re are going, which I¡¯m sure they are.¡± ¡°It¡¯s half a month to Simun Gates,¡± Sylia argued. ¡°That¡¯s not what Mista Savar asked.¡± ¡°I prefer to sneak up on them and cut them off from Esugen¡¯s men at Nasar,¡± Asper retorted with a glance at Toros. ¡°The Pale Jackal won¡¯t object to it. He¡¯s working for the Sopat right?¡± ¡°Not the last time I checked,¡± Toros said. ¡°Enough talk,¡± Audax cut in with a grunt. ¡°We move. We are Garites Black Toros not perfumed cunts. Save that for the baths in Lai Zel-Ka.¡± Toros eyed the large gladiator soberly. Audax wasn¡¯t taller than him, but he wasn¡¯t much shorter either. Now skill was how one measured himself in the arena and Audax was a worse fighter than his much shorter brother and Toros. ¡°I never use perfume,¡± Sylia intervened in her sweet manner breaking the tension sort of. ¡°Had I known you hated it Audax I¡¯d have slathered myself in it to overcome your stench.¡± ¡°Hah-hah,¡± Tibost guffawed crumpling his nose. ¡°She¡¯s not wrong Audax. You reek brother.¡± ¡°Alright that was borderline funny,¡± Asper added with a shrug and glared at his brother. ¡°Get moving Audax. Save the talk of cocks and cunts for later.¡±
Janot, a purebred Issir in their platoon, took Adric and Deryk to scout further inside the lush forest starting after the date trees. The fence separating the inner edge of the plantation was covered in vines and invincible to the naked eye unless you stumbled on it. Toros marched the rest of the platoon there, opened a path through it and found a spot covered in grass under the shade for them to wait. The men gathered in groups, checking on their gear and talking about the prospects of the campaign. Everyone in better spirits after the gruelling march through the Dry Sea but also nervous. ¡°I¡¯ve dreamed of freedom habba,¡± Toros told the sitting on his lap Sylia, using the archaic Cofol name for love, his hands resting on her fit thighs while she braided his dark brown hair. The Lorian part of him. ¡°Saw us resting by a peaceful lake with clear waters. The trees had many trunks each, bark all grey but for touches of green moss.¡± ¡°Fig trees,¡± Sylia murmured, looking in her satchel for coloured beads to use on his hair. ¡°What made you think we were free?¡± ¡°You had your manicae and armour removed,¡± Toros replied. She wore mail armbands with her sculpted into a female torso tight-fitting half-plate. A lighter variant of the armor Toros had on and she used a spear instead of the scimitar and shield he wielded. Seeing as they had always fought as a pair it worked nicely for them. ¡°You never do that.¡± ¡°I do it to bed your clumsy arse,¡± Sylia chuckled throatily. ¡°Yer fingers ruin me binds.¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t that kind of dream habba.¡± ¡°Mmm,¡± she purred. ¡°Were we back in Lai Zel-Ka? Mistress Sen-Iv had fig trees at her estate by the Amethyst Lake.¡± ¡°Different waters,¡± Toros replied reminiscing their younger years. ¡°Different lake.¡± Janot had come out of the woods. They had entered on foot, leaving their horses back with the platoon to graze on the grass. Adric and Deryk missing. ¡°I left them near the road,¡± Janot explained when he approached and had some water by the shade. ¡°What road?¡± Sylia asked getting up. ¡°They¡¯ve widened a path about three hundred meters from the edge of the date trees,¡± Janot explained. ¡°Cut a lot of palms down.¡± ¡°How long you think?¡± Toros asked. ¡°Might lead straight to Lord Elur Sol¡¯s palace.¡± ¡°Army?¡± ¡°Not near where we exited, but signs of many footprints on the ground. Voices at the near, probably patrols.¡± ¡°Horses?¡± Sylia probed with a frown. ¡°Beasts of burden mostly,¡± Janot replied. ¡°I¡¯ve left Adric and Deryk back, so we¡¯ll know more soon.¡± ¡°We should tell Asper about them. We need all the men,¡± Sylia decided. ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Toros agreed. ¡°Janot ready the men, but don¡¯t engage. We¡¯ll bring everyone here first.¡± ¡°What is Asper doing?¡± Janot asked rubbing at his shorn white hair. ¡°Looking out for Audax probably,¡± Toros replied and headed for their horses, Sylia hurrying after him. ¡°The sun is fully up. It won¡¯t be easy to surprise anyone,¡± he told her after climbing on the saddle. ¡°Well, they tried to sneak up on us,¡± Sylia murmured. ¡°Lord Sol knows we¡¯re here.¡± ¡°Aye,¡± Toros agreed crooking his mouth. ¡°He does.¡±
The screaming alerted them as they approached. One of the warehouses burning and thick smoke billowing over the date trees. The sweet smell of the fruits and earth mixed with that of charred wood. And flesh. ¡°Stay near!¡± Toros yelled at the woman following after him and rode near the first of the many buildings resembling a small settlement. They stopped when he spotted the first corpses lying by the side of the dirt road. Few heavily armed in the typical scaled armour of Khanate¡¯s professional soldiers, the Ram sign of Que Ki-La and Elur Sol¡¯s nowhere to be seen though. Toros grimaced after checking on a slain soldier lying next to a beheaded slave, the severed bloody head three meters away. The crest on the soldier¡¯s armour was that of a four-horsed chariot. The Khan¡¯s own. ¡°Jang-Lu,¡± he told the still on the saddle Sylia and she set her eyes on the buildings. ¡°A young one though. Not a veteran.¡± The soldier wasn¡¯t over twenty. ¡°I thought the Khan took them with him out of Rin An-Pur,¡± she said. ¡°Might be recruits,¡± Toros replied and looked for the soldier¡¯s sword. ¡°Body is looted. Take the horses behind that building.¡± ¡°Someone¡¯s coming,¡± Sylia informed him and Toros grunted. ¡°Barsabe,¡± his lover added. One of Asper¡¯s fighters. A half-breed like them.
¡°Audax group got ambushed,¡± Barsabe reported when he reached them. ¡°We had to intervene.¡± ¡°How many?¡± Toros asked staring at the slave¡¯s head. The dead man¡¯s eyes looking through him. ¡°The whole fucking settlement jumped on him,¡± the Gladiator replied. ¡°He got injured. Bad.¡± Eh, Toros thought and pressed his lips tightly. ¡°There¡¯s a force lurking in the woods. Army guys.¡± ¡°We¡¯re finished here,¡± Barsabe replied hoarsely and added with a grimace of distaste. ¡°Got a bit out of hand.¡±
¡°Goddess¡¯ mercy,¡± Sylia gasped seeing the bodies hanging from the meat hooks in front of the ravaged estate¡¯s entrance. The blood dripping down the stairs, the porch and the walls. Even more slain bodies were thrown in the front yard, the gravel caked in still fresh gore. The stench of death and smoke suffocating. A scowling Toros walked up to Asper, the latter was standing near his bandaged brother, thoroughly shocked at what he was witnessing. One of the bled out corpses on the meat hooks that of a young woman thoroughly mutilated and missing her eyes, breasts and fingers. Asper noticed them approaching and turned to meet them halfway. ¡°Audax got a nasty wound,¡± he told him worried. ¡°I can still fight!¡± A pale Audax growled hoarsely from his spot, the wound on his thigh sipping blood through the bandages. ¡°What in allhells happened here?¡± Toros asked crooking his mouth. ¡°That bitch knifed him, nicked an artery,¡± Asper replied, his armour covered in gore and the steel custom-made long blade of his Scythe painted in it. ¡°Did you have to kill everyone? These were slaves Asper!¡± Toros grunted seeing more corpses by the corner of the large building. ¡°They turned against us,¡± Asper replied gravely. ¡°So I turned them into fodder.¡± ¡°We are not in the plaguing arena!¡± Toros snapped and Tibost turned to eye him warningly. ¡°Sol has an army inside the palms forest,¡± Sylia intervened her voice strained. ¡°We need help Asper.¡± The Cofol gladiator looked at her for a moment, then nodded once. ¡°I¡¯ll get both platoons moving.¡± ¡°I¡¯m coming along,¡± the injured Audax insisted and Asper grimaced, stared once more at the seething Toros and walked away. Tibost followed after him brushing against the taller Toros. With a grunt Toros turned around and walked towards their horses, the half-breed Barsabe still waiting there, watching the gladiators gathering to march out of the settlement. ¡°Toros,¡± Sylia cautioned him. ¡°Asper fought both in Fu De Gar and in Que Ki La. They don¡¯t value the slaves like the Sopat.¡± Toros wasn¡¯t as fond of their masters as she was, nor did he fear Asper, but Sylia had a point there. That didn¡¯t mean he liked it. ¡°We are slaves as well, just like they are,¡± Toros hissed a counter through his teeth and then eyed Barsabe. ¡°The fuck happened back there?¡± Barsabe smacked his dark lips, his skin a shade lighter than Toros¡¯ but with a pair of strange green-gray eyes, before answering. ¡°It was a small group. Their officer surrendered seeing our numbers, but Audax cut him down,¡± seeing his glare he added. ¡°Them are the rules of the sands Black Toros.¡± Fuck¡¯s sake! ¡°Who was the girl?¡± Sylia queried. ¡°Lord Baryal¡¯s daughter. Mirsine-Ba. This was her plantation.¡± ¡°Why did she attack Audax?¡± ¡°She had a thing for the officer,¡± Barsabe replied. ¡°Roused her guards and slaves. Asper had to intervene,¡± the latter he addressed to Toros. ¡°It¡¯s kill or be killed Black Toros. The rules haven¡¯t changed just because we¡¯re riding under a new banner.¡± ¡°Get on that horse gladiator,¡± Toros rustled from the saddle soberly. ¡°We have an army to stop.¡±Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. An hour later Battle of the Screaming Palms West flank The Jang-Lu blocking the forest road locked their small shields and started marching again. Halberds for the two front rows, curved swords for every third standing two meters apart that were to deal with anything spilling out. The Cofol rectangular formation was twenty men wide, the steel fully masked helmets gleaming in the light coming through the thin canopy and the expression sculpted on them a gnarly smile. A garish variant of the Cataphract less pronounced grin. The Jang-Lu were men rejected from the prestigious Khan¡¯s mounted force, either the Cataphracts or his Scythed Chariots, but skilled enough to serve in this elite unit. The recruits while fresh, were very well drilled and fought well in a group, the narrow terrain favoring them. Toros¡¯ smaller force had to slowly retreat until he ran out of road, not wanting to charge on the bladed polearms as the Jang-Lu commander wanted him. Asper¡¯s arrival changed the dynamics of the engagement, as he assumed command, but it was the injured Audax wanting more blood that had forced his brother¡¯s hand again. ¡°We need to draw them out in the open!¡± Toros yelled at Asper seeing the Jang-Lu stopping again and letting out a thunderous roar to taunt them. Audax¡¯s wild eyes ogled their way whilst frothing at the mouth. ¡°They won¡¯t follow!¡± Asper retorted. ¡°Send Sylia to the horses.¡± ¡°I¡¯m staying Asper!¡± Sylia barked irate. ¡°We might need to push them off the road,¡± Asper countered not liking her tone. ¡°Yer not heavy enough lass.¡± ¡°I¡¯m as heavy as you!¡± ¡°Eh, curse ye,¡± Asper grunted in frustration. Audax stepped forward huge war hammer in one arm, and a straight-bladed sword in the other. ¡°Follow me,¡± he yelled to his platoon. ¡°Let¡¯s get these smiling bitches thrown back on their arses!¡± The men roared. ¡°Crack their skulls and step on their brains!¡± Audax growled and started advancing down the road towards the Jang-Lu that had stopped ten meters away.
Audax and his gladiators rushed the distance, but hesitated at the protruding halberds looking for openings, as the second row of Cofols were brandishing their long weapons high like long shafted cleavers. ¡°Ye stupid cunts,¡± Audax snarled and swung his war hammer in an arc parallel to the ground shoving three halberds aside and breaking a fourth on the return. He stepped forward closing the distance, hacked viciously at the gap left by the small square shield splitting the mask of his opponent and goring the face underneath it. The Jang-Lu went sprawling down, Audax parried the hacking halberd away and swung again with his huge war hammer catching the Cofol soldier standing next to the dead one. He snapped his caved in helmed head violently sideways, breaking the neck and banged it on the soldier standing a spot further to his right bringing both of them down. Then his gladiators charged in the opening.
¡°After me Toros!¡± Asper barked and charged his own men after his brother. Toros grunted, jaw clenched maniacally and waved their platoon after the other two. ¡°Stay behind me!¡± He urged Sylia and slotted his shield on his back en route. She didn¡¯t carry one, but this wasn¡¯t a shield type of engagement. They needed to break the Jang-Lu, but while Toros thought it possible, the terrain wasn¡¯t favoring them and they appeared to have the numbers. The gaps were plugged faster than they could kill them and their opponents¡¯ skill varied in personal combat. Mista Savar had drilled into his skull that you don¡¯t attack a larger force unless the terrain favors you. Toros had no idea if that was the case, but the Pale Jackal was a proven champion of the Pits and his words carried a lot of weight in his mind. The first two rows of the Jang-Lu had disintegrated and the sword carrying third followed soon after. Thirty men killed in less than five minutes was fast even by arena standards, but then another row of halberds appeared in its place using the same configuration of long and short weapons. Only instead of standing still they advanced under the barks of their officers. Audax parried a thrust aside, narrowly dodged a vicious cleave from the second row, smashed a swinging halberd in many pieces along the right arm of his opponent, but then he got pierced in the sides and pushed back. The Jang-Lu pressed forward, lowered halberds thrusting, the raised ones hacking at the gaps. Audax swung his war hammer and shattered a blade, the hacking halberd butchering the soldier shoved in its path by mistake and he stepped forward again. He got pierced again on the right shoulder, the nasty hook opening his arm down to the elbow and slashed red muscles held by bloody tendons spilling out. Audax growled losing the handle on his big weapon and severed a hand at the wrist from a soldier that rushed him. Then he got pierced again below the left chest, the plate wrapping there and a downing halberd cleaved him on the right shoulder splitting the clavicle bone. ¡°ARRGGH!¡± Asper growled still trying to get near the front and took advantage of Barsabe¡¯s axe decapitating a soldier from the second row to free himself. He rushed near his fallen brother, Toros approaching five meters behind him and many bodies, but when the men left an opening in their lines again, he flinched in horror. Audax had been butchered viciously by the Jang-Lu that kept on hacking at him with the longer weapons, the curved steel hooks ripping the flesh from his ravaged body and tearing at his armour. If this was the gods¡¯ justice, Asper didn¡¯t see it that way and swung his scythe not a foot from the ground in a sweeping arc at the approaching Jang-Lu. The sharpened blade cut through greaves, flesh and bone alike chopping fresh twigs. Four soldiers lost both their feet, two only the left and the whole line collapsed in groans of terrified agony, when Tibost jumped between them with his scimitar and small axe attacking from the sides. Barsabe followed with his axe along the rest of the platoon and the Cofol soldiers¡¯ line melted in seconds. The butchered bodies piled on the bloody road making walking difficult. A tensed Toros reached a grieving Asper a moment later and grabbed his shoulder to pull him away from the unrecognizable bloody mess that had been Audax. Asper turned with a bloody snarl and growled like an animal, but Toros held his ground and pointed at another row of Jang-Lu coming at them in step. ¡°That¡¯s how they fight! Allgods darn it!¡± He barked in his face, Asper¡¯s eyes gawking with madness. ¡°Rows upon rows of bladed polearms to buy their cavalry time! There¡¯s no cavalry at the near, but the spot favors them!¡± Asper¡¯s eyes cleared some and tried to wipe the grime off of his face with a bloody hand making it worse. ¡°We can¡¯t break them piece by piece. Their back rows don¡¯t see what¡¯s happening. Whoever planned this knows his men,¡± Toros insisted. ¡°Order a retreat Asper.¡± ¡°Retreat where?¡± Asper grunted, the rest of the gladiators looking at them and the Jang-Lu approaching. With their identical masks and gnarly smiles, it was like they were fighting the same men again and again. But they weren¡¯t men really. Most soldiers under the masks were young. These were recruits. ¡°The ground opens up towards the plantation,¡± Toros rustled, a worried eye at the nearing Cofols. ¡°The trees stand further apart. This is a free-for-all all Asper, but we are boxed in here. Either we stand behind our shields as well or we fall back!¡± ¡°I can¡¯t leave him like this,¡± Asper murmured hoarsely looking at Audax¡¯s mutilated body. Toros stooped and grabbed the war hammer. He offered it to Asper. ¡°Here¡¯s Audax. You take him wit you,¡± Toros urged the grieving gladiator. ¡°In your hand and in your heart. He¡¯ll live there forever brother.¡± Asper nodded his eyes clouded and gestured for Barsabe to pull the platoons back. Tibost was to lead Audax¡¯s unit. They retreated out of the thicker part of the forest and the corpse covered road towards the date trees fields. The Jang-Lu marched after them, their front doubling once to forty and then once more to eighty right when they exited the woods. The numbers were worse than Toros had thought in the beginning, concealed in the long narrow palms forest road by a thoughtful leader that wanted to win as much as they.
Arik Sartak won the engagement in the palms forest and pushed Asper¡¯s men back towards the burning buildings of the plantation. The gladiators retreated there, but the widening front didn¡¯t favor them and had to fall back again in a grueling long-lasting fight. Always pushed towards the plains and outside the date trees fields where the Cofol commander expected his numbers would overwhelm them. While this was true, the men of the Chiliad were unbreakable. This would come up again and again in this brutal campaign. A gladiator can¡¯t give up or stop fighting. He will retreat but keep at it. Asper¡¯s men were also extremely well-conditioned and unfazed by small or graver injuries. As time dragged on in this relatively distant from the center of the main battle engagement the Horse Archers of Samir of Ani Ta-Ne took advantage of the heavy Cofol cavalry redeployed elsewhere to stabilize a more vital part of the front, routed a Cofol archer detachment anchoring the west flank of Elur Sol¡¯s battle line with his center and reached the hard-pressed cut off Asper¡¯s men. Samir¡¯s flanking attack rattled the exposed flanks of the Jang-Lu recruits, but Sartak charged with his small medium cavalry force following his infantry and blunted their attack. The Horse Archers pulled back despite having the numbers, always uncomfortable fighting a close contact scrap or even equipped for one and fired volley after volley at the heavier lancers Sartak had with him. Little by little the casualties mounted on both sides, the cavalry fight dragging on tiring for the horses but favoring the lighter men Samir was leading. In the nearby melee, the winning since the start of the engagement Jang-Lu started wavering due to exhaustion and the atrocious casualties they were suffering. (The killed to injured ratio nonexistent as the gladiators finished off the injured instinctively.) With Arik Sartak absent leading his cavalry, the worried officers left in charge tried to split the almost surrounded in the open field gladiators charging their reserve on them. Their intention was to overwhelm the surely tired gladiators with sheer numbers. The sword wielding units of the Jang-Lu kept in reserve were fresher, well-trained and nibbler, but in a free for all on the flat terrain the gladiators of the Chiliad were back into their familiar element. A fight to the death with no time for thoughtful strategy or fancy maneuvers and Asper¡¯s men reverted to it in the blink of an eye. It was a bloodbath.
Toros jumped over a gored Cofol, his boots sinking in a bloody exposed gutted torso right next to it and hacked away a knee cap from a Jang-Lu wielding a halberd. The Cofol went down, his leg buckling and blood soaking the ground even more. A vicious slash and he stopped screaming, Toros ears ringing from the savage clamor of the heavy melee all about him. He turned his scimitar sideways and parried a snarling Jang-Lu¡¯s sword lunge aside, Sylia¡¯s spear thrust carving the mask, metal wrapping and skull bones breaking. Janot stepped into the gap and hacked a Cofol down, but got stabbed through the leg savagely and went down. Adric¡¯s hurled axe smacking the Jang-Lu who had sneaked up on him on the chest caving it in and thrusting him back. Toros swung his blade wide to deter a sword wielding soldier from assaulting Sylia and she speared him through the gut using both her arms. The Cofol grabbed at her spear to keep her immobilized and another rushed the determined to get her weapon back female from the sides. Deryk yelled a warning spotting him, but got cleaved on the chest by a halberd, the plate wrapping there and he was shoved back in turn. Toros had burst towards Sylia in the meantime, the woman saw him coming with a manic snarl marring his dark face and ducked instinctively under the blade. The sword whistled over her head, the released spear shaft smacking her in the face as she had to let go of it and Toros'' heavy muddy boot stepped on her hunched back to jump over. They had the move practised as the crowds loved it, but this wasn¡¯t one of those times. A surprised Sylia went down face first with an indignant yelp, Toros flew over her and the collapsing speared Jang-Lu, his bulk crashing on the soldier that had cried to cut her down. He felt the snapping of bones, his head banging on the snarling mask and they landed on the ground, the heavier Toros on top. The gladiator raised his sword to hack at the Cofol under him, but the man had a foot of gory shaft coming out of his chest, the tip grazing Toros¡¯ half plate. With a frustrated grunt, he jumped up and stabbed with his boot at the exposed neck just to make sure his opponent was dead. Toros then turned around and grabbed Sylia by the shoulder, the moaning female¡¯s grimace easing his worry. ¡°Damn it habba,¡± Sylia gasped her face covered in mud. ¡°Yer heavy as fuck!¡± Toros yanked her spear out of the still-shuddering Jang-Lu and returned it to her. He then turned to Adric who was finishing off another Cofol with a borrowed sword. Sylia did the same with the one she had already speared. This time she aimed for the neck to ensure she would get her weapon back. ¡°Deryk?¡± ¡°Breathing,¡± Adric yelled back. ¡°Janot might need a new leg.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t need to!¡± A limping Janot barked irate. ¡°I¡¯ll use me cock as cane!¡± Toros shook his head and then looked to gather as many of the gladiators near him to press towards another cluster in the fight. Apparently, they had run out of opponents there. ¡°Bloody sun today,¡± Adric commented casually and looked about for his missing axe. ¡°Aye,¡± Toros replied glancing at Sylia probing with her spear the fallen Jang-Lu to spot any breathing ones and spat down. ¡°But nothing we haven¡¯t seen afore.¡±
¡°Cavalry!¡± Asper barked a warning when he spotted their group arrive. Toros let go of the breathing with difficulty Deryk and the gladiator stumbled trying to find his footing. He twisted about trying to locate the riders, but there was chaos in the field as the battle had spread out into many smaller scraps or duels and there was a lot of cavalry mixed in it. Some of theirs and some that weren¡¯t. ¡°Where?¡± Toros growled and reached for the shield he had on his back, the thundering of many hooves confusing. The raised dust and blinding sun made it difficult to discern friend from foe. But for the gleaming scaled armour the Khan¡¯s riders sported of course. Toros saw a horse archer firing an arrow in the haze and then getting speared off of the saddle with a timely lance through the kidneys. He rushed there, slapping Sylia on the shoulder to come along and they reached the lancer just as he¡¯d retrieved his long shafted weapon out of the dead archer. The Cofol rider turned his horse to gallop away and Sylia screamed obscenities after him. Toros wasn¡¯t going to run after a horse and he stopped breathing heavy using his shield to support himself. ¡°Leave him,¡± he yelled at Sylia and glanced at the distance where gladiators were pursuing the fleeing Jang-Lu back into the forest. Asper was trying to get them to stop, but he had to send Barsabe after Tibost¡¯s men as they were too far apart to hear him. ¡°We need to get back on our horses,¡± Toros said turning to the groaning Deryk, not a meter from him. ¡°You can¡¯t walk on a collapsed lung and we don¡¯t know what¡¯s happening to the rest of the front.¡± ¡°A horse sounds just about right,¡± Deryk said raspingly over the sound of hooves approaching and then a Cataphract came out of the dust cloud, the long lance skewering the gladiator through the neck in an explosion of gore. The heavily armoured horse trampled over his broken body a moment later, just before the jumping aside Toros¡¯ shocked eyes. No. The smirking silver mask turned towards him pulling at the reins, whilst letting go of the long lance. Another Cataphract appeared twenty meters away on an even more impressive and fully covered in gleaming armour warhorse. Heavy Cavalry. Toros reached for his shield, five meters to his left Adric who carried a limping Janot letting go of the Issir and turned towards him eyes gawking in horror. His warning was not directed at Toros. ¡°MOVE LASS!¡± Adric roared to be heard, the first Cataphract reaching for a long sabre and the other calmly arming a crossbow despite the arrows falling near or on him. Toros twisted to his right and saw Sylia frozen in the middle of the field, spear in her arms and the third Cataphract of the small group charging towards the small-bodied woman. Toros made to move towards her but the first rider cut him off with his horse and swung his sabre looking to cut him across the face. Toros raised his shield and the blade clanged on the iron rim at its top with sparks flying. Sylia moved at last out of the lance¡¯s way, as she¡¯d stalled to use her spear on the onrushing Cataphract. She missed, her blade grazing the thicker, scaled armour the Cofol Knight had on, but the warhorse¡¯s chest smacked her hip and sent her crashing on the ground with a hair-raising scream. Gods keep her! Toros growled his stomach tied in a knot, but he had to block another hack from the first Cataphract with his shield. He clenched his teeth and moved on him, an eye on the third Horselord stopping his warhorse, slotting his long lance on the saddle with the sureness of a skilled professional, disregarding the arrows now directed at him from the horse archers riding around them and then unsheathing a heavy sabre. Toros grunted desperately seeing a shaking Sylia limping to her feet six meters away from the Cataphract and not even ten from where he was standing. The gladiator swung at the towering over him opponent, but the Cofol parried his blade away. Toros growled and raised his shield, a bolt ripping through it and lodging in his chest plate after piercing armour there. Toros was pushed back with a curse, glanced at the crossbow wielding Cataphract still standing well out of reach and went to attack his own opponent letting go of the shield. A hurled axe smacking the warhorse at the side of its plate encased head and snapping it aside in a gory splash stopping him. ¡°GO!¡± Adric yelled at Toros rushing his way whilst the missing its right eye injured warhorse dropped to its knees with a desperate neigh. The cursing Cataphract jumped off of it in time but landed badly restricted by his cumbersome armour and turned an ankle. A horrified Toros was already moving. He sprinted desperately after the trotting warhorse, but two strides in realized he couldn¡¯t make it in time. The Cataphract led his horse straight towards the faltering Sylia being as he was much closer to her and moving much faster. He reached her in half a breath, Sylia¡¯s face strangely serene despite seeing death galloping towards her and then flicked that nasty blade in a wide parallel to the ground textbook arc, taking Toros¡¯ longtime mate''s head clean off her shoulders.
¡®There¡¯s only one way to win your freedom,¡¯ a much younger Sylia had told him back in the Sopat palace of distant Lai Zel-Ka. ¡®Is to find a kind-hearted master and suck his cock like your life depends on it, or you take your chances in the arena. Since I¡¯m in love wit your clumsy arse and I don¡¯t want to put you through that, I guess I¡¯ll take my chances in the sands. All the way to the blasted pits habba. Once there, when the games end whether we win or lose, I¡¯ll be free.¡¯ And now she was.
¡°Black Toros!¡± Asper growled in his face, a dirty heavy hand grasping at his hurting shoulder. ¡°Can you walk?¡± Toros stared at him numbly, sweet Sylia¡¯s lifeless gore-covered head still in his arms. Asper¡¯s slanted eyes haunted but determined. Toros stared down and saw the bolt sticking out of his chest. His arms and legs were covered in blood. Was it all hers? ¡°Toros¡­ damnit man, we need to move against their center,¡± Asper said in a sympathetic voice. ¡°Samir needs help there.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the blasted point?¡± Toros croaked, no strength left in his body and Asper backhanded him once, snapping his head aside. ¡°I left me poor little brother in them woods,¡± Asper hissed returning his glare. ¡°You want to keep that,¡± he added pointing at the macabre memento Toros had in his arms. ¡°We need to win the field today. She would have wanted that Toros.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know what she wanted!¡± Toros growled and got up, standing well over a head over the shorter Cofol gladiator. ¡°Aye,¡± Asper agreed sounding saddened. ¡°And perhaps I should have taken the time to ask her, but I¡¯ll stand by me words just the same. We won this scrap, but the games ain¡¯t over yet brother.¡± A deeply traumatized Toros stared at him intently for a long moment. After it was over he accepted the torn mail armband the warhorse had ripped off of Sylia¡¯s arm, deposited her bloody head carefully on her chest after kissing the top of it once and followed after Asper towards their regrouped platoons. Adric tossed him Sylia¡¯s spear and the still limping badly Janot nodded once with his sweaty head afore putting his steel helm on. They recovered their horses and followed after Samir¡¯s riders towards the great battle raging before the ruined buildings of Palar. Until the games end, a miserable Toros vowed going through the motions. Then I¡¯ll meet ye there Habba.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms or enjoy it again at Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ The chapters are re-edited and re-posted regularly at both places 387. The Plains of Dor O’ Cofol (3/3)
Sir Emerson Lennox Mista Savar ¡®Pale Jackal¡¯ ¡®War Leader¡¯ The Plains of Dor O¡¯ Cofol Part III -Me lad, this was the easy part-
Battle of Dor O¡¯ Cofol Plains Twenty meters beyond the Chiliad¡¯s field fortifications Three hundred meters from the ruined north side of the village of Palar On the Coastal Road Thirty kilometers from Que Ki-La ¡®Three Sisters¡¯ army center Summer of 193NC 4th day of first week Early noon ¡°What ye got there Ballard?¡± The veil was made out of sheer white silk, the thin fabric looped many times around his left wrist half-hidden under the covered in intricate carvings steel vambrace. It was part of a longer outfit Ziba-Ra loved wearing outside the house because it made her look both ¡®covered and uncovered¡¯. The girls of the Peninsula following the old Imperial much lewder morals religiously. The gesture though that of a proper Lorian Lady. ¡°A Favor,¡± Emerson rustled returning his harsh black eyes on Elur Sol¡¯s forces deployed in the field. ¡°It¡¯s a noble Lorian custom.¡± ¡°From Ziba?¡± Troy raised his washed-out blond eyebrows. ¡°I come from Lesia and don¡¯t follow any of that after so many years. She was born here Ballard and I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any of that left in her as well.¡± Emerson glanced at the much younger man. With Troy just over his twenty-fifth winter, they stood apart a score of years. The gladiator grimaced seeing Emerson¡¯s face and used his right hand to slot the helm on his braided head. ¡°Apologies,¡± Troy said angry with himself. ¡°Don¡¯t know what¡¯s gotten into me.¡± Emerson smacked his lips and looked at the movement of the enemy forces again. He¡¯d made a vow after all that had happened with his sister to try and overlook the rot in people much as he could. Looked to help out and guide them where he could without pausing to question their inner thoughts. Yes, Emerson would intervene to steer them the right way, but the demons in their hearts, he believed they had to overcome themselves. Find those good threads and follow them. A killer won¡¯t turn into a monk until he sees the damage his actions caused to those left behind. A thief won¡¯t change his ways until he loses something to someone else or to life itself and a wayward heart won¡¯t stop hurting others until it feels the touch of that agony on its own skin. A good person shall find his way. The bad, it fell to people like Emerson to put in their place or in the ground. And the gods above shall judge our naked souls on the scales. ¡°It¡¯s in her blood,¡± he said to the uncomfortable gladiator and stood up straighter on the saddle. ¡°She¡¯ll make the effort to find what she lost,¡± Emerson added. ¡°Whether she¡¯ll succeed at it or not, I¡¯ll care for her the same. She¡¯s the mother of my son.¡± Troy nodded behind the cover of his helm. ¡°You¡¯re a lucky man Ballard,¡± Troy said lightening his tone and while he meant it, Emerson shook his head in disagreement. ¡°No one is only lucky or unlucky,¡± he told him. ¡°Ye gotta put in the effort lad, no plaguin¡¯ shortcuts or fooling about and life will bring balance.¡± But not afore running you through the meat grinder. ¡°You think he¡¯ll march the infantry on us?¡± Troy asked changing the subject. ¡°Nah,¡± Emerson replied crooking his mouth. ¡°See that they stopped already? He¡¯ll send the archers forward. The moment they fire their first volley,¡± he continued and turned his body on the saddle to look back at the lines of gladiators behind them. ¡°We¡¯ll retreat behind the barricade.¡± ¡°What happens after that? He might react in an unexpected manner.¡± Emerson pushed Ziba¡¯s veil under his vambrace and answered without looking at him. ¡°It¡¯s an open field. We blocked his right flank with Asper and built a wall to bar him from running straight through our center. He¡¯ll think about it, but then come at us from the east around the wall.¡± ¡°Not much room there to maneuver both cavalry and infantry,¡± Troy noticed slowly learning some stuff about strategy, although Emerson knew he didn¡¯t have any talent there at all. Troy reminded Emerson of a stupider, much braver, more skilled in battle though also older Glenavon. Given the latter was a king now even of a ruined place, Troy had the work cut out for him to match that. The fact Glen hadn¡¯t given up after almost getting killed but had fought his way on another throne, showed Emerson he was right to give him the room to grow. The young man had always the quality in him. If one wanted to summarize it, then both flawed young men had many differences but at least one thing in common. They lied frequently to hide their sins, not because they were evil, but because deep down they were ashamed. If ye can feel shame then ye got a conscience. Barring an unforeseen calamity you¡¯ll find the right path. ¡°What?¡± Troy asked seeing Emerson¡¯s ruminating expression. ¡°Am I wrong?¡± ¡°Nay yer not,¡± he replied and Elur Sol¡¯s foot archers spilled out of the lines of his infantry carrying double quivers on their backs and their longbows. ¡°Here they come.¡±
Cambyses-Sol, Lord Elur-Sol¡¯s eldest son, upon witnessing the Chiliad retreating behind their crude but substantial barricade, urged his father to strike with their cavalry immediately. Elur-Sol turned the proposal down as he waited for word from Arik Sartak who was in turn trying to flank Emerson¡¯s position through the palms forest. With time dragging and the foot archers ineffective against the long barricade (Asmudius gives the extending across the north side of the village pile of rubble made out of bricks, rocks, cut timber, broken columns and plain dirt a height of close to three meters, which seems excessive) Elur-Sol ordered his son commanding the Que Ki-La Cavalry to relocate to the east of the battlefield. This placed him less than two kilometers from the corral coast of Khanate¡¯s Gulf and directly to Emerson¡¯s right flank just beyond the reach of the crude barricade. Since Sol¡¯s infantry had already angled in that direction and the edge of the wall as well, Cambyses had to wait for the infantry to make its assault before he engaged with the cavalry. While elements of Sol¡¯s army scaled the wall at spots, his foot archers that had approached to lob shots over it were taken out of the fight. Elur-Sol ordered most of them further west and closer to the plantations to support Sartak and ordered Mitral, the commander of Que Ki-La¡¯s guard to attack the west flank of the Chiliad beyond the wall. Mitral marched his infantry forward against Telos¡¯ ¡®Half-Face¡¯ platoon. He also ordered an attack over the barricade and his soldiers did that almost at the same time. Emerson who watched from the center of the field decided to leave the bulk of Qathor¡¯s and Troy¡¯s platoons there to deal with that probe under the command of the first, then moved with Troy to reinforce Telos who had Citata¡¯s assistance already, keeping Velox¡¯s men in reserve. Mitral¡¯s sword wielding infantry didn¡¯t fare well against the shielded, spear carrying gladiators (Emerson had allowed them to bring any weapon available in the supply train¡¯s stores forward, but had issued orders for a spearwall fearing a Cavalry charge) and made little progress despite having the numbers locally. Mitral¡¯s didn¡¯t have the numbers in the center as they were attacking piecemeal and swiftly killed the moment they jumped over the barricade. Seeing the lack of progress, Mitral committed more troops to flank the gladiators, but his guards were ineffective and woefully lacking in skill compared to what they were facing. To combat this Mitral urged the archers to start firing again over the walls in the blind and they did, a number of them trying to flank the Chiliad from the west side and get to their rear. Emerson sent his horse archers against them, but Samir¡¯s large force headed straight for the plantations after routing the sneaking up archers and Elur Sol watching from the rear saw them fleeing the battlefield. Either mistaking their intentions or believing Sartak could handle them, he ordered his son to strike the Chiliad¡¯s east flank immediately. Cambyses medium cavalry was predominantly an attacking force. They could deal tremendous damage, but they counted on their speed to quickly disengage afterwards unlike the heavy Cataphracts that could hold their own in multiple roles. To avoid the conundrum Cambyses looped around the east flank and assaulted Emerson¡¯s Chiliad hugging the edge of ruined Palar. Citata¡¯s platoon was caught at its easternmost sides whilst repositioning to attack Mitral¡¯s engaged infantry and lost almost half its fighters in less than a minute. When that minute was over, Cambyses found his retreat blocked by medium sized mounted infantry. They wore fainted-blue and egg-yellow armbands on their right arms to mark them as Slavers, were clad in good quality mixed armour and had a Capricorn drawn prison wagon for their banner. This engagement brought the whole of the center and east flank of the battlefield into a deadlock in the tight space between the wall and the ruined houses of Palar.
The sun made the weapons shimmer amidst the dust clouds raised and the smokes from the burning at spots barricade. There was a great clamor raised from thousands of men and animals fighting across the flat terrain. The ground shaking and the smell of death and fresh blood that of Cediorum¡¯s busiest slaughterhouse. Emerson led his mounted men near Bohor¡¯s and Nertor¡¯s slavers, the sight of slain corpses littering the field. A lot of animals in the mix, some still neighing injured, gutted or missing limbs. He paused there as a wild-eyed Bohor rode to meet him, Emerson¡¯s gleaming Jackal helm making it easy to recognize the grizzly knight in the field. ¡°We need to pull back!¡± Bohor yelled to be heard. ¡°Nertor got hit by camels. He¡¯ll lose control of the horses!¡± ¡°Which direction?¡± Emerson grunted trying to make out what was happening in the chaos surrounding them. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter Pale Jackal!¡± Bohor snapped irate. ¡°Horses panic at the smell of them!¡± ¡°Issue torches. Set one alight. Use oil,¡± Emerson retorted gruffly glancing at the sun. ¡°Do it now!¡± ¡°What¡­?¡± Bohor gasped in horror and pulled at the reins frustrated, his horse protesting at the abuse. ¡°Bohor, yer men are dying,¡± Emerson reminded him and the slavemaster hissed in frustration but turned to gallop away. ¡°Move the gang?¡± Troy yelled standing proud on his horse, chiseled muscles oiled and primed like a prized harlot at the market. ¡°Get everyone marching. Leave the horses,¡± Emerson replied gruffly and climbed down from his. He unsheathed his blades, a curved short sword and a straight blade he¡¯d made out of an old steel sword, resembling a custom longsword and spat down to clear his mouth from the pungent taste. ¡°I don¡¯t like their smell too.¡± The camel riding warriors the veteran knight hadn¡¯t expected, but Emerson had approached this part of the battlefield to deal with any such surprises. He¡¯d left the door open for an enticed Sol to commit here, where he could fight him in a narrower front. Had to sacrifice many a good men to do it. It is what it is, he thought a grim expression on his face remembering his father¡¯s words. ¡°I got a bottle of rose-extract perfume from¡­¡± Troy offered but Emerson had already started moving towards the engaged mounted forces and didn¡¯t hear the rest of it.
The bulky two-humped camel galloped before him blaring blinded, shaking its ghastly head and kicking wild, flesh peeled back at its snarling bloody mouth, large head and back set alight, pieces of burning melted fat and detached boiled flesh dropping on the field. It left a flaming inferno behind, the half-dry grass giving out a thick bitter smoke and visibility reduced to the bare minimum. The cacophony of the savage engagement otherworldly. Troy cleared a smoking corpse with an athletic leap two meters in front of Emerson, landed with a flashy roll under a slashing scimitar and disemboweled the soldier wielding it in passing with his curved Kopis. Emerson followed after the energetic gladiator walking with measured strides, the pain in his left bandaged knee bothering him as the injury was permanent and a scowl on his helmed face. He stabbed an axe wielding dismounted camel rider under the armpit, then broke his teeth, dislodging the jaw in the same heave. He used his steel shoulder guard to do it, not to lose momentum, when the howling man twisted around to face him. Emerson stepped over a smoking dead camel, parried aside a spear thrust, turned his blade over the long shaft and rode the flat of it on the polished wood all the way to the source, butchering the fingers of the man holding the other end.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. A stab and yank in the groaning soldier¡¯s face brought him down and Emerson moved aside to avoid a lunging lance, leaving his sword back to sever the tendons on the charging horse¡¯s left hind leg. Scolding blood jumped out of the nasty wound in a three meter wide arc. Emerson flipped the longsword changing his grip on it and slashed down brutally catching the Cofol that rushed him following after the horse right above the knee, the blade biting at bone. The soldier plunged forward screaming and leading with his head, guzzling on a mouthful of cold steel Emerson lay in his way to help him stop. The short sword¡¯s blade lodged in the butchered man¡¯s broken palate, black gore painting the knight¡¯s left arm to the shielded elbow and glistered on the Jackal¡¯s intricate carved pieces of armour. He let go of it without a second thought, just as Citata bellowed like a wounded animal and caught his attention, the battle raging in that part of the front. The two infantry forces still locked in their own private scrap away from the edges of the opposing battle lines. At the latter the opposing cavalries were duking it out. While Bohor¡¯s slavers were not a pure cavalry force, they could hold their own being proficient in riding and carrying heavier armour. Whatever that meant for the Khanate¡¯s policies and customs, the slavers had seen more action than the lancers. The camel riding Caravan hands though were equally skilled and Emerson had hovered there, until the gladiator¡¯s scream had drawn him near the shieldwall. Rubi-La had taken a dipping arrow down her collar. It had lodged in her lung sneaking past her half-plate and the female gladiator had collapsed gurgling up blood. Emerson grimaced seeing Citata abandoning the wall to rush to her struggling lover. Emerson grumbled under his breath, then reached with his free hand and yanked a spear out of a dead Cofol soldier afore heading there. He led with it, always walking with the same measured strides not to waste energy. Emerson approached Mitral¡¯s infantry line (the name of the commander given to him by Bohor¡¯s slavers) and came out of the raised dust clouds straight next to a line sergeant. His spear plunged into the Cofol¡¯s armour above midriff without hesitation, wrapping the scales and breaking the rivets. It hit a rib and broke it, then went through the shuddering man¡¯s spleen ruining that too. The man died in horrible pain and Emerson shoved the impaled sergeant on the last soldier holding the line. The soldier lost the grip on his shield, got a vicious spear through the neck from the gladiator facing him and died before realizing what had occured. The one behind him saw the sinister bloody and beastly steel figure standing where their officer had been a moment ago and locked in his tracks unsure. A roar coming from further back breaking him out of his fear induced stupor. ¡°THE CURSED JACKAL!¡± An officer yelled. ¡°KILL HIM!¡± The grisly knight turned to eye the horse riding officer while retreating with measured strides away from the shieldwall that started unraveling as more and more Cofols peeled off reacting to the order. They rushed towards Emerson, who found a discarded round shield on the trophy littered terrain and slotted his left arm through the bloody straps. It was a wooden mass-produced thing with a veneer of iron on the outside, but Emerson had fought with cheaper weapons plenty of times in the past. A kitchen knife, he thought deflecting a sword cut away and slashing half the face off of the eager man holding it. Is still a knife. One eye on the crumbling under the heavy pressure of the gladiators Cofol shieldwall, the other on the soldiers leaving it to come after him. Two dozen, he counted. That¡¯s six rows of troops missing from the formation¡¯s outer sides depth. Almost ten meters of inverted half-egg shaped gap opened behind the embattled edge of the first couple of rows. Two Cofols rushed him, but he blocked one with the shield feeling the rattle on his shoulder and parried the other with the longsword, turning defense into attack instinctively. He carved a meter long gash across the soldier¡¯s chest. The blade cutting through armour and then flesh, Emerson¡¯s steel always kept much sharpened afore every scrap. Less so in the in-between days to allow the steel to rest. The bleeding wound on the second soldier giving both Cofols pause, just as one of the soldiers holding the line went down not ten meters behind them and the south edge of their formation folded. All disastrous things happening at once. Along some¡­ equally ridiculous and grim. ¡°FUCKIN¡¯ SLANT-EYED COCKSUCKERS!¡± Roared Troy flying spectacularly over his head, legs kicking at the air to give him even more lift and landed between the two soldiers taking them down. Emerson lowered his blade with a grimace, gladiators charging past him at the soldiers that had peeled off following their officer¡¯s order. Behind all that Telos ¡®Half-Face¡¯ men along with those of a furious Citata were pushing Mitral¡¯s force back. Speaking of Mitral, Emerson thought and turned his head about him, pitiless eyes trying to locate again the mounted officer with the fancy armour. He found him desperately trying to get his panicked horse to obey. All them burning camels making a number on everyone¡¯s horses. Which was why Emerson had opted to walk the distance on a bad leg. With another pained grimace the weary gore-covered knight strolled down the chaotic battlefield towards the struggling Cofol commander. He kept the same cadence in his strides as earlier, but gave it a good sprint for the last couple of meters to get more oomph in the hack. Thigh bone is difficult to cut through even wit a sharpened blade, his late father always cautioned a young Emerson following along in his hunts. An unforgiving man that hated seeing a good blade ruined and easy to hand out rough punishment to those careless with his weapons. Never has a man possessed a heavier hand than Emerson¡¯s father. So Emerson angled the brutal hack just right, putting momentum and his shoulder behind it. As a matter of fact, his blade severed the saddle¡¯s hardened-leather strap off of the warhorse along Mitral¡¯s whole right leg a handbreadth bellow the hip. The damage catastrophic.
Famed Troy, the Titan of Novesium, who witnessed Sir Emerson killing the mounted Cofol leader with one blow was left so astounded in the middle of the field that he¡¯d almost gotten himself killed to half an arm. The rest of it Telos had chopped off, according to Asmudius who was nearby, thus saving the distracted gladiator¡¯s life.
The Que Ki-La infantry started falling back, those at the front turning to run away and colliding with the men coming up from behind, the loss of officers in the collapsed south side of the line creating chaos. Whether it was Mitral¡¯s death that had created the domino effect, fatigue or heavy attrition, Emerson didn¡¯t know, but soon everyone was retreating and the gladiators were pursuing them beyond the edge of the barricade. It wasn¡¯t a rout but close to it as the enemy soldiers rushed to reach the open ground of the plains and their camp. Emerson couldn¡¯t see that far, but upon witnessing the gladiators moving out of their shieldwall to hunt down their opponents sprang into action to prevent the catastrophe. ¡°Troy get them to stop!¡± He roared and moved to pull men back with yells and curses. Bohor who realized his intentions ordered Nertor to slowly pull away as well and most of the leaders started ordering their men back as well. Telos ¡®Half-Face¡¯ and a furious Citata who had withstood the assault since the start of the battle disagreed with the knight¡¯s decision. The sight of the enemy infantry slipping away unpalatable. Velox, the Chiliad¡¯s second in command who had just arrived with the reserve fearing a breakthrough got the worst from the covered in gore scarred gladiator, when he ordered a general halt, until Emerson hobbled there to intervene amidst the general pandemonium. ¡°Jackal!¡± Telos growled, bleeding from a cut down his right arm. ¡°We go after them!¡± ¡°They are not running away,¡± Emerson grunted, breathing heavy and in considerable pain from his bad leg. ¡°Their archers are out there still roaming in the open and there¡¯s cavalry amidst them,¡± he explained and Telos threw his arms up in the air in frustration. ¡°You fought bravely Telos. We need to regroup now¡ª¡± ¡°We need to go after them!¡± Telos bellowed cutting him off. ¡°What is this talk?¡± ¡°Lad I ain¡¯t asking ye,¡± Emerson retorted clenching his jaw. ¡°Stand down.¡± Telos stood back, his grip on the front curved sword he carried tightening. This ain¡¯t the arena son, Emerson thought. Ye don¡¯t stand chance. ¡°I want to avenge Rubi-La,¡± Citata hissed looking at Emerson with feverish eyes. ¡°She won¡¯t make it.¡± ¡°You won¡¯t. Not like this,¡± Emerson told her soberly and an angry Telos took a step forward. Velox narrowed his eyes and reached for a dagger as he was standing next to him. The knight stopped the veteran trainer with a glare and turned to face the muscular half-breed. ¡°If you wish to die so much, then go ahead,¡± he said loud enough to be heard by many of Telos¡¯ platoon that had congregated near their leaders meeting. ¡°Go after them. I won¡¯t kill another gladiator today.¡± Telos grimaced with half his mouth, the stitches crisscrossing most of the right side of his face and then turned to his platoon. ¡°Follow me! Let¡¯s run them back to the gates of Que Ki-La!¡± He roared and went after the retreating soldiers ¨Cstill under the discreet harassment of Bohor¡¯s mounted slavers- but not all of them went with him. Not from his platoon or even Citata who stood back frustrated but with a look of uncertainty on her tanned face. ¡°Retake the wall,¡± Emerson ordered the rest of them. ¡°Velox, find one of Bohor¡¯s runners and learn what happened to Asper¡¯s force. We might need to defend out west soon.¡± ¡°What about Telos? We should support him,¡± Troy argued coming after him as he headed for his horse. ¡°We can¡¯t pursue on foot without cavalry or ranged units. Not into the plaguing open,¡± Emerson grunted and failed to climb up on the saddle the first time. Troy went to help him, but the knight slapped his arm away and managed to make it the second time with a pained hiss. ¡°Find Qathor. Learn where their archers went. I¡¯ll bring our horses forward,¡± he added and pulled at the reins to turn his mount around. ¡°I¡¯ll do it,¡± Troy stopped him. ¡°Stay here Ballard. Ye have a better grasp at this than myself.¡± Emerson pressed his mouth tight, glanced at the dust and smoke concealing the ground beyond the barricade and nodded.
Upon witnessing Mitral¡¯s battered infantry retreating, Cambyses cavalry broke away as well. They had suffered heavy attrition but almost two hundred lancers managed to escape riding their tired mounts hard. The caravan hands found it more difficult to disengage as the horrified at the cruelty camels refused to obey and their force disintegrated. Some run away towards Palar where they fell on Sim¡¯s supply train but caused little damage their mind not in plundering. Others followed after the cavalry north towards their rear lines and even further east towards the coast. Elur Sol had his officers regrouping the foot archers that had scattered from Samir¡¯s charge earlier in the day and they managed to support the infantry¡¯s retreat. Telos ¡®Half-Face¡¯ who rushed after the fleeing soldiers found himself exposed in the open, as absent another viable target the bulk¨C of the very frustrated with the way the battle had gone for them up to this point- foot archers concentrated on him. Almost three hundred archers fired three volleys and stopped Telos¡¯ desperate charge to reach them, decimating his warriors and killing the Chiliad leader. Asmudius, who was also pursuing the Que Ki-La infantry with a group of mounted slavers under Nertor, reports that Telos¡¯ had been stricken by at least thirty arrows afore going down. With the pursuit stopped and his infantry regrouping Sol disregarded his son¡¯s advice to retreat towards the city. He had received Sartak¡¯s report earlier that the Jang-Lu had pushed the gladiators out of the forest and expected the experienced officer to strike at Emerson¡¯s west flank at any moment. Cambyses led the battered infantry again towards the smoking but standing barricade, but it took more than an hour for him to reform the demoralized men. Twenty minutes after he started marching to engage with the also regrouped Chiliad a livid Sartak arrived to Elur Sol¡¯s camp. The commander had narrowly escaped by the skin of his teeth on his warhorse after leading a desperate assault on Asper¡¯s force with his own bodyguards. (Given that Sartak didn¡¯t have more than half a dozen Cataphracts with him, he was either very skilled or very lucky. He came from a long line of Horselords though.) At any rate, Sartak had ordered a retreat to avoid needlessly wasting the lives of his recruits, but also under orders from Prince Nout who had written to him directly not trusting Lord Elur Sol to put strategy above sentiment and due to their long friendship through Sartak¡¯s father. The saved by the fiercely supported up to this day Prince¡¯s message concise and devoid of sentiment. ¡®Arik, if you can win, do so. If you can¡¯t, withdraw and hold the city. If the latter is not feasible also, save the army¡¯s youths and give ground. That¡¯s your priority. Keep a force before the rebels advance and I shall do the rest.¡± A stunned Lord Elur Sol demanded Sartak rescind the order and turn the Jang-Lu around, but he wouldn¡¯t budge even under the threat of execution. Khan¡¯s advisor Ben Arfa, also a friend of Sartak¡¯s father who was following the Khan on campaign, urged Lord Sol to avoid a harsh resolution and to ask Cambyses to halt a second assault. Lord Sol agreed reluctantly and they dispatched riders to message Cambyses to stop for the day. Cambyses received the message, but it was too late. Samir¡¯s returning Horse Archers found themselves having free reign much as the foot archers had earlier and started pestering the slow moving infantry firing volley after volley of arrows into their lines. With the infantry standing on open ground, they were as easy a target as Telos gladiators earlier and the soldiers stopped to protect themselves from the deadly barrage of missiles under their shields. The irked at this new misfortune foot archers lacked one. Clad as they were in thin hemp shirts and tunics, the hapless men got wiped out in ten minutes. Cambyses had to relocate to the west of the field with his worn out lancers to drive away Samir, but the savvy desert leader roped him towards the approaching gladiator force led by Asper. Emerson witnessing the events ordered Bohor and Nertor to charge at the lancers. He reinforced the slavers with the best riders the Chiliad had and himself. Afore he did that the ¡®War Leader¡¯ as he came to be known after this battle ordered Velox to lead the regrouped Chiliad out of the barricade and attack the immobilized Que Ki-La infantry. ¡°Now ye can attack,¡± Sir Emerson had told Velox simply just before riding against Cambyses¡¯ cavalry. ¡°And if they run ye pursue until the sun sets. Luthos be wit you lad.¡±
Emerson watched the broken Cofol infantry running away from the pursuing gladiators with sober eyes. He¡¯d hurt his back fighting the lancers and couldn¡¯t follow them, but he trusted Velox to know when to stop. The uncomfortable truth was that they needed to inflict as much damage as they could to Elur Sol¡¯s forces. It was why Emerson didn¡¯t like war. The callous ¡®logistics¡¯ of it didn¡¯t agree with him. Because he knew them very well. You have to make harsh decisions. It¡¯s not an excuse and yer soul will suffer for it, but that¡¯s the job description. There¡¯s no glory to it. A disheveled Troy approached sporting a limp as well. The brash gladiator had gotten it leaping from the saddle on an onrushing lancer pretending to be a Horselord of old and missing his opponent completely, since he wasn¡¯t. Emerson had hurt his back and killed his mount trying to save him. The knight stared at his swollen mid finger and decided not to attempt to put the glove back on again. ¡°How did you know we won?¡± Troy asked with a grimace of pain and spat on his hand to clear some of the blood from a small cut he had on his stomach. ¡°Oh shit, I¡¯ll need a stitch here,¡± the gladiator cursed with a concerned frown. ¡°Ye got to teach me how you fight wit one leg Ballard,¡± he added. ¡°It¡¯ll heal, yer still young,¡± Emerson rustled and stared at the scores of dead littering the field. ¡°Any of Telos¡¯ men made it back?¡± ¡°None,¡± Troy replied and rubbed his sweaty braided head. ¡°You could have stopped him.¡± Emerson spat down to clean his bitter mouth. The blotch dark. ¡°He would have held a grudge,¡± he explained. ¡°Spread the word about it to the men. Now they¡¯ll remember what happened and follow commands.¡± ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake Ballard,¡± Troy protested. ¡°That¡¯s a new side of you.¡± ¡°It ain¡¯t,¡± Emerson grunted. ¡°That¡¯s war lad. Ye get it after a while. It¡¯s not easy to rid yerself of it, so see you don¡¯t follow in me footsteps.¡± ¡°Right.¡± ¡°You can win a fight, if you can lure yer opponent to fight where it suits you,¡± Emerson answered his earlier query. ¡°But you have to be able to stomach loss else it won¡¯t work.¡± ¡°You can?¡± ¡°I have to,¡± Emerson replied and touched the veil he kept under the vambrace. Felt its smoothness with his dirty fingers. ¡°Each man here fights for something else. I want my son and his mother to get back home first and foremost. Help those that want help next,¡± he eyed the injured gladiator. ¡°Have no time for fools and those that look to gain from slaughter. That don¡¯t make me better. To win you have to be ruthless sometimes.¡± ¡°You can?¡± ¡°Unfortunately,¡± Emerson replied curtly. ¡°Welp, we have them running. I don¡¯t see them getting back from this. That¡¯s a lot of killing to stomach for sure,¡± Troy decided and rubbed at his hurting leg. ¡°Me lad,¡± Emerson replied gravely watching the first of a gloomy-faced Asper¡¯s group approaching them. A bandaged Toros limping after him looking more dead than alive, but no Sylia or Audax. The knight¡¯s expression grim when he added. ¡°This was the easy part.¡±
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms or enjoy it again at Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ The chapters are re-edited and re-posted regularly at both places 388. The Fourth Sister
¡®Soft is the wind coming from the Hath Kirk Delta, most of the Khanate¡¯s poets always remind us,¡¯ Ramen-Toka thought. ¡®For it smells of different spices, open fields and carries a taste of Wetull.¡¯ He paused near the corridor¡¯s tall narrow window and stared at the large port sprawling under the short but flat overhang. He could see from this favorable spot the triangular scarlet sails of the merchant galleys beyond the market, the day clear and the Shao Na-Lan crowds buzzing with excitement at the news. ¡®There was a Prince in the city was the word,¡¯ though the palace¡¯s gongs remained silent for some reason. It wasn¡¯t Prince Atpa, ¡®the Lurking Asp¡¯, but the Heir himself, the former Lord of the Gulf, now the Prince of Rin An-Pur. The Gold Leopard had come to punish the Sisters, people gossiped in the taverns and the markets of the large port city. Ramen-Toka sighed and moved away from the window, then unclipped the polished but worn-out metal mask from his helm to wipe some of the sweat away. His sister¡¯s saccharine voice interrupted the Chariot Leader¡¯s thoughts. ¡°You should let him rest brother,¡± Tamun-Toka said, hinting at her disappointment. Ramen nodded and approached the Prince¡¯s spouse. He bowed before her small stature and she touched his unshaven face with a graceful ring-adorned hand. ¡®A daughter of Dinar,¡¯ or as Khan Burzin Radpour had put it many years back, ¡®A golden bride for the Gold Leopard.¡¯ ¡°He asked for me,¡± Ramen said kissing the inside of her perfumed palm. ¡°How is my little niece?¡± ¡°Prays she grows a cock,¡± Tamun replied brazenly. ¡°Or I get pregnant before another campaign starts.¡± ¡°How is he?¡± He asked, uncomfortable talking about his sister¡¯s coital activities with the Prince. ¡°The desert was better for us.¡± ¡°The summer is here,¡± he said to reassure her. ¡°The Healers I talked with are optimistic the infection has retreated.¡± ¡°Some days I wish the witch was still alive,¡± Tamun replied. ¡°Then I come to my senses. Better he remains scarred and breathing than having that snake put her vile hands on him.¡± ¡°Speaking of snakes,¡± Ramen said changing the subject, not wanting to talk ill of the dead. ¡°Is Aquila-Dor around?¡± ¡°The serpent remains brooding at his villa near the bridge, but half the palace serves the other snake Atpa. It¡¯s like we walked inside a nest Ramen.¡± ¡°Any word from him?¡± Ramen asked of the Lord of Shao Na-Lan. ¡°He¡¯s on ¡®campaign¡¯,¡± Tamun replied rolling her almond-colored black painted eyes. ¡°You¡¯ll see him now?¡± ¡°Who is he with?¡± ¡°Finished talking with the Khemet, Sept and Lord Har might still be around,¡± his sister replied and glanced at a slave exiting from a side door. She paused until he was away and continued. ¡°He wanted to speak with Beon-Mau next and Master Ibn-Robet. Can¡¯t we just go to Rin An-Pur? I haven¡¯t been to Dinar once in six years. Nubia is growing up in tents brother.¡± Ramen stared in her comely face soberly. ¡°Father told me to praise your good fortune. You are to be the First Spouse of the future Khan. Our family is much pleased.¡± ¡°Assure Lord Kosey-Toka I¡¯ll not disappoint him,¡± Tamun replied frostily and stepped back to allow him to pass. ¡°Nesut is with the Prince. Send her if there¡¯s anything you need.¡± Ramen nodded and watched her walk away slowly, dragging the sheer veils of her skirt behind. Then he turned around smiling mask in hand and walked towards the palace guards guarding the carved redwood doors. - ¡°Brave Ramen,¡± the Gold Leopard said in a rasping voice seeing him enter, scarred face and chest covered in oiled bandages. He reclined on a comfortable divan before two large maps of the Gulf and a table that had a scaled gypsum model of the whole Peninsula placed on it. The table itself almost cut the large hall in two, extending to over six meters in length and three in width. The engineer Beon-Mau was showing him something on a piece of parchment and Ibn-Robet the industrious architect that followed the Prince around since their youth, now busy placing wooden figurines on the realistically painted sculpted map. ¡°Have a look at the numbers.¡± ¡°Prince Nout,¡± Ramen greeted him kneeling, a deep bow of his head following and the Prince stood up with a grimace and walked to him. Nout tended a bandaged arm to help the officer up and Ramen took it, feeling the strength behind the grip with relief. ¡°You¡¯ve brought the army,¡± Nout said simply, looking in his face when he stood up. ¡°Most of it,¡± Ramen replied. ¡°I¡¯ll have a report ready before noon.¡± ¡°You shall,¡± Nout agreed. ¡°It is good to see you again Ramen.¡± ¡°Your mere presence lifts the heart, my Prince,¡± Ramen replied truthfully much moved. The Prince was more than distant family to him. Prince Nout was also one of his longtime friends. A loyal man to those he knew, the Prince¡¯s close circle was filled with people who had been with him for years. Studied, hunted, fooled around with slaves and went to war at the edge of Eplas and back again. What is forged in triumph or bloody hardships can never be broken, he thought. The prince stared in his face perceptively for a moment and then made a gesture towards Ibn-Robet. ¡°When even your dearest friends start shamelessly lying to you,¡± Nout noted, his tone half-teasing half-serious. ¡°Then you know¡­ by the desert¡¯s evil spirits, I must look like yesterday¡¯s shit.¡± ¡°I would place the time further into the past your Excellency,¡± Ibn replied sadly in jest and Nout chuckled not offended. ¡°Fair enough,¡± the Prince decided and walked back to the divan accepting a gold goblet from Nesut, Ramen¡¯s sister loyal female slave. ¡°Now, have a look at the numbers old friend. Let us hear your opinion.¡± - ¡°That¡¯s a lot of gladiators,¡± Ramen commented looking at the reports. ¡°How did Lord Letakin and Lord Tsuparin manage to train so many? And so soon?¡± ¡°War brought them slaves aplenty,¡± Nout commented simply. ¡°They bought them eagerly. We knew that. Didn¡¯t expect they¡¯d use them in this manner.¡± ¡°Alright, but how do you go from fifty or a hundred per year to¡­¡± ¡°Three thousand at least. They built a whole war school for that,¡± Nout said sipping at his spiced tea, his eyes on Ibn-Robet. ¡°They are not trained to die in the arena. This is an army.¡± ¡°Another two thousand at least fully armed men, these are equipped by the Sopat, have been added to their already excessive number of personal guards,¡± the man said. He had his eyes painted a deep orange with a blue shade at the edges. The Prince didn¡¯t care about appearances or fashion much, but Ibn-Robet was the most social of their group. ¡°Probably more knowing them.¡± ¡°Stationed of sorts at Nasar currently,¡± Nout elucidated, turning his eyes on Ramen. ¡°It¡¯s a siege really, but it won¡¯t last.¡± ¡°They also utilized most of the caravan hands, slavers and mercenaries. They rearmed them fully,¡± Ramen added and grimaced. ¡°That¡¯s a lot¡­¡± he paused thinking about it. ¡°I get they could have invested in reaction to Chubin Amin¡¯s treatment from the Khan, but still the Three Sisters were skittish in supporting the war.¡± ¡°This was done years in advance,¡± Ibn-Robet said and the Prince nodded as they had probably talked of this earlier. ¡°Amin used as an excuse for this treachery.¡± ¡°Ramen reveal your thought,¡± Nout urged him perceptively. ¡°You stopped earlier.¡± ¡°Rin An-Pur is monitoring the iron and steel exports carefully. Remember the Khanate¡¯s Gulf is cut off for the Sisters,¡± Ramen said and stared at the maps. ¡°Despite all that Sartak reports plate armour in big numbers, quality blades and our spies insist the cities are not affected much.¡± ¡°Trade is booming,¡± Nout commented looking at him. ¡°I get the Peninsula is wealthy, but where does the wood come from, or the iron in such numbers? A shift to war materiel should have crippled them. The rest of the Khanate is having its hands full supporting the armies. Everything is siphoned there. How did they pull that off?¡± Ramen asked. ¡°They cut through the Jang-Lu and withstood an open field battle.¡± ¡°Jang-Lu recruits,¡± Nout corrected him. ¡°Still, you make a good point. The gladiators are well-trained we must conclude. Motivated surely, obviously well-led and they have a war plan. Herein lies the second mystery my friends.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s supporting them?¡± Ramen asked. ¡°Ditches and walls are a Jelin custom,¡± Nout replied thoughtfully and pushed himself up with the help of Nesut. ¡°I understand that,¡± Ramen replied. ¡°They were bound to start trouble for us with the war dragging on.¡± ¡°The war drags on because no one envisioned Kaltha would lose its young king,¡± Nout replied. ¡°It happened. There¡¯s a vacuum. Furthermore, Radin allowed his spouse to wage war on him and lost Eikenport. A small loss seemingly, everyone overlooks, but not without consequences. That girl should have been brought to Rin An-Pur and locked up as a bargaining chip. Radin is a greedy fool. Still, the Khan shall force them to negotiate and open up the Shallow Sea for us. With Raoz in our hands, it¡¯s a matter of time. We need nothing else and I pray father stops there,¡± he paused and breathed deeply. Nout had a sip from his goblet next, his lips pressed together as if in considerable pain. Seeing his worried expression, the Prince cracked a smile. ¡°I¡¯m better each day Ramen.¡± ¡°Of course my Prince.¡± ¡°We had to make that cursed crossing,¡± Nout reminded him. ¡°Else we would be still fighting outside the walls of Rida today.¡± Ramen would have preferred the Prince to have stayed at the rear where he was safe but kept his mouth shut. They had quarreled about it years back and there was no point in bringing it up again. ¡°It was a great victory, my Prince,¡± Ramen said instead. Nout nodded. ¡°Not a perfect one. We must remember that. There¡¯s no such thing as a perfect victory. The ¡®Jackal¡¯, whoever he is, has won the day. Que Ki-La is doomed.¡± Ramen stood back shocked. The Prince raised his left hand and gestured for him to calm down. He then continued his thought. ¡°Nothing in life is faultless. Nothing stands neatly arranged with no wrinkles. An Heir can have his skin filled with boils and fall off, another can be burned alive in his bedroom or a High King left a paralyzed vegetable falling down a set of stairs and his biggest weapon, his navy, ruined by mere cutthroats. The Cofols of the Peninsula have always been merchants, always calculating the costs and risks of each action. To embark on such an endeavor, something has fallen in their lap they never had afore. What I¡¯m saying is, you can¡¯t ¡®magic¡¯ iron ingots out of thin air Ramen or mass-produce weapons unfit for the arena out of whim. Plate armour. Heavy shields. You don¡¯t start building an army two years before you make your move unless you¡¯ve found a patron. Someone to support and have your back. Someone with resources and the means to produce them. The means to transport them to you timely out of the Khan¡¯s eyes using an ancient trade route. If you haven¡¯t and the Three Sisters are doing all this just the same by themselves¡­ eh, moreover amidst a strict prohibition on steel due to the war¡­¡± ¡°At least ten thousand full sets of armour and steel blades is the estimate,¡± Ibn-Robet elucidated. ¡°In two years without imports and with Elur Sol watching them.¡± Nout nodded in agreement. ¡°Import them from where then?¡± Ramen gasped not understanding where the Prince was going with this. ¡°How?¡± ¡°There are ships visiting Lai Zel-Ka under strange imperial-like banners for quite a while now,¡± Ibn-Robet replied instead of the silent Prince Nout. ¡°Just a rumor, fueled by the disappearance of Lord Phon¡¯s sister. Most thought he had her killed, but maybe there¡¯s something else at play here.¡± ¡°Imperial-like¡­¡± Ramen murmured unable to follow the Prince¡¯s thought. ¡°For the past four months, at least two of these¡­ ships, have been mooring regularly in Fu De-Gar as well,¡± Ibn-Robet added. ¡°We have confirmed sightings. The Pirates speak of strange sails coming out of the mist at the Reefs.¡± ¡°Large transports? Lorian?¡± Kaltha¡¯s navy rarely operated in the Scalding Sea, while the remote Lorian kingdom of Lesia had been rumored to have built some pretty big ships the last couple of years. ¡°Huge. Nothing Lorian about them.¡± ¡°From where then?¡± Ramen asked. ¡°Run by humans?¡± The latter he asked hesitantly as it was an absurd notion. ¡°They are humans present at port but very few deals are struck with local merchants. No significant coin is exchanged. This is a prearranged covenant at a higher level. A lend lease even. Timber, bronze, iron, outright steel, wine for spirits sake,¡± Nout replied. ¡°But they moor in the dark of night, stay aboard the ships most of the time and leave come night again.¡± ¡°Can Kaltha make the journey, Regia, are they using pirates? What¡­ my Prince you said Imperial afore?¡± Nout nodded and breathed out, his feverish eyes on the rebel forces'' movements. Three pincers, one of them already at Que Ki-La trying to strangle the loyal Fourth Sister. ¡°I did. It changes nothing Ramen,¡± the Prince added seeing his troubled face. He walked to the drawn maps of the Peninsula, took a thin piece of coal in his hand and painted a straight black line across the blue waters of Wetull¡¯s Straits approaches. Effectively parting them. From the remote Reaz Fort at the edge of the Minor Desert all the way to the Shark Isles. ¡°We¡¯ll do it again as afore with a twist. Cut the legs out from under our enemy and then wipe him out.¡±
Sir Emerson Lennox Mista Savar ¡®Pale Jackal¡¯ ¡®War Leader¡¯ The Fourth Sister
The first month of summer of 193 NC Third week Outside the Chiliad¡¯s camp Outskirts of Que Ki-La Second week of the siege ¡°Will it work?¡± Emerson asked Sim Ib-Lurd and the Cofol shrugged his shoulders and stared at the civilian engineers putting the machine together. Que Ki-La¡¯s walls were made out of stone bricks and while not tall but at its gates, Sol¡¯s Palace was standing right behind them and its square towers were incorporated in the defense of the city. A direct assault could overcome whatever Lord Sol had managed to scrape together but would be costly and Emerson didn¡¯t want to lose any more men at his point. They didn¡¯t have a system in place to allow them to train more while on campaign and he didn¡¯t trust the mercenaries loyal to the Lords of the Peninsula. ¡°It¡¯s a copy out of a book and based on your input Mista Savar,¡± Sim replied finally tossing the blame of a potential failure at Emerson¡¯s feet. ¡°Maybe a couple of shots?¡±The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°Don¡¯t test it,¡± Emerson grunted. ¡°Just keep it visible to the defenders.¡± The threat of the trebuchet more useful than a couple of shots that may not even find their target. He walked away from the engineers, the streets of the empty houses outside the walls of the old city well maintained. Que Ki-La had outgrown its initial fortifications but no effort had been made to expand them. There was no enemy at the near for centuries so the locals weren¡¯t wrong in their decision. There was no enemy until one appeared that is. Troy waved a hand seeing him approaching their horses. A couple of well-maintained mounts in the mix and one of the two men had a slave armband on. Emerson grimaced but returned the gladiator¡¯s greeting. ¡°Mista Savar,¡± the second Cofol said, richly tanned skin turning almost gold on his face. He sported several gold rings and two large ivory loops on his ears. ¡°Salutations. I¡¯m Serebus, commander of the Sopat Fort.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s that?¡± Emerson asked with a grunt. ¡°Turtle Claw Peninsula, the south edge of Amethyst Coast,¡± Serebus replied readily and smiled showcasing his well-maintained teeth. Two of them encased in gold and adorned with small diamonds. ¡°Ever fought anywhere?¡± Emerson snapped unsure what the Cofol wanted. ¡°We recently won the siege of Nasar,¡± Serebus replied. ¡°Hmm. Is the Sopat army here?¡± ¡°Near the Simun Gates Mista Savar.¡± ¡°Laying siege?¡± ¡°We are still looking for a place to set up camp. A portion of the forest must be cut down first,¡± Serebus explained. ¡°Thought the land was flat as a table. You¡¯ve run out of tents?¡± ¡°No, but we need the shade,¡± Serebus replied. ¡°Seeing as we don¡¯t have buildings available.¡± ¡°The Chiliad is staying in the camp. It¡¯s over there,¡± Emerson pointed with his arm at the many tents built in the open space at the edge of the city. Serebus nodded and stared at the sun above their heads, then at the nearby woods. ¡°It seems it would have been¡ª¡± He started to say but Emerson stopped him. ¡°Lad, this is not an excursion or a hunt,¡± he explained soberly, Serebus opening his mouth to add something but pausing unsure. ¡°Tell Phon to setup camp and block the plaguing road. Anything else?¡± ¡°I need to relay some messages,¡± Serebus replied. ¡°Couldn¡¯t Lord Phon make the journey? It¡¯s about an hour, or two?¡± ¡°That would be¡­ He¡¯s freshly married, Mista Savar.¡± ¡°Again?¡± Troy asked and Emerson rubbed his unshaven face with a hand. ¡°I have a meeting in an hour,¡± he finally said curtly. ¡°Get yer slave on a horse and back to Lord Phon. He is to tell him what we talked about. I want to put some pressure on Lord Sol. You can join us.¡± ¡°Is there a place to refresh myself?¡± Serebus asked and Emerson pointed at the cistern their horses were using. ¡°Use that son,¡± the grisly knight advised, his tone austere. ¡°See you don¡¯t foul them waters too much. So no soap or scented oils. I lose a single horse, you lose an ear.¡±
¡°Now, that was a commander dealing with supplies and rear administration duties for sure,¡± Troy commented riding next to him later on their way to the small village size camp of the Chiliad that had sprouted next to the outskirts of Que Ki-La. ¡°Observably an extremely well-paying job,¡± he added. ¡°All Sopat men I¡¯ve met are extremely loyal,¡± Emerson cautioned him. ¡°Getting rewarded for their services is one of the reasons.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the other reasons?¡± Troy asked. Emerson stopped his horse and watched the slavers of Bohor and Nertor greeting Serebus, an enthusiastic Asmudius present. ¡°Pride,¡± Emerson murmured glancing at the Capricorn banners billowing over the neat elongated tents of the slavers. ¡°Coming from wealth, a more cultured city and the belief they are serving worthy masters. Camaraderie flows out from that.¡± ¡°We need more soldiers Ballard,¡± Troy griped. ¡°I reckon we need allies more,¡± Emerson retorted and climbed down from his horse.
At the start of summer, the year of the new calendar 193, Lord Phon-Iv Sopat, admittedly the richest man of the Peninsula and the brains behind the rebellion that had remained cautious in attacking the Khan¡¯s men, made his move to break the soft siege of Nasar. It is still debated today what forced him to act and lose the veneer of neutrality he¡¯d managed to maintain up until that point. No one believed the Sopat would actually go to war or not attempt to break out of the conflict at the first sign of trouble. Whatever the reason was Lord Phon-Iv made contact with Kefenu-Nasar in secret, the rich but minor Lord of Redleaf (the named after the color of its leaves type of plant produced a drug with hallucinating and medicinal properties and matured near Kefenu¡¯s tobacco plantations) and proposed a deal. The two families had never seen eye to eye due to Lai Zel-Ka desiring a piece of Kefenu¡¯s business and the latter needing access to its port facilities for trade at logical prices. Phon-Iv agreed to marry his daughter Mesi-Nasar and give Kefenu control of the disputed opulent territory between the Gipsy Tents settlement and Levai River all the way to the edge of Opal Mountains. Lord Phon-Iv, a man with three young children and four wives already, elevated Mesi-Nasar making her his first wife in a surprise deal Kefenu agreed to. As part of the deal it is probable that they had also agreed to get rid of stubborn Esugen (the man leading the considerable force occupying Nasar) and his wife Anuke-Sol, the eldest daughter of Lord Elur Sol. It is believed (mostly through the memoirs of captains working the trade routes I have acquired, retired pirates oral recollections and old Cofol merchants gossip, as unfortunately access to the official records is not allowed today), that they bribed Esugen¡¯s second in command, a man named Merehor to do the deed. The story goes that Merehor recruited in turn an unspecified number of bought-out troops using the Sopat limitless purse and staged an insurrection inside the Cofols army camp. The insurgents stormed the headquarters and butchered Esugen, Anuke-Sol and their young son Kemat along a big number of loyal guards. Merehor managed to get control in the chaos that followed and blamed the local community of gypsies for what happened. He then proceeded to request an end to the hostilities from Lord Phon-Iv¡¯s forces stationed near the city with the agreement the soldiers wouldn¡¯t be harmed but given refuge instead in Lai Zel-Ka and a hefty pension. Phon-Iv agreed to compensate the around two thousand men in an emotional address to the troops standing on one of the twenty large wagons of gold coins he¡¯d hauled inside the city and the siege ended without further bloodshed according to the official record. Well actually there was bloodshed aplenty as the outraged locals expelled the nomads from the city and then burned down their nearby settlement that still has their name today. It is very telling that in the ¡®siege¡¯ of Nasar more gypsies were killed than Cofols. While the newly married Lord Phon-Iv got rid of his Esugen problem thus, dealing with the Fourth Sister wasn¡¯t as easy and the now grieving the loss of two children and a grandchild Lord Elur Sol was impossible to negotiate with. So Phon-Iv started down the desert Simun Road with his intact mercenary force toward Que Ki-La. There Sir Emerson, who had won a spectacular battle against Sol¡¯s forces in the Plains of Dor O¡¯ Cofol was besieging the large city for real. He¡¯d just received reinforcements from Thalion, the latter still busy trying to control Rohir and get rid of Nancin¡¯s force roaming the Stallion¡¯s Rest endless fields. The settled from the Great Desert Horselords there were loyal to the Khan and unsympathetic to bribery. Three times Thalion¡¯s gladiators sacked Rohir, but he had to retreat as many times closer to Fu De-Gar as the local riders lay waste to his supply caravans with extreme prejudice and kept reinforcing Nancin. Even so, Lord Phon-Iv¡¯s Sopat¡¯s army approaching from the Simun Road would all but encircle the sprawling city port, leaving its weakened defenders (Prince Nout had ordered the reinforcing force dispatched from the capital to remain in Lukela) with only one free road of retreat if the walls were taken. Across the great fig forests north of Que Ki-La, the idyllic road following the east banks of Clear Lake beyond the north walls of the city in the direction of the stone bridge at Small River.
Velox grimaced looking at the plan proposed by Samir of Ani Ta-Ne. He got his sharpened dagger out and then slowly worked on his scarred cheeks some, the blade scratching at the surface but finding nothing to shave. The sound disconcerting inside the silent large tent for those present, but for Emerson who was reading the reports and missives brought in bulk from the two forces that had come to reinforce them. ¡°Three kilometers is not a big distance Samir,¡± Velox finally said raspingly. ¡°Lord Sol doesn¡¯t have the men to guard the wall,¡± Samir insisted. ¡°We could keep him pinned down with arrows and strike where he¡¯s weak.¡± ¡°Good luck wit that,¡± Qathor commented with a grin. ¡°They¡¯ll be working on their oiled rods under cover, shove them down yer throat when ye run out of missiles and jump over the walls.¡± Samir stared at the Issir disgusted. ¡°We¡¯ll attack the port,¡± Emerson intervened. ¡°So a bit further than that Samir. It will leave only the north gates out of our reach. But if we take the bridge, then the city is cut off.¡± ¡°Time is on our side,¡± Samir agreed, with Emerson correcting him gruffly. ¡°No it ain¡¯t me lad.¡± ¡°We need to hurry is his meaning,¡± Troy explained at the taken aback Cofol leader. ¡°Of course,¡± Samir gave a nod and the commotion outside the large tent stopped them. Emerson turned his head and stared at the entrance. Asper who was standing there pulled the thick fabric aside to see what was going on. The slave that had been send back entered. He paused at the packed hall of the large field tent, stared at the rough ground under his sandaled feet and exited. The man returned after a moment, the ruckus outside the tent growing. He carried a large rolled up crimson carpet on his shoulder. The slave unrolled the carpet walking on the thick soft surface all the way to Emerson¡¯s table where the campaign maps were located. He then bowed deeply under the amused eyes of the gladiators and officers present, turned around and walked out. A moment and he reappeared, Asper narrowing his eyes at his shenanigans, stood up straighter and said in the effeminate voice of a eunuch. His tone though sober. ¡°Lord of Amethyst Gulf, the eminent Phon-Iv Sopat.¡± The slave had announced. ¡°Damn it Foreal,¡± a clad in a rich leather partially-armoured outfit Phon-Iv said and walked inside. ¡°Celebrated has a better ring to it,¡± he paused, painted blue eyes returning the stares of those present, glanced a little uncomfortable at the fresh carpet and then walked towards the table. ¡°Lord Phon,¡± Emerson rustled, an eye at the entrance of the tent opening again and Bohor, Nertor and Asmudius walking inside. ¡°I was led to believe you were indisposed.¡± ¡°On a honeymoon slotted in a tight schedule,¡± Phon replied. He was over thirty years old but for some wrinkles under his eyes nicely covered by subtle makeup, Phon looked a young twenty five. A handsome Cofol for sure with clever eyes that quickly evaluated those present afore returning his stare on Emerson. ¡°Then I was reminded I had a contract to honor and moreover an old promise to keep.¡± ¡°Is that what changed yer mind?¡± Emerson was not about to apologize for ruining the man¡¯s wedding celebrations. Phon¡¯s face darkened and his eyes roamed the hall. He nodded at the pensive ¡®Black¡¯ Toros who he recognized and Bohor, the slaver standing next to Serebus looking devastated. In fact the slavemaster¡¯s face turned white and then he collapsed on his knees. Nertor with Serebus had to stabilize him grabbing his arms. Phon smacked his painted lips and sighed. ¡°As I said Mista Savar,¡± the Lord of Lai Zel-Ka replied sadly. ¡°I had a promise to keep. The Sopat honor their words.¡± ¡°Get him a cup of wine,¡± Emerson grunted and the slavers carried the sobbing, usually very cynical, slavemaster outside. A restrained Phon watched in silence. Emerson realized there was a solid foundation under the carefully constructed outer veneer of indifference the rich Cofol Lord carried around like a shield. While one could mistake the older Sopat brother for Don-Iv, they weren¡¯t the same man. ¡°They were very close,¡± Phon commented forlornly. Emerson pressed his mouth tight unsure on where Phon was going with that. The rich Cofol Lord showed him a small yellow scroll and then glanced at the crowded room. ¡°Troy, Velox get everyone out. Stay back Troy. I¡¯ll talk with Lord Sopat,¡± Emerson ordered gruffly. ¡°Why do I¡­?¡± Troy protested, but seeing Emerson¡¯s face he hanged his braided head and turned to Qathor. The two gladiator leaders were longtime friends. ¡°Come on Qath, help me out here.¡± ¡°Princess I¡¯ll raise yer spirits,¡± the muscular Issir assured him knowingly, several of the departing men chuckling at his words. ¡°Fuck off Qathor!¡± Troy snapped with an embarrassed grimace and showed him his closed fist. ¡°Or you¡¯ll get this up the arse!¡± Qathor smiled. ¡°It was my meaning darling.¡± ¡°Use Foreal,¡± Phon offered casually, the scared slave ogling his eyes staring at the impressive physique of the dark-skinned gladiator. ¡°He can handle an oiled fist, anything but a horsecock really,¡± Phon added, each detail more disturbing and Qathor breathed in sharply very intrigued. ¡°Troy, get everyone outside now!¡± Emerson grunted irate. ¡°You have two darn swords. Use them plaguing things on those stalling!¡± The gladiator reached for his twin blades and the last hangers on rushed outside, Foreal sprinting faster than everyone else but a determined Qathor went after him with large strides.
Phon-Iv stared at the map depicting Que Ki-La and the lands beyond it, the massive Khanate¡¯s Gulf present in the detailed drawing. Serebus returned and bowed deeply before reporting they had delivered his words to the men under his payroll. ¡°Stand by the entrance,¡± Phon ordered dismissing him. ¡°What¡¯s the deal with Bohor?¡± Emerson asked when the Cofol commander departed. ¡°Um,¡± Phon-Iv said and used a fine hankie to gather the moisture from his face. ¡°Have you ever lost family Ballard?¡± ¡°I have.¡± ¡°Anyone left back home?¡± Phon stared at his grim expression. ¡°What is this about Phon?¡± ¡°So stern,¡± Phon replied and looked for a chair to sit but finding none, he remained standing with a pained grimace. ¡°I can understand that.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to understand it as well. You took yer time at Nasar.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t ruin a city. Destroying wealth is not what I¡¯m good at Ballard.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a war lad,¡± Emerson grunted. ¡°We left more than three thousand bodies rotting near Palar.¡± ¡°Elur Sol won¡¯t give up the city,¡± Phon argued with a grimace of distaste. ¡°He will to save himself,¡± Emerson countered. ¡°Then what?¡± ¡°Then you¡¯ll negotiate with the Khan¡¯s people. Or we march on Rin An-Pur.¡± ¡°There are over half a million people living in Rin An-Pur Ballard,¡± Phon said. ¡°They are not the Horselords of old but they can raise armies to counter us. Thousands more.¡± ¡°Who would lead them?¡± Emerson queried. ¡°A ramble is not an army.¡± ¡°The Gold Leopard is coming our way,¡± Phon reminded him. ¡°He spent part of his youth here.¡± ¡°Will he fight for it?¡± ¡°I believe he would.¡± Emerson crossed his arms over his chest. ¡°It is better to have the city then.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°A wall is a wall,¡± Emerson replied. ¡°Much easier to defend.¡± ¡°You are thinking to lure him here?¡± ¡°The plains end at the walls of Que Ki-La. Then it¡¯s all forest, palms and figs, a lake and Small River, who ain¡¯t that small. We either fight him here or take our chances on them flats beyond.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t outsmart Prince Nout Ballard,¡± Phon said. ¡°I¡¯m reaching out to Prince Atpa¡ª¡± ¡°You do that,¡± Emerson told him. ¡°But Prince Atpa isn¡¯t running the Khanate. The Khan has chosen another Heir. While we may be right about Prince Nout, I don¡¯t see another way,¡± Emerson continued. ¡°I need to best his army.¡± Phon-Iv nodded and stared at the map again. ¡°I cut the desert road,¡± he said. ¡°The dangerous men in Elur Sol¡¯s camp¡­ from those left breathing that is, are Sartak and Nancin. The former especially is loyal to the Khan. He¡¯ll keep the north road open.¡± ¡°Will he retreat?¡± ¡°Perhaps.¡± ¡°What if we threaten to cut them off completely?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have the men¡­¡± Phon frowned. ¡°Can it be done?¡± ¡°We control that bridge and nothing comes in or out,¡± Emerson replied. ¡°Provided we manage to wrestle away the port from Sol. The walls are easy to scale with a good distraction. If I had machines I¡¯d punch a hole through easily. Since we don¡¯t have one I trust at the near, I need you to assault the West Gates from the Simun Road. I¡¯ll penetrate the walls near the coast and take the docks. Then swing around and head for the bridge, unless the defenders collapse.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t want Prince Nout landing inside the city.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe he would, but then again it¡¯s possible,¡± Emerson said furrowing his brows. ¡°What changed your mind?¡± And decided to move was the knight¡¯s meaning. ¡°I lost my sister,¡± Phon said hoarsely and Emerson nodded, his face solemn. ¡°I¡¯ve a sister as well. My condolences for yer loss.¡± Phon cleared his throat. ¡°Sen¡­ was Garth¡¯s wife. The Queen of Wetull.¡± Emerson stood back alarmed. ¡°It was unrelated to our problem¡­ I think. Bohor was there for part of it. A pregnancy gone wrong I suppose. It¡¯s my fault.¡± ¡°Not it isn¡¯t,¡± Emerson grunted. ¡°She was another man¡¯s wife.¡± Phon-Iv scratched his trimmed goatee with a hand, then pressed a couple of ringed fingers at the bridge of his nose in visible discomfort. But it could just be grief, Emerson thought. ¡°Does Glenavon have another child?¡± Emerson asked instead walking to the table and taking the perfumed scroll Phon had showed him earlier. ¡°They do¡­ ahm,¡± Phon grimaced. ¡°He hinted at sending help. But it is not as easy to reach him now.¡± ¡°Does Glenavon have an army?¡± Emerson queried reading the missive written in courtly Common and in an extremely calligraphic script. A female hand had written it months back, the insight into the future offered in it astonishing. ¡°He does. But not many humans serve in it Ballard,¡± Lord Phon-Iv replied. ¡°He also has a Wyvern.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve seen it, this wyvern?¡± ¡°My cousin Ron-Iv has. Bohor, very recently,¡± Phon-Iv replied. ¡°It¡¯s as big as a house.¡± ¡°Can he control the beast?¡± Emerson asked calmly and turned his eyes on the map of the Peninsula. ¡°I have no idea. Never got a good read on young Reeves,¡± Phon replied hoarsely. ¡°But Sen-Iv believed we can¡¯t win without his help and she rarely erred. His people were helpful but without her I don¡¯t know his intentions.¡± Emerson nodded in pondering silence. ¡°You claimed you know him,¡± Phon said on his back. ¡°Will the King beyond the Pale Mountains come to our aid?¡± ¡°I knew the boy,¡± Emerson replied sternly. ¡°Not this King,¡± he glanced at Phon¡¯s sorrowful face and grimaced. ¡°The Gold Leopard is closer than him Lord Sopat,¡± he added raspingly. ¡°Glenavon shall do what he believes is right for those counting on him and we must do our duty to those counting on us. Assault the walls on the morrow Phon-Iv. Let¡¯s see if Sartak stays to fight or retreats again. If he¡¯s under orders from a different master, then perhaps Lord Sol would be forced to talk with us.¡± ¡°What about the Gold Leopard Ballard?¡± Phon asked him worried and Emerson¡¯s deeply-lined from age black eyes roamed the Khanate Gulf¡¯s long coast afore answering. ¡°We can do nothing more than wait to see where he¡¯ll land and try to defend against him,¡± Emerson had said. ¡°Again, I faced Prince Nout in the past, but time changes all people.¡± The Prince was in a hurry then, probably under orders and risked an assault against an unknown force. Now he knew what Emerson had would the Prince come at him again straight away? What would the Heir do when given full command? Where? He pondered looking at the map, deep wrinkles forming under the grey hairs of his square jaw and Phon-Iv who was rereading his late sister¡¯s letter behind the knight¡¯s back, took advantage of the empty tent to lament in private. Rest assured, the Leopard shall leap over the desert even if he¡¯s half-dead, Sen-Iv Sopat had written to her brother. Don¡¯t believe our spies for his people are fanatically loyal to him.
He¡¯ll cross the Gulf and land on the Peninsula, dear Phon. He¡¯ll take the cities and raise them if he¡¯s given half a chance. He won¡¯t bargain or show mercy. Don¡¯t allow the beast to reach our lands. As long as we have the ports he can¡¯t win. Take the ports brother and bring the fight to him. Don¡¯t be idle. You need to survive the summer, but you¡¯ll only do it as a soldier this time. Do use your head please. You are good at deals. Use the knife along with coin. The more land between him and us the better. The more distance for the Leopard to traverse. He¡¯ll want it all back because it¡¯s a matter of pride for him, so use that and buy the Three Sisters time even if that means that the Fourth Sister dies. Remember, a wyvern leaps much further than the leopard. Always.
389. The Shores of Rain-Minas (1/3)
One gold Dinar coin (or Doubloon) equals one old square pure silver Imperial coin, the most commonly used coin of the Imperial Era. The latter was valued twelve silver Dinar coins. The highly coveted coin has been incorporated by the Pirates as a secret currency or reused as passport and it is known in the criminal underworld of the Old Realms as the ''Silver Skull'' or the more esoteric ¡®a piece of twelve.¡¯ Coinage, a primer. Federico Mclean Circa 175 NC
Roran, of Saeveril Second of the Phalanx Leader of the Main Othrim The Shores of Rain-Minas Part I -The cutthroat of Shark Isles-
Fergen O¡¯ Mecatan had repaired Theodas Hoplite helm. He¡¯d smoothed and polished the bronze details but the scars were still noticeable on the hardened metal. The imperial steel was difficult to dent even if it wasn¡¯t spell-forged but it happened. Fergen had ¡®revived¡¯ it as he called the procedure of re-hardening the ancient steel keeping the old bronze decorations intact. The dents had stayed because the steel remembered its previous owner the blacksmith had said trying to justify the imperfections. Fergen had difficulty producing flawless armour and weapons but in this he¡¯d succeeded. Roran had named the remade helm ¡®Theodas¡¯ to remember his late comrade still living in it. Malon another one of the old heads swiped back his short blue hair once with the flat of his calloused hand, long fingers wrapping around his ovule-shaped head and then glanced at Ayas and Orym sharing a bloody cut of meat. The Othrim was back in full strength. Anfalon had re-christened the old 2nd Othrim as the Main Othrim in a brief address before their departure. It was fittingly so as they were the last surviving units of the Imperial Phalanx. Roran stared at the sinister dark-steel of the Hoplite helm he had placed on a rock across from him. The other three Othrim had returned to Goras with the Lord Superior and his Hallowed. Just like the ancient helm the army had rebuilt itself. The Phalanx had survived. But not much else had. He allowed his eyes to roam the wilderness reaching the edge of the desolate plateau and then the ocean beyond the beach under its full of caves sheer cliffs. Rain Minas stood a ghost town behind them. Its fort and buildings abandoned and left to the elements. Several had collapsed amongst them the famed lighthouse, others still stood partially with some even being in good condition under the overgrowth especially at the outskirts of the port city. The old docks located at the base of the overhang all but ruined from the sea, but it was the absence of the inhabitants that haunted the place. There were animals aplenty but they had found no Zilan. Aenymriel had left them weeks back while they marched on the Old Port Canal Road and continued further south. Aquilan believed the secretive Elderblood was heading back home. ¡°Ever been to Nureria Elwuin?¡± Roran asked but the academic was busy examining the damage on the watchtower overlooking the port. One of its four sides had collapsed and the ancient Zilan had climbed the pile of debris where the hole was and gauged the cracked edges with a measuring stick. ¡°He¡¯s talking with himself,¡± Malon rustled. ¡°There¡¯s a granite support beam hanging over his head I expect will come down any moment now.¡± ¡°Get him out of there,¡± Roran ordered and Malon murmured in protest. ¡°He¡¯s impossible to get rid of Roran,¡± he griped getting up to go retrieve the scientist. ¡°Like a bloody cockroach or a cursed Alafern.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± a young Hoplite from Abarat named Respen asked. ¡°A vampire in old Imperial,¡± Roran replied. ¡°They don¡¯t live in our realm.¡± ¡°That''s good sir.¡± ¡°Hah-ha,¡± Ayas guffawed and slapped the relieved young Zilan¡¯s helm. ¡°Gnomes are more dangerous fool! I¡¯ve seen one lurking near the stables back¡ª¡± ¡°Cut the crap Ayas,¡± Roran grunted stopping him abruptly and got up himself grabbing his helm from the rock. ¡°I see Wylinor but not Aelinole, where is she?¡± ¡°She went to explore the beach with Darunia Roran,¡± Ayas replied and ogled his eyes, lips split in a grotesque as much as idiotic smile, all in the effort to mimic the appearance of a Gnome for young Respen. ¡°Darunia is not a scout!¡± Roran snapped not liking this slackening that always came after long marches on these low-risk exploratory missions. ¡°I don¡¯t believe they are down there scouting,¡± Malon said returning with a protesting Elwuin on his shoulder. ¡°Darunia wanted to clean up.¡± ¡°Let go of me you overgrown gorilla!¡± Elwuin protested smacking the Hoplite¡¯s head with his stick a couple of times until a grimacing Malon deposited him on the ground. Elwuin went to return to the ruined tower but Malon stopped him grabbing him by the collar. ¡°Elwuin,¡± Roran intervened and the frustrated academic turned to glare at him. ¡°What happened to the citizens?¡± ¡°Eh,¡± Elwuin crooked his mouth and then his eyes cleared some. ¡°I don¡¯t believe it has been documented Roran,¡± he replied. ¡°So we don¡¯t know?¡± ¡°Of course we do. Well, it¡¯s a hypothesis but it can be clarified easily.¡± Roran nodded and Malon shrugged his shoulders and went to sit at his rock, a hand rubbing at his hurting head. ¡°The poisoned clouds were driven west towards the ocean,¡± Elwuin continued his diatribe finding an audience this time. ¡°That saved Lo-Minas and much of Goras, but doomed Rain-Minas.¡± ¡°So everybody died?¡± ¡°They got sick first, then died,¡± Elwuin elucidated indifferently. ¡°Some might have even survived only to be killed by the wildlife that migrated here. Now the actual numbers¡­ hmm.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a lot of souls lost Elwuin,¡± Roran noticed. ¡°Mmm,¡± Elwuin murmured his mind elsewhere. ¡°Witch-loving,¡± Malon commented sourly from his spot. ¡°Othoniel amongst them.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t condemn the mother for the actions of her son,¡± Roran countered. ¡°Someone helped Lord Sulynor get away with the witch¡¯s spawn,¡± Malon insisted. He always held a strong dislike for the sorceress. Not that he¡¯d met her or anything. Malon was just parroting the army line. No one really knew Edlenn¡¯s kin but the higher ups those days. ¡°It¡¯s an old story Roran. We were briefed on the matter.¡± ¡°More than a millennia old paperwork,¡± Roran reminded him. ¡°A lot has happened since that time Malon,¡± he added not wanting old gossip dribbling down to the newer recruits. ¡°We could get some of the bones out, look for markings or color. The poison seeps deep afore one expires,¡± Elwuin suggested looking about him, apparently still working on the previous topic. ¡°Examining some intact remains might give us an even better understanding of what happened.¡± ¡°Forget it! I¡¯m not digging about for corpses and old bones Elwuin. Colored or not!¡± Malon grunted and Elwuin furrowed a pair of washed-out blue brows unsure on the reason for the Hoplite¡¯s outburst. In the meantime, Roran¡¯s eyes drifted towards the old road heading towards the docks and the edge of town. Wylinor with Gorwin of Lo-Minas were still searching the ruins there about two hundred meters away from Roran. Gorwin was Aelinole¡¯s pupil. He¡¯d noticed them because Wylinor had stood up and waved his arm to get their attention. Roran started marching that way leaving Malon to argue with Elwuin about the dead. He felt the solid granite tiles of the old road under his hobnailed boots, despite the dirt and old grass covering it. Both rangers stood up to salute the imposing Hoplite leader when they spotted him approach. ¡°What did you find?¡± Roran asked brusquely cutting to the chase. ¡°Tracks sir,¡± Gorwin replied and stepped away. The floor of the building, part of a hall really, was in good condition as the roof still stood over it. Roran stared at the covered in dirt marble tiles. ¡°What am I looking at?¡± ¡°These are dog tracks,¡± Wylinor explained although Roran could see that for himself. ¡°It carried mud from outside during the rain-season and brought it in. Left it on the floor.¡± ¡°So?¡± ¡°There are different footprints mixed in with it sir,¡± Gorwin explained. ¡°Well, one set really.¡± ¡°A one booted¡­ human? Zilan?¡± Roran grunted and knelt to see it up close. He could spot it now amidst the animal imprints. The bottom of a leather boot with a bit of heel. ¡°That¡¯s a nail,¡± Gorwin said. ¡°He stood inside the hall and sent the dog towards that door,¡± Gorwin continued with Wylinor agreeing with a nod. ¡°Then got out. The dog went another way, but he followed stepping over the old prints. Which is why we didn¡¯t see it the first time.¡± ¡°A master scout hopping about?¡± Roran rustled through his teeth. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter how he did it,¡± Wylinor replied. ¡°This is fresh mud that has dried up here.¡± ¡°Tastes of grass and dog piss still,¡± Gorwin agreed and knowing their weird training Roran was certain the ranger had munched on some to make sure. ¡°How long ago?¡± ¡°Less than a month during the last rains,¡± Wylinor replied. ¡°The summer has just arrived.¡± Roran grimaced and stood up. He walked to the door of the large building, the sheets missing. As did the windows and much of the furniture inside the Hall. It was shaded and something should have been left over, he thought. ¡°Have you found anything inside the buildings that are still standing? Sick people don¡¯t pack up everything and leave. Who takes the doors with him?¡± ¡°Wood rots away,¡± Gorwin said with a shrug. ¡°We found no significant amount left behind.¡± Not all wood. ¡°How about gold? Tools? Weapons?¡± Roran grunted. ¡°The city has been picked up clean sir. At least where we looked so far,¡± Wylinor replied with a knowing smile. A stray living in the woods that had raided a lot of abandoned Imperial homes in his youth. Probably does it still. Who would steal a door though? Strip the furniture off of a dead city? ¡°Come with me,¡± Roran snapped and walked outside.
¡°Ayas, Respen,¡± Roran rustled. ¡°We¡¯re going scout finding. Malon get the troops up. What¡¯s with the singing? This isn¡¯t a gods darn vacation!¡± ¡°Sir?¡± Ayas queried and got up wiping his mouth. ¡°Scout what?¡± His eyes on the two rangers following him. ¡°We have to look for our female ranger and the doc,¡± Roran explained and Ayas smiled until he saw the look on Roran¡¯s face and cut it short. ¡°Lady Aelinole needs no help sir,¡± Gorwin said probably unfamiliar with Roran¡¯s history with Lord Suraer¡¯s daughter. ¡°Let¡¯s at least make sure that¡¯s the case ranger,¡± Roran grunted and marched down the coastal road that led at the base of the upland and its sapphire-colored pebble beach next to the old docks. In the old days working a mule wagon or carriage from the docks to the slopes of Rain-Minas was a lucrative endeavor that required minimum skill and was greatly enjoyed by the rich Cofols visiting the Imperial port. Roran and his small group reached the ruins of the old harbor twenty minutes later, some of the dock¡¯s buildings and wharfs still visible, and probably still semi-functional with a bit of repair despite the damage done by a couple of centuries of abandonment to the elements. Chestnut trees had grown down the canyons of the rocky plateau that stood forty meters above them. The many ravines were alternate routes to reach the city but while some were usable in the past, nature had claimed them now. The seaweed covered pebble beach littered with the sea urchin looking type of fruits, dark nuts hidden under the thorny thick green skin. ¡°Unless I¡¯m mistaken, there were some fishermen docks beyond that copse,¡± Roran rustled after they wandered up and down the beach without finding the females. Ayas nodded crunching on a cleaned nut he¡¯d picked up that must have tasted like a salted turd. ¡°What?¡± The hoplite leader asked seeing his censorious stare. ¡°Good fibers source if one disregards the taste sir.¡± ¡°If,¡± Respen agreed with a grimace. A refresh course in discipline is needed, Roran decided sourly. ¡°Wylinor, I want you to hop into those woods and have a look,¡± Roran ordered the ranger curtly. The last thing he wanted to talk about was Ayas¡¯ culinary palate. The Hoplite had none. ¡°Right away sir,¡± Wylinor replied. Maeriel¡¯s pupil was extremely skilled and solid in almost everything they had faced in their journey, Roran thought. Then again Maeriel¡¯s tutor with all his faults had been a legendary ranger himself. ¡°I¡¯ll come along,¡± Roran decided. ¡°Ayas spit that shit out afore you get the runs and stay with Respen. Gorwin sweep the docks again lad,¡± he added and hurried after the fast moving young ranger. Wylinor reached the first of the trees, the pebbles under their feet turning into a dark brown soft earth, as mud coming down from the plateau with the rains had completely covered up the edges of the sheer cliffs. ¡°Squirrels,¡± Wylinor informed him and pointed at some of the tall tree trunks. ¡°Yellow viper,¡± the ranger added warningly and Roran stopped to allow the hissing snake passage. ¡°You think there¡¯s a black bear roaming about?¡± Roran asked after a moment of walking inside the woods. The trees growing quite apart from each other, the salty waters preventing overgrowth and leaving luscious paths under the shade. ¡°Not likely,¡± Wylinor said, his large pointy ears turning to listen to different sounds. ¡°Lady Aelinole is extremely skilled to fall prey to a predator.¡± Yeah she is, Roran thought pressing his mouth tight. He didn¡¯t want to think about her, but she had wanted to come along and Hardir had caved to her demand without hesitation his mind elsewhere.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Nia isn¡¯t,¡± he murmured. ¡°Sir?¡± ¡°Darunia,¡± Roran corrected himself hoarsely. ¡°This lovely shade. This forest¡­ she wandered off for sure.¡± Wylinor grinned and nodded. A rare grin as he was a quiet character, probably grieving someone close already, but Darunia had this effect on people of all races and classes since she was a little girl. With the 2nd Othrim stationed in Lo-Minas and Darunia being close friends with Aelinole, Roran had come to know both Elderborn females real well. ¡°There¡¯s talk¡ª¡± the ranger started but Roran stopped him with a glare. ¡°We don¡¯t gossip about a Lady¡¯s affairs Wylinor,¡± he cautioned him. ¡°Especially when she¡¯s above us in station.¡± Wylinor grimaced. ¡°Yes sir. I wasn¡¯t going to.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t let him bully you around,¡± Aelinole taunted unseen. ¡°You¡¯re standing next to a tree Wylinor,¡± she added coming out of the shade, clad in her dark green leather outfit. ¡°It blocks the wind for you,¡± Aelinole added at the embarrassed ranger. Roran scrunched his jaw this way and that annoyed at her teasing stare. He pushed his chest out and straightened the leather belt carrying his Kopis. ¡°Roran,¡± Aelinole said tauntingly. ¡°Lady Aelinole,¡± Roran grunted. ¡°Cut the crap Roran,¡± Lord Suraer¡¯s daughter admonished him. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± ¡°We were looking¡ª¡± Wylinor started but Aelinole stopped him hurling a small stick that smacked him on the chest. The ranger gasped not expecting it. ¡°I asked him,¡± Aelinole hissed. Roran smacked his lips in frustration. ¡°We found tracks inside some of the buildings. Probably human.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± ¡°So we came to see if you¡­and Darunia. See whether everything is under control,¡± he managed to say after a couple of tries. Aelinole raised a cobalt eyebrow mockingly. ¡°Unfortunately for her and me, we¡¯ve seen no human lately.¡± Ouch. Your words are full of venom lass. Roran pursed his lips to keep a caustic retort in. He¡¯d avoided talking to her for the whole journey and that meant he sort of avoided Darunia as well, which made him look like an unrefined savage to everyone. ¡°No more comments from the First Hoplite¡­ oops wait, that dropped back to second again no?¡± Aelinole taunted and then paused, her elongated ears turning west towards the unseen sea. A frown appearing on her familiar face. ¡°You heard that?¡± she asked. Roran was so frustrated he hadn¡¯t noticed anything. ¡°What?¡± He grunted seething. ¡°It sounded like¡­ distant ship¡¯s bells,¡± Aelinole murmured and turned around as if to pierce with her eyes the trees between them and the ocean. ¡°Must have been mistaken.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s Darunia?¡± Roran asked hoarsely, the sweaty ranger¡¯s scent messing up his senses and her words sawing at his nerves. ¡°She wanted to dive for algae, you know how she is,¡± Aelinole replied fondly, slipping for a moment in her tone to the girl he''d grown up with. She stared at him intently. ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to get myself wet. Salted water ruins leather.¡± Roran nodded in fake agreement since the reason was probably something pettier and less practical knowing them, like Darunia¡¯s generous bosom which was always a hot topic or Aelinole¡¯s imperial physique. ¡°How far did she went you think?¡± ¡°You fear she¡¯s in danger?¡± Yes dear. We''re talking about Darunia. ¡°You don¡¯t?¡± ¡°She doesn¡¯t need saving Roran,¡± Aelinole said dismissively then narrowing her eyes added. ¡°You are part of the problem. All these rusty old world views is what makes her unhappy.¡± There was no epoch and no era in the old world or the new, where Olonelis would allow Darunia to bed an adventurer after all that had happened with Aelinole. She was probably talking about herself here. The elusive half-breed bastard and con-man that got away. For crying out loud. ¡°I¡¯m part of the blasted problem?¡± Roran grunted angry. ¡°Old world? Your father wasn¡¯t part of it? What? Suddenly you get what you wanted from the new Monarch and everyone else is the enemy?¡± ¡°What I wanted?¡± Aelinole hissed and pushed him back. ¡°What I wanted was a bit of support from my friends!¡± Roran grinded his teeth, blood rushing to his face. ¡°We were much more than friends,¡± he rustled, a tick appearing on his right temple. ¡°Until that son of a mule came along and you got all¡ª¡± Aelinole¡¯s abrupt backhand almost knocked him out. Roran stumbled back breathing heavy and set his feet. ¡°Don¡¯t do it again,¡± he warned her. ¡°Ahm,¡± Wylinor interrupted them. ¡°What about Lady Darunia? She¡¯s still missing,¡± he asked treading carefully. Allgods, Roran cursed snapping out of it, his face flustered and hurting. ¡°Get out of my way,¡± he grunted and pushed the angry ranger aside to march towards the edge of the forest. ¡°I need to find Nia.¡± ¡°Huh,¡± Aelinole let out a scoff behind his back, but then rushed after him. ¡°She¡¯s not ten Roran,¡± she griped hoarsely. ¡°Darunia can take care of herself.¡±
The human standing by the large boat moored at the abandoned beach surrounded by the chestnut trees forest turned his head their way. He wore a large brown hat with white pearls adorning the leather band around its crown. A black leather vest over a mail shirt and baggy hemp pants. The Cofol had a sword strapped on his waistband. He blinked once unsure at what he was seeing and then reached inside the boat nervously before Roran¡¯s voice stopped him. ¡°Halt right there!¡± He boomed in rusty Common and the man showed him two decayed rows of teeth in the pretense of a nervous smile of compliance. Roran walked up to the grimacing Cofol that kept glancing at Aelinole and Wylinor. Roran had his helm on. It is the ears, he thought. Got him all spooked. ¡°We¡¯re Zilan,¡± he told him unsure on where they stood with Sinya Nore given the recent developments. ¡°Imperial army.¡± ¡°Abrakas rusty locker,¡± the man grunted in shock and made a circle afore his chest. ¡°Begone ye devils!¡± ¡°You are standing on Imperial land,¡± Roran reminded him patiently, the man nervously glancing at the other two Zilan and even beyond them towards the edge of the treeline not ten meters behind Roran. ¡°Best you get back on that boat and go back to your¡­ where are you from Sinya Nore?¡± ¡°Where¡¯s your ship? Why did you anchor so far from the shores?¡± Aelinole asked in a caring manner and in much more fluent Common than him, which rubbed Roran the wrong way for some reason. The strange man looked at her with a lecherous smirk in response. The Ranger was shamelessly flirting with him. Why? ¡°We hail from the Shark Isles lass,¡± he told her, then paused in alarm at the slip of his tongue. Alright then. Damn you Lin. She had played that trick on him as well. ¡°We?¡± Roran queried and Aelinole twisted around, a hand on her quiver, the other getting the carved out of whispering wood bow over her head in a timed and extremely fast reaction. Roran turned around as well to glance back and towards the treeline, the helm restricting his vision somewhat. The whoosh of something flying towards him made the Hoplite to flinch aside instinctively and the small throwing axe smacked Roran on the left shoulder denting the plate and mauling the upper part of his chest. Roran groaned in pain and faltered towards the edge of the shore, water splashing on his boots. Three men came out of the trees. Dressed similarly to the first one but carrying different weapons. Two more Cofols, a tanned bearded Lorian and an Issir. What in Allgods is this weird gathering, a hurting Roran thought and then snapped his head towards the first man. It was good that he had. The sneaky Cofol had gotten a harpoon out of the boat and thrusted it towards his midriff. Roran snatched it behind the hooked blade, the sharp point grazing his plate. A yank and he took it out of the snarling Cofol¡¯s hands, flipped it over his head and smacked the dodging shorter man on his back with the shaft. ¡°Gaah!¡± the Cofol groaned and hit the side of the boat dropping on his knees. Roran turned his head around, saw two of their opponents already dead and the third legging it for the trees. He made it about five meters away and then Aelinole¡¯s arrow exploded out of his right eye after penetrating the back of his head. The Lorian span around spreading gore in a round arc and collapsed on his face. Roran turned to face the first Cofol again and the man, now holding his cutlass, took a step back grinding his teeth like a trapped animal. The Hoplite unsheathed the Kopis with a clench of his jaw and stepped forward to finish him off. He had given him a chance to surrender and the human had spat it back in his face. The Cofol swung his blade high to cut Roran across the face but the veteran angled his helmed head enough to deflect the blow and carved him up with a vertical slash from groin to jaw. The Cofol¡¯s entrails spilled out of the cavernous gash on his abdomen and he toppled backwards to end up half-in half-out of the boat. Roran stumbled back dazed, his head ringing and Aelinole¡¯s hand grabbed his elbow to stabilize him. ¡°Are you hurt?¡± She asked worried. Roran shook his head and her expression changed. ¡°What were you doing?¡± She admonished him angry. ¡°Was looking out for you,¡± Roran admitted with a grimace. Aelinole hissed and moved away. ¡°You have such a thick head Roran,¡± she said through her teeth, watching as Wylinor went to pick up their arrows. ¡°Thank the gods I do,¡± Roran groaned and removed his helm to check on the swelling. ¡°Didn¡¯t think that short fuck would come at me.¡± ¡°Why did they attack?¡± Aelinole asked now worried. ¡°Where¡¯s Darunia?¡± ¡°Obviously not with them. They seemed way too surprised. She would have softened them up.¡± ¡°You think that was funny?¡± Aelinole snapped. ¡°Our friend could be in danger!¡± ¡°Goddess give patience,¡± Roran retorted in frustration. ¡°I was the one worrying first remember?¡± ¡°Eh,¡± Wylinor gasped interrupting them. Roran and Aelinole immediately stopped arguing. Their attention now drawn to the ranger. Wylinor had stopped retrieving their used arrows out of the corpses and was now staring at a wiry, blood-covered Issir that had come hobbling out of the woods as well. The disheveled grey-haired man had a pair of woolen socks on but no shoes, tattered pants and a plain shirt with no sleeves. A neat bandage covering his left arm made out of them. He carried a Zilan dagger in his other hand. His ashen-green eyes went from the knelt Wylinor to the standing six meters away from him Roran and Aelinole, right next to the boat. He stared at the boat itself, then paused on the gory fresh corpses. With a shrug of his shoulders the newcomer dropped the dagger very near his right foot and grinned broadly showing as many bad teeth as the Cofol earlier, with the difference the Issir had his repaired with gleaming gold. A lot of it. ¡°To the heavens above,¡± the Issir said in broken Imperial (although now that they could see him better he looked more like a half-breed and given his strange hair color) and Roran glanced at Aelinole, the ranger returning his stare amused. ¡°Our greetings,¡± the man added that lecherous smile plastered on his weathered face. ¡°Name¡¯s ''Piece of Twelve'' noble spirits.¡± ¡°What manner of name is that?¡± Roran grunted eyeing him with suspicion. Aelinole perceptively going another way. ¡°Where did you hear that?¡± She queried frostily. ¡°You don¡¯t look the learned type human.¡± ¡®Twelve¡¯ hesitated then raised a finger and pointed at Aelinole. ¡°Ye be the Lord¡¯s daughter,¡± he said amazed and shook his braided head as if not believing what he was witnessing. ¡°The noble Hoplite,¡± his eyes then rested on Wylinor unsure. ¡°An unknown bow carrying person? Eh, be that as it may, who of ye good lads ¡®n lasses cleaved ¡®Sneaky¡¯ Zaine to the brisket?¡± Roran frowned. ¡°It must be ye,¡± the Issir decided and breathed out, afore smacking his lips once. ¡°I took a guess,¡± he explained at the silent Hoplite. He scratched his medium beard with a dirty index finger sporting a large bloody gold ring on it, sucked another gulp of air in and sighed deeply. ¡°Damnit, dis ain¡¯t good,¡± he cursed a little disappointed. ¡°Have you seen a female Zilan around?¡± Roran grunted, extending his muscular arm out to stop Aelinole that had raised her bow to kill the weird Issir. ¡°Eah, lets engross ourselves in a bit of trading,¡± the Issir offered and Aelinole raised her bow again. ¡°Right,¡± he puffed out and placed both hands on his waist, head hanging forward in disappointment. ¡°I have no connection wit these bilge-sucking scallywags,¡± the Issir started. ¡°Let¡¯s just get that out of the way. Do I hear an aye?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you just say you know one of them by name?¡± Aelinole asked and Roran nodded quite impressed. He¡¯d forgotten how sharp she was. ¡°I have minimal connection wit these conniving ruffians,¡± the Issir amended his previous statement. ¡°How minimal?¡± Roran grunted. ¡°Trifling. Why, we be practically enemies of sorts.¡± ¡°How can you be an enemy to people you don¡¯t know?¡± Aelinole asked narrowing her eyes and the Issir pursed his lips at her query. Then gave her a lewd wink that expensive smile forming on his mouth. ¡°I see yer a smart one lassie. Arr, too smart perhaps, ayup. Can I start again?¡± Instead of replying, Aelinole shot an arrow in his bandaged arm. ¡°Wow,¡± Roran gasped thoroughly impressed while the half-breed rolled on the ground groaning a bit too loud. ¡°That was really remarkable Lin. I¡¯ve forgotten what a great shot you are,¡± he told her truthfully and walked near Wylinor who helped the moaning as if he was getting his nails pulled out Issir back on his feet. ¡°Ah, not where I aimed,¡± Aelinole admitted with a blush. ¡°But he pissed me off and I lost it?¡± But Roran wasn¡¯t listening to her. He had stooped down and picked up the dagger the bemoaning his luck half-breed had dropped earlier.
Darunia stopped working the silver pestle, the mortar filled with a green smelling paste and turned her clear green and silver eyes on him. A small smile at the corner of her pretty mouth. ¡°Does brooding Roran want something?¡± She asked and gathered a loose blue curl behind her graceful long ear. ¡°It¡¯s a salve for insect bites.¡± ¡°Piss is what they are advised to use,¡± Roran grunted sitting next to her on the ruined stairs of the old villa. ¡°It actually smells better than this,¡± he added in a softer tone. ¡°Oh,¡± Darunia furrowed her brows and stared at the mixture. ¡°Wait, I have jasmine seeds! That¡¯ll fix it he-he,¡± she gasped and started looking about for her large leather bag. Roran reached and picked it up for her. ¡°Anything else?¡± He asked the riffling through the packed bag female. ¡°Sweet grass. I¡¯ll shave a bit from that corner. This was a garden once you know.¡± ¡°I know,¡± Roran replied and reached on his harness for the dagger Fergen had made for him. A gift for the dents on the helm, he¡¯d told Roran. The Hoplite didn¡¯t mind the dents but he had accepted the nicely engraved dagger. He gave it to the comely Healer hilt first. ¡°Here. Use this.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Darunia asked unsure and came to kneel next to him. ¡°What if you need it? What then?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve a bag full of weapons Nia.¡± ¡°Aww, you¡¯re so foolish,¡± Darunia chuckled and accepted the dagger. ¡°I don¡¯t care about all that Roran. Nor does Aelinole. Not anymore.¡± Roran nodded his face sobering. ¡°Apologies,¡± Darunia said seeing his expression and touched his hand. ¡°I misspoke. For this I care,¡± she added in a hushed tone. The gesture was her meaning. Roran¡¯s eyes had dropped on her soft hand covering his. When he raised them, Darunia was examining his face. ¡°I¡¯m not sick,¡± Roran croaked feeling her energy flowing through his body like warm honey. ¡°Roran of Saeveril,¡± Darunia chuckled, her cheeks a fierce crimson. ¡°I don¡¯t believe you are,¡± she added and then retrieved her hand. ¡°Are you mad?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t be mad at you,¡± Roran admitted with a smile and got up. ¡°Eh,¡± Darunia said with a deep sigh and got up as well. ¡°I wish you would,¡± she added and walked towards the edge of the overgrown ancient garden. ¡°Why?¡± Darunia paused and turned to stare at his confused face. ¡°What does Lord Suraer¡¯s daughter have that garners everyone¡¯s attention?¡± She asked him sadly. ¡°Even the Monarch had forgiven her.¡± Roran stood back surprised. He didn¡¯t do it for her, Roran thought. This was a favor for her father. ¡°Darunia you were always the center of everyone¡¯s attention,¡± he told her instead not wanting to touch that subject. ¡°No one ever came close.¡± ¡°Aelrindel is still much praised. Eons pass and people remember her,¡± she argued with a pleased smile. ¡°Aelrindel was a crazy witch,¡± Roran murmured channeling Malon shamelessly. ¡°Mmm. By the way, I used the term ¡®everyone¡¯ to not make this awkward for either of us Roran,¡± Darunia said and stooped to gather some of the vanilla smelling wild grass using his knife. ¡°But I appreciate the compliment.¡± Ah. He stared at his muddy boots for a moment unsure. ¡°Your mother¡ª¡± ¡°That¡¯s your reply?¡± ¡°I thought¡­ what about this adventurer?¡± Darunia pointed at the door of the ancient yard. ¡°Go find your ranger Roran. Sometimes you need to listen even if it¡¯s hurtful,¡± she paused and cleaned the knife on the grass. Then picked up a handful of it and got up. Seeing him still standing there Darunia smiled and added. ¡°Not every relation works out. It is true for me and it is true for you Roran. You¡¯re just too stubborn to let go.¡± ¡°Darunia,¡± Roran protested. ¡°My heartfelt gratitude for the gift Roran,¡± Darunia had replied evenly.
¡°What is it?¡± Aelinole asked sensing his anger, her tanned face paling when she realized what Roran held in his shaking hands. A scowling Roran got up and glared at the still complaining stranger, his voice a menacing growl. ¡°Where did you get this dagger?¡±
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms or enjoy it again at Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ The chapters are re-edited and re-posted regularly at both places 390. The Shores of Rain-Minas (2/3)
Ol¡¯ ¡®Bald¡¯ Burton, was a dangerous man to cross, For he won the all captains coin toss Ol¡¯ ¡®Bald¡¯ Burton, Probably left yer moth¡¯r for anoth¡¯r, For he had ¡®Trickster¡¯ for a broth¡¯r - Ballad of Bald Burton, Popular pirate song, Circa 199 NC
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A one-eyed dog called twelve met a schemin¡¯ lame man Hailin¡¯ from Far Cove, they formed their own clan Claimed he knew the road beyond Barbosa¡¯s Reef Came out the Queen¡¯s vault wit a heavy seaf Some things they left, others Trickster put on a shelve The old vampire¡¯s gilded bones, Rusted jewelry ¡®n colored stones He buried in a metal chest filled wit pieces o¡¯ twelve - Dog called ¡®Twelve¡¯ Old pirate song, Circa unknown (probably before 180 NC)
*(While they originated in different continents, at different times and by different pirate factions, the two esoteric songs are believed to be referring to the same man.)
Horace The Shores of Rain-Minas Part II -Trickster-
The ¡®White Deceit¡¯ was bound to send another boat soon. Now if ¡®Sneaky Zaine¡¯ came with the second group they might have a chance. For Sneaky was a greedy man. ¡®Old Nose¡¯ Abrix, who¡¯d gotten the moniker because he lacked one being as he was a Gish from the Sinking Isles, sighed pensively. Abrix was also pretty old but this fact and the fact he was a Gish the small-statured sailor had never admitted. Abrix was also the last soul still breathing that was with him on the ¡®Mirabel¡¯ afore the old lady had gone under at Scylla¡¯s Corner. Now the names of places and the maps were vague given that each captain named the old rocks how he preferred. It was also probable they were named differently afore but seeing as the brothers were folk of limited skill in reading old labels, it made sort of sense. So, Far Cove had maps of the Blasted Lands aplenty. Some were fancy, all good leather or vellum, with ¡®precise¡¯ instructions on how to navigate the reefs. Others not so much. The majority of those maps had one thing in common despite their many differences. They are utter shite. The best map Horace had ever found in his years playing the gentleman¡¯s game was written on a piece of bloody shirt with a finger. He was certain about that map as Horace was the one who painted it. Now the problem with making a map is you cram a lot of things in it, not to forget them. After a while the mind does forget though. It turns your younger self¡¯s scribblings into incoherent hieroglyphs you can¡¯t possibly decipher unless you get really drunk. The native landscape changing also not helping you remember any of it. The latter might have been the rum¡¯s fault. It¡¯s a vicious circle. Spread the blame, Horace thought looking at the increasingly angrier ¡®Parrot¡¯ Law, the Captain of ¡®White Deceit¡¯. Another problem this. Absent a ship of your own, you have to rent one to do your business. Horace would have done it earlier, but the authorities had remembered him back in Fu De-Gar and threw him in the dungeons. Now their plan was to have him fight in the arena as fodder, which was as good as having him killed outright, but Horace didn¡¯t hold it against the judge as it was his original sentence. As a matter of fact, ¡®Dusky¡¯ Horace had a number of death rulings against him. If every one of those were to be served he should have to be killed several times and in many cities. The Khan had amended a couple of those at the start of the war but the judge was quick to realize ¡®Dusky¡¯ wasn¡¯t his real moniker also and sent Horace to the arena for impersonating another ¡®less dangerous¡¯ pirate. Or the judge had tried to. Two days after they had him thrown in the dungeons and while Horace was munching on his fourth raw rat a gladiator came looking for recruits to serve in the Chiliad. While the men were initially skeptical to the man¡¯s offer seeing as the name reminded them of a Lorian whorehouse, Horace accepted it without a second thought. They didn¡¯t really wanted the lame pirate at first since absent socks they could see the maimed foot, but Horace managed to convince them he was capable of fighting with the best of the others. So to prove it, they had him fight an indebted baker, a brawny kid from the slums and a lecherous thief. Horace bribed the thief with the promise of treasure and the thief helped Horace kill the other two. Then Horace knifed the thief in the final stages of the fight, since this was a match to the death and the judges had turned suspicious of their performance. Long story cut short, they loaded them on an open carriage like salted sardines and departed on a long journey with many stops. In one of those stops Horace pretended he had the runs and slipped away. Upon reaching Far Cove again he found Abrix serving with ¡®Parrot¡¯ Law¡¯s crew of cutthroats and convinced them to allow him to join on the condition that Horace would give up the location of his treasure. While Horace was universally disliked by the brotherhood, it was also a known fact he had followed Barbosa in his youth and they had reached as far the old Imperial Capital. This was the tale everyone knew. While there was indeed an ¡®expedition¡¯ back in 164 to navigate the reefs in search for loot, few men or ships had survived it and it was nigh murky if they had reached the Capital or not. That is Horace didn¡¯t know. How could you tell? They had found land of course and treasure aplenty. Most of it they brought back, a portion they buried as honest folk do, but the large group of loot-loaded ships had split up on the return and many had traveled back on foot even. The reasons varying. Since ¡®Parrot¡¯ Law had only the one ship, he didn¡¯t want to risk it in the Fog Road beyond Barbosa¡¯s Reef and Horace didn¡¯t find it difficult to convince him he knew about another way. ¡®Our journey¡¯s end was near the shores of Rain-Minas¡¯ he had told him back in Far Cove. ¡®Part of the treasure is still there.¡¯
¡°I¡¯m with you Captain,¡± Abrix assured him, red-rimmed eyes darkened with coal, more dribbling down from his painted black hair. ¡°We old heads should stick together. Family right?¡± Horace nodded not really believing him. ¡®Parrot¡¯ Law, who¡¯d gotten the moniker from a large green talking parrot he had on his shoulder, grimaced in frustration. The parrot had gotten old or sick and disappeared one day. So Law had gotten a new one of similar complexion from a merchant in Ani Ta-Ne but the new bird refused to say a word. It didn¡¯t chirp or chuckle. The bird was either mute or dead. Since it sort of moved from time to time Law had given it the space to learn but years after he¡¯d gotten it, the new parrot still hadn¡¯t said a word. ¡°Fucking humidity,¡± Law cursed and walked about the ruined temple of sorts. ¡°Anything Adam?¡± he asked ¡®Ghost¡¯ Adam who had returned with ¡®Fishy¡¯ Wyler and ¡®Brick¡¯ Reyson from the upper floor. ¡°Bird shit,¡± big Reyson, a half-Nord half-Lorian commended and Law cast a side stare at his covered in parrot shit left shoulder. ¡°And this.¡± He gave the pirate Captain a necklace. A good piece of jewelry, the chain made out of gold and two of the three blue stones still on it. ¡°Where?¡± ¡°Inside a broken drawer wit ivory knobs,¡± Wyler replied. ¡°Got them knobs?¡± Law queried. ¡°Aye Captain.¡± Law turned to Horace. ¡°Is this the plaguing treasure?¡± He asked. ¡°Well, it¡¯s an expensive piece ye got there Law,¡± Horace replied. ¡°Are you shitting on me Horace?¡± ¡°That¡¯s yer bird Law, so don¡¯t be blaming me for that. I told you it looked like the place, but I ain¡¯t sure.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± ¡°The place has changed.¡± ¡°Is it the place though?¡± Law queried narrowing his eyes. ¡°This is the question.¡± ¡°Which one? Because ye asked like three in a row,¡± Horace retorted and eyed ¡®Ghost¡¯ Adam, the Issir, yet another half-breed. The hardened brother returned his stare. Now Adam hadn¡¯t turned as dark-skinned as him for whatever reason and his dark-grey complexion had given him the moniker. Probably. ¡°Well, ye have us stumbling through them ruins for a month now Horace,¡± Law started working on his grey-blond beard with his fingers. ¡°It behooves me ye might be jerking our chains now. Are ye?¡± ¡°Half the outer edge of the city has collapsed Law,¡± Horace said and looked at Wyler playing with a long dagger on his waistband. ¡°All this mud and debris tumbled down the ravines.¡± ¡°You say we need to shovel down the slopes?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t say that.¡± ¡°I¡¯m listening Horace.¡± ¡°You need certain markings to identify a place,¡± Horace explained glancing at Reyson but the moment the man standing by the door looked at him, Horace glanced the other way. ¡°If those are moved, then it¡¯s more difficult to do it.¡± ¡°Any markings left?¡± The Lighthouse ruins. ¡°Not that I found as of yet.¡± ¡°So you got nothing.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t say that.¡± Law breathed in once. Then stared at his leather boots for a moment. The parrot looked as well and then released a stream of watery bird poop down the captain¡¯s sleeve. ¡°Blow me down!¡± Law cursed with a grimace. ¡°What did ye feed it Reyson?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t boss.¡± The captain rolled his eyes exasperated. ¡°Horace ye got to give me something,¡± Law said next. ¡°Else I can¡¯t help you.¡± Hmm. ¡°There¡¯s a cave near the docks on the face of them cliffs,¡± Horace said. ¡°Right. We¡¯ve been to the docks right Adam?¡± ¡°Several times captain,¡± Adam replied. Law stared at Horace and then at Abrix. He smacked his lips once and then turned to Reyson. ¡°Grab his arms ¡®Brick¡¯,¡± he ordered. ¡°Hey there. Hey!¡± Horace warned and eyed the big pirate approaching. ¡°Let¡¯s talk of this Law!¡± ¡°Sure. Help him out Wyler,¡± Law replied. Horace stepped back and reached for his blade. ¡°It¡¯s five of us ¡®Trickster¡¯,¡± Law said with a leer. ¡°Ye ain¡¯t getting out breathing.¡± Horace frowned, the numbers not exactly matching in his own count. That is until he glanced sideways and saw Abrix pointing a straight short sword at him. ¡°Just give them the place Horace,¡± the treacherous Gish pleaded. ¡°You be the shortest ruffian I know Abrix,¡± Horace told him. He wasn¡¯t really surprised but still it was disappointing. ¡°I serve with the ¡®White Deceit¡¯ now Horace,¡± Abrix said affronted and removed Horace¡¯s sword with his free hand. ¡°He¡¯s lying,¡± Horace warned Law. ¡°He¡¯ll betray you. Look at that stupid face!¡± ¡°Yeah, I trust the little guy more than you,¡± Law replied. ¡°He¡¯s a bloomin¡¯ Gish!¡± ¡°That¡¯s a lie!¡± Abrix protested unconvincingly. ¡°I¡¯m just not that tall!¡± ¡°It don¡¯t matter. We¡¯re not bigoted people,¡± Law replied in a cultured manner, then added in a harsher tone. ¡°Get the fucking hat Wyler.¡± Horace grimaced. ¡°I like that hat Wyler.¡± ¡°I promised Zaine he¡¯ll get it,¡± Wyler retorted with a leer. ¡°Zaine is here?¡± ¡°Boat moored last night while ye were missing,¡± Wyler said and removed his hat. It was a nice brown leather hat this, with white pearls adorning the leather band around its crown. Motherfucker. ¡°Now with that out of the way,¡± Law said and used a cloth to wipe some of the white sticky shit off of his sleeve. ¡°Where¡¯s the dog Horace?¡± ¡°What dog?¡± Horace asked and Reyson pulled his beefy arm back, clenched his calloused fingers into a fist and punched him in the gut on the return. Horace doubled over, the wind knocked out of him, made to grab Reyson¡¯s dagger from his waist sneakily, but the pirate swung his arm again and sent Horace sprawling on the ancient tiles. Reyson had loosened a tooth in Horace¡¯s mouth and upon landing on the tiles it came off completely. It was a bad tooth he¡¯d fixed in Lai Zel-Ka and it had cost him a gold Dinar. Literally. They had melted the coin to make the thin casing. Horace didn¡¯t much care about the tooth, but he wanted that gold casing. So to save it, he just swallowed it. ¡°Pick him up,¡± Law ordered his crew. ¡°Reyson, hit him again.¡± ¡°Wait¡­!¡± Horace mumbled, gulping down blood and pieces of dental works. Thank thee vile Abrakas for the lubrication. ¡°The dog.¡± ¡°There was no dog,¡± Horace said pacifyingly and Reyson hit him again. A good solid knuckle punch right at the jaw he sort of expected. So Horace rolled his head with it and avoided the worst. He sold it though like a motherfucker. ¡°Arggh! Curse ye!¡± Alright the pain was real. ¡°Break his arm,¡± Law ordered in a hangman¡¯s voice. ¡°Not the arm!¡± Horace implored like a port beggar. ¡°Fine, cut it off him,¡± Captain Law amended his orders. ¡°Halt¡­ it all comes back to me!¡± Horace yelped and he didn¡¯t have to act at all for this part. ¡°I¡¯m listening,¡± Law said patiently still trying to get the bird droppings from his shoulder. ¡°I found¡­ a stray mutt¡­ in the city,¡± Horace gasped and then spat a bloody blotch down. ¡°Might have been a dog or anything in between.¡± ¡°What¡¯s in between?¡± Wyler asked a little confused. ¡°Give me the darn map Adam,¡± the pirate captain ordered brusquely. ¡°The map boss?¡± ¡°The fucking shirt he had hidden, it¡¯s a blasted map!¡± Law snapped irate. Horace glared at the guilty-looking Abrix. The Gish had the decency to look away. ¡°Abrakas shall judge ye Gish. Ye owe him plenty,¡± He reminded the frowning Abrix. ¡°No he bloody won¡¯t,¡± Law retorted with a scoff but Abrix was ogling his eyes spooked. ¡°Take it back!¡± He screeched. ¡°You¡¯re a dastardly thief and an undersized crook,¡± Horace spat, deaf to his pleas. ¡°We¡¯re pirates Horace,¡± Law replied and read his tattered ¡®map¡¯. ¡°It goes with the job.¡± ¡°Do I hit him again boss?¡± Reyson asked just to be sure. He¡¯d missed part of their conversation. ¡°Not yet,¡± Law replied furrowing his brows. ¡°There!¡± He finally said. ¡°I knew I had seen it afore! The dog!¡± Horace wiped the blood from his mouth and grimaced. ¡°I can¡¯t see shit Law. Might be a concussion.¡± ¡°Here, look at it!¡± The captain showed him the drawing. ¡°That¡¯s a dog leading to the treasure!¡± Horace chuckled going another way. ¡°This ain¡¯t a dog. It looks like a turtle!¡± ¡°It says dog right underneath it.¡± ¡°That looks like ¡®fog¡¯ or ¡®bog¡¯ to me, it might be smeared over blood. It messed up the lettering.¡± ¡°Reyson,¡± Law growled not believing him. ¡°Wait, gods darnit!¡± Horace hissed and let a rugged breath out. ¡°Fine. It might be a dog.¡± ¡°You were seen with,¡± Law elucidated. ¡°Not the same dog,¡± Horace assured him and stood back. ¡°That dog is dead.¡± ¡°It looked alive to me,¡± Wyler intervened. ¡°They went into the tall building next to that tower. But came out wit nothing.¡± Snitches get stitches, Horace¡¯s eyes reminded the pirate. ¡°Could he have hidden it on him?¡± Law asked. ¡°Strip him Reyson.¡± Horace raised his arms in protest but Adam got his cutlass out as well and Horace dropped them. ¡°I can¡¯t hide a treasure in my pants Law,¡± he told the pirate captain. ¡°You¡¯ve hidden something though,¡± Law retorted and glanced at Wyler searching his coat¡¯s pockets. ¡°Hmm,¡± Wyler murmured and got his dagger out. ¡°What?¡± Law asked curious. ¡°There¡¯s something stitched in the padding.¡± Take a whale¡¯s cock up the nose. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t cut me coat up ye lecherous felon!¡± Horace protested while Wyler used the dagger to tear at the fabric. ¡°Shut it Horace!¡± Law barked. ¡°Not a word!¡± ¡°It¡¯s a key captain,¡± Wyler said and got it out. ¡°A fancy one.¡± ¡°Let me see it,¡± Law grunted and took the key from him. ¡°It¡¯s bronze. Nay, steel more like.¡± ¡°Not exactly valuable boss,¡± Adam noted. ¡°What does it open?¡± Law asked Horace who frowned in surprise. ¡°You can speak!¡± ¡°I honestly didn¡¯t know it was there. I¡¯ve stolen it in Fu De-Gar.¡± ¡°Reyson,¡± Law growled and Reyson caught Horace above the right ear with a punch breaking the skin. Horace went down with a groan and Reyson gave him a good kick at the ribs before helping him to his feet again. ¡°What. Does. It. Open,¡± Law asked pausing at each word for emphasis. A groaning Horace blinked once and shook his ringing head. ¡°A door,¡± he lied and Reyson floored him again. Reyson stooped and picked him up by the collar of his shirt, the fabric tearing a bit. Law showed him the drawing of a chest on the map. ¡°Fine. It¡¯s possible,¡± Horace said with difficulty. ¡°Where is the chest?¡± ¡°We couldn¡¯t bring it here. It¡¯s back at Elauthin.¡± ¡°Abrix?¡± Law asked. Horace glared at the flushed Gish. ¡°He¡¯s a dead man walking,¡± Law assured him. ¡°You don¡¯t have to fear him.¡± Abrix licked his lips unsure, hands shaking. ¡°Whatever,¡± Law decided. ¡°He has told us already. You¡¯ve carried a chest back. Brought it to shore with ¡®Knife¡¯ Mack¡¯s crew and came back after three months just as Mirabel had finished its repairs. Where did you go?¡± ¡°Say I reached here or went up the Goat¡¯s Leg,¡± Horace said touching the cut below his ear. ¡°What makes you think I didn¡¯t bring the loot back with me?¡± ¡°You came back alone. Missing a horse and five men.¡± And the dog. Where had the dog disappeared to?Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°Now we¡¯re here on the other side, in Rain-Minas,¡± Law continued. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t have come here unless the treasure is near.¡± I told ye that. ¡°It¡¯s been decades Law,¡± Horace said. ¡°Where¡¯s the chest Horace?¡± ¡°In a cave.¡± ¡°Reyson¡ª¡± ¡°Wait!¡± Horace cut him off. ¡°At first light of dawn, you draw a line east from the center of the docks,¡± he started. ¡°The docks.¡± ¡°The Fishing Docks. You follow the beach north, behind the forest to reach them. You might need to bring the boat there directly,¡± Horace explained. ¡°Then walk east until you reach the gulley and follow it up the slopes towards the plateau. You¡¯ll find the caves on the south walls facing the city.¡± ¡°Which gulley? There are many.¡± ¡°It might be a ravine now. Packed with bushes?¡± ¡°Ant¡¯s bollock on a beach! Do you know where it is?¡± Horace spat down and crunched his jaw right and left. He moved his legs next, the missing part on his left tingling. The boot there fake at the bottom and shorter than the right, his sock filled with wool. Horace couldn¡¯t run but he could move if needed fast. But it wasn¡¯t needed right now. ¡°I do,¡± he replied and stared at the scared Gish with pitiless eyes. ¡°I¡¯ll take ye there.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± Law murmured and stared at the map. ¡°What does the rest of the map show?¡± ¡°Another city,¡± Horace lied still looking at the panicked Gish. But Abrix had kept his mouth shut that time.
It took them three hours to find the crack leading up the slopes. It wasn¡¯t easy navigating the chestnut forest and the ravine had turned into a small canyon, but Horace remembered the color of the granite walls further up amidst all the greenery. Upon reaching the first of the caves, he pointed them to the big one. Seeing as it was late and they were losing the light, ¡®Parrot¡¯ Law decided to wait for morning to explore further inside and sent ¡®Ghost¡¯ Adam back to the boat. He was to inform Zaine and the others on their position and bring the boat to the fishermen¡¯s docks. Adam left and came back a couple of hours later or four, the time passing quickly as they were busy making torches for the other day. The cave was oval-shaped at the entrance, standing over four meters tall and three wide, but it widened even more once you entered. Two hundred meters after that it widened even more. There was an underground structure in the cave reaching all the way to the city. Horace had made a map of it but he didn¡¯t need the map to find the chest. He hadn¡¯t hidden it that far inside as it was a heavy son of a goat to carry alone and on a bad foot. This part Horace didn¡¯t reveal to the pirates. Come morning an excited Law asked his men to tie him up and leave behind. He¡¯d walked a bit in the night and found the build part of the cave. The ground turning into a fine marble tile road.
¡°I got yer map,¡± Law explained, gold bridge in his mouth gleaming in the light of the torches. The sun coming in from the entrance of the cave not enough to fully illuminate the place. ¡°I should come with,¡± Horace insisted. ¡°Nah, ye got something planned in there ¡®Trickster¡¯,¡± Law decided. ¡°You¡¯re going to leave me tied inside the cave like this?¡± Horace protested. ¡°Look at the entrance plenty o¡¯ light coming in.¡± ¡°Captain we need to take him along,¡± Abrix advised increasingly worried. The Gish hadn¡¯t slept all night. Horace had for a couple of hours but kept an eye open. ¡°Shut up Abrix!¡± Law snapped. ¡°Someone should stay to keep an eye on him.¡± ¡°Leave the Gish,¡± Horace offered and Abrix recoiled in panic. ¡°Hah, nice try. Reyson¡­ nah, you and Adam with me. Abrix as well. Wyler you stay back. Yer smarter than them.¡± ¡°Captain,¡± Abrix protested. ¡°He has a plan!¡± ¡°Blimey Abrix! What¡¯s the matter wit you?¡± Law barked. ¡°Grab a couple of torches!¡± The Gish threw his small arms up and walked away with a last nervous look towards Horace who gave him a wink with his left eye. Ten minutes later their lights and voices were lost inside the vast cave. ¡°How big is this place?¡± Wyler asked using his dagger to cut small pieces out of a dry pork sausage and then munch on them slowly. He was sitting across from Horace on a similar rock. A bag with torches and supplies next to him, Horace¡¯s sword in another bag next to it. Probably his dagger too. ¡°Plenty big.¡± ¡°Like what, a mausoleum?¡± ¡°You mean catacombs,¡± Horace corrected him. ¡°But no, more like a natural cave they turned into a fancy warehouse. This port had a lot of visitors back in the day.¡± ¡°They?¡± ¡°The Imperials.¡± Wyler nodded. A Lorian with a bit of Cofol in him as everyone else almost in these parts. Black hair and a tad slanted eyes. A thin but long beard down his chin. Horace made him to be around thirty, which was twenty years almost younger than him. A lot of years. Then again Wyler had grown up with stories about the deeds of Horace¡¯s generation. Before the Khan had pardoned ¡®almost¡¯ everyone and ¡®civilization¡¯ came to Far Cove. They even had a market these days. A normal market right next to the ¡®old¡¯ one. Horace grimaced and stared at the rock five meters away from their camp. It was touching the wall of the cave. Around a meter in height and mostly round. It still had gravel packed at its base not to roll away from the wall and leave the dug hole open. Not a big hole. Just enough to slot a chest inside. Wyler followed his stare to see where Horace was looking, but the older pirate averted his eyes. ¡°Ever seen one? An Imperial?¡± Wyler asked with a grimace and swallowed what was effectively a piece of salted pork down. Spiced a bit, fine. ¡°Zilan was the word. I haven¡¯t really.¡± Not a living one. ¡°Right.¡± ¡°That jewelry the Captain took worth a pretty penny back on the Peninsula.¡± ¡°Uhm. What about yer chest?¡± Ah. Finally. Horace wiggled his tied up hands a bit. The rough ship rope was cutting his circulation and had turned them numb. ¡°Ye ain¡¯t loosenin¡¯ that knot Horace,¡± Wyler warned him. ¡°Not a chance.¡± ¡°You know,¡± Horace said with pained smile. He¡¯d a bleeding hole in his mouth and that tooth was bound to come out at some point. Horace planned to lube the exit afore that happened. Better a finger up the anus than a tear. ¡°Whoever finds the treasure should get to keep it right?¡± ¡°Nice try. How much is in there?¡± ¡°Many silver coins. Imperial.¡± ¡°Yeah, I know them. I have one.¡± ¡°Uncarved. You know they make three Silver Skulls from one, right?¡± Wyler stood back. ¡°I didn¡¯t know that.¡± ¡°Big motherfuckers, aye. Square. They come in gold too.¡± ¡°Gold ye say?¡± ¡°Uhm.¡± ¡°What else ye got in there?¡± ¡°Silver mostly. Gold. But not coins.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t say,¡± Wyler smacked his lips. ¡°What else?¡± ¡°Magic stones.¡± ¡°Hah-ha. Fuck off Horace. What do they do?¡± ¡°They make light or fire,¡± Horace replied. ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t believe that,¡± Wyler replied and shoved the rest of the sausage in his mouth. ¡°What about the gold?¡± ¡°Trinkets,¡± Horace replied trying to listen for any strange sounds. ¡°But the silver coins could set you up for life.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Uhm. Then again, if you split ¡®em up with Law and the others,¡± Horace sighed pensively at that. ¡°I was once in yer position you know. Had to make the same difficult decision. Every broth¡¯r really. Such is the business, aye.¡± Wyler narrowed his eyes. ¡°Law is going to find the chest first.¡± ¡°Not where he¡¯s going.¡± ¡°You lied?¡± Is yer mother a virgin? ¡°Never said the chest was deep inside the structure,¡± Horace replied instead. ¡°I said it¡¯s in the cave.¡± Wyler looked around them. The cave silent but for water dribbling from the moisture gathered at the ceiling. ¡°You have a bit of time in yer hands,¡± Horace continued evenly. ¡°Of course there¡¯s ¡®Sneaky¡¯ Zaine and the others to convince.¡± ¡°Convince?¡± ¡°You could cut him in.¡± Wyler licked his lips. ¡°How¡¯s that different?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll know where the loot is and how much of it. Keep it vague is me advice.¡± ¡°What about the Captain?¡± ¡°He who has the boat can write this story,¡± Horace said. ¡°Yeah,¡± Wyler hissed. ¡°Nice talk Horace, but I don¡¯t trust your stories.¡± ¡°Check my coat,¡± Horace told him. ¡°Around the collar, under the filling.¡± ¡°What¡¯s there?¡± Wyler asked and reached for his ruined coat. ¡°A coin.¡± ¡°Like that on yer neck? I have one too. Every brother has.¡± ¡°A piece of twelve,¡± Horace replied with a smirk. ¡°The real deal.¡± Wyler cut the collar open and dug inside with his dagger. The coin gleamed catching the morning light. ¡°Shit,¡± the pirate said and gave it a good bite. ¡°That¡¯s like a medal.¡± ¡°They loved big things them Imperials,¡± Horace agreed. ¡°Behind that rock there¡¯s a chest full of it. You could share all that with Law or do the smart thing and take it for yerself.¡± Wyler stared at the rock unsure. Then got up, walked there and started pushing it away. He worked at it for a while, Horace¡¯s nervous eyes on the darkness for any returning lights. He thought he heard a dog¡¯s bark and turned about surprised. But saw nothing. ¡°Abrakas toes!¡± Wyler guffawed after he managed to shove aside the rock revealing the dark hole and part of the metal box. ¡°Shiver me timbers! It¡¯s heavy!¡± Yeah. ¡°You need another person to help you carry it,¡± Horace offered. ¡°Hah. You think I¡¯m a fool?¡± Nah, just greedy as fuck. Same thing. ¡°Well, you better put the rock back then, else Law will find it.¡± Wyler grimaced and went to test the lock. ¡°I don¡¯t have the key.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need it. Use my pendant.¡± Wyler got up with a frown. ¡°Your pendant?¡± ¡°The Silver Skull one. You¡¯ve seen it.¡± The pirate approached him. ¡°It opens the lock?¡± ¡°Has the key pressed at the back of it and you can pry it off the silver easy.¡± ¡°What about the other key?¡± Wyler asked. Horace shrugged his shoulders. ¡°I made a copy?¡± ¡°Why would¡­?¡± Wyler sighed. ¡°What¡¯s the plan ¡®Trickster¡¯?¡± ¡°You get the loot and maybe let me go?¡± Horace offered. Wyler nodded. ¡°Sure.¡± He wasn¡¯t going to let Horace go, but Horace wasn¡¯t going to let him get the loot also. ¡°Just hurry up afore they get back,¡± Horace urged him and heard that dog barking again. ¡°Is that the dog?¡± Wyler asked hesitating. Abrakas cock boiled wit lard. ¡°There was no dog,¡± Horace grunted. ¡°It¡¯s not important anyway.¡± Wyler reached for his collar bending at the waist and half-kneeling but paused. ¡°I saw it yesterday Horace,¡± Wyler said. ¡°Then there¡¯s the song right?¡±
A one-eyed dog called twelve met a schemin¡¯ lame man Hailin¡¯ from Far Cove, they formed their own clan
¡°It¡¯s a pack of lies,¡± Horace hissed desperately sweating as he only had this one chance at this. He needed Wyler to come closer afore they found the bodies and got back. ¡°It¡¯s been almost thirty years Allgods darnit! What you saw wasn¡¯t the same dog!¡± Wyler narrowed his eyes but then nodded as it made sense and reaching grabbed Horace¡¯s silver pendant by the chain. He pulled to get it out stooping lower, Horace tossed his neck back and a one-eyed dog walked inside the cave. A square silver coin hanging from its neck tied to a leather collar gleaming. The dog let out a low-guttural growl at the frozen seeing it Wyler and Horace head-butted him brutally at the tip of his nose. Pulverizing that motherfucker. Almost cracked his own head open. Wyler gasped, his nose splattered on his bloody face and stumbled back afore dropping with a muffled groan to the ground. Horace sprang up, his head hurting and the cave a blur, faltered on his feet and then limped quickly towards the slow to respond pirate. The dog started barking and Horace stopped breathing heavy to glare at it. ¡°Shut up Twelve! Blasted sound carries!¡± With a groan Horace reached inside his bag for the sword but found the dagger instead. Wyler came about and Horace had to turn, put his elbow on him. The pirate fought back, Horace trying to cut through his tied up hands as fast as he could while keeping him down. ¡°GAAAH!¡± Wyler groaned trying to escape suffocation. Horace was pressing his elbow on the dip of the pirate¡¯s neck but the position wasn¡¯t helping him much. Being tied up adding to the problem. You¡¯d think that bastard would have been easier to kill given I¡¯m the fucking victim in this plaguing malarkey! The dog barked again, twice in quick succession and this time someone was heard answering from outside. A strange voice¡­ no, a strange language. More a song that carried inside the cave and made his spine tingle. ¡°Aaarggh! Ye¡­ piece of¡­ broke me nose!¡± Wyler grumbled and punched him in the right kidneys. Once, twice. Thrice. Each blow harder. Ah, them young muscles. Horace had almost freed himself, but then he got kneed in the other kidney as Wyler swung around and shoved him away. Horace rolled on the ground losing control of the blasted dagger and cursed Abrakas just as loud as bloody Wyler that slowly stood up irate in the meantime. ¡°Curse¡­ yer lineage Trickster,¡± Wyler mumbled in pain and unsheathed his sword. The blade of the cutlass shining, a nasty sight. The figure standing at the entrance of the cave the exact opposite of that. A sweaty, blurry-eyed Horace blinked seeing the light coming through the tall female¡¯s tunic. Allfather¡¯s miracles, he thought seeing the illuminated figure approaching with graceful strides. A tall neck, long wet hair curling at the edges and an alien blue color. Elongated ears sprouting out of her head and silvery-green eyes glowing like jewels on a deific face. She was so beautiful it was terrifying to look at her. Her voice an incoherent song, until it wasn¡¯t. ¡°You¡¯re injured,¡± the female said in fluent Common. ¡°What¡­ the fuck said that?¡± Wyler gasped twisting about alarmed. ¡°Hells ye came from?¡± ¡°Eh,¡± she inhaled sharply and looked at the crawling towards the bag with his sword Horace. ¡°Is this your friend?¡± The dog barked once. Wyler wiped the blood from his face with a muffled groan, his nose a swollen mess. ¡°Where did you¡­ come from lass?¡± He grunted hoarsely. ¡°The beach,¡± she replied politely. ¡°Where did you come from injured man?¡± Wyler spat down. ¡°Got any weapons on you?¡± ¡°A dagger. Why?¡± The dog growled at him. ¡°Give it here. What¡¯s wrong with the fucking dog Horace?¡± Wyler grunted. Wish I knew for sure, Horace thought reaching for the bag. Better not be what I think it is. ¡°Let me look at your wound,¡± the female urged Wyler. ¡°I can be of help.¡± That¡¯s a Zilan for sure, Horace thought trying to get his sword out of the bag. Wyler is going to get rid of her, unless she can do something wizardry. ¡°Give me that dagger first. Aye, it¡¯s a fancy one I see,¡± Wyler insisted measuring the distance as she approached. The moment she comes within reach of his blade Wyler will cut her down, Horace thought, working his bindings on the blade of his sword as fast as he could. The Zilan made it there, a half-naughty smile on her face and Wyler swung his cutlass without warning. That is he tried. She had put a hand on his wrist stopping him. ¡°What?¡± Wyler gasped in shock. ¡°Why?¡± She asked and shoved him backwards. Wyler stumbled back, but managed to find his footing. He shook his head with a snarl, bloody face turning right mean and marched on her again, but Twelve rushed him afore he could reach her. The dog snapped its jaws around his ankle and almost brought him down. Wyler turned and hacked down with his cutlass but missed, connecting with the second blow. ¡°Quick!¡± Horace grunted at the shocked at the violence Zilan. ¡°Toss that dagger lass!¡± ¡°Fucking¡­ dog!¡± Wyler cursed hacking maniacally at Twelve that jumped and snatched his sword arm at the forearm. ¡°SHITE!¡± The Zilan approached him slowly, which was nice to see, but made Horace extremely anxious. She knelt near him, her dagger in hand and started cutting at his bindings. Horace could see the blue between her thighs when that short wet tunic split up at the hip. Sweet wench be servin¡¯ rum in yer room, Horace prayed his nostrils expanding at the female scent. ¡°I had gone swimming,¡± she explained with a bit of a blush, her accent in Common strange, but not unpleasant and she probably spoke it better than him. ¡°But saw your dog at the beach calling and I followed it. Forgot most of my clothes on a tree. I have a bag I carry.¡± ¡°I see,¡± Horace croaked, one eye at the struggle between Twelve and Wyler, the other at the goods on display. The upper deck view equally impressive as that of the keel. ¡°I know,¡± she replied and stopped. ¡°I need to help your friend. You¡¯re free,¡± she added and got up nimbly, the longest pair of legs Horace had ever appreciated in his life. Other than a Giraffe at the circus that is. She had left him the dagger. Horace took it and got up, his hands at last freed. Twelve returned covered in wounds, but he left Wyler collapsed near the wall of the cave and bleeding out from his torn right arm. ¡°Let me,¡± she told the dog but it backed away. ¡°What?¡± She probed following it. ¡°It won¡¯t hurt.¡± A nervous Horace glanced at the slow moving Wyler and limped that way quickly. ¡°Stupid dog¡­ lying son of a¡ª¡± Horace had stabbed him in the right eye. The blade piercing through to the brain stopping Wyler from finishing his thought. Horace moved the sharp dagger about to widen the wound and cause more damage just in case, not minding the spillage. Satisfied he¡¯d killed Wyler proper, Horace turned around and went to his chest intending to hide it again. The Zilan¡¯s voice stopping him. ¡°Your dog might not make it.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be so sure about that.¡± ¡°Why did you kill him?¡± She asked next. Horace smacked his lips and turned around. ¡°He was a bad man good lass.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a female. A Zilan silly,¡± she corrected him. ¡°But you know it. So I¡¯ll accept the endearment.¡± ¡°Are there any more of you?¡± Her big eyes could see through to his soul it seemed. He grimaced. ¡°I have friends around,¡± she said softly. Hmm. ¡°I don¡¯t. This is my chest.¡± ¡°No it isn¡¯t,¡± she corrected him. ¡°That¡¯s a mage¡¯s box. What do you have inside?¡± ¡°Coins.¡± ¡°Can I see?¡± ¡°Better that you didn¡¯t,¡± Horace cautioned her. ¡°There were other stuff at the bottom. I poured the coins in, thought nothing of it at the time.¡± The Zilan watched him talk carefully. Horace paused in shock. Why the fuck are ye talking to her dude? Knife her now that you have the chance! But he couldn¡¯t do it. The female smiled broadly. At least four large fangs in her mouth, big as a dog''s but sharper. Two on each side. Abrakas black eye! ¡°I¡¯m Darunia,¡± she told him in her singing voice. ¡°It is custom to greet one and reveal your name.¡± ¡°Eh. I¡¯m Horace,¡± he murmured and stared at the dagger in his hand. ¡°Repeat after me,¡± Darunia told him and she spoke her strange language again. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°My friends are intense people.¡± ¡°Anyone important?¡± Horace croaked not believing he was chatting up with her. ¡°Lord Suraer¡¯s daughter,¡± Darunia said and stooping closer she whispered near his ear, sending a shiver down his spine. ¡°And the 2nd Hoplite of the Phalanx. But I¡¯m friendly with the rest of his soldiers as well, so you better behave.¡±
Horace cracked the chest open and gasped at the sight of the silver coins. As a matter of fact he almost got moved to tears. He¡¯d missed them so much. Never thought he¡¯d have the chance of getting them back after all those years. An excited Horace paused in alarm and listened for any strange noises. ¡°What do you fear?¡± Darunia asked him and looked inside the chest. ¡°Ah, I know. It¡¯s bad luck to take the dead¡¯s treasure.¡± ¡°The living rarely give it up Darunia.¡± It ain¡¯t it lass. She turned to stare in his eyes with a smile. Then she slotted her arm inside the chest and dug around the piles of coins. ¡°Ah,¡± Darunia said and brought a polished white stone up. She chuckled. ¡°This isn¡¯t valuable.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a magic stone.¡± ¡°Do you know how it works?¡± ¡°You touch it and it makes light.¡± ¡°Hmm. Not for long if it stays in this dark,¡± Darunia replied and rubbed at the stone with those long fingers. She was taller than Horace. The Zilan chuckled when the stone flashed and shone its light inside the cave, revealing more of the ceiling and the walls. ¡°There. Now let¡¯s see what else is in there,¡± she added but Horace stopped her. ¡°Better that you don¡¯t.¡± Darunia shushed him and reached inside to rifle about the chest. She got another stone out, a fierce orange one this time. Then a piece of marble. Thin like a stick. An ulna bone belonging to an arm. Longer and thinner perhaps, with little gold-reddish dots inside the white. ¡°Hmm,¡± Darunia said and looked at him. Horace tried to listen for sounds but he heard nothing. He gulped down nervously. ¡°Where did you find the chest?¡± She asked him looking at the bone. ¡°In Elauthin,¡± Horace replied. He wanted to lie but couldn¡¯t. It was frustrating. ¡°That¡¯s a mage¡¯s box.¡± ¡°It was inside a black marble building. Like the pyramids at Eikenport. It had a tower at its top but it had collapsed partially.¡± ¡°A black marble tower?¡± ¡°Nah, out of some red rock.¡± ¡°There was no such building in Elauthin silly,¡± Darunia said and furrowed her brows. ¡°Um, are you sure you didn¡¯t find it in Nureria?¡± ¡°We found land. Huge place with forests, lakes,¡± Horace insisted. ¡°This is a bone dipped in chemicals,¡± Darunia replied with a sigh. ¡°To be preserved or for some other reason. An Alchemist¡¯s job or a scientist¡¯s. You landed in Nureria. This belongs back to Elas Study.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. We have to ask an Elderblood,¡± she paused thoughtfully. ¡°Another one that is,¡± Darunia added a little embarrassed. ¡°Is it dangerous?¡± He asked casually. ¡°Why would it be?¡± ¡°Can I take the coins?¡± Horace asked. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Can I take some of the coins?¡± ¡°Ehm,¡± Darunia puffed her cheeks out. ¡°I don¡¯t really care. The bone is brittle,¡± she added. Horace was busy looking for a bag to fill with his silver. He found the one that had his sword in and started filling it up as fast as he could. ¡°Could it be the silver? You poured it inside you said,¡± Darunia continued thinking about the bone. ¡°I need to refresh my lessons there. I¡¯m a healer. What is your profession Mister Horace?¡± Horace paused mid-shoveling coins in the leather bag and smiled, then closed his mouth remembering the missing tooth. Tried to find something to say but couldn¡¯t bring himself to lie to her. Why? ¡°Apologies,¡± Darunia said and touched his hand. ¡°You looked untrustworthy and I wanted to make sure you will tell me the truth.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Horace nodded not certain what she meant. ¡°You are free,¡± she explained and released his hand. Horace felt his mind clearing. He stared at his bag, then remembered Law and the others. ¡°I¡¯m an explorer,¡± he told her. ¡°We need to get out of here.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°There are pirates inside the cave.¡± ¡°Oh. Good pirates?¡± What? ¡°Eh, I reckon there are¡­ well, not them. Better not to chance it is my meaning,¡± Horace glanced at the inside of the cave anxiously. It has been too long, he thought. He stooped and grabbed the bag, stared at the chest and then the rock. ¡°We better move this back,¡± he added and stopped realizing Darunia wasn¡¯t there. Horace looked about, but the lightstone had gone out while they were talking and the pirate couldn¡¯t see too far inside the cave.
Horace looked for the dog next but didn¡¯t find it. So he hid the chest in the hole again and rolled the rock back in place but the Zilan didn¡¯t return in the time it took him. With time running out, Horace opted to leave while he still could and put some distance between him and Law¡¯s crew. He decided to head for the boat waiting at the fishing docks. Horace carefully hid the bag with the silver coins near a tree and made a pile of rocks to mark it. Kept some with him to show to Zaine who had the eye for it and worked on a tale to get him to follow Horace away from the others. Horace wanted to convince Zaine first and then they could work on the others. He had to do it fast and be convincing, so they could get the boat back to the ship. Once there, Horace would have the time to make up a better tale about what happened. Even talk them into sailing around Goat¡¯s Leg and into the reefs, for a safer journey. Ayup, a journey back to Nureria. That¡¯s a good detail to add and boost yer credibility. No fucking whispering bones and moving shades. Yer not a kid to fear your shadow Horace! The dog he couldn¡¯t explain. I mean, dogs live quite long right? Nothing to do with whatever¡­ plus the lass was an expert on the matter. He almost fell on Zaine¡¯s men inside the forest. They were patrolling about looking for Law and the others. Horace hid until they were away and followed after them dagger in hand. You don¡¯t really need them all, Horace thought. Two people can steer a boat. Hells, a single person could do it in a pinch, aye. When he got out of the trees instead of Zaine and his crew, Horace came face to face with a wiry, long-eared bow-armed Zilan looting their corpses. Behind that danger stood another long-eared comely Zilan female but of a fit much soberer character and next to her a tall bulky brute of a soldier in full Hoplite armour. For crying out loud! Whether he was a Zilan also or not, it made little difference to Horace. You find this dude in the arena sands waiting for you, better roll up and die. You find him outside, ye better run. Since Horace wasn¡¯t that great of a runner he raised his arm and rehashed Darunia¡¯s words, praying the lass wasn¡¯t pulling his leg and he remembered them correctly. ¡°Ana¡­ e Iliwe¡­ Sulwao,¡± Horace greeted the armed murdering strangers. You don¡¯t tell dis kind of crowd to go fuck themselves in their own language, Horace thought and smiled broadly to better sell it. Nine times out of ten yer getting the bulk of the fucking. The unpleasant variant.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms or enjoy it again at Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ The chapters are re-edited and re-posted regularly at both places 391. The Shores of Rain-Minas (3/3)
¡°Tie those sacks better Totas!¡± Roran barked eyeing the loaded mule under furrowed brows. ¡°It¡¯s about to topple into the ditch!¡± ¡°Can¡¯t give it additional slack sir!¡± the young hoplite replied pulling at the ropes with both hands. ¡°Just unload it and do it again by Goddess!¡± Roran snapped. ¡°You better finish afore I get back hoplite!¡± He added, signed for Aquilan to help him out and started towards the exit of the stables. The recruits needed to learn there was more to campaigning than marching and weaponry. ¡®No better way to learn than going on a low-risk campaign,¡¯ Anfalon had decided. ¡®Let mother nature rid us of the weaklings or the stupider of the bunch. Although it¡¯s not that easy to free yourself of the latter.¡¯ ¡°Young Roran, son of Saeveril. I¡¯d like a word,¡± a serious female voice said stopping him not ten strides later. Eh, Roran thought and turned to wait for the solemn-faced Lady Olonelis to approach. The Elderblood came to stand in front of him. Roran bowed his head a little apprehensive. ¡°You are leaving tomorrow,¡± she commented looking at the hoplites loading supplies on the animals. ¡°That¡¯s correct.¡± ¡°Lord Anfalon said Elwuin will join you along Lady Aelinole,¡± Olonelis continued. ¡°My Lady you probably know more than me,¡± Roran responded and she stared at him warningly. ¡°You were a much better child before moving up the ranks,¡± Olonelis scolded him. ¡°Apologies. I¡¯m quite busy my Lady,¡± Roran replied stiffly. It comes with the rank. ¡°Darunia will come with you.¡± Roran blinked not expecting it. ¡°The girls are looking to catch up,¡± she continued. ¡°I wanted to take her back to Abarat but she offered to go on your expedition. Why is that?¡± Roran had no idea. ¡°Why do you want her back at Abarat? Why not Goras or here?¡± He asked instead. ¡°I¡¯m not sending Darunia to Goras,¡± Olonelis spat angry. ¡°And the Monarch has himself surrounded by adventurers.¡± The way she said it, Roran thought for a moment she meant bandits. ¡°She always had a thing for¡ª¡± ¡°It¡¯s in her blood,¡± Olonelis interrupted him rudely. ¡°Looking for that thrill that killed her father. But not in the way you think. It¡¯s the idea behind it. Then it¡¯s Aelinole and her fascination with their ilk which fuels her fantasies. I don¡¯t mean you per se but you disturbingly fit the mold.¡± ¡°The thrill-seeking bandit?¡± ¡°You got half of it right.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see how,¡± Roran grunted at the insult. ¡°I almost lost her on your watch Roran,¡± Olonelis cautioned him. ¡°My Lady with all the respect it was Lord Rothomir that sent her away,¡± Roran retorted. ¡°Your man let her be captured.¡± ¡°He almost died to prevent it,¡± Roran growled. ¡°It wasn¡¯t his fault! Darunia wandered off!¡± ¡°I wonder why. What if she does it again?¡± Roran sighed and stared at the ground. ¡°I don¡¯t trust you enough,¡± Olonelis continued. ¡°You dropped your guard with Ebe and you might do it again.¡± It had been well over a century but the ancient Zilan¡¯s heart hadn¡¯t mellowed at all. ¡°They lied to me. Your daughter as well,¡± Roran said hoarsely. ¡°Life is not a game.¡± ¡°Oh, just snap out of it fool!¡± Olonelis hissed and stabbed her finger on his chest. ¡°Darunia avoids liars and loves honesty. Yes, she craves the attention. But she was never interested in the half-breed!¡± ¡°Does she like this adventurer?¡± Lady Olonelis had a heavy hand due to her gardening skills. Her slap had landed like a punch. Roran shook his head and breathed out slowly. ¡°Wow, you¡¯re strong. You¡¯re also not of high enough station yet to comment on her choices,¡± she warned. ¡°I¡¯m not as forgiving as Lord Suraer. Anything happens to my daughter, you better not return Roran.¡± ¡°Lady Olonelis,¡± Roran rustled angry. ¡°I may not make it but I¡¯ll make certain she does,¡± he added after a small pause. His words were well received by the Elderblood. She stepped back and examined him slowly. ¡°You mean it,¡± Olonelis finally said. ¡°Absolutely,¡± Roran spat affronted. ¡°I believe you,¡± Olonelis decided. ¡°Onas always said you¡¯re honest Roran.¡± Lord Onas? Olonelis stared at him a little flustered at the slip of the tongue. Roran opted not to say anything. ¡°You should have that helm fixed,¡± she said appreciatively after an awkward moment. Roran had it under his armpit. ¡°It¡¯s as good as it¡¯ll get,¡± he retorted a little confused. ¡°I have a couple in my garden. I use them to grow flowers into,¡± she said. ¡°I can clean one and have it delivered before you leave,¡± Olonelis offered. Now that was weird. ¡°I appreciate the gesture my Lady,¡± Roran replied steadily. ¡°But I have to decline. It belonged to a friend.¡± The ancient Zilan nodded her nicely combed head. Her hair a rich blue but everyone knew she painted it as most of the older ladies. ¡°Yes, you¡¯ve grown finally,¡± she murmured running her eyes on his larger frame. Her scrutiny very disturbing out in the open and in front of his men. ¡°Now, it makes sense,¡± Olonelis added sounding pleased. Roran had no idea what the old Council Member meant, but he was glad their conversation was over.
Roran, of Saeveril Second of the Phalanx Leader of the Main Othrim The Shores of Rain-Minas Part III -A Healer¡¯s heart-
The moaning half-breed¡¯s sweaty bushy brows connected in the middle of his forehead seeing the wild-eyed Roran towering over him. ¡°Me arm hurts mate,¡± he pleaded hoarsely. Roran reached and grabbed the collar of his tattered shirt. ¡°Answer my query vile human!¡± The Hoplite spat in the struggling man¡¯s face. ¡°I¡¯m losing too much blood¡ª¡± ¡°Speak!¡± Roran boomed. ¡°Or perish!¡± ¡°Can¡¯t remember the query!¡± Roran snapped his arm letting go of the collar and immediately snatched the man¡¯s jaw, long fingers reaching as far as the ears. He squeezed hard feeling pure rage running inside his taut veins. Ugly, stinky rat-faced worm. ¡°Roran!¡± Aelinole barked slapping at his arm to stop him from killing the shuddering stranger. ¡°We need him alive.¡± A heavy breathing Roran released his grip and the man¡¯s feet touched the ground again as the Hoplite had lifted ¡®Twelve¡¯ off of it in his fury. The man faltered and dropped to his knees, a hand clasping at his bleeding arm still skewered by the arrow. ¡°Where did you find the dagger?¡± Aelinole repeated his question. ¡°Erg, damn me rotten luck. Darunia¡­ gave it to me,¡± he crackled hoarsely. ¡°Where is she?¡± Roran growled having his fears confirmed. ¡°In the darn cave?¡± ¡°What cave?¡± Aelinole hissed and when he hesitated the ranger grabbed the arrow shaft and yanked it back and forth making him squeal in blinding pain. ¡°Arggh!¡± The man cried out at the abuse. ¡°Up the cursed ravine! Shivers me timbers it hurts lass,¡± he complained and Roran stepped closer with a scowl. ¡°She gave you the dagger in a cave?¡± He rustled raspingly unable to fathom why Darunia would meet with that pathetic rascal in one, more so exchange gifts. The half-Issir blinked. ¡°Why?¡± Roran growled. ¡°I know it may be sounding nefarious but¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯m gonna kill him,¡± Aelinole decided forgetting what she had said moments earlier. ¡°Wait! What is dis unprovoked hostility?¡± The man complained with a pained grimace. ¡°I didn¡¯t harm a hair on her pretty head. She¡¯s fine!¡± ¡°Why isn¡¯t she with you?¡± Roran grunted trying to convince himself not to bury the dagger in the man¡¯s face and finding no arguments against it. ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t know? She might have gone after the dog!¡± Roran stood back narrowing his eyes. ¡°What dog?¡± Aelinole asked sounding confused. Roran eyed Wylinor instead knowingly. The ranger raised a curious brow. ¡°Patch him up,¡± Roran ordered. ¡°He¡¯ll take us there.¡± ¡°Eh,¡± the man groaned in protest. ¡°I don¡¯t think I can walk at all!¡± Aelinole grabbed the bloody shaft again and he changed his tune immediately. ¡°But I¡¯ll do it for her though, aye,¡± he said reasonably pretending at bravery. ¡°I sort of fancy her,¡± he added but seeing Roran¡¯s jaw clenching, the man grimaced. ¡°Like me mother, aye. A tall woman she was, Abrakas guide her sweet soul to safer shores.¡±
Wylinor extracted the arrow cutting the shaft near the wound and patched up the half-Issir¡¯s wound again. A small key dropped down when the young ranger untied the old bandages to reuse them. The man tried to get the key but the ranger picked it up first. ¡°Now,¡± the injured human cautioned him. ¡°Stealing ain¡¯t a road ye should go down me lad.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a cheap key,¡± Wylinor informed Roran, not bothering to answer him. ¡°Roughly made.¡± ¡°Belonged to me family. An heirloom.¡± Bullshit. ¡°Can you walk?¡± Roran grunted through his teeth. ¡°I¡¯ve a bad foot,¡± the man replied. ¡°I¡¯ll slow ye down and ye may need to hurry.¡± ¡°Why is that?¡± Roran asked hoarsely and sheathed the dagger not to use it on him. ¡°There may or may not be, more broth¡¯rs in the cave.¡± ¡°You have a brother¡­¡± Roran started raspingly. ¡°I do but not in the cave.¡± ¡°He means pirates,¡± Aelinole elucidated. ¡°Wicked pirates was my meaning,¡± he explained looking at her knowingly. ¡°Is there any other kind?¡± Aelinole retorted soberly not getting where the stranger was going with this. Roran didn¡¯t as well. ¡°Well¡­ we could perhaps¡­ discuss¡ª¡± ¡°Is she in danger?¡± Roran grunted cutting his ramblings short. ¡°You said you didn¡¯t harm her not that long ago! You swore she was fine!¡± ¡°Now don¡¯t be putting words in me mouth¡ª¡± A grim-faced Aelinole had gotten her shortsword out and that stopped him. The half-Issir grimaced at his predicament. ¡°Abrakas cursed me! I don¡¯t know!¡± He finally protested in frustration. ¡°Cats walking on me shadow! I had a lousy night and an even worse morning mate! I got beaten, tied up and robbed of me possessions! Betrayed by friends and left to die in the dark. Then she waltzed in the cave whilst I was trying to free meself with that god darn dog in tow!¡± The man stopped breathing heavy and shook his head angry with himself, then breathed out tiredly. ¡°I was picking up my stuff to escape but when I turned my head she was gone. Maybe after the others.¡± ¡°You stopped to pick up stuff while in danger?¡± Aelinole asked. ¡°I stand by me decision,¡± Twelve retorted setting his feet. ¡°Where is this place?¡± Roran grunted. ¡°I followed a ravine of sorts, it loops back to the city. There¡¯s a cave entrance there it leads to an underground structure. The others went there to find more treasure.¡± Looters. Pirates. ¡°How many?¡± Roran asked. ¡°Five. No¡­ I¡­ the dog got rid of Wyler. So four. Eh, three and a half if ye count the Gish.¡± ¡°What¡¯s with the dog?¡± ¡°I have no idea where it came from.¡± ¡°Darunia went after the pirates?¡± Roran asked having difficulty believing his tale. He stared at Aelinole. ¡°Is this Lord Sulynor¡¯s work?¡± He asked in Imperial. The ranger shrugged her shoulders. ¡°He might have finished it. Used those dwarfs that worked for Edlenn to build him a vault. I was very young then.¡± Roran was older but not as close to the Elderbloods to know the details. ¡°Lord Sulynor left soon after. You think he kept supplies there for the exiles? Was it run by loyalists left behind?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know Roran. The sorcerers guard their stuff for sure, but this was more political.¡± ¡°Not if it involved the Moon¡¯s daughter,¡± Roran argued. ¡°They would have hidden everything they needed to start over.¡± ¡°Go where?¡± Aelinole asked. ¡°Maybe his mother was in on it after all,¡± Roran replied and glared at the half-Issir watching them talk. ¡°What treasure? What did they find inside the vault?¡± ¡°Some gold. Tools. Weapons. But the place had been emptied from stuff to put the people in.¡± ¡°What people?¡± Aelinole asked and the half-Issir gulped down nervously. ¡°Yours mostly. I reckon they flocked there to protect themselves. Died in groups. Young and old. Humans, Zilan, Gish and dwarfs. The buildings are full of dead bodies,¡± he paused and then shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Guess it may well be a mausoleum after all. I never went that far inside. Didn¡¯t have to.¡± ¡°They may have found the entrance or some loyalist talked of a safe space seeing the catastrophe approaching,¡± Aelinole whispered her face pale. ¡°Tried to protect themselves from the poison gasses.¡± Roran nodded remembering Elwuin¡¯s hypothesis. ¡°How big is the cave?¡± ¡°Huge,¡± the man replied. ¡°Some of it natural, but some of it may be the work of smugglers.¡± ¡°They thought they would be safe but there was another entrance. Probably used to get things in and out the port undetected from the Queen¡¯s people. They kept a lifeline open for the exiles, but it ended up dooming them all,¡± Roran rustled. Somewhere on Eplas though or someplace else the exiled Zilan had created a port to trade with the empire. ¡°Wylinor go find Ayas. Inform him we have intruders. Bring the men to the beach.¡± He turned to stare at the uncomfortable half-Issir. ¡°You are going to take me there now.¡± ¡°Can I have the hat at least?¡± The man asked in a guarded manner. Roran blinked unsure and then followed his pointing arm back to the boat. ¡°It¡¯s mine,¡± the Half-Issir explained.
Roran cleaned his Kopis with a thick piece of cloth, keeping his eyes on the pirate looting Zaine¡¯s body. The gutted gory corpse had few clothes still usable but the half-Issir named Twelve took the fancy hat and the boots. ¡°I¡¯m coming,¡± Aelinole informed him. ¡°I know Darunia longer than you.¡± Roran grimaced and then sheathed his blade. ¡°No you don¡¯t. I was on medical leave from the 2nd when her father joined. Olonelis had brought her along afore we were redeployed in Galadriel¡¯s Watch.¡± Aelinole made a face. ¡°War stories Roran?¡± Roran crooked his mouth but said nothing. ¡°I thought the Monarch had a truce with the pirates,¡± the ranger commented. ¡°Not the same pirates and I ain¡¯t sure if I would call it that.¡± ¡°What does Anfalon say?¡± ¡°Trust but verify. The Monarch could be wrong,¡± Roran replied. ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t know about that,¡± Aelinole said uncomfortable. Roran stared in her face. ¡°He¡¯s still a human Lin.¡± ¡°He probably knows more than you.¡± ¡°You wouldn¡¯t say that¡­¡± Roran paused. ¡°Had he ruled differently¡ª¡± ¡°Not everything is about Berthas,¡± Aelinole cut him off. ¡°It is for you apparently.¡± ¡°Bah! Don¡¯t start again,¡± she hissed with a glare. ¡°You know nothing.¡± ¡°What more is there to know?¡± Roran retorted. ¡°I¡¯m not blind.¡± Aelinole snorted and walked away frustrated, the half-Issir approaching now wearing a pair of boots and that hat. He limped the whole way. ¡°What happened to the foot?¡± Roran grunted still frustrated with the ranger. ¡°Needed something to entice a white-striped shark back in the day,¡± the man replied checking on his bandaged wound. ¡°I harpooned that bastard but forgot to retrieve the foot from its mouth. It bit me right through, aye. Then again I ate his arse so we¡¯re even.¡± ¡°Walk,¡± Roran rustled not believing him. ¡°What? I was fucking young!¡± He protested. ¡°That spawn of a drunk Ticu clenched instead of screaming!¡± The Hoplite shoved him forward. ¡°Pray nothing happens to Darunia or you¡¯ll scream plenty yourself,¡± he threatened and glanced at a sour-faced Aelinole following them. Twenty minutes later and deep in the chestnut forest they stopped for him to rest. He had either been weakened by blood loss or was good at playing at it. Aelinole who had retrieved Darunia¡¯s bag and clothes from the beach suggested they give him a health potion. ¡°We might need them,¡± Roran argued not wanting to waste one on the deceitful human. ¡°I can walk,¡± the man said not knowing what they were talking about but fearing the worst. ¡°We can spare one,¡± Aelinole insisted and got a vial out. The pirate eyed it with suspicion. ¡°Drink this but sit down first,¡± she told him. ¡°What might this be lassie?¡± ¡°You call me that one more time and I¡¯ll eat your face,¡± she hissed with a snarl. ¡®Twelve¡¯ blinked and took the vial. ¡°The last thing that chewed on me flesh died soon after,¡± he warned the incredulous ranger and glugged down the potion. Blinked with the one eye making a strange face and then collapsed on the ground next to a tree. Roran gave him a light kick on the shoulder while Aelinole checked on his pulse. ¡°He¡¯ll come about,¡± she told him. ¡°I should had given him half perhaps. She was always vague on the dose needed for humans.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a strange detail to know,¡± Roran hissed and Aelinole got up with a frown. She tossed the empty vial in Darunia¡¯s leather bag and looked at his scowling face. ¡°He wasn¡¯t human.¡± ¡°I¡¯m aware.¡± Aelinole nodded and turned her eyes away. She stared at the peaceful trees for a moment. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to like him Roran,¡± the ranger finally said and Roran grimaced not really wanting to listen to that. ¡°I fought with myself and prayed Darunia will charm him away.¡± ¡°She failed?¡± Roran asked before he could control his tongue. ¡°He wasn¡¯t easy to charm and her heart wasn¡¯t in it I guess,¡± Aelinole replied reminiscing. ¡°Ebe had a silver tongue and he was gifted.¡± Roran stooped to slap the pirate awake so they could move on. ¡°You need to hear this,¡± Aelinole said behind his back. ¡°Why?¡± Roran grunted. ¡°So you can move on.¡±Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Roran got up with a scowl. ¡°You want me to move on? Stop talking about it,¡± he rustled. ¡°It¡¯s your character,¡± Aelinole said softly taking him by surprise. ¡°You never let go. Be it old comrades or lovers. Some tasks we just fail through no fault of our own Roran. Some shots we¡¯re bound to miss, whilst others are much more difficult to avoid.¡± Roran stood back and clenched his jaw. The pirate groaned and woke up near his feet looking worse for wear. ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear this,¡± Roran rustled. ¡°You¡¯re free to do whatever you want.¡± ¡°I knew it the moment I touched him,¡± Aelinole continued. ¡°Our threads joined for this was a future that was written. A future needed. The right path. I heard Berthas¡¯ cry. Our lines were bound to connect and be preserved. His as well.¡± Roran sighed. That rascal had probably ¡®preserved¡¯ his line with plenty of half-breed offspring on both continents. ¡°When he returns¡­¡± Aelinole said and Roran stopped her with a grimace. ¡°He¡¯s never coming back Lin. When you love someone you don¡¯t run away with the loot or to save your skin,¡± he explained and wanted to say more but seeing her hurting face and feeling her grief decided not to. ¡°I understand he could have been forced to do it not to hurt you. It was a messy affair. There are a few stories written about him by the way.¡± ¡°How do you know?¡± ¡°I asked the humans.¡± ¡°What do the stories say?¡± ¡°Some truths some lies. Good lies,¡± Roran replied and looked away. ¡°He¡¯s dead.¡± Aelinole nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll scout ahead,¡± she told him breathlessly. ¡°I¡¯m still your friend Lin,¡± Roran said on her back. ¡°For what is worth I understand.¡± The ranger paused and then gathered her braided hair in a tight bun, she covered with a square green kerchief that was part of her field attire. ¡°And I yours Roran of Saeveril,¡± Aelinole replied and walked away. ¡°Abrakas pissed in me rum,¡± the man croaked coming to stand next to him. ¡°I had a sweet port-wench like that back in Ta-Ne. Gave me the fits,¡± he reminisced fondly watching the ranger disappearing up a tree, as if they were gonna bond and share stories all of a sudden. ¡°But she be fierce and wild in the sack¡ª¡± ¡°Move!¡± Roran growled menacingly cutting him off mid-sentence. ¡°And don¡¯t say another word.¡±
Two hours later they reached the entrance of the cave. The rock had cracked above it, the opening widened towards the small rocky ledge and the floods washing mud down the sheer slopes of the ravine. While vegetation had reached it, the shrubbery looked sickly or damaged and there was a bad smell of decay coming out of the cave. ¡°Much of the structure is still flooded inside. A cold and dark sinister place,¡± the pirate warned him. ¡°How many dead?¡± Roran rustled watching Aelinole sneaking up closer to the entrance. ¡°Over a hundred that I could see.¡± Rain-Minas had a lot more people living up on the main plateau. ¡°It seems not everyone died there,¡± he murmured and reached for a branch extending over his head. They were standing on the small path leading up towards the caves. Another three openings near the bigger one that Roran could see. The trees hanging from the top above, roots and branches spilling down the lip of the Rain-Minas plateau. He cut the branch and straighten it out cleaning it with his dagger quickly. Roran made a small quarterstaff out of it, a crude crooked weapon with an even cruder point about two meters in length. ¡°Where do ye think they went?¡± ¡°The Peninsula?¡± Roran retorted with a shrug and got up seeing Aelinole signing for him to approach. The ranger had moved near a small grouping of peanut trees with its cross-shaped red fruits and thick leaves. ¡°Don¡¯t think they made it there mate,¡± the pirate replied and Roran gestured for him to keep silent hearing voices coming from the cave. ¡°I might need a¡ª¡± Roran sheathed the dagger and grabbed him by the throat. It made the half-Issir turn quiet finally.
¡°Just empty the motherfucker Captain,¡± a man protested. ¡°He keeps tossing stuff out.¡± ¡°We¡¯re getting the chest out Abrix,¡± the ¡®Captain¡¯ replied, another man adding. ¡°I can drag it myself easy, just keep him away.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not comfortable with this arrangement,¡± ¡®Abrix¡¯ was heard again. ¡°Wyler doesn¡¯t look right. I¡¯m with the Zilan in this and it pains me to say it,¡± the whiney man added, Darunia¡¯s voice coming next. ¡°Why? I had a Gish friend once. We had great fun,¡± she said dreamily but sounding alright and Roran breathed out in relief, rushing across the opening. ¡°Yeah? What happened to him?¡± Abrix queried. Don¡¯t answer that, Roran urged the unseen healer. In vain as Darunia did. ¡°Turlas ate him.¡± ¡°Abrakas arse!¡± Another man cursed. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°He was a Wyvern?¡± Roran grimaced and then he reached the entrance of the cave covered in a sheen of sweat. ¡°What was that?¡± The Captain asked and the Hoplite leader heard a dog¡¯s bark just as he was about to enter the dark interior. ¡°It¡¯s that dog again.¡± ¡°Mayhap it can find us another chest?¡± ¡°Where is it going?¡± Abrix asked sounding spooked and Roran peeked inside. He had to wait a moment for his eyes to adjust but spotted the group of pirates dragging a large metallic box and several leather bags packed with loot towards him. Darunia following after them with arms crossed over her chest either because she was cold or out of modesty as the Healer had left the beach half-naked. Knowing humans and their lack of self-control, Roran decided there must be a lot of loot in those bags not to assault her. Or she went in prepared and charmed them all. With such a large group this wouldn¡¯t last. ¡°Wyler don¡¯t empty the chest,¡± the man with the parrot on his shoulder grunted. ¡°We¡¯ll do it back on the ship mate.¡± ¡°I told you this isn¡¯t him,¡± Darunia said. ¡°Can¡¯t be.¡± The dog barked looking towards Roran, who paused unsure on how to handle the situation. If he startled them, they could snap out of the Healer¡¯s influence and this could turn ugly fast. There was also something off about the dog. It didn¡¯t give him any response or emotion back when he attempted to reach out to it. Just emptiness. Roran wished the ranger was nearer as Aelinole was much more skilled and could connect with it. Was it an old injury the animal had suffered? He wondered just as the scene inside the cave turned weird. ¡°The fuck did he go?¡± a half-breed asked, skin a ghostly grey and the dog stopped barking. A cold breeze touching Roran¡¯s sweaty skin in passing. The walls of the cave coming alive as shades danced when the torches flickered responding to the breeze. The shades whispering all at once, the cave full of dead souls rushing to get their final message across through the cracks in reality¡¯s fabric. A foul smell reaching Roran¡¯s nostrils amidst all the pleas, the screams of agony and prayers of many souls dying in the guts of a ruined city. Someone had used dark magic, but it wasn¡¯t magic Roran had encountered afore in his long life. It reminded him of the rituals used by the Aken Elders he had fought in his youth but also tasted differently. Instead of the bitter flavor of decayed bones, the Zilan recognized the tang of iron and blood. Then the whispers went away and the cave turned silent again. ¡°We need to get out of here,¡± Darunia said sounding spooked and Roran stepped inside the cave deciding he couldn¡¯t wait any longer. ¡°Captain,¡± Abrix tried to say, a very short man, not bigger than a kid. That¡¯s the Gish, Roran thought. ¡°Shut it Abrix!¡± The Captain snapped. ¡°Close yer fucking mouth! Everyone move! The entrance is right there by Abrakas¡ª¡± He stopped abruptly seeing the Hoplite barring their way, backlit and menacing. The half-breed dropped the sack he was carrying down, spilling some of its contents. A silver candelabra, a couple of gold goblets, various platinum utensils and some good blades in them. The Gish stepped away from the light towards the wall of the cave and the large Nord-looking half-breed let go of the chest with a loud rattle. ¡°Blow me down!¡± The Captain cursed and reached for a heavy blade he had strapped on his dark blue waistband. ¡°What are ye?¡± ¡°Roran!¡± Darunia panted afore the Hoplite could reply. ¡°They are pirates!¡± The Captain grimaced and eyed the healer. ¡°Now, I don¡¯t know where yer going wit this lass, but ye better stay quiet.¡± Roran pointed the quarterstaff at Darunia. ¡°Let her through,¡± he told the Captain in Common. ¡°Or perish.¡± The grey-skinned pirate, his hair hidden under a black bandana, crooked his mouth and then spat on the ground afore getting a cutlass out. The tall pirate reaching for a custom axe on his back. The Gish was backing away towards the healer and Roran warned him with a glare to stay put. ¡°I sense a certain hostility,¡± the Captain said tapping the tip of his pointing down blade at the side of his tall leather boots. ¡°Lonesome dude holding a stick. Word of advice. Perhaps ye should be more careful in yer wording?¡± ¡°Let me put it another way,¡± Roran retorted clenching his jaw and stepped forward to close the distance between them. ¡°Throw your weapons down, leave the bags and walk out or die.¡± The pirate captain pressed his wrinkled lips together. ¡°Yer counter offer sounds worse me lad,¡± he said disappointed. ¡°Let me make ye a better one. Adam, Reyson, cut this fool down,¡± the Lorian said soberly and tossed a torch he was holding in his hand towards Roran. Adam started circling towards him immediately just as the Hoplite smacked the torch away. Reyson coming at Roran at a straight line and the captain following after him. The tall pirate reached him first and went to swing that long-shafted axe but Roran stabbed the quarterstaff at his chest shoving him back. The reinforced gambeson Reyson had on saving him from a worse injury. The tall pirate groaned and Adam rushed Roran from his left side. He slashed with the cutlass but Roran stepped back and smacked him with the staff below the left ear. It send the half-breed twirling with a pained grunt and the Hoplite used the space to switch hands on the staff. The now freed right hand got his Kopis out. ¡°Right,¡± the captain said with a grimace. ¡°What are ye a weapon¡¯s savant?¡± ¡°He¡¯s a hoplite,¡± Darunia said from the back. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t fight him.¡± Roran eyed the grinning healer frustrated and the captain came at him swinging that heavy blade of his. The hoplite parried it away with his forward-curved sword and smacked the man¡¯s shoulder with the staff sending the scared parrot flying away. ¡°Shit!¡± The bird croaked hitting the ceiling of the cave and crashing down. ¡°A Ticu¡¯s bloomin¡¯ tits,¡± the captain groaned stepping away from the staff¡¯s reach. ¡°Now the bloody thing talks!¡± ¡°Darunia, for the love of the Goddess,¡± Roran grunted at the trying to see to the injured bird healer. ¡°Get out of the cave!¡± ¡°Rush him,¡± The captain ordered and Adam stooped to pick up a harpoon from their bags afore coming towards him again. Reyson and the captain moving at the same time. Roran was worried about the Gish more. The sneaky creature had disappeared. And then the harpoon as it more than matched his crude staff¡¯s reach.
Roran moved against the coming Reyson to put a body between him and the flanking Adam. The bulky pirate heaved the axe in a wide arc parallel to the ground, brandishing it with both arms and the Hoplite ducked under the axe, sinking on his left knee. The blade skidded on shoulder plates, shaving the back of his helm and Roran jumped upright slotting the staff between Reyson¡¯s arms like a corkscrew. A shove and turn forced the bulky pirate¡¯s arms to lock together, Roran guiding him towards the captain. The captain stepped aside to circle around and Roran smacked the thrusting harpoon away with a backhand, the hook grazing the armbrace. He pivoted after running the Kopis across Reyson¡¯s upper hip cutting through the gambeson¡¯s padding. Roran let go of the staff as the tall pirate faltered away losing his axe and bleeding down his pants. The Hoplite sidestepped to avoid a spear thrust through the gut, snapping his sword-wielding arm forward to rattle Adam who almost lost the harpoon when the tip of Roran¡¯s blade opened his exposed forearm. ¡°Arggh!¡± Adam growled and retreated bleeding from his good arm, Roran moving to attack the now isolated near the wall older captain, the cold inside the cave cooling his flushed skin. The heavily armoured Roran made two nibble steps dancing right and left, shoulders bent forward at an angle like his head and then leaped with his right arm pulled back, the blade leading like a coiled wasp, hilt touching the side of the Hoplite¡¯s elongated helm briefly. The arm snapped forward brutally just afore he landed, the Kopis curved blade plunging straight at the target and breaking the captain¡¯s last minute guard. That is first the blade, then the wrist that couldn¡¯t withstand the impact and dipped under the man¡¯s right shoulder cutting through the mail. A savage heave and the sharp blade punched right through, shattering the clavicle bone and exited out the back in an explosion of gore that sprayed the wall of the cave. ¡°Gaargh!¡± The captain gurgled biting his tongue and put his left hand on the sword to grasp at the blade, losing thumb and parts of mid and index finger when Roran yanked it out of the cavernous wound, warm blood splashing his helm. The Captain faltered back seriously maimed and Roran twisted around hearing Darunia¡¯s gasp of horror. But he wasn¡¯t moving right. ¡°Ugh,¡± Roran grunted stopping, the left lower part of his back and arm numbing. Something dribbling down his tunic and leg. He reached with a groan using his free hand and found a dagger stuck there, the blade slipping through the plate¡¯s bindings. An assassin¡¯s backstab. Roran extracted it slowly, feeling steel grazing a rib and saw a shade forming a mouth not a meter from him. ¡°How far to Gwann-Ihug?¡± The mouth asked in Archaic Imperial, a nose forming out of the shades, a chin sporting a thin goatee and then the face of a man with a horrific wound on the right side of his mostly Lorian face. ¡°What?¡± Roran grunted and slashed at him with the sword but the sneaky creature stepped back. The Hoplite lost his footing and went down on a knee. ¡°Eh, I had to even the odds,¡± the man said and retreated towards the entrance of the cave. ¡°I¡¯ve seen your kind before.¡± ¡°Roran!¡± Darunia cried, hopefully staying away from the scrap. Get up soldier, he ordered himself. Walk it through. ¡°You¡¯re not getting out of here,¡± Roran spat and pushed himself upright, an eye on the approaching pirates. ¡°I¡¯m already out,¡± the man replied and hefted a bag he carried over his left shoulder. ¡°I just needed my bones.¡± Uh? With that he walked out of the cave and a hurting Roran had to turn towards the couple coming at him with renewed courage. Reyson wielding a cutlass instead of his axe this time. ¡°Leave him! He¡¯s injured!¡± Darunia screamed at the two pirates and Roran roared to silence her. ¡°Told you to get out Nia. By Allgods, you¡¯re not helping!¡± ¡°I can¡¯t leave you!¡± She screamed back and he hadn¡¯t seen her so frustrated before. ¡°Do that jump again,¡± Adam taunted him, looking to strike from a distance. ¡°And I¡¯ll spear ye like a¡ª¡± The rest of it a gurgled indecipherable mess lost in the sound of his broken body tumbling two meters back and falling on the still burning torch the Captain had dropped earlier. Roran had hurled the Kopis at him with such force the sharpened steel broke through the sternum bone, ruined the lungs and exited between Adam¡¯s shoulder blades. The pirate had a hardened leather shirt on but Roran had once punched his spear a foot in solid rock. Granted he wasn¡¯t injured back then so the Kopis¡¯ only dipped into the pirate¡¯s chest to the hilt this time. ¡°Eh,¡± Reyson gasped in horror and swung at the approaching Hoplite. Roran dodged with a grimace of pain feeling a rib moving funny in his innards, used the tip of his boot to lift the discarded axe and snatched the shaft with his right hand mid-air. Reyson twisted about to find the angle and slashed again, his blade striking the angling chest plate and carving its polished surface as the Hoplite dodged the attack. Roran flipped the axe upside down afore retaliating. He got the desperately trying to pull back pirate between the legs, butchering his genitals and then stepped aside when Reyson doubled over with a desperate cry of agony to cleave the head clean off of his body. ¡°Fuck! Ant¡¯s bollock¡­ in them sands!¡± The injured captain cursed seeing him limping towards him with the bloody axe in his hands. ¡°Enough killing Roran, let me see it,¡± Darunia pleaded stepping in front of him and Roran got her out of his way with a grunt and the gore-covered shaft of the axe. ¡°Ye shall pay for this,¡± the captain snarled trying to stand, his arms ruined and bleeding heavily. ¡°Me crew shall hunt ye murdering arse down!¡± ¡°Stop talking fool!¡± Darunia admonished him, but it was too late for the injured captain. Roran had given them the chance to walk away and they had chosen to stay. Fight him to the death. ¡°Step aside,¡± Roran ordered the healer hoarsely and swung the axe again. So death they found.
Roran woke up smelling flesh burning and hurting both at his ribs and the back of his head. He blinked to clear his blurring eyes and felt nibble hands working on the wound. His sweaty torso naked, a shoulder touching the ground of the cave and soft curls teasing his face. ¡°I need my bag,¡± Darunia whispered through the haze. ¡°Moss will help but this is nasty.¡± ¡°Earg,¡± Roran grunted ineligibly and tried to stand up. ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± Darunia ordered and pressed him back down. ¡°Give me a moment.¡± ¡°The Gish,¡± Roran growled. ¡°He ran away,¡± she replied and cleaned the cut with a piece of cloth. ¡°Deeper into the cave.¡± ¡°There was¡­¡± Roran blinked again and tried to stand, but paused seeing her worried face. ¡°It didn¡¯t go in that deep,¡± he reassured her. ¡°By the Gods Roran,¡± Darunia complained and wiped her eyes. ¡°How is that a good thing?¡± It could have hit the liver? ¡°You are safe. It¡¯s all that matters,¡± Roran replied simply and felt warm hands on his face a moment afore she touched him. The haziness dissipating and his mind reacting without panic at the intrusion. Silky immaterial threads feeling their way inside his soul unsure and hopeful. All the doors opening up for her. The female scent familiar but also different. Roran breathed into her mouth, pointy fangs trapping his lower lip and piercing the skin. The blood mixing and the passion increasing tenfold. ¡°Darunia,¡± he croaked breaking the start of the mating spell and she pulled back with a gasp, her gorgeous face flushed. ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± Roran told her angry with himself. ¡°It happens after a battle and tasting fear can¡ª¡± The healer had stopped him placing her bloody palm on his lips. ¡°I see shades of you in other males,¡± she whispered behind a blue curtain and Roran felt his anger melting away. ¡°Some of it here, other parts there. Some of you but not all and my heart knows it,¡± Darunia continued and glanced at him. ¡°I want it all or nothing. So I move on.¡± Allgods. She got up and wiped her face with the back of her hand. ¡°Wyler was dead when I left him,¡± Darunia said trying to hide her frustration. ¡°He used magic but didn¡¯t burn anything. No medium. All blood.¡± A numb Roran nodded and winced getting up on his feet, a hand on his bandaged wound. He needed stitches and a very cold bath. ¡°I¡¯d like the opportunity to explain myself,¡± he croaked and she offered him the Kopis back, hilt first. ¡°There¡¯s nothing to explain,¡± Darunia said. ¡°I know your heart Roran of Saeveril,¡± she added sadly. And now I know yours. Roran heard Aelinole¡¯s voice from outside the cave and flinched. Darunia raised a cobalt eyebrow and it reminded him of her mother at that point. The thought of facing Olonelis raising his anxiety. ¡°What am I supposed to do now?¡± He asked her and the healer sighed deeply. She stooped and grabbed a dagger from the ground. It was the one he¡¯d given her. ¡°I¡¯ll never put that burden on you silly,¡± Darunia finally said with a small smile. ¡°Let¡¯s go see if she¡¯s in trouble.¡±
¡°Roran, sweet Goddess¡¯ veils!¡± Aelinole snapped seeing him getting out of the cave. ¡°You were supposed¡­ hey, Darunia. Nice outfit. He¡¯s bleeding,¡± the keen-eyed ranger said changing her tone with every new detail she spotted. ¡°I need my bag Aelinole,¡± Darunia replied stiffly. ¡°Wow. I¡¯ll just thank myself then. It¡¯s here, your bag,¡± the ranger said and walked back a couple of meters to show her. Roran spotted the body of Wyler lying twenty meters from the entrance. It had four arrows in him, two in his good eye, another through the neck and one buried in his back to the fletching. Aelinole had nailed him with a power shot. ¡°He didn¡¯t stop,¡± she explained seeing his stare and then turned to Darunia. ¡°Are you alright? We were worried!¡± ¡°You¡¯re screaming Aelinole,¡± Darunia replied looking in her medical bag. ¡°I¡¯m missing a vial.¡± ¡°I had to use it¡­ eh, I¡¯m not screaming by the way. Don¡¯t scare me like this you dork!¡± ¡°I just followed the dog,¡± Darunia replied and dug a vial out of the bag. She offered it to Roran and he took it, his eyes on the lifeless corpse of Wyler. ¡°Couldn¡¯t you put some more clothes on?¡± the ranger asked with a wince. ¡°Or underwear? There¡¯s people around.¡± ¡°Nothing you hadn¡¯t seen before. We¡¯re far from strangers,¡± Darunia replied getting a ruffled tunic out, but paused to think about it. ¡°At this moment.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s the pirate?¡± Roran asked steering the conversation away. ¡°He got away while I dealt with this creep,¡± Aelinole replied. ¡°Haven¡¯t seen a living thing take an arrow to the eye and not scream or groan. Tough son of a bitch, no pun intended.¡± ¡°What did he look like?¡± Darunia asked. ¡°He had your dagger and walked with a limp,¡± Roran replied avoiding her eyes. ¡°Horace,¡± Darunia said. ¡°He said his name was Twelve,¡± Aelinole hissed and looked about them for any sign of the sneaky pirate. ¡°That was the name of the dog,¡± the Healer explained and shouldered her bag. Roran was still examining Wyler¡¯s corpse, the healing potion burning his stomach and gnawing at his wound from the inside. ¡°What is it?¡± Aelinole asked and touched his naked shoulder comfortingly. Roran stood up not wanting the familiarity that came and went depending on her mood and she pulled her arm back a little surprised realizing the change in him. ¡°He carried a bag,¡± Roran rustled and looked at the silent Darunia. ¡°There were old bones in the chest,¡± the healer told them. ¡°Wyler got them out as his payment.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the value of bones to a pirate? Were they dipped in gold?¡± Aelinole asked with a glare at the scowling Roran. ¡°A chemical solution of sorts and gold,¡± Darunia replied. ¡°But I could be wrong.¡± ¡°He wasn¡¯t a pirate,¡± Roran said hoarsely and grimaced. ¡°Aelinole you father served both¡­ I guess all Monarchs. What¡¯s does ¡®Perished Serpent¡¯ mean? The word spoken adjoined in the old tongue.¡± The ranger stood back with a frown. ¡°I haven¡¯t heard or read about it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s an old Aken saying,¡± Darunia replied and came to stand over the dead pirate. ¡°A perished serpent is still dangerous. A cautionary tale and probably a real place. An island in the Round Sea they are not supposed to go. Where did you hear about it?¡± Roran pointed an arm at Wyler¡¯s corpse. ¡°I¡¯d like another talk with Horace. Let¡¯s head for the beach.¡± ¡°Can you walk?¡± Darunia asked, concern in her voice. ¡°For miles,¡± Roran replied staring at the ranger who¡¯d caught the weird vibes between them. Aelinole pursed her mouth, fixed the bowstring over her chest and shouldered a bag with old weapons Roran had brought out of the cave. ¡°I¡¯ll scout ahead,¡± the ranger said evenly and walked past him. ¡°We shouldn¡¯t make a big deal out of it,¡± Darunia offered and Roran sighed, since it was a big deal for him. ¡°She knows,¡± he replied raspingly and started after the moving fast ranger.
Ayas was waiting for them at the docks, Malon observing the Othrim rolling down the sloped path in full battle gear. Gorwin rushed to approach Aelinole the moment he saw her coming out of the chestnut woods. Roran paused at the edge of it, the sun burning over the beach to catch his breath. ¡°I can handle myself,¡± Darunia commented seeing the army gathering. ¡°Violence is not the answer to everything Roran.¡± ¡°I agree,¡± Roran replied and she used a cloth to wipe the beads of sweat from his face. Her typical ministrations holding a different meaning now. ¡°But these weren¡¯t good people Darunia.¡± ¡°There are very few truly good people,¡± she told him and pulled away seeing Aquilan with Ayas approaching at an energetic trot. ¡°Second Leader. Doc,¡± Ayas saluted. ¡°I report no sign of pirates or humans sir!¡± ¡°At ease Ayas,¡± Roran rustled. ¡°Did you check on the fishermen docks?¡± ¡°We did Roran. Nothing was found but four looted bodies.¡± ¡°How looted?¡± ¡°Thoroughly.¡± ¡°The boat?¡± ¡°There was no boat sir,¡± Ayas assured him. The lame rat ran, Roran thought with a grimace. ¡°Post sentries at the docks. Search the forest just in case. I want a twenty man strong detail issued with shovels to secure some caves. See they bury any corpses or remains found in there.¡± ¡°Pirates sir?¡± ¡°Our own as well. Citizens long left unburied,¡± Roran retorted dryly. ¡°The army shall provide the dignity denied to them Hoplite.¡± Ayas nodded, cast a look at the barefooted Darunia, her smile disarming him, then turned around and trotted away towards the gathered rows of the Othrim. Roran stared at the waiting Aquilan perturbed. ¡°Something more hoplite?¡± He asked standing up straighter despite the pain gnawing at his sides. ¡°A message arrived from Lo-Minas Roran,¡± the Hoplite replied steadily. ¡°It relayed orders straight from Goras concerning the Othrim. Nigh urgent sir.¡± Darunia¡¯s fingers touched his arm softly. ¡°What are the orders about?¡± Roran asked with a grimace as he¡¯d been with the army for long enough to know when you are about to be shipped away. Aquilan gave him the decoded missive and Roran opened the scroll to read Lord Onas orders. ¡°Onas assumes responsibility?¡± ¡°That¡¯s above my pay grade sir,¡± the Hoplite leader replied. That¡¯s a yes. ¡°Thank you Aquilan. You¡¯re dismissed,¡± Roran said hoarsely. ¡°What does Lord Onas want?¡± Darunia asked solemnly and Roran turned his head towards the peaceful shores of Rain-Minas and stared at the calm sea. The summer¡¯s breeze reached him, blew on his sweaty tanned face and cooled his short-shorn washed-out blue hair. I needed a bit of time Goddess, he thought. To put everything in order. Make things right afore it''s too late. ¡°These aren¡¯t the old Lord¡¯s orders,¡± Roran told her and turned to stare at her familiar face. Damn it Doc. Even worried you are pretty as a picture. ¡°It¡¯s the Monarch¡¯s. He wants us aboard the ships as soon as they reach us.¡± ¡°Where are they coming from?¡± Roran glanced at the cerulean deep waters. ¡°The Peninsula,¡± he said reminiscing.
¡®Have you ever seen a true Cofol gal dance at a festival Roran?¡¯ A beaming Theodas asked a younger Roran busy cleaning his new steel helm. ¡°Not even Mori-Zilan can move like they do,¡± the Hoplite leader jested showing him the moves. ¡®But while there¡¯s treasure and fame everlasting beyond the sea nothing comes close to the laurels that would be bestowed upon those that free the jewel city of Sibara!¡¯
¡°Where is he sending you?¡± Darunia asked in a softer tone. ¡°Fu De-Gar,¡± Roran replied. ¡°As soon as the ships arrive.¡± ¡°What¡¯s there?¡± Darunia asked although she knew. Roran thought he heard a ship¡¯s watch mast bell ringing, the sound carrying above the waves. Provide much needed assistance, Garth had ordered vaguely through Lord Onas. Keep the ports open for the Empire. ¡°War,¡± he replied gravely. -
Horace had hurt his back pushing the darn loaded boat in the waters. Having to row and steer at the same time not helping him at all. So he got drenched in sweat under the unforgiving sun right after the ¡®loaned¡¯ clothes on his back dried up. The salt burning his eyes despite the shade of his loyal hat and his weathered skin enflamed not twenty minutes into the rowing. The dog closed the one eye and then opened it again. The other a pure white. It smacked its black lips, thick saliva dripping down and then snorted once at his scrutiny. ¡°What do you need them bones for huh? Remember how ye got sick when you chewed on that first one? See what happened to Wyler? Not natural, hmm?¡± Horace asked the dog standing across from him in the large boat. ¡®Piece of Twelve¡¯ barked twice and shook its head. ¡°Alright have it yer own way. Not judging,¡± Horace grunted and turned his head towards the still unseen ship, a nervous look at the position of the sun following right after. ¡®You make a mistake here,¡¯ he thought, ¡®ye end up rowing until you reach the middle of the Haze Sea and then it¡¯s the darn give-shark-a-foot debacle all over again.¡¯ ¡°You could¡¯ve helped me a bit more back in the cave, just throwing it out there,¡± he told the dog sourly. ¡°Or been more open about how you made it out in the first place. Give trust to receive it is my meaning.¡± The dog barked once angry reading through his bullshit. ¡°You were too injured to carry out and heavy. Barely breathing,¡± Horace reminded the stubborn animal not willing to take all the blame upon his shoulders. ¡®Spread the blame¡¯, he always cautioned himself. ¡°I had to get some coin back to help the crew. I made an executive decision all gods darnit! Hey, I came back though in the blooming end, so we are even.¡± Thirty years later but still, it¡¯s the thought that fucking counts. Even if he hadn¡¯t thought about the dog once in the meantime. ¡°It¡¯s the darn bones right? What¡¯s in them?¡± Horace asked and heard a yelp coming from the port side of the boat. ¡°Ye heard that?¡± The dog barked twice. ¡°Did it sounded¡­?¡± Horace started and then he saw the Gish¡¯s washed out pink and black head bobbing in and out of the waters. ¡°HELP!¡± the Gish cried waving his small arm. ¡°The waves are too big!¡± Horace stopped rowing and stooped over the side of the boat. ¡°Fuck do ye want ye piece of shite?¡± ¡°To come wit you!¡± Abrix protested. ¡°I don¡¯t want ye traitor arse!¡± Horace blasted him. ¡°Fucking ruffian. Go away!¡± ¡°I can¡¯t make it back!¡± The Gish protested. ¡°You¡¯re doomin¡¯ a friend!¡± ¡°Oh fuck off, you¡¯re a plaguing Gish!¡± ¡°I hate swimming!¡± Abrix screamed desperately and Horace groaned in frustration. He stared at the dog and the dog stared back at him. ¡°What do you think?¡± Horace asked the scruffy animal. The one-eyed dog looked at the oars. Yeah. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll save you,¡± Horace relented and stooped to grab the Gish¡¯s arm. He helped him out of the water, almost toppling the boat in the process. ¡°What¡¯s the dog doing here?¡± Abrix asked when he stopped shaking from the exertion. ¡°Dog comes along,¡± Horace explained as he still wanted to find out what was the deal with the ancient and many times revived animal. ¡°We¡¯re family right?¡± The Gish nodded unsure at first but then with more enthusiasm. ¡°Good,¡± Horace said and gave him the oars. ¡°You row, I¡¯ll steer,¡± he added meaningfully. ¡°Wait, why do I get to row?¡± Abrix protested over the loud barks of ¡®Twelve¡¯ who wanted them to get moving again. ¡°I¡¯m three times smaller than ye and exhausted!¡± ¡®Trickster¡¯, born Horacius Burton by a married Lesian Sailor fooling around with an Issir harlot half a century ago, crooked his lined mouth in a smirk and then replied brusquely much as it was expected from a man with his particular sensitivities. ¡°I don¡¯t give a drowned rat¡¯s arse.¡±
392. A Friend in need
Arguen Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Lord of Morn Taras Monarch of Sinya Goras King beyond the Pale Mountains Aniculo Rokae A Friend in need
Wetull is full of blasted life. All them books were packed wit bullshit, Glen thought in his sleep hearing the black-crowned night-heron squawking annoyingly. The thief¡¯s type of sleep this. Half-sunk in stupor but partially awake. Most of your senses alert and on the lookout. The more Glen climbed up the food chain the less relaxed his sleep was. So in a way, this is also the Monarch¡¯s sleep. Plaguing restless. Praise be Luthos for drugs and booze, the Monarch prayed and acknowledged this time had been calmer in his rest than usual. Granted he was up while the gods-darn night shift was still running outside. The darkness thick as mud and warm as fuck. But tis a nice warmth this, he relented, reaching with a hand to trace the outline of a slick but thick hip, the heavy curls resting on the side of his face smelling of familiar scented oils. His hand run over the soft body half-sleeping on his chest, from said hip to under a shaved sweaty armpit. Filled his large fist with tit next. A smaller tit this than he remembered, a tad firmer, but boob-flesh recovers probably like a muscle. You just have to keep working at it. Sen, he thought smiling and then the illusion shattered in a thousand pieces. Wait¡­ a god darn minute here! Glen cursed and opened his eyes. The head was colored all wrong at the dim light of the distant wall-torch. Too much fucking red in it! The details kept adding up and he couldn¡¯t just dismiss them anymore. His fury at the trickery spilling out. ¡°You!¡± Glen growled and shoved the sleeping girl away. She yelped, waking up mid-tumble and then screamed dropping from the edge of the bed on the tiled floor with a loud thud and a pained groan. Well, the rest of the floor was covered in lush carpet, but Glen kept the full perimeter of his bed up to three meters around completely bare, so he can hear an assassin approaching on the granite tiles. Hopefully. ¡°Master Garth!¡± Iskay cried out more startled than terrified and crawled around the bed on all fours towards the exit. ¡°Apologies!¡± ¡°Halt right there!¡± Glen barked and got up, swinging his legs over the bed to place both feet on the floor. ¡°What were you doing in my bed?¡± He asked the shaking arse of the naked slave. ¡°Why are you¡­? Get some clothes on and turn around!¡± Glen ordered irate and stared at the mirror across the bed. He had all the machinery hanging out in the open as well. Shite. Well, it¡¯s the summer and I can do whatever the fuck I want in my plaguing house! There. ¡°Bring me a pair of pants first,¡± he grunted at the fleeing slave and heard his daughter¡¯s voice and the crack of the inner door opening. Fuck! Glen jumped on the bed, rolled on a shoulder over it and landed on the other side pulling the silk sheet around him. ¡°Daddy,¡± Inis-Mir said walking in. ¡°I can¡¯t sleep alone. Are you up?¡± ¡°Where¡¯s Maeriel?¡± Glen croaked, then cleared his throat and tied the sheet around him. ¡°It¡¯s alright baby girl. I¡¯m always awake,¡± he assured her in a fatherly voice. Eh. ¡°Really? Can I stay here then until the sun comes up?¡± Dodge. ¡°Of course,¡± Glen replied and grimaced angry with himself. He always failed his daughter¡¯s cleverly worded queries. Inis-Mir squealed, then run and hugged him tight. ¡°There, there. Just hop on it and I¡¯ll get something on.¡± ¡°This looks nice,¡± Inis-Mir assured him and sniffed at the remaining bedsheets like a curious cat. ¡°There¡¯s a¡­ hmm,¡± she narrowed her eyes and looked at his bathtub. ¡°Inis what are ye doing?¡± Glen asked calmly. ¡°Investigating.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± Glen ordered and stooped over her crimson-red head. ¡°I do that in here.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s keeping an eye on you though?¡± Inis asked not convinced and Glen pushed her to get up on the bed. ¡°No one. I run the show,¡± Glen told her when she did and his daughter pouted. ¡°What? Don¡¯t do that.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t sound fair,¡± Inis-Mir replied looking around for pillows. Glen had tossed them on an armchair across the room to free up space on the bed. To sleep. ¡°I have friends that do it,¡± Glen eased her and went to get a couple of them, still trying to figure out how the slave girl had ended up on his bed. Sure, Iskay slept next to it sometimes much as she did with Sen, but that was quite the leap. Glen had thought about letting her go, but Iskay didn¡¯t want to leave them and she was great at fixing the place up and taking care of Inis-Mir. The Zilan could do it also, but he preferred to involve the Cofols in her care as much as it was possible. Sen distrusted the Zilan and Glen wanted to respect that. There was a knock at the inner door and Glen turned around to see who it was, after he tossed the pillows on the bed, a giggling Inis gathering them up around her. ¡°Monarch,¡± Maeriel greeted and glanced at the playing on his bed girl. ¡°I was checking up on her. My shift is ending.¡± ¡°She¡¯s fine Maeriel,¡± Glen assured her and the ranger¡¯s eyes stayed on his ¡®attire¡¯ for a moment afore nodding. Glen wondered if his cock was poking out of the sheet¡¯s folds and brought a hand there to check it out. ¡°I¡¯ll change with Sir Nuvian,¡± the ranger reported. ¡°Eilven is due later to start her language lessons.¡± ¡°She talks fine,¡± Glen told her. ¡°She needs to be able to write in Common and Court Imperial since we have no one to teach her the Old Tongue. Along the Plebe Human Tongue, Court Common and Folk language given you have a diverse palace,¡± Maeriel paused to remember if she had left anything out and then continued. ¡°Then its mathematics, engineering, architecture, music, dancing, strategy and governing. The sooner she finishes that the sooner she would be able to focus on her individual calling like we all had. Her core skill takes over for a while so it¡¯s better if she finishes as much as she can early.¡± Glen cleared his throat, lips pressed into a thin line. ¡°Ye see I didn¡¯t stop ye there Maeriel. Now though, having heard all that thingamabob nonsense, I need to step in and put an end to this malarkey.¡± ¡°The princess¡¯ education is vital Monarch and not to be taken lightly. She needs to be on par if not better than her peers to garner true respect. She starts diminished¡ª¡± Glen extended a chiseled arm and poked her in the chest cutting through the ranger¡¯s verbal diarrhea. ¡°Inis isn¡¯t diminished in any way,¡± he grunted. ¡°Apologies, I worded it wrong perhaps, but she¡¯s human¡ª¡± ¡°Let me finish,¡± Glen warned her mid-sentence but the loose sheet dropped from his hips afore he could. ¡°She shall do what she likes and not bother herself wit what she does not. I¡¯ll make certain people respect her aplenty and for yer information Inis is pretty advanced for her age since she takes after me. She¡¯ll be a genius afore all this is over,¡± he explained keeping his professionalism despite the wardrobe malfunction and the stoic ranger kept hers, along her eyes on his face seemingly engrossed. Maeriel could fake at attention with the best of them. ¡°Oee!¡± Inis-Mir chuckled from the bed behind them. ¡°Daddy¡¯s buttocks are showing!¡± Fuck¡¯s sake!
¡°There¡¯s a Council meeting in two hours,¡± Kilynia informed him the moment he rolled down the stairs to reach his throne room. Glen paused to return Vulreon¡¯s greeting, the scribe handed him a stack of scrolls discreetly and Glen gave them right back less so. ¡°Have I taken breakfast yet?¡± Glen asked the scribe knowingly. ¡°Ahm, no you haven¡¯t Lord Garth.¡± ¡°Good, let me bite on something first, else I¡¯ll bite yer hand off,¡± Glen warned him only half-jesting and sauntered to the table near the west wall of the hall. The scribe went to stand at his spot taking the stack with him. No sooner Glen¡¯s now covered arse had met the chair Sir Delmuth marched inside the hall, followed by Sir Kirk, the maimed Cofol official Kamat-Fin, the advisor Rimeros and the Master of Ships Rybel. Rimeros sprinted to the front of the line frustrated and bowed afore speaking. ¡°There are matters that need your ear Monarch before the Council meeting.¡± ¡°Anyone else waiting outside?¡± Glen asked sourly seeing Rimeros nodding and reached for the goblet with some suspicious orange stuff in it. He sipped some and grimaced. ¡°Fuck is this?¡± ¡°Orange juice with lemon your highness,¡± Kilynia replied stooping over his head. Glen flinched as he hadn¡¯t noticed her sneaking up on him. ¡°Take a step back,¡± he told the disturbingly tall Zilan female advisor. ¡°Now, why lemon? My teeth turned numb at the blasted taste!¡± Rimeros opened his mouth and Glen glared at him. ¡°I heard ye. Take a couple of steps back as well. What is this familiarity? Kirk!¡± ¡°Aye Sire,¡± the knight replied standing behind Rimeros. ¡°Get everyone in a single file line,¡± Glen ordered. ¡°Two meters apart at least. We have plenty of fucking room in here! Don¡¯t all bunch up around me for crying out loud!¡± He took a deep breath and then puffed out audibly. ¡°Take this sour ¡®n bitter shit away Kilynia.¡± ¡°It¡¯s healthy¡ª¡± ¡°You drink it then. Don¡¯t leave, gulp it down here,¡± Glen cut her off and gave her the goblet. ¡°That¡¯s it girl, tip it all down. Now order me some fluffy scrambled eggs from the kitchen wit large white cheese pieces in and cover it wit fat strips of bacon or roasted chicken. I swear if I have to take over making food around here as well, I¡¯ll have all of you fired!¡± Alright that¡¯s out of the way. He stared at the line forming some meters from his table. More people entering the hall and the line growing before his very eyes. Glen grimaced, gave a stare at the still dark sky and turned to the Master of Birds. ¡°Is it urgent?¡± He asked him and Kamat-Fin bowed. ¡°It is, oh great Monarch.¡± Glen took the missive and nodded. ¡°You expect an answer?¡± ¡°At your convenience.¡± ¡°Wait outside,¡± Glen told him and turned to the Master of Ships. ¡°Rybel, the nearest port is thirty kilometers away.¡± Why are you still here? Was his meaning. ¡°Fifty,¡± Rybel grunted, a challenging Zilan to work with. ¡°Whatever,¡± Glen replied an even more difficult Monarch to be around. ¡°Didn¡¯t I say you should work wit Voron?¡± ¡°He doesn¡¯t want to allocate resources to Hardir¡¯s Port,¡± Rybel reported stiffly. ¡°He has promised Soletha to work on Sinya Goras¡¯ Port first.¡± Glen glanced at Rimeros and the Zilan gave him a discreet sign with his head. He had no idea what it meant. ¡°Can¡¯t she¡­¡± He started but Rimeros ogled his eyes warningly, a nervous tick appearing on his face and forced Glen to pause. He went another way. ¡°Can you start without his involvement?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Rybel scoffed. ¡°Do it. Speak to Fikumin for guards and building crews. I¡¯ll have Metu release the funds,¡± Glen ordered and smacked his lips. ¡°Next! Good grief, is this a festival? You have until my eggs arrive people. Then I¡¯ll take a break and I¡¯ll accept the rest of you after the Council meeting,¡± he added tiredly and pushed back on his chair working the small missive with his fingers worried. Kamat didn¡¯t have to bring the letter himself.
Fikumin¡¯s entourage arrived in Morn Taras an hour before the meeting was to start. Lord Onas trotted the whole way from the Phalanx¡¯s headquarters along Lord Anfalon who held the post of War Leader and his hoplites. They were in both the Council of Twenty and the King¡¯s Council. The Master of Secrets Folen was already there, High Priest Voldomir was late since he¡¯d opted to travel on a donkey he used in his fields, the Trade & Agriculture minister Soletha arrived with Lord of Public Works Voron, while the Master of Ships Rybel remained in Morn Taras since the early hours of morning talking with the Lord Treasurer and Castellan Metu. The latter¡¯s entourage of Cofols increasing tenfold after Sen¡¯s funeral. ¡°Is that Sarya with Folen?¡± Glen asked Sir Kirk and Hagen Musa the bodyguard turned his head and eyed the conservatively dressed Zilan working in Folen¡¯s House of Pleasure under the stage name ¡®the daughter¡¯. ¡°Aye she is, milord,¡± he replied confidently instead of the silent under his Rokae mask Sir Alan Kirk. Glen frowned. ¡°He answered pretty fast there don¡¯t ye think?¡± he told Sir Kirk and the knight shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Yes, Sir Delmuth?¡± Glen asked the approaching Rokae Leader. ¡°The Gish and the Nord want an audience Hardir,¡± Delmuth informed him. Glen glanced at Soletha and the healer nodded in greeting. They had distanced themselves the last months and Soren who was living with her rarely visited Morn Taras. You would¡¯ve thought after all Glen had done for her, the Priestess, healer and Council member would be more appreciative, but he could feel a certain distrust lately. Perhaps it was all him. ¡°I¡¯ll see them,¡± Glen replied and turned his attention at the unfolding argument. The large conference table located on the east wall of the expansive hall well-illuminated under the light of the massive lightstone lamps Voron had installed lately on every column. ¡°We already have to rebuild the part of the road leading to Abarat plus the new Crossroads Fort, Lord Suraer and Lady Olonelis working on expanding the existing road network and reopen the avenue towards Elauthin,¡± Voron was saying and Rybel shrugged his shoulders. ¡°What I try to highlight here Lord Rybel is I¡¯ve already allocated resources for extensive works in Sinya Goras and Taras. I have none to spare.¡± ¡°The Temple must have priority,¡± Voldomir declared thudding his staff once and glowering at the Lord of Public Works. ¡°Start with picking up the turds your caravans deposit on the paths.¡± ¡°The tourists bring in wealth and trade,¡± Soletha retorted and the Priest scoffed at her words. ¡°Not these tourists. These are looters and I sense many an infidel amongst them,¡± he reprimanded her. ¡°You want tourists put the wyvern on display in the den.¡± ¡°We won¡¯t do that,¡± Glen intervened and the priest grunted then went back on munching at his plate of dried dates. ¡°Monarch, what is the purpose of enlarging a second port when we need roads?¡± Voron asked. ¡°Ships are faster,¡± Glen replied. ¡°And this port is pointing the other way.¡± ¡°Goras had three ports originally,¡± Lord Onas added and then set his eye on Folen¡¯s comely escort. The old one-eyed goat still has it in him, Glen thought and decided to resolve the brewing argument. ¡°Voron you are overworked. Rybel will handle the work on Hardir¡¯s Port and the Navy,¡± Glen announced despite the protests coming from Voron¡¯s side. ¡°Rybel see you create what¡¯s necessary and work with Captain Archibald Tidus for crews.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to avoid using ex-pirates Monarch,¡± Rybel said with a frown. ¡°Tough luck, it¡¯s all we got available but for Rothomir¡¯s galleys so you¡¯ll do,¡± Glen replied. ¡°I need readied crews for the ships so make sure you make it work Rybel. Yes Fikumin?¡± The dwarf stood up on his chair. ¡°I have an order here from Lord Onas that authorizes all available warships to leave Serpent Canal and moor at Rain-Minas?¡± Glen grimaced as he¡¯d expected this to be brought up later. Well, this was a shitty meeting anyways. ¡°Everyone not in the Permanent Council please step outside. You can visit the premises and have some breakfast. Try the eggs, we have many good chickens here.¡± Voron cleared his throat. ¡°Excuse me Monarch. The Permanent Council?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a new body that deals wit crises,¡± Glen explained. ¡°You¡¯re not in it Voron.¡± ¡°I understand my Lord,¡± Voron said deeply affronted. ¡°Is Lady Soletha?¡± ¡°She¡¯s not,¡± Glen replied. Metu raised his arm apprehensively and Glen saw him out of the corner of his eye. ¡°You¡¯ll stay Metu,¡± Glen said without looking his way. ¡°As you wish, supreme Monarch,¡± the Cofol replied with a deep bow. Glen set his eyes on Folen. The Zilan blinked and turned to Sarya. ¡°Get out,¡± he said simply and the female rolled her painted eyes, bowed elaborately and then sashayed outside after Soletha and Voron. Her robes were conservative but easy to manipulate if one knew what she was doing and Sarya did. Lord Onas smacked his lips appreciatively. ¡°Voldomir,¡± A bemused Glen said seeing the High Priest still working on his plate. ¡°Whatever it is,¡± Voldomir replied rudely. ¡°You have brewing, it¡¯ll be best if I hear about it sooner rather than later.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a military matter Voldomir.¡± ¡°Then you¡¯ll need the Goddess even more.¡± Glen knew not to start an argument and sighed pensively. He turned to the rigid, silently watching the proceedings Anfalon. ¡°Anfalon if you¡¯ll be seated at one of the free chairs, I¡¯ll have Sir Delmuth bring the maps out.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll stand Hardir,¡± Anfalon replied. ¡°Right. How¡¯s the pregnancy coming along?¡± Glen asked looking for a bit of small talk while the knights were carrying the stands out from behind the heavy drapes concealing them. ¡°I¡¯m hopeful they¡¯ll survive it,¡± Anfalon said dryly. ¡°Is there a particular reason?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already had two children,¡± Anfalon replied. ¡°It¡¯s a risk.¡± Why? Glen thought but decided not to press the old Zilan on the matter. They were very superstitious people on the matter either by character or design. ¡°King Garth,¡± Fikumin grunted, his face red from high blood pressure. ¡°If I can take the opportunity to speak of a personal matter.¡± ¡°Yours?¡± ¡°Eh, it¡¯s about young Phinariel.¡± ¡°She can have her old job back,¡± Glen replied. ¡°But I won¡¯t be so lenient next time.¡± ¡°Well...¡± ¡°Anything else?¡± ¡°I was thinking of¡ª¡± Glen stopped him sensing he was going down a thorny path.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ¡°Let us talk of this another time,¡± he advised him. Fikumin furrowed his bushy brows. ¡°I¡¯d like it to be soon my Lord.¡± I say give it time, Glen thought. They¡¯ll probably fuck it up. Zilan relationships are like that. ¡°I¡¯ll meet with Jinx later. Stay for a while Fikumin,¡± Glen told him instead and opened the missive to read it again.
¡°Five ships,¡± Rybel said, Glen looking at the lists Vulreon had brought to him. ¡°Two heavy transports the Concorde and Fat Libby both with human crews. About seventy for each vessel. Three Imperial Galleons with a full crew of four hundred and fifty combined but not the Galleass of Captain Vale.¡± ¡°She¡¯s needed elsewhere,¡± Glen replied without raising his eyes from the scrolls. Rybel stood back on his chair with a frown. ¡°You¡¯ll never get the Phalanx across. Then it¡¯s the supplies. Can the Sisters provide for them?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll provide for the troops,¡± Lord Onas grunted. ¡°The order you circulated Lord Onas needs clarification,¡± Fikumin started and the Zilan turned to look at him. ¡°The order has been given Lord Shield.¡± ¡°It was my order,¡± Glen intervened. ¡°Lord Onas assumed responsibility as a former general to not burden the new administration with what might be deemed as an offensive war.¡± ¡°It isn¡¯t?¡± Voldomir asked furrowing his brows. ¡°We have been asked to assist by the late Lady Sovereign¡¯s people,¡± Glen rustled, already regretting keeping him back for the meeting. ¡°What¡¯s the difference? Does this change the fact?¡± ¡°Lai Zel-Ka and the ports were used by the Empire,¡± Anfalon cut in soberly. ¡°Most of them were built by us at least partially.¡± ¡°The army hasn¡¯t gone to the Peninsula for over a thousand years Anfalon,¡± Voldomir retorted. ¡°Merchants yes. Bards and adventurers for the festivals. But not your black helms.¡± Glen wondered if there was another reason Voldomir didn¡¯t want the army there but couldn¡¯t come up with one. ¡°The Fleet had patrols reaching Lai Zel-Ka annually,¡± Rybel reminded the high Priest. ¡°Pfft, fine. You lads go ahead then. Let¡¯s hear the plan,¡± Voldomir scoffed at his words and pushed back on his chair with a scowl. ¡°Roran and his Othrim, along the Young Othrim recruits,¡± Lord Onas started getting up and trotting energetically at the four large maps opened on the stands the knights had brought. Three depicting large detailed parts of Wetull Straits, Greenwhale Peninsula and the west shores of Wetull, mainly the ruined port city of Rain-Minas. The fourth a complete map of Eplas. ¡°Shall depart from the old port and disembark in Fu De-Gar. We¡¯ll use the facilities of the Chiliad to keep the soldiers away from the local populace and then proceed up the coastal road towards Ani Ta-Ne.¡± ¡°Why not go straight for Ani Ta-Ne?¡± Fikumin asked crossing his stubby arms on his broad chest. ¡°Too close to the frontline. A very open port,¡± Anfalon replied. ¡°More importantly though, a very large Sopat caravan is waiting for us in the old Imperial buildings of Fu De-Gar. It arrived from the west desert road. We¡¯ll need a supply train and in order to fit the men inside the ships, the Othrim shall travel without.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t the Sisters winning?¡± Voldomir asked, surprisingly well-informed about the happenings. Then again the soon to receive Feyras ¨Ca Priest of Eodrass- had at least two hundred Zilan working at the Temple¡¯s prosperous fields or directly for the very wealthy, despite the high priest¡¯s disheveled appearance, Nesande¡¯s Temple. ¡°Sir Emerson breached Que Ki-La¡¯s walls,¡± Glen replied and Lord Onas nodded. ¡°They have taken the port and pushed the defenders out of the east district. They refuse to surrender though,¡± he continued. ¡°Phon is controlling the desert roads to the west but they need to attack either house to house from the inside or sever the north approach to the city another way.¡± ¡°They are reinforcing them?¡± Fikumin asked. ¡°Supplies are coming in for sure,¡± Glen replied and pointed at the bridge over the Small River and then at the Clear Lake. ¡°Or they use the lake. Emerson intents to relocate part of the Chiliad and leave the east front to Thalion¡¯s and Phon¡¯s men. This action might have already happened.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t Thalion fighting near Rohir still?¡± Fikumin queried thoughtfully. ¡°He is but he dispatched a force to Emerson at the start of summer as it is much easier for him to receive reinforcements from Ani Ta-Ne and we¡¯re about to help there.¡± ¡°Why is the Phalanx ready to march then?¡± Voldomir intervened. ¡°If Roran is to take the task upon himself?¡± ¡°For another reason,¡± Glen replied stiffly. ¡°Fixing on opening another front?¡± ¡°We need to secure Goras Voldomir.¡± ¡°I felt very secure before this meeting started,¡± the priest admitted. ¡°Now not so much.¡± ¡°We need to control the waters,¡± Lord Onas said soberly. ¡°With the fleet busy at the Straits, a buffer zone is needed to our northeastern borders.¡± ¡°Your Permanent Council has a lot of old army lads Hardir,¡± Voldomir cautioned him. ¡°You have a problem with my age priest?¡± Onas grunted and set his feet. ¡°Swing that staff and then I get to punch you in the face. Let¡¯s see who remains standing then!¡± ¡°I thought you were half-blind not half-deaf Onas,¡± Voldomir spat. ¡°I¡¯ve no problem with your old arse but with the army grunt in your head.¡± ¡°Decision has been made,¡± Anfalon intervened. ¡°The Othrim is on the move and the fleet shall support it.¡± ¡°I knew I wasn¡¯t going to deal with building ships only,¡± Rybel griped but nodded at Anfalon¡¯s stern stare. ¡°We might not have a lot of time,¡± Glen said and got up. ¡°A man working for the Sopat sent a missive from Shao Na-Lan.¡± ¡°Why here to us?¡± Fikumin asked and took the missive Glen offered over the table. ¡°It was sent in Ta-Ne as well,¡± Glen replied pensively. ¡°Sen had arranged to be informed immediately of any changes there.¡± ¡°What changed?¡± ¡°All ships have left the port,¡± Glen replied. ¡°The Prince is on the move. Fast motherfucker.¡± ¡°Where is the fleet going?¡± Fikumin asked tossing the missive to Metu. Glen stared at the maps unsure. ¡°How many ships?¡± Rybel asked. ¡°Sixty three,¡± Fikumin replied. ¡°Everything that could float basically. But not many transports or warships amongst them.¡± ¡°Where are the Khan¡¯s warships?¡± Rybel queried. ¡°I was led to believe there were quite a number of galleys there.¡± ¡°They slipped through the Gulf¡¯s waters earlier this year,¡± Fikumin said with a frown. ¡°We don¡¯t know where they went but they are not coming here. The Reefs are un-traversable for large vessels.¡± Eh, not exactly, but the dwarf isn¡¯t completely wrong here. You don¡¯t risk a fleet in there. ¡°Merchant fleet or not,¡± Glen intervened. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of ships still. Filled with troops and supplies.¡± ¡°Animals,¡± Rybel added. ¡°It cuts on the number of troops if you take them with you. Would the Prince do that?¡± ¡°That cursed fucker loves his horses,¡± Glen assured him and the Zilan nodded. ¡°Then the number of troops isn¡¯t that forbidding,¡± Rybel noted. ¡°Two thousand?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what he had back in Hellfort,¡± Glen said and Rybel shrugged his shoulders. ¡°You can¡¯t create troops out of thin air,¡± he told him. ¡°As I understand this Prince hasn¡¯t had a field assignment for more than a year right?¡± ¡°More probably.¡± ¡°Can Roran handle the Horselords?¡± Fikumin asked. ¡°You assume the locals won¡¯t be around?¡± Onas retorted. ¡°I¡¯m a dwarf,¡± Fikumin replied humbly. ¡°Pessimism is in my blood.¡±
The meeting of the Monarch¡¯s Permanent Council members lasted well over seven hours.
Glen rubbed the white growth on his jaw with the tips of his fingers, the light inside the large central hall tiring his eyes. Atju refilled his goblet with the fruity Goras wine, another problem there he needed to address, and left them after serving Lord Onas who had stayed back to examine the notes taken by Vulreon. ¡°Have you ever fought Horselords Onas?¡± Glen asked the one-eyed former Phalanx Leader. ¡°Not these Horselords,¡± Onas replied. ¡°Radpour did a great job making a kingdom out of that rubble, but he betrayed the empire and his oath to do it, so I can¡¯t forgive him that. Fuck him.¡± ¡°How was he? The first Khan?¡± ¡°A talented Rokae that loved war chariots and was transferred there eventually,¡± Onas rustled reminiscing. ¡°Their Cataphracts are pretty close,¡± Glen noted. ¡°So they say,¡± Onas replied. ¡°That¡¯s a very big kingdom to keep together. This is an opportunity, but it will be a short-lived one. Unless he gets bogged down across the Shallow Sea.¡± ¡°You think he¡¯ll land on Jelin?¡± ¡°He wouldn¡¯t have moved otherwise. There¡¯s pride fueling their planning,¡± Onas replied. ¡°The old unwritten laws of the Great Steppe. A leader can¡¯t appear indecisive or weak. So he¡¯ll attack on Jelin to do what Radpour hadn¡¯t done back then.¡± Kalac¡¯s warband had the same problems. ¡°Which was?¡± ¡°Reinut would have lost even with Baltoris mucking up the campaign had the Horselords not turned on the army.¡± ¡°She had lost the wyverns, the empire had been ravaged by calamity,¡± Glen said sipping at his wine and hearing Jinx¡¯s voice coming from the gates. ¡°She had enough of a force to remain at Eikenport,¡± Onas replied. ¡°Regroup and work out from there. The mountains had stopped the waves and she had the best force at the time available. The Lazuli Peninsula was a meaningless strategic target. Too far away, too close to Jelin.¡± ¡°The Horselords would have rebelled either way,¡± Glen pointed. ¡°Perhaps. I could be harsh on her,¡± Onas said finishing his wine. ¡°Then again the Sisters wouldn¡¯t have capitulated with the Queen still breathing. Too many what ifs. She needed to kill Reinut, it was a good idea I reckon.¡± ¡°Where would the Prince land?¡± ¡°He needs a port to keep his supplies flowing in. Rihtur seems the obvious place. Thalion has split his force to reinforce them, but his failure to finish off the Rohir is ominous. It keeps part of the east coastal road contested. A desert cat can slip through the slimmest of openings.¡± ¡°Would he come closer to us?¡± Glen asked. ¡°If he knows we¡¯re coming,¡± Onas replied and gave him the old three-fingered Imperial salute. ¡°Is that an aye he will or a nay he won¡¯t?¡± Glen queried on his back and the Zilan paused to think about it. ¡°Either I suppose,¡± he decided. ¡°Depending on his character.¡±
Jinx had a new leather outfit on. She had discarded the pants for a short leather skirt and high boots. A leather vest over a red silk tunic shirt. ¡°What do ye think?¡± She asked executing a fancy dancer¡¯s pirouette on the tips of her feet with too many twirls that left her a bit dizzy and unstable. ¡°Shit,¡± Jinx said. ¡°Are ye gonna puke in my hall?¡± Glen jested and kicked a nearby chair her way. Jinx grabbed it and sat down with a yelp, but she was too far away from the table and had to approach dragging the chair on the polished tiles using her legs. Glen tried to remember if the Gish was always this foolish and decided she was. ¡°I made friends waiting outside,¡± Jinx said and took Lord Onas goblet to help herself to his wine. ¡°I saw you going upstairs,¡± Glen reminded her. ¡°I did that too,¡± Jinx settled. ¡°Is my daughter still in her quarters?¡± ¡°She is. Have you thought of allowing her to go outside more?¡± Jinx countered annoyingly. ¡°I have. The answer is still no.¡± ¡°Uhm. You have news of Emerson then?¡± Glen grimaced at her changing subjects constantly. ¡°Some news arrived. He needs assistance. I¡¯m sending Roran there to sort everything out.¡± The situation was way more complicated than that. ¡°Hmm,¡± Jinx said probably sensing it and sipped at her wine. The cup too big for her face. She licked her lips and then glugged the rest of it down. Burped at the end of it. ¡°Damn.¡± ¡°Speak fast,¡± Glen urged to get something out afore the Gish became too drunk to communicate. ¡°What I fear, you fear,¡± Jinx replied dramatically. ¡°You are getting smarter every year,¡± she added then furrowed two pink eyebrows confused. ¡°Also old as fuck.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not old as fuck,¡± Glen protested a little flushed in the face. ¡°Ye look like it, a fit old sure, but still,¡± the Gish insisted. ¡°I have a lot on my shoulders.¡± ¡°You wouldn¡¯t have any worries at all had Emerson not stayed back at Hellfort to allow you to escape,¡± Jinx argued and Glen grimaced in considerable annoyance. ¡°I know that.¡± ¡°Ye don¡¯t show it.¡± ¡°Whisper, I have a whole kingdom depending on me,¡± Glen grunted. ¡°I can¡¯t attack the Khanate all out. We¡¯re still rebuilding what was broken.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re attacking it a little? You¡¯re not a gang leader Glen. You¡¯re a king.¡± ¡°Gods darnit, you¡¯ve no idea of strategy,¡± Glen snapped. ¡°I¡¯ve spent a day going through logistics. We have a finite amount of troops available. Supplying them across the Pale Mountains is a problem. Doing the same across the sea with the few ships we have, especially beyond the west shores of Wetull, is insanity.¡± ¡°What do you need the troops for?¡± Eh. ¡°They¡¯ll not make it in time aren¡¯t they?¡± Jinx asked perceptively. There¡¯s no way to move so many people that fast. It¡¯s a token gesture unless something changes and Phon knows it. ¡°There¡¯s another way,¡± the Gish said carefully. Glen puffed his cheeks out and stared at his goblet. ¡°I¡¯ve thought about it. There are two reasons why it¡¯s not such a good idea.¡± ¡°They¡¯ll back away from the wyvern Glen,¡± Jinx said. ¡°I would.¡± Yeah, the humans aren¡¯t like the Gish. They¡¯ll regroup and unite to find a way to defeat a stronger opponent. They¡¯ve done it afore. ¡°They would for a bit, but that won¡¯t be a win unless I burn the whole continent,¡± Glen replied. ¡°I was just talking about something similar with Onas. You want me to start burning people right and left Whisper?¡± ¡°Do you?¡± ¡°Fuck off,¡± Glen retorted. ¡°Don¡¯t play this game with me!¡± ¡°Why? It¡¯s a legitimate question. You either want it or not. My endorsement is an excuse ye seek,¡± Jinx insisted. ¡°I know you. You¡¯ll do what¡¯s necessary like you always have done in the past, if you feel threatened.¡± Glen rapped his fingers on the table nervously. ¡°I can¡¯t leave Inis.¡± ¡°That the second reason?¡± Glen nodded. ¡°I can understand that. It also sort of answers the first dilemma,¡± Jinx said. ¡°Can I drink from the bottle?¡± ¡°No you can¡¯t. Use the goblet like a normal person.¡± ¡°Anyways,¡± the Gish continued with a pout and went to refill her goblet. ¡°She¡¯ll be fine.¡± ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t know about that.¡± ¡°This war could grow out of hand,¡± Jinx said. ¡°It could.¡± ¡°But Emerson would¡¯ve risked it in yer place.¡± ¡°I know that also.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a saying,¡± Jinx paused and blinked a bit unsteady. Is that the third goblet she glugged down? ¡°Are you about to pass out?¡± He asked a bit concerned. ¡°It¡¯s a strong wine. You¡¯re bucketing it down like it¡¯s beer and about to go out of fashion!¡± ¡°A friend in need,¡± the Gish said vaguely with another burp. Ah. Yeah, he thought. Glen sighed and pushed back on the chair. ¡°I¡¯ll think about it. It is not an easy decision.¡± ¡°It is. I¡¯m going to Eikenport,¡± Jinx said quickly and put the goblet on the table with difficulty to leave. ¡°Wait. What?¡± Glen grunted and stood up straighter. ¡°Where did this come from?¡± ¡°I want to see the Dogs,¡± Jinx replied defensively. ¡°You know it.¡± ¡°They are fine!¡± ¡°There is talk the Khan might send army at the Devil¡¯s Cove.¡± ¡°They could refuse the contract,¡± Glen argued and shook his head. ¡°I want to be there. I owe it to Dante and I need a break from here,¡± Jinx insisted. ¡°Because of Maeriel?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not¡­ it¡¯s a burden sure but no. I feel trapped here.¡± ¡°Whisper you are free to do whatever ye want!¡± Glen blasted her. ¡°Everyone says it. What more do you want?¡± ¡°Freedom. What did Emerson say? You asked him to get out of the Peninsula didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°You¡­¡± Glen paused very frustrated. ¡°Stop throwing a ton of subjects my way to confuse me. You can¡¯t use a ship that¡¯s yer own darn words! Answer me that first!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll travel ahead of the army.¡± ¡°The army is going to Dia!¡± ¡°For a while,¡± Jinx added. Fuck. I shouldn¡¯t have revealed that. ¡°Whisper!¡± Glen snapped and jumped up irate. He rubbed his face with both hands to calm down and then let out a pained groan. ¡°Fine. Go ahead. But you need to be careful,¡± he relented. ¡°I¡¯ll be back Glen,¡± Jinx assured him. ¡°You better,¡± Glen puffed out and stared at the lit up throne over his left shoulder. ¡°Emerson won¡¯t leave. I offered to get him out. He hasn¡¯t replied, but it is my gut feeling that stubborn relic will refuse.¡± ¡°He has family on the Peninsula.¡± ¡°I can buy that slave from Phon,¡± Glen replied tiredly. ¡°It¡¯s not it.¡± Jinx nodded in understanding. ¡°It¡¯s his decision. The old man never abandons an errant he has taken on.¡± ¡°Freeing the cities?¡± ¡°Freeing the people under him.¡± ¡°He might kill them all,¡± Glen argued although he could see how that could very well be Emerson¡¯s core reasoning. ¡°Those that survive would be free,¡± the pale Gish had replied. ¡°Much nobler shit than whatever we¡¯re doing here.¡± Glen stood back stunned and a little hurt. ¡°You don¡¯t believe that. Not after all we¡¯ve sacrificed!¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t set out to rule the realm Glen or follow its ruler. I¡¯m here for a young guy I met on the road. A friend,¡± the small-bodied female reminded him all-serious and then puked all over Glen¡¯s polished black granite tiles.
Sir Nuvian the Rokae Knight nodded with that polished sober metallic mask at him an hour later. Glen returned the greeting and glanced inside his daughter¡¯s bedroom. ¡°She¡¯s asleep?¡± ¡°Collapsed on her pillows my Lord,¡± the Zilan replied. ¡°The Gish tired her plenty.¡± ¡°What were they doing?¡± Glen queried. ¡°Silly things.¡± Yeah. ¡°I won¡¯t disturb her,¡± he told the knight and Nuvian nodded. Glen returned to his bedroom and realized that the day had almost gone as it was late afternoon. He hadn¡¯t stepped out of Morn Taras since leaving his bedroom very early that same morning. He eyed the closed door to Sen¡¯s bedroom, the large chamber connecting with Inis-Mir¡¯s through another inner door always kept unlocked. The little girl spent a good part of her day there. Glen as well. I got to leave her briefly, he told his deceased wife. Else I¡¯ll blame myself for Emerson. I trust yer people to help keep her safe, because you trusted them. Glen turned his head on one of the mirrors and examined his face. Yeah, it¡¯s the hair and the mileage, he decided and spotted Iskay sneaking inside the bedroom. The slave stopped the moment his eyes focused on her through the mirror. Glen heard the anklets jingling and he turned around. ¡°Will the master retire?¡± The slave girl asked. ¡°It¡¯s too early for that,¡± Glen retorted and walked to the weapon stand to prepare a second traveling bag. He found his harness and put in on. Glen hefted Flix¡¯s steel peleg next and then clipped it on his harness. A quality light-weight small throwing axe made by Fergen O¡¯ Mecatan. Iskay was sitting next to the bed in silence. She was wearing a thin long ¡®curtain¡¯ type robe, but Glen knew that those garbs were deceptive. ¡°I¡¯m of the mind to set you free,¡± he told her and Iskay squinted his way in panic. A rare redhead Cofol, probably a half-breed and Phon¡¯s gift to his sister on her sixth birthday. ¡°You don¡¯t want it?¡± Glen queried a little surprised. ¡°You could walk out of here before sundown.¡± Iskay was shaking. ¡°Or stay until the morning, have breakfast,¡± Glen continued uncomfortably. He puffed his cheeks out and stared at the bed. ¡°I¡¯m not in a good place right now,¡± Glen told her. ¡°You are helping but some things I don¡¯t want to do in this manner. I don¡¯t like this trade, maybe because it¡¯s one-sided and wrong. Since I can¡¯t offer coin to make it better, I¡¯m left without options girl.¡± ¡°I want to stay in Morn-Taras master Garth,¡± Iskay whispered and hanged her head low. ¡°I only know to serve.¡± ¡°You can serve without being a slave or in my bed,¡± Glen replied. ¡°Take care of my daughter and I shall reward you. You could work for Metu.¡± ¡°Better throw me out in the street master,¡± Iskay gasped. Glen narrowed his eyes. ¡°Is he that bad?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t say.¡± Glen smacked his lips. ¡°You can work here. You¡¯ll deal with my wife¡¯s people and be the ruler of my private quarters,¡± he paused seeing her smile. ¡°This came out wrong. But you know what I mean.¡± ¡°Master Garth is wise,¡± Iskay replied and bowed folding in two lithely, her red curls touching the carpet. Allgods darnit, Glen thought at the athletic display. ¡°You take the spare bedroom on this floor,¡± Glen offered. ¡°See to make it how ye like. You¡¯ll be working for me directly.¡± ¡°The one next to the Master¡¯s?¡± She asked without looking at him. Not that she could. Glen stared at the other inner door across the room. ¡°Sure,¡± he said simply. ¡°Have Atju come in.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll free him as well Master?¡± Iskay asked keeping her tone the same but with a hint of something different. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t?¡± ¡°Better that you didn¡¯t,¡± Iskay replied soberly unfolding herself and grinning to soften it. ¡°I could use him and he can be mean if he¡¯s given too much freedom.¡± The statement made as much sense as it didn¡¯t to him, so Glen furrowed his white brows, scrunched his face and then nodded. Iskay left to check on the sleeping Inis and Glen walked at the open window of his bedroom to stare outside dragging the large bag with him. His mind on the departing Jinx and Emerson¡¯s curt reply. He had sort of lied to Jinx earlier.
¡°Because he¡¯s dead,¡± Dante added. ¡°Obviously.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know that,¡± she argued, but not with the same conviction. ¡°My Lady accept a win, when one is offered,¡± Dante tried again. ¡°You did more than enough.¡± Emerson gave Glen a side glance. It was quick, but the woman caught it. ¡°You killed Reeves?¡± He asked calmly, turning his attention on her. Don¡¯t answer. ¡°Sent his ship down the bottom I did,¡± she admitted thoughtfully, her eyes staying on the progressively more nervous Glen. ¡°But I never saw a body. Trust me, I looked hard.¡± ¡°Reckon you had a reason for it,¡± Emerson replied reasonably and unsheathed his longsword. Everyone drew a sharp intake and Glen felt his right arm shake involuntarily. ¡°Sir Lennox,¡± Dante said. ¡°You¡¯ve nothing to gain here.¡± But the knight wasn¡¯t of the same opinion. His reasoning much simpler and mysterious to Glen at the time. It will be many years afore he realized what had driven the knight that day.
If a knight¡¯s word means nothing, Sir Lennox had written to Glen five years later. The letter dated over two weeks old. Then my lad we¡¯re naught but frauds. I can survive without freedom and no lofty titles, but the man that won¡¯t honor his word is no man at all, even if he calls himself a king. RRRRRREEE EERRRRR? Manipulative and stubborn old cretin, Glen thought angrily grasping at the window¡¯s granite stool. Damn you for forcing me into this position. Shoving yer plaguing missions down my throat. The wyvern appearing like a dot backlit by the afternoon sun across Morn Taras¡¯ west side. A black growing circle that soon lost its shape as it descended towards him. Glen didn¡¯t want to fight beyond the Pale Mountains was the truth of it, but he carried enough past guilt on his shoulders to add another burden.
So the King of all Wetull put a boot on the lip of the large window, pushed himself out of it and then flew away on the back of his wyvern.
393. Soaring Scimitar (1/3)
¡®Radpour ruled over most of the Horselords of the Cofol Steppe. He pushed away many of the Horselords of the Central Steppe up to Eikenport, conquered the Rohir of Stallion¡¯s Rest and forced almost all of the Forya-Rochir to bend the knee but only Prince Nout had ever gotten them to fight for him. Still oh great Prince, you won¡¯t find peace on these plains unless all of them bow to you. This cannot happen, so peace you shall not have.¡¯ Advisor and close friend Lemus-On of Wotcheki Castle speaking to Prince Atpa in early 194 NC in Sadofort.
Sid, of the Halla-Tar ¡®Soaring Scimitar¡¯ Part I -A dawn at Ta-Ne and the howls of the Forya Rochir-
Sid had the bitter acidic taste of vomit in his throat. His eyes were burning, face soaked in brine and the waves of the large open port splashing at his feet. The morning chill fading. A great roar came from all about him, but mostly from the second large landing craft travelling side by side with theirs. The Forya-Rochir packed in there smelling the approaching land and reacting. The Jang-Lu detachment on his other side remained silent, the three bigger forty-oar crafts creating the center of the landing force. Sumir and Dureca stared at him under the drenched steel helms, white and black dotted snow leopard hide covering their shoulder guards. The screaming of the tower machines firing at the warships securing the flanks cut through the sound of the sea. The waves were high for the season, difficult to navigate in the pitch black especially after they made the turn at Whale¡¯s Head to approach Ani Ta-Ne. Each shot fired creating an explosion that illuminated the dark port¡¯s waters, the burning oil sizzling at the surface, and two of the warships already set alight. It was a darn spectacular sight. One could hear the large city waking up. A distant roar increasing with every passing minute just like the lights on the houses nearest to the port. Fifty meters from the shores and the docks, the port defenders spotted the slow-moving transports and released everything they had available on them. Arrows started rattling the raised bow ramp or landing amongst them. Most had lit oiled cloth attached but several were without or weren¡¯t lit at all. The sound of Scorpios firing soon followed. ¡°TEN METERS!¡± A naval sergeant from Shao Na-Lan boomed at the rower handlers, himself hanging dangerously from the left corner of the bow, body half-in half-out. The sergeant added with gawking eyes ¡°LOWER RAMP!¡± afore an iron bolt cut him in half and doused the side of the ship, Sid and those standing next to him in gore. ¡°SHIELDS!¡± Dureca growled clamping a bloody mouth and Sid spat down cracking his numb neck right and left. Vile perfumed-skin smooth-tongued creatures carry a snake¡¯s breath, he thought. Then the bow ramp dropped, a huge amount of water splashing inside just a second before the moving fast craft soared ashore.
Late on the third month of summer, the year of the New Calendar 193, around forty heavily laden ships, a mixture of merchant transports, a few warships and fishing vessels, along eight landing crafts Prince Nout¡¯s engineers had built in six weeks forced a surprise landing in Ani Ta-Ne. Nout had given the task to his friend Lord Har Khemet of Yin Hi-Yan, as Aquila-Dor wasn¡¯t trusted enough for this sensitive operation. Lord Khemet took with him around a thousand versatile horse archers led by his son Sept Khemet, five hundred marines from Shao Na-Lan led by Ravan, a man working for Aquila-Dor who was drafted into the Prince¡¯s army, and around seven hundred mounted infantry. Two hundred retired but elite Jang-Lu left behind by the Khan and five hundred Forya-Rochir (the Northern Horselords), a heavy mounted infantry force from the clans of the distant northern territories of the Khanate, extending from the frozen Abe Era Fort at the delta of Heartmouth River to the Cofol Steppe town of Torbal near the military city called Xuski Fort. The latter were led by the loyal Sid Halla-Tar, born around Xuski Fort near the Luz-et-Eriel Lagoon and river. A place the nigh difficult to get your hands on Zilan maps give today the more esoteric name Aelrindel¡¯s Rest. The Prince had met him in 186 upon arriving at Xuski Fort and they had struck an unlikely friendship despite their huge difference in status. The ships managed to slip through the patrols Lord Letakin had around the massive gulf and landed at the edge of Tani River¡¯s mouth just outside the expansive docks. The defenders were slow to react as the bulk of the guards and soldiers inside the city were gathered at the supply camps built near the Great Market, the latter on the city¡¯s east gates. Letakin was about to send reinforcements towards the weakened army of Thalion and the embattled settlement of Rohir. He had decided to release the troops guarding the city as he had in turn gotten word of help arriving from Fu De-Gar soon. Thalion had sent a part of his engaged force to Sir Emerson Lennox and to the port of Rihtur for two reasons. The first being that they anticipated Price Nout to strike there and the second, was the need to reinforce the Chiliad that was besieging Que Ki-La and was very close to winning. For whatever reason the landing didn¡¯t go smoothly. The hastily constructed landing crafts and ships found rough seas. They struggled to approach the shores and the alerted soldiers rushed across the city towards the docks. The number of casualties suffered during the landings is impossible to gauge given the many different engagements that were fought those months in a short period. The scenes inside the port, with the catapults firing shots of flaming pottery or even barrels of oil and then setting ships alight with flaming arrows gruesome. The fires boiled the waters, then spread on the docks buildings and the produce stands. They leaped irrepressibly after a while penetrating the city as deep as the Dates Forest, with the engaged in heavy fighting local authorities unable to control them. The Horselords attacking force managed to rush one of the five markets (near the river) and the docks before dawn. There is no record of the battles that were fought afterward but for the oral recollections of the survivors. The name of the multi-pronged operation has survived through the Prince¡¯s many admirers today and its missing detailed records are one of the most sought-after documents in the military academia circles. More so, perhaps unfairly, due to its shocking conclusion. The Zilan of Wetull and the Cofols of the Peninsula call it Amaveil Hathel in Imperial but it is commonly known as the ¡®Soaring Scimitar¡¯.
The Forya warriors had surged out of the landing crafts and got immediately bogged down, boots splashing in the shallow waters knee-deep and swarms of angry arrows, rocks, bolts, and lead shots pelting them. It was better the further you were from the docks but far from peaceful or absent danger. Eyes were gouged out, arms shattered and heads exploded. Soldiers lost legs and got skewered by arrows at the most unlikely places even through armour. Now and then multiple times. Sid skated on the fine gravel in the blind covered in seaweed, faltered forward trying to hold on to his scimitar, and went down when part of a burning torso appeared under him in the semi-darkness. He turned mid-air and mitigated the fall, rolled on a shoulder through the gore, and found a severed head at the end of it. His ears ringing and with eyes swollen from the brines making everything appear through a red-blurry hue the murky warrior leader found his footing and roared for his Foryans to rush the defenders. ¡°SUMIR MOVE ¡®EM!¡± Sid barked and turned hearing the stifled roar of a burly Cofol coming at him with a cleaver. He slashed and nailed Sid¡¯s shield-covered chest, a piece of it detaching and clanging on his helm. Sid responded with a diagonal slash of his own, the curved blade ever rising until it stopped abruptly. It had connected right under the man¡¯s jaw and cleaved him upwards, breaking many teeth, and severing his tongue until it parked in the palate. The cleaver came back despite the shock but Sid put a hand on it and tried to get the blade out of the man¡¯s disfigured face. For a moment the two of them twirled around in the edges of the market but Sid wasn¡¯t the one bleeding down his neck and he only lost time. ¡°Sid!¡± Dureca grunted running back to get him. ¡°We need to get the men out of the beach!¡± ¡°Your words are an empty wind,¡± Sid replied angrily cleaning the gore from his blade and unclasping the round shield they had worn on their chest. ¡°Where are the Jang-Lu?¡± ¡°Making their square,¡± Dureca replied and wiped some of the gory sludge from his helm and stern face. ¡°Leave them to follow after us,¡± Sid decided and clanged his blade once on the shield. ¡°Let¡¯s hurry this up Dureca, son of Furvor of the Halla-Tar. I want to get my hands on them horses.¡± The Leopard had them make the journey without mounts to give the hardened warriors of the frozen steppe even more incentive to run across the city. Sid, son of Bardas of the Halla-Tar clan, respected him for it.
Sumir charged the guards coming from the docks and stopped their advance to his left, so Sid moved with Dureca and the warriors following them out of the market, near the gates of the port. People were coming out of their houses hearing the roar of battle but seeing the flames lighting up the still-dark skies some returned inside and locked their doors, whilst others ran away towards the center of the city. ¡°Dureca you shall hold the street and block the port¡¯s gates until Kindar¡¯s Jang-Lu arrive, or Ravan¡¯s marines break out of the docks,¡± Sid ordered his second in command and Dureca nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll try to reach the stables around the central market,¡± he added and split the men into two groups of about a hundred each. ¡°What about Letakin¡¯s palace?¡± Dureca asked. ¡°Khemet will unload the archers with the rest of the ships once the beach is secure,¡± Sid rustled and seeing a group of civilians trying to slip by their lines barked at the closest warriors. ¡°Cut them down! NO ONE GOES THROUGH!¡± He didn¡¯t want their numbers revealed. Sid turned to the waiting Dureca and added hoarsely knowing they were on a tight window. ¡°You keep an eye for reinforcements coming that way. Don¡¯t lose the street!¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.
While a force of Foryans put the fleeing civilians to the blade Sid Halla-Tar rushed the wide avenue connecting the Tani River Gates with the East Gates and the Great Market outside of it, the almost straight road running parallel to the port. Near the Slave Bazaar and the stables of the Livestock Market adjoined to it the guards returning from the Great Market collided with assaulting Forya-Rochir following him. The battle amidst the wooden stalls, carts, and market buildings was brutal.
The Forya Warrior took a spear thrust in the chest and stumbled back, gurgling up frothy blood, the end of the shaft breaking but the blade buried in his lungs. The wound critical. Sid stepped forward, a sword clanging on the raised shield numbing his shoulder, and hacked an arm off at the elbow joint. He cursed, scalding blood in his eyes, and jolted his head aside, another spear thrust punching through his shield and stabbing him below fourth and third rib. Sid groaned and faltered backward turning the shield this way and that to dislodge the spear, the sharp pain fueling his resolve but the wound not that deep. The spear blade came out with a gush of blood and he let go of the shield when his opponent yanked the spear back to gore him. Sid grunted and slashed wildly to keep him away then reached for his long dagger, before advancing at the Cofol guard trying to remove the shield still stuck on his longer weapon. The guard swung the spear wildly, the shield still attached to it, but Sid managed to duck under it. He got smacked at the back of the helm by the heavy shield¡¯s bottom part, lost his footing for a tense moment, recovered just as the guard let go of the spear after the missed swing, and plunged his dagger at the dip of the man¡¯s neck. The Cofol pulled away, right hand on his bloody collar and Sid hacked him once more using the scimitar going through the wrist to get at the neck again. Once and the injured man went down on his knees with a desperate groan, severed hand spraying blood all over the place. Twice and the scimitar came down again to find the half-chopped off neck and finish the job. Sid went to suck a deep breath in but stopped halfway as another guard came at him with a sabre. He dodged and found a wooden wall, banged on it, and then jerked away, the blade digging in the wood. Sid slashed at his opponent while jumping away, a diagonal low to high arc, and cut the nose-guard off along the tip of the man¡¯s nose. Sid made to sidestep thinking he¡¯d a bit of time but got ambushed by a low stand with empty pottery and the Cofol instead of stepping away charged him infuriated. Down all the stacked-up amphorae-type jars went, sharp shards cracking and turning into an unrecognizable pile and the wooden stand caved under his weight. Sid rolled on it as it came apart, almost made it but the Cofol bodied him over it again and the whole structure collapsed. A wooden beam smacked him on the right shoulder, the canvas cloth used for the shade coming between Sid and his furious opponent. The Cofol slashed at it, the blade appearing through the torn fabric and cutting him below the right eye at the cheekbone. Sid twisted away, rolling on sharp broken pottery and sharp pieces of shattered wood managing not to accumulate any more injuries. Realizing he¡¯d missed his helm in the brawl at some point, Sid looked about for it leaving the Cofol still tangled up in the destroyed market stall. The Forya leader didn¡¯t find his helm, but found another that sort of fitted on his head and put it on. No sooner had he done that, a group of Ta-Ne guards marched on him and Sid had to retreat towards Dureca who was in the process of reforming their men. ¡°Sid, we need to retreat towards the port!¡± Dureca grunted and Sid cursed glancing at the approaching soldiers. The helm fell from his head as its bindings came loose and clanged down on the nice cobblestone now covered with slain bodies, debris and discarded weaponry. Darn defective equipment! ¡°Run back to Sumir. Tell him to bring Kindar¡¯s Jang-Lu here!¡± A heavy breathing and bleeding from a couple of wounds Sid ordered raspingly. ¡°Kindar might not take kindly to yer orders son of Bardas!¡± ¡°I won¡¯t take kindly to him refusing ¡®em! I wager ye he¡¯ll reconsider!¡± ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake, that¡¯s the whole darn guard Sid!¡± Dureca hissed and Sid showed him two rows of bloody teeth. If yer in the right, then you feel no fear. ¡°Even better! Now we don¡¯t have to hunt them rats in the dark!¡± He boasted loud enough for the men to hear over the sounds of mayhem coming from all over the city. They responded with a series of loud guttural howls slamming their scimitars on their shields and soon more howls came from different parts of the assaulted city. If they are here, Sid thought pleased at the bravery displayed, then the port is ours.
Sept Khemet arriving with the second wave of landing vessels managed to secure the port bringing his archers (now unmounted) along. A special unit closer to Jelin¡¯s rangers than the typical Khan¡¯s Horse Archers, the lightly armoured soldiers could move swiftly on land and were also proficient in close combat since Prince Nout had them trained to be used unconventionally. Khemet¡¯s ranger/archers secured the port and left the marines under Ravan (an officer from Shao Na-Lan) to assault the tower. Sept Khemet moved towards the center of Ani Ta-Ne after breaking out of the port but was informed that Kindar and Sid Halla-Tar had been bogged down near the Animal and Slave markets (Ani Ta-Ne famously had five big markets) by the returning army Lord Letakin had stationed to the east outside the city. Sept Khemet looped around in the narrower streets surrounding the main avenue but a lot of his men were lost in the dark alleys, or got preoccupied with heavy plundering. The waking up city¡¯s riches too enticing to cast aside even for veteran troops. Amidst all the killing, raping and pillaging spreading from neighborhood to neighborhood, Khemet managed to flank the guards with around five hundred men slipping behind their lines. His assault on the east gates wasn¡¯t perfect or immediately successful but it rattled the defenders. With the scrap raging in the markets two kilometers away and with flames approaching, Lord Letakin attempted to strike at the rear of the engaged Forya-Rochir and open the road towards the port again whilst severing their foothold on the river side of the beach. His bodyguards and loyal mercenaries fell on the advancing Jang-Lu of Kindar instead in the pandemonium. The small but well-trained and bloodied force of professional soldiers created a shieldwall Lord Letakin¡¯s men just couldn¡¯t break. Still they attempted to push them aside valiantly. They got butchered mercilessly in the process by the halberd-wielding Jang-Lu. Letakin decided to retreat towards his palace, but the roads were beset by the chaos of fleeing civilians, raiding parties of invaders and even criminals, along a very large number of slaves (amongst them gladiators) that attempted to escape in the confusion. A city that more than half its population were slaves (Ani Ta-Ne had around two hundred and fifty thousand people living there which made for a very large number of enslaved souls) couldn¡¯t exist without its guards and whip-induced order. With the slavers, mercenaries and local guards engaged with the invaders a big number of slaves rebelled. The new day found three distinct groups fighting for control of the city. Lord Letakin¡¯s army, Sept Khemet¡¯s troops and the now armed slaves. It must be noted here that there were slaves fighting for their masters amidst the general turmoil. Lord Letakin¡¯s battered entourage failed to make it back to the palace and got ambushed or cornered by a marauding force of Northern Horselords now on foot. The latter while mainly fighting near or with Sid at the markets were one of many splintered groups that penetrated deep inside the city. In the savage fight that followed the mercenaries and officials with the Khan¡¯s former Master of Sea were cut down without quarter. The fate of Letakin himself not known in the great chaos and heavy looting that followed on their corpses but he¡¯s presumed killed. The raiders reached his palace an hour later but they were pulled back by a rider sent by Sid who had broken through at the battle of the Slave Market and got his hands on mounts. By the time Khemet managed to regroup his ranger/archers for another assault at the East Gates the overwhelmed guards ¨Cassaulted by multiple sides and opponents- still loyal to Lord Letakin were routed and tried to escape north beyond the Desert Gates inside the Dates Forest oasis. The rebelling slaves (anywhere between two to three thousand lightly armed men and women, but the number has been cited by other sources as high as ten thousand) tried in their turn to escape out of the East Gates (the port was burning for hours by this point and the fire was spreading inside the city.) This ragtag ever-growing crowd fell on the men Sept Khemet had gathered there trying to prepare for an assault on the mostly empty camps near the Great Market and almost wiped them out. Sept lost almost two hundred soldiers in the confusing melee with some getting killed by butter knives, tools or even pieces of broken pottery. Sid¡¯s partially scattered warriors charged at the backs of the rebelling slaves and saved the noble scion from an embarrassing defeat or even death. While it seems shocking today around fifteen thousand people were killed in less than six hours in Ani Ta-Ne that morning. A third of the large city port was fully burned, which is something no one really wanted, the port facilities ruined to such an extend Sept was forced to send the fleet back in Shao Na-Lan days later. Another five thousand people would be dead in the month that followed as the leaderless city was left to govern itself (Lord Letakin¡¯s family was lost and his palace thoroughly looted, then torched probably not from Khemet¡¯s soldiers. From a huge family of three wives, two slave mistresses and fourteen children there is only one offspring remaining today that can be tied back to the Letakin patriarch. A daughter.) In the shock that followed Sept Khemet¡¯s sacking of Ani Ta-Ne, Thalion was forced to stop fighting with Nancin who had been left with less than five hundred troops at this point. They had been living off the land, following the groups of Rohir Horselords around and making random raids against Thalion¡¯s gladiators occupying the thrice burned settlement. Thalion sent an urgent message to Rihtur and the men stationed there for help, then moved on the road leading back to Ani Ta-Ne intending to strike at Khemet¡¯s presumed still regrouping force, then toss them back into the sea. Sir Emerson Lennox who was preparing an attack at Small Bridge in Que Ki-La went ahead with it despite learning of the catastrophe at Ani Ta-Ne. Several units of the Chiliad pushed the force Arik Sartak had left there beyond the river and got control of the bridge, effectively closing the noose on the besieged for almost three months city. With the city completely surrounded and partially occupied Sir Emerson hoped Lord Elur Sol¡¯s starving (cases of disease had been mentioned as well, probably typhus) soldiers would finally capitulate. To secure his rear he ordered Lord Phon¡¯s mercenary force to relocate south while keeping control of the desert road and assist the men left near the Chiliad¡¯s camp at the South Gates. While Thalion hard-marched his gladiators down the coastal road back towards Ani Ta-Ne, Khemet was busy trying to get the sacked city under control. Quickly realizing this was a lost cause and with the fires still burning a day later and various groups engaging in atrocities Sept ordered his own force to prepare to defend the camps built near the Great Market, having learned of the approaching Thalion and left the hapless city to its fate. Thalion¡¯s gladiators would reach the outskirts of Ani Ta-Ne eight days later with the smokes still visible from the distance and attack the waiting army of Sept Khemet four days after that. That same week a flotilla sporting red, gold and black dragon banners, the few ships in the small flotilla ranging from Lesia-constructed heavy transports to Zilan war-galleys of exotic design, entered the distressed at the news of Ta-Ne¡¯s fate port of Fu De-Gar almost two hundred kilometers away. At about the same time three kilometers from Rihtur and on its desolate arid shores in the middle of nowhere, the answer on where Prince Nout¡¯s remaining fleet had disappeared to, was to be answered. While the Prince had to be carried ashore on a stretcher after collapsing from exertion or illness, the bulk of his best veteran (of two campaigns, numerous small and at least three significant engagements at Rida, Sadofort and Hellfort) mounted forces, two hundred scythed war Chariots and five hundred heavy cavalry (250 Cataphracts and 250 heavy lancers) along two hundred mounted scouts made it ashore alongside his sledge. The rumor is the Prince had at least two horses issued for each man under him, having stripped every mount available from Khemet. Miraculously a day later while Thalion was still ten kilometers from Ani Ta-Ne¡¯s camps Prince Nout¡¯s small mobile force had already smashed through Rihtur¡¯s defenders taking no prisoners and was moving fast towards Que Ki-La. It is said Lord Phon and Sir Emerson were informed of the seemingly weak force in total numbers (though it was anything but that) rushing towards them, half a day before the first group of four-horsed chariots came out of the plains. Prince Nout¡¯s supply train formed in Rihtur where his fleet had anchored a day after they made their landing, was still three days away. Embellished by Lord Sirio Veturius Assembled from notes, oral memoirs, and the vulgar, unreliable but famed plays of the slave merchant turned writer Asmudius, who traveled with the Chiliad Circa 206 NC The Fall of Heroes Chapter XXIV (Sir Emerson Lennox, Ballard of Lesia, Mista Savar) Tales of Greenwhale Peninsula, Volume V ¡®Three Sisters Rebellion¡¯ - 8th month -A slain Ram, Scythed Devils and the ¡®Battle of the Simun Gates¡¯*- *the name describing a series of engagements fought around Que Ki-La and not the penultimate battle of the campaign. Last month of summer of 193 to early Fall of 193 NC (mainly third and fourth week, with sources giving much later dates)
394. Soaring Scimitar (2/3)
Troy ¡®Soaring Scimitar¡¯ Part II -The Palace of the golden Aries-
¡°Did you get him?¡± Troy asked peeking out of the corner, part of the wall cracked and blackened from the fire that had started at the neighborhood after their initial assault. It had burned down seven houses on the road adjoined to Elur Sol¡¯s walled palace east side. The city emptied from civilians there and only homeless, escaped slaves, stray animals and gladiators roaming it. ¡°Right at the ear,¡± Fluke replied slotting another lead shot in his sling. ¡°How did ye manage that?¡± An impressed Troy asked and Qathor shook his meaty fist right and left from across the street, either a new signal or a taunt to stop playing with their cocks and move out. ¡°Don¡¯t know,¡± Fluke admitted and Veto cracked up dropping one of his twin axes with a bang on the sidewalk. Qathor cursed from across the street. ¡°What¡¯s he doing?¡± Troy probed showing the grimacing comically Qathor the middle finger. ¡°Crawling back? Left the water flask. Nope, he stopped moving,¡± Fluke reported. ¡°Want me to hit him again?¡± ¡°Why?¡± Troy grunted and peeked out to see for himself. The guard was laying in a pool of his own blood next to the marble fountain. The walls of the Palace twenty meters away looming tall. ¡°Are they getting out?¡± Veto asked after picking his axe up with an apologetic look to the gladiators waiting behind them in this small alley. While there were no gates on this side of the palace walls, a small hidden opening existed between two thick fig trees and a gathering of bushes sprouting at its base from where people had been coming in and out to get fresh water. Weeks into the siege of Sol¡¯s palace they still hadn¡¯t managed to cut them off completely, with an avenue of supply existing at its north gates connecting it with the still resisting portions of Que Ki-La. They had squeezed the defenders a lot though and if Ballard¡¯s plan works then it won¡¯t matter. ¡°Not yet,¡± Troy replied. ¡°But they have to look for him soon.¡± ¡°You want a spear?¡± Veto asked him and Troy glanced at the javelin carrying gladiators. ¡°I¡¯m good.¡± ¡°A shield?¡± ¡°Nah, it¡¯ll slow me down and have no lift carrying it,¡± Troy pushed his long hair back and tied them tight with a leather cord. ¡°I get them busy and away from the door, but you¡¯ll come right after to help me. Right?¡± ¡°Get the door,¡± Fluke agreed with a nod. ¡°No. I distract them and you dumb fucks run to support me,¡± Troy hissed and the fake part of the brick wall slid sideways creating an opening. He didn¡¯t hear it but just saw the gap as Samir¡¯s men were making another attack on the south gates of the large complex where the two right-angled towers stood and were making a lot of noise. It was a feint. A guard popped his head out of the bushes, glanced at the seemingly empty street and ruined buildings surrounding the small city square across from him and then signaled for his friends to come out as well. The moment they stepped out of the trees and onto the cobblestone the palace guards would spot their dead friend. Troy guessed he had about five seconds to reach them before they spotted him as well so he started running.
¡°Hey!¡± The palace guard, a robe-wearing under a chainmail shirt keen-eyed man, cried a mere second into Troy¡¯s sprint. His friends, three of them, heading for the dead guard or his flask, still looking the other way. Troy redoubled his efforts with a gasp, sandaled feet thudding on the cobblestone, sword wielding arms pumping up and down energetically. He made two meters in that first initial stride, three on the next as the gladiator picked up momentum and four on the third as he leaped from his right leg. ¡°Rebels!¡± The guard elucidated with an even louder yell alerting the others just as Troy soared the remaining distance and connected with him three seconds into his run. The man had raised a scimitar but Troy¡¯s sudden mad dash had caught him unsure on what to do with it. So the gladiator crashed on the guard, left knee finding his solar plexus and Troy¡¯s cock and balls a hard forehead, nevertheless shoving him back. They landed with a thud both men groaning for different reasons and a wild-eyed Troy, who didn¡¯t have the time to attack as well, rolled over his fallen opponent and towards his friends. The latter after watching the peculiar spectacle for a moment reacted to his acrobatics with colorful curses and drawing their weapons. Two of them carried spears over their backs and the third had a sword strapped on his waist. Neither had a helmet on nor did Troy for that matter but the gladiator had his swords out. One of them that is as he¡¯d lost the other getting smashed in the groin earlier. Still a blade in hand is better than nothing, Troy decided and stood on a knee to jump up but the guard he¡¯d knocked down earlier grabbed at his other leg and stopped him. ¡°GET THIS FUCK!¡± The local guard yelled at his friends from the ground and an affronted Troy went to hack at his face to free himself, almost chopping off his own leg when the man jolted away. He had to let go of Troy¡¯s foot to do it though so the gladiator stepped aside to resume attacking the others. As it habitually happens in messy scraps like these, in the meantime they had armed themselves proper. ¡°Cunt in mouth,¡± Troy spat and jerked his head left, the spear thrust scrapping the skin under his right ear and drawing blood. He grabbed at the shaft just under the blade and pulled hard, flicking his sword with the left hand to parry the second guard¡¯s blade away. The guard with the spear, a fine goatee sprouting under his chin and eyes painted a lovely red shade, cursed losing his footing and let go of the weapon. Troy flipped it in his hand and used the shaft to stop the third spear-armed guard from giving him a second arsehole across the one he already had. The sword-wielding officer, given his engraved metal shoulder pads, rushed him. The blade lashed out but found Troy¡¯s and was deflected away. The officer made to attack him again but heard the clanging of metal on cobblestone between his legs and stooped to see what had happened. Seeing a good part of his bloody severed arm there, the clean cut four fingers above the wrist still holding at his sword ¨Cthe spraying gore stub another solid hint- the maimed officer gasped in shock. A mouth opening wide enough to show the gold fillings in a scream of mind-blowing agony that is until Troy shoved the spear¡¯s steel point there and put a stop to it abruptly. Troy left the spear in the officer¡¯s face and twirled under a slash from the guard with the goatee, now armed with a scimitar. At the end of the pirouette he extended his blade out and split a carelessly protruding kneecap doubling the crying guard over. Troy lifted him back up with a knee below the chin, the fancy-painted man¡¯s head snapping back violently and his neck breaking. A gasp and he¡¯d his second Kopis out of its sheath, just in time to block the third guard¡¯s spear thrust crossing both his blades. Troy twisted the swords counterclockwise, the guard yanked the spear back to free it and got slashed across the chest and face by both blades when the gladiator snapped his arms forward. Troy turned to see where the first guard he¡¯d knocked down was but got hit below the left chest and was shoved back, the plate denting there and the spherical lead shot remaining stuck. He cursed hoarsely, his eyes blurring but spotted the local guard legging it towards the hidden door and rushed after him, his chest hurting with every stride and breath. Even injured Troy was faster than the running away guard.
¡°Keep it quiet! Anyone wants to open his fuckhole gets a mouthful of black phallus,¡± Qathor barked loud enough to raise the dead and lifted Troy up from the base of the wall he¡¯d sunk down after cleaving the poor man a couple of times upside the head with both swords. ¡°You¡¯re hurt princess?¡± Troy felt the pain coming from both his groin and his chest, but not in a good way. ¡°Suck¡­ my cock,¡± Troy grunted blinking away the tears. ¡°Yer too wayward for me likes,¡± Qathor retorted. ¡°Shut the fuck up Qathor,¡± Troy grunted and turned to glare at the rest of the platoon. "Thanks for the fucking help assholes!¡± ¡°What are ye talking about? You needed no help mate!¡± Qathor guffawed, showing a lot of white teeth on his black face and slapped him on the shoulder pad hard. Troy grimaced in pain. ¡°Yer the blasted Titan of Novesium!¡± This shite is going to get me killed. ¡°Where¡¯s Fluke?¡± Troy hissed and moved his left arm up and down to gauge at the damage. ¡°Dumb fuck nearly took me out!¡± ¡°Apologies Troy,¡± Fluke said sadly behind several gladiators. ¡°Don¡¯t know what happened.¡± ¡°Now, don¡¯t turn into a sore cunt,¡± Qathor admonished the scowling Troy. ¡°We have a job to do.¡± ¡°The job was to find a way inside, which I fucking did!¡± Troy grunted and Qathor grabbed his shoulder to turn him around. The large Issir pointed an arm down the dark passage through the walls. ¡°The job is to flush them turds out,¡± Qathor started and everyone nodded eager to get it over with. Not as eager to help me earlier though, Troy thought sourly and Qathor continued a gleam in his eye. ¡°Clean them pipes proper to shove our cocks in¡ª¡± ¡°Alright that¡¯s enough cleaning,¡± Troy cut him off mid-sentence. Every pep talk his friend offered in the years Troy knew him, ended with the colorful description of an orgy or something resembling it. ¡°Get word to Samir and the others to keep the ruse going. We¡¯ll give it a go.¡±
Arik Sartak had ordered reinforcements from Rin An Pur and several classes of Jang-Lu fresh recruits along four small mercenary companies gathered for a march towards the caravan town of Lu-Kela. Prince Nout rescinded his order not wanting to throw young recruits against seasoned gladiators and urged his former classmate in the military academy of Chariot Birth to defend the bridge. Sartak tried to, but his spread out inside the city troops weren¡¯t enough and he had to use his Jang-Lu inside Que Ki-La to block the gladiators advance in the narrow streets. The demoralized starving local survivors of the battle of the plains were routing easily. Having to rotate the soldiers in Que Ki-La with those guarding the river and the Lake lowered the quality of his troops even more and he had to use archers or lighter units for a guard¡¯s job in the end to hold the rear. The men going inside the city were subjected to starving rations and disease which led to the defenders having less ready to fight soldiers with each passing week despite raising almost two thousand from the local population. As a matter of fact due to the fear of illness spreading, the reserve camp built outside Que Ki-La had to be kept apart on the south side of the river, half an hour away from the one Rin An-Pur¡¯s stream of reinforcements were using as a staging area beyond the bridge. Sir Emerson, who had received around seven hundred men from Lord Phon-Iv Sopat, had sent Qathor and Troy inside the city also rotating the Chiliad around. The two Chiliad leaders gathered their men near the port they had managed to take over two weeks prior with an attack at its weakened south wall and then entered the city leaving the south flank to the mercenaries. The rest of the Chiliad marched following the east banks of Clear Lake, through a less dense part of the woods and assaulted Ari Sartak¡¯s guarding force routing them over the bridge. They reached the reserve camp and torched it killing a huge number of men stationed there. Some of them had to escape anyway they could and jumped in the river or the lake but few made it across. The Small River and the nearby Clear Lake were a known old-crocodile infested areas. The defenders launched a counter attack out of the city¡¯s north gates but the well-rested gladiators mauled their badly-coordinated attack. Many panicked civilians had joined in their ranks in a frantic attempt to escape the doomed city and got in Elur Sol¡¯s army¡¯s way. Sartak, who was at the horse archers¡¯ camp (as it was called) beyond the Small River Bridge during the attack, rode back and realized in horror the city had been cut off along a good portion of the troops he¡¯d managed to rescue in the Dates Plantation more than a month back. He considered attacking from the west edges of the massive fig forest sprouting around the lake and use the open ground to surprise Lord Phon¡¯s expansive camp raised there, but he woefully lacked in heavy cavalry in order to break through and the slaver-guards (or caravan guards) employed by the Sopat were an experienced multi-purpose force very difficult to rattle with arrows and slow-marching low-quality light infantry. They faced horselords in the field after all for a living and Lord Sopat¡¯s camp had ballooned to over three thousand men in the month following his arrival as every willing to hold a spear man was smelling blood and imminent heavy-plunder and picked the winning side. In the battle of purses despite Sol¡¯s considerable wealth and position, Phon-Iv was winning giving men the easier task along sacks of coin. Running out of time Sartak halted the attack giving up the bridge and messaged Lord Sol to break out of the city with every man able or talk terms. Elur Sol countered ordering Sartak to attack and break him out of the pocket or face the humiliation of losing a member of the Khan¡¯s Council and a major city of close to a hundred and fifty thousand souls. A pressured Sartak did attack across the bridge and was repelled easily by the Chiliad. He would try again and again in the days that followed (although sources state he only made probing efforts and not really committing his force. Since the general is a political figure and martyr it¡¯s difficult to discern truth from fiction here). Sir Emerson realizing he could maintain control of the bridge without danger after the third day, turned the bulk of the Chiliad around intending to assault the north gates and enter the city from that direction as well. The late time of the day didn¡¯t allow him to go ahead with it immediately and by the time he could, the situation had changed. Inside the city, Troy and Qathor managed to penetrate Sol¡¯s Palace during the last week of summer (sources also cite treachery) through an opening in the eight-meter high brick walls. Once inside, they headed for the large castle-shaped complex taking advantage of the defenders being preoccupied elsewhere. While they must have faced stiff resistance, Troy¡¯s force punched through all the way to Lord Sol¡¯s headquarters, a massive three-domed palace and sacked it. Lord Baryal of Palar who was defending the gates of the Palace saw and heard the brawl coming behind his back and rushed there to save Lord Sol. When Samir¡¯s roaming archers realized no one was firing back at them from the walls but for the sentries at the towers, they signaled the lurking infantry and went for the gates.
Troy cleared an internal floral table putting a hand on it, the scent of the purple blossomed orchids mixing with that of spilt blood. He landed on the marble tiles of the garden, jumped immediately over a slain slave girl and hurled his sword at the masquerading fleeing eunuch that had cleaved Veto¡¯s face off. The front-curved blade screamed across the palace¡¯s interior garden and smacked the nibble eunuch between the shoulder blades. He screamed in an effeminate voice, the short slave-girl dress he wore adding to the illusion, along the long oiled and shaved legs ¨CTroy had to give him that he looked great in that dress- and plunged on the small stairs head first.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. He cracked his skull open and bloody brains splashed out covering the stairs leading to the harem as far as the wall. Troy reached for his second sword breathing heavy and tried to orientate himself. Loud screams and curses were coming from inside the building and outside of it, along the sounds of fighting. ¡°Veto ain¡¯t talking,¡± Fluke said sadly approaching on a bad leg. He got speared through the thigh earlier and everyone thought him a goner but Luthos be willing the blade had missed the artery. So lucky Fluke had bandaged it with a slave¡¯s bloody yellow tunic and followed after them. Whether the blood was there before or it was all his a bet Troy wasn¡¯t willing to take. Talk with what? Troy wondered and grimaced. Veto was missing the front part of his skull. ¡°Stay close,¡± he told the gladiator instead. ¡°Stick to the sword.¡± He moved ahead after retrieving his own blade, paused for a moment to clean some of the gore on the arched gilded entrance¡¯s silk drapes and then entered the lavish female quarters. The carnage inside shocking. Troy took another step and stopped again, his sandals dipped in the blood pooling near the entrance. It created a small river coming from the pile of slain bodies near the painted a foul red pond at the center of the room, the light coming from the open ceiling making the colors appear even more striking. At least twenty people were laying butchered inside the opulent hall, half of them palace guards or officials and the rest slaves. ¡°Why kill the women?¡± Fluke asked him hoarsely and Troy glanced at him frustrated with the scene. He then walked near the slain corpses and checked for survivors. One of the women had a silver knife in her hand still, the blood turning cold and sticky but plentiful. She sliced her own neck. Why ye did that lass? The younger girl next to her having the same gaping wound on her small neck. ¡°They killed themselves,¡± Troy rustled and got up staring at the rich but ruined surroundings. ¡°Noble women facing slavery,¡± he turned his head away from the gruesome sight and spat down, mouth bitter. ¡°Ironically they couldn¡¯t bear it.¡± ¡°Or rape,¡± Fluke noted the female screams coming from inside the Sol¡¯s harem chilling. ¡°Find Qathor,¡± Troy ordered hoarsely and sheathed one of his swords over his back. ¡°Tell him that¡¯s enough. Let Ballard sort out this mess.¡± ¡°Might be nothing left to sort out by then Troy,¡± Fluke pointed out surprisingly lucid after all the butchering he¡¯d taken part off. Troy had kept a clear head going after real targets. Then again, he thought glancing at the entrance and the stairs where the pretty eunuch had fallen. You can never be certain either way. War is far uglier a business than fighting in the arena. Troy started down a corridor towards the kitchens where the worst of the screaming was coming from without replying to Fluke¡¯s query.
¡°I get to take the girl,¡± Rabbis was saying, a half-Issir half-Cofol gladiator that had come with Thalion¡¯s group a couple of weeks back. Balfor a Cofol wearing the armour of the Chiliad not likening the deal. ¡°The woman is too mature for my taste Rabbis. Your unit is outside the walls. Better return there and leave the spoils for those¡ª¡± ¡°Balfor!¡± Troy barked cutting him off and walked inside the large hall leading to the Palace kitchens. ¡°We¡¯re not here to pick up slaves!¡± ¡°Hah you heard the champion,¡± Rabbis guffawed greedily. A large man, taller than Troy but nowhere near in as good a shape. Few people come even close, Troy admitted modestly to himself and pushed his chest out. The older woman, a Lorian of about forty years, turned her head to stare at him hopefully. Her daughter, the two females were strikingly similar in skin and hair color, turned her blond head as well surprisingly sober considering their predicament. She looked a mature fourteen. ¡°No slaves Rabbis,¡± Troy rustled. ¡°We¡¯re gladiators, Bohor¡¯s lot is camping with the Sopat.¡± ¡°Wasn¡¯t looking for slaves,¡± Rabbis grunted measuring Troy up and down. He¡¯d a large sword on his back and a custom cleaver on his waist. ¡°But payment.¡± ¡°Plenty of coin and gold about,¡± Troy retorted and flipped the sword in his hand, the blade making a full circle. Once, twice afore he stopped to add. ¡°Glory as well if yer looking for a good death.¡± Rabbis smacked his lips and eyed the scowling Balfor. ¡°We could take him,¡± he offered and the Chiliad gladiator scoffed at his words. ¡°I ain¡¯t dying in a blasted kitchen,¡± Balfor grunted and walked away. ¡°Fucking cunt,¡± Rabbis taunted at his back and glanced at Troy. ¡°Can I take the woman?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go with him,¡± she offered looking at Troy, probably fearing he¡¯d lose the duel. ¡°Take Kelly.¡± Troy licked his lips, cracked his neck once right and then left to get the full impact and then replied cockily. ¡°Dear, let me answer his query first,¡± he told her a little affronted at her lack of faith. ¡°What was I saying? Ah, Rabbis go suck a mule¡¯s cock. Mind the teeth because they have quite the kick. Leave the women. The answer is no in case you didn¡¯t get the gist of it.¡± Rabbis stepped back a deep flush darkening his tanned face even more, thought about his life after attacking Troy, saw nothing in that future and shagging his broad shoulders walked away under the famed gladiator¡¯s taunting stare. ¡°I¡¯m Mirka good sir, we owe you our lives,¡± the woman said and prostrated herself to his feet. Her cook¡¯s tunic showing plenty of pearly-white skin and a good handful of round tit. The nipple on it fat and dark pink. Good grief! Them are some mature thick mounds worthy of sucking and resting onto. Troy blinked, his lips pursed not expecting the goodness hidden under the plain-looking woman¡¯s garbs and then caught the pretty daughter watching him ogling at her mother and had to clear his throat annoyed. ¡°I¡¯m not looking¡­ eh, for any reward Mirka,¡± he croaked almost making a blunder there. ¡°She wasn¡¯t offering,¡± Kelly snapped in Jelin Common and Troy gave her a glare afore replying frustrated. ¡°Then you¡¯re both fools for this chance you¡¯ll never have again!¡± Kelly raised a blond brow on her cute freckled face at his outburst. ¡°You¡¯re the rebel leader then? The champion of the Pits?¡± She asked curious. ¡°You¡¯re half right.¡± ¡°Which half?¡± Kelly taunted and her mother snapped at her getting up on her feet. ¡°Kelly!¡± ¡°The arena part,¡± Troy replied through his teeth. ¡°Hmm. I¡¯m not impressed,¡± the teenage girl decided puckering her mouth. ¡°Apologies for her,¡± Mirka said quickly. ¡°She¡¯s had a rough life.¡± ¡°Where are you from?¡± Troy asked too tired with the annoying teenager. Their accent wasn¡¯t that of one learning the language in the Peninsula. ¡°Raoz. Rida that is,¡± Mirka replied confirming his suspicion. ¡°We made it out through the good lord¡¯s grace, but we got betrayed by our own soon after and ended up in Baryal¡¯s hands.¡±
Qathor had just come from the facing south gates of the Palace, Samir of Ani Ta-Ne following after him with a large group of Horse Archers on foot. The level of carnage inside the palace shocking as by the time they realized the defenders had routed or lost the fight most of them were dead. It ain¡¯t easy to calm the blood down for people prepared to be thrown in the arena to fight for their lives, even if they have been trained for a year on tactics. Most of the tactics also involving killing people a different way. ¡°Anyone left still breathing?¡± Troy asked his friend and Qathor grimaced. ¡°Not at the gates. What you got there?¡± ¡°A couple of slaves,¡± Troy replied with a glance at the two women. More women and slaves had been found inside the buildings and were brought out in the yard. ¡°How many did you lose?¡± Qathor asked. ¡°Don¡¯t know for sure. Six? Eight? Veto gave up the ghost,¡± Troy replied as he¡¯d checked on the gladiator on his return. ¡°Spear?¡± ¡°Cleaver to the face. A fucking slave dressed as a girl,¡± Troy grimaced his eyes on Samir examining the miserable prisoners. ¡°Aah, Balfor told me you¡ª¡± ¡°Fuck him. He was looking to take them,¡± Troy retorted cutting him off. Balfor was in Qathor¡¯s platoon. Qathor nodded and looked at Mirka and Kelly. ¡°They don¡¯t look like much,¡± Qathor said finally. ¡°You don¡¯t look like much either,¡± Kelly hissed and Qathor raised his white brows impressed. ¡°I take it back,¡± he replied with a grin. ¡°You!¡± Samir grunted interrupting them pointing at one of the slaves. ¡°Step forward!¡± An older injured Cofol slave limped out of the group. He¡¯d short cut greying hair and wrinkled unkempt bloody robes. ¡°Better intervene,¡± Qathor whispered to Troy. ¡°There¡¯s news spreading of a great carnage in Ta-Ne and them boys are out for blood.¡± ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Samir asked brusquely. ¡°Sibilus,¡± the man said. ¡°That¡¯s Lord Baryal¡¯s sigil on the robes,¡± Samir grunted. ¡°I was his slave,¡± Sibilus replied and Troy glanced at the others, but no one was really looking at him. The prisoners gathered from many places inside the large palace. ¡°Where¡¯s Baryal?¡± Samir asked soberly. ¡°He¡¯s dead.¡± ¡°What about Lord Sol?¡± ¡°Killed. Near the gates.¡± ¡°His wife?¡± Samir asked and Troy intervened. ¡°I came from the harem. His wife and daughter are dead also,¡± he told Samir and Sibilus flinched in shock and clenched his fists tight. Troy caught him out of the corner of his eye but said nothing. ¡°Curse him,¡± Samir grunted and turned to his men. ¡°Find their bodies. Bring them here.¡± ¡°Samir we don¡¯t have time for this shite,¡± Qathor admonished him. ¡°He¡¯s not Baryal¡¯s slave,¡± Kelly said stepping forward and Troy glared at her frustrated. Samir turned to look at the young girl. ¡°How do you know?¡± ¡°I served him for four years. Slept in his bed for three of them,¡± Kelly replied solemnly and Troy recoiled. ¡°She¡¯s in shock,¡± Sibilus protested unconvincingly. ¡°Samir,¡± Troy hissed. ¡°We were tasked with a job. Ballard is expecting us!¡± ¡°Fine,¡± the Horse Archer leader decided and turned to his men. ¡°Get the bodies. Strip them, we¡¯ll drag them behind our horses on our way out and leave them for the dogs.¡± Fuck¡¯s sake, Troy cursed and eyed the gawking in rage old man. Much thinner than he remembered him from the arena games. No makeup or jewelry and wearing a slave¡¯s robe. Don¡¯t do it, he urged him. But Lord Sol couldn¡¯t keep up the charade for much longer. ¡°Shame on you Samir of Ani Ta-Ne,¡± he grumbled and then regaining some of his composure the old treasurer demanded. ¡°Leave them be!¡± Samir stared at him in disbelief at first but then he realized who was in front of him. ¡°That¡¯s a phallus up the nostril,¡± a bewildered Qathor cursed and crossed his beefy arms over his chest. Troy moved to stop the furious Samir from attacking Lord Sol but a gladiator stepped in front of him and bumped him away. ¡°Apologies great champion.¡± Rabbis showed him a fake repentant smile, Troy unsheathed his sword in the blink of an eye and slashed at the grinning gladiator, just as Samir stabbed a curved dagger in Lord Sol¡¯s chest not even two meters away. Troy¡¯s blade caught Rabbis on the left side of his nose and plunged deep in his skull cracking the bone. A yank and the blade came out, left eye popping and spraying murky gore about, the dark blood pouring down the ghastly wound. Rabbis shuddered once and then collapsed down in a heap when his legs gave. Dead as old mutton. ¡°Allgods darn it buddy,¡± Qathor gasped seeing the slain gladiator. Troy grunted and moved to help Sol but it was too late. ¡°Troy!¡± Qathor barked on his back as he advanced on the scowling Samir shaking, bloody sword in hand. ¡°Stand down brother!¡± ¡°Mista Savar!¡± Fluke was heard yelling and a livid Troy paused still facing a cleaning his dagger sober Samir and his men. The Horse Archers leader returned his stare and hearing the sound of hooves approaching shifted his eyes towards the distant gates of the palace complex. ¡°You¡¯ll pay for this,¡± Troy warned him and Samir shook his head bitterly and pointed at the bloody corpse of Rabbis. ¡°I had family in Ta-Ne,¡± Samir told him hoarsely. ¡°And a reason to hate Sol. He got what he deserved. What¡¯s your excuse for taking his life champion of the arena?¡± Troy grimaced, his knuckles turning white on the handle of his Kopis and Qathor¡¯s hand landed heavy on his shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s done,¡± his friend whispered. ¡°Let Ballard handle this.¡±
¡°We need your men to provide support Samir,¡± a tired Ballard rustled after he climbed down from the saddle. ¡°There are soldiers barricaded at the northeastern neighborhood. It¡¯s either that or you ride to Palar to scout for the enemy.¡± ¡°What enemy?¡± Ballard stared at him solemnly. ¡°I¡¯ll look for the leopard,¡± Samir decided. ¡°Ballard,¡± Troy said but he stopped him with an austere glare. ¡°The slaves can go,¡± he told Samir next and eyed the group of fifty scared men and women bunched up near the entrance of the palace. ¡°Your shackles are broken,¡± Ballard continued hoarsely. ¡°Leave through the south gates and head into the forest or wherever you think it¡¯s safer. If you put in the effort you¡¯ll stay free and breathing. May Luthos guide you out of the sea of struggles and unto gentler shores. Move swiftly and keep yer heads low.¡± ¡°He killed Lord Sol,¡± Troy grunted and pointed at the blank-eyed dead treasurer. Ballard nodded glumly, black eyes staying at the old Lord¡¯s bloodied body briefly. The golden ram slain at the stairs of his palace. He could have left but he didn¡¯t, Troy thought. ¡°His family?¡± Ballard asked answering him the why. Troy shook his head negatively and about ten archers came out of the palace carrying the slain corpses he¡¯d left inside near the pond. Ballard turned to the gladiators that had come with him. ¡°See they are buried together. There, at the flower beds next to the entrance. It¡¯s a good spot,¡± he added and stared at the scowling Samir. ¡°Lad I gave ye an order. Do I have to repeat it?¡± Samir grimaced, glanced at the corpse of Elur Sol once more and then clicked his tongue to get his men moving. ¡°What about them?¡± One of the Cofols asked him pointing at the mother and her daughters. ¡°Leave them,¡± Samir grunted. ¡°You heard Mista Savar.¡±
¡°Come,¡± Ballard told him the moment the archers had left to return to their horses. ¡°You¡¯ve taken the bridge?¡± Troy asked following after him. ¡°Your assault gave us the city¡¯s north gates as well,¡± Ballard replied walking inside the palace. ¡°How did you do it?¡± Troy shrugged his shoulders. ¡°My plan was to run fast and catch them before they retreated behind the hidden door,¡± he admitted. ¡°It was a good tip but I had nothing planned after that. They panicked.¡± ¡°We cut the city in two,¡± Ballard said and paused to stare at the large hall leading to Lord Sol¡¯s private headquarters. He touched a calloused hand on a gilded column. ¡°That¡¯s gold.¡± ¡°There¡¯s enough loot in here to retire in Valeria,¡± Troy agreed and stooped to pick up a sack filled with plunder someone had discarded. Probably too laden to carry it. ¡°Lots of lads have turned rich overnight.¡± ¡°Nout has sacked Ta-Ne,¡± Ballard said taking an engraved silver goblet from the sack to examine it. Tossed it back a moment later. ¡°Burned the port and killed Lord Letakin. Being rich ain¡¯t going to spare anyone.¡± ¡°Not a good month for the Lords of the Peninsula,¡± Troy commented. ¡°He wasn¡¯t there himself,¡± Ballard informed him. ¡°He made another landing near Rihtur, broken through and is heading here.¡± ¡°How soon?¡± Troy asked. ¡°Difficult to say. We¡¯ll know more on the morrow,¡± he paused and glanced back at the two females still waiting in the yard. ¡°Who are they?¡± ¡°Just a couple of slaves sort of serving in the kitchen among other things,¡± Troy replied. ¡°From Rida.¡± Ballard nodded. ¡°Phon wants Bohor to lead his men,¡± he said. ¡°March down the road to retake Rihtur.¡± ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡°We have to deal with the Prince. Slaying underlings, lords and womenfolk never won any wars that I know off.¡± ¡°What about Thalion? Can he manage it?¡± ¡°The cities will either fight or die like Ta-Ne,¡± Ballard retorted harshly. ¡°We can¡¯t run up and down the Peninsula like headless chicken. He¡¯ll come here because losing Que Ki-La is not an option for him. Lukela is a week away on good flat road and then it¡¯s the Rin An-Pur valleys. The Prince will never allow the capital to be threatened. He has no choice.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Troy gulped down uneasily. ¡°That¡¯s a good thing for us?¡± ¡°I reckon it is favorable to know where yer enemy is heading,¡± Ballard said, paused to stare at the lavish walls of Sol¡¯s sacked palace and added gravely. ¡°But that¡¯s exactly what the Lord of Coin probably thought.¡±
395. Soaring Scimitar (3/3)
Sir Emerson Lennox Mista Savar ¡®Pale Jackal¡¯ ¡®War Leader¡¯ ¡®Soaring Scimitar¡¯ Part III -Bladed wheels-
There was a stillness in the air, the two moons appearing larger in the sky. A pale white for Oras Eye and the ring of washed-out blue visible right behind it for Nesande¡¯s Moon. While it was a hot evening Emerson thought there was a difference with the night before. The absence of sound and the deceptively similar flavor of the night were simply unable to conceal. A change was coming. He rubbed his eyes and stepped out of the gate¡¯s captain building, the ransacked place adjoining the gaping south gates and the cracked walls. With no gates and several holes on the walls Que Ki-La was more a trap than a defensive position. Especially with thousands of the local populace still remaining inside, the streams of refugees heading north and west packing the roads not yet able to empty the city. ¡°That¡¯s it then,¡± Phon-Iv said behind him coming out as well, followed by the slave master Bohor, Serebus with Foreal remaining inside with his young wife Mesi-Nasar. ¡°I showed her the city and Sol¡¯s palace. A sad sight admittedly. There was a corpse floating inside a pond for crying out loud! Poor thing got sick and just now recovered.¡± ¡°You need to find a way to negotiate,¡± Emerson rustled not bothering with his mundane problems. ¡°We can¡¯t attack beyond Lu-Kela with the force we have here.¡± ¡°Lord Tsuparin has received reinforcements and he¡¯s raising more men,¡± Phon replied. ¡°Myself as well. This is generational wealth I¡¯m spending here Ballard.¡± ¡°You expect me to cry over yer lost coin? An upset stomach? Heaps of dead are blocking the streets, along with people too sick to walk away!¡± ¡°Listen, I get it. I¡¯m not favoring what¡¯s happening,¡± Pho-Iv replied with a grimace of distaste. ¡°What¡¯s the alternative?¡± ¡°You ask for a treaty concerning the three cities,¡± Emerson suggested. ¡°Something akin to what Sovya did. A better contract than the one you had.¡± ¡°He won¡¯t accept.¡± ¡°If Nout fails he¡¯ll have no choice but look to buy time.¡± Mirka, the freed Lorian woman approached them with a carafe of tea. ¡°Will you sit outside milords?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need servants¡¯ lass,¡± Emerson grunted, Phon pointing at a small table Bohor had brought outside. The main street leading to Sol¡¯s palace cleaned and empty now but still showing signs of the fight and the damage from weeks of siege. ¡°It¡¯s the least I can do Milord Ballard,¡± Mirka replied and placed the carafe and cups on the table. ¡°You could leave.¡± ¡°There¡¯s nowhere to go and I tried it once already,¡± Mirka argued with a tired smile. ¡°I feel safer here.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a nice tea,¡± Phon commented and Emerson glared at him. ¡°I could offer to take you both to my camp,¡± the Cofol continued afore noticing the knight¡¯s expression. ¡°My wife could do with a couple of more servants is all I¡¯m saying, goodness me Ballard! Fine, her daughter is worth a pretty penny. Then you won¡¯t have to worry about anything!¡± By being his slaves was the rich scion¡¯s meaning. Emerson couldn¡¯t believe Phon was looking to make a profit out of the situation. The man¡¯s way of thinking alien to him. ¡°You have over a thousand slaves in your camp!¡± He growled. ¡°Who earn their food and lodging opening the road Sartak build through the Dates forest? Bringing supplies in the city and your camp. So calm down, we¡¯re not savages mister Ballard. By the way why leave the camp?¡± ¡°Neither Palar nor the camp could be defended in the plains.¡± Too much open ground. Phon frowned, his embroidered with gold details silk robes matching his fancy bronze and silver armour vest. The light armour thin enough to be pierced with Emerson¡¯s index finger. ¡°Nout could bypass it, cut us off, you claimed earlier.¡± ¡°He will.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t allow him to reclaim the city.¡± ¡°The city is useless.¡± ¡°I get it, I heard your reasoning,¡± Phon argued. ¡°But whatever he¡¯s bringing with him can¡¯t be more than what we have here. This is a chance to kill the leopard Ballard.¡± Emerson had the leopard cornered in Hellfort and he slipped through. While the knight didn¡¯t have the numbers then it was an excellent position. Men with numbers had tried to corner Nout since then and the leopard had still gotten around them. Lured them into a trap instead. Again and again. ¡°If he had committed all his force in Ani Ta-Ne he would have taken the city. He didn¡¯t, the army moved out per yer message and is only controlling the east gates, the markets road and the port.¡± ¡°Still he doesn¡¯t have enough.¡± ¡°What has Glenavon sent?¡± Emerson asked. ¡°Reeves sent six ships. Big, but no one can approach to learn on the number of troops. Trust me, the Zilan are brutal in their discipline on army matters. On other stuff they could make a whore blush, but I digress. This was a force he¡¯d stationed near Elauthin and then sent on an expeditionary mission to Rain-Minas.¡± ¡°Thalion shouldn¡¯t attack until reinforcements reach him.¡± ¡°It¡¯s impossible to control the local troops,¡± Phon replied with a pained grimace and Emerson saw the stunned look on Mirka¡¯s face. ¡°He can order his gladiators around but the rest just won¡¯t listen to him. They¡¯ll head for Ta-Ne.¡± ¡°Mmm,¡± Emerson grunted. A man can only control what he can. It is what it is. ¡°Even if they make it in time, we are left on our own Ballard. I¡¯m not sure young Reeves has a mind for war.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate Glenavon. He¡¯ll see it, look for a solution. He won¡¯t cower,¡± Emerson replied gruffly. ¡°Lord Reeves is still alive?¡± Mirka intervened. ¡°Apologies milords for the interruption.¡± ¡°You know him?¡± Emerson asked her and she nodded. ¡°He helped us out of the city,¡± she explained. ¡°I thought he perished when it burned,¡± Mirka answered. ¡°I¡¯ll never forget the young lord.¡± ¡°He survived obviously,¡± Phon-Iv replied. ¡°Almost gotten my sister killed but I guess it wasn¡¯t totally his fault. Sen believes he¡¯ll help us. Believed¡­¡± Phon corrected himself gulping down and placed the cup on the table his appetite lost. ¡°Notify my wife we¡¯re heading back Bohor,¡± he said hoarsely. ¡°I want out of this darn city.¡± Emerson waited for Bohor to leave them. ¡°The gap between the west walls and the forest is the best position to fight him,¡± he told the gloomy Sopat headman. ¡°Long narrow and deep front that leads into another cauldron between the lake¡¯s east banks and the river.¡± ¡°What if he enters the city and drives through it instead?¡± Let him fight amidst the ruins and the streets then. ¡°We control the city to an extent, it favors us for him to make the mistake. Same way as we can¡¯t allow ourselves to be cut off trying to defend in here. Reinforcements will pour at our rear, the moment we lose control of the bridge.¡± Phon-Iv sighed deeply and rubbed his stomach. ¡°I loved following the caravan around,¡± he admitted reminiscing. ¡°I really did. The peacefulness, small smart deals on every stop. Open country and camaraderie. War is scaring me Ballard because I don¡¯t understand it.¡± ¡°No one knows of war. People think they do, but war doesn¡¯t care about what you or I believe. It¡¯s a beast that will do its own thing and look to kill us given the chance.¡± ¡°Let us see, what Samir¡¯s scouts will say on the morrow,¡± a worried Phon said just as his young Cofol wife exited the building. A pretty girl with dark gold skin, covered in intricate tattoos, light caramel-colored hair and expressive same color eyes, the outline penciled black. ¡°Bohor stay,¡± Emerson said gruffly. ¡°I¡¯ll have word wit you.¡±
Either the last week of summer or the first of Fall of 193 NC, a patrol of mercenary horse archers¡¯ leader Samir of Ani Ta-Ne, a man whose employer was already dead, discovered while on a scouting mission part of Prince Nout¡¯s advanced units approaching the rich village of Palar and the Chiliad¡¯s camp twenty kilometers from Que Ki-La. The riders turned around and went to inform Sir Emerson that the enemy was there but found the camp empty as the knight had evacuated the men and supplies bringing everything behind Que Ki-La. So the scouts informed Bohor in its place, a slave-master under whom Asmudius was serving and he in turn messaged Lord Phon-Iv Sopat and Sir Emerson. Bohor was now leading a very large force of mounted-slavers infantry and caravan guards (probably over eight hundred men) stationed a kilometer before the walls of Que Ki-La and its south gates. The Three Sisters army leaders had talked for long the previous days on the right strategy to deal with Prince Nout but there was a deep disagreement between them and even in minor officers¡¯ ranks. Lord Phon believed they could knock the Prince out given their numbers (it must be noted here that the Lai Zel-Ka army was split in two uneven portions). Bohor¡¯s force covered the south approach and road, while Lord Phon¡¯s camp that numbered around two thousand five hundred(?) soldiers (and a thousand slaves ¨C Asmudius is unclear whether they were included in the total numbers or not) stationed some kilometers west of the city. Nevertheless Phon had at least one thousand five hundred men covering the desert roads and the city¡¯s west gates or Simun (Simoom) Gates. It was named after the strong hot and dry wind blasting occasionally Que Ki-La¡¯s west neighborhoods creating dust storms that stopped at the Clear Lake but reached the city¡¯s walls. Emerson had taken control of the west gates after securing the bridge at Small River and then the north gates days prior, but had kept the Chiliad between the city and the river wanting to force Prince Nout to come to him. He didn¡¯t want to attack Nout first and had ordered the camp evacuated and the half-ruined settlement left to Prince¡¯s army. A battle on the plains would have been a battle of cavalry and while they had the numbers, Sir Emerson didn¡¯t believe they had the quality. He preferred an infantry-heavy bogged down engagement on worse terrain, but there was no such terrain available. The land was dominated by the Palms and Dates forest west of Que Ki-La, with the woods thinning out near the Sopat and Simun roads, however leaving relatively empty corn fields at the boundary hugging the west side of the city¡¯s walls. At the northwest corner of the city it created a small bottleneck between the walls and the south banks of Clear Lake and the ground turned softer heading towards Small River through a dominated with old fig trees area. Emerson wanted to draw Prince Nout there which was a risk, as it would bring him closer to the bridge potentially and put Emerson between two forces, but likewise it could entangle Nout between the knight¡¯s and Lord Phon¡¯s army controlling the roads if Arik Sartak¡¯s attacks remained ineffective following the pattern of the previous week. It was a matter of coordination and trickery. A compromise was reached with Bohor left on the south flank to test Prince Nout and if overwhelmed to fall back towards the cut through the Palms Forest road (near the Dates Plantations) and either lure the prince there for an engagement in narrow terrain or rope him towards Lord Phon¡¯s camp away from his supply line. The Chiliad could advance then and catch the Prince in a deadly vise. Velox with Citata¡¯s platoons were deployed near the Simun Gates ¨Ca flank hugging the walls- right at the junction to anchor both of Bohor¡¯s avenues of retreat (the other being west towards the parallel-running Palms Forest path), with Phon¡¯s army under Serebus and Merehor tasked with blocking the deserts roads.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Bohor placed his slaver-guards at the center and had Samir¡¯s riders acting as a safety valve with Turcus¡¯ smaller force staying inside the city (the latter part of Thalion¡¯s reinforcement that had reached Que Ki-La.) Asmudius who served under Nertor at the center of Bohor¡¯s army gives the numbers as following. Over a hundred gladiators under Turcus inside Que Ki-La. Around eight hundred Slavers/caravan guards with Bohor. About two hundred and seventy horse archers with Samir of Ani Ta-Ne. One thousand five hundred men split in two groups one near the junction, the other less than two kilometers behind guarding the camp and desert northern approach from any flanking movements (the latter a mixture of mercenaries, slaver-guards and the Sopat Lai Zel-Ka soldiers etc.) The Chiliad was numbering around eight hundred and fifty gladiators (minus the injured), the majority kept between the Small River (to control the bridge) and the lake north of Que Ki-La. Prince Nout¡¯s men appeared on the plains near the abandoned Chiliad¡¯s camp a couple of hours after sunrise the next day. Instead of attacking Bohor¡¯s force he waited seemingly for his supply train to arrive showcasing extreme patience. One day and then another which brought nervousness on the Three Sisters armies facing him. Nout was patient because events unfolding hundreds of kilometers away dictated he should wait for another part of his offensive to conclude afore engaging. Thalion¡¯s force attacked Khemet¡¯s invasion army in a bloody battle three kilometers east of Ani Ta-Ne. The gladiators pushed Khemet¡¯s weaker center back (defended by Rava¡¯s Marines and Jang-Lu fighters) but they got hit hard in the flanks from Khemet¡¯s horse archers and the fast moving Forya-Rochir. The latter broke through to the rear of Thalion¡¯s large front (at least two thousand gladiators and mercenaries) attacked his supply train and camp, and defeated the reserve stationed there. Thalion had to pull men from the line to take back his camp and while it didn¡¯t immediately caused him problems it slowed down his advance. He led the attack himself on horseback against the outnumbered Forya-Rochir which turned out to be a fatal mistake. Against all odds, Sid Halla-Tar¡¯s Horselords cut down their opponents¡¯ one after the other, killing Thalion in the process. The Three Sisters army disengaged upon receiving the news of the famed champion¡¯s fate and the disaster to its rear. It intended to abandon the field and retreat through the badly mauled Forya-Rochir and partially it succeeded with over a thousand warriors escaping. Half a day later and on the road back to Rohir, Nancin¡¯s also weakened force and two groups of about eighty Rohir Horselords attacked them on the road. In this second savage engagement Thalion¡¯s demoralized force won through the skin of their teeth pushing Nancin back, but dissolved soon after when the first horse archer units of Khemet caught up with them. It was a massacre with few survivors mainly from amongst the mercenaries. Since no gladiator run away they were killed to the last with volleys of arrows as Khemet wanted to avoid needless casualties. That night Nancin who had been left with less than a hundred men after fighting desperately for months collapsed on his knees and wept like a child upon witnessing Khemet¡¯s white warhorse approaching. The two generals had opened the road and secured the Prince¡¯s land avenue of retreat but after they had messaged Prince Nout of their success, word reached them later that night from spies living in Fu De Gar that a new army was marching towards Ani Ta-Ne. The coded message described this sprouted out of thin air force with the cryptic words ¡®the Phalanx¡¯. Khemet and Nancin were unwilling to abandon the port of Ani Ta-Ne, even at its ruined state, since his father Lord Khemet (who was leading the fleet) was bound to return with fresh men and supplies to properly occupy the city. So the two generals turned around and marched towards Ani Ta-Ne again sending another message to Prince Nout to hold. But the leopard who was in contact with Arik Sartak looking for other options had already moved.
Third day of fall 193 Outskirts of Que Ki-La ¡®Great bales of hay¡¯ or 2nd Clash at Dor O¡¯ Cofol plains Emerson heard the roar of many men and animals moving and brought the spyglass on his eye again. A thick smoke had risen from the field beyond Bohor¡¯s stirring lines of warriors. Many smaller columns of smoke, he decided after a brief examination of the happenings. It blends with the clouds of dust raised from the horses. ¡°Nout is moving,¡± he told Velox and the aged gladiator stopped oiling the shaven tanned skin of his skull. He wiped his hands with a cloth before asking the frowning knight gruffly. ¡°Cataphracts?¡± ¡°Scouts more like. Looking to approach behind the smokes.¡± ¡°What¡¯s he burning?¡± ¡°Hay. Lots of it,¡± Emerson grunted. ¡°They roll it forward with poles.¡± ¡°Brought it wit the supply train ye think?¡± Velox queried. ¡°Aye. Picked the warehouses clean.¡± The Prince¡¯s supply train had arrived during the night. ¡°Not much declination,¡± the gladiator leader and trainer noted. ¡°He isn¡¯t looking to attack with it,¡± Emerson replied spotting the familiar large wooden-walls or big field-shields amidst the rear lines of Nout¡¯s main force. Pure Cavalry. You rushed here, he thought. ¡°He wants to approach and provoke Bohor.¡± Emerson went to his horse and climbed up the saddle. ¡°Should I move the lads?¡± Velox asked. ¡°I¡¯ll sent a runner. Balfor with me. Toros you get back to Troy. Notify Turcus and Merehor on your way there.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t trust that cunt. Rumor is he worked for Esugen back in Nasar,¡± Velox rustled speaking of Phon¡¯s new general under Serebus. ¡°Phon¡¯s gold is a better mistress,¡± Emerson retorted tying the Jackal¡¯s Helm bindings under his chin. ¡°The proficient whore parts her thighs easily,¡± Velox countered with a grimace and spat down. ¡°Give me that spyglass and watch yer back.¡± Emerson arrived east of the Dates Plantation and Bohor¡¯s west flank five minutes later. A group of horse archers galloped away in front of him reacting to Nout¡¯s scouts that were roaming the field getting in and out of bow-shot range. ¡°This could take a while,¡± Balfor commented, square jaw protruding under his full-face helm. Emerson smacked his lips and followed the movement of the many smaller groups of cavalry repositioning on the flat terrain. It was difficult to discern one from the other in the haze, with the prince¡¯s riders thankfully sporting their pale-white cotton robes to Samir¡¯s darker and of many different colors hemp ones. The thundering of hooves coming and going, with men crying out orders or animals neighing disturbed at the pandemonium. ¡°Samir is going to hit them. Charge to close the distance and fire a volley,¡± he told the mounted gladiator just as Asmudius approached on his horse clad in his leather and mail slaver armour. ¡°This is it for me Mista Savar,¡± Asmudius yelled to be heard stopping his horse. He worked his tongue over his teeth and then spat the gathered material down. ¡°I woke up at early dawn, been eating grass, and shit-flavored dirt since then. Fuck it I say!¡± ¡°Notify Nertor, I can see he¡¯s bringing the Cataphacts closer!¡± Emerson growled. ¡°They¡¯ll never catch Samir¡¯s boys,¡± Asmudius replied turning on the saddle to watch what was happening. The enemy appeared and then disappeared behind the acrid smokes. ¡°Bohor wants to attack them while they are bunched up in front of what¡¯s left of our palisade.¡± Emerson removed his helm and wiped his tearing eyes with a cloth. ¡°How many chariots?¡± he asked hoarsely. ¡°Scores probably, but he keeps them hidden not to scratch the paint, ha-ha. Whoa, yer not in the mood. Well then to keep it real, they can¡¯t be more than four-five hundred heavies out there. Half of them Cataphracts. I counted them to pass the time.¡± ¡°Plus the chariots,¡± Emerson said raspingly. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of heavies to punch us with. You can¡¯t bring a Cataphract down without a long lance. Having said that, have you ever fought against chariots Asmudius?¡± The Prince hadn¡¯t used them at Hellfort. ¡°For real? Eh, can¡¯t say I have.¡± ¡°I fought a charioteer in the arena,¡± Balfor said. ¡°But it was a smaller vehicle.¡± ¡°How did it go?¡± Emerson grunted and slotted the helm on his sweaty head again. ¡°I killed the driver with a hurled trident,¡± Balfor replied with a frown. ¡°Whoa, that¡¯s some ballsy shite mate!¡± Asmudius bawled with enthusiasm to be heard over the shouting of the archers making their move. ¡°Let¡¯s hear the full story!¡± ¡°I ain¡¯t yer mate slaver,¡± Balfor grunted eyeing him like a rat covered with boils. ¡°And the darn thing ripped through us. I had to hug a charging horse to save myself and still have pieces of broken bones moving at my ribcage.¡± ¡°Naossis¡¯ nipple rings,¡± Asmudius retorted nigh impressed. ¡°I can now see what caused yer unprovoked outburst!¡± Emerson turned his head to admonish the smart-mouthed slaver but didn¡¯t as Nout¡¯s Cataphracts moved en masse about twenty meters out of their lines and then stopped moving in a solid block, swiftly getting covered again from thick smoke coming from the burning bales of hay. What are you doing? Emerson thought and Samir¡¯s archers roared in their turn starting their attack at the Prince¡¯s scouts three hundred meters away.
Samir of Ani Ta-Ne attacked the provoking scouts of Prince Nout an hour into the engagement. He¡¯d split his force in two large groups to attack from two directions, the first group pushing the scouts towards the other. When the scouts moved into range, the confusing chaos of the expansive hazy battlefield not helping anyone, his riders fired a volley bringing some of their horses down. The scouts turned around releasing their arrows as well and tried to move away but Samir¡¯s archers danced with them in the flat area between the two forces hitting them again and again from both sides. It was a slow grind that caused a steady stream of casualties to the scouts that slowly retreated towards their lines without disengaging. Nout, who had brought his Cataphracts forward under Hora-Se of Rin An-Pur, ordered them to fire on the approaching horse archers. The Cataphracts did using their crossbows. In the panic that followed that first lethal volley, the bulk of the heavy three-men carrying war-chariots under Ramen-Toka, the Prince¡¯s only wife Tamun-Toka¡¯s brother and son of Lord Kosey-Toka of the distant rich city of Dinar, repositioned closer to the front and opened fire using their crossbows and bows. A multipurpose war vehicle, the famed Imperial Chariot was drawn by four large horses and was faster than the heavy cavalry but more difficult to maneuver. It could deploy three palm-size in width twin-edged blades protruding from its large wheels, the two smaller of them rotating counter to the wheels motion with the help of a disk-shaped bearing, with the longer center blade remaining stationary and parallel to the ground like a scythe. The driver was standing in the middle and could fire arrow shots when the chariot was heading straight, while the other two fighters had a variety of weapons to use but mainly javelins or throwing axes, crossbows and swords. They were heavily armoured like the Cataphracts and could fight on foot if needed. To put it in perspective, two hundred war Chariots were in reality six hundred men. The massive volley melted Samir¡¯s horse archers and they retreated in disarray followed by the Prince¡¯s scouts who had endured the punishment to entice them within range of the crossbow bolts. Bohor seeing Samir¡¯s force getting mauled, as the hundreds of bolts fired brought the unarmoured horses down even if they missed their riders, ordered Nertor to smack the scouts away with his mounted infantry. Nertor charged his flank (that was the west one) on the scouts that were firing arrow after arrow at Samir¡¯s retreating men, but Hora-Se ordered his lancers (the large group of medium/heavy cavalry hadn¡¯t involved itself in the fight yet) to counter-charge the slavers. Sir Emerson who saw the disaster coming sent Asmudius (the writer describes the scene colorfully failing to mention why he wasn¡¯t with his comrades and Nertor but instead was loitering near Sir Emerson) to order Bohor to pull back his men and retreat towards the forest or the city. Effectively that would have left Nertor on his own but Sir Emerson feared Nout would hit Bohor¡¯s east flank (now unprotected and angling towards Nertor) from the direction of the coast and cut him off. A pressured Bohor hesitated in the chaos of the fast developing cavalry engagement (which was what the knight wanted to avoid from the start) and by the time he ordered his mounted force back a wall of chariots came out of the smokes and hit his east flank. The surging war-machines ¨Cmaking a characteristic rattling metallic sound that unnerved those on the receiving end- butchered or dismembered horses and men like a hot knife cuts butter, coming in four waves with each following chariot widening the gap. The slavers broke away in disarray but they were hit hard by bolts and javelins hurled at them from the charioteers and probably lost more men from that than the scythed wheels. Bohor managed to disengage but got attacked by the Cataphracts next and while he survived that engagement with heavy casualties and minus an arm, his friend Nertor didn¡¯t and his force got wiped out in less than thirty minutes. Asmudius who lost an ear and got partially blinded from a throwing axe that ¡®sort of bounced off of his helm¡¯ per his own words, described the surreal scene ¡®as nightmarish¡¯ and the bladed wheels carrying the malevolent smirking masked charioteers ¡®as demons out of Oras hells¡¯. - Embellished by Lord Sirio Veturius Assembled from notes, oral memoirs, and the vulgar, unreliable but famed plays of the slave merchant turned writer Asmudius, who traveled with the Chiliad Circa 206 NC The Fall of Heroes Chapter XXIV (Sir Emerson Lennox, Ballard of Lesia, Mista Savar) Tales of Greenwhale Peninsula, Volume V ¡®Three Sisters Rebellion¡¯ - 8th ¨C 9th month -¡®Disaster at Simun Road junction & the unbroken Chiliad¡¯*- Early Fall of 193 NC?** - *The title of Asmudius most historically accurate play following various characters, with the more famous, vulgar and highly embellished ¡®the Titan of Novesium¡¯ being a rehash of the same events and their aftermath through the eyes of a single gladiator. **No official details of the battle survive but Asmudius¡¯ version ¨Cglorifying the Three Sisters side of the battle. The playwriter had been seriously injured, wasn¡¯t present in the final days and gathered information later from the survivors. The Khanate¡¯s version is very brief and rather undetailed due to the sensitive nature of the topic today and the Prince¡¯s ¨Cusually extremely meticulous and well-documented- records of the campaign are completely missing or are secreted away for political reasons, giving rise to wild speculation.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms or enjoy it again at Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ The chapters are re-edited and re-posted regularly at both places 396. A thousand spears (1/2)
On the last month of summer of 193 the dragon banners returned to Fu De-Gar. They came in foreign ships I haven¡¯t seen afore during the night. Up on the hills and the dry plateau overlooking the ancient Pits, where the old temples and ruins of the amphitheater stood, the slender tower-torches were secretly lit by the faithful. When the sun came up again rows upon rows of gleaming black steel helms, muscled black cuirasses, engraved Aspises in black and red, along white-silver leaf-bladed spears marched in tight formation through the closed streets towards the East Gates. People were much stunned and afraid at the sight. It was a solemn march. My sister wept but it was tears of joy for we never prayed to anyone but the Wyvern God. I laughed and yelled for I could witness the god depicted on the banners and on the alien-shaped shields, until I was beaten to silence and driven away. The Phalanx had marched out of Fu De-Gar that day, but I knew it in my heart of hearts that it will return. Even so, I couldn¡¯t stay behind. - Age of the Onyx Wyvern Naram-Sin Nagar (178-212 NC) Circa 208 - *(The born in the distant Ane NaGar desert Fort at Mist¡¯s Cries Coast in 178 NC historian, poet, academic and political figure Naram-Sin Nagar (third son of Ibn-Sin Nagar an old local camel merchant family controlling the westernmost desert road up to Nagar Bazaar) was a known Imperialist, Old Gods believer. He was assassinated after a speech in Que Ki-La in the second month of winter 212 NC by assassins but left an almost complete account of the history of Eplas from 188 to 196 compiled in his first handwritten manuscript named ¡®Age of the Onyx Wyvern¡¯. Some printed ¨Cvery expensive- copies exist in Taras but his work is anathema inside the Khanate and has few friends on Jelin (mainly in academia) while he¡¯s rarely considered as a source. Many of his notes left behind were compiled by his students and followers in a second book named ¡®Divine Reign¡¯ dealing with the later years but also delving in the politics of the Third Empire that in turn soured his relationship with the Throne of Wetull.)
Roran, of Saeveril Second of the Phalanx A thousand spears Part I -Spawn of the faithful-
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¡®Third Era¡¯ Phalanx (After 3398 IC) sub units ¡®First¡¯ Main Othrim (Zilan Ancient Imperial Phalanx previous 2nd) Roran¡¯s expeditionary force - 500 Hoplites One Main File (100 Hoplites) Four Numbered Files (100 Hoplites per led by a Leader -or Tetrarch, a veteran Hoplite ranked within the Othrim) Each File was split in Four Lochos (20 Hoplites plus 5 reserve usually younger recruits led by a veteran ranked equally in seniority & skill within the File) Organizational chart, leadership Hoplite Leader (Bronze), Roran of Saeveril (2nd of the Phalanx, Leader of First Othrim, Main File) Hoplite Leader, Orym of Abarat, (Tetrarch of First File, ranked 8th in the Phalanx) Hoplite Leader, Malon of Fergen, (Tetrarch of Second File, 9th in the Phalanx) Hoplite Leader, Ayas (Tetrarch of Third File, 11th in the Phalanx) Hoplite Leader, Aquilan (Tetrarch of Fourth, Old Cryptae Member ¨C Phalanx Special Operations Unit, later replaced by Nym¡¯s Circle during Queen Baltoris reign, 10th in the Phalanx) - Young Othrim 500 Hoplites (Same as the normal Othrim, the recruits followed the Phalanx around and fought without exceptions with those surviving promoted to the Main units) One Main File (Hopeful) Four numbered Files Hoplite Leader (of Young Othrim), Unor ¡®Moriva¡¯ aka the Nocturnal (Rare Mori-Zilan of Coal Isle, Hoplite Trainer & Lord Onas pupil, 7th in the Phalanx, Main Young Othrim File ¨C¡®Hopeful¡¯) Hoplite Leader Airdan (Tetrarch of First File) Hoplite Leader Mortail (Tetrarch of Second File) Hoplite Leader Realnor (Tetrarch of Third File) Hoplite Leader Drannor (Tetrarch of Fourth File) - Five pack animals per File (here fifty for the two Othrim) If available, A Unit of Scouts/Rangers (here Aelinole, Wylinor and Gorwin ¨CAelinole¡¯s pupil, led by Aelinole due to rank within the Imperial Rangers and higher status) A Unit of Healers (here Darunia and Aimon, led by Darunia due to higher status, despite Aimon being of higher rank as Medic of the Phalanx) A Unit of Engineers (Elwuin and Akkar his pupil)* - Total numbers 1000 Hoplites and about four hundred following in the supply train mainly drawn from Captain Archibald''s ¡®Birdeye¡¯ Tidus¡¯ crew and the fleet. Notably around two hundred (200) Zilan marines under Captain Flardryn of Abarat, who was commanding the three Imperial War Galleys and were tasked with guarding the rear and the camp. *Per its Imperial Zilan ancient rigid rules, the Phalanx forcefully drafted (or volunteered as was the term favored) any available nearby citizen or slave for its needs. No exceptions were made despite efforts from individuals to escape it at times for various reasons. To deny serving was one of the few ways one could lose his citizenship. It meant either immediate exile to lands outside the Empire¡¯s control (in the loose Zilan term that meant outside of Eplas and Jelin though the latter was rarely enforced fully. As the phrase went, ¡®earn a long vacation beyond the Sinking Isles¡¯) or death.
- Aimon, who had been with the 2nd Othrim since before Roran had won his command well over eleven centuries ago and followed him when the unit was re-christened the First Main by Anfalon, didn¡¯t want anything to do with it. Orym, Malon, Ayas and Aquilan who had taken the place in the war meetings replacing Vulas who was dead and Ulovir who had been promoted as Leader of the new 2nd Othrim justly, didn¡¯t want to get political. Roran couldn¡¯t see it that way. Darunia shrugged her shoulders. ¡°I guess they are in agreement,¡± she decided with a warm smile at the other Hoplites. ¡°I appreciate your vote of confidence fellow comrades.¡± ¡°They are afraid to speak!¡± Roran grunted. ¡°The Othrim has a medic and needs not the burden¡ª¡± ¡°It¡¯s really not a burden,¡± Aimon cut him off and added with a conspiratorial grin. ¡°I¡¯ll work with Lady Darunia.¡± Dirty old half-wit. ¡°Thank you valued Aimon,¡± Darunia said and touched the medic¡¯s arm gently. ¡°Darunia!¡± Roran barked catching the display. ¡°You are not making the journey!¡± ¡°I volunteered,¡± Darunia argued. ¡°Why are you so frustrated?¡± I¡¯m jealous. Your trick worked. Roran pursed his mouth not wanting to say that and glared at the old medic. ¡°Lady Olonelis will have us expelled. She¡¯ll make it her life¡¯s mission if anything happens to her.¡± ¡°She won¡¯t,¡± Darunia assured them with a smile. ¡°For nothing will,¡± she turned to look at him seething silently. ¡°The Monarch¡¯s order doesn¡¯t absolve me silly Roran. Had he wanted me to stay back, Hardir would have mentioned it.¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t remember it more like!¡± Roran hissed not believing he was forced to comment on such matters in the open. ¡°Probably doesn¡¯t know our laws!¡± Or bloody cares. ¡°Lord Onas does,¡± Darunia argued calmly. ¡°He is also a good friend of my mother so this is an endorsement for you Roran of Saeveril. You are trusted and valued to assure our survival.¡± More like a punishment, Roran thought but said nothing. All we need is even more extra pressure to make it interesting.
Aelinole was wiping her oiled spare bowstrings when a frustrated Roran found her. The Imperial Ranger paused and glanced at him. ¡°I may not join you,¡± she said tauntingly. ¡°Gorwin shall come in my place so don¡¯t bother.¡± ¡°Mmm.¡±Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Aelinole looped the strings around a polished short stick and placed them in her field bag. Roran could see she had packed everything in there. ¡°You¡¯re not worried about me,¡± she finally said her tone changing, as if it was something she just realized and it made sense but was also unpleasant. ¡°I am,¡± Roran grunted not wanting to talk about them at that moment but also sort of looking to vent to someone not in his File or Othrim. ¡°But you¡¯re not coming per your words.¡± ¡°Whoa, I thought you were angry for that. Wait is it Darunia? She told me that you were fine with her joining.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m not,¡± Roran rustled. ¡°She lied.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t want her near you?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what I said Aelinole!¡± The ranger chuckled which wasn¡¯t something she usually did the past couple of centuries. ¡°Was that girl lying always? Or just around you? Were you with her when we were together?¡± ¡°No,¡± Roran retorted raspingly dodging the question. ¡°I¡¯m not like you.¡± And she had lied for you plenty back then. Aelinole stepped back with a glare. Then she breathed out slowly and shook her head. ¡°Listen, I don¡¯t like this,¡± Aelinole admitted and glanced towards his tent. Roran turned his head around and saw Darunia watching them from afar. ¡°I knew she fawned over you but never believed she would act on it. You are also both my friends and I¡¯ve a different life built already. This is a lesson for you to learn Roran, as much as it is for me I suppose,¡± she added looking at him. ¡°Our heart will always worry for those we love and strive to protect them. Also be super selfish and vain around each other. Even petty.¡± Roran found himself not caring for her opinion even if she was right. It was liberating and a little sad. ¡°Humans are savages Aelinole,¡± Roran said tiredly returning to the matter at hand. ¡°She can¡¯t fix them and they¡¯ll take advantage of her.¡± ¡°We¡¯re all flawed and can be as cruel,¡± she replied. ¡°But also capable of making our own decisions. She¡¯s not a child Roran, none of us are. The Calamity kept her isolated under Olonelis¡¯ watch, this is her adventure and romance period. A way to be close to you and the spirit of her father. This isn¡¯t the same campaign, there are no monsters waiting for us across the sea.¡± War births monsters out of thin air, Roran thought but asked her a different thing instead. ¡°Us?¡± Aelinole sighed and stared at her bag. ¡°I can¡¯t let her travel alone as if I¡¯m mad at both of you. Plus I don¡¯t want Maeriel taking the lead on the Imperial Rangers. I have a son that needs support to gain his place in the new palace. Not following the Othrim would be a political tool to use against me.¡± ¡°Maeriel sleeps in the Monarch¡¯s quarters,¡± Roran reminded her what was common gossip. ¡°Was Faelar¡¯s pupil after all.¡± ¡°Last time I checked the Monarch had no tits,¡± Aelinole argued and stooped to pick up her bag. ¡°Faelar was my tutor as well, this bow is a gift from him.¡± Roran kept his mouth shut. Faelar wouldn¡¯t have taken her on but for Olonelis insisting and probably threatening a bit, as Aelinole was too young. ¡°What?¡± He asked seeing her troubled expression. ¡°My bow just chuckled,¡± Aelinole replied. ¡°It¡¯s Whispering Wood but it rarely speaks.¡± ¡°Probably the tits part,¡± Roran offered convincingly. The girls will make a liar out of me in the end, he thought sourly. ¡°It was a good jest. Haven¡¯t heard it since Baltoris breathed her last.¡±
The young boy had Theodas¡¯ dented bronze helm in his small hands. He paused to stare at Roran with a sober face not intimidated by his armour and height. Roran could see himself in the bedroom¡¯s polished mirror. The muscled steel cuirass all black and full of scars. The steel grieves and vambraces. The Hoplite helm and his eyes looking at him behind the narrow slits. The silver details and engravings of the Hallowed marking the black helm distracting. The Zilan boy pursed a small mouth in a scowl and turned his back to the Hoplite leader. Without saying a word he walked on small legs outside the bedroom taking the ancient bronze helm with him. Then Darunia giggled and a thousand birds chirped melodically with her in the Healer¡¯s depiction of the Goddess¡¯ garden. All different and curious with their coupling. Small creatures the healer had saved, their soul-sparks following her essence about always. From a gold Finch to an orange-necked Robin and a plain barn Swallow, they jumped over the blooming bushes. Danced over their sweaty naked bodies. Over the sweet flowers and the sunlit foliage between the chestnut trees. The grass wet and slippery, the female¡¯s warm folds a soft soothing place. As much therapeutic as passionate. Her blood burning his tongue and mixing with his. Each throaty gasp a new delight. Their threads entwined in the Healer¡¯s mating dream sequence he¡¯d allowed to continue. Reality wrapping with fantasy, the past, the future and the familiar nibble but also newly discovered body parts. All the pieces coming together in a rushed crescendo. Roran lost his self for a moment dissolving into her savage embrace. The morning found him standing naked amidst the trees and staring at the dark ocean splashing on the beach not ten meters away. Ships bells ringing and coming from the nearby but unseen docks with summoning horns sounding in response. The breeze cold on his skin contrasting to Darunia¡¯s sleepy voice. ¡°It¡¯s early.¡± ¡°The Othrim sounded the morning call.¡± ¡°What happens now?¡± ¡°You know,¡± Roran replied and turned to look at her naked figure approaching slowly. ¡°Not really,¡± Darunia replied shyly and blushed. ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± ¡°It hasn¡¯t worked before?¡± Roran asked although he knew and scooped her up in his arms easily. Darunia yelped in shock but grasped at his neck with both arms, fleshy orbs squeezed on his muscled chest. Not like this, he thought. ¡°Not like this,¡± she confessed as if reading his thoughts and kissed his jaw, then bit it teasingly, sharp fangs cutting the skin. ¡°I can heal that,¡± Darunia assured him lapping at the blood, while Roran carried her back to their discarded stuff in order to get dressed. ¡°Then I don¡¯t know either. Let¡¯s wait and see,¡± Roran said hoarsely and had to fight with himself not to cry from joy and the looming crushing fear.
- Twelve days later Eve of day thirty six, last month of summer The year of the Imperial Calendar 3399 Ten kilometers from Mista Savar-Tane junction The lush plains under the barren slopes of the granite walls of the Imperial Watch The ruins of the old fort and temple guarding the marshes near Tani River Forty kilometers from its bridge and fifty from Ani Ta-Ne Aquilan trotted back vigorously, chiseled chest uncovered and sweaty skin gleaming when he stopped near the light-torches surrounding their Spartan camp. The Phalanx needs no walls for it has Hoplites standing as its steel walls. It builds no cots or camps either but for the supply train, because the Hoplite needs only to stand still for a while to rest, Lord Onas used to repeat running after them when Roran had joined. His pupil, the dark-skinned sober Unor Moriva (the name meaning the nocturnal in the old tongue of the Cazan Isles), who had continued training recruits in Abarat after the Calamity, running right beside him with a steel stick. Unor still carried that stick with him, an over a meter-long polished rod that had cracked open many a recruit¡¯s skulls, the Mori-Zilan brutal in his punishment of the slackers. ¡°Wylinor will investigate,¡± Aquilan reported. The Hoplite Leader never missing the chance to go on a mission with the rangers, to remind himself of his days with the Cryptae. Noticing Unor¡¯s scowl ¨Cthe Leader of the Young Othrim had visited Roran to complain about the slow pace of the march- he added a little apprehensively. ¡°I had to ditch the armour to keep up with them.¡± The latter Unor¡¯s suggestion for the marines and the supply train following after them. ¡°Do you remember where you ditched it?¡± Unor probed raspingly eyeing the taller Aquilan like a lazy rodent. ¡°Sure Unor. Chill out old head, you¡¯ll pop an artery,¡± Aquilan retorted with a taunt. Unor delved in his spare hours training the Cryptae back then. Fifteen centuries later Aquilan still remembered the punishment he¡¯d suffered in the trainer¡¯s hands. ¡°Who lit the torches up on the Watch?¡± Roran asked to get them back on subject. ¡°We found camel prints going up the slopes. Wylinor shall tell us more.¡± ¡°You think they use the fort?¡± Roran asked. ¡°There¡¯s not much of a fort left Roran.¡± ¡°Not much of anything,¡± Unor commented sourly. ¡°Bunch of ignoramus, greedy cowards. None more unfaithful than the Cofols or bigger harlots for coin, no wonder they¡¯ve been savoring Radpur¡¯s spawns cocks for so long!¡± ¡°The humans said the markets were great in Fu De-Gar,¡± Aquilan argued and Unor grimaced and raised his stick. ¡°The day a lying pirate scum visits the market first and not the brothel, is the day I shall eat this,¡± he grunted. ¡°It¡¯s imperial steel Unor,¡± Aquilan guffawed and Unor glared at him. ¡°Save your teeth.¡± ¡°Let us test it on the stone plinth you call head Aquilan,¡± he retorted. ¡°I say the steel will snap and not make a dent!¡± ¡°Post sentries on the south also and send a man to notify Flardryn to have his eyes open,¡± Roran intervened again. ¡°And someone get those pirates to stop yelling! Goddess help us, what is this cursed repetitive tune?¡±
The young Cofol looked about fifteen years old. He walked after Wylinor and Gorwin, pausing to stare dumbfounded at Aelinole and Darunia, before returning his awed lightly-slanted eyes on the Hoplites around Roran. He wasn¡¯t a street urchin. The young man¡¯s clothes made out of quality cloth, a shawl wrapped on his neck marking him as a desert Cofol. ¡°That¡¯s him,¡± Wylinor reported with a nod. ¡°He has three more people with him, two guards and a slave but he asked to speak to us alone. They are the ones that lit the torches.¡± It was a sign there were friendlies present inside the ruins. ¡°To the heavens above our greetings,¡± the young Cofol said raising his arm and speaking in passable Imperial with that drawn out Peninsula accent. ¡°The name is Naram-Sin Nagar, a faithful servant of the Empire, forever its light shine in the darkness,¡± he added sounding genuinely moved and then prostrated himself afore Roran¡¯s feet. ¡°We have kept its laws alive warriors of the Phalanx and never lost faith,¡± Naram said looking at the ground. Roran stared at Aelinole and then at Darunia but they seemed nonchalant with the human acknowledging Roran afore them. ¡°You hail from Ane NaGar?¡± He asked seeing the Elderborns weren¡¯t going to help him here. ¡°We traded incense and animals since the First Era,¡± Naram replied. ¡°Still bring our wares into the great Nagar Bazaar and all over the Peninsula.¡± Merchant families never go extinct, Roran thought amused. ¡°We have Sopat men with the supply train,¡± he told him a little uncomfortable talking to the prostrated teenager. ¡°The gem masters of Lai Zel-Ka are slow to move in the desert, but they are known. We are allies,¡± Naram replied diplomatically. ¡°Not everyone is,¡± Roran said and Unor stooped with a curse then used his stick to raise the young Cofol from the ground by placing it under Naram¡¯s chin. The teenager shaky on his feet which forced Darunia to approach with an open small glass bottle of bright orange liquid. She offered the small long-necked bottle to him and Naram took it with a bow. He had some and then returned it to the healer. ¡°Coconut oil,¡± he said in Common before stopping to remember the word in Imperial. Darunia grinned and corked the bottle. ¡°With carrot juice and crushed sesame seeds,¡± she elucidated in Common and everyone smiled at the exchange that seemed to break the ice. ¡°It shall boost your system but might disturb your stomach.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be honored to share my wine with you my lady,¡± Naram blurted out and Aelinole intervened with a smirk. ¡°Better that you didn¡¯t camel herder,¡± she told him and Darunia gasped at her tone. ¡°What?¡± Aelinole retorted. ¡°You¡¯re with child.¡± Ah. ¡°Aelinole!¡± Darunia snapped blushing at the revelation, Naram listening in to their exchange engrossed but less so than the numb Roran. Every Hoplite near him pretending they hadn¡¯t heard anything until Roran reacted first to gauge the official line. The old ¡®there are no secrets in the army¡¯ dictum applying here as much as the ¡®follow the officer¡¯s lead¡¯. Aelinole glanced at Roran and rolled her eyes. ¡°I thought you knew. Just smile Roran of Saeveril, tonight we feast to the good news. The gods have spoken.¡± Roran breathed out slowly suddenly at a loss for words now that the moment was upon him and Wylinor cleared his throat looking at the Cofol merchant. ¡°He has information on Ani Ta-Ne Roran. Enemy numbers and movements,¡± the ranger said. ¡°From refugees. The news travel fast. We might have to move right away.¡± ¡°I¡¯d a like a moment with Lady Darunia first,¡± Roran grunted and everyone nodded but for Aelinole that wrapped her arm around the silent Darunia¡¯s waist to bring her closer. She kissed her forehead, the healer¡¯s long graceful ears drawn back and closer to her head. The ranger smiled at her friend¡¯s flushed as much as worried expression. ¡°Know that you are blessed. Ever be well, fair Darunia of Olonelis. This shall be a happy tale,¡± Aelinole reassured her in court Imperial and looked at Roran. ¡°For this soldier shall come back.¡± As much a wish as an order.
Sept Khemet, followed by Nancin marched back towards their base outside Ani Ta-Ne. He had with him nine hundred mounted rangers/archers, about a hundred and forty survivors from Nancin¡¯s army (60 spear infantry and 80 Rohir Horselords under Babu, son of Anua), six hundred mounted infantry, around two hundred and fifty Forya-Rochir under Sid Halla-Tar, two hundred Jang-Lu under Kindar and around five hundred Marines with Ravan. Over two thousand men, without the supply train that also had over two hundred wounded and as many local warriors supporting the Khan as reserve. He expected a force coming from Fu De-Gar probably under Karit-Ki Truparin the ¡®White Scorpion¡¯ brother of Kuntur who had been killed years prior near Devil¡¯s Cove and first son of Lord Dekerut-Ki Tsuparin ¡®the Cruel¡¯ of Fu De-Gar, one of the rebel leaders. While a force had indeed been gathered ¨Cespecially after the arriving wretched refugees fueled a sense of patriotism in the Garites- and would travel up the coast towards Ani Ta-Ne, this wasn¡¯t the army Sept Khemet would eventually face. While it is still debated today whether Karit was present at the Battle of Que Ki-La Road, Asmudius and the majority of independent sources or reports from survivors point at a different army altogether. King Garth, the mysterious figure ruling from the presumed ruins of Wetull what was effectively a reincarnated Zilan kingdom, dispatched a force of Zilan hoplites on Greenwhale Peninsula making his presence known. The seemingly unexpected hand of assistance may not seem as surprising today, given what (little) we know of Queen Lussiel¡¯s close familial ties to the Three Sisters, but it was a shock back then. The ripple effects of Wetull¡¯s intervention beyond its borders slow to reach the rest of Eplas and Jelin but eventually reach them it did. The how and why a Zilan (if Garth Aniculo was one) would marry a Cofol even as gilded as the ¡®Celestial Opal of Lai Zel-Ka¡¯ and then manage to win the Black Throne of Morn Taras, all the while taming a Wyvern is a tale impossible to decipher from afar. Most believe he had been a member of the royal line, an elusive Elderblood as Zilan call them. Perhaps a half-breed bastard that managed to survive in hiding for centuries and found a way to crawl up the ladder absent competition? Someone even more sinister from a malevolent wizard to a cannibal? Did he really rebuilt Goras by himself? While I¡¯ve searched for an answer to this query for years, nothing really stands to scrutiny and the only man who could have answered on this side of the Shallow Sea has unfortunately long been dead. A new generation of witnesses slowly fading away once more, their tales and secrets veiled under pretenses or lost in the sands of time that spares no one. The official Wetull account has Arguen Garth being a prophesized larger than life character, neither human nor Zilan, the gods had send to restore the empire on his flying wyvern and then took him back when the task was accomplished. Since this describes a demigod I can¡¯t abide to it in good conscience for I have walked and conversed with real giants. The noblest of heroes. I shall stick with the opinion and words of a man much cleverer than me that wrote to this humble author many years ago, whilst leaving the vibrant tongue intact to preserve his memory. ¡®If nothing makes a lick of sense, you need to go back to the beginning son. Find the one sneaky cunt that slipped through the fucking cracks and follow him to his grave. Or shallow ditch. If no gods darn grave is found or you put shovel in ground and find a middle finger rapped in toilet cloth, then by Abrakas foul blackened craphole, you have your man.''
397. A thousand spears (2/2)
AUU! Roran narrowed his eyes, the vertical slits restricting part of his peripheral vision and the helm itself muffling the sounds of the war cries exploding from every File about him. The first line of the Main File familiar. Vaelin, Flinar, Ascal, Myrin and Larongar standing next to his right shoulder, Orym¡¯s First File on his left not two meters away. He couldn¡¯t see their faces but after so long Roran recognized each Hoplite by the different dents on their armour and large Aspises. AUU! AUU! The Cofols were raising quite the dust clouds to their left or north flank where the bulk of the Rangers were riding in various formations. At their center Roran could count three distinct groups. Starting North to south they were a halberd armed Jang-Lu heavy infantry unit (wearing leather and plate pieces of armour) of about two hundred soldiers, around seven hundred sword and shield medium infantry (wearing pale-yellow leather armour and mail) in the middle and the harpoon-equipped (wearing hardened leather armour) marines securing the north flank up to the Palms sprouting near the coast and the scrubland afore the plains of Stalion¡¯s Rest. They numbered around five hundred and were almost an exact copy of Flardryn¡¯s Imperial Marines Roran had guarding the opposite flank behind the Othrim. ¡°That¡¯s double what the kid said!¡± Orym yelled, face hidden under the hoplite helm. Roran glanced at the edge of the loose formation of Palms and Eucalyptus trees near their south flank and the coast. ¡°Tell Unor to send Drannor to sweep the trees! None shall pass through!¡± Roran barked and watched Ayas¡¯ Third File anchoring the corner of their formation ducking behind their shields as the first volley of steel-tipped arrows landed on them. The rattling of metal striking metal covering all other sounds. ¡°Cataphracts?¡± Vaelin asked him and Roran shook his head negatively. Not as easy to hide Rokae as it is infantry. ¡°Horselords,¡± he rustled. ¡°They¡¯ll move when their rangers attack Ayas or Flardryn to our rear.¡± Probably had their horseshoes wrapped in cloth already and were sneaking up closer under the cover of the tree line. They¡¯ll go for our supply train. ¡°Aelinole will flush them out,¡± he added. ¡°Wait for them to show their hand Roran?¡± Flinar yelled to be heard over the ruckus the mounted Cofol Rangers were raising. Probably archers given armour, a spear and a shield to serve multiple roles, Roran thought. That extra weight is bound to slow their smaller horses down. ¡°The Phalanx does not stand idle!¡± Roran boomed with a great voice in Imperial. ¡°It moves towards the enemy. BRUSH THEM ASIDE! NO QUARTERS!¡± AUU! ¡°ALL FILES! ON SPEAR¡¯S THROW!¡± Orym barked hoarsely. ¡°MARCH ONWARDS!¡± Roran eyed the Cofols frontline standing roughly two hundred meters away and stabbed the sharp steel butt of his spear on the brittle soil. He accepted the heavy ¨Cover two meters long- diamond-shaped head javelin from Vaelin, took a small step forward and out of their own front line, then hurled it with a snap of his arm across the field. The idea was to land it as near the enemy as possible to rattle them, but Roran knowing he was being watched by a lot of new people, the mother of his child amongst them, gave it a little bit more oomph. The javelin crossed the distance in a very brief second maintaining its trajectory and then plunged sharply to skewer one of Khan¡¯s unperturbed soldiers through shield and torso killing him. A collective gasp of shock came out of the Khan¡¯s men, followed by a numb silence from their lines. ¡°MARCH!¡± Orym boomed snapping everyone back to the present. Roran retrieved his spear, fixed the grip on his aspis (the small bronze laced double-crescent openings another mark of his rank) with the help of his left shoulder and then started marching with measured strides alongside the rest of the First Othrim towards the packed lines of the Khan¡¯s army. The ground shook under their hobnailed sandals, their formation never wavering but moving as one solid block of gleaming black steel plate eating up the meters separating them from their opponents. Here we go again, Roran thought dispassionately as the Battle of the Que Ki-La Road started.
Roran of Saeveril Second of the Phalanx A thousand spears Part II -Many a pleasant things¡­-
Wylinor paused over the half-eaten corpse and then turned around walking towards their patrol. Roran and Aquilan stared at Aimon the medic. ¡°What do you think?¡± Roran asked, the stench of decay mixing with that of the burned ruins. ¡°The city needs to be cleaned up,¡± Aimon replied wiping his hands with a tan-colored cotton cloth and stood up from the corpses he was examining. ¡°The bodies burned or buried. Everyone should clean up thoroughly also and avoid drinking water from the cisterns.¡± ¡°The camp?¡± The Othrim had taken over the camp beyond the Great Market. ¡°The disease is contained within the city, but it will spread if people return,¡± Aimon said and stared at the body Wylinor had found. ¡°These are civilians recently killed.¡± ¡°Half the city is abandoned up to the port,¡± Roran elucidated what they had found out. ¡°Brigands have looted whatever is left standing.¡± ¡°They don¡¯t look like brigands Roran.¡± ¡°Escaped slaves?¡± ¡°Probably, I don¡¯t know,¡± Aimon admitted with a grimace. ¡°What do the locals of the North Districts say?¡± ¡°Avoid the port. Walk with an armed escort,¡± Roran repeated what the Sopat guards had told them. ¡°Any sign of Lord Letakin? You¡¯ve been to the palace,¡± he probed Aquilan. ¡°Just more dead bodies and a lot of wild animals roaming the ruins.¡± ¡°Seems like two out of three places we visit lately is like this these days. End the search. Let the slow-marching Cofols deal with fixing this mess, we have an army coming our way,¡± Roran decided. ¡°That means Darunia must return to the camp Aimon.¡± ¡°We could help here Roran,¡± the old medic argued. ¡°Onas¡¯ order was to secure the ports stay open for us Aimon. The Fleet is about to moor here with supplies. They¡¯ll assist if they can but it is not a priority.¡± ¡°I read the order. It said help the locals.¡± Roran glared at him. ¡°It said ¡®provide assistance¡¯ Aimon. You¡¯re long enough in the army to know Onas didn¡¯t sent us here on a benevolent mission.¡± Aimon pursed his mouth and then grunted in frustration. ¡°Who¡¯s keeping the records?¡± ¡°Flardryn,¡± Aquilan told him. ¡°Word is he has turned his carriage into a cabin, might have installed a sail by now. Has a writing desk inside and everything.¡± ¡°I¡¯m making a note of this,¡± Aimon warned Roran. ¡°We should be gathering medicine to help them. It is Lady Darunia¡¯s wish also.¡± ¡°Let us secure the port first Aimon,¡± Roran said with a sigh. ¡°I¡¯ll see to alleviate Lady Darunia¡¯s concerns.¡± Aelinole had Gorwin following her around. ¡°Elwuin is still missing,¡± Aquilan informed him. Roran stared at the gutted buildings of Ani Ta-Ne¡¯s center. The city had grown spectacularly since he¡¯d last visited it. While Fu De-Gar had some of its landmarks still standing, Ani Ta-Ne seemed completely alien to him. The streets too narrow, the buildings small and brittle. That was way too enticing a subject for Elwuin not to explore. ¡°Akkar?¡± That was one of Elwuin¡¯s old pupils, a long-time engineer of the Phalanx. ¡°In the camp. Looking at the warehouses for supplies.¡± ¡°He¡¯ll have to do. We¡¯re moving out,¡± Roran decided with a last look at the ruined city.
According to sources that have talked with survivors of the battle, mainly caravan merchants, adventurers or traders friendly with the Forya-Rochir that brave the dangerous trip across the Northern Steppe in search for the fabled Water Stones and the frozen city-port of Neil-Dan, Sept Khemet had no idea what he was facing.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. The rangers reported a force of hoplite-armour dressed troops marching up the road cutting through Stallion¡¯s Rest plains peninsula. Deciding these were gladiators coming from Fu De-Gar Khemet prepared to give battle. He bequeathed the open plains on his north flank to his mounted rangers and placed his best infantry troops (Jang-Lu, infantry and Marines) in the center and south flank under Nancin, Ravan and Kindar. The number given ranging from eight hundred to over one thousand three hundred. He also ordered the Forya-Rochir to move even more south near the coast, penetrate the wilderness bordering the plains and turn the flank of their opponents or strike at their camp that was following. The rangers (around nine hundred) began assaulting the north flank of the hoplites, who had marines units securing their rear, while there were many humans with the supply train. Lorians and Cofols, mainly pirates but a good number of citizens that followed after the Phalanx. These were Wetull sympathizers, painted erroneously as Old-Gods believers. The main three of the now resurgent looser old religion are of course Eodrass, Nesande and Abrakas along all smaller ones including the Five that were non-existent or invisible back then. While people today adhere either to a romanticized or negative picture of the land beyond the Pale Mountains and the Zilan, there are over twenty thousand humans of all races living in the port of Sinya Goras, ten thousand in Rain-Minas, another thirty thousand in the city of Taras, two-thirds of them Cofols of the Peninsula that call themselves Imperial Citizens. Taras, the city now sprawling beyond its Lake and under the shadow of the massive Tenebrous Castle, has dwarves and Gish living in the Folk District, with more Gish reportedly living near the mermaid/siren infested distant port of Mussel in Oyster Archipelago under the Talons. So the appeal goes beyond religious matters or simple propaganda. Beyond untold riches and exotic creatures or beasts. What we knew from old books and fancy tales in our youth back then was a reality we have to live with now. Wetull was alive and the dead empire had returned. It was a simple matter of time before it started meddling with the human kingdoms again. One could fight against the deleterious effect of the fully corrupted Cofol culture that had tainted the simple-minded Horselords nature, but the allure of the blue-haired Zilan of Wetull, their magic and their wyverns, is beyond comprehension and in our troubled times the biggest danger to a divided humanity. For humans they are not and on their throne sits a family of insane bloodthirsty monsters. Sid Halla-Tar a famed Forya-Rochir warrior followed by Babu-Anua entered the porous woods south of the battlefield but were discovered just as they were emerging near the Phalanx¡¯s small camp. Hunted by Zilan rangers they attacked a force of Hoplites blocking their path. It was an unbelievably brutal engagement with humans and Zilan fighting on horseback, on foot, with arrows, spears and scimitars, amidst the Eucalyptus trees and on open ground. While the Forya-Rochir fought with courage the Hoplites pushed them back. They attempted to disengage but they got bogged down in the woods and hunted by tireless opponents. The Forya-Rochir tell stories of Zilan rangers firing five arrows for every two the Horselords sent back and sometimes double that amount. With their numbers dwindling Babu-Anua, who had been in enough scraps with the Three Sisters warriors in his lifetime to know the difference, realized they weren¡¯t fighting humans. He ordered the Rohir to retreat using their horses and managed to save some of the Forya-Rochir that followed after him after Sid Halla-Tar went down fighting a Hoplite. The injured Horselord was carried on a horse out of the woods and into the plains. In the main battle, the Phalanx advanced on the Khan¡¯s army center. They were attacked repeatedly from Khemet¡¯s rangers that were dancing on their flanks, pursued in turn from marines. Nancin ordered his flanks (covered by their marines and the Jang-Lu) to advance on the Phalanx¡¯s left and right while his shield infantry held the center. Twenty minutes into the engagement Khemet who was watching from horseback realized the flanks weren¡¯t advancing at all. Kindar had been killed by now as the Jang-Lu folded backwards and Nancin probably informed him they were fighting devils and not the Garites of Fu De-Gar. Sept Khemet witnessing the Khan¡¯s army center caving in as well with only the marines of Ravan barely holding on against the Phalanx¡¯s south flank, ordered his strong cavalry force to switch to spears and charge at the hoplites north flank. The rangers did, their first attempt stopping one of the Phalanx¡¯s Files killing many. They rode away to try again under a hail of javelins and harpoons from the approaching sneakily fast Imperial Marines while the Phalanx rotated another File and took the rangers next charge on the march. Any other unit would have shattered or just not react in time. But they did.
The terrible sound of a great avalanche descended upon their lines. It was so loud, the smell of blood and sweat so strong, both from soldiers and animals, Roran felt overwhelmed for a brief moment. The next he pointed his spear on the charging horse¡¯s head, every hoplite on either side of him doing the same on a different rider on instinct. Horses neighed in panic seeing the impregnable wall of steel and tried to escape impalement jerking violently left or right. Some managed it dropping their riders on the hoplite spears and shields, others got tangled up with other horses with few crashing on the shieldwall that had snapped into place abruptly. Men and animals cried out in pain, hoplites getting hurled back where the horses had failed to stop in time and on their comrades. Roran¡¯s spear bayonetted the animal¡¯s beads-covered head, broke out its skull and stabbed its rider under the solar plexus. He had been pushed back violently, boots digging in the ground afore stopping on a large aspis that shoved him forward again. Roran left his spear into the horse and its rider and stepped out of the line, front-curved Kopis now in hand. Those of the File that could move, did the same penetrating into the immobilized mounted rangers ranks. Behind their backs Unor had rotated his Young Othrim to the center of the line to plug the gap and was even pushing forward but Roran kept his mind on the fight at hand trusting everyone else to do their duty. He deflected blows with his shield, slashed and hacked with his blade. Moving with the flow of battle. Roran jerked away from a spear, chopped the shaft in two and then plunged his blade in a body. The thud rattling his shoulder when the sword broke through flesh and bones. Torrents of blood gushed out of horrid wounds, arms and legs were severed. Red gore splashed on the ground, sandals dipping in bloody sludge, stepping on broken weapons, butchered animals and pieces of flesh or skin still dressed in cloth. He growled, the smell of blood intoxicating, gnarly mouth baring its teeth and gore painting his helm and cuirass. A blade clanged on his shield and he turned, the double-crescent shield rotating just enough to allow him to stab his sword through the opening. The sharp blade found a forehead, the skull cracking and then splitting open when Roan punched the Kopis fully through. Roran sidestepped, Flinar¡¯s spear spitting the soldier that tried to rush him right at the neck. A yank and the spear came out, the head detaching taking pieces of torn skin with it and a bright red mist spattered their panoply. Roran kicked the collapsing headless body and sent it crashing on an onrushing horse¡¯s legs. The scared animal jumped to avoid stepping on it, but failed and broke its right front leg above the joint when it sunk into the dead soldier¡¯s chest cavity. Its rider jumped from the saddle, white leather armour under pieces of engraved plate gleaming in the sun and landed on a cracked shield losing his footing. He cursed and twisted about, Roran advancing on him in the mayhem. The officer slashed at the oncoming hoplite, but Roan angled his shield to deflect it and hacked at the jumping away man. He missed, the officer cursed and a steel spear went in and out of his ribcage wielded by Vaelin. The Khan¡¯s officer groaned, a hand on his bleeding wound painted red and stared at the hoplites surrounding him in horrified disbelief. ¡°You betrayed your oath,¡± Roran barked hoarsely in the Common Human Tongue. ¡°Your life is forfeited!¡± ¡°What¡­?¡± The officer gasped ogling those slanted-eyes in bewilderment. Then Vaelin¡¯s spear returned brutally, leaf-shaped blade going through the man¡¯s right temple, wrapping the helm, pulverizing the officer¡¯s brains and splintering his skull, afore exploding out the left side with a garish discharge of gore. ¡°You wanted the kill Roran?¡± Vaelin asked unsure, face hidden under the scarred black hoplite helm. ¡°Spread out,¡± Roran spat not bothering to answer after he wiped some of the gluey material from his neck. ¡°Slay Radpur¡¯s minions.¡±
Nancin seeing that Khemet¡¯s charge had failed to break the Phalanx, decided to disengage but at around the same time Ravan was killed as well (Sept Khemet had fallen earlier amidst his riders) and Nancin¡¯s plan was ruined. Ravan¡¯s marines holding the south flank were attacked by returning from the woods hoplites and just disintegrated in their attempt to pivot towards the new threat. Shocking as it may sound, in less than an hour Khemet¡¯s experienced landing force alongside Nancin¡¯s veterans ceased to exist. The general committed suicide according to witnesses when he realized all was lost probably because there were rumors of cannibalism performed in the field on still breathing soldiers and didn¡¯t want to be eaten alive. Whether the latter was true or not with so many Zilan present and after such a brutally bloody engagement old legends came back to life. Khemet¡¯s defeat wasn¡¯t immediately learned by Prince Nout who was fighting an equally hard battle hundreds of kilometers away and it is unclear if he learned about it at all. Babu-Auna¡¯s Rohir Horselords and a few Forya-Rochir escaped towards the plains. They would spent the winter there and then cross on rafts the Khanate Gulf abandoning their lands to the advancing from Fu De-Gar Karit-Ki Tsuparin¡¯s vengeful army. Babu-Auna will bring Sid Halla-Tar back to the northern steppe and the seriously injured Sid would make sure his riders would always ¡®have a place around their fire¡¯. Their friendship lasting until the old Rohir was killed fighting alongside him nine years later stopping famed Kalac ¡®the Feared¡¯ campaign of terror in the Battle of Luzet-Eriel Lagoon, which in turn solidified the Cofol¡¯s Steppe borders until our days. According to oral sources and bard tales the whole Phalanx didn¡¯t fight in the battle of Que Ki-La Road (a turning point in the campaign) or was anywhere near the Peninsula at the time. It would be impossible anyways as the Phalanx was present elsewhere thousands of kilometers away. Only a detachment of hoplites was present numbering a thousand spears.
Roran found his spear hours later. The buzz of the battle had subsided but the cries of the seriously wounded men and animals could be heard breaking the strange stillness that had fallen upon the bloody grounds. He spent some time near Ayas¡¯ File who had suffered the worst, losing its Tetrarch and sixty valuable hoplites. Unor had lost Drannor and many of his recruits as well in the battle for the woods. They had all helped pick the weapons of the fallen warriors and their broken bodies. Roran helped wash each warrior carefully and redressed them as best they could. They carried their fallen inside the woods and buried each in turn clad in their full panoply under healthy trees. They didn¡¯t hasten or slacked in their task but paid apt respect to their comrades in arms. The Phalanx resides in each Hoplite and each Hoplite carries a part of the Phalanx with him. Aimon and Darunia were busy in the meantime tending to the wounded, many Cofols receiving treatment as well under the watchful hoplite guards¡¯ eyes. The rest of the dead, well over two thousand, were piled in three large funeral pyres and burned with wood and dry branches gathered from the woods. It wouldn¡¯t burn properly and the corpses would be finished off by scavengers but that was the extent of Roran¡¯s mercy for them. They didn¡¯t bother gathering the Khan¡¯s army weapons as they were of lesser quality but for a couple of officers scimitars. Two of them made out of Imperial Steel. Roran brought one of them to a busy Darunia and the healer frowned seeing it. ¡°I¡¯m not a butcher silly. I work with a small blade,¡± she told him and glanced apologetically at the injured Myrin. The Hoplite had a deep cut from a sword that had scrapped the bone at his knee, afore it was stopped by the steel grieves. The Hoplite clenched his jaw and Darunia pressed at the wound to get all the foul blood out. ¡°It¡¯s for the boy,¡± Roran murmured watching her tending to the cut carefully. ¡°How do you know?¡± Darunia asked without looking at him. ¡°Hoplites can¡¯t see the future.¡± ¡°This hoplite has,¡± Roran grunted and Myrin blinked not wanting to listen to their private bander but unable to move his leg. Darunia got a long stitching needle out of her bag. ¡°Stay still,¡± she warned the grimacing Myrin. ¡°I¡¯ve run out of healing potions so you¡¯ll get to enjoy my embroidery. What do you say?¡± ¡°Gratitude Lady Darunia,¡± Myrin droned and she smiled sweetly. ¡°What does future hold for us Roran?¡± Darunia asked faking indifference. It was scary how quickly one learns to read someone he thought he knew, only to discover how much more depth was under the comely interior. Roran remembered wearing the silver-engraved helm marking a rank he hadn¡¯t earned and crooked a mire-covered square jaw in discomfort. ¡°Many a pleasant things,¡± the Second of the Imperial Phalanx had replied gravely, weary eyes on the ravaged battlefield and the massive funeral pyres burning bright, thick black columns of smoke rising to the clear sky. The breeze blowing at the black and red banners cleansing death¡¯s foulness out of the air. ¡°Amidst some bad,¡± Roran added and heard the proud trumpet of a Wyvern¡¯s distant shriek well afore its shadow flew past them.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms or enjoy it again at Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ The chapters are re-edited and re-posted regularly at both places 398. Tales of the Peninsula | Leopard’s Claws (1/2)
Sir Emerson Lennox Mista Savar ¡®Pale Jackal¡¯ ¡®War Leader¡¯ Tales of the Peninsula | Leopard¡¯s Claws Part I -Bastards and Lords-
If yer fixing to hunt a predator, prepare yourself for a hurting son, his father used to say. Emerson rode near Velox ahead of those retreating towards the city either entering through the broken south gates or following the walls heading northwest towards the thickets. He jumped from the horse, his bandaged knee protesting at the landing and handed the reins to a young gladiator standing next to Velox. ¡°What¡¯s the damage?¡± Velox grunted seeing his face. ¡°The impatient warrior,¡± Emerson growled through his teeth one of the many desert sayings he¡¯d learned during his time in the Peninsula and splashed some water on his face from the flask Velox had given him. Or the angry one. ¡°Is carried out of the sands on his back,¡± the veteran finished his words and stared towards the distant field. Emerson could have written that himself. ¡°Is Merehor in place?¡± Emerson asked. ¡°I sent word to Serebus as well, but I don¡¯t trust either.¡± ¡°He needs to stay at the junction. Move only if the need arises.¡± Nout wouldn¡¯t risk his men inside the woods. Would he attempt to break through them though to avoid entering the city? ¡°You think the Prince knows of the forest path?¡± ¡°Sartak is causing us problems since the start,¡± Emerson replied. ¡°Sol¡¯s plans were easy to read, but not his. He told the Prince everything, I reckon.¡± ¡°Lots of people in the city still,¡± Velox commented. ¡°Nout won¡¯t fight inside the city. He needs to take the bridge to get reinforcements.¡± ¡°It would have been easier to stop them with a good ole ditch right here,¡± Velox said looking at the Chiliad taking positions to block the fields hugging the walls parallel to the walls, starting from the Simun Gates all the way to the brick fortifications corner. The junction was directly across the ruined gates at the edge of the palms forest and the start of the Figs copse near the Clear Lake¡¯s south shores. ¡°I want to draw them to that corner and around the turn,¡± Emerson replied. ¡°Half a kilometer to the lake from the walls, good ground only near the city and the north road we can control with spears. We wear his horses down and we turn this into an infantry engagement without flanks.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t trust the Sopat to hold the junction.¡± ¡°He just needs to guard the east flank and stay put,¡± Emerson grunted. ¡°Nout will have only one way to go. Phon controls all the roads, the forest and has men covering Sartak¡¯s path. The more Nout pushes west, the less men he¡¯ll have to break through towards the north.¡± ¡°They started out plenty well,¡± Velox noted sourly. Emerson stared at him soberly. ¡°The only way out for the cities is to ruin his army,¡± he told the weather-beaten Chiliad leader. ¡°So he can¡¯t use it again. Stop him here or no one else shall. The moment a games-master runs out of warriors the games stop and people look to sate themselves in a cheaper manner.¡± Velox grimaced, wiped the sweat off of his shaven skull and then stared at his boots. ¡°What about the lads?¡± He asked gravely. ¡°Gods damnit Jackal.¡± ¡°There are thousands of people, slaves and poor innocent families living in the Three Sisters,¡± Emerson replied looking about them at the returning Slavers that had made it out of the battlefield. ¡°They don¡¯t stand a chance Velox, not the way this war is being fought by both sides. Oath-breakers, crooks, killers and men with blood-soaked hands end up in the arena for the most part. We¡¯re not as important lad but we can be of service. We can, if it means we bleed the Khan dry and make him reconsider his strategy. He shall. For it is better to lose something but not all. Ensuring Nout is stopped here, is the right thing to do for the whole realm,¡± he added meaningfully. ¡°Welp, better don¡¯t use this in a speech anytime soon. Most lads don¡¯t give a shite about the realm or even the Three Sisters,¡± Velox retorted with a sigh. ¡°Anyway, Toros is cutting trees down since yesterday, looks to narrow that down even more,¡± Velox said. ¡°What about Troy?¡± ¡°Troy will guard the bridge and the river to our rear,¡± Emerson retorted and eyed the fit gladiator galloping their way along with Qathor. ¡°Tight space and the potential of a brawl. He¡¯ll be impossible to get rid of.¡±
Prince Nout ordered his chariots back ¨Cthe Prince intended to use one himself- and Ramen-Toka disengaged easily on the open fields before Que Ki-La. Hora-Se stopped his Cataphracts as well and left the rest of the cavalry to pursuit Bohor¡¯s shattered force up to the south walls of the city. Bohor and Asmudius were both injured but made it near Sir Lennox. Nis-Belu¡¯s battered scouts continued hurrying the slavers but he also ordered them back after a while to rest their horses and pick up the injured they¡¯d left behind. Master Ibn-Robet an architect and writer following the Prince and Beon-Mau a talented engineer, surely advocated on liberating the city (3/4 of Que Ki-La was abandoned by now with the survivors gathered at the northeastern coastal district and the periphery of the city, its walls and gates completely controlled by the Chiliad) but Nout had already begun working on a contingency plan. He probably feared Sept Khemet wouldn¡¯t be able to disengage in time to assist him and being in contact with Arik Sartak turned his eyes on the refugees, survivors and even the Three Sisters distant camps for another way. Sept couldn¡¯t help at all, because he was fully dead by now but Sartak, who was dealing with the rebellion for months already and knew his opponents inside and out, presented the Prince with some very valuable facts. While the latter is disputed by the Khanate¡¯s historians who align themselves with Atpa¡¯s records, the general¡¯s people still insist that this was the case. Lord Khemet who had returned to Ani Ta-Ne after the ¡®Battle of Que Ki-La Road¡¯ reported several ¡®foreign¡¯ warships inside the ruined harbor. The Khanate Lord would circumnavigate the Stallion¡¯s Rest near the shores looking for his son¡¯s army but of course fail to find anyone. While an assault on the warships was considered at some point, Lord Khemet didn¡¯t want to risk the crew and ships against an opponent he couldn¡¯t recognize. So he instead retreated and messaged Rin An-Pur and the Prince for instructions. It is not known if his messages were received.
Come on lad, Emerson thought watching the gladiators resting under the shade of the walls. Troy tussled his hair back and looked at him hurt. ¡°Rear duty,¡± he finally said. ¡°Sartak will attack with everything he has,¡± Emerson explained. ¡°Don¡¯t play it down.¡± ¡°What about here?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll retreat towards the turn and Lotus Lane. Phon will control our west flank, the walls the other. You get our rear.¡± ¡°I understand giving Qathor the arse, but I¡¯m really pretty straightforward¡ª¡± Emerson cut him off with a glare. ¡°Will this foreign king help?¡± Troy asked with a grimace. ¡°Glenavon isn¡¯t foreign.¡± ¡°No Lorian I know has a farm of wyverns.¡± ¡°Forget about him, assume we¡¯re on our own,¡± Emerson retorted gruffly. ¡°Nout will try to surprise us.¡± ¡°He takes his bloody time,¡± Troy scoffed and eyed the solemn-faced Citata. The female gladiator hadn¡¯t spoken since Rubi-La breathed her last.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Probably resting his horses, but an animal needs time to recover,¡± Emerson replied. ¡°When they come again they won¡¯t be as fresh.¡± ¡°Have you seen Asmudius?¡± ¡°Not much to see, a lot of bandages,¡± Emerson rubbed his sore knee. ¡°Unfortunately the blow missed his mouth. Uher saved the wrong man I fear.¡± ¡°Bohor?¡± ¡°Lost the arm. They had to amputate, torch the wound. Phon took him to their camp.¡± Troy puffed his cheeks out like Glen used to do and groaned unhappy. ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll head back. Lotus Lane my arse, eight out of ten trees back there are Fig trees. Ground is littered with them. The bugs will eat you alive if the crocodiles spare you.¡± ¡°Do they, spare you?¡± Emerson asked and glanced at a rider approaching from the Dates Plantation and the Palms Forest side. ¡°Nah,¡± Troy replied with a shiver. ¡°Ye find yerself in trouble, give me a holler,¡± he added and strolled away pompously casting taunting glances at the resting gladiators. He received a couple of cries of praise for his efforts and a good number of colorful epithets accompanied from lewd gestures. Emerson reached for his saddle and gotten the heavy sword out to check on the blade. Sheathed it, then went to check on his dagger next and custom-made longsword but the Cofol came straight towards them on his horse forcing him to pause. ¡°Looking for someone son?¡± Emerson asked raspingly and the young Cofol mercenary pulled at the beaded reins of his horse to stop it. ¡°Mista Savar.¡± ¡°Luthos favors you. Ye found him.¡± ¡°Samir¡¯s scouts reported riders going in the woods,¡± the Cofol said. Samir¡¯s men had found shelter there before trickling back near the Chiliad. They¡¯ve lost too many unfortunately. Still a range unit is a range unit, Emerson thought. ¡°He left men behind?¡± The Cofol nodded. ¡°He did.¡± ¡°How many did they spot?¡± ¡°A dozen.¡± Too few. A scouting party perhaps. ¡°What did Merehor say?¡± Emerson probed. ¡°He didn¡¯t. Samir said I should speak with you. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°He might look fancy now but the man hails from Lukela. There¡¯s a goat room in their brothels.¡± For crying out loud. ¡°You think they turned around without making contact?¡± Emerson asked with a frown. ¡°Could be,¡± the scout replied. ¡°It¡¯s a straight path. Are his pickets blind?¡± Maybe Nout¡¯s scouts are that good, Emerson thought and stared at the treeline extending parallel to the walls, all the way to the junction and West Gates. Toros¡¯ platoon was guarding the road that led from the latter to the turn. The narrows between the north walls of the city and the lake¡¯s shores. ¡°Tanus,¡± he barked at the gladiator nearest him. ¡°Citata.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll head back towards the city,¡± the scout said. ¡°No you won¡¯t,¡± Emerson corrected him. ¡°You¡¯re coming with us.¡± ¡°Where to Jackal?¡± ¡°Sartak¡¯s path,¡± Emerson replied. Better to check it out.
Their small group cut across the meadow before the walls and entered the palm-trees woods starting after the large dates plantations that dominated the south approach to Que Ki-La. Emerson kept his attention that way expecting Prince Nout to move at some point. The Prince¡¯s force hadn¡¯t advance on the city after winning the morning engagement. It was now early afternoon. ¡°Where are you from Dekra?¡± Tanus, the Lorian soldier-turned gladiator then a member of the Chiliad, asked the horse archer/scout. Emerson turned his eyes on the wide opening. He could see it now amidst the loose trees. The men going back forth had widened what originally were natural animal paths running vertically to the one Sartak had cut through the palms. The latter much wider, enough for a carriage to travel on. Animals. Prey and predators, his father said pressing an oiled cloth on their hunting daggers blades and working it up and down at an unhurried tempo. The men of the escort doing the same near another campfire. Their fire turned to embers and smoking ashes but still giving a light glow that created long shades near the mountains that kept the Lesian desert away. Another desert than the one beyond the forest but some things never changed. Know their habitat, the Lord of Ballard continued raspingly, face dark and jaw clenched like always. Remember, just as the prey rarely uses the same route to escape you, a predator shall never lay the same ambush twice. Never watch the lion¡¯s tail son. Look out for them claws. ¡°Are hippos bigger than elephants then?¡± Tanus asked just as they reached the built path, their horses moving slowly through the peaceful palms. The ground littered with dry branches and brittle yellow but large fronds with the occasional trunk rotting amidst them. ¡°They are not much smaller,¡± Dekra replied. Emerson saw the horse tracks on the soft ground, many more cut trees tossed by the sides leaving small openings. They had used one to enter the path. It extended a couple of kilometers south and led just behind the junction if one followed it the other way. A group of horses about two hundred meters away grazing, with six men sitting under the shade of a wild date tree heavy with hanging fruit and munching on what had dropped on the ground. Four of them looked like mercenary soldiers with tanned-yellow robes and leather cuirasses, but the last two had paler robes under their chainmail shirts and the narrower eyes of Horselords. Emerson rode near them and stopped the horse five meters away, his eyes on the double-quiver desert horses in the group of six. While the saddles of the other horses were all decorated similarly, each was built differently. Those two though are identical. Army issued. A mercenary wearing plate shoulder-pads stood up swallowing what he chewed on and stared at him. Emerson had his steel helm hanging from a hook at his saddle and the Cofol¡¯s eyes settled on it for a brief moment before returning to him. ¡°We give greetings to the Pale Jackal,¡± the Cofol said. ¡°I¡¯m Pardor. Lord Phon tasked us with guarding the path.¡± ¡°Any sight of the enemy?¡± Emerson asked raspingly looking at the two similarly dressed of their bunch. He noticed the strips of dotted fur on their archers bracers, leaving only their fingers uncovered. May well be naught to it, he thought. Then again it could be something. ¡°Nothing came this way,¡± Pardor replied scratching at the right cheek with a ringed finger. The skin tanned and unshaven. He smiled, a couple of teeth encased in white-silver. Expensive dental work. A man well-paid for services rendered. Nice engraved handle on his sword that looked more like a Kopis than a scimitar. The sigil of a bright six-leaf stem curved on the hardened leather right at the center of his chest. Nasar. ¡°Merehor around?¡± Emerson queried and glanced at the solemn-faced Citata. ¡°We could go get him. The camp is three hundred meters down the path,¡± Pardor replied in a friendly manner. ¡°Or we could sent message and he¡¯ll reach out for you Jackal.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t ye go ahead and do the first thing,¡± Emerson replied gruffly. ¡°And I¡¯ll wait here.¡±
Emerson climbed down from his horse. Dekra, Tanus and Citata following his example. A soldier had galloped away down the path to notify Merehor of their arrival. While he headed north, the rest of the group made room for them at their small campsite. No fire at the near, but traveling bags, few sacks with supplies, a couple of bows and weapons left near them. It looked like a stop to rest for the night but it wasn¡¯t. The horses are still saddled. ¡°Keep yer eyes open,¡± Emerson whispered to Tanus. Citata crooked the side of her mouth and Dekra frowned nervously. ¡°Fresh dates,¡± one of the mercenaries said and tossed him a ripe fruit. Emerson caught it and gave it to Tanus. ¡°Didn¡¯t know the Jackal was a Lorian,¡± one of the horse archers said. There was a possibility they were wearing looted stuff, but Emerson didn¡¯t think so. The enemy had done the morning looting. Still with many new men joining their ranks with the arrival of Phon, it was far from a certain thing. Two men ain¡¯t a dozen. But if this ain¡¯t a campsite then what is it? ¡°Lord Sopat calls him Ballard,¡± Pardor said making small talk. ¡°Wish I¡¯d seen ye in the arena.¡± Emerson nodded his eyes on the two archers. The first one didn¡¯t seem fazed but his friend standing a couple of meters behind him flinched at Pardor¡¯s words. Not a fan of the games? Emerson wondered. ¡°I¡¯ve seen the ¡®Gargoyle¡¯ fight in Fu De-Gar,¡± Pardor continued speaking as if he was nervous about something. ¡°Man, I didn¡¯t think that mountain would ever fall,¡± he added ominously. ¡°The time comes for all,¡± Emerson replied, his hand dropping on the handle of his sword. ¡°Eventually.¡± ¡°I heard of the name afore,¡± the second archer started and Emerson couldn¡¯t see his right arm as he was standing half hidden behind his friend. ¡°It¡¯s a place.¡± ¡°Hah,¡± one of the mercenaries guffawed munching on a yellow date. ¡°Who would name himself after a place?¡± ¡°On Jelin?¡± The knowledgeable Horselord queried. ¡°Bastards and Lords.¡± Emerson nodded. ¡°Where did you hear the name?¡± He asked gruffly and the Horselord grimaced and then spat down to clear his mouth. ¡°It¡¯s been a while now,¡± he replied in fine Common. ¡°The man¡¯s dead.¡± ¡°Was he a bastard?¡± Pardor asked with an anxious grin. ¡°Nah,¡± the archer replied returning Emerson¡¯s glare and took a step back towards their bags. ¡°A knight, but he¡¯d been a Lord afore.¡± An ambush then, the knight decided. Emerson stepped forward but paused remembering his friend and twisted sharply left, the curved dagger hitting the plate. It slid on his sides and he trapped the arm wielding it, the first archer grunting not expecting it. Emerson reached to grab him better under the armpit but the man yanked his arm back, nicked the knight under the jaw. Violence exploded abruptly. Some of those present expecting it, others caught unawares.
399. Tales of the Peninsula | Leopard’s Claws (2/2)
Sir Emerson Lennox Mista Savar ¡®Pale Jackal¡¯ ¡®War Leader¡¯ Tales of the Peninsula | Leopard¡¯s Claws Part II -Once an Apostate¡­-
¡°A vile fiend walks out of the shades,¡± Pardor said as if resigning to the inevitable. Emerson wasn¡¯t looking at him, as he¡¯d jerked his head aside to avoid the lashing dagger, always turning on one foot, his sword drawn out of its sheath like one pulls weeds out of the ground. He slashed low and caught a retreating leg, changed the grip in his sword-arm at the end of that initial twist and saw the horse archer snap both his arms forward. That¡¯s what he hid. The point of a spear catching him in the hip. Steel blade hitting the bone. The man made to yank the spear back but Emerson downed his sword savagely, got the leading hand ¨Cthe left had slipped forward- and chopped four fingers still attached to a bit of palm flesh along with half the spear¡¯s shaft right off. The Archer groaned like a mare getting branded with the hot iron and jumped away, part of a spear in his hand, the other still stuck in the knight¡¯s hip. Emerson grunted his head filled with light, changed the grip on his longsword and slashed at the approaching Pardor almost taking the sword out of his hands. The knight got the spear out, blood splashing down his left leg, pivoted on that same bandaged leg with a scowl and hacked at the scimitar wielding mercenary that had attacked the injured Citata. Good thing with bouts of great pain is ye can¡¯t feel anything else. The soldier cried out in shock, stooped to pick the blade out of his severed arm or the arm itself, Emerson wasn¡¯t certain but kicked him just the same, heavy boot landing on ear, breaking his neck. The knight let out a grunt of pain, made to attack the first archer, realized Tanus had cleaved him in the face and turned around to go after either Pardor or the other two. Pardor sidestepped to take advantage of him moving on two good legs to Emerson¡¯s one, but got an arrow in the chest bellow the right breast and stumbled backwards. He reached with a free hand to take it out, pulled once hard and cried out in blinding pain, his eyes tearing up. When they cleared some, Emerson had reached him and run the sharp edge of the sword across Pardor¡¯s face. The officer went down, thin piece of flesh with gory skin flapping alike a grotesque mask from his head, his cries of agony muffled. The mask looked like him, with eyes, nose and lips easily visible under the blood. Emerson stepped aside, Tanus bulldozing the de-faced officer leading with his sword and went to attack the last soldier but Citata¡¯s custom heavy cleaver attacked him first, whipping past Emerson¡¯s right shoulder and getting the soldier at the top of his head. Split it down as far the mouth. Never start a scrap without yer helm on, Emerson thought, the latter applying to him as well and went after the maimed archer. The man moved faster than him though, run towards his horse and climbed up the saddle. Emerson cursed through his teeth and hurried after him, but he¡¯d a bad leg and was slow as fuck. ¡°You should have stayed¡ª¡± the horse archer tried to say and got smacked on the shoulder by Dekra¡¯s arrow, the steel point coming out at the top of his back probably scraping the clavicle bone. He grunted, maimed left hand ¨Che was missing four fingers- painting the horse¡¯s mane red, but managed to grasp at the reins with his right and start his horse. Eh, Emerson thought and paused grinding his teeth in frustration. Felt blood trickling down his neck. If ye can¡¯t reach a man when yer both on foot, then if he gets up on a horse, you should stop pursuing. Dekra loosed another arrow after the fleeing horse archer and managed to nail him again above the hip, but the man was determined to stay on that saddle and didn¡¯t drop. ¡°Enough!¡± Emerson grunted and limped near Citata who had gotten a blade though the ribs from the soldier standing near her. The one with the split skull. ¡°How is it?¡± ¡°Should have pulled it out gently,¡± a pale Citata hissed and Emerson grabbed her shoulder to keep her upright. ¡°Dagger?¡± ¡°Uhm.¡± ¡°Tanus help her,¡± Emerson ordered. ¡°Dekra cut me couple of strips of clean cloth from their corpses. I have leaking holes that need a plugging.¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we go after him?¡± Dekra asked. ¡°We need to return to our units,¡± Emerson snapped gruffly. ¡°Pull the Chiliad behind the turn.¡± The Leopard had found himself an apostate. An old one apparently, but once ye go down that road, you find it easy to relapse again. ¡°Why would we¡ª¡± ¡°Dekra I¡¯m losing blood here and Citata needs a gods darn medic,¡± he warned the still shocked at the events scout. ¡°It¡¯s done. Do what I plaguing tell you!¡±
¡°What are you doing here Ballard?¡± She asked him on the way back, voice laced with pain. The knight stared at her under bushy eyebrows. The blood under his chin crusting. ¡°You know.¡± ¡°Was it real? The part about you being a lord afore? Or was it a knight?¡± Citata was a big woman but she looked vulnerable now. ¡°Both parts. And I¡¯m still a knight,¡± Emerson replied the sound of many horses coming from all around them. ¡°Makes no sense,¡± the female gladiator murmured. ¡°Where do we go after this?¡± And it wasn¡¯t clear whether Citata meant the battle or this life. So Emerson hadn¡¯t answered her.
They made it out of the woods and rode across the field towards their positions. Beyond Emerson¡¯s right shoulder a host of riders had assembled again, horns sounding to direct the different units. Velox had the men lined up, their east flank facing the walls of Que Ki-La. ¡°You need stitches there,¡± the Chiliad leader noticed. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°Merehor might have switched sides again,¡± Emerson grunted and checked on his leaking wound. ¡°Need to march the platoons towards the junction.¡± ¡°Bring a hot iron!¡± Velox barked at a gladiator. ¡°Tanus can you stitch at all?¡± ¡°I can,¡± Dekra replied. ¡°Get on it son. What¡¯s the deal with you lass?¡± Velox grunted and helped Citata down from her horse. ¡°Might want to start with her Dekra.¡± Velox added after a brief glance at her wound. ¡°Velox!¡± Emerson snapped. ¡°Heard ye the first time Ballard. I¡¯ll get them moving but can you follow?¡± The knight¡¯s reply coming through clenched teeth. ¡°I plaguin¡¯ can.¡±
At Arik Sartak¡¯s advice, Prince Nout ordered Nis Belu to contact Merehor¡¯s men blocking Sartak¡¯s Path that ended near the late Lord Baryal¡¯s Dates Plantations buildings. The scouts entered the woods led by Nis Belu himself and made contact with Esugen¡¯s former officer. Whether they had spoken or not is not clear but Merehor¡¯s force abandoned the path and marched towards the junction. Serebus took wind of something not being right and pivoted his men towards the mouth of the forest path to his south flank. When Merehor¡¯s men appeared out of the woods (the majority mercenaries that had been stationed in Nasar the previous year Phon had hired) an officer was dispatched to assure Serebus that everything was alright. Whether Serebus believed him or not is unclear but Lord Phon who was at the big Sopat Camp, a kilometer away to the west and at the edge of the Palms Forest hugging Simun Road was notified. Lord Phon-Iv asked for both groups to stand down and for the mercenary to be brought to him. The officer named Da-Risor and another man (all officers in Merehor¡¯s army were from Lu-Kela where his mercenary company had been originally formed) rode to the Sopat patriarch¡¯s large field tent escorted by one of Serebus¡¯ officers. Phon, who had the injured slave-master Bohor resting in one of the many rooms of his headquarters along Asmudius, met with the two men in what was a spacious ¡®lavish¡¯ hall. While the matter of the rich Cofol field tent¡¯s roominess cannot be verified, Asmudius who happened to be present describes the events in his ¡®Unbroken Chiliad¡¯. Chapter six, act two, titled ¡®once an Apostate¡¯ that ends with the following verses. For it¡¯s a game of shadows, where loyalties are shed, A dance with betrayal that weaves an intricate art, Where even rich men can¡¯t detangle truth from misled, And are led to watch their worlds crumble apart.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Asmudius¡¯ attempt at poetic interposition aside, Da-Risor asked Lord Sopat to take his army back to Lai Zel-Ka and he¡¯d Gold Leopard¡¯s assurance that when the dust settled his digressions will be put aside. Lord Phon-Iv had responded with a simple query. He asked whether Prince Nout would offer him better terms if the Khan¡¯s army managed to win the battle and the rebellion was crushed. When Da-Risor responded in turn that the Gold Leopard had already won, an irate Phon got up, walked up to him and slapped him across the face. ¡®You are an idiot and a liar. If he had won already,¡¯ the Sopat scion had said. ¡®Then you wouldn¡¯t have been here. If you were smart you would have realized my query was rhetoric, for Nout would never offer me terms. He¡¯ll watch the Peninsula burn first.¡¯ Asmudius writes the mercenary officer had laughed in Lord Sopat¡¯s face, grabbed a fancy dagger Phon had on him and stabbed him in the chest. Now Lord Phon had armour on but while it was a lovely piece of craftsmanship to wear at a dance, it was also flimsy and couldn¡¯t stop a blade. While Phon did get a nasty injury there, he should have died outright but the blade on the dagger was made for cutting fruit and folded only managing to pierce his lung. Bohor managed to kill Da-Risor with a bronze stool despite having one arm and Asmudius rushed his friend with one of Sopat¡¯s guards present finishing him off with a scimitar. It was an epic duel according to Asmudius but given that the man was unarmed and outnumbered one can¡¯t help but question his words. Lord Phon-Iv was given assistance immediately but he¡¯d suffered a pierced lung and collapsed. Bohor notified Serebus of what had transpired and ordered him to arrest Merehor or kill him outright. It isn¡¯t clear how Sartak managed to convince Merehor to switch alliances again. Since he couldn¡¯t have offered him more gold, all seems to point towards the mercenary being rattled by Nout¡¯s morning win. Perhaps the details of his involvement with Esugen¡¯s death had leaked also and Merehor looked for a way to save his own neck after all was over. The Prince sent Nis-Belu and his lancers to assist Merehor take control of the junction. He led the rest of his army after the retreating Chiliad. Sir Emerson wanted to fight near the Simun Gates to help Serebus hold on there but the initial plan had collapsed and they were in danger of getting cut off inside the city or at the very least lose the men there and those at the rear. To avoid it Emerson sent word to Troy and Qathor who were holding the bridge at Small River to see if they could disengage and lead Sim Ib-Lurd¡¯s civilians camped before the North Gates to safety. The idea was to attack west and assist Serebus defeat Merehor¡¯s smaller force then retreat towards Lai Zel-Ka to regroup before the Prince¡¯s force could intervene. Troy couldn¡¯t as the bulk of Arik Sartak¡¯s reinforced army stationed beyond the river had attacked the gladiators there. They came for the bridge, they came for the river and they even used rafts to cross the Lake and assault their rear. Nout had ordered Sartak to break through whatever the cost fearing the numbers and the terrain might turn the battle against him. While the Prince had moved fast after the retreating Chiliad and most of Samir¡¯s archers, he was attacking at a narrow front very close to the walls of Que Ki-La. The closer they went towards the lake and the woodland of Lotus Lane the worst the ground for his horses and chariots was.
His horse, a young white and brown destrier the knight had named ¡®Spirit¡¯ for he reminded him of old Duke the horse Emerson had lost at Hellfort, neighed greatly disturbed by the ruckus of many horses coming at them. The sound reverberated on the nearby walls of the city like that of many small thunders coming in quick succession. Emerson glanced at the retreating rows of gladiators and then twisted on the saddle pulling at the reins to look behind them. Velox had stopped his platoon and turned them around to stop the first arriving Cataphracts from going through. Five hundred meters away beyond the Simun Gates, Asper was feverishly dressing the lines of the rest of the Chiliad to protect the turn leading towards Lotus Lane. Toros¡¯ platoon was slowly retreating from the junction further to their west with no sign of Phon¡¯s men amidst them. The setting sun touching the gladiators¡¯ helms and shields. It made them glow as if they were spirits as well. An otherworldly sight. The onrushing Cataphracts appearing equally bathed in the dying light, faceless mountains of fast galloping steel. ¡°Eh,¡± Emerson grunted and Samir stopped his horse right beside him alarmed, the neighing animal turning this way and that raising dust clouds under its hooves. ¡°What are you doing Mista Savar?¡± He asked and behind him Tanus stopped his laden heavily horse as he was carrying the injured Citata. ¡°Hand me yer spear,¡± Emerson growled and Tanus tossed him the spear he had taken from the Khan¡¯s scouts. ¡°Dekra grab them boys following ye,¡± Emerson ordered hoarsely, slotting the spear next to the nervous horse¡¯s head and the horn of the saddle, Spirit snorting and stabbing at the ground with his front legs. The Horse Archers had spears sheathed on their saddles. ¡°Mista Savar!¡± Samir snapped but it came out more a groan, face marred by a deep cut that had ruined his nose down the side of his mouth, the wound stitched twice but still leaking. ¡°They don¡¯t have the armour for that!¡± ¡°Tell Asper to move back towards the narrows,¡± Emerson roared and pointed at the large west road coming from the flat opening amidst the woods at their flank. The spot where all the desert roads coalesced afore heading for the city¡¯s West (or Simun) Gates. Riders had appeared there as well, narrow banners billowing from long thin sticks secured at the back of their saddles. ¡°Curse the gods,¡± Samir gasped. ¡°Leave the gods out of it,¡± Emerson scolded him. ¡°That¡¯s one man¡¯s treachery.¡±
¡°What is the idea?¡± Dekra asked him nervously while the other Horse Archers fumbled with their spears, Emerson¡¯s eyes watching Velox¡¯s platoon receiving a devastating charge that cut them in two. The Cataphracts disengaged and trotted away without casualties while Velox barked orders for their lines to close up again. Three minutes. Maybe four. Just enough time to make it there, catch them after the charge¡¯s end, Emerson thought and grimaced, face distorting from a jolt of pure agony. The rough stitches on his injured hip leaking, despite gluing the flesh with hot iron earlier. The pain numbing his senses. Perhaps for the better. ¡°I want to show all ye boys that they drop from the saddle,¡± Emerson replied raspingly, voice sounding like chains rattling inside a deep mine. ¡°Bleed and die alike everyone else.¡± He added and clicked his tongue to start Spirit going back towards the rear area guarding platoon. The Cataphracts was his meaning.
There¡¯s a rhythm in executing an unspoiled charge. It takes repetition, understanding of angles and velocity. But the most important thing, is not to let fear overwhelm you for the last couple of meters. Pick a target and run straight at him without overthinking it. If you allow fear to grab at your soul the horse will sense it and lose trust in your plan. A scared horse ruins most glory-seeking knights¡¯ lofty plans in the games and their own fear fuels it. While the tourney sergeant will stop the event and help you to yer feet in the games, Emerson thought, his body jumping up and down the saddle, the horse¡¯s speed increasing with every stride and the shattered lines of men and animals coming closer. In a real scrap alike this, a sergeant will bash yer brains in wit a war hammer. The Cataphracts had gone for the same spot again and brushed the gladiators aside. Men and horses got tangled up, the platoon split still holding the flanks of the formation with the center dominated by large warhorses and their riders. They turned around abandoning their lances and attacked the gladiators with swords, maces, war hammers or flails, trying to widen the gap. Emerson galloped the last meters in a blur, spear aimed at a Cataphract¡¯s outer sides, the left. Angled in such a way to get the one standing next to him if he missed. The two horses practically touching bellies. A third Cataphract turning his warhorse around with large scimitar in hand spotted them arriving, eleven men charging at the mouth of their formation and flinched. His body reaction showing what the smirking mask hid from the world. All mortals fear death. The knight¡¯s war spear went through the first Cataphact¡¯s left kidneys after tearing at his armour, shredded the lower ribs and blew pieces of flesh out, detaching internal organs and then punched the second Cataphract through the elbow, nailing his arm on his chest as he¡¯d tried to twist around. The spear¡¯s blade stabbing his heart. A small stab but it was enough to kill him instantly. Emerson didn¡¯t see any of that, he had been hurled over his horse¡¯s head, let go of the spear, went through a red mist of gore and found himself over the first Cataphract, afore they both went down when his mount collapsed. Every bone on the side that Spirit had stricken broken and its internal organs turned to bloody paste. The knight had gotten them both.
Emerson rolled over the second Cataphract¡¯s blood covered body stopping on his cracked spear still sticking out of his chest. He growled, the ground covered in gory and broken bodies, three of the Khan¡¯s best amongst them, put his left hand down and jumped to his feet, unsheathing his longsword. A tap with the flat of the blade at his helm¡¯s top to set it straight and he hacked at a Cataphact¡¯s ankle as he went past him trying to strike at one of the still horsed scouts. He cut through the hard leather boot and the tendons. The masked rider cried out and twisted on the saddle, the chaos around them, the screams, curses, neighs and dust making it impossible to orientate oneself. Emerson angled his sword and stabbed upwards right at the edge of his collar under the mask. Blood sprayed out of the silver mask¡¯s eye slits and painted the man¡¯s armour. The knight yanked the blade out, more gore spurting out the horrendous wound and made to climb up the horse himself after shoving the dead horselord off of it. He made it halfway up, but had to jump away as another Cataphract swung his spiked mace sneaking up from the other side. The mace missed Emerson but cracked the horse¡¯s skull caving in its head armour at the top. Emerson dropped backwards almost impaling himself on a spear sticking out of the ground or a body, but grabbed it at the last moment and found his footing. The Cataphract cursed and kicked his legs to get his scared horse moving, but the horse he¡¯d stricken died and collapsed on his mount¡¯s front legs. It made it rear back in panic and dropped him from the saddle. Emerson grunted, went over the dead horse to get at him, but he had to step aside for his opponent¡¯s scared horse to gallop away. More Cataphacts pushed forward trying to disengage as Emerson¡¯s charge had blocked their advance and fixed them between three enemies, practically surrounded. Someone sounded a horn for the Cataphracts to retreat, the confusion spreading but those at the back of their formation galloping away. ¡°Dekra!¡± Emerson barked a warning, but Dekra caught a heavy flail with the side of his head despite trying to jerk away, two of the three steel balls connecting. The scout dropped like a sack laden with rocks, his bloody face misshapen but still breathing. For a couple of more seconds. A scowling Emerson hacked upwards, cut the Cataphract across the forearm, gory mail rings detaching and clinging on his plate like steel hail. Ding-ding-ding. The man lost his flail with a pained grunt, went to get his sword out with his left, but the knight¡¯s longsword came down on the return and carved a deep gash from chest to navel splitting him open. There goes the edge. But it was worth it. Velox appeared through the haze, a broken lance stuck on his right shoulder, one arm dangling useless but the other using a long dagger to gauge a shuddering under his feet Cataphract¡¯s eye out. Emerson turned towards the west flank of the formation, the one exposed and not near the walls, as he heard a great uproar coming from that side. A bolt whistled over his head and then another. The uproar growing. ¡°Velox!¡± Emerson barked turning his head around. ¡°Save your flank! RETREAT!¡± ¡°Get on a fucking horse Ballard!¡± Velox barked back at him irate, eyes wild and bald head painted in gore to the eyebrows. ¡°See you give ¡®em a hurting!¡± Emerson grimaced, stumbled on a hurt knee, the sound of Chariots approaching making his bones vibrate and turned his head back, looking to the North well beyond the gates, where the rest of the Chiliad was gathering, more than five hundred meters away.
The Lord of Ballard cut the still bloody meat from the bone with his teeth, then hurled the leftover to their dogs. The bodies of the ravaged men still wrapped in woolen blankets. Whatever was left of them. His father set his square jaw stubbornly and stared in young Emerson¡¯s eyes. The flames dancing in all that black. Hard was his stare but the words were laced with sorrow. ¡®Sometimes ye need to let the beast gorge on yer flesh,¡± the Lord of Ballard had said. ¡®To lure it into a trap.¡¯ ¡®How much is enough?¡¯ A young Emerson asked crooking his mouth. ¡®It doesn¡¯t matter,¡¯ his father had replied raspingly. ¡®One can lose even if he wins son or vice versa. This beast had won all ¡®em other times, spent itself ragged doing it, but came a point it could win no more.¡¯
Samir of Ani Ta-Ne¡¯s hoarse voice yanking Emerson back to the present. ¡°Jackal!¡± The scout leader growled and tossed him the reins of a horse he¡¯d dragged behind him. ¡°We need to go now! There¡¯s no war without you!¡± Maybe, Emerson thought and climbed up the saddle, Velox gathering the remnants of the platoon around him and issuing javelins, the ground shaking. All sounds distorted and his head hurting. But what is the truth of today may not be the reality of the morrow. This shall be a battle of attrition. No glory or tales of heroics, the galloping away Knight thought. He got only one out of the three right.
400. Tales of the Peninsula | Unbroken (1/2)
An ode to thee, Epic, appareled grandeur beyond the crowd¡¯s cheer, Where allgods stood bewildered & death shivered wit fear Unrivaled honor¡¯s symphony, divine valor¡¯s perfect symmetry Blessed be spectator of the way dancing blades deploy For thy stood in them bloody sands & beheld of Troy - Ode to the Blessed Spectator By unknown, -Inscribed over the entrance of the amphitheater (also known as the Pits) hosting the Great Games of Fu De-Gar, under the famous marble relief of Mista Savar. It is of course referring to none other than Troy (probably born near Novesium) who despite an effort to play down his feats was a real historical person and had won the games twice first in 190NC during the 999th Games and again famously ten years later under a disguise that didn¡¯t hold up during the 1002nd Games. Installed after the gladiatorial fights resumed with an Imperial Decree after 199 NC starting with the 1001st Games.
Troy Lake Sium Dimachaerus Divine Blades Tales of the Peninsula | Unbroken Part I -The Titan of Novesium-
First week of Fall 193 NC Clash at Small River, Part of the Greater Battle at Simun Gates 5th hour Early evening ¡°GRAB THE FUCKIN¡¯ LOG! LIFT!¡± Balfor growled at Fluke hefting one edge of it with both arms, thick veins popping out on his neck and swollen biceps, eyes squinting at the effort. ¡°I AM!¡± Fluke standing across from him protested sounding strangled or equally flushed from the weight. ¡°NOT THAT LOG!¡± Balfor blasted him irate. Fluke dropped it and reached for the next one. Eh, Troy thought and knelt next to the dead soldier. He used the dead man¡¯s robes to clean his swords one after the other. The twin curved-forward old-design Kopis he carried on his back were spoils from the big games and the slightly longer custom scimitar shaped in a convex curve Troy had made and kept sheathed on his hip next to the long dagger. He¡¯d dressed the handles himself with thin strips of black leather and had a blacksmith in Fu De-Gar engrave his ¡®surname¡¯ on the flat of the blades. Lake Sium Dimachaerus. Supreme. The blacksmith had forgotten about that and they had to add a second line near the handle later. If Troy had been asked to choose a life for himself, he¡¯d picked a long career on the sands above everything else. There was nothing more to life than that Troy thought. Until he met the old man that is. Darn it. Ballard had a different idea of what one¡¯s life should be. More inclusive, more demanding, less rewarding. Well, it was rewarding if one counted Ziba-Ra amidst the prizes and people¡¯s profound respect. The man¡¯s plans though reached beyond his comprehension. The Cofols would never break their traditions, slaves wouldn¡¯t get magically freed from their shackles and people would still die on the arenas sands. It was as if the former knight knew that but didn¡¯t care. It¡¯s not on one man to change the realm, he¡¯d told Troy back in Fu De-Gar, but if you can do something, then you damn well better do it and leave the plaguing place in a healthier state than what you¡¯ve found it. That sounds like a knight¡¯s mission, Troy had argued. Where do you find all those folk to make a difference? You lead by example and show those around you the way. A touch of charity, a modicum of modesty, a love of friends, family and duty to one¡¯s country that¡¯s it. It is what it is. Ye need nothing more. Decency, aye. Ballard had replied. Deep down people know right from wrong. All it takes is a smack upside the head to remind them. Troy could agree with some but had trouble with the rest of it. Many stuff were missing for starters. But live for a while around the old man and he rubs some of his morality on you. It sticks on yer skin and makes you all confused in the head. ¡°Them cocksuckers for sure are a persistent bunch,¡± Qathor rustled and found a short cut log to sit on. They had cut down a lot of trees, rolled them down the shores and road to make it difficult for horses to move freely. People still could, but that¡¯s what they were doing there. Deter people from coming over by killing those that did. ¡°Mmm.¡± ¡°I have lads guarding the Lake, might be better to pull them,¡± Qathor continued after having some water. ¡°You think I have time to unclog the pipes afore they come back?¡± ¡°What?¡± Troy asked his mind on something else. ¡°Ib-Lurd has some of his slaves there,¡± Qathor explained. ¡°Then there¡¯s the cook¡¯s brother. Great arse given the venue and locale.¡± Troy blinked. ¡°Keep the patrols for the time. I¡¯ll see if I can find more men from Ib-Lurd.¡± ¡°Good luck with that,¡± Qathor retorted. ¡°What¡¯s on yer mind?¡± Ziba. ¡°We¡¯re in the middle of a fucking battle!¡± Troy snapped and got angry with himself. You don¡¯t need this shite. Fuck¡¯s sake. ¡°We¡¯re on a break,¡± Qathor replied with a grimace. ¡°Was looking for yer advice.¡± ¡°Do you seriously expect my input on this?¡± ¡°Now that¡¯s some dirty wording there,¡± Qathor grunted and got up. He pushed his white braids back and retied them on his nape. ¡°Know that you¡¯re an idiot and it shows. My brother was like that around cunts. Look what it did to him.¡± ¡°He was slain in the fucking arena Qathor!¡± Troy growled, blood rushing to his face. ¡°It had nothing to do with it!¡± ¡°Aye,¡± Qathor replied soberly and stabbed his finger on Troy¡¯s armoured chest. ¡°Keep that in mind and forget about her. Don¡¯t trust the cunt.¡± He scrunched his black face this way and that and then grinned toothily. ¡°Come, let¡¯s go dig up that tight arse, ha-ha!¡± Troy shoved his finger away with a grimace of disgust. ¡°Get everyone ready, I can see their scouts walking the bridge again,¡± he told him and went to find Ib-Lurd.
The Cofol land-owner looked at him unsure. Sim Ib-Lurd was a senior advisor to Lord Tsuparin of Fu De-Gar and his eyes in the camp. A difficult man to convince. ¡°Will twenty guards make a difference?¡± He asked pulling at his beaded goatee. ¡°I need archers to fire back, else they¡¯ll keep crossing the bridge. Anyone that could hold a spear.¡± ¡°You are doing an excellent job killing them.¡± ¡°The night is here. It won¡¯t help us,¡± the light was already gone and they navigated the woods with torches. ¡°But it can help them.¡± ¡°I need the guards near the wagons.¡± ¡°Listen Ib-Lurd,¡± Troy grunted but the Cofol stopped him raising his hand, fingers extended. ¡°I have a lot of slaves with the supply train,¡± he explained. ¡°Valuables, coin for the men.¡± ¡°Forget about that. Can they hold a spear?¡± The slaves was his meaning. There were over two hundred of them camping near the wagons. ¡°Are you serious?¡± ¡°Aye. Are you?¡± ¡°Why would they do it?¡± Ib-Lurd asked shaking his head at Troy¡¯s audacity. ¡°They¡¯ll probably kill us all and run away.¡± ¡°Let them, we could use the guards,¡± Troy retorted. ¡°We have freed too many,¡± the Cofol sighed. ¡°Who will man the carriages?¡± ¡°We¡¯re stuck here Ib-Lurd and won¡¯t be going anywhere unless we survive,¡± Troy grunted. ¡°Even if we do, we might have to leave the wagons behind.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll see what I can do,¡± the Cofol relented whilst keeping his options open. ¡°See you do it fast,¡± Troy warned him and heard yells coming from the west side of the woods. The Fig trees there thicker as they bordered the lake¡¯s shores. The wagons had camped across the road and in the east portion of the woodland about four hundred meters from the river where it was more open. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Ib-Lurd asked as they couldn¡¯t see anything in the dark. ¡°The lake¡¯s patrols,¡± Troy retorted and sprinted away.
Arik Sartak having finally received reinforcements, Donkor¡¯s two hundred mercenaries from Lukela and the three-hundred strong Band of Brass out of Dinar, the well-respected multi-national company of Bank¡¯s enforcers, attacked immediately. His men were stopped despite many attempts to cross the bridge and an advantage on horses and ranged units. The Rin An-Pur general kept up the pressure on the Chiliad¡¯s platoons there (under the champions of the Pits Troy and Qathor according to Asmudius) until nightfall. Phanes, who was under pressure from Lord Kosey-Toka of Dinar to help Prince Nout and his daughter, suggested they use rafts and the local fishing boats to cross the crocodile-infested lake and hit the defenders at the rear, far from the river¡¯s banks. Sartak agreed to the experienced mercenary leader¡¯s plan but he wanted to open the road and clear Lotus Lane for Nout as soon as possible, so he revised it. He tasked Donkor¡¯s mercenaries with sailing across Clear Lake and land behind the gladiators under the cover of darkness, then ordered Phanes to penetrate across Small River who was at its lowest point, the time being just before the seasonal rains started anew. The rest of his force, around four hundred horse archers and the less than a hundred remaining Jang-Lu recruits-turned veterans in two months (probably not even half that number) he readied for an all-out attack across the bridge to break the Chiliad¡¯s shield-wall and terrain defenses. Sartak notified the regrouping his forces at the time Prince Nout, but it is unclear if the message reached him. Nout was away from his rear headquarters (located two kilometers from Palar, near Que Ki-La¡¯s south gates and about thirty from Small River¡¯s forested valley where the war-mausoleum resides today) busy with navigating two different battles and opponents. The fierce battle was fought during the night and hadn¡¯t finished until the late morning hours with Asmudius writing that the gladiators were probably still fighting when Hora-Se¡¯s advanced units broke through Lotus Lane near noon.
The armoured warrior splashed out of the boat, glanced back once, caught sight of the old-crocodile retreating taking his friend with him and then crawled to the shore covered in mud. The rest of his group cursing at the silent predator with some even attempting to hit it with stones. ¡°The fuck are they doing?¡± Balfor asked stooped next to Troy. ¡°Landing,¡± Troy replied and shook his arm to clear some of the gore away, more splattered on his half-plate as he¡¯d slipped on the entrails earlier in the dark. ¡°Think they are with the others?¡± Fluke asked sucking on his cheek troubled. ¡°Do they look like fishermen to you?¡± ¡°Folk do use spears¡ª¡± Fluke argued but Qathor waved his arm and caught Fluke with a smack upside the helm silencing him. ¡°Right,¡± his friend said with a scowl since he¡¯d interrupted his break to run in the woods for these fools, as he¡¯d complained all the time whilst they were fighting the first group of eight. ¡°Beskar can you move wit all that armour?¡± The hoplite-armour clad gladiator nodded. ¡°They¡¯ll be some sprinting involved,¡± Qathor reminded him. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± ¡°Troy will charge them first,¡± Qathor decided with everyone agreeing and Troy blinked in surprise. ¡°What? You¡¯re the blasted Titan¡ª¡± ¡°Oh, fuck off Qathor,¡± Troy snapped cutting him off and got up. He snapped his shoulders back, pushing his chest out and then worked on stretching both legs, performing a series of energetic squats and finished with a good cracking of the tendons on his neck. ¡°What¡¯s he doing?¡± Balfor asked a little perturbed. Troy glared at him. ¡°We charge all together,¡± he grunted. ¡°No cries or yelps afore we are near and everyone mind where the other is to avoid a friendly blade in the gonads.¡± ¡°Ha-ha, there¡¯s yer answer,¡± Qathor guffawed grinning. ¡°No blade in the gonads,¡± Fluke agreed with a nod and Troy eyed him warningly. ¡°Or arrows,¡± the gladiator added with a hurt sigh. ¡°It was only that one time Troy.¡± ¡°Hey!¡± One of the enemy fighters that had landed in the dark yelled from the beach. ¡°Is that ye Rin-bert?¡± ¡°Fuck,¡± Troy cursed and peeked out of the branches to see if they had spotted them. ¡°Some should head back and notify the others we have company.¡± ¡°Just go get them champ,¡± Qathor rustled and shoved him forward. ¡°No one says anything stupid, we don¡¯t want them spooked too soon.¡± ¡°What are you doing there ye idiot?¡± The man asked again louder. ¡°I can hear ye stupid fucks talking!¡± ¡°That¡¯s lustful moaning yer hearing! I¡¯m plowing yer sister¡¯s arse!¡± Qathor barked back taking offence and Troy who had ended up in the lake¡¯s beach, shook his head and started running towards the group that had disembarked from the second eight-man carrying boat. Seven men this time, since the old-crocodile had spotted the eighth man in their group dangling his leg over the lip of the boat and used said leg to pull him under the lake¡¯s surface. So Troy went for the twins.
The clad in mail fighter saw him arriving well ahead of the others since Troy didn¡¯t have a slow speed and waved the scythe over his head in a wide circle afore slashing with it aiming for the sprinting Troy¡¯s neck. Troy heard the whoosh of the shaft, the blade gleaming in the light of the two moons and dived under it, a shoulder hitting the wet soft ground, the large blade shaving the air missing him as the lithe gladiator barely skirted certain death. The fighter twirled following the large weapon¡¯s momentum, Troy followed his and went past him, landing afore his scattering friends. He jumped to his feet, saw a sword lashing for his midriff and sucked his belly in instinctively, turning the Kopis to divert the blade away. A man grunted and Troy hacked that way with the left arm, slashed with the right. He caught something with his sword, twisted on his axis to see what it was and a spear clanged the sides of his helm right next to the ear. ¡°Mother¡ª¡± Troy grunted and kicked a leg out but he slipped in the mud and found himself looking at the black sky. He coughed and rolled left, the spear stabbing the muddy earth missing him. He slashed with both blades jumping up whilst falling backwards at the end of the roll ending up inside the lake with a splash. He¡¯d tried to perform two moves simultaneously there and failed both. A fighter entered the water after him, the rest were further back as Troy had blasted through their group. The soaked gladiator used the flat of one blade like a shovel to send water on the man¡¯s face, the other to hack at his head at the same time. The blade bit at a forearm raised to protect his opponent¡¯s eyes, stopping at the bone. The arm smacking the man in the face and breaking his nose. Troy stepped forward, water flooding his boots, slow as a snail after a lavish feast and his opponent cursed, dark blood running down his chin and arm. The man took a step back to find better footing but didn¡¯t. Troy followed him ¨Cvery slowly- as he faltered back and slashed him across the chest, the blade splintering the mail rings there. The man cried out in fear, realized he was still relatively unhurt and retaliated raising his spear to poke him in the head. Troy jerked his neck aside, got muddy water in his eyes but kept them open and found flesh this time with the same slashing attack.
By the time he¡¯d reached dry ground, which meant ground with mud instead of water, the scrap was over. Troy spat down, removed his helm to shake the spillage off, his eyes swollen and tearing up. He¡¯d a cut right at the lobule of his right ear that stung maddeningly. ¡°Eah,¡± he grunted sucking a deep breath in. ¡°Why in allhells did ye run straight inside the lake?¡± Qathor admonished him, breaking a dead man¡¯s finger to remove a gold ring. ¡°I was¡­ didn¡¯t see it,¡± Troy blurted still rattled from the fight. ¡°I killed one at least.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Qathor replied and got up with a frown. ¡°Fluke what¡¯s them shades over the lake?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see that well in the dark,¡± Fluke complained and Balfor who had a cut over his brow blasted him. ¡°Fuck are ye talking about? You¡¯re an archer?¡± ¡°What¡¯s that got to do¡ª?¡± ¡°Shut your crapholes!¡± Qathor hissed sounding spooked. ¡°We have more cunts coming our way,¡± and pointed a beefy arm at the many rafts approaching. ¡°Eh,¡± Balfor grunted. ¡°Troy?¡± Qathor was looking at him for advice. Troy cleared his throat and stared at the muddy terrain. ¡°Better to fight them in the trees,¡± he finally said. ¡°That¡¯s thirty rafts incoming Troy!¡± Fluke protested apparently not as blind as he¡¯d have you believe. Troy pulled his lips back in the pretense of a nervous smile. ¡°Better to fight in the trees,¡± he repeated absent an alternative and started retreating towards their previous position, his wet boots making squelching sounds on the miry terrain. ¡°Did ye sent a man to get the others?¡± Qathor asked Balfor accusingly following after him. ¡°I did. Why?¡± ¡°Ye sure?¡± ¡°Ducur. The sneaky Cofol,¡± Balfor was a Cofol himself. ¡°Ah, right. Thought that little cunt had run away,¡± Qathor replied. ¡°It all makes sense now.¡± Two hours later Fig Forest edges, five hundred meters from the bridge Troy got out of the woods, holding his helm. He paused near a trunk and smacked it a couple of times to fix the dent on it and cursed when he made it worse. He¡¯d a tear at the top his head that trickled blood and made him dizzy when turned right or left. With a pained sigh he plopped down on the trunk to rest his legs. Ib-Lurd, clad in a fancy leather armour approached him, a scimitar in hand followed by a couple of his guards. ¡°How is it going?¡± He asked and waved for one of his men to offer Troy some water. The torches they carried hurting his eyes. ¡°We pushed them back towards the lake,¡± Troy replied and washed his mouth, working his tongue on a loose tooth. ¡°Think I might need a dentist.¡± ¡°Are they defeated?¡± ¡°How should I know?¡± Troy grunted and tossed the flask back at the guard. ¡°More may come. What¡¯s with the escort?¡± ¡°They came over the river using the same trick,¡± Ib-Lurd explained. ¡°We had to fight them back. They reached the camp, killed a lot of good people.¡± Troy spat down. ¡°Lots of good people are being killed all over the place Ib-Lurd. What¡¯s the status of the bridge?¡±Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. We are probably killing a lot of good people ourselves, he thought. ¡°They didn¡¯t try anything there yet,¡± Tsuparin¡¯s advisor replied. ¡°I armed some of the slaves.¡± ¡°Did they fight?¡± ¡°They did for a while. But most run away afterwards.¡± Smart lads. ¡°Well, you got something out of it,¡± Troy retorted. ¡°Any news from Ballard?¡± The knight was holding the bulk of Prince Nout¡¯s forces at the narrows between the lake and the city walls, right at the mouth of Lotus Lane. ¡°I have very few guards that way,¡± Ib-Lurd replied and rubbed his face looking tired. ¡°The route west through the forest is still open. Maybe we should retreat there Troy.¡± ¡°If Sartak¡¯s men come over this side of the river, Ballard is doomed Ib-Lurd,¡± Troy reminded him. ¡°What more can we accomplish here? Are we to fight the whole of Khan¡¯s army?¡± ¡°What did you think?¡± Troy mocked him. ¡°That we¡¯ll get to slap around Sol and be done with it?¡± Ib-Lurd eyed him harshly. ¡°You¡¯ve no idea of how the world works gladiator.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a champion of the arena. A freed man through skill and sword,¡± Troy retorted. ¡°I don¡¯t give a darn about your world Ib-Lurd. What do you fear?¡± ¡°Are you insane? We could lose our heads here!¡± ¡°So?¡± Troy taunted. ¡°Bah!¡± The Cofol protested throwing his arms up. ¡°Madness.¡± ¡°You¡¯re here for Tsuparin. You work for him for years, but you¡¯re not his friend,¡± Troy told him and slotted the dented helm on his head with a grimace seeing Qathor returning. ¡°You can¡¯t leave, for the vague promise of Khan¡¯s forgiveness means making an enemy out of that old bastard ¡®Cruel¡¯ Dekerut and vice versa. I¡¯m here of my own volition to help my friends and my comrades, nothing of what you fear, scares me.¡± Ib-Lurd stood back raising his trimmed brows. ¡°Are ye flirting again you harlot?¡± Qathor grunted approaching and slapped his shoulder. ¡°We need to rotate the men and check on the river. Move your arse aside princess, I need to catch a break.¡± No sooner had he sat next to him a rider burst through the woods coming from the east. The young man ¨Cprobably one of Ib-Lurd¡¯s slaves- reached them galloping hard and stopped his horse. ¡°Cursed fool!¡± The Cofol admonished him, the horse snorting angry blinded by their torches. ¡°Apologies Master Ib-Lurd,¡± the slave blurted proceeding to give his report with a squeak. ¡°The bronze soldiers have returned!¡± ¡°How many?¡± Troy got up dragging Qathor up by the elbow. ¡°Lots of soldiers. Foreign. They are in the camp master!¡± The youth was confused. ¡°What about our guards?¡± ¡°They had to retreat! They are right behind me master!¡± They are still in the woods, Troy thought. ¡°Qathor get as many men from the bridge as they can spare to help,¡± he said hoarsely and eyed the guards with Ib-Lurd. ¡°I need the slave¡¯s horse and you two. Can you use that sword Ib-Lurd?¡± ¡°What?¡± The Cofol snapped angry. ¡°Get a horse,¡± Troy warned him. ¡°It¡¯s easier to fight multiple opponents in the trees.¡± ¡°Have you lost your mind?¡± ¡°Your men will fight if you stand bravely next to them,¡± Troy replied harshly and Ib-Lurd glared at the two Cofol guards. ¡°There¡¯s glory in them trees Ib-Lurd, a tale for your sons to read or you can try to flee like a coward and hope you won¡¯t have Lord Letakin¡¯s fate. Are Garites as lily-livered as the men of Ta-Ne?¡± The Cofol¡¯s face distorted and then hardened. ¡°You¡¯ve insulted me plenty tonight Lorian,¡± he hissed. Show them the way, the old man always preached. ¡°You know I¡¯m right Cofol,¡± Troy retorted hoarsely. ¡°Get our horses Perilu. Give yours to the gladiator,¡± he ordered soberly. ¡°We get out of this alive,¡± he told his men. ¡°The coin in the wagons is yours to split.¡± ¡°See you on the other side brother,¡± Qathor yelled when he climbed up the slave¡¯s horse. ¡°Sent them all to Oras Hells!¡± Troy glared at him not to say anymore knowing the Issir gladiator was about to take it down some much more lewder and disturbing paths and big Qathor grinned, two rows of white teeth amidst all the black, then raised his beefy arm to give him a thumbs up instead.
Phanes, after making some reconnoitering landings and probes during the night, landed in force with all his company at a remote spot on the southeast banks of Small River after crossing it with boats. It took him hours to get everyone across and two trips. With his men assembled he marched through the woods westwards following the river banks. He attacked the Chiliad¡¯s supply camp at the edges of the woods but found it half empty. Phanes torched everything just the same, the flames spreading some inside the forest but not too much due to the heavy humidity. In the confusion that ensued, the many Northmen serving with his company pillaged the camp while other units probed further up ahead trying to find the road in the darkness. Phanes had instructed his mercenaries to take no prisoners and to leave looting for later, but the lack of serious initial resistance loosened the discipline of his troops. Some headed towards the bridge guided by the river¡¯s shores but the bulk of his force scattered around the camp in different directions weighted down by sacks of coin and valuables along with pillaged supplies. Probably a lot of that treasure coming from the nearby Que Ki-La and Lord Sol¡¯s palace. Ib-Lurd¡¯s guards, mostly there to keep an eye on the many slaves, regrouped at the edge of the woods and attacked the mercenaries. Troy was there as well to assist Ib-Lurd who led his fewer men in a spirited fight inside the dark forest, with only moonlight and torches showing them the way. With the night slipping away and the dawn painting the scattered clouds in the sky a weird crimson, Donkor attacked again from the side of the lake despite having been mauled earlier that night falling into an ambush. It was a doomed assault from his men that had been ravaged all night by the predators lurking near the shores of the lake. Almost fifty men were eaten in four hours, with the giant reptiles getting out of the lake, even entering the woods, to reach those trying to get away from its lethal waters. His attack kept a platoon there to guard the Chiliad flanks which gave Sartak the opportunity to attack the bridge again early the next morning. While Donkor failed in his flanking assault completely he did penetrate vertically into the woods, heading south and fell upon Toros¡¯ platoon which was the westernmost guarding Sir Emerson frontline. They didn¡¯t fare any better there but again they were always meant to be a distraction. Phanes managed to regroup his force outside the burning camp, the conditions for the men horrendous and inhumane, then attempted another more-organized push to get out of the woods. In an engagement that runs fifty pages in Asmudius¡¯ notes and four scrolls of epic verses that was done by multiple smaller groups of fighters, in an obstacle-littered terrain, amidst the tall-standing thick Fig trees and the fallen rotten trunks, the bushes and the foliage, under putrid smoke and questionable lighting, Phanes¡¯ pincer attak turned into an all-out brawl. No start or finish. It just spilled the few survivors out of the smoking woods at some point. No tactics. Pure savagery. As Asmudius writes. ¡®Fabled skill was needed there and a will of iron but the only man possessing both in abundance was the Titan of Novesium.¡¯
¡°MRRRARRGG!¡± The giant Northman bellowed swinging his battle-axe with both arms at the shuddering from the blow Troy. The gladiator spotted the heavy blade coming through swollen blurry eyes and scarpered on a moss-covered trunk. He banged on it, helm bouncing off of the cement-like bark and head ringing, dropped on a knee with a pained yelp, the blade taking a chunk out of the fat tree. He could slot his head in the milk-dripping hole left behind. Troy twirled around just as a guard attacked the Northman but got his leg chopped off cleanly under the joint by another mercenary. A Lorian wielding a heavy bastard sword. The Cofol slave guard toppled forward with a scream of agony and the big Northman turned his torso around, dropping the sharp end of his axe afore swinging it again in a low to high arc cleaving the guard under the jaw. Good grief! Troy gasped inwardly seeing the horrific damage done, the spillage blinding the Northman, a piece of skull bone ¨Cprobably from the forehead- lodging in his throat. He gurgled and staggered on his feet clasping at his neck. Troy moved to attack him, but the Lorian came to the big guy¡¯s assistance. He slashed at the gladiator and Troy had to block the blade, his shoulder crackling at the abuse, then swat the return away, both men snarling at each other maniacally at each failed attempt. Again and again, sparks flying, Troy¡¯s right eye all but closed as he¡¯d a splinter in it piercing at his eyelid from the inside. ¡°Ye piece of oiled turd!¡± The Lorian cursed and went for a hatchet he¡¯d on his waistband, Troy¡¯s blade removing his thumb so he couldn¡¯t grasp it. The mercenary roared, blood spraying out of the wound and hacked at him with the sword. Troy sidestepped, half-blind on pure instinct, parried the heavier blade away, reached with his left hand for the dagger but got a four-fingered bloody punch right on the jaw afore he could use it. Then he did. Troy¡¯s head snapped back violently, the jolt felt down his spine and that loosened tooth clattering in his mouth until he put a tongue on it. The Lorian stumbled back in turn, the dagger firmly stuck between his eyes. He shuddered once and went down, the angry Northman appearing behind him ready to swing that blasted axe again. Lumbering orcish prick, Troy cursed and spat the tooth on his face afore dodging to the side. The Northman growled again ineligibly and gathered his arms to swing again aiming at his midriff to split him in two. So Troy went even lower, a sharp dive and he rolled in the mud towards his opponent, rotten leaves and gluey figs sticking everywhere, the axe whooshing over him and his blade carving the Northman¡¯s ankle tendons right through the hide-boots. The mercenary wearing the bronze plate groaned and swung an arm at the rising Troy to backhand him across the face but the gladiator hacked a portion of it off below the elbow and just got smeared with blood from the shorter gory stub. Troy stabbed upwards trying to find the Northman¡¯s jaw but missed and slashed his nose off instead. ¡°UURRMMGL!¡± The butchered across the face mercenary moaned and then Ib-Lurd sliced him across the face again with a scimitar dropping the Northman to his knees. Ib-Lurd raised his sword to cleave him once more but a small throwing axe screamed over the Northman¡¯s head and sunk into the advisor¡¯s chest to the shaft. Shite. ¡°Borg is the best man I ever had,¡± a Cofol warrior said angrily getting out of the foliage. He had a bronze hoplite cuirass and vambraces on, but instead of a spear he carried a longsword. ¡°Look what you did to him,¡± he accused the faltering Ib-Lurd that made two backwards steps and collapsed awkwardly on his neck. The crunch reverberating inside the gloomy woods. Troy retreated half a step and unsheathed his scimitar. He¡¯d the other Kopis inside a mercenary a couple of trees behind this opening. ¡°Who do you think you are?¡± The mercenary officer growled pointing his sword at Troy¡¯s chest. ¡°Know that I¡¯ve killed twenty men with my own hands,¡± he added with an evil smile. ¡°Three tonight.¡± Troy tried to open his half-closed eye but failed so he just shrugged his shoulders, moved his dislocated jaw about to crack it back in place and said persuasively. ¡°Mate, I¡¯m at fifty. For the day.¡± He might have embellished it there a bit. But not by much. Troy didn¡¯t do totals a lot since he could only count to ten. Everything above that was tricky. One time ten, two time ten, three ten, four ten. Almost five.
The longsword screamed but Troy put the flat of the scimitar on it to guide it away. He lashed out with the Kopis but the officer jerked away. Made to adjust his stance but failed as Troy had advanced on him flipping each blade in circles then clanging both swords once in front of his chest to distract his opponent. He switched the grip on the Kopis to angle it inwards when the blades separated and then attacked with both like a scissor. The mercenary grunted and retreated again, the gladiator following with another attack switching the handle on the Kopis again to point outwards, the shorter blade cutting high, the longer low and then swapping for a double hack with both weapons. The officer parried the blade rushing for his face, got slashed above the groin, right under the lip of the cuirass, cursed and tried to block the double-bladed strike but got shoved back with a numb shoulder. Before he could rise and turn towards the gladiator another blade slashed him across the chest, the second severing his sword hand at the wrist. Afore the longsword hit the ground Troy¡¯s swords had returned alike hands connecting to clap with enthusiasm and had stricken the mercenary on both sides of his helm, right at the ears. Rang his head proper and wrapped the metal cracking his skull in two places. Troy sidestepped, tears running down his right eye that splinter feeling like an iron rod and snapped his left arm holding the scimitar ¨Cit had the better edge on it- to detach the dazed officer¡¯s head from his shoulders. A good clean cut. ¡°One and fifty,¡± Troy counted in case he¡¯d have to discuss the matter with someone else and glanced about him while casually shoving the beheaded body down with the tip of his mud-covered boot. He then sheathed the Kopis on his back and reached to remove the splinter from his eye.
¡°Can you stand?¡± Troy asked the guard but the man had bled out. Cursing he stood up a cough ravaging him. He walked back towards the road, drenched in sweat and cold at the same time. Troy paused, the sun blinding when he stepped out of the woods and everything turned white for a moment. Then colors returned. The chaos had spilled out of the forest and had reached the road connecting Que Ki-La with Small River and its bridge. He could see the bridge amidst the smokes coming from behind him, as the woods were still burning in places. The total tranquility sinister. The sun rays having to fight both the black smoke clouds rising and the white clouds on the sky. Still it was nice he could see clearly again from one eye. Two gladiators came out of the lakeside woods and hurried towards the bridge. A couple of more after a while. Troy smacked his head once. Twice. Right at his hurting ears and a ringing came back. It bounced off of the inner walls of his skull and made him sick, bile rising on his throat. He coughed again and the ringing stopped. Horns sounded. Gongs of war. The sound of men and animals heard in the distance towards the south and more yells coming from the bridge. ¡°Troy! Gods,¡± Fluke cried out and waved at him standing fifty meters from the bridge. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Troy barked and sprinted there despite being as tired as a farmer¡¯s dog people had mistaken for a small mule and piled sacks with produce on its back until its legs gave. ¡°The Cofols are coming again?¡± Fluke grunted and glared at him. Troy stopped to stare at the bodies piled on each side of the road. Behind the crude fortifications mostly out of logs and dirt. The barrier part facing the river and the ground covered in arrows, so many one could mistake them for stems sprouting out of the ground. ¡°Where is Qathor?¡± He rustled and Fluke grabbed his arm and pulled him behind cover as another volley of arrows came from the side of the bridge. Troy stooped behind the meter high barrier, basically five thick trunks piled together. ¡°We have less than thirty gladiators left,¡± Fluke explained through his teeth, gathering arrows from the ground to fire back at the creeping closer group of archers on the bridge. ¡°That¡¯s the sixth time they tried.¡± Troy licked his bitter lips silently and glanced at the rest of the platoon trying to protect themselves behind ruined shields, barriers and even single trunks. ¡°When they fire everything they carry, the infantry charges over the bridge,¡± Fluke explained. ¡°So it¡¯s a bit easier then.¡± ¡°Qathor?¡± Troy growled, shocked at the sight of so many of the men he had traveled and trained with for years laying dead around the bridge. He¡¯d laughed and danced with most. Fought even. Over silly things. Shared his stories and sometimes heard theirs. Troy felt ashamed for that. ¡°Mercenaries came from the east, followed the river,¡± Fluke explained firing an arrow and ducking under cover. Several arrows rattling at their cover or falling all over them. ¡°Fuck. They know we¡¯re here. We need to move.¡± ¡°Fluke, gods darnit!¡± Troy snapped angry. The gladiator grimaced and nervously slotted his helm better. Fluke wasn¡¯t over twenty years old but he looked younger now. ¡°Qathor stopped them near the river banks. But it was a bloody affair. Overwhelming numbers of heavy infantry. Still they tossed them in the river just the same. Balfor and Qathor didn¡¯t make it back,¡± Fluke replied sadly and breathed out slowly afore rising to fire another arrow with his bow. Troy lips had clenched tightly, both his eyes blurring again and his stomach turning hard alike a rock. ¡°Infantry!¡± A gladiator yelled from across the road and he shook his blond head to snap out of it, a bloody spot at the top where skin and hair was missing still hurting him. Fluke slotted his bow over his head and unsheathed his sword. ¡°You¡¯re coming?¡± Troy grimaced and got up to glare at the packed group of Jang-Lu taking the place of the archers on the bridge. A roar reaching his ears. Different in nature. Mechanical and out of place. The gladiator turned his eyes south down the arrow covered road that run through Lotus Lane. All around him the remaining gladiators were forming up as well, shields and swords in hand, spears and axes. Strangely enough Sartak didn¡¯t have that many left to send over the bridge either. It was archers after them. Troy stepped on the white gravel road and eyed the approaching small cloud. The sound it was producing that of a carriage. The implications devastating. ¡°A chariot is coming,¡± he yelled hoarsely at Fluke and the others forming at the bridge. The gladiator snapped his head around alarmed. Many heads turning with his. ¡°Now what?¡± Fluke asked. ¡°A chariot? Good grief,¡± another was heard. Nucur by the voice. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± Troy assured him with a pained smile and looked about for a horse, an eye on the approaching chariot. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of it.¡± ¡°You heard Troy. Everyone get ready!¡± Fluke barked bravely. ¡°He left us the easy part!¡± Troy found one munching on figs near a group of trees by the road, a hundred meters from the bridge. The Chariot had stopped in the meantime two hundred meters away and its crew were examining the battlefield with a spyglass. Scouts. Troy got up on the saddle and reached for the reins. He eyed the slow-marching in step Jang-Lu now about midway to the bridge and then the crew with the spyglass. With a click of his tongue he sent the light brown Cofol horse into a trot towards them. They spotted him immediately. Two heavily armoured passengers, the scaled variant of the Cataphracts, and an equally well-protected driver. Wearing those smiling masks. The driver watched him galloping towards them without a plan and snapped at the long reins he¡¯d looped around his left wrist. The Chariot started rolling his way as well. Its scythed ¨Ctriple-bladed- wheels covered in gore turning with a maddening noise and spraying a red mist every time they hit a body or an animal carcass left on the road. The driver turning the vehicle to avoid harming its wheels and the long blades scraping everything clean. This could well be the stupidest idea ever hatched by a human, Troy decided galloping towards the onrushing with thrice his speed against him chariot. Or anything in between. But in the same vein a feat never afore attempted. Well, perhaps once by a young Thalion if the stories are true.
The horse snapped its head right and then left trying to get out of the way of the four larger horses galloping furiously towards them, a large dust cloud rising behind the chariot and the sound of the turning wheels piercing the membranes of Troy¡¯s brain and rattling his bones from toes to the molars. The missing tooth sending jolts of pain that seemed to hit right at the bleeding bald spot at the top of his head. It was like riding towards a coming avalanche. ¡°AARRHGG!¡± Troy bellowed ineligibly and released the stirrups to jump on the saddle, the idea being to leap over the four horses, the central shaft or ¡®falling tongue¡¯ that connected to the neck yoke, beyond the crossbar of the carriage and land inside it without tumbling over the open back and onto the nasty-looking gravel. For Naossis¡¯ divine meaty rack, avoid the rotating blades! A bolt flew over his shoulder whilst still twenty meters away but it was a deceptive distance this, rapidly dissolving. Then another. Troy reached for his dagger and hurled it at the driver. Got him on the face mask with the butt and snapped his head back. Ten meters. The driver lost his smiling mask and a Horselord¡¯s pale face appeared in its place. All furious. The charioteer to his right raised a crossbow and fired. Five meters. The third bolt striking his horse¡¯s chest just as Troy put his right foot on the bouncing saddle. That no one would get to witness this a crime for sure. The horse neighed spraying blood out of its snout and veered abruptly left and away from the onrushing mountain of flesh, wood and steel. Troy had leaped off of it half a second earlier, his body catapulting forward, arms and legs kicking at the air, one of the middle horses turning its large head upwards to watch him flying over them with black eyes full of wonder and lips pulled back to show its square teeth. Over the straight wooden shaft, the leather straps and the reinforced with wire very long reins. Everything happening in a very short second but it seemed longer. Eh, not really. The driver ogled his slanted eyes in preternatural disbelief on what he was witnessing and the flying wildly yelping gladiator, crashed with the greaves on the upper part of wooden framework, tumbled over the crossbar feet over head, grabbed the trying to jerk aside driver by the collar and bulldozed the charioteer with the crossbow out of the moving fast vehicle¡¯s back. A snarling like a madman Troy followed after the screaming while tumbling on the hard gravel Cofol, legs plunging out the back but his grip on the driver¡¯s collar unrelenting. The armour bindings gave a bit, left shoulder dislocating a lot and kept only by muscle, the yelling driver dragged out as well. The fierce momentum swung Troy sideways, feet and torso outside the charging wild chariot kicking wildly, looped him around over the rotating blades, boots melting at the briefest of touches and brought him inside the open cabin again. The taught reins barely keeping the driver on the bouncing floor almost decapitating the gladiator and the remaining charioteer holding on for dear life in deep astonishment on what had just happened in the span of less than two seconds. That was it really. The whole stunt. One. Two. The following second Troy crashed inside the tight space, the reins cutting at his neck. He slipped, back hitting the sides of the square cart, the driver pulling at the reins to get back on as he was holding on by the tips of his boots and the charioteer with the smiling mask still inside raised his crossbow to shoot a bolt in Troy¡¯s face from point blank range. Troy put a hand on its mouth to push the barrel away from his head, shoulder snapping back into place with a sharp stab of blinding agony, the stubborn charioteer fired anyway and the bolt ripped through Troy¡¯s palm then flew in a bloody line over his head. Troy growled in general, almost tumbled over the carriage, but grabbed at the metallic crossbow with his good hand and pulled it hard. The Cofol clasped desperately at it and they fought for the useless weapon, the desperate driver still looping the reins around his forearm to save himself and the war chariot heading straight for the bridge uncontrollably. ¡°Allgods helps us! He¡¯s bereft of sense!¡± The driver yelped when the still struggling with the other charioteer Troy put a boot lacking its sole on his head to shove him over the edge. Large toe plunged into the man¡¯s nostril and Troy closed the toes at the soft part of the nose there and yanked it right and left ripping half the nose off of the driver¡¯s face. The charioteer reached for a dagger he had on his belt, Troy let go of the bloody noseless driver and reached into a wicker basket with various weapons. He found a flail and pulled it out, the charioteer trying to knife him in the gut as they both bounced violently sideways over the small floor. They were both still trying to gain possession of the empty crossbow for no apparent reason other than trauma, so it was an awkward fight aboard the fast moving chariot. The charioteer stabbed him aiming for the kidneys, but Troy twisted his torso earning a deep gush under the half plate instead. He kneed his opponent between the legs and got some breathing room to swing with the flail. He¡¯d a fucked up left arm of course but Troy clenched his teeth in a desperate scowl and did it anyway. Once and he broke the charioteer¡¯s wrist, the bone tearing at the skin and the knife dropping between them, bouncing off the floor and zipping past the heavy-breathing driver that had just managed to climb up the carriage. Troy swung again clumsily and got the Cofol at the jaw, wrapping the mask and turning that smile into a sad grimace. The Charioteer tried to get away with a groan but he¡¯d no room for fancy dodging and stepped over the lip of the floor instead. Just like that he vanished from sight. Troy turned his head, realized he was almost over the edge himself and tossed the crossbow away to grab the rail with his good arm. Then he looked at the man bouncing off of the hard gravel behind them, the driver looking in horror his friend¡¯s body turning into an amorphous ball of gore. Troy looked at the sweaty, wild eyed driver and the driver looked at him bewildered. Then the gladiator swung the flail again and got him with all three steel balls at the top of his head. The cranium exploding like a watermelon but all the spillage going away from Troy since the chariot was moving the other way. Shite! Troy turned around, his head and body rattling so much because the war machine was going too fast on the bumpy road, realizing in horror he was less than twenty meters from the large stone bridge over Small River. ¡°GET OUT OF THE WAY!¡± Troy roared to be heard trying to get at the slippery reins, only just realizing the driver was still tied with them and was dragged behind the chariot by an arm. Until the arm detached from his shoulder that is, which gave the vehicle even more speed. The alarmed Gladiators rushed to escape the onrushing chariot, not everyone succeeding and a desperate Troy jumped out of it just as it whipped past their lines. He tumbled on the hard gravel lost the other boot and his greaves, found grass at the side of the road and stopped with a battered back on one of the wooden barriers, an arrow shaft penetrating his calf and popping out the other side. Troy watched the final voyage of the war chariot with disbelieving eyes. One that is, as the right had closed completely. The war chariot bounced over the sloped mouth of the bridge, stayed its course by an evil god¡¯s intervention and dashed the few meters towards the packed with terrified Jang-Lu lines that scattered out of the horses¡¯ way as fast as they could. Most made it to the edge of the bridge and the chariot blasted past them running over one in five only, but the long blades extending outwards almost covered the full width of the now sardined frantically crying in panic soldiers¡¯ stone bridge. It was quite enough. The white stones of the bridge turned a deep red in just a few seconds, a huge crimson mist rising almost ten meters high and thousands of flesh pieces, body parts, shattered bones, brains and thrashed weapons blasted out in two gigantic red arcs over the screams and sounds of agony of those caught in the machine¡¯s path.
¡°Troy!¡± Fluke cried shaking him by the shoulders. ¡°How did you do that?¡± ¡°Garrgl,¡± a mangled Troy groaned and grabbed him by the collar to stand up. He grimaced when he did and stooped to get the arrow shaft out of his throbbing leg. He started coughing and almost went down again, but Fluke kept him upright. ¡°The Titan of Novesium!¡± He yelled and the remaining gladiators raised their swords and cheered loudly. ¡°Eahrg,¡± Troy managed to say raising a crooked left arm, blood still spurting out of the hole in his palm. ¡°Do we attack across the bridge Troy?¡± A gladiator asked the former champion of the arena, another giving him some water. Troy poured it over his head and puffed out with a pained groan, the throbbing reaching his brain. ¡°Gather¡­¡± ¡°What was that?¡± ¡°Get everyone,¡± Troy gasped hoarsely, sole eye tearing up. ¡°Head west through the woods.¡± ¡°What about the rest of the Chiliad?¡± Fluke asked with a frown. If Nout broke through then holding the bridge makes no difference. Troy limped slowly towards the road and stared at the smokes coming out of the east woods and the burned camp, then at the distance where Lotus Lane touched the corner of the city¡¯s walls.
A grinning Qathor gave him a thumbs up.
Troy closed his eye and sighed. See ye on the other side brother, he thought. Now you can party as hard you want. ¡°I need a horse,¡± he grunted raspingly. ¡°Fluke, get all the survivors towards the lake. Don¡¯t fuck it up kid. We cleared it so it¡¯ll be safe for a while. Move fast. See if you can reach the narrows, but stay in the woods. Loop around the lake¡¯s shores towards the Sopat camp.¡± ¡°What about you?¡± Fluke asked and Troy crooked his mouth, every part of it hurting afore replying. ¡°Forget about me. I¡¯ll try to reach Ballard as fast as I can, see if I can get anyone else out in the uproar,¡± Troy stared at Fluke¡¯s face and added. ¡°Sartak can have the blasted bridge. He doesn¡¯t have the men to hold it and he knows it. Try as he did, in this here bloody ground Sartak didn¡¯t win.¡± ¡°You heard him,¡± Fluke barked and grabbed his left arm. Troy almost jerking away at the fresh jolt of pain. ¡°This champion will never be forgotten,¡± a moved Fluke had whispered meaningfully near his face.
The famed gladiator had just nodded with his head, voice coming out strangled. Asmudius writes because of all the emotions flooding out of him, but if we¡¯re to believe the colorful account it was more because the champion was probably seriously injured.
¡°Sure,¡± he replied simply not much believing it. In his mind Troy had failed everyone.
401. Tales of the Peninsula | Unbroken (2/2)
¡°Milord Lennox,¡± the merchant greeted him and Emerson nodded with his head. Too tired to be more polite. ¡°It was inauspicious missing you.¡± Mmm. The man was coming from the castle nevertheless. Emerson pulled at the reins crooking his jaw and Duke stopped snorting irritated. A young horse, barely broken in. ¡°Master Melcher was hospitable I hope. He can be a little brusque. Mister¡­?¡± Emerson asked and the young Lorian wearing merchant¡¯s clothes smiled. A ruffian¡¯s smile. ¡°Wiscar,¡± he replied and Emerson noticed his reddish hair. Not a Lorian through and through. He felt his father¡¯s presence again and it spooked him. ¡°Master Melcher was busy at the stables Lord Lennox. I was entertained by you sister.¡± Emerson stared at the young man, not much younger than him truth be told. ¡°Do come again on the morrow mister Wiscar. Allow me to offer ye a proper welcome. Ballard Castle is a hospitable place.¡± Wiscar sat back on the saddle not expecting the invitation. ¡°Lady Lila is an excellent companion,¡± how would you know? Emerson thought sourly. ¡°But I shall appreciate a return Lord Lennox of course.¡± ¡°Trent,¡± Emerson ordered his manservant. ¡°We have that hunt on the morrow yes?¡± ¡°That¡¯s true milord. Each week.¡± ¡°Plenty of game this time of year,¡± Emerson told Wiscar. ¡°Stay the night. We have plenty of rooms as well.¡± ¡°Why, thank you Lord Lennox,¡± Wiscar replied not believing his luck. ¡°Not wanting to brag, I¡¯m an excellent hunter.¡± Ye could have went with decent then. ¡°I thought ye were a merchant,¡± Emerson commented instead but kept his suspicions to himself. The moment Lila saw them entering from the Castle¡¯s main gates her cheeks turned a pale white and almost collapsed inside the yard. Melcher, his father¡¯s man, had to grab her elbow to keep the teenage girl upright. The old hand stared at Emerson¡¯s face and then at his sister afore focusing on the oblivious Wiscar. ¡°Sister,¡± Emerson growled and climbed down from Duke. ¡°You know mister Wiscar well, I gather.¡± It wasn¡¯t a query. Lila gulped down nervously, her dark-brown eyes wide as saucers. Ah lassie, Emerson thought and hanged his head. His father¡¯s armour clanging when the old man got up furious. Ye fix that mess now boy, the late Lord of Ballard growled. Ye want to prance around wearing my blade? Rule me lands? Then you¡¯ll abide by my rules.
Sir Emerson Lennox Pale Jackal Mista Savar Errant knight of Ballard Tales of the Peninsula | Unbroken Part II -Mista Savar-
Act I -What Luthos gives¡­- In the end, we all seek a meager slice of gratification, Emerson supposed. Let the gods figure out the rest. ¡°My platoon Mista Savar,¡± Citata said stubbornly and put her Chiliad helm on. ¡°I¡¯ll lead them.¡± Tanus scrunched his face, a week¡¯s growth of brown hair on it and stared at Emerson. ¡°She¡¯ll stay near mine,¡± the knight decided and turned to Asper. The hard-faced Cofol looking tired. ¡°You prepared the ground?¡± ¡°Left the sides ¡®free¡¯, have obstacles set on the road, barriers and piled debris,¡± Asper replied. ¡°Toros ¡®the Black¡¯ will hold the woods nearest to the lake and our west flank.¡± ¡°Samir you¡¯ll keep your archers on the other,¡± Emerson continued with a nod. ¡°Stay near the trees and fire when they slow down to navigate the field. They won¡¯t find a way but after the first volley, go for the horses just in case. Then lit the piles on the road.¡± ¡°Fire arrows might spook ours,¡± Samir noted. ¡°We shall keep them at the rear. West, near Toros,¡± Emerson replied. ¡°The rest of the platoons shall set up behind the obstacles to block the road. He won¡¯t risk his chariots in the fields bordering the woods, but his riders might probe our flanks. As long we control them they won¡¯t move forward.¡± ¡°Fifty meters of mounds of logs, caltrops, rocks and cut trunks won¡¯t hold them Ballard. We need more depth,¡± Tanus argued. ¡°Or a wall.¡± No time for that and the Prince has a knack for finding his way around a wall. ¡°There shall be warriors after that and they won¡¯t know how far we¡¯ve prepared. Ten meters. A boy can throw further. You¡¯ve issued javelins?¡± ¡°Any spear we could find in the spoils,¡± Samir grunted cutting in. ¡°Nowhere near enough or arrows.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll make them count and then use that blade Samir,¡± Emerson told him. ¡°It¡¯s a good day when a man gets to train where he¡¯s lacking the most. Make himself better,¡± Citata snorted at that. ¡°Or woman,¡± Emerson added. ¡°If he avoids the wall¡¯s corner and the city gates again, then the turn will bring him right at the jaws of our defense,¡± Asper said raspingly. ¡°But I don¡¯t see him risking horses to charge over obstacles but then again, why chance entering the woods?¡± ¡°The lesser of two evils,¡± Emerson replied. ¡°Walls don¡¯t deter him but a bad terrain and the unknown might tip the scales in our favor.¡± ¡°Where is Sopat?¡± Asper asked him. ¡°Whatever Merehor did, he doesn¡¯t have enough men to reach Phon,¡± Emerson replied. ¡°Now since Lord Sopat hasn¡¯t fought a real battle ever we must assume he might do something foolish.¡± ¡°Like running away?¡± Emerson thought about it. He wanted to be honest with them but the truth of it was he didn¡¯t know Lord Phon¡¯s innermost thoughts. ¡°Whatever drives the Lord of Lai Zel-Ka brought him this far. Much further than I¡¯ve thought he¡¯ll advance. Whether it be shame, courage or a promise, makes no difference. He¡¯ll go the extra mile,¡± he assured them. ¡°Would the men follow his lead Samir?¡± ¡°They would for they wear the Capricorn markings proudly,¡± Samir said. ¡°From mercenaries, caravan hands, guards. Down to the last slave.¡± ¡°Chubin Amin is a week behind him you think?¡± Emerson asked. Phon was expecting reinforcements from the remote Yon-Simun Fort and the villages located at the westernmost point of Greenwhale Peninsula, the narrow land penetrating deep inside the Haze Sea. It stood across almost from Raxe-Tull the smaller of the Plague Isles if one drew a line on a map. That is if the few existing maps depicting it were real. Now if that line was to be extended further west, the Black Ocean started and according to sailors that had survived its northern-fueled storms over open waters and gargantuan waves, it never ended. Ancient Cofol legends Lord Phon loved so much argued there was land further west called Tull Cautara-Magor. The land of the arched sword. Whence all Cofol had come from untold thousands of years in the past. On the open fields of Eplas only Horselords lived at some point. ¡°This will be over sooner than that. Way before the Kata-Cim warriors arrive,¡± Samir replied. Their name given due to the single-edge famed swords they carried. A play from old Cofol words ¡®Cim¡¯ that meant blade and ¡®Kata¡¯ that meant nothing but could be a paraphrased/short ¡®Cautara¡¯ Emerson supposed. Chubin Amin was a member of their tribe, since the Khan wanted to bring them into his armies, but they had refused to fight for any of them. Chubin Amin had managed to mobilize some after returning from Fu De-Gar. ¡°The Prince needs to open the road or he¡¯ll run out of supplies. That were a lot of animals he had with him,¡± Samir finished his thought. ¡°Anyone has news on Velox?¡± Asper asked. ¡°We could use the help.¡± ¡°Velox did all he could,¡± Emerson reminded everyone. ¡°We shall do the rest. Stay composed and reject fear. Better to die free than a slave on the sands.¡± Young Kelly raised a goblet to his words. ¡°Hoorah! Praise be offered! To the free warriors of the Chiliad and Mista Savar!¡± She cheered, eyes gleaming and cheeks flushed to great applause from those present. A smiling ¨Cusually gloomy- Citata grabbed the smaller girl by the waist and raised its shuddering body high over broad shoulders so everyone could see her. Kelly cheered again quickly recovering from the shock, wine spilling over both of them and the rest of the gladiators resting in groups by the road, the unmounted horse archers and even some injured slaver-guards stood up answering the young former slave-girl¡¯s call. It was a surreal scene to witness. And this time the response was thunderous.
Serebus attacked Merehor haphazardly at the start of Sartak¡¯s road but got ambushed by sneaking cavalry and had to retreat in minutes. Bohor who had assumed command of the camp, despite being injured days afore, ordered him to retreat towards their large camp to regroup. He also took measures to evacuate the unresponsive Lord Phon-Iv and his wife. A message was sent to Lai Zel-Ka to his brother Don-Iv with the news. Bohor left the camp taking most of the wagons and carriages with him and about a thousand slaves. Serebus reached the emptying camp with the army an hour later, hunted by Merehor¡¯s and Nis-Belu¡¯s rangers. He thought of defending the road there but Bohor wanted him to follow after them and guard Lord Phon¡¯s giant caravan. Merehor in his turn was ordered either by the Prince or Nis-Belu not to attack the Sopat retreating forces but to come to the Prince¡¯s assistance. A portion of his troops were immediately dispatched east towards the junction led by Merehor himself who wanted to make a good impression to Nout, which left Nis-Belu (one of Nout¡¯s longtime friends) in charge of the rest. This could have been the Prince¡¯s order also, not wanting any part of his force outside of loyal hands. The Ranger leader decided to follow discreetly after the departing army, looking for a way to bypass them and strike against the slow-moving caravan the moment they exited this sylvan part of Simun Road and reached the open desert. Asmudius describes that two hours later, twelve hours after the assassination attempt, doctors present to look after his wife managed to revive Lord Phon-Iv draining his lungs from blood and using expensive ¡®magic¡¯ potions. A weakened Phon upon learning they were retreating almost perished from the shock. He asked Bohor for the reason he¡¯d decided to ¡®bury him whilst still breathing, write to his brother and then abandon the field.¡¯ When a shamed Bohor replied he was trying to serve the house Sopat as best he could, Phon replied soberly that he was the house Sopat and to order Serebus to give battle immediately. Bohor argued Serebus was incapable of doing it but offered to assume command of the men in the field with the help of Asmudius to which Phon agreed, whilst promising to resume travelling towards Nasar to recuperate. Asmudius describes that he¡¯d eagerly insisted on helping Bohor, but he was probably ordered to do it. Nis-Belu seeing the Sopat stopping and blocking Simun Road again made a probing attack with Merehor¡¯s remaining force and his riders but it didn¡¯t produce any results given the narrow front. It is also probable Belu didn¡¯t have the numbers. Bohor attacked as well but it ended in a stalemate with heavy casualties from both sides that regressed to lobbing arrows on each other for hours under the cloudy sky. Asmudius tried to flank Nis-Belu¡¯s men from the woods but he was forced to turn back fearing he¡¯d get cut off as well. The ¡®Battle for the Simun Road¡¯ ended up in a costly draw. Prince Nout¡¯s army brushed aside a rear guard left by the Chiliad near the south gates near late the previous day, but didn¡¯t enter the city leaving a force to guard against an assault there and marched to the corner following the road close to the walls during the evening. Entering Lotus Lane, the narrow fields extending on both sides of the large road heading for Small River and its bridge, he found himself without room to maneuver. The south banks of Clear Lake, hugged by rich wilderness (mostly Fig and Lotus trees) and infested with old-crocodiles (the larger in size local predators were not indigenous to the area but an invasive species not found anywhere else on Eplas that had found a rich feeding-ground it didn¡¯t want to vacate. They were worshipped upon a distant time by the first Cofol settlers it must be noted here, with ruined temples still existing inside the woods) anyway they were of little use for Prince Nout. Heading east the forest wasn¡¯t as dense (it wasn¡¯t a thick forest in general) but still an ordeal to bypass with chariots. That left the road itself but the Chiliad had created a series of obstacles there the previous month. While nothing of that exists today one must assume that at least a portion of the road was blocked partially or completely at its narrowest point. Nout would have had to find a way for his cavalry to cross the ¡®prepared¡¯ area or use said riders as very expensive infantry against the waiting gladiators. It is unclear what Sir Emerson¡¯s plan had been other than inflicting the maximum amount of damage on the Khanate¡¯s Heir since we are unaware whether he knew of the events unfolding elsewhere or not. The rich wooded lands around the Lotus Lane up to the lake¡¯s shores, as far as the bridge and deep inside the east woods across and on the other side of the road, are still churning out today many quality artifacts, armours of various types, helms, shields, swords, spears, broken parts or complete war-chariots and have its own wild horse population. A mixed breed of medium, sturdy but very nimble horses that have learned to live inside Que Ki-La¡¯s woods. Despite all this a huge number of war materiel is completely missing or vanished into thin air (not to mention parts of the army, half the city and the village of Palar we¡¯ll discuss in the last part) and it is impossible to reconstruct the real ¡®Lotus Lane¡¯ battlefield today, but only offer estimates based on oral accounts from citizens and Asmudius¡¯ ¡®Unbroken Chiliad¡¯ epic tale.
The Lancers stopped and turned around to give way for infantry to approach. But the latter were taking their sweet time, the sun still half-hidden on the sky. Emerson glanced at Samir¡¯s archers at the edge of the east thickets preparing to fire again and then at the lit braziers behind their lines before returning his stare at the commotion beyond the obstacle-covered part of the road, the trapped holes and the mounds of flammable material they had erected at random intervals where it ended. The Khan¡¯s army was bringing up to the front those large wooden shields again, carried by ten people per. Four meters in height and a length of six, made out of rough redwood planks. More an obstacle, Emerson thought pressing his knees to get Spirit moving forward. Than a shield. I guess it works just the same unless... ¡°Hand me a javelin,¡± he told Tanus and Cander, the latter bringing one to him. ¡°Lit the mounds?¡± Tanus asked loud enough to be heard over the mumbles and yells of the Chiliad. The horns and gongs of the Prince¡¯s packed army not helping. The quiet opening had come alive during the night and the sound only increased with each passing hour, mostly due to the animals though. That¡¯s an ungodly amount of horses, Emerson thought squinting his black eyes to see further. His eyes weren¡¯t what they used to be. I bet you burn through yer supplies pretty fast lad. ¡°Not yet. I want to see what he¡¯s doing,¡± he replied hoarsely. A dressed in leather-armour over his rich robes official riding a decorated horse had approached the men tasked with carrying the ¡®rectangular shields¡¯ from the rear and barked orders at them. Instructions, Emerson decided and turned his head west to catch a glimpse of Asper¡¯s platoon hugging the woods overlooking the fields. A force of riders was probing there as well but were keeping their distance assuming there were more archers inside the west woods. Logic dictates you¡¯ll send the mercenaries, Emerson thought nearing the disturbed part of the road, a couple of Cataphracts hanging away from the treeline perking up gauging at the distance, loaded crossbows in arms. With Emerson standing some meters from the fifty meter ¡®prepared¡¯ part of the road and the Cataphracts even further back to avoid the longer range of Samir¡¯s composite-bows to their east, he wasn¡¯t bothered with them. But that would just leave you without infantry, so you¡¯ll have to use cavalry to cross the caltrops or flank us. Since you¡¯ve been pondering on that for days given that you grew up around these lands you won¡¯t do it. You¡¯ll pick the woods sooner or later but then the chariots would be useless, Emerson deliberated. You love yer toys too much to leave ¡®em behind, so you¡¯ll go for something more dramatic. More flair. And then, you¡¯ll be forced to clear the woods. The first group of engineers marched ahead carrying the heavy giant wooden shield and reached the ensnared part of the road, easy to spot since there were cut beams peppered all over its length, dirt and round holes. Samir fired a volley on them killing four facing the forest and injuring the fifth momentarily, as the toppling on his arrow-riddled body platform-sized simple construct squashed him dead. Then the archers picked their exposed colleagues one after the other. One of them making it back and out of their range with an arrow sticking out of his right hip. ¡°That was stupid,¡± Tanus commented standing next to his horse. Emerson watched the official ordering the next bunch forward. Four wooden shields this time in two rows parallel to each other. The south facing (or outer two) he angled towards the forest to cover the others that headed straight but carefully for the discarded first, stooped to remain under the cover of their friends. The man gave it half a minute and then ordered another bunch forward. And another right after. Hmm. Not engineers then. You have slaves to spare apparently. ¡°Tell Samir not to waste anymore arrows!¡± He barked and Tanus relayed the order with riders galloping up the gentle slope towards the trees to inform Samir. Emerson saw the official returning towards the Prince¡¯s lines amidst the clouds of dust and despite the low visibility of early dawn he spotted a gilded chariot with painted white wheels that had approached the frontline leaving the rest war machines behind. The knight raised his arm high and flipped the javelin around one time over his helmed head as an invitation. A rider was sent immediately towards the advanced rows of Cataphacts and two of them kicked their legs and galloped towards Emerson. They reached the first slow moving wooden shields, now inside arrow range and walked their horses half-stooped on their saddles. Their intention clear. ¡°I have another javelin,¡± Tanus commented and Emerson nodded counting the distance. A hundred meters. Eighty. He had the range but needed accuracy, so he climbed down from his mount. The wooden shields crept up closer to the caltrop infested zone and the Cataphracts raised their crossbows. Fifty and change. The First Cataphract stopped his horse and aimed. Too far to hit anything son unless yer lucky, Emerson thought and the bolt whistled a meter to his right. Yer not. The first slaves reached the start of the prepared area and dropped their ¡®shield¡¯ down over it. The second Cataphract bringing his horse over but standing to the side to allow the second group to deposit their load where the ¡®bridged¡¯ part ended. Aha. Solid idea. The second Cataphract fired his crossbow missing Emerson¡¯s body for less than an arm and went back to reloading, just like his friend that had stopped five meters behind him. Emerson pulled his right arm back, took two heavy steps forward ¨Chis hurt knee protesting- and hurled the javelin with a loud growl. Turned without looking at its trajectory and took the one Tanus held up for him, the gladiator flinching at the sound of steel going through armour and the screams rising from the slaves building Nout a land bridge. He turned around, a bolt stabbing the ground before him, took another two heavy steps unbothered his arm raised, the Cataphract turning his horse around to get away and then snapped it with an even greater growl. Skewered the armoured animal through its left hind leg and brought it down. Its rider taking two tumbles afore stopping, but quickly hurrying to his feet and sprinting away under the loud catcalls from the lined up Chiliad. Emerson walked to his horse and climbed up with a glare at the laughing Tanus who sobered up immediately. ¡°They¡¯ll be coming over to visit us right mad, I reckon. Which is as accommodating as it is not,¡± he cautioned him. ¡°Better get back to our lines. What Luthos gifts, likes to take away.¡± Act II -Running out of fodder- Two hours later, First week of Fall 193 NC Battle of Lotus Lane Part of the greater battle for the Simun Gates Morning The mercenaries rushed over the bridged part of the road, crossed it over as fast as they could and leaped the final meters where they had run out of platforms. The ground there covered with bodies, more bleeding out five meters forward where the Chiliad warriors rotated not to let them spread out. Both sides of Nout¡¯s bridge littered with corpses as the moment Samir¡¯s archers figured out the strategy they just waited for the infantry to rush across and opened fire in the blind directing all their arrows on the four-meter wide passage. Emerson watched from the sides the lancers charging across after them two at a time trying to break out into the open road. ¡°LOOSE!¡± He roared and kicked his legs to get Spirit galloping across towards Asper¡¯s group guarding the fields to their west flanks. Citata¡¯s platoon hurling javelins, spears and spare projectiles on Nout¡¯s medium cavalry. The punishment they had delivered to Merehor¡¯s mercenaries brutal. Emerson couldn¡¯t count exactly but he could see the mercenary general foaming at the mouth watching their numbers dwindling rapidly. He¡¯d spotted a messenger riding hard from lake¡¯s shores to Asper¡¯s lines and Asper dispatching a group of twenty gladiators inside the forest. Emerson stopped his horse near the Chiliad leader and trainer that had taken over both platoons after his brother had been killed many weeks back near the Dates Plantations. ¡°Nout is in the forest?¡± Emerson growled. Asper shook his head negatively. ¡°They won¡¯t come from the lake¡¯s sides Ballard!¡± He yelled to be heard over the cries of the gladiators that greeted him recognizing the Jackal¡¯s steel armour and helm. ¡°They sneaked up from the north!¡± ¡°Troy?¡± ¡°Nah, they were covered in mud. I reckon they swam across the lake!¡± Asper replied. ¡°Toros can handle it?¡± Emerson asked with a nod. ¡°Toros is dead inside,¡± Asper retorted soberly. ¡°Ain¡¯t easy to kill such a man. He¡¯ll go when he chooses.¡± Emerson grimaced and turned his attention on the other side of the road, the sound of horses and men roaring, mixing with that of battle creating a persistent ruckus that muffled all other nature¡¯s sounds. ¡°Will Troy hold?¡± He asked the wiry gladiator and Asper cracked a half-snarl which was all you could get out of him these days. ¡°That prick is too proud to lose, too much of an idiot to die,¡± Asper replied and grimaced properly in disgust giving up on the attempt to smile. ¡°The Leopard will go for Samir,¡± he added and Emerson nodded since that was what he believed all along. The west was perilous with Sopat looming near the junction. East had his flanks safe up to the coast but he still needed the road. So he¡¯ll send his chariots through the moment he attacks Samir. ¡°I¡¯ll head towards the archers with Citata¡¯s platoon,¡± Emerson told Asper. ¡°The moment Toros is free, you¡¯ll take a platoon and reinforce the center. We poured oil on everything. If you believe they¡¯ll break through, light them up and retreat to the flanks. Let it burn. Don¡¯t stay to get shot at like a fool. Retreat out of range.¡± ¡°Well, I ain¡¯t easy to kill also Ballard and they can follow over the fields.¡± Emerson shook his head. ¡°No they can¡¯t. Moment those things hit a big rock or a good ole hole ye¡¯ll see plenty of folks fly. Briefly. Unless they start moving alike plaguing snails, aye. A slow-footed chariot is just a large basket with fancy wheels. I¡¯d charge at them then in yer place or kill one of the horses. Same thing almost.¡± ¡°You¡¯re an expert on chariots Pale Jackal?¡± ¡°As much as yer a blasted immortal,¡± Emerson replied gravely and turned the horse around to return to their lines. ¡°I¡¯m not even sure that such a thing as an expert on anything exists. So look not to make a fool of yourself.¡± Thirty minutes later ¡°THERE!¡± Samir bellowed and Emerson turned his head at the even larger group of warriors hurrying up the slope on their horses. More mercenaries. He headed there to meet them, Citata following after him with Cander and Samir¡¯s group. The archers loosed their arrows on the fighters, got one of them on the leg, the rest wasted on shields or hitting trees. They were about to run out anyway. One of the mercenaries wore a blue scarf on his head under the conned helm and kept ordering his group forward. A chariot came up the slope slowly but its axle broke and a wheel came off after another bump forcing it to stop midway. Two more following after it stopping as well, either damaged or out of caution. It was the furthest they could ¡®safely¡¯ sneak inside, staying away from the ruined north gates that Nout had taken but probably wasn¡¯t sure if he could hold, as there were gladiators inside the city belonging to Thalion¡¯s force harassing his soldiers. The situation inside the city chaotic. ¡°GET THEM! PUSH THEM OUT!¡± The officer bellowed spotting them and his group of around forty climbed down their horses, as while you could move about on one inside the forest, fighting mounted wasn¡¯t easy. The three charioteers also hurrying up to enter the woods as well. This was a big group. Emerson smacked his lips and glanced at Citata who had her poleaxe out. ¡°Use the morning-star,¡± he advised her. ¡°Mind the trees.¡± The gladiator stared at him furiously but got her bashing weapon out. ¡°I hate obstacles,¡± Samir admitted and hang his bow over his back, thought about it and then unclasped his quiver and tossed his bow over it. If Samir expected any words for him, Emerson offered none but a short prayer to Tyeus and then just stepped out of the shade to block the mercenaries advance. They had a group of four leading them so given the open terrain, Emerson planted a foot down and swung his longsword at shoulder height without delay. ¡°Who¡ª?¡± One of the mercenaries managed to get out, Emerson going through two necks afore biting the third man on the shoulder as the sword plunged lower. ¡°Watch out! The Jackal!¡± The fourth yelped and Emerson savagely hauled the sword back as one hauls a heavy chain to raise anchor, the blade sawing at flesh, tendons and bone ruining the arm¡¯s joint before detaching. The mercenary swung at him but got tangled up with his friend, the one screaming in the effort to keep the dangling left arm in place. He cursed and sidestepped to find a better angle, but Emerson had moved forward over the second decapitated corpse, boots sinking in the red muddy froth, the longsword¡¯s point dipping low first afore whooshing high. It caught the first mercenary sprinting to get in the scrap at the helm¡¯s jaw bindings and split his face into two equal parts, the blade detaching the helm from his thrashed skull and sending it flying up towards the forest¡¯s canopy. A red mist rained over the men following after him, the knight¡¯s blade coming down without delay in a slanted arc that chopped an arm off and then came back to park under the groaning man¡¯s ear. Emerson run the sharpened edge mid-length, going through cheek flesh, gums, tongue, lower jaw then gullet afore it stopped at the base of the spine. He pulled the butchered mercenary grabbing him above the bleeding stub and hurled him on the next one¡¯s shield. The Cofol growled bashing his slain comrade away with the shield and got cleaved at the top of his helm through the opening. The metal wrapped inwards, cranium splintering and pieces of bone penetrated the brain killing him instantly. He dropped mutely, people screaming, blades clanging on shields or other blades, the thudding of clubs and maces or Citata¡¯s morning-star. Though the latter had a distinct crunching sound. Curses and whines even pleads of desperation. The smell of blood mixing with that of mature fig fruits and the bittersweet as much as sharp aroma of crushed lotuses¡¯.
¡°KILL HIM! FUCK¡¯S SAKE!¡± The officer kept ordering his reluctant to approach Emerson men. Still, they had fared decently slaying three of the archers and two gladiators from Citata¡¯s group for nine of them. Another archer went down, then another with a spear thrust through the neck. Five more mercenaries, for two gladiators, the exchange not favoring them but terribly costly for Chiliad, the second man killed from a bolt that struck him at the right ear going through his helm like a nail. Ah. Emerson eyed the charioteers that had entered the woods as well and looked to hit any distracted opponent. ¡°Hey!¡± Emerson barked to be heard and marched towards them clenching his jaw, a large tree between him and the armoured trio. Two of them turned their crossbows on him, the third reached for a Glaive he¡¯d stabbed on the ground next to his right boot, a type of polearm like the halberd, lighter in weight with a two meter long shaft but with a simpler flat blade. The tang secured in a socket-shaft with a steel pin running through it. ¡°GEH!¡± The charioteer snarled, either part of a name or nothing at all and grabbed the Glaive, one crossbow clattering on a dropped shield the other two firing. One after the other. TANG! TANG!This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. An alert Emerson stepped right behind the tree trunk, a bolt whipping past the space he¡¯d been occupying a moment ago, hitting a mercenary between the shoulder blades. The other ricocheted off of the trunk breaking a large chunk of bark away before it disappeared from sight. As for the determined knight, he emerged from the other side of the large fig tree still moving. The two charioteers were now frantically reloading whilst the third raised the Glaive with both arms. He slashed at the advancing Emerson in an arc parallel to the ground. Too heavy, Emerson warned himself and snapped with the longsword trying to get at the weapon¡¯s shaft forsaking an attempt to block. He hit the compact base securing the tang instead, the shock rattling his arm and the protruding steel pin cracking his blade. The charioteer backed away half a step, the large rising weapon¡¯s momentum almost toppling him and then downed the Glaive again. Emerson stepped out of the way this time, the bones on his knee making a crackling sound. The blade smashed the ground, the knight turning with a grunt, an eye on the two crossbows furiously working the cranequin gears and put a hand on the rising hardwood shaft of the Glaive. ¡°Eh,¡± the smiling mask said then the ragged broken edge of Emerson¡¯s sword sunk into his throat, slipping the armour¡¯s collar opening. One of the other two charioteers dropped the crossbow and unsheathed a scimitar just as Emerson shoved the butchered man down, keeping the Glaive. Nout¡¯s man stepped forward and hacked at him furiously. Emerson parried with his sword. Once and sparks exploded when steel met steel. Twice and the knight¡¯s sword snapped, the blade bouncing off of his shoulder pads. ¡°GET OUT OF THE WAY Geh-Ra!¡± The other charioteer roared, slotting a bolt into the cranked crossbow. A name then, Emerson thought solving the small riddle. He switched hands on the Glaive, longsword dropping between his legs, the Charioteer stepping away going right, which was Emerson¡¯s left. The knight swung with the Glaive, the heavy blade got the trying to jerk-away charioteer under the left arm, shattered two ribs and then sunk there mauling first, then rupturing the armour. It turned the adjoining flesh into paste. TANG! Emerson heaved the Glaive and the shuddering charioteer still connected to it aside and towards the third one that decided to go for his sword as well. The knight let go of the long weapon with a grunt, the bolt sticking out of his left forearm touching bone and unsheathed the heavy sword he carried on his back. The charioteer shoved away the gasping and spraying blood down his smiling face, ninety-percent dead Geh-Ra, to get at Emerson but got stricken with the spiked-covered steel ball of the morning-star just below the right shoulder. The sound of bone shattering mixed with that of torn flesh and the man¡¯s blade hitting the ground. A bit of muffled mumbling in there as well, as the Cofol had probably bitten his own tongue off. ¡°Mista Savar!¡± Citata yelled and then swung with the nasty weapon again at the turning away charioteer. It landed at the base of his helm with a solid thud and dropped him immediately. The Nord-blooded female was a big woman. ¡°How serious?¡± Emerson grunted and tried to locate the officer but the man had retreated back down the slope upon witnessing his men get slaughtered mercilessly. Samir appeared, followed by Cendar, seven gladiators and half a dozen archers. Get the blasted chariots, he told himself appalled at the losses. He needs to break through. But he¡¯s running out of fodder. Gods forgive me. ¡°Push it out,¡± Emerson ordered Citata hoarsely, a weight pressing down on his chest and tended his throbbing arm to her. He clenched his jaw, eyes turned to the field and the road behind the trees. Nout had brought his Cataphracts forward through the landbridge but instead of charging the Chiliad they lined up and fired volley after volley on Asper¡¯s and Tanus¡¯ platoons. ¡°Samir,¡± Emerson grunted through his teeth. ¡°Get every man you got and set the road on fire. Any pile you can torch. Do it!¡± ¡°We should warn Asper,¡± Samir protested. ¡°If he hasn¡¯t figured out what to do by now,¡± Emerson replied through his teeth, Citata working the iron bolt out of the bloody forearm tapping it ¡®carefully¡¯ with the morning-star using it like a hammer. ¡°Then he¡¯s already dead.¡± ¡°Apologies,¡± Citata said apprehensively. ¡°I go slowly to avoid hurting you,¡± she explained and Emerson retorted brusquely. ¡°Don¡¯t lass. Just get it over wit.¡±
There¡¯s a story circulating in the Khanate by the current Khan¡¯s enemies that Ramen-Toka, Prince Nout¡¯s wife¡¯s brother, supposedly revealed about the final stages of the battle. Since his whereabouts or even survival is a matter of contention for reasons not directly connected to this tale, one must take everything lacking a proper record with a grain of salt. According to that story Sir Emerson had doused the road with oil (along with a great number of other traps) brought by Que Ki-La¡¯s thoroughly raided warehouses and set it alight trapping many men and animals inside the maze of death he¡¯d prepared. Since Sir Emerson had fought in the ¡®Warbands Rebellion¡¯ and had been on the receiving end of the Northmen¡¯s trickery to stop the Knights it is a plausible story. He would have used similar tactics to stop Nout¡¯s chariots. Regardless of the manner, tactics and weapons were abandoned as everyone rushed to escape. Horses panicked and forced their way out over ¡®un-cleared¡¯ terrain succumbing to devastating injuries and maiming their riders. The Chiliad¡¯s front was splintered in two, with the gladiators retreating inside the woods. Prince Nout ordered the frontal assault to cease immediately and debated whether to wait the raging fires out or not. Fearing another similar trap set a kilometer away with his force spread thin, he decided to send probing groups of chariots and riders forward the moment it was feasible. They were to proceed with caution and report back. In order though for an operation like this to move ahead he needed to clear out one side of the woods or both. Nout opted to attack east as the woods were not as thick away from the lake and the lake itself (and the woods near it) were very close to contested ground at the junction. He ordered Ramen-Toka to take some of his chariot force, most of the medium cavalry he couldn¡¯t use inside the woods (about a hundred of them plus fifty chariots) and assist the hard-pressed Nis-Belu beat back Lord Sopat¡¯s demoralized forces. Merehor, who was present in the meeting, assured the Prince that Phon-Iv had been killed the previous day. Whether he believed him or not it is not clear. What is clear and obvious, is that Nout wanted to defeat Sir Emerson who he probably knew as ¡®Pale Jackal¡¯, his arena moniker. ¡®We either finish them off here,¡¯ Nout supposedly said to his officers and close friends. ¡®Or we have them harass us all the way to Small River. If we make it there and they escape, then we¡¯ll have to fight them all over again. They can¡¯t be allowed to leave this field with a sliver of hope. They are a formidable foe. Bring me the Jackal¡¯s head,¡¯ he ordered Merehor. ¡®Or I¡¯ll have yours.¡¯ His old friend Hora-Se, the Cataphract leader hailing from old Rin the birthplace of Radpur, a veteran of Nout¡¯s campaigns, assumed the general leadership of the attacking inside the woods force. They were to bring the chariots as close as they could, unload the men, then create striking groups of ten that would work together. A group would make contact with the gladiators lurking there, lure them towards the second group that would fire a volley and then they would both attack in unison. Some of the remaining Cataphracts refused to leave their horses and it was agreed they would be used as scouts due to their superior armour. Merehor¡¯s remaining mercenaries (they had suffered atrocious losses trying to break the Chiliad¡¯s shield wall) were tasked with locating the Jackal since they knew him and finish what they had left unfinished. It is worth noting that according to Ramen-Toka, Prince Nout had ordered Hora-Se not to allow Merehor to leave the woods alive even if the latter succeeded. ¡®A turncoat is like a revolving door,¡¯ the Prince had commented echoing similar sentiments by King Lucius offered at a later date. ¡®Opens one way today, another on the morrow.¡¯
Act III -Costly endeavors- Early noon ¡°GET THEM INSIDE THE WOODS!¡± Samir of Ani Ta-Ne bellowed waving his bow over his head with one hand, lit arrow gripped with the other and covered in soot. ¡°HURRY UP!¡± Emerson watched as the last of the gladiators reached the trees, Mirka and Kelly following with the few civilians loitering behind their lines. He approached the bloodied, blackened Tanus and his own platoon. ¡°Asper?¡± Emerson grunted. ¡°Went the other way. He had riders on his back.¡± ¡°Toros is still near the woods?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t know Mista Savar.¡± ¡°You head to our cleared out spots,¡± Emerson told him. ¡°Breathe some fresh air into yer lungs son.¡± ¡°You think they¡¯ll move on ahead?¡± Tanus asked tiredly. ¡°It¡¯s one thing to leave a ruined city on your back,¡± he replied soberly. ¡°Another entirely to leave a fighting-capable force on your flanks, especially if you don¡¯t control the bridge at the end of it. Too much of a risk.¡± ¡°You think Troy is still breathing?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see Sartak anywhere,¡± Emerson replied curtly.
Samir¡¯s archers had brought the mules with them, a lot of the Chiliad¡¯s supplies taken from the city were inside the forest hugging Lotus Lane, though the bulk of them had followed Ib-Lurd¡¯s supply train ten kilometers away. ¡°Fifty-six jugs of olive oil, a couple of Naphtha,¡± Samir reported holding his head. The white scarf on it bloodied ¡°I could be mistaken there. Got bashed on the head with a shield.¡± ¡°Carry one yerself. Use that to block next time,¡± Emerson advised him and eyed their group. ¡°Nout has about six hundred charioteers. Scratch fifty of them away. He had about two hundred Cataphracts and as many Lancers." ¡°Two fifty,¡± Samir corrected him since he¡¯d gotten tangled up with them outside Palar. ¡°But I don¡¯t see them down there. Maybe some Cataphracts.¡± ¡°Mercenaries?¡± Emerson asked. He had spent the time trying to galvanize the men¡¯s spirits. It wasn¡¯t a difficult job. The Gladiators wouldn¡¯t run away nor stop fighting until they were killed. No one wanted to retreat further inside the woods were it was thicker. ¡®Best to die with sun over our heads and a view of the road,¡¯ Tanus had commented. ¡®A pleasant place, eh, until Ballard ruined it that is.¡¯ ¡°Some. One large group.¡± ¡°How large?¡± ¡°They break easily so it doesn¡¯t matter Jackal,¡± Citata intervened. ¡°Will they leave the chariots?¡± ¡°They have to,¡± Emerson replied and signed for those that were to come with him to start moving. He paused to glance at Tanus and the rest of the Chiliad¡¯s battered platoons regrouping under the shade, the smokes and sounds from the burning road and fields reaching them. Tanus gave a nod with his helmed head and Emerson returned it. Kelly made to come after them but her mother grabbed her and pulled the young girl back. The knight turned around, spotted the solemn-faced Citata watching Kelly¡¯s protests and touched her steel encased elbow to let her know they were leaving. Citata cleared her throat. ¡°Can anyone fill the void Lord of Ballard?¡± she asked him hoarsely and Emerson thought of Ziba and his son. It¡¯s dangerous to get caught in these kind of thoughts in the midst of battle. ¡°Maybe¡­¡± Citata said unsure, turning around as well. She tried to smile and then wiped some of the blood from her scarred chin. ¡°After it¡¯s over? Would Rubi-La approve it?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a Lord,¡± Emerson grunted but added, softening it a bit. ¡°But I reckon, she would.¡±
The guard detail of Charioteers were staying in the shade to avoid the putrid black smokes and the sun that had come up fully and while it was a bit clouded, the day had turned hot. Hundreds of horses were grouped near those of the Chariots, not all of them tethered. The carriages gleaming when the sunrays touched them. Polished wood and bronze or silver details on the sides. Red-painted wheels and the now retracted blades standing upwards. A great war-machine, Emerson thought and got up the long Glaive in hand. The closest charioteer, his masked helm resting on a wheel, saw the steel armour of the Jackal getting out of the woods and recoiled. Opened his mouth to yell a warning but the Glaive whooshed and send half of it flying sideways along with the upper part of his head. The half-head flew rotating like a misshapen ball emptying its contents on the rest of his friends and warned them just the same. It was a brief costly fight but by the time it was over a great portion of Nout¡¯s parked fleet of chariots was burning. Had Emerson had more time, he¡¯d torched them all but mercenaries came out of the woods and they had to stop pouring oil over them. Not wanting to fight them in the open and near the burning vehicles, the knight ordered his assault group to return inside the trees. The echoes of heavy fighting rumbling amidst the trunks and small openings.
¡°THAT¡¯S HIM!¡± The officer from before yelled irate. ¡°Someone get that accursed animal!¡± Samir loosed an arrow aiming at him but he blocked it with his round metal shield. ¡°Son of a bitch!¡± the mercenary leader cursed. ¡°Motherfucker!¡± Emerson stopped abruptly and turned around the moment he reached a relatively more open space. He took a deep breath, clenched the fingers from his injured hand on the Glaive and waited for the first mercenary to appear. The moment he jumped out of the foliage Emerson cut him down. Pivoted on a protesting knee and swung not five inches above ground chopping a foot off at the ankle, the blade arching upwards to carve a third mercenary from groin to sternum. Gore splashed out, a mess of red and white entrails spilling out and Emerson sidestepped, the scrap raging all about him. He plunged the Glaive like a spear, allowing the shaft to slide in his hand and clasping it at the spiked butt, to skewer a mercenary fighting Samir through the sides. Samir finished him off but the officer hacked at the weapon and cut it in half afore Emerson could retrieve it. ¡°Hah!¡± The officer grunted. A Cofol with a six-leaved pattern on his leather and chainmail armour. ¡°Now yer fucked!¡± Emerson stepped back and unsheathed the heavy sword he¡¯d taken from the Jackal all those years back. Its blade straight and double-edged. The officer snorted and grabbed a mercenary fighting Citata, shoved him against Emerson and went to fight the female gladiator himself. The mercenary cursed but found his footing, stooped behind his round shield, fearful eyes peeking at the knight from above the metal rim, as he raised and lowered the shield to keep Emerson in sight. Emerson snapped the heavy sword forward and smacked the top of the shield. It banged the mercenary right at the forehead, splitting the skin from brow to brow. ¡°Errgh!¡± He cried out in shock and stumbled, blood in his eyes. He swung wildly trying to keep Emerson at bay but the knight rounded the raised shield, flipped the sword upside down and stabbed savagely with the sharp point on his boot. The mercenary yelped desperately and tried to get away, but the sword had nailed his foot on the ground. Emerson grabbed the shield just as he tried to slash him across the chest and shoved it sideways ruining his opponent¡¯s attempt. He got the blade out, elbowed the twirling mercenary at the nose and send him sprawling down just as Citata broke the officer¡¯s shield with the morning-star. He cursed and made to retreat but Emerson cut him off. ¡°You could always surrender,¡± the knight cautioned him and the officer paused hopefully. ¡°Can I?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Emerson replied and stepped aside as the approaching Citata had already swung with the morning-star again behind the officer¡¯s back. ¡°But I reserve the option to decline,¡± Emerson added turning his head away when the bashing weapon connected with the Cofol¡¯s head. The skull exploded, bloody pieces of the shattered cranium splashing everything in a five meter radius and Citata faltered on the headless officer¡¯s body losing her footing. She went down on a knee with a hoarse curse. Emerson helped her up and stared at the others gathering around him. Cendar and Samir, another injured archer with a cut bleeding down his pants. ¡°There¡¯s a chance of survival across the road,¡± he told them raspingly. ¡°Through the flames and over the west side near the lake. Asper might be there or Toros. You make it to the shores, head west towards the desert and the Sopat camp.¡± ¡°Tanus is still fighting Jackal,¡± Cendar said gruffly. A bit of all races in him. ¡°Reckon he is.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going back. I¡­ have to,¡± Citata said and Emerson nodded, stared at Samir next. The horse archer leader scrunched his swollen face, he¡¯d received another blow to the head, then sighed wearily. ¡°Can we kill the Prince?¡± He asked Emerson. ¡°Survive this?¡± ¡°Too many of them to kill Samir, but it¡¯s possible,¡± the knight replied truthfully. ¡°The moment Lord Sol died,¡± he added looking at him solemnly. ¡°Our fates were sealed.¡± ¡°What are we doing here then?¡± You were looking for revenge. Lost your appetite for it. Because it is too costly. There is only so much loss one can endure. ¡°Sometimes the Realms¡¯ costly endeavors end with a compromise,¡± Emerson replied. ¡°The men stepping on the sands are already dead the saying goes, but until they breathe their last they¡¯ll fight. Do you not know why son of the Peninsula?¡± ¡°There¡¯s always a chance,¡± Samir croaked pressing his mouth tight. Mmm. ¡°Let us take it then,¡± Emerson said gravely and stooped to pick a dagger from the officer¡¯s belt. ¡°See where it leads us.¡±
Cendar died with a spear to the face. Tanus lost an arm but fought with the other until he lost that too and he was cut in pieces from the charioteers surrounding him. Samir killed another Cataphract, his sixth of the day, a feat no other horse archer could ever hope to boast and unfortunately neither would he, as a stray arrow skewered his throat and the man died fittingly from it.
Act IV - A meager slice of gratification- Hours later Late noon Emerson was hurled back from the burned horse¡¯s charge, found a foliage and rolled inside, breaking branches and squashing leaves until he exited the other side with a pained grunt. Nout had found a way inside the woods. Or knew it aforehand. The knight got up and stared at the quieting forest. Most of the fighting had died down. He picked the heavy sword from the ground with another grunt and put a hand on his swollen knee, the bracers creaking after the abuse they¡¯d received. Emerson listened for sounds, thought about going to look for others but he realized it was pointless. Anyone that had come his way, he¡¯d cut down but each hour meant fewer of them were left and the Khan¡¯s soldiers kept coming. There¡¯s no infinite number of anything, he thought with a grimace. Maybe water. He tried to find the sky over the canopy but not much could be seen. The sky too, aye. Emerson started down the large forest path, many existed inside the forest, some even leading to the coast kilometers away. He limped, then dragged the leg behind him. The sun dancing over the distance amidst the thinning trees. On its way down from the mid of the sky. He stopped hearing calls for help and the distant sound of horses. Cursed horselords could navigate even a plaguing forest, Emerson thought sourly. The Khan lands on Jelin it¡¯d be difficult to find proper ground to stop him. Not in Lesia for sure. Allgods help them. The thought of his sister having to deal with all this mayhem too difficult to bear. Ziba has to get my boy out of Fu De-Gar. Another unwanted thought sapping at his will. If Sopat failed to stop the Prince then it would all come down to Lord Tsuparin. He remembered the fires burning the slaves alive on Kuntur¡¯s funeral and shuddered. The cries were heard again closer now. The sound of wheels turning over rough ground and horses. Then came the sounds of fighting. Emerson stared at the smoking road and then south over the woods hugging it. Citata and the injured archer from before came out of the foliage fifty meters from him. The gladiatrix paused to help the man forward, her head turned back towards the unseen danger. With a groan she paused again. She hadn¡¯t seen him as he was standing across the opening in the thick shade of a tree. Emerson glanced at the wide trunk of the Lotus tree next to him. Large enough to hide a person. Two even. His father raised his bearded head from the campfire and glared his way. What about poor Lila? Emerson snapped at the unforgiving face. Ziba? What about my son? He growled. Curse ye! You ran my mother to an early grave! Emerson accused his scowling father. I never heard her voice again! Then heard a scream coming from a much younger woman and turned to watch Kelly burst out of the bushes, Mirka following after her. Mirka made two steps afore an arrow sprouted on her back and she went down with a yelp. A Cataphract¡¯s armoured horse breaking out of the bushes, its rider reloading his composite bow with another arrow. ¡°No!¡± Kelly screamed and stopped. Citata stopping as well, letting go of the archer. The man dropped on his knees and fumbled with his quiver looking for an arrow. Citata turned around morning-star at hand, while the cursing his luck archer reached for a long dagger and tried to get up. ¡°Mother!¡± Kelly cried out and tried to get Mirka going but she was too heavy for her. Emerson could see blood on the front of her cheap tunic. ¡°Let her go!¡± Citata growled at the Cataphract and Emerson heard the wheels nearer now. The gladiatrix made another two steps closer to the two former slaves and the mounted horse, hefting her weapon tight. That¡¯s the wrong weapon lass, Emerson thought and sighed wearily decision made.
A young Glenavon stared at him utterly confused but working for an answer. The lad was smart as a whip when cornered. ¡°There¡¯s a demon in ¡®em woods,¡± Emerson continued giving him the time to figure it out for himself. ¡°We¡¯ll rest today, eat some, but tomorrow we go after it. Why?¡± ¡°It¡¯s very dangerous?¡± At least he got that part right. Hopefully. ¡°Of course it is. That was a Zilan spawn,¡± Emerson spat down a fat blob of phlegm at the word. ¡°Damn things almost killed the whole realm once,¡± Glen blinked slowly probably all this too much for him. Don¡¯t overwhelm the boy, he scolded himself. Just give him the gist. ¡°But since we are Knights of the three Kingdoms we will go after it.¡±
I¡¯m not a lord, Emerson had told Citata. But I¡¯m still a plaguing knight.
It is what it is, Lila whispered perceptively.
He stepped away from the tree and into the open. No reach on that, Emerson thought. Ye got to get him off that horse first.
The Cataphract stared at the gladiatrix with his sinister smiling face and then loosed his arrow smacking the jerking away archer right at the ribs. With a pained groan of frustration the man went down. ¡°Eh,¡± he commented, cultured voice coming out muffled. ¡°Good enough, I suppose,¡± he decided and hang the bow carefully from a hook on the decorated saddle. ¡°I¡¯m looking for the Jackal,¡± the horselord explained patiently staring at the shaking Citata and not seeing Emerson that was approaching with his jaw clenched. ¡°We could have all finished this,¡± the Cataphract replied. ¡°But Nout wants proof of death. Understandably, given the colossal cost of this endeavor. So¡­ any helm, sword, the head?¡± ¡°Kelly run!¡± Citata growled. ¡°I can¡¯t leave her!¡± ¡°Leave!¡± Her mother cried with all her strength and shoved the crying girl away with bloody hands. The Cataphract exhaled at the drama unfolding reached for his lances, picked one and got it out of its sheath. ¡°You can¡¯t run away,¡± he explained to the crying Kelly. ¡°I like blond girls.¡± Then kicked his legs and send his warhorse forward towards the gladiatrix. Citata jumped out of the way despite her bulk, turning her torso mid-air to swing her weapon but couldn¡¯t reach him. The horse galloped twenty meters away and turned in a wide circle inside the opening, the Cataphract snapping his head to the side spotting Emerson coming, but recovering quickly. He straightened his body on the saddle, lance lowering and charged at Citata. ¡°RUN KELLY! RUN!¡± Citata roared and timed her jump to hit the rider or his horse this time. She did, her strike landing on the horse¡¯s plate-covered long neck but got skewered through the torso from the lance that broke on impact, leaving the blade and a piece of the shaft inside the gladiatrix. Ah, lassie. Kelly finally started running away in panic, stumbled and fell down, saw Emerson and headed towards him just as the Cataphract turned his neighing horse around. He cursed noticing blood dripping down from its neck and tossed the broken lance away afore spending some time soothing his mount with tender words. ¡°Tell me you didn¡¯t find the armour in a ditch,¡± the Cataphract finally told the knight that gave Kelly a brief hug and pointed an arm behind the Lotus tree. ¡°Start running,¡± he advised the sobbing girl soberly. ¡°Hide until dark and then run again.¡± He then shoved her away from him abruptly and at last the teenager listened. ¡°No reply. I guess that¡¯s an aye,¡± the Cataphract continued, pausing to listen for the sound of wheels. ¡°That¡¯s our Prince. You can tell from the sound,¡± he explained to Emerson. ¡°They have coils on them newer chariots. You loosen them and you can navigate more difficult terrain.¡± He got a warspear out. Emerson set his feet and took a big breath, another Cataphract coming through the trees, a four-horsed chariot heard coming slowly up the slope after him. ¡°Dakurt!¡± The new Cataphract roared. His horse all black and even more decorated. The polished-silver smiling mask mended, the long crack visible and running down the face, glued with gold. ¡°We reopened the road. What are you doing?¡± Then he spotted Emerson and pushed back on his saddle. ¡°That¡¯s my kill, Hora-Se!¡± Dakurt barked irate. ¡°I found him.¡± Hora-Se stared at the corpse of Citata, the still-breathing very-injured archer and Kelly¡¯s pale mother that was half-dead. ¡°A couple of women and an unarmed cripple,¡± he commented but shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Let me see you best the Jackal.¡± With an offended growl Dakurt charged at Emerson.
Dakurt went for a decapitation immediately and Emerson ducked under it with a grunt, stepped aside to circle around the rushing armoured warrior but Dakurt flipped his spear and went for his leg next. Emerson pulled it away at the last moment, the knee protesting and Dakurt snorted. He faked, swinging the longer weapon but Emerson didn¡¯t flinch at all and when the Cataphract pulled the spear to immediately thrust it in his chest, the knight turned his torso just enough to avoid it, the bones on his spine crackling and put his left hand on the shaft. He managed to grasp it behind the leaf-shaped blade. ¡°Ah,¡± Dakurt gasped not expecting him to dodge. He pulled savagely to free the spear from Emerson¡¯s grip but the Knight yanked it right back the other way and took it out of his hands. ¡°Whoa,¡± Hora-Se commented from his horse. Dakurt stumbled forward, saw Emerson¡¯s blade thrusting and turned with a younger man¡¯s reflexes sideways. Twirled around a hand reaching for his scimitar, the other extended to find balance. Emerson went for that hand. He got Dakurt on the retreating gauntlet, the upper part and bright yellow sparks erupted. The Cataphract growled and tried to slash at him with the scimitar but Emerson¡¯s blade read his reaction timely and cut him first across the wrist through the leather underside of the gauntlet. Dakurt faltered loosing the grip on his sword, a chariot arriving behind Emerson that went on the attack blocking everything out. A slash and he broke through Dakurt¡¯s weakened defense, his leg buckling and messing up his follow up. Emerson growled and repositioned, Dakurt desperately switching arms to fight with the left, immediately overreacting to Emerson¡¯s feint, so the knight flicked his heavy blade cutting him under the left armpit and then downed it brutally catching his slow to retract leg. The heavy blade cutting through scaled mail, flesh, arteries and lodging on thigh bone cracking it in four places. ¡°Finish this,¡± a croaking voice ordered and Emerson yanked the sword out in an eruption of gore to twist around. A bolt punched him in the chest. It felt and sounded like a long ship¡¯s nail going through metal and wet wood. Emerson stumbled back a couple of strides, blood flooding his throat, whilst Dakurt toppled backwards two meters from him with a pained groan. ¡°It¡¯s the Jackal,¡± Hora-Se explained to the man with the gilded mask on the chariot. The smiling mask made out of gold, same as the details on his scaled polished armour but for the large parts covered in leopard¡¯s dotted lavish hide that is. Same as the chariot with the white wheels. Emerson had seen the Prince afore back in 189, years ago. He appeared thinner now.
Emerson kept retreating towards the Lotus tree, his eyes on the men alongside Prince Nout. The driver had a smiling mask on like a typical elite charioteer, but the other man looked like the official he¡¯d seen earlier that morning. ¡°My friend,¡± Nout said grasping at the rail of his chariot with both hands. ¡°We¡¯ve lost enough on this madness. If it¡¯s glory you seek, I shall bestow it upon you. My sister? You can have her. There are more campaigns coming in the near future. Across the Shallow Sea. Mark my words, we shall be called upon again to help the Khanate and when I sit the throne you¡¯ll be a lord.¡± Hora-Se shook his head and lowered his crossbow. He placed it on the bronze hook next to his bow and reached for a lance. Emerson kept retreating towards the edge of the opening until he realized it was too far away. He stopped, coughed up a splash of blood that flooded the insides of the helm and turned to stare at the stooped over his chariot Prince. Then loosened the bindings on the Jackal helm and tossed it down. The knight couldn¡¯t breathe that much better but the soft breeze on his unshaven face felt nice. ¡°Gods above!¡± Hora-Se who was much nearer him cried out in shock. ¡°It¡¯s him! I know you!¡± Ah, now I remember you too. ¡°Cataphract, I gave you an order!¡± Nout barked raspingly and started coughing uncontrollably. Hora-Se wobbled his helmed head right and left in disbelief, then clicked his tongue getting the powerful warhorse moving.
Emerson knew he could only escape the lance in his condition by taking a very big hit. The chances of surviving it nonexistent. So if death was on either side of the coin then perhaps he could go for something unsportsmanlike and ruin his opponent¡¯s day. He gathered, right arm left hanging loose on the sides not to tire it, gulping down blood and seeing red mist spraying out of the hole on his plate. More trickling down the protruding bolt. The right hand he angled, the heavy sword pointing down and set his black eyes on the horse¡¯s that was coming towards him, hooves digging at the soft ground. Down the metal covering its snout to the open frothing mouth, the red tongue and mauve lips pulled back to reveal the large teeth. Swing afore it connects, he told himself and the previous Lord of Ballard got up from their campfire and tossed his family sword on the scorching embers, the leather on the handle immediately starting to smolder. The blade turning a glowing red. Bury that old blade son or make one that¡¯s yer own. Yer blade, yer rules. Let the past die and the family start anew, his father advised him curtly and then vanished. Hora-Se lowered his lance, fixing the angle of approach to time the strike and a potential last second dodge, but Emerson stepped in front of the warhorse at the last moment. He¡¯d swung with the heavy sword half a second afore that. The lance entered Emerson¡¯s right shoulder, angled going through the shoulder steel pad, snapped destroying the clavicle bone and then the warhorse crashed on him, breaking his right leg in two parts and almost detaching the weakened left. It catapulted him five meters away, across the opening and right under the Lotus tree where he stopped with a broken back and missing an eye. The gored up to the back molars of its snout warhorse following after him for a meter or two, but then it dipped abruptly, both its front legs broken and sent Hora-Se tumbling to the ground like a ball of hay, breaking his arm and dislocating the shoulder. Lucky bastard, Emerson thought, not feeling anything from the shock. ¡°Good grief!¡± The official cried and jumped from the chariot to run towards the injured Hora-Se. ¡°Good knight are you¡­ oh, the horror. It¡¯s broken.¡± Hora-Se groaned in horrible pain and Nout barked at his driver to go help him. The Prince got down from the Chariot himself and walked towards his crashed friend. With a shudder Hora-Se relaxed and the official started crying until Nout ordered him to stop and asked what had happened. ¡°A broken neck oh glorious strategist,¡± the official said sobbingly and Nout grasped his shoulder to console him. ¡°Now, Ibn-Robet you see why I warned him,¡± he said sounding saddened for the ¨Capparently- not that lucky Hora-Se. ¡°There are no games or sportsmanship in war. Eh, I really liked him, but there¡¯s a reason I sent Ramen-Toka against Phon-Iv. He has more skin in the game. We are not kids anymore,¡± Nout paused and started coughing again. Paused to listen for anyone approaching and then stared at the withering away Emerson. He frowned seeing Emerson up close, but the knight was too mangled up to recognize him immediately, half his face covered in gore, with more dripping down his missing left eyeball. Then Nout did. He reached and removed the mask from his face, releasing the metal clasps, what appeared behind it hideous to look at. The flesh had melted from his cheeks, turned grey and white, the right cheek having a hole in it patched up with cotton. He¡¯d no hair on his head but thin bandages to cover more leaking boils. ¡°I know. Nowhere¡­¡± Nout said stopping near Emerson but not near enough. Not that the knight could move at all, but one has to respect a cautious man. ¡°Near glorious¡­¡± the sick Prince admitted bitterly, keeping the mask in his veiny scarred hands. ¡°How did you make it out?¡± ¡°Frgkh.¡± ¡°Was that an uncouth word?¡± Nout asked. Emerson gave a slight nod, spraying blood on the Prince¡¯s fine armour. ¡°Why help them?¡± Nout asked trying to stave off another bout of heavy coughing. ¡°They are unfaithful creatures. Lustful and greedy.¡± ¡°My Prince,¡± the driver reported. ¡°We need to rejoin the men.¡± Nout nodded and got up with difficulty. Emerson thought the Prince looked almost as dead as him. He didn¡¯t feel sorry for him at all. ¡°They¡¯ll betray you, you know,¡± Nout said pausing, his scarred face dark. ¡°Weigh your value on their little golden scales and sell you. Or your loved ones. I don¡¯t want them, so they are safe. We are enemies in war Sir Lennox of Ballard. Yes, I still have my mind intact. It¡¯s all I need. Others will though, when I¡¯m not around. Enemies in war as I said. Not after it. This battle is over. I won again. If it¡¯s any consolation you caused me great harm but you where the one that kept them all together all along. It makes sense. Who would do it now? So this is a complete victory. With Phon out of the way, Don-Iv will do what he¡¯s told and I¡¯ll deal with that scorpion in Fu De-Gar for my own reasons.¡± Emerson coughed up half a lung out at the news. Nout walked towards his chariot and climbed up. Paused afore putting the gold mask back on and stared at the laid under the tree Emerson. Then he turned to his driver. ¡°Ibn-Robet will drive me down the road. Bring me his helm and his head,¡± he added. ¡°Make it humane. Finish him off first. Bury the body properly. Use Dakurt¡¯s horse to catch up with us.¡± Emerson wished him to find a hole crossing the slopes and land upside down on the chariot, which was a silly thing to wish. Why are you still alive? He asked himself. The last thing he needed was getting eaten from an old-crocodile fit enough and adventurous in spirit, to make the trip from the distant lake. ¡°Shitty jobs,¡± the driver commented walking towards him. He stooped to take his helm from the ground, glanced at the dead horse and went to search that too. Found a heavy purse of coins left there since Nout wouldn¡¯t loot his own friend and pocketed it. Then walked up to Citata and searched her too. Even opened her armour to stare at the dead woman¡¯s breasts. Then moved to Kelly¡¯s mother, now well dead. Stared at the still archer, decided he was deceased and too poor to search. The still living man watching him with a half-closed eye trying not to breathe. The charioteer returned to Emerson, picked up his sword and worked it in his hands. ¡°Are you dead yet?¡± He asked unemotionally. ¡°I have to move you a bit to sever the head¡ª¡± He never got to finish the sentence. A hurled rock the size of a ripe orange had stricken him on the side of the head, the ringing penetrating Emerson¡¯s ears.
Emerson tried to turn his head but couldn¡¯t. He willed himself to speak but just coughed up more blood, a couple of coagulated pieces in there, which helped the knight breathe a little. The charioteer groaned and started moving. He¡¯d lost his helm and had a tear at the side of his head. He tried to stand up, blood pouring out of the wound freely, mumbled something incoherent and collapsed on his face again. ¡°Is he dead?¡± Troy asked limping fast towards him. Emerson couldn¡¯t believe his eyes, then remembered the Prince was near. ¡°I can¡¯t see that well. Everything is spinning at times.¡± Fucking idiot! ¡°Are you dead?¡± Troy asked and tried to move him. Emerson spat in his face. ¡°Hey! What¡­ damn it Ballard. You got run over by a horse or something? Shite, yer missing an eye!¡± Troy looked run over as well. ¡°Can you move?¡± ¡°Grglr!¡± ¡°What?¡± Emerson pointed with his eye at his mangled left arm. The vambrace had opened and Ziba¡¯s scarf could be seen under it, wrapped on his bloody wrist. ¡°Get¡­¡± Emerson growled hoarsely giving it is all. ¡°I can¡¯t take that,¡± Troy said his swollen face darkening. ¡°I¡¯ll carry you to the horse¡ª¡± Emerson had managed to swing his left arm to smack him once upside the head. Got his money¡¯s worth. ¡°What in Allgods Ballard?¡± The gladiator protested grabbing at his ear. ¡°Get¡­ my son¡­ out. Bring him home,¡± Emerson rustled, voice crackling and Troy stood back horrified for some reason. ¡°I can¡¯t¡­ she won¡¯t.¡± Emerson ogled his eye on the bloody scarf, it was a godsend he was paralyzed else talking to this fool would probably had finished me off. Troy puffed out exasperated and then puffed out again. ¡°Don¡¯t do this to me¡­ fuck¡¯s sake old man. I can¡¯t face her,¡± he protested. ¡°Let me get you on that god darn horse. We can slip away.¡± ¡°Do¡­ it.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll never make it there,¡± Troy said hoarsely, his blond hair covered with dirt and blood, some of it missing at the top. ¡°I don¡¯t know where to go. This isn¡¯t for me¡­¡± he was about to start crying. Emerson stared at him with understanding. ¡°I¡¯m not a good man,¡± Troy sobbed. ¡°I¡¯ll fuck it up man.¡± ¡°Reckon¡­ ye¡¯ll do¡­ The right thing,¡± he whispered to him meaningfully. Troy got up and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. ¡°You fucking bastard,¡± he croaked. ¡°Let me hide you at least.¡± If you move me an inch I¡¯m dead, Emerson¡¯s sole bloodshot eye told him. This is a good spot. I could see the sun set beyond them trees. It reminds me of home.
The sun moved on the sky slowly, its light dipping lower but still coming through the thin tree line. The forest peaceful again. The road mostly clear on this part, the destroyed portion of it further away where all the heavy fighting had occurred. Emerson thought he might see the sun setting for a last time but quickly realized he was losing consciousness too swiftly for that. So he decided to turn his blurring eye on the sky. There was a spot at the canopy Emerson could see through and it happened to be clear of clouds there. A nice light blue. Pure. It is really nice. A meager slice of gratification. Be good, he told his son. It¡¯s all that matters. Just before he faded away an unnatural dark shade went over his private part of the woods and covered what little he could see of the sky. By the time the knight realized what he was witnessing the large wyvern had passed him by. It would return again not much later but by that time Emerson¡¯s brave soul had moved on.
402. Tales of the Peninsula | Firestorm (1/2)
Lord Reeves Arguen Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Lord of Morn Taras Monarch of Sinya Goras King beyond the Pale Mountains Aniculo Rokae Tales of the Peninsula | Firestorm Part I -The Jackal¡¯s sword-
He¡¯d felt it growing up in Shroudcoast. The same feeling. Didn¡¯t mind it then. Or maybe he did, just didn¡¯t remembered it. Then Glen had found another man¡¯s hidden loot. The Bank¡¯s stolen coins. The smaller hoard, since there was another bigger pile still missing. Stumbled on the corpse and took his name. His clothes and title. Sailed away in the blind on a cracked old boat, found a haunted dagger and glimpsed of Wetull afore he ever stepped foot there. Learned how the real world worked following the knight around. And gazed upon a Princess¡¯ flesh. Emerson had given him a lifeline and a lot of heavy cuffs upside the head. Opened himself up and got to know different people than other petty thieves hiding under bridges. Eating rats on a good day. A willowy Gish, a hairy dwarf and a giant. The bountiful Zola, heroic Marcus and a brave horny thief. Half of them now dead. A lot of quirky Zilan, each one crazier than the next. Them he wasn¡¯t so sure about. Dukes, crooks, evil witches and ageless assassins. Trolls, Arachne and a couple of giant mother-fucking Hydras. A den of plaguing lions and a wyvern he¡¯d named Biscuit. His life had taken a very different path at some point than Glen had envisioned growing up. Still felt the same but his needs had changed. Still wanted things from time to time but Glen had realized inside the Crimson Palace that he already had a lot. The basket was too full. The road up ahead bumpy and things about to spill out. A man of the trade knows when he¡¯s carrying too much loot and Glen had been trying to avoid losing it ever since. His instincts right. Glen didn¡¯t want to lose anything but he had. Ruffians ever be gathering. He could feel it in his bones. The sense of someone watching him, be it gods or demons, ready to snatch what Glen valued away. Strip him naked with each loss. It shaded all else. Soured his happy moments. And the old feeling had returned. Flying over Wetull Glen had felt it keenly as the wyvern was more interested in making food breaks. For him. Glen had no appetite. The last time he¡¯d taken to the skies for so long Sen had been with him, her hand in his. Now Sen was sleeping in a sarcophagus behind an ivory mask and covered in funeral shrouds. She still wore her crown and had sparkly opals in her eyes. But they weren¡¯t hers. We make do lad, Emerson had told him many years back. Wit what¡¯s given and pray it¡¯ll make a difference. Gold is your care, Lith had added that same night in Oakenfalls. Treasure what you seek. Your heart¡¯s desire. Glen had found treasure and his heart¡¯s desire. Not in the gold and in the riches he was now spending any chance he got. Earned or given it didn¡¯t matter to him. Glen didn¡¯t want to give any of it back. Even if that was how things worked. The law of the trade, Jinx had told him. Keeps balance. Fuck that. It made him happy living among his friends and family. Sweet Inis-Mir. A precious being. A part of him and a part of Sen whatever that Seer had said. Fuck her too. He didn¡¯t want that feeling returning. Didn¡¯t like it. Wouldn¡¯t give in and let part of his life slip away. Back the fuck off, he warned the gods. I don¡¯t concede. In that, the young Monarch and the knight were different.
That¡¯s the city, Uvrycres reported. It got Glen out of his sullen contemplation. ¡°Which city?¡± Glen asked and tried to see for himself over the wyvern¡¯s large scaly head. ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake! Stop eating.¡± Yeah¡­ nope, Uvrycres replied and dived towards the sea. The wind blowing on Glen¡¯s soaked face drying it. Flying inside clouds was a wet experience. He caught a glimpse of the large harbor and the buildings under them. Merchant ships and fishing boats sailing out with their sails open. Glen spotted the ugly square amphitheater near the desert plateau and cursed. ¡°That¡¯s Fu De-Gar. It¡¯s a city but not the one we are going,¡± he told the wyvern, remembering the maps. ¡°Follow the coast east.¡± The wyvern banked right hard, Glen¡¯s body moving sideways, the wet scales slippery under him. He yelped but grabbed a half-sprouted out horn behind the two larger ones, sliced his glove on it afore stopping the momentum. Uvrycres refused to answer to his accusations flying over the south shores of Greenwhale fast, the Peninsula greener than what Glen expected it to be, but he could see the golden desert starting beyond the distant mountains and the rich oasis sprouting near the rivers. They reached a half-gutted city in less than an hour and the Wyvern slowed down again so he could watch from above for any landmarks. Well? He asked Glen. ¡°I think these are our ships,¡± Glen replied and realized he wasn¡¯t holding the dagger. ¡°You piece of shit! You could do it at will?¡± It¡¯s a spell, Uvrycres explained. It tires me and I learned it growing up. Stop being so uptight. ¡°How am I¡­?¡± Glen groaned and kept his eyes on the half-burned city under them. ¡°They did a number on Ta-Ne.¡± Wouldn¡¯t know. Most cities I¡¯ve seen are mostly ruins. Maybe it¡¯s a style, Uvrycres replied. Do we finish them off? ¡°What? No, you dumbass they are allies¡­ sort of.¡± Are they friendly though, hmm? ¡°We are not here to attack cities Uvry,¡± Glen grunted. Ha-hah! The Wyvern guffawed and shrieked, his whole body vibrating. They flew over a large camp with small people running about outside the city¡¯s borders and then the Wyvern cut towards the sea again afore returning nearer the shores. The mouth of the Khanate Gulf appeared suddenly, flat land travelling north, the size of the natural gulf immense. Uvrycres flew lower and Glen scanned the blue waters splashing over remote beaches trying to get a grasp of the unknown terrain. Where¡¯s the city? Uvrycres asked. I need to make a stop soon. ¡°Are these ships?¡± Glen probed his mind elsewhere. Sure. I¡¯m following them. ¡°The ships?¡± You know where Que Ki-La is? ¡°Don¡¯t you?¡± No. ¡°Why?¡± I like the wilderness? Clean air? Just don¡¯t care? Pick any answer you prefer. Glen groaned in frustration. The Wyvern dived through the straits abruptly, banked west hard all but toppling him over and started flying over land. The terrain rushing under them making Glen nauseous, but his entrails lodged in this throat keeping the vomit in. Another city port appeared, diamond shaped and also showing signs of damage at its walls. Is that it? Uvrycres asked. ¡°Ahm¡­¡± You run out of words? ¡°The next one!¡± Glen yelled irate. ¡°Second port after Ta-Ne!¡± We flew over another small port earlier. ¡°It¡¯s a big port!¡± What? ¡°IT¡¯S A BIG PORT!¡± Glen bellowed, his cheeks ballooning with air and face distorting. Muah-hah-ha-hah! The Wyvern roared as it was a jeer and he¡¯d fallen for it. Glen tried to kick his ear, but didn¡¯t want to risk ungluing his legs from the Wyvern¡¯s neck so he got the dagger out and banged its pommel a couple of times on the back of Uvrycres cranium. I can fly upside down, the wyvern reminded him and Glen stopped with a scowl. Another small village appearing under them, Uvrycres was flying very slowly now and behind it a large city showing signs of ruin like Ani Ta-Ne. Some parts of it still smoking especially in the blackened forested part beyond its north walls. ¡°The camp!¡± Glen barked spotting the white tents. A lot of them next to the village. ¡°That¡¯s Emerson!¡± You sure? ¡°He¡¯s probably besieging the city. Look at the broken gates, the walls.¡± I¡¯m bringing us down. The wyvern curved its long leathery wings forward, gradually angling both against the wind whooshing and pushing them the other way as they dived for the ground. Uvrycres long neck rising and pushing backwards as they rapidly approached the ground west of the half-ruined village. It seems that every city or village on this side of Greenwhale coast has taken plenty of damage. Some of the tents were occupied, animals at the near and some civilians looking to repair some of the collapsed buildings of the village. The city now unseen as they lost perspective due to lower altitude. ¡°LOOK!¡± Glen yelled as Uvrycres flapped its wings back and forth to land. ¡°They are waving at us!¡± A lot of soldiers were running and yelling, arms flailing up and down in panic, or pointing towards the piles of debris, several civilians pausing to gawk at the large Wyvern coming down and then running and screaming as well. Uvrycres touched the ground with his hind legs, the notion smooth but the momentum sending Glen sliding up the long scaly neck, a budding horn tearing a hole on his new black leather pants, right over the knee pad. A roomier pair but still tight enough not to look fat. Glen cursed as he tumbled back down to the base of the neck and landed on the wyvern¡¯s back next to the large leather sack he¡¯d tied on it. There was a saddle design of sorts available, but given he didn¡¯t want to see Angrein to built it ¨Cthe blacksmith was still locked in the tower- and Laedan¡¯s used one from Voldomir¡¯s cellars had resulted in the temple¡¯s devotee they used to test it plummet to an early grave from the testing site ¨Ca needlessly fifteen meter high gallows-shaped construction- Glen had opted not to risk using one on Uvrycres until the right design came along. Or someone digs out a new one. RRRRRREEEEH Uvrycres trumpeted and the soldiers scattered behind cover, one breaking completely and running away towards ¨Cthe kilometers away- Que Ki-La screaming like a kid hunted by wolves. Everyone is either screaming, praying or crying, Glen realized jumping down and then started stretching his legs and arms energetically to get the blood going under the scrutiny of those near them. A couple of houses on their right, debris littering the ground in front of them, the tents beyond that and a crude palisade of sorts, nothing to their left or west until one reached the lush palm trees. The soldiers were gawking at him with disbelief. Glen grimaced, signed for the heavy breathing Uvrycres to stay behind, paused to straighten his steel hoplite cuirass with the red details and the engraved wyvern at the front in gold as it had turned a bit during the landing. Upon finishing that he assumed a lordly expression and started walking towards the first group of covered soldiers looking at them. A weighty silence had fallen inside the village and its periphery. ¡°There¡¯s no need for alarm!¡± Glen yelled in the Common Tongue using his late wife¡¯s accent a mix between Imperial and Old Cofol, slotting a clenched-teeth grin at the end to sell it better. ¡°It¡¯s a friendly Wyvern local folks!¡± A well-dressed officer looked over the half-standing half-collapsed wall, the rest of the stone house probably used on the fortifications he could see behind the large camp. Giant. Two camps really or three combined or built one next to the other. ¡°Are you a timeworn wizard?¡± The officer asked, signing for an archer to take a shot at Glen but the archer refusing. Glen rolled his eyes.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Don¡¯t mind the hair!¡± He yelled back standing ten meters away and crossed both arms on his chest. Thick white curls dancing wild on his head, posture, exotic armour and the wyvern making him look even more wizardly. ¡°Is that a real wyvern?¡± The officer asked incredulously, squinting his eyes at another archer to take a pot shot at him. This is ridiculous. ¡°Listen up!¡± Glen shouted and Uvrycres growled gutturally, the rumbling making the ground shake. He turned to ask the wyvern to calm down and an arrow whistled over Glen¡¯s head afore breaking apart on Uvrycres¡¯ black snout. RRRRRR Glen twisted around and glared at the officer. ¡°Have you lost yer plaguin¡¯ mind?¡± He barked and an archer stood up to fire another arrow. Glen reached for one of his blades warningly. The archer hesitated but then loosed the arrow forcing Glen to whip his sword out and then swat it away with the flat of the blade. Whoa, Uvrycres commented at the not fully lucky display and the officer got out from behind the wall a stubborn look on his weathered face. ¡°KILL THE WYVERN!¡± He ordered gruffly pointing an accusing finger on Uvrycres. ¡°GO FOR THE EYES!¡± What? You piece of slanted shit! Uvrycres protested, then turned serious. I¡¯ll turn your lineage to ashes if you try. Fuck it. I¡¯ll just do it anyway!
¡°Don¡¯t shoot!¡± Glen barked at the Cofols peeking out from their covers. Houses, piles of debris, tents and wagons. ¡°WE ARE FRIENDLY GODS DARNIT!¡± The officer stepped out of cover, scimitar in hand and Glen spotted his armour. A leopard pelt covering his shoulder pads, two pieces dangling at the front of his scaled armour. Luthos stepped on a plank, got his foot stuck on a nail and hollered. ¡°You¡¯re with that prick? Goat fucker,¡± Glen hollered face distorted in a comical grimace turned sour at this new development. The officer frowned not getting his meaning ¨CGlen had spoken in Imperial jargon instinctively- and an archer rushed him with a sword bursting out of cover. He made two quick strides in the open, Glen angling that way as he¡¯d spotted him out of the corner of his eye and had already the peleg out. The archer went for a slash but Glen slashed first and broke his scimitar right at the handle with his Kopis. The Cofol shuddered with a gasp cut short when Glen smacked him once on the forehead with the Zilan-type small axe. Split his cranium open like a ripe coconut. The amount of damage caught Glen unawares. So he had to dive out of the way. The huge bloody splash of gore spraying his cuirass some and his pants as he rolled on the ground, minding not to poke himself in the eye with his weapons and stopped with a scowl. The officer had a look of constipation on his stunned face. Just like when a hard turd that started sliding out of yer rectum sticks abruptly and won¡¯t budge. ¡°Get. The fucking. Wizard!¡± He ordered his men and all bows turned on him. Fired almost all at once aiming for Glen. They were a second late. Glen had rolled near a half-wall, jumped up at the end of it, arrows striking the ground where he¡¯d been a moment afore and a couple following after him. Those struck the stone wall as Glen cleared it adroitly using a forearm as lever. ¡°Not a wizard ye cuck!¡± He cursed upon landing behind the wall. The hairs on his head rising, the air turning dry. A strong breeze blowing south, rattling the tents and dislodging poles. The animals neighing and galloping away in panic. Shite. The ground shook and a whooshing clamor started, stones cracking and dropping on him, the afternoon sun dimming. ¡°Uvrycres!¡± Glen bellowed peeking out of his cover but his voice got drown out as the air ignited with an explosion and a three meter tall torrent of fire erupted out of the impossibly wide jaws of the pissed Wyvern. Glen ducked for cover, crawling away on all fours, nose touching the ground and behind him a tremendous racket started, the ground rocking and cracking open, weakened buildings collapsing, a flash of light expanding outwards as the fire doubled its size in a second. Then doubled it again the huge cone of destruction spreading towards the camps and parts of the village, liquefying or dissolving tents, melting metal and turning stone to glass. People, animals and wood just vanished. ¡°STOP!¡± Glen roared his left arm on fire as the leather shirt had spontaneously combusted, the emanating heat so disturbingly strong Glen couldn¡¯t breathe or see and he had to dive inside a half-destroyed burning stable¡¯s large water trough to douse it out. He landed with a splash and got out immediately toppling the trough, the water splashing down and turning to vapors. The flames roaring everywhere. Glen got out of the stable¡¯s back doors, grimaced at the fire raging in half the village and stared with disbelief the gargantuan smoke clouds that had engulfed the large now burning bright war camps. With a crackling sound the stable collapsed behind him and Glen had to move south away from the fire, coughing and blinking to clear his smarting eyes and throat.
Climb up, Uvrycres told him twenty minutes later, the fires still burning the village, though they had subsided or even gone out inside the war camps. There was a huge black burned patch of cleared land where the tents and wagons had been. Nothing left standing or left period. Glen wiped some of the soot off of his face tiredly and tried to clear his hoarse throat. ¡°I told you to stop.¡± Can¡¯t interrupt a fire spell. Too dangerous. ¡°We don¡¯t know if there were innocent people in there.¡± They fired on us. Wanted to take out my eyes! Uvrycres roared and then roared again angrily his scaled head raising towards the skies. ERRREEEE!
Glen cleaned himself up as best he could, eyes gazing at the total destruction. Well? ¡°We need to find where the Chiliad is,¡± he grunted. ¡°North, towards the city seems logical, but we didn¡¯t see anyone fighting near the walls. They might have retreated towards the desert after being cut off.¡± He stepped on the Wyvern¡¯s lowered shoulder and climbed up. West? ¡°No,¡± Glen replied staring at the unseen city. ¡°Over the city. I can¡¯t orientate myself in the desert.¡±
Que Ki-La has been hit with a sledgehammer as well it seems, Glen supposed sourly. Parts of the wall still stood, but several buildings had collapsed, burned, raided and looked afflicted one way or another. The streets were littered with debris, broken up windows, doors, piles of bricks and rotting bodies. Dogs and rats burst out of side alleys, with parts still smoking almost to its center. The west gates facing the palms, the date and lotus trees had been damaged as well, the tower standing half-burned but occupied by soldiers. Six of them operating a Scorpio turned the machine on the approaching wyvern, the sound of alarm sounding inside the gutted city. Uvrycres dived over the gates to scare them, a couple of soldiers jumping from the fifteen meter tall tower and squashing on the street, the others firing a bolt at the rising wyvern. Glen heard it whistling under them. What was that? ¡°Seriously?¡± Glen growled and glanced back at the tower. ¡°Those sons of bitches have taken the city too!¡± Uvrycres twisted around sharply with a prolonged shriek that covered the sound of gongs and bells ringing under them. A desperately trying to hold on Glen smelled brimstone, felt the wyvern¡¯s neck expanding and a heat rising between his legs, not in a pleasant way. Wanna talk with them? Uvrycres asked mockingly and afore Glen could reply, spat a fireball the size of a wagon on the tower. The Wyvern missed by two meters, the fireball exploding at the tower¡¯s base, amidst the guards rushing to witness the winged beast diving on them and the gates left supports. Glen all but went blind from the fiery detonation as there were probably flammable materials and oils housed at the gates. The tower crumbled first and then the gates along parts of the wall came down as well. Uvrycres fired a second one that landed a hundred meters deeper inside the city as they flew over the main avenue not even fifty meters from the ground, the sound of several large secondary explosions coming from behind them and fires leaping outwards uncontrolled. The Wyvern glided over the second much more spread out fiery cone caused by the fireball and then banked sharply right, Glen groaning in panic as they missed a bell tower for a foot before Uvrycres started rising again. Glen looked behind him and couldn¡¯t see anything but an inferno raging near the lot surrounding the destroyed west gates tower and spreading deep inside the city. ¡°That¡¯s enough,¡± he raspingly told the wyvern that was about to turn around again for another pass. ¡°We need to find Emerson.¡± The wyvern flew over the north gates, Glen watching people running under them to lock themselves inside houses or cellars in panic, a loud lament rising from the city with thousands crying out in panic and the sound of the large bronze gongs coming at regular intervals. Dong. Dong. Dong. Uvrycres dived towards Lotus Lane, groups of horses running away under them and fired another fireball on a group of riders obliterating men and animals before a livid Glen ordered him to land.
Glen jumped from the wyvern and landed by the side of the blackened gravel road leading away from the city to the north. He stood silent upon the hundreds of mutilated, half-burned, slain soldiers and animals laid on the ground all about them. Mostly on the large country road itself, the gravel burned and disturbed, but also up the east slopes heading into the woods on one side and across the road heading towards a lake he¡¯d spotted from the air in one of their passes. He¡¯d never seen so many people killed in one place since Rida and even the battle of Serpent¡¯s Canal didn¡¯t have so many casualties. There were clearly obstacles constructed on the road and he found caltrops littering the blackened gravel. Small traps and holes dug to harm horses and a ruined about fifty meters long ¡®bridge/pathway¡¯ constructed out of now burned out planks, used to clear the trapped part and open a route. Glen stood back numb, his jaw clenched as there were a lot gladiators amidst the killed and it was clear to him the attack had come from the south and the city. Why retreat this way? Why not head west out of harm¡¯s way? You wanted to stop them from reaching the bridge? Why did you care? He felt a shiver running up his spine and it took him a moment to realize the sword was vibrating on its sheath. The sword Angrein had remade with the silver elk shaped-handle, its large antlers spreading out to form the guard near the tang of the blade. Glen reached over his shoulder and got it out of its sheath. The Elk cackled like a Jackal. There¡¯s death here, the wyvern said growling and clacking its black teeth near his ear. Beast¡¯s hot breath smelling of brimstone and boiled flesh. And in them woods. Glen glared at his large burgundy eyes and Uvrycres licked his black lips with a long pale tongue, then swallowed audibly. I¡¯m famished, the wyvern finally admitted. I¡¯m practically walking on food! Show some blasted compassion to yer friend¡¯s plight! Glen grimaced and walked up the slight slope going past broken up and burned chariots. More corpses. Masked and unmasked soldiers he remembered from Rida and Hellfort. Horse archers, Cofols and Lorians. Many of them. Northmen as well. ¡°Mercenaries,¡± he told the following behind him on foot wyvern. Uvrycres stooped to check on one, large nostrils expanding as he sniffed at the bloating corpse. ¡°It¡¯s been a while since the battle. Hours even.¡± I shouldn¡¯t have stopped at the village. But he hadn¡¯t expected the Prince to have reached the city so fast after witnessing the ruined Ani Ta-Ne. Glen believed the Prince had gone for the port there and Roran would stop him. Could he though? The Zilan old heads are remembering a world where nothing challenged them. But it was an illusion for challenged they had been. Glen stared at the sun turning to the west and he could barely see it over the distant treeline. It would be dark soon but he wasn¡¯t afraid of the dark. The sword vibrated again. They walked inside the forest following a chariot¡¯s tracks. Its wheels had carved lines on the soft ground. Howling was heard not that much deeper inside the loose trees. Forest lions, Uvrycres informed him, the wyvern pushing aside saplings and uprooting young trees to widen the path for itself not minding to be stealthy. Glen grimaced and moved towards the large opening. Not natural. Hunter-gatherers or woodcutters had opened it and he could see paths leading further inside the forest. The brown female lion raised its golden eyes to stare at them, paws hanging a bloody female torso and jaws gnawing at a ravaged face. The skull cracked and the brains scooped out. RRRRRRR The lioness snarled and its partner half way up a fig tree jumped down and responded with a growl of his own. A young male. Its snout covered in gore. Glen glanced at the bodies lying dead inside the opening. A half-eaten black horse. A dead Cataphract not that far from it. A large pool of blood around his body, a ghastly wound on his right leg showing the bone. A female warrior, her face missing and her naked breasts ravaged and bloody, part of the ribcage exposed. Another lion came out of the foliage behind the fig tree. What are you two doing there? Glen thought and Uvrycres walked past him on all fours and let out an even more thunderous roar that rattled the trees and disturbed the branches, reverberating inside the mostly quiet forest and sending flocks of unseen birds of prey watching from above to scatter and fly away screeching. The scared lions snapped away from the wyvern, bolted to the edges of the opening, paused to snarl once in defiance at the smirking smugly Uvrycres and then disappeared inside the woods. ¡°Well,¡± Glen started and a man dropped from the fig tree afore he could finish. Landed badly on an ankle, but managed to stand with a pained groan and a curse, holding his bloody armour. He grimaced, face distorted from agony and covered in gore and then saw the wyvern looking at him and the open-mouthed Glen. But mostly the wyvern. ¡°Fuck¡­ me luck,¡± he croaked woefully, eyes gawking in horrified disbelief. ¡°Come on man¡ª¡± The wyvern¡¯s stinger had stopped his words mid-sentence. The Cofol looked at the gory meter long black glass-like protrusion bursting out of his chest cavity and then Uvrycres jerked his tail and hurled the broken gored body on the fig tree with a huge bang that brought three buckets worth of fruit down. It sounded like a quick burst of drums. Rat-ta-ta-tah. Glen snapped his head at the hissing wyvern frustrated. What? Uvrycres asked and clacked his teeth. He looked just like the others! Glen groaned and hang his head down, the archer coughing up blood once afore giving up the ghost under the tree. ¡°Don¡¯t kill anyone else,¡± he grunted, the blade vibrating again in his hand. ¡°The sword is restless.¡± Sure. What does that mean? ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± What am I, a sword dottore? Ask Angrein. He made it!
Glen would have made a comment about his behavior but his keen eyes had spotted another body some meters from the half-eaten horse, sitting with his back under a Lotus tree. With so much gore on his mutilated face and wrapped steel armour Glen shouldn¡¯t have recognized the knight. But he did. A wave of sadness overcame him and the Monarch of Wetull walked near Emerson¡¯s body like an automaton. Glen hesitated realizing there was nothing he could do. Some of it though was cowardice and Glen couldn¡¯t disrespect the noblest man he¡¯d ever known, so he forced himself to approach even more and kneel next to the dead knight. Glen swallowed, his mouth tasting like poison and reached to close the sole eye staring towards the sky. Emerson¡¯s mouth crooked in the hint of a bizarre smile. Lined face covered with crusting blood and buzzing flies he waved away trying to clean it some. People are coming, Uvrycres warned. But a dismayed Glen just collapsed next to the still knight, their shoulders touching, when the much younger man placed his own back on that same trunk. ¡°Ah,¡± Glen groaned his eyes blurring. ¡°Fucking hells,¡± he croaked and stared at the forest opening. The restless wyvern twisting around to watch the road. ¡°You had to make a stand¡­ Why?¡± The knight didn¡¯t answer him. ¡°The slave girl and the boy? I can get them out of here. What did you fear? What drove you back inside this accursed forest?¡± He breathed in and out slowly, tears running down his dirty face. ¡°Help me understand this part. I can¡¯t get it gods damnit!¡± He wasn¡¯t going to get an answer. Glen wiped his unshaven cheeks with the back of his hand. ¡°I built something in the most unlikely of places,¡± he continued a deep scowl marring his face. ¡°You would have loved seeing it. Maybe not. But it¡¯s a good place. Eh, it takes some getting used to. It gets lonely sometimes, aye,¡± Glen pressed his lips tight for a moment. ¡°Could really have used the help, but mostly the company. I never finished the lessons but I¡¯ve been reading and writing some lately. Keep everything in a single page but it ain¡¯t easy. I think Inis is smarter than me. She spots errors in the darn spelling,¡± he grimaced hearing people moving inside the trees. Glen reached for the sword he¡¯d tossed next to him. The fingers laced on the handle, the sword heard whining. He frowned but pushed himself up. Glen stood over the dead knight and sighed deeply. ¡°I fixed yer blade,¡± he told him and closed his eyes to keep the tears in. ¡°It¡¯s better now hopefully. Ever kept sharpened and out of Imperial steel. Good leather strips on the handle not to slip yer grip. A good sword, aye, made out of two blades joined.¡± Behold what thou asked for, Nesande¡¯s Seer shushed crowing like a hag, although Glen hadn¡¯t asked for that. He¡¯d been given a choice though under veiled words. Truth or infamy. Return the Jackal¡¯s helm and his sword, she added. Remember even the gods err, Glen. Not the heart though, never the heart. ¡°It was never my father¡¯s blade. Maybe you knew it and didn¡¯t care,¡± he told Emerson apprehensively for the deception had been weighing him down. ¡°But it was always yer sword.¡± Glen smacked his lips and opened his eyes. ¡°As for the helmet, I¡¯ll see to find it.¡± He felt Luthos snickering and frowned. A young blond girl got out of the bushes four meters away from him holding a steel helm in her dirty hands, her cheap tunic covered in blood. Blue eyes on a cute Lorian face full of freckles, but there was nothing sweet in her expression, only sorrow. The girl paused in surprise seeing Glen over the knight and then her eyes drifted sideways towards the large onyx wyvern waiting silently fifteen meters away. Uvrycres could be very sneaky when he wanted to. The Wyvern grinned broadly showing dagger-sized black teeth, seemingly made out of glass. The girl screamed and made to dash the other way but Glen¡¯s voice stopped her, the sword touching her thin shoulder. ¡°Where did you get that?¡± He grunted, his blood boiling. ¡°Did you steal it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s Mista Savar¡¯s helm,¡± the shaking girl croaked. ¡°Please.¡± ¡°Give it to me!¡± Glen blasted her and grabbed the sculpted helm from her hands with his free hand. ¡°Fucking thief!¡± ¡°I¡¯m no thief!¡± The girl protested angrily and Uvrycres let out a menacing growl. Her eyes fluttered and she paled seeing Glen¡¯s angry face. Then she opened them wide just as more men entered the clearing. Their voices stopping abruptly seeing a large wyvern resting at its center. Glen turned his head to watch the newcomers, quickly realizing the muscular fighters weren¡¯t part of Nout¡¯s army. Their armour and races were all over the place. Not a man amongst them uninjured. ¡°Lord Reeves?¡± The girl gasped a hopeful query and Glen froze, his wild amber eyes returning to her. ¡°It¡¯s you! Allgods,¡± she croaked and went to hug him, Glen¡¯s sword hand lashed out to stop her but the blade somehow slipped from his fingers with a snarl and clattered down before his legs. What? The girl was looking in puzzlement at his reaction. ¡°It¡¯s me,¡± she said a bit hurt. ¡°Little Kelly?¡± ¡°Never seen ye afore in my life!¡± Glen barked and stooped to retrieve the sword from the ground. ¡°You helped us out of Rida. I never stopped thinking about you milord,¡± Kelly informed him blushing to the roots of her hair and Glen scrunched his face unable to recall it, until he did. Ah. Shit. I never thought about ye once after that girl. Better not to tell her that. Girls can be weird at that age. ¡°My mother was killed,¡± Kelly sniffled and pointed at the half-eaten faceless corpse. ¡°She¡¯s somewhere over there,¡± hopefully not recognizing it. ¡°I think. I couldn¡¯t leave her.¡± Glen grimaced, glared at the dead Emerson for shoving burdens down his throat from the grave and then scrunched his jaw, grinding his teeth audibly. ¡°I remember you,¡± he croaked, made to walk towards the stunned but unwilling to retreat gladiators, about seven of them, but paused and turned to stare at the knelt by Emerson¡¯s body sobbing girl. ¡°Your troubles are over. Never call me Reeves again. I¡¯m Arguen Garth.¡± Kelly sniffled and looked at him confused. ¡°Who¡¯s that milord?¡± ¡°A foreign king,¡± Glen replied hoarsely that feeling of solitude returning and glanced at the silent knight afore adding. ¡°Ruling beyond the Pale Mountains.¡±
403. Tales of the Peninsula | Firestorm (2/2)
The sun had turned the sky red above the desert. A soft breeze made the dust raised by so many horses and chariots billow over the large force that slowly came to a halt. Ramen-Toka jumped from his chariot before it parked next to the Prince¡¯s, leaving his driver in command and approached Beon-Mau and Ibn-Robet that were conversing with the Heir at the top of the small dune. Prince Nout lowered the gilded spyglass he was using and looked at him. ¡°Closed my eyes for an hour and I¡¯ve dreamed of a dry lagoon, the desert sands hide,¡± the Prince said ruminating. ¡°Its flat bottom made out of solid quartz. A vision or do you think it¡¯s the medicine?¡± Ramen paused unsure. ¡°The rebels caravan,¡± Nout continued, tired voice crackling. ¡°Slow as a snail and still on the road.¡± Ramen-Toka wiped the grime from his face after removing his mask and took the spyglass to examine the large column of men, animals and wagons. ¡°It¡¯s a big force,¡± he commented. ¡°Tired and half-defeated,¡± Nout argued. ¡°Leaderless.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the Capricorn banner raised,¡± Ramen countered. The Prince¡¯s gold mask looked at him, eyes feverish underneath it. ¡°Say Phon is alive, what of it? He can¡¯t escape. Yes, they¡¯ll spot us the moment we climb over the dune but we¡¯ll spread out and go through their unprepared lines.¡± ¡°They could throw the wagons at us.¡± ¡°The wagons will stay where they are,¡± Nout assured him. He cleared his throat and used a hankie to wipe the moisture from his neck. ¡°We just need to get rid of the mercenaries at the front and rear. By the time we return to Que Ki-La Sartak would be there with fresh troops. We¡¯ll take ships to Ani Ta-Ne. Deal with Tsuparin next.¡± Ramen didn¡¯t understand why they should rush so much. But Nout¡¯s campaigns were always like that as if the Prince feared he¡¯d run out of time and tried to do as much as he could before his spirit returned to the steppe. ¡°We had no word of Sept Khemet,¡± he noted, wondering whether Nout¡¯s illness had taken a turn for the worse with all the hardships they had to endure. ¡°He¡¯s probably deep in the Rohir plains out of reach,¡± Nout replied. ¡°Who would stop him? Even if Tsuparin wins there, you¡¯ll think they¡¯ll march on us? They won¡¯t¡­¡± he started coughing and one of his aides gave him a goblet of water. Nout refused it. ¡°...but we will.¡± ¡°What of Que Ki-La?¡± Ramen asked and Ibn-Robet replied for the Prince who took the spyglass back to spy on the distant caravan. The desert terrain flat towards the road that had the Lord of Lai Zel-Ka¡¯s name. ¡°The stores caught fire,¡± the architect assured him. ¡°The crowd lost control of it with no authority present. Old city, after a dry summer. Flammable materials. Disorder. It matters not. We can build a new one.¡± ¡°What of the wyvern?¡± Ramen asked, the desert bringing them the murmurs of the men resting under the dune¡¯s shade and the sound of many animals. Ibn-Robet started laughing, a ring-adorned hand caressing his trimmed goatee. ¡°You don¡¯t actually believe that nonsense Ramen,¡± he told him chuckling. ¡°I¡¯m a man of science¡ª¡± The Prince had placed his hand on his shoulder stopping him. Nout was still scanning the horizon with his spyglass but instead of the caravan to their southwest, the prince had the field-glasses turned southeast almost behind them. Pointed to the sky. ¡°What do you know,¡± Nout commented simply. ¡°An unforeseen development makes a nebulous vision actually make sense.¡± ¡°My Prince?¡± The architect asked not understanding what the Heir of the Khanate was talking about. Ramen frowned not liking the Prince¡¯s tone and scanned the rapidly turning bright sky, as the sun was coming fully up. ¡°Here, gaze carefully Ibn and expand your horizons,¡± Nout advised giving him the spyglass afore turning towards Ramen, a strange look in his eyes. ¡°The night birds flock for cover, darkness gives way to a glorious sun but its light hides the shade of a wyvern in the sky.¡± Ramen blinked trying to see what the Prince had spotted. And then he did. ¡°Get on a horse, forget your chariot,¡± Nout told him soberly, Ibn-Robet heard gasping in shock spotting the flying monstrosity descending. ¡°Ride hard, ride fast. Don¡¯t look back. Get your sister and Sitamun out of Shao Na-Lan.¡± ¡°What¡­ I can¡¯t,¡± Ramen croaked too stunned at the unexpected development. Nout stared at him once austerely and then waved him away. ¡°Beon order everyone to switch to steel bolts, no arrows,¡± Nout ordered and he sounded reinvigorated as he turned around to get on his chariot. The Prince paused after stepping inside and Ramen noticed his driver was different. Beon climbed next to him with an aide and that left the architect still looking through the spyglass bewildered at the growing fast flying predator. ¡°Tell my father to abandon the campaign! Mind the serpents Ramen!¡± Nout yelled to be heard over the ruckus of the wheels as the chariot started rolling down from the top of the dune towards their gathered forces. He waved his arm at him once, the rest of his words drowned in the rising ruckus. The same happening to the Prince¡¯s skinny figure. Lost inside the raised clouds of white dust. ¡°Sire?¡± His aide asked nervously and a tensed Ramen grunted without looking his way, both his eyes set on the now clearly visible descending beast. A black ever growing stain coming out of the brilliant yellow disk. ¡°Cut the horses out,¡± he ordered hoarsely. ¡°Leave everything else.¡±
Arguen Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Lord of Morn Taras Monarch of Wetull King beyond the Pale Mountains Aniculo Rokae Tales of the Peninsula | Firestorm Part II -A shade in the sky-
¡°Don¡¯t know,¡± a burly Issir Gladiator argued, as Glen approached their group that was standing ten meters away from the Wyvern. ¡°Looks like a Basilisk to me.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t they resemble a bird?¡± a wiry younger half-breed insisted. ¡°That¡¯ll be a Cockatrice,¡± a third one insisted knowledgeable of his bestiary, a pure Cofol build like a gorilla. ¡°And this thing is a fucking wyvern fer sure.¡± Uvrycres perked up, he had lowered to a resting position after exerting himself and Glen waved for him to calm down. ¡°It is,¡± Glen told them coming to a stop near the armed group, the sword¡¯s point touching his boot and the Jackal¡¯s helm in his other hand. ¡°Which begs the question. Why are you guys not scared?¡± The burly Issir eyed Glen as if to measure him up. ¡°We¡¯re gladiators,¡± his wiry colleague replied. ¡°We fight all manner of beasts ¡®n men in the arena.¡± ¡°They have wyverns too?¡± Glen asked mockingly. ¡°Nimra lions, giant snakes, hyenas, the occasional Chimera,¡± the gladiator retorted. ¡°All beasts can be killed.¡± Glen was of the same opinion. ¡°How would you kill a wyvern?¡± He asked them. ¡°A very big spear,¡± the ¡®gorilla¡¯ replied. ¡°A heavy Scorpio,¡± the young gladiator said. A surly Glen casted a meaningful stare at the frowning wyvern. ¡°Catapult shot to the face,¡± a third suggested with the rest giving their opinion and Uvrycres getting up growling menacingly at the invested on the topic group. The burly Issir had remained silent. He sported a heavily bandaged leg and was staring at Glen still. ¡°Is there an officer among you? I assume you¡¯re with the Chiliad,¡± Glen asked. ¡°No officers,¡± the wiry half-breed Lorian replied. ¡°Leaders.¡± ¡°Any of those around?¡± ¡°Asper. But he¡¯s gathering those left across the road, near the west woods,¡± the ¡®gorilla¡¯ replied. ¡°Troy came here to find the Jackal,¡± the wiry one added and a gladiator wearing a Hoplite-type armour nodded. ¡°Toros is also with Asper.¡± ¡°Toros took Sylia¡¯s spear and went to the lake,¡± the burly Issir rustled. ¡°We won¡¯t see him again Fluke.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know that Janot,¡± the Hoplite told him. Glen had no idea who any of them were. ¡°The reason I asked,¡± he started and glanced back to Kelly mourning next to Emerson¡¯s body. ¡°The reason as I said, is that I wanted to be apprised of the situation, since I¡¯m a friend.¡± Janot frowned. ¡°Nout came and Sartak attacked across the bridge,¡± Fluke said. ¡°Your name is¡­¡± Glen asked. ¡°Fin-Lu, but they call me Fluke milord,¡± Fluke replied. ¡°I¡¯m Lord Garth,¡± Glen told them. ¡°An ally.¡± ¡°The battle is over Lord Garth,¡± Janot said. ¡°Nout won?¡± Janot shrugged his shoulders. ¡°I can see Que Ki-La burning from here. So I don¡¯t know about that.¡± You don¡¯t win wars destroying cities. Sure, it¡¯s a nice touch. But helps not if yer enemy is still breathing, the dagger whispered. Welcome back. Now shut the fuck up, Glen retorted. ¡°Any of you were with Emerson?¡± Glen probed getting blank stares from everyone. He crooked his mouth in an annoyed grimace, remembered the helm in his hand. ¡°The Jackal.¡± ¡°Kelly was. Ran across to bring us here,¡± the Hoplite explained. ¡°You are?¡± ¡°Beskar.¡± Glen puffed his cheeks out and stared at the opening in silence. His face hardened and turned to listen at the distant gongs still ringing in the burning city. ¡°The road back is clear,¡± he finally said. ¡°Back where?¡± Janot grunted. ¡°Ani Ta-Ne. I cleared it.¡± ¡°Ta-Ne is burned.¡± ¡°It is,¡± Glen agreed. ¡°But the road is clear.¡± ¡°What about Nout and Sartak?¡± Fluke asked. ¡°His men crossed over the bridge and the Prince ordered them in the city.¡± Glen grimaced remembering the manned tower. ¡°Que Ki-La is cleared too.¡± Beskar let out a grunt. ¡°What about the Sopat?¡± ¡°Where are they?¡± Glen asked perking up. ¡°Where the Prince is heading, I reckon,¡± Janot replied and added with a hint of razz. ¡°But ye might be late for that too.¡± Glen stood back a vein throbbing on his left temple. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of the knight,¡± he rustled hoarsely. ¡°Then see about Phon,¡± Glen turned to the listening wyvern but caught the silent exchange between the gladiators and twisted around to glare at them. What? ¡°We¡¯ll take Mista Savar,¡± Janot declared. ¡°His weapons and Kelly.¡± Ah, you lads are stupid as fuck if ye believe I¡¯m going to get pushed over. ¡°Why do you want him?¡± Glen asked through his teeth, giving them the benefit of the doubt for diplomatic reasons. ¡°The Lords owe us, they won¡¯t deny it if we have his body.¡± ¡°We should bring him back to the Three Sisters,¡± Fluke added and Glen eyed him. ¡°Keep the rebellion alive.¡± Glen raised the dented steel helm to look at it. Turned it one way and then the other, the light going away inside the opening.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°No,¡± he finally said in a sober tone. ¡°I¡¯ll take the weapons and bury the old man in the spot he has chosen for himself. Bring the girl to Wetull.¡± He pointed at the Lotus tree with the knight¡¯s blade. ¡°It¡¯s a good place,¡± Glen added and looked at them one by one. ¡°You¡¯ve fought in the arena and I respect that a bit, but Emerson wanted to help you and the girl. Now that¡¯s important to me and not all the stuff you said. To be frank, I don¡¯t really care about any of it but I¡¯ll finish the war for you. One way, or another.¡±
The gladiators helped him bury the knight under the Lotus tree. They put Citata and Kelly¡¯s mother on either side of him but on different graves. The soil was soft and dark brown, easy to dig but they went deep and it was well into the night afore they finished. Glen retrieved the steel armour and tied it on his large supply haversack, looping the rope around the wyvern¡¯s neck. It was a sober affair. Then they crossed over and reached the site where Asper¡¯s remaining warriors had gathered. Since the woods were thicker there, Glen broke bread with them, then left early after they agreed to head towards the Sopat road bypassing the junction and away from the still burning city.
Sartak claimed after the war that the Prince¡¯s men reached the bridge with orders for him to send everything he¡¯d available towards Que Ki-La. Given we have no other way to verify what Prince Nout did after he broke out of Lotus Lane, the general¡¯s words are valuable to piece a route together. Arik Sartak obeyed and returned to Lukela in order to get more reinforcements and then head to Que Ki-La himself and wait for further instructions. Prince Nout was to hurry after the rest of his force that had been blocked at Simun Road. That¡¯s the last sort of ¡®official¡¯ record detailing what happened next from the Khanate¡¯s side. Ramen-Toka¡¯s account is disputed as it came years after the fact through third parties, mainly Lord Khemet of Yin Xi-Yan. According to Ramen-Toka who was leading the Prince¡¯s dispatched war chariot force, another battle was fought late that afternoon well after the battle at Lotus Lane had finished. He led Nis-Belu against Bohor¡¯s and Serebus disengaging men and smashed through the north flank. Nis-Belu wanted to finish off the Sopat force but Ramen-Toka saw that Lord Phon-Iv¡¯s gigantic caravan was still loitering near the two armies and charged out of the Simun Road after them. Lord Phon who had made a remarkable recovery, though he must have been still injured had stalled his departure wanting to follow the battle and will his men to continue fighting. The caravan guards with him upon seeing the chariots breaking out of the woods turned and attacked the fast approaching war machines (Phon¡¯s caravan couldn¡¯t have been more than a kilometer from the battle site, more likely much closer than that near the edge of the forest). The chariots brushed them aside in the open desert terrain but couldn¡¯t finish them off, the camel-riding guards bringing much disorder to Ramen¡¯s horse-drawn elite force. While his closest advisors pleaded with Lord Phon to depart, he refused as they couldn¡¯t escape anyway. An unknown number of slaves present (sources and tales give the number as high as two thousand but it probably was half that) offered again to assist and while the details here are fuzzy they marched against the still fighting the caravan hands charioteers. They threw themselves on the chariots and in front of the horses with fanaticism creating a chaos in the dwindling light. It was a massacre of epic proportions with an unknown number of casualties but it slowed Ramen-Toka down even more and with his force exhausted (he¡¯d been fighting and traveling with brief stops for more than a week) the chariot general ordered a halt not even two hundred meters from the immobilized caravan. He returned to help out Nis-Belu who had been killed in the meantime as the chariots departure had turned the battle against him. Prince Nout¡¯s arrival hours into the engagement had saved his battered and depleted mercenary force (these were Merehor¡¯s men who had also been killed fighting Sir Emerson late that morning.) Bohor retreated during the night towards the desert and Lord Phon, but he¡¯d lost Serebus and had been wounded again. The slave-master of Lai Zel-Ka died from his wounds during the night and Asmudius writes Phon at last was convinced to retreat while he still had the semblance of an army. Prince Nout allowed his two separate armies to reunite during the night, while his scouts brought him several reports and missives according to Ramen-Toka. The first was that Phon was on the move as he¡¯d opted not to rest or pick up the dead. The second was that Que Ki-La was burning and the third that a wyvern had done it. While news of a flying beast laying waste from Palar to the city itself and beyond had circulated immediately, in the mayhem that had ensued and with so many moving back and forth armies, refugees or deserters it is probable the Prince didn¡¯t believe it. Ramen says he ordered the slower moving parts of his army to keep following after Phon as fast as they could and he took his most mobile units after allowing for a brief rest on a wide flanking maneuver. He intended to surprise the caravan and the remaining warriors Phon had with him with an attack that would block their return to friendly territory. In order to achieve it Prince Nout left with his chariots and cavalry well before dawn heading north inside the desert. All in the effort to avoid being spotted and deny Phon¡¯s men the opportunity to set up a defense against him. The gold leopard leaped in the dead of the night the legend goes and was never seen or heard from again.
¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Glen asked as the wyvern flew over the much more visible west road coming from the desert. ¡°Another battlefield?¡± There were signs of heavy fighting from the junction and through the palm forest road, with looters working overtime to strip the dead from their valuables and flocks of birds gathered to feast on their remains. A large black spot could be seen spreading out after the mouth of the forest and the abandoned camp at its edges. A part of the woods cut down and flattened there creating a strange inverted square the size of a village. The field of corpses was about a kilometer or two away and was also littered with broken chariots, wagons, dead horses, camels and discarded weapons. Hundreds of vultures had gathered here as well and they flew away when the wyvern passed over them and returned to circle over the corpses. The desert sands were slowly covering them, even those at the large raised gravel road. ¡°You think that¡¯s Phon?¡± Glen asked wearily as they landed. The sun was coming up again slowly, giving the sands and the uncovered now quiet graveyard a sinister hue. He hadn¡¯t slept in days. Glen touched the dagger¡¯s pommel when the wyvern didn¡¯t answer and repeated the query. Heard ye the first time, Uvrycres replied with a snarling hiss. I don¡¯t know. Glen furrowed his brows and stared further west and the long straight road traveling towards the expansive desolate terrain. A fat white lane amidst the golden sands. Tall dark dunes visible at the distance. ¡°You see any tracks?¡± He asked. Not from the ground, Uvrycres replied a little pissed. Your endurance is surprising for a human. ¡°You learn that on the job,¡± Glen replied and jumped down. ¡°No rest until we clean out the place.¡± Can I eat? Glen groaned. ¡°Seriously?¡± I¡¯ve been using spells for a while. Usually I eat food in between sessions. ¡°Got some biscuits in the sack,¡± Glen offered. ¡°Hardtack and smoked ham.¡± Welp, I¡¯ll have a couple of legs as well, the wyvern decided. Was nervous-eating while ye guys were digging and I might have worked through yer supplies. He turned his large head around and grinned toothily at that. Trying to be cute but it was mostly hideous. ¡°Anything left for me?¡± Glen asked dryly and approached to check on the sack. Water, the wyvern replied quickly. So you¡¯re good on that, but the place is cleaned out. Glen went to answer him with some choice words but spotted clear signs of people and animals moving west on the road, so he walked there to have a closer look.
The desert brought him memories of Lebesos. They could clearly see the tracks heading west. Two sets of tracks. One staying close to the road or on it and the other following half a kilometer or more away in a parallel course further to their north. The road reached a valley between soft dunes and not even twenty minutes later they spotted the slow-moving caravan. Wagons, animals and men stirring like a fat snake on the golden sands. A couple of kilometers behind them a smaller group following it mostly on foot. Three sets of tracks, he decided, since the one heading into the desert away from the road was still visible. Un-friendlies? ¡°Leave the smaller group,¡± Glen yelled, the wind blowing his cheeks back as they flew over them and banked north towards the dunes.
Glen¡¯s eyes scanned the flashing under them terrain and saw the massing of cavalry and chariots that had shot ahead of both groups as if to flank them. ¡°THERE!¡± He barked and Uvrycres gained height immediately flying with the sun on its back. ¡°AARGH!¡± Glen roared trying to hold on and not tumble back. If you fall I¡¯ll catch you, Uvrycres assured him and a gawking his eyes snarling Glen glanced over his shoulder at the over three hundred meter drop. Then the Wyvern dipped its head, long nimble body almost folding in two as it turned direction and dived for the ground. ¡°NAARLHHH!¡± Glen bellowed, a drawn-out ineligible cry, tears rolling backwards as they plunged towards the enemy force, the wyvern¡¯s neck swelling between his legs spreading them apart and its onyx scales glowing a black-crimson bathed in sunlight. A barrel of sticky fucks, he cursed seeing the ground and the riders under them growing from ants, to cockroaches and then small people. Yeeaaah! An inspired Uvrycres replied drawing it out to mimic his reaction, not exactly catching Glen¡¯s meaning. A shudder run through Glen, teeth rattling afore locking up and then a torrent of fire poured out of Uvrycres¡¯ gapping jaws, the fat and fiery, three meter wide column creating a wall of exploding inferno when it touched the gold sands. It turned into a scorching road that followed rapidly the wyvern¡¯s movement and carved the scattering army in two. ¡°HELLS!¡± Glen cried as they flew through the leaping flames not even ten meters from the ground. His innards and bones almost bursting out of his skin from the abrupt change in momentum as the Wyvern leveled from the dive. Horses and people blowing up, burning body parts all but reaching them. The Wyvern shrieked thunderously, its whole body vibrating from snout to zig-zagging tail. Riders trying to get away galloping wild, horses breaking legs in their panic and tossing them on the ground, men fully engulfed in flames walking on the burning sands like automatons. Glen spotted thirty chariots coming down the dunes in front of them while Uvrycres turned to carve another huge line of fire on the sands, then another connected to the other two, corralling most riders behind fiery walls. ¡°The chariots!¡± Glen growled just as the Wyvern fired a timely fireball inside the packed with men and animals fiery square it had created on the ground. Each side at least a hundred meters long. The burning sand turned a bright red liquid like lava under their feet and they sunk in it burning like torches. Booms away! Uvrycres guffawed, terribly excited with the opportunity to burn stuff with impunity and then banked the other way, a wing pointing towards the burning sands underneath them, Glen almost blinded from the putrid fumes. It then leveled itself and headed straight for the spreading out in an inverted letter ¡®V¡¯ chariots. Glen blinked trying to see the enemy through his blurring eyes, but the Wyvern spat another fireball out and fully blinded him this time. The next, the blast of a fiery detonation came and Glen caught and felt bits and pieces rattling the Wyvern¡¯s body as it flew over the exploding chariots. ¡°FLAK-IU!¡± Glen groaned, a burning bolt sticking out of his left wrist, another sprouting out of his shoulder, as the steel tip had punched through his plate pads. Stopping at the thin gambeson he had underneath. What was that? Uvrycres asked going at a wide circle to get at the remaining chariots that had skirted around the destroyed ones and reformed. ¡°Fuck you! Idiot!¡± Glen roared, eyes swollen colored a dark pink and pressed his throbbing wrist on the scales to sort of push the bolt out. ¡°Slovenly fuck¡¯s sake! GO HIGHER!¡± He shrieked in agony when that failed. The Wyvern gained ten meters more in altitude and leveled to fire again at the chariots racing towards them. A groaning Glen stared at the smiling charioteers and their machines in disbelief, the one leading them shining as if made out of gold. Its passengers unloaded their crossbows on them again. They missed everything. The wyvern turned its head around momentarily, gave Glen a wink and then released another fireball from less than twenty meters away. The man with the golden mask stood back on his racing chariot and gave a slight nod with his covered head as if he¡¯d figured out something. Whatever it was he¡¯d found out Uvrycres¡¯ fireball swallowed them up. The explosion liquefying animals, men and armours, instantly charring the wooden carriages and then breaking them apart. A burning wheel rolling out of the inferno as they soared over the smoke-covered terrain and the Wyvern trumpeted with excitement at the blazing destruction it had left behind. The landing botched as it hit the top of a dune, a wagon¡¯s load worth of scorching sand blasting on them and Glen found himself sliding down the soft slope next to the huge ditch Uvrycres had dug out with his body. A blinded Glen spat sand out of his mouth, it had turned to bitter mud that covered his teeth so he didn¡¯t get everything out at once and then coughed up trying to open his eyes. After he did, Glen reached feeling thoroughly battered but not injured ¨Ctoo much- and pulled the bolt out of his wrist. The pain waking him up for good. ¡°Argh!¡± He groaned twirling about, trying to stop the bleeding. Shit, Uvrycres said trying to dust himself off some meters away, the fires still raging behind the dune. I¡¯ve emptied the tank there. Ha-ha! ¡°It scraped the bone ye cretin!¡± Glen growled irate and forced himself upright as he¡¯d fallen backwards. Stumbled and went back down again cursing, his boots sinking in the soft terrain. ¡°Almost killed us both!¡± The Wyvern found a bolt sticking out of its smoking nostril and yanked it out using his talons as fingers. This is but a minor nuisance, he assured a livid Glen. Don¡¯t worry about it. I¡¯m fine. Glen had to rip the shirt he had underneath his armour to make a bandage for his wrist. ¡°You do realize that a bolt to my face is fatal right?¡± He said pressing at the smarting wound to get the foul blood out. ¡°I can¡¯t use the hand now. I need a healing potion!¡± It¡¯s in the bag. ¡°I know. I plaguing put it there!¡± Glen snapped and saw riders approaching from the road. ¡°What did you do to fool them afore?¡± He asked the Wyvern, his blurring eyes on the camel-riders galloping towards them. An illusion. I had to improvise fast. ¡°It won¡¯t always work,¡± Glen hissed trying to calm himself down and provide guidance. ¡°People are not stupid Uvry nor as easy to deal with as animals.¡± The Wyvern stared at him with its rubicund eyes thoughtfully for a moment. Glen has a point, he finally acquiesced, then glanced at the group of riders that had stopped realizing the large black creature that had landed on the dune was in fact a Wyvern. Round three? ¡°No,¡± Glen grunted hoarsely and put a finger in his mouth to get all the muddy grit out of his teeth. ¡°That¡¯s the Capricorn banner,¡± adding when Uvrycres snorted thoroughly unimpressed. ¡°Sen¡¯s people.¡± And that did it.
The Gold Leopard, Prince Nout Radpur, Heir to the Khanate and the Khan¡¯s favorite son, died from the strange illness he carried since the campaign in Raoz sometime during the first or second week of Fall, in the year 193. Failing to see his campaign through to the end. He would have been thirty at the end of that year. This is the official story, but no one really believes it. His blitzkrieg campaign the ¡®Soaring Scimitar¡¯ blasted across the Peninsula winning most of the battles spectacularly and pushing aside the Three Sisters armies but it amounted to nothing in the end. Most believe King Garth¡¯s intervention stopped the Prince somewhere to the north and deep in the Dry Sea desert. The tale is that there¡¯s a ¡®lake¡¯ of glass there under the sands and if one digs deep enough he¡¯ll find it along with pieces of armour and strange shapes fused at its surface. At the end of the drawn out Battle for the Simun Road the Sopat¡¯s retreating army routed the force shadowing them in a brief engagement with few survivors. Sartak who had been ordered, according to the general, to return and gather a new force in Lukela was blamed for abandoning the Prince and sentenced to death. The general refused to surrender himself and barricaded with his followers inside the small city with many of the recruits sent to apprehend them siding with him. Ramen-Toka who survived according to some sources was spotted escaping Shao Na-Lan a month later as the news of the Prince¡¯s demise slowly spread over the vast steppes and far cities of the Khanate. This is another story. The Three Sisters bloody rebellion never officially ended. It did and it didn¡¯t. It left behind several ruined cities and ports across the east coast of the Peninsula and the Khanate Gulf. Around sixty thousand civilian casualties, three thousand gladiators mostly from the Chiliad, almost five thousand mercenaries killed from both sides, over four thousand cavalry, two hundred and fifty war-chariots and over two thousand Jang-Lu recruits. The number of slaves that lost their lives is counted around fifteen thousand at its highest estimation but it could have been half that. Lord Elur Sol¡¯s and Lord Letakin¡¯s families were all but wiped out with Letakin left with the daughter he¡¯d sold to Prince Radin over an arena debt. Lord Baryal¡¯s was. Aside from Prince Nout, Ibn-Robet a famed architect and academic was also killed. Ben-Mau an engineer, inventor and the Khanate¡¯s biggest ¡®chariot¡¯ proponent. Hora-Se one of the Khanate¡¯s most accomplished Cataphracts. Nis-Belu, a hero of the Threeriver Bridge in Rida and the battle of Hellfort¡¯s Pass. Many generals and the whole of Nout¡¯s elite modern army. Sir Emerson Lennox, the errant knight of Ballard, former Lord of Ballard, a champion of the Pits, one of Jelin¡¯s most respected knights, simply called Mista Savar by the locals was killed during the battle somewhere in Lotus Lane. He was forty six years old. With him a number of arena champions were also killed. Thalion, Qathor, Velox, Telos and Toros ¡®the Black¡¯ and the majority of the Chiliad warriors. Bohor and Serebus, Nertor, Sim Ibn-Lud of Fu De-Gar and Samir of Ani Tan-Ne some of the mercenaries, horse archers and slavers names. Asper survived but would never return to the sands again and of course Troy who is rumored that he did under a cracked Cataphract mask. A realistic marble sculpture of Sir Emerson as a knight graces the Garden of Statues in Wetull today. But if one wants to see a cruder depiction of him since visiting Taras isn¡¯t the easiest thing, there¡¯s a large shrine with a stone relief depicting the Pale Jackal crowned in the Pits before the gates of the walled farm village of Savar (Jackal in Old Cofol). The rather new settlement is built in the lands of the High Barony of Ballard and at the nearby castle-city resides his full set of steel Jackal armour that Sir Emerson wore in the Games. Strangely, it is perhaps the only place in the notoriously prejudiced Lesia one would find himself in the company of Cofols as the village is populated today by former slaves, gladiators and refugees from the distant Ani Ta-Ne. - Embellished by Lord Sirio Veturius Assembled from notes, oral memoirs, and the vulgar, unreliable but famed plays of the slave merchant turned writer Asmudius, who traveled with the Chiliad Circa 206 NC The Fall of Heroes Chapter XXIV (Sir Emerson Lennox, Ballard of Lesia, Mista Savar) Tales of Greenwhale Peninsula, Volume VI ¡®Three Sisters Rebellion¡¯ Conclusion - -An uneasy stalemate- -Prelude to the rise of the ¡®Lurking Asp¡¯- Early Fall of 193-Winter of 194 NC
404. Tales of the Peninsula | Aftermath (1/4)
Arguen Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Lord of Morn Taras Monarch of Wetull King beyond the Pale Mountains Aniculo Rokae Tales of the Peninsula | Aftermath Part I -One way, or another-
The camel rider watched him shuffling his feet towards them apprehensively. Their attention divided between Glen, the large wyvern and the smokes that were rising behind the dunes not even half a kilometer away. Glen scrunched his jaw trying to think of an opening remark or greeting, decided to forgo all that and simply asked curtly, remembering to do it in common. ¡°Where¡¯s Phon?¡± His hand was hurting, bleeding through the crude bandage and his swollen, veiny eyes were teary. With his disheveled premature white hair and wild expression Glen looked like a madman. The riders, armed caravan hands with chainmail shirts under their long robes, looked at each other unsure. ¡°Master Phon-Iv?¡± One of them asked. A heavy silver pendant hanging from his neck. One could discern the sculpted Capricorn crest on it. ¡°Him.¡± ¡°With the caravan. Who¡ª?¡± ¡°I¡¯m family,¡± Glen cut him off and smacked his right ear once to get rid of the ringing. All that up and down in the air had done a number to his innards. ¡°I¡¯ll go see him. Don¡¯t go over the ridge. There¡¯s lava pooling at its base.¡± ¡°A volcano?¡± One of them asked not really believing it but open to the possibility. ¡°Family?¡± The Cofol queried waving for the caravan guard to shut up and then his desert eyes grew. ¡°Garth? Allgods. The Lord of Goras!¡± Glen stood back surprised. ¡°You know me?¡± He asked gruffly. ¡°Was with the caravan. You¡¯ve taken my donkey milord.¡± Glen narrowed his eyes. ¡°Twas an accident,¡± he retorted. Cost me a plaguing tower. ¡°Of course Master Garth,¡± the man agreed eagerly. ¡°I wasn¡¯t trying to offend.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go to Phon now,¡± Glen warned them and then asked just to be friendly. ¡°Yer name desert dude?¡± ¡°Hesam,¡± the caravan guard replied his tone friendlier now they had gotten all the old stuff out of the way. ¡°What about the wyvern Master Garth?¡± Eh. Glen glanced at the twirling around Uvrycres looking whether any more bolts had stuck on him between his hind legs and cleared his throat, the not so distant glow and clouds of smoke from the Prince¡¯s burned army dimming the light of the sun. ¡°He¡¯s relatively harmless unless provoked,¡± Glen replied with an unconvincing grin. ¡°So stay the fuck away. As a matter of fact you should follow me back to the caravan.¡± ¡°You need a camel Master Garth?¡± Hesam asked not eager to debate his words given the opportunity to get away from the wyvern. ¡°I don¡¯t really like camels,¡± Glen griped and the ugly animal spat a fat splotch of phlegm his way. It was a close miss. ¡°Samak, bring Master Garth a horse,¡± Hesam ordered one of his men and smiled thinly when Glen protested since he didn¡¯t want to wait. ¡°The camels can return the dislike milord. Better not to take any chances.¡±
A pale-faced Phon, helped by a slave and an ivory cane with a lustrous tetragonal platinum pommel, paused at the open door of his carriage seeing him arrive (the larger carriages were at the front of the caravan) but quickly recognized Glen. ¡°I heard you landed at Fu De-Gar,¡± Phon-Iv said with a ¨CI should have known better- smile, still looking and sounding the same despite the years since Glen had seen him last and his recent injury. ¡°Did you actually use the Wyvern?¡± A bit less makeup on too. ¡°I did,¡± Glen replied and climbed down from the horse Hesam¡¯s man had brought him. He walked near the slowly coming down the few steps Sopat patriarch and grabbed his right forearm tight. ¡°Sen called it a throne over the clouds. She loved the experience but did her best not to show it at first.¡± ¡°I bet that she had,¡± her brother agreed hoarsely and stared at the men and women slowly gathering around his large closed carriage. ¡°This is the Lord of Morn Taras,¡± Phon-Iv declared as loud as he could to the gasping enthused growing audience. ¡°The King of Wetull!¡± The restless demoralized crowd cheered clamorously at that, some more wholeheartedly than the rest and Uvrycres shrieked thunderously in righteous indignation from afar as he¡¯d found another bolt lodged near his privates. ERRRRREEH! Two weeks later The Sopat Road Dry Sea Desert Thirty kilometers from Nasar Early evening Glen waved the comely female slave away and stared at one of the fires the caravan had lit at its center. There was a camp built by the army right next to the twice-circled wagons, but the caravan hands felt more secure to perform the ritual every night. This desert while as quiet it felt different than the one on Eplas proper. ¡°My wife is tired from the road and I find myself unable to entertain her,¡± Phon said coming to stand next to him. He was looking better, but the lung was bothering him and still used the fancy cane to walk. ¡°I wrote to my brother.¡± ¡°What did the other wives say?¡± Glen asked not wanting to talk about Don-Iv¡¯s concerns. ¡°They don¡¯t know it yet,¡± Phon-Iv admitted. ¡°I had to decide fast. It¡¯s good they haven¡¯t given me a son.¡± Hmm. Phon-Iv glanced at him. ¡°I love my daughters Glen. We¡¯re not that different and you know it¡¯s the custom of the land. Is Jelin different?¡± Worse probably. ¡°I¡¯ve been to Jelin once,¡± Glen replied. ¡°Never thought about any of that crap.¡± ¡°You are a strange man,¡± Phon told him. ¡°How¡¯s Inis-Mir?¡± ¡°As good as she can be. Talks circles around me,¡± Glen replied and worked his wrist, the scar still visible but seemingly healed. He could feel it though lingering, a slight hurting when closing the index and mid finger. ¡°I don¡¯t believe I talked in her age at all.¡± ¡°Will the Zilan accept her?¡± ¡°We are not there yet,¡± Glen admitted. ¡°But I¡¯m not leaving it to chance.¡± Phon nodded. ¡°Why did you insist on us retreating from Que Ki-La?¡± ¡°That place was a trap. You¡¯d have to push further up north since the place will be unlivable for a while. Then what? Attack another city? I won¡¯t be fighting the Khanate for you Phon. I¡¯ve too much to do back in Goras. How many injured do you have?¡± ¡°At least forty. But we¡¯ve gotten some of the gladiators back.¡± ¡°They are free now. I don¡¯t see them fighting for you as eager as afore,¡± Glen said. ¡°What did Emerson say?¡± ¡°He wanted me to reach out to Nout. Talk.¡± ¡°Nout is dead. Who¡¯s next in line?¡± Glen corrected him. ¡°You think it¡¯s a good idea?¡± ¡°Emerson thought it was. Que Ki-La can be attacked from two big cities at the near and you can¡¯t reinforce as easily. You need to consolidate your troops and recuperate. Can you do it faster than the Khan?¡± Glen probed. ¡°The Khan is unreachable. He¡¯s left Rida. I don¡¯t believe he¡¯ll agree on any terms and this matter will probably be delegated to an official.¡± ¡°Who would? That Sartak?¡± ¡°Nah, he¡¯s just a general. An army school guy. We¡¯ll have to talk to the next heir. It could take a while.¡± Glen crossed both arms on his chest. ¡°How long? Why?¡± ¡°Sahand had no offspring since three of his wives died at childbirth and the fourth died with him,¡± Phon-Iv replied. Glen thought of Gimoss. ¡°How did it happen?¡± ¡°A fire burned the old Duke¡¯s palace.¡± Hmm. ¡°Was it¡­ the scene was it especially gruesome?¡± Phon stood back confused. ¡°I suppose? They were burned alive.¡± Glen frowned. ¡°So the witch is dead?¡±This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. He had some unanswered questions still left there. Glen couldn¡¯t really remember the Prince¡¯s wife. She was covered fully that one time they¡¯d met. But for her feet. Goodbye toes. ¡°The witch¡­ yeah, her. So that leaves Nout but he has a daughter Sitamun and no son that I know off,¡± Phon continued. ¡°It¡¯s on the Khan to decide if he¡¯ll give the mantle to a baby or the next Prince in line. With Nout it was easy because he favored him. The next would be Prince Atpa but he¡¯s not exactly well-liked. But Radin is even more of a weird case.¡± ¡°Right. So we talk with a guardian then?¡± ¡°Atpa would make darn sure we don¡¯t,¡± Phon replied. Whoa, this succession thing is really unhealthy. Still¡­ ¡°That¡¯s bad?¡± ¡°Not necessarily. Atpa is very friendly with Karit, Lord Tsuparin¡¯s son.¡± ¡°Drink buddies?¡± ¡°Atpa loves the arena and winning bets,¡± Phon said with a grimace. ¡°All manner. Hasn¡¯t lost one is the word.¡± Glen rolled his eyes. ¡°Sucks Luthos cock I presume?¡± ¡°No,¡± Phon replied shaking his head. ¡°He¡¯s just very careful.¡± Or cooks the results. Another crook. Fuck¡¯s sake. ¡°He¡¯ll talk terms?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have to check with Tsuparin,¡± Phon said with a grimace. ¡°He¡¯ll have advantage here. I don¡¯t really like Atpa.¡± ¡°You liked Sahand?¡± ¡°No. He was an idiot,¡± Phon spat. ¡°Nout?¡± ¡°No one could talk to Nout. He hated the whole culture of the Peninsula.¡± Glen groaned. ¡°Atpa it is then. What does Tsuparin want?¡± ¡°Control of Ani Ta-Ne if Letakin¡¯s bloodline is extinguished.¡± ¡°He¡¯ll get a bowl of turds,¡± Glen retorted curtly. ¡°And whatever you may think, he doesn¡¯t have leverage.¡± ¡°Karit has army marching after yours. If they hear the news of Nout¡¯s defeat, they might go for a land grab.¡± ¡°Let him march. He can have the Horselords land. Do you have a bird that can reach Ani Ta-Ne¡¯s port?¡± Glen asked turning to look at him. ¡°I have two I kept for an emergency.¡± ¡°Trust me,¡± Glen said clasping his shoulder. ¡°This is an emergency. I¡¯ll order Roran to turn around and head back to Ta-Ne. Secure the city.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s Roran?¡± Phon-Iv asked unsure. ¡°A tall Zilan dude wit meagre sense of humor,¡± Glen replied. ¡°He takes orders seriously.¡± They listened to the caravan guards sing for a while. Some of the gladiators with them and young Kelly. ¡°Emerson wanted to save her?¡± Phon-Iv asked seeing where he was looking. ¡°I¡¯d helped her get out of Rida,¡± Glen replied. ¡°But I barely remember it now. Too much stuff on my mind. The old man didn¡¯t need reason to provide assistance.¡± ¡°The knight¡¯s slave is with his son in Fu De-Gar,¡± Phon noted. ¡°I don¡¯t believe we should mention them to Tsuparin.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Leverage,¡± Phon replied. ¡°Against you.¡± Glen breathed in deeply and then breathed out slowly staring at the gladiators raising a ruckus by the fire. ¡°You will insert Wetull as an interested party in your letter,¡± Glen rustled. ¡°How much army can you bring over?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need an army,¡± Glen replied although he did. ¡°But I can¡¯t resolve conflicts burning shit down Phon. So you need to train men and not leave it to Tsuparin or the wyvern. I can¡¯t control the spillage and the casualties might be excessive.¡± ¡°How excessive?¡± Phon asked in alarm and Glen remembered the firestorm burning through the city center. ¡°It¡¯s like trying to kill an ant with a sledgehammer. The parquet gets damaged,¡± he replied a tightness in his chest. ¡°Where¡¯s the wyvern now?¡± Phon asked sounding concerned. ¡°Better not to know,¡± Glen replied hoarsely.
Mesi-Nasar, Phon¡¯s wife waved Foreal -the slave Phon had serving him- away. The wife now was a slender Cofol girl of around twenty. A pretty girl with tanned a dark-gold skin, covered in intricate tattoos, light caramel-colored hair and expressive same color eyes, the outline penciled black. Her sheer teal-colored shawl reaching her sandaled feet, but her face and outfit were visible underneath in the light of the fire. ¡°You won¡¯t be retiring inside Lord Garth?¡± Mesi-Nasar asked in that whispery tone of the Peninsula. ¡°I like the desert sky, in the night,¡± Glen replied staring at her bejeweled fingers pouring some tea in his cup. ¡°You don¡¯t have to do that.¡± ¡°I serve my husband¡¯s guests and family,¡± she replied, leaving it vague whether she considered Glen one or the other. Maybe even both. ¡°May I offer something to ease reflection of the heavens?¡± Glen had no idea where she was going with this and he was already feeling a little weird. Mesi reminded him of Sen in her manners. It was as painful as it was enticing. His eyes dropped at her right hand resting open over her thinly covered knee. A small lacquered box in it with silver engraved details at the lid. Mesi-Nasar used the long manicured nail on her index finger to swing the small lid open to reveal the box¡¯s contents. ¡°Where did ye get that?¡± Glen croaked. ¡°I know how to make cubes since I was six,¡± Mesi-Nasar replied in that sensual Cofol accent. ¡°And recognize those in need of it. This is dried up Redleaf in cubes from Nasar,¡± she explained. ¡°I could crash it for you if you have a pipe or I could use my own if Lord Garth isn¡¯t offended.¡± ¡°I have a pipe,¡± Glen said hoarsely, the conversation going down some weird paths in his mind and reached for his satchel. ¡°I¡¯ll do it myself.¡± Mesi-Nasar nodded, a smile forming on her mouth behind the sheer veil. ¡°I¡¯ve made this myself.¡± ¡°How do you keep the shape?¡± Glen asked crashing a small cube with a thumb inside his pipe. ¡°You put it in your mouth,¡± she replied and got up, pausing to clean her legs from the sand. ¡°Coat the right amount with saliva under your tongue and work it back and forth until it¡¯s malleable like soft clay. It¡¯s a slow deliberate process.¡± Good fucking grief woman! He thought the ¡®machinery¡¯ using her words as fuel to create some wild scenes. Highly inappropriate given the company. ¡°Thank you,¡± Glen croaked stopping her abruptly. ¡°I appreciate yer attention to detail. I¡¯m sure it¡¯s a lovely blend Lady Nasar.¡± ¡°My husband needs his friends to stay loyal Lord Garth at times like these,¡± Mesi-Nasar replied. ¡°I¡¯m committed to offer needed relief in any way I can and to ease their worries.¡± ¡°We¡¯re thoroughly eased from our worries and elated for the gift,¡± Glen assured her and lit his pipe with shaking hands. ¡°Damn,¡± he coughed seeing her walking away slowly towards Phon¡¯s gigantic tent with Foreal shadowing her.
¡°That is an expensive pair of¡­¡± a bandaged scarred man wearing a slaver¡¯s armour commented pointing at the small-bodied female disappearing inside the tent. He was standing a meter behind their fire and spotting Glen¡¯s head turning his way, he paused unsure. ¡°Finish yer thought,¡± Glen urged him solemnly blowing smoke out of his nostrils. ¡°Eh,¡± the man had a wound starting under his left eye that had destroyed the pupil and part of his eyebrow. It was healing but the eye had turned milky. ¡°I have missed your presence milord. Too much to drink.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t sound drunk.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve a good constitution, but it takes training milord and a bit of acting to conceal it.¡± ¡°Are you a comedian?¡± Glen asked eyeing him. He remembered Bohor from Goras and wasn¡¯t fond of him or slavers in general but Sen and her brother had grown up with these people. ¡°Many have suggested it,¡± the man admitted humbly. ¡°Why, it appears real talent is impossible to hide milord.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t finish yer sentence from earlier. For a drunk pretending he¡¯s not, ye are rather sneaky with words. It breaks the act.¡± ¡°Eh, just admiring a fantastic pair of gold anklets milord. I appreciate jewelry on a woman,¡± the slaver said quickly. A lie but a decent one given his inebriated condition. Now if the condition was a lie as well then the man had a career in the theater beckoning for him. ¡°Or a man. I¡¯m not bigoted,¡± the ¡®comedian¡¯ added. ¡°Ha-ha,¡± Glen chuckled, the drug helping him relax a bit. ¡°You¡¯re a plaguing slaver mate. Isn¡¯t it part of the job requirement?¡± ¡°Retired,¡± the man replied readily and smiled. ¡°You¡¯re the old man with the wyvern.¡± Glen sobered up and lodged the edge of the lit pipe at the corner of his mouth. ¡°I overstepped,¡± the slaver said. ¡°It is¡­ a fascinating topic.¡± So you knew I was sitting here. ¡°It was a risky approach,¡± Glen warned him. ¡°I can read people milord.¡± ¡°Uhm.¡± ¡°Can I offer my services?¡± ¡°You could.¡± ¡°I was thinking of writing about the King beyond the Pale Mountains.¡± ¡°Mmm.¡± The slaver smacked his lips and stared at the fire. ¡°A play.¡± ¡°What would it be about?¡± Glen asked inhaling smoke slowly. The blend exquisite. ¡°Your adventures milord. That¡¯s an incredible story I¡¯m sure.¡± ¡°It is,¡± Glen replied and exhaled managing to make one of Flix¡¯s circles dance away from his face. ¡°I have people working on that.¡± ¡°Could I help or offer different perspective?¡± Glen thought about it for a brief moment in silence. Then the Lord of Morn Taras replied curtly and monosyllabic much as he habitually did. ¡°No.¡± He could have told the slaver to fuck off, but Glen was taking strides to remain diplomatic in this trip.
Glen slept for a couple of hours in Phon¡¯s tent, the many pillows on his mattress bothering him until he tossed everything away and got some shuteye in his armour. He woke up before dawn to find Phon covered with a soft blanket and watching the desert in contemplating silence. He approached him taking a place by the extinguished campfire. ¡°Was it painful?¡± Phon-Iv asked him after a long moment. Glen grimaced and rubbed his face with both hands to clear some of the drowsiness away. The aftereffects of good redleaf lingering. ¡°Some things she kept for herself Phon,¡± he finally said. ¡°Bohor told me she could have pulled through.¡± ¡°If there was anything¡­ I would have done it twice over,¡± Glen retorted and licked his dry lips. It was a bitter truth this. Unpleasant. ¡°I wanted to blame you,¡± Phon admitted. ¡°But she never once gave me a hint that you were responsible. So I have to respect that. Sen-Iv was certain you¡¯ll help the Three Sisters in the end.¡± ¡°No throne is without dangers,¡± Glen grunted hoarsely. ¡°Especially this.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± ¡°No you don¡¯t,¡± Glen retorted and then took a deep breath to calm himself down. The caravan was slowly waking up. Some of the returning night patrols seemingly excited about something. ¡°I wish to see Wetull. Meet a Zilan,¡± Phon said raspingly changing the subject. ¡°How are they?¡± ¡°Absolutely fascinating,¡± Glen replied truthfully his eyes scanning the desert and its dunes to the west. A long line of lights could be seen approaching. ¡°But less great than they believe they are.¡± ¡°Are they¡­?¡± Phon paused sensing his words were insensitive and Glen eyed him out of the corner of his eye. ¡°Stick to yer wife. She¡¯s an equally fascinating soul,¡± he cautioned him. ¡°Leave Zilans out of yer thoughts Phon-Iv. They are trouble.¡± Phon stood back surprised. ¡°You¡¯ve grown Glen and I don¡¯t mean physically. Though you¡¯ve done plenty of that.¡± ¡°Wasn¡¯t my intention. There¡¯s another caravan approaching.¡± ¡°I know,¡± Phon replied. ¡°It comes from Nasar but I think they are friendly.¡± ¡°How can you tell?¡± Glen asked unsure. ¡°It¡¯s the desert,¡± Phon-Iv replied evenly. ¡°Night patrols can see and hear very far,¡± he added revealing to Glen why he had been up so early. ¡°We¡¯ll find a way to stop this calamity from hurting more people. It would never touch yer city,¡± Glen reassured him and grabbed his shoulder. ¡°One way or another we¡¯ll fix this my friend.¡± Glen would use the sledgehammer again if it came down it. That insane freak Gimoss had taught him that a brutal resolution while distasteful, is nonetheless still a solution.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 405. Tales of the Peninsula | Aftermath (2/4)
Troy Lake Sium Dimachaerus Divine Blades Tales of the Peninsula | Aftermath Part II -Ziba¡¯s scarf- Vol. I
Act I -I¡¯ll need that scarf-
He¡¯d been lucky to get out of Que Ki-La alive. The wyvern had attacked the city, turned streets to scorching rivers of lava and demolished whole neighborhoods. Pyroclastic clouds had liquefied flesh and scrapped grass, gravel, tiles and soil off of the ground. Troy had made it out by the skin of his teeth mostly because his horse had picked the right route in the fiery chaos. It turned right instead of left. The grieving gladiator had gone in to a state of utter shock at the level of destruction and indiscriminate mayhem unleashed on the city and then numbness, his mind all but shutting down exhausted. Still he reached the burning south gates with the few survivors that had managed to jump on a horse at the last moment and picked the south route out of Que Ki-La. The fields beyond equally burned through, the ground charred and hard as coal. The terrain appearing desolate and hellish under the dimming skies. The night found him reaching Palar but he could have missed it completely as there was little of the large village now left standing. Nothing of the -at least- two large camps erected in front of it and only traces of the Chiliad¡¯s defensive works. The land had been flattened seemingly with only remnants of stone walls showing the borders of hardened narrow streets. Tiles and walls fused with soil. Under the black soot the ground had turned to brittle glass at spots. Troy paused to rest his spooked horse, the soft breeze blowing over the ashes and the moonlight shining its light on still figures cowering near or inside debris. Black glass-rock brittle statues, covered in cracks and crudely depicting women, children and soldiers. The breeze eating at their bodies slowly. Troy touched one and felt the hard skin still warm. When he broke the fragile arm, Troy smelled charred flesh underneath. The gladiator stumbled back horrified and decided to leave Palar immediately forgoing his rest. He traveled the whole night heading south with no provisions other than his blades, a cracked mask and Ziba¡¯s scarf. The trip would kill his horse twenty kilometers from Rihtur. So Troy, walked the rest of the way. While the gladiator was still breathing two days later, Troy wasn¡¯t sure he¡¯d actually survived and constantly listened for the sounds of the beast in the sky. If that is what the Wyvern King¡¯s help looks, he thought. Then I rather fight alone.
Second week of Fall 193 NC Days after the Battle of the Simun Gates City port of Rihtur Seventy kilometers from Rohir Just over two hundred kilometers from Ani Ta-Ne Troy rearranged the heavy saddle over his right shoulder. A sack with whatever he¡¯d gathered on the road tied on it. He could sense the sun over his head, the tattered cloak offering some protection but not much. Walking during the night was better but he¡¯d eaten through the soles of his boots and had to cover his feet with bandages. It worked but in the night you don¡¯t see what you¡¯re stepping on. So Troy had walked during the day more. The Horsearcher watched him entering the city with suspicion. Troy didn¡¯t look his way following after the few civilians heading for the port. The city showed signs of destruction with collapsed walls and gates, but nowhere near what he¡¯d witnessed in Que Ki-La. The wyvern had skipped this part, Troy thought and eyed a tavern hopefully. He walked there rearranging the load over his shoulder, the scar over his right eye itching and his vision not that great from that side. Troy¡¯s back protested a bit but he¡¯d ignored it for so many days that it had turned into a whine the gladiator pretended he didn¡¯t hear. Troy paused before the entrance, pale blue eyes smarting and tanned weathered skin sweaty, what wasn¡¯t hidden under a rich blond beard that had sprouted out of his face. With a deep breath he entered, the coolness of the interior almost bringing him to tears. The tavern keeper¡¯s curt voice snapping him back to reality. ¡°I got nothing,¡± the Cofol said brusquely. ¡°Fuck off!¡± ¡°I¡¯m looking for a horse,¡± Troy rustled, still carrying the saddle. The Cofol scratched his goatee, a large birthmark on his nose staining his pale skin and stared at him behind the table he was repairing. Much of the interior looked ransacked. ¡°No horses left. Head on straight south in the fields, catch a wild one yerself,¡± he grunted and stooped under the table. ¡°Any food you can spare?¡± The Cofol raised his head behind the table, hammer still in hand. ¡°Army has taken everything eatable. Most of the uneatable stuff.¡± ¡°Which army?¡± ¡°All of them,¡± the tavern keeper replied gruffly. ¡°Got any coin?¡± ¡°Not really. I don¡¯t,¡± Troy replied with a grimace. ¡°You need that saddle?¡± Troy needed it for the horse he didn¡¯t have. His stomach growled. Eh. ¡°What do I get for it?¡± He probed. ¡°Half a loaf of oat bread. It¡¯s a little moldy, but you can eat around it.¡± ¡°Any water?¡± ¡°Use the barrel next to the stable,¡± the Cofol replied. Troy nodded and dropped his load down. Stooped to get his sack and toss it over his shoulder leaving the saddle next to the entrance. ¡°You don¡¯t happen to have any boots?¡± He asked the tavern keeper. ¡°Seems like an uneven trade and I could use a pair.¡± ¡°Are you a soldier? You look like a brawny lad.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve fought on the sands,¡± Troy replied vaguely. ¡°I have some pairs people have left. See if you can find one behind the counter,¡± the Cofol replied and turned to work on the legs of his table again.
Troy found a pair of boots that fitted him behind the counter and sat on a stool to remove whatever was left of his. He walked to the empty stables and carried a bucket back, used some to drink and the rest to clean the bandages. His feet last. Then he wore the used high-ankle military boots, the rough leather reinforced with thin wooden sole and square heel. No nails underneath so they were not infantry boots. He reached the front of the tavern via the back door ¨Cthe stable was reachable from the rear- to get the rest of his stuff. Troy heard voices talking with the tavern keeper just as he went through the narrow hallway¡¯s door connecting with the kitchen. ¡°Where did you get the saddle Rimsin?¡± A man asked. Thin as a rail, the leather armour hanging on him and wearing similar boots with the ones Troy had found. Two more standing behind him inside the tavern proper. A short mustached archer and a taller one without hair on his dried up sun-weathered face. The archer he¡¯d seen at the gates. ¡°Fuck off Irib,¡± the tavern keeper retorted and stood up. ¡°Leave the saddle.¡± Irib, the leader and these looked like Nout¡¯s rangers to Troy, glanced at his friends. ¡°Now, you¡¯re just being nasty for no reason.¡± ¡°What¡¯s in the bag?¡± One of the others asked. The short one with the mustache and gave Troy¡¯s sack a kick. He¡¯d left it next to the stool near the door. ¡°Didn¡¯t ask,¡± Rimsin replied sounding annoyed and the ranger/archer spotted Troy standing at the internal door unsure. ¡°Hey,¡± Troy said and the short soldier stood back surprised. ¡°That¡¯s my bag. I¡¯m gonna take it and leave.¡± Irib turned his head and stared at the gladiator. ¡°Is that him Ammi?¡± ¡°Ayup,¡± Ammi, the other ranger from before replied. ¡°Came through the north gates afore a couple of hours.¡± ¡°Check the bag Zur,¡± Irib ordered the short ranger standing near Troy. ¡°Listen,¡± Troy told him as Zur stooped to open the sack, untying the leather cords. ¡°Let¡¯s keep it peaceful.¡± ¡°There¡¯s armour in here sergeant,¡± Zur reported and Irib kept his slanted eyes on Troy. ¡°Swords¡­.¡± He paused unsure. ¡°A Cataphract¡¯s helm.¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± Irib asked his friend. ¡°You don¡¯t look like a knight mister¡­?¡± ¡°Troy,¡± the gladiator replied. ¡°I was a gladiator. A freedman now.¡± Irib sucked his teeth. The collar on his neck soaked. ¡°Where did you get the mask?¡± ¡°It¡¯s loot,¡± Troy replied, his eyes on Zur handling his blades. ¡°I came upon it.¡± ¡°Are you with the rebels?¡± Troy took a step forward but both Zur and Ammi reacted, the latter taking two steps away from the officer. He calmly loaded an arrow to his composite bow. It was a strange choice of weapon given they were inside a tavern but Irib looked to explain it to Troy. ¡°Ammi is a sharpshooter,¡± the officer elucidated. ¡°That¡¯s yer armour in the bag?¡± The query both an attempt to learn more and to warn Troy the tattered cloak wasn¡¯t going to stop an arrow. ¡°It¡¯s mine,¡± Troy hissed through his teeth. ¡°Here¡¯s what¡¯s gonna happen mister Troy,¡± Irib told him, pressing his mouth tight. ¡°We¡¯re gonna ask a couple of queries and it¡¯ll be beneficiary for all of us if ye answered them truthfully.¡± Zur stooped to drag his sack away over the wooden floor. He did it keeping his eyes on Troy. Ammi just pulled the bowstring back carefully and aimed the bow at his chest. They were less than five meters apart and that was a side-notched steel tip on that arrow. Good to go through hard-leather, even better against hemp cloth and skin. ¡°What do you want to know?¡± Troy asked and took another step forward. ¡°He moves again,¡± Irib ordered Ammi. ¡°Shoot him in the gut. Get your dagger out Zur.¡± Troy nodded to calm Ammi down. ¡°I¡¯m listening guys,¡± he rustled with a grimace and raised his arms in a nonthreatening manner.
¡°We have a dearth of news lately,¡± Irib started walking to his sack to have a look at it himself. ¡°Seeing as you came from Que Ki-La, how did the battle go mister Troy?¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t involved,¡± Troy lied. ¡°But there was a lot of fighting, plenty of battles and a wyvern.¡± Irib paused furrowing his brows, fingers tracing the gold-sealed cracks on the Cataphract¡¯s mask. ¡°A what?¡± Zur blurted out oggling his eyes. ¡°You¡¯ve seen this wyvern?¡± Irib asked calmly, turning the polished steel helm around to check on the engravings. ¡°Almost killed me. It burned the city,¡± Troy replied and glanced at Ammi to see whether he was distracted, but the ranger smirked alert. ¡°Uhm,¡± Irib murmured. ¡°Any idea on where the Prince is?¡± He asked. ¡°I¡¯ve seen no Prince,¡± Troy retorted. ¡°There are heaps of dead bodies around Que Ki-La, inside and outside. Palar is leveled almost but no Prince. Would he even be in the field?¡± ¡°A Wyvern?¡± Zur repeated unable to move past the disturbing detail. ¡°Are you serious?¡± He stood closer to Troy than the rest. ¡°This Prince would,¡± Irib replied with a troubled grimace. ¡°That¡¯s a royal bodyguard¡¯s helm. Hora-Se¡¯s. I thought I recognized it from afar,¡± he added. ¡°Irib,¡± Rimsin intervened. ¡°What¡¯s all this talk of a wyvern?¡± ¡°A rumor,¡± Irib replied and got up, the helm still in his hand. ¡°I¡¯m more concerned with the Prince¡¯s whereabouts.¡± ¡°What does the rumor say?¡± Rimsin asked and Zur turned to stare at the officer as well. Troy glanced at Ammi but the ranger hadn¡¯t lost focus. ¡°Que Ki-La is destroyed for the most part,¡± Irib said with a frown. ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± Troy added. ¡°It came out of nowhere.¡± ¡°A fucking Wyvern?¡± Zur asked his face crumbled in disbelief. ¡°Seriously?¡± ¡°Does Sept Khemet know?¡± Ammi asked his officer. ¡°Haven¡¯t heard from him also,¡± Irib grunted. ¡°You fought for the Three Sisters. Who¡¯s your master?¡± he asked turning to Troy. ¡°I¡¯m a freedman. A champion of the arena,¡± Troy replied tensely. ¡°I now fight no-one¡¯s battles but my own. Keep the helm but the swords and armour are mine.¡± Irib glanced at the sack. ¡°I can¡¯t have you leave out of here armed Mister Troy. You could be lying.¡± ¡°You know about the wyvern already,¡± Troy told him. ¡°What I saw back there neither man nor Prince can defeat. It will kill everything in its path. Heed my advice and get out while you still can.¡± ¡°Good grief,¡± Rimsin commented. ¡°Hmm,¡± Irib nodded thoughtfully and glanced at Zur. ¡°Check him for weapons,¡± he ordered. ¡°Let me leave in peace Irib,¡± Troy warned. ¡°You got nothing to gain.¡± Irib stared at the cracked mask attached to the helm and then dug his fingers in it. Pulled Ziba¡¯s silk white scarf out. There was blood on the scarf, gold details embroidered at its hem. ¡°That¡¯s Lord Letakin¡¯s sigil. The Libra of Ani Ta-Ne and a noble woman¡¯s scarf,¡± the officer said looking at Troy. ¡°I found it. There were corpses from both sides.¡± ¡°You know about the wyvern?¡± Rimsin asked the officer as Zur approached to search Troy. ¡°It¡¯s just a tale Rimsin,¡± Irib hissed. ¡°Go outside. I¡¯ve got supplies on the horses. See to fix us a proper meal.¡± Zur had found Troy¡¯s dagger and took it out from its sheath. He also found the small wooden Rudis. A tiny replica of a Gladius sword the size of a knife. Troy¡¯s deeds in the arena scribbled on it. ¡°Nothing else,¡± Zur reported checking under Troy¡¯s half-opened cloak for anything else. He kept the dagger and returned the Rudis into its leather sheath. ¡°It¡¯s inscribed to a Troy sir.¡± ¡°Can I go?¡± Troy asked Irib. ¡°You know I¡¯m telling the truth.¡± ¡°Let him go sergeant,¡± Ammi said. ¡°It makes no difference. We need to contact Rin An-Pur.¡± Irib thought about it and then nodded. ¡°Leave the weapons.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a dangerous place out there,¡± Troy grunted, Rimsin walking outside the tavern to check on the horses. ¡°Let me take my bag.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a muscular man,¡± Irib replied with a smirk. ¡°You¡¯ll manage without it. Head for that door.¡± Troy grimaced and stared at his new boots in silence. A one-eyed dying Ballard raised his head to glare at him. ¡°Go Mister Troy,¡± Irib urged him and Zur slotted the gladiator¡¯s dagger in his waistband. Allgods damnit. ¡°I¡¯ll need that scarf,¡± Troy said soberly and Irib nodded as if he expected it. ¡°A gift from the mistress?¡± He asked knowingly and Ammi glanced at his officer confused, the aim of his bow dropping slightly, just as Troy burst into action.
The gladiator snapped his right arm out and grabbed a distracted Zur by the collar. A savage pull and a gasping Zur was violently drawn towards Troy his dagger clattering on the floor. Ammi caught the move out of the corner of his eye, raised his bow and loosed an arrow for four meters away. Troy let go of Zur, the yelping soldier twisting desperately around while speared from the arrow from left to right cheek. Other than a couple of broken molars from both sides and a partially severed tongue miraculously sort of unharmed. Irib dropped the Cataphract¡¯s helm, Ziba¡¯s scarf fluttering when it opened like a small sheet freed from its clothespins, taken away from the soft breeze blowing through the tavern¡¯s open front and back doors, helped by the officer moving past it, after unsheathing a long saber-type sword with a single edge. He moved fast towards Troy. But the gladiator moved faster, a step right and he put a boot on the nearest side of Rimsin¡¯s repaired table, then kicked it towards the oncoming officer. The table catapulted in the air, losing a leg and turning sideways. Irib turned his back to it, the table breaking again in two afore he sent the cursing officer tumbling towards the wall of the tavern. Troy snapped his head towards Ammi, the ranger having another arrow out, half-nocked. A lithe Troy stooped folding in two at the waist just as Ammi fired again, the arrowhead opening the left-side of the gladiator¡¯s twisting away neck up to the nappe and ripping the hood of his cloak away. Troy grunted, grabbed Rimsin¡¯s discarded iron hammer from the floor and then rolled the other way towards the counter. Ammi reached for another arrow, Zur coughing half a tongue out, hands desperately trying to extricate the arrow out of his mouth without tearing bigger holes to his cheeks. His face and neck a gory mess. Troy reached the counter and jumped/slid over it, left buttock scrapping the used surface and dropping the other side, an arrow striking the front edge of the counter. It broke apart and the shaft ricocheted on Rimsin¡¯s few bottles above his head. Bringing a wooden shelf down housing three of them and adding to the brouhaha.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. ¡°GET HIM FOR PITTY¡¯S SAKE!¡± Irib bellowed irate and a scowling Troy stood upright from behind the counter, small iron hammer in hand. The officer hacked at him above the bar, the blade missing and chopping splinters of wood away, even cracking the surface. Troy had jerked away, boots slipping on spilt liquor and broken glass but brought the hammer down banging his forearm against the counter. Troy almost broke his own arm there but all that force was channeled into the hammer. He went for the nearest available target and caught Irib¡¯s retreating arm right at the elbow joint with the hammer¡¯s flat face. The crunch of splintered bone drowned behind Irib¡¯s agonizing cry of pain just before an equally grunting incomprehensively Troy swung wildly upwards with the hammer and connected again with the curved claw this time, right under the screaming Irib¡¯s chin. Cut the sound off abruptly. The hammer ripped everything but the eyes out of his head as far back as the last couple upper jaw molars, both eyeballs exposed underside popping and pouring down the officer¡¯s grotesquely burrowed out face. ¡°What the holy fuck¡­?¡± Ammi cursed as Irib went down, the amount of gore expelled painting the counter, the ceiling and the floor a deep crimson, while covering the half-collapsed bar behind Troy and Troy himself in a dark red sludge made of blood, body fluids and pieces of torn flesh. Troy and Ammi eyed each other for the briefest of moments and then sprang into action. Ammi loosing another arrow that missed everything due to shock and Troy hurling the gory hammer with a snap of his raised arm. The iron hammer traveled the distance between the two of them, rotating over and over, spraying blood on the floor of the tavern and smacked the ranger at the left side of his head as he¡¯d tried to jerk it aside. Ammi¡¯s head cracked like an egg and caved in losing its shape, his eyes turning to the white afore collapsing face first on the blood spattered wooden floor, flattening the front of his skull abruptly. Troy coughed, blood spraying out of his nostrils and slid over the counter again, much faster now due to the gory lubrication and landed on the other side. Zur who had managed to get the arrow out of his mouth breaking the front part of it, gurgled seeing him approach, boots splashing in the spreading pool of blood and went for Troy¡¯s dagger. He still had it on his waistband. Troy reached him and put a heavy hand on his, effectively grabbing Zur¡¯s hand that had closed on the handle. Zur grunted, blood gushing out of his mouth from three spots and unsheathed the dagger just the same with a growl. He tried to turn it against Troy with all his strength, the other arm blocking the gladiator¡¯s from reaching his face. Troy pushed back, veins popping on his neck and muscles bulging, right hand approaching Zur¡¯s face slowly, left hand turning the dagger around the other way despite the ranger¡¯s efforts. ¡°NAHRGGLH!¡± Zur cried when Troy¡¯s index finger found the tear on his left cheek, dug inside and worked to widen it even more, pulling at the wavering flesh after folding the calloused digit over it. With crying eyes ogling desperately Zur felt the bloody skin and thin mucous flesh tearing off of his face from ear to chin, the pain robbing him of his strength until it reached the tipping point and Troy managed to heave the dagger Zur still held into the ranger¡¯s own chest to the hilt, breaking his wrist in the process. The still flying since the start of the very-brief violent scrap silk scarf found the wall across from Troy before reaching the open door, lost all its momentum and sunk finally towards the floor. Touching it a moment later.
¡°For crying out loud Irib!¡± Rimsin was heard saying from outside. ¡°What are you doing in my tavern?¡± Troy wiped his face from the gory spillage and walked towards his sack. Found the helm and tossed it inside. Heaved the bag over his shoulder and retrieved the scarf afore heading for the door. Rimsin almost falling on him as he returned. The tavern keeper gasped seeing the carnage behind the blood-covered gladiator and took a step back. ¡°Any rangers outside?¡± Troy grunted trying to adjust his eyes to the sun. ¡°Not at the near,¡± Rimsin replied clenching his jaw. ¡°I¡¯ll take a horse,¡± Troy said after a brief contemplation. ¡°Keep the other two as compensation. I¡¯ve used yer hammer and damaged a table. Don¡¯t think ye can put it back together.¡± Some other stuff as well. ¡°Eh¡­ sure. Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± Rimsin replied numbly, eyeing the blood dripping gladiator apprehensively. ¡°The brown mare has the supplies,¡± he added to be helpful. ¡°Much obliged,¡± Troy retorted and scrunched his face, the blood crusting on his eyebrows. ¡°I might use the stable again to clean up some,¡± he added and Rimsin nodded in understanding. ¡°That would be wise,¡± the tavern keeper added and tried to smile but he was too shocked to pull it through convincingly and just grimaced instead.
Act II -Hello Troy- - A week later A kilometer from Ani Ta-Ne¡¯s Great Market Near the Phalanx controlled war camp Third week of Fall 193 NC Early morning Troy closed his worn out cloak with a hand, the strong wind blowing from the plains rattling the tall grass growing by the sides of the road and the morning dew chilly on his skin. He¡¯d left the horse to graze some distance behind him and had approached the walled camp on foot. While the wooden buildings and tents looked like those of Karit¡¯s army he¡¯d encountered in Rohir there was something eerie about the guards at its gates. He¡¯d avoided the Fu De-Gar mercenaries heading for Rihtur and continued down the road, one of hundreds of refugees ¨Cmainly slaves- trying to escape the war. Karit¡¯s army had gathered some of them, but left Troy go through recognizing the reigning champion. He would have preferred to avoid this camp as well but it was blocking the approach to the city. The guards wearing the black Hoplite armour looking like gladiators but they weren¡¯t. It wasn¡¯t the armour, with whole torso covering muscled cuirasses, narrow slits Hoplite helms, greaves and vambraces of excellent craftsmanship noticeable from a hundred meters away. It wasn¡¯t the spears or the black metal doubled-crescent aspis with the engraved red Wyvern on them as some gladiators would spent the coin for a fancier shield. Troy had heard that the Phalanx had landed in the Peninsula. The wyvern king of Wetull had brought his army across. And while he¡¯d seen the beast laying waste of everything in Que Ki-La, Troy knew this foreign army¡¯s soldiers weren¡¯t humans. And it was the aura of the latter he could sense emanating from the guards at the war camp gates. You need to get moving, he told himself. Through Ani Ta-Ne and back to Fu De-Gar. See if ye can get Ziba out. Now this part was the most difficult for him. What to say and how to make the woman listen. He didn¡¯t want to take the task but Troy understood Ballard¡¯s worry. Troy was worried about that as well. People might not keep their word with him gone. Ziba-Ra was a beautiful girl even after having a child. Troy could attest to that which was also a problem. The gladiator didn¡¯t want to take on the task, because he wanted Ziba and Troy couldn¡¯t function when conflicted. He got up from behind the grass to return to his horse, one of the Hoplites at the gates turning his head to look his way as he¡¯d heard him despite the distance. Troy grunted and backtracked keeping his eyes on the guards, the big road empty as if the large city built near Tani River was dead. ¡°That¡¯s a Zilan sword,¡± a tall girl said, standing next to his grazing mare with her back to him. Strange blue hair braided in a long ponytail laced with green leather strips. Same dark green leather ranger¡¯s armour, double folded and hardened, sculpted at the chest and tight leather pants tacked inside felt boots. She carried an engraved ebony-wood quiver on her back, an intricately carved polished-wood longbow next to it and a long dagger strapped on one side of her fit thighs, with a leather satchel on the other. ¡°But not Imperial steel,¡± the exotic ranger added, touching his opened bag with the point of an arrow she held. Troy could see long, alien ears sprouting out of her head. The left turned his way like a wolf¡¯s and colored a pale shade of red in contrast to her tanned skin. The gladiator reached for his dagger and the ranger woman turned, expressive large eyes gleaming all green before turning a mixture of yellow and blue. ¡°This is Gorwin,¡± the ranger said in refined Jelin Common pointing that arrow somewhere to the right side of Troy and deeper into the tall grass. ¡°My pupil.¡± Troy caught out of the corner of his right eye a tall creature dressed similarly rising from his hiding spot ten meters away. The male Zilan, Gorwin apparently, had his longbow aimed at him. The gladiator had the strange feeling he wasn¡¯t going to miss. ¡°He was worried,¡± the female ranger continued, flipping the arrow in her fingers expertly. One time clockwise, the other counter-clockwise, the speed picking up. ¡°I told him you were friendly. So let¡¯s try again.¡± It was mesmerizing. ¡°Lady Aelinole,¡± Gorwin hissed and the female ranger smiled, red lips splitting to reveal many pointy teeth belonging to a large feline predator. ¡°To the heavens above our greetings,¡± she hummed, Troy¡¯s eyes following the arrow wheeling, its buzz that of a laden bee. ¡°Our thoughts and prayers warrior of the arena. You are welcomed.¡± And the arrow stopped moving. Troy blinked trying to break out of the trance he¡¯d fallen into and realized she had returned it to her quiver. ¡°I¡¯m Troy,¡± the gladiator croaked numbly. ¡°Hello Troy,¡± Aelinole said. ¡°You¡¯re among friends soldier.¡± The latter a play on the meaning of his name in ancient Lorian. Not that Troy knew that. ¡°I¡¯d like to pass through,¡± he told her and Aelinole nodded. ¡°It¡¯s imperative I reach Fu De-Gar milady.¡± ¡°Then pass through, you shall,¡± Aelinole had replied calmly. ¡°Gorwin will take you to the city.¡±
Not much was left of Ani Ta-Ne. Fire and over a month of lawlessness had gutted its neighborhoods and driven away much of the population. The Phalanx had restored order, its patrols eradicating the criminal gangs and brutally squashing dissent. Local crews had been tasked with rebuilding or repairing parts of the harbor and the majority of damaged buildings around it and around the city¡¯s center had been brought down, the ground flattened and cleared of rubble. Rumor was that a governor had been dispatched from Goras to take over. Imperial ships were moored inside the port, but mostly humans were conducting business in the city with the Phalanx remaining at the camp (but for the patrols) and the Zilan present claiming an area near the river to create a small secluded community and civilian headquarters. A contingent of marines had occupied the Old Imperial Watch, the ancient fort overlooking the approach to Ani Ta-Ne from Fu De-Gar, a couple of kilometers from the junction. One leg of the road heading north to Mista Savar, the Chiliad¡¯s permanent training grounds and the other continuing west towards Fu De-Gar. Troy visited Mista Savar first, crossed Kineham River there on a boat along ¡®Demames¡¯ Bestiarius¡¯ Hermes and then followed its west bank through the Great Oasis towards Gladiator¡¯s Pond, the large lake bordering Fu De-Gar¡¯s northern approach rich wheat fields and fruit plantations.
Act III -Trading pieces- The old one-eyed former gladiator cleaning the empty barracks paused and watched Troy entering through the open gates of Chiliad¡¯s camp. Hermes, had fought in the arena during Thalion¡¯s time but while he¡¯d won his freedom and was left crippled, he refused to work for Lord Letakin again. Ballard had allowed him to sleep inside the walled training grounds along several other slaves and freedmen that hadn¡¯t the means to support themselves or were too injured. Hermes who was also missing his left arm and wore a leather sleeve with a steel fork at its end, had eventually helped train a lot of new recruits earning his keep. When it became obvious that the Chiliad would be used against the Khanate, Hermes had again refused to train any more men as he believed the war a way for the Cofol Lords to circumvent their word and getting them all killed again. Ballard had him work in the kitchen after that and Hermes had accepted it without complains. ¡°Who else is here?¡± Troy asked climbing down from the saddle and the grey haired Lorian from Demames pointed towards the barracks facing the west walls. The old gladiator was well into his fifties. ¡°Some families. Beggars and runways,¡± Hermes rustled. ¡°Gladiators?¡± ¡°You took them all with you,¡± Hermes replied. ¡°The rest left with Thalion.¡± ¡°No new trainees?¡± ¡°At the Ludi. You took the trainers with you as well,¡± Hermes retorted and placed the wooden broom on the wall next to the barrack¡¯s entrance. ¡°Is Ziba-Ra around?¡± ¡°Reseph came a couple of weeks back,¡± Hermes replied with a snort as if disgusted at Troy¡¯s query. ¡°Took her and the boy away. That why you came?¡± ¡°Lord Dekerut¡¯s man?¡± Troy growled not wanting to explain himself. Hermes nodded, sole blue eye appraising Troy¡¯s stance, the missing one covered with a thin cloth looped around his head like a slanted bandana. ¡°They be at Fu De-Gar by now. Near Tsuparin¡¯s palace or in it,¡± he said and clenched his disfigured jaw. Hermes wiry body was covered in scars and healed gouges as he¡¯d been a Bestiarius (a beast fighter) afore deciding to fight men for his freedom. ¡°Eh,¡± Troy grunted and stared at the barracks. Some men coming out to watch him from afar. ¡°Won¡¯t find anyone skilled enough to help you over there,¡± Hermes said hoarsely. ¡°Where are all them boys that went with you Troy?¡± Troy glared at the old gladiator. ¡°Lots of stuff happened this year.¡± ¡°You reached Que Ki-La. Word is, Lord Sol is no more.¡± ¡°Yeah, Nout came after that.¡± ¡°He came to Ta-Ne too.¡± ¡°I saw it. There are Zilan there now,¡± Troy informed him. ¡°Running the city.¡± Hermes grimaced and walked inside the barracks. Four long rows of beds in there but he stopped near the first one near the door and stared at an old wooden chest placed under it. ¡°Thalion?¡± He asked Troy. ¡°He didn¡¯t make it. Khemet killed them all.¡± ¡°Velox?¡± ¡°Killed under the walls of Que Ki-La to buy Ballard time.¡± ¡°Telos?¡± ¡°Died earlier that day being stupid.¡± ¡°Your friend? That idiot Issir cinaedus?¡± Troy scratched his small beard and then shook his head negatively. Hermes sighed deeply and stooped under the bed. Hooked his fork-shaped fake hand in the heavy chest¡¯s handle and dragged it out. Unclasped the latch and pushed the lid open. ¡°I knew when they named the place after him,¡± Hermes said in a contemplating voice staring at the contents of the chest. ¡°Ballard wasn¡¯t long for this world. Dead people have places named after them.¡± Troy smacked his lips and turned to return to his horse. Hermes voice stopping him. ¡°Anyone of the others left?¡± ¡°Some. With Asper¡¯s group and Fluke with some of Qathor¡¯s and mine.¡± ¡°You left young Fluke in charge?¡± ¡°I had to move fast Hermes,¡± Troy grunted glaring at him. ¡°You want to get the woman out,¡± the old gladiator noted still looking at his chest. ¡°Ballard¡¯s wish or yours?¡± ¡°Ballard¡¯s,¡± Troy croaked. Hermes nodded. ¡°No other hidden meaning to it?¡± Naossis¡¯ heavy bosom! ¡°He feared they might not keep their word.¡± ¡°Mmm. First sane thought that came out of the Jackal¡¯s mouth,¡± Hermes replied and stooped to get a well-used Gladius out of the chest. Run the fork-hand, the steel blades on it like fingers, over the length of it and frowned. ¡°Patrick has a mule. Go tell him I¡¯ll trade my bed for it,¡± Hermes said finally. ¡°I be needing it no more.¡± Second month of Fall 193 NC Second week Fu De-Gar plantations A kilometer from the North facing Oasis Gates Hermes stopped his mule next to Troy¡¯s mare and stared at the guards half-asleep at the gates. Wagons with produce coming out to head for the crops fields, some going inside the city coming from the plantations led by slaves and their slave-guards. The old gladiator was wearing an old scaled armour with plates at the shoulders and a leather harness with his legion-type sword, whip and steel chopper with the elongated shaft and flat blade secured on his back. ¡°What will you tell them?¡± He asked. ¡°Haven¡¯t thought about it,¡± Troy admitted. ¡°Got any coin?¡± ¡°Not much.¡± Hermes spat down and grimaced. ¡°Don¡¯t believe they¡¯ll sell you the girl. What did they have Ballard agree to?¡± ¡°Free her at the end of the war?¡± ¡°You say the war is over now?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t know. The King of Wetull seems to think so,¡± Troy admitted. ¡°I don¡¯t see him returning Ta-Ne anytime soon.¡± ¡°How are them Zilan?¡± ¡°Weird. You can feel them on your skin. It¡¯s difficult to describe them. Alluring. Creepy.¡± ¡°Any magic shite?¡± ¡°I couldn¡¯t tell. I¡¯ve no idea what it is they do. They are tall and some are curious even polite. Most though are conceit as fuck. Worse than the Cofols. Anyways, I¡¯ve seen their leader¡¯s wyvern and I know how this ends,¡± Troy replied. ¡°Aye,¡± Hermes agreed. ¡°What was his association with the Jackal?¡± ¡°His old squire apparently. He was married to Lord Sopat¡¯s sister,¡± Troy replied. ¡°Ballard sure loved the kid, never said a bad word about him.¡± ¡°I can see how you¡¯re skeptical given what you¡¯ve told me.¡± ¡°Aye.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t see how he¡¯ll be susceptible to blackmail also, what with him being all grown up now and given his company. Never met a beast master with a gentle soul. You raise a monster, you learn to look the other way. Would he even care about the other Lords agreements?¡± Hermes noted. ¡°Tsuparin might be looking to secure his city¡¯s freedom here than gaining more land.¡± ¡°From the Khan?¡± ¡°Nay,¡± Hermes replied. ¡°The new guy. The man wielding the bigger weapon sets the terms Troy.¡± ¡°Qathor would have used a phallus analogy here. Too tempting for him to avoid it,¡± Troy commented reminiscing and Hermes nodded seemingly unamused afore replying curtly. ¡°I bet that cocksucker would.¡±
Fu De-Gar¡¯s ¡®palace¡¯ was an imposing old imperial building with tall walls that looked like a prison. Shaped in a massive half a kilometer in diameter half-circle, the straight back side facing a large walled garden, it wasn¡¯t as secure as Lord Sol¡¯s palace but it had four Ludi built around it. The large barracks and training grounds created a square around which the rest of the city grew out of. To get through the check points and enter the inner grounds and streets wasn¡¯t easy if you weren¡¯t invited or worked there. The two gladiators asked around and learned Siba-Kal, the famed Ani Ta-Ne Lanista, had moved to Fu De-Gar to work for Lord Tsuparin using his connections. Mainly the local Lanista Ba-Ramis who had discovered the ¡®Gargoyle¡¯. So they arranged for a meeting with the old Lanista at a local tavern, bordering Fu De-Gar¡¯s south market. The city had four, each facing a side of the large palace complex.
Siba-Kal sucked his teeth seeing them take the chairs to sit down at his table. ¡°Hermes? What the actual fuck?¡± He cursed and had a sip from his black tea. ¡°I thought you were dead old timer.¡± ¡°Was thinking about it,¡± Hermes admitted. ¡°Then I traveled on a mule to come here. That almost did it.¡± ¡°Right. Welp, that lion eating your arm is still in memory. What a fucking comeback that was! Ha-ha. Great show, ayup,¡± Siba-Kal commented fondly and put his bronze cup down. ¡°Old games aside, I¡¯m looking for trainers to get the Ludus going again. Have bought a place and all,¡± he started eyeing Troy appreciatively. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind have a champion working on the new crop.¡± ¡°Who else made it out?¡± Troy asked gruffly. ¡°Paikan is still breathing. His wife got caught in a raid. He was the only survivor.¡± ¡°Hid in the cellar?¡± Troy chanced. ¡°Sewers,¡± Siba-Kal shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Got most of his coin out. He is a partner, but I¡¯m running things.¡± ¡°I bet his wife rests assured for the future,¡± Hermes commented dryly. ¡°Eh. Let¡¯s not judge people. I barely made it out. It was a good thing everyone went after Letakin,¡± Siba-Kal said diplomatically. ¡°A big loss,¡± he added not to appear insensitive to his old boss. ¡°You visit Ba-Ramis then?¡± Troy asked changing subject and Siba-Kal pushed back on his chair. ¡°You are not here for work?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a war going on,¡± Troy reminded him. ¡°It¡¯s weird you¡¯re thinking of that.¡± ¡°Bah,¡± Siba-Kal snorted. ¡°Khemet sacks Ani Ta-Ne, the king of Wetull smacks Khemet and takes it for himself. The Chiliad kills Sol and sacks Que Ki-La, then Nout comes. Nout disappears. Have I got everything right?¡± ¡°Where are you going with this?¡± Troy asked. ¡°War won¡¯t last,¡± Siba-Kal retorted. ¡°Are you fucking serious? That¡¯s enough damage done. Khan is fighting a war already. This needs to stop. It will. People will talk about it, find a middle ground, agree on trade and coin will start flowing in again. Coin will bring visitors wishing for entertainment just like old times. We need to get ahead of the game here lads.¡± ¡°Talking to you reminded me why I hate yer guts,¡± Hermes grunted and Siba-Kal frowned in shock. ¡°Good grief! I¡¯m quite fond of you. Where is this coming from?¡± ¡°I need to see Ba-Ramis,¡± Troy intervened hoarsely. ¡°I can pay you good coin,¡± Siba-Kal haggled. ¡°Not right away, but soon. I can have you lads fixed wit a couple of good girls. How about it? Hermes you look like you need your cock sucked old timer.¡± ¡°Can you buy a slave girl for me?¡± Troy asked. ¡°You mean, like a specific one? I have two young girls. I managed to get them out before the city was sacked. A redhead half-breed and a brunette. A desert lass but spirited. Unbroken,¡± Siba-Kal eyed him knowingly. ¡°Doesn¡¯t get better than this Troy. People pay coin for that. What?¡± He asked seeing their sour faces. Siba-Kal sighed deeply disappointed. ¡°I could see if I can trade for her. Who is she?¡± ¡°Ziba-Ra,¡± Troy grunted. ¡°The Pearl of Ani Ta-Ne?¡± Siba-Kal stood back alarmed. ¡°Wait, isn¡¯t she on retainer for Mista Savar? He has a little brat with her.¡± ¡°Can you do it?¡± Siba-Kal licked his lips and looked about them at the other patrons. ¡°What about Ballard?¡± ¡°He¡¯s dead.¡± The Lanista nodded. ¡°Tsuparin has her. I don¡¯t see him giving her up for free. That¡¯s a pretty expensive slave Troy. Highly priced with plenty of skills and perhaps a looser cunt nowadays but still in her prime years. Not to mention she¡¯s famous now.¡± ¡°In what way?¡± Troy asked staring at the table. ¡°I told you.¡± Siba-Kal puffed his cheeks out and worked on his thin goatee for a while. ¡°There¡¯s word that the Lords asked Rin An-Pur for a ¡®truce¡¯ of sorts. The Khanate is a mess now and no one knows who is in charge in the Khan¡¯s absence. A cease to hostilities seems like a palatable idea.¡± ¡°What does Ziba has to do with any of it?¡± ¡°Ballard¡¯s kid and his woman,¡± Siba-Kal said looking at him a little surprised for his concern. ¡°Are trading pieces,¡± the Lanista continued. ¡°Cities, fields, coin and people,¡± he added. ¡°You want to finish the war you better have what the other side might need to sate its thirst for vengeance.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s making the talks?¡± Hermes asked seeing as Troy was unable to speak from the shock. ¡°Sopat¡¯s idea but the Wetull dude wants in as well apparently. We know what he wants. Sopat is a man of free trade and Tsuparin is prideful. He¡¯ll want his status raised. Now Rin An-Pur¡­ it depends. Assuming the Khan is convinced which is a very difficult thing to do without blood spilt.¡± ¡°Who stands in for the Khan?¡± ¡°Prince Atpa,¡± Siba-Kal replied. ¡°Nout left no family or they disappeared to avoid having their throats cut,¡± he added. ¡°A smart move for sure.¡± ¡°Tsuparin thinks Atpa would want blood,¡± Troy croaked. ¡°Atpa eh, the Khan. He can¡¯t serve the old Horselord a loss. A draw with his enemies killed is a tastier plate.¡± ¡°So Tsuparin keeps Ziba¡­ what would the Sopat offer?¡± Hermes asked. ¡°If I¡¯m Chubin Amin,¡± Siba-Kal had replied thoughtfully. ¡°I¡¯m taking a ship out of the Peninsula.¡±
406. Tales of the Peninsula | Aftermath (3/4)
Troy Lake Sium Dimachaerus Divine Blades Tales of the Peninsula | Aftermath Part II -Ziba¡¯s scarf- Vol. II
Act IV -Takes no days off- Hermes lifted the ceramic bowl and sucked the rest of his chicken soup out of it making loud slurping sounds. ¡°Lots of water, bit of salt and spices but no chicken in there. An orphan wing bone and if,¡± the veteran commented sourly after he finished and wiped his mouth with the back of his good hand. ¡°One forgets how much lying people do inside large cities.¡± ¡°People lie everywhere,¡± Troy replied still deep in thought, a state he¡¯d been since Siba-Kal had left them to go about his business an hour earlier with a vague promise to ¡®look into the matter¡¯. ¡°I need a way to get them both out of the city.¡± ¡°Where to?¡± ¡°Ani Ta-Ne,¡± Troy replied. ¡°The Imperial Watch ruins for starters.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll trust the Zilan?¡± ¡°You got a better idea?¡± Hermes smacked his lips and pushed the chair back, the sound irritating to the patrons having their lunch around them. ¡°That wasn¡¯t even half an idea Troy,¡± he finally rustled. ¡°Hey, are you really Troy?¡± One of them asked afore Troy could reply, signaling for his friends to calm down. ¡°The Pits champion?¡± ¡°I am,¡± Troy replied confidently. ¡°What are ye, blind?¡± ¡°Watched you at the games,¡± the Cofol said with a grin and looked at his friends pleased he¡¯d guessed right. ¡°It was a great week champ. Best of my life. Is it true that Mista Savar was killed in Que Ki-La?¡± He asked. ¡°It is. But he went down swinging, a smile on his face!¡± Troy roared and bowed his head at the cheers and loud clapping from the rest of the tavern¡¯s clients responding to his words. ¡°The Leopard broke its claws on the Chiliad,¡± he added and the tavern erupted in applauds, a couple of young kids escaping their parents to come near him. Troy patted their heads smiling, slapped a youngster¡¯s sneaking fingers away from his dagger and eyed his protesting mother intently. ¡°Yer soft hand milady,¡± Troy said in a baritone voice. ¡°I won¡¯t cast aside.¡± Her husband frowned, the woman blushing and the gathering crowd that heard the loud commotion happening inside the tavern, left the nearby market stalls to see Troy from up close. ¡°The Titan of Novesium!¡± A man yelled with enthusiasm, city guards rushing there alarmed at all the brouhaha erupting and the tavern keeper taking it a step further with a loud squealing that made everyone laugh. ¡°The champion¡¯s favorite tavern!¡± He declared amidst the pandemonium getting a mixed response. ¡°Yeah? Whoa!¡± ¡°Huh? Fuck off Will-Ru!¡± ¡°HURRAH!¡± ¡°You look bigger up close,¡± a third admitted in awe at the now standing gladiator¡¯s physique. ¡°I love you too dude!¡± Troy assured him grinning at the praise. ¡°Allgods damn it,¡± a young bard cursed. ¡°He¡¯s fucking beautiful,¡± and Troy turned his way, snapped his arms up and posed like a statue, biceps bulging, veins swelling, all visible muscles rippling accompanied by the -inside and outside the open doors of the tavern- ululating crowd¡¯s gasps of envy. A lot more women now present than a moment before but Troy had no idea if the many hands fondling and touching him ¨Cmany inappropriately and in all weird places- were male or female. Not that it mattered at that very moment. Fu De-Gar loved its gladiators with a burning passion. ¡°Better get a coin plate out,¡± a sighing at the festivities Hermes was heard saying from their overrun table. ¡°See if we can make moneys off of these fools.¡±
After enjoying a free meal much as champions do and resting inside the tavern, the gladiators searched the market and the busy streets as far as the port, always looking for a way to get more information about Ziba-Ra¡¯s whereabouts. The news that Lake Sium Dimachaerus was back in Fu De-Gar quickly spread inside the city. In a month of catastrophes, triumphs and strange rumors, Troy¡¯s presence and Hermes¡¯ to a lesser extend had restored a touch of normalcy for the Garites.
A young man stopped them on their return from the Port to get their mounts from the market tavern¡¯s stable. ¡°Master Troy,¡± the fit slave said. ¡°Would you consider visiting the palace?¡± ¡°Lord Tsuparin wants to see me?¡± Troy asked a little surprised. ¡°I don¡¯t see how he¡¯d be looking forward seeing me,¡± Hermes retorted. ¡°Master Barak-Ki insisted upon hearing you¡¯re back,¡± the slave replied. ¡°Lanista Ba-Ramis didn¡¯t have a choice.¡± Dekerut¡¯s youngest son was very fond of the Ludus. ¡°Well then,¡± Troy said and glanced at Hermes. ¡°This is a bit weird right?¡± ¡°In what way?¡± The slave asked and Hermes replied for the confused gladiator. ¡°We¡¯ll be there lad,¡± he told him. ¡°Go ahead, we know the way and need no escort.¡± ¡°Shit.¡± Troy said the moment the slave had run away. ¡°It¡¯s all the animals dragging ¡®em carts to port.¡± ¡°No I mean, it caught me unawares?¡± ¡°Sure, but ye got that plan on the works.¡± ¡°Uhm,¡± Troy nodded. ¡°Yep, yeah¡­ that¡¯s right.¡± Hermes stood back, sole eye narrowing. ¡°That¡¯s more ayes than a port harlot eyeing a gold coin afore she gets fucked silly.¡± ¡°Now that was much closer to what Qathor would have said,¡± Troy retorted. ¡°Son, I¡¯ve been cracking jokes for as long ye live, twice that actually,¡± Hermes grunted. ¡°Barak will be at the Ludus. How do ye get to the palace?¡± Troy scratched his head, the bald spot at the top slowly filling with a bit of growth over the dark scab. ¡°Luna-Ki is usually at the gardens when not visiting the markets,¡± he told Hermes. ¡°Ba-Ramis¡¯ wife? Lord Tsuparin¡¯s oldest daughter?¡± ¡°Yep.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a well-informed man but lived around the Ludi long enough to know there is a story circulating about how about ten-fifteen years back Ba-Ramis¡¯ well in his cups, admitted he was inebriated enough to bed Lord Tsuparin¡¯s ¨Cthen unwed- daughter?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°And didn¡¯t Dekerut asked him the next day in court why a friend would say such an insulting thing, as people were quick to rat Ba-Ramis out?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the story,¡± Troy agreed. ¡°Ba-Ramis admitted he was secretly passionate about Luna.¡± ¡°Was he?¡± ¡°Are ye kidding me? Of course not!¡± Troy retorted. ¡°He couldn¡¯t say anything else though and Lord Tsuparin had them wed that very weekend.¡± Hermes grimaced and then sighed ruggedly. ¡°They say she has her father¡¯s hands,¡± the veteran gladiator said. ¡°And his favor. You don¡¯t have to do this Troy and a half-arsed effort has many foolish warriors killed.¡± ¡°I need an excuse. She¡¯ll ask for she has done it afore, I¡¯ll accept this time and then give maximum effort. You know why?¡± Hermes rolled his eyes at his earnest expression. ¡°No, seriously¡­¡± Troy insisted looking at him expectantly. ¡°You¡¯re Naossis with a cock? Her gold toy phallus?¡± ¡°Huh? Which motherfucker said that?¡± Troy grunted furrowing his brows. ¡°The god of shag was my meaning.¡± ¡°Takes no days off,¡± Hermes added as Troy had talked about his adventures with him on the road among other topics. ¡°Aye,¡± Troy replied. ¡°Even when you get to mate with an ape.¡±
Ba-Ramis was a big man. The Lanista had a fancy studded leather cuirass pressed over his blue tunic and stood at almost six feet, his shaven skull gleaming well-oiled under the afternoon sun. Barak in comparison was a shorter wiry young man, not even in his twenties. He had a piece of half-plate on with chainmail hanging over his midriff and a leather skirt like a gladiator. The young scion had just finished sparring as a matter of fact when Troy and Hermes got out from the hallway leading to the training grounds. A number of young recruits still practicing weapons on the small arena of Ba-Ramis¡¯ Ludus. The man himself addressing the two veteran gladiators the moment he spotted them. ¡°Look at them armed to the teeth!¡± He boomed pointing a big arm their way. ¡°How about giving us a show Troy?¡± ¡°Just here to talk Ba-Ramis. I don¡¯t want to dazzle yer students,¡± Troy replied modestly eyeing the young gladiators that stopped to watch them. ¡°Talk about what?¡± ¡°You tell me,¡± Troy retorted not falling for it. ¡°It¡¯s yer invitation.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! Ha-ha!¡± Ba-Ramis roared. ¡°Hermes? I have a castrated lion with all its teeth, fancy a roll in the sands for old time¡¯s sake?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t have the balls for it,¡± Hermes said and spat down, then sucked at his lower teeth to gather more moisture for a second attempt. ¡°Don¡¯t have¡­ ha-ha! Now that¡¯s a lie,¡± Ba-Ramis guffawed and breathed once deeply afore adding. ¡°I insist.¡± Hermes returned his stare undaunted. ¡°Fuck off Ba,¡± he said soberly. ¡°See that? That¡¯s balls,¡± Ba-Ramis explained to his Ludus. ¡°The man got dragged by an arm ten meters. Ten!¡± He continued. ¡°Chopped said arm off to free himself and went after the beast without so much as blinking.¡± ¡°There was some blinking,¡± Hermes corrected him. ¡°Plenty of groaning as well.¡± ¡°I was standing too far,¡± Ba-Ramis admitted and shook his bald head. ¡°I¡¯ll fight the Titan of Novesium,¡± a sweaty Barak intervened. ¡°The young lord has been training hard,¡± Ba-Ramis explained and then eyed the excited scion austerely. ¡°But there will be no fighting.¡± ¡°You seem lacking in men Ba-Ramis,¡± Troy said to change the subject. ¡°Chiliad took everything. Karit freed some good prospects to boost his regulars,¡± the Lanista explained. ¡°What do you need an army for? Just hire mercenaries or use gladiators. You¡¯ve proven it works Troy.¡± ¡°Not in all battles, it doesn¡¯t,¡± Troy replied. ¡°Maybe with more time.¡± ¡°Hmm. Well, I don¡¯t have the patience for it. What is war? Who wants it? Look what it did to Ta-Ne.¡± ¡°We need to get Khan¡¯s hand off the Peninsula!¡± Barak snapped at the Lanista. ¡°Better to stick with what we know Barak. You¡¯ve been to Ani Ta-Ne?¡± Ba-Ramis asked Troy. ¡°I passed through.¡± ¡°Saw them Zilan?¡± ¡°I did. A lot of them,¡± Troy replied. ¡°Less than a couple of thousand is the rumor and if that,¡± Ba-Ramis insisted. Troy grimaced. ¡°They look very capable,¡± he told him. ¡°Yeah? Hmm,¡± the Lanista shrugged his big shoulders. ¡°See right there Barak? We don¡¯t know enough to go against the big boys.¡± ¡°Why will we even consider it?¡± Troy asked. ¡°We can¡¯t have Letakin lands gobbled up by Wetull. That¡¯s what Lord Tsuparin thinks. It creates a precedence. The Khan might get the same idea on the morrow. Nout was certainly looking to clear out the deck.¡± ¡°You know where the Prince is?¡± Barak asked. ¡°Was at Que Ki-La,¡± Troy replied. ¡°I think the Wyvern killed everyone.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve seen it?¡± ¡°Aye,¡± Troy replied and licked his lips. ¡°Turned my legs to jelly.¡± ¡°Lord Sopat says the King of Wetull is with him,¡± Barak replied. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t surprise me,¡± Troy replied. ¡°Married his sister. How did he pulled that? Lucky bastard,¡± Ba-Ramis murmured and Barak glared at him. ¡°Why do you care? You married my sister!¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m talking politics here lad. The Sopat are an important family.¡± ¡°Not bigger than the Tsuparin!¡± Barak blasted him irate. ¡°There¡¯s gold in Wetull,¡± Troy intervened to stop their argument. ¡°It¡¯s probably how the deal was made.¡± ¡°Makes sense,¡± Ba-Ramis replied. ¡°Anyways, heard you talked with Siba-Kal Troy.¡± ¡°I have.¡± ¡°Gonna work for him heh?¡± ¡°He offered.¡± Ba-Ramis nodded expecting as much. ¡°You¡¯re considering staying in Fu De-Gar then? Siba-Kal might return to Ta-Ne soon, tail tucked between legs. There¡¯s no place for his low-energy Ludus here. Better opportunities about is what I¡¯m saying.¡± ¡°He thinks there is and Ta-Ne is run by the Zilan,¡± Troy replied. ¡°You didn¡¯t answer.¡± ¡°I¡¯m thinking about it.¡± ¡°Could I influence yer thinking?¡± Ba-Ramis asked. ¡°Coin, cunt, a parcel of land as the song goes he-he.¡± ¡°Maybe,¡± Troy replied. ¡°I heard you have Ziba-Ra here.¡± Ba-Ramis frowned unsure as the gladiator¡¯s reply had wrong-footed him. ¡°Reseph brought her on Lord Tsuparin¡¯s orders. You know about it Barak?¡± ¡°I saw her yesterday,¡± Barak said. ¡°She¡¯s fine sure but I don¡¯t see the appeal. Surely there are more fair slaves about and for all her skillset and education she¡¯s getting old.¡± Ziba-Ra wasn¡¯t even twenty yet. Yer too young to have opinion on the matter, Troy thought. There are no slaves or women in general finer than Ziba. Not human that is. ¡°You know that¡¯s not the reason Lord Tsuparin looked to protect her,¡± Ba-Ramis explained. ¡°Keep her out of harm¡¯s way. People are all fired up these days. Too much pathos all about.¡± Troy nodded and glanced at the silent Hermes. The veteran gladiator¡¯s critical eye telling him his plan sucked arse and they were probably going to die like a couple of doofuses. A petite Lorian slave-girl made her way over the sands keeping her head low, despite the appreciative looks from the gladiators present. She looked like a darker version of Kelly. ¡°What is it?¡± Barak asked her. ¡°Lady Luna wants a private audition with the Titan of Novesium,¡± the slave girl said quickly. ¡°She¡¯s expecting an answer.¡± ¡°My wife is¡­¡± Ba-Ramis started looking embarrassed but caught Barak¡¯s sour stare and grimaced. ¡°¡­thirsty for the games heroes,¡± the Lanista continued diplomatically. ¡°Tell her Troy is a freedman Sirile. She can¡¯t just order him around.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll see Lady Luna,¡± Troy intervened much to Ba-Ramis surprise and Hermes¡¯ let out a pensive grunt behind him. ¡°I¡¯ll take them there,¡± Barak said and Ba-Ramis shrugged his shoulders giving up. Act V -Sparring lessons- ¡°In the marble springs,¡± Sirile told them. ¡°She only asked for you.¡± Troy stared at Hermes and Barak apologetically. ¡°Guys just wait by them palms. Watch yer heads for any falling coconuts.¡± ¡°How about ye do yer job and let us navigate the shade?¡± Hermes grunted then kicked some branches away to make room to sit down under a tree. Barak furrowed his brows. ¡°What job?¡± He asked Troy. ¡°Old head talks out of his arse,¡± Troy retorted. ¡°He¡¯s like an overgrown peacock,¡± Hermes elucidated. ¡°All fancy plumage and funny walking. It¡¯s a real job for him.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Barak said not really getting it. Troy didn¡¯t get it as well but just nodded, puffed his chest out and started sauntering down the fancy marble-tiled nicely maintained path through the garden. From afar, one could mistake his strolling for that of a prideful peacock sans the plumage.
The flower gardens behind Lord Tsuparin¡¯s palace expanded as far the brown-barked Desert Ebonies that hugged the Old Imperial Arena grounds north of the Pits and the west market. The thorny multiple trunks trees with a vase-shape were an excellent source for expensive timber but it was forbidden to cut them down without a special order. Part of the gardens had been invaded by the heat resistant flora but the rest was covered in palms and desert flowers especially around the small springs. The whole area built like an open ceiling atrium that was also part of the ancient infrastructure of Fu De-Gar. An old Imperial resort and trade port that had been abandoned when the desert had broken through the collapsed west rises due to an earthquake long before the first Cofols stepped foot in the area.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.
There were marble stairs from both sides of the small pond leading to the covered in flowers fountain. The water pouring inside the pond and its overflow in a small canal that led east towards the lake and became part of the irrigation that maintained the fields. Everything was built with pink and grey marble, from the benches to the small stools and even the thin columns of the pavilion. While vegetation had covered the tiles under foot, they were still visible and the natural pond kept clean and turned into a small pool, its edges dressed with marble as well. Lady Luna-Ki Tsuparin was a very fit woman. Although in her thirties, she maintained her physique. Tall and with broad shoulders for a female, with a square jaw and slanted eyes that didn¡¯t quite fit the rest of her angled face. She did have large hands though and thick fingers. Luna had a short silk skirt on, no shoes and her bosom was encased in a dark leather vest. Luna stood almost as tall as Troy and you could mistake her for a gladiatrix in the dark. The gold anklets and bracelets she wore though were adorned with real rubies so the illusion was broken there. Luna wasn¡¯t the prettiest woman for sure, but Troy to his credit had mixed up with some ugly donkeys in his time mostly due to circumstances and a difficult to sate libido. She did look like her father with tits in a sense. But while it is a disturbing line of thought, she looks nothing like an ape all things considered. Troy cracked a toothy smile when Luna glanced his way. A couple of more slave girls with covered faces and slave outfits near the pool but Troy kept his eyes on the muscular female not wanting to distract himself with fancier targets. ¡°The Titan of Novesium,¡± Luna said and got up, her body soaked as if she had just taken a dip in the pond. ¡°Stands amused?¡± ¡°Just confused on who would built a fancy garden behind that mountain of concrete and stone. No offense Lady Luna.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a palace. It¡¯s just a large building I grew up in,¡± Luna explained and approached him. ¡°Leave Sirile. Go to the kitchens and ask them to prepare an evening snack for me. We¡¯ll take it when we return to the villa.¡± She stopped at arm¡¯s length and examined him carefully with curious eyes. ¡°It was a warehouse I think. Most of the old buildings were up on the plateau behind the arena grounds overlooking the oasis. Everything now swept away and buried by the desert. The forest stopped the sands they say. The Imperials had built further to the west also.¡± ¡°What¡¯s further to the west?¡± Troy asked looking down her face and then the strong neck. His eyes finally resting at the swell of her chests under the vest¡¯s opening. Ah, Troy thought his nostrils expanding. ¡°The desert. The Luzi Ho-Kar tribe,¡± Luna replied raising a penciled brow at his wandering eyes. ¡°Cofols?¡± ¡°Goat herders,¡± Luna said and touched Troy¡¯s chin. ¡°Uncultured.¡± ¡°Worse than Garites?¡± Luna chuckled and forced him to raise his eyes on her face. ¡°Am I ugly Troy?¡± ¡°I expected worse,¡± Troy replied truthfully and this time the woman laughed freely, an honest sound that reverberated inside the opening. ¡°Goddess help us,¡± Luna said and slapped his chest. ¡°You came here armed champion of the arena?¡± Word plays milady? ¡°Sure,¡± Troy replied confidently. ¡°You¡¯ll lend me a sword?¡± Huh? Troy looked in her unattractive face hesitantly. ¡°A metal sword?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Luna retorted mockingly mimicking his response. ¡°I watched you fight Madrox in the Pits,¡± she said while he unsheathed his Kopis. ¡°I screamed in joy despite knowing that I had lost my husband and father a lot of coin.¡± ¡°Yer father consults you on financial matters?¡± Obviously the bulk of Ba-Ramis coin came from her dowry. ¡°You find it surprising? I¡¯m not pretty, but my brain works.¡± Troy cleared his throat and offered her the blade. Luna took it and extended her arm as if testing the weight. ¡°Quite the spectacle it was. I was surprised. It¡¯s good to be proven wrong.¡± ¡°It depends,¡± Troy murmured not sure where she was going with this. ¡°Ballard did most of the work back then.¡± ¡°Yes, but Mista Savar was a riddle. Unapproachable. You though weren¡¯t. Plus that charge at the end of the fight was memorable.¡± ¡°I got plastered on the wall,¡± Troy reminded her. ¡°You did but came back to finish the job,¡± Luna argued and stepped back to wave the blade around. Troy tensed up. There was power in her wild swings. ¡°Can you stop my blade Troy?¡± She taunted him. Are you nuts woman? ¡°Better not to test it.¡± ¡°When I was young,¡± Luna continued with a smirk at his words. ¡°I wanted to fight in the arena. Barak wants it too but he isn¡¯t very good. My father believed I had the talent, but never gave permission. I could train but I couldn¡¯t fight. A slave was forced to do what I wanted.¡± ¡°Few people dream of this. Especially women.¡± ¡°Why? Getting married to an uncaring man is a better fate?¡± Luna retorted. ¡°That¡¯s not bondage Troy? I¡¯ve seen women fight as well as men.¡± ¡°Some women might, but you¡¯ll find few men that know how to use their blades easy to fight. I¡¯m being lenient here.¡± ¡°Do you want to test your theory?¡± Luna asked and pointed the blade on his chest. Troy stood back alarmed. ¡°That¡¯s a sharpened blade milady.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a scimitar on your back,¡± Luna replied. ¡°You have the reach and I¡¯ll wager it is equally sharpened. Indulge me Troy. Isn¡¯t that why you came here?¡± You do like your bets Luna, Troy thought and reached for the scimitar.
Luna slashed at him the moment a reluctant Troy unsheathed his blade. The gladiator jerked away, feet rotating on the vine covered tiles and swung upwards with the scimitar making a conscious effort to aim at the Kopis. He almost took it out of her hand. The woman gasped and stepped left, walking confidently on familiar ground. Troy turned to watch her circling and she grimaced. ¡°My arm is numb.¡± ¡°Apologies,¡± Troy replied and Luna rushed him again. A lunge forward to force him inside the pool but Troy smacked the blade down and touched the point on her left breast over the soft leather. Luna backed away with a wince breathing heavy. ¡°Dammit,¡± she cursed and unbuttoned her vest to check on the damage. Luna moved the fleshy orb around and then closed the vest again. ¡°You missed?¡± ¡°I was trying not to kill you?¡± Troy retorted in amusement. ¡°I can¡¯t use this sword,¡± she told him. ¡°It¡¯s a difficult blade, good for hacking. Can you wield a longsword? It will give you more reach and you could surprise people.¡± Luna sighed in frustration. ¡°I used to train every day. You¡¯d think marrying a Lanista would have given me more opportunities but it didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Troy nodded and stared at the pond. Then at the slaves standing near the pavilion. Luna¡¯s warm hand interrupting him. ¡°Can I see that other sword now?¡± She asked hoarsely near his face and that hand slipped through the front of his breeches. Troy blinked, strong fingers getting a good grip at his meaty schlong and pulling it out after loosening the flaps. The Kopis clattered on the tiles, Luna gasped seeing the gladiator¡¯s uncovered fast-growing phallus and Troy caught out of the corner of his eye one of the female slaves snap her head their way. Despite the sheer yellow shawl covering her figure and the distance, Troy recognized Ziba-Ra. Mostly by her palpable disdain at his actions. Shite! ¡°Mmm,¡± Luna murmured nigh impressed. ¡°That¡¯s certainly a Titan¡¯s blade.¡± ¡°Eh,¡± Troy croaked feeling the woman¡¯s mouth swallowing his throbbing manhood. Then he stopped talking.
The mighty Troy pleasured Ba-Ramis¡¯ wayward wife in the Marble Gardens before making his well-thought out escape from Tsuparin¡¯s palace without a hitch. The coming night helped him slip away into the desert.
¡°You can use the pool Troy,¡± a sweaty Luna told him walking in the pond herself with a deep satisfied sigh. ¡°I have work in the market,¡± Troy grunted picking up his sword from the ground and looking about to locate his clothes and discarded armour in the semi-darkness. The slaves had lit torches in the pavilion but their light wasn¡¯t enough to illuminate the opening. ¡°At this hour? Whatever. Help him out,¡± Luna ordered the slaves half-sunk in the waters and Ziba approached with his pants. She tossed them on his chest and Troy caught them with a grimace. ¡°Listen,¡± he whispered quickly. ¡°I have a plan.¡± ¡°Pfft, I saw your plan. Heard the whole cursed thing also,¡± Ziba hissed. ¡°Where¡¯s Ballard?¡± ¡°Eh, about that¡­¡± ¡°What?¡± Troy sighed. ¡°You got to slip away and meet me at the edge of the gardens. Follow the path.¡± ¡°Why would I¡­? I¡¯m not meeting with you in the gardens!¡± ¡°Keep yer darn voice low,¡± Troy grunted and closed his leather breeches covering his cock. ¡°I¡¯m risking my life here.¡± ¡°Seriously?¡± ¡°It isn¡¯t what it looks.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve seen animals fuck with less enthusiasm,¡± Ziba noted with a scowl. ¡°It¡¯s¡­ a technique. It was a dry month and I got excited¡ª¡± ¡°By her?¡± Ziba asked in disgust. ¡°What, are there no more girls left in Fu De-Gar?¡± ¡°What are you two murmuring about Troy?¡± Luna asked from the pond. ¡°You know Ziba?¡± ¡°Not really,¡± Troy croaked and Ziba kicked him in the left shin. ¡°A bit.¡± ¡°Be careful how you break the news to her,¡± Luna cautioned him. ¡°Use your charm.¡± ¡°What news?¡± Ziba hissed and glared at the wincing comically gladiator. ¡°Get the boy,¡± Troy grunted grabbing her arm, Ziba slapping his face with the other. Tyeus spear! ¡°Meet me at the path,¡± he managed to say and before letting her go Troy pressed the silk scarf in her flailing hands. ¡°What? Where¡­?¡± Ziba gasped her eyes growing. ¡°Troy you bastard¡ª¡± ¡°Get the boy,¡± Troy hissed in turn and shoved her away. ¡°You¡¯ll stay in Fu De-Gar Troy?¡± An oblivious Luna asked sounding relaxed. ¡°I may need to refresh my sword lessons so I can get a rematch.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll know by morrow,¡± Troy replied hoarsely and stared at the shaking Ziba-Ra pleadingly afore walking away.
¡°You took your sweet time,¡± Hermes commented sourly getting up. ¡°The lady wanted a sparring lesson,¡± Troy grunted and Hermes chuckled finding it funny. ¡°She¡¯s crazy about gladiators,¡± Barak replied a little guarded, not privy to the jest. ¡°Was she any good?¡± He asked in a lighter tone. ¡°Eh, yeah¡­ Lady Luna can work a sword like the best of them,¡± Troy croaked glaring at the smirking Hermes. ¡°Hmm. She used to beat me up but I got the better of her lately,¡± Barak replied. ¡°You should try me Troy.¡± ¡°Some other time. I¡¯m drained,¡± Troy retorted and Hermes almost drowned himself trying to keep the chuckle in. ¡°Right. So, I¡¯ll walk you back to the stables. My father will be here tomorrow. You could stay in the palace,¡± Barak offered. ¡°Just give me a couple of minutes,¡± Troy replied trying to think of a way to get rid of him. ¡°To catch my breath.¡± ¡°It¡¯s an easy path,¡± Barak argued. ¡°Surely you are not that worn out?¡± ¡°You go ahead and we¡¯ll catch up with you,¡± Troy insisted and Hermes stopped chuckling, his face turning solemn. ¡°Well, I was thinking of grabbing something to eat. Let¡¯s have a cup. I¡¯ll wait with you.¡± ¡°Ehm,¡± Troy grimaced and looked about them at the dark gardens. The moons were slowly coming up on the sky but not much light was passing through the trees and rich vegetation. Barak stood back and stared at both of them. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Nothing is the matter,¡± Troy replied tensely. ¡°Just want to take in the scenery is all.¡± A bird chirped hidden in the bushes. The moment turning awkward. ¡°Let¡¯s go ahead,¡± Hermes offered. ¡°We¡¯ll return to the palace and he¡¯ll follow in his own pace.¡± ¡°Is my sister alright?¡± Barak asked and looked towards the lit part of the gardens about fifty meters deeper inside the gardens. ¡°Of course,¡± Troy replied pressing his mouth. ¡°Barak,¡± Hermes intervened but the young scion stopped him with a wave of his arm. ¡°I¡¯m talking with him old man,¡± he grunted. ¡°Does the Titan of Novesium need a chaperone?¡± ¡°Son,¡± Hermes grunted. ¡°Your sister is fine,¡± Troy told him increasingly more nervous. ¡°Just calm down Barak,¡± he added and Ziba-Ra came out of the side of the path carrying the little boy in her arms.
¡°Where are you going?¡± Barak asked and she paused a hand on the sleeping boy¡¯s head. ¡°He¡¯s fallen asleep,¡± Ziba replied her voice strained. ¡°Lady Luna gave me permission to get him to our quarters.¡± ¡°Alone?¡± Barak queried and glanced at the two sober-faced gladiators. He narrowed his eyes and took a step back a hand reaching for a scimitar he had strapped on his waist. ¡°What are you doing Troy?¡± Troy smacked his lips and looked him in the eyes. ¡°Just walk away. Forget you¡¯ve seen anything.¡± ¡°What?¡± Barak-Ki clenched his jaw, fingers lacing on the handle of his sword. ¡°Are you insane? You¡¯ll steal from us?¡± ¡°Ain¡¯t yer slave Barak,¡± Troy warned him. Barak unsheathed his blade. ¡°The sound carries. I can stall you for the guards to run here,¡± he said and Troy shook his head. ¡°How about we walk back to the palace and talk it through?¡± ¡°We won¡¯t,¡± Troy replied sternly. Barak grimaced and opened his mouth to yell but Hermes had the chopper out while they were talking, the gladiator¡¯s swing of the heavy weapon cutting his words short. Ziba¡¯s scream piercing the quietness of the Marble Gardens and the sound of Barak¡¯s headless body hitting the tiles. ¡°Head for the stables,¡± a heavy breathing Hermes rustled teeth clenched. ¡°Grab the horses and come to the edge of the forest. Near the ruins of the arena.¡± ¡°Why not go for the bridge?¡± Troy didn¡¯t want to leave Ziba behind after all the trouble to find her, he didn¡¯t want to risk it. ¡°We aren¡¯t crossing that bridge lad nor move through the city with her. It would be a short trip if we do,¡± Hermes grunted and pushed a hesitant Troy away to get him going. ¡°I¡¯ll hide the body and take the girl but you need to hurry. They¡¯ll look for the lad soon and we¡¯re the last people he was seen with.¡± Act VI -Back in Ballard- Troy made it to the stables without problems and got their mounts out. He bid the bored stable hands there farewell and rode outside the palace¡¯s grounds then turned west, went out of the gates and headed towards the Pits. An hour later he had reached the ruins of the arena, passing through the empty slave market and waited nervously his eyes on the forest of ebony trees for Hermes and Ziba to appear. Two hours later they did, the night moving away and a patrol missing them for minutes. They had spotted Troy and approached to talk with him initially but a caravan arrived soon after out of the desert so the guards turned around to walk towards the west gates with them. ¡°I need to rest,¡± Ziba griped and collapsed on an upturned stone pillar, Hermes carrying the boy on his shoulders. ¡°Two minutes,¡± Troy warned and glanced at the tired gladiator. ¡°It¡¯s difficult to cross the forest in the dark,¡± Hermes explained and glared at Ziba. ¡°What? You idiots murdered Lord Tsuparin¡¯s son!¡± Ziba snapped, her anger spilling out. ¡°What happened to Ballard you piece of shit?¡± She hissed at Troy. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Troy blurted out taken aback. ¡°You need to get on that horse Ziba. We can¡¯t stay here.¡± ¡°You think I¡¯ll come with you? Go where?¡± A chastised Troy stared at Hermes for help. ¡°In the desert,¡± the gladiator said calmly. ¡°That¡¯s the plan?¡± Ziba cried out and looked down to find a rock to hurl at Troy. ¡°There¡¯s a small port at Ho-Kar Fort,¡± Hermes explained. ¡°They trade with all manner of people. We take a boat from there to Lai Zel-Ka or Ta-Ne.¡± ¡°Tsuparin might intercept us and the boats stop to Fu De-Gar either way,¡± Troy argued. ¡°How about the Sopat?¡± Ziba wiped her nose with the back of her hand. She had wrapped her shawl over the boy¡¯s shoulders. ¡°What did Ballard say, you stupid puffed-up dork?¡± She asked him hoarsely. ¡°Because he must have given you instructions.¡± While Troy disagreed with her description of him he did admire her courage and spirit so he let it slide. Then again she had hours to deal with the news and a child to save, he thought. Ugh. He sighed deeply. ¡°He was dying Ziba. Didn¡¯t say much.¡± A big rock smacked him on the chest denting the armour and Troy stumbled back with a pained groan landing on his arse. ¡°You¡¯ve let him die?¡± She hissed, eyes ogling menacingly. ¡°I couldn¡¯t¡­¡± Troy cursed as he felt guilty about the whole thing already and stood up grabbing at his chest. ¡°He told me to get you back, the boy that is. That¡¯s what I¡¯m struggling with these past weeks!¡± ¡°Cut the crap Troy!¡± Ziba snarled. ¡°I¡¯ve witnessed your struggles firsthand!¡± ¡°It was part of the plan damn it!¡± Troy snapped irate. ¡°I did it for you!¡± ¡°You fucked Luna for me? Give me that sword Hermes,¡± Ziba hissed. ¡°You¡¯re not getting a blade lass,¡± Hermes retorted and Ziba groaned in frustration afore turning her eyes on the miffed Troy. ¡°What were his words?¡± She asked. ¡°I told you,¡± Troy murmured. ¡°Tell me again,¡± Ziba countered. ¡°Ballard never uttered a word with no reason.¡± Troy worked his tongue over his front teeth, puffed out at the end of it and stared at Hermes for help. ¡°Don¡¯t look at me,¡± the old gladiator told him. ¡°It¡¯s your gods darn plan. I''m still waiting for it to kick in.¡± ¡°Fine, he said I should bring him home,¡± Troy said tiredly. ¡°Or something.¡± ¡°Home where?¡± Hermes asked a little perturbed. ¡°Back in Ballard,¡± Ziba said sadly and hugged her torso with both arms. The outfit she had on not sufficient for the chilly night. ¡°That¡¯s in Lesia. Eh,¡± she gasped and then started sobbing, her body shuddering violently. Hermes breathed in through the nose pursing his wrinkled mouth even more and cast his eye on the numb Troy austerely. ¡°Lesia is east,¡± he reminded him. ¡°I know,¡± Troy grunted. ¡°We could see if there¡¯s another way,¡± Hermes continued and moved the boy carefully wrapping his maimed hand around its body. Troy rubbed his face with both hands hard and then stared at the crying Ziba. ¡°Give her a moment?¡± He asked the older gladiator that had moved the boy on the mule. ¡°No,¡± Hermes rejoined gruffly. ¡°Get her on that saddle.¡±
Troy, Hermes and Ziba-Ra with the Jackal¡¯s son in tow traveled west following the coastal road. The desert reaching all the way to the shores after the first couple of days and nights, the terrain leading them to a narrow strip of land full of rocks and clusters of thorny cactuses. The turn after it named Mist¡¯s Cries Coast but the small cape known as Luzi Ho-Kar. The land of the ¡®Drunk Beings¡¯, mostly due to the heavy production and consumption of the viscous milk-colored wine the locals were famous for. And their goats of course.
The goat gawked at the sprawled on the ground Troy menacingly. With a groan of frustration the gladiator rolled on the gravel-infested terrain and jumped on his feet again. He eyed Hermes and Ziba still on their mounts, the latter commenting sourly. ¡°Use your thick head next time. You might knock it out cold.¡± Troy clenched his jaw and circled the sneaky goat, dagger in hand. The animal snorted and lithely jumped around repositioning itself and then launched forward again. Furious as a desert imp and spry as a rabbit. Troy swung with the blade, got it on the hardened forehead slicing a piece of keratinous horn away but lost the blade in the process. Then the goat smacked him on the stomach and doubled him over. Troy jerked aside as the animal swung his horns to get him again and kicked it right at the mouth sending it tumbling down. Cursing under his breath he stood up, retrieved his dagger and walked up to the stunned animal, murder in his eyes. He grabbed the whining goat by the throat and glanced at Ziba in frustration, the Lorian former slave pointing a finger behind him. Troy turned his head around, spotted the tanned Cofol with the wild hair over a sullen face looking at him and smacked his dry lips. ¡°Who are you?¡± He growled. ¡°Dudu,¡± the local said, worn-out sandals on his dirty feet and a long crooked staff on his shoulders. ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°Troy?¡± The gladiator retorted and heard the clopping of many feet as about a hundred goats appeared behind Dudu. Blehhehehe Blaahhehee BLEEHEHEHE! ¡°What are you doing to the goat Troy?¡± Dudu asked when the goats calmed down and Troy got up releasing the one he¡¯d captured. ¡°I thought it was a wild one,¡± Troy mumbled and sheathed the dagger on his waist. ¡°You¡¯re a goat hunter? People hunt goats now?¡± Dudu queried curious and used his left hand to bring a flask he had hanging from his neck to his mouth. Tipped it and glugged down its contents while waiting for Troy¡¯s answer. ¡°I¡¯m a gladiator,¡± Troy replied scrunching his face annoyed. ¡°You hunt people. Hmm. People don¡¯t do that around here,¡± he warned him calmly. ¡°We¡¯re looking for Luzi Ho-Kar fort and the port,¡± Troy grunted less calm. ¡°It¡¯s an old tower,¡± Dudu corrected him in the same serene manner. ¡°The fort. A village around it, some farms. Goats.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Troy showed him his teeth in a friendly snarl. ¡°The port¡­¡± ¡°Not much of it,¡± Dudu cut him off and whistled for the goats to gather as they had spread out too far. The one that had escaped Troy giving him a bump on the leg afore jumping away. ¡°But boats come, bring stuff. Some ships. Buy cheese, Hokar wine.¡± ¡°Is the village far?¡± Troy asked. ¡°An hour on foot.¡± ¡°I¡¯m looking to get a ship out of the Peninsula.¡± ¡°Where to?¡± ¡°Lesia?¡± ¡°Where¡¯s that?¡± The goat herder asked and sat down cross-legged. ¡°I¡¯m in a hurry,¡± Troy grunted and sighed when Dudu just shrugged his shoulders indifferently. ¡°It¡¯s far to the east. Like across Eplas and beyond.¡± ¡°Rain Minas,¡± Dudu said and closed his eyes, arms resting on his staff he¡¯d positioned across his legs. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± A perturbed Troy queried this time. ¡°Where you need to go,¡± Dudu replied his eyes closed as if in deep meditation, nose wiggling once to get rid of an annoying large fly that had landed on it. Troy nodded unsure and looked at the others, the small boy watching the goats fascinated being the happiest of their group. The gladiator turned towards the goat herder again but Dudu had fallen asleep and offered him no more help.
Troy reached Luzi Ho-Kar ten days or thereabouts after escaping Fu De-Gar. He boarded a ship there four weeks later. Apparently ships rarely stopped at the small village port. It was a pirate ship, but its name the gladiator didn¡¯t remember years later. He remembered the old captain though, an unsavory fellow named Horace and his one-eyed dog. Horace eagerly agreed to transport them to Rain Minas with the promise that Troy would vouch for him with the local authorities. Troy assured him that he would. He shared some tales of the arena and the mighty Chiliad with the colorful crew. A Gish named Abrix took a liking to young Emerson. He showed him how to tie nautical knots and drink rum but the latter his mother forbid. She hunted the Gish around the boat much to the crew¡¯s amusement and beat him senseless a couple of times until Abrix promised to stop. It was an uneventful journey other than that and losing a couple of men from the crew. They had died in their sleep, face turned white as snow and their blood to water, but Horace had reassured Ziba-Ra it wasn¡¯t a matter of some decease spreading about. ¡®Yer not in any danger lass,¡¯ the old pirate declared obviously well-versed in medical matters and his dog had barked once in agreement backing him up. ¡®Folk just up and die sometimes. It happens in all ships,¡¯ Horace had added and that was that. So they had tossed the sailors overboard to feed the sharks following the ship and forgot about the whole affair. The first time Ziba-Ra witnessed a Zilan she fainted. It wasn¡¯t her fault. Apparently locals had been impressed by the pretty former slave that could speak Imperial and had used too much ¡®magic¡¯ on her. Hermes who suspected the alluring locals all along felt vindicated by the incident and Troy decided to put the matter to a ¡®live¡¯ test which infuriated Ziba-Ra even more. Asmudius The Titan of Novesium -an honest account- Chapter V ¡®A port in Wetull¡¯
407. Tales of the Peninsula | Aftermath (4/4)
Death can be a choice. But with Life, one can¡¯t gamble. - Bakufu Segun Zemim* Last leader of Tull Cautara-Magor Circa 78 IC (First Era) *Ancient Cofol for Prime (of all) Leader (First General), Sesei Segun being the lower rank (Master General) Musha (Warrior) the lowest. The Ancient Cofol language had more in common with the Old Imperial (not the later Court Imperial though it had traces of the defunct esoteric Witch Tongue of Cydonia Cazan) than the Common Language used by the Horselords of Eplas that was closer to Lorian Common used on Jelin by both the Lorians and the Issirs with slight variations.
Arguen Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Lord of Morn Taras Monarch of Wetull King beyond the Pale Mountains Aniculo Rokae
Tales of the Peninsula | Aftermath Part IV -The Swordmasters of Cautara-
Act I -The Old Gods- ¡°Gratitude for the welcome my friend,¡± Chubin Amin said to Phon-Iv Sopat. ¡°You carry the wounds of a warrior.¡± ¡°Well, I rather I didn¡¯t,¡± Phon replied with a grimace and they grasped elbows. He glanced at the group of men and women waiting under the sun. ¡°There¡¯s sufficient shade for everyone. Please join us.¡± They had set up an open-walled tent like a pavilion at the center of the camped caravan. The smaller procession that had come with Chubin Amin numbering around two hundred armed men and women. Cofols, but with higher cheek bones and more austere faces even for their females. The men had heavy armour on, riveted small plates secured on leather and made into heavy cuirasses with prominent shoulder pads out of the same material. A leather skirt extended to the knees over rough-hemp pants. Most men had half-face helms on, protecting the jaw and nose, shaped cruder than the full-face mask of the Zilan Rokae and the Khan¡¯s Cataphracts. The three women¡¯s faces were painted gold but for the lips and eyes that were black. All had their black hair fixed in tight buns. They wore kimono-style robes of different colors ¨Cred, black and yellow- with leg coverings made out of white strips of cloth and carried a long-staffed polearm-type sword on their backs. In stark contrast with the other Cofol females they stared Phon-Iv straight in the eyes. Glen, who was standing under the large ¨Cfive by five- pavilion¡¯s shade as he¡¯d turned crispy-enough after days of traveling with the caravan, perused the gentle-curved single-edged blade swords with the long-grip they called Kata-Cim with interest. He¡¯d seen them depicted in wall-reliefs inside the Crimson Palace ruins along other types of Imperial swords. Four armed men and three women accompanied the similarly dressed Chubin Amin under the shade where Foreal offered folded chairs for all. Hesam, Samak and Asmudius were watching with their men closely. The slaver had asked to be released from contract to pursue a career in finer arts but Phon had told him that until they had returned to Lai Zel-Ka he was still employed, though he could stop paying him if Asmudius so wished. Asmudius had flatly refused to work for free. ¡®Working for free,¡¯ he¡¯d stated half-jokingly. ¡®Is like being a full-time slave but with the benefits of a homeless person. Out of respect for my family¡¯s longtime slave-capturing history, I refuse my lord.¡¯ ¡°Ahm,¡± Phon-Iv said looking at his guests. ¡°Chubin I appreciate the effort, but I must say it comes a bit late in the game.¡± ¡°Is the war over?¡± Chubin asked and sat on his chair, Phon following his example. Glen remained standing, his back on the wooden pole at the west corner of the pavilion behind Phon-Iv and so did the rest of the newcomers from Cautara. The men at the front and their women or girls ¨CGlen couldn¡¯t tell their age with all that wall-paint on- at the back. One of the armed women turned her lightly slanted eyes on him, the light-brown color more prominent inside all that black makeup. ¡°Prince Nout is dead,¡± Phon-Iv replied. ¡°This means Atpa has ascended as heir. It¡¯s not confirmed, the Khan is indisposed and in the middle of campaign but Atpa¡¯s actions dictate he¡¯ll be the next Khan. So we talk with him.¡± ¡°A truce?¡± Chubin Amin asked. ¡°You must have inflicted great harm upon them.¡± ¡°The Chiliad did and Lord Garth,¡± Phon-Iv replied modestly. Glen turned his eyes on Chubin Amin and nodded lightly. When he returned them on the Cofol female Glen noticed one of the Cautara warriors staring his way. They all did. Ah. ¡°Lord Garth, is the wise Monarch of Wetull, a great ally, close friend and part of my family,¡± Phon-Iv introduced him, milking the fuck out of it and Chubin Amin nodded seemingly impressed. The rest of them had masks on and Glen only got a raised brow from a woman standing furthest from him. Her eyes a bright green. Glen wondered whether the paint would run if they were left standing under the sun for too long and they would have to reapply it. Ye got to have a drum of the stuff someplace. Hopefully it¡¯s drinkable in case ye run out of water, ha-ha. ¡°We offer greetings to the Monarch of Wetull,¡± Chubin Amin said formally and Glen gave another slight nod with his head. He didn¡¯t know these people and didn¡¯t trust them. ¡°That¡¯s nice,¡± Phon-Iv said pleased to get the difficult part out of the way, but the man that had stared at Glen earlier stooped his head near a robust warrior, they spoke briefly in whispers and then he turned to face Phon-Iv again. ¡°Sesei Segun Atrusim,¡± the Cofol said in an abrupt angry tone with a very heavy accent. ¡°Asks.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± Phon-Iv probed a little uncomfortable. ¡°This is Sesei Segun Daichim,¡± Chubin Amin helped. ¡°Right,¡± Phon said and clasped both hands on his cane stooping forward. ¡°Go ahead Sesei.¡± Apparently just honorifics, Glen thought. ¡°Lord Keeper of what?¡± Daichim barked. ¡°Ahm,¡± Phon stood back. ¡°I¡¯m not sure¡­¡± ¡°A Wyvern,¡± Glen replied looking at Daichim and then pointed an arm at the sky. Uvrycres was busy so he got no special sound effect this time. Damnit Uvry. The warriors conversed among themselves for a while and then Daichim turned to Chubin Amin. ¡°Sesei Segun Abadaim,¡± he woofed. ¡°Cautara won¡¯t fight for a beastmaster. It is dishonorable.¡± ¡°We are not,¡± Chubin Amin grunted in the same tone. ¡°Lord Garth is a friend.¡± ¡°Friends fight for no reward other than gratitude and to receive the God of Heavens blessing!¡± Atrusim gruffly admonished him speaking aloud for the first time. He sounded like a much older guy under the helm. Glen went to speak but all three women bowed deeply at his words and uttered a quick prayer so he paused a little amused. And impressed as they had folded at the waist in unison, the tips of their polearm-swords touching the ground. Whoop. Whoa. ¡°Chubin¡­ ehm, Abadaim?¡± Phon started unsure. ¡°I have taken a boorish name upon receiving the Horselord¡¯s rank,¡± Chubin grunted. ¡°Of course. Well, color me uncouth but my family has a long tradition as well and I assure you Lord Garth¡¯s¡ª¡± Atrusim murmured something. Phon sit back on his chair, his cane tapping at the ground angrily. ¡°Yes Sesei?¡± ¡°Sesei Segun¡ª¡± Daichim started Phon interrupting him through gritted teeth. ¡°Get on with it!¡± ¡°Merchants,¡± Daichim retorted gruffly and then spat on the ground. He did it without a projectile just as a gesture of disgust. Phon-Iv¡¯s rose-painted cheeks turned white and he almost dropped his cane. He couldn¡¯t speak mostly from anger but a bit of shock as well. Atrusim stepped forward and bowed once at the Lord of Lai Zel-Ka. ¡°Apologies. We are guests. But you know merchants have no honor Sopat of Zai Zel-Ka. So the truth has been heard.¡± ¡°While dishonorable in your eyes,¡± Phon started, speaking with difficulty. ¡°Nevertheless, the Sopat have never broken a contract. I take pride in that Atrusim.¡± ¡°Yet,¡± the old warrior retorted gruffly and returned to his spot. Phon smacked his dry lips and glared at Foreal. The slave rushed to bring him a cup of cool scented chamomile with honey. Phon drunk it all to calm himself down and then wiped his mouth with a soft towel the slave held for him. ¡°Let us eat first,¡± he decided with a groan. ¡°Can we do that?¡± He asked his guests with a smirk. ¡°Talk later.¡±
¡°What are they quarreling about milord?¡± Fluke asked, the Chiliad¡¯s tent built next to the army camp. A sole large but simple pavilion outside the caravan wagons circle, in the space left by the mercenary army¡¯s square camp. About thirty of them had gathered and were eating their meal of biscuits and watery rise. ¡°Semantics and old grievances,¡± Glen replied with a shrug. ¡°Is this spot free?¡± He asked and sat down when the gladiator nodded it was, cross-legged and with knees creaking. ¡°Are ye the one they call Asper?¡± Glen asked the scar-faced wiry Cofol with the hard eyes sitting next to Fluke. ¡°I am. Are you the Wyvern Lord?¡± ¡°Yeah, you can say that I reckon and not be wrong. You led the Chiliad?¡± Asper crooked his mouth and glanced at Zanot. Beskar, the gladiator with the Hoplite-type cuirass -without Glen¡¯s fancy adornments- sitting at the near also. Kelly was talking with a couple of gladiators and the annoying Asmudius in another group nearby. ¡°Lots of leaders. Mista Savar had command of the Chiliad.¡± ¡°I bet he did. His name was Emerson. A knight of the Three Kingdoms and a nobleman.¡± ¡°Not for us milord,¡± Asper replied with a grimace. ¡°He was a champion and a gladiator first and foremost.¡± Glen nodded and looked inside his large bag. He found a bottle of rosy Goras wine and got it out. ¡°Let¡¯s make a toast to Mista Savar,¡± Glen said and took a sip from the bottle before offering it to the gladiator. Asper took it, poured some in his cup and passed it around. ¡°It¡¯s a nice wine,¡± he commented. ¡°Yeah,¡± Fluke agreed after tasting it. Glen found another bottle in his sack and got it out. Tossed it to Beskar and the man caught it, uncorked the bottle with his teeth. Then he passed that bottle around as well. ¡°The most expensive wine I¡¯ve ever had,¡± Glen started reminiscing. ¡°Was a bottle of red Flauegran in Rida¡¯s port. Aye. Paid a gold coin for that thing. This wine is better.¡± ¡°That¡¯s an expensive bottle to share milord,¡± Fluke noted shaking the bottle and pouring the rest in his cup. ¡°Phon imports it but doesn¡¯t favor wine himself so he gifts it. He gave me a couple of bottles yesterday,¡± Glen replied and pushed himself up. Sitting on the ground was an activity he had weaned out of his system. ¡°There are people passionate about it but for me it¡¯s just wine. The value of things changes depending on who you¡¯re talking.¡± Asper nodded and even Janot the sober Issir seemed to agree. ¡°Emerson the knight wasn¡¯t important to me as much as the man himself. Same as it is for you I guess,¡± Glen continued hoarsely. ¡°And it¡¯s heart-warming to find the man still remembered as a person and not a political figure or pawn.¡± ¡°To Mista Savar!¡± Janot said getting up as well and the rest followed him with a loud cheer. ¡°The old friend and the gladiator I never got to know,¡± Glen added emotionally and got a thunderous response out of the small group. ¡°To the Jackal!¡± Kelly screamed but it turned into a yelp when Janot grabbed her by the waist and lifted the small-bodied young teenager high enough for her outstretched arms to touch the ceiling. Everyone seemed enthused by the scene for some reason, an invisible bond tying all those different men and women together.
¡°Kelly will come to Wetull,¡± Glen said some time later glancing at the flushed girl tasting his wine. ¡°She¡¯ll be safe there and free. I¡¯ll take care she builds a life in my court.¡± ¡°How is she going to get there Lord Garth?¡± Asper asked. ¡°A ship. From Lai Zel-Ka,¡± Glen replied readily as he¡¯d already put that into motion. ¡°How¡¯s Wetull?¡± Janot asked and Beskar next to him took the bottle from Kelly¡¯s hands. ¡°No worse than this place. Much greener,¡± Glen replied. ¡°But I¡¯ve a mostly empty castle and she can live there for as long as she likes.¡± ¡°Want to live in a Castle Kelly?¡± Beskar asked her and she chuckled afore frowning thinking on his query. ¡°Why? You don¡¯t think I could?¡± ¡°Not what I was meaning,¡± the gladiator grunted. ¡°Of course I would!¡± Kelly screamed a bit inebriated. ¡°What about you mister Fluke?¡± Glen asked with a smile. ¡°I¡¯ll return to the camp milord. The more people I get into the Chiliad the better,¡± Fluke replied and Janot nodded agreeing. ¡°I¡¯m not going back there,¡± Asper grunted. ¡°I¡¯ve done it afore and ended up a slave in the sands again.¡± ¡°Why did you do it?¡± Glen asked. ¡°To be close with my brother, buy him out. But I got suckered by some sneaky cunts and ended up owing a lot of coin. So they tossed me back into the arena.¡± ¡°Your brother?¡± ¡°Killed. When ¡®Sweet¡¯ Sylia died aye,¡± Asper grimaced and taking the bottle finished off the last of Glen¡¯s wine. ¡°That was Toros¡¯ mate.¡± ¡°The man that went to the lake?¡± Glen asked remembering the name and Asper nodded. ¡°Anyone here fought with Emerson?¡± ¡°Qathor and Troy knew him better, won the games with the Jackal,¡± Beskar replied. ¡°The Ani Ta-Ne Ludi. Ziba was from there as well, but Troy was his closest friend.¡± ¡°Yep,¡± Fluke agreed, everyone nodding. ¡°That the guy that got lost in them woods?¡± Glen asked. ¡°Nobody knows what happened to Troy,¡± Asper said. ¡°But there¡¯s no way he¡¯s dead.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I saw him jump from a saddle onto a charging war chariot,¡± Fluke replied ogling his eyes. ¡°He didn¡¯t die in the woods.¡± Right. Glen glanced at the pensive Asper. ¡°Kelly will need an escort,¡± he told him and Asper stood back with a frown. ¡°To protect her in the journey,¡± he added unsure on what the gladiator had understood. ¡°Thought she was going on a ship?¡± ¡°Yeah but it¡¯s a big journey after that,¡± Glen replied smacking his lips. ¡°It¡¯s a paying job.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do it,¡± Beskar volunteered and wrapped his big arm around a screaming Kelly¡¯s wild head. Asmudius chuckled finding it funny and Glen eyed the nosy slaver warningly. ¡°What happens after that?¡± Asper asked. ¡°You¡¯ll find work in Goras. I¡¯ve a Zilan that could use your expertise,¡± Glen assured him thinking of Folen. ¡°Will Kelly work for him too?¡± ¡°No,¡± Glen replied quickly. ¡°He¡¯s a wicked creature.¡± ¡°I see. What does he do?¡± Asper ain¡¯t stupid, Glen thought. ¡°He¡¯s a member of my Council,¡± Glen admitted and shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Someone has to do the dirty jobs.¡± And there were jobs even dirtier than that. ¡°Indeed,¡± Asper agreed and spat in his hand, afore tending it to Glen. Fuck¡¯s sake, he thought but took the gladiator¡¯s calloused hand in his. Glen¡¯s steely grip impressed the wiry man. ¡°The Jackal¡¯s squire,¡± he said raspingly and Glen nodded much moved for he understood the sentiment behind the words. ¡°Yeah. It makes sense.¡±
Glen walked back towards the wagons after a while, carrying the heavy sack over his shoulder and his boots sinking in the soft sand. One of the Nina-Musha, which meant female warrior, the one with the light-brown eyes stood with her back turned at the caravan guards and watched him return. Glen paused trying to remember her name, Chubin had introduce everyone, but the gold paint was distracting. He also hadn¡¯t interacted with them at all as the conversation had devolved into another quarrel and Glen had decided to leave the table. ¡°It¡¯s Rena, means a blossoming Lotus,¡± she explained, her voice that of a much younger woman. Not over eighteen. ¡°Sure,¡± Glen replied. ¡°Something you want Rena?¡± ¡°I¡¯m curious,¡± Rena blurted and bowed her head. ¡°Apologies.¡± ¡°What about?¡± ¡°Why would the Monarch of Wetull reside with the slaves?¡± She asked. ¡°They are freedmen. Friends of a dear friend. Is it not sufficient?¡± ¡°My query has been answered.¡± Glen pursed his mouth. ¡°Why paint yer face?¡± He asked in turn. ¡°Make it shine and cast evil thoughts away. The Light of Heavens touches all.¡± Glen stared at the noon sun burning over their heads. ¡°Which god is that? Nesande is the moon, Oras too I guess. That the sun lass?¡± ¡°Only two forces are important,¡± Rena replied fervently. ¡°The Light above and the darkness of the ¡®Others¡¯.¡± ¡°The others being?¡± ¡°Only wicked souls speak their names. They shan¡¯t be named.¡± Glen smacked his lips. ¡°We got a bunch of different gods in Wetull,¡± he started. ¡°Three main let¡¯s say. Another five on Jelin. The rest of Eplas kind of prays to all. It¡¯s a bit of a mess. Then there¡¯s the painted God who I¡¯m not really enthusiastic about and you girl are painted like a Zilan attending Valimae Lilt.¡± ¡°The ¡®Others¡¯,¡± Rena replied soberly and Glen spotted Chubin Amin/Abadaim approaching them. ¡°Shan¡¯t be mentioned.¡± ¡°Rena is intrigued Lord Garth,¡± Chubin said with a smile. He was about forty-five maybe a bit older but his hair was still mostly black. ¡°We all are but circumstances leave little time for polite conversation.¡± ¡°This is a good moment Lord Chubin.¡± ¡°Possibly it is. The Khan stripped me of the tittle by the way,¡± Chubin replied and shook his head. ¡°He probably regrets offering it in the first place.¡± ¡°Reckon he regrets taking it away as well,¡± Glen commented wryly and Chubin chuckled. ¡°A King with a sense of humor,¡± he said and nodded. ¡°I was being serious,¡± Glen retorted a little amused. ¡°But sure.¡± Chubin Amin smiled and then stared at the two camps for a long moment. ¡°You¡¯ll keep Ani Ta-Ne,¡± he finally said. ¡°I¡¯m not giving it to Tsuparin or anyone else,¡± Glen replied sobering up. ¡°I need a port I control fully.¡± ¡°You have the Sopat. Phon never misses an opportunity to remind us of the fact.¡± ¡°Too far away. It¡¯s Phon¡¯s city, I won¡¯t take it from him.¡± ¡°Is there another reason?¡± ¡°There is but it¡¯s personal,¡± Glen said. Chubin nodded and stared at the silent Rena. He grimaced and crossed both arms on his chest over his robes. ¡°I interrupted your talk,¡± the Cofol finally said. ¡°You should speak to Akira. She¡¯s a Priestess of Light or Kana who is much older. Rena is just starting. They finish weapon-training first.¡± ¡°Is that all they do?¡± ¡°We work the fields,¡± Rena replied. Glen snorted and smacked his lips. ¡°What do the men do?¡± ¡°Work the fields and build weapons.¡± ¡°All of them?¡± Glen asked. ¡°Life is struggle but not if you work hard,¡± Rena blurted out. That was the worst saying Glen had heard. It had meaning to it but good grief people! ¡°Why are Cofol different?¡± He asked. ¡°All people are,¡± Chubin replied. ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± Glen nodded. ¡°Some thrive in trade or farming. Fewer in prayer and histories. Even less than that follow the old traditions and choose to remain isolated. Content and unwilling to change. Wetull understood that and respected it,¡± Chubin paused and reached inside his robes. He found a small ebony box secured on a weapon harness he had underneath and got it out. He opened the lid and fished two ancient pieces of jewelry out. Two pendants one gold and one platinum with their chains tied in a knot. A golden leaf wrapped around it. Glen accepted the pendants curious and tried to read the tiny scribblings on the leaf. The script Imperial. He couldn¡¯t and examined the two figures. One of two bees wrapped around a gold disk with two smaller disks under it. The other the unmistakable figure of a wyvern. ¡°It¡¯s faded,¡± Chubin said. ¡°Because it¡¯s very old. Atrusim took it with him afore we departed.¡± He placed a finger on the gold pendant. ¡°The Light of Heavens,¡± Chubin said. ¡°The scribbling used to read to Shaelor and Gilvaris, the old. It was a gift brought back when Shaelor returned, our ancestors took with them when they left years later.¡± ¡°There is a tall peak named Gilvaris in Wetull,¡± Glen murmured thoughtfully. ¡°Right at the mouth of Torn Earth. The south bank of the canal.¡± ¡°Wetull recognized the name as well and left Cautara and Magor alone,¡± Chubin replied. ¡°Atrusim won¡¯t ask for it but I know how this world works better so I will.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not here to negotiate on Phon¡¯s behalf,¡± Glen noticed. ¡°Phon can do that for himself. My duty is to my people Lord Garth.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t the rest of the Cofol your people?¡± ¡°They are but they value different things and reject their past. I don¡¯t fear for their survival in this world. Cautara is easier to discard than gold and servitude.¡± ¡°You said left afore. Left from where?¡± Glen asked now intrigued. ¡°Where most gods and peoples came,¡± Rena replied as if reciting from memory. ¡°The Old Realms.¡± ¡°How many are there?¡± Glen asked and Chubin shrugged his shoulders not wanting to elaborate. ¡°Wetull, Mistland and Tull Cautara-Magor,¡± he started and Rena recited despite the older man¡¯s grimace of discomfort. ¡°White Yalca and the Split Isles. The Burning Sands beyond the Round Sea of Galith and the Desolate Atolls of the Alafern.¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough Rena. You talk too much,¡± Chubin stopped her austerely. ¡°Wetull knows of these places.¡± Glen didn¡¯t. Wetull had been blown to smithereens and while a lot of stuff had survived a big chunk of it hadn¡¯t. ¡°Can you use that?¡± He asked Rena to lighten the mood. ¡°It¡¯s a Naginata.¡± ¡°Whatever rocks yer boat girl,¡± Glen retorted with a smirk. Rena scrunched her face, the paint cracking and stood back. ¡°Lord Garth,¡± Chubin said and stared at the Atrusim with Daichim approaching. They didn¡¯t have their helms on. Daichim was about forty with Atrusim looking ancient. While they had difference in age their faces held similar scowls. The other two females stood further behind them and were glaring daggers at Rena. Uvrycres who hadn¡¯t graced them with his appearance for a day decided to land twenty meters away which was fortunate but flapped his large wings back and forth several times which wasn¡¯t. A cloud of dust was raised, fine grit and some larger stones in it and it all came dousing the gathered group breaking the moment. Hah-ha. Ha-ah ha-ha-ha. Heh. The wyvern chuckled uncontrollably as he¡¯d done it on purpose but it came out as a prolonged shriek and the armed Cofols from Cautara stepped back from a thoroughly covered in dust Glen. ¡°Dude,¡± Glen grunted then blew his nose to clear the nostrils. ¡°What in Luthos¡¯ bullocks are ye doing?¡± Backing you up, the wyvern replied. Look at them angry fools. Glen let out a deep sigh and fixed the wild white curls dropped on his face some, with little success. At least he got rid of some of the material and dirt lodged in it. He worked a finger under his collar to get some of the sand out and then turned to the staring group. ¡°There¡¯s no need for alarm,¡± he started with his recurrent but of historically low-success opening and when that didn¡¯t work as everyone appeared tensed as if they had swallowed a ton of fucks, Glen added. ¡°It was just an innocent query.¡± ¡°The Monarch of Wetull will seek to challenge a young Nina-Musha first?¡± Daichim spat and Uvrycres growled menacingly despite Glen turning to wave for him to stay out of it. The Wyvern nodded and gave him a conspiratorial wink. ¡°It was just a question,¡± Glen repeated grinding his teeth. ¡°How about giving me the proper order ye scowling prick?¡± Now this was a bad turn of phrase. Glen knew it the moment he uttered it. Not the cursing part but the opening. Ye don¡¯t do that with unknown folk for they might be inclined to make counter-offer. And Daichim did.
¡°A beast master¡¯s challenge?¡± Daichim asked. ¡°Nothing attached to it?¡± Glen licked his dirty lips then spat down to gain some time. Shit. Fuck! ¡°Sure,¡± he grunted narrowing his eyes. Daichim stepped forward with a glance at the frowned Atrusim. ¡°Sesei Segun,¡± he started and the old warrior spat. ¡°Get on with it.¡± Daichim bowed his head sharply and slotted the half-mask helm on his head. Reached around his back with his left arm and grabbed the scabbard hanging low from there, brought it out and sideways unfastening the front clasp, then unsheathed the long bladed Katacim sword out with a fluid move using his right hand. He kept the blade away while completely removing the scabbard and giving it to Atrusim. Glen all but groaned in frustration when Daichim turned to face him and bowed once more respectfully towards the King of Wetull this time. ¡°Sesei Atrusim,¡± Chubin said calmly. ¡°This is a very bad idea. You¡¯ll risk Wetull¡¯s wrath or the Wyvern¡¯s?¡± ¡°Lord Garth asked for the challenge,¡± Atrusim replied soberly. ¡°Cursed we be all to all-hells if a fool sits the throne of Wetull and controls a wyvern.¡± Ugh? Choke on a bag of dicks old dog! ¡°Atrusim,¡± Chubin insisted his face turning red. ¡°Have Daichim forfeit the duel. We need not spill blood at this crucial junction!¡± ¡°Abadaim has lived with the merchants for too long,¡± Atrusim rustled angrily. ¡°Fear grips his soul and fouls his thoughts. You all but begged for our assistance and we begrudgingly agreed!¡± ¡°My lord,¡± a flushed Chubin said turning to a grimacing Glen. ¡°You can back down from this.¡±This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. A collective gasp came out of the crowd slowly gathering to see the Wyvern, but staying around realizing there was a bigger spectacle coming. Some of it curiosity, the rest of it fear. ¡°No Monarch ever would,¡± Daichim grunted glumly. Oh, boy, Glen thought and eyed the sturdy warrior. Yer dumber than a bag of nails mate. ¡°Lord Garth,¡± Chubin insisted again and Glen started sweating under the sun, the scrutiny of the crowd getting to him. ¡°Death can be a choice Lord of Wetull,¡± Atrusim said seeing him unsure. ¡°But with Life, one can¡¯t gamble.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a gamble,¡± Glen grunted and puffed his cheeks out. ¡°You¡¯ll lose your man and the wyvern will lay waste to the whole camp.¡± ¡°A beast master would use the wyvern,¡± Atrusim yielded but then added just to be an annoying prick. ¡°A noble King his sword.¡± Not in this realm fool, Glen thought but the man¡¯s words and the judgmental stares of the crowd got to him and he nodded, a spasm of annoyance at the predicament distorting his face. ¡°A sword it is then,¡± Glen replied hoarsely and kicked the sack away with his right foot to make room. So, what¡¯s the new plan? Uvrycres asked in his head. Stay out of it, Glen retorted. ¡®Stay out of it¡¯ and sneakily poke him with the stinger? No. Stay out of it period, Glen snapped.
He raised his left arm high to ask for a moment. Then he worked all the muscles on his arms and kicked with his legs down a couple of times. Hopped back and forth to get a feel for the sandy terrain. Worked on his fingers one by one. Satisfied Glen unsheathed the longsword from his back and flipped it once in his hand. ¡°A helm my Lord?¡± Chubin asked sounding concerned. The three Nina-Musha gathered in a group and Akira giving each a couple of flat polished wood sticks a couple of feet long. ¡°It¡¯s in the sack,¡± Glen replied. ¡°I can¡¯t breathe in this heat.¡± Atrusim narrowed his eyes and then turned to glare at Rena that had let out a small gasp. By the time his stare returned on Glen the latter had moved to attack Daichim. POW CLACK POW-POW The sticks went as Glen made two steps and slashed wide at the unmoving Daichim. The Jackal¡¯s sword whooshed, the Segun¡¯s blade snapping at the last moment to block it. The blades clanged and Glen pulled back expecting a riposte but the Segun just repositioned a meter to his left. He brought both arms on the elongated handle. POW CLACK POW-POW Went the sticks, the three women keeping the animalistic tempo and the crowd watching entranced. Come on ye slow-moving lump of metal, Glen thought circling on light feet around the continuously repositioning Segun. He faked a right low attack and then angled it up mid-way, the sword whistling but getting parried again, fat sparks erupting out of the steel blades. POW CLACK POW-POW Daichim brought his left foot forward, tip of his boot digging at the sand. Glen flipped the sword in his hand then changed the grip on it, sweat rivulets running down both his temples and the sun irritating for the eyes. So he kept moving to keep the sun on his back and on the Segun¡¯s face. MOVE! Glen blasted his stalling opponent and decided to strike when Daichim repositioned again. One stride. Two strides and he felt the sun burning on his nape. POW CLACK POW-POW Daichim moved his Katacim, the polished blade turning slightly and the sun running the length of it from point to blade collar above the square guard. Segun¡¯s right shoulder twitched and Glen moved forward aiming for an arching low-high center mass slash. A ball of light exploded in his eyes mid-move. Glen grunted, flipped the sword in his hand changing its trajectory from attack to defense in the blind and followed it with his head. Eyes smarting and filled with tears. The Katacim found his blade before it found Glen¡¯s head, slid on the flat sword and then dipped when Daichim angled up both wrists raising the handle going for the neck. Glen was already twisting and diving for a slanted roll the other way. POW CLACK POW-POW He found the scolding sands with the elbow, his right arm slashing backwards at the attacking Segun that was suddenly fast on his feet. Glen bounced off of the soft ground with the help of his arm, took one more step back, his sword parrying a sharp lunge and then jerking his neck away instinctively from an incoming hack, the Katacim biting on his left shoulder pad. Glen grunted, rotated his sword in front of him like a watermill¡¯s blades and Daichim pulled back to save his arms. POW CLACK POW-POW Motherfucking¡­ whoreson, Glen cursed irate, ogling his red eyes to return some eyesight in them and jumped away, keeping Daichim in his blurry field of view. The Segun was the one circling now, Katacim protruding out of his hand like a steel rod from a wall. Or cock, Glen supposed. Can you fight without it? Daichim snapped forward, both feet thudding energetically on the sand and Glen turned, kicked a leg and unloaded half a bucket of sand on him. Then he moved as well, left hand drawing the Kopis out of its scabbard. POW CLACK POW-POW Daichim came at him again, the lunge finding the upturned Kopis and parried it aside, Glen snapping the longsword to cut him across the helm. The point clanged on the helm as the Segun had angled his head just enough to foil his attack. Daichim raised the Katacim high and hacked down, but Glen crossed both blades in front him. The steel swords resounded, someone from the crowd letting out a cry of panic and Daichim stepped back immediately to disengage. Glen went after him immediately attacking with both swords. A right hack with the longsword and a sideways slash with the Kopis he¡¯d already switched the grip on bringing it up, then down. Daichim reacted snapping his arms up to brush the longsword aside and turning his torso the Segun downed it in the same breath to smack the shorter Kopis at the handle. Looking to leave Glen fingerless. Glen let go of the Kopis, both swords dipping together for a moment, the shorter thudding on the sands but the Katacim raising again. The jumping backwards Glen had aimed his own riposte right at that rising blade. POW CLACK POW-POW The longsword found the Katacim and the force of the blow run up Glen¡¯s arm, through the shoulder, right to his clenched teeth. Daichim grunted and stumbled back, the Jackal¡¯s howl reverberating between them. Then the Segun of Cautara raised his arm and brought his sword forward again. ¡°What the actual fuck?¡± Glen cursed staring at the unbroken blade. Daichim run a finger on the flat of it and then wiped it on his pants. ¡°Thick oil,¡± he said gruffly, breathing heavy. ¡°Protects blade.¡± ¡°No shit,¡± Glen retorted and attacked again. Daichim deflected his sword away angling the Katacim and pulled back gasping to get some air into his lungs. POW CLACK POW-POW ¡°Stop Allgods darn it!¡± Glen snapped at the three females and they did. He turned to the standing in a guarded stance Daichim and puffed out tiredly. ¡°Dai you are a great swordsman,¡± Glen told him impressed and bowed his head in respect. Daichim lowered his blade and returned the bob, then added a little affronted but willing to let it slide. ¡°With all respect Lord Garth. I¡¯m a Swordmaster.¡± ¡°Then you¡¯ve given me lesson,¡± Glen replied with a sweaty smile. ¡°I wish to know more.¡± Daichim glanced at the miffed face of Atrusim and the old geese finally relaxed some then gave a slight curt nod with his grey head. ¡°It shall be mutually beneficial my Lord,¡± Daichim replied. Chubin approached immediately and picked up Glen¡¯s Kopis to return it visibly relieved. ¡°I thought this was going to end badly.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to kill him,¡± Glen replied nonchalantly and accepted the sword. ¡°Eh, I was fearing more for you my lord and that wyvern unleashing on the crowd,¡± Chubin retorted and Glen slapped his shoulder once with a grin. ¡°Seriously? You¡¯re a good man. Let me offer you a drink to ease yer worry,¡± Glen assured him and stared at the dumbfounded face of Phon-Iv that had arrived at some point during the duel. ¡°Ah, Phon there you are. I¡¯ll need a couple of more bottles of that ros¨¦ mate.¡±
The Wyvern had the size of two elephants and that of a wagon for a head. From the front all you see is that full of angles horned head. It¡¯s narrower at the snout expanding out towards the ear and has a bony rim over the eyes covered in black knobs. The scales are a very polished black, onyx in color and you can see the ground, sky or yourself reflected on them like a mirror. There¡¯s fluidity in that elongated body and the tail moves sometimes independently but with precision. I watched it lift a girl off of the ground and then return it. A jest, for the beast had a sick sense of humor. It was also exceptionally stealthy for such a big animal and silent when it wanted. At times it would look at you and you¡¯ll feel its intelligence. People might disagree in this point but what I¡¯ve seen leaves no room for another interpretation. While there are stories written about Lord Garth Aniculo and new tales always try to paint him one way or another, much of that is just an exaggeration. Contrary to popular belief the strange milk-haired man was uncommonly normal and not an alien or an ageless wizard. I believe he wasn¡¯t older than twenty-five despite his appearance. Remarkably fit, fast-moving and a skilled warrior with most weapons. Temperamental but gloomy when not in company. He shared the Wyvern¡¯s weird sense of humor, was comfortable around the survivors of the Chiliad and the rigid Swordmasters of Cautara in a bucolic or commoner¡¯s manner. Was Garth an evil bastard? Not the man I¡¯ve seen during those months. In a campaign of atrocities I had followed closely and little compassion showcased from all sides, the King of Wetull was probably the one that showed the most mercy. And common sense. He did have an oppressing aura though. It was as if a dark cloud descended upon all when he approached. Lord Garth could lift that cloud if he wanted to but sometimes he wouldn¡¯t. If the King didn¡¯t like you, you knew it and the Wyvern knew it also instinctively. The latter was the most terrifying thing. To judge the political landscape, the realm¡¯s rulers or theorize about events from afar is to stick your arms in putrid sludge and pluck a turd out. Some shall defend said turd for it is their own and others won¡¯t. But to judge the man governing the mysterious Zilan and sitting the throne of Wetull one must walk a mile in his shoes. Or attempt to sleep peacefully in the arms of the Onyx Wyvern like he did.
Act II -Who else would?- - Forty days later Last month of 193 NC Outskirts of Lai Zel-Ka Late noon Seven kilometers after the bridge over Levai River Chubin Amin shrugged his shoulders at Daichim but Glen had his eyes on the Nina-Musha sparring using their polearms and missed their interaction. It was a no-contact session with lots of fancy choreography. Kana, the black-eyed sober Cofol female was the best of the bunch but they were all very skilled and fluid in their moves. ¡°Atpa asked for time to make a decision,¡± Chubin said. ¡°Which means he¡¯s trying to secure the heir¡¯s title still.¡± ¡°Who would challenge him?¡± Atrusim asked and signed for Katsumin his pupil, along Hajim who was Daichim¡¯s shadow, to go and stop the women as it was getting late. ¡°The Khan with a word,¡± Chubin replied and Atrusim snorted. ¡°You¡¯ll find few sorcerers able to manage such a feat easily,¡± the Sesei Segun said. Being the oldest he was ranked first in a similar system like the Phalanx but also different. There was one rank above him, the Bakufu Segun or Prime Leader but there hadn¡¯t been one for millennia now as it also meant the ¡®one who leads a hundred generals¡¯ and there weren¡¯t that many Segun around. ¡°Even fewer rulers.¡± ¡°The Khan would try to make a landing on Jelin or he has done it already,¡± Chubin insisted. ¡°There¡¯s no other explanation for the delay. No one wants to talk to him about the matter in the midst of campaign and so soon after a son lost.¡± ¡°Could Atpa attempt to bring the Army of the Desert to Shao Na-Lan?¡± Daichim asked. ¡°Phon doesn¡¯t think so as his command is split and difficult to regroup.¡± Well, Phon knows more than that also, Glen thought. ¡°While the fake-cripple merchant is frequently wrong,¡± Atrusim started sourly. Rena was his daughter and Phon¡¯s latest proposal for a closer alliance was built around Don-Iv marrying her. Apparently Atrusim thought the offer nigh insulting and not only because Don-Iv had found a wife lately. He¡¯d married the daughter of Ibn-Sin Nagar, a rich clan of merchants from the west edges of the desert. Anyway that was a non-starter for the monogamous Swordmasters of Cautara but him being an immoral gambler and a hedonist, on top of a merchant was one fault too many. ¡°In this topic he may be correct,¡± he concluded, not elucidating further. ¡°Atpa won¡¯t risk it,¡± Glen agreed and Atrusim looked at him intensely. Glen didn¡¯t elucidate further as well. The old Segun grunted and nodded with his head. ¡°Right,¡± Chubin murmured a little miffed at the silent exchange. ¡°Phon could agree to keep the trade routes open, a freedom of movement out the mouth of Khanate Gulf but then there¡¯s the matter of Que Ki-La and Ta-Ne.¡± ¡°He can keep Que Ki-La,¡± Glen replied. ¡°Karit-Ki stopped at Rihtur. He might have to give that back as well.¡± ¡°Tsuparin might not agree,¡± Chubin argued. ¡°If he wanted to anger Atpa further he would have continued on. He didn¡¯t,¡± Glen replied. ¡°Karit is talking with Atpa already.¡± ¡°Do we know what they talk about?¡± Chubin asked him. ¡°Other than the missives we received from both, we don¡¯t,¡± Glen grimaced. ¡°The Khan won¡¯t talk with rebels. But with Wetull he will.¡± ¡°What else there is in those messages?¡± Atrusim asked and Glen shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Flowery language,¡± he lied. ¡°Some flowers are poisonous,¡± the Segun retorted. ¡°On that note,¡± Glen said changing the subject. ¡°I¡¯d like to spar with the Nina-Musha.¡± Daichim frowned. ¡°The King of Wetull would challenge¡ª¡± Glen stopped him raising his hand. ¡°Good grief, don¡¯t start this shite again. I just want to see their technique.¡± ¡°Rena is not that skilled,¡± Atrusim noted. ¡°I want to fight the Priestess,¡± Glen countered. ¡°Train with her¡­ was my meaning.¡± He turned his head afore they could reply towards the approaching women and smiled. ¡°Akira. I¡¯d like a demonstration.¡± The Cofol Priestess¡¯ of Light gold face remained stoic but there was a sparkle in her light green eyes. Akira was much older than Rena and Kana but Glen had the intelligence not to ask for her age outright. She was as fit and had a bit of flesh on her chest under the tight kimono-type outfit which was irrelevant but noteworthy nonetheless. It was white with lines of gold thread running the length of it. The parts of her that he could see were the sides of her legs and thighs as the dress had long cuts there. As with all the others Akira¡¯s long legs ¨Cfor her height- were wrapped in thin strips of cloth that ended just below the hips. Probably. Glen realized he¡¯d been staring and he raised his eyes on her face. ¡°With the Naginata?¡± Akira asked evenly abandoning formalities. ¡°Eh,¡± Chubin reacted. ¡°He¡¯s a Monarch Akira.¡± ¡°I¡¯m the Light¡¯s Priestess and a Nina-Musha,¡± she replied sternly. ¡°Let¡¯s use the sticks,¡± Glen said eyeing the long blade on the polearm. Akira nodded and walked away to retrieve two long staffs out of ironwood. Glen stared at the other two females and grinned. ¡°Where are the other sticks? The smaller ones?¡± He jested and Kana eyed him frostily. ¡°The Monarch wishes to play music?¡± ¡°It depends,¡± Glen retorted, never leaving an opening go to waste. ¡°Will ye dance for me Kana?¡± Atrusim bristled behind him but Rena¡¯s eyes twinkled and even Kana seemed to get it. ¡°Akira is the better dancer,¡± she replied. You don¡¯t say. ¡°Is that so Priestess?¡± Glen asked and she tossed him a staff he caught easily. ¡°I have to warm up,¡± he explained. ¡°Then I will too,¡± Akira replied, her lips cracking into a small smile. Glen gave the staff to Chubin Amin who whispered to him if this was necessary. ¡°It is,¡± Glen replied and Akira made a half-cartwheel three meters from him, both arms hugging her staff. She remained upside down for a moment, feet pointed to the sky, hands gripping the staff now lodged on the ground and turned her head towards Glen. ¡°You might get dizzy,¡± he warned her and Rena chuckled unable to keep it in. Akira pushed with her arms and brought her legs down. She then jumped high in the air, slotted the staff under the soles of her feet and stepped off of it, catching it when she landed. Glen scratched the left side of his nose with the index finger. ¡°Alright that was impressive,¡± he admitted. ¡°Don¡¯t see how it would be useful though.¡± Akira breathed out and rotated the staff in her right hand, ducked under it as it climbed her elbow then her shoulders, around her nape and ended up its rotations in her left arm. Glen smacked his lips, grabbed the staff from Chubin and tossed it in the air, walked its length heading for the Nina-Musha, caught it as it dropped from the edge without looking, yanked it forward, the long shaft sliding in his hand and heaved it at Akira. The female sidestepped lithely and her staff whooshed over Glen¡¯s head. He pivoted to follow after her, staff slotted under his left armpit and plunging again at the fast-moving Akira. She dodged and her return smacked Glen¡¯s right shoulder sending him down on a knee. ¡°Damn it! Akira!¡± Chubin barked, but Glen signed he was fine and stood up. ¡°Did it hurt?¡± Akira asked with fake concern. Glen swung with the staff instead of answering and Akira had to jump away. She used her staff to pivot and change direction, a leg catching Glen¡¯s shin. The King of Wetull went down on his back with a pained grunt. You nimble little shite! He cursed and rolled away seeing her approaching again. Glen jumped on his feet a scowl marring his face. Akira swung her staff above her head like a two-handed claymore, Glen raised his arm clumsily as if to parry with his staff pretending to still be hurt ¨Cwhich Glen sort of was so it was only half-a-lie- only to change the grip on it, flip it once, stepping out of the way and spear her in the gut with the other edge. Akira let out a gasp and doubled over, stepped left turning her torso lithely to avoid a return smack on the face but Glen just whacked at her bulging breasts instead. The right one but it caught a bit of the left as well. The woman groaned in pain and toppled over afore going down. Glen stepped away from a bicycle kick and whacked her again at the inside of the knee from a safe distance. Akira screamed and rolled away on all fours. She stood up hobbling, her eyes teary and breathing ruggedly. ¡°Alright,¡± Glen said and stood back. ¡°You¡¯re hurt. Apologies for that.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not!¡± Akira hissed. ¡°That tit will turn blue soon,¡± Glen advised her. ¡°Get some wet cold towel on it.¡± ¡°It won¡¯t. I have them wrapped,¡± Akira retorted but a groan escaped her and she had to put a hand on her chest with a grimace that cracked her gold painted mask. Glen could see her rosy nose underneath. But¡­ ¡°When you say wrapped¡­¡± he started and Chubin got between them immediately. ¡°That¡¯s it, the hour is late,¡± Chubin announced. ¡°Akira go have that checked out.¡± The Priestess bowed her head and went near her friends stooping to pick up her staff. ¡°Get the staff,¡± Glen hissed at Chubin after seeing they had gone out of earshot and grimaced in pain. Son of a drunk goat! ¡°Hit the nerve?¡± Chubin asked casually taking the staff away. ¡°Aye,¡± Glen grunted and moved his numb arm up and down. ¡°You fought through it?¡± Glen stared at him in surprise. ¡°I did. Why?¡± ¡°Nothing,¡± Chubin Amin replied and waved the other Segun goodnight. ¡°What was the meaning behind all this?¡± ¡°I want her to come to Wetull. So I had to test all her skills.¡± ¡°Lord Garth. You can¡¯t¡­ she¡¯s a Priestess of Light.¡± Glen groaned and shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t want her like that Chubin.¡± ¡°Wetull is an unholy place.¡± ¡°That¡¯s bullshit and you know it.¡± ¡°She won¡¯t do it.¡± ¡°I think she will,¡± Glen retorted. ¡°Why not Rena? She¡¯s young and not a Priestess.¡± Whoa, just toss Atrusim¡¯s daughter under the wagon heh? ¡°Rena won¡¯t do because I like her,¡± Glen explained. ¡°How is that bad? She¡¯s not a Priestess, no laws are broken.¡± Ah, you again are thinking of alliances my friend. I misjudged you. ¡°I¡¯m not out here looking for a mate Chubin.¡± ¡°Why do you need a Nina-Musha in Goras then?¡± Chubin Amin asked with a frown. Glen smacked his lips and stared at the setting sun. ¡°I have a daughter. I want her trained by a human and not just Phon¡¯s Cofols. I liked what I¡¯ve seen from your people.¡± ¡°Why not a Zilan?¡± ¡°She¡¯ll get plenty of that or from Gish, dwarves¡­¡± Glen replied thoughtfully. ¡°But not all. It might seem strange to you but I like your restraint, discipline and austereness as a culture. I need a balancing force. Someone to say no. Emerson would¡¯ve been perfect for that but I can¡¯t ask anymore from him whether I want to or not,¡± he puffed out audibly. ¡°Anyway, some Zilan can be harsh sure but those in court will never refuse her anything I fear.¡± ¡°What about you?¡± Glen grimaced and rubbed his sore shoulder. ¡°I can¡¯t do it and Inis knows it. My daughter is very shrewd Chubin. She might be smarter than all of us.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not good?¡± Chubin asked and Glen thought of Sen, his eyes blurring not because of the light winter breeze coming from the north. ¡°Not always,¡± he croaked and looked at the lights shining beyond the junction the caravan had camped next to.
¡°That¡¯s Lai Zel-Ka¡¯s artisans¡¯ district to the west facing the coast,¡± Chubin pointed out not pressing him further on the matter. ¡°Across it, following the road that runs parallel to the river leading to the Opal Mountains and the Levai Mines is the slave district. Further south the farms and behind them to the east Amethyst Lake. The city¡¯s center starts after the Artisan District, then the Merchant District and the Sopat Neighborhood.¡± ¡°How far does it run?¡± Glen asked. ¡°Around the south part of Amethyst Coast and the port all the way to the Sopat Fort. The city itself loops around the south banks of the lake and follows the road east towards the mountains again.¡± ¡°How big is the Fort?¡± Glen queried and wiped his face looking away. ¡°It¡¯s not really a fort,¡± Chubin replied thoughtfully. ¡°More like a walled estate complex with a west facing tower overlooking the Three-horn Peninsula. A dreamy lavish structure built over centuries of amassed wealth. Lai Zel-Ka was the first city the Cofol merchants built, so it¡¯s rigidly made and reminds a bit of the old world. Anyway the Sopat females usually remain within the fort until they are married.¡± ¡°Not all,¡± Glen had corrected him.
Glen remained for another hour staring at the flickering lights of the nearby large city coming up and then gradually diminishing as the time grew late. He heard Foreal approaching and that ended his contemplation. ¡°Has Phon gone to sleep?¡± ¡°Not yet Master Garth,¡± Foreal replied. He¡¯d a lightstone in his hands. ¡°He requests your presence.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll be there in a moment,¡± Glen replied indifferently. ¡°I¡¯m to take you back to the tents Master Garth,¡± Foreal insisted with a small voice. Glen glared at him. ¡°I can find the blasted way¡­ what is this about?¡± He grunted with a grimace. ¡°I¡¯m not allowed to say Master Garth.¡± ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake. Move yer feet,¡± Glen snapped and walked past him pausing to bark at the slave. ¡°Bring the darn light. There¡¯s shit of many different animals all over the fucking terrain!¡± He¡¯d stepped on a fresh pile of it before the last word dropped from his lips.
¡°Leave us,¡± Phon-Iv told Foreal. ¡°But stay near the door. Hesam you too,¡± he turned to the changing his boots Glen with an apologetic smile. ¡°Mesi-Nasar has retired early. I¡¯ll have to serve you myself.¡± ¡°Cut the crap,¡± Glen admonished him. ¡°You¡¯ve sent her away. What¡¯s going on?¡± Phon got up from his rosewood desk and took a bundle of scrolls with him. He left them on a small table next to Glen¡¯s chair and poured some Goras wine in two gems adorned crystal goblets. ¡°No chamomile?¡± Glen taunted and stared at the scrolls. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°We¡¯re close to the city. So we got a bunch of news all at once, on top of those from our own birds.¡± ¡°Don got a divorce? Lost you a fortune in the horse races?¡± Glen could keep on going for a while but Phon stopped him. ¡°My brother¡­ no. He¡¯s a bit sad since for two days or thereabouts young Don was head of the family but he¡¯ll get over it.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Glen said and had some of the wine, afore eyeing the messages. ¡°Atpa replied?¡± ¡°He did through a man called Aquila-Dor. He rules for Atpa in Shao Na-Lan.¡± ¡°What does he want?¡± ¡°The rebels dead, the Khanate Gulf free for their ships.¡± Hmm. ¡°Nothing about the cities. Most rebels are dead,¡± Glen replied. ¡°He knows of Ziba-Ra.¡± ¡°Fuck him. He ain¡¯t getting a woman and kid. Did you talk with Tsuparin?¡± ¡°We can¡¯t exactly¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯ll burn the ships in Shao Na-Lan,¡± Glen cut him off. ¡°Torch the whole fucking port.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s revisit this then. Tsuparin lost the slave.¡± Glen stood back. ¡°You think he gave her to Atpa already?¡± ¡°He wouldn¡¯t so soon. He claims his youngest son got murdered,¡± Phon replied. ¡°Did you do it?¡± Glen asked. ¡°Of course not,¡± Phon retorted. ¡°What¡¯s the gain in that? Better to kill Karit or the ¡®Old Scorpion¡¯ himself.¡± ¡°That can be arranged,¡± Glen offered. ¡°I¡¯ve a bunch of killers dawdling in my court.¡± ¡°That¡¯s concerning and it¡¯s not a good tactic. Tsuparin is telling the truth. The young man was murdered.¡± ¡°What does that have to do with the slave girl?¡± Glen grumbled. ¡°She escaped with the boy.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± ¡°He suspects Troy might have assisted her,¡± Phon added. ¡°He visited Tsuparin¡¯s daughter while Ziba was present. Left after that and disappeared as well.¡± ¡°When was his son murdered?¡± ¡°He was found a couple of days later. Not the head. That they didn¡¯t find.¡± Glen finished the wine and got up. He walked to one of Phon¡¯s trade maps and stared at it for long. ¡°Troy might be on a mission from the old man,¡± Glen said. ¡°He was looking for him after the battle, disappeared after that. If he¡¯s alive and all the way down in Fu De-Gar then he didn¡¯t make all that blasted journey on a whim or just to see Tsuparin¡¯s pretty daughter.¡± ¡°Ugh,¡± Phon-Iv commented and Glen glanced his way surprised. ¡°Anyway, this makes it a bit awkward, but I might have a solution,¡± the Sopat patriarch said quickly without elaborating further. ¡°I¡¯m listening,¡± Glen probed him. ¡°Tsuparin promised to stop the search and cover up for the woman provided we do our part as well and reach an agreement.¡± ¡°Speak clearly,¡± Glen retorted. ¡°And he¡¯s stopping the search because she¡¯s gone. He can¡¯t find her,¡± he glanced at the map. ¡°How smart is this Troy?¡± ¡°Eh,¡± Phon-Iv mumbled. ¡°He¡¯s brawny? I don¡¯t really know. He¡¯s a well-known gladiator but I never cared for their likes.¡± ¡°Asmudius knows him.¡± ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s a storyteller.¡± ¡°If Troy has Ziba and the boy. Say, he gets her out,¡± Glen said. ¡°Where will they go?¡± ¡°Here?¡± ¡°Maybe,¡± Glen replied. ¡°What¡¯s the solution?¡± ¡°Do you want to know what Atpa promised the Khan?¡± Phon asked. Glen didn¡¯t but nodded just the same his face dark. ¡°A chest filled with heads,¡± Phon replied with a grimace of distaste. ¡°Ziba¡¯s head?¡± ¡°Uhm.¡± Glen breathed out and walked to the small table. He poured another cup of wine and had half of it avidly until the liquid almost came up his nose. ¡°And the boy?¡± He asked wiping his mouth. Phon nodded. ¡°Who else?¡± Glen queried. ¡°Chubin Amin. The leaders of the Chiliad.¡± Glen puffed out a knot in his stomach. ¡°What¡¯s the solution Phon?¡± He asked wearily suddenly feeling very tired and reaching for a chair he collapsed on it. ¡°Tsuparin doesn¡¯t want to kill the gladiators.¡± Glen waved him on. ¡°We could potentially send some heads to Aquila-Dor. Pretend that they were those he wants. We¡¯ll have to preserve them for the journey but it can be done.¡± Glen felt his stomach turning. ¡°So you need some fresh gladiator-looking heads, a young Lorian woman¡¯s, a boy¡¯s gods forgive us and someone to stand in for Chubin?¡± Phon-Iv cleared his throat looking a bit sick himself. ¡°Pretty much yes.¡± Glen made to have some wine but couldn¡¯t and just stared at nothing instead. ¡°Now Ziba¡¯s face and the boy are not known,¡± Phon continued as there was a wrinkle obviously in the whole rotten affair. ¡°You have candidates?¡± ¡°Dekerut has. He needs to act as if he still has them,¡± Phon replied quickly. ¡°Good grief,¡± Glen breathed in and out closing his eyes. ¡°Chubin has visited the palace,¡± Phon pressed on. ¡°So Atpa knows him. So does the Khan assuming the chest makes the journey and many other people including Aquila-Dor, it¡¯s a problem.¡± ¡°For you?¡± ¡°No Glenavon, for Lai Zel-Ka. It¡¯s either that or the war continues.¡± ¡°Eh,¡± Glen grunted and got up. ¡°They won¡¯t do it. Anfalon is marching on Dia. This will be over in a month. Atpa will either commit here or defend back east. He¡¯ll take peace and be satisfied or we¡¯ll head for Rin An-Pur.¡± ¡°You do that we¡¯ll have to fight him to the bitter end Glenavon and Tsuparin might not be so eager to help. How many places can you be at once?¡± ¡°I befriended these people Phon! For crying out loud,¡± Glen growled. ¡°I can¡¯t do that.¡± Phon gulped down. ¡°We could have agreement here my Lord,¡± he said. ¡°Atpa would take it upon himself to honor it. Convince the Khan or whatever else he¡¯s probably already plotting. The Three Sisters will be free to govern themselves how they want, as it has always been afore the Khan¡¯s reign. I¡¯ll ensure my city survives anyway I can Glen. I could offer to die in Chubin¡¯s place but it¡¯s him the Khan wanted all along.¡± ¡°What about Que Ki-La? Ani Ta-Ne? Because only two of the four are still left standing Phon. And what about the Segun? Will they ever agree to that?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll ask them openly. You probably know this, but Sen-Iv wrote me afore we lost her that a sister might have to die for the others to live. I thought she meant something else, a macabre insight on her future. It is macabre and it was an insight. One Sister might die. Or two,¡± Phon replied gravely. ¡°You¡¯ll have Ani Ta-Ne. Letakin has an heir somewhere for sure, will you return it if he appears?¡± Glen eyed him intently for a long moment. Choose war, the dagger whispered in his mind. Save your noble new friend. You have so few! What do you care about these ruffians and their petty differences? Soon they¡¯ll fight again or even betray you. Kill your enemies. Kill them all. Glen breathed in slowly, pushing the dagger¡¯s voice out of his head. He glanced at Phon¡¯s strained face another time and with a heavy heart he nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll talk with the Segun,¡± Phon said quickly.
The caravan should have been ready to depart early the next morning but it didn¡¯t. The Segun of Cautara gathered outside the tent around a worn-out Phon-Iv and a standing behind him solemn sleepless Glen. Atrusim looked at Phon first and then at Glen. The latter avoided the Segun¡¯s eyes and stared at Chubin Amin¡¯s grave-looking face instead. The Cofol sensing it glanced his way and nodded once as if to reassure him. ¡°The Segun of Cautara and Magor disagreed on whether we should get involved in this conflict,¡± Atrusim started. ¡°Those guarding Yon Simun Fort outright refused.¡± Phon breathed out ruggedly. ¡°However the Segun of Cautara went ahead and promised Abadaim to help. So we made the journey. It now seems the conflict could be over as an agreement was reached.¡± ¡°Atrusim,¡± Phon started but the old Segun stopped him raising his left hand. ¡°If the agreement is not honored the merchant says, war will come to Lai Zel-Ka valley. It will come to Cautara and Magor. To Yon Simun Fort. The Khan wants Abadaim¡¯s head to not lay waste on our families. That¡¯s the deal the merchant made. Some heads for peace.¡± ¡°I¡¯m prepared to fight Atrusim,¡± Phon croaked tensely. ¡°Um,¡± Atrusim grunted and stared at Glen. ¡°The Wyvern King is prepared to fight for you is your meaning. And then all land will be under his yoke.¡± Glen clenched his jaw and stepped forward. ¡°I don¡¯t wish that Segun.¡± ¡°You wish my daughter or the Priestess in Goras. But you¡¯re not seeking enlightenment but to learn of war and spread the knowledge to your offspring.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not my intention,¡± Glen growled narrowing his eyes. ¡°I won¡¯t have you judge me Segun!¡± ¡°Who else would dare? Garth Aniculo. That¡¯s not a name. A man who has no name must also search for a soul to fill the void,¡± Atrusim retorted gruffly. ¡°Sesei,¡± Chubin intervened soberly. ¡°Lord Garth is a friend.¡± ¡°Um,¡± Atrusim grunted and stood back. ¡°Would your deal save the people Lord of Trades?¡± He asked a pale Phon-Iv. ¡°Speak the truth for once!¡± ¡°We need the time,¡± Phon replied angrily. ¡°As I¡¯ve said to you before Sesei Segun, the Sopat will honor their word!¡± ¡°Will Wetull honor theirs?¡± Atrusim asked gruffly. ¡°It would,¡± Glen hissed through his teeth. ¡°The Priestess will think about it. She won¡¯t take a pupil unless she¡¯s allowed to teach the word of Light Lord of Goras.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll think about it,¡± Glen retorted. ¡°The Segun wanted to walk away,¡± Atrusim continued with a deep sigh. ¡°What does this mean?¡± Phon asked with a frown. ¡°I appreciate the hospitality my friend,¡± Chubin Amin repeated what he¡¯d said that first day. He paused to collect himself and continued. ¡°Death,¡± Chubin reminded him evenly and turning he smiled reassuringly at a stressed out Glen afore adding. ¡°Can be a choice.¡±
An unemotional Glen observed the former War Leader of the Khanate kneel in front of the tent with haunted eyes. Akira brought a square red piece cloth and spread it in front of him. She tried to iron out all the wrinkles with her hands until Chubin Amin grabbed her elbow and ushered her away. The Priestess stood back amidst her friends and Daichim approached, holding the Katacim in his hand. Chubin took a deep breath, glanced at the sun one more time and bowed over the red cloth, crossing both arms on his chest. The long sword came up, the rays bathing it in a brilliant light that blinded the watching Glen. It showed the distress marring his face for a moment but it was brief. When it came down Glen¡¯s face had sobered up again and most missed it but for young Rena. Akira moved to gather Abadaim¡¯s severed head and cover it with the red cloth. After that the large caravan started moving again and was inside the waiting city¡¯s streets within a short hour.
Early 194 NC The Desert Cataphract nodded behind his silver mask and Ruhak-Dor proceeded to walk inside the narrow hall of Sadofort. He walked straight for the simple limestone throne, the stone tiles making the sound of his cavalry boots and spurs reverberate strangely inside the stone walls. It was a barren place, built for a military commander without any fanfare. Some foreign touches could be seen though. A woman¡¯s discarded shawl on a table. Silver cutlery and expensive opened bottles, a scimitar with a golden pommel and a white handle. Sebek-Tep who had been the Prince¡¯s right hand man long before Ruhak-Dor had been knighted because he knew of the Lurking Asp¡¯s dangerous character best, glanced his way annoyed. He waved for Nesabor the brute hulking Cataphract out of Wotcheki Castle to stop him from advancing any further. Nesabor moved to intercept and Ruhak-Dor halted and stared at the throne where Prince Atpa stood watching him under furrowed brows. His eyes an ashen-grey, cold and calculating. The arms raised, elbows on the throne supports, hands forming a stand for his chin to rest. A wiry man of medium-height, on the thin side, the Prince had a Cataphract¡¯s scaled chest armour on and wore leather pants instead of robes with soft leather boots on his feet. Atpa was twenty six years old now but he could be twenty or forty, depending on the time of day and what he¡¯d been doing the previous night. He looked older at that moment. ¡°Ruhak brought us news of his brother I reckon,¡± Sebek-Tep said in his typical cynical tone. ¡°The Sisters sent us a gift?¡± ¡°A chest for his highness, the illustrious Heir to the Khanate,¡± Ruhak-Dor replied and eyed Nesabor¡¯s large head and small eyes. ¡°Should we open it?¡± Sebek-Tep asked and seeing the Prince silent, he signed for Nesabor to carry the large chest inside. Since it had taken two people to bring up the stairs and inside the castle Ruhak-Dor thought of warning him but then decided the brute could carry it by himself. Nesabor was almost at the door well behind him when Atpa finally spoke. ¡°Leave it,¡± the Prince said in his dry voice. ¡°It is the gesture and not the contents what I was looking for.¡± Ruhak-Dor gulped down, his mouth dry and skin cracked from riding for weeks through the desert. ¡°First Karit-Ki stops, victory within his grasp, my brother sadly dead. Let us mourn him no more,¡± Atpa continued unemotionally. ¡°Then Sopat retreats and chops an ally¡¯s head off. He had to. Can¡¯t fake that,¡± he paused breathing in once and closed his eyes in deep thought. Everyone inside the room was staring at him. ¡°Who fears winning? Hmm?¡± The Prince asked. Ruhak-Dor stared at Sebek-Tep and he looked at him. ¡°Karit says there¡¯s a wyvern sire. It burned the west banks of the Khanate up to Que Ki-La,¡± Sebek-Tep finally answered. ¡°Don¡¯t exaggerate,¡± Atpa admonished the advisor and signed for Nesabor to punch him in the face. Sebek-Tep blinked afore the heavy punch landed and then he got splattered down the stone tiles. With a pained groan he got up, Nesabor helping him, the advisor¡¯s mouth bleeding. ¡°Nout burned Ani Ta-Ne and the Jackal torched Sol¡¯s arse,¡± Atpa continued from where he stopped before the small interruption and after making sure Sebek-Tep was in good enough shape to stand on his own. ¡°Could a Wyvern have finished the job?¡± ¡°Maybe. It¡¯s quite possible,¡± Sebek-Tep croaked holding a bloody cloth on his face. ¡°Assume there¡¯s a wyvern on the loose and Zilan Hoplites holidaying in Dia and Ta-Ne who wants to make a bet this might be the reason? I knew this was going to happen. You bring Aken into the mix, a bosomy witch and sooner or later more crap start falling from the sky.¡± Nobody wanted to say anything. Ruhak-Dor grimaced and gave it a try. ¡°Should we inform the Khan my Prince?¡± Atpa untied his hands and stared beyond them at the doors then around the room. ¡°How many came with the chest?¡± ¡°Two,¡± Sebek-Tep replied and glanced at Ruhak-Dor. ¡°Alongside him.¡± ¡°A tragic loss,¡± Atpa said sadly and Ruhak-Dor tried to turn or reach for his saber but Nesabor¡¯s scimitar got him afore he could. He felt the blade sawing at his innards and he collapsed to his knees, blood bubbling out of his mouth. The Prince got up from his throne and glanced at him fading away whilst trying to speak. ¡°But the desert is unending and crammed-full of perils.¡± ¡°Argh,¡± Ruhak-Dor managed to mumble before he completely lost sight of the room. ¡°By the way my friend,¡± the Lurking Asp added just as Ruhak-Dor expired. ¡°The answer to your query, is no.¡±
408. No rest for the wicked
Baron Storm Nattas No rest for the wicked
Fall of 193NC The Admiralty¡¯s resort villas of Rochstab. A town built on the east branch of the junction where the Dry Road coming from the southernmost city of the Lesia Kingdom the distant Levacum, split. One branch continuing north towards the massive first bridge (of three, the other being a hundred kilometers upriver at Jackal Fort near Ballard and the smaller third at its sources near Atetalerso four hundred kilometers away) over the River Rochestab (or Rochstab), another branch turning west towards the Grand Port City of Cediorum, with the town of Rochstab occupying the space between the river and the forest which served as the border to the Lesia Desert. Mornings suck. The chill locks up the muscles and your body turns numb and clumsy. Your eyes are blurry and crusty. Things hurt in the mornings and all that you¡¯ve set aside in your sleep make a painful return. You seek rest but it¡¯s elusive and easily wears off. ¡°Abrakas fucks your harlot mother!¡± Storm cursed waking up with a groan of pain. His leg had turned in his sleep and he could feel the bones touching at the abused joints under all the swelling. ¡°I beg your pardon?¡± Captain Tenuta asked setting down the tray. The Lesia officer was about thirty, born in Cediorum to a navy officer¡¯s family and one of Sir Patrick Lennox¡¯s aides. A friend of his son Gareth no less. Sir Patrick was Lesia¡¯s Lord of Sea. ¡°Not your mother dear Tenuta. I¡¯ve the fondest memories of her,¡± Storm replied after taking a moment for his eyes to clear. ¡°You¡¯ve a drunken sailor¡¯s tongue Baron.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take your word for it, you seem like you know yer way around port tongues,¡± Storm retorted grumpily. ¡°Rough night?¡± Tenuta asked with a shake of the head. ¡°The night was fine,¡± Storm retorted. ¡°It¡¯s the humid morning.¡± ¡°The leg bothering you Baron?¡± No, I¡¯m just grimacing and twisting like a fish out of water because I¡¯m weird. What¡¯s this, fucking elementary class? ¡°You learn to live with it,¡± Storm grunted and eyed the pedestrian contents of the tray. ¡°The kitchen is on strike?¡± ¡°The villa runs on standard Navy rations and menu Baron,¡± Tenuta replied patiently and poured some milk into the ceramic bowl filled with grain biscuits. ¡°You over poured,¡± Storm taunted. ¡°I¡¯ll have you reported Captain.¡± ¡°I had the same breakfast,¡± Tenuta replied patiently. ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t believe you. Is it the same when Sir Patrick visits?¡± Storm commented sourly and stood at the edge of the bed after pushing his leg down. ¡°Lord Patrick has a personal villa in Cediorum.¡± ¡°You could¡¯ve have said no. Truth will cleanse yer soul dear Tenuta.¡± ¡°Lords have estates Baron.¡± No shit. You fucking blew my mind you rapscallion. ¡°I do to,¡± Storm retorted with a groan. ¡°Not in Cediorum but in a few choice spots. How about we relocate there? I¡¯ll pay for the trip. Don¡¯t want to burden the Admiralty¡¯s coffers.¡± Tenuta stood back. ¡°That¡¯s out of my hands Baron. I¡¯ll leave you to it.¡± ¡°You sure? Have some milk with biscuits,¡± Storm offered in a taunting manner. ¡°Look they dissolve and turn into a grey sludge. Why, it looks like cement! I could smoothen the outer walls of the veranda with it! Better get to work!¡± ¡°Get dressed Baron,¡± Tenuta said frostily. ¡°I could send the maid in to help.¡± ¡°Keep her out of it,¡± Storm grunted. ¡°She¡¯s a vicious groper.¡± ¡°Baron Nattas!¡± Tenuta snapped spittle flying out of his mouth. ¡°The woman is married.¡± Storm shrugged his shoulders. ¡°I didn¡¯t dispute that,¡± he said and reached for his cane. ¡°And one doesn¡¯t exclude the other.¡±
Mist came down from the north and the river¡¯s unseen banks. So much humidity in the air, more coming from the Lorian Gulf and the large port city. The dry desert to the south. A dry, stony ground. The bedrock exposed. Not as large as the sand deserts of Eplas but a hell to travel through so people avoided it. Until they found the diamond veins of Diamant at the rock outcrop of Maze Quarry and the Naphtha fields of Levacum. Then people found a way to cross the desert. Built a road through it. Lesia was a narrow elongated kingdom, sandwiched between the endless Stonemaze Peaks that run from Old Fort to the Turn over a thousand kilometers away. A barren land that boomed with life around its rivers. The kingdom of the six rivers since everyone had tried to build near them. The huge Rochestab that emptied itself in the Lorian Gulf and Dave¡¯s River from king Divinus Colenus that had lost his wife in its waters and would not go any further. The man suffered from a severe case of gout so the story could be bogus. Ostrich River where Di Cresta built the dam that formed the lake that bears his name and made a rich valley out of the once arid terrain. Haggart River with its slow-moving foul waters teeming with stingrays but near enough the empty Lesia Plains where stallions run wild to make it interesting. Andalus with its gold dust covered floor and little but cold Hope River that touches the North. Lesia Lorians were stubborn like those of Regia but not as easy to provoke, prideful but frugal since they never had enough of everything. Their righteousness had resisted the gods of the Zilan and only mellowed to Uher from the Five. They respected wealth and well-thought out plans. Some of it a show to hide a melancholic character but real enough to spill out of them as true decency. You could indubitably find people covering all the spectrum and some cruel bastards that could pretend with the best of the realm¡¯s scum, their bigotry legendary. You¡¯ll carry a part of Lesia in you as far as you travel was the saying, but Storm thought most of it was a bunch of sentimental bullshit to boost a dying tourism industry that favored Regia¡¯s Salt Coast and wished he was back at his cove with Miranda and Silvio. Good grief, I sort of miss Sudi as well and that horrid semi-paralyzed Issir bastard is probably spending my coin in whores and dog-racing right now, he thought. Then again he might be fucking Miranda for all I know not to waste coin, which is helpful but also infuriating. Why, they could just bury me out the yard here and move on like I never existed. The girl has done it once already. Didn¡¯t even blink an eyelash. Storm grinded his teeth maniacally, fingers clasping at the rails of the first floor veranda so hard the knuckles turned white. The villa had only two floors, a large stone fence around it which left a square yard for a person to walk about if he could walk that is. Is this funny to you vile god of the Depths? Suck my cock! The thick mist had spilled over the three meter fence, not that any height was important given that Storm couldn¡¯t climb on a leg and then slowly dissipated as it approached the building. A breeze would come and go once in a while, push some of the misty soup away. It had coincided with the gates opening and Storm had caught a glimpse of the crest at the side of the carriage. Enough to remember where he¡¯d seen afore. Hence all the historic memories and lessons about the blasted country. Good to look at from afar but less so when one visited to be kept under lock and key. Lord Cornelius Mortymer paused as if he couldn¡¯t see the doors of the villa, in order to gaze at Storm that was glaring at him sourly from the veranda. ¡°Is that who I think it is?¡± Lesia¡¯s Master of Silence queried with a smirk, born in the distant Stingray in the Duchy of Dokamna and Haggart River. ¡°I¡¯ve no idea,¡± Storm retorted through his teeth and put a hand on a large arrangement of flowers to heave it down on his visitor. ¡°I only hear a strange voice. Ye got to come nearer. Stand under the balcony.¡± It would be an accident. ¡°Ha-ha, yep. There Robert. That¡¯s our good petty Baron. Always sharp,¡± Mortymer told his aide, an austere-looking lackey probably of a good family but looking as thick as a well charred brick without the holes. Petty is what your mother wished her reputation be, you piece of scurvy-infested shit! I¡¯ve three times the land you have and I¡¯ve bought it with my own fucking coin! ¡°Mmm,¡± Storm murmured seeing the two men skirting the edges to enter the villa. Captain Tenuta paused and looked up at Nattas without entering himself. ¡°I want more flowers,¡± Storm told him since he could see well inside the yard. ¡°Yeah. Just fully cover the corners. Spread the range.¡±
¡°Ah, our good friend Lord Nattas,¡± Mortymer said. Drink a bottle of old laudanum and die. ¡°Is that you Cornelius?¡± Storm asked from the chair he¡¯d returned to sit on. It was the only armchair inside his room but he left the stool the maid used to fix the curtains for his visitors. They could share. ¡°Good gods¡¯ man, you¡¯ve aged badly. Things not going well?¡± ¡°Hah,¡± Mortymer scoffed. ¡°You are not looking that well yourself. I overheard you¡¯re here a couple of months. Is it three? Maybe more?¡± ¡°I¡¯m forty one,¡± Storm told him looking at the enlarged forehead where baldness had robbed Cornelius from hair but had given room for his eyebrows to move aplenty. ¡°Thankfully I¡¯ve all my hair still. You¡¯re about forty now eh? It¡¯s all downhill after that.¡± Mortymer smacked his lips and looked to sit on the stool. ¡°Always with the sharp tongue I see.¡± ¡°I do too now. See that is,¡± Storm countered. ¡°Must be the light in the room.¡±
¡°This is Roberto Tar,¡± Mortymer said with a sour expression on his round face after a couple of more tries to one up Storm and getting thoroughly thrashed. He¡¯d small eyes under those roomy eyebrows and prominent forehead, sickly skin color with dark spots. A shaven face. ¡°Get us those doughnuts we¡¯ve bought in Cediorum.¡± Storm grimaced and stared at the pommel of his cane. He had it secured between his legs, kept both his hands on it. Made out of dark polished walnut, it had a concealed thin straight blade attached to it and the pommel itself had a bosomy Ticu carved on it in all its naked glory. The female figure¡¯s long hair made into cascading braids that resembled a Kraken¡¯s tentacles too much. Because that¡¯s what they were. Robert got a flat wooden box out of a large satchel he carried and placed it carefully on the table afore taking a couple of steps back. ¡®Sugarcane Lantern¡¯ was carved on the thin wood with black bold letters. ¡®Since 55 NC¡¯. Mortymer opened it and a smell of creamy sweetness filled the room. He fished a star-shaped doughnut out with index and thumb, took a huge bite out of it. ¡°Genie still around?¡± Storm asked unable to resist. The famed bakery and tea shop out of Cediorum made the King¡¯s favorite doughnuts. King Davenport had tasted them as a young man in the academy and always placed large orders of the stuff for the palace in Armium. Storm had tasted them when his late father worked in the King¡¯s stables and the King visited to talk about future hunts or his horses. You could learn the kingdom¡¯s secrets while cleaning a horse¡¯s arse back in those days. Mortymer was trying to rattle him with a glimpse of freedom and old memories.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Motherfucker wants something. ¡°Dino Herb took over. It¡¯s a company now. They have one in Armium, in Atetalerso, another in Dokamna,¡± Mortymer explained and placed one round one on a hankie for him. ¡°Get it to the Baron, Robert. Help the man out.¡± Storm took a bite out of the oily soft doughnut. The inside filled with lemon jelly. ¡°Any other flavor?¡± He asked chewing slowly. ¡°Raspberry, vanilla,¡± Mortymer said. ¡°I got two boxes for the road.¡± ¡°How is the Admiralty these days?¡± Storm asked casually taking another bite out of the doughnut. He used the tip of his tongue to gather some of the injected fruit jam that had spilled out of the side of his mouth while Lord Mortymer finished up his and licked his fingers. ¡°Ah, nice. Want another one?¡± He asked Storm. ¡°I¡¯m good,¡± Storm replied. ¡°What brings you here Cornelius?¡± Mortymer wiped his hands with another hankie, then returned everything to Robert, who stooped and closed the box, retrieving it as well. Cheap bastard. ¡°Mantel and Fiorin had a plan, dragged the King in it,¡± Mortymer started with a grimace of discomfort. ¡°Mantel got what was coming to him and Fiorin, well he¡¯s not looking good but he¡¯s a fighter, we¡¯ll see how that turns out.¡± Storm smacked his lips, wiped his hands with the hankie and tossed it on the table that was a meter from him afore returning them on the cane. He said nothing, since Mortymer had said very little and nothing that had anything to do with him.
¡°There are several ways of looking at a campaign,¡± Mortymer finally continued under Storm¡¯s tolerant expression. He wanted to have some water but didn¡¯t want to spook Lord Mortymer by bringing the maid in, since he hadn¡¯t many visitors these past months and was starved for news. Captain Tenuta was a thoroughly un-talkative person. Storm had tried desperately to provoke him but the man¡¯s nerves were either made of steel or he knew nothing of substance. ¡°Militarily we are at an impasse. Lennox, the young Duke that is and not the Admiral, holds on to Cartaport like it¡¯s his mother¡¯s tit.¡± ¡°I just can¡¯t imagine her breastfeeding him sorry,¡± Storm blurted out. ¡°But go ahead, it was a nice turn of phrase dear Cornelius. I knew you had it in you.¡± Mortymer shook his head and stood back on the stool, probably already discomforted and numb at the buttocks. Robert stooped near him from behind and said in a disinterested voice. ¡°Several ways of looking at a campaign milord.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Mortymer agreed remembering what he was saying. ¡°After the tit sucking part,¡± Storm helped with a toothy leer. ¡°As I said, militarily there¡¯s meat left in this. Now with the damage done to Regia¡¯s navy we have relative control of the Lorian Gulf and the south coast up to Eplas.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a lot of miles.¡± ¡°Allow me to finish Nattas.¡± ¡°You seem stressed out,¡± Storm noticed. ¡°I advise to drink a lot of clean water and air yourself. Stay in the sun Cornelius. Take a ship for a journey down the coast, see the sights.¡± Mortymer cleared his throat and glared at Robert Tar. He got a bottle of black whiskey out of his large satchel and a small glass shot. Storm glared at him and the aide produced another one. Served them both and retreated a couple of steps leaving the small bottle on the table. Mortymer gulped down his drink and blinked, then coughed once. ¡°Curses. It burned all the way down,¡± he said. ¡°We can keep Lucius in Cartagen for months,¡± Mortymer said finally moving to the ¡®meat¡¯ of the talk. Storm sipped at the whiskey, worked it in his mouth and then swallowed. ¡°Drag it out. We¡¯ll reinforce and supply the troops and Pintor¡¯s Legion can¡¯t be dislodged unless Lucius comes out of the walls.¡± Storm stooped silently to place the small glass at the edge of the table. ¡°As I said earlier though, a campaign has several ways of looking at it. Lucius has army near Sava and it might be the other Legion.¡± ¡°That¡¯s two to Pintor¡¯s one,¡± Storm summed up the numbers. ¡°How are Lennox¡¯s regulars performing? Nasty thing with contracted or drafted troops is they need training, are on a timer, their mind on getting out still breathing and return home. Use the coin to buy a field or fix the roof.¡± ¡°Lucius presence is blocking the road and disrupting trade,¡± Mortymer hissed through his teeth. ¡°So shipments are rerouted from sea lanes up north and down the coast. It creates a bottleneck in the ports with the army having priority.¡± ¡°War is a costly endeavor,¡± Storm agreed. ¡°Who would have thought? You put a quota down, tidy up the numbers and then it all turns tits up. You forget one thing, misjudge another, the weather turns nasty and crops are less because bugs plague the ground.¡± ¡°There are two schools of thought in the court,¡± Mortymer soldiered on. ¡°One is to test Lucius with an attack at Sava. See if we can push his force aside and open the road to flank him, trap him inside the capital.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a lot of road to retreat for his force. Easy to defend down the line again and again. He can reinforce them and drag it out. Wait, you said this was your plan I believe? So that¡¯s a good thing right? Unless it started hurting a bit with winter coming.¡± ¡°There¡¯s fear that a setback in Sava could force us to retreat and even threaten Flauegran.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t Flauegran an open city? Atetalerso as well. Why, he grabs the bridge there and he could bypass Ballard and head straight for Dave¡¯s River. Now that, would be awkward to explain,¡± Storm taunted. ¡°He doesn¡¯t have the army to do that.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the other school¡¯s plan? You guys have thought this through obviously.¡± ¡°Fiorin believes Lucius is one defeat away from completely collapsing,¡± Mortymer replied. ¡°Jeremy could attack in Asturia or come down the Tunnel Pass and cut him off from Lord Holt.¡± ¡°He¡¯ll work with Lesia? After you attacked Cartagen? That¡¯s political suicide,¡± Storm replied. ¡°He¡¯s a king Nattas.¡± ¡°Kings get overthrown if they fuck it up too much.¡± ¡°Name one instance. Don¡¯t give me historical catastrophes, something current,¡± Mortymer snapped. ¡°If Lucius loses, Jeremy will rule for fifty years.¡± Storm pressed his mouth tight and stared at the half-empty glass of whiskey on the table. ¡°Maybe I have it wrong but old Holt must have drafted over five thousand men by now. Trained them up and down the roads, the whole nine yards. Wait he has probably more than that right? Why, with Ligur parked in front of Asturia, I bet he¡¯s foaming at the mouth. Could he squeeze more out of them Asturians? He probably has. Cavalry too, good horses. That¡¯s a nasty thing to face on the plains. Emptied Anorum¡¯s arsenal as well. Wait, there are a couple of legions worth of retired troops there right? You don¡¯t think he¡¯d went down there and roused his old soldiers to come and help the Duchy?¡± Mortymer puffed out. ¡°Ligur is an unbreakable force by now. Holt would have attacked if he had a way to smack him away. He opted to abandon Islandport instead, leave the plains to the First Legion,¡± he pointed out. ¡°I don¡¯t see him coming south though to help you out. So while you may be right, this still doesn¡¯t help you.¡± ¡°He doesn¡¯t have to attack for real. Lucius will have to react,¡± Mortymer countered. ¡°Mortymer you are not a military man,¡± Storm argued. ¡°Now Fiorin wants to threaten Lucius¡¯ rear I get it. What¡¯s the bottom line for Lesia?¡± Mortymer stood back. ¡°We don¡¯t care about Jeremy,¡± he finally said and Storm nodded. Yeah, it was coming kid. ¡°You¡¯ll talk with Lucius,¡± Storm said. ¡°The window of opportunity you had closed.¡± ¡°Until the next one.¡± ¡°He won¡¯t agree with anything you propose,¡± Storm argued. ¡°Time Nattas and priorities,¡± Mortymer retorted. ¡°I don¡¯t want an all-out war with Regia without the guarantee I¡¯ll win. But Lesia must be allowed breathing room also. If Lucius triumphs in reclaiming the kingdom then he¡¯ll have to change his thinking and be more accommodating.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know him,¡± Storm countered. ¡°But you do,¡± Mortymer replied and stood back. Ah, always the easy stuff for old Storm. ¡°What¡¯s in it for me?¡± Storm asked after a small thought. ¡°You¡¯re one of us. What¡¯s better than being welcomed in your homeland?¡± Mortymer asked. ¡°You can get your father¡¯s land back.¡± That was a dream a younger Storm had weaned out of his system decades back. He killed it and built another life after that. Brick by brick. The ground sown with corpses. Two secret deals for every known one. Coin, land and titles. A son and the Alden Queen warming his bed. A vineyard just wouldn¡¯t cut it. Fuck Lesia. It¡¯s just a place and the old house was a dump.
¡°I want to return to my Barony,¡± Storm said. ¡°In exchange for what?¡± Mortymer asked. ¡°A way to end the conflict,¡± Storm replied. ¡°I¡¯m listening,¡± Mortymer said and poured another glass of whiskey. ¡°You have Duke Ursus living near the river.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t confirm or deny this,¡± Mortymer replied with a grimace. ¡°Maids and cooks talk betwixt themselves when visiting each other¡¯s kitchens,¡± Storm said. ¡°You let your cock groped a couple of times, slip a coin here and there, you learn things.¡± Mortymer rubbed his eyes and set the glass down. ¡°Ursus and you in exchange for the Lords Lucius has imprisoned. Alright I can see this but will Lucius agree? He has way more prisoners than we do. Will he do it for you?¡± ¡°He¡¯ll do it for Ursus,¡± Storm replied. ¡°He had his father killed.¡± ¡°Ah, we can¡¯t condone this. The man asked for asylum¡ª¡± ¡°You¡¯ll retreat from Cartaport,¡± Storm continued. ¡°What?¡± ¡°And tell Jeremy you¡¯ll have his back.¡± ¡°First there¡¯s no way the King agrees to have a noble man send to his death,¡± Mortymer started. ¡°It will reflect badly on him and anger the conservatives in court. We have a lot of those.¡± ¡°Lucius will be fair and Davenport just needs to put the blame on Fiorin.¡± ¡°Fiorin won¡¯t ever agree to such a proposal!¡± ¡°The man¡¯s half dead already Cornelius, just finish the job,¡± Storm suggested and Mortymer puffed out exasperated. ¡°Cartaport is valuable.¡± ¡°Flauegran is more valuable and you¡¯ll get free reign until repairs are finished in the port. You need to get the produce out. Markets have a tendency to fill the voids with new trade routes and products. You lose another summer or winter lots can happen.¡± ¡°The army might revolt and it will weaken the King to lose Cartaport.¡± ¡°If Lucius gets rid of Ligur and you¡¯re still debating this, he¡¯ll turn around and attack with everything at his disposal.¡± ¡°No army is invincible Nattas.¡± ¡°Do you want to risk it? Give Lucius an honest offer and he¡¯ll back down,¡± Storm said. Mortymer got up and stretched his hurting back with a scowl of distress. ¡°Fucking army stools.¡± Storm rubbed a hand on his forehead, listened to a distant thunder of a storm coming from the coast and sighed. ¡°Lucius might hold a grudge,¡± Mortymer told him thoughtfully. ¡°Will he show restraint? A lot of Lords backed Jeremy. You are not exactly in the clear.¡± ¡°Lucius will be fair,¡± Storm replied tiredly. ¡°He wasn¡¯t in the North. The man came back changed. Two wives, lords beheaded, befriending warlords,¡± Mortymer insisted. ¡°If he goes on a murderous rampage the whole realm might turn against him. It¡¯s not that he has many friends now. The King will want assurances.¡± ¡°Ursus and Cartaport gives Lesia the break it needs,¡± Storm said and pushed himself up as well using both hands. ¡°Regroup, plan again, write a fucking essay on how to beat him in the field and see where it goes from there.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Mortymer said and searched his pockets for a moment. ¡°Ah, there it is.¡± Storm frowned and stared at the crumpled parchment. ¡°It¡¯s good you are not required for the proposal to work. The King won¡¯t give up on you Lord Nattas,¡± Mortymer announced perusing his notes. ¡°Why?¡± Storm asked unable to understand. ¡°He doesn¡¯t care if Ursus gets what¡¯s coming to him, but you¡­ you have a Queen¡¯s favor,¡± Mortymer said and Storm almost collapsed on the floor not expecting his words. His face turning pale. ¡°Goodness me Nattas,¡± Mortymer said seeing him faltering. ¡°You seem like you¡¯ve swallowed a bull¡¯s phallus, take a breather.¡± ¡°What Queen?¡± Storm croaked his hands shaking. ¡°The King¡¯s late sister,¡± Mortymer replied with a frown. ¡°Who else? She loved your orphaned arse. Don¡¯t know why. Poor Vacia was sentimental like that. She made him promise to keep an eye on you.¡± ¡°Eh,¡± Storm murmured, his eyes blinking involuntarily. ¡°The King can¡¯t risk having your demise burdening his conscience,¡± Mortymer explained. ¡°So you explaining it to me, freed my hands. I don¡¯t have to threaten Riveras now to give up the land also. Personally I don¡¯t much care what happens to you either way after this.¡± Oh, for fuck¡¯s sake, Storm thought frustrated. Lucius would never harm me. ¡°Good luck getting the proposal through,¡± Storm croaked. ¡°Break a leg. Two.¡± ¡°Heh. Nice talk. Enjoy your stay Nattas,¡± Mortymer replied. ¡°Winter rations are great here. I would have left you the doughnuts, but you were a prick so I won¡¯t.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to pretend so hard,¡± Storm retorted sourly. ¡°I know you¡¯re a frugal cretin dear Cornelius.¡±
¡°Myrtle!¡± Nattas barked the moment Mortymer and Robert had departed. The heavy maid was heard approaching moments later. ¡°Lord Nattas? You¡¯ve called?¡± She asked syrupy and Storm grimaced seeing her coming through the door. ¡°I¡¯ll need favor,¡± Storm said quickly and reached for the chair, his legs not holding him. ¡°I¡¯ll need favor as well,¡± Myrtle retorted and winked at him all naughty. Storm gulped down, his stomach turning. ¡°You¡¯ve that cousin in the guards¡¯ kitchen?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Myrtle said and approached like a cow in heat. It was a knee-weakening moment and sight. ¡°Can he sent a message to Cartaport?¡± He asked clenching his jaw. ¡°Hmm. The army birds are monitored milord.¡± Storm removed a ring he had on his finger. The same design as the pommel on his cane on it, but made out of silver. ¡°I just want this send to a man named Grogan with some words. It¡¯s a gift. He works at the port.¡± ¡°What kind of work? The army has stopped all civilian businesses.¡± ¡°His work is vital for the morale of the troops,¡± Storm explained. ¡°They never get shut down.¡± ¡°That sounds like a big ask milord,¡± Myrtle said and reached between his legs. Storm thought of getting the blade out and slashing her throat but managed to control himself. ¡°Write down a number and a name. It¡¯s a password. For an account in Mclean & Merck. Any office.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t write milord,¡± Myrtle replied rubbing his cock over his pants and Storm hissed through his teeth frustrated. ¡°Bring me a quill and a blasted paper!¡± No rest for the wicked, the missive read.
409. The winter of the two Kings (1/2)
Lucius Alden, ¡®Bloody Tiger¡¯ Lord Lucius Aldenus the third, Praetor Maximus, King Lucius III The winter of the two Kings Part I -On time & the swing of fortunes-
¡°¡­I would discard every noteworthy account that any person could perhaps recommend, ab initio, on the ground of its importance. My meaning is this,¡± Di Cresta continued raising his head from the scroll to eye Lucius¡¯ and his entourage entering the Academy¡¯s main hall, a dilapidated long index finger pushing his glasses higher up the bridge of a wrinkled hawkish nose. ¡°It is ever clearer now, these preposterous expressions were not preposterous because we had not yet found the correct expressions, but that their preposterousness was their very core and essence. We stood bewildered fearing our lack of intellect, when we should have chortled riotously at their prosaic absurdity.¡± The ancient academic, grimaced at the sound of heavy boots coming down the aisle of the almost empty auditorium and stopped his lecture. Several students half-asleep at the stands were roused at the sight of Lucius approaching the first rows, followed by a bemused Merenda, a stoic Gripa, the guarded Sirio Veturius and two royal knights under Sir Maximilian Valens the High Baron¡¯s son. ¡°Tullus get down there,¡± Di Cresta ordered his assistant, a young man Lucius remembered from his entrance into the city months back, ¡°direct these insolent loud fools to sit. Plenty of seats in the first row to better listen.¡± ¡°Instructor,¡± Tullus started but Lucius¡¯ voice stopped him. The King had stopped a couple of meters away from the raised stand with a smile. ¡°Your lecture is running late professor,¡± Lucius told his old tutor. Di Cresta, a bald, white-haired, frail-looking man of over ninety years, though lively enough to walk on his own, stared at him over his glasses. ¡°Only for those keeping time and dream of hunts and bosomy maidens,¡± the academic retorted austerely. ¡°You have someplace better to be young man?¡± Sir Maximilian stepped forward with a scowl. Lucius extended an arm to stop him. ¡°I actually do but I was hoping for a casual word,¡± he told the groaning in the attempt to stand Di Cresta. Tullus Carantus helped him offering an old cane and the academic left the podium to walk near Lucius. While wrinkled and stooped from age, the old man was still as tall as the king. ¡°Speaking of time, it is an auspicious moment to stop and let thy class ponder on the real value of lofty tossed about slogans,¡± Lucius added loud enough to be heard inside the large auditorium. ¡°Hmm,¡± Di Cresta murmured and eyed his engrossed audience. His voice rising, a harsh metallic vibrato. ¡°You heard your king¡¯s order. Never has a brighter student graced this hall¡¯s walls. Study the man to learn from his actions, don¡¯t venerate him for it offers little. Everyone look to find something else ¡®seemingly¡¯ important that rattles the gullible populace and bring it back tomorrow.¡± ¡°The Academy is closed tomorrow Grand Instructor. It¡¯s the end of the week,¡± a keen-eyed student reminded him. Di Cresta eyed the young richly-dressed young man and nodded. ¡°You Salonius will argue for two different topics the day after that since you have ample time to prepare. In writing. Use large letters and make it readable. Dismiss them Tullus.¡±
¡°King Lucius,¡± Tullus said respectfully and bowed. ¡°Welcome to the academy.¡± ¡°Eh, grab a trumpet and stand in the corner. Blow at it if you feel the urge to speak,¡± Di Cresta scolded him but returned Lucius¡¯ smile with a naughty smirk. ¡°In this hall everyone is a student,¡± Lucius replied and bowed his head at the old professor. Di Cresta muttered under his breath not liking the fanfare and examined the men with Lucius curiously. His eyes stopping on the fascinated Sirio. ¡°You look out of place,¡± he noticed. ¡°Can you speak? Is it a chronic condition?¡± ¡°Master Di Cresta I have read¡ª¡± A mumbling Sirio attempted to say with the academic cutting in with a grimace. ¡°Not well enough and I misspoke,¡± he decided. ¡°You obviously are right where you belong. The curriculums have some spots left open. Do yourself a favor and join you''re running out of time.¡± ¡°Mister Veturius is our new intelligence officer,¡± Lucius explained and Di Cresta raised his thick white brows not believing it. ¡°You know Sir Maximilian, the High Baron¡¯s son. This is my aide Prefect Marc Gripa and Centurion of the Second Cohort Merenda.¡± ¡°Have any liquor on you?¡± Di Cresta asked the grinning Centurion. ¡°A bronze flask of black whiskey,¡± Merenda replied and Lucius frowned at his officer. ¡°You expect me to beg?¡± The academic retorted and the officer produced the metal flask. Di Cresta sipped from it and coughed once. ¡°Flavored poison. Good to rub my feet though or douse the kindling. Leave it with Tullus.¡± Merenda frowned not expecting to lose it but Lucius nodded for him to comply. ¡°I have to inspect the temple¡¯s dome those blind barbarians damaged,¡± Di Cresta told Lucius next. ¡°Fortunately I gait leisurely these days. So if you¡¯re looking for time we have until we step outside.¡± Lucius offered his elbow for support and the old academic latched at it with strong fingers. ¡°How was the North?¡± ¡°Empty but full of life,¡± Lucius replied walking at his slow tempo towards the exit. ¡°It leaves an impression.¡± ¡°Can one traverse over the ice to reach Yalca?¡± ¡°At certain times during the winter. But one needs to prepare accordingly and pray to find something more than ice beyond it.¡± ¡°Life survives everywhere or transforms to an entity that could,¡± Di Cresta argued. ¡°I heard your second wife produced two more offspring.¡± ¡°Gossip reaches these walls?¡± Lucius teased. ¡°Gossip follows people else walls would be silent. You should take your firstborn with you so people can see him.¡± ¡°He¡¯s too young still, but I have made it clear.¡± ¡°Women don¡¯t like coming second.¡± Lucius nodded. ¡°All my children I love equally, but Roderick is the heir.¡± ¡°Huh, when one queries a man about his wives and he swiftly moves to talk of the children then it is better not to ask again.¡± Lucius chuckled. ¡°Any of my cousins attend your classes?¡± ¡°I tutored Sandra and the Riveras brats for two summers,¡± Di Cresta replied. ¡°Miranda was a saint in comparison and Jeremy an artist.¡± ¡°Come on. You¡¯re just getting older.¡± ¡°You know what the best thing is about getting older?¡± Di Cresta retorted and Lucius paused to think about it. ¡°You are not dead.¡± The old academic answered his query himself and grinned. ¡°Any advice on how to get out of the war?¡± ¡°Surrender.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t do that.¡± ¡°Make them surrender then.¡± Lucius breathed out and stopped just outside the entrance to stare at the academy¡¯s yard. The cloudy sky casting shadows over the flower beds and the old sequoia trees. ¡°I don¡¯t want to harm Jeremy,¡± he admitted. ¡°Only gods should rule over people,¡± Pompeo Di Cresta told him soberly. ¡°And that¡¯s debatable. Anything else is unnatural. When people do, then they are forced to act inhumane. I never envied that nor wished it for anyone I cared about.¡± He crumpled his wrinkled mouth seeing Lucius¡¯ troubled expression. ¡°We love the tree growing in our yard and treasure its fruits but not all of them are eatable. Those that are bad we discard to save the rest. That don¡¯t mean we don¡¯t love them.¡± ¡°Will your countrymen see reason?¡± ¡°The Bank is ruled by their greed so they have neither morals nor pride. They¡¯ll sign anything for profit. The Divinus'' spawn¡¯s court is driven by the Lennox women. They are harsh and bitter. Not unforgiving though.¡± ¡°My mother was a saint,¡± Lucius argued. ¡°Vacia hadn¡¯t lay eyes on another man afore getting on that carriage to be sent here,¡± Di Cresta countered. ¡°Those that stray from the path get punished and locked up. When they grow up they raise their children accordingly and judge the world through their own experience. They take a perceived offense personally.¡± Di Cresta was talking of Lord Miles Lennox. The old Shield had been killed in Kas. Queen Saskia was his only daughter. ¡°How do I mellow a grieving daughter¡¯s heart?¡± ¡°Forget about Saskia. She¡¯s a lost cause. You need to appease the Baroness because they are close and they grew up together. She¡¯s the soul of the family and not the fools in Cediorum. All Lennox look to the ruler of Ballard Castle for advice and not the other way around.¡± Lucius nodded. ¡°Will an apology suffice?¡± ¡°If it¡¯s truthful,¡± Di Cresta replied. ¡°But packaging it with a truce is a different manner. This is the moral part of the deal and the same goes for the other party. But there are also matters of state and borders at hand. Those need to be decided in the field or in another way.¡± Lucius spotted the academy carriage approaching and Tullus went ahead to greet its driver. ¡°You¡¯ll need something from the King?¡± ¡°Crews to repair the dome,¡± Di Cresta replied. ¡°Those cracks are near the supports and the glass don¡¯t take well to changes in temperature.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve accounted for that.¡± ¡°Not with weakened supports. I had them there for a reason. Boulders crashing through them I expected not. It was an oversight.¡± ¡°I need those crews to repair the walls,¡± Lucius murmured. ¡°The reports said the dome is fine for now.¡± ¡°Why offer help if you can¡¯t provide it?¡± Lucius sighed. ¡°I¡¯ll dispatch a building crew and some engineers to instruct them.¡± ¡°Keep your engineers,¡± Di Cresta replied. ¡°Let them write those reports and I¡¯ll instruct the crews myself.¡± Lucius shook his head. ¡°You¡¯ll need help going up the carriage?¡± ¡°That¡¯s why Tullus is here. The king should see to the kingdom¡¯s affairs. What I could teach, you already know but I appreciate the visit,¡± the old academic said raspingly and reached to touch his face but didn¡¯t at the last moment. ¡°Despair clouds the mind to the future and possible solutions. Not all problems can be solved fairly,¡± he added and with a scowl turned to the waiting Tullus. ¡°These are heavy clouds,¡± Di Cresta told him. ¡°They are about to drop on us. We better get moving.¡±
Lucius watched the carriage going away for a moment and turned to an adjutant that had approached their group but had paused expecting permission to come nearer. He waved for Sir Maximilian and the knights stepped aside. ¡°I have news from the north gates sire,¡± the young officer reported. ¡°They found Caxaton?¡± Lucius asked and glanced at the sky. ¡°In a sense my lord,¡± the man replied. ¡°Where¡¯s Baron Valens?¡± ¡°In the field sire.¡± ¡°Gripa you think we can have the horses brought here before rain starts?¡± Lucius asked. ¡°We can have Merenda sprint to the stables,¡± Gripa replied. ¡°He¡¯s the faster unless the stories were a lie.¡± ¡°Hold my helm Prefect,¡± Marcus Antonius chuckled eagerly. ¡°I¡¯ll be right back.¡± Sir Maximilian frowned and Lucius turned to Sirio while the Centurion took off under the amused stares of the Royal Knights. ¡°What is the mood in the city mister Veturius?¡± Lucius asked. ¡°We¡¯ve restored the west route my lord,¡± Sirio replied after a thoughtful pause. ¡°But no supplies have come through yet. Sula requested a meeting.¡± That was Drusus Sula, Lord Sula¡¯s first cousin, the Lord of the Silver Mines at Demames now commanding the troops that had come from Novesium. It seemed all male members of the Sula family could lead men if the opportunity knocked on their doors. ¡°He wants to talk about keeping Novesium,¡± Lucius said to Gripa. ¡°He can¡¯t.¡± ¡°Maybe giving Baron Vendor control of the flank would be preferable?¡± ¡°Mmm. Not packaged like that, I need to think on this some more,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°Inform Sula¡¯s man I¡¯m indisposed. A family matter.¡± ¡°The family would need some time also,¡± Gripa reminded him and Lucius nodded. ¡°I¡¯m aware.¡± ¡°They should be as well my lord,¡± Gripa insisted. You made your point my friend, Lucius¡¯ eyes told him and his aide nodded. Noon, last month of 193 NC Cartagen¡¯s Flower Bridge The River Mabindon¡¯s East Leg, River Sources Rich-Forest West The High Baron walked near Lucius with Captain Percival Gaeta in tow. He greeted his son with a wave of the head and the knight returned it with a bow of his. ¡°My king,¡± the Baron started. ¡°Have you had the time to examine the remains?¡± ¡°I have,¡± Lucius replied and glanced at the covered in blankets decaying corpses. ¡°The state of them is ghastly Baron.¡± ¡°Forest bears roam the trees out there,¡± Valens replied. ¡°Come down the mountains to look for food in the winter.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t identify him with the face missing,¡± Lucius argued. ¡°The papers on the knight and a letter found on the body point to the fact it¡¯s him,¡± the Baron replied. ¡°That¡¯s his wife he¡¯s writing?¡± ¡°Aye my king,¡± Valens rubbed his chin with a gloved hand. ¡°We didn¡¯t find weapons. They were killed before the predators got to them.¡± ¡°How many inside the forest still?¡± ¡°At least sixty men left tracks near their camp. No one knows exactly the number. The number of prisoners is over five hundred.¡± ¡°A revolt?¡± ¡°A dispute of sorts. We might never know,¡± Valens said. ¡°He was at the Conference of Lords.¡± Lucius nodded. ¡°I was hoping to bring him in. Lesia didn¡¯t help the High King.¡± ¡°They didn¡¯t help your father also,¡± the Baron argued. ¡°It¡¯s your call sire.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll inform his family. Anyone here knows of the Lords beyond Andalus other than Prefect Durio?¡± ¡°Not really my king,¡± the Baron replied. ¡°Mmm. You can start withdrawing the army Baron. Leave patrols on the Wine Bridge, near the river and send men to check the edges of the woods. Make those groups strong. Can they survive the winter in the wilds?¡± ¡°Not near the mountains. They might attempt to traverse the forest and head west, but they¡¯ll never make it out. It¡¯s unpassable, especially with rain coming down like that.¡± It was raining heavily for hours now. Standing near the river, the chill and humidity penetrated his coat. But Lucius wasn¡¯t as bothered by it as the Baron. ¡°I¡¯ll return to the palace Baron Valens,¡± Lucius informed him. ¡°Sir Maximilian you¡¯re released to return with your father unless the baron wants to come along.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be honored sire but I have men still searching the woods. I¡¯ll return later today. Will a council be held later?¡± The Baron asked. ¡°Mister Gripa?¡± ¡°The merchant guild wishes for another meeting sire.¡± ¡°After we resolve the Cartaport question,¡± Lucius replied with a grimace. ¡°Inform them I want an explanation on the prices I witnessed on basic goods.¡±
The palace guards saluted when Lucius entered the throne room. He waited for them to walk outside but for a legionnaire of the 2nd Cohort that remained near the doors. Gripa took his soaked coat and walked to the lit fireplace. The atmosphere heavy with all the chandeliers burning but the well illuminated hall was warm and dry. ¡°I¡¯ll visit the twins,¡± Lucius informed Gripa and walked up the stairs. A knight talking with Sir Merenda on the first floor snapped to attention seeing the king approaching. The commander of the Royal Guard bowing his aged head once. ¡°Sir Seleucid,¡± Lucius greeted the hale knight. ¡°Are my wives indisposed?¡± ¡°I would never presume they are for the king sire,¡± the senior Merenda retorted and let out a laugh from his belly. ¡°But the young Queen is sleeping.¡± ¡°I would keep my voice lower commander,¡± Lucius advised. ¡°And avoid mentioning ages around the Queens.¡± Merenda frowned, then grinned which made him look like his son. ¡°Absolutely. I¡¯ll keep yer words in mind my lord.¡± Lucius nodded and went to check on the twins first. They were sleeping in the same cot, one hugging the other peacefully. It was quite a sight to witness and Lucius spent some time there afore going to visit Faye, but Merenda informed him the Northern Queen had gone downstairs while he was preoccupied.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. So the King climbed down the stairs to return to the throne room.
The royal knight from earlier had followed Faye down and was standing near the throne now, a sour expression on his face. Sir Donald, the young knight was a local lad from Cartagen, saluted the king. Lucius stared at the heavy Faye dressed in a thin loose tunic and leathers sitting on the throne, her long hair caught in a loose ponytail. ¡°Are you comfortable?¡± Lucius asked teasingly. ¡°Not really. It¡¯s too hot in here. Can we open a window? There are like a hundred of them in this place!¡± Faye retorted all flushed and angry about something. ¡°It¡¯s the middle of winter Faye.¡± ¡°Pfft. I can¡¯t breathe Alden,¡± she griped. ¡°Isn¡¯t it better than the summer?¡± ¡°I could walk outside in the summer, feel the breeze.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a chilly breeze outside. Why are you all riled up?¡± Lucius asked and walked to the throne. ¡°You¡¯re not supposed to sit here by the way.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a chair Alden so stop with the bullshit words. He took my sword by the way. Sneaky motherfucker,¡± Faye snapped and pointed a finger at the frowning knight. ¡°Locked it in that weapon stand!¡± Lucius rubbed his forehead and looked at the knight. ¡°Sir Donald?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve found a sharpened blade on the scribes table,¡± the knight explained. ¡°I¡¯ve returned it to the weapon locker my lord.¡± ¡°It was mine!¡± Faye hissed. ¡°I put it there and now I can¡¯t take it back.¡± ¡°Is it locked?¡± Lucius asked patiently and kept Faye from getting up placing a hand on her shoulder. ¡°Of course sire,¡± Sir Donald replied. ¡°You hold the keys?¡± ¡°Aye my lord.¡± ¡°Get the blade out and bring it here Sir Donald.¡± ¡°I want the key also,¡± Faye added and Lucius turned to look at her. ¡°You can¡¯t treat this hall like a longhouse Red. The weapons are kept in the armory or locked in secure closets. You don¡¯t need a weapon inside the palace. All these knights are guarding you.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t trust them,¡± Faye retorted narrowing her eyes. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know any of these people.¡± ¡°Nonsense. You know everyone by now. And they are your people. You want Logan to stay here? I asked but he decided to stay in the gardens,¡± Lucius queried while the Knight returned with her sword. ¡°Thank you Sir Donald. I¡¯ll need a moment with the Queen.¡± Sir Donald nodded and walked away, his spurs heard clearly on the lacquered tiles. Faye puffed her freckled cheeks out and stared in his face. ¡°Am I a Queen?¡± ¡°You are. A Queen consort.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t feel like it,¡± Faye noted and Lucius kissed her on the lips. ¡°You smell of another woman¡¯s babies,¡± Faye murmured. ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± Lucius said and helped her off of the throne. He sat down with a sigh. ¡°Now come sit here,¡± he told her and Faye sat on his legs. ¡°My goodness, you¡¯re a heavy woman,¡± Lucius teased her. ¡°I¡¯ve a heavier hand,¡± she warned him clutching at his neck with both arms. ¡°Look how they stare,¡± Faye hissed and glared at the knight watching with hawkish eyes from afar. ¡°You breaking all their protocols every day,¡± Lucius explained. ¡°You leave without warning. Walk alone to the stables, then visit the kitchens to eat. Cyrus Falx is bringing me a list of your escapades every night and the poor man is at the end of his tether.¡± ¡°I can come and go wherever I want,¡± Faye said. ¡°That¡¯s not how the palace works.¡± ¡°What the fuck Alden? Is the Queen less free than a common woman?¡± Faye protested and Lucius kissed her nose with a smile. ¡°I mean it,¡± she warned. ¡°We can go on a hunt,¡± Lucius offered. ¡°After you have the baby.¡± ¡°That¡¯s months later. We¡¯ll lose the winter!¡± ¡°People stay inside during winter Red.¡± ¡°Are you kidding me? The weather is fantastic!¡± Faye retorted and moved to get up. ¡°I need to pee unhand me.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Lucius said and released her. ¡°Have you eaten?¡± Before Faye could answer him, a couple of Legion officers entered. Galio and Merenda with Prefect Trupo. ¡°Ah, the war briefing starts.¡± Faye groaned but stooped to pick up her sword. ¡°Do you need that in the lavatory?¡± Lucius asked her with a smile. ¡°Aye,¡± Faye replied and waved at the approaching officers. ¡°Anyone seen Logan?¡± She asked them and they stopped to salute stiffly. ¡°Queen Faye,¡± Galio started and Faye cut him with a scoff. ¡°Oh, cut the crap Old Oak,¡± she hissed and with a grimace of discomfort marched away to relieve herself. ¡°The Northmen killed a royal deer. The sixth in a week,¡± the old officer reported after a pregnant pause. ¡°And are cutting down a number of trees from the gardens to build a camp. The palace guard want to charge inside the woods milord and drive them out. I fear a bloodbath. What should the Legion do?¡± ¡°They shouldn¡¯t antagonize them. The Legion doesn¡¯t interfere in the Palace¡¯s affairs, unless I order it,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°Send an engineer and some men to help them settle in properly.¡± ¡°Inside the Palace gardens woods milord?¡± Galio asked just to be certain. ¡°Until we find a better arrangement. Let¡¯s not pretend homeless people don¡¯t roam the woods or haven¡¯t taken refuge there whilst the palace was closed. It¡¯s a big empty space Galio and the Northmen need a place to stay. Letting them loose inside the capital might give us more problems and I can¡¯t send them home. They are sworn to Faye.¡± ¡°They could stay with the Legion,¡± Galio offered. ¡°The Cohort have built a camp.¡± ¡°They didn¡¯t when we were on campaign, they won¡¯t do it now,¡± Lucius retorted. ¡°I¡¯ll bequeath the north garden woods to Faye. They can stay in there as her honor guard. Have their own space. Big Layton as well. Until I come up with something more palatable.¡± Early evening, Cartagen, The Palace of a hundred of windows, King¡¯s Hall. Eighteen months offensive, Day 341 Code named 18 plus 12, War briefing ¡°Is Draco fearing an attack?¡± Lucius asked poring over the maps open on the large conference table as Sirio returned carrying a bunch of scrolls and the latest missives. The younger Veturius looking worn out and wet as a cat that had stumbled inside a water barrel. ¡°Dry up near the fireplace,¡± Lucius told him signing for his uncle to halt a response the old man had ready. ¡°Leave the missives to Trupo.¡± ¡°There are Ballard banners spotted in Sava,¡± Galio started after Sirio left the stack on the table. ¡°But no other regulars. We assume reinforcements are coming.¡± ¡°What can Ballard put in the field?¡± Lucius asked writing down numbers despite having Trupo¡¯s notes. ¡°Around a thousand soldiers. These are mixed type troops,¡± Galio replied. ¡°Men-at-arms also, they have a long tradition of good knights in the Barony. Haven¡¯t taken the field in decades but they are a lot of old knights, veterans of your father¡¯s campaigns there. The number unknown. But fifty is about it. No more than a hundred.¡± ¡°What does Draco think?¡± ¡°They might try something. They now have double his numbers. Two skirmishes were fought by scouts. Lepidus suggested a raid through the vine fields but the weather isn¡¯t helping.¡± ¡°No raids. Stay in a defensive stance. If they attempt to provoke an engagement, he is to retreat twenty kilometers to the turn. We might have to send reinforcements. Another Cohort. Could be the 1st even or Merenda.¡± ¡°Can we¡­?¡± Trupo started but paused reading Sirio¡¯s missives. ¡°How old is this?¡± He asked him and the young man stopped combing his hair startled. Sirio approached, his boots squelching and his pants covered in mud. ¡°Did you fall from the horse again?¡± Trupo asked casually, working at the curved sides of his mustache. ¡°Climbing up,¡± Sirio replied pensively. ¡°My foot slipped and I fell in a ditch.¡± ¡°Was the horse hurt?¡± ¡°It just moved when I made the attempt. At any rate it was flooded so I wasn¡¯t hurt too much.¡± ¡°Good lad,¡± Trupo said indifferently and showed him the missive to showcase he was expecting a reply, while Lucius pointed at the distracted Galio the road leading to Sava and penciled with a coal stick the kilometers on the military map. ¡°A week,¡± Sirio replied. ¡°The bird stopped at Oldfort.¡± ¡°They can¡¯t react before us,¡± Lucius explained to the veteran Tribune but stopped as the officers were all distracted and weren¡¯t paying attention to him. ¡°What does it say?¡± ¡°The local commander had received a message from Asturia that there was a large caravan incoming with supplies and war materiel. It never arrived, so he asked for clarification and they replied that they have lost it. Around a hundred men, thirty wagons. He sent men up the Tunnel Pass to investigate and by the time he did, Asturia had dispatched another report that the caravan had been attacked on the road. It was an ambush. Everyone was killed but four young lads. Asturia learned the news when they returned.¡± ¡°Brigands?¡± ¡°Legion Cavalry. Rangers,¡± Trupo replied. ¡°At least three hundred.¡± ¡°Ole scrawny Lig,¡± Galio grunted and worked his tongue over his teeth nervously. Lucius pursed his mouth. ¡°Would he have ordered it?¡± Lucius asked with a frown and stared at the map. ¡°Not without reason, but he ain¡¯t merciful to rebels either and you know how rangers are,¡± Galio replied. ¡°I reckoned he might have mellowed a bit wit old age but apparently it ain¡¯t so.¡± Galio was older than Ligur and hadn¡¯t mellowed down at all himself. ¡°You served under him?¡± Lucius probed working the development in his head. ¡°Eleven years. He came fresh out of the academy,¡± Galio replied. ¡°Must be on year thirty something now. This was done on purpose milord.¡± ¡°Can Oldfort control the Tunnel Pass?¡± Sirio asked and Lucius walked away from the table to think. ¡°Asturia will send men and then there¡¯s Sula who would want to dig his teeth into the matter,¡± Galio noted. ¡°Sula should stay put,¡± Lucius intervened. ¡°Say Ligur ventures down the Tunnel Pass¡­ what are the lines of supply? Is he closer than us to the Navel?¡± ¡°If he gets to the Navel, then the Anorum road is cut,¡± Galio reminded him but Lucius knew that. ¡°Durio has the engineers and the recruits are gathering at Storm¡¯s Rest,¡± Trupo said. ¡°Working crews,¡± Galio countered. ¡°Builders.¡± ¡°Lesia might attack at Sava if they are communicating,¡± Trupo pointed and Lucius exhaled trying to keep his calm. ¡°He saw the Fourth arrive in Asturia,¡± Galio said and Lucius nodded. ¡°Would he have told Lesia?¡± Trupo asked. ¡°Your darn brother might have done it,¡± Galio grunted. ¡°Apologies milord.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know that,¡± Lucius said and approached the table again. ¡°Inform Merenda he¡¯s to force-march to Oldfort,¡± Lucius started but the doors swung open and Ramirus walked in. The LID officer as drenched as Sirio had been and the sound of thunders coming from outside. ¡°You¡¯re late Centurion,¡± Galio snapped. ¡°I was approached by the Duke¡¯s adjutant via a merchant,¡± Ramirus explained. ¡°Lesia wants a truce.¡± ¡°When was this?¡± Lucius asked suspicious of the wild swing in emotions inside the room. ¡°This afternoon my Lord,¡± Ramirus replied and came to stand near the table. He offered Trupo a scroll and he brought it to Lucius. ¡°I should have been informed immediately Ramirus,¡± Lucius grunted and unfurled the standard military parchment to read the bold letters. ¡°Your lordship was indisposed and I had to deal with another request,¡± Ramirus replied. ¡°What request?¡± Lucius said reading through the Admiralty¡¯s proposal. It was signed with the waxed seal of Admiral Lennox and not the young Duke but appeared legitimate. ¡°An unsavory character named Grogan wanted an audience with you sire,¡± Ramirus replied. ¡°According to a man we have inside Cartaport he slipped through the patrols without problem. Then gained entrance inside the city itself and contacted one of my agents.¡± Lucius nodded. ¡°For what reason?¡± ¡°I obviously feared an assassination attempt. He¡¯s a cutthroat,¡± Ramirus explained. ¡°I have him detained and questioned.¡± ¡°Anything came of it?¡± ¡°A weird ring. He had it on him, but won¡¯t divulge anything else,¡± Ramirus replied. ¡°We¡¯re¡­ working on getting more out.¡± ¡°What was weird about the ring?¡± Lucius asked and finding a chair sat down. He offered the scroll to Galio but Trupo was closer and took it first. ¡°He had some kind of naked freak on it? Spooky stuff sire,¡± Ramirus replied. ¡°Might be some cultist. We¡¯ll know more soon. It was the reason I was late to the meeting.¡± ¡°Inform me when you do,¡± Lucius said leaving the matter aside and turned to the officers present. ¡°Someone should notify Baron Valens and Vendor or their adjutants. Lesia wants a truce indeed.¡± ¡°That¡¯s extremely convenient given the timing,¡± Galio commented. ¡°What do they want?¡± Not if they are not talking with Jeremy. ¡°A prisoner exchange,¡± Lucius replied. The old academic was right. There was a way. ¡°Good luck with that, they have no prisoners of ours,¡± Trupo retorted. ¡°They offer Duke Ursus,¡± Lucius said and everyone stood back in shock. The King of Cartagen grimaced, glanced at the constipated expression on Sirio¡¯s face as he listened to Ramirus¡¯ report about their prisoner and added. ¡°And returning control of Cartaport in exchange for their soldiers and Barons.¡± ¡°Goodness grace,¡± Trupo gasped. ¡°Jolly good proposal sire!¡± The officer paused and then said in a more controlled manner. ¡°One would assume it sounds good at first read,¡± Trupo added playing down his earlier reaction. Lucius licked his lips, as Sirio stumbled on his feet not four meters from him, all but collapsing under the table. What¡¯s the matter with this guy? He thought unsure and then dropped it to concentrate on the important development. ¡°We¡¯ll reconvene in two hours,¡± Lucius decided in order to have the time to go through the details with a fine tooth comb. ¡°Ramirus stay. Tribune you too,¡± he added. ¡°Would you accept milord?¡± Galio asked and Lucius puffed out, his eyes turning on the narrow road leading towards Oldfort. ¡°I can¡¯t not accept it, if it is legit and we¡¯ll know more when we talk with Lesia on the morrow,¡± he replied. ¡°But also it makes me nervous. Why would they oblige us thus?¡± Lucius wondered rapping his fingers on the table. That he couldn¡¯t figure out.
First Legion¡¯s Headquarters Two weeks earlier Centurion Memon paused to stare at the dark sky, the thunders roaring and the lightings flashing on the celestial dome. Heavy rain pouring down without any signs of slowing down. The keel of the ship cracked and it¡¯s leaking, he thought pensively and wiped his jaw from the water gathered under his helm¡¯s bindings. It had penetrated his Legion hooded cloak and had soaked him to the bone. The lower half part of his body drenched in watery mud from the road. Memon nodded to the Legionnaire standing by the door of the central building, a large mansion dominating Mercator¡¯s Inn village in the middle of the lush flat plains. The soldier saluted sharply the Legatus¡¯ Aide and turning banged his fist at the door once. It opened and Memon walked past a second group of guards inside the big corridor. Everything had been stripped from the mansion¡¯s first floor, the second and third not used. Only useful furniture had been left, even the heavy doors taken out to be used by the engineers producing machines. The central hall now visible at the end but not empty. Tables with tiny models of the fields up to Lourmar and the river. Large maps covering the walls, part of the hall turned into an armory and officer barracks. There were buildings half a day away at Islandport but ¡®Ole Scrawny Lig¡¯ wanted all officers to remain near their units and brave the elements whether they were in battle or not. Baron Scylla could have disagreed but Lord Domus Scylla was a dry, practical man like the desert rocks he hailed from and didn¡¯t bother arguing too much. Despite that Commander Seneca of Vinterfort had parked his regulars there along those from Sabretooth Castle with Scylla remaining at Mercator¡¯s Inn near the Legatus. Primus Pilus Glycia who should have retired but have opted to stay for another term after reaching the highest rank he could reach, snapped his balding head his way. The large wound from the spear that¡¯d sliced half his face off covered with a bronze mask that recreated part of it. Lord Scylla of Sabretooth Castle stopped pacing back and forth seeing Memon approach. Prefect Canus Betto the last of the surviving ¡®old-heads¡¯ of the First Legion, brother to Captain Betto, Alden city¡¯s commander of the guards smiled, mouth splitting his thick but trimmed black beard. Ligur had threatened to throw him in jail or flogged to shave it off but Betto had stood his ground. ¡®Ye can¡¯t jail me now Faustus, for you need me,¡¯ he¡¯d told his friend. ¡®But ye can lock me up if we win. Just so you know, if we pull this off I¡¯m shaving the darn beard off anyway.¡¯ The gaunt face of the one-armed officer turned to stare at Memon as well. Memon had served under the Legatus for well over twenty years. First as a soldier, then a Decanus and after the battle of the Turncoats as a centurion. Now risen to Aide de Legatus by Ligur himself as the Legatus had promoted only trusted men to rebuild the Legion. Memon was well over the age of retirement as well, his twenty-five years had ended a couple of winters back and he¡¯d a parcel of land near Alden City to go to. As Memon had told Ligur, the moment the Legatus decided to leave the army he¡¯d leave it as well. But not sooner. ¡°You made contact?¡± Ligur asked raspingly, his right arm used to support his stooped over the maps ascetic body, the left severed three fingers below the elbow and the stub protruding from the sleeve covered in a steel cap which was a vambrace afore. ¡°Thirty kilometers from Holt¡¯s Stables,¡± Memon started immediately. ¡°They¡¯ve cut a road through the forest, used boats to cross the North Tributary and bring supplies to the Tunnel Pass.¡± ¡°Is it finished?¡± Scylla asked, his arms clasped behind his back. A tall man with grey hair, he wore a knight¡¯s cuirass without any markings on it. ¡°Yes. A two-carriage in width road at the most,¡± Memon replied. ¡°Guarded?¡± Centurion Glycia asked. ¡°Not openly, but most crews have returned to Asturia. The caravans bring supplies now. Probably all the way to Cartagen.¡± Ligur, the Legatus of the First, a rank he¡¯d begrudgingly accepted as it wasn¡¯t an earned promotion in the field but part of his compensation by royal decree in order to stay on for another term, pressed his stiff jaw tight. Close to fifty years old, Ligur didn¡¯t have a white strand of hair on his blond head. The hair there sheared off very short, the haircut unchanged for decades. ¡°The Fourth landed in Asturia,¡± he said and moved the legionnaire figure on the map from the town of Sava all the way up to Asturia near the figure representing Lord Holt¡¯s force. ¡°Lucius is holding Lesia back with the Third and the Barons.¡± ¡°Lord Sula has forces there also,¡± Scylla commented. ¡°Can¡¯t have more than a thousand spears,¡± Ligur argued. ¡°Memon?¡± ¡°Six hundred to eight hundred are most reports,¡± he replied. ¡°Fucking Lesia,¡± Lord Scylla cursed. ¡°Talking from both sides of their mouths and pretend they are holier than thou! I wrote to Lord Doris all about it. He should inform the King to cut off all talks with them! They lied!¡± ¡°We can¡¯t consume ourselves with politics Lord Scylla,¡± Ligur said. ¡°The King might know anyway.¡± ¡°Do you want to send reinforcements to Lord Brakis?¡± Scylla asked him. ¡°Because I had to wrestle men out of their hands!¡± He breathed out and stared at an officer. ¡°Bring me a bottle of wine Luton,¡± Scylla ordered and then turned to the Legatus. ¡°Apologies, I strive to be patient but the mess they¡¯ve created at the coast is about to give me an ulcer.¡± ¡°Brakis has to push Lord Sula back,¡± Ligur continued with a nod and pointed at the map. ¡°Either way Demames has been fighting for close to three years. They¡¯ve burned through their reserves. Sula can¡¯t leave Aegium for it¡¯s a huge prize for him. Would he abandon Novesium?¡± ¡°I hope he chokes on it! That idiot Ursus should have been executed immediately after the attack on Alistair,¡± Scylla grunted and then grimaced trying to calm down. ¡°My nerves are tired, I¡¯ll just sit on that chair Legatus.¡± ¡°Whatever Lord Sula does,¡± Betto said. ¡°He can¡¯t assist Lucius more than simply covering the coast.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± Ligur agreed and cleared Sula¡¯s force from the map with a measuring stick. ¡°The Barons need to protect Cartagen,¡± Memon offered with a glance at the scowling Scylla. ¡°Politically they need to, regain Cartaport if it¡¯s possible.¡± ¡°Whether Lesia stays or retreats, the problem they present persists as Lesia can¡¯t be defeated in a month,¡± Ligur agreed and removed the Barons forces from the map as well. ¡°We can¡¯t just lose Cartagen,¡± Scylla intervened much calmer now but still miffed from his chair. ¡°That¡¯s irrelevant,¡± Ligur retorted and stricken two points on the map. ¡°The safe road is looping over the mountains to Anorum but Lucius and Holt are using the riskier Tunnel Pass because it is much faster. Lucius will march through the tunnel road to attack our flank and take Holt¡¯s Stables. Again a political objective but this time also strategic. He¡¯ll do it for both reasons and use the tunnel because it is faster.¡± ¡°You want to attack at the path?¡± Glycia asked and stooped to see the terrain. ¡°After the rain season?¡± ¡°No,¡± Ligur replied and moved the stick at the other point on the map. ¡°The sooner we can for he will move the moment the Capital is secure. He should have done it already but the word is the Holt girl gave him twins. Young fathers get distracted. Anyway we will do some damage and pull back towards our lines, not the fortifications. At the mouth of the two copses. Prefect Betto will take this on with Frugus¡¯ 3rd Cohort and as much engineers we can gather.¡± ¡°You want to stop Lucius with just over a thousand legionnaires?¡± Scylla asked, more curious than angry. ¡°We can¡¯t fight Lucius with the young Sula and Holt beyond that river,¡± Ligur replied and moved Lucius¡¯ force out of the map along the 3rd Cohort. ¡°I want to destroy the Fourth and the Asturia Regulars here.¡± He took a coal and drew a couple of lines on the map. ¡°You¡¯ll allow the Legion to cross the bridge uncontested?¡± Glycia asked and Ligur nodded. Scylla got up and approached to see for himself what the plan was. ¡°You¡¯ll put my regulars and the Alden recruits against Sula?¡± ¡°I will,¡± Ligur replied harshly. ¡°For they would fight a Sula but might hesitate against an Alden.¡± Scylla licked his lips and crossed both arms on his chest. ¡°I have my son down there Ligur,¡± he grunted. ¡°The Fourth will smash them, take Islandport.¡± Ligur nodded and pointed at the distance from Framtond and the village of Lourmar that had changed hands a couple of times already without anyone risking a permanent force there. ¡°A huge win seemingly. A triumph, but a city isn¡¯t easy to control. You can get caught up in it though,¡± Ligur said. ¡°So we¡¯ll grab the woods with the 2nd Cohort, march north and come out here to control the road. We¡¯ll sent the 1st Cohort to help Commander Seneca and your son. Squeeze Sula towards the coast or in a booby trapped city until he bleeds out of the eyes and vomits blood. That¡¯s all the forces Lucius has at his disposal. No more surprises else they¡¯ll have appeared by now. More than us sure but we can defeat them in detail. In order to do that we must provoke them and absorb the first punch. People will perish gentlemen. Expect heavy casualties.¡± ¡°Holt will attack immediately as well,¡± a frowned Scylla noted thoughtfully. ¡°He will, but Lord Holt,¡± Ligur had replied matter-of-factly. ¡°We shall not allow to cross.¡± Memon stayed after the others left to get his orders passed down the ranks. The Legatus worked on the upper part of his severed arm with his fingers in silence staring at the maps, the sound of the rain not diminishing at all. ¡°Can we win the war Legatus?¡± Memon asked raspingly and Ligur turned his pale blue eyes on him. The lines on his face prominent and deep. ¡°We won¡¯t decide that but the people in charge on both sides. An undefeated general hates casualties on one hand but he needs to stomach them. Be cruel to win. The war is run by politicians on our side and they think of their future first and foremost. I¡¯m not sure what a ¡®win¡¯ is in their thoughts. This is a needless war but we¡¯re soldiers Memon, so we only get to fight it,¡± he replied. ¡°Remember younger men have no patience and are led by pride. This is our advantage, not numbers or anything beyond that. In this tiny moment in time we can use it while we still can. We have one chance in this and one chance only. If we fail no one else can pull this off. Such is our grim task. Had the roles been reversed I would have waited Lesia out for they can¡¯t lose another winter or ask Jeremy for a truce to push them back.¡± ¡°Split the kingdom?¡± ¡°There¡¯s enough land for both of them. He won¡¯t do it though. So we¡¯ll remind the bloody tiger how costly a war can be.¡± Could they break Lucius spirit? Memon nodded. ¡°Will he back down?¡± Ligur grimaced, breathed once deeply and then pushed their own forces aside. ¡°He won¡¯t for if he wins here, it¡¯s over. Too big a prize for him,¡± he said and glanced his way apologetically. ¡°I may have killed you my old friend. Do not judge me harshly.¡± Memon stood back setting his jaw. ¡°I¡¯ll serve the Legatus with my last breath,¡± he declared and Ligur nodded soberly afore replying. ¡°See you remember that on the morrow.¡±
410. The winter of the two Kings (2/2) - ¡®So I respectfully ask for your lady¡¯s forgiveness¡¯ King Lucius Alden Circa winter of 193 NC *Excerpt from a personal letter kept in the Ballard¡¯s Castle archives in Lesia. Addressed to the High Baroness Lila Lennox.
Lucius Alden, ¡®Bloody Tiger¡¯ Lord Lucius Aldenus the third, Praetor Maximus, King Lucius III The winter of the two Kings Part II -A lady''s forgiveness-
Sirio started after Prefect Trupo and the others but paused to cast a look of desperation towards his commanding officer Ramirus. Lucius caught their exchange and a little annoyed with his tomfooleries stopped him. ¡°Mister Sirio is there something that makes it difficult for you to concentrate? Your presence is not really needed in these meetings and can be easily replaced!¡± ¡°Answer the King Sirio,¡± his uncle grunted. Sirio blinked like a fish washed ashore, mouth opening and closing with no sound coming out. ¡°If I may shed some light,¡± Ramirus intervened. ¡°Sirio has a theory about the affair.¡± ¡°Does it pertain to the matter of Lesia¡¯s truce proposal?¡± Lucius asked the LID officer with a glare as he had enough with the younger Veturius¡¯ inability to handle even small amounts of pressure. ¡°It¡¯s not clear. I don¡¯t believe so,¡± Ramirus replied scowling at his subordinate. ¡°It is about the ring and mister Grogan.¡± ¡°We have important matters to discuss here!¡± Galio barked furious. ¡°Get back to camp Sirio!¡± ¡°Stay where you are mister Sirio!¡± With a booming voice Lucius had belayed that order. The king of Cartagen rapped his fingers on the table looking at the two nervous LID officers. ¡°Have you seen the ring?¡± He asked in a composed manner. ¡°I have it here Praetor Maximus,¡± Ramirus replied and showed them a sculpted silver ring. ¡°I don¡¯t recognize it,¡± Lucius said when Gripa brought it to him. ¡°Is the skin on her arms covered in scales?¡± The creature crafted looked like a mermaid or a siren. ¡°Sirio claims the ring was worn personally by Baron Nattas the last time he saw him,¡± Ramirus explained. Nattas. Lucius worked the ring in his fingers. ¡°I remember his signet ring with the laced tentacles and I see some of that on her head. But I don¡¯t recall this ring. It¡¯s been many years,¡± he paused. ¡°What is the theory?¡± ¡°Grogan works for him according to Sirio,¡± Ramirus said. ¡°Sent to warn us about the truce.¡± In what way? ¡°Mister Sirio please explain to us, how would Lord Nattas know?¡± Lucius asked. ¡°The leak must have come from your department Ramirus.¡± ¡°I had the proposal on me since I was approached,¡± Ramirus defended the agency. ¡°The leak comes from Lesia not us.¡± ¡°Where is the Baron Sirio?¡± Lucius asked again disregarding Ramirus. ¡°The Baron was lost during Lord Ursus¡¯ attack on Moon¡¯s Haven or even earlier than that,¡± Sirio blurted out. ¡°After he failed to take control of the city.¡± ¡°No contact?¡± ¡°Nothing my king,¡± Sirio replied with a small voice. ¡°We feared he perished.¡± This could be spoils taken from a corpse. But why approach me and not his family? ¡°Where is his nephew?¡± ¡°The City of Alden,¡± Ramirus replied. ¡°Your wife mister Sirio?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Sirio said miserably. Lucius just couldn¡¯t take him to his word hard as he tried. Hmm. ¡°What does this Grogan say?¡± ¡°He¡¯ll only talk to you Praetor,¡± Ramirus replied. ¡°Even if Lesia isn¡¯t totally honest here,¡± Lucius started still rolling the ring in his fingers. ¡°We need to deal with the threat Ligur poses to our supply lines. We¡¯ll remain on high alert during the truce and watch them closely. The Barons will continue to monitor the situation.¡± ¡°If Kas and Storm¡¯s Rest release their prisoners then we are talking over three thousand men returning to bolster their numbers,¡± Galio noted stiffly. ¡°It¡¯ll be six months at least for those men to return and a long time for Lesia to retreat from Cartaport,¡± Lucius argued. ¡°We can act in this window of opportunity Tribune. How useful are surrendered troops? I don¡¯t see them eager to enlist again. Lesia has the numbers to attack now but simply doesn¡¯t want to risk another defeat. It will be too close to home for them to sweep under the rug. The returning prisoners and lords could be read as a successful resolution with enough dressing.¡± ¡°How much dressing?¡± Galio asked. ¡°We¡¯ll talk with the Duke,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°He¡¯s in Cartaport, naught but a day away. Having said that why was the offer signed by Admiral Lennox?¡± ¡°Internal strife? Disagreement? Pride?¡± Ramirus offered some basic reasons. ¡°He¡¯s the old Shield¡¯s son,¡± Lucius added the probable reason and the officer frowned. ¡°It would be humbling, difficult to stomach or explain away.¡± He remembered Di Cresta¡¯s words about the Lennox weird hierarchy. Lucius sure wanted to get his hands on Lord Ursus even though he¡¯d managed to keep his mind off of the feelings of rage he harbored for the treacherous nobleman. He needed to remain objective much as it was possible. ¡°I¡¯ll contact the officers at the south gates to order the army outside Cartaport to initiate negotiations,¡± Galio said sensing Lucius had reached his decision. ¡°Macrinus would sent the Baron down the road and all the other prisoners. Valens doesn¡¯t want them in the city though Mayor Messor found the idea of free penal workers excellent so removing them outright might calm those two down.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t hold prisoners of war as slaves Galio. It is practiced by the Legion due to absence of dungeons and necessity. The Mayor needs to fund the repairs. Tax the merchants and himself for starters, they made absurd amounts of profit during the siege,¡± Lucius breathed out and returned his eyes on Sirio. ¡°I really can¡¯t see why Nattas would attempt to contact us this way. Why not be clear about it? What¡¯s the angle?¡± ¡°The man might know your grace,¡± Sirio insisted. ¡°The man is a lowlife as I understand.¡± ¡°He has a smuggling and whore ring in Cartaport,¡± Ramirus elucidated. ¡°The fall of the city might have helped even worse crimes remain hidden.¡± ¡°Why is he not in jail?¡± Lucius asked. ¡°Works for him Sirio?¡± He knew Storm wasn¡¯t always above water but why risk sending such a character near Lucius? What is this? It reeks of desperation. And absence of better options? Why? Sirio is right here. Family no less. ¡°He is at the moment. In jail that is,¡± Ramirus had replied. ¡°Lord Nattas¡¯ ledger of contacts has not been found by Sula and he scoured Moon¡¯s Haven and his estate for anything useful.¡± Sirio had a nervous tick on his pale face. ¡°I¡¯ll see him. Arrange it,¡± Lucius replied pursing his mouth. ¡°Do we delay the talks your grace?¡± Ramirus asked. ¡°We can¡¯t do that,¡± Lucius argued. ¡°Ligur is stirring the pond and something might come loose. People are not objects you place on a map and expect to root there forever. Situation in the field might change. We have to be able to move and at the very least protect the Tunnel Pass. I need a counter proposal and a fresh plan of action on the Ligur matter by o-six hundred hours. That¡¯s in three hours gentlemen. Get to work.¡± ¡°A counter proposal milord?¡± Galio asked to clarify it. ¡°Aye,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°What we talked about ten months back still stands Tribune. Ligur hasn¡¯t moved yet and this¡­ we don¡¯t know if this is a feint.¡±
Lucius had slept for an hour on the couch outside the two bedrooms not to disturb his wives and then came down to have a quick breakfast. He studied the maps and read a couple of late night reports at the conference table. Gripa found him there when he got up an hour later and ate some of the surplus cold fried eggs Lucius hadn¡¯t touched. ¡°There¡¯s talk apparently,¡± Lucius started glancing at his aide who was now pouring a hot beverage into a couple of silver low cups. ¡°That the mayor of Caspo O¡¯ Bor lost control of the port. The city is split in two and the Guard is unable to push the crews away.¡± ¡°Is the whole fleet in revolt?¡± Gripa asked bringing the cups with the black liquid and leaving one near a tired-looking Lucius. ¡°That¡¯s a lot crews to deal with and marines.¡± ¡°Most of the rest is probably at Ripel¡¯s Island and Bayspell.¡± ¡°Is the latter a port?¡± Gripa asked and sipped at the bitter coffee. ¡°In Cliffson Cay on the Free Isles,¡± Lucius replied and reached for his cup. ¡°Where did you get that?¡± ¡°Found it in the kitchen. Cyrus Falx is making an inventory and I pored over it. The Queen¡¯s people had brought a lot of novel stuff in without considering the cost,¡± Gripa replied. ¡°Apparently it is imported from Eplas via Sinya Goras along some excellent wine. Salonius sells it instead of Flauegran. Slightly more expensive as well.¡± Lucius tasted the bitter beverage. ¡°Sinya¡­ Goras,¡± he said slowly, the name unfamiliar. ¡°A port in Wetull,¡± Gripa elucidated. ¡°Run by Zilan.¡± Lucius narrowed his eyes and pushed back on the chair. ¡°This sounds like a tall tale.¡± ¡°I am being serious milord. Poorly kept secret in court and the rich families. Scaldingport has ships coming in regularly.¡± ¡°Ships¡­ from Wetull,¡± Lucius murmured trying to wrap his mind around it. ¡°What is Kaltha doing about that?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe Kaltha can deal with this right now.¡± ¡°They should in order to keep the treaties alive,¡± Lucius said. ¡°Unless that¡¯s over. My father knew. Did he die for it?¡± ¡°Antoon is half-dead or fully dead also depending on which report your read. Elsanne just won¡¯t bend the knee and with the crews paralyzing the fleet, the young heir had to¡­ that would be Lord Anker Est Ravn. He pulled forces from Colle to secure the capital and help Van De Aesst. Van Oord of Castalor has sided with Elsanne and might take advantage of that. If the king kicks the bucket now and they are forced to put young Antoon on the throne even maintaining the regency, things might turn uglier as the ¡®Old Crow¡¯ is rumored to fund Elsanne¡¯s escapades. Kaltha is a mess.¡± Lucius turned to stare at a large atlas of the two realms with a frown. ¡°Hadn¡¯t the Khan taken back Ri Yue-Tu?¡± ¡°He did in the summer,¡± Gripa replied. ¡°Why not sent forces to reclaim Eikenport?¡± Lucius asked thinking it through. ¡°He has more assets there. Cities and markets disrupted¡­ what¡¯s in the north corner of Eplas?¡± Ah, this is interesting, he thought. ¡°Roaming Icebergs?¡± Gripa chanced. ¡°The Ice Route. Open in the summer,¡± Lucius murmured. ¡°There¡¯s no other way around Eplas,¡± he glanced at his cup of coffee. ¡°Unless he wants to deal with the Zilan.¡± ¡°The fleet will intercept anything that comes down,¡± Gripa said. ¡°What fleet?¡± Lucius queried his mind on both the Khan and the resurgent Zilan. ¡°How many could be there you think? Why resurface now? All reports said they were extinct. Didn¡¯t Framtond write, nothing but ghosts live there?¡± ¡°Never read that tale or much believed it. Life is more interesting,¡± Gripa replied and Lucius nodded. ¡°The Khan might attempt a landing,¡± Lucius murmured returning to the previous topic but stopped as Ramirus with two knights entered followed by Sirio and another LID agent. The man dragged a thoroughly roughed up man along. Both his eyes swollen, the underside black and the left leaking blood. The earlobe on his right ear missing and burned to stop the bleeding. Three fingers badly broken on his left hand, he held protectively with his right. ¡°My lord this is Grogan,¡± Ramirus saluted and the burly agent, a legionnaire attached to the LID unit, shoved the beaten up man down to his knees. ¡°Stand up,¡± Lucius said and got up. A knight got his sword out and used it to motivate Grogan to stand. The man obeyed groaning and tried to concentrate on the approaching Lucius through bloodshot half-closed eyes. A Lorian. Long black hair tied at the nape and soaked clothes. Dressed in a dirty tunic and hemp shirt. ¡°Do you know who I am?¡± Grogan cleared his throat and spat on the floor, the knight with the sword landing a blow on his head with the other hand rattling the prisoner hard. He would have gone down but the LID agent grabbed him at the last moment. ¡°Do I need to repeat myself?¡± Lucius asked with a grimace. Grogan shook his head right and left. ¡°Is that a yes?¡± ¡°No,¡± Grogan said raspingly. ¡°Lord Lucius.¡± ¡°King Lucius,¡± Ramirus corrected him. ¡°Or Praetor Maximus. That¡¯s it.¡± Lucius opened his arms wide suggestively. ¡°Talk mister Grogan.¡± ¡°A message came¡­¡± Grogan started groggily still rattled from the blow and his injuries. ¡°¡­from Rochstab.¡± ¡°Go on,¡± Lucius urged him. Grogan grimaced. ¡°A folder with a ring and some words,¡± he touched his left ear. The blow had reopened the wound there. ¡°No rest for the wicked, it read milord and the King of Cartagen.¡± Lucius scratched the upper part of his brow near the temple with the mid finger on his right hand. ¡°Anything else?¡± ¡°That was it. I assumed it was for you. Since there are two kings around these days.¡± ¡°What does it mean?¡± Ramirus asked. ¡°It¡¯s an expression Nattas used. He loves a good turn of phrase,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°The ring is legitimate then,¡± Gripa said. ¡°It¡¯s from the Baron.¡± Lucius nodded. ¡°Not a warning though,¡± he glanced at Grogan. ¡°What is the Baron doing in Rochstab?¡± Grogan grimaced. ¡°Have no idea. I thought he was killed in Novesium. Sudi is in control now.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± Lucius asked, the name vaguely familiar. ¡°Just some dude milord,¡± Grogan said guardedly. Ramirus eyed his agent. ¡°It¡¯s alright Ramirus. You can take him away,¡± Lucius said. ¡°Am I free to go milord king?¡± Grogan asked hopefully. ¡°Take him to a judge Ramirus,¡± Lucius said disregarding his query. ¡°See that he¡¯s punished accordingly. He¡¯s not the legion¡¯s problem now. Let a local magistrate deal with his likes.¡± Ramirus grimaced but signed for his agent to take a protesting Grogan away. Another blow from the knights following after them silenced the smuggler. ¡°I can¡¯t believe he feared ratting out on that Sudi character,¡± Gripa commented.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. ¡°Criminals are like that,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°Isn¡¯t it strange Lesia has both Ursus and Nattas, yet offers only one in exchange?¡± ¡°You think Nattas works for them?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not likely,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°Why give himself away then? No, I think he¡¯s being held up in Rochstab. It¡¯s a small city like Anorum where a lot of former army and navy men retire.¡± ¡°Why keep Baron Nattas?¡± ¡°It might sound strange to you, but the closest person to our Baron was my mother,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°The King of Lesia¡¯s sister. I think Lesia wants to keep him there.¡± ¡°Will you ask them about it? He¡¯s not important milord,¡± Gripa argued. ¡°I can¡¯t just refuse to help him,¡± Lucius retorted. ¡°The man has risked all he had in life to help me. This sword is in my hands because of Nattas Gripa. Lost his place in the council. He¡¯s done as much as few other lords.¡± ¡°Would you call him a friend milord?¡± Gripa asked curious. ¡°He¡¯s not exactly of stellar reputation.¡± Lucius remembered the smart-eyed younger Storm desperately trying to keep his ground against old Roderick to prove he could serve as a knight. He¡¯d taken quite the punishment that day. ¡°Yes he¡¯s a bit shady but he¡¯s an old friend also,¡± Lucius replied. Storm had been in court since before he was born. ¡°With all his faults he¡¯s loyal to our family and my father afore me.¡± Gripa nodded and stared at their cups. ¡°Another coffee milord?¡± ¡°You know what? I don¡¯t really fancy the stuff. Miranda¡¯s taste was always weird,¡± Lucius decided. ¡°The kitchen says it was served with honey,¡± Gripa elucidated. Lucius furrowed his brows. ¡°How was the taste?¡± He asked and his aide grimaced, a shiver running through him. His answer loaded. ¡°I rather drink her wine milord.¡± Cyrus had gotten rid of the bottles as fast as he could emptying the cellar. Most of his staff and Lucius didn¡¯t like it, while Gripa openly hated it. The syrupy-sweet white wine the former Queen had brought from Aegium enjoyed only by the Northmen who could literally drink anything with alcohol in it especially if it was free. ¡°Take the cups away,¡± Lucius decided.
In early winter of the New Calendar 193 NC, the final months of the year, Lesia¡¯s council was divided but under pressure to commit on a plan after it became obvious that Lucius, now ruling in Cartagen, would necessitate the expenditure of a lot more recourses to be defeated than originally thought. Not everyone was certain that it was possible and supplying the troops holding Cartaport was starting to wear the navy down while Flauegran¡¯s produce was left unused in warehouses with the Barons forced to use manpower to reinforce the force blocking Lepidus Cohort. They had to drop their plans for a raid on Wetull but even so everyone was losing coin at alarming rates. Legatus Pintor proposed again to march across the Flats, skirt the forest at Flower Heights and attempt to cross Mabindon to cut Lucius off thus and split his force. It was overruled as the great river was at its deepest by this point and thoroughly flooded more than a kilometer on each bank. The strong all year long current making Mabindon unnavigable anyway. Fiorin suggested they strengthen Sir Napoli¡¯s and Paris Riveras¡¯ force at Sava but the King wanted to keep the army back fearing a collapse of the front. While they argued endlessly about another way to attack from two directions, Baroness Lennox ordered a strong force from Ballard Castle to march towards Sava immediately, but the Bank of Trust suggested a truce and hers was the only meaningful action. The bank was now in a deep financial hole having failed to deliver the war loan to Kaltha and in a heavy legal dispute with Lord Anker on whether he shared part of the blame since the navy was supposed to patrol the route but didn¡¯t. The latter due to Castalor turning a blind eye to the pirates and Scaldingport all but outright endorsing them without openly saying it. While no party wanted to admit being in the wrong the Bank was short on coin since it needed to reimburse Lord Anker and honor the loan while funding the war effort for Lesia. Something had to give and it was easier proposing to King Davenport a cease in hostilities which would have allowed them to halve the pay for the men in the field and cut back on the navy¡¯s considerable expenses. The King ordered Duke Lennox to negotiate with Lucius based on Lord Mortimer¡¯s intelligence reports, but the Baroness of Ballard travelled to Cediorum, found the young Duke in his palace ¨Che¡¯d returned briefly as the situation inside Cartaport was bad- and berated him for a whole hour for completely dishonoring his father¡¯s memory and the family name. The chastised Duke ¨CRoman the 2nd- had no leg to stand on and returned to Cartaport refusing to comply with the King¡¯s order. To avoid a nasty development Admiral Patrick Lennox ¨CLesia¡¯s Lord of Sea- stepped in to sign the document with the Baroness cursing him to never step foot on land again. The Admiral could stomach the curse as he was living on his luxurious ship Talia anyway. The offer of a truce reached Lucius. It was built around an exchange of prisoners, mainly Baron Palma ¨Cnow living in captivity for three years- and Baron Feld Frye captured at the Navel along around three thousand five hundred prisoners, mercenaries, cavalry and soldiers from Lesia¡¯s side for Duke Ursus. The latter had asked for asylum from King Davenport and the King had agreed verbally but since the official paperwork wasn¡¯t finished it got lost on the way from Armium and an adjutant announced to a stunned Duke Ursus his request had been denied for ¡®security reasons¡¯. The second item of the deal was Lesia¡¯s departure from Cartaport and a return to former borders. It was a solid deal but Lucius rocked the boat when the two delegations first met at the farm village of Greenville ¨Cthe village had been chosen for the negotiations and would eventually give its name to the agreement- when on the first day he asked for the release of Baron Storm Nattas. The former Regia¡¯s Master of Silence had been held in loose captivity by Lesia in Rochstab after escaping Duke Ursus¡¯ men under undisclosed circumstances but had managed to communicate with King Lucius via his contacts in the criminal underworld.
Admiral Patrick Lennox cut an arresting figure, his dark blue uniform with the white lapels nicely pressed and the cuirass¡¯ front with the head of a stag engraved in silver on the dark-metal. His mostly black hair were cut short and he¡¯d a thick but nicely trimmed beard with plenty of grey hairs peppering it. It gave him a rather dignified appearance the man maintained with refined if not a little pretentious demeanor. He wasn¡¯t Lord Miles Lennox by any stretch of the imagination but much of the old general, his more famed kin, was present. ¡°King Lucius,¡± Lesia¡¯s Lord of Sea started, everyone present at the meeting more relaxed the second time around. Four days after the first, the hostilities had stopped and even the inn picked -the ¡®Furry Ferret¡¯- nicely cleaned out and repaired for the occasion. The abandoned village¡¯s few streets bristling with soldiers and banners from both delegations. ¡°Lesia would like to have a clear timetable on the return of the prisoners.¡± Mayor Messor was present from Regia¡¯s side, Barons Vendor and Valens, Tribune Veturius and several officers of the Third Legion. Sir Darius Davenport IV, Legatus Ettore Pintor of 2nd Legio and Lord Cornelius Mortimer of Stingray representing Lesia. ¡°You should send the fleet to Kadrek the moment the weather clears,¡± Lucius replied evenly sitting across the other edge of the rectangular table. Placed at the center of the room, it dominated the inn¡¯s hall as it was the only table along the two smaller ones the scribes used. ¡°Duke Redmond agreed to fully open the port again for Lesia. Trade shall resume in the summer as well.¡± ¡°This is agreeable,¡± the admiral said, his right hand resting on the leather gloves he¡¯d placed on the table in front of him. ¡°Since one Duke was mentioned,¡± Lucius continued in a steady voice. ¡°I¡¯d like the Duke of Cediorum to sign the treaty as well.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll have the King¡¯s seal on it,¡± the Lord of Sea argued calmly. ¡°Lord Mortimer has a letter sanctioning the action and has the seal with him.¡± Lucius signed for Gripa to approach and his aide did, giving him a rolled up scroll, tied with a leather strip and sealed with a waxed seal as well. Lucius offered the scroll to one of the admiral¡¯s aides. The navy man took it and brought it to his superior walking briskly. ¡°This is addressed to the High Baroness of Ballard,¡± the admiral said after reading the inscription scribbled on the outside. ¡°It is. I¡¯d like the Duke of Cediorum to be present for the signing in a week¡¯s time. I know he¡¯s in Cartaport. Provided we agree on the point I¡¯ve raised the previous time, it would help if he was present as well.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll sent it immediately. Lady Lila is in Cediorum as it happens,¡± Lord Patrick said. ¡°Why insisting on the matter?¡± ¡°I appreciate the King¡¯s seal of approval but I¡¯d like the Duke¡¯s word as well. He¡¯s the one attacking my city,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°It wasn¡¯t your city my Lord when the campaign started,¡± the admiral argued. ¡°It was always my city good admiral,¡± Lucius countered without raising his tone. ¡°The king¡¯s palace is some kilometers to the south of here.¡± ¡°There are two Kings in Regia this winter,¡± Lord Patrick insisted. ¡°This can be confusing, even weaken any agreement.¡± ¡°You¡¯re here because Lesia wants to talk with the true king,¡± Lucius said. ¡°And because I can reach Flauegran before your men climb the walls of Cartagen. Which they won¡¯t. That ship has sailed admiral,¡± he continued and eyed the grimacing Legatus of the Second Legion. ¡°But I can break through the force you have in Sava. I¡¯ve beaten them once and I shall do it again. If I take the city, I may not even bother with Cartaport. Keep it. I control the roads and can start using it tomorrow, another port¡­¡± Lucius finished with an emphatic pause. ¡°¡­I can find. Novesium has excellent facilities I can readily use while tightening the noose here and keep all your fleet busy doing supply runs.¡± Lord Patrick worked at that goatee with his left hand fingers. A moment of silent contemplation. Lord Mortimer gave him a scroll and he read it. ¡°The matter of Storm Nattas, or Lord Nattas as you know him is sensitive in nature to the King. A personal matter. The throne would like your assurance this isn¡¯t a prelude to an act of vengeance on your part. He had an agreement with your father. The late Queen, your mother King Lucius, saw him as close family. He worked as a stable boy on her horse and they were very close.¡± ¡°I¡¯m aware of Lord Nattas¡¯ relation with my late mother,¡± Lucius replied steadily. ¡°I¡¯ve known him for thirty years. I have no reason or intention to harm the man admiral.¡± ¡°Would you say the same for Duke Ursus?¡± Lord Mortimer asked, adding with fake humility. ¡°Your grace?¡± ¡°Lord Ursus will be judged fairly,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°He¡¯s implicated in the plot to assassinate my father. They were successful as you well know Lord Mortimer.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t argue that your grace,¡± Mortimer said. ¡°Merely pointing out the fact that the Duke¡ª¡± Lucius¡¯ raised voice cut him off. ¡°I don¡¯t recognize his title. It was given by an illegitimate administration,¡± he told the grimacing Master of Silence in a harsher tone. ¡°Out of courtesy for the occasion I¡¯ll allow your mistake to slide Lord Mortimer. But I won¡¯t allow it a second time.¡± ¡°Apologies. I wasn¡¯t aware of your feelings on the matter,¡± Mortimer said gulping down nervously. ¡°Still, I¡¯d like to have the point raised cleared. Will your grace spare the Lord of Novesium? He¡¯s a nobleman.¡± ¡°The matter of Lord Ursus¡¯ fate shall be decided outside of this room,¡± Lucius said stooping forward over the table. ¡°Nattas isn¡¯t in any danger for he wasn¡¯t implicated in the plot. I want the man released because he¡¯s a friend I¡¯d like to see again. I could have kept that out but since you¡¯ve brought personal matters at play Admiral, I believe I¡¯m allowed the same courtesy. You¡¯ve no prisoners to offer me, but I¡¯ll have one of my mother¡¯s friends returned as you¡¯ve mentioned already.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t trying to offend your grace,¡± Lord Patrick said with a glare at the sullen Lord Mortimer. ¡°We agree on having Baron Nattas released into your care. The king trusts you¡¯ll show the restraint befitting your family name.¡± Lucius stared at the face of Lord Mortimer thoughtfully after nodding to the admiral¡¯s words. What do you know Master of Silence? His eyes asked the Lesia official but the man pushed back on his chair and his expression turned blank.
Lucius kept his eyes on the Lesia delegation departing Greenville taking the road to Cartaport through the lines of Lord Sula¡¯s men. The energetic square-jawed man, clad in a chainmail shirt under a studded armor approached with large strides the king¡¯s entourage. Drusus Sula was a sturdy character, now well in his fourth decade, but with the characteristic thick neck and stiff demeanor that run in the Demames family. It reminded him of Nonus but for the balding blond hair on his tanned uncovered head and a larger nose. ¡°King Lucius,¡± Drusus started brusquely, baritone voice carrying the accent of Regia¡¯s south coast. ¡°I hear there is agreement?¡± ¡°You heard correctly Lord Sula,¡± Lucius replied and nodded at the general¡¯s salute. ¡°Mm, would the King consider the Duke¡¯s proposal?¡± That was it. Drusus had gone straight to business. ¡°I haven¡¯t had the time yet Lord Drusus but you¡¯re free to reinforce your cousin,¡± Lucius replied evenly. ¡°Will the King travel with the army down the coast?¡± Drusus asked not satisfied fully with the answer. ¡°The king will travel with the army but not to Demames. The Duke will need to hold the fort down for a little while yet,¡± Lucius answered. ¡°The Duke is in Aegium,¡± Drusus said. ¡°We are well aware. Now, I take it the Duke is being cautious with my family¡¯s property Lord Drusus, right?¡± Lucius noted. Drusus scrunched his face. ¡°Some damage has occurred your grace.¡± ¡°Are my cousins in good health?¡± ¡°They are in Demames,¡± Drusus replied vaguely. ¡°You understand that I expect no one touches any of the women?¡± Lucius queried sternly. Drusus furrowed his thick blond brows. ¡°Your grace, some of them need a touch of sanity delivered.¡± Gripa gave him a scroll and Lucius checked on it briefly. ¡°Lady Riveras wrote me that Sir Opiter forced himself on Lady Sandra. Good grief Drusus!¡± Lucius said pursing his mouth. ¡°Shoved her your grace,¡± Drusus elucidated inflexibly. ¡°Lady Riveras has her daughter¡¯s tendency to exaggerate heavily.¡± That was true but still¡­ ¡°Why would a grown knight shove a young girl Lord Drusus?¡± Lucius grunted not liking playing with words. ¡°She slapped him.¡± Eh. ¡°Did she have a reason for it?¡± ¡°He attempted to get her inside a carriage. She took offense. Sir Opiter took offense as well King Lucius.¡± Lucius rubbed his neck with a hand. ¡°Is she alright?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe she is but aye she¡¯s unharmed.¡± Lucius frowned at the wordplay. Drusus continued impervious. ¡°Sir Opiter would like to send her along her mother and siblings here. He¡¯ll keep hold of Baron Priam Alden of Saltville as leverage.¡± The petty baron was Sandra¡¯s father, third cousin to Lucius. Lucius didn¡¯t want Lady Magdalena Riveras and her kids in Cartagen. He had a large enough and volatile household to increase it any further. ¡°Keep my cousins in Demames Lord Drusus.¡± ¡°The knight insisted in the strongest words your grace.¡± Gods darnit Sandra, Lucius cursed. ¡°Uhm,¡± he murmured thinking it through. ¡°If the King could also give opinion given the chance on the matter of Novesium,¡± Drusus continued trying to get as much out of the meeting as he could. Lucius had been dodging him for months. ¡°The King would welcome his cousins in Cartagen but refrain from answering on the matter of Novesium,¡± Lucius replied stiffly. ¡°The city belongs to Regia. A decision on who will assume control will come after the matter of Lord Ursus¡¯ fate is resolved in a definitive manner.¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough Drusus,¡± Baron Valens told the flushed Lord Sula. ¡°The King needs to return to the city.¡± Lucius breathed out and stared at Tribune Veturius. ¡°The Legion is preparing to depart?¡± He asked casually. ¡°Milord could stay and catch up with the army later,¡± Galio offered. ¡°Marching and sleeping in camp can be tiresome. Surely more difficult than living in the palace.¡± Lucius thought exactly the opposite. Staying with the legion was therapeutic almost. ¡°Well, we have a job to do still Tribune,¡± he replied clearing his throat and signed for an aide to bring Nightsilver to him. ¡°Then we can rest and perhaps decide which is easier. I bet you it won¡¯t even be close and I¡¯m not a betting man.¡±
A day later, Grand City Port of Cediorum Kingdom of Lesia The salty smell of the sea coming from the harbor couldn¡¯t disguise the reek emanating from the large city. Heavy rain had doused the large streets of Cediorum. Washed some of the filth gathered at its corners or markets and unearthed even more. While the Duke¡¯s palace was protected from its gardens and tall walls, she could smell the rotten smell of sin that plagued Lesia¡¯s largest port. While cosmopolitan due to the heavy traffic and the many visitors that flooded it each season, the Baroness had come to dislike it. She preferred the quietness of her lands and the slower more rustic way of life back home. That mixture of freshness of the lush Stag¡¯s Forest and the spicy bouquet of lemon trees near her family estate. All blending with the dry breeze blowing from the desert beyond the river. The direct, unpretentious people and the decency so absent near the coast here but also at the capital. Armium wasn¡¯t much different, it just pretended better. Sir Trent the forty year old knight knocked on the side of her door once to get her attention. She turned her head to glance at him. ¡°I¡¯m at the balcony Sir Trent,¡± the Baroness told Emerson¡¯s old squire. ¡°Enjoying the view.¡± ¡°Sir Melcher is here milady,¡± the knight of Ballard announced. He moved aside and the aged Shield walked vigorously past him. Melcher was over sixty now but hadn¡¯t slowed down at all. He had served under her father for years and then her brother before continuing to help the Baroness run her domain. She couldn¡¯t have done it without him. The grey-haired veteran walked outside to reach her and came to stand next to the expecting Baroness. He was well over a head taller than her, sturdy arms protruding from a strong plate-encased torso, but Lila had stopped fearing tall knights. The Black Elk of Ballard was engraved on the quality cuirass the knight had on and the powerful animal graced his familiar sword handle. ¡°How is the view then?¡± Melcher asked her, the voice deep and powerful it reminded Lila of her father and missing brother. ¡°Stone, mortar and bricks. Badly maintained roofs. What man builds pales in comparison to what nature creates,¡± she replied. ¡°You¡¯ve been at the Admiralty?¡± ¡°They want an agreement,¡± Melcher said and searched inside his coat. He produced a crumpled scroll for her. The seal broken and badly replaced with fresh wax. ¡°This is for you.¡± ¡°They opened it?¡± Lila asked frostily. ¡°Aye. They didn¡¯t even appear shamed when I pointed it out. It¡¯s a precaution allegedly.¡± ¡°For whom?¡± ¡°They fear you¡¯ll push the Duke against the King,¡± Melcher cautioned her and she cracked a forced smile. ¡°His wife begged me to intervene.¡± ¡°They won¡¯t remember that. Easier to blame you.¡± ¡°The King can¡¯t force the Lords of Andalus to comply, he¡¯ll question the loyalty of his staunchest allies?¡± ¡°The court is divided. Better not to ruffle their feathers lass.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to be cowered old hand,¡± she warned him. ¡°I know it but they don¡¯t. Let me bring the men back first.¡± Lila shook her austerely made head. She took a small breath, the tight corset restricting and painful and let it out slowly. She then returned the scroll to her Shield. ¡°Read it for me,¡± Lila told him. The aged knight unfurled the scroll and started reading with a clear voice.
To the esteemed ruler of Ballard Castle, Keeper of Stag¡¯s Forest and Guardian of the Sands, High Baroness, Lady Lila Lennox. The time is late for these words for life deprived me of the opportunity to speak them sooner. To use it as an excuse to skirt away from my responsibility though is inexcusable and I won¡¯t do it. I owe your respected family an apology Lady Lila because my actions done without malice and in the attempt to reclaim what had been taken from my person unjustly, cost the life of Duke Miles Lennox. Your uncle fell in the line of duty and despite my sincere efforts to prevent it, I couldn¡¯t. I never started with the intention to wage war on your family Lady Lila nor cross swords with the family of my late mother. Circumstances brought strife and casualties disproportional to what I had initially planned. The fault lies with my person for I should had foreseen it. Unfortunately, even if I had though there was no other road left open for me to reclaim my father¡¯s throne. I couldn¡¯t shy away from a firstborn¡¯s duty and your uncle couldn¡¯t shy away from his. It pains me it came down to this for I never wanted this conflict but as I said even so the fault lies with my person. So I respectfully ask for your lady¡¯s forgiveness. I can have a treaty signed without your grace¡¯s blessing or that of your family but it would feel wrong. Enough wrongs have plagued the realm these past years, let us start again doing this small bit the right way. May the Five ever bless your honorable family with no more misfortune and may they bless mine for I sorely need it. Again you have my sincerest apologies and pass them to his valued daughter, Queen Saskia. It is a letter written for her grace as well but I understand the spirit of your family resides in the lands of Ballard. Your late uncle was one of my early heroes as a young man. I won¡¯t attempt to pretend I feel the loss as keenly as his family for I appreciate your grace too much for that. I¡¯ll accept and respect your decision either way. It is what it is. Cartagen, 2nd month of Winter, 193 NC The King of Regia, Lucius Aldenus III
Lila stared at the mist slowly lifting over the city, the chill penetrating her thick dress as the breeze turned into a northern wind. She pursed her lips and wrapped both arms around her chest protectively to pacify a small shiver. ¡°He still sounds the same heh?¡± She asked the silent Melcher with a smile getting out of character. ¡°All those tales of a bloodthirsty warlord coming from the north not holding much weight under scrutiny.¡± Lila remembered young Lucius from her only visit to Cartagen well after the ¡®warband rebellion¡¯ had ended. Seeing the look on the old knight¡¯s face she pushed the thought away. Lila was a different girl then and Lucius was a grown man now. Everything was different. Melcher had avoided an answer. He never commented about the past. Lila¡¯s single mistake had ruined her life forever and had send her noble brother to a self-imposed exile. ¡°Order our men back from Sava,¡± she told her Shield and the aged knight stared at her surprised. ¡°Baroness,¡± Melcher rustled. ¡°We don¡¯t know¡­ this could be a ruse.¡± No it isn¡¯t. ¡°I trust a man who apologizes openly and assumes responsibility for his actions to keep his word Melcher. Even if he¡¯s a king. More even,¡± she told him austerely, wearing her shell again after the brief slippage. ¡°I wish I could say the same for our own people.¡± Melcher grimaced, deeps lines on his face turning more prominent and then bowed his grey head respectfully. ¡°As you wish, your grace.¡± If only it was that simple, Lila pondered turning her back to the departing knight and let out a breath she was holding out. Here¡¯s your truce Lucius, she thought. You¡¯re forgiven. See you make something out of it worthy of the losses we both suffered.
411. The Baron’s return
Storm Nattas -The Baron¡¯s return-
¡°Baron!¡± Captain Tenuta boomed for a third time just as a strain-faced sweaty Storm finished depositing yesterday¡¯s meal inside the stone lavatory¡¯s flush toilet. He got up cursing colorfully, cleaned himself up with a wet towel and cracked the door open. ¡°Ah, there you are,¡± Tenuta noted and Storm grumbled under his teeth while fixing his tunic, looking to avoid soaking it in the dirty water spillage. The whole plumbing of the villa needs a good rework. Sanitation has taken a turn for the worse. Too much material for the service. He glanced outside the latrine afore exiting, it was situated at the back of villa via the east hall, but the captain was alone. ¡°I called three times,¡± Tenuta explained at the disheveled Nattas who used another cleaner cloth to wipe his sweaty face despite the morning chill. ¡°Did it occur to you that I may be busy and in need of privacy?¡± ¡°For ten minutes Baron?¡± That sounded dirty and it was in a sense. ¡°It was a big turd,¡± Storm retorted with a vexed scowl. ¡°Lots of effort went into dislodging it and I¡¯m worn out Captain. So spare me the criticism.¡± ¡°Baron I¡¯m ordered to escort you to Cediorum,¡± Tenuta bristled not in the mood for Storm¡¯s riposte. ¡°I¡¯d like to get this assignment over and return to my family.¡± Hmm. Why the fancy city relocation? This is either good or bad. What the fuck is going on here? ¡°Dear Tenuta,¡± Storm said taking a deep breath. ¡°You know I consider you family after all we¡¯ve been through.¡± ¡°That¡¯s lovely, but I don¡¯t milord,¡± the Captain retorted stoically. ¡°The carriage leaves in an hour. Better get ready.¡± ¡°Is this the end then?¡± Storm asked carefully, preparing for the worst. Tenuta frowned. ¡°Baron you are to be released to Regia,¡± he replied pursing his mouth. ¡°The King requested your person included in the deal.¡± Storm nodded a sense of relief washing over him. Gratitude Abrakas, he thought and lord Lucius. Good smart lad. A day later, Grand City Port of Cediorum, Main Harbor facilities, West Docks, The moored Brig ¡®Belvoir¡¯ Captain Gareth Lennox, a tall austere young man with dark brown hair cut short and a trimmed goatee, eyed the Baron navigating the ramp with the help of a scowling Captain Tenuta. Ken Dorm, his adjutant rushed to shoulder the task of assisting Nattas taking his leather satchel and grabbing the limping man¡¯s elbow. ¡°Good luck Captain Lennox,¡± Tenuta said jumping off of the ramp. ¡°Give me best to your mother.¡± ¡°Appreciate it, Captain Tenuta,¡± the young Lennox replied. ¡°How¡¯s the lovely wife?¡± ¡°Brought her sister to help out with the baby,¡± Tenuta sighed. ¡°Even though I paid for a maid.¡± ¡°Be diplomatic,¡± Lennox cautioned him and greeted Storm with a nod. ¡°Baron. We see each other again. Wasn¡¯t expecting it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a social call,¡± Storm retorted. ¡°Your optimism warms the heart Captain.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll have company so perhaps some warmth will be forthcoming. The Belvoir has taken quite the fame for transporting valuable personnel.¡± ¡°We¡¯re not electing your ship willingly dear Gareth,¡± Storm rejoined wryly. ¡°So stay yer dreams of turning it into a pleasure cruise vessel.¡± ¡°Dorm is that the Baron¡¯s satchel?¡± Gareth Lennox asked with a roll of his eyes. ¡°Check it out.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve nothing of import inside,¡± Nattas grunted lying with ease. ¡°A book of recipes, toiletries and some jewelry. I¡¯ve donated my clothes to the Navy.¡± ¡°Any good recipe?¡± ¡°Baked beans in tomato soup,¡± Storm said with a leer. ¡°With garlic, vinegar and oregano. But I won¡¯t recommend it to the ship¡¯s chef given the tight quarters.¡±
Captain Lennox offered to arrange a meeting with Duke Ursus and him, but Storm didn¡¯t accept given their history and the fact he had the man¡¯s family killed. Nattas sighed and grabbed the fast-travelling over the large waves¡¯ ship¡¯s rails. The Baron stood at the starboard side to keep an eye on the distant shores of the Lorian Gulf. It was moving that Lucius had come through. Storm had tried to keep the Heir¡¯s bid for the throne alive as best as he could since the start and it hadn¡¯t been easy. Now Lucius was a different character than those he had to deal with until recently and Storm needed to remember that. Plug the holes Nattas, the assassin had cautioned him years back. Sirio is near him. They might even be friends by now. Motherfucking doe-eyed weasel hasn¡¯t contacted me yet. Grin had been ordered to travel to Cartaport. Storm didn¡¯t know how Sudi had arranged things. He assumed Sir Barnard Rottas was in the Turtle Isles with Miranda and Silvio. Maja was probably with them given her fear of staying in big cities. People can sneak up on you, the other former assassin in his entourage frequently griped sadly. In a crowd. Grogan was loyal and shrewd enough not to fuck up simple tasks and he¡¯d apparently figured out to contact Lucius via Sirio and not King Jeremy. That would have been a little awkward but also wouldn¡¯t have given out anything of importance in the chance he failed. While Lucius seemed to be ahead at this point, Storm preferred to keep at least a modicum of good graces with the other king. With the truce signed and Storm knew these treaties could last for years, decades even. They could also end tomorrow but no side wanted that. Anyways, Lucius was free to get rid of Ligur and march to Alden. Some tinkering was needed there to ensure a ¡®smooth¡¯ transition and then it was time to enjoy a time of peace. Prosperity. He thought of Miranda and little Silvio. Plug yer holes. The palace old Dottore has to go. Ursus. Lord Doris. A couple of more loose ends. Sir Barnard was loyal to Miranda. This could turn uncomfortable under interrogation, the man¡¯s loyalties to the former Queen might endear him to the act of throwing Nattas under the proverbial wagon¡¯s wheels. Decent men are the worst ruffians. Yeah. He made a mental note to prepare for that if he couldn¡¯t keep Miranda away from the new court. He could that is by a bit of force if needed. Subtle. Nothing excessive. Storm was very fond of the Queen. The thought of her waking up his cock and it stirred something fierce under his tunic. Ah and they say distant hearts grow colder. A bunch of bullshit. Last month of 193 NC Cartagen, The Palace of a hundred windows Storm Nattas got out of the closed carriage like an old woman laden with raw hides, his leg stiff and back hurting from the all night travel. The driver, a sergeant of the guard, clicked his tongue and had the carriage moving again away from the palace stairs. The two knights exchanged greetings with their Lesia counterparts then the latter also turned their horses around and followed after the departing carriage. The rain was pouring over the palace grounds without stop. The prisoner exchange meeting had to be modified then canceled due to bad weather and other technicalities but Lesia had released their prisoners to Lucius¡¯ people on good faith. This meant Storm had been loaded into the carriage immediately upon disembarking in Cartaport and then rushed to Cartagen. ¡°Baron Nattas,¡± one of the knights said while the compact figure of the Royal Guard¡¯s commander came down the stairs briskly. ¡°I¡¯m Sir Loren Messor. Welcome back to the palace my lord.¡± Storm glanced at the knight¡¯s face half-covered by the polished red helm and clad in typical Alden palace plate armour. The shining and now soaked cuirass had the color of red wine, the head of a gold Blacktiger sculpted on his chest and the same pattern ¨Cthough much larger- on the pauldrons that flared out at the shoulders, the steel shaped in intricate details and breastplate ending with a fauld of four interconnected lames that were in turn secured with the tasset. His arms were protected with a vambrace then a rerebrace the tubular piece of armor locked under the prominent sculpted pauldrons at the shoulders. The armour weighted at least twenty kilos but it could go up another ten if more armour pieces were added for the legs. Ah. ¡°How¡¯s your Mayor father Sir Messor? You¡¯re his third son yes?¡± Storm asked politely despite his discomfort. ¡°Complains about taxes Baron. But hopeful your presence will bring normalcy to our city,¡± the young knight replied. The Mayor had undeclared goods tacked away in some warehouse probably. ¡°That¡¯s enough Sir Messor,¡± Sir Seleucid Merenda boomed despite standing not a meter from them. ¡°I¡¯ll take over now. Baron,¡± he continued now addressing Nattas ¡°Your king has granted an audience.¡± ¡°I¡¯m appreciative of the fact but can I take a moment to soak in the rain some more? It¡¯s a rhetorical query commander,¡± Storm added before the old hale knight could reply. ¡°I¡¯ll¡­ climb up the stairs as fast as I can. Bear with me now.¡± ¡°You need assistance?¡± ¡°Just time,¡± Storm retorted and eyed the dark palace grounds. But for the palace that is. The latter was lit up despite being early in the day, the whole second floor windows shedding light on the front of the building. ¡°An hour. The king is busy and stayed his departure to talk with you Baron,¡± Sir Seleucid informed him not pleased. ¡°We have Duke Ursus also in the other carriage. I assume they¡¯ll bring him in from a side-entrance? Wrapped in a blanket? Goodness me, is the man still breathing? ¡± Storm would have preferred that he wasn¡¯t. ¡°The matter of the Duke isn¡¯t yer concern,¡± Sir Seleucid cautioned him. ¡°Are you gonna start climbing up good Baron?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just gathering courage good knight,¡± Storm retorted. ¡°That¡¯s thirty fucking wide steps over there. Made for larger in girth people. For sure they didn¡¯t spare a single thought for cripples.¡± Merenda stared at him under thick brows for a moment then grabbed him by the shoulder and forced Storm up the palace entrance steps.
Cyrus Falx paused with a frown seeing Storm wait outside the throne room. The old castellan and chamberlain apparently had come out of retirement. He approached slowly, old knee-length velvet frockcoat¡¯s silver buttons nicely polished on his right side with military style braiding trim inserts to the left keeping it closed. ¡°Lord Nattas. I haven¡¯t seen you in a long time,¡± Cyrus said in his dry voice. ¡°You have appointment?¡± ¡°I was recently freed from captivity Cyrus,¡± Storm elucidated. ¡°The King wants to see me.¡± ¡°I was informed you were fired from the Council,¡± the palace official noted. ¡°That happened before that,¡± Nattas retorted indignantly. ¡°Try to keep up old man.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve recently returned to service my Lord,¡± Cyrus replied calmly. Pull my finger, see if a fart comes out, a blank-faced Storm thought. I don¡¯t give a fuck. ¡°Who¡¯s in the King¡¯s Council?¡± He asked instead. ¡°The King goes about his business under a different model.¡± Hmm. ¡°Sirio Veturius is in it?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve seen the young Veturius around. He¡¯s not,¡± Cyrus replied. ¡°The King awaits.¡± God darn idiot. You had one job. The guard had opened the door. Storm smacked his lips, grasped his cane and started walking towards the visible marble throne with the twin tigers at the armrests. The King of Regia sitting on it. The correct one.
Lucius had aged nicely. He was thirty two years old now but still had the energy and aura of a younger man. Must be all the riding about in the countryside and the double-duty required to keep two young fit wives happy. His medium length hair had no visible grey marring them and were black as coal. Some lines had formed near his piercing Alden-blue eyes and the armour he had on was a mixture of the legion cuirass with the sculpted tiger pauldrons and a knight¡¯s breastplate in dark polished crimson. A red legion-type cloak was draped over his shoulders, the fabric folded around the left side of his chest and secured with a gold clasp. Lucius had Endariel strapped on his waist -Storm noticed- but wore no crown on his head. A sculpted legion helm was placed on a small table next to the throne, the upper part intricately turned into a snarling Blacktiger, the design departing from Regia¡¯s coat of arms but similar. Several of the banners inside the hall had it in fact, the other kings watching in silence the changes Lucius had brought. Not that many if Storm wanted to be frank. ¡°Celebrated King Lucius. May Allgods bring favor unto you in abundance, strip your opponents bare of it and leave them a shivering sickly mess,¡± Storm said in a steady voice and bowed sharply using his cane for assistance, a lot of locked up bones from the cold journey crackling ominously. Fuck. Lucius got up from the throne. A tall fit man standing taller. Handsome and dignified. He walked towards Nattas that had stopped five meters away, a couple of knights watching him from the sides. Two legionnaires present at the doors behind him but no Merenda. The commander had been called away and didn¡¯t wait with Storm outside. ¡°Thick on the praise as always,¡± Lucius commended in his familiar voice but with a rougher northern accent and smiled slowing down afore stopping in front of him. ¡°I almost didn¡¯t recognize you Storm but hearing you curse people without shame I did.¡± ¡°Random people deserve it unfortunately. Your Highness, you haven¡¯t aged a day,¡± Storm replied dutifully although now that he could see Lucius from up close, he had a bit. ¡°Rest of us mortals aren¡¯t as blessed rightfully.¡±The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Lucius chuckled and then grabbed him by the shoulders which was alarming for Nattas and made him flinch, but then the king hugged him giving the stunned Baron a pat on the back. ¡°I¡¯m glad you survived,¡± a moved Lucius told him and stepped back. Storm didn¡¯t know what to say. He was overwhelmed at Lucius¡¯ openness and tried to keep from squeaking like a maiden having her tit groped as if she didn¡¯t like it. For he did. ¡°My King I¡¯d like to offer the warmest cheers to your person for securing the throne,¡± he finally managed to say and bowed carefully. You don¡¯t want to head-butt the King or break your forehead on the engraved plate. People have been put to death for less. Lucius nodded and pointed at a large conference table that had been moved from the adjoining room into this hall. The King had turned the throne room into an office. He¡¯s probably not receiving any dignitaries yet, Storm thought. ¡°I don¡¯t want to keep you standing,¡± Lucius commented and gave him a warm stare. ¡°But you need to cut back on the fanfare Storm. Come tell me what I missed all those years.¡±
Storm found a solid redwood chair with a high back and dark-red leather upholstery. He remembered it from his previous visits to the palace. Rolled up maps and neat plies of scrolls were set in front of the King. Lucius had them brushed aside casually to clear space. A forty year old legion officer with specs of grey hair on his head approached with a tray that had two cups of tea and a small bowl of auburn honey with a silver spoon. ¡°Green tea from Levacum,¡± Lucius explained. ¡°A gift from Admiral Lennox.¡± Nattas had enough tea during his stay at Rochstab to hate it but it was a cold day in Cartagen and very early in the morning still so he nodded. ¡°I appreciate it. Did the Admiral have no good wine in his cellars?¡± He asked unable to control himself. ¡°Flauegran has lost this season I¡¯m afraid,¡± Lucius replied evenly pouring some honey straight from the bowl in his cup. Don¡¯t make jests so soon, Storm scolded himself and grimaced. ¡°I guess they did,¡± he said simply. ¡°I was led to believe they¡¯ve taken good care of you,¡± Lucius noted eyeing his wrinkled doublet. ¡°Other than the navy rations I can¡¯t complain your Grace,¡± Storm replied. ¡°I just didn¡¯t have the time to change after the journey.¡± Lucius nodded once and sipped from his tea. He kept his eyes on him for a long moment and Nattas gulped down some of his without any sweetener. The bitter taste waking him up for good. ¡°Di Cresta gave me some solid advice which helped smoothen the deal,¡± the King said his tone unchanged. ¡°But you had a hand in it as well. Clever Storm Nattas always steering things from the shadows.¡± ¡°I just offered some pointers,¡± Storm replied modestly. ¡°The rest was an expensive gamble.¡± ¡°The man was arrested for smuggling silk six years back,¡± Lucius said. ¡°Among other things. But was never charged.¡± ¡°I used him to keep an ear at the port¡¯s happenings,¡± Storm changed position on his seat. ¡°He promised to adjust his ways and find a decent job.¡± ¡°He runs a ring of prostitutes out of a warehouse and worked with Lesia on providing labor for their fleet.¡± ¡°Each new start is difficult my Lord,¡± Nattas replied. ¡°Did he confess on anything?¡± ¡°He barely said a couple of words.¡± ¡°Grogan was always like that,¡± Storm cleared his throat. ¡°Is he detained?¡± ¡°Until I have the Mayor¡¯s explanation on the matter,¡± Lucius said. ¡°But I¡¯m not looking into it personally.¡± Storm shrugged his shoulders. ¡°It was mentioned you¡¯ll be leaving the capital?¡± He asked changing the subject. ¡°Ligur is making moves,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°Since I trust Lord Sula to hold the coast, I¡¯m looking to return to Asturia.¡± ¡°Lord Brakis might be open to a deal if Sula stops attacking them,¡± Storm offered. ¡°I¡¯ve contacted his son.¡± ¡°Lord Brakis shouldn¡¯t have attacked Sula in the first place,¡± Lucius countered evenly. ¡°Why did you go to Lesia?¡± He asked changing the subject. ¡°I didn¡¯t choose it. Ursus tried to have me killed and had an agreement with them. They landed in Moon¡¯s Haven and I had no options left but to follow them.¡± ¡°What agreement?¡± ¡°They intended to use Novesium as a base.¡± ¡°Drusus Sula cleansed the city from Ursus¡¯ people but didn¡¯t report this,¡± Lucius argued with a slight frown. ¡°They didn¡¯t go through with it. After Ursus fled to them, there was no point in opening yet another front.¡± Lucius pushed back on his chair and placed a closed fist on the table. ¡°You always had a firm grasp on what was going on in the kingdom,¡± he told Storm who sipped some more of the bitter tea satisfied. ¡°How did you not see the plot against my father Storm?¡± Eh. Abrakas this isn¡¯t the time for any funny business, he warned the foul deity. ¡°I wasn¡¯t with the king in Riverdor.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Storm grimaced. ¡°I offered it but the king wanted me in Alden after¡­ all that had happened. It was a difficult period for him.¡± Lucius¡¯ face darkened. It was paler than Storm remembered it, while the neat beard on his face kept very short, gave the young king a more sober appearance. ¡°Who wanted Silvie murdered?¡± Lucius asked slowly, following the thread. ¡°A cultist priest arranged for the attempt. He was killed. It wasn¡¯t targeted I believe,¡± Storm replied being careful with his words. ¡°The initial disturbance was a separate plot by the priests of Uher and Kelholt with Lord Anker¡¯s blessing in order to pressure King Antoon. It all went very wrong.¡± ¡°Which cult was it?¡± ¡°Some obscure deity. The Painted God,¡± Storm explained and a flicker of recognition flashed in Lucius eyes. ¡°You¡¯re familiar with them?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve met people in the North that follow these gods. Some of them dead now. Allies and enemies.¡± ¡°A Northern god?¡± ¡°I have no idea,¡± Lucius admitted and pursed his mouth. ¡°Nor do I consider them important. Was it a religious matter? They would attack children?¡± ¡°I never got to finish that investigation,¡± Nattas admitted. A dead end. Literally. ¡°Why would Lord Ursus move against my father?¡± Lucius asked soberly returning to the previous topic. ¡°He wanted Novesium out of Cartagen¡¯s principality. It¡¯s a long debated matter. Some concessions were given to its port and officials but even with all the independence, Ursus wanted out from under the king¡¯s direct supervision. Or the High Baron¡¯s I suppose.¡± Lucius rapped his fingers on the table. ¡°Novesium is your base of operations Storm. How did you miss his plotting? Who else was involved?¡± He asked somberly. ¡°I don¡¯t believe it was a conspiracy. Ursus may have talked about it within his family circles and then the events at Riverdor created a window of opportunity for his cousin to act.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t be serious!¡± Lucius admonished him raising his voice and Storm gulped down nervously. ¡°The man would never have acted against the king without assurances. Later events indicate others were involved. Why wasn¡¯t Ursus charged?¡± ¡°The King died,¡± Storm said raspingly. ¡°People panicked. I don¡¯t think there was a conspiracy against your father.¡± ¡°Why was the Queen Regent removed then?¡± ¡°Miranda didn¡¯t have enough backing,¡± Storm blurted a mostly true though vague statement. Don¡¯t use her name freely you plaguing idiot! But Lucius appeared too distracted to notice. ¡°Because they wanted Jeremy on the throne,¡± Lucius reminded him. ¡°Antoon wanted blood and you out of Regia. Lord Doris was not in a condition to think clearly and Brakis had problems with your father¡¯s navy contracts being late. They opted for Jeremy¡ª¡± Lucius had banged his fist on the table stopping him. ¡°Explain to me why Lord Doris went against his sister and why did she agree to step down. Miranda was never that accommodating Storm,¡± he said keeping his voice remarkably calm. She had no choice, Storm thought and licked his lips nervously. ¡°I don¡¯t want to speculate,¡± he started and Lucius grimaced, a hand rubbing at his face. ¡°Too much was happening,¡± Storm continued. ¡°Some of it bitterness for your father, jealously and ambition. Ursus got a Duchy out of Jeremy. They didn¡¯t think you¡¯ll return.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t see any of it? She stayed in charge for months and you were her Shield.¡± I was distracted, then blindsided like an idiot. ¡°Speculate Storm,¡± Lucius said wearily. ¡°Where¡¯s the Queen?¡± ¡°In the Turtle Isles,¡± Nattas replied guardedly. ¡°She asked for a favor and I obliged. The Queen was not part of the group that wanted Jeremy on the throne.¡± ¡°Eh, she didn¡¯t object to it at the very least,¡± Lucius admonished him sounding angry. ¡°Nor did she respect her husband¡¯s¡­ the king¡¯s wishes. Was she having an affair?¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ preposterous and a lie your grace. Apologies for the words.¡± ¡°Just speak your mind,¡± Lucius warned narrowing his eyes. ¡°Where¡¯s Sir Rottas?¡± ¡°With her. He¡¯s an honorable man,¡± Nattas said keeping his voice steady. ¡°The rumors have reached Asturia Storm,¡± Lucius insisted. ¡°Why did she step down?¡± ¡°If that was the reason, I wasn¡¯t privy to it,¡± Nattas replied. ¡°It sounds like vile gossip my Lord.¡± ¡°If it was a false tale dispersed to harm her then those circulating it were plotting against my father¡¯s wishes,¡± Lucius retorted harshly. ¡°They weren¡¯t pressured into anything and are guilty of sedition. They had the opportunity to rally around the Queen and didn¡¯t. Was Scaldingport part of the plot?¡± Nattas sighed and stood back on his chair. ¡°The Old Crow wouldn¡¯t have risked it but wouldn¡¯t object also.¡± ¡°Would he back Jeremy in the field?¡± Lucius asked his mind racing elsewhere. ¡°They are too busy and spread out. Is Gust still on Eplas?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have any news from that part of Kaltha,¡± Lucius replied and pushed himself up. ¡°This is a mess. All easily avoided yet very few people had the character to stand firm,¡± he added tiredly. ¡°I did all I could to prevent them from going through with it,¡± Storm said with a grimace of worry. ¡°Power was never in my hands your grace.¡± ¡°You were the Queen¡¯s Shield. Although I understand you were never favored in court,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°Or by her personally. Why did she pick you? Her brother was right there. Did they have a falling out? I just can¡¯t figure out why Lord Doris would remove his support for her.¡± ¡°He¡¯d just lost his son and the King in quick succession,¡± Storm expounded. He wasn¡¯t defending Lord Doris but mostly himself. ¡°No one was thinking clearly.¡± ¡°Ursus knew what he was doing for sure. Lord Holt and Lord Sula had everything sorted out in their heads as well,¡± Lucius retorted. ¡°Grown men and Lords of the realm can¡¯t use that excuse after all that happened Nattas. We always have a choice and discomfort shouldn¡¯t play a part in it.¡± Storm got up himself with difficulty. He¡¯d sweated his tunic and it wasn¡¯t because of the hot tea. ¡°What will you do with Ursus?¡± He asked a deep in thought king. ¡°I made a conscious effort to avoid him,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°He¡¯s being detained. Lesia is sensitive on the matter.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll be lenient?¡± Storm asked carefully and Lucius furrowed his brows surprised at the query. ¡°The first kingdom¡¯s law is crystal clear on the matter Storm so I won¡¯t change it,¡± he replied steadily. Nattas felt a numbness spreading in his left arm. ¡°He¡¯ll be judged according to it and afforded the same mercy he showed my father.¡± ¡°What about Jeremy?¡± ¡°Jeremy should step down. He shall,¡± Lucius eyed him austerely. ¡°I won¡¯t kill my brother Storm. You shouldn¡¯t worry about it.¡± ¡°Of course your grace,¡± Nattas replied dutifully with a bow of his sweaty head. I wasn¡¯t worrying for him but for the rest of us. In Storm¡¯s mind Jeremy was as dead as Lord Ursus already.
Lord Nattas left the palace to return to his home in Cartagen after more than a year away. He took a carriage there and thanked the escorting knight. With Lucius just about to depart after the army, Storm wanted to see the king again but needed a change in clothes. He expected an empty house but found Grin and some of the remaining Reformed living in it. His man looked mildly surprised seeing the Baron burst into his office. ¡°Milord Nattas?¡± Grin asked unsure ogling his eyes. ¡°Do I have a horn growing out of my forehead? Tits? Who else could it fucking be?¡± Storm grunted irate. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Grin was eating two slices of bread with ham and cheese in between them. A couple of pieces of tomato dropping on the table as he moved it about. ¡°Ahm,¡± his man stalled. ¡°If you say that you¡¯re eating or some nonsense,¡± Storm warned hefting his cane threateningly. ¡°I¡¯m breaking this on your head.¡± ¡°Sudi wanted me-self to recruit folk and keep an ear on the capital?¡± Grin replied with a question. ¡°Are you?¡± ¡°Eh, not easy during the siege milord,¡± Grin said and smiled. ¡°I thought you was dead.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t know. Seemed logical,¡± Grin admitted. Fuck¡¯s sake. ¡°Where¡¯s is Sirio?¡± Storm asked and used his cane to remove Grin from his chair. The man moved after the first blow landed. ¡°What the¡­ there¡¯s oil on the surface.¡± Grin rubbed his shoulder and took another step back with a grimace. ¡°I poured some on the tomatoes for flavor chief.¡± ¡°Where did you find the oil?¡± Storm grunted. ¡°There¡¯s a shortage.¡± ¡°Yer cellar?¡± Grin retorted. ¡°Ye have plenty of wine as well. I made quite the coin selling them. Didn¡¯t spend any,¡± he added quickly, seeing Lord Nattas¡¯ fury flashing all over his face. ¡°You¡¯ve been selling my wine?¡± Storm growled, almost drowning himself in his own spit. ¡°Blasted imbecilic buffoon! Arggh! Is there any left?¡± Grin nodded and Storm sighed looking at his stained sleeves dripping with olive oil and pieces of vegetables that had fallen off of Grin¡¯s huge sandwich. ¡°Bring me a clean set of clothes from the bedroom. Locate the maid or hire a new one. Then get some of the idiots sleeping in my couches to work immediately!¡± ¡°Doing what milord?¡± Grin asked blinking at the tasks he¡¯d hurled at him. ¡°I want to know what¡¯s going on,¡± Storm grunted. ¡°As soon as possible. Ah, and send a missive to Sudi. I want him on the first ship out of Turtle Isles¡ª¡± ¡°He¡¯s in Moon¡¯s Haven milord.¡± Storm licked at his lips silently. ¡°Then he can use a horse,¡± he said after a moment of contemplation.
Nattas¡¯ thoroughly cleaned and washed from dirt carriage stopped next to a roaming the market Sirio later that day, the abruptly opened door almost hitting the startled historian on the head. Apparently Sirio was enlisted in the Third Legion now as a LID officer or some other crap. ¡°Get in,¡± Storm grunted warningly at his shocked son in law. Sirio climbed on the carriage and Storm used the cane to force the clumsy man to sit on the couch across from him. ¡°Lord Nattas you¡¯re back!¡± Sirio blurted out tensely and went to hug him but Storm kept the cane between them, using the tip to push him back on the leather couch. ¡°That¡¯s a great surprise. It¡¯s good to see you after all this time,¡± the younger Veturius added sounding relieved. Wait until our meeting is fully over afore making decision, Nattas thought of cautioning him but didn¡¯t. ¡°Years,¡± Storm grunted. ¡°I heard you¡¯re with the Legion now.¡± ¡°I was offered the position¡ª¡± Nattas cut him off. ¡°Did I tell you to enlist?¡± Sirio puffed out exasperated. ¡°Eh, I didn¡¯t have much of an option¡­ how did you? Wow, you scared me pretty good back there. Aye, it¡¯s a stressful job. Is Maja with you?¡± ¡°Lad,¡± Storm said eyeing him like a skittish bug trying to avoid a heavy boot coming down. ¡°Why are you not in Lucius¡¯ inner circle?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not¡­ the Praetor has his people around him.¡± ¡°Your uncle is a Tribune!¡± Storm barked stooping nearer. Sirio backed away. ¡°I couldn¡¯t ask¡­ you don¡¯t understand,¡± Sirio tried to explain. ¡°The Praetor¡¯s inner circle is very difficult to breach without gaining his confidence. These are dangerous people my Lord. Nords, the army. A bloody giant. They don¡¯t fool around.¡± What? Is he on drugs? ¡°What about his wives?¡± Storm probed going another way. Sirio stood back. ¡°The Holt girl is isolated and Lady Faye even more difficult to approach.¡± ¡°Surely he has advisors.¡± ¡°Only the army is near him. Mostly those that came from the north.¡± ¡°He lives in the palace!¡± Storm barked. ¡°Only because of the children. That¡¯s not the palace you remember,¡± Sirio explained. ¡°There¡¯s a Cohort camp inside the grounds and Logan¡¯s people.¡± ¡°Who in Abrakas gullet is he?¡± Storm hissed. ¡°You don¡¯t want to meet him my Lord,¡± Sirio elucidated. Nattas stood back with a gasp of exasperation. He scratched his freshly trimmed goatee with nervous fingers. ¡°Will Lucius rule without a Council?¡± Storm asked in a calmer manner. ¡°The matter hasn¡¯t been breached at all,¡± Sirio replied. ¡°I think he¡¯ll do what he did in Kas.¡± ¡°What did he do in Kas?¡± ¡°Installed a military governor. Macrinus.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s he? A noble?¡± ¡°He¡¯s not. Just an officer of the Legion.¡± Storm grimaced, a tick appearing on his left eye. ¡°Surely this is done temporarily. We are not living in the days of the old lords.¡± What had Lucius said? The First Kingdom¡¯s Law. A reference to King Lucius the First and the days afore him. ¡°This isn¡¯t a fiefdom to install his captains in charge Sirio. Did his wife put him up to it?¡± ¡°My lord,¡± Sirio said. ¡°You don¡¯t understand. The Praetor¡¯s decisions are not up for debate before or after. They are issued and everyone follows through with them. It is what worked in the North and how it is done here.¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t going to work,¡± Storm decided and Sirio frowned. ¡°Why not? Lucius knows right from wrong.¡± Storm glared at him. ¡°What about the Lords?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe Lucius will bother himself with any Lord¡¯s opinion other than Holt¡¯s and Sula¡¯s and he won¡¯t consult them about the kingdom¡¯s matters.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t agree with that,¡± Storm argued and Sirio shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Look at what damage their in-fighting caused,¡± the historian explained. ¡°I haven¡¯t heard one wrong word uttered from the Praetor. You need to talk with him.¡± Ah, you went over to the deep end lad. ¡°Sirio I did talk with him. I know the man better than any of you fools. Everyone makes mistakes and a king that rules without a council is a dictator,¡± Storm stooped forward and used his cane to hold his weight. ¡°Even if Lucius is perfect this isn¡¯t a sustainable model. What comes after him? What happens if your morals are at odds?¡± Sirio crossed both arms before his chest. ¡°I trust Lord Lucius,¡± he said firmly and Storm chuckled at his convinced expression. ¡°Your wife is a contract killer,¡± he told him bleakly and Sirio blinked, face draining from blood. ¡°She worked as an assassin for years. Led a group of her own. The Silent Servants. Yeah. Whoa there my lad. Breathe. One more time, but take a deeper breath,¡± he advised the fainting historian. ¡°She was implicated in the murder of his sister and other shenanigans,¡± Nattas continued. ¡°You are as well knowing what you know about the other thing and Silvio.¡± Sirio was about to start puking all over his carriage. Storm reached in a small side cabinet and got a metal flask out. He offered it to the sick-looking historian. ¡°Have some whiskey,¡± Storm offered. ¡°Now, since you don¡¯t want to be responsible for their demise you¡¯ll keep quiet, am I right?¡± Sirio nodded whilst gulping down the strong liquid. He started coughing after a while, his face now flushed and sweaty, eyes ogling and teary. Nattas allowed him the time to collect himself afore continuing. ¡°You don¡¯t want all the putrid nasty stuff coming out. Their lives are in your hands. Your silence the only lifeline they have. One slip of the tongue would have everyone killed and while some of us might deserve it, the kid is innocent.¡± ¡°Allgods,¡± Sirio gasped and started pulling at his hair. ¡°We¡¯re all going to die.¡± Storm reached across and slapped him once stopping his groveling. Then backhanded him a second time and a third. He was going to keep going but Sirio groaned and slapped his arm away angrily. ¡°Good,¡± Storm said with a sigh pleased at his reaction and wiped his sweaty forehead. ¡°Now go get ready. You¡¯re leaving with the army soon as well.¡± ¡°I could stay in the city!¡± Sirio argued and Nattas took the flask away from him. ¡°You won¡¯t,¡± he retorted somberly. ¡°I want to know what¡¯s going on. Use your position to inform me so I can act accordingly.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll come with the army?¡± Sirio asked cracking his jaw right and left, both cheeks red from the blows. ¡°If it can be arranged,¡± Nattas grunted with a grimace. The last think he wanted was going on campaign in the middle of winter but when life hands you a shovel¡­ you dig. Hopefully not your own grave. 412. An Elderblood named Paeris
Months of the year (Imperial Enna) Primus (First month of New Year, 2nd month of winter) Alter or Secundus (Second month, 3rd of winter) Tertius later ¡®Lucius¡¯ in Regia (Third month, 1st of spring) Quartus (Fourth month, 2nd of spring) Imperial Canatya or Sulime (in Cydonia) Quintus (Fifth month, 3rd of spring) Sextus (Sixth month, 1st of summer, Bacchanalia) Septimus (Seventh month, 2nd of summer) Octavus (Eight month, 3rd of summer, Valimae Lilt, 2nd Bacchanalia) Nonus (Ninth month, 1st of Fall) (Imperial Cainen) Decimus (Tenth month, 2nd of Fall) Imperial Minqe (Eleventh month, 3rd of Fall) (Imperial Ringare- last month of year) Ultimus (Twelfth month, 1st of winter)
*Also common Lorian names
The first week of Ringare, first month of winter, the year of the Imperial Calendar 3399, the Monarch of Wetull arrived at Lai Zel-Ka like the Aniculo Rokae of old. On top of ¡®majestic¡¯ Uvrycres. The Onyx Wyvern. What a heart-warming scene this must have been for the exulted faithful crowds touched by its shadow! Age of the Onyx Wyvern Naram-Sin Nagar (178-212 NC) Circa 208
Arguen Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Lord of Morn Taras Monarch of Wetull King beyond the Pale Mountains Aniculo Rokae An Elderblood named Paeris
First week of Ultimus (Ringare) Winter of 193 NC City of Lai Zel-Ka EEEEERRR? The amused wyvern¡¯s shriek resounded over the scenes of absolute terror and otherworldly panic unfolding under them. The streets of the spread out beautiful city stirring with people running for cover screaming and pulling their hair out. Escaped horses, mules and camels galloping wild, dragging carts away from the stands, others upturned and all manner of produce spilt on cobblestone. Some people ducking in doorways or under market stands, mothers tossing their babies inside large weaver baskets and a man plunging to his death after he run out of roof in his terror. Others standing frozen with a look of wonder on their crumpled faces, gawking eyes observing the flying beast whistling over their heads. Uvrycres made a low pass over the straight large avenue separating the artisan and merchant coastal quarters from the fields, the farms and trees sprouting near the west banks of Amethyst Lake. He flew fast at first but slowed down after Glen¡¯s insistence who wanted to see the city from above, zig-zagging with wings extended and arching his route from the lake back near the coast as they reached the city¡¯s center. The monotonous sound of gongs answering the excited wyvern¡¯s shrieks. RRRRRRRRREEH The official buildings there taller with thin tall minarets at each corner, basically bigger versions of the watchtower at Eikenport, internal yards and scalloped arches for entrances. Made out of fine limestone cut in square bricks and marble, they were painted in different striking colors. Blue, green, rich yellow and red. Each house had a different color than the one next to it and the pattern was prominent for all flat-roofed quarters but for the slave homes they had left behind. No Lorian red ceramic roof tiles here or the Issir flagstone shingles but Glen spotted a couple of warehouses using a rough asphalt coating. The Sopat District with its neighboring gardened estates came right after and Uvrycres picked the biggest one to land. Located near the start of the slightly slopped road heading west towards Threehorn Peninsula¡¯s flat-top hills and the visible polygon-shaped bastion with the intricately ornamented brick walls they colloquially called ¡®Sopat Fort¡¯. It was a bit larger than that and the size of a walled town. The regular dodecagon shaped castle had a slender stone minaret -fully engraved with intricate geometric shapes or flowers- at each side behind its walls and the latter created a strange uneven circle around its four core central buildings, which in turn were surrounded by small gardens each with bulbous domed atriums built inside. The ¡®palace of twelve spires¡¯ as it was also called had each minaret christened after a prominent member of the Sopat family. They all had a great view over Amethyst Coast and the open Haze Sea especially the west facing ones. The tower Sen had mentioned wasn¡¯t the entire structure but the one bearing her name, but the whole thing looked darn right impressive from afar. Uvrycres¡¯ landing inside the cut grass-covered opening was graceful, although he crashed a flower garden at the end on purpose. At least fifty slaves were seen cowering near the small buildings surrounding the estate when Glen climbed down from the wyvern. You want to visit the top of the hill? See the palace? ¡°Nah,¡± Glen replied clenching his jaw and looked away towards the unseen city center. ¡°I¡¯ll just stretch out a bit and wait for Phon-Iv to arrive.¡± It might take a while. Are you sure? ¡°Yep.¡± I miss her too buddy, Uvrycres said in his mind and Glen grimaced not wanting to talk about it. He wanted to that is but it was too painful. ¡°This year is ending pretty badly,¡± Glen replied hoarsely. ¡°First Sen, now Emerson. This nonsense with Chubin.¡± Human deals. ¡°Bullshit,¡± Glen retorted angrily and glared at a slave hidden behind some rose bushes. ¡°Hey you. Don¡¯t hide, I can see the darn hair! I need transportation. By the way, I¡¯m not some hoodlum just dropping in unannounced but Phon¡¯s brother in law aye. Or whatever the fuck it¡¯s called around here.¡± ¡°The same,¡± the slave croaked now unseen as he lowered himself even more towards the ground. ¡°Will a carriage suffice?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°Can I run towards the estate?¡± The slave asked still remaining hidden behind the bush. ¡°I¡¯ll be very fast master. One minute.¡± Glen glanced at the large three-floors building which sported its own slender towers at the corners and intricately carved arching windows. It was more than two hundred meters away. ¡°Yeah, fine. Go ahead,¡± he finally replied. ¡°The wyvern won¡¯t harm you.¡± What? Uvrycres retorted. I was just thinking about it! ¡°Just go,¡± Glen grunted and the slave bolted it towards the estate as fast as a rabbit that had its tail caught on fire. Making great time and hurling mud behind him. Whoa! I think he¡¯s going to make it, the wyvern guffawed genuinely impressed. Look at him run! Hah-hah!
Glen¡¯s carriage intercepted Phon¡¯s returning caravan two hours later near the harbor. The small square a kilometer from the city¡¯s center flooded with people that wanted a word with Lord Sopat. Phon-Iv had stopped to speak with some of them, a number of the prominent merchant families heads present. The crowd¡¯s mood ranging from curious to fearful even hostile. Phon-Iv made an effort to win them over standing on the steps of his carriage just as Glen got out of his to approach shoving people away. He didn¡¯t have to try that hard as Glen was fully armed and quite fit. Other than the guards escorting the caravan the crowd was mostly civilians as the bulk of the returning army had camped outside the city. ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± A thin balding Cofol merchant asked. ¡°The Monarch of Wetull!¡± Phon-Iv Sopat boomed taking the opportunity. ¡°Rejoice at the sight! The Wyvern¡¯s Keeper is a friend of Lai Zel-Ka and a great ally! My sister¡¯s spirit walks at his side and brought him here! Let¡¯s leave this minor disturbance in the past and look to the future!¡± ¡°Me poor brother fell from the terrace,¡± a local worker said sadly. ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t know about that Phon,¡± the first merchant argued. ¡°Is the man alright?¡± Phon asked blinking to see who it was. ¡°The alley cats slurped his brains from the pavement.¡± The man¡¯s brother replied gloomily. ¡°And you¡¯ll be richly compensated for it!¡± Phon assured him a gnarly forced smile on his face. ¡°What about the damage done to the fruit market?¡± The merchant from before asked and another larger in girth merchant nodded standing next to him. ¡°People panicked, broke stuff and limbs.¡± ¡°That¡¯s on them. My advice is to be braver henceforth Lu-ViLon. We risked our lives for you to keep your market,¡± Phon-Iv admonished him as that was probably a lot of coin to pour into repairs and reimbursements. ¡°We shall welcome the man!¡± Glen paused with a grimace to stare at the gasping crowd while fixing the disheveled -from all the flying about- curls with his hands. The people now had a face for the one responsible for bringing the beast into their city but also an excuse for it. It deflated some of the anger since the white-haired, scarred warrior king looked dangerous at the very-least and if one considered the still circling over Lai Zel-Ka Uvrycres part of the package, then provoking him seemed utterly suicidal. Still the sporadic cheers were lukewarm and quietened down quickly. ¡°Can you say a couple of words?¡± Phon-Iv asked using his cane to come down the three small steps. ¡°No,¡± Glen replied and narrowed his eyes at an ogling fat Cofol with purple robes and carrying enough gold chains around the neck to hurt his back. ¡°Where are the Swordmasters of Cautara?¡± ¡°Atrusim stayed at the gates,¡± an unhappy Phon-Iv replied. ¡°They want their men to return back home before the weather turns worse.¡± ¡°How worse?¡± Glen asked and glanced at the clouded sky. ¡°Like snowing?¡± ¡°Sometimes it touches them, though it is mostly rains, but it can get cold,¡± Phon-Iv explained. ¡°The further north you go over the plains and towards the Southwest Oak Forest the worst it gets. After the second Fin Peninsula beyond the Aken¡¯s Remorse River, the climate changes and they see a lot of snow in the winter. Rin An-Pur is only warm near the Gulf.¡± That was very detailed. Glen nodded, threw another look at the curious merchant and changed topic. ¡°I¡¯d like to talk with them afore they depart.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if they will immediately. We have time to rest and visit the estate,¡± Phon assured him. ¡°I¡¯ve seen the gardens,¡± Glen retorted. ¡°I need a horse to go through the crowd.¡± ¡°Hesam will bring you one,¡± Phon said and signed for his man to get it done. ¡°But you¡¯ll need an escort.¡± ¡°What for? The crowd is friendly,¡± Glen replied. Some of the civilians close enough to listen in agreeing. The noise increasing around them and more guards appearing to keep them away. ¡°I can¡¯t let you risk it,¡± Phon explained. ¡°The word you are here has reached the outskirts of the city. There are Zilan in the harbor also.¡± ¡°A ship?¡± ¡°Yes. The Fat Libby under Captain Archibald Tidus.¡± Good. They¡¯ll take care of Kelly and Asper, Glen thought. ¡°But they have a contingent of Zilan marines onboard.¡± Phon stared at him knowingly. ¡°I don¡¯t get what you¡¯re saying,¡± Glen replied. ¡°It would look horrible if I failed to protect you,¡± Phon-Iv explained. Glen puffed out his cheeks and watched Hesam pushing through the crowd on his camel dragging a familiar desert horse behind him. ¡°I¡¯ll take the escort. Hesam and Samak will suffice,¡± Glen said finally. ¡°I¡¯ll visit Atrusim and swing back to talk with Captain Tidus in the port.¡± ¡°I hoped we could have dinner. Don-Iv wants to meet you,¡± Phon griped without raising his voice. ¡°Important people want to ask you about Inis-Mir or just shake your hand my Lord.¡± Glen had no interest to meet his brother. He didn¡¯t want to see the extended family nor visit the Palace of twelve Spires and gods forbid if he was going to talk with that fat gawking merchant about his daughter. ¡°There¡¯s time for that,¡± he retorted gruffly and took the reins from Hesam to climb on the fancy-decorated saddle.
It took them an hour to go through the streets that slowly returned to some normalcy, with crews working to repair damages and clean out the markets surrounding the city center. Lai Zel-Ka while elongated it was nicely built with straight wide streets and clearly defined neighborhoods. The aged Segun didn¡¯t appear particularly happy to see him. Daichim at least greeted Glen who smacked his lips in the effort to remain polite. ¡°I heard you¡¯ll not stay,¡± he told the heavily armoured Cofol. ¡°Umm,¡± Atrusim grunted. ¡°Rumors are like the wind.¡± Right. ¡°It¡¯s not easy¡­¡± Glen paused and stared at the Cofols preparing a wagon to send to the market a couple of meters away. ¡°I hoped to have the opportunity to smooth things over.¡± ¡°The Nina-Musha are mourning Abadaim¡¯s passing,¡± Atrusim spat gruffly. ¡°You came all this way for this?¡± Glen clenched his jaw to keep the anger in check. ¡°You¡¯ve misinterpreted my intentions.¡± He hissed through his teeth. ¡°You are doing it again and again Atrusim.¡± ¡°Segun Atrusim¡­¡± Daichim started but Glen stopped him with a wave of his arm. ¡°He doesn¡¯t care about decorum,¡± he grunted. ¡°As I don¡¯t as well.¡± Glen had no problem with it but at this point it didn¡¯t matter. ¡°Speak, king of the Zilan,¡± Atrusim grunted. ¡°I wanted an end to the conflict,¡± Glen retorted an angry tick marring his face. ¡°But not this way.¡± ¡°Yet you stood without voicing objection,¡± Atrusim said gruffly. ¡°Is the King of Wetull powerless all of a sudden?¡± Suck on a bag of carameled phalluses!Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°I had two options. None of them pleasant.¡± ¡°What was the other one?¡± ¡°Burn another city to the ground.¡± ¡°What would that have accomplished?¡± Daichim asked. ¡°Force the Khan to talk terms,¡± Glen replied. ¡°The Horselord would never had agreed even if you destroyed all the cities inside the Khanate,¡± Daichim argued. ¡°His son did for less.¡± ¡°The third son,¡± Atrusim noted sourly. ¡°He did it to solidify his bid for the throne not out of pity or compassion. I don¡¯t believe Prince Atpa is capable of either. Are you?¡± ¡°I misspoke,¡± Glen said grinding his teeth. ¡°I respected Chubin and don¡¯t consider his sacrifice a small thing. He reminded me of a man I knew in many ways.¡± ¡°Your father?¡± Atrusim asked without animosity this time. ¡°Never knew him. I grew up alone,¡± Glen replied thinking of Emerson. ¡°But yeah, you could say that I reckon.¡± The old Segun nodded. ¡°On the scales it was the right call,¡± he finally said surprising Glen. ¡°A beast master wouldn¡¯t have cared, but a considerate Monarch would.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t feel like the right call still,¡± Glen said and breathed out. ¡°It shouldn¡¯t,¡± Atrusim replied. ¡°I guess I may have misinterpreted Arguen Garth after all. How do you rule in Wetull? The Zilan are a capricious race and extremely violent.¡± Glen glanced in his face but it seemed Atrusim had asked an honest question. ¡°They are difficult but not everything is black and white,¡± he finally said. ¡°Some are noble even, gullible and silly. All creatures are alike Segun.¡± The two Cofols exchanged a curious look. ¡°Humans don¡¯t eat their own or other peoples.¡± ¡°Other than that and I won¡¯t put it past some of us behaving as bad,¡± Glen replied. ¡°Have you ever met a Zilan Atrusim?¡± ¡°They were before my time, their visits sporadic even then, but people have seen them in port these past months,¡± Atrusim said and glanced at Daichim. ¡°I may have,¡± the younger Segun added. ¡°When was that?¡± ¡°Ten, fifteen years back at the docks,¡± Daichim explained. ¡°At the time I thought nothing of it. Just shady, hooded people keeping to themselves. But I¡¯ve seen one during the summer aboard one of your ships and it reminded me of that group.¡± ¡°You must be mistaken,¡± Glen said. ¡°There¡¯s no way they reached that far. Rain-Minas is still under repair and was a ruin afore that. If someone attempted it anyway, they would have stopped at Eikenport or Ani Ta-Ne, even Fu De-Gar that are much nearer.¡± ¡°Once I saw him, my mind made the connection instantly,¡± Daichim argued. ¡°They are not easy to forget. I could feel them watching me and it was the same this time again.¡± Glen stood back a little troubled. ¡°The king has misplaced his subjects?¡± Atrusim asked with the hint of a smile. You old grumpy goat, Glen thought. ¡°There are some Zilan living outside Wetull,¡± he admitted. ¡°Why come here though? Lai Zel-Ka is the last large city port of the peninsula. The most distant. The last big port on this side of Eplas as well am I right?¡± ¡°That is correct,¡± Daichim replied. ¡°But I know what I saw and I was curious about the encounters as a younger man.¡± ¡°How many times have you seen them in the past?¡± ¡°Three out of the five years I escorted our caravans here. Mind you, that was fifteen years ago. After that I stopped visiting as much and I don¡¯t believe anyone has reported anything similar.¡± ¡°They weren¡¯t really looking,¡± Atrusim reminded him and Daichim shrugged his shoulders. Luthos teasing me with mysteries, Glen thought. But do I really care about some exiled Zilan? Not really. It¡¯s not Lith obviously. That¡¯s across the continent and too far back in the past. Assuming Daichim knows what he¡¯s talking about. ¡°Your people can visit Goras whenever they want,¡± Glen told Atrusim. ¡°This is not an attempt to entice Akira to Goras by the way.¡± ¡°She¡¯ll consider it,¡± the old Segun replied. ¡°The Zilan might not want her there Lord Garth.¡± ¡°What about Phon¡¯s people?¡± Glen asked with a smile. ¡°They might not want her even more.¡± ¡°You know what the good thing about being me is?¡± Glen asked him with a cocky smile and Atrusim stood back raising a set of thick brows. ¡°I¡¯ve a diverse court and don¡¯t care about things like that.¡± ¡°Like other people¡¯s opinions?¡± Atrusim asked. ¡°If they are stupid yes.¡± The old Segun nodded. ¡°It¡¯s good that you have a wyvern,¡± he told him and Glen couldn¡¯t come up with any retort to that. So he said nothing.
Captain Archibald ¡®Birdeye¡¯ Tidus beamed seeing them riding near the docks some time later. Glen spotted Asper eyeing some of the Zilan marines on the ship, with Kelly bravely talking to one of them enthused. ¡°We¡¯ll finish loading up before nightfall,¡± the captain reassured him after the initial pleasantries. ¡°Flardryn has every ship loaded with a detachment of twenty marines for emergencies so we are a bit cramped but we¡¯ll take them aboard with no problem milord.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± Glen replied and returned the Zilan officer¡¯s nod. The padded leather shirt of mail-reinforced armour they had on buttoned at the sides and easy to take off in case he found himself sinking to the bottom. Always a possibility. ¡°Will the Monarch need an escort?¡± The Zilan asked. Lefyr was a sturdy veteran that carried two harpoons on his back with sharp steel ends and equally sharp orange eyes. ¡°I have these two,¡± Glen replied and glanced at the Cofols still on their mounts. The camels disturbing the horse he¡¯d ridden to reach the docks. ¡°Five marines can stay back,¡± Lefyr insisted. ¡°How are they going to return? I don¡¯t intent to ride on horseback to Goras Lefyr,¡± Glen countered. ¡°The next ship. They can wait,¡± Lefyr replied stiffly. Glen didn¡¯t know if he wanted to leave them back. Problems could ensue out of nowhere, he thought and allowed his eyes to roam the docks. Looked further over his shoulder at the warehouses and crews working. Several ships docked. Smaller trading vessels mainly circumnavigating the Peninsula south towards the ports of Ane Na-Gar, Luzi Ho-kar and Fu De-Gar. A group of hooded merchants caught his fancy, negotiating with a local near the stands of a metalwork shop¡¯s warehouse. It wasn¡¯t something peculiar in their stance, probably just a gut feeling sparked from the conversation he had with Daichim earlier and the longbow made out of white wood one of them carried on his or her back. He turned his head around and glanced at Captain Tidus realizing he hadn¡¯t answered the silent Lefyr. ¡°Give me a moment marine,¡± he told him. ¡°Tidus did you unload steel ingots?¡± ¡°Ayup. Half a cargo hold.¡± The captain replied. ¡°The rest was wine, exotic oils and ironwood. We take on spices, incense and silk cloth rolls mainly. A bit of a bother to keep separate.¡± ¡°Do they resell the steel?¡± Glen asked. ¡°Could be but the warehouse you see sells in retail. Turns some of the load into steel blades or tools,¡± Tidus explained. ¡°We have better stuff if you¡¯re interested back home and he rarely has clients.¡± Hmm. Steel is steel though and can be reworked. Our steel is the best, Glen thought watching the group discuss it with the blacksmith. One of them, they had their backs turned, standing aside at an angle. Despite being too far away Glen realized that he was being watched. Which was probably what had triggered him initially. ¡°Hesam,¡± Glen said starting towards the warehouse abruptly. ¡°Come along now.¡± ¡°Where to milord?¡± Hesam asked and behind Glen Lefyr started after him as well, several marines following along. ¡°Across the cranes and the unloading area,¡± Glen replied opening his stride. ¡°The warehouses.¡±
By the time Glen and his entourage reached the warehouse, the group that had caught his interest had left. They did it without any fanfare, everyone taking a different route or alley and disappearing in the crowded area. ¡°Look about,¡± Glen grunted a little annoyed he¡¯d missed them. ¡°What are we looking for milord?¡± Hesam asked. Glen stared at the arriving Lefyr and his soldiers. ¡°Zilan,¡± he replied. ¡°All my men are on the ship,¡± Lefyr noted. ¡°It¡¯s standard protocol.¡± Not our own. ¡°Look about just the same,¡± Glen retorted and cut inside an alley. He paused seeing the carts moving up and down, cursed and turned around. Hesam with Samak were looking around a little confused, while Lefyr had split his marines in two groups of three and had them searching each road leading to the harbor individually. They are gone, Glen thought irritated. Sneaky goatfuckers just went poof. Grinding his teeth, Glen walked past the stand with the steel tools, some ingots of polished steel on its corner, paused to stare at the small vertical road with the moving animal-drawn carts from earlier and then eyed the darker alley three meters to his right. Just a chasm between two warehouses about a meter wide, the ground muddy as it carried sewage water. Yesterday¡¯s rain had flooded it at some point but now the water level had lowered to less than a finger and it dripped out on the larger street. Glen stepped inside the alley, black mold covering the walls and a heavy stench reaching his nostrils, the path opening up a bit more five meters ahead as the two-story high buildings weren¡¯t exactly parallel to each other. The alley went on for a while, debris and rotten produce tossed inside haphazardly. It exited on the road running the length of the harbor about three blocks away, directly behind the fruit market. He couldn¡¯t see that far as the sun didn¡¯t reach the sludge covered ground. He started walking inside, boots squelching in the mud and crumpling his nose at the heavy putrid odor. Glen paused again at the widened area of the alley, no more than two-three meters from wall to wall and searched about him. The whiff of incense now reaching his nose coming from a pile of debris, mainly planks and parts of discarded and broken market carts. ¡°Why not run through and reach the market?¡± Glen asked raspingly and something creaked, boots wading nervously in mud before a tall hooded female rose from behind the pile. The engraved bow held loosely in her left gloved hand. Glen could see the form-fitting rough-hide armor she wore underneath her now parted heavy hemp cloak. The dark-green dyed leather pants he recognized. All rangers wore them. ¡°I heard people talk in the city,¡± the Zilan said switching to Imperial mid-sentence to add. ¡°About an Aniculo Rokae and then saw a wyvern in the sky.¡± ¡°You heard more than that,¡± Glen said evenly. ¡°What if I have?¡± ¡°Are you lost?¡± Glen asked not taking the bait as he didn¡¯t recognize her. Was she one of Lo-Minas rangers? Her accent wasn¡¯t common. It reminded him of the crazy witch and he tensed up, his ears trying to take stock of what was happening behind his back. A couple of rats squeaked and she smiled showing four sharp incisors amidst two rows of bleached white teeth. ¡°There are a lot of stubborn marines outside the alley,¡± he warned her. ¡°Outside the alley,¡± she repeated in a taunting manner. ¡°Where did you get that bow?¡± Glen asked to stop her from doing anything stupid. ¡°I¡¯ve seen the likes before.¡± He pointed at the engraved limbs and sculpted grip. ¡°Faelar¡¯s pupils have them. They call it ¡®Whispering Wood¡¯ and it only grew in Wetull''s isles. What does it say to you?¡± The ranger stood back with a frown. She was pretty, in an austere Aelinole manner. Her blue hair pulled back tight in a bun and hidden under the hood. You had to look very closely to spot them. ¡°There''s wood like that elsewhere.¡± ¡°Fine. What does it say well-informed girl?¡± ¡°To hear you out,¡± she said and Glen shrugged his shoulders in an I-told-you-so manner. It was a semi-lucky guess there but having Maeriel practically living inside the palace had helped polish his knowledge of Imperial Rangers intricacies. ¡°You mentioned Faelar¡¯s pupils. Which one?¡± She asked in Imperial. ¡°Maeriel. Aelinole, Lord Suraer¡¯s daughter. I won¡¯t touch on who the mother was between the two sisters.¡± It wasn¡¯t a good jest and the timing was poor also, Glen admitted to himself seeing her light scowl. ¡°Uhm. Don¡¯t,¡± she said after a moment, probably to her unseen accomplish who had sneaked up behind Glen¡¯s back in the meantime. Now, Glen knew something was afoot and had a hand on the peleg but if they intended to ambush him, the girl would have taken a shot at him from afar. Curiosity was oozing out of the Zilan and he could feel her aura on his skin. ¡°Tanulia,¡± a male voice protested in that archaic Imperial accent. ¡°He wears an Imperial Hoplite leader¡¯s armour!¡± ¡°He does,¡± Tanulia replied looking at Glen with interest. Had he not been aware of the craziness Zilan carried with them, Glen would have given it a thought given the alternative. If you¡¯re to meet an armed girl in a malodourous dark alley, then it¡¯ll be for the best if the get-together were to be with lewd intentions. ¡°The Monarch leads the Phalanx but we are not your subjects¡­ Arguen Garth.¡± Now the way she worked her tongue around those vowels was interesting for sure. ¡°You¡¯re exiles,¡± Glen said and Tanulia nodded once. ¡°Is this a fight?¡± She asked teasingly. ¡°You¡¯re from Neil-Dan,¡± Glen continued and glanced behind his back at the equally tall, similarly dressed Zilan male. ¡°That¡¯s perceptive your highness.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve abolished the Queen¡¯s laws,¡± Glen retorted. ¡°Exiles are welcomed in Sinya Goras.¡± That wasn¡¯t exactly accurate but it suited him at the moment and Tanulia blinked her large light-khaki colored eyes not expecting it. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ interesting.¡± ¡°It is eh?¡± Glen teased. ¡°How about we try again?¡± He asked and she nodded working her longbow¡¯s string over her head. The hood pushed a little back revealing the lobes of her ears and high cheekbones. ¡°Ana e Iliwe Sulwao,¡± Glen said in Imperial and raised his left arm, thumb, index and mid finger pointed at the unseen sky while pressed together. ¡°All our greetings, our hearts and songs,¡± Tanulia replied in passable Common and bowed her head. Glen glanced at the stiff male watching the exchange, a hand on the pommel of a shortsword but his longbow secured on his back. While a fine bow it was made of dark polished redwood. ¡°What do you say ranger?¡± He asked him. ¡°His name is Azrael. He¡¯s my pupil,¡± Tanulia said. ¡°Well?¡± Glen probed in a casual manner. ¡°I want out of dis alley soon. We¡¯re running out of time breathing all that foul shite in.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t come to Goras,¡± Tanulia explained. ¡°Our mission is to bring supplies back.¡± ¡°Back where?¡± Glen asked with a friendly grin. ¡°We¡¯ll give your words to Lord Sulynor,¡± she continued dodging his probe. ¡°He¡¯ll know what to do.¡± ¡°Does he run things then? With Faelar?¡± ¡°Master Faelar was killed recently,¡± Tanulia said pensively. ¡°We are greatly saddened at his loss.¡± ¡°Sorry to hear it.¡± ¡°We follow the Moon¡¯s daughter,¡± Tanulia continued. ¡°But Lord Sulynor rules in her absence.¡± Again with the stupid moons. ¡°I heard she died as well,¡± Glen said unsure not wanting to pile on the bad news. Tanulia shook her head right and left. ¡°The Moon of Dan still breathes. She¡¯s in the company of the Princess,¡± Tanulia explained and stared at him meaningfully. ¡°For she also supports our cause.¡± She¡¯s talking about Lith. What in the miserable ¡®n slovenly fuck? ¡°If the Monarch and Princess are in agreement and aligned with the High Priestess¡¯ wishes,¡± Tanulia continued with a distracted grimacing Glen nodding her along. ¡°Then we are living in auspicious times.¡± ¡°Umm.¡± Lith was with the darn witch? That crone lives? Eh. Crone was too strong a word. He tried to remember the witch¡¯s face but failed. All he got was some finely pedicured, bejeweled small toes painted silver. Lith¡¯s face he could remember though. All of it. Glen felt all weird about the young princess given she had opted to leave with Larn years back after the latter had tried to murder him against the Witch¡¯s orders. That is after she had ordered a silent servant to off him in the first place. Then had gotten cold feet which was a good thing of course. And Glen was back to her feet again. Shite. This is confusing. ¡°We shall leave the Monarch to his thoughts,¡± Tanulia said interrupting him. ¡°But take the east exit out to avoid his marines.¡± ¡°I meant what I said Tanulia,¡± Glen said snapping out of it. ¡°Your people are welcomed.¡± ¡°We are¡­ not few, Arguen Garth,¡± she warned him. ¡°I¡¯ve plenty of room and empty buildings to fill,¡± Glen assured her and the ranger offered a curtsy once more and walked away. Her pupil¡­, Glen had already forgotten his name. Ah, yes. Azrael. Him, at any rate, following after her.
¡°Monarch,¡± Lefyr said tautly when he returned from the alley ten minutes later. ¡°We were unable to find anyone.¡± ¡°That¡¯s alright,¡± Glen replied still thinking of the two rangers. ¡°But an Elderblood found us,¡± the marine officer continued and Glen furrowed his brows. He stared into his face in a quizzing manner. ¡°What Elderblood?¡± Glen asked and stared at the marine standing next to Lefyr, then at Hesam that was standing on the officer¡¯s other side and behind him at Samak. ¡°Are you sure?¡± He asked and bend his neck over his left shoulder ¨Ccheek touching the pouldron like a cat- to see further back at the rest of the marines. They stood in two rows, three per and had a tall handsome male between them. The man had strikingly sea-green eyes, with silver patterns in them, rich but nicely trimmed, pushed back white hair that concealed his ring-adorned ears with the help of a black silk head cover and left his diamond-shaped face visible. A handsome Zilan for sure. ¡°He¡¯s quite known sire,¡± Lefyr said stiffly. ¡°This is Paeris, the ¡®Fair¡¯. He¡¯s a member of the Council of Twenty.¡± Glen stared in the Elderblood¡¯s face in silence. Paeris sighed seeing the moment dragging and offered with an unforced smile. ¡°Memorable Arguen Garth and so forth,¡± he said in excellent Common. ¡°I hereby give myself up.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Glen grunted unsure whether he was mocking him or not. Paeris shrugged his shoulders. ¡°I backed Lord Rothomir¡¯s bid and he¡¯s now dead as a doornail? I believe this is the human expression. Since I¡¯m not interested in ruling, rebelling without cause or anything else, I prefer to return to Wetull than stay with the Cofols.¡± Glen smacked his lips and eyed Lefyr. ¡°Was he armed?¡± ¡°Paeris? He¡¯s a bard sire,¡± Lefyr pointed out politely. ¡°Aha. I noticed no instrument that I can see. Gods forbid if it¡¯s hidden anywhere uncomfortable. Are you any good?¡± Glen taunted the unperturbed Zilan. ¡°I have a bard in court already,¡± he added sobering up. ¡°Truthfully?¡± Paeris asked remaining unruffled. ¡°I¡¯m told I was pretty good once but haven¡¯t chanted a single note since the First Era.¡± This son of a bitch is as old as dirt. ¡°Why is that?¡± ¡°Grew out of it,¡± Paeris replied keeping his face blank. ¡°Surely you get the inclination once in a while,¡± Glen insisted unable to get a read on him but also not feeling any attempt at manipulation by the Zilan. ¡°I assure you that I don¡¯t and any attempt under pressure has produced horrific results.¡± ¡°That bad eh?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Paeris agreed casually. For a person that had surrendered himself he appeared pretty cool about it. ¡°Is there another spot open other than the bard¡¯s?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t say the bard¡¯s spot was open,¡± Glen corrected him sternly. Paeris scratched his left earlobe with his nails. They were painted black with a red dot in them. ¡°I thought since you asked it was. It¡¯s actually quite the relief that this isn¡¯t the case.¡± ¡°Is there anything else you excel at mister Paeris? Remember we are in a public space,¡± He¡¯d almost used ¡®fair¡¯ right there just for the laughs given the male¡¯s scandalous past. ¡°Just Paeris will suffice Lord Garth,¡± Paeris said coolly. ¡°It might turn really uncomfortable for both of us if we start adding monikers this soon. Historically I get the more vulgar ones and it¡¯s quite taxing.¡± Glen flickered his eyelids and then gazed at him in peace for a moment. Half a smirk appeared on his mouth slowly but quickly it turned into a loud snicker. The animals near them joined in. ¡°I¡¯m being serious,¡± Paeris informed him managing to maintain his blank expression amidst the ruckus. ¡°I figured. That¡¯s why I¡¯m laughing,¡± Glen retorted chuckling and shook his head right and left. ¡°If I were you, I¡¯d stay as far away from Goras as I could mister Paeris. We throw a lot of monikers around back home.¡±
But Paeris had opted to board Fat Libby as well. With Lord Suraer, Anfalon, Olonelis, Elwuin, Aenymriel and Onas present as well, the Zilan ¡®Council of Twenty¡¯ had now seven acting members. At least three more were alive for sure but absent. Which would make it ten.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms or enjoy it again at Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ The chapters are re-edited and re-posted regularly at both places 413. A sudden promotion
Metu A sudden promotion
Never trust good news at face value. The dwarf wasn¡¯t pleased with Voron. The Monarch¡¯s Shield and the Lord of Public Works were both unwilling to give in as the indignant Voron wasn¡¯t pleased as well. ¡°The lake¡¯s surface is up a meter! It has flooded the shores,¡± Lord Fikumin explained for a second time what was evident to everyone. ¡°Thick mud has covered the lake¡¯s taverns and reached as far as the villas. Fish live still in the puddles! We use oxen to draw the carriages through the sludge Voron! It is dangerous to walk on foot,¡± he added angrily. Dwarves were apparently hit the worst by the bad weather. ¡°I¡¯ll have the last tower finished in a month. At least the roof,¡± Voron argued. ¡°If I release the crews now then the schedule would be off and I can¡¯t start work on the interior.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t work on the interior!¡± Fikumin boomed and Metu coughed a little startled. Vulreon who was taking notes for the Palace just as Phinariel was taking notes for the city, raised his head and looked at him austerely. Something in my windpipe, Metu explained voicelessly forming the sentence with his mouth while Fikumin and Voron continued arguing. ¡°Have the citizens shovel the mud away themselves. Lazy, lamebrain dullards! Use buckets to wash the pavements and clean the patios for crying out loud!¡± Voron countered sounding exasperated. ¡°Your men as well Captain Horton!¡± Captain Horton who was present for the Council meeting furrowed his brows perturbed. ¡°We are policing the situation Lord Voron.¡± ¡°How about helping out instead?¡± Voron retorted inflexibly. ¡°We¡¯ve no crime in Taras Captain!¡± Eh, they had actually, Metu thought and worked a finger at his collar to loosen it. ¡°Enough! You¡¯ll keep one crew to work on the castle and get everyone else in Taras Voron!¡± Fikumin fumed pounding both fists on the table. Vulreon frowned at Phinariel¡¯s startled chuckle and the young comely scribe blushed at his glare. ¡°I formally protest this nonsense,¡± Voron spat indignant. ¡°Write it down Vulreon that I stood firm on finishing the Monarch¡¯s own home in the face of stiff opposition!¡± ¡°The Monarch will manage with one less tower for a while,¡± Fikumin mocked him and Voron bristled but refrained from speaking. He crossed his arms over the chest annoyed with the whole procedure. ¡°Soletha raised the price in the wine,¡± Folen, the smart-eyed Zilan spying on people, reported taking the chance. Metu cleared his throat and stood up. ¡°She hasn¡¯t. We haven¡¯t discussed the new year¡¯s limits nor enforced price controls yet Lord Folen.¡± ¡°The merchants are selling double what they did at Sinya Goras,¡± Folen argued. ¡°The old crone is lying.¡± ¡°The scoundrel is defaming a priestess,¡± Voron commented sourly. ¡°This is the sad state of affairs.¡± ¡°She¡¯s older than me,¡± Folen retorted. ¡°And I run a pleasure venue, so I¡¯m pretty certain on both my arguments Voron.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll look into the matter,¡± Fikumin grunted. ¡°Does it affect our exports?¡± ¡°They buy like crazy,¡± Folen said. ¡°There¡¯s a shortage on Jelin.¡± ¡°The market is hit on Eplas and we¡¯re giving it for free to Lord¡¯s Burrow,¡± Metu pointed out. ¡°That¡¯s a different deal. They pay us differently. We are waiting for a resolution at the Peninsula and we can¡¯t use Ani Ta-Ne for the time being,¡± Fikumin explained. ¡°Lord Tsuparin taxes everything that moors there so he¡¯s not helpful.¡± ¡°It¡¯s an opportunity to make coin,¡± Metu argued. ¡°So it¡¯s not surprising.¡± ¡°What else is on the agenda?¡± Fikumin said moving on gruffly. ¡°The Permanent Council will meet later today for an update.¡± ¡°Eilven was fired again,¡± Rimeros, the Zilan advisor practically lived in Morn Taras, reported. ¡°The princess?¡± Fikumin asked with a scowl. ¡°Yes. She doesn¡¯t want to study in the mornings,¡± Rimeros replied. ¡°She can¡¯t stay up late to play because of it and Eilven is a ¡®bird of early morning¡¯ let¡¯s say.¡± ¡°Re-hire him,¡± Fikumin decided. ¡°That¡¯s a no on the fitness and staying late stuff. Inform Maeriel to enforce it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure it is possible my Lord Shield,¡± Rimeros argued politely. ¡°She¡¯s a child Rimeros,¡± Fikumin grunted. ¡°Just do it.¡±
¡°Former slave,¡± the child said an hour later. Everyone had left the premises but for Fikumin that remained in Morn Taras due to the Monarch¡¯s absence. Garth was in Greenwhale Peninsula so the mystery of his disappearance had been solved. This was months back. Inis-Mir had a touch of her mother on her face. The lips, the shape of the eyes (not as pronounced) and face. She had her father¡¯s jaw and hair a dark crimson that looked out of place but added to her exotic looks. Iskay at least thought it wonderful even if she didn¡¯t have the redhead¡¯s more common lighter hue. The princess had a red tunic on, since she loved red and ordering people around the most. ¡°Your f¨ºted highness,¡± Metu responded and bowed low, folding forward effortlessly but not without pain. It was part of the package. ¡°I need a ride,¡± Inis-Mir told him imperiously and approached leading in front of Iskay, her small anklet-adorned feet bare despite the cold. ¡°Be my horse.¡± ¡°What is this malarkey? Princess, return to your room!¡± Fikumin boomed and the girl blinked just as Metu dropped on all fours out of habit. ¡°Iskay remove the dwarf. He¡¯s too loud,¡± Inis-Mir ordered her guardian. The comely slave frowned. ¡°He¡¯s also too heavy mistress,¡± she replied with a smile. ¡°Why?¡± Inis-Mir wondered staring at the stunned and turning a deep red Fikumin. ¡°I¡¯ll have the knights carry you upstairs princess,¡± the dwarf warned her but she scoffed and climbed on Metu¡¯s back. ¡°Get down from the Castelan¡¯s back!¡± ¡°She¡¯s not heavy,¡± Metu assured him nervously. ¡°To the stairs faithful mount,¡± Inis-Mir ordered in an encouraging manner. ¡°Let us ride to my room!¡± ¡°Stay where you are Metu!¡± Fikumin grunted. ¡°Sir Delmuth!¡± He barked next. ¡°You can¡¯t order my knights around dwarf,¡± the little princess argued. ¡°Leave now, you¡¯re irritating to my ears!¡± ¡°And you¡¯re interrupting our talk with your insolence and belittling the Lord Castelan,¡± Fikumin retorted and walked near them. ¡°He doesn¡¯t mind. Just ask him, he¡¯ll tell you,¡± she countered lithely putting her small foot on the Lord Shield¡¯s scowling face to shove him away. ¡°He¡¯s a horse that talks!¡± Fikumin grabbed her foot and pulled her off of Metu with ease. While not much taller than the little girl, the dwarf was much wider and quite strong. Also a lot more hairy and the princess started pulling at his beard with both hands gluing her body on Wetull¡¯s Lord Shield. Iskay hassled to get her off of the cursing dwarf and Sir Delmuth appeared at that moment, steel spurs clanking on the polished tiles. The imposing Rokae hesitated at the uncommon sight of Lord Shield fully wrestling the young Princess of the kingdom. Inis-Mir had now straddled both legs on Fikumin¡¯s thick neck in a tight vice and fought to keep him from dislodging her resembling a fledgling lioness that tried to take down a hairy boar. Sir Delmuth glanced at the still prostrated on all fours Metu and then at the flushed Iskay watching mostly from up close. ¡°She¡¯s just playing,¡± the Lady of the King¡¯s Quarters answered the knight¡¯s voiceless query. ¡°Arggh! Bothersome little fiend!¡± Fikumin growled and used two stubby fingers to seize the princess¡¯ small ear. A pull and Inis-Mir screamed in pain which allowed the dwarf to get her off of him at last. A moment later he groaned and snatched his arm back. ¡°She bit me!¡± Fikumin snapped angry and raised his hand to slap the snarling girl but Sir Delmuth stepped forward this time and stopped him. ¡°Iskay, escort the princess to her quarters,¡± Sir Delmuth ordered, voice muffled a bit under the silver mask. ¡°She¡¯s grounded for a week on the first floor,¡± Fikumin ordered irate. ¡°The man or woman that allows her anywhere near the throne hall I¡¯ll throw in the dungeons and toss away the key!¡± Voron had finished the prison cells a week back. Sort of but they ¡®could do the job in a pinch,¡¯ as the Lord of Public Works reassured them. ¡°Get up!¡± Fikumin barked while Iskay took the staring daggers at the dwarf princess away. ¡°What are you doing?¡± This was addressed to him and Metu got up on his feet slowly. ¡°She won¡¯t always be a child my lord,¡± he reminded the furious-looking dwarf. You didn¡¯t get to Metu¡¯s age by taking unnecessary risks. Mistakes you can do, but the obvious ones it is better to steer clear from. Inis-Mir would be a harsh ruler despite her smarts and beauty. That people were blind to it for the most part, came as no surprise to him. People see what they want to see and just imagine the stuff that are missing. ¡°You¡¯ll stay in the palace?¡± Fikumin asked tiredly and walked back to the table. He used the small stool next to it to climb up his tall chair with a groan. ¡°It¡¯s a madhouse in here.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll return home for a bath and come back either tonight or next morning,¡± Metu replied and cleaned his robes at the knees. ¡°Why don¡¯t you free her?¡± Fikumin asked after he glugged down a large goblet of wine and burped loudly. Awa. His expensive slave girl. Lady Sen-Iv wanted her to replace Iskay¡¯s friend but due to the Monarch¡¯s unwillingness to bring more slaves in, the Sopat-bred and trained girl had ended up with him. While not as pretty as Iskay, Awa was gifted and Metu really liked her. Which is why he couldn¡¯t let her go. ¡°It is better for her,¡± Metu replied stiffly. ¡°How can you say that? You were a slave afore Glen freed you!¡± Metu stood back with a grimace of discomfort. ¡°I served first. Don¡¯t just gloss it over. Then I was rewarded for it,¡± he retorted and Fikumin scowled his way. ¡°I should have left the princess ride you for the rest of the day,¡± the dwarf rustled. ¡°Have you no soul?¡± Oh, spare me the ethics lesson dwarf. We are not all cozy with the Monarch like you! The rest of us are fighting for our lives here. ¡°And I would have endured it without protest,¡± a peeved Metu retorted, adding with a polite curtsy to soften it. ¡°My Lord Shield.¡±
Metu arrived at his villa in the lakeshore district of Taras just after sunset. He bid his driver Lidos -a former Cofol caravan hand working for him- goodnight and walked inside the large hall of the repaired Zilan building. He reached the east side and his quarters weary from a long day. Metu removed his robes and sandals near a dresser and entered the massive bedroom where Awa was soaking in the heavy bronze bathtub. The almond-eyes of the tanned slave turned his way finally after a moment, a smile forming on her damp face. ¡°How¡¯s the water?¡± Metu asked already intrigued at her sight. ¡°Cold but also comfortable,¡± she replied teasingly. ¡°Can Soto prepare more?¡± ¡°He¡¯s sleeping master. I¡¯m wet enough for both of us,¡± Awa purred and got out of the bathtub slowly. Her nicely-toned body had a small tattoo with his name as its only blemish. Perky breasts with gold rings adorning the dark nipples and a thick bottom. Awa walked near Metu and reached under his short tunic with a cold hand. ¡°It will warm up,¡± she assured him seeing his frown working on his quickly-responding phallus. ¡°Just a small discomfort.¡± ¡°Where did you get the new rings?¡± Metu asked hoarsely clasping the left one between index finger and thumb, trapping the wet nipple also. ¡°Bought them at the market,¡± Awa replied throatily. ¡°With your coin.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have to punish you for that.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do it again,¡± Awa argued and steered him slowly towards the bed using his rigid cock as a lever. Metu dropped on the mattress and blinked when the aroused slave girl left to return with a large porcelain urn. It looked heavy. ¡°What¡¯s in there?¡± ¡°Thyme honey from Lo-Minas,¡± Awa replied and cracked the sealed with wax wooden lid open. ¡°I wasted the rest of your coin on it.¡± Metu blinked one part enraged, the bigger part aroused and then licked his lips. ¡°That¡¯s criminal,¡± he croaked and watched as she lathered some on her breasts. ¡°How does it taste?¡± Awa straddled him unhurriedly and allowed some of the gold liquid to drip on his mouth and chin. ¡°Sweet,¡± the slave girl purred and let out a husky moan when Metu bit on that engorged sticky flesh, almost breaking his front teeth on the barbell.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Other than that it was a great start to the night.
¡°The door is locked,¡± a strange distant voice said. It carried over the left open large windows. Despite the morning chill as it had rained briefly during the night, it wasn¡¯t that uncomfortable. Well, Metu¡¯s cock was hurting a bit, his back felt funny from the acrobatics but Awa¡¯s warm naked body shielded him from the elements. A sticky layer of honey also helpful in that. Awa stirred waking up and relocated between his legs. ¡°I see a cracked open window,¡± another gruff voice replied in the meantime. ¡°Back or front?¡± a third asked. ¡°Use the front, we¡¯re not felons Beluar,¡± the gruff voice replied. Well, that¡¯s nice I suppose. ¡°Climb up now, the sun is almost up. I don¡¯t have all day!¡± Huh? Metu thought opening his eyes, feeling drowsy. It was still relatively dark, the hour early. ¡°What?¡± Awa asked cupping his balls with a hand. ¡°I heard something,¡± Metu groaned when her mouth closed on his phallus. Awa stopped. ¡°Um?¡± She queried lips too full to form coherent words. ¡°Just do what you¡¯re doing, it¡¯s nothing,¡± Metu croaked and closed his eyes to relax at her ministrations. ¡°Sweet,¡± Awa murmured switching to her tongue. ¡°Make another passing,¡± Metu urged her and thought he heard a noise coming from the front of the villa. He tried to concentrate but Awa was distracting him heavily and it wasn¡¯t easy. ¡°Just open the gods darn door,¡± the gruff voice ordered from afar. ¡°Else Alok will break it down. Are you lost son?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll need a sledgehammer for that general. I could run to the warehouse to fetch one,¡± Alok replied in Imperial. What in all-hells is going on here? Metu wondered and then squeaked when Awa used her teeth to scrap at the tender skin. Metu started breathing heavy, one fist clenched on the mattress the other hand cupping a small breast and head resting back on the pillow. ¡°Aww, there¡­ work on that spot,¡± Metu groaned, tears in his eyes and through them he saw a blurry square-shaped face stooping over him. What is this¡­? ¡°That him sir?¡± A rough male voice asked and Metu squealed, fear bringing him over the edge and into a powerful orgasm. ¡°Nesande¡¯s fleshy tits,¡± the gruff voice from before grunted. ¡°It¡¯s too fucking early in the morning for this shite!¡± ¡°Aah,¡± Metu moaned miserably, more Zilan figures now appearing around his bed. A face he recognized. ¡°Lord Onas?¡± Metu managed to say and the one-eyed scarred Zilan Council member shook his balding head ¨COnas insisted that wyvern fire was the cause of his baldness- disappointed. ¡°Who else could it be lad?¡± He asked gruffly. Metu felt lightheaded and Awa raised her face, chin covered in his spilled seed. ¡°He¡¯s busy. Come back later,¡± she warned them with as much formality as she could muster given the circumstances. Lord Onas pursed his weathered mouth eyeing her. ¡°Nice hips and arse,¡± he finally said evenly. ¡°Not much of a tit though and ye need something to grab onto. Right Beluar?¡± ¡°Affirmative. Not much sir,¡± Beluar droned instinctively. The sturdy Zilan had mostly white hair and wore an ancient hoplite cuirass over weathered dark leather pants and boots. Alok had a ranger¡¯s outfit on, also weathered. Everyone was armed with swords and daggers. Alok had a towel in his hand. ¡°Wipe them down,¡± Onas ordered. ¡°Let¡¯s get this over with.¡± ¡°Lord Onas!¡± Metu cried out to stop him, his eyes darting from one intruder to the next surrounding his bed. ¡°What is the meaning of this early visit?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not early,¡± Onas grunted. ¡°Once ye get to be my age, you turn restless sure, but the sun is up lad. Dress up. We need to be in Hardir¡¯s Port before sunset. Time is of the essence.¡± Why would I¡­? ¡°Why?¡± Metu croaked and Onas glanced at the scowling Beluar. Alok was busy staring at Awa¡¯s exposed buttocks as he had the better angle. ¡°Get him out of bed,¡± he ordered his man. ¡°Dip him in the tub and then put some clothes on his skinny arse.¡± ¡°What about the girl sir?¡± Beluar asked and Awa made to protest but Alok stooped from behind her and touched a long dagger under her wet chin. So the slave stopped moving immediately. ¡°Lord Onas, this is outrageous,¡± Metu protested and tried to get up. ¡°I¡¯m the Monarch¡¯s Castellan and his treasurer!¡± Onas snorted, index finger covered in honey as he had dipped it in the left open half-empty urn. He slotted his long finger inside a gnarly mouth and licked it clean. Then the ancient Zilan smacked his lips and replied brusquely. ¡°You got fired and we¡¯ve a ship to catch.¡± ¡°What?¡± A bewildered Metu muttered at the devastating news. Awa started crying equally shocked at his plight. Onas grunted and signed for Alok to silence the slave and he did covering her mouth with the towel, wiping away some of the spillage in the process. ¡°Ten minutes,¡± Onas told Beluar. ¡°If he¡¯s not dressed and ready by then, wrap him in a clean sheet.¡± ¡°Aye sir.¡± ¡°Wait, where are you taking me?¡± Metu asked trying to get away from Beluar on the large bed. The Zilan unsheathed his Kopis with a scowl. ¡°I told you. Hardir¡¯s Port and then we¡¯re off for Rain-Minas,¡± Onas grunted his eyes on the struggling to breathe Awa. ¡°That¡¯s a good shave job between them legs,¡± he commented pursing his mouth. ¡°What¡¯s there?¡± Metu asked and screamed when Beluar grabbed him by an ankle and then dragged him back towards the edge of the bed. ¡°A brief stop,¡± Onas replied curtly. ¡°Afore Ani Ta-Ne. Seven minutes Beluar. You¡¯re running out of time son. Stop all that fooling around.¡± ¡°Aye sir,¡± Beluar replied bodying Metu towards the bathtub. It was still filled with water. Metu tried to fight him but the Zilan slapped him once across the face and then dropped him inside the cold water. It was humiliating but humiliation isn¡¯t lethal. So Metu could take heaps of it. He coughed up foul water trying to surface, tears in his smarting eyes. ¡°I¡¯ll go with him!¡± Awa croaked, Alok¡¯s grip muffling her voice. ¡°There are plenty of slaves in Ani Ta-Ne,¡± Onas grunted with a glare. ¡°Only essential personnel is to make the trip!¡± ¡°She¡¯s essential,¡± Metu gasped, blinking to clear his eyes. ¡°Are you sure?¡± Lord Onas asked a little amused with another glance at the slave. ¡°Yes,¡± Metu croaked and the Zilan Council member nodded. ¡°Dip her in the juice and then bag the girl too Alok. We¡¯ll put her in the trunk of the carriage. Grab that sleeper as well to get this shit going,¡± he ordered and then stared at the soaked Metu warningly. ¡°Five minutes lad.¡±
Two hours later Metu sat across from Lord Onas inside a four-horse drawn carriage, Beluar next to him with Alok being the driver. Awa and Soto were in the large baggage compartment, which was thankfully empty. Also disturbingly though as they didn¡¯t take any clothes or possessions with them. ¡°Lord Onas,¡± a disheveled Metu said and the ancient Zilan cracked his sole eye open, head still resting on the lip of the couch. ¡°With all the respect my lord. I don¡¯t understand.¡± ¡°Ani Ta-Ne is floundering,¡± Onas grunted a little annoyed for having to disrupt his nap to answer him. ¡°The Monarch wants it up and running to boost morale and cut back on the expenses and so forth. Pick a reason, it doesn¡¯t matter. He decreed the place to be ready before the year is over, so we have a lot of work to do and can¡¯t be bogged down by sentimentality. ¡®Get it done¡¯, Garth writes. And thus it shall be done.¡± Good grief. ¡°It¡¯s a Cofol city,¡± Metu reminded him and Onas grimaced. He eyed Beluar and the Zilan grabbed Metu¡¯s ringed ear hard. He squealed in pain but the Zilan brute didn¡¯t let go. ¡°Please,¡± Metu begged them. ¡°What did I do?¡± ¡°Let go of him,¡± Onas ordered and Beluar released the ear. ¡°Listen up you little shit. You have been tasked to put that part of the empire on its feet again. You¡¯ll whip, you¡¯ll kick and drag their sorry arses into shape. Do you understand what I¡¯m saying?¡± ¡°Whip and kick,¡± Metu repeated in a state of pain and confusion with Onas nodding him along. ¡°Ehm, we¡¯ve taken the city?¡± ¡°The city was ours. The port that is. Don¡¯t give a dried up shite for the city, but hey the Monarch wants it working. Lai Zel-Ka is too far and Fu De-Gar too expensive. He picked you as a front but you¡¯re not up to the task unsupervised. It is implied you¡¯ll need help.¡± The Permanent Council had news from Lord Garth, Metu thought and moved nervously on the couch with a glance at the scowling Beluar. When he returned his eyes on Lord Onas the ancient Zilan had closed his eye and was sleeping again. ¡°You¡¯ve known Lord Onas long?¡± Metu asked politely the muscular Zilan. ¡°Served under him in the Phalanx.¡± ¡°You¡¯re retired? You look so fit still!¡± ¡°Lost three toes in my right foot and can¡¯t keep up,¡± Beluar explained gruffly. ¡°I didn¡¯t notice,¡± Metu croaked. ¡°You want me to show you?¡± ¡°No, I believe you brave Beluar,¡± Metu said quickly. ¡°Can we get Awa out of the trunk now?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a big one. She¡¯s fine.¡± You callous monster! Metu thought angrily and then breathed out slowly. ¡°So what about Alok? Is he just a cutthroat of sorts?¡± ¡°Imperial Ranger, also retired due to poor eyesight. Works with the general. They are friends,¡± Beluar explained with a warning stare to cut back on the monikers. ¡°He seemed keen-eyed earlier,¡± Metu noted obliging him. ¡°He¡¯s not blind to a nice pair of buttocks.¡± Right. ¡°What am I supposed to do in Ani Ta-Ne?¡± Metu asked casually as he didn¡¯t know how to take the news. ¡°You¡¯ve been promoted,¡± Lord Onas rustled from his spot. ¡°So you¡¯ll rule in Ta-Ne in the king¡¯s stead like a governor.¡± ¡°A Viceroy?¡± a startled Metu asked with shocked grin. Onas opened his eye to glare at him. ¡°Under my supervision. You know what this means?¡± ¡°I¡¯m to report to you on my decisions?¡± Metu chanced the sudden promotion making the harrowing ordeal of getting fired and kidnaped from his home palatable all of a sudden. Beluar had grabbed him by the ear again and this time the soft flesh almost gave, the ring tearing a bit at his earlobe. Metu screamed in pain and Lord Onas stooped across the couch, the carriage was big but the Zilan was a tall creature, to stare in his tearing eyes solemnly. ¡°You are to do what you¡¯re told,¡± Onas warned him. ¡°Smile while doing it to palate your gullible countrymen during this transition phase. Optics are not important to me but the Monarch is human so a different approach is needed here. I can understand that.¡± ¡°The ear¡­¡± Metu cried out miserably and Beluar eased a bit on his grip. ¡°Please!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll do a good job,¡± Onas continued indifferently. ¡°Your first act as¡­ governor, is to declare the west side of Tani River, from Hippo¡¯s Nest and all that forest there, up to the Imperial Watch plateau off limits to everyone.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a road coming from Fu De-Gar and the coast right there!¡± Metu protested and then cried as Beluar pressed his steely fingers down on his abused ear. ¡°Permission will be given,¡± Onas added, ¡°to some crews while work is done on infrastructure on the west side of the city facing the river and the port, which will also be off limits for everyone without one. Since we don¡¯t have time to write down new stuff and the Monarch¡¯s instructions were Spartan on the matter, we must assume Imperial decree is to be used to deal with any hiccups.¡± ¡°Hiccups?¡± ¡°Dissenters,¡± Onas rustled warningly. ¡°Troublemakers and anti-Imperial cunts. There¡¯s a small group of faithful that¡¯ll become the base to rebuild the citizenry up. As a matter of fact your second act is to reinstate their status. We¡¯ll have the names when we reach Ani Ta-Ne. They will live in the north districts after the non-citizens are cleared out of the premises. We¡¯ll work on the details of his operation later. Space is needed, so space will be created.¡± ¡°What about the rest?¡± ¡°You mean those that don¡¯t want us there?¡± Onas asked just to be sure they were on the same page. His tone letting Metu know that he found the idea of someone not wanting to be part of Wetull ludicrous. Metu licked his lips and glanced at Beluar who had let go of his throbbing and a little torn ear. Pain was expected on each assignment, he thought dejectedly. A gift can be a snare and good news naught but a scheme to make you drop your guard. In order to survive one needs to be capable of absorbing punishment and do what¡¯s necessary. ¡°What will happen to them?¡± The former slave asked not because he was brave but because Metu wanted to know what he was supposed to do, or have done in his name. Lady Sen-Iv always reminded him that he wasn¡¯t really free just because he¡¯d been freed. Life is full of paradoxes. ¡°We need plenty of workers,¡± Onas admitted with a shrug of his shoulders. ¡°Yes the citizens help and that¡¯s all good, but we have a lot of stuff to repair, public works done per the King¡¯s orders and a road network in tatters. New ports and even housing. The list goes on and on. And I wasn¡¯t talking about Ani Ta-Ne. The city there needs work as well.¡± ¡°Lots of slaves in Ta-Ne to pick from,¡± Metu murmured, he was repeating the Ancient Zilan¡¯s words from earlier, their meaning now clearer. Lord Onas nodded once in agreement and then rested back on his nape. A moment later he was fast asleep despite the sound of the galloping horses and the turning wheels of their carriage.
On the Eleventh (Minqe in Zilan) Month of the year 193 NC, the Kingdom of Wetull seized the large city port of Ani Ta-Ne that had been ravaged earlier that summer by Prince Nout¡¯s forces and ¡®returned¡¯ it into Imperial fold. The latter part of Viceroy Metu¡¯s words when he assumed command of the warn-torn city. Callous Viceroy Metu, an unknown very-educated former slave from Lai Zel-Ka was King Garth¡¯s handpicked man for the job. The city¡¯s fate had been decided as part of a secret agreement between Prince Atpa and King Garth, Lord Sopat and Lord Tsuparin. It marked the unofficial ¡®end¡¯ of the Three Sisters rebellion that had managed to become the deadliest war in history in less than a year even if it was by a few thousand. A record that lasted less than six months. It was an important deal as it freed the Khan¡¯s hands to proceed with his invasion. With the Khanate fleet already on the move since the previous year, the Khan couldn¡¯t back down and Atpa¡¯s agreement came at an opportune moment for him even if he hated the outcome and refused to sign it officially, after cutting the messenger¡¯s tongue out with his own hands in a fit of rage that is. Back in the Peninsula, Viceroy (or Governor) Metu set forth immediately stripping away land and titles from everyone not ¡®deemed¡¯ worthy of citizenship. The coveted status while it had been given more liberally to the refugees that had flocked to Goras earlier that year was to be a matter of contention in the years that followed. According to ancient Imperial Law, no one was allowed to own land inside the empire¡¯s borders without being a citizen. Under this pretext thousands were stripped from their assets immediately, those voicing their disagreement promptly enslaved and thrown to work on the projects the Viceroy churned out every other week it seemed. Working as forced labor was one way for someone to win his freedom and citizenship back, but while the Peninsula slaves were a commodity that could be sold to a better or worse buyer in slave markets, Imperial slaves were not part of this economy and most were sent to Wetull to work there until they breathed their last. Lai Zel-Ka remained silent on the events in Ani Ta-Ne but Lord Tsuparin protested raising taxes to all Imperial vessels using his port. With his city flooded with refugees trying to escape Zilan rule the Cofol lord found himself unable to accommodate everyone. Still the city grew and so did Ani Ta-Ne. Two years after the Zilan had retaken control there, the port was rebuilt fully, three-quarters of the old city torn down and reconstructed in a more ¡®spacious¡¯ manner. The West District, the one closer to Tani River saw a new massive stone bridge raised over the old one and had turned into a strikingly rich neighborhood with huge villas and large avenues replacing houses, apartments and dark alleys where mostly Zilan and some of their human friends resided. The port and the south district up to the East Gates had been given to the ¡®newly minted¡¯ citizens. About twenty thousand had been christened in the first year alone and enjoyed their new accommodations. Another twenty thousand refugees had flocked to Goras and around forty or fifty had relocated to Fu De-Gar or even escaped into Khanate controlled territories, mainly Shao Na-Lan. It is believed that under Viceroy Metu¡¯s reign almost thirty thousand people were enslaved but different sources give lower numbers. Ani Ta-Ne was perhaps the first truly crime-free city as according to Imperial Law criminals were killed on the spot swiftly if they weren¡¯t citizens or enslaved to work out their debt if they were. The heavy taxation imposed on land caravans as retaliation forced Lord Tsuparin to lower his own tariffs on Imperial ships mooring in Fu De-Gar. (A vital stop for the merchants circumnavigating the peninsula using the fabled Lai Ze-Ka coastal nautical route that crossed part of the Haze Sea). This alleviated some of the tensions in the Three Sisters alliance, but soured Lord Tsuparin and brought him closer to Prince Atpa¡¯s camp. While important developments in Greenwhale Peninsula happened during 194, the realm¡¯s attention had turned to Jelin where the fate of Regia was to be decided in the mighty battle of the Lorian Fields at the start of the year and the Khan¡¯s hordes famed crossing of the Shallow Sea. The old Horselord¡¯s landings dwarfing those of the still ailing King Antoon¡¯s three years earlier. The latter was still breathing (the fact is disputed by numerous sources) but as luck would have it and as if to aid King Garth go about his shadowy plans unopposed, he wouldn¡¯t for much longer. Lord Sirio Veturius Circa 206 NC The Fall of Heroes Chapter L Addendum -Volume IV- The Onyx Wyvern¡¯s rule (Lost Sister, 1st Wine War & the rise of South Eplas Trading Company, abbreviated SETC. The ¡®Rule of Three¡¯ colloquially also known as the First Banking Act of 194 cosigned by the Bank of Trust, the Bank of Dinar and the newly formed then Bank of Goras.) Winter 193/194- late fall of 194 NC
414. A captain’s duties
Morning of first of Ultimus, winter of 193 NC Near the turn at Duck¡¯s Head Peninsula, In the southernmost edge of Ripel¡¯s Island The cold waters naval route between Ripel¡¯s and Cliffson Cay islands, seventy nautical miles from the Free Isles port of Atri. Shallow Sea. ¡°They are running sire!¡± Thies Bell, the first mate of the ¡®Foresight¡¯ yelled hanging from the foremast¡¯s line and Captain Nelis Oost nodded afore raising his hand to wipe his cut face from all the blood and brines. Smarting eyes trying to discern the rest of the enemy ships beyond the angry cold waves splashing over their deck. The ¡®Foresight¡¯ banked hard port side, sailors losing their balance and crashing on rails. Pier Hakker¡¯s marines trying to secure their injured off of the gutted Khanate galley. A mast snapped in two, sails flapping loose and the swinging boom decapitating a Cofol officer like a butcher¡¯s cleaver. Blood and froth mixing in and the sound of mounted Scorpios firing at the retreating Khanate¡¯s remaining war galleys muffled from the roaring waves. ¡°Tyeus curse them,¡± Nelis grunted and put a hand on the horrific wound, half his left cheek missing where the wooden splinter from the catapult shot had gotten him. A mere graze gods be praised all things considered, he thought. The bastards had surprised them in the hailstorm. ¡°A shameful display,¡± Thies Bell agreed and hurled insults at the enemy sailors. Of the eight ships that had ambushed them only four remained, for the loss of two of their own. The ¡®Hardrock¡¯ and the ¡®Ambrose¡¯. They were on half-crew but still over four hundred people had gone under, else this would have been a total victory. Still it was a victory. ¡°Turn to port!¡± He boomed and a soaked Bell blinked trying to approach the dancing quarterdeck. A risky effort due to the bad seas and weather that had plagued them for the last couple of weeks and showed no sign of slowing down. No one makes a raid in the middle of winter, he thought. The Khan has lost it or he¡¯s desperate. Be that as it may he needed to pass this up the chain of command. ¡°We could pursue them captain!¡± Bell yelled to be heard. ¡°Not in this weather. They are running for Rida,¡± he replied with a grimace of pain and a loud groan. ¡°Make the turn for Ripel¡¯s Island,¡± Nelis ordered the helmsman. ¡°Help him out Mister Bell. I need to stop the plaguing bleeding.¡± ¡°That¡¯ll leave a scar captain, but despite our losses this is good day,¡± Bell yelled to lift his spirits and made way for him to reach the quarterdeck¡¯s stairs. ¡°Aye,¡± a weary Nelis agreed. They were both wrong.
Elsanne Eikenaar Princess Heiress ¡®Fair¡¯ Anne Burton A captain¡¯s duties
¡°WHAT¡¯S THIS THEN?¡± Bugs croaked loudly from the open window, black beady eyes snapping energetically left and right, large beak kept open to show its red tongue. ¡°Shush you!¡± Elsanne admonished the almost a meter tall raven with a hiss and it flapped its wings once annoyed, while maintaining its balance on the window¡¯s stool. She had moved slowly out of bed in the meantime, not to disturb the sound asleep male figure. The princess paused for a moment to allow her eyes to roam on the warm naked extremely fit body. ¡°Oil in the cunt!¡± The raven squeaked ¨Ca horrible dissonant sound- but not as loud and she glared its way incensed. ¡°Get out!¡± Elsanne warned the large bird and the door cracked open, the eunuch Jasi¡¯s shaved head poking through the chasm. ¡°Is the princess decent? Half-decent?¡± He asked and Elsanne stared at her naked self in the blurry mirror. It was cleaned but the old bronze just couldn¡¯t be polished more and glass was a rarity in Lord¡¯s Burrow. The princess is mighty fine. ¡°In a moment. Don¡¯t make noise,¡± she ordered and found a shirt. Elsanne put in on quickly, then paused to fix her long disheveled hair. ¡°That¡¯s two moments,¡± Jasi commented pointedly. ¡°I¡¯m waiting for her highness,¡± he explained to someone standing with him outside. ¡°Is that Sir Klaas?¡± Elsanne asked with a glance at the still sleeping Gust. He needed his rest after the last night. ¡°That¡¯s all of him,¡± Jasi murmured. ¡°Send the good knight to the stables for my horse.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a street away¡­ fine,¡± Jasi griped. ¡°Dear knight, would you please fetch the princess¡¯ horse? Yes, it¡¯s an order.¡± Gust stirred on the bed making a lot of noise and Elsanne rushed to his side. ¡°Princess¡­ what¡ª?¡± ¡°You need to get out of the window,¡± Elsanne explained quickly. Gust furrowed his thick white brows. ¡°Why¡­ eh, that¡¯s a six meter drop your highness.¡± He grunted, thought about it for a moment afore giving her a nod. He turned his eyes about looking for his pants. Uher bless him. He¡¯s so brave and strong, Elsanne thought staring at the manliness on display. But he¡¯ll kill himself. ¡°Stay where you are,¡± she decided and leaped towards the door, the half-buttoned short shirt showing off a lot of leg and two dark-skinned full buttocks. ¡°Ah,¡± Gust gasped at the sight fully waking up which was heartwarming. ¡°Is Sir Klaas gone?¡± Elsanne asked and Jasi cracked the door open again. ¡°Yes your highness,¡± he said and tried to catch a glimpse of the naked knight on her bed but Elsanne shoved his head back out of the door¡¯s opening. ¡°Luthos¡¯ gonads!¡± Jasi cursed irate. ¡°Check the road downstairs,¡± Elsanne cut him off. ¡°It¡¯s clear, but it is a road your grace.¡± She breathed out. It¡¯ll have to do. Gust had stood up and approached her in the meantime. Elsanne stared in his solemn face and sighed. ¡°You can go out the front door,¡± the princess murmured, touching the chiseled chest, deft fingers tracing an old wound, then a toned peck afore traveling down the muscular arm attached to it. Gods have mercy. ¡°I¡¯ll get dressed,¡± Gust yielded oblivious to her turmoil and made to turn but Elsanne¡¯s fingers clutched at his large forearm like a blacksmith¡¯s vise and stopped him. No you won¡¯t. She stepped into his familiar embrace and reached to bring the square jaw near her flushed face. ¡°Not before you bid us a proper farewell Sir Gust,¡± Elsanne purred throatily and the knight¡¯s mouth found hers the next moment. Strong hands following, one wrapping around her waist, the other reaching for her heaving breasts but finding the shirt in between. While Gust tried to be gentle about it, his fingers gripped the cloth and ripped it away with ease, the action mashing their bodies together. It made the moisture dribbling down the folds of her pulsating labia gush like a river¡¯s sources. Arr. ¡°Apologies for the shirt,¡± Gust grunted hoarsely interrupting their kiss. ¡°It¡¯s yours,¡± an extremely aroused Elsanne reassured him and sealed his mouth with hers forcefully. ¡°We don¡¯t have much time,¡± she explained between nibbles and kisses, the ceiling spinning over her head as Gust carried the smaller princess back to bed. Jasi, who had poked his head through the door again and could now see them, groaned in frustration but the two lovers paid him no attention. ¡°Fresh dough is in the oven!¡± Bugs commented, let out a thunderous snort, eyes blinking rapidly and then flew away.
Sigurd Bach, the Baron of Colle among other things, stared at the large carafe of rum unsure. ¡°It¡¯s a morning meeting dear tavern woman,¡± he told Adele and the owner of the ¡®Purser¡¯ tavern ¨Cand inn- slid an empty goblet in front of him. ¡°Ye wanna be talking and meet in this venue in private, then you drink me rum dear Baron,¡± she responded and Sigurd signed for Katers to usher her away. His man thought about it and then opted to ask Adele to join him at a distant table instead. ¡°This is getting out of hand,¡± Sigurd griped and rubbed the top of his head. He¡¯d stopped shaving his skull for months now but kept the hair short. Elsanne blinked at his angry stare and watched Axel ¡®Mudriver¡¯, who was Sir Gust¡¯s squire even though he was a bastard, bring a map-stand inside the emptied out inn. The man set it up quickly, everyone still half-drowsy at the table. From the dashing Sir Jan Reuten, the scarred Sir Wim Cramer, Captain Gel De Moss of Scaldingport, Captain Mads Struder of Castalor, merchant and captain of the ¡®Conrad¡¯ Echo Ardes who had just arrived. The pirate captain ¡®Salty¡¯ Reed was escorting ¡®Mutiny¡¯ Carter and was there for Lord¡¯s Burrow as the recuperating Captain Van Fleet had taken the Princess¡¯ Heiress suggestion, his huge dog Pete and had moved to Eikenport. Elsanne had named him a Governor there. A Lord of the ¡®pirate territories¡¯ no less. She glanced at the rigid and slightly angry figure of Gust two chairs from her. Jasi had insisted to sit between them to keep some of the affair a secret. Sir Klaas was absent as he had taken her horse back to the stables, with Elsanne opting to walk the short distance to the ¡®Purser¡¯ instead. Gust was pissed at Lord Sigurd¡¯s presence and he wasn¡¯t that good at hiding it. She thought of reaching under the table and pinch his leg but Jasi stooped near her ear and whispered stopping her. ¡°Eyes to the front your grace and stay still.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Elsanne whispered and felt the eunuch¡¯s fingers on her back. She had outwear black leather front-laced corset on, over a fresh white satin shirt with three-quarter length lace bell-sleeves. ¡°Your pants need fixing,¡± Jasi replied in the same tone and worked to bring everything in line. ¡°And you need to tighten the binds.¡± Nonsense, she could barely breathe. On the contrary, Elsanne had pulled at them too hard. ¡°That¡¯s as much squeezing as we are willing to endure,¡± Elsanne retorted and the table turned silent. ¡°Proceed Lord Sigurd,¡± she ordered and the Baron stared at the stack of scrolls the ¡®Conrad¡¯ had brought them from Scaldingport, along with birds and even several dresses for the princess. Elsanne was not eager to be put in a conservative Issir dress anytime soon, or if she could avoid it, but it was a lovely gesture by Lord Ruud. Gust believed the clothes to be his sister¡¯s, who was serving as the Queen of Regia. Janneke had given birth to a boy and a girl. Alistair the second and Patience, the name of the Scaldingport plateau chosen to honor Janneke¡¯s origins. Since both children had dark skin Lord Ruud was satisfied for not being considered as an option although he mentioned it in the letter in colorful terms. Elsanne was shocked at the hoarse language used to describe his own daughter and at first she thought it a mistake mayhap even a sign the old man¡¯s sanity was slipping away, but Gust assured her Ruud was of perfectly sound mind. He was just a horrible human being. ¡°The navy won a skirmish near Ripel¡¯s Island,¡± Sigurd started with a grimace of distaste for the eunuch¡¯s ministrations. Elsanne glanced at the others present but everyone appeared not to pay attention or pretending they weren¡¯t other than Mutiny, who smiled at Sir Jan and the knight of Colle who returned it. The former Master of Secrets had gotten up and pointed with a thin wooden ruler at the map of Jelin¡¯s west coast. ¡°It was a minor engagement and the problem with the crews persists. If Lord Anker fails to find a solution, I believe he¡¯ll retreat from Colle altogether. It is an auspicious time for Lord De Weer or Lord Van Oord to move on the offensive.¡± ¡°Lord Ruud makes no mention of such preparations,¡± Gust rustled from his spot. Elsanne could spot the scars left by her nails on his neck. Some light scratching the knight had brushed off, apologizing for the bruising he¡¯d caused on her instead. Elsanne crossed her legs under the table trying to concentrate on the discussion. She tried to take the matter lightly but it wasn¡¯t easy. One sinful tryst had turned to a couple of all-nighters and then the princess realized she wanted the hale knight in her bed every night. It was a different kind of possessiveness this, more fierce and sweet. Uher hated extramarital affairs and His light brought shame to those practicing it but Elsanne just couldn¡¯t put a stop to it and the freedom Lord¡¯s Burrow provided the couple was difficult to resist. ¡°He¡¯s worried of a raid in Caspo O¡¯ Bor,¡± Sigurd continued. He was talking of Lord Anker. ¡°So he¡¯s distracted now. This is an opportunity we can¡¯t miss.¡± ¡°Where were the Khan¡¯s ships going?¡± Gust asked. ¡°Rida? Rumor is the Khan is there.¡± ¡°Why venture so far from the east coast of Eplas then?¡± ¡°They got lost,¡± Sigurd grunted. ¡°Sir Gust these were a small number of warships, hardly a bother for the navy.¡± ¡°It was a close thing Baron,¡± Gust spat and Lord Bach crumpled his face in frustration. ¡°Colle is destroyed,¡± he hissed, as angry as Elsanne had ever seen him. ¡°Yet you want to dance around your father¡¯s unwillingness to offer assistance for a common cause or even risk troops to save old friends in need,¡± Gust clenched his jaw, veins bulging on his neck. ¡°And hide here behind the Princess¡¯ skirts?¡± Sir Gust got up abruptly and Elsanne had to stoop over the table, almost shoving a yelping on his chair Jasi out of the way, to reach him. ¡°Gust, please don¡¯t,¡± she blurted out and Gust stared at the small fingers touching his elbow. ¡°Lord Sigurd,¡± Elsanne continued hoarsely, forcing herself to look away from the silent knight, her face flushed. ¡°Sir Gust¡¯s courage is unrivaled. Retract your words.¡± Sigurd narrowed his eyes having spotted the intimate gesture. ¡®Salty¡¯ Reed, the Pillager¡¯s new captain, cracked his neck right and left then arched forward. ¡°Ye better parley the fuck out of this matey,¡± he cautioned the Lord of Colle. ¡°People are still struggling in the ruins your grace. Many have already perished,¡± Sigurd said with a weary sigh. ¡°The rest live in forests, sick from cold and those that have made it to Castalor are suddenly beggars. Lord Ruud owes my family and I always delivered on my end of the bargains.¡± ¡°What do you mean? Say what you¡¯re thinking Baron,¡± Gust grunted threateningly eyeing the scowling Baron over the table. Captain Reed was sitting at the other edge of the one Elsanne had occupied. It was just a large tavern table so Sigurd wasn¡¯t that far away from the knight. Elsanne intervened again. ¡°There is a problem in our present,¡± she said raising her voice. ¡°Lord Sigurd what can we do to take Colle back?¡± ¡°Push against Lord Anker while he¡¯s distracted,¡± Sigurd replied. ¡°Colle isn¡¯t important,¡± Gust argued earning another glare from the Baron. ¡°But knowing what the Khan is doing is vital.¡± ¡°The Khan, Sir Gust?¡± Sigurd snarled. ¡°Even if that is the case, how is her grace to assume the throne when we are vacationing in Lord¡¯s Burrow?¡±The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°I¡¯ll talk with Lord Ruud,¡± Elsanne replied to prevent Gust from continuing a conversation that could turn violent soon. ¡°See if I can convince him.¡± ¡°Ruud will move when it¡¯s favorable to Scaldingport,¡± Gust answered stiffly. ¡°He knows better Princess.¡± Elsanne stared in his hard-edged dark face. ¡°I can order him Sir Gust,¡± she finally reminded the knight who replied immediately. ¡°Better that you didn¡¯t,¡± Gust warned her. Elsanne didn¡¯t like his tone and while they had dropped decorum between them ¨Cunderstandably- this wasn¡¯t a private moment. Why are you going against me? Elsanne¡¯s jade eyes asked him a little hurt but very pissed. She breathed out not wanting to create a scene, as Elsanne feared she¡¯d lose control of her tongue and voice something she shouldn¡¯t or Gust would. ¡°Could the Blood Raiders be of assistance? We also have our troops roaming the port your grace,¡± Sir Wim Cramer asked breaking the tense moment. ¡°Only as a marine force,¡± Reed replied and Mutiny nodded staring at the gloomy Elsanne quizzical but also in understanding. ¡°You don¡¯t want them against regular infantry or Knights on Jelin.¡± ¡°Could you bring us all across?¡± Sigurd asked him and the pirate captain shrugged his shoulders. ¡°It¡¯ll be a packed deck but we could do it in a couple of runs,¡± he replied. ¡°You can¡¯t fight Lord Anker without my father¡¯s help or Van Oord¡¯s,¡± Gust rustled through his teeth. ¡°Would Lord Robert be of help?¡± Elsanne asked him tensely. Gust grimaced. ¡°You can¡¯t expect Robert to fight for Colle with Badum¡¯s fate on the line. He may do it but then you need more men to push out from there.¡± ¡°We could try for Issir¡¯s Eagle,¡± Elsanne argued. ¡°Not with the royal guard back in the city,¡± Gust countered. ¡°Lord Anker''s forces are nearer and he has an heir ready to assume the throne. If Antoon dies then the guard will protect the one on the throne.¡± ¡°Can we sway the guard?¡± Elsanne insisted. ¡°I have difficulty reaching their commander. Kobus Van Eunen is a stickler for protocol,¡± Sigurd replied. ¡°Princess you can¡¯t fight a campaign without knowing what you¡¯re up against,¡± Gust retorted grimacing. Elsanne stood back sporting an angry pout of her own. ¡°We shall revisit the matter later,¡± she announced. ¡°When our heads are clearer.¡±
An upset Elsanne walked to Adele¡¯s bar and grabbed a tall stool to sit on, putting her back at the lip of the wooden counter. Mutiny approached her a moment later working her fingers nervously on the golden loops hanging from her right ear. ¡°Fancy a cup of grog Anne?¡± she asked and Elsanne scrunched her face staring at Gust arguing with the other knights and captains still at the table. ¡°I must go to Jelin,¡± she murmured pressing back against the counter while clasping it with both hands. ¡°What keeps you?¡± the pirate woman asked. ¡°Scaldingport is a fine place the brothers say.¡± ¡°Scaldingport is a gloomy place run by a dirty old man,¡± Elsanne retorted. ¡°People smell milady,¡± Mutiny jested. ¡°Not that kind of dirt,¡± Elsanne snapped but then smiled seeing the woman¡¯s face. ¡°There¡¯s that grin that moves mountains,¡± Mutiny teased and reached over the bar to grab a bottle. She shook it a couple of times and eyed the faded label. ¡°This looks dangerous,¡± she decided and poured herself a cup. ¡°Whiskey. Eh, that¡¯s pretty nice actually.¡± ¡°I need to be seen on Jelin,¡± Elsanne said looking away. ¡°No you don¡¯t,¡± Mutiny replied. ¡°People know who you are.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t feel like it sometimes.¡± ¡°People know of your name,¡± Mutiny rephrased her words. ¡°The woman underneath isn¡¯t important to them nor do you have to reveal it.¡± ¡°What if I want to?¡± ¡°I think you already have. Those you fancy know you Anne,¡± Mutiny said and grimaced after taking another sip of the whiskey. ¡°Damn. It makes my toes tingle,¡± she added and then asked with a teary glance. ¡°Does he?¡± ¡°What?¡± Elsanne gasped taken by surprise. ¡°We don¡¯t understand your meaning.¡± ¡°I only gaze our Anne here,¡± Mutiny said. ¡°I know your before and I know your after, because it shows. People are not blind.¡± Elsanne pursed her lips. ¡°You delve in rumors?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a pirate port milady. All we have is rumors and tall tales. Some fancier than others,¡± Mutiny teased seeing her flushed face. ¡°What is the word then?¡± Elsanne croaked. ¡°Stop it, there is no word,¡± the pirate woman replied calmly. ¡°But some of us know.¡± ¡°I see,¡± Elsanne said rigidly. ¡°I hope you do Anne,¡± Mutiny replied and finished her cup. ¡°I need to go see a rope-maker myself about a rope,¡± she added and when Elsanne furrowed her trimmed white brows confused, Mutiny pointed at the lavatory. ¡°Adele is known to spike them bottles,¡± she explained and walked stiffly to the back of the tavern.
¡°Your grace,¡± Sir Klaas reported when they returned to her house a street away. ¡°The horse is returned to the stable.¡± Ugh? What horse? Ah, yes. ¡°Excellent. Remain by the door Sir Klaas,¡± Elsanne ordered haughtily and walked inside but stopped immediately to turn around. Gust paused at the door stiffly, Elsanne hadn¡¯t talked to him at all on their return and Jasi groaned in frustration squeezing himself past the broad-backed knight blocking the path. ¡°Sir Gust will have an audience,¡± Elsanne added and Gust raised a thick brow. You think you¡¯re forgiven? ¡°In two hours,¡± she decided revising her order. ¡°I need to freshen up before lunch.¡± ¡°I want to talk with the princess,¡± Gust grunted at his former squire stepping in front of him. ¡°Step aside Klaas.¡± ¡°The princess is indisposed Sir Gust,¡± Klaas retorted firmly and Gust blinked, his eyes on Elsanne standing not two meters away inside the doorway. ¡°Come back in a couple of hours.¡± ¡°Let him through Sir Klaas,¡± Elsanne said after a moment. Gust was going to walk over the young knight anyway. Klaas dutifully stepped aside and Gust walked in and followed Elsanne down the corridor towards the stairs going to the second floor, while Jasi took a left turn and disappeared inside the kitchen. Elsanne walked upstairs in silence, the knight¡¯s footsteps thudding on the creaking steps behind her. She opened the door to her humble quarters and went straight for the window to crack it open and allow some light inside the dark room. Cold air and the smell of sea entering as well, but it felt refreshing on her flushed skin. Elsanne turned around and stared at the sulking knight. Gust made her small room appear smaller in his armour. Stupid brute. Orc. A handsome orc at times sure but always very stupid. ¡°We are not pleased,¡± she stated pursing her mouth. ¡°Elsanne,¡± Gust grumbled. ¡°Sigurd wants you in Jelin but your presence there shall put you in danger.¡± Elsanne blinked not expecting his words. ¡°Explain.¡± ¡°They tried to kill you one time and they will try again,¡± Gust grunted. ¡°It¡¯s the easiest way to get rid of you. Here they have no pull, but on Jelin? Another assassin will come and I can¡¯t allow this to happen.¡± That was a lot of words coming out of him all of a sudden. Elsanne licked her lips unsure on how to reply. ¡°You went against me in front of everyone,¡± she finally said austerely. ¡°We are angered Sir Gust.¡± ¡°Good. When you¡¯re angry, you always take a moment to calm down. Then you make the correct decision,¡± Gust replied with a pained grimace. ¡°Usually.¡± ¡°I do that?¡± Elsanne frowned. Gust nodded with a weary sigh, his eyes roaming the bedroom and then blinked seeing his helm at the nightstand. He¡¯d forgotten it there. ¡°We can¡¯t be together openly,¡± Elsanne started and Gust nodded. He walked to the sculpted helm, took it in his large hands and made to turn around but she stopped him. ¡°What are you doing?¡± She hissed in shock. ¡°It¡¯s unseemly a practice princess, I agree.¡± What? ¡°Put that helm down!¡± Elsanne snapped, feeling twice more angry than she felt a moment before. Gust grimaced but returned the helm on the nightstand. Elsanne was breathing heavy all of a sudden. ¡°You were going to leave?¡± She snarled through her teeth. ¡°You said¡ª¡± ¡°You should have protested!¡± Elsanne snapped interrupting him. ¡°You¡¯ll do it in front of others but now you¡¯ll yield to our wishes without a fight?¡± ¡°I wish not to fight you,¡± Gust grunted clenching his jaw. ¡°I don¡¯t care about your wishes!¡± She screamed but then grimaced immediately, nails digging in her flesh, both fists closed tightly. This wasn¡¯t true. Elsanne turned around showing him her back and took a deep greedy breath to calm herself down. The fact she was doing it, made Gust¡¯s words all the more heavy on her psyche. She shook her head and wiped a tear of frustration from her eyes. ¡°I don¡¯t really care about politics or appearances. I know this might sound horrible but this is the happiest period of my life,¡± she croaked trying to get the words out. ¡°But unfortunately the Princess of Kaltha does.¡± ¡°I know,¡± Gust replied hoarsely. ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about me Elsanne. I¡¯m in your corner.¡± Gods. Stop sobbing you weakling! She admonished herself. Wipe your face, suck the snot in. Elsanne used her laced sleeve to do it. ¡°I need a moment,¡± she murmured and then turned around to glare at the gloomy knight. ¡°Don¡¯t move.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t.¡± ¡°Good.¡± Elsanne took another deep breath under Gust¡¯s worried scrutiny. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± ¡°We can bring our forces to Scaldingport,¡± Gust said while she fanned her face not daring to look at the mirror. ¡°Umm.¡± ¡°Ruud might move if the Barony of Colle returns under his yoke.¡± ¡°Aha,¡± Elsanne murmured using the other sleeve to finish the job on her face. ¡°But he has an eye on Regia¡¯s affairs also,¡± Gust continued. ¡°This war will end badly for one of the brothers. Ruud might want Jeremy on the throne.¡± There is that of course, Elsanne thought now breathing easier. ¡°Will he fight Lucius?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not how the ¡®Old Crow¡¯ operates. But Rik is in Alden with Janneke. He won¡¯t allow anyone harming her or the children.¡± ¡°You think Lucius will kill them too?¡± The thought was horrifying. ¡°I only know what¡¯s in my head princess,¡± Gust replied stiffly. ¡°I could guess on another man¡¯s thoughts but never assume I¡¯m correct until his actions match.¡± Elsanne smiled unwittingly. My wise orc knight, she thought a nice warmth spreading in her heart. And other places. ¡°What?¡± Gust queried seeing the change in her demeanor. ¡°It wasn¡¯t a jest.¡± ¡°We are allowed our private thoughts,¡± the princess retorted vaguely. ¡°Of course. I shall leave you alone,¡± Gust said and Elsanne¡¯s eyes narrowed menacingly which alarmed the large man. ¡°Are you not my knight Sir Gust?¡± She now asked in a steady voice. Gust stood back trying to gauge her thoughts. ¡°I am,¡± he finally replied. ¡°Goodness me,¡± the princess murmured. ¡°Good Sir, you took your sweet time there. Answer assertively and in a rapider manner in the future,¡± she puffed out exasperated. ¡°Now I need to change my clothes,¡± Elsanne decided changing the subject and before a confused Gust could move the princess added firmly. ¡°Close the door but do linger some more to help us for we lack in servants. This bust is a difficult garb to discard.¡± Gust came to her assistance but took her words literally and the leather corset died a violent death in his hands. The freedom bestowed upon her abused chest half-worth the destroyed piece of clothing. ¡°The leather strips were tied too tight and the leather gave,¡± the knight explained looking to mend the two broken flaps much to her elated nipples approval. ¡°Let¡¯s play a little game afore lunch is served,¡± Elsanne purred in Gust¡¯s face. She¡¯d forgiven him already. ¡°You¡¯ll be a pirate ship captain returning a cold winter night.¡± ¡°A pirate ship captain? I rather be a knight,¡± Gust rustled, his fingers now working under the loose bust and over the thin shirt covering her heaving bosom. The cold breeze coming from the open window almost hurting the tender nubs on the fleshy orbs center. Mmm. ¡°Aye. Just indulge our person. Now, can you perform your duties?¡± She asked raspingly. ¡°What are they?¡± ¡°You need to enter the port and anchor safely,¡± a blushing Elsanne explained and guided his callused swordsman¡¯s hand over her left shivering breast, used the other to make him follow her towards the bed as she backtracked. ¡°Enter the port,¡± Gust repeated hoarsely while she guided his hand to snap the buttons keeping the shirt decent, down to her navel. The princess small wardrobe¡¯s casualties mounting. ¡°I¡¯ll play the port, but it¡¯s a narrow entrance and difficult to moor on first try,¡± the excited princess breathed in his face when the knight lowered himself over her burning body. ¡°It may take a while for yer ship to find the route in the dark. So you¡¯ll have to try again and again.¡± Boom, went the captain¡¯s ship. And then it pulled back only to return again. Boom. Boom.
At the dying throes of the New Calendar year 193, either the 4th or 5th day of the month Ultimus, Captain Nelis Oost commanding the Kaltha¡¯s Main Fleet 2nd navy patrol flotilla was ambushed by the Khanate transport fleet¡¯s flank-guarding wing during a hailstorm. The eight bulky war-galleys of the Khanate reacted to the perceived threat and attacked on the open seas just outside Duck¡¯s Head Peninsula of Ripel¡¯s Island. The Kaltha warships were outnumbered (the patrol had four armoured Carracks each with six heavy Scorpios per side and a fast Caravel), and initially faced trouble with the longer ranged catapult equipped Khanate ships. The Carrack Hardrock was targeted by the majority of the Khanate¡¯s ships being at the flank and the first to emerge out of the mist. It immediately started taking water due to heavy damage and the rough seas and capsized. The Caravel Ambrose attempted to assist (three hundred sailors and marines had found themselves struggling with the cold waves) but received a hail of volleys from the Galleys (they had two heavy catapults per at the stern and six Scorpios, three per side) the iron bolts ravaging its slim deck from the port side and killing most of the crew that had rushed there to assist their drowning compatriots. The galleys opted to approach to arrow shot range and they circled around the two hurt ships firing on the strugglers. This caused them to split up in two groups while they reloaded the heavier weapons. Whereas the crews were probably well-trained the unfamiliar harshness of the weather or a matter of exhaustion (the Khanate¡¯s fleet had been at sea for a year with only one stop at Abe Era Fort in Eplas far north) they were slow to do it. Captain Nelis timely reaction took them out one by one. The engagement turned ugly as the waves brought the two flotillas impossibly close and while the galleys could deploy oars the weather wasn¡¯t proper for this action. In the confusion Captain Nelis Scorpios fired from point blank range in the guts of the galleys, the two meter long iron bolts ripping through the slaves operating the oars and disrupting the ships maneuvering. The Kaltha marines tied up the next two galleys and attacked the shattered decks. Nelis Oost was operating with half-crew but auspiciously the battle¡¯s sequence of events had given him the opportunity to best the Khanate¡¯s fleet. The four remaining galleys that were circling didn¡¯t want to fire on the entangled ships and opted to retreat heading straight for Rida to draw Kaltha¡¯s warships away from the transports. They messaged Osahar of Shao Na-Lan in Rida, the Khan¡¯s Master of Sea (promoted after Lord Letakin had rebelled against Radpour the previous year) who was about to embark himself after the seventy heavily laden transports he¡¯d sent south earlier that week (twenty he¡¯d added to his fleet in Rida that month) about the development. The massive six kilometers long slow-moving convoy had been hugging the east coast of Eplas and was scheduled to head further east in two weeks¡¯ time. It would have brought it near Bayspell of the Free Isles, following a well-known sea trade route. Osahar jumped on a fast sloop and raced after the transports sending two missives in advance. The first to Admiral Binra-Kot of Rin An Pur commander of Khanate¡¯s Attack Fleet, who had just been gifted Princess Rashida Radpour (the Khan¡¯s youngest daughter) as his reward for circumnavigating the Great Cold Turn of the continent and making it through the Ice Route just before winter. The Admiral was holding outside the Free Isles Straits with the bulk of his fleet to cover the transports approach (their number was estimated being around forty war galleys) being rather torn as he couldn¡¯t celebrate his good fortune given they had received the news of Prince Nout¡¯s fate. Upon learning of the situation Binra-Kot moved swiftly to attack Bayspell and take control of the port. He managed it in a day, the local non-militarized population of the neutral isles shocked at the Khanate marines pouring out of the war vessels. Since he couldn¡¯t reach the Khan who didn¡¯t want to speak to anyone during his grieving period, the admiral devised a plan to lure the Kaltha Fleet in a decisive engagement inside the straits where the waters were calmer and he would have the range advantage. There are several versions of this event and it is disputed whether the Khan was aware of his plan or not. Osahar in the meantime reached the trailing transports of the long convoy rather propitiously in three days. Propitiously because his second bird got lost in bad weather or died and never made it. He immediately changed the route after speaking with the Khan (the Khan¡¯s war galley was leading the convoy along with its two escorts) and directed it further south avoiding the Free Isles. The change in course brought them near Oakenfalls and Lazuli Peninsula which was a problem as it also changed the target of their landings. After contemplating aboard the Khan¡¯s galley on a course of action poring over the accurate maps of Jelin they had found in Rida, it was decided that an attack on Issir¡¯s Eagle immediately was suicidal given that Kaltha had been alerted. While the transport fleet had remained invisible for now, the presence of war galleys in the Shallow Sea would have made the Kaltha Admiralty wary for certain. So the die was cast for a more complicated but also more realistic plan that split the distance down the middle. An idyllic beach at Seagull¡¯s Neck remote south side. Thirty kilometers across the narrow woods-covered peninsula lay the Gulf of Colle and the city port bearing its name.
Lord Sirio Veturius Circa 206 NC The Fall of Heroes (Lord Anker Est Ravn, Grand Duke of Midlanor, Keeper of the Forests, Guardian of Nordland Pass, Uher¡¯s First Sentinel and High Regent of the Realm. Chapter XXXV A ghastly year Volumes I-II-III -The navy revolt and a painful resolution. The King in Midlanor, the landings at Seagull¡¯s Neck and Deadmen¡¯s Watch. Prelude to the massive Bayspell¡¯s approach naval battle (Cofol name, Battle of the Shallow Straits) & the ¡®Massacre at the Three Roads¡¯.- Circa, Late 193 NC, summer of 194 NC
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms or enjoy it again at Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ The chapters are re-edited and re-posted regularly at both places 415. Lorian Plains | Ol’ Scrawny (1/3) -
3rd Legion (Abbreviated | III LEGIO, Bloody Third, Old Sister, Lucius Legion, ¡®Scarlet Legion¡¯, Double L. Also LL, III-LG) Panthera Tigris | Reddish bronze and gold standard representing the head of a snarling Blacktiger, very similar to Regia¡¯s gold non-snarling banner, the royal Aldenus family crest and the First Legion¡¯s emblem used in banners and armour. After 193 the banners and armours changed to use the more easy to mass-produce IIILG logo, leaving only the officers and the First Cohort still using the more difficult to maintain tiger embroidery and engravings (mainly on the shoulder guards). It remained present on the crimson shields though throughout the campaign and is being used also on liturgical symbols today. Organizational chart* At the start of the Battle of the Lorian Plains, winter of 194 NC Third¡¯s last increase in roster strength and later the unit¡¯s standard disposition (Overall strength ~4018?* -Legio general staff not included, supply train personnel not included) -2800 legionnaires, ~1298? other units (350? mixed cavalry, ~300 heavy Slingers, 290? Scouts and Rangers, 300 Engineers, 58 medics) - Legatus Augustus | Lucius ¡®Bloody Tiger¡¯ Aldenus ¨Calso Praetor Maximus after 191 NC, King Lucius after 193. (To differ from the Governor ¡®Legatus Proparetore¡¯ rank Macrinus of Greater Kas started using.) Aide de Legatus Legionis & adjutant to the King of Regia | Prefect Marc Gripa (Promoted to 4th Prefect in the 2nd half 193.) Tribune (& later Legatus) Honoraris | Galio ¡®Old Oak¡¯ Veturius, (never officially received the rank during the campaign but it is assumed the promotion came from an anecdotal King Lucius¡¯ direct quote in public. He was paid as a Tribune and later a full Legatus which is as accurate as the official roster & ranks list. Again unofficially, later ¡®Consul¡¯ of the Quadrumvirate/Tetrarchy or its respected Mediator.) Broad Band Tribune ¨C acting Legatus in absentia after 192 NC. The most respected high ranking officer in III Legio and the soul of the army. He served a full term of twenty-five years in the First Legion and retired with honors plus a Centurion¡¯s pension. He came out of retirement to start a new full term with the Third Legion from which he famously never retired as he refused his discharge papers at end of his second term. Reached the rank of centurion twice and was named first a Tribune without being a noble (He was from a prominent family though. A privilege he¡¯d lost due to his ancestor¡¯s actions and he regained it through his service later in life) and later Legatus. The closest officer to Lucius and part of his inner circle. 1st Prefect | Varus ¡®The Book¡¯ Trupo (Lesia. Baron Trupo¡¯s of Flauegran, disinherited second son. One of the three powerful Wine Barons.) Also Scribe de legionis and its military historian. A member of Lucius inner circle. Later a Quadrumvir or Tetrarch alongside Sula, Macrinus and Merenda. 2nd Prefect | Julius Draco (Whitetiger, Regia. Son of Baron Vibius, the Duke¡¯s Shield. A strict training officer that excelled in the 2nd part of the 18 months campaign.) 3rd Prefect (of engineers) | Potis Durio (Lastport, Lesia. the fourth Durio of distant Lastport to reach the rank of Prefect in a Legion and the second to do it whilst serving with the Legion¡¯s Engineers after his great-grand uncle Tito Durio. Decorated officer. The road connecting Anorum with Cartagen bears his name. Served in the Legions (First & Third) from 186 until 210. After his retirement in 210 aged forty-five he moved to Armium and served as a minister of Public Works for the throne of Lesia.) 4th Prefect (Praetor¡¯s General Staff) | Marc Gripa. A member of Lucius inner circle. Optio (of Cavalry) Kent ¡®Thin Knees¡¯ Long. (A Nord from Maza Burg. Gold Phalera recipient. A famed cavalry officer.) Centurion (of Medics) | Dottore Silvio Marianus (Decorated for bravery in the field. Later Regia¡¯s Royal Dottore.) LID officer | Vibius ¡®Vulture¡¯ Ramirus, (Legion Intelligence Department). A Centurion equivalent rank in the registry. A member of Lucius inner circle. Aide de LID | Sirio Veturius. Very old family of historians and officers. The III Legio Tribune¡¯s nephew. Infamous Lord Nattas¡¯ son in law through marriage. A later prominent historian who wrote extensively about the turbulent period mainly from Regia¡¯s and the Praetor¡¯s perspective. It soured his relationship with many prominent lords. A known Luciophile, his writings are not widely accepted as accurate especially beyond the Shallow Sea (mostly in the Khanate) and parts of Jelin, but he¡¯s considered a superb source for the period from most academics regardless of that. Curiously Sirio is rumored to be Queen Lussiel¡¯s (an alleged towering academic herself) favorite historian for his acerbic prose. Quartermaster | Ramsey Kolt, also Keeper of the Purse. Served in Lucius¡¯ administration after his retirement as a Master of Coin. Panthera Tigris Signifer | Brim ¡®Stout¡¯ Solomon (Lesia). - 1st Cohort - Gold Standard, a square red banner shaped like a spear with an oak tree in gold depicted on it, for its first commander Galio Veturius. Monikers- Red, ¡®Old¡¯, Gold Oak¡¯s, ¡®Gata¡¯ Strength 850 1st ¡®Agricola¡¯ Century Centurion, Primus Pilus| ¡®Sturdy¡¯ or ¡®Baldie¡¯ Brevis. A decorated, risen through the ranks officer. Gold Armillae (arm-band) with oak leaves and swords recipient for saving a unit from destruction twice. Mentioned in the dailies. -400 legionnaires (in four 100-strong Maniples) 1st Decanus| Surus (first ¡®Kato¡¯ Maniple) 2nd Decanus| Venius ¡®Caligula¡¯ Gata (the late Primus Pilus Gata first cousin) Second Maniple 3rd Decanus | Gurus (Third Maniple.) 2nd Century Centurion| Mede, Nord. Famous one-eyed legionnaire risen through the ranks. A gold Phalera recipient thrice. Cited for misconducts multiple times. Mentioned in the Legion¡¯s Report multiple times. -150 legionnaires (in three 50-strong Maniples) Decanus | Surus (Gold Phalera recipient. Maimed at Oldfort.) Legionnaire Donlon Legionnaire Tertius 3rd Century Centurion| Artur Mangas (Nord. A decorated officer) 4rth Century Centurion| Servius Capito (A decorated officer) - 2nd Cohort -Gold Standard (Monikers Blue, ¡®Sula¡¯) Strength 650 1st Century (previously 2nd of the First Cohort -moniker Mark-Antony¡¯s lads-) Centurion| Marcus Antonius Merenda (Corona Vallaris in gold recipient for taking over an enemy¡¯s camp. Mentioned in the dailies multiple times. A very controversial but beloved commander in the Legion. One of the four most trusted and influential officers in Lucius army (alongside Veturius, Trupo and Sula). Transferred from the First Cohort. One of three legitimized bastards of Sir Seleucid Merenda ¡®the Potent¡¯, Lord Commander of Cartagen¡¯s Royal Guard. The members of the Royal Guard ¨CKing¡¯s or Queen¡¯s own- weren¡¯t allowed to marry in the Three Kingdoms) ¨C 200 (150 of them fresh recruits) legionnaires (in four 50-strong Maniples). Later one of the Quadrumvir. 1st Decanus ¡®Ravenous¡¯ Indus (1st Maniple, Half-breed, promoted in the field.) Decanus Domus (Tenor. He was still on the roster, but seriously injured for the rest of the year. Golden Phalera recipient.) Legionnaire Murena (Gold Phalera recipient) Legionnaire Vegetius Legionnaire Cucan Decanus Titus Afer (2nd) Decanus Lar Polus (3rd) 2nd Century Centurion| Josi Vala ¨C 150 legionnaires (in three 50-strong Maniples) 3rd Century Centurion| Ardi Damian 4rth Century Centurion| Spurius Dio - 3rd Cohort (Moniker Purple, ¡®Lucky¡¯) Strength 650 1st Century Centurion| Cassius Falx (Decorated officer) - 200 legionnaires (in four 50-strong Maniples) 2nd Century Centurion| Placus Lepidus (Decorated officer) - 150 legionnaires (in three 50-strong Maniples) 3rd Century Centurion| Julius Sepofa 4rth Century Centurion| Jorgen Osmond - 4rth Cohort (Monikers Kas, ¡®the young¡¯, Macrinus Lads) Strength 650 1st Century Centurion| Sextus Silvius - 200 legionnaires (in four 50-strong Maniples) 2nd Century Centurion| Keegan Dixon (Kas) - 150 legionnaires (in three 50-strong Maniples) 3rd Century Centurion| Jason Gordon (Kas) 4rth Century Centurion| Kaleb White (Kas) - Legio Scouts Centurion| ¡®Frostworm¡¯ Kaeso (A highly decorated officer. Lost an arm at Oldfort. Part of Praetor¡¯s inner circle. Also cited for multiple misconducts.) Decanus | Kiri Dosser (Decorated minor officer) Placus Goff - Legio Cavalry Optio | Kent ¡®Thin-knees¡¯ Long. (A decorated officer. Gold Armillae recipient twice for stopping a superior force from advancing in the field and destroying an enemy unit.) Flavius Nasica (Croton, on loan from Bernard Holt and Duke Holt after spring of 193.) - Legio Slingers Centurion| Mamercus ¡®Unhurried¡¯ Sorex (A decorated officer. Part of the Praetor¡¯s inner circle.) Decanus | Bill Wallace (Nord) - Legio Engineers Prefect | Potis Durio Centurion (of engineers) | Toni Drano (Lesia, recently promoted. Cited for misconduct.) - Legio Medics Centurion | Marianus 2nd Dottore | Riminus - Detailed: Legion Scouts Strength ~290 warriors, (200 of Lady Faye Alden¡¯s warband (40-60 joined after Oras Navel under Ned O¡¯ Farrell) -various mixed units of fighters, Mainly heavy axemen, but also swordsmen- under famed Logan ¡®Gray¡¯ Barret and ¡®Hulking¡¯ Layton (Mentioned six times in the dailies, the Legion¡¯s detailed reports when in campaign), featuring several ¡®named¡¯ Northmen like Torcal MacCee, Adam ¡®Jaws¡¯ Hough, Ned O¡¯ Farrell and the brothers O¡¯ Dolan, Cole and Aiden from the distant Rifjordal. The latter were both killed at Oldfort within a day. It must be noted the unit was oath sworn to Red Faye and kept receiving skilled new fighters every season from Fetya, mainly the distant Blonden province, more specifically the remote Iron Mountain¡¯s Numre Burg (meaning Numbers in old Nordic) from where her warband hailed from. Around 100 Rangers (50 of them recruits from Anorum. The unit was still rebuilding at the Battle of the Lorian Plains.) Under Centurion | Kaeso Decurion | Slag - Legion Cavalry Strength 250 (350?) mixed riders, (Nords but also 150 of them recruits from Anorum) Included thirty men & women of Praetor Maximus¡¯ entourage and around 100 men-at-arms under Flavius Nasica of Croton. (Nasica kept receiving reinforcements from Asturia, mainly skilled riders wanting to follow the action, despite the ¡®agreement¡¯ between Lucius and Duke Holt not to drain each other¡¯s pool of manpower. The arrival of the Fourth Legion and developments in the field forced the Duke to stop the practice near the end of 193) Queen Faye Alden (Nord) ¨Cnot active after Krakenfort and she spent most of her time in the rear or with her warband after 192 NC. She was pregnant to Ralph Alden the third during the battle-The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Optio | Kent ¡®Thin-knees¡¯ Long (Nord) Flavius Nasica Decurion | Jago Davy (Nord) - Legion Slingers (Attached short range unit ¨C Semi-autonomous, usually deployed by the Legatus. Only unit employing women and men under sixteen) (Strength fluctuating due to casualties, usually ~200 men and women +100 fresh recruits from Asturia and Anorum still in training) Centurion | Mamercus Sorex - Legion Engineers (Leather aprons, ¡®Bestia¡¯) 200 Legio Engineers (about thirty percent of them from Lesia) + 100 apprentices (engineers, blacksmiths and carpenters included) Legio Medics 10 Dottore and surgeons ~50 nurses Around two thousand five hundred civilians (some soldier families), merchants and technicians (Civilian blacksmiths, carpenters, laborers, Armorers, hunters, trappers, whores, musicians etc.) following in the supply train. At least three hundred and fifty various-sized carriages and wagons carrying mostly foodstuff, cots, leather tents, precut wood, tools and weapons ¨C at least twenty seven (27) pre-built war machines, including twenty Scorpios, six Catapults of mixed munition, one long range Trebuchet and an unspecified variety of siege engines - among other things. A thousand of Cartagen¡¯s Regulars (Heavy spear infantry) under Captain Percival Gaeta, an adjutant to the Baron of Cartaport, were attached for the final months of the campaign, along at least fifty Knights of the Royal Guard under Sir Maximillian Valens, after High Baron¡¯s Valens insistence.
Lucius Alden, ¡®Bloody Tiger¡¯ Lord Lucius Aldenus the third, Praetor Maximus, King Lucius III Lorian Plains | Ol¡¯ Scrawny (1/3) -Walk into a trap-
¡°Well?¡± Lucius asked the hidden Ramirus after Nattas had left them. He was staring at the campaign map showing the units movement after the regularly arriving daily dispatches updated them. Falx and Lepidus were at Oldfort already as the Lesia forces had retreated from Sava. The same was happening at the nearby Cartaport but at a much slower pace. The Second Legion had marched back towards Lesia. ¡°The Praetor knows him best,¡± the LID officer replied diplomatically. ¡°I love the memory of him,¡± Lucius admitted. ¡°The sense of familiarity and home. Of earlier times. Still, I find myself conflicted by irregularities.¡± Ramirus stooped to read some of the latest military-intel from Asturia¡¯s scouts and spies. Lucius kept staring at the map of the plains thoughtfully. ¡°What kind of fortifications?¡± He finally asked. ¡°Ditches and earthworks,¡± Ramirus replied. ¡°Around Holt¡¯s Stables and the lake. The road is cut but one can cross the plains and bypass them.¡± ¡°Not as easy for heavy infantry or machines and horses might suffer.¡± ¡°Machines are a ways away and wild horses roam the plains,¡± Ramirus argued. ¡°Wild horses know the well-trotted paths. I prefer the gravel road,¡± Lucius countered. ¡°We¡¯ll reattach Durio¡¯s engineers at the Navel.¡± ¡°Of course sir,¡± Ramirus replied. ¡°We can¡¯t leave Holt¡¯s Stable at our rear. Then we¡¯ll have to face Mercator¡¯s Inn fortifications glancing behind our backs constantly.¡± ¡°Could the Duke bring men across from Croton?¡± ¡°He could, but the problem of having Holt¡¯s Stables controlling the approach to the Tunnel Pass won¡¯t go away. The road to Cartagen must remain open,¡± Lucius said and turned around. ¡°So we need to insist that Ligur vacates the village.¡± ¡°Why not fight us in the mountains?¡± Lucius grimaced. ¡°All points towards the fact he¡¯s overextended. He needs those strongholds to maintain the large front. So he doesn¡¯t risk a confrontation too far from them.¡± ¡°The Duke says they are kilometers away from the bridge,¡± Ramirus said. ¡°It takes a long while to cross the bridge with an army and it¡¯s easy to get spotted,¡± Lucius argued. ¡°Sula has his scouts over the Framtond already scouring the woods. According to him the Fourth can hold both sides of the bridge long enough for the whole Legion to cross.¡± ¡°Then what?¡± Lucius asked reading the same report Ramirus was reading earlier. ¡°He needs to wait for the Duke to cross as well. Why attack Ligur with half our force? It is better to wait for us to reach the Plains and then we can attack across the whole front. Exacerbate the old Legatus¡¯ conundrum, thin his forces out even more. Sula should stay put until the Third arrives.¡± ¡°If Ligur has split his force or is without cavalry then this could be an opportunity wasted,¡± Ramirus argued. ¡°We¡¯re not fighting some amateur here Ramirus,¡± Lucius admonished him keeping his voice steady. ¡°You think Ettore Pinto would have lost to Valens without the walls protecting the Baron¡¯s force? I don¡¯t believe he would. It¡¯s easier to defend a fortified position and Pinto is nowhere near as experienced as the Legatus of the First.¡± ¡°We can overcome fortifications sir.¡± ¡°Civilian walls are meant to protect the citizens. Ligur had a lot of years to prepare. Months to study the terrain and come up with a plan. His ditches might be too deep and deadly for us.¡± ¡°What could possibly be the plan?¡± Ramirus asked with a frown. ¡°We outnumber them Praetor. I don¡¯t believe he has anywhere near ten thousand men and we¡¯re well over fifteen thousand combined. Closer to twenty really.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t put all those men in the field at once Ramirus,¡± Lucius retorted. ¡°At this point three quarters of our soldiers are beyond an angry great river and the other part is still on the march. If we fight him tomorrow, Ligur would outnumber us. Look at what happened to the supply caravan!¡± ¡°He won¡¯t manage to surprise us again. The Duke has over five hundred men across now and they¡¯ll escort the next one after the winter. Over a thousand are camping near Croton.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. He doesn¡¯t have to attack another time,¡± Lucius said and cleared his throat. ¡°What Ligur wanted to accomplish he managed it. The Duke reacted and we reacted. Which is telling.¡± ¡°Of what my Lord?¡± Ramirus asked. ¡°Ligur wants to fight now.¡± ¡°The Third will crash whatever he has at Holt¡¯s Stables.¡± ¡°The village is half a week away from the Tunnel Pass. Let¡¯s get there first and then revisit this,¡± Lucius cautioned him. ¡°Empty plains to the east, mountains to the west at the Hat¡¯s Top. He¡¯ll be behind the earthworks sir. We kick him out of there and then we move against Mercator¡¯s Inn. The whole front will collapse and he¡¯ll have to retreat down the coast.¡± ¡°That it is so obvious a strategy is what bothers me,¡± Lucius grunted. ¡°We have to attack where he expects us.¡± Ramirus nodded and breathed once deeply. ¡°What would the Praetor do in his stead?¡± He asked respectfully. Lucius placed a hand under his jaw and worked at the taut skin with his fingers. ¡°I would have blocked the Third from coming out of the Pass,¡± he said raspingly. ¡°But that would mean I might risk losing control of the road towards Asturia or even Islandport. That¡¯s a huge problem for him. Two weeks of travel between his flanks, how can one control both?¡± ¡°If he stays on the defensive he¡¯ll lose,¡± Ramirus said. ¡°And he doesn¡¯t have the men to attack on all fronts.¡± Ramirus grimaced. ¡°He might be under pressure from your brother.¡± ¡°It¡¯s possible,¡± Lucius replied still thinking about it. ¡°Do I talk with Sir Seleucid?¡± Ramirus asked. ¡°My wives will stay behind,¡± Lucius replied curtly. ¡°I have given instructions to Sir Seleucid.¡± ¡°As the Praetor wishes.¡± Lucius glanced at him. ¡°What stood out to you about Nattas?¡± He asked changing the subject. ¡°I haven¡¯t formed an opinion sir.¡± ¡°What do you think made the Queen ask for his help? They were really not close at all,¡± Lucius queried. ¡°The rumors allude to a pregnancy. The Baron probably knew about it already given his position in court.¡± ¡°Hmm. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I don¡¯t want to believe it,¡± Lucius grunted. ¡°I found his lack of interest about Sirio peculiar,¡± Ramirus noted. ¡°In what way?¡± ¡°Married his only daughter?¡± Ramirus offered. ¡°They are family.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know he had a daughter. He claims my father knew about it,¡± Lucius replied thoughtfully. ¡°What did you find out?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a record of him legitimizing her. The king is mentioned so it could be he was forced to do it.¡± ¡°It sounds reasonable. What is it?¡± Lucius asked seeing Ramirus¡¯ expression. ¡°The girl¡­ she¡¯s a bit old sir.¡± ¡°How old?¡± ¡°Well, the descriptions I have from the High Baron¡¯s entourage are conflicted, but she looked closer to thirty than twenty.¡± ¡°Why would the High Baron be aware of that detail?¡± ¡°The girl was living in Nattas¡¯ villa in Cartagen. Held is the proper term,¡± Ramirus replied. ¡°Also, she¡¯s apparently Nattas¡¯ heir, which is a little harsh considering he has a nephew from his late sister.¡± ¡°She was a frail girl, married to a very old man,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°Perhaps he¡¯s fearing it passed to the boy. So Sirio is in a matrilineal marriage?¡± ¡°Aye sir. So given all that Nattas not asking about Sirio seemed weird to me.¡± ¡°Storm is just cautious,¡± Lucius said with a shrug. ¡°He¡¯ll bring it up for sure at a more opportune time.¡± ¡°He asked Lord Valens to join Gaeta¡¯s Regulars.¡± ¡°Nattas wants to fight?¡± Lucius asked not expecting it. ¡°More like following along. Valens doesn¡¯t really want him in the city,¡± Ramirus noted. ¡°Why is that?¡± ¡°The Mayor is Nattas¡¯ friend. Valens is sour on Messor and his friends.¡± Lucius nodded. ¡°Nattas can follow with the supply train. Have him stay with Sirio,¡± he paused to think. ¡°Where is his daughter now?¡± Ramirus shrugged his shoulders. He didn¡¯t know.
Lucius was playing with the large gold ring he had on his finger. The carved praying warrior depicting the God Tyeus, given to everyone ordained in the order. He was thinking of young Jeremy and his fear of swords. ¡®Good with the bow,¡± Alistair used to gripe dismayed at the boy¡¯s fear of the long blade. The old king had returned from the war and had gotten his mother pregnant for a third time. This third son came in 175 but Vacia hadn¡¯t made it. The bigger boys took a while to warm up to their younger brother and by the time they had around 181, Miranda had appeared not much older than them and Jeremy had found what he was missing. Jeremy couldn¡¯t keep up with his older brothers and usually stayed behind in order to keep the young Queen company during Roderick¡¯s ¡®field trips¡¯. Alistair was harsh on her and didn¡¯t mellow up when she finally got pregnant. For it had taken a while for that as well. How old was she back then truly? Lucius pondered. Alistair must have known. But the Alden of Aegium with all their outer veneer of progressiveness in the running of the city¡¯s affairs, were especially strict to family females. His cousin hadn¡¯t been spared that. ¡°I prefer yer other ring,¡± Faye said from the top of the stairs. ¡°For it matches me pendant.¡± Lucius glanced at the heavy woman standing so close to the edge with worry. ¡°I¡¯ll come up,¡± he told her and started that way. Faye waited for him to climb up the steps, arm resting at the lacquered enamel stone bannister at the top of the stairs near the newel post. ¡°So you¡¯ll leave on the morrow?¡± She asked when he reached her. Lucius wrapped his arms around her waist. ¡°You¡¯re trapped now milady,¡± he teased her avoiding the answer. Faye reached for something at her hip. ¡°You¡¯re armed?¡± Lucius asked stopping her. ¡°A dagger.¡± ¡°Red, eh¡­ we talked of this.¡± ¡°How about ye answer me straight since you fancy talking so much?¡± A flushed Faye retorted heatedly. ¡°Monica needs your help with the twins.¡± It was a long shot. ¡°Seriously? You¡¯ll take Logan wit you,¡± Faye snapped and Lucius had to kiss her freckled cheeks and mouth to change her demeanor. ¡°You¡¯re burning up. Is it fever?¡± He asked standing back. ¡°Ye could say that sure,¡± Faye taunted, a sparkle in her eyes. ¡°I¡¯ll have to sit you down for an official portrait or a sculpture Red. Befitting your station.¡± ¡°Not wearing a dress for that Alden no matter how you spin it. I¡¯ll pose in me armour or nothing at all,¡± Faye replied stubbornly. Lucius furrowed his brows. ¡°I don¡¯t believe we can have the sculpture offered for public viewing then. Perhaps I¡¯ll keep it in the bedroom¡­ ha-ha,¡± he stared at her fiery pout amused. ¡°Come on Red. This is funny.¡± ¡°I can be funny too. See if you like it,¡± she said. ¡°I like all of you.¡± That broke her resistance at last and the redhead¡¯s face relaxed. ¡°You must be really worried to play the jester,¡± Faye said tenderly. ¡°So many men. Thousands. Lords and generals. What could a sole chieftain do to combat that? He¡¯ll run.¡± ¡°Ligur won¡¯t run,¡± Lucius replied sobering up. ¡°He¡¯ll look to hurt us instead.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t hold Logan back.¡± ¡°Logan is going to get himself killed in the open,¡± Lucius said and dragged her away from the edge. ¡°Don¡¯t stand this out near the edge. You might topple.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t. Anyway, better if he gets killed than you. Rather have all of them perish come to think of it?¡± ¡°Faye. You don¡¯t mean that,¡± Lucius protested evenly. ¡°I do,¡± she cut him off all serious. ¡°I¡¯m not raising your kids alone Alden. Nor wish to live in a world without you present.¡± ¡°I think the same,¡± a moved Lucius told her. ¡°Life without you would be naught but torture. So¡­ you¡¯ll stay in Cartagen Red.¡± ¡°Wow. You worked that around me words?¡± ¡°I did,¡± Lucius replied with a smile. ¡°Now, is Monica awake?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t sleep much at all,¡± Faye said caressing the pauldrons at his broad shoulders. ¡°She confessed that her life is over.¡± ¡°What did you say?¡± Faye shrugged her shoulders and puffed out. ¡°I laughed in her face? What? She¡¯s bored because she sits inside all day.¡± ¡°She¡¯s supposed to Faye. As are you,¡± Lucius attempted to remind her. ¡°Fuck off Alden,¡± she retorted and young Roderick chuckled. Lucius stared at the small boy that had sneaked up on them a little frustrated. ¡°It¡¯s better not to use such a hoarse tongue in front of him,¡± he cautioned the northern Queen and this time Faye chuckled herself freely. ¡°I ain¡¯t raising a blushing maiden Lucius nor a Lorian lady of the court,¡± she finally said sobering up. ¡°And even if I was, she would learn about all words. What¡¯s the point of hiding what¡¯s out there? They¡¯ll know everything eventually. You think miss pretty isn¡¯t cursing? Have you heard her? Damn be allgods, she can spew out some good ones!¡± Lucius pursed his mouth and glanced at his son. ¡°Wood buns!¡± Roderick declared loudly and a knight guarding the royal quarters turned his head their way alarmed. ¡°Bamn!¡± ¡°See? He went there on his own,¡± Faye retorted with a chuckle and took the boy¡¯s hand to lead it back to their room. A numb Lucius stood and watched her walking away, long very thick curls the color of mature red wine dancing down her back and realized he had started smiling as well. The king didn¡¯t know why. Moreover that was a shortsword Faye carried and not a dagger. - Eighteen Months Offensive Twenty second of Ultimus 193, Code named -18 plus 13- Campaign Day 382 Winter Third Legion¡¯s war meeting Oldfort The large narrow hall with its black burned walls and filled with mortar cracks was packed with officers of the Third. While still under repair, the tower had been finished and it kept the weather away. Lucius got up from his seat when Veturius and Trupo finished their presentation but waited for the aides to gather the maps away afore talking. He walked near the standing at attention officers after the room was cleared out a bit and shook each man¡¯s hand. ¡°Mister Long,¡± Lucius said to the lanky cavalry officer. ¡°You follow after Sextus Silvius until the mouth, then take the lead. Scout ahead for any surprises.¡± ¡°I could press for the stables my lord,¡± Long replied warmly. ¡°You might walk into a trap. I have Nasica kept at the rear with Sir Valens. Better to wait for them Optio,¡± Lucius argued. The latter knight was Maximilian, Lord Valens third son. The Royal Guard presence had forced the Legion¡¯s engineers to construct a crude wooden barracks for them next to the headquarters building, disassemble it and then have the parts added to the supply train. While all of the Guard were on horse, not everyone was a knight and they had separate barracks in the palace for soldiers. As Sir Maximilian had phrased it, keeping ambiguous whether it was a good or bad thing, ¡®it gives opportunity to learn a lot about one another.¡¯ Long nodded and Lucius moved on to the familiar face of the duo of rascals that had been with him since the start of the adventure. Centurion Mamercus Sorex and the wearing a prosthetic wooden left arm Centurion Kaeso. ¡°Is it secure?¡± Lucius queried and Kaeso lifted the arm. ¡°I could demonstrate milord,¡± he offered. ¡°The hand detaches and I can slot a blade in the rivet hole. It¡¯s quite useful in a bind.¡± ¡°Just don¡¯t scratch yer arse wit it,¡± Galio grunted curtly and everyone laughed. Lucius nodded and glanced at the smiling Sorex. ¡°Any word of your brother?¡± ¡°Nothing sir,¡± Sorex replied his expression changing. ¡°I haven¡¯t given up,¡± Lucius assured him. ¡°An answer will surface sooner or later Centurion.¡± Mamercus bowed appreciatively and the king moved to the next in line Prefect Durio. The officer saluted. ¡°You¡¯ll finish work on the road after we talk things through with Ligur,¡± Lucius told the young officer. ¡°My promise stands Prefect.¡± ¡°Gratitude my lord,¡± Durio replied and clasped his tended arm. ¡°Mister Brevis,¡± Lucius moved on to the next in line. The balding officer stood to attention. ¡°Is the First Cohort ready?¡± ¡°Always sir!¡± Brevis boomed much to the appreciation of the officers present. ¡°I trust you¡¯ll do your utmost,¡± Lucius said pleased and walked to the officers of the Third Cohort standing next to the Primus Pilus after a brief head nod to the wearing a leather patch over his eye Centurion Mede. ¡°Centurion Falx, Lepidus,¡± Lucius started after gripping their tended arms. ¡°How was Lesia?¡± ¡°Juicy sir,¡± Flax replied. A sturdy Lorian from Islandport. ¡°The part we gazed upon.¡± ¡°We could have taken Flauegran Praetor,¡± Lepidus added stiffly. A wiry officer from Anorum, son of a retired Centurion. Lepidus had an excellent record. ¡°Comes a point when we must look for alternatives to war Lepidus,¡± Lucius replied steadily. ¡°Ol¡¯ Scrawny is of a different opinion sir,¡± Lepidus argued. ¡°Ligur answers to another. I don¡¯t,¡± Lucius told him and grabbed his shoulder. ¡°There is another fight ahead of us Centurion. I want the Third Cohort to remain ¡®lucky¡¯.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a moniker for skill sire,¡± Lepidus replied with a grimace. ¡°Born out of envy.¡± ¡°I know,¡± Lucius countered with a smile.
The King walked around the crude wooden table talking, shaking arms and listening to the officers¡¯ opinions about the coming campaign. Centurion Merenda suggested a round of drinks ¡®to get a good night¡¯s sleep after¡¯ but Lucius after a small moment of consideration rejected the Centurion¡¯s idea. Knowing Marcus Antonius he probably drunk himself to slumber anyway. The Third Legion marched up the New Legion Road, reached Oras Navel in a week and was walking north inside the Tunnel Pass in the first day of Primus and the year 194. Optio Long¡¯s cavalry took the lead and exited the mouth of the Pass first, followed by Silvius¡¯ IV Cohort. Nicknamed the ¡®young¡¯ or ¡®Macrinus Lads¡¯ the cohort would make contact with Legatus Ligur¡¯s waiting troops. Optio Sorio¡¯s legion cavalry, Centurion Frugus and Tarcus¡¯ two centuries (of six hundred legionnaires each as Ligur¡¯s Legion hadn¡¯t incorporated Lucius¡¯ reforms) of the 3rd Cohort, along the Centurion of engineers Servius Celsus¡¯ machines. Fearing an ambush Optio Long sent scouts to test the blocking the road skirting Hat¡¯s Top peaks enemy forces and much to his surprise Frugus retreated. The 3rd Cohort marched back a kilometer towards Holt¡¯s Stables where Prefect Canus Betto had arrived that morning but paused again afore reaching the barricaded settlement. Optio Long¡¯s scouts reported the retreat to their officers and Long immediately sent Decurion Jago Davy to inform Centurion Silvius who was following with the 4th Cohort about the new development. Silvius sent word to the still inside the Tunnel Pass Lucius, the III Legio would come out before the day was over but the huge slow-moving and strung out supply train wouldn¡¯t for another forty-eight hours. Lucius ordered Silvius to stand firm and secure the mouth for the army along the road cut through the forest by Croton¡¯s engineers. The latter was used by the supply and trade caravans to bypass Ligur¡¯s patrols. Silvius halted his march after the cavalry and Long, but in the meantime the Optio had been informed that the enemy had paused its retreat again. He approached to investigate and lost a group of scouts to a cavalry ambush. Long ordered Decurion Davy to find and destroy the enemy cavalry that roamed the grass plains, avoiding a direct assault on the legionaries guarding the road. He next messaged Silvius and the Centurion decided to move the IV Cohort forward and nearer to the cavalry to support each other. Lucius who had ridden to the rear of the convoy to reach Nasica¡¯s men-at-arms and order them forward out of the Tunnel Pass (the Asturia cavalry was bringing up the rear as their horses and most of the other animals fouled the route for the infantry), was caught between actions. Galio Veturius dispatched a runner to Centurion Merenda¡¯s II Cohort (it followed after the IV and was just about to exit the Pass) to provide assistance to Silvius fearing an ambush. Marcus Antonius unit marched fast down the wide gravel road over the plains, twice the size of the cut path through the mountains just as snow started falling. Some kilometers in front of them Servius Celsus¡¯ horse-drawn mobile Scorpios had started pummeling Long¡¯s cavalry and the arriving at the scene Silvius. The first action of the famed Battle for the Lorian Plains had begun. With a front of over two hundred kilometers it was and remains till this day the largest in actual size battle in history, the largest battle involving legionnaires, knights, war machines and riders. It still is one of the biggest in number of total professional forces involved. Lord Sirio Veturius The Fall of Heroes Chapter II (Lord Lucius Alden, -Also addressed- Legatus Augustus, Praetor Maximus, King Lucius the Third Southern campaigns, Fifth year Volume X Eighteen Months Offensive Part V Section subtitle -Wounded Tiger- Battle of the Lorian Plains ¨C Holt¡¯s Stables flank Phase A (Tunnel Path mouth ambush) Circa 5th of Primus, Winter 194 NC Prelude to Scylla¡¯s Gambit days later
416. Lorian Plains | Ol’ Scrawny (2/3)
Prefect Betto paused, a hand scratching at his thick beard protruding out of his legion helm. He glanced at the familiar boney face of the old general unsure. ¡°These are your standing orders Faustus? Over all other objectives?¡± He asked and Ligur nodded. ¡°First chance you get Prefect,¡± Ligur replied without hesitation or mincing his words. Lord Scylla¡¯s eyes were hollow and sunk in. The eyes of a soulless corpse crashed by guilt. ¡°Every unit leader has the same instructions. Spare everyone else but do not hesitate. This is the humane way. For Regia.¡± Prefect Betto saluted sharply. ¡°For Regia general!¡±
Lucius Alden, ¡®Bloody Tiger¡¯ Lord Lucius Aldenus the third, Praetor Maximus, King Lucius III Lorian Plains | Ol¡¯ Scrawny (2/3) -Day of hurt-
¡°INCOMING!¡± Centurion Keegan Dixon had bellowed and then half the 2nd Century had turned into red goo. Sure it was a crude goo with whole pieces of flesh and armour in it. Bones, spleens, cracked helms and cracked heads. Several torsos speared through with iron bolts and severed legs at the thighs still wearing sandals. ¡®A blooming bloody mess.¡¯ Gore exploded three meters high, a fine red spray that mixed with the thin snow falling. It splashed on the ground, painting the grass crimson and clattered on nearby shields. People screamed and groaned in pain, some panic rattled the lines of the 1st Century and Silvius had to sprint to the front, all four Decani running after him. Toft, Jensen, Busk and Dall. Over a hundred meters away, but it could have been more in his haste, Silvius caught a glimpse of the engineers reattaching the shafts to the Scorpios after lifting them to insert the small wheeled bottoms ¨Ccart like- underneath. Then the whole group was galloping away and he heard cavalry thundering to their west. ¡°Toft get back to yer unit!¡± Silvius barked to his officer. ¡°Same goes for the rest of ye cunts!¡± He glared at the stunned Northmen. ¡°Motherfuckers what are you waiting for? We have horses coming.¡± ¡°Well¡­ that¡¯s a bug up the pee-hole,¡± Decanus Jensen commented colorfully. ¡°It¡¯s Long¡¯s banner, Centurion!¡± The always keen-eyed Decanus Toft standing further back bellowed to be heard and a still shook Silvius peeled his eyes off the maimed 2nd Century that tried to regroup away from the road. ¡®While it is always nice walking on solid terrain and witness where to slot yer boot so as not to step on turds, ye don¡¯t want to stand visible with big ole fucking bolts falling around you.¡¯ He glared at the arriving, covered in mud officer and moved against him the moment a pale Optio Long jumped from the saddle. ¡°You lanky son of a dilapidated bitch!¡± Silvius grunted irate. ¡°Fucking led us into a trap! Are ye scouts blind or drunk?¡± ¡°They got the worst of it Centurion!¡± A frothing at the mouth like his horse Long spat bitterly narrowing his eyes. ¡°We got plenty of iron cock too Optio!¡± Silvius gave back some of the spit thrown at him. ¡°They have machines drawn by horses. A blasted lot of them. The scouts missed them for we have cavalry further west to deal with also,¡± a sour-faced Long retorted raspingly. ¡°The plains are sown with booby-traps there Silvius,¡± the cavalry officer explained. ¡°I had to turn the horses around. You can¡¯t scout for clear paths under fire. Those darn machines were hidden at our flank!¡± Silvius grimaced and eyed the returning riders, afore glancing towards the moving away war-machines. ¡°Jensen!¡± He barked after he did. ¡°Yes you! Did ye have yer name changed? Get yer maniple to assist the 2nd Century. Get those hurt men out of the road! People be screaming me ears off lad!¡± Jensen crooked his mouth, eyes squinting under the legion helm. His whole face joining into the grimace. ¡°Eh,¡± he grunted finally. ¡°Not many are moving, less have all their parts attached sir! Perhaps we should wait for Marianus medics?¡± ¡°Forget about the gods darn medics! It ain¡¯t a darned debate! Move those that breathe, irregardless of missing parts Decanus!¡± Silvius blasted him, more spittle flying out of his mouth. ¡°Aye Centurion!¡± Jensen boomed and returned to his Maniple. Silvius turned to Optio Long that had returned to his horse. ¡°I need intel on where them mounted fuckers are Optio,¡± he grunted. Long paused with a foot on his stirrup and turned to glare at him. ¡°Just move after us Centurion,¡± he rustled warningly. ¡°Fan out, we are not on parade nor in Cartagen. I have men shadowing the mounted engineers to find out more.¡± Silvius licked his lips. ¡°You think they¡¯ll head for Holt¡¯s Stable?¡± ¡°It appears so but I¡¯ve no idea where that is,¡± the cavalry officer admitted. ¡°Nor am I familiar with the terrain, flat as it may be. At least it¡¯s snowing.¡± Silvius nodded although he didn¡¯t find the change in weather helpful.
Eighteen Months Offensive 5th of Primus 194, Code named -18 plus 14- Campaign Day 395 Winter A kilometer from the mouth of the Tunnel Pass III Legio¡¯s rear units afore the Supply Trains wagons Nasica stopped his horse near an agitated Lucius. He attempted to speak but Lucius beat him to it frustrated. ¡°You can¡¯t hurry to the front,¡± he said which was what the officer wanted to report. His riders were moving single file at the edge of the wagons that is before one of the leading ones lost an axle, toppled to the side spilling its contents and blocked the whole narrow passage. ¡°We have spooked the animals. We keep this on and we might have more accidents,¡± Nasica replied. ¡°How long at this rate?¡± Lucius grunted patting Nightsilver¡¯s mane to calm the warhorse down. Mules and horses were sardined next to people, soldiers and wagons. Some of the closed carriages had stopped and Nattas came down to watch the chaos unfolding. ¡°Half a day for my men,¡± Nasica reported and grimaced. ¡°Kolt wants the heavier machines left behind until all other wagons come through.¡± ¡°I want those Scorpios in the field,¡± Lucius retorted pursing his lips. ¡°But I¡¯ll see to make time.¡± He stopped as Ramirus approached pushing through the crews working to repair the wagon. ¡°Praetor,¡± Ramirus saluted clad in polished legion armour and draped in a black cloak. ¡°The Tribune ordered all forward units to prepare for battle.¡± ¡°The enemy turned around?¡± Lucius asked raspingly. ¡°They attacked Long and Silvius. We have casualties,¡± Ramirus reported. ¡°Cavalry?¡± ¡°Artillery,¡± Ramirus replied. ¡°Horse-drawn.¡± Damn you old man. You don¡¯t have to do this. ¡°Earg,¡± Lucius growled ineligibly. ¡°Nasica get your men out of the Tunnel Pass,¡± he ordered brusquely. ¡°Turn around Ramirus, we¡¯re heading to the front.¡± ¡°Lord Lucius,¡± Nattas said approaching, a hard-faced armed thug shoving people away to clear the road for him. A reserved pale-faced Sirio following after them. ¡°What¡¯s the problem?¡± ¡°Ligur is waiting on the other side,¡± Lucius retorted and turned his horse around. ¡°The whole Legion?¡± Nattas asked in disbelief. Lucius glanced at him, his jaw clenched. Nattas returned his intense stare coolly. Ah, there¡¯s that fierce, smart but well-hidden character, Lucius thought. No reason to hide anymore Storm or pretend eh? Are all your enemies dead or do you simply don¡¯t care? Is this a new scheme you¡¯re working on? ¡°That would be a shock,¡± he finally said and Storm nodded, both hands resting on his cane, eyes watching the soft snow falling all over them. ¡°Ligur isn¡¯t here. It¡¯s too far from his base,¡± the Baron said. ¡°But he¡¯s on the move for sure. This is a misdirection.¡± Yeah, Lucius agreed and went after Ramirus without word.
The wind rapped at his face the moment they came down from the Pass. Some snowflakes mixed in it but not much and it wasn¡¯t staying on the ground. The brittle rocky terrain gave way to hard gravel, tightly packed as the road opened up. The Plains started not a kilometer from the east side of the Pass, with the hills and peaks of Hat-Top to their west and further to their east the green mass of the forest, covered in cold mist. The great river was many kilometers away but the volume of water kept everything ¡®near¡¯ it humid enough to feel every gush. Lucius galloped past the 1st Cohort and some engineers that had started marking the flat ground to prepare a camp a couple of kilometers from the mouth. He headed for the banners at the front to look for Galio but the Tribune had moved further north ¨Ca distance of another two kilometers- and was with Falx¡¯s 3rd Cohort that had dressed its lines in squares to march down the road. Gaeta¡¯s regulars doing the same half a kilometer to their west and near the mountains base. Lucius jumped from his horse lithely and walked towards the officers meeting, under the hastily built pavilion at the edge of the ten meter wide road. The grass had been cleared there and where men or horses had went over but it rose up to chest level further up ahead. Behind him Ramirus stopped as well, along a couple of knights that had managed to follow after the King and the traffic jam inside the Tunnel Pass. ¡°Milord,¡± Galio said brusquely after saluting smartly. ¡°The enemy retreated again.¡± ¡°What happened afore that?¡± Lucius grunted and snatched a report Trupo had offered him. The ink on it still wet and running. ¡°A couple of cavalry skirmishes,¡± Galio said, Lucius grimacing at the casualty numbers. He returned the scroll to a frowned Trupo. ¡°Long lashed out to push them away but got himself near Scorpios. Silvius got a bit of a licking as well.¡± ¡°They didn¡¯t attack?¡± a grim-faced Lucius asked. ¡°They up and hoofed it away,¡± Galio retorted. ¡°Milord.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s Merenda?¡± ¡°Sent him to cover the flank near the forest,¡± Galio said. ¡°He found cavalry hiding in there but they squared up fast and they left them alone.¡± Lucius nodded and stooped over a tactical map. Several markings hastily drawn to depict recent changes in topography. ¡°That the forest road?¡± ¡°Six kilometers to our east. It comes out near the mouth but it¡¯s not easy to spot, unless you step on it.¡± ¡°Ligur missed it?¡± Lucius queried and calculated the distance to the settlement. Too far away. ¡°Don¡¯t believe he bothered, milord.¡± ¡°Why not follow it back to the river? He could have taken the landing spot there, control the clearing and prevent Croton from using it.¡± Galio shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Too distant from the front is me guess.¡± Yeah but still¡­ ¡°Have the 3rd Cohort move up. Keep it at the center,¡± Lucius decided. ¡°Support Silvius. Lepidus,¡± he added eyeing the Centurion. ¡°Have Falx proceed with caution and see to Silvius¡¯ wounded. Marianus is coming down the Pass soon.¡± ¡°You think they¡¯ll string us all the way back to Holt¡¯s Stable milord?¡± Galio asked. ¡°Aye,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°How many machines?¡± ¡°At least thirty,¡± Trupo replied. ¡°Maybe more.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a big supply train to keep it running. Plus the horses,¡± Lucius commented with a grimace. ¡°They are definitely retreating towards the settlement and their supplies. Can we catch them?¡± ¡°Long could but he reports trapped fields across both sides of the road. He¡¯s looking to identify the markings they use to navigate them. But it¡¯ll take time,¡± Trupo replied. ¡°Anyone has their numbers?¡± Lucius asked wearily and wiped the moisture from his face. Snow melted on his helm but it wasn¡¯t really cold anymore. The weather was turning again. ¡°Silvius reported legionnaires. Maybe a Cohort,¡± Trupo replied. ¡°Davy added some regulars to that. Spear infantry on horse probably. They deployed near the machines and left with them.¡± ¡°More cavalry to our west?¡± ¡°Some of that too but we don¡¯t have the numbers,¡± Trupo admitted pulling at his mustache sadly. ¡°Could Ligur have spared more than a Cohort here?¡± Lucius asked Galio who was familiar with the Legatus. ¡°Depends on what he plans to do.¡± ¡°Anyone has any idea why he didn¡¯t fight us here?¡± The fact had surprised Lucius as despite knowing the danger they couldn¡¯t really avoid it and it was a ripe opportunity for their enemy. They had to come out of the Tunnel Pass right at this spot. There was no other way. Nobody could offer him anything and he sighed tiredly. ¡°He didn¡¯t want to risk his men?¡± Trupo finally suggested. ¡°A Cohort couldn¡¯t stop us here and we could always message Croton to flank them through the forest.¡± ¡°Ligur ain¡¯t skittish to casualties if they can bring him the result he seeks,¡± Galio argued and Lucius grimaced in frustration. ¡°Get me a report on casualties and enemy numbers that¡¯s accurate Trupo,¡± he ordered. If Ligur wanted them to fight for the settlement they would. Lucius intended to take it all along.
Optio Long suffered a setback as he was caught by Celsus modified Scorpios and couldn¡¯t retaliate in a timely manner allowing the born in Vinterfort -son of a desert-goat herder- engineer to retreat towards Brushwood. Centurion Silvius of IV Cohort who was marching after the cavalry received appalling casualties (Trupo cites twenty-eight killed in two minutes) to the 1st Maniple of the 2nd Century with Centurion Dixon seriously injured and his first Decanus Moro (a half-breed) killed. Celsus had designed and produced fifty of those machines over the other First Legion officers¡¯ objections during the massive preparations of the previous year. He¡¯d gone straight to Legatus Ligur for it and he¡¯d gotten permission to try. Too slow to follow cavalry as it was the original thought, the modified carts needed two horses to move the bulky war-machines about and time to set them up or reattach them. With Commander Seneca of Vinterfort being an old acquaintance, around a hundred soldiers were incorporated to protect them in the field serving as mounted infantry. Celsus four hundred strong unit could relocate quickly in the expansive field and deliver a devastating punishment to those following him. Lucius, who had arrived at the front that afternoon during Tribune Veturius final preparations for a battle on the road heading straight for Holt¡¯s Stables, understood part of Prefect Betto¡¯s strategy and ordered the deployed on the east flank Merenda¡¯s II Cohort to advance hugging the forest as far north as he could. Several officers raised their concern as the Third Legion was still without its own engineers but Lucius quickly surmised that despite Celsus¡¯ ability to relocate fast in the field, the Centurion of engineers was stuck guarding Frugus¡¯ west flank. The battlefield too big to navigate in time. Merenda¡¯s Cohort formed up in squares (Sorio¡¯s strong cavalry was still roaming near them) and marched towards the Grass Sea threatening Holt¡¯s Stable with encirclement from three sides. Gaeta¡¯s Regulars did the same cutting west after the scouting cavalry with Silvius IV Cohort advancing towards the settlement. Silvius would regroup during the night. He promoted Decanus Jensen to Centurion and gave him command of the 2nd Century, at the same time raising legionnaire Tusk to a Decanus. Merenda camped in the middle of the flat terrain between the Tangerine Woods near Holt¡¯s Lake and the gigantic Lourmar Forest, but not before downing several wayward trees sprouting out in the plains and the nearby forest to build three barricades to protect his north, west and east leaving the cohort¡¯s rear exposed. While the Centurion jested of the lewd fact for long during the night, Sorio missed the offered opening and attacked the short barricade coming from the forest. The alerted II Cohort pushed them off and Lucius ordered Mamercus Sorex¡¯s Slingers forward. They had just come out of the clogged Tunnel Pass but were sent after Merenda without given any time to rest. Sorex trotted through the night ¡®or crawled¡¯ as a sleepless Marcus Antonius commented the next morning when the Slingers reached his advanced position. In the center after resting in the night and sending his injured to the rear, Centurion Silvius marched half a day afore contact with Frugus¡¯ III Cohort was made again five kilometers outside Holt¡¯s Stable. Silvius sent a runner to Falx (the latter leading the III Cohort of Lucius Legion) who was trailing after him but was still hours away about the possibility of a battle coming late night or early morning of the third day. Lepidus wanted to take the challenge and lock Frugus on the road before he¡¯d time to retreat behind the settlement¡¯s fortifications but Falx probably wisely disagreed with his friend and dispatched a runner to headquarters to inform Lucius and ask for instructions, while notifying Silvius to bunker down for the night. Lucius hadn¡¯t slept more than an hour the first night and moved out of the main Legion camp early in the morning of the sixth. The Praetor was preoccupied with the cat and mouse game being played on the west flank. With enemy cavalry, mobile artillery and infantry present there the King was busy with that. The shorter flank sported a variance of terrain, with flat grassy plains, tall arboreal bushes bordering Holt¡¯s Stable, some hills and even the idyllic isolated South Coppice with its aromatic cedar trees further west. Tribune Veturius ordered Silvius to halt and the two Cohorts to move closer together. Upon being informed at the war-meeting that night (7th of Primus) Lucius endorsed the decision and ordered Nasica after Sorex to reinforce Merenda on the east flank, while advancing the I Cohort under Brevis to anchor his center. As he¡¯d expected Frugus retreated swiftly behind the settlements fortifications. The battle stalled as both armies repositioned. The impatient Merenda was the only one that moved, marching further north and entering the Grass Sea where Sorio had the advantage momentarily due to being able to approach through the tall vegetation undetected. The Optio of Cavalry attacked Centurion Ardi Damian¡¯s 3rd Century causing a lot of casualties but Merenda recovered quickly and ordered his cohort out of the Grass Sea. He delivered a heavy punishment to Sorio¡¯s following cavalry with the help of Sorex¡¯s slingers and this ended the third day. During the night of the eighth Lucius prepared an assault on Holt¡¯s stable down the gravel road and spent the time waiting eagerly for Prefect¡¯s Durio¡¯s machines to arrive. Durio was hours away still but he would make good time during the night abandoning most of his supplies to the rear. Betto¡¯s and Frugus¡¯ constant relocation had prevented Lucius¡¯ men from using their numerical advantage up until that point in time but Holt¡¯s Stables were a fixed point their enemies had to defend.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. The tired Lucius went to sleep for an hour as he almost collapsed from fatigue during the meeting, leaving Tribune Veturius to finalize the positions of the two Cohorts in the field. Veturius ordered Gaeta¡¯s regulars to guard the west flank, ordered Durio to bring his war-machines behind him and Long to sweep the plains up to Brushwood (the woods were hugging the west side of the settlement) and locate Celsus¡¯ mobile machines. His orders simple. Find and destroy them with extreme prejudice. Prefect Betto had similar orders from Legatus Ligur with one caveat. He was to do his outmost regardless of cost to keep Lucius and the Third Legion busy at Holt¡¯s Stables. The veteran officer knew no help would be forthcoming until events hundreds of kilometers away were decided. In the goal oriented plan the experienced officers had agreed on (with Baron Scylla¡¯s reluctant covenant) all moving parts and men were to do their duty methodically with no sense of sentimentality. It was an agreement based on years of trust between friends and compatriots, bound by a common oath to serve the throne of Regia without question or hesitation. Modern retellings of the story state that young King Jeremy¡¯s arrival at Tenor earlier that week threw a wrench into their plan but events in the field would have outdone it anyway. Jeremy traveled with the royal household in tow which brought along three hundred men-at-arms under Sir Rik De Weer. A very potent and superbly trained force. While Lord Ruud ordered his son to get Queen Janneke and the children to Scaldingport upon learning of the King¡¯s intentions, the well-known one-eyed knight yielded to his begging sister¡¯s plea to assist her husband. A stupefied and enraged at the level of stupidity displayed Lord Ruud ordered his aged castellan Sir Stefan De Braal to take the Scaldingport Guard (around six hundred strong) and ride to Tenor. He was to arrest Sir Rik, scoop up Queen Janneke and the kids, then bring everyone back in chains if he had to. De Braal tried to calm the ancient Duke down but that infuriated Ruud even more and he ordered the guards to toss his old friend to the dungeons. Afore any of that came to pass a clerk entered the disturbed Hall with an urgent message from Castalor. Apparently the Khan had taken Deadmen¡¯s Watch. Ruud collapsed on the throne stunned and then the scared shitless postman proceeded to read the second missive which informed the gloomy Scaldingport¡¯s Hall onlookers that there were also ¡®heavy rumors¡¯ of a colossal Khanate force landing near Colle. With the ancient lord silent for minutes most feared the worst but when a guard (they had been called to arrest De Braal but the action had been paused) approached to check up on the seemingly frozen or dead Duke, Ruud sprung to action and backhanded him abruptly blinding the hapless guard from the right eye with his signet ring. With the guard rolling on the stone tiles screaming in agony Ruud got up and ordered Sir De Braal released. ¡°I¡¯ve two sons who can yield a sword decently,¡± the Old Crow famously had commented glaring at his court. ¡°Since they¡¯re both utterly braindead or as dumb as ten meters of dirt road in the best case, we¡¯ve no one to lead the men I trust enough, so you get the job. Since I¡¯m not an idiot and you¡¯re an unrepentant ruffian it befalls on these old bones to fix this fucking mess. Saddle my horse Albert,¡± he ordered his adjutant. ¡°And have Julienne come to give my cock a good polish. I felt some movement down there wit all the plaguin¡¯ excitement!¡±
Eighteen Months Offensive 8th of Primus 194, Code named -18 plus 14- Campaign Day 398 Winter Five hundred meters from Holt¡¯s Stables fortifications Green Plains road west approaches III Legio engineers deployment phase ¡°The catapults! Bring them closer! Check the pre-arranged markings Decanus!¡± Durio barked rushing to jostle forward the men trying to setup the machine. ¡°Get that stick out of the ground Cano! Just measure it again, I can see you¡¯re off from here darn it!¡± Gripa lowered the bronze-encased field glasses and offered them to the watching Lucius. ¡°I can¡¯t see any machines on the wall milord. Not much of a wall really.¡± ¡°It¡¯s packed dirt and timber. Almost three meters high,¡± Lucius grunted eyeing the cloudy sky to gauge whether rain or snow would plague them that day. No man could ever tell for sure. One could only guess. ¡°We¡¯d love to have it protecting our men Gripa.¡± ¡°Absolutely milord.¡± ¡°Umm,¡± Lucius murmured turning about the twin mounted telescopes to observe the enemy lines. The thick Brushwood to the west, flanked by the flats just before the South Coppice. The barricaded road and houses of Holt¡¯s Stables, the corrals and the large warehouse buildings behind them. The Tangerine Gardens too far north to be seen, but the light mist raised over Hortolanus Lake visible to the east. The woods hugging it bordered by the Grass Sea, the reeds as tall as a grown man¡¯s chest there extending for kilometers and beyond them the imposing Lourmar Forest. Lucius watched the officers of the Third Legion prepare the legionnaires, each smaller command translating the orders in a manner that fitted each unit¡¯s character and allocating responsibilities down to maniple level. Silvius and Falx discussing the timing of the assault with the unseen Merenda (the II Cohort was beyond the King¡¯s line of sight to the far east of the front) probably organizing sub-units (of about 8-10 soldiers) to penetrate towards the Lake after Kaeso¡¯s rangers. He turned to the west where Gaeta¡¯s infantry was preparing two angled shieldwalls to defend against cavalry (if it came to it). Long¡¯s riders still scouring the plains trying to locate the enemy forces to their west flanks. Too much ground to cover, Lucius thought worried. Long had split his men into smaller ten man units to cover more ground. But even twice that number of squads in the field wouldn¡¯t have made a difference. Something might slip through. ¡°Which unit?¡± He asked Gripa an eye on Ramirus talking to one of Trupo¡¯s aides. (The Prefect was to their rear at the Field Tent where the Marianus¡¯ hospital was located. The Legion¡¯s war camp erected kilometers away still waiting for the strugglers of the Supply Train.) ¡°The III Cohort of the First Legion based on the banners. A lot of pardoned cutthroats in there sire,¡± Gripa replied. ¡°No word on the Cavalry but some of Vinterfort¡¯s Regulars are in the field as well. Not them Sabretooth lads though. No consensus on whether that¡¯s a good or a bad thing yet milord.¡± Ramirus approached, a splatter of blood marring the front of his armour along with dry mud from three days without a change of clothes. The LID officer had slept less than Lucius. Many of the officers in the same boat. ¡°A corpse had orders signed by a Prefect Betto to a Centurion Frugus,¡± Ramirus added to the words of his aide. ¡°Anything important?¡± ¡°A reminder to every sub-unit not to give ground.¡± Why? You have another strong point to defend. Why keep us here? ¡°What do we know of him?¡± ¡°Frugus is unknown but Nattas says Betto is from Alden. His brother runs the City Guard there,¡± Ramirus replied evenly. ¡°How does Nattas know that?¡± ¡°He promoted him some years back, but the King kept him around. It was a pretty big promotion for him. The older Betto is on the Legion¡¯s roster since Old Oak¡¯s time.¡± This was a euphemism within the ranks for a person that had gone over the retirement age by a lot. The standard contract was normally a full twenty-five years. ¡°Hmm,¡± Lucius nodded and returned the glasses to Gripa. ¡°Ligur probably kept as many of the men he knew or had served under him to rebuilt the First Legion,¡± he started and worked the numb fingers on each hand to restart circulation. ¡°Learn if he¡¯s studied at Anorum or anywhere else. If he¡¯s risen through the ranks all the way up to Prefect, we might have a problem here.¡± ¡°Why is that sir?¡± Ramirus asked with a frown. ¡°You can¡¯t measure experience on a scale but that don¡¯t mean it¡¯s worthless. Far from it. Loyalty though to a benefactor worth¡¯s its weight in gold. A trusty hardened officer will not try any complicated fancy stuff. He¡¯ll stick to orders and if he¡¯s been given too intricate a plan,¡± Lucius replied gruffly pausing for a quick breath afore adding. ¡°He¡¯ll go with whatever worked for him in the past to make it work.¡± ¡°We¡¯re about to find out milord,¡± Gripa said in his calm manner.
Ramirus nodded, Silvius ordered Centurion Caleb White¡¯s 4th Century forward and the men started marching behind their raised shields towards the barricades. The early morning humid, the breeze sweeping the plains chilly but the dark clouded sky keeping its anger for later. The Praetor expected (along with everyone else) Frugus¡¯ men to test the legionnaires resolve as they approached within javelin¡¯s throw, even reveal the position of their machines behind the barricades. The ¡®hidden¡¯ enemy soldiers responded much as the Praetor expected with a hail of javelins, arrows and even ¡®some¡¯ Scorpio bolts fired over or from behind the barricade. Some, because the majority of the iron bolts that fell inside Durio¡¯s men still in the process to set up their war machines came from the west. (The Prefect had stalled to better pinpoint the position of the enemy artillery.) While the bulk of the projectiles ripped through the engineers and crews carrying the parts, the lethal volley was clearly aimed at the King¡¯s visible position in the field as the knights escorting him and the tiger banners gave Lucius presence away. If one was eager to locate him that is and Betto was. It wasn¡¯t his idea, but the Praetor would learn about it a bit later. An iron bolt struck a bulky catapult, ricocheted off the metal casing breaking in two long pieces, the thinner going through Prefect Gripa¡¯s armour splitting his heart down the middle and killing him on the spot. The bulkier piece bounced off of the ground decapitated another aide and broke Lucius¡¯ left arm with a glancing blow. It is said that had the Praetor not risen it instinctively to protect himself, it would have stricken the side of his head and likely killed him as well.
¡°GET HIM AWAY!¡± Someone yelled amidst the chaos. Men cursing, others moaning and horses neighing in panic. Lucius blinked trying to see what was going on as he came about, a helmed knight shielding him but also blocking his blurry view. He had blood in his eyes, the helm dented and his head ringed. Lucius couldn¡¯t feel his arm for a moment, then someone gripped his left shoulder and he did. ¡°Arggh!¡± The King growled in pain, hoarse shouts and dissonant yells mixing all about him with the loud roar of battle. Horses heard galloping, boots thudding on gravel and the rattle of arrows or javelins on shields. ¡°THE KING IS HURT!¡± Someone yelled at the top of his lungs. ¡°Someone get Marianus here! MOVE Barca, fuck¡¯s sake!¡± Ramirus grunted to a LID agent and shoved the knight out of his way, the men dragging Lucius away depositing the hurt king on the ground. Lucius tried to stand up, but the pain in his arm almost doubled him over. He grasped a legionnaire¡¯s arm and clenching his teeth went at it again. This time he made it to his feet. The ruckus was so strong, one could feel its vibration on his bones rattling flesh and sinews as if to dislodge them. ¡°Eahg,¡± Lucius groaned trying to reach his clearly broken arm with the other. A soldier was keeping it upright. ¡°Sir!¡± A runner boomed from somewhere to his right. So many people had gathered around him, Lucius had lost sight of the battlefield and had no idea what was happening or even where he was. ¡°Centurion Lepidus asks about the condition of the Praetor! He wants an update urgently sirs!¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know yet!¡± Ramirus snapped at him irate and Sir Maximilian¡¯s worried face loomed over his. Lucius blinked trying to find his bearings, fresh jolts of pain running through him. ¡°I¡¯ll remove the helm sire,¡± the knight said slowly. ¡°There¡¯s a dent on it.¡± ¡°The head is fine, eh¡­ damn it,¡± Lucius grunted and slapped it once to set it right with his right hand. ¡°Find me a brace for the arm Sir Valens.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll need to take you back to camp sire,¡± the knight insisted. Lucius groaned and grabbed him by the shoulder. He stared with his bloodshot eyes at the unfolding battle but other than the backs of the distant troops and bobbing banners, he couldn¡¯t make out more. Until he could. ¡°Where is the Third Cohort going?¡± Lucius rustled and pushed the knight away to have a better angle. ¡°Where is Gripa? Bring me the darn field glasses!¡± ¡°The Prefect is pretty bad your grace,¡± Ramirus said and Lucius glanced at the spot he¡¯d been standing earlier, now almost fifty meters away and unrecognizable. Broken machines, bloody pieces of flesh and body parts scattered about. Shattered bolts and burrowed terrain. ¡°How bad?¡± Lucius asked hoarsely. ¡°He¡¯s gone your grace,¡± a pale Ramirus reported, lips pressed so hard at the end of it, they turned white as well. ¡°Apologies.¡± A stunned Lucius licked his lips numbly and then shuddered after another fresh jolt of pain. ¡°Falx,¡± he rustled. ¡°Lepidus riled the officers for a general assault on the barricades sire,¡± Ramirus reported quickly. ¡°While you were out. It was a tense ten minutes. We feared the worst and didn¡¯t want to lose the field if the word got out.¡± Eh. ¡°Stop him,¡± Lucius grunted wearily and found a legionnaire to stabilize himself. The blow on the head had rattled him. ¡°The Tribune? Durio?¡± ¡°He lives. Veturius was instructing Draco. He¡¯s with the first Cohort. Merenda is attacking through the Grass Sea and might need support. We¡¯ve sent for him. ¡± ¡°I¡¯ll talk with the Tribune. Get Durio here.¡± ¡°Aye my lord.¡± ¡°Ramirus,¡± Lucius rustled before he could walk away to find a runner. ¡°The machines retreated?¡± ¡°Yes sir. Long caught a couple of them, but they have infantry hidden inside Brushwood and they managed to repulse him. They are slippery devils. Gaeta is marching there now.¡± ¡°Have them dig in,¡± Lucius ordered, trying to think clearly. A grim-faced Marianus approached. The Dottore had galloped the whole distance probably as he was thoroughly covered in mud up to the shoulders. ¡°We¡¯ll use Durio. All Cohorts are to pull back to a safer distance.¡± The enemy outnumbered them in artillery and they weren¡¯t shy to use it. ¡°What about Merenda sire?¡± Ramirus asked, while Marianus tended a small flat stick for Lucius to bite on. ¡°He¡¯s assaulting the woods east of the settlement.¡± ¡°Kaeso is there and Nasica. Sent Logan as well,¡± Lucius grunted working the rough piece of wood with his teeth. ¡°Marcus Antonius fights better unsupported Ramirus or when left to his own devices. Let us worry about Betto¡¯s tricks here.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not the Queen¡¯s tit your grace,¡± the Dottore admonished him. ¡°Just bite on the darn thing as hard as you can, for I have to set the arm afore using a brace on it.¡± Lucius blinked at his vulgar tone but Marianus had been around his household for long now and his glare didn¡¯t work on him. So the King did what he was told. Campaign Day 398 Afternoon of the 8th of Primus III Legio Field Tent (Field Headquarters) ¡°Report!¡± Galio barked at the weary legionnaire and his aide grabbed the scrolls the man carried to give them to Trupo. ¡°Centurion Merenda is in the woods Tribune. He¡¯s looking to penetrate towards the Lake¡¯s banks or thereabouts,¡± the soldier reported and Galio blinked angry at the nebulousness of Marcus Antonius accounts. ¡°Nasica drove the cavalry out of the Grass Sea but halted as they were dragging him away from the Second Cohort.¡± ¡°What about Kaeso?¡± Lucius asked, his face covered in sweat despite the chill. He¡¯d a permanent clench on his jaw as the gnawing pain from the arm drained his strength. A clean break hopefully, Marianus had declared after setting the bones and securing the armbrace. You might lose some movement on the arm. Lucius would have given the arm to have Gripa back. The loss had caused the Praetor a great deal of strain as he¡¯d grown very fond of the loyal Prefect over the years. He felt a deep sense of remorse for failing the man. ¡°Merenda¡¯s report is vague on the disposition of his force and hastily written. He¡¯s keeping the fourth century in reserve with Sorex to control the flats and has deployed Logan inside the forest to guard the flanks.¡± ¡°Why the forest?¡± Galio asked reading through the reports. Casualty numbers but also anything else from the Legion Camp and the birds they had there. Lucius noticed a nervous tick appearing on the Tribune¡¯s lined and thoroughly weathered face while the legionnaire delivered his answer. ¡°They are using it to hide sir.¡± ¡°Eh,¡± Galio grunted and Trupo scrunched his thick mustache this way and that looking at the maps. ¡°That¡¯s a gods darn big forest,¡± the Prefect griped. ¡°As long as the blasted river.¡± Lucius let out a groan of pain in the attempt to sit on the field chair better and everyone present turned to look at him worried. He raised his right arm reassuringly. ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± the king rustled hoarsely. ¡°Has Durio found the range yet?¡± ¡°He has sire,¡± Trupo replied and used a ruler to calculate the distance between their units, the large ruler reaching as far up as Mercator¡¯s Inn. Another fortified problem probably. ¡°Gaeta has men facing the Brushwood,¡± Galio added. ¡°Long is sweeping the plains looking for any hidden surprises and Draco pivoted the First Cohort that way to control that flank better.¡± ¡°Can we push into Brushwood?¡± Trupo asked, while Lucius¡¯ eyes returned on the map as he¡¯d noticed something there. ¡°They are forcing us to pay attention on the west flank, might as well oblige them. Merenda can¡¯t do it alone.¡± Antonius probably doesn¡¯t agree, Lucius thought returning his attention to the conversation. Galio seemed to agree with him. ¡°I trust him to find a way. We¡¯ll learn how he did it after the fact per usual,¡± he assured the frowned Prefect. ¡°It might take a day for Brevis to reposition the First. But both he and Gaeta have enough men to clear Brushwood,¡± Trupo finally yielded. ¡°We need to take those horse-drawn devils out,¡± Ramirus said returning under the shade of the large tent that was open on one side. ¡°It¡¯s a lure,¡± a grimacing Lucius said raspingly. ¡°Why place it on that flank Galio?¡± ¡°Shorter distance to cover milord?¡± ¡°They don¡¯t use the mountains and the woods are difficult to enter or exit,¡± Lucius argued. ¡°Sure they provide cover but they wear and tear the machines as well. First time they fielded forty-fifty? They hit us in the morning¡­¡± he paused to collect himself. ¡°How many?¡± ¡°About thirty came out of the woods sire,¡± Trupo replied solemnly. ¡°Lost three on the return.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s say they have kept ten inside the city,¡± Lucius continued. ¡°That¡¯s a lot a broken wheels gentlemen,¡± he added. ¡°Now had they used the east flank, they had woods aplenty at their disposal on both sides this time, but also taller grass to work with in the middle. Easier to sneak nearer, easier to retreat unseen. A whole lot of cavalry has done the same and we had to move Merenda way out there to dislodge them.¡± Galio clenched his wrinkled mouth. ¡°What be your meaning milord?¡± ¡°I really don¡¯t have one. Call it an observation Galio. It just strikes me as peculiar given they had many months to come up with a viable strategy. What do they gain here other than a bit of time? We¡¯ll just beat the Third Cohort either way, outright remove them from the manpower pool. Then Ligur will be left with less force to defend Mercator¡¯s Inn and Islandport. We¡¯re missing part of the bigger picture here gentlemen.¡± The bigger picture. ¡°There¡¯s a report from Cartagen milord,¡± Galio started while Lucius stooped with a grimace to study the maps again. Lucius immediately straightened his back worried. ¡°The Queens are in great health,¡± the Tribune reassured him. Uher¡¯s sake Galio, he thought. ¡°What of it then?¡± ¡°The Dome of Uher¡¯s temple collapsed apparently,¡± Lucius made to raise his broken arm to rub his face but he gave up with a shudder. ¡°About twenty civilians were hit by falling debris and crystal sheets. Most perished.¡± Ah, he thought a sadness returning and closed his eyes. You just couldn¡¯t let go old teacher. ¡°Master Di Cresta is among the victims milord,¡± Galio added solemnly. ¡°He couldn¡¯t move away in time. It was a gruesome sight per the report.¡± Lucius nodded and grabbed his forehead with his right hand, worked his fingers on the taut skin to relieve a migraine. ¡°Anything else?¡± He asked raspingly. ¡°Only outgoing messages,¡± Trupo reported. ¡°We informed the Duke of the happenings per usual. Sula also of course with a bit more detail.¡± ¡°While the matter of your injury was kept from them,¡± Ramirus added steadily. ¡°It is probable word might reach Asturia within a day through the supply train and its merchants. Several are from Croton and they have sent word to the Duke¡¯s manned makeshift docks near the west bank of Framtond. We are due for another caravan anyway, the last of winter. It is approaching via the Forest Supply Route sire.¡± ¡°You¡¯re checking the mail?¡± Lucius rustled tiredly. ¡°We are, but they have code words for everything sire,¡± Ramirus replied. ¡°They might put two and two together. I suspect we have spies from Lord Bernard in the camp.¡± They had spies from a lot of people or lords in the camp. Most of them were doing it unwittingly. It isn¡¯t easy to stop people from gossiping. ¡°Clearly I¡¯m not dead Ramirus,¡± Lucius grunted and got up frustrated, the action waking up a lot of hurt places. He kept the pain from his face. ¡°Send word that any rumors of a setback are false or propaganda.¡± ¡°Yes sir,¡± Ramirus bowed his head and left them. ¡°Trupo,¡± Lucius asked tiredly. ¡°Stop any activities for the day. Keep everyone on high alert and rotate teams to harass the defenders through the night. Make it loud, make it scary and use fire. See if we can burn anything not wet enough to keep them on their toes. On the morrow we¡¯ll have the ammunition to use everything. Flatten it a bit.¡± Trupo saluted and got up. He went to pick his maps up but Lucius stopped him. The bigger picture. Like the map. ¡°What¡¯s across Mercator¡¯s Inn?¡± He asked crooking his mouth, every slight movement agonizing. ¡°Across the empty plains sir?¡± ¡°Aye. I see that¡¯s a lot of space Prefect. How about right where your ruler ends?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the village of Lourmar. Right at the edge of the woods. It¡¯s a rural primarily hunting community of locals,¡± Trupo reported sucking at his upper lip, lower part of his mustache and all. ¡°Also a logging camp.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s controlling it?¡± Lucius asked. ¡°Attempts were made all summer, but the Duke¡¯s men kept it in the end. It¡¯s of minimal strategic value sire. Too far from the river. The Duke repositioned the guarding force near the docks.¡± Lucius nodded. ¡°It¡¯s almost a day away from Mercator¡¯s Inn milord,¡± Galio noted unsure on where the Praetor was going with this. ¡°Better to build a camp nearer or on the road, like we did here.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t thinking that far ahead Tribune,¡± Lucius replied, although he was, on a different matter though. ¡°Do we have a detailed map of the forest or that area?¡± ¡°Only lumberjacks or hunters would know sire. That¡¯s virgin forest deep inside,¡± Trupo replied a little confused. Lucius stared at him sternly and the Prefect nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll have the camp followers thoroughly searched for locals staying with us,¡± he added with Lucius interrupting him with a grimace of pain. ¡°Ask Ramirus,¡± he grunted. ¡°He has a list probably.¡±
Centurion Merenda was the only one that made meaningful progress on the 8th. Using Kaeso¡¯s rangers he entered the woods and fought a fierce engagement amidst the trees all the way to Hortolanus Lake. With night falling Merenda set up sentries and spent the evening of the 9th inside the woods fighting six skirmishes in the pitch dark. Outside the tree line Nasica won a cavalry scrap but got almost killed in a late afternoon charge from the larger force Optio Sorio had under his command. (Sorio had around five hundred riders and twice as many horses available -after raiding the Duke¡¯s stables. This was the bulk of Ligur¡¯s cavalry -3/4 quarters of it- but a portion of that force was located on the west flank to support Celsus.) Sorex¡¯s slingers intervened and the Fourth Century left to guard Merenda¡¯s rear pushed Sorio back with heavy casualties on both sides. Sorio retreated for the night inside the woods where they had constructed a hidden camp but got assaulted by Logan¡¯s Nords two hours after midnight and were forced to retreat from there as well. There¡¯s an account of a rider killed by ¡®Hulking¡¯ Layton from a hurled saddle that traveled a hundred meters and while it may appear implausible at first glance, the illiterate Nord was of great size and girth standing close to eight feet, a fact I can personally attest having watched him bathe up close in the communal baths. The latter a common practice in the Legion camp forced upon everyone and not something this author pursued out of deviant curiosity. Lucius injury was serious but nowhere near fatal despite rumors. The Praetor in fact was up and leading the Legion a day later. The new strategy was to reduce the fortifications using Durio¡¯s longer range weapons and avoid excessive casualties which appeared to be Ligur¡¯s plan. While the Third Legion was busy with the problem of Holt¡¯s Stables defenders and Prefect Betto, in Asturia the edgy Legatus Sula was quarreling daily with Duke Holt over how to tackle Ligur¡¯s standoffish force across Framtond. Sula who didn¡¯t trust the Duke¡¯s scouts had sent men across the bridge. First a couple of squads and then the bulk of his rangers. With all reports pointing to Ligur keeping away from the road and minimal patrols the two men asked Lucius to sanction a foray to test the First Legion¡¯s strength. Lucius turned it down explaining he needed to reduce Holt¡¯s Stables first but a day after this message arrived (on the 7th) a new message from the Third Legion now busy fighting with Betto informed them that this action might be delayed for at least a while. Sula burst out livid at the Duke¡¯s suggestion to attempt to land even more men across the Framtond at the docks some kilometers from Croton. The idea been to reinforce Lucius and flank Betto. Sula rightly didn¡¯t want to risk a landing with the notoriously difficult to navigate river standing two meters flooded on each bank since it was at its highest point, but also feared the Duke have lost his edge in his advanced age. Lord Bernard informed them of Lucius injury either that night or early the next morning and an enraged Sula flat out accused the Duke that he was trying to have the King killed abandoning him to fight all of Ligur¡¯s force on his own. For a tense moment the two entourages almost fought inside Asturia¡¯s palace. It is unclear why the Legatus was so on edge but it must be noted here that to a neutral outside observer, Sula in all his brashness wasn¡¯t in the wrong. Ligur had allocated a huge amount of war machines to that flank (more than the number Lucius could field against him), most of his cavalry and an old-type strengthened Lorian Cohort. While a Cohort wasn¡¯t a lot, all reports mentioned a huge chunk of Ligur¡¯s force was missing. So Sula decided to take the initiative, Lord Mercator enthusiastically supported his plan and the humiliated Duke Holt decided to back him up ordering his son to get the army ready for a winter offensive. Sula was fearing the cunning Ol¡¯ Scrawny would try to defeat an isolated Lucius winning the war by default but the old general had his eyes firmly set on defeating him.
417. Lorian Plains | Ol’ Scrawny (3/3)
Ol¡¯ Scrawny ever his time be biding Polished red ¡®n gold plates peeking behind lanky reeds -Death rests nigh¡­ in the Plains ¡®Armless Boney¡¯ craved ¨C all Tiger¡¯s forces be dividing For he feared the old Duke¡¯s brave steeds -be let loose¡­ beyond the bridges iron chains Ol¡¯ Scrawny crept out o¡¯ hiding Athwart moldy Platanus* n¡¯ Red Maple lake¡¯s trees -near misty Isle-port¡¯s¡­ soggy meadow¡¯s lanes ¡®Brazen¡¯ missed the lure -in Triumph¡¯s shade residing For doomed Nonus misread the witch¡¯s heeds -Whence a Lady¡¯s fair arm reach¡­ to pluck ¡®em out the bloody drains In the plains¡­ Tap ¨Ctapa ¨C dum. In the plains¡­ -Ol¡¯ Scrawny- (Also known as In the Plains) Jan-Bert Luffy Circa 197 *(The ominously slow at its start but turning soon into a riotously wild hit song was written in 194 during the Battle for the Lorian Plains according to a later JB-Luff¡¯s account.) ** (Sycamore trees.)
4thLegion* (Abbreviated | IV LEGIO, Brazen Fourth, IV-LG) Dictum: Triumph beats Infamy Solem Rubrum Mons | Bronze and gold sign representing a red sun emerging behind a black peak (Comparable emblem to the City of Demames, but for the coloring) Organizational chart -Winter of 194NC, Lorian Plains- Overall strength ~3852** (Legio general staff not included) ~2800 legionnaires, ~1052 other units (400 cavalry, 200 ranger/scouts, 200 slingers, 220 engineers, 32 medics)
Legatus Legionis | Nonus Sula (Demames ¨C His father was second cousin to Duke Paulus Sula of Demames. One of the four more influential officers in Lucius Army, some would argue the most influential, but not everyone agreed. Along with Marcus Antonius the strongest militarily of the Quadrumvir with Macrinus being the richer and Trupo the more politically connected.) Aide de Legatus, Prefect (General Staff) | Pete Dumont (Demames. The Prefect was Nonus Sula¡¯s closest childhood friend and advisor.) First Prefect | Harrison Jacobred (First non-Lorian senior officer, his family a cadet branch of the Redmonds¡¯ of Kadrek, founded by the Duke¡¯s younger second cousin Jacob. A political appointment.) 2nd Prefect | Rufius Valens (Late Prefect Declan¡¯s younger brother ¨Ca gold Phalera recipient in oak leaves in gold with swords posthumously- that got promoted in his place after the latter was killed in Maiden¡¯s Wedding. Rufius had sailed for Kadrek immediately upon receiving word from his late brother. The Baron was ¡®unaware¡¯ officially of his offspring whereabouts, the appointments revealed after Lucius entered Cartagen. The reason given ¨Cto preserve the family¡¯s honor- the distance involved and the Fourth¡¯s participation in a different theater in the war. Gold Phalera recipient for his spirited defense of the collapsed walls during the siege of Pascor.) 3rd Prefect (of engineers) Isaak Boston (Lesia. Former First Legion engineer. Former Third Legion engineer. A decorated officer.) 2nd Optio Sigma Mercator (a political appointment and favor due to the friendship between Lady Lucretia Mercator and Lady Martha Redmond the influential Legatus¡¯ wife. The lowly nobleman was ¨Cthe then exiled- Lord Hostus Mercator¡¯s of Islandport legitimized son from a dalliance with a lowborn girl. While older than his legal son Dima, the latter was the Baron¡¯s declared Heir. Lucretia ¡®pressed¡¯ Sigma to join the Legion to avoid problems down the line. Distant relative to Duke Holt of Asturia.) LID officer (Centurion rank) | Hugh Bolton. (Kadrek- Late Rolo¡¯s cousin.) LID Sergeant Rob Zerou (Yepehir) 1st Optio (of Cavalry) Roger Bailey (Halfostad) Quartermaster | Legio Master Sergeant (LMSg) Sulpicius Scrofa (Demames. Also Keeper of the purse) Solem Rubrum Mons Signifer | Legio Sergeant (LSg) Duc Gratian (Centurion Quintus¡¯ second cousin) - First Cohort (ICH-IVLG) (Moniker the laconic ¡®Triumph¡¯. Sula¡¯s personal red and black Demames banner, embroidered in gold at the corners of the square.) Strength 850 legionnaires* First Century (ICN-ICH-IVLG) Gold Standard of a painted red sun (Monikers ¡®Them Crimson Banners¡¯, Sula¡¯s Guards) 400 Legionnaires (The vast majority of the century were awarded the golden Phalera after their heroics at Stad River, 2/5 of them posthumous. The unit doubled its size with the addition of Anorum¡¯s cohort in early summer 192NC) Centurion (Primus Pilus) Paulus Didicus (Demames. Gold Phalera recipient twice for holding the bridge at Stad River near Halfostad and defending the gates of Pascor during the Maiden¡¯s War.) Decanus Derio Papus (First Maniple) (Demames. Decorated Legionnaire. Mentioned in the dailies three times.) Decanus Baro (2nd Maniple) Decanus Trebius (3rd Maniple) Decanus Avienus (4rth Maniple) Second Century (IICN-ICH-IVLG) 150 Legionnaires Centurion Lar Montaus Decanus Badi Littera Third Century (IIICN-ICH-IVLG) 150 Legionnaires Centurion Sissena Draco (Whitetiger. A distant kin to Baron Draco) Decanus Varo Bellator Fourth Century (IVCN-ICH-IVLG) 150 Legionnaires Centurion Publius Surinas Decanus Vala - Second Cohort (IICH-IVLG) Gold Standard, a bronze plaque with the number of the Cohort in red. (Moniker, the ¡®Solid¡¯) Strength 650 First Century 200 legionnaires Centurion | Opiter Carbo (Demames. Gold Phalera recipient three times. The third with oak leaves in gold. Mentioned multiple times in the dailies.) Second Century 150 legionnaires Centurion | Glean Lale (Kas) Third Century Centurion | Winston Levy (Kas) Fourth Century Centurion | Gavin Page (Kas) - Third Cohort (Halfostad, moniker the ¡®Cultured¡¯) (IIICH-IVLG) Strength 650 First Century Centurion | Luke Whitt (Halfostad) Second Century Centurion | Jim Chad (Halfostad) Third Century Centurion | Cornelius Cropp (Unknown, probably Halfostad) Fourth Century Centurion | Willie Page ¨C Gavin¡¯s twin brother (Kas) - Fourth Cohort (Anorum, moniker the ¡®Instructors¡¯, highest ratio of minor officers elevated from this unit after 193NC) (IVCH-IVLG) Strength 650 Former training cohort of Anorum, classes of 190-192 NC First Century Centurion | Quintus Gratian (Anorum, the Signifer¡¯s cousin. Gold Phalera recipient for his brilliant maneuvers and capture of the bridge during the siege of Pascor. Gold Phalera recipient three times in total. The third with oak leaves in gold. Mentioned multiple times in the dailies.) Second Century Centurion | Sextus Mellitus (Asturia. Decorated officer.) Third Century Centurion | Mael Prisca (Asturia) Fourth Century Centurion | Tarsus Zeno (Anorum) - (Initially transferred from III Legio) Legion Slingers 200 Slingers (numbers vary due to high casualties, 100 well-trained slingers were added in Anorum. The unit was rebuilt in late 193 again due to appalling casualties sustained at the siege of Pascor.) Centurion | Joe Fallon (Nord, Maza Burg) Decanus | Drusus Thrasea (Anorum) - Scouts Legio ~180 Ranger-type units (A mix of mounted archers and light warriors) Under Centurion | Gerard ¡®Half-Ear¡¯ Pike (Decorated officer. Gold Phalera recipient for fighting while injured to protect Gratian¡¯s flanks at Serene River near Pascor.) ~80 Rangers + 50 scouts (A mix of Nords, Lorians and Half-breeds) + 50-70 attached semi-autonomous Nord warriors nicknamed ¡®Marlene¡¯s Brutes¡¯ (lightly armoured with axes and swords) Led by ¡®Ugly¡¯ Marlene Lake (only unit led by a female, mostly warriors from Gerard¡¯s Raiders but wandering Northmen joined when the Fourth arrived in Asturia.) - Legio Cavalry Around 400 horsemen (overwhelming majority from Sovya, mainly Halfostad) -150 Medium Cavalry under Optio (of Cavalry) | Roger Bailey (Halfostad) Decurion Ville Hunt (Halfostad) -50 Heavy Cavalry & 200 mounted Karls under Sir (later Baron) Norman Gatrell (Moniker ¡®Whitebark Knight¡¯. Known Gatrell family from Yepehir. An excellent cavalry officer, knight and nobleman. Was mentioned in the Dailies despite not being in the Legion¡¯s roster. A rare praise.) The famed Yepehir nobleman served as Lady (later Duchess) Martha Redmond¡¯s honor guard initially afore given complete command of a large cavalry contingent in the field. Probably another political appointment. An outstanding equestrian, his valor and skill highly regarded even by those not favoring the substantial Sovya presence within the ranks of the Fourth. - Legio Engineers (Isaak¡¯s Aprons) 220 engineers (The IV¡¯s engineer unit was built from scratch and was given plenty of resources in the Fourth Legion) Prefect (of engineers) Isaak Boston (Lesia ¨C transferred from the Third. Former First Legion engineer.) Centurion (of engineers) Reb Cable (Lesia) Sergeant (of engineers) Jack Harbor (Unknown) Legio Medics Centurion surgeon | Dottore ¡®Cleaver¡¯ Borealis (credentials disputed, out of the medical academy of Novesium? An inexplicably very rich man later in life.) Medic Dorothea + 30 other nurses and medics *Around two thousand five hundred civilians, merchants, medics, carpenters and smiths, following in the supply train. Thirty-five Scorpios (the Sula family historically favored the deployment of war machines in large numbers), six Catapults plus a prototype ¡®Deliverer¡¯. The classified weapon probably a copy of the archaic pre-Reinut Issir design. The IV Legio had almost five hundred horses and various mounts, due to its larger than usual cavalry element, mostly drawn from Duke Redmond¡¯s troops. The IV Legio spent most of 193 involved in Maiden¡¯s War aftermath and Duke Dolf Van Calcar¡¯s campaign against ¡®the Crabs.¡¯ The latter part of 193 it stayed in Asturia until the first month of 194. ** Numbers at the start of the Battle of the Lorian Plains. The final iteration of the Fourth Legion came later by Sula himself. *** Famously during the Islandport¡¯s struggle back and forth ninety-five Scorpios, sixteen catapults and two trebuchets duked it out in the biggest artillery engagement ever. Especially if one considers the twenty war-machines deployed kilometers away by Lord Holt (not counted here) or the fifty horse-drawn machines of Celsus in Holt¡¯s Stables + Lucius¡¯ twenty seven (Twenty scorpios, six catapults and a trebuchet) which raises the overall number of war-machines used to the mind-numbing number of two hundred and ten overall for the campaign.
- - -
Legatus Nonus Sula ¡®Solid Nonus¡¯ Lorian Plains | Ol¡¯ Scrawny (3/3) -Scylla¡¯s gambit & the fields of Islandport-
¡°Officer! Sojourn right here!¡± Lady Lucrecia Mercator ordered hunched outside the window of the carriage to tap at the driver¡¯s seat with her umbrella. A content Martha run a finger over Nonu¡¯s shaven cheek to ease a crease that had formed there. The Baron¡¯s wife had flashed her minimally covered bosom at the crowds gathered near the market stands of Central Square¡¯s Market. Despite the cloudy sky and yesterday¡¯s chilly rain the city was out to catch any glimpse of sun peeking out of the ethereal curtains above. But they also welcomed the opportunity to guise for no expense at the swell of the Baron¡¯s wife¡¯s breasts. Most are out just to shop of course, Sula reasoned as the carriage stopped and a flushed Lucrecia returned to her seat, patting a half-asleep Dima¡¯s knee twice with that umbrella. ¡°This is a great opportunity dear Martha to visit Bamballio¡¯s Emporium and check on Trailus¡¯ daring dresses,¡± the Islandport noblewoman explained to the now frowning again Nonus¡¯ smiling wife. Martha had the boys covered in blankets, Virgo and Jakub¡¯s tiny blond and red heads sprouting out curious in the maid¡¯s arms. Both keeping quiet during the ride. Sula suspected the tiny rascals had fouled themselves again and looked to escape further scrutiny but he could be wrong. He didn¡¯t have a lot of reps as a father, as a matter of fact he was severely lacking in training on that front. Damn it. ¡°What does the Legatus think?¡± Martha asked him and Virgo made a small sound hearing his mother¡¯s voice. No foul smell emanating. Sula relaxed and went to pat the baby¡¯s head stopping in fear his rough calloused fingers will hurt it. His wife carefully guided the hand and Virgo burped looking at it afore giving it a good smell as if to taunt his father that quickly turned into a thunderous sneeze. ¡°Eh,¡± Martha said wiping the boy¡¯s face. ¡°What does Bamballio sell?¡± Nonus asked trying to be polite with Lucrecia. ¡°Supplies, household stuff and furniture.¡± ¡°We have sufficient supplies and produce our own furniture,¡± Sula retorted, the frown returning. ¡°It will be nice to see normal people outside the camp, walk the market. Janet could hold on to the boys inside the carriage,¡± Martha said. ¡°Plus I really want to buy a summer dress given the prices I hear and the nicely warm winter.¡± Nobody was as enthusiastic with the unstable and generally agreed upon ¡®bad weather¡¯ of the past couple of months as her. In all fairness this was in reality summer time for the Sovya noblewoman. ¡°Hmm,¡± Nonus grimaced feeling painted into a corner out of the blue even more. Ambushed even. ¡°The prices I heard weren¡¯t that decent given the amount of garb on sale,¡± he grunted despite efforts to remain civil. He wasn¡¯t a prude, but Asturia had Aegium¡¯s love of low cut fronts in women¡¯s dresses and Sula didn¡¯t really want those bug-eyed lecherous locals ogling at the mature comely redhead sitting next to him, which happened to be his wife. ¡°These are winter dresses our dear Martha is lusting after,¡± Lucrecia chuckled and Sula eyed her not liking all the endearments thrown in, teeth clenched so tight he could hear the crackling. ¡°Nonsense,¡± Martha intervened rubbing at the Legatus¡¯ firm thigh with her palm to relieve some of the tension. ¡°Given the lovely temperature that be garment enough and I hanker to wear something diverse whilst I still can, me cherished Nonus.¡± Sula cleared his throat. Martha was a bit apprehensive after the pregnancy as she was five years older than him. She¡¯d taken on a bit of weight living in the camp, which wasn¡¯t as easy to shed as before. Nonus thought the whole matter totally ridiculous and didn¡¯t have any problems with her looks. The thought of his wife¡¯s body turned his frustration to lust in a moment¡¯s notice. ¡°You need not worry,¡± Nonus finally said and kissed the knuckles of her left hand. ¡°I¡¯ll ask the guards to stay with the carriage and you can have as much time as you wish to shop.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll not come with me?¡± Martha teased him with her eyes. ¡°You are not again worrying about the Duke Nonus. Escort yer wife, she¡¯s about to unclothe herself.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not worried,¡± Sula replied although he was. The Legatus pursed his mouth. ¡°The temptation would be too much to resist dear Lady and potentially fatal for the tailor.¡± ¡°The Legatus has learned to work his tongue on me,¡± Martha whispered and landed a daring kiss on his mouth. Lady Lucrecia chuckled at the open display of affection and the loaded meaning of Martha¡¯s words. ¡°Where will you go?¡± His wife asked. ¡°I¡¯ll drag Dumont out of the other carriage and force him to walk on that leg. Warm up the muscles afore they rot away,¡± Sula replied, touching his index finger on Jakub¡¯s tiny nose. The boy chuckled trying to grab it and Sula breathed out allowing himself to relax. He cast a glance outside the open carriage window. ¡°See Tyeus¡¯ Tower or just catch a bit of sun,¡± he added. The gigantic statue of Ebenezer Framtond dominating Asturia¡¯s central square casted its massive shadow over them, so the latter was probably impossible even on a summer day.
¡°When you¡¯re issued a carriage to move about a city,¡± Dumont commented pausing to rub his hurt leg with the wood cane afore continuing. ¡°You don¡¯t ditch it to walk on a bad foot.¡± ¡°We¡¯re not walking. This is a casual stroll. Pretend yer a tourist,¡± Sula argued, his eyes searching the citizens, merchants and real tourists moving around the giant sandaled feet of the statue. A young girl sitting on the statue¡¯s foundation¡¯s nicely cut stone stairs, posing for a painter to have her portrait made, with Ebenezer¡¯s large exposed toes and the grand Naossis¡¯ Temple visible in the background. The stairs reached two meters high, the raised platform guarded by Asturia¡¯s City Guard that didn¡¯t allow visitors too close to the statue. People of all ages and professions kept chipping away pieces of the stone as memento or for luck (the adventurer¡¯s guild headquarters building occupying the east corner of the expansive square sold ¡®pieces¡¯ of the statue turned into pendants) until the Duke had finally put an end to the practice some years back. Sula started after the still murmuring Dumont, waving the legionnaires detail escorting them after Martha and Lucrecia with Prefect Jacobred staying with the carriages. His aide was heading for the stairs (the other side of the one the young woman occupied) and Sula easily caught up with him. ¡°Look at them going about their businesses while a war is going on,¡± Pete Dumont griped and paused to stare at the painter¡¯s subject. The young woman pretending to ignore him. ¡°Asturia is too big a city to bother,¡± Sula murmured returning the posted guard¡¯s nod and letting his eyes roam higher on the platform, a familiar voice bothering his ears. ¡°OL¡¯ SCRAWNY¡­ Give me a darn C in it Nard!¡± Jan-Bert yelled at his shifty half-breed companion somewhere to Sula¡¯s right, over ten meters away from the platform. ¡°A shit?¡± Nard replied unsure. ¡°That too, cuz this is important!¡± ¡°Welp, I ain¡¯t paying ye for that hogwash half-a-song kid,¡± an Asturian gentleman admonished Luffy. ¡°Why, that¡¯s even less words than that!¡± ¡°This bard is a crook Tom. Look! He has only two strings on his lute and his friend smells like Fish-folk to me!¡± Another added accusingly. ¡°Probably has an accomplish looting our rooms whilst they distract us!¡± A bandit-faced bearded male ¡®tourist¡¯ yelled with a toothy leer. Sula had spotted Leirda on the platform in the meantime. She was sitting on Ebenezer¡¯s huge right foot toe, back resting at the stone knuckle and seemingly talking to herself. ¡°What she¡¯s doing there?¡± An alarmed Sula barked at the guard no longer paying attention to Dumont or Jan-Bert¡¯s and Nard¡¯s words. The soldier blinked slowly in shock at the uniformed Legatus blasting at him in public. ¡°Sir?¡± ¡°The half-breed!¡± Sula grunted ogling his eyes, well into the guard¡¯s personal space. The second guard intervening to save his colleague. ¡°He mean¡¯s the fortune teller,¡± the other soldier explained reasonably, a young lad of about twenty adding with the conviction of a drunk buffoon. ¡°She has permission general.¡± Sula snapped his head the guard¡¯s way. ¡°Legatus,¡± the second guard corrected himself after clearing his throat nervously. ¡°Who told you that?¡± Sula grunted irate. ¡°She did sir,¡± the first guard replied and Sula groaned in frustration, Dumont guffawing at his friend¡¯s angry grimaces. A moment later his aide¡¯s face turned serious and stared at the two guards austerely. ¡°I¡¯ll report this fuck up to your commander in the bleakest of words,¡± he told them, while Sula rushed up the stairs to reach the top of the platform. ¡°Ask for no clemency for you¡¯ll receive none.¡± Damn you, Sula cursed inwardly as he walked briskly towards the humming disguised witch. Even knowing what she was, the illusion still held and he didn¡¯t have that candle with him to truly test its potency or even usefulness. ¡®Leirda-Lag¡¯ had laid a choice of nicely-smelling gladioli across the phalanges and the table sized midfoot. The Asturia natives called the white with pink veins flower ¡®painted lady¡¯. The witch pretending to be a simple girl, set her changing colors eyes on the approaching Legatus of the Fourth. ¡°The sun will come up,¡± Leirda stated and the sun peeked out of the clouds at that very moment to turn the gray stone of the statue a classy white. Sula stopped with a grimace. ¡°I could have guessed that,¡± he spat, even angrier now instead of impressed. ¡°Yet, you didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Why are you outside the camp?¡± Sula hissed through his teeth. ¡°No one wants to stay inside your ugly camp,¡± Leirda replied tenderly caressing the dead stone with a hand which was nigh disturbing. ¡°Sardined one next to the other outside the city¡¯s walls. Listen to the city¡¯s alluring songs each night and each day, is a torture. Your soldiers jumped the fence, so I followed them.¡± Sula blinked, jaw clenched so tight, his ears started hurting and he had to take a step back very close to an aneurism. ¡°You have names?¡± He growled barely getting the words out and she chuckled at his furious demeanor. The next moment her face turned sad. ¡°That¡¯s right, it isn¡¯t funny,¡± Sula said and crossed both arms on his chest. Jan-Bert started singing again below them in the square, an evident attempt to finish the unfinished song on the fly and avoid being arrested or having his ribs kicked in. While not a masterpiece of music, the attempt was hilarious at the very least and got the crowd rolling with laughter. ¡°You misread me. This practice shall hurt you,¡± Leirda replied and got up. Ever rising until she stood a bit taller than Sula. Goodness sake! She pushed her hair back, elongated alien ears appearing briefly under her palms and then disappearing inside her mane. Seemingly. ¡°In what way?¡± Sula asked and stood back out of caution. ¡°It doesn¡¯t look like him but the gesture fulfils his childhood dream. To stay in Asturia,¡± Leirda replied and for a moment Sula couldn¡¯t understand what she was talking about. Then he glanced at the freakishly grinning adventurer looming large above them and shook his head surprised. ¡°So I can forgive the sculptor¡¯s lack of talent. The moment I saw his stupid head appear out of the mist, I knew it was him deep in my heart.¡±Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! ¡°The adventurer?¡± Sula grunted unsure. ¡°Ebhe,¡± Leirda said softly. ¡°Ever felt that tang in your heart Sula? Like part of you is missing? Yeah,¡± she decided after a moment. ¡°You shall.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about,¡± Sula snarled not liking all this delusory seer talk. ¡°Why isn¡¯t Lucius here?¡± Leirda asked cutting him off. ¡°I¡¯m not going to reveal sensitive¡ª¡± ¡°Ole Scrawny blocked him. Heard it in the market.¡± Sula grinded his teeth. ¡°He didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°The old man doesn¡¯t fear you.¡± ¡°Never ends well for those that are thus inclined!¡± Sula spat giving her a history lesson. ¡°Uhm.¡± ¡°Speak¡­ witch.¡± He warned her. ¡°What do you see?¡± ¡°I told you.¡± ¡°Tell me again,¡± Sula grunted warningly. ¡°I find your wrath arousing Sula of Demames,¡± the witch purred shivering visibly. ¡°Also scary.¡± Sula had a vein throbbing in the middle of his forehead and he could feel it growing with each pulse. ¡°The old man always loses if you seek your triumph, for the win he¡¯ll find inside it, shall turn poisonous and kill him. A cold-skinned woman¡¯s hand shall be his downfall,¡± Leirda reached with a hand to touch the spot throbbing on his forehead but Sula snatched it in the air and stopped her. The witch¡¯s ¡®dark skin¡¯ definitely warm. Pleasing to the touch. She isn¡¯t making a lick of god darn sense. Sula released her arm immediately. ¡°You¡¯re speaking in riddles,¡± he said hoarsely. ¡°Has Ligur loaded up his south flank?¡± Sula asked to clarify what he couldn¡¯t glean out of the reports. This was what her visions of future were good for in his mind. Nothing else. While Sula didn¡¯t want to be affected by her words though, in reality he was. Leirda turned her eyes on the crowd visiting the square for a moment and then looked at his frowned face again. ¡°All you have to do to know the future Sula,¡± she replied calmly. ¡°Is to listen to what the present tells you and remember the past.¡± Oh, just swallow a mule¡¯s turd and drown in shit! Sula cursed irate. He had enough of her vague insights. ¡°Dumont!¡± Sula roared abruptly and she yelped jerking away scared. ¡°Put her in the carriage and return her to the camp.¡± ¡°What about the bard Nonus?¡± A bored Dumont asked from the bottom of the stone stairs. ¡°Leave those two behind,¡± Sula decided and the sun hid behind the clouds again. Out of the heavy shade the adventurer¡¯s immense statue cast over the square, a colorful palace messenger appeared dressed in his gold and blue lined uniform. ¡°A message from the king,¡± he told them and given they had one of those already not a day prior, Sula sensed something was afoot.
The Fair Lady was distracting. The bare-breasted Goddess¡¯ statue looming large above the Duke¡¯s throne. In a city packed with statuses of all kinds and sizes one would be inclined to believe Sula would have gotten used to them after months of living there, but he hadn¡¯t. Lord Mercator, Lucrecia¡¯s husband, had narrowed his eyes so much trying to get more meaning out of the brief missive, he started looking like a port rat wrestling with a difficult to come out turd. The venerable Lord Holt just stared at his son, Sir Rupert and then Bernard. Lord Draco of Whitetiger was traveling to Asturia but hadn¡¯t arrived yet. Sir Batas grabbed the scroll from the herald¡¯s hands to bring it to the old Duke but Rupert intervened a little exasperated. ¡°It¡¯s two lines father,¡± he said. ¡°No room for hidden truths in it.¡± Lord Holt scrunched his wrinkled face adding even more cracks and lines around the mouth and eyes. ¡°Good number of artillery present near Brushwood but the 2nd had enemy¡¯s east flank pushed back. The center retreated for the day,¡± Sula repeated the decoded parsimonious message from Tribune Veturius, whilst standing up to approach one of the two large maps open in stands near the throne, each depicting a different portion of the Green Plains. One centered around Holt¡¯s Stable, the large town now half empty and occupied, the other the road to Islandport from the south coast of Canlita Sea up to Mercator¡¯s Inn. ¡°The center was about to push into the town yesterday given the enemy numbers, with Merenda flanking from the east,¡± Sula started and Duke Holt snorted impatiently. ¡°We don¡¯t need a reminder of the king¡¯s report son. We¡¯re old not deaf.¡± Nonus paused sucking at his front teeth, Dumont gesturing for him to smile politely and move on, which Sula failed to do. ¡°It is nonsensical to turn an attack back when you¡¯re advancing in the flanks. This makes both Merenda¡¯s work and morrow¡¯s attempt from the center cost double. Why?¡± ¡°Ligur sent a lot of war-machines down there,¡± Bernard offered. Sula had spotted him talking with a couple of priestesses earlier but whatever they had asked, his demeanor gave the impression he wasn¡¯t eager to be accommodating. ¡°If Durio was late then¡ª¡± ¡°Durio had a day to reach the front,¡± Sula cut him off. ¡°There¡¯s no way he was that late or Lucius wouldn¡¯t have given the attack order. Something catastrophic happened here for the army to turn back.¡± ¡°This is preposterous,¡± Duke Holt admonished him. ¡°I understand the Legatus imagines himself a military genius but you¡¯re jumping to conclusions here. Throwing lives away may be the Sula way but the rest of us would retreat if stuck in an unfavorable position and avoid a catastrophe. Pushing forward is not an answer always.¡± Had he called him ¡®son¡¯ or the like one more time Sula would have walked up to the old Shield and punched him in the face. Lord Holt¡¯s eyes stared at him knowingly. ¡°Legatus,¡± Dumont intervened. ¡°Perhaps attempting to probe Ligur¡¯s forces beyond the bridge is an idea worthy of being revisited?¡± ¡°Eh,¡± Lord Holt grunted knocking a goblet he held down unwittingly. A servant rushed to pick it up while the Duke glared at his grinning son. Sir Rupert assumed a fake serious expression immediately. ¡°The King gave explicit orders not to move against Ligur without him.¡± For crying out loud! Sula thought angrily. The old Duke¡¯s reluctance to consider an alternative legendary. ¡°Orders are subject to changes in the field Lord Holt,¡± he grunted. ¡°Ligur is obviously strong enough there to push Lucius back!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t appreciate being yelled at inside my own hall Legatus,¡± Holt warned him taking offence. ¡°Or any Hall.¡± Sula¡¯s mouth split into a snarl, the skin of his face turning a deep red. ¡°Lucius isn¡¯t here. There¡¯s no enemy across the gods darn bridge,¡± he hissed and Rupert blinked sensing the hostility inside the room. ¡°Pike has secured the woods on both sides of the road, up to half a kilometer in,¡± Sula continued in the same tone. ¡°I can march over the bridge with four Cohorts in a day.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way you get everyone across, you¡¯ll get bogged down. One accident and the bridge is closed for everyone. What about the supply train? The double wagons for the war-machines must go over one by one,¡± Holt retorted grasping at the armrests with both hands. ¡°Then I¡¯ll need time to get my own soldiers after you, even more wagons, supplies and animals.¡± ¡°There is no enemy across the bridge Lord Holt,¡± Sula insisted, the reports were clear on that fact. Few scouts perhaps but nothing else. ¡°Ligur pulled back. Sent everything he has against Lucius.¡± ¡°Ligur has army in Islandport,¡± the Duke insisted and turned to the silent up until now Lord Mercator. ¡°Tell him.¡± ¡°Your grace,¡± Mercator started. ¡°All spies report the presence of Regulars from Vinterfort or Sabretooth. Few ships from Tenor. No First Legion.¡± ¡°How many?¡± Sula asked. ¡°You actually think Ligur doesn¡¯t know, we know?¡± Holt snapped glaring at the Baron. ¡°The First Legion is in Mercator¡¯s Inn! They¡¯ll march as fast as your boys Sula!¡± ¡°Still that¡¯s half a day away or more given the weather,¡± Sula cut in. ¡°How many regulars?¡± He repeated his previous query to the Baron. ¡°I think Lord Scylla brought everything he has, mayhap recruited from other cities,¡± Mercator replied nervously. ¡°But they can¡¯t stand against a legion.¡± ¡°Mercator!¡± Holt growled and stood up frustrated. ¡°My Lord this is an opportunity,¡± Sula insisted. ¡°Why not strike at them now? Even if he has kept something back, it is not enough.¡± ¡°What are you implying Legatus?¡± The Duke asked ominously. Sula stood back, his face grim. ¡°To not take the opening goes against my core values Lord Holt. This is a crucial moment. We are giving Ligur the initiative. Let¡¯s wrestle it back. True courage needs no incentives.¡± ¡°Nonus!¡± Dumont barked from his side and Duke Holt signed for Sir Batas to stand back. The scowling knight had moved against the Legatus of the Fourth. ¡°No one has ever questioned my character Sula,¡± the Duke said hoarsely. ¡°I stood firm when others cowered or looked for excuses. I didn¡¯t move an inch then against overwhelming pressure from loftier lords than you! But you¡¯re not a lord really aren¡¯t ye?¡± ¡°You are risking the king¡¯s life right at this moment,¡± an insulted Sula spat, his blood boiling. ¡°With all the respect to your station my lord, standing firm means absolutely nothing right now!¡± The Duke stared at his hall in silence. ¡°Find out more,¡± he told Bernard and his younger son nodded. ¡°Give me an assessment of Ligur¡¯s true positions in the plains.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have time to waste,¡± Sula said but Lord Holt raised his arm to cut him off afore he could finish. ¡°I¡¯ll make the decisions in my hall Sula. This meeting is over,¡± the Lord of Asturia told him.
¡°Blasted old goat!¡± Sula cursed landing a punch at the stable¡¯s entrance rattling it. They had walked there to get their horses, already two hours later, but the long nicely maintained road inside the Duke¡¯s palace¡¯s grounds hadn¡¯t calmed the Legatus down at all. The old man loses always if you seek your triumph, the witch had said. Sure, she wasn¡¯t always right but Nonus felt they were allowing the Legatus of the First dictate the terms of this conflict. He had them all dance to his music like flushed maidens at a wedding. The previous wedding he¡¯d been privy to ended in a massacre. ¡°We could theoretically break camp tonight,¡± Dumont said while they rode towards the drawbridge. ¡°Get a cohort across or two.¡± ¡°Umm,¡± a sullen Sula murmured looking at his horse¡¯s ears. There was a horse galloping fast behind them. It roused the guards at the drawbridge and Sula stopped his mount and turned around. Lord Bernard Holt reached them a moment later.
¡°It¡¯s a rumor Nonus,¡± Dumont warned but Sula hadn¡¯t yet recovered from the shock. Rumors tent to minimize stuff also, he thought. In this case making less of what may be fatal. ¡°An iron bolt,¡± he murmured and Bernard nodded. The young scion seemed really nervous about it. ¡°You¡¯ve told your father?¡± ¡°The merchant is his friend. He learned it first,¡± Bernard replied. ¡°It appears you were right Legatus.¡± Sula didn¡¯t want to be right, he wanted to win the war and protect his family. Secure their future. ¡°Did anyone even see the King after the event?¡± Dumont asked looking to learn more. ¡°No sight of him. Of course the camp is far from the front but the Dottore left and didn¡¯t return near the other wounded. Presumably he stayed at the king¡¯s side.¡± ¡°They would have brought Lucius back,¡± Dumont thought out loud while Sula worked the news in his head. This was a plaguing disaster. ¡°How did we miss this Dumont?¡± He finally asked hoarsely. ¡°The Legion can¡¯t travel unseen Nonus. Not that far. It¡¯s a strategic suicide. Would the old general risk it all to take out the King? Ligur would never decide this on his own.¡± ¡°If he did this is over,¡± Sula grunted and checked if the guards had come within hearing distance again. ¡°We could rally around the Queens, if the worst came to pass,¡± Dumont offered in a half-hearted manner. ¡°We¡¯ve enough power to put the kid on the throne.¡± ¡°Macrinus would have to agree. He controls the Northern routes and all the iron,¡± Sula said, his head hurting. ¡°Damn it Pete, we can¡¯t be thinking of this right now!¡± He growled and glared at the younger of the Holt boys. ¡°Would your father agree to move now?¡± ¡°The news shook him to his core. Monica is the Queen of Regia and his daughter still. I think he will.¡± ¡°Even if Lucius is gone?¡± Sula queried his mouth turning bitter. He had to ask the question. ¡°I would,¡± Bernard replied coldly. ¡°For my sister.¡± We need an honest to allgods fallback plan, Sula thought. Martha always preached the need to have their future secured and while Sovya was there for him, Sula couldn¡¯t just admit defeat without a fight and abandon Regia to a bunch of murdering traitors. ¡°Find Sir Gatrell. I want all able cavalry across the bridge tonight. The weather might turn worse,¡± Sula ordered his aide. ¡°They need to find Pike¡¯s rangers in the field and penetrate together as far down the road as they can reach.¡± ¡°What about the rest of the Legion?¡± Dumont asked although he had understood that Sula¡¯s mind was made up. ¡°We¡¯re going to march fast Pete,¡± Sula had told him. ¡°Reach Ligur and kick his teeth in afore he realizes we¡¯re on the move. One day for the news to break, another for his men to react. Say three in worst case. But it may be a week afore he realizes it, we could be heading anywhere. Can we do it in three days?¡± ¡°The train can¡¯t keep up in that case Nonus,¡± Dumont grimaced. ¡°I just want the machines. Slot them first in line after the cohorts. Them Boston¡¯s boys better be moving fast or I¡¯ll have their skin peeled off! This is a rich land and the men got fat holidaying on the King¡¯s coin for months. Plenty of that lard around to burn.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll get them going,¡± his friend agreed and pursed his lips unhappy. ¡°I¡¯ll never get that knee healed after this,¡± Dumont murmured. ¡°Quite the opposite. Walking on it will build up the muscles,¡± Sula assured him. If ¡®build up¡¯ was a metaphor for swelling then it worked famously.
Two hours after midnight bells had rang over the sleeping city of Asturia, on the 9th day of Primus, the first month of the year 194NC, the Legatus of the Fourth Legion Nonus Sula, ordered the leading mobile units of the ¡®Brazen Fourth¡¯ to cross the flooded Framtond River. 400 hundred horsemen split in two elements (150 medium legion cavalry led by Optio Roger Bailey and Decurion Ville Hunt from Halfostad plus 50 heavy lancer cavalry and 200 mounted Karls under Sir Norman Gatrell, the ¡®whitebark knight¡¯ from Yepehir) went over the bridge and joined with the scouts of Centurion Gerald ¡®Half Ear¡¯ Pike (80 armoured rangers + 50 ranged scouts) and the 70 northern warriors of Marlene Lake. Pike had been scouring the woods and the coastal road for weeks but hadn¡¯t made any meaningful contact with Ligur¡¯s elusive scouts. The strong reconnaissance force fanned out and jumped ten kilometers ahead of the infantry moving fast but still didn¡¯t encounter any danger waiting to contest the crossing. Pike messaged Sula that afternoon but the impatient Legatus was already across the river riding with the 200 strong mounted Slingers of Centurion Joe Fallon and Decanus Drusus Thrasea and the message reached Prefect Rufius Valens who was still on the other side of the bridge with Centurion Didicus¡¯ 1st Cohort and Signifer Duc Gratian. Didicus was the second cohort to cross Framtond as Centurion Opiter Carbo¡¯s 2nd was marching hard after the Legatus. Centurion Whitt¡¯s 3rd with the fresh Optio Sigma Mercator trotting along went next an hour later and finally Centurion Gratian¡¯s 4th (the Signifer¡¯s 2nd cousin) with First Prefect Harrison Jacobred the Legion¡¯s scribe, LID officer Hugh Bolton and his aide Rob Zerou. On the Asturia side of the bridge a huge number of wagons, carriages and pack animals had been gathering all day coming from the disassembled Castrum (which they carried with them), but also parts of Duke Holt¡¯s massive supply train for his own men. The Asturia soldiers couldn¡¯t be ready on the 9th or even the 10th. They did manage to assemble late that day but the bridge approach had been bogged down (under heavy rain) in the meantime with so many animal-drawn vehicles that two days after Sula¡¯s cohorts had marched down the coastal road uncontested, barely half had crossed. The large IV Legio¡¯s supply train and war-machines had created (or initiated) the bigger problem as Prefect of engineers Isaak Boston and his officers Cable and Harbor had insisted the heavy scorpios, catapults and trebuchet to go first. They did that and got at the front of the line but in the meantime the other side of the bridge had been flooded with wagons rushing to cross before the river covered the surface of the bridge and officers all but quarreled as tempers flared with the horrible weather not helping. With the waters rising the bridge submerged under a foot of water, so it was agreed the rest of Quartermaster Scrofa¡¯s wagons to cross first, followed by Sir Rupert Holt and a detail of infantry (around a hundred guards and five hundred of Asturia¡¯s regulars) to safeguard the opposite site as by that time (late on the 11th) the cohorts were kilometers away. Duke Holt had amassed 4500 infantry (4000 regulars + 500 of the city¡¯s guards ¨Ca two thousand strong force stayed behind) and 500 very-heavy cavalry (professional men-at-arms + Knights) from Asturia under Sir Rupert Holt. An additional 1000 infantry (800 regulars from Whitetiger + 200 from Ruinal and Foxville) under Lord Draco the Duke¡¯s shield and 500 hundred infantry from Croton and Islandport under Lord Mercator himself. The six thousand strong force added another 350 wagons to the Fourth¡¯s 200 and another 3000 followers to the 2500 Sula¡¯s Legion dragged after him. With eleven thousand people and 550 wagons attempting to go over the dangerous flooded bridge and its roads chaos ensued.
Boston moved his machines and half the Legio¡¯s wagons a kilometer away from the bridge (or three according to the Duchy¡¯s sources) and the hundred Asturia guards followed after them in the confusion. Scrofa came up next with the rest (the majority) of the supplies and civilians, but had to pause not far from the bridge to repair damages and attempt to navigate the flooded road that had turned unsuitable for heavily laden caravans. Sir Holt went over next with his Asturia Regulars detachment and kept most of his force north of the road to allow for his father¡¯s wagons to make it across. While this was going on at the bridge, Legatus Sula and his fast moving Cohorts moved west on the coastal road making excellent progress despite the downpour. The march was grueling but with the officers giving example and its fame on the line the Cohorts covered forty kilometers each day. Sula wanted to catch Ligur unprepared and even in the event that the old general had kept enough force back to defend his flank, the Legatus of the IV wouldn¡¯t give him the time to react timely. In his calculations Ligur needed at least four days to bring whatever he had at Mercator¡¯s Inn to Islandport (after word reached him). With his scouts shadowing the First Legion¡¯s scouts not an hour ahead of them and the foul weather, Sula believed Ol¡¯ Scrawny had been caught sleeping. Unfortunately for him Ligur didn¡¯t have to move at all and it was a badly kept secret within the ranks of the First that the stubborn Legatus slept for only two hours per day (an hour per twelve) and if that.
On the 12th Sir Gatrell ambushed Ligur¡¯s scouting force and routed them south, deep into the plains towards Worm Lake. The action kept them far enough from the road and as the last report they had was of the Fourth Legion stopping to rest from the arduous march and the worsening weather, still over a day away from Islandport, the determined Legatus leaped at the chance. He ordered the cohorts to quick march after an hour¡¯s rest towards East Coast Woods. When a worn out Sula guised at the treeline marking the start of the flooded wooded area hours later he commented to his hobbling loyal adjutant Prefect Dumont. ¡®By the Allgods Pete, there¡¯s no one here! We got that old prick by them nuts!¡¯ Baron Scylla who had been tasked by Ligur to ambush the advancing lead units of the Fourth (that would be Marlene¡¯s and Pike¡¯s men) but retreat to safety decided to attack and destroy the weary force completely. The First Legion¡¯s rangers (around 300 but with at least another light infantry unit of mercenaries and many slingers) surprised Pike jumping on his forward squads on the late afternoon of the 12th. Pike retreated looking for cover north of the road but the enemy followed him killing many horses and causing casualties. Marlene¡¯s northmen beat back the attack on the south side of the road but got mauled by volley after volley of lead shot and had to retreat. The same fate had befallen Scylla¡¯s rangers and infantry though as Fallon¡¯s mounted slingers arrived at the scene and unleashed their lethal projectiles against them, some without jumping from their horses. Ligur who had to dispatch Sir Sylvan Scylla with the rest of his cavalry to save his scouts from Sir Gatrell, sent Prefect Memon at the Baron¡¯s headquarters to berate him for steering away from the plan and order him to stop the attack immediately before they lost any more valuable men. It was a minor variation, but Scylla¡¯s gambit warned Sula of enemies ahead of him that ¡®somehow¡¯ expected his arrival and forced the Legatus to halt the march of 2nd Cohort briefly. After discussing it with his officers Sula decided to wait for all the Cohorts to arrive. The 4th for example was still four hours away. With darkness falling, men slept where they stood under the rain that thankfully stopped on the morning of the 13th after four days of hellish deluge.
- Eighteen Months Offensive 13th of Primus 194, Code named -18 plus 14- Campaign Day 403 Winter Battle of Islandport¡¯s outer fortifications (aka Battle of the fences) 4th Legion¡¯s center Three kilometers from the city¡¯s wheat fields dominating its east side The front extending inside the trees on the north flank Five hundred meters from the East Coast Woods, Four kilometers from the road junction leading towards the main south gates, south to Mercator¡¯s Inn and west towards the town of Tenor Morning - A sleepless, thoroughly soaked Sula scratched the mud off of his worn out boots with a dirty stick while listening to the field reports read quickly to a scowling Dumont over the sound of the legionnaires forming up. That would be the 2nd Cohort¡¯s men under Opiter Carbo. ¡°Where is the First Legion?¡± Sula interrupted LID officer Bolton. His aide Zerou had nailed a field map on the crude tent¡¯s support (in reality just a square cotton canvas, secured on four two-meter long wooden poles) and kept it open standing behind it. They had to cut down trees during the night to construct rudimentary accommodations as their supplies were still on the road. ¡°No Legion infantry observed in the field. These are Sabretooth regulars behind the fences sir,¡± Bolton replied, a week¡¯s growth of hair on his face. Almost everyone was unshaven by this point and it made them look a bit rougher than they were but not by much. ¡°Only faced auxiliary units up until now.¡± ¡°Gatrell?¡± ¡°He¡¯s still pursuing cavalry. Jacobred queries whether to bring the field headquarters nearer. The fourth cohort is keeping back to anchor the rear.¡± ¡°We expect Boston¡¯s engineers to appear soon,¡± Dumont explained. ¡°The spot we picked is fine for them to make camp and assemble their machines. Scrofa shall pretty up the place later.¡± ¡°Prefect Valens asked for Pike¡¯s men to probe the east coast of the city. He wants to penetrate through the woods,¡± Hugh Bolton reported. ¡°The peninsula turns west there at the edges and the beach extends all the way to the port. We could bypass what they have blocking the road sir.¡± ¡°That fence ain¡¯t even two meters high. More fancy I would say with all the clay lathered over it, than impregnable,¡± Dumont noted with a grimace. ¡°Carbo thinks we could run over it if we use Scutums to step on,¡± Bolton added and Sula got up with a grunt, straightening his protesting back, his broad neck cracking when he turned it left and right. ¡°The 2nd Cohort will attack the Baron to test his center with the 3rd Cohort in support,¡± Scylla¡¯s banners were visible over the barricades. ¡°This will allow Valens the opportunity to circle around through the woods and reach the beaches across the port. If it¡¯s heavily defended, he¡¯s to secure the approach, mark it down and we¡¯ll send the 4th after him. I would like to keep the Cohort in reserve though.¡± ¡°The terrain is flooded there,¡± Dumont said. ¡°Not as much as at the Bogs but plenty for sure.¡± That was the other peninsula forming the cup-like shaped gulf with Islandport at its bottom. ¡°Didicus shall protect our south flank with the first. Push ahead after we lock Scylla¡¯s center to take over the road coming from Mercator¡¯s Inn. With the mud and the blasted weather we face right now, that flat cobblestone your father installed comes at a premium lad.¡± The latter he¡¯d addressed to Lord Mercator¡¯s son Optio Sigma. The educated noble was a legitimized bastard but he¡¯d been taken care for by his father. ¡°What is Ligur doing?¡± Dumont grunted and hobbled in the attempt to stand. He managed it with the help of the cane. That knee had taken a heavy punishment even on the saddle. ¡°You think he sent everything against Lucius?¡± Sula asked as he had an eye south expecting the old general¡¯s reinforcements to appear at any moment. ¡°Well, no machines behind the fences still, the fortifications are not much given that the city has no walls and Scylla has only his infantry there.¡± Dumont had no idea, was the long and short of it. ¡°All killed rangers we searched are from the First Legion sir,¡± Bolton reported. ¡°Fully equipped but carrying no supplies.¡± ¡°They have the city packed for sure,¡± Dumont griped as they were rationing for days now. ¡°Send Bailey to help Gatrell,¡± Sula ordered. ¡°I want the fields clear on our rear as deep south as they can make it and then scout ahead towards Mercator¡¯s inn. Not all of them though, I want Bailey back here in case Ligur has more cavalry west of Islandport.¡± A runner approached from the front, the young man covered in drying mire. ¡°Centurion Carbo reports ¡®Testudo¡¯ formed per maniple Legatus!¡± The soldier boomed with youthful enthusiasm. ¡°Ehm¡­ requests permission to advance on the enemy afore it rains again sir!¡± ¡°Is that what Carbo said?¡± Dumont asked him with a tired smile. He and the Centurion of the 2nd Cohort were born just a house apart in Demames. ¡°I slightly prettied it up for the Legatus¡¯ ears sir!¡± The soldier boomed smartly. Sula reached for his wet legion helm and slotted it over his head. Tied the leather bindings on it under Dumont¡¯s worried scrutiny and then fixed the gladius¡¯ sheath. ¡°Tell Carbo to attack,¡± Sula ordered simply and glanced at his aide. ¡°I¡¯m heading to Whitt¡¯s 3rd Cohort Pete. I ain¡¯t getting involved but I want to know what is going on.¡± ¡°We have field-glasses for that Nonus,¡± Dumont grunted cleaning his armour from some of the mud the trotting away soldier had hurled at him. ¡°True,¡± Sula retorted and stooped to exit from under the tent. ¡°The closer you are, the better you see with them.¡±
On the morning of the 13th of Primus, Centurion Opiter Carbo¡¯s 2nd Cohort took over in the center from Pike¡¯s rangers that redeployed east inside the woods (3/4 quarters of them) with Prefect Valens. The 3rd Cohort under Centurion Luke Whitt of Halfostad, moved four hundred meters behind Carbo formed up in squares (sources mention a testudo formation used for the final approach.) The 1st Cohort under Didicus moved a kilometer to the south, aiming to flank Scylla¡¯s line of fortifications and guard the Legion¡¯s flank. Sula was probably nervous about his supply train being late not in the sense of having not arrived yet (as Boston was due at any point during the day or the next anyway) but the absence of missive riders reaching them with an update. Sula needed Scrofa¡¯s birds to communicate with the trailing (supposedly) Duke and without the Quartermaster news of the rear didn¡¯t reach the Fourth for a crucial half a week. While three or four days aren¡¯t that much of a time gap, in this instance the absence of it was catastrophic. Kilometers to their rear on the 12th, at the massive but thoroughly flooded Framtond Bridge Regulus¡¯ 2nd Cohort of the First Legion came out of the thick Lourmar Forest and attacked Sir Holt¡¯s guarding force. They brushed the south flank aside and moved against the supply trains that were now separate but very near. Sir Rupert sounded the alarm and ordered the soldiers camping on the north side of the road to attack the legionnaires but they got overwhelmed amidst the wagons and the panicked civilians running for their lives. Further to the west a detachment of rangers (around two hundred with light troops mixed in) ambushed Scrofa¡¯s separate supply train causing great casualties in trained rear guard personnel. (The Quartermaster was either two kilometers behind Boston¡¯s machines or twenty depending on sources, but elements of the marching west engineering column along the Asturia¡¯s guard detachment shielding it, were alerted and turned back.) Scrofa despite lacking in soldiers managed to defend the spread out wagons for four hours and the Asturia guards arrived to help him save some of the caught in the action civilians. Sir Rupert¡¯s force had to retreat north towards the woods and away from the bridge and this allowed Regulus to keep a century blocking elements of the Duke¡¯s cavalry that charged over the bridge pushing the gathered crowd aside or in the cold waters, killing twenty civilians. It was a desperate attempt to break out and assist the cut off in the mud Sir Rupert. (Rupert was the Duke¡¯s heir.) Regulus sent a century to push Sir Rupert further into the flooded woods (all of Canlita¡¯s south shores had flooded due to heavy downpours the previous days, a detail that would plague Sula¡¯s plans at Islandport the next day) and half of the 1st (around three hundred legionnaires) to assist his struggling rangers. Despite Scrofa¡¯s efforts and the valiant defense by the Asturia cut off guards fighting alongside them, the First Legion¡¯s men overwhelmed them killing nine out of ten present, Scrofa and the captain leading the detachment sharing this cruel fate. With the wagons and supplies captured or destroyed the survivors fled after the engineering column¡¯s wagons or scattered in the plains. Sir Rupert defended the woods north of the road for the whole day but morale plummeted during the night as fatigue and cold set in, while Regulus was able to rotate his men with those guarding the bridge. After the initial failed cavalry attempt to break through, the alerted of the unfolding events Duke Holt, rode to the front himself and ordered Sir Battas to use infantry piecemeal across the flooded bridge to keep Regulus on his toes. The practice would cost Asturia almost two hundred soldiers killed or drowned in three days, but kept Regulus occupied at the other end of the bridge and forced him to abandon his plan of pursuing Boston¡¯s machines immediately. He needed his rangers as he lacked in ranged weapons and mobile troops. The Duke wanted to evacuate the trapped men from the woods using the ships at his disposal and attempt to find a crossing over the Framtond to flank the enemy blocking the road. A strong force of 500 hundred soldiers guarding the docks near the city of Croton south of Asturia on the east banks of Framtond (across from it really, a place called Nymph¡¯s Shame where the river was deeper but narrower) were alerted that night to march following the Hunter Routes towards the Lourmar Crossroads deep inside the gargantuan forest. A long and arduous journey in the middle of winter season. Duke Holt had realized within a day that Ligur had taken Lourmar and used the trails to surprise them. While Asturia marines embarked on the ships did reach the south banks of Canlita crossing the Framtond delta and penetrated the woods there, even managing to evacuate some of the regulars that had survived two days in the mud, Sir Rupert wasn¡¯t amongst them. The Duke¡¯s heir had been wounded during the initial assault and succumbed to his wounds during the first night. His body was never recovered despite frantic searches of the area after the war.
Unbeknownst to the tragedy unfolding to his rear Sula watched with growing satisfaction Carbo¡¯s assault on Lord Scylla¡¯s entrenched forces. In a bitter struggle the determined 2nd Cohort climbed the first fence and fought its way fifty meters deep to take over the second barricade despite heavy resistance. The Slingers supporting both groups had cancelled each other out, dueling behind decent or not as good cover, with a young man from Vinterfort having half his head blown off when a lead shot went through a thin plank of wood that had a been part of a destroyed chicken house. Carbo gained a meter every two minutes of savage fighting and progressed steadily taking over the second line of fences near the afternoon. With the legionnaires over the barricades, the regulars were pushed back and angled towards the fields of Islandport with the 3rd Century (standing at the edge of the line) pushing them inside the quagmire as the whole 2nd Cohort started pivoting north slowly. The Brazen Fourth despite being worn out from the long march had smashed Scylla¡¯s center and was about to break through into the city. A surely elated but worried Sula watched with clenched teeth the events, witnessing the birth of a monumental triumph before his very eyes and perhaps the end of the campaign itself. The alert ¨Cand hands on- Legatus following after the slowly advancing on the jam-packed with butchered corpses first fence 3rd Cohort, managed to spot movement coming towards the now protruding south flank of the 2nd Cohort (the 1st Cohort covering it had stayed three hundred meters back where the junction was) and ordered a search of the uninhabited southwest portion of the front beyond the junction. While scouts scrambled to identify the peculiar gathering of wagons there, Vinterfort¡¯s regulars attacked Carbo and stopped him momentarily from advancing further through the fields and enter the city. Sula ordered Whitt¡¯s 3rd Cohort forward and over the second line of barricades but a terrible barrage of artillery started falling across the whole narrow breakthrough point. Iron bolts and catapult shots rained ever closer on the exposed Carbo and the Centurion ordered the 2nd to retreat towards the barricade immediately. It must be noted that almost a half of Scylla¡¯s force had been killed or seriously maimed by that point. Sula stopped the 3rd Cohort from advancing as he¡¯d figured out what Ligur had there without input from the scouts. Carbo marched back towards the fences but Ligur¡¯s war machines had pre-measured and marked the spots ahead of time. When the first boulders, shrapnel and at least forty two-meter long iron bolts per volley started falling in the space between the two barricades, the Fourth Legion¡¯s number of dead and wounded spiked up abruptly.
¡°SON O¡¯ BLOATED BITCH!¡± A legionnaire cursed, holding his friend¡¯s bloody head in his hands. The body had been separated from it and was nailed on the fence twenty meters away from him. ¡°Legatus!¡± Whitt roared as a gnarly Sula had stood up over the second fence to count the machines firing at them. ¡°DAMNIT! SOMEONE SHOVE HIM BEHIND COVER!¡± ¡°Belay that!¡± Sula barked and trotted across the field with the ground exploding all around him at regular intervals. The missing bolts sinking half a meter in the soft ground and the heavy rocks digging out craters with a diameter of at least a meter. No burning oil though, thank the fucking weather, Sula thought sprinting behind cover, boots sliding in the sludge when he stopped near a scowling Dumont. ¡°Are ye plaguing serious Nonus?¡± His aide grunted. ¡°At least get a shield.¡± ¡°No shield is stopping that shit,¡± Sula retorted fixing the helm on his head. ¡°Where¡¯s Bailey?¡± ¡°We sent for him. Jacobred wanted to dispatch a rider towards Asturia to locate Boston.¡± ¡°Later. Right now I want him to charge on those gods darn machines,¡± Sula spat irate. ¡°Shove his lances in them motherfuckers¡¯ hairy sphincters and work at them until they beg for more!¡± Ligur had a lot more machines built than they had originally thought. The lackluster fortifications and short fences thus explained. The old general wasn¡¯t going to defend passively behind walls. ¡°The fuck is his infantry?¡± Sula spat, his mouth dry despite the humidity of the coastal road. Dumont signed for LID officer Bolton to approach. ¡°Make it brief,¡± Sula grunted as he was working on a plan to use Didicus to surround the war-machines and finish them off with a cavalry charge. The first of Bailey¡¯s riders stated arriving near the frontline. ¡°Valens reached the west edge of the East Coast Woods,¡± Bolton reported. ¡°Scylla has regulars there and rangers defending the beaches but their barricades are under water. The fight is at the edge of the woods and the villas across the port.¡± ¡°Can he break through from there?¡± Dumont asked perking up. ¡°The men are exhausted sir. The terrain is under a foot of water and mud, he needs reinforcements.¡± ¡°Can he break through into the blasted port?¡± Sula barked hoarsely and a spasm marred Bolton¡¯s face before the officer regained his composure. ¡°If they brush them aside yes. But not with rangers against infantry,¡± Bolton replied stiffly. ¡°Ugh!¡± Sula grunted and gestured angry in his frustration. ¡°Get Gratian moving,¡± he ordered Dumont after he calmed down some. ¡°Bucket of turds!¡± The Legatus cursed the next moment as he didn¡¯t want to commit his reserve there. ¡°If Valens and Pike enter the port, they can swing around and cut Scylla away from the city,¡± Dumont reminded him and Sula swung around to stare at the battlefield. The whooshing and rattling of the constant bombardment on the desperately seeking cover legionnaires grating to his nerves. ¡°Scylla is regrouping, but the fields are not defensible,¡± he started working the problem in his head. ¡°Even with Vinterfort¡¯s soldiers.¡± ¡°A prisoner mentioned they are under Seneca,¡± Bolton elucidated. It made sense. They were close friends with cities at the Regia¡¯s frontier with Kaltha. ¡°What does Ligur have defending the machines?¡± Sula asked. ¡°We¡¯ll know soon,¡± Dumont replied. ¡°Bailey can scout fast and no machine will fire at a single horse. Usually.¡± Yeah. ¡°Sir Gatrell has encountered legion Cavalry, along lancer units near Worm¡¯s Lake¡¯s thickets. Almost forty kilometers south from the road.¡± Bolton added. What? Sula turned to look at him unsure. ¡°What are you talking about? Why place lancer units so far south?¡± ¡°You mean the rest of his cavalry was there?¡± Dumont asked frowning and then he stared at Sula. ¡°Get me a map,¡± the Legatus grunted and climbed over a part of the first fence to observe the troop movements. He knew the maps from heart anyway. Dumont brought him a pair of field-glasses to help him out. To his south the 1st Cohort under Didicus had left the junction and marched near the main army¡¯s body while keeping an angled heading aimed at the still firing war-machines. Two hours into their initial barrage the volume had slowed down some, but it was mostly due the absence of targets as everyone had found somewhere to hide by now and those that haven¡¯t were dead or bled out already. Bailey¡¯s riders had gathered beyond the machines range, further to Didicus¡¯ north flank not even ten meters away from Sula. Beyond the second line of barricades, the Sabretooth and Vinterfort regulars had reappeared at the edge of the wheat fields but they didn¡¯t look eager to challenge the two dug in battered cohorts. Scylla¡¯s force seemed even more battered and Sula had two ¡®fresh¡¯ Cohorts still in hand. Well, one was marching to the north side of the road inside the woods heading for Valens, but still the numbers were firmly in his favor. Eager or not, Seneca trumpeted his men forward as if pushed by an invisible hand. ¡°Seneca is going to attack Carbo. That¡¯s weird. The men will break,¡± Dumont said standing under the fence. Sula had the field-glasses turned beyond the junction, the matter of mixed cavalry guarding a meaningless copse in the middle of the plains bothering him immensely. Why waste it there? Why not attack our rear, or better yet give it to Scylla to help him defend the city? Where are you Ol¡¯ Scrawny? A cavalry was of course a deterring force also and could act as scouts if you knew where to look. ¡°Nonus?¡± Dumont asked and Sula spotted a fast runner coming from Didicus¡¯ approaching 1st Cohort. The Centurion had an eye on the war-machines to his west and Seneca¡¯s now exiting the wheat field infantry to his northwest. ¡°He can hit Seneca¡¯s flank, roll it up proper,¡± Dumont added nervously because the win was staring them in the face even with the nasty surprise of the machines. ¡°Or we could retreat, wait for the Duke.¡± All needed is a final push. The Vinterfort regulars formed, their north flank reinforced with Sabretooth¡¯s troops and started marching against the fence. The war-machines had stopped firing as friendly and enemy soldiers were now etching closer. Carbo urged his weary men to their feet. The sun slowly retreating beyond the horizon and elongating shades from the woods reaching the bombarded, corpse littered battlefield. There¡¯s barely any light left, Sula thought, hearing Seneca¡¯s men marching in step towards the legionnaires protecting the fence but standing two meters away from it. Carbo will move the first lines back and forth to kill the soldiers going over in small bunches. Rotate with Whitt to rest those about to collapse. Boots thundering on the hardening mud as the temperature dropped some more, sounding like a heavy hammer hitting stone inside a massively deep cave, the boom reverberating on the underground walls. The sound coming from the North and the clad in studded armour men from Vinterfort approaching the second fence and Didicus 1st Cohort that marched fifty meters from Seneca¡¯s exposed flank and stopped facing the flank of his line. Eight hundred and fifty men coming to a stop in a second. Seneca¡¯s desperate attempt at counter-attacking was doomed. And yet the sound of many approaching hob-nailed boots didn¡¯t end there. It persisted. Sula kept hearing it well after the Primus Pilus¡¯ well-trained men halted behind their Scutums, at an ever rising, ever pulsing and unhurried tempo. The army¡¯s heart, the soldiers called it. Is its infantry, Sula thought with a shiver and turned the field glasses towards the source of the strange phenomenon. To the south beyond Didicus¡¯ banners of the 1st Cohort, under the laconic ¡®Triumph¡¯ and his personal red and black Demames square banner embroidered in gold, another set of banners had appeared. They had risen not a kilometer away, behind the tall grass covering the east side of the road. Ever coming closer. Familiar crimson red and likewise square. Not lacking in gold. The Lorian number ¡®one¡¯ (-I-) sewn on the smaller banners, the solemn head of an Alden Blacktiger carved on the larger. Every polished legion helm (a Galea) of the leading the massive in size centuries officers, encased in silver and gold, with thick plumes the color of blood. The 1st Cohort of the I Legio is here, a numb Sula thought gravely, Didicus ordering ? quarters of his men to pivot about-face against the new danger in the background, just as Seneca attacked over the fence not fifty meters away and Lord Scylla advanced on Valens a couple of kilometers away near the shores of the angry sea-size lake. The old man always loses if you seek your triumph, for the win he¡¯ll find inside it, shall turn poisonous and kill him, the witch had said never one to shy away from saying the simplest things in the most complicated of manners.
In reality the Legatus of the First Lorian Legion had been there all along. The Legion¡¯s camp build ten kilometers away from Mercator¡¯s Inn at the edge of the forest hugging Peaceful Lake (its sister body of water called Worm¡¯s Lake not much further to its east) and before the flats of the plains, half-a-day¡¯s march from Islandport. The quick march Ligur had performed on the night of the 10th partially and the night of the 11th fully, when word of Lucius attack at Holt¡¯s Stables reached him.
Interlude Ah, Baron Darvot thought stretching himself on the saddle, the bright snow covering the ground bothering his eyes. He rubbed both gloved hands together, his aide sipping at a bronze flask of black whiskey with his eyes closed. The humidity of the lake cutting through their heavy leather coats and armour. The horse¡¯s warmth pleasant under him but unfortunately the only heat source available for kilometers. Might as well get back to Brownfort, he decided. It¡¯s too fucking cold for smart animals to wander about. They had ventured near the forest between Picker¡¯s River and the muddy road to Pascor, right under the turn south heading for the river port across Bisonville, because game was better there and animals came to this part of the Canlita Sea to spend the winter was the tall tale. Well, they don¡¯t, the Baron decided sourly. The thought of returning to his wife depressing but the cold was too much to endure for no reason. ¡°What the actual frozen fuck?¡± Brugge grunted almost spiting the drink out. The Baron turned his head to look at his right hand man and he pointed with his flask at a spot near the freezing lake¡¯s shores. Darvot blinked, his breath coming out in vapors not helping. Then a naked man came out of the water. Skin black and shredded from neck to dangling cock, the muscles so well defined you could study anatomy on him. Not bulky as much as wiry. Body covered in stitches for healed cuts and gouging wounds. Missing fingers on his left hand and braided hair the color of fire. A half-breed. ¡°Is that one of them Crull bastards?¡± Brugge wondered aloud at the casually walking on the snow covered beach to get his frozen clothes man. ¡°Hey, naked dude!¡± He barked hoarsely and kicked his horse forward. The stranger stopped to glance their way and then proceeded to wear his trousers unbothered. Darvot felt a shiver running through him at the stare and it wasn¡¯t only from the cold breeze coming over the surface of the water. ¡°Are you deaf?¡± Brugge grunted and stopped his horse, a gloved hand on the pommel of his sword. ¡°We don¡¯t like strangers or weirdos roaming into our lands without proper permits,¡± he warned him. The half-breed sucked at his front teeth audibly, mouth splitting into some kind of grimace next. Darvot noticed he¡¯d gotten a battleaxe out of the pile of clothes and armour at his naked feet. The blades on it had seen plenty of use but looked razor sharp and the shaft was covered in strips of black leather. ¡°You better put that thing down now,¡± Brugge added tensely and that grimace appeared again on the stranger¡¯s face. Disconcerting, wolf-like, murderous. Darvot realized that while it was a failed attempt at a smile, it made for a convincing snarl. Witch¡¯s sagging tits! ¡°We are not lookin¡¯ fer trouble,¡± the half-breed said gutturally still sort of ¡®grinning¡¯, the plural forcing Darvot to fumble for his own blade. ¡°Came to the coast, for the road is better here in winter. Plenty warmer too.¡± ¡°The water is plaguing freezing ye crazy son of a snow skunk,¡± Brugge spat in disbelief and Darvot guised another figure rising out of the shallow coastal water. The man equally, actually way more muscular with a wild set of red hair flowing down his shoulders. His barreling torso naked. Head big as a water bucket. ¡°Ye get used to it,¡± the half-breed assured him. ¡°It¡¯s good to travel wit friends.¡± A scared Darvot glanced the other way where the snowed upon trees stood and saw more armoured figures coming out. A lot of them. Some wore similar armour, fine chainmail under leather coats and pants. Others were clad in a mixture of plate and hides. They carried swords and axes. Spears and shields. All shields had a black squid painted on them. ¡°We are looking fer passage. Over the big lake,¡± the half-breed said raspingly and despite his effort to appear friendly there was a whole lot of threatening in his tone directed at them. ¡°Be willing to pay for it. In real coin,¡± he added and the man that had come out of the water after him laughed from his belly thunderously. A roar really, since the mountain of a ¡®man¡¯ was a giant standing near eight feet tall. ¡°Ye can point us Pascor¡¯s way for a fee ¡®n we¡¯ll part on kindly terms,¡± the ¡®friendly¡¯ half-breed continued and stooped to pick up a shirt to put on. ¡°Or we¡¯ll find it ourselves. It¡¯ll be healthier not to entertain other notions,¡± he added with an executioner¡¯s stare at Brugge. ¡°Been a long six months on the icy road, not enough killing for some of the lads.¡± ¡°Milord?¡± Brugge asked him and Darvot ogled his way frustrated. They had been ambushed by over five hundred cutthroats or whatever the blasted fuck they were, in the middle of fucking nowhere. What do you expect me to do here? Send them back where they came from? How? ¡°Pascor is lovely this time of year,¡± Darvot croaked his mouth dry and sweating from armpits to arsecrack despite the cold breeze blasting him in the face. It wasn¡¯t really. Lovely. Matter of fact Pascor was a shitty city during all seasons and twice that on winter. Let Dolf deal with them, he decided. I did all I could.
418. Lorian Plains | Gory Garden
If my loyal Warden of the North can¡¯t be here for my wedding, then I shall expect her fair presence in the Lorian Fields in a year¡¯s time at the latest. If the task appears daunting let me remind your grace that I¡¯ll consider it a favor to Regia. - King Lucius brief reply letter to Zofia O¡¯ Dargan, Grand Duchess of Krakenhall. Winter of 193 NC. Part of the ¡®Iron Duchess¡¯ personal records.
Marcus Antonius Merenda Lorian Plains | Gory Garden
Night of 12th Primus 2nd Cohort, III Legio ¡®Ranger assisted¡¯ forward units 3rd night inside the woods named Tangerine Gardens Lake Hortolanus¡¯ north shores Extended Battle of Holt¡¯s Stables In life¡¯s unbearable monumental dullness one must find something of interest to keep awake and a thread of humor in the horrors following it, a cold and well-muddied Merenda philosophized. But keep the latter from the men. A white owl stared from its high place, mean ogling eyes one finds in an insane asylum until a ranger reached the thick branch and forced the night bird to fly away angry for losing its spot. The watching Merenda blinked to protect his tired eyes from the water dripping down the helm¡¯s rim and spotted a munching Decanus Indus offering him a moldy piece of biscuit, which Marcus Antonius summarily turned down. His bowels needed no further assistance to visit a ¡®latrine¡¯. Sleeping in the mud was all one needed. Centurion Kaeso turned his obscured under a dark bandana head towards the tree, silent hand gesture querying for the number of enemy archers protecting the crews on the roof of the warehouse overlooking the lake¡¯s north approach. Dosser raised one finger. Then two. Goff hiding on a tree ten meters from him near the edge of the woods doing the same. ¡°Sir?¡± Legionnaire Vegetius asked as the first maniple could see the rangers¡¯ attempts to surround the warehouse in the dark. The two units mixing a bit during their shared adventures the previous days. Merenda had kept the 4th Century under Spurius Dio south of the lake to keep up the pressure on Tarcus¡¯ flank. The rest of the Cohort had advanced trying to take over the buildings at the edge of town, but keeping control of the woods had turned out into an elusive endeavor unto itself. The matter dragging despite Merenda¡¯s progress towards the rear and the road towards Mercator¡¯s Inn. Nasica had to deal with cavalry further to their exposed east flank, which unfortunately had in turn kept Logan¡¯s desperately needed here lads to Nasica¡¯s own flank kilometers away. Kaeso had sent another ranger up on a third tree in the meantime. ¡°They have a small Scorpio tacked on the southeast corner,¡± Merenda explained with Kaeso glaring his way for breaking the silence. Marcus Antonius lowered his voice some, but Decanus Domus who had come with the ¡®day supply run¡¯ from the Grass Sea where the Cohort¡¯s rear personnel had remained for days before half-entering the woods also to avoid some of the downpour, spoke afore the Centurion of the 2nd Cohort could continue after his brief pause. ¡°Two Scorpios at least,¡± Domus grunted and pointed at the bolt half-sunk in the trunk some meters to their right. ¡°Nothing small about them.¡± ¡°Now, our dear Domus is not combat ready yet,¡± Merenda said raising his voice as several legionnaires waiting near the outer stone wall keeping the woods away perked up listening into their conversation. ¡°But we shan¡¯t belittle a comrade for it. He just arrived.¡± ¡°They have one at each corner,¡± Domus grunted with Dosser signaling for them to keep quiet as the sound carried over the cleared out land behind the wall. Tarcus had dug out bushes, cut the grass and plowed then flattened the ground so the two large warehouses behind the stables could be used as watch towers. ¡°The rangers have the matter under control,¡± Merenda assured the men. ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake,¡± Kaeso cursed grinding his teeth and stabbed the blade he wore as sleeve over the stub on a tree trunk. ¡°They lit an ole big square searchlight,¡± Dosser warned from his spot. ¡°They¡¯ll see the collapsed parts sir.¡± They had removed sections of the stone wall during the night. It was only going to be useful until the morning anyway or not, Merenda thought and Kaeso ordered his men to fire on the crews on the roof of the south warehouse at his signal. Merenda stood up with a grimace he remembered to change into a confident smile. The moment Kaeso took out the nasties, they were to cross that field and kick Tarcus out of the warehouse. A simple plan can be deceptively lethal. ¡°Spread the word my worried slightly-crippled comrade. For the latter we praise Allgods equally,¡± Marcus Antonius told Domus in his usual manner. The Decanus knew him well-enough not to be offended and just enough to be worried. ¡°We have fifty meters of fine terrain beyond these hallowed plinths. We¡¯ll make it across in no time.¡± A scowling Domus grabbed Lucius¡¯ Tigris-Hominid figurine, kissed it once and then slotted it under his armour, an action Merenda thought was quite-ridiculous but officers were turning a blind eye at the spreading in the ranks practice. Decani Indus, Afer and Polus meting out his orders as quietly as it was possible. It had stopped raining but inside the woods you wouldn¡¯t know it. Time to step onto sturdier ground, Merenda decided.
Dosser, Goff and Arius fired their arrows, several other rangers doing the same from their concealed positions. The moving about searchlight freezing in place and pointing north. Merenda stepped over the collapsed part of the wall they had expanded from two to now six meters wide and walked inside the yard surrounding the south warehouse. He raised his sword and waved it after stepping aside nimbly and Indus with the First Maniple marched inside, followed by the Second, the rest of the 1st Century entering under Afer forty meters to his left from the other opening. Centurion Josi Vala with the 2nd Century ¨Cabout half a kilometer away- would attempt to attack the north Warehouse as well with Centurion Damian¡¯s 3rd Century coming behind them as reserve. Kaeso¡¯s rangers were firing arrow after arrow on the roof and Merenda started the count following after Indus, his eyes on the corners of the large building with the thick stone walls. An arrow bouncing off of a soldier¡¯s helm three meters in front of him and zipping past the Centurion. ¡°Oh shit!¡± Cucan griped and the experienced Vegetius marching somewhere to his right agreed with a weary sigh. ¡°Here we go again.¡± All-hells gates opening right after that.
A stubborn Merenda survived scrap after scrap inside the Tangerine Woods and managed to break out of the trees north of the lake pushing Tarcus east flank back. Tarcus retreated near the fortified buildings at the edges of the town while keeping control of the Lake¡¯s west shores and defending south of it. Sorio who had kept Nasica busy up to that moment and mostly restrained into a policing force, moved 2/3 of his mobile troops west across the battlefield during the night of the 12th. Optio Sorio would hide in the South Coppice to rest for half a day before taking the field again along the smaller force he¡¯d left there. Merenda who had started losing men with sickness from the cold and sleeping in the muddy woods attacked across the whole front. His intention was to reach then cut the road connecting Betto with Ligur and his supplies. Or a possible retreat route. Due to his persistent forward probing actions Merenda had interfered with Prefect Betto¡¯s greater strategic plans and instructions since the start of the battle. Tarcus who was originally to withdraw to Mercator¡¯s Inn on the 10th was ordered to prevent Merenda from ¡®moving even an inch more¡¯ to give Sorio the chance to relocate undetected (and keep the retreating road open). This forced Frugus to leave a weakened century at the center as he had to reinforce Tarcus. With the town thoroughly bombarded for three days it was obvious the men wouldn¡¯t be able to hold for long enough and Tarcus had to be sacrificed as well. Prefect Betto was running out of time and messaged Ligur who was about to engage with Sula in Islandport that reinforcement might be coming late or not in the numbers they had calculated. Ligur ordered him to at least make another attempt to hurt Lucius¡¯ troops with Celsus¡¯ before withdrawing and ordered Regulus who had taken control of the Asturia road to send a full old-type century back immediately and use his faster rangers to prevent the reaction that would surely come from the Duke to secure the coastal woods near the delta from any landings. Whereas Regulus¡¯ had more freedom of movement to react timely, the century he finally dispatched after Boston¡¯s surviving machines -now moving towards Sula on drying fine paved road, although marching fast wasn¡¯t as fast as the mounted rangers. Or able of another surprise attack. Boston spotted them shadowing his wagons and ordered the small force of guards that had been stuck with him, to fight the approaching legionnaires on the road. Some of the crew and civilians were added to this blocking force to give Boston time to reach Sula¡¯s rear while everything not essential was stripped from the wagons to make them move faster. Ligur had managed to keep a tight schedule with many moving parts working decently until then since the officers followed his orders without hesitation and had minimum problems from the Lords or the Council that were busy with the events at Regia¡¯s coast. They had left him unbothered for years. With Lesia withdrawing and Duke Sula finally stopping to replenish his army this changed. King Jeremy who had arrived in Tenor earlier that week brought the throne closer to the battle. While it offered the old general desperately needed reinforcements, it also gave an outlet for the gathering Lords watching the campaign to start meddling with his plans.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Upon learning of Scylla¡¯s failed gambit at the start of the battle King Jeremy ordered Commander Betto (the Prefect¡¯s brother) to march his guards forward to assist. Ligur tackled the presence of the inexperienced officer placing the guards (a portion of the newly formed royal guard was present as well, probably around five hundred men in total) under Seneca as a reserve. The royal guards protested (they didn¡¯t want to fight under Betto also) the matter stalled Seneca¡¯s initial pre-agreed attack on Sula¡¯s battered Cohorts losing an afternoon and Seneca marched with his Vinterfort troops only in the end which failed to break Carbo¡¯s weakened centuries. Ligur had to attack to stop Sula from destroying Seneca and he did much later than he wanted. The King intervened and the guards entered the fight the next day which theoretically didn¡¯t buy Sula anything more than half a day. Ligur who was very cognizant of the thin margins they were playing with was the only officer not in a celebratory mood that evening.
A dreadful cacophonous rumble. The officers¡¯ calls and the men responding. Rows of Scutums approaching then locking up, the sharpened gladii working in the gaps. Clang and bang. Sparks lighting up the dark and hot blood gushing out from open arteries. Whoosh and twang. The iron bolts landing inside the combatants¡¯ lines, carving the packed squares one way. Then the other. ¡°DON¡¯T DO IT!¡± A serious Merenda warned the Scorpio operator looking over the war-machine pointing at him with his sword. A longer blade since he¡¯d received training from his father in his youth, before the latter kicked him out of Cartagen. He traveled to Anorum to continue his studies and Domus had followed him. While Merenda loved studying, he hated sleeping in the student barracks (basically all the Military Academy¡¯s buildings were equipped with legion-produced furniture) and after failing to enlist he¡¯d walked away with a caravan seeking fortune and glory to the North. Many of the men in the 2nd Cohort had followed after the noble-born bastard not because they didn¡¯t have many of those around (they didn¡¯t) but because Merenda had an attractive personality and knew his way around a bill. Men and women loved his stories. They fell prey to his charm and qualities in throngs. Most of the time. TANG! WHOOSH! Ah, Phobos¡¯ cold touch! Merenda cursed recoiling when the bolt whooshed over his head, plowed at the ground two meters behind the dancing on his feet officer and then stopped after burrowing for another two meters. The enemy soldier adjusted the sights some and turned to an unseen friend who was helping him reload the machine. Merenda could see them working up on the roof of the warehouse. Arrows were traveling back and forth, as Kaeso¡¯s men kept trying to clear out those posted there, while the soldiers were locked in front of the building in a death struggle for the last twenty minutes. The field (of about fifty meters) they had crossed earlier, was littered with crippled dead bodies. Those still breathing medics had dragged behind the outer wall. Merenda looked about him for something to use and he spotted a discarded javelin (a pilum), only slightly used. The iron shank on it more than half a meter long a touch bent but serviceable. The Centurion sheathed his blade and stooped to pick up the javelin but got attacked by a legionnaire with an injured arm. He had probably being pulled from the line after receiving the wound but then decided to take a bite at the Centurion much to Merenda¡¯s displeasure. ¡°Eh-umph!¡± The enemy legionnaire grunted ineligibly cleaving at the officer who had to jerk away from the pilum to save his arm. ¡°You crazy dog! Stand down!¡± Merenda ordered irate retreating a couple of steps to draw his blade. The soldier cursed and came at him again not falling for it. Merenda parried the attacking blade aside and clinically carved the man across the face after cutting through the bindings, tip of his sword sending the helm flying away. The mutilated soldier dropped on his knees and a snarling Merenda saw the Scorpio operator twenty meters away and ten above ground appear through the crimson mist ready to fire. ¡°Frothy conium,¡± Marcus Antonius mumbled and two arrows struck the soldier just as he was about to pull the lever. One penetrated his skull through the left ear and came out his right cheek and the other smacked him on the left shoulder. It send him sprawling over the war-machine, a shuddering arm slapping at the lever. The machine recoiled in the attempt to release its iron bolt, but it had been pointed lower than it should from the added weight and the released string took the tangled up dead operator along for the ride. The iron bolt struck the edge of the roof top breaking some of the mortar lip there and ricocheted wildly over a lot of men before dropping two friendlies down. The weapon¡¯s operator was hurled over the roof in a less dramatic, much-shorter flight and crashed awkwardly four meters from the edge of the building despite not touching ground. Nothing weird about that also as he plummeted directly onto the three-row deep enemy shieldwall defending the warehouse¡¯s massive side doors bringing half-a-dozen men down and messing up its south flank¡¯s cohesion. The enemy started losing badly. ¡°Sir!¡± Murena grunted approaching the standing uneasily officer. ¡°Afer asks to add his men into the line!¡± ¡°Ah,¡± Merenda gasped still rattled from the absurd sequence of events. ¡°Did you see what happened?¡± Murena spat a fat blob of phlegm down. For a Cartagen lad (granted born near the Wine Bridge but still) he was quite the savage. ¡°Negative sir. The Decanus asks permission to add¡ª¡± Merenda sighed and grabbed the legionnaire¡¯s shoulder. ¡°He can¡¯t,¡± Murena frowned. ¡°He needs to guard this ¡®lake flank¡¯ since we don¡¯t know what might come up our way skirting around its shores. Do you get it now?¡± Merenda meaningfully added in a deep voice half lost in the general ruckus of hundreds of soldiers duking it out some meters away. ¡°Yes sir.¡± It was doubtful the decorated legionnaire had heard him but he responded to the Centurion¡¯s expression on instinct. ¡°Right,¡± Merenda nodded content and then smacked his lips, glanced at the pilum unsure and then at the de-faced enemy soldier. ¡°Whoa, I¡¯m drawing a blank here comrade Murena.¡± ¡°Want to step out of the open sire?¡± Murena suggested as a couple of arrows landed near them. One almost got Merenda¡¯s foot missing his ankle for a couple of fingers. ¡°FUCKING IDIOT!¡± Someone yelled in a booming voice from behind the wall forty meters behind them. ¡°BLIND FUCK!¡± Not all of them from enemies apparently. ¡°Lead the way comrade,¡± Merenda agreed, since he¡¯d lost his track of thought completely and needed a moment to get his wits back. ¡°Not much of it sire,¡± Murena replied unenthusiastically and marched towards the reserves that waited in testudo formation to protect from enemy archers twenty meters to their right. Everyone was bunched up since the enemy wouldn¡¯t give in fast enough. It was dark of course but the moons had come up, torches were lit on the roof and you could sort of tell where large groups of armoured people stood given the flat terrain. For instance, one such group had popped out of the dark and approached them from the lake side, just as Merenda was about to follow after the legionnaire. ¡°Halt!¡± He thundered squinting his eyes maniacally, an arrow breaking on the top of his helm and shoving him back. Merenda¡¯s teeth almost went clean through his tongue. ¡°Sir?¡± Murena asked and then seeing the enemy legionnaires marching to flank their shieldwall ¨Cnow in the process of pushing those defending the warehouse back inside the building- he yelled twice as loud. ¡°AFER! HOSTILES COMING UP!¡± ¡°Argh,¡± a pained Merenda grunted and unsheathed his sword, switched hands mid-stride, stooped to pick up the pilum and then hurled it at the advancing First Legion''s shields.
Merenda hacked at the Scutum and caught the iron rim at the top, blade bouncing off with a clang. He stepped back, the gladius tearing an opening at the front of his armour and snarled when a legionnaire jumped out of the advancing line to skewer him with a pilum from up close. ¡°Rude motherfucker!¡± Merenda cursed jerking his head aside, the blade wrapping the helm¡¯s cheek-guard. Murena¡¯s square shield stopping the returning pilum just as Afer¡¯s fifty-strong Maniple arrived to block the enemy legionnaires advance. The scrap turned savage. Not that it wasn¡¯t afore. This just gives a more dimensional flavor to it, he thought sourly wiping the blood off of his face with his free hand, still retreating while friendly soldiers advanced past him. Murena¡¯s shield keeping enemy arrows from hitting them. ¡°I want the warehouse cleared!¡± Merenda growled to Domus that had pushed inside the yard with his Maniple abandoning the medics behind. ¡°You need to recall Damian¡¯s 3rd Century from the rear,¡± Domus yelled back at him. ¡°He¡¯s about to march northwest after Vala!¡± Merenda cursed but refused to be coerced into giving ground. ¡°Lucius will push their center in an hour,¡± he grunted glancing at the late night sky. ¡°Damian stays the course and cuts the road.¡± ¡°Allgods darn it sir,¡± Domus protested. ¡°What are you trying to do here? This ain¡¯t a camp, it¡¯s a fucking town!¡± Merenda feverishly examined the two simultaneously unfolding engagements. The west front ¨Cfacing the Warehouse- pushing through the crumbling enemy defense and the enemy flanking south attack ¨Cnow stalled- trying to cut right through their rear and encircle them locally. ¡°Tarcus don¡¯t have the blasted numbers,¡± he insisted stubbornly and grabbed Domus¡¯ shield ¨Cthe Decanus wasn¡¯t fully healed to hold it having suffered two broken arms with only one somewhat useful months later- in order to step into the last row of soldiers himself. ¡°Something¡¯s gotta fucking give.¡± Else we¡¯ll be buried inside this gory garden. While this may sound lyrical in its pessimism to a sensitive soul, Merenda while sort of cultured he wasn¡¯t really sensitive nor a pessimist. So the last part he opted to keep from Domus to keep moral up.
Centurion Vala¡¯s 2nd Century attacked the rangers defending the second warehouse and brushed them aside but swiftly got attacked by two platoons of Sabretooth Regulars just as he entered Holt¡¯s Stables from the northeast that were tasked with keeping the road open. With the road two blocks of houses away Vala widened the front using Sorex¡¯s Slingers but in the ranged battle the now under cover bow-carrying rangers had the advantage. Sorex skirted from alley to alley and house to house but he didn¡¯t have advantage in close combat also as his troops were not equipped to handle the better armored rangers. The casualties staying in humane numbers due to the late time but this changed an hour later. Merenda almost gotten himself killed fighting to keep his main thrust pushing inwards and Tarcus got wounded bad, losing an eye and half-an-arm, trying to prevent him from succeeding. While Merenda had one more Century ¨CDamian¡¯s 3rd- in reserve inside the Tangerine Woods, he had to keep it out of the fight for most of the night fearing Sorio¡¯s cavalry swinging east and hitting their main army. At the crack of dawn, Merenda took control of the warehouse but the defenders had it booby-trapped and set alight as they retreated. With putrid smokes rising and the weather deciding to give them a rare dry spell after days of heavy rain, the situation turned a little desperate with an initially defiant Merenda ordering Damian to help Vala and Sorex instead of himself, utilizing Kaeso¡¯s battered exhausted rangers as his only reserve, until he begrudgingly halted the west advance into the city at the behest of his pleading officers. Half an hour later Nasica¡¯s scouts ventured northwest in a wide arc to locate the missing Sorio under orders from a worrying ¨Cinjured- Lucius who had started attacking Frugus¡¯ center at first light after days of heavy bombardment. Durio had pelted the ravaged town with everything he had, coming up with lethal combinations of flammable pottery, explosive shrapnel bags, excrement, nails, all sizes of rocks and almost four thousand ¡®chained caltrops¡¯. A huge supply train of workers were bringing up leftover Tunnel Pass construction material from the engineers camp ¨Ca small abandoned village-size settlement at its mouth- half a day away as quartermaster Colt put everyone willing to help at work. It was less egalitarian than that but we found a new sense of camaraderie hauling heavy containers to the front until the thoughtful King asked for my assistance sensing my skills were wasted at the rear. Still, the common goal brought gifted intellectuals and the less fortunate closer in a celebration of humanity, the sense of working for a beloved figure¡¯s just cause palpable in the ranks. Nasica found the roaming enemy cavalry and won a fierce engagement in the ¡®Scrap beyond the Grass Sea¡¯ but got injured falling from his dead horse. Despite his injury he refused to abandon the field and messaged the half-winning, whilst half-cut out Merenda that his men outnumbered the enemy two to one which was a reversal of the last engagement two days prior. Believing Sorio might have retreated towards the road to give depth to Betto¡¯s army, Nasica sent scouts out to reach as far west and north they could. By the time Lucius received the later reports, Sorio¡¯s position in the field and role had been discovered. Had Nasica¡¯s scouts followed the road further up north ¨Ca group of them reached there an hour after noon of the 13th- they would have spotted a full Century quick-marching north with Betto¡¯s banner leading them. While the Prefect¡¯s plan had succeeded in the broader sense, it¡¯d gained the minimum out of the ordeal in large part due to Merenda¡¯s insanely bothersome presence interfering every step of the way. The then Centurion had won himself another piece of glory. Still with his Legion fully engaged and unable to advance, Lucius who had by now realized what the distant Ligur was trying to do, had only one fresh unit readily available to assist his thrust into a vicious trap allies and the power of a simple request to an old friend, sent after his wedding to Lady Monica from Asturia. Almost a year back.
419. Lorian Plains | Long farewell
Lucius Alden, ¡®Bloody Tiger¡¯ Lord Lucius Aldenus the third, Praetor Maximus, King Lucius III Lorian Plains | Long farewell
Early dawn on the 13th of Primus III Legio HQ ¡®Field Tent¡¯ (field watchtower & command tent) Army center 150 meters from Holt¡¯s Stables ruined fortifications blocking main street Half a kilometer from the town¡¯s center End of detailed morning briefing for all high-ranking officers or their aides All them men you¡¯ll kill, the mutilated ghost of old Roderick had told him many years back. Some names you¡¯ll remember, most you won¡¯t. They are standing in this field. Far as the eye can see. Dottore Marianus worked on securing the armbrace in a protective sling, a thoughtful Lucius staring at the units placed on the map and Tribune Galio Veturius retouching on the points they hadn¡¯t reached a consensus on again. Trupo and Draco were present earlier but Draco had left along with Durio. The first needed to ride near Lepidus¡¯ Century holding the east flank of 3rd Cohort and the nearest unit to Merenda who was out of range having moved his command inside the forest. The second had left an aide back to inform him of the King¡¯s decision and returned to his engineers to prepare for a potential 4th day of bombardment. ¡°Merenda expects an attack to relieve his south flank,¡± Veturius continued, the pain from his injured arm gnawing at Lucius and his mood worsening the last couple of days. ¡°Centurion Dio reports he doesn¡¯t have eye contact with the rest of the 2nd Cohort¡¯s Centuries so we must assume Merenda has pressed forward yet again.¡± He turned to the aide moving the unit figurines on the map and everyone stooped forward to see where Merenda had ended up according to the latest field reports arriving during the night. ¡°The south warehouse is burning, smoke can be seen billowing over the town center,¡± the aide explained to justify his new positions. ¡°With smoke clouds coming from the north warehouse and nearby buildings we assume at least one Century has made it very close to the road behind the town with fighting inside the town itself underway.¡± ¡°Nasica is scouting north of the Grass Sea,¡± Veturius added. ¡°But I informed Lepidus to create a new east flank in case something slips them by. Brevis with Long and Gaeta can hold the west flank easy. We overloaded that flank milord.¡± Lucius rubbed the trimmed beard on his face with his right hand and the Dottore stood up satisfied with his work. ¡°Leave it be,¡± he finally said. ¡°Antonius¡¯ pincer might cut Betto off completely.¡± ¡°As I predicted, we¡¯ll learn about the Centurion¡¯s personal strategy after the fact,¡± Veturius grunted. ¡°We asked him to control the east flank and he did,¡± Lucius replied tiredly. ¡°Trying to cut the road is an excellent follow up strategy.¡± Veturius grimaced. ¡°He has left Nasica exposed. Someone needs to remind him he¡¯s not running the whole Legion.¡± ¡°Nasica has Logan to his flank and is with a highly mobile professional force. He won¡¯t risk anything. I trust him to know what he¡¯s doing and those two have worked together excellently in the past.¡± Both men appreciate having a lot of room to do their own thing and keep out of each other¡¯s backyards. It was why Lucius had kept them together. ¡°The barricades are destroyed milord. Cement and dirt blasted away and the timber fences broken apart. Shelling has even ruined the gravel roads in some sections,¡± Veturius said changing the subject. Talking about Merenda always pissed off the Tribune something fierce. ¡°Houses on both sides of the street lay in ruins, three buildings deep. Durio only fired catapults and trebuchets yesterday, everything else is out of range unless he brings the machines behind the barricades themselves.¡± ¡°Frugus retreated further inside?¡± ¡°He better,¡± Trupo commented, moving his mustache about. ¡°Else he might not have much of a force left. Seems that way.¡± Nah. ¡°Don¡¯t expect mistakes,¡± Lucius cautioned them. ¡°These are trained officers with long careers and experienced men. They won¡¯t passively get killed by shelling.¡± ¡°Maybe then cease the action milord?¡± Veturius queried and Lucius grimaced. ¡°The men are rested. The weather cleared. They can attack in twenty minutes.¡± ¡°Where are the machines?¡± It was the Tribune¡¯s turn to grimace. He managed it effortlessly. ¡°Blown up to smithereens milord?¡± Not good enough. They had no confirmation of this. ¡°Betto has a lot of horses. We haven¡¯t seen them since Gripa was killed,¡± Lucius reminded him. An awkward silence befell the tent. It was broken from the soldier climbing up the small wooden tower they had erected next to it to better observe the battlefield. ¡°Runner!¡± ¡°See who it is from,¡± Veturius told the silent Ramirus and he nodded opening the rough canvas flap to step outside. ¡°It¡¯s a bit early. I bet it¡¯s from Silvius. Caught him freezing his balls off all night,¡± Trupo commented. ¡°By the way sir, Colt asked to bring the Castrum nearer.¡± ¡°No,¡± Lucius retorted. ¡°But he can pack up what he doesn¡¯t need on the wagons. I was told many have stayed in the old huts there.¡± ¡°Caused a bit of drama with some local hunters¡¯ sir,¡± Trupo replied. He then used both gloved hands to straighten the edges of his great mustache first, afore twisting them back into hooks. One could watch the Prefect doing that for hours as he was that good at it. ¡°Did they have permission to stay in the facilities?¡± ¡°Negative, but it was cozy given the weather Maximus.¡± ¡°Who actually has a say around these parts?¡± Veturius wondered aloud. Technically neither Mercator¡¯s nor Holt¡¯s lands reached that far. Administratively while Asturia and Islandport (of course the capital also) benefited the most from the Tunnel Pass, Storm¡¯s Rest should have the lands, Lucius decided. ¡°The King?¡± Trupo teased him with a chuckle. ¡°Silvius wants the men to march forward inside the town,¡± Ramirus reported returning from outside. ¡°Falx has his men ready as well. The terrain has improved. Frugus has sentries patrolling the road but he¡¯s retreated about fifty meters more during the night. They abandoned this part of the fortifications your grace.¡± Lucius got up to better see the huge map of the local area opened on the table. It was covered with miniature curved soldiers representing units, colored banners and figurines of cavalry or machines. ¡°We know they still defend east near Merenda,¡± Lucius said and moved his index finger over the map. ¡°They control Brushwood.¡± ¡°Gaeta can push inside there with Brevis supporting him,¡± Veturius replied. ¡°Long is on their flanks and has huge advantage in cavalry. As a matter of fact he plays hide and seek with those scouts for a week.¡± ¡°The machines could hide in there.¡± ¡°Durio can shell them for a bit, see if anything flushes out, but machines are useless in a forest milord.¡± That was true. ¡°You think he pulled them towards Mercator¡¯s Inn?¡± Lucius asked. ¡°Milord I¡¯d like a word alone,¡± Veturius retorted gruffly. ¡°For a personal matter?¡± Lucius asked raising a brow. ¡°In a sense aye, milord,¡± the Tribune replied returning his stare steadily. ¡°For me it is.¡±
¡°The IV and III Cohorts should attack milord,¡± Veturius said without mincing his words when they were left alone. Lucius clenched his jaw and turned his right hand into a fist on the table. ¡°If you¡¯re worried about Merenda, it is my intention to reinforce the Centurion,¡± he told the solemn-faced Tribune. ¡°Merenda will fight with what he has available and come out of it with a good tale we shall all have to suffer through for long,¡± Veturius replied gruffly. ¡°The III Legio needs to press forward without delay. This isn¡¯t Oldfort.¡± ¡°The battle won¡¯t be decided here Galio,¡± Lucius said. ¡°With all respect milord, Ligur may outsmart us again down the line,¡± Veturius insisted. ¡°That none had managed it up to now matters naught. He studied the terrain and knows what he needs to do, but we are not as determined these past couple of months. Let¡¯s get this over with.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t keep losing people Galio,¡± Lucius murmured and grimaced trying to move his hurt arm. He¡¯d another cut on the side of his head where the bolt had grazed his helm but it didn¡¯t bother him as much. ¡°I promised Roderick I¡¯ll do my outmost to get you on the throne,¡± Veturius said raspingly. ¡°Most of it is done but the job ain¡¯t finished yet. I¡¯d like to finish it milord. Then we can mourn all you want about all those lost in the attempt.¡± Lucius walked away from the table and stopped at the weapon-stand to pick up Endariel. It was in its custom made scabbard, the polished wide leather belt looped around it. He cracked it open and a child¡¯s voice sang the incoherent lullaby afore Lucius sheathed it again. ¡°What will you do after the war is over?¡± He asked the aged officer. ¡°I¡¯m three and fifty years old,¡± Galio replied. ¡°Reckon as old as Roderick had been at the bridge. I¡¯ll stay with the army milord.¡± ¡°I prefer you in the court.¡± ¡°The lads with you are not suited for court life, even those of higher station,¡± Veturius said. ¡°It¡¯ll be difficult to befriend lords in the Council after spending years fighting them.¡± ¡°I have another system in mind,¡± Lucius admitted. ¡°More secure and army friendly. A way to balance the Council¡¯s power and separate it from the Throne¡¯s. I¡¯ll need people like you to keep the others grounded.¡± ¡°We should attack milord,¡± Galio Veturius said after a moment of silent contemplation. ¡°Ligur won¡¯t tell us his plan but we can make it clear through action and ruin it in the field. He¡¯d rather fall on his sword than fail which is why the king left him to fight the 2nd Foot on his own. He prefers it. He¡¯s not a better general than you but sometimes it doesn¡¯t really matter. Lots of good generals have lost to the fear of losing that tied their hands. An injury or dead friends won¡¯t defeat you sir unless you allow it. You can lead without being in the field. Just get the army going milord. We know what to do.¡±
Commander Percival Gaeta got the order to advance on Brushwood and secure army¡¯s center thrust. He encountered resistance immediately from the regulars covering the treeline. Durio wanted to fire his machines inside the woods, but Lucius ordered Gaeta to engage and Brevis to move up to assist if needed. Long took his cavalry in a wide sweeping arc that reached as far out as the South Coppice ¨Cthe small forest standing four-five kilometers away from the west edges of Brushwood and left a gap there one could exploit to swing around to enter the town from its west side. At the same time Silvius¡¯ 4th Cohort along ? of Falx¡¯s 3rd were ordered to push inside Holt¡¯s Stable and lock shields with whatever forces Frugus had in there. Silvius promptly marched over the ruined barricade into the narrow streets to almost four hundred meters deep before in turn meeting resistance early that morning. Lepidus¡¯ Century was angled to strike at Tarcus force guarding the east barricade and despite the initial difficulty, legionnaires went over it and attacked Tarcus¡¯ defenders that had during the night turned inwards to surround Merenda. The Centurion was still hanging on at the northeast edge of the city, keeping part of Hortolanus Lake and most of the Tangerine Gardens under his control. Some of his units had been in bad condition but he¡¯d inflicted so much damage to Tarcus, his force started retreating slowly under the pressure. Lucius, who had been informed of Merenda¡¯s exploits in the meantime, allowed Brevis to advance the 1st around Gaeta and strike at the edge of Brushwood intending to engulf the whole of Holt¡¯s Stables in two giant pincers. In what appeared to be a last minute reaction, Betto¡¯s cavalry reappeared at the southwest and Optio Long moved to deal with them near the edges of South Coppice. Lucius who was watching with Ramirus from the watchtower the events happening inside the city had just received Nasica¡¯s evening missive ¨Cdelivered a couple of hours late- about the latter¡¯s battle beyond the Grass Sea in the distant east side of the battlefield. He immediately ordered Logan¡¯s warband to advance north whilst hugging the forest in search of the rest of Sorio¡¯s cavalry and for Nasica to scout the open area thoroughly up to the town¡¯s rear or the road. Fearing Sorio might slip out initially Lucius and the III Legio¡¯s officer core didn¡¯t think much of Frugus decision to slowly retreat further inside the city. Brevis who had just reported to Prefect Trupo that his west flank remained clear of any threat from Long¡¯s actions, was ordered to box in the Regulars fighting in the woods with Gaeta¡¯s soldiers attacking with the 1st Cohort all-out. The 1st Cohort marched unopposed with Capito¡¯s 4th Century covering its exposed west flank, reached the edge of the woods and rooted a small force of Regulars guarding the turn but found a full Century waiting right behind them ¨Cabout four hundred legionnaires. Brevis paused briefly to bring Mede¡¯s 2nd Century up to assist the leading 1st Century, keeping Mangas 3rd operating near Brushwood. Then he attacked the enemy legionnaires in a fierce engagement on the flats three hundred meters from the west edges of Brushwood. Brevis had the numbers but this time Betto¡¯s men didn¡¯t retreat despite the unfavorable terrain. They had a reason for it. Decurion Slag who was engaged in a series of small cavalry actions near South Coppice got attacked by a large force of Sorio¡¯s riders. Long initially sent all his riders there to assist him but noticed even more cavalry coming out of the north side of the Coppice heading for the gap between the two ¡®sister¡¯ woods. Celsus elusive horse-drawn war machines had reappeared days after they were last seen in action. Almost forty of them quickly positioned themselves less than two hundred meters from Capito¡¯s 4th Century guarding the flanks of the engaged Brevis. In the chaos of battle few even noticed the enemy cavalry approaching. An alarmed Centurion Capito turned his attention towards the setting up Scorpios but couldn¡¯t do anything else but order his men to dive for the ground. Those that didn¡¯t hear him were cut down in the initial volley. Celsus fired down a straight line with no arc. The second volley ripping through Brevis¡¯ unsuspecting men. In the confusion no one really knew what was going on other than the shocked Capito who ordered his Century forward and against the quick-firing machines. The desperate idea an attempt to reach them as soon as possible and also shield the main group behind him with their bodies and shields. Sorio¡¯s lancers ¨Caround eighty of his best riders led by the Optio of Cavalry in person, the officer himself an equestrian instructor from Aldenfort- who were following Celsus to protect his vital strategic unit, decided to strike the hurriedly advancing Capito and brush him out of the way. Optio Long who was the second person ¨Cwith the King being the 3rd- aware of what was happening at the outer edges of Lucius¡¯ west flank turned some of his riders north ¨Cthe bulk of his cavalry was fighting the now much superior in numbers enemy in the heralded cavalry engagement known as the ¡®Battle of the South Coppice¡¯- and charged his meager force (around forty at the start of the maneuver) across the plains. The Nord cavalry officer¡¯s intention was to blunt and deflect the experienced Sorio¡¯s own 2nd charge (his first attempt had killed Centurion Capito, his staff and all but wiped out the 4th Century), break through them to reach the packed with engineers lines of Celsus¡¯ horse-drawn artillery (around three hundred men) and stop them from approaching and firing again on the now completely exposed Brevis. It was to be one of the most recited legendary charges of the campaign along with Kaeso¡¯s ¡®Mad Dash into Oras Hells¡¯ weeks later.
artist rendition of the battle of the Lorian Plains, distances not in scale, this is the time of Long''s charge to stop Sorio, Right click image to open fully -Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. A grim-faced, pale Lucius lowered the field glasses and all but jumped down the stairs of the watchtower pushing through his guards. Ramirus who was talking with Sirio and Storm Nattas at the base of the three by three wide, six meters tall tower snapped his head around spotting the King¡¯s acrobatics. ¡°Your grace,¡± Ramirus called to be heard as Lucius hurried towards Sir Valens relaxing royal knights twenty meters away and upon receiving no reply ran after him. Sirio followed and Nattas was heard commenting cynically seeing everyone else moving fast away from him. ¡°Was it something I said? A loose fart? Fuck¡¯s sake.¡± ¡°Sir Maximilian!¡± Lucius barked, his heart beating wild. ¡°Help me on my horse.¡± The Knight stood up with a frown seeing the King approaching. ¡°My Lord the Dottore gave strict instructions¡ª¡± ¡°It¡¯s an order,¡± Lucius growled and Trupo approached as well. ¡°Brevis has been caught in the open by Celsus and Cavalry!¡± ¡°Long is there sir,¡± Trupo assured him. ¡°Long is in trouble as well!¡± Lucius barked at the mustached officer who stood back at the rebuke. ¡°Your grace,¡± the arriving Ramirus repeated. ¡°You can¡¯t go. Brevis can handle it. He¡¯ll retreat.¡± Lucius grabbed Nightsilver¡¯s reins but paused to glare at Ramirus. ¡°Brevis might lose his whole command Ramirus!¡± ¡°Send for the Dottore,¡± Ramirus ordered a panicked Sirio. ¡°We¡¯ll have his opinion.¡± ¡°My King, I¡¯ll ride to the Optio¡¯s assistance,¡± Sir Maximilian offered immediately and Lucius realized they were intent on keeping him there. ¡°Silvius is inside the city,¡± Trupo said stiffly. ¡°The general must remain in command for the good of the army. You are in no condition to lead a charge sire.¡± Lucius sighed trying to control his anger and then stared at Sir Maximilian. Baron Velens son nodded once and slapped his knight¡¯s helm cover shut. He turned around, spurs ringing and climbed on his horse, all the knights quickly rushing on their own saddled mounts. ¡°Long lances out,¡± he ordered with a deep muffled voice. ¡°At a fast gallop gentlemen. Follow me!¡± And then they all rode away, iron horseshoes clad hooves plowing at the fast drying up terrain.
Lucius rushed up on the watchtower again, but he couldn¡¯t see what was happening clearly in the confusion that had seized his west flank and spotting the Tribune arriving on a horse ten minutes later coming from the east flank Lucius climbed back down to talk with him. The Tribune had ridden there to be informed of Merenda¡¯s progress. Trupo tackled the Tribune first just as he jumped from his horse and Galio nodded as he was briefed of the news, his wrinkled face showing no emotion. ¡°Anything?¡± Lucius asked the soldier watching with the field glasses up on the tower. ¡°Nothing sir.¡± Eh. ¡°Betto had the machines hidden inside the South Coppice,¡± he told the approaching officer. ¡°They were never in the town!¡± Lucius was angry with himself. Angry for getting hurt and at the feeling he couldn¡¯t control the flow of the battle. ¡°Silvius has cut through Frugus, so he retreated again. He just doesn¡¯t have the men to hold us back. It is not a tactic,¡± Galio informed him. ¡°Merenda rolled up Tarcus¡¯ east flank and has him cut off inside a hostel. In an hour I¡¯ll send another Century to Gaeta or Silvius will be close enough to attack west and strangle the regulars defending Brushwood.¡± Lucius puffed out stressed and then grimaced in pain trying to move his arm, which caused everyone around him a great deal of concern. This infuriated the King who glared at his officers. ¡°People are in grave danger right now gents!¡± ¡°As long you draw breath milord, everyone is safe,¡± Veturius replied earnestly. I wish that was the case, a pensive Lucius thought and stared at the distant flank. Clouds of dust raised there, the clamor of a great battle reaching them despite the distance and the much nearer struggle unfolding inside the besieged town.
Prefect Betto who was with the 2nd Century (parts of the 1st had been sent back that morning to assist Ligur and Frugus had less than four hundred legionnaires inside the town, seven hundred initially with those of Tarcus) assisting the six platoons of Tenor Regulars inside Brushwood (around five hundred men), initially wanted to strike with Celsus inflicting the maximum amount of damage and then withdraw the artillery to Mercator¡¯s Inn. Seeing Sorio destroy Capito¡¯s Century he ordered Celsus to turn his machines on Brevis and fire at them to pave the way for another charge by Sorio¡¯s Lancers. He erroneously assumed Long had been drawn into the Cavalry engagement near South Coppice (it was to serve that very purpose) and after Sorio finished with his charge, the plan had been for the Optio to turn around and destroy Lucius¡¯ cavalry completely. He was aware of more cavalry present in the east but Nasica had been worn out by now after days of riding after Sorio and they could disengage his force or finish it off later if the Croton officer gave chase. Kill Lucius. Destroy his cavalry. Preserve the army. These were the orders Betto had taken with him. Because Betto intended to retreat with as much of his force intact as it was feasible. In the course of the battle much of the 3rd Cohort had to be sacrificed though but for a Century and the Prefect wanted to at least keep Celsus and Sorio¡¯s men safe to use later. Sorio turned around to prepare for a 2nd charge and up until that point for the first time in the battle everything had gone according to plan. No Merenda to block Tarcus and lock him up on this flank. Sorio started his charge down the plains and the open space between the two forests but Long appeared out of thin air seemingly not twenty meters afore he could strike the alerted Brevis¡¯ 1st Century. While Optio Long had performed no magic trick, he¡¯d ridden hard and hit Sorio¡¯s right flank of the ¡®flying wedge¡¯ taking its head off essentially and killing or unhorsing twenty lancers, disrupting as many of those following. Sorio found himself cut off momentarily and he galloped around in the confusion, losing some men to javelins skirting near Brevis. The Primus Pilus pulled the three outer rows of men from the line (around thirty) turned them around and slapped them into a square in less than two minutes. In the pandemonium of many riders getting mixed in or thrown about, Sorio¡¯s disrupted force tried to locate Long but the Optio had kept his men going and was heading for Celsus¡¯ Scorpios. While Sorio did manage to find Long and went after him, not every one of his riders followed after their leader in the brouhaha. Some turned to attack Brevis, who had set up another anti-cavalry square in the meantime and ordered the arriving Decanus ¡®Caligula¡¯ Gata to issue javelins to his first to react 2nd Maniple. The 1st Cohort split into two portions swiftly with some turning outwards (west facing) against Sorio¡¯s cavalry and Celsus¡¯ machines, while the rest continued attacking Betto¡¯s force that started giving ground twenty minutes into the struggle just by pure numbers disparity. The crucial part of the engagement (while some contemporary analysts¡¯ today point to Sir Maximillian¡¯s intervention also at the nearby larger cavalry scuffle at South Coppice) was Optio Long¡¯s follow up charge against Celsus Scorpios. Celsus spotted the valiant legion cavalry officer¡¯s intentions and turned at least twenty machines towards him, with as many as sixty armed engineers rushing to block the charging at the end of their tether¡¯s horses. It is generally agreed that Long¡¯s animals were shot, still they performed a brilliant final action amidst the firing Scorpios. While most of the projectiles were loosed in the blind and missed, Long suffered appallingly as he got struck by two iron bolts at least, losing either both legs or an arm and a leg. He galloped wildly the last couple of meters covered in gore, scattered the engineers and stricken Celsus¡¯ center head on. At least forty engineers were killed or injured in the charge, seven machines were wrecked colliding with horses and smashed bodies, another ten broke apart when their mounts attempted to flee in panic. It was a heroic suicidal feat that disrupted Celsus¡¯ actions and rendered him useless. Betto realizing he couldn¡¯t use the machines against Brevis ordered Celsus to retreat saving what he could and turned around himself. Sorio ordered his cavalry to retreat but few had followed him, less than forty riders initially of the just under five hundred made it out of Holt¡¯s stables (about sixty or seventy arrived at Mercator¡¯s Inn two days later) after the Prefect himself and the battered 2nd Century. In the space of six minutes Betto went from almost winning the local engagement to facing atrocious casualties and total annihilation, as Sir Valens helped turn the battle against Sorio¡¯s remaining cavalry that scattered in the plains. Betto¡¯s defeat in the west flank (it was the flank that hurt Lucius the most in this battle) marked also the collapse of Frugus¡¯ center. Tarcus died hours later from his injuries as Merenda¡¯s men finally cut the road near noon and Frugus while resisting until later that evening inside the town -to buy Betto some more time, was killed fighting to the last man defending an abandoned bakery. Only the Optio¡¯s blood-covered torso was recovered after the battle. The posthumously promoted to Prefect (of Cavalry) and twice decorated famed Nord equestrian, perished having suffered catastrophic injuries aged only twenty five.
Eighteen Months Offensive Evening of 14th of Primus 194, Code named -18 plus 14- Campaign Day 404 Holt¡¯s Stable¡¯s north gates road The west edge of Tangerine Forest ¡°Whoa,¡± Lucius said and Nightsilver neighed stopping near the resting by the road legionnaires. ¡°As you were men. Catch your rest.¡± This he addressed to some that recognized the King¡¯s armour and attempted to stand in salute. Some of the exhausted men near the broken wagon wearing ranger¡¯s armour turned to stare at Lucius wearily. Lucius recognized the clad in dark robes Kaeso sharpening a fancy shortsword he¡¯d taken from Bas Crull years back. The wiry, one-armed Centurion returned his querying stare. ¡°Men and animals are marching north,¡± Kaeso reported casually after Lucius clicked his tongue for his horse to approach the upturned wagon. Tools and some javelin shafts scattered about. An army supply wagon marked with the numerals of the 3rd Cohort, 1st Legion. ¡°Six hundred men and animals. They have half a day head start.¡± A frowned Lucius had just received a preliminary casualty report and the arriving tomorrow with the supply train Colt would give them a better account of the piled dead inside and outside the town. The civilians had evacuated a year back to Croton, but the army was on the move again and wouldn¡¯t stay to liven up the ghost town. The Cohorts forming up behind them near one of the still-standing stables buildings, waiting for the more distant units to arrive from the expansive battlefield. Lucius had come to find Merenda and his mood was grave. ¡°Where¡¯s Sorex?¡± Kaeso grimaced and sheathed his weapon to jump down from the wagon. ¡°Lost a lot of kids in them woods, plenty inside the town as well. Told him there¡¯s no point looking for tags in the dark.¡± Lucius clenched his teeth in a grimace of sorrow. ¡°Merenda?¡± ¡°Should never run a legion,¡± Kaeso said looking at him and then smiled wolfishly. ¡°Or maybe he should. That¡¯s for the king to decide.¡± Kaeso was a weird but very perceptive man. ¡°We¡¯ll catch up with them,¡± Lucius assured him and Kaeso shrugged his shoulders indifferently. ¡°Need no pep talk. Milord,¡± he added with a leer. ¡°We are aware.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t expect a fair fight,¡± Kaeso said. ¡°Goff come with me,¡± he ordered one of his rangers. ¡°Dosser get the rest up and moving. Vacations are over.¡± ¡°You have a bit of time. Rest up,¡± Lucius said awkwardly and Kaeso chuckled. Goff saluted Lucius glumly looking thin and worn out. ¡°Don¡¯t give him hope. We got work to do. Sleep when we¡¯re dead,¡± Kaeso said and shoved Goff forward. ¡°Strugglers to catch up ahead and knife in the back. Or kidneys.¡± Lucius shook his head and watched the ranger moving away in the dark street. Trupo rode next to him a moment later. ¡°We have birds from Asturia. Briefing in ten minutes. The corner villa across the street. Departure of main units set in an hour. Colt will follow half a day behind, but I say a whole day or more if he stalls for repairs or to set up a proper hospital. We need one desperately sir.¡± ¡°Is there time? Can he do that?¡± Lucius queried looking at the mustached staff officer. ¡°Negative sire. Regrettably he cannot.¡± ¡°What are the news?¡± Lucius asked wearily standing back on the saddle. ¡°Pretty bad sir.¡± Lucius had feared that was the case. Ligur¡¯s sideshow was a way to keep them at arm¡¯s length.
Tribune Veturius run a calloused hand over his shorn short white head. ¡°Ligur has control of Lourmar,¡± Lucius said slowly, the insignificant village ¨Ca mere dot on the map- staring at him mockingly. Right at the center of the Green Plains, half-buried in the woods and with a population of three hundred. ¡°Used foreknowledge of the forest paths to sneak near Framtond Bridge and took control of the road.¡± ¡°The Duke lost part of his supply train but Sula¡¯s got wiped out completely my Lord,¡± Ramirus replied, a white-faced Sirio almost collapsing under his table abruptly, the tension crashing him. His uncle found the quill his nephew had dropped and slotted it back into his shaking hand. ¡°Is this confirmed?¡± Lucius asked staring at the sack of wasps Ole Scrawny had tossed in his lap. The distances forbidding to offer assistance. The battle had started everywhere else while he was stuck in Holt¡¯s Stables. ¡°It¡¯s impossible to know exact casualty numbers. Sir Rupert is missing in action. A couple of thousand civilians and artisans. At least five hundred soldiers, plus those lost attacking the bridge,¡± Ramirus said. Six missives had arrived from Asturia and they expected more now that they had liberated Holt¡¯s Stables. ¡°What is the Duke trying to do?¡± Galio grunted. ¡°He can¡¯t break through without controlling both ends of the bridge! In the plaguing winter no less!¡± Keeping them from heading after Sula or whomever escaped the noose. It wasn¡¯t without merit what Lord Holt had immediately done in reaction to the ambush. However costly. ¡°The name of the officer against them?¡± Lucius asked calmly despite his inner turmoil. ¡°Prefect Regulus. Another old head,¡± Ramirus replied. ¡°Prisoners confirm it. Betto was sent here but Regulus is the better officer. Studied in Anorum. Ruinal native, former Optio of the First Legion but he would have never been raised higher due to lowly station. Ligur was given free reign sir. He promoted on merit clearly.¡± ¡°Thugs lay traps,¡± Trupo commented sourly. ¡°A strategic ambush is actually an important class in all military schools worth their salt,¡± Lucius intervened and stood up. ¡°Ligur sealed the bridge using knowledge of the terrain to bring a lot of troops near the Duke undetected. He did it in the middle of winter and flood-season same as we did, because less people roam the lands. Sula moved towards Islandport but he wouldn¡¯t have done it if he had knowledge of troops to his rear. Does he know now?¡± ¡°Not without his train sir,¡± Ramirus replied. ¡°The Duke messaged loyal locals in Islandport to inform him but the port is locked down under martial law.¡± ¡°Can the Duke break out?¡± Veturius asked solemnly. ¡°The bridge is under water. You can walk on it carefully but the current is dangerous and debris might toss a man over and into the deeps,¡± Ramirus rubbed his face. The LID officer was always a thin man but he started to look like a scarecrow now. He was working two jobs basically, filling in for Gripa since Lucius didn¡¯t have the time to pick a new aide yet. ¡°The Duke believes he can take the bridge but he needs the weather¡¯s help to bring any meaningful army across.¡± ¡°He¡¯ll land next to the delta,¡± Lucius said and pointed at the map. ¡°Try to build up enough of a force there to attack Regulus from the north side of the road and push him away from the bridge. This will take time and is always risky. Can he bring men up from the docks he built at Nymph¡¯s Shame?¡± ¡°There are roads leading to Lourmar from there. Hunters use them,¡± Ramirus replied. ¡°All the way to the bridge really but the distance is¡­¡± he puffed out exasperated. ¡°We¡¯re basically closer and on paved road,¡± Lucius said his eyes on the road connecting Asturia with Islandport and then the plains. ¡°Can Sula take the port? Because if he takes the port, the Duke can bring supplies directly there.¡± ¡°Assuming the 1st Legion has only one Cohort available to use there. Sula might still have enough numbers milord,¡± Galio said. ¡°Lord Scylla¡¯s Sabretooth troops, Vinterfort for sure,¡± Lucius counted with his fingers. ¡°Tenor, we faced some of them here. What else can he bring there? How much army has Jeremy brought with him?¡± ¡°Fighting without supplies is Sula¡¯s biggest problem. He needs to solve it,¡± Trupo noticed. ¡°Moving up there was a mistake sir.¡± Eh, it was an undefended boulevard to the enemy¡¯s anchoring port and biggest nearby major supply hub. You can¡¯t just pass at the opportunity. ¡°You can¡¯t defeat a Legion easily. Betto showed us that here gentlemen,¡± Lucius said gravely. ¡°Sula especially will never surrender or give up even he gets completely cut off. He has done it afore at Halfostad, granted against a lesser foe. I can see him punching back and even pushing to take Islandport. If he does then it¡¯s a siege. Ligur needs more men. Where will he find them?¡± Galio grimaced staring at the map. Trupo pursed his mouth and gazed at his hands unsure. Lucius stared at the table surprised they couldn¡¯t see it. Sirio cleared his throat, his pale face gaining some color. ¡°Yes Sirio?¡± Sirio blinked and tried to stand up but failed making a lot of noise and apologizing to the nearby officers. ¡°Just speak from yer seat,¡± his uncle grunted a little embarrassed for him. ¡°He can¡¯t find more troops your grace,¡± Sirio croaked, now sweating profusely. Lucius kept his eyes on the young man and the LID officer visibly shuddered. Trupo filled a cup of water and gave it to him. Sirio gulped it down greedily trying to calm himself down. ¡°So he¡¯ll use what he has available economically?¡± ¡°Lad,¡± Trupo said trying to be polite, his moustache dancing in a silent chuckle. ¡°He¡¯s right,¡± Lucius said and Sirio let out a squealing gasp which surprised everyone. The Tribune rubbed at his forehead troubled. ¡°Betto is heading back to reinforce Ligur and so will Regulus soon I¡¯m certain. He¡¯ll leave a force to hold the bridge for a bit more and then retreat. He might even be on the road already.¡± ¡°But can he defeat Sula before we reach him?¡± Galio asked Lucius. ¡°Durio?¡± Lucius asked and the silently listening Prefect of Engineers stood up. ¡°Celsus machines are built with imported hardwood. Probably Kaltha as the North is selling to us through Sovya and Kas, if I had to guess Scaldingport,¡± he started reading from his notes briefly. ¡°Given the design and numbers we¡¯ve seen here, one must assume that enough material was there for them to experiment with it and come up with new designs. They had the workforce, the means and opportunity my Lord,¡± he added confidently and returned to his seat. ¡°For a level-headed general like Ligur to give permission for a novel type of Scorpio to be produced,¡± Lucius continued the thread. ¡°Then he¡¯d enough or satisfactory numbers of machines already to defend against two legions and a big Duchy¡¯s army.¡± ¡°Any idea of how many pieces of artillery that means milord?¡± Galio asked. ¡°Whatever we have combined. A hundred? More? He¡¯s a practical man. You can¡¯t outnumber an opponent with a bigger manpower pool but you can out-produce him in a certain area.¡± ¡°Sula can¡¯t defend against so many war machines without his own, even with his,¡± Trupo murmured sadly and worked on the edges of his mustache. ¡°That¡¯s how he plans to defeat him,¡± Lucius agreed. ¡°Then he¡¯ll turn around and fight us with as much of his legion survives and I assume he¡¯ll be careful there as well, plus his allies before Duke Holt¡¯s army comes to our assistance.¡± ¡°He can¡¯t defeat us all milord.¡± I would have tried in his stead. Give it my best shot. It¡¯s a risky, brilliant plan. Lucius nodded as he agreed with the Tribune. ¡°I¡¯m not sure he thinks that far ahead Tribune or he cares. This is a plan that needs each step to succeed for it to move forward. Ligur will try to destroy Sula and then roll the dice with us. Whatever happens after or whether he¡¯ll have anything left to face the Duke is a matter he doesn¡¯t concern himself with at this point. This is the definition of doing as much as it is humanly possible to have a clear conscience or perish in the attempt.¡± ¡°I really hope the scrawny bastard has a heart attack,¡± Trupo admitted. ¡°Just drop dead. I¡¯ll say a good word for him in his funeral.¡± ¡°Hope won¡¯t help us nor favorable odds,¡± Lucius cautioned them getting up, the horns sounding the recall for the officers present whilst signaling the Legion was ready to depart. ¡°What we need to do is to defeat him thoroughly in the field and rest assured that is exactly what we¡¯re going to do.¡± Having said that Lucius secretly hoped Sula and his men survived the horrors ahead of them. The thought of losing a legion of people he knew devastating.
With a deep frown marring his handsome face, Lucius clasped everyone¡¯s arm ahead of the journey towards Mercator¡¯s Inn. He¡¯d a few spirited words of encouragement for everyone present. An intimate gesture uncharacteristic to the rulers of yesteryears but then again Lucius Aldenus the Third was much more than that for many of us. To the many remembering him fondly so many years later, he still is. We the faithful, be it friends, followers, comrades and simple people had never said farewell to our Praetor. But even if we had attempted it, the send-off would have been too long and would have never really finished when the first Queen¡¯s words ended that fateful night.
The 3rd Legion departs Holt''s Stables, Betto heads for Mercator''s Inn, Regulus on the move Early the next day (14th)
420. Lorian Plains | Watery graves
Legatus Nonus Sula ¡®Solid Nonus¡¯ Lorian Plains | Watery graves
Near the afternoon of the 13th of Primus, Centurion Carbo pushed back Commander Seneca¡¯s infantry (the father as there were three Seneca present in this battle, everyone commanding troops) but got bombarded relentlessly by the slowly gathering artillery machines of Slaurus and Trifer, who were promoted from Prefect (of engineers) Celsus¡¯ original unit a year prior to handle the large number of fielded weapons. The two large sub-units (about fifty pieces each in a four/six analogy between catapults and heavy ballistae ¨CScorpios- had reached over a thousand engineers and crews housed outside Islandport, complete with their own separate supply train). The machines were set up at the seams (southwest) between Carbo¡¯s and Didicus¡¯ Cohorts facing the plains. The mass of wagons and rear personnel involved in pushing them forward had blocked the road coming from Tenor parallel to the coast-covering Mandarin Forest west of Islandport¡¯s Flooded Bogs region. (Which bordered in turn with its large west district). They had stopped firing earlier that day due to the arrival of Commander Betto¡¯s guards, then stalled some more to allow Seneca to reposition for an attack that was to recover the Fences (the road-controlling fortifications) but had to intervene again when the latter was pushed back, despite Centurion Glycia¡¯s assistance. Glycia¡¯s massive 1st Cohort (around two thousand legionnaires as it followed the old system) had stricken at Centurion Didicus pivoting 1st Cohort but despite initial progress the two large bodies of legionnaires were locked stopping any meaningful advance there. Ligur who feared Sir Gatrell¡¯s men-at-arms roaming free to his east flank had positioned the 3rd Century there under Prefect Memon and Centurion Atticus. This didn¡¯t allow Glycia to use his full numbers effectively against Didicus. Carbo¡¯s famed 2nd Cohort lost two of its four centuries (under Winston Levy and Gavin Page) the 3rd and 4th, in less than twenty minutes -almost to a man. Carbo got injured severely by a hurled ¡®boulder¡¯ that splintered his shield and pulverized his left arm to the shoulder joint but managed to direct in a state of delirium the remaining centuries under heavy fire north through the muddy wheat fields. For the known for his exceptional record under atrocious circumstances Demames officer, this would earn him his highest honors yet in the war. Centurion Whitt who was following after him with the 3rd Cohort (the ¡®Cultured¡¯ from Halfostad) got brutalized in turn and was killed along with most of the 1st Century. The other three Centuries angled away from the road in turn towards the East Coast Woods but had to look for cover and couldn¡¯t move after a while. I Legio¡¯s officer of engineers Trifer, who was closer to their front, brought his machines about a hundred meters forward and fired after them, while Slaurus penetrated the widening gap between the Cohorts and Didicus. He used mostly his Scorpions to fire at the IV Legio¡¯s 1st Cohort duking it out with its namesake of the I Legio causing huge casualties to Centurion¡¯s Lars Montaus 2nd Century (guarding the flanks of the Cohort) killing Montaus and ? of his men. A wayward bolt decapitated the Primus Pilus who had tried to react to the new threat killing him instantly. With Didicus dead, Sula -who was trying to direct Optio Bailey¡¯s cavalry for a frontal assault against the machines hoping to slip them through the chaos and the setting light of the coming night, witnessed the unyielding 1st Cohort of the IV Legio buckle under the pressure whilst getting attacked from two sides. Centurion Publius Surinas of the 4th Cohort took over and ordered the battered unit to retreat beyond the road. The desperate clamor ¡®the First retreats!¡¯ ripped through the ranks of the IV Legio causing great harm to morale. With the 1st Cohort retreating and Glycia advancing packed rows of legionnaires after them, the livid Sula (who must shoulder the biggest blame for the catastrophe despite his supporters glossing over this part of the battle today) ordered Bailey to attack the legionnaires instead. ¡®The moment they step their darn foot on the plaguing gravel!¡¯ were his words according to Bolton. Ligur who had ridden closer to the frontline to deal with Betto and the Royal Guards conundrum personally, spotted the dangerous opening though and ordered Glycia to hold, sending an aide to gallop before the advancing men, running a couple of them down and killing a young man from Aldenfort named Rudus. Glycia managed to stop his Centuries and Bailey¡¯s riders turned away from the forming up anti-cavalry squares of infantry, only to get caught on the open road by Slaurus¡¯ machines instead. A Scorpio bolt severed the wildly giving orders Optio Bailey¡¯s plain war-horse¡¯s hind legs and brought him down. When a stunned Bailey stood up -relatively unharmed- a fifty kilo granite piece of cut rock pulverized his helm afore shoving whatever material was left deep inside his exploding chest cavity. Sula realized he needed to break away from the relentless bombardment or face annihilation and the coming night at least offered him a brief respite. Had Ligur not been tripped up earlier that day the older Legatus might have had another hour of daylight. As he sourly commented that night in the triumphant war council, ¡®I fear we missed our blasted chance. We can¡¯t just expect that nothing shall go against us from here on out!¡¯ No one believed it and the report sent to King Jeremy early that night was heaping praise to all officers for their brilliant conduct and the Legatus personally for a well thought out plan.
The grinded into a ball piece of rock went through a legionnaire, armour, bones and squashed flesh exploding outwards in a crimson mist, bounced off of the ground once and split a wagon in two afore stopping. ¡°GET THAT TORCH OUT!¡± Someone yelled irate and the light was extinguished. Sula was sprinting across the bombarded road towards the first of the trees and paused to glance for anyone left behind but the Legatus was one of the last to seek cover. Prefect Dumont was waiting at the edge of the muddy roots amidst Jacobred and Bolton. ¡°Carbo is cut off in the wheat fields,¡± Jacobred reported immediately upon the heavy-breathing Sula¡¯s arrival. ¡°If he makes it through the night, morrow shall be his last day.¡± Great. ¡°Lots of time until the morrow,¡± Dumont scolded the Sovya officer. Sula used a wet cloth to wipe some of the mud and gore from his face, the left side clenched right at the middle in a half-snarl as if he¡¯d just had an aneurysm. In a sense he had. ¡°We need to pull the 1st Cohort behind cover as well,¡± Jacobred insisted soberly. ¡°Whatever we build by the north side of the road during the night won¡¯t hold.¡± ¡°If we lose the road then the Duke won¡¯t be able to approach,¡± Sula grunted. ¡°What about our own supplies? Boston?¡± Dumont grimaced and Sula noticed a cavalry officer waiting under a tree. It was dark and he¡¯d missed him initially. ¡°The Duke ain¡¯t coming Legatus,¡± Jacobred replied and Sula stood back shaken. ¡°Ligur cut the road across Framtond.¡± He had to clench his left fist to keep his arm from twitching. ¡°How do you know?¡± Sula rustled eyeing the rider. ¡°A patrol found Boston coming up the road,¡± the northman replied. ¡°He¡¯s some hours back still but no supply train and they have Legionnaires after them.¡± This didn¡¯t make any sense. ¡°Ligur has legion at Framtond,¡± Sula said with a grimace of disdain. ¡°Scrofa didn¡¯t make it,¡± the man continued. ¡°Boston tried to stall those after him using some of Duke¡¯s infantry but they failed.¡± ¡°Not if Boston makes it here,¡± Dumont intervened to give Nonus time to process the news. ¡°And he will during the night.¡± ¡°Gatrell needs to keep control of the road until Boston arrives,¡± Sula said and heard a runner approaching through the trees. The soldiers had gathered near the edge of the woods, trying to find rest or treatment for those that needed it. Sula had no idea how many men he¡¯d lost but he couldn¡¯t dwell on it. ¡°If Ligur has army near Framtond then he can¡¯t have as many as we believed at Holt¡¯s Stables given what we faced here.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a lot of machines,¡± Dumont commented. ¡°The Third is too far away.¡± ¡°Lucius will move fast,¡± Sula retorted and glared at the approaching soldier. ¡°Where¡¯s is Gratian?¡± The Centurion¡¯s 4th Cohort had gone after Prefect Valens who was with Pike and his rangers kilometers away. ¡°We entered the port sir,¡± the soldier reported. ¡°The Prefect has taken over some of the buildings. Gratian informs you we¡¯ll attack their infantry early on the morrow.¡± Ah. There¡¯s a twist. ¡°Any supplies in the warehouses?¡± ¡°They tried to burn them but the port is flooded partially and it won¡¯t help them sir. So the Prefect might get something out of there.¡± Good. ¡°We might need to pull the 4th to soar up our defense of the woods,¡± Dumont said but Sula used an arm to wave the suggestion off. ¡°No. Gratian will stay with Valens and Pike. Tell Valens he¡¯s to do whatever it¡¯s necessary to punch through there. We¡¯ll use Marlene¡¯s Nords to attempt a breakout for Carbo during the night,¡± Sula decided. ¡°You¡¯ll attack towards the town?¡± Jacobred asked. ¡°Easier to defend a building,¡± Sula grunted and dismissed the soldier.
The legionnaires were cutting trees down, then used stripped branches to soar up the terrain as despite the weather improving the woods were still flooded partially. He could see the lights across the road where the I Legio worked to bring the machines closer to the treeline taking advantage of the dark. Further to the west Marlene struggled to make contact with Carbo¡¯s Cohort that had been forced into the wheat fields earlier that day. ¡°You might have to recall the 4th Cohort,¡± Dumont rustled standing next to him. Sula had a leg on a rotting trunk, the front of his body stooped half out to watch the nearby lights moving. ¡°Ligur has no legionnaires in the city,¡± Sula argued gruffly. ¡°Valens can push through.¡± ¡°He¡¯ll get cut off.¡± ¡°Inside a port. We¡¯re cut off already. In two days we¡¯ll be eating bark off of the trunks and serve mud-soup,¡± Sula grunted. ¡°I prefer to fight in Islandport.¡± ¡°Move the men then,¡± Dumont insisted. ¡°Let¡¯s get out of the woods Nonus.¡± Sula shook his head. ¡°We can¡¯t give the road to Ligur and he can¡¯t control it with a legion hidden inside East Coast Woods. So he needs to fight for it, keep his men spread out to defend the city. It¡¯s a numbers game and a matter of time,¡± he turned to stare in his friend¡¯s face. ¡°Mark my words Pete. Lucius is coming.¡± He just might not be here while we¡¯re still breathing. The Prefect rubbed his face tiredly, his tunic inundated in soggy grime and his boots half-sunk in rotten leaves and soft mire. ¡°The lake¡¯s humidity might kill us afore morrow,¡± he said simply and Sula grabbed his right shoulder. His fingers pressing and eyes staring at his friend meaningfully. You got to trust me Pete. Come on friend, we¡¯ll get out of this. Bolton approached them interrupting the moment, pale-white skin shining like porcelain in the moonlight that penetrated the dark woods. ¡°Preliminary casualty reports sir,¡± the LID officer said gloomily. His department handled the 4th Legion¡¯s paperwork as Bolton had dabbled as a scribe for Duke Redmond and was the son of an educated merchant out of Armium. ¡°Is Didicus gone?¡± Sula asked sternly. ¡°Aye sire.¡± ¡°Fucking hell,¡± Dumont blurted out. They knew Paulus Didicus since they were kids. An honest Demames lad. It was difficult to fathom he was just gone. ¡°Curse it all.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s in charge?¡± Sula asked hoarsely. ¡°Centurion Surinas of the 4th Century. We might need to raise a Decanus,¡± Bolton reported gravely. ¡°Most of the 1st Century suffered huge losses sir.¡± Sula glanced at the grim-faced Dumont. ¡°Papus. If he¡¯s still breathing.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll see to pass the missive to the Decanus. Marlene is two hundred meters away from the 2nd Cohort by the way but she spotted rangers lurking in the trees. All outer houses of the city are fortified. Carbo is pretty bad is the rumor. Might not make it.¡± Sula nodded. ¡°Listen up,¡± he said loud enough to be heard from those that had gathered around the Legatus¡¯ staff. ¡°All the glory, all the infamy are just sides to the same blasted coin. You flip it one way and its bad, but all smiles on the other. Sure, triumph and horror always lies in wait for me near water. But damn it I haven¡¯t lost yet. We haven¡¯t lost, not as long we can still use our blades!¡±The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°Damn right sir,¡± Bolton agreed his spirits lifted. ¡°We shan¡¯t lay down to die! Ligur will have to come and try to kill us all himself! By the Allgods we¡¯ll make the affair bloody difficult for his boney arse!¡± Sula boomed, his voice reverberating on the moss-covered tree trunks and the pregnant clammy branches.
Sure enough Ligur came and they did.
Thirty kilometers from Islandport Regulus smashed through the exhausted Asturia guards Boston had ordered to block the way for his 2nd Cohort but lost valuable time and the Prefect of engineers delivered forty pieces of artillery to Sula in the middle of the night (the 14th). The Legatus ordered them immediately deployed to cover the road and the engineers worked feverishly to create fortified positions at the edges of the treeline north of the road. Sula used the battered 1st and 3rd Cohorts to create a new front facing the approaching machines of the 1st Legion. Ligur who was informed of Boston¡¯s arrival ordered Sir Silvan Scylla to destroy them before they reached the trees but Sir Gatrell pushed them back yet again and kept control of the plains south of the road. Regulus who was marching up the road coming from the east reported to Ligur near dawn about the happenings at Framtond and they both agreed that the men left behind were doomed unless they won the battle. Ligur¡¯s first action of the night was to order Memon to redeploy the 3rd Century east to cover Regulus¡¯ approach and assist Sir Sylvan. The second was for Slaurus and Trifer to halt their approach of the Scorpios and only use the longer ranged weapons to avoid counter-battery fire from the woods. Glycia moved the 1st Cohort near the road but was ordered to not advance until Betto¡¯s Regulars coordinated with Seneca¡¯s who was waiting for Scylla to clear out the wheat fields for a northwest attack. Scylla had to keep an eye on Valens¡¯ advances inside the port on his northernmost lake-bordering flank, as Pike¡¯s rangers had infiltrated several city blocks deep during the night. Now on dry terrain, house and street fighting broke out. When Gratian¡¯s legionnaires reached the port the Baron¡¯s split infantry got pushed back deeper into the city and Valens gained control of the port before noon on the 14th. Scylla had to pull soldiers from the outer defenses of the city (facing the woods and Carbo¡¯s men) which helped him cordon Gratian in brutal fighting but gave the seriously injured Carbo the chance to order his men to assault the weakened perimeter and break out of the wheat fields towards the first houses of the city. King Jeremy was informed of the happenings, the King¡¯s large entourage had traveled up the road towards Islandport and had camped across Lake¡¯s Watch plateau in the plains near an Inn named the ¡®Dazzling Opossum¡¯ a tiny fishing settlement. Theodor Brakis the 2nd, the Duke of Illirium¡¯s first cousin and liaison in court, urged the King to attack all out against the cornered Sula before Lucius had the time to intervene. Sir Turner who was Lord Ursus liaison (the Duke was imprisoned by Lucius in Cartagen) agreed and so did the King¡¯s Master of Silence Marc Laudus. Sir Doris Alden¡¯s aide disagreed trusting Ligur to know what he was doing but King Jeremy ordered Betto to advance on Sula. Commander Betto marched over the fences and was bombarded by Boston¡¯s machines losing men for no reason. Ligur ordered Seneca to bail him out and the Vinterfort soldiers took to the field again, while Slaurus and Trifer opened fire trying to extricate the entrenched Sula out of the trees. East Coast Woods was to be flattened to as much as three hundred meters deep by the time everything was over.
Battle of the Lorian Plains on the 15th-16th (approximate positions of troops) large map, right click to open fully - Ides of Primus Winter of 194 NC Sula¡¯s 2nd night in the woods Battle of Islandport The round boulder snapped the tree trunk, wood splinters exploding outwards and men ducking behind shields with yells of panic. Everywhere trees were coming down, fifty kilo rocks pulverizing anything standing out, the ground shaking, broken branches whistling by or through men and animals. In the chaos Boston managed to keep his catapults firing but they were lacking in ammunition and in numbers. Sula guessed five to one at least in heavy artillery. Men were cut in half, lost limbs or collapsed on shattered leg bones and torn ligaments. Every volley sounded like an avalanche descending on their ranks or as if massive pieces of hail were falling from the sky. Ligur¡¯s machines were approaching risking it since the difference in volume of fire favored them heavily. Sula could see them repositioning on the road after they paused late in the afternoon of the second day. Scores of Scorpios pushed forward to support an infantry advance. Ligur had cleaned the plains of every rock he could find but hopefully he would run out of ammunition at some point. ¡°Yank everyone that can walk back. It¡¯s about to rain iron bolts. Boston is spent,¡± he ordered Jacobred curtly. The Prefect had half his cheek sliced off by a sharp piece of wood or rock and had the whole mess bandaged so tight he couldn¡¯t really speak. He used Optio Mercator to relay orders until the latter had been gravely injured. ¡°Seneca is going to try again.¡± ¡°Carbo isn¡¯t in the fields!¡± A runner reported ducking at the sound of a catapult shot landing three meters away on instinct. He stumbled and almost went down hands scrapping at the ground, helm flying and clattering away from his head. ¡°Fix that helm soldier!¡± Dumont barked sounding disturbed at the sight but it was mostly shattered nerves and his swollen knee that bothered him for days now. ¡°Has Valens taken the port?¡± Sula grunted a splinter smacking his helmed forehead. It rang his head proper, denting the plate. Could have been a small rock. ¡°He had then lost it. It¡¯s back and forth sir!¡± ¡°Arggh,¡± Jacobred managed to say and put his back on a still standing trunk. Sula glanced at the approaching zig-zagging Bolton. The LID officer had a bloody piece of cloth tied on his thigh but it spurted gore as he walked. ¡°Borealis is overwhelmed. I have the killed officers¡¯ list sir,¡± Bolton told him. ¡°Eh,¡± Sula groaned, he hoped for better news. ¡°Didicus, Optio Bailey, Optio Mercator, Whitt, Levy, Page and their units¡ª¡± ¡°Allgods damnit Bolton!¡± Dumont barked cutting him off. ¡°They are about to advance! And stitch that darn leg, for pity¡¯s sake man yer about to faint!¡± Sula puffed out and glanced at the dressing up enemy lines of infantry. ¡°Why do they hurry my friend? It¡¯s almost night. I think the tide is a-turning!¡± Dumont wasn¡¯t of the same opinion. ¡°They have a timetable Nonus sure but I don¡¯t feel we¡¯re winning here. Apologies Legatus.¡± Come on Pete. Help me out here. ¡°Retreat towards the shores?¡± He asked clenching his teeth in a grotesque snarl. ¡°Wanna fight in water?¡± Sula smacked his lips and eyed his half-sunk in mire boots. ¡°At least they¡¯ll be knee-deep in shit also,¡± he decided. Ligur would never allow his machines inside the woods, not that they are useful there. Dumont unsheathed his sword and set his jaw. ¡°I¡¯ll lead the First Cohort,¡± he told him and Sula nodded. ¡°See you stay alive for a couple of hours sir.¡± ¡°I¡¯m fixing to counter attack with Marlene and Chad¡¯s Century,¡± Sula said stubbornly. ¡°They¡¯ll attack Boston¡¯s crews so I know where they are heading.¡± ¡°That¡¯s two Cohorts out there,¡± his friend reminded him. ¡°Regulus will attack from the east and Glycia from the south.¡± ¡°Motherfuckers won¡¯t see me coming,¡± Sula retorted and tried to smile but half his face was drooping and couldn¡¯t get it right. ¡°I¡¯m gonna lock as many of them up as I can.¡± ¡°Nonus for crying out loud, think of Martha and the kids!¡± Dumont snapped angry. ¡°I am,¡± Sula assured him hoarsely although he couldn¡¯t allow himself to do it not to lose courage. ¡°But we can¡¯t let Ol¡¯ Scrawny to turn around and hit Lucius before he has time to figure out what¡¯s going on. For Ligur to win he must win that first engagement. If he doesn¡¯t then the bloody tiger will maul him without mercy,¡± he spat down, his mouth tasting of foul water and his stomach turning at the taste. He was running a fever but it kept him warm so Sula didn¡¯t bother too much with it. ¡°We mustn¡¯t allow him to disengage cleanly. You take Seneca, I¡¯ll handle Memon and Regulus.¡± And pray Valens survives inside the city and keeps Scylla busy.
Seneca was ordered to advance after two nights and a day of merciless bombardment and bloody skirmishes. He used about a thousand soldiers to do it (four platoons of Sabretooth¡¯s soldiers and a two from Tenor added to his Vinterfort troops) and several teams of sneaking closer rangers since the attack started early on the morning of the 15th. Memon was to support him with the 2nd and 3rd Centuries, the 1st kept in reserve from the center. Seneca could count on Betto¡¯s Regulars and the Royal Guard as a reserve for his attack from the west starting at the fences. Regulus two road-weary Centuries were to advance from the east against Boston¡¯s now useless machines. Ligur asked Sir Rik De Weer to bring his mounted troops towards the center to help Sir Sylvan against Sir Gatrell and Fallon¡¯s slingers that were still holding out in a copse south of the road. Lord Scylla, who had reinforced his Sabretooth soldiers inside the city, tried again during the 14th to dislodge Valens and Gratian but despite repeated attempts, the 4th Cohort remained strong and difficult to deal with. The biggest problem Sula¡¯s legion faced was the lack of supplies (food, ammunition, water and medicine) and the disease (dysentery, bog fever) that plagued the injured men. Ligur had his eyes on the road south of Mercator¡¯s Inn since the first elements of Prefect Betto¡¯s Cohort had started arriving that night. Lucius, according to the worn-out officer, was half a day behind them and had suffered less damage than they had hoped. The old Legatus needed to start redeploying forces towards the new threat but he needed to make sure Sula was out of the fight or dead. ¡®If we can¡¯t finish them off today,¡¯ he told his aides in a war meeting. ¡®Then gentlemen will have to fight them both in the field even this very afternoon. We won¡¯t have the numbers but we shan¡¯t be lacking in spirit and artillery.¡¯ As a matter of fact he got the first part right and gotten everything else wrong, through no fault of his own.
-Interlude- Prefect Rufius Valens Islandport, Morning of the 15th Battle of the docks Streets leading to the harbor, five hundred meters from the city''s center The ranger¡¯s arrow missed, the soldier snapping his head towards the danger only to get another arrow lodged between his eyes, cracking his skull. The conned helm came loose and banged the wall behind him, his body collapsing the other way. ¡°Get them!¡± Valens bellowed and rushed after the legionnaires moving fast across the road, a javelin hitting the pavement afore him splitting a tile in two and almost tripping the officer up. He stumbled, heard a clang and a pained curse, the next javelin taking out a legionnaire and then a flurry of projectiles landed against the enemy soldiers holding the alleys overlooking the south side of the docks. Men cried out in shock, others yelled in pain, a couple of soaked-in-oil torches were hurled their way¨Cone landing successfully setting a soldier¡¯s face on fire- and blades connected in the semi-darkness. The narrows leaving room for minimum tactics. Still the legionnaires of the 2nd Century under Mellitus locked shields and fought behind them which sort of worked. If you carried a Scutum that is. Valens didn¡¯t have one and used his sword to block a spear thrust. The spear clanged on the wall, splinters exploding and pieces of shattered bricks rattling his armour. He slashed half-a-jaw off of his opponent, blood and teeth clattering on the cobblestone. A man grunted taking a spear in the gut and the foul smell of spilt entrails clogged Valens¡¯ air pipes. ¡°They try to push through to the port sir!¡± A soldier yelled a warning and the young Prefect twisted about towards the exit of the alley. Rangers were moving energetically there, arrows whistling back and forth from both sides. Behind the rangers a solid block of spear infantry marched down the large central street towards the port. Scylla was bringing reinforcements, it appears nobody is sleeping tonight, Valens thought sourly. ¡°With me! Your whole file Decanus!¡± Valens barked and run towards the skirmish that had started twenty meters away. By the time Rufius Valens had reached them the main street leading to Islandport¡¯s square and its grey-stone round tower had around three hundred soldiers clashing. Gratian¡¯s 1st Century arriving soon after.
¡°Prefect!¡± The Centurion bellowed curtly as he approached in step with the rest of the legionnaires. ¡°Stand aside or preferably clear that fancy yard of nasties sir!¡± Valens grimaced and guised at Decanus Corvinus. The gaunt Anorum veteran smiled through a week¡¯s growth of wild facial hair and pointed an arm at the broken gates to their left. ¡°It¡¯s a villa. We can flank them afore they do,¡± Kid, the last part the Decanus didn¡¯t say, since the men had come to respect the young Cartaport nobleman as much as his murdered older brother. Valens nodded. ¡°Lead the way Corvinus,¡± he said hoarsely and went after them while Gratian boomed a series of gruff orders behind his back. ¡°PILUMS!¡± ¡°LOOSE!¡± ¡°SHIELDS UP!¡± ¡°DEFEND CHARGE!¡±
The Sabretooth sergeant (of engineers) directing the crew to haul the hefty war-machine near the main street spotted Valens¡¯ file of troops rushing towards them through the yard of the large ruined villa and abruptly ordered the soldiers accompanying them to intercept. ¡°Stop the machine sir. Don¡¯t let it reach the street,¡± Corvinus told him and banged his gladius on the Scutum once to snap the men following them to action. Valens nodded instinctively, ducked under a spear thrust and slashed at an enemy soldier¡¯s exposed thigh. Another blocked his blade with a heater shield and shoved him back. The Prefect slipped on a flower bed, dried up bright yellow dandelions crashing under his boots and cried out when he got kicked savagely in the ribs. He tumbled on muddy expensive tiles, men shouting obscenities and blades clanging rhythmically on shields. Head ringing something fierce, all sounds coming muffled and distorted. The crew working hard to slot an iron bolt into the machine. Son of a bitch! Valens rushed the final meters, parried a sword aside and cleaved at a shield, the blade biting at the metal rim. His arm turned numb and he had to step away from a spear thrust, only to step into a shortsword wielded by the sergeant. The thin blade lodging on his chest and right lung flooding with blood. ¡°Ueh!¡± The angry sergeant spat in his face and a half-blind Valens run him through with his sword on instinct. The enemy officer went down mortally wounded, the Scorpio fired its bolt and it whipped past the injured Valens¡¯ dipped shoulder afore it ripped through Corvinus¡¯ line of shields killing three legionnaires and scattering the men. ¡°RELOAD!¡± Another engineer barked hoarsely, men rushing to slot a new iron bolt in the semi-darkness and everyone inside the yard locked in a bitter fight. Or incapacitated. They are going to break through. Valens willed himself to move but his knees buckled, blood coming out of his mouth and chest where that shortsword was still lodged on. The young officer dropped to his knees, the sound of savage struggle intensifying just as the first rays of sun appeared on the clearing sky. I can¡¯t do it Declan, he thought miserably thinking of his slain brother and their poor mother. Both her sons buried in watery graves by the same cursed lake. Through his blurring eyes the despaired Rufius thought he saw the almost a thousand kilos war-machine flying through the air as if kicked by a giant. 421. Lorian Plains | Cold-skinned lady’s hand
The Duchess, sends her regards. - ¡®Devious¡¯ Dirk Curd¡¯s famed response to Legatus Sula¡¯s query during the battle of Islandport Winter of 194
Dirk Curd ¡®Devious Dirk¡¯ Lorian Plains | Cold-skinned lady¡¯s hand
Summer of 193 NC Oldtrees Forest Somewhere near Unalen River Unclaimed Far North lands - The direwolf kept his hate-filled yellow eyes on him, low-guttural growl emanating from the beast¡¯s belly. A scarred belly this, the cut badly healed and pelt leaving a pale gush running across the large predator¡¯s ribs. Dirk remembered that scar and the weapon that had caused it. The Direwolf remembered it as well but kept his distance looking for another opportunity to settle the old score. Stubborn beasts they were, he thought returning the lone predator¡¯s stare. Slow to forget and resolute in keeping a grudge for years. Like people in a sense. Plenty of them were holding a blood grudge against Dirk as well. Some for no reason. Others justly. Most probably. ¡°He¡¯s been following us for weeks,¡± ¡®Wicked¡¯ Manfred rustled, dark beard protruding down his cracked from the weather face. Eyes like the wolf¡¯s only darker. Ye got to wait for yer chance, Dirk silently warned the lurking beast. ¡°Following me,¡± Dirk replied with a grimace and eyed ¡®Rash¡¯ Ludolf approaching from the river. The half-breed was Manfred¡¯s cousin or some other relation. Dirk hadn¡¯t asked but they were rolling together for years. Mostly robbing and killing merchants going back and forth from Krakenhall to Rockfort, much as people with their skillset do absent another legitimate task. Even if they have one. Manfred was sort of a named fighter and Ludolf had plenty of killings under his belt as well so they had a good thing going. Zofia had pardoned them to bolster Dirk¡¯s ¡®warband¡¯ and Dirk had come to trust them sort of to do the jobs, Captain O¡¯ Leary¡¯s soldiers were reluctant to do. Now, come to trust them, didn¡¯t mean to Dirk exactly what it meant for other people. But Manfred feared Zofia since the outlaws that had refused her ¡®amnesty¡¯ call, the Duchess had skinned first, then beheaded and used the leftover material to dress the inside of her gloves and boots. Zofia had no mercy for anyone going against her wishes. ¡®Used it all up for yer likes,¡¯ she frequently griped to him when in her cups and feeling all sentimental. ¡®So they get to pay fer what ye did.¡¯ Ah, damnation, Dirk thought. The love-hate relationship probably the best thing that ever happened to him. ¡°What the fuck is that?¡± Manfred cursed and got up axe in hand. Dirk grimaced and turned to the west away from their camp, caught a glimpse of a pale arm brushing a tall branch away and then a hairy, wiry naked torso appeared. Long red beard flowing down his broad chest and wild curls of hair blowing every which way to the slight breeze. The crude spear he carried almost three meters long but not towering over the tall Nord by much. ¡°Frozen fucking testicles,¡± Ludolf agreed mouth hanging open. Dirk put his hand on Manfred¡¯s fist to sheathe his axe and stepped forward. ¡°Hey, ¡®Big Svan¡¯,¡± he greeted the Nord half-giant. ¡°How¡¯s the waters this time of year?¡± ¡°Plenty of hammerheads still,¡± Svan replied and looked at the half-breeds with interest. ¡°But yer friends are eating everything, so Ulf is concerned.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll pay for using the river,¡± Dirk assured him. Svan pointed at Manfred¡¯s axe and the half-breed furrowed his brows. ¡°Good metal this. Nice glow to it, eh?¡± ¡°Steel.¡± ¡°Pay wit steel ¡®little Curd¡¯?¡± ¡°As much as you want. Zofia rules in Krakenhall,¡± Dirk replied and two more impressively massive Nord warriors came out of the ancient whitebark trees. ¡°That¡¯s ¡®Bear¡¯ Willard and ¡®Old Trunk¡¯ Willard, Ulf Willard¡¯s friend and cousin,¡± Svan explained. He was a Willard as well. Ulf¡¯s son. ¡°How many Willards are there?¡± Manfred queried eyes ogling comically. ¡°Everyone in Willard¡¯s Clan,¡± Svan explained. ¡°Is young Zofia important now?¡± ¡°She always was, reckon the lass is a bit more of that now,¡± Dirk replied nonchalantly. ¡°We won¡¯t stay long but I¡¯ll make sure you get your steel weapons.¡± ¡°Where are Zofia¡¯s men be heading?¡± Svan asked just as ¡®Bear¡¯ removed the axe from a nervous Manfred¡¯s belt to have a better look at the blade. ¡°Across the big fresh-water lake.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°She gave her word to the Lord that helped her some seasons back. Now enemies look to hurt her friends.¡± ¡®Big Svan¡¯ nodded with his large head. They all listened for a while to the northern wind whistling through the ice-covered woods. Summer didn¡¯t much penetrate inside the forest but it was a calm wind this, half-pleasant. ¡°The Oldtrees of winter heard yer words,¡± the Nord rustled in his baritone voice thoughtfully. ¡°Yeah? What did they say?¡± Dirk asked him curious, since this part he¡¯d never figured out. Gods and trees just wouldn¡¯t talk to him. Curd didn¡¯t give a damn about them, perhaps that was the reason. ¡°Assist the cold lady of Krakenhall for she would rule the North,¡± Svan replied with a shrug of his broad shoulders and Dirk decided that this sounded like something Zofia would do. - Six months later Smuggler¡¯s Beach Canlita Sea south shores Three kilometers from the Flooded Bogs, four from Islandport The ¡®Back Roads¡¯ of Mandarin Forest. Moored Pascor¡¯s Fleet ¡°Fucking leeches,¡± Captain Veber cursed and used a small curved knife to cut one off of his calf. ¡°You¡¯d think the locals would maintain the facilities a bit better given the usage.¡± ¡°What usage be that?¡± O¡¯ Leary asked, clad in his Krakenhall chainmail. The rest of his soldiers standing neatly in groups ready to march inland. Curd¡¯s men were more loosely gathered on the beach with ¡®Big¡¯ Svan and his people cutting up fruits from the trees. The fruits were bitter and wouldn¡¯t be eatable for several months but the Nords were munching on them with gusto, some even tasting the soft bitter leaves right out of the branch. ¡°The trading kind,¡± Veber replied keeping it vague. O¡¯ Leary frowned. ¡°Why not use the docks facilities? This looks hastily built.¡± Veber glanced at him seemingly disturbed at his query. ¡°Mercator taxes the fuck out of everything. The Duke has the same nasty habits.¡± ¡°So what¡­ What habits?¡± O¡¯ Leary asked unsure, the Captain basically running a similar system in Krakenhall. Veber was talking to the police essentially. ¡°That sounds¡­ Doesn¡¯t Pascor export or trade with Asturia officially?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Veber replied eyeing the Captain of the Guards with a hefty dose of suspicion. ¡°All the fucking time.¡± ¡°Can we cut through the woods?¡± Dirk intervened. ¡°In small groups,¡± Veber replied. ¡°I have a couple of lads that are about to¡­ move some stuff in the city. Given the circumstances we have to check first then deliver. You can go after them and get a feel of the situation.¡± ¡°Or use the road,¡± Dirk added. ¡°Sure. Just know the road has nosy patrols. They frown upon mysterious wagons sneaking about and I reckon they¡¯ll behave in the same unreasonable manner to armed soldiers.¡± ¡°The Duke promised to support us,¡± Dirk reminded him. ¡°He¡¯ll get iron delivered at an excellent prize, well below market value.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll be here. Supporting. We¡¯ll douse your lads¡¯ wit positive energy.¡± ¡°Manfred,¡± Dirk grunted. ¡°We¡¯ll venture towards the city, skirt around the bogs. O¡¯ Leary will march up the road during the night. See you make good time Captain. We¡¯ll meet you outside the city.¡± ¡°How do we tell friend from foe?¡± O¡¯ Leary asked. ¡°I¡¯ll head there first. See if we can skirt around or what not,¡± Dirk replied curtly. He didn¡¯t like Zofia being friendly with the young captain. All this ¡®old acquaintance from back home¡¯ bullshit tales rubbed him the wrong way and he was going to address the mater at some point sooner or later. ¡°You¡¯ll know more when I do,¡± he added.
¡°Well?¡± Manfred asked crooking his mouth -right then left- more than two hours later, the first huts leading inside the west side of the city a hundred meters away. A whole lot of ruckus coming from the lit up port and the plains surrounding it lively, to say the least. Luc ¡®Vender¡¯, the smuggler they were following after had no relation to their Captain despite the names sounding familiar, thought about it. He had just returned from a meeting with some local ¡®collaborators¡¯. ¡°I have some conflicting reports from a ¡®friendly¡¯ tolls sergeant,¡± he finally said. ¡°What about?¡± Manfred grunted as he¡¯d enough of the Pascor merchant¡¯s bullshit. ¡°Another legion is in the city. It¡¯s a warzone.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you scumbags say back in Pascor that the King¡¯s men have taken over and it¡¯ll be smooth sailing?¡± Dirk rustled. ¡°Which is why we got dropped in the back end of nowhere!¡± ¡°Mercator has taken his ships to Asturia, the Duke sealed the harbor and here, Scylla is running things now. Or was to be more precise.¡± Dirk had no idea what he was talking about. ¡°Fuck is he?¡± Ludolf grunted similarly confused. ¡°A Baron? Anyway, trade has been suspended for security reasons or some crap, but while those were the news we were privy back home, it appears that while we traveled the other Legion came inside the city,¡± Vender explained. He paused to light his pipe but Dirk grabbed his hand and crunched it audibly, corking it one away then the other. The smuggler dropped the pipe down with a pained cry. ¡°Continue,¡± Dirk urged him calmly, but it came out a threat. ¡°See you make more sense this time.¡± ¡°Sula attacked but Ligur was expecting him so it¡¯s a mess now,¡± Vender mumbled glaring at Dirk for the abuse. ¡°Sula is with Lucius?¡± Manfred asked a little confused with the names thrown about. ¡°Aye, but different legion.¡± ¡°Ligur has one as well?¡± ¡°Ayup. He supports the king. The other king.¡± ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake,¡± Manfred cursed. ¡°Now what?¡± ¡°Let me think about it,¡± Dirk retorted angry. ¡°What¡¯s to think about?¡± Vender protested. ¡°There¡¯s fighting in the city and outside of it. Let them duke it out and we retreat to our cove until all this blows over! There¡¯s a lot of fucking army in them fields Curd!¡± Manfred looked at him, Svan coming out of the trees to see what the holdup was. Eh, Dirk thought thinking of Zofia¡¯s orders. How am I supposed to figure this one out lass? ¡°Does this sergeant know the position of everyone in the field?¡± He asked Vender. The smuggler had stooped to pick up his pipe with a scowl. ¡°He might not want to tell for free,¡± Vender spat. Dirk wasn¡¯t worried about that. ¡°Just call him over,¡± he replied and turned to talk with the Nords that were about to enter the city. ¡°We¡¯ll see if we can reason wit him,¡± Dirk added. An hour later Ludolf tossed the sergeant¡¯s mutilated body in a back alley and Manfred smacked his lips looking at the woman that was staring at them through her closed window. The small hut one of many at the edges of the city. The sight of hundreds of armed foreigners gathering at the outskirts of Islandport¡¯s west district had spooked her. ¡°Leave her be,¡± Dirk warned the Northman. ¡°This Sula has a painted mountain on his shields?¡± Svan asked. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s not dwell on that,¡± Dirk retorted. ¡°They are situated in ¡®em woods on the east side of the harbor. The other Legion is across from him at the road coming from Asturia. We have men from Sabretooth, that¡¯s the wild dogs sigils and probably Alden troops in the city. That be Regulars with fancy red plate and tigers on their chests.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the camp O¡¯ Leary found on the road?¡± Manfred asked. ¡°That be the war-machines camp. They are with Ligur.¡± ¡°So O¡¯ Leary takes over the camp?¡± ¡°Ayup and holds the road from Tenor,¡± Dirk replied. ¡°So we can retreat towards the ships if this turns tits up. You Pascor motherfuckers are gonna help out or not?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll guard the beach,¡± Vender grimaced. ¡°We barely have the men for that.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve almost two hundred marines snorting and farting on them ships,¡± Dirk retorted. ¡°I can¡¯t commit the Duke¡¯s men to such a foul business!¡± Vender protested and Dirk considered backhanding him. Shove that pointy jaw down his gullet. ¡°The Duke is fine with using them for smuggling stuff though,¡± Manfred pointed out gruffly. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t use that term around Lord Dolf Northman!¡± Vender warned him and Manfred chuckled aloud.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. ¡°What term? That¡¯s what yer darn beach is called fer pity¡¯s sake!¡± Ludolf griped. ¡°Unofficially,¡± Vender elucidated setting that jaw. ¡°Right, be that as it may,¡± Dirk started thinking it through. ¡°We¡¯re here to assist the Duchess¡¯ friends. So we need to crack open a path through the city and see if we can alleviate the pressure on Sula.¡± ¡°Then what?¡± Manfred asked and the closest of the warband listening in had the same reaction. ¡°What am I? A fucking seer?¡± Dirk admonished him soberly. ¡°You¡¯ll move towards the wheat fields, see if ye can catch the machines napping. Go towards the lights. If ye can¡¯t, you¡¯ll swing towards the city from the south. Give us a plaguing hand!¡± ¡°What are you going to do?¡± Manfred asked curious. ¡°Get Svan and his lads inside, see if I can break through towards the city¡¯s center and the docks. Make contact with Sula¡¯s men.¡± ¡°We should take the city. Men are experienced in this shite,¡± Ludolf argued thinking of the loot. ¡°Listen up you sons of whores,¡± Dirk grunted irate. ¡°Anyone not following my orders I¡¯ll shorten at the knees with a cleaver! No ifs or buts and no pleading fer mercy. I don¡¯t do that shit! Ye get that? Then I¡¯ll tell the Duchess all about it. You better pray yer dead from blood-loss afore we return!¡± ¡°We¡¯re a long way from Krakenhall Curd,¡± Manfred replied gruffly. Dirk reached for his axe. ¡°That sounded awful lot like a challenge. Why, look at all them shields readily available to make a circle,¡± he told the grimacing Northman. ¡°Yer in luck. I¡¯ve just had me blade sharpened. I¡¯ll test it on yer ugly head.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just making a point Curd.¡± ¡°Me too. How about it? Get the muscles all worked up?¡± ¡°Ha-ha,¡± Svan guffawed. ¡°Fight!¡± He roared. Manfred took a step back and raised his hands. ¡°Ain¡¯t fighting ye,¡± he rustled nervously. ¡°Get yer sorry arse out of my face!¡± Dirk snapped angry and then glared at the rest of the warband. ¡°Don¡¯t even think of making a mess of this. I¡¯ve enough of you motherfuckers boasting in me ear for months. There are enemies in them fields. Go kill them all!¡± ¡°Kill them all?¡± Bear asked furrowing his thick brows. Eh. Dirk glanced at the towering Nord. ¡°Just follow me lead.¡± morning-noon of the 15th
With Sula¡¯s tired men defending valiantly but retreating all across the forest line, Prefect Valens and Carbo¡¯s large force that was holding out against Lord Scylla got cut off inside the city when Marlene¡¯s warriors got smashed by Seneca¡¯s attack the morning of the 15th. Ligur ordered Trifer and Slaurus (located in different spots on the battlefield) to disengage and reposition towards Mercator¡¯s Inn to deal with the soon to arrive Lucius. Slaurus did, but was stalled for a couple of hours since despite Memon¡¯s repeated assaults Fallon¡¯s slingers and teams of cut off rangers defended inside the copse almost to the last man. Sir Gatrell was cornered between overwhelming forces (that were Sir Sylvan¡¯s cavalry and the Scaldingport men-at-arms.) He retreated to save his command and the 4th¡¯s remaining Cavalry that had joined with his Sovya riders, urging Fallon to break out across the road but the scouts¡¯ officer refused initially. Glycia, who was pivoting east in the blasted part of East Coast Woods to wipe out Boston¡¯s crews met with Regulus¡¯ advancing Centuries. They discovered the spiked machines but not the engineers that had slipped away towards Canlita¡¯s shores deeper inside the woods. Seneca had to stop as Sula counter-attacked with the help of Centurion Chad and ask for reinforcements. It was obvious to those in the field that the 4th Legion was performing a fighting retreat towards the flooded part of the forest and the shores. While Ligur considered how to disengage his legionnaires and navigate the King¡¯s Council repeated interfering with his battle plan, things took a surprising turn that caught everyone flatfooted. Three or four platoons of Krakenhall¡¯s Regulars under Captain O¡¯ Leary (around three hundred plus soldiers), alongside two hundred hardened warriors under ¡®named¡¯ half-breed Dirk ¡®Devious¡¯ Curd who was oath sworn to the Duchess of Krakenhall Zofia O¡¯ Dargan (rumored also her lover) and an unidentified number of members of Willard¡¯s Clan -an obscure race of gigantic wild men living deep inside the massive Oldtrees Forest- perhaps between twenty and forty, landed at ¡®Smuggler¡¯s Beach¡¯ outside Flooded Bogs some kilometers from Islandport. Dirk Curd had used Pascor¡¯s Fleet to cross Canlita Sea after coming to an agreement with Duke Dolf a month earlier. They were supposed to land in Asturia but Dolf and the Grand Duke were in disagreement due to an incident that had happened in Bisonville during the summer and ordered Captain Veber to drop the Northmen (large number of half-breeds, Lorians and even Issirs were present) to Islandport. With the harbor closed Veber unloaded them at the frequently used by Pascor outlaws Smuggler¡¯s Beach (it is difficult to differentiate officials from outright criminals in Dolf¡¯s court) with the idea being that they¡¯ll never see them again. Dirk forced the Captain to assist him to navigate the Back Roads and learned of the new developments probably that day. While we have no records of his plans, motives or anything concrete written about the life of the controversial enforcer today other than the absurd manner in which he died, it is generally agreed through the 4th Legion¡¯s diaries that he decided to split his force. O¡¯ Leary attacked the poorly defended artillery camp and took it over, while Dirk¡¯s warriors collided with the pivoting Trifer who was (like Slaurus some kilometers away) trying to relocate towards Mercator¡¯s Inn. Curd with the wild Nords entered the fiercely fought over city.
- Dawn of the 15th Islandport city center Lord Scylla¡¯s rear headquarters Battle for control of the docks Dirk walked nervously towards the guarded barricade, axe in hand and sweating like a fat pig. His boots were thudding on the paved ground of the square but the sound was drowning in the brouhaha coming from every alley and the ravaged city itself. While his steps were sort of muffled though, the Nords following him made a lot of god darn noise. A sergeant saw them approaching, blinked in shock and the kid he was talking to -it had brought a cart with foodstuff to the sentries- shrieked at the top of his lungs. ¡°We are here to assist¡­¡± Dirk started raising his left arm in a friendly gesture but a monstrous spear made out of oldwood whipped past his head and skewered the sergeant through the torso alike a trout. It lifted him clean off the ground, over the cart and hurled him four meters back until he stopped on the timber wall of the barricade with a loud bang. The kid fainted abruptly and collapsed cracking his skull open on the lip of the cart. He was dead afore he hit the ground much like the sergeant. ¡°Ah, unholy damnation,¡± Dirk gasped taken by surprise and a troubled by something Svan stopped next to him, while ¡®Bear¡¯ hurried to retrieve his ¡®spear¡¯. ¡°We keep the steel we find?¡± The Nord asked in his calm baritone voice and a numb Dirk nodded. ¡°Door is closed with a chain,¡± Bear informed them and pointed at the gates of the barricade that cut the square in two portions. A sentry patrolling the walls cried seeing them gathered under him. ¡°Hey! Who goes there¡­? What the actual fuck!¡± He cursed, then shouted as loud as he could. ¡°TO ARMS! INTRUDERS!¡± ¡°What?¡± Svan guffawed just as Bear jumped upwards lithely and speared the sentry between the legs to bring him down over the passageway. ¡°Can you kick the doors open?¡± Dirk asked him while Bear lowered the skewered groaning soldier down to squash his head with a heavy boot. Two more sentries rushing towards them from the parapets. ¡°I may need ¡®Old Trunk¡¯ and yer help. Let Bear deal with the rest of them,¡± Svan admitted sadly and Dirk nodded still numb with how the whole matter had unfolded. He wanted to sort of sneak in initially. ¡°Sure. No problem,¡± he replied hoarsely, just as Bear grabbed a climbing down the stairs soldier by the foot and heaved his screaming body back over the other side of the walls. Eh.
A heavy-set armoured soldier came leaping through the air over an upturned wagon, mouth wide open and growling like a mad dog. Dirk saw him there, murky figure traveling in the air, heard the great roar in his ear, then Old Trunk¡¯s custom made cleaver frayed into the soldier¡¯s ribs and flung him back, gore gushing out of the cavernous wound like wine out a cracked flask. ¡®Big¡¯ Svan sprang forward from a beefy leg, crude iron blade whooshing as he hurled it with a drawn out cry putting his shoulder behind the mighty chuck. The blade tumbled front to back, zipping across ten meters in a gasp and disappeared inside a soldier¡¯s chest, hurling him two meters back, the protruding blade nailing an officer¡¯s arm to his stomach. Dirk saw none of that as he¡¯d ducked under a longsword, darn edge of the blade clipping part of his earlobe after going through his helm and hacked at an ankle in the blind, while screaming obscenities. He stopped to defend against the officer¡¯s friends, turning his foot inwards to better grasp at the tiles, but found a half-rotted cabbage with his sole and twisted the wrong way instead. ¡°Eargh!¡± Dirk cried out and swung his axe back, catching a blade with a clang coming for his head. He arched the weapon on the return to keep the soldiers away whilst spinning about in full blown panic, eyes ogled wide and pale lips split in a gnarly snarl. Just once he wanted a scrap to go smoothly. Dirk longed for easy kills. A quick-footed soldier parried his weapon, stepping closer and turned a sword to cut him across the face. Dirk wanted none of that so he grabbed him by the throat, snapping his left arm forward and got hit under the armpit instead, over the mail. Felt a couple of ribs move about and it made bile rise to his throat but he took it over the alternative. The soldier pulled his arm back to try again much as people do in these type of situations, the sharp blade sawing at the chainmail, while a ferociously snarling Dirk shoved his fingers deep into the man¡¯s soft skin with a fresh surgeon¡¯s enthusiasm but none of the skill, until it gave and hot blood splashed him in the face. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Svan asked in his booming voice and a confused heavy-breathing Dirk turned his eyes on the rest of the square, a torn bloody piece of his opponent¡¯s trachea still in hand. Barely saw the iron bolt zipping towards them from the alley and spearing ¡®Bear¡¯ through the chest. The giant Nord took two steps back with a groan of pain, a look of surprise in his hairy face. Well, fuck an ice-duck, Dirk thought sourly and started running towards the engineers that were heaving the heavy machine out of the alley to better aim at his group.
Them kin of wolf-bitches are working fast as all-fucks, a sprinting Dirk thought seeing them setting the machine down at the mouth of the alley to try again. ¡°CU-RSE YER MO-THERS!¡± Curd growled, managing a doused in spittle syllable with every heavy stride and chucked his war axe to the crew surrounding the Scorpio. A soldier stepped in front of it wielding a heater shield he raised to protect himself and the screaming weapon wedged on it cracking the wood above the boss. Smacked him in the face next cutting his upper lip and breaking four teeth, the soldier¡¯s head snapping back violently. The soldier stumbled to his feet, the engineer right behind him reaching for the winch lever, another slotting an iron bolt inside the slider. Dirk arrived a second later just as the engineer¡¯s fist closed around the tube and absent another plan ¨Che was still fumbling to get his sword out- used the bleeding soldier with the shield to block the path of the projectile. He crashed on him and the man was hurled back, the bulging sharp point of the iron bolt piercing his back right at the spine. The soldier shuddered, men cursing amidst the screams as the Scorpio nudged back with a creaking sound without firing and tried to hit Dirk with the shield that had his axe still stuck in it. Dirk got the nasty smack on his right shoulder with a grunt, pulled his numbing arm back and then punched the man right at his bloody mouth, knuckles loosening a couple of more teeth in the gory gap. The soldier¡¯s legs gave under him, but the bolt still stuck in his spine kept him upright and Dirk stepped to the side to reach one of the crew that was thrusting with both arms on the injured man¡¯s back to dislodge the hapless soldier from the machine. ¡°Ye rotten bastard!¡± the livid Lorian growled, nailing Dirk¡¯s parentage even though he¡¯d never met the man and got a shortsword out to knife him in the cracked ribs. Dirk put his blood-covered right hand on his opponent¡¯s wrist, left still scrabbling to get his own blade out and the engineer retaliated punching him squarely at the jaw, sending Dirk¡¯s helm flying. The named half-breed spat a tooth out, a cut on his gums bleeding, brains rattled and elbowed the engineer under the left eye breaking the cheek-bone there. Caved half his face in. The engineer was hurled back with a pained cry and his friend kicked the soldier on the arse to dislodge him from the machine, reaching for the lever again when the latter collapsed to his knees dead. Dirk¡¯s sword came down afore he could draw it and chopped his arm right at the wrist, the blade going through bones and tendons, then striking the mechanism sending sparks flying. ¡°MUAARRGH!¡± The engineer groaned, mouth opened wide to show the rotted molars, gory stub spraying blood like a broken hose and Dirk slashed him across the neck to shut him up yanking the sword back in an arc. The momentum twisting him around and having spent himself rugged in the last twenty intense minutes of fighting, Dirk went sprawling down the granite tiles covered ground. He almost slashed his own face off with the sword.
¡°Aah,¡± Dirk groaned in pain from the ground and felt a huge hand grabbing his hurt shoulder to lift him up. ¡°Not the shoulder.¡± Svan stared at him gravely. ¡°The big arrow pierced Bear¡¯s heart,¡± he told him and Dirk nodded grimacing, injured in too many places to concentrate. ¡°Luthos hand eh?¡± No, it was the fucking engineer. But he¡¯d taken care of that hand. ¡°I¡¯m not sure he could have survived anyway,¡± Dirk grunted and tried to get his axe back from the shield. ¡°He would have. I survived a tree falling on me. Got impaled by the branches. Not in the heart though.¡± ¡°Right,¡± a numb Dirk stared in the wild Nord¡¯s face. ¡°Apologies for yer loss.¡± He got nothing to counter that. ¡°Svan needs to make this right. Old Trunk agrees. You stay here with ¡®Little Bart¡¯ and his warriors.¡± ¡®Little Bart¡¯ was a huge man close to six feet seven but that wasn¡¯t as impressive for Willard¡¯s closest kin. ¡°Yeah, I need to reach Sula¡¯s lines. We stay together big guy,¡± Dirk grunted, blood covering his jaw. ¡°Damnation. I think a rib just came loose.¡± ¡°There¡¯s fighting coming from this paved path. Where do you think it is heading?¡± Svan asked, a sad-looking Old Trunk moving Bear¡¯s body near the square¡¯s oak trees in the background. Around thirty soldiers slain around them, broken tables, maps and chairs tossed about, plus the sentries they had to kill to get through the gates twenty meters away. Dirk cracked his pained neck left and then right. The scarred warrior spat a bloody blotch down next, pieces of tooth mixed in and tongue lodging in the gory gap in his gums afore he replied all serious. ¡°I¡¯ve no blasted idea.¡± He was supposed to land in Asturia for crying out loud. Dirk knew fuck all about Islandport.
Dirk Curd with his relentless warriors (one wouldn¡¯t be remiss to mistake them for ¡®Hulking¡¯ Layton¡¯s close kin) penetrated Lord Scylla¡¯s rear lines overrunning his headquarters and butchering his staff taking no prisoners. It wasn¡¯t a fluke as with the exception of Captain O¡¯ Leary no other unit in Dirk¡¯s force took any prisoners. At any rate, he reached Prefect Valens, the latter had been gravely injured earlier that morning (he would barely survive the battle but lose another brother before everything was over) and helped the 1st Century under Gratian to secure the docks in a brutal fight. Then Centurion Gratian¡¯s fierce forty-eight hour dogfight (along Pike¡¯s house to house tactics) inside Islandport¡¯s narrow streets and neighborhoods is required reading for officers coming out of Anorum¡¯s academy today. Lord Scylla had to retreat towards the northwest and the bogs effectively getting out of the fight for hours as he tried to regroup his scattered forces. This gave the 4th Cohort the chance to connect with Carbo¡¯s cut off 2nd when it turned south to break out of the city. Carbo was still breathing but was seriously injured as well and without supplies for two days. Gratian kept two centuries inside the city to defend against Lord Scylla and prepared to strike at Seneca¡¯s larger force that was advancing inside the East Coast woods. Since he had no recent knowledge of the developments in the battle or contact with the Legatus¡¯ staff, Dirk agreed to leap through the wheat fields to locate Marlene¡¯s warriors that were still defending near the edge of the woods. ¡®Wicked¡¯ Manfred who was leading the bulk of Curd¡¯s warriors (O¡¯ Leary along Kent De Vent was with Krakenhall¡¯s guards two kilometers west of the city on the road to Tenor) mauled Trifer¡¯s artillery catching them on the move and killed everything that breathed be it soldiers, crews or animals. The fate of the Lorian officer of engineers is not known. The Northmen in their frenzy didn¡¯t even destroy the machines but turned towards the city where they stumbled upon a rangers detachment guarding another camp (probably a rear hospital according to most sources) butchering anyone they found there also. Manfred slew fifty nurses (the number is disputed), several army dottore, communication officers and rear personnel, putting to the blade even civilians (at least seventy locals are still unaccounted today) from Islandport that worked with the 1st Legion. Ligur who had ridden south before noon to meet with Prefect Betto and coordinate the clearing of the south plains facing the road from Asturia with his aide Centurion Memon wasn¡¯t aware of the development. Everyone assumed the silence coming from the city or Trifer himself as natural given that the engineer had been ordered to redeploy like Slaurus (the latter was further to the east and also running late for different reasons) and was probably on the move. With the seriously battered Sula (the Legatus had been ill with fever for days and had suffered paralysis on the left side of his face) forced to retreat deep in the woods and getting bogged down near the coast, Ligur was focused on moving his units on the battlefield to tackle the next crisis missing the one unfolding behind his back. He ordered Regulus to leave a century near the road on Sula¡¯s east flank and bring the rest of the 2nd Cohort south towards Worm Lake forest. Glycia pivoted the intact 1st Cohort and started marching towards the fortifications built west of Peaceful Pond at the north exit out of Mercator¡¯s Inn. The intention was to join with Prefect Betto¡¯s remnants of the 3rd Cohort, Sorio and Celsus creating a front that was to attempt to stop Lucius. Seneca was ordered to halt his advance on Sula, coordinate with Scylla to secure the city and then detach at least half his force to reinforce Ligur¡¯s west flank near 1st Legion''s massive war camp. The latter order given at the end of the missive sent to Seneca was to break the news of something catastrophic happening to their rear, along the disaster that befell upon the 2nd platoon of the King¡¯s Guard marching under orders from King Jeremy to reinforce Commander Betto. The latter regrouping behind Seneca unaware of the buildup of enemy forces to his north flank about ready to burst out of the city.
Eh, that¡¯s a mighty bulky woman, Dirk thought, a savage cough moving his innards about dangerously, a bandage covering half his jaw, another wrapped around his neck and the left ear. He¡¯d opened his hand at the knuckles where he was missing a couple of fingers so Dirk had to bandage that too. With the sun strong above his sweaty head, he sort of missed his helm the most. ¡®Big¡¯ Svan pursed his lips at the sight of the clad in plate armour, ugly and covered in layers of lard and muscle female standing at the edge of the woods and glaring their way. The massive Nord looked quite impressed with the sword carrying ¡®big¡¯ woman. Dirk spotted an axe sheathed on her back along two daggers. Red hair cut short which made her ears pop out alike a mule''s. Had someone told him this was a female troll, he wouldn¡¯t have been surprised at all. ¡°Fuck yer ogling at, ye blasted hillock of stupid?¡± She snapped angrily at the leering giant. ¡°Valkyries bring the summer sun out,¡± Svan replied all bucolic lyrics and shit. ¡°Warm a man¡¯s cock also is the word.¡± The woman narrowed her eyes, she had a scar on her face from nose to forehead badly stitched. ¡°All that muscle but no brains. Yer not exactly a looker mate.¡± ¡°We¡¯re looking for brave Marlene,¡± Dirk sugarcoated his query figuring it was her. Why, how many big, ¡®fleshy¡¯ warrior women could be roaming about in the woods of Islandport? Or any port? ¡°Ugly is me moniker,¡± Marlene retorted eyeing Dirk like a bug as if taunting him to make a joke about it. Curd had no intention of doing that. ¡°Who are ye? Run through a door or something?¡± ¡°Something,¡± Curd rustled and waved for his men and Wilard¡¯s Nords to calm down. There were armed Northmen getting out of the trees now behind Marlene. ¡°Name¡¯s Dirk Curd.¡± ¡°Only Dirk Curd I know is a piece of murdering scum and a turd,¡± Marlene hissed with a frown that seemed to arouse Svan who smiled showing two rows of donkey-sized teeth. ¡°Reckon that¡¯ll be me,¡± Dirk replied honestly and she whistled. ¡°Yer not as tall as the tales,¡± she noticed raising a brow tauntingly. ¡°But yer friends are, what gives? Are ye lads any good or is that a lie too?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll tell ye another time,¡± Dirk grunted and put a hand on Svan¡¯s broad chest to stop him from going after the woman. Whether to wrestle or bed her right there amidst the trees Dirk didn¡¯t know but was pretty sure Marlene would have taken issue with the big Nord¡¯s advances. Folk are not as nonchalant about stuff as the Nords in Willard¡¯s Clan. ¡°I need to talk wit Sula. Inform him that Gratian has control of the docks and we¡¯ve a path opened towards the city,¡± Dirk added and the warrior woman nodded sobering up. ¡°Follow after me plump arse. See ye don¡¯t get lost or stumble over a trunk. Plenty of that in the forest,¡± she grunted and ¡®Old Trunk¡¯ who had been sulking after Bear¡¯s death, found her words hilarious. His manic roar put the fear of Uher in Marlene¡¯s warriors but thankfully nothing came of it.
Dirk remembered Sula from Rockfort a minor officer then, but the compact Legatus of the 4th Legion seemed like a different man now. He still had that washed out blond hair, but his face was all messed up, his left eye half closed as if he had been kicked in the jaw by a mule. Still Sula stood up, planted both feet solidly on the ground despite being shorter than Dirk and examined the approaching group solemnly. All things considered Sula was much wider in the shoulders than the wiry half-breed and built like a solid square dresser. His eyes were shining, forehead covered in sweat. The Legatus stared at Svan and his people unfazed for a moment, then at Curd¡¯s armour and sigils afore asking in a rasping tired voice. ¡°What are these squids doing here Marlene?¡± Dirk pressed his mouth tight and stepped forward which caused the officers near the Legatus to tense up. ¡°This is Dirk Curd. He¡¯s here to help,¡± Marlene explained edgily stepping away from the looming over her leering Svan. Sula nodded as if it made sense somehow, a bitter expression distorting his face even more and then returned his haunted blue eyes on Dirk. ¡°The Duchess,¡± Dirk rustled hoarsely, trying to sum up everything that had led to this moment after months of traveling and lots of killing, in as fewer words as possible. ¡°Sends her regards.¡± And that was that.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 422. Lorian Plains | For Regia (1/2)
Lucius Alden, ¡®Bloody Tiger¡¯ Lord Lucius Aldenus the third, Praetor Maximus, King Lucius III Lorian Plains | For Regia Part I -The King¡¯s speech-
Dawn of 15th Primus 194 NC, Eighteen Months Offensive Code named -18 plus 14- Campaign Day 405 The III Legio sets up before Lonely Marsh, a kilometer from Mercator¡¯s Inn Ramirus saluted the briskly walking Lucius, who was followed by Centurion Merenda. The 2nd Cohort''s leading officer had spent the energetic march near the King of Regia. Lucius reached the hastily setup Field Tent and glanced at Sirio that was lighting up the two large oil lamps hanging by the rafters over the maps table. At the center in black chalk was the map of Mercator¡¯s Inn redrawn the previous day by the LID Officer with the help of Prefect Trupo to include the most important landmarks and the changes Ligur had done to the surroundings. A small town built on the flats it was a central location as it stood hours from Islandport and half a day from the village of Lourmar to the east. Lucius had ordered Nasica ¨Cthe cavalry officer was injured but remained in the field- to scout as far down the east flank as he could and check on the road towards the village. Logan was to arrive there within hours if he hadn¡¯t already and reclaim it if it was possible. In the even that he couldn¡¯t, Logan was to monitor the situation and cut the road until Croton¡¯s advancing through the forest troops reached the village to assist him. Lucius could do nothing about that front as it was too far away from them. Logan had to manage it himself but it wasn¡¯t a critical part of the battle. Duke Holt had messaged them that the assault on Regulus¡¯ guarding the bridge forces would begin on the 16th and he had amassed enough soldiers across the bridge to march them over despite the waters being relatively high still. ¡°There are fortifications reaching Windbreak Woods to the west,¡± Ramirus started when Lucius took his seat. Stone walls erected cutting the road but Kaeso reports that the sentries retreated in the city when they approached.¡± ¡°Abandoned them?¡± ¡°It seems so.¡± Lucius pressed two fingers above his left brow to alleviate some of the pressure. He used his right hand to do it as his left was in a cast still. ¡°Ligur hasn¡¯t redeployed yet. Betto should have been here already,¡± he murmured. ¡°He¡¯ll defend nearer to Islandport. Probably has Celsus hidden near the woods bordering the houses east of the city?¡± ¡°Not enough men to cover the front?¡± Trupo guessed. ¡°Sula is still alive,¡± Lucius said and looked at Marcus Antonius. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t surprise me,¡± the Centurion agreed with a smile. ¡°That¡¯s days of pummeling from Ligur¡¯s artillery,¡± Ramirus said a little unsure. ¡°If he gained a foothold in the city or retreated north towards the woods above the road,¡± Lucius explained. ¡°Then that¡¯s enough cover between him and the machines. For a while.¡± Trupo brushed his mustache thoughtfully. ¡°Do we rest the men or attack the city immediately?¡± He asked Lucius. ¡°Brevis with the 1st Cohort will stop at Windbreak Woods,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°Sir Valens will swing west around the coppice and scout the terrain while Kaeso searches the woods for any surprises. Order him to do it immediately.¡± ¡°Brevis is missing Capito¡¯s Century,¡± Merenda pointed out. The 4th Century of the 1st Cohort had been almost wiped out with 129 out of 150 members dead or gravely injured along with Capito. The Centurion had been killed defending Sorio¡¯s charge. The same engagement had caused the death of Long. Dixon¡¯s 2nd Century of the 4th Cohort had suffered serious casualties with 98 out of 150 dead or badly injured by Celsus¡¯ horse drawn machines the very first day of Holt¡¯s Stable battle. ¡°The 1st Cohort can handle the west flank,¡± Lucius replied standing firm on his decision and Merenda shrugged his shoulders. ¡°The 2nd Cohort will support Silvius¡¯ 4th in the center,¡± Lucius continued and Merenda furrowed his brows as he¡¯d taken him from the flanks. ¡°Falx and Lepidus will manage the east flank and secure Worm Lake woods.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a gap there,¡± Merenda argued. ¡°I¡¯m aware. The 2nd will advance towards the Peaceful Pond woods Antonius,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°You¡¯ll guard Silvius¡¯ east flank and flush Celsus out. Durio will be with you.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t think they¡¯ll hold in the town?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a resort town, large streets, big houses standing quite apart,¡± Lucius explained. ¡°Very flat terrain. Nah, he¡¯ll guard the other side with the woods on his east flank and the road towards Islandport behind him. Hit us as we come out of the settlement and from the sides.¡± ¡°He might have forces between Peaceful Pond and Worm Lake woods,¡± Trupo cautioned. ¡°It¡¯s possible but this is a wide front to cover adequately,¡± Lucius paused to think about it some more. ¡°We need information on Sula¡¯s condition. If the 4th Legion is still in a position to bother Ligur, then our old Legatus will have his rear exposed.¡± ¡°He could angle and retreat west towards Tenor,¡± Ramirus intervened. ¡°He has to concentrate his forces or we¡¯ll keep on marching after him,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°Ligur will fight here or not at all. I¡¯m fine either way.¡± ¡°Well then,¡± Trupo decided and eyed the sweating Sirio keeping notes of the meeting. ¡°This was almost boring. Right lad?¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t use the same wording Prefect,¡± Sirio murmured. ¡°This is quite nebulous and exciting.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a learned lad so it makes sense to think that,¡± Trupo agreed. ¡°See that you don¡¯t weave too much bullshit in the report though to liven it up. This is the army. We like our wording to stay consistent and boring. Exciting is the opposite of what we need.¡±
¡°Stay Antonius,¡± Lucius said when the officers departed to relay the King¡¯s orders to their units and oversee their movements during the night. ¡°I have to get the boys rolling near the stone fence.¡± ¡°Domus can do that. You¡¯ll promote him to Centurion. Murena will take the spot of Decanus in the 2nd Cohort. They earned it. Especially Domus.¡± Merenda pursed his lips in silence. Then he scrunched his jaw. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I understand. The 2nd has enough Centurions Praetor.¡±The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°Don¡¯t get defensive,¡± Lucius scolded him patiently and got up with a grimace of discomfort, his arm a constant bother. ¡°I need an officer to fill Gripa¡¯s position.¡± ¡°I see.¡± ¡°It¡¯s good that you do. That means less drinking,¡± Lucius said returning his stare. ¡°Wasn¡¯t aware the general¡¯s staff were under such an ascetic curfew,¡± Merenda seemed unsure despite his attempt to make light of it. ¡°It¡¯s a promotion Antonius. You¡¯re to be a Prefect of the 3rd Legion. An aide to the Praetor and advisor to the King of Regia.¡± Merenda nodded. ¡°Your lack of enthusiasm is concerning Prefect,¡± Lucius pointed out. ¡°Far from it. I was just hoping to lead the 2nd Cohort your grace.¡± ¡°You shall. Do I have to convince you? I¡¯m not asking you to retire Antonius.¡± ¡°Absolutely not. I appreciate the opportunity,¡± Merenda puffed out. ¡°It was unexpected my lord.¡± ¡°Antonius what¡¯s the matter?¡± Lucius asked and walked up to him. ¡°Nothing. I¡¯ll find my footing sir. You honor me,¡± the officer replied and touched his fist on his chest. ¡°Ehm, I guess I¡¯ll get to pick a better horse sir,¡± he added. ¡°Of course you shall. You are an exceptional officer. Brave and decisive in the field. You see the whole battlefield and not just what¡¯s in front of you. This isn¡¯t unearned by the way if that¡¯s what is worrying you,¡± Lucius assured him. ¡°I like you as an officer as much I like your company Prefect.¡± ¡°Enough to rethink the no-drinking policy sir?¡± Merenda asked with a smile, his confidence returning. ¡°I¡¯ll pretend you didn¡¯t ask that,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°Now, give me your opinion on the coming struggle. What do you think Ligur¡¯s next trick will be?¡± ¡°Unless he has more forces in the field,¡± Merenda noted with a glance at the maps table. ¡°I don¡¯t think there¡¯s much more he can do sir. I¡¯ll be on the lookout for Cavalry action on the flanks.¡± ¡°Mmm,¡± Lucius agreed with a nod. Horses were the only thing they were lacking to cover both flanks adequately, which was why Lucius had Sir Maximilian¡¯s knights in the field alongside young Decurion Jago Davy.
Silvius 4th Cohort aka ¡®Macrinus Lads¡¯ under Prefect Draco (three relatively intact Centuries, the first under Silvius, the third under Jason Gordon and the fourth under Caleb White, with the surviving fifty legionnaires of the Second under promoted Centurion Joss as their reserve) entered Mercator¡¯s Inn the morning of the 15th. They scaled the stone wall and marched towards the first villas with the corn fields to their east. The two platoons from Tenor that guarded the street retreated towards the houses at the shores of Peaceful Pond and the woods near Celsus¡¯ remaining Scorpios. Draco ordered Silvius to stall for the newly promoted Prefect Merenda to reach the 2nd Cohort under Centurion Domus (another field promotion) and move them forward through the corn fields. The Second Cohort aka ¡®Sula¡¯ or ¡®Blue¡¯ the second oldest unit in the 3rd Legion was supported from Prefect Durio¡¯s engineers and their war-machines. Merenda kept his distance from the unseen Celsus (everyone suspected him to lurk near the slopes of Peaceful Pond¡¯s east banks amidst the tall cedar trees) and nothing happened until the afternoon when Durio approached close enough to shell the enemy positions. At the flanks, Kaeso cleared the woods of any hostiles without any incidents and his mounted rangers loitered near Sir Valens cavalry in front of Windbreak Woods the fortifications of First Legion¡¯s Castrum visible at the north edge of town. Brevis moved the 1st Cohort over the abandoned barricade and marched west of the villas pausing a couple of kilometers behind the supporting cavalry roaming northwest of their position. Nasica reached the Word Lake woods but received slingshot fire and had to fall back. Falx¡¯s 3rd Cohort aka ¡®Lucky¡¯ or ¡®Purple¡¯ moved to assist him, bringing four Centuries and Sorex¡¯s slingers along. Lucius rode to the front, Gaeta¡¯s Cartagen Regulars taking their positions as a strategic reserve at the center and visited all flanks, officers positions etc while observing the gathering enemy forces arriving from Islandport. Ligur had the bulk of his forces at the center, Glycia¡¯s 1st Cohort holding the road running between Peaceful Pond and the elongated Castrum, with Prefect Betto and the 3rd Cohort to his west and Regulus¡¯ advancing 2nd Cohort parking in the flats between Worm Lake and the woods of Peaceful Pond to block Falx and Lepidus. While the latter were the more famous of the ¡®Lucky¡¯ Third¡¯s officers, both Centurion Julius Sepofa of the 3rd Century and Jorgen Osmond (Maza Burg) of the 4th were very experienced and of equal skill. With time slipping away from them while units repositioned in the field, Lucius debated whether to order an attack immediately using smoke signals, bugles, riders and flags to coordinate an afternoon action or not. Brevis¡¯ 1st Cohort was in position to control the west flank unopposed. There was Sorio¡¯s cavalry situated there but they weren¡¯t strong enough yet (Sir Rik De Weer¡¯s ¡®Crows¡¯ were redeploying to strengthen them but that was beyond Lucius knowledge) so the Legatus ordered him to press on until the west walls of the Castrum. Brevis marched north out of Windbreak Woods and Draco with Silvius moved through the city heading for the Castrum gates in testudo formation while Durio kept Celsus pinned down on the other side of town. Ligur¡¯s west front angled inwards under pressure and the Legatus realized he wouldn¡¯t be able to defend the Castrum with the forces at his disposal. Slaurus¡¯ machines were late and Trifer who was supposed to already be there wasn¡¯t, leaving Prefect Betto in a precarious position. Ligur ordered Betto to at least attempt to hold the Castrum until his army manned the fallback line, but to abandon it if he was threatened with encirclement. With Regulus holding between the two large thickets on the east flank and Glycia already at the last line of fortifications on the road Ligur decided to defend in a slanted line (almost ninety degrees angle) until reinforcements arrived or his cavalry freed his weaker west flank. So Lucius took ? of Mercator¡¯s Inn that very day even before afternoon arrived. The walls of the Castrum visible, as was the wide gravel road leading to Islandport that cut across the woods of Peaceful Pond. At the end of it Glycia waited. As then Prefect Trupo famously commented watching the back and forth between the two large armies; ¡®Whelp, I reckon all this fancy and cute dancing about is fixing to get a lot of good folk murdered sire.¡¯ And he was right.
Kaeso was the last of the high-ranking officers to arrive. The one-armed Centurion (of Rangers) smirked brazenly at Lucius¡¯ stare but greeted warmly Sorex that had arrived just before he had from the other flank. The two men¡¯s friendship going back well before Lucius came into their lives. Every unit had an officer present and Gaeta¡¯s packed lines of soldiers were just twenty meters away. Galio still on his horse and Ramirus poring over reports and missives from the rear with Sirio standing two meters away. Marianus had half his staff with the supply train and the mobile hospital due to the many injured. Lucius climbed on the stone wall with the help of Trupo and glanced over the nearby and distant units already deployed, the riders galloping back and forth to relay messages pausing to hear the King speak. The banners of the 3rd Legion billowing in the soft cold breeze, the sky clear for days despite the winter chill of the Plains. Legion polished helms and red armours as far as his eye could see. The stitched snarling Blacktiger he had first drawn as a teenager, now in gold, at the center of the square Legion banners. The more realistic, sculpted Panthera Tigris long staff at the hands of the Signifer the ¡®Stout¡¯ Brim Solomon. The fiercely grinning bearded Northman bobbing the symbol of the ¡®Bloody Third¡¯ up and down with barely controlled enthusiasm. He had carried it from icy Maza Burg and the crude Crimson Fort across the mighty Lud River. The hundred day march that had moved them over the ice-covered lake at Rockfort before ending in Krakenhall. It had brought them to the frozen edge of Jelin. The Signifer had marched with it back through the Mountain Pass to the walls of Kas, then Halfostad and Eaglesnest. Down the sinister Screaming Road towards Anorum. To the bleached walls of Asturia and then further south, over Kato¡¯s gory Bridge to the plains of Storm¡¯s Rest. Across the narrow Durio¡¯s Road and the barren inhospitable Oras Navel. All the way to Oldfort and Cartagen. Home. Galio turned his tightly secured helm towards the silent Lucius, lined face and old eyes urging him not to waste anymore daylight. ¡°I heard a lot of opinions,¡± Lucius started very moved and aware of the significance of the moment. ¡°Let¡¯s attack on the morrow some say. Perhaps rightly. For we will be more ready. I don¡¯t want to do that. I shouldn¡¯t. Ligur is slow but the morrow is a new day and in war things change in an hour. I say we¡¯re ready. We¡¯ll do what¡¯s needed,¡± he paused to look at the faces of the men trying to memorize them. Some of the more enthusiastic soldiers and officers cheering him on, especially those that had been with him on the journey for over five years now. ¡°The true King is Lucius!¡± ¡°A hail for the good Praetor!¡± ¡°GODS KEEP HIM!¡± Lucius waved his arms and shook his head at their heartfelt cheers. ¡°I do have a request, aye. So hear me out dear comrades, valued friends. We shall be companions forever! Hear me out though.¡± Lucius cleared his hoarse throat and raised his voice even more his heart beating wildly in his chest. ¡°I can see their coat of arms, the Legion crimson banners alike ours and yer own bloody brothers and sisters over there! I can and you can as well. Trust that I know it! This isn¡¯t for my late father or his vile wife. It isn¡¯t for any Alden, nor a Holt and no O¡¯ Dargan. Nor for my son or your sons and daughters and all those we left buried in ice and mud. It isn¡¯t for the dead or a misbegotten sense of vengeance for wrongs done unto me or unto you, yer families back North or here in the bloody south! I asked nothing of you for years, but I shall ask you this for it is bigger than any one person. Be it a noble or commoner. This day and on this field! Win here! Win now! FOR REGIA!¡±
King Lucius¡¯ now well documented words were like a shock to the system. It overwhelmed our senses like a sudden bolt of lightning that fell from the clear sky. Everyone present felt this supernatural connection to the King¡¯s speech and the man himself. It alleviated the fear of the coming struggle and turned the weary soldiers into one entity, each person linked to the next with unseen spiritual threads over the common cause. And while Lucius genuinely tried to steer the soldiers to fight for Regia and the kingdom, in this single task this colossal figure of our times failed miserably. Almost everyone present went to battle for him and fittingly never really stopped until this day. ¡®Lucius Alden¡¯, as Queen Faye notably declared years later, ¡®is our king and the whole blasted Kingdom. As long as he remains be it in flesh or spirit, Regia shall endure.¡¯
423. Lorian Plains | For Regia (2/2)
The King and his command ride to the west flank¡­ - Ireneo Sarkozy (Born in Faro, Lesia 170NC- Died in Lourmar, Greater Regia 229NC) Famous Ireneo Sarkozy oil painting. Found in Tiger¡¯s Citadel ¡®Art & Exhibits Room¡¯ in Storm¡¯s Rest. One of a group of four by the mercenary turned painter dealing with the battle at the Lorian Plains. The others were, ¡®Long Farewell¡¯ -Prefect Long¡¯s charge at Holt¡¯s Stable. ¡®The King¡¯s Speech¡¯ ¨CLucius talking to troops standing on the stone wall. ¡®Honor or Death¡¯, dealing with the aftermath and finally ¡®Into Oras Hells embrace¡¯.
Lucius Alden, ¡®Bloody Tiger¡¯ Lord Lucius Aldenus the third, Praetor Maximus, King Lucius III Lorian Plains | For Regia Part II -The feast of Oras-
Legionnaire Gillian Late afternoon of 15th of Primus 194 NC The road to Islandport, cutting between First Legion¡¯s Camp and Peaceful Pond woods. III Legio, 4th Cohort, 1st Century, 2nd Maniple entering pilum-range in Testudo formation. - ¡°STEADY DARN IT! ONE TWO!¡± Decanus Remus boomed to be heard over the yells and taunts of hundreds of men packed in the fifty meter gap between the cedar trees to their east and the wild undergrowth hiding the walls of the camp to their west. ¡°SHIELDS UP!¡± As if one would think to put his chest out, Gillian thought passionately. People did peek out though, quick glances through the cracks to spot the approaching locked shields of the 1st Cohort. Soldiers pressed so thick ahead of them you couldn¡¯t breathe at the sight. ¡°Motherfuckers look fresh as fuck!¡± Terry yelled hoarsely marching next to him. ¡°Shite! Pissed down me leg,¡± added an irate Collins from the back, earning curses from the men following after him. ¡°Fucking goat¡¯s kin!¡± ¡°Hey! Couldn¡¯t hold it and Decanus skipped a break earlier!¡± Collins protested and then everyone stopped as pilums landed on the first rows right side. Someone getting one that slipped through in the shoulder blade and getting trampled from those that followed when he collapsed. Blood and dust. Fear and anger. Death¡¯s noises and agony¡¯s screams. The loud clang of spears landing on shields over their heads. Wood breaking or bones. ¡°FORWARD! DON¡¯T STALL! TYEUS WATCHES!¡± Remus barked, Centurion Silvius from somewhere to their right roaring even louder for the rattled 1st Maniple to dress its lines. ¡°TAIL ROWS DETACH!¡± Silvius ordered. ¡°LOB PILUMS ON MY WORD!¡± Gillian peeked beyond Tarsus¡¯s broad shoulder and the crack where the Scutums met. They were ten meters away. Less than ten. ¡°LOOSE!¡± The Centurion barked hoarsely. The ruckus of battle otherworldly. ¡°BLADES OUT!¡± Remus snapped not a moment later, the sinister sound of javelins landing on wood or armour crackling in front of them. ¡°FAST STEP!¡± Gillian clamped on the drenched in sweat leather-encased sword handle, clenched jaw split open for a moment to whisper a quick prayer. The next, big Tarsus went down covered in gore and the northern breeze that touched his snarling face smelled of the Canlita Sea, foul sweat and death. Lucius helps us.
- ¡°Silvius made contact!¡± An aide reported from atop the small watch tower, everyone having field glasses pointed at various spots on the expansive battlefield and runners going back and forth at regular intervals. Lucius glanced at Ramirus coming down the ladder gliding, hands clasping at the side rails. ¡°Veturius?¡± He asked Trupo who gathered all reports and looked through them as fast as he could. ¡°Nothing yet sire,¡± Trupo replied. The Tribune was near the road to Lourmar at Falx¡¯s rear in what was the east flank. ¡°Merenda attacked through the farms to reach Celsus but Damian stalled at the barricaded windmill. He reports casualties but that never stopped our Prefect.¡± ¡°Can Durio support him?¡± ¡°Waits for additional ammo carts to arrive,¡± Trupo replied. ¡°Merenda wanted to advance while he had light.¡± Eh. Don¡¯t risk it too much, Lucius thought worried. Then again they needed to clear the last part of Mercator¡¯s Inn still in Ligur¡¯s hands. So Antonius had to press forward afore nightfall. ¡°Silvius doesn¡¯t have the numbers,¡± Ramirus interrupted his thoughts. ¡°Gaeta and his troops will be there in ten minutes. They¡¯ll try to cut through the woods.¡± ¡°Dio¡¯s Century will reinforce the 4th Cohort. Help rotate the men. Joss should join with him. We know Glycia has the numbers in the center,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°Brevis is also missing a Century to spare another.¡± ¡°We could use more artillery with the 1st Cohort,¡± Trupo advised. ¡°Durio dispatched Drano and eight Scorpios. We can¡¯t allow Celsus to pull another trick on us,¡± Lucius argued. ¡°Durio stays put.¡± ¡°There¡¯s more artillery gathering behind Glycia¡¯s lines,¡± Ramirus pointed out. ¡°Did they fire?¡± ¡°Not yet.¡± ¡°They moved too fast,¡± Lucius decided. ¡°They have the same problem we have with the supply wagons and carts. It¡¯s imperative to close with them or they¡¯ll look to plug their gaps in the night.¡± ¡°Sir Maximilian found Sorio¡¯s riders in the plains but they keep away from Brevis,¡± Trupo added looking at his scrolls. ¡°Kaeso moved between Valens and Brevis.¡± ¡°I told him to stay in the woods!¡± Lucius snapped before he could catch himself. ¡°I¡¯ll see to cite him for disobeying orders sire.¡± Lucius breathed out a little frustrated. ¡°Has he issued spears?¡± ¡°Your grace knows Frostworm. No supplies are safe from him. But they are not much of a Cavalry sire,¡± the mustached officer noted. ¡°Sorio doesn¡¯t know that and they can hold their own I reckon against Sorio,¡± Lucius retorted as he didn¡¯t have time to spare at this point and looked at another approaching fast-galloping rider. His eyes turning at the sky immediately. The day slipping away from them.
Eighteen plus fourteen. Day 405. Ides of Primus. 1500 to 1600 hours. ¡®Sextus¡¯ (sic. Centurion Silvius) attacked down the road against Primus Pilus Glycia¡¯s 1st and 2nd Centuries but couldn¡¯t break through and thirty minutes in he¡¯d fully rotated the men once already with Glycia still using fresh troops. ¡®Percival¡¯ (sic. Captain Gaeta) arrived to pressure his reserves and Glycia moved the 4th Century to block them. The Praetor ordered Spurius Dio¡¯s Century (the 4th of 2nd Cohort) to join with Centurion Joss¡¯ and assist Sextus. But no breakthrough occurred.
-
The Third Legion attacked across the whole front that afternoon, barely an hour after they had arrived to their initial positions. Due to the distances involved from one flank to the other, not all units locked shields with the enemy at the same time. Centurion Brevis¡¯ 1st Cohort reached the walls of the Castrum and after a brief bombardment from Drano¡¯s crews manning the attached Scorpios, attacked with two Centuries (the 1st and Mede¡¯s 2nd) keeping Mangas¡¯ 3rd (reinforced with the survivors of late Capito¡¯s 4th) in his west flank as a reserve. Sir Maximilian Valens who had the bulk of the royal knights with him, along the remnants of Long¡¯s cavalry, moved to intercept Sorio¡¯s riders. Centurion Kaeso had abandoned Windbreak Woods and had moved after the knight looking to cover the plains on Brevis¡¯ west flank with his mounted rangers. Betto defended with two Centuries (not at full strength) and initially kept the attacking forces at bay. Despite his efforts though Brevis managed to scale or break through the walls after about thirty minutes. To assist Brevis, the industrious risk-taker Centurion (of engineers) Drano had lobbed ceramic jugs filled with oil tied on tip-less bolts -he was setting alight just before launch- over the Centurion¡¯s legionnaires¡¯ backs. Several caused a large fire to start inside the wooden structures and tents making defense difficult for Prefect Betto. (At least two bolts with their lethal cargo fell between Brevis¡¯ own men causing friendly casualties and setting soldiers on fire. The infuriated Primus Pilus had Drano arrested after the battle, tied on a wooden post and whipped within an inch of his life.) Merenda cut off the forces defending the barricaded windmill and its nearby buildings, advancing a kilometer and a half through the corn fields, managing to scatter Tenor¡¯s soldiers. He reached Celsus fallback position and despite taking appalling casualties closed in on the crews. (The horse-drawn Scorpios had redeployed near the edge of the woods near Peaceful Pond shores. A clear water lake with beautiful beaches.) In the brief struggle the Prefect took control of the machines and a wounded Celsus surrendered tossing a long dagger down. The exchange between the boastful Prefect and the grizzled engineer famous today mostly due to Merenda¡¯s proclivity to recall his exploits at every feast. ¡®By Allgods, will you stop?¡¯ Celsus had cried out seeing a disheveled Merenda kicking and hammering at his machines like a madman. ¡®You sir have no regard for the lives of yer men!¡¯ ¡®Even so I have more regard for them than you sir! But it is the revulsion I feel for your constructs that had me hell bent on closing wit you!¡¯ Merenda had replied and had him watch as he smashed a good number of them to pieces. Merenda advancing through the woods had the informed by retreating troops Memon sent forward Glycia¡¯s reserve 3rd Century to stop him. On the east flank Falx attacked Regulus¡¯ lines blocking the gap between Peaceful Pond Forest and the woods at Worm Lake, the grassy land good for infantry warfare. Sorex had penetrated the treeline and fought a fierce ranged engagement with the slingers and archers defending it. Men and women kept firing behind trunks then relocated with no real gains by either side for a while. Mamercus Sorex¡¯s enthusiastic and led by experienced officers¡¯ slingers managed to push the enemy combatants back. Regulus moved half a Century inside the woods near the muddy waters of Worm Lake to prevent them from attacking his shieldwall from the sides but Lepidus marched the 2nd Century east also to counter him. So the ranged battle turned into a desperate close contact affair in horrible terrain with scores of slingers from both sides taking shots at the engaged infantry. Regulus ordered Crito to advance against Falx to put pressure on Lepidus, since he didn¡¯t want to get locked in the woods and sent a rider to Sir Sylvan Scylla¡¯s cavalry (a mixed force with a good number of scouts amidst the medium Legion riders) to skirt the woods further east and attack Lepidus¡¯ rear. Sir Sylvan (who didn¡¯t have Sir Rik De Weer¡¯s Scaldingport¡¯s riders assistance this time, the largest heavy cavalry force in the field) moved to flank Lucius but Tribune Veturius who had arrived at the rear with his staff had dispatched Nasica already to patrol the plains. The two forces met in a fierce engagement. Sir Sylvan hit Nasica hard (the Croton officer carried an injury and very tired horses) and he would have won the whole affair but for Sir Gatrell¡¯s still roaming force. The Sovya nobleman had regrouped after his defeat by the combined Scaldingport and 1st Legion cavalry forces the previous day. His first action that morning had been to send Fallon¡¯s slingers to attack Seneca¡¯s rear and retake the copse they had been expelled out of and the second for his men to follow the clouds of dust raised by Sir Sylvan¡¯s galloping riders. Despite his heart that had Gatrell worried about the fate of Legatus Sulla he¡¯d lost contact with (the knight had sworn to Lady Redmond to bring him back safe before he departed Asturia), he followed his instincts and went towards the sound of fighting. Sir Sylvan was caught as he swung wide to attack the mauled men of Nasica by the charging Sir Gatrell. (The Croton officer had been wounded again speared through the left knee. The weapon had gone right through flesh and bone then killed another horse under him.) Despite reacting to the onrushing threat as best as he could, given the circumstances, the Sabretooth knight was quickly overwhelmed and perished when a lance disemboweled him. Almost a hundred and fifty riders were killed in less than ten minutes, until Sir Gatrell stopped the blood-craving allied forces from exacting revenge on their shattered enemies striking down one of his own lieutenants. ¡®What madness is this? I wasn¡¯t raised a savage,¡¯ the knight from Yepehir declared to both Northmen and Lorians surrounding him, standing straight on his impressive war-horse. ¡®Allgods as me witness, I shan¡¯t become one afore this is all over. I intent to return home with me head held high!¡¯
Lucius stared nervously at the black smoke covering the burning 1st Legion camp, part of the walls engulfed in the fiery inferno. A fast galloping rider reached his staff two hundred meters behind him. Lucius had moved to the edge of the copse to better see Brevis¡¯ struggle, so the messenger was immediately dispatched towards the King and the dozen knights near him accompanied by one of Trupo¡¯s aides. Lucius had already sent a rider to Brevis looking for a report on how the advance inside the burning camp was unfolding but this rider had come from the rear. ¡°Nasica stopped Ligur¡¯s cavalry on the east flank near Worm Lake Woods your grace,¡± the aide reported jumping from the horse to bring him the missive. Lucius read it quickly and stared at the dust-covered young messenger. ¡°Sir Gatrell was present?¡± ¡°Saved the day my lord.¡± ¡°Can he attack Regulus before we lose the light?¡± ¡°The horses are spent, but he¡¯ll make an attempt my lord,¡± the young Northman replied. ¡°Veturius is looking to address the matter sir,¡± the aide added. ¡°The Tribune needs to pay attention on Merenda¡¯s front as well,¡± Lucius noted. ¡°Prefect Draco is there also sir. Merenda has secured the lake and asked for permission to attack between Memon and Crito through the woods.¡± ¡°When was this?¡± ¡°Ten minutes. Twenty,¡± the aide grimaced. ¡°Ramirus was about to ride to you sir. Prefect Trupo is informed.¡± ¡°Move the headquarters forward,¡± Lucius decided. ¡°Have Drano¡¯s engineers built something at the edge of the camp.¡± ¡°Drano has been arrested sir.¡± ¡°On what reason?¡± ¡°He fired on Brevis¡¯ troops by mistake.¡± Good grief. Not again. ¡°Release him. Get this done immediately,¡± Lucius snapped. ¡°Get back and tell Ramirus I want that report on Merenda¡¯s request. Move for goodness sake! The Prefect might go ahead anyway if we stall this further! We are losing the light!¡± The messenger turned his horse around to gallop away but Lucius stopped him. ¡°Halt!¡± He boomed and the messenger pulled at the reins of his neighing horse to stop. ¡°Can Sir Gatrell contact Sula?¡± ¡°That¡¯s more than an hour of ride my lord. The 4th Legion has retreated deep inside the East Coast Woods. Might take more than that.¡± The important detail here is that the 4th is still intact. ¡°Get the order to Sir Gatrell. Sula would have left men near the periphery. I don¡¯t care about him reaching the Legatus now but I want Sula knowing we¡¯re here by the morrow! He has the whole night to get the message across! Make it happen!¡± ¡°What would your orders be my lord?¡± The chastised messenger croaked nervously. ¡°Get his arse out of the woods,¡± Lucius retorted gruffly. ¡°The King has Ligur engaged from west to east ten kilometers south of the road to Islandport. We need assistance. He¡¯s to do all that can be done.¡± If he¡¯s still breathing that would lit a fire under the prideful Nonus. Ligur has all his forces engaged, he thought as every unit of the 1st Legion had been seen in the battlefield. -
But the Legatus of the first had one more card available, despite all the repeated setbacks he¡¯d suffered since that morning. The messenger in his haste to reach Lucius and the pressed for time Sir Gatrell that had just won a great victory had neglected to report the presence of the elusive Scaldingport¡¯s knights that had licked his force the previous day. The stronger Cavalry force present on the battlefield and one of Kalhta¡¯s hardest-hitting professional riders roamed free from detection in the rear of Ligur¡¯s positions. The problem was while the card was available, it wasn¡¯t his to use.
-
Centurion Mede III Legio, 1st Cohort, 2nd Century Battle of the Legio Camp With a crackling sound the largest of the barracks collapsed behind them, a plume of black smoke rising twenty meters high and then the soft cold breeze blew that dark cloud over the first row of soldiers. Mede could taste the burned timber on his teeth. ¡°SURUS!¡± He bellowed hoarsely seeing a whole lot of hostiles retreating through the open north gates of the camp. The two Scorpios located on the wooden towers on each side also visible beyond the smoke veil. The first bolt already flying wildly over their heads. ¡°FOLK ARE A-BURNING FUCK¡¯S SAKE!¡± Surus protested from somewhere at the back. The Decanus had received nasty burns to half his body at Oldfort and carried a certain sensitivity to big fires in general. Seeing people turning to walking torches had brought it all back. Mede missed the ability to smile using all his mouth and seeing from both eyes so he could sort of sympathize with the Decanus to an extent. ¡°Noted!¡± Mede snapped turning his head to spot the shaken Decanus. He then ducked on instinct seeing Donlon ducking whilst grabbing a blinking Tertius¡¯ shoulder to bring him down. Another bolt whistling angry somewhere above them. It landed amidst the back rows with a sinister thud and a gut-wrenching yelp. Turd broiling in soup! ¡°SHITE!¡± Someone recoiled in horror. ¡°IT WENT THROUGH TODD!¡± A younger legionnaire cried out. ¡°Leave him!¡± Decanus Bibulous grunted. ¡°Keep marching forward! Shields up!¡± ¡°Todd had his shield up Decanus!¡± The legionnaire protested irate. ¡°It¡¯s nailed to his bloody chest!¡± Well, fuck it. ¡°Surus get the men sprinting towards the gates!¡± Mede roared after Donlon slapped his shoulder with the flat of his blade to bring him back to the present. ¡°Can¡¯t see shit sir! Whole place is on fire!¡± But Mede¡¯s capacity to sympathize with him had run out. ¡°I don¡¯t care! MOVE YE CUNTS!¡± Mede barked and shoved a cursing Donlon forward, then kicked a slow-moving Tertius. Felix and Dee running after them in the blind stooped behind their shields. ¡°BIBULUS YOU TOO! Anyone wit a spare pilum volunteers to attack the fucking machine afore he finds the range!¡± Mede added starting after the legionnaires, spotting Brevis and the standard bearer Maro carrying the 1st Cohort¡¯s colors marching over his left shoulder. A square red banner on a staff shaped like a spear with an oak tree in gold depicted on it, for its first commander Galio Veturius. It drew the interest of those manning the Scorpios though which was good for them and bad for the Primus Pilus. Damn it. ¡°Pick that pilum up you little shit!¡± A heavy-breathing Bibulous boomed accusingly. ¡°I saw ye tossing it away!¡± ¡°Apologies Decanus,¡± a man griped unhappy he got caught. ¡°It slipped through me fingers!¡± ¡°That¡¯s ten lashes for yer arse!¡± A disgusted Bibulous growled amidst the chaos. Mede trotted towards the gates, the 2nd Century moving fast after him and an officer overseeing the withdrawal of the enemy legionnaires turned around when he saw them approaching. He barked for a file of soldiers to halt and block their advance. Some of them carried javelins on their backs. Motherfucker. ¡°INCOMING PILUMS!¡± Mede barked and raised his shield, hobnailed boots digging in the soft ground when he stopped abruptly. Dee¡¯s brains splashed him in the face, the Northman officer¡¯s sole eye losing its sight momentarily. The poor legionnaire got javelined through the forehead he thought initially but it was just a group of sneaky slingers firing from behind a burning warehouse that had nailed him. A lead shot splintering the top of Mede¡¯s shield before the stunned Centurion violently returned to his senses. ¡°Donlon!¡± He growled turning to head for the building¡¯s corner. An enemy running out at that moment and firing his slingshot from almost point blank range. Mede grunted angling his shield, the lead shot opening a small round hole and lodging on his right shoulder, denting the armour. Cut his breath short but he managed to run without it and hacked at the retreating man¡¯s back severing his spine. To his left Surus and the 1st Maniple attacked the gates, the Scorpios angled low to fire down on them. An iron bolt skewering a legionnaire to the ground entering from the top of the left shoulder shattering the clavicle bone and exiting out of his balls. He emptied out like a torn sack, steamy hot blood and fouled entrails splashing between his shuddering legs. Mede parried a long dagger aside, his right eye swollen and red from the toxic fumes and caught another slingshot with his shield. The latter staying stuck as it only half-penetrated. He shoved a foot of blade in the slinger¡¯s chest, heaved it sideways breaking the sternum and ruining the lungs. He pulled his arm back, gore raining on him and slashed at the officer, a Centurion, but he blocked his blade with a snap of his sword. Mede hated well-trained motherfuckers. Mede sidestepped to defend with his shield, the sword¡¯s tip making a crackling sound when it sunk on the weakened wood, the whole rotten thing coming apart the next moment. He grunted, almost lost his footing when the officer yanked his sword out and the momentum took him forward in a half-hearted dive. He remembered to lower his helm at the last moment and caught the officer right at the protruding jaw with the conned top of it, smashing most of his teeth away. The middle aged man stumbled back rattled and a howling like an extinct northern great-wolf Mede hacked him across his mauled face. The blade connected with a bang splintering the front part of the officer¡¯s cranium. Mede had almost dislocated his own shoulder in the attempt. ¡°Eh,¡± he cursed putting a muddy boot on the slain man¡¯s chest to dislodge the bloody sword from his butchered face.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°The Primus Pilus sire!¡± Donlon roared and a snarling gore-covered Mede snapped his neck towards the legionnaire. ¡°He dead?¡± He growled hoarsely. ¡°Wants a word! He sounded the whistle!¡± Mede couldn¡¯t hear a fucking thing other than the dull sounds of burning wood, mixed in with men fighting and dying. ¡°You have a lead shot lodged on yer helm sir! Above the temple!¡± Donlon explained and used a dagger to pry it away. Something leaking down the right side of his head and his ears popping. ¡°How bad is it?¡± ¡°Surface scratch I reckon. Deep scratch. Touched the bone but nothing serious sir!¡± ¡°The fuck ye know?¡± Mede cursed incredulous and put a finger in the hole with a wince of pain. ¡°Ahm¡­ I can see the bone?¡± Donlon replied. Mede had just figured that out himself. ¡°Tell Bibulous to hold the gates¡ª¡± he started gruffly but he never got the chance to finish. ¡°The Decanus was killed sir. Pilum in the throat.¡± Allhells. ¡°Tell Surus to hold the gates while I talk with the Primus Pilus!¡± ¡°Aye sir,¡± Donlon agreed. ¡°He¡¯s coming here.¡± Mede blinked his swollen eye frustrated and realized his arms were shaking. Gods darn it, he cursed and cough half a lung out. ¡°Sir?¡± ¡°I heard ye!¡± Mede blasted him irate trying to spot the familiar sturdy figure of the approaching Brevis. The senior Centurion was actually trotting energetically towards them. In all the weird shit one sees in a battlefield this had stricken Mede as the most peculiar. ¡°Betto retreats,¡± Brevis told him without hesitation. ¡°Ye have to march after him.¡± ¡°I got that¡­ where is the rest of the Cohort be going sir?¡± A grimacing Mede retorted. ¡°We might have Cavalry trouble on our flank again,¡± Brevis informed him casually. ¡°Might?¡± ¡°According to Kaeso for sure,¡± Brevis replied appearing unruffled and then sucked air in deeply, taking a lot of the toxic fumes in. Didn¡¯t seem fazed from that also. ¡°We just have to keep an open eye on them. Simple as that.¡± Ye heard that phrase in the army ye better be on high alert. Fer sure. ¡°Not much day left sir,¡± Mede tried to reason with the Primus Pilus. ¡°Might be difficult to spot them in the semi-darkness.¡± Brevis let out an angry snort. ¡°You¡¯ll just gawk about a bit more lad. Keep yer eyes open,¡± he glanced at Mede¡¯s sole red-rimmed eye numbly and scrunched his weather-beaten face. ¡°Eh. We can¡¯t allow Betto to disengage. That¡¯s it really. He might strike at Silvius. So you¡¯ll march after him Mede,¡± he added with finality. ¡°Is Silvius winning in the center?¡± ¡°We are the only ones moving forward at this point in time.¡± The ¡®time¡¯ being half an hour ago per usual. At least. ¡°The other fronts are more complicated and not of our concern unless orders arrive in a timely manner.¡± That discrepancy in time glossed over quickly. ¡°Right.¡± Brevis stared at the men going out of the gates. ¡°If Ligur angles your way or you spot machines approaching, fall back,¡± he told him. ¡°I sent a runner to the Praetor so we¡¯ll know more soon.¡± May the good Praetor shield us. ¡°If we step out of the camp we¡¯ll be in the open plains sir,¡± Mede noted puffing out. Brevis nodded looking at him intently and then turned around to march away without any more words. ¡°What was that about cavalry?¡± Donlon asked curious as he¡¯d lingered near them. ¡°Nothing to worry about,¡± Mede retorted raspingly, his head hurting as if someone had hammered an iron nail in his brains. ¡°Let¡¯s get out of his hellhole soldier.¡±
-
Regulus informed Ligur he¡¯d lost cavalry support on his east flank and that he¡¯d attempt to defend on two fronts if possible. He pulled his men out of the woods, leaving the slingers skirmishing with Sorex and Lepidus. Crito, who was holding on against Falx and Sepofa in the gap, was ordered to prepare for a retreat towards the road skirting around Peaceful Pond forest. In order to do that they needed to keep Merenda from advancing through the sister forest and they were helped in that because the Prefect stalled to regroup his battered Centuries while helping Vala clear the windmill area from Tenor¡¯s cut off defenders. Ligur who was holding the center but was slowly losing both his flanks due to lack of reinforcements, signaled Sorio to assist Betto who was trying to retreat towards friendly lines. Sorio approached the coming out of the burning camp 1st Cohort but hesitated seeing the area patrolled by enemy riders. Sir Maximilian Valens spotted him loitering near the infantry and charged with his cavalry scattering Sorio¡¯s riders. The experienced Aldenfort equestrian instructor regrouped keeping most of his command intact but Sir Valens hunted him in circles around the plains with the sun slowly dipping on the sky. Sometime before the cavalry engagement on Lucius¡¯ west flank started Sir Rik De Weer¡¯s three hundred strong Crows (Most of them from Forestfort and Timberville, split in three large groups under Rik himself, his friend Sir Rudi Varenhorst of Forestfort and Sir Adrian Hakker of Toefort) that were returning to its starting point got intercepted by a courier with two sets of orders. The older by the King himself informing them that Sir Turner had been dispatched with the second platoon of the royal guard early that morning and the fresher mandate from Ligur that urged him to cover Sorio¡¯s advance until reinforcements arrived. Sir Rik discussed with his aides on what to do. They were inclined to follow the King¡¯s wishes but Sir Turner had given no sign that he was anywhere close to Islandport which was peculiar given the hours that had passed since the morning. Marching on good road Sir Turner should have arrived in the city port already. The one-eyed Sir Rik ¨Ca well-known tourney champion- ordered Sir Adrian Hakker to ride north towards the city and the road from Tenor to investigate. He intended to stall on the plains to rest their horses for a while until Sir Hakker returned with news, but under pressure from his friend Rudi, Rik yielded and allowed the former to ride south with his group towards Sorio after the young knight promised to keep himself out of trouble. Seneca who had pulled his men away from East Coast Woods to regroup near the road and prepare a force to send towards Ligur, attempted to contact Lord Scylla that morning per the Legatus¡¯ orders but Commander Betto who was stationed at the rear nearer to the city reported he¡¯d received no missives for hours from Scylla. The only piece of news he relayed was that Trifer¡¯s machines had passed by his reserves and were heading towards his kin Prefect Betto hours ago. Seneca ordered the Alden Commander to find out what happened to Lord Scylla during the night and he sent a rider to a pressured Ligur that the machines must have reached Prefect Betto by now. But they hadn¡¯t. Trifer was nowhere to be seen. Ligur sensing that something was seriously wrong dispatched one of his aides back towards Islandport to find out what was going on and ordered Slaurus to halt setting up his machines. Commander Betto moved a platoon of his Alden regulars near the edges of city to make contact with Lord Scylla and repositioned the rest of his force marching some of his men into the farmland. While he was busy with that Manfred¡¯s group of warriors returning from the destroyed hospital camp fell on the platoon of infantry the younger Betto had left behind and attacked without a second thought. In the chaos of the sudden rear attack in the middle of the day all cohesiveness was lost and the platoon got wiped out. Manfred smelling blood pushed forward following the road (he was supposed to wait for O¡¯ Leary¡¯s men to reinforce him but the Captain was late since he¡¯d fought and won a brutal engagement against Sir Turner earlier that day that had spilled into the nearby woods) and attacked Betto¡¯s headquarters. It must be noted here that while O¡¯ Leary denied knowing the fate of Sir Turner, there is strong suspicion and rumors circulating since then that the knight from Novesium and his men were killed in an ambush near the remote back roads of Mandarin Forest when he approached a group of Pascor marines guarding the moored fleet or more accurately upon discovering it. Duke Dolf denies until this day that any soldiers from Pascor ever set foot in the woods or were involved in the whole affair. All that aside the Alden soldiers marching towards the city were notified that something was happening and alarms were sounded as different units tried to warn one another. Betto¡¯s force pivoted and marched back towards their camp by the road but the piecemeal arriving forces were shocked by the brutality of the attacking Northmen that had leaped at the opportunity to make a name for themselves killing as many people as they could. As fast as it was possible. Sir Adrian Hakker who was scouring the nearby area for any sign of the approaching Sir Turner spotted the brouhaha and turned towards Manfred¡¯s warriors, now busy defending against the returning Alden troops. The confused knight watched in shock the violence and carnage the Northmen had delivered and thinking this was a raiding warband ordered his men-at-arms to charge them. Manfred¡¯s warriors got mauled caught by surprise and half his force was wiped out in minutes, the named warrior himself killed by a lance that punctured his right eye. The second in command Ludolf led the rest into a desperate fighting retreat towards the woods but Sir Hakker gave up pursuing them since the disorganized masses of Alden soldiers didn¡¯t allow him to regroup fast enough. The reason was that Commander Betto had been killed in the assault.
-
Eighteen plus fourteen. Day 405. Ides of Primus. 1600 to 1630 hours. Sir Valens messaged that he¡¯s engaging Sorio¡¯s cavalry in the field. Brevis¡¯ flank is under threat and he is ordered to halt his advance. The Praetor is much worried. Lepidus pushed Regulus out of the woods but he¡¯s too spread out to proceed. Silvius and Gaeta had to disengage due to losses and fatigue. Merenda needs to reinforce the center but the Prefect insists the 2nd has to attack across Peaceful Pond and cut Regulus¡¯ retreat off. Big debate during the general¡¯s staff meeting.
¡°There¡¯s our brave Sir Valens,¡± Ramirus said looking through the field glasses. Lucius twisted on the saddle nervously. Nightsilver let out a loud snort in protest and then stooped his big head to continue munching on the rich grass again. ¡°Sirio, where¡¯s Trupo?¡± Lucius asked. ¡°He just finished dictating the war diary sir,¡± Sirio replied. ¡°Prefect Draco insists they can reinforce Silvius in less than an hour. Most of the officers stayed back to debate the matter your grace.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a moot point,¡± Lucius said tiredly. ¡°By the time Merenda moves the 2nd in position we¡¯ll have no light.¡± If we don¡¯t lose today. Victory will come on the morrow. ¡°Then perhaps he must be allowed to press into the woods?¡± Lucius looked at the skittish officer. Sirio blushed. ¡°My Lord,¡± he continued his voice rising at a high pitch afore coming back down. ¡°He could continue advancing during the night, reach the edge of it like he insists.¡± ¡°The locals tell me there¡¯s no path through the woods,¡± Lucius explained. ¡°This isn¡¯t a whim or another Lourmar. It can¡¯t be done and I can¡¯t have Merenda wandering the wilderness in the blind Sirio. Tell Trupo to issue the order. Merenda will assist Falx and they¡¯ll push Regulus back. We¡¯ll advance from the east where we have advantage and safe flanks.¡± ¡°As you wish your grace,¡± Sirio replied and turned his horse around after failing a couple of times. Lucius pressed his mouth tight at the man¡¯s clumsiness and raised the field glasses on his eyes to examine the battlefield. He tried to locate Sir Valens horses and saw the two galloping columns swing towards them again with the knight halving the distance. ¡°He¡¯ll catch them again sire,¡± Ramirus who was glued on the engagement reported. ¡°Mmm,¡± Lucius murmured. He lowered the field glasses to glance at Sir Valgus and Sir Rhesus. The first knight was from Cartagen, the other from Two-Rivers Castle. ¡°Sir Valens has this your grace,¡¯ Sir Valgus assured him. The man is a royal knight not a cavalry commander. I don¡¯t doubt his skill, Lucius thought. But Sorio is an experienced officer, a leader of horsemen in battle. It takes time to learn that. Lucius raised the field glasses to his eyes again and looked through them. ¡°Men are going down,¡± Ramirus continued reporting in real time, while Lucius watched the two groups clash four hundred meters away in silence. He¡¯d ridden to the edge of Windbreak Woods to better observe the event. ¡°Sorio is outmanned and on tired horses. I can¡¯t even fathom why he made another attempt.¡± Lucius witnessed smaller groups of riders splitting to charge at each other, others fighting stationary from their saddles using spears or swords. He turned the field-glasses eastwards to locate Brevis¡¯ flank-guarding Century. Mangas 3rd. He spotted the banners of the Nord officer about three hundred meters away probably watching the engagement as well and between them but somewhat to their rear, Kaeso¡¯s large group of mounted rangers that had stopped to observe from their saddles. Dosser standing next to him. Lucius spotted the one-armed officer on his bay horse and blue saddle watching with his field glasses like he did and a half-smile formed on the King¡¯s tensed mouth. ¡°Valens is going to rout them a second time,¡± Ramirus reported. ¡°That¡¯s a huge blunder by Sorio.¡± Lucius smile had turned into a grimace. Kaeso wasn¡¯t looking towards Valens¡¯ scrap with Sorio but further northeast on the expansive plains. He turned his field glasses that way, a thick puff of dust raised over the burned from cold pale grass and very brittle bushes. Not as much dust as in the summer months but still enough to spot from a distance, because a lot of horses were heading towards the embattled groups. Familiar black and grey triangular banners appeared over the approaching horsemen. Kaltha banners. Lucius had seen them for the last time many years back, strangely enough not in a battlefield but in a summer festival of all places. A tourney. ¡®There¡¯s a hodge-podge of young horny knights from all over the three kingdoms,¡¯ Lord Ruud had commented sharply a decade ago. ¡®Enough sweaty cunt about to make yer head spin and they¡¯re ready to use the wrong sword for the event. Bunch of fools and hotheads that know fuck all about life he-he, right De Braal? Why, look at Sir Mael¡¯s sour face. He¡¯s taken insult for the Order or some shite. Excuse me tongue good Sir, I¡¯ve partaken to the King¡¯s wine early.¡¯ ¡°There are Crows in the field,¡± an alarmed Lucius grunted and turned his eyes on Sir Valens. ¡°Birds of prey perchance my lord?¡± A perturbed Sir Valgus queried from his horse furrowing his brows. ¡°Raise a flag,¡± an angry Lucius snapped at Ramirus and looked about for an aide. ¡°We need to warn Valens to disengage. SEND FOR A RUNNER DAMN IT!¡± He cursed to get his numb entourage moving. -
Sir Rudi Varenhorst who was riding way ahead of Sir Rik spotted Sorio¡¯s 1st Legion banners in the open plains and headed that way to give assistance. At about the same time Optio Sorio who had lost half his lancers trying to dodge the knights of Sir Valens and Decurion Davy¡¯s cavalry, ordered a bugler to sound the retreat and pulled away. Seeing the Crows galloping their way Sorio changed his mind and roped the determined to finish him off pursuers towards the approaching large host of men and horses. It is hotly debated today whether the generally considered one of the most skilled equestrians of his time knew of the Crows arrival and tried to obscure the fact for as long as he could or this was just a matter of auspicious timing and quick-thinking on his part. Sir Varenhorst ordered his well-trained men to charge with lances on the onrushing knights of Sir Valens, Sorio¡¯s cavalry veering left and right out of the Crows way. The two groups met in a vicious clash, Davy¡¯s exhausted force suffering greatly those first moments. Sir Valens found himself encircled by similarly armoured men-at-arms that quickly switched to long axes and maces to engage his knights. Sorio¡¯s two wings (around forty remaining lancers) switched to swords as well and returned to surround Lucius Cavalry with the King watching horrified from a distance. While it was impossible for those present to understand what was happening the King appeared to guess the outcome and within twenty minutes his fears were confirmed. An injured Davy (he¡¯d been slashed across the face losing his nose) did manage to break away with the remaining royal knights staying to safeguard the seriously injured Sir Maximilian (he had been smashed upon the head with a heavy spiked mace by a man called Hunze, son of a rich sheep farmer from Rusted. The blow cracking his skull and spilling his brains down his face when the helm was removed) and they fell one after the other. Lucius, who had dispatched a runner to Brevis already, knew he had no force available to counter the Crows in the event they won the fight and it was obvious Sir Valens had missed his signals to withdraw. Kaeso¡¯s rangers who were closer to the heavy cavalry brawl took it upon themselves to try, the moment the first survivors galloped past them towards the King¡¯s position. Then Decanus Dosser who was present from start to finish for the ride ¡®into Oras embrace¡¯ revealed after the battle that Kaeso ordered the lightly armoured men (around a hundred at the time, with a lot of young recruits amongst them, although more than half were veterans of the King¡¯s northern and southern campaigns. The best ranger unit on Jelin without a doubt) to equip themselves with war spears and follow him. While the Centurion tried to galvanize his men, back in the Crows ranks Sir Varenhorst quarreled with an irate Optio Sorio who wanted them to charge on Mangas 3rd Century and collapse Brevis west flank. Rudi had been rattled seeing so many knights killed in the engagement and refused to ¡®spill any more blood with the sun about to set or until Lord Rik reaches us!¡¯ An incensed Sorio had turned his men around, borrowing lances from the sober Crows and ordered the final charge of his career against Mangas 3rd Century. With time and light slipping away he wanted to provide Prefect Betto with enough time to disengage and allow Ligur to regroup for the next day. Half-way (around a hundred and fifty meters) from Centurion Mangas¡¯ scrambling to defend against horses lines Kaeso¡¯s rangers cut him off and his lancers turned to meet the new threat that galloped against them. While at any other time or day, Kaeso would have been destroyed facing experienced medium cavalry that afternoon his equally battle-hardened rangers had the advantage of spirit and fresher horses. Sorio¡¯s lancers were completely worn out after days of heavy fighting and with mounts just about to collapse or die on their feet. Kaeso won the engagement. Sorio was killed in the first thirty seconds, his body trampled by at least thirty horses and broken apart completely which made it impossible to recognize him afterwards. His cracked saber and mangled pair of riding boots can be seen today in a glass case in the Aldenfort¡¯s equestrian school. No one from his party survived. Kaeso came out of the engagement with only twenty casualties (seventeen killed and three maimed) which was unfortunate perhaps in retrospect. With the sun slowly retreating behind Lake¡¯s Watch to the west, the stubborn officer decided to remove the last threat from the field under the dimming light. The loitering two hundred meters away host of Crows were debating whether to retreat towards Sir Rik De Weer or wait for the knight to come to them. Sir Rik had started towards Sir Varenhorst fearing his men might get tangled up in a fight he had been instructed by his father to avoid. Sir Adrian Hakker was late and logic dictated to head where he was needed the most. Sir Hakker was moving towards Sir Rik already of course, bringing troubling news from the rear. ¡®Oras heeds not of noble cunts or fancy lineage!¡¯ Kaeso had bellowed to his drunk at their stunning victory comrades. ¡®Let history debate good from bad whilst we end the campaign today! Send the birds of night into the Black One¡¯s embrace!¡¯
- ¡°Holly shit,¡± Ramirus croaked in disbelief. ¡°I think Kaeso won the fight sire!¡± A relieved Lucius nodded and rode to Sir Valgus. The other knights gathered around him. ¡°I want to learn of Sir Valens fate. I ought his father as much,¡± he told them soberly. That was two of Lord Valens'' brave sons that had fallen for his cause. ¡°Davy is unresponsive and his men¡¯s spirit broken. So they are of no help.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll head out immediately my lord,¡± Valgus assured him remarkably calm given the dramatic scenes they had all witnessed. Rhesus and Lurco agreed. ¡°See if I can locate any survivors.¡± ¡°Are the Crows retreating?¡± Lucius asked Ramirus but the LID officer didn¡¯t answer. An aide rode fast to them followed by a mounted Trupo. ¡°Praetor. Falx reports that Regulus might be retreating towards Ligur,¡± the mustached officer reported from the saddle. ¡°Has Sir Gatrell made contact with Regulus at all?¡± ¡°He reached Worm Lake but can¡¯t get anything else out of men and animals sir.¡± ¡°Eh, we can¡¯t ask more from him at this point,¡± Lucius agreed and tried to think of a way to outflank Ligur during the night. Will he retreat? ¡°Ramirus,¡± he snapped gruffly. ¡°What about the Crows?¡± ¡°I think Kaeso charged at them sire,¡± Ramirus replied tensely. What? ¡°Can you see him?¡± ¡°It¡¯s difficult to see what¡¯s going on. We lose light fast,¡± Ramirus grimaced. ¡°I know what I saw. He went straight at them. Cut their lines in half.¡± Lucius stood back on the saddle stunned. ¡°Welp, if he pulls that off I¡¯ll eat my mustache,¡± Trupo mumbled in disbelief and then added seeing the king¡¯s expression. ¡°Gladly sire.¡± ¡°It turned into a bloody melee my lord,¡± Ramirus reported still trying to make out what was going on. Lucius closed his eyes for a brief moment. ¡°Valgus!¡± He barked the next. You can¡¯t kill an armoured knight unless you ambush him. And that only worked for the first couple of minutes. It took thirty minutes for the Crows to bring down Sir Valens and they had almost three times his numbers. ¡°At your service my lord,¡± Valgus replied in his cultured palace manner. ¡°The King will ride out,¡± Lucius informed him and unsheathed Endariel letting the singing blade rest in front of him on the saddle. ¡°Sir!¡± Trupo objected snapping to attention. ¡°See you keep up,¡± a grim-faced Lucius told his knights and turned Nightsilver around. ¡°Sir Valgus stop the King!¡± Ramirus barked irate at the frowning knight. Lucius clicked his tongue and Nightsilver started an energetic canter towards the distant battlefield. Sir Valgus slapped his helm¡¯s cover shut and turned his horse around to gallop after the King without bothering to answer, the rest of the royal knights following after them. With a weary sigh Trupo kicked his legs after slapping the freaked out aides¡¯ arm and the two officers rode fast after the King¡¯s entourage. -
Kaeso killed at least one armoured knight as a matter of fact. Stabbed him with Bas Crull¡¯s Imperial shortsword through the face cover slits or through the helm. A famed knight. Sir Rudi Varenhorst himself. The nimble ranger injured a Crow at the end of his charge but lost his lance so he leaped over the saddle like an Eplas Horselord and brought the shocked knight down. The taken by surprise Crows soon recovered though and after losing ten or twelve of their own pounced on the rangers that had found themselves amongst them. It was a brutal, merciless scrap but the outcome was predetermined. Dosser¡¯s, who got thrashed with a flail in the face losing consciousness, suffering a shattered jaw and torn tongue that forced him to speak like a wounded beast from then on, last memory of Kaeso is of him getting mauled by two enraged men-at-arms still on horseback. One of the Crows cleaving him between neck and shoulder with a long axe so brutally the shaft broke. Out of about eighty rangers that charged on Sir Rudi¡¯s crows seventy six were killed outright managing to take with them over twenty of their opponents. Of the four that survived, Decanus Slag was missing both arms and the other two named Placus and Goff were maimed grotesquely, with Goff suffering a cracked cranium that forced the Dottore to screw a bronze plate on to keep everything together. They both followed Dosser when the latter was honorably discharged from the Legion a year later. Dosser is rumored to have taken Kaeso¡¯s shortsword with him as a distraught Sorex (he managed to find his slain friend¡¯s half eaten corpse three days later) wanted nothing to do with the ¡®accursed weapon¡¯. In the end the mysterious Kaeso left this realm much as he had lived it, obscured in semi-darkness and with few witnesses over his motives or his untimely demise. Lucius arrived at the site in the pitch black. He had to stop many times to check on corpses and dead animals littering this part of the plains. With so many cavalry engagements fought in quick succession it wasn¡¯t easy to locate the final battle of the day. Hours later and unable to find either Sir Valens body or Kaeso¡¯s men in the dark, he decided to turn around and try again early the next morning if it was possible. The lights from the Crows that had camped a kilometer away from the battlefield caught his attention and despite the men urging him to return to safety Lucius ventured towards the fires of the large camp. The men that had survived the Valens'' and Kaeso¡¯s fights were in a pensive mood over the loss of many of their friends and Sir Rudi Varenhorst. An hour before Lucius found their camp, Sir Rik De Weer had arrived with his own force and was informed of the tragic news. The Crows lamented over the losses for a while around the then Lord of Forestfort but sobered up quickly as this was their character and after the solemn Rik¡¯s insistence. Sir Adrian¡¯s force was to reach the Crows camp about ten minutes or thereabouts after the aggrieved King of Regia.
- The Crow wore heavy chainmail with pieces of plate reinforcing arms, shoulders and torso under his dark grey hemp robes. Most of the men around the fires were dressed similarly. The well-known coat of arms of Scaldingport painted on shields. Some like the familiar one-eyed knight had full plate armour on, the crow engraved in grey on the dark metal. ¡°Who goes there?¡± The Crow asked eyeing the mounted figures, black face covered in white beard and his white Issir hair cut short. ¡°The King of Regia,¡± Lucius replied hoarsely and the Crows sitting by the fire closest to them turned their heads around. Several others standing near the grazing horses reached for their weapons. ¡°We only have wine and stale bread,¡± Sir Rik said from his spot waving the men to stand down. ¡°But the sun is set and Uher counsels friends and foes to share.¡± Lucius stared at the Crow sentry and he backed away a couple of steps. ¡°My Lord,¡± Sir Valgus warned him but Lucius climbed down from his horse with a tired grimace. ¡°On your honor Sir Rik?¡± He queried and the knight from Scaldingport nodded. ¡°Not much else for us second sons Lord Lucius,¡± Rik replied raspingly. An older Rik this, the leather patch covering his eye making him appear more sinister. Lucius remembered where he¡¯d lost that eye. The memory sober. ¡°You¡¯ll clear a space for my men?¡± He asked. ¡°Move about,¡± Rik ordered his watching men. A darn lot of them, Lucius thought. ¡°Give them access to our fire.¡± He approached flanked by Sir Valgus and Sir Rhesus, the rest of the knights walking behind him. Trupo and a young aide stayed with the horses. Rik had a bronze goblet in his hands and he set it near the fire to reach for a leather flask and another goblet. Lucius accepted the goblet and took a small sip of the wine. Then he sat down across from the Issir knight, the fire blazing between them. Sir Valgus and the rest of his knights standing behind him. ¡°How is your brother?¡± Lucius asked trying to be civil despite the awkwardness of the encounter. He hadn¡¯t expected to find Crows in the field and he could very well be fighting them on the morrow. ¡°With the Queen of Kaltha,¡± Rik replied sipping at his warmed wine. ¡°This tastes foul, good gods. A gift from my father. Go figure.¡± ¡°Gust is with Elsanne?¡± Lucius asked avoiding to breech the probably thorny matter of succession in Kaltha. ¡°That strangely makes a ton of sense.¡± Rik grimaced. ¡°Could have made his move sooner,¡± he grunted but then his face relaxed. ¡°Perhaps it spared me worse pain. Our young Queen is crazy.¡± He breathed out at the memory and then looked at the solemn Lucius. ¡°I should have killed that slanted eye rascal, honor be damned. Ralph should have done it also, probably got stopped for the same reason. Honor and Antoon¡¯s stupidity.¡± Lucius pursed his mouth not wanting to remember another loss in a day of many. ¡°You look a bit older aye,¡± Rik told him putting his goblet by the fire again. ¡°Had I known you¡¯ll be roaming the field, perhaps I should have arrived sooner.¡± ¡°What are you doing here Rik?¡± Lucius asked hoarsely. ¡°Your brother needs help.¡± ¡°You fight for Jeremy? He sent you?¡± ¡°I fight for my sister. Your court is full of snakes Lucius,¡± Rik retorted. ¡°Not my court and I can¡¯t imagine Ruud¡¯s is much better.¡± ¡°You¡¯re in the wrong.¡± Rik frowned. ¡°My father is a vile man,¡± he continued. ¡°But we have no backstabbing in his court. Not among ourselves.¡± ¡°Because Ruud would kill anyone even thinking about it.¡± ¡°Those that deserve it, the crows feast upon,¡± Rik replied meaningfully. Lucius breathed in slowly. ¡°Your Crows killed men serving me. Friends,¡± he rustled and Rik nodded. ¡°Your men killed my friends.¡± Lucius stood back. ¡°Ligur has no reserves. I¡¯ll attack tomorrow and even if he survives it, I have Duke Holt¡¯s army hell bent on reaching here as soon as possible.¡± Rik grimaced and behind them a great number of horses arrived. ¡°Have you got any cavalry left?¡± He asked. ¡°Jeremy won¡¯t win this,¡± Lucius warned him. ¡°Does Scaldingport want to make an enemy of Regia?¡± ¡°Scaldingport is married to Regia,¡± Rik retorted gruffly. ¡°I told you. I¡¯m here for my sister¡ª¡± He paused and glared back angrily at the murmurs heard from the arriving men. Lucius examined the newcomers. More Scaldingport men-at-arms. Well over two hundred and fifty in a quick estimate. Perhaps more. A lot of cavalry, he thought worried and a grave-looking Crow approached Rik. ¡°Milord, it¡¯s Sir Hakker.¡± ¡°I expected him,¡± Rik snapped gruffly. ¡°What is it? He¡¯s not killed as well for crying out loud!¡± The man gulped down. ¡°He lives milord, but Sir Turner never reached Islandport.¡± Lucius frowned at the bizarre exchange. Rik pursed his mouth. ¡°He got lost? Is the man the biggest fool? He only had to follow the coastal road!¡± He reminded Lucius of his father in his anger. ¡°Sir Hakker believes the men were attacked on the road milord.¡± ¡°By whom?¡± Rik grunted losing his temper. ¡°Where is Sir Hakker?¡± ¡°He stayed to discover more milord.¡± ¡°Answer the god darn question!¡± Rik snapped and got up. ¡°Northern raiders. They have cut the road,¡± the man mumbled stumbling away in fear from the wiry knight. Rik turned his head to stare at Lucius. ¡°Who else knows of this?¡± He asked his expression changing. ¡°The news have spread milord. A lot of people were killed and the city is presumed lost. It¡¯s been hours since.¡± Sula you maniac, Lucius thought and got up. How did you pull that off? Rik grimaced and stared at the fire in silence. A moment later he turned his sole eye on Lucius. ¡°The kids are innocent,¡± he told the King of Regia. Lucius stood back unsure. ¡°I don¡¯t wage war on children Rik.¡± The knight of Scaldingport clenched his jaw and stared at his men. ¡°Sir Rik, you know me for years,¡± Lucius reminded him. ¡°You killed your wife,¡± Rik grunted opening and closing his fist. ¡°Married two in her stead.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t kill her. It¡¯s just a rumor,¡± Lucius snapped trying to control himself. ¡°But I had to take another wife. It wasn¡¯t an easy decision. I did it for Regia.¡± Rik licked his lips looking at him. There was a lot of tension in the air. The fire crackling between them breaking it. The night smelling of earth and burning wood. ¡°I have to protect Janneke and the children,¡± Rik finally said through his teeth. ¡°We don¡¯t do that Lucius. We don¡¯t kill kids. This is your people. The rot has spread.¡± ¡°You are mistaken,¡± Lucius corrected him. He couldn¡¯t understand what had spooked Rik so much. ¡°I can¡¯t risk it,¡± Rik murmured and grimaced. ¡°This is the feast of Oras. It only just started. My father was right.¡± Eh? ¡°About what?¡± Lucius asked but Rik turned to stare at his gathered men instead of answering him. ¡°We ride tonight. Everyone fix your saddles,¡± he ordered them and several approached him curious. What the allhells is going on here? An increasingly more nervous Lucius wondered. ¡°Where to milord?¡± Rik turned his eye on Lucius, dark face distorted from the deepest concern. ¡°Tenor. Alden next, praise Uher that we make it in time,¡± he replied raspingly. ¡°I should have never left her side.¡±
A deeply disturbed Lucius watched the Scaldingport men-at-arms break camp and not a half hour later riding away into the dark night. Sir Valgus came to stop near him holding Nightsilver¡¯s reins in hand. ¡°What was all that my lord?¡± The Knight asked and Lucius rubbed his tired eyes, the Crows had left their fires burning in their haste. ¡°We have a battle to win on the morrow,¡± Lucius replied raspingly, clenching his right fist. ¡°A war to finish. Friends have died to make it happen. Good people. We can¡¯t be distracted nor lose focus.¡± ¡°Of course my Lord,¡± the knight replied. But hard as he tried on the return to the packed with worried officers headquarters, Lucius couldn¡¯t get the encounter out of his mind.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 424. Lorian Plains | A dead tiger (1/2)
¡®There are two ways to get a deal done in order to dig yourself out of a pool of deep shit, without losing your head or drown in it. Wit small variations. The first requires to keep yer cards firmly in fist -tighter than how yer beating yer cock and reveal nothing. Allow the grown ups to find common ground on how to divide various properties. Say take back what you gave as dowry plus something along the desert coast where lords sleep with them fat flies near their mouths dreaming of plump goat cunts. Play the long game and avoid opening yet another front for no reason. Offer something a weary sane man or a family-first guy will be willing to give up to avoid further bloodshed. The kiss and make up solution. They are brothers so they could even share them wives to solidify the deal. I would! Now, don¡¯t get all defensive, yer sister would go along with it. Bunch of sentimental fools. Heed this old Crow''s words! Women love a good railing and a coin in hand son, worth¡¯s more than a treasure fought over till yer six feet in the ground, worms eating yer other eye. Ha-hah! Anyways, ye need character for that though. Those with more water than sperm in their scrotums will look to find a shortcut to hide their blunders or crimes and toss the uncomfortable blame on those that can speak for themselves no more. He-he. Don¡¯t you get it? Like dead folk! This is the feast of Oras descending upon us, ayup. A man¡¯s true colors reveal themselves in triumph and all that crap but sneaky folks¡¯ loyalties tend to waver when they smell defeat or doom. Why, no different than fucking rats on a sinking ship!¡¯ - Lord Ruud De Weer, second of his name, (born in the summer of 111? NC and ruling Scaldingport since the distant 138 NC, taking over from Duke Gust the first) in conversation with Sir Rik, third of his name, his second (legitimate) son, about the developments in Regia¡¯s Succession War. Recorded ¡®unofficially¡¯ during early summer of 193 NC by an eavesdropping court¡¯s servant, during the ancient Grand Duke¡¯s visit to see his grandchildren in the desert coastal city of Sabretooth. Lord Ruud stayed for the whole week in order to celebrate his eighty second? named year ¡®wit them desert wenches¡¯ as he was officially quoted saying by the Baron¡¯s scribes. */ or 113 NC according to some sources.
Lucius Alden, ¡®Bloody Tiger¡¯ Lord Lucius Aldenus the third, Praetor Maximus, King Lucius III Lorian Plains | A dead tiger Part I -The kind ye don¡¯t come back from-
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Lord Scylla tried to march out of the city but he was harassed by ¡®Half-ear¡¯ Pike¡¯s Rangers and Sextus Mellitus 2nd Century of the 4th Cohort, who Quintus Gratian had guarding the city center. Scylla managed to communicate with Cad Seneca who had taken over the battered Alden and Royal guard troops outside Islandport. Commander Seneca¡¯s younger brother, third son of the elderly Earl of Vinterfort Vel Seneca (Scylla¡¯s vassal) briefed his man the morning of the 16th and Scylla learned of his son¡¯s (Sir Sylvan) demise along the worrying developments. The grief-stricken Baron dispatched Davos Scylla his cousin and Shield to the Dazzling Opossum with a few trusted men in order to warn King Jeremy of a potential catastrophe. Davos also carried a message for his wife and younger son Fabio who were in Sabretooth in case he didn¡¯t make it. It is disputed whether the Baron had lost heart in his grief and the overall deteriorating situation or had preemptively tried to protect the stripped of the four platoons of guards that had come with him from Alden young King. What everyone agrees on today is that the Master of Silence Marc Laudus was the first to be informed about a potential defeat through spies inside Ligur¡¯s headquarters. Ligur had learned of the disastrous defeats of his cavalry wings that had led to the demise of Sir Sylvan and Optio Sorio. With Trifer killed earlier the previous day Ligur kept Slaurus near the road and his center but faced dwindling supplies without the artillery camp near the city. Regulus, who had managed to retreat his east wing during the night abandoning the slingers in Worm Lake to stall Sorex and had ordered Centurion Crito¡¯s Century to hold the gap for as long as he could against Falx, took positions with the remaining two Centuries of the 2nd Cohort on Ligur¡¯s now shorter east flank. During the late night war meeting Regulus advised a general retreat while Seneca still controlled the road. The idea was to regroup at Tenor or even defend at Aldenfort. Ligur admonished his experienced officer for ¡®defeatist talk in the open¡¯ while the battle was still unfolding and ordered him to defend east flank while coordinating with Seneca who was overwhelmed trying to fix the mess Dirk¡¯s attack had caused. Betto was to hold the west flank with help from Glycia since Lucius had no cavalry left to maneuver there. According to one of Regulus¡¯ aides, probably serving as the 2nd Cohort¡¯s scribe, who was present in the meeting, after everyone was dismissed Ligur admitted to his close friend Memon that they needed to prepare for the worst. ¡®We shall do our outmost and give the King the time to seek another solution if it¡¯s available. An army can only fight for so long taking casualties. We cause Lucius enough damage here to make him stop for six months or a year and Scaldingport might have another Duke on the throne with the blessings of the Queen of Kaltha.¡¯ While the aide returned near Regulus, Ligur¡¯s words were overheard by one of Laudus¡¯ agents who didn¡¯t stay in First Legion¡¯s headquarters for much longer. The man rode immediately for Dazzling Opossum, ahead of Davos and Sir Rik De Weer. Inside East Coast Woods an ailing Legatus Sula, who had been informed of III Legio¡¯s presence near Islandport (Lucius orders gave him carte blanche but called for action) and the developments in the city by Dirk Curd himself, quickly formulated a plan for a three pronged attack by all split commands the coming day. After dismissing Dirk¡¯s initial cautious plan for part of O¡¯ Leary¡¯s regulars to hold the road of retreat as a ¡®pile of crap since we ain¡¯t gonna retreat no more¡¯, he messaged Gratian (Prefect Rufius Valens had been evacuated seriously injured) to coordinate with Centurion Glean Lale (IICH, 2nd Century¡¯s officer from Kas had taken over command of the mauled 2nd Cohort instead of injured Opiter Carbo that had also been moved to the hospital) for an assault against Cad Seneca¡¯s force while he assisted O¡¯ Leary and Ludolf smash Lord Scylla¡¯s trapped soldiers. O¡¯ Leary was to attack from the west and Gratian to attack south out of the city towards the road. The rest of the Cohorts (the III and I under Chad and Surinas respectively), Marlene¡¯s Brutes and Willard¡¯s Clan warriors under Dirk Curd were to join for an attack against the older Seneca. (Around seventy Nords but a dozen of them were ¡®giants¡¯ which isn¡¯t that far from the truth. No one reached Layton¡¯s height though.) Boston¡¯s machine crews were placed under Prefect Jacobred (around two hundred men issued spears, swords or any other weapon available) and were all to march out of the coastal forest ¡®even on one foot,¡¯ as Sula passionately expounded, ¡®and hit those desert bastards so hard they¡¯ll shit themselves and run back to their mothers!¡¯ The ailing Sula (he was to collapse after the attack but miraculously survive after losing twenty kilos from severe dysentery) with the limping Prefect Dumont in typical manner marched alongside the legionnaires of the 4th Legion.
- Eighteen Months Offensive 16th of Primus 194, Code named -18 plus 14- Campaign Day 406 Early dawn, end of III Legio¡¯s 2nd war meeting of the night near the still burning 1st Legion¡¯s camp four kilometers north of the half-destroyed Mercator¡¯s Inn. - A tired but alert Lucius listened to Veturius summing up the offensive plan for the coming day to every officer present in thoughtful silence. ¡°Falx will march after Regulus with Sepofa and Lepidus Centuries help, keeping an eye on their east side for them slingers. Sorex is to clean out Worm Lake with the Croton lads,¡± Nasica had been hospitalized and his second in command another Croton man named Gavros had taken over. ¡°While Sir Gatrell looks to exploit any openings between Regulus and Seneca¡¯s rear. The rest of 4th Legion¡¯s cavalry under¡­¡± ¡°Decurion Ville Hunt,¡± Trupo helped out. ¡°A Halfostad lad.¡± Galio pursed his mouth. ¡°Hunt will help Fallon root out the rangers lurking in the coppice south of the road and give us a direct line of communication with Sula. The Legatus has been informed during the night of our intentions and is expected to do his duty.¡± ¡°Brevis,¡± Trupo said looking over Sirio¡¯s notes. The LID officer had been tasked with updating the roster after the casualties suffered but was on scribe duty for the meeting given his ability to speedily transcribe clearly with minimum light. ¡°Brevis, Mede and Mangas will attack Prefect Betto¡¯s west flank on open ground. He¡¯s almost half a kilometer from Glycia so we need to cut him off there.¡± ¡°Expect artillery to be present between the flanks,¡± Lucius intervened. ¡°Durio has been redeployed to answer though. Colt has brought forward a lot of wagons to address the matter of supplies and provide better accommodation inside the city for everyone looking for it, but it was a necessary ruse as you are all aware to use the civilians to push all the ammo carts forward.¡± Galio nodded. ¡°Silvius and the 4th Cohort will resume attacking Glycia and keep him pinned. Gaeta will assist positioned east of him, with Prefect Merenda¡¯s and Centurion Domus¡¯ redeployed 2nd Cohort as a reserve in the center that¡¯ll probably be needed. Dio¡¯s Century is to attempt also to split Glycia and Memon from Regulus attacking at the seams with Gaeta. Prefect Draco will have overall command of the center.¡± A hurt Merenda glanced at Lucius. ¡°Your men are tired and we don¡¯t want any deviations from the plan Antonius. We don¡¯t need them at this time. Draco you know what to do. I expect everyone to perform timely Prefect.¡± ¡°Yes sir! Absolutely!¡± Julius Draco boomed pounding his chest with a fist, which caused Trupo to wiggle his mustache startled. ¡°They¡¯ll be no delays or shenanigans whatsoever sir!¡± Merenda sighed pensively. ¡°You are dismissed lads,¡± Galio grunted stiffly. He had a journey ahead of him as the Tribune was to take over the east flank effort and assist Falx. Lucius wanted to free up the way for Duke Holt who was probably attacking near the bridge with everything he had already. While the Duke was days away, his cavalry was needed after the casualties they¡¯d suffered in both men and horses. Nothing was over yet.
¡°What about the Crows my lord?¡± Ramirus inquired after the officers had departed. Lucius wanted to join Sir Valgus¡¯ small cavalry force in the west flank. A lot of medic crews were there already helping the injured and locating the dead from the previous day. ¡°Sir Rik appeared eager to depart,¡± Lucius replied getting up. His left arm was stiff after the night and an hour of restless sleep hadn¡¯t helped. ¡°My Lord, if I may note here, risking your life amidst enemy lines had everyone greatly worried,¡± Ramirus said. ¡°I started this journey with a group of men and women half a decade ago. More really,¡± Lucius replied evenly looking at the LID officer. ¡°One of them had just lost his life, the death kept from his best friend who is risking his in the woods. I approached them after sunset but they weren¡¯t a group of lowly thugs and we¡¯re in Regia.¡± ¡°My Lord,¡± Ramirus protested but grimaced not wanting to disagree with him. ¡°We are at war.¡± ¡°Not with Scaldingport. I know it was a risk but I am still human,¡± Lucius replied and breathed out. ¡°Most of those knights I grew up with, competed against Ramirus,¡± he grimaced. ¡°You are the King of Regia,¡± the LID officer reminded him. Lucius nodded. ¡°Sometimes I forget it still,¡± he admitted. ¡°It¡¯s good that Faye wasn¡¯t here.¡± Ramirus said nothing. ¡°And Monica of course,¡± Lucius added pursing his mouth. ¡°News travel sire,¡± Ramirus noted simply. ¡°Rik alluded to something similar,¡± Lucius murmured with a frown. ¡°Who is Sir Turner?¡± Ramirus stood back. ¡°Not an Issir knight. Varenhorst and Hakkar you knew already.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± Lucius agreed. ¡°Varenhorst had been Rik¡¯s squire in the tourneys.¡± He paused deep in thought. A squire. More than ten years later he would be a knight by now. ¡°My Lord?¡± Ramirus queried seeing his face. ¡°Sir Gillmor Ursus is still in Lesia yes?¡± Lucius asked. ¡°Apparently he is. They kept the detail from us. Lord Victor -his brother- was killed defending Novesium. Lady Elvira Brakis, the Duke¡¯s daughter Labiena from his first wife Beatrice and his youngest son from Lady Elvira were lost during Lord Nattas¡¯ attempt to take the city.¡± ¡°Lost as in killed? Good grief!¡± ¡°A lot of civilians were killed in the chaos, the Mayor, his whole family and the palace was also raided, parts of the city burned. We have no further details and this we learned from Drusus Sula after he took the city, but perhaps Lord Nattas might know more?¡± A troubled Lucius nodded. ¡°Sir Gillmor had a young squire named Turner I believe,¡± he told Ramirus. ¡°Perhaps this is the man.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll look into the matter,¡± Ramirus assured him. ¡°Any idea who the Northmen were?¡± Lucius grimaced. ¡°I couldn¡¯t learn more. Sula has Northmen with him though. Plus Martha could field a couple of Cohorts herself.¡± ¡°Sovya¡¯s Northmen are pretty civilized and could hardly be mistaken for raiders my Lord. Wouldn¡¯t Sir Rik recognize them?¡± ¡°Eh, Scaldingport has no real contact with the North,¡± Lucius replied but the LID officer had a point. He signed for an aide to bring his horse. The sun was about to come up.
The three Centuries of the 1st Cohort under Brevis marched against Prefect Betto¡¯s 3rd Cohort half an hour after dawn, the 16th of Primus especially chilly. Brevis had widened the front putting three Maniples one next to each other with one kept in reserve per Century. Mede¡¯s 2nd Century situated at the east edge of Betto¡¯s flank tried to penetrate at the gap between him and Glycia but received artillery fire (mostly by Scorpios but around ten catapults as well). Prefect Durio responded upon locating Slaurus¡¯ machines (two hundred meters behind the lines facing the gap) and moved forward his own. Under bombardment Mede swung two Maniples left to attack Betto¡¯s 3rd Century¡¯s sides but also make it difficult for Slaurus to fire on his men. Slaurus moved forward his lighter Scorpios and ordered his catapults to lob at the 1st Cohort¡¯s rear. The whole field was pre-measured but markers had been removed or destroyed the previous day and night by Brevis. Durio kept advancing covered by a platoon (around sixty men) of Gaeta¡¯s regulars with Silvius 4th Cohort attacking Glycia¡¯s west flank to prevent his attempt at closing the gap. Slaurus¡¯ Scorpios now about a hundred and fifty meters away turned on the Cartagen spear infantry and fired a volley that almost broke them. The Centurion (of engineers) ordered his men to reload despite their lack of ammunition and loose their bolts again. He had his mind on the catapults preparing to lob their more risky distant shots slantwise, the bulky machines taking more time to turn on their stands. Durio who was trying to gauge the distance for his own catapults (fourteen pieces loaded with jugs of oil, three with naphtha soaked chunks of coal and hay in thick hemp sacks that were to be lit and lobbed immediately after) ordered five of his Scorpios to fire sequentially range-finding shots (starting at a hundred meters and increasing ten meters each time) towards the enemy machines. Slaurus¡¯ catapults (fifteen remaining, plus thirty Scorpios also in two groups of fifteen) lobbed their rounded rocks and hit Mangas¡¯ 3rd Century¡¯s rear. Six found the mark killing eighteen legionnaires. Seven missed everything but plowed at the ground deep, with two boulders landing amidst Betto¡¯s front rows killing or maiming seven legionnaires and collapsing his shield-wall injuring Centurion Torus. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Betto and Mangas tried to stabilize their rattled men. The Prefect rode near the front that buckled as Brevis pressed forward, but in the meantime Durio had gauged the distance from the enemy Scorpios when his fourth bolt skewered a sergeant (of engineers) inspecting a malfunctioning machine through the back and nailed him on the damaged Scorpio. Durio ordered the Catapults to fire at the correct mark and they did lobbing their jugs of oil first and then their burning sacks of coal to ignite the ground. Eight of the Catapults overshot the Scorpios and their crews (a thirty kilo jug did kill an unlucky engineer landing on his head) but seven crashed amidst the Scorpios and the next moment everything within twenty meters was set alight. The crews run away to save themselves and Durio ordered the Catapults to switch to rocks and his own Scorpios to unleash at their discretion.
- ¡°Fire in the field sir!¡± An aide reported to Lucius but he could see for himself. The King had continued to close the distance with his mounted entourage towards the infantry lines, mindful of enemy Cavalry. But there was no sign of horses on the plains and Ligur¡¯s west flank was completely open. If Lucius had twenty more lancers with him he would have charged Betto and rolled him up. Lucius was itching to do it even with one working arm, but he reined himself in. ¡°Brevis broke the shield wall!¡± A knight yelled, men and horses nervous at the ruckus of battle coming from less than two hundred meters away. ¡°Nah, they plugged it back up,¡± Sir Valgus commented. Lucius nervously watched the smokes billowing over the locked lines of infantry trying to locate the enemy machines. He turned to Trupo who was watching with the field glasses. ¡°Anything?¡± ¡°Well, I can see them alright sire,¡± Trupo noted. ¡°Durio has started a barbeque.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t find jest in people¡¯s suffering Prefect!¡± Lucius admonished him. ¡°Your grace possesses obviously a far nobler soul than me,¡± Trupo replied calmly. ¡°I thus retract my statement sire.¡± Lucius turned Nightsilver around and relocated twenty meters away, the others following after him. They wanted to avoid some overeager eagle-eyed engineer turning a catapult their way. While not a big cavalry force, they were visible from the enemy lines. ¡°Find out what¡¯s going on in the center,¡± Lucius ordered the young aide, a bright twenty year old named Thomas from Trupo¡¯s staff. He immediately galloped away towards the still smoking legion camp, more smoke now coming from the rear of Betto¡¯s pressured Cohort. ¡°If they break,¡± Trupo commented sucking at his upper lip and some of his mustache. ¡°Ligur might lose the whole legion sire. He has to retreat.¡± Lucius set his eyes to the north beyond the lines of the fighting legionnaires. The sun was up, just over an hour into the second day of battle. ¡°I should have had Merenda move here,¡± he rustled. ¡°Ligur has no reinforcements coming.¡± ¡°Is Sula engaged already sire? Because only a seer could have predicted that,¡± Trupo replied and seeing Lucius¡¯ bitter expression he added meaningfully in an attempt to lift the King¡¯s spirits. ¡°There are no pretty or flawless wins outside fantasy tales your Grace. Rare are also the so called ¡®good defeats¡¯. Mostly it¡¯s just ugly wins and nasty losses.¡± ¡°Mister Trupo, sometimes I feel you could fit right in late Di Cresta¡¯s academic circles,¡± Lucius said glancing at the mustached nobleman. ¡°Sometimes.¡± Trupo scrunched his mouth one way then the other and raised the field glasses on his eyes again. ¡°I can¡¯t really tell about the fit sire,¡± he replied in his upper-class Flauegran accent. ¡°But I shall wager a full coin purse that as ugly a win as it may look for us, this shapes to be a very nasty loss for Ol¡¯ Scrawny. The kind ye don¡¯t come back from.¡± -
Gratian¡¯s 2nd Century under Mellitus missed Scylla¡¯s retreating soldiers, but Pike¡¯s rangers harassed the trying to get out of the city troops in fierce small engagements with enemy ranger elements that had been trapped with them. Scylla managed to march out of the last buildings, the huts of west district- skirting the Flooded Bogs and Mandarin Forest. He turned south at early dawn and an hour later he was two kilometers from the road heading towards Tenor. Inopportunely for him he got attacked at this point by the seething with blood-rage Ludolf¡¯s warriors that had burst out of the gloomy trees, but despite the fright succeeded in advancing slowly pushing them back and some of his Sabretooth regulars even reached the large gravel road. O¡¯ Leary¡¯s soldiers that had been alerted to Lord Scylla¡¯s actions, counter-attacked blocking his path completely with Ludolf still on his west flank and Pike¡¯s rangers harassing his rear. Caught in a cauldron the sleepless, tired and demoralized troops started losing cohesion against much-fresher equally well-equipped and well led soldiers. Scylla seeing his lines backing away, gathered his troops (about three hundred plus fifty rangers) and tried to break out towards the plains without success. Mellitus¡¯ fast marching 2nd Century had located them again during the chaos and blocked his desperate maneuver. The known for his parsimonious usage of army materiel Centurion ordered his legionnaires to equip and hurl javelins (pilums). ¡®This is it boys! Those that still have it,¡¯ he declared waving his sword ¡®save it no more!¡¯ Scylla¡¯s force disintegrated surrounded from all sides and despite valiant efforts most of the soldiers were cut down. The Baron got injured from the sides with a spear that punctured his right lung but luckily O¡¯ Leary¡¯s troops were nearer and he was spared. Mellitus had to physically restrain Ludolf to prevent him from butchering the surrendering soldiers using two Maniples worth of legionnaires to cordon his warriors. The low-character brutish warrior had sworn a blood oath to avenge Manfred¡¯s death. Gratian¡¯s remaining 4th Cohort Centuries (around 450 strong) plus Lale¡¯s battered 2nd Cohort (less than three hundred legionnaires out of 650 originally) attacked through the flattened wheat fields Cad Seneca¡¯s Alden soldiers and the first platoon of the royal guards (around four hundred and fifty in total) in a one-sided engagement that turned into a rout. The younger Seneca lost control of his troops with the royal guard making a stand against Lale and his twice mauled already Alden regulars retreating leaving them exposed. Despite his efforts to galvanize the troops (some units turned to fight the marching rows of legionnaires) Cad Seneca¡¯s command was first cut off, the rest of his force split in three parts, then killed suffering ghastly wounds to his stomach and face from sword thrusts. An hour later Gratian¡¯s soldiers reached the barricaded portion of the road making it the fourth of Sula¡¯s Cohorts that managed to gain control of this gory part of the battlefield that was still littered with hundreds of bloated, slow-rotting corpses of their own. Sula¡¯s remaining Cohorts, Marlene¡¯s Brutes, Dirk Curd¡¯s warriors and armed engineers (plus work crews and several civilians, adventurers and many locals that had tried to help his men survive in the woods) attacked all out against Commander Seneca¡¯s main army. Sula had around four hundred legionnaires of the 1st Cohort under Centurion Surinas¡¯ (With Papus and Sissena Draco helping) out of 850, three hundred plus from the 3rd Cohort (out of 650 originally) under Centurion Demeter ¡®Jim¡¯ Chad (with Cropp and Willie Page assisting.) Willie¡¯s twin brother Gavin Page had been killed earlier that week, but all in all Sula had a total force of over a thousand two hundred troops (local sources give as many as 1500, but those were probably very-low quality troops, youngsters or untrained civilians that got caught up in the advance). Seneca had four hundred high-quality soldiers drawn from Vinterfort¡¯s guards, sixty from Tenor (the small city suffered the highest percentage of casualties around 95% out of the initial four hundred troops) and around four hundred soldiers from Sabretooth (they had low moral after they learned of Sir Sylvan¡¯s fate). The problem was that he had readied about half of them (under orders) intending to march them towards the pressured Ligur, not anticipating of course an attack from Sula. While people and military ¡®scholars¡¯ tend to demonize Lord Seneca¡¯s children today (especially since they can¡¯t defend themselves) it must be noted here for the erudite readers that Sula had been retreating for days deeper inside the woods abandoning equipment behind and he was out of supplies. Seneca had a real crisis in his hands to focus on since the previous day and that was Krakenhall¡¯s sudden attack to his west flank and rear areas. He was also well aware (and under inscribed orders) that he needed to reinforce Ligur who had lost Trifer and his artillery advantage (Ligur¡¯s Cavalry wings had also been defeated). Ligur needed numbers on his flanks against Lucius or his position was unattainable. With Sula showing no signs of life Seneca rightly deduced that a desperate all-out attack was a very remote possibility. One must observe without bias what a general has available as options before outright condemning him especially given the mystery surrounding the 3rd Battle of the East Coast Woods. At any rate, despite being hit hard initially Seneca managed to plug the gaps in his lines bringing the troops he had held across the road to bear. His east wing managed to defend against the poorly trained engineers and civilians pushing the majority away from the road. With his flank collapsing under appalling casualties (Isaak Boston was killed during that time when a spear punctured his spleen) Sula himself was all but cut off. Chad managed to push against the Sabretooth soldiers on the other wing closer to the city but the Centurion was fatally injured and his advance stalled. Twice Seneca ordered the soldiers to charge on the weakened legionnaires but the gore-covered Chad heroically held his ground which saved the Legatus as it gave time for Curd¡¯s warriors to break him out shattering the encirclement. With the fighting turning especially brutal, Cropp took over from Centurion Chad (he died from severe blood loss not soon after and was found with a broken spear tip lodged in his neck) and attempted to regroup the men. Centurion Lale¡¯s first advancing elements of the 2nd Cohort leaped over the ruined barricades at about that time (they had triumphed against Seneca¡¯s younger brother) and marched against the Vinterfort commander¡¯s west flank. Seneca turned the Sabretooth troops to face the new threat but his force was split in two with his east flank advancing against the weaker of Sula¡¯s troops and his center retreating unable to cope with Dirk¡¯s deadly strike group. There are actual accounts of a tall Nord actually cutting three soldiers down with one blow of his long-shafted cleaver, another shattering an officer¡¯s cranium with a crude broken branch. It is this author¡¯s opinion that Seneca should have retreated here. He hadn¡¯t made any mistakes in the whole battle. Not of this magnitude. He should have retreated with Sula¡¯s attack losing steam beyond the road and then regroup near Ligur¡¯s rear. Why he didn¡¯t is one big mystery with no comfortable answer. Sula¡¯s victorious Legion was a spent force running on fumes (the Legatus was to collapse soon and had to be carried to safety) but for some bizarre reason he didn¡¯t. The prevalent (in this author¡¯s opinion completely ludicrous) theory is that Commander Seneca suffered a sudden case of ¡®manic delirium¡¯ or ¡®grief-related terrain blindness¡¯ and wandered off until he was conveniently cut down by one of Marlene¡¯s Brutes with a sharp blade that all but beheaded him. The culprit was never identified and Marlene¡¯s small force was fighting nowhere near Vinterfort¡¯s lines. Either way Seneca¡¯s bloody half-eaten body was discovered days later two hundred meters away from the battle site itself, in the plains east of the road. Out in the middle of nowhere. This doesn¡¯t make any sense and it was scandalously convenient for Nonus Sula. This was one of several documented weird events (along with the Legatus¡¯ miraculous recovery, surviving the siege of Pascor and the events around the treaty of Tollor) highlighting Sula¡¯s ability to get out of a universally admitted ¡®death trap¡¯ yet again. The Legatus and his legion should have been destroyed, but while they suffered appalling losses in soldiers, valuable officers and personnel (more on this later) they survived with the ¡®guts of the 4th intact, granted somewhat mangled,¡¯ as Prefect Pete Dumont wrote in his personal and later published diary. Two hours after sunrise, the 4th Legion had regained full control of the road from Smugglers Beach exit to the overrun HQ pavilion on the road to Asturia, along the city of Islandport itself. Ligur had nowhere to go.
- Centurion Mede Battle of Islandport road 2nd Day, III Legio, 1st Cohort, 2nd Century Army¡¯s center The artillery duel is dying down An hour afore noon -
¡°DONLON! Allgods damnit!¡± A sprinting Mede bellowed maniacally, his ears ringing, throat clogged with deleterious fumes since the engineers had fallen in love with burning shit down lately. The legionnaire holding the corner of the 2nd Maniple that had been guarding the west flank of the Century glanced his way stooped under his Scutum, right arm stabbing through the split in the shields blindly. ¡°Are ye serious? I¡¯m fucking busy Mede!¡± ¡°Shut yer mouth! Shite!¡± The Centurion cursed realizing he¡¯d overshot their own lines. Mede kicked a leg out to break the momentum, caught the lower part of a Scutum and then received the enemy Decanus¡¯ wrath for trying to mess up with the corner of his formation. An enemy legionnaire from the second row used a pilum to try and poke Mede¡¯s sole eye out, but the blade clanged on his badly dented helm -at least a couple of solid holes on it as well. ¡°Arggh!¡± Mede roared his bandaged head hurting and parried a sword thrust aside, then kicked again with his other leg and got the legionnaire fighting with Donlon right at the knee. Splintered the bone, a sharp broken piece poking from inside the skin. The man screamed and dropped on his ruined knee messing it up even more which gave Donlon the chance to stab him hastily over the lip of the shield, the gladius clanging on the helpless soldier¡¯s helm. Mede cursed the clumsy Nord¡¯s lineage, almost lost an arm when the angry enemy Decanus¡¯ sword hacked at his shield splitting it half-way down and Tertius found the opportunity to savagely hack slantwise seeing an opening. He got more neck than helm on his fallen opponent but received a puncturing wound on his shoulder and groaned irate. ¡°I told Knut to widen our front!¡± Mede growled dancing with his opponent outside of formation, the occasional bolt or flying boulder whipping over their heads as the engineers enthusiastically killed each other from a distance. ¡°Knutson!¡± Donlon retorted and leaped over the spraying blood everywhere man Mede had initially wounded to push the second line back. ¡°Knut stayed in Maza Burg!¡± ¡°Knut had the gout!¡± Aron guffawed finding it hilarious but slipped on the pool of gore under his feet and broke his teeth on the rim of his own Scutum. Not all but he cleaned the upper row out. Eh. Mede used part of his ruined shield to keep the Decanus away but the man just hacked at the remaining part cutting him once across the left forearm. The heavy-breathing Centurion pulled back with a pained groan and the advancing Decanus got hit by a charging horse that appeared out of the dust and smoke haze. He tumbled twice afore standing on his two feet and the Prefect riding the horse slashed him once across the face with a saber making it look easy. ¡°Mede!¡± Durio said, all glamorous in his fancy armour from atop the saddle. Mede hadn¡¯t forgiven him for getting his friend Kato killed with his stupid bridge. ¡°I need you to move your Century ten meters to the east! We are putting too much stress on the springs!¡± ¡°What?¡± Donlon gasped getting slowly pushed back, losing all his gains by two enemy legionnaires, one holding the Scutum and the other shoving him from behind. ¡°Prefect get the fuck back to yer position!¡± Mede barked at the turning his horse this way and that Durio rising even more dust. ¡°You stand out alike a sore thumb!¡± ¡°They¡¯ll miss Centurion,¡± Durio assured him. ¡°They have a lousy aim. Now kindly move your men out of our machines way.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m fearing Prefect! We are right behind ye for pity¡¯s sake!¡± Mede protested irate and Durio waved his arm frustrated. ¡°Just do what you¡¯re told¡ª¡± Durio bellowed but he never got the chance to finish. A bolt had stricken his horse¡¯s hind-sides, went clean through tearing at the flesh, disemboweling the hapless animal but missed the collapsing on the ground Prefect completely. Aron who was coughing up blood three meters away from Mede got skewered through the sternum and was killed instantly apparently having none of Luthos favor. The badly scarred Decanus Surus who was bringing up the 1st Maniple to rotate the men, helped the stunned Durio to his feet and then pointed him to the rear without a single word. He kept that word for the sour-faced Mede. ¡°Decanus Knutson swallowed a catapult shot,¡± Surus rustled, melted cheeks and mouth shuddering as if ready to come apart behind the cheek-guards. ¡°Ye need to promote someone to take over the 2nd. I suggest Donlon.¡± That would be the unit¡¯s third killed Decanus in just forty eight hours. ¡°Ye son of a bitch!¡± A worried Donlon cursed him irate still trying to keep his position behind the Scutum. ¡°Fucking ruffian!¡±
- A tensed Lucius rode Nightsilver back towards the center of his army well ahead of his entourage and pulled at the reins to stop the protesting warhorse the moment he reached the advanced field headquarters. The stout signifer Brim Solomon saluted the jumping from his horse Lucius and Prefect Draco raised his head from the map of the units he was reading. ¡°Lord Lucius!¡± He saluted crisply, his armour covered in dirt and soot. ¡°Durio has burned through seven carts of ammunition sir!¡± ¡°Has Dio made any progress?¡± Lucius rustled stooping to see for himself where his soldiers had advanced. ¡°Minimum gains sir,¡± Draco replied stiffly. ¡°Ligur brought a reserve Century from the center to reinforce Regulus. But Sir Gatrell send message that he¡¯ll attempt to cross Ligur¡¯s rear.¡± Ramirus brought him a flask of water and he washed his face and hands with it afore taking a small sip. ¡°Reach the road?¡± Lucius asked with a grimace. ¡°He intends to cross over sir.¡± Lucius breathed out. ¡°Could he hit Slaurus from the rear?¡± It seemed Ligur had no meaningful cavalry left and nothing in reserve. ¡°If it¡¯s possible. The horses are in a bad way.¡± ¡°Gavros?¡± ¡°Nothing since he charged at Crito. I believe Veturius will report again within the hour.¡± ¡°Falx has a clear path,¡± Lucius decided. ¡°Order him to angle after Regulus afore he can establish a defensive line. He¡¯s to attack with all Centuries. We can¡¯t dislodge Glycia from the barricades but how much depth would Ligur have prepared? Surely he expected some manner of help from Lord Scylla or Seneca.¡± Draco grabbed a runner and hastily gave him the King¡¯s instructions. Lucius walked nervously out of the shade to watch at the thick smoke raised over the frontlines. ¡°Decurion Vile Hunt has reached Fallon¡¯s slingers,¡± Ramirus informed him coming to stand next to the thoughtful king. ¡°There¡¯s heavy fighting in the coppice south of the road but also several unconfirmed reports that Sula has attacked out of East Coast Forest.¡± Lucius gulped down, fists clenched and tried to control his emotions. ¡°Unconfirmed?¡± ¡°Wanderers, not army,¡± Ramirus explained. ¡°A brother and sister. Half-breeds. They are with Veturius.¡± Lucius glanced at the LID officer. ¡°They came from Sula¡¯s rear?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not clear sire. Veturius believes their report legitimate.¡± Galio was very difficult to fool or trust a source. Lucius nodded extremely moved. ¡°As usual, Nonus has come through,¡± he told Ramirus hoarsely. Ramirus nodded with a rare smile. ¡°I¡¯ll try to verify the reports. Decurion Hunt would learn more as he¡¯s very close to the Legatus.¡± It ain¡¯t over yet, Lucius reminded himself. Don¡¯t get swept up into celebrating prematurely. Tyeus shall reward the braves that stayed the course. Praise be the Allgods. -
Sir Gatrell circled behind enemy lines unopposed and rode as far as the 1st Legion¡¯s rear. While discussing the next action they should take, his lieutenants pointed at Slaurus¡¯ ammunition wagons and carts urging the Yepehir knight to go for broke. Gatrell stalled giving time for his tired horses to rest and issued a water break for men and animals. While he was waiting a scout he¡¯d posted near the road two kilometers to his east reported streams of injured soldiers filtering towards Ligur¡¯s rear. He sent a score of riders to charge at the broken troops and they did scattering them into the plains. Gatrell got a couple of miserable prisoners from the ordeal who revealed the events of that morning¡¯s fierce battle around Islandport. Upon learning that Sula and his northern allies controlled the road towards Tenor and the city, Gatrell dispatched a messenger to Lucius¡¯ small cavalry force posted at the west of the frontlines under Trupo. The brief missive and the King¡¯s reply saved today in a framed case in the Baron¡¯s ¡®room of mementos¡¯ in his castle at Yepehir and is mentioned in his memoirs. ¡®Sula controls the road. Krakenhall troops in the field. Request permission to lick Slaurus sir. Scylla has surrendered. PS. The unit should charge, your Grace.¡¯ ¡®Luthos be with you good knight. Go forth,¡¯ Lucius had replied.
425. Lorian Plains | A dead tiger (2/2)
2nd day of the Battle for Islandport road, (Part of Greater battle at Lorian Plains), Very late morning, 16th of Primus, Year of the New Calendar 194 The embattled 1st Legion headquarters Right after Sir Norman Gatrell¡¯s charge on Slaurus And the collapse of Prefect Betto¡¯s weakened east wing Memon paused for the medics to drag the injured or exhausted from the frontlines, with a brief glance at a Decanus berating some of the Sabretooth soldiers that had made it back for cowardice as they were unwilling to return in the frontline. ¡°I should have you all executed on the spot!¡± He barked hoarsely over the ruckus of heavy fighting. Memon grimaced but continued towards the Legatus¡¯ Field Tent, part of the construction destroyed by a wayward catapult shot (it could have come from either side) that had killed a scribe and maimed one of Ligur¡¯s aides shattering both his legs. A surgeon decided to amputate both limbs but the man perished ten minutes later. The skeletal face of Faustus Ligur had aged well over his almost fifty years and was covered with lines and cracks after days of concern for the repeated setbacks, the weight of such a difficult command crashing for any mortal irregardless of their sound character. Regulus didn¡¯t look much better despite the ten year age-difference favoring him, but the wiry Prefect (Ligur had promoted him upon arriving with the bulk of his command intact three days earlier), an Anorum native who was three years younger than Memon was equally worried. ¡°Slaurus was broken in half, his disemboweled torso dragged twenty meters,¡± Regulus reminded the grim-faced one-armed Legatus. ¡°The horses made a second passing but they broke away quickly probably spent. These are 4th Legion horses. If we¡¯re to move, the time is now. There is more enemy riders sighted in our rear. Seneca has failed the Legion sir!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t let your anger speak ill of good officers!¡± Ligur snapped and Regulus stood back with a glance at the approaching Memon. ¡°Seneca was hit in the rear by Krakenhall troops, same as Trifer and Scylla. They didn¡¯t materialize out of thin air. This was a god-darn ruffian¡¯s landing! There¡¯s an unholy alliance afoot here Regulus! Pascor is involved for sure!¡± ¡°Damascus can¡¯t reconnect with Torus, Betto is cut off and surrounded sir,¡± Memon reported and the young replacement scribe started shaking, desperately trying to keep his quill straight to pen the meeting¡¯s notes for the Legion records. ¡°Glycia has kept the east wings connected for now but he¡¯s out of reserve troops. What we have received are injured men and worthless broken soldiers.¡± ¡°Eh,¡± Ligur grunted and clenched his jaw. Regulus stepped forward again. ¡°Legatus if Sula controls the road the King is in grave danger¡ª¡± Ligur cut him off abruptly banging his fist on the cracked table. ¡°The King is half a day away Prefect!¡± He growled. ¡°What is your suggestion?¡± ¡°We can break out to the west,¡± Regulus offered setting his jaw, a quick-thinking learned officer, son of a former Signifer of the First he¡¯d reached far higher in rank than his late father had ever envisioned for him. ¡°Create a corridor and strike towards Opossum. We can save half the command and give the king another option.¡± ¡°If we retreat Lucius will follow and the army will be destroyed en route,¡± Ligur dismissed his words. ¡°We must hold so we can cause as much damage as possible. This is helping the King Prefect. I¡¯ve read you his missive, you heard the herald.¡± ¡°Apologies but I can¡¯t trust an agent that bolted away as fast as he could sir!¡± ¡°This is your last chance son,¡± Ligur warned him sternly. Memon pursed his mouth. This was a death sentence for everyone. Ligur wouldn¡¯t spare himself and he couldn¡¯t allow the old Legatus to perish standing on his own. Die with the colors, he told himself. Was always on the cards. Regulus grimace turned into a scowl. ¡°A king without an army can¡¯t be a king for long. With all respect, this is parochial thinking sir!¡± Ligur steeled his eyes on him. ¡°I can have you executed for such talk,¡± he warned him. ¡°Legatus,¡± Memon intervened. ¡°The Prefect is speaking of a practical matter. There are no units between King Jeremy and Sula or his Northmen. Laudus agent might not make it, assuming he¡¯s trying to inform the Council of the developments. As I said Sula¡¯s men are not here but they could be marching towards Tenor. There¡¯s strong possibility they could cut the man down or make him talk. And even if they don¡¯t know where the King is, Opossum is right on their path sir.¡± Ligur rubbed his dirty forehead with a steady hand. Thick smoke was blowing amidst their lines and it mixed with dust. The smell of blood and death saturating everyone present¡¯s skin. ¡°We can¡¯t outrun horses,¡± he finally said hoarsely. ¡°Duty and orders demand of us to fight this to the last. I intend to do that. Let the higher ups do what they can with our sacrifice.¡± ¡°Legatus there are thousands of men out there!¡± Regulus exploded and a legionnaire guard brought his arm to his gladius to move against the Prefect. ¡°Men I trained!¡± Ligur blasted him. ¡°The First won¡¯t surrender Prefect, even if I¡¯m not present!¡± Regulus gulped down, a nervous tick marring his face. ¡°You¡¯ll live with that burden on your soul?¡± He grunted through his teeth. ¡°Every good officer does,¡± Ligur admonished him. ¡°You¡¯ve let soldiers perish back at the bridge. Betto did the same. They were as good men as those here but you¡¯ve already forgotten about them. I don¡¯t intend to survive and I don¡¯t intend to surrender as long as I still draw breath,¡± Ligur paused seeing a runner approaching the headquarters. ¡°Legatus!¡± ¡°Report,¡± Ligur replied hoarsely. ¡°A large Cavalry force appeared on the road, a kilometer from here!¡± The soldier reported breathing heavy. ¡°Damascus requests permission to pull men from the barricades to defend our rear sir!¡± Damascus had no spare men to draw from. ¡°Very well,¡± Ligur agreed and sighed ruggedly. ¡°Legatus. Sir,¡± Regulus tried again desperately. ¡°We can still cut west through the plains.¡± ¡°The Legion can¡¯t move. The front will collapse in minutes,¡± Ligur retorted but then his expression changed and he set his eyes on the tensed Prefect. ¡°A Century could. Three hundred quick-footed men can do it. If they make it to the plains¡­ eh, when they are discovered and there¡¯s a remote chance they won¡¯t be, then they¡¯ll be as good as dead. Out in the wilderness of course they could surrender their honor to save their lives.¡± Regulus blinked at the insult but grasped at the opening. ¡°I¡¯ll march immediately sir. Try to slip away afore their new cavalry cordons the field.¡± Ligur nodded and dismissed him. Memon crooked his dry mouth and stared at the sky above them. ¡°Why give him permission?¡± He asked the silent Legatus when the officer walked briskly away to jump on a horse to return to his command. ¡°He has no fight left in him. Every man is good at some things, uncomfortable with others. To enforce your will upon them you must be certain you are in the right, a god or a king. I¡¯m neither at this point,¡± Ligur replied tiredly. ¡°Maybe he¡¯ll find the courage on the morrow or perhaps he genuinely wants to join the King¡¯s command such as that may be.¡± He unsheathed his personal weapon. A slightly longer gladius-type army sword with a fine ivory and bronze engraved sturdy handle. The pommel finely polished with the Lorian old letter/number ¡®I¡¯ carved on it inside a laurel wreath for the First Legion. ¡°I¡¯ll go help Damascus setup a square,¡± Ligur told the grim-faced Memon. ¡°Regulus needs an hour at the very least. Let¡¯s give him that.¡± ¡°Yes sir,¡± Memon replied solemnly. A tired Ligur glanced his way, then at the sword seemingly deep in thought for a long moment. ¡°The First Legion can¡¯t surrender my friend. You know that,¡± he finally said, returning his gaze on him. ¡°A Legatus has no business saving himself after asking his men to lay down their lives for him. But men should have the right to decide for themselves after all other avenues are exhausted.¡± Memon gulped down and stared at the sword Ligur was offering him handle first. His stomach was tied up in a knot and Memon couldn¡¯t breathe. ¡°I can¡¯t do it myself,¡± Ligur explained a little embarrassed which was uncommon for him. ¡°I need another arm so I have to ask for yours.¡± Oras hells! Memon thought horrified. He grinded his teeth trying to keep his composure. Ligur pursed his mouth in half a smile. His eyes warming up seeing him fighting back tears. ¡°Faustus,¡± Memon croaked unable to speak, his arms shaking. ¡°Steel yer spine. You¡¯ve been a good soldier and a great friend through the years,¡± Ligur said his voice soothing amidst all the chaos and gave him the heavy blade. ¡°Fix the blade¡¯s point near the clavicle,¡± he added and knelt down with a grimace. ¡°I won¡¯t lose another King Memon.¡± The Legatus turned his head away and removed his heavy helm to give him better access. He placed it next to his right leg carefully and then loosened his armour at the collar. ¡°You are dismissed,¡± he ordered the guard and the sniffling scribe. ¡°Never betray Regia,¡± he advised them before they marched to join Damascus¡¯ redeploying legionnaires. ¡°You have the command Prefect. Do with it as you as you see fit, I trust your judgement.¡± Ligur ordered his moved friend promoting him on the spot. His stare stayed briefly on the Legion¡¯s billowing standard five meters away and then added in a softer voice so only Memon could hear, with a last look at the worn-out men marching to defend the rear. ¡°In the event you see my sister Verania, tell her I have the deed of the farm on her name and there are eighty pieces of Gold Eagles hidden inside the four amphorae at the old hunting lodge. The coin is for the children as they might not allow her to receive my pension.¡± His sister¡¯s husband, a mere legionnaire, had been killed at the Battle of the Turncoats, but he¡¯d served less than ten years and hadn¡¯t received but a small sum and no land given the Kingdom¡¯s situation. The unmarried Ligur had supported her these past years. A distraught Memon nodded, steeled his spine and looked to heave down as steady as he could muster given the circumstances. Tyeus watching from the battlefield helped him deliver a clean quick death to the Legatus and ended his service to the Legion.
Lucius Alden, ¡®Bloody Tiger¡¯ Lord Lucius Aldenus the third, Praetor Maximus, King Lucius III Lorian Plains | A dead tiger Part II -16th of Primus-
Lorian Plains campaign 16-20 of Primus right click to open fully - ¡°My Lord King,¡± the young aide Thomas reported stopping his nervous dust-covered horse. ¡°Mede has smashed through Torus¡¯ Century. The Centurion was cut down. Mede is now pressing on the 3rd Cohort¡¯s rear lines!¡± ¡°Are they surrendering?¡± A tensed Lucius asked trying to keep up with the reports they received from all flanks. Ramirus rushed towards him and Sirio finished up summarizing another group of messages, the pack of scrolls kept on the slanted table with a dagger. ¡°I can¡¯t tell my lord,¡± Thomas replied nervously. Lucius waved him back to learn more and turned to the pale Ramirus. The LID officer had worn himself out to the bone, already three days with less than an hour of rest. ¡°Gaeta¡¯s men cleared out the artillery positions. Slaurus was bayonetted in half or trampled under hooves. We have conflicting reports. Might be both. The part of him they found was surely dead,¡± Ramirus informed Lucius quickly in a raspy voice. ¡°Durio reported six volleys of iron bolts remaining, he¡¯s run out of everything else sir and several torsion springs need to be replaced afore they fire another time.¡± ¡°Where is he moving the rest of the Scorpios?¡± Lucius asked as he had spotted the Prefect¡¯s actions through the field glasses. ¡°Damascus has turned a Century inwards, facing west to cover against Silvius¡¯ penetration,¡± Ramirus explained. ¡°A runner from Sir Gatrell braved the open corridor and reported he expects Gavros¡¯ Croton men-at-arms to arrive in half an hour. I don¡¯t have knowledge of their condition. That was forty minutes ago sir. Sir Gatrell said his horses are dying on their feet. We are trying to deliver more fresh mounts from the rear. Trupo is pressuring Colt to hurry up and release his reserves. It might turn ugly sir.¡± ¡°So Durio wants to fire at their lines?¡± Lucius asked trusting Trupo to keep it civil. ¡°That¡¯ll be a perfect summary of his intentions sir.¡± ¡°I ordered Merenda to ask them to surrender!¡± Lucius blasted him. ¡°The Prefect signaled Glycia but they didn¡¯t respond.¡± ¡°Can they spot Ligur on the battlefield? Surely he won¡¯t fight to the last,¡± Lucius grunted. ¡°He¡¯s all but completely surrounded, this is madness!¡± ¡°My Lord, the Legion doesn¡¯t surrender,¡± Ramirus protested stiffly and Lucius groaned in frustration, then noticed the expression on Ramirus¡¯ face. The officer had been going through his badly crumbled scrolls again. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Ligur¡¯s Legatus¡¯ banner has been lowered sir. Merenda has written it at the end of the missive. The scribbling was difficult to spot at first read.¡± ¡°He¡¯s been wounded?¡± ¡°The command flag is still up. Could be he was incapacitated?¡± Lucius grimaced. ¡°Tell Merenda to try again.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll send a runner.¡± ¡°That¡¯ll take time,¡± Lucius replied and walked to his horse. ¡°Let¡¯s talk with Durio now, see for ourselves if we can get Antonius to cooperate with myself near his lines.¡± - Lucius climbed down from Nightsilver and walked briskly near the engineers and crews that were heaving the Scorpios forward. The Catapults had been abandoned well behind the current lines, completely out of range now. ¡°Prefect!¡± Lucius barked, glancing at Merenda¡¯s reserve Centuries rotating Silvius men. ¡°You need to move at least fifty meters to have a clear line of sight.¡± A covered in gore Durio saluted the approaching King. ¡°I gave orders for the Centuries to give us a firing corridor milord,¡± he replied. ¡°Good gods! Are you injured?¡± ¡°My horse was killed,¡± Durio replied awkwardly and tried to clean some of the gore away without much success. ¡°Your corridor idea is too risky, we don¡¯t need more casualties at this time,¡± Lucius said moving on. ¡°We will wait for the Cavalry to make another attempt and it might force them to surrender.¡± ¡°Sir!¡± A young runner called and saluted briskly. ¡°A message arrived from Lepidus!¡± Lucius stared at the rider hoofing it back to the headquarters. ¡°Sirio sent him?¡± ¡°Affirmative your grace! Lepidus regrets to inform command of Falx¡¯s passing sir! He¡¯s to attack with all Centuries at Regulus¡¯ flank!¡± Lucius face fell and he breathed out. ¡°Where is Vala, by Oras shadow?¡± Lucius protested, upset at the constant loss of good men in the field. ¡°He just reached the edge of the woods at Peaceful Pond sir!¡± The young man croaked having all but lost his voice. Ramirus gave him a missive and Lucius dismissed the anxious runner. ¡°Veturius left overall command to Draco?¡± He asked a bit surprised after reading it. ¡°He made contact with Sula¡¯s scouts earlier,¡± Ramirez explained. ¡°The Tribune was too far away from the battle. Probably travels on horseback for Sula. He¡¯s taken a lot of horses with him.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Lucius queried a little confused. ¡°There¡¯s a rumor circulating from Veturius¡¯ staff Legatus Sula is seriously injured. Vala mentioned he heard it in a previous missive. The Tribune might want to personally mobilize the 4th,¡± Ramirus replied stiffly. ¡°Or he had enough of Lepidus.¡± Ah, Allgods Nonus. You have to keep from the frontlines damn it, Lucius thought the irony of himself standing in the gap amidst the fighting Centuries not lost to him. Even so, they didn¡¯t need the 4th to do anything more that keep control of the road. ¡°How did Galio learn Sula was incapacitated in such detail? Who could spread the rumor?¡± He asked and Ramirus shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Surely the roaming scouts don¡¯t know what is happening back at headquarters?¡± He had to trust Galio¡¯s judgement though. ¡°Never mind, Draco can handle the load at the flank. Dispatch a runner to Merenda to take over the assaults against the barricades in the center but remind our overeager Prefect the king wishes to open communications with Ligur or his officers in charge. We are not here to butcher fellow Lorians pointlessly Ramirus!¡± ¡°Aye sire,¡± the LID officer replied. Don¡¯t do this, an uneasy Lucius counselled his opponent and returned his eyes on the battle lines. The burning in his stomach so severe Lucius made a considerable effort not to grimace in pain in front of his staff. -
Prefect¡¯s Betto¡¯s worn-out two and a half Centuries of the 3rd Cohort (around four hundred legionnaires remaining from the initial 1200 or three hundred per 4 Centuries) started giving ground near late morning. The forlorn officer that had been informed of his brother¡¯s passing earlier that morning, had placed Centurion Torus on his east wing to hold off Mede¡¯s 2nd Century while he defended against Brevis 1st Cohort that had been weakened after the loss of Capito but was still a powerful unit (600 plus legionnaires fielded from initially 850. 400 for the 1st Century and 150 for the rest remaining three) that could rotate its men timely. Sir Gatrell¡¯s charge on Slaurus¡¯ machines had removed the latter (both figuratively and physically) from the equation and in his second less successful attempt the Yepehir knight shattered the injured Torus¡¯ shield-wall. The Centurion was killed trying to stabilize his men from Mede¡¯s angling legionnaires and Betto got cut off from the rest of the army. Mede continued pressing with Brevis increasing the frontline and then wrapping around the bearded Betto¡¯s west flank and the Prefect ordered the men to form an ever shrinking square moving his command in the center. Twenty minutes later everyone defending the square formation had been killed. Prefect Merenda was ordered to take over from Draco in the center and despite Silvius¡¯ injury (the Centurion of the 4th Cohort lost two fingers and had to retreat in order to staunch the bleeding) he marched the 2nd Cohort under Domus against Glycia¡¯s packed lines in a brutal frontal assault. While Glycia managed to hold in the center, his west wing (the one facing Betto and Slaurus) had been exposed. He moved Damascus there but the appearance of Gavros riders to his rear created confusion in the ranks. At this time the stout, badly scarred Primus Pilus was informed that Prefect Memon (he¡¯d been promoted in the field by Ligur) was in command and that Regulus was to evacuate a Century towards the west. Glycia asked for proof of death and the hard-pressed men of the 1st Cohort of the First Legion that had still almost 1700 soldiers in the center of Ligur¡¯s army (a monstrously powerful unit with an eight hundred men strong 1st Century ¨Cor ¡®little Legion¡¯ as it was affectionately called- and 3 four hundred soldiers per Centuries for a total of two thousand legionnaires. King Lucius the First had designed the Cohort to be similar to the old Imperial Phalanx, initially a solid block of steel and armour) thus learned of the Legatus demise. There are numerous theories circulating today (especially since the mischief that followed the time of the Two Kings) about the death of the Legatus. From Ligur getting stabbed in the back from men loyal to Regulus or the Turncoat Council, to getting killed from a wayward Nord knight that charged into the headquarters by mistake or a supernatural act by a Zilan witch. While it is tempting to lose ourselves in the macabre or wander into even more conspiracies, this author accepts the confession of a pensive Prefect Memon given to Glycia, Damascus and the late Legatus¡¯ sister Verania in Aldenport. The born in 145 NC in Aldenport hero of the ¡®Battle at the Knee¡¯ near Drek River in Sovya then Decanus, the ¡®you want something done put Faustus on it¡¯ favorite King Alistair¡¯s officer and the man that saved the First Legion in the ¡®Battle of the Turncoats¡¯ was killed by his friend Memon. The one-armed Legatus Faustus Ligur was forty nine. The Prefect had acted under orders to give the First Legion an out. There was no conspiracy, it was an assisted suicide to spare him the indignity since Ligur couldn¡¯t ¡®fall on his sword.¡¯ While the general staff initially refused to ¡®soil the standard¡¯ they yielded to Memon¡¯s plea. The majority of low ranking officers and soldiers refused to lay down their weapons and all but revolted fearing the high-ranking officers had colluded against Ol¡¯ Scrawny. A cornered Memon allowed the troops to proceed as they wished. In the meantime Durio under pressure from a sidelined for the whole morning Merenda, the Prefect wanted to win the battle in the field, fired a volley at the barricade causing many casualties. Merenda had received Draco¡¯s (the Prefect had moved three kilometers away to lead the east flank¡¯s operation with Lepidus¡¯ 3rd Cohort against Regulus) missive that they were attacking with everything at their disposal and hurled his helm incensed against the men¡¯s shields when Lucius¡¯ aide rode amidst his command to order him to halt his attack. ¡®By the Allgods! The tease of it! Perky tit removed from teeth!¡¯ Merenda had cried out in his usual expressive manner afore getting ahold of himself under his close staff¡¯s, old friends, friendly and enemy soldiers and the nearby young aide¡¯s awkward scrutiny. ¡®Well then,¡¯ he uttered coming about. ¡®I guess that¡¯s all we get today boys eh?¡¯ ¡®Ayup,¡¯ his childhood friend Centurion Domus had noted pointing at Merenda¡¯s helm that had come apart and lay broken in front of the shield-wall. ¡®But it¡¯s minus a helm for you sir,¡¯ adding -after he turned to the emaciated leading Decanus of the 1st Century. ¡®Indus, please cite our Prefect a fine of eight silver and ten days without pay for the destruction of issued army property.¡¯
- Lucius rode Nightsilver to Merenda¡¯s forward command and jumped from the saddle lithely before his aides even reached them. He glanced at the enemy lines, part of the barricade destroyed in several places, piles of dead soldiers littering the field and still breathing legionnaires¡¯ eyes watching him from forty meters away. Merenda had pulled his lines back. ¡°Lord Lucius,¡± Durio protested as he¡¯d ridden after the King. ¡°Please stand behind the men sir! I almost paid for risking it!¡± Lucius dismissed him. The men were thankful for the opportunity to rest and the brief pause in hostilities. Medics were still picking up the maimed and badly wounded from Durio¡¯s recent volley. Lucius wanted to put a stop to that. He had witnessed enough killing these past days to last him a lifetime. ¡°Merenda,¡± Lucius barked and the unusually tousled and disheveled given his love ¡®for comfortable divans, silk cushions and life¡¯s fair ¡®n exotic things¡¯ per his own words officer approached. He looked flushed and was lacking a helm. ¡°Are you hurt?¡± ¡°That accursed thing came apart my lord,¡± Merenda replied with a grimace. ¡°The Prefect¡¯s helm was fine afore¡ª¡± Domus started with Merenda stopping him with a glare. ¡°Good gods Domus, after all I¡¯ve done for you!¡±Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°You barely wrote to me whilst I was injured!¡± Domus blasted him and the men chuckled some of the tension released. ¡°I was on campaign my good friend,¡± Merenda reminded him looking at the chuckling men. ¡°Ayup,¡± Domus agreed. ¡°Conquered Cartagen¡¯s brothels one after the other.¡± ¡°There were no easy battles I assure you,¡± Merenda retorted to the troops delight. The Centurion shook his head then cracked a toothy smile. His broken jaw turning it slantwise a bit. The doctors had done all they could but taking a hoof in the face was always going to ruin Domus¡¯ looks at the very least. ¡°Alright that¡¯s enough tomfoolery,¡± Lucius snapped everyone to the present. He pursed his mouth austerely. ¡°Have you talked with Ligur?¡± He asked the staring at his boots Prefect. ¡°Antonius?¡± ¡°Eh,¡± Merenda protested. ¡°I¡¯ve signaled them twice my lord.¡± Lucius nodded with his gold and steel stunningly sculpted helm and turned to Thomas. ¡°Lieutenant bring the truce colors.¡± ¡°Yes sir,¡± Thomas replied without hesitation. Sir Valgus rode his big horse between the king and the enemy lines to hide him behind their bodies. ¡°Good knight,¡± Lucius remarked calmly to his efforts. ¡°I shall talk with the enemy commander, so I¡¯ll have to move even closer. The King does not hide.¡± ¡°They don¡¯t want to listen your grace,¡± Sir Valgus argued. ¡°They¡¯ll listen to me,¡± Lucius countered and went to his warhorse.
Five minutes later Lucius and three of his knights, along Trupo, Ramirus, Thomas and the helmless Merenda were standing five meters from the half-ruined barricades, several legionaries watching from the gaps, outside, others standing on top of the meter and a half wooden wall packed with dirt. The majority of the enemy soldiers looking from behind cover with distrustful eyes. ¡°Who here speaks for the brave First Legion?¡± Lucius bellowed from atop the nervous and snorting Nightsilver, his voice a little hoarse but very strong and clear. For several moments a solemn silence spread over the battlefield. It was disturbed at times by the distant noise coming from Lepidus attack on the east flank near the Peaceful Pond Woods that reached them carried by gushes of cold wind. The sound of the injured, shields and feet shuffling. Birds of Carrion circling the sky. The air smelling of burned wood and burned flesh, human sweat, rot, steel and warfare. Then the standard of the First Legion approached from the back, behind rows of polished helms that parted to allow it to move to the front. The sober, glaring Blacktiger in gold, coming to stand at the collapsed opening in the barricades nearest to the waiting Lucius. ¡°Sextus Crassus!¡± a sturdy legionnaire signifer boomed. A sergeant of standards with the old system, Lucius noticed. The man had set the panthera tigris in from of him and held it with his left hand. ¡°Are there no officers left in the First?¡± Lucius queried clenching his jaw. ¡°The Legion speaks for itself,¡± Crassus rustled looking at Lucius solemnly. ¡°Speak your piece but know we won¡¯t dishonor centuries of history for any king. Old or new.¡± Ah, so this is it then, Lucius thought and stared at the hundreds of legionnaires watching his every move. He glanced at the sour-faced Trupo, the Prefect¡¯s thick mustache mashed under his tightly secured guard-cheeks. ¡°Who here doesn¡¯t know of Lucius Alden?¡± Lucius queried in an equally booming voice turning his horse to face the enemy legionnaires. ¡°The man, not the king¡¯s son. The knight, not the heir to the throne. You know who I am,¡± he continued. ¡°I spent summers in Alden and Demonhorn Castle Crassus, where you father stands guard. I¡¯ve walked the streets of Cartagen and the beaches of Aegium. Stood in the gloomy docks of Illirium and gazed at the Trident. Participated in every tourney from Riverdor to Asturia and marched alongside my father with this very Legion standing against me now during ¡®the Warbands Rebellion!¡¯ I¡¯m not just ¡®any king¡¯ sergeant!¡± He roared looking at the shook signifer. Then his face mellowed somewhat. ¡°And this is still a Legion. I ask you not to lay your arms down in shameful surrender but to spare Regia¡¯s men from needless slaughter!¡± He breathed in deeply, a strict expression marring Lucius handsome face, showing his disappointment at their behavior. ¡°I ask you not to betray any perceived orders for you obviously have taken yer fate upon your own hands. All I wish is for the First to stop fighting a lost battle,¡± Lucius continued hoarsely. ¡°This is still a Regia Legion and per the ¡®old book¡¯ a recognized Praetor¡¯s wishes in the field stand above even a distant King¡¯s orders! Why is that Signifer Crassus?¡± The stout sergeant of standards clumped his angular square jaw tightly for a moment. Then the young man replied in a steady clear voice, his manner guarded. ¡°Certainly a Praetor¡­ is the Legatus ¡®Omnis Legionis¡¯ sir,¡± Crassus yielded measuring his words and loud murmurs spread throughout the lines of the gathered legionnaires of both camps, first before Lucius then leaped to the men standing at his back. ¡°By the Allgods,¡± Lucius snapped in exasperation that he had to spell it out for them in the end. ¡°This ends now men of Regia! Stand everyone down sergeant! I shan¡¯t condone anymore needless killing this day! That is my wish and it is also an order to the First Legion!¡±
¡°A brilliant victory sire!¡± Trupo remarked when Lucius returned to the III Legio lines. ¡°Indeed my Lord,¡± Sir Valgus commented and raised his knight helm¡¯s cover. ¡°Let¡¯s see how it turns out,¡± Lucius tried to play it down but the gratified faces of the hundreds of simple men in the first rows of armoured legionnaires almost brought tears to his eyes. They did succeed in forming a tired smile on his face after days of worry and anguish. Years. Aye, Lucius thought reassured allowing himself to relax at last. This was the right thing to do. -
Lepidus was still planning another assault on the clearly weakened II Cohort¡¯s lines when a 1st Legion Decanus (probably Delius of the 2nd Century) ordered the men Regulus had left behind to stand down. Around two hundred legionnaires lowered their weapons and Scutums, much to the watching hardened Centurion¡¯s surprise. One thousand nine hundred soldiers of the First Legion were saved from Lucius¡¯ timely intervention and candid words. 1900 out of 4400 that Ligur had managed to train and rebuilt from the survivors of the Battle of the Turncoats. In a bizarre twist of fate the majority of those veterans (now serving with the 1st Cohort) were spared death and indignity by the sacrifice of their Legatus in a sense but mostly the real King¡¯s benevolent character. The casualties suffered from all participants in the ¡®Great Battle for the Lorian Plains¡¯ ¨Cthe common name under which it is known today- were appalling in trained men, skilled rear personnel and valuable war materiel. It ruined three cities and a village. It wasn¡¯t one single engagement but a series of many smaller ones spread out for many kilometers across the Green Plains. In reality it lasted until the 20th when Lord Draco¡¯s combined Asturia and Islandport men-at-arms (around 450 riders) destroyed Regulus left behind 3rd Century at the edges of Lourmar Forest. The deeply aggrieved for the loss of his firstborn Duke Holt¡¯s loyal men were unwilling to spare anyone in that bloody scrap but scores of men did survive (mainly from the Rangers left to stall Lord Bernard¡¯s infantry at the bridge) and hid inside the massive woods. Regulus¡¯ battered 1st Century of the 2nd Cohort (around two hundred and fifty men) slipped through Sir Gatrell¡¯s pickets and Gavros¡¯ arriving men-at-arms in the chaos of the final hour of fighting. It was a magnificent but pointless maneuver by the capable officer. They marched towards Lake Watch through the plains but cut south a week later to avoid the roads and headed for the forbidding slopes of the Tricorn Heights. Regulus would make it across the dry mountain range and reach Alden Sands three months later with half of his force lost according to two deserters that turned back to save themselves. Regulus then attempted probably to traverse the desert to reach Gold Wall Peaks (a perilous attempt to make another crossing over the mountain range to get to Marble Quarry near Aldenfort) but the 1st Century never made it there. Nor was it ever seen again.
-
Seven hundred out of eight hundred and fifty (850) soldiers from Sabretooth were lost. 450 out of six hundred from Vinterfort. 280 out of 350 from Tenor. 300 out of 400 Alden Regulars. 240 out 240 soldiers of the Royal Guard. 900 out of a thousand engineers. 2500 legionnaires out 4400 from the First Legion. 600 1st Legion Cavalry out of 750. 26 out of 60 medics. 38 out of an unknown number of Scaldingport¡¯s men-at-arms. Legatus Faustus Ligur, Prefect Canus Betto, Commander (Captain of Alden Guards) Betto, Optio Sorio, Sir Sylvan Scylla, Commander Seneca, Cad Seneca, Sir Varenhorst, Centurions Frugus, Tarcus, Crito, Torus and Regulus (?), Slaurus and Trifer, numerous other minor officers and nameless crew were among those that fell. The III Legio losses were significant. 802 legionnaires out of 2800. 301 out of 350 Legion Cavalry 100? out of 300 Heavy Slingers 286 out of 290 Rangers. 85 out of 300 engineers. 9 out of 58 medics. 28 out of 40 Royal Knights. Prefect (Aide de Legatus) Marc Gripa, Sir Maximilian Valens, Prefect (of Cavalry) Long, Centurion (of Rangers) Kaeso, Centurions Capito, Cassius Falx, Dixon (perished from his wounds on the 21st) and many minor officers, work crews and camp followers (around 146 were found after the battle.) The IV Legio suffered appalling casualties, the killed list extremely long. 1409 legionnaires out of 2800 (several units were completely wiped out) 54 out of 130 rangers. 30 out of 70 warriors 200 out of 400 Cavalry (100 of 150 Legion Cavalry, about a 100 out of 250 of Sovya¡¯s mounted Karls) 190 out of 220 engineers 21 out of 32 medics 850 to 1000 plus of civilians, crews and rear personnel lost with the supply train. Around 350 locals perished assisting the IV survive in the woods and inside the city. 65 out of 500 Krakenhall ¡®Karls¡¯ or Regulars. 77 out of 150 of Ludolf¡¯s and Dirk¡¯s warriors. 4 out of 12 from Willard¡¯s Clan. Prefect (of engineers) Isaak Boston (Lesia), Quartermaster Sulpicius Scrofa, Optio (of cavalry) Roger Bailey, Optio (of general staff) Sigma Mercator, Centurions Paulus Didicus (Primus Pilus), Montaus, Levy, Page, Whitt, ¡®Jim¡¯ Chad, Thrasea (promoted in the field ¨Ckilled soon after), also Bear (?) (Willard¡¯s Clan) and ¡®Wicked¡¯ Manfred (Krakenhall) with several receiving serious injuries (Garbo, Sula, Jacobred and Bolton). Numerous minor officers. Around 200 Asturia soldiers. 32 of Croton¡¯s Regulars. 92 men-at-arms (mostly at Sir Batas initial attempt to cross the flooded bridge) Sir Rupert Holt was killed during Regulus attack.
While the list of casualties was long, it kept on growing even after all fighting near Islandport and the road out of Mercator¡¯s Inn had ceased early in the afternoon of the 16th. The Battle of the Lorian Plains actually finished on the 20th but all histories have marked the 16th of Primus as its ending date. A relieved but in pensive mood upon receiving the preliminary casualties report Lucius talked briefly with the guilt-ridden Prefect Memon, Damascus and Glycia about the survivors of the First Legion (a still potent force) withdrawing in a new camp and remaining there for the winter. He then rode towards Islandport where the first of the hard hit by the siege citizens burst out of their houses to welcome the King of Regia with frenetic zeal and loud cheers of relief. Lucius arranged for the army to resupply the city and a fleet departed from Asturia the next day to provide support, while caravans rerouted from Cartagen towards the Lorian Plains to provide relief for Mercator¡¯s Inn and Holt¡¯s Stables that had suffered the worst of the damage. In late afternoon a tired Lucius (he had slept very little and was carrying an injury to his left arm, along a concussion to his head) was informed that Logan had taken Lourmar from Tenor¡¯s cut off guard with the help of a sizeable force of Croton Regulars that had marched all the way from Nymph¡¯s Shame to help out. In the chaos that ensued Logan informed Lucius in his difficult to read scribblings that ¡®none of them frog banners were brave enough to be spared the butcher¡¯s blade so they didn¡¯t.¡¯ (sic.) Which in turn sounded rather ominous for the fate of any potential survivors. A messenger from Galio Veturius arrived later (the Tribune had moved to Sula¡¯s headquarters out of concern for the fate of the Legatus) and informed him that Sula was in critical condition. A troubled Lucius considered braving the seven kilometers (the IV¡¯s field hospital was outside Islandport on the road to Asturia) of distance to see if he could provide assistance stating, ¡®I shan¡¯t write Martha her husband has perished. She¡¯ll never forgive me,¡¯ but Ramirus reminded the anxious King that he wasn¡¯t a Dottore and Nonus was too stubborn to die from fever. So Lucius slept for half an hour in an abandoned farmhouse near the wheat fields, while soldiers and crews worked hard to gather the dead and wounded from the field. At that point an aide had woken the King to inform him that Centurion Sorex had asked permission to look for the body of Kaeso (the Centurion hadn¡¯t been found yet) and a pensive Lucius allowed Mamercus Sorex to abandon his marching towards Islandport unit to look for his friend. Lucius next received an urgent request from the injured Lord Scylla (he was held by O¡¯ Leary) and agreed to see the captured Baron of Sabretooth when the latter was feeling better. Before the Baron arrived early that evening to stay in the farmhouse, Lucius met with Dirk Curd¡¯s and Zofia¡¯s men in the hastily repaired building. Per the Praetor¡¯s request no one was present in that meeting. When Lucius finished talking with him he considered resuming his interrupted rest for the evening. Ramirus who had located Centurion Gratian of the IV Legion near the city (he was retrieving the bodies of those that had been killed during the siege) learned that Scylla¡¯s communications office had been captured as well. While going through the Baron¡¯s latest mail and missives a war pigeon arrived at the site carrying a small scroll. Seeing the Royal markings on the bird Ramirus brought the missive to Lucius. It had been sent some hours earlier (probably near noon) presumably from Dazzling Opossum where King¡¯s Jeremy¡¯s entourage had camped. The blood stained scroll had a single human name mentioned in it and a few chilly words, hastily inscribed. It read, ¡®Vile one¡¯s cronies cut him down. Davos.¡¯
- A grim-faced Lucius stared at Ramirus in silence. ¡°Davos might be Lord Scylla¡¯s kin sir,¡± the LID officer replied, probably having thought about it on his way to the farmhouse. Lucius got up from the armchair he had used to rest earlier with a grimace and reached for his scabbard. He wore the leather belt over his armour and stood up straight to stare at the open door. The night bringing a soft breeze from the Canlita Sea into the modest room. Damnation. ¡°Is the Baron here?¡± He asked tonelessly. A sense of doom had washed away his earlier hopes for an end to his woes. ¡°The Dottore wishes to examine him first. He can barely breathe.¡± ¡°Bring him in,¡± Lucius ordered. ¡°My lord we don¡¯t know¡ª¡± ¡°This was a royal bird!¡± Lucius growled losing his temper, which was a rare thing but he was at the end of his tether. Ramirus gulped down with a grimace distorting his ascetic face and Sir Valgus glanced inside the room curious. ¡°Bring the Baron in Sir Valgus,¡± Lucius rustled. The knight nodded and marched away briskly. ¡°My Lord. There¡¯s no way someone reached Tenor,¡± Ramirus tried again. Lucius eyed him intensely. ¡°Though Gavros might be capable of making the journey,¡± he added pensively. ¡°See he gets fresh horses.¡± ¡°Yes sir,¡± Ramirus replied and saluted.
Dottore Marianus glared at the scowling King. ¡°The man is no condition,¡± he started but Lord Scylla coughed in his attempt to interrupt him. His chest was covered in a bloody bandage that contrasted his milky colored skin. The Baron¡¯s face was tanned and skeletal, a week¡¯s growth on his sunken cheeks. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t speak at all,¡± Marianus admonished him. ¡°I¡¯ll¡­ do what I want,¡± Scylla rustled his voice cracking. ¡°Where is Davos?¡± Lucius asked the struggling Baron. Scylla blinked then narrowed his eyes to stare at the angry King. ¡°Lord Lucius?¡± ¡°In the flesh,¡± Lucius replied. Scylla started coughing. Bloody froth came out of his mouth. ¡°Ligur?¡± ¡°He¡¯s dead. Had Memon shove a blade down his neck,¡± Lucius retorted and watched the man deflate before his very eyes. ¡°The battle¡­¡± a devastated Scylla croaked. ¡°You lost the battle Baron,¡± Lucius stopped him. ¡°Where is Davos?¡± Scylla shook his head. ¡°With the King.¡± ¡°In Tenor?¡± ¡°The king¡­ is in Opossum.¡± Lucius sucked a deep breath in and stared at Sir Valgus. ¡°A village?¡± The knight guessed. ¡°What does this mean?¡± Lucius asked and gave Scylla the crumbled bloody missive. ¡°There¡¯s¡­ blood?¡± ¡°I know,¡± Lucius grunted grinding his teeth. Scylla tried to read in the oil lamp¡¯s light and Lucius signed for Sir Valgus to lit another and bring it close. ¡°Eh,¡± Scylla gasped in the meantime. Lucius turned to look at him but the Baron took a step forward and collapsed, mercifully saved by the timely reaction of Marianus who grabbed both his arms to stabilize him. ¡°Sit him on the armchair!¡± Lucius barked and the Dottore snorted while helping the rubber-legged Baron towards the wooden seat. ¡°It can¡¯t be,¡± Scylla murmured his head hanging, chin touching his bloody chest. ¡°Curse them all to Oras hells.¡± This is the feast of Oras descending upon us, a haunted-looking Sir Rik De Weer had told him the previous night at a remote campsite in the open plains. Yer court is full of snakes. Lucius groaned inwardly clenching his fists tight, the injured arm sending jolts of welcoming pain to the King¡¯s brain. ¡°Uher¡¯s light burns them. Curse their souls!¡± the Baron of Sabretooth cried out desperately visibly shaking. ¡°They killed him!¡± ¡°Killed who?¡± A worried Sir Valgus asked not fully understanding what was going on. A numb Lucius closed his eyes, the yellow dancing light hurting them and when he opened them again a sober Ramirus was standing at the doorway. Lord Scylla could be heard sobbing in the background. ¡°Half an hour Gavros says in order to change saddles,¡± the LID officer reported and Lucius nodded once. ¡°Men shall take with them what they can carry.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll come with you,¡± he said and Ramirus set his jaw. ¡°Let me find out what happened sir. You should stay with the army. Write to your wives.¡± A scowling Lucius walked towards the door but paused, many smaller expressions taking turns to dance on his face. Pain and shock. Regrets and fear for his family. He nodded, a hand rubbing his throbbing forehead. ¡°Do your outmost,¡± he ordered Ramirus and the officer saluted soberly. -
Then Centurion of LID Ramirus reached Opossum three or four hours of hard galloping later. They quickly took control of the small sleeping village and located the King¡¯s abandoned camp built at its exit ¨Chalf a kilometer from the village itself- next to a large road inn called Dazzling Opossum on the road to Tenor. Ramirus and Gavros were met by a gruesome sight, a score of dead bodies and no survivors while they missed Sir Rik De Weers much larger ¨Cslower moving- party for half a day. Even so, they arrested an aide named Telos ¨Ca Sabretooth native- working for Lord Scylla that returned at some point during their frantic search of the premises. According to him, Davos Scylla had been ambushed upon arrival or had fallen on the men that had attacked the King¡¯s entourage. In the brief brutal fight, Davos had been cut down and Telos had escaped after dragging the dying nobleman inside a barn used by servants. Ramirus located the slain Davos inside one of the adjoining barns late that night amidst several other bodies. Near Davos were supplies, furniture, two horseless royal wagons and two boxes that still held some of Regia¡¯s royal war pigeons. The traumatized Telos couldn¡¯t recognize the attackers, but Ramirus used him to point out the men that had ridden with Davos first and then searched the Inn itself. Nobody had been spared with locals and the owner killed along with his whole family. They were found slain inside the deserted inn. Ramirus kept searching the premises with the sun coming up for the next day and many curious villagers filtering near the site. One of them, a local ''semi-noble'' and distant kin ¨Caccording to him- to Lord Seneca of distant Vinterfort that had visited the King while he was there, gave them a list of the Council members or their aides that were with him. Gavros who had expanded his search as far as the trees ¨Cpart of West Coast Woods- nearer to the shores of the Canlita Sea, sent a runner to Ramirus to inform him he¡¯d found more bodies tossed near a place -deep in the woods- called Standing Rocks, less than an hour away from the royal camp. While the bodies were in very poor condition and had been feasted upon by night predators for hours, (they had to physically fight the beasts to get near them) Gavros believed he had located Jeremy¡¯s corpse. When they brought the bodies to the building, where they could guard them better, Ramirus quickly identified Jeremy¡¯s headless corpse by the crown of Regia placed on his bloody chest. Next to him at the grizzly site according to a disturbed Gavros, was a heavy-set man also missing his head that the local official identified as Theodor Brakis the 2nd cousin to the Duke of Illirium. It left only one of the remaining prominent officials that were with Jeremy unaccounted for. The Master of Silence Marc Laudus, an appointment made by Jeremy himself to replace Lord Nattas. Ramirus ordered Gavros to send a scouting party towards Tenor to see if he could locate Laudus or his agents (it was the prevalent theory between those present and a still shocked Telos that he was behind the king¡¯s murder) exercising caution. The road was marked with the hooves and carts of Sir Rik¡¯s large host that was also travelling there. With no other option available or any other information he could glean at that point in time, Ramirus quickly wrote a brief missive for Lucius and send it late that morning. ¡®Your grace, accept my sincere apologies,¡¯ the brief coded missive possibly said according to those that were present near the distraught King of Regia and can verify what was written inside. Ramirus never talked publicly about it since and Lucius destroyed the scroll soon after. ¡®Alas, I was too late. The young tiger is dead.¡¯
-
Winter of 193 NC West shores of the Coast of Salt (The Trident) The important city port of Illirium Peter Brakis paused outside the Admiral¡¯s office (his father stayed in the Admiralty building more than he stayed in the palace) and returned the stout marine¡¯s salute. ¡°Has my father returned?¡± He asked. ¡°Let him in,¡± Sissena Brakis baritone voice was heard from behind the closed doors. Peter walked inside and went towards the impressive figure of his father. ¡®Stan¡¯ or the ¡®Admiral¡¯ Brakis as he was known in his younger days was standing next to a large map of the Lorian Coast that showed some of Eplas and the isles in between up to the coast of Lesia. ¡°Son, you need to put some meat on yer bones,¡± Lord Brakis noted with a glance at his ascetic physique. ¡°Courtesy of Lord Nattas¡¯ hospitality,¡± Peter replied bitterly with a glance at the large bronze sculpture of a squid coming out the sea using its tentacles to climb up a standing trident that stood next to the map. ¡°He murdered your sister, then used his blood-soaked hand to shake yours,¡± his father said without mincing his words. ¡°He¡¯ll deny it of course and I don¡¯t believe we¡¯ll find a still breathing witness to the fact.¡± Peter thought of his much older sister Elvira and pursed his weathered from his time at sea mouth tightly. ¡°Ursus could be lying. The man¡¯s a coward and a snake.¡± ¡°Mmm. Even so, I still don¡¯t trust that fucking cripple,¡± Lord Brakis spat. ¡°He¡¯s one of us.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t confuse a god¡¯s wishes with his supporters even if they are aligned at times, folk are pettier and Nattas is a cold blooded murderer.¡± ¡°Nattas assured me that Lucius would accept a favorable truce with Illirium if we stand down.¡± Lord Brakis placed his thick fingers on the map and dragged them across the Lorian Coast. Then he returned to his large mahogany office and sat on his massive armchair. His face had even more flesh on it than Peter remembered, but while the Admiral had an almost amusing outer character and manners, he was far from a pleasant man in private. ¡°Keep your thoughts to yourself,¡± his father cautioned him. ¡°Is what the Kraken counsels. For there are horrors lurking in the abyss, secrets, best kept from surfacing. Songs leave them unmentioned.¡± ¡°I can deal with Nattas even if I don¡¯t like him,¡± Peter retorted angrily. ¡°What did the Sextus-Brakis decided?¡± Lord Brakis grimaced, flabby skin dancing on his thick neck, the armchair creaking when he moved forward on his desk. ¡°Proclus is a business man. The Lord of Bronze is eager to resume making coin,¡± he said in his baritone voice. ¡°Sir Vel,¡± this was the ¡®Black Trident¡¯, Proclus son and his cousin. ¡°Wants to take another bite at Sula. I rue the day that family decided to settle at Demames. They don¡¯t belong in the coast but still Vel insists to settle the score.¡± ¡°Are they serious?¡± Peter protested. ¡°He almost gotten himself killed!¡± ¡°Well, he has a point with them occupying Aegium. A Sula neighbor at the Salt Coast good fucking grief! They have taken Lady Sandra hostage as well, many lesser Alden brats. Uhm, you know how knights are. Oh come on, because you are not interested in settling down, don¡¯t mean others are as nonchalant about it. Good maidens,¡± the Admiral made a face at that. ¡°Are much sought after even if they have been sort of ¡®shopped around¡¯ a lot. Anyway, the reality of the matter is Vel Sextus-Brakis believes Lord Sula is stretched too thin. On the verge of collapse was the word thrown at me many times. I had sails slap me in the face far less.¡± Peter breathed out and stared at the map his father was looking at. ¡°Nattas left a veiled threat that retribution might fall upon those that put Jeremy on the throne. Or Alistair¡¯s killers. We need to take this opportunity to get out of this bloody affair.¡± ¡°Empty threats,¡± Lord Brakis cut him off. ¡°We were not involved.¡± ¡°I know,¡± Peter replied a little anxiously. ¡°Can you convince the Sextus-Brakis to stand down?¡± Lord Brakis got up from his armchair. ¡°I already have,¡± he said and Peter stood back surprised. ¡°What? I¡¯ve listened and then explained how things are with Cartagen in Lucius hands. Proclus immediately saw the writing on the wall. We¡¯re a practical family son. Abrakas commands no sentimentality in such matters. All matters.¡± ¡°Can Ligur pull it out?¡± ¡°Against two legions and Lord Holt?¡± Lord Brakis shook his head and walked around his desk to approach him. ¡°Well, he¡¯ll try since he¡¯s a goal-oriented man but the dead fish have come ashore son.¡± ¡°What does Theodor say?¡± ¡°The King believes they can win, what young man fears defeat? But then there¡¯s the Queen¡¯s father. He might eventually be convinced to help, drag darn Castalor into the fight. It could change things but honestly it will just prolong the inevitable in my opinion whether Lucius survives or not. The people won¡¯t accept an Issir cucked king or a mix-blood heir kept on the throne with the help of Issir troops.¡± Peter watched his expression. ¡°You don¡¯t want that either.¡± Lord Brakis shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t care either way. Our Proclus is of mixed-blood but common folk are different. It is just not viable. The ship needs a sturdy hand,¡± he said with a deep sigh and smacked his fat lips. ¡°Jeremy shouldn¡¯t have taken the darn throne but then he did. People got too greedy and Miranda just couldn¡¯t keep her legs closed for a couple of months whomever the father is. They started their own crap. It was a¡­ unfortunate outcome.¡± ¡°Doris and Ursus should take the blame for that,¡± Peter said. ¡°It was their idea and Ursus might had a hand in Alistair¡¯s death.¡± ¡°Might?¡± Lord Brakis smiled and then walked to the map, placed a finger on the Salt Coast. ¡°Jeremy asked him to step down, give Sir Gillmor his seat in the Council. Doris feared they¡¯ll lose Ursus troops such as they were,¡± he grimaced thinking about something. ¡°Ursus is a dead man walking. Either Lucius or Nattas will get to him sooner or later.¡± ¡°If we stand down Jeremy will have to negotiate with Lucius. Give up the throne for a Duchy. Nattas seems to believe this is an open avenue.¡± ¡°Of all of Alistair¡¯s skills Jeremy had to inherit his stubbornness,¡± Lord Brakis said sadly. ¡°Can¡¯t you convince him?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll never reach him in time, the fool left Tenor to ¡®see for himself¡¯ and I doubt they¡¯ll listen to me afore disaster stares them in the face.¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing we can do?¡± Peter asked anxiously trying to sort out the mess in his head. ¡°Mmm, perhaps someone else will take it upon himself to provide much needed solution. The God provides and sees to remove obstacles,¡± his father murmured and returned to his seat. ¡°You should have never risked your life for Valens,¡¯ he told him changing the subject. ¡°I wanted to help,¡± Peter protested. ¡°There are twelve new warships all but finished in the shipyards. We shall visit them tomorrow,¡± Lord Brakis said. ¡°We¡¯ve enough now to strike across the Scalding Sea if opportunity arises or around Krakentrap Straits. Take control of the seas. With Kaltha mixed in with the Khanate, who knows what the future will bring? He who controls the seas shall rise to the top son.¡± ¡°Where did you find the funds?¡± Peter asked confused. ¡°The Bank assisted in that but they wanted a deeper water fleet and shared their designs with us, which is why you shouldn¡¯t have gone to Cartagen. It was a sideshow,¡± Lord Brakis explained. ¡°It matters not, we¡¯ll rework the plan. Lucius is also a forward-thinking man.¡± Peter Brakis stood back alarmed. ¡°Alistair had said publicly that he wanted a transport fleet,¡± he noted measuring his words. They both knew that, the constant delays had caused great tension between the admiral and the late king. His father nodded, large fist opening and closing slowly. ¡°He did. It forced the crews to work nightshifts which all but ruined us, burning through our funds, not to mention keeping the shipyards under lock and key to avoid word getting out.¡± Lord Brakis stared at his horrified expression with black Kraken eyes. ¡°As I said son. The God provides and sees to remove all obstacles.¡±
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Baron Storm Nattas Put it on your list
¡°ARRGHH, NAH, STOP PLEASEE!¡± The young man cried out miserably while the surgeon worked on sawing at the bone on his gutted right foot, blood spraying everywhere and the gore painting the surgeon¡¯s arm to the elbow. The medic helping him had his face turned into a red mask of silent horror. ¡°For Oras sake will ya close his fucking mouth? Hit him again with the club!¡± The heavy-breathing surgeon growled pausing his work briefly and Storm glanced sideways at the horrified Grin, the hired thug (whatever rank Grin had given himself didn¡¯t change this core fact of his character) watching with ogling eyes the ¡®medical procedure¡¯. Well, this part of it was pretty simple really. Those with limbs that couldn¡¯t heal, slightly rotted or burned beyond salvaging were brought in the ¡®second¡¯ tent to get them swiftly removed. Given the congregation flocking at the venue, work is a-booming, Nattas mused and pursed his mouth when the leg dropped from the bloody table with a bang, the medic casually kicking it aside with the side of his boot. A small pile of bloody severed limbs already there as tall as the table almost stacked like ¡®dry¡¯ wood. ¡°This turns my stomach chief,¡± Grin croaked and Storm shoved him outside the medic¡¯s large tent to recover. Nattas paused to examine the crowd when they got out. Scores of soldiers and locals that moved about bringing more wounded or carrying supplies towards the city. Storm set his cane down to take his weight off of his tired knee. You don¡¯t want revealing a leg injury in this place, he reminded himself with a shiver. He glanced sideways at the pale Grin again and seeing the lackey had somewhat recovered Storm queried about the new ''recruits''. The Baron had given him the time to recover for practical reasons since the man could just barely function when he was fully composed. ¡°Where are those chumps you hired?¡± It was a safe bet Storm was right on their smarts without meeting them. ¡°By the horses,¡± Grin replied with a grimace. ¡°Got funny back there chief, eh?¡± ¡°Uhm,¡± Storm murmured and checked on their animals. A tall wiry Nord with a shorter Lorian were standing next to them. The Northman had his arm inside the horse¡¯s saddlebags and got a handful of oats out after a brief search, he then proceeded to munch on as pleased as the horse doing the same next to him. ¡°Are they any good?¡± A numb Storm asked slowly. Although it was blatantly obvious they weren¡¯t. ¡°Yeah,¡± Grin replied with the self-assurance of a dumb plinth¡¯s stupider brother, ¡°Had them clean the horses arses ¡®n all. Paid¡­ a couple of months in advance?¡± You better be sure about that else you¡¯ll feel the pain Grin. ¡°Did they wash their hands afterwards?¡± Storm commented afore furrowing his brows. ¡°There¡¯s more to it.¡± ¡°They want another four months upfront?¡± Storm wanted Miranda to suck his cock at that moment. Or a clean-mouthed whore that hadn¡¯t worked at the camp. Every person wants many things, he thought sourly. That don¡¯t mean he gets them. ¡°You¡¯re asking me? Is it a gimmick or are you not sure? Here¡¯s a hint for ye. None of the queries are safe,¡± Nattas explained then added after another brief pause. ¡°Eh, fuck it. How about they get nothing?¡± Grin blinked slowly. This dumb fuck¡¯s brain shut down completely! ¡°How much?¡± Storm asked with a deep sigh. ¡°Two coppers per day, unless a job comes about to retain their services. Then it¡¯s a silver,¡± Grin clarified. ¡°Not easy to find good help given the death rent.¡± ¡°Death rate. Good gods,¡± Storm corrected him. ¡°You barely made sense there. By the way, the tall one is helping himself to the animal food, we should deduct it from his pay.¡± ¡°That¡¯s Bryce aye. The other one is Moore,¡± Grin explained and smiled like an idiot. Storm raised his cane and clipped him at the left ear, the sturdy stick smacking the groaning Grin¡¯s shoulder when it dropped. ¡°What?¡± He protested, his ear turning a fierce red color. ¡°Go get them,¡± Storm grunted and planted the cane down again. ¡°I¡¯ve seen enough hospitals today to pass a Dottore¡¯s exam with flying colors!¡± He chuckled at that and seeing Grin nodding seemingly impressed, Storm¡¯s mirthful expression changed immediately and barked irate in his face. ¡°It was a plaguing witticism you uneducated buffoon! Otherwise called a hyperbole. Now get moving!¡±
¡°Hand me the god¡¯s darn list!¡± Storm growled half an hour later at the edge of the city and snatched the parchment out of Bryce¡¯s hands. He snapped it once up and then down to get rid of any leftover material, mostly half-eaten pieces of wet oats, then read quickly the names scribbled on it. ¡°Where is Sirio?¡± He asked, an eye on the local tavern keeper that carried a heavy round catapult shot out to toss it on the street. The wayward shot had caved in half the roof of the building, shattering tables and chairs but enough of it was still standing (structurally sound per the tavern keeper) for him to reopen the venue once the hostilities stopped. Storm wouldn¡¯t have used it but the winter sun had given him a headache and Islandport¡¯s tourist facilities had taken a hit. ¡°Working with the King.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s is our King?¡± ¡°His banner is at the farmhouse we run over?¡± Grin smiled, three teeth at least needing extraction and a silver cap he¡¯d fixed at Cartagen seemed to have gathered real rust. This can¡¯t be healthy, Storm thought. Or silver. ¡°Passed by,¡± Storm corrected him calmly. ¡°How long afore he¡¯s here?¡± ¡°Soon,¡± Grin replied and looked hopefully at the tavern keeper¡¯s carafe of ¡®fine wine¡¯ the Islandport local placed on the bar. It was a marketing trick. ¡°Soon?¡± ¡°He said.¡± Nattas pushed back on the chair but stopped abruptly hearing a crack, one of the legs weakened and wobbly, probably slotted in place without further repairs. ¡°Hey,¡± Bryce said in his baritone voice. ¡°Chief.¡± ¡°We won¡¯t order,¡± Nattas replied guessing his question. ¡°Paid a silver to use the facilities. That¡¯s it.¡± ¡°Was thinking,¡± Bryce started in his Nordic heavy accent. A man that took his time to form a full sentence, ever working on the words in his head. An endless loop of sorts. He knew how to start the loop going but wasn¡¯t qualified to finish it. ¡°Drinks are not included in the price,¡± Nattas explained patiently. His tolerant demeanor was a ruse. He was actually just about ready to start swinging with the cane and break heads. ¡°Fucking scum,¡± Moore commented, adding nothing more. ¡°With that fantastic exchange of ideas,¡± Nattas grunted crumbling the list in his fist. ¡°Which offered fuck all towards the common goal of this fucking intrinsic get-together, can one of you stupid baboons go outside so he can spot that slow-walking cocksucker, then bring him here?¡± He breathed out and after a moment of awkward silence, interjected with grimaces and looks exchanged between his lackeys, Nattas added with a hiss, grinding his teeth so hard several molars started hurting. ¡°I was talking about Sirio.¡±
¡°Lord Nattas,¡± a sweaty Sirio said. The lad worked himself to death trying to ride a horse, his nervousness making the calmest of animals skittish around him. ¡°It is a great morning.¡± Storm got up and hugged him tight over the shoulders. ¡°Come here son,¡± he said loudly, putting up a performance for some soldiers and locals watching them. ¡°I¡¯m moved you¡¯re still in one piece.¡± ¡°Gratitude,¡± Sirio said, voice coming out muffled as he¡¯d his mouth on Storm¡¯s chest and returned the hug. Nattas kept increasing the pressure, maintaining the lock on the historian¡¯s neck. ¡°Ahm, I wanted to ask you¡ª¡± ¡°Forget about her,¡± Storm interrupted him, crashing Sirio¡¯s face on his chest until he started squirming. ¡°Let me hold you some more son.¡± Sirio squeaked trying to breathe. ¡°I read your list,¡± Storm whispered in his flushed ear. ¡°But I stand befuddled on the lack of details. Perhaps because there are no fucking details there?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a terrible chaos in the headquarters,¡± Sirio croaked and shuddered trying to free himself from Nattas¡¯ suffocating hold. ¡°Don¡¯t fight it,¡± Storm advised, keeping his voice calm. ¡°Tell me you learned more and it¡¯ll be over.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t¡­ breathe,¡± Sirio gasped shaking.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Nattas let go of him with a glance at the tavern keeper. ¡°Go order a bottle of wine,¡± he told Bryce. ¡°Take your time with it. Ask him to show you everything he has available.¡± Sirio stumbled back, the start of a cough ravaging him but he run on Grin¡¯s chest and the man nudged the shaken historian forward again. ¡°Where is¡­¡± Storm glanced at Bryce talking with the tavern keeper afore continuing. ¡°Our friend Lucius?¡± ¡°Lots of meetings,¡± Sirio said quickly. ¡°Haven¡¯t seen him this morning.¡± ¡°Since when?¡± ¡°Last night?¡± ¡°You were not needed to keep notes?¡± Sirio shook his head negatively. ¡°He met with Curd and Lord Scylla.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Lord¡ª¡± ¡°The other one,¡± Storm snapped and then his voice mellowed up. ¡°Calm down. Take a breath. Now try again.¡± ¡°A half-breed. He¡¯s with Krakenhall¡¯s force.¡± ¡°Right. Where¡¯s Ramirus?¡± ¡°Haven¡¯t seen him since last night,¡± Sirio admitted. ¡°Word is he left with the Croton men-at-arms.¡± ¡°Which direction?¡± Sirio grimaced. ¡°He didn¡¯t say.¡± ¡°Who would know Sirio?¡± Nattas asked patiently. ¡°Rio? But he¡¯s with him. Severus probably. They are LID officers,¡± Sirio explained. ¡°Fuck are you? A bitch of pleasure?¡± Nattas grunted and snatched the frowning historian¡¯s chin with his right hand. ¡°You¡¯re offended? How about trying to be a more important piece in your god¡¯s darn work? You have to work that mouth son or arse. We all make sacrifices.¡± ¡°Ramirus has his own people! Field agents don¡¯t mingle with headquarter staff!¡± An insulted Sirio protested and pushed Storm¡¯s hand away to free his chin. ¡°They don¡¯t mingle with you,¡± Storm retorted angrily. ¡°Sir Turner?¡± He asked changing the subject. Sirio rubbed his jaw and then took the time to comb his oily hair back. ¡°O¡¯ Leary¡¯s men attacked his force. There¡¯s rumor he was killed trying to retreat,¡± he finally said. Scratch that fucker out, Nattas thought pleased.
Nattas dispatched Sirio to the headquarters to find out more and rode outside the city towards the 4th Legion¡¯s units. He continued north for half an hour to reach another field hospital but decided to turn around since the crowded tents and general misery offered more confusion than news. People were elated of course for the King¡¯s victory but ¡®the troops are too-battered in this part of the woods for small talk¡¯, Storm ascertained and walked back to his horse. He paused, then slowly lifted his hurt leg to place it on the stirrup, an attempt that failed the first time. Cursing under his breath he turned to the half-asleep on the saddle Grin and used the cane to stab his shin to snap him out of it. ¡°Flies,¡± Grin mumbled blinking a couple of times, chin covered in drool. ¡°Get down of that¡ª¡± Storm hissed but someone bumped on him afore he could finish. Nattas stumbled forward dropping his cane and two strong arms grabbed him to keep him upright. ¡°Praise be the Goddess,¡± a heavy-set northern woman said chuckling thoatily, round freckled fleshy face rather pretty with sparkling eyes. ¡°I almost tussled ye lordship in the mud. Apologies.¡± A grimacing Storm stood upright, hand pushing his hair off of his face and the back of it rubbing against the large woman¡¯s bosom as it came up. She wore washed out red robes, with a white tunic underneath and open toe sandals. The dirty toes painted blue originally. His cock jumped in his pants. The Gods and man¡¯s innermost desires move in mysterious ways. ¡°You also gave me a nice tit-rub so allow me to divulge that only half of an apology is needed madam,¡± Storm replied and the priestess beamed. A warm character buried in excess lard, Nattas thought willing to entertain the notion and eyed her companion, a much fetchier younger blonde girl with a plain long dress on. The body underneath deserving of a more methodical investigation. ¡°What is a pair of lovely priestesses be doing in this dreadful camp?¡± He queried wearing a gentleman¡¯s grin. A lecherous gentleman¡¯s grin. ¡°Hah,¡± the much thicker redhead chuckled, the sound coming from her flabby belly, placing a fleshy hand on her impressive round bosom. Abrakas veiny phallus! ¡°It¡¯s a hospital, we came to help those in need my lord.¡± ¡°Name¡¯s Lord Storm Nattas,¡± Storm promptly introduced himself, with another glance at the enticing blond girl. ¡°Baron of Moon¡¯s Haven, currently unattached but in grave need of spiritual guidance and assistance in these troubled times.¡± ¡°He-he, my goodness milord. I¡¯m priestess Saena,¡± the Northern wench gushed. ¡°Young Vita isn¡¯t with the order but in our heart of hearts she never left.¡± ¡°Let us all join in prayer to help Vita feel at home,¡± Storm flirted openly but there was something in Vita¡¯s eyes he didn¡¯t like. This cunt cuts both ways, he decided, the larger woman smelling of rose scented water and honeyed bread. ¡°I don¡¯t partake in ceremonies as often as I¡¯d like,¡± Saena explained sadly. ¡°Priestess Hermione runs the Temple¡¯s charity sisters very strictly.¡± Storm stared in her eyes meaningfully and placed the palm of his right hand under her left breast. ¡°Let¡¯s remedy that bountiful sister Saena. For what good is charity if it¡¯s one-sided?¡± ¡°Lord Nattas!¡± Saena slapped his hand away but Storm¡¯s trained eyes spotted an excited fat nipple poking out of the thick material. ¡°I have supplies to deliver.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a friend of Flavia,¡± Storm insisted as there¡¯s a difference between a random big ole woman you find in the street and a fat ole priestess of Naossis. Saena could suck the skin off of his prick with those plump lips of hers and she fucking knows it! ¡°The High Priestess is a firm supporter of the King,¡± Saena chuckled but she was clearly interested. Vita¡¯s mouth crooked slightly and Storm caught it but Saena¡¯s warm hand had found its way on his hardening cock. So Nattas returned his attention to her. ¡°So she might come to Asturia soon.¡± ¡°We all are hardened supporters of King Lucius,¡± Storm agreed whilst Saena worked on his cock over the fabric. ¡°Ever firm in our willingness,¡± he continued hoarsely, the crowd oblivious to their lewd public shenanigans. ¡°To help him penetrate deep and fully towards Alden. Finish the campaign and release¡­ in a mighty deluge all the pent up frustration of many years of anguish.¡± ¡°Amen,¡± Saena purred in his face as Storm felt the spasm of a fierce ejaculation soaking the front of his pants. ¡°Chief,¡± Grin was heard. ¡°Shut the fuck up!¡± A flushed Nattas grunted as Saena retrieved her hand satisfied. ¡°Later Lord Nattas?¡± Saena asked in a naughty manner and he nodded with his sweaty head, his mouth dry. ¡°Perhaps the goddess shall make sure you won¡¯t remain unattached for much longer, yes?¡± ¡°I can feel her fucking favor already,¡± Storm grunted hoarsely and watched them walking away. He had to stand with his legs slightly apart given all the moisture down there. ¡°You need help to climb on the saddle Chief?¡± The unmounted now Grin tried again and Nattas closed his eyes in exasperation. ¡°We sort of lost the blasted moment. So you get to wait now for spilt seed to dry. I ain¡¯t getting it under my balls,¡± he hissed and paused hearing an unseen bard singing with enthusiasm not five meters away, behind the hospital¡¯s tents.
Ol¡¯ Scrawny crept out o¡¯ hi-ding Athwart moldy Pla-ta-nus* n¡¯ Red Maple lake¡¯s trees -near misty Isle-port¡¯s¡­ soggy meadow¡¯s lanes
What is this bullshit? A plaguing concert? Good grief! Storm thought and signed for Grin to follow him, while Bryce and Moore stayed with their horses. He made to round up the tents but a young half-breed appeared and Storm stopped to let him through. The thin hoodlum-looking teenager was followed by a young, white-haired wench with bright green eyes. ¡°Now,¡± the young ¨Cbut tall and athletic- female told the leading male. ¡°Whilst they are distracted.¡± She glanced at the waiting for them to pass Nattas, her playful eyes lowering at his chest and then snapping back to his face alarmed. ¡°I won¡¯t say a word,¡± Nattas assured her fully expecting them to bolt away as fast as they could. Whatever scheme these crooks were running he didn¡¯t much care. Plus the girl is a fucking looker for a half-breed and really tall. Taller than Nattas. That is a lot of fucking length to explore, he thought still in the afterglow of the orgasm. The strange girl nodded a little surprised coming to a stop and then as if to return the favor or balance the scales, which was something Old Gods believers used to do, she whispered in a pleasant voice. ¡°You have to silence the girl. Mind to put it on your list.¡± Storm blinked unsure. ¡°Chief?¡± Grin asked sometime later. The girl was gone and Nattas was still standing there like an idiot. The bard still singing his piece to the gathered before the hospital tents audience, civilians and soldiers approaching to listen to his performance curious.
¡®Brazen¡¯ missed the lure -in Triumph¡¯s shade residing For doomed Nonus misread the witch¡¯s heeds -Whence a Lady¡¯s fair arm reached¡­ to pluck ¡®em out the bloody drains
¡°I heard ye god¡¯s darn it,¡± Storm snapped and shook his head. ¡°Let¡¯s go back. Return to the city.¡± ¡°Who was the girl?¡± Grin asked and Nattas paused furrowing his brows unsure on what his lackey was talking about. But then he remembered. Ah.
In the plains¡­ Tap ¨Ctapa ¨C dum. In the plains¡­
The bard went into his frenetic refrain, feet thudding at the ground, wild head bobbing up and down, whilst thumbing at his cheap lute like a madman. A thoughtful Nattas stood back and replayed the whole sequence of events that led to the brief encounter in his head trying to figure out what had caused the unknown but brazen girl to change her demeanor. You don¡¯t reply to a lord. City crooks run from trouble. Nattas had made a career out of noticing little things. The Baron lowered his eyes on his chest. Nattas immediately spotted the large silver and ebony brooch strapped on the lapel of his redingote. The sigil of his house which was very similar to Krakenhall¡¯s coat of arms -to the untrained eye. If one knew where to look or just count eyes on the finely sculpted creature he would easily recognize something entirely different. As a matter of fact the nicely carved small one-eyed ¡®squid¡¯ depicted a much larger creature, a monster¡­ ¡­and a god. Well, that¡¯s fucking strange, a perplexed Nattas thought. How would she know?
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Baron Storm Nattas What does victory feel like?
Islandport Eighteen Months Offensive 19th of Primus 194, Code named -18 plus 14- Campaign Day 409 The III Legio Decanus raised his left arm in a fist, loosened it and then brought it down. With the signal given the riders appeared four abreast and behind them the covered in sheets closed carriage. Ramirus and Rio were riding at the front with Gavros, the Croton mercenary or whatever the fuck arrangement Holt¡¯s kin had with them, Nattas thought and glared at the legionnaire barring his approach to the cleared out street. Four Centuries of troops had been mobilized to cordon part of Islandport (the edge of the city) and the approach from Tenor while more cavalry patrolled the nearby roads to block civilians from coming out of the city. The army had put a lid ¡®literally¡¯ on all information, with armed groups of rangers or soldiers breaking up any gatherings larger than three persons even at the market to avoid the spread of gossip. Which had fueled gossip even more. Nattas had twice attempted to ¡®penetrate¡¯ the communications center the army had set up outside Islandport turning the old Celsus artillery camp into a large legion headquarters. The problem with the military running things was that they put sentinels everywhere, raise walls and sentry towers, whilst being generally unwilling to allow civilians entry without permit or signed orders. Fucking bullshit. With Lucius moved at the center of this hub, it was impossible to reach him. The Baron was equally unwilling to allow himself to be kept out of the loop. So he kept trying to find a way to learn more through Sirio and the post birds. After the procession passed by heading for the guarded gates of the large camp Storm walked to his horse and rode with Grin towards the repaired tavern at the edge of the city. The farmhouse that Lucius had used initially had been emptied allowing civilians to return, but the army kept the main coastal road (from Asturia) under tight surveillance and control. Dados, the local tavern keeper, showed him the canvas covering the destroyed part of the roof proudly as they climbed down from their horses. ¡°Many earnest welcomes milord Nattas,¡± he greeted the familiar figure of the Baron loud enough for some of the patrons present to hear him. ¡°I had an architect here just now,¡± Dados continued with a smile. ¡°We could raise a half-wall, reinforce the ceiling and create an enlarged shaded porch here that will be lovely in the summer.¡± ¡°You expect tourists to flock here soon?¡± Nattas asked taking his place at the corner table away from the collapsed part. ¡°Why not?¡± Dados wiped the table for them with a cloth. ¡°Lord Mercator be arriving soon. The King is here. Priestesses are roaming the streets, ideas to rebuild the destroyed neighborhoods are thrown about. We are a rather famous city now I¡¯d say. Why, I¡¯d risk the thought we are almost as famed as Asturia.¡± ¡°Asturia is four times the size at least,¡± Nattas noted sourly. ¡°And has a big ole fucking statue smack at the center of it.¡± ¡°Bah,¡± Dados dismissed his argument brazenly. These provincial folk have a tendency to forgo decorum after a while and turn ¡®very friendly¡¯. ¡°We can build a statue as well. We have room to spare ha-ha.¡± ¡°The Flooded Bogs?¡± Nattas mocked him. ¡°I wager folk are tripping over themselves to get a piece of that.¡± ¡°The East Coast Woods milord. Ole Scrawny cleared a good portion out. People are eyeing the properties across the bay with increased interest. So this road leading there will see a lot of traffic soon is my prediction.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t put all your eggs in the same basket,¡± Nattas cautioned him but never one to shy away from a good deal he added. ¡°But sure you can keep an open eye for any opportunities. Are the lands across the bay leased to the Baron?¡± Dados stooped to whisper near his face. Nattas grimaced at the foul breath. ¡°The Duke has bequeathed them to the Baron is the word milord.¡± ¡°Why so? Has Holt turned senile with age?¡± ¡°The King¡¯s wife. Mercator¡¯s son was to wed her but the King forced the Duke to break the engagement.¡± Nattas could bet his left nut that wasn¡¯t the case. That noble cunt would have had the Mercator brat drown in the lake to get rid of him if it came to that. ¡°You don¡¯t say,¡± he retorted faking surprise. Dados brought a carafe of the mediocre local wine to their table. He tried to push it on his customers and it worked with some but not with Nattas. ¡°Well, there are all manners of blather about that, but I¡¯m not one to spread rumors,¡± Dados replied in a collusive manner. ¡°But Lady Monica is a pretty maiden he-he.¡± ¡°To this we can all universally attest,¡± Nattas derided with a smirk. As for the rest, he¡¯ll give Monica the pretty part but the ¡®maiden¡¯ Storm wouldn¡¯t yield even with a blade pressed at his throat for any woman. ¡°But do tell.¡± ¡°I better not,¡± Dados pursed his mouth. ¡°The walls have ears.¡± Ah. ¡°How auspicious that you are missing a couple of walls then,¡± Nattas retorted and breathed out. ¡°What¡¯s eatable?¡± He asked changing the subject. ¡°Everything of course milord. Wheat soup with chicken broth.¡± ¡°Anything else?¡± ¡°That¡¯s it milord.¡± Hence the ¡®everything¡¯ part, Storm mused blankly. ¡°Any chicken in it?¡± Nattas queried with a glance at the interested Grin. Dados shrugged his shoulders. ¡°I could look in the pot. It¡¯s a game of chance really. The more you order, the more you increase the chance to find a piece.¡± ¡°Get some for my men.¡± ¡°Should I clear another table for them?¡± Not on my coin. ¡°They¡¯ll remain outside. Outdoorsmen the both of them.¡± ¡°As you wish Baron,¡± Dados bobbed his head and left them. ¡°Would be nice to find a good piece of meat chief,¡± Grin said hopefully. ¡°I like wings or soft chicken chests with the skin still on?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no meat whatsoever inside the broth,¡± Nattas crushed his hopes sternly. He grimaced in frustration next and extended his hurt leg some to alleviate some of the pain. The humidity of the massive lake wasn¡¯t helping him especially in the northern winter. ¡°I need to find a way to get near Lucius,¡± he murmured under his breath. ¡°Weren¡¯t you close chief?¡± Grin asked. ¡°Sure. When I was in the Council and he was younger,¡± Nattas replied and eyed the patrons for anyone listening in. He spotted two Sovya men-at-arms and frowned. He lowered his voice some more. ¡°But with no council it¡¯s difficult to get near. Then there are the wives.¡± ¡°Mmm,¡± Grin agreed. Storm glimpsed his way curious before continuing. ¡°Anyhow,¡± he was mostly talking to himself as it was doubtful Grin could contribute anything to the exchange. Nattas missed Sudi at times. ¡°We need something to make us rise above the rest,¡± he concluded. ¡°What about the¡­?¡± Grin asked trying to remember what they had talked about. The lackey¡¯s mind was on the food. ¡°That¡¯s a rumor,¡± Storm cut him off impatiently just to be certain he didn¡¯t blurt out anything stupid. Stupider. Indeed there was some chatter that Queen Faye had popped another boy out. That would make it three in total, which was just about what Alistair had gotten but it had taken him a while. Lucius needed to slow down at some point. Or pull out sooner. The Baron grimaced very frustrated with the lack of meaningful progress. Hearing voices coming from the open tavern door Nattas glanced that way and saw a young man dressed in a Legion rear personnel uniform enter. He paused and went to talk with Dados who in turn pointed him at their table. Nattas moved on his seat nervously. The man approached and reached in a satchel he carried over the shoulder. Got a small scroll out. ¡°Baron Nattas?¡± He asked looking at Storm. Nattas pointed a finger at the forlorn Grin. ¡°That¡¯s him.¡± The man furrowed his brows not expecting it given the Baron¡¯s expensive attire. ¡°My Lord,¡± he started looking at the shocked Grin. ¡°This came for you. I¡¯d like your signature here,¡± he produced a bigger scroll and placed it on the table. Working fast the man got a quill out and an inkpot. He offered it to Grin. ¡°Make a mark on the paper,¡± Storm explained and Grin blinked. ¡°Am...¡± ¡°Just do it.¡± Storm grunted and the post messenger looked his way troubled. The uncomfortable Grin made a scratching of sorts on the parchment grabbing at the quill as if it was a dagger. The point pierced right through and some of the ink spilt on the table. ¡°Have a good day Baron,¡± the young man murmured stiffly at the mess and left them shaking his head. Nattas smirked at the looks of confusion on the patrons¡¯ faces and caught sight of Grin squinting his eyes trying to read the missive. ¡°What does it say?¡± ¡°Ehm, I can only make out a couple of words chief,¡± Grin admitted. It was shocking he could glean as much. ¡°Well?¡± ¡°Ford? The¡­¡± Grin started slowly and Nattas stooped over the table to grab the scroll from him with a snarl. ¡°That¡¯s Lord. Fuck¡¯s sake,¡± he grunted and then breathed out to calm himself down. He quickly read the missive. It was written in a naval code (but for his name) he could easily decipher. Nattas was smiling when he lowered the scroll. ¡°Good news Chief?¡± Grin asked seeing his expression. ¡°Brakis agreed to stand down,¡± Nattas said so quietly Grin blinked unable to understand. ¡°Who?¡± ¡°Never mind. We¡¯re leaving,¡± Nattas snapped and got up with a groan rubbing at his stiff left leg. ¡°What about the chicken broth Chief?¡± Grin protested and Storm glared at him. ¡°There is no fucking chicken in the bloody broth,¡± he growled and several patrons furrowed their brows alarmed at the news. ¡°The good Baron is jesting!¡± Dados cried out to nip it in the bud, his voice turning to a high-pitched shriek at the end and rushed in panic outside the kitchen. ¡°Ha-ha. What a tease! Matter of fact I just added potatoes in it! How about that? Heh?¡± The absence of chicken meat conveniently left vague. Nattas sighed then stabbed his cane down, the metal tip clanging on the floor tiles and limped out of the tavern with a dejected Grin shuffling his feet, following right behind him.
The leading legionnaire, a gate¡¯s sergeant, looked at the Baron under the bronze rim of his helm, shaved rectangular chin half-hidden under the tight leather straps keeping the cheek guards together. ¡°Kindly,¡± he repeated in his warning voice. ¡°Remove yourself from the gates.¡± ¡°Listen up you son of a dog,¡± Nattas grunted setting his feet. ¡°I¡¯m a prominent Lord of the fucking realm and I have urgent business with the king!¡± ¡°Douglas,¡± the minor officer rustled. ¡°Present pilum.¡± ¡°Aye sir!¡± Douglas a sturdy legionnaire standing not two meters from him replied and reached for the javelin-type weapon. ¡°Have you lost your mind?¡± Nattas protested, spittle flying out of his mouth. ¡°I served in the King¡¯s Council!¡± ¡°Use the butt of the weapon to guide the Baron away from the road,¡± the sergeant instructed Douglas without minding Nattas¡¯ vocal protests. ¡°Double check to be sure,¡± he added to prevent the soldier from poking Storm¡¯s eye out. ¡°I¡¯m not going anywhere!¡± Storm snapped irate. ¡°Baron, we expect three wagons anytime now,¡± the sergeant explained. ¡°You will clear the road and try again later after securing a ¡®letter of entrance¡¯.¡± ¡°Chief,¡± Grin said worried while Douglas approached and gave Nattas a poke with the butt of the spear-like weapon to get him going. Hit him right in the spleen. With a groan Storm stepped back and used his cane to parry the returning for another ¡®poke¡¯ pilum away. ¡°Oras Hells,¡± he growled while Douglas flipped the pilum to use the sharp end the next time, another guard approaching from the camp¡¯s gates. ¡°I¡¯m leaving!¡±
¡°I¡¯m gonna kill Sirio,¡± Nattas griped watching with hateful eyes the guarded gates from twenty meters away, standing by the side of the road. ¡°If that idiot thinks he¡¯ll get to fuck my daughter for free, he¡¯s in for an unpleasant surprise!¡± ¡°Will she get married again?¡± Grin asked after blowing his nose loudly in a cloth. A lot of material coming out. Storm blinked trying to understand what that had to do with anything. ¡°After the scribe is deceased that is,¡± Grin elucidated and a nervous tick appeared on Nattas¡¯ left eye. The eyelid dropping as if he just had an aneurysm. A small caravan appeared on the road a moment later. The wagons dragged behind pairs of mules and covered with dirty white sheets. A gloomy Centurion sitting next to the driver of the leading wagon. ¡°Sad spectacle,¡± a local standing next to them commented, there was a small crowd of onlookers watching the comings and goings inside the camp hoping to get a glimpse of the King. The man was chewing on a roasted chicken leg of all plaguing things!¨Cthough it could have been a small dog¡¯s- yellow teeth scratching at the exposed bone. ¡°Why is that?¡± Storm asked unsure where the munching stranger was going with this. ¡°They still find dead in the fields,¡± the local explained and tossed the cleared bone away. A salivating dog quickly heading for it. Do dogs eat their own? Nattas mused. He¡¯d no fucking idea. ¡°These are the king¡¯s rangers,¡± the local continued. Storm glanced at the wagons passing in front of them. ¡°They don¡¯t look like rangers to me.¡± The driver carried a heavy military sling, secured on his belt and wore a light leather armour. ¡°These are slingers.¡± ¡°In the wagons,¡± the local elucidated and made the sign of Uher over his head respectfully. Ah. Wait¡­ aren¡¯t slingers¡­? Huh! Abrakas presents much needed opportunity! ¡°Good man!¡± Nattas gasped and limped after the slowly moving towards the gates wagon. ¡°Centurion!¡± The unshaved gloomy officer turned his head to watch a hobbling Nattas trying to catch up with the wagon. He had a classic legion armour on, many-times mended with some parts completely new, others full of small dents. ¡°Stop the wagons,¡± Nattas grunted breathing heavy and the officer tapped the driver¡¯s leg who pulled at the reins hard, less than ten meters from the gates. ¡°Gratitude,¡± Storm gasped and grabbed at the large wheel to catch his breath. ¡°What do you want?¡± The Centurion (of slingers) rustled. ¡°I¡¯m Lord Nattas,¡± Storm explained praying he¡¯d remembered the Legion¡¯s roster correctly. While he had travelled with them for months, Storm didn¡¯t mingle with the soldiers, staying with the supply train instead. The Centurion raised his brows recognizing the name. ¡°I¡¯m looking for Centurion Sorex.¡± ¡°You found him,¡± Sorex rustled. Not Secundus, his brother. They looked a bit alike but the younger Sorex was better-looking of sorts. ¡°I¡¯m in need of your help. I wanted to pay my respects to those that fell in the line of duty,¡± Nattas explained quickly and remembered half-way through to assume a sorrowful expression. ¡°Eh, we are fixing to burn what¡¯s left,¡± Sorex replied dejectedly. ¡°But it¡¯s a good thought Baron.¡± ¡°Any friends among the diseased?¡±If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Sorex scrunched his jaw. ¡°Aye milord. They almost got to the end,¡± he added gloomily. ¡°Yeah, did him no good.¡± Nattas nodded respectfully, Grin caught in the feels, ugly sniffling next to him whilst using the cloth he¡¯d wiped his nose with earlier to clean his eyes. ¡°Wanted to ask milord,¡± Sorex continued, his tone changing which made Nattas immediately focus on the words. ¡°Have you had word of me brother?¡± Motherfucker run away. ¡°He had to save his life,¡± Storm replied readily. ¡°When I got arrested in Aegium, all my people kind of scattered.¡± ¡°Any word from him since?¡± Nattas furrowed his brows not expecting a follow up question. Why would Secundus not contact his brother? Was that stupid fuck still in hiding? Well, it was good that he was, since Nattas was of the mind to have him killed. Then again what did Secundus really know? Some things but not everything. His name was on his ¡®repair¡¯ list though just in case. Just not high up there. ¡°Milord?¡± Sorex queried seeing Storm phase out. ¡°I haven¡¯t¡­ no nothing,¡± Nattas replied truthfully. ¡°These have been difficult years for me mister Sorex.¡± ¡°Call me Mamercus milord.¡± ¡°Anyways, I haven¡¯t heard from him but I wouldn¡¯t worry. He probably run as far away as he could from the turncoats.¡± Mamercus nodded a bit relieved. ¡°Gratitude milord. I¡¯ve met your son in law, the Tribune¡¯s nephew. Good lad.¡± ¡°Yes, he is¡­ a patriot. Not easy to leave¡­ a young bride behind to serve the kingdom but he did it without a second thought.¡± Mamercus frowned not sold on Sirio¡¯s bravery. ¡°Hey, I was as surprised as you but his inner spirit is far stronger than his sickly flesh I suppose,¡± Nattas added. ¡°Now that I have to respect.¡± The Centurion nodded. ¡°I have to get moving milord. The army will honor its dead with a great funeral pyre. A long day ahead of us. What can I do for you?¡± ¡°I¡¯d love to be present Centurion for the liturgy,¡± Nattas said, although he¡¯d no intention of doing it. ¡°It¡¯s an unpleasant sight to witness,¡± Mamercus warned. I¡¯ve seen fucking worse. Storm shrugged his shoulders. ¡°It¡¯s the least I could do.¡±
¡°There¡¯s the King¡¯s place. Headquarters, who the fuck cares?¡± Storm noted sourly the moment they got away from the slingers. ¡°Eh, lots of austere-looking guards about. Hmm.¡± ¡°Hey, that dude looks like Sirio!¡± Grin guffawed and pointed a dirty finger at a smaller wooden building next to the bulky command center. Looks he says. That¡¯s him gods darn it! ¡°Follow me,¡± Nattas hissed and limbed towards the historian using his cane to secure his footing. Sirio was called inside before they could reach him and a frustrated Storm cursed his lineage stooped over the cane, eyes glaring at the open door of the office. Legion Intelligence Department the wooden sign read with black bold letters. An officer stepped outside, square head with short-cut hair, wearing the typical leather armour of the lighter legion units but with a distinct blue tunic underneath and a same-colored long cloak. The armed with a sword, two daggers and an iron rod LID agent eyed the heavy-breathing Baron curious. Storm licked his lips then cleared his throat. ¡°If I can use some of your time, I would be greatly indebted,¡± he told the Lorian. A man of about thirty. ¡°Lord Nattas?¡± Ah. Well, then. ¡°It is pleasant to be recognized in these chaotic times¡ª¡± He never got the chance to finish. ¡°You¡¯re on the roster,¡± the man explained evenly. That¡¯s an Alden accent. ¡°Traveling with the supply train, which is currently in Islandport.¡± He pointed an arm north towards the city. Right. ¡°My son in law is with the Legion,¡± Storm grunted. ¡°Mister I¡¯d like¡ª¡± ¡°I know Baron. My name is Severus,¡± the LID officer explained. ¡°He¡¯s here.¡± No fucking shit! I just saw that snake! ¡°Can I talk with him?¡± ¡°He¡¯s busy. Come again on the morrow.¡± Storm breathed out slowly. ¡°I have information of great importance to the war effort. Can I ask for an audience with the King?¡± ¡°The Praetor is indisposed,¡± Severus retorted. ¡°Speak with Trupo at the general¡¯s staff office.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to present the information myself.¡± ¡°Why?¡± What? Get a leech up your pee-hole! ¡°It¡¯s of a technical nature, sensitive. I¡¯m an experienced diplomat Severus.¡± It was humiliating having to explain himself to this thug in a uniform. ¡°Trupo is an experienced officer. You said it¡¯s a campaign matter. He¡¯ll do fine with your information Baron.¡± Storm gulped down at the end of his tether. ¡°Trupo?¡± He finally yielded and Severus pointed at the large headquarters building. ¡°Ask the guard. It¡¯s the first door to your left. Stay away from the knights at the end of the corridor. They are¡­ nervous these days.¡± A frustrated Nattas nodded and with a last glare at the peeking from the door Sirio he marched of sorts towards the Legion HQ.
Trupo, of the known Flauegran family, was busy writing on a heavy book, a prominent flaxen mustache hanging down both sides of his mouth, seemingly having a life of its own and getting on the anxious Baron¡¯s nerves. Storm cleared his throat, Grin asking the guard outside the door of the small army-architecture square office if they were getting regular meals in the legion. ¡°A moment Baron,¡± Trupo said casually finishing up writing his notes. He wiped the tip of the bronze stylus (a military issued quill) carefully with a cloth and placed it next to the square metal inkpot. He then addressed the Baron in the same tone. ¡°Much to do after large engagements, some sad in nature others more boring but equally useful. Like roster restructuring.¡± Nattas couldn¡¯t care less about the Prefect¡¯s work. He was sitting on pins and needles, not to mention his arse crack had flooded with sweat from running about like a marathon runner. He opted not to say anything in the hopes they¡¯ll get to the point. But they didn''t. ¡°You hail from our neck of the woods yes?¡± Trupo commented sitting back on his wooden chair. Woods? It¡¯s a fucking valley! ¡°Prefect I¡¯d like¡­¡± Trupo grimaced austerely stopping him. Storm pursed his mouth for getting scolded on manners. ¡°My family had land near Faro,¡± he yielded civilly. A person must learn to suck cock wit gusto in this market, Storm sourly. ¡°At the border with Sartor. Riveras bought the land. Over two thousand quality vine trees. My father had an eye out for it but you chose not to accept my family¡¯s above the market offer.¡± Nattas hadn¡¯t chosen shit. Fuck Baron Trupo and fuck you. ¡°My late father owed money to Baron Riveras,¡± Nattas grunted through his teeth. ¡°He was forced to sell for half the price.¡± Trupo shrugged his shoulders. ¡°I don¡¯t really have a dog in the fight dear Nattas. But I was curious. Now I know.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t speak with Baron Trupo? I¡¯m sure he cracks a joke on occasion reminiscing my plight.¡± ¡°Not really. He cut me off,¡± Trupo explained a little embarrassed of the fact. ¡°So we are in a similar boat you and I.¡± Nattas doubted they had anything in common. ¡°You should allow the moustache to grow some more,¡± the Prefect offered with a smile, apparently not of the same opinion. ¡°It would really make your goatee pop out in a lovely manner, ha-ha.¡± Storm grabbed his left knee that had kicked out as all the pent up nerves had traveled down to his hurt leg, blinking a couple of times. ¡°I¡¯d like an audience with Lucius,¡± he grunted after making the tremors to his leg stop pressing his fist on it. ¡°The Praetor needs his rest. Just tell me what you learned.¡± This isn¡¯t going to work, Nattas thought furious. ¡°Dear Trupo¡­¡± ¡°I prefer the use of Prefect,¡± Trupo corrected him evenly. ¡°It was a difficult to earn rank.¡± ¡°Dear Prefect, I have information to present to our King that is very valuable and could dictate the future of the campaign.¡± Storm breathed in and out to calm himself down then continued. ¡°I won¡¯t disclose it even under torture, but I shall reveal it to the King, your Praetor, which I happen to know for fucking decades!¡± Trupo stared him for a long moment, thick mustache dancing above his upper lip. There was a knock on the door and an aide stepped inside. He saluted briskly. ¡°Yes Thomas?¡± Trupo asked still looking in Nattas sweating face. ¡°He¡¯ll see him. Ramirus is in there.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± Trupo murmured and reached for his quill. ¡°See the Baron doesn¡¯t get lost walking down the corridor Thomas,¡± he ordered and returned to scribbling on his heavy book. ¡°Baron, you can go. The King shall see you.¡± He added without looking at him.
Lucius was dressed in his Praetor armour, boots and everything and was sitting on a sturdy military armchair with a red woolen blanket tossed over it, his blue eyes on a large map of Jelin. Behind the King of Regia and deeper into the much larger room/office, a small army cot could be seen next to an armoire and a weapon stand. The king¡¯s personal quarters were basic. At the large desk in the middle of the room, to the right of the sitting King, the man known as Ramirus was poring over several written notes with another LID officer named Rio. A Lorian from Lesia. The raven-haired, keen-eyed Ramirus was rumored to be from Lesia as well, the distant desert city of Levacum. A tall Royal Knight from Cartagen stopped Nattas from moving further inside the room. The two knights standing guard outside had done the same looking for concealed weapons until Thomas talked with them. ¡°This is Baron Nattas,¡± Ramirus said raising his head from the reports. ¡°It¡¯s alright Sir Valgus.¡± ¡°I have a blade hidden in my cane,¡± Storm revealed with a leering smile and Lucius turned his head to stare at him. The king looked lost for a moment but quickly recovered. His handsome face strained and eyes sunk with black circles under them. ¡°The Baron¡¯s sharp wit is legendary Sir Valgus,¡± Lucius said tiredly. ¡°I¡¯m sure it is naught but a jest.¡± It wasn¡¯t really. No jest. Nattas was armed. Storm pursed his mouth, Lucius¡¯ earlier unguarded moment familiar but he couldn¡¯t remember when he¡¯d last seen it on the King¡¯s face. He almost had the memory but it slipped away from him. ¡°My Lord,¡± Nattas started opting to go the safe way and not start a guessing game of doom and gloom for no fucking reason. ¡°Word of your stunning victory has doubtless spread to the edges of Jelin,¡± he declared with a smart curtsy despite his back protesting furiously. ¡°Mayhap even to the shores of Eplas, assuming real people actually live there now.¡± ¡°What does victory feel like?¡± Lucius asked him with a tired smile. A strange query. ¡°Victory smells of the throne of Regia finally occupied and sings the hopes of a unified kingdom,¡± Storm replied dressing it up and setting the stage to reveal later Illirium¡¯s proposal. ¡°You¡¯ve been busy these past days,¡± Lucius stopped him. Nattas furrowed his brows and glared at Ramirus. The LID officer raised the left side of his mouth tauntingly. ¡°Trying to get your man in the post office without having any skill or character for the job, offering monetary compensation for access to the camp.¡± Learned help was impossible to find whilst on campaign, but ruffians one could locate aplenty. ¡°Bribes,¡± Ramirus expounded accusingly. Ah, you¡¯re starting to get on my nerves. ¡°Where is this world really heading,¡± Storm intervened wearing an affronted face. ¡°If attempts at charity to men that have spilt their blood for Regia¡¯s soil are thus portrayed?¡± Rio gave Ramirus a scroll and the latter read it quickly. Storm immediately disliked the second LID officer. ¡°Two nights of free ¡®entertainment¡¯ at¡­¡± Ramirus started with Rio stooping to whisper in his ear. ¡°¡­Joe Tubful¡¯s venue?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a brothel near the docks,¡± Storm explained. ¡°The man tries to restart his business. I just pointed the men that way. Blowing steam for free is therapeutic after the horrors of battle.¡± ¡°You have shares in his business, are you not?¡± Ramirus argued. You look into my stuff? You stupid nosy son of a bitch. ¡°The man asked for a loan. He was desperate for investors,¡± a blank faced ¨Cdespite seething inside- Nattas replied with a shrug. ¡°Threw a couple of girls in to lower the price. Hey, I didn¡¯t touch the bloody merchandise! I was thinking of the troops! Why, come to think of it that was pretty stupid of me!¡± ¡°Storm damn it,¡± Lucius stopped him. ¡°Why not ask me?¡± ¡°I couldn¡¯t reach or contact your grace,¡± Nattas said. ¡°Despite my persistent efforts. Some people in your circle are shutting me out. I¡¯m not going to point fingers but most of them are in the room.¡± ¡°Praetor,¡± a flushed Ramirus protested but Lucius silenced him with a wave of his hand. ¡°That¡¯s alright,¡± he said and got up from the armchair. ¡°Faye had a son,¡± Lucius said after a moment of silent contemplation. This didn¡¯t make any sense. Why are you so gloomy then? ¡°Auspicious news your grace.¡± ¡°We have an Alistair and now a little Ralph,¡± Lucius said his face mellowing up. ¡°A Vacia and a Roderick.¡± Well, that¡¯s a spare for the whole family almost, Storm thought but decided to reply with the much safer, ¡°A fantastic couple of days my Lord indeed.¡± Lucius grimaced as if he wasn¡¯t of the same opinion. Again Storm got that feeling that something was amiss. He needed access to his network, a city and office to work out of. Lackeys to run around ¡®solving¡¯ problems. Ah, good ole Sudi. I hope you haven¡¯t kicked the bucket yet. If you¡¯re still living you better not be fucking Miranda or I¡¯ll skin your cock with a blunted knife and make you swallow the skin. ¡°Your Grace I have promising news,¡± Storm said quickly taking the opportunity. ¡°Duke Brakis wrote me that he¡¯ll accept my offer of standing down. Illirium is out of the fight if you give me the go ahead.¡± ¡°What was the deal?¡± Lucius asked tiredly. Nattas expected a bit more enthusiasm there truth be told, to the point he felt cheated. ¡°Brakis reacted to Sula¡¯s aggression, he states that his argument wasn¡¯t with your grace.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t he cast a vote?¡± Lucius queried wearily. ¡°We were all ambushed by Lord Doris and Lord Ursus,¡± Storm explained. ¡°It¡¯s probable Brakis was also a victim but without the spine to stand up to them.¡± ¡°Sula was and Lord Holt,¡± Ramirus noted. ¡°Brakis was sandwiched between Alden and Aegium,¡± Storm countered. ¡°Your Grace, it is a great opportunity to finish this. Jeremy will have to negotiate.¡± That forlorn expression had returned to Lucius¡¯ face again. And Nattas now remembered when he had seen it last. Almost six years back in Riverdor. The summer of 188.
¡®Is that it?¡¯ A much younger Lucius had asked him then. ¡®Who won?¡¯
Eh. Rotten tentacle down the throat. ¡°Jeremy is dead,¡± Lucius said his voice cracking. ¡°They tossed his body in the woods.¡± Storm gulped down, his head spinning and the taste deleterious. How did they move so fast with Lord Ursus in prison? Doris was notoriously slow in his reactions unless the problem was staring him in the face. Throw out the rot, for once again you have to build anew. Or fight for it. ¡°Who did it?¡± Nattas asked and watched Lucius sitting down without a word. ¡°All points to Lord Marc Laudus,¡± Ramirus replied and Nattas furrowed his brows stunned. ¡°Marc?¡± ¡°Davos Scylla and Theodor Brakis were assassinated near Jeremy. Twenty palace personnel, seven guards and six local civilians,¡± Ramirus elucidated. ¡°Sir Turner, Ursus man in the Council, had been killed earlier that day or the previous. He was marching towards Islandport with a portion of the Royal Guard. It was unrelated to the plot we believe but opened a window of opportunity.¡± Laudus had been hired by King Alistair, Nattas thought. Worked as the king¡¯s inspector of public works for years and had been brought to the Ministry of the Interior, or under the Master of Silence of Regia (as it was known in the Lorian kingdoms) in early 190? A fucking shady bureaucrat? Sure he had the ambition to climb up the ladder and then Jeremy picked him as his replacement. Did Jeremy know Laudus? Who suggested him? Doris? Ursus? ¡°So your deal or Brakis¡¯ offer is null and void,¡± Lucius said hoarsely watching him thinking about it. ¡°It isn¡¯t,¡± Nattas objected before he could help himself. He was shaken hearing of Jeremy¡¯s fate but in his line of business you kept the ball rolling for the next play. To stop or freeze in panic was to condemn yourself. ¡°Lord Doris is in Alden. Brakis standing down his troops would force him to surrender unconditionally.¡± ¡°Queen Janneke is regent,¡± Lucius reminded him. ¡°Was she with Jeremy?¡± ¡°Jeremy was in Opossum,¡± Ramirus said. What? The fuck was that idiot¡­ wait. ¡°Where is the Queen? She¡¯s not in Alden?¡± Nattas asked almost dropping his cane. ¡°She¡¯s in Tenor or Aldenfort,¡± Ramirus replied. ¡°I have men heading there.¡± ¡°What are you thinking Storm?¡± Lucius asked and Nattas wanted to tell him that everything was going to be alright but he just couldn¡¯t lie to him. I mean he could, but not on these matters. Nattas needed another moment to shed his sentimentality like a new bride her undergarments but he didn¡¯t have it. ¡°Would Janneke ask her father to intervene?¡± Storm asked and Lucius snapped out of his gloomy state at last. ¡°Sir Rik is heading there as well,¡± the king said thoughtfully. ¡°I don¡¯t believe Lord Ruud would intervene.¡± Would the old Crow care about his daughter? His grandchildren? ¡°Why would Laudus act against Jeremy Storm?¡± Lucius asked. ¡°You were near them. What is going on?¡± I have missed this part, Storm thought. Looking for other conspiracies I missed the most obvious one or the main players weren¡¯t in Alden. ¡°I don¡¯t know your Grace,¡± Nattas replied. ¡°I find it hard to believe Ursus could pull this off by himself.¡± ¡°I want him found,¡± Lucius said hoarsely and then his tone turned serious. ¡°Everyone responsible for this atrocity shall be brought to justice.¡± Storm gulped down nervously. ¡°I could perhaps get on it your grace,¡± he croaked. ¡°If I was reinstated and given the tools to work at the matter.¡± ¡°Ramirus will handle it,¡± Lucius replied sternly and ended the conversation.
Fuck, a livid Nattas thought on his way out. Scalding hot iron rod up the shit-tube! Abrakas snap out of it ye fucking tentacled moron! Crap has flooded the blasted drains and I stand here cucked, blindfold tight over the blasted head! ¡°Chief?¡± Grin asked and seeing his murderous expression shrunk away. ¡°Ehm, it didn¡¯t go well?¡± Storm swung his cane and nailed him right at the knee with a satisfying crunch. Grin went down with a pained groan and Nattas tried to kick him in the face but missed and went down himself. Bryce and Moore rushed to helm him up and the growling Baron made it to his feet again breathing heavy. ¡°Can we send a message to Moon¡¯s Haven?¡± He asked coming to his senses. ¡°A merchant bird?¡± Bryce asked whilst helping the moaning Grin up. Storm glanced at the soldiers approaching and cursed. ¡°I stumbled,¡± he explained showing them his cane. ¡°We¡¯re fine thank the Allgods!¡± They waited for the soldiers to go away and then walked to the gates. The Baron stopped at their horses and looked at his lackeys. ¡°Fuck it. We¡¯ll go through Cartaport. We¡¯ll use a merchant bird to reach the friendly smugglers there.¡± ¡°Grogan?¡± Grin asked. ¡°What do you mean Grogan? Didn¡¯t you arrange¡­?¡± Storm stalled meaningfully. ¡°Aye I did.¡± ¡°So?¡± ¡°Eh,¡± Grin murmured in total confusion. ¡°Is it done?¡± ¡°Of course. Ye ordered it milord.¡± Nattas stood back. ¡°No, I didn¡¯t,¡± Storm retorted with a glare. ¡°I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about.¡± ¡°Getting rid¡ª¡± Grin was hurled back as the Baron¡¯s backhand had caught him right at the mouth loosening that badly made silver tooth. Storm did him a favor. ¡°Why?¡± Grin croaked miserably. ¡°Help him,¡± Storm ordered an alarmed Bryce. ¡°Wipe the blood from his mouth, good grief he¡¯s a fucking bleeder.¡± ¡°The missive milord?¡± Moore asked not too fazed for his coworker¡¯s mistreatment. Truth be told, Moore didn¡¯t know Grin that long. ¡°We¡¯ll use the smugglers to send a missive to Turtle Isles. We need to bring Sudi here,¡± Storm replied. ¡°Another to notify Parkor to have our men in Alden learn more about what the fuck went wrong.¡± ¡°What went wrong?¡± Moore asked but seeing Nattas¡¯ glare decided the answer wasn¡¯t worth the pain. In Storm¡¯s eyes Moore had just elevated himself.
428. All their deeds
Lucius Alden, ¡®Bloody Tiger¡¯ Lord Lucius Aldenus the third, Praetor Maximus, Legatus ¡®Omnis Legionis¡¯ King Lucius III All their deeds
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A grimacing Roderick stepped aside, caught Lucius¡¯ lunging sword with the flat part of the blade connecting to the guard, tapped it away and then extended his arm through the young heir¡¯s defense. Opened Lucius¡¯ arm sleeve two fingers below his shoulder with the end of the blade. ¡°Eh,¡± Lucius gasped in disappointment and retreated a full step away from the older man¡¯s reach. ¡°I¡¯m disadvantaged using the left arm Roderick!¡± ¡°Still, it was a decent thrust what you¡¯ve managed,¡± a smirking Roderick replied. The inside of his left cheek sucked between his teeth. ¡°Though pretty slow to surprise anyone not completely blind. By the way, it was a cut to the bone lad. Lose the sword.¡± Lucius groaned and then checked at his ruined tunic. He stretched his ¡®injured¡¯ but tiring left arm, whilst moving his grip at the sword handle nearer to the guard. ¡°I moved away so it¡¯s just a bleeding cut. You came up with this scheme just to get a win old man?¡± ¡°Bah, yer not winning all duels with the other arm and you were getting thrashed not that long into the past by this old sword,¡± a scowling Roderick argued but a flushed Lucius sneered at that as he had the best of him for well over a year now. ¡°I noticed some arrogance creeping in young lord. All ¡®em fancy laurels and honors thrown at ye at the tourneys will make light of a man¡¯s head. Turn him into a right fool!¡± Lucius let out a groan and set his feet in an open stance to try again. ¡°I don¡¯t intent to fight with my left arm, the right tied behind my back. I don¡¯t fancy joining the circus old hand.¡± ¡°Life can turn into a circus so you may be forced to,¡± Roderick replied pursing his mouth. ¡°Eh, you look tired. Let the arm rest for a bit.¡± Lucius made to dismiss his offer but a pouting young Jeremy burst out of the lovely flowerbed with a yelp, small arms tearing at the thin branches and destroying half of it. He rolled on the cut grass two meters away from them and just as he was getting up again a furious Ralph jumped over the crushed roses and fell on him. ¡°What is this fresh malarkey? Cease immediately you rascals!¡± Roderick cursed while Ralph started pummeling Jeremy, an arm used to keep the smaller boy¡¯s flailing fists away. Lucius rushed to split them up, receiving blows from both of them, a small fist clipping his jaw. ¡°Halt! Gods darn it!¡± He bellowed shoving a snarling Ralph away and then backhanding the fired up teenager when he made to come at him next. ¡°Stand away Ralph!¡± Lucius warned him, an open palm on Jeremy¡¯s chest to keep the youngest brother from reaching for his face. ¡°Jeremy, you swing at me again I¡¯ll use Roderick¡¯s stick on your arse!¡± ¡°The stick comes out either way,¡± the approaching Roderick rumbled and snatched Ralph¡¯s right ear with gloved fingers. Ralph shoved him away with both arms managing to free himself and Roderick sighed and swung his fist at the feisty teenager¡¯s ribs. With a groan Ralph doubled over and dropped on his knees. ¡°Always keep your guard up,¡± Roderick counseled him and stooped to help a grumbling Ralph up. ¡°Just because I stepped back didn¡¯t mean I couldn¡¯t reach ye.¡± ¡°Let me up!¡± Jeremy screamed under Lucius and he moved aside. His younger brother¡¯s face was dirty, teary eyes red and flashing with anger. ¡°That little shit smacked me upside the head!¡± Ralph snapped and he was down on his knees again, Roderick¡¯s timely slap landing at the right ear. With a weary sigh Roderick helped the dizzy Ralph on his wobbly feet again snatching him by the right arm. ¡°Caught you watching mother at the beach!¡± Jeremy accused him and stooped to grab a small rock to throw at the groaning Ralph but Lucius kicked the rock away from his small fingers. ¡°Tried to kill me to keep it quiet!¡± Jeremy squealed in frustration. ¡°You swung at me and then wanted to rat me out!¡± Ralph hissed. ¡°You are a little rat¡ª!¡± Roderick¡¯s cuff upside the head made his teeth rattle and cut Ralph¡¯s sentence short. The loyal Hand eyed the teenager warningly. The next blow would come at full force. It wouldn¡¯t but Ralph would be wise not to risk it. Lucius furrowed his brows confused at the argument and stared at Jeremy. ¡°Is this true? Did you hit him first?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll take his place?¡± Jeremy protested and tried to get away from him but Lucius grabbed the yelping boy¡¯s nape and swung him around. ¡°He¡¯s talking dirty about mum all the time!¡± Jeremy was beside himself but Lucius had moved his grip on his left shoulder and kept the boy trapped. ¡°She¡¯s not our mother you¡ª¡± Roderick intervened afore Ralph could finish. His voice coming out in a sober rustle. Ralph and wise just couldn¡¯t work together apparently. ¡°I better not hear another foul word from ye. I mean it,¡± he warned. ¡°I¡¯ve a fresh piece of soap and we¡¯ll wash that tongue thoroughly young lord.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not lying,¡± Ralph griped scrunching his jaw. ¡°What were you doing by the river?¡± Lucius asked looking at his feisty brother. ¡°It¡¯s not my fault if she swims in the park. It¡¯s a semi-public beach,¡± Ralph protested, a naughty twinkle in his eye. Ah, damn it Ralph. ¡°But you know what they say about them girls from Aegium.¡± Ralph had sneaked out of the palace twice the previous month alone and they had picked him up inebriated near two of the largest Cartagen taverns. Alistair had forced him to remain inside since and shovel manure at the stables. ¡°Ayup, that¡¯s it,¡± a sour-faced Roderick decided and snatched Ralph¡¯s ear again. ¡°We are marching to the horses and then we¡¯re off for the stables. It¡¯s the soap for ye first, followed by a good day of honest work!¡± Lucius watched Roderick drag a protesting Ralph away for a moment and then glanced at his sniffling youngest brother. ¡°Our mother is in heaven Jeremy,¡± he told him softly using his hand to clear some of the leaves and foliage off of him. The dirt on his clothes and face Lucius could do nothing about. ¡°Miranda is just father¡¯s second wife.¡± ¡°Not for me,¡± Jeremy sniffled stubbornly. ¡°She¡¯s my friend. We agreed that she would be my mum because I don¡¯t have one. So I¡¯m going to tell her all about it.¡± ¡°You won¡¯t,¡± Lucius said despite his heart hurting at the memory of their mother and seeing him pouting he sighed. Lucius could understand part of what Jeremy was going through but he couldn¡¯t allow this problem to grow way out of proportions. ¡°She might decide to speak to father about it and this would bring a lot of trouble to your brother¡¯s doorstep.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care. He deserves it,¡± Jeremy spat. ¡°He¡¯s a creep.¡± ¡°He¡¯s not. Never use that word again. Yes he¡¯s an idiot sometimes but he¡¯s still your brother,¡± Lucius argued patiently. ¡°He¡¯s at fault for being¡­ eh, at an age when you start notice some things, but she shouldn¡¯t have treated the palace gardens as her bathroom also.¡± ¡°You always defend him,¡± Jeremy griped bitterly. ¡°She was at the river with her maids. The Queen does what she wants.¡± That was Miranda¡¯s teenage fantasies he was sprouting out. ¡°I¡¯m not defending him over you,¡± Lucius replied sternly deciding not to comment on his step-mother. Miranda was younger than him which was already weird for everyone. ¡°But I¡¯ll defend him period. I¡¯ll do the same for you.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Jeremy said and glanced at his sword. Lucius had stabbed it on the ground to get at them earlier. ¡°Can I be a knight too?¡± ¡°When you grow up,¡± Lucius smiled and ruffled his dirty brown hair. ¡°If you want to.¡± Jeremy thought about it and then wiped the lower part of his face with a muddy sleeve. ¡°I¡¯m not good with the sword.¡± ¡°It¡¯s all about training,¡± Lucius replied with a smile and picked the sword up. ¡°You start with a small blade and then gradually move on to a bigger weapon. I did the same at your age.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± Jeremy murmured deep in thought. ¡°What things?¡± He asked his young mind drifting elsewhere. Eh. Lucius pursed his mouth and stared at the smashed flowers for a moment. Many yellow and white petals spilt over the grass, fewer red ones amidst them resembling small splotches of blood. ¡°That¡¯s a lesson for another time. When you are older you¡¯ll know but hey, you have years ahead to figure it out. It¡¯s a process Jeremy.¡± ¡°Wow, you made no sense there Lucci!¡± Lucius nodded a little embarrassed. ¡°Being older don¡¯t mean I¡¯m wiser,¡± he retorted and flipped the sword in his hand showing off. ¡°But I¡¯m a good enough swordsman to teach you a thing or two afore the summer starts,¡± he added with a grin. ¡°Then I¡¯ll be busy defending my title.¡± ¡°Do I get to use a real sword?¡± Jeremy asked with a beam. ¡°No you are not,¡± Lucius retorted swiftly. ¡°We¡¯ll use Roderick¡¯s training sticks. He has at least a dozen in his saddle bags. It¡¯ll get you a head start with the old man. Come, we need to catch up with them.¡± ¡°Why so many? Are they different from the others?¡± Jeremy wondered and followed after him trying to keep up with Lucius¡¯ larger strides. He turned his head to answer but his brother frowned mid-step and then nodded figuring it out himself. Eventually he always did. ¡°Oh, boy,¡± Jeremy murmured, young face distorting comically. ¡°Not good.¡± ¡°Aye, little knight,¡± a peaceful Lucius replied chuckling and wrapped his arm around Jeremy¡¯s narrow shoulders protectively to bring him closer. Not good at all.
- Not good. A gloomy Lucius was staring at the blackened piles of charred brittle bones -still smoking from last night¡¯s funeral pyre. He could still smell the pungent bouquet of burned flesh and brooks of melted fat had crusted into lumps of black coal-like material at the base of the piles. Sober crews with shovels were breaking it to slowly clear the site out and unload the charred remains inside the large square mass graves the engineers had dug out next to each large mount. ¡°Lots of men from the First Legion in there milord,¡± Galio commented standing next to the thoughtful King. ¡°Fittingly, for this would be a battlefield memorial site for Regia.¡± Lucius replied. ¡°The camp rebuild and not taken down.¡± ¡°By the road milord?¡± Lucius nodded glancing at the faces of the legionnaires still milling around the spent funeral pyres. Near the big one he spotted the grim-faced Centurion Sorex and some of the surviving rangers from Kaeso¡¯s destroyed unit. Not good. ¡°By the road,¡± he said simply and turned to the solemn staring senior Veturius. ¡°We¡¯ll still raise a monument for the Third at Elysium Fort Tribune. Next to the Mabindon Delta for they did make it home eventually.¡± ¡°A good thought milord.¡± ¡°How is Nonus?¡± Lucius asked changing the subject. Galio furrowed his thick greying brows. ¡°We thought him a goner for a couple of days,¡± he replied. ¡°But I was informed his fever dropped some during the night.¡± ¡°I¡¯m about to lie to Martha,¡± Lucius reminded the veteran Tribune. ¡°Her bloodline is unpredictable and prone to overreactions.¡± ¡°He¡¯ll pull through milord and Lady Redmond is not a young girl,¡± Galio reassured him. ¡°Be that as it may, Duke Holt is hours away according to scout patrols returning from the east. Mostly a mounted force and not the rest of the army. I expect the infantry to be here in three days at the sooner.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll have problems feeding everyone.¡± ¡°Not if you march towards Tenor.¡± Lucius glanced in his familiar wrinkled face. ¡°You think I shouldn¡¯t?¡± ¡°I think we should head for Aldenfort immediately.¡± ¡°Then you agree.¡± ¡°Finding Jeremy¡¯s killers can¡¯t be a priority milord. Nor is staying at Tenor. I would just keep marching.¡± Lucius pursed his lips and looked away. ¡°You think Laudus got away?¡± ¡°I think we need to get near All Dens Plains as soon as possible.¡± ¡°We have Lord Scylla,¡± Lucius reminded him. ¡°Lord Brakis will stand down.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll take up his offer?¡± Galio asked and Lucius nodded. ¡°Thought about it and decided it is the better course of action.¡± ¡°Would Lord Doris capitulate?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t see Doris standing behind the Issir Queen,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°Good,¡± Galio replied and Lucius eyed him surprised but it was obvious the Tribune couldn¡¯t read his thoughts. He felt strange since morning. Some of it he attributed to the shock of seeing his last remaining brother¡¯s mutilated body. It was a blow that had almost brought him down. Lucius was back in Regia but no one from his immediate family was there to greet him. Not little Silvie or his father and now Jeremy. ¡°How did you learn about Sula¡¯s condition?¡± Lucius asked numbly trying to change the subject, his mouth bitter as if he¡¯d just swallowed a bottle of laudanum. Galio clasped both hands behind his back, a look of bewilderment on his weathered face. ¡°I have no idea how I got there,¡± he admitted. ¡°Only remember parts of the trip.¡± ¡°You mean the field hospital?¡± Lucius asked raising a brow. ¡°On a horse Tribune. Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re getting too old for this. I still have need of your services and an extra legion to rebuild. Plus the king¡¯s friends stay with the King Tribune.¡± Galio grimaced but then his mouth relaxed. ¡°Some events are a blur milord was all I¡¯m saying. But I feel fine now.¡± He glanced at the concerned King. ¡°The First Legion needs a special kind of officer to make it work again. Keeping it near here won¡¯t be good for the men.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll see about it. I might sent them down the Tunnel Pass towards Cartagen or have them follow us at a distance.¡± Lucius breathed out and turned away from the extinguished funeral pyre in order to return to the headquarters but paused to regard the still standing back Tribune.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°What do you mean a special officer?¡± He asked a little curious whether they had reached the same conclusion or not. ¡°Reckon someone important enough so the lads can rally around him and fill Ol¡¯ Scrawny¡¯s boots. But also sufficiently crazy or boastful to even take the task on,¡± Galio had replied without looking his way adding as an afterthought just like he always did. ¡°Milord.¡±
¡°Sir Valgus,¡± Lucius greeted the bowing knight and then walked to the maps table to speak with Ramirus. ¡°Lord Lucius,¡± Ramirus saluted getting up. ¡°Ramirus,¡± Lucius returned the salute and signaled for him to remain at his armchair. ¡°Any news?¡± ¡°Nothing yet. They have a good head start, but finding a boat out of Tenor won¡¯t be easy in winter.¡± ¡°Would they continue towards Aldenfort?¡± Ramirus frowned. ¡°You believe he¡¯ll go after the Queen?¡± ¡°Does anyone know where she is?¡± Lucius asked evenly. ¡°Lord Scylla wrote to Lord Seneca. Asked him to stand down. He¡¯ll contact Lord Reynard,¡± Ramirus replied. ¡°Reynard would know if the Queen is there.¡± In Aldenfort was his meaning. ¡°My Lord, Laudus can¡¯t try again with word of his vile actions out,¡± Ramirus added. ¡°He¡¯s running.¡± ¡°Hmm. Rik seemed to believe his sister is in danger.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t put too much stock to that. He¡¯s concerned sure but I don¡¯t see why Laudus would risk his life especially if she¡¯s in Aldenfort. Tenor is a wall-less town but those desert cities are difficult to get in and out of.¡± Lucius agreed with most of what Ramirus had said but questions remained. ¡°Why would Laudus attack the king?¡± ¡°And his council,¡± Ramirus added. ¡°Sir Turner was killed in battle,¡± Lucius argued. ¡°Earlier. It could have been a trigger for the events that followed.¡± ¡°What are you saying?¡± Lucius queried and rubbed at his still healing arm. ¡°Laudus decided to clean house after murdering Jeremy?¡± ¡°Everyone killed was with your brother since the beginning. They were his everyday contacts. Lord Ursus never set foot in Alden since your father was killed and neither did Lord Brakis or Lord Scylla. Theodor was there and Sir Turner. Davos, Laudus, these were the men working with Lord Doris and Jeremy,¡± Ramirus explained and then got a scroll out of a pile. ¡°What is this?¡± A troubled Lucius asked, still working in his head the reasoning behind Laudus criminal actions. ¡°An outlier, I believe Di Cresta loved the term,¡± Ramirus jested. Given the LID officer¡¯s always blank or guarded expression and character it was a rarity. ¡°You¡¯ve been poring through my books Centurion?¡± Lucius asked with a glance at some of the tomes the late academic had sent him some months back. It was great reading to put a tired man to sleep but packed with ¡®keys to unlock the mind¡¯ for those that were willing to put in the effort. ¡°In my spare time my Lord,¡± Ramirus replied. ¡°What¡¯s the wrinkle in our hypothesis?¡± Lucius asked with a half-smile. ¡°The Khan¡¯s armies are on Jelin,¡± Ramirus said. ¡°They have spotted Cataphracts near Castalor and there¡¯s word there might be more near Colle.¡± ¡°Ruud has his hands full,¡± Lucius noted a little surprised. How did Kaltha mess up their campaign so much? With Gust succeeding at Eikenport and the earlier taking of Ri Yue-Tu, Lord Anker had two strategic axis of advance located hundreds of kilometers away from which to launch an assault on Raoz. Elsanne declaring for the throne has shifted Kaltha¡¯s Regent¡¯s plans, he decided. He tried to squash the opposition but Lord Ruud controls half the council and it wasn¡¯t as easy. Taking his eye from Eplas allowed the Khan to amass his forces and cross the Shallow Sea. Still though, such a big army can¡¯t be supplied across a large body of water if the latter is contested. The Khan needs to win in the sea while simultaneously setting a meaningful foothold on Jelin. Maybe Colle or Castalor since Deadmen¡¯s Watch is too small and remote. That¡¯s three objectives that need to be secured to even have a campaign started. A naval engagement and at least two sieges. You can pray to Tyeus for a win against the odds but three in a row is a risky endeavor even if all the cards fall your way. Sula was saved by Curd¡¯s intervention. Ligur could have had his machines and still lose sure, but it would have been costlier. You never know what another day will bring in battle. Radpour moved too soon. This was a reaction due to anger perhaps and not a fully thought-out plan. ¡°He has sire,¡± Ramirus agreed. ¡°Lord Ruud can¡¯t open another front which makes Laudus actions meaningless. Jeremy would have been forced to negotiate a truce.¡± ¡°They didn¡¯t know?¡± ¡°The news reached them first,¡± Ramirus argued. ¡°And then they reacted.¡± ¡°Even if Jeremy wanted to prolong the war,¡± Ramirus started and Lucius finished it. ¡°He would have figured out sooner or later that it was over.¡± ¡°Yes sir. This strips Laudus¡¯ actions of any perceived patriotic duty to spare Regia of a foreigner¡¯s intervention. There was no need to remove a mad king.¡± ¡°It would have been murder still Ramirus,¡± an angry Lucius grunted his heart hurting. ¡°Senseless, unjustifiable savagery against royal blood! Against my own family!¡± ¡°No argument sire,¡± Ramirus agreed with a frown. ¡°This just makes it deliberate.¡± ¡°You think he was ordered to act,¡± Lucius rustled hoarsely. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°This is a conspiracy sire.¡± ¡°It was always a god darn conspiracy!¡± Lucius growled and slammed both fists on the table rattling it. The pain from his hurt arm brought tears to his eyes. ¡°Ursus had my father killed!¡± ¡°Allegedly.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll defend him?¡± Lucius snapped angrily and Ramirus stood back with a grimace. ¡°Lord Ursus is held up in Cartagen,¡± Ramirus said after licking his lips nervously. ¡°If Sir Turner was his man in the Council then who ordered Laudus to act after the knight was killed?¡± Lucius breathed in deeply and pulled away from the table. He tried to put his thoughts in order despite the anger flooding his senses but couldn¡¯t. ¡°Explain.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have a working theory sir,¡± Ramirus replied stiffly. ¡°I wasn¡¯t present during the events or near Jeremy. But if Lord Ursus was the driving force behind the turncoat council then it appears his reach is much greater than one would have expected from the Lord of Novesium.¡± ¡°Lord Doris?¡± ¡°He had his sister removed to put Jeremy on the throne,¡± Ramirus said treading carefully. ¡°Jeremy marrying the Crow girl was your father¡¯s idea and not his, but he¡¯d no other option at the time.¡± No, Doris would never harm Jeremy, Lucius thought but then he wasn¡¯t as sure. This would mean the Alden of Aegium had Alistair killed. Why? They had a Queen on the throne already. He thought of Miranda, but saw no benefit for her either. ¡°Would Nattas know?¡± Lucius asked tiredly. ¡°Sir, the Baron is¡­¡± Ramirus hesitated. ¡°Lord Ursus accused him of murdering women and children in Novesium. His wife and daughter. Fornicating with the Queen and conspiring against the throne.¡± This was nonsense. ¡°Ursus conspired against the throne!¡± Lucius grunted. ¡°I can¡¯t accept the Duke¡¯s words on face value! Nattas was working against them this whole time, you know this from Sirio.¡± ¡°Sirio is married to the Baron¡¯s daughter,¡± Ramirus insisted. ¡°And many civilians and womenfolk were killed in Novesium. The more I look into the Baron¡¯s affairs the more things appear sinister sire. Outright disturbing.¡± Lucius puffed out in exasperation. ¡°Storm is a friend of my family for decades. He practically grew up in the palace for crying out loud. My mother loved him like a son. Yes, he may not act by the book always and might even have dirtied his hands serving my father but Alistair would have never allowed him to cross certain lines. He just wouldn¡¯t. I know my father Ramirus. He was harsh sure and unforgiving ¨Cno argument about it, but ruled within the laws of the Five!¡± ¡°Aye, but do you know the Baron sire? Not everyone serves the Five or frowns upon what is perceived a sin in our pantheon,¡± Ramirus asked meaningfully. ¡°Does anyone know him really?¡± Lucius dismissed his words with a wave of his right arm. ¡°Focus on finding out who else could be behind Laudus,¡± he told the sober-faced LID officer. ¡°Storm isn¡¯t part of the conspiracy. He just doesn¡¯t follow Uher. Yes, he has disgusting habits and a lewd philanderer¡¯s lifestyle but Naossis¡¯ is still part of the pantheon and her priestesses support my bid. Anyway, he was working against them,¡± Lucius added and touched the sword¡¯s handle. ¡°The sword in this scabbard proves it.¡± Ramirus bowed his head, voice not betraying his emotions. ¡°As the good Lord wishes. I shall strive to find out more sire. I¡¯ll need to recruit from within the ranks.¡± ¡°We have almost two thousand applications according to Trupo,¡± Lucius said furrowing his brows. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with them?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll need men that have been tested already sir, from both legions and an independent command operating outside the Castrum.¡± Ramirus replied firmly. ¡°At least a hundred to start.¡± Lucius thought about it then nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll sign the order. Get it done.¡± -
Months from his twentieth birthday King Jeremy Alden, the second of his name, was astonishingly murdered near the village of Opossum, a tiny road stop forty kilometers from Islandport. The date given officially is the 16th of Primus of 194. He had reigned since the second half of 190 taking over from Queen Miranda. Jeremy left behind Queen Janneke and two small children. The ¡®black twins¡¯, Alistair the second and Patience. Only parts of his body were recovered and King Lucius III (now the sole occupant of the Kingdom¡¯s throne) kept his bones in a small silver sarcophagus until he brought them in the city of Alden. King Jeremy, the youngest of King Alistair¡¯s boys, was interred next to his bigger brother Ralph and his father in the Aldenus crypt under the old King¡¯s Palace. Jeremy¡¯s murder was attributed to his Master of Silence Marc Laudus and his agents. A manhunt ensued for the apprehension of the killers. Queen Janneke who learned of her husband¡¯s fate in Aldenfort lost her wits momentarily and started wailing until her voice gave out. The elderly Count Vel Seneca of Vinterfort, who was to be informed by Lord Scylla on the loss of both his sons two days later, agreed with Reynard Alden¡¯s (the petty count of Aldenfort was fourth cousin to the King, but the Alden of Aldenfort were considered a cadet branch) offer to take the Issir Queen out of his hands. Reynard had remained neutral citing an obscure law about the guardians of the Canlita Sea (he was considered ¡®commander of the lake¡¯ but Reynard held no real power as neither Duke Holt nor Baron Mercator recognized his token title). Janneke and the children traveled under a light escort (a couple of Scaldingport knights were with the Queen plus a squad of Reynard¡¯s guards) towards Vinterfort. Sir Rik De Weer who had raced to Tenor, found no sign of her and upon learning where she was, he traveled towards Aldenfort to catch up with his sister. It is rumored that Marc Laudus smaller group reached Aldenfort just after Janneke had left but any sign of him was lost after that. He possibly travelled towards Tigerfall Castle and Badum in the Kingdom of Kaltha but he could have gone after the fleeing Queen. Sir Rik left most of his force behind and rode hard with a group of his closest men-at-arms managing to catch up with the slow-moving Janneke at the east approaches of the Carcass Plateau, fifteen kilometers from the desert walled town of Vinterfort. Instead of heading towards the waiting Vel Seneca he insisted that the mourning Janneke should take the kids to Timberville initially and then either Forestfort or Scaldingport. ¡®You could be a Queen in name in Regia whilst naught but a hostage -for as long as that lasts,¡¯ he purportedly told her. ¡®Or live as an exiled widow in your homeland and see your children grow.¡¯ An unable to speak Janneke had agreed and elected Forestfort Sir Rick¡¯s hold. Lord Stan Brakis ordered Proclus Sextus-Brakis to stand down. The ¡®Black Trident¡¯, Lord Proclus son, sent a messenger to Lord Sula that Illirium wanted a truce and abandoned the plans for another blockade of Demames¡¯ port. Lord Paulus Sula was asked by Sir Opiter Sula (his son and commander of the Regulars) whether to retreat from Aegium given the new developments or not. Lord Paulus ordered his son to stay put and wrote to Baron Drusus (his first cousin was still near Cartaport) to march as fast as he could towards Novesium. Sula wanted to keep the ? of Regia¡¯s south coast he was controlling but the Duke of Demames lacked the forces to do it. Lord Doris Alden learned of Jeremy¡¯s fate three days after Lord Seneca. With Sabretooth paralyzed and Vinterfort uncooperative he sent a small force to retrieve Queen Janneke but he was too late for that. When news of Lord Brakis decision reached him later that week he collapsed on the stone throne of Regia and asked his aide Laius ¡®how has it come to this?¡¯ To which the Aegium official had replied tacitly, ¡®I believe your grace should have been more patient or just lied and allowed your sister to remain as Regent.¡¯ ¡®Good gods Laius, you are an idiot,¡¯ Lord Doris had retorted irate. ¡®Miranda remaining on the throne meant this rotten scumbag Nattas would have ruled over all of us. Forget it, I¡¯d rather lose my head.¡¯ While a portion of the third Legion (the First Cohort under Brevis) would return to Cartagen before the summer, the rest of the army travelled with Lucius towards Aldenfort first and then the city of Alden. Two months later, a little more than sixteen months into his ¡®Eighteen Months¡¯ offensive, Lucius Alden¡¯s southern campaigns would come to an end. That summer, the year of the new Calendar 194, Lucius¡¯ journey and mission that had started in the distant summer of 188 -six years earlier- concluded as well.
- Eighteen Months Offensive 2nd of Alter (Secundus) 194, Code named -18 plus 15- Campaign Day 423 - Lucius stepped back, rotated Endariel in his left hand, the Imperial blade¡¯s song sounding like a thousand chirping birds and switched his grip on it. He directed the sword¡¯s pointy end towards the grimacing helmless knight. They were both sweaty despite the chilly wind coming from the large lake, Canlita¡¯s shores easily visible beyond the treeline. ¡°Sir Valgus?¡± Lucius asked, hint of a smile on his mouth, all the exercise and the steadily good weather helping him these past weeks. ¡°Want to try again?¡± ¡°Your grace,¡± the knight grumbled, checking at the scratch on his plate. ¡°While it¡¯s embarrassing, it¡¯s not easy for me to keep up with your left arm.¡± ¡°Mayhap, you should switch as well,¡± Lucius advised him and glanced at the small crowd that had gathered to watch the King¡¯s daily morning practice. Reynard had opened the gates of the castle but the army had stayed in its massive camp much to his cousin¡¯s chagrin. The reason been that a lot of people were leaving Aldenfort¡¯s market early each day to come and see Lucius and the Legions in person. ¡°I can¡¯t move that well still.¡± ¡°Your grace mistook my meaning. I¡¯ll be even less of a challenge then,¡± Sir Valgus admitted and the crowd applauded loudly at his words. Civilians amidst the legionnaires, some smiling or discussing sword skills, exaggerating as people tend to do. ¡°The unbeatable ¡®Bloody Tiger¡¯ ha-ha!¡± Someone declared happy. ¡°Did you see that?¡± Another pointed out impressed. ¡°Best knight I¡¯ve seen,¡± an older well-traveled gentleman expounded not leaving much room for argument. ¡°And swordsman aye. Should have seen him in his prime.¡± Lucius glanced his way raising a brow, whilst Sir Valgus shrugged his shoulders not wanting to get into this particular discussion. A young poorly-dressed (one would call it provocatively) half-breed though did rather brazenly. ¡°Only one of the two is true,¡± she professed with a mischievous grin drawing the king¡¯s attention. ¡°To keep something vague,¡± Lucius scolded the shameless white-haired female. ¡°Is admitting your ignorance.¡± The half-breed blinked at the rebuke, while near her a disheveled full-blooded Issir¡¯s head protruded from the crowd to gaze at the king impressed. Lucius had never seen a biggest grin on a face. ¡°To reveal the future is to risk said future changed, for what is known¡­ a future it can¡¯t be, but only history.¡± The half-breed female finally sang (her words rhyming strangely) large green eyes sparkling with excitement. Several soldiers moved to take her away. ¡°Eloquent verses dabbling as a fine excuse for a potential blunder,¡± Lucius replied in the same poetic vein taking the challenge and pointed the sword at her. The blade¡¯s song turning into a mellow soft chant. ¡°Brazen lass of the lake. How about you answer the King on something more demanding? Is there hidden import in Endariel¡¯s song?¡± The half-breed stared at Lucius and then at the sober faces of the soldiers surrounding her. ¡°There is,¡± she said quickly. ¡°Another conjecture,¡± Lucius dismissed her cheap seer¡¯s act. ¡°What does it sing now?¡± ¡°A salutation,¡± the half-breed retorted without batting an eyelash. Not bad. Probably still a guess though. ¡°Pfft,¡± someone hissed. ¡°Lass is making it up.¡± A thoughtful Lucius sheathed the sword and pivoted to walk away. ¡°The sword remembers all souls King Lucius,¡± the half-breed yelled to be heard above the murmuring crowd that turned against her for interrupting their spectacle. ¡°Old and new. All their deeds. Past and future.¡± Lucius paused and turned his head around but the half-breed had been bodied back into the crowd and he couldn¡¯t spot her anymore. The Issir teenager had been left behind, an idiot¡¯s face looking his way with that unnerving grin still on his mouth. He¡¯d a leather strap over his shoulder to hold a crude lute. Next to him another half-breed had appeared, not above fifteen years, also a male. But this boy¡¯s face was hard and had the eyes of a killer. ¡°Sir Valgus,¡± Lucius ordered calmly and glanced sideways to find the knight. ¡°Have that boy arrested.¡± But by the time Valgus moved, the second half-breed had disappeared like the first inside the crowd. ¡°Shall I order the soldiers to cordon the crowd sire?¡± The knight asked but Lucius decided it wasn¡¯t worth it to antagonize the locals or his cousin. ¡°Leave it be. We¡¯ll be gone in the morning anyway. Chances are we won¡¯t ever see them again,¡± Lucius had replied. -
¡°How many?¡± A weary Marc Laudus had asked his scout, a hardened Nord from Ludr named Goss. ¡°About thirty men-at-arms. Knights amidst them me thinks,¡± Goss had replied pulling at his red beard with thick calloused fingers. ¡°But we have a lot of riders coming up the road behind us boss.¡± Oras curse her lineage to Abrakas gullet. ¡°Leave the dark-skinned bitch,¡± he decided crooking his mouth. Didn¡¯t much care about her anyway. Marc just needed the children as leverage. There are no safe deals in this life. ¡°Do we turn towards the coast?¡± Paros asked, head bandaged where the blade had cut him. A good part of his hair missing there. Paros was luckier than late Hobbs at that. Who would¡¯ve thought that brat could swing a sword? ¡°He had us cut Theodor down to cover their tracks,¡± Marc growled angry. ¡°If they didn¡¯t spare him, what makes you think they¡¯ll spare you?¡± The look on Theodor¡¯s face when he got knifed in the kidneys priceless. And unnerving. ¡°We could head for Badum. I know a man in Irde. He sort of moves skins and raw hides about.¡± Goss offered and spat down the sides of his horse. ¡°The old Issir town?¡± ¡°Ayup. Neutral ground. Shrines and shite. Irde, Sessi and Ikete are where they settled first, but Irde is Lakelords land, so no real law around these parts.¡± Marc nodded. ¡°We¡¯ll lay low until this all blows over. Move if heat reaches us. Maybe head deeper into Kaltha. We just need to stop at a blasted place that has a bank for a day. I don¡¯t intend to live a beggar¡¯s life.¡±
429. ‘Those’ Isles
Whisper ''Pretty'' Jinx ¡®Those¡¯ Isles
Gallant Dogs Mercenary Company (Banner -an ¡®aroused¡¯ black Molossus war dog) (Dictums ¨C ¡®Call the dogs¡¯, ¡®Do it for me Pretty¡¯, ¡®Pull it Rick¡¯, ¡®Bite their ankles off¡¯ and ¡®Send for Liko¡¯ amongst others) *Command structure (194 NC) Gold Badge (Company¡¯s Staff members ¨C by seniority) Captain Dante Blackwood (KIA 189 Hellfort) Captain Ottis (KIA 190 Eikenport) Captain Whisper ¡®Pretty¡¯ Jinx (not with unit after 190?) ¡®Mighty¡¯ Soren (not with unit after 190) Victor ¡®Pale¡¯ Hook (KIA 189 Teid River) Zola (KIA 190 aboard the Marquette) Kirk and Cassara (The twins- KIA 188 in Oakenfalls) (Commandant) Captain Rollon Martel ¡®Purse Officer¡¯ Crafton ¡®The Kid¡¯ Liko (later sergeant of First Office) Monarch Arguen Garth Aniculo (Rumored) - Three Companies Old Dogs ¨C 350 soldiers (veteran armoured fighters) First Sergeant Flavius Super Second Sergeant Lu Douc-Re Gold Contract ¨C 250 soldiers (ex-300 company members) Captain Nathaniel Wyncall (2nd in command) 3rd Sergeant Bardo Masin The Grunts (Spear infantry) Around 400 (All recruits served here first) Captain Elmer Sax (3rd in command) 4th Sergeant Tule Nzo Engineers (With the supply train) Around 120 (+ Ten Scorpios, 3 Heavy Catapults) Sergeant (of Engineers) Ricard White Second (Engineer) Rick Willian Dottore Dalai-Tue Company Staff personnel ¡®Purse Officer¡¯ Crafton ¡®The Kid¡¯ Liko (Sergeant of First Office) Johnny ¡®Hardwood¡¯ (Recruiter) Nita Ola (Female scribe ¨CJohnny¡¯s slave) *The company was stationed permanently in the Garth District of Eikenport in the ¡®Home¡¯, but had business interests in other districts and ports. Later it expanded in several cities and had recruiting agents in most Guild headquarters. According to the ¡®ledger¡¯ the Mercenary Guild¡¯s records in Castalor, the Dogs reached the status of being ¡®the richest¡¯ company in the realm around 193 (toppling the Iron Fists of Parmaport) and never lost it. Usually numbered around a thousand soldiers. 2) Rollon Martel was the last member to receive the original golden badge as it was replaced with the now common silver ¡®dog pendant¡¯ after 193 NC. 3) All original members were portrayed in commissioned paintings inside the commander¡¯s office in the headquarters¡¯ building, what Martel later turned into the company¡¯s museum hall to generate revenue, moving the headquarters¡¯ into the Watchtower after the Dogs ¡®camp¡¯ expanded outside its walls.
- Early Spring 194 NC Eikenport ¡°YEET!¡± Jinx screamed vaulting from the roof of the water mill, Sam Mathews watching horrified as she skimmed dangerously near the rotating blades, left hand holding on for half-a-second to change direction and then plunged towards the frothy waters. With a protracted yelp the Gish hit the surface of Felmond River and disappeared inside. Bubbly bubbles and murky water with sugarcane leaves. Rotting. Jinx kicked her legs and dived under the current produced by the blades hitting the surface. Flaying hands and knees scrapping thick sludge at the bottom. The tunic making swimming difficult so she kicked and clawed out of it, small bubbles coming out of her nostrils. Wrapped it around her right forearm not to lose it. Gish are very difficult to drown in friendly clean water ¨Cbe it ponds, bathtubs or half-barrels. Full barrels are difficult to get out of. Anyways, they are not easy to drown unless they are drunk which is pretty common in the species or fall asleep in them which is the only way to rest fully. So there is that. Hmm. The sea or a big river now¡­ well, then it gets trickier, she decided, the whole matter proving way more dangerous an activity in retrospect and Felmond is a big river in the winter? Uhm. You wouldn¡¯t know it of course in Eikenport or this south on Eplas. Jinx had almost died from lack of sleep anyways and insufficient moisture crossing the mountain tunnels. Not to mention of fright of the creepy dark and creepy crawlers wit their pointed creepy feet and little creepy eyes. Dead mostly but walk by a two meter tall insect and see how you feel about it! Something slapped her in the face and she panicked, let out a mighty scream. Forgot she was still swimming at the bottom of the river. Got half-a-barrel of water in her lungs via her open mouth. OH SHIT! HELP! NO! More drink went in! Jinx kicked wildly to get to the distant surface, spitting out water and taking in more which was frustrating! Oi, I lost me good tunic! No! Nooo! Get it back. ¡°Geter lht blanh!¡± She cried out ineligibly upon bursting to the surface, soaked hair covering her eyes and shoulders in a pink blanket. The Gish coughed to clear her mouth and lungs, relieved but nicely wet. Then Jinx was taken by the strong current towards the sea and she had to start swimming again.
An hour later a drenched in sweat Marlo appeared walking down the north banks of the river, the sound of a heavy slap landing on skin waking a dozing off Jinx up. She¡¯d an oldfly flying in her mouth trying to get out. Made her front teeth tickle something fierce. Jinx coughed it out and an alarmed Sam Mathews voice was heard. ¡°You heard that?¡± ¡°I hear bugs and the plaguing river,¡± Marlo griped not five meters from Jinx. Granted the muddy Gish was hidden behind relatively tall foliage. ¡°Wait, is that a frog? Ayup, that¡¯s a good lung there.¡± ¡°Think I heard her,¡± Mathews insisted, arms crossed on his chest. ¡°I don¡¯t want to be the bringer of bad news lad,¡± Marlo told him sadly. ¡°But I saw her going under. Few folk come back from that.¡± ¡°She¡¯s a Gish.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t she a Folk in theory?¡± ¡°Oi,¡± Jinx croaked and pushed herself up, then used fingers and heavy snorting to clear her clogged nostrils. ¡°Here, hey look!¡± ¡°Jinx?¡± Sam said and then turned her way. ¡°There! I see some pink.¡± Marlo squinted his eyes looking at the bouncing up and down Gish. ¡°I see it too, size of them old copper coins! Goodness me. Them are some perky tits. Who would¡¯ve thunk?¡± ¡°Allgods,¡± Sam grunted and rushed near her. ¡°We found yer tunic!¡± Jinx grabbed it from his belt and twirled around to put it on, missed the correct side and the tunic hang lower at the front, but showed a lot of arse at the back. ¡°I took a nap,¡± she explained casually whilst trying to get the fabric to cooperate under the adventurers¡¯ scrutiny. Marlo¡¯s head bent sideways to see whether her efforts were met with any success. ¡°It is three kilometers from the water mill Jinx,¡± Sam scolded her. ¡°What was the purpose of this?¡± ¡°Wanted to shock the sleep out of my system,¡± Jinx explained and looked at Marlo. ¡°Good grief,¡± Sam exclaimed not believing his ears. ¡°Well?¡± Jinx asked Marlo. ¡°Pull at it a bit more,¡± the veteran adventurer replied to her query all serious. ¡°Got most of the area covered up. Plenty of flesh there to work wit lass.¡± Jinx grinned. ¡°I¡¯ve lost some in the journey.¡± ¡°Happens to me too,¡± Marlo agreed and eyed the frustrated Mathews. ¡°What? That right there is yer problem mate. You got to learn to make casual conversation. Yer too uptight.¡±
Marlo placed the big beer cup down and burped thunderously. Blinked once to clear the tears from his eyes and looked at the waiter. ¡°As I was saying,¡± he continued his conversation from earlier. ¡°You need to get yourself a girl mate.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not easy in our line of business,¡± Sam replied stiffly. Jinx glanced at him. ¡°What¡¯s that got to do wit anything?¡± ¡°You know. We are living a dangerous life and people get hurt.¡± She sighed, Marlo shaking his head across from her. ¡°Sam just because you lost someone on the job don¡¯t mean it¡¯ll happen always. You must stay positive.¡± ¡°Wow, this coming from you is fresh,¡± Mathews retorted. ¡°You almost killed yourself ten times in this journey.¡± Jinx pouted. ¡°No, I didn¡¯t. When?¡± ¡°Remember the plant?¡± ¡°Pfft, was trying to piss.¡± ¡°So?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you think about other stuff when on the task?¡± Jinx queried and glugged down the rest of her beer. Even managed a burp but it wasn¡¯t nearly as impressive as the experienced adventurer¡¯s. Marlo ¨Cthe experienced adventurer- got a silver coin out of his purse and slapped it on the table. ¡°There,¡± he said looking at Mathews shrewdly. ¡°What is that?¡± ¡°A silver dinar? Oh, wait¡­ it¡¯s a fucking Imperial coin,¡± he took it back and placed a smaller silver in its stead. ¡°There.¡± ¡°What is it for?¡± Mathews asked pursing his mouth. He is really cute in this light, Jinx thought. Nice cock too. She smacked her lips. Must be the beer. ¡°You use it to find a girl,¡± Marlo explained. ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t need a cheap whore from this place,¡± Mathews grunted and pushed back on the chair. ¡°Cheap? Lad, ye want a loftier one, get yer own purse out. It¡¯s a plaguing gesture. Ain¡¯t about to fund ye to experiment and shite,¡± Marlo protested. ¡°And you can get plenty out of that coin I¡¯ll have you know. Yer in Eikenport not Issir¡¯s Eagle.¡± ¡°Gratitude, but I won¡¯t take advice from you. You find Aenymriel attractive,¡± Mathews cut him off. Aww, Jinx thought glancing about the small tavern for anything interesting. ¡°Hey,¡± Marlo grunted seeming very passionate about the matter. ¡°You got to look past them boyish short hair and the weird aloof attitude. Lass has some right exotic eyes and a darn lethal figure. A gazelle. Good fucking grief! You can tell right away she knows how to use it.¡± ¡°Aloof ain¡¯t what I¡¯d have used. More like lurking aye,¡± Mathew argued with a peeved stare. ¡°But I¡¯ll give ye lethal.¡± A tall teenager walked past the open door at that moment and caught her eye. ¡°That¡¯s Liko!¡± Jinx s squealed and jumped up from her chair. Landed on the table, toppling the cups and causing quite the startle to both adventurers. She leaped from it, arm of her bow pushing the approaching waiter¡¯s foot aside mid-stride when she landed in his path. The man went down with a panicked yelp, the loaded tray landing on his head with a clang, drinks spilling, empty cups clattering on the tiles and an indifferent Jinx twirled around lithely on the tips of her toes before coming to a brief stop. With the patrons staring her way shocked at the sudden mess, she fixed the protruding bow on her back, blew some of the loose pink curls away from her face and then sprinted out of the tavern screaming at the top of her lungs. ¡°OIII THERE! HEY YOU! LIKO!¡± Liko paused and turned around unsure on who the screeching crazy female voice belong to but quickly recognized the dashing his way Gish. He grinned pleasantly surprised, eyes ogling full of concern when Jinx jumped into his arms and almost brought them both down. ¡°Ugh. Jinx?¡± Liko gasped while she sniffed at his neck to gauge where he¡¯d been. He had a fine piece of leather armour on and a small sword. ¡°You¡¯re here?¡± ¡°Whoa,¡± a flushed Jinx replied, straddling his waist with both legs, arms around his neck and still not reaching him fully. ¡°When did ye get so fucking big?¡± ¡°Eh, not really,¡± Liko turned red in the face and glanced at the onlookers that stopped to watch the exchange and the furious tavern employee standing at the doorway dripping spilt beer. A bleeding gush marring his forehead. ¡°I gained some inches last couple of years,¡± he murmured embarrassed and tried to place his arms around the smaller Gish to keep her from falling. Jinx wasn¡¯t about to fall ¨Cunless she wanted to- but she had a sudden urge to piss either from the excess consumption of cheap beer or out of arousal from getting her soft parts nicely squashed against the larger male¡¯s protrusions. Bulges? ¡°Mmm, yer plenty grown I see,¡± Jinx purred looking in his flushed face. ¡°Is that yer belt buckle poking at me nether regions?¡± ¡°Standard issued belt,¡± Liko croaked an excuse and Jinx climbed down, which only made Liko appear even bigger. He-he. Facts. ¡°I thought Gallant Dogs up and left already?¡± ¡°Two ships have departed,¡± Liko said and fixed the left side of her tunic, Jinx had her leather vest in her bag. She now wore the tunic properly but due to all the earlier pulling, tits tended to pop out which was fine by her. A girl has to showcase what she has especially when there¡¯s a lot of it. ¡°But Martel is still at port, some of the officers and the engineers,¡± Liko explained a bit weirded out seeing the large silly smirk creeping up on the Gish¡¯s face. ¡°Aha, whose idea was it?¡± Jinx queried and reaching in her pants pulled out a silver coin. She lobbed it towards the angry tavern employee and he caught it with a glare. Marlo and Mathews coming out of the tavern right after. ¡°It¡¯s a contract Captain,¡± Liko replied with a glance at the approaching duo. ¡°Is big Soren with you?¡± ¡°He has a girlfriend,¡± Jinx replied stiffly. ¡°That¡¯s nice.¡± ¡°But she¡¯s too old to travel and needy. So Soren stayed in Goras,¡± Jinx added. ¡°Ah,¡± Liko blinked comically. ¡°Lass,¡± Marlo grunted, windswept face scrunching this way and that. ¡°I¡¯ve a carafe of spilt beer lubing me arsecrack something funny and them areas a decent man doesn¡¯t touch.¡± ¡°How about a decent woman?¡± Jinx retorted and Marlo furrowed his brows thinking about it. ¡°Is that young Liko?¡± Mathews intervened and gave the nervous teenager a manly bone-crashing hug that made him squeal. ¡°You got to eat some son,¡± he counseled looking at him up and down. ¡°You¡¯re still too small for the army.¡± What a bunch of crock! Jinx glared at the adventurer. ¡°What is it that yer implying mister Sam?¡± ¡°Huh? Wasn¡¯t¡­ Oh, goodness me! Not everything is about you Jinx!¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± Jinx channeled her inner Glen in her next stern reply. ¡°I don¡¯t believe you.¡± ¡°Lad,¡± a still scowling Marlo grunted, interrupting their silly back and forth. He had a cloth in his right hand and used it to clean the back of his pants. ¡°Where are the Dogs?¡± ¡°The Cofol docks,¡± Liko explained then blinked unsure. ¡°You guys didn¡¯t come in a ship? No way! You didn¡¯t?¡± Marlo smacked his lips, brought the damp cloth near his face and sniffed at it. With another grimace and a glare at the shoulder-shrugging Jinx he replied hoarsely. ¡°Ayup. Through that plaguing deadly jungle our Monarch calls ¡®Goras Boulevard¡¯ me arse and them blasted mountain caves the blue idiots baptized ¡®Quiceran Road¡¯, because why the fuck not?¡± The veteran adventurer sucked air in to clear his lungs after tossing the dirty cloth on the street. Then he added gravely. ¡°Twas a calloused finger up the stinger.¡± Everyone made a face at that.
Commandant Martel frowned seeing Liko and Jinx approach on foot followed by the two Adventurers. Mathews was bringing up the horses. The ship docks mostly empty, but for a large transport moored at the largest slipway, two ramps lowered from its deck that had soldiers and civilian crews loading supplies to its cargo holds.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. ¡°Liko¡­¡± Martel started then paused. ¡°Captain Jinx? Why, I¡¯ll be a dog¡¯s mother!¡± ¡°Hey Rollon!¡± Jinx beamed happy to see him again. Several soldiers stopped what they were doing upon noticing the short Gish. Murmurs were heard immediately from the ¡®Dogs¡¯ present, those that knew her from before and those that didn¡¯t. ¡°Is that Jinx?¡± A young Dog asked squinting his eyes. ¡°That¡¯s the first Captain!¡± Another yelped trying to get nearer. ¡°She¡¯s sort of pretty? What¡¯s wrong wit her face?¡± Jinx scowled and threw a stare at the watching soldiers. ¡°Captain,¡± Martel greeted her and grabbed a forearm she¡¯d raised in greeting with his large fingers to shake it. ¡°I wasn¡¯t informed you were in Eikenport.¡± ¡°Just got here. Paused for a bath and a drink?¡± Jinx grinned and jumped to give him a slap on the shoulder. ¡°Checked the camp and thought you were out training.¡± ¡°We had enough of that,¡± Martel replied and glared in turn at the noisy mercenaries. ¡°Get moving,¡± he ordered warningly. ¡°I learned the company is going to Jelin?¡± Jinx asked and Martel glanced at her serious expression troubled. ¡°Why, yes ma¡¯am. The Gold and the Grunts have already sailed,¡± he said unsure. ¡°It¡¯s a lucrative contract.¡± ¡°To fight against the Khan,¡± Jinx noted hands lodged at her waist in frustration. ¡°We are helping the Queen of Kaltha. Future Queen that is.¡± ¡°Does the queen have any other army?¡± Jinx queried looking at him knowingly. ¡°Because the Khan usually travels in big company.¡± ¡°With her? Aye. But she expects Scaldingport and Castalor to have more soldiers raised already.¡± ¡°And?¡± Jinx asked with a pout. She got distracted by a handsome Issir waving at her from the ship. ¡°What about the other cities?¡± Martel stood back a little uneasy. ¡°Well, I¡¯m not privy to the political stuff but I assume they¡¯ll make their own effort. Unite under the common foe and all.¡± ¡°It sounds risky Rollon.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a big contract Captain. Elsanne is good for it and think of the future potential rewards here!¡± ¡°You got paid in advance?¡± Jinx queried with a side-glance and Martel nodded sheepishly. It was more of an upwards looking glance. Jinx¡¯s neck had started cramping. She took a small step back from the tall human. Then another. Eh. ¡°Half the sum. I had to take it that¡¯s a lot of mouths to feed. Also extra animals to replace our old ones upon landing in Scaldingport, whilst we secured a good price for supplies and an order for a couple of hundred crossbows made for the Dogs in Castalor.¡± Jinx grimaced, her eyes on a familiar sergeant approaching. A former Rida guard. ¡°We could go through the plans on the ship,¡± Martel explained seeing her considering it. ¡°Eh, no I can¡¯t,¡± Jinx cut him off. ¡°I have a cabin. The whole ship is leased,¡± Martel insisted. Jinx shook her head right and left. ¡°I can¡¯t do it. It¡¯s too dangerous for everyone.¡± ¡°Ahm, how is it¡­ never mind, we can talk here I suppose,¡± Martel yielded. She allowed her eyes to roam at the loading docks and the many mercenaries that had returned to their jobs, though several remained to gaze at the Gish and a couple of sergeants were arguing passionately next to a large wagon ten meters away. Look at all the Dogs, she thought a wave of emotion overwhelming her. ¡°You¡¯ve done a great job Rollon,¡± Jinx started, her voice breaking. ¡°Dante would¡¯ve been proud. I¡¯m sure he watches us right now,¡± she sobbed, fat tears rolling down her red-rimmed eyes. Commandant Martel rubbed his short hair with a hand, looking a little uncomfortable. ¡°Others have laid the foundations ma¡¯am,¡± he started and seeing Jinx¡¯s face crumbling in the attempt to keep the ugly sniffles in, he paused. ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Jinx¡¯s croaked and wiped her face with a forearm. Fuck. That¡¯s a lot of snot coming out. Martel approached to offer her a hankie and she hugged him tight shuddering all over. What the allhells has gotten into you? She admonished herself and planted her face in the officer¡¯s chest. ¡°Ehm, there¡­ it¡¯s,¡± Martel glowered at the frozen sergeant. ¡°Go get that bottle of whiskey from my cabin.¡± He ordered gruffly. ¡°Move yer feet sergeant Super!¡± ¡°Aye sir,¡± Super replied and trotted up the ramp several nearby soldiers commenting at the high-ranking officers hugging in plain view. ¡°Are they?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be a fool, she¡¯s crying I think.¡± ¡°How is that better?¡± ¡°Had a piglet once,¡± a third reminisced. ¡°Made the same sounds?¡± Jinx raised her head to glare at him with swollen eyes. ¡°We could perhaps move this somewhere more private?¡± Martel offered then frowned, while Jinx wiped her face on his leather armour. The surface was pretty rough. ¡°This came out wrong. Apologies Captain.¡± ¡°I¡¯m much better now,¡± Jinx replied with a hoarse voice. ¡°Must be close to my breeding years,¡± she murmured unconsciously and extricated herself from the officer¡¯s arms half-heartedly. ¡°Me hormones are all fucked up.¡± ¡°What was that ma¡¯am?¡± ¡°Nothing,¡± Jinx retorted quickly and blinked somewhat panicked. ¡°I thought ye said¡ª¡± ¡°Ye heard wrong Rollon!¡± ¡°Yes ma¡¯am,¡± Martel replied stiffly. ¡°Must be all the noise.¡± ¡°I¡¯m telling ye Rick,¡± Sergeant (of engineers) Ricard White told Sergeant Rick Willian ten meters away. ¡°I molded a large lead shot for the catapult.¡± A curious Jinx turned her head to watch their exchange. ¡°Still, a quarter the size of the bucket,¡± Rick argued. ¡°Sure, but we could load four of them each time, fired in a spread like canister?¡± Ricard explained. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of trouble. How do ye know it¡¯ll be effective?¡± Rick Willian wasn¡¯t convinced. The higher ranking sergeant pointed a finger to a boat moored at the dock. ¡°We could test it right now on this ship.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a fishing boat sir.¡± ¡°So?¡± ¡°Eh, what about the owner?¡± ¡°I bought it this morning for this very reason,¡± Ricard assured him. ¡°So we assemble the machine on the quick, set it up¡­ say next to the Cofol headquarters building and fire a couple of shots at the docks. See if we sink it.¡± ¡°Why, that¡¯s a sound idea sir,¡± Rick agreed. ¡°I¡¯ll get the crews going.¡± Martel had to intervene. ¡°There¡¯ll be no bombarding of the docks!¡± He bellowed and walked towards the two sergeants. ¡°Get the wagons unloaded. That is into the ship White!¡± ¡°Sir!¡± Ricard White argued. ¡°We just need an hour to set it up!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care!¡± Martel barked. ¡°Rick can do it sir!¡± White insisted clenching his teeth. Jinx chuckled between snorts. ¡°That¡¯s right Commandant, it¡¯s no bother really,¡± Rick backed up his fellow engineer. ¡°Shut up Rick!¡± Martel snapped and eyed them both warningly. ¡°You rascals get yer stuff on the ship afore nightfall. White, I mean it. Don¡¯t make me deal with this malarkey again.¡± The engineer grimaced unhappy with his decision. ¡°This is a golden opportunity wasted. I¡¯m logging a complaint with Crafton.¡± ¡°You better not!¡± ¡°What about the fishing boat sir?¡± A disappointed Rick Willian asked in a sad voice. Martel glanced at the boat. ¡°Tie it on the blasted ship. We¡¯ll bring it with us,¡± he decided. Jinx grinned and accepted a cup of whiskey sergeant Super had brought her. The commandant returned all flushed from the encounter and eyed the bottle. ¡°You brought just one cup?¡± He asked Sergeant Flavius Super. ¡°Affirmative sir.¡± ¡°Give me the bottle. I¡¯ll take a sip,¡± Martel decided. Jinx gulped down the strong drink and blinked, her throat burning nicely. ¡°Tits! Can I have another?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Martel replied keeping his face straight and filled her cup back up again. ¡°You¡¯ll be coming along to Scaldingport Captain Jinx?¡± He asked casually. ¡°I can¡¯t.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have a cabin prepared,¡± Martel insisted. ¡°The men¡¯s morale needs your presence given the task ahead.¡± Jinx shook her head negatively. ¡°I can¡¯t risk a sea journey Rollon. Or the men¡¯s lives.¡± ¡°The route is clear and we can handle anything coming our way ma¡¯am.¡± ¡°Yeah, I can¡¯t.¡± Martel furrowed his thick brows. ¡°Can I have a reason?¡± ¡°Can you handle a Kraken?¡± Jinx countered. ¡°Eh, that¡¯s a remote¡­¡± Martel paused unsure. ¡°It isn¡¯t. Not if I travel with you,¡± Jinx explained and finished her second cup. Damn. Made my toes tingle! ¡°I can¡¯t see another way to cross Shallow Sea,¡± Martel said deep in thought sounding very disappointed. ¡°For me?¡± Jinx turned a grimace into a grin. ¡°I could use Glen¡¯s transport.¡± The commandant of the Gallant Dogs stood back. ¡°Which is?¡± He queried with renewed interest. Jinx pursed her numb lips comically. ¡°A Wyvern?¡± Mathews who had managed to remain silent up until this point started coughing. Marlo being more critical. ¡°Don¡¯t see how ye pull that off pink lass,¡± he argued and Jinx glared at him. ¡°Sen got a ride. She was like way heavier than me!¡± she griped hefting the cup in her hand. Not that Jinx wanted to risk befriending Biscuit but this was a matter of fucking principle! ¡°Ayup, don¡¯t take it the wrong way now,¡± Marlo agreed with a knowing smirk. ¡°She was and in all them right places.¡± Jinx did take it the wrong way as a matter of fact. So Marlo got an empty cup right between the eyes for that. Almost knocked him out cold right then and there. - Two hours later PLINK PLONK PLINK-PLONK TADUM ¡°Stupid fucking tune makes me head hurt,¡± Marlo complained pressing a wet cloth on the welt formed on his forehead. ¡°Serves ye right,¡± Jinx retorted still angry with him and stared at the pirate crowd slipping downstairs to the ¡®games¡¯ room. ¡°Think they got races going, hmm?¡± ¡°I just want to have a quiet meal,¡± Mathews replied looking at his plate. ¡°That¡¯s a strange piece of meat, small legs. What do you think it is?¡± ¡°Fuck I know?¡± Marlo griped and downed a goblet with rum in a single go. ¡°This smells like piss fer sure!¡± ¡°Better I check it out,¡± Jinx decided and got up. ¡°Lady Jinx surely you won¡¯t wager at this time?¡± Mathews noted. ¡°What¡¯s wrong wit the time mister Sam?¡± Jinx taunted. ¡°It¡¯s early?¡± Mathews commented tasting the meat. Teeth crunching on the small bones. ¡°Eh, chicken-like I think.¡± ¡°Races run the whole day I have you know,¡± Jinx replied and pouted when a pirate bumped her aside rudely. ¡°What races be that?¡± Marlo asked burping. ¡°Rats usually. Best way to keep the population down,¡± Jinx answered absentmindedly and tripped the legs of the pirate that had pushed her earlier. She send him head first on one of the tavern¡¯s supports. Mathews had paused chewing with a shocked expression on his face. Then he swallowed slowly all the material and reached for Marlo¡¯s refilled goblet. Washed everything down in large desperate gulps. ¡°Who done that?¡± The bleeding down his nose pirate grumbled angrily getting up and the band stopped playing. Not the same band as years before, but you wouldn¡¯t know it given how awful they both were. ¡°This guy,¡± Jinx said and pointed a dirty finger to a fat bellied patron hiccupping nearby. ¡°Ugh? Fuck off¡­ Bill Jung! That pink¡­ cunt is lying!¡± The man protested between hiccups. ¡°Bill?¡± The dazed pirate asked a man standing behind Jinx for a second opinion. Another Bill apparently. ¡°This Gish done it Bill,¡± the other Bill said and pointed a claw at Jinx who squinted her eyes. ¡°Yer lying Bill,¡± she retorted pushing her chest out. The fat patron pursed his mouth to keep the burps in and focused his attention on her. Eyes glinting. ¡°Lurd does a lot of that,¡± another pirate agreed. A scarred heavy-set thug, part of a large group that had entered the tavern together. Jinx had missed that. ¡°Right Bad Penny?¡± ¡°Arr,¡± Bad Penny, a wiry pirate replied with a smirk. ¡°As ¡®Scarred¡¯ Clive said it¡¯s a common thing. But is this the case dis time I wonder?¡± ¡°It is,¡± Jinx hissed glaring at them. ¡°I know what I saw. She tripped him,¡± Bill Lurd insisted and Bill Jung clenched a ring-adorned fist, the other planted under his nose to stem the bleeding. ¡°No, I didn¡¯t! You limp-cocked son of a goat!¡± Jinx protested with righteous indignation and plenty of cursing. ¡°Now that¡¯s a nasty cunt alright,¡± he growled. ¡°Could she be lying though?¡± ¡°Now, don¡¯t be going about fouling all cunts in this kind o¡¯ manner,¡± Clive admonished him. ¡°Tack ye tell him. Some good wenches in the brotherhood eh?¡± Another pirate with a murderer¡¯s eyes had appeared, the group getting larger around Jinx. He smacked his lips, a couple of large golden teeth visible in the grimace. ¡°Some,¡± Tack rustled slowly. That was it. He didn¡¯t elaborate further. ¡°Aye,¡± the fat patron agreed picking up the thread, although he wasn¡¯t part of their group. Obviously this is a ship¡¯s crew, Jinx thought quickly and looked for a way to leg it out of trouble. ¡°Not Leona though. So he got a bit of truth in there me thinks.¡± ¡°I give ye dirty ¡®Foxy¡¯ sure,¡± a badly weathered man wearing a new yellow sash on his neck said. New, given how worn out the rest of his fancy clothes and boots were. ¡°Rose was nasty as well. Good riddance eh?¡± Jinx said to steer the conversation away from her completely and the gaunt man¡¯s expression changed in an instant. Eyes turning suspicious first then angry. What in Lena¡¯s tits is this? Jinx thought alarmed. ¡°No she wasn¡¯t,¡± the older pirate grunted eyeing her. ¡°Why would ye say that?¡± ¡°Dawson is in the right,¡± Clive decided with a nod. ¡°Why would you?¡± Jinx gulped down caught unawares. ¡°She tried to kill me?¡± You could hear a pin drop inside the tavern. And a tray laden with ceramic rum cups. It clattered down making a hell of a ruckus. Dawson pressed his wrinkled mouth tight, cracked lips turning white and stared at his half-torn boots thoughtfully for a moment. ¡°Obviously she failed,¡± the pirate rustled slowly, all other men from the group looking at him intently. That¡¯s their fucking captain, Jinx decided. I got a whole foot in me mouth, didn¡¯t I? ¡°And then you killed her.¡± Jinx blinked her almost red pupils panicked. She also wanted to piss badly, which was a problem she carried since they had left the docks with a promise to return afore the Dogs departure, but Jinx had kind of forgotten about it for a while. Eh. ¡°I didn¡¯t,¡± she started, all eyes set on her making her very uncomfortable. ¡°A blue cunt did.¡± ¡°What did she say?¡± Bill, the one with the bleeding nose, asked. ¡°This is getting confusing,¡± ¡®Bad¡¯ Penny admitted with a frown. ¡°That¡¯s a lot colors thrown in. More than I ever encountered.¡± ¡°How do you justify that?¡± Dawson asked her solemnly. ¡°I don¡¯t. Not really,¡± Jinx replied in the same vein and gauged the distance to their table. Mathews and Marlo had gotten up but the numbers inside the tavern would get them both killed. Not that way. Find the stairs, she decided. ¡°These are your laws human.¡± ¡°Such they are,¡± Dawson agreed sadly and eyed his crew. ¡°Grab her.¡± You don¡¯t give a Gish half a warning. By the time everyone got going, Jinx was on the move.
A dash and the nimble Gish ducked under the injured Bill Jung¡¯s open legs, top of her pink head smashing his jewels. Bill groaned and doubled over spraying blood on Tack¡¯s face. Jinx twirled out of ¡®Bad¡¯ Penny¡¯s arms, the left grabbing at her right tit over the tunic. Penny pulled at the fabric, but it slipped from his fingers. Jinx leaped on a table, touched the edge briefly, the other side rising about to topple and then somersaulted over ¡®Scarred¡¯ Clive, boots using his head as leverage squashing the roaring pirate¡¯s tall hat. She landed in a roll before the staircase leading to the second floor, a hand tacking calmly the spilt breast inside and the other slapping the fat patron¡¯s fingers away. A pouting Jinx sprang up and run the steps two at a time whilst the tavern exploded in chaos. Tables upturning, glasses breaking, patrons yelling, wenches screaming and pirates cursing behind her. Jinx climbed up the stairs, a determined half-snarl on her flushed face, turned upon reaching the top, boots sliding on the floor and left shoulder slamming on a closed door. A gasp and she tried the next one, heavy boots rushing up the stairs after her and the place coming alive as the band started playing with enthusiasm mistaking the patrons changing mood. The usual pandemonium ensued. The third door was unlocked and Jinx burst inside breathing heavy. The Gish glanced at the window unsure recalling the previous time she had used it, but not recalling if this was the same room. Very important detail this. ¡°Shit,¡± she cursed, then turned around and peeked outside the door, yelping scared when a pirate spotted her. Bill Lurd. ¡°It¡¯s you!¡± Bill yelled accusingly. ¡°No, I just work the rooms!¡± Jinx screamed and retreated inside the room. ¡°Ye lying wench!¡± Lurd cursed and run after her. Jinx looked about the room, found nothing of use so she went for the window again, quickly adjusting the weapon harness she wore over her tunic. She had left her bow and arrows with the horses but the stable was near. Just a floor down. Got cold feet midway there and turned left instead of jumping off of the lip. Talk about options. Walked the rim, fingers gripping at the wall and skirted nervously towards the next room. Now, where was that darn merchant¡¯s stand? She wondered afore catching herself a bit freaked out. Don¡¯t look down! ¡°Ticu be sleepin¡¯ in Abrakas¡¯ tentacles!¡± Lurd grunted and poked his disheveled head out of the window. He looked left and then right. Blinked when he spotted the Gish acrobating her way towards safety. ¡°Good grief.¡± ¡°Get her!¡± Somewhere barked from inside the room and Lurd turned to glare at him. ¡°Arr ye cracked in the head? Ain¡¯t no blasted way, I¡¯m stepping outside the window!¡± Jinx reached the next one and put a foot on the edge but found it closed. She tried to give it a kick and almost lost her grasp. Started pissing down her leg in her panic. A little. Just a tiny spurt. Cursing Jinx glanced down, her legs shaking and then beyond the window. She spotted a drainage pipe there and leaped at it without a second thought.
Jinx turned around to leg it towards the Black Market the moment her toes touched the ground but a blade almost took her head clean off. She ducked under it, reaching for her shortsword, but Dawson grabbed her arm and shoved her back on the wall of the tavern, lifting the short Gish clean off of her feet. Jinx swung with her free arm and caught him at the ear, but Dawson slammed her head on the wall once furious. The rattled Gish pretended she had fainted and the pirate captain let go of her to rub at his hurting head. She sneakily opened a teary eyelid and saw the blade aimed for her face. ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it,¡± Dawson grunted, the voices of a small crowd reaching them. More pirates turned the corner of the building, along some patrons with Sam Mathews and Marlo amidst them. ¡°We¡¯ll settle this according to the old brotherhood code.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the code then for this?¡± Jinx hissed not impressed. ¡°You¡¯ll walk the plank lass,¡± Dawson retorted gravely. ¡°Rose was a good sister of the guild.¡± Well, if this was bad afore, it is doubly bad now, an anxious Jinx thought. ¡°I defended myself!¡± Jinx snapped angrily going on the offensive. A darn true story also. Cost Zola her life. ¡°You¡¯ll say yer piece first. Then we¡¯ll vote,¡± Dawson rustled setting his jaw. ¡°Running away showed yer guilt in front of men and gods.¡± ¡°Cut the pious crap mister yellow sash!¡± Jinx hissed with a glare. ¡°I know yer lot! Good sister me arse!¡± ¡°Captain,¡± Mathews said diplomatically over the murmurs of the small crowd that had gathered there. ¡°If I can have a word on the matter?¡± ¡°That¡¯s just plaguing great,¡± Marlo commented sourly counting the pirates amidst the crowd, a nervous hand on the handle of his sword. ¡°As if talking didn¡¯t bring all this on our heads!¡± ¡°She killed Red Atterton¡¯s daughter,¡± Dawson grunted and glared at the tensed adventurer. ¡°You seem like a man of the guild. Ye don¡¯t defend yer members?¡± ¡°Lady Jinx isn¡¯t a senseless killer Captain,¡± Mathews protested, clenching his jaw. ¡°You go through with this, I intent to stop you.¡± Aww, bless his heart, Jinx thought getting all emotional again. He¡¯s so brave! ¡°This be a rather lofty statement,¡± Clive rejoined eyeing him and Marlo. The veteran adventurer shoved a civilian away to have room to draw his blade, probably because he didn¡¯t trust Mathews was going to convince them with words. ¡°But yer lacking in numbers mate.¡± Yep. ¡°Ayup,¡± Penny agreed as well pursing his mouth. ¡°Indubitably.¡± Several of the bystanders looking at him surprised at the eloquent verbiage. Penny shrugged his shoulders. Jinx glanced at the silent Dawson and frowned seeing the look on his face. The pirate reached with a rough hand, whilst Jinx flinched away unsure, to touch her cheek. Ah, this is getting creepier, the Gish thought. Then again¡­ ¡°Hey there,¡± she whispered in a negotiating mood but Dawson pulled his fingers back and lowered his sword. ¡°You look like her,¡± the pirate Captain murmured. ¡°Now I see it.¡± ¡°Yellow?¡± Clive rustled unsure on this new development. Ah, so this is the reason, Jinx thought and licked her dry lips to prop them up some. Girls jumping down a building find it more challenging to maintain their looks than girls working the ports. ¡°Rolled in the hay with a Gish didn¡¯t ye? Where was it?¡± She asked Dawson teasingly, eyelashes flickering and all, which caused a bit of a stir with some of his men. Others pretending indifference not very successfully. The pirate Captain made a face, his eyes blurry. ¡°The Isles,¡± he admitted hoarsely and pursed his mouth at the memory. ¡°What? Didn¡¯t ye say we shouldn¡¯t touch¡ª¡± Bill Lurd cried out in shock afore getting silenced by ¡®Bad¡¯ Penny with a slap on the shoulder mid-sentence. Alright dude, Jinx thought unsure and smiled friendly. She didn¡¯t really like old men. ¡°But you remind me of Linx not her. I see it clearly now in the light,¡± Dawson added and breathed out finding himself facing a dilemma for some reason. His next words confirming it. ¡°So thus I stand baffled at this marvel, for I can only hazard which deity is at fault.¡± Whoa, ye knocked it right out o¡¯ the park. But sure, me too. Let¡¯s work this out. Hmm? Wait¡­ ¡°Linx?¡± Jinx asked her face turning pale and heart skipping a beat in her chest. Dawson nodded, then shook his head stoically, decision made. ¡®Those¡¯ Isles was yer meaning. Shite. A black curtain fell over her head. The overwhelmed Gish collapsed next to the building before Dawson could catch her. Jinx¡¯s legs just gave under her.
That night Jinx stood at the docks in deep contemplation. She¡¯d a small necklace, a rough leather cord entwined with pink pearls, looped twice over her left wrist. Dawson had ¡®given¡¯ her the necklace as a parting gift. The pirate captain had sailed for Scaldingport that noon for ¡®one last job with the Brotherhood¡¯ as he¡¯d said. Hmm. Returned, not given. It belonged to her initially anyway, the pirate Captain had said. Rose is gone but I found what we all miss in yer Sinking Isles. Most of us I reckon. Not everyone is lucky like that. Life works quite differently. Mostly you lose stuff, never get anything back. Once ye do¡­ well, a man ought to rethink his priorities. Jinx had given the necklace to Linx the day she had left the Isles, never expected to see it again. Her sister was at Armium Dawson had said. Staying with a Southern dwarf friend of his. She had made it out of the Sinking Isles but was still a world away. Derix, Ubix, Vitrix and Virtix were fine. So many years away she could barely recall their faces. So many tales Jinx wanted to share but now she feared that her chance was gone. That¡¯s your trade then, oh ye vile god of the Deeps, the Gish thought bitterly. Here¡¯s the lure for me eh? Come and try it little Gish. Come into the sea. Jinx wiped her eyes and stared away from the lit docks. The Gallant Dogs, mainly the veterans, preparing to sail for Jelin. She turned her back and walked away from the docks a determined look on her distorted face. Distorted because she was hurting. ¡°Jinx,¡± Sam Mathews said apprehensively seeing her approach. ¡°I can make the journey. I have friends in the guild there.¡± Jinx paused and reached to touch his unshaven cheek. ¡°We¡¯ve a whole new family in Goras,¡± she told him managing to keep her voice steady. ¡°Friends that need us and little ones deserving of our care. The Gish only need to reach their teenage years. They are fine after that. It¡¯s the Isles way.¡± Marlo sighed deeply and turned his head away. ¡°She would want to know Jinx,¡± Sam insisted and she caressed his cheek softly. ¡°Maybe later. Let Linx find her own way,¡± she murmured looking at him. Sam would go anyway at some point. It was how he was. She loved him for it. ¡°What now?¡± Mathews asked hoarsely and grabbed her hand to kiss it. Jinx tapped his big nose once with a finger to stop him. Jinx didn¡¯t want to love him like that. ¡°We¡¯ll find a good woman for you,¡± she teased and glanced for a last time towards the ship loading at Eikenport¡¯s docks. The allure of going with Martel¡¯s men so strong it made her bones hurt. ¡°Then we¡¯ll head back to Goras. See if we can help Glen and Inis Mir. Even Assara. Show them they are not all alone in this world.¡± You need to find something else, a bitter Jinx taunted the unseen, all watching tentacle deity. If this was yer best fucking shot, then you lost. ¡°Oh, for poor pity¡¯s sake!¡± Marlo protested wiping his swollen eyes, face crumbling in frustration. ¡°Not back into the plaguing caves again! Let¡¯s take some time off. What is this bullshit schedule we are running here? First the fingers, then all this drama. I can¡¯t take this emotional roller-coaster for much longer!¡± Jinx chuckled and leaped near the grumpy adventurer. ¡°Let go to the races,¡± she told him and reached to dig her heavy purse out from the loosened front of her tunic. One of them. ¡°The whole weekend. My treat.¡± ¡°Rounds of drinks and round tits?¡± Marlo queried perking up, with Mathews letting out a groan at their childish shenanigans. Jinx sashayed away without answering, expertly flinging up and then catching the purse with her right hand, whilst working those famous fit hips back and forth hypnotically. Not five strides later she turned her head around, long pink ponytail whipping loudly at her back and winked.
Addendum IV
Addendum IV -4-
The Great Khanate Bloodlines Cities and prominent families The line of Radpour The family of Horselords were living in Wetull for centuries. Khan Burzin (voiced Barzin) Radpour, a direct descendant of the ¡®Scourge of the Plains¡¯ and former Imperial Rokae Radpour. Burzin had been blinded from the left eye in a fit of rage after learning of Sahand¡¯s fate. He ruled from Rin An-Pur, the twin-pylon city. A massive city port at the gullet of the Khanate Gulf, built next to the delta of Son Zan River. Across the Sonzan Bridge the city continued but under a different name due to the distance involved and reached as far the east side of the river delta. The ¡®little Capital¡¯ was named Sidhyr from the much smaller river running her south border. Burzin famously ¡®finished¡¯ Radpour¡¯s southern expansion with a failed attempt to cross Desert Minor starting from the newly built then Reaz Fort. He intended to reach the Torn Earth¡¯s distant shores but almost died before getting a glimpse of it. In the latter part of his long reign Burzin demanded the ¡®return¡¯ of the Duchy of Raoz from High King Antoon Eikenaar which plunged the realm into the ¡®Long War¡¯ and allowed the rise of the King ¡®Beyond the Pale Mountains¡¯. He personally led the invasion of Kaltha moving out of the capital around 192 NC. Prince Sahand Radpour, the ¡®Rebels Slayer¡¯. Heir of the Khanate (from birth and until 191). Found dead in the burned palace of Rida on the last week of the month Ultimus of 191 ¨Cor early 192 in some texts- along his wife Lenar of Dan and Lord Rarul, the son of Lord Jain Erul-Sol. The ¡®victor¡¯ of the Raoz and the ¡®Northern Rebels¡¯ campaigns. Prince Nout, the ¡®Gold Leopard¡¯, Lord of the Gulf (until 191), Heir of the Khanate (until 193). Presumed dead after the battle of Simun Gates, in the Fall of 193 NC near Que Ki-La. An ardent advocate for the ¡®whole of Eplas¡¯ strategy that influenced the Khanate¡¯s politics during the latter part of the 180s decade ¨Cstart of 190s- that eventually led to the conflict. The winner of the battle at Hellfort¡¯s Pass in 189. Admittedly the hero at the battles fought near Three-river Bridge of Yeriden some months later. Accused of burning Ani Ta-Ne and all but destroying Que Ki-La. A longtime proponent of blitzkrieg strategies and the mastermind of the ¡®Soaring Scimitar¡¯ campaign that almost defeated the rebellious cities. A renowned very-progressive strategist, academic and ¡®leading from the front¡¯ general. Prince Atpa, the ¡®Lurking Asp¡¯. Lord of the Desert (Never renounced the title). Heir of the Khanate (self-proclaimed after 193, acknowledged later). Khan Burzin¡¯s 3rd son. A deeply educated but cruel character. A masterful diplomat and presumed great strategist (according to his own people) but reviled for his un-horselord behavior and of disputed bravery (by his many enemies). Credited with restoring Rida and Que Ki-La. Famously he hated having his portrait or image drawn and always met with people in public wearing a Rokae mask. Prince Radin, the ¡®Blood-fang¡¯. Lord of Jade Lake (Lost it to Elsanne who ¡®relinquished¡¯ or sold the lands to Wetull later). Infamous winner of the ¡®Princess Tourney¡¯ of 188 NC at Riverdor. The only foreigner to ever do it. A celebrated fighter and excellent rider. Rose to prominence after both his older brothers perished. His second wife was Princess Elsanne Eikenaar, the ¡®Pirate Queen¡¯ and pretender to the throne of Kaltha. The marriage is fiercely disputed (with many in Kaltha considering it outright annulled) and didn¡¯t produce an offspring. Killed Sir Ralph Alden during the final duel, winning in a ¡®dishonorable¡¯ manner that made him a persona non grata with most of Jelin. Reconciled his relations with Burzin after 193 NC. Princess Rashida (wife of admiral Binra-Kot). The Khan¡¯s youngest daughter. Not much else is known about her. At least eleven other princesses are mentioned in various texts briefly. Princess Sitamun, the ¡®Golden Nimra-lioness¡¯ (Prince Nout¡¯s only daughter from Tamun of Dinar. Rich Lord Kosey Toka of Dinar was Tamun¡¯s father and famed Charioteer/Cataphract Ramen Toka her older brother.) Prince Nidar (translated ¡®the Daring¡¯) Lady Vynia Letakin¡¯s son with Prince Radin. The Princes were given a city to decree over at birth and one of the three titles. Heir (aka the Prince of Rin An-Pur), Lord of the Gulf and Lord of the Desert in order of importance. Other titles included Master of Horses, Treasurer, Master of Sea, Master of Chariots and War Leader. Minor titles existed like of Lord of Spice, Lord of Gems etc. Everyone owning a lot of land or slaves was considered a ¡®Lord¡¯. Much of the Khanate¡¯s political structure was imported from Greenwhale Peninsula as the Horselords had a very rigid system in place initially. Radpour had awarded many prominent warlords that had followed his banner, positions in his army. These titles later lost some of their importance when Rin An Pur ballooned out of proportions and the hordes settled down. The opting not to challenge Radpour initially Cofols of the Peninsula had been greatly influenced by Imperial culture in their turn, abandoning much of the ancient traditions of Tull Cautara Major. At least six bastards of Prince Atpa are rumored to exist, all born from unnamed slaves. Three other legitimate children of Prince Sahand existed briefly. Unluckily none of them survived but for a few months and again inauspiciously, all his other wives (a total of three) also perished during the previous years. All lands in the Khanate and ¡®everything living in it¡¯ ultimately belonged to the Khan. The ever changing borders considered ¡®anything under a warhorse¡¯s hoof¡¯ as Khan¡¯s own, which led to its rapid expansion but was a cause of constant conflict. - Prominent Horselords Based on cities and lands loosely under their control. Most could raise armies from their leased lands. Lord Zuti Mirpur (Old family of Horselords loyal to Radpour. The original Mirpur had been Radpour¡¯s Imperial chariot driver.) Rin An-Pur. The Khan¡¯s Master of Horses. Vijay Mirpur (reportedly KIA near Tyeusfort during Radin¡¯s failed defense against Elsanne¡¯s army in 191 NC.) Cephas Mirpur (With the Khan¡¯s armies on Jelin.) Horus Mirpur (With the Khan¡¯s Cataphracts on Jelin.) Rin An-Pur (Capital) Sidhyr Chariot Birth (Military town) Rin (town) Marble¡¯s Peak (Stone quarries) - Lord Har Khemet (Old Horselord family ruling Yin Xi-Yan. Large city built between Hath Kirk River and the Desert Lake located at the center of the Cofol Steppe. The Khemet were notorious Prince Nout¡¯s devotees.) Sept Khemet (KIA near Ani Ta-Ne in 193 NC during operation ¡®Soaring Scimitar¡¯.)If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Makt Khemet (A famed merchant and ¡®trainer¡¯ of Desert Caravan Hands.) Yin Xi-Yan. (Important trade link for Caravans braving the Steppe to reach Raoz or the southernmost parts of the Khanate like Merchant¡¯s Triage, Tyeusfort and eventually Eikenport.) - Lord Jain Erul-Sol, (Que Ki-La) Khanate¡¯s Treasurer and War Leader. An old Cofol family traditionally friendly with the Horselords of Eplas. The only ¡®Sister¡¯ that stood with the Khan during the rebellion. Erul-Sol was murdered during the sacking of Que Ki-La by Samir of Ani Ta-Ne according to Asmudius. Most of his large family perished alongside him, including a little boy, his three wives and seven of his daughters. Though there are rumors some of the girls were sold secretly into slavery. Lord Larul. Erul¡¯s eldest son. A well-respected Chariot Leader stationed in Raoz. Shockingly found dead in the fields outside Rida after Prince Sahand¡¯s assassination. Presumably killed along with his escort by the large number of brigands escaping the city. There has been no progress on who those killers were since then, one of the war¡¯s most enduring mysteries. Maluph Erul-Sol, later Lord of Que Ki-La (A Chariot officer. With the Khan¡¯s army on Jelin.) Que Ki-La (One of the Four Sisters. Large city on the vital trading route heading for the capital.) Palar (Agricultural village) Dates Plantations (Settlement) - Lord Osahar (Shao Na-Lan). Khan¡¯s Master of Sea after Lord Letakin¡¯s rebellion. Admiral of the Combined Fleet in the Shallow Sea. Knut Osahar (with the Khan¡¯s navy in the Shallow Sea.) Aquila-Dor, known Shao Na-Lan Horselord family loyal to Prince Atpa. Took control of running the city after the Osahar sailed with the army. Lost control of the city upon Prince Nout¡¯s arrival but resumed its running when the latter failed to return. Ruhak-Dor, his brother. Died from ¡®desert fever¡¯ complications delivering the Three Sisters message to Prince Atpa under mysterious circumstances. Shao Na-Lan (the biggest port on the east shores of the Khanate Gulf and the last large city of the Cofol Steppe.) Garya (Large town built near the Hath Kirk River) - Lord Kosey Toka. (Influential Horselords family. Lord Nout¡¯s ardent supporters. Ruling Dinar. Very rich city. The headquarters of the powerful Bank of Dinar which his family had founded were stationed in the city.) Ramen Toka. Famed front-leading general, excellent Cataphract and Charioteer. Prince Nout¡¯s childhood friend. Rumored he smashed the reinforcements from Lilyana Fort coming for the bridge during the Esterlam¡¯s Crevice gambit. Forced to live under fear of assassination due to his hostile attitude towards Prince Atpa. Lady Tamun Toka. The ¡®Daughter of Dinar¡¯. Famous beauty and bride. The only wife to Prince Nout (a rarity in the Khanate). Ramen¡¯s younger sister. Deni Toka. The ¡®Goldfinger¡¯. Director of the board for the Bank of Dinar. Dinar (the city ¨Cmay refer to the coin also.) Medium sized city built at the third branch of Son Zan River (its sources) and under the precious metal rich Gilded Peaks. Gold Mines of Dinar (large mining town) Silver Mines of Dinar (large mining town) - The Peninsula Cofols The Three Sisters were granted semi-autonomous status after the rebellion with Ani Ta-Ne outright grabbed by King Garth and turned into a Zilan outpost before the ink dried on the paper. - The Letakin of Ani Ta-Ne. Lord Zeke Letakin a famed owner of gladiator schools (Ludi) and a prominent rich family. He and his family but for Lady Vynia (Radin¡¯s first wife) were wiped out during the burning of the city. No records of the events exist outside of Wetull. The city went under King Garth¡¯s total control in 193 NC, who promptly installed Viceroy Metu ¨Ca Cofol Imperial Citizen of unknown origins- to govern and rebuild the ruins. While unconfirmed (and possibly the Viceroy¡¯s attempt to wash his hands clean of any blame) the rare gossip from Goras indicates that Lord Onas, a Zilan official, might be the one doing the governing. Very few details are known about the Zilan hierarchy or Goras internal politics. Ani Ta-Ne (the jewel of the Gulf). Massive port near Tani River¡¯s mouth. The city was completely rebuilt (and transformed) after 193 NC with work still undergoing fifteen years later. Imperial Watch (or simply ¡®Watch¡¯.) Ruined ancient Imperial Outpost. (Later a fully rebuilt Zilan military town under Viceroy Metu. A Portion of the Imperial Phalanx was housed here initially.) - The Sopat of Lai Zel-Ka. Ancient, absurdly wealthy, family of merchants and core members of the rebel alliance. Through their connections with King Garth they brought the latter into the conflict which turned the tide against the absent Khan and possibly doomed Prince Nout. Lord Phon-Iv Sopat. The Sopat patriarch ¨Ccelebrated for his bravery during the rebellion mainly by Asmudius, whose plays were suspiciously fully funded by Phon-Iv Sopat- managed to keep his city unharmed and played a crucial role in the war. An exceptionally shrewd diplomat and economist. Credited with opening the trade route to Wetull and bringing the Imperials back on the Peninsula. Not everyone considered the latter a good thing. Married five or six times and had at least twenty offspring. A ¡®humane¡¯ and expert slave-breeder that spent a lot to improve their quality, Phon-Iv¡¯s slaves were much sought after throughout Eplas and beyond. Queen Sen-Iv Sopat Aniculo. King Garth¡¯s wife. Celebrated beauty from her cradle. Her father loved her so much, he kept her in a tower in the palace of the ¡®Twelve Spires¡¯. The ¡®Celestial Opal¡¯ of Lai Zel-Ka. An exceptionally astute and deeply educated woman that is rumored to have heavily influenced the politics of the fledging reborn Kingdom. The Mistress of Tenebrous Castle has a holiday dedicated to her just before Valimae Lilt, a lake and a small island. One of the more recognized female faces on Eplas and probably the richest. Sen-Iv is depicted in busts and statues, all types of different paintings, illustrations and is eloquently described in many contemporary poems. Died suddenly under unknown circumstances, probably due to complications from a stillborn she had delivered in 193 NC. ¡®Had Sen ruled for another decade¡¯ as the controversial saying goes ¡®the realm would have been different.¡¯ Don-Iv Sopat. Famously assumed the patriarch role of the family for a week during the Battle at Simun Gates. His first acts were to fund an expedition across the Bleak Ocean and the ¡®Naked Races¡¯ both of which Phon promptly cancelled shortly after. A drinker, gambler, ¡®light¡¯ narcotic substances connoisseur, notorious philanderer, arena gladiatorial games enthusiast and horse races (or any races) fanatic. Notably lost his expensive horse and ¡®everything on it¡¯ betting on a ''lame goat'' that never finished an obscure race at Nagar Bazaar or wandered off. The amount calculated at around five hundred gold Dinars was sufficient to secure the miffed Don the whole herd -thrice. The goat was never found. ¡®Might be a couple of more vices there I had not yet discovered but I¡¯m still young,¡¯ he famously declared at the start of the 1001 games, under thunderous applause by the delirious ¨Cmostly drunken by then- crowd, which he also sponsored. Credited with advocating for Sir Emerson¡¯s strategy in the years leading to the ¡®Three Sisters Rebellion¡¯. Lon-Iv Sopat. A cousin to Phon-Iv working the Sopat distant east markets. Stationed in Merhant¡¯s Triage for years, he moved to Eikenport and later in Goras with (Queen Sen-Iv). A rumored pansexual, he kept his private life away from prying eyes. He finally settled in Sinya Goras and worked on reopening the family¡¯s trade route with Regia and Lesia. Phon frequently considered the workaholic Lon-Iv the best asset of the family in his later years ¡®after Inis-Mir¡¯. Lai Zel-Ka (Ancient city port. 2nd largest city in the Great Khanate. The oldest of the Four Sisters.) Sopat Fort (Palace of the Twelve Spires) Levai Mines (Gigantic slave settlement ¨Cits population reached almost forty thousand- working the many gem mines of Opal Mountains) - The Tsuparin of Fu De-Gar Lord Dekerut-Ki Tsuparin. The ¡®Old Scorpion¡¯, also the ¡®Cruel¡¯ for keeping the barbaric tradition of burning slaves alongside his diseased family members. His other family tradition of producing excellent gladiators led many of the Pits Champions to belong to Ludi he controlled or was indirectly involved with. Without his blessings and trained manpower the rebellion wouldn¡¯t have even started probably. Uncomfortable with Goras controlling Ani Ta-Ne and rumored to hate Viceroy Metu¡¯s guts. He never met with the Wetull official in any capacity not even during the latter¡¯s formal visit to Fu De-Gar when he famously sent one of his Slavemasters to greet him. Karit-Ki, the ¡®White Scorpion¡¯. Had a friendly relationship with Prince Atpa. Gladiatorial games enthusiast, a passion the Prince shared. One of the more successful generals of the rebellion, his army reached Rihtur before agreeing to stand down. Kuntur-Ki, (KIA near Devil¡¯s Cove in 189 NC. His body was never recovered and Dekerut burned three unnamed slaves during the 999th games.) Fu De-Gar (the ¡®poorest¡¯ of the Sisters but the most war-ready. A sprawling city port that was partially built over the old Imperial settlement. Noted for ¡®The Pits¡¯ where the biggest games of each season -every two years- were held, the ruins of the Old Imperial Arena and Mista Savar, the home of the famed Chiliad. Puzihu Fort. (Castle overlooking Mercy Gulf) Mista Savar (the gladiators¡¯ original camp/settlement, not to be confused with Savar, the village erected near Ballard Castle in Lesia.) Also Sir Emerson¡¯s moniker from the Games. Large settlement (later town) and headquarters of freed slaves serving with the Chiliad built near the sources of Kineham River. 430. The Cataphract (1/2)
¡®Once you climb on the saddle to ride in search of war, the palaces of Rin An-Pur shall fade from your memory, aye. For you¡¯ll be a Horselord of old again and trouble shall find you. War shall seek you out. The horse shall be your only domain. No titles and not your riches. Not above anyone else riding beside you or even underneath your hooves, just for that. A lofty station unearned is easily lost and counts for naught in the plains. What you buy, you don¡¯t truly own. What you earn is yours forever. Titles can be fleeting same as life. Won and lost in a single breath. If they are bequeathed, even sooner. What we have the Khan gave, to honor your ancestors¡¯ deeds not yours. See to not lose it for it¡¯s not yours to misplace. Don¡¯t sully their memory or yer father¡¯s. Be a Horselord and only take that which you¡¯ve honestly gained after bloody struggle. If it¡¯s more you desire then ye need to earn it in the field and pay in blood. That¡¯s the only way. Go now and see to your horses.¡¯ Lord Zuti Mirpur of Rin An-Pur, the Khan¡¯s Master of Horses counseling his two surviving older sons afore the Khan¡¯s departure from the Capital sometime in the Spring of 192 NC.
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Horus Mirpur The Cataphract Part I -Vibrant black skin & gilded eyes-
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Khan¡¯s army (Issir name the ¡®Burzin¡¯s Horde¡¯) Estimated South Group (Deadmen¡¯s Watch landing detachment) Group Leader -Lord Putra (Lukela) Total number (of fighting force) 4600 100 (300 men) Heavy Chariots under Maluph Erul-Sol (Que Ki-La) 300 Royal Cataphracts (Khan¡¯s Own) under Horus Mirpur (Rin An-Pur) 200 Medium Horse (Heavy Lancers) under Perku 3000 Jang-Lu (Halberd heavy infantry) under Xener 500 Horse Archers under Larmir +200 mounted Scouts/Rangers under Dumar 450 wagons, 1500 mules, at least 2000 extra horses. 300 Engineers under Tibia-Han (At least 20 Catapults, 4 trebuchets, unknown number of heavy Ballistae) 1000 slaves with the supply train. 100 slavers (guards) under slave-master Cardus of Wotcheki Castle (The Master of Slaves Bedas was with the Khan) Main army (landings at Seagulls Neck near Colle) Under Khan Burzin Radpour General in charge Prince Radin Radpour Lord Sam Phanti Advisor (Rin) Total number (of fighting force) around 15600 300 (900 men) Heavy Chariots under Lord Ota-Kmet (Turbal) 700 Royal Cataphracts (Khan¡¯s Own) under Cephas Mirpur 20 White Elephants (armoured, four armed handlers per for a total of 80) under Tyfon (Nasar) 7000 Jang-Lu (Hallberg heavy infantry) under Muda Zeket (Chariot Birth) 4800 Horse Archers under Tehenor (Lukela) 800 Medium Horse (Heavy Lancers) under Sepa (Rin An-Pur) +700 mounted Scouts/Rangers under Muvelo (Shao Na-Lan) Around 1000 wagons, 3000 mules and about sixteen thousand horses. 700 engineers under Rumen-Kot (the admiral¡¯s brother) (At least 40 catapults, 10 trebuchets and unknown number of heavy Ballistae) 2000 slaves at least with the supply train (unknown number with the Khan¡¯s separate caravan.) The number was to increase rapidly within the first six months but a large number of them were lost due to food shortages. 300 slavers (guards) under Lord Bedas of Sidhyr, the Master of Slaves. Reserve Army Remained at Colle initially Under Havor Dhin-Awal (Rin An-Pur) one of Prince Radin¡¯s longtime friends along with his older brother Hajot that had been killed back in 188 NC fighting rebel Horselords in Jade Lake of all places. Total number (of fighting force) around 6500 Added with Prince Radin in the last months of 193 2000 Medium Horse (Lancers) with some Cataphracts (most of the men were given to the Prince by his brother Atpa to deal with Sir Gust and keep him on Eplas. Prince Atpa was furious upon learning that he had brought them to his father after the latter ordered Radin to join him on campaign.) 1500 Horse Archers. Around 3000 mercenaries (mounted infantry) under Birka (Dia Castle) 200 wagons and 3-4 thousand horses.
The sergeant-at-arms pulled at the reins of his mud-covered grey horse and forced it to stop with a loud snort blocking their path on purpose. The tired horse shook its lusterless mane, rich white froth clogging its nostrils and the driver of the carriage yelled at the drawn horses to calm down bringing the vehicle to a stop as well. ¡°Why stop here Lord Erland?¡± Lady Marleen Van Oord asked her uncle and looked outside the window of the large carriage trying to spot the sun over the canopy. Lord Erland pursed his dark lips, thinning white hair cut short and waved at Sir Reggy Maat who had brought his warhorse next to their carriage leaving the rest of their escort behind. ¡°See what all the fuzz is about Sir Maat,¡± the Lord of Justice ordered gruffly, austere face not revealing his thoughts. The Knight nodded with a discreet glance at Lady Marleen¡¯s curious comely face. Hunter¡¯s Trap Forest is always tricky to navigate, he thought and kicked his spurs to get his horse moving. A good road does not make it any less easy. ¡°Arnaut,¡± Reggy told his squire. ¡°With me.¡± The sergeant, dressed in chainmail and metal spoulders glassed nervously behind him and then grunted at the approaching knight. ¡°You have to turn the carriage around.¡± ¡°Have you taken leave of your senses?¡± Sir Maat spat taken aback by the sergeant¡¯s gall. ¡°I¡¯ve Lord Erland and the Duke¡¯s daughter in there!¡± ¡°All the more reason for it. They can¡¯t be that far behind,¡± the sergeant insisted soberly. What is this fool talking about? ¡°You serve at Deadmen¡¯s Watch? Are you drunk sergeant?¡± ¡°Names Del Schalk,¡± he replied stiffly. ¡°Albert Schalk was my cousin. Turn the carriage around Sir Knight.¡± Was? Reggy thought. Albert Schalk was the commander of the guards in Deadmen¡¯s Watch. Run Lord Erland¡¯s small holding in his frequent absences. ¡°What the allhells is going on sergeant? We¡¯ve no word from you in weeks!¡± Sir Maat¡¯s snapped angrily. ¡°Yet here you are not ten kilometers from Castalor ordering the Lords of the Realm about!¡± ¡°Good knight,¡± Del Schalk replied hoarsely and Sir Maat could see how sunken the man¡¯s eyes were up close. ¡°I¡¯ve god darn Cataphracts on me back. Lots of good men died to stall them so I can make it. Turn the carriage around.¡± ¡°Sir Maat, we are losing the day and the journey is long ahead of us,¡± Lord Erland was heard on his back, sounding rather annoyed for the unscheduled delay. Cataphracts, a numb Reggy thought trying to work his mind around the alien word. What Uher¡¯s Holy Light is going on here? ¡°Sir,¡± Del insisted his voice crackling. ¡°I¡¯ve come face to face wit a stone-cold killer years back. A right devil. These men riding here are cut from the same cloth. They¡¯ll cut us all down.¡± Sir Maat stood back on the saddle shocked. He heard horses coming from the west, many hooves hitting the cobblestone road Lord Erland had installed the previous summer. The thundering noise growing with each passing moment. ¡°Arnaut!¡± He barked at his squire. ¡°Tell the driver to turn around. Ask Sir Rikkert to bring the men forward.¡± ¡°Sir?¡± Arnaut queried unsure. ¡°Get moving lad!¡± A worried Reggy snapped and reached to close his visor. ¡°NOW!¡± A hundred meters down the large forest road, a nervous rider had appeared. Dressed in white leather armour and carrying a recurved bow and a long saber. The exotic looking scout pulled at the reins and half-turned his smaller desert horse around seeing Sir Rikkert and the men-at-arms fanning out on the road. The driver had turned the carriage by now behind Sir Maat and was heading back towards Castalor. Run sweet lass, get to safety. The ruckus of the approaching horses now immense. A great host. Too great. Eh, Sir Maat thought grimly and set his jaw with a last glance at the cloudy winter sky. At least it¡¯s not raining. ¡°Lances!¡± Sir Rikkert bellowed and Sir Reggy accepted his from the returning Arnaut. ¡°Reckon you should ride back to Castalor as well lad. It shapes to be a nasty one. You too sergeant. Speak with the Duke,¡± he told them but while Del Schalk nodded agreeing, the young man shook his head negatively. ¡°So be it. Get that sword out then, come after us,¡± the knight advised him having no more time to spare. The first of the heavier armoured enemies had appeared on the road. Riding a much bigger black and white horse, covered in scaled armour. Man and beast. A silver smiling mask instead of a visor secured on his helm. ¡°By the grace of Uher and the Allgods!¡± Sir Maat roared reaching for his shield. ¡°Charge at them!¡± The knight of Castalor ordered and snapped his steel spurs.
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Lord Ab Putra of Lukela (connected with General Sartak through marriage), commanding the Khan¡¯s South Group tasked with securing Deadmen¡¯s Watch port, almost made a mess of the landing on the rocky shores of Krakentrap Straits. The weather wasn¡¯t favorable and the transports were unable to find good ground for hours. Two hundred mounted ranger/scouts under Dumar got lost and never turned into the Straits. The two transport ships entered the small port in the early hours of the morning in a hailstorm on the waning days of the first month of 194. They surprised the small guard stationed there and managed to take control of the docks by that afternoon. The bewildered local commander Albert Schalk (his guards were ¡®dealing¡¯ with pirates, smugglers and outlaws mostly) barricaded himself inside the small tower but the scouts were too many and managed to scale the walls under the cover of arrows. Despite their efforts though they just couldn¡¯t dislodge the defenders. When Lord Putra¡¯s first advanced units of Horse Archers under Larmir arrived two days later the tower was still under Issir control but the scouts have laid waste to the locals and had cut off the east road leading to Castalor. The Horse Archers finished off the rest. By the time the main army reached the town port Deadmen¡¯s Watch was a ¡®ghost town¡¯. Macabre lyrical connotations aside, such was the carnage several of the leaders were reprimanded for the uncontrolled destruction they had caused. Less than a thousand of the initial more than five thousand locals were left alive (though promptly enslaved) mainly women and children. A pressed for time Lord Putra decided to just burn the defenders alive to get it over with and despite protests from Horus Mirpur (a warrior with greater historical standing despite the difference in rank) who commanded the Royal Cataphracts, the Chariot Leader Maluph Erul-Sol backed Putra¡¯s decision which caused a rift between the two noble scions. Maluph was in a murderous mood having recently lost his whole family during the ¡®Three Sisters Rebellion¡¯. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. It must be noted here that much of the events and atrocities of the Khan¡¯s men were influenced by this fact according to Khanate¡¯s historians but Jelin scholars disagree overwhelmingly. Khan¡¯s later ¡®humane enslavement¡¯ of locals that followed ¨Cinstead of outright killing them- found no sympathetic ears in the Three Kingdoms. Lord Putra¡¯s orders were to reach Castalor as fast as he could (for such a large host) traversing the large Hunter¡¯s Trap Forest and then either take the city outright or bypass it to secure the fork on the road leading to Hunter¡¯s Cot and the vital bridge over Boar¡¯s Horn River. This would cut off reinforcements and supplies reaching Castalor from Scaldingport, or head towards Colle where Khan¡¯s bigger main and reserve armies where to attack next. The plan had faults as Castalor could be supplied by sea as well and the Khan¡¯s ships had moored in Deadmen¡¯s Watch eventually opting not to attempt a sea blockade at this point. While it was proposed to attack the Issir fleets of the two cities after traversing the Straits and entering the Scalding Sea, it was deemed risky by Lord Osahar (commanding the Combined Fleet) who wanted to concentrate all his naval power (under Admiral Binra-Kot) for a decisive engagement at the Shallow Straits near the Free Isles. So Lord Putra went ahead and marched down Hunter¡¯s Trap Forest, the Khanate¡¯s men affected by the cold weather but impressed at the local vegetation, dark fertile ground and strange rich forest surrounding them. With the exception of those living near Rin An-Pur¡¯s westernmost countryside no other Cofol or Horselord had seen such a massive oak tree forest. The absence of open plains and clear skies made some of the already weary and seasick men claustrophobic which forced Lord Putra to move at a slower pace than he¡¯d preferred to. Three weeks later the advanced units of Cataphracts tasked with clearing the road almost apprehended the alarmed Lord Erland Van Oord who was returning to Deadmen¡¯s Watch -the remote town had been silent for almost a month. Erland¡¯s escort defended the road blocking the Cataphracts which helped him escape to Castalor in panic despite his carriage breaking down and having to use a horse. All the men in his escort (around twenty men-at-arms) were slain. Sir Reggy Maat and Sir Rikkert Loman the most notable of the knights lost in the engagement. Lady Marleen Van Oord, Duke Basten¡¯s of Castalor unmarried daughter was captured. Lady Marleen must have been in her twenties at the time and was shockingly still unwed despite being Sir Rik De Weer¡¯s fianc¨¦e for well over a decade. Lord Ruud who had been preparing to intervene in Regia¡¯s succession war according to some sources or retake Colle according to others was informed of the events a week later but by that time Lord Putra was at the west gates of Castalor. After the herald finished reading the grim report he stalled unsure which forced the scowling old Duke to inquire whether there was more ¡®crap to be served or we can ask for a brandy to get it all down.'' The aggrieved Castalor man replied. ¡®Aye my lord, I¡¯m afraid there is. Unfortunately poor Lady Marleen has been captured. We fear the worst.¡¯ To which Lord Ruud had deadpanned dismissively. ¡®I thought you were going to tell me the city is lost for a moment there. Got me all edgy in the bowels. A good thing in me age mind you, he-he. There then, she¡¯s either dead or not. Eh, since I see you¡¯re all sensitive on the matter know that no one here expects the lass to be chaste after all this time. So tell our good Duke we¡¯ll be lenient if the girl is found. Within blasted reason! I¡¯ll talk to my son. Assuming the fool actually shows up! He¡¯s not really a catch himself so it¡¯ll have to do. For fuck¡¯s sake, the man¡¯s half-blind!¡¯
- Such vibrant colors, Horus Mirpur mused watching the blood pooling at the road. The horses disturbed neighs affecting Midnight ¨Chis own war mount- and it shifted nervously under him. The Scouts stripping the dead from their valuables or looking to gather the unharmed horses and saddles. The Chariots had arrived late in the scrap but were forced to halt for the road to be cleared of the slain bodies. Some of the dead Issirs had fought bravely and Horus had ordered Api-Nofre to see they were gathered with dignity for a quick burial. The forest was too damp for a fire. The rest that had run away afore getting cut down they had left for the wild animals. ¡°Have you ever seen Issirs from up close afore Lord Mirpur?¡± Kera-Raad asked, Rokae mask raised on his helm to show his angular face and pronounced slanted eyes. ¡°A couple of them,¡± Horus replied and climbed down from his horse to allow it to rest. ¡°Merchants in Rida. One of Prince Atpa¡¯s slaves.¡± ¡°A woman?¡± ¡°Nah, but I¡¯m sure they are around.¡± ¡°Darn black skin gives me the creeps,¡± Kera-Raad commented and wiped his face with a cloth. ¡°How¡¯s the armour?¡± Horus stretched himself out. His left arm a little stiff from a glancing blow. ¡°Holding up. Heavy as a sack of bricks.¡± ¡°Hah-hah. At least it¡¯s not as hot as in the desert. I still have marks from the boils,¡± Kera-Raad guffawed some of the tension leaving his voice. ¡°Not much trouble thus far. Those knights the other day were much better eh?¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± Horus was watching the returning scouts. ¡°This was just a caravan. I don¡¯t believe the news have spread,¡± he said. ¡°Did any of them make it into the woods?¡± Kera-Raad frowned. ¡°A couple made a run for it. I can see them though back there. Dumar¡¯s men had target practice on them.¡± Horus grimaced. ¡°Not much honor in that Kera.¡± The Cataphract nodded. ¡°Aye my lord.¡± ¡°Hey there!¡± Horus barked at an approaching scout carrying a box and a sack of loot. ¡°Where are those from?¡± The scout stopped his horse and stared at the smiling mask Horus had on respectfully. ¡°We found a carriage by the side of the road Sir. They are looking in the woods for survivors. The axle broke and it got dragged behind the horses for a while.¡± ¡°Any tracks?¡± Horus asked narrowing his eyes. ¡°Several. Horse and humans. Some headed deeper in the woods.¡± ¡°How long ago?¡± ¡°Days?¡± Horus stood back surprised. ¡°What do you hope to find after all this time?¡± The scout fixed the box he had in front of him on the saddle and then shrugged. ¡°Don¡¯t much care sir. Others do though. It was a fancy carriage. The one we thought that got away.¡± Horus glanced at the approaching Api-Nofre, the Cataphract leading his heavily laden warhorse near their group. ¡°What was that?¡± He asked turning towards the scout as he¡¯d missed his answer. ¡°I said those were female tracks sir,¡± the scout repeated. ¡°So she can¡¯t be far, if she¡¯s still breathing.¡± ¡°Castalor is five-six kilometers away?¡± Kera-Raad grunted. ¡°They¡¯ll be behind the walls by now.¡± ¡°The woods are difficult to navigate and we didn¡¯t see it on the first pass sirs.¡± The scout noted. ¡°So what, the horses run into the trees?¡± ¡°Aye they did,¡± the scout replied to the Cataphract. An injury could have kept her back. Can a woman survive in the Forest? ¡°Come with me,¡± Horus ordered and headed back towards the grazing by the side of the road Midnight, the clever warhorse eyeing him austerely. ¡°Leave the loot. Api, Kera you follow after us!¡± ¡°Where to? Oh, ye prodigious leader?¡± Api-Nofre taunted from his horse. They knew each other for years. ¡°To the carriage,¡± Horus grunted and climbed on his protesting mount. Seeing his friend¡¯s uncertain stance he added. ¡°Not looking for loot.¡± More than half the men were riding on his father¡¯s horses. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t too my lord,¡± Api retorted turning his horse around while the devastated scout tossed the box down cursing his rotten luck. ¡°In your stead.¡±
¡°That¡¯s Tibia-Han¡¯s boys,¡± Api-Nofre commented, voice coming out muffled behind the metal mask and pointed at the engineers cutting down trees to create a camp as close to the city as it was possible. ¡°Xener¡¯s Jang-Lu.¡± ¡°The machines are still half-a-day back,¡± Horus replied and stopped his horse at the edge of the road. ¡°Would Perku attempt to rush the gates?¡± ¡°If they¡¯ve kept them open.¡± ¡°Um. Where¡¯s the carriage?¡± Horus asked the melancholic scout Uga. Uga had been born near Reaz Fort to a Caravan guard and a Merchant¡¯s daughter but his relocating father had found it difficult to find work in the capital where they had escaped. The girl¡¯s father finally caught up with them and kicked both the guard and his kid out in the streets. The merchant had kept his mother intending to ¡®find her a decent older husband in the capital since they are less uptight about these matters.¡¯ There was some truth in that. Anyways, Uga had grew up on the saddle following his bitter father on the desert trails, working odd jobs between guarding caravans, which made him a sickly, short in stature kid, then a thin man but a great rider and excellent scout. The greed in him though never subsided. All this backstory the scout had divulged to the Cataphracts during their brief journey although no one really wanted to hear about his life or cared. Uga turned his smaller horse south and Horus followed after him, the road behind them clogged with arriving riders from different units or groups. They rode for a bit through the woods but then they had to slow down to a crawling pace. The hapless carriage hadn¡¯t. What was left of it was in three parts, totally gutted. ¡°Thought it got dragged on the road?¡± Horus grunted. ¡°They left the road my lord. Then horses got spooked, crashed the carriage. Look, they¡¯ve taken everything by now,¡± Uga explained and sighed sadly. ¡°The tracks go that way. South. The horses the other. East.¡± ¡°What was in that box?¡± Kera-Raad snapped as he¡¯d had enough with the scout¡¯s attempts to guilt-trip them into a donation to fill his empty purse and saddlebags. ¡°Don¡¯t know but it was locked tight,¡± Uga replied reminiscing. ¡°Good wood. Big mystery, sadly now discovered by another.¡± ¡°She got lost?¡± Horus asked changing the subject but the scout didn¡¯t know. They navigated the treacherous terrain for a while. The tracks of the other scouts mingling with that of their escapee making it difficult to tell one apart from the other. Visibility was awful the deeper they headed into the thick oak trees. ¡°Blood,¡± Uga declared and jumped from his horse lithely. He knelt and sunk a finger into the mire, then slotted it in his mouth afore spitting down. ¡°Bleh. Aye, and a forest puma¡¯s piss perhaps.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Horus grunted, his hard leather gambeson soaked as the leaves and branches were heavy with moisture and dripping over their heads. ¡°Like desert Lynx. Similar. Good pet to have on the road.¡± ¡°A Nimra?¡± ¡°Not a lion milord. Those does not make good pets. More like a very big cat,¡± Uga elucidated. ¡°Like those red ones in the palace?¡± Horus remembered the copper-colored long-eared Lynx cats roaming the palace gardens. Watched one them struggling a slave for fun once. Not his kind of fun. Not much of a Horselord¡¯s true nature remains in Rin An-Pur, his father always said. Whatever there is left is buried under heavy makeup and thick layers of crayon. Horus thought it an excuse growing up, when his father opted frequently to follow his horse herders in the plains dragging his sons along to torture them away from all their servants and mothers. Cephas never took to Lord Mirpur¡¯s words and Vijay who had, had been killed following Prince Radin around by invading Issirs from this neck of the woods. The irony of the latter heavy in his mind. A loud scream was heard, then a snarl and the sound of men cursing. Branches snapping. Horus spun Midnight around to head towards the commotion that was coming and going, muffled by the thick trunks. The moss stifled the sound of their hooves so they approached without the scouts noticing them. The four men had found a small opening amidst the trees, a small brook running through it amidst basalt rocks and an ancient massive oak dominating the south portion of the opening. The dark-brown colored puma had three arrows sticking out of its bloody sides, a gush on its snout and several deep cuts across its hind legs. One scout was down trying to keep his gored face together where the predator had swiped at him probably in ambush and another holding his bleeding arm cursing a pale-faced snarling white-haired female Issir that looked like she¡¯d been through the ringer. Cursing her because the dagger-yielding woman had stabbed the scout who apparently had reached to drag her off of the tree she¡¯d found ¡®safe haven¡¯. The place screamed that it was a predator¡¯s lair from a mile away. ¡°Fucking wench! Dark in skin and soul. Night¡¯s blood-sucking imp!¡± A scout growled circling her looking to reload his bow. ¡°I¡¯m going to shoot an arrow through yer belly button. Leave ye to rot by the water!¡± ¡°Scraped the bone curse her,¡± another griped, the injured one. ¡°Can¡¯t stop the fucking bleeding!¡± ¡°Aragglh!¡± The female snarled ineligibly brown-gold eyes ogling like saucers. Gleaming skin looking completely black in the shaded opening, contrasting all the nature¡¯s vibrant colors surrounding them and her soaked platinum-colored hair. Black and white with touches of sparking gold. Spirits of the plains be gathering! Horus pursed his mouth shook. ¡°She was with the carriage my lord!¡± The startled fourth scout that had spotted their gem-adorned helms cried through his teeth. ¡°Sent the puma on us! She¡¯s dangerous!¡± ¡°Uher did it!¡± The woman screeched in Common her face distorting and teeth rattling. She was terrified and probably hadn¡¯t slept for days. ¡°Stand back vile creatures! Oras fiends!¡± ¡°That¡¯s rather embarrassing,¡± Api-Nofre commented. ¡°Maybe we need to call for reinforcements my lord?¡± Horus gulped down in silence, reached in his saddlebags with his left arm and grabbed one of his four leather coin purses out. Never even looked at it. Just tossed the heavy purse at the scout who caught it on his chest greedily. The gold and silver coins jingling inside and the shocked look on Uga¡¯s face comical. The frantically grimacing scout¡¯s teeth showing in a gnarly snarl. ¡°The girl is yours eminent lord of Rin An-Pur,¡± the unknown scout said without checking on the coins further and probably never really recognizing Horus. ¡°Help me carry him Berlu and get Parxs going,¡± he told his uninjured bow-wielding friend. ¡°Well then. That¡¯s a reliable manner to eat through yer inheritance fast,¡± Api-Nofre decided and stood back on his saddle. ¡°Can I have Mirah in my tent my lord? Given the fresh addition to yer slave entourage?¡± Horus gazed at him warningly behind his silver mask. Then he climbed down from his warhorse, tall leather spurred boots sinking in the soft ground and headed towards the scowling female.
Horus knelt near the woman that had retreated in the meantime towards the large trunk of the oak tree. A cavernous hole at its base covered in small brittle bones and discarded animal fur. The moment her back hit the trunk the legs gave from under her and she slipped down, still holding on to the dagger with her dirty hands. She had a long dark green dress on, the edges of her sleeves bell shaped and adorned with yellow lace. A sleeve was missing completely and the dress had been torn in various places, leaving her right leg uncovered, the white lace corset having some of its boning showing, whilst both her shoes were missing and the visible parts of her skin were tarnished with welts and abrasions. ¡°How did you keep the puma from climbing up the tree?¡± Horus asked her casually, fixing the saber¡¯s scabbard that hang at his sides. She blinked slowly understanding the words and then stared at the dead puma. ¡°It wasn¡¯t here when you first came,¡± Horus decided keeping his voice steady. ¡°The army¡¯s arrival pushed it deeper into the woods.¡± ¡°My lord,¡± Kera-Raad reminded him. ¡°Lord Putra might decide to attack the walls today.¡± ¡°Not without infantry and machines he won¡¯t,¡± Horus replied and extended his right arm. ¡°I¡¯ll have the dagger lass.¡± ¡°Touch me and I¡¯ll kill myself, your coin wasted!¡± she snapped focusing her tired eyes on him. ¡°You shall mock me?¡± Horus stood back amused. ¡°It¡¯s just a mask,¡± he rustled and then tried again. ¡°You didn¡¯t use it when the puma returned and tried to climb up to reach you. Nor when the scouts arrived. You won¡¯t use it on you now.¡± ¡°What are your intentions sir?¡± She hissed throatily not letting go of the blade. What a bizarre creature, he thought surprised. I could have your tongue removed for such insolence. ¡°I¡¯ve a war to fight,¡± Horus replied honestly surprising himself. ¡°You either leave with me or another puma will come. More scouts. As you¡¯ve already remarked, I¡¯ve paid for you lass. You belong to me now.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t his to sell! Who does that?¡± The Issir woman rustled with hatred. ¡°I¡¯ll fight you sir, to the death!¡± Good grief. Horus shook his helmed head and got up. Api-Nofre stared at him unsure. ¡°I can have you killed from afar,¡± Horus told her walking towards his horse. ¡°From my horse or on foot. I¡¯ll do neither. It shall shame my lineage and offer little in return. But you lass, shall die in these woods either way. The blood and corpses shall bring you more company come nightfall. Think on that in your final moments, I shan¡¯t mourn the lost coin.¡± Horus grabbed the horn of the saddle and heaved himself up nimbly. Midnight snorted, large teeth clattering and then stooped to graze some more of the luscious exotic tasting grass. ¡°I¡¯m Lady Marleen Van Oord of Castalor,¡± the Issir woman said stiffly and pushed herself up. ¡°Can you take me to my father Sir?¡± She doesn¡¯t want to die in the woods either, Horus thought with a small smile. Kera-Raad snorted at that while Api-Nofre found the whole situation hilarious and started chuckling from atop his warhorse. ¡°Marleen,¡± Horus replied after clicking his tongue to get Midnight near her. ¡°You¡¯re a slave to the house Mirpur. That¡¯s it. Listen, I¡¯m intrigued but extremely busy. Lose the dagger. I won¡¯t say it again.¡± ¡°Then what?¡± Marleen griped hoarsely looking about her. Horus sighed. ¡°Then you get up on the saddle and we return to camp. Mirah will look after your wounds. Find you some clothes.¡± ¡°Is Mirah your wife?¡± No, she¡¯s a pleasure slave. We¡¯re not fucking primitives! Horus had blinked unconsciously at the unexpected interrogation but forced himself to answer. ¡°She¡¯s a camp follower. My wife is back home. I¡¯ve had enough of this,¡± he decided and glanced at Api-Nofre. ¡°You take her.¡± ¡°Wait,¡± Marleen snapped and dropped the dagger on the ground. ¡°I¡¯ll ride with you.¡± Midnight snorted at that and shook its rich mane right and left in protest. ¡°Now that was low-key insulting,¡± Api-Nofre commented sourly. Marleen stood next to his horse waiting in uncomfortable silence. ¡°You can¡¯t ride,¡± he noted calmly. ¡°Ladies don¡¯t ride without escort. I was without escort.¡± Right. ¡°Api,¡± Horus grunted. ¡°Jump down and help her on the saddle.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± The shocked Cataphract gasped and Horus turned to stare at him soberly. ¡°Oh, for crying out loud!¡± He griped in frustration and climbed down from his warhorse. Went to grab Marleen by the waist but she shoved his hands off initially, the grip too low to her hips and the seething behind his smiling mask Cataphract tried again. ¡°Everything alright?¡± Horus asked her and the noble woman took it as an opening when it wasn¡¯t. ¡°I¡¯ll need a garment to cover my legs,¡± she explained sternly. ¡°What?¡± Api gasped. ¡°Is the wench serious?¡± ¡°Give her yer damn cloak,¡± Horus hissed through his teeth at the end of his tether. ¡°Else we¡¯ll spent the night in the cursed woods!¡± So Api-Nofre went to retrieve his cloak from his saddle and Horus turned around to look in the bruised dirty face of the Issir captive. Slave, he corrected himself. Marleen returned his gaze unsure, the sun peeking through the clouds reaching them and the noble Cataphract realized the alien woman¡¯s chocolate skin and gild-touched large eyes glowed in many different shades, more vibrant than all nature¡¯s colors. Like a creature from another distant realm. Full of mysteries. Ah, a stunned Horus thought, a strange feeling creeping up to him and averted his eyes.
431. The Cataphract (2/2)
Horus Mirpur The Cataphract Part II -Five thousand crossbows-
Gero had helped him out of his armour and boots, while Neku brought Yellowstone -his other warhorse- for him to ride later. Horus had brought three war mounts on campaign for his personal use, with a tent and other belongings packed in two separate wagons. While most minor lords had their own wagon as well, only Lord Putra and Lord Maluph owned a pair like Horus. The distinction being that Horus¡¯ father had paid for the riders¡¯ equipment whilst the Chariots were fully funded from Khan¡¯s coffers. The latter was what made the Chariot Leader post the loftier position for some but not for Lord Mirpur who considered the Chariots a ¡®foreign¡¯ weapon and concept. Burzin didn''t, so Mirpur''s sons served with the Cataphracts exclusively. Unit costs aside, Horus¡¯ other horses were a black stallion with nice white spots at the legs called Midnight, the gold-haired Yellowstone and the young white stallion named Togo which was of Imperial lineage but still not fully trained. The Cataphract warhorses needed to be changed frequently due to the heavy load they carried in battle (even before engagements if they had been on the road) which made them tire out quickly. Still a well-fed and cared for horse could make it through several scraps as it was a matter of resilience and ultimately its rider¡¯s skill. -
A Cataphract brought a lot of weapons to a fight with the bulk of them loaded on their mounts both ranged and for close combat. A bow (or a small steel & wood crossbow, with many carrying both), one quiver per weapon (bolts and arrows), a long lance with a steel straight blade secured next to at least two shorter Hoplite-type warspears on the horse''s right side. A mace or flail and usually a long shafted axe with a small round shield on the left. A sword of course was carried by the knights themselves usually a heavy sabre. The horse was covered with scaled armour that protected its body and part of its legs up to above the knee joints. Some used chainmail as it was cheaper or even padded leather-reinforced blankets. It was vital for a horse to survive an engagement as it took years for the animals to be comfortable with the load but also for a more practical/critical reason. A Cataphract on foot while heavily armoured (with a scaled mesh over strips of plates cuirass that continued down their hips and same-material spoulders with leather or plate armbraces at times or just chainmail sleeves) faced the same problems the Knights of Jelin faced. Their cumbersome armour required for the fighter to be in peak condition to keep moving on the battlefield but still he was slower than his opponents and would tire easily. For that reason each Cataphract brought a number of assistants or slaves into the field, usually with one of his spare horses in tow (everyone had a spare whilst some had two) and more supplies or weapons. Their job was to quickly reach their master and assist him if he found himself in trouble. Of course when in battle this system quickly broke down, with the assistants easily getting killed in the brouhaha. In the end each Cataphract had to learn to fight on foot or die trying. It required dedication from an early age to reach all the skills required and only those recognized with the potential since youth were employed to the role. Lords had the burden of outfitting and paying for them as they didn''t have another employment. Just like knights they were to be used with precision and in short bursts. This was true to an extent for the war chariots also (most started as Cataphracts) with the difference that they were deployed in teams of three per vehicle and could operate at longer distances afore getting pulled for repairs. The War Elephants couldn¡¯t despite similarities. These exotic units had their own troubles as they needed able space lest they turned lethal for friendlies, broke down or as was common with the bulkier capricious beasts, stampeded out of control.
Horus left Marleen at the care of Mirah and the other slaves and rode with a small escort to Lord Putra¡¯s large headquarters¡¯ tent engineers had erected at the opening cut into the woods. The spare timber was promptly used to repair wagons (the guards left with the navy at Deadmen¡¯s Watch were busy using the amble nearby recourses to do the same for the worn-out from over a year in the seas ships) and then construct a number of fortifications around the sprawling camps with several corrals for the many animals. Each unit stayed near its own mounts. Horus could see the misty stone walls of Castalor¡¯s west gates. The road continuing past the walls of the city through the potato fields skirting around its taller northern walls and the smaller northern gates. It rung around and met the east road coming from the East Gates, the path forming a fork with the coastal road leading to Scaldingport eventually. The other axis heading north for the bridge. Everything in their path hugged by rich forest and undergrowth, the weather giving them the occasional sudden downpour. They hadn¡¯t seen a fully clear day for months now, all roads plagued by various degrees of mire despite being well-maintained and paved with flat stones or thick gravel. The animals have food aplenty at least, Horus thought staring at the scrapped clean of grass sides of the road leading to the tree lines. For how long is the question. Xener, the leader of the Jang-Lu, a burly man with veiny uncovered arms and rugged face, greeted him with a respectful nod when he entered the tent. Perku, the Lancers leader was in the field, as was Dumar the scouts general. Larmir was present, along with the constipated Lord Putra and the big-bodied Lord Maluph, late Erul-Sol¡¯s son. The heavily painted Maluph wore a black, yellow-striped robe over his armor, to showcase his mourning. Horus, while understanding of his plight, found the blatant display unsavory and spurred by ulterior motivation. He hadn¡¯t forgotten Maluph¡¯s idiotic and revenge-driven previous actions. You want your family avenged, quit the army and go home. Look to find the culprits amidst the Cofols of the peninsula. A difficult task, since all of them were rumored dead according to Prince Atpa¡¯s controversial letter to the Khan. It had almost derailed the whole operation and all but paralyzed Burzin who was up there in years already. Horus wished he was present for the Khan¡¯s arrival on Jelin. Would the old Horselord manage to do it atop his warhorse? He had to for morale. ¡°No more local caravans or traffic,¡± Lord Putra crumpled after greeting him, his narrow face showing signs of bad sleep and the starts of a cold. Or had a bad bunch of weed served in his pipe. ¡°They know we¡¯re here.¡± ¡°They can see us from the walls,¡± Horus noted and placed his helm on the table, the tent¡¯s ceiling damp and heavy over their heads. ¡°No reaction though,¡± Maluph said, painted mauve lips split to show his teeth. ¡°They¡¯ll hide behind their walls.¡± ¡°What does Tibia-Han think?¡± Horus asked looking at Lord Putra. ¡°He found the walls pretty solid at first glance,¡± Lord Putra replied and grimaced. ¡°Was really enthusiastic at the sturdiness in fact. The rest of us weren¡¯t as warm and fuzzy on the nasty surprise.¡± ¡°Where is the problem? We knew they had walls.¡± ¡°Yeah, we do as well. But out of bricks or sandstone. We have precut limestone also but even that might not make it through. Those are solid granite blocks these primitives used here especially at the base. They have knowledge of bricks obviously but they keep it as decoration. We¡¯ll know more once he sets some of the machines up this afternoon.¡± Had no one even consider this? Then again most of the Khanate had very little connections with Jelin due to their cultural differences. ¡°If we need stone. We¡¯ll find stone,¡± Maluph stated. Might need to leave more people alive to dig for that, Horus thought sourly. You aren¡¯t going to swing a pickaxe yourself anytime soon! ¡°This is taking too long,¡± Horus grunted. ¡°I agree Lord Mirpur,¡± Putra replied. ¡°The Cavalry can continue towards the fork and build a new camp near there. The Khan will send riders from Colle to restore communications soon. Lord Phanti has assured me everything is on schedule.¡± ¡°That¡¯s concerning,¡± Horus rustled and stood back. ¡°Considering we are well aware that we are not.¡± ¡°We are at the city, a day from the fork,¡± Maluph snapped. ¡°The scouts are not the army,¡± Horus argued. ¡°Nor are your chariots or my Cataphracts. Larmir could make it there perhaps in a day but then he¡¯ll have to rest for two or risk losing horses. What about supplies?¡± ¡°Grass is sprouting out of stones here!¡± Maluph argued with a glare. ¡°Animals are getting fat.¡± ¡°Will your men eat grass Maluph?¡± Horus replied returning his stare. ¡°The wagons are still en route and I¡¯m hearing they are moving faster lately because they are emptying quickly!¡± ¡°My lords, we all share the same saddle here,¡± Horus glared at Lord Putra, who rarely used his horse if he could help it. ¡°Larmir with Dumar will rush for the fork, cut Castalor off completely. We¡¯ll try Tibia-Han¡¯s plan for a while.¡± ¡°Where will he find proper ammunition?¡± Horus snapped, not believing how such a important detail had been overlooked. ¡°Are all Kaltha cities defended by such walls?¡± ¡°The walls at Issir¡¯s Eagle were destroyed is the rumor. The north part of it,¡± Lord Putra replied stiffly. ¡°Do they have better weapons than we have?¡± ¡°A granite boulder will bring a wall down. We just need to find enough of them.¡± ¡°Where?¡± Lord Putra stared at him in silence. ¡°Tibia left men to bring down buildings and houses behind us. Material is being brought to the front. Nicely cut hard rocks. Poetic really. The locals won¡¯t be needing them.¡± No, Horus thought. Disturbing is more what this matter really is than anything else. ¡°How soon?¡± ¡°Two weeks.¡± Lord Putra replied with a nervous flickering of the eyes. ¡°It¡¯ll be Spring by then. What about the Khan?¡± ¡°Did you see any Issir responding? They are behind their walls!¡± Maluph growled. ¡°Let them. We¡¯ll go ahead with the plan.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t leave Castalor on our supply lines,¡± Horus argued and Maluph showed him his teeth in a snarl. The Cataphract dropped a hand to the sculpted ivory handle of his dagger. Thought about using it, but only cowards strike without a loud public challenge. So he thought of doing that next. ¡°Castalor will be under siege. We¡¯ll work on a plan,¡± Lord Putra explained. ¡°We were to move ahead anyway Mirpur.¡± ¡°Not like this. We haven¡¯t even touched their force. We don¡¯t even know what they can bring in the field!¡± Horus countered adding with a grimace of frustration. ¡°Or even where their darn armies are!¡± ¡°We¡¯ve seen all their tricks on Eplas,¡± Maluph had dismissed his words very annoyed. ¡°Thrashed them there and we¡¯ll do it again here.¡±
But while Maluph was partially right on the latter ¨Cthe thrashing part, he was very wrong on the former. Granite stone walls notwithstanding.
An irked Horus got out of the headquarters and climbed on top of Yellowstone, the Rin plains stallion turning its head to sniff at his leather gambeson curious, which made the horse twirl on its legs as the Cataphract settled on the colored gems-adorned saddle. ¡°Whoa there buddy,¡± Horus said calmly. The rest of the ride back to the Cataphracts staging area and camp a bit down the road was done in silence. Upon arriving at the tents surrounding the corral Api-Nofre decided to satisfy his curiosity and learn what had Horus¡¯ mood fouled so. ¡°What did they decide?¡± Horus climbed down from his horse and allowed Gero to take the reins. The assistant led it inside the corral with the others. The opening of his large tent closed but pulled aside a tad to allow the bronze haired Cofol female Mirah to step outside. ¡°Tibia-Han shall test the walls this afternoon,¡± Horus replied and smiled at Mirah¡¯s miffed stare. Ah, the women are unhappy. ¡°What does he hope to accomplish in such a short time?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know but Dumar was sent to the fork on the road. So stuff moved about.¡± Api-Nofre nodded. He gave the reins to Neku and walked near the thoughtful Horus. ¡°Mirah. Put something on its cold still,¡± Horus greeted the comely slave that lithely bowed to both of them in her waistcloth and sheer silk bust. Mirah¡¯s clear tanned skin was turning red touched by the breeze coming from the Scalding Sea. Started warm but cooled rapidly when on land. ¡°Shall we stand outside and discuss it some more if she doesn¡¯t mind?¡± Api jested and Horus responded with a gruff snort before following the slave girl inside the tent.
¡°Dumar can¡¯t possibly defend an open area,¡± Api-Nofre noted whilst Horus handed the bowl Mirah had brought to clean his face to a silent Kera-Raad. The inside of the tent hastily setup and the cleared ground its floor. The women had swept the worst of the dirt away. ¡°Another unit might move to reinforce him,¡± Horus elucidated and found a chair to sit on, several containers still packed next to a wall. ¡°Which are the original orders.¡± ¡°Orders given months back, over lands painted upon a map,¡± Horus replied and removed his gloves to caress Mirah¡¯s head with a hand. The slave had knelt before Horus¡¯ legs to deal with his muddy boots. ¡°Where is the ¡®bountiful¡¯ game? You¡¯ve seen the ¡®old¡¯ walls.¡± ¡°Animals get spooked by big parties.¡± Api noted. ¡°And all walls crack.¡± ¡°Yeah, they are not as sure about that now.¡± ¡°The city is all but surrounded.¡± ¡°The city has two ports allegedly. Facing south,¡± Horus countered. ¡°So I don¡¯t know how all this is going to work in our favor.¡± ¡°We should have brought the navy you think my lord?¡± Kera-Raad asked still holding the wet towel in his hands. Jarena the half-breed slave girl ¨Cof Cofol and Lorian origins- came and took the towel from the Cataphract. ¡°The navy is scared to enter the Scalding Sea,¡± Horus replied. ¡°No one remembers where the Imperial waters start and you¡¯ve seen how spooked they were crossing the Lazuli Peninsula.¡± ¡°The volcano clouds unnerved them.¡± ¡°Their superstitions did that and the stories Atpa spreads,¡± Horus hissed and placed both his feet inside a larger vessel with warm water. ¡°Sartak wouldn¡¯t have lied and it¡¯s doubtful he would have backed Atpa over Nout,¡± Api reminded him and Horus pushed back on the chair whilst Mirah worked to massage and clean his feet. ¡°Lord Putra is sleeping with an eye open,¡± Horus replied. ¡°Sartak made a mess there or lost his marbles and gotten the Prince Heir killed. How it happened we don¡¯t know but Sartak should have been there to help out. It¡¯s a mess. Now Atpa claims he solved it and adds some extra lore with touches of mystery to make the feat appear bigger that it is or to hide his blatant tardiness and failure to provide meaningful assistance.¡± ¡°There was an Imperial seal on the scroll my lord. Several people have seen it,¡± Kera-Raad croaked and Horus exhaled. Gossip run rampant with so many people sardined inside the transports. Burzin¡¯s usually hermetically sealed palace walls filled with cracks and leaking. ¡°The Sopat have probably a whole case of them old seals stashed in their warehouses, under piles of gold coins, amidst ancient weapons, dragon bones and Troll¡¯s dried nuts.¡± Mirah giggled at that, the latter rumored to be a fabled aphrodisiac upon consumption or turned into an invigorating potion allegedly.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°Prince Nout would never have lost against freed slaves and their masters,¡± Api-Nofre insisted and Horus had enough of it. He stood up, a new pair of boots on his feet. The Gold Leopard¡¯s stratagems sometimes were too ambitious. His wins coming with a certain amount of personal risk. Which was commendable but also frequently fatal. ¡°I won¡¯t debate tales from a continent away whilst on campaign,¡± he told his friends and subordinates. ¡°This is not the time for gossip. Get your affairs sorted out. This plan shall get people killed.¡± He walked towards the sleeping quarters without another word. Jarena made to follow after him but Mirah stopped her with a gesture.
Marleen was wrapped in Mirah¡¯s woolen cloak more out of modesty than cold since she also had the slave girl¡¯s long winter robes on underneath. Still no shoes. One of her small feet was bandaged. The Issir woman was staring at the wall of the tent sitting at the edge of his bed. The floor had a carpet on at least but most of his stuff were still inside the containers. ¡°It¡¯s thick double canvas with a layer of worked leather between the two fabrics. Keeps the rain out,¡± he explained and found a stool to sit on. It was wobbly on the uneven surface, its small legs pushing the carpet into the soft ground underneath. ¡°Better accommodations shall be constructed soon,¡± Horus added a little embarrassed. ¡°My home is in Castalor,¡± Marleen said, watching for a moment as he was trying to balance his large frame on the small stool. He did, for Horus could ride all saddles however uncomfortable. ¡°I could walk there. Could I ask for a pair of shoes?¡± Mirah had left her without on purpose. Or spite. Perhaps for the better. So that¡¯s a firm nope. ¡°Hmm. Is all your family behind the walls?¡± Horus asked evenly. ¡°Aye, they are Lord Mirpur.¡± Mirah had started orientation early. ¡°Lord Horus will suffice. People might presume you speak of my father,¡± he corrected her. Horus pursed his mouth then added. ¡°Not all your family surely,¡± he probed mostly because he¡¯d rather not be responsible for placing everyone in danger and less to learn about enemy positions from the noble woman. ¡°Walter¡­¡± Marleen started but then stopped those large eyes opening in alarm in fear she¡¯d slipped up. That¡¯s her brother? Boyfriend? Is that a practice amidst nobility? ¡°Walter is away,¡± Horus continued her thought. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. You didn¡¯t give anything away. Where is he by the way?¡± Marleen made her best imitation of a Horselord lass, eyes squinting tightly. ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t know Lord Horus.¡± Horus sighed deeply at the clumsy lie. ¡°Scaldingport, hmm? No. Colle? Ah, aye that¡¯s it,¡± he decided gauging her facial expressions. Marleen started breathing ruggedly in panic. ¡°It¡¯s alright. Better that he is away.¡± Troubling though. He would have to report this. ¡°So Walter is a¡­¡± ¡°My brother.¡± This was weirdly satisfying. ¡°Of course. You¡¯re unwed.¡± Horus smiled and had to stop himself. Marleen blinked her face and neck turning a rich dark-mauve. She was actually blushing fiercely which darkened her skin even more. Oh that¡¯s fascinating, an engrossed Horus thought stooping forward on the stool unwittingly. ¡°I¡¯m actually betrothed since my twelfth sir,¡± Marleen reacted lively. She is way older than twelve. That much was obvious. Horus guessed around twenty¡­ something? It was difficult to tell. At times she looked as old as himself ¨CHorus was twenty five, the youngest of Mirpur¡¯s sons- others not. It was therefore confusing. Also quite alarming. ¡°You weren¡¯t traveling to your wedding perchance?¡± He asked guardedly thinking of the completely ruined Deadmen¡¯s Watch. Could these idiots have slain a nobleman amidst the general carnage? Probably. Most likely they had killed several of them. Very few men were spared was the bottom line. Marleen shook her head negatively, those white moist curls coming loose and falling on her slender shoulders. Horus felt lightheaded briefly. ¡°It was¡­ postponed,¡± she explained, the matter deeply embarrassing for her understandably. Horus wanted to stop her, but couldn¡¯t. ¡°The Duke¡­ my fianc¨¦ is Sir Rik De Weer of Scaldingport, the Grand Duke¡¯s son?¡± I don¡¯t care. ¡°Do go ahead,¡± Horus grunted not really wanting to hear about a coarse former pirate playing at nobility. ¡°He wanted him to partake in a tourney but alas Sir Rik was injured.¡± ¡°The man perished?¡± Horus asked half-hopefully before he could stop himself. ¡°Uher saved him. But the wedding was pushed back,¡± Marleen explained puffing out, too warm under the blanket-like cloak. Wow, she¡¯s lying again. Why? ¡°When was this?¡± She didn¡¯t want to answer, but eventually Marleen spilled the beans. ¡°Six years,¡± the Issir maiden blurted out breathlessly. A De Weer, six years ago. Back in 188. Horus blinked and stared at the crumbled carpet between them. And a bit at the painted white nails of her small chocolate toes until she covered them up. Mirah has more work to do apparently. ¡°Is he feeling better now?¡± He casually asked. ¡°I assume he is,¡± she replied. Horus pressed his mouth tightly and got up. ¡°Gods have spared you from this fool,¡± he grunted much to her livid objection. The latter would have earned her a good thrashing in Rin An-Pur. ¡°It was beyond his control Lord Horus!¡± Marleen argued with a brazen glare. ¡°Sir Rik has given me his word!¡± That¡¯s a lot of time lass, Horus thought. He could understand she might not want to accept it but it was obvious to him her fianc¨¦ or his father were looking for better options. It probably had nothing to do with her. Lords of all realms were like that. The Lords daughters weren¡¯t spared the indignity. Horus had married Muda Zeket¡¯s teenage daughter. Barely talked to her once. If a better option came, then he would marry again. Having to pick a single wife made things more difficult for the Lords of Jelin. Or Scaldingport was capricious like that. ¡°The camp might move depending on how the siege goes,¡± he told her and rubbed his trimmed goatee numbly. ¡°Mirah will have command of that so you shouldn¡¯t worry. See to rest and heal up those wounds.¡± He walked towards the divider but her voice stopped him. ¡°Is your wife jealous of her?¡± Marleen probed evenly. ¡°She¡¯s very pretty. Your slave.¡± Horus paused at the unexpected question. Anaat Zeket would be fourteen years old now. Would she care? He¡¯d no idea. She was still a child in his eyes. He looked at the Issir woman thoughtfully for a moment and smiled. Now, this is a woman befitting a Horselord, he thought. What you buy or what yer given, Lord Mirpur had told them. Is never truly yours. But if you earn it, you shall own it forever. Ah. ¡°If I had to bestow such lofty soubriquet on someone that would be you Marleen,¡± Horus replied honestly. ¡°Or shamefully pretend I¡¯m blind. Since I can¡¯t do that I¡¯d have ditched the princess and rushed back here.¡± Marleen blinked those large eyes a little confused at first and when his words finally registered a small gasp of shock escaped her plump crimson lips. -
Lord High Regent Anker Est Ravn learned of the Khan¡¯s landings near Colle three days later and ordered Sir Luke AredRavn (a cadet branch of the family from Farvor) to retreat from the war-ravaged city. Sir Luke was commanding half of the 3rd Foot and obeyed moving towards the Three Roads, the massive junction on the flats between Boar Mountain and North Greenforest. Sir Luke was to wait there for the hard marching Sir Mark Est Ravn¡¯s 2nd Foot to reach him. The Duke of Midlanor¡¯s firstborn had just crossed Reinut¡¯s Bridge over Ugrid River near Issir¡¯s Eagle and was traveling west following Granlake¡¯s shores. He then messaged his second son Sir Thor Est Ravn and the hard-pressed dealing with reports of enemy warships in the Shallow Sea along with the Navy crews revolt Duke Rinus Van De Aesst about the ¡®troubling¡¯ developments. Sir Thor was recuperating in Caspo O¡¯ Bor with his friend (Duke Rinus son) Sir Ton Van De Aesst. Both knights had returned from their failed attempt to retake Altarin on Eplas. The whole campaign ending with all their gains returned to the Khan and a considerable loss of men. Lord Anker ordered his son to travel to Sessi Fort, the religious town on the vast Kaltha Plains at the edges of Hardwood Forest, where the rest of the rebuilding 3rd Foot was gathering. The two knights traveled together to take control of the unit with orders to march it towards Issir¡¯s Eagle. Duke Rinus protested wanting the men kept near Caspo O¡¯ Bor but Lord Anker¡¯s 2nd missive left him no room for further discussion. ¡®Get your blasted affairs in order Rinus,¡¯ Lord Anker counseled. ¡®Uher is watching.¡¯ High Magister Kelholt who had been preparing for a ¡®purging¡¯ of the Van Calcar¡¯s lands since reports of ¡®unsavory¡¯ activities had reached him through his priests was next informed of the developments and asked to assist the army. The Golden Spears turned around and started marching as well from the distant Badum which relieved Duke Charles from having to deal with them. The Riverdor noble stalled when he was asked in turn to assist. It is said Lord Anker dispatched at least twenty birds throughout the Kingdom that first day alone. Charles cited eloquently in a letter that the ¡®First Foot is in no condition to march at this time your grace¡¯ which promptly lost him all the good-will he¡¯d painstakingly garnered with Lord Anker in a day. One of the missives reportedly reached distant Pastelor and Lady Siske ¡®The Daring¡¯ was the first to read it atop gloomy weather-beaten ¡®Gryphon Nest'' tower. Sir Evert Pek¡¯s wife (the knight was with the presumed lost Lord Robert Van Durren on Eplas with the remnants of the First Foot and she hadn¡¯t heard from him in years) alarmed at the report of Burzin¡¯s Hordes landing on Jelin, she rushed to her father¡¯s locked armoire. Timeworn Sir Reinir Tellman who had just returned from talking with Zofia of Krakenhall¡¯s emissaries at Roadfort witnessed the fierce noblewoman wearing various pieces of armour, from different parts stitched together and his polished array of old weapons spilled on the floor in shock. Hearing about it reluctantly (Sir Reinir was unwilling to help Anker against Reinut¡¯s blood) and the High Regent¡¯s call to arms against the alien foe, the legendary retired knight (Sir Reinir was over seventy at the time) unwrapped his covered longsword and went to look for a weapon harness to put it on. The weapon had been given to him by the Duchess¡¯ people. King Lucius had left it with orders for it to be returned after the knight¡¯s son had been killed during the Hundred Days campaign and years later it had. When he returned wearing only his Griffin¡¯s helm (the armour needed fixing to fit him after so many years) Lady Siske asked him what was the meaning of this. To which a sullen Sir Reinir had replied soberly. ¡®I can¡¯t have my only daughter running after Lord Anker¡¯s armies whilst I stand at the cold docks and gaze at the waves. Not by herself. Not after yer brother¡¯s fate. Since you are too stubborn to be convinced and I¡¯m too old to lose time in the attempt, I¡¯ll come along after I have Howard straighten this darn armour. I swear some rascal had it shrunk or something!¡¯ Mysterious shrinking armours and daring war maidens aside, the Iron Griffin of Pastelor did ride out on his tall warhorse (not famed Tophorn since the destrier that had carried the knight to more than twenty trophies and several wars had given up the ghost some twenty years ago, but another horse probably of equally good stock) that winter of 194 NC. Upon seeing the knight¡¯s banner leaving his manor almost six hundred enthusiastic locals, from men-at-arms to squires, old veterans of the Foots or the King¡¯s marines, rangers, fighters, Krakenhall refugees and even a unknown warband of roaming Northmen ¡®casing the lands for no particular reason¡¯ who promptly decided to come along to ¡®fight the Khan¡¯s rich cunts in the lands of never winter.¡¯
-
Lord Putra¡¯s engineers under Tibia-Han started bombarding the west gates of Castalor on the last week of Alter (Secundus) 194 NC under heavy rain and after weeks of delays for proper ammunition to arrive. They had approached to three hundred meters with the trebuchets firing from further back. After an hour few shots had found the range and minimum damage was showing on the old walls. Standing at seven meters the walls weren¡¯t that impressive on this side (they rose to ten meters on the northern walls) but were over five meters thick at spots and the towers built next to the gates answered destroying three catapults. Tibia spread his machines out to make it difficult for the fixed towers to get to his men with the Khan¡¯s engineers arching around the gates fortifications for half a kilometer, the southernmost grouping of four catapults pushed at the edges of Hunter¡¯s Trap Forest, no more than a hundred meters from the shores. This new arrangement caused problems with several shots skirting the walls and falling amidst the Sough Harbor¡¯s buildings. During the night a local captain of a large fishing boat (a Ketch) somehow managed to convince Vice Admiral Huug Faber who was visiting the docks to inspect the damages, to allow him to outfit his ship with one of the spare catapults (a lot of siege weapons were getting out of the warehouses still and were left haphazardly in front of buildings) and try to attack the enemy from the water. Faber, a thoroughly unimaginative bureaucrat that later wrote a lengthy autobiography milking his brief war-participation for all it was worth, found the idea ¡®darn right brilliant¡¯. The captain with a crew of eight loaded the bulky catapult on his ship (sawing off one of the two masts to make room) and slowly sailed out of the port in the middle of the night. He looped around the west breakwater, neared the shores and waited for the morning. When Tibia-Han¡¯s cold-suffering engineers¡¯ lit fires to warm themselves up after the rain stopped just before dawn, the captain started lobbing shots from his ship that in the meantime he¡¯d anchored almost ashore. According to witnesses ¨Cthe events unfolded very near the walls- he managed to fire at least twelve shots afore an engineer realized something was amiss with rocks falling on them from unlikely angles. Two catapults were damaged and seven engineers were injured or killed afore a detachment of medium Cavalry charged out of the undergrowth into the rocky beach. The captain tried to turn the ship around but it was impossible to escape in time. The stunned riders jumped from their mounts and managed to climb onto the fishing boat after a brief struggle. They killed the captain, his crew and sunk the boat afore returning to their camp. A scaled model of the Ketch, the installed catapult and the unnamed captain with his crew has been cast in bronze. It can been visited today in front of the Admiralty building in Castalor¡¯s south port. On the last day of the month Alter (Secundus) and of winter, the Castalor kids place the wooden single mast toy boats in the waters of the port and watch them fight bravely with the waves with cheers until nightfall. Tibia-Han resumed bombarding after this incident was resolved presumably, but not three hours later a flotilla of initially four brigs and three schooners, popped out of the mist coming from Castalor¡¯s harbor. Faber was going to milk this idea raw also. This larger threat resumed firing at the Khan¡¯s engineers destroying another two catapults. When the peeved Cavalry returned to the beach, bringing foot archers with them to get rid of the annoying naval units they realized that at least ten larger boats had parked on the rocky beach this time. The officer ordered every man with him to charge on foot and seize the moored ships or burn them. About ten meters from the first one ¨Ca brig- the stooped grim-faced Issirs rose on the decks equipped with crossbows and released a devastating volley of steel-tipped bolts on the charging Horselords. Thirty out of forty men were cut down in the blink of an eye and the rest ran for their lives back up the beach and dived inside the woods. Lord Putra was informed of the trouble the naval units were causing Tibia-Han but had no solution to this fresh predicament, so he ordered the engineers to just distance themselves from the shores and try attacking from the north side. Seeing that instead of progress they were facing setbacks, Lord Maluph urged Lord Putra to get the ¡®herd moving¡¯ and deal with Castalor on his own time. The decision taken was to leave the infantry (the Jang-Lu) behind alongside the engineers at their camp to besiege the city. Larmir who was initially to go after Dumar was instead held back and the war Chariots with half the medium cavalry were to assist the scouts with taking over the fork until news of the Khan reached them. To bolster the chariots (they expected to face good terrain, but no one had real first-hand knowledge of the area other the single scout report they had received) it was decided Horus Mirpur (the Master of Horses 3rd son) and his Cataphracts would follow after the chariots to act as ¡®mounted infantry or a hammer¡­ anvil. Just do what you think is best Lord Horus,¡¯ a hard-pressured for results Putra had ordered. The early warning sign from the scrap at the beaches of Castalor forgotten which was to prove extremely costly for Putra¡¯s mission. No one thought to ask what was Castalor famed for? Or what was the second thing the port city exported throughout Jelin despite being one of the most difficult to build personal weapons ever produced? The answer rather pedestrian for Issirs and Lorians but cryptic to the Khan¡¯s generals. The ¡®winch¡¯ as it was called was a patented heavy crossbow made out of hardwood and metal that utilized an ancient Issir design, a winch or crank, to easily redraw the bowstring into the locked position. The mechanism needed precise tools to be produced. The result was that the user didn¡¯t have to set it on the ground or use a hook to do it as was the matter with Eplas¡¯ metal crossbow. This allowed it to be larger in size than its counterparts but still serviceable with the use of a stand. It also had a greater range at about three hundred meters to the Cataphracts less than a hundred (effective) and greater punching power. Castalor at the time of Burzin¡¯s invasion could field well over five thousand ''trained'' crossbowmen with some units missing or serving on loan around the realm (most notably with Sir Gust¡¯s Crows on Eplas). That left about five thousand of them available which Lord Basten Van Oord had initially split, with half of them traveling towards Colle with Sir Walter but then had been ordered to turn back, the rest gathered at Hunter¡¯s Cot to join with Scaldingport¡¯s two thousand Old Spears, 500 hundred marines and a thousand riders (500 men-at-arms, 500 hundred rangers) that were marching towards the fork under the Old Crow¡¯s own banner. Lord Ruud De Weer, who famously never really traveled without his armour on, faced none of Sir Reinir¡¯s problems. ¡®Live long enough,¡¯ the ancient Duke commented in great spirits ¨Ceasily the oldest general of the war with Burzin being in his early seventies- ¡®and eventually you¡¯ll fuck all there is to fuck, you¡¯ll taste every god darn flavor, hear of dragons roaming the skies and fight slanted-eyed cunts without stepping a foot out of Jelin!¡¯ - Lord Sirio Veturius The Fall of Heroes Chapter XIX (The Cofol/Horselord generals) Burzin¡¯s Horde- Year one Horus Mirpur ¡®Ermin Suru¡¯* *(Archaic Cofol, Imperial: Gale of the Steppe) Battle of Even Fork, a wrong assessment, the siege of Castalor and the Clash at Shallow Straits. Prelude to ¡®Oras Wheels¡¯ (Khanate name, Battle of Three-Roads) Circa winter-summer of 194 NC
432. Setback at Even Fork
Horus Mirpur ¡®Gale of the Steppe¡¯ Setback at Even Fork
- Scrap at Hunter¡¯s Cot road. Part of the Battle of ¡®Even Fork¡¯ fought some twenty kilometers away on the same day. The fork¡¯s legs were about ten to fifteen kilometers from Castalor, Boar¡¯s Bridge and Hunter¡¯s Cot and while not accurate the locals name had stuck. 29th of Alter 194 NC ¡°Whoa!¡± Horus shouted, raising his left arm to stop their column. The ground opening up suddenly, the flat ground extending on both sides of the road that split ahead of them cutting through the forest. One route heading directly east, the other continuing north. The grass rich before the damp trees, the foliage holding its color having survived the winter. ¡°Maluph wants the road cleared for his chariots to pass,¡± Kera-Raad reported riding next to him, Togo nervously bumping on the warhorse to push it away. ¡°Easy now,¡± Horus murmured patting the rich white mane of the young stallion. ¡°We¡¯ll stop here and wait for the wagons to approach.¡± ¡°He insists my lord,¡± Kera informed him. By ancestors spirits! ¡°Api get the men moving towards the fork of the road, the area is cleared there. Find a good spot to rest the horses,¡± Horus ordered and turned Togo around to lead him by the side of the paved road. ¡°My lord,¡± Kera insisted. ¡°Damn it Kera, I can¡¯t lead with the chariots afore talking with Dumar!¡± Horus snapped and removed his helm to wipe the mask with a cloth. ¡°Maluph believes he has the lead my lord,¡± Kera replied evenly and Horus hissed in frustration. ¡°Not from the back of the column he doesn¡¯t,¡± he grunted.
Maluph¡¯s chariot came to stop next to their horses, the ground shaking from the many vehicles following after him, the encased in metal wheels rattling on the paved road. The Chariots needed way more space to park so they headed further up the opening after discovering the fork taken over by Horus¡¯ Cataphracts and their animals. There isn¡¯t enough grass around to feed so many horses, Horus thought worried. Despite the lush fertile ground, the exposed area wasn¡¯t as big. Thick woods dominated the terrain and while a horse could graze inside a forest, it would be irresponsible to enter them. Unless you¡¯re fixing to prepare an ambush, but no enemy will rush here at this point. Horus had twenty wagons following after them. Half with supplies for the men but no animal fodder, the rest led by a couple of engineers laden mostly with tools, oil and spare ammunition or weapons. ¡°This is unacceptable!¡± Maluph snapped jumping from his Chariot and walking towards them. Horus had made three large groupings of the animals, so it would be easier for their assistants to work on them. The Cataphracts had gathered at the center. ¡°I have been showered with mud and shit for hours!¡± ¡°It¡¯s a paved road Maluph, nothing you can¡¯t handle,¡± Horus retorted. ¡°Chariots always follow a column.¡± ¡°Eh,¡± Maluph griped and used a large towel one of his charioteers brought him to clean his armour. He wasn¡¯t wearing his helm. No one was. It made breathing difficult. ¡°We should rest and continue towards the bridge.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll hear Dumar first,¡± Horus reminded him. ¡°Why would I¡­ there,¡± Maluph blinked but then sighed. ¡°That¡¯s Perku¡¯s Lancers. Dark spirits! Someone needs to clear out these blasted woods!¡± Perku waved at them and then led his riders further away looking for a good spot to rest his horses. The Fork is getting crowded. ¡°Neku, saddle Midnight. Togo is in a bad mood again.¡± Horus ordered his servant walking away from the Chariot officer that kept staring at the northern road for the scouts to appear. ¡°Where is Gero?¡± He asked. ¡°Rode to the wagons for some food my lord,¡± Neku replied. The Cofol had worked at Lord Mirpur¡¯s stables for two decades and was now in his thirties. ¡°How far back is Ressif?¡± The engineer was with the supply train. ¡°A couple of kilometers.¡± ¡°We need to build a camp here,¡± Horus murmured thoughtfully. ¡°Look for game to hunt. Food will be a problem soon.¡± ¡°Yes my lord,¡± Neku replied pensively and Horus waved him away. Dumar¡¯s scouts were approaching. The scout leader jumped from the saddle nimbly and immediately went to report to the eager Maluph. Horus returned near them walking briskly. ¡°The bridge? Did you reach it?¡± He asked anxiously. ¡°Any sign of the Khan?¡± Dumar was from Shao Na-Lan like Muvelo, the Khan¡¯s chief scout. A desert Horselord with sharp black eyes, he still wore a dark turban over his head. Dumar shook said head negatively. ¡°No sign of them Lord Horus. But we reached the bridge. They are soldiers guarding it.¡± ¡°Tell him how many you saw!¡± Maluph snapped and Perku who had approached as well furrowed his brows at the Que Ki-La noble scion¡¯s tone. ¡°A score. Infantry mostly,¡± Dumar replied stiffly. ¡°How big is the bridge?¡± Horus asked trying to determine whether this was a sign of the Issirs reacting to them or just soldiers guarding against the rebel forces. According to their spies Castalor had backed Radin¡¯s wife for the throne. It is highly unlikely Elsanne backs her husband though seeing as she has fought him once already, Horus decided. ¡°Two Chariots can cross it easily, maybe a third. Big stone bridge with an arch in the middle,¡± Dumar replied. ¡°The river is pregnant but no more than two hundred meters from bank to bank.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you take it?¡± Maluph asked accusingly. ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s on the other side Lord Sol,¡± Dumar retorted. ¡°And I had my orders.¡± ¡°I can be across in two minutes,¡± Maluph declared angrily. ¡°I¡¯ll just sweep those soldiers aside.¡± ¡°They¡¯ll hear you approach from miles away,¡± Horus said reproachfully. ¡°And piss down their pants,¡± Maluph agreed with a sneer. Horus grimaced and eyed the scout leader. ¡°I need men to scout the east path Dumar.¡± ¡°Nabil could do it,¡± Dumar replied and turned to bark an order to his men that were resting their horses while sipping at their water. ¡°Nabil! Take Umar and Madaki, check the east path again.¡± ¡°How far?¡± Nabil queried spitting a mouthful of water on an open palm, he then used to clean his weathered face. ¡°Hunter¡¯s Cot?¡± ¡°Is it on the road?¡± Horus asked him interested. ¡°Sort of. There¡¯s a turn that cuts into the woods,¡± Nabil replied hoarsely. ¡°Heading for the mountain. Locals might spot us and Rusted is twenty kilometers further east from there.¡± ¡°How do you know the turn leads to Hunter¡¯s Cot?¡± Horus asked. ¡°There¡¯s a bench and a pavilion by the main road, a sign explaining it.¡± ¡°What does the sign say?¡± ¡°Travelers rest hither. Fools searching for trouble just follow the path,¡± Nabil quoted what was written on it. Horus frowned and the scout smirked. ¡°It¡¯s a hunter¡¯s joke sir.¡± ¡°We might have to take the village,¡± Horus mused aloud. ¡°Might,¡± Nabil agreed. ¡°Right,¡± Maluph decided having heard enough. ¡°You do that. Dumar you lead the way. We are going for that bridge.¡± ¡°Better to wait for dusk,¡± Horus argued. ¡°Let me check on the east road again.¡± ¡°Lord Horus,¡± Maluph snapped. ¡°There are no Issirs coming! We¡¯re here for weeks and no one came to challenge us. Do you hear hooves approaching other than ours?¡± ¡°Sound doesn¡¯t carry with so many trees all about us!¡± Horus countered not liking his tone. A frustrated Maluph made a dismissive gesture. ¡°Bah, just stay here and hunt for deer Horus! I¡¯m securing that bridge and then I¡¯ll send a rider to the Khan!¡± ¡°We¡¯re not supposed to cross Boar Horn River Maluph!¡± Maluph clenched his jaw. ¡°Don¡¯t you see what¡¯s going on here? This is a fucking sideshow! The Khan won¡¯t come south at all damn it! Are you that thick?¡± Horus moved against him with Perku jumping between them alarmed to prevent the start of a scuffle that could turn bloody. ¡°My lords,¡± he pleaded. ¡°We¡¯ll fight amongst ourselves?¡± ¡°Horus doesn¡¯t want to fight anyone,¡± Maluph spat with a nasty grimace. ¡°He has an Issir girl sleeping in his tent!¡± The Cataphract pursed his mouth and glared at the faces of those present. ¡°Who amongst you hasn¡¯t taken a Jelin slave already? I wager those of you that haven¡¯t are feeling cheated!¡± ¡°Word is the girl is a noblewoman,¡± Maluph hissed. ¡°Maybe you should ride to the bridge,¡± Horus retorted grinding his teeth. ¡°It¡¯ll stop you from gossiping with the women Lord Maluph!¡± Maluph glared his way thinking of violence but most men present were close to Horus so he decided to leave it be. With a last look of frustration the Chariot leader returned to his men. Half an hour later the scouts and most of the chariots had departed. Nine remained behind as they had been damaged and the arriving Ressif was immediately tackled with requests for repairs.
¡°Lord Horus,¡± Ressif greeted him, the engineer was overseeing the work done on a cracked wheel by a couple of slaves. The Charioteers watching from the sides miffed. ¡°I grew suspicious seeing the road cleared of rocks. Yet the answer was obvious all along. These fools had broken all of them!¡± ¡°They tossed debris by the sides Ressif,¡± a charioteer retorted. ¡°You expected them to carry the leftover material back? They were paid for the whole load son.¡± The engineer grunted. ¡°Why not stay on the darn road anyway?¡± ¡°Lord Horus¡¯ men had blocked the path is why,¡± the man protested and then nodded seeing Horus eyeing him. ¡°Not trying to offend my lord. Was merely stating a fact for our carpenter.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll carpenter your arse. How about it?¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough Ressif.¡± Horus warned him. ¡°I told your man a sack per tent. We¡¯ll be out of supplies in two days at this rate,¡± Ressif said gruffly turning to him. ¡°I can do no favors lord Mirpur. I was given the task unwillingly.¡± A charioteer snorted. ¡°Not looking for food Ressif,¡± Horus replied with a scowl. ¡°I was thinking you might need to start cutting down trees. We need a proper camp here.¡± ¡°With forty slaves?¡± ¡°They look like muscled lads.¡± ¡°Stripped Tibia clean from beefy boys,¡± Ressif replied with a smug grin. ¡°Hah,¡± a young charioteer chuckled. ¡°You have them warming your bed Ressif?¡± ¡°Nah, but I can loan them out Kim-Fur. I can see yer interested,¡± Ressif deadpanned much to the charioteer¡¯s ire. Horus shook his head and then turned around as he heard a large horse approaching. It was Kera-Raad. The Cataphract had his mask on. ¡°Nabil?¡± Horus asked with a frown, caressing the nervous horse¡¯s snout to calm it down. ¡°Easy boy. Take a breather now,¡± he murmured soothingly. ¡°He¡¯s back,¡± Kera-Raad replied and his firm tone made even Ressif to turn and stare his way. Ah. The wind changed already. ¡°Enemies on the road?¡± Horus asked maintaining his composure and signed for Neku to bring the saddled Midnight close. ¡°Aye my lord. Near Hunter¡¯s Cot,¡± Kera-Raad replied. ¡°Shit,¡± one of the charioteers left behind said and got up as well. Horus climbed on the saddle and took the helm from Neku who immediately returned to his mare. Horus used both hands to place the helm over his head after covering the top with a scarf. He then lowered the visor, the ¡®mirthful mask¡¯ covering his face. ¡°Horses?¡± The gem-adorned silver mask asked Kera-Raad in a sober muffled voice and the almost identical sculpted face ¨Cbut for the fancy decorations- answered back in the same tone. ¡°Big host my lord.¡± So a bit of everything, a tensed Horus thought and clicked his tongue to get Midnight going towards the returned scouts resting near his Cataphracts.
¡°Rangers were there when we arrived,¡± Nabil explained. ¡°How close to the village?¡± Horus asked. ¡°Never reached it. They were occupying the turn. We came as close to a hundred meters on foot but had to turn back as there are local hunters roaming the woods.¡± ¡°The scouts were coming this way?¡± ¡°They were waiting, but for a couple that headed for Hunter¡¯s Cot,¡± Madaki replied. ¡°Waiting for what?¡± Horus probed hoarsely. ¡°We stayed for half an hour. Cavalry came next from the direction of Rusted. Two large groups, I reckon forty riders. Shields and good armour.¡± Nabil took over from the other scout. ¡°Spotted any banners?¡± Api-Nofre asked. ¡°Grey heater shields with a black bird on them,¡± Madaki replied and Nabil nodded. There¡¯s Scaldingport Maluph, Horus thought. -
Mitch De Jaeger of fort Tongue had sent two groups of rangers ahead of the main army. He was Lode De Jagger¡¯s distant cousin (Lode was with Sir Gust on Eplas) though the two Issir families had acerbic relations for years, with Jagger¡¯s grandfather getting exiled to Tail Peninsula and the border with Castalor taking Mitch¡¯s grandmother with him. To distance themselves from the Jaggers of Tail, Mitch¡¯s family had changed their last name. Old family feuds aside, Mitch was commanding Lord Ruud¡¯s rangers. Sir Stefan De Braal (Scaldingport¡¯s old Castellan) had given command of the Old Spears to their Captain Giel Kugel ¨Ca fifty year old veteran of the King¡¯s Foots, with overall command of the army handed to the prominent Ard De Moss of Rusted -Captain Gel serving with Sir Gust was his son. Ard had campaigned for a minor title from Lord Ruud for years given the town¡¯s growth and the Old Crow had promised him ¡®half-a-county after I¡¯m over eighty winters¡¯ thinking he wouldn¡¯t ever reach that age. When Ruud did, Ard had started referring to himself as ¡®Viscount De Moss¡¯ of Rusted. A thoroughly displeased from been ¡®shoved into a corner¡¯ Ruud who was notoriously stingy in giving out titles to non-family or family members ¡®too soon¡¯ had told De Moss that ¡®a screw up here might cost him more than half-a-county.¡¯ The large force of Castalor¡¯s crossbowmen were under Desmond Boss ¨CCastalor¡¯s rich family owned half of Struder & Boss workshops that produced crossbows and various tools- who had marched to Hunter¡¯s Cot to get supplies of mainly salted pork ¡®in bulk¡¯ for the armies. They were to meet with Lord Ruud at Traveler¡¯s Rest afterwards. The latter a small pavilion at the turn towards the village.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Horus Mirpur¡¯s scouts spotted the rangers first and after a brief debate on how to proceed ¨CMaluph Erul-Sol had moved with his chariots towards the bridge at Boar¡¯s Horn- Horus opted to make a probing attack to catch them unawares. Perku¡¯s Lancers promptly smashed on the rangers and men-at-arms loitering near the turn and they forced them to retreat with some casualties. The Lancers attempted to give chase but Kugel¡¯s Old Spears blocked their path and the attempt to brush them aside proved a costly failure. Perku retreated towards the Fork and reported to Horus that Scaldingport had brought both Cavalry and heavy infantry, the initial assessment giving their number around a thousand five hundred which was very conservative. While Horus spent the rest of the morning trying to prepare for a second attack while building a more fortified camp to house their animals and supplies, fifteen kilometers away Maluph¡¯s grand assault on the bridge was stopped dead in its tracks when thousands of bolts devastated his leading chariots killing men and horses in droves. Maluph retreated in panic losing forty of his war-machines, over a hundred men and ninety horses. He reached the Fork near the afternoon followed by some of Dumar¡¯s rangers ¨Cthe majority had remained near the bridge to report on the enemy¡¯s advance. The presence of an enemy force between them and the Khan was shocking to the Khanate leaders. Horus reported the matter to Lord Putra, the latter was at Castalor trying to get a proper siege going with little success and then met with a distraught at his failure Maluph to decide on their next action. Both the roads leading away from the Fork appeared to be blocked by Issirs.
Perku¡¯s drawing of the area was rudimentary at best. Horus pressed a finger on his forehead to help refocus his tired eyes while Perku explained what he had faced once more. ¡°They blocked the road and both its sides to the woods,¡± Perku said. ¡°That¡¯s eight meters for the road and at least twenty for the south side and about forty for the north. Shields and spears every meter, tight as bricks, five rows deep.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a lot of infantry to break with Cavalry waiting at the rear,¡± Horus murmured. ¡°Better than to face those crossbows again,¡± Maluph said hoarsely. ¡°Are you sure about the numbers?¡± ¡°A wall of bolts,¡± Maluph replied. ¡°Some fired beyond the bridge. A fish-man with claws for hands as banners.¡± The sea-monster Phorcys. Castalor. ¡°That¡¯s impossible,¡± Api-Nofre grunted. ¡°How soon between volleys?¡± Horus asked. ¡°Eh, a minute? Maybe less. We turned around but they nailed us at least two more times afore we could distance ourselves sufficiently,¡± Maluph said with a glare at those disbelieving him. ¡°There is such a crossbow,¡± Ressif intervened. ¡°We know it for many years. Some adventurers carry it. Call themselves snipers, marksmen or such baloney. Very expensive. Very heavy. Unwieldy to use on a horse. I didn¡¯t know armies used it in such numbers. Most generals opt to go for the Scorpio for it can be used in sieges also.¡± Hmm. ¡°Right. So Castalor is eccentric like that or very rich. What¡¯s the other alternative?¡± Horus asked. ¡°They make them on the cheap?¡± Kera-Raad suggested with a shrug, then added suddenly full of ideas. ¡°Mayhap they¡¯re progressive?¡± Horus thought of Marleen wrapped in the woolen cloak. Nah, he decided and rejected the progressive part. The alternative discouraging. Brilliantly. ¡°We¡¯ll fortify the northern approach from the bridge,¡± Horus explained looking at the map held over a table. Half their camp was still under construction. ¡°If the crossbow infantry march here we¡¯ll see to catch them in the open. Now, there¡¯s an army moving our way for sure and I want to push it back else we¡¯ll have to retreat towards Castalor.¡± A setback. ¡°We can¡¯t abandon the Fork, they could march against the Khan¡¯s rear,¡± Perku noted. ¡°Obviously there is that possibility,¡± Horus agreed. ¡°But they could as easily come against us and then we might find ourselves cornered in the Peninsula. We need to deal with the Crows. At least the crossbows are at the bridge.¡± ¡°With trees on both sides this road is a trap,¡± Perku insisted still rattled from his failed attempt. ¡°How is the ground?¡± Maluph asked. Horus looked at the low-spirited officer. ¡°What about bows? The ground is passable.¡± ¡°We can use shields at the front. They stop arrows more times than not,¡± Maluph replied standing up straighter. ¡°If you rattle the spears or scatter them a bit, I¡¯ll come right behind you,¡± Horus said. ¡°You just have to veer out of our way Maluph. I¡¯ll fire once and then charge at them.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll get hit by cavalry,¡± Perku argued. ¡°Ressif, how much oil do you have?¡± Horus asked turning to the engineer. ¡°Nowhere near enough to throw away. It¡¯s for cooking,¡± Ressif grunted. ¡°But say you make use of it, those trees are soaked from winter. Way I see it, we¡¯ll suffocate from the fumes afore you lit a single spark Lord Horus.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine then, for smoke is what I want,¡± Horus replied sternly. ¡°Not flames.¡± -
Horus Mirpur waited for the night to reposition his men on the road and ordered his engineers under Ressif to create a smoke screen to hide the approach of the Chariots. Archers lobbed flaming arrows on prearranged spots in the trees trying to start fires on piles of broken branches, hay, twigs, sticks and rotten leaves doused with plant oil. The thick white smoke mixed with the natural mist plaguing the coastal forest road every morning and part of Horus¡¯ plan succeeded theoretically. While the Khanate mobile units took positions to attack east following the flat road towards the Traveler¡¯s Pavilion, three kilometers from Hunter¡¯s Cot, the Crows and their allies were also preparing for an attack of their own. A series of bloopers ensued due to poor Intel in quick succession. Viscount De Moss, having received reinforcements during the night from the returning Castalor men of Desmond Boss, decided to strike towards the Fork and split the Khan¡¯s armies in two. Kugel was ordered to march his Old Spears straight ahead in two blocks with the men-at-arms covering his right flank. Mitch De Jaeger¡¯s rangers were to leap ahead of them and scout the opening for enemies, while the Marines under Joris Trut were to follow with Sir Braal and Lord Ruud bringing up the small supply train. Ard De Moss brought his proposal in writing ¨Cusing a velum he¡¯d sealed with wax and his title¡¯s sigil- to Lord Ruud¡¯s tent. The old Duke had rejected sleeping in the pavilion since ¡®it is such an obvious place to attack even for fools¡¯ and wouldn¡¯t ¡®travel up the turd-woods or troll-mountains afore the weather clears.¡¯ Ruud had Braal read him the Viscount¡¯s scrawling¡¯s under an oil lamp, then got up from his cot and stepped outside his tent. He stared at the road west for a long moment, several crows coming to rest at his feet and then returned inside. ¡®My lord Duke,¡¯ the stiff Castellan probed after a couple of minutes of silent contemplation from the standing in his parted at the front robes elder lord. ¡®What about the Viscount¡¯s proposal?¡¯ ¡®I¡¯m feeling an auspicious bowel movement,¡¯ Ruud had replied all serious. ¡®Caused by watching my birds shit all over themselves outside and our provincial road cuisine. So I¡¯m in the mind of using this fine velum to wipe my arse with it Stefan.¡¯ ¡®Lord Ruud,¡¯ Ard had protested. ¡®We have the men to advance.¡¯ ¡®I don¡¯t give a shit about Colle at this point,¡¯ Ruud had cut him off. ¡®Give even less shit and not for the lack of it, about the capital or Lord Anker¡¯s plight. I care about my road and my lands. Castalor of course since someone in here is going to open his fucking hole and talk all about it!¡¯ ¡®What does the Duke wish us to do?¡¯ De Braal asked calmly since Ard was too stunned to utter a single word. ¡®These motherfuckers are dangerous obviously, but at this point they are stumbling about like drunken whores. You wish to attack against the Fork Ard and sure it¡¯s a nice idea but then what? We¡¯ll be caught between two forces and might even get them to rethink their priorities, bring their elephants and what not here. Tall as a house and as wide as four or five horses. Could you imagine the size of turds that animal can drop? Good fucking grief!¡¯ ¡®Lord Ruud,¡¯ De Braal tried again finding his voice. ¡®We¡¯ve almost five thousand troops parked on the road!¡¯ ¡®Keep the cavalry back. Let them come to us,¡¯ Ruud replied. ¡®Don¡¯t advance more than a hundred meters. I wager there are enemy eyes not much further than that. Peeking behind them bushes! Get out now, I can barely hold the turd in. Ah, let me speak with that Boss & Struder representative after I finish.¡¯ ¡®He¡¯s the owner milord,¡¯ a grim-faced De Braal informed the looking for his ¡®night bowl¡¯ Duke but Lord Ruud thought he wasn¡¯t really, ¡®what with another name on the label and all. Fine, I¡¯ll just call him Desmond! Will you stiff fools get out of here afore I call on the guards?¡¯
- Morning, 1st of Tertius, 194 NC The turn for Hunter¡¯s Cot ¡°Get them out of the way!¡± Horus growled at his lieutenants seeing the deployed Chariots rolling past them one after the other. The scythed wheels bouncing on the soft ground, creaking and banging, the many animals neighing disturbed of the ungodly ruckus. And the smoke. He coughed trying to clear his throat, Midnight turning this way and that snorting, his mane dancing. A scout burst out of the misty haze and signaled with his arm nervously. Soldiers. From left to right. ¡°Maluph will charge at the north flank,¡± Horus reminded Kera-Raad and waved Neku to stand further back with his other horses. ¡°We¡¯ll angle for the other, Perku will follow after him. If they veer on our path we will change course and head after the lancers unless it turns too crowded. Lob shots over our own! Don¡¯t commit unless you¡¯re certain!¡± He bellowed to be heard over the tremendous roar coming from the Chariots and hundreds of horses moving at the same time. The mist cleared some and he realized there was not that much smoke created after all. And the little that had was wafted away from the strong breeze coming from the sea. Horus saw the Chariots heading for the rows of shields, spears and harpoons. Grey and black for the painted crows on shields and raised banners. Just black for the many real birds flying over the battlefield. Hundreds of them, sometimes their hoarse cries penetrated the pandemonium. CAW. CAW. Horus slapped the top of his closed helm to stabilize it when the last chariot went past him, the two members of the crew readying arrows, bolts and javelins to hurl at the soldiers. He waited for a minute to pass, heart-beat slowing down and Midnight shaking his armoured head nervously sensing the wait was over. One brave stallion. Two brave stallions. Then galloped towards the enemy lines, his squadron coming after him with Neku, Gero and all the other servants trotting right after. -
Maluph¡¯s chariots appeared out of the dissolving mist and headed for the Issir lines. Smoke was present but didn¡¯t really cover the whole front. The aged Castellan Stefan De Braal who wrote an account of the event immediately after the war at the Queen¡¯s request, describes the sight of sixty war-machines rushing against their lines as ¡®unforgettable.¡¯ ¡®The ground shook violently, thrice as much as it did during a cavalry charge. A brash repeated creaking and clanging of the turning scythed wheels that made your teeth rattle. The 2nd Battalion of Captain Kugel¡¯s men standing at the south and center of the battlefield angled away but the chariots headed straight for Joris Trut¡¯s 3rd Marines Battalion that had come with us. Some tried to get at the horses, some ran towards the woods but most stood frozen from fear.¡¯ Maluph shattered three rows of Marines and soldiers, some chariots crashing into the nearby woods after losing control of their horses. At least twenty chariots cut through Captain Trut¡¯s battalion scattering the Issirs and killing a large number of them. The manner of death horrendous. The Chariots immediately swung away, trying to disengage and Horus¡¯ Cataphracts came right behind them, split in two or three squadrons. The first flying wedge smashed on Kugel¡¯s rattled infantry knocking shields and men away whilst the second stalled as they had chariots at their front. The third poured out of the opening caused in the north flank and reached behind Viscount De Moss¡¯ lines were they were hit by the reacting cavalry led by the second of the brothers Koel, Sir Gers Koel. (Sir Lowel had been killed on Eplas.) Perku¡¯s charge in the center delivered the fourth consecutive punch of the day and Kugel¡¯s frontline disintegrated. Perku and Api-Nofre leading the center and south formations regrouped to charge at De Moss¡¯ ¡®presumed¡¯ rear lines. Lord Ruud who had come to the battlefield clad in a well-oiled old armour, lowered his field-glasses ¨Cused despite not being that far from the action, pushed back on the saddle and ordered Kugel to send his 1st Battalion of Old Spears forward going over the hard-pressed busy De Moss who had moved the 3rd already worrying about Horus¡¯ deep penetration. (The Cataphract had come within forty meters from the Issir headquarters allegedly -according to eye-witnesses- but this is probably inaccurate.) At the same time Desmond Boss¡¯ over two thousand Castalor crossbowmen got out of their positions in the woods at the rear of Lord Ruud¡¯s army and marched slowly towards the frontline. They started setting up their wooden stands down ¨C resembling an upturned ¡®T¡¯ letter, then their crossbows, with crews bringing up a few carts with extra ammunition forward. Such were their numbers there was a weapon for every two meters, covering the width of the road up to the mirroring tree-lines. A distance ranging (as measured after the battle) from a hundred and twenty meters, to a hundred and sixty. With a front of at least sixty men Desmond went twenty rows deep at least afore deciding to keep a small reserve. Over a thousand two hundred bolts were about to fire on the frontline, depending on which side the battle turned. ¡®It would take callous men to give such an order,¡¯ De Braal writes. ¡®But we had plenty of them present.¡¯
- Horus went to grab his lance, the standing upright shaft was a meter away from him with the blade part still buried in a soldier¡¯s chest, but a knight hacked at Midnight¡¯s sides with a longsword and he had to jerk the warhorse away. The blade caught the back of the saddle and split the blanket¡¯s rings in a deep gouge that rattled the animal. The Cataphract went for his flail and whipped at the returning blade breaking a part off but failing to deflect it fully. A good piece of rugged steel smacked Horus on the chest and all but knocked him off of the saddle. The masked Cataphract hissed and swung at the unprotected enemy horse¡¯s head with a silent apology, the cranium caving in on the right side and a white eye splattering. Midnight reared on his hind legs trying to get away from the fatally wounded and whining animal, with a cursing Horus going back and forth in the attempt to stay on the saddle. The enemy knight let go of the reins to jump down and Horus moved a protesting with loud neighs Midnight forward again. He managed to shove the man on the ground using the large horse¡¯s body. A snarling Horus let go of the flail next, looping it around the horn and unsheathed his scimitar. He slashed at the knight immediately but a soldier got in the way, a spear catching his armour¡¯s skirt and mauling the flesh on his left hip as it slid over it. The soldier yanked the spear back with both arms but Horus hacked at his head that had come within range due to momentum. He split the conned helm almost in half, blade wedging in wrapped metal and bone. Rich red blood leaked down the Issir¡¯s stunned face and the Cataphract turned his mount hard right to get away from him. Midnight jumped over a dead horse and got about five meters deeper into the Issir lines ¨Cnow mostly cavalry- that were engaged with his Cataphracts. Swords and maces clanged on shields or armour. Warhammers drumming and spears thudding on flesh. Bones shattering and limbs twisting the wrong way. Misshapen pieces of armour or shields clattering down between horses kicking hooves, smiling masks cracked and bloody next to the sculpted Crows smashed helmets. Horus parried a longsword away, but another man-at-arms rushed him, a horse¡¯s snout biting at his elbow breaking some of its front teeth away. The Cataphract was pushed two meters back, body angling towards the ground but he grabbed at the horn to bring himself back up again. The Issir saw him return on the saddle and cursed but didn¡¯t have the reach so he turned the horse around in a small circle. Horus lost him after that. He reached for his crossbow realizing the scrap had brought him behind the Issir lines. The opening giving a clearer view of the chaotic battlefield. The width of the frontline to his right (facing south) was fully engaged, hundreds of soldiers and riders duking it out. Maybe more than that. Some of the front had collapsed, dead and injured littering the ground and even parts of the paved road dug out where chariots had ruined it. Many vehicles broken down amidst the ranks of fighting or fleeing combatants. The Issirs had brought more spear infantry there to plug the gaps and Api-Nofre¡¯s attack had stalled. They had used their riders to stop Horus¡¯ advance, but they had taken huge casualties from the close combat struggle due to the Cataphracts bigger variety in weapons. Maluph had pulled his chariots back and was firing at exposed enemies but given the brouhaha his men weren¡¯t really participating anymore. A rugged Kera-Raad approached him, as a large part of the newly arrived Crows had been cut down and some Cataphracts managed to come out from their thinning lines like Horus had done. He raised his weapon and fired a bolt into the chest of an approaching Issir, the bolt punching through metal and dropping him. Fired from less than ten meters away it was lethal. ¡°Regroup!¡± He yelled to be heard over the pandemonium. ¡°We¡¯ll roll them up towards the woods and then loop around their center!¡± Head for their rear next to prevent more reinforcements from forming up. A grimacing Horus placed the crossbow¡¯s mouth on the saddle and used a steel hook secured on his saddle to pull the bowstring back over the lock that snapped into place. He reached for another bolt next but noticed Kera-Raad pointing with an arm towards the east and twisted that way nervously, the bolt slipping from his fingers. Reinforcements were already in the field, not even fifty meters away but instead of marching towards them and their friends, they just stood there still like cones. Their lines extending from the forest edges in front of Horus¡¯ all the way to the other side over the road. The Cataphract blinked, the sweat running down his brows making his eyes hurt and raised the mask to better see the tardy Issir reserves. ¡°I see more infantry marching to the front!¡± Kera-Raad warned but Horus¡¯ slanted black eyes stared at the mostly standing still bulky soldiers, then at the banners billowing over their square chainmail-covered helms. Black and grey. And scores of Crows flying over their heads. For there were Scaldingport officers with this new group. Grey and white for the scaled monstrous figure with the crab claws for arms depicted on their banners. Abrakas¡¯ family tree was a twisted one for it birthed monsters. Like Phorcys. Castalor. The sound of battle subsiding all about him. A ruse. The Crows weren¡¯t surprised in the least after all. They had just laid a merciless ambush at plain sight. Casualties be damned. They are going to fire. ¡°BACK!¡± Horus bellowed and slapped his visor shut. ¡°TURN THE MEN AROUND KERA FOR ALL SPIRITS SAKE!¡± Neku who had managed at last to approach Lord Mirpur¡¯s son heard the Cataphract Leader''s order and grabbed his war horn immediately. He brought it to his tensed mouth and blew at it as hard as he could to order a general retreat. Half a minute later he was dead. -
Desmond Boss, who had an eye on the closely inspecting the events Lord Ruud¡¯s entourage, saw a grim-faced De Braal raising his arm after the Duke¡¯s curt nod and ordered his patiently aiming men to ¡®fire whether they had visible targets or not.¡¯ While a controversial moment of the battle, the bolts cut down at least twenty men-at-arms and forty Marines at the most conservative count, the Castalor massive detachment of ranged troops punched the winning the scrap Cataphracts so hard, Mirpur lost almost seventy men in that first volley alone. With half his force wiped out, Horus retreated as fast as he could with Maluph doing the same for a second time. Twenty or thirty meters away the Castalor crossbows second volley caught them again killing another twenty Cataphracts and stopping nine Chariots. Almost two hundred horses perished at the same time. Api-Nofre disengaged and galloped after Horus, but Perku¡¯s Lancers who were at the center of the field received a devastating volley from Desmond¡¯s men as every crossbow had turned against them next. Perku was injured on his right leg but stayed on the saddle, whilst forty of his men didn¡¯t. It was a demoralizing setback. While Horus had inflicted terrible casualties to Scaldingport¡¯s infantry and riders, the Khan¡¯s South Group couldn¡¯t sustain this level of attrition and a troubled Horus Mirpur knew it. Upon arriving at the Fork Kera-Raad, one of his closest friends, collapsed from the saddle having been struck with five bolts, one lodged at the back of his neck and coming out of his mouth. The Cataphract was dead on the saddle for a while but his horse had brought him back. Midnight, Lord Horus¡¯ favorite mount perished during the retreat and the Cataphract leader himself had been injured seriously when a bolt pierced his back, missing the spleen for a ¡®horse¡¯s hair¡¯. Despite the disaster and his personal injury a resolute Horus quickly worked to galvanize moral and ordered the supply train to return to Castalor. Maluph who had lost seventy percent of his chariots within days was ordered back as well. Horus kept the remaining Cataphracts, less than two hundred, near the fork but hid them inside the woods abandoning the camp. Dumar who had sent runners to be informed of the result was ordered to retreat as well but leave men on the paths to harass the advancing enemy army. Lord Ruud had allowed De Moss to go after the retreating Horselords and the Viscount used his rangers (around five hundred) for that along with a detachment (about three hundred) of Castalor¡¯s crossbowmen. Their mission was to reach the Fork in the next days and reconnect with Sir Walter¡¯s force that was slowly returning from the bridge at Boar¡¯s Horn. When the Issirs reached the abandoned half-built camp they reported to Lord Ruud smugly that ¡®the Horselords are running sire.¡¯ They had discovered horse trails, chariot tracks and signs of many wagons seemingly in full retreat.
-
The Horselords couldn¡¯t run without the Khan¡¯s order or routed so easily without purpose and they didn¡¯t. An injured Horus Mirpur would remind the Issirs of this nasty fact winning a brutal scrap three days later at the Fork. Not a single crossbowman survived the Cataphracts wrath with the scouts scattering and abandoning them to their fate. Horus stunning success given his condition and recent disaster earned him the moniker Ermin Suru, translated the ¡®Gale of the Steppe¡¯ by his compatriots. Lord Ruud who was approaching the Fork with the regrouped Scaldingport army, addressed a furious Desmond¡¯s complaints about the Crows ¡®vile behavior¡¯ dispassionately but with a touch of his usual flair. ¡®Good grief dear Desmond. Yer boys killed a bunch of me Crows not even half a week ago! Did I make a big fucking deal about it? I didn¡¯t. Just snap out of it and rejoice, we got them cornered at Castalor.¡¯ Which while seemingly acceptable for the Old Crow, wasn¡¯t as pleasant an outcome for the Castalor businessman and general given that his family was inside the besieged city.
433. Ill find her
Qerrali I¡¯ll find her
Move¡­ MOVE! Qerrali screeched, pointy feet click-clacking on the wooden docks as she twirled around making a loop with the large harbor-rat at its center. The rat tried to rush the Arachne but she skirted up a moldy post, hectic spinnerets spraying silk on the hairy creature¡¯s legs and tripping it up. Stay still¡­ stupid smelly feet of clay! An easy to panic Qerrali shrieked landing behind the struggling to free itself rat. She used her chelicerae to nibble at its swinging tail drawing blood and then retreated nervously, jumping a full meter up with ease to check on the busy docks, performing another mid-air twirl and landing gracefully. She made a spirit thread next using the rat¡¯s poisoned blood, Qerrali had envenomed the creature just a tad in her panic but it wasn¡¯t fatal. The Arachne used the glowing thread to enter the shuddering large rat¡¯s mind, the mess inside unnerving her at first. Qerrali let out a squeaky sound, then went to work squashing the creature¡¯s weird memories and thoughts of stale cheese cabinets. Killed everything that caught her fancy but worked fast using the many shadows to move about undetected until it was safe. When she was, Qerrali instilled the action the rat would take in its mind as a feeling first and unsure whether that would work in the little time she had available, the industrious Arachne manifested ghostly small rats that run about in the empty corridors she had created. All the little phantom rats screaming at the top of their lungs tipping their hairy heads back. Hit the road rat! Be an otter and find a barrel¡¯s water And go sappily slap splat! The rat shuddered with a whiner and broke free with a newfound surge of power. It dashed towards the nervously dancing on her tips Qerrali, the screaming Arachne jumping out of its way and then galloped towards the moored transport as fast it could. Qerrali following after it, but keeping an eye at the bulky heh-mans and their heh-sharp weapons. Sheesh! The Arachne rushed after the crude fleshy automaton, taking care to dash behind stacked cases, coiled ropes and stinking rubbish. Eight pointy legs tapping at the paved ground, executing rapid bursts from point to point and stopping most times abruptly. The leading the charge rat rushed a group of sailors and armed soldiers carrying supplies in the open. It was heading for one of the large water barrels a young man had finished topping up with a bucket. He was to bring them on the ship next via one of the narrow ramps that led to the deck. A man spotted the manic rat coming at them with a curse. While only half the size of Qerrali, it was a good two-kilo harbor-rat this with a slim ugly snout, goofy white teeth and a gleaming black evil pair of eyes. Balls for eyes, a guise for lies! Qerrali screeched in excitement but the man¡¯s roar covered all other sounds causing pandemonium. ¡°FUCKING RAT!¡± Eh.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. ¡°SALTED SHITE!¡± Uhm. ¡°IT¡¯S HEADING FOR THE SHIP¡­ NO THE BARREL!¡± ¡°WHERE? FUCK¡¯S SAKE!¡± He just told you! ¡°GET IT ¡®LIMP¡¯ JOHN!¡± The peg-legged John dived for the ground heroically but the rat escaped him and he cut his head open on the concrete tiles. Another man swung wildly with a harpoon, the blade striking a sack with potatoes and splitting it open. The rat climbed up the barrel¡¯s walls, reached its lip and dived inside under the curses of everyone present, none louder than the leader of the soldiers that shouted hoarse obscenities watching from the deck. Qerrali turned towards the other ramp than the one the livid officer was sprinting down from, pointy legs sliding on smelly muck and rotting fish filth. She twirled, hedged and dodged, her soul jumping out of her skin. Qerrali hated water. There was no more water one could find but in the sea. Yet a sea, the nervous Arachne was about to cross. The name mattered little to her. All seas are but one thing, even if poor-legged creatures called it many. I¡¯ll find her kinfolk! She squealed narrowly avoiding a heavy boot with wooden bottom and iron nails on it, the screaming sailor jumping in the water scared out of his mind at a glimpse of what had sprinted under his legs. Or thought he saw. Gaze your sister race up a stringer! Labored kinfolk soul in vain shall not linger! The man coming after the splashing in the harbor¡¯s waters sailor snapped his head right first to witness his friend¡¯s spectacular tumble, the pandemonium caused by the men that had upturned the water barrel in front of the ship frenetic and by the time he looked down Qerrali had gone by him. The man heard the Arachne¡¯s loud tapping and twisted on his axis alarmed, but she had tied his foot to the deck¡¯s rails and mid-way through his turn the man went down with a pained yelp. Qerrali skirted right, then left, zig-zagging on the narrow corridor, ducking behind trawl nets, coiled rope and discarded cases. A gasp and she leaped on the quarterdeck¡¯s thin rail, lost her footing on the greasy surface but fired a long strand of silk on the mizzen mast, willed it to loop around twice and turn tight. The next moment the ancient white Arachne found herself flying over the deck, momentum yanking her towards the ship¡¯s center. She yipped half-scared half deliriously happy, for which realm¡¯s creature does not wish to fly? Her keratinous, bony jointed legs spreading out as she twirled around in the air, her many eyes easily scanning everything about in a 360 radius. The man holding his bleeding head down at the loading docks, the officer stabbing his boot on the dead rat with hatred turning its body into bloody paste and others using a harpoon to help their half-drown colleague out of the dirty water of the harbor. At the edge of the Cofol docks more than a hundred meters away two muscular men were standing next to a short pink-haired girl. Twenty meters away from them another group watched the ship about to depart half-hidden under hooded cloaks. Something in one of the females auras familiar, even when shaded. Hmm. A whiff of mystery! She thought with a last glance at the oblivious Gish and her friends. Squish and swish, she sang her lost creator¡¯s favorite words, still twirling in the air like a creepy disk and heading towards the ship¡¯s mast. Spare yer wish here¡¯s a willowy Gish! This sister is off to Jelin!
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 434. Beau Ideal (1/2)
Whisper ¡®Pretty Nose¡¯ Jinx Beau Ideal Part I -A mesmerizing breed-
¡°I appreciate the quality service Famke,¡± Sam said in his civil voice, looking warmly at the tavern wench. Of Issir origins. ¡°We shall take care not to cause any mishaps or shenanigans this time.¡± He-heh. Nobody believes that. Famke, which meant wench or something in the Issir jargon so go figure, smiled at the handsome adventurer and twirled the empty service disk at the tip of an index finger before catching it springily with a naughty smile. Aww. Our Sam lit a spark in her loins, Jinx thought, herself slightly aroused as well and they all watched in solemn silence the bountiful tavern girl leave their table to serve another group of customers. ¡°Keep working at it. The vibes are strong wit her. Ye might even save a coin,¡± Marlo instructed after a while and Sam played at ignorance. ¡°I¡¯m being polite¡­ seeing as we almost trashed their place the other week.¡± Marlo belched loudly to show he could see through Sam¡¯s bullshit. Jinx chuckled at their back and forth, lips smacking with the taste of beer on them and her eyes roamed the tavern¡¯s crowd. They stopped at the bar where the owner was serving a small glass of black whiskey (an expensive drink for the place) to a weird couple of half-breeds. A thin but wiry, fully braided gold-skinned male complete with a mouth of gold, with every tooth replaced by a gold case, wearing a bulky long dark coat. Next to him stood a tall Cofol-looking but for the eyes, also richly-tanned young woman wearing a Lorian-type toga under a simple brown cloak and worn out cheap shoes. She was talking with the owner, her hand cupping his over the counter and Jinx noticed her hair were cut in shorter bangs like for a younger girl. The clearly mature girl¡¯s profile strikingly beautiful and when she glanced guiltily about the tavern ¨Cfor some reason- her expressive light blue eyes changed color to a gleaming liquid silver. What was that? Jinx blinked unsure. ¡°Damn,¡± Marlo gasped eyeing the woman¡¯s absurdly feminine figure with awe. ¡°I bet that one claps when she gaits.¡± ¡°For the love of Uher. Will ye keep your darn voice down?¡± An embarrassed Sam admonished him. ¡°She could be married!¡± ¡°I could. But dis would be still too much dairy produce for just one man,¡± Marlo deadpanned pursing his weathered mouth. ¡°In such a quality.¡± Well, you are a rare beauty honey, Jinx thought admiring the graceful female customer and trying to hear her voice over the murmurs of the packed tavern. ¡°Or woman,¡± Jinx mused aloud and Marlo nodded. ¡°What pink-curls said,¡± he agreed with a wink. Jinx slapped his hand over their table and the veteran adventurer groaned in protest. ¡°I¡¯m missing fingers Jinx!¡± ¡°But you still got the one that counts,¡± she rejoined and Marlo smirked raising the maimed arm¡¯s mid-finger suggestively. ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± he added still leering. Jinx chuckled and got up as the couple walked out of the tavern. ¡°I¡¯ll see if I can learn more,¡± she told her companions. ¡°Oh, come on,¡± Sam protested while Marlo turned his chair sideways to better witness without shame the foreign woman¡¯s exit. ¡°Sweet fucking goodness,¡± Marlo was heard commenting eloquently while Jinx sashayed to the bar and the owner that was still in his place, half-empty small glass of whiskey in front of him. ¡°How much is the whiskey?¡± She asked sweetly, a little upset only her head protruded from the tall counter. The semi-bald Issir owner lowered his eyes and assumed a sour expression. ¡°Eh, it¡¯s you.¡± Hey. Suck my unwashed toes! Jinx¡¯s eyes told him despite her mouth voicing a different tune. ¡°So?¡± ¡°You want me to repeat it?¡± The owner grunted. Jinx¡¯s finger gave the glass a tap, nail clinging on the surface. ¡°This.¡± ¡°Girl, I don¡¯t understand what you¡¯re talking about!¡± Jinx sighed and leaped on the counter, parking her bare right arse-cheek on the lip like an acrobat of sorts. Only sexier. ¡°Get yer arse down. People eat from there!¡± The owner warned her but the Gish walked over his protests. Oh, they do fer sure. It¡¯s called arse-licking good. Her bottom was her meaning. ¡°The pretty girl that just left?" She asked elucidating. "Looked like a half-breed? A quarter maybe. Some type of mix. Made a fine blend. A slave?¡± Her words weren¡¯t registering with the irked gnarly staring at her Issir. ¡°She had that whiskey?¡± Jinx added and reached to have a taste of it. The owner¡¯s rough hand cupping hers afore she could. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you are talking about,¡± he hissed slowly then blinked in shock seeing Jinx emptying the glass she¡¯d grabbed with her other hand and slapping it on the counter. ¡°You¡ª¡± ¡°Are ye drunk ¡®Hairy¡¯ Von?¡± A customer from a nearby table cut him off midsentence. The semi-bald Von glared at him. ¡°Got me cock hard as rock just watching her walk away just now!¡± ¡°Any spillage on the floor, I put in yer tab.¡± Von warned. ¡°She had a whiskey,¡± Jinx insisted a little confused. ¡°Yeah mate, we all saw her,¡± another patron insisted and Von stood back rattled. He grabbed at his forehead to check for a fever, squinted his eyes and then glanced at the returning tavern girl. ¡°She could make a pretty coin fer sure,¡± the pirate wench told him, winked lewdly at Jinx and then gave the Gish¡¯s exposed part of arse a good slap. ¡°I¡¯ll get you for that,¡± Jinx warned her and the girl grinned not that bothered about it. Jinx jumped down and walked towards their table leaving Von to discuss the matter of his sudden memory loss with the others. ¡°Well?¡± Marlo asked. ¡°Sam is interested.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m not!¡± Sam protested red in the face. ¡°I stand by me words,¡± Marlo retorted and crossed his beefy arms on his chest. ¡°Did you see where she went?¡± Jinx asked the younger adventurer. ¡°Out the door?¡± Sam replied with a funny grimace. Hah-hah. ¡°Be right back boys. Don¡¯t do anything I wouldn¡¯t do,¡± Jinx teased them and headed for the exit giving them a good show. All of them.
Jinx stepped out of the pirate district¡¯s tavern, blinked with a hoarse curse at the sun hurting her eyes and then glanced about the busy market street for the couple. He spotted the man standing outside a shoemaker¡¯s workshop and made to head there but a kid appeared out of nowhere in front of her. Boo! Gave her a good ole startle and a bit of a shove back. Fucking allhells. Goddess¡¯ milky tits! The kid¡¯s creepy, gaunt face ¨Ca dirty cloth made into an eyepatch covering part of his distorted fa?ade- eyed her in silence. Jinx shivered from toes to nips and grimaced returning the sneaky urchin¡¯s stare. ¡°Didn¡¯t see ye¡­ ehm, you alright there?¡± He wasn¡¯t taller than her and Jinx was a fit Gish. The kid didn¡¯t answer, he looked twelve-thirteen? He had a dusty cut to size cloak on and dirty pants full of stitched patches with a pair of ancient boots that left a toe visible at the top. Sun-burned skin almost to a crisp and wild washed-out blond hair. That sole eye had a hardness in it. Either hunger or thuggery, Jinx thought and opted for the former. She got a copper coin out of her purse. Glen always solved small problems like that. ¡°Here, have yerself a loaf of bread or something.¡± The kid¡¯s eye focused on the coin with interest. ¡°It¡¯s two coppers,¡± he said in a whispery voice. ¡°What?¡± The kid scowled at her. ¡°It¡¯s two.¡± He said in a louder voice pouting. ¡°Not if it¡¯s an older loaf,¡± Jinx countered. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the teeth. They grow back.¡± Gish could do it a couple of times at least. The kid scowled at her some more. Jinx added another copper coin to the amount. ¡°Here. Have a meal.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a silver at Von¡¯s,¡± the kid explained in his conspiratorial tone. Wow, yer seriously damaged in the head buddy. Is it the blow? Was it fire? A mule¡¯s hoof? ¡°Here¡¯s another. Von is a crook. Pick another tavern for yer meals. Go away now,¡± Jinx told him and dropped the coins in his open palm. The Kid got a heavy purse out, opened it and tossed the coins inside pleased. Then he walked away after raising the hood over his head. It was equal amounts of silly and creepy. Jinx lost him in the crowd perusing the market stands. Shaking her head at the strange encounter she turned to march towards the shoemaker¡¯s place but realized the male wasn¡¯t there anymore. A pouting Jinx placed both hands at her waist, tapping a boot angrily as she looked around. She had missed them whilst talking to that ungrateful brat. Damn it. Eh, you just long for Maeriel, she told herself staring at the colorful crowd perusing the ¡®mostly illegal or legal¡¯ goods of the market. Depending on how one opted to tackle this particular matter. Spotted a couple of unsavory-looking dudes of the thieving profession talking it out, some whores cackling like hens, a pot-bellied Cofol merchant discussing inflation with an illiterate pirate with badly-decaying teeth amidst the gaps and a downtrodden market dog with droopy ears that had frozen still mid-step in the middle of the road. Mmm. Jinx furrowed her thin pink eyebrows, her gaze going from the dog to the stone bench five meters away, across the market street.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. The woman was sitting there, black-hair cut in crude medium bangs framed around her symmetrical face, a long leg crossed over the other, the foot drawn up on her thigh to work on a pair of new lace up heeled shoes she had probably bought at the workshop. The thin leather straps supposed to run twice around the ankle and then tied high at the high end of the heel. While Jinx kept watching mesmerized the preoccupied female, the latter blew softly at each long leather strap she looped around a finger as if to clean it. And miraculously she did, the dark leather turning gradually white and sparkling, as if painted or dipped in silver. Wow. What sick trick is that? A shocked gasp was heard and Jinx glanced at a cursing man that had stumbled upon the now collapsed dog, a weird sensation overwhelming her attune with nature Folk senses. The black market feeling charged all of sudden with accumulated energy just as it did before or after a lighting strike. Or the use of magic. The Gish snapped her eyes again towards the bench but the view was now blocked by the dangerous-looking man that was escorting the female at the tavern. Narrow lips split in a mean gold-gleaming smirk. The half-breed had a twin weapon harness under his bulky hooded coat, the scimitar¡¯s wood handle carved and covered with bronze details of gladiatorial fights. A well-travelled thug? Jinx chanced a guess sniffing at his clothes. The man smelling of dirt, burned lard, weapon oil and old dry rocks. Like a desert mausoleum but for the odor of dirty sweat. Scratch the thug part. The half-breed had kept the Cofol goldish skin but it was darker, extra-tanned and had the eyes of a killer. His smirk grew some more at her close scrutiny revealing that all the extracted teeth had been replaced with sharp incisors that made him look like a monster. A rich Ticu? Which somehow gave Jinx Silent Servant vibes. She backed away and the man nodded. Jinx puffed out and raised her arms pacifyingly, her eyes glancing towards the bench. The beautiful female had disappeared again. Jinx grimaced at the weirdness surrounding her, turned to face the second creep of the day but he was already walking away. Fuck it. That¡¯s enough excitement. The Gish cut between two market stalls to loop around towards the tavern and her friends again, narrowly dodged a mother with her son in tow carrying a large weaver basket on her head and ducked under a camel¡¯s massive chomping mouth that had stooped to get a half-eaten apple dropped on the street. The bow she carried on her back smacking the startled animal right at the nose and it reared in panic spilling its unassuming half-asleep rider down with a bang. Jinx twisted nimbly at the tips of her toes around the escalating trouble, overdid it in her haste to get away and planted her face on a fit round hip parked in her way ¨Cprobably to peruse a cloth-merchant¡¯s stand. The female yelped in fright almost doubling over the merchandize, but Jinx went down fully on her arse, nostrils expanding at the spicy scent emanating from the turning around ¨Cgrimacing in pain- girl she had been stalking for so long. Naossis be walking amongst us, Jinx mouthed breathlessly when the moaning young woman stooped over her. Large silver-touched eyes with hints of sky-blue blinking upon seeing her attacker and then as if she had heard Jinx¡¯s voiceless comment, the woman mellowed up and smiled warmly. Jinx beamed back unwittingly, a wave of euphoria washing over her body and slowly got up taking the woman¡¯s offered hand. ¡°A pretty Gish in a market,¡± the woman hummed in a sensual cultured voice. ¡°Must be a good omen.¡± ¡°Apologies,¡± Jinx blurted out and afore she could control her tongue she added. ¡°Girl, you¡¯re as fine as summer wine.¡± Hells is wrong wit you? Jinx cursed herself. But the woman didn¡¯t seem to mind at all. She purred like a cat getting a belly rub. Stop it, Jinx urged her running wild imagination. The lewd scenes coming vivid. Long nails digging in soft fur. Stroke and stroke. For crying out loud! ¡°Whatever are you hunting for youngling?¡± The woman asked in perfect but stylized common. Each word given time and its own tone or touch of music. ¡°I¡¯m well over twenty five winters,¡± a blushing Jinx croaked, all her soft bits tingling in response to the woman¡¯s close presence. Tits! No, think of something else fool! ¡°Uhm. And that¡¯s an expensive bow. You should sell it for a pretty coin,¡± the woman noted and stood back, a hand kneading at her left hip over the fabric. Oh, mama. Jinx snapped her eyes back up towards the comely face again. ¡°I hurt it twice this year.¡± The face explained. ¡°Can you believe that?¡± Absolutely. It was alarming that Jinx would believe anything she told her. Too soon. Let¡¯s play count the toes first, huh? ¡°I can¡¯t sell it. It¡¯s a gift,¡± Jinx replied instead and sucked air in to shock the system, or break the woman¡¯s spell. ¡°She must love you very much. Such quality wood is difficult to find,¡± the woman replied knowingly interrupting her thoughts. Oh, have I got a piece of sculpted wood for you! STOP! Jinx thought of Maeriel and that finally got her out of her trance. Barely. ¡°I¡¯m looking for a toga of passable quality,¡± the woman explained in her pleasant voice, moving on from the thorny matter probably reading her face. Again. Jinx cleared her throat and stared at the merchandise and then at the Lorian of sorts, standing behind the stand. His eyes focused on his alluring customer shamelessly. ¡°This is the finest Peninsula silk,¡± he said in a heavy Lesia accent faking at knowledge. ¡°Weaved by caring hand for months to reach this length and strength. Then it crosses the desert under perilous conditions and back-breaking cost. Blood and toil has been given for it to find its way to this fine market. Passable does not do it justice.¡± Jinx rolled her eyes so hard she almost went blind. Everything in this market came from raids, thieving or was pirate loot. ¡°I just want half of it,¡± the woman countered turning to face him. ¡°For an undergarment.¡± ¡°Cutting it would only increase the cost. Nevertheless I¡¯d recommend it. We have a place to test it to ensure a better fit. Very discreet. It¡¯s in that alley.¡± Ah, you¡¯re looking to take advantage of her, the Gish thought. ¡°Which is? The cost is my meaning.¡± Jinx asked coming to stand next to the much taller woman. Her head barely clearing a roll of fabric. ¡°Two gold Dinars per meter,¡± the man replied readily, eyes gleaming at the prospect of coin and mayhap a show. Oh, just swallow a bowl wit hard gravel. ¡°I¡¯ll give you a silver,¡± Jinx countered and reached for her purse. The man shivered and then stared at her annoyed. ¡°I can look to find you a small hankie for that.¡± ¡°Two silver. Pieces of twelve.¡± Jinx replied and the merchant folded his arms on his chest. He gave her an onceover, flinching startled when he reached her face. ¡°For half the fabric?¡± He grunted. ¡°Let me discuss it with the trader,¡± the woman whispered to Jinx. Yeah, you can¡¯t reason with them honey or talk in private. ¡°I got this.¡± Jinx assured her. ¡°I¡­ have to insist youngling,¡± the woman said. ¡°You should keep your coin.¡± ¡°Name¡¯s Jinx,¡± the Gish replied confidently. ¡°I want no trade,¡± she added a little surprised sensing the woman¡¯s reluctance. ¡°It¡¯s a gift.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s not.¡± The man intervened with a leer. ¡°Unless you have more Imperial coins weird-looking lass.¡± ¡°Not fer you. Yer mistaken boulder-nosed human,¡± Jinx retorted. ¡°Do we have a deal?¡± ¡°No we don¡¯t. Give me another number,¡± the man countered standing firm. ¡°Or we can discuss another arrangement?¡± He smiled at that and Jinx thought of leaping on the stand to kick his big nose in but the woman found the chance to stoop lithely forward. She touched the man¡¯s folded arms with a graceful hand. ¡°You reconsidered,¡± she told him soothingly and Jinx glanced at her surprised. ¡°I reconsidered,¡± the man agreed relaxing. ¡°You have a deal.¡± ¡°For a silver,¡± the woman bargained in the same tone. ¡°For a silver,¡± the suddenly very-cooperative merchant droned and she retrieved her hand. ¡°Gratitude for your understanding,¡± the woman told him with a pleased smile and he nodded smiling back enthralled. ¡°Anytime Moira,¡± he replied. Welp, butter me butt and call me a biscuit, Jinx thought astonished at the turn of events. You are a mesmerizing breed alright girl. ¡°Moira is a rare name. Nice though,¡± Jinx told her while the merchant measured the fabric to cut it judiciously. One of the Muses. ¡°I had an old-fashioned mother,¡± she replied with a cute shrug and then added. ¡°Stay out of the brines young Jinx. The Realm has more safe waters.¡± Right.
Jinx watched the odd couple leaving the market, her purse lighter but full of the experience. The world really is full of interesting people, she decided. Some as beautiful on the inside as on the outside. Hearing loud chomping sounds coming near her, she glanced out of the corner of her right eye for the source of it and recoiled seeing the creepy kid standing there. ¡°Goddess¡¯ milky bits!¡± Jinx cried out, her heart beating erratically. ¡°How did ye creep up on me again?¡± The kid stopped chewing on the loaf of bread and swallowed. He then smacked his lips and eyed the irritated Gish. ¡°Stay away,¡± he warned her. What? Jinx gasped in shock. ¡°What did you say?¡± ¡°Ye heard me,¡± the kid told her in a grown up¡¯s voice. Jinx stood back with a frown. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Bad things happen to those that linger near her,¡± the creepy one-eyed and disfigured kid explained. ¡°For he doesn¡¯t like it.¡± Good fucking grief. What the allhells are these people? Jinx thought glaring at the kid that had resumed attacking the loaf of bread with large bites. Chomp. Chomp-chomp. Swallow. Repeat. Like a machine. Until there was nothing left. He then turned, raised the large hood over his head to hide his face and headed after the couple that had long since disappeared into the crowd, with the assured strides of a person that knew exactly where they were heading. As the kid turned, his custom-made cloak parted and Jinx saw another piece of garment underneath. A hard-leathered armored vest complete with a small weapon harness. A small dagger and a shortsword sheathed on it.
The Gish found Marlo and Sam catching the sun sitting down next to the entrance of the tavern. Marlo was half-asleep with his drooling mouth open. Sam wasn¡¯t, so he kept an eye out for the occasional oldfly that attempted to dive inside his friend¡¯s mouth. ¡°No luck?¡± Sam asked her casually seeing the Gish shuffle her feet to approach them. ¡°We were about to come searching for you by the river.¡± ¡°I was in no danger,¡± Jinx replied and plopped down on her arse next to them. Reached with a hand and found a chicken¡¯s ant-infested leg bone stuck under it, she quickly tossed away. ¡°Ahm,¡± Marlo grumbled waking up, smacking his dry mouth. ¡°All the moisture went in me back. Face feels drier than a desert¡¯s water hole damn it!¡± ¡°I found Moira,¡± Jinx told them. ¡°She¡¯s quite a character. Not sure about her company though.¡± ¡°That her name?¡± Sam asked. ¡°Where is she from?¡± ¡°She never told me,¡± Jinx admitted. ¡°For what¡¯s worth she¡¯s a looker alright. Especially from up close. Weird city, weird people all about, I guess.¡± ¡°Beau Ideal,¡± Marlo murmured soberly and shifted to sit up straighter. ¡°The perfect beauty. It¡¯s an old expression Sibren Matts used.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Jinx said nodding. ¡°I can see it may apply to her. A little exaggerated perhaps but not by much.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t exist,¡± the veteran adventurer elucidated and got up with a tired groan. ¡°It¡¯s a cautionary tale pink-curls. An illusory eidolon.¡± ¡°She was very pretty,¡± Sam argued. ¡°And there are beautiful creatures aplenty in Goras.¡± Jinx narrowed her eyes thinking about the encounter. Were there charms at play? Hmm. Maybe my hormones aren¡¯t to blame here. ¡°True,¡± Marlo agreed. ¡°Most of them are far from safe. Yes Sam, Aenymriel included. I¡¯m no fool.¡± ¡°Beau Ideal,¡± she murmured and got up herself, slapping at her short tunic and down her thighs. The garment left her legs uncovered which made the Gish look taller so she had ditched the pants the moment the winter was over. Eh, give or take a couple of weeks. A bit of naked skin can do wonders, when one frequents unsavory venues? ¡°Not a good thing,¡± Marlo repeated and Jinx shrugged her shoulders not as certain. Then she turned her head back towards the street again, spotted a beefy Lorian carrying a large sword on his back and a large sack in his left arm. His right offered a red apple to a hooded -equally tall but thinner person- walking next to him that carried a longbow on her back. The female turned casually mid-stride, mouth split in half-a-smile at the kind gesture and accepted it, coming to a full stop immediately after. The man stopped next to her with a chuckle. The female brought the apple to her face, Jinx¡¯s red-rimmed eyes growing like saucer plates realizing who she was. Lithoniela took a bite out of the ripe fruit and gave the grinning man a nod of approval. ¡°Pink curls?¡± Marlo asked seeing her standing frozen in the middle of the street. ¡°Fuck me arse,¡± Jinx croaked in complete disbelief. ¡°She¡¯s here. The blue cunt!¡± ¡°Where? Who?¡± Mathews asked in alarm and jumped on his feet, not understanding why she had gotten so agitated. ¡°Well, for what¡¯s worth. Never seen one of them up close,¡± Marlo admitted sadly. ¡°Not for the lack of trying.¡±
435. Beau Ideal (2/2) -
*Sorna Waiwa Sanda-Sya Steadfast wind shield-(his, her, it) *Rough translation from the ¡®Witch Tongue¡¯ of Cydonia (a form of Archaic Imperial, a dead language). The verse is open to interpretation as it is in incomplete form. Here it probably describes the first rank of the Greater Spell of Wind (greatly simplified) used in its controversial ¡®defensive¡¯ variation. A forbidden practice frowned upon by the Coven who preferred not to mix protective and bellicose spells on the fly or shorten incantations outside of a controlled environment. Of course Kallister along some very-talented ¡®intuned¡¯ sorceresses were known to have used their own variations of spells in the past. Mixing and maxing to their heart¡¯s content. Their attempts frequently fatal.
Whisper ¡®Pretty Nose¡¯ Jinx Beau Ideal Part II -Old acquaintance-
Jinx watched Lithoniela perusing the merchant stands, this part of the market sold tools and animal accessories like saddles, stirrups, various leather straps, locks and an assortment of covers. From plain small wool and hemp blankets, to rolls of worked leather for chairs to use under horse or camel saddles and of course to just ¡®cover your pet elephant!¡¯ as a manically grinning merchant hollered. For those that could afford one. ¡°Jinx,¡± Sam Mathews started sounding unsure. The two adventurers had followed her as the Gish had immediately gone after the couple by crossing the busy street. ¡°That¡¯s a big man.¡± ¡°She¡¯s more dangerous,¡± Jinx hissed opening her stride but Sam grabbed her shoulder and forced the protesting Gish to stop. ¡°Let go Sam,¡± Jinx warned staring... well, mostly looking up towards the taller man¡¯s face heatedly. ¡°What¡¯s the story lass?¡± A heavy-breathing Marlo asked, keeping an eye on the unsuspecting couple that stood about ten meters away. ¡°We were in the same group with Glen,¡± Jinx explained puffing out. ¡°That was back in Hellfort, around 188.¡± ¡°The Monarch,¡± Marlo murmured. ¡°How is this relevant? She¡¯s a friend?¡± ¡°She left with a cunt that tried to murder him.¡± ¡°So another girl was involved?¡± Sam queried. ¡°No, but a cunt nonetheless,¡± Jinx retorted. ¡°She¡¯s a Zilan by the way and he must have been one too. Ninety percent sure about the latter. Also a Silent Servant working for the prince¡¯s wife. Turns out Lith is a princess too.¡± Marlo smacked his lips and then grimaced. ¡°I¡¯m hearing lots of big words and titles thrown about lass. Which prince?¡± ¡°Sahand. Word is he croaked.¡± ¡°Ah. And the other thing?¡± Marlo asked with a slight nod of understanding. ¡°Of Wetull.¡± ¡°What? Are you serious?¡± Sam gasped and looked at the unassuming female, tapping at a pair of metal stirrups with a small blade to check on the quality under the merchant¡¯s annoyed scrutiny. ¡°Aye. It¡¯s a secret.¡± Not anymore. ¡°What about the other part? The whole assassin stuff?¡± Marlo asked to steer the conversation on more practical matters. ¡°All true. Dante and Hook were killed whilst retreating towards the bridge. A lot of other people were slain as well.¡± ¡°Murdered?¡± ¡°Killed by that Gold Leopard¡¯s army. Another cunt. Still breathing.¡± ¡°Umm,¡± Marlo nodded again seemingly engrossed to her words. He either gets everything, Jinx mused, or nothing at all. Marlo used the same expression for both. ¡°So you blame her?¡± Sam asked evenly trying to remain fair. He didn¡¯t know the names or the people other than what he¡¯d heard from her. Jinx talked a lot when stupidly drunk. ¡°Not for that. But she could have stayed with Glen and didn¡¯t,¡± Jinx snapped. ¡°I¡¯m going to talk with her.¡± She glared at them. ¡°Not starting anything guys. I¡¯ve done this shit a thousand times.¡± ¡°Eh,¡± Marlo grunted and wiped the sweat from his suntanned face. ¡°What?¡± Jinx hissed. ¡°Nothing,¡± the veteran adventurer replied sheepishly and rearranged the scabbard on his thick waist. Marlo had taken on some weight. Jinx thought it was him eating more lately and the absence of jobs but the man blamed his age and the accumulated strain of recent losses. He called it ¡®stress eating.¡¯
The Gish came within reach of the couple with the two adventurers lingering three meters away. Jinx managed to snip a ridiculous blue top-hat from an engaged in deep conversation trader and put it on immediately to keep herself invisible. An old Alix trick. She even lowered it to eye level for more effect and placed an elbow casually on a support post directly behind the armed Lorian. ¡°Prefers softer fabrics due to his condition,¡± Lithoniela clarified to the ¡®covers & pillows¡¯ trader. ¡°Over harsher materials or leather.¡± ¡°The cat?¡± The trader snorted but managed to maintain his professionalism. ¡°Velvet pillows are the softest in the market. They are also the most expensive historically.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll hear your number,¡± Lith told him stiffly. ¡°Then make my offer.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not how it goes lass,¡± the trader explained. ¡°But there are cheaper materials of equal softness to pick from.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll never hear the end of it,¡± the man said. ¡°It¡¯ll be like raiding Nikah¡¯s Cellar all over again.¡± Hmm. Jinx had heard Dante talking about that years back. ¡°You can tell from the meows?¡± The trader retorted. ¡°You people are really weird.¡± ¡°What manner of people?¡± Lith asked tensely taking offense. He can¡¯t see yer ears ye stiff dork! Jinx thought. ¡°Animal lovers,¡± the trader replied and shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Whatever rocks your boat dear, I don¡¯t really mind.¡± ¡°I do not own a boat,¡± Lith hissed not getting his meaning and the man escorting her intervened. ¡°Milady I can finish this here,¡± he offered. Wow, you found a new fool to string along. ¡°I don¡¯t wish to trade with him,¡± she retorted inflexibly. ¡°We don¡¯t have to,¡± her escort replied. ¡°Next one please.¡± The trader decided. ¡°Come take a feel! Give your tired back what it truly deserves. Very soft pillows!¡± The latter words intentionally drawn out to further infuriate Lithoniela. The moment they moved away from the stands and in a less busy part of the street Jinx leaped in front of the big Lorian and landed behind the stooped Zilan. She went to grab her hood but Lith twisted around and slapped her hand away. ¡°Damn,¡± Jinx cursed, her slapped fingers tingling. ¡°You didn¡¯t hold back there.¡± ¡°Myrna¡¯s freckled bosom!¡± The man grunted coming to a halt, not to run the Gish over. ¡°What is this bizarre dwarf be doing?¡± Are ye blind mister? Jinx thought not believing her ears. A dwarfess with dis bloody figure? Have you been living under a fuckin¡¯ rock? ¡°It was for snooping around like an idiot,¡± Lithoniela retorted clenching her jaw. ¡°What do you want?¡± Well, fuck you too dear. ¡°You couldn¡¯t say hello?¡± Jinx snapped. ¡°I was busy Gish.¡± ¡°Is that a Gish?¡± The man asked and looked at Jinx¡¯s profile. ¡°Good grief! Eh, well¡­ hmm. No worries then.¡± Jinx gave him a frustrated side-glance afore returning her attention to the glaring Lith. ¡°You really grew up to be a tall bitch,¡± Jinx started and Lith pulled her lips back revealing two pairs of healthy fangs. The Gish had long been desensitized to that though, to the point she even had fun with pointy teeth in bed and their owners, so she didn¡¯t even flinch. ¡°Lass, ye better go away now,¡± the man counselled. ¡°After ye apologize.¡± ¡°She won¡¯t. Always an unfair arbiter and harsh guilter,¡± Lithoniela told him stiffly. ¡°Her name is Jinx. We know each other for some time.¡± ¡°You are so full of shit,¡± Jinx rumbled angry. ¡°To have the gall to stand there in your fucking hood and in fake preeminence when we dragged your threadbare arse out of the blasted lands!¡± Literally. ¡°Hey!¡± The man grunted and put a heavy hand on her right shoulder. Lith¡¯s face had crumbled in barely controlled fury. ¡°You asked for it lass,¡± he told her and made to shove Jinx away but she stood her ground. The Gish¡¯s strength surprising the Lorian and Marlo¡¯s professional voice coming at the end of it. ¡°She didn¡¯t,¡± the adventurer explained. ¡°On the condition ye were accurate, we be all up to our elbows in shite right now. Blades out and all that fuzz.¡± The Lorian snapped his head back to inspect them and then frowned. ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Marlo responded to his scrutiny. ¡°Forget about me. There is no meaner motherfucker than me friend. That¡¯s Sam Mathews.¡± Sam furrowed his brows at Marlo¡¯s dubious praise, but shit like this usually works. People are cautious when names are thrown about. Six times out of ten. ¡°She¡¯s insulting¡ª¡± ¡°No I¡¯m not,¡± Jinx cut the Lorian off mid-sentence. ¡°Tell him the truth, don¡¯t be a blue cunt,¡± she urged the gnarling Lithoniela. ¡°Caruso knows everything,¡± the Zilan hissed. ¡°Are ye sure Princess?¡± Jinx asked tauntingly and Lithoniela made a frustrated gesture. ¡°Bah. He knows. Your childish trickery won¡¯t work with me.¡± ¡°Yer childish trickery won¡¯t work¡­¡± Jinx shook her head right and left after she repeated the Zilan¡¯s words. The tall hat fell off but she caught it on her left ankle, leg raising lithely and then lobbed it on her pink head casually. Impressed even herself she had pulled that off. The men were all impressed for sure. Lith had pressed her mouth tightly in a jealous pout. ¡°What am I guilty off Jinx?¡± She finally asked with a glance at the human crowd passing them by with curious looks. ¡°You know. Glen almost died and you skedaddled out of trouble wit yer murderous friend,¡± Jinx replied without mincing her words. Lith puffed out slowly. ¡°Glenavon made it because I sent Fikumin to him. A Folk promise is forever.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s that Glenavon?¡± Marlo asked and Sam whispered to his ear. ¡°Ah, right. God damn it. What¡¯s wit that lad and monikers? Fuck¡¯s sake!¡± ¡°You miss the part where you brought a killer in our midst,¡± Jinx hissed and took a step forward well into Lith¡¯s personal space. Two things she noticed immediately. Lithoniela was still a tall girl and her boobs were bigger. ¡°I didn¡¯t know,¡± Lith replied taking a small step back. ¡°The matter is resolved.¡± ¡°Are ye serious?¡± Jinx snarled. ¡°That son of a bitch tried to kill him!¡± ¡°It was a contract. It is voided now. A mistake corrected,¡± Lithoniela explained slowly. ¡°If you think I was intending to harm Glenavon then you¡¯re out of your mind.¡± ¡°Who told you that? The whole voided part? That Larn cunt? You actually believed him?¡± Lith grimaced in the attempt to hide her frustration. ¡°I went to the source, stop trying to pin this on me Jinx.¡± ¡°What source?¡± Jinx probed tauntingly. Sahand¡¯s wife? ¡°I¡¯ve said enough on the matter,¡± Lith replied stiffly. ¡°I hear Glenavon is doing fine. How are the others?¡± Jinx stood back crumbling her rosy face. ¡°Zola is dead. Dante and Hook. Alix, who you don¡¯t know. Glen¡¯s wife died after delivering a stillborn so he¡¯s not exactly fine.¡± ¡°He¡¯s the King of Wetull.¡± ¡°So what?¡± ¡°Eh, you¡¯re impossible to talk to. Stiles had more sense than you.¡± ¡°He¡¯s dead as well. Run out of lives. Has a statue in Garth¡¯s district though, so there is that?¡± Jinx taunted. ¡°The pirate?¡± ¡°Commissioned by the Princess of Kaltha. We¡¯ve no idea how he pulled that off.¡± Lith blinked in surprise and then stared at her dirty boots. Way fancier boots than the ones she had left them with. ¡°You have my commiserations but life has been harsh for all of us.¡± ¡°I can see you are upset. What is this bullshit? You¡¯re playing tough for this guy?¡± Jinx snapped and Lith lost her color momentarily. ¡°Lass, your mouth needs a good washing,¡± Caruso growled. ¡°Hey,¡± Mathews warned but Marlo stopped him.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°Caruso was in the right there lad,¡± he explained. Lithoniela sighed after a moment of silence. ¡°So he got married?¡± She asked at the end of it. ¡°A Cofol girl. Left him a daughter.¡± ¡°He actually made a Cofol Queen of Wetull?¡± Lith asked raising her thin brows. ¡°I now remember why I didn¡¯t like you so much,¡± Jinx replied through her teeth. ¡°You look down on people.¡± ¡°It is a legitimate query Gish!¡± Lith snapped losing her patience. ¡°Only to you.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know how he pulled that off,¡± Lithoniela said trying to keep her nerves under control. ¡°Does the Council exist?¡± She paused at that and looked about them. ¡°Enough. We can¡¯t discuss these matters here.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve rooms rented next to Von¡¯s tavern,¡± Jinx offered. ¡°This is not the time,¡± Lithoniela decided with a small pout. ¡°I have important work to do.¡± What? ¡°You¡¯re going to leave?¡± Jinx yapped like a hyena barely getting the words out. ¡°Keep your voice down,¡± Lith warned her. ¡°Nobody cares,¡± Jinx retorted with a snarl. ¡°With yer stupid hood and all the silly whispering about like thieves. The cat is out of the bag Lith. Humans know yer kind exist!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be a fool Gish,¡± Lithoniela hissed back. ¡°You are a backwards, stiff blue cunt that lives inside her head,¡± Jinx unloaded in anger and Lith leaped towards her, long strong fingers curling around Jinx¡¯s neck. The Zilan pressed to silence her and the Gish responded by placing a thin index finger at her belly. ¡°That¡¯s a blade,¡± Jinx mumbled with a strangled croak and stabbed with her finger in warning. The results spectacular. Lithoniela recoiled letting out a terrified gasp and almost went down on her back, comely face distorted with preternatural dread. Tits! Fuck happened here? Jinx blinked in stupefied silence whilst Caruso rushed to help the rattled Zilan. ¡°It was just a finger Lith,¡± she explained and Caruso gave her a glare. ¡°Alright that¡¯s enough talking lass,¡± he told her. ¡°You go your way and we go ours now.¡± ¡°Pink curls?¡± Marlo asked. ¡°No,¡± Jinx spat and stepped forward. ¡°I want to know.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have to tell you anything,¡± Lith groaned and stood up trying to compose herself. ¡°I owe you nothing.¡± ¡°What happened to you?¡± Jinx asked not bothering with her objection. ¡°Where is that murdering turd? Did he¡­?¡± ¡°Larn had nothing to do¡­!¡± Lith puffed out exasperated. ¡°We are not family Jinx.¡± ¡°And these people are?¡± ¡°These are my people!¡± Lith hissed and Caruso placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. ¡°Some are coming here to see me.¡± From where? ¡°Yer people are in Goras,¡± Jinx retorted. ¡°What you¡¯re running with are outcasts and killers.¡± ¡°You know nothing of the way the Realm works,¡± Lithoniela rejoined sounding hurt and then shook her head wearily. ¡°I know more than you about the exiles. Glen welcomed them back,¡± Jinx replied a little guilty for forcing her to talk about it. Whatever it was that had caused it, Lith had suffered a big trauma. She wasn¡¯t the same. Her whole rigid fa?ade maintained to hide that very fact. ¡°If Glenavon rules how he pleases then everyone I used to know is dead,¡± Lith said bitterly. ¡°That¡¯s not true,¡± Jinx grimaced and stared at the two adventurers to let them know they were about to move. ¡°Let¡¯s go to your place. Talk there.¡± ¡°Jinx,¡± Lith said and licked her full lips. ¡°It is better if we part here.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Milady?¡± Caruso queried in a cautious manner for such a big man. ¡°You were talking of the matter yesterday.¡± Lith placed a finger on his lips to silence him. An intimate gesture. Jinx had initially thought Caruso just worked for her but it appeared they were really close, either friends or lovers. It¡¯s been so many years, the Gish realized suddenly a little melancholic. ¡°It¡¯s a bit out of the way,¡± Lithoniela stated nonchalantly and lowered her arm. ¡°A cheap shady hostel at the edges of the pirates¡¯ district?¡± Jinx teased to break the tension. A constipated Lith pursed her lips tightly not keen on partaking in the Gish¡¯s attempt at humor. ¡°A ruin,¡± she replied inflexibly. ¡°At the abandoned center of the settlement.¡± Only a Zilan of her stature and delusion would ever call the sprawling ever-growing Eikenport with its two harbors and three large districts a settlement.
¡°So Marlo and Mathews,¡± Caruso asked the two adventurers on their way to Lith¡¯s ¡®hostel¡¯ an hour later. ¡°Remember the name I think.¡± ¡°Mathews is too young,¡± Marlo corrected him eyeing a beggar returning with his profits walking fast. ¡°You¡¯re thinking Len Hughes aye. Drown in Granlake I heard, back in seventy nine, right after he¡¯d retired -fuck¡¯s sake. Whilst fishing of all blasted things. Sus for sure. But he was running with Sibren Matts for a moon those last years, around seventy four-seventy five when I was handsomer. Think I remember a couple of lads loitering around the taverns of Colle back then. A mouthy lad and a tall dude wit a squire¡¯s face.¡± Caruso¡¯s rough skin got crumpled even more. ¡°Brit. Yeah. He ain¡¯t around no more. An accident¡­ on the job.¡± Marlo nodded. ¡°What job be that?¡± ¡°When we failed to join Matts we worked what came around. Then headed for Rida. Helped the Marauders a bit and stayed with Adrian Stoner¡¯s crew for a while, whilst helping out Myrna Tiploft. Last couple of years afore Rida got leveled we found permanent employment with the guild.¡± Jinx noticed he didn¡¯t mention which of the guilds it was. ¡°How¡¯s the pay?¡± Mathews asked. ¡°Mostly decent,¡± Caruso replied with a glance at a walking in silence Lithoniela. ¡°But things can get wild sometimes so ye see past that. These last couple of years especially.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me about it!¡± Marlo let out a hoarse grunt in agreement. ¡°I¡¯ve been living in Goras of all places and hunting monsters. Galloping fucking goblins!¡± Caruso jerked his head to around to stare at the seething adventurer. ¡°Ye seen goblins?¡± ¡°It¡¯s an expression he likes,¡± Sam elucidated since Marlo was too frustrated to reply. ¡°But monsters we¡¯ve seen aplenty.¡± ¡°Yeah? What kind?¡± Caruso probed curious. ¡°All kinds.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve seen¡ª¡± Caruso went to add but Lithoniela turned around to cut him off. ¡°We¡¯re here,¡± she said evenly standing in front of an abandoned lot with a ruined building at its center that used to be an old mansion.
Jinx stared at the prepared with blankets sleeping spots, next to saddle sacks with supplies ¨Ca strange pile of bones amidst them looking a lot like a huge Arachne¡¯s claws and the leaking cracked ceiling above them with narrowed eyes. Then at the barred with stones and pieces of old timber collapsed east wall. Five cots. Four normal and a tiny one with killed animal bones around it. A small cannibal? Hmm. Ah, the fucking cat. ¡°You know hostels are dirt cheap in the pirate district right?¡± She asked the Zilan that went to feed her horse. Several mounts were tied outside, two camels and a mule, the old abandoned yard covered in weeds. Lithoniela reached inside her satchel and got a folded green blanket out. She tossed it over a horse¡¯s back and worked to set it up proper. ¡°We are careful,¡± she finally said. ¡°Lith, Glen has made a deal with the Princess of Kaltha,¡± Jinx told her. ¡°Married into the Peninsula. People don¡¯t look to come after you.¡± ¡°I thought you¡¯d stay near him,¡± Lith said. ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s not that easy to follow these days.¡± ¡°Where did he find the wyvern?¡± ¡°I gave him an egg.¡± Lithoniela turned to look at her surprised. ¡°Well, it¡¯s a bit more complicated than that,¡± Jinx continued scratching her left temple with a finger right under the top hat. ¡°Anyways, it hatched and he now rides a wyvern he named Biscuit afore the real name came out. It is as weird and I¡¯m not supposed to tell anyone about it?¡± ¡°An Onyx Wyvern,¡± Lith noted. ¡°Does it matter?¡± ¡°It does for it¡¯s a tell sign of Hardir O¡¯ Fardor,¡± Lith explained. ¡°The locals call him that. Lots of lunatics with yer kin. Pretty girls and boys though I¡¯ll give ye that.¡± ¡°He went further than I ever imagined,¡± the Elderborn Zilan admitted. ¡°He wished for a throne and the dagger listened.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe Glen meant that,¡± Jinx replied. ¡°Don¡¯t even think he wanted to rule in Altarin. As for the dagger, you believe an old weapon could do that?¡± ¡°Anything magic-touched can be a medium, a bridge or a door. It makes gods listen,¡± Lith explained stiffly. ¡°What lunatics? The palace¡ª?¡± ¡°Yeah the palace is gone hon,¡± Jinx cut her off. She didn¡¯t want to give her false hope. ¡°Blown to smithereens and most of the court with it so Glen made a new one. Eh. There¡¯s still an old one standing of sorts in Elauthin but I understand it was ceremonial. Just to clarify matters here, Elauthin is gone as well for the most part.¡± ¡°Ninthalor¡¯s palace,¡± Lith explained with a sigh and pushed her hood back revealing a more mature version of her face. Still comely but with an aloof harshness in it and dark lines under her expressive eyes. They turned cold at Jinx¡¯s scrutiny. ¡°I¡¯m worried for you,¡± Jinx explained. ¡°Not ogling. I¡¯ve a girlfriend.¡± The thought of Maeriel made her stomach turn into a knot. What am I doing here? I need to get back to those that love me, Jinx decided. Let the blue cunt figure stuff out on her own. She doesn¡¯t want to listen. Lith pouted and gave her horse a soft pat on its neck. ¡°Sorry about Zola.¡± ¡°Soren got hit the worst from that,¡± Jinx croaked not wanting to remember it. Lith had done it on purpose to change subject. ¡°Don¡¯t do that.¡± ¡°Does Glenavon want us back in Goras?¡± Lith asked Jinx pretending she didn¡¯t hear her. ¡°Glen has his hands full but sure. He¡¯s not one to hold a grunge.¡± ¡°He was repulsed at my sight the last I saw him,¡± Lith reminded her. Eh, Glen is easily rattled but as quick in getting his shit together. It¡¯s a skill. A weird one but he sort of makes it work. ¡°There are thousands of blue cunts and cocks in Goras,¡± Jinx explained as tactfully as she could. ¡°Some are bat-shit crazy, some will take a bite at you if they¡¯re drunk and a couple are outright fucking dangerous to be around. Aye. Glen is completely unfazed about all that. You¡¯re remembering a different guy. A boy, but now he¡¯s a fully-grown man. Mind you,¡± Jinx added after thinking about it some. ¡°That don¡¯t mean he¡¯s great or not an idiot at times. The last thing he needs is more fanboys touting his horn. He¡¯s pretty receptive to that too.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you two ever hook up?¡± Jinx stared at her familiar face for a moment then replied honestly. ¡°We could fuck tomorrow I guess, but we made a deal on that boat trip back to Jelin to stick together through thick and thin. Us island folk are better off as friends and family. A folk promise can be broken Lith,¡± she added going back at the Zilan Princess¡¯ earlier comment. ¡°Family is forever.¡± They turned to walk inside the building, its main doors long destroyed or stolen but Jinx heard voices approaching from the ruined mansion gates facing Eikenport¡¯s main street and paused.
¡°There,¡± a familiar voice griped, not as refined now. ¡°Skin peeled off at the heel! Feel it. Lower Rhys, Goddess¡¯ grace!¡± ¡°I needed to get the full measure of it,¡± Rhys replied all serious. ¡°You also seem tired from walking.¡± ¡°A massage amidst the reeds is your suggestion?¡± The woman snorted at that. ¡°You need to take the shoes back and ask for a new pair. I¡¯ll just limp to the house.¡± ¡°Can I get my horse for that? It is five kilometers back to the market.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± The woman replied reasonably. ¡°Will the trader remember the deal?¡± ¡°Ehm¡­ can¡¯t you just make it happen?¡± She complained sounding really sad. ¡°Better wait a bit around the city for nightfall then. I¡¯ll take the mule as well. Bodies are difficult to carry,¡± Rhys decided. ¡°Anything else caught your fancy?¡± ¡°Get some tools for stitching leather. Some bananas but not the green ones and better wine. Another blanket?¡± ¡°Right. We could share mine Milady of lucid dreams.¡± Dude, lay off the redleaf. ¡°I need a clean one Rhys,¡± the woman argued leaving it open to interpretation. ¡°I¡¯ll have it cleaned thoroughly,¡± Rhys retorted hoarsely. What in the name of Allgods is going on here? Jinx wondered as Moira and Rhys appeared out of the tall weeds, Moira carrying an armful of wildflowers and the sweaty man two large sacks laden with market goods. Very heavy by the looks of them. Some of the products sticking out.
¡°She¡¯s an old friend,¡± Lithoniela warned the frozen Rhys, an umbrella clattering down spilling out of the sacks. ¡°Jinx,¡± Moira said in a mellower voice. ¡°So you followed after us, you naughty little Gish?¡± No, sweet tits. ¡°I followed after her,¡± a still surprised at seeing her again Jinx retorted. ¡°You guys are a thing?¡± Moira blinked her pretty eyes unsure. ¡°We are together. Don¡¯t mind her language,¡± Lith explained quickly. ¡°Rhys¡­¡± she warned the snarling half-breed again. ¡°Rhys was heading back to town,¡± Moira explained and touched his shoulder. ¡°Mmm,¡± the man murmured. ¡°I don¡¯t like this Gish,¡± he told her. ¡°Don¡¯t be silly,¡± Moira replied and stooped to get a pair of fancy sandals with silver straps off of her dirty tanned feet. The new pair. ¡°I can help,¡± Rhys offered and dropped his bags. ¡°Go ahead then,¡± Moira agreed and raised a leg to his waiting hands. ¡°Where did you find them?¡± Jinx asked the tensed Lithoniela and she glanced her way skittish as a deer hearing a hunter¡¯s bowstring drawn. Is she worried Sam and Marlo will come out of the house? ¡°Moira¡­ is my servant,¡± Lith explained and Jinx stood back not expecting it. ¡°A freed slave.¡± The Gish caught Moira¡¯s grimace of displeasure out of the corner of her eye. ¡°And the guy?¡± ¡°Just a companion.¡± ¡°Now that hurts my fucking feelings,¡± Rhys griped. ¡°I thought we are more than that Ela of the courts.¡± Ela of the courts? What¡¯s this, a fancy monikers convention? ¡°Only in your perverted dreams Rhys,¡± Lith retorted stiffly and the man smirked with his freaky mouth. ¡°Go,¡± Moira ordered cutting his leer short. ¡°Take the shoes with you.¡± ¡°Jinx was about to leave as well,¡± Lith told her and Moira made a tired gesture, whilst Rhys picked up the shoes. He headed for a large brown horse. ¡°I don¡¯t mind your friend,¡± Moira replied and approached with difficulty. Jinx stood back when she reached near her. ¡°You spooked the young Gish dear,¡± the beautiful servant said to Lithoniela calmly. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°We expect visitors,¡± Lith reminded her tensely. ¡°Do we?¡± Moira paused unsure and listened at the voice of Caruso talking with the two adventurers inside the mansion¡¯s central hall. ¡°Are they here? I need half an hour to get back into shape. Make it a full hour.¡± ¡°No, they are not,¡± Lith retorted at her sounding frustrated. ¡°But they might arrive at any moment.¡± Jinx licked her lips and took another step back to stand just under the entrance. Something is very wrong here, she thought. The group¡¯s dynamics all strange and convoluted. ¡°Jinx is our friend,¡± Moira purred perceptively and reached with an arm to touch her but Lithoniela caught it in a steely grip. ¡°If she¡¯s yours,¡± a pouting Moira added glaring at the rigid Zilan. Which, while it presented a more interesting side of the head-turning beauty, was quite revealing. It made her eyes glow for starters which was weirdly familiar for it matched Lith¡¯s stern gaze but also strange, for it made the pretty half-breed¡¯s face crack like a mirror¡¯s surface for a tiny moment. Behind the cracked mirror or a disturbed water¡¯s surface a slightly different version of her face appeared. Equally if not more breathtakingly beautiful but also clearly older. And chillingly alien. Beau Ideal, describes naught but a picture for our eyes to feast upon. Marlo had told her some hours earlier. An illusory eidolon of a real person. It might not match what is painted outside or it may do, but nature¡¯s most beautiful creations are often as deadly as Wetull¡¯s flesh-eating flowers ¡®pink curls¡¯. Moira had cast her pretty head to the side reading Jinx¡¯s expression. Reading her thoughts, the Gish realized. The sudden startle making her recoil away from the two girls that were staring at her perceptively. Out of the reeds -no more than four meters away- a tall, thin figure appeared clad in black well-used leather garments and hidden behind a raised leather hood. Next to him that freaky kid had popped out as well munching on an unpeeled banana and a pissed off large black cat missing half its fur which made the animal look rather ghastly. The newcomer¡¯s cold gray eyes assessed the situation in half a second, his stare darting from the two taller women to the shorter stunned Gish, a flicker of recognition barely cracking his solemn expression. The remaining half a second both he and Jinx reacted, the Gish trying to back away inside the building and the assassin snapping his right arm forward, the sleeve flapping like a whip and a small blade hurled towards the desperately attempting to dodge Jinx. The toss was perfectly straight and impossible to miss. But it sort of did. Everyone seemed frozen in place, the afternoon sun dimming on the sky. ¡°Sorna Waiwa¡­ Sanda-Rya!¡± An otherworldly mighty voice roared setting everything in motion again and a titanic strong wind blasted the lunging steel blade away. The colossal gale ripped through Jinx lifting her clean off of her feet with a screeching yelp of panic, shoulder banging the doorframe afore hurling her ten meters away like a used dinner plate. A gnarling Larn, the ogled-eyed kid and a screaming lewd obscenities¡¯ in Common flying cat, along an area of equal size blasted away as well in the sudden bedlam. Small stones, the umbrella, parches of weeds and grass got uprooted, the ground scrapped clean off material that then bombarded the area on the fa?ade of the house for a drawn-out chaotic moment. A part of the north wall collapsing in a pile of debris the next. The air crackling disturbed and super-charged for another. And then the wind died.
¡°Eargh!¡± Jinx coughed violently, whilst rolling about on the disturbed ground, spitting pebbles, grass and mud out of her mouth, feeling kicked by a beefy horned zebra right between the tits. ¡°Freal¡­ for real,¡± she managed to croak in the second attempt, Larn¡¯s pained grunts reaching her from ten meters away, as he slowly got up. The rattled Jinx realized her fine hat was nowhere to be found. ¡°Oras heavy shadow descending, Doll,¡± the disheveled assassin protested irate in his gravelly voice. ¡°Told you not to do that again!¡± Jinx tried to stand on shaky feet and Moira appeared in front of her, lovely face all healed up now but very-scary. I went to the source, Lith had told her keeping the most important part out in a sense. The woman raised her left hand, slowly turning it and opened a dirty palm wearing a soothing smile to calm the frightened Gish down. Then she blew on her palm pursing her plump lips and a cloud of sparkly green dust smacked the jerking away Whisper right at the nostrils. Turning everything into a myriad hues of black.
436. Not a question of if...
For there are more¡­ The God of the Heavens The Mother of Magic The God of the Depths, and the Others. - Roads (By Soteras or of Soteras) Volume IV Gods Chapter, -Prologue- (The bottom of the page was missing in all subsequent editions) -circa 68 NC
Aelrindel, of Edlenn ¡®Nesande''s Moon Daughter¡¯* ¡®Hallowed Splendor¡¯* Not a question of if...
*The first being Edlenn¡¯s well-documented moniker and the second derived from the power word attachment Ael (Divine, Sacred) in her name.
- -
The deep sea splashed on the gleaming basalt boulders, dark green and blue turning to thick white froth. It went over the tall reefs¡¯ cracked peaks that were a natural breakwater and poured before the pebbly beach. An elongated and looping around the shores zone, a shallow pond-like area one could walk with ease to reach onto dry land. Which she did following the shorter path, extended right hand¡¯s fingers touching the calm and very warm water¡¯s surface. The air smelling of menthol, peppermint flowers and eucalyptus trees. Pink and red corrals visible at the distance resembling a red belt. The blooming foliage beyond the white-grey pebbles of the beach, with its bright colors allowed the sun¡¯s rays through like Naossis sheer knitted girdle. ¡°Mum?¡± The little Gish asked standing up. ¡°Are the twins alright?¡± Mmm. The voice echoing inside the artificial dome, disturbing the dream-world¡¯s walls. A house of remembrance and past qualms, she thought hugging the little creature motherly. You¡¯re a strange Gish eh? Playing at another. The irony escaping her. They are alright, the trees whispered responding to the Sibyl¡¯s silent query. ¡°They are alright,¡± Aelrindel said soothingly and kissed the top of the shivering Gish¡¯s head. ¡°What do you have there, dear?¡± Jinx tipped her head back to look at her unsure. ¡°A crescent-shaped pearl I found on the beach,¡± she replied and showed her shyly. ¡°It sings.¡± ¡°Give it to me,¡± Aelrindel ordered and the smaller female obeyed. ¡°Have you found anything else?¡± ¡°Earlier. Do you want me to show you?¡± Jinx replied with an eager smile. ¡°That¡¯s fine,¡± Aelrindel said, the drumming in her head turned to a dull background noise coming from outside the dream-world. ¡°You can keep those,¡± she added and closed her eyes to find the exit, leaving the dome¡¯s occupant alone. She took the memory with her. Dark and red painted corridors. Humming shades and whispering memories. ¡®Sometimes life offers you one of two,¡¯ a fit Issir woman counseled. ¡®A friend or a lover. Sometimes nothing at all. If it is company you crave the most, then learn to take what¡¯s offered and don¡¯t hazard for more.¡¯ ¡®Put some faith in me,¡¯ a handsome Lorian wearing a fancy belt assured her. ¡®You¡¯re quite safe now lass, but you need to let go of the latrine.¡¯ What manner of nonsensical¡­ Ael thought but paused to hear more. A scrawny teenager with a maimed ear standing at the bow of a large fishing boat furrowing his smart brows uncertain for a brief moment. Then turning his head asked in a scoundrel¡¯s voice, wild curls blowing at the wind. ¡®How far are these Sinking Isles?¡¯ The hint of a smirk forming on that wicked mouth and a pretty Zilan purred in the Gish¡¯s ear. ¡®Sleep safe now drool. You¡¯re home.¡¯
It¡¯ll do, the witch decided and walked outside.
The noise turning to voices of alarm and panic. Light hurting her eyes as Aelrindel took a moment to regain control of her own body. Many a young witches have made fools of themselves losing control of their bodily functions when performing outside their vessel. Where is that Gish? Ah. She took quite the tumble damn it. ¡°Galloping fucking Goblins!¡± A brass adventurer cursed running outside the half-collapsed building. ¡°I swallowed puke!¡± That was Melon coming about with a panicked yelp. ¡°She¡¯s fine,¡± Aelrindel reassured them carrying the unresponsive Jinx in her arms with ease before remembering that a human wouldn¡¯t be that strong and pretended she could barely hold on to the Gish¡¯s limp body. ¡°It¡¯s alright good lass,¡± a handsome adventurer assured the suddenly struggling with the load witch stepping in front of her. Wow, we have lots of unknown male visitors too! ¡°I¡¯ll take over from here.¡± ¡°Please do. She¡¯s rather heavy,¡± Aelrindel told him with a warm smile letting go of the Gish. The man was quick to grab her afore she could hit the ground again. ¡°I think she hurt her head? But it¡¯s just a scratch.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll look at it,¡± the man said stiffly and knelt beside Jinx. ¡°These things can be dangerous.¡± No, she¡¯s fine. But go ahead. ¡°Was that a plaguing earthquake?¡± Caruso asked Lithoniela and the Princess shook her head. ¡°Nah, darn wall came down,¡± the older adventurer declared. ¡°Same thing happened to Grin back in eighty one at Hunter¡¯s Cot. Fucking old wall just crumbled and killed his horse. Got to check them things out thoroughly lads. Well, she alright?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Aelrindel assured him with a smile and the man frowned. ¡°Ye are fer sure,¡± he told her with a small appreciative nod. ¡°But I was talking about Jinx lassie.¡± Which was almost insulting considering she had stepped on a sharp pebble to prevent a tragedy. With the injured leg no less! ¡°Let me have a look at her,¡± Melon barked and sauntered near the unresponsive Gish, the veteran adventurer doing a double take and reaching for his sword. ¡°What is this bullshit? Who said that?¡± The cat paused mid-step to glare at him. ¡°Are ye blind?¡± ¡°Allgods damn it! Heard it again. Sam, did I got hit by a rock?¡± The man cursed grabbing at his head to check for injuries. ¡°You didn¡¯t Marlo,¡± handsome Sam replied and stared at the cat unsure. ¡°Was it a brick?¡± Marlo checked again just to be sure. ¡°It¡¯s just a talking cat,¡± Aelrindel explained indifferently and walked to a stunned Toutatis to help him out. The boy was sitting on his bottom holding a ridiculous top hat in his arms and a half-eaten banana. Hmm. ¡°Eh¡­ what now?¡± Marlo blinked unsure whether he heard her right. ¡°A very rare talking cat from the¡­ North of Eplas,¡± Lithoniela intervened making it up as she went along. ¡°Last of its kind.¡± ¡°Hold on there, round tits,¡± Melon warned her a bit annoyed. ¡°Some of us haven¡¯t given up hope yet!¡± ¡°There¡¯s no such thing as a talking cat!¡± Marlo boomed and Melon farted his way afore looking between Jinx¡¯s legs. ¡°Fuck is it doing?¡± Melon had managed to sneak under the Gish¡¯s short tunic. ¡°Eh,¡± Sam murmured standing back. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a ripe pussy,¡± Melon declared inhaling deeply, dilapidated tail lashing right and left furiously. ¡°Ah, the scent is divine. She¡¯s in heat! I knew something was up. Here, have a sniff,¡± he offered to the grossed out Sam raising a whiskered muzzle. ¡°Good grief, that¡¯s enough!¡± Marlo grunted and moved to extricate the wayward cat. ¡°Don¡¯t touch the fur!¡± Melon roared with a mighty voice and jumped away from the man¡¯s hands. The black cat landed on four legs and then nervously leaped back and forth a couple of times glaring at the big adventurer. ¡°Want to take another bite at this, huh? I¡¯m gonna rip your nuts out goatfucker!¡± ¡°Why, you piece of charred hide. What did ye call¡­?¡± An offended Marlo growled and unsheathed his sword with Sam rushing to get between the two of them. It is like being back in the circus! She thought with a grin. ¡°Hide behind yer friend that¡¯s right. Fucking ugly sack of shit! Chicken!¡± Melon taunted and Lith had to walk there to pick him up. The cat making loud chicken sounds. ¡°Ko-ki-oh. Ko-koh!¡± ¡°Let me kill the cat,¡± Marlo reasoned with Sam. ¡°We¡¯ll pick another from the street for crying out loud! Who¡¯s gonna know?¡± ¡°You need to calm down,¡± Sam warned him while Lithoniela petted the cat in her arms. ¡°Where did you find the hat?¡± Aelrindel asked the coming about boy and Toutatis wore it on his head giving her the half-eaten banana. The witch peeled it off carefully and then wolfed it down whilst everyone was busy looking at Melon and the adventurers quarrelling. ¡°It looks silly.¡± ¡°I found it,¡± Tout replied and frowned. ¡°Let me see the eye,¡± Aelrindel told him. ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°You should let the sun see it more. It¡¯ll heal faster,¡± she reminded the pouting boy taking the silly hat off of his head and flinging it away. ¡°I¡¯ll work on it some more.¡± ¡°I will,¡± Tout replied hoarsely and she brushed his wiry hair back with her fingers to check for herself under the leather patch. ¡°Hmm,¡± she murmured. ¡°It is a little better. Some vision will return hopefully.¡± A shuddering Toutatis hugged her waist tightly at that. ¡°There, there now.¡± Ael murmured softly feeling the boy¡¯s anguish washing over her. ¡°My little hero of Rida.¡± ¡°What¡­ just happened?¡± He asked in a muffled voice sounding scared. ¡°Not all can be said in front of strangers,¡± she reminded him and he sighed slowly coming about. ¡°But we fear nothing in our little Coven, hmm?¡± Toutatis nodded eagerly. ¡°With that out of the way, where is he?¡± The witch asked her tone changing. ¡°Went to check the gates and the street for any onlookers,¡± Tout replied and let her go reluctantly. ¡°It was very loud.¡±This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. It could have been worse. ¡°Did he look mad?¡± Tout snorted and then crumbled that disfigured face even more. ¡°Just sulking, but no more than usual.¡± Good.
Aelrindel looked to find a place to sit down but couldn¡¯t and fearing to enter the weakened building she went near the pile of debris. She cleared a couple of flat rocks and then looked around for someone to lift them which turned out to be the Princess herself. Lith made a stone stall of sorts using the flatter rocks and Ael plopped her bottom down with a weary sigh. Walking back on foot from the docks had killed her legs. ¡°I built that for me.¡± Lithoniela hissed and the witch frowned afore assuming a tired expression with flashes of pain for better effect. How rude! ¡°I stepped on a pebble. Huge lumpy thing?¡± She explained and Lith pursed her lips not believing a word. This distrust must stop, Ael thought peeved. We deserve the proper respect for our efforts! ¡°With my hurt leg. See behind the heel? A piece of skin just came out, yay big!¡± ¡°Lather some healing potion on it.¡± ¡°I had gathered fresh buds to make an ointment, since what we have is too old,¡± Ael explained and let out a deep sigh. ¡°But had to use everything up in my panic.¡± She glanced around at that but everyone was busy and Melon¡¯s voice brought her attention back to the scowling Princess. ¡°Let me get in that shirt ¡®perky tits¡¯,¡± the cat protested and Lith loosened two buttons to allow him to hide in her bosom. ¡°Need to calm down a bit. I¡¯m too aroused, so I might rub one out in the quick. Ye feel a paw touch a nipple don¡¯t go wild on me right?¡± Melon¡¯s muffled voice was heard and then the cat¡¯s head popped out at the opening, the rest of his body parked between Lith¡¯s covered breasts. Melon looked at Aelrindel intently. ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it. You stink,¡± the witch replied to his voiceless query and Melon rolled his eyes indifferently. ¡°I wasn¡¯t until you started talking dirty,¡± Melon gave her a cat grin. Lith cupped his mouth with a palm she had to pull away when the cat started licking it with manic determination purring loudly. ¡°Did Larn lose his mind?¡± The Princess asked after watching Melon¡¯s ministrations for a while. ¡°He felt danger and reacted. She was on to us,¡± Aelrindel replied lowering her voice. ¡°By trying to kill her?¡± Lith hissed her eyes flashing yellow. ¡°I prevented that,¡± she reminded her. ¡°Can you be a bit more appreciative and discreet?¡± ¡°Bringing down the house was subtle in yer book?¡± ¡°I had to improvise on the fly,¡± the witch retorted. ¡°Didn¡¯t see you reacting at all, but you sure have picked up Caruso¡¯s jargon!¡± The Princess blinked at the jab. ¡°I missed the whole thing,¡± Lith hissed next and took a step forward all fired up. ¡°With you puffing that chest out and only heard the screaming, sorry¡­ chanting.¡± ¡°It serves a purpose,¡± Ael replied through her teeth. ¡°Because it is a much sought after commodity silly girl. Ah, fine stop it. I know Larn better so I¡¯ll give you that.¡± ¡°Pfft. I could turn heads as easy. You¡¯re showing skin like a Gish and it ain¡¯t a compliment,¡± Lithoniela clapped back. Eh¡­ hmm, Ael thought and glanced at the slowly coming about Jinx¡¯s spread legs. That¡¯s preposterous, if I ever do that folks will riot! In public that is. ¡°Will he try again?¡± Lith asked a little frustrated to get the troubled witch¡¯s attention back to their conversation. ¡°Try what? It¡¯s his character,¡± Ael snapped angry to be interrupted whilst thinking on personal matters. ¡°He did it to protect us!¡± Lithoniela crumpled her pretty face and then stroked softly in thoughtful silence the dosing off Melon¡¯s head between the ears. ¡°What did you do?¡± She asked at the end of it and Aelrindel got up with a groan. ¡°I don¡¯t like your tone,¡± the witch told her. ¡°I took her memories. She¡¯ll be fine.¡± ¡°Wait¡­ will she remember anything?¡± Lith asked her sounding concerned. Oh, Goddess please. What is this persistent questioning? ¡°Some memories. I misspoke given my injuries. She won¡¯t remember the later stuff,¡± the comely sorceress explained with a puff of frustration. ¡°The later stuff,¡± Lith repeated narrowing her eyes. ¡°Like an hour?¡± Aelrindel gave her a warning glare. ¡°It¡¯s a legitimate query Moira,¡± Lith taunted. ¡°Thereabouts. It is never precise, but I¡¯m not an animal. I was careful,¡± she explained wearily. Arachne or the Aken were brutal at that and could strip a mind clean. She grimaced at that. ¡°We were supposed to see if we could return to Wetull,¡± Lithoniela started guessing her thoughts which pissed her off to no end. Living near a talented Zilan had its drawbacks as they could read you eventually like an open book. Illusions applied or not. ¡°I can handle Sulynor.¡± ¡°I was talking of what Jinx said.¡± ¡°Fine. What did she say?¡± The witch yielded. ¡°Glenavon will allow us back into Goras. He pardoned the exiles.¡± Reeves. ¡°All of them?¡± Aelrindel asked and crossed both arms over her aroused chest. It¡¯s the abstinence. She might have to take Rhys up on that offer but then Ralnor would be really pissed off. Nah, the assassins were off the table. Too many blades rattling about her soft bits. Selussa? Same thing and that¡¯s a bitter flower to chew on. ¡°Jinx said as much.¡± Lith had replied. Hmm. ¡°How could the silly Gish know?¡± ¡°That¡¯s Glenavon¡¯s best friend probably,¡± Lithoniela explained. ¡°She knows him for years.¡± ¡°I thought that was you,¡± Ael noted sourly. ¡°Didn¡¯t know he was keen on Gish flesh.¡± What is this fresh nonsense! ¡°I was with him for very little. What? Seriously?¡± Lith groaned seeing her furious expression. ¡°I thought you were more open-minded than that.¡± Hah¡­ I¡¯m twice, ten times more open-minded than you! She thought. ¡°I¡¯m just surprised. Not judging. She¡¯s a pretty thing I suppose if one is into that sort of things.¡± ¡°He¡¯s not. Neither is she a sex pet. That was before my mother¡¯s time! Glenavon is a widower with a child. Jinx told me so herself. So you can relax¡­ what is it now?¡± Ael licked her dry lips slowly, trying to think things through civilly and not make a scene. ¡°I¡¯m processing the information.¡± ¡°You¡¯re scowling. A lot.¡± Lith noticed. ¡°It makes your ears show.¡± Shit. ¡°No one here scowls more than you dear!¡± The witch retorted defensively. ¡°Hey, keep them moist pussy noises down,¡± a snoring half-asleep half-dreaming Melon warned with his eyes closed. ¡°Shut up Melon,¡± Lith hissed blushing fiercely, which was cute on her. ¡°It can¡¯t be,¡± the witch said returning to their topic sort of. ¡°I¡¯ve seen the Monarch.¡± ¡°In dreams? Why would you divinate...?¡± ¡°The point is,¡± Ael groused cutting her off midsentence. ¡°That I would have caught it and I didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Did you think to ask?¡± I was busy doing other things dear. ¡°I would have seen a child,¡± the witch hissed pressed into a corner. ¡°How can one hide? How could it know?¡± ¡°You are never wrong?¡± ¡°Obviously I am in this,¡± Aelrindel puffed out in frustration. ¡°Do you trust that Gish?¡± ¡°She wouldn¡¯t lie about that, I think.¡± Lith made a grimace. ¡°The cat farted.¡± Aelrindel turned to stare at Jinx looking about confused with the men eager to help her on her feet. Ah, this is very annoying. ¡°You said we need to get to Nesande¡¯s Garden. The brood mother told you they migrated to Lebesos centuries before the ¡®Fall¡¯.¡± The princess added. Toutatis had returned near them in the meantime and brought Aelrindel a pair of old shoes to wear. ¡°Which doesn¡¯t make sense. The Arachne don¡¯t like changing homes.¡± ¡°What if they got spooked? Or ordered?¡± ¡°No one would have given such an order,¡± Ael countered. ¡°And spooked¡­ by whom? They don¡¯t exactly live peacefully with other creatures or allow visitors in their midst willy-nilly. Assuming one would be insane enough to attempt it.¡± ¡°You did.¡± That was untainted skill dear. The deeply moved witch almost broke down to tears at what she had easily ¨Cfor the most part- accomplished. It was just too much. Unparalleled divinity reduced to living like a vagrant. But she opted for a more modest reply. ¡°I did it in the middle of a street and running out of options. I wouldn¡¯t enter their caves Princess to scare them half a continent away.¡± ¡°You think answers reside inside a tomb?¡± Lithoniela asked. ¡°I need to get my hands on the staff if we¡¯re to face Aken again,¡± the witch explained wiping a wayward tear away. ¡°That means unfortunately I have to enter the tomb which is not exactly pleasant for me. Strange things linger where witches rest. Plus there¡¯s Qerrali to worry about assuming she¡¯s still there. She could be insane after so many centuries locked up.¡± Lithoniela pursed her mouth sensing the sorceress anguish but erring on the reason. ¡°I understand it¡¯s difficult for you to visit your mother¡¯s grave.¡± That too, Aelrindel thought, although she had seen her mother very recently. ¡°We could ask Glenavon. He¡¯s sensitive on these matters being an orphan himself.¡± ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t know about that,¡± Aelrindel decided and stooped to wear her shoes. ¡°Why not?¡± Lith griped. ¡°He might be curious or not helpful. I obviously don¡¯t know which future I see as you pointed out. He could outright bar us from entering or worse. Who else is in his court, do we even know that much?¡± ¡°What does it matter?¡± Lith griped. ¡°I have my mother¡¯s place in the Council of Twenty. He¡¯ll push out an Elderborn?¡± Yeah he would and your mother had her own enemies you need to worry about. ¡°The Reeves you remember was not a Monarch. Or a father. It changes a man. So he might react differently and our presence could tip the balance of power in the Council,¡± Aelrindel breathed out slowly. ¡°You know that or should have known it. I want to see Wetull as well. Smell the garden and walk where my mother walked again. Let¡¯s ask Larn first. See what he thinks.¡± ¡°Why would we need his permission?¡± Lithoniela pouted. ¡°Larn has no say in these matters!¡± I want to hear his opinion. ¡°If you are wrong about Glenavon,¡± Aelrindel said keeping her voice even. ¡°Then going to Goras might be deadly for both of us.¡± ¡°Because of Nym? You¡¯ll fear my mother¡¯s surveyor? Oops, Larn¡¯s boogieman.¡± That¡¯s a big reason sure. And Nym was banned from the Council for a reason. But¡­ ¡°Because of the Monarch Lith,¡± Aelrindel reminded her. ¡°And his onyx Wyvern. What else princess? You glossed over a lot of things in your haste. A dead wife, a Gish friend and how many others hover around the throne?¡± The Princess stood back as realization sunk in. ¡°The Monarch¡¯s people,¡± Lith murmured now troubled. Mmm. Which we know nothing about. ¡°Ralnor is reasonable and flexible in these matters,¡± the witch assured her. ¡°He¡¯ll come up with something solid.¡±
¡°Out of the blasted question!¡± A standing behind a ruined wall manically gnarling Ralnor snapped the moment she mentioned the matter to him. Eh. Lith was talking with a rattled Jinx, but the Gish was fine otherwise and didn¡¯t remember anything. ¡°Have you two lost your mind? Is it contagious? It must be, with such stupidity spreading about!¡± Selussa smirked looking at Aelrindel so the witch ordered a river hornet to land on her nose. It sent the assassin screaming out of the yard. ¡°The Gish¡­¡± ¡°The Gish was with Reeves. Which means she¡¯ll tell him I¡¯m back and then we¡¯ll have to fight royal fools on top of more of Nym¡¯s deranged killers!¡± Ralnor snapped angry. Then knowing this tone wouldn''t work on her, he tried more reasonably. ¡°Listen, I have it all organized Doll. We¡¯ll take a ship to Jelin and lay low whilst I find out more with Rhys¡¯ and the Guild¡¯s help.¡± ¡°The Monarch would be more useful silly,¡± Ael griped. ¡°What about Nym?¡± ¡°You assume she¡¯s on good terms with him?¡± ¡°How should I know? What if she is?¡± ¡°Why would Reeves trust a member of the Circle or her?¡± ¡°Doll, you¡¯re asking questions I can¡¯t answer,¡± Ralnor replied stiffly. ¡°If your spells fail you¡¯ll be a target in Goras. A Wyvern can do that just for fun. Or your well-documented inability to lay low.¡± ¡°I can be Moira,¡± Ael protested. ¡°A lowly former slave girl working for a living.¡± The veteran assassin stared at her numbly. ¡°In the palace,¡± Ael added. ¡°As an advisor or a valued member of the household.¡± Ralnor scratched his left earlobe in silence, lips pressed into a thin line. ¡°You¡¯ll be recognized the moment you open your mouth,¡± he finally said soberly. ¡°I could hide perhaps but even that is not guaranteed with Dar Fenog and Dar Draug still around. Especially the latter. That beast can sniff out anyone Doll.¡± Aelrindel sighed. ¡°So what are you proposing? Because the Princess thinks she can use the throne to go after the Aken.¡± Ralnor stood back and rubbed his gaunt pale face for a thoughtful moment. ¡°If Reeves is Hardir O¡¯ Fardor¡­ forget about that. The moment that scoundrel assumed the throne was the moment he set his mind to maintain a firm grip on it. Why risk attacking the Aken? Sure, he could use the Wyvern but is that enough? A war of this scale¡­ might flush out more than he can handle. We had Wyverns before, has he ever faced a construct? They could be anywhere and anyone.¡± ¡°Can we take them out at the source?¡± Ralnor looked at her. ¡°I¡¯m not keen on crossing the ocean Doll. There is a reason no one has done it afore. What then?¡± That¡¯s not true. Kallister did and Sintoriela allegedly. Speaking of grandmother¡­ ¡°Sintoriela told my mother they have a Council that wasn¡¯t keen on the war. I wouldn¡¯t be as well if I had to keep my eyes peeled on the Endless Desert. The Lords of the Alafern never sleep the old books say or the ¡®Others¡¯ living in the Old Realms.¡± Ael said. ¡°This could be a smaller faction operating on Eplas that¡¯s causing us problems.¡± Ralnor wasn¡¯t keen on millennia old history tales. ¡°Bah, just stay on the bloody present. They have servants on Jelin as well and I¡¯m still missing a blasted ship full of corpses! Four hundred and sixty ripe cadavers are chilling a number, Oras curse them. There are problems enough to waste valuable time delving in ancient apocrypha.¡± ¡°An Aken can¡¯t hide on Jelin or operate as easy as they do in the Peninsula. Jelin is notoriously bigoted and even here it¡¯s this Khan that gave them leeway.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe the Aken give a damn about any lord¡¯s wishes. I wouldn¡¯t too if I had the prospect to just replace them with a compliant servant.¡± Ralnor grunted. ¡°You can¡¯t risk going to Goras and you know it.¡± ¡°She needs help. It was never a question of if but of when,¡± Aelrindel said calmly and Ralnor frowned his shaven brows looking at her hand touching his. ¡°I need to balance the scales. We have to.¡± This talk was over. The assassin grimaced and turned his gaze at the Princess. The Gish accepting that ridiculous hat from Toutatis and the adventurers. Clenching his jaw so hard deep lines formed down his bony cheeks Ralnor stared next at the sorceress¡¯ determined face. ¡°I don¡¯t trust these fools to keep you safe on the road Doll,¡± he admitted wearily, some of his younger self bubbling up to the surface and cracking the hardened exterior. That part reminded her of young Tout a lot. What are you doing lurking in the shades boy? Edlenn had asked interrupting their lessons. Come forth into the light. Take a seat next to her. Open your ears and keep your eyes on me. Ael chuckled throatily and reached higher to touch his warm cheek, felt the temperature rise under her fingers. ¡°I¡¯ll be the one protecting them silly,¡± she reassured the stray Edlenn had picked up from the street. ¡°Just keep out of sight and send Rhys with Selussa to straighten out the Guild¡¯s affairs.¡±
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 437. Bunch of Camels
Arguen Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Lord of Morn Taras Monarch of Wetull King beyond the Pale Mountains Aniculo Rokae Bunch of Camels
Part A -A fool that wears a turban¡­- - ¡®Lunde Susu-lima¡¯ 3400 IC -alt. of Sulime (Third). The Cofol-imperial phrase meaning ¡®Windy Third Month¡¯. The border zone between the narrow coastal steppe and the western edge of the Dry Sea. Eight kilometers after the turn towards the famed Zelka Gulf seaside road and its gem-colored sandy beaches. Seventy kilometers from Lai Zel-ka to the north and 120 Kilometers from Nagar Bazaar directly south. (The month of the New Calendar Tertius of 194) This parch piece of land was known as the westernmost ¡®Desert Caravan Routes¡¯. -
A richly-tanned adventurous-looking Arguen Garth Aniculo stepped over the peak of the small dune and paused there briefly, hands on his waist and a determined look on his face. His long shadow cascading down the golden slope as the desert sun shined its light behind him. Well-worn cavalry boots half-sunk in soft sand and handsome heroic face partially hidden under a head dress a local merchant had gifted him and he had reluctantly accepted. One could surely imagine and hear an epic theme playing in the background, carried by the soft breeze. The Monarch¡¯s amber-colored eyes stayed on the small procession of faithful slaves carrying the bulky custom saddle Bar-El Kaba¡¯s workers had put together working hard during the large caravan¡¯s stops. The heavy load easily handled by the eager servants.
- They are going to drop the whole fucking thing, a snarling Glen thought. ¡°You¡¯re angling too much!¡± A Cofol protested to his friends. ¡°Hey-Ho! Give me some more lift!¡± Even so the six beefy men came over the dune and rolled towards the Onyx Wyvern resting under the strong desert sun. The sprawled Uvrycres opened a rubicund dragon eye, nictitating membrane eyelid closing protectively over it and gazed at the approaching group carrying their load. ¡°Steady there!¡± Their leader yelled. ¡°Keep the other side level Tobar!¡± It¡¯s too narrow on the neck, the wyvern warned him. No, it isn¡¯t, he retorted. A fool that wears a turban is naught¡ª Argh! Glen cut him off not wanting to hear it and went after them with a face-splitting grimace. He slid down the sandy slope and walked as fast as he could towards the small group of Cofol slaves. Which wasn¡¯t fast at all. ¡°Secure that rope! Just yank at it harder!¡± Their leader yelled and the men pulled hard to stabilize the wooden saddle they had lifted up there after placing a fine red cover over Uvrycres scaly nape. It was made out of two expensive blankets sewn together. ¡°You need to fasten the leather straps!¡± The arriving heavy-breathing Glen barked and went to fix the mess himself. He heaved to get more give from the trapped strap and then put a boot on Uvrycres sides for purchase. Want me to get up? ¡°Stay. Fucking. Put!¡± Glen growled, sweating profoundly and veins popping out on his neck. ¡°Use a piece of rope to connect them my Lord,¡± a Cofol told him and a groaning Glen let go of the straps. He stepped back on shaky legs. ¡°Will it hold?¡± He asked unsure. ¡°Strong rope this. Very sturdy,¡± the Cofol replied and stooped to make the connection himself. It won¡¯t hah-hah! The wyvern assured him. You¡¯ll die screaming! It was this kind of humor that had kept Glen annoyed since morning. ¡°Maybe loop it around the neck another time?¡± A concerned Glen probed. Are you trying¡­? The wyvern protested and growled menacingly. It feels like a noose! ¡°Loop the rope another time Tobar!¡± Their leader barked. ¡°Pull it tight! ARGGH!¡± The last words a squeal as the wyvern had used its long tail ¨Cand a bit of magic- to hurl him twenty meters away, back near the top of the sand dune. Glen and the others watched in stunned silence the screaming leader¡¯s brief flight and the eventual harsh landing with a mutual flinch. Thankfully the soft desert sands saved the man from the worst. ¡°Good gods!¡± a Cofol commented hearing the leader¡¯s pained yelps as the man rolled injured down the slope again. ¡°Think he broke his arm?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a leg, the arm is stuck in the sands,¡± another corrected him. ¡°See how the blood leaves a red line behind?¡± Well then. ¡°Bah,¡± Glen cut them off dismissively. ¡°I had way worse injuries brushed off easily. This is really nothing to worry about.¡± When? Uvrycres asked. Fuck off! Glen snapped. Want me to fly away now? Glen clenched his jaw tightly, teeth grinding together in a comic snarl. Then he puffed out exasperated. No, he yielded coyly.
Glen returned near the caravan tents an hour later, a bandaged, heavily-injured and unresponsive slave leader carried back on a mule. The aged merchants Ibn-Sin Nagar and Bar-El Kaba had come out of their shaded porches to greet them. A younger fancy dressed Cofol sprinted after the two desert merchants and their men just as Glen¡¯s entourage arrived. ¡°Lord Monarch! We heard the screams,¡± Bar-El Kaba said genuflecting smartly with Ibn-Sin Nagar bowing deeply at the climbing down from his horse turbaned Glen. ¡°Work accident,¡± Glen explained and recoiled when the younger Cofol leaped in front of the two merchants to reach him. The face vaguely familiar. ¡°Your elegance,¡± the young man exclaimed cordially which earned him no points as a miffed Glen physically shoved him away before he could finish. ¡°Apologies!¡± The Cofol croaked twirling about to find his footing. ¡°I¡¯ll wait my turn of course. Dear Ibn that¡¯ll be you I think.¡± Ibn-Sin Nagar cleared his throat with a glance at the returning work slaves. ¡°The saddle was a success?¡± ¡°Not afore we try it for real,¡± Glen retorted and accepted a flask of water from a fully-covered but thinly robed slave girl with expressive coal-painted light-brown eyes. Hello there you. ¡°When the Lord says ¡®we try it¡¯¡­¡± Ibn-Sin started slowly whilst Glen glugged down the flask¡¯s contents thirsty as a man just out of the desert. He glanced at the desolate terrain about them. Yep. It checks out. ¡°I¡¯ll try it was my meaning,¡± he elucidated for the worrying merchant and returned the flask to the prostrated slave girl. The twin round mounts of her arse-cheeks discernable under the yellowish robes given her lithely assumed posture. ¡°Afrah-Sin is my youngest unmarried daughter,¡± Ibn-Sin said. Ah. Got to be careful here. Done this dance once before. Great as it was, let us avoid the sad topic. ¡°She¡¯s not supposed to be out of her tent,¡± the man added. ¡°Let the girl breathe,¡± a stern Glen scolded him managing to recover rapidly and the aged merchant bowed his head. ¡°Of course, oh great Monarch,¡± he replied respectfully adding in a stricter tone looking at his pretty daughter. ¡°But that is enough breathing Afrah.¡± She wore a headscarf and that sheer black veil hid her Cofol face but Glen had learned what to look for under it to spot ¡®a doe from a donkey¡¯ by now. ¡°A higher camel-type saddle incorporating the wyvern¡¯s bony knobs seemed the correct idea my Lord,¡± Bar-El Kaba said next breaking the awkward moment. ¡°Horns,¡± Glen managed a grunt at the interruption. ¡°Of course. I stand corrected,¡± Bar-El agreed respectfully. ¡°I¡¯ll whip a slave thirty times to satisfy your grace.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± Glen cautioned him. ¡°Now, I¡­¡± he paused as the young man had sprouted forward again with his arms open as if to hug him. ¡°Brother Garth,¡± the Cofol said grinning and Glen blinked in utter bewilderment. ¡°Let¡¯s embrace at this opportune moment!¡± How about we don¡¯t? ¡°You take one more step I¡¯m punching ye in the throat. Might even get a knee on the mouth next,¡± Glen hissed warningly and the man blinked afore quickly recovering. ¡°Behold the Sopat humor gentlemen!¡± He declared at the skeptically watching the scene older merchants. ¡°Embraced by the King himself! Never cast a sour gaze upon Don-Iv again.¡± Ah, yes. Eh, god damn it, Glen thought sourly. When did this fucker arrive? Don turned to face him. ¡°Great Garth, we had dinner together naught a month back at the Twelve Spires.¡± Glen looked askance, a grimace of disbelief marring his face. ¡°Phon had the whole family present in your honor?¡± Don helped with a nervous smile. ¡°Ah. Well, you made it sound like we went on a date for a moment there,¡± Glen said through his manically clenched teeth. ¡°I was sitting across from you, next to Phon¡¯s new wife. Between her actually and lovely Hiba-Sin Nagar,¡± he glanced at the closely watching him Ibn-Sin Nagar. The woman was his older daughter. ¡°We shared a pipe?¡± ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure we didn¡¯t,¡± Glen cut him off. ¡°And I¡¯ve a notoriously poor eye vision after a certain hour.¡± ¡°It was early noon,¡± Don elucidated and Glen eyed the blinding sun over their heads with a scowl. ¡°Exactly,¡± he retorted and went to walk away. Don stopped him stepping in his path. ¡°I rushed here upon learning you¡¯ll travel with the caravan and not the fleet¡­¡± he explained and Glen raised an index finger to stop him. He then reached with his right arm, grabbed Don¡¯s shoulder and pushed him out of his way. He then resumed his walking. ¡°Hah-hah,¡± Don played it down and tried again. ¡°As I was saying, this is an opportune time,¡± he said hastening after him. Glen gave up trying to get away and stopped, the large crowd following the Monarch coming to an abrupt halt alongside them. ¡°What¡¯s opportune about it?¡± Glen asked mostly to get rid of him. ¡°We share a passion for chance as I recall?¡± Don grinned toothily. Glen noticed he¡¯d more crayon on his lips than Ibn-Sin¡¯s daughter and as much makeup around his eyes. Under a certain angle he looked like his sister sans the eyes and the figure. Which was nigh disturbing a thought. ¡°I respect Luthos,¡± Glen grunted reluctantly and the merchants nodded at his words with a couple of scribes writing down furiously. He glanced at Hesam and Samak the two slave-guards that had followed after the caravan when it became obvious Glen would take flight over land and not over Fat Libby and Captain Archibald Tidus. He¡¯d opted for that route as it was easier to land on flat terrain than on a sailing ship, although Uvrycres assured him he could do it with ¡®minimum casualties¡¯. ¡°Get their scrolls,¡± Glen ordered and Hesam moved swiftly to confiscate the parchments from the panicked scribes. ¡°My Lord,¡± Bar-El Kaba protested civilly with Ibn-Sin, the more prominent of the two merchants, watching the exchange thoughtfully. ¡°The caravan details its journey.¡± ¡°The journey.¡± Glen replied looking at the small crowd. ¡°The Monarch¡¯s words are written down by capable men.¡± ¡°As in faithful your grace?¡± Ibn-Sin asked. ¡°Sure,¡± Glen replied scrunching his nose although that wasn¡¯t exactly what he was going for. ¡°There it is then,¡± Don agreed after clearing his throat. ¡°Problem solved. Now¡­¡± Glen stopped him raising a hand, palm open. ¡°I thought ye finished.¡± ¡°Ehm, I have a little bit more to add?¡± ¡°Go ahead,¡± Glen hissed and spotted another scribe writing down the exchange. ¡°My son¡¯s slave,¡± Ibn-Sin explained seeing his stare. ¡°Naram-Sin Nagar never stopped serving the empire great Monarch.¡± ¡°How old is he?¡± Glen asked a little confused. ¡°He lives in his books my Lord. Lived perhaps is the better word. He¡¯s now serving with your Phalanx and your Viceroy,¡± Ibn-Sin replied with a smirk and seeing that Glen had furrowed his grey brows unsure, he added quickly. ¡°As a scribe and not a Hoplite.¡± Right. With that out of the way¡­ ¡°Garth I haven¡¯t had the time to finish,¡± Don protested. ¡°Yes, bothersome brother in law?¡± Glen yielded semi-politely. ¡°As I was saying, given Phon¡¯s inability to fully present the local culture,¡± Don started and Glen almost immediately dosed off on his feet from utter boredom. ¡°It has fallen upon me to give proper demonstration. That is if Ibn-Sin would allow the men to race again?¡± Glen blinked waking up a bit from his stupor. He wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand and turned to stare at the thoughtful merchant lord. ¡°Very few bets have been put forth Sopat,¡± the merchant stated switching his tone. ¡°I brought my camel,¡± Don-Iv countered. ¡°And a heavy purse.¡± ¡°Bar-El?¡± Ibn-Sin queried. ¡°You¡¯ll set those spare camels up for it?¡± ¡°Ten that¡¯s it,¡± Bar-El replied gruffly. ¡°But you have no extra camels to spare Ibn-Sin Nagar.¡± ¡°I have Afrah,¡± the merchant replied. ¡°She¡¯s worth a hundred at least.¡± ¡°Come on old man.¡± Bar-El protested. ¡°You don¡¯t believe that! Ten with their loads.¡± ¡°I do as a matter of fact. Twenty is the lowest I¡¯ll go.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Don-Iv agreed and Glen frowned watching the exchange. ¡°You can have no more dowry from me,¡± Ibn-Sin admonished him. ¡°I was given the older daughter¡­¡± the old merchant eyed him soberly and Don groaned in frustration. ¡°¡­I accept partial responsibility given my state at the time, but I was tricked Nagar!¡± ¡°A daughter you asked for,¡± the old merchant replied pitilessly. ¡°A daughter you received in the deal and a score of camels.¡± ¡°I was angling for the other,¡± Don admitted pensively. ¡°It was dark Don-Iv,¡± Ibn replied with a shrug of his shoulders. ¡°You went after the wrong girl and got caught like a thief visiting the latrine on his way out. You should have objected or been more truthful about it?¡± Hah-hah, Glen thought with a leer at Don¡¯s frustrated groan. ¡°Fine she can be the first choice.¡± Bar-El intervened evenly. ¡°What about the second place, assuming the camels come third?¡± He asked his colleague. ¡°Gold Dinars will suffice. A part for me, the rest for the winners.¡± ¡°First place can just take the girl?¡± Don-Iv asked through his teeth. ¡°You¡¯ll never win. Your camel is poorly trained for the road,¡± Nagar retorted. ¡°But you have yourself a bet Sopat.¡± Hmm. ¡°So what are the prizes here exactly?¡± Glen asked a little confused. ¡°The winner gets your daughter and a dowry, I presume. The second place takes the pile of gold and the third gets what? Some plaguing camels? Whatever¡¯s left given to the others?¡± ¡°Good plaguing camels,¡± Bar-El said inflexibly afore adding. ¡°Oh, ye great Monarch. Unless the winner looks to void first prize for an assortment of the lesser ones.¡± Aha. ¡°What¡¯s the distance?¡± Glen asked solemnly. ¡°The first rider reaching the Bazaar, ties his scarf on the spears at the gates.¡± Don-Iv explained. ¡°How many spears?¡± ¡°Three. They are right above the gates, but one could reach them if he stands on the camel¡¯s saddle.¡± Aha. ¡°That¡¯s a long race.¡± ¡°It is,¡± Don agreed with a thrilled grin. ¡°But also very exciting Garth.¡± ¡°How would you know? You¡¯ll just learn about it at the end of the journey.¡± Glen retorted a little miffed with the young Sopat scion for getting him involved in this¡­ but he could also see the appeal. Still this is clearly Don¡¯s fault. ¡°Indeed. Very exciting,¡± Don agreed sheepishly. Glen snorted. ¡°Ever won the darn thing?¡± ¡°Eventually I will. But Ibn¡¯s riders hold advantage since they work the road the rest of us race.¡± A thoughtful Glen glanced at the silent Hesam. The slaver/slave guard and caravan hand shrugged his shoulders. ¡°How do I enter the competition?¡± Glen asked the merchants pursing his mouth. ¡°You need camels and riders, everlasting Monarch.¡± Bar-El Kaba replied respectfully. ¡°And cover the entry fee either in laden animals, gold or slaves.¡± ¡°Laden animals?¡± ¡°The prize camels come with their load,¡± Don explained. ¡°Whatever that may be. We get to pick them without knowing beforehand.¡± Mmm.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Pick any camel?¡± ¡°Any of the good bunch on offer my Lord. A score if getting in the three top spots, one if you don¡¯t but finish the race.¡± Bar-El Kaba elucidated. ¡°What do yours carry?¡± ¡°Bits and bobs. Silk, jewels and dates,¡± the merchant replied vaguely. ¡°Hesam?¡± Glen asked the slave-guard. ¡°I¡¯ll need a fresh camel my lord,¡± the hardened man said. ¡°But I know the road.¡± ¡°How much to rent a good one?¡± Glen asked the merchants and waited patiently for the fake price-increasing expressions of discomfort to subside. Another thing he learned in the Peninsula. ¡°Difficult to find at such a short notice,¡± Ibn-Sin said with a weary sigh. ¡°What is a good animal really?¡± Bar-El asked the crowd sadly. ¡°A young strong one?¡± Glen offered and the merchants recoiled as if stabbed in the kidneys. ¡°What if it gets lame on the road?¡± Nagar asked with a frown of concern. ¡°Pfft. ¡®Road¡¯ is just a euphemism really,¡± Kaba explained. ¡°Sharp rocks and sneaky boulders amidst the treacherous sands. Sudden winds and sandstorms that can turn an animal blind.¡± Glen stared at his dirty boots for a moment. ¡°How much to buy one?¡± He grunted. ¡°Eh, I wouldn¡¯t charge the Monarch much but I just can¡¯t spare one,¡± Bar-El replied faking devastation. ¡°Twenty gold Dinars,¡± Ibn-Sin said taking another route. Luthos stepped on his fucking balls! An enraged Glen thought. ¡°Five,¡± Glen blurted out not believing he¡¯d got swindled like that. ¡°Ten,¡± Ibn Sin countered quickly. Turds you shall find in your bowl. Glen eyed him frostily to get his message across. ¡°Five and half a dozen silvers. I¡¯ll eat half the cost,¡± Bar-El offered reading Glen¡¯s expression. ¡°Show me yer camel,¡± Glen told the leering Kaba and Ibn-Sin raised his thick greying black brows. ¡°How much is the entry fee?¡± He asked them still unsure whether they had played him. ¡°A score of Camels valued ten gold Dinars per, a nice maiden,¡± Glen scoffed at the term given her shenanigans. ¡°And a coin sum of two hundred gold Dinars,¡± Ibn-Sin replied readily. ¡°Each prize is the same Monarch, but the winner gets to choose first what he values the most. The Lords obviously pay the bulk of it.¡± And while an eloquent way of giving out prizes a scowling Glen was nowhere near pleased with his answer. So Don-Iv footed two thirds of the bill and he was to get an equal part of the prize in the case Glen¡¯s animal and rider won. -
Heralded Garth Aniculo took his time upon landing near the Ane Nagar caravan to tend to his noble Wyvern and intrigued at the talk of a ¡®race to the Bazaar¡¯s gates¡¯ asked to enter the competition himself. While the Monarch was a widower and one of the prizes was a lovely desert maiden the prudent magnanimous leader probably took part in the affair for the pure sport of it. Despite fanciful rumors to the contrary, this was a camel race and no wild goats were involved.
- ¡°Listen up you two,¡± a committed Glen growled minutes afore the race started. The desert road lost in the distance, mingling with the desolate horizon. ¡°I got forty pieces of coin poured into this shite. We get in the prizes whatever it takes to make some of it back. Samak you¡¯ll bring up the supplies and help out Hesam. Now, they have larger groups but at the end we just want our camel coming first right?¡± ¡°Lord Don badly wants to win great Monarch.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t give an old shit about Don,¡± Glen admitted freely given that Don was out of earshot. He would have probably been as candid had Don been near. Don can take an insult and telling it like it is, is in my character. While Don was flexible like that, nothing was further from the truth as far as the latter part went. Glen could be truthful in the rare occasion but only if it suited him. ¡°Seems sturdy and fit,¡± Hesam said and the tall ugly camel sucked mucus out of its clogged nostrils, gurgled it next once in its long throat like a drunken man, afore spitting the disgusting material towards Glen. The alert Monarch ducked nimbly out of the way and pointed a warning finger at the grunting incoherently animal. Ugh-ugh. Grugl. Ulgh. ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake,¡± the turbaned Glen griped and the camel pulled its upper black lip back to show a row of massive square teeth, mostly yellow with some grey plague formed near the molars, then made a wet fart-like noise. Hesam grimaced and stepped away from the camel¡¯s rear. Scratch that, the fucker actually farted! Might even launched a turd in the blasted process! ¡°If the weather holds milord,¡± the unfazed Samak said giving the camel a corn to chew on. ¡°Then we¡¯ll be there in three days.¡± ¡°What if it doesn¡¯t? How will we know?¡± ¡°The sky turns a golden hue and rather dark,¡± Samak explained and Glen¡¯s brows met in the middle of his forehead. ¡°So your grace will know.¡± Fantastic!
Twenty minutes later the twelve (with six companions) riders had disappeared into the horizon. Don who had started drinking early approached the smoking his pipe Glen and stood next to him. ¡°That¡¯s it. Let¡¯s hope no shenanigans occur,¡± the Sopat scion commented sipping at his spicy wine. Glen blew smoke out of his nostrils and ogled his way. ¡°What shenanigans?¡± He grunted. ¡°Well, few finish the race usually this time of year.¡± ¡°What happens to the rest of them?¡± Don glanced at the sky. ¡°If it is winter time everything is straightforward, but when the weather turns hotter the desert breathes as they say.¡± Glen blinked. ¡°They get¡­¡± ¡°Lost. Nothing nefarious. But one can¡¯t survive in the desert for long.¡± ¡°They don¡¯t look for them?¡± ¡°Well, they are compensated. Each rider gets a camel out of this. Hesam got paid in advance from Phon,¡± Don explained and burped. ¡°Damn this is pretty strong. Might bring indigestion.¡± ¡°How does a dead man enjoy his camel?¡± Glen asked. ¡°The men have family my lord and it is not a hundred percent certainty that they¡¯ll be unlucky. As for looking for them. Well, the caravan doesn¡¯t stop.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the deal with the camels?¡± ¡°Well, Nagar had trouble bringing as many as he wanted in Lai Zel-Ka, so Kaba will corner the market for the summer,¡± Don explained. ¡°We don¡¯t care since we have our spot bought but they rent their places in the market well in advance. An empty stand burns through the pockets of the man renting it and the clients move on to the next. If he opts to leave it another might claim it for the next season and the spot lost for a very long time.¡± ¡°So Nagar wants to take the camels from Kaba? And he¡¯ll use his daughter to do it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a good deal. Now if Kaba wins then he¡¯ll go for the gold for sure and something else to balance the scales. So in a sense a second place after him is also good as he¡¯ll probably look to save as many camels as he can.¡± ¡°Gold in pocket or merchandise,¡± Glen said thoughtfully. ¡°What does the third guy get?¡± ¡°Whatever is left? Probably a bunch of camels.¡± ¡°Anything good on them?¡± Glen grunted narrowing his eyes. ¡°Not if Kaba picks first Garth. He knows where the good stuff are on his animals. The caravan will move in the morning again,¡± Don added with a sigh finishing off his goblet. ¡°Might as well check on the products. Gems tend to get lost during the night.¡± A silent Glen slotted the pipe in his mouth and sucked deeply, his eyes watering. The next moment the aromatic fumes hid his livid expression. Not ten minutes later the late afternoon sky took on a golden hue, Luthos probably having a bloody field day with this malarkey and darkness came sooner in the desert.
Part B -Is naught but a turbaned fool¡­- Uvrycres perked up hearing Glen¡¯s horse approach. The wyvern was resting at the shade of a big dune about half a kilometer from the caravan camp¡¯s tents since its presence spooked the many animals. ¡°We¡¯re leaving,¡± Glen informed him walking briskly, feet raising a ton of sand as he neared the sleeping monster still wearing the untested custom saddle. Better wait for the morning. There is a sandstorm gathering. ¡°We can¡¯t,¡± Glen explained and climbed nimbly on its neck using the tied ropes. He parked his arse on the soft cautions of the seat with a surprised sigh. ¡°That¡¯s actually pretty good!¡± What¡¯s the darn hurry? ¡°We are about to lose a race.¡± What race? Who would race against¡­? To where? ¡°Nagar Bazaar. A big fucking wager,¡± Glen replied and reached forward to find the reins. They actually agreed to race you to the town? Hah-hah! ¡°It¡¯s a camel race.¡± You actually agreed to use camels? Buah-hah-hah! Uvrycres guffawed even more and stood up shaking its elongated scaly body. ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it!¡± Glen roared. ¡°Let me grab the reins¡ª¡± What reins? It¡¯s a rope! ¡°Eh, just go for a smooth take off,¡± a grimacing Glen grunted. Tie it to yer arm. ¡°Why?¡± This thing won¡¯t hold. ¡°Right. Alright then,¡± Glen agreed just as the wyvern took two leaping steps, large leathery black and red wings extending more than five meters out and flapping slowly up and down. Once. Twice. Wait¡­ Glen thought alarmed. But by then they were airborne. ¡°WHAT FUCKING THING?¡± - ¡°THE SADDLE IS FINE!¡± The turbaned Glen roared, cheeks and scarf ballooning, the latter pulling his head back hard as they flew high over the desert sands. Sure, but the short rope will snap soon. ¡°What?¡± Glen cried out as they leveled and he tried to look down to spot the connections, the end of the long rope looped on his arm going around the wyvern¡¯s neck. The other rope. Hey look! There are your riders! ¡°Where?¡± A troubled Glen asked trying to see in the semi-darkness, whilst the strong wind brought sand in his eyes and face. ¡°SHITE! GAAH!¡± Close yer mouth. It¡¯s gonna be tight! A scowling Glen raised the white scarf over his mouth and then squinted both eyes tight which impaired his vision even more. Catastrophically that is. I need some type of protective goggles for this bullshit, he griped while the wyvern dived inside the raging sandstorm. Ah, Uvrycres said. There! Some already stopped, but a couple of fools still go at it. Hah-hah! ¡°Our guys?¡± Glen asked as he couldn¡¯t see anything but shades of red, brown and black. The material in his teeth crunchy and tasting salty. EEEERRRR? ¡°Don¡¯t do that!¡± Hesam is second. That was better than he expected. ¡°Who is in the lead?¡± Don¡¯s camel. ¡°How do you know that¡¯s his camel?¡± Glen roared, but it turned into a drawn out screech as they abruptly catapulted higher over the dust clouds. ¡°FUCK ARE YE DOING?¡± I¡¯m going to stop the storm. ¡°Ah. Good then.¡± A dizzy Glen grunted trying to keep his body on the saddle. His ears were ringing like Rida¡¯s bells. ¡°Wait. How are you going to do that?¡± The adroit wyvern turned its black horned head around completely and winked with its left eye, the side of its mouth raising into a half-smirk. He¡¯d learned that from Glen. ¡°Answer my fucking question!¡± A less calm Glen snapped and raised his left gloved fist threateningly into an empty gesture. I¡¯ll just blast it away, the wyvern replied chuckling. And it did.
Well, that was¡­ fucking crazy for the most part, but on par with what you¡¯ve done recently, Glen thought after the fierce tornado had swept the sandstorm away into the distance in less than a minute. It had scrapped some of the desert¡¯s surface as well, the men that had stopped to protect themselves blown several meters away along with their camels, but other than that everything appeared much clearer now, a shaking from the ordeal Glen concluded. Other than the light still dimming with the sun trying to hide to the west. ¡°That¡¯s a camel! Hesam!¡± He roared spotting the small rider hoofing it hard south to gain on his opponents that had scattered and were now slowly trying to recover their buried in the sands mounts. Or save himself but still going the right way. That¡¯s Don¡¯s camel weak-eyed fool, the wyvern scoffed. ¡°There¡¯s no way to tell¡ª¡± The blanket has a Capricorn sewn in gold? ¡°FUUCK!¡± Glen bellowed a curse tipping back his turbaned head hard. Almost toppled himself backwards and off of the saddle but for the rope yanking his arm to stop him. ¡°Allgods darn it! Where is that idiot Hesam?¡± Then he spotted him not a hundred meters behind the leading rider and gaining. ¡°Go after them!¡± A suddenly enthusiastic Glen roared stooping dangerously to watch the race as they flew over the racing duo. ¡°Lower! Ha-ha! We are still in it baby!¡± Huh? Uvrycres snorted at the endearment but dived closer, banging left to approach at an arc the leading rider. The large wyvern flew a hundred meters over the two riders, slowing down continuously and losing height with every passing second. Ninety. Eighty. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± The stooped over its left side Glen yelled pointing with his free arm. Something had catapulted down a sandy slope, moving with bursts of uncanny speed and before Glen could figure out what the dark small figure was, the animal of sorts had stricken the leading camel. ¡°Whoa!¡± Glen grunted seeing the leaping more than running thing bouncing off of the larger animal after causing considerable damage to its front right leg. The hairy limb folded the wrong way, the screaming camel lost its footing, large neck plunging for the ground and snapping violently. Don¡¯s jockey flung over the saddle with arms and legs flaying manically, before stopping ten meters away. ¡°Luthos stepped on a fresh turd!¡± Glen cursed trying to figure out what the mysterious creature was. ¡°Is that a rare desert puma? With horns?¡± What manner of horrors live here? He shivered at the thought. That¡¯s a wild goat, Uvrycres replied raspingly. Very dangerous territorial creatures. Flesh eaters. Wah? Glen thought incoherently. But his attention was drawn at the small goat again that charged at Hesam this time. The slaver turned to avoid it in the open terrain, but the Camel panicked and threw him from the saddle. It then proceeded to run wildly east and towards the deep desert. Ah, Uvrycres commented numbly. Hesam found a spot where the sand had cleared down to bedrock. Them basalt rocks did a number on him. Glen¡¯s attention was on the galloping away camel. The wrong way. ¡°We need to retrieve that blasted camel!¡± He roared at the top of his lungs. ¡°Go after that stupid hunchback for fuck¡¯s sake!¡± The Wyvern responded immediately. It banged violently east, gaining speed rapidly whilst turning, a wing pointing towards the ground and the momentum shoved the snarling Glen back and to the side. The rope slipped from his arm, tearing away his right sleeve and the next moment the Monarch was airborne, the whole custom apparatus dislodged from the turning wyvern¡¯s back. - ¡°AAAARGGRH!¡± A plummeting for the ground Glen screamed maniacally, kicking with both legs to get away from the heavy saddle. He tumbled in the air, feet over head, the wind blasting from all sides and the sky becoming the darkening desert -now fast approaching. Everything growing bigger. That¡¯s such a fucking rotten bullshit! Luthos you piece of shite. FUCKING CRIMINAL! A wildly grimacing Glen cursed and used the large turban to slow down his drop holding it with both arms over his head. Unsuccessfully. The fabric ballooned and for a moment Glen did slow down his drop but then it got torn in two pieces, ending his brief relief. ¡°EARRRGGHAH!¡± Glen groaned and reached for the dagger in his panic but afore he could use it ¨Cit must be noted here that Glen had no idea whether a spell for soft landings existed or not- the wyvern¡¯s massive scaly body materialized under him. Glen bounced off Uvrycres¡¯ blanketed back mid-air and a moment later they both hit the ground just over the peak of a sand dune. The Wyvern had reached under the screaming Monarch -diving very fast- with only about five meters left from the surface. Glen was flung off of the cursing Uvrycres, gathered both legs to his chest mid-air to turn the plunge into a controlled roll and hit the sand with enough momentum to get catapulted again towards the base of the slope, with the wyvern plunging down clumsily into a monstrous ball that tunneled at the sandy ground alongside him. - ¡°Gah!¡± Glen coughed out a mouthful of bitter sand and shards of gravel rolling on the ground. One had lodged in a gap between his teeth ¨Ccracking one- and despite using his tongue, he just couldn¡¯t dig it out. He tried to stand up but stepped on his sword that had come out of its sheath and landed on his arse again with an angry groan. Glen had a terrible pain starting at his left hip and knifing him in the groin but the latter was the dagger that had turned the wrong way. Cursing he tried again to get up with the wyvern ¨Cin a similar mood- slowly unfurling four meters away, looking rattled and disheveled which is something one rarely witness on monsters of its size. A fool that wears a turban, Uvrycres grunted with a guttural growl reciting his previous thesis, is naught but a turbaned fool! ¡°Fuck¡­ ugh,¡± a grimacing Glen coughed trying to get up, heard something galloping towards him from behind and then someone kicked his hind-sides with an iron boot. The blow heaved him once more towards the base of the dune until he dived with his head into the sand. A half-blinded dizzy Glen got his head out of the sand, white hair turned a shade of dark covered in dirt, with more pouring down and then turned around wearing a murderous scowl on his face. The small goat eyed him snobbishly, hit a hoof down and charged at him again. Glen dived out of the way but got nailed in the injured hip and got spun around, arms and legs pirouetting, until he planted the right hand down and somersaulted onto his feet again. Sort of. ¡°Ouch. Fuck, leg turned numb,¡± Glen cursed limping away from the approaching creature. ¡°Stay put you son of a goat!¡± He warned the goat. Eh. Never a more fitting warning had been hurled at an opponent but the goat in question moved just the same. Just not in the manner the small creature might had envisioned. A loud snap was heard followed by a squelching sound for starters. Then a large piece of the goat was flung ten meters aside, with gleaming red entrails spilling out of its torn in half body and the other piece Uvrycres brought slowly near his cavernous mouth -still nailed on the stinger- with bloody pieces of flesh and guts spilling out of the shattered ribcage¡¯s bones. The Wyvern took a large bite at the mauled goat, black glassy teeth crunching on the fresh corpse in silence. ¡°Eh,¡± a disgusted Glen groaned and tried to stand upright, sand still pouring down his face. ¡°Where¡¯s the fucking camel?¡± Behind you. Glen turned around and there the camel stood watching them with disapproving bulbous eyes under long eyelashes. About a hundred meters away another goat had appeared, this one probably the one that had attacked Hesam earlier. The black goat grimaced at the sight of Uvrycres eating its mate and then with a warning croaking guttural sound leaped out of sight. ¡°Right,¡± an ugly-grimacing in pain Glen decided and turned to eye the still staring annoyingly camel. ¡°You are heading back that way,¡± he told the apparently female animal. He then glanced at the noisily chewing wyvern. ¡°Help me out. I need a healing potion.¡± Good luck finding it. The bags where on the saddle! Uvrycres grunted and hurled what was left of the killed goat away snapping its tail. ¡°We¡¯ll walk there,¡± Glen hissed and took a tentative step forward. Paused immediately with a scowl and added in an irritated hoarse voice. ¡°I¡¯ll use the camel for a bit.¡± Suit yourself, Uvrycres replied with a snort and brought his hind leg forward to clean an ear with a claw. Welp. I swallowed enough sand to make a glass saddle out of it! Oh crap, it¡¯s under the fucking scales!
The illustrious Monarch saved a man named Hesam. He tied him on a camel named Nefertiti (or Titi as the young Princess used to call her) and guided the animal back to Nagar Bazaar riding on his wyvern. While the King finished the race second, with Bar-El Kaba winning first place and taking most of the gold and some of the best camels -Ibn-Sin Nagar was third, he opted to accept a meager number of camels as a prize. He could have taken a bride right then and there but allowed Afrah-Sin Nagar to return to her father¡¯s embrace showing great strength of character. A Noble ruler with a noble heart indeed. The camels Arguen Garth brought to Wetull as gift for Princess Inis-Mir and some of their descendants can be seen today still roaming the Queen¡¯s gardens.
Age of the Onyx Wyvern Chapter II -Race to the Bazaar. Spring of 3400 IC- Naram-Sin Nagar (178-212 NC) Entered the Royal Library circa 208
- Ah, what plaguing nonsense is this! Glen thought desperately trying to maintain a politician¡¯s grin on his face, face muscles hurting and feeling a little dizzy from severe dehydration under the blinding desert sun. The crowd assembled to see the Monarch of Wetull visiting Nagar Bazaar still congregating from the now mostly abandoned market town near its northern gates numbering in the thousands. He glanced at the miserable Don-Iv, the man was mourning not for the loss of his rider that had succumbed to his injuries but the missed opportunity to win the race after Glen had told him what happened. ¡°I need to get that fucking goat somehow,¡± a sullen Don murmured waving at the crowd. Ibn-Sin Nagar had emptied a wagon and created a sort of crude stand to give them some elevation. ¡°Make a foot rug out of its skin.¡± ¡°Explain again,¡± Glen hissed not bothering himself with the Sopat scion¡¯s mundane problems. ¡°Why I turned down the girl?¡± ¡°Political reasons,¡± Don-Iv repeated his previous argument. ¡°Optics. You need Lai Zel-Ka more than you need Nagar¡¯s Bazaar.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Glen murmured, a nervous tick appearing on his right eye. ¡°It also gives you the chance to try again.¡± ¡°I lost two bags of rubies with that camel,¡± Don-Iv explained with a grimace. ¡°I had to give one to Ibn-Sin since these are the rules. Bastard picked the best of the bunch load-wise. Since I¡¯m in the hole I paid the loss from my own pocket. I need to lay off gambling for a while. What a blasted disaster!¡± ¡°That¡¯s a ¡®you¡¯ problem,¡± Glen retorted and smiled at a cheering local with a big nose under his long braided beard. ¡°Fuck do I care? Phon should look into that by the way.¡± ¡°Did he tell you anything?¡± Don asked nervously sobering up. Ah, family. Can¡¯t pick them for sure. ¡°Friend, I¡¯m unsatisfied with the prize,¡± Glen grunted out of the corner of his mouth returning to the previous topic. ¡°How is a bunch of camels more useful to me than Ibn¡¯s lissome daughter?¡± He glanced at the old merchant standing on his other side at that but Ibn-Sin was happy with the turnout and enjoyed the limelight. Truth be told, most people had come to watch the wyvern flying over their heads with screams of joy and fear, because that¡¯s what folk do these days with fewer paying attention at the group of Lords standing on the wagon. Few of thousands of course were a lot of eyeballs. The whole situation a little bit ridiculous but important for public relations. It was a difficult job but somebody had to do it. ¡°You can¡¯t take her without marrying her,¡± Don explained. ¡°It would be rude and a bad look. Would you have made a Sovereign out of her Lord Garth?¡± No. But I wouldn¡¯t mind a roll in the hay with her. Neither would you apparently. Glen thought about it some more but came to the same conclusion. ¡°I don¡¯t need a Queen to rule,¡± he replied and breathed in deeply, a maddening rash formed at his collar impossible to reach without making a fool of himself. Darn sweat reached the nut sack for crying out loud! We¡¯re dying here! ¡°Or a random Cofol to replace your sister. It¡¯s not how I operate on these matters,¡± he croaked with difficulty through clenched teeth. That grin had turned into a vicious snarl and he could be saddled with a permanent face injury if this goes on for a while longer! That blasted Rokae mask had just elevated its usefulness far as he was concerned. Don-Iv blinked his painted orange eyes and turned to gaze at him unsure. ¡°What?¡± Glen growled a little peeved at the scrutiny and the crowd turned quiet seeing his expression. Oh, that¡¯s just great. ¡°Eh,¡± Don murmured and made a curtsy. ¡°A noble ruler with a noble heart. Let the desert songs speak of it and the desert winds carry it throughout the whole Peninsula!¡± he added in a louder voice and the crowd cheered raucously at that. ¡°You completely lost my meaning,¡± a flushed Glen hissed out of the corner of his mouth. ¡°I know,¡± Don replied in the same manner, winking at a hollering female slave and then tossed one of his expensive rings at her causing a bit of a riot. Fool can¡¯t help himself. ¡°Even if you deny it I won¡¯t believe you. You¡¯ll use the throne to get what you want. We¡¯re very much alike Lord Garth,¡± the Sopat scion added smartly and jumped from the wagon, which was a good thing for Glen was about to shove him down anyway. While most of what Don said wasn¡¯t that accurate this was mostly a matter of magnitude since Glen was way more cunning than that. 438. Queen of Veer’s Gulf (1/4)
Here¡¯s a tale to make yer heartstrings shiver (Me lovelies) O¡¯ the time a pirate queen carved paths o¡¯ silver Brother n¡¯ sisters be gathering a throne to deliver From sandy Felmond¡­ To the sources of Comorego River! - Cups be clinging everyone is singing, Fair Anne is in the building. - There she stands our Anne o¡¯ the Burrows Oh, her fancy hair! Arr what a bosom to spare! Allgods¡­ what a pair. Jewels for eyes, Once Eplas stolen prize Our goddess gifted from the skies Her gaze casting arrows From Scalding-o-port¡¯s willowy sparrows, To the buccaneers misty narrows.*2 - Fair Anne (In the building)* Roy & the ¡®Purser Gang¡¯ - *Riotous lewd pirate song (shanty) that went mainstream. First performed by Roy and the ¡®Purser Gang¡¯ around 194 NC. Later cover by J.B Luff (mostly his flutes and strings celebrated version) that opened the Bacchanalia musical festival in Novesium after 197 NC. Scandalously Elsanne Eikenaar (allegedly) danced to the tune during Lord Ruud¡¯s bloody funeral. **Referring to Lord¡¯s Burrow (the port) or the Pirate Reefs (jargon)
-
Sir Gust De Weer Raven of Dawn Queen of Veer¡¯s Gulf Part I -An inopportune series of events-
Detailed map showing the 3 Shrines locations circa 194-195 NC - A sober, bearded Gust watched the yellow-colored pirate ship unloading at the rebuilt but mostly empty docks. Part of the old miserable area was now paved with imported Eikenport limestone, a large road leading to the inner rings of the exotic port town although it quickly turned into a maze of narrow alleys and small bridges after the first couple of hundred meters. Satisfied there was nothing untoward about to happen, he signaled for Axel to follow after him. He climbed on his horse and galloped out of the docks and its market towards the many taverns. The gallop soon turned to a slow trot and then a crawl as Lord¡¯s Burrow¡¯s center was twice more difficult to navigate on a horse as any other Issir city. Built hastily to accommodate as many people as it was possible, only Issir¡¯s Eagle (a part of it) and Midlanor had the breadth tales attributed to the mythical Sessi and Ikete. Irde much like the Lakelords was always a gloomy, constricted place. We¡¯ve all turned into Lakelords, Gust thought sourly, not a man that busied himself with architecture unless it pertained to setting up a fortification. Reaching the packed tavern ¡®The Purser¡¯ he jumped down landing with a heavy thud that rattled the ground. Sir Gust was in full armour which was part of the reason for it but he¡¯d also gained several kilos following Elsanne¡¯s lifestyle. That bothersome detail aside, Adele Vale¡¯s place was in a renaissance despite built amidst the Burrow¡¯s brothel-infested area that could entice clientele ¡®wit stale rum served on a milky tit¡¯ as Adele frequently griped. Whatever the all-hells that was supposed to mean given that Adele employed plenty of vile wenches that were doing the same blasted thing! Gust gave the reins to Axel ¡®Mudriver¡¯ his squire and marched purposefully towards the crowded door of the tavern, a whore whistling lewdly his way from the nearby brothel¡¯s entrance. Apparently they worked all hours. ¡°Hey there big ole knight you,¡± the port harlot hollered with a grin. ¡°Fancy a dairy shake?¡± And she showed him the product opening her blouse to spill everything out. ¡°Don¡¯t mind it none Gisele!¡± A grimacing pirate patron hollered back. ¡°Wasn¡¯t talkin¡¯ to yer illiterate likes Pierce!¡± The whore admonished him and a scowling Gust bulldozed through Pierce, plastering the yelping man on the walls of the entrance¡¯s narrow corridor. Two of his friends took offence but Axel that followed after him forced them to reconsider with a mean glare. Gust took a moment to orientate himself inside the toxic, drunken atmosphere of the packed tavern and spotted Elsanne at the bar with the hollering obscenities pirate woman Carter having the time of her life. Which meant the Queen Heiress was in her cups. The reason for the two unlikely friends¡¯ mirth the loud band of musicians that were occupying the small square stand Adele had erected in the center of the rather small tavern ¡®for live performances n¡¯ shows¡¯. Gust tried to approach through the crowd and made good gains for a couple of meters but then the mass of bodies became too much even for the beefy man and he got stuck amidst the quieting crowd. The lead Bard, a heavily braided Issir with painted eyes in the Cofol manner, as many multicolored scarfs on him as Leona, along a red-laced bandana and cheap earrings on both ears to put gypsies to shame, had jumped in front of his short stool. Roy held a round steelpan in one hand ¨Cthe lute left with one of the other musicians- he now twirled on a finger expertly for a couple of times. Then gave it a sharp slap using the open palm of his other hand. BAM. The timpanist that was half-asleep, succumbing to his drunken stupor despite the time of day, perked up managing to open one eye. ¡°Let me tell ye a tale to make yer heartstrings shiver,¡± Roy hummed meaningfully, smart eyes staying on the grinning princess that yelped in surprise and brought both hands on her mouth. What in Uher¡¯s holy light? A livid Gust thought snapping about to free himself. ¡°Me lovelies,¡± Roy added in a lustful manner and raised his arm theatrically, hand energetically flapping up and down with ring-adorned fingers, in a nervous gesture to calm everyone down. Gust got too much resistance to free himself despite head-butting a patron in front of him which gave the knight a bit more wiggle room when the man collapsed. PLING. PLING. The lute started a repeating rhythm to accompany Roy¡¯s words. ¡°We¡¯ve worked on this the other day and some of you devoted rum ¡®n lute fans heard it,¡± the smirking Bard said and the crowd roared with enthusiasm, a flushing Elsanne chuckling and raising her goblet to the singer which infuriated the trapped Gust even more. ¡°Reckon it seemly with the guests in our venue to give it another go. Aye? So cups be clinging, everyone be singing. Fair Anne is in the building,¡± Roy whispered meaningfully much to the crowd¡¯s delight and then assuming a more serious expression, glanced over his shoulder at the still thumbing the cords monotonously lute player and his other guitarist afore adding. ¡°So let¡¯s do this again properly, hey-ho.¡± PLING. PLING. PLING-PLONG. ¡°Bring it home Barry,¡± Roy urged his bandmate emotionally. And the sudden lively long-haired Lorian timpanist started hitting the taut leather with enthusiasm alternating between palm and knuckles, keeping the tempo whilst stooped over his kettledrums. TUM. TA-TA. TUM. TA-TA-TA. TADUM! ¡°Here¡¯s a tale to make yer heartstrings shiver,¡± Roy hummed in a deep voice and the crowd followed along, cups flying in the air and hitting the ceiling. Rum raining over the patrons and a gnarling Gust. Everyone dancing with hands on waist, legs kicking and boots tapping the shaking floorboards with voices even coming from the street outside the tavern as this was apparently a highly anticipated event. ¡°O¡¯ the time a pirate queen carved paths o¡¯ silver.¡± A grinning Roy continued still signaling for the delirious crowd to wait for the refrain. ¡°Brother n¡¯ sisters be gathering a throne to deliver from sandy Felmond¡­ to the sources of Comorego River!¡± ¡°Argh!¡± Gust growled heaving and pushing with both beefy arms at the people in front him. Then grabbing anyone he could touch started tossing people aside. Slowly but surely he started moving forward again, stepping over screaming at the assault drunken patrons. Three broken arms, two twisted legs and a black eye later Gust managed to break out of the packed center of the tavern around the stand and reach the more open bar area. Where the flushed princess chuckled at the twirling around her Mutiny Carter, who appeared twice more inebriated than Elsanne. The pirate woman smashed her boots down one at a time, raising a knee almost to the chest afore bringing it down, right hand holding her hat up and whipping it right and left. Gust glanced at the cracked ceiling and the moldy walls of the flimsy-made wildly rocking building. He tried to protest but Elsanne¡¯s gleaming eyes and pure merriment robbed him of his strength. Gust couldn¡¯t take this away from her. He just couldn¡¯t for she needed it with all that was happening. The knight could sense that something big was coming their way. Not to mention, a happy Elsanne is twice more beautiful than her depressed self. A miracle. ¡°HEY!¡± Mutiny cried out riotously tipping her wild blond head back just as the whole place started clapping and jumping up and down in a frenzied cheap-alcohol induced delirium. And affection, a shocked Gust realized standing out of the wildly dancing pirate woman¡¯s way as Mutiny twirled around the pulled away from the counter Elsanne¡¯s tall barstool. The Princess herself standing dangerously upright on her heels and waving at the roaring patrons. A riot. PLING-PLONG! TA-TA-TA. TADUM! OH, HER FANCY HAIR! The crowd boomed to the Bard¡¯s query and Elsanne yelped turning a darker shade of chocolate that made her white curls stand out even more. ¡°Arr¡­ what a bosom to spare!¡± A crooking his mouth wickedly Roy countered lowering his husky voice even more and the Princess¡¯ eyes opened up, a fast-reacting Gust taking a determined step forward and delivering a thunderous slap at a patron that went for a sneaky tit-grab as Mutiny¡¯s shirt had given up the ghost pouring the goods out momentarily. It was a devastating blow that went unnoticed in the general brouhaha. Not by the man though that promptly collapsed unconscious, rattling the floorboards even more. ALLGODS¡­ WHAT A PAIR! The crowd roared and they weren¡¯t talking about Carter¡¯s bosom here. Gust scowled having had enough and stepped in front of the standing on top of the barstool princess, some of the dancing Elsanne¡¯s wine spilling on his face and down his trimmed beard afore he could grab the goblet out of her wildly swinging arms. ¡°That¡¯s enough your grace!¡± Gust growled loudly to be heard over the pandemonium that made his ears ring. JEWELS FOR EYES! The patrons roared in a frenzy and Elsanne¡¯s sapphire pools lowered on the drenched face of the frustrated knight. She reached with a warm hand and caressed his white beard softly around the clenched jaw with the tips of her fingers. It mellowed Gust¡¯s expression somewhat but he quickly sobered up. What just happened here? A numb Gust wondered and a tipsy Elsanne smiled, cute dimples forming on both her cheeks, at his bewildered expression. By the will of the almighty Uher and the Allgods! The knight realized soberly with a quick prayer, recalling the princess waking up on the bed by his side that morning.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Each blooming morning! The enormity of being with her after so many years hitting the hale knight like a ton of bricks mingled with iron ingots right in the face. He stumbled back afore managing to catch himself. Everything suddenly turning more challenging given what they were about to face. I can¡¯t bring her to Ruud¡¯s Hall or anywhere on Jelin for pity¡¯s sake! She¡¯s the most protected here of all blasted places, Gust shuddered at the thought and gulped down as an absentmindedly humming Elsanne lowered herself on the stool, her soft lips touching the frowning knight¡¯s forehead briefly forgetting they were in public. ¡°I order you to smile, me gloomy knight,¡± a tipsy ¡®Anne Burton¡¯ whispered in his face and a troubled Gust obeyed unwittingly. ¡°Thank you very much. Big gratitude to the Purser and the lovely Adele! All of you for the support through the years!¡± A hoarse Roy roared as the deafening song came to an abrupt end and saluted the hollering patrons, a pleased Adele bowing in turn. ¡°A big round of applause for the Queen o¡¯ Buccaneers everywhere who would be leaving us soon to rule Kaltha! Much brotherly love to ye milady. Wish ye good loot in yer raids and fair wind to yer sails,¡± a weary but grinning pleased Roy added and the onlookers responded enthusiastically. As they should I reckon, a still half-smiling half-troubled at the low-key call for criminal deeds Gust thought. That is until he spotted Axel Mudriver¡¯s questioning stare and assumed his customary restrained expression that Elsanne found hilarious for some blasted reason. -
Sir Luke AredRavn -commanding around three thousand men of the 3rd Foot- camped half a kilometer from the Three Roads on the north-pointing spoke leading to Issir¡¯s Eagle near Greenforest¡¯s yellow-barked beeches, in the first week of Tertius of 194 NC. The first elements of Sir Mark Est Ravn¡¯s 2nd Foot reached them five days later with the High Regent¡¯s firstborn himself leading the bulk of the forces over Reinut¡¯s Bridge at Ugrid River being half a week behind. Lord Anker Est Ravn had moved out of Midlanor in the middle of month Secundus after Sir Reinir Tellman¡¯s and Lady Siske¡¯s force arrived there and left the young Heir in the city. He wanted to apply pressure to Sir Thor (his second son) and his friend Sir Ton Van De Aesst but also reach closer to the threatened capital in order to convince the commander of the Royal Guard Sir Kobus Van Eunen to agree to move the ailing Antoon the Second out of Issir¡¯s Eagle. To the east, the Order of the Golden Spears (a militarized militia run by Uher¡¯s priesthood that resembled the ancient Blood Raiders that had fought with Reinut the Great) under Sir Albert Kosters and the High Inquisitor Kelholt himself were also moving slowly towards Riverdor. Following the large entourage of Inquisitors escorting the Uher¡¯s Archmagister was an unassuming, sickly bespectacled man recently elevated to the rank of Grand Archivist going by the name Wim Luikens. A student of Rogier Rosman the Master Alchemist that had been diseased since 183 NC in a laboratory accident but not before been discredited and thrown out of the Order for ¡®ungodly practices¡¯. The accident killing around two hundred and forty civilians in Midlanor and leveling a city block. With the Golden Spears still near Riverdor and Sir Thon''s rebuild 3rd Foot still gathering at Sessi Fort (a religious military town called ¡®Shrine¡¯ by the Issirs) the High Regent knew that his forces were too spread out to counter the Khan¡¯s axis of advance. Halfway through the third month of the year the situation changed dramatically. At first everything seemed to swing towards hard-pressed Lord Anker¡¯s favor. The notoriously calculative Lord Ruud¡¯s and Castalor¡¯s forces (loyal to the Princess Heiress) that were initially marching towards Colle to attack the High Regent, intercepted Lord Putra¡¯s fast-moving pincer heading to Boar Horn¡¯s River after bypassing Castalor and pushed it back. While they took considerable damage from Horus Mirpur¡¯s heroics at the battle of Even Fork, Lord Ruud¡¯s army reclaimed the area and severed the Khan¡¯s invading horde in two. A day later, Lord Rinus Van De Aesst managed to negotiate a settlement with the Kaltha Navy revolt leaders milking the ¡®western horde¡¯ imminent danger for all it was worth and agreeing to pay the sum owed since the start of the war (a massive amount of gold Eagles) within three years. The captains stood down, the large harbor again opening for business and the Fleet moved out a week later near the ides of Tertius in search of the Khan¡¯s transports. The initial order given to the fleet captains was to find Lord Osahar¡¯s Combined Fleet escorts and sink them, then proceed to blockade Colle strangling the Khan for supplies and destroying his transports. Fifty four warships departed Caspo O¡¯ Bor led by Captain Nelis Oost that had defeated the Khan¡¯s Galleys three weeks prior at Duck¡¯s Head Peninsula near Ripel¡¯s Island. The Fleet didn¡¯t encounter any enemy warships returning to the area and moved further south towards the Free Isles. They circled around Cliffson Cay¡¯s east shores leaving behind six brigs to guard the route at the port of Atri, then continued their voyage sailing between Cliffson Cay and Ver¡¯s Island turning west. The Issirs headed for the small town of Bayspell, the last port on the Free Isles big enough to sort of handle so many ships, directly across from the tiny fishing settlement of Shroudcoast, one of only two settlements on Collant¡¯s Refuge -the other being Whitford. The rather bucolic islanders were unaligned with the Three Kingdoms since well before the days of Reinut. The High King had respected that officially but he¡¯d probably no more ships available for another sea campaign. The vaunted Issir Armada had been decimated at the end of his conquests with many of the older ships, some were in the water for more than twenty years by then, just coming apart whilst moored and going to the bottom. The modern Kaltha fleet that had replaced it intended to moor at Bayspell, replenish its depleted from inaction and the long revolt supplies drying up the cheap local markets and make much needed repairs. They had a letter of credit from Lord Rinus himself to negotiate with the local authorities. After searching the Shallow Straits the fleet was to traverse them, dash as far as Raoz¡¯s shores for convoys, then turn hard south and head for Colle. Rinus and the relieved Admiralty staff at Caspo O¡¯ Bor were certain they would discover the Khan¡¯s fleet and destroy it. Lord Anker upon learning of these auspicious developments on the road (the missive reached him near the crossroad for Trinir and a hunting village called Como) decided to skip visiting Caspo O¡¯ Bor and head towards Sessi Fort where the young knights were still trying to get the 3rd Foot moving. The decision influenced by the brusque insistence of Sir Reinir Tellman ¡®not to stall with armies in the field¡¯. The High Regent¡¯s large entourage (including the elderly Sir Tellman¡¯s mixed Pastelor forces that even had Northmen following them) was famously just about to cross Kaletha Bridge (one of the two massive stone bridges over Comorego River with the other being near Midlanor) when a rider coming from Caspo O¡¯ Bor reached them galloping hard. The young herald (reportedly then lieutenant-cadet officer Oliver Svane of Caspo O¡¯ Bor) brazenly brought his worn-out horse near Lord Anker¡¯s with knights scrabbling to stop him. ¡®By the Allgods lad,¡¯ Sir Reinir Tellman who had remained calm during those tense moments counseled Oliver. ¡®If death is what you seek, might as well join the army.¡¯ The latter a play on the officer¡¯s navy uniform with the sailors notoriously left out of most major conflicts for centuries. ¡®My Lords and knights,¡¯ Oliver Svane had replied gravely not partaking to the famed Iron Griffin¡¯s timeworn humor. ¡®The King expired. The Royal Guard is debating where to move next, after the funeral service.¡¯ The quickly spreading news shocking to the simple people following the more knowledgeable of the king¡¯s frail condition lords in mere seconds. Lord Anker had stood back on the saddle, sheathed Alqua-Linn (Swan¡¯s Song) the famed ancient Imperial sword he¡¯d half-drawn out and after a brief moment of tense silent contemplation he roared full of conviction. ¡®The King,¡¯ the High Regent had declared in his well-known absolute manner. ¡®Is in Midlanor.¡¯ ¡®Long live Antoon the Third! King of all Kaletha and the Three Shrines. Foremost ruler of the Three Seas and the Three Kingdoms!¡¯ An animated magister Sander te Hove acknowledged immediately (a burly Priest of the Order from Midlanor) raising Uher¡¯s Scepter high, adding with an austere look at the shaken tepid witnesses watching the dramatic exchange. ¡®The Allgods have spoken.¡¯ But despite the ¡®presumed¡¯ holy man¡¯s words they hadn¡¯t. Not all of them.
- Gust gave Sir Klaas a menacing look that made the young knight recoil and then turned to glare at Baron Sigurd¡¯s long face. The princess reached behind his back to grab Sir Klaas'' hand and reassure him she was fine with his performance. With getting duped by her was the princess¡¯ hidden meaning, a scowling Gust who had caught her action thought and seeing Sigurd puffing out trying to glean Uher knows what secrets from his scrolls he grunted hoarsely. ¡°Any news?¡± Sir Reuten stood up straighter on his chair looking like he¡¯d missed a day of rest at least. The cheap readily available brothels and carefree lifestyle had started to sneak up on the Crows slowly, eroding the men¡¯s abilities. Sir Reuten was never the sturdier in his Uher¡¯s vows. In a sense even Gust had started slipping up. It was more a matter of fact. Sleeping with the princess is a thorny detail was the knight¡¯s meaning. ¡°Your father controls Even Fork,¡± Sigurd replied acerbically. ¡°But won¡¯t move towards Colle.¡±¡¯ Of course. ¡°Does he have the forces to deal with the Khan? Is Lord Putra¡¯s army destroyed?¡± Gust retorted rapping his fingers on the table angrily until Elsanne placed her small hand on his. ¡°A combined assault with the assistance of the 3rd Foot could throw them back into the sea,¡± Sigurd snapped, his right arm shaking nervously. ¡°Who is going to direct this combined assault of yours Baron? Colle was occupied by Anker¡¯s men afore that!¡± ¡°Colle is ruined,¡± Sigurd hissed. ¡°But it is still part of the Kingdom.¡± ¡°Can Castalor deal with Lord Putra?¡± A perceptive Elsanne asked. While still under the effects of the alcohol she had indulged in the tavern earlier, the princess was handling the meeting admirably. ¡°Only Van Oord knows that your grace,¡± Sir Reuten replied. ¡°Scaldingport has most of its ships on supply runs,¡± Gust expounded. ¡°An army already in the field. Three if you count our men and Rik who is with Janneke. That¡¯s a big problem looming to his rear. The Baron¡¯s idea is a recipe for disaster.¡± Plus there was no way Ruud could be convinced to move. The Old Crow probably had his own plans already drawn out and he wouldn¡¯t take any ¡®advices¡¯ or ¡®suggestions¡¯ lest he trusted the source ¡®not to be a fool¡¯. Which meant he wouldn¡¯t consult with anyone but those close to him. ¡°Some of us have already been destroyed Sir Gust,¡± Sigurd noted sourly. Ah, this won¡¯t work on me Baron, Gust thought and stood back on his chair carefully. The first floor of Elsanne¡¯s building emptied out and turned into a conference hall of sorts but it was still using spare ¡®local¡¯ chairs and furniture they had carried there. The quality and style varying dramatically. Gust had already ¡®killed¡¯ two of them in a month. Lord¡¯s Burrow was importing much more essential things with the funds the Princess had poured into the port for repairs. Most of Leona¡¯s gold had gone there and to pay the Gallant Dogs, with some of the wealthier pirate families contributing what they could. Sigurd was a bit cross about that also. ¡°It¡¯s still a poor idea,¡± he finally said with a grunt as diplomatically as he could. ¡°Colle shall be rebuild Sigurd,¡± Elsanne assured him and the Baron bowed his head. The princess turned to look at the frowned Gust. ¡°Will our men tip the scales Sir Gust?¡± ¡°My Crows and the Gallant Dogs will help for sure,¡± Gust replied. ¡°But they don¡¯t have the numbers and you don¡¯t deploy mercenaries as your core army.¡± ¡°Will Scaldingport be our core?¡± Elsanne asked a hint of tease in her voice. Not without convincing Ruud, his eyes told her and the Princess pursed her pretty mouth. ¡°What would the Lord of Scaldingport wish for?¡± Elsanne asked. ¡°Boar Snout Peninsula cleared for sure,¡± Gust replied hoarsely affected by her presence. ¡°With King Jeremy gone he has too many problems in his hands. The Duke would want his lands protected first.¡± ¡°So he¡¯ll stay near Castalor to deal with Lord Putra,¡± Elsanne expounded calmly. ¡°And guard the bridge over Boar Horn River your grace,¡± Gust added with a grimace at her unnerving composure. Elsanne raised a trimmed white brow noticing his discomfort. ¡°Even if the Khan marches to Issir¡¯s Eagle?¡± She asked crossing both arms before her chest. Elsanne was in her ¡®pirate¡¯ attire and despite efforts to convince her otherwise, the princess wouldn¡¯t budge. I shall wear a dress in my court, she told him. Live as my brothers and sisters whence in Burrow. It was a misleading argument since the reason for it was that the princess loved the freedom she enjoyed amidst the less court conscious pirates. Gust could understand that but few in Kaltha or on Jelin would. ¡°Aye,¡± he replied stiffly and Sigurd snorted in frustration from across the table. ¡°Would he deny us if we wear the crown?¡± Elsanne insisted and it was Gust¡¯s turn to puff out cornered. ¡°You should have to ask the Duke to know this answer,¡± he reluctantly admitted, his plan of keeping her away from the conflict dealt a serious blow.
An hour later with the meeting over Sir Jan Reuten approached the thoughtful knight. Elsanne was talking with Jasi for a remedy as her stomach was ¡®feeling funny¡¯ and she wanted to speak with Captain Dawson next who had arrived that morning from Eikenport with Corsair''s Gold. ¡°I should be in Jelin,¡± Jan told him frankly. Gust made a fist of his right hand and tapped at the table¡¯s surface with the knuckles. ¡°No manner of reasoning would keep most of us here,¡± the knight explained. ¡°Even if her grace stays. De Moss said the same, De Jager talks about it and Struder¡¯s company might refuse to renew their contract with Castalor under siege.¡± Jan was from Colle so he was even more pressured to return home having family there. ¡°They left for Castalor, didn¡¯t they?¡± Gust asked raspingly thinking of his two grown up sisters Femke and Sonja. They were with They were with late Floris¡¯ Bach¡¯s wife Lady Petra and their daughter Lady Mona. Sigurd¡¯s brother¡¯s family. Former Mayor Floris ¡®had¡¯ a couple of sons as well, but for Teun and the current Mayor Ron, Gust cared little about. ¡°They did,¡± Sir Reuten replied. ¡°Robert will use Scaldingport¡¯s two transports to come across also. The Khan must be dealt with Sir Gust.¡± Gust grunted and opening his fist grabbed at the edge of the table tightly. A part of the wood making a cracking sound first and then breaking off. He stared at the weakened wood amused for a moment. Lord¡¯s Burrow was an old place, the whole town slowly eaten away by the clammy Pirate Reefs weather or hollowed out from below by the sea. ¡®Watch out for the burrows¡¯ was a common expression used by the locals. ¡°We can¡¯t beat the Khan divided,¡± he finally rumbled keeping his voice low. ¡°It is fool¡¯s gold and you know it.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve done it twice already,¡± the knight argued pursing his mouth. ¡°Lord Anker has the numbers to defeat him in the field. There¡¯s one big road leading to Issir¡¯s Eagle and the Khan would have to take it to avoid the forts.¡± Moving fast over open ground wasn¡¯t a problem for the Horselords. ¡°If he attacks the Khan¡¯s army,¡± Gust grunted hoarsely. ¡°He¡¯ll be destroyed and you know it. Not in the open fields. If cavalry could be deployed, you better stay away. You read the blasted reports!¡± ¡°The Raven of Dawn feared no man,¡± Jan replied eyeing him strangely. ¡°What changed?¡± It¡¯s not fear it¡¯s the blasted truth. Gust was truthful in that. Not fear for his person anyway. Gust realized he¡¯d crumbled to pieces the small part he¡¯d broken off of the table and still held in his fist. He slowly poured the pulverized contents on the table. ¡°An unprepared army of a divided kingdom that is led by fools, dies of bravery first.¡± He murmured reciting one of Ruud¡¯s favorite and more sinister quotes. With a small pause the grimacing Gust added in a sober voice. ¡°Their rotting remains picked apart by the vultures that survived.¡± The knight stood back unsure. ¡°You think Lord Anker won¡¯t propose a deal given the dire situation?¡± Jan asked. ¡°I¡¯m afraid both he and the Khan would do exactly that at their own convenience,¡± Gust rustled. ¡°Promise a lot of things today, get rid of her on the morrow.¡± The silent Bugs that had entered the building through the second¡¯s floor¡¯s open windows had appeared at the top of the stairs. Large coal-colored body standing upright and staring down at the gathering. Then it turned its black eyes on the worried Sir Gust and gazed his way for a long moment. Despite being famous for always saying the most inappropriate things at the nigh inopportune times, at this instance the old Raven remained silent. It just turned its bony beak towards the entrance, opened it wide and closed it back again sharply, the clacking sound reverberating inside the walls of the small hall. Everyone stopped talking alarmed. A moment passed. Then another. Steps were heard coming from outside and Sir Klaas went to open the door. Lord Sigurd¡¯s man Katers came inside, the former agent staring at his boss first and then those present, afore his eyes settling on the flushed Elsanne that hiccupped from the tension despite her effort to keep it in. ¡°Oras shadow,¡± a jumpy Sigurd uttered, the Baron was ordained to the God of Death, a well-known fact. ¡°Speak Katers.¡± ¡°Missive from our man in Caspo O¡¯ Bor sire,¡± Katers reported, holding the crumbled scroll in his hand. ¡°Jurian? Not from Scaldingport or Colle?¡± Sigurd grimaced and Gust stood up noisily with a glare at the intently watching large Raven. ¡°Not since morning¡­ ahm,¡± Katers was stalling. ¡°It¡¯s of a sensitive issue sire.¡± ¡°Praised be the Five man! This was nigh offensive,¡± Sir Reuten taunted. ¡°We¡¯re all sensitive people in here!¡± ¡°The navy revolt is over,¡± Sigurd gleaned out of his discomforted man¡¯s expression. Katers probably didn¡¯t expect to face so big a crowd. ¡°Indeed it is sire,¡± Katers reported grasping at the opportunity to cram in everything he could quickly. ¡°The fleet left the port more than a week ago. There¡¯s talk of a great naval engagement at the Shallow Straits. Also two days afore that King Antoon had expired.¡± Katers one-two fast blows had managed to shut up even the usually talkative Sir Jan. Darn bird was right. Elsanne¡¯s hiccups went away and she clasped at the hand the approaching Gust had placed on her right shoulder comfortingly. Sigurd turned to glance at the Princess intently and Elsanne shuddered her nervousness spilling out but remarkably succeeded to stand upright with difficulty. ¡°Antoon the Third is the king of Kaltha,¡± a croaking Katers added although it was obvious he didn¡¯t want to. ¡°Per the High Regent¡¯s words.¡± ¡°No he isn¡¯t,¡± Elsanne declared in a hoarse voice and for a brief moment the short in stature princess was the tallest person in the room. ¡°We don¡¯t accept his authority. Kaltha has a Queen.¡± Then again she was a princess no more. And so it begins, a standing back Gust thought. He sucked air deeply through both nostrils, stretched to its limits armour joints clinging, floorboards crackling and Bugs letting out a thunderous croak afore adding in a dissonant but disturbingly enthusiastic voice. BLOOD IN THE EAST! ORAS FUCKING FEAST!
439. Queen of Veer’s Gulf (2/4)
Elsanne Eikenaar ¡®Fair¡¯ Anne Burton* ¡®Jade Eyes¡¯ ¡®Lord¡¯s Blood¡¯* Little Royal Sister* Queen of Veer¡¯s Gulf Queen of Veer¡¯s Gulf Part II -Lord¡¯s own Blood-
*Elsanne had several monikers throughout the years both on Eplas and on Jelin. Some obviously were about her outward appearance and high rank or station in the realm but others were more esoteric like Anne Burton for instance or ¡®Little Royal Sister¡¯. They were both referring to her being a member of the Brotherhood of Gentlemen & Ladies aka the Buccaneers. The Pirates Guild. Lord¡¯s Blood, another esoteric moniker, was a nod to her being a direct descendant of Reinut the Great that the Brotherhood considered one of their own and the first pirate Lord. The latter a disturbing detail almost all High Kings after him had steered clear from, with each having his own story or version about the royal lineage¡¯s elusive link to the noble houses of the Kaletha Triarchy. The young Queen was to do exactly the opposite. - - -
Night of the 14th of Tertius 194 NC The natural narrow channel outside Bayspell and across Shroudcoast The Free Isles Naval clash at Shallow Straits -Khanate name ¡®The paean of peerless Binra-Kot¡¯
Captain Nelis Oost saw the flaming catapult shot strike the Black Prince¡¯s forecastle as the Foresight dipped down the water¡¯s crest to the trough, carving a fiery path on the deck and striking the foremast. Splinters exploded outwards, barrels, torn sails and snapped lines, with screaming sailors hurled overboard or smashed to a pulp by the severed falling mast. The large warship groaned alike a wounded beast, its bow dipping below the waves and as the Foresight climbed the crest again Oost could see the whole line of the enemy Galleys firing one after the other. The sight overwhelming and borderline surreal in its grandiose savagery. The breadth of the sky covered in black smoke and the burning lights on the enemy ships flickering in the semi-darkness, Bayspell¡¯s illuminated port less than a kilometer away still distracting to the eyes. Rear Admiral Basten Haar had ordered the leading squadron of warships to chase after the slow-moving Galleys they had spotted an hour earlier, the port¡¯s lights and the morning darkness hiding their true numbers. The favorable western-heading wind whistling through the Shallow Straits now pushing the whole fleet towards the packed lines of the Khan¡¯s Navy. Not a single transport amongst them. The squadron had been decimated with six ships floundering already and the rest of the Fleet coming after them about to face the same fate. ¡°Stenden signals for the ships to turn port side sire! Arch towards the south!¡± Thier Bell boomed, face soaked in brine. The Commodore had taken over with the fate of the Rear Admiral unknown. The Black Prince was struggling to stay above water with more shots splashing near their bow as well, thick white froth coming to the surface, the waves couldn¡¯t wash away. Bodies, broken barrels, shattered planks and supplies mixed in. ¡°We need to close with them! Good grief, this is no man¡¯s land! Signal him back! Where¡¯s the Hesper?¡± Nelis barked rushing down the quarterdeck, the ship shaking and people yelling orders, the booming sounds reverberating as if bouncing off a sky firmament or an angry cloudy sky. But there was not a single cloud over their heads for the whole night, the moons only quarter full. ¡°By the Five!¡± Nelis yelled slipping on the soaked deck. Pier Hakker grabbed his arm to keep him steady. The marine officer¡¯s armour drenched. ¡°My men are target practice Oost!¡± He roared and Nelis slapped his hand away. ¡°BELL RAISE THE BLASTED FLAGS!¡± The Captain ordered in a booming hoarse voice the next moment. ¡°SIGNAL THE SHIPS TO CLOSE! STRAIGHT AHEAD! RUN WITH THE WIND!¡± There was no time to attempt anything else with the enemy so close. ¡°Run with the wind!¡± Bell yelled at the top of his lungs. ¡°Straight ahead!¡± Nelis watched the enemy ships growing before their bow, hand holding a line connected to Foresight¡¯s main mast. Most of the enemy ships angled starboard side to use all their machines, their oars out. Twenty, thirty, he counted quickly. Forty. Uher¡¯s light. The whole Khanate Fleet was waiting for them. ¡°CUT SAILS FIFTY METERS OUT!¡± Nelis barked. ¡°You¡¯ll crash us on them captain!¡± An ogling Bell argued with a grunt. Nelis watched the turning Oryon got hit by a cluster of five shots at least on its starboard side and a crack opening from keel to deck rails. The warship almost split in two. People killed in scores. This is a blasted ambush. ¡°Give him a count for the distance! Every ten meters!¡± He barked at the petty officer on the watch above him. ¡°Bell you have your darn orders!¡± Nelis snapped at the approaching to argue his case First Mate and a pale-faced Bell nodded with a scowl. The Captain turned to one of the nearby marines next. ¡°Tell Hakker to get you ready to assault them. Hooks out to tie them up! We¡¯re gonna clip their sticks so expect a jostle!¡± ¡°Aye Captain. We¡¯ll give them a good licking!¡± The marine saluted and went after his leading officer. Nelis watched him go and then glanced at the approaching line of enemy galleys packed with Khanate marines. In less than five minutes they were about to receive bolts and arrows en masse. By Oras shadow, this ain¡¯t going to end well. The captain mused pensively.
- The large Raven, its feathers black as fresh dug coal had landed on a branch two trees away and stared at her austerely with its bulbous beady eyes. Bend the fuckin¡¯ knee! It had yelled suddenly with a great voice not turning its head away but it was addressed to those present at the ravaged forest opening and not the young Princess. Barons, Dukes and a now dead King. And then it started cackling like Luthos¡¯ fool. Well then, the scrawny wrinkled face of Lord Ruud commented sourly stooping over the neck of his warhorse to better see her coming about. I say that¡¯s a bloody chance wasted if there ever was one! Your hand, if you¡¯ll have me, a grinning Ralph had told her years later. The dashing knight dropping dead not two days after that scene missing his chance. Elsanne gasped in her dream, the humidity making her breath coming out rugged and a thin coating of sweat covered her neck, the moisture running down the swell of her breasts. CAW ¡®They might come for your hand princess or your pretty head next time,¡¯ the mysterious Selussa had told her. ¡®This is my road. Doesn¡¯t have to be yours. But what does a girl that was a prize all her life do if she¡¯s threatened?¡¯ The girl gives no quarters, Elsanne had replied. Big waves, the deep blue sea and the golden glow of the not so distant desert. An ambush on the rocky shores afore that and a wronged rebel captain named Kobus. A castle in the middle of a toxic jungle right after, the Goddess¡¯ Wall and Ovinet¡¯s Nest piercing the clouds. Any tavern and at any port, Dawson had told her and she slapped the ¡®piece o¡¯ twelve¡¯ on the tavern¡¯s counter, a skull carved on its polished silver surface. Captain Ottis, the Dogs and a pirate with nine lives that eventually run out. CAW The gory, badly smelling and severed boar¡¯s head rattled the garden¡¯s bench. Large bloody tongue still leaking on the wood¡¯s surface. Sir Kobus Van Eunen recoiling at the sight -another Kobus this and a younger Gust clad in heavy armour turning all red in the face. Time turned it to a fine leather vest tarnished with dripping blood. Trickle. Drip and drop. The crimson brook running down the old dark sandstone a step at a time. A dark and dour windowless hall and the breeze coming from ¡®Crow¡¯s Hole¡¯ making the hundreds of candles flickering. The opening packed with black birds that started flying over the grim-faced guests. A familiar Raven the size of an eagle landing on the empty stone throne¡¯s headrest, the old sculpted stone cracked and brittle. It stilled two beady eyes on her again and clacked its black beak angrily. The bird wanted more blood spilt. ¡®He should have been abandoned in the Isles. All this goes against what we all had agreed. Not another war. On his words. Listen to yourselves! Not a pirate¡¯s vile line! A thug with Eastland Cove¡¯s blood can¡¯t rule over the Holy Triarchy.¡¯ Uher¡¯s Archmagister declared at the stunned council. ¡®By the Five he can¡¯t. Lest we are all dead and tossed overboard!¡¯ A surly Reinut had stood back at that, hint of a leer formed on his lips. CAW With a scream Elsanne woke up, arms and legs kicking wildly. She rolled on one side and then the other, head hanging from the side of her bed dangerously. Eyes blurry and her tunic drenched in sweat. Head weighing a ton. Mouth numb and tasting funny. Well mostly of Adele¡¯s wine and the Purser¡¯s rum. Maybe piss? But that could be the latter. ¡°Ah,¡± she griped with a pout. Blinked her eyes at the small illuminated room trying to remember where she was. The bed hard and wet under her. Elsanne touched the surface and brought the hand near her face to see whether anything untoward had happened in her sleep. Nope. Good girls don¡¯t use their bed as latrine. She grinned at that but then she spotted the large frame of Gust on the small couch, used as a chair. Elsanne lowered her hand on the crumbled sheets, her neck getting hot. Engorged nipples poking at the wet fabric fiercely. A big problem lately. ¡°What are you doing there?¡± She asked huskily, despite her attempt to sound annoyed because she was. ¡°Slept on the couch,¡± Gust rustled with a frown. Elsanne swung her legs over the side of the bed and placed her feet firmly on the rough wooden floor. Eh. ¡°Not to disturb you,¡± the knight added, apparently in a mood. Does Gust dream? What are his nightmares like? Elsanne wondered. Because mine are weird. Uher, she complained next glancing at the open window. Your light is hurting me. ¡°You can¡¯t fit in there,¡± Elsanne noted and stared at her feet leaving moist impressions on the floorboards. ¡°I can sleep fine just the same your grace,¡± Gust argued and a peeved Elsanne raised her arm to stop him. ¡°We wanted your company,¡± she told him sternly. ¡°On this bed. Which is for sleeping. Let me finish. We expected a better greeting after our difficult night.¡± ¡°Apologies.¡±This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. ¡°Gust,¡± Elsanne hissed and tapped the side of the bed with a hand. ¡°You don¡¯t appear willing.¡± ¡°I am. Always,¡± the large man rustled and got up. Allgods, he¡¯s tall as a tree. ¡°Yet you¡¯re still standing there.¡± ¡°I was thinking,¡± Gust started and she shook her head frustrated. ¡°Your grace didn¡¯t hear what I wanted to say.¡± ¡°See? I don¡¯t like that. This your grace stuff in private,¡± Elsanne admonished him. ¡°Elsanne,¡± Gust tried again visibly in discomfort. ¡°A Queen can¡¯t have a lover.¡± What? Elsanne stood up and glared at his big head. ¡°You presume to dictate what a Queen can or can¡¯t do Sir Gust? Any secret knowledge of a Queen¡¯s wants you want to share with us?¡± Gust stood back furrowing his brows. ¡°Eh. It¡¯s an important query,¡± Elsanne insisted with a sly grin. ¡°You¡¯re sleeping with another Queen I don¡¯t know about?¡± ¡°Of course I¡¯m not!¡± Gust grunted angrily. ¡°I was jesting calm down,¡± Elsanne retorted and then sighed. ¡°What was the joke?¡± ¡°I¡­ forget it. It was in poor taste.¡± ¡°People expect a certain character from¡ª¡± Gust started but she stopped him with a peeved gesture. ¡°I know how to handle people,¡± Elsanne told him. ¡°All this talk of what to do or how to react is really meaningless. A pretend game. I¡¯ve been a princess but then I wasn¡¯t. Then I was something else. I will be a Queen.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that simple.¡± ¡°It is for me,¡± Elsanne retorted. ¡°The only people that matter are the Lords and their mind is probably already made up. Am I wrong Gust?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll give ammunition to your enemies,¡± Gust answered rigidly. ¡°Gust, they won¡¯t change their mind. Will your father be convinced out of his ways?¡± ¡°I told you what Ruud might want.¡± ¡°You told me what you think your father might want. But you don¡¯t know,¡± Elsanne continued and approached him still in awe of his size. The armour she could do without. Gust made considerable effort to keep his eyes on her face but given their difference in height and the sun warming her wet back it was difficult. ¡°Tell me I know your heart and what I see in you is real,¡± she whispered. ¡°I want you on my side Gust. In my bed. Can I have that?¡± The knight reached to cup her face with a big hand and bring her closer. Rough fingers lacing on her nape and brushing her moist curls aside. A shiver run through Elsanne, a good one and her gaze filled with longing. ¡°Give me this last good day,¡± she murmured huskily. ¡°Before Jelin and the Lords of the realm. It might be a while afore we can afford another.¡± A sound came from her open window. Talons scratching at the wood¡¯s surface and feathers ruffling. Elsanne pouted, the smell of rotting roadkill reaching her nostrils. ¡°He¡¯s behind us eh?¡± She asked the silent Gust and he nodded. ¡°WATER FUCKING MELON!¡± Bugs thundered to startle them and it turned into a wild pleased cackle that got interrupted by a curt knock on her door. ¡°SOD OFF!¡± The Raven croaked very annoyed. ¡°Stand behind me,¡± Gust told her and went to open the door. A sour-faced Jasi appeared, looking as annoyed as the whistling a strange tune with its head tipped back old-raven. The sharp notes interrupted by its beak snapping close at regular intervals. ¡°Is she decent?¡± The Eunuch asked and then grimaced. ¡°She isn¡¯t. Right. Big message arrived. Long faces all about downstairs. Lots of hush-hush on how to break the news to our Queen.¡± ¡°Good morning Jasi,¡± Elsanne greeted poking her head behind Gust¡¯s back. ¡°I¡¯m hungry.¡± ¡°I am too. Had everything figured out and ready,¡± Jasi revealed with a pout. ¡°But I had to run upstairs to give your un-appareled Excellency a head start.¡± ¡°What could it be?¡± Gust wondered as they already had enough news from Jelin arriving the previous days. ¡°I better go hear them first.¡± ¡°No reason,¡± Jasi stopped him with a grimace. ¡°I read it already while they were talking it out. My eyes are excellent I¡¯ll have you know. I can read a scroll nailed on a wall from five meters¡ª¡± ¡°What¡¯s the missive Jasi?¡± Elsanne asked stopping his gloating. The scowling Gust was about to slap him so she did him a solid. ¡°The Khan won at Shallow Straits by the skin of his teeth,¡± the Eunuch replied stiffly at the interruption and brushed softly at his trimmed eyebrow with a painted a fine-white nail. ¡°Still the word used was disaster I believe.¡± -
Rear Admiral Basten Haar entered the Shallow Straits on the night of the 14th, the third month of 194 with forty eight warships. The majority of Kaltha¡¯s main fleet plus a squadron of six warships that had made it out of Krakenhall. Another squadron of Kaltha¡¯s North Fleet was operating out of Sallowhall and one had been left at Atri to patrol the northern approaches from Ri Yue-Tu and Altarin. The powerful fleet, included twenty armoured Brigs (like Foresight), ten three-mast Barques (led by Hesper and Oryon) and seven full-rigged grand-Barques (led by the Frigate Black Prince), approached Bayspell two hours before dawn. Unbeknownst to them the port was under the Khanate¡¯s control, a disastrous intelligence failure fueled by the Navy¡¯s poor patrolling of the straits after months of revolt and a collapse of the Kingdom¡¯s spy network due to lack of funding in the area along their attention focused on the succession matter. On top of everything else King Antoon¡¯s the 2nd failing health (the king had been unable to leave his room for years with some even suggesting he was more dead than alive) eventually got the better of him. While several different fanciful versions of the ¡®years of silence¡¯ exist today, it is highly unlikely that Antoon ever recovered or became aware of his surroundings. In a sense the hapless High King had never survived his assassination attempt. While priests swear that he became lucid in his final day and even asked about his son (the detail greatly used by Lord Anker in the years that followed) there are strong reasons to believe this is a made up story we can recite in a later chapter. Antoon Eikenaar, second of his name, son of High King Theun ¡®the Cruel¡¯, died peacefully according to the official record on the 10th of Tertius 194 NC after ruling since his coronation in 178. He was thirty six years old. He spent almost four of the final years of his reign never leaving his quarters and was buried in a small coffin a week later next to his murdered firstborn son Prince Kasper and Lady Silvie Alden. His presumed second son from the late Queen Nienke Antoon the Third was ¡®crowned¡¯ two days later (with Lord Anker staying on as High Regent). With the baby king in Midlanor unable to travel and given the circumstances the event was just a proclamation with no ceremony. The latter triggered a series of events that shaped the months that followed. The first was that despite desperate efforts to keep them in the capital, the Royal Guard under its commander Sir Kobus Van Eunen marched out of Issir¡¯s Eagle over the Red Bridge and headed for Midlanor. Princess Elsanne, who was either en route towards Scaldingport or somewhere in the Pirate Reefs at the time, upon been informed of her older brother¡¯s demise declared for the throne herself disputing her nephew¡¯s claim. Her decision caused a severe blow to Lord Anker¡¯s attempts to secure the throne and concentrate on dealing with the Khan¡¯s invasion. The Khan¡¯s army had occupied the ravaged Colle and despite assurances given to the Archduke that the port would be impossible to use soon, had it semi-operational in a month and fully working in six. About fifteen thousand civilians had escaped from Colle and rushed towards Castalor mainly the previous year. The twenty thousand that had remained behind were promptly enslaved by the old Horselord and put to work. The Princess was to travel to Scaldingport under Lord Ruud¡¯s protection but also accompanied by a large number of pirate ships. While not as large as their professional navy counterparts, the Pirate warships were fully capable of fighting back and were run by very experienced (and of thoroughly criminal character) crews. Amidst them were also a couple of captured or refitted small Brigs (like the Pillager) and even a massive black galleass the Mighty Saracen, easily the biggest warship that operated inside the Shallow Sea that year. Accompanying Elsanne was Sir Gust¡¯s expeditionary force. The Duke¡¯s son was to return to Jelin after five years bringing with him around six hundred men and Struder¡¯s Company from Castalor. His old friend Robert Van Durren the still living legitimate heir to the high Barony of Badum and the remnants of the First Foot (around eight hundred men) were to make the return journey after six years in exile, along a large number of Blood Raiders from Eikenport. Of these forces loyal to Elsanne, the famed experienced mercenary company called the Gallant Dogs, a large professional army of over a thousand men fully equipped and battle-tested were the first to disembark at Scaldingport a week after the Battle at Even Fork. The mercenaries poured out of the pirate fleet causing quite the startle at the relatively weakly defended city. The Pirate Fleet left to return to their secret port and the soldiers of Commandant Martel promptly clogged up Scaldingport¡¯s harbor area, booking several hostels, brothels, restaurants for days before camping outside the city¡¯s south gates on the foot of the sloped road leading towards Patience Plateau ¡®for exercises.¡¯ The elderly chamberlain Hubert Boss upon spotting the large camp been built from atop the massive Blackcrow¡¯s Pillar parapets immediately messaged Lord Ruud who was overseeing the campaign against Lord Putra¡¯s trapped army. Several versions of the Clash at Shallow Straits exist today both written by Khanate¡¯s scholars and also accounts penned by Jelin historians. According to Kaltha¡¯s Admiralty records, Rear Admiral Basten Haar misjudged the situation ¨Cthe term used was that the lookouts ¡®got blinded by the illuminated port lights and missed the ships in the water¡¯s shades¡¯. I can¡¯t attest whether its possible one can miss such a great flock of ships or the fire-pits burning on their decks or not. Perhaps the reflection created on the glassy waters got mistaken for an illusion and not reality. We may never know. Anyways Haar brought the fleet near the waiting Khanate warships lines completely unprepared. Binra-Kot (who commanded about forty war galleys) had expected the Kaltha Fleet and managed a serious blow within the first minutes of the scrap. Haar¡¯s Frigate the Black Prince was stricken by flaming shots (a practice not favored in Jelin) and the Rear Admiral went down with his flagship. Commodore Stenden who wrote extensively about the engagement reports that amidst the confusion half the fleet continued on towards the firing galleys whilst others tried to turn against the wind and attempt to disengage with some even heading for the safety of Bayspell¡¯s illuminated port. With ships burning or sinking and men drowning all about them a large number of Kaltha¡¯s warships managed to close with the Galleys nullifying their advantage. The Galleys had trouble maneuvering out of position and while Binra-Kot had them setup close to one another this didn¡¯t help when Kaltha¡¯s warships crashed onto them. The heavily laden with marines Issir warships won the bulk of the engagements on the decks with Scorpio crews firing volleys from point blank range killing friends and foes alike. The outer ships of the Galleys drawn out battle-line attempted to disengage using their oars and engulf the attacking Issirs but it was a slow grueling affair and some of the fire pits used for the catapults built on the castles set a number of them on fire. With everyone so close together the burning falling masts and blazing sails made the inferno spread out. An hour later almost sixty warships from both sides were burning and another twenty were at the bottom of the sea. Few of the burning ships survived and desperate men dived for the water to save themselves, with Issirs and Horselords still fighting while brushed away by the waves. It¡¯s impossible to have an accurate independent estimate of the number today other than the official accounts that marked five Issir warships surviving by reaching Shroudcoast later that morning, Stenden¡¯s ship the Hesper amongst them. A number of them surely made it to the nearby Bayspell but got probably overwhelmed by the forces Binra-Kot had occupying the small town port and no survivors were reported. Binra-Kot himself was injured in the scrap but assumed a mythical status amidst his countrymen having won an unlikely victory. As Admiral Osahar reportedly commented to his son. ¡®One more win like this and we¡¯ll be ruined.¡¯ The Shao Na-Lan noble wasn¡¯t jealous of Binra-Kot nor a fool. The Khanate¡¯s Attack Fleet had been left with nine operational galleys and a few captured Brigs. While he had lost thirty one of the Khanate¡¯s best ships, he had at least saved some of the crew (mostly from Shao Na-Lan and the capital) with the casualties reaching around two thousand marines and three thousand slaves. Kaltha lost forty-three warships in a bleak day (with six captured by the Khanate) but suffered an astonishing body count of close to five thousand killed or captured. Two thousand marines (Caspo O¡¯ Bors most potent fighting force) perished in the engagement. This was the biggest loss of life for the mighty Issir navy since Queen Baltoris and her wyverns had laid waste to Reinut¡¯s Armada two centuries in the distant past. The number there of course mythical for our times with allegedly a hundred and forty large frigates lost and close to thirty thousand people on the Issir side along over twenty thousand civilians living at Eikenport at the time. Among the lost were the experienced Marine Lieutenant Hakker, the hero of Duck¡¯s Head scrap Captain Nelis Oost and Rear Admiral Basten Haar (the father of Lord Rinus¡¯ wife.) The blinded from one eye elderly Khan that was in a bad mood since they had informed him (reluctantly) of Lord Putra¡¯s failure to capture Castalor and the blow suffered at Even Fork, along with the army¡¯s slow landings near Colle, stood up from his field throne and walked at the edge of Colle¡¯s docks by himself. He stayed there in silent contemplation for half an hour and finally turned around to reach his warhorse -a trusted servant was always tasked to bring it near the Khan. Burzin climbed on his warhorse and stared at the hushed officers and officials standing a respectful distance away from him, the hint of a smirk on his weathered face. ¡®Now,¡¯ the usually reserved in his words Burzin had told them. ¡®They¡¯ll come to fight us like proper men upon open steady ground and they¡¯ll perish screaming like their women.¡¯
- Corsair¡¯s Gold yellow sails were slowly unfurling as the nimble warship reached the mouth of the narrow passage through the Pirate Reefs. The ship¡¯s Second Mate ¡®Crafty¡¯ or Lucky Trifton depending on the time of day yelled for one of the Bills, Lurd not Jung, to let go of the line guiding the sail faster ¡®afore Leona rams her bow up our arse! She¡¯s horny like that!¡¯ which brought a smile on Elsanne¡¯s face. The young Queen realized she knew most of the ship¡¯s crew. Many of the brothers and sisters on the other ships following them. She stooped over the quarterdeck¡¯s rail, both hands clasping at the slippery wood and looked back to see the ¡®Mighty Saracen¡¯ emerging from the thick mist plaguing the narrows. The massive black warship impressive to gaze at especially when it started opening its bigger and more numerous sails one after the other, some of Leona¡¯s calls reaching her ears over the sound of the open seas. ¡°Give it a good yank mister Hook!¡± She screamed and Elsanne spotted her, a leg wrapped at the bow sprit, left arm holding a line and half her body over the splashing waves. ¡°We have about two meters of give still me lovelies. We should be going faster is my meaning!¡± Leona added as they gained on the Corsair¡¯s Gold and she waved her feathered hat at them, a fierce grin on her scarred face. A sexy face even so, Elsanne thought a little jealous at her ability to run such a big ship and have fun with it. ¡°Nothing easy about it Little Royal Sister,¡± Yellow Dawson explained reading her expression and came to stand beside her. ¡°Foxy has skill aplenty and a big drive. It¡¯ll take her far and away but if she doesn¡¯t stop when time comes, it¡¯ll kill her just like it did her father.¡± ¡°I think she¡¯s smart enough,¡± Elsanne replied and she wasn¡¯t really fond of Leona to defend her but the woman had delivered as much as anyone else to her cause. Dawson grimaced, looking much older than she remembered him but also different in a deeper sense. ¡°Not like that she ain¡¯t,¡± he said pursing his mouth. ¡°How far this old lady brought you?¡± She asked him teasingly changing the subject and Dawson caressed the wooden rail with a calloused hand for a quiet moment as if thinking it through. ¡°She served me right for sure, Abrakas as me witness,¡± he finally said hoarsely and then cleared his throat, fixing the large old hat on his head as the wind picked up and the Corsair¡¯s Gold gained speed. ¡°KID ARE YE SLEEPING UP THERE?¡± ¡®Bad¡¯ Penny roared interrupting their talk. ¡°Give us a heading! We be moving for an hour fer pity¡¯s sake and I haven¡¯t heard from ye!¡± ¡°Are ye blind? It a south eastern wind! Darn sails are full!¡± Roscoe grunted irate poking his scarfed head from the lookout. Well in his thirties, he was far from a kid but the moniker had stuck with him. He had good eyes for a time, Byron Vail, the aged Quartermaster always said sadly as if he was talking about his sick dog. But he was always bad at everything else. So Roscoe had made the lookout his home. Elsanne chuckled with their exchange despite her heart being heavy with the bleak news about the Fleet¡¯s fate. She caught out of the corner of her eye the pirate Captain watching her moved and reached to touch his hand. Her days with the brotherhood had emboldened Elsanne beyond her wildest dreams. Or maybe brought her true character to the surface. ¡°We are alright our good mister Dawson truly,¡± she assured him and the pirate captain nodded using a hand to rub his face. ¡°That ye are. Aye,¡± he agreed and sucked a deep breath in a little desperately, his eyes on the slowly left behind familiar reefs. ¡°I helped them bring ye to Eplas me lass and it always weighted me conscience that fact.¡± Dawson added hoarsely with a grimace of discomfort and brought her small hand to his mouth to touch the knuckles on his lips. A very old noble gesture utterly unexpected from him. There were hidden sides to the captain hinting at a very different man than the one described in the stories. ¡°Folk in our line of business have a lot of baggage weighing us down and its naught but Abrakas Gullet under this deck¡¯s boards aye. So when opportunity arises we look to make amends whence we can.¡± ¡°I never blamed you for anything mister Dawson,¡± Elsanne replied informally with a smile. The pirate nodded, reached with a hand and loosened his new yellow sash from his waist. He looped it around Elsanne¡¯s neck once which made Sir Klaas tense up until she signaled for him to relax and then the pirate stood back. She lifted the expensive silk sash over her face with a hand and then used both to tie it around her blowing white hair like a scarf. ¡°There hmm? But now you¡¯re left without one.¡± ¡°Never really knew why I got another one, until this moment,¡± Dawson replied a little surprised himself. ¡°But what¡¯s gifted is never lost, a lass told me once many years back.¡± ¡°Gratitude. It¡¯s lovely,¡± a blushing Elsanne told him and the pirate captain tipped his hat to her with a grin. ¡°Aye,¡± he said and stared one last time at the Pirate Reefs. It was like he didn¡¯t expect to return again. Seeing the worry in her face Dawson shook his head, showing a lot of gold teeth in his mouth and added earnestly. ¡°She has one more journey in her I reckon,¡± Dawson said and looked at Elsanne meaningfully. ¡°But afore that I be finishing what I started all those years back. I brought the ¡®Lord¡¯s own blood¡¯ to Eplas and Abrakas as me witness I shall bring ye back safely.¡± And he did.
440. Queen of Veer’s Gulf (3/4) -
Praise be the mighty warrior God, For he cuts down friends and foes without sentiment. There is naught of that in the field. But one can seek it after the pyres are extinguished in remembrance. In blood sodden ¡®n burned funeral rocks, brittle broken ¡®n black bones. And in the well-sharpened steel blade¡¯s edge that wears its marks like memories of past struggles. - A prayer to Tyeus Unknown date
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Sir Gust De Weer Raven of Dawn Queen of Veer¡¯s Gulf Part III -The Old Crow- volume I
- Volume IA -Long time no see¡­- -
Old people say that when the pirate captains supporting the victorious Reinut realized that attacking the Lorian Lords in the south might be too big an undertaking and might even unite them under the ever expanding ¡®Lord Consul¡¯ Lucius¡¯ banner, they decided to head mostly north instead. Some headed east but kept on the northern shores side of the large Canlita Lake. Thus skirting the south. The latter unfavorable due to terrain and the nearby mountain range Eastwards destination was also more difficult ¨Cheading away from the supporting fleet- but provided some incentives. Mainly to the Lakelords of Irde that were behind this eastbound drive, since it reminded them of the great Kaletha Lake in a much bigger scale. Still, the pragmatists of the Ikete preferred to remain near the waters they knew about and stopped shy of crossing Wayford River with the last of them settling near nowadays Badum. The bulk of them veered south from Reinut¡¯s Gulf where the transport ships of the Armada had found safe haven, inching closer to the ¡®borders¡¯ with the still unformed Regia and the warry Lord Lucius the first. Lord ¡®Captain¡¯ Henk was a tall lanky man, ¡®thin-as-death¡¯ who didn¡¯t argue Reinut¡¯s decisions usually, but wasn¡¯t as accommodating as Lord Theun Est Ravn who hailed from Sessi. How Reinut had gotten the most religious of the Issir cities to support him is a tale now lost in history. So Reinut and Theun along with the few warships left to them headed for ¡®Kaletha Gulf¡¯ and the natural harbor across the island Capri they named ¡®Caspo O¡¯ Bor¡¯ for it reminded them of the entrance to same-named gulf near Sessi. Tim Van De Aesst moored the worn-out warships there with the winter coming but Reinut and Theun continued marching. They attacked the locals at Greywood Castle and Trinir, then drove the lowlands Northmen and Lorians back until they could march no more for that season. Henk did the opposite. He marched on foot and horse lacking ships, the around ninety transports of the Ikete had been left behind fearing the Zilan might appear again. With the occasional tremors still coming and going but less frequent now a stark reminder of the danger, Henk split from the Van Oords after Boar Mountain and continued through the Great Greenforest where he smashed a local warlord named Timus Toes after quite the struggle. The man had his lair at Toefort and kept retreating there only to return the next month for a new raid on the newly built settlement at Rusted. Henk led a large war party after him after some months of suffering assault after assault and reached a place where a large plateau gently sloped towards the beaches of the calm Gulf. The scalding wind whistled through the narrow peninsulas Toe & Tongue and run up the gentle slopes of the plateau bringing exotic seeds from the Old Realms they¡¯ve left behind to them. Some of the flora familiar to the Issirs with touches of the nearby of sorts Wetull. At the far edge of the plateau where the slopes were vertical and foreboding, overlooking the expansive Greenforest to the north and Veer¡¯s Gulf to the south, stood an old ruined tower. With only its circular foundations remaining Henk didn¡¯t know how tall the building once was or who it belonged to, other that the ruin was ancient. In the attempt to search for clues as this was a natural defensive position, he almost got eaten alive by a large murder of crows that blinded his horse and eventually killed it. A livid Henk came back better prepared and determined to avenge his horse but while the majority of the Issir warriors patiently waited near the base of the plateau for their leader to return, Timus appeared with his men. He was traveling to attack Rusted again and the Issirs paid him with the same coin. Hence the plateau got its name and Henk who had missed the whole thing chasing crows away from the ruins gave up and decided to share the place with them. Some claim the aloof ¡®now Duke of Blackcrow¡¯s Pillar¡¯ built the tower so tall because the crows always gathered at the highest place ¡®to gaze at the lands and ruminate on things¡¯ and the Lord of Scaldingport wanted to keep them as far away from him as possible. Lord Mandel De Weer -his son- who took over from the turning mad in his late years Henk around 21 NC, opened a massive circular window in the rebuilt mostly windowless Blackcrow¡¯s Hall for ventilation. He made it high and beyond anyone¡¯s reach, the tunnel through the three meters thick tall walls narrowing while angling upwards so it was almost concealed from outside. That very autumn, not four months into his reign, the crows returned into the Duke¡¯s Hall and never left.
Histories Volume II Chapter I -A prologue to the years after the Fall- Gallio Veturius Circa 98 NC (Proscribed Edition) Based on the voluminous Issir Armada¡¯s logs and the now lost quartermaster Flucht¡¯s diary, the majority of which the historian decoded whilst serving as the High Queen¡¯s scribe. The original logs are locked in Midlanor¡¯s ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ building. Veturius uncut draft allegedly is kept in Issir¡¯s Eagle Royal Library. Only two other full copies exist in private hands.
- Last week of Tertius Spring of 194 NC Scaldingport (From ¡®scalding hot port¡¯ or just -o¡¯ port- which was what Henk De Weer had called it) - One of the local captains mooring a twin-mast fishing Sloop saw the large Queen¡¯s entourage coming down the Corsair¡¯s Gold ramp, slapped his young son¡¯s head and pointed at the knights¡¯ armours. Then raised an arm to the sky above the large busy harbor at the old-raven flying towards Blackcrow¡¯s Pillar. Bugs was returning to its nest and several crows that had gathered around the ship followed after its lead. Gust snapped his head at a man approaching him coming down from another nearby ramp, but recognized the Last Privateer first and then her aged captain Elco Ardes. The Conrad, the other Barque and Ruud¡¯s flagship moored next to it. Axel Mudriver that was bringing his horse from the transport and Fiend, Mael¡¯s old horse, now the Queen¡¯s own, paused at Gust¡¯s curt signal, just as the older Issir greeted him. ¡°By the Five!¡± Ardes cried out and paused himself unsure whether to salute or shake Gust¡¯s hand. Since no arm was extended the Captain did neither. ¡°Milord you¡¯re back! And that rascal knight Sir Reuten also, hah! Ah, there is our mister Lode. Was at Tongue the other year for vacations and to take part in a hunt wit your cousin. Got a kill and all, but yer kin gave me a share that was more bones ¡®n hooves than meat.¡± ¡°He¡¯s no kin of mine,¡± Lode retorted in a gruff manner and went to get his horse, the rangers following after him. ¡°Eh,¡± Captain Ardes grimaced and glanced at the silent Elsanne. She was busy looking about the harbor. ¡°Why is the Conrad here?¡± Grunt asked rigidly and Ardes stood back with another glance at the other knights with him. ¡°Was at Castalor unloading ranged troops and our soldiers, but the Chamberlain ordered him and the soldiers¡¯ right back. They arrived yesterday. The lads were looking pissed for getting the round trip with no break in between.¡± Hmm. ¡°Boss? For what reason?¡± Gust queried thoughtfully. It was another grunt and Elsanne chuckled seeing his expression. ¡°Insanity? How should I know? Ol¡¯ Hubert is up there in years.¡± Ardes was only about six-seven years younger than the seventy year old Chamberlain. ¡°Axel we¡¯re moving out of the harbor,¡± Gust ordered turning around, while the old Captain greeted some of the men he knew and inquired about those not present and there were many. Sir Koen Blooten, Sir Walter Roon, Sir Mael Bolte of course. That poor lad Gert Niveld. ¡°Sir Jan I owe the Niveld family a horse for their service and a set of armour,¡± he told him. ¡°An open offer to serve Queen¡¯s Own,¡± Elsanne added with a smile. ¡°Never heard of them,¡± Reuten admitted. ¡°They are from Hunter¡¯s Cot. See you get it done after all this is over,¡± Gust grunted and Sir Jan nodded with a light smirk. ¡°Got all that Solt?¡± He asked his Cofol squire that had put some inches on and looked like a man and not that thieving boy now. ¡°As you wish sire,¡± Solt replied that same half-grin on his face. Gust glared at the knight. ¡°Hey, he¡¯s polite. Takes care of his betters and looks to learn,¡± Jan defended his style of teaching. ¡°You do yours and I¡¯ll do mine Lord Crow.¡± ¡°There¡¯s one Lord Crow living in the Blackcrow¡¯s Pillar,¡± Gust warned him and the knight of Colle sighed. The warning was for the others and not for him specifically. Axel frowned and Gust turned his eyes on him but Elsanne cut in sounding tired. ¡°People are gathering and they don¡¯t look pleased?¡± ¡°There¡¯s warmth enough coming from the sea,¡± Gust rustled. ¡°Don¡¯t expect too much your Grace.¡± Also there are lot of people missing on campaign for the locals to start celebrating. ¡°No parties?¡± Elsanne teased and Gust eyed the crowd that had noticed him stalling near the docks and the pirate ships unloading. ¡°There are parties and everything your grace,¡± Jan said afore Gust could reply. ¡°Gust stayed with the monks for too long and sort of missed all that.¡± Gust had a reason for it as a kid.
¡°I was trying to light up the mood,¡± Elsanne whispered half an hour later. They were riding up the gentle slope on the main road towards the city¡¯s walls. While the harbor was a small city unto itself it had no walls protecting it. A lot of locals had opted living outside the walls, near the fields and port, the packed narrow streets and incline requiring patience to navigate. Reaching Blackcrow¡¯s Pillar would bring them across the city¡¯s center to the castle buildings and barracks that covered the whole north side of the plateau. Ruud could survive there for a year without coming down as everything needed to run it were inside the citadel. And he did rarely leaving the castle grounds unless there was a reason for it. Most of the craftsmen had workshops inside the city proper as well and worked at them in the afternoons. Once the castle closed its gates, nobody was allowed in unless the Duke was informed or had signed off on it. Given that Ruud talked to no one after a certain hour or days of the month, people have stayed in the city for weeks at times afore he granted an audience. Most of the day-to-day matters of the Duchy were contacted through Forestfort, the rich large castle near Mudriver¡¯s and Granlake¡¯s waters, a hub of activity since the main road coming from Issir¡¯s Eagle towards Riverdor utilized the nearby river bridge. With Gust not interested in talking with merchants, Ruud had appointed Rik as its Lord, which got his brother out of the Duke¡¯s legs as he used to say and kept him away from young Janneke whom Rik was very attached to. No dirtier mind existed than his father¡¯s. ¡°Gust?¡± Elsanne asked interrupting his thoughts. ¡°Umm.¡± ¡°I had better conversation with my cats,¡± Elsanne said with a pout. ¡°And I never had a cat.¡± Gust frowned at the bizarre turn of phrase and decided not to expound on it to avoid a misunderstanding. ¡°Is that the tower?¡± Elsanne asked some silent time later after they had entered the city from the main gates. Scaldingport had only one entry point so you had to wait there as well. Patience was a much needed commodity when dealing with Crows. ¡°That¡¯s Tyeus tower. Them are the ordained disciples barracks to its east sides,¡± Gust replied eyeing the modest fortification adjacent to the walls. Nowhere near as impressive as Tyeus Tower in Asturia. Then again Asturia had temples for all gods, including Naossis and even a shrine to Luthos. ¡°The Pillar is beyond the sandstone walls. When we reach the next road we¡¯ll be higher and see it.¡± ¡°How do people move without horses and carriages?¡± Elsanne asked eyeing the crowd walking about the streets, animals mixed in and carts making the stops frequent for the large procession. ¡°They walk your grace,¡± Sir Wim Cramer of Castalor replied. They had asked the brave knight whether he wanted to return to Castalor but Cramer had opted to remain with the Queen ¡®and get the job done the proper way.¡¯ ¡°Does it level out at some point?¡± ¡°Some at the top,¡± Gust replied. ¡°Do most people live there then?¡± ¡°The Duke does and the crows,¡± Gust said raspingly and glanced at the many birds watching them from the rooftops. Black beady eyes on both sides of the street. As many crows as people it seemed, but this was just an impression. Bugs had probably kicked everyone out of the top tower to enjoy his rest, Gust decided. Caw. CAW. The crows responded talking to each other or mocking them. ¡°That¡¯s a bit creepy,¡± Elsanne admitted. ¡°Are they all used as messengers?¡± ¡°Not these crows,¡± Gust replied. ¡°But you can never tell them apart. Sometimes they sneak inside the post office, take messages and leave stuff behind.¡± ¡°What stuff?¡± Sir Cramer asked suddenly interested in the topic. ¡°Where do they take the messages?¡± Elsanne inquired curious or eager to keep up the small talk. ¡°Umm,¡± Gust grunted having talked enough about the matter and stilled his eyes on the parapets first, then at Blackcrow¡¯s Pillar. The large black and grey Crow banner billowing in the wind and a tiny Bugs seen landing at the top to watch their arrival. Aye, Gust thought, suspicion confirmed. Distrustful son of a bitch. ¡°Ruud is here,¡± he warned the men and the worried Elsanne. ¡°Say as little as possible and take no offense whatever you may hear.¡±
Gust and his entourage rode at the iron gates of the Barbican and were stopped there by the sentries. Upon seeing him the sergeant-at-arms, a sturdy local named Don Fliers signaled the soldiers to allow them entry, but stood at the corridor afore the internal portcullis blocking their path. ¡°Long time no see milord,¡± Fliers said. ¡°Would everyone present require entrance to the Keep?¡± Gust stooped over his horse¡¯s head and eyed the armed veteran warningly. ¡°He told you to stall us,¡± he rustled clenching his jaw. ¡°I¡¯m about to dig the spurs into the horse¡¯s belly and run you over.¡± Fliers pressed his mouth tightly and worked his tongue under his teeth. ¡°The order came from Boss.¡± ¡°No it didn¡¯t,¡± Gust spat and dug his heels to get the horse moving. Fliers stepped aside with a grimace. ¡°Milord, Sir De Braal is waiting by the gates,¡± he warned. ¡°Umm,¡± Gust murmured not turning around and headed for the tower, one after the other everyone coming after him with Axel guiding Elsanne¡¯s horse through the dark corridor. They crossed the large yard of the castle, some of the workshops open and busy, several civilians present to contact business or wait for an audience with the Chamberlain. Hubert Boss was even slower in these matters than Ruud. They passed the stables at a slow trot, the horses¡¯ hooves striking the paved ground rowdily and skirted the small garden before the springs. His mother used to spend her free time there while she was still breathing. Not soon after they reached Blackcrow Pillar¡¯s imposing walls. The tower¡¯s shadow heavy and blocking the sun partially. ¡°Gust,¡± Elsanne said when he stopped and climbed down from his horse. A brown and white destrier, with some name or other. He paused and waved for her to relax. ¡°I¡¯ll straighten this out,¡± Gust assured her. ¡°Maybe we try to be more diplomatic?¡± Elsanne noted with a glare. ¡°We are not the ones walking on pins and needles.¡± Gust watched a knight sitting on the wooden couch next to the sentry guarding the Hall¡¯s entrance stand up slowly. The old Shield had a plate cuirass on, with a sleeved chainmail shirt underneath it that reached his hips. De Braal¡¯s face sporting even more dark spots and wrinkles, his white goatee untrimmed. The Shield angled his head a bit to stare at the men behind Gust in silence. ¡°Let me talk to him,¡± Gust told the nervous Queen and Elsanne sighed glancing at the fanning his face sweaty Eunuch. ¡°You know them Sir Stefan,¡± Gust started turning to the Duke¡¯s right hand man. ¡°Not everyone, I don¡¯t.¡± De Braal replied, his voice hoarse. ¡°Is that young Klaas wearing fancy armour?¡± ¡°Sir Klaas,¡± Gust grunted. ¡°Was knighted by the Queen herself.¡± De Braal nodded and brushed his thinning white hair back with a gloved hand. ¡°Ain¡¯t that a tale worthy of a recite or two,¡± he rustled with a hint of razz. ¡°Did you tell him he can¡¯t have any kids?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going inside,¡± Gust growled and moved towards the gates. ¡°I have twenty men behind that door,¡± De Braal said stopping him, hand dropping to his sword¡¯s handle. ¡°Another score up on them roofs with crossbows. Two roads ahead of us way I see it. Not all of you are going inside the first or none of you shall the other. What would it be Sir Gust?¡± Gust licked his lips. Trust Ruud to push a man to murder so he can get as much leverage as he could in a later conversation. ¡°Myself and my squire. The Queen and her servant. The knights stay and your men walk back to their barracks,¡± Gust sucked air in through the nose deeply afore adding sternly. ¡°Or they¡¯ll never walk again. Starting with you.¡± De Braal scratched the underside of his chin, fingers digging in the goatee and then nodded. ¡°Your Grace, welcome to Blackcrow¡¯s Hall,¡± he told Elsanne and raised both thick brows when she climbed down from Fiend lithely. The Queen was still wearing her leather pants under the purple-colored light cloak. ¡°We appreciate your hospitality Sir De Braal,¡± Elsanne replied diplomatically. ¡°Let¡¯s not use such big words yet your grace. This isn¡¯t my Hall,¡± the Shield counseled and turned around to walk through the opening doors. The guards standing behind them returning to attention. Gust grunted and went after the briskly walking aged Shield. - IB -A crow¡¯s dreams- - There were crows eating the remnants of a breakfast served on the large conference table. The Old Crow though was perched on his throne, hands clasped at the armrests and stooped forward to better see them. While many candles were burning inside the Hall, a semi-darkness creeped up on various spots, the gleam of old weapons and shields on its walls fighting it. The atmosphere suffocating but clearing a bit when the doors opened briefly to grant them entry. ¡°There he is then,¡± his father greeted them in that unpleasant snarly voice, squinting his eyes. ¡°Our brave knight returns finally, the girl in tow and his quest successful.¡± He grimaced at that. ¡°Eh, sort of¡­ bah, who are we kidding um? Those slanted-eyed bastards are a couple of days away from Scaldingport! That right Stefan?¡± ¡°That would be correct my Lord,¡± De Braal replied stiffly. Ruud pursed his mouth and stood back on his stone throne. ¡°Had to ride there myself to sort the mess out.¡± Gust made to speak but he paused hearing commotion. A man entered anxiously from a side door, still trying to fix his redingote, with Hubert Boss following right after him, using a cane to keep up with the younger man. Ruud glanced their way faking frustration. Gust grinded his teeth to avoid a scene in front of the Queen. A good first impression was always a mere fantasy. ¡°Ah,¡± Ruud said smacking his pale lips. ¡°The herald woke up! Come Dom Toburg. Announce our guests please! You are making us look bad here lad. Waltzing in here with cock dangling out and all!¡± ¡°It¡¯s Tom Doburg my Lord Duke,¡± the fretful Herald grumbled.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. ¡°She doesn¡¯t give a shit. Nobody knows you lad,¡± Ruud admonished him and glanced at the placid Elsanne appreciatively as if to belatedly seek her approval. ¡°I heard you fancy a risqu¨¦ word or two your Excellency. Is it Princess Heiress now? Queen¡­ presumptive?¡± He paused seeing Gust¡¯s face turning a darker shade of dark with anger. ¡°My-my. Well then. Speak Lombruk! I¡¯ve precious little time left and yer wasting it lad.¡± ¡°Ahem¡­eh, Sir Gust¡­¡± the Herald started. ¡°Him we know son, speed it up,¡± Ruud commented with an annoying chuckle. ¡°Her Excellency Queen Elsanne Eikenaar,¡± Tom mumbled crumbling under the pressure and tearing up. Elsanne nodded. ¡°Nice to meet you again Grand Duke,¡± she said reservedly but dignified. Ruud sucked his lips in and eyed her unsure. Then glanced at his Chamberlain. ¡°Toss him in the dungeons,¡± he ordered. ¡°For insulting the Queen.¡± His eyes had snapped back and never left Elsanne¡¯s face. Taunting. The Queen said nothing and Tom was led away by an approaching guard. ¡°Father if I may,¡± Gust intervened to cut into his theatrics. ¡°I came as soon as I heard you might return,¡± Ruud said interrupting him instead and Gust stood back clenching his jaw. ¡°Time just flies away.¡± He stared at the nibbling crows for a moment. ¡°Rik got your sister out and the kids. It was a close call.¡± Elsanne inhaled sharply at his words. You manipulative son of a bitch, Gust cursed glaring at him but had to play along. ¡°I¡¯m glad they are alright,¡± he groused through his teeth. ¡°Of course. She¡¯s your little sister. I sent your brother to help her immediately,¡± Ruud continued and sighed sadly. ¡°Your Excellency I¡¯ll have them clear the table so we can sit. You can take the head of course.¡± ¡°We appreciate it Grand Duke,¡± Elsanne replied and Ruud narrowed his eyes suspiciously but then nodded curtly. He signaled for the men waiting to clear the table. The crows all but rioted at the disturbance. CAW CAW ¡°They¡¯ll feed them outside,¡± Ruud explained and managed to stand up from his throne slowly. The armour he had on weighing him down. And age, Gust realized. His father was a very old man.
While they settled on the chairs of the large conference table, after the Duke¡¯s servants had cleared it and left the room, no one said anything. The uncomfortable silence grew heavier by the minute until the crows returned through the opening. First a couple of them, just standing at the lip and staring at the large Hall from above and then about a dozen more that flew inside finding their own spots on the full sets of armour decorating the gloomy chamber. Elsanne had taken the head of the table with Ruud sitting at the other end of it, De Braal and Hubert Boss on his right and left. Jasi went to sit on the right side of the Queen and Gust pulled a chair out and sat on her left. Axel remained standing near Gust with sergeant Don Fliers who had just returned from the city gates standing near the Duke¡¯s Shield as well. The sergeant had reported that everyone had been settled to the guests¡¯ hall and their horses watered at the stables. ¡°Lord Bach asked for an audience,¡± Fliers added wrapping up his report to the Duke. ¡°Which Bach is that?¡± Ruud asked. ¡°The Baron sire. He was delayed looking for news of his family.¡± ¡°Umm,¡± Ruud said. ¡°Did his brother made it out?¡± ¡°His brother is dead sire. That would be his son the Mayor and no he didn¡¯t, but his wife and daughter are in Scaldingport.¡± Ruud grimaced. ¡°Let¡¯s ask the raven,¡± he decided vaguely. The expression meant Sigurd wouldn¡¯t get an audience anytime soon or ever. ¡°Yes sire.¡± His father turned to look at Gust¡¯s sour expression. The mention of Lady Petra had brought a burning sensation to the hale knight¡¯s stomach. ¡°The poor woman asked to get out of the besieged city. I had to help her,¡± Ruud defended his actions mostly for those not familiar with the history. Unfortunately for him and Gust, pretty much everyone in the room knew but for Axel who had probably no idea what they were talking about, hailing as he was from Mudriver. ¡°What about Sir Reuten¡¯s sisters?¡± Gust grunted. ¡°Femke caught a nasty fever in the winter,¡± Ruud retorted and Gust¡¯s clenched his fist on the table. ¡°Didn¡¯t make it. Sonja has found a man in Castalor.¡± ¡°Allegedly my lord,¡± De Braal noted. ¡°Hey, I know what I saw,¡± Ruud argued and glanced knowingly at both the angry Gust and the silent Elsanne. ¡°Having said that I¡¯d like to hear your grace¡¯s opinion on our situation.¡± ¡°Will Castalor hold?¡± Elsanne asked readily. Ruud looked about the room for anyone not supposed to be present and then his eyes returned on Jasi and Axel. ¡°Are you a painter perchance lad? One of them poofter artists?¡± He asked the aloof Jasi. ¡°Your face is all messed up, hmm?¡± ¡°Jasi was a slave to the Khanate for years. Learned of different ways,¡± Elsanne explained. ¡°He¡¯s a Eunuch.¡± De Braal eyed the Queen¡¯s advisor unsure with the sleepy Hubert, the chamberlain had rested his chin on both hands that were gripping the cane, perking up at her words. Ruud being the least diplomatic of them all. ¡°You like taking the long pipe up the arse lad?¡± He asked with a smirk and Jasi glared at the Duke, a shocked Elsanne glancing towards the seething Gust. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t turn on me!¡± Ruud protested. ¡°It¡¯s a fucking expression for crying out loud. Ye don¡¯t have to play the maiden with us your grace. It means taking a cock¡ª¡± ¡°Ruud!¡± An irate Gust barked and stood up abruptly, armour and sword handle banging on the table, the chair clattering down behind him. ¡°That is enough!¡± His father didn¡¯t even blink at his outburst. ¡°The Khan cleared out the navy,¡± the old Duke said measuring his words warningly. ¡°Has army ready to march on Issir¡¯s Eagle or anywhere near a port and here we are playing blushing brides, freshly retired from the brothels. Stay in your place boy!¡± He hissed at the approaching livid Gust. ¡°Else I¡¯ll kill them all.¡± Gust blinked nervously then casted his eyes on De Braal that hadn¡¯t moved and the warry sergeant Fliers. ¡°You¡¯ll have to kill me first,¡± a serious Gust told the grumbling in frustration at what he had to deal with old Duke. ¡°Just fucking plant your arse down and stop behaving like a jealous cunt. What? Am I wrong?¡± Ruud taunted. ¡°Hearing the whispers was one thing. Witnessing you like this makes me sick to the stomach.¡± ¡°Lord Ruud,¡± Elsanne said frostily getting up herself. ¡°What are you trying to do here?¡± ¡°I¡¯m talking candidly your grace,¡± Ruud retorted with a glare. ¡°People are angry, cities are ruined, the war is spreading and the realm is going to all-hells riding on a fast horse.¡± He scrunched his scrawny face even more, closely shaved cheeks covered in lines and dark spots. ¡°Will Castalor hold you asked,¡± the Duke continued. ¡°Not without the Navy it won¡¯t. Sure we may push them back and away from the walls if we commit on the morrow, but then they might come for the bridge over Boar River and shaft us in the nether regions. I rather they didn¡¯t. Poking our way while we are distracted could be too painful.¡± ¡°Where would you have them go Lord Ruud?¡± A flushed Elsanne asked him coolly. ¡°Myself? To all-hells or back into their mothers¡¯ nasty wombs, but me opinion matters not as they¡¯ll head for Issir¡¯s Eagle for sure. Unless we give them reason not to,¡± Ruud replied and reached for a towel to wipe his mouth. ¡°Hence winning here is of little significance in the larger scheme of things if Anker fuck¡¯s it all up.¡± ¡°Lord Anker is not a fool in these matters,¡± Gust noted. ¡°Lord Anker allowed Antoon and the senile buffoon from Riverdor to dictate how the war will be fought,¡± Ruud retorted not convinced. ¡°A half-hearted attempt to save Rida that went tits up and then squandering the landings in that frozen fuckhole that is Yue-Tu by giving the lead to the two brain-dead knights Sir Ton and Sir Thor, so they could fuck it up even more! Those stupid retards didn¡¯t even manage to kill themselves proper! They might even get command again gods helps us!¡± The Duke stood back on his chair a bitter and pained expression on his face. He sucked air in a couple of times to recover and then puffed it all out. ¡°Family is ruinous if they are just a bunch of differently named idiots. A kingdom ruled by a fool surrounded by stooges or conservative ninny-hammers can¡¯t win shite, unless they have a wyvern to their beck and call I suppose. But even that isn¡¯t always enough. When a wound turns bad ye run a hot blade over it and cut deep. No half-measures. You mess that up in a hunt you lose an arm. Do it when in a war and it¡¯s yer head hitting the gravel.¡± Gust grabbed his chair and brought it near the table again. ¡°Can¡¯t we salvage the situation at sea?¡± Elsanne asked serenely startling them and even Ruud blinked not expecting her query. ¡°Take advantage was our meaning. The Khanate surely lost a lot of ships if our losses were so grave.¡± Ruud rapped his fingers on the table with a glance at the scowling Gust. Yeah, she¡¯s smart, Gust¡¯s eyes told him. Unlike her brother. She just needs time and to learn navigating the nastier stuff. Like you. ¡°We can¡¯t commit our navy,¡± Ruud started thoughtfully. ¡°Castalor needs support to stay in the fight. We also rotate soldiers in and out from the harbor. It keeps Lord Putra fixed there and allow us to sort of move.¡± ¡°I could use the pirate fleet to strike at Deadmen¡¯s Watch,¡± Elsanne expounded. ¡°Can they land there?¡± Ruud asked now interested. ¡°A raid on their transports.¡± ¡°Their fleet might come down towards the Straits,¡± De Braal intervened after clearing his throat. ¡°Your grace.¡± ¡°I think they¡¯ll head to Colle or Issir¡¯s Eagle,¡± Elsanne said calmly. ¡°You still want us to commit on an attack on Lord Putra?¡± Ruud asked her. ¡°Would you rather march against the Khan our dear Duke?¡± Ah, don¡¯t antagonize him now, Gust thought nervously and watched his father counting the pros and cons of a snarky reply to her slight taunt. ¡°Anker declared your nephew a king,¡± Ruud said and removed the glove from his right hand. Two of the fingers bandaged under it that could barely move. ¡°The bulk of your support on Jelin are three cities. One ruined, the other besieged and the third you just smart-mouthed.¡± ¡°Robert Van Durren stands with us and is on his way here with the First Foot,¡± Elsanne reminded him not falling for his trap. The Duke had done plenty of insulting himself. ¡°Part of the First Foot,¡± Ruud countered. ¡°And Robert is Lord of no lands at this point. Though I don¡¯t how that cunt Charles can skirt around his claim on Badum. One would argue he could challenge him for the whole fucking thing heh-heh. Hmm,¡± the old Duke pursed his mouth pleased. Gust tensed up unwittingly. ¡°You must pen a letter to Anker,¡± Ruud started looking at her. ¡°Tell him to withdraw and leave the capital to the Khan. Don¡¯t fight him now under pressure for a result. Consolidate his forces properly and wait for him to come out, while gathering what navy that fool Rinus has left and try again with eyes open this time. The Horselords didn¡¯t just turn into masters of the seas out of the fucking blue!¡± ¡°You want me to ask him to abandon thousands of people to the Khan?¡± Elsanne hissed losing her temper. Eh, Gust thought worried. Ruud has found out you¡¯re soft-hearted. He wasn¡¯t sure afore but now he is. ¡°Most would leave surely,¡± Ruud said to soften it, the leer formed on his mouth tarnishing the effect of his words. ¡°There are over two hundred thousand people in Issir¡¯s Eagle. Another hundred thousand living close to the capital,¡± Elsanne snapped getting worked up and clenching both fists down her sides. ¡°What Queen would make that decision and hope to stay on the throne? Anker could use the letter to ruin me!¡± ¡°He¡¯s already trying. But to answer yer query, a practical one. You¡¯ve taken the throne in your words already. Didn¡¯t you think about any of that?¡± ¡°Why give the Khan another port?¡± Gust grunted to help her, not liking seeing Elsanne suffering in her attempt to see through the Old Crow¡¯s brutal logic. The Duke had already set his plan in motion. This was all theater for him. Ruud was trying to gauge what he had to work with. Being soft wouldn¡¯t cut it in the Old Crows eyes. Ruud glanced his way a little peeved understanding what Gust was doing. ¡°To spread him out.¡± He finally explained. ¡°Let¡¯s see him trying to feed more than a hundred thousand slaves. He¡¯ll want to control both ports. The fucking capital! What a prize huh? That¡¯s a lot of ground to cover even for a horse-moving army. Surely you understand what he¡¯s trying to do?¡± He glanced at De Braal and the sober Shield got up to bring a map of the coast to them. ¡°Lord Anker won¡¯t agree,¡± Elsanne said and Ruud sighed pensively. ¡°Anker isn¡¯t on your side. He made his move already. Think him as fodder to wear out the Khan¡¯s forces.¡± Ruud paused to consider whether he should say more. ¡°Not everyone will be saved and the past will be difficult to return your grace. But if Burzin reaches the plains or conquers the whole coast we¡¯ll never dislodge him. You need to protect the shrines, fuck the capital. Them you can¡¯t lose and Anker has them now.¡± Gust stood back while De Braal returned with an old leather large map of Jelin. He started unfurling it on the table and it covered most of it with the edges hanging. The height almost four meters. ¡°Flucht painted it with the help of Lorians and Northmen after we settled down. Henk took it with him as compensation,¡± Ruud told them as they all -but him- stood to examine the map closely. ¡°No fancy swords or armour for our ancestor. He wanted to know the realm ahead of him. Know the land, know the man. Burzin is aiming for the open plains and he can be stopped at the Red Bridge if the navy recovers.¡± ¡°What if it doesn¡¯t?¡± Elsanne asked him. ¡°He¡¯ll come down for us from two fronts. Try again for Boar River and brave the terrain at Mudriver to get to Riverdor or here I suppose.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t write that letter,¡± Elsanne said hoarsely. ¡°I counsel you to reconsider while ye still can,¡± Ruud told her. ¡°Else the war might take the choice from us.¡±
Ruud ended the meeting shortly after, but asked Gust to stay for a moment longer while Elsanne and the others moved to their quarters inside the large tower following the slow-moving Hubert Boss. The Duke had given her the third floor bedrooms that had the most windows and it was where Janneke used to sleep. The quarters underneath it belonged to his mother, but Ruud spent his time on the larger first floor mostly after his advanced age started slowing him down. ¡°Leave the map,¡± Ruud told Fliers who was about to depart as well. ¡°De Braal you bring us some of the good wine. Not that sweet shit from Aegium. The stronger stuff.¡± ¡°Axel wait outside,¡± Gust ordered and his father glanced at the solemn-faced squire for a moment. ¡°You¡¯re too old to be a squire,¡± the Duke noticed. ¡°Yet that¡¯s a good steel blade you¡¯re carrying.¡± ¡°He was with Sir Blooten,¡± Gust replied and signaled for Axel to leave them. Ruud stopped him raising his un-gloved hand. ¡°Do I know ye from somewhere lad?¡± He asked Axel and the usually sturdy man appeared quite rattled for a moment. ¡°Let him speak Gust.¡± ¡°I was raised near Mudriver sire,¡± Axel replied biting at the inside of his mouth. ¡°The fishing settlements?¡± Ruud asked squinting his old eyes to better see him. Gust frowned not understanding what had prompted his father¡¯s interest. ¡°The town.¡± ¡°Forestfort? Within the walls? Why not say so?¡± Ruud admonished him. ¡°Yer mother slept around, didn¡¯t she? That why ye picked up the moniker?¡± Axel narrowed his eyes but nodded in visible discomfort. ¡°Left ye coin though eh?¡± Ruud chuckled and pushed back on his chair. ¡°Must have done a good job heh-heh.¡± He glanced at the sober Gust. ¡°Is he any good?¡± ¡°Saved my life on Eplas,¡± Gust grunted. ¡°Hmm.¡± Ruud looked at the shaking Axel for a moment. ¡°Must have been mistaken then. Old eyes and mind errs on faces. You may go lad. See to not take offense in your situation for there are worse fates than being a bastard. Like being a useless bastard which you are not. And it¡¯s better to have a whoring mother who provides for you than no mother at all.¡± Even better to have a good father, Gust thought sourly watching Axel walking away with his head hanging. ¡°Mael?¡± His father asked when Axel had left them and pointed at Gust¡¯s sword. ¡°Killed in Eikenport.¡± Ruud nodded. ¡°Are you fucking her?¡± He asked bluntly and Gust tensed up. ¡°That¡¯s none of your business,¡± the knight grunted getting all worked up. ¡°People think she¡¯s married to a Cofol/Horselord Prince,¡± Ruud said unperturbed at his annoyance. ¡°Anker will use it or maybe the Khan will,¡± his father continued. ¡°Did she fuck the Prince? Any offspring?¡± Gust didn¡¯t want to think about that. The knight closed his eyes, feeling his heart beating wildly inside his chest. ¡°No kids,¡± he rustled hoarsely. ¡°Is she barren?¡± ¡°Ruud!¡± Gust snapped furious. ¡°What? It¡¯s a legitimate question,¡± the Duke grimaced and scratched a wrinkled cheek with a bandaged finger. ¡°We can¡¯t afford mistakes son.¡± ¡°She is not a mistake!¡± Gust growled and Ruud pointed at the cups De Braal had brought them. ¡°Have some wine. Sit down, my neck is hurting in the effort to stare at you. It numbs and then I can¡¯t sleep.¡± A puffing out Gust returned noisily to his chair. ¡°We could control the west edges of the Scalding Sea to Eikenport. Wetull is open and brings good stuff here. Taste the wine,¡± Ruud continued after he settled down again and grabbed his wine with a fist tight enough to bend the silver engraved bronze goblet a bit. He sipped at the aromatic red wine next and blinked. The taste strong but pleasant. ¡°We kicked Flauegran right in the gonads with this. Comes in three flavors and several colors. Red, black, Rose¡­¡± He glanced at De Braal questioningly. ¡°White and a sparkly one sire.¡± ¡°Sparkly?¡± Gust grunted. ¡°Some fancy water in the mix or some other Zilan bullshit,¡± Ruud explained. ¡°Men will turn rich from this and the realm is playing war games. Bunch of fools.¡± ¡°Elsanne will be a good Queen,¡± Gust said with difficulty changing the subject. ¡°Hmm. I wrote to Anker that we have our hands full with Lord Putra,¡± Ruud told him and pushed the goblet away without tasting it. ¡°Makes me dizzy,¡± he explained. ¡°You wrote¡­ what did he say?¡± ¡°Nothing. He¡¯ll talk about it though. The news will spread, people will become desperate and take it upon themselves to save the nation,¡± Ruud replied indifferently. ¡°When the dust settles we¡¯ll pick their bones clean.¡± ¡°She¡¯ll never agree to that.¡± ¡°Well, you¡¯ll convince her,¡± Ruud argued. ¡°Use yer¡­ influence to keep her sated and docile. It¡¯s in her nature. Probably living with the Horselords this got reinforced even more¡ª¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know her,¡± Gust growled and smashed his goblet on the table. The goblet cracking and then coming apart in three pieces. Much of the spillage dropping on the map. ¡°Well that was an expensive outburst,¡± Ruud decided with a weary sigh. ¡°Stefan bring a towel to gather the worst of it and sent it to that kid to repair what he can. See that he gets the names right and say it¡¯s a historic relic to charge you less. He¡¯s a patriot.¡± ¡°She¡¯s not like that at all,¡± Gust snapped with a grunt and got up abruptly, tossing the broken pieces away in the blind. One of his gloves cut at the palm and the crows flying about disturbed at the loud noise when two of the larger pieces struck a full set of armour, knocking a steel helm clattering down. ¡°I don¡¯t believe our knight is on board sire,¡± the busy wiping the wine away from the half-ruined map aged Shield noted. ¡°Why do you think that is?¡± A perturbed Ruud asked with a grimace looking at the seething Gust. ¡°He always had feelings for the princess sire. I know it''s difficult to fathom. It¡¯s like a fever but it can last.¡± Gust glared at him. ¡°Well then. There¡¯s a blasted road not considered,¡± his father ruminated and rubbed at his forearm troubled. ¡°I¡¯ll admit this is awkward. Let me rethink the matter some Gust and we¡¯ll discuss it later.¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing to discuss!¡± An angry Gust grunted and grinding his teeth marched out of the hall.
A livid Gust burst out of the tower and marched without purpose towards the stables not talking to anyone recognizing him. Most didn¡¯t insist in pestering the knight that reached the stables and stood in the shade inside the entrance, a guard talking with a disciple of Tyeus, fully armed under his grey robes. Gust didn¡¯t know him but as his black eyes settled on Fiend, he recognized the old knight standing next to the large warhorse. The grey hooded robes parting in the middle to show his polished plate armour and the engraved crow holding a spear. Another two small spears the size of a finger, these crossed and hanging from a silver pendant from the knight¡¯s neck. Gust had a similar pendant under his armour. ¡°You brought the horse back. A good knight takes care of his business small or big,¡± Sir Mart Nootveld said matter-of-factly. ¡°Still that is quite surprising,¡± the Second Disciple of Tyeus added. First now after Sir Mael¡¯s demise, Gust supposed. ¡°The Queen rode it,¡± Gust grunted pressing his mouth tight. ¡°I have his sword and his words.¡± He reached into a pocket for Mael¡¯s personal diary and found it, some blood still on it but in good condition. After a thoughtful moment he offered it to Sir Nootveld and the man took it carefully. With a brief glance at the late knight¡¯s scribblings, he placed it inside a satchel he carried under the robes. Gust went to untie his scabbard but Mart stopped him with a gesture. ¡°I¡¯ll give it to young Daan,¡± he explained. ¡°Daan is with the Order,¡± Sir Nootveld said. ¡°Took him in when his mother died. It¡¯s been three years now.¡± Gust nodded and stared at the sword. ¡°He should have his uncle¡¯s blade.¡± ¡°Daan can¡¯t carry Sir Mael¡¯s sword brother Gust. One day perhaps but not now. We¡¯ll find proper weapons for him,¡± Sir Nootveld replied calmly. ¡°But you can. Had Mael not wanted you to have it he would have told you so. And you wouldn¡¯t have asked me.¡± Gust grimaced but the ordained knight was right. ¡°I¡¯ll sleep in the barracks,¡± he said after a moment of silent contemplation. ¡°You can come and train, but you are a priest no more,¡± Sir Nootveld said and raised his arm to calm him down. ¡°The Duke¡¯s son Sir Gust can busy himself only so much with the Order. Eventually other duties shall call him away.¡± Gust stood back getting emotional all of a sudden. It angered him this weakness and he had to look away. This was his whole childhood. He had grew up with these men, trying to match their toughness and be bigger than he was. ¡°You didn¡¯t go with the Duke,¡± Gust said after a moment. ¡°The Duke respects no god but the one your Raven whispers about,¡± Sir Nootveld replied soberly. ¡°What god is that?¡± ¡°The Others. Nobody knows for old-ravens rarely share.¡± ¡°I intent to support Elsanne¡¯s bid for the throne,¡± Gust said a little defensively and Sir Nootveld scratched the bridge of that crooked nose of his with a finger afore replying with a rare smile. ¡°What little the Order can offer shall provide to our own Raven,¡± the priest of Tyeus said simply. Gust grunted and stared at Fiend¡¯s head, the horse snorting his way. ¡°Did Bolte had a good death?¡± Sir Nootveld asked apologetically. ¡°I¡¯d like to complete the record he left behind.¡± Gust nodded. ¡°Aye. Went out fighting until he could fight no more.¡± ¡°Praise be the mighty warrior God,¡± Sir Nootveld chanted soberly with a satisfied bob of his balding head. ¡°For he cuts down friends and foes without sentiment. There is naught of that in the field. But one can seek it after the pyres are extinguished in remembrance.¡± ¡°In blood sodden ¡®n burned funeral rocks, brittle broken ¡®n black bones¡± Gust ended the quick prayer bowing his head as well. ¡°And in the well-sharpened steel blade¡¯s edge that wears its marks like memories of past struggles.¡± ¡°Praise be Tyeus,¡± Sir Nootveld added somberly and touched the spears on his pendant. ¡°May he affords us the same courtesy, but only if we¡¯re worthy.¡±
That night Gust slept outside Elsanne¡¯s quarters¡¯ door, keeping company for part of the night to Sir Klaas. The young Queen-to-be wasn¡¯t happy about it but kept a clear head given all that she had on her mind after the meeting with the Old Crow. Gust¡¯s dreams were earnest for the most part but had some shining moments amidst the bleaker ones. Like past hunts and training with the Order when he was younger. Digging his mother¡¯s garden but also praying over her lifeless corpse in the guts of Blackcrow¡¯s Pillar. Past insults and Mael¡¯s words of caution. A fool can pick up a blade and fight, win even. A ruthless warrior shall always hold advantage enough bravery can counter, to a point. But it is the penitent man the good Gods shall listen to. Not always followed. The Raven says what it wants priest, Gust had told the late knight and mentor. When it wants it. Dreamed of the Princess of Kaltha. There¡¯s a blasted road, a younger version of old Ruud had told him. It may be narrow. It may be long. But eventually a road shall take you where you want to go. Gust¡¯s heart always knew where he wanted to be. Near dawn the old-raven came into his dreams, tall as the knight and showed Gust a piece of wrapped bloody armour. The warspear still lodged in it but its shaft unbroken. Blood makes the grip difficult to maintain even if it¡¯s your own, a different Bugs in his dream had told him its beady eyes stare unblinking. And a fancy silver mask is not as sturdy as a helmet. Gust had no idea what the Raven meant to say but it offered him one last piece of advice just the same, for Gust had been a true friend for years. Better to have ruined armour on, the Bugs of his dreams cautioned him channeling late Mael. Than no armour at all. Be it whence in a wedding¡¯s joyful celebration or attending a funeral¡¯s vulgar songs. -
The first week of the second month of spring, the year of the New Calendar 194, High Baron Dan AredRavn of Farvor & Pastelor who had moved out of Farvor with four hundred soldiers and fifty horse caught up with the High Regent and Sir Tellman (with the rest of the Baronship¡¯s forces) outside Sessi Fort in the expansive Kaltha Plains. Lord Anker had stalled there for two weeks trying to get the Third Foot moving (around four thousand soldiers and three hundred Cavalry) under Sir Ton Van De Aesst and Sir Thor Est Ravn. He used the time to communicate with Lord Rinus at Caspo O¡¯ Bor about the aftermath of the clash at the Shallow Straits. With more details emerging after the return of the surviving flotilla under Commodore Stenden aboard Hesper (eleven ships with those that had been left at Atri), the size of the disaster became apparent. Lieutenant Oliver Svane who had remained in camp as Lord Rinus liaison gave them valuable insight on the condition of both fleets. The junior officer (on his final year in the naval academy then) managed to make an impressive presentation, gathering information from all the accounts and reports they had received. Given the sizes of the fleets at the start of the engagement and the fact that the Khanate would have used the bulk of its force there, the navy Lieutenant surmised Osahar had kept few warships with the transports at Colle. He based this on the inability of the Khanate to dare the Krakentrap Straits and attempt to blockade Castalor¡¯s port. ¡®If they can¡¯t overcome twenty lesser warships my lords,¡¯ lieutenant Svane suggested ¡®then they don¡¯t have much more that what we¡¯ve faced already. The hundred plus ships seen in Colle naught but transports.¡¯ Svane believed that Admiral Osahar operated the Khanate¡¯s Fleet with minimum escorts as demonstrated by the earlier scrap at Duck¡¯s Head when they had retreated promptly. According to him Binra-Kot while victorious didn¡¯t have more than twenty warships left at most. With the Khanate¡¯s naval yards and bases a realm away (about a six month journey but only whilst the northern Ice Route was open) Kaltha could out-produce the Khan¡¯s war machine and put a capable number of ships in the water to defeat Binra-Kot in a future engagement. ¡®It may be possible with what we have available right now¡¯ (around eighteen warships) the lieutenant finished. ¡®If costly mistakes are avoided and indecision is rooted out of the ranks.¡¯ According to him if the whole fleet had closed with Binra-Kot (enduring the barrage) and not attempted to break away, the Khanate battle-line would have collapsed. In a looser engagement the nimbler Issir warships would have prevailed. While the losses could have been as high in this case, Svane was certain the Horselord Admiral¡¯s win couldn¡¯t be repeated without the element of surprise. Kannon Stenden¡¯s and Oliver Svane¡¯s completely different views of the great naval battle would create two schools of thought in the decades that followed influencing Jelin¡¯s approach on naval warfare. The traditional fast, spirited and nimble fleet proponents (favored by Svane) that gained traction initially and the standoffish, overwhelming firepower doctrine based around even bigger ships (favored by Stenden) that didn¡¯t, because it lacked a devastating weapon thought lost in history. Lord Anker¡¯s communications yielded few results out of the procrastinating Duke Charles at Riverdor but he did receive a response from Duke Ruud De Weer. The Old Crow sympathized with the plight of ¡®fellow countrymen¡¯ but admitted he was facing trouble holding ¡®the turds in¡¯ against Lord Putra¡¯s advance and trying to keep Castalor from falling. He advised Lord Anker to break with the Khan¡¯s forces and prepare a defense line before Quarterport and Red Bridge near Crimson Forest. ¡®Wait them there,¡¯ Ruud suggested ¡®between Chinos and Balworth Rivers and I¡¯ll come out of Mudriver when Charles arrives to block them between the lakes.¡¯ In the heated discussion that followed Lord Ruud¡¯s long letter several prominent people found merit in the suggestion but pointed at the humanitarian and political cost of losing the capital whilst having the forces to defend it. While in reality and with the departure of the Royal Guard, only Sir Mark¡¯s and Sir Luke¡¯s force was between the Khan and Issir¡¯s Eagle, it wasn¡¯t easy for Lord Anker to order something so distasteful after a humiliating defeat. The second reason Lord Anker was uncertain none other than the author of the plan. The Old Crow leaned towards Princess Elsanne¡¯s claim and even if he stayed out, Ruud hadn¡¯t supported young Antoon at all. Anker feared a play where he would get the blame (and by extension the baby king). The High Regent stalled under heavy pressure from the conservatives of his entourage, the younger Lords that were eager for a faceoff with the Khan¡¯s army and Sir Tellman¡¯s fiery daughter Lady Siske that berated the miserable sight ¡®of great men paralyzed by fear¡¯ despite her father¡¯s desperate attempts to keep her out of it. Sir Thor wrote immediately to his brother Mark who was bringing up the rear of the Second Foot towards Sir Luke AredRavn to inform him that ¡®they are talking of abandoning the capital.¡¯ A worried Mark rode ahead of the rearguard and reached Sir Luke that same afternoon. The two distant kin discussed their options and exchanged intelligence on the moves of Khan¡¯s still gathered around Colle large army. While Lord Anker informed everyone they¡¯ll have his decision by the time they reached the junction leading west to Edge Castle peninsula and south to the bridge over Makolal Rill near Quarterport, his firstborn son along with Sir Luke decided to ambush the Khan¡¯s advancing army. ¡®All is needed is bravery and justness of cause. We won¡¯t find another example where both were truer,¡¯ Mark wrote to his brother a day later. Their plan was to strike at the Horselords nine kilometers from the once major trade hub of Colle, right at the border of East and North Greenforest, on the fertile lowlands under the shade of the great Boar Mountain, and an opening where major road arteries converged. The north coastal road coming from Jaw Castle, the main east road coming from Issir¡¯s Eagle and the south road leading to Boar Horn¡¯s River. The locals had given this place a rather uninspired name... They called it the ¡®Three Roads¡¯.
441. Queen of Veer’s Gulf (4/4)
Sir Gust De Weer Raven of Dawn Queen of Veer¡¯s Gulf Part IV -The Old Crow-
Volume II ¡®Say it like you mean it¡¯ -
12th of Quartus (Imperial/Cofol Canatya), the fourth month of the year 194 The east turn out of the mouth of Krakentrap Straits 5 nautical miles from ¡®Deadmen¡¯s Watch¡¯ port Boarsnout Peninsula A Pirate fleet attacks Lord Putra¡¯s supply transports
¡°Hoist the colors mister Gloom!¡± Leona bellowed to be heard, voice coming out gurgling but with a good low vibrato, half-breed eyes burning something fierce and hanging from the forecastle¡¯s railing. One arm wrapped under it to keep her aboard and the other manically shaking her spyglass to get some of the seawater off of it. Her mouth tasting of brine, stale rum and Lissane¡¯s silky underwear. Castalor might be under siege but its port was ¡®fully¡¯ working. The quality of service not missing a beat. Um. Girl ye are a fuckin¡¯ orator. Abrakas be darned! ¡°The Pillager caught the transport Leo. Salty Reed crossed with a line along Mutiny!¡± Bristol ¡®Blunder¡¯ Hook reported running up the stairs two at a time to reach her. ¡°But their escorts are a-turning!¡± ¡°I¡¯m well aware. They are fixed on us,¡± Leona hissed and spat a mouthful against the wind, getting as much material thrown back at her, some sneaking up the nose. She shook a soaked head to get rid of the worst of it -her ears ringing- afore slotting the spyglass on her eye. The other covered by a wet long feather sagging from her large hat. ¡°Blimey! That be a fat-bottomed vessel I wager. Still quite afar but gaining probably,¡± she cursed and ¡®Riot¡¯ Dasten boomed at the top of his lungs as he also watched the enemy boats from amidships with a pair of field-glasses. ¡°GALLEY CLOSING IN! BE TURNING HARD CAPTAIN!¡± Hmm. Leona¡¯s spyglass had filled with water, everything seen through it now naught but small dancing figures. Deceptively appearing far-far away. Ehem. ¡°THREE HUNDRED OUT!¡± One of the lookouts yelled nervously. The Mighty Saracen had six people up there. ¡°Three hundred out!¡± Gloom repeated needlessly adding to the tension. ¡°I heard him three-tooth Gloom,¡± Leona griped and jumped on safer shores again. ¡°Swing the main boom! Helm to port mister Kidd!¡± She barked and slotting the spyglass in her leather satchel, let go of the rail riskily to wave her hat at the men gathered on the Mighty Saracen¡¯s decks. It was packed with pirates, but also present were Harrold Doubloon and ¡®Confident¡¯ Bolton with their Anne¡¯s Raiders. In a sense even more pirates. Ayup. ¡°Ready Scorpios!¡± She cried with a touch of the hysterics as she felt a shiver in her spine and the large Galleass started angling as it turned, loud creaking and groaning mixed with the sounds of the seas and the breeze whistling behind them coming out of the Krakentrap Straits. The curses and the yelling of the sailors. The distant sounds of battle. Or near. Everything is relative in the open seas. Or when you are half-drunk. Leona realized she was traveling fast for the starboard side of the tall forecastle (the Mighty Saracen had two castles built on it, one at the bow and one at its stern), boots sliding on the soaked deckboards and twisted about theatrically, arms nimbly extending outwards to grab on to something. She failed despite the effort managing a full turn and some change, unfortunately gaining even more speed in her slide. Auspiciously Hook stopped the pirate captain from going overboard putting an arm on her shoulder. The abrupt rattle and break in momentum dislodging both her tits out from their breast-bindings. Oops. Leona though had a fine shirt on and the two large warships started firing at each other taking the attention away from her, so the captain skipped right over the incident. Ducked in panic whilst putting everything back in place being the more accurate word as the first enemy bolts whistled high over their heads, causing quite the scare. ¡°Fire back for pity¡¯s sake!¡± She screamed greatly affected by the moment and run down the forecastle¡¯s stairs, stumbling on the last step with a girly yelp but finding her footing with the help of the mizzen mast and a sturdy barrel of water. Ouch. ¡°They did captain. Soon as you gave order and whilst ye were dancing? Boys got a bit anxious seeing that,¡± Savant rustled and returned her hat she¡¯d lost, the man¡¯s beard smiling tensed. Savant was one of the few men she knew that could pull that off. ¡°But I think they¡¯re fucked. Dasten¡¯s broke open their hull with the catapults.¡± Leona splashed the soaked hat back on her scarfed head and gazed at the floundering warship with squinting eyes. Hook and Savant watching alongside her in solicitous awkward silence given the general uproar and the timing. The three merry pirates trotting back and forth following the ship¡¯s movement as if they were dancing but remaining unperturbed and keeping their balance easily. Either ye trust your sea-legs or ye don¡¯t. It wasn¡¯t a saying but a fact. ¡°Let them sink?¡± Savant offered still moving back and forth. A keeping up the pace teary Leona nodded. Not the time for looting this. Which of course made the whole ¡®raid the Khan¡¯s ships¡¯ thingy a bit misleading. And nigh unprofitable. ¡°Turn to avoid them Kidd! They are in Abrakas hands now,¡± She ordered and wiped some of the soot and paint running down her face. ¡°We¡¯ll intercept the other!¡±
- -
- ¡°There it is!¡± The Queen¡¯s voice decried coming from her quarters and Gust woke up abruptly on the corridor¡¯s bench. Sir Klaas who occupied the other bench snapping out of his reverie as well across from him. Gust rushed to the half open door and shoved it fully open with his shoulder hearing a muffled yelp followed by a crashing sound. Gust entered the bedroom with a scowl almost stepping on the back of Jasi, who was attempting to get up from the floor with a groan of pain. ¡°Good grief,¡± the Eunuch protested. ¡°I think my back is broken. We are being attacked!¡± Elsanne was standing on her bed wearing a nightshirt and was trying to reach the ceiling of the net frame. She turned her head to stare at the hale knight helping Jasi to his feet annoyed. ¡°What do you want Sir Gust?¡± Huh? ¡°Who is attacking?¡± Gust growled and Jasi stepped away from him. ¡°You are!¡± the Eunuch griped with a grimace. ¡°Where did the plates go?¡± ¡°Under the bed. You¡¯ll need a broom,¡± Elsanne replied reaching with an arm to search the top of the net frame. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Gust grunted. He walked near the large bed to make sure she wouldn¡¯t topple backwards and hurt herself. A flushed Elsanne glanced over her shoulder with a pout. Sir Klaas was heard from the door afore she could answer. ¡°Everything alright your grace?¡± ¡°Klaas stand outside,¡± Gust snapped curtly. ¡°Yes sir,¡± the knight replied. ¡°You don¡¯t get to order our knights around!¡± Elsanne admonished him and slapped the arm he had extended her way. Then assuming a rigid expression she asked, this time looking down on him. ¡°What is Sir Gust doing in our quarters?¡± ¡°I heard you scream,¡± Gust grunted and the Queen blinked. ¡°Jasi?¡± She probed imperiously. ¡°Did I scream?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll step outside as well your grace,¡± Jasi replied feeling at his ribs with both hands. ¡°I have trouble breathing.¡± Gust glared at him peeved. ¡°I had a crow in my room all night,¡± Elsanne said when the Eunuch joined Klaas outside the door. ¡°It made strange sounds and brought me a message.¡± Gust frowned and looked in her face. ¡°There is a bird in here?¡± ¡°It hides at the top of my bed,¡± Elsanne explained. Gust took a step back to better see over the thin cotton mesh. ¡°There¡¯s no bird up there your grace,¡± he rustled. ¡°Come here,¡± Elsanne ordered him. Gust approached her again. He stared at the crumbled tiny roll of scroll the young Queen held out for him with a hand. ¡°Here¡¯s your proof. We wish to hear an apology.¡± Gust grabbed the tiny scroll with a miffed grimace. ¡°Apologies,¡± he rustled. Elsanne gestured with a hand and ogling her eyes for him to continue. ¡°For not believing your grace?¡± Gust continued through his teeth. ¡°And also¡­¡± Elsanne urged him on. Gust narrowed his eyes. ¡°Hitting the Eunuch?¡± He guessed. ¡°Eh, don¡¯t worry about Jasi. The other thing,¡± Elsanne corrected him. ¡°We can hear your Excellency quite clear,¡± Jasi griped from outside the door. ¡°We didn¡¯t mean it!¡± Elsanne snapped a little annoyed for the interruption. ¡°Close the door Jasi!¡± The door slammed shut before she could finish her words. ¡°Where is the darn bird?¡± Gust grunted. ¡°Language. Did you read the missive?¡± Gust pursed his mouth and glanced at the old smelly piece of parchment. ¡°Deliver two sacks of grain in the warehouse. Bob¡­ this is an old message,¡± Gust read squinting his eyes. ¡°The last part says -pay you in coin or something?¡± Elsanne gave him a rusty piece of copper. ¡°It left this as well.¡± ¡°Your grace this doesn¡¯t mean anything,¡± Gust protested. ¡°The crows take stuff and move them about or exchange them for something else.¡± Elsanne¡¯s knowing stare stopped him. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Bob?¡± Elsanne asked authoritatively. CAW A Crow responded from atop a large armoire and flapped its wings, small claws working on the wood. For crying out loud. ¡°You don¡¯t actually believe this has any meaning whatsoever,¡± Gust griped and took a deep breath to calm himself down afore barking loud, extending his right arm to prevent her for falling. ¡°Ruud!¡± CAW? The irritated Crow retorted. A startled Elsanne toppled forward with a yelp, but Gust readily grabbed her by the waist with his hand and lowered her with ease on the floor. ¡°Goodness me. There you are,¡± Elsanne gasped and hugged his large frame. ¡°Isn¡¯t it early still? Let¡¯s stay for a bit Gust,¡± she added huskily. ¡°We need to visit the Dogs and Robert arrived last night,¡± Gust explained holding her close. ¡°We need a captain to take us away and come to our bed each night,¡± Elsanne warned him and the knight sighed. ¡°Not leave us to face the tower¡¯s mysteries on our own.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a dream Elsanne,¡± he told her stoically. ¡°And I¡¯ll never leave you.¡± ¡°The first part we are aware that it can¡¯t be done but I like the second enriched,¡± Elsanne insisted. ¡°Umm,¡± Gust grunted trying not to think of her warm body pressing on him. ¡°I won¡¯t write that letter,¡± Elsanne whispered looking in his face. ¡°Ruud has already sent it.¡± ¡°Why taunt me then?¡± ¡°Ruud has one style of teaching for people and animals,¡± Gust explained. ¡°But this gives you an opening here depending on how Lord Anker reacts.¡± ¡°Hmm. We¡¯ll think about it,¡± Elsanne replied and stood on her toes to give him a peck on the lips. ¡°You need a bath.¡± ¡°No time for that,¡± Gust retorted. ¡°Your grace needs to dress. I¡¯ll wait in the yard.¡±
The knight marched out of the tower and walked in the shade of the nearby gardens. He found a bench near an old oak tree and sat there, his eyes on the busy yard. He spotted Axel at the stables across from him but while Gust was pondering whether to go talk with his squire or the men working there a carriage came through gates of the Barbican. A knight leading it wearing dark-steel plate, with a crow-winged sculpted helm secured on the expensive saddle. Long white hair caught at the nappe and a black leather patch over his left eye. Gust got up as the knight¡¯s warhorse approached the tower, its hoofs clopping on the pavement. The wiry man stopped seeing him standing there and veered his way snapping at the reins, the driver of the carriage bringing it to a full halt right after. A large group of men-at-arms following after the carriage stopped as well, the yard turning silent for a moment as everyone working paused to watch the large escort. One of the knights saluted Gust and he recognized Sir Adrian Hakker under the helm. The knight¡¯s uncle Lieutenant Hakker had been lost in Shallow Straits not a month back. The first knight dismounted his warhorse, paused for a gentle pat on its muzzle, and then used that gloved hand to brush away some of the dirt from his armour. He next glanced briefly at the imposing Blackcrow¡¯s Pillar, before finally turning to stare at the silent Gust. The two brothers were almost at the same height with Gust being broader and taller. ¡°You¡¯ve gotten fat,¡± Rik told him matter-of-factly with a reserved grin. ¡°It¡¯s mostly muscle,¡± Gust replied, clenching his jaw. ¡°You look rugged as usual.¡± ¡°Been pushing us a bit to make good time,¡± Rik explained. ¡°Also been riding a bunch this past year. Eating by the fire. How are you Gust?¡± ¡°Better than usual but not great,¡± Gust replied honestly and glanced at the carriage. ¡°How¡¯s Janneke?¡± He asked his tone changing. Rik grimaced. ¡°Not talking much. Still in shock. I brought the kids. Alistair and Patience.¡± ¡°What for?¡± ¡°The old man asked for them,¡± his brother explained a little peeved at his response. ¡°We had a disagreement so I thought not to press my luck.¡± ¡°Screw him,¡± Gust grunted. ¡°Not a good time?¡± ¡°Time is what it is.¡± Gust retorted. ¡°Just don¡¯t expect Ruud to change.¡± ¡°Right.¡± Rik smacked his lips and stared at the tower¡¯s entrance. Elsanne had appeared there with Jasi and Sir Klaas. ¡°Is that the princess?¡± ¡°The Queen.¡± ¡°Aha. Hmm, well she looks wilder than I remember her,¡± Rik admitted. Gust narrowed his eyes. ¡°In a good way,¡± his brother added, rubbing at the back of his hair. ¡°I told Lucius about you two.¡± ¡°How did you know? Why?¡± Gust asked and after a pause he added. ¡°Where?¡± ¡°Wow, I was right,¡± Rik said and reaching punched him on the chest. ¡°Nice to see you¡¯ve changed a bit.¡± Gust clenched his fists. ¡°You didn¡¯t answer,¡± he grunted. ¡°I take it back,¡± Rik retorted a little peeved. ¡°He found our camp during the battle. Waltzed up on us in the middle of the night. We had a talk.¡± ¡°What battle was that?¡± ¡°Near Mercator¡¯s Inn. A big one. He won but it didn¡¯t much surprise me,¡± Rik replied. ¡°I should have listened to my gut and stayed with the King.¡± Rik glanced at the perturbed Gust. ¡°Jeremy. Lucius has taken over now I suppose.¡± ¡°What happened with Jeremy?¡± Gust asked as he didn¡¯t have any details. ¡°Laudus cut him down.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s he?¡± ¡°His Master of Silence. It was a nasty business,¡± Rik replied his face darkening. ¡°But I didn¡¯t see Jeremy myself. We found one of them bleeding out.¡± Gust narrowed his eyes. ¡°Where is he now?¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t make it,¡± Rik said curtly. ¡°Got as much as I could out of him. Gave his head to Janneke.¡± ¡°Good,¡± Gust replied. ¡°I don¡¯t know about that. Maybe I shouldn¡¯t have done it. She tossed it out of her window,¡± Rik replied unsure. ¡°Good,¡± Gust repeated. ¡°What did you learn?¡± ¡°Nothing I hadn¡¯t figured out for myself.¡± ¡°You learned double-talk in Regia¡¯s court?¡± Gust grunted. ¡°It¡¯s the yard Gust,¡± Rik retorted. ¡°There are people all about us, one of them has makeup on his face?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a style,¡± Gust said stiffly for being forced to defend the Eunuch. ¡°Just lower your blasted voice.¡± He wanted to learn what had happened with his sister. Gust might not have been as close to her as Rik but that didn¡¯t mean he didn¡¯t care. ¡°The war was a sideshow for Jeremy¡¯s Council,¡± Rik explained. ¡°Lord Doris only worry was to keep control on the throne he¡¯d lost after the Queen Regent was forced to step down.¡± ¡°Why did she?¡± ¡°Lord Ursus thought she was pregnant. Can¡¯t attest to that,¡± Rik replied with a shrug. ¡°They were going to remove her even she hadn¡¯t had a lover.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I told you. The Council was divided and not willing to fight for the young Alden¡¯s claim. I don¡¯t even think there was a plan. Ursus got what he wanted from Jeremy, Doris was interested in keeping his position and the rest seemed satisfied with Alistair not being around.¡± ¡°Laudus was working for Ursus. His kin attacked Alistair,¡± Gust said. ¡°Why was he in the Council?¡± ¡°This was never established. Laudus barely talked with Ursus and his cousin might have acted on his own. Brakis kept the Lord of Novesium in the council as a matter of fact. But the Admiral didn¡¯t appear eager to continue the war with Sula after the first setbacks.¡± ¡°What are you saying?¡± Gus asked crossing both arms over his chest. ¡°Jeremy had no friends,¡± Rik replied. ¡°He was a stopgap that became a problem when he started voicing his own opinion. Janneke pressured him to abandon the war at the coast and deal with Lucius. Nobody seemed too pleased with that. They had left Ligur on his own on that front for years. The fact he managed to scrap together enough of an army to bother Lucius was a small miracle. She also campaigned for our father to help. Nobody liked that also.¡±If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Ruud has his hands full. Sending you was surprising,¡± Gust said not believing he was defending Ruud. ¡°I did that on my own. He wanted me back.¡± Rik replied with a scowl. That made more sense still¡­ ¡°Yet now you are here.¡± ¡°I told you I look to patch things up lately. Right wrongs. I¡¯m not a kid anymore Gust,¡± Rik retorted and with a sigh of frustration he added. ¡°Marleen got herself in trouble.¡± Gust frowned. ¡°You are married?¡± ¡°No. I never broke it off though¡­ Ruud¡¯s idea but¡­ eh, I didn¡¯t have the guts to face her I suppose. Kept postponing it.¡± Seems you need more growing up still. ¡°Umm,¡± Gust grunted and eyed him austerely. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°She was escorting the Judge but they got into an ambush. His men looked to save him and forgot about her in their haste. I ought it¡­ after all the tourney nastiness, I have to make this right,¡± an uncomfortable Rik explained. ¡°Is that Sir Rik?¡± Elsanne asked interrupting their talk. ¡°Apologies for the pain my presence brings dear knight.¡± Rik stood back unsure but then he found his footing. ¡°Your grace, it is good seeing you again. You look lovely in riding attire.¡± Gust frowned. What manner of weasel language is this? ¡°Hah,¡± Elsanne chuckled and touched the sides of her pants lightly. ¡°They are fetching if one has the figure for it Sir Rik.¡± ¡°Absolutely your grace.¡± Gust pressed his mouth tight. ¡°Is the eye better?¡± Elsanne asked politely. Huh? It can¡¯t get better. It¡¯s gone. ¡°One learns to live with it,¡± Rik replied with a tense smile. Bullshit. You¡¯re lying. ¡°My presence brings unpleasant memories¡­ I overheard your discussion,¡± Elsanne explained a little apprehensively. ¡°Rik was talking about his fianc¨¦e,¡± Gust said. ¡°The Horselords captured her.¡± ¡°That¡¯s terrible!¡± The Queen gasped. ¡°Were they part of a Lord¡¯s entourage?¡± Huh? ¡°We don¡¯t know your grace,¡± Rik replied and rubbed at his nappe again. ¡°She was with her father¡¯s people.¡± ¡°They haven¡¯t talked in a while,¡± Gust explained and Rik glared at him. ¡°Not since the tourney.¡± Gust continued and Elsanne paled but recovered quickly. ¡°It¡¯s why I¡¯m here,¡± Rik grunted. ¡°It¡¯s the least I can do.¡± ¡°It is,¡± Elsanne agreed frostily and Gust grunted. ¡°Well then,¡± Rik said with a sigh. ¡°Seems not everyone grew up that much different. Your grace, as always a pleasure,¡± he added and glanced at Gust. ¡°Will the grownups have a talk with the kids? They really want to meet you.¡± ¡°Of course dear knight,¡± Elsanne beamed answering for the thoughtful Gust. ¡°They are here?¡± ¡°In the carriage,¡± Rik replied. ¡°Hopefully. I¡¯ll bring them out your grace.¡± Gust watched him walk towards the carriage to talk with the driver that had jumped down. ¡°He seems alright. Different,¡± Elsanne noted. ¡°Sir Rik has a certain character about him yes?¡± Gust stared in her smiling face rigidly. ¡°Were they close? With Marleen?¡± ¡°So you heard more,¡± Gust grunted. ¡°It is not polite to embarrass someone unless it¡¯s to put him in his place,¡± Elsanne retorted curtly. ¡°Not really. She is a girl. Ruud did all the talking,¡± Gust said gruffly. ¡°Though she is a girl no more I reckon.¡± The Queen rolled her eyes. ¡°Why didn¡¯t she break it off? Or her father?¡± ¡°Van Oord is too scared of Ruud to make such bold statements. The first time he met him when the Duke of Castalor was a kid, Ruud had his dogs rush him out of the hall alike a thief.¡± ¡°What happened next?¡± ¡°Ruud killed the dogs and called it an accident.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not scared of him. He¡¯s just an unpleasant dirty old man.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve no idea but never think you can outsmart him,¡± Gust grunted and recoiled seeing a half-breed boy with blond hair dashing their way holding a pillow in front of him. He used it to soften his crash on the frowning Gust who reached to grab the boy by the neck but Elsanne slapped his arm away getting between them. ¡°A Queen in pants!¡± The boy declared and some of the bystanders chuckled politely or gasped in shock at his words. ¡°You¡¯re Alistair,¡± Elsanne said and lowered on her knees in front of him. ¡°Here¡¯s my pillow. It¡¯s a shield,¡± little Alistair said looking away from the Queen¡¯s smart eyes. ¡°Are you a little knight Alistair?¡± Elsanne asked her face mellowing up and Gust eyed the shy girl that stood next to him. She had sneaked up without the knight noticing her. Her skin had a soft caramel color, hair a silvery golden hue, with large dark blue eyes. Patience was quiet as a fox and pretty as a doll. ¡°I¡¯m Patience,¡± she told him with a cute curtsy and Gust gulped down nervously looking into her innocent eyes. ¡°Umm,¡± Gust murmured and Patience yelped when Rik lifted her up in his arms from behind with a broad smile. ¡°I got you now lassie,¡± he teased her and she protested with chuckles. ¡°They are adorable,¡± Elsanne said holding the pillow while Alistair stood upright and pointed a hand at the crowd. ¡°Stand aside!¡± Alistair ordered the artisans and guards. ¡°Make room for the Queen!¡± The crowd erupting at the young boy¡¯s shenanigans with cheers. ¡°There¡¯s a politician,¡± Elsanne commented and raised her arm at the bystanders. She waved her small hand right and left slowly in a royal greeting. Gust found the whole situation ridiculous but also heart-warming. In the meantime Rik ushered the twins back towards the driver and Sir Hakker. Hubert Boss had appeared at the stairs of the entrance to the tower. Stooped over his cane he watched the whole scene from afar and then ordered a guard to accommodate the visitors. Rik turned around to leave but Gust called after him. ¡°You did good Rik,¡± he told him hoarsely. ¡°None of it was your fault. I couldn¡¯t have handled it better.¡± His brother paused and turned around, looking shocked at the praise. ¡°It was nice seeing you again Gust,¡± Rik managed to say and Gust nodded curtly having said enough on the matter. ¡°I¡¯ll visit the Duke as soon as I settle everyone in,¡± Rik added and grabbing the protesting Alistair by the waist carried him to the carriage. ¡°No!¡± Alistair cried out. ¡°Let me go now!¡± The gathered crows agreeing from the parapets and the rooftops. CAW GO GO -
The Khan¡¯s Chief Scout Muvelo of Shao Na-Lan (with a force of 700 rangers) made contact with Sir Luke¡¯s AredRavn¡¯s patrols near the 3rd Foot¡¯s camp on the 11th of the month Quartus 194. After a brief skirmish the scouts retreated. The two knights decided to alter their initial plan surprised by the speed the scouts had covered the distance from Colle. Mark suggested they should abandon the camp (built near the forest road) as bait. Then draw as many of the Khanate¡¯s army there and attack their rear at the entrance of the east road heading for Issir¡¯s Eagle. Hermen Holsman who had arrived from Jaw Castle with a force of 200 soldiers plus several scouts was ordered to hold the north road out of 3Roads junction discreetly. Mark who was still waiting for the supply train of the 2nd Foot to arrive decided to use the mounted rangers of Corneel Verner (around four hundred men) to sneak up behind the advancing Khanate lines using the woods and the bulk of their Cavalry (300 men-at-arms from the 2nd Foot and a hundred from the 3rd) to block any reinforcements making it through the entrance of North Greenforest. The idea was to advance the infantry, overrun the enemy inside or near the camp and continue marching out of the woods against the Khanate force rushing to assist their countrymen. The two noble scions had around eight hundred horse (Heavy, medium Lancers and Rangers) and almost ten thousand soldiers (3 thousand with 3rd Foot, almost seven thousand with the 2nd) available to them. Mark was aware of Khan¡¯s other more exotic units but he had never fought against them. Still he believed (as many on Jelin) that if they collapsed the Horselords lines and destroyed their base of operations, the cavalry would be unable to operate on foreign land and disintegrate. So he aimed to retake Colle and hold it. Even if he didn¡¯t defeat the whole of Khan¡¯s army, Mark and Luke were certain Burzin would give up without a port supporting him or offering the opportunity to retreat. They were right to an extent, but not the way they believed. The Horselords depended on their rear supplies and organization to be an effective army, but they could operate on their own without it. In a sense, they just reverted to their natural living off the land character and remained equally dangerous as they could turn a retreat into a deadly trap in the blink of an eye. Burzin who was in a meeting with Prince Radin at the time ordered Tehenor to move his horse archers forward. ¡®Perform a reconnaissance in force to learn whether this is a blocking army or the rearguard.¡¯ The Prince had brought over the Khanate¡¯s reserve and one of the topics of their discussion was whether they should use the lesser transports available in Rida to mass transfer supplies and personnel to Colle. The other on how to approach Lord Putra¡¯s precarious situation. Advisor Phanti suggested they should contact Elsanne¡¯s rebel force (they had been informed from prisoners about the throne situation) and have Radin negotiate a deal with her. ¡®Let your wife keep the south coast and face Wetull,¡¯ Phanti said to a discomforted Radin who having just had a son (Prince Nidar) with his first wife (Letakin¡¯s daughter Vynia) found himself -after losing two older brothers- in an envious but slippery position. Elsanne¡¯s matter the only blemish in his father¡¯s eyes who had forgiven him for his earlier failures. ¡®When we deal with Lord Anker you can do with her as you please and the Khan will support you,¡¯ Phanti finished. In the palace tongue ¡®will support you¡¯ meant that Burzin was considering elevating Radin over Atpa as heir. ¡®If she calls herself the Queen of Kaltha but holds no lands,¡¯ Burzin had added. ¡®Then her husband should help her take back the capital and rule in her stead as Satrap of Issir¡¯s Eagle. After all a woman can hold no titles as it is the custom.¡¯ Political machinations aside, Tehenor moved ahead of the slowly gathering at the outskirts of Colle army (the thousands of new slaves working to repair the docks were a problem as they needed considerable more guards than Bedas a hundred slavers to control) and followed the main road Muvelo was keeping an eye on. Tehenor approached the camp again and attacked without hesitation, easily taking over the empty fortifications. Perturbed as to where the Issirs had disappeared to, he sent Muvelo to scout the woods north and south of the large main road. Muvelo¡¯s men entered the woods just as Sir Luke¡¯s 3rd Foot marched on the camp from the direction of the capital. Tehenor ordered his horse archers to engage with the advancing lines of infantry but spotted more infantry coming up behind them and decided to conduct a fighting retreat abandoning the camp. The Horse Archers started moving west again towards Colle harassing the following them infantry but were stricken on the south flank by Sir Mark¡¯s cavalry. While the disparity in numbers was huge (Tehenor had over two thousand riders with him having left half his force at Colle) Mark scattered the horse archers and cut them off a kilometer from the exit of the forest. He quickly messaged Luke and Verner (the rangers had engaged with Muvelo inside the woods in a deadly scrap) for reinforcements to hold the position. Luke immediately ordered every unit to attack the briefly immobilized between two forces horse archers and ordered the 1st and 2nd Divisions of the 2nd Foot to march towards their commander skirting the woods. Tehenor realized he was in trouble and sent half his force inside the camp again to contest it and gathered the rest of his men for an assault on Sir Mark¡¯s Cavalry. Mark had dispatched Sir Gudo Kommer with a small force to scout ahead for the position of Khan¡¯s main army and a rider reached him shortly before Tehenor¡¯s around eight hundred horse archers attempted to break out. The rider reported that ¡®a great number of enemy soldiers are still gathering at the outskirts of Colle. No movement.¡¯ What Sir Gudo had observed from afar was the Jang-Lu large camp. But this was just a small portion of the expansive unfathomable size of the Khan¡¯s camp. In the traditional Horselord tactic fueled by difference in status, number of slaves but also due to the presence of thousands of different kind of animals, their camps were typically loosely linked and greatly separated from each other (much as Prince Radpour¡¯s endless camp that had blunted late Sir Henry Winfield¡¯s attack five years earlier in Rida). For an outsider they looked like different camps that is if one even considered looking for them. The inability of capable Jelin officers (Sir Mark Est Ravn especially was a learned man, a respected knight and general by then, having fought against the Legion years back in the Battle of the Turncoats) to realize that they hadn¡¯t trapped the bulk of Burzin¡¯s cavalry as they thought may appear baffling to those reading about the events after the war but it can be easily explained. No one in their camp knew how the Horselords operated. The more prominent Issirs with any real insight were Sir Gust and Robert with the 1st Foot, with the latter still en route to Scaldingport but arriving days later. Along them Sir Thor and Sir Ton and the survivors of the 3rd in Sessi of course who had been licked by Prince Sahand near Altarin but were hundreds of kilometers away with Lord Anker. Burzin may have had over three thousand horsemen trapped inside Greenforest but he had thousands more outside of it even with Radin¡¯s reserve army days away at their landing zone. Some of his units beyond exotic for the Issirs. In a sense, it would have been better if a knowledgeable but worse general had been present for the Issirs in this battle. As Sir Reinir Tellman commented some time later, ¡®we needed a coward to take the lead but got ourselves a bunch of brave lads instead.¡¯
- Ruud had finished his small breakfast and was still sitting at the top of the table, his eyes on them as they entered the gloomy hall. ¡°Hubert says we have a couple of rascals in the yard. Half-breeds no less,¡± he said squinting his eyes. ¡°The guards didn¡¯t arrest them perchance?¡± ¡°Rik shall bring them along later,¡± Gust rustled and his father nodded. ¡°Good then. Your¡­ Highness. I shall have the staff find a wardrobe for you.¡± ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary Lord Ruud,¡± Elsanne cut him off. ¡°Is this an Eplas thing? I thought they favored lacier garbs over there,¡± Ruud commented unwilling to be interrupted afore he made his point across. ¡°Then again we could all go for a hunt. Perhaps you give us subtle hints? It is still early in the year, but the weather is pleasant, if one forgets about the war that is. Do we bother though? Fuck them right? He-heh!¡± Gust glared at him and Ruud sobered up. ¡°I suggest you both take a seat your grace. We had them cleaned for you,¡± Ruud continued with a grimace to counter the scowl on Gust¡¯s face. ¡°I can speak from my feet,¡± Elsanne retorted still holding her pillow. She gave it to Jasi with a slight tightening of her jaw. ¡°I take it a couple of nights of rest cleared the Queen¡¯s head?¡± Ruud taunted with a smirk. ¡°Not enough to change our answer,¡± Elsanne replied stiffly. ¡°Uhm,¡± Ruud shook his head. Then eyed the slowly approaching chamberlain. ¡°Hubert. I thought you dropped dead for a minute when you didn¡¯t return. You¡¯re taking longer each time my lad.¡± Hubert cleared his throat and took another moment to compose himself, a sheen of sweat on his wrinkled forehead. ¡°The Duke has the missives?¡± ¡°Well I didn¡¯t toss them in the fireplace,¡± Ruud rejoined. ¡°It would be of no use without a fire.¡± ¡°I issued a curfew on the excessive expenditure of resources.¡± Hubert argued. ¡°The weather is fine enough sire.¡± ¡°For a young lad like you perhaps,¡± Ruud grunted. ¡°My feet are freezing,¡± he added suspiciously. ¡°You¡¯re not trying to shove me into an early grave eh? You cunning little vagabond!¡± ¡°I think that chance is lost sire,¡± Hubert countered rigidly and Ruud puffed out in frustration. ¡°We better sit down,¡± Gust told Elsanne but she waved him off. ¡°We¡¯ll stand.¡± Ah, you¡¯re being stubborn. He could have us here for another hour. ¡°Hubert can you make it to the table?¡± Ruud asked with fake interest. ¡°I shall sire,¡± the chamberlain retorted a little peeved and the Duke chuckled watching him limp his way towards the pile of scrolls opened on the tousled table. ¡°While your grace pondered on her answer,¡± the Old Crow started, a nail scratching at the surface of the table. ¡°The world changed.¡± Gust tensed up and reached to grab the scrolls Hubert had in his arms. The chamberlain had trouble reading in the semi darkness and Gust had to approach one of the candleholders on the large table to read the tiny script himself. ¡°In what way?¡± Elsanne asked the Duke of Scaldingport, who looked uncharacteristically sober for the hour. ¡°Who is this Phanti?¡± Gust asked stopping his reading before Ruud could answer. ¡°That would be one of Khan¡¯s advisors,¡± Hubert informed him. Gust stared at his father solemnly. ¡°What happened?¡± He growled and Ruud shrugged his shoulders. ¡°By Tyeus spear! Just get it out!¡± Gust snapped losing his temper. ¡°Stop your blasted games!¡± A nervous tick had appeared on Ruud¡¯s timeworn face, his pale mouth pressed into a thin line. ¡°Grand Duke,¡± a tensed Elsanne started but Ruud cleared the table in front of him cutting her off midsentence, sending his plates clattering down. The startled Crows woke up from their spots and some of them flew over their head inside the gloomy hall. Elsanne¡¯s face was furious. ¡°This is the realm reacting,¡± Ruud told her with a snarl, his eyes feverish. ¡°It moves and changes without bothering to ask no kings and no lords. To rule you need to see ahead and anticipate the worst, for the good times are easier to manage.¡± ¡°You are the last man we shall ask for guidance,¡± Elsanne hissed clenching her fists, face flushed and angry. ¡°I give no guidance willy-nilly,¡± Ruud retorted and pushed back on his chair. ¡°You grow and learn on yer own if you can. You¡¯ll stand on your feet or forever be dragged from one ¡®helper¡¯ to another if you can¡¯t. No one can guide you if you don¡¯t know how to guide yourself. Seek it and be a slave or a whore working a bad shift. But if you listen past any harsh words and hurt pride you may learn something your grace, for lessons I can teach aplenty.¡± ¡°The Khan won at Three Roads,¡± Gust said hoarsely. ¡°The Horde heads for the capital,¡± he added and Elsanne stumbled towards a chair with a gasp. She grabbed it to stabilize herself waving Jasi away. Gust stared at his father angry. ¡°You sat on this?¡± ¡°It came late in the night,¡± Hubert informed them. ¡°I needed to deliberate on a response and a response came this morning,¡± Ruud replied. ¡°Phanti¡¯s letter?¡± ¡°Afore that. Your pirates raided Deadmen¡¯s Watch,¡± Ruud said and tried to close his fist with a grimace of pain. ¡°Scattered Lord Putra¡¯s transport fleet. The realm,¡± he added soberly looking at them. ¡°Always moves forward and waits for no man or no woman.¡± ¡°What does Phanti want?¡± Elsanne asked hoarsely and Gust watched his father¡¯s eyes gleam in anticipation. You are wrong about her, Gust stare told him and Ruud raised a bushy brow tauntingly. ¡°Gust?¡± ¡°The Khan wants you to swear fealty to him,¡± Gust grunted and Ruud slapped his hand on the table, old face contorting from the pain his deformed fingers were causing him. ¡°TELL IT LIKE IT¡¯S WRITTEN BOY!¡± The Duke thundered in a great voice. Gust clenched his jaw and stood back with a scowl of hatred. ¡°The Khan calls for the prince¡¯s wife to return the prince¡¯s properties and herself to him,¡± Hubert answered the grimacing Duke¡¯s query and Ruud clenched his decaying teeth into a snarl. ¡°What belongs to Radin, the Khan owns as well.¡± ¡°What do you answer to your husband, your Highness?¡± Ruud taunted angrily. ¡°The priests will have a field day with this! Lord Anker got punched in the face and you drop this into our lap? Who is going to rally behind you if this gets out?¡± ¡°I would,¡± Gust replied with a grunt. ¡°Bah, you¡¯re blind and deaf,¡± Ruud snapped. ¡°We can¡¯t win this with swords son with a weakling leading us. This is what you want on the throne?¡± ¡°We won¡¯t ask for your permission,¡± Elsanne said soberly placing a hand on Gust¡¯s shoulder. ¡°We won¡¯t ask for Radin¡¯s permission or the Khan¡¯s,¡± she continued raising her voice and Ruud stooped forward interested all of a sudden. ¡°The Queen answers to no man or woman. More so to a husband she doesn¡¯t recognize. The union was not blessed by a priest of the Five.¡± ¡°Was it consummated?¡± Ruud asked with a frown. ¡°They could produce witnesses. Claim you¡¯re barren and can have no children. So don''t think of using that.¡± Gust clenched his teeth, trying to maintain his composure and failing gradually. ¡°I¡¯ll use whatever I god darn want! Who would dare stand against a Queen¡¯s word? Or dispute her ability to know whether she¡¯s taken a lover or not?¡± Elsanne retorted brazenly raising her voice. ¡°A husband we did not have for he was a heathen! This we declare,¡± she added hoarsely her voice echoing inside the old hall. ¡°But a lover I have taken recently and I can attest to it afore the Lords and the Allgods!¡± Gust furrowed his brows at her language, Hubert squinted his eyes still trying to read the scroll and Ruud blinked once that tick leaving his face. Then smacked his lips audibly. ¡°Say that again,¡± he grunted next, strangely excited and glanced at the guards standing by the door. ¡°Like you mean it.¡± ¡°I denounce him!¡± Elsanne boomed her jade eyes flashing like real jewels. Praise be the Five, she is glowing! Gust thought. ¡°Again,¡± Ruud urged her. ¡°Give me the rest my sweet lass!¡± Damn it Ruud. ¡°We denounce him for there was never a proper union,¡± Elsanne repeated hoarsely. ¡°All his claims and authority don¡¯t touch us. We throw his letter and demands back. We have spoken,¡± she finished breathing heavy and glaring at the smirking Ruud. ¡°We can work with this your grace, when the time comes. A touch more indignation will do it. Way better material than having a drooling toddler cackle and falling from his chair for sure,¡± he reasoned talking to himself and stood back on his chair. Gust stared at the shaking young Queen hesitantly, then at the aloof Eunuch. Jasi had hugged the pillow without looking at him. ¡°We need to move against Lord Putra soon,¡± Ruud murmured thinking aloud, ¡°Whilst they are busy killing each other.¡± He paused seeing Gust¡¯s perturbed expression and Elsanne¡¯s discomfort. The old Duke licked his cracked lips and then scratched the top of his head through the thinning white hair. A crow came to land on the table in front of the silent Lord of Scaldingport and Ruud picked up a silver coin it had dropped for him. Stooping forward with a groan he found a plate of food still left on the table and brought it closer to the black bird. Then he glanced at the two silent lovers again and groaned in bemusement. ¡°Oh, for fuck¡¯s sake son. Our bird is pregnant!¡± ¡°What?¡± A stunned Gust growled and his father chuckled finding it hilarious for some reason. ¡°Don¡¯t fret about it. She¡¯s a Queen after all. The Queen of Veer¡¯s Gulf,¡± Ruud reassured him with a shrug and Hubert bobbed his old head in agreement behind Ruud. ¡°She¡¯ll legitimize the bastard in no time, hah-hah! Right,¡± he sobered up abruptly and then Ruud continued from where he had stopped, the crow pecking at the foodstuff greedily with a couple of more landing to watch it eat in judging silence. ¡°Where I was? Ah yes, we¡¯ll break the siege at Castalor and then wait for the Khan to move again because there¡¯s no way he can remain in Issir¡¯s Eagle for long.¡± ¡°Elsanne,¡± Gust blurted out not really paying attention to him. ¡°You could have told me.¡± ¡°We were not certain nor wish to discuss it at length in here,¡± Elsanne replied inflexibly. ¡°I¡¯ll step outside for some air,¡± she added hearing his brother and the twins entering the hall. Gust stared at the sandstone tiles exasperated with Ruud abandoning his diatribe to focus on Janneke¡¯s kids. Rik had carried them inside despite Alistair¡¯s initial protests ¡®for leaving the horses behind¡¯.
¡°There they are then. The rascals apprehended. Our blond crows,¡± Ruud commented looking at the twins. ¡°Eh, sort of. Mostly. Some Issir still in there as well, eh Alistair?¡± He asked the boy that approached the table stumbling on his feet. Ruud stooped forward slowly and took the boy¡¯s extended arm with a smile. ¡°Hello grandfather,¡± Alistair said trying to remember all the words. ¡°Hello there you little rascal,¡± Ruud retorted and a scowling Gust glanced at his father surprised. ¡°Hubert, I say we leave him in the sun for a week. Let him wander about in the nude. It¡¯ll darken his skin a bit more, hmm? He could pass for an Issir right?¡± ¡°I like their color sire,¡± Hubert answered rigidly. Ruud stared at the shy Patience next and reached with a free hand to touch her cheek. ¡°You¡¯re an elfin beauty aren¡¯t you?¡± Ruud murmured. ¡°Look at those eyes, umm. You know,¡± he started while Alistair went across the hall to stand under a ceremonial plate armour. ¡°I knew a half-breed like you when I was younger. Pretty thing. We used to sneak near Granlake¡¯s shores¡ª¡± ¡°Father for Allgods sake!¡± Rik cut him off midsentence. ¡°What? It¡¯s a funny story!¡± Ruud blasted his son but then furrowed his brows unsure. He placed the quiet Patience over his legs and pointed at a piece of leftover cake. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell her everything sire?¡± Hubert asked the watching Gust in a low voice. I wasn¡¯t about to throw more bad news on the Queen, Gust thought tensely. ¡°The reports might be wrong,¡± Gust told the aged chamberlain. ¡°The Queen should know sire,¡± Hubert counseled calmly. Gust nodded and turned his attention on his father who seemed to enjoy the company of the twins. Of all that had happened that day, this is the most unexpected thing, Gust decided. And the other matter of course. Eh. Gust puffed out very troubled. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t worry about Scaldingport sire,¡± Hubert assured him. ¡°The old crow has a plan for everything.¡± Perhaps you are right. ¡°You like the cake sweetie?¡± Ruud asked sounding like a decent human being all of a sudden, a gleam in his eye. ¡°It¡¯s fresh they told me. They could be lying but they rarely risk it. You know why? I hang them by¡ª¡± ¡°Ruud for the love of Uher!¡± The watching them Rik protested and the Duke yielded with a loud groan of disbelief at his son¡¯s sensibilities. ¡°Yes grandfather. I enjoy it very much. Thank you,¡± Patience said shyly defusing the situation. ¡°Ah, you¡¯re very welcomed. There¡¯s a good lass,¡± Ruud replied sounding moved. He gave her the cake and Gust glanced at his pleased brother curious. ¡°Can I have this?¡± Patience asked pointing with an arm at a different piece, making herself comfortable in Ruud¡¯s lap and her pretty face barely clearing the table. ¡°The crows paid for that already,¡± Ruud explained and gave her a silver coin. ¡°Here, you leave it near them if you want to initiate a trade.¡± ¡°What will they bring me?¡± Patience asked, her voice breaking while tasting the honeyed cake. ¡°You never know. My father used to tell me crows live outside of time,¡± Ruud replied and the large raven appeared on the hall¡¯s circular opening four meters above the empty throne. Bugs jumped down, flapping his wings twice to break the momentum and landed on the headrest. The large raven looked about with black beady eyes, the other crows watching it as well and the one eating on Ruud¡¯s table stopping apprehensively. Bugs clacked its beak once but said nothing. The awkward moment shattered when Alistair removed the left plate greave of a set of armour after grabbing it with both small hands. He dropped backwards on his arse with a yelp and the armour toppled slowly at first, before coming down on the sandstone tiles with an ear-splitting bang. Every piece of plate coming loose and clattering away with a thunderous ruckus that shook the Duke¡¯s Hall. It maddened the crows something fierce. CAAAW CAW ¡°Eh, just let him play with it. Lest he gets his pecker out and starts rubbing away we¡¯re good,¡± Ruud stopped the guards that rushed to pick the small boy up. ¡°What do we say boy?¡± He asked the standing on his feet perturbed at the mess Alistair. The boy tossed the metal boot away on the pile of scattered armour. ¡°It was loose sir,¡± Alistair said slyly and Rik glared his way annoyed. ¡°Apologize to the Duke immediately Alistair,¡± Rik ordered the boy. ¡°Ah, leave him be. He¡¯s right. It was poorly fastened, even dangerous. See to it Hubert. Not you personally for pity¡¯s sake! Grab one of them fools,¡± Ruud ordered with a smirk at the Chamberlain¡¯s frustrated stare. ¡°There¡¯s a smart lad. A bit of old Ruud in ye eh?¡± He cackled turning his attention on Alistair. ¡°We don¡¯t apologize if we can avoid it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a horrible advice Ruud,¡± Gust protested and Bugs decided enough was enough probably. ¡°WHERE¡¯S THE GRAIN BOB?¡± The frustrated old-raven snarled looking at one of the crows accusingly. No way. CAW? CAW! ¡°WATER-FUCKING-MELON UP YER ARSE!¡± Bugs retorted irate and snapped his gnarly snout hearing Patience¡¯s shocked gasp. The small girl hadn¡¯t heard him talk in common before. Or any harsh tongue. Bugs clacked his beak once more sharply and then asked in a reasonable manner. ¡°You shan¡¯t eat that shit, are you now little bird?¡± Little Patience decided she was full so Bugs had the rest of the cake.
442. Go
An old soul shall stand on Uher¡¯s Seat One o¡¯ five Hydra¡¯s heads, Ever secreted, sewn in royal purple threads The other paraded affixed with a rusted cleat for in a queen¡¯s soft heart the lands shall see entreat. - Klara Est Ravn, The ¡®Black Lily of the forests¡¯ cryptic letter to her father, Circa 194 NC
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Sir Mark Est Ravn Go
- Praised be the Five Bathed in Uher''s Light For another morning shall arrive No erstwhile night can forestall So say we all - Praised be Uher who set all things aright May all thrive under Gods father Light All preserved, be served by those healed Cast aside the wickedness of the weak, be a guide and our shield Gaze at the aberrant Heathen hanged from a butcher¡¯s meak For their foulness no witchery shall revive Praised be the Five bathed in Uher''s Light For another morning shall arrive - Morning psalm, A prayer to Uher, the Gods father Unknown date -
¡°They found her,¡± Priest Brukel said, fingers clasped on the Ankh Staff and his young face oozing indignation. ¡°The woods outside Fardor. Looking for a boat to cross the river.¡± Mark sighed and patted Champagne¡¯s snout with a gloved hand. ¡°Where did she want to go?¡± He asked tiredly and walked near a pregnant Juliet that had climbed down from her carriage with the help of David Bril his aging squire. His wife smiled, those earnest brown eyes staying on his face for a moment. ¡°She¡¯s not allowed¡­¡± Brukel protested, but then paused with a grimace of distaste. ¡°Your brother is with her. He¡¯ll bring her along.¡± ¡°Shane?¡± Mark asked and then planted several kisses on Juliet¡¯s flushed face. The tops of her white trimmed eyebrows, that perky nose and warm caramel cheeks. Age seemed to not touch his wife, her skin as soft as a baby¡¯s. ¡°Praised be Uher it was him,¡± Brukel grunted behind him interrupting their moment. His younger brother was always eager to assist. ¡°How is Lady Grote this morning?¡± Mark asked teasingly and the Baron of Greywood Castle¡¯s daughter chuckled. ¡°Well enough Sir Mark,¡± she replied guessing his thoughts. ¡°You can go and check on your sister. We shall be alright without you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be back in camp afore sunset. Perhaps it is nothing untoward. Klara is still young,¡± Mark told her. A half-truth. His sister was thirteen but this summer of 186 has her growing up more than a year it seems. ¡°Hmm,¡± his wife nodded, a gleam in her eye. ¡°My father said the same thing, if I recall.¡± ¡°Lady Juliet,¡± Mark cautioned her teasingly. ¡°I shan¡¯t judge your memory of past events, but Brukel is not to be trusted to keep a secret.¡± Brukel snorted hearing him. ¡°My Lord I¡¯ll suffer in all-hells afore I say a word.¡± A grinning Mark turned around to head for his horse again. The five-headed ashen hydra of Midlanor stitched on its blanket with a black outline. He climbed on it lithely and Champagne neighed shaking its cream-colored mane. ¡°Can you ride until then?¡± Mark teased the priest of Uher. He knew the man before Brukel had decided to spread Uher¡¯s blessings. ¡°I rather walk and enjoy the sun sire,¡± Brukel replied since he was a notoriously poor rider. ¡°I¡¯m riding to Fardor,¡± Mark informed the rigid priest. ¡°So you better find yourself some water Brukel and a better pair of shoes.¡± Bril laughed hearing his words and Juliet followed his squire¡¯s example. ¡°Well?¡± His father asked two days later. Mark was staring at a washed-out drawing of Sessi. The ancient city and not the Shrine built with what the survivors had brought with them. Now a small city unto itself. ¡°Did she explain herself?¡± The Duke of Midlanor approached. He was standing at the same height as him. The ashen priestly robes leaving the five-headed Hydra carved on his armour visible. ¡°She¡¯s young father,¡± Mark replied. ¡°Thought she saw a fairy and followed it.¡± ¡°Uher helps us,¡± Lord Anker hissed lowering his voice. ¡°Kelholt is here. I worry your brother might say something.¡± ¡°He won¡¯t,¡± Mark assured him. ¡°Nothing happened.¡± The Duke puffed out exasperated. ¡°First that idiot Thor and then this. At least your younger brother is causing me no problems.¡± ¡°The princess exaggerated,¡± Mark said calmly. ¡°Well that hothead wouldn¡¯t stop pestering me about it,¡± his father complained. The hothead was King Antoon. ¡°Refused to even entertain the thought. He might even look to Scaldingport for a groom.¡± ¡°There''s no way Antoon survives a dinner with Lord Ruud,¡± Mark said and glanced at the High Priest talking with Brukel and Sander te Hove. The two priests listening carefully to Kelholt¡¯s words. Maas Vellers the Inquisitor standing watch near them. ¡°Antoon will look to find a local or someone from Riverdor.¡± ¡°You overestimate our King¡¯s intelligence,¡± Lord Anker said tiredly and stood back, his eyes on the painting. Mark could hear the sword whispering, the beautiful swan sculpted on the handle gleaming in the well-lit but austerely decorated palace. Out of place, he thought staring at the ancient weapon the Duke had on his waist. ¡°He¡¯s unpredictable. I fear that in a man or a woman. Like your sister.¡± ¡°What about Thor?¡± Mark asked with a grin seeing the Duke¡¯s troubled face. ¡°Praised be Uher you came first,¡± his father retorted, then extended his arm to grab Mark¡¯s shoulder tightly. ¡°A Hydra has many heads, but not all of them are equal.¡± ¡°Is that what the sword says?¡± Mark asked him and his father¡¯s Issir face darkened even more. ¡°The sword says an old soul will stand on Uher¡¯s Seat.¡± ¡°That¡¯s cryptic but weirdly specific at the same time. Which queen? Nienke? Minerva?¡± Mark murmured thoughtfully hearing the rest and his father gestured for him to stay quiet seeing the High Priest approach with his entourage.
- Morning, 12th of Tertius 194 NC Battle at 3Roads Fifth hour - ¡°My Lord!¡± Sir David Bril bellowed from atop his horse, just as Mark accepted the field glasses from his squire Rikkert. ¡°The 2nd is deploying behind the 1st but we can¡¯t reach Verner!¡± He nodded, old Champagne protesting under him. The warhorse was covered in dirt from riding since dawn, a green grime glued on its belly and Mark¡¯s boots. ¡°What is Voges doing?¡± Mark grunted looking through the field glasses at the Khan¡¯s infantry gathering in front of the large camp. Still kilometers away and slow-moving. ¡°He¡¯s helping Van De Aesst sire,¡± Bril replied stiffly. ¡°The Horselords retreated in the camp. Bandt is marching here.¡± ¡°Find me Sir Kommer¡¯s man.¡± Mark ordered and no sooner he¡¯d finished a couple of arrows landed on the gravel road three meters away, another bunch breaking apart near them right after. ¡°They turned around sir!¡± A rider yelled riding near their group and Mark tossed the glasses to Rikkert. ¡°Leave Kommer¡¯s be. Get everyone ready,¡± he told Bril and the knight nodded. ¡°They¡¯ll attempt to break out!¡± Mark unsheathed his longsword and reached for the shield secured at the left side of his saddle. ¡°Might want to put them away and get a blade out Rikkert or that spare shield. You¡¯ll need it more than me,¡± he counseled his squire and then turned Champagne around towards the sound of the horse archers approaching. -
The cut off Tehenor ordered his riders to charge scimitar in hand, against the men-at-arms and knights of Sir Mark Est Ravn trying to break through. Despite the numbers the horse-archers found the task very difficult and attempted desperate actions to bring the well-armed Issirs down. The High Regent¡¯s firstborn had some of Midlanor¡¯s best knights with him, like the ¡®peasant knight¡¯ David Bril, Sir Gudo Kommer and a prominent member of the Golden Spears Priest Brukel amongst others. In the chaotic scrap by the road, a hundred meters from the entrance into North Greenforest, Tehenor¡¯s attempt to break out failed when his men that split up trying to disengage from the heavier knights fell upon Captain Bandt¡¯s advancing spears of the 1st and 2nd Divisions of the 2nd Foot and got crashed. Tehenor of Lukela was killed but Muvelo managed to hold the west part of the woods with his scouts and many horse archers found refuge there but were of little help against Verner¡¯s rangers. The scrap inside the woods already in its fourth hour.
- Mark jerked his metal-reinforced knee joint up and got the Horselord lunging for his ribcage right under the jaw. A snap that was lost in the pandemonium and the zygomatic bones burst out of his torn cheeks, slanted eyes turning a deep red. The knight twisted Champagne to the left, the larger warhorse shoving the other Horselord¡¯s horse away, the archer hacking at his shield manically with his scimitar. The blows landing fast and hard, the metal wrapping with cracks appearing on the reinforced wood. He lunged with the longsword mid-turn, the blade whipping past the archer¡¯s defenses and sinking into his ribs. Mark jerked the blade left then right with a grunt, bones breaking and gore running down the handle until he got the sword freed. The archer collapsing between the two horses. The knight kicked his legs and Champagne jumped forward. Another archer trying to get on his feet immediately got trampled under its hooves and his left arm snapped in two places afore detaching from its socket. Mark flicked the longsword in a wide arc and cut a dark-skinned Horselord across the face, the heavy blade cracking his opponent¡¯s skull with a repellant crunch. The man was hurled aside, spreading gore from his mouth and eyes. The knight¡¯s horse neighed greatly disturbed at the mayhem but Mark breathed a sigh of relief as he could see infantry mixed with the horses and the banners of the 2nd Foot. ¡°Rikkert!¡± He roared balancing his sword across the saddle in front of him, to repair his shield¡¯s bindings with the freed hand. ¡°I need that shield boy!¡± ¡°I broke it sire!¡± Rikkert was heard and Mark saw him limping between two Issir soldiers that speared everything they could reach that didn¡¯t have their colors. ¡°Apologies!¡± ¡°Eh,¡± Mark grunted and then clicked his tongue to approach Sir Bril who changed his blade for a fresh one carried by his squire. ¡°We need to move towards the mouth,¡± Mark told him and lifted the face-cover so he could see better about them. The fight was winding down but scared horses were still galloping wildly amidst the knights and the infantry that had flooded the road. The dead littering the field on both sides of the gravel road that had a darker more sinister color now. ¡°My Lord, I¡¯ll dispatch a runner,¡± Bril replied whilst extracting an arrow that had lodged under his shoulder plates. ¡°We can¡¯t change horses now,¡± Mark said eyeing Captain Bandt rushing towards them on foot. ¡°Get everyone moving in ten minutes,¡± he added and jumped from his horse to speak with the infantry commander. ¡°We are hunting them into the woods sire,¡± Bandt reported after saluting briskly. ¡°Cease that,¡± Mark ordered and carefully wiped his bloody blade with a cloth. ¡°I want the infantry out of the woods Bandt.¡± ¡°Aye sire,¡± the officer replied. ¡°We¡¯ll get moving post haste.¡±
Brukel reached Mark¡¯s entourage twenty minutes later with Bandt''s three divisions (the 1st, 2nd and the 4th) already marching out of the woods. Captain Voges was with him and a sergeant of the 3rd Foot sent by Sir Luke. ¡°Uher¡¯s light upon you my Lord,¡± the priest said and brought his spotted horse near him. ¡°A great victory.¡± ¡°We haven¡¯t won yet Brukel,¡± Mark retorted. He had just witnessed the Khan¡¯s infantry move up in large square blocks of smirking soldiers. ¡°There must be six-seven thousands of them out there looking for a fight.¡± ¡°We shouldn¡¯t,¡± the priest of the Order argued and wiped the sweat from his face with the sleeve of his robes. Brukel had chainmail underneath and a sword strapped at his waist next to his Order¡¯s bronze rod. ¡°Now is the time to retreat my lord.¡± ¡°Now is the time to press our advantage Brukel,¡± Mark snapped not believing his ears. ¡°You want them reorganized?¡± ¡°We hurt the Khan¡¯s riders,¡± Brukel insisted. ¡°Let them march to us. We can fall back towards the capital. Wait for reinforcements.¡± ¡°Bah,¡± Mark grunted with a stubborn clench of his jaw. ¡°They won¡¯t defend the capital priest. They¡¯ll retreat back beyond the rivers. We must not lose momentum.¡± ¡°Mark you did that in the Small Plains,¡± Brukel reminded him. ¡°It didn¡¯t help.¡± ¡°Not the same enemy and not the same war. We know why we fight here, damn it Brukel!¡± Mark admonished the priest. ¡°Now is not the time!¡± Brukel stood back on the saddle. ¡°May the faithful thrive under Uher¡¯s Light,¡± he chanted and Mark stared at the sun moving on the sky slowly towards midday. ¡°I¡¯d like the light to stay put,¡± the knight replied tensely, turning his spare horse named Reliant around. Champagne was resting and the white and gold younger destrier had taken his place. ¡°Else we¡¯ll have it in our eyes.¡± -
The Khan ordered the Jang-Lu under Muda Zeket of Chariot¡¯s Birth to move forward seeing the 2nd Foot coming out of the woods and marching south towards Colle. Their camp was built two kilometers from the city in front of the Khan¡¯s camp, with the Cataphract and the massive Slavers camp built to their east and the Chariots along the Lancers camp built to the west facing the north-heading coastal road towards Jaws Castle. The Horselords were spread out around Colle conducting their own operations, but were alerted about the presence of large forces in the field and reacted timely.
- Sir Bril rode to him an hour later, the noon sun baking the men and animals in the open field. Mark was watching the 2nd Foot get into position under Bandt and Voges less than a kilometer away. The knight had moved to the left (east) flank near the Issir Cavalry so he could have a better view of the enemy force. ¡°Is Voges in the field?¡± Bril asked gruffly in his heavy Roadfort Nord accent. ¡°His divisions are covering the west flank,¡± Mark replied lowering the field glasses. ¡°Get back with the cavalry David,¡± he grunted. ¡°Sir Gudo can handle them,¡± Bril argued and raised his face cover. ¡°The moment Bandt makes contact, we¡¯ll have Voges use the sixth to loop around their battle-line. Cut them off from the coast,¡± Mark started but riders approached afore he could finish. ¡°Your blessings Priest. I have word from Sir Luke,¡± one of the young riders said noticing Brukel on his horse. ¡°Uher be wit you lad,¡± Brukel replied making the sign of a disk raising his arm. ¡°We¡¯ll hear the report soldier!¡± Mark snapped as he was pressed for time. ¡°Holsman messaged Commander Luke sire. He got attacked by cavalry on the road,¡± the young herald said quickly. Holsman? Mark pressed his mouth, standing back on the nervous Reliant. The commander of Jaws Castle had been tasked with guarding the north-heading road, but he was kilometers away with the massive Greenforest separating them, well to the west. ¡°How much cavalry?¡± Bril grunted as he was close enough to hear the runner sent by Sir Luke. ¡°He repelled them milord knight.¡± ¡°Not that many then. Holsman has less than three hundred men,¡± Bril decided and scratched the underside of his square chin. He¡¯d a small beard growing there. ¡°You bring the news to Captain Voges,¡± Mark said to the messenger. ¡°Order him to detach a division and have it face the north road.¡± ¡°His flank sire?¡±If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Just repeat my words soldier!¡± Mark grunted in frustration. ¡°Go now.¡± ¡°Aye sire!¡± Mark watched him riding away and then turned to the other messenger. ¡°Sir Luke has finished with the horse archers?¡± ¡°At least a thousand defend the camp my lord,¡± the second messenger said quickly and Mark spotted out of the corner of his eye Sir Gudo¡¯s squire riding towards them from the other side. ¡°It¡¯ll take him a couple of hours to finish.¡± ¡°I want the ranged units here in half that time and a division from the 3rd Foot to guard our rear,¡± Mark snapped. ¡°Get back there and tell him that!¡± ¡°Yes sir,¡± the young Issir replied and saluted afore turning his horse around to gallop away. Mark turned Reliant around to trot near Bril who was listening to Tarn, Sir Gudo Kommer¡¯s squire. ¡°More cavalry?¡± He asked nervously and Bril glanced at him soberly. ¡°More camps,¡± the knight said. ¡°East of Colle?¡± Mark insisted trying to recall the topography of the area. ¡°Aye, at least a couple of them,¡± Bril replied. ¡°Tell the Lord what you told me Tarn,¡± he added. ¡°Thousands of horses Lord Ravn,¡± Tarn reported. ¡°Elephants sire!¡± God damn it son. ¡°What about cavalry?¡± ¡°It¡¯s difficult to tell my lord, it is a huge camp,¡± the squire replied. ¡°How far?¡± ¡°Five-six kilometers. They are spread out. The wagons reach as far back as Colle Sir Gudo said.¡± ¡°What?¡± Bril grunted. ¡°Might be slaves,¡± Mark reasoned furrowing his brows. ¡°The Khan is attacking,¡± a flushed Brukel informed them riding his horse near their group. Mark puffed out trying to keep everything into perspective. Don¡¯t get bogged down in the details, he counseled himself. Stick to the plan. ¡°Bandt should hold the center,¡± he told Bril. ¡°You¡¯ll ride back to Gudo and prepare to strike at the Khan¡¯s infantry east flank. Voges will hold the other flank and keep an eye on the coastal road for any surprises. We collapse their center and it¡¯ll bring us into their main camp. Then we¡¯ll swing around, attack the pens. Holsman probably faced what was left of the Khan¡¯s riders, so this gives us an opening on this part of the battlefield.¡± ¡°What about the Chariots?¡± ¡°What about them?¡± Mark grunted, his eyes on the infantry clashing in the middle of the field. ¡°Gudo saw none there,¡± Bril retorted gruffly. ¡°He saw wagons. Probably most of the chariots are there also,¡± Mark snapped and then rubbed his face exasperated. ¡°Have you ever seen a chariot David?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t believe I have,¡± Bril replied pursing his mouth. ¡°They look alike from afar. Lord Putra had some also and got licked hard. Archaic machines of little use,¡± Mark explained. ¡°We caught them out of position, but this won¡¯t last. We need to strike now. Discuss about what ifs later my friend.¡± ¡°As you wish milord,¡± Bril said and gestured for Tarn to get moving. ¡°We¡¯ll hit them when they fully commit,¡± he added and with a nod to the silent priest he galloped away. ¡°Send another runner to Voges. Inform him to have his eyes open for Chariots on his flank,¡± Mark said to one of the adjutants standing nearby. The truth of it was he didn¡¯t know how the Duke of Scaldingport had dealt with them. Thor had send him a copy of the Old Crow¡¯s letter but it was sparse on useful details. ¡°And have Luke¡¯s ¡®snipers¡¯ come to the middle of the field. We might have need of them on defense.¡± ¡°How many crossbows does Luke have?¡± Brukel asked and brought a flask to his mouth. ¡°About a hundred,¡± Mark replied tensely and glanced at the priest sipping from the flask. ¡°It¡¯s holy wine,¡± Brukel explained a little defensively. ¡°Blessed by Uher.¡± ¡°Lay off of it just the same,¡± Mark grunted and gave the field glasses to Rikkert. ¡°Eyes on our men lad. I want to know of any new developments,¡± he ordered and rode near the adjutants preparing the messages to speed them along. -
Muda Zeket marched against Captain Bandt¡¯s three divisions defending the Issirs army center near midday. Captain Voges deployed a further two divisions (for a total of five or five thousands soldiers) sending the 3rd to anchor the line on the west flank and match the Jang-Lu width, debating whether to use the 6th Division under Gates an Issir officer from Greywood or not. While he had orders from Sir Mark Est Ravn to watch for Khanate cavalry returning from their attack against Commander Holsman¡¯s guards earlier that day, Voges wanted to use the advantage he still held to loop around Muda Zeket¡¯s line, as there was no sign of Khanate horses with the time ticking away. The Khanate horses were all over the field as a matter of fact. A large portion of Sepa¡¯s Lancers (four hundred out of 800) had challenged Holsman¡¯s positions on the road to Jaw Castle nine kilometers from the city of Colle and six from the 3Roads junction. The attack had failed as the dug in Holsman had brought four Scorpios from the castle and a squad of heavy longbows that fired on the charging horses killing many. Sepa broke off the attack and called for the Chariots of Lord Ota-Khem of Turbal that were slowly coming out of their enclosures, to assist him as they could match the lobbing arrows archers¡¯ volume of fire by a lot. Lord Ota-Khem begun moving towards the north from his nearby camp (the chariots were stationed near the shores on the flattest terrain) but got informed that the Issir had attacked out of the woods in force and was ordered to turn around. Lord Ota-Khem in turn messaged Sepa who was still loitering near Holsman¡¯s haphazardly barricaded positions and then promptly rode towards the junction. On the other side of the grasslands outside Colle, Bedas of Sidhyr (the Master of Slaves), Tyfon of Nasar (the Khan¡¯s Beastmaster) and Cephas Mirpur, Lord Mirpur''s oldest son and brother to Horus (who was serving with Lord Putra) were notified as well. Due to the large number of slaves present in their two camps (around eight-thousand of Colle¡¯s ¡®workforce¡¯ had been dragged along to be used by the Khan¡¯s engineers) the Cataphracts were slow to react with the Elephants proving more a hindrance for the rest of the force. Their presence irritated the other animals and Tyfon decided to keep them out of the fight given the number of forces involved. Cephas Mirpur¡¯s slow reaction left Muda Zeket¡¯s east flank open which greatly angered the commander of the infantry. While Muda could control his west flank against a potential maneuver by Voges as he had the numbers kept in reserve, he couldn¡¯t defend against Sir Mark¡¯s cavalry that had been spotted lurking there. With no word from Tehenor or Muvelo, Muda felt threatened. Burzin who had ridden near the frontline so the troops could see him became furious at the delay and ordered Prince Radin to ¡®deal with the matter or not come back at all.¡¯ The bewildered Prince had stayed with the Khan during the night and was supposed to return to his army (still marching towards Colle) but got caught up by the events. Radin probably had no interest in getting in a fight with Lord Mirpur¡¯s sons seeing as he needed to gather as much support as he could to overcome Atpa in the race for succession, but the discomforted Prince couldn¡¯t refuse the Khan also. Radin rode with few of his bodyguards to the Cataphracts camp just as Sir Mark¡¯s flanking maneuver started. The Issir heavy cavalry had won every engagement it had gotten involved with up to that moment and rode against Muda Zeket¡¯s Jang-Lu in good order. Led by Sir Gudo Kommer and Sir David Bril they charged on the green field hard and smashed against the slowly pushing back Bandt¡¯s men Jang-Lu of Muda Zeket. While the experienced Khanate units pivoted to defend against the Issir onrushing lances with their long halberds, Division ¡®B¡¯ situated at the edge of the battle-line got mauled losing close to two hundred men in less than five minutes. Half the division (about a thousand men) got pushed back ten meters from the shock and congested the nearby square of Division D¡¯s positions. With the edge of their line buckling and losing cohesion, Muda¡¯s officers ordered the other units to disengage from Bandt¡¯s soldiers that moved forward gaining momentum in their east flank. Sir Gudo pulled back his riders with bugle calls, intending to circle-charge again and the men-at-arms responded in high morale. This was to be the Issirs last time they had the initiative throughout the rest of the battle. Sir Mark who was watching from a nearby position spotted the thick dust clouds raised by a large number of Cataphracts moving towards his regrouping cavalry coming from the east and was to be informed shortly of Lord Ota-Khem¡¯s chariots arriving at Voges northwestern flank. Officer Antoon Gates, who had just issued an order for his men to trot around the Jang-Lu lines, reportedly stopped dead in his tracks feeling the ground shake underneath him and the mighty roar of an approaching avalanche. Or a hellish thunderstorm.
- ¡°Get on your horse!¡± Mark ordered Rikkert and grabbed the reins from him nervously. He glanced at the men of Sir Gudo Kommer reforming at a slow trot and then at the adjutants waving flags to warn them of the danger to their rear. With a grimace of anger he turned his neighing horse around undecided. Brukel brought his smaller mount near the scowling knight, a deep frown marring his own face. ¡°Sir Luke sent the 1st division of the 3rd,¡± the priest informed him. ¡°Argh, keep them behind our lines.¡± Mark looked about him. ¡°Everyone that can hold a lance after me!¡± He ordered his entourage and then turned to the priest again. ¡°Brukel tell Luke to get his arse out of the plaguing woods!¡± ¡°Mark, let Bril deal with this,¡± the priest argued. ¡°We are about to lose the cavalry,¡± Mark grunted and glared at his friend. The whole 2nd Foot. ¡°Uher¡¯s light shall provide,¡± Bruker insisted stubbornly. ¡°The heathen shall not prevail.¡± ¡°Uher¡¯s light is in our blasted eyes damn you!¡± Mark barked irate. ¡°In this field humans are fighting. Just do as you¡¯re told priest.¡± Brukel pressed his lips tightly. ¡°Think of Lady Juliet my lord and little Wilhelm,¡± he told him soberly and Mark raised his arm to strike the priest of Uher on the face for presuming he wasn¡¯t. For presuming he had a choice in the matter. He stopped himself at the last moment. ¡°See to your orders,¡± Mark hissed through his clenched teeth. ¡°The men of Midland shan¡¯t see their commander flee the field! The Duke¡¯s own son branded a coward.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t leave you on your own,¡± Brukel insisted and Mark groaned in frustration. ¡°Get a blade from Rikkert then.¡± ¡°I have a sword,¡± Brukel rustled. ¡°Good. See to use it,¡± Mark retorted and raised his arm. ¡°After me!¡± He yelled at the quarreling officers and snapped his steel spurs to get the protesting Reliant going. -
Mirpur¡¯s Cataphracts smashed on the Issirs stopping Sir Gudo from charging again on the reeling back lines of the rattled Jang-Lu, but their attack wasn¡¯t well coordinated through no fault of the excellent horsemen present. Prince Radin and Cephas Mirpur had gotten into a shouting match with Mirpur refusing to give up the lead to the Prince ¡®of the provinces¡¯ and the shamed Radin lashing out. The Prince managed to defuse the situation somewhat and agreed to split the force between them, giving the men the option to choose their commander. With the majority of the Cataphracts siding with Cephas, Radin had to swallow his pride and order the attack. Cephas did the same and the two charging forces tangled with each other, with units getting confused on who to follow. Despite that though, their numbers hurt Sir Gudo Kommer¡¯s men with some Issirs managing to avoid the initial attack altogether and counter charge the Horselords. The two opposing cavalries struggle slowed-down into a mounted melee which favored neither the Cataphracts nor the knights. While the Khanate had the numbers, with Radin¡¯s wedge now irrelevant and without a valid target, the scrap was undecided for a time. Sir Mark arrived at the scene to inform his men of the danger but was late. Men and horses had been entangled so much by then, it was impossible to disengage. On the other side of the field Gates¡¯ 6th Division attempted to defend against Lord Ota-Khem¡¯s chariots but got thrashed by the long scythed blades, with men turning into mincemeat in seconds. Severed limbs hurled right and left, thick and tall torrents of gore erupting vertically as the Chariots carved through the soldiers¡¯ lines. Amidst the mayhem the chariots found themselves behind the shattered 6th Division¡¯s lines and got bombarded by bolts fired by the 3rd Foot¡¯s arriving 1st Division. Lord Ota-Khem lost control of the situation and despite calling for his charioteers to disengage (the Chariots that stopped, malfunctioned or got bogged down from the number of butchered bodies under their wheels were easy prey for the spear-wielding Issirs) his orders were lost in the pandemonium. A shocked Captain Voges who had just witnessed Gates turned into a pile of pulverized flesh in front of his eyes ordered the 4th Division (of the 2nd Foot) out of the line and marched it against the momentarily immobilized Chariots. In the meantime, the 1st Division of the 3rd under Lars Erve dispatched by Sir Luke AredRavn, immediately setup a fallback line to defend against the Chariots with their crossbowmen firing on the packed decks winning the exchange. But it was all a mirage.
- ¡°Ugh!¡± A snarling Mark grunted and downed his sword splitting the smirking mask down the middle and the conned helm along with it, shattering the cranium. The blade lodged on the destroyed throat of the shuddering Cataphract and he had to yank it back, Reliant turning this way and that greatly disturbed, almost tossing him from the saddle. A knight yelled something but it was cut off by a spiked mace ruining his jaw, pieces of flesh and bones exploding in a red haze. Mark switched the grip on his sword to parry a scimitar aside, caught his opponent under the armpit on the riposte and then pulled hard at the reins to turn his mount around, just as the severed arm dropped between them. Blood splattered his legs, painted the saddle¡¯s horn a crimson brown and his ears were ringing, the sounds reaching him distorted through the helm¡¯s side slits. Reliant jumped over a crying stallion with its front legs shattered and landed near a butchered Issir squire¡¯s body. Dried up gore making the young man¡¯s face unrecognizable. Horses neighed, people cursed, screamed or groaned in mind-numbing agony. The weapons of choice coming at such variance, Mark had to check what he was up against first afore committing. Spiked maces and flails. Long axes and all types of spears. Those smaller crossbows that the Horselords favored, even arrows. Shields breaking or used as a weapon as well. Helms bashing against helms. ¡°Bril!¡± Mark bellowed recognizing the knight¡¯s armour and trotted near him. Reliant shoving the Cataphract¡¯s armoured warhorse aside and the man twisting on the saddle towards the new danger. Mark angled his shield to take the blow, the spiked mace breaking a piece of it off, splinters clattering on his face cover, but by the time the Horselord tried to strike at him again, Sir Bril¡¯s blade had brutally sawed through his lungs and brought him down. ¡°My Lord!¡± Bril yelled to be heard. ¡°You need to get away.¡± ¡°Order the men to retreat!¡± Mark snapped. ¡°Where are the buglers?¡± ¡°All dead sire,¡± Bril replied tensely. A gnarling Mark cursed and then waved his sword about. ¡°EVERYONE COME WITH ME!¡± He roared and pointed desperately towards the north to orientate the men, an eye on the sun moving on the horizon. ¡°NOW MEN OF MIDLAND!¡± Some of the knights near them reacted and pulled away. They created a small group that pushed through their disoriented opponents who were also trying to regroup themselves with yells and cries. Mark kicked his legs to get his tired horse going still barking orders right and left to get even more of the Issirs to follow after him. ¡°The woods!¡± He shouted hoarsely at Sir Bril and looked to find Rikkert but couldn¡¯t locate the young squire. ¡°Follow the¡ª¡± His words were cut short abruptly, a cold steel piercing his cuirass from the sides and then an armoured horse crashed on Reliant almost cutting the warhorse in two. Mark was hurled from the saddle, a piece of lance still buried in his sides, the plate wrapped and half-ruined there. The force send him clattering down, the helm saving his face but the thud cutting him bellow the left eye. Mark rolled on the ground with a muffled groan, his ears ringing and completely disoriented. - The injured knight stumbled to his feet, grinding his teeth under blood-spattered lips and looked about for his sword. He found it three meters away and limped there, a hand feeling the piece of lance lodged at his ribs. Blood spurting out and making it slippery to grasp. Mark picked his sword up and turned to watch the Horselords attack unfolding. They had surprised their group with a sudden charge. At least a dozen of them still waiting nearby, standing outside the mass of men and animals duking it out ferociously, watching for anyone trying to get away. Sons of whores, a dazed Mark cursed glaring at the smirking silver masks of his opponents atop their warhorses. Hearing trotting behind him, he turned around and spotted Bril approaching. A Cataphract following after him with his lance lowered. ¡°Milord!¡± Sir Bril yelled seeing him rising up covered in dirt and gore. He headed towards Mark with the latter coughing up blood through the nose and mouth in the desperate attempt to warn his old squire to get away. A gasping Mark watched in slow-motion the Cataphract gaining, the long lance exploding out of the knight¡¯s chest-plate and then breaking. Bril¡¯s panicked horse veered right, away from the ogling in horror Mark and the fatally wounded knight collapsed from the saddle into a hip of mangled body parts. Right behind him the armoured warhorse appeared riding wild and the gore-covered Cataphract spotted Mark frozen in shock, that hideous smirking mask jerking down looking for a weapon to use. He grabbed a scimitar¡¯s handle and unsheathed it, the sun catching the blade¡¯s surface momentarily and blinding Mark. It also woke him up and the noble scion moved aside at the last moment swinging with the longsword in the blind at the onrushing mount of flesh and steel. The blade found flesh right above the horse¡¯s knee joint and cut it right through, chopping the screaming animal¡¯s right front leg away. Man and horse whipped past the dodging whilst bellowing incoherently ¨Cequal amounts aggrieved and in pain- Mark carried by momentum. They managed a couple of more meters and then the horse dropped abruptly, its head hitting the ground and the neck snapping with a loud crunch. The rider flew over the saddle, turned midair, an impossible to fathom feat given how laden with armour he was and landed badly on his legs turning an ankle with a loud angry groan. Motherfucker, a limping Mark thought and moved against him grinding his teeth. Hope that¡¯s a break. ¡°Mark! Uher¡¯s mercy!¡± Brukel yelled and Mark glanced his way, the priest bathed in a red hue of warm sunlight. Behind the mounted priest several other knights with Sir Gudo amongst them were trying to hold off the Horselords. But there were more of them immediately charging into the melee to replace those that the knights managed to cut down. Even more circling around those engaged on their horses taking potshots with their crossbows at distracted Issirs or waiting for someone to come out of the scrap so they can rush him like vultures. ¡°Get out of here priest! LEAVE!¡± Mark cried out and opened his gore coated helm-cover to wipe his face and mouth. The knight¡¯s opponent had approached his dead horse and got a warspear out. Some of the Cataphracts noticing the small fight about forty-fifty meters from the main clash trotted that way with one of them riding up to the injured Cataphract to offer him another scimitar. Mark glanced at the forest, the first big trees no more than ten meters away and frowned seeing an impossibly tall, bizarre hooded figure watching the struggle amidst a group of shorter normal-looking civilians under the shade. Six of them. The long-faced cloak-wearing alien had his bony naked arms crossed on his chest and was as white as death itself. Painted. Out of place. Mark realized and turned to face the smirking Cataphract. ¡°Mark please! Take my horse!¡± The priest pleaded and some of the other Cataphracts started approaching as well, others reaching for their crossbows. The priest was right. Uher forgive me. Juliet sweet baby, you¡¯re on your own now. Wilhelm, you look after your mother boy. Praised be the Five, he prayed under his breath. For another morning shall arrive. The Horselord attacked swinging his spear but Mark parried it away without difficulty and whipped his blade out to carve a line on the Cataphract¡¯s chest armour. Rings clattering down as the seemingly lame man stumbled away with a gasp. ¡°GO!¡± An emotional Mark barked at the hesitant priest, voice a crow¡¯s otherworldly croak and Brukel finally got moving. His horse jolted away from the Horselords, the priest miraculously staying on the saddle clasping frantically at the reins and galloped towards their rear lines with the Cataphracts outwardly unwilling to follow a single person. The clumsy galloping away priest wasn¡¯t worth the effort in their eyes. Or so Mark thought. The reason the Cataphracts stayed close quite different. ¡°Bloodfang!¡± One of them barked and Mark whipped his head around remembering the moniker. But it was too late. The Horselord had rolled nimbly on the ground, covered the distance (about five meters) in a breath and shoved his spear in the knight¡¯s torso. The blade piercing the weakened plate, next to the broken lance, but despite being tricked Mark reacted just the same jerking aside and swung his sword to cut it in half lessening the impact. The knight stumbled back just as the Cataphract jumped away, no hindrance in his gait. Bloodfang unsheathed the scimitar his man had given him with a chuckle the smirking mask distorted. Mark removed the blade that hadn¡¯t hurt him as much as the lance and eyed the Horselord with hatred. The injured knight could barely move his mouth and the armour weighted him down. Seeing as he was bleeding out from the first wound, Mark kept his words to a minimum. ¡°Radin,¡± he rustled and the Cataphract bowed his concealed face. ¡°The prodigious,¡± the Prince taunted and circled around him deliberately. Mark followed his moves sluggishly but with each minute that passed, he felt weaker. ¡°The Prince of Princes!¡± One of the Cataphracts bellowed triumphantly raising his fist high, which seemed to please the Horselord noble even more. ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Radin replied and Mark made to rush him but he stumbled barely managing a step and dropped on a knee groaning, his innards burning in hot agony. The Prince had stepped back a couple of steps just the same. ¡°Uher curses cowardly scum to the allhells,¡± Mark rustled and Radin paused as if taking offence. ¡°Histories will write that I killed a tiger,¡± the insulted Prince hissed through his teeth, voice coming out muffled through the silver mask. ¡°Blinded a Crow and severed the Hydra¡¯s head. For those that face Bloodfang taste death and bitter defeat Sir Mark.¡± ¡°All hail Prince Radin!¡± His bodyguards roared cheering him on. ¡°THE BLOODFANG!¡± ¡°The Hydra,¡± a snarling Mark spat with a hoarse gasp and clenched his fingers around the handle of his longsword. One of the Cataphracts in the background lowered a metallic crossbow on him. ¡°Has many a heads,¡± Midlanor¡¯s noble scion rustled and gathering all his remaining strength rushed him. -
Sir Luke AredRavn arrived at the mouth of the forest to witness the 2nd Foot getting destroyed piece by piece. A swarm of enemy riders taking turns to attack at the massed lines of trapped infantry with the Chariots carving large bloody paths with each passing. Lars Erve with the 1st Division of the 3rd Foot counter-attacked to break out his fellow countrymen but he failed and was crashed by the arriving Lancers of Sepa losing his life in the process. The surviving scattered Issirs getting hunted down by their mounted opponents and skewered like animals. The distraught Sir Luke, who had been informed about Mark Est Ravn¡¯s fate but without knowing more of the details, listened to Priest Brukel¡¯s plead and decided to retreat the two remaining divisions he had while there was still time. He messaged Verner to retreat as well using the woods and Holsman to fall back towards Jaw Castle. His orders weren¡¯t well received and almost half the men urged their commander to attack the Horselords. Brukel led about a thousand soldiers towards Issir¡¯s Eagle and Sir Luke after initially retreating for ten kilometers during the night stopped to face the rushing after them Horselords. Early the next morning Sir Luke¡¯s desperate defense was overrun by the pouring inside the Forest in the thousands Horselords, got in turn cut off, surrounded and wiped out to a man. The night after the initial battle Lord Anker who was camped near Quarterport, fifteen kilometers from the Red Bridge over Balworth River, received a cryptic message from his unwed daughter Lady Klara Est Ravn that had stayed in Midlanor with her mother. ¡®I slept under the garden¡¯s old tree father,¡¯ Klara wrote Lord Anker referring to a dried up, dead dracaena tree with only five remaining ashen branches that still stood in the palace¡¯s garden. ¡®and one of the branches had gone missing when I woke up. The wind whispered that an old soul shall stand on Uher¡¯s Seat¡­¡¯ While the missive meant little to anyone else the Duke of Midlanor was greatly affected as if he was familiar with the young woman¡¯s rumblings. His mood was to change for the worse when news of the disaster at ¡®Three Roads¡¯ reached them four days later. When the miserable herald got to the part where he described the Khan¡¯s chariots crossing Reinut¡¯s Bridge, displaying the head of Sir Mark nailed on a warspear the Duke of Midlanor crumbled to his chair in shock and stared at the ¡®old nether¡¯ according to witnesses for a whole hour murmuring to himself. After that he called for the mourning Sir Thor to approach while the aggrieved audience silently watched. Whatever was said between them, it never surfaced or was disclosed but in gossip. Sir Thor appeared to have aged ten years when he returned to his seat. It is pointless to look for a silver lining in such a catastrophic defeat, but despite the Khan¡¯s triumph the loss of Tehenor (a master of fast ever-moving warfare proponent) and a large portion of his horse archers (the survivors were grouped later with Muvelo¡¯s rangers) greatly impacted the rest of the campaign. Of course the loss of Sir Mark Est Ravn (the duke¡¯s heir and favorite son was thirty two at the time) a well-respected knight plagued by no scandals and his distant kin Sir Luke AredRavn to a lesser extent, was a huge blow for the proud High Regent. The loss of the 2nd Foot an even bigger blow to the war effort in general that forced the grieving Duke of Midlanor to embrace desperate measures or suggestions, coming from immoral if not completely ¡®deranged¡¯ individuals. Not a month after the battle, the Khan¡¯s army took Eagleport, cut off Holsman at Jaw Castle and surrounded Issir¡¯s Eagle. The aging Burzin, six years after the start of the war, stood once again on top and despite having deep concerns of all that was happening back home, he knew the chance was there to finish off Kaltha forever before the next summer. He envisioned another three pronged attack influenced by the late Prince Nout¡¯s plans but without the same talent. A strike against Lord Anker and the plains beyond the Red Bridge. Another against Eagle¡¯s Nest Castle and the Mudriver to allow him access to Riverdor, after he secured Princess Elsanne¡¯s cooperation. The Khan started planning for another offensive immediately but had to stall in order to secure the capital, establish his supply lines from Rida and deal with the trapped Lord Putra that was about to get thrown off the walls of Castalor since the Princess refused the Khan¡¯s offer. Lord Putra was to be trapped thus into an ever shrinking peninsula. In a sense and if one looked at a map carefully, Burzin was in a similar position with Lord Putra, surrounded by enemies that hated each other but liked him even less. To survive the campaign the Khan needed to not lose a decisive battle and while he¡¯d managed it quite well up until now, each month brought something new to the table. Lord Sirio Veturius Circa 206 NC The Fall of Heroes (Lord Anker Est Ravn, Grand Duke of Midlanor, Keeper of the Forests, Guardian of Nordland Pass, Uher¡¯s First Sentinel and High Regent of the Realm. Chapter XXXV A ghastly year Final Volume (III) (A few good men) aka Holsman¡¯s & Verner¡¯s Rangers defiant stand, the ruler of Reinut¡¯s Gulf and the ghosts of Boarsnout. Prelude to the Assault at Red Bridge and the ¡®havoc unleashed¡¯ at Crimson Forest. Circa, Summer-Spring 194 to winter of 195 NC
443. A bit subpar materiel
Known advanced construct tiers of the Aken* From the archives of Crimson Palace in Elauthin Zargatoh¡¯s Tangod Kobnot or Blank. A perfect product for advanced Bonemancers to work with. Used to build more complex models differing from the original dramatically. Various levels have birthed from it. Suharto¡¯s Nerot (N¡¯rot), the common foot soldier. Mass produced and used in the Zilan-Aken war millennia ago. Suharto¡¯s Zugruk, (Z¡¯Gruk) the four armed Ogre. A large special construct deployed at the Plague Isles campaign. Suharto¡¯s Glidurig, a rare massive but simple-minded construct standing at eight feet tall used in sieges. *The information is outdated by almost two thousand years.
-
¡®Tin¡¯ A bit subpar materiel
¡°Hmm, yes.¡± Tin murmured digging in the morning dew soaked ground. ¡°Uhm,¡± he exclaimed finding another piece of rotting flesh. The last of the wild-dog¡¯s hiding holes a modest goldmine. Um. Uhum. Ah very nice. ¡®Tin¡¯ thought clearing with the scalpel the shoulder blade from the gory material to reveal the broken scapula. Atae gathered the pieces of gluey flesh he¡¯d dropped in her bag, the leather dripping gore at the seams. Yeah, aha! Uhm. He hummed at the nice find, forked tongue wetting his lips. ¡®Tin¡¯ rolled the large piece of human skin on a stick and gave it to Atae as well. ¡°Never leave anything,¡± he reminded her, not that she needed reminding. Atae was an old girl many times rebuilt and improved. Tin was a perfectionist. He kept attacking a problem or bad iteration with gusto, never giving up. Diligence, Tin thought, essentially patting himself on the back pleased. Hard work and dedication overcomes talent. Let Zargatoh claim that. ¡°It started turning to paste,¡± Atae whispered and Tin stared at her light green Cofol eyes and the blue-black well-combed hair. The modest tunic she had under her long cloak. Um. Yeah. Very nice. ¡°We have most of him,¡± he decided and got up, old knees creaking at the joints where arthritis had amassed. He needed to clean that up soon. ¡°But keep the spare flesh just the same. We¡¯ll put it in a thicker bag and find a use for it.¡± Atae nodded and got up. Tin followed her standing straighter himself, the heavy bone pendant clacking as he moved, far taller than the female. Much-much taller. He reached for a cloth to clean his hands, found a vial of distilled alcohol and poured it on lavishly to prevent any nasty infection. Sickly animals always fall upon the corpses, even when they are well-burned. Maybe more depending on the palate. They dig out the mounds of blackened flesh and charred skeletons, scatter everything about the ¡®bone fields¡¯. Or hide them in the ground. Quite a mess to shift through. Ahum. Yep. Eh, here he comes again. Shit. He turned to stare at the wiry hooded Lorian approaching them. They weren¡¯t that deep in the woods but the fields were busy with scavengers. Days after the main army had departed patrols still roamed the lands but couldn¡¯t stop the looting. The forest was bristling with refugees, escapees and deserters. Brigands also. All realm¡¯s creatures in their primordial habitat. Aha. Um. Yes, yep. Xago was a Nerot (N¡¯rot), one of Suharto¡¯s warrior variants. ¡®The fast soldier¡¯ as Suharto preached during the council meetings back in the day ¡®brings more to the table¡¯ while continuously building bigger and less mobile behemoths. Open and close quotes. His ancient ruffian. Autocratic oppressing motherfucker, Tin thought but cast such thoughts away. You never know who is listening. ¡°Found them in the northern pile,¡± Xago rustled in his semi-Lorian semi-Issir accent. He¡¯d taken to darken his skin with coal residue initially to better blend in. Now in his third century Xago wasn¡¯t as fast as he used to be or as strong, but he¡¯d learned enough skills on his own to pass as a ranger. Cannibalistic scout. Deranged assassin. Suharto had never envisioned his constructs to survive for so long or grow on their own. Tin had noticed they did though. Because Tin was a perfectionist, always looking to improve on a model. Details matter. Ahum. Yep. ¡°Couldn¡¯t you drag them back?¡± He asked disapprovingly and Xago blinked. Brown eyes cold and calculative. Is the motherfucker talking with him? Nah. Nope. Am I grounded? What the actual fuck? ¡°A lot of Horselords about. It is what did them in,¡± Xago explained finally and used his tongue to work on cleaning his teeth from the inside. Old rotting flesh has a tendency to glue itself on your teeth, ¡®Tin¡¯ reasoned glaring at him. Gets stuck in them gums and in the back molars. Fucking disgusting. That son of a bitch is lying. Son eh. Sort of. Probably killed them himself. Fare thee well Trak and Lok. You were moderately good servants. Yep. ¡°Burn them both with the Issir dead, the Horselords did,¡± Xago explained switching his accent to throw him off. Tin was no fool! ¡°Right. Ahem, any word from the boss?¡± He asked casually cutting him off while watching Atae carefully place the leather bag in a bigger hemp sack in the background. Tidy and neat. Ehum. Good job you did. Very nice. ¡°Not since the other winter.¡± Good grief. That was more than a year. Too far. The realm always moves forward. Um. Being busy ain¡¯t easy. ¡°Anything else?¡± ¡°The Khan¡¯s man wants to talk with Suharto,¡± Xago reported and stood back aggressively, a hand on the handle of his scimitar. Eyes looking behind the Aken. ¡®Tin¡¯ turned his hooded elongated head around to stare at a young vagabond watching them from behind a tree. An Issir, probably a slave, he thought. About ten. Nobody else at the near. Too old though. Hmm. Still. He debated with himself quickly. One can produce good stuff with extra but a bit subpar materiel. Experiment without wasting valuable stock. Maybe another set of lungs? He raised his arm to greet the human in a friendly manner, the gesture scaring the teenager that watched the long limb unfurling out of his saggy cloak. The youngster bolted towards the opening with a loud scream. Eh. ¡°Grab that little shit,¡± Tin ordered Xago but the construct was already after him.
Two hours later ¡®Tin¡¯ looked down on the silver mask of the guard standing outside the massive field tent. It was built on a wooden base, raised a foot from the ground. Still, one had to duck to enter the large square opening and keep himself uncomfortably stooped forward which always caused him intense pain in the spine bones. Repair them was a hell of a difficult job, unless you trusted another Aken with a scalpel to work on you. Tin didn¡¯t trust his own maker. No one really. Maybe Atae. Uhum. Yep. Healthy attitude drives a person forward. ¡°That¡¯s close enough,¡± that stooge minister Phanti warned. Advisor, Tin corrected himself. Talk about a fucking oxymoron! Burzin was seated on a wooden throne covered with hides. A desert leopard resting at his feet, gnawing at a bone. Tin squinted his snake eyes, the Khan was twenty meters away for fuck¡¯s sake, to determine whether it was from a human. Tibia. Ayup. Antelope. Nah. Too thick. Deer? Eh. Ahum. Yep. ¡°Suharto is a very old friend Phanti,¡± Burzin rustled in his Horselord difficult to understand dialect. Not a man of the letters for sure. Living and ruling from the saddle for most of his life. Most because old age had him more sitting than walking, never mind riding in his later years. ¡°He can approach us,¡± the Khan added. ¡°Come old friend, we need to talk.¡± I ain¡¯t your friend, Tin thought but walked with difficulty, stooping his head to avoid scrapping the ceiling of the tent. Nor am I that Suharto. Tin was number thirteen. Most of his more talented predecessors had gotten shafted in the field, croaked or the like. Most of those that had come after him, had also kicked the bucket and so forth. Necessity meant Tin was to be used as well. His inability to produce decent soldiers had forced Suharto to keep him out of the action. But events and time had conspired to unleash Tin into the world. ¡°You look a bit different but also the same,¡± Burzin decided, talking of Tin¡¯s looks and not anything else. ¡°I heard you were still around and sent for you. You seem like you have just plowed a whole field. What happened?¡± ¡°I walked. It¡¯s a great distance,¡± Tin explained and used a long finger to gather the sweat from his collar. The Khan¡¯s tent was very hot and not well ventilated. The finger turning white from the paint. Plus I did a little bit of digging. Work never waits. ¡°I can¡¯t fathom why you won¡¯t use a horse,¡± Burzin griped eyeing Tin¡¯s covered in mud legs, the grime reaching well above the knees and filth covering his long robes. ¡°It¡¯s been decades. You just have to ask me and I shall provide the best stallion you ever seen.¡± Well, it¡¯s been much longer than that, Tin thought wetting his lips to keep from chuckling at the Horselord presuming he couldn¡¯t get anything he wanted without asking for permission. And I really don¡¯t enjoy horse-flesh. A rabbit though. Now that¡¯s a delicacy. Tin had a refined palate, which wasn¡¯t always an asset in his kind of business. Um. ¡°Learning to ride is not for me,¡± he said and Phanti raised his trimmed brows. A fine job was done on them actually. Atae could use some of that skill, Tin thought, then he realized Phanti had slaves doing his makeup and frowned. ¡°Well, I heard that in my court. A sign of our times,¡± Burzin said with a weary sigh. Something amiss? ¡°Your man almost ruined the battle for us,¡± the Khan continued soberly answering him the voiceless query. ¡°The battle you won?¡± Tin asked just to be sure the old man hadn¡¯t lost his marbles. ¡°You need to address the magnificent Ruler of all Steppes properly Aken!¡± Phanti snapped, all the pent-up anger coming out. Hmm. Ahum. ¡°Suharto is the reason I¡¯m still around,¡± Burzin corrected his advisor. ¡°But the matter is concerning my friend. I¡¯ll need an answer.¡± ¡°What was the problem?¡± Tin asked trying to sound at least a little interested. ¡°The 3rd moved. It was supposed to head for Issir¡¯s Eagle,¡± Burzin explained. ¡°Instead it reinforced Est Ravn which almost destroyed Ota-Khem but for Sepa remembering his orders at the last moment. I don¡¯t know if I should praise or flog him.¡± ¡°Grogoceq had worked on that,¡± Tin started but paused seeing the Khan¡¯s perturbed expression. ¡°The¡­ Tangod Kobnot¡­¡± he couldn¡¯t for the life of him remember who they were talking about. ¡°What¡¯s¡­?¡± Phanti asked deeply confused. ¡°The¡­ agent. Yes. Uhum. Yeah that¡¯s it,¡± Tin hissed with a grimace. ¡°Sir Luke?¡± Burzin asked trying to figure out if they were talking about the same person. Tin hoped they were. ¡°Ahm. Yep. Him.¡± The Khan stood back on his chair, his weathered face distorted. ¡°You¡¯re not making any sense Suharto. Usually you are more coherent.¡± The leopard raised its head to stare at him curiously. Then let out a low guttural growl that ended with a snarly cat-like sound.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Tin hated cats. Both in the Old and the two Realms. Big cats he hated even more. Fast, sprightly motherfuckers. Always going for the throat. He reached for a bone just in case. ¡°Well?¡± The Khan asked seemingly getting impatient. ¡°Well, we haven¡¯t seen Grogoceq for a while now,¡± Tin explained and Phanti blinked his slanted-eyes in surprise. ¡°Since that incident¡­ in a¡­¡± both men were stooped forward to hear him murmuring under his breath. ¡°Rida.¡± He cleared his throat. ¡°Yep, that¡¯s it.¡± ¡°Since my son was killed?¡± Burzin asked a little frustrated. ¡°Which son?¡± Tin asked as he could never tell the Horselords apart. ¡°Prince Sahand!¡± Phanti snapped irate. ¡°Yep,¡± Tin agreed unperturbed. ¡°I knew that.¡± ¡°Suharto I¡­¡± Burzin started, his left eye not moving at all, milky. He needed a new one but Suharto (the other one) had counseled him not to broach the matter with the Khan. ¡°You were with Grogoceq before we departed,¡± the flushed Khan reminded him. Or so he thought. That wasn¡¯t the same Grogoceq. ¡°That¡¯s another,¡± Tin explained getting more blank looks. The leopard shifted, snout sniffing at his arsehole lifting the long tail and then lashing it down with a snarl. ¡°He has a brother?¡± Phanti asked through his teeth. Well. ¡°Uhum. Aye that¡¯s it. He worked with the¡­ Luke, hmm. So when we lost him, the link¡­ line of communication was severed.¡± ¡°AredRavn still worked for you, didn¡¯t he? You could still have messaged him right?¡± Burzin asked puffing out in exasperation. AredRavn is dead for a couple of years. Or was it four? Seduced by Wiris¡¯ sultry female charms or whatever, the last woman he bedded a former man. The point being that¡¯s not how it works at all ¡®old friend.¡¯ Aha-haha. Don¡¯t laugh, they might take it the wrong way. Yep. ¡°Left without supervision, he might have taken certain liberties. Veered off course,¡± or lost control, Tin continued, assuming an academic tone that wasn¡¯t that well received or even understood. Um. Eh. Truth be told, he¡¯d no idea what happened. A construct left without a master was a headless chicken. Thing. Person. Ehem. ¡°But still you folk got what you wanted,¡± he finished and stood upright, bones crackling, the top of his head painfully scrapping at the ceiling. Argh. Ouch. An upset Tin slowly lowered himself a little, knees bending backwards which always freaked people out. Not that he cared at that moment. Just use a bit more fabric for crying out loud! You thrifty horse-faced sack of turds! Think of the taller folk, Others curse you! Burzin stared at him in silence, then pursed his wrinkled mouth tight whilst scratching his forehead with crooked fingers leaving a red impression on the skin. ¡°What happened to Grogoceq¡¯s brother?¡± He asked with a tired voice. They had no idea. The other Suharto thought nothing of it, but Grogoceq himself wasn¡¯t as sure since Six and Nine always worked together. The two replicas much alike and pretty close. The matter a little disturbing but Tin didn¡¯t partake in gossip of that kind. To each his own. Nevertheless it was a blow for Grogoceq to lose them for sure and it had kept both elder Aken on Eplas to investigate giving Tin his opportunity to follow Burzin into new lands. Fresh opportunities. Ahum. Yep. ¡°The realm is full of dangers Khan,¡± Tin replied and decided to look into the matter a bit more himself. Burzin puffed out and reached to pet the leopard with his left hand. The big cat turned its head sensing his intentions and licked the Horselord¡¯s fingers with a long pink tongue. Tin furrowed his brows as he¡¯d expected it to just bite the Khan¡¯s hand off initially. Eh. Never mind. ¡°We don¡¯t have a man in the capital now,¡± Burzin murmured and stared at the standoffish Phanti. ¡°Luke wasn¡¯t going to assume command, oh ye undefeated Satrap and the walls are still unrepaired. The north gates ruined,¡± Phanti replied and Tin nodded as if he cared about the matter. He didn¡¯t. He was there to guarantee max-casualties in every battle fought. ¡°We¡¯re spread out too thin,¡± Burzin griped with a dissatisfied grimace. ¡°It means we must keep an eye at Boar¡¯s Horn and bring enough of a force to surround the capital forward. We don¡¯t have the supplies for that. Osahar complains about shortages also.¡± ¡°He¡¯ll have his port soon great Burzin,¡± Phanti assured him. ¡°As soon as Binra-Kot arrives.¡± ¡°He doesn¡¯t have the ships to secure both routes. He¡¯ll either guard west of Capri or east,¡± Burzin grunted in frustration. ¡°We need to blockade Caspo O¡¯ Bor and might have a slave situation soon.¡± ¡°What kind?¡± Tin asked just to be involved in the conversation some more. He couldn¡¯t justify standing there stooped, his back and knees hurting, whilst there was work to be done elsewhere. ¡°There are a lot of civilians in the capital,¡± Phanti explained. ¡°Use them.¡± ¡°Well, not everyone can be used. They don¡¯t have the skills and it¡¯s unrealistic.¡± Tin was talking about something else entirely. ¡°Don¡¯t you sell them as slaves as the Khan said?¡± Tin casually asked changing course, using his index finger to clean a nostril. He had trouble breathing with all the incense burning inside the tent for no plaguing reason. He did both of them as a matter of fact but felt no better. ¡°Again, needs to be a certain value behind such a sale,¡± Phanti explained. ¡°And we have no idea what the market is with all that happened in the Peninsula.¡± ¡°They won¡¯t buy slaves?¡± Tin asked unsure. ¡°The matter is,¡± Burzin interrupted them a little frustrated again. ¡°We can¡¯t feed them all, so the city needs to keep working. The fields cultivated and businesses kept open. This needs oversight and manpower, in order to keep them under control.¡± ¡°You could always get rid of them,¡± Tin suggested and seeing the perturbed looks on the Horselords faces he added. ¡°Or drug them to maintain order.¡± ¡°Drug them?¡± Phanti asked. ¡°The whole city?¡± Tin stared at him numbly. Was it a difficult to fathom concept as well? He¡¯d thrown it in there to add some variety. Options of sorts. Ahm. Um. Right. ¡°Anyway,¡± Burzin continued still playing with the leopard at his feet. ¡°I assume you¡¯ll follow us? We are leaving in two days.¡± Hmm. I¡¯m not sure I want¡­ Oh wait. He was supposed to. ¡°Of course,¡± Tin assured them hoarsely and started coughing, his throat full of phlegm. ¡°Now if there¡¯s nothing more dear friends¡­ I have left Atae unattended.¡± Burzin stared at him curious. ¡°Your slave.¡± ¡°Um. Yep. That¡¯s it.¡± ¡°She must be quite capable to satisfy your needs. You were never fond of human females in the past,¡± the Khan added. She is. ¡°We¡¯d like to see her.¡± Ah¡­ nope. ¡°Well¡­ she¡¯s a bit busy now,¡± Tin explained and Phanti glared at him. ¡°The slave will sleep in the Khan¡¯s tent,¡± the advisor translated. Tin eyed the Rin An-Pur bureaucrat austerely. ¡°Atae isn¡¯t that kind of slave.¡± ¡°She better learn fast,¡± Phanti retorted with a smirk and the leopard growled standing on four legs. Hmm. ¡°Atae works with the sick and gravely injured,¡± he explained since that was their official capacity and the advisor frowned. She wasn¡¯t in that sense, working with the sick or a healer that is, but she was his favorite construct, not to be passed around like a toy. ¡°She might contaminate this tent.¡± ¡°You brought her here?¡± Burzin rustled. ¡°I didn¡¯t,¡± Tin replied patiently. ¡°For that very reason.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t fear her?¡± ¡°I¡¯m an Aken,¡± Tin admitted what they both knew. ¡°We are built to endure,¡± he added succumbing to another bout of coughing. His eyes watering and feeling dizzy. Not to mention it was a lame excuse that probably wouldn¡¯t work. Atae needs to polish her pleasuring skills. Then again the Horselord would probably use her as a mare which required no skill at all. Ahum. Yep. She could do that easily. ¡°Ah. Fine then,¡± the Khan said tiredly surprisingly giving up on the matter. ¡°You may go Suharto. We¡¯ll talk again on the morrow.¡± Eh. You¡¯re spared the old horse¡¯s cock girl. Uhum. Yeah. Well, twas a good summit then. Very nice. Despite that and on the matter of talking with the Khan so soon, Tin would look to avoid it.
Three hours later, very deep into the forest at a small hidden meadow between two groupings of old oak trees, Tin found Atae working on reconstructing the skeleton. Most of the bones were there, but they had missed the right kneecap which Tin promptly replaced with another one he¡¯d picked up, two pieces of the phalanges and half a rib near the sternum that a spear thrust had broken and then some dog had gnawed away. They had enough bones gathered to replace the whole skeleton but they needed at least one bone from the original. He used such old bones for the tips of the fingers, stitched them with gold thread and insoluble resin glue. Then repaired the missing rib bone, using a saved part of his. Tin had removed it earlier that month, a painful procedure, but Atae had done an excellent stitch job and the scar left behind was pretty small. The Aken¡¯s body was covered in much more gruesome scars anyway to bother with looks. But he did. The attempt to correct stuff must be done either way. ¡°Uhum,¡± he murmured appraisingly at the female. ¡°Yep. Good. Let me see that,¡± Tin said and knelt beside the blanket she had deposited the remade skeleton. The light from the four torches she had lit and attached on broken branches illuminating the ghastly procedure. Two cold bloody lungs and a warm much younger heart. The trachea and the carotid. Use a headless spoon as stick to shove it fully into the base of the cranium. Or your finger. Liver, bladder and rolls of smelling colon no amount of washing can properly clean. Place them correctly and care to avoid sharp turns or any leaking holes. Yep. Uhum. Lovely. He reached a gory arm inside one of the buckets with the grinded flesh for a generous amount of construct salve. Atae had worked it into a nice thick paste, mixed with lard dissolved in chemicals and then left in the sun for an hour. It was now hardening like a red bloody gum or more-like grotesque dough made out of finely grinded meat. Tin rolled it thinner with a thick steel rod on a square piece of wood set on the ground, whilst expanding it and started covering the exposed bones with each new piece of the malleable membrane. You had to do several passes, create arteries and veins using specific tools, cut and repair again and again. Add tendons and craft muscles twisting several layers of material together. The more the merrier. Heh-heh. Yep. Uhum. Remember everything. Be precise. The better preserved the body, the more easy the reconstruction but it wasn¡¯t vital for the final outcome. It needed skill and artistry, because it was in a sense like sculpting with flesh. Yeah. Ahum. Tin kept murmuring to himself as it was his habit. The night turned into day and then night again. Xago guarding the approach to their hidden camp and Atae dutifully helping out as she already knew most of the core procedure. Insects gathered and those he had to keep away as they could nest inside and lay eggs, then birds they scared off easily and finally larger predators Xago had to take out permanently, which Suharto¡¯s construct did. His maker¡¯s construct. This was to be his. Like Atae. But not a blank. Another Nerot. Umm. Yeah. That¡¯s it, he thought working on sculpting the face from memory, cutting out the eyeholes first using a very thin razor sharp blade, then the nostrils and the mouth. Added material to the lips and slotted a long finger through the mouth gap to add more artificial flesh under the cheeks. Checked for missing stuff from the exposed brain next and reinserted the eyeballs. Glued the sawed off top of the cranium back on and even used fasteners to seal it proper. Cursed as he didn¡¯t remember whether the eye color was light-brown or a dark honey and settled with two close ones he dug out of the eyeballs bag. Had to wash them as insects had snuck inside. A devastated Atae apologized for that and Tin patted her gently on the head for he was really a decent guy. Not many good folk around. Yeah. As for the internal parts of the body, the long ¡®maturing period¡¯ would repair eventually using the extra material he¡¯d strategically deposited inside the cadaver. Fill the cavities. It didn¡¯t have to be from the original for this part. Any subpar materiel would suffice. Yep. Uhum. Good, good. Very nice. When he was satisfied he¡¯d gotten everything right, dedicating most of his time on the face, Tin cracked open a fibula bone, he promptly replaced with a new one, then closed the lower part of the emaciated leg again and stitched it back up leaving the final touches to Atae. She could work the long needle better than him, especially with his badly reconstructed fingers after so many centuries and the corpse¡¯s difficult to work with outer skin that had started hardening now. They needed to roll the body into the blanket to avoid calcification, pour wax over it to seal it tight and then cocoon it carefully in a coffin or the ground and leave it to simmer in its juices for a night. Tin used a thin long pin to extract the burned marrow out of the cracked bone. He gathered the material in a small bronze bowl Atae brought him. Then she returned to work on setting up a fire pit. Placed an iron cauldron filled with water over it. With a sigh, for this part Tin didn¡¯t much like or was as skilled in, he cut open his index finger and poured the contents of the bowl inside the boiling cauldron. Add a touch of lead pounder, a young asp¡¯s venom and a spoon of arsenic in the mix. Let it simmer, force the soul¡¯s cracked shard out, then trap it with a touch of your blood. A drip of refined Mercury and a pint of saved necrotic plasma. Whisper the Nameless psalm. From the beast gods to loud Kattah in life¡¯s start and the angry Sabbath in the middle, To solemn Eatoth lurking between reality¡¯s echelons after the end. What Allgods cast aside the Others keep in the lands that never sleep. Find the thread in your mind and tug it, so the memories can unravel And the dead can sing and in madness¡¯ weep Thrice grounded and twice sluiced Here goes, Tin thought and grabbing the shimmering gold cup with the foul concoction Atae offered him, he gulped it down quickly. Teeth hurting, molars bleeding and vomit clogging his throat. He doubled over, then dropped on his knees with a groan, feeling the skin pulling away from his body, the bones crackling as if coming apart. The corpse¡¯s memories crisp.
You¡¯ll serve the lord¡¯s son? A peasant woman asked dropping a pile of dry wood down. Issir face split between pride and despair. Rise Sir David Bril, a knight of the Three Kingdoms a tall man recited soberly a smile on his face, Uher¡¯s servant and the most faithful of squires. For you are one no more. Uhum. Not useful. Yeah, move on. A desperate Tin thought, rolling on the ground in spasms of agony. ¡°You get out of the woods as soon as you can,¡± the same man from before said, much older now but wearing the same armour. The one depicting the beast goddess. ¡°We need to shorten the field for them.¡± ¡°Get out,¡± the construct Luke agreed or not and Tin growled trying to keep control of the thread to glean out more. ¡°Don¡¯t face the Khan.¡± ¡°Gods damnit, what¡¯s the matter with you!¡± The knight snapped and turned to look at Bril. ¡°You¡¯ve been out of it since we closed with the Horselords Luke. I need you to remember who you are now kin. Where you and I came from.¡± Hmm. ¡°Remember,¡± Luke droned and then nodded a smirk on his face. ¡°Out of the woods. Attack the Khan. Kill the lurking heathens.¡± No you idiot. Ah, never mind. That was strange, Tin thought not fully grasping what was going on inside the set loose construct¡¯s mind. Go, someone yelled in desperation, the images getting hazier and various scenes getting mixed together rapidly, jumping back into the past. Back and forth the memories went. A tourney and a grinning Lady¡¯s shawl wrapped on a lance, legionaries behind their shields in the field and over them a king¡¯s banner. ¡°HERE¡¯S YER CHAMPION. THE PEASANT KNIGHT!¡± A herald roared at the ululating crowd and thunderous cheers erupted. The bird¡¯s croak disturbingly even louder and its words cutting like sharpened blades. GO AWAY NOW! LEAVE LITCH!
- ¡°ARGLH! ERGLH!¡± A shuddering Tin growled and let go of the thread, blinded by pain and vomiting his guts out. Atae tried to help the Aken stand upright but he collapsed weakly, his joints not working and the skin shagging on his body. Fingers crooked weirdly or clenched closed tight. A worn out Tin lay for a time staring at the sky over the canopy with blurry eyes and feeling acid flooding his mouth. With a pathetic groan he spat it out turning his head and then another torrent of acidic phlegm mixed with vomit erupted, some coming out his nose, ears ringing and bleeding from the eyes. Eh, ouch. Oh¡­ the pain is excruciating! Argh. Umm. That went¡­ pretty well.
It took Tin three days to recover, but he used the time to gently tug at the thread again and repair a set of workable memories, leaving useless parts out or adding others. On the night of the second to third day, Atae heard the buried corpse moving under the ground. They promptly dug him out and cut open the hardened sheets and crystalized blanket. Atae used a soaked in a solution cloth and a sharp knife to scrape away at the naked man. A tall Issir. A little emaciated still but in relative good shape all things considered. Tin checked for any missing toes just in case, saw some imperfection on the right ear he could remedy later and decided he¡¯d fucked up a bit with the eye-color. Not by a lot. Eh. Umm. Ahum. Oh, well. Good enough. Yep. Yeah. The construct cracked open his mouth and breathed out hoarsely while Tin checked to see if all the molars were there. Minor details, but you need to keep at it. Get the best possible product out. ¡°Suharto,¡± Bril rustled coming about slowly. Technically yes. Tin thought with a tired but pleased grotesque grin, forked tongue wetting his mauve lips. But not exactly. Heh-heh. ¡°What is my purpose?¡± Bril asked still very confused. He would eventually start working better once all the internal repairs finished. ¡°You are a knight. A warrior before that,¡± Tin explained and looked about him for Xago. But Suharto¡¯s construct had gone exploring and hadn¡¯t returned yet. Good. There¡¯s plenty of time. ¡°I want you to kill someone for me. Yes?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll need a sword,¡± Bril rustled hoarsely and tried to get up but failed. Atae gave him a cup of water, but he couldn¡¯t drink anything yet. Too much toxicity in the blood. Tin gestured for her to take it away. ¡°A dagger will suffice,¡± he told his construct. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure he doesn¡¯t move.¡± Yep. It¡¯ll work lovely. Uhum. That¡¯s it. Very nice. Tin thought and went to find a good dagger. They had found plenty of weapons discarded near the battlefield the previous days, so he could give Bril his sword if Tin choose to do so. Any sword would do. Or something close enough. One shouldn¡¯t get bogged down in the details. But since Tin was a perfectionist he¡¯d gone the extra mile and picked up the knight¡¯s actual sword from the spot where he¡¯d perished. He didn¡¯t give him the sword immediately though as it would have been too visible on him. For this first simple task Bril only needed the dagger. They could work building him up from there.
444. That nigh unpleasant tingling
Whisper ¡®Pretty Nose¡¯ Jinx That nigh unpleasant tingling
Spring of 194 NC Jade Lake The bridge at Mid Claw branch of Dragontoe River The road to Jadefort Castle The mature Oldfly, the South Eplas gigantic variant of the common fly but with more red and orange in its round body, buzzed while floating over the lush flower-covered bush. Singing frogs drowning the sound at regular intervals responding to the ruckus coming from the moving over the bridge laden wagon. The plate reinforced wheels rattling and bobbling on the old stones, its passengers driving the designated chauffeur for that day ¨Cthat would be Caruso- insane. ¡°Keep it straight dummy!¡± Melon counseled whilst perched on the mercenary¡¯s right soldier. ¡°He should avoid the uneven rocks!¡± A frustrated Moira argued poking her head out of the sailcloth cover to stare at the road from Caruso¡¯s other side. ¡°I have valuable vials in here that need care!¡± ¡°Staying out of the blasted river must be top priority old tits,¡± Melon countered, Moira lashed against him, the cat moving casually aside and the heavy slap landing on Caruso¡¯s red nape. Melon twisted about face then walked quickly across the groaning driver¡¯s shoulders, balanced on nimble hind legs, body extending and tried with wild swings of his small paws to force Moira back inside the wagon. ¡°Reckon ye better stop right after you cross mate. Have that head checked out,¡± Clinton Marlo offered sucking at his teeth. They were all standing next to their horses and the laden mule facing the bridge¡¯s other side to patiently wait for the wagon to do the same. ¡°She can walk across the bridge,¡± Lithoniela commented standing at the shade of a tall silk floss tree with lovely pink flowers blooming. ¡°I have a bad leg!¡± Moira protested on the verge of tears from inside the wagon. ¡°We can wait lass,¡± Marlo assured her and Jinx sighed, using an index finger to guide a long pink curl behind her rosy ear and out of her sweaty face. ¡°Plenty demanding yer slave,¡± she told the scowling Lith. Nothing strange about the latter, Lithoniela was habitually pouting. ¡°Jinx come on girl,¡± Marlo said with a grimace. ¡°That¡¯s not polite.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Jinx replied. ¡°But it¡¯s a fact.¡± She got her bow from the horse¡¯s saddle and walked towards the trees while the others stayed behind with the wagon. Sam coming after her, the vegetation turning into a mini-jungle very fast but nearer the lake¡¯s expanse the ground opened up some. The river could be heard as it poured inside the large lake feeding it. The air heavy and bitter to the taste. ¡°No wonder people move fast across this part,¡± Sam commented coming to stand next to her. ¡°Not all people.¡± ¡°You are not yourself lately.¡± Jinx glanced sideways at him. She had to swing her gaze upwards as everyone but the talking cat and the creepy kid was towering over her. ¡°You know I¡¯m right,¡± Sam defended himself. ¡°I¡¯m thinking on stuff,¡± Jinx replied sourly. ¡°Your head alright?¡± ¡°Head is fine.¡± ¡°Must have been a good bump.¡± ¡°Did it look like it?¡± Jinx hissed pursing her lips. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say that, still¡­¡± Yeah. ¡°There something¡¯s strange about her,¡± Jinx said reaching to check on a flower, but it was a butterfly pretending to be one and it flew away. Fucking colorful cunt. ¡°All Zilan females are special,¡± Sam commented and used a cloth to wipe his neck. The humidity near the lake a nuisance. ¡°Was talking about Moira,¡± Jinx retorted rolling her eyes. ¡°What¡¯s wit you and exotic girls?¡± ¡°They are different in a good way,¡± Sam replied and looked at her meaningfully. Jinx burst out laughing at the adventurer¡¯s expression. ¡°You should move to the Sinking Isles. You¡¯ll get yer fill there fer sure.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not shallow milady,¡± Sam said and set his jaw indignant. ¡°Nor a pervert.¡± Heh-heh. ¡°Never said you were, but the girls ye like probably are. And weirdos. Sorry.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not true. I like you a lot don¡¯t I?¡± Sam snapped and glared at her. Jinx returned his gaze undaunted. Throwing Whisper in wasn¡¯t going to strengthen his argument. Quite the contrary. ¡°Yeah,¡± Jinx told him. ¡°They still are.¡± ¡°What¡¯s strange about Moira?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t say. But one would expect more from a Peninsula trained slave,¡± Jinx said and glanced behind them as she¡¯d heard someone approaching. ¡°That¡¯s such a wrong thing to sprout¡­ she healed Marlo¡¯s rash,¡± Sam protested. ¡°It came back and it was a salve kids know how to make,¡± Jinx retorted. Healers. It was a good salve though. Very soothing. Jinx had stolen it and used some between her thighs. The saddle and leather pants were a dangerous combination for a girl¡¯s skin. The Gish sighed and glanced at the huffing and puffing even more older adventurer that had parked next to them. ¡°Heard a god darn frog whistle I swear,¡± Marlo griped a little freaked out casting nervous glances all around him. ¡°Twas a tune.¡± ¡°Nah,¡± Sam said. ¡°It¡¯s yer ears.¡± ¡°I¡¯m telling you. If cats talk, lots of other things might be into the plaguing habit. Just saying. I¡¯m keeping an open mind here,¡± Marlo countered then added after a small pause. ¡°And ear. Aye.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t remember her,¡± Jinx said returning to the previous topic. ¡°Jinx we¡¯ve met her at the bazaar, then the tavern. You went after her,¡± Sam protested and Jinx raised a small arm to stop him. ¡°I remember that part. I don¡¯t recall her being at the villa.¡± ¡°She wasn¡¯t. She came just before the wall collapsed,¡± Sam explained. ¡°Saw you talking to her from inside.¡± ¡°Yeah. This part I don¡¯t remember.¡± Jinx insisted with a frown. ¡°Matter of fact, I remember everything else but not her. At all.¡± ¡°You hit your head.¡± ¡°Ayup,¡± Marlo agreed with a sad nod. ¡°Poor Jingo had the same affliction. That blow to the head did him in. Never was the same after that¡ª¡± They both stopped him with loud cries of frustration. ¡°Jingo was something else Clinton,¡± a reserved Sam reminded him. ¡°Fuck yeah. Like that thief in Eikenport!¡± A less-restrained Jinx added. ¡°I haven¡¯t figured that part out,¡± Marlo insisted with a grunt. ¡°I knew him plenty well. Sure he was a bit strange. I¡¯ll give ye that, but Jingo was always a bit of a recluse.¡± ¡°Nothing of Jingo was there. Glen knows about these stuff,¡± Jinx said. ¡°I trust his judgement.¡± Eh. She wasn¡¯t really but Jinx didn¡¯t want to remember that day. ¡°Did she tell you anything?¡± ¡°Who?¡± A troubled Marlo asked and twisted about hearing a sneaky frog croaking. Jinx groaned, reached inside her purse and got a copper coin out. She hurled it at the hidden frog and nailed its head with a loud crunching sound. The Gish walked there and picked the dead frog up with two fingers, grabbing at a wobbly hind leg. ¡°It¡¯s a frog,¡± she stated the obvious. ¡°If he could talk, we would¡¯ve heard the scream.¡± ¡°Not what I was talking about,¡± the old adventurer grunted and Sam chuckled seeing his expression. ¡°And ye sneak-attacked him. Dead frogs speak no tongues.¡± While this sounded deep, far as sayings went, it wasn¡¯t really. ¡°Yeah,¡± Jinx retorted with a scowl. ¡°They just croak.¡±
A monkey cackled manically from a tree and Jinx paused to listen for the jungle¡¯s response. So close to the road leading to Jadefort the night creatures kept their distance out of self-preservation despite the traveling caravans coming and going not that frequently. They hadn¡¯t seen one since the other day. It moved faster than them which was a little embarrassing. Lithoniela heard her sneaking about in the dark under the tree but didn¡¯t react. She left her right leg hang loose from the branch, back resting on the trunk. ¡°You heard me,¡± Jinx said looking about her. ¡°Heard you, saw you,¡± Lith murmured. ¡°You need to resume your training.¡± Jinx made a face. ¡°Same here. And for a trained cunt, you¡¯re loud as fuck.¡± She wasn¡¯t but Jinx was a little pissed for failing to sneak up on the Zilan. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°You are a very haughty person,¡± Jinx told her irked at the familiar condescending tone. ¡°Your slave is not in the wagon.¡± ¡°What were you doing in the wagon?¡± You lissome turd. ¡°It¡¯s a shared thing. I put coin to purchase it,¡± Jinx retorted with a snarl, her neck hurting from having to stare up and seeing Lith¡¯s leg swinging back and forth. ¡°No you didn¡¯t,¡± Lith hissed and the leg stopped moving. ¡°You had only three coppers.¡± So? Coin is coin. Jinx had way more than three coppers in her purses. Plural. Hehe. ¡°Is yer arse hurting from rubbing it on the branch? Or yer not seating on yer arse, hmm?¡± Jinx taunted and Lithoniela¡¯s head appeared looking down at her. Eyes glowing like an owl¡¯s. ¡°You can¡¯t rile me Gish.¡± ¡°Cut the crap. I can rile ye in me sleep,¡± Jinx retorted. ¡°Moira might make a run for it. She looks sneaky.¡± ¡°You¡¯re projecting your character on her. She won¡¯t.¡± ¡°Because she likes being yer slave?¡± ¡°Jinx¡­ I¡¯m treating her fine.¡± Lith hissed and then jumped down landing with a slight bend of her knees right next to the Gish. ¡°I could have back-flipped that,¡± Whisper told her with a knowing grin. ¡°She won¡¯t run. You know nothing of Cofol slave culture,¡± Lith explained. ¡°Girl, yer swings are all over the place and miss the stadium,¡± Jinx taunted. ¡°I know more about Cofols than you¡¯ll ever imagine.¡± ¡°From Glenavon?¡± ¡°Glen hates that upright bullshit tone just so you know,¡± Jinx hissed and went to step into Lith¡¯s personal space but the Zilan extended an arm stopping her. Lukewarm palm pressed against Jinx¡¯s forehead. Hard. Jinx stepped back. ¡°You fuck her, is that it?¡± She asked and Lithoniela narrowed her eyes. ¡°It¡¯s none of your business.¡± ¡°Wow. You could¡¯ve said no,¡± Jinx replied and gave her a once over. ¡°Didn¡¯t know you had an interesting side in ye Princess.¡±If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Jinx you¡¯re spoiling my time of recollection and silence,¡± Lith hissed through her teeth. ¡°Stop being so curious and stay away from Moira.¡± ¡°Why? You¡¯re with Caruso now.¡± Lith groaned in frustration and stepped away from the Gish raising an arm, fingers open and extended to stop her talking. Jinx thought she was going to get a middle finger there for a moment but Lith was too refined for that. ¡°Two peas in a pod,¡± the Zilan said, one of Lith¡¯s favorite expressions. Ever. ¡°Despite what you think, me and Glen differ on the way we think,¡± the Gish reminded her. ¡°You won¡¯t be able to fool him.¡± That was a fucking reach and a half. ¡°No one¡­ Jinx, I know both of you well enough,¡± Lithoniela told her. ¡°What you want and how you think.¡± Jinx shook her head. ¡°Come down yer horse Princess. You are not the only one that grew up. Although I have my doubts for that, far as ye are concerned.¡± ¡°Anything else?¡± Lith snarled looking away. ¡°Who¡¯s Aeleniel?¡± Lith snapped her blue head around to glare at the smirking Gish. ¡°You spied on us? Crawling like a little ruffian amidst the bushes¡ª¡± Her words cut short when the dead frog smacked her chest. The Zilan recoiled and grabbed the dead creature with a hand to see what it was. ¡°Had it on me just in case you turned into a blue cunt,¡± Jinx explained coolly as a disgusted Lith tossed the dead frog away. ¡°Bet ye pissed down yer leg a bit.¡± A fuming Lithoniela licked her lips slowly, a hand rubbing at the tree trunk to get some of the frog brains off. ¡°Aeleniel is an exiled Imperial Ranger. Faelar¡¯s best student and Lord Sulynor¡¯s right hand,¡± Lith said hoarsely. ¡°Man? Does she wear a cock then? Comes wit a belt attached on the hips or something?¡± Jinx interrupted her as she hated all that Zilan upper caste, holier than thou, bullshit with a passion. The best ranger was Maeriel by a mile for her. ¡°Right hand¡­ female. Aeleniel was elevated through skill and loyalty to the late High Priestess,¡± Lith hissed through her teeth. ¡°So not only skill then. Our exiles are better than your exiles.¡± ¡°You annoy me immensely Gish. My head is hurting,¡± the Princess looked about ready to explode. ¡°It¡¯s the sexual tension. But we can¡¯t be together,¡± Jinx sneered. ¡°I know you want me but I have a girlfriend and she¡¯s prettier.¡± Lith shook her head right and left exasperated. ¡°It¡¯ll be for the best if you stayed far away from her as well tomorrow. These are old people in their ways. Easily offended.¡± ¡°Right. Thank Abrakas we have your unoffended arse to keep the balance!¡± Jinx guffawed but the Zilan had walked away without looking back afore she could finish. Stuck up bitch. I¡¯m trying to help you here. Something is off. I have a tingling.
Jinx thought about returning to their camp but felt a breeze blowing through the rich foliage and tall reeds, shifting the cattails. It came and went in a bizarre manner. One moment it was whistling towards the lake¡¯s shores and then it stopped. The Gish moved towards Jade Lake, the fine hair on her arms standing up as if she had rubbed a woolen cloth on it. Jinx walked amidst trees and colorful greenery glowing under the two moons light. The trees ranging from bark-dropping River Birches to sickly-looking Pond Cypresses. Jade Lake¡¯s famous greenish-yellow color now looking like a silverfish''s back but reflecting enough light to defeat the dark around its shores. The scenery magical. Jinx followed the animal-maintained path unsure, throat irritated and breathing nearer to the waters difficult. She wiped fume-induced tears from her eyes and paused, boots half-sinking in mud and rotting reeds. Whisper grimaced, a finger scratching the area around her nostrils, a frog let out a baritone¡¯s croak and the breeze returned. It was like the lake breathed. The gush created ripples on the water¡¯s surface and pushed the tall reeds sprouting out amidst the trees away, revealing more of the naturally formed trail. At the edge of the path, under an old Cypress tree with a fat triangular base, Moira slept peacefully next to her large leather bag. The slave-girl¡¯s skin and hair were moist, the latter looking almost blue as she was bathed in the moonlight, the wet linen tunic glued on the dips and rises of her body. And there were many of those. At the one near the front of Moira¡¯s hips, just over her flat belly, where the graceful arms were loosely folded, a dark-brown cottonmouth viper with pale-blotches running the length of its body had coiled. Jinx froze tensed three meters away from the seemingly asleep Moira and the sudden wind stopped again. The viper raised its wedge-shaped head, forked tongue slithering in and out, snake eyes set on the freaked out Gish. Whisper feared Moira had been bitten already earlier and now wasn¡¯t resting but was simply dead given the elevated toxicity of everything that lived near the Lake. The viper hissed warningly at the small-bodied Gish, a voiceless ¡®don¡¯t do anything foolish¡¯ threat in the snake tongue. Jinx did it anyway. She took a nervous step forward and then prepared to dive towards the poisonous water-loving snake. Moira opened her eyes that moment, the light reflecting from the nearby lake (no more than five meters away) flashing on the large light-brown pools making them appear a pure silver. A lethargic Moira saw a comically grimacing Jinx standing two meters away and blinked unsure whether she was dreaming. ¡°Hey, a Gish,¡± she muttered hoarsely. Then spotted or felt the viper nesting on her stomach and recoiled. She let out a half-scream half-gasp coming fully alive afore shoving the snake away with a snap of both her arms. More annoyed than scared. Her toss of the dangerous serpent blind. ¡°EUH!¡± Moira yelped and the snake unfolded as it flew briefly the small distance towards the ogling Gish. Jinx jerked away from the scaly body but the viper¡¯s tail hooked on her left arm, the snake rotating mid-air and going for her face. ¡°ARRRGH!¡± Jinx screamed in panic and yanked the coiled on her arm snake back, the envenomed fangs snapping shut an inch from her jerking aside face. The Gish stumbled and went down, left arm trying to shove the viper away wrestling with its malleable body, the right getting her shortsword out. The snake trying again and again, a terrifyingly fast triple-bite combo, the head lunging forward and retracting with loud snaps. The first attempt missing Jinx¡¯s face, the second failing to penetrate the leather vest near her collar, the still screaming-wildly Gish rolling on the mud-covered ground and the third closing in frustration on Jinx¡¯s exposed bicep. Setting her veins on fire. ¡°Ouch! Ye shrunk-arsed fucker!¡± A teeth-rattling Whisper cursed and hacked at the still coiled on her left arm viper with the shortsword but missed, cutting herself instead. The snake let go of her sluggish bleeding left arm (the blade wound superficial) and tried to retreat towards the lake hissing in pain, as Jinx had crashed its body while rolling about on the ground. The snarling Gish grabbed its keratinous tail to stop it in a murderous mood. The right hand armed with the shortsword returning to finish the job. Until Moira deflected it away that is with her left hand, the right slapping the viper¡¯s head aside. ¡°No,¡± Moira told her and a bewildered Jinx shoved her away abruptly with a grunt to dive after the retreating viper. ¡°DON¡¯T! She did nothing wrong!¡± Moira screamed like a crazy person and the Gish whipped her head around irate not believing her ears. ¡°Have ye lost yer blasted mind?¡± She snarled at the moaning Moira. The slave girl had landed on an broken branch with ¡®many pointy things¡¯ and was now rolling about in pain like Jinx had earlier but showing off more leg and skin in general. Moira wore no underwear. Ah. Jinx stopped feeling dizzy and drained of strength, the injured viper already swimming in the lake¡¯s waters. She shook her heavy head right and left, made to go after the snake again out of pure spite but a determined Moira appeared in front of her somehow, standing impossibly tall and grabbed Whisper¡¯s blade-wielding arm in a steely grip of her own. Wow. Yer a fit girl. ¡°Leave it be,¡± Moira said changing her demanding tone mid-sentence. ¡°Please?¡± Jinx glared at the flushed comely face. ¡°Let go of the arm,¡± she grunted channeling the words of Glen the Wise. Moira raised a thin black eyebrow and then gasped when Jinx jumped her, injured left hand going for her throat, legs wrapping around the taller female¡¯s waist. She brought them both down and a new fiercer wrestling match ensued near the Jade Lake¡¯s shores. Moira quickly took the upper hand as she was deceptively strong ¨Clike what in Abrakas scaly phallus- and managed to saddle the hissing Jinx breathing heavy, the tunic¡¯s fabric losing the battle trying to keep those mounds of flesh at bay. The slave girl¡¯s loins warming the Gish¡¯s stomach. It was a confusing moment. ¡°Do you surrender?¡± Moira asked coyly and Jinx touched the tip of her shortsword under the Cofol¡¯s exposed armpit. ¡°Oh. Gosh darn it,¡± Moira cursed upset. ¡°I thought you dropped that?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t,¡± Jinx hissed hoarsely. ¡°Get yer cunt off me stomach.¡± ¡°Oi,¡± Moira chuckled but didn¡¯t look particularly embarrassed. ¡°Such dirty tongue on you!¡± She gasped and added in a lower flirting voice. ¡°Let me hear something dirtier.¡± Lith yer slave is a lunatic. ¡°Yer fucking precious snake bit me,¡± a snarky Jinx reminded her. ¡°I need to cut the wound open and empty the poison. A bucket¡¯s worth of it. Move.¡± ¡°Ah, uhm¡­ no need for that,¡± Moira said sitting back, making herself more comfortable on Jinx¡¯s flattened stomach. The woman is heavy-boned fer sure, Jinx thought and growled warningly pressing the shortsword under the soft skin nicking her, which made Moira jerk away with a scream. Jinx had enough of this game. ¡°Get off of me you crazy bitch¡ª!¡± Moira slapped her cutting the words short and then managed to jump away from the Gish¡¯s swinging blade. ¡°You¡¯re getting punched for that,¡± a scowling Jinx grunted and got up, the legs wobbly. Moira had dashed like a gazelle to her bag and was digging inside, vials clinging and bottles rattling. ¡°What in the actual fuck are ye doing?¡± The Gish cursed and looked to find a tree trunk to stand, the snakebite leaking watery blood from the twin punctured holes. The accidental cut she had administered herself smarting and bleeding naught three fingers under it. ¡°Need to find anti-venom. I had some¡­¡± Moira murmured shifting through her heavy leather bag. ¡°Can¡¯t do the other thing¡­¡± She froze and looked at the scowling Jinx in alarm. ¡°What?¡± Jinx growled. ¡°Hmm. Nothing,¡± Moira said and got up to approach the slowly fainting away Gish. She knelt gracefully. ¡°Eh. I scratched myself here when you threw me,¡± Moira said with a pout and showed the trifling scratch on her thigh to Jinx pulling the tunic well away. ¡°Naughty, naughty¡­¡± Moira teased and Jinx lips split in a toothy snarl. ¡°Drink that slowly,¡± the slave girl said sobering up and gave her a small old vial. ¡°What¡¯s in it?¡± ¡°You know. I mean¡­¡± Moira paused to think about it. ¡°You should? Weren¡¯t you schooled?¡± ¡°I came straight from the Isles,¡± Jinx retorted a little peeved at the scrutiny. ¡°No schools there. Been working since then but I learned on the job.¡± ¡°Mmm. It¡¯s been a while,¡± Moira admitted. ¡°Don¡¯t let it breathe or it¡¯ll turn to poison again,¡± she warned teasingly giving her a wink. Jinx licked her lips with a numb tongue that tasted of earth. Then she brought the small uncorked vial to her mouth and poured it all inside. Moira sighed at her stubbornness and wetted an index finger in her mouth absentmindedly to then use it to clean the scratch she had showed Whisper earlier. Most erotic thing Jinx had ever seen in her short but well-traveled life. By a lot. The tingling returned but it was an unsettling one in its pleasure. ¡°It will upset your stomach silly,¡± a distracted Moira cautioned her applying copious amounts of saliva on the superficial scratch. ¡°I will swallow it slowly,¡± Jinx replied hoarsely and she did, despite the yellow liquid setting her mouth and gums on fire.
¡°This bag is so heaaavy!¡± Moira complained dragging the last word to its limits on the return to their camp. The dark inside the path through the jungle stronger under the thick canopy and the female as loud as one can be without throwing a party. ¡°Can you carry it? Pretty please? You seem better.¡± ¡°Tis yer bag,¡± Jinx grunted, the taste of vomit in her throat still strong. The shoulder numb and sluggish. ¡°That was Zilan medicine.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± Moira asked following after the Gish carrying the bag on her back. ¡°The anti-venom.¡± ¡°Medicine is universal. Everyone knows that silly!¡± Moira said quickly in her bubbly manner that was fake as fuck. Hmm. ¡°What else you have in there?¡± Jinx asked and stopped for the slow-walking female to catch up with her. ¡°Essentials,¡± Moira explained and stopped pulling at the straps to lower the bag down. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Jinx asked her peeved. ¡°I thought we¡¯re making a stop?¡± ¡°The camp is two minutes away,¡± Jinx hissed. ¡°Such a long trip in the dark,¡± Moira said with a grin. ¡°Let¡¯s rest. Hear the night sing to us.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a frog probably laying a turd.¡± ¡°All life¡¯s creatures have voice.¡± Right. ¡°Get the darn bag,¡± Jinx retorted cutting it short. ¡°We are not stopping.¡± ¡°Aww, you¡¯re still mad?¡± Moira taunted her. ¡°I wasn¡¯t even trying.¡± ¡°I was poisoned,¡± Jinx growled. ¡°And I had the blade.¡± ¡°Little Gish is very proud,¡± Moira chuckled. ¡°Little Gish will punch ye in the tits,¡± Jinx warned with a scowl and then turned around to resume walking. ¡°I can see the fire from here. Let¡¯s go¡ª Eargh! Gods!¡± The words turning into a squeaking yelp seeing the hooded wiry kid materialize in front of her abruptly, blocking their path. Lisane¡¯s piss! Jinx cursed jumping away, her heart beating wildly at the scare. ¡°Eh. Fuck. Where did you¡­?¡± Jinx stopped unable to talk, on the verge of fainting again. ¡°Shit. Almost emptied my bowels there kid! Don¡¯t do that!¡± ¡°Hey. Toutatis,¡± Moira gushed behind her. ¡°Take the bag, it¡¯s very heavy.¡± What? The scowling kid went to pick up the bag, which was almost as tall as him and heaved it over his back with ease. ¡°You were late,¡± he told the stretching now unburdened Moira accusingly. ¡°Jinx was bitten by a snake, so I had to save her silly,¡± she replied whilst fixing the straps of the bag on the boy. What? The now well-laden Toutatis nodded and then turned around to head for the camp. He paused next to the stunned, still recovering from the startle Jinx and looked at her in solemn silence. ¡°What do you want ye creepy little shit?¡± Jinx hissed through her teeth and the scarred boy pulled his upper lip back in a disconcerting grin. ¡°I need to buy food.¡± He told her. From where? We are in the middle of nowhere! ¡°Can you spare a coin?¡± The boy asked. The Gish blinked and then glared at the proudly watching the scene Moira that paused briefly to plant a kiss at the top of the boy¡¯s hooded head afore walking away light on her feet. What would Glen do? He handles these matters with ease, she thought and then sneaked near the one-eyed boy¡¯s face to reply with a toothy coy grin that matched his. And then some. ¡°I¡¯m fresh out.¡±
An alerted Lithoniela turned her hooded regal head, the moment they came out of the jungle to approach the large campfire built next to the parked wagon. Her eyes going from Jinx to Moira and then at the slowly following after them Toutatis. Caruso was standing next to the Princess, Sam and Marlo trying to dislodge an excited Melon from the nape of a fit tall, but hard-faced Zilan armed to the teeth and clad in hide and leather armour. The Zilan female glanced at the approaching small group with interest, washed out blue and purple hair cut short, her long ears perking up. She had a fine longbow on her back that was carved intricately at the limbs, the pale whitish wood clearly made out of yew and adorned with silver at the designs. A more refined variant of Jinx¡¯s own bow, closer to Maeriel¡¯s or Lithoniela¡¯s. For a bow enthusiast like Jinx it was a marvelous design. The unknown Zilan visitor barely registered Jinx that was leading their group, her symmetrical face crumbling first in recognition, then a mixture of sadness and immense relief. Jinx halted unsure and Lith¡¯s voice broke the awkward moment just as Melon jumped down from the Zilan Ranger¡¯s back with a loud meow. ¡°Aeleniel of Miridor,¡± Lithoniela said evenly. ¡°This is Jinx the Monarch¡¯s friend and Moira my slave. They can understand Imperial.¡± Aeleniel bowed her head at the princess and then pressed her taut mouth closed for a moment before addressing the newcomers in heavily accented Imperial followed by Common. Her left arm extending in the traditional Imperial formal greeting that helped Jinx translate the archaically spoken though familiar starting words. ¡°Ana e Iliwe Sulwao,¡± Aeleniel said adding throatily. ¡°The moons and the stars weep in joy.¡± Jinx narrowed her eyes and replied with a short curt word. ¡°Hey.¡± ¡°All our songs and prayers,¡± Moira replied formally, as learned apparently as Sen had been in all things imperial. ¡°Moira, one the Muses,¡± a moved Aeleniel said sounding choked in a sea of emotions. ¡°How fitting and elegant in its subtleness.¡± Come on! A peeved Jinx griped inwardly seeing the two females stare in each other''s eyes longingly but she got again that strange nigh unpleasant tingling down her spine. The Gish cast a side glance at the tensed Lith watching the scene as well and then the oblivious Caruso and Sam Mathews, trying to figure out what she was missing. The brief moment interrupted brusquely when Marlo landed a heavy kick on the distracted grinning cat that sent a yelping and meowing obscenities Melon soaring inside a thorny bush. ¡°BALDIN¡¯ COCKSUCKIN¡¯ RUFIAAN¡ª!¡± ¡°Kobolds be bolting,¡± Marlo cursed faking surprise. ¡°Was trying to clean me boot of all the mud,¡± he explained looking at the shocked Zilan and the others. ¡°Didn¡¯t see him there.¡± ¡°Umm,¡± Aeleniel hummed looking at him austerely. ¡°He¡¯ll be fine. Cat is tough as nails ayup,¡± Marlo shrugged it off, rubbing at the back of his neck and a vexed Melon responded sounding frenzied still twisting inside the bush. ¡°YOU WON¡¯T BE! YER A DEAD CUNT WALKING! BALD BITCH!¡± 445. Attempt number two (1/2)
''Let me reiterate my point Lord Crow. Nothing in this realm stops the freights. Nothing.'' - Director Shamil Al-Bagi of South Eplas Trading Company addressing Duke Alistair De Weer the summer of 214 NC during the ¡®Grain Dispute¡¯ incident.
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Arguen Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Lord of Morn Taras Monarch of Wetull King beyond the Pale Mountains Aniculo Rokae Attempt number two Part I -Through thick and thin-
The celebrated Monarch accepted his prize and traveled the desert road of Dry Sea¡¯s westernmost shores to Ane-Nagar where he rested briefly. Ever mindful of the excitement the majestic Onyx Wyvern brought to the crowds coming to greet him, he didn¡¯t stall and left soon with Hesam and Samak, flying low over the small group but veering deeper into the desert each day. It is unclear what the Monarch looked for into those barren lands as he caught up with the small caravan each night only to rest by the fire. Near the end of ¡®Lunde Susu-Lima¡¯ the caravan reached tiny Luzi Hokar port at Mist¡¯s Cries Peninsula and waited for the Monarch there. The locals who were curious by the appearance of a caravan carrying no goods keeping a respectful distance. Age of the Onyx Wyvern Naram-Sin Nagar (178-212 NC) Circa 208
- ¡°There!¡± A disheveled richly-tanned wild-haired and beardy Glen boomed, bursting out of his hiding place spear in hand. Murder in his amber eyes. ¡°Blast the fucker!¡± The goat snapped its timeworn horned head his way and then glanced at the sky where the Wyvern had stopped descending rapidly, rubicund eyes flashing and jaws parted wide, to hover with its wings extended fifty meters over them. Long scaly neck swelling and changing color with glowing cracks appearing. Glen sprinted three meters, boots thudding on the rock infested sands and then hurled the spear towards the distracted elusive goat with a mighty roar turned into a drawn out growl. He tumbled forward, arms flailing and scrapping at the ground, the spear flying with a scream and striking the boulder behind the animal that had jumped away. Dodging everything. Fast as a desert ¡­thing with legs. Eh. ¡°Gods darnit! Stay fuckin¡¯ put!¡± Glen cursed irate using knees and elbows to bounce to his feet again and resume chasing the goat. Then he remembered Uvrycres. Glen¡¯s face contorted in panic, eyes ogling comically and he dived behind the rock instead just as the torrent of fire liquefied everything half-a-dozen meters away from him. The plan had looked way better that morning he decided, head ducked between his legs as the hot gases and pieces of burning rocks, sand or earth bombarded the standing limestone boulder Glen had found refuse behind. The rock cracked right the middle and the heat penetrated his armour so Glen rolled away into a hail of smoke and falling debris trying to locate with a backwards glance the ten meter high sand dune the goat had rushed up, not a moment earlier. It wasn¡¯t the best of actions. Had to turn his sweaty face away from the soaring inferno immediately and cough up as the toxic fumes blasted his eyes almost blinding him. They did momentarily, both eyeballs tearing and swelling, so Glen started twisting about like a headless chicken, head stooped forward, opening and closing the eyelids in a rapid manner to clear them. When this didn¡¯t work and amidst the chaos that had erupted from the liquefied smoking sands ¨CUvrycres¡¯ blast had leveled the dune completely- Glen looked to find a piece of soft cloth in his worn-out satchel. It took him a moment to find his footing and use the cloth, the ground swaying about him from all the twirling around like a circus danseuse. But that did the trick, though it left him with fiercely red and swollen eyes that didn¡¯t much complement his look or they sort of did, depending on what one looked for in a person. Glen? The unseen in the black fumes that had covered this chunk of the desert Uvrycres asked apprehensively. Probably thought he¡¯d blasted the King of Wetull to smithereens as Glen was supposed to not engage the goat but only scare it in the open. Glen couldn¡¯t resist the temptation to settle the score with the cursed animal. Not for Don-Iv -fuck him- but for Glen. No one made a fool of him. While a lot of people had over the years, Glen had decided to draw a line henceforth and turn a new page, open a fresh chapter where this kind of behavior wouldn¡¯t be tolerated. Oh shit, you¡¯re dead, the wyvern murmured sadly. ¡°I¡¯m fine Uvry,¡± Glen assured him after another fit of cough. ¡°Did ye get him?¡± I sort of covered a wider area? What¡¯s with not answering vital queries timely Glen? Glen thoughtfully pulled at his maimed left ear with index and thumb finger, both ears ringing. The eyes we covered already. It was bad, the Wyvern added. ¡°You think it escaped?¡± Glen asked hoarsely again taking his time. Only a god would. You don¡¯t say. ¡°Do goats have one?¡± All beasts have. It was an expression by the way. Where are you going? ¡°I can¡¯t breathe,¡± Glen retorted and walked away from the blasted area. ¡°Come down. I need water. Lots of it.¡±
Glen washed his face thoroughly and then glanced at the searching the still fuming leveled dune wyvern about thirty metes away. ¡°Hey!¡± He yelled hoarsely. ¡°You¡¯ve seen the city right?¡± What city? ¡°The port? By the sea?¡± Ehm. Sure. Why? Glen raised the flask over his head and poured the rest of their water down without answering. He tried to fix the mess of his white hair using a leather string to tie them back and away from his soaked face. Utilized some of the moisture next to brush his white beard down and after doing that smacked his lips, casting a wider look about them. ¡°Do you see any part of the goat?¡± He asked and at least twenty of those darn animals colored white and brown and not black like the one they were hunting, sprouted out from a mound of rocks. The came down jumping disturbingly on four legs but spotting the wyvern roaming the burning field they turned about and dashed away. Raising a great ruckus with their cries. Bleh Blaah BLEEH! Glen opened his mouth to speak as well but closed it back down again seeing a goat herder with a long stick appearing amidst the fleeing goats. The aged Cofol, skin worn-out from sun exposure and cracked as much as wrinkled, eyed the wyvern busy sniffing at the smoking ground, sand turned to glass cracking as it walked on its clawed hind legs and then at the mouth-gaping Glen. ¡°Umm.¡± The local said surprisingly nonchalant at the spectacle and sat down on a flat rock. He reached for a wooden pipe in a hemp sack and lit it. The goat herder puffed the smoke out and then dug inside the laden old sack. He got a potato out, wiped at the skin some and took a bite out of it. Teeth crunching at the vegetable. Looking about them again curious, he located a brave female goat with swollen milky tits and tossed the rest of the potato to her. Glen cleared his throat, remembering to close his mouth, still standing not five meters from the aloof newcomer. The Cofol looked at him, slotting the pipe in his mouth again. ¡°Reckoned the beast is friendly if you¡¯re not spooked,¡± he told the bewildered Monarch. ¡°It isn¡¯t.¡± The Cofol nodded with his balding head and puffed smoke out. ¡°Yours?¡± ¡°One can only befriend creatures,¡± Glen retorted, finding his cultured self. ¡°Not own them.¡± His answer pleasing the goat herder. ¡°A wise man comes out of the desert,¡± he said and Glen chuckled despite still feeling a bit warry. ¡°The fool¡¯s bones stay behind.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you scared?¡± ¡°Of you? Or the beast?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a wyvern,¡± Glen hissed narrowing his eyes. ¡°Saw it flying over the hill. Shooting fire out of its mouth,¡± the goat-herder replied and stared at his lit pipe. ¡°Reckoned nothing on legs can escape it. No point in running.¡± ¡°A goat did,¡± Glen replied sourly. Probably. Repeatedly. The Cofol laughed at his expression. ¡°I live with goats. Your wyvern didn¡¯t chase one. Name¡¯s Dudu.¡± Glen rubbed a soaked glove on his face. ¡°I¡¯m Garth¡­ what was it then?¡± ¡°Who knows? The desert is full of illusions and spirits,¡± Dudu replied with a chuckle. ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡± ¡°I¡¯m thinking of the people in Luzi Hokar,¡± he replied still grinning, old teeth sporting the leftovers of the potato he¡¯d chewed on earlier. ¡°The desert came alive lately. Now I know the reason for it.¡± ¡°In what way?¡± Glen asked and approached the relaxed Cofol getting Flix¡¯s fancy pipe out. Dudu pointed at a nearby flat rock, nested deep in the sand. Glen walked there and sat down, blinking his red-rimmed eyes at the sun. ¡°A champion of the arena and a man with a wyvern for a friend,¡± Dudu replied. ¡°Aye. You don¡¯t see this kind of crowd every day.¡± ¡°A gladiator was here?¡± ¡°Fought a goat like you,¡± Dudu replied with another puff of smoke whilst Glen lit the pipe after filling it with Redleaf. ¡°A real one. Betty¡¯s husband,¡± he added and pointed at the female goat chomping at the potato. ¡°Was a Cofol slave with him?¡± ¡°A Lorian girl and a boy,¡± Dudu replied. ¡°Where are they now?¡± ¡°Headed for Luzi Hokar. Looking for a ship. It¡¯s about three weeks now. You missed them Garth,¡± Dudu said and pointed with his pipe. ¡°You have more of that?¡± ¡°Yep.¡± ¡°Are you a rich man Garth? You have the air of one that is much more. A man that wields immense power needs not reveal it fully,¡± Dudu noted and Glen frowned unsure at the query but then nodded. Dudu was right for the most part. This was the long and sort of it. ¡°Some days I am, others not so much,¡± he admitted hoarsely sensing no malice from the goat-herder and reached for his box packed with Redleaf cubes. ¡°I can spare some. You gave me useful info.¡± Dudu chuckled slapping a hand on his thigh pleased. ¡°Aye. I knew it,¡± he decided mirthfully. ¡°The desert came alive alright.¡± -
The story goes that a local boy, cheap turban flapping behind his head like a cape, dashed through the rock-littered dirt road screaming at the bystanders working at the small docks. The old mudbrick buildings short in height and unremarkable, probably appearing tiny from above. The boy gesturing wildly at the sky at those standing up to hear his crazy story. Shamil Al-Bagi, the boy in question, would go on to serve in ¡®South Eplas Trading Company¡¯ with fanaticism years later, but perhaps the idea had rooted in his head that late morning. That day the tales insist the Monarch visited briefly Luzi Hokar.
- Glen climbed down from the saddle-less Uvrycres, the matter still unresolved after the debacle that had all but killed him the previous month, and walked towards the first buildings of the small port wearing the torn turban around his neck carelessly. He paused to eye the few locals that had gathered, with some watching from half-closed wooden windows and cracked doors, then continued towards the dock¡¯s facilities. The term used loosely. Barely ten structures badly maintained, rather sparsely spread about and the rest of the infrastructure equally lackluster. Rain Minas had more going for it and it was a ruin. A dozen small fishing boats moored at the docks, the local abundant rocks used in the construction. Glen grimaced at the lukewarm welcome, as most locals either were not working this morning or had ended their shift early due to the heat. The wyvern, the dagger corrected him with a hiss. Ah. Yeah.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Wow. Thanks for the fucking help. Shut up now! ¡°There¡¯s no need for alarm!¡± Glen announced loudly walking towards a couple of Cofol workers still busy repairing a fishing net. The two locals got up and hoofed it as fast as they could away from him. Right. ¡°The Wyvern is friendly!¡± Glen yelled with a gnarly toothy smile. Deciding to not borrow from Uvrycres¡¯ scary expressions he tried again without smiling this time as some of the windows had just closed shut at his revelation. ¡°I¡¯m looking for the Lorians that were here some weeks back!¡± Glen said and looked about him for any volunteers. He spotted Hesam and the camels under a palm¡¯s shade. The slaver was already walking towards him and Glen moved towards the shade as well, gesturing for the Cofol to turn around. ¡°Lord Garth,¡± Hesam said, still showing the signs of his injuries. He could barely move his bandaged right arm. The race had almost cost the slaver dearly but the man never once complained or lay the blame on Glen, which had elevated him in the Monarch¡¯s eyes. A solid aide. ¡°Just stay under the shade,¡± Glen told him quickly and puffed out. Seeing the camel named Nefertiti looking at him with those big ¨Cdeceptively innocent- eyes and large eyelashes he took a cautionary step back. ¡°Any water? My mouth is drier than a dead dog¡¯s hide.¡± Hesam offered him a large leather flask and Glen glugged down its contents under Nefertiti¡¯s uncomfortable scrutiny. ¡°Have ye watered the camels?¡± He asked Hesam. ¡°Didn¡¯t have the time milord.¡± ¡°Do it now,¡± Glen ordered and made to give him back the flask but caught himself. He kept it and looked at Hesam intently until the man walked away. ¡°The locals said a ship took some Lorians some days back,¡± a cautious Samak informed him. ¡°What ship?¡± Glen asked narrowing his yes. ¡°A pirate ship. The White Deceit out of Far Cove. They moor here often apparently,¡± Samak replied. ¡°Where the fuck is that?¡± ¡°A forsaken port in Shark Isles sire. Where pirates live.¡± As pirates do. Lots of that going around. ¡°You think they are heading there?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t think so milord. Not of their own volition.¡± Eh, yer being dramatic Samak. ¡°More like Rain Minas,¡± Glen decided. ¡°How far is it from here you think?¡± He asked and stared at the sunbathed docks, the open sea beyond them. The south sky clear of clouds as if they were already in the summer. They weren¡¯t. But it was hot as all fucks despite being out of the desert. Barely. Well then, Glen thought and glanced at Samak that had trouble answering. ¡°It¡¯s in Wetull. You don¡¯t know,¡± he decided austerely. ¡°Apologies milord,¡± Samak said and bowed his head deeply. Glen sighed. I mean it makes sense. I didn¡¯t know last year also. ¡°Fine, yer forgiven.¡± ¡°Gratitude Monarch.¡± Good lad. Nefertiti snorted and showed him her gigantic yellow teeth in a camel grin. Ugliest animal Glen had seen and he¡¯d wrestled with a Troll. Sort off. ¡°You¡¯re a pretty girl,¡± he told the grunting animal soothingly. ¡°Wit yer lovely goofy head and graceful humps! Them long hairy legs and round swollen knees hah-hah. You big beauty you!¡± ¡°They can tell if you¡¯re not serious sire,¡± Samak warned him and Glen furrowed his brows briefly but did not lose a beat. ¡°Good. I meant every word,¡± he deadpanned returning Nefertiti¡¯s stare knowingly. There was no female of any species, Glen couldn¡¯t handle. Yeah. ¡°Does sire think we should wait for the fleet to arrive?¡± A treading carefully Samak asked a long moment later, interrupting the grinning pleased with himself silent Glen. ¡°Huh?¡± Glen looked at him and then raised the flask to have some more water. ¡°You will,¡± he finally said. ¡°I¡¯ll catch up with them.¡± ¡°Aye sire.¡± ¡°What do you think they trade here?¡± Glen asked him. ¡°Caravans stop briefly but most use the sea routes sire. Goat milk? Cheese. Hides for sure.¡± Glen nodded and smacked his lips. ¡°Caravans still make the journey?¡± ¡°Well they head for Ani Ta-Ne like the ships,¡± Samak replied. ¡°It¡¯s cheaper and you can avoid port fees if you travel on land some of the way. But a ship will only take you to Shao Na-Lan or Que Ki-La. Rin An-Pur. Those wanting to cross the Great Desert and reach Raoz they need a caravan.¡± ¡°Why not take a ship around the continent?¡± Glen asked. ¡°The Ice Route?¡± ¡°The other way,¡± Glen retorted. ¡°Who can cross the reefs sire?¡± ¡°I did. Pirates do apparently.¡± ¡°There¡¯s only one wyvern and the pirates rarely work well with merchants¡¯ milord,¡± Samak replied sadly. ¡°Well they should learn,¡± Glen decided and scrunched his face deep in thought. ¡°We could map the reefs. Use an old map that shows Cydonia¡¯s Islands and figure it out or something.¡± Samak stared him with a blank expression on his tanned Cofol face. ¡°I mean how long does it take for a caravan leaving the Peninsula to reach Raoz? Eikenport? Leave Jelin out, just the other side.¡± ¡°A year? More?¡± Samak said unsure. ¡°What else could they do?¡± Wow, he¡¯s not listening. ¡°All I¡¯m saying is we could accommodate people needing to move faster, open a shorter route for Jelin. A new market. Phon-Iv says it was the way it was done afore,¡± Glen explained. ¡°The captains¡¯ fear approaching Wetull sire.¡± ¡°They could unload in Rain Minas,¡± Glen decided and crossed both arms on his chest. ¡°Our ships will then pick up the goods and transport them to Eikenport or Jelin for a modest fee.¡± He could already see in his mind the mighty merchant fleet crossing the reefs heading for the Scalding Sea and Jelin. Riches pouring into Glen¡¯s coffers¡­ the throne¡¯s coffers that is. ¡°What about the caravans sire?¡± Samak asked and Glen glanced at him unsure. ¡°What will happen to them?¡± The slaver asked. Samak had family working the desert routes. Ah. ¡°Well they could come to Goras,¡± Glen decided to ease the man¡¯s worries. ¡°I¡¯ll see to sign a decree that will give them passage through Wetull.¡± ¡°Is it traversable sire? Wetull?¡± Samak asked and the Monarch replied readily much as people of his station habitually do, his conviction absolute. ¡°Of course. Best roads you¡¯ve ever seen. Safe as fuck as well. Ayup.¡± While passable roads were indeed being opened in the reborn kingdom, Glen¡¯s latter quip was as close to the truth as poor Nefertiti was handsome. Bless her heart. - First day of month Canatya 3400 IC -Loosely translated (Fourth month) alt. Virresae (fourth of year. From archaic Imperial word Viryel ¨CFresh or youth. Used in Cydonia) The ancient port of Rain Minas West Wetull RRRRREEEE Uvrycres screamed soaring through clouds gathering over Wetull¡¯s shores before diving towards the white outlines of the ruins of Rain Minas. The wind blowing on Glen¡¯s soaked face drying him up from all the dipping in and out of the waves the wyvern had indulged itself with earlier. The sun behind them a big orange disk but it was bright enough for Glen to see the port approaching. ¡°SLOW DOWN!¡± He roared, cheeks ballooning and teeth rattling from the chill. ¡°FUCK¡¯S SAKE!¡± Going down? ¡°SLOWLY!¡± Glen snapped blinking his still hurting eyes and clasping at the rope, the blanket that was left on the wyvern from the attempt at making a saddle rough and wet under his arse. Uvrycres extended those leathery reddish wings out alike sails, the wind screaming in his ears and the rocky walls of the sheer cliffs under the plateau rising underneath them. The ruined buildings and temples ever growing. Glen saw the main port¡¯s repaired dock facilities under the city built on the highlands and the road leading there from the beach. ¡°Land on the plateau! Slower for crying out loud!¡± Glen yelled and the wyvern skirted over the trees and found a cleared out square next to an old lighthouse overlooking the port. Uvrycres managed a decent landing, rushing with large strides for twenty meters afore stopping. It was a nerve-wrecking affair per usual, meant for folk that could control their bladder and all their other faculties with a steely resolve. Glen found himself suspended from the ¡®reins¡¯ and dangling back and forth two meters from the ground as the wyvern came to a full stop. He let go of the rope seeing Zilan pausing to watch him land and somersaulted forward touching down on two feet, the shock rattling his spine, all but costing him his tongue. A grimacing Glen stood up straighter with a fake grin, left hand returning the wayward sword in its scabbard as it had popped out and the right pushing his wild, freshly dried curls away from his face. Great landing, Uvrycres decided touting his own horn and let out a thunderous screech that scattered the Zilan and humans that had come out of their buildings to watch the King land. RRREEEHH! ERR? Eh? He asked Glen that had turned his head around to glare at him. Hearing the tapping of feet on the paved ground Glen decided not to answer. The Zilan approaching wearing a long robe and carrying a bag of tools. A measuring stick in his hand. Elwuin seemed to be in a hurry. ¡°Monarch,¡± the academic said and paused dropping his bag down, the tools rattling inside. He stooped to search in it furiously, found a map and got it out. Elwuin unfurled the map, slotting the stick in his mouth to free the other hand. ¡°Ahm. Hey Elwuin,¡± Glen said stiffly and stepped back as the Zilan thrusted the opened map in his face. Penciled in great detail architectural drawings on it, of streets and buildings far as Glen could see. ¡°Luthos balls hanging!¡± ¡°We can use the north part of the city,¡± a thoughtful Elwuin explained bringing the map to him again despite Glen¡¯s efforts to escape. Uvrycres chuckled greatly enjoying the scene. ¡°Bring the material down the incline and speed up the repairs,¡± the Zilan explained probably continuing a discussion he already had in his head or with some other person. Glen stopped him abruptly, shoving the map away but Elwuin caught it and brought it back with a frown. ¡°Stop you lunatic!¡± Glen barked in his face. ¡°Oh no. We have an hour of light at least,¡± Elwuin argued. ¡°I pay them by the day.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mean the workers. Let me finish!¡± Glen snapped in frustration. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± ¡°I left Akkar in Ani Ta-Ne,¡± Elwuin explained. ¡°With the Viceroy.¡± Glen blinked. ¡°Who the fuck is he?¡± ¡°Lord Metu?¡± Elwuin said and stood back. Glen rubbed his forehead with mid and ring finger. ¡°Akkar is with Metu,¡± Glen started slowly to get everything in the proper order. ¡°Yes Monarch. Now¡ª¡± Glen stopped him placing a heavy hand on his shoulder. He had to move the map away for that. ¡°Elwuin. First, shut yer traphole for a moment. Who. Is. This. Viceroy? I know it¡¯s not you,¡± Glen asked pausing on each word for extra emphasis. Elwuin grinned thinking Glen was making a jest. ¡°Me-tu?¡± You greedy slanted eyed cretin. Fucking blood-sucking ruffian. ¡°Why are you here?¡± Glen asked through his teeth. ¡°Speed up the repairs?¡± Elwuin said and made to show him the plans again. ¡°Later. I just landed fer pity¡¯s sake!¡± Glen snapped and sucked air in through the nose, let it all out the mouth with a warning glare at the academic that attempted to show him the plans of Rain Minas again. ¡°Is Onas with him?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Elwuin replied sadly and looked about him. ¡°We had some visitors.¡± Good, Onas will sort him out, Glen thought then blinked. ¡°Where are they?¡± ¡°Eh. Some building. The docks?¡± A frowned Glen looked about them. ¡°Can you be more specific?¡± Elwuin couldn¡¯t.
¡°That the ship?¡± Glen asked the marine guarding the docks. The Zilan saluted. ¡°Monarch. This is the pirate vessel,¡± he said and Glen stared at the unsavory characters watching from the deck. Some rolling barrels to load them up the ramp. Others talking with some Cofols that appeared to be merchants. A man wearing a red scarf, a badly stitched leather coat and sporting a bad leg moving behind a half-collapsed wall looking for shelter. Looking really hard. A dog following after him. The dog stopped and raised its leg to piss at the base of the wall, a kid wearing a ridiculously large hat cursing and jumping over the spillage. ¡°Anyone came down from it?¡± Glen asked glancing at the ship again. ¡°You learned the name?¡± ¡°The Mermaid one of them said, Monarch. On account of the figurehead, I guess.¡± Glen looked at the bare-chested monstrosity sculpted at the bow of the ship. Then at the white-painted keel and deck. Even the masts were plastered making it look like a giant insect. He caught the pirate watching him from behind the wall and snapped his head that way, the man stooping to search the ground immediately and the kid griping about the lack of rum. A black-faced Gish, not a kid. The dog barked at him and Glen marched that way, the pirate seeing him approach leaping to his feet and limping away as fast as he could. The dog baring its teeth at Glen as he neared. One of its eyes milky in color. ¡°That¡¯s enough Twelve,¡± the Gish hissed. ¡°Cut it out!¡± ¡°You!¡± Glen barked at the quickly moving away pirate and the man ducked inside an alley to get away. ¡°Cease him!¡± Glen ordered a couple of marines loitering about and the Zilan rushed inside the alley to apprehend the pirate. Glen jumped over a pile of debris, reached the edge of the ruined building, the next block the last before the Chestnut Forest and the ravine leading towards the plateau from the north. He took a guess the man wouldn¡¯t turn south and head deeper inside the docks. You could hide in a city sure, but you could hide better inside a forest if people are after you. The pirate popped out of the other corner and hurried stooped towards the forest looking to take advantage of the increasing dark. Glen cut him off stepping in front of him and the pirate cursed, then gave Glen a subservient bow with his head. Then turned around casually and headed towards the docks again. You fucking rascal. ¡°HALT!¡± Glen barked irate and the man stopped. He turned to look at the seething Monarch, surprise on his ruffian¡¯s face. ¡°Milord you¡¯re not meaning me surely,¡± the man said with a smirk. Plenty of gold teeth in there but also a gap with a tooth missing. ¡°I¡¯m meaning you. What¡¯s yer name?¡± Glen asked. ¡°Lame Zaine,¡± the man said with another curtsy. ¡°Horace what in the fat ants¡¯ bollocks are ye doing?¡± The painted Gish cursed rushing towards them and Glen narrowed his eyes. ¡°Horace ¡®Lame¡¯ Zaine,¡± Horace explained seeing Glen¡¯s glare. ¡°This is ¡®Old Nose¡¯ Abrix.¡± ¡°You came with the White Deceit?¡± Glen asked pursing his mouth. ¡°Never heard of the moniker. Is it a ship perchance?¡± Horace asked pretty convincingly. ¡°Aye,¡± Glen retorted. ¡°Moored in the docks. Only ship there currently.¡± ¡°Ye don¡¯t say,¡± Horace gasped shaking his head. ¡°Difficult to see shapes in the dark,¡± he added looking at the listening Gish meaningfully. Glen dropped a hand on the pommel of his dagger. ¡°He came on the wyvern Horace,¡± Abrix reminded the pirate. ¡°Was thinking of us all moving to the docks? Find friendly conference under the light?¡± Horace deadpanned with a shrug. ¡°After ye milord,¡± he added and Glen let out a chuckle, his face turning serious the next moment. ¡°Start walking,¡± he warned the pirate and Horace nodded eagerly, smiled a disconcerting smile and then started limping very slowly towards the docks again. ¡°Faster,¡± Glen added and started after him. ¡°You too Abrix. Keep yer hands where I can see them.¡± ¡°Just met him,¡± Abrix said immediately. ¡°He¡¯s a bad man!¡± ¡°You ruffian!¡± Horace cursed the Gish and Abrix jumped away from him. ¡°He¡¯s wanted in Fu De-Gar!¡± Abrix yelled deathly scared. ¡°Ungrateful bastard!¡± Horace snarled and rushed after him. Glen groaned in frustration and walked between them, the Gish slyly diving for Glen¡¯s knees to trip him up. Glen raised his knee and caught Abrix on the side of his head snapping it back, the hat flying the other way. He sidestepped twisting his torso, right arm reaching for the Kopis over his shoulder. Glen got the sword out and slapped the dagger away from Horace¡¯s hand using the flat of the blade. ¡°Was going for the Gish,¡± a grimacing in pain pirate said and jumped out of Glen¡¯s reach. ¡°I don¡¯t believe you,¡± Glen retorted with a hiss and pointed the sword on the pirate¡¯s face. ¡°Want to try this bullshit again?¡± ¡°What is the problem milord?¡± Horace asked still stalling. ¡°You¡¯re mistaken I believe.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not looking for you,¡± Glen grunted. ¡°Is Troy with you?¡± Horace pursed his mouth surprised. ¡°The gladiator?¡± ¡°Him.¡± ¡°Say I know a thing or two, what would that benefit me good sir?¡± Horace asked courteously. ¡°You get to keep your head,¡± Glen haggled with equal civility. Horace nodded. ¡°That be a pretty good bargain me thinks.¡± ¡°Yep. Me thinks that too.¡± ¡°Troy is on the ship.¡± ¡°Why not come down?¡± Glen asked standing back. ¡°The girl got spooked seeing the Zilan,¡± Horace explained. ¡°The crew is also pretty tensed.¡± ¡°You are not?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve had dealings with Imperials afore,¡± Horace explained and seeing Glen¡¯s suspicious expression he added with a toothy conman¡¯s grin. ¡°I¡¯m a friend of Darunia.¡± What in the slovenly fuck? ¡°You¡­¡± Glen paused to lick his lips numbly and eyed first the pirate, then the holding his painted black head and groaning way too much Abrix. ¡°¡­actually know Darunia?¡± ¡°The pretty Healer. We go ways back us two. Ayup. Been through thick and thin together.¡± ¡°Right. Might have poured the sauce too thick there mate. What are you going to do now?¡± Glen asked him casually. ¡°Ahm,¡± Horace started pursing his mouth and then catching Glen¡¯s subtle meaning he added. ¡°Head for the docks?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Glen retorted and gestured with the sword for him to get moving. Deftly switched hands on the Kopis mid-stride to use the right to snatch the moaning Gish by the ear and drag him along towards the light. ¡°The name milord?¡± Horace asked limping in front of him. ¡°Garth,¡± Glen retorted and shoved Abrix forward letting go of his ear. ¡°Nice trick ye tried to pull on me back there.¡± ¡°Much obliged Garth,¡± Horace replied politely. ¡°Most people can¡¯t handle their blades properly. Frequently get themselves stabbed wit them.¡± ¡°True. But they can handle them plenty well here,¡± Glen assured him. ¡°See to remember that.¡±
446. Attempt number two (2/2)
Arguen Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Lord of Morn Taras Monarch of Wetull King beyond the Pale Mountains Aniculo Rokae Attempt number two Part II -King of Brawn-
The White Deceit had ignited the night lamps, pale light illuminating it from bow to stern, its dusky keel and white-painted hull contrasting to the many areas of the ancient docks still engulfed in darkness. The chestnut forest with its tiny fishing port neighboring it few kilometers to the north completely lost in the black of night. The Imperial Marines detachment guarding the docks occupied a single repaired building next to the sloped road leading to the upland and the ruins of Rain Minas. The latter still at the first stages of reconstruction with civilian crews of mostly Cofols living in the first buildings they had repaired and mostly unseen in this mild spring night from the lowland but for the spots where Elwuin¡¯s engineers had fixed the old road lightposts with new and had them lit for the night. As a treat for the arriving Monarch. These rows of lights could be seen following a side of the road from the beach to the plateau like a strange glowing and coiled rope. Glen glared at the cool Horace, the ruffian pirate captain and the nervous Abrix, the sporting a round knob on his head Gish, pausing a little discomforted upon noticing the one-eyed dog watching the scene from across the street sitting upright on its hind legs. Then the King of Wetull smacked his lips and turned to the first mate, the pirate that had come down the ramp. ¡°Is it a standing contest? They expect a band?¡± He asked soberly. ¡°No contest milord,¡± the stitched across the face at some point in his life pirate replied. ¡°The lass wanted to bathe the kid.¡± ¡°Couldn¡¯t she¡­¡± Glen stared at his boots frustrated. When he raised his eyes again a muscular man had appeared at the top of the ramp. You could teach anatomy on him with ease. The statuesque specimen paused to eye each and every one of the marines present (standing behind the already deathly bored Glen) then pointed a finger at him specifically as if in a warning, pushed his chest out which made the blonde stranger appear even more swollen than before and strutted down the ramp. Everyone there paling in front of the man¡¯s musculature and swagger, the specimen the lovechild of an over-trained peacock with a high-rise climbing giant hairless chimpanzee and the looks of an actor. Those that played gallant knights with none of the skill. The flaxen god pranced in front of the sour Glen, who was as tall as him and not that far behind in physique given that he¡¯d just come out of the desert, though you wouldn¡¯t know it seeing as the Monarch was in his Hoplite armour and the fair-haired grinning stranger was wearing a loincloth and a pair of old open-toe sandals. Muscles shining in the light of the torches. Dripping more like. For slovenly fuck¡¯s sake! ¡°Is that oil?¡± Glen asked forgoing all official greetings and decorum. Troy raised his left arm, angling it so his bicep could pop out even more. ¡°I could strike a pose for the interested gentlemen.¡± ¡°Not what I asked.¡± ¡°I¡¯m ready to meet the King beyond the Pale Mountains,¡± Troy replied and added with a glance at the aloof Horace and the melancholic Abrix. ¡°Old man.¡± Glen scratched the underside of his white beard with three fingers returning the gladiator¡¯s taunting stare. His other hand he¡¯d extended in a calming gesture to the Marines leader who had unsheathed his sword. ¡°You oiled up for the King? Is it a scheme? Ye get paid for that?¡± He asked, the conversation racing towards the absurd or swift bloody conclusion through no fault of his. ¡°The king, the palace¡­¡± Troy started and stooped near Glen¡¯s blank face to add. ¡°The alien lassies, Princesses or Mademoiselles of station. Coin flows like wine.¡± ¡°Common harlots are not a fixture in the palace,¡± Glen hissed and thanked the Allgods the Zilan present had no knowledge of the Common jargon Troy was using. ¡°What about good ones?¡± Troy replied quite undaunted with a meaningful stare. ¡°Heed him no attention my lord for he is a fool,¡± a female said in a cultured voice in excellent Imperial. A touch of Sen¡¯s accent in it. The marines chuckled hearing her. ¡°To the Heavens above our greetings, Hardir O¡¯ Fardor,¡± the woman added and Troy stepped away from Glen¡¯s face looking surprised. Glen¡¯s eyes went on the coming down the ramp Lorian girl, a petite lissome female with brilliant blond hair and light-green eyes. Wrists and ankles adorned with jewelry, the knee-length teal tunic she had on over her high leather sandals clean and holding a similarly dressed young boy in her arms. The boy¡¯s combed hair black as coal but his eyes were a soft brownish-gold color. The intense curious look the boy cast at the watching King almost threw Glen off. Damn. ¡°The locals talked,¡± Glen told her in the Zilan tongue trying to find his footing, still overcome with emotion seeing that little copy of the old knight approaching him. ¡°And I listened great Monarch,¡± Ziba-Ra replied and knelt dutifully in the deepest of genuflections despite her load. ¡°Because you understand Imperial,¡± Glen noted and reached with an arm to help her stand. Ziba-Ra nodded looking in his eyes as if mesmerized. Then Glen remembered she was a trained pleasure slave. Quite famous, Don-Iv had said back in Nagar Bazaar. The Pearl of Ani Ta-Ne. Glen stood back alarmed and glanced at the panting boy that had reached with his small hand to touch his white hair. ¡°Alright,¡± Troy said watching from the sides a little miffed. ¡°Assume I¡¯m a little thick amidst all the greatness. Now someone explain in a tongue we all speak what in Tyeus¡¯ steely phallus is going on here!¡± ¡°You are welcomed in Rain Minas,¡± Glen announced taking a big breath disregarding the grimacing well-oiled gladiator. ¡°Consider yourselves citizens of Wetull,¡± he added and Ziba-Ra raised a trimmed brow noticing his change in demeanor. ¡°There¡¯s a meal waiting and a carriage to bring you to the city. We shall talk more once everyone is settled.¡± ¡°Gratitude great Monarch,¡± Ziba-Ra bowed her head deeply. Horace cleared his throat. ¡°Milord and members of foreign delegations,¡± the pirate said politely. ¡°Would it be presumptuous for the brothers present to assume we are invited to the feast?¡± Glen eyed him numbly for a short moment. It wasn¡¯t that meaningful a moment really and barely had any historical significance. Maybe. Nevertheless the Monarch¡¯s reply was also very short. ¡°Yes.¡± So the ¡®brothers¡¯ of the buccaneers¡¯ guild stayed in the port. - 3rd of Canatya 3400 IC (Month Quartus of 194 NC) Rain Minas The repaired double bed had a hard mattress, the stuffed material under the worked leather packed tightly. Two of them were used with a split down the middle that Glen looked to avoid during his sleep. He didn¡¯t use the pillow but kept it under his arm, the silk fabric soft to the touch and comforting. It was a fine bed, the repaired building roomy and with a window facing to the east. A Marine patrol making the rounds outside for the whole night. Glen slept lightly and had no dreams that he remembered, counting the interims until the three man patrol appeared. Fifteen minute breaks of absolute silence but for the sounds of the night coming from the second floor open window. The building itself empty of furniture and the other rooms used by his guests that stayed on the first floor. Sometime before dawn the Monarch thought he smelled a beast¡¯s sweaty hide, the faint sound of guttural breathing hidden in the gushes of wind blasting through the Wetull Straits, coming from the southwest. The direction of the West Unknown Ocean. It skirted around the peaks of Galadriel¡¯s Watch, tiptoed over Lake Barieska and Elas Port of Nureria, leaped over the misty canals of the Blasted Lands and reached Rain Minas heading for the Torn Earth. Glen woke up and reached for Emerson¡¯s blade, the Jackal¡¯s warning growl reverberating inside the darkened room. The Monarch stood up and approached the open window to look outside. He heard the patrol returning a moment later, tapped once the marble rail of the window and turned around to get dressed. He pulled his soft leather pants up, a fine pair that had taken a beating during the acrobatics deployed to escape death when Uvrycres had crash landed in the desert. Then buttoned up a thin leather gambeson padded at the elbows and used the wall as support to snap the hoplite cuirass on, hearing someone running up the marble staircase of the tall two-storied villa in the center of Rain Minas. Glen had slept with his boots on. The Zilan Marine officer¡¯s face familiar, but also a little surprising to see him there. ¡°Lefyr,¡± Glen said and the officer stepped inside his provisional quarters. ¡°When did you arrive?¡± ¡°During the night Monarch,¡± the marine replied, helm slotted under his armpit and smelling of the sea. Lefyr was stationed aboard the Fat Libby. Captain Tidus ship had departed Lai Zel-Ka with Glen¡¯s other guests more than forty days back. The many stops journey meant Glen had probably missed the ship crossing the Straits under them when he returned himself. ¡°Not all vessels came with us.¡± Ah. ¡°The reason?¡± ¡°Viceroy Metu requested at least one galley to be stationed at Ani Ta-Ne,¡± Lefyr replied. Trust the Cofol ex-slave, ex-minister etc. to build on an imaginary title, willing it in existence by repeating it on every chance he got. A survivor¡¯s trait that. And a talented crook¡¯s for sure. Four war galleys had survived in Serpent¡¯s Canal and remained there along their marines¡¯ detachment under Flardryn for centuries serving late Lord Rothomir of Abarat initially and now Glen. Rybel was tasked with creating a new fleet back in Goras but that would take years probably. The Zilan naval engineer was a very pessimistic character. ¡°I see.¡± He replied simply at the waiting Lefyr. ¡°Any incidents?¡± ¡°Nothing of note. Paeris has been quiet.¡± ¡°The Elderblood?¡± Glen had forgotten about him. ¡°Uhm.¡± ¡°It¡¯s an old jest for bards that don¡¯t sing,¡± Lefyr explained. Glen nodded not really interested in Paeris at this point. He was a funny character and all, good-looking Zilan if one was into dudes, but also useless other than his status in their society, which was important. He had a vote. ¡°What about Kelly. Asper, Beskar?¡± Glen asked. ¡°They are well, Hardir.¡± Glen nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s head to the port,¡± he decided. ¡°I assume it¡¯s why you came. You brought a horse?¡± ¡°I run, it¡¯s a nice day Hardir.¡± Lefyr replied. Glen had reservations on whether a day should be used for that but kept them to himself. ¡°Mmm. Let¡¯s find us a horse just the same. That¡¯s four kilometers to the docks. The incline steep on the return,¡± Glen replied and rushed down the stairs, casting a glance at Ziba-Ra¡¯s closed door afore stepping outside. He looked to the east and the rising sun, then the west across the empty square. The crews already heading to work on their marked projects or buildings and the barely dressed dude sprinting towards the square¡¯s edge. Heading for the road leading to the port under the plateau. ¡°The gladiator,¡± Lefyr informed him. ¡°Caught up with him on the way up. Apparently he does this every dawn.¡± ¡°Running up and down the cliffs road?¡± ¡°Yes, Hardir. Good for the lungs.¡± ¡°Aha.¡± Glen could point to some other parts of the body that could protest furiously at the practice. Like legs or one¡¯s spine. ¡°Let¡¯s see to find a horse,¡± Glen finally said with a scowl and noticed he¡¯d dried up dirt marring his left palm. The Monarch slapped the hand on his pants to remove it, trying to remember if he had touched the ground lately. No recent tumble got to mind but then he remembered touching the window¡¯s frame. He turned around and barked at the Zilan marines heading around the building to halt. ¡°Hardir?¡± One of the Zilan queried stopping immediately. ¡°Leader Lefyr, sir.¡± ¡°Myrdor,¡± Lefyr greeted the soldier. ¡°Did you see anyone approach the villa?¡± Glen asked stiffly. ¡°Negative, Hardir. No one did,¡± Myrdor replied readily. Hmm. ¡°It¡¯s a cleared out ground,¡± Lefyr noted looking about. The villa one of the few buildings in the large square still standing. ¡°Difficult to approach unseen.¡± ¡°It is,¡± Glen agreed and pursed his mouth. Yet someone had.
Twenty minutes later Glen waved an arm at Captain Tidus¡¯ figure watching the ship unloading from the quarterdeck. He left Lefyr back some meters to keep an eye on their horses. ¡°Lord Garth!¡± Archibald boomed. ¡°A good day milord!¡± ¡°Aye,¡± Glen agreed with a nod and spotted Kelly with Beskar and Asper talking under Fat Libby¡¯s shade. Paeris was nowhere to be seen. ¡°I¡¯ll have a word with you Captain, when you¡¯re available.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll come right down milord,¡± Tidus replied. ¡°Good,¡± Glen said and extended an arm to stop a delighted Kelly from hugging him. ¡°Lord Reeves!¡± ¡°Garth,¡± Glen corrected her. ¡°The place is a ruin!¡± Kelly yelled with enthusiasm. ¡°This isn¡¯t Goras Kelly,¡± Glen explained looking about them at the bystanders watching the scene. ¡°Hello Lefyr,¡± Kelly greeted the Marine leader in passable Imperial looking over Glen¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Lass,¡± Lefyr replied. ¡°You need to work on your accent.¡± ¡°Pfft,¡± Kelly dismissed him. ¡°You understand me.¡± ¡°Asper, Beskar.¡± Glen greeted the two gladiators then spotted Asmudius coming down the ramp but opted not to greet him. ¡°Milord,¡± Beskar said raspingly. ¡°I¡¯ll prefer a job on land if it¡¯s possible.¡± Glen smiled but before he could answer him, Asper narrowed his eyes in surprise. ¡°Cock in arse,¡± he grunted in disbelief and pointed with a wiry arm. ¡°HEY! Troy! You fucking cocksucker!¡± Asper roared, the port workers pausing in shock. Glen sighed and turned around to see Troy running towards them in the semi-nude, all sweaty muscles and loose loincloth leaving his cock dangling like a pendulum. ¡°Shitfaced Asper ha-ha!¡± Troy guffawed and grabbed the shorter gladiator¡¯s arm to bring him closer, then slapped Beskar¡¯s Hoplite cuirass once with an open palm. ¡°Thick Beskar! How the fuck did you two made it out? Lass what are you doing hanging around wit these fools?¡± ¡°You were the one trapped in the woods,¡± Asper reminded him a little peeved and pushed the sweaty Troy away. ¡°Just keep yer distance.¡± ¡°You sure?¡± Troy asked bouncing his pecs one at a time suggestively. ¡°The chance might not be there later. There¡¯s high demand for dis package.¡± ¡°Fuck that¡¯s supposed to mean? How¡¯s Ziba-Ra?¡± Asper grunted and Troy squinted his eyes. ¡°Fine. Was talking of the local lasses!¡± Huh? Glen heard Lefyr approaching behind him. The Zilan stooped to whisper in his ear. ¡°Tyl was spotted last night with a human at the beach,¡± Lefyr said pausing seeing Glen¡¯s expression. He wasn¡¯t sure where the officer was going with this and Glen had slept in the city. He was also an Islander. ¡°A different human sire. They were intimate.¡± Glen glanced at the animated Troy not believing his ears. ¡°Who is Tyl?¡± ¡°Ityliel, Flardryn¡¯s daughter. She grew up with the marines¡¯ sir,¡± Lefyr replied keeping his voice low. ¡°But she¡¯s our scout.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t know Flardryn had a daughter.¡± ¡°She came as a bright sunray of hope after years of gloom and doom,¡± Lefyr explained. ¡°I¡¯ll have to address this afore the commander finds out.¡± Glen grimaced at this new problem. ¡°How old is she? Fuck¡¯s sake,¡± he grunted glancing at young Kelly feeling up the gladiator with interest. ¡°Young. She just turned sixty,¡± Lefyr replied solemnly. Glen scrunched his nose a couple of times in silence. ¡°Let me handle this. Was it her first time?¡± ¡°I presume it was,¡± Lefyr said standing back. Yeah, you presume wrong. Bet she has gone through the barracks a couple of times already while ye older heads were snoring. No virgin grabs the first cock she finds upon touching land. ¡°Let¡¯s run up the cliff road,¡± Troy, the probable culprit or accomplice, suggested to an explosion of groaning protests. ¡°What? Seriously? Get all that excess lard out of yer system Aspen!¡± ¡°I like the lard staying where it is.¡± Asper retorted. ¡°How about¡­ you fuck off Troy?¡± Troy shrugged his shoulders and turned to look at the scowling Glen. ¡°Lord Wyvern? I like the hair job. How about it? First man gets a bottle of local wine.¡±Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! ¡°I¡¯ll pass. With prejudice.¡± ¡°Ballard¡¯s squire,¡± Troy taunted. ¡°Won¡¯t take the challenge?¡± ¡°You want me to race you up the cliffs? For a bottle of wine? I own the fucking vineyard!¡± Glen snapped. ¡°Are you an actual idiot or is this part of the act?¡± ¡°Insults are pointless mate. We could escalate it though. I see what you¡¯re doing there,¡± Troy laughed and then gave him a wink. ¡°I don¡¯t believe you are capable of seeing anything. Get on wit your running,¡± Glen hissed through his teeth. Why in this realm or any other would Emerson ever pick this inflated dork to protect his son and woman, he just couldn¡¯t for the life of him understand.
Captain Tidus furrowed his brows hearing Glen¡¯s suggestion. ¡°Milord wants to run merchant ships through the Reefs?¡± ¡°You did it. Flardryn made it also with his galleys,¡± Glen argued glancing at the goods piled up on the docks. It would take months for them to reach Goras. ¡°I got Libby through empty. Kept an eye open all the time and followed after the Zilan for the last part of the way. Difficult to find the old canal. Even they had trouble recognizing the place. But sure once there it¡¯s wide enough for any vessel,¡± Tidus explained. ¡°Good then, we could draw a detailed map for Captains to use.¡± Glen agreed. ¡°How do you map the area?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll travel through them again and again.¡± ¡°These Zilan ships are narrow keeled milord and can navigate into the unknown. But not suited for trade.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll use them to map the area. I believe the old route is mostly there just different and hidden in the mist. I have Rybel working on the matter of naval infrastructure. He wants warships build, but I¡¯ll switch him to merchant ships for a while.¡± Threaten him if need be. ¡°If merchants learn of the waterways,¡± Tidus said thoughtfully. ¡°All manner of people might slip near yer shores. They¡¯ll want to look about for riches and you can¡¯t control the old lands with five ships.¡± ¡°So we keep the route hidden, patrol the exits,¡± Glen started. ¡°Guard the straits and station marines where it¡¯s possible. Where do you think we should put them?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll need a map, but on the west entry point through ¡®Suicide Reefs¡¯ ye need to control either Scylla¡¯s Corner or the tip of the Witch¡¯s Dagger Peninsula. The east side I guess needs you to open Mussel Port and control Gish Lament at the turn of the Lower Talon.¡± ¡°How many ships?¡± Glen asked him. ¡°At least twenty transports so they can take turns to load and unload. Ten to use for Greenwhale Peninsula, the others to make the trip to Jelin,¡± Tidus replied. ¡°At least half that amount of warships to escort them. All ships must be narrow keeled and long, focusing on height but lesser in width.¡± Hmm. ¡°That sounds extremely expensive,¡± Glen murmured thinking it through. ¡°Could the merchant ships protect themselves? Employed in both roles?¡± ¡°What ship do you have in mind milord?¡± Tidus asked curious. ¡°Mighty Saracen,¡± Glen retorted. ¡°Can Rybel built such a ship?¡± ¡°He better be for all his bragging,¡± Glen grunted. ¡°I¡¯ll need to run this through Fikumin. It¡¯s a big project. Rybel will need manpower on top of recourses. I might have to pull all the marines back and double their size which isn¡¯t the easiest thing to do. The Zilan have a rigid education system and won¡¯t work outside their fields.¡± Most Zilan. ¡°Or you could employ humans,¡± Tidus offered. ¡°Sounds like a merchant enterprise this milord. I believe you have merchants in your immediate family.¡± Glen nodded deep in thought but he¡¯d a plan already forming in his head. Fikumin had suggested forming a trading company to help with the newly created Bank of Goras¡¯ interests. The other Banks employed mercenaries to protect their business. He could do the same but base it around a fleet of large, stay-the-fuck-away ships. Use gold to make even more gold.
The warm weather allowed for a feast to be thrown in Rain Minas¡¯ central square. Most buildings had come down with few villas still standing but one could gaze at the under-repair Lighthouse not half a kilometer away and enjoy the breeze coming over the lip of the plateau. Catch a glimpse of the sea. As the night returned shortly before the feast started, lights appeared in Rain Minas¡¯ cleared out central area. Lightstones were placed in front of villas on erected posts and at regular intervals illuminating some of the streets. The port bellow them glowing inside the mist. It reminded Glen of Taras during the festival and Elwuin insisted the old empire¡¯s cities were always lit in the night. Its temples and high rises glowing like jewels and he could envision that despite the cost involved to make it happen. Two long tables were set and groups of marines secured the place standing guard at the roads leading to the staging area. Glen had appointed Lefyr as military commander of Rain Minas, his men now stationed in the city. Elwuin was to stay as well and bring the city into a useable state again starting with the port. Glen ate little but had a couple of goblets of wine watching his guests enjoying themselves and listening for the wyvern that had left to ¡®take care of some business¡¯ as he declared. Probably in search of food. He glanced at Ziba-Ra that was sitting next to him picking carefully at the foodstuff to feed the young Emerson. ¡°Was it his idea to name him thus?¡± Glen asked politely stooping near the comely female. ¡°I knew Mista Savar as Ballard great Monarch. Never called him by another name,¡± Ziba replied placing a piece of bread soaked in sauce inside the boy¡¯s mouth. It reminded him of Sen feeding Inis-Mir and the wave of emotion forced him to look away. Glen had some wine to regain his composure and placed the silver goblet on the table. ¡°Sir Emerson Lennox,¡± he told her hoarsely. ¡°Former Baron of Ballard in Lesia. A big lord in his country. An important family. They control Cediorum also.¡± Ziba nodded and wiped little Emerson¡¯s mouth with a white towel. ¡°Is Ballard like this?¡± ¡°This is a ruined city,¡± Glen replied guardedly. ¡°I aim to rebuild fully. Ballard I have never been but Emerson¡¯s lands are near a river. All green pasture and lemon trees. Placed between the flats of the Lesia Desert and the Four Sisters Mounts. Lilatum, Basila, Asselin and Cidina.¡± ¡°Your lordship is well-learned,¡± Ziba noticed keeping her eyes on the table. ¡°He forced me to memorize the darn stuff,¡± Glen admitted and cleared his throat. ¡°Never thought the abstemious prick would take a slave for his own.¡± ¡°Ballard never saw me as a slave,¡± Ziba corrected him and raised her eyes to look into Glen¡¯s face. ¡°You were a prize won in the games,¡± Glen pointed rapping his fingers on the table. ¡°Heard the story a dozen times at least.¡± ¡°The story served its purpose. The truth is Ballard promised me freedom and he delivered. I would have done whatever he asked of me. The boy is the fruit of our union.¡± ¡°I understand,¡± Glen murmured and reached for his goblet. ¡°My wife hailed from the Peninsula.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe his lordship understands,¡± Ziba said lowering her voice. ¡°I wasn¡¯t forced.¡± ¡°Would you have said no?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t want to.¡± ¡°It¡¯s what I¡¯m saying lass.¡± ¡°No it is not, with all respect my lord,¡± Ziba insisted. ¡°Pleasure I gave from my heart,¡± she paused seeing the confused look on Glen¡¯s face. ¡°I thought your wife was from the Peninsula. I knew of this before you revealed it by the way.¡± Glen pursed his mouth. ¡°I loved my wife but I had her affections from the beginning.¡± ¡°Pleasure can be given from many points. Six furrows a slave¡¯s heart has. But you can¡¯t see them if you stand on your feet and look straight ahead. You need to rise above your comfort zone and watch them forming on the ground alike arching folds,¡± Ziba said in her agreeable voice. ¡°Each furrow has pleasure running through and filling it. One can savor it but not all are the same.¡± Glen looked in her face amused. ¡°Why would you do that?¡± ¡°To guard yourself. Hide your true emotions and survive,¡± Ziba explained casually. ¡°Perform when you wish not to and fool those ruling over you each hour of every day. Since you opened your eyes really and had a glimpse of this world. Your wife saw the world with the same eyes, despite her station. To go through her layers and touch her heart wouldn¡¯t have been possible, if she didn¡¯t allow it.¡± Glen gulped down and then pushed back on his chair, caught sight of Troy staring at him intently and frowned. What does this idiot want? ¡°I don¡¯t condone slavery,¡± he told her averting his eyes from the gladiator. ¡°Ballard thought you wouldn¡¯t,¡± Ziba said vaguely. ¡°Are there no slaves in Goras?¡± ¡°You know the answer to that,¡± Glen said hoarsely. ¡°You¡¯ve been asking around.¡± ¡°I listen when people talk,¡± Ziba replied. ¡°I rarely ask directly.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t believe I¡¯m truthful,¡± Glen hissed crooking his mouth. ¡°The King of Wetull flies on his wyvern over the realm,¡± Ziba said changing the position of the boy in her arms. Little Emerson had been lulled to sleep. ¡°All are beneath him. These are the Imperial mandates I was taught.¡± ¡°It is not the same,¡± Glen retorted. ¡°Far from me to judge. Can a citizen leave Wetull great Monarch?¡± Ziba asked calmly but Glen was annoyed with her tone by now. ¡°I offended you,¡± Ziba said. ¡°Apologies.¡± ¡°Why would you want to leave? You are safe here and will be well-provided for in Morn Taras. The boy will want for nothing,¡± Glen said stiffly. ¡°I see,¡± Ziba replied and bowed her head. ¡°Hey!¡± Troy yelled and stood up from his seat. ¡°How about a contest?¡± Lefyr raised his head to stare at the gladiator. ¡°What contest?¡± ¡°I ask the Lord¡¯s permission to return to my quarters. The boy is tired,¡± Ziba whispered and Glen waved his hand. ¡°Sure. Go ahead.¡± ¡°I say no one can run to the port and back faster than me,¡± Troy suggested probably in his cups. ¡°Don¡¯t be a fool human,¡± Lefyr admonished him. ¡°Any of my marines can beat you.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t sound too sure,¡± Troy retorted although Lefyr had been quite adamant. ¡°You want to race after a meal?¡± Lefyr chuckled and shook his head. ¡°You¡¯re drunk. A kid can beat you.¡± ¡°Wanna put that theory to a proper test?¡± Troy taunted puffing his chest out. ¡°There will be no test Troy!¡± Glen barked and stood up from his seat as well. ¡°Sit down and shut your mouth!¡± ¡°What if I didn¡¯t?¡± What? ¡°Are you insane?¡± Glen blasted him. ¡°They¡¯ll murder you if I don¡¯t stop them.¡± Troy set his jaw. ¡°Ballard¡¯s squire,¡± he said and grimaced. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t rely on his minions.¡± Lefyr stood up abruptly, glasses clattering down, plates upturning as the gladiators jumped up as well and armed Marines reacted rushing to the table. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Glen growled looking at the smirking gladiator and then at Beskar. An older man missing his arm sitting with Asper shook his grey head and then nudged the other gladiator up as well. Asmudius just stood back amused, turning his chair a bit to better watch the spectacle. ¡°He insulted the Monarch,¡± Lefyr spat angrily. ¡°Have this human arrested! Get him out of my face!¡± ¡°Mate you start something you got to finish it yourself,¡± Troy warned him and Lefyr blinked then reached for his blade. What in Luthos name? ¡°Hey, you puffed up idiot,¡± Glen said raspingly grinding his teeth. ¡°Everyone stand down!¡± He barked. ¡°There will be no fight here!¡± ¡°You draw that blade,¡± Troy said still smiling at the seething Zilan officer disregarding Glen¡¯s outburst. ¡°Things might get messy.¡± Troy was looking for a fight. ¡°Lefyr stand down,¡± Glen ordered. ¡°Monarch!¡± Lefyr protested clenching his jaw. ¡°He asks for it!¡± Troy opened his arms wide. ¡°I need no blade to win this.¡± ¡°You want a contest,¡± Glen rustled glaring at the gladiator. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Some people need to be taught a lesson. Ballard¡¯s words. The man that gives orders should offer proper example,¡± Troy replied and stared at him intently. You fucking moron. ¡°You want to teach me a lesson?¡± Glen spat a tick appearing on his face. The table had turned really quiet. ¡°Oh, you shouldn¡¯t have asked this,¡± Troy said. ¡°But since ye did. Aye. How about it?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll cross blades with the King?¡± Lefyr asked not believing his ears. ¡°Need no blades. Let¡¯s have a contest as I said,¡± Troy replied with a shrug of his shoulders. The guests turned to look at the scowling Monarch. Elwuin who seemed to wake up at that very moment stood up and declared in an excited manner. ¡°The King of Brawn! Hah-hah! What a great idea!¡± Glen eyed the academic sourly. ¡°What? It will liven the place up!¡± Elwuin countered with a chuckle. ¡°Epic!¡± Asmudius declared with a shrug of his shoulders.
Glen removed his cuirass and placed on the table. He glanced at the crowd gathered around them and then at the bare-chested Troy warming up energetically on the cleared out space near one of the tables. ¡°Might be a good idea to have him arrested,¡± Tidus suggested seeing him placing his harness next to the plate armour. ¡°Killed even.¡± Glen looked at Ziba that had stayed back and was now with the older gladiator, still holding the little Emerson in her hands. The boy had woken up from the ruckus caused by Troy¡¯s outburst and was staring with interest at the gathered crowd. ¡°I can¡¯t order that,¡± Glen replied soberly. ¡°I think it¡¯s what he wants.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°To prove a point.¡± To her. ¡°What point be that?¡± ¡°I have no idea but these are Emerson¡¯s people.¡± Old man you¡¯re still causing me pain. ¡°You might want to keep yer face away from his fists,¡± Tidus commented as if reading his mind, adding with a small pause. ¡°Milord.¡± -
The Titan of Novesium fought the King beyond the Pale Mountains in a bare-knuckled brawl inside the lit-up ruins of Rain Minas. They twisted and twirled about, exchanged blows and grappled under the night sky with the crowd cheering them on greatly enjoying the noble spectacle. There was great respect shared between the two magnificent warriors.
- ¡°You piece of shite!¡± Glen growled touching his split lip and then ducked under a right cross, catching Troy¡¯s jaw with a left uppercut that barely stunned him. So Glen gave him a right hook snapping the gladiator¡¯s head back. Troy twisted on his feet and backhanded Glen. He stumbled backwards three meters, hips hitting the table and rattling it. ¡°God darnit!¡± Glen snapped and watched Troy sprinting towards him. He rolled over the table and landed on the other side spitting a blotch of blood down in the time he¡¯d gained with a table between them. Then realized Troy hadn¡¯t stopped running. The gladiator reached the large table and jumped over it flying briefly with both arms extended wide. Fuck¡¯s sake! Glen cursed a moment before Troy crashed on him, sending both of them on the hard tiles. Glen elbowed Troy in the face cracking his nose and got punched right at the left maimed ear hard enough to see blinking lights appear in his vision. Groaning they rolled on the ground trying to get the upper hand, Troy¡¯s shaved skin slippery and difficult to pin down. Glen had the sense he was wrestling with a lion. The man¡¯s strength and vitality immeasurable. The worst part of it being the idiot seemed to enjoy the punishment Glen delivered on him as they both managed to stand up whilst still exchanging blows. And Glen gave him the business but for that ill-advised head-butt he attempted which almost knocked the Monarch out. Hitting Troy¡¯s head was like trying to knock down a brickwall. A split on Glen¡¯s forehead bleeding down his eyes. Cursing he grabbed Troy¡¯s arm and twisted it around but the gladiator pulled at him hard breaking his grip. Glen found himself losing the ground under his feet the next moment and landed on his back with a pained grunt. Glen hadn¡¯t really brawled properly in years and his whole body felt bruised. He raised an arm and Troy paused while Glen slowly got up, shook his head pretending he was trying to suck air in his burning lungs ¨Cwhich he was- and delivered a sneaky kick on Troy¡¯s knee which the gladiator half-dodged but left his sides exposed for a moment. Glen stepped forward for a vicious right jab in the kidneys just as Troy rotated on a leg and punched him under the right eye, rough callused knuckles opening the skin and knocking Glen¡¯s head back violently. He felt it down his spine. Luthos low-hanging balls snatched in a beartrap. ¡°Argh!¡± A grimacing Troy grunted grabbing at his sides where Glen¡¯s blow had landed probably sporting a cracked rib and knelt down, blood covering his face. Glen had collapsed on his arse as well, barely seeing through the swollen right eye and bleeding as much from several spots. ¡°Give me a moment,¡± Glen growled through his teeth. ¡°Blood is in my eye.¡± ¡°Nah, yer a cheater,¡± Troy rustled and tried to get up with a grimace. ¡°Fuck.¡± ¡°You aren¡¯t? It¡¯s a fight,¡± Glen spat and worked his bloody fingers on a loosened tooth in his mouth. For crying out loud, he had just fixed this. ¡°True,¡± Troy agreed. ¡°Round two?¡± ¡°I¡¯m game if you are,¡± Glen rustled nonchalantly though nothing was further from the truth. A scream interrupting their moment. The silent crowd turning restless when a disheveled Paeris appeared and quickly run behind a group of Marines watching the duel with interest. A groaning Glen stood up and beheld with his good eye Lefyr listening to Paeris words intently. The officer then rushed down an alley towards one of the villas with several armed marines following after him. ¡°The fuck happened?¡± A heavy breathing Glen asked and limped to the table for purchase. Troy followed soon after and sat on the table as well after finding an upturned bottle of wine, he shook once to check on its contents. ¡°Everyone was busy with the contest. Someone got naughty probably,¡± Troy replied with a grunt and poured wine in his open mouth. He spat it out immediately along a copious amount of blood. Hmm. ¡°Anymore left in there?¡± Glen asked and Troy gave him the bottle. ¡°Caught me good there with that jab,¡± Troy said with a pained grin. ¡°Must be all the wyvern riding.¡± More like dangling from the ropes for dear life. ¡°Yeah,¡± Glen agreed cracking his hurting jaw to get it in place. ¡°I think we¡¯ll need a healing potion to fix this.¡± ¡°For real? Do they work?¡± ¡°Yeah they do,¡± Glen said and stumbled to his satchel he¡¯d placed under a leg of the table to get one. ¡°The taste is horrible though. Want one?¡± ¡°If you can handle it, I can,¡± Troy taunted. Glen nodded and got two vials out. Tossed him one. ¡°Don¡¯t savor it. It only gets worse.¡± ¡°I had beer in Fu De-Gar,¡± Troy reassured him and uncorked the vial. The potion burned his larynx and set his stomach on fire. Glen coughed miserably, opening and closing his bloody mouth, his teeth hurting and feeling the ground moving under his feet. ¡°Could have saved Ballard with one of these,¡± a grimacing Troy murmured and rolled the empty vial on the table towards him. ¡°I was too late,¡± Glen replied soberly. ¡°Yeah. Me too,¡± Troy agreed with a solemn sigh. ¡°That¡¯s his woman then,¡± Glen said after a moment of silent contemplation, whilst watching the marines coming out of the villa facing the square. ¡°Ayup,¡± Troy said and spat down to clean his mouth. ¡°That shit tastes like arse.¡± ¡°I want her to stay in Goras,¡± Glen continued looking at him. ¡°She¡¯ll be safe.¡± ¡°That the reason?¡± ¡°Yes. What¡¯s yours?¡± ¡°Old man told me to look after her. See her home,¡± Troy replied hoarsely. ¡°Would have done it anyway I reckon.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s home?¡± Glen asked curious and Troy looked at him. Aha. Yeah. You had to drop another task in my arms didn¡¯t you? He griped at the dead knight. ¡°The boy is too young to travel safely,¡± Glen decided. ¡°She stays for now.¡± ¡°You are the King here,¡± Troy replied and tended a dirty muscular arm. ¡°The King of Brawn?¡± Glen asked grabbing his forearm whilst raising a brow. The one that worked that is. ¡°Wanna try this again?¡± Troy taunted with a shit-eating bloody grin. ¡°Not really,¡± Glen admitted and started walking towards the solemn-faced Lefyr.
Glen¡¯s expression changing mid-stride as well to a more sober one. This is gonna be another problem, he thought and halted to point a finger at the Elderblood. ¡°Paeris, come here.¡± ¡°I¡¯m safe where I am illustrious Monarch,¡± Paeris replied and bowed retreating another step. ¡°It¡¯s a clear order Lord Paeris. I loathe to repeat it after all that happened earlier, but I¡¯m still warmed up.¡± Glen deadpanned meaningfully. ¡°Want to make a second attempt at the title?¡± ¡°Attempt number two!¡± Asmudius boomed but no one seemed enthused with his suggestion. ¡°Rather I didn¡¯t Hardir,¡± Paeris readily confessed with a misplaced grin. Fantastic. Glen shook his head and turned to face the Marine leader. ¡°What in the allhells is going on Lefyr?¡± He asked brusquely glancing nervously behind the Zilan at the entrance of the villa. ¡°Is that blood on the side jamb?¡± ¡°Aye sire. Lord Paeris saw it and turned around. We found more inside and this,¡± Lefyr added and grabbed what looked like a pretty realistic severed at the elbow bloody arm from a silent marine to show him. It was a real arm. The bone and flesh at the wound torn and compacted, the skin loose. Good grief. Luthos I don¡¯t get where you are going wit this. ¡°Is that an animal bite?¡± Glen asked, the shock making him forget the pain on his battered body. A little. ¡°Where is the beast?¡± ¡°The trail leads out of a window at the back of the building. We rushed there first to cut it off but we were late,¡± Lefyr explained and walked aside for Glen to examine the site of the presumptive crime. ¡°It must have looped around the corner and stopped behind that undergrowth. Then the track vanish with no footprints leading out.¡± Glen pushed the wildflowers aside to examine the unpaved terrain for himself. Walked over the thin stems and stooped over a faint imprint. That¡¯s a claw. ¡°Had Lord Paeris not turned around the other way and walked back out,¡± Lefyr elucidated what Glen hadn¡¯t figured out yet since the Monarch was busy running a hand over one of the footprints. He then sniffed at his soiled fingers curious. A trick Jinx had taught him back in Oakenfalls. Son of a bitch. ¡°It would have fallen on him sire. The Elderblood was lucky in his weirdness.¡± ¡°Why weirdness?¡± Glen queried and got up, every bone on his spine crackling as they snapped in place. Allgods damnit. ¡°Any Zilan worth his salt would have investigated further Hardir. Not leg it. Praise the gods for ¡®quiet bards¡¯ sire, right?¡± Lefyr murmured in a lower voice since Paeris had reached them walking casually followed by two armed marines. Yeah, Glen thought not really bothered with the bard. He glanced at Troy, the gladiator appearing to be in a much better condition than him, or just more used to heavy beating and bruising. ¡°Where did it go?¡± Glen asked Troy and he shrugged his shoulders after examining the terrain. ¡°Not walked away for sure,¡± Troy replied pursing his mouth and then stared at the two story building¡¯s illuminated fa?ade. ¡°Reckoned it went up milord.¡± Glen felt everyone looking at his back intently. It made him very uncomfortable. ¡°This wasn¡¯t the wyvern,¡± he grunted hoarsely, although Glen wasn¡¯t a hundred percent sure of what that thing had been. And seeing the uncertain looks on everyone¡¯s face he casted a side-glance at Lefyr and whispered. ¡°Put a lid on it, cordon the blasted place and keep everyone away. Find out who is missing and stop waving that fucking arm around for crying out loud!¡± ¡°Yes sire,¡± the marine officer replied and tossed the arm to one of his soldiers to hide it. ¡°I expect the arm to remain as is Lefyr,¡± Glen added just to cover his base. ¡°Myrdor the arm is not a snack in case you lads had a craving,¡± Lefyr elucidated evenly. ¡°Yes sir!¡± Great. ¡°They is no need for alarm or needless panic. It was but a minor accident,¡± a manically grinning Glen assured those that had gathered for a feast in the company of the King, witnessed a good old brawl with a touch of murder in the finale. Potentially. One can still survive missing an arm. Eh.
447. A touch of murder
Luthos creepy uncle¡­ paid the God of Luck a surprise visit. The first line of one of the many coarse prayers/sayings adorning the taverns of Taras in Goras attributed to Arguen Garth. Unknown date.
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Arguen Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Lord of Morn Taras Monarch of Wetull King beyond the Pale Mountains Aniculo Rokae A touch of murder
¡°Give him a lightstone,¡± Glen ordered a Zilan. ¡°You. Bring yours here!¡± He stooped just inside the entrance to examine the old marble floor filled with different geometric shapes. The trail of blood continuing up the stairs to the second floor. ¡°Is there a light in here?¡± Troy asked shaking the lightstone a soldier had given him. ¡°No. It¡¯s not a fucking lamp. Just keep it steady. Don¡¯t step on the blood.¡± ¡°Do you sell these shit?¡± Glen glanced at the beefy man. ¡°Yes. There is more blood¡­ where did you find the arm?¡± He asked Lefyr that came down the stairs. ¡°Next to your foot Hardir. You have to see this.¡± ¡°Found the body?¡± ¡°No but we followed the trail up.¡± Glen signed for Troy to follow him and climbed up the internal staircase. Paused at the empty corridor of the second floor and then climbed another set of stairs to the flat roof of the building. The repaired terrace providing a commanding view of the square where the two tables had been placed. Glen could see them not forty meters away in the well illuminated plaza, the night breeze soft on his hurting face. He turned his attention on the blood trail they had followed, splotches of gore here and there marking a relatively clear trajectory to the back of the terrace facing away from the busy square. ¡°More blood here,¡± Lefyr informed him. Glen could see it. Marines were patrolling the nearby alleys, but the absence of buildings ¨Cthe workers had brought down most of them to use the material for repairs- allowed him to see the guts of Rain Minas at least two kilometers out. The majority of the still standing villas were around the four corners of the plaza. ¡°Stand aside,¡± Glen ordered the Zilan looking about for clues. ¡°Order your men to search every district bordering the center.¡± ¡°We¡¯re scouring the area Hardir.¡± Glen nodded and knelt next to the larger drying pool of blood. The spray had painted the nearby wall of the terrace shaded area and the parapet low wall around it. ¡°Come here Troy.¡± ¡°What did you find?¡± ¡°This looks like a half-heel to you?¡± Glen pointed at the bloody footprint on the cornice. ¡°Yep. It ain¡¯t from your beast. Are beasts a problem here by the way?¡± Troy asked while Glen looked about for anything else of interest. The sound of soldiers running back and forth livening the quiet West Wetull night. ¡°What do you think it was?¡± ¡°Have no clue. A big wild dog? A puma? What¡¯s the flavor of the month?¡± Troy taunted. ¡°No wild dogs. We have Trolls though up on the mountains. I killed at least a couple of Hydras myself.¡± ¡°Hah-hah¡­ you¡¯re serious?¡± Troy stopped to ask seeing his face. ¡°Ever fought a Ticu?¡± ¡°Not personally. Why?¡± ¡°Had a friend that saw one of them naked. Just asking,¡± Troy said looking about him, the lightstone in his hand dancing over the gory scene. But where is the body? Glen wondered. Why stand so far back from the feast? ¡°We have Chimeras,¡± Glen murmured. ¡°Not a lion¡¯s footprint that by the entrance,¡± Lefyr said approaching. ¡°Chimera¡¯s drink the blood, leave the body.¡± ¡°It left some of the arm,¡± Glen retorted. ¡°What¡¯s a Chimera?¡± Troy asked with renewed interest. Glen got up and stared at his boots. Then at Lefyr¡¯s. Hmm. A different style used by the marines without strings. ¡°That¡¯s an adventurer¡¯s wood reinforced heel. A Zilan design.¡± ¡°Are they common?¡± Troy asked. ¡°In Goras. But I guess by now most rangers have it, hunters as well. Foreigners even. I prefer them. I saw some of our Cofol merchants in the port. Some might have brought a pair here to sell.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a lot of leather strings to tie up. How long to take them off?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t usually,¡± Glen informed him. ¡°Unless I decide to take a bath.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t do that often?¡± Troy jeered with an idiot¡¯s grin. ¡°Step aside,¡± Glen grunted. ¡°Put some fucking clothes on.¡± Troy snickered but followed after him. Glen walked at the other side of the floor terrace to once again stare at the plaza underneath them. He could see more citizens or bystanders occupying nearby terraces. Some bringing food up there to enjoy the pleasant night from above and watch the Monarch entertain his guests. Fighting the gladiator included in the festivities. ¡°You said everyone was busy looking down,¡± Glen started. ¡°At the contest, the feast afore it.¡± ¡°Sure. Got anything? You seem wise. Not trying to imply anything,¡± the gladiator added still smiling. Fuck¡¯s sake. ¡°Maybe the victim was doing the same? The beast climbed up the wall and attacked while no one was looking this way. Tried to reach the back, even put a boot on the parapet¡¯s edge but didn¡¯t make it.¡± Glen puffed out and stared at the blood trail heading downstairs. ¡°Why use the front door to leave?¡± ¡°Maybe it heard Paeris?¡± Troy suggested. ¡°So it rushed down the stairs, bringing the body with it? At some point near the entrance the arm fell off. It sort of¡­ works, then it doesn¡¯t,¡± Glen murmured in bewilderment. ¡°How did Paeris¡­?¡± Troy wondered realizing what had troubled Glen. ¡°He couldn¡¯t. Nor would the beast goring the victim back here could have spotted him two floors down,¡± Glen replied. ¡°This assumes the beast wasn¡¯t on its way down already. But if it could come up the wall, why not leave the same way?¡± Glen stared at the noble Zilan talking with some of the marines and Elwuin, some humans listening in trying to understand the animated Zilan. ¡°Lefyr,¡± he decided with another glance at the nearby area from the good vantage point of the roof terrace. ¡°I want a group investigating the villa across the street.¡± ¡°That would bring it closer to the feast Hardir.¡± ¡°Do it,¡± Glen retorted and rushed down the stairs. Reaching the entrance, he walked outside but paused again and walked towards the disturbed wildflower bed the beast had hidden at briefly. Glen stopped there and glanced about him. The villa had a small garden, now a mostly abandoned flat area enclosed by a tall stone fence like all Zilan structures that had collapsed on a couple of spots. Workers had cut down the trees, clearing the garden from vegetation for the most part, leaving the occasional flower bed as decoration. One could see the plaza only if he stood near the villa¡¯s modest open gates. Unless he climbed up the stairs to watch the festivities from the roof. The beast¡¯s footprint was barely visible now with so many people walking back and forth nearby. Glen stared beyond the hiding spot next to the paved path leading from the gates to the villa but couldn¡¯t see any footprints leaving. It had confused him initially into thinking the beast had escaped by climbing up the roof. The sequence of events was completely different. ¡°It attacked the roof first, came down the stairs, exited from the door¡­ hid here to watch Paeris run towards us,¡± Glen said and Troy frowned. Glen started walking towards the distant wall of the garden. He stopped to examine the two meter tall stone wall, covered with ferns, dirt and ancient mold¡­ what looked a lot like specks of blood on the green leaves. He touched one with a finger. Yeah. Glen glanced back at the spot next to the villa¡¯s entrance thoughtfully. ¡°How far can you leap?¡± He asked Troy. ¡°Five, six meters if I have the momentum. More if I¡¯m desperate I suppose,¡± Troy said and Glen narrowed his eyes. ¡°Can you make it from the bush to here?¡± ¡°Where?¡± Glen pointed at the top of the wall. ¡°Mate that¡¯s over ten meters, plus you have to clear the blasted wall,¡± Troy retorted but then pursed his mouth looking at the distance, head turning back and forth. ¡°I don¡¯t want you to attempt it,¡± Glen stopped him with a groan of exasperation. ¡°Just needed to put things in perspective. A beast could do it.¡± He suspected some crazy athletic Zilan might even come close. Lith had jumped from the pyramid. That was a twenty meters drop. Could one make such a long jump though? With the help of a spell perhaps. ¡°What?¡± Troy gasped. ¡°No way.¡± It did. Leaped from the fucking entrance to the top of the wall and then out on the street. ¡°Myrdor!¡± Glen boomed at the Marine. ¡°You¡¯re stationed here, what¡¯s north beyond the edge of the city?¡± ¡°Nothing but ruins Hardir. Ah, the edge¡­ you mean,¡± Myrdor paused to think about it. ¡°I reckon the ravine leading at the edge of the plateau?¡± ¡°Does it lead to the forest?¡± Glen asked. ¡°It does Hardir.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way any animal can leap that far,¡± Troy protested his logic. ¡°You were considering it not half a minute back,¡± Glen retorted and signed for him to make a step with his hands. He wanted to reach the top of the stone fence. ¡°If a human can reach that far a beast could reach even further.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a champion of the arena!¡± Troy roared taking offense and then heaved Glen upwards easily. A grinning Glen reached the top and sat down looking right and left. The spot where the beast had landed clearly visible. It was marred in gore for starters but also cracked, the top flat stones dislodged with detached material soiling the pavement outside the garden wall. ¡°Do you take offense when no offense is given?¡± Glen asked and jumped down with a pained grunt. ¡°Fuck.¡± ¡°Was jesting. What now?¡± ¡°We find the beast,¡± Glen replied. ¡°Determine whether this was a random attack or it had a touch of murder in it as well.¡± ¡°Ugh?¡± Troy grunted but the Monarch was already moving away. Glen headed outside signing for Myrdor to follow after him and Lefyr did the same not a moment later.
Glen returned to their tables and went for the one he''d left his weapons and satchel. Put everything on and looked to find a harpoon for the gladiator from one of the marines. ¡°Give it to him. Put some fucking clothes on Troy!¡± Troy was wearing a pair of dirty leather pants. ¡°Don¡¯t need clothes,¡± Troy retorted and grabbed the harpoon from the Zilan. ¡°The beast heads for the ravine?¡± ¡°It won¡¯t nest in a city,¡± Glen replied and turned to look at Paeris. ¡°Come here bard.¡± ¡°Great Monarch, we talked about this,¡± Paeris protested. ¡°I shall sing no more.¡± You insensitive, callous bastard! That what worries you? ¡°Get your arse here!¡± Glen grunted irate and some of the Zilan talking with him murmured at the King¡¯s harsh tone. The crowd might not know what happened, but Paeris has no excuses. ¡°Yes your highness,¡± the handsome Zilan replied in a friendly manner and approached. Glen gave him a once over. ¡°How can I be of service to our Monarch?¡± ¡°What were you doing there?¡± Glen asked. ¡°Festivities are bothersome,¡± Paeris explained. ¡°You turned a new leaf eh?¡± Glen said mockingly. Paeris nodded. ¡°That¡¯s surprisingly accurate.¡± ¡°What did he say?¡± Troy asked as Paeris had switched to Imperial. The Elderblood cast a glance at the curious bare-chested gladiator and smiled. Is he flirting? For crying out loud! ¡°You didn¡¯t get inside the villa,¡± Glen noted clenching his fist. ¡°Left the moment I saw the blood,¡± Paeris¡¯ eyes switched to the listening Lefyr. There was not much of it on the doorframe. ¡°You have blood on your shoes,¡± Glen pointed and Paeris stooped to check his leather shoes. ¡°Must have stepped on¡­ hmm. There¡¯s no blood your grace,¡± he said raising his head. ¡°There isn¡¯t. But you thought there was,¡± Glen replied soberly. Paeris pursed his mouth. ¡°Can I speak with your excellency in private?¡± ¡°Lefyr is an officer and Troy can barely understand a word in Common,¡± Glen argued. ¡°Hey!¡± Troy protested. ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡± ¡°See?¡± Glen smirked, but then he turned serious again. ¡°Answer the question. The first one.¡± Paeris stood back and then brushed his hands down his shirt. ¡°I entered the villa.¡± ¡°What¡­ were you doing there?¡± Glen hissed restating his original question. ¡°I know you walked inside. Matter of fact. I think you went all the way up the roof¡­¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t touch her,¡± Paeris cut him off. ¡°It wasn¡¯t me. I¡¯m the victim here! I was in danger.¡± ¡°Lord Paeris who was she?¡± Lefyr asked. ¡°Hardir, I¡¯d like a private audience,¡± Paeris insisted. ¡°Lefyr,¡± Glen said soberly. ¡°Prepare an armed group to search the ravine. I¡¯ll join you.¡± ¡°Yes sir,¡± Lefyr replied and marched away with a last glance at the blank-faced Paeris.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. ¡°Speak fast,¡± Glen hissed. ¡°She called me on the terrace,¡± Paeris started lowering his voice. ¡°It is not a crime to seek pleasure Hardir.¡± ¡°So you went there but upon arriving you saw the beast,¡± Glen continued not bothering to comment. ¡°What was it?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to speculate.¡± ¡°Is she alive? Lefyr knows her,¡± Glen asked, a nervous tick appearing on his left eye. With the right still swollen, he had trouble seeing the Zilan¡¯s face. ¡°I remember two glowing eyes, a hairy beastly figure,¡± Paeris replied and stared at some of the nearby Zilan watching their conversation. It was obvious they were listening in. Glen didn¡¯t care. ¡°I ran. I¡¯m not a person that enjoys violence or acts of heroism. I couldn¡¯t save her.¡± ¡°You fought an assassin to save your life in the king¡¯s bedroom.¡± ¡°That happened more than a dozen centuries in the past. An ancient tale of another time,¡± Paeris replied maintaining his composure. ¡°I barely survived.¡± ¡°How the hell did you escape?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t Hardir. I was stabbed repeatedly,¡± Paeris argued calmly. Yet the assassin didn¡¯t have as much trouble dispatching the King and the Queen of Wetull that night. Glen thought remembering a very old conversation he had with Flix. When you learn of the old King¡¯s fate, the Gish had said. Ask what became of Elas¡¯ sister. Aenymriel. Nym. But that old crime wasn¡¯t relevant to this attack. Was it? Glen shook his head trying to clear his thoughts. ¡°What beast follows a witness to his kill? Down a set of stairs and out in the yard. Stops the pursuit realizing you were heading into a square full of people and leaves. All the time carrying a whole body with him?¡± Glen asked the Elderblood and Paeris pursed his mouth displeased. ¡°What are we facing here Paeris? You are well over a thousand years old. Maybe two.¡± ¡°I¡¯m older than that Hardir,¡± Paeris said evenly. ¡°I just take care of myself.¡± ¡°Yet you can¡¯t strike a note or lift a hand to protect yourself. Save a girl that wanted your company,¡± Glen added a little disgusted with his actions. ¡°You devolved Paeris.¡± ¡°Apathy is an affliction,¡± Paeris replied with a grimace. ¡°Caused by trauma. At first I was bothered with it. Learned not to. I¡¯m allowed the choice to keep myself safe and leave heroics to those that seek more from life, oh great Monarch. I just want to be.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe you,¡± Glen retorted. ¡°You also seek pleasure by your own words and backed Rothomir for the throne. Who was the girl?¡± Paeris shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Ityliel,¡± he said indifferently and Glen narrowed his eyes. You son of a bitch! ¡°Tyl,¡± Glen hissed through his teeth. ¡°Good that I sent Lefyr away.¡± ¡°What?¡± Troy snapped ogling his eyes and Glen glanced his way equally frustrated. ¡°Was she inside the villa?¡± Troy asked his face turning red with anger. ¡°The beast is sated Monarch. Tomorrow we¡¯ll see both moons full in the sky. Months until we witness them again,¡± Paeris said staring in Glen¡¯s sour face. ¡°Leave the matter be.¡± Troy grabbed the Zilan by the throat and started strangling him with Paeris desperately trying to defend himself. Glen pursed his mouth watching the Zilan struggle for a long moment undecided, the open-mouthed bystanders staring at the scene in bewilderment. Argh, damn it. Glen cursed grinding his teeth in frustration. Then slapped the gladiator¡¯s beefy arm once. ¡°Let him go,¡± he told the snarling Troy. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°He¡¯s a member of the Council of Twenty,¡± Glen explained and Troy released the gasping Zilan. Paeris collapsed to his knees with several Zilan rushing to help him up. ¡°So what?¡± Troy growled not believing his ears. ¡°He could¡¯ve helped her!¡± ¡°Lower yer darn voice,¡± Glen counseled him angrily. ¡°It¡¯s done. Now get your harpoon. Let¡¯s head to the ravine.¡±
Nesande¡¯s Shade cast a bright blue ring around the invisible, all black, Ora¡¯s Eye in the cloudless night sky. Glen turned his eyes at the dark downwards slope of the ravine. The natural chasm meters deep, wide as a small valley. Escaping waters had dug it but the riverbed was dry. Exposed vines, thorny roots and undergrowth covered its vertical walls, caves gasping open in the basalt rock at the sharp banks with sediment gathering at its base making tall trees sprout out amidst the rich vegetation. The incline rather steep for horses. ¡°Any tracks?¡± Glen asked the Zilan leading their group. ¡°Nothing sire.¡± Glen grimaced and climbed down from his horse. The ground covered with soft soil over the bedrock. Large stones littering it amidst the rotten leaves. He¡¯d a lightstone in his hand, another tied on a chord hanged from his neck and looked about the lively place. Insects could be heard buzzing and their many animals raising a ruckus in the enclosed area. ¡°Split up,¡± Glen ordered. ¡°Check those caves and the trees.¡± ¡°Where does this lead?¡± Troy asked him. He had his harness over his bare chest. Two fancy sword handles visible over his shoulders. ¡°The Chestnut Forest. A big area,¡± Glen murmured and walked carefully on the dark ground. ¡°It goes all the way to the shores under the Plateau. The fishing port there.¡± ¡°You should have let me snap his neck,¡± Troy griped. ¡°Thought about it. But I may need him.¡± ¡°For what?¡± Troy asked a little frustrated. ¡°Just put another one in the Council!¡± ¡°Not my Council Troy,¡± Glen replied. ¡°Wetull is a peculiar place to rule over. Emerson wouldn¡¯t have agreed to that also.¡± ¡°Bah. You do everything the old man says?¡± ¡°Not really,¡± Glen admitted and paused to look at him. ¡°Can you use both blades?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a Dimachaerus,¡± Troy retorted with a snort. ¡°Ayup. Can you?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Glen replied. ¡°Are ye any good?¡± Glen pursed his mouth. ¡°Reckon I am.¡± ¡°Wanna put that to the test?¡± Troy grinned sheepishly. ¡°Are you a thrill seeking idiot?¡± Glen snapped. ¡°We¡¯re looking for a missing girl here!¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way she survived,¡± Troy said defensively. ¡°It¡¯s why I got angry with that creep.¡± ¡°I know¡­ you slept with her?¡± Glen asked with a deep sigh. ¡°What if I did?¡± ¡°When did you¡­?¡± Glen paused in frustration. ¡°She¡¯s a Zilan.¡± ¡°So what? Didn¡¯t think about any of that at the time or after. Neither did she, I reckon.¡± Troy frowned. ¡°The Wyvern King probably knows more on them long-eared lasses.¡± Glen didn¡¯t really. He was a bit apprehensive around Zilan females. ¡°They can read yer mind,¡± he warned him. ¡°Bullshit! Who says that?¡± ¡°Everyone knows it around these parts,¡± Glen said defensively. ¡°All of them?¡± ¡°That I don¡¯t know fer sure,¡± Glen admitted. ¡°Huh, well¡­ I was a bit drunk at the moment,¡± Troy grunted. ¡°Could¡¯ve missed it. Lots on my mind.¡± ¡°You thought of something else while bedding a Zilan?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t want to talk about it mate. I¡¯ve sobered up with all that happened.¡± ¡°You started it. It¡¯s called conversation,¡± Glen snapped. ¡°They call it gossip where I¡¯m from. And I wanted to break a sweat. You turned it pretty weird. Read my darn head. Hah!¡± Troy retorted and looked about him frustrated. ¡°Did she spoke in Common?¡± Glen insisted casually. ¡°Didn¡¯t talk much Garth of Goras,¡± Troy grunted. ¡°Not my style.¡± ¡°Uhm,¡± Glen replied not believing him. ¡°Must have, since you learned her moniker.¡± ¡°She told me that herself!¡± ¡°In what tongue?¡± Troy puffed out in frustration. ¡°I don¡¯t remember.¡± Glen shrugged his shoulders having made his point. ¡°Lefyr!¡± One of the searching soldiers yelled. ¡°We found a sheath!¡± Glen turned to walk towards the Zilan marine. ¡°What type?¡± Lefyr barked from the other bank of the ravine. Glen reached the Zilan and he showed him the empty dagger sheath. The leather moist from the humidity of the place, the leather strap torn as it must have gotten caught on a snapped low-hanging branch. ¡°It¡¯s Tyl¡¯s sire,¡± the Marine said sadly and Glen nodded. ¡°I know,¡± he replied much to the Zilan¡¯s surprise. ¡°Point your light between those tree trunks.¡±
¡°Anything else?¡± Lefyr asked two hours later. The night had progressed slowly but despite searching around the area thoroughly they found nothing more. Glen pressed his back on the tall thick tree trunk and stared at the darkness of the natural incline leading to the Chestnut forest. He could hear Zilan yelling inside the caves, amidst the trees and their lights shining all over the ravine. ¡°Nothing sire,¡± a dispirited Myrdor replied. ¡°No sign of her. We must write the commander.¡± ¡°Let me worry about that damnit!¡± Lefyr barked at him visibly frustrated. Glen smacked his lips equally peeved with the fruitless search and waved the Marine leader away. ¡°Go have another look deeper in the woods,¡± he urged him. ¡°We must find her.¡± ¡°Yes Hardir,¡± Lefyr agreed and marched away grabbing Myrdor by the shoulder. He spotted the pirate¡¯s dog standing two meters away watching the Zilan moving away. ¡°Go away,¡± Glen grunted and the dog snorted. Milky eye tearing up. It must have followed us all the way from the city, he thought. ¡°Oust. Leave! There¡¯s no food for you here!¡± Glen yelled and then gave up as the dog looked to the skies indifferently. Glen rolled the damp sheath in his fingers thoughtfully. He was tired and still healing from having fought the much-faster recovering Troy earlier. What a stupid idea, he told himself. Why would you fall for that? Pride, he decided. Trying to live up to expectations. Bunch of bullshit. They needed a proper scout to sniff out the beast. A better night or day. What had that low-life Paeris called it? ¡°Morrow is a new moon,¡± Glen murmured, the expression used by Soletha when she was frustrated with the young princess and moved from the trunk, moisture gathering on his nappe and dripping under the collar of his leather gambeson. ¡°But tonight the old moons die.¡± Forgive and forget. Not an easy thing to do. Inis-Mir had channeled Glen¡¯s wrath of that day and hadn¡¯t forgiven the Priestess yet. She would though, once the girl grew up a bit more. Allgods I miss her, Glen decided thinking of his daughter. I need to go back. Nothing more I could do here. The pirate¡¯s dog growled. ¡°Just fuck off!¡± Glen snapped and reached to wipe the moisture with a hand, felt it sticky on his glove. Thick and gluey. Glen brought his arm forward and stared at the dark substance he¡¯d gathered at the tips of his fingers. A shiver run down his spine, the Monarch¡¯s mind remembering the black tears on Sen¡¯s face and he groaned like a wounded beast recoiling. His eyes clearing a moment later and the liquid on his fingers, now bathed in the lightstone¡¯s luminance looking more crimson than black. Glen tipped his head back and stared high following the tall tree¡¯s dark trunk. The bark rough and covered with moss. But not everywhere. At regular intervals chunks of the bark had been dug down to the white interior, the hard skin scrapped off. The trail lost ten meters above the ground where the heavy chestnut tree branches started. The canopy lost in the pure blackness. He dropped the sheath. Loosened the straps on his plate and removed it. Glen snapped his arms forward and cracked his fingers one by one. Come on, he urged his older self. You¡¯ve done this a thousand times afore for pennies. This is a worthy cause all things considered. The Monarch looked to find purchase for his fingers, then the tips of his boots. Glen breathed out slowly, clenched his jaw and heaved himself up the trunk. Cursed the gods and his stupidity halfway up, four meters from the ground and then concentrated on reaching the first branches more than thinking about it as a slip of the foot could gift him a broken leg or back in the best of cases. A broken neck or head in the worst. ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake,¡± Glen grunted grabbing at the first thick branch and with a terrifying moment of suspension heaved himself up enough to slot it under an armpit, feet dangling in the air. He was weighing a ton it seemed. Stupid piece of lard! He admonished himself, breathing heavy trying to swing his body up. You gotta lose some pounds for crying out loud! The next branch was easier to reach and the ground disappeared from his eyes. Still cursing himself Glen found the thicker mid-branches of the massive Chestnut tree and soon after Ityliel. Whatever was left of her anyway¡­ The beast had eaten her innards, ripped open her chest to reach the internal organs, scrapped the face to the skull and chewed the neck down to the vertebrae. Pieces of flesh were still bleeding on the leaves and the branches of the tree. The porous bark absorbing most of it. A grim-faced Glen stood over the unrecognizable pile of flesh and bones of the young Zilan and breathed out slowly. He looked at the bleeding corpse without really seeing it, numb and more sad than angry. Glen had a glimmer of hope she could have made it despite her injuries, but it was a fool¡¯s hope. ¡°Sorry I never got to know you,¡± Glen murmured resting his back on the moist trunk and staring at the giant branch extending at least seven meters away from the tree. Lost in the sea of thick branches surrounding it. Above and below. ¡°Hrr¡­¡± something said. A low guttural sound whistling through the heavy laden branches and the unseen dog started barking from the base of the tree. Glen stood up and squinted his eyes, the glowing stone on his chest shining its bright white light creating shadows all about him. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± Glen snapped, furious with the dog¡¯s incessant creepy barking that reached him muffled through the branches. ¡°Old unnatural smell¡­ hrr¡­ coming up the stairs¡­ hrr¡­ yeah. Tender flesh tasting¡­ hrr¡­ human,¡± the voice rustled, as if coming out of a soggy tube and whistling through iron bars or teeth. Luthos creepy uncle¡­ came to pay him a surprise visit. Glen stepped forward to approach the half-eaten corpse shoved between two forking smaller branches, the thick bark crackling under his boots and a hand reaching for his sword. ¡°Hrr¡­ serve Monarch¡­ hrr¡­ the Circle said¡­ hrr¡­. until next time.¡± ¡°Show yourself you piece of shite!¡± Glen roared taking another step, his boot touching Ityliel¡¯s ravaged body and used his Kopis to chop at a large leafy branch. Once. Twice. And it dropped freeing more of the larger branch he stood on. Glen¡¯s light illuminated more of the surroundings. At the end of the thick Chestnut branch, the wood arched considerably in order to support the weight of the beefy creature standing there. Two glowing beastly eyes appeared four meters away and Glen smelled wet fur and putrid sweat running down a very dirty hide. So much scorching unadulterated malice doused him from the close proximity of the monster, his leg started shaking. Found the short lustful god Boning the uncle¡¯s wife over a table They rolled over thick leaves here They rolled over sticks ¡®n hay there All over shit ¡®n mold In the lord¡¯s fucking stable A hairy arm closed the black cloak and long hairy fingers secured its clasps one by one with Glen watching in shock. Beastly snout and gnarly fangs, a red tongue salivating down its hairy inhuman chin. Click and clack the clasps were heard as they closed hiding the muscular hairy body. That beastly head with hairy long ears looking back at the frozen Glen until it finished and the beefy arm retreated in darkness. When it returned, a long blade had sprouted there. The humanoid half-wolf half-beast smiled a predator¡¯s gnarly smirk. ¡°Hrr¡­ ever sleep afar¡­ hrr,¡± it told the ogling Glen breathing heavy between agonizingly formed barely coherent words and amidst the darn dog¡¯s wild also unnatural guttural barks. ¡°From the a¡­ hrr¡­ l¡¯fern. Watch¡­ yer footing¡­ hrr¡­ now,¡± it added with a maniacal growly larking howl or belly deep chuckle. Then it leaped away disappearing into the darkness and the branch snapped into place. The violent momentum dislodging the broken up body of poor Ityliel and all but plunging the stunned Glen to his death.
The next day found the sleepless Glen watching the mourning Zilan and sober humans gathered to pay their respects to the murdered Ityliel, some of the Marines on duty so aggrieved they refused to patrol the city and Lefyr allowed them to visit the cocooned in a white sheet young female first. One of yesterday¡¯s feast big tables used to deposit her momentarily. A group of pirates from the crew of White Deceit that had learned the news from the human merchants had come as well. They were standing further apart from the Zilan and their Cofol friends in pensive silence while casing the nearby buildings. Eh, at least with honest crooks you know were ye stand. Glen walked towards them and stopped before the deeply bowing Abrix and the Pirate Captain apparently named Horace¡­ something or other. That dog standing a couple of meters away and watching the mourners pay their respects in the middle of the square. ¡°I think your dog sniffed out a monster last night,¡± Glen told the listening with wide open eyes in the beginning Horace. The Pirate furrowed his brows when Glen finished. ¡°Alas yer Excellency,¡± Horace said sadly. ¡°Never had no dog despite what rumors ye may have heard. The ports¡­ are full of liars.¡± Glen pursed his mouth and pointed at the one-eyed dog that had turned its head around to watch their exchange. The dog barked once. ¡°The dog disagrees,¡± Glen hissed and the dog barked twice. ¡°What dog milord?¡± Horace asked innocently. ¡°That one. It follows yer arse around all the fucking time,¡± Glen grunted. ¡°Can¡¯t you tell the blasted truth for once in yer miserable life?¡± ¡°Apologies milord,¡± Horace replied assuming an inconsolable expression. ¡°I just can¡¯t help meself.¡± Glen groaned and stood back. He could sympathize with him but only to an extent. The pirate pretended to wipe his eyes from non-existent tears. ¡°I was trying to¡­ anyway. It helped in a sense,¡± Glen continued after a couple of tries half in the mind to punch Horace in the mouth. That¡¯ll make him shed some tears for sure. ¡°It did?¡± Horace asked sounding flabbergasted. Quickly recovering. ¡°Why¡­ anything the milord wants to spare I¡¯ll take to give to the crew.¡± ¡°The milord would rather eat his glove,¡± Glen deadpanned. ¡°Than paying yer likes.¡± Horace stood back shocked with Abrix snickering next to him. ¡°Did you train it?¡± Glen asked curious after a moment of listening to the uncontrollable chuckling of the masqueraded hat-wearing Gish. ¡°It¡¯s a rare breed,¡± Horace said with a glare at his petite colleague. ¡°I¡¯ll buy it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid you can¡¯t,¡± the pirate said with a frown. ¡°The dog is not for sale.¡± ¡°Five gold coins,¡± Glen tested his resolve and Horace stooped as if in considerable pain. He removed his hat and run a hand through his thinning disheveled grey hair. ¡°I see you are considering it. Ten gold coins. Imperial.¡± The pirate started crying with real tears. ¡°I can¡¯t sell him. Abrakas have mercy. He won¡¯t leave me.¡± Glen stood back surprised. ¡°Is the animal that attached to you?¡± Horace couldn¡¯t speak overcome with emotion. ¡°Aye, curse him,¡± he sniffled. ¡°Alike the plague.¡± ¡°Well then,¡± Glen murmured and grimaced. ¡°I guess that¡¯s a no.¡± Horace wiped his face with the back of his hand and eyed the dog with what looked like pure hatred. ¡°Could I perhaps, given our recent warm rapport¡­¡¯ he started sadly. ¡®¡­ask yer lordship for a tenth of the amount to buy supplies for the brothers? Two tenths if possible? They haven¡¯t eaten in three days milord.¡± Glen shook his head with understanding. ¡°You could ask.¡± Horace looked at him hopefully. ¡°But you won¡¯t receive any coin,¡± Glen elucidated. ¡°Surely it¡¯s not a permanent arrangement? Mayhap on the morrow I bother¡ª?¡± Glen cut him off sternly. ¡°It is.¡± ¡°Yes senior.¡± The Monarch thought about it some whilst examining the lowly, despondent looks the pirates were throwing him. He¡¯d seen hungry stray dogs with more dignity. ¡°But you can restock yer ship with supplies,¡± he said aloud for his crew of misfits to hear. ¡°I¡¯ll inform Lefyr to allow it for free. Just this once.¡± ¡°Gratitude illustrious Milord!¡± Abrix serenated with a high-pitched voice and dived to hug Glen¡¯s leg with both arms. ¡°Don¡¯t thank me,¡± Glen replied a little uncomfortable, shoving the Gish away while fighting the urge to kick that ridiculous hat from his small head. ¡°Thank the blasted dog.¡± And the wagging its tail, smugly-looking at them dog barked twice in agreement.
448. Some guy in Badum (1/2)
Lear ¡®Razor¡¯ Hik ¡®Captain¡¯ ¡®Butcher of Drek River¡¯ ¡®Man from Atetalerso¡¯ Some guy in Badum Part I -Welcome aboard-
7th of Tertius 194 Aldenfort, Kingdom of Regia The chair creaked when Lear pushed back to steer it away from the tavern¡¯s square table. A sharp sound that cut through the noise of the crammed with morning dwellers venue. Mostly fishermen that had returned from their shift. Their job starting even earlier than the big lake¡¯s castle¡¯s residents normal routine. A town and a castle. As tightly packed a settlement as one could find. Lear had seen and heard the likes a thousand times in the past. Mayhap fewer than that, but not by much. The sound gave him pause, left hand bringing the scabbard to rest on his spread out knees as he¡¯d turned to watch the tavern¡¯s open door. A tavern wench standing in his eyes¡¯ way, a pale shoulder left bare giving the customers a glance at the side of her swelling breasts. Some spectacles much more pleasant to the eyes than others. ¡°That venison steak tasted funny,¡± Edge griped sitting across from him, both hands clasping at a tall bronze cup of local beer. A blend of sorts. ¡°Too much fucking garlic to cover up the foulness.¡± ¡°A conspiracy?¡± Lear rustled a half-hearted taunt, tongue toughing the rough insides of his mouth where that arrow head had ripped through, two molars missing and the internal stitches still tugging at his lower jaw. A phantom pain. A reminder of the brutal job to fix it that had left him voiceless for twenty one months. Perhaps for the better. ¡°Hey, Cunobarus!¡± Edge yelled at the tavern owner, the Lorian glaring at the aged warrior. Edge cast a side-glance at Lear who was observing the crowd and grimaced. ¡°When ye learn of a man named ¡®cunt¡¯ something ye better be on the alert.¡± Cuno was the old Lorian word for female genitalia. ¡°Just call me Servius mister Edge!¡± Cunobarus protested civilly and wiped his hands with a towel, he then tossed on the counter. ¡°How is that any better?¡± A sour-faced Edge retorted shaking his grey head. ¡°Poor-serving cunt. Fucking given me another ulcer fer pity¡¯s sake!¡± ¡°Have some warm milk old-timer!¡± Someone yelled from another table. ¡°How about ye shut the fuck up, chubby trawl for a face!¡± Edge barked back. ¡°Calm down now gramps. Yer the one looking a bit too red there hah-hah!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not switching venues,¡± Lear warned his scowling friend. ¡°Nor walking out of decent shade for no reason,¡± he added, his eyes on a young man wearing a leather vest that had chainmail woven under it and one left sleeve made out of thick fabric. Expensive as allhells to make. A large heavy crossbow on his back, protruding over his right shoulder and two large leather straps crossing his chest. The left side carrying a small compact wooden quiver that held six bolts at the most. The Issir, though he seemed to have a bit of Lorian in him, brushed his brownish hair back and looked about the packed tavern. Looking for something. Lear moved forward on the chair that creaking returning and the young man marched deeper into the tavern. He was heading for the counter and Servius ¡®Cunobarus¡¯ who seemed as suspicious of the newcomer as well. ¡°Do you have a board for bounties?¡± The young man asked Servius and he waved him away. ¡°Outside,¡± the tavern owner told him. ¡°Right side of the wall as you enter. If it¡¯s full just nail yours over an old one. See you don¡¯t get caught doing it.¡± ¡°Can I bother¡ª?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t I just answer? What is this? A plaguing information desk? I run a tavern.¡± Servius retorted gruffly. ¡°You want to order something perchance?¡± ¡°No thank you. It¡¯s too early for me. But I want to learn¡ª¡± ¡°Closest school is in Asturia lad. Follow the big road by the lake,¡± a patron interrupted him with a leer. ¡°You start now, you¡¯ll be there in a week.¡± The young man pursed his mouth frustrated. Got to make them fear you kid, Lear thought rubbing at the back of his sweaty neck. You¡¯re too blasted polite. A good thing. But not always useful. Or as quick to bring results. The young man sighed and walked out, a tavern wench giving him a once over as he walked past her and a smack on his bottom. It made him squirm and turn around but there were a lot of solemn faces glaring his way and so the flushed newcomer decided against taking offense. ¡°Tides brought him over amidst the dead fish,¡± a patron commented with a chuckle and his friends agreed. ¡°Lots of them darkies are creeping about lately but Lucius will fix that.¡± ¡°Want to check on the board?¡± Lear asked the contemplating in silence Edge and the aged bounty hunter ¨Ctwice retired according to him- ex-mercenary ¨Calso sort of retired- raised his eyes from the goblet¡¯s surface. ¡°Reckon yer not finding anything else in the cup despite all this lustful gazing.¡± ¡°My knee is killing me,¡± Edge griped pursing his mouth. ¡°I ain¡¯t standing up. Don¡¯t think I can.¡± Lear slapped the table once and pushed himself up. It wasn¡¯t that easy, the muscles locked after the winter and too much traveling on a blasted saddle. A long sea journey afore that. The world much the same as he remembered it with a couple of touches of mystique. Just for Luthos¡¯ giggles. At least you met a couple of new people. Half of them already dead not two years later. Eh. ¡°Well, I did.¡± Lear rustled. ¡°It¡¯s a good day to cover some ground. We can be in Tenor afore the sunset.¡± ¡°Bullshit we can. We need supplies anyway.¡± ¡°I got some coin from the Bank,¡± Lear explained. ¡°How much?¡± ¡°Nineteen pieces,¡± Lear replied looking at the open door. Customers entering or exiting. The early morning group leaving and the late morning group arriving. ¡°The darn bank run out of gold?¡± Edge snorted and groaned through clenched teeth, both fists planted on the creaking table to help him stand. ¡°Lucius cleaned them out to pay the troops,¡± Lear replied. Regia was in her third King within five years. ¡°A rumor I heard. The clerks wouldn¡¯t say anything.¡± They would but Lear was too tired to get it out of them the hard way. ¡°Told them who you are?¡± Lear looked in his old friend¡¯s face solemnly. ¡°It would have made no difference. We¡¯re retired Edge.¡± ¡°Yeah, I just don¡¯t feel it that last part. Retired people find a home and settle down. Grow a garden and build a cellar. Buy a cow and watch her munching on grass under the shade.¡± ¡°You want to buy a cow?¡± ¡°I¡¯m too sentimental to own an animal ye fucking know that. Plus you¡¯ve used this shite a couple of times already so it ain¡¯t working¡­¡± Lear shook his head and walked towards the door not bothering to listen to the rest of it. He already knew what Edge was going to say. Edge who followed after him with an acrid groan said it anyway.
The young man was putting up several ¡®wanted¡¯ posts on the board over the old ones. Some quite old like the one for ¡®Plunderer¡¯ Wilt who was dead since eighty six, others covered with painted cocks or big-titted wenches and lewd messages. Lear squinted his eyes to read the text under the drawing of a man wearing a fancy doublet whilst Edge watched the locals walking the narrow streets of Aldenfort, a sour expression on his wrinkled face. Feeling their presence the man turned around holding some of the posters in a small stack. ¡°Can I be of help gentlemen?¡± ¡°Doubtful,¡± Edge retorted eyeing him. A sober Lear reached with a hand and took one of the posters from the stack. He examined it quickly, more interested in the text than the painted portrait. The chance of getting a good enough likeness pretty low most of the times. But not always. ¡°Hey,¡± the young man protested mildly. ¡°How much? There¡¯s no sum here,¡± Lear asked raising his eyes. ¡°No¡­ there is. It says a couple of century¡¯s worth of gold? It¡¯s an expression.¡± In the army. ¡°Hah,¡± Edge snorted and smacked his lips. Lear raised his right arm, fingers clenched in a gloved fist which made the young man recoil a bit, but the veteran unfurled the index finger and used it to scratch the side of his nose in silence. ¡°Listen,¡± the man told them nervously. ¡°This is a job for skillful individuals¡ª¡± Lear stopped him. ¡°Who posts the fee?¡± ¡°Mister Tarsus. Says it right at the bottom. It¡¯s in small letters¡ª¡± Lear cut him off again. ¡°I can read just fine. The name means nothing. Who¡¯s the guarantor?¡± ¡°Mister Severus,¡± the man blurted out. Lear raised a greying brow. ¡°Director Ramirus¡¯ office. LID officer of the Third Legion.¡± ¡°The Legion?¡± ¡°Aye. He has a decree from the King.¡± Lear pursed his mouth. ¡°What does pending and per means?¡± Two hundred gold pieces was a large enough sum to get a lot of people off their arses for sure, but details in the script always mattered. The small letters. ¡°This is a large job¡­ as I said¡ª¡± ¡°What¡¯s yer name lad?¡± Edge asked cutting him off mid-sentence. ¡°Yol Borin.¡± ¡°You all boring?¡± A perturbed Edge asked stooping forward. ¡°Yol...¡± mister Borin retorted a little frustrated. ¡°It¡¯s a place.¡± A half-breed bastard of means.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°The northernmost edge of King¡¯s Forest in Lesia,¡± Lear added looking at him. ¡°What was an Issir doing there?¡± ¡°My father worked with James Merck in Atetalerso,¡± Yol explained. Edge glanced at Lear surprised. ¡°Marion¡¯s father. A distant cousin to Miss Black Gold.¡± Lady Diana Merck. Her husband Claus Viceroy was president of the Board in the Bank of Trust. ¡°You know Lady Calcote?¡± Yol asked looking surprised himself. ¡°Is the bank involved in this?¡± Lear asked not answering. ¡°Agent Keird Calcote is her husband.¡± ¡°He¡¯s director of the main branch in Cediorum now.¡± Hmm. Keird climbed up the ladder. ¡°What happened to Robart Holt?¡± Edge asked. ¡°He retired,¡± Yol replied. ¡°How do you know Keird Calcote?¡± Lear grimaced. ¡°Worked with him.¡± ¡°You worked for the Bank?¡± Yol stood back and examined his face. ¡°I came here to get the job soon as I heard about it. Make a name for myself.¡± ¡°That the same job needing skillful folk not to fuck it up?¡± Edge queried just to be sure they were on the same page. ¡°Haven¡¯t you heard of ¡®start small and work your way up¡¯ son?¡± ¡°What did Marc Laudus do?¡± Lear asked not bothering with the lad¡¯s ambitions. ¡°He¡¯s implicated in the murder of King Jeremy,¡± Yol replied. ¡°I¡¯m looking to gather a team to find him and his associates then bring them to justice.¡± Lear snorted with Edge outright releasing a loud chortle unable to keep it in. The pending part of the deal. Dead or alive came with incentives for the latter. Why would the Bank care though? ¡°Tarsus turned you down,¡± he told Yol. ¡°Couldn¡¯t the Bank spare more¡­ people?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a busy time,¡± Yol Borin retorted sounding miffed. And also lying. More people were dispatched. Yol was out here by himself though. In that he was telling the truth earlier. Hmm. ¡°How many are we looking for here?¡± Lear asked. ¡°I assume the ¡®per¡¯ is for that.¡± That increased the fee significantly. ¡°At least four. As many as twelve. We¡¯ll need twice that number to find them,¡± Yol said. ¡°Can you guys handle a long search?¡± ¡°Lots of mistakes in yer thinking,¡± Edge grunted crossing both arms on his chest. ¡°Didn¡¯t mean to offend.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll have to,¡± Lear rustled. ¡°In this line of work.¡± ¡°Right. And you are?¡± Yol asked. ¡°I¡¯m Mister Lear and this is Mister Edge,¡± Lear replied adding soberly. ¡°You¡¯ll never find them with a big ole posse Yol. They¡¯ll see and hear you come from a mile away then scatter if they haven¡¯t done so already.¡± ¡°Probably had everything arranged beforehand,¡± Edge murmured with a grimace and Lear nodded. ¡°Plans get all messed up in the heat of the moment or change. Timeline moves up and fucks you up even more,¡± he elucidated. ¡°Ayup,¡± Edge agreed and glanced at the silent, a tad panicky Yol. ¡°You alright there young buck?¡± ¡°Razor Hik?¡± Yol croaked and glanced at Edge afore looking about them in alarm. ¡°And the ¡®Head-hunters¡¯ of Yepehir?¡± Just the two of us left son. ¡°That sounds slightly offensive,¡± Edge retorted. ¡°Right Captain?¡± Lear folded the poster in two and slotted it inside his coat. ¡°Tarsus is nearby?¡± He asked Yol thoughtfully. ¡°Oh, fer crying out loud,¡± Edge protested reading his friend¡¯s mind. ¡°Seriously?¡± ¡°I¡¯m coming with you,¡± Yol said quickly and Edge looked his way even more bewildered. ¡°Can you use that crossbow?¡± Lear asked. ¡°I¡¯m a skilled marksman.¡± ¡°Ever shot a man in the face?¡± Edge asked with a chuckle. ¡°No. But I trained with Desmond Boss in Castalor,¡± Yol replied with a frown. ¡°Marion footed the bill?¡± Lear probed while Edge rolled his eyes mockingly at the lad¡¯s reply. ¡°Aye. We¡¯re family friends.¡± ¡°Can you use a blade?¡± Lear probed with a glance at the grimacing in despair Edge. The old bounty hunter went through a whole range of face contortions to get his point across to Lear. ¡°We need a third guy,¡± Lear argued. ¡°Uh? No we don¡¯t. Matter of fact, weren¡¯t we talking about retiring just now?¡± His friend griped. ¡°You did. I¡¯ve some work still left to do and need coin to fund the operation,¡± Lear reminded him. That itch had returned. ¡°What operation? We¡¯re the last of the darn gang still breathing! And now you want to investigate the plaguing Church? I thought you were kidding!¡± Lear set his jaw stubbornly. He¡¯d made up his mind in Eikenport. ¡°You¡¯re gonna have us all killed!¡± Edge blasted him. ¡°Should have just left me bleed out then. I can¡¯t go through this shite again!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need a blade,¡± Yol protested interrupting their back and forth. ¡°I can shoot a bolt in less than two minutes¡ª¡± Edge had gotten his dagger out abruptly and pressed the sharp tip of it on Yol¡¯s belly stopping him short of finishing. ¡°Now lad, you could go for that crossbow,¡± Lear rustled soberly. ¡°Or you can jump away. Either way yer getting stabbed. The mail might stop it but it will hurt just the same. Now at the end of that backwards jump, Edge will come at you again with that dagger. Since it¡¯ll take him seconds to reach you everything I just said would repeat itself.¡± Yol gulped down nervously. ¡°Walk away kid,¡± Edge counseled him sadly. ¡°You don¡¯t want that life. Find a girl, buy a cow.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take the opening if there is one,¡± Yol decided disregarding Edge¡¯s advice and completely changing his earlier assessment about the old pair of bounty hunters. ¡°And I can learn to use a blade properly if that¡¯s what it takes.¡± Fame will open doors for you, Lear thought just as a sad-faced Edge sheathed the dagger and stepped away from Yol Borin. Make it easier for you to reach an objective or just swiftly kill you in the blasted process. Infamy did the same thing. ¡°Mark,¡± Lear rustled looking at the youthful face of the new member of their team. ¡°Welcome aboard.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s Mark?¡± Yol asked a little perturbed and ¡®Edge¡¯ rolled his eyes in exasperation. - 13th of Tertius 194 NC Outside the East Gates of Tigerfall Castle Two kilometers from the bridge over Wayford River and the road to the City of Badum. Lear watched the soldiers patrolling the road thoughtfully. Groups of ten heading for the bridge. The breeze coming from the nearby Canlita Sea soothing on his back but the strong sun penetrating his drenched heavy coat. Lear needed a bath, but he could cool himself up in the river. He reached for a flask of water and poured some in his mouth. Lear spat it down, then poured some more directly on his face to wash away some of the dirt, a hand patting the horse¡¯s mane comfortingly. ¡°First Foot?¡± Edge asked bringing his own mount next to his, a couple of soldiers looking their way as they marched. Lear nodded. ¡°Why isn¡¯t the Duke sending them towards the capital?¡± ¡°Thinks it¡¯s a lost cause I reckon,¡± Lear grunted. Other stuff might be in play here also. ¡°Stop for the night?¡± ¡°They might have people watching the inns,¡± Lear rustled and glanced at the young man bringing up their two mules. ¡°Give word of our likes to the interested parties.¡± ¡°They wouldn¡¯t risk for anyone to know their whereabouts,¡± Edge noted. ¡°Hmm.¡± They might have set up a system in advance. But Edge was right. This is too close to Regia to feel safe. ¡°We¡¯ll camp near the bridge,¡± Lear decided and Edge grimaced in protest. ¡°My back could use a plaguing bed Captain.¡± ¡°Put two blankets down,¡± Lear grunted and turned his horse around. ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake,¡± Edge cursed to his back. ¡°Why head east in the first place? If they just headed straight north they could have reached Riverdor in a week.¡± Then what? Ride straight into a warzone? Laudus would have known all that. Lear pulled at the reins and turned on the saddle to look at his weathered face. ¡°Lorians in an Issir city have the same problems Mark had back in Aldenfort,¡± Lear said. ¡°They stand out.¡± ¡°Every city around here is teeming with Issirs Lear,¡± Edge retorted. ¡°Want to rethink that? Mayhap over a good meal and a goblet of beer? Haven¡¯t gazed at a good pair of Issir tits in a while. I¡¯m having a craving.¡± ¡°You hate beer and you wouldn¡¯t do that to Rita.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind good beer and me Rita is dead for years now so you can fuck right off.¡± ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have brought her up old bones,¡± Lear said regretfully. ¡°Don¡¯t give me this weak shit. Hate not hearing a proper reply more Captain,¡± Edge spat frustrated. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Mark asked missing a lot of old history. Decades of it. ¡°Are we going in or not?¡± Lear grimaced. ¡°You have that fancy map lad?¡± He asked. Yol ¡®Mark¡¯ for marksman Borin carried one in his bags. The young man traveling with a lot of stuff with him, not all of them useless. They had all started that way. You gradually think about carrying too much baggage upon getting longer in the tooth or lose most of it along the way. Unless you¡¯re a heartless bastard or a hoarder. Lear was neither. It didn¡¯t make him a better guy. ¡°Sure. It¡¯s on the mule,¡± Mark replied and stared at the two older bounty hunters looking back at him suggestively. ¡°I¡¯ll go and get it,¡± he hissed through his teeth and climbed down from his horse. ¡°Bring a piece of salted pork as well and that hard cheese you went and bought,¡± Edge told him. ¡°We can build a camp first,¡± Lear grunted with a glare. ¡°It¡¯s gonna take ye a while to decide,¡± Edge retorted with an annoying leer. ¡°I can feel it in me bones.¡± ¡°Argh,¡± Lear growled and dismounted to stretch himself for a bit. ¡°There are fine taverns just beyond those gates,¡± Edge taunted still leering but Lear would have none of it.
Ronald ¡®Edge¡¯ worked on the dried up piece of pork in his mouth, softening it up with a bit of water first. He used the left side of his mouth ¡®where them teeth are better¡¯ supposedly. Lear was still poring over the map ten minutes later with Mark looking at the comings and goings inside the town. ¡°They rode straight through Aldenfort after making that initial stop at Tenor,¡± Lear repeated what that LID agent Tarsus had told them. If one removed the Legion armour and blue tunic from the young man back in Aldenfort, Tarsus could easily pass for a cutthroat. Nothing civilized about him also. A straight up murderer in uniform that had landed a good job. He was thorough in vetting them out and Lear hoped his information was accurate. ¡°I would¡¯ve done the same in their stead,¡± Edge replied amidst chewing on the pork. ¡°They wouldn¡¯t have stopped here also with the Duke¡¯s army camped near the city. Too many nervous eyes to stall for long with everything that¡¯s happening back west,¡± Lear continued and stretched his back, the tired spine crackling as it snapped in place. Sort of. ¡°You don¡¯t think they headed deeper inside Kaltha?¡± Mark queried and reached to have some water from the flask Edge was using, earning a glare from the older bounty hunter. ¡°They could have but I wouldn¡¯t,¡± Lear replied. ¡°Looped around the lake and headed for Badum ye reckon?¡± Edge asked casually in between tentative bites at the rocky-chunk of cheese. He¡¯d finished with the pork. ¡°Thing is salty as fuck lad. Plenty of stone in it too or something pretty close.¡± ¡°It¡¯s aged cheese. It lasts longer,¡± Mark defended his choice in supplies. ¡°Give me back that plaguing water,¡± Edge grumbled a little peeved. ¡°Would they have stayed there though? Duke Charles worked as Master of Silence for a time. He controls Badum now even if he stays at Riverdor,¡± Lear asked wanting to settle their argument. ¡°Don¡¯t see him helping Lucius given their recent history,¡± Edge retorted. ¡°You think Charles can¡¯t get past that? It worked out well for him in the end,¡± Lear countered. ¡°Optics matter for these noble cunts.¡± ¡°Say they visited Badum. Used a contact there to replenish their supplies afore heading out again.¡± ¡°Right. You want to look for some guy in Badum and not here?¡± ¡°Too close to the crime, too big a hub to have a man posted. You were right in that. But if the heat comes to Badum and had they decided to lurk thereabouts then you need someone to keep an eye open for trouble. If you spot man-hunters, they are there for you.¡± ¡°The Bank has a branch in Badum,¡± Mark added. ¡°Aye. Would they have stayed somewhere near?¡± Lear asked Edge. ¡°Could be. Assuming you are correct. Which isn¡¯t decided yet. But pulling at this particular thread sure, they could always head further east if trouble came a-knocking. Mayhap even north or towards the Van Calcars. Then head north again. No better place to get lost but up there.¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s too big a journey into the unknown. I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll attempt to run so far away unless it¡¯s absolutely necessary.¡± Lear pointed out. ¡°Not to mention Pascor is friendly with Lucius if the rumors are true. Trading with Asturia and all.¡± ¡°Uhm. I¡¯m sure they are all fuck-buddies now. I also heard a man wanted to buy Framtond¡¯s statue the other day and put it in his villa. Offered a silver. True story. But the Duke got greedy ¡®n wanted two, so the deal sort of fell off.¡± It took Lear and Edge twenty minutes to get everything out of their system. But it worked and they did. ¡°So what does this mean?¡± Mark asked curious after watching their endless back and forth. Edge grimaced, used the back of his hand to clean his mouth then glugged down the rest of the water with his eyes closed. He let out a thunderous belch right after. With that done he opened his pale-blue eyes, caught Mark still expecting an answer seeing as the folding the map Lear was lost in his thoughts and took it upon himself to answer the youngest addition to their team curtly. ¡°We¡¯re sleeping by the bridge tonight lad and yer loaning me that spare blanket.¡±
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 449. Some guy in Badum (2/2)
Lear ¡®Razor¡¯ Hik ¡®Captain¡¯ ¡®Butcher of Drek River¡¯ ¡®Man from Atetalerso¡¯ Some guy in Badum Part II -The Albino-
11th of Sextus (first month of summer) of 174 NC The pine woods near Drek River and the heavily defended by Sovya¡¯s Karls bridge leading to Kadrek Warbands Rebellion third year Three days after First Legion¡¯s commander Lord Miles Lennox¡¯s disastrous flanking foray into the frozen wilderness to circumvent the fortress at Yepehir guarding the road through the Howling Pass and break the stalemate.
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The blood had turned to a block of crunchy red ice so Lear used his clenched fist to break it and free the half-buried sword¡¯s handle. He got the weapon out of the compacted snow and scrapped the rest of the frozen gore on the rough black bark of a nearby tree trunk. The wind blowing through the trees, heavy branches crackling and the snow feeling like fine sand that hurt your eyes. ¡°Horse,¡± Bolt yelled a warning, Cofol face covered in strips of cloth with only the slanted eyes showing. Lear grimaced and signed for two mercenaries to have their shields ready and then he stepped out into the open. The latter mostly a euphemism for the space left between two groupings of northern pine trees made by some big animal that wanted to move fast during the night. A wandering white bear, some nervous Troll or a giant of sorts according to their local guide. Lear was of the opinion that the cold of winter had weakened the trees and then the lesser cold of the summer had finished the job but he was open to all explanations. The narrow face of the Lesia nobleman watched nervously at the armed soldiers flanking his animals and cursed at the younger of the two officers escorting him to solve the problem. Lord Jacomo D¡¯Orsi had a right to be annoyed in a sense. He was paying their wages officially. But as everything in life, what was written on a piece of paper didn¡¯t necessarily hold more truth than what the local guide believed had created this path through the forest. ¡°Captain sir,¡± Nathaniel Wyncall said nervously trying to calm down his mount. The second officer being Tussio D¡¯Orsi, Lord Jacomo¡¯s young cousin. ¡°The High Baron wants to know if the woods are cleared.¡± Edge chuckled hearing the officer¡¯s query from where he¡¯d stopped to have his boot repaired. Rita smacking his arm to make him stop. ¡°Reckon there¡¯s enough of them woods here to have all the land from Asturia to Anorum fit in nicely with room to spare,¡± Lear replied hoarsely. ¡°We¡¯re still looking for survivors.¡± ¡°Gather the men and push towards the river,¡± Lord Jacomo spat angrily. ¡°The scouts found Sir Marcus. Duke Holt is livid mister Hik! He raised a hell at headquarters and the Commander ordered units to penetrate the woods from both flanks. I have two Dukes looking to place the blame for this mess on someone and it ain¡¯t gonna be me!¡± ¡°Who found him?¡± Lear asked pursing his mouth. So much for the Knight of Roses. Eh. ¡°Lord Emerson Lennox. Pushed towards the Bridge but he needs help to take it or we¡¯ll have another noble funeral in our blasted hands!¡± Jacomo replied and glared at him. ¡°We need to help out and make a good show of it.¡± ¡°The ice might not hold for a crossing,¡± Lear warned. ¡°I don¡¯t care. Finish this mister Hik,¡± Jacomo replied. ¡°I want the rebels broken afore the end of Sextus!¡± ¡°Harsher measures might be needed here Baron,¡± Lear grunted. ¡°My brother¡¯s wife had a daughter. They named her after my mother,¡± Jacomo informed him furious. ¡°The girl is unwell and old Lady Eleonora wrote to me. I¡¯ve had enough of this god¡¯s forsaken place!¡± Jacomo had two younger brothers from his late father. Dino who was serving as his aide and Sir Laurent who had been killed six months back leaving a pregnant wife and son behind whilst attached to the mercenaries. The Baron had taken the young widow in to raise her children. ¡°Redmond has moved his camp up near the river. There¡¯s a way to cross without using the bridge,¡± Tussio informed the thoughtful Lear from atop his own horse, feeling smug next to his cousin. Lear eyed the young officer. ¡°How do you know?¡± ¡°They caught a half-dead Northman near the bodies. Helped them identify Sir Marcus and gave up their whereabouts.¡± ¡°Emerson didn¡¯t know the knight¡¯s face?¡± Lear asked rubbing his beard with a gloved hand to clean some of the frost away. ¡°There was no god darn face!¡± Jacomo spat incensed. ¡°They had taken the man¡¯s head back to Kadrek!¡± Eh. ¡°Wyncall get the men moving. Find the other officers. You too D¡¯Orsi. You are on the roster so get to work!¡± Lear ordered soberly. Tussio glanced at his uncle but Lord Jacomo signaled with his head to do as he was told. Then with a last look at the frozen surroundings the Baron of Atetalerso turned his mount around and left them.
- Three hours later a clad in her winter coat Rita brought him a cup of hot tea, the ranger¡¯s eyes smiling at Lear¡¯s expression. ¡°Nathaniel says they are ready to move. Three groups. We have ten men needing medical attention. They might be faking it.¡± ¡°Leave them behind,¡± Lear retorted. ¡°D¡¯Orsi won¡¯t like it,¡± Rita warned. ¡°I¡¯m running the outfit. The Marquise is paying our wages. The Baron can write him a letter or tell him in person once he¡¯s back in Lesia.¡± ¡°Yes sir,¡± she replied and Lear glared at her. ¡°You can¡¯t break the Northmen easily,¡± Rita added, vapors forming over her red frostbitten cheeks. ¡°Everyone breaks,¡± Lear reminded her and the woman¡¯s eyes darkened. Edge approached them at that moment carrying a leather bag covered in iced snow on the outside and half-filled with rough salt in the inside. He dropped it on the ground between the two of them. ¡°Praise the Allgods Lear, these are not criminals. They fight for their freedom. You know that,¡± Rita hissed and shoved his chest furious with both arms. With a peeved glare at the guilty face of Roland Edge the Nord female walked away from them. ¡°She¡¯s gonna hate me,¡± Edge griped sadly. At some point you need to tell her how you¡¯re feeling Roland. ¡°I can¡¯t do this anymore Captain,¡± his friend added. Lear set his jaw stubbornly and then glanced at the darkening Sovya sky above their heads. It¡¯ll be night soon, he thought. No time to waste. ¡°You need to see the present,¡± Lear finally told his friend with a grunt. ¡°Whatever they were afore or how they were perceived at one point or another, they have soaked their arms in blood.¡± ¡°This cuts both ways Captain.¡± ¡°Absolutely,¡± Lear agreed and glanced at the bag. ¡°Bring it along.¡±
- 16th of Tertius (2nd month of Spring) 194 NC Badum Kingdom of Kaltha Lear eyed the citadel rising above the market¡¯s buildings, the walls guarding the west gates of the city on their back and the port¡¯s facilities now hidden behind them. A soft breeze was coming from the large lake, Canlita¡¯s brackish waters at their highest but the well built on the rises city wasn¡¯t affected by the tides. For the most part. On a clear day with low humidity which was a rarity around these parts, one could see the peaks of the Great White Mountains in the distant horizon rising above the green wilderness that was Bearcub¡¯s Forest. Jelin¡¯s Spine. Badum was a large city port, but less soldiers patrolled its streets than Tigerfall Castle. Duke Charles had brought the First Foot near Riverdor. Lots of young faces in them recruits, Lear had noticed. His eyes stopped on Mark their own young recruit brought in to replenish losses and boost their numbers. He pursed his mouth. You can¡¯t really replenish shite, Lear decided. Or stem the god darn losses. What¡¯s gone, it is gone forever. ¡°Find a cheap inn with a stable,¡± Lear told the frowned Roland Edge. ¡°You¡¯ll stay with Mark there. I¡¯ll see to find one as well deeper in the city. We¡¯ll meet in the market in two hours. There, by the meat stands.¡± ¡°Mostly fish that I see Captain,¡± Edge griped. ¡°It¡¯s all meat Edge,¡± Lear retorted. ¡°Yet the smell isn¡¯t as agreeable.¡± ¡°What¡¯s agreeable about butchered meat?¡± Mark cleared his throat interrupting them. ¡°Why do we split up?¡± ¡°To confuse any ruffians,¡± Edge retorted and clicked his tongue to turn the horse around. ¡°Don¡¯t get yourself killed,¡± he warned the examining the crowd Lear. ¡°I ain¡¯t dying alone.¡± Mark furrowed his brows to his words but Edge slapped his arm as he moved past him and forced the aspiring ranger to come along, bringing the mules with him.
Lear crossed Badum¡¯s colorful market and rode slowly through its narrow streets towards the city¡¯s upper districts. Realizing the old neighborhoods on the rises weren¡¯t easy to move in and out, he turned east again and headed towards the gates right at the edge of the sloped terrain. The East Gates led to the coastal road which in turn headed for Lotus River and the village that bore its name. Edgefort after that and the land of the Lakelords. Seven kilometers after one crossed the gates the road branched north into the wilderness and the thick forest. The monks of the Five had built a town there of sorts. A community of monasteries that was a religious destination for those seeking to touch the divine. Find forgiveness for their sins in this life. They called it the Irde Shrine. Three of those settlements existed with the same moniker in their names. History aside, pilgrims still came to visit them or expend some idyllic days surrounded by nature. The hunting grounds around Irde quite rich with game. Lear found an inn and tavern next to the main road leading to the East Gates. He walked his horse in the alley leading to the stable and tied it at a stall. A young Issir stable-hand approached and greeted him switching to a bad Lorian accent. ¡°Salutations. Talked with Gudo?¡± Lear licked his lips thoughtfully. ¡°Who¡¯s he?¡± ¡°Gudo Toorn. Gudo¡¯s Place?¡± The Issir smiled and pointed a thumb at the tavern across the alley. ¡°You need to pay for the spot in advance.¡± ¡°How would you know I paid?¡± Lear queried looking about them. ¡°There¡¯s a small street-facing window right there. I can call to the cook and ask him.¡± ¡°Right. So then you take the horse?¡± ¡°Keep it until its owner arrives to pay the fee. It¡¯s two coppers. Four if I feed him.¡± Lear got his purse out. ¡°Feed the horse. I¡¯ll talk with Gudo for a room.¡± ¡°Yes sir.¡± Lear paid him and walked back out of the alley. He headed around the corner for the two-storied tavern¡¯s door and walked inside, the wooden floorboards creaking under his boots. No music playing, but enough patrons conversing or having their lunch. Some fishermen drinking on a corner and a group of four armed, hides-wearing hunters sitting at a table near the window next to the door. Gudo stared at him from the counter. No other Lorian in sight. Lear pursed his mouth, hand reaching for his large razor casually and then walked towards the tavern and inn owner. ¡°Greetings,¡± the middle aged Issir wearing the apron said with a lukewarm smile. It¡¯s the weapons and the armour, Lear told himself. You make people edgy mate. Might even be the face. More stitches there than on yer old coat. ¡°Looking for a room?¡± Gudo guessed and reached for an empty bronze cup after Lear¡¯s nod. He poured some whiskey in it. The color a honey-gold, or shitty-gold. ¡°It¡¯s on the house,¡± he added and slid the small bronze cup to him over the polished surface. Lear stopped it with his hand and closed his fingers around the cup. Brought it to his mouth and sipped at the strong drink. ¡°Any other Lorians in the premises?¡± Lear asked with a grimace. ¡°Not this week. But next month we might see some. Are you from Asturia?¡± ¡°Much further than that,¡± Lear replied and looked about him. ¡°Came with a boat?¡± ¡°I rode.¡± Gudo nodded and looked at his own hands on the counter. He reached for a cloth to wipe at the surface some. ¡°So¡­ are you renting mister?¡± His words trailing. ¡°Lear. I paid the stable boy to feed my horse,¡± Lear replied. ¡°I¡¯ll rent for tonight. Think whether I¡¯ll stay more and tell you all about it come the morrow.¡± Gudo nodded and went to fetch a large iron key from the wall behind him. Lear took the key and pointed at the bottle. ¡°How much?¡± ¡°A silver. But I¡¯ll need the bottle back.¡± ¡°Hmm. Give it here,¡± he told Gudo and grabbed the bottle after finishing his cup. He turned around and walked slowly towards the hunters group still discussing betwixt themselves. They had finished their meal and were now dawdling whilst slow-sipping at their goblets. Beer in them, but reckon any liquid will suffice, Lear thought and stopped at their table. ¡°Greetings,¡± he told them placing the bottle on the table and the Issirs stopped their talk to look at the foreigner. The older of the bunch glanced at the bottle afore replying. ¡°Looking for help to finish that stranger?¡± He asked. ¡°Looking to donate it.¡± ¡°A philanthropist,¡± the old hunter told his friends. ¡°What¡¯s the lure?¡± Lear raised his gloved hand and used three of his fingers to scratch at his bearded jaw. He needed a shave but one needs a mirror for that, unless his eyes are young enough to use a pool of water. Lear¡¯s wasn¡¯t. ¡°Some basic info,¡± he rustled and the old hunter nodded. ¡°What about?¡± ¡°A group of Lorians came through Badum a couple of months back,¡± Lear replied. ¡°In the middle of winter? Not many tourists do that. Were they devout?¡± ¡°They weren¡¯t tourists,¡± Lear replied. ¡°But they might want to use the hunter¡¯s paths to lay low.¡± The old hunter finished his beer and reached for the bottle. ¡°No hunters would hunt during winter,¡± he told him. ¡°But they¡¯ll work as guides for the pilgrims.¡± Lear let go of the neck of the bottle and the Issir took it. Poured some whiskey in his goblet and gave it a twirl. ¡°Are the tourists staying in Irde?¡± ¡°Not without knowing someone. They can stay in the inn there but it¡¯s expensive and frankly has no comforts. Most leave after a while unless they are into it I suppose and decide to ask the monks to take them in.¡± ¡°Would they?¡± ¡°Sure. But you need to work to live with the monks. Dedicate yourself to all manner of harsh tasks to enter a monastery. It¡¯s not all prayers mind you nor do they have comforts. They eat what gods provide through effort and avoid importing any goods from the city.¡± ¡°No trade with Irde?¡± Lear asked. ¡°Only basic stuff. Hides for wine or grain. They come with their mules every three-four months,¡± the Issir replied. ¡°It¡¯s a tough life. Even Naossis¡¯ priestesses have it rough. No fancy clothes but what they make.¡± ¡°Women stay there?¡± ¡°Not the kind of priestesses you see in Valeria. Them nuns are more robust and manly,¡± the hunter explained and his friends chuckled. Lear couldn¡¯t see Laudus leaving like a priest or chopping wood and hunt for food. Then again he might not have to. ¡°Have caravans brought any ¡®fancier¡¯ city stuff lately?¡± Lear asked and the hunter refilled the goblet afore answering. ¡°No civilian caravans on that route mister. Why are you looking for them?¡± ¡°What about Beren Cruz?¡± A younger hunter asked and reached for the bottle as well. ¡°Who¡¯s he?¡± Lear asked. ¡°A local merchant. Has a hides and leather business,¡± the old hunter replied with a frown. ¡°Beren won¡¯t sell anything extra. No one would unless the monks ask for it and it¡¯s unlikely they¡¯ll do that out of the blue. Even less likely Beren will dedicate a caravan on that route. Beren works the Tollor road. By the way Irde isn¡¯t run by tourists¡¯ friend. It¡¯s a place of worship.¡± Sure but it¡¯s a remote settlement in the middle of nowhere. ¡°Name¡¯s Lear. How about a smaller group to carry supplies?¡± The old hunter sipped at his goblet. ¡°We work with Beren. He¡¯s not working the forest route. What the monks want they come and get it,¡± he finally said with a glare at the younger hunter. ¡°You can take your bottle.¡± ¡°Keep it,¡± Lear replied with a grimace. ¡°Too strong for my stomach.¡±
Lear stepped out of the tavern intending to head back to the stable, take the horse and look for that hides merchant afore returning to meet up with Edge and Mark at the market. The two of them were searching that other part of the city. While standing at the entrance of the inn he noticed the Bank¡¯s square brick building across the main street. Lear had picked Gudo¡¯s place for that reason. Keep an eye out for his ¡®at this time inconvenienced¡¯ former employers. Half a dozen of fancy horses watering themselves at the adjoining stable. The Bank of Trust had quarters bought for her higher-ranking staff right next to the bank. The two buildings separated by a very narrow alley not even a meter apart. An underground vault could be reached from that second building also. But it was as much a trap as a way to reach the gold housed there. The second building was full of paid guards. A comely lithe Lorian female with tightly made blonde hair caught in a round bun had stepped on the porch of that second building. A clad in a leather doublet athletic Lorian with reddish-black hair coming to stand next to her a moment later. The man wasn¡¯t over thirty so he was young by Lear¡¯s standards and truth be told looked more like a Nord-Lorian half-breed. A sinister but cultured face and sporting a fine sword. Another set of blades on the saddles of the horses. Expensive cavalry boots without strings. Mostly worn in Lesia. The woman turned her head and stared at the tavern Lear was standing. There was something there vaguely familiar, Lear thought. Something vaguely familiar with her escort as well. Lear had a thing for faces. Always remembered them. Still while the young couple was familiar, he was certain they haven¡¯t met afore. ¡°Eleonora,¡± the man said a little frustrated. ¡°We are moving out love.¡± Lear furrowed his thick brows, the young woman nodded in reply to her escort¡¯s plea and walked to her horse. She parted her long coat and pushed it back to reveal a pair of snuggly-fitting leather trousers underneath and then jumped on the saddle nimbly. She glanced one more time towards the watching bounty hunter, then turned the horse around and trotted away. The man following after her a moment later. Could be nothing, he thought. But they don¡¯t look like clerks to me.
Lear arrived at the large emporium and workshop near the east walls of Badum, half a kilometer from the Gates half an hour later. He climbed down from his horse, tied it to a post outside the building and walked towards the Issirs working in there, the stench of the boiling leather and strong chemicals used in the procedure suffocating. Lear coughed up, his eyes watering and asked for the manager. An Issir worker pointed a finger at the corner of the large building and Lear strolled there still clearing his throat when he reached the heavy door. The bell rang when he pushed it open. The interior cool and well illuminated by the large windows at the front. Some racks with leather jackets and coats decorating the walls. The room smelling of leather and wood. A middle aged Issir stood up from behind an office desk to approach him. ¡°I¡¯ll have someone show you around,¡± the Issir explained. ¡°Looking for the manager,¡± Lear replied. The man¡¯s face was lit up with a merchant¡¯s smile. ¡°You¡¯ve found him. Beren Cruz,¡± he said warmly and tended a hand. A large gold ring on it with his initials. Lear clasped his forearm in the Lorian manner. ¡°How can I be of service mister¡­?¡± ¡°Lear Hik.¡± ¡°Not familiar with your business,¡± Beren said walking back towards the office desk with a wave for Lear to follow him. He pointed at a leather armchair. Everything inside the room was dressed in leather. ¡°Are you hailing from Asturia? Islandport? Your accent doesn¡¯t ring of Regia.¡± ¡°I¡¯m from Lesia,¡± Lear replied leaving it at that. ¡°You¡¯ve made quite the journey to reach our little corner of the world,¡± Beren said with a surprised nod and reached for a ledger and a quill. Lear had made even bigger journeys to reach even further corners of the world. In this continent or the one across the pond. ¡°You¡¯re looking to order in bulk then?¡± The merchant asked now in business mode. ¡°Not looking for an order, but I¡¯m here on business just the same.¡± Lear replied with a frown. He didn¡¯t have the funds to grease everyone for info and while Tarsus had fronted them a modest sum the moment Lear told him who he was, Lear would rather keep the coins to use for his own plans. The Bank would probably charge him more than give him a loan after the mess in Eikenport. ¡°I thought you run an outfit¡­ given all the weaponry. Is that a razor? Good grief,¡± Beren said with a restrained chuckle. ¡°Mostly use it for shaving,¡± Lear replied and added with a pause. ¡°When I have the time.¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°Well, I could use it to cut rough hide for sure. Might have something similar as a matter of fact hah-hah,¡± Beren sobered up and stared at his ledger. Lear stared at his ledger as well to glean anything but stumbled upon the matter of young and old eyes again with him having the latter. ¡°You are not here to order mister Hik?¡± ¡°I want to learn whether any bulk of supplies have gone up the forest road towards Irde,¡± Lear replied straightforwardly. The door was closed behind him. Bell on it and everything. Beren would either be helpful or he wouldn¡¯t. Either way Lear would know. ¡°What manner of supplies?¡± ¡°Winter clothing. Hardtack, grain biscuits and salted meat. Liquor or wine. New mattresses, clothes, boots, hunting gear, camping gear. Tools.¡± Beren stood back with a frown. ¡°I¡¯m in the leather business. Some coats as well. Not really dealing any other stuff.¡± ¡°You could try it. In exchange for hides.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t understand, the monks bring them here. Hunters as well. I then re-sell them to Tollor and Riverdor. It¡¯s a bad year sure but not bad enough to force me to change inventory.¡± Lear pushed back on the comfortable chair. The leather made it slippery so after a moment he decided the design wasn¡¯t practical. ¡°What is your business mister Hik?¡± Beren asked working at his gold ring with a thumb. ¡°Looking for some fugitives,¡± Lear replied hoarsely. ¡°Locals?¡± ¡°Lorians. Mostly.¡± ¡°Duke Charles runs a tight ship.¡± ¡°From Riverdor?¡± Beren smirked in agreement seeing that he was familiar with the local politics. ¡°It¡¯s been a rough couple of years. Half a decade of trouble since the war started,¡± the merchant said. ¡°Then the mess with the Lakelords. Badum didn¡¯t have much luck.¡± ¡°Lots of cities are in a worse state,¡± Lear countered. ¡°Couple of them stand leveled if I¡¯m not mistaken. Which I¡¯m not.¡± ¡°Can I be truthful here?¡± Beren asked. ¡°It would be nigh beneficial for both of us.¡± ¡°Duke Charles shouldn¡¯t get involved in our local affairs.¡± ¡°Who else would? Does Lady Aafke have any power?¡± Beren grimaced. ¡°Nobody wants to even fathom Duke Dolf stepping his foot here,¡± he admitted. ¡°But we can¡¯t have Charles dictating policy and treating us like second class citizens. Taxes are through the roof. There¡¯s a mandate for citizens to enlist in the army if they are of age. But where is it? The army is in Riverdor. I say let Riverdor fund Duke Charles ambitions.¡± ¡°Petition the High Regent,¡± Lear offered. ¡°Bah,¡± Beren snorted. ¡°No one wants to take the risk. Charles has eyes everywhere these days. You¡¯ve seen the patrols.¡± Hmm. ¡°Say someone wanted to avoid the Duke¡¯s eyes,¡± Lear started. ¡°Criminals have flocked to Tollor and Pascor, last couple of years.¡± ¡°Still. Badum is vital to reach Riverdor on this side of the Canlita Sea,¡± Lear insisted. ¡°Way I see it, you need a presence here to funnel all them goods garnered in Tollor and Pascor. Not to mention all the stuff folk want out of Asturia, Islandport or the lands of the North.¡± Beren rapped his fingers on the table thoughtfully. ¡°Kaltha isn¡¯t a good place for fugitives to hide. We¡¯re stricter than the south.¡± ¡°For my fugitives it is much better than Regia at the moment and Lesia was out of reach,¡± Lear replied nonchalantly. ¡°Not to mention I¡¯ve seen criminals aplenty in Issir lands mister Beren. Why, in all lands really.¡± ¡°Caravans don¡¯t head for Irde. Not mine.¡± ¡°Are there any others?¡± ¡°The monks have their mules and donkeys. They come down twice a year,¡± Beren started but Lear had heard all that before. ¡°Irde isn¡¯t a good place to hide. Where? Monks are not accepting people in easy because they guard their relics and the darn inn there is primitive and run by a dwarf that hates humans.¡± ¡°What about Naossis priestesses?¡± ¡°They won¡¯t take a male. The have vowed celibacy to only love their Goddess,¡± Beren explained. ¡°Uher¡¯s monks are¡­ difficult to live with. Tyeus¡¯ believe in everyday struggle and sleep outside with the elements and Ora¡¯s disciples are creepy to begin with.¡± ¡°What about Luthos?¡± ¡°The inn is Luthos¡¯ monastery,¡± Beren said making quotes at the last word. Uhm. Lear puffed out. Maybe your hunch is wrong, he reasoned with himself. This is a dead-end. Not to mention Laudus would have trapped himself in or around the settlement if his pursuers reached the junction. What then? ¡°Is there a way towards the mountains?¡± ¡°Through you mean. The Narrow. But you need to cross the forest and then climb the canyon. The terrain is ungodly and only monks know the way.¡± ¡°Why monks?¡± ¡°The mountain path is a backroad to Ikete Shrine allegedly.¡± ¡°The Crimson Forest?¡± Lear asked. Beren nodded and then tightened his mouth thoughtfully. ¡°What?¡± Lear asked noticing he¡¯d slipped up there. ¡°I can pay for the information mister Beren.¡± The merchant breathed out and rubbed his forehead with a hand. ¡°There¡¯s word in the streets some use it to smuggle goods from the capital. To avoid getting taxed by two Duchies and a Barony.¡± ¡°Some?¡± Beren grimaced. ¡°Unlawful creatures Mister Hik. You don¡¯t need to get involved with them.¡± ¡°The man I chase butchered a king,¡± Lear spat. ¡°Literally. They found him in pieces Beren. People won¡¯t stop coming.¡± ¡°Now it makes more sense, your interest,¡± a pale-faced Beren said with a nod. ¡°Would they use their ¡®smuggling ring¡¯ to resupply a small outfit hiding in the forest in secret?¡± Lear asked calmly. ¡°I suppose they would for a hefty fee,¡± Beren replied. ¡°They are not saints Mister Hik despite operating near monasteries.¡± Lear nodded. Laudus could have paid them if he had a man that knew the local gangs. He needed gold for that though. A group that large needs two to four mules of supplies per month at the minimum. Maybe twice that number since they didn¡¯t know how many of Laudus¡¯ cronies were still with him. Say every two months if they eat less and enjoy hardships which I bet they don¡¯t. Still that¡¯s a four to six man job at the bare minimum to escort through the forest. Lots of wages and missed profit from the smuggling business. Mayhap the man visited the bank? No bank in Tenor or Aldenfort but there is one right here in Badum. A former Master of Silence probably has a few accounts to fall back on, in case everything goes tits up. And it had. Lear got his purse out but Beren waved his hand dismissively. ¡°I need to know a name to make contact with the smugglers Mister Beren.¡± ¡°There¡¯s an old warehouse at the docks. The easternmost side under the uplands. Has a road behind it. It leads to the beach at the base and loops around the rock wall.¡± Beren started after sucking at his front teeth. ¡°It comes out at the shores some kilometers from the east gates. The beach is rocky there and steep but if you turn north for the main road¡­ you¡¯ll end up near the junction.¡± ¡°Does Pascor unload there?¡± Pascor smuggled goods all over the Canlita Sea. It would have been foolish to believe they had stopped coming to Badum because of Charles. ¡°Yes. During the nights,¡± Lear replied. ¡°But you can use the path as I said to run stuff in and out of the city unseen.¡± Lear stared at him intently. ¡°Look for Albino. Rumor is he runs the place,¡± Beren told him with a tired voice. ¡°Is that a name?¡± ¡°I have no idea,¡± Beren replied.
Lear walked out of Beren¡¯s office and walked towards the workshops. He heard a horse approaching from behind but kept walking towards his mount at the same pace. Reached it and went for the reins when the horse stopped behind him with a nervous neigh. Ah. He turned around slowly and gazed at the man riding the stallion, the sun directly above their heads making the stranger¡¯s hair appear copper in color. The guy from the bank earlier, Lear realized. He glanced behind the large horse, angling his head and about twenty meters away Lear spotted the woman with the fancy riding skills standing atop her own horse. Comely face wriggled in disgust at the stench emanating from the workshops. The well combed man raised two fingers over his left brow in salute. ¡°Awful place to meet again,¡¯ he said in a refined Lesia accent. ¡°Haven¡¯t met ye before,¡± Lear retorted and placed a hand at the rear of his horse. A slap there and he could send it on the newcomer. ¡°Actually you did,¡± the man replied with the hint of a smile. ¡°I was a bit younger then,¡± he added. ¡°The building much better ventilated.¡± ¡°Was it a bank?¡± Lear asked narrowing his eyes. ¡°For you perhaps,¡± the man replied solemnly. ¡°For us it¡¯s our home.¡± For us. Son of an expensive whore. ¡°Well you ain¡¯t a Merck given the color,¡± Lear rustled and smacked his lips while the young man raised his copperish brows amused. ¡°So ye must be a Mclean.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Fausto,¡± the man said a little impressed. ¡°You are Lear Hik.¡± ¡®Well, that¡¯s quite the surprise,¡± Lear retorted mockingly since it wasn¡¯t. ¡°Now that we¡¯ve established we know each other, how about telling me why you¡¯re here Fausto?¡± ¡°You owe the bank a contract mister Hik,¡± Fausto Mclean noted deictically. ¡°I took a difficult job and I failed to deliver losing my men,¡± Lear rustled. ¡°I also didn¡¯t get paid so let¡¯s call it even, which it ain¡¯t since you lads fucked up the plan attacking Eikenport.¡± ¡°Expect a lawsuit after our investigation finishes,¡± Fausto warned him calmly. ¡°That why yer here? Investigating? Is that what Requisitions does these days? How¡¯s Manuela by the way?¡± ¡°My sister is busy handling other matters.¡± ¡°I bet she is,¡± Lear taunted him and eyed the woman watching them from her horse. ¡°Is that D¡¯Orsi¡¯s niece?¡± ¡°That¡­ is my wife,¡± Fausto hissed. Yeah. Fucking Jacomo just couldn¡¯t keep her out of yer hands. ¡°Why drag her along?¡± Lear asked and Fausto smiled reservedly. ¡°What are you working on Mister Hik?¡± He asked. ¡°Badum isn¡¯t the best of destinations.¡± You know darn well. ¡°I¡¯m retired. Gang¡¯s split up. Sort of run out of coin.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Fausto said with a grimace of disbelief. ¡°Bolt still around? A roof anywhere near?¡± ¡°Bolt bought a farm in Eikenport,¡± Lear spat angrily. ¡°Edge?¡± ¡°Fuck off lad,¡± Lear warned him. ¡°It¡¯s a friendly advice.¡± Fausto pursed his mouth. ¡°As courtesy for your past employment I advise you to stay retired Mister Hik. The old man really likes you for some reason,¡± he said ominously and pulled at the reins to turn the horse around. ¡°Why is the Bank interested Mclean?¡± Lear asked loudly and Fausto paused with a scowl. He glanced around but none of the workers appeared interested in their conversation. But you don¡¯t know that, Lear thought with a smirk. ¡°The Bank wants normalcy returned,¡± Fausto finally said. ¡°Looks to help iron out problems and open routes of communication.¡± ¡°With Lucius?¡± Fausto smacked his lips. You won¡¯t answer if it¡¯s true. The Mclean scion nodded once. Aha. I see. ¡°Goodbye Mister Hik. Enjoy your retirement,¡± Fausto told him and trotted near his wife. Lear watched them galloping down the street towards the city¡¯s center for a moment deep in thought. - 17th of Tertius 194 NC Four hours before dawn Badum¡¯s Port ¡°God damnit Lear,¡± Edge cursed looking nervously his way. Not that he could see Lear¡¯s face in the darkness of the docks. ¡°Snap out of it. Ain¡¯t yer fucking fault and it¡¯s been over twenty years now!¡± ¡°What?¡± Mark asked standing near the corner of the dark building and Edge snapped at him. ¡°You keep yer eyes on the plaguing door!¡± ¡°You¡¯re the one making too much noise old bones,¡± Lear counseled. ¡°And it stayed with me alright? About the same time you started yer thing wit Rita.¡± Lear cursed himself inwardly. He shouldn¡¯t have brought it up. ¡°Sod off. Ain¡¯t the same thing,¡± Edge cussed though he did it in a lower voice. ¡°And I¡¯ll do whatever I plaguing want.¡± Lear sighed deeply and then approached Mark to look over his shoulder. The warehouse had a front of about twenty meters with the door being near the other corner. ¡°Just that guy,¡± Mark informed him. ¡°I think he¡¯s sleeping.¡± ¡°Not with a dagger in his hand,¡± Lear countered. ¡°He isn¡¯t. Keep yer voice low.¡± With the docks so near and the waves splashing on them, they could get away with some noise but not too much. ¡°Requisitions is here you think?¡± Edge asked when he returned to him. ¡°Aye.¡± ¡°Fausto. Probably sent by Manuela,¡± Edge murmured. ¡°Is he any good?¡± ¡°It depends I reckon,¡± Lear replied. ¡°He¡¯s trained obviously. They don¡¯t lack coin.¡± ¡°Our fool is related to Diana Merck,¡± Edge said with a grimace. ¡°Probably gotten the tip from Marion. They talked about it in the Calcote household.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the bank¡¯s interest with whomever killed King Jeremy?¡± Edge asked and half-unsheathed his sword nervously. ¡°Fausto claimed they want to serve them to Lucius,¡± Lear replied. ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t see what¡¯s underneath the carpet,¡± Lear said pursing his lips and made a sign for Edge to remain silent. ¡°Wagon,¡± Mark whispered, using his mouth to emphasize each vowel separately. ¡°Fuck is he doing?¡± Edge wondered with an angry hiss. Lear shushed him hearing the wheels rattling on the docks paved ground and the drawn-horses neighing as they approached. ¡°Rush them?¡± Edge asked hearing the wheels as well. ¡°Can you kill the driver?¡± Lear asked Mark and the young man ogled his eyes in panic highlighted by the moonlight. ¡°Shoot the driver?¡± He croaked. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I want the wagon stopped,¡± Lear elucidated. ¡°I¡¯m open to suggestions. Want to kill one of the horses instead?¡± Mark licked his lips slowly. ¡°Son, ye got to start loading this shit,¡± Edge urged him. ¡°Shoot the horse,¡± Mark repeated. ¡°In the head,¡± Lear added and signed for Edge to get his blades out.
¡°What¡­?¡± The driver of the covered wagon gasped seeing one of his horses collapsing on his front legs. The man guarding the door of the warehouse twisted around, dagger in hand. Edge sprinting towards him. Sprinting might sound impressive but it really wasn¡¯t and Edge stopped after about ten meters breathing heavy and unable to speak. ¡°Shit,¡± he gasped hoarsely when the walking briskly Lear reached him. ¡°Hey!¡± Lear barked and glanced back with a glare at Mark not to shoot a bolt through him. The reloading his crossbow ¡®ranger¡¯ started moving sideways to keep the outlaws in view. ¡°I¡¯m looking for Albino!¡± ¡°What do you want?¡± The driver asked and Lear stared in his Issir face unsure. Then at the ruffian holding the dagger. ¡°What¡¯s in the wagon?¡± ¡°Fuck do you care? Are ye a constabulary?¡± Edge started coughing. ¡°What did that fucker just say?¡± ¡°Get down from there,¡± Lear ordered the antagonistic Issir. The driver reached for something on the seat next to him. The horse moved that would be the one still breathing and the wagon turned with a creaking sound that reverberated inside the warehouse as the guard had opened both large doors. It bounced off of it¡¯s walls, straight through the fifty meters long building. The wind blowing from the other side making the opposite journey and blasting Lear in the face. ¡°There¡¯s another door. Damnation!¡± Lear cursed and Edge glanced at him perturbed. The driver stood up taking his chance, left arm holding a long-shafted axe he made to hurl towards them. Mark¡¯s bolt penetrating the Issir¡¯s chest to the nock, practically disappearing in his sternum. The impact shoving the man backwards and twisting him once afore he plunged headfirst for the concrete tiles. The axe clattering down between the horses. The second Issir ruffian rushed Edge, who seemed still unsure on what was going on, but Lear unsheathed his sword and chopped the man¡¯s arm off a handbreadth below the elbow with a savage cut. The blood jumped out of the wound in an arc, splashed Edge in the face as the Issir flailed his severed limb about with screams that echoed inside this relatively empty part of the docks. Edge put a stop to the ungodly ruckus plunging his own dagger under the Issir¡¯s jaw with so much power, blood came out of the shuddering crook¡¯s eyes. Lear saw none of that as he was already sprinting through the dark warehouse towards the double doors hanging open on the other side than the one they had waited. Edge was heard cursing behind his back for Mark to go fetch their horses.
Lear got out of the backdoors of the warehouse, the heavy shade of the plateau rising not a kilometer away making the darkness turn a black so thick you could cut it with a blade. You couldn¡¯t really, but it seemed an appropriate expression given the timing. The bounty hunter paused, his heart thundering in his chest and breathing heavy. His ears ringing and the blood pumping so hard in his arteries, he felt it drumming at the base of his neck. Like a muffled waterfall. Then he heard horses clopping inside the warehouse and lost all poetic near death mood. A flushed Lear turned around and waited for Edge and Mark to approach. ¡°Did ye see them?¡± Edge asked hoarsely. ¡°Nah. They must have slipped away the moment we arrived. Someone must be watching the entrance to the docks. Tipped them off.¡± ¡°So what if they¡¯re watching? We look suspicious ye reckon?¡± Edge asked a little perturbed and glared at the pale-faced Mark as if he was the culprit. ¡°Maybe I missed?¡± The young man croaked, obviously troubled with the other matter. ¡°Lad you killed him dead,¡± Edge said a cough ravaging his chest and stooped to spit a heavy blotch of phlegm down. ¡°God damnit that was clogging me up.¡± Lear climbed on the saddle with a groan and used a cloth to wipe the sweat from his neck. ¡°We follow the beach, look for lamps or any light,¡± he said hoarsely and looking at the devastated ranger he added. ¡°Nice shot kid.¡±
They caught up with the wagon an hour later. It had stopped by the road, probably looking to avoid a returning patrol as if they knew the guards schedule in advance. Which wasn¡¯t that surprising, Lear supposed riding next to the wagon carefully. A boot hanging from the side of the seat the first thing he noticed. The Issir the boot belonged to staring at the clear night sky with glassy eyes. Lear stooped over the saddle after removing his glove and touched the side of the man¡¯s neck. ¡°Still warm but not too much. Twenty minutes,¡± he told Edge who had rode to the middle of the large gravel road leading to the East Gates troubled. ¡°A quarrel?¡± The aged warrior asked. ¡°An ambush,¡± Lear retorted with a grimace looking at the knife wounds on the neck and chest of the driver. ¡°What now?¡± Edge asked and looked at the shaken Mark uneasily. ¡°He needs a bottle of rum and a pair of tits fast.¡± ¡°He¡¯s fine,¡± Lear grunted, circling the covered wagon to check inside. Packed provisions, a couple of sacks with what looked like grain and potatoes. ¡°These look like supplies.¡± ¡°Anything of value?¡± ¡°Potatoes?¡± Lear said with a shrug and Edge started laughing. Lear clicked his tongue and walked the horse near the chuckling warrior. Edge slowly stopped laughing seeing his expression and assumed a pensive look. ¡°There should be more dead bodies from those escorting the wagon,¡± Lear said. ¡°Now you think it¡¯s a ruse?¡± Edge grunted. ¡°Will ye make up yer darn mind?¡± ¡°A good one. Ruse that is.¡± ¡°Not for that guy!¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know if he was part of the same gang,¡± Lear reasoned. ¡°Is that not murder still?¡± ¡°Sure. Want to come along so we can check on that forest road? It¡¯s a fine night.¡± Edge sighed sadly. ¡°Ye hear him? Pretty romantic shite, right lad?¡± He asked the sad-looking Mark. ¡°Yer not crying back there are ye now?¡± ¡°No,¡± Mark said sniffling. ¡°Come here,¡± Edge snapped. ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake!¡± ¡°No I¡¯m fine mister Edge.¡± ¡°I¡¯m moving,¡± Lear grunted cutting them off. ¡°Keep your distance but stay within sight.¡±
The motherfucker had bolted for the woods leaving the wagon behind. The third of the night. Three of his friends didn¡¯t run though and Lear decided to plunge right between them to make it interesting. He kicked his legs hard. The horse jumped forward and Lear¡¯s naked blade hacked a mounted Issir at the ribs, the sword thudding then tearing at cloth and flesh. The sound of bones crackling and hot blood gushing out coming soon after. Horses neighed disturbed, the driver letting go of the reins in the narrow forest road and jumping up to deal with him. Lear snapped his left arm out, fingers clenched in a fist and punched the shortsword wielding second rider right at the knuckles. Broke three of his fingers and ruined the grip the cutthroat had on the weapon. A man screamed in panic, the driver leaped from the wagon to get at Lear, but the alert bounty hunter snapped his heels and moved the horse two meters forward. The driver¡¯s roaring plunge at the void left behind spectacularly ineffective. He landed badly turning a knee the wrong way, bone shattering and tearing at the joint through his hemp pants. Edge who rode behind Lear in a more sensible manner approached the howling like a dog getting his balls cut off Issir and stabbed him once in the face. Edge cursed as the man jerked his head aside and the blade plucked out only the left eye, then sat back on the saddle twisting his torso a bit to angle it better and tried again. This time shoving a foot of blade down the man¡¯s mouth, the point of the sword breaking out of the back of his cranium. ¡°Heavens above!¡± Mark gasped at the brutality, eyes glued on the vicious wounds Edge had inflicted and missing out as Lear hacked the injured Issir low opening a gash on his thigh. Flipped the sword around and sawed off the stirrups bringing their opponent down. ¡°Move!¡± Edge barked with a glare and Lear clicked his tongue to turn his horse and go after the man that had run away.
¡°Stop right there!¡± A man yelled hiding behind a pine tree. Slim figure lost in darkness. ¡°I¡¯ve a crossbow trained on you.¡± Lear halted his horse briefly. Then he pulled at the reins to turn it around slowly. As he¡¯d guessed the man couldn¡¯t really see him in the pitch black. Well, the sun was coming out slowly but in the forest you wouldn¡¯t know it. Matter of fact it was darker now than it was a moment afore. He swung a leg over the animal¡¯s hind side, keeping the balance and the reins with his right hand that had gripped the horn tightly. ¡°What do you want?¡± The man asked. Lear¡¯s right boot had touched the ground. He switched hands and freed his other leg as well. The horse neighed and walked away from him, hooves heard clearly inside the forest. Lear breathed out waiting for the ambusher to make his move. He hadn¡¯t seen a crossbow on the fleeing man. He hadn¡¯t seen much in the brouhaha and the darkness of the path but still¡­ Lear pursed his mouth. The horse had stopped at the edge of an opening between two old pines. The ground covered with grass catching the animal¡¯s attention. A branch snapped five meters to his right and Lear moved that way as it was obvious the man was legging it again. But it ain¡¯t easy running inside a forest when it¡¯s dark. Eh, ain¡¯t easy running inside a forest when it isn¡¯t and some would go as far as to say that the forest ain¡¯t for running period. Unless yer father was a deer. Then you¡¯re fine. Lear found the man sprawled in a heap near some exposed roots, bleeding down his face and groaning something fierce. A dry but very sharp broken branch still attached on a fallen trunk had stabbed him at the right ankle good. In from one side and out of the other. ¡°ARRGH!¡± The Lorian moaned when he kicked him once in the ribs. ¡°Drop the weapon,¡± Lear counseled the pale-faced ruffian. White as a sheet he was but for all the blood. ¡°I got no weapon fuck¡¯s sake! Argh, it¡¯s in the bone!¡± The man screamed when Lear grabbed his foot to extract it from the bloody branch. ¡°LEAVE IT!¡± ¡°You¡¯ll bleed out,¡± Lear said and whistled for his horse or Edge to hear him. He didn¡¯t yell out of caution. ¡°I don¡¯t know you,¡± the man hissed, through his teeth between shudders. ¡°Where is the Albino? Is that you?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just a fucking moniker for crying out loud! The lads are making fun of me!¡± The man protested and grabbed at the cut on his head. ¡°Where were you heading with the wagon?¡± Lear asked him. ¡°Outside Irde. There is a small cabin there, hunters use. Near a natural spring. Deep in the woods,¡± the man blurted out quickly. ¡°You got to help me out here.¡± ¡°How deep?¡± ¡°Three kilometers. You got to head northwest right next to the old path. Sweet lady of the woods I¡¯m losing too much blood!¡± ¡°How many?¡± Lear asked patiently as he wasn¡¯t in any particular hurry. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I only talk with Paros!¡± The man groaned when Lear sneakily dislodged the sharp stick from his mauled ankle. ¡°GAAH!¡± ¡°Shut up,¡± Lear barked and slapped him hard. ¡°I¡¯m in pain!¡± ¡°Shut yer mouth else I¡¯ll cut your tongue out,¡± Lear hissed and grabbed him by the collar. ¡°Murder!¡± The man screamed and Lear punched him once in the throat. A quick jab that cut his voice short. He collapsed to his knees then rolled away from the damaged and bleeding ankle with desperate moans of agony. ¡°The driver in the second wagon. Did you kill him?¡± Lear asked stooping over his sweaty pale face. ¡°It wasn¡¯t me.¡± ¡°Yer their leader.¡± ¡°I¡¯m the team¡¯s jester! Pier is the fucking leader. The tall dude driving the last wagon!¡± ¡°Cut the crap.¡± ¡°You got the wrong man! I¡¯m just a lowly lackey!¡± The man protested and Lear punched him in the throat again to shut him up.
Edge was nowhere to be seen when they reached the path. The young Mark missing as well. Lear thought initially he¡¯d lost his way in the woods, but the sun was coming up and its morning light penetrated the thorny leaves and thin branches before his very eyes. He needed no other guide to find the east and that was where the path had been. He was in the right place. Edge had moved. Lear turned to check on the fainting ¡®Albino¡¯ he had loaded on the saddle not to carry him through the woods and heard horses approaching. A lot of horses. The bounty hunter loosened his collar a bit, neck drenched in sweat from all the exertion despite the chill under the pines and put his humid glove back on. Cracked his fingers and neck in turn, then turned to watch the first of the riders arriving trotting up the path from the direction of the junction. Old Roland heard them and ducked for cover bless him, Lear decided revising his previous assessment. He stepped in front of the laden horse and set his feet firmly on the three meter wide forest road. Good that you didn¡¯t yell for them earlier. The first rider, a Lorian wearing leather armour, with plate at the shoulder pads pulled at the reins hard to stop his mount. He reached with his right hand and unsheathed a longsword, left it hanging loose down the sides, the point of the blade directed at the ground. A professional not wanting to tire his arm. Another rider appeared behind him with a spear in hand. A third carrying a bow and wearing a leather gambeson, over a dark tunic. Then Fausto, his sword sheathed. The Lesia scion halted his horse and examined Lear¡¯s sweaty and dirty face with interest. Eleonora¡¯s voice was heard, her horse parked too far back for Lear to see. ¡°What is it?¡± The woman asked, lovely Flauegran accent singing inside the woods. Fausto glanced back at her amused. ¡°I think he found him dear. I¡¯ll be damned. He caught the Albino! Hah-Ahaha!¡± Fausto chuckled his mask of indifference cracking unable to conceal his delight. ¡°Is that him then?¡± Eleonora asked hoarsely.
Soon as this ungodly war is over, Sir Laurent had told him two decades in the past, the large razor clearing his snow-burned skin from the week¡¯s growth easily. I¡¯m taking my kids away from the bank¡¯s clutches. Where will you go? Lear had asked him curious. Why leave land, coin and titles behind? I¡¯ll go to Raoz or Regia and take them with me. Make an honest living there, Sir Laurent D¡¯Orsi had replied and folding the cleaned razor carefully he offered it to the thoughtful Lear. His words cryptic to the mercenary officer back then. Take it. Shave that thing off Lear. A man needs to be presentable even if he¡¯s poor as dirt or scarred. There¡¯s no dirt or rot this blade can¡¯t cut away. I can¡¯t take this, Lear had protested with a frown. You shall owe me a favor, the knight replied soberly. And I¡¯ll owe you one if you get us out of this war in one piece. Lear had taken the custom-made razor much to the knight¡¯s appreciation. It was a good blade. One day we¡¯ll measure our souls on the scales Captain Hik, the Knight of Lesia had continued and doing this crap or serving my family¡¯s masters will leave us all with nothing to show for a life. I don¡¯t want that for my kids even if it¡¯s too late for me and the same goes for you I reckon, Sir Laurent had finished and headed for his warhorse. The waiting Tussio gave him the reins. The knight paused for a moment before getting on the saddle and added with a reassuring smile at the numbly watching them Lear Hik. You know, I think it is never too late. To get out was his meaning. Half an hour later the knight had breathed his last. Twenty years and some change later Jacomo had sold his then unborn daughter to the McClean¡¯s.
Ah, a numb Lear thought pushing the memories away and stepped forward to better use the sword he¡¯d instinctively unsheathed. The man standing next to Fausto raised his loaded bow, left eye closing slowly to better aim. The veteran bounty hunter tensed up, grip stiffening on the leather encased handle and the archer loosed the arrow without warning. It whipped angrily a meter over the flinching Lear¡¯s head and thumped somewhere behind him. The ¡®Albino¡¯ let out a hoarse snorting sound like he was drowning in his own blood and then a loud thud was heard when a body hit the ground. The horse neighing disturbed behind him. ¡°Well, that¡¯s out of the way,¡± Fausto said relieved standing back on the saddle and turning to the Bank¡¯s agents ordered dispassionately. ¡°Finish him off too. He¡¯ll never tell us what he learned.¡±
450. Bloody favor (1/2)
Lear ¡®Razor¡¯ Hik ¡®Captain¡¯ ¡®Butcher of Drek River¡¯ ¡®Man from Atetalerso¡¯ Bloody favor Part I -Be wary of an old man¡­-
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14th of Sextus of 174 NC The warband-supporting Duchy of Sovya East banks of the mostly frozen Drek River A kilometer and a half from its bridge Twenty-seven kilometers from Kadrek 2nd Cohort¡¯s (Lesia) advanced cavalry units under the Baron of Ballard seek to make contact with the operating in the Northmen¡¯s rear areas mercenary company named the ¡®300¡¯ under Captain Lear Hik. *the unit known today as ¡®333¡¯
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The slim figure of the Issir priest/adventurer Nard Molders could be heard praying over the blasting over the treeline northern wind. His black doublet and same color silken scarf draped around his neck and raised over the mouth to protect him from the bitter cold of Sovya¡¯s summer. Emerson rubbed Baron¡¯s snout with a gloved hand to clean it some, while watching the groups of Legion¡¯s rangers fan out looking for game or deserters. The enemy had retreated during the night upon realizing no reinforcements were to arrive. As much a surprise to them as it was for Emerson¡¯s men. They had headed towards the battlements of Kadrek where a large number of Nords had come down from their winter staging area near Halfostad to reinforce the front. Hardened men from Rifjordal itching for a scrap. If the Jarl gets involved this might drag out for another year. Or more. ¡°Yer mare had a little stallion,¡± Emerson told his neighing horse with another pat on its head. His young sister Lila had written him all about it in a nice letter that smelled of home. ¡°Reckon we need to think of a proper name.¡± Baron snorted and shook his mane, large head pushing on his heavy overcoat. Emerson stood back with a grunt of his own. ¡°Was thinking of calling him Duke,¡± he rustled disapprovingly. ¡°But now I¡¯m not as sure.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t believe you are talking to the horse again,¡± his friend teased blowing at his gloved hands that dark face pale. Molders never found common ground with the cold weather, his skin color and own personal demons keeping him away from the predominantly Lesia-hailing soldiers but Emerson. ¡°You are talking to dead people. I¡¯ll take my chances wit the horse,¡± Emerson retorted with another grunt and turned hearing iron horseshoes approaching. Sir Melcher¡¯s armoured figure appeared out of the trees and headed their away leading a group of mounted warriors with the number 300 stitched on their saddles in gold. The rumor being that this was the number of shares D¡¯Orsi had in the Bank of Trust. A ¡®gift¡¯ from the Marquise. ¡°Eh, Ora is ever following after Tyeus,¡± the priest griped in reply and slotted the rough bound copy of Veturius¡¯ Histories he always carried with him inside a field satchel. Molders tended to lose himself in the old texts just before the last light of each day. Emerson avoided that as the present presented equal opportunities to learn and he preferred an early sleep. The latter not as easy to find anymore the last couple of years. Melcher reached them, pursed mouth lost under a thick greying beard and pulled at the reins to stop his horse, but turned it a little to keep his following ¡®friends¡¯ in view. A man close to Emerson¡¯s age with his head wrapped in a bloody cloth and mauve skin under the eyes. A Lorian warrior next to him riding a laden with strange-shaped sacks horse and a Nord-looking female, followed by a hard-faced Horselord. People called him a Cofol, but they were wrong. Emerson knew the newcomers. ¡°They cleared the woods milord,¡± Melcher rustled crooking his mouth, more a warning than a report for some reason. Emerson glanced at the leather sacks Roland Edge carried on his mount. ¡°The Northmen with Redmond retreated?¡± Emerson asked a little surprised they had abandoned their positions and gave a nod with his head to greet the badly maimed Captain Hik. Sir Melcher, who had served his father starting as his squire for many years, let out an incoherent word and pursed his cracked lips tightly. ¡°Some did. A few surrendered.¡± The veteran Knight finally replied. A leering Edge raised a clenched fist to salute the men of the Legion and then nodded at the men-at-arms of Ballard watching them. Melcher adding right after. ¡°Did them no good. It is what it is, I suppose.¡± Emerson eyed the silent mercenary Captain for a moment and then the faces of the gang that led Baron D¡¯Orsi¡¯s company. ¡°We could have used some high-valued prisoners to bring the Redmonds to the negotiating table,¡± Emerson started critically. ¡°Eargh¡­ mah.¡± Hik growled ineligibly through the bandages. ¡°What the captain is trying to say, is that ye still can do that Baron. Don¡¯t know about talking though,¡± Edge translated and reached behind with a hand for one of those heavily laden sacks he¡¯d secured on the saddle. Emerson narrowed his black eyes. ¡°What¡¯s in the plaguin¡¯ bags?¡± He rustled hoarsely and the Nord female Rita answered for the aloof mercenaries. ¡°Most of the Redmonds.¡± The only person present reacting to the revelation Nard Molders that started whispering a quick prayer to Ora. His words snatched by the afternoon icy breeze and dragged screaming over the thawing trees with the soaked heavy branches. The branches crackled, large black swathes cleared of snow appearing in the white trees as they shed it. The collapsing material rattled the thorny leaves, breaking weakened stems and allowed some of the dying sunlight to come through. Nard¡¯s words turning into an otherworldly howling.
- 17th of Tertius 194 NC Bearcub Forest, Kingdom of Kaltha About a kilometer from Irde Shrine Sunrise The Lorian with the warpear let out an otherworldly howl that resounded over the trees hugging both sides of the path and snapped his heels to charge at the scowling Lear. More a tensed grimace than a scowl although there was plenty of anger in it to qualify for one as well. Eh. The horse charged down the path, iron horseshoes digging at the ground and hurling chunks of black earth this way and that. The spear¡¯s tip aimed low to hit the bounty hunter center mass. Lear reached for his razor with the left hand, brought the right leg back and angled his body raising the longsword to eye level. His eyes locked with the charging animal¡¯s disregarding everything else for a brief second. The next he snapped his wrist and the blade lunged forward extending more than meter in front of Lear¡¯s body. A clear warning he would defend himself that the animal fully understood. ¡°Yargh!¡± The bank¡¯s agent growled as the rapidly moving mount veered left abruptly, turning its head first and then the rest of its large body. The momentum dislodging the man from the saddle and hurling him the other way. He flew briefly, a hand still holding on at the spear and the other flaying to find purchase where there was none. Legs kicking wildly as he twirled around out of control and crashed on his back a meter away from the now moving again with measured strides ¨Cto conserve energy- Lear. ¡°Well, beshrew thee!¡± Fausto cursed and unsheathed his sword. ¡°Get him Marshal!¡± Lear stepped over the groaning, half-broken agent and stabbed the elongated razor down through the man¡¯s raised to protect himself hand. The thin blade slashing four fingers to the bone and opening a deep gash on the agent¡¯s screaming face from left eyebrow to chin. De-fleshing half his face to the cranium. Marshal jumped from his horse with Fausto doing the same and the archer reached for another arrow from his horse¡¯s quiver in the background. Lear walked away from the shuddering spear-wielding agent after hacking him once casually on the maimed head with the sword. Chopping his right wrist off. The blood jumping out in a torrent hissing like a coiled in the grass snake. ¡°Fucking hell!¡± Marshal cursed witnessing the clinical brutality and sidestepped to come at Lear from the left side. The bounty hunter glanced at the archer nocking a fresh fixed-blade broadhead arrow ten meters away, still on his horse and stepped back to bring the arriving Fausto in the archer¡¯s field of view. ¡°You got more tricks in the bag old man?¡± Fausto grunted and hacked at him with the fancy sword. A gilded cross-guard on it gleaming in the sunlight coming through the canopy. Lear parried the blade aside but had to pull back to deal with the attack from Marshal. The agent switching grip to slash at his long coat, the blade stopping at the rings of his armoured leather cuirass with a thud. Marshal dragged the retreating blade to saw down but Lear smacked the sword away turning his torso. Another step back, longsword whipping out to keep the attackers away, handle rotating in his grip, as Lear switched stances, an eye always kept on the archer in the background. The man ever shifting right and left looking for an opening. Lear would have taken the shot already in his stead, but the agent feared he was going to hit Fausto and stalled. ¡°Allgods Marshal!¡± A scowling Fausto admonished his man. ¡°Get it over with!¡± ¡°Eh,¡± Marshall cursed and started circling the grimacing from having his innards rattled earlier Lear. ¡°Tracer says Razor stood his ground with Sir Emerson!¡± ¡®Tracer¡¯ Jack was a bounty hunter operating in Lesia mostly. Running a similar outfit as Lear used to back in the day. Ayup. With that ruffian Shin and crazy Mist, Lear thought leaving the reminiscing for another day given the inopportune timing. ¡°I don¡¯t care about old war stories mister Marshal,¡± Fausto snapped angrily. ¡°I heard them all from my father!¡± With that he came at Lear again angling to his right, which was a concern since with Marshal loitering to Lear¡¯s left now the Archer saw the agents parting in front of him. It gave him the opening he craved since the start of the scrap to shoot the bounty hunter. Go for the face! Lear urged the firing archer and jerked aside, lowering on a protesting knee and extending his longsword out towards the attacking Fausto. The arrow whistled over his head, the archer cursed Lear¡¯s lineage and the ogling Fausto snapped his sword down to parry the bounty hunter¡¯s blade away. The previous time Lear Hik had urged a man to do the same that keen-eyed scoundrel had shot an arrow in his cheek. Cost him two molars and a tongue. Lear was luckier this time but Fausto wasn¡¯t. The Mclean scion¡¯s blade pushed Lear¡¯s sword down but the latter rode the momentum, the sword striking the ground and then leaping up in an arc. The heavy sharp point connecting with the twitching aside Fausto¡¯s face opening a ghastly wound from the edge of his mouth to the left ear. The latter slashed away in the process and soaring in the air spreading gore afore vanishing out of sight. ¡°Naah!!¡± Eleonora screamed in a high-pitched tone in shock as a groaning Fausto twirled away from the turning to defend against Marshal bounty hunter and the archer atop his horse raised his reloaded bow to try his luck again. Discovering that he couldn¡¯t. With a gurgling grunt that Lear heard, the archer toppled from the neighing horse and crashed awkwardly between its legs. This last part Lear missed completely as the bounty hunter had gone after Marshal. Eleonora¡¯s angry wails making the idyllic country road ¨Cif one was willing to look past the several butchered corpses littering this part of the woods- sound a tad haunted. Which Lear supposed wasn¡¯t that idyllic in the first place. Umm. Marshal attacked his razor-wielding arm but Lear moved the arm back and attacked with the other, his blade thudding on the agent¡¯s armoured shoulder and shoving him back. Lear dropped the razor and snatched Marshal¡¯s returning blade near the guard in a steely grip, his own sword turning a slash into a lower-aimed stab that penetrated the rings under the shoulder plate. With a pained grunt Marshal let go of his sword and jumped away from the piercing steel. ¡°Get him¡­ what are you doing?¡± A livid Fausto growled, a hand clasping at his maimed face and blood dripping between the fingers. ¡°Marshal!¡± ¡°Fausto. Len is dead!¡± Eleonora screamed. Fausto checked at the body of the archer that had the steel bullet-point of a crossbow bolt sprouting out of his forehead. The misshapen cranium cracked, the skin torn and exploded outwards in a grotesque wound. All things considered, darn kid is one hell of a shot, Lear thought impressed and stooped with a groan to pick up his razor. He walked towards Fausto briskly next, keeping the sword loose at his side. ¡°Toss the blade Mclean!¡± Lear thundered and Fausto cursed afore twisting about livid. ¡°Is that Bolt? I knew it! You fucking liar!¡± ¡°Drop it,¡± Lear warned him soberly and Fausto clenched his bloody teeth in a snarl. He¡¯d more gore painting his chin and the collar of his expensive leather doublet. A fine ring armour over it. All lovely in theory but not that helpful in a fight against a superior opponent from up close and extra personal. Especially one that didn¡¯t give a shit about who you were or feared hurting you. Or in this case, kill you dead.
Fausto''s eyes kept looking in Lear¡¯s face. The right eye a light green resembling autumn leaves. A dark mushy red and bleeding the other. Eleonora had attempted to escape but Mark had shot a bolt in her horse¡¯s head and brought her down rather dramatically. Fortunately she had come about only with a twisted ankle and a badly bruised hip, though rattled and full of anger after witnessing Lear¡¯s sword skewering her husband¡¯s lungs. Then moving it about right and left to widen the wound. It was standard procedure. Fausto was also missing the right arm, but Lear couldn¡¯t find it and he was dead-tired from dancing like a man of twenty in his late forties to look for the missing limb in the nearby bushes. ¡°You murderous scumbag!¡± Eleonora sniffled hoarsely from her spot, with Mark looking to bandage her swollen ankle. He had to remove the boot first and the woman had managed to land a good kick on the ranger¡¯s face, splitting his lip. Mark kept apologizing to her until Edge told him to shut up gruffly. It was more a threat really. ¡°Mclean will hunt you down like a dog,¡± Eleonora hissed, wiping the tears from her eyes with both hands. Edge smacked his lips and looked his way troubled. ¡°Irde is near,¡± Lear rustled. ¡°Better get moving. Others might be on the trail.¡± ¡°Did that fucker talk?¡± ¡°Easily,¡± Lear replied and sheathed his sword after cleaning it. He glanced at the tied up Marshal and the agent grimaced. ¡°Just a job mister Hik,¡± Marshal said after clearing his throat. ¡°How many came with Fausto?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell him anything!¡± Eleonora snapped hoarsely. ¡°Len, John and myself,¡± Marshal replied looking her way apologetically. ¡°He¡¯ll torture it out of us milady.¡± ¡°Let him try!¡± Eleonora snarled with hatred. Marshal glanced at Lear. ¡°We know nothing else,¡± he told him. ¡°Umm,¡± Lear grunted and went to his horse. ¡°They are going to slow us down Captain,¡± Edge said to his back. ¡°We have the mounts,¡± Lear told him. Plus I want to know more. There was of course the other reason. A favor owed. ¡°Lass hates yer guts and that¡¯s a sneaky fellow over there,¡± Edge warned him. Marshal pursed his mouth pretending to be shocked at the old warrior¡¯s accusation. Lear stared at Eleonora instead as he¡¯d made his decision before the scrap had started. ¡°Get the girl on the saddle Mark,¡± he ordered the holding a cloth over his cut lip ranger. ¡°Don¡¯t touch me you creep!¡± Eleonora warned him. ¡°Let her walk on that ankle,¡± Lear said and she glared at him. ¡°She¡¯ll change her mind.¡± ¡°I curse your bones Lear Hik,¡± Eleonora hissed livid. ¡°May the Allgods hear me and punish you for the evil you¡¯ve brought on my family!¡± Edge stared at him knowingly. ¡°Get her on that saddle!¡± Lear grunted having had enough of talking about old stuff with a mission still in the balance.
Irde wasn¡¯t a settlement. It had some buildings and warehouses next to an old inn and stone paths created that led to four separate walled monasteries. The latter housing more proper buildings inside. Four smaller villages surrounding the square amidst the thick oak trees. Each community occupying a point in the horizon. Uher¡¯s priests in the east, Ora¡¯s in the west. Tyeus disciples brick tower to the north and Naossis¡¯ priestesses¡¯ smaller wooden cabins to the south near the entrance. A priest of Uher wearing tattered robes made a circle over his face, three fingers pointing at the sun above their heads in greeting and Edge cursed under his breath. ¡°We¡¯re not staying,¡± Lear said afore his friend could say anything else. ¡°That¡¯s an inn,¡± Edge commented from the saddle sourly. ¡°It¡¯s not a good one, I give ye that but we haven¡¯t slept for the night and me arse is slowly coming part under me spine.¡± ¡°Albino told me there are hunter cabins deeper in them woods,¡± Lear murmured in a low voice. ¡°We head north afore word of us reaches Laudus.¡± ¡°Told ye Laudus is there?¡± ¡°A man named Paros.¡± Edge pursed his mouth and turned on the saddle to look at the crestfallen young woman and the aloof Marshal riding with his hands tied in front of him. ¡°What about them?¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°They are coming along. We¡¯ll stop for a couple of hours north of the village to look for clues and a clear water spring,¡± Lear rustled and groaned trying to move his left arm. ¡°Anything broken?¡± Edge queried. ¡°Just a nasty burn from the blade,¡± Lear replied a little peeved. ¡°Couldn¡¯t you shoot at them earlier?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t have enough light. Myself that is. The kid seemed pretty unfazed. He wanted to take a chance earlier,¡± Edge informed him. ¡°I counseled against such foolishness.¡± ¡°I had a horse charging at me!¡± ¡°Eh, you¡¯ve dealt with that before.¡± ¡°How did you know they¡¯ll come at me on foot next?¡± Lear grunted in frustration. ¡°I took a chance,¡± Edge retorted shamelessly and let out a croaky burp to get out all that cheese he¡¯d munched on earlier. It always gave him gasses. But since it was his farts that Lear feared the most he didn¡¯t mind Edge croaking like a drowning frog. ¡°But he¡¯s a good shot.¡± The old warrior continued. ¡°Ayup. Maybe as good as Bolt when he still had the eyes.¡± ¡°Yep,¡± Lear agreed and glanced at Mark offering the woman some of his water. ¡°Thank you,¡± Eleonora said her demeanor changing. ¡°I won¡¯t hold this against you Yol,¡± she added in a whisper. ¡°But I¡¯ll want your promise we¡¯ll return to get poor Fausto¡¯s remains.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll see what I can do,¡± Mark assured her. Lear frowned and Edge scrunched his face this way and that watching their exchange as well. ¡°Get them moving mister Edge,¡± Lear said raspingly with a nervous look at the waking up community. ¡°Afore more monks come out and start asking questions or decide to travel towards Badum.¡±
Mark got busy trying to prepare a small campfire with Edge ¡®volunteering¡¯ Marshal to carry firewood with his hands still tied up, to which the bank¡¯s field agent counter-offered to cut down a couple of dried up, dead trees with the small axe instead in exchange for his freedom. Edge turned down his proposal without much consideration and sent him to gather fallen sticks with his hands tied. ¡°How is the ankle?¡± Lear asked the pouting Eleonora who was sitting on a trunk by the path leading away from the settlement. This ¡®road¡¯ maintained by animals and people leading north towards the snowed mountain peaks in the distance. ¡°I can¡¯t wear my boot,¡± she retorted and glared in his face. ¡°What are you looking for here?¡± ¡°You know,¡± Lear said and rolled a fallen trunk near her for himself. ¡°I know you had my father killed and my cousin,¡± Eleonora snapped, her pretty face smeared with dirt from her tumble. ¡°Now my husband.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what happened to your father,¡± Lear grunted. ¡°As for the others they got what was coming to them especially Tussio. Your cousin was an evil bastard. Is that what Jacomo told you? I had nothing to do with your father¡¯s death.¡± ¡°What is this? You expect me to forgive you? After what you did?¡± Eleonora screamed and tried to get up but with a moan of pain she collapsed on the trunk again. ¡°You made a name near the Mclean and now you stab them in the back?¡± She croaked through clenched teeth. Lear turned his head around to watch Marshal carrying dry wood near the fire. Then he looked in the frustrated face of the young woman again. ¡°If you loved Fausto so much,¡± Lear said evenly and Eleonora grimaced. ¡°You would have stayed behind.¡± ¡°Attack a band of murderers with my bare hands?¡± Eleonora snorted. ¡°You think I¡¯m stupid?¡± ¡°I hope yer not,¡± Lear retorted. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t have worked sure. But would a passionate young woman care for that? Nah.¡± ¡°You know nothing about my feelings,¡± Eleonora hissed livid. ¡°True,¡± Lear replied. ¡°Who else is after Laudus?¡± She stood back with a frown. ¡°What makes you think¡ª?¡± ¡°I need an answer lass,¡± Lear cut her off mid-sentence. ¡°Fausto told me nothing,¡± Eleonora replied evenly. Lear grimaced and moved his left arm up and down to test the condition of his wound. Bandaging the spot after cleaning it wouldn¡¯t be the worst idea, he thought working in his head all that he had learned these past weeks. ¡°Mark, you know him as Yol Borin, Marion Calcote¡¯s friend,¡± he started looking at his friends building the fire and the white smoke rising over the trees. ¡°Overheard talk about the bounty offered from Lucius¡¯ men. Now the Merck are a minor partner in the bank but know what¡¯s being discussed. Lady Diana for sure does. What is the bank¡¯s interest in all this?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a big sum. The bank¡¯s agents are mercenaries,¡± Eleonora replied and worked on covering her bandaged ankle with the hem of her leather pants. Lear had seen women wear them afore. Rangers, scouts. Huntresses working the trails mostly up north. Women in Lesia were more conservative than their Regia counterparts and even they avoided wearing men¡¯s clothes. The Issir females¡¯ even worse and those working for the Bank usually kept a low profile. There were exceptions and Eleonora had the legs for them. The young woman caught his stare but Lear didn¡¯t look away. No point in it. The moment dragged and Eleonora looked away first wetting her lower lip. Not because she was embarrassed and Lear had looked at plenty of women to know he¡¯d a stare that made even harlots uncomfortable. ¡°What do you want to know?¡± She asked hoarsely. ¡°What was Fausto doing here?¡± ¡°Papa says¡­ Lord Jacomo says your escapades got my father killed,¡± Eleonora stalled but it was a matter he wanted cleared as well. ¡°Is this true?¡± ¡°All the unit¡¯s actions were approved by command,¡± Lear retorted. ¡°Nothing written since we were paid by your uncle. Let me correct this. By Federico Mclean.¡± ¡°The Marquise?¡± ¡°You know that¡¯s not a real title,¡± Lear corrected her. ¡°We get to use it a lot and people are mistaking him for something he¡¯s not. Neither noble nor a knight.¡± ¡°The king thinks so.¡± ¡°The king owes the bank so much that Mclean could have asked for a night with the Queen and met little disagreement.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ disgusting.¡± ¡°True¡­ yet you don¡¯t seem too rattled by it.¡± Eleonora wiped her palms, running them up and down her thighs and then used her hands to repair her disheveled hair. Instead of the loosened from the fall bun, she now made a pony tail using a leather string she had looped around her wrist. ¡°I knew about the bank footing the bill. But Tussio backed¡­ Jacomo¡¯s words.¡± ¡°Tussio was lying. He panicked, took his sweet time to charge at the Northmen and by the time he got around to it your father¡¯s men had been cut off. He didn¡¯t murder him outright but wasn¡¯t that much of a help that day one might argue he did.¡± ¡°Easy to blame a dead man. Did you have him killed in Eikenport?¡± Eleonora snapped. ¡°Never thought of him since that day,¡± Lear grunted and got up from the trunk. ¡°Tussio massacred civilians in Eikenport under orders from Federico or by his own volition. Women, children. Hanged them in the public squares, cut their limbs off and had them burned in front of their relatives. You do that, no one is going to spare you lass.¡± ¡°Why not report it?¡± ¡°Manuela Mclean had claimed the Princess had incited the rebellion and had her nephew killed in Alden,¡± Lear retorted with a glare. ¡°Nothing was further from the truth. Now if she lied about that, you think she wouldn¡¯t about something smaller? What was Fausto doing here?¡± ¡°I told you.¡± ¡°Fausto told me different. He said they are looking to make amends with Lucius but that was a lie clearly. Why did she sent her little brother here?¡± ¡°Fausto¡­ was dependable,¡± Eleonora whispered and Lear snorted in frustration. ¡°Had he wanted Laudus found, he wouldn¡¯t have had the Albino killed,¡± he told her shaking his head. ¡°Ah, these people are not your family lass. Why would Fausto bring you here in the first place? What madness possessed him?¡± ¡°It¡¯s called love Mister Lear,¡± Eleonora retorted and placed both hands on her gathered knee. ¡°Maybe I¡¯m indispensable?¡± She taunted. To him? Lear thought taken aback by her hubris. ¡°This isn¡¯t an adventure lass and you are married into the bad guys.¡± ¡°And you¡¯re not?¡± Eleonora fired back getting all worked up again. ¡°I am,¡± Lear replied gruffly and glanced at Edge who was watching them talk with a worried look on his face. Mark had put a kettle on the fire to make some hot tea. ¡°I¡¯m also the one that catches them.¡±
Lear left the camp behind him an hour later and followed one of the many diverging paths with his horse, leaving Edge and Mark talking jobs with Marshal next to a sleeping Eleonora. He headed northwest in the first one but turned around and tried the second. Then a third. Every time returning to the main path and the light of their fire. ¡°Anything?¡± Edge would casually ask from his spot. ¡°Nothing. Want to help?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll let you work on it a bit more,¡± his friend would reply. ¡°What did the Albino say?¡± Marshal asked one of the times. ¡°Not much.¡± ¡°So what are we doing here?¡± The agent asked with a smirk. ¡°Same thing you guys were doing,¡± Lear replied, thinking of taking Edge¡¯s advice and get the truth out of Marshal the hard way. But he didn¡¯t want the knight¡¯s daughter to see that. It was a stupid excuse since the young woman was Laurent¡¯s daughter only in blood after being raised by the Baron. Who knows what damage that dandy-looking prick did to her? Lear thought and went back searching the paths. The search tiring for most and dull but not for the veteran bounty hunter. Lear keenly felt the years weighing on him when he stopped working but not when on the job. He needed a purpose to keep on breathing and knew no other way to make a living. If there ever was a time for him to get out, it had come and gone. Edge had attempted it with Rita for a while but then she had up and died. He still couldn¡¯t bring himself to learn the details. Lear with the late Bolt had discovered their friend mourning half-dead in their small home. Roland begged Bolt to finish him off and the callous Horselord had thought about it seeing the misery in the old warrior¡¯s eyes. Eventually Bolt baulked away and Edge who had taken Rita¡¯s demise too hard, slowly but surely managed to recover. Sort of. Ain¡¯t gonna be left alone to die on me own again ye sons of wrinkled bitches, he cursed them all the way from Cediorum to Rida. Hear that ye old cunts? Ain¡¯t going through that whole shite all over again. Hear me? Forget about it. See that none of you dies on me fucking watch or we¡¯ll have words! Of course Bolt went ahead and died just the same on top of a ruined roof so Lear got to hear all about it. You start with baggage and supplies aplenty but you lose most of it in the journey. At the end of it though you carry as much baggage on the inside. Life¡¯s circle intact in its cruelness. The sixth path Lear followed into the woods brought him near a peaceful creek. The narrow creek in turn led him to a grouping of round rocks and a small spring. Its water flowing clear and big red and yellow flowers growing on the small pool next to it. The forest opening up at the end of the unassuming path leading there. The path turned into a paved with crashed stone road that led through the cut off forest directly northwest towards the now unseen mountains. And a large log cabin with a smoking chimney. The smoke what made Lear notice it when he¡¯d turned his eyes over the canopy to gauge the time. Lear heard the sound of an axe falling. Chopped wood clattering down. ¡°Shush,¡± he urged his mount and dismounted with a grimace. Lear removed his heavy and now sporting a large tear long coat. He placed it folded on the saddle and looped the reins around a low branch. He brought his dagger with him, slotting it in his waistband and wrapped the blade of his sword with a soft cloth after placing it on the ground. Used two smaller pieces of crumbled cloth to cover his boots after removing the spurs, to further distort their sound, as the ground around the cabin had gravel poured on. Lear walked towards the sound of the falling axe. Thump. Then the crackling of tearing wood. Wary where he stepped on Lear reached the opening and saw the pile of logs near the stub. Heard a voice talking and pulled behind the brushwood, a dry stick creaking as it snapped under his boot. Lear froze and used his left hand to free the blade dropping the cloth. ¡°Paros,¡± a man said from the other side of the opening. Lear could see the outline of the cabin to his right. ¡°You heard anything?¡± ¡°Nothing. A thousand things. It¡¯s the fucking woods! Where are the others?¡± Paros asked sounding peeved. ¡°You walked here?¡± ¡°Not really,¡± the voice replied and Lear could swear he¡¯d heard it afore. The bounty hunter glanced behind his back thinking he overheard something but all he could see was part of the path he¡¯d followed and his horse grazing twenty meters away. ¡°This is ridiculous,¡± Paros complained. ¡°Why move at all?¡± ¡°Word got out.¡± ¡°Bullshit. Nobody knows a fucking thing!¡± Paros snapped angrily. ¡°I lack yer conviction. Mayhap a monk talked?¡± ¡°They know nothing Shin,¡± Paros cursed. ¡°I¡¯ll talk to Laudus. Straighten this out.¡± Lear remembered Marshal¡¯s words during their scrap. Has the Bank run out of people? He¡¯d asked Mark when first they¡¯d met him. ¡°You¡¯ll do nothing. Go get yer horse. It¡¯s time to go,¡± Shin admonished him. If Shin was here then ¡®Tracer¡¯ Jack was somewhere in the vicinity with Mist their scout. ¡°I just cut down these logs fuck¡¯s sake. Have a stew on the fire,¡± Paros griped and turned around to head for the cabin. Lear moved swiftly to the right stooped, an eye on the slim figure of the Issir named Shin, now reaching for his pipe while sitting at the edge of the large pile of firewood Paros had chopped down with his back turned on the moving briskly Lear. The bounty hunter reached the east side of the large timber cabin and tried the first of the windows with the point of his blade. Managing to pry open the second. Cursing under his breath he slotted the sword on his belt and jumped with a frustrated grunt to grab at the ledge of the two meters above ground window. Heaving and grunting Lear managed to bring himself up after a couple of failed tries, swollen biceps screaming at the abuse and all other muscles protesting at the weight. He was always a heavy-boned man but this is ludicrous, he decided with a scowl whilst breathing heavy. Nigh embarrassing. A sweaty, flushed Lear got inside from the cracked open side window, his wrapped up boots making no noise on the wooden floor of the low-ceiling but roomy cabin. A red-brick fireplace in a corner. Red hot coals underneath a hanging bronze caldron that had rabbit stew boiling in it. Another room after the large empty hall with an open door which must lead to the bedroom or bedrooms. Lear took another stride and the moment his boot touched the flooring again the darn thing creaked so loudly everyone but a downright deaf man would have taken notice. ¡°Shin?¡± The apparently fully functional Paros asked from the bedroom. ¡°That you ye cock-sucking black cunt?¡± Shin had a craving for the opposite sex but also phalluses in general which made him a good friend of Nard Molders back in the day for a time, until his rotten character fully unveiled itself and the two had broken it off. It had cost that fool Molders a much better commission when the higher ups had gotten wind of it and eventually forced the Issir priest out of the Legion¡¯s auxiliaries. Molders owed his head to Sir Emerson Lennox intervening and asking for the matter to be dropped. Old Emerson had a tendency to pick the unfortunate up when they tripped over their feet and stand them upright again. Eh. Speaking of feet¡­ Lear opened his arms, extending his reach and breathed out just as a shaven-headed Lorian appeared on the doorway carrying a furled blanket. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you¡ª? Devils!¡± Paros yelped stopping dead in his tracks with a scowling Lear stepping forward whilst raising his sword to cut him down. Darn blade hitting the blasted ceiling. ¡°Who are you?¡± Paros croaked, pale in the face and in considerable shock, then realizing Lear had just tried to kill him only failing due to a case of thrifty architecture, he jumped away whilst swinging with the blanket. Blocking Lear¡¯s swinging left punch unintentionally. Still, Lear had put a lot into the punch. Paros went down after striking the side of the bedroom door. Lear jumped on him but the cutthroat twisted about and the bounty hunter failed to pin him down properly. ¡°Help¡ª!¡± Paros tried to yell but Lear shoved part of the woolen blanket in his mouth stifling the cry. Paros kicked him in the ribs and Lear opened the tight fist keeping the blanket in Paros¡¯ mouth as wide as he could and inserted ring and index finger inside the man¡¯s eyes. Paros squirmed and groaned, Lear¡¯s right arm keeping his down and kept applying pressure into the soft moist eyeballs until he heard steps approaching from the outside and was forced to stop. He raised his now clenched fist over the shuddering Paros¡¯ head and punched down once -connecting with the blanket. The back of the man¡¯s head banged on the floorboards and Lear stood up with a grunt, using his sword as a cane. ¡°Paros?¡± Shin asked from outside the cabin¡¯s door. ¡°Was that you?¡±
Lear opened the door and shoved the semi-conscious Paros down the three steps of the entrance. The cutthroat tumbling down and stopping a meter from the shocked Issir. Shin licked his black lips, a hand touching the handle of a throwing knife kept under a knee-length brown overcoat he had on, the other tossing his lit pipe away. Cunning hazel eyes opening and closing in shock. ¡°Think it through,¡± Lear urged the stunned bounty hunter. ¡°Captain Hik,¡± Shin croaked and sucked at his upper lip. ¡°Where¡¯s Jack?¡± Lear grunted raising his sword ominously. ¡°Jack? Motherfucker is dead! He-he! I run the outfit now.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s spin it another time,¡± Lear rustled not amused. ¡°Where are yer friends Shin?¡± Shin pressed his mouth down so tight the blood drained around his lips. The Issir¡¯s expression acerbic. ¡°Fuck Paros. I¡¯m walking away Hik.¡± ¡°Nobody¡¯s walking away,¡± Lear told him but Shin took a step back and then another with a smirk. ¡°You got a load in yer hands Captain. Did ye bring a horse?¡± ¡°Did you?¡± ¡°Edge at the near?¡± Shin asked whilst retreating towards the other side of the opening. ¡°Laudus is a murderer Shin,¡± Lear growled and reached down to grab the dizzy Paros by the collar. ¡°You know the deal. Don¡¯t share his fate!¡± ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake Hik,¡± Shin hissed angrily. ¡°Nobody cares! The whole realm is a mess!¡± ¡°Makes no difference,¡± Lear warned the retreating Issir. ¡°Give him up or ye head goes in the bag!¡± ¡°Blasted backwards idiot,¡± Shin cursed and showed him his teeth. ¡°You don¡¯t know who you¡¯re messing with!¡± ¡°But you do!¡± Lear roared just before Shin disappeared behind a bush. He had to move fast.
Lear shoved Paros forward and when the man tried to protest he elbowed him in the mouth cracking his jaw. Reaching his horse the bounty hunter found one of the cut ropes he had in his saddlebags and looped it around the bleeding man¡¯s neck and wrists. Pulled it tight and used a second rope to tie the first to the saddle. ¡°Walk fast,¡± he counseled Paros and climbed on the saddle. Put a foot in the stirrup that is, but he had to stop seeing Eleonora coming out of the trees. The woman didn¡¯t have her coat on but she had worn her boot and walked towards him with the tiniest of limps. She had a light red front-buttoned shirt on, made out of fine thin cloth that left the outlines of her bustier visible underneath. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Lear asked her. ¡°Wanted to help,¡± Eleonora replied softly. Lear sighed and got his foot down. He turned to stare in her comely Lorian face. She had her father¡¯s eyes, shaped more sharply at the edges. More feminine. Mm. ¡°I got this. We are heading back to the camp,¡± Lear grunted and looked about them. Why would Edge allow her to walk away on her own? ¡°It¡¯s not safe here.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°The bank has hired more men,¡± a troubled Lear replied and raised his arm to scratch his bearded face only to realize his dagger was missing. The bounty hunter looked in the woman¡¯s smiling face perturbed. A naughty smile this, under a cold killer¡¯s eyes. A little tingle and the dagger reappeared now stuck in his chest. The blade lodged at the base of the right lung. ¡°Nifty,¡± Lear rustled nigh impressed, blood in his throat and stumbled back on weakened knees until his back touched his horse. ¡°Yet again,¡± Eleonora hissed, her voice dripping poison. ¡°You spoil my business.¡± She made to grab the dagger but Lear swung the longsword and almost took her lovely head off. The young woman gasped in panic and rolled lithely on the ground to stand on her knees two meters away livid. ¡°Milady,¡± Marshal asked and appeared out of the woods as well. He carried a drawn sword. ¡°Manuela didn¡¯t sent Fausto,¡± Lear croaked grinding his teeth, not so much angry but bitterly disappointed. ¡°She sent you.¡± Eleonora chuckled freely and jumped to her feet. ¡°I do love a Mclean Hik,¡± she told him turning sober in an instant. ¡°For years but the realm isn¡¯t open to that.¡± ¡°You¡¯re sick,¡± Lear rustled and made to move towards her. ¡°I¡¯ll deal with him and Paros Milady. You get to the others now. Tell them what happened,¡± Marshal intervened stepping forward. ¡°All the talk in the office. Head in a salted bag. Isn¡¯t that yer motto Hik?¡± The woman taunted to showcase she knew all about him. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Lear growled and made a small step to the left switching hands. Eleonora made a cute curtsy afore turning around and walking away briskly. Darn fine bitch, Lear decided and Marshal rushed him confident he had the best of him. Seeing as Lear was sort of carrying a dagger, darn blade pointed the wrong way and had to use his left arm, the bank¡¯s agent had every reason to feel that way.
Nevertheless, most people facing Lear Hik didn¡¯t. The majority of those having the misfortune opted to turn around and head the other way like Shin had done earlier. But Shin was an older scumbag, wise in his ways and Marshal while capable enough was twenty years younger and had missed the best of it. Sometimes the stories leave out vital details, deemed improper in a fancy dinner or the simpler stuff the streets never forget. Be wary of an old man in a profession that most men perish young.
Marshal hacked diagonally but Lear countered the downwards slash with an upward cut of his own. The blades banged against each other, fat sparks erupting from the gleaming steel and the sound reverberating inside the peaceful opening. Birds chirped scared and the horse tipped its head back and neighed deeply disturbed. In the meantime Lear changed his grip on the handle and scythed savagely at the bank¡¯s agent, now having the faster path and further benefiting from the unusual leftward angle, the sharp point of the longsword digging at the right side of Marshal¡¯s neck splitting the collarbone. Blood sprayed out of the grisly wound and Lear let out a guttural beastly grunt afore yanking the heavy blade back. The sawing sword almost taking Marshal¡¯s head off. The man collapsed to his knees with a gurgling sound and Lear raised a leg to kick him back with a boot to the chest. The bounty hunter dropping on a knee as well seeing black spots gathering at the edges of his vision. Lear was drowning in his own blood but calmed himself down as much as he could and stared at his surroundings. Then the horse standing a couple of meters away and the ogling Paros. The cutthroat was still tied up on the saddle and was holding his breath waiting for Lear to kick the bucket. Motherfucker. The bounty hunter made to stand up but failed with a gurgling growling inhuman sound that scared Paros shitless. ¡°Can¡¯t you just fucking die?¡± He cried out looking at the scowling Lear bleeding from the mouth and down his chest that dagger still stuck in it. The seriously injured bounty hunter opened his bloody mouth but couldn¡¯t speak. Ah. So be it, he thought a little annoyed and sat back down on his arse keeping upright by holding on to the sword. The sunlight started lessening and Lear waited there to die whilst the panicked Paros desperately tried to free himself biting at the tight knots with his cracked front teeth. It looked bloody painful. He needed a dagger for them as Lear had never failed to make a proper knot in his life. A dagger or his razor but the ruffian wasn¡¯t going to come and take them afore Lear breathed his last. Lear closed his eyes expecting to see visions. Parts of his life flashing before his eyes. Some good in there. A couple of pretty girls that mayhap liked him more than his coin. The friendships he¡¯d forged with iron and hammer. All the mistakes. Lots of them. Aye. Favors owed. Some of them bloody. At least you get to die in the open, under the warm sun, he thought gulping down blood. The latter not as pleasurable. ¡°Captain!¡± Edge yelled very loud. It¡¯s hubris to keep a rank after you retired. ¡°Grab him! Wait. Get that blade out. No. Don¡¯t touch it!¡± ¡°Ah¡­what about the other guy?¡± ¡°Fuck do I care? Put a bolt in him!¡± ¡°Oi, no-no-no! I¡¯m important! A prisoner!¡± Paros yelped hysterically while Lear tried to remember when this incident had occurred or why it was important. Rain touching his face. Dripping down his collar. Dirty fingers slipping in his mouth, prying it open and then digging down his throat. Gore pouring down his chin mixed with vomit. This is getting too intense, the hallucinating bounty hunter thought and cracked a blurry eye open. What the fuck? The sun blinding. The horse munching on grass. He was in the same place still. ¡°He lives! You son of a bitch!¡± A teary Edge barked in his face, breath smelling of bad teeth and spicy cheese. ¡°It¡¯s¡­ a dream,¡± Lear assured him. ¡°I¡¯m gone friend.¡± ¡°What?¡± Mark gasped. ¡°Oh, no! ¡ªOuch!¡± The sound of a heavy smack resounding amidst the trees. A moment later Edge wrapped an arm around Lear¡¯s shoulders to get him to stand up. Moving him brought all the pain back in an instant. Oh, fer crying out loud! Can¡¯t a man just die in plaguing peace? ¡°Will ye just fuck¡­ off,¡± a hurting Lear croaked afore fainting.
451. Bloody favor (2/2)
Lear ¡®Razor¡¯ Hik ¡®Captain¡¯ ¡®Butcher of Drek River¡¯ ¡®Man from Atetalerso¡¯ Bloody favor Part II -Bring the bag-
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Grand City of Irde* Ships logs Supplemental Month Primus of year two (2) of the New Calendar Bearcub Forest, Canlita Sea. (The battered Irde Hierarchy refugees under Lord Nard Van Calcar have stalled for a whole year by now before the angry waters of Lotus River and its hellish swampy terrain. The pressured Lord Nard hatches a plan to circumvent the natural obstacles by constructing a Lake fleet from scratch using the readily available timber from the nearby thick Bearcub Forest.) But alas, it was a dubious plan from the beginning. Despite holding Lorian prisoners and collaborators, the Lord won¡¯t manage it for another two and a half years which brought severe internal strife within the ranks of the Lakelords of Kaletha Lake. Eventually, six boats landed near Asturia, (their crews hanged speedily by the locals for piracy and myriad other indiscretions like defecating in a public beach and gazing at bathing maidens) one crashed-landed in Valeria (never to be heard from again), before ultimately nineteen small ships found a good landing spot beyond the Bogbeast Marshes. The latter spot was not to Lord Nard¡¯s liking who had been seduced with tales of the ¡®untold riches¡¯ of the North by flocking locals, but try as he did for a couple of more difficult years to loop around the endless Spine of Jelin, the furthest those still following him would reach was to be the swampy lands after Serene River. Perhaps fittingly and despite Lord Nard¡¯s dogged efforts the Issir Lakelords would settle near another massive lake, the last of the Issirs to find a new home, with the cursed Van Calcar picking by far the worst spot from anyone else. During the fleet¡¯s long construction phase Young Magister Karst Nijkamp ¡®The Heretic¡¯ with the assistance of the ¡®mutineer and crab-gatherer¡¯ Captain Hoff, now remorseful for splitting up from the clergy of Sessi and Ikete for political, theological but more so countless now-meaningless and ancient old realms antipathies, decided to lead a large group of priests and faithful deeper into the woods in order to find a passage through the mountains and mend relations with the other two Issir factions. Lord Nard ordered his men to pursue them and several of the more-cultured rich families got massacred inside the thickets by former crews that had worked for them not twenty years back, until the night forced the hardened warriors to stop. Magister Karst managed to hide his people inside the forest and Lord Nard ordered the search abandoned ¡®since the cold in there will finish them off afore the thaw of spring¡¯. A desperate Karst created many small search parties to look for supplies, water or a way out of the forest, but lost sixty eight unsuited for the task men, women and children in three hellish weeks whilst the Magister himself fell gravely ill from cold and hunger. In the last week of the first Month of the New Calendar¡¯s sophomore year Lan Nijkamp, the now in his deathbed Magister¡¯s younger ordained brother discovered an opening inside the forest ¡®where a single inn stands, run by an ill-tempered foul-mouthed dwarf named Hornborn¡¯. When a disbelieving, now deemed a deserter by Lord Nard, Captain Hoff asked Lan Nijkamp how he¡¯d managed to find the meadow, the man had replied famously¡­ ¡®I followed Don Kot.¡¯ The Issir nickname for the God of Luck and the hapless. - (While the majority of the Issir Armada¡¯s logs were locked in the Archive in Midlanor some of the old families retained parts of the latter volumes or handwritten copies until the regional scribes took over from the dwindling surviving quartermasters a decade later. The above is part of the, ever-distant from Reinut¡¯s successors¡¯ demands, Lakelords of Irde ¨Cnow Pascor¡¯s or Tollor¡¯s- ¡®secretly¡¯ kept historical records that dealt with the ¡®murky¡¯ years after Reinut had violently overthrown the noble old Triarchy. An event that had elevated the pardoned two decades earlier with a split vote infamous pirate, mutineer, rapist and murderer of Bear Isle to a dictator. Reinut spend the latter years of his reign mercilessly wiping the record clean ¡®or set the keel a-right¡¯ as he frequently noted to justify the brutality of his actions. The latter the only way the now High King knew that worked for certain. ¡®Whatever can¡¯t be explained or may make people start wonderin¡¯ you bury under six feet of solid earth, lock in Flucht¡¯s warehouse or drop in them deeps. Use the old texts the priests like to light yer fire and keep the children warm during the winters. If their ¡®noble¡¯ parents differ to my orders or opt to saunter down another path, remind them that dead menfolk can only convey their grievances or speak of past tales to the spirits of the begone that had the same yearnings and the fucking gods above that abandoned them all to their miserable fate.¡¯ The text itself the product of a life-long rough translation by Lan Nijkamp of the long lost naval code, he then bound carefully in rough deer hide. It existed only in its original form in Edgefort up to the end of 192. The aged Captain Hoff¡¯s sons had brought it there after Lan Nijkamp, who had founded in the meantime the first community or Irde¡¯s Shrine into the woods, died in 29 NC. Despite Lan¡¯s dying wishes for the Lakelords to come together, the now ruling Tollor Hoff¡¯s descendants refused to forgive the Van Calcars. Eventually, a copy was made at the end of Maiden¡¯s War and then given to the shrewd Duke Dolf Van Calcar of Pascor, a direct descendant of Lord Nard, as part of the armistice. The newly minted Duke wouldn¡¯t budge on this point.) - *According to the historian Gallio Veturius who left some unfinished notes on the matter of the original Issir cities, the Kaletha Triarchy was a very big kingdom. The bulk of Gallio¡¯s notes and portions of his hand-written work were smuggled out of Kaltha by his students and close family. They were still hunted down and assassinated one by one even twenty years after the historian had lost his life, with his whole line eventually dying out with Lord Sirio Veturius a little over a hundred years later. Political machinations or a Queen¡¯s spite aside, Irde was the smallest of the three major ports dominating the massive gulfs of Jumping (Leaping) Whale¡¯s Peninsula that had Uher¡¯s Spine mountain range running down its middle. Kaletha Gulf that had its entrance north at ¡®The Claws¡¯ with famous Ikete at its southernmost edge and the expansive plains of Midland to the east, and Caspo O¡¯ Bor Gulf, shared between Irde who touched both the ¡®brines and sweet waters¡¯ and the colossus that had been Sessi who the Armada¡¯s Logs insist it had a population close to one million souls. Across the curving protracted massive whale¡¯s fin, where Sessi had sprawled itself dominating the area, stood the misty Bear Isle with its communities of free people and its Great Northern Peak extending out of the clouds and visible from very far. The large island separated from the mainland by a pirate-infested channel named Bearcub Canal, the three cities just couldn¡¯t clear out for centuries. The Issir people brought a lot of their old names to Jelin and used them with abandon those first years fearing they had exchanged their survival for a large chunk of their history and they had in a sense. Of the over five hundred ships that originally attempted to cross the Deep in the mass exodus and then the Unknown Ocean in search of the fabled new realms, around a hundred of them belonged to the ¡®pirate¡¯ clans of Bear Isle. Their skull and bones banners proudly displayed in what they called ¡®the biggest raid in all known history¡¯. The ¡®pirates¡¯ (not all of them sharing Reinut¡¯s vision but the majority had supported his plans instinctively) were rewarded with no lands or cities on Jelin but most of them (of Bear Isle¡¯s commoners) did settle near Issir¡¯s Eagle and their Lord Reinut, not really making a big deal about it. Some crews though found kindred spirits in these new seas, even made friends. Lorians and Cofols that shared their unlawful proclivities and together they formed the ¡®Brotherhood of like-minded gentlemen¡¯ or simply the Brotherhood. And then they started plundering again.
- 18th of Tertius 194 NC Irde Shrine There was a foot on his face. Stepping on it. A rough, leathery foot but not a big foot. Dirty and a bit hairy at the ankles. A small chubby leg attached to it with thick thighs ending at a short baby¡¯s tunic that gave him the shocking close view of a hairy bottom and two heavy low-hanging balls under a dirty arsehole. Unholy damnation! Lear stirred coming about, throat burning and mouth tasting of vomit. His nose felt clogged and he¡¯d difficulty breathing. The creature turned its disheveled head around and then looked down at the groaning bounty hunter. Large turquoise eyes and big flapping ears, neither ugly nor attractive. Just weird. The creature¡¯s foot moved on his face, little toes mashing his nose on purpose. Ye little cretin, a still dizzy Lear thought and swung with his arm to smack it off of his face. The cretin giggled not even flinching away and then Lear¡¯s index finger got jammed on a table out of his vision but very close. The finger turning the wrong way and the pain blinding. ¡°Muargh!¡± Lear roared at the jolt piercing his foggy brain and heaved again despite the pain turning the table over and forcing his whole body to roll left on the bench, then drop on the floor with a bang. Lost in the ungodly ruckus raised by several plates or bowls breaking, glasses shattering and bottles clattering down as the tossed table emptied everything on its surface on the tiled floor. A hurt Lear rolled on the hard surface, hearing small feet tip-tapping fast away and a giggle reverberating inside the¡­ Where in Tyeus gonads am I? He wondered trying to get his bearings. ¡°What crazy hell is this?¡± Lear groaned, the last thing he remembered was dying near the cabin under a bunch of pine trees with the sun on his face. He genuinely expected to find something more meaningful in the afterlife if such a realm existed. Edge was there. Ah. Oh, for fuck¡¯s sake, he cursed remembering his friend. The sound of feet returning. Lear swung his head the other way, towards the sound of boots on the floor. Not tapping lightly but thudding this time. Feet belonging to a heavy-boned person. A tall one probably, he thought and stood on an elbow, sweat rivulets running down the sides of his eyes and the tip of his nose. Lear blinked looking about what looked like an empty, or thrifty-constructed tavern¡¯s hall with two tables and a large stone counter. The structure made out of finely cut stone. Three tables counting the one that Lear had hurled near the wall. It was a rather small table. Lear stood on a knee and then pushed himself upright only to discover a windowless door barred from the inside and a narrow stone staircase leading to a second floor affixed to a wall. The ceiling Lear could touch raising his hurting arm. He lowered his eyes on the injured digit, grabbed it with his left hand and pulled at it hard to reset the joint. Mother-fucking-turds! The pain brought him almost to his knees again with a groan of agony and when his eyes cleared some more a hurtful moment later Lear came face to face with another unknown creature. Big round nose, over a large, very miffed and big-lipped mouth. More black hairs than skin under the small brown eyes but nothing at the top of his head. The bald cranium shining a fierce angry red. ¡°Seen sturdier legs on drunken goats! Yes, I have!¡± The dwarf boomed judgmentally, the walls rattling and a bottle dropping on the stone counter with a loud clank but somehow didn¡¯t break. It then rolled on the smooth surface until it reached the edge where it stopped weirdly as it backtracked a bit after a brief pause. What in the name of the Allgods? A bewildered Lear mused steeling his weakened legs to return the dwarf¡¯s glare. Lear had to gaze so low that the bounty hunter¡¯s chin touched his throat. ¡°Did you receive a blow to the head?¡± The dwarf asked speaking loudly but much slower. ¡°Blame yer drunkard friends! No refunds! Now,¡± he paused to stare at the mess on the floor. ¡°Grab that broom and fix this blasted mess!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not¡­¡± Lear shook his head still rattled and quite confused. ¡°Edge brought me here?¡± He finally asked trying to put the previous events into a proper order. The dwarf stood back, then placed two stubby hands on his hips. He wore a hemp shirt with long sleeves and small kid¡¯s pants with large leather boots. ¡°You know,¡± the dwarf said in a softer, sort of reminiscing tone and pursed his mouth in a weird upper lip smile. It lasted but a brief moment since the dwarf raised his voice right after. ¡°Think I¡¯ve talked to bog Trolls much sharper than you! I sure did!¡± ¡°How about, you fuck off dwarf,¡± Lear rustled with a grimace of anger. ¡°Not this kind of inn. Broom.¡± The scowling dwarf retorted utterly impervious to the threat. ¡°Fix thy mess. Earn yer blasted keep!¡± ¡°He means it,¡± Edge said coming down the staircase. ¡°Why are you standing?¡± ¡°Eh¡­ I¡¯m feeling better?¡± Lear grunted glaring at the staring meaningfully at the broom dwarf. ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± Lear touched his chest and realized the wound was still there but seemed to be mending. ¡°How long am I here?¡± ¡°Too long!¡± The dwarf boomed. ¡°Leave girl talk for later. Get to work!¡± ¡°Almost a day,¡± Edge replied grimacing. ¡°Listen, we¡¯ll pay you for the rooms¡ª¡± ¡°You better!¡± ¡°Hey,¡± Lear grunted and turned to stare at the tapping his boot down bearded creature. ¡°Can you relax for a moment? What the hell happened?¡± ¡°The dwarf patched you up. A priest of Uher suggested it. Monk I guess. Mistook him for a beggar at first,¡± Edge explained and there was a bit more there given his embarrassed expression. ¡°You were too far gone for us to try something else.¡± Lear pursed his mouth and tried to lift his right arm. There was pain still there and the stitches bothered him but the flesh appeared healed. He smacked his lips. ¡°Did someone piss in my mouth?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the drug,¡± the dwarf explained. ¡°You people haven¡¯t advanced at all in centuries!¡± He protested looking at them frustrated. ¡°You wrinkled turd,¡± the dwarf pointed at a frowned Edge. ¡°Get that broom. Your friend made a bloody mess.¡± ¡°I had a¡­¡± Lear paused while Edge yelled for Mark to get down immediately. The bounty hunter looked about them curious. ¡°There was¡­ a fat kid.¡± ¡°I have no kids,¡± the dwarf replied gruffly. ¡°Scratch that. I have a bastard in Tollor with a tailor¡¯s wife. Margarita. Darn tits the size of me head! Sure were. He¡¯s a tailor himself now. Tall lad,¡± he added reminiscing and placed his arm above his bald head, which would have made his bastard no taller than a ten year old. ¡°The tailor didn¡¯t object?¡± Edge asked a bit curious. ¡°Eh. They couldn¡¯t have kids of their own,¡± the dwarf explained. ¡°Someone told them I could help. We worked something out after I explained to them no baby-making potion exists. Unless you look to pop out a Kobold but you need dragon blood for that.¡± ¡°You¡¯re sorcerer?¡± Edge asked very impressed. ¡°What? No you idiot, I just know stuff in order to survive out in the open.¡± ¡°You live in the middle of the woods?¡± ¡°Your point being?¡± The dwarf asked furrowing the thickest of brows. ¡°Anyways clean this and get the fuck out of my beard.¡± ¡°What about the kid? Because I saw something walking all over my face earlier,¡± Lear grunted very frustrated. Also in pain now that the ¡®drug¡¯ started wearing off. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°Lear Hik.¡± ¡°What about the prisoner?¡± Mark asked from the top of the stairs. ¡°Bring him down,¡± Edge replied stiffly. ¡°He can barely see two feet. His eyes are all swollen. Infected or something,¡± Mark argued. Edge glanced at Lear and then let out a pensive sigh. ¡°Help him down the stairs. If he trips up, the hell with it,¡± he told the waiting Mark. ¡°I want him alive.¡± Lear barked at the young ranger. ¡°What is it that you do?¡± The dwarf asked him whilst Edge grabbed a broom and started wiping the floor using a dustpan to gather the broken pieces. ¡°I have a garbage can outside. Get them corners and under the other tables also.¡± The dwarf instructed the murmuring under his breath bounty hunter. ¡°We are contractors,¡± Lear replied and found an uncomfortable chair to sit on. ¡°Your tavern is primitive dwarf.¡± ¡°Name¡¯s Horgith Hornborn,¡± Horgith said crustily. ¡°It¡¯s a home. You people just keep showing up and ask for favors. What the fuck is the matter with you? Stumbling about like monkeys who dived into Naossis nectar! We¡¯re sick mister Hor. We¡¯re thirsty mister Hor. We need a place to stay for the night. Build yer own!¡± The dwarf paused taking a deep breath through his mouth. ¡°Did he just say whore born?¡± Edge asked still holding the dustpan. ¡°Hey!¡± Horgith grunted and tapped his left ear with three fingers suggestively. ¡°Unclog yer fucking ears loggerhead! Use water this time not dirt.¡± ¡°Get the trash outside Edge,¡± Lear rustled his mind much clearer now. ¡°I asked ye a query earlier mister Horgith,¡± he told the scowling dwarf. ¡°About the kid. It wasn¡¯t a kid I reckon,¡± Horgith replied readily with a side-glance. ¡°DonKot likes to spend time near his properties.¡± Lar licked his cracked lips thoughtfully. ¡°Who¡¯s he?¡± ¡°The owner of this home,¡± Horgith replied. ¡°You share your home with a kid named Don Kot?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t mean what you think it means.¡± An offended dwarf retorted. ¡°It¡¯s a blasted moniker and I said ¡®it¡¯s a home¡¯ and not ¡®it¡¯s my home¡¯ earlier. For a man-hunter you sure aren¡¯t that bright. Ah, and I¡¯m a priest of Luthos and not a bloody tavern keeper! Argh, not professionally.¡± Lear kept his eyes on him warningly and Horgith returned his stare with a bored expression, then reached in a pocket in the back of his pants and got a hooked needle out, with string looped around it. He tossed it to Lear who caught it with a grimace of pain with his right hand. ¡°Stitches broke while ye were dancing wit him,¡± Horgith said gruffly. ¡°See to patch yourself back up again. You are leaking on my floor.¡±
An hour later, Edge brought him a bowl with meat and vegetable soup warning him Horgith had fished out any pieces of meat with his hand afore giving him the bowl. Lear downed the hot soup directly from the bronze bowl without a reply, his mind on the unfinished job. ¡°God dammit Captain,¡± Edge griped seeing his expression. ¡°You almost bought that piece of blasted land back there.¡± ¡°As fine a ground as one would hope to find,¡± Lear rustled and placed the bowl down, next to the custom needle Horgith had given him. His stitches still bleeding. ¡°What did he give me?¡± ¡°Some potion. Couldn¡¯t argue seeing as ye were half dead.¡± ¡°How much did you pay?¡± ¡°What you had in the purse,¡± Edge replied. ¡°Eh. Damnation,¡± Lear grunted and stared at his hands. ¡°What happened Roland?¡± He asked raising his eyes. Mark was feeding Paros some meters away. They were standing in front of the ¡®inn¡¯, in a large yard with a short fence. The monks of Irde beyond that fence going about their morning chores and not a tourist in sight. The walls of the two-story large inn behind them covered with crude moss-infested logs on the outside, as if to conceal its sturdier interior. The large stone chimney giving some of it away. ¡°I had to take a leak,¡± Edge admitted and it was something that had started bothering him lately. ¡°Marshal was sleeping so I left the lad back. The lass told him she needed to relieve herself and he escorted her there.¡± ¡°Marshal freed himself?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t know how he did it.¡± ¡°She had a hidden blade or a sharp pin in her bun and she passed it on to him when you weren¡¯t looking,¡± Lear said gruffly. ¡°Which is probably why she changed her hair later. Mark just let her go?¡± ¡°The lass told him you were going to torture her. Got him in the feels,¡± Edge said with a grimace and Lear got up. ¡°I talked to him already Captain.¡± Lear stared into his wrinkled face and then at the newer member of the team. ¡°Why didn¡¯t she kill him?¡± Marion. And her aunt Diana Merck. You don¡¯t want to upset a shareholder. You might need her vote in a future meeting. Eh. Mark just walked into a wolf¡¯s den, slept the night with not a care in the world and then walked out none the wiser. ¡°What?¡± Edge asked and got up himself with a groan. ¡°Where were you going with¡­ wait a fucking minute here. How did you get your own dagger jammed in yer lung?¡± ¡°She did that. Looked away for a second,¡± Lear said a little self-conscious. ¡°Lass took it from you?¡± ¡°Fast as a snake.¡± ¡°I see,¡± Edge murmured and glanced at the oblivious Mark. ¡°What do you think Captain?¡± ¡°Remember that Sana-something back in Frye¡¯s Hold?¡± ¡°The stable girl? When was it? Eighty four?¡± Lear nodded. ¡°Told us the killer leaped from the third story window, caught the window¡¯s edge and landed on the street. Ten meters from Bolt that covered the street corner. Bolt missed him for a hair. You commit to a drop like that, I bet ye can¡¯t move for a minute at the very least.¡± ¡°It was dark. Bolt missed sometimes.¡± ¡°He moved fast as the desert spirits is what Bolt told me. Have ye ever known him to exaggerate anything?¡± ¡°Fine,¡± Edge yielded. ¡°So you say she moved as fast though?¡± ¡°Oh she was swift alright,¡± Lear replied thoughtfully, ¡°but it¡¯s her not breaking anything from the tumble that I¡¯m having a problem with.¡± ¡°She couldn¡¯t walk afterwards.¡± ¡°Healed pretty fast,¡± Lear grunted and stared at his leaking stitches. ¡°And she should have been crippled.¡± Edge sighed and pursed his mouth. ¡°Jacomo paid to train his niece¡­ I don¡¯t know Lear.¡± ¡°Manuela did. The Bank has done it afore. Everything is for sale after a while.¡± ¡°Fausto Mclean married a Silent Servant?¡± Edge argued. ¡°Yet he opted to fight ye unmounted.¡± ¡°He wasn¡¯t unskilled but got caught up in the moment and as for the other part, Fausto was a front for Manuela to hide her indiscretions from the old man. I got the impression she has been bedding Eleonora for years.¡± ¡°How long?¡± ¡°Too long.¡± ¡°Federico might scold her but he¡¯ll have us skinned and turned into pillows Captain, if word of this gets out.¡± ¡°Why do you care what¡¯ll happen to you after you¡¯re dead?¡± Lear grunted and clenched his fists looking at Mark and Paros. ¡°I don¡¯t I reckon.¡± ¡°If word gets out.¡± ¡°Captain¡­¡± Edge said warningly. Lear looked at the peaceful small meadow amidst the massive forest and the sun over their heads. The monks carrying wood and leading laden mules back inside gated monasteries. ¡°A bird might reach Badum from here if you have it with you. Which they didn¡¯t. Because they intended to return to the bank¡¯s office. But they won¡¯t. Now they have to head into the wilderness with Laudus, through the pass towards Ikete Shrine. Will the monks have birds there? Could they risk it? Irde was always an open safe space but Ikete answers to the Duke of Riverdor. Do you want a Duke involved?¡± ¡°What are they trying to do? Cover their tracks?¡± ¡°Killers cover their tracks. Look to hide,¡± Lear replied. ¡°Criminals as well. But they won¡¯t go out of their own way to eliminate anyone looking for them. They can¡¯t. Criminals don¡¯t have the resources for that. But Mclean & Merck does.¡± ¡°Why would the Bank help Laudus? He¡¯s a small fish that killed a rich whale punching far above his weight. Now sharks are circling him.¡± ¡°There are bigger fish in the sea,¡± Lear replied and walked towards the duo stiffly. Grand ambitions always have a cost and come with interest, was written on the walls of the Bank. Whose ambitions though? What grand scheme forced the Bank to intervene so blatantly? And was everything connected somehow?
¡°Walk with Tyeus traveler,¡± a dirty priest working outside the old tower told them as they headed out of the settlement. An old blade strapped on his waist and his robes gathered over his skinny legs. ¡°Praised be the Five.¡± A frowned Lear gave a slight nod with his head, the pensive Edge not bothering with the priest at all and a pale-faced Mark bringing their mules and horses behind them in gloomy silence. Minus a horse that is they had to give to Horgith in order to bury Paros behind the inn. Not all of him. ¡°How do we find the pass?¡± Edge asked an hour later with the light slowly dying in the horizon. Lear pointed a finger at the setting sun. Its light shining between the high snowed peaks in the distant horizon. Three quarters north, a quarter west. Figure the rest of it out yourselves! The eager to get them out of the inn dwarf had told them, even if it meant the dwarf had to dispose of a bloody corpse himself. For a fee. ¡°Head for the split and look for tracks,¡± he added. ¡°How many horses?¡± ¡°A lot,¡± Lear replied gruffly. ¡°We might not make it.¡± ¡°I just want to die first and not bother with the aftermath.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see about that,¡± Lear grunted not in agreement as he¡¯d still a couple of open jobs he intended to work on. Had those ruling over people from their celestial thrones wanted him gone they would have gotten rid of Lear much sooner, he mused. Plenty of opportunities to do that. ¡°He could have lied,¡± Edge probed. ¡°Or Lucius might decide he wants no more conflict. He¡¯s done nothing to address the matter. Everyone might be back in Regia¡¯s Council before the year is over.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know that and I don¡¯t care about what Lucius will do,¡± Lear replied hoarsely, his eyes on the darkening forest path ahead of them. ¡°That cruel brat killed a lot of good people back in Yepehir to get what he wanted. Heard King Alistair praise him proud as a peacock afore a bunch of smiling lords. Most of them looked down on us a couple of years later when other agreements came to pass and marriages brought families that hated each other closer. Everyone wanting to place the blame on someone else to avoid their daughter in law-to-be gripping in their son¡¯s ear.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to talk to the kid,¡± Edge decided seeing he wasn¡¯t in a talking mood. ¡°Don¡¯t go soft on him. He could have had us both killed back there easily. Came real close. All Marshal had to do was wait for me to pass out.¡± ¡°Captain¡­ you got to give second chances to people,¡± Edge grunted. ¡°Not everyone deserves it,¡± Lear replied raspingly. ¡°But I¡¯ll keep it under consideration Sergeant.¡± - 22nd of Tertius 194 NC The mouth of the canyon separating Moonberry Rises to the west from the titans of the Great White Mountain range. The undergrowth rich, rocky path, known as the Narrow or Hermit¡¯s Gate according to Horgith Hornborn. Fresh tracks. The horses forced to follow the veins of muddy soil amidst the rocky terrain to protect their feet. All them trees and roots covering the walls now cracked from the cold and tumbling down inside the canyon with the melting snow. ¡°You think it¡¯ll rain?¡± Edge asked from his horse. ¡°Better not. Not sure this doesn¡¯t turn into a ravine or river. Which means we stand at its bottom.¡± ¡°Was thinking of those rocks over our heads and the rotten roots holding them,¡± Edge retorted. ¡°But you went ahead and made it sound ever worse.¡± ¡°Shush,¡± Lear admonished him and turned to glare at the silent Mark. ¡°Cover the animals¡¯ mouths with the handkerchiefs. Be gentle about it.¡±The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Heard anything?¡± Edge asked looking about them. The walls of Hermit¡¯s Gates continuing through the mountains forever it seemed. The cold breeze whistling through and sounds carrying for a long distance. Then Lear heard the crying again. An animal in pain. ¡°How far?¡± ¡°We can¡¯t hurry after them.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s them.¡± ¡°No camping tonight,¡± Lear decided. ¡°No fire.¡± ¡°I¡¯m taking your blanket,¡± Edge warned him and Lear grunted. He snapped his heels and sent the horse forward, eyes peeled at the turns and swells of the difficult terrain. Patches of hardened snow still visible despite the season. Avalanches coming down from the unseen frozen tall peaks on either side. The cold getting stronger the higher up they traveled.
Lear climbed down the slope taking care not to trip himself up and approached them. Edge covered in a woolen blanket he¡¯d tossed over him like a priest¡¯s robes. Lear stopped to take a couple of good breaths and then rubbed his gloved hands together to warm them up. ¡°Pretty cold higher up the slopes,¡± Lear said and glanced at the two moons over their heads. Nesande¡¯s blue ring half hidden from the imposing distant peaks. They looked near but they weren¡¯t. ¡°Plenty cold down here as well,¡± Edge commented sourly. ¡°Is that a fire?¡± ¡°Yep. They had to. Not to freeze.¡± ¡°Sounds like a sound idea,¡± Edge retorted shivering all over. ¡°I wanted to piss but I can¡¯t brave them breeches open.¡± ¡°Just pull the cock out. I did that. Took me half a minute.¡± ¡°Yer a braver man than me Captain. Always were truth be told,¡± Edge admitted sadly. Lear groaned and walked to the shaking Mark. ¡°Check your quiver.¡± ¡°I did.¡± ¡°Check it again. Cap might freeze shut. Better get the bolts out and put them in yer satchel.¡± ¡°What about my things?¡± ¡°Get them on the mules,¡± Lear retorted gruffly. ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake Lear just leave him be,¡± Edge protested and a rock rolled down the slopes, crackling and clanging. Lear immediately moved behind a horse carrying supplies, a hand cupping the pommel of his sword. They all stared at the moonlit rocky slopes in silence for a while. ¡°A mountain goat?¡± Edge whispered still standing in the open and not even stooped. Lear glared at him. The bounty hunter shrugged his shoulders. ¡°I sit down now, I ain¡¯t getting up anytime soon.¡± Edge explained in a hushed tone. Lear watched the dark side of the slopping canyon walls and pursed his mouth stubbornly. Just before the bounty hunter went back up the way he¡¯d come from, the passage making a sharp turn a hundred meters from where they had stopped, a voice rang down the slopes. Bouncing off of the cracked granite and the snapped pines protruding like dark pillars from the chasms. ¡°That you Roland?¡± The voice asked and Edge glanced at the tensed Lear. Lear signaled for him not to say anything. Edge ogled his eyes and pointed at their animals. Five horses and two mules blocking the path. A blind man could spot them. ¡°I told her you weren¡¯t going to let it go.¡± The voice continued. ¡°Marshal¡¯s dead I reckon.¡± ¡°You got to speak louder Jack,¡± Edge replied over Lear¡¯s comical objections. The bounty hunter clenched his teeth in a snarl and looked towards the spooked Mark. ¡®Load the bow.¡¯ He told him voicelessly, opening and closing his mouth to form the words. Mark looked at his crossbow and nodded. ¡®Good. Now get down from the horse,¡¯ Lear advised him. Fucking idiot. ¡°Hah,¡± Tracer Jack chuckled still unseen but on the west side of the canyon¡¯s sloped wall. Motherfucker had looped around the corner higher and probably missed my arse for meters. ¡°Sorry about Hik. Eh. You got to turn around now old bones. Nothing you can do here.¡± ¡°Guess you have to make me Jack,¡± Edge replied and got his cock out to let a stream of urine splash on the rocky terrain whilst talking with him. ¡°I got the numbers Roland. Tell you what, I¡¯ll leave a heavy purse for you in the path. Just retire into the sunset mate. How¡¯s Rita?¡± Edge gathered his wrinkled cock and closed his breeches. Rubbed his face hard next with the same hand afore tipping his head back. Eyes pressed shut to keep the tears in. ¡°Five hundred gold pieces,¡± Jack continued too far to see more details. ¡°How about you keep it and bring Laudus down here?¡± Edge asked hoarsely wiping his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m not working for him Roland.¡± ¡°I know.¡± ¡°You won¡¯t make it out of the pass,¡± Jack warned him. ¡°Only chance you have is heading back now afore the word reaches Atetalerso. Then everyone that can hold a sword will come after you old man. Head for the North. Beyond Ludriver all the way to Krakenhall. Word is the Duchess is paying premium for good swordsmen or trainers. You could retire a rich man there. You don¡¯t owe Hik anything for crying out loud. How many of you he has to send in the mud afore you get it through yer thick head? He wasn¡¯t in it for the coin or the glory. A lone wolf is never sated nor settles down. Your Rita knew that. Motherfucker would have kept on going for the next mark until he croaked. Well he¡¯s gone now and you¡¯re free.¡± Edge smacked his lips and glanced at Lear out of the corner of his eye. The scowling bounty hunter still stooped behind the horse. ¡°Thing is, I don¡¯t like the cold Jack. Aye,¡± Roland told him gloomily. ¡°And can¡¯t get myself to look at Nord lasses lately.¡± ¡°See ye in the morning Roland. I¡¯m going back to my fire,¡± Jack taunted. ¡°If you are still breathing.¡± ¡°Take my dagger as well,¡± Lear told Mark and tossed him the weapon. ¡°Slot it in your pants. You can wield it better than a sword.¡± Edge had walked to the horse to get the axe out. ¡°The sun just set,¡± Mark croaked looking at them getting ready for a scrap under the lovely moonlight. And in the bitter cold of the windy Hermit¡¯s Gates night. You win some, lose some other. ¡°They are coming now lad,¡± Lear snapped hoarsely. ¡°Stay near the horses. Use the bolts. They come near you go for the eyes. Slash for the head, stab for the torso. You worked on this.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really¡­¡± Mark mumbled sounding really nervous. ¡°¡­remember anything right now Mister Hik.¡± ¡°None of us did,¡± Edge assured him and walked near a standing boulder to avoid the worst of the cold breeze. ¡°Really?¡± Mark asked hopefully. ¡°Ayup,¡± Edge lied with ease and then pressed his back on the hard rock to take the stress from his knees. - An hour after midnight Hermit¡¯s Gates 23rd of Tertius 194 NC Two warriors had circled back around the path and came at them from behind. Fresh faces, in the sense that Lear didn¡¯t know them from afore, but not young. In their thirties. Two Issirs wearing chainmail under their heavy coats, which they dropped in a pile afore coming towards them. Mist lobbing an arrow to get the seemingly asleep Edge following behind the mercenaries she had probably led there. Two new hires, Lear thought an eye on Shin and the always careful Jack coming down from the northwestern side, with another spear carrying dude standing in the middle of the path but looking to get his bow out as well. Three. Or another team of Issir bounty hunters. Unless the Bank is diversifying in its hires. Edge moved out of the way, the arrow shattering as it struck solid granite instead of him and he walked near the horses to confuse the Issir with the bow who had stopped thirty meters away. With a curse the Issir mercenary dropped the bow and reached for the spear. Then he started walking towards Edge just as Shin arrived and unsheathed his sword. Roland got both his blades out one after the other. Shin pursed his mouth and paused for Tracer Jack to arrive as well. ¡°Now,¡± Lear ordered Mark and the ranger got out from behind his mount, crossbow raised. Mark fired and Lear popped out of hiding as well. He walked with measured strides towards the two Issir warriors that had reached five meters from their animals, a sword in one hand, the razor in the other. Mist, the fourth Issir present, hissed in shock recognizing Lear¡¯s figure and switched targets from Mark to him. The spear carrying Issir mercenary got knocked back two meters in the meantime with a bolt lodged in his left plate-covered shoulder, the bone there splintered. The terrified Mark managing a decent shot given the stakes. ¡°GAAH!¡± The man bellowed blinded by pain and the night came alive with grunts of anger, cries of surprise and manic yells from all and sundry involved. Most shouts coming from Tracer Jack who ordered everyone to go after the ¡®resurrected¡¯ Lear. The first Issir, who had no idea who Lear was, swung with his sword to cut him down, getting in Mist¡¯s field of view, but the ever-advancing bounty hunter slapped the blade away with his and then hacked the mercenary savagely across the face without breaking his stride. The blade thudded on the nasal bone with a crunching sound, melted that and then shattered the hapless Issir¡¯s right cheekbone, the flesh parting there and flapping away from the cracked cranium. Brain matter and hot gore splashing his recoiling friend in the face. Mist cursed and sidestepped, her bow still trained on him but her foot found a loose rock in the semi-dark and tripped her up. She twirled around five meters from him in increasing panic to find her footing and Lear stooped left angling the razor, the next step bringing him near enough the stumbling backwards Issir to park the flat of the blade under the gasping man¡¯s chin and then wrenched it left to right towards his own chest, the sharp thin blade severing the spine¡¯s connection to the mercenary¡¯s skull after going through tender throat flesh, epiglottis and the crunchy thyroid bone. The head drooping sideways to hit the man¡¯s shoulder and twisting around once, held back by strained bloody skin and a bit of flesh at the back of the neck. Gore exploding outwards in a great torrent and a few smaller gushes, dousing Lear¡¯s left side completely from the head to the hip. ¡°Shit!¡± A panicked Mist cried out seeing him coming of the red curtain, his right arm raised above his head and loosed her arrow just as Lear chucked the longsword from four meters away. The scared shitless female scout jerked spastically to get out of the way not expecting such a development and missed everything. The longsword rotated once fully in a perfect circle, making a ghostly windmill-like sound and caught Mist right above her left leather-encased breast with the edge part of the blade, trapping her left arm there after snapping her bow to pieces. The savage force of the blow hurled her back three meters, her left limb detaching and dropping between her wobbling legs, the ulna bone severed, the radius bone shattered and the longsword still lodged in her broken chest cavity. ¡°Earrg,¡± Mist cried and emptied her bladder when Lear reached her and pressed the bloody razor on the side of her neck after first hacking off three fingers from her right arm, which the fouling herself female had tried to raise to defend herself. A solemn Lear finished her off and yanked his sword out to return to the main scrap.
¡°Son of a rotten dog!¡± Jack cursed with ogling eyes, upon seeing him approach and received a nasty cut above the elbow of his sword-wielding arm by Edge¡¯s blade. The veteran bounty hunter always attacked a distracted opponent first. Jack jumped back with a howl, blood dripping down his vambrace and Edge advanced on Shin now, swinging with both blades to force the younger nervous bounty hunter back. By some years. Shin was over forty. Lear snapped the right arm out to clean some of the gore from his sword and grimaced feeling the still healing stitches pulling at him. ¡°Water under the bridge!¡± Jack yelled, froth running down his blond beard and stepped back. ¡°Hik, come on man!¡± Lear glanced at Mark still trying to cut down the injured and bleeding out mercenary with his sword. The man defending himself well using the spear to keep him away. ¡°Use the darn crossbow!¡± Lear barked and Mark almost gotten himself killed dropping his guard. The young man jerked away from the spear thrust with a yelp and Lear groaned in frustration seeing out of the corner of his eye Jack legging it. He glanced at Edge and Shin, both fighters looking at the other bounty hunter running away. The heavy breathing Edge recovering faster and hacking at the undecided Shin with both swords breaking his defense. Shin stumbled back, the spear-wielding mercenary limping away as well and a flushed Mark reloading his crossbow as fast as he could not ten meters behind him. ¡°I give up!¡± Shin declared seeing as the tables had turned again. ¡°Toss the blade,¡± Edge ordered walking near the bounty hunter and Shin dropped it on the ground with a resigned sigh. ¡°I can tell you where they¡ª¡± Shin attempted to say with a nervous grin but Edge swung again with both swords and got him on the sides of the head just below the earlobes. The last part of Shin¡¯s phrase a splash of gore that came out of his mouth but no words. ¡°By Allgods old ¡®n new,¡± Edge cursed, clearly not impressed with the result of his fancy attack and watched Shin collapse to his knees with a hissing whimper bleeding from both sides of the neck. ¡°Think I pulled a muscle doing this shite. Left arm went numb,¡± he griped at the watching Lear who nodded in silence, stooped to pick up the spear Mark¡¯s opponent had dropped and walked to his horse. Mark was reloading his crossbow frustrated a bit further down the path now, watching nervously the last Issir mercenary he was following increasing their distance. Mark had missed the previous shot but Lear knew the Issir, who was limping away as fast as he could, wouldn¡¯t make it more than a hundred meters whilst bleeding like that. So Lear rode after the glow of the campfire clearly visible after the canyon¡¯s turn instead, with the still mumbling under his breath Edge wobbling towards his own mount intending to come after him.
Lear reached the campsite five minutes later. In a strange twist of fate the two parties had almost walked on each other in the dark. It was set up in a flat wider area right after the turn. The walls of the canyon opening up and the edges sporting both dead and living tall bristlecone trees with rough bark and weirdly twisted trunks creating different shapes. Some resembling faces even, either laughing or screaming, the empty cavities haunting to stare at in the light coming from the large fire. A tall Nord came towards him hearing his horse arrive. He was holding a large battle-axe and was bleeding down the right side of his face from a long nail lodged in his skull. Lear pursed his mouth and dismounted. He unsheathed his sword the moment his boots touched the hard ground, seeing less rocks in this part than what they had encountered coming up the path. ¡°Ummg,¡± the Nord grunted ineligibly and Lear circled away from him as that was a long reaching heavy weapon no sane sword could parry. His eyes searching the area of the camp quickly. The many horses gathered near the start of the small copse and the supplies left half-opened near the fire. The sound of old wood burning, cinders crackling and burning cones blasting out of the flames. Someone had tossed a laden conifer branch in the fire and the discharging burning hard seeds had started spreading the flames first to the supplies and the blankets, then the dead standing trees near the campfire. Smaller fires sprouting out lighting up the coppice and creating strange moving shadows on the ground and the distant canyon¡¯s sloped walls. The breeze now warm on his face despite the cold evening, for the first time in weeks. ¡°Goush,¡± the Nord growled and collapsed to his knees five meters away, the battleaxe landing on the ground with a loud thud. Lear wiped some of the grime from his face, mostly dried up gore and brain matter, then set his eyes on the slowly covered with thick white smoke nearby coppice. The sound of a horse coming up the path behind him. ¡°Stay back Roland!¡± Lear boomed, clenching his jaw and a man came out of the trees. Short, badly cut hair, a goatee on his Lorian face and a hand kept on his bleeding chest. No, Lear decided on a second look, the man had his right hand nailed on his chest. ¡°She has a fucking¡­¡± the Lorian grunted and Lear jerked right abruptly, twisting around his axis and a sharp clanging sound was heard a second later. It came from of metal crossbow firing no further than ten meters away. TANG! Something whipped next to his ear and Lear growled like a beast and dived the other way, muscles protesting and mostly healed but not quite there yet chest-wound opening up again. His sword¡¯s blade hit the ground as he dipped his right shoulder in the clumsy tumble. Lear stumbled to his feet, heard feet running inside the woods and branches snapping under boots. Followed by silence. With a guttural growl Lear sprinted towards the nearest trunk, heard another loud clang echoing amidst the trees and ducked mid-stride, hit the dead but still standing trunk with a peeved curse, the thin nail-resembling bolt sinking in the bark right above his left shoulder. Shot from behind him. The bounty hunter let out a manic groan and twisted on his feet using the momentum, knee joints burning and fingers scrapping at the hard bark for purchase as he rounded the trunk. Breathing heavy and sweating profoundly, a sporting a gnarly maddened sneer Lear appeared from the other side of the thick dead tree he¡¯d just rounded and almost crashed on the fast approaching, clad in her leather pants, tight-fitting black leather shirt Eleonora. The scowling woman busy reloading mid-stride a small intricately designed metallic crossbow that must have cost her lover a fortune, caught whilst slotting another bolt in the groove. She reacted like a gazelle, ducking and twisting her torso away from the charging not to allow her to reload Lear, her left arm extending to punch his right wrist and keep the sword away, her right arm turning the fancy crossbow inwards, nimble thumb pressing a button at its carved side that immediately pulled the string back and latched it automatically with a sharp click. Or she could do that, an annoyed Lear thought, just as a snarling Eleonora pulled the trigger with her index finger from almost point blank range. The bolt penetrated Lear¡¯s left arm above the elbow skewering his bicep as he¡¯d raised it instinctively, the sharp point scraping the bone and coming out the other way at least a finger. Then they both bounced off of each other, Lear feeling the worst about the encounter but Eleonora screaming not believing she¡¯d missed the bounty hunter¡¯s head. Eleonora stepped back like a very large cat, left hand reaching for a leather quiver she had on a belt at her waist, her right leg rising abruptly straight up to block his sword from coming down, wooden heel corkscrewing mid-air to lodge between the man¡¯s wrist and pommel. The sword hit the ground and Eleonora dropped her leg catching him on the right shoulder and bringing him down to a knee, but missing his head since Lear remembered to jerk it aside. Lear had never seen a man or woman performing the splits whilst standing on a leg. Or everything after that. Still, I would have kicked me in the face and left the fancier stuff for the circus or a lover¡¯s bed. The groaning bounty hunter reached for the bolt that had paralyzed his left arm, whilst the now slightly smirking female calmly slotted another bolt in her crossbow in the time it takes one to say shite. Shite. Lear yanked the bolt out of his bicep abruptly with a muffled raucous grunt and as the stepping back still smirking Eleonora raised her small crossbow again to shoot him in the face, he punched the bloody bolt in her left kidney with a brutal heave. Cling. The weapon went but Eleonora stumbled to the side without pulling the trigger, a jolt of pain marring her pretty face. A soft cough of air escaping her lips. She blinked not understanding what had happened, a rapid loss of concentration caused by severe trauma. Got to ride the pain through lass. Swallow it all down and feel it burn in yer stomach like acid, Lear thought not really that sad that she couldn¡¯t in this particular moment. When she came about a second later showing great resilience Lear¡¯s right hand, now clenched in a fist caught her in the jaw and cracked it, splitting her lower lip and breaking at least three teeth, whilst snapping her head violently to the side. The bleeding Eleonora faltered, dropped to a knee with a pained whine, but raised her right hand to shoot at Lear. The bounty hunter¡¯s metal-reinforced heavy boot reached her first and broke two ribs on the right side of her torso lifting a groaning Eleonora clean off the ground. It wasn¡¯t a fancy kick by any stretch of the imagination, or even particularly athletic but Lear was a heavy-set guy that had learned how to deliver a simple kick with the maximum vigor needed preferably with his boot on in the most traditional of ways. Kicking a lot of people over the years. Killing three of them with a boot to the face. In a sense the woman was lucky. In another sense¡­ She wasn¡¯t. For a while Lear stood and watched the small thicket of dead trees burn, strange frozen gapping mouths screaming in eternal silence. The flames highlighting the angles on his stern face. Then he grabbed Eleonora by the arm and dragged her back to the camp. Paused unsure for a moment, a sober Edge watching him knelt near the injured Lorian, then returned inside the weird trees to retrieve the fancy crossbow the woman had dropped.
¡°I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m still alive,¡± the injured man said, holding his good hand over the wound. His other hand dripping blood on the ground. ¡°Do you have a bandage on you? You¡¯ll find some in the supplies. Hurry before they all burn.¡± Lear pressed the punctured wound on his left arm to get some of the foul blood out and grimaced. The Lorian was looking at him intently. ¡°You need to finish her off,¡± the man advised him. ¡°She¡¯s a murdering bitch. Shot Goss in the fucking head in cold fucking blood!¡± Lear raised his right arm and the man stopped talking. The Lorian pushed back on the fallen trunk he had collapsed on. Without hurrying the bounty hunter reached inside his dirty satchel and dug a crumpled scroll out. Unfurled it and stared in silence for a while at the crude drawing in the light of the nearby burning campfire. He then turned it around and showed the painting to the Lorian with the goatee. ¡°That¡¯s not me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s Goss though as ye just said,¡± Lear rustled and showed him the list of known associates underneath the drawing. ¡°And I have Paros¡¯ head in that sack. Might be a bit ripe now but you can tell it¡¯s him.¡± The Lorian gulped down nervously, his face draining of blood despite the heat coming from the fire and the gushes of warm wind blowing from all directions. ¡°I¡¯m just a mercenary,¡± he croaked. ¡°Let me tell you what Paros said first,¡± Lear told him in a reassuring manner. ¡°He lied. Paros knew nothing.¡± Lear nodded. ¡°You don¡¯t work for the bank.¡± ¡°That bitch just tried to kill me!¡± ¡°Paros said the same thing,¡± Lear told him. ¡°About the bank. But with a twist of sorts.¡± ¡°What twist?¡± ¡°It¡¯s what I want you to help me figure out,¡± Lear replied and stood up. He glanced about, stopped for a moment to stare at the pale, tarnished face of Eleonora and Edge who was trying to patch her up. That¡¯s how Roland always was. Mark as well probably. Aye. Rita. Bolt was a nasty son of a bitch. Lear the worst of them all when he got all wound up in the job. The taste returned after taking the first bite and then it was difficult to remember who he was before. He stooped over the looking at him intently Lorian, his right hand fingers playing with the folded straight razor. Rolling it over the callused swollen knuckles, catching it with thumb and index finger, then rolling it between ring and pinky, afore pulling at the tang to snap it open. Suddenly, without any warning but a slight clench of the jaw, Lear moved his injured left arm, the pain bringing tears to his eyes and snatched the distracted with the razor Lorian¡¯s bleeding hand right at the wrist. ¡°What?¡± He protested and tried to free it from Lear¡¯s steely grip. ¡°Let me go!¡± The man tried one more time and when Lear didn¡¯t budge he reached with his left arm. Brought it forward intending to twist the bounty hunter¡¯s arm and break the grip. Whoosh. The razor went. The sound of digits hitting the ground between them. Two. ¡°ARGLGH!¡± The Lorian yelped in mind-numbing agony pulling his maimed hand back, spraying blood everywhere. Lear closed the razor, let go of the twisting this way and that man¡¯s hand and shoved a cloth in it to use on the wound. Then he inserted the razor in its leather sheath hang at his waist and got the woman¡¯s leather bolt quiver out of his satchel. ¡°Curse you!¡± The Lorian snapped gawking at the blood painting the cloth rapidly, between shudders, teeth rattling and his face distorted as the pain rooted at the base of his head. ¡°You have ten minutes of coherence. Maybe less. Speak fast and I¡¯ll help you staunch the bleeding.¡± ¡°Fuck¡­ you. Fucking deranged creep!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s hear a name first. Work from there,¡± Lear counseled him and glanced at the waking up Eleonora. The woman let out a moan of pain, a hand reaching for her hurting bloody jaw, eyes flickering from Edge working on her wound to Lear and the shivering Lorian. ¡°It¡¯s me¡­ Oras have you. Damn it¡­ Laudus. I need to stop the bleeding!¡± He grunted through clenched teeth glaring at Lear with hatred. ¡°The Bank ordered King Jeremy killed?¡± Lear asked calmly and when Laudus hesitated, he shoved one of Eleonora¡¯s bolts into his right knee. Darn thing sank in completely. Lear needed to go and fetch his pliers to pull it out.
¡°That¡¯s¡­ all I know¡­¡± A shuddering and sniffling, blind from the one eye, mostly fingerless and crippled Laudus griped some time later, while Lear used a thick burning stick to cauterize Regia¡¯s former Master of Silence wounds and keep him alive for a little bit longer. ¡°Please¡­¡± he begged when Lear raised the stick, since he feared the bounty hunter might burn his other eye off. ¡°A written order?¡± Lear repeated thoughtfully staring at a freaked out Eleonora who had watched the whole thing. ¡°What do you think Roland?¡± ¡°A signature can be forged.¡± Edge replied a sour expression on his face. ¡°Why would Lord Doris order his kin assassinated?¡± Lear asked again looking at the miserable face of Marc Laudus. ¡°What did Paros mean with the whole plan fell apart and the bank had to step in?¡± ¡°This had nothing¡­ to do¡­ I don¡¯t know. I wasn¡¯t there!¡± Laudus growled, his eye leaking fluids down his dirty face. ¡°What was the plan?¡± Lear asked and caught Eleonora looking at Laudus. Is this fool still covering up for someone? Why? ¡°Anything else in her satchel?¡± Lear asked Edge. ¡°A lock pick, couple of vials.¡± ¡°What kind?¡± Edge reached in a pocket of his long coat, found then and tossed him one. Lear caught it with his good hand as he could barely move the left. Round bottom and the size of his thumb. Tiny cork keeping its contents tightly sealed. ¡°Don¡¯t open it,¡± Eleonora hissed. ¡°Is it poison?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a healing potion,¡± she replied with another glance at Laudus. ¡°What does it do?¡± Lear asked remembering Horgith¡¯s ¡®drug¡¯. ¡°Helps the body recover. I could use one right now.¡± ¡°You grow body parts?¡± Lear queried and shook the vial to check at the strange liquid. ¡°No you don¡¯t.¡± ¡°Where did you find it?¡± Eleonora grimaced and touched her bleeding wound. ¡°I didn¡¯t. The Bank has the recipe for years.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a real healing potion? Like in the stories?¡± Edge asked curious. ¡°Gods. You people,¡± Eleonora griped feeling her broken teeth with her tongue. ¡°Backwards plebes. You don¡¯t need magic to make it.¡± Lear shook his head. Then unsheathed his sword and walked towards the recoiling Laudus. ¡°Sir Turner brought the missive!¡± A panicked Laudus yelled spittle flying out of his bloody mouth using his elbows to crawl away from him as his legs were both crippled. Lear placed the tip of the longsword on his chest and pinned him down, then stooped over the ogling Laudus ominously. ¡°Last chance.¡± ¡°You¡­ are going to kill me anyway,¡± Laudus hissed pursing his mouth tightly. Wow. An actual fanatic. To what? Lord? King? Country? God? Could it be? ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Lear retorted brusquely and shoved the sword into his chest cavity with so much force the tip burst out of his back and hit the ground. The fatally wounded Laudus quailed, blood coming out of his mouth and Lear moved the heavy blade back and forth widening the wound, bones breaking, internal organs getting mauled or slashed to pieces until with a protracted rattle the Lorian stopped moving. Lear then put a boot on the drenched in gore torso and extracted the blade slowly not to damage the edge further. He turned around, walked to his saddlebag, switching hands en route and used a clean cloth he dug out to wipe it clean from the blood. Lear knew the weapon was due for a good oiling and sharpening, but he didn¡¯t have time for that now. The bounty hunter stared at the pale Eleonora. ¡°You won¡¯t kill me,¡± she whispered. True. ¡°Captain,¡± Edge said warningly since he knew when Lear had gone over to the deep end. ¡°We gain nothing from this.¡± Also a plea not to go ahead. ¡°Are you going to tell me why the bank got involved? What or whom are they protecting?¡± ¡°The word will get out,¡± Eleonora warned him. ¡°Manuela will have your flesh boiled off of your bones if you hurt me.¡± Such a lovely person. Yer lover. Bet your father would be proud. ¡°You think I fear her? Or them?¡± Lear grunted. ¡°Federico¡¯s wayward, murderous brats?¡± ¡°Captain,¡± Edge murmured. ¡°You fear the old man. Everyone does. He¡¯ll kill all you care about. Wipe them off the face of this realm. Unless you let me go.¡± Hah. Wow. ¡°You actually believe Mclean cares about what happens to you? Or if his daughter loses a lover? If its family that will make him come after us, then killing Fausto sealed our fate. He better hurry because we¡¯re getting long in the tooth.¡± Eleonora stared at the grim-faced Edge. Lear sheathed his sword and reached for the razor again. The woman¡¯s eyes opened up and she tried with a deep groan to get up but Edge put a hand on her shoulder to push her back down. ¡°Just tell him lass,¡± he pleaded with her sadly. ¡°Save yerself the pain.¡± She shook her head right and left, a series of expressions distorting her face. ¡°I want that healing potion,¡± Eleonora hissed finally. Lear tossed her the vial and she caught it on her chest. With a grimace she uncorked it and poured its contents down her throat. Edge glanced towards him pleadingly again but Lear was beyond listening. To deal with monsters, you need to become a monster yourself. And forget about redemption. Because monsters¡­ eh. The real evil cretins of this realm feel nothing about anyone but themselves. They¡¯ll wallow in their riches and in their vices. Break every law and hurt myriads of people to get what they desire. Plunge a whole nation into war or two for profit, destroy a family for a night of pleasure or murder dozens of innocent souls just to avoid punishing one guilty sick fuck. ¡°The world you know,¡± Eleonora D¡¯Orsi started after pursing her hurting mouth, pretty eyes watering at the taste of the concoction and giving out a light glow. ¡°Is about to change dramatically. There are people that can see the opportunity for profit opening up. A huge route that it is empty now but won¡¯t be for long. More than one. Ever west and to the far south. A huge undertaking. The race has already started and the Bank would have been the first to enjoy these untold riches of the new world. An Epoch of exploration and high seas trade is coming. Beyond the shores of Jelin. Some enlightened individuals got on board with that a decade ago whilst others failed to see it. Stuck in their ways. To tales nobody ever bothered to verify. Pride, stupidity and backwards thinking. So measures had to be taken when some parts of this vital operation were threatened.¡± ¡°The King wouldn¡¯t do the Bank¡¯s bidding?¡± Lear asked her hoarsely. ¡°The Bank can adapt Lear Hik,¡± Eleonora retorted. ¡°It¡¯s a living thing because its people can look beyond the mundane and deal with problems with a clear head. Beyond the narrow confines of nations and countries. Safe in its warm embrace. I told you the realm might be different on the morrow.¡± Warm embrace? Nothing colder than a Mclean & Merck building. Lear had to give it to old Mclean. He was good at brainwashing those working for him. Make them believe in his bullshit. ¡°You didn¡¯t answer the query.¡± ¡°I did. The Bank can deal with problems with a clear head but some useful people can¡¯t.¡± Lear closed his eyes thinking of Eikenport. ¡°You lost the port. Mclean wanted that port. Why?¡± ¡°A gate of sorts to the new world, since we lost the race for a closer one for now.¡± ¡°What was the plan B?¡± ¡°This was plan C. Just in case we were to lose control of the situation,¡± Eleonora replied and put her hand down to stand up. ¡°Cediorum is too far away,¡± Lear murmured slowly seeing the bigger picture. A soulless, balefully dull, numbers oriented, profit driven directive. ¡°You needed Regia because Antoon was lost in an endless war. I assume the first choice was a port in Wetull. A, B, C. When that went tits up, Regia became the closest thing since nobody can trust the Old Crow not to screw them on a deal.¡± Eleonora nodded. ¡°We¡¯ll have to talk with Lucius now. But to have a better understanding, a couple of the previous mistakes needed to be corrected. The right people surviving the¡­ ordeal, so we can move on.¡± ¡°A couple you say. So not only this king,¡± Lear murmured shaking his head in disbelief. The whole plan fell apart and the bank had to step in, Paros had told him. To protect its investment. As clinical as that. ¡°The one afore him,¡± Eleonora whispered what he¡¯d already figured out. ¡°Who had Alistair and Jeremy killed?¡± Lear grunted and Eleonora blinked her pretty eyes, glanced at the brutalized corpse of Marc Laudus and told him.
¡°So you see now,¡± a relaxed Eleonora finished. ¡°There¡¯s nothing you can do. It¡¯s beyond your reach. A matter of political will. Whether you reach Regia or you don¡¯t. It won¡¯t matter. Lucius shall decide based on what¡¯s in his interest. What he needs sorely, we have already. Justice is a vague concept mister Hik easily cast aside for profit.¡± In your world. Most of the other. She could be right here. ¡°It is,¡± Lear agreed and stared in Edge¡¯s gloomy face. ¡°I will talk with Manuela. Cover up your involvement here,¡± Eleonora assured him. ¡°We¡¯ll say Laudus resisted and ambushed us. I¡¯ll take some heat but the job is done. It¡¯s over.¡± ¡°Jack escaped,¡± Lear told her. She gave a shrug, a hand pressing at her wound. ¡°The moment he makes contact, I¡¯ll know. I¡¯ll make certain he won¡¯t talk ever. Do you another favor. We¡¯ll call it even then.¡± Another bloody favor. Ah, lass you¡¯re too far gone. ¡°I cared about your father,¡± Lear started pursing his mouth at the end of it. Eleonora raised a blond eyebrow. ¡°Told me to make sure his kids got out. I guess they didn¡¯t. Reckon, I¡¯ll take the blame for that. I sort of looked the other way. It¡¯s on me so I¡¯ll fix it. Didn¡¯t think it would be that bad.¡± ¡°Bad?¡± She furrowed her brows. ¡°What are you saying mister Hik?¡± ¡°You know very well,¡± Lear retorted gruffly. Isn¡¯t this your motto mister Hik? She had taunted him because somebody read her a report. Told her a story between drinks or after a good fuck. She killed a bunch of people, travelled the world and played at being an assassin. A good plan seemingly until ye get clubbed in the face and ye have to pick up yer teeth from the ground. Eleonora stared at his hand resting on the pommel of his longsword alarmed. She took a step back, moving better than she did ten minutes earlier. Magic medicine, Lear mused, grey head moving slightly in a nod and then stilled his eyes on her comely face to better remember it, especially with the swelling on her jaw retreating now and back to its former unblemished state. Just don¡¯t fuck this up old bones, a briefly saddened Lear wished and Edge, who had snuck up behind the woman, this time didn¡¯t. And delivered a beheading fit for the arena. Eleonora didn¡¯t feel a thing and when her golden head hit the ground with a red mist raining over the scorched ground, a look of surprise haunted her wide open eyes. A grim-faced Lear stooped and picked the severed head from its long ponytail to drain it off the blood quickly. Edge who looked sick and like he¡¯d aged another ten years stared at him with that look Lear knew that eventually would go away. That¡¯s the job. This is what these creatures deserve. No mercy. And that goes for me as well. Lear set his jaw, glanced at the body of Laudus that needed fixing as well. The head kept as proof they had closed the chapter. This job done for the most part. After the next part is over, you¡¯ll need to move to the next one, his mind reminded him. Two kids slain. It doesn¡¯t get much worse than that. It was about time Lear started choosing which missions to take. Yeah. ¡°Bring the bag,¡± he ordered curtly and Edge moved like an automaton towards their horses to get it.
-
¡°Praise be Uher¡¯s light. See, there he is again!¡± Lan cried pointing a finger at the small creature, staring at him behind a bush, a baby¡¯s large head with large droopy ears, wild hair and bizarre turquoise eyes unnerving the young priest. ¡°Don yer coat?¡± The creature asked with a toothy smile and Lan furrowed his brows not understanding the strange accent and weirdly constructed familiar tongue. ¡°DonKot?¡± Brother Taft chanced. DonKot nodded and stepped out from behind the bush. He wasn¡¯t taller than a toddler. A toddler with hairy naked legs and bare feet tip-tapping as he approached and grabbed the priest¡¯s robes with a small hand. Lan blinked unsure. DonKot pulled at the hem of his robes again then sighed. ¡°Want you what? Um?¡± ¡°What I want?¡± Lan asked and DonKot nodded with his head, small hand playing with the large cock hanging under his short tunic shamelessly. ¡°Water? Food?¡± The priest croaked hopefully and DonKot pointed a small finger to the north. Then with a big naughty grin he asked again. ¡°Don yer coat?¡± And seeing the skinny priests couldn¡¯t understand him, he puffed out his cheeks, lips flapping and all, then signed for them to follow after him. And they did.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 452. AlDen (1/2)
Lucius Alden, ¡®Bloody Tiger¡¯ Lord Lucius Aldenus the third, Praetor Maximus, Legatus ¡®Omnis Legionis¡¯ King Lucius III Al¡¯Den ** Part I -The crypt-
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The Alden Kings (Aldenus bloodline) Laran ¡®the Wrathful¡¯ -109 to -88 OC Cyprian ¡®the Enlightened¡¯ -88 to -56(?) OC Remus ¡®the Brute¡¯ -56(?) to -26 OC Lucius I Aldenus ¡®Caesar Augustus¡¯ or Magnus ¨C Reigned from -26 OC* to 24 NC (First in Alden but eventually moved the capital to Cartagen around 10 NC) Caius Aldenus ¡®the Unlucky¡¯ ¨C from 24 to 29 NC ***Titus Alden ¡®the Bawdy¡¯ ¨C from 29 to 65 NC Lucius II Alden ¡®the Pius¡¯¨C from 65 to 89 NC Ralph Alden ¡®the Builder¡¯¨Cfrom 89/90 to 108 NC Jeremy Alden ¡®the Poet¡¯ ¨C from 108 to 136 NC Titus II Alden ¡®the Dull¡¯¨C from 136 to 153 NC Alistair Alden ¡®the Stalwart Tiger¡¯ ¨C from 153 to 190 NC Jeremy II Alden ¡®the Lacking¡¯ ¨C from 190 to 194 NC ****Lucius III Aldenus ¡®the Bloody Tiger¡¯ -from 193 to
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*OC and NC. Old and New Calendar. The time before the new calendar was usually given for example ¡®two hundred years prior¡¯ or by just using the minus symbol before the number. Due to this fact the unbroken Imperial Calendar dates are more accurate. Alas many of the events dealing with the ancient migrations on Jelin observed by the Zilan and written down are now lost or reduced to cryptic phrases next to certain dates. For instance ¡®at the end of the Age of Bronze the uncouth Lorians came¡¯ or at an even earlier date ¡®when the great ice melted and the land split apart Jarl Anundr (meaning Victor in ancient Nord) allied with his enemy Jarl Durfen Coalthane (meaning the Entitled in the Folk language) to rid the land of the Giants, but while successful their alliance didn¡¯t last.¡¯ **from All Dens (the local plains name) in jargon and a wordplay on the Aldenus family name that derives from the archaic Lorian ¡®a-danis¡¯ which means ¡®those building castles¡¯. **the Lorians didn¡¯t use superlative adjectives for their rulers from the Common Tongue but the Archaic. (Augustus, Maximus, Magnus etc.) Some ancient names of older Gods like Laran (A war Deity, also an alternative name of Tyeus later and probably the origin of the name Lorian) slowly died out as people stopped using them. ***King Titus the First, who had grown up in Aegium (a man of many vices) controversially attempted to turn Aegium into another Valeria ¡®of the salted waters¡¯ inviting there the famed ¡®Muse of Beauty¡¯ Augusta Leda, and then allowing the priestess of Naossis to build a temple to spread the worship of the most divisive of the Five Deities to the coast. The fledging port of Novesium was the most influenced by this during his reign. Both the Illirium priests who were always wary of the scandalous connection between the goddess and her ancestor (or father) Abrakas (a god of the old religions), but also the conservative Tyeus-loving Demames, eventually revolted causing great tension for him. His heir Lucius the 2nd cut back on the lewdness that had ensued but Naossis¡¯ influence on the city remained along the rich island Temple¡¯s longing for a return to status. **** Also officially addressed as Praetor Maximus (when in camp), High Dictat of the Triads (3 seas & 3 coasts) in royal texts, King of Greater Regia, Liger Hominis Panthera Divinus (from the priesthood of Panthera). Numerus unofficial monikers circulating in the army and within the populace like ¡®Lucius Tertius¡¯ (from the 3rd month but eventually people started using Lucius outright) ¡®the Legatus¡¯, ¡®Allgods keep Him¡¯ and the divisive ¡®Lord Justice¡¯.
- Eighteen Months Offensive 28th of Quartus (2nd of Spring, Canatya) 194, Code named -18 plus 17- Campaign Day 479 Road near wooded area parallel to Old Maiden¡¯s River The southernmost edge of the All Dens Plains Three kilometers from Alden¡¯s North Gates ¡°Centurion Placus Lepidus!¡± Galio boomed hoarsely, his voice strained but unwilling to save it. A rigid Lepidus stepped forward. He saluted the banners crisply touching a closed fist on his chest before turning and repeating it now facing them. ¡°Praetor Maximus Sir! Tribune!¡± He addressed in turn the senior officers present, several civilians from the city who¡¯d made the short trip to the Castrum to watch from the open gates the legionnaires and catch a glimpse of Lucius watching him impressed. ¡°Hereby ye are declared First Centurion of the 3rd Cohort and take over its 1st Century. Who do you have promoted in yer stead to lead the 2nd Century?¡± ¡°Centurion Donlon sir!¡± Galio nodded and waited for the Centurion to accept his Golden Phalera. ¡°Is that yer third?¡± The freshly shaved Tribune asked. ¡°Yes Tribune!¡± Lepidus replied and placed the gold disk inside his helm which the officer kept under his arm. ¡°See to wear them all next time,¡± Galio retorted austerely. ¡°Else people might think yer selling the stuff for profit!¡± ¡°Yes sir!¡± ¡°Umm.¡± Veturius grumbled dismissing him and raised his eyes to the next officer in line. ¡°Centurion¡­ Mede! What¡¯s that in yer face son?¡± ¡°It¡¯s¡­ a half-mask?¡± The badly maimed Northman replied unsure and the thousands of soldiers present laughed out loud. ¡°Ye reckon we¡¯re friends Centurion?¡± Galio snapped, spittle flying out of his mouth and the noise died out immediately. Mede grimaced. ¡°No sir! Tribune,¡± he saluted and then looked at the watching from his field chair Lucius. ¡°Praetor.¡± ¡°Two weeks without pay,¡± Galio ordered gruffly and one of scribe sergeants at the elongated table behind Lucius wetted the tip of the stylus on his tongue first, before dipping it in the inkpot. He then proceeded to write the citation. ¡°Now,¡± Galio continued very displeased. ¡°Let me see. It appears you have several mentions in the dailies for better reasons. Eh. Brevis even circled it for me not to miss it!¡± A soldier approached to present the frowning Mede with his medals. ¡°Number four and number five.¡± Galio said pursing his mouth in disbelief. Then eyed the now smirking Northman that had all his gold disks attached on the front of his armour along non-issued patches of black fur stitched over the shoulder pads. ¡°The fine stays.¡± Mede¡¯s grin turned into a sulk whilst Galio continued. ¡°Ahm¡­ Centurion Mede, you are hereby promoted¡­ to centurion first class and moved to the 2nd Cohort of our 3rd Legion to take over in place of Indus. The Centurion is transferring to the 1st Legion under Legatus Merenda.¡± Galio paused for a moment as the legionnaires roared thunderously acknowledging the well-known Northman officer and multi-campaigns veteran. Mede had been with Lucius since Maza-Burg and had as many citations as medals amassed during that time. Late Agricola¡¯s and Kato¡¯s recruits now veterans and of equal rank with their trainers. A lot of old faces are missing though, Lucius thought, eyes stopping on Mamercus Sorex that had already heard his name being called and had walked out of the ranks twice, the second time to receive Kaeso¡¯s Corona Vallaris. Sorex¡¯s name the only one mentioned in Kaeso¡¯s brief mandatory will. The Centurion gave a slight nod with his head and Lucius returned it. Make it right, the King reminded himself. His wandering eyes paused at the Castrum¡¯s gates, now almost blocked by Alden citizens that had kept the city open while everyone waited for Lord Doris to reply. The familiar old walls of the city tiny at the distance but visible. The warm day keeping the fireplaces cold and the smoke clouds from covering up the sky. He spotted Ramirus riding through the gates. The LID Director had asked permission not to attend the festivities, the latter Tribune Trupo¡¯s idea to keep the idle for months now soldiers busy. Drilling them wasn¡¯t that important as resistance had collapsed. Aldenfort, Vinterfort and Sabretooth Castle had opened their gates to the marching Legions. Illirium had signed an armistice with Lord Sula after some back and forth. Lord Brakis wanted to have control of Aegium but Lord Sula refused flatly despite Lucius mentioning the ¡®need to take a step back to move forward.¡¯ Lucius wasn¡¯t going to accommodate Stan Brakis or reward him, but he also didn¡¯t want Lord Sula controlling Aegium directly. He had an idea to reward his ally but not how the Duke of Demames envisioned. The fact that Paulus Sula took his time to release the hostages he held, mainly Vinicius Alden the Lord of Saltville and his brother Laran, both third cousins to Lord Doris and his father, bothered Lucius. He¡¯d released Lady Sandra, her brothers and her mother but it had taken pressure from the busy with the campaign King to do it. ¡°Venius Gata should lead the Century,¡± Mede said. ¡°Not before I talk with him,¡± Galio retorted already eager to get rid of the scarred Centurion. ¡°Dismissed. Now, Decurion Jago Davy,¡± the Tribune continued while Lucius turned to speak with the arriving Ramirus. The officer jumped from his horse, left the reins with a LID agent escorting him and then saluted. Lucius returned it with a nod and Ramirus glanced at Sir Valgus standing behind the King at attention. ¡°You have news,¡± Lucius said gesturing for Ramirus to approach. ¡°On two fronts Praetor.¡± ¡°I¡¯m told the campaign is over,¡± Lucius quipped with a straight face. ¡°Poor choice of words sir,¡± Ramirus replied. ¡°We are to expect Mayor Simo to visit us within the hour.¡± ¡°He¡¯ll send the Mayor?¡± Lucius asked evenly. ¡°Lord Doris isn¡¯t in the city. It is what the Mayor will tell you. ¡° Lucius stared at the young and rather short Cavalry officer accepting his promotion. The spurred boots to fill pretty large but bravery came in all packages. And it wasn¡¯t bound by blood obviously. ¡°You think he¡¯ll head for Illirium?¡± He asked Ramirus. ¡°He probably left with a merchant transport two days before we arrived,¡± Ramirus replied. ¡°Heading for Scaldingport.¡± ¡°Will Lord Ruud take him in?¡± Lucius asked calmly. ¡°Don¡¯t see why he¡¯d bother sir, but I won¡¯t risk trying to decipher what the Duke might do. He is busy with the Khan¡¯s army.¡± ¡°He¡¯s taken the Queen and the kids,¡± Lucius noted. ¡°His daughter sire and grandchildren.¡± ¡°Yeah. I don¡¯t like the arrangement Ramirus. These were the good news?¡± ¡°Neither good nor bad Praetor. Lord Doris leaving means the city is open,¡± Ramirus replied. ¡°The city was open either way,¡± Lucius retorted and brushed the sweat off of his forehead with a gloved index finger. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have fought Alden and Alden would have never fought against me.¡± ¡°The guard did sir.¡± ¡°What are the other news?¡± Lucius asked him tiredly. ¡°Severus reported that one of our agents might have something on Laudus,¡± Ramirus replied. ¡°His name?¡± ¡°Agent Taurus. He¡¯s stationed in Badum. We covered most of the nearby cities or ports,¡± Ramirus replied. ¡°Riverdor is very difficult to operate. Duke Charles has a lot of soldiers there and numerous agents of his own.¡± ¡°Taurus thinks Laudus traveled through Badum?¡± ¡°He might have used the bank there.¡± ¡°How do we know this?¡± Lucius asked him. ¡°We hired some bounty hunters after pressuring an employee and posted a very big reward,¡± Ramirus replied. ¡°Soon after many more arrived in the city and Taurus believes this second wave is bigger than the first one.¡± ¡°Why hire them beforehand?¡± ¡°Taurus knew them my Lord. But he has no news from them since.¡± ¡°How long?¡± ¡°Weeks, but these matters take time usually.¡± ¡°You said he pressured an employee earlier,¡± Lucius asked pursing his mouth. ¡°I ordered him not to harm the locals Praetor. Taurus claims it was a mistake and it might be the reason more of Bank¡¯s people arrived.¡±This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. The fact that Taurus needed to be ordered not to harm people concerning. ¡°Not bounty hunters?¡± ¡°A mix of both.¡± ¡°Is Badum usually a busy office?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see why it would be,¡± Ramirus replied. Lucius nodded deep in thought. ¡°Stay. I¡¯m about to promote the Tribune,¡± he finally said and got up. ¡°Galio Veturius!¡± Lucius boomed and Galio snapped at attention surprised. ¡°Praetor,¡± he saluted sharply but also sounding a bit nervous. ¡°Your orders milord!¡± Lucius smiled at the veteran¡¯s anxiety. ¡°I have a problem Tribune.¡± ¡°Yes sir,¡± Galio said soberly. ¡°We¡¯ll get on it immediately.¡± ¡°I have one Legatus too many but also a kingdom to run,¡± Lucius said loud enough for everyone to hear. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of the Third milord!¡± ¡°Trupo can do that,¡± Lucius argued. ¡°In my absence.¡± ¡°Yes milord.¡± ¡°I want someone to keep an eye on our Legati. Someone they will listen to and that goes for Macrinus as well. Someone to outrank them.¡± Galio froze and turned red in the face. ¡°I don¡¯t have the status¡ª¡± ¡°The King can elevate any man¡¯s status or restore what was lost,¡± Lucius boomed brusquely. ¡°You object?¡± He asked the grimacing Galio. ¡°Never sire!¡± ¡°Mister Trupo,¡± Lucius asked the mustached officer. ¡°You have the Consul¡¯s baton?¡± Galio gasped audibly. ¡°Kept it warm sir,¡± Trupo replied getting up. Lucius stopped him before the grinning officer had the chance to say anything inappropriate with citizens listening in to their exchange. ¡°Just bring it forth,¡± Lucius ordered with a smile. ¡°We can¡¯t have Sula and Merenda outrank our good Veturius.¡± ¡°A cheer for the Old Oak!¡± Someone from inside the ranks yelled with a croaky voice and Lucius stopped an eagled-eyed Decanus from going after the culprit. Seeing the King not objecting the thousands of men and women of the Third Legion present, who the now very-moved Galio had raised from a single maniple almost six years back, cheered with such enthusiasm that their roar was heard from the sentinels guarding the gates of the city three kilometers away. Everyone but the gratified Sirio that is. The LID agent, now sandwiched between two burly Centurions who cheered with their fists raised, bawling his eyes out whilst desperately attempting to wipe the tears from his face. How did you end up working with Nattas lad? ¡°My Lord,¡± Ramirus noted treading carefully, in a discreet manner so only Lucius and Sir Valgus could hear, interrupting the moment. ¡°A Consul¡¯s position has also civic powers beyond the army.¡± Lucius turned his head and regarded somberly the intelligence officer¡¯s blank face. ¡°Indeed,¡± the King agreed. ¡°He does.¡± Ramirus stood back and bowed his head. ¡°I¡¯ll get the office ready for the Mayor.¡± ¡°You should,¡± Lucius replied and turned to watch Galio receiving the sculpted gold and silver baton from the grinning Trupo under thunderous applause. Trupo owed his second career in the army to Galio as he¡¯d vouched for him to a younger Lucius. Ramirus saluted and pivoted to leave but Lucius turned his head and stopped him asking casually, ¡°The bounty hunter¡¯s name?¡± ¡°Lear Hik,¡± Ramirus replied readily. ¡°He served with your¡ª¡± ¡°I know of him,¡± Lucius cut him off with a grimace. ¡°See you find out what¡¯s going on in Badum Ramirus. I want the killers found and brought to justice.¡± ¡°Yes my Lord.¡± Ramirus said dutifully. -
The victorious King Lucius the third, entered the city of Alden through the open North Gates, following behind Primus Pilus¡¯ Brevis¡¯ hard-marching four centuries of the 1st Cohort of the 3rd Legion, its numbered square red banners and the Panthera Tigris gilded standard, for the first time since he¡¯d left that distant summer of 188 NC. It was the afternoon of the penultimate day of month Tertius, the year of the new calendar 194. The city came out to watch Lucius¡¯ triumphant return but it was a sober welcome alike the one in Cartagen or Asturia the previous years. Alden had suffered great casualties in the battles for the Lorian Plains and had seen too much death the years before that starting with the bloody nuptials between little Silvie and Kasper. Lucius realizing the city was in mourning ordered the rest of the Legion to march outside the city walls following Maiden¡¯s River and construct a new Castrum near its bridge where the First Legion had erected the old one years back. The still recovering Legatus Sula who was one day behind the king with the battered IV Legio was ordered to do the same. Sula, now under the care of his wife that had made the journey from Asturia to reach him the moment Lord Holt secured the bridge, accepted the order despite Lady Martha wanting to travel to the coast and gaze ¡®upon the warm seas my sister wrote me about.¡¯ The other and much fresher in the job Legatus, the wildly-partying Marcus-Antonius since the battles had ended, was swiftly ordered to stay at Sabretooth Castle instead and continue to repair and train his army there. A dour, dry place that had suffered appallingly in the civil war, situated at the edge of the desert and under the care of the pensive heavily-injured Lord Scylla who wasn¡¯t exactly fond of the animated new Legatus¡¯ complaints. Merenda would later describe the months he spent taking control of the First Legion ¡®and whipping those dullards into proper shape¡¯ as the ¡®dullest mixture of boring and headache-induced experience an officer should never have to endure¡¯. Famously decrying to his many transferred friends and colleagues arriving from the 3rd -mostly to cheer him up as the First Legion had an excellent cadre of officers already- that ¡®there are the dangerously crazy-nasty girls of Kas gentlemen and then there are the miserable whores of Sabretooth. If I was left with those two picks and a blade over my head I¡¯d ask that barking old dog Macrinus to switch places with me and you all know I don¡¯t really fancy redheads. Hey there! No comments afore I finish! Them northern cunts could slit my throat open over a darn ole big arse joke! Think I¡¯ve sprouted out at least six of them already since waking up!¡¯ Jests about fat-bottomed females aside and given all that he¡¯d get to experience in his life the self-indulgent young Legatus of the First Legion (Merenda was not even twenty-five, the youngest ever to achieve the rank) was shockingly right for once. They say when you¡¯re too loud or taunt the gods too much pretending you¡¯re in trouble they tend to give you exactly what you¡¯re trying to avoid, wrapped up in a fancy cloak, glittering jewels and carrying the ¡®forever sharp¡¯ blade. With the Legati away the King, who had bestowed upon the loyal Tribune Galio Veturius the biggest honor and rank ever given by a King in two hundred years, discussed briefly with the miserable Mayor of Alden Simo the happenings in the city and asked for the whereabouts of the missing Lord Doris. The latter had disappeared without a trace along with his longtime hailing from Aegium aide Laius, not to be heard from again until he resurfaced in another continent. When Lucius asked for the priests to open and prepare the royal catacombs for him to visit, Simo informed the tired King who still carried his youngest brother¡¯s remains in a silver box that Uher¡¯s priesthood had anathematized the city of Alden and its rulers for the murder of so many members of the cloth during ¡®the long knives of summer¡¯ event many years back. Most of the other gods¡¯ churches had agreed that the fault lay with the city and had departed as well. The temples and the catacombs left unattended for years, since the overwhelmed King Jeremy had been too busy with the war to deal with the matter. Ramirus suggested to bring a minor vicar or one of the wandering preaching friars to perform some of cleansing rituals but an angry and assuredly bitter Lucius had flatly refused to force the issue not a day into his return. ¡®A king doesn¡¯t beg Ramirus,¡¯ he reminded him. ¡®And this king can see to his affairs without a mediator.¡¯ Later that afternoon Augusta Flavia¡¯s hired carriage accompanied by a young Issir Priestess named Brigitte who was her personal pupil and the 1st Idole Drusilla, effectively the Temple of Senses top hierarchy entered the city of Alden. They had made the journey taking a ship straight out of Valeria to Aldenfort which was to some extent a surprise, since their Temple didn¡¯t really possess ships capable of making such a big journey. At least that is what most people believed since no one visited the Baths of Valeria to gaze at the dock facilities. A modestly dressed Flavia, considering the outfit she had donned for Sir Ralph¡¯s funeral six years earlier, had replied to the interested Director Ramirus blushing like a maiden disrobing for the first time in her husband¡¯s presence. ¡®It¡¯s really just a very old ship venerated Director.¡¯ A habitually unaffected by pretty faces but appreciative of Flavia¡¯s vintage female allure Ramirus, stared in the priestess¡¯ moist and lightly painted eyes, the High Priestess was well in her forties by now but one wouldn¡¯t know it by gazing at her figure or face and then decided this matter needed no further probing.
- Lucius pushed the ancient reinforced heavy door open. It resisted him at first, the torches making the narrow underground passage moving all about him. The mold and rust covered walls leaking down the stone floor. Eventually it cracked open, the hinges creaking and the sound carrying through the now much bigger opening of the crypt¡¯s main hall. A gush of stale foul wind blowing the torch¡¯s flames this way and that. For a moment. Lucius blinked, his eyes hurting and walked inside the dark hall, each stride echoed. He paused, the sound of his boots bouncing off of the wet floor and the darkened stone walls. The marble details on the granite sarcophagi. ¡®Start from the entrance,¡¯ his father had told him the first time they had gotten down there when Lucius had been seven. ¡®For the old Lords. See to learn their names. Speak them aloud. Not to be forgotten. The markings are slowly lost with time. You don¡¯t want to mix them up in the attempt to pay them proper respect. If you can¡¯t do that then you better turn around and head up those stairs boy.¡¯ ¡°Laran,¡± Lucius said hoarsely switching to the archaic accent that made the ¡®a¡¯ weak and sounding alike a strangled ¡®o¡¯. ¡°I come in peace,¡± he placed a gloved hand on the cracked old stone sarcophagus. The old Lord¡¯s bronze helmet fused on the stone with melting rust changing its shape. ¡°I read of Cyprian,¡± Lucius continued, his eyes trying to adjust to the dancing shadows that leaped the final resting place of the dead Alden Kings. ¡°I come in peace.¡± Every second stride another hulking rectangular sarcophagus placed on the floor. Starting with the plain older ones and slowly becoming more elaborate, further adorned but not always bigger. Marble reliefs and sculpted scenes of the past kings lives. Not always accurate or entirely truthful. Or even there at all. Lucius Caesar placing the first stone in Cartagen¡¯s palace. Which the king probably never did himself given his age at the time. The massive paws of the Blacktiger that had bested Caius, still gleaming and encased in gold where his sarcophagus should have been. A provocatively sculpted statue of a naked male Gish resting over Titus¡¯ tomb, an arm caressing the blackened marble. One after the other, a new sarcophagus was revealed in the light of his torch, the previous one receding into darkness. Their silence unbroken for years. Lucius paused and searched for the torches mounted on the walls. His head hurting and eyes watering in the toxic atmosphere of the underground mausoleum. It had been years since the tomb had been opened and most torches didn¡¯t work, the oil in them spoiled or turned to blight. Lucius coughed and did what he could, setting Jeremy¡¯s silver box down to bring more light towards the back of the catacomb. His grandfather, the other Titus, the first on the other side of the wall. The sarcophagi here much newer but also fewer. Much easier to recognize. ¡°Gods damn it Ralph,¡± a moved Lucius rustled and wiped some of the dirt away from his brother¡¯s granite coffin. ¡°You should have seen this. Be here to stop them. Cover my back. They killed Silvie, Ralph. They did. Murdered our father and then cut Jeremy¡¯s head. I¡­ couldn¡¯t find it.¡± A crying Lucius stepped away and wiped his eyes trying to control himself. The solitude of the mausoleum pressing down on him, the silence suffocating and the smoke burning the emotional King¡¯s throat. ¡°Sir Ralph,¡± Lucius said raspingly. ¡°A true Knight is the one who stays pure in victory and unblemished in his defeat. He earns the right to rest beside Kings. Earned not given. You¡¯re welcomed here. I come in peace.¡± He stooped to pick up the heavy silver box and walked to where his father¡¯s sarcophagus stood. Most of the scenes sculpted on the intricately carved sides Lucius easily recognized. His mother¡¯s entry in Cartagen and King Alistair rousing the troops in Anorum, his arm around a young Lucius¡¯ shoulders. For Regia, were his father¡¯s last spoken words to him and a shaking Lucius had done all he could to make good on the task. Even when his soul protested. Not for you, Alistair meant. And not for me. A king must be able to do what others couldn¡¯t. ¡°From the Northern Sea and the Great Dark Ocean in the far east, to the Scalding Sea in the south,¡± Lucius rustled. ¡°And from Krakenhall¡¯s Icebreak Coast at Jelin¡¯s edge, to the cold waters of Kadrek and Aegium¡¯s Salt Coast the tiger reaches. I made sure of that. Alistair Alden, it is done and thus it shall remain. I come in peace.¡± A numb Lucius turned at a rectangular block of granite left waiting for the next King in line, still unprepared and uncut. He tried to lit the torch over it but couldn¡¯t. The cloth brittle and beset by rot. He went to light his father¡¯s but it had been burned out completely and was useless. Breathing heavy Lucius brought Jeremy¡¯s silver box near the cut piece of granite again and placed it on top of it. He removed the rotted part of the cloth with his dagger and then the old wood. Lucius placed the burning torch into the iron sheath, grimacing at the sparks landing on his face but had trouble securing it there. The torch drooped when he pulled his arm away and then toppled completely. It landed on the ground and came apart, its light getting extinguished. Jeremy¡¯s silver funeral box suddenly lost in darkness. This part of the large tomb engulfed in oppressive blackness. Lucius had to search for the box in the blind and when he found it, his nervous hand pushed it forward almost dropping it on the floor. The bones inside rattled and Lucius lost his senses for a moment. He stooped over the granite piece in the dark, his sweaty forehead resting on the simple silver box. Try as he did, Lucius couldn¡¯t continue. Not like this, he thought miserably. In the dark. Whatever your father says, Queen Vacia had told her oldest son. You must take care of your brothers first and foremost. We all have jobs but some tasks are more important than the others. You must forgive, so you can be forgiven. Lucius had forgiven Jeremy already. The others, he just couldn¡¯t. The shadows danced around the forlorn semi-paralyzed with grief King. Black appendages and elongated talons scratching at the walls. Shapes of horrific fiends morphing into familiar figures as if the dead had come to pay Lucius their respects. Knights, soldiers and simple commoners. The stale, putrid breeze turned chilly on his face. The lights of a crude, loud, northern tavern blinded his eyes. -
Roderick¡¯s angry words, his father¡¯s squire that didn¡¯t want to be a knight, rang in his ears. ¡®Boy, you¡¯re to be the King of Regia. Not a chair general training troops outside a city. Men will die because of you. For you. All the time. Ye get that? You¡¯ve a kingdom to run. A bloody throne to return to!¡¯ Lucius gasped hoarsely dropping to his knees, fingers scratching at the rough stone¡¯s surface and ¡®Twotrees¡¯ Mcloud raised that giant¡¯s sword into the air, Logan narrowing his wolf¡¯s eyes behind the shield and a snarling Benton came at him swinging his war-hammer inside the circle. Faye screamed in agony that turned into fierce pleasure between two rugged breaths. Ice all about them but the waters steaming and bubbling. You think you won? A lost in the past Macia had asked him. That it¡¯s over? ¡®The men will hold Lord Alden.¡¯ Centurion Agricola saluted and marched his century first over the ice lake and then into the massive iron mines. Sharp iron and the Griffin¡¯s favorite son looking at him. ¡®May Luthos guide you out of the Sea of Struggles Lord Alden and back to familiar cherished shores,¡¯ the noble Sir Walter had wished him afore his own life ended. Oh, ye good knight laying in the mud Neither friends nor foes under crimson shields, the Nord bards sang because Faye loved his verses. A Knight and a poet. A king to be. Why am I scared Alden? Beyond the rough rocks, basalt boulders, winter¡¯s snow and the ever-spring¡¯s muddy routes. The forbidding alien icy mountains and the sinister white-barked forests, hear me out men of the Third, Lucius roared and Gata stepped out of the testudo squares to raise his gladius high, round rocks digging at the ground, earth exploding outwards and flames leaping at the shields. Back and forth again. Roderick stopping behind him abruptly, a determined look on his wrinkled face and the bridge but twenty meters away. Picks breaking the ice and bloated corpses tumbling down the frozen snow. The iron bolt narrowly missing his head and Long charging at the lines of firing Scorpios. Oh, ye good knight laying in the mud. Neither friends¡­ nor foes. When the dance begins. Fear not the Angel of Sorrow For she¡¯s god¡¯s assistant. Your grace, Ramirus¡¯ note read. Accept my sincere apologies.
- Lucius turned his head away from the blinding light with a groan of pain. He tried to stand up but his knees were numb and he had to clasp at the rectangular granite boulder¡¯s edge desperately not to fall backwards into death¡¯s lurking blackness behind him. Endariel sang a calming lullaby. The pensive tune soothing. The light approaching, stronger than everything else. Neither ominous nor benign. Dwarfing the several old torches Lucius had managed to light up, for it wasn¡¯t produced out of flames. A touch of purple amidst the brilliant white, the sheer fabric hissing on the rough stone floor of the mausoleum, small bottles clinging and a smell of scented oils. A whisper of blond curls cascading down a graceful arm and a soft hand touching his shoulder comfortingly.
Cover thyself in mourning garb For valor¡¯s undying verity is never distant.
Lucius went to push her hand away but the woman stooped over him and whispered. ¡°Let me help my Lord.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Lucius croaked, uncomfortable to be seen in this condition. ¡°I don¡¯t want what you¡¯re offering priestess.¡± Flavia stood back and then looked around them. Satisfied she made a small step forward and then placed a round stone on each of the unfinished sarcophagus corners. The strange stones lit up one after the other after a while and the catacomb¡¯s darkness was chased away. Jeremy¡¯s silver box gleaming under the strong strange magical light. ¡°I¡¯m a priestess first and foremost,¡± Flavia explained to him while she removed the purple scarf covering her shoulders to place it over the granite as a minimum decoration. Lucius stood up slowly and used the back of his hand to wipe his face. The High Priestess pressed her painted lips tight for a moment and then added, answering his silent query. ¡°The Goddess has a mother. I¡¯m where I¡¯m supposed to be Lord Lucius. You won¡¯t stand alone. Let me pray for your brother.¡± And with that she knelt before the crude altar and started. ¡°King Jeremy Alden. The Goddess hears your voice and heeds your concerns. You are acknowledged. You are welcomed here. I, Flavia Augusta come in peace. King Lucius comes in peace,¡± she paused and turned her head around to look at the frowned Lucius. Flavia tended a hand to him and Lucius took it. He knelt beside her and they prayed together.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 453. AlDen (2/2)
(First four verses are spoken in a soft lullaby, more narrated than hummed and usually no louder than a whisper) - In the feast¡¯s silence ¡®Claret¡¯* gaits softly Fakes at sorrow then builds up a sigh In dance¡¯s steps her scent catches yer eye Whispers o¡¯ morrow, her laughter¡­ oh so courtly ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ (Sing it Luffy!) Thy breath alike a delicate gale Hides in dawn¡¯s breeze ¡®n twilight¡¯s quail For yer like no other Sheer bodice ¡®n wicked touch of Oras dwale Blatantly concealed tease behind a veil Thy Goddess has a lover - No other (Goddess has a lover) Sir Dominique Valwarin, The Carmine Bard. Born 45 NC in Jelin, the Crabs (Duchy of Tollor) ¨C Died 109 NC in Eplas, Altarinport (Duchy of Raoz) -
(Rhythmic ballad. One of Carmine Band¡¯s most popular melodies. Rumored that it was written for the then High Priestess of Naossis, renowned Augusta Leda. His muse and rumored to be his best friend¡¯s paramour. Here the later also popular cover-version in the typical JB-Luff¡¯s ¡®Strings on grass¡¯ style, which was less vulgar than the original but also more boisterous with the addition of a Banjo, a Mandolin and a large Bass, instead of Valwarin¡¯s two Lutes and a Violin original.) - *Yer (jargon) you are. **Dwale (Archaic) Poisonous flower, Belladonna. ***Dominique Valwarin toured extensively in both continents in the latter part of his life escorted by a large troupe of musicians. Especially after the ¡®Wicked Quartet¡¯ split up and everyone went their own way. The ¡®richest bard that ever lived¡¯ used music whilst narrating his adventures with Ebenezer Framtond in ¡®near and far away lands¡¯ mesmerizing his initially distrustful audience. With ¡®Beyond Elauthin¡¯ getting printed throughout Jelin and even Eplas after 100 NC, the now well-versed in the story crowds that gathered to witness the bard from up close slowly started paying attention and appreciate his music as well. JB-Luff considered Valwarin¡¯s, way beyond his time unfiltered but elegant music with the shocking use of words out of their proper context or the use of conflicting plugs in weird order, the platform ¡®the rest of us free spirits use to stand on.¡¯ **** Claret (rich, very dark red color. Darker than blood. Observed in strong wine. According to the scholars and fans that studied Valwarin¡¯s work and ¡®Beyond Elauthin¡¯ to separate truth from fiction an intimate moniker referring to priestess Leda¡¯s very-rare hair color mostly used by Ebenezer Framtond. Quite shockingly Lussiel Inis-Mir¡¯s curls real color has been likewise described by eye-witnesses and the army¡¯s intelligence. Painters might have taken liberties elsewhere with Lussiel (Wetull¡¯s f¨ºted princess obviously doesn¡¯t have big ears) but this isn¡¯t the case here.
-
Augusta Flavia High Priestess of Naossis Fair Lady of the Waters Idole (Common name ''Flavia'' Juliana Vidrix) Al¡¯Den Part II -Your Goddess has a mother-
The old Hag had chilled the bath¡¯s water on purpose. Flavia could feel the cold penetrating her skin from the toes to the tips of her breasts. ¡®Leirda¡¯ raised a dark eyebrow, her face the color of dark cream up to the surface of the pool but a pale white underneath it. ¡°It¡¯s real,¡± Leirda assured her upon seeing Flavia¡¯s gaze straying lower. ¡°No magic needed there.¡± ¡°I know there is a way,¡± Flavia retorted a little peeved. The Hag was way older than she was and looked younger than her by a lot. It needed a very-strong willed woman to not be annoyed and while Flavia wasn¡¯t an insecure maiden by any stretch of the imagination, she felt a tang of jealousy tiptoeing near her. ¡°I know your lot knows. The baths have been loosening tongues since the dawn of time. But it¡¯s a road few dare travel. It makes everything more difficult,¡± the sorceress replied and glanced at JB-Luff tuning his lute on a large couch nearby. Nard snoring raucously next to him, the boy¡¯s mouth hanging open and drool running down his chin. ¡°What did you do to him?¡± ¡°He overcommitted to the stimulus,¡± Flavia replied with a grimace. ¡°It takes ages to warm the pool back up. Can¡¯t you stop this?¡± ¡°Use a smaller bathtub,¡± Leirda taunted then added just to rile her up a bit more. ¡°I¡¯m doing it for you dear. Cold tightens up all that loose flesh.¡± ¡°There is no loose flesh,¡± Flavia snapped but breathed out seeing Drusilla approaching them. The priestess paused seeing Leirda in the pool with Augusta and then went to sit on a wide marble stool near the busy Luffy. ¡°I have a mandolin,¡± Drusilla said to initiate conversation. ¡°We could pray together.¡± Luffy turned his head to stare at the statuesque young priestess and Drusilla crossed her legs suggestively, whilst putting her arms on the stool to angle away from him. Her robes parting to her bejeweled navel as Drusilla had sneakily unbuttoned them whilst Luffy was staring at her long legs. The bard pursed his mouth and started striking a couple of cords that turned into a tune seamlessly. Flavia glanced at the frowning Leirda and Drusilla let out a chuckle recognizing the song. ¡°Mmm,¡± the young priestess hummed standing up to approach the bard. She knelt before him, Luffy keeping his eyes on her all the time. ¡°You¡¯re playing too fast,¡± she pointed and the bard¡¯s mouth split into an idiot¡¯s idea of a flirty grin. ¡°Naughty,¡± Drusilla responded with the patience of a seasoned professional. In the feast¡¯s silence Claret gaits softly, Flavia mused and the water turned to boiling almost, when Drusilla stooped near the bard¡¯s ear and purred. ¡°Sing it for me Luffy.¡± Inauspicious timing dear. ¡°Drusilla call Brigitte for me,¡± Flavia ordered interrupting them. ¡°I¡¯m entertaining your guests Augusta,¡± Drusilla protested civilly. ¡°Come here,¡± Leirda said abruptly. ¡°It isn¡¯t polite to intrude on Augusta¡¯s sessions,¡± Drusilla replied. She really didn¡¯t like the liberties taken by the Hag. ¡°Not where I¡¯m from,¡± Leirda replied and got a long dark leg out of the ungodly hot waters. ¡°I wanted a massage priestess.¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t how¡ª¡± ¡°Get in the water. Use your mouth,¡± Leirda cut her off. Drusilla stared at Flavia hurt. ¡°You have my permission,¡± she told her and Drusilla¡¯s eyes opened in shock. The next moment she bowed her blond head low. ¡°Yes Augusta,¡± she said evenly and started disrobing taking her time as a protest. ¡°You should send her away,¡± Leirda murmured so only Flavia could hear and the waters of the pool turned lukewarm again. It coincided with Luffy losing a string and getting forced to stop playing. ¡°You are not running the Temple,¡± Flavia reminded her frostily and Leirda pushed herself out of the water. Using her hands the sorceress parked at the edge of the pool but kept her legs in the water to get the peeved Drusilla fully wet. ¡°It¡¯s your head,¡± Leirda replied with a chuckle. She then pushed her foot near the waiting naked Drusilla¡¯s face and wiggled her toes. The priestess opened her mouth. ¡°That¡¯s how I remember it. Wider,¡± Leirda ordered. ¡°That¡¯s what you¡¯re good for.¡± ¡°It¡¯s silly holding a grudge against the Temple,¡± Flavia scolded the sorceress and stood up out of the water much to the gawking Luffy¡¯s glee. The bard was staring at the lewd scene totally absorbed, the broken string in one hand, and his forgotten lute in the other. ¡°I¡¯m holding a grudge against your line,¡± Leirda hissed working her foot deeper into Drusilla¡¯s mouth. ¡°And against this brothel you call a Temple.¡± ¡°You shall respect the Goddess in her home!¡± Flavia admonished her and Leirda¡¯s face cracked momentarily, her eyes glowing. Everyone else missed it. ¡°Like you do?¡± ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡± Flavia snapped angrily before she could control herself. She stepped out of the pool using the side steps, water dripping down her body and her reflection showing the small imperfections that age brought to all mortals. ¡°You should keep away from the Alden King,¡± Leirda said and Flavia breathed out slowly. ¡°A Lucius cast us away. A Lucius will open the seas for us again. It makes sense,¡± Flavia told her squarely.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°He didn¡¯t cast you away,¡± Leirda hissed and got her foot out of Drusilla¡¯s mouth. She pressed on the priestess¡¯s naked breast next, nimble toes trapping a red nipple and twisting it. Drusilla gasped but stayed still. ¡°He cast her away.¡± ¡°Leda had nothing to do with Ebe returning¡ª¡± ¡°He came back for her!¡± Leirda snapped cutting her off. Drusilla cried in pain and stood back, her breast bleeding where the witch¡¯s toenails had cut the soft flesh. ¡°No one knows what you¡¯re talking about,¡± Flavia reminded her. ¡°Your past is ancient history for us.¡± ¡°Here¡¯s a little history for you,¡± Leirda hissed getting up, the moist dark patch of hair between her legs turning white for a moment. ¡°For I saw it happen before your kin twisted his mind! I saw him a Lord in Wetull!¡± ¡°What is she talking about?¡± Drusilla cried out, a hand clasping at the bleeding cut. ¡°Shush you!¡± Leirda barked and the young priestess froze with her mouth hanging open and only her eyes moving scared. The sorceress grimaced and glanced at the bewildered bard. ¡°Luffy go outside to fix your lute.¡± ¡°Ahm, I can do it here Leirda,¡± Luffy assured her with a nervous glance at the unmoving Drusilla. ¡°Luffy remember when you put your cock in my bottom?¡± She asked and the Bard gulped down with a glance at his snoring friend. ¡°I¡¯m going to do the same if you don¡¯t listen.¡± ¡°Put yer cock in my arse?¡± The bewildered bard asked. ¡°My arm.¡± ¡°I¡¯m about to go and work on this outside,¡± Luffy announced quickly with a shiver. ¡°You girls do¡­ what you do and I¡¯ll be right back,¡± he added recovering his wit. ¡°You won¡¯t,¡± Leirda hissed. ¡°I won¡¯t,¡± Luffy agreed readily and then walked away stiffly, since he sported a rather visible erection tenting his breeches. ¡°Whilst I don¡¯t care about you,¡± Leirda the sorceress told Flavia tautly. ¡°Your Goddess does. Eh¡­¡± she paused for a moment staring thoughtfully at one of the doors leading outside the Baths. The one JB-Luff had used to shuffle away. ¡°What a stupid song that other idiot wrote¡­ goodness me. Thy Goddess has a lover¡­ ah, for all the gods! I should have pierced his heels and strung him by a tree that very first day, let fishes eat his stupid face!¡± ¡°You are a really hateful person on the inside.¡± Flavia noted deictically. ¡°I can¡¯t fathom what the Duke saw in you.¡± The sorceress cast her a peeved side glance. Then dropped her disguise. ¡°Hmm,¡± Flavia murmured, fear grabbing her by the throat. The naked Zilan was much taller than she had anticipated. Stunning in an icily menacing way. ¡°He saw you like this?¡± She croaked, a hand touching her throat to feel the pulse beating wild underneath. The magnificent white-haired Zilan witch sighed as if in regret. ¡°Alas no, he just saw Leda and it did the trick since men are stupid.¡±
Many hours later Flavia stared at Laila and Acqer displeased. The Temple¡¯s assassins standing with their eyes lowered to the floor, not daring to gaze at the Augusta sitting on Naossis Embrace, her ivory throne and altar. ¡°A day may come when the First Idole will issue orders under this roof,¡± she told them, glaring at the scowling Drusilla. ¡°But it isn¡¯t today for that young lady must sit on this throne first and clearly she hasn¡¯t yet.¡± ¡°Yes Augusta,¡± Laila whispered. ¡°Has our agent removed the poison?¡± ¡°He did. But some of the crew had some already,¡± Laila replied. ¡°How long?¡± ¡°Two or three days. They won¡¯t suspect it.¡± Flavia pursed her mouth in anger. Anger forms wrinkles on the skin that are difficult to cover and ugly, she thought and pushed back on the hard throne. ¡°Leirda is a sorceress and a Sheer. She can¡¯t be killed by poison. Hurting a ship full of people to get to her was a stupid idea. You think others haven¡¯t thought of that? That they didn¡¯t try? The Duke of Pascor poisoned the whole Fenlands at some point. Almost wiped out the Fishfolk and many of his people. Drusilla you study at the Temple¡¯s Library. Have you learned nothing? Leave us. You¡¯ll work for Hermione digging the fields for a month as punishment. Not you Drusilla.¡± Flavia waited for them to leave and then sent Brigitte away as well. ¡°She¡¯s a monster. Priestess Leda wrote it clearly,¡± Drusilla hissed and the current Augusta made a tired gesture for her to stop talking. ¡°She¡¯s a Zilan. A Sheer. One of the three Sibyls of the Coven probably,¡± Flavia started, thinking on the conversation she had with ¡®Leirda¡¯. ¡°I won¡¯t attempt to guess her name for it isn¡¯t important at this moment. We work for the Temple Drusilla. Dedicate our lives to spread the Goddess¡¯ message to the realm. How is us behaving like Ora¡¯s disciples doing her justice?¡± ¡°Augusta. We don¡¯t know what she wants.¡± ¡°A Sheer shall follow her visions to the bitter end. I know what I want. You do. Haven¡¯t we worked hard to change the realm¡¯s perception? You think I haven¡¯t performed for people I found to be revolting? Look how close we are now. Vita knew that.¡± ¡°It didn¡¯t help her much.¡± ¡°You are not listening. We wanted to bring the Duke closer to us. His daughter was a good first step but Vita over-committed. A Priestess can¡¯t give her heart to anyone but the Goddess. I allowed it but I shouldn¡¯t have. A priestess can¡¯t belong to anyone noble or not.¡± ¡°But then the Alden King came,¡± Drusilla noted with a grimace. ¡°And took Monica for himself.¡± ¡°Better to have a King¡¯s favor than the Duke¡¯s. The matter is resolved,¡± Flavia scolded her. ¡°Vita is my pupil. I love her as a sister,¡± Drusilla hissed passionately. ¡°She''s not to be discarded after being used and with her heart in pieces.¡± ¡°She¡¯s an instrument of the Goddess and so are you. Myself included. We provide pleasure and we give solace to troubled souls. We use our words and our bodies to serve. We don¡¯t think of ourselves but of the Divine¡¯s wishes. We feel no shame and we humble ourselves all hours of the day and all veiled hours of each night. Without complaint.¡± Drusilla gulped down, her eyes foggy and then bowed deeply. Flavia got up with a sigh and walked to her. She took the gloomy priestess in her arms and held her tight. Drusilla¡¯s body relaxed in her embrace. ¡°Vita will find her way. She has enough gold to open a business and the Goddess won¡¯t leave her lost. When her mind clears, she¡¯ll find happiness again.¡± ¡°What about Sister Monica?¡± ¡°She¡¯ll serve the king. The Goddess allowed it,¡± Flavia whispered in her ear. ¡°What did the Sheer said?¡± ¡°She needs the King but fears our presence might change the future.¡± ¡°The future is a book filled with moving pictures,¡± Drusilla recited what Leda had written more than a hundred years ago. Each depicting the same scene you divinate with variations. Each time you attempt to reveal it or copy it on paper, the scene you create washes away into nothingness and another takes its place. To know the future is to keep it in your heart. A secret. For if you attempt to speak about it in warning what you fear or try to prevent shall come to pass in another way. ¡°Umm,¡± Flavia murmured and pulled away, her eyes wandering on the gilded and ivory statue of Naossis in her birth suit coming out of the waters. ¡°For all her knowledge Leda¡¯s heart led her astray and the Sheer has been affected by the same affliction.¡± ¡°The sorceress has a heart?¡± Drusilla retorted with a grimace. ¡°Every creature in this Realm or all others has,¡± Flavia reminded her. ¡°Be it a mortal or a God. A humble peasant or a mighty king. A naughty priestess or an ancient sheer. They can hate and they can love the same.¡± Of course all realm''s creatures had something else in common.
¡®The Goddess you serve favors you Augusta and doesn¡¯t want to see you hurt. As all beings your Goddess has a mother that heeds to her offspring¡¯s plight and wishes me to warn you. If I do tell you what will happen though, the future might change or it might not. Nesande doesn¡¯t care, but I¡¯m an old soul set in my ways and fear my people would be led astray. Never to recover. For I saw the great deceiver wearing the face of another.¡¯ Flavia stared in the depressed and serious alien face unsure. ¡®A deceiver can make things appear different,¡¯ she told her. ¡®Especially if he senses someone watching and you were never subtle.¡¯ ¡®Nothing I saw hints at another. No one breathing can do what you propose.¡¯ The sorcerer had replied afore continuing. ¡®The Tiger mustn¡¯t stop. Let him roam angrily, don¡¯t attempt to mend his wounds for you won¡¯t be successful and only inflict him greater harm in the end. Don¡¯t make him stall or stop to be something more. Generals are wasted in peace. You don¡¯t want to see what¡¯s coming next in both your futures.¡¯ ¡®I wish him no harm and I asked for no divination Sorceress. He¡¯s much more than what you just described. Not a lifelike drawing in a book with many other drawings that look like him but a real living and breathing person. There¡¯s goodness in his eyes and whatever it is you fear I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll prevent without any goading. Let the realm be. We are all the same. We live and feel. If we make mistakes we can correct them.¡¯ ¡®Eh. That¡¯s just great. Ena had told me something similar in the past. She ended up a mangled, melted and insane shell of herself, dead inside before she stopped living. Must I do everything myself?¡¯ The Sheer had griped very frustrated. ¡®Mayhap you shouldn¡¯t do anything,¡¯ Flavia had replied sympathetically. Leirda had stared in her face for a long moment and then scrunched her half-breed¡¯s nose, the colors changing and the illusion cracking again. Then with a fatalistic deep shy she had added. ¡®Don¡¯t sleep in cold water.¡¯
Months later Flavia had arrived in the city of Alden again sailing in an ancient Issir ship, braved the knights standing guard outside the Royal Catacombs and walked inside. When the priestess witnessed the King¡¯s sorrow firsthand, her heart wept and knew she had done the right thing. She was needed. This Lucius shall make everything right, she had decided and got to work. Goddess is a lover. Goddess is a healer. Goddess is a servant. Goddess washes the sins away. Goddess prays for those led astray. Cleanses the soul and drags the sleigh¡­ ¡­out o¡¯ sorrow''s way. ¡°Let me help,¡± Flavia had told the grief-stricken King of Regia. Despite the effort the priestess put forth in order to follow her own advice, keep quiet or ask for nothing in return, she couldn¡¯t. It is said that those that entered the King¡¯s domain, Lucius¡¯ divine aura ensnared them. So when he asked for her counsel, Flavia had offered her insight. Much as she understood it. -
The High Dictat of the Triads, his influence now reaching from Kraken¡¯s Gulf to the Trident, King Lucius the third and the ¡®Bloody Third¡¯, crossed Maiden¡¯s Bridge on the 5th of Quintus, the fifth month of 194 NC, the last month of Spring. The Legion¡¯s crimson banners marched at a fast pace towards Rosebush and the large port city of Illirium where the eager to reunite with his growing family Lucius was to get his first sight of Regia¡¯s southernmost shores in years. A day before reaching the city¡¯s walls Brim ¡®Stout¡¯ Solomon the 3rd Legion¡¯s Signifer stabbed the long gilded staff down at the edge of the coastal road. The misty Trident¡¯s west leg barely visible into the sanguine blue of the open ocean. When the annoyed King rode to the front to query on the reason for the army stopping so early in the day, the Nord officer replied staunchly that ¡®given the dreadful heat milord and the absence of enemies waiting at the front, the men need a breather.¡¯ Lucius agreed after a thoughtful pause, glanced at his entourage that had Augusta Flavia added back in Alden and then gestured for Tribune Trupo to erect a camp. The taken aback mustached staff officer and military scribe had objected in a guarded manner stating that ¡®the Legion always marches until noon, when on campaign my Lord.¡¯ ¡®Indeed it does,¡¯ Lucius had replied as civilly, a hint of razz in his voice. ¡®But I¡¯m told we are in campaign no more for quite a while now mister Trupo. Allow the men to rest if you be so kind and we¡¯ll meet with the Admiral¡¯s people on the morrow well-rested.¡¯ And so the Eighteen Months Offensive ended without any further fanfare, 586 days after it had begun. Lord Sirio Veturius The Fall of Heroes Chapter II (Lord Lucius Alden, -Also addressed- Legatus Omnis Legionis, Praetor Maximus, King Lucius the Third Southern campaigns Sixth year Volume XI Eighteen Months Offensive Finale Circa 5th of Quintus, Spring of 194 NC Followed by ¡®the Horselords question¡¯, the ¡®salty Aegium Affair¡¯ and ¡®Scorned hearts see no reason¡¯. Prelude to the ¡®Tiger¡¯s wrath.¡¯ Circa summer of 194 NC to summer-fall of 195 NC
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 454. What about ships my Lord?
Lucius Alden, ¡®Bloody Tiger¡¯ Lord Lucius Aldenus the third, Praetor Maximus, Legatus ¡®Omnis Legionis¡¯ King Lucius III What about ships my Lord?
Historical accounts reveal that the Brakis* took their time to move towards Regia¡¯s shores despite arriving there first. They started building Illirium (the double ¡®L¡¯ coming from the local intonation they drag when speaking the name) as a place to deposit the raw metal they got out of the Bronze Plateau, the latter located fifty kilometers north and deep into the Alden Sands. The desert that dominated the middle of Regia. The Bronze Mines turned out to be insanely rich but the desert remained a difficult place to live so the family split at some point in the distant past. Those that decided to settle near the Trident, built a port at the joint of its easternmost leg facing the port of Aegium across the massive gulf of salt or Salt Coast as the locals called it. Some considered expanding towards the inhospitable Trident peninsula, but eventually avoided it since the Trident had always been a place of hermits and Old Gods believers. With its myriad caves facing the waters, rocky terrain and sharp menacing slopes shrouded in mist seeping from the Scalding Sea, the Trident stood as a warning for unfriendly ships to approach Illirium with caution. The Brakis didn¡¯t have the timber to build ships nor the fertile ground to grow crops but they had limitless amounts of coin from the riches of the mines. They imported everything from their neighbors or even further. First with large caravans that went up and down the coastal road and then with ships. They never stopped building and jumped ahead of every other Regia city until the reign of King Ralph ¡®the Builder¡¯. First a harbor to protect their fleet and then invested in carving out a modern city in the dry, desert terrain. They turned metal ingots and fish to paved roads, sturdy walls and fortifications. Expanded the docks and erected naval yards, the biggest in Regia until Cartaport¡¯s harbor got constructed. Still the Brakis, now split into two families, the main line and the dark-skinned Sextus-Brakis kept improving their city. Ever looking for new opportunities they beat everyone else to the Turtle Isles and laid claim to the pirate infested island chasing the brigands away with their marines, although they had to share ownership in the end with Aegium and Novesium. Both ports controlled by the Alden family initially, until Novesium split from Cartagen¡¯s principality to become a separate Barony first, and then a Duchy under the Ursus. Their presence on the Turtle Isles allowed the Brakis an indirect trade route to Lesia¡¯s rich port of Cediorum bypassing Cartaport and the ability to supply with metal the distant desert city of Levacum. Jelin¡¯s land protrusion at the southeast located the deepest into Abrakas Gullet than anything else in the known realm. In 67 NC a captain from Illirium named Basten Dedum became the first Lorian to claim he reached the Sinking Isles. Captain Basten stayed ¡®in the land of the Gish¡¯ for two years before returning to Illirium with two ships laden with valuable gems. While most believed Basten actually landed on one of the smaller islets in that area and not the main islands, Framtond who listened to his tale was severely influenced by it. Some go as far as to claim Captain Basten Dedum was the driving force or the reason the famous adventurer and explorer would attempt to sail east into the endless Great Dark Ocean years later accompanied by a big number of followers and probably Augusta Leda. The idea was to circumnavigate around the realm and reach either Mistland or Tull Cautara Magor from the west. While Ebenezer¡¯s expedition ended in tragedy as he was never seen or heard from again, the Brakis remained an influential family and Illirium one of the strongest Regia¡¯s cities. Their determination to turn the land-engrossed Lorians into a naval far-reaching power brought friction in the fledging kingdom (especially with Aegium, Demames and Novesium) but also gave them legitimacy and contracts with a series of Alden Kings who wanted someone to take on the task and challenge Kaltha and the neighboring Lesia. Illirium delivered and profited from that managing to maintain much larger facilities than its population or the fact that half its citizens worked the mines. It wasn¡¯t challenged until Cartaport (an Alden indirectly controlled Barony) rose to prominence and started taking the bulk of Regia¡¯s ship-building construction contracts. *Changed from the original Lorian Bracus which whilst it endeared them to the locals as it resembled the moniker/mystic word Abrax that meant Archon -another name for Abrakas, it had negative connotations after the religion of the Five Gods started spreading throughout the continent.
- 2nd week of the fifth month (10th of Quintus) of 194 NC Lady Claudia Brakis walked to their side of the hall and offered the King a bouquet of ¡®desert plume¡¯, an assortment of white orchid-like flowers with a shy-smile on her face. She was the youngest of the three surviving daughters at twelve, the others being the teenage twins Papia and Octavia, with Lady Elvira (Lord Ursus¡¯ wife) lost in the battle of Novesium and their unnamed fifth sister dying at childbirth alongside their mother. Sir Valgus stood up to accept the flowers over the table, responding to young Claudia¡¯s deep curtsy with a vigorous bow of his own and a chivalrous address to the flushed in a sunflower themed summer dress Claudia and her giggling teenage sisters. ¡°Lady Claudia. M¡¯ladies of court,¡± the knight said in his often described posh or lightly-sardonic Cartagen accent. Nonetheless, to great effect especially to the noble women inside the Duke¡¯s hall. Two large rectangular tables had been prepared to house both delegations, with many more locals opting to stand outside the palace¡¯s small square to catch a glimpse of famed King Lucius. Duke Sissena Brakis had opened the city for the legionnaires to march through and was incredibly hospitable and cordial to Lucius¡¯ officers from the beginning. For the majority of the latter, the duke was just a name of a distant enemy in the war, none of them had fought against. It made everyone more-relaxed around these Lorians of the coast. Some of them as dark as the Issirs in color but with greater variation to their hair from brown or black, to washed-out blond even. ¡°Those living in the Trident were dark-skinned,¡± Lucius explained to Galio Veturius that stared a little mesmerized at the green-eyed, almost a shade of midnight-blue black-haired Lady Eefke Sextus-Brakis who was sitting across from him in her brother¡¯s spot. Sir Vel, her brother, couldn¡¯t attend dinner but their father was sitting next to Stan Brakis. ¡°Very few are left now I¡¯m told.¡± ¡°I thought Baron Proclus¡¯ ancestor married an Issir milord,¡± the new Consul said curious. ¡°Propaganda spread by the Sula,¡± Lucius replied with a polite nod at the guardedly watching them from across the room Lady Eefke. ¡°They have the color and eyes of a Ticu, on a second look milord,¡¯ Galio replied. ¡°Sort of is my meaning.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take your word for it Consul,¡± Lucius teased the serious-looking Galio Veturius and added sobering up. ¡°But I wouldn¡¯t repeat this publicly.¡± ¡®Stan¡¯ Brakis tapped his goblet with a small spoon to quiet the room. Then he stood up, which took a considerable effort given the Duke¡¯s girth. Chairs creaked and moved, every plate and disk on the heavy table rattling about, as everyone inside the hall turned their attention to their host. ¡°Let us offer a toast to King Lucius,¡± Duke Brakis said in his baritone voice raising his goblet. ¡°The King of Regia. My Lord it pleases this city to host you here and hopes we put this unfortunate, long years of strife behind us!¡± Lucius grimaced but everyone around him cheered and banged their hands on the table at the Duke¡¯s words so he was forced to raise his goblet to acknowledge the expecting Lord Brakis. ¡°May your reign be long and prosperous my Lord,¡± Stan Brakis added in his rousing voice and the hall exploded with enthusiasm fueled by relief but also hope for the war-weary partakers. Their cheers echoing inside the spacious, grey-marble adorned palace hall. Its high walls and ceiling decorated with many scenes of Illirium¡¯s ancient history and the nearby Trident. From the big lighthouse and tower being constructed, the first Lorians and dark cobalt-skinned locals laying down the harbor buildings, ships sailing in and out of Trident¡¯s Legs or fighting pirates and even one of the infamous Kraken¡¯s appearances. ¡°Hear! Hear!¡± Baron Proclus boomed in turn not letting the momentum die down. ¡°Long to reign!¡± Getting an equally rousing response from everyone with a voice. ¡°LONG MAY HE REIGN!¡± Lucius felt Flavia¡¯s presence when he pushed back on the chair affected by the thunderous welcome. Her robes smelling of sandalwood. The conservatively-attired priestess had been forced to stand as a chair hadn¡¯t been prepared for her but had accepted it without making a scene, going as far as to stop Lucius¡¯ officers from giving up theirs. With Aulus Ventor, the rigid Disciple of Tyeus, sitting next to Baron Proclus, Lucius had an idea where the pressure to exclude Flavia had come from. ¡°It appears the people want peace my Lord,¡± Flavia said sounding pleased. She had told him as much. ¡°The people never wanted the war in the first place,¡± Lucius replied wryly. ¡°It¡¯s their Lords deciding they had enough.¡± ¡°Both can be true.¡± Lucius nodded and glared at Trupo that had his eyes set on Brakis¡¯ teenage daughters. While not the most comely females inside the hall especially with Augusta herself present, they were lively and in very good spirits. ¡°It¡¯s the wine sire,¡± Trupo replied in his even more snobbish Flauegran accent. His rich long mustache finely trimmed and meticulously combed for the event. ¡°Drink less Tribune,¡± Lucius retorted and raised his goblet again to return another round of applause from both tables. The king only had a sip of his wine wanting to keep his mind clear for his private discussion with the Admiral. -
On the tenth day, of the fifth month, the year of the New Calendar 194 the Legion made camp outside Illirium. The weather was warm, the morning slightly foggy until the south wind picked up. The locals friendly for the most part and well-behaved, roused to excess when they witnessed the King visit the docks with the Duke. The question of the Horselords was raised privately before the King and the Praetor Maximus ordered a preliminary study of the strategic situation. He wanted a detailed proposal put forth and circulated only to the highest ranking Legion officers and vital need-to-know personnel before the Army reached Aegium. The same day the King signed order ¡®Quintus Decem¡¯ (ten and five or fifteen) placing all lands under temporary military governance under the authority of the Quadrumvirate who was to be led by Consul Veturius. Governor Macrinus, Legatus Sula, Legatus Merenda and I, Tribune Trupo were sworn in immediately. Lord Sula¡¯s herald presented a list of grievances to the King but the matter was pushed aside. Baron Nattas¡¯ petition to return in his position as Master of Silence was declined again, but the King accepted the Baron into the small Council along Augusta Flavia. The conversation with Duke Brakis went well and everyone remained in good spirits.
- ¡°You can stay Baron,¡± Lucius replied and nodded for Flavia to remain as well. The Castellan Art Isak cleaned the table and opened a bottle of black whiskey for the Duke, he then placed next to the opened bottles of wine. The austere man checked everyone present had a clean goblet, paused to listen to the priestess¡¯ silent request and produced a smaller glass for her out of a deep pocket. Under the mounting curiosity of the men present especially that of Disciple Ventor¡¯s, the visible interest of the skinny Peter Brakis and the amusement of his overweight father, Art Isak filled Flavia¡¯s smaller glass with the Admiral¡¯s whiskey carefully. He then bowed his head sharply towards the King and repeated it for the other lords before walking stiffly away in a darker spot of this smaller hall where the meeting was taking place. ¡°Take a small sip priestess for that¡¯s a man¡¯s drink,¡± Brakis boomed breaking the awkward silence. ¡°You might need a shave at yer nether regions afterwards.¡± ¡°I shall shave just the same dear Duke,¡± Flavia replied half-obediently half-flirting and the usually man of few words Ventor all but groaned in frustration. Brakis cast a warning glare at the priest of Tyeus before turning to the watching Lucius. Trupo placed a report before him signed by Ramirus while the Duke started talking in his familiar baritone. While over fifty years old, other than some grey on his head, Brakis appeared just like Lucius remembered him. ¡°Lord Lucius,¡± the ¡®Admiral¡¯ started. ¡°I understand you have some queries but unfortunately I wasn¡¯t given the opportunity to visit your¡­ brother. The situation kept me near our shores I¡¯m afraid.¡± ¡°It¡¯s Regia¡¯s shores,¡± Lucius corrected him. ¡°Of course. The Brakis were here before the Alden so we take pride in that Lord Lucius in a lighthearted notional context.¡± ¡°The Brakis were the first to swear fealty to my ancestors. It was serious. Nothing theoretical about that,¡± Lucius countered. ¡°Has this changed?¡± ¡°We never stopped. Your brother took the throne my Lord,¡± Brakis argued. ¡°What was I to do?¡± ¡°You were in the Council,¡± Lucius said. ¡°Did you object?¡± ¡°Lord Nattas sits right there,¡± Brakis replied maintaining his composure. ¡°I¡¯m certain he told you what happened. I was told he didn¡¯t object also.¡± ¡°Leave the Baron out of it for a moment,¡± Lucius touched the nicely sculpted long-necked bronze goblet with his hand. ¡°I¡¯d like to hear your version dear Duke.¡± The ¡®dear¡¯ he¡¯d used as a warning (and a callback since she¡¯d used it earlier) accompanied by a glare directed at the slowly sipping her whiskey priestess. Lucius had caught her exchanging looks with Ventor and wanted their differences staying outside of this discussion. ¡°Your lordship was away,¡± the Duke started and rolled his eyes. ¡°I warned your father that sending you to the north was ill-advised.¡± ¡°I was needed there and it wasn¡¯t your decision to make Brakis.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true King Lucius.¡± Brakis run his hand over his fleshy mouth thoughtfully. Lucius caught Nattas¡¯ intent stare at the Duke. ¡°Yet it left us with a problem needed solving. An heir lost or dead and an empty throne in desperate need of an occupant. Lord Doris accepted that Queen Miranda should take the throne until the situation was resolved. Lord Nattas¡¯ proposal.¡± Lucius didn¡¯t know Storm was the one that had pushed for Miranda. ¡°What was Lord Doris¡¯ suggestion?¡± ¡°He suggested Jeremy, since your lordship wasn¡¯t present. I understand your father had agreed to knight him in your absence. Doris wanted the matter with Antoon resolved.¡± Had Jeremy proved himself in Alistair¡¯s eyes? Lucius wondered a little surprised. Perhaps my little brother had taken up a sword in the end. ¡°Antoon had attacked the King,¡± Lucius said evenly. ¡°We weren¡¯t ready for a war with Kaltha,¡± Brakis replied. ¡°When I was informed of their decision to elevate Miranda as Queen Regent, I agreed thinking of the Kingdom.¡± ¡°Why was Miranda removed?¡± Brakis glanced at the blank-faced Storm. ¡°The Lord Treasurer declared her unfit.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t hear a reason Duke!¡± Lucius snapped angrily. Brakis sat back on his chair. He looked at the officers, priests and Lords sitting at the table. Baron Proclus and Nattas amongst them. ¡°I was raised by the sea my Lord,¡± he finally said ¡°But I¡¯m not prone to gossip.¡± ¡°Neither am I,¡± Lucius retorted. ¡°Let¡¯s call it a report. Proceed.¡± ¡°The Queen Regent was with child according to Lord Ursus. The Queen¡¯s Shield was the father.¡± ¡°He¡¯s lying,¡± Nattas hissed and tried to get up, his cane not helping him but it did produce a lot of noise. ¡°Calm down Baron,¡± Lucius told him. ¡°Just stop.¡± ¡°My Lord,¡± Nattas protested. ¡°I¡¯ll try to heed to your order, but it¡¯s nigh impossible not to be a little loud when there¡¯s a cock raping your arse!¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough Storm!¡± Lucius grunted loudly. ¡°We don¡¯t appreciate sewer language in our presence!¡± ¡°Apologies King Lucius,¡± Storm replied and bowed almost banging his forehead to the table. ¡°The Queen Regent didn¡¯t also.¡± You cunning rascal, Lucius thought but the Baron had made a good point. ¡°I heard Ursus¡¯ claims afore,¡± Lucius told the smirking Brakis. ¡°What is your opinion Admiral?¡± ¡°If the Queen Regent was pregnant then a child wasn¡¯t produced or was never there,¡± Brakis replied calmly. ¡°Could she have had an affair? I don¡¯t see how she could have but people are resourceful or react to grief differently.¡± ¡°The Queen Regent had no affair nor the time to look for one,¡± Nattas said sternly. ¡°This is a vile accusation and it saddens me I¡¯m the one to stand up for her of all people.¡± Lucius stared in the Duke¡¯s face for a while. ¡°Why was Lord Doris set on replacing his young sister?¡± ¡°My Lord we needed a man on the throne. When I was given the choice between her and your brother, I thought him capable of ruling the Kingdom. We were under the impression your lordship had been lost. Initially.¡± ¡°Yet years later I found myself fighting thousands of Lorians! A few short months back everyone knew I was alive,¡± Lucius grunted. ¡°No welcoming crowd waited my men, but soldiers with swords in their hands!¡± ¡°My men stayed at the shores,¡± Brakis replied steadily. ¡°Fought to keep Sula¡¯s brutes out of your family¡¯s holdings and payed in blood for it.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve seen no damage to Illirium Duke.¡± ¡°We stopped Sula at Aegium.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t he in control of the city right now?¡± Lucius taunted. ¡°Only because your lordship defeated Ligur,¡± Brakis replied and grimaced. ¡°The moment we realized your lordship was in Cartagen I looked to find a diplomatic solution but I was rebuked.¡± ¡°Who wanted the war to continue?¡± Lucius asked.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! ¡°Ursus obviously but mostly your brother. Lord Doris couldn¡¯t jump ship also.¡± ¡°Yet he did,¡± Lucius taunted. Only after Jeremy was murdered though. Lucius stared at the scroll Ramirus had given Trupo and grimaced. ¡°The Khan controls Issir¡¯s Eagle,¡± he finally said. ¡°There are reports of a massive transport fleet amassing in Rida. If the sea routes are kept open, Horselords and Cofols might break through towards our borders.¡± ¡°The Pirate Queen gave them a licking at Krakentrap Straits,¡± Brakis informed him. ¡°The Pirate Queen?¡± Lucius asked raising his brow. ¡°Princess Elsanne landed in Scaldingport.¡± ¡°To steal her nephew¡¯s birthright?¡± Lucius grimaced. ¡°Was the Khan¡¯s fleet in Deadmen¡¯s Watch?¡± ¡°A small portion of it my Lord,¡± Peter Brakis replied for his father. ¡°How big is the pirate force?¡± ¡°No more than twenty warships. But they are mostly small vessels.¡± Lucius sighed and turned his untouched goblet this way and that. ¡°I understand you¡¯ve lost a lot of transports to Lesia Captain.¡± ¡°I was ambushed my Lord,¡± Peter replied rigidly. ¡°How many?¡± ¡°Eleven.¡± ¡°How many do we have left?¡± ¡°The west squadron. Seven transports sire and whatever Cartaport has available,¡± Peter Brakis replied. ¡°Lesia claims there were no ships left,¡± Lucius grunted. ¡°I wanted them out of the port so I had to yield in some issues. What about warships?¡± ¡°We have six brigs in good condition in the port,¡± the Duke was the one to answer now over his son. ¡°We can¡¯t stop the Khan from resupplying. If he gets reinforcements across the Shallow Sea the situation might turn desperate. He had a setback back home apparently,¡± Lucius paused as the information coming from Eplas was unverified, a notch above a merchant¡¯s gossip and not a deep notch at that. ¡°We are talking fifteen thousand men in the Desert Army alone. Near as many with Prince Nout unless the rumors of his demise are truthful.¡± ¡°If I can intervene here briefly, prodigious King and esteemed lords,¡± Storm started and Lucius pursed his mouth. ¡°Officers,¡± Trupo corrected the Baron and everyone chuckled. ¡°Less honey more substance Baron,¡± Lucius warned the scowling Nattas. ¡°Again I find myself in error my Lord,¡± Storm said recovering quickly. ¡°What I was trying to say earlier is that there is a King in Wetull also we might need to consider.¡± ¡°You wish us to contact a Zilan ruler?¡± Lucius asked. ¡°Are we not in enough trouble?¡± ¡°He already helped the Princess control Eikenport,¡± Storm replied. ¡°Allegedly.¡± ¡°A pretender. I¡¯m not fond of the Issir lords around the young Antoon but I can¡¯t support the princess¡¯ ambitions or not frown in her choice of allies. It would be hypocritical of me. We have one Eplas Ruler in Jelin, you wish us to bring another?¡± ¡°To fight the Khan,¡± Storm argued. ¡°We can offer a stronger ally to him than the rebel queen.¡± ¡°Milord,¡± Galio started and Lucius looked his way. You¡¯ve won the North on the backs of outlaws and warbands, Galio¡¯s eyes told him in the voice of Roderick. ¡°We can¡¯t entertain opening Jelin to Zilan gentlemen,¡± Lucius said. ¡°A door to the unknown, history warns us to be wary against.¡± Lucius breathed out slowly and then smacked his lips. ¡°Find a way we can inconvenience the Khan¡¯s plans Nattas. Duke Brakis you should look into it as well. Give me a better idea on what we have available.¡± ¡°I could perhaps ask the King for another tour of the harbor or a visit to the Trident to inspect the old berths?¡± Brakis asked. ¡°Not today Admiral,¡± Lucius replied and got up from his chair. ¡°I need to rest and make sure the troops are well situated for the evening.¡± ¡°Of course my Lord,¡± Brakis agreed and forced himself up as well. ¡°I will however insist on another meeting with the King before the army departs for Aegium.¡± Lucius nodded. ¡°The King will consider it. Perhaps on the morrow.¡± He needed to be briefed more on the situation in Kaltha. ¡°Tomorrow is excellent for us if it pleases the King,¡± Brakis agreed eagerly.
Lucius and his large entourage rode to Illirium¡¯s east gates to reach the Legion camp erected next to the cobblestone road towards Aegium. The King climbed down from Nightsilver, a patrol sergeant saluting sharply ordering his men to halt and the officer at watch sounding the horn to inform the camp its commander had returned. A LID agent opened the door of the Castrum and Lucius walked inside briskly. Ramirus got up and saluted the king who went immediately to the cupboard and poured himself a goblet of wine. ¡°The Duke¡¯s cellar wasn¡¯t well-stocked my Lord?¡± Ramirus commented. ¡°I don¡¯t trust any of them,¡± Lucius replied after having a generous swig. ¡°Until we know who got Jeremy killed.¡± Or talk with Miranda. ¡°No news from Badum yet. I ordered Severus to head up there, but it will take him a couple of weeks.¡± ¡°Mm. What is this?¡± Lucius asked hearing the guard knock on the door. It swung open and Sir Valgus marched inside, the door closing behind him. ¡°I never thought I¡¯ll see a camp with a guestroom barracks.¡± ¡°Yes sir,¡± Ramirus agreed. ¡°Aulus Ventor wants an audience your highness,¡± the knight informed Lucius upon reaching the conference table. ¡°Funny thing how suddenly he¡¯s available,¡± Lucius commented sourly. ¡°Something to do with the Admiral?¡± Sir Valgus asked. ¡°This is about the Augusta,¡± Lucius explained and pressed his mouth tightly. ¡°I¡¯ll see him later. What did Merenda report?¡± ¡°It¡¯s third hand information sire. What he learned.¡± Ramirus replied. ¡°A scouting party met a Scaldingport patrol on the junction to Timberville and they had a serious talk.¡± ¡°What was a First Legion patrol doing near Timberville? Exercises?¡± Lucius queried a little perturbed. ¡°The Legatus is pre-emptively working on a plan,¡± Ramirus explained. ¡°The Legatus has orders to rebuild the First in Sabretooth Castle. Not work on plans,¡± Lucius retorted. ¡°Yes sire.¡± ¡°What does Antonius think?¡± Lucius asked placing a hand on a large map of Regia¡¯s west borders open on the table. ¡°He believes the Khan might strike Eagle¡¯s Nest Castle next, take control of the land between the two lakes and march southeast between Mudriver and Serpent¡¯s Tongue towards the Small Plains.¡± ¡°Forestfort controls the bridge over Mudriver. It¡¯s very difficult to assault it from that angle and the Old Crow will surely defend it fiercely. It is very easy to defend actually, huge walls and four towers. The Khan¡¯s army will be caught in the marshes,¡± Lucius said thoughtfully. ¡°Unless he sails upriver using Serpent¡¯s Tongue tributaries from Smallake, do as the merchants do and reach Riverdor.¡± ¡°Riverdor isn¡¯t much easier to take,¡± Ramirus commented. ¡°Better land to fight on. Use horses to control the field,¡± Lucius explained then took a piece of coal shaped like a stylus and drew a line from Riverdor to Tigerfall Castle that touched Canlita¡¯s west shores. ¡°Then cut Kaltha in half. Or in three pieces. Midlanor in the north, Elsanne and Scaldingport in the south and the Lakerlords plus Badum in the east, but if Duke Charles loses Riverdor I don¡¯t see him keeping Badum.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way Duke Charles risks it sire. He¡¯s defending there with everything available to him,¡± Ramirus countered. ¡°That means Lord Anker won¡¯t see any reinforcements and with Lord Ruud busy with Castalor, the Horselords might be here to stay gentlemen,¡± Lucius said and placed the coal down, then reached for a towel to wipe his fingers clean. ¡°This war should have been decided years ago I¡¯m afraid.¡± ¡°If the Khan loses control of the Shallow Sea he¡¯ll be cut off on Jelin.¡± Lucius stared in Ramirus¡¯ face. ¡°The longer he stays here the more difficult it will be to dislodge him. They will learn the land and use the ports they have, even find another route we don¡¯t control to get reinforcements. Situation changes every day. Princess Elsanne¡¯s idea has more merit I¡¯m afraid unless Lord Anker pulls out a miracle.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see him attacking the Khan anytime soon sire. There¡¯s talk of up to twenty thousand casualties. Men get demoralized after such a huge defeat.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not wrong although that¡¯s too big a number,¡± Lucius replied with a grimace. ¡°But we can assume at least half that number is accurate as far as soldiers go. This means Kaltha is fast running out of experienced men. We all know it isn¡¯t easy to replenish a trained force. Not in a month. Not in a year. Not in these numbers.¡± ¡°Even so Lord Anker needs to attack towards the capital,¡± Ramirus said. ¡°Not really. Yes it¡¯s inconvenient for the Regent and it helps the Princess¡¯ now but one could argue she might just side with her Cofol husband on the morrow, split the kingdom between them.¡± ¡°Would she do that sire?¡± Lucius had no idea what was in Elsanne¡¯s mind. The young, difficult to be around Princess he remembered was a child back then. The glimpse he got of the princess during the Riverdor tournament was that of a pouty, unsatisfied teenager although that must have been a trying week for her. The memory of his brother not something that improved Lucius mood. ¡°Not with Sir Gust and Lord Ruud near her,¡± Lucius replied absentmindedly. ¡°They¡¯ll stop her I¡¯m certain, each man for his own reasons.¡± Lucius thought of the Issir noble, always so clumsy around the young princess and so angry. Hmm. Then of his one-eyed younger brother he¡¯d met that night Kaeso was killed in the plains around Mercator¡¯s Inn. An older version of him. Everyone grows up it seems. Unsurprisingly. Your court is full of snakes, a spooked Sir Rik had told him and then hurried to take his sister to Scaldingport. ¡°My Lord?¡± Sir Valgus asked as Lucius had remained silent for a long moment. ¡°We need to sever or limit the Khan¡¯s ability to get reinforcements. That¡¯s a big enough force to allow it to grow even more,¡± Lucius said raspingly returning to their previous topic. ¡°What about ships my Lord?¡± Sir Valgus queried. Yes, a troubled Lucius thought. This is a problem I can¡¯t solve.
An hour later with the sun slowly setting to the west, painting the nearby Illirium¡¯s pale grey walls a soft red color, Lucius sat behind the small field table under the pavilion the Engineers had erected outside the Castrum for him. He had just finished his meal, fish and mashed potatoes with spicy local garum sauce. Aulus Ventor the Disciple of Tyeus, the High Priest of the Order, stood in front of him when he finished. ¡°King Brother,¡± the priest said. ¡°It pleases the soul everything turned out well for your lordship.¡± ¡°Mm,¡± Lucius murmured rapping his fingers on the table. ¡°A chair brother?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll stand before the king,¡± Ventor replied all serious. ¡°The Order is assisting Sir Gust I¡¯m hearing,¡± Lucius commented. ¡°Against the infidels¡¯ hordes,¡± Ventor replied readily. ¡°Praised be the Five,¡± Lucius rustled curtly. Ventor bowed his head taking his time to speak. ¡°I¡¯d like to rest at some point Ventor, if I can.¡± Lucius said sarcastically. ¡°Brother King,¡± Ventor started. ¡°We had disciples at the ready in Asturia. Yet I was informed you¡¯ve married¡­ the Duke¡¯s daughter, using a Priestess instead?¡± Lucius nodded trying to keep himself diplomatic and respectful towards the Order¡¯s head. It wasn¡¯t easy. ¡°I had to get married in a short notice given the fact I was on campaign brother Ventor.¡± ¡°I understand you were proclaimed king with the Temple¡¯s blessings that same day my Lord.¡± I was proclaimed King the moment my father died you stiff prick! ¡°As I stated already,¡± Lucius grunted warningly. ¡°I was in a hurry Ventor and the priests had already blessed my brother to sit on my throne. I believe you were present?¡± ¡°We followed the orders of the Council,¡± Ventor replied. ¡°But we distanced themselves from their actions.¡± ¡°One would say the damage was done.¡± ¡°We never worked against your grace,¡± Ventor argued. ¡°The King is travelling with a priestess by his side. One would say this is an insult to the order.¡± ¡°Just get it out of your chest Ventor,¡± Lucius rustled raspingly clenching his fist. ¡°My Lord there¡¯s concern in the Order¡ª¡± ¡°I bet Kelholt is concerned as well,¡± Lucius cut him off. ¡°Uher¡¯s priests are understandably mystified,¡± Ventor continued with a grimace marring his taut face. ¡°Will the King take a third wife on the morrow and make himself a harem like the Horselords?¡± ¡°The King will do whatever he pleases.¡± Lucius grunted angrily. ¡°A King bedding a priestess brings back unfortunate memories¡ª¡± ¡°You are out of line Ventor!¡± Lucius growled banging his fist on the small table. A bronze goblet rolling to its side and then dropping on the ground with a clanging sound. ¡°This king does not sleep around,¡± Lucius continued angrily. ¡°Where were the priests to tend to my father¡¯s grave? Where were they when I returned from the north? I had to stumble around in the blasted dark to find a place for my brother¡¯s bones!¡± ¡°We weren¡¯t notified¡ª¡± To do your job? ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear any more excuses Ventor!¡± Lucius cut him off with an angry gesture. ¡°Everyone knew Lucius was coming. I camped outside Alden for days! I asked for a priest and no one came but for the Augusta herself. Prostrated herself before the tombs, said the words and prayed for the dead. Not a priest of Uher, not a fellow brother and not even Ora¡¯s disciples bothered showing up. But she did. It is as simple as that Ventor.¡± He finished in a calmer tone. ¡°Your father wasn¡¯t fond of the priestess my lord,¡± a pale Ventor griped. ¡°My father is dead,¡± Lucius grunted hoarsely. ¡°I don¡¯t favor Naossis Ventor but she¡¯s a member of the Five. I¡¯m getting tired with this two-facedness I¡¯m witnessing!¡± ¡°Debauchery saps a warrior¡¯s strength and twists his mind,¡± Ventor preached. ¡°Weakens him.¡± ¡°Are you finished?¡± Lucius asked curtly. ¡°You won¡¯t insult me again Ventor without my sword coming out of its scabbard. False piety and double-standards are sins for both Uher and Tyeus. I¡¯m seeing plenty of that to worry about the priestess¡¯ ankles.¡± The latter a wordplay for the short ¡®robes¡¯ the priestesses wore as their official ¡®attire¡¯. ¡°Apologies if I inconvenienced the King,¡± Ventor replied and bowed his head. ¡°Next time you insult me, you are going to need that sword you¡¯re carrying brother,¡± Lucius retorted with a peeved grimace. ¡°And I won¡¯t need to call on my guards. I shall cut you down myself.¡± 11th of Quintus Early noon The walled harbor of Illirium West Squadron¡¯s Docks (Docks Number Four) Lucius glanced at Ser De Hond, the Admiralty¡¯s naval engineer in charge. De Hond wasn¡¯t a knight but people called him that in jest due to his first name. An Issir he¡¯d settled in Illirium more than twenty years ago responding to the Admiral¡¯s invitation. The king then turned his eyes on the large warship that had moored there during the night. Because it wasn¡¯t there the previous day when Lucius had toured the docks. ¡°What am I looking at here Mister De Hond?¡± He asked genuinely impressed by the sturdy exotic warship sporting two towers and an assortment of armaments. ¡°This is a war Galleass my Lord,¡± De Hond explained. ¡°It can be manned by up to five hundred and fifty men. But it can operate with half that crew. Two hundred and fifty rowers and two hundred and fifty marines with the addition of a fifty man crew in a full complement. It has both an armoured forecastle and an aftcastle. Four fast-turning catapults and sixteen mounted Scorpios, eight per side.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve built this?¡± Lucius asked staring at the silent Duke Brakis. ¡°It¡¯s based on a design by Uranio Briglia. Although it¡¯s a rework of an ancient vessel my Lord,¡± De Hond replied proudly. ¡°But aye, we have built it here fully.¡± ¡°Who ordered it?¡± ¡°Your father had given us a contract for twelve heavy transports fifteen years ago,¡± Duke Brakis started. ¡°Four we have finished already when we got our hands on this design.¡± ¡°Cartaport is supposed to build warships.¡± Lucius said thoughtfully. ¡°I wasn¡¯t aware you were given such an order Duke.¡± ¡°We built it as a prototype while working on the keels for the transports,¡± De Hond replied for the Duke. Lucius nodded and glanced at the large warship. A galleon in a sense but with more firepower. ¡°This is an attack vessel.¡± ¡°It can be used in multiple roles my Lord.¡± ¡°How expensive is it to build? That¡¯s a lot of iron on the sides.¡± Brakis intervened. ¡°The cost was prohibitive.¡± ¡°My father would have never approved of this,¡± Lucius told him. ¡°Regia has no ambitions across the sea.¡± ¡°We had colorful discussions as your lordship remembers,¡± Brakis said. ¡°Some progress was made but then disaster struck.¡± ¡°I remember you were rather late delivering your original contract Duke,¡± Lucius reminded him and moved on not wanting to dwell in the past. A ship couldn¡¯t make a difference, impressive as it may looked. ¡°Are the transports finished? Did we lose them all to Lesia?¡± ¡°When your father¡­ unfortunately succumbed to the inevitable,¡± Brakis said in his baritone voice and Lucius narrowed his eyes. Lucius glanced at the enthusiastic naval engineer watching their conversation. He¡¯s barely holding back, Lucius thought a little curious now. ¡°We were left with unfinished ships and a lot of material bought and paid for. Jeremy didn¡¯t want to make the transports.¡± ¡°I see,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°Your news aren¡¯t exactly uplifting Admiral.¡± ¡°But since the materials were there and our will to protect the Kingdom remained unshaken,¡± Brakis continued with his rousing voice looking at Lucius intently. ¡°Illirium paid something extra and finished the order my Lord in the years that followed.¡± Lucius stood back impressed but then he realized what the Duke was saying. ¡°You never made the transports.¡± A smirking Brakis shook his fleshy face right and left. ¡°How many did you built?¡± Lucius asked him and turned to stare at the mass of the warship looming over them. ¡°Twelve with this one King Lucius.¡± Thirteen heavy warships had just fallen into Lucius¡¯ lap. Now it¡¯s a matter of total numbers in the water or smarter placement of assets, cooperation with previous opponents and precise timing, he thought. What had looked insurmountable just a moment ago, now appeared attainable. You could a carry a Legion across the Shallow Sea with them. ¡°Uranio Briglia is a Lesia family,¡± Lucius said watching the sailors cleaning up the white sand that had gathered on the warship¡¯s tall decks. Its long bowsprit standing over their heads, a sculpted large squid¡¯s tentacles laced on the front of its bow under it, hugging the face of the galleass effectively. ¡°The Bank of Trust provided the designs in exchange for shipments of raw metal,¡± Brakis replied evenly. ¡°Before they attacked Cartagen?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe the Bank had anything to do with that my Lord. They were against a war on Jelin I¡¯m told.¡± Hmm. A war on Jelin. ¡°What¡¯s the name of the ship?¡± Lucius asked turning around. ¡°Hah,¡± Brakis chuckled and slapped a beefy hand on his thigh. ¡°The lads were fooling around my Lord.¡± Lucius blue Alden eyes stayed on his fleshy face until the always boisterous Stan Brakis cleared his throat sobering up and replied with a shrug of his large shoulders. ¡°Abrakas.¡± -
On the fourteenth day of month Quintus, the year of the New Calendar 194 the King approved ¡®Operation Seagull¡¯ and ordered Legatus Merenda to make contact with Duke Charles in Riverdor. ¡®If Charles isn¡¯t accommodating find a way to speak with Lord Anker via the Duchess¡¯ contacts¡¯ the order read. That same day the 3rd Legion marched away from Illirium on the coastal road towards the Aegium Salts and the city of Aegium where the Lord of Demames was to arrive three days later. Legatus Sula who had just arrived with the Fourth Legion at Illirium was ordered to force-march after the Third.
Scarlet Legion, (An Account) -Year Six- Salty Road Spring of 194 NC III Legio rank -Tribune (retired), ''the Book'' Varus Trupo, Military Governor, ¡®Lord of Novesium¡¯, 3rd Legion¡¯s Historian, Military Scholar, King¡¯s Council, And member of ''Greater Regia''s Military Committee'' or Quadrumvirate -Circa 205 NC-
455. We’re back in business boy (1/2)
Storm Nattas We¡¯re back in business boy Part I -Your enemies might throw your name into the pot-
What a blasted cock tease! Storm thought sourly. Half-aroused and half-angry. The young priestess sighed and fanned herself with both hands, gusting air down with puckered lips at her bosom¡¯s opening to cool her skin off. The sweat making the fleshy mounds gleaming. Whatever parts Lord Nattas could see that is and he was looking pretty intently. What a fucking¡ª? ¡°The Augusta is preoccupied at this moment Baron,¡± Priestess Drusilla repeated interrupting his thought process. ¡°Heard that the first time,¡± Storm retorted. ¡°The meeting is over though.¡± ¡°Much to do in the day,¡± Drusilla explained and run finger under the hem of her tunic¡¯s plunging d¨¦colletage to gather some of the excess moisture. ¡°It¡¯s so ungodly hot yes?¡± ¡°Mmm,¡± Storm hummed. ¡°The locals say, spring smells of summer in Aegium.¡± Drusilla liked that. ¡°Chief,¡± Grin said from behind his back. Fuck off. ¡°Well how about you?¡± Storm pressed as he was aroused enough and feeling the need to pray deeply. ¡°I have tasks?¡± Drusilla started, then paused thinking it through. ¡°You can leave some of those tasks for the morrow,¡± a leering Storm helped. ¡°Milord,¡± Grin tried again, cutting in for a second time. A nervous tick appeared on Nattas¡¯ face and he swung with his free hand backwards, caught part of a cheek and a bit of forehead. The sharp smack getting a cavernous gasp out of the priestess that turned his cock into a lethal instrument that struggled in his breeches. Gods damn it. The buttons are scratching at the skin! Fuck. ¡°Maybe later dear Baron?¡± The priestess asked politely -the opportunity lost- and Nattas grinded his teeth, almost tearing up in the attempt to keep a friendly expression on his face. Now he was the one sweating in the morning sun. Drusilla walked away, lost in the crowd of the market. With the Legion and Lord Sula¡¯s men patrolling the city, Aegium looked as busy as ever. Some damage was visible in some of the villas in the outer neighborhoods of the sprawling coastal city, but the buildings near the two plateaus and the tower were as he remembered them. The locals went about their businesses, women carrying water from the wells for the day and the buzz from the King''s presence keenly sensed everywhere. Storm had started turning, still peeved at the missed opportunity for a good session with the priestess but paused seeing two local women near him, both with blond hair and pretty tanned ¨Cfor the time of year- talking about spices and groin-soothing oil. It was a riveting conversation. ¡°Oh, well then¡­¡± Nattas murmured still preoccupied and turned to face Grin. ¡°You have to learn your lesson so you don¡¯t get hit.¡± He told him and noticed the lackey was fine. ¡°The kid,¡± Grin started and Storm blinked. ¡°What kid?¡± Grin pointed at the ground between them. There was a groaning urchin rolling on the markets tiles. Holding on to his head. Thus the mystery is solved. ¡°Help him up you idiot,¡± Storm hissed and Grin stooped to grab the kid by the back of his head like a dog. ¡°Give him a coin.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t have one boss,¡± Grin replied sadly. ¡°Ah¡­ the nose tingles!¡± The kid griped holding his face now. ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake,¡± Nattas cursed and reached for his purse. Fished a coin out, glanced at it and then looked to find another of less value. ¡°Here,¡± he finally told the street urchin. ¡°Go away now.¡± ¡°Wait chief,¡± Grin stopped the boy before he bolted away. ¡°Bryce sent him. Gave him a copper to bring us a missive.¡± Nattas breathed out in frustration. ¡°Give me the coin back kid,¡± he hissed and the boy swallowed it. Grimaced a bit when the copper went down his throat, a big round piece and then set his small jaw. ¡°No.¡± The boy said resolutely. Nattas¡¯ slap knocking his head to the side a short moment later.
The Baron stretched his hurting leg under the table. The coastal tavern had fine marble tiles at its shaded patio but the humidity of the nearby sea kept them clammy under his boots. A lot of locals and legionnaires on brief leave trying the warm waters at the sandy beach bordering the taverns tables. ¡°Parkor is with Moore and Bryce looking for him,¡± Nattas repeated what the boy had told them. Grin stopped to look at him, a piece of bread the man used to sweep his plate clean dripping with cooking oil. The taste of the fish they had earlier still present in Nattas¡¯ mouth, and reminding the Baron of a ripe cunt. ¡°He usually reports sooner,¡± Grin said and then slotted the bread piece in his mouth using the index finger to guide it. ¡°Hence why they are looking for him,¡± Nattas grunted and puffed out then reached for a cup of cold tea flavored with a slice of orange. He sipped some, grimaced and set his eyes on the beach to watch the tavern-owner¡¯s daughter wash the white sand off of her tanned legs at the beach¡¯s edge. Ah, nice. Storm thought humming ¡®them girls of Aegium¡¯ under his breath and the wiry assassin Griet pulled the chair next to Grin to sit down across from him. Her short white, boyishly-cut hair hidden under a thin light-grey hood. Shit. Griet smiled at Grin ¨Ca double-entendre almost- reached over their table and took the cup of flavored tea the speechless Storm had in front of him. She dragged it near her and then had a generous swig to wash her mouth. Nattas smacked his lips as he went from being startled to being irritated. ¡°Used a horse,¡± Maja¡¯s former pupil explained and had some more from the frowned Nattas¡¯ tea. ¡°David¡¯s boat unloaded in the countryside.¡± ¡°Astounded we now stand,¡± Nattas murmured in a poetic mood of sorts. ¡°Trying to figure out what in Abrakas¡¯ veiny cock are you talking about?¡± ¡°Mmm,¡± Griet hummed. She was about twenty-three now, Nattas guessed but still thin and youthful-looking given her profession. Then again the young bitch has been living on my coin for years, vacationing on an island. ¡°David is?¡± ¡°A pirate,¡± Griet replied and snorted. ¡°I need a bath.¡± Nattas pointed an arm at the big ocean not thirty meters away. ¡°Will you watch my stuff?¡± She teased. ¡°It¡¯s not a nudist beach.¡± ¡°They have one of those about?¡± Griet deadpanned and Nattas stood back, the image of her naked body lodged in his brain. He needed to visit a brothel soon. ¡°I¡¯m paying you to keep an eye on Silvio.¡± ¡°The kid is in Moon¡¯s Haven with Ard.¡± Nattas rapped his fingers on the table going back and forth from feeling aroused to being cross but trying not to show it. ¡°Where¡¯s Sudi?¡± ¡°He¡¯ll be in Aegium soon,¡± Griet replied and turned her head to smile at the aloof Grin. ¡°Hello there.¡± ¡°A pleasure¡ª¡± ¡°Are you serious?¡± Storm cut him off mid-sentence. He then glared at the grinning Issir woman. ¡°What in all cheap fucks is Sudi doing in Moon¡¯s Haven?¡± ¡°You asked for him chief,¡± Grin reminded the frustrated Storm. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean for him¡­ oh, for crying out loud.¡± Nattas groaned and stooped over the table menacingly. Griet got a dagger out and stabbed it on the wood, so Storm returned to his seat. ¡°Where is she?¡± ¡°Near Aegium.¡± Nattas felt a terrible headache parking in his brain and it wasn¡¯t from the heat. ¡°Why?¡± He croaked. ¡°She wants to visit Jeremy¡¯s grave. The news were devastating to her,¡± Griet explained and Storm blinked, his headache worsening. ¡°There¡¯s no grave. The lad is in a box. Inside Alden¡¯s crypt.¡± ¡°She¡¯s going there.¡± Lord Nattas sucked a rugged breath in, the taste of roasted fish in his mouth bothering him and then let it all out in an even deeper sigh. Already he could feel another ache birthing in his stomach. ¡°I need a cup of wine.¡± ¡°They don¡¯t serve¡ª¡± Grin started but Nattas stopped the lackey banging his cane on the edge of the table. ¡°The man will sell his daughter for coin. Walk inside and get me a bottle of Flauegran,¡± he ordered with a frustrated hiss. ¡°Not everyone is for sale Baron,¡± Griet said and Storm rolled his eyes so hard he felt dizzy. ¡°If she talks to the king and makes a mistake we might not survive this,¡± he warned Griet. ¡°And I mean everyone.¡± ¡°Maja has worked on the story with her.¡± ¡°Great.¡± ¡°She loved the young king.¡± ¡°I thought she loved me.¡± Nattas actually felt a bit jealous there. Griet stood back on the chair. ¡°How can you say that? She¡¯s risking much more than you.¡± Oh, stuck a phallus up yer nose. ¡°No dear,¡± Nattas retorted with a glare. ¡°I say it because it¡¯s my neck she¡¯s risking mostly. Jeremy is already dead. She could mourn him just fine from afar.¡±
¡°Where is he?¡± Nattas growled an hour later and spotted the ¡®kidnapped¡¯ Sirio sitting on a summer chair in the hall of the Baron¡¯s local villa situated at the edge of the east plateau. It was the classiest neighborhood in the city. Storm had bought the expensive place some years back as it had a lovely view of the port and sea underneath it. Bryce turned his head to watch the hobbling Baron approaching over the cut grass intending to answer. ¡°He was¡­ waiting¡­¡±If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Storm reached the sour-looking Sirio in the meantime. ¡°Good morning Baron Nattas,¡± Sirio greeted him sounding peeved. ¡°It¡¯s noon,¡± Nattas retorted and grabbed a similar chair to sit down, resting the cane next to his leg. ¡°You are supposed to brief us on what¡¯s going on,¡± he hissed using a hankie to wipe the sweat off of his face. ¡°Instead I¡¯m racing up and down the fucking city on a bad leg, darn sweat running down my arsecrack like a pig that just had its balls waxed!¡± ¡°¡­by the east gates¡­¡± Bryce continued still working to get the words out. ¡°For crying out loud!¡± Nattas snapped at him. ¡°We¡¯re way past that part you simpleton!¡± ¡°Baron,¡± Sirio started calmly and dabbed the moisture on his forehead with a silk hankie. ¡°I¡¯m telling you as much as I know.¡± Storm sniffed at the air. Is this fool wearing perfume? Lavender? ¡°Maja is coming here,¡± Nattas tested him. Sirio failed to act surprised. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ auspicious,¡± the historian said pretending at indifference. ¡°Sirio I¡¯m going to break your fingers,¡± Nattas warned with a snarl. ¡°How did you know?¡± ¡°She writes me.¡± ¡°Letters?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Sirio replied and checked on his fingers with a frown. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°She¡¯s my partner,¡± Sirio said a little passionately. ¡°My wife.¡± Nattas blinked and then pursed his mouth. Caught Bryce and Grin nodding with their heads in approval at the historian¡¯s response and groaned. He wiped the sweat under his goatee with the hankie, down his neck and to the collar. ¡°Where¡¯s my nephew?¡± He asked at the end of it. ¡°He¡¯s decoding the missives from Alden,¡± Moore said and placed two cups on the table. He then poured some wine in them from the bottle Grin had bought at the tavern. Storm glanced at the label. Blinked once and then checked again. The dark glass bottle was engraved in gold details and had something written he couldn¡¯t make out. ¡°Grin!¡± Nattas barked abruptly and the lackey was heard approaching. ¡°This isn¡¯t a Flauegran wine.¡± ¡°Told him to give me his best wine chief,¡± Grin replied defensively. Nattas licked his dry lips and grabbed the fancy bottle to look at it. Brought its exotic long and slightly curved to the left neck to his nose and sniffed deeply at the lip. He then tried to read the label. Storm could make out an ugly castle at the background with beautifully engraved letters forming a single word under it and a numeral. 3400. ¡°Well it¡¯s not ours for sure,¡± Nattas finally said and Sirio stooped near him to read the label. Storm glared at the historian caressing the engravings on the glass with a finger. ¡°Want some privacy? It might hit the good spot.¡± He taunted him with a leer. ¡°These are Imperial letters and date,¡± Sirio replied absentmindedly. He poured some in his cup and returned the bottle to Nattas. ¡°An old wine then?¡± Motherfucker bought me sweet-smelling vinegar. He had one job. ¡°Not really,¡± Sirio said and sipped some. Licked his lips and had some more. A tick re-appeared on the Baron¡¯s face. ¡°Grin!¡± He barked, anger slowly building up in him. ¡°How much did you pay for this shit?¡± ¡°Ahm,¡± Grin took his time to get it out and a nervous Storm palmed his pockets to find his purse. ¡°Where¡¯s my coin purse? I gave it to you!¡± ¡°I have it here chief.¡± ¡°Give it to me you dork.¡± ¡°It was an expensive wine chief. You told me to get the best¡ª¡± ¡°Stop!¡± Nattas growled and brought the bottle to his mouth to sip at the wine. He glugged some of it down. Kept at it until he burped and realized the taste of fish was gone. ¡°What the fuck?¡± He exclaimed. ¡°What¡¯s in this?¡± ¡°Can I taste it boss?¡± Moore asked sounding interested. ¡°No. How much Grin?¡± ¡°I talked him down to three Eagles.¡± Grin replied quickly. ¡°Silver?¡± Storm barked irate although it was flavorful enough to warrantee such a price. ¡°Gold,¡± Grin whispered. Nattas poured the rest of the wine in his cup, the bottle had a long curved neck but a small container and held about half of what a normal bottle could carry. So the price was exorbitant. ¡°Moore. Punch him in the gut,¡± Nattas ordered. ¡°And get me my purse back.¡± Moore turned already swinging for Grin. A pained grunt and the man doubled over whilst Sirio, now sounding a little inebriated said in an appreciative tone. ¡°It reads ¡®Aranel¡¯, the label on it and the year. The current one actually. 194,¡± the historian explained and Nattas noted not particularly happy seeing that his own wine was nowhere near the quality. But it was cheap. Brothel-friendly price. Storm mused. So there¡¯s that. ¡°What does it mean? The word,¡± he asked the grinning Sirio Veturius. ¡°Princess.¡±
¡°I wasn¡¯t informed,¡± Sirio insisted and got out of a front pocket a small comb made out of sandalwood, he then used to fix his oiled hair. ¡°Where did you find that?¡± ¡°The Augusta brought gifts for the officers.¡± ¡°For the whole Legion?¡± Nattas taunted. ¡°The LID officers,¡± Sirio explained. ¡°She¡¯s very friendly.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure,¡± Nattas grunted. ¡°When was the decision made?¡± He asked returning to the matter they were discussing. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°What does it mean? A Quadrumvirate?¡± Storm insisted. ¡°It is a committee for the army controlled territories.¡± ¡°Like Kas.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Why are the rest involved? Your uncle is heading it Sirio!¡± Storm hissed angry. ¡°Baron, I can¡¯t exactly ask him about it without raising suspicion,¡± Sirio protested. ¡°I think I¡¯m being watched.¡± ¡°You are probably. When is¡­ my daughter arriving?¡± ¡°Today.¡± Nattas rubbed his face hard with both hands, then wiped them with the hankie. ¡°What is Ramirus working on?¡± ¡°Most resources are dedicated in finding Jeremy¡¯s killers.¡± ¡°Marc Laudus did it,¡± Storm helped him. ¡°There.¡± ¡°The King wants to learn who was behind,¡± Sirio argued. Of course he does. ¡°You could help in that,¡± Sirio continued. ¡°It might open the door.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not in the army,¡± Nattas grunted. ¡°And I have a feeling this is to be a private club.¡±
Sirio left an hour later accompanied by Bryce and Moore. Parkor arrived just after the historian had departed to inform Lord Nattas that a ¡®man from Illirium wanted a word¡¯. The meeting was set by the docks, where several of the ships had moored these past days bringing in different delegations, with the large Galleass standing as a dark beast despite all the oil-lamps lit on its deck. As Lord Nattas had guessed, the meeting moved on the ship when he arrived at the always busy Aegium docks, the shoreline extending beyond the facilities towards the many taverns occupying the city¡¯s sandy beaches. Storm hated climbing up slippery ramps or walking on decks and moving surfaces of any kind.
¡°I told them,¡± Lord Stan Brakis boomed and got up to grab the sweaty Storm¡¯s shoulder. The man¡¯s fat fingers digging in to the bone. Is this brotherly love? ¡°Our Nattas can brave a ramp haha!¡± Yeah, so do those soon to be killed you pregnant sealion! Storm removed the Admiral¡¯s heavy hand from his shoulder with a grimace. ¡°Reckon, I¡¯ve risked my health enough my Lord.¡± ¡°Ah, no need for such decorum,¡± Brakis said and pointed at an armchair inside the captain¡¯s cabin. It was located inside the ship¡¯s aft-castle. ¡°Have a seat Baron.¡± Storm walked after the heavy-set Duke and took his time to sit down. ¡°My man,¡± he started but Brakis dismissed his query afore Nattas had the time to fully voice it. ¡°He¡¯ll be fine. You¡¯re safe Nattas. I have enough marines here to launch an invasion haha!¡± Brakis chuckled and then sobered up immediately. ¡°I was jesting.¡± ¡°I took it as a jest,¡± Storm replied a little uncomfortable and feeling like he was more abducted than invited to the meeting. ¡°To what I owe the late night invitation?¡± Brakis stared at him for a long moment. The cabin though rather roomy for a ship¡¯s office, was very hot and the candles burning made the atmosphere heavy with smoke. The two small open windows behind the Duke of Illirium letting some of the fumes out. ¡°You can live on this ship,¡± Brakis informed him and Storm grimaced as he wasn¡¯t of the same opinion. ¡°Take it across the ocean without fear of losing the wind,¡± the overweight nobleman continued. ¡°I¡¯ll say that the wind is what scares me the most.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t favor ships?¡± Brakis resounded in shock. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t go that far,¡± Storm replied shifting in his leather armchair and with his eyes tearing up from the fumes. ¡°But I prefer a steady surface under my feet due to my condition.¡± ¡°Ah, yes. Forgot about that,¡± Brakis said and uncorked a bottle of liquor. He poured some in a small bronze cup. ¡°It¡¯s mint-flavored rum,¡± he told the watching Nattas. ¡°I¡¯ll pass dear Duke.¡± ¡°Hah. Flavia uses that. Sounds different coming from a man¡¯s lips,¡± Brakis said with a smirk. ¡°She likes to endear her audience.¡± ¡°Yep, she does. I don¡¯t mind her,¡± Brakis replied eyeing him. ¡°I don¡¯t mind her too?¡± Nattas chanced to go along with it. ¡°Um. We don¡¯t care about the priests Baron. Right?¡± Storm was getting increasingly more uncomfortable with the affability emanating from the Duke. ¡°I¡¯m not known for being the most devout. Not to all Five of them. It¡¯s difficult given their differences. A man gets confused where to draw the line.¡± ¡°It¡¯s all pretext,¡± Brakis said and downed the rum in a go. ¡°Something to keep the people busy. We know more about the gods right Baron?¡± Alright, Storm thought. That¡¯s the second attempt to rope me in Duke. What¡¯s going on? ¡°It¡¯s a nice touch naming the ship,¡± Storm started. ¡°But it won¡¯t work out there. Abrakas shall take what he wants. Anything that crosses paths with him.¡± Brakis nodded once. ¡°I had to tell the truth to the King.¡± ¡°Ursus lies are not the truth,¡± Storm replied not falling for the trap. If that¡¯s what it was. ¡°A man I had in the palace said the Queen looked rather bloated those weeks,¡± Brakis said looking at him. Listen up you sweaty piece of lard, Storm¡¯s eyes warned him over the heavy desk. I¡¯ve a blade in my cane and I¡¯ll shove it down yer throat afore your marines reach me. But then Storm would be dead as well which only fools would count as a win. Leave it as a last ditch resort. A final fuck you just before the end. Abrakas, did you pick sides ye tentacled mollusk? ¡°She was stress-eating,¡± Storm said pushing back in the armchair. ¡°The Queen Regent had been taking weight it is true.¡± ¡°Is there a kid out there?¡± Brakis asked and Storm grimaced. ¡°You might get in trouble Baron. Lord Doris was there. Would he lie for you?¡± ¡°He doesn¡¯t need to lie. Only to save his neck,¡± a sweaty Storm hissed. ¡°He has no credibility and no ships to soften the King to him.¡± The latter a jab for the flushed Brakis. The Admiral poured a second shot of rum into his small cup. ¡°Laudus got cornered in Irde,¡± Brakis said looking at Nattas intently. ¡°How do you know?¡± Storm asked playing with the silver pommel on his cane. ¡°The Bank of Trust issued an alert to all its offices,¡± Brakis replied. Mclean & Merck had an office building in Illirium. ¡°For mercenaries and bounty hunters.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Storm said. ¡°Good on them. Sounds like Laudus might be fucked.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t understand,¡± Brakis argued. ¡°The order is to apprehend a former employee, not Laudus. Lear Hik. It is believed he has gotten to Laudus first.¡± ¡°The name is vaguely familiar,¡± Storm murmured trying to find the angle and the reason he was sitting inside the warship in the middle of the night. ¡°He¡¯s disgruntled. A murdering sadist and torturer. A well-known fact. Murdered Mclean¡¯s son according to an eyewitness. A Baron¡¯s daughter is missing and they fear the worst. His only chance to survive might be to concoct a wild story that will give him Lucius¡¯ protection. Say he tosses an imaginary culprit or two into the mix. A collaborator or a non-existing master mind. A man desperate like that might say or do anything given a promise of safety.¡± Lord Nattas shifted nervously in the armchair. Are there no good news to come today? The fucking day is over! ¡°Lucius would never believe a clumsy lie or ask for one made up for other reasons.¡± ¡°Baron, your enemies might throw your name into the pot,¡± Brakis explained. Ah. ¡°Or yours,¡± Storm retorted with a snarl and Brakis shrugged his broad shoulders. ¡°Where is Lord Doris?¡± Nattas hissed as that was a huge loose end for different reasons. Plug your leaks, the ghostly Larn had told him. ¡°He¡¯s heading for Eplas,¡± Brakis replied. ¡°A little nugget to help you. You have reach there Baron? You might want to look into it.¡± Nobody has you blasted whale! ¡°Does this mister Hik know the former Lord Treasurer?¡± Storm asked in deep thought. Wait. Hmm. Maybe there is someone. ¡°Doris had many deals with the Bank and was with King Alistair in seventy three. Lear served with the 300. The company.¡± ¡°Could the man escape the Bank¡¯s agents?¡± Storm asked. ¡°Who knows?¡± Brakis shook his big head. ¡°I don¡¯t mind him making it all the way here,¡± he added casually. ¡°I¡¯ve good standing with the king to defend myself. But¡­ you Baron, I don¡¯t know,¡± the Admiral stopped and looked at a spot above Storm¡¯s head. Nattas swung his head around half-turning the armchair and saw the wooden door¡¯s sides were hugged by sculpted tentacles, the monstrous Kraken¡¯s eye painted black at the header. ¡°Comes a time, when it¡¯s one coincidence too many my friend,¡± Stan Brakis continued and Storm felt a newfound respect for the plump Duke. A ruthless man knows to hide under a mirthful character and over a hundred kilos of lard. We were never friends, Storm thought and clasped his hands on his cane to force himself up. Other than the fact we pray to a vile god that slept with his own daughter ¨Crepeatedly- we have nothing in common. Or maybe we do. ¡°I appreciate the warning Lord Brakis,¡± Storm said respectfully standing up and taking a moment to get his legs under him. ¡°I shall look into the matter.¡± ¡°See that you do,¡± the man counseled soberly.
456. We’re back in business boy (2/2)
Storm Nattas We¡¯re back in business boy Part II -You need to talk with Dar Tulca-
The ¡®Domus Di Alden¡¯ in Aegium was bathed in light an hour after midnight. So much so that it drowned the light coming from the top of the tower at the center of the city. There were two large verandas attached to the main building and standing on thick carved columns rounding up its shape, one facing west and the other to the east. The walled otherwise rectangular Lorian villa had been built on the east plateau at the edge of the city initially but when the latter ballooned out of proportions and moved towards the seaside, the white made out of marble palace was left behind on the upland along the tower in what was now called the ¡®old city¡¯. It was a five minute ride in the empty streets from Storm¡¯s own property. Lord Nattas¡¯ horse-drawn carriage was stopped at the guarded gates, the quietness of the square that had been interrupted by its arrival now returning again. The legionnaire sentinel glared at the slow to climb down the few side steps Nattas under the rim of his helm. ¡°The palace is closed. Come back again in the morning,¡± the soldier told him. ¡°I¡¯m Baron Nattas my good man,¡± Storm replied stooped on his cane. ¡°Here to see the king.¡± ¡°Sergeant!¡± The guard barked over his armoured shoulder. ¡°What is it?¡± Came the gate officer¡¯s retort, the square¡¯s serenity defeated again. ¡°A Baron Nattas is here!¡± ¡°And Parkor Nattas,¡± his nephew added and the soldier glared at him. ¡°Not on the list,¡± the officer replied, still hidden inside the small guardhouse by the gate. There¡¯s a list? At this time? ¡°I need to speak to the King on two matters of importance,¡± Nattas explained. ¡°It¡¯s late milord,¡± the soldier argued. ¡°The King is expecting a report.¡± The officer got out of the guardhouse. ¡°The king is indisposed Baron.¡± Nattas glanced at the illuminated and massive east-side veranda visible beyond the gates. A garden and pavilion standing on columns appearing to float in the air. The Baron knew the lavish villa from the time he¡¯d spent in Aegium whilst serving as the Queen Regent¡¯s Shield. ¡°I can hear music sergeant... Rufus.¡± Nattas grinned in a friendly manner, pleased he had remembered his name. Rufus was stationed with Ramsey Kolt¡¯s supply train. ¡°It¡¯ll be a brief visit greatly appreciated by the king whom I have frequently visited in the past.¡± ¡°Decon notify Sir Valgus of the Baron¡¯s claims and intentions,¡± officer Rufus ordered, deciding to kick the canister further down the road.
Twenty minutes later Storm walked through the columned internal garden and elongated artificial pond to reach the stairs leading to the second floor¡¯s east-facing side. Sir Valgus walked with him, paused outside the doors to speak with a knight standing guard outside the veranda and then signaled for Nattas to go inside, stopping the Baron¡¯s nephew from following after him. Storm traversed the spacious dining room with the ceiling to floor windows and stepped outside on the partially-shaded by a chiseled stone and marble roof veranda. It was built directly over an atrium and thick glass covered openings on the floor. You could see the enclosed pool under your feet. A garden built over a garden. The two floors of flowers and vines leaked out of the building and into a pergola, a shaded walkway that extended almost to the outer walls of the palace. The gossip was that a fifth of the water consumed by the city was used to maintain the Alden gardens. A priestess was holding a mandolin reclined on a curved divan, her soft played cords accompanying the animated Augusta Flavia¡¯s words, with the sitting across from them on a marble couch and clad in a white chiton Lucius listening to her tale with a relaxed smile. Flavia was reciting ¡®Beyond Elauthin¡¯ from heart. Singing it more like. The important thing I reckon, a cynical Storm thought pausing to listen to the Augusta¡¯s rendition of the famed saga at the edge of the opening, framed by red roses and blue rosemary flowers. Is that no one is naked or sucking cock. Trust Lucius to house two priestesses or more, and discuss mythology with them without all the lewd parts. Then again the time is late but the night is still not over yet. ¡°So you believe,¡± Lucius interrupted Flavia¡¯s tale of a dashing Ebenezer riding across the fabled Nesande¡¯s Garden with a furious Zilan Lord¡¯s entourage hot on the adventurer¡¯s trail. Then he would find ¡®the sweetest fruit¡¯ that ¡®cured a man¡¯s thirst for a week¡¯, ride ¡®a Chimera over the edge of a sheer cliff¡¯ and ¡®witness ghosts singing from the top of ruined towers lost in the mist.¡¯ Nattas had missed the King¡¯s query staring at the young Issir priestess¡¯ oiled legs. The nymph thumbed a cord and snapped the Baron back to the present. ¡°I¡¯ve seen them,¡± Flavia had replied. ¡°Here on Jelin?¡± Lucius asked and glanced at the lurking Nattas. ¡°The Temple was always visited by Zilan Lord Lucius,¡± Flavia said delicately. ¡°We knew not all were lost especially near the mainland and their hunting grounds.¡± ¡°The lower castes escaped the worst,¡± Lucius murmured. ¡°What do you think of that Storm? You know Lord Nattas Augusta?¡± ¡°We have been acquainted.¡± She replied evenly. In all manner of positions, Storm thought with a leer. And with sacred devoutness. ¡°The poor folk were owed more my Lord,¡± he replied. ¡°On the scales.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± Lucius nodded and waved for him to get out of the shades. ¡°Or perhaps it was but a random occurrence sparked by a natural phenomenon, what the Augusta would call¡­ Luthos¡¯ touch.¡± When Lucius reached a conclusion in a discussion, the best you could manage was agree or nod, not to make a fool of yourself. ¡°These are white grapes,¡± Lucius informed him and pointed at the low ebony wood and ivory table¡¯s plates. ¡°Very sweet. Aegium makes a fine wine out of them but I prefer them fresh.¡± ¡°I¡¯m aware your grace,¡± Nattas replied and sat on one of the small stools across from him. Flavia had gone near the Issir priestess named Brigitte to leave them alone. Of sorts. ¡°Two matters of importance. I guess you wanted to make sure I¡¯ll listen,¡± Lucius commented and popped a couple of grapes into his mouth. Storm spotted the gleaming handle of Endariel, the king¡¯s sword resting in its scabbard near the support of the divan. ¡°I have given myself the night off Storm.¡± ¡°Apologies for the interruption your grace,¡± Nattas said quickly. ¡°I¡¯m informed there has been progress in the search for Jeremy¡¯s killers?¡± ¡°Is this the rumor?¡± ¡°A tip more like,¡± Nattas replied and moved on the uncomfortable stool. The insects buzzing and waters running nearby making the nice-smelling veranda garden a noisy place. ¡°Laudus was hiding near Irde.¡± ¡°I¡¯m aware,¡± Lucius said and placed his sandaled feet on the marble tiles. Storm could see an old injury near his knee that had healed. ¡°But no more news since then.¡± ¡°Mercenaries are untrustworthy,¡± Nattas said casually. Lucius reached for his gold-engraved goblet to have some wine in silence. Had he been too obvious? ¡°What is the other matter Storm?¡± He asked after gazing at a flower arrangement for a while. ¡°The Queen Regent wants to pay her respects to your late brother,¡± Nattas replied but got no reaction out of the king. ¡°Where is Miranda now?¡± Lucius asked calmly. ¡°She¡¯ll be in Aegium on the morrow.¡± ¡°In just a few hours from now,¡± Lucius commented. ¡°Were you keeping it a surprise?¡± ¡°I had information she was going to arrive but it is difficult to be of service without resources your grace. I¡¯m doing all I can.¡± ¡°You lack resources Storm?¡± Lucius placed his goblet on the table. ¡°At some point you weren¡¯t, while I was away. Yet with all that power in your hands, some things you missed. Was she pregnant? A lot of people seem to believe she was.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the easiest accusation to make Lord Lucius so they used it,¡± Storm replied tensely. ¡°I had to remove her from their clutches since at some point the truth would come out. Then the Queen Regent¡¯s life would have been in danger.¡± ¡°Where was she?¡± Lucius asked. ¡°She was staying with Maja¡­ my daughter.¡± ¡°Sirio¡¯s wife,¡± Lucius added. ¡°Not exactly a family the Nattas I knew would have picked for her. Back then at least¡­ now, perhaps you guessed right.¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t my decision,¡± Storm lied. ¡°I had to agree given the circumstances.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re a grandfather I hear,¡± Lucius said with a small smile. ¡°I just can¡¯t fathom how our Sirio would muster the courage to approach your daughter Storm.¡± ¡°He¡¯s¡­ sneakily resourceful my lord.¡± ¡°Sirio?¡± Lucius shook his head in disbelief. ¡°Some women love a good poet or a fragile man,¡± Storm elucidated. ¡°And he survived reaching your grace which I thought unlikely.¡± ¡°Certain men do as well,¡± Lucius noted. ¡°I suppose we can¡¯t always take someone¡¯s measure accurately. Why would you risk his life?¡± ¡°To serve Regia and its rightful king,¡± Storm deadpanned. ¡°You did serve Regia,¡± Lucius agreed and laid back on the divan thoughtfully. ¡°Who do you think benefited the most with Jeremy out of the way?¡± ¡°Some people would say your grace did,¡± Storm replied and Lucius stared at him intently. ¡°Apologies, I¡¯ve spoken truthfully. But I believe those behind it wanted the civil war to end.¡± ¡°You were always against armed conflict,¡± Lucius noted. ¡°I¡¯m still against war,¡± Storm admitted. ¡°But I would never have harmed an Alden. You are the family I never had. Vacia¡¯s boys¡­ you were like my younger brothers. What I am today, I owe it to your late Queen mother.¡± Nattas had almost teared up at that and he wasn¡¯t faking it. Lucius stood up and touched his shoulder comfortingly. ¡°Walk with me Storm.¡± They stood at the marble banisters at the edge of the large veranda, with its elegant smaller columns under the supports, to gaze at the sleeping Aegium. The black ocean beyond the plateau calm and only a soft warm breeze coming their way. ¡°Miranda was very fond of Jeremy,¡± Lucius finally said after a contemplating moment. ¡°And my brother just couldn¡¯t stay away from her. Especially after little Silvie came. They had their small clan within our household.¡± ¡°I remember your grace.¡± ¡°She must have been devastated after losing her,¡± Lucius continued. ¡°Then losing my father.¡± Storm nodded in agreement although living with Alistair wasn¡¯t the highlight of the Queen Regent¡¯s life. ¡°Why didn¡¯t she fight them?¡± Lucius asked and Storm pursed his mouth looking at the two moons in the sky. ¡°Miranda didn¡¯t want to rule and¡­¡± ¡°She thought it agreeable seeing Jeremy on the throne,¡± Lucius added solemnly. ¡°Not much thought was put to it and I think it played a minor role. The Council forced the matter in a day.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you stop them?¡± Lucius asked curious. ¡°You could have vetoed the matter.¡± Not really. ¡°I was forced to agree your grace. Sir Turner had a blade on my neck. The moment Lord Doris sided with them it was over. I¡¯m still trying to understand what happened behind the scenes. After the ¡®Conference of Lords¡¯ things moved at a hectic pace.¡± ¡°Antoon is responsible for this mess,¡± Lucius said and grasped the rails tightly with both hands. ¡°And now we might have to fight Horselords in Jelin.¡± ¡°Prince Sahand¡¯s Zilan wife started it,¡± Storm corrected the King. ¡°In my humble opinion.¡± ¡°The High King should have decided the matter sooner but he opted not to be open about it,¡± Lucius argued and then pursed his mouth. ¡°I don¡¯t want Jeremy¡¯s kids living with Lord Ruud at Scaldingport, Storm. The Old Crow supports Elsanne and she¡¯s working with the Zilan. Leading pirates near our shores¡­ do you trust her not to side with the Khan?¡± ¡°For the time being she¡¯s ruining his plans your grace. Had the Horselords taken Castalor we¡¯d have them in our doorstep. You considered her idea to strike at the Khan¡¯s supply lines the most viable one.¡± ¡°I had the thought afore I learned about the pirate raid,¡± Lucius retorted and Storm believed he was telling the truth as the King didn¡¯t need to brag. ¡°Why would you suggest we consider talking with Goras?¡± Lucius asked him next. ¡°That means we¡¯ll have to side with Elsanne. Do you want her taking the throne? We would be in the wrong and we can¡¯t punish Antoon¡¯s kid for the sins of his father. We¡¯ll have Alden blood growing up in Kaltha Storm and under a Queen that is married to a Prince of the Khanate, befriended a resurging Zilan ruler whilst dining with cutthroats. Don¡¯t you see what might transpire here? Even Lesia is worried about what¡¯s happening across the Shallow Sea.¡± Storm furrowed his brows, the grimace birthed out of a jolt of pain coming from his knee and reaching his spine. ¡°I¡¯m a practical man Lord Lucius,¡± Nattas had replied tensely. ¡°I fear that if we don¡¯t talk with whomever rules beyond the Pale Mountains, then we might have to defend against a wyvern sometime in the future.¡± Lucius turned around to look at him surprised. ¡°Of all people Storm¡­ surely you don¡¯t partake to such tales or believe them without a grain of salt,¡± he glanced at the sleeping city and the dark Salt Coast one more time and added. ¡°Considering where we are, I find it ironic.¡± Storm had talked to a man that was supposed to be dead for years and struck a deal with him. Breathed on a piece of paper and an Assassin¡¯s name had appeared. Seen an old woman shed her years like garbs to turn into a girl with a word and believed the God of the Deeps would turn into a Kraken and fuck you up out of pure spite if you crossed his path. ¡°I rather fight Horselords or Lord Anker your grace, is what I¡¯m saying,¡± Storm replied. ¡°Given the choice.¡± Storm left a ruminating Lucius behind a little later and hobbled out of the lavish veranda with a pained expression on his face. Augusta Flavia looked at him intently as he walked by the two priestesses and Nattas thought he saw something in her stare that was out of place for the occasion. You don¡¯t allow yourself to be noticed when you¡¯ve been eavesdropping, he mused with a nod at the priestess. Nor make your position on the matter known. ¡®Stay out of this.¡¯ The priestess¡¯ eyes had warned him. You should be on my side, Lord Nattas¡¯ glare had replied. Since when is the Temple favoring a potential conflict? 17th of Quintus 194 NC Aegium Central ¡®White¡¯ Square -You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
The Sula family arrived on the sixteenth, a large number of them that is, with Duke Paulus heading immediately to the docks to inspect the situation with Demames small flotilla that had moored there hours before they entered the city and the local commander. Captain Delius Sula, the flotilla leader and Sir Opiter Sula, the Duke¡¯s son discussed for a while. There was never going to be a problem since the Illirium delegation stayed on their ships and Aegium was under occupation but also lacking an army to bother the Sula. Its young Mayor Laran Alden and his older brother Lord Vinicius, the effective local leaders in Lord Doris¡¯ absence, were the Duke¡¯s prisoners for almost a year now. Their families released to Cartagen after Lucius¡¯ intervention. With the day lost to inspections and waiting for another platoon of Demames Regulars to enter the city, the meeting with the King was moved for the next morning. Centurion Brevis used legionnaires to clean up the White Square in front of Domus Di Alden and the Tower, which meant part of the merchant stands at the south edges and nearby roads had to go as well. Laran Alden was released to help out but the hapless official ended up watching impotent as the army engineers set up a small dome for the king inside the square and several pavilions, his time spent receiving merchants and representatives of local unions that vigorously protested the loss of profit after welcoming Laran back on the job. The road leading up the gentle slope coming from the east entrance (Aegium wasn¡¯t a walled city) was kept open with patrols and road checks were setup to avoid someone sneaking up near while the Duke¡¯s people approached. Not that anyone would. Paulus Sula arrived fully armed and with ¡®an army on the way¡¯ as he declared after refusing to accept Lord Brakis¡¯ presence at the public meeting and entreated that the Illirium ships should be immediately surrendered to his men ¡®as compensation for damages done¡¯. All this afore the herald had the time to properly announce him. ¡®Lord Paulus,¡¯ the King had commented. ¡®You¡¯ve worked yourself up to a fervor but you are amongst friends.¡¯ ¡®With all due respect King Lucius,¡¯ the plucky Duke of Demames had replied. ¡®I¡¯m not of the same opinion.¡¯
- Nattas pushed back on the chair to stretch his tired spine. Brevis had confiscated every chair found in nearby buildings as the initial four large tables had turned to six, each made of many smaller ones and about twelve meters in length. They were placed before the shaded stand Lucius was using. Illirium had taken up one of the sides on the King¡¯s right and Demames used the left. It was mostly a geographical alignment (Demames was in the East of Aegium, Illirium in the west) and not an endorsement for one or the other. It was also supposed to be an open banquet to boost relations. His back cracked, the taste of garlic in his throat from the excessive Garum used in the meal, fish with sweet onions, unwilling to retreat and he had to rub his eyes to rouse himself. Storm hadn¡¯t slept much the previous day. ¡°A groveling prisoner,¡± Lord Paulus was saying in his friendliest manner, fork in his hand pointing threateningly at the bulky Duke of Illirium sitting across from him, the almost two meters of table separating them suddenly not looking so far away. ¡°Can¡¯t dictate any terms King Lucius.¡± ¡°There was no groveling!¡± Brakis boomed. ¡°And we had agreed to a ceasefire Paulus before I reached out to his lordship!¡± ¡°You were about to lose and ran Stan,¡± Lord Sula grunted. They had about the same age with Paulus a little shorter and weighing less but standing as wide at the shoulders. ¡°Or swim away like your boys did at the Knuckle.¡± Sir Vel Sextus-Brakis, a dark-skinned Lorian stood up but his father Baron Proclus grabbed his elbow and forced the knight back to his seat. ¡°It was a strategic retreat, executed by our fleet to minimize casualties,¡± Stan Brakis replied in his rousing voice. ¡°I don¡¯t see many of your men around Paulus. Or perhaps that¡¯s all you¡¯re left with after getting kicked out of Aegium twice.¡± ¡°We came for a raid the first time and left with gifts,¡± Paulus retorted clenching his square jaw. The Duke¡¯s head had the shape of a cinder block from certain angles. ¡°But we liked the beaches and came again for a visit. The wine, not so much.¡± ¡°Must be tiresome marching up and down the coast,¡± Brakis guffawed, bloated cheeks joggling on his face. ¡°Always looking over your shoulder for our marines to land at your rear.¡± ¡°Not really once you get used to it,¡± Paulus countered stiffly. ¡°I leave machines behind for fools like you.¡± ¡°Is that it?¡± Lucius intervened tossing a towel on the table. ¡°Can¡¯t the Lords of the realm move forward leaving the past behind?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see how we can forgive treason King Lucius,¡± a grimacing Paulus replied. ¡°No one is forgiving those involved,¡± Lucius countered curtly. ¡°But we can bury the disputes and look at the bigger picture. Put the good of the realm over our grievances.¡± ¡°We are willing my Lord,¡± Stan Brakis said pleased. ¡°I thought you were running out of ships,¡± Paulus grunted staring at Duke Brakis and stood back on his chair. ¡°You were never that well informed Paulus.¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough Admiral. No more jabs or insults in my presence,¡± Lucius admonished both of them. ¡°We shall deal with this today, so the kingdom can start the healing process.¡± ¡°Demames has been fighting the rebels of the Council for four years,¡± Paulus said with a glare at the Illirium delegation. ¡°We need assurances another unholy alliance won¡¯t come at us in the future from east and from the west.¡± He wants to control either Novesium¡¯s or Aegium¡¯s lands. Yeah, that¡¯s not gonna happen, Storm thought who had been paying little attention to the rest of the nobles and officers talking in the other tables. ¡°I shall see what would become of Lord Ursus titles,¡± Lucius assured him. ¡°His son is in Lesia. I don¡¯t believe he was involved.¡± ¡°Huh? Every one of them is guilty,¡± Paulus scoffed and dropped the fork on his empty plate. ¡°This is for the King¡¯s justice to decide,¡± Lucius replied evenly. ¡°He¡¯ll have a chance to defend himself.¡± ¡°What about him?¡± Paulus asked. Stan Brakis was his meaning. ¡°Duke Brakis wasn¡¯t present when the decision was made and while I feel disappointed by his actions,¡± Lucius responded. ¡°His cousin was cut down by Jeremy¡¯s assassins.¡± Hmm. Keeping those ships out of harm¡¯s way sure came handy for that fat squid. ¡°I wasn¡¯t present as well King Lucius,¡± Paulus argued. ¡°But I didn¡¯t accept their decision. Nor did I stall like old Holt but acted immediately to foil their plans.¡± Yeah, but old Holt had a kinky young daughter in hand and was willing to have her be a second wife to Lucius. Whilst Lady Ateia, the Duke¡¯s younger daughter was comely, it was doubtful Lord Sula would have taken the same deal. Having Paulus for a father in law surely isn¡¯t high on the King¡¯s list. ¡°And I commend you for it Paulus,¡± Lucius answered diplomatically. Alistair used to say in private that trying to convince Lord Sula to change his mind was like talking to a deaf donkey. What now? Storm asked the well-rested King, now dressed in his red-plate armour that had the golden Blacktiger¡¯s head sculpted on his chest. ¡°I intent to secure Demames from having to fight on two fronts again.¡± Nice vague answer but¡­ ¡°My king,¡± Baron Vinicius Alden said getting up from his chair. ¡°I have stated to the Duke that I personally have no animosity for his person and I respect that he released my wife.¡± Lady Magdalena Riveras was cute Sandra Alden¡¯s mother. ¡°Good grief Baron,¡± a mirthful Brakis boomed from his spot. ¡°He sent her all the way to Cartagen. You don¡¯t have to appear so relieved! Ha-ha!¡± The Baron of Saltville, first in line to succeed Lord Doris if Lucius dropped the hammer on Regia¡¯s former treasurer, turned a deep red in the face. Much as it happens in these cases almost four hundred people present that had heard the Admiral¡¯s comment burst out laughing. Storm wasn¡¯t too enthusiastic about it. ¡°Well?¡± Lucius asked Paulus after the jovial atmosphere subsided somewhat. ¡°Can we agree and move on Duke Paulus?¡± ¡°My King,¡± a sobering up Paulus replied pursing his mouth. ¡°I respectfully ask for time to consider my response.¡± ¡°Are you leaning towards an agreement?¡± Lucius asked patiently and the Duke of Demames stared at his silent son and then at the scarred ¡®Lord of the Mines¡¯ Drusus. The ¡®warrior merchant¡¯ shook his head in a gesture that translated. We¡¯re willing to follow your lead Paulus. So the Duke cleared his throat and answered the expecting king truthfully. ¡°At this moment¡­ I am not my Lord.¡± Storm had to pinch hard at his own leg not to burst out laughing hysterically as this time he had found the deadpan rejoinder absolutely hilarious. It was fortunate that Nattas had succeeded in keeping the chortles hidden, as nobody else present had.
The rest of the ¡®feast of friendship¡¯ went by somewhat uneventfully as Lucius having failed to publicly corner Paulus Sula into a quick agreement opted not to raise the matter again. Nattas stalled in the hope to glean anything more from the officers present but ¡®most army guys are pretty boring in their conversations¡¯ so he returned to his villa for a much deserved rest. Storm had barely closed his eyes the previous night and expected Miranda to appear at any moment, although he hoped the Queen Regent would delay her appearance until Lucius was less bothered with current events. Or perhaps this is the best time, he thought and carefully navigated the steps of his carriage. Grin jumped next to the driver to head for the stable and Nattas walked towards the entrance. Parkor greeted him from the garden pavilion, his nephew now about twenty five and a tall, not ugly-looking young man. A little frail given he¡¯d a half-working lung but useful enough to have around which was a bit surprising, given that Storm never really believed in his abilities. ¡°Uncle Storm,¡± Parkor called getting up, apparently wanting to talk to him a bit more. Nattas clenched his mouth and turned to look at the approaching young man. ¡°I¡¯m tired Parkor. Something the matter?¡± ¡°Uncle,¡± Parkor said with a smile. ¡°Know that I support your decisions.¡± Right then. And I give a shit about that because? ¡°That¡¯s¡­ nice to hear,¡± a grimacing Storm replied already taking back all that nonsense he¡¯d thought earlier about the man¡¯s usefulness. ¡°Seeing as the sun burns my nape nephew¡­¡± ¡°She reminds me of my mother,¡± Parkor cut him off with a smile. ¡°We miss her of course¡­¡± Nattas started although he¡¯d never really thought about his sister much as they were never close. Five years senior than him she had gotten married to a poor merchant and Storm had been left behind to work the stables. ¡°¡­although, perhaps we could talk of this inside?¡± He didn¡¯t really want to but staying under the hot sun was the worst of the two options. Someone tells you to pick between having a finger chopped off or a finger up the arse, you take the finger up the arse. Nine times out of ten. The size of the finger does merit some consideration for that one chance you¡¯ll get a larger person. ¡°I just wanted you to know,¡± Parkor said interrupting his musings and hugged him tight. It was uncomfortable for both of them but Storm endured it briefly, sweat rivulets running down his armpits and Parkor smelling of ink and wine. He was writing reports whilst drinking Nattas¡¯ wine. Easiest fucking conclusion ever reached since Storm could see the man¡¯s table under the shade from where he was standing. ¡°Okay, that¡¯s enough,¡± Storm put a stop to the embrace brusquely. ¡°People will think we¡¯re a couple of poofters making out for crying out loud!¡± ¡°Yes Baron,¡± Parkor replied and pulled back. With a grunt Nattas put his cane down and started up the entrance¡¯s steps.
He went inside the open doors, breathed once the cooler air of the interior and then smacked his lips looking for someone to service him. Seeing no one at the near and not in the mood to start yelling, Storm walked towards the staircase leading to the second floor but got cold feet to brave the stairs. He paused and decided to head to the first floor veranda instead, nowhere near the size of the King¡¯s, but it had a couple of bottles of wine and a fine set of armchairs with a view to the front of the house. That meant he had to see Parkor again and the fool might just decide to join him but Storm was willing to risk it. Upon reaching the door leading outside, he heard noise coming from the small servant bedroom next to it. Thinking that someone was there instead of the kitchen, located at the other side of the house, Storm opened the small door and walked inside. The small room had a bed -now occupied, a table, a cupboard and two chairs -now covered with discarded garbs. Storm blinked, the sound of a sweaty pair of thighs slapping against soaked hips strong, the smell of coupling equally present and if someone for some reason lacked all other senses but his sight, there was a thin un-athletic man with no meat on his arse on the bed fucking an enthusiastic fit female with equal vigor doggy style. Putting a lot of dogs to shame. The brunette woman turned her sweaty flushed face towards the door as a bit of a draft had penetrated the room but nowhere near as much as she was getting penetrated by her partner, blinked at the sight of the leering Lord Nattas watching them resting on his cane and then gasped in alarm. ¡°He¡¯s here,¡± she said slapping her lover¡¯s shoulder to stop him. I¡¯ll be damned, Storm thought, the smirk vanishing from his face as he¡¯d recognized the brunette and then her partner. ¡°What the actual fuck is going on?¡± Nattas barked in frustration, nor that it wasn¡¯t blatantly obvious and the startled Sirio yelped in panic. He jumped away from Maja, engorged phallus swinging here and there, reached the edge of the bed and then toppled backwards. Feet over head to land on his face on the floor with a thud. ¡°Curse you Nattas,¡± Maja snapped and jumped up as well, sweaty tits joggling and rushed to help the groaning Sirio up. The historian had attempted to spear the floor with his cock. It was a marble-tiled floor. ¡°Sweet¡­ daughter,¡± Storm hissed looking at the assassin¡¯s naked bottom. ¡°There are guest bedrooms upstairs.¡± ¡°Just step out for a moment you creep!¡± Maja retorted sounding frustrated. ¡°Couldn¡¯t you just knock or stay the fuck away?¡± Storm could see she was genuinely upset. ¡°It¡¯s my house,¡± he reminded her. ¡°Fine. Can you give us a moment?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Storm said and turned around to walk outside. Maja followed and shut the door behind him with a loud bang.
Ten minutes later Sirio sat on the armchair wearing one of Lord Nattas¡¯ robes and Maja parked on his legs wearing only her ancient pendant. At least the woman kept those fit legs closed and had her arms over her breasts. ¡°Dear cousin,¡± Parkor started walking onto the veranda from the front garden and pausing undecided on whether to comment or not at the scene. ¡°Ehm.¡± ¡°Just go back down,¡± a peeved Nattas told his nephew. ¡°And get through those darn reports!¡± ¡°I finished?¡± ¡°Check them again?¡± Storm taunted and sighed while Parkor nodded afore walking back down to return to the pavilion. Lord Nattas scratched at the side of his neck with the middle finger, the other hand resting on the pommel of his cane and stared at the couple in silence. ¡°Want me to put something on?¡± Maja teased having regained her wit. ¡°No I want you to pace the yard showing cunt and tit in abundance so the neighbors can tell me all about it,¡± Storm retorted sourly. ¡°Better yet, maybe the King will spot you passing by and decides to take you in as a concubine or wife. That would be a fucking twist in the plaguing story!¡± An alarmed Sirio popped his disheveled head behind Maja¡¯s right shoulder. ¡°Lord Lucius would never¡ª¡± ¡°You weasel. Shut yer mouth.¡± Nattas cut him off, but immediately counseled in a calmer tone. ¡°But do keep your ears open.¡± ¡°The fuck is wrong with you?¡± Maja asked angrily. ¡°You know how much he risks trying to help you?¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t,¡± Nattas grunted. ¡°But I know that without me both of you would be dead.¡± Maja narrowed her eyes. ¡°Sirio give her my robes and then go inside to get dressed,¡± Nattas ordered brusquely. ¡°He promised to take me to the beach.¡± Maja complained. ¡°Are you serious?¡± Storm snapped not believing his ears. ¡°What is this? Free holidays by the seaside? We are fighting for our lives here and you want to go on a hand to hand walk with the paramour?¡± Maja jumped up and walked towards him. Storm raised his cane and stabbed her below the navel with the tip to stop her. ¡°What do you want?¡± Maja asked squarely without batting an eyelash. ¡°Why did you let her come here?¡± Storm rustled and lowered the cane. ¡°She wanted to. Sir Rottas volunteered to stay with Silvio. Do you wish for her to feel trapped?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care at this junction whether she feels trapped or not,¡± Storm retorted. ¡°We can¡¯t control every moving piece at this point dear. I need more time.¡± ¡°Griet told me Lucius looks to move on,¡± Maja said wiping some of the sweat under her left breast. It was very distracting. ¡°Griet is an assassin that knows fuck all about politics,¡± Storm hissed snapping his eyes back to her smirking face. ¡°Lucius is changing things around.¡± ¡°His mind is on finding Laudus,¡± Maja argued. Oh, great. Parkor is talking to her now. Absolutely fucking brilliant! ¡°Laudus might be dead and we might have some desperate idiot bounty hunter that could implicate me in the plot,¡± Storm snapped. ¡°Why you?¡± Maja asked and grabbed the robes Sirio gave her to put on. The historian had returned wearing a pair of pants. His skin pale like snow, but for his thin arms. He looked like a four-limbed centipede with glasses. ¡°I¡¯m universally hated and an easy man to point a finger to.¡± ¡°People hate lots of other scumbags more than you. That¡¯s not an answer,¡± Maja said and snatched Sirio¡¯s head to kiss him fiercely. ¡°My sweet husband. Look at him blushing!¡± She exclaimed in the flushed historian¡¯s face. Fuck¡¯s sake. ¡°Brakis seems to think I might end up taking the fall for Jeremy,¡± Nattas murmured dryly. ¡°Why would this bounty hunter point a finger at you, if he knows who the real culprit is?¡± Maja queried gesturing for Sirio to bring her a goblet of wine from the veranda¡¯s stone cupboard. Nattas stood back on the armchair. ¡°Why would he? I don¡¯t know. Maybe he gets paid to lie? Say, by Lord Doris.¡± ¡°How would Doris contact him? Isn¡¯t he on the run?¡± Maja asked and sat on the other armchair. She crossed her legs after gathering the robes higher. ¡°Why risk it with Lucius?¡± ¡°You have some good points there,¡± Storm admitted. ¡°Still we may need to take certain measures to secure no feathers are ruffled.¡± ¡°Lucius would want to know.¡± Storm stared in her freckled face. Maja could turn into a very-old woman but she wasn¡¯t old per se. ¡°Why the black hair?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the Nattas family color.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Sirio asked her returning with a bottle and two goblets. ¡°Yes daughter. What do you mean?¡± Nattas taunted her and the ex-assassin rolled her eyes. ¡°I have my mother¡¯s hair dad. Right?¡± ¡°Wow, you could have remembered that at least,¡± Sirio told Storm accusingly. Had he been standing closer to Lord Nattas, the historian would have gotten smacked on the head with Storm¡¯s cane. ¡°I need someone to look into this person,¡± Storm said after breathing out to calm his nerves down. ¡°I¡¯m retired remember?¡± Maja teased him pleased that Sirio had stood up for her. Some women could be real stupid sometimes. Nattas supposed men could be real stupid as well on other times. ¡°Can¡¯t Griet do it?¡± ¡°She¡¯s guarding Miranda. You need a contract,¡± Maja reminded him. ¡°Surely you can take care of that,¡± Storm argued. ¡°Ahm. No I won¡¯t. You need to talk with Dar Tulca for more details,¡± she argued. ¡°He¡¯s taken over. You know I¡¯m out.¡± ¡°I could arrange for you to return,¡± Nattas countered and Maja started laughing. ¡°What is so fucking funny?¡± ¡°You actually believe you can control the Guild?¡± She asked him. ¡°I can talk with Larn.¡± ¡°How? You might not see Larn again in your lifetime fool. And Dar Tulca operates on Eplas for years. I doubt he¡¯ll bother talking to you. You¡¯ll be lucky if anyone shows up.¡± Maja scoffed and sipped at the wine. ¡°Fuck it, I don¡¯t care. What you did burned me. But also gave me an out. Few survive their service.¡± ¡°You expect me to believe¡­¡± Storm groaned in frustration. ¡°How do I contact this new management?¡± ¡°Same as before I reckon,¡± Maja murmured and got up. She reached for Sirio¡¯s hand and clasped it tightly. Then dragged him towards the inside of the villa. ¡°Don¡¯t bother me again today Nattas,¡± she warned him. ¡°What if Miranda arrives? What then?¡± Storm barked at their backs frustrated and Parkor returned to the veranda bringing a stack of scrolls with him. ¡°Sudi is with her,¡± Maja replied. ¡°Whatever you need he can make happen. Ask Griet.¡± Abrakas¡¯ thick tentacle! ¡°What does that even mean?¡± Storm griped. But Maja and Sirio had disappeared inside the house. Great. We¡¯ll have a gathering of the cripples, the aroused and the challenged¡­ Storm paused his inner monologue to stare at his nephew. ¡°Is there a blank piece of parchment in there?¡± ¡°Yep, there is.¡± Parkor replied and searched the stack. This motherfucker is pretty useful. Cheap also. ¡°There is some text at the top but I can cut the rest of it?¡± ¡°Go on then,¡± Storm urged him with a smirk. ¡°Why do you need it?¡± His nephew asked using his teeth to tear at the parchment and a still sneering Lord Nattas had answered. ¡°We¡¯re back in business boy.¡±
457. Dar Tulca (1/2)
Rhys Vardran ¡®Dar Tulca¡¯* Dar Tulca Part I -A whiff of Redleaf-
*From ancient Imperial Tul-Luka, the ¡®golden shimmer¡¯ or ¡®almost precious¡¯ for the shine of the metal, or another word for ¡®sickly yellow¡¯ *The ¡®C¡¯ is pronounced like a ¡®K¡¯ accentuating the last syllable as a sharp ¡®ka¡¯.
-
Summer of 173 NC Gilded Peaks The forested area between Son-Zan River¡¯s mid and south tributaries Forty kilometers from the city of Dinar to the south Three hundred and twenty kilometers from Rin An-Pur to the west Eplas, the Great Khanate
Dar Eherdir stopped the old horse he called Dar and stared at the wild bush the ¡®boy¡¯ had picked to ambush him. Not him specifically. Anyone approaching. His tutor had another horse following him and a mule with supplies. The second horse was also occupied. ¡°Boy,¡± the assassin said in a snarly voice. ¡°Unload the horses.¡± The moment to make a move was lost. But ¡®Boy¡¯ had been confused and worried hearing so many animals approach and stalled for far too long. You can take down one opponent, tired and alone in the wilderness. More than that, it becomes a guessing game. Not always set to end in your favor. Odds matter. He got out from behind the thin thorny branches, custom dagger in hand. The gap in his teeth making his tongue park there. The young boy looked at the tall hooded freak apprehensively. ¡°You needed a better weapon for that. Hmm. A better dagger too but not for the ambush. To carry around.¡± Dar Eherdir decided and swung a leg to get down from his horse. The old stallion neighed and the assassin cast a thoughtful glance at the animal, then pursed his mouth. He¡¯d two pairs of large fangs in there, one next to the other that could scare the hairs off of a dog¡¯s hide if Larn smiled at you. Which the man rarely did. Boy wasn¡¯t sure whether he was the latter. A human that is. ¡°What about the girls?¡± Boy asked and Larn glanced back at the second horse and the two small girls on the saddle. No more than five or six. Both of them with Cofol or Horselord blood. Probably the former given the softer slant in their innocent light brown eyes. ¡°Caught a small caravan on the road,¡± Larn started, his ice-colored eyes flickering between the girls and him. Boy clenched his fingers on the wooden handle nervously. ¡°Had to get some supplies and animals as I had left Rin An-Pur in a hurry and old Dar can¡¯t handle the load.¡± This was months back. ¡°What were you doing in the capital?¡± ¡°Listened to the young Princes of the Khanate talk.¡± ¡°What did they talk about?¡± The fact that Larn had gotten close enough to the palace to do it not really surprising. ¡°They dream of clearing out the north from brigands.¡± Boy nodded. ¡°A good thing?¡± Larn grimaced hideously. ¡°You stir up things boy, it creates problems. Monsters pop out of the watery mud and fiends come out of the shadows.¡± Right. ¡°How is the mouth?¡± Larn asked him next, looking at the scared girls watching them. ¡°Hurts.¡± ¡°Hmm. Made camp near here?¡± ¡°Near the banks. The maple trees.¡± ¡°Still got the pliers and the skinning knife?¡± Larn queried and unbuttoned his cloak revealing the custom weapon harness underneath. Various blades sheathed on the right side of his chest, a bolts quiver on the left. The small metal crossbow secured on the inside of the cloak itself. ¡°I do.¡± ¡°Bring them here.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Time for you to move on boy. You survived the wilderness for months on your own. You stopped listening. I want you gone before the summer¡¯s end.¡± The eleven year old glared at him. ¡°I have no proper weapons.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll pick more weapons on the road or you won¡¯t.¡± Larn replied indifferently and went to get the girls. ¡°But I¡¯ll fix your dagger. Come. It¡¯s early enough in the day to begin training the girls.¡±
- More than twenty years later The woody thoroughfare outside Rusted The edge of Tongue Peninsula Duchy of Scaldingport More patrols. Rhys shushed his horse that was chewing on a soft leafy twig. The horse didn¡¯t want the wood but he hungered for the leaves. He rubbed a gloved hand on the white stubble at his chin and then started walking through the trees following the road. Rhys could see the white gravel shinning between the branches and the undergrowth. He stopped near a half-skeleton and looked about for anything useful. The clothes had been torn as predators worked to get at the rotting flesh. When that was cleaned the bones had come loose from the leather armour. The rain had ruined the joints first and then rust had weakened the mail on the chest. The armour pretty useless now. Rhys found a nice curved knife though. So he picked that up. Not as good as his. The blade the size of his hand from wrist to fingertip. Nice soft pale-leather at the handle over the polished wood. A custom job. Rhys narrowed his eyes hearing a horse approaching through the wilderness, branches snapping or moved about to make room. He glanced back, but his own animal had stopped to graze at the moist grass near the roots of a tree. The man turned around and reached for a moss-covered trunk. Touched it with his left hand, rounded it, the knife in the other and came out the other side. The greyish horse appeared a meter away now grazing just like his and blocking the forest path. ¡°I¡¯ve a tree trunk on my back,¡± Rhys told the hidden assassin and Selussa chuckled from somewhere behind him. High. ¡°My bolt can see the top of your head,¡± she told him. ¡°You have the quiver in the saddlebags,¡± Rhys retorted through his teeth. His tongue touching the gold fangs carefully. He could see the bolts sticking out. ¡°What if you miss?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t,¡± Selussa replied and jumped from the branch she had climbed up to. She landed with an oomph and rolled on the muddy grass to jump on her feet again. Her Cofol face all grown up and filled out. Lithe as a jaguar. ¡°What?¡± She taunted seeing his stare. The little girl was almost twenty six now. ¡°You need to clean up,¡± Rhys rejoined raising the corner of his mouth. ¡°And see to that ankle.¡± Selussa hissed in frustration but then grimaced and reached to rub at her left calf over the tight leather pants. ¡°Not an ankle,¡± she spat angrily. ¡°It¡¯ll still hurt by morrow,¡± Rhys retorted. ¡°We have two hours before the next patrol comes. We need to move.¡± ¡°I should be in charge,¡± Selussa griped walking stiffly towards her horse. ¡°Dar Eherdir said otherwise,¡± Rhys replied. ¡°Taking the Oras Eye from her won¡¯t be easy.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need it.¡± ¡°But you want it,¡± Selussa taunted and Rhys turned to look in her face. She was a pretty woman in her own way. He was always fond of the cute lines on Cofol faces. Yeah. He licked his lips. Not like the sorceress though. ¡®Moira¡¯ was beyond exotic, exceptional in the smaller details. Standing above the scales like a paradox for you didn¡¯t know how much of it was real. Not that it mattered. ¡°I got the vote that counts,¡± he finally said. ¡°Dar Mori-Yaule can attest to that.¡± The Dark Cat. The female assassin¡¯s Servant name that of the jaguar. Selussa pursed her mouth tightly. Then reached at the bindings of her hardened-leather vest. Started working to untie them. ¡°I¡¯ll need help with the pants,¡± she teased him. Rhys gulped down. ¡°You could always wear them looser.¡± ¡°Is that a no?¡± Selussa asked getting out of her vest and starting at the ebony-wood buttons of her shirt. It wasn¡¯t.
¡°You should use the water,¡± Selussa told him an hour later, drying up by the small spring she had discovered much deeper in the woods. ¡°It¡¯s not too cold.¡± ¡°I¡¯m good,¡± Rhys rustled listening for any predator approaching as this was a busy animal trail. He glanced at her naked back. The skin wrinkled there from shoulder to a hand above her fit hips. A square piece missing that had healed in time. Missing wasn¡¯t exactly true of course. Rhys had most of it around the handle of his dagger. She didn¡¯t know that though and probably remembered very little from that day. He did. Zestari had gotten it worse in a sense but not in another. Depends what you miss more. Every Servant must surrender something, Larn always said and one could tell what he¡¯d lost. Just a bit at the top of the ears, Rhys had thought then. It turned it was a bit more than that but still, unless it was a matter of pride for the Zilan, Dar Eherdir had come out of it better than anyone else. Out of the Circle. The Servants didn¡¯t know of the Circle but they knew of loss because Larn wished it so. Rhys always feared he¡¯d get rid of the girls sooner or later but for some bizarre reason, Larn hadn¡¯t. He kept them around for years was the tale, far beyond anyone else. Rhys hadn¡¯t seen them for years and probably Selussa didn¡¯t remember him as that boy in the woods. Or maybe she did. Rhys wanted to reach Wetull. Larn wanted them to turn around and head back to Jelin. He always thought it was to get him away from the Sorceress but perhaps Larn was looking for a plausible reason to keep Selussa away from their merry group. Why? The sorceress didn¡¯t mind the company and Lith was a very private person for the most part. Was it the Gish? Or the Gish¡¯s friends? The numbers told him it was fear. You could see the final number all about you. Three young birds in a fungus-covered nest chirping and a serpent approaching, its mate coiled on a nearby branch. Three plus two. Minus those the serpents will surely get. At least one. Selussa hummed a tavern song she had picked up in Castalor, a leg splashing at the running water¡¯s surface. The skin on her naked back paler where the monstrous scar was, for she usually kept it covered. Out of shame. Fear and shame.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! One of two had survived. The girls. Larn had send them away to protect Selussa. - Two days later 3rd of Quintus 194 NC Scaldingport Civilian port authorities¡¯ office The Issir port-master pulled at his white beard thoughtfully. He¡¯d a small barrel of salted sardines next to him and fished one out of the stinky pile to refill his mouth. Rhys stood back unwittingly. ¡°No ships for¡­¡± He paused to look at the sitting Rhys in between chomps. ¡°Rosebush.¡± Rhys hissed trying to maintain a veneer of civility given the place. ¡°Where¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Regia?¡± ¡°No ships for Regia.¡± ¡°I just need two spots in a merchant.¡± ¡°Are you a merchant?¡± The Issir snapped aggressively. ¡°I¡¯m in a similar profession,¡± Rhys retorted. ¡°What are you dealing in?¡± The Issir asked looking at his papers afore gulping down. He kept working his tongue on his teeth though to get at all those fish pieces left behind. ¡°Services mostly.¡± The Issir stared at him. ¡°Listen now, I¡¯m not an Uher believer and you sound foreign despite yer coloring so you might not know how things work, but most places don¡¯t officially condone it.¡± Whoring was his meaning. ¡°What about Scaldingport?¡± ¡°The Duke is a forgiving man.¡± ¡°Not what I heard.¡± ¡°On this matter,¡± the Issir official elucidated. ¡°The girl works the ports?¡± ¡°She¡¯s a partner. We are in the lost and found business.¡± ¡°That a thing?¡± The official asked with a grunt and raised his head. Some pieces of leftover sardine flesh on his beard. ¡°I¡¯ve lost my cat. Big ole pussy with fluffy fur. Fat as fuck. Most here think he got drown in the docks but I¡¯m not as sure. Think you can find him?¡± Rhys clenched his jaw and Selussa snorted trying to keep her chuckle in. ¡°Find a cat?¡± ¡°Ayup.¡± ¡°For a couple of spots in a merchant ship?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t say it was a merchant ship. Don¡¯t jump into conclusions mate. I can see you¡¯re not from around here as I said. So I get it. Know that folks run the routes, given the current developments.¡± ¡°You mean the war?¡± ¡°Sure that too.¡± The official squinted his eyes looking at Selussa more carefully. She had remained standing by the door behind Rhys. ¡°Are you a Cofol lass? Get your pretty face out from that hood. You wear pants I see. Brave choice. Stay away from Midlanor.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a half-breed,¡± Selussa lied with a hiss. ¡°Same thing,¡± the Issir grunted pursing his mouth. ¡°Sorry to hear it. That¡¯s it then.¡± ¡°No it¡¯s not,¡± Rhys cut in with a grunt. ¡°What does it matter?¡± ¡°You serious with that?¡± The official snapped getting all worked up. ¡°We¡¯re fighting them slanted-eyed bastards!¡± ¡°You are fighting Horselords,¡± Rhys corrected him and the man blinked, then stared at him as if he was an imbecile. ¡°Same thing,¡± he repeated with a grimace. ¡°Get her out of my office afore I call the guards!¡±
¡°Fuck,¡± Rhys cursed getting out on the busy street and parking on the verge of the pavement to avoid the traffic. ¡°We could have found a darn cat.¡± ¡°Any cat?¡± Selussa asked lowering the hood over her eyes. ¡°Well, yeah.¡± Feed her for a couple of days if need be. ¡°Don¡¯t think it is what he had in mind.¡± Selussa stated. Rhys smacked his lips and stared at the boats moored in the port. ¡°We need to get the horses to a stable.¡± ¡°She might not be in Rosebush,¡± Selussa pointed out. ¡°I need to make an effort to talk with her.¡± ¡°The word probably reached everyone by now.¡± ¡°Yes, but it is more polite to have a talk with the previous head,¡± Rhys explained. ¡°Get everything in order and avoid problems down the line.¡± Usually the head just died and no talk was needed. ¡°Ralnor has spoken. It is done,¡± Selussa assured him. Yeah that is not how the world works lass. I don¡¯t much believe in him like you do. ¡°I want to ask for the pendant,¡± he opted to say instead. ¡°She won¡¯t give it to you.¡± ¡°I can use that to smoothen the transition,¡± Rhys replied. ¡°Ralnor has already talked to her. He told me that,¡± Selussa argued and walked towards her horse. ¡°Where¡¯s the inn?¡± Rhys asked as he hadn¡¯t visited Jelin in decades. Not that he remembered much from before. ¡°The third building, on the third street facing west.¡± For Ora, the third God. ¡°Ever been?¡± Rhys asked her and Selussa glanced at him. ¡°We didn¡¯t use them. Ralnor likes to sleep near the trees,¡± she replied. ¡°I sort of got used to it.¡± Right. There¡¯s that of course, he thought. ¡°You know we can use the info he gave us,¡± Rhys told her and Selussa paused a foot in the stirrups. ¡°Take that ship to where it¡¯ll lead us.¡± She smiled and it was a nice smile that, Rhys thought as it wasn¡¯t common for her to let her guard down. You grow up with Larn or Ralnor as a father figure, you turn up guarded at the very minimum. The girl¡¯s smile had evaporated from her face. ¡°What?¡± Rhys grunted not liking it. ¡°You barely talked to me around her.¡± ¡°She is a Zilan sorceress,¡± Rhys defended himself, but he was very pleased he had caught her being jealous. ¡°Very particular and prone to fits of anger when ignored. You heard Larn right?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Selussa murmured thoughtfully. ¡°I heard him.¡± ¡°Right. Then, what do you say oh, ¡®jaguar of the evening¡¯, do we try the strange ¡®folk¡¯ the port-master mentioned? Skip the visit to that dumpster?¡± He¡¯d used the moniker to tease her. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Selussa hissed picking up on his sudden change in demeanor. Well, there was no change really. Rhys was just scared shitless to flirt with her near Larn. Or the sorceress. A man has to have priorities and self-preservation at the forefront of his mind. ¡°Finding us a ride, what else?¡± Rhys replied readily, getting back into his groove.
The schooner had brought them to Aldenport. It was pirate-run transport ship using Scaldingport¡¯s flag ¨Cor other flags- to do business. Apparently the Duke didn¡¯t mind turning a blind eye to piracy as well to suit his needs. Then again, the rebel princess Selussa knew very-well was calling herself a pirate queen. Or didn¡¯t object to people using the term.
- 5th of Quintus 194 NC City of Alden Southwest corner market, Commoner¡¯s District Molten Cherry Inn ¡°The King left!¡± A boy yelled running down the street with enthusiasm. ¡°The whole legion is marching away!¡± Rhys run his tongue over the golden incisors inside his mouth and glanced across the street at the two-story Inn with the weird name at its label. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Rhys murmured thoughtfully watching the patrons entering and exiting the place. ¡°Seems busy.¡± ¡°She used to run Horned Hen afore moving here,¡± Selussa explained. ¡°What was that like?¡± Rhys asked glancing at her and she bit at her lower lip thoughtfully. ¡°Different?¡± ¡°In what way?¡± ¡°What does it matter?¡± Selussa snapped and pulled at the reins to lead her horse across the busy market street. Rhys followed after the hooded female leading his own mount by the reins and watching the locals moving about their businesses. A tavern wench greeted them at the entrance. A comely young thing with perky breasts and carelessly left unbuttoned front on her simple dress. A lot of rouse powder on her cheeks and a naughty smile that surely brought a lot of customers back, Rhys thought and smiled afore he could control himself. The wench recoiled but caught herself immediately. There¡¯s a professional. ¡°Welcome to the Molten Cherry!¡± She managed to croak and Selussa stopped abruptly to turn around and glare at him. The wench hadn¡¯t greeted her as warmly. ¡°Love the dental-work!¡± The wench added with a wink having completely recovered her wits now. ¡°Is it real gold?¡± What are we darling, some cheap vagabonds? ¡°A hundred percent,¡± Rhys replied warmly. ¡°Want to touch them? I won¡¯t bite.¡± The brunette-haired wench chuckled, Selussa groaned at the cheap wordplay and a grinning Rhys snapped his mouth shut teasingly at the wench afore following the female assassin inside. ¡°You know I think that worked,¡± he told the walking briskly in front of him Selussa. She easily navigated the tables whilst heading for the counter. ¡°She¡¯s a whore,¡± the female assassin hissed. ¡°Eh, don¡¯t get all wound up about it.¡± Rhys told her and eyed the middle-aged Lorian woman writing on a ledger behind the bar. The tavern owner raised her head to look at them approach, Rhys already busy looking about as he¡¯d spotted several more rather fetching waitresses tending to customers with enthusiasm. The attractive, heavily painted matron raised a trimmed eyebrow curious. Then her eyes met Selussa¡¯s and she paled under all that make up. ¡°Ah,¡± Rhys said noticing her worried eyes. ¡°Remain calm, we¡¯re just here for the rooms.¡± He had smiled at that and gotten a different reaction from the matron than he¡¯d expected. ¡°I take it traveler you want more than a room?¡± She droned and Rhys glanced at the counter to spot the coin Selussa had slapped there. An Old Imperial gold coin with Oras¡¯ eye carved on it. A piece of gold every member carried around. You could use it if you were in a bind, but good luck finding another one or even catching up with Larn to get a new coin. Fuck¡¯s sake girl. ¡°Why traveler?¡± Selussa asked, since she seem to love that part while Rhys was shaking his head wanting to get this over with. ¡°There¡¯s a lot of road on that cape,¡± Madam Verano said. There was a painting of younger Verano on the wall behind her and Rhys could read the name there. The scene depicting a fancy brothel and the naked Lena holding a hen in her hands to protect her modesty. Everything but half-a-nipple visible. ¡°I can¡¯t name the road nor speak of the sea,¡± Selussa replied with religious fervor whilst a disappointed at the realization of the true character of the venue Rhys tipped his head back to stare at the ceiling with a groan. ¡°Shades have no tongue and all dead sound alike¡­¡± ¡°To the Servants of the Fading Light,¡± Lena Verano said and Selussa stepped aside to present the grimacing Rhys to her. The woman blinked, a touch of sadness marring her aged though well-maintained face. ¡°We bid a warm welcome.¡± Ah. ¡°She¡¯s not dead,¡± Rhys explained to her. ¡°Just decided to take her talents elsewhere.¡± Verano gulped down and kept her eyes on his face. ¡°Is this true?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°What can I offer to¡­?¡± ¡°Just call me Rhys,¡± he told her in a friendly manner. ¡°We want a room.¡± ¡°Two,¡± Selussa corrected him. ¡°Are you scared?¡± Rhys taunted. ¡°No shame in it.¡± ¡°I see what you¡¯re doing,¡± Selussa warned him. ¡°I¡¯ll get the keys,¡± Verano said with a curious glance at their faces. ¡°It will be but a moment.¡±
Rhys locked his window and barred it. He locked the door of his room as well although he¡¯d left nothing of value behind. He paused outside of Selussa¡¯s door for a moment but then walked down the half floor¡¯s corridor for the stairs, his hand touching the guardrails and an eye at the mostly empty tavern underneath. Rhys spotted nothing out of the order and hurried down the steps, ducked under a wench carrying a large platter with dirty cups to the kitchens, glanced at Verano¡¯s spot but found it empty and then walked outside the inn. The night warm for the time of year, but Alden didn¡¯t have the harshest climate and if one ventured south a bit more, springs smelled of summer. Yeah, he thought and found one of the inns outside decorative supports to rest his back on. His eyes paused at the now closed market stands. The tables still there, some covered under the shades, others left with discarded produce on. Some empty. A small-bodied, very short old woman sitting on one of the empty ones, sucking at her pipe with closed eyes. Her hooded head half-shaded in white smoke. ¡°You¡¯re here,¡± Selussa said and came to stand next to him smelling of Verano¡¯s soap and bath oils. ¡°We can leave on the morrow for Rosebush,¡± Rhys told her. ¡°Then we can travel the coast, go as far as Lesia. I want to see Cediorum.¡± ¡°Work might come up,¡± Selussa said, her short braids now undone and moist curls of black hair framing her tanned face to the slightly round chin. She glanced at him and Rhys grinned a golden smile, literally. Doesn¡¯t get more expensive than that, unless one goes for diamonds. Rhys wanted to have the missing teeth fixed, but he¡¯d gone ahead and did them all. Fashioned the front just like his tutor¡¯s, to better remember him before he knew what Larn really was. Rhys didn¡¯t expect to see Dar Eherdir again after so many years. ¡°You look like them,¡± Selussa murmured. ¡°I look like him,¡± Rhys corrected her. ¡°No, you don¡¯t. You think this is a joke?¡± She hissed in frustration. ¡°I¡¯m doing this far longer than you,¡± he told her. Rhys was thirty two, so not that much older than her and once upon a time the difference had appeared much greater. Still, Rhys had also lived for himself away from Dar Eherdir¡¯s influence for much longer. A lifetime. Go now, Larn had told him. You can make it. There was a whiff of Redleaf in the air. A smoke too expensive and exotic to find in the Commoner¡¯s District of Alden. ¡°He¡¯s too consumed with her. Just like you were,¡± Selussa said in a low voice and Rhys turned his attention on her again. She was worried. For him? ¡°Don¡¯t worry about Larn,¡± Rhys told her. ¡°The only thing he values is surviving.¡± ¡°She can break the shadows,¡± Selussa said sounding bitter. ¡°Even make flesh anew, if she wanted to.¡± Hmm. ¡°Sure. She can also grow bigger tits, change the color of her skin, sprout an orange tree in the middle of the desert and make a cat talk,¡± Rhys teased and Selussa pouted. ¡°Why turn everything into a joke?¡± To cope, make light of life and keep the monsters inside the watery mud sleeping. ¡°It¡¯s my character darling,¡± Rhys replied with a grimace. Selussa had slapped his shoulder annoyed. ¡°Barely felt that,¡± he teased her. ¡°To hells with you Rhys!¡± She griped in Imperial and turning on her heels marched back inside. Her words traveling across the now empty night street and reaching the stands. The assassin snapped his stare there, suddenly feeling watched, but this part of the market was now empty. Just the tiny whiff of that aromatic smoke remaining behind. Hmm. Curious, Rhys thought and turned around to walk back inside the Molten Cherry. The moment he entered the now quiet tavern, Selussa called for him to join her at a table near the door. Rhys smacked his lips, gold teeth clinging in his mouth and grabbed a chair. He placed its back against the wall and sat next to the refreshed female assassin. ¡°I want to taste a fruity liquor,¡± she told him taking a scroll in her hands to read at the menu. ¡°It says it right here. ¡®Pleasure strawberry¡¯. Do you think it prudent?¡± Selussa queried and Rhys took the square piece of parchment in his hands to look at what Verano had scribbled there. The prices exorbitant on some of the items. At the bottom edge of the parchment black letters started forming as if burned on the paper with a red hot stylus. ¡°Rhys?¡± Selussa asked seeing his sobering expression. ¡°Who is Storm Nattas?¡± Rhys asked her and the female assassin furrowed her arching brows. ¡°The name is vaguely familiar,¡± Selussa finally said. ¡°A minor lord I think. I¡¯ll ask Lena about him.¡± With that she got up to visit Verano¡¯s quarters but paused to look outside the open doors. ¡°Huh,¡± Selussa said curious. ¡°I think a Gish just walked across the road.¡± ¡°What Gish? Jinx?¡± Rhys asked absentmindedly looking at the name written on the tavern¡¯s menu. ¡°A female, aye. But not her you dork. She had an old dress on,¡± Selussa replied with a shrug. Rhys remembered the aged woman resting by the market and nodded, not thinking much of it then. His mind preoccupied with other matters. ¡°How would a minor Lord know my name?¡± He asked and got up as well. ¡°I haven¡¯t visited Jelin in twenty years!¡±
458. Dar Tulca (2/2) "Thou are too far gone and thou now stand devoid of salvation.¡± - Dar Minue Mol, the First Servant Speaking to Dar Eherdir somewhere in Rida Circa 189 NC
Strike when the night is weary Strike when the mind sleeps and the spirits stand eerie Strike when the eyes dream and the hand is in doubt In feast¡¯s joyful dances Oras servants remain mute Gifted are the spores of the poisonous fruit Veiled your blade¡¯s breath behind a loud chute - Dar Nalta, Verbal Silent Servant¡¯s Magna Codex of the Circle, 2nd Stanza Unknown date
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Rhys Vardran ¡®Dar Tulca¡¯* Dar Tulca Part II -Those standing outside of the Circle-
¡°I know Lord Nattas,¡± Verano told them twenty minutes later. ¡°He has a share in this venue.¡± Rhys glanced at Selussa a little surprised. ¡°Why would you ever accept that?¡± Selussa probed the old Lena. A name and the title of her profession. ¡°She agreed and we had to move fast at the time to save my girls,¡± Verano replied. She was talking about Maja. ¡°He¡¯s a very old customer.¡± ¡°A friend of the Guild?¡± Rhys asked mockingly. ¡°He had deals with Robart Barlow,¡± Verano replied defensively. ¡°Barlow is dead. That man was an impostor.¡± ¡°Are you certain of this? I¡¯ve known him for years.¡± ¡°Did you fuck him?¡± ¡°Occasionally before I retired. Barlow used Horned Hen for his meetings.¡± Verano replied looking at him intently. ¡°I¡¯m getting vibes you¡¯re still working madam,¡± Rhys pointed out. ¡°If I¡¯m in the mood,¡± Verano replied coyly. Rhys breathed out slowly. ¡°Anyways, the truth is Barlow has been dead for years now. That¡¯s a fact.¡± ¡°Maja told him about you Rhys,¡± Selussa intervened. ¡°This means she knows you¡¯re in charge.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not how it works,¡± Rhys griped and rubbed his eyes to clear them. ¡°And why would she step down in the first place?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Selussa pushed back on her chair enough to get a leg on the table. Verano stared at her sternly but the Cofol woman shrugged her shoulders. ¡°Could it be she wants us¡­ ehm, where¡­?¡± He paused and Verano elucidated. ¡°The Baron is with the King. They were heading for Illirium and then Aegium.¡± ¡°Baron of what?¡± Rhys taunted. ¡°Moon¡¯s Haven.¡± Poetic. ¡°Right. Well, that doesn¡¯t ring any bell,¡± Rhys muttered a little peeved. ¡°Where is that?¡± ¡°It was a village inside the Golden Forest. Near Novesium. The Lesia Gulf right across from Cediorum,¡± Verano explained and checked her nicely painted red nails. Then raised the hand to lightly scratch at the valley between her breasts. If she pops another button on her dress that corset she has underneath is going to explode, Rhys noticed. ¡°Rhys, you talked about Cediorum,¡± Selussa hissed snapping him out of his reverie. ¡°I did,¡± Rhys retorted rubbing a hand over his short cut mostly white hair. He had some yellow in it when he was young but Rhys was more Issir than whatever else his parents were and the white won. ¡°That¡¯s a pretty good piece of real estate for a lowly Baron to get. Wasn¡¯t that royal lands?¡± ¡°The Crown left them to Novesium.¡± You needed the Crown to agree to sell them. ¡°Lots of moving parts here,¡± Rhys noted rapping his fingers on the table. ¡°He wasn¡¯t a Baron at first.¡± Verano elucidated. ¡°Man¡¯s moving up places,¡± Rhys commented. ¡°He killed a lot people back in 190 and High Magister Gordian.¡± Verano said. ¡°Right here in Alden. He did it to kick the Priests of Uher out of the city and help the girls.¡± ¡°A saint. No doubt,¡± Rhys jested with a grimace. ¡°But with a butcher¡¯s apron to keep the blood off of his garbs.¡± ¡°Maja helped him.¡± Hmm. ¡°Why would she assist him?¡± Rhys asked trying to figure out the connection. You don¡¯t give an outsider the real name of a Servant, let alone the one leading the Guild to use. Oras wrote the names down if your prayers were heard. ¡°She¡¯s posing as his daughter.¡± ¡°Are they fucking? Is it a sexual roleplay?¡± He¡¯d heard it was a big thing around these parts back in the day. ¡°She¡¯s married to a Veturius.¡± Rhys snorted. Selussa grinned at his expression. ¡°You know him?¡± He asked her. ¡°Never heard of him,¡± Selussa admitted. ¡°His ancestor was a famous historian. Like a century back,¡± Verano informed them. ¡°The plot thickens,¡± Rhys said wryly. ¡°Is it a scheme? Is the lad loaded?¡± ¡°His uncle is a Consul and a general in the Legions,¡± Verano said. ¡°Well then.¡± Rhys grimaced. ¡°This is starting to get out of hand. Why would a Baron want a Servant when he has ready access to the army? The army can kill everyone without all the paperwork.¡± Is this a trap? ¡°Maja would never go against Larn¡¯s wishes,¡± Selussa said. Rhys rolled back his eyes. ¡°Yeah, his girls love him. Didn¡¯t he have another one?¡± ¡°Mezera. She¡¯s dead,¡± Selussa hissed. ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Rhys retorted and glared at her. ¡°I have a captain, a client that can arrange for transport down the coast. He deals in spices and the occasional diamond,¡± Verano said carefully after a long moment of awkward silence had passed. A smuggler. Well at least we¡¯re moving up in accommodations. - 19th of Quintus 194 Aegium The Salt Coast Fucking bloodsuckers, Rhys cursed inwardly. They had to pay an arm and a leg to get a single room with a stone mattress in Aegium. The inns and hostels packed with dignitaries, visitors, merchants and rich fools following the king¡¯s army around. Also a crap ton of officers, legionnaires, sailors and gnarly dudes from Demames battling for who was enforcing the law in the city. Not that Aegium was particularly lawless, more free-spirited but Rhys had more fun walking about in Rin An-Pur and you could lose your head back then bumping onto the wrong perfumed dude or lass. ¡°There,¡± Selussa whispered hiding in a dark corner to better watch the Baron¡¯s villa from across the street. Theirs was an unforgiving profession. It could go from complete inactivity to sudden ridiculous death-grasping moments and then right back to long hours of lurking next to a dumpster, talking to night owls and sleeping on your feet. Which wasn¡¯t easy to do. And then there were the standard dangers associated with killing people for a living. Or folk, dogs and birds of a variant plumage. As the saying went. ¡°Recognize anyone?¡± Rhys whispered knelt on the roof above her. The tiled roof littered with bird droppings and discarded feathers. You breathed carelessly once and you might end up dying of sneezing a lung out. Other than that you start with checking out the place afore stepping inside. Yep. Look for anything suspicious. No guiding lines to the latter. Anything. ¡°What am I looking for?¡± ¡°Anyone with extra blades for the time of day? Hiding behind the entrance all sneaky? Maybe on the roof?¡± ¡°There are guards walking in and out,¡± Selussa hissed at his mocking tone. ¡°Soldiers?¡± ¡°Well-armed thugs. Do they count?¡± Rhys nodded. He¡¯d seen them too but it¡¯s always nice to get a second opinion. On the north corner of the wall surrounding the villa¡¯s garden and this was a good Lorian villa, the main building leaving room at its center for a small pool and another garden. Large verandas and a shaded open-walled terrace to bout. Good access point though if you were determined to climb up a wall. You had to at some point. Anyways, on the north corner of the wall a sole figure stood. Coiled at the top of the two meter wall, this shadowy figure was watching the dark street before the villa. Not as dark as you¡¯d preferred it, what with the lights and all coming from the King¡¯s even bigger villa ¨Cthat qualified for a palace surely- reaching two blocks away. Effectively this figure did what they were doing only from the opposite side of the road and with far less real estate to work with. Are you going to stay there all night? I wager those knees are crumbing by now. The burning reaching up to the thighs and the back has started protesting. ¡°Pull back towards the edge of the alley,¡± he whispered keeping his eyes on the shadowy figure. Selussa moved away from the corner behind him and Rhys reached for his sack. He¡¯d a custom recurved bow inside. Rhys got it out keeping his eyes on the figure that hadn¡¯t moved at all. Stringed it using his teeth and he had to press the arm against the ridge to loop it. With the bowstring taut he got an arrow out with a field point head. He needed accuracy from that distance and in low visibility. Rhys glanced back hearing Selussa¡¯s coded owl call. She had reached the other end of the alley. The figure just didn¡¯t seem to notice them. Well then, Rhys decided and placed the arrow back inside his open leather sack. He moved the bow over his head to carry it on the back and backpedaled away from the edge taking care not to break a tile. One tile goes and then the whole line rushes after it like a dog after a bone. You end up skating over the edge for the concrete. Cobblestone. Granite tiles. It doesn¡¯t really make much of a difference. You¡¯ll scream seven times out of ten. Three times out of ten you won¡¯t have the time. Eh. Two minutes later a heavy-breathing, arms hurting Rhys had joined a fresh-looking Selussa on the ground. ¡°Are you tired?¡± She taunted, her breath in his ear. Rhys walked out of the alley but a stride in he stopped abruptly, his left arm extended backwards to prevent Selussa from getting out behind him. Selussa gasped as Rhys¡¯ forearm had mashed her breasts and the figure that had appeared on the street stopped appearing alarmed. Rhys retreated behind the corner slowly. Selussa moved behind him, her hand digging in her satchel to burn incense but Rhys gestured for her not to do it. He brought the hand near his nose next and sniffed silently. The lithe figure moved after a minute of listening for sounds when a group of late-night citizens rolled down the street. Rhys and Selussa went after the fast moving female. They hadn¡¯t seen her face but given her body-type the figure wasn¡¯t a man for sure. Well, make that eighty-five percent certain, after what he¡¯d witnessed in the Peninsula.
Aegium¡¯s taverns worked deep into the early hours of the morning. Those near the beaches probably never closed at all. They just alternated shifts, brought fresh personnel in and kept on running until the rain season returned again in about four or five months. The massive tavern continued out the back side and turned into an open-air restaurant with music of sorts. Two bands playing, one inside and the other using a stand set directly on the fine sand. ¡°Beer in watermelon?¡± A very-tanned comely waitress asked, dripping oil and sweat, her undergarments fashioned into a uniform. The outfit having all the Peninsula dancers sash but without the class. Rhys stared at the platter with the split in half small watermelons. The wench shook a carafe of frothy beer in front of his face expressively. ¡°I¡¯ll pass,¡± Rhys grunted. ¡°Rum is a silver and you¡¯ll need four to get a table,¡± the wench informed him with a smile. ¡°But I can fix you up. Are you a hunter?¡± It¡¯s the bow. ¡°Just arrived.¡± ¡°You want a table?¡± The wench asked while Rhys was trying to locate the female they were following. She had sneaked inside the tavern and they had entered right after her, but they immediately got ambushed by the boisterous crowd. ¡°Coming!¡± The wench screamed at a customer complaining loudly. Everyone was excited and the noise made your ears ring. Then pop. Rinse and repeat. Rhys turned around puffing his cheeks out. Selussa was crunching a piece of watermelon behind him. Seeing his incredulous stare she shrugged her shoulders. ¡°She didn¡¯t notice.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s get to the other side,¡± Rhys said loud enough to be heard and a man got between them, his face flushed and sweaty. Smelling of fruit and beer. ¡°Twelve days baby!¡± He yelled in Selussa¡¯s face with enthusiasm dancing around her. ¡°See you around!¡± He added with a twirl pointing at them with both arms, index fingers extended, while sashaying away. Rhys smacked his lips frustrated. ¡°It¡¯s the Bacchanalia,¡± a grinning Selussa explained. ¡°First day of summer is right around the corner.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Rhys mumbled, not against having a good early celebration, but they were supposed to be after the woman here. ¡°She¡¯s gone,¡± Selussa told him and hurled the leftover white bark of the watermelon away. Over the patrons heads and towards the sandy beach. ¡°She knew we¡¯ll get bogged down in the crowd.¡± Rhys grimaced and got shoved back by a burly man escorting a well-dressed noble. ¡°Make way for the Mayor,¡± the brute grunted with a glare. ¡°Fucking Issir shit.¡± Ah, that¡¯s hospitality right there! Rhys thought sidestepping out of his way. ¡°Enjoy your stay in Aegium,¡± the Mayor said with a friendly but tired smile as he walked past Rhys. ¡°Got some mixed signals there your grace. I¡¯m not sure I¡¯ll stick around!¡± Rhys yelled to his back and another Issir paused in front of him. A rare sight for the venue. A cute female at that with boyishly cut white hair, rather conservatively dressed in a leather top and a loose long skirt that left her taut midriff uncovered. She had a pearl earring in her right ear. Rhys returned her stare. ¡°You are not from here,¡± the young woman said in a perfect Lorian accent. The girl had never stepped her foot in Kaltha one would think. ¡°How would you know?¡± Rhys retorted. ¡°Heard you speak earlier.¡± ¡°Work for these bigots?¡± ¡°Do you?¡± The woman replied and Rhys lowered his eyes down her modest bosom to stare at that skirt again. ¡°That a cloak turned upside out?¡± He asked brusquely back in business mode. The woman smiled and glanced at Selussa that stood next to his shoulder. ¡°Is he bossy all the time? Difficult to work with?¡± She asked and Selussa didn¡¯t answer. ¡°A girl of few words I see. Not many Cofol sisters around,¡± she added looking at her. ¡°But some are more famous than others.¡± Are you fucking kidding me with this? ¡°Where is she?¡± Rhys grunted and she stooped near his face, her eyes ever rising. Rhys was a tad taller than her but she was as fit as Selussa he had to give the newcomer that. Rhys cast a side glance to his partner and Selussa returned it with a furious scowl. Better you keep those close-enough comparisons on the hush-hush now, he counseled himself. Them girls are packing some serious steel.
¡°Here,¡± Griet told them and sat down behind a small corner table next to the outer wall of the sea-facing portion of the tavern. Rhys glanced at the inebriated patrons going back and forth, with waitresses rushing to deliver orders and the general upheaval showing no signs of slowing down. ¡°We¡¯re in the open,¡± he grumbled the obvious. ¡°It¡¯s a seaside tavern. The biggest in Aegium,¡± Griet explained not offering much more in the argument and stopped a nimble wench carrying a bronze platter over the head with a pat on her hip. ¡°Three shots of rum dear and add fat slices of lemon will ya? He¡¯s paying.¡± The individual doing the paying would be Rhys. ¡°What?¡± Griet asked seeing his scowl. ¡°You¡¯re the boss!¡± ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake,¡± Rhys griped and grabbed a chair to sit down, keeping away from the table to better move in an emergency. ¡°Maja knew you¡¯d come. Some are born ready to survive, the big bad wolf had told her. So you got to let them go their own way. It took this to get your arse out of Eplas,¡± Griet explained with a smirk. Her idea of an apology. ¡°But you arrived sooner than we expected.¡± It had taken a bit more persuasion than that and some pretty weird crap in general. ¡°Well¡­¡± Rhys started with a grimace not really expecting praise from Larn two decades later and after the callous bastard had kicked him away. ¡°No seriously. How the fuck did you make it all the way from Eplas?¡± Griet asked curious. ¡°It¡¯s been like a week?¡± ¡°We weren¡¯t¡­ why is this¡­ we don¡¯t talk about these matters in the open,¡± he hissed. ¡°When can we see her? Was the contract a ruse for us to come?¡± Selussa asked her soberly. Rhys scratched his nose and looked about them at the crowd talking, dancing and drinking, with two passionate couples fucking with zest near the short fence leading to the more than a hundred meters wide sandy beach. Three, if one counted the guy receiving a blowjob from a tavern wench in a side corner. Either sporting a small phallus or coming against a cavernous throat. They tried to be discreet bless them and the light was poor that much is true but everyone with two brain cells attached could figure out what they were doing. Several bystanders watching not as discreetly at their public gymnastics. ¡°She¡¯s assisting the Queen Regent. After she departs Aegium would be ideal, unless you want to meet her formally or wait for us to bring her to the house. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s viable for many reasons.¡±Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Rhys returned his attention to the two female assassins talking in a civil manner. ¡°Where¡¯s the Queen Regent now?¡± Selussa asked. ¡°Staying with the King,¡± Griet replied a little sassy at getting grilled. ¡°Who is the contract for?¡± Selussa asked, a tick of annoyance marring her face, with Rhys listening in to their exchange still, but keeping his eyes on the busy crowd. Everyone was having a good time, some more than others but for a couple of dudes resting on the fence, a couple of meters away from their table that appeared either too drunk to speak or just sleeping on their feet. ¡°A bounty hunter,¡± Griet explained indifferently. ¡°What did he do?¡± Selussa asked and Griet furrowed her brows. ¡°Is that what he taught you? I thought you didn¡¯t ask questions at first but you¡¯re a regular inquisitor dear.¡± ¡°What you don¡¯t know, can get you killed honey.¡± Selussa replied tacitly. ¡°It¡¯s cheaper to ask.¡± Yep. ¡°I don¡¯t know the details,¡± Griet retorted and the wench returned bringing their small glasses with the rum. The large slices of lemon shoved inside a bit hurriedly, with any luck not by the same dude that cuts the fish in the kitchen. One would hope. Ah, the famed south Jelin warm spring nights, passable tunes, cute company and the still uncertain details on a potentially straightforward mission. Rhys felt a wave of dysphoria washing over him no sooner than he blundered into testing the gods. ¡°What¡¯s his name?¡± Selussa asked just as the band stopped playing to rest their fingers and ask the crowd for orders. One of the two beefy Lorians, neither sleeping nor too drunk to listen, turned his head towards their table unwittingly. You get too absorbed listening in you tend to do that, the alarmed Rhys thought reaching for his dagger. ¡°Lear Hik,¡± Griet casually replied and reached to take their shots from the stooping waitress. The man blinked, and then turned to his partner. The latter signed for him to go. Don¡¯t do it, Rhys warned the man staying behind. The man looked about him for someone whilst Rhys got up, the chair tumbling down behind the assassin. Rhys had an eye on the departing stranger, the other on his friend. An officer approached, clad in a Demames uniform and the man stooped his head to talk with him quickly. ¡°Who? Where?¡± The frowning officer asked what you never want to hear and Rhys snarled baring his golden fangs, upon seeing the other man getting away through the wide open doors of the building. His friend pointed a hand at them, the other hand reaching for a sword. A fucking gladius of all plaguing things. ¡°We¡¯ve been made,¡± Rhys hissed in warning and kicked the chair on the waitress. ¡°They work for Laudus!¡± The man barked with a mighty voice which was the last thing Rhys expected to hear. Mostly because they weren¡¯t. He had no clue who that fucker was. But then the furious man upped the scales to the heavens, raising his voice even more. ¡°KINGSLAYERS!¡± The wench screamed in panic but the flying chair smacked her in the face shutting her up abruptly, her nose splitting down the middle and blood splashing out. She bounced back and onto the officer coming their way. Selussa jumping over the table that buckled under her foot and then came apart whilst Griet twirled out of her chair, her left hand snatching it to bring it along. Rhys jumped over the furious officer and kneed him in the head, just as Griet¡¯s chair was hurled on the advancing gladius-wielding stranger. The man hacked at the incoming chair, the officer¡¯s head was knocked back and Rhys landed just inside the doors leading inside. Rhys ducked under a swinging punch that caught an open-mouthed local squarely in the mouth, elbowed the culprit in the kidneys and then ripped his nose out, slotting two fingers in the nostrils, all in the same move. A rugged breath and he stumbled through the tavern¡¯s customers now trying to understand what was going on. Rhys shoved a protesting bard out of the way, the man¡¯s lute hitting the ceiling and coming apart with a dissonant bang. A flushed legionnaire stood in front of him to bar his way, but Rhys stabbed him repeatedly on the side of the neck and brought him down. He stepped over the butchered soldier and dived out of the tavern¡¯s front doors. Rhys rolled on the cobblestone breathing heavy and spotted the first man legging it for the stables. Behind him the tavern¡¯s crowd exploding in screams as Selussa and Griet had started getting rid of witnesses whilst cutting their way out. A lot of innocent bystanders are going to get killed tonight, a seriously miffed Rhys thought. And I¡¯ve no fucking idea what the allhells is going on!
Rhys sprinted after the first man and his opponent heard him just as he reached the stables. He paused and looked back at the dashing towards him assassin. With a grimace and breathing heavy he unsheathed a gladius, a sword shorter than a longsword, but nowhere near small by itself. His scimitar was a bit longer for example. Rhys flipped the sword in his hand and caught it like the dagger upside down. Always advancing on his gnarly opponent, the assassin cracked his neck right and then left, keeping an eye out for anyone looking their way. With the ruckus happening twenty meters behind him at the packed tavern, no one was. The man let out a roar and charged to meet him three strides from the large entrance. Rhys raised his scimitar to meet the opponent¡¯s blade and lowered his right shoulder on impact, whilst rotating on his left leg. The steel blades clanged, Rhys stabbed his old dagger in the man¡¯s exposed thigh, twisting around him sharply and then raised his scimitar with both hands, when the injured man doubled over with a groan, to hack him savagely at the nape. The severed head hit the ground and Rhys moved afore the now headless body collapsed to grab it by the gore-covered collar, hot blood spraying out of the monstrous wound in thick spurts and pull it back inside the stable. He dragged the body deep into the stable breathing heavy from the exertion and angry with himself for agreeing with Griet¡¯s idiotic plan. A meeting in a blasted packed tavern, he thought sourly not believing the foolishness they had him involved with. My fucking mind is on tits and cunt is the blasted why, a frustrated Rhys mused going outside to retrieve the bleeding head with a look at the people coming out of the tavern. Nobody was looking towards Rhys. Yep. You don¡¯t get involved with girls from the Guild fuck¡¯s sake, he admonished himself. Them bitches are crazy. The inside of the stable smelled of horse dung, other types of manure, hay and Redleaf. Rhys recoiled spastically on instinct, going on a crazy pirouette in the semi-darkness and then diving into a roll that brought him inside an empty stall. A bolt had whistled very-near to where he stood just a moment afore and was now lodged deep in one of the stables¡¯ internal supports. Motherfucking mule! He cursed irate and jumped out of the stall into another dive for the crap-covered floor. Rhys twirled to a knee, a gnarly expression on his sweaty face and ogling eyes trying to penetrate the darkness. Someone chuckled and he heard feet tapping on the roof. Rhys grinded his teeth and reached for the smaller compact satchel resting on his left hip.
Rhys touched the tiled roof and rolled into a shadow at the other edge of it. He came out at the roof¡¯s end, having traversed the span of the two-storey elongated building in a second and caught out of the corner of his eye a small silhouette leaping across the looming road, right on a warehouse belonging to the Customs Office eight meters away. Rhys ran after it but paused at the gap breathing heavy, regaining his wits and then cursed through his teeth afore he started climbing down the side of the stable to reach the road. ¡°What in Oras Shadow?¡± He cursed running towards the warehouse. Rhys reached the front and headed for the east corner. The assassin rounded that, sprinted like he was fifteen again across the long building and came out at the other end inside an alley leading to the public forum through another market feeling shattered by the ridiculous exertion. The public forum building more a theater now apparently, according to the posters nailed on a nearby board. Rhys had stopped to read it mostly to catch his breath before he collapsed. ¡°In feast¡¯s joyful dances, Oras servants remain mute,¡± the small creature Rhys was chasing sang all of a sudden. That ruffian was sitting on a stand about ten meters away, cross-legged, the dress pulled to show a good amount of skin for the package and that armed metallic crossbow trained on him. Eh, rotten fish turds. The creature added with a chuckle. ¡°Forgot that you did, he-he. Can you move?¡± Huh? Rhys licked his dry lips, feeling his throat hoarse and coated with gravel, whilst drenched in sweat that smelled mostly of horseshit. ¡°Wanna talk about it?¡± He barked brusquely in his customary manner. ¡°Maybe later. If you¡¯re a good boy,¡± the Gish said. Rhys couldn¡¯t tell if it was a male or a female. ¡°Does it matter?¡± The creature asked guessing his thoughts, still aiming the crossbow to his chest. Not really at this particular moment. ¡°You¡¯re going to take that shot? Feeling lucky?¡± Rhys queried aggressively. ¡°Better hurry up, I¡¯m a bit pressed for time.¡± ¡°Haven¡¯t decided yet. Should I?¡± ¡°If you miss I¡¯ll split you in two.¡± Rhys warned matter-of-factly to get the small creature rattled. ¡°Hmm. Many wanted to,¡± the Gish replied hoarsely, a bit of color on his heavily painted cheeks. ¡°But only a few succeeded, he-he.¡± What is this creepy ungodly bullshit? A freaked out Rhys wondered and reached for his satchel, whilst eyeing a thick patch of darkness near the creature to get the distance right. When running on fumes every extra meter matters. Rhys Vardran original quote right there. ¡°Look,¡± the Gish said mirthfully and when Rhys stared it blinked out of existence. Just dissolved into nothingness. Well, that¡¯s a sucker punch right on the blasted gonads, a stunned Rhys decided.
¡°Where in the all-hells have you been?¡± A peeved -but also worried- Selussa asked him three hours later standing anxiously outside Lord Nattas¡¯ villa. Rhys had to loop around half of Aegium to avoid the bloodthirsty patrols. ¡°Griet is inside to talk with the Baron.¡± Rhys took a big breath and put his back on the wall to rest his tired legs. You walk ten kilometers after a scrap and you appreciate horses something fierce. Mules even. He brought a cloth on his face and wiped some of the dirt and gore away. Worked it on his nape and neck next. He then tossed it to Selussa. ¡°I ran on an Imperial Assassin I think,¡± he told her hoarsely. Selussa paused still holding the dirty cloth and looked at him. ¡°That¡¯s your excuse? We had to fight our way to the beach and swim across to lose them!¡± She snapped angrily and hurled the cloth catching Rhys on the shoulder. ¡°You missed darling.¡± ¡°Ah, I had enough of your bullshit!¡± Selussa growled and a forty something year old man, clad in opulent green robes with gold details at the hem stepped out of the gates. He paused hearing their argument stooped over a cane with an intricate silver and ivory pommel, then pursed his mouth in a sour expression. ¡°In ten minutes a patrol will march down the street,¡± he told them a hint of razz in his cultured voice. ¡°Usually they walk by every hour but some fucking idiots went on a killing spree earlier tonight so it got them guards all wound up. In the spirit of cooperation I shan¡¯t point any fingers.¡± ¡°Ramirus¡¯ men,¡± Lord Nattas told them a bit later. A couple of hours of night still available but running out fast. ¡°Legion Intelligence. They multiply like cockroaches.¡± ¡°Ayup,¡± Grin agreed with a nod. ¡°There you have it then,¡± Nattas continued with an irked glance at his lackey. ¡°You guys were lucky in a sense.¡± ¡°How?¡± Griet asked and a resting on a leather armchair Rhys had the same question but less spit to speak it to existence. ¡°It could have been an ambush. Ten or twenty of them waiting at the near,¡± Nattas explained. ¡°Why do you want to open a contract on this Lear Hik? He seems to have done what he was supposed to do.¡± A thoughtful Selussa asked the Baron. She had been guarded against him from the start. ¡°He fucked my mother and didn¡¯t pull out,¡± Nattas snapped aggressively and glanced at Griet. ¡°What the fuck is this?¡± ¡°She¡¯s a bit of old school,¡± Griet taunted sipping at the Baron¡¯s wine. ¡°What? She seems younger than you!¡± Nattas grunted. ¡°Seems?¡± Selussa asked narrowing her eyes. Griet was younger than Selussa by a couple of years. Having clarified that, this is an inopportune time to delve into such gory details. ¡°What¡¯s the deal with mister Hik Baron?¡± Rhys asked hoarsely rubbing at his shoulder as he¡¯d overdone it earlier. ¡°I understand he might have caught this Laudus as Selussa pointed out. You¡¯ll hold his success against him?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that. I don¡¯t give a shit about him really, other than the fact that he can now talk to the king and sprout out whatever nonsense come to mind for lofty rewards and warm appreciation. Too much power to place in the hands of one man. If my enemies get to him first they might convince him to accuse me. This was the deciding factor.¡± ¡°Accuse you of killing King Jeremy?¡± Selussa asked. ¡°What else?¡± Nattas snapped with a scowl. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Is there more?¡± Selussa mocked him. ¡°Do we need her?¡± Nattas asked Rhys. ¡°I asked for you. She¡¯s a Cofol for crying out loud!¡± ¡°I need her. And you didn¡¯t really ask for me,¡± Rhys replied tiredly. ¡°Maja gave you my name mister Nattas.¡± ¡°Milord Nattas is a Lord,¡± Grin corrected him. Receiving the Baron¡¯s admonishment and brief praise soon after. ¡°Thank you Grin. Shut up now. Continue mister Vardran.¡± ¡°Call me Rhys for expediency¡¯s sake.¡± ¡°In that vein I prefer to be addressed as Baron Mister Rhys,¡± Nattas said. Rhys scratched his right ear with an index finger in silence. ¡°You need justification to call on the Silent Servants Baron,¡± Rhys finally said. ¡°You should know it having worked with Maja in the past. You get aggrieved by someone and he gets punished for that. To act prematurely or pre¡­¡± ¡°Preemptively,¡± a sour-looking Nattas helped. ¡°Yep. Well, you open yourself up to retribution.¡± ¡°By whom?¡± ¡°Others.¡± ¡°How would they know to call you?¡± Nattas asked with a pleased smirk. ¡°Oras whispers our names to those in need. It is how it¡¯s done,¡± Rhys replied calmly. ¡°Cut the fucking bullshit Mister Rhys,¡± Nattas retorted angrily. ¡°Maja setup an attack that killed two children back in Alden! You come here and talk to me of decency? Scales? Fucking retribution?¡± Nattas had started foaming at the mouth. ¡°Fucking killers with a code? You murdered nine people tonight! Six of them were innocent! What is this god darn nonsense you¡¯re sprouting?¡± ¡°Are you done?¡± Rhys asked raspingly. ¡°I haven¡¯t even started yet!¡± Nattas bellowed and struck his cane down. The wood rattling weirdly as it probably hid a blade inside. ¡°Maja told you she took a contract to kill those children?¡± Rhys asked calmly. ¡°Argh,¡± a frustrated Baron growled and stood back on his armchair. ¡°Do you want to know whether she pulled the trigger or not? She was there. What does it matter?¡± ¡°What did she say?¡± ¡°A couple of¡­ I don¡¯t know¡­ fanatics or something got involved. Can we get back to the problem at hand?¡± Rhys stared at the silent Selussa. ¡°What¡¯s the charge?¡± ¡°He murdered a Lord¡¯s son and killed another Lord¡¯s daughter. There. Can you work with that?¡± Nattas hissed grinding his teeth. ¡°Where is he now?¡± ¡°He was last seen in Badum. Mayhap traveled to Irde, then the trail gets cold. He either cut through the Narrow to reach Ikete or braved the bogs across Lotus River and is heading for Tollor. If he catches a ship there he might make it to Asturia and the Duke there might shield him.¡± ¡°Duke Holt?¡± Selussa asked. ¡°His daughter is married to the King of Regia.¡± ¡°Why, who would¡¯ve thought? You got it right!¡± Nattas mocked her with a grimace. ¡°Where is the Duke now?¡± ¡°Aldenfort with Asturia¡¯s Regulars,¡± Nattas replied. ¡°Who rules in Asturia in his stead?¡± Rhys insisted. ¡°Lord Bernard, Queen Monica¡¯s brother,¡± Nattas replied. ¡°That¡¯s a cunning son of a dog.¡± ¡°You have people in Asturia Baron?¡± Rhys asked. ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°So you¡¯ll know,¡± Rhys added. ¡°Rhys I¡¯m not sure about this,¡± Selussa murmured and Nattas eyed her peeved. ¡°We¡¯ll look into the matter,¡± Rhys said and got up from the armchair although he¡¯d rather stayed there for a while longer. ¡°I¡¯d like to speak to Maja.¡± ¡°Maja works as the Queen Regent¡¯s maiden of honor of sorts. It¡¯s a cover. I need her there,¡± Nattas argued scrunching his mouth this way and that. ¡°I can get inside the palace.¡± ¡°I rather you didn¡¯t,¡± Nattas retorted. ¡°This is a sensitive period. Lands and titles in the fucking balance and up for grabs, folk struggling to avoid the chop and the King is looking to find his footing after a turbulent time and ease himself into normality.¡± ¡°Normality requests Hik¡¯s head?¡± Rhys asked evenly. ¡°It¡¯s how things work Mister Rhys in this realm,¡± Nattas hissed. ¡°I don¡¯t want any stupid waves at this junction. A tiny spark creates a big fucking fire and then your house turns to ashes! Once matters get back to normal¡­ there, then we can sit around a bonfire at the beach, talk of gallant old tales, sing of romance and family, whilst sipping at fruity liquor and have big-titted harlots suck on our cocks!¡± The look on Selussa¡¯s face said it all. Even Griet was uncomfortable. But the Baron could only see what he could see and think of himself. Survival works like this in the end. ¡°I need a safe place to rest for the evening,¡± Rhys replied. ¡°A piece of the Golden Forest by the coast.¡± ¡°You can rest here. It¡¯s a big fucking house,¡± Nattas grunted and pursed his mouth. ¡°How big?¡± ¡°Big enough to build a house, as big as this one,¡± Rhys replied. ¡°For yourself?¡± Nattas asked thinking about it. ¡°The Guild, Baron.¡± Rhys had replied.
¡°I don¡¯t like him,¡± Selussa insisted standing outside the door of his bedroom. The upper floor had four. Two on each wing. Rhys nodded looking into her frustrated face. ¡°All nobles are like that darling.¡± ¡°Not all,¡± Selussa replied and grimaced. ¡°Ah, the story of the pirate queen. A heart of gold and jewels for eyes,¡± Rhys teased her and she pushed him away but he caught her arm and they wrestled for a bit outside the door much as people do. Rhys turned her arm to lock it at her ribs but she kneed him in the stomach. He had to turn to avoid getting doubled over and Selussa tried to slam him on the floor raising her other leg. Rhys caught it this time and shoved her on the wall with a bang and then he kissed her. Selussa froze for a moment and in the heat of the moment Rhys bit at her lip, felt blood flooding his mouth. She groaned in pain and twisted away from him, holding a hand on her cut lip. ¡°Apologies,¡± Rhys murmured. ¡°Got carried away for a moment.¡± A cursing Selussa spat blood down with a grimace. ¡°You liked what the Baron said? Is that it?¡± ¡°Nothing to do with him,¡± Rhys argued. ¡°Come on now. You know I like you since¡­ eh, this came out wrong.¡± ¡°Since when?¡± A frustrated Selussa asked. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± Rhys murmured and licked her blood from his lips. Fuck. ¡°What kept you away?¡± ¡°Larn.¡± ¡°Larn doesn¡¯t care about our partners fool. He only wants us safe,¡± Selussa snapped. ¡°You cut me.¡± ¡°I did.¡± ¡°And if that was true you wouldn¡¯t have gone after Moira.¡± ¡°Larn doesn¡¯t control Moira. It¡¯s the other way around,¡± Rhys told her tiredly. ¡°It¡¯s much more than that really because they know each other for such a long time and they aren¡¯t human. At some point you¡¯ll know it. Nothing comes between them.¡± For him. ¡°You are wrong,¡± Selussa hissed and walked to her bedroom. Opened the door and then slammed it close. A second later the lock was heard. I don¡¯t believe I am, Rhys thought and breathed out. Glanced at the night out of the window and decided he had an hour of sleep afore the morning. Rest. Rethink the whole matter on the morrow, he decided. Opened the door and walked inside the spacious bedroom. The columned bed in the middle of the room, two cupboards on one wall, a big mirror on the other and a table with two chairs on the side facing the door. The side across from that having two large floor-to-ceiling windows with their drapes closed. Rhys removed his boots, the weapon harness, keeping the old dagger under his pillow and then loosened the cords on his tight leather armour. He¡¯d patches of chainmail on the front and the back, the leather jacket heavy and smelling like a latrine. Need to clean that mate. Rhys placed it on a chair for tonight. He had pulled the chair away from the table and moved next to the bed. He dragged the other one as well and placed it on the other side of the bed. Moved the table behind the door next and went to close both windows shut. Fuck¡¯s sake, just get some sleep, he thought.
¡®Move with the breathing wind¡¯, Larn hummed in his snarly voice, named Ralnor as a stray before becoming Dar Eherdir way before the Boy¡¯s line was even created. Not that he knew it anyway. The Boy didn¡¯t have a name and Larn never bothered to give one to him. ¡®Pick your own name. It¡¯s your responsibility. I named the horse Dar and all other horses afore him. He doesn¡¯t mind it,¡¯ Larn used to say checking whether his ¡®flesh cubes¡¯ were dry enough to have them stored in his special bag. The Boy had tasted one but didn¡¯t like how it made him feel afterwards. Larn had found it funny. He didn¡¯t laugh about it because Larn never laughed. He might crack half-a-smile at something, but it wasn¡¯t what most people would take as a jest. He found peace, Larn did, only when he counted the Numbers. Seeing the patterns evolve, for Larn knew of things the Seers knew. He showed the Boy how to do it. Secret things. For whatever Larn heard, he learned as best as he could. Fighting every second of every day to stay afloat in a realm where all other creations were much more skilled than him. More beautiful, much cleverer, spiritual and talented in all things. But for one that had come natural to Larn and he wanted to teach this skill, mimicking the world he had grew up in. As unforgiving and even more bigoted. ¡®Move when the branches creak and when the leaves whistle¡¯, Larn used to murmur in Imperial showing him how to sharpen a blade without harming the metal. What arrowhead to use and how to call on the shadows. ¡®When in the in-between kingdoms, you need to move and not linger,¡¯ Dar Eherdir preached and you had to get the lessons quickly else you got hurt. Badly. ¡®In and out. Always know where you¡¯ll end up. See it in your head afore you take that first ¡®quickstep¡¯. Where you¡¯ll start and where the shades will take you. The shades are doors but doors lead in all places.¡¯ ¡®How do you get out of the Circle?¡¯ The Boy had asked for this was a fascinating subject to him and Larn could turn talkative from time to time when they were alone in the wilderness. ¡®When will I see the Moon of Dan?¡¯ The times he replied rare and few in between. Sometimes though when the desert winds or the colds of the Steppe touched something in him Larn would speak more. About Dar Nym who had dared the darkest routes following a strange creature¡¯s calling. ¡®In the unspoiled black of pure darkness. There stands a glittering reflection.¡¯ Larn used to croon staring at nothing. Haunted. ¡®Dar Nalta walks those dark paths and it¡¯ll call on you if you dare enter. You¡¯ll hear it approach. Feet on the walls. Feet on the ceiling. You mustn¡¯t lose track of the Fading Light. In order for Dar Nalta to let you go, you must leave something of you behind, not of your own choosing. But if you lose the Fading Light, you¡¯ll never come out. Ever.¡¯ The Boy had tried to remember as much as he could, but years had gone by since then. Decades of traveling the Khanate looking for a way to find ¡®the goddess in the flesh¡¯. He found her in the end but while the experience had been exhilarating the Boy had grown up in the meantime and had seen things. And could now understand a whole lot more. Those conversations left in the distant past. About the mythical Dar Nym and the Circle of the Fading Light inside the Darkness. The Three ageless Servants. The loyal Dar Minuet Mol, the ever-cunning Dar Fenog and the demon beast Dar Draug who Dar Nym had found washed ashore and helped him grow. Dar Nalta then fixing what wasn¡¯t there. Finally Dar Vranga, the lowly servant who had opened the door and let Dar Nym out before the last Queen¡¯s reign. The name a wordplay for the roaring inferno. The one that hides the fire or keeps turmoil inside. Whom Dar Nym¡¯s black heart loved the most and wouldn¡¯t let go. For years upon years. Preserved in Dragon¡¯s blood for Dar Vranga would have been dead many centuries ago otherwise. ¡®For no Gish ever lasted that long.¡¯ You¡¯ll know Dar Vranga is near, for in drugs he found solace. ¡®Strike when the night is weary¡¯, Larn had repeated again and again. Fae O¡¯ Elum, Eherdir O¡¯ Lome the Spirit of Twilight and the Master of Shades. The Fifth Servant that changed it all breaking away. ¡®Strike when the mind sleeps and the spirits stand eerie. Strike when the eyes dream and the hand is in doubt.¡¯
No Gish¡­ Rhys thought coming out from his slumber, aromatic smoke blowing on his face and feeling a weight parked on his groin. The room came to view slowly and the hanging open windows that brought some of the strong moonlight inside. The late night breeze coming from the Scalding Sea blowing the curtains inwards and making shadows appear on the walls of Nattas¡¯ guest bedroom. The shades took shapes and moved as if dancing to an unknown tune or acting for an absent audience. A King riding a magnificent horse in battle, a maiden tying a scarf over a knight¡¯s wrist and a majestic Wyvern with its golden wings extended landing on the top of a massive flat-roofed pyramid. A pale-faced ghostly Zilan placing a long index finger on her mouth and a young Gish giggling exhilarated for they now shared a secret. Rhys moved to get out of the drug-induced slumber and he heard a soft rhythmic whistle coming from somewhere very near, an alien song in an alien tongue Rhys could understand, long hard nails tapping on a steel blade to keep up the tempo and that weight still pressing down on his groin area. Heavy. But also soft. The gleaming of a blade dancing before his face. Rhys groaned and reached for the dagger. The Gish¡¯s chuckle stopping him. ¡°Tsk-tsk. Gone it is, your blade.¡± ¡°¡­what¡­ you piece of¡­¡± ¡°Not lost though,¡± the Gish explained barely controlling small chuckles in and pressed his fat arse down more, mashing Rhys balls painfully. ¡°I have it here. Found it¡­ I did, he-he. Under your pillow. You left it there for me?¡± ¡°Get off my cock you bloody freak¡­¡± Rhys growled and the Gish stooped over his chest. He pressed the tip of the dagger on his neck. ¡°I cut here maybe. What do you think?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s talk¡­ about it¡­ some more?¡± ¡°Want to play? Hmm?¡± No? But when presented with such bad odds, don¡¯t be a rebel. Be a collaborator. ¡°The dagger¡­¡± Rhys grunted feeling the sharp tip cutting into his neck. ¡°It¡¯s razor sharp.¡± ¡°Thrice sharpened and thrice oiled,¡± the Gish hummed flipping the dagger on his small hand but returning it before Rhys could raise his head. The tip touching his nose in an almost naughty manner. ¡°Ironwood to make the handle sturdy and clean leather to never slip yer grip. Such nice skin. Where did you find it?¡± ¡°I made¡­ it. Eh¡­ argh!¡± The dagger had cut him on the chin with a tap. He felt blood dripping down his neck. ¡°Shush, it¡¯s just a tiny nick.¡± The Gish stared at him with big red-rimmed gleaming eyes. Always moving his arse on Rhys¡¯ cock in a deliberate manner. ¡°Will I find the missing skin? Should I look?¡± Blasted¡­ fucker¡­ Rhys cursed a little panicked now. ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± he croaked thinking of Selussa. Could she hear noise? Better that she didn¡¯t. ¡°Ah¡­ there¡¯s a bit of fear but not for you,¡± the Gish droned and then let out a deep moan overcome by pleasure. ¡°I noticed the teeth, then the girl,¡± the shivering freak murmured and Rhys ogled his left eye at a spot near the cupboard where the shades still pooled strong, untouched by the invading moonlight. ¡°This is Ralnor¡¯s blade yes? It¡¯s rare to find his pupils. Wow, I think your cock stirred. Hmm.¡± ¡°We have no beef with you,¡± Rhys croaked, whilst trying to gather some of the blood dripping down his chin to use. Burn the blood, Larn cautioned him. If nothing else is at the near. ¡°We? Three killers under this roof,¡± the Gish hummed. ¡°Two touched by Dar Eherdir. What did you get for what you lost?¡± What? ¡°The Circle is gone Dar Vranga,¡± Rhys grunted and the Gish paused, then reached with his free hand back, found Rhys¡¯ thigh and then his animated cock and rubbed it once, the small hand immediately digging inside a fold of his dress. A sweaty Rhys glanced at the shades then at the window, turning into a ball of nerves. The Gish chuckled and flipped the dagger with his right hand again, bringing the left forward closed in a fist. It was the chance Rhys was looking for. Vanda Imi E Mori¡­ ¡°The Circle isn¡¯t gone Dar Tulca. Even those standing outside can still feel it. A hot, strong vibration in the Aether,¡± the old Gish purred before the stressed Rhys could finish the incantation and opened that small fist to let a milky stone drop on the immobilized assassin¡¯s naked chest. ¡°You can call me Flix.¡± The next moment pure white light exploded inside the bedroom chasing the shades away. Rhys would have been more impressed by the phenomenon, but he¡¯d seen it before for starters and the cursed lightstone blinded him the moment it flashed coming alive.
459. Silent Servants
Dreams o¡¯ spring, Whisper of the meek reigning this realm Humble, valiant champions taking the helm Valens was killed afore ¡®Long¡¯ fell at Mercator¡¯s Inn (In the plains dirt) ¡­Long live the king Themes ¡®n patterns on a wyvern¡¯s wing Seen blisters forming on Witch¡¯s Elm Eikenport ruled by the condemned Cofol, fiends ¡®n a half-breed¡¯s skin Skull ¡®n Bones on the princess¡¯ ring Have ye heard none-the-less -o¡¯ that other thing? Of strange red sails, here comes Khan¡¯s grand Flotilla Hey listen up! Sir Lennox¡¯s Chiliad won at Que Ki-La And yet solemn folk lament at Ballard¡¯s villa A leaping gilded leopard taken by a Djinn That treads the great desert on a hummin'' fin Ravn¡¯s Heir charged at 3Roads against the odds Smiling Cataphracts ¡®n broken cords on lent mandolin His head returned to Red Bridge tied wit leather string ¡­Long live the king Dreams o¡¯ spring, Whisper of the meek reigning this realm Humble, valiant heroes taking the helm Ligur kicked Holt¡¯s bridge -but a tiger punched the lynchpin back in (Darn it, this is a win!) ¡­Long live the king. - Champions (Dreams O¡¯ Spring)* Jan-Bert Luffy
-
*First played around the summer of 194 in Aegium. Rhythmical ballad, very technical with a catchy tune, (has been described as more of a dancing lullaby at times) that exploded in volume for the refrain and middle parts only for the music to pause briefly at every last verse. It was to become one of the famed bard¡¯s most popular original songs in most of Jelin, a bit later in Goras and of course Greenwhale Peninsula. Many times covered by other artists that mimicked JB Luff¡¯s introduction of exotic instruments (Mandolin, banjo, flutes, trumpets, but also the big bass and many custom guitars) in a much larger in number of musicians traveling troupes or bands, what Jan-Bert regularly called ¡®our little traveling carnival of misfits.¡¯ Years later JB-Luff & the Misfits along with Roy & the Purser Gang performed it in front of a riotous crowd of thirty thousand at the opening of the ¡®First Chiliad Games¡¯ in Fu De-Gar. Sirio Veturius acknowledged in the prologue of ¡®the fall of heroes¡¯ that hearing JB Luff¡¯s more refined rendition a year later in Novesium fueled his resolve to finish the story of the ¡®great war¡¯ years and preserve the voice (and memory) of those lost unheralded heroes that had contributed immensely to the struggle but now couldn¡¯t speak for themselves.
Rhys Vardran Dar Tulca Silent Servants
Oras hells, a blinded Rhys thought rolling free on the bed as Flix had jumped off of him. He reached the edge, failed in the attempt to twist around and slammed his chest on the floor with a foundations-shaking thud, gasped like a dog kicked in the gonads and then swung an arm back to nail the Gish. Rhys almost broke said arm on the fucking chair and he growled maddened and in blinding pain. Clenching his jaw shut, gold teeth dinging, a furious Rhys twirled pressing down to use an elbow as lever, blood on his chin and a lump forming on his forehead where he¡¯d banged it on Lord Natta¡¯s fancy marble tiles. Fucking rich cretins! Flix chuckled seeing him standing up and stumble like a drunken sailor in the bedroom. Rhys counted his strides to get to the cupboard but the sneaky Gish tripped him up and the human assassin went down again. With a groan, tearing eyes blinking to get some of his vision back, Rhys saw the lit up room appearing slowly through the haze. His harness next to the toppled chair. He grunted and rolled towards his weapons. Rhys reached for his scabbard but the Gish stepped on it. You little¡­ Rhys thought and snatched at the sandaled ankle. The skin slippery as if it had been oiled but he yanked it up just the same and saw Flix toppling backwards feet over head. But it was a controlled somersault and the nimble androgynous Gish landed on his feet with ease. Then used that small foot to kick Rhys¡¯ reaching hand away from his sword. Dar Tulca swung a leg to sweep Flix off of his feet, twisting on the ground but the Gish jumped a meter in the air, the assassin¡¯s sword traveling upwards along with the small creature. Flix had used his other foot to lift it off of the floor. Which was impressive as fuck but Rhys could see better now and the Gish would have to land at some point, so Rhys jumped up like a circus gymnast as the creature came down and swung a punch aiming for Flix¡¯s shaved head. Flix jerked his head away from the punch that would have caved it in given its size and Rhys roared irate at the near miss, then squealed when the Gish used the scabbard to stab down at his naked toes. Rhys wailed hoarsely and Flix jabbed the sheathed blade on his chest next to push him back on his arse. With a snarl Rhys grabbed at the scabbard with his right hand as he was moving backwards and yanked it out of the Gish¡¯s grip. Of sorts. Triumph followed by despair. Eh. Flix stared at the naked scimitar he was left holding with the scowling Rhys now having possession of the empty scabbard. Well that was too much fucking fuzz over a whole lot o¡¯ nothing. ¡°Wish to trade now, hmm?¡± He asked Rhys with a teasing grin. ¡°I can fight with the sheath. No problem.¡± Rhys tossed the scabbard down with a scowl and touched the lump on his forehead. ¡°You could have taken me out in the stable,¡± he rustled and sniffed at his hand with another grimace of surprise. ¡°What the¡­ Is this scented?¡± ¡°Peppermint and vanilla extract,¡± Flix replied with a lewd wink. ¡°You like? I got it very cheap. This city is well-stocked.¡± Rhys cleared his throat a little uncomfortable. Very uncomfortable. ¡°Listen¡­ ahm,¡± he started and Selussa kicked the door of the bedroom in. It banged on the table that Rhys had placed there and hurled it across the bedroom with a screeching sound followed by another bang. The startled Selussa blinked seeing Flix walking towards her and leaped three meters with her shortsword in hand. The short blue nightshirt she had on barely reaching her hips. Lots of intimate parts of the woman¡¯s anatomy becoming well-ventilated in the jump. Rhys pursed his mouth and then side-glanced at the discarded weapon harness unsure. Selussa landed in front of the Gish in the meantime, but Flix rolled under her open legs with a chuckle, came out behind her and then slapped the assassin¡¯s naked bottoms with the flat of the blade. The smack reverberating inside the room. Rhys decided she could do fine on her own and turned to watch. ¡°Arggh!¡± An incensed Selussa hissed and twisted on her heels to swing at the tip-tapping away Gish. ¡°Why you sneaky¡ª¡± she had to cut it short and duck as Flix had hurled Rhys¡¯ scimitar back while leaping on the upturned table with the stooped Selussa rushing after him. The Gish touched the edge of the table and somersaulted backwards, actually managing to take one stride on the ceiling before dropping on Selussa¡¯s back. She went down to her knees with a cry of surprise, losing the handle on her shortsword, but she immediately twisted and turned about furious to dislodge the chuckling Gish from her back. She couldn¡¯t as Flix used his legs to block her swinging arms. ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± Rhys said after watching her struggle frenziedly for a while and a bewildered Selussa glanced his way. ¡°Hugh? Are you insane? Who is this?¡± ¡°Flix,¡± the Gish replied and tapped the top of her wild head a couple of times with the palm of his small hand. ¡°Enough. I¡¯m tired.¡± ¡°What?¡± Selussa gasped and Flix sniffed at her hair once curious before showing the flushed female assassin the dagger he¡¯d never lost during the fight. ¡°Rhys?¡± Selussa asked in shock seeing him watching them without lifting a hand to help. Of course helping her would probably have killed them both. So Rhys was doing her a favor. Not an easy thing to explain. ¡°Remember the Imperial Assassin I¡¯ve told you about?¡± He finally said brusquely in his typical abrupt manner and Flix leaped off of Selussa¡¯s nape to land on his feet with a pained wince. ¡°Sounds like a total douchebag I know but he isn¡¯t that bad. Met males way worse than him,¡± the Gish assured the snarling Selussa. ¡°By the way, that¡¯s the second thing he shares with the King of Wetull of all things. He-heh.¡± Selussa blinked in shock. ¡°What¡¯s the other thing?¡± She croaked pushing the black curls framing her flushed face back. Rhys was interested to know that as well. ¡°He has a big fat prick,¡± Flix said all serious and raised his forearm to show her. ¡°Well¡­¡± Rhys mumbled while Selussa stood back overwhelmed by the way her morning had started. ¡°Not the biggest one I¡¯ve handled,¡± Flix told the smug-looking Rhys shaking his small index finger. While a little embarrassing as far as clarifications went, it wasn¡¯t really truth be told and Rhys thought this latter part had gone way better than one could ever have expected. So he called it a win. 20th of Quintus 194 NC Lord Nattas¡¯ Villa in Aegium¡¯s Old City Flix was fixing a wig on his shaven head and checking on his makeup. He applied some more white powder to cover the wrinkles forming under the eyes and around the mouth. Another coating of crayon on the lips to make them fuller. He glanced at them through the bedroom¡¯s mirror watching him in silence. ¡°Time affects the face, it does.¡± He explained. ¡°Without the blood.¡± ¡°You look¡­¡± Rhys cleared his throat. ¡°You seem in great shape.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not.¡± ¡°Saw you leaping to the ceiling!¡± Rhys grunted and the Gish chuckled. ¡°That¡¯s just skill. I was speaking of looks¡­¡± he paused, red-rimmed eye staring at him intently. Rhys smacked his lips. ¡°I like what I see in general.¡± ¡°I used to be very pretty,¡± Flix explained. ¡°You couldn¡¯t tell the difference. Many didn¡¯t.¡± He added knowingly. Rhys nodded and Selussa glared his way. ¡°I¡¯m very old,¡± Flix continued. ¡°Not much time left for me to have fun. But I¡¯m not old inside. You understand?¡± ¡°There are days I can barely get out of bed,¡± Rhys agreed. ¡°What?¡± He snapped at the grimacing Selussa that was sitting cross-legged next to him on the bed. ¡°I¡¯ve a lot mileage on these legs.¡± Damnation. Think of something else you dumb fuck! ¡°She¡¯s worried. Does she know who I am?¡± Flix explained a slight smirk forming on his mouth. ¡°Dar Vranga.¡± Selussa spat. ¡°Nym¡¯s pet.¡± Flix furrowed his trimmed and black-painted eyebrows. The small nostrils on his face expanding. ¡°Nym never forced Ralnor. He wanted it. Eager to rise in status. He could have stayed under the Seer¡¯s protection. An unknown servant of no skill following Edlenn around. But he always wanted more. I couldn¡¯t understand why back then.¡± ¡°He told me about the Circle. What did you lose?¡± Selussa asked crossing both arms over her chest. ¡°You want to see?¡± Flix asked and turned around. He pulled at the bindings and the small tunic fell down his legs. The body underneath fit and hairless, round hips with small breasts formed and flawless but for a pink pattern like scarring around the nape all Gish had. The body of a young female of his species but with a small difference in anatomy. Tiny. Rhys blinked but kept his face blank. His tongue lodged against the gold teeth inside his mouth and the old phantom pain returning. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Selussa whispered breaking the very awkward moment. ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± Flix replied coolly. ¡°It¡¯s been a long time. Can I see yours?¡± ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t think so Gish,¡± Selussa replied tensely. ¡°You can call me Flix. Gish are many,¡± he said and stooped to gather his tunic. ¡°Now I know where you found it,¡± Flix told the frowning Rhys. The missing skin was his meaning. ¡°Ralnor is still alive?¡± Flix asked them seeing as Rhys wasn¡¯t going to comment on the matter. ¡°Why?¡± Selussa asked defensively. ¡°He is. Oh, that would make Dar Nym very unhappy. Heh-he. Mol is dead then, yes?¡± Rhys licked his lips. ¡°If you¡¯re here for Ralnor then you¡¯ve strayed way out of the correct path Flix.¡± The Gish assassin chuckled and walked slowly towards his dress. He put it over his head carefully and then fixed the wig again looking at the mirror. ¡°I¡¯m not here for him. Flix won¡¯t fight Ralnor. It¡¯s a stupid idea to fight Fae O¡¯ Elum, Eherdir O¡¯ Lome. One skill Ralnor had, yes. And he struggled to hone it to perfection, for he had nothing else. I¡¯m not interested in testing that,¡± he murmured. ¡°Not here for anyone. I¡¯m free,¡± Flix explained looking at them. Right. Fine by me mate. ¡°Can Dar Nym?¡± Selussa asked hoarsely. Darling, Rhys thought a little peeved she was worried about their old tutor. Then again Ralnor is all she has left after her sister was killed. ¡°Why would you¡­¡± Flix had walked near the window but paused and turned around to look at her. ¡°Ah. Ralnor knows Dar Nym isn¡¯t one thing. He has seen. Maybe he knows, maybe he doesn¡¯t. Dar Nym may come to you. Come for you. Maybe not. Dar Nym is pretty busy now I reckon. Just know that if Dar Nym is somewhere then the Circle is well. Did Ralnor tell you that?¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t,¡± Rhys said and got up from the bed. This detail interested him. Flix nodded. ¡°Who do you serve?¡± He asked them. ¡°The Fading Light,¡± Rhys replied. ¡°No you don¡¯t. There¡¯s no such thing for you,¡± Flix replied. ¡°This guild Dar Eherdir built and he¡¯s responsible for it. The Fading Light lives inside the Circle. You don¡¯t want to serve it for you don¡¯t know what it is.¡± ¡°Do you know?¡± Rhys asked aggressively. Flix shook his head, the realistic wig moving like he¡¯d a real mane. In full makeup he isn¡¯t bad-looking and makes a passable female Gish, Rhys thought. That cunt Jinx was prettier for sure. Maybe Flix was really pretty in his youth. ¡°I can¡¯t tell you for it isn¡¯t my secret to share,¡± he explained finally. ¡°Then again I don¡¯t much care anymore. I came looking for a ship but the journey I wish to make no one offers. Maybe I¡¯m supposed to choose another destination?¡± ¡°You¡¯re old,¡± Rhys said brusquely. ¡°Not much oil left in the tank.¡± The Gish nodded solemnly. Still Rhys wasn¡¯t convinced. ¡°Worry not,¡± Flix said turning to the silent Selussa. ¡°Ralnor won¡¯t go anywhere near Dar Nym, he-he. He can¡¯t approach Nym even he wanted to because Dar Draug is still around and he¡¯ll sniff that gnarly fool out.¡± He snapped his mouth shut like a predator at a careless prey. ¡°Do you know that old Draug can tell an Aken construct from the real thing?¡± He asked them and noticing Selussa grimacing Flix paused thoughtfully.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. ¡°He¡¯s going there,¡± he murmured and came back from the window to sit on a chair. Flix crossed his legs like Selussa and reached for a pocket in his dress. He got an engraved silver pipe out, the shank thin and straight. Flicked a firestone with the other hand and placed it over the small round bowl. Dragged at the bit a couple of times, the aromatic smoke reaching Rhys¡¯ nostrils. The Gish exhaled, using his mouth to make circles and a couple of hearts. ¡°You know what this does to your lungs?¡± Rhys barked abruptly and Selussa slapped his arm to shut him up. ¡°I know it helps my back,¡± Flix retorted opening an eye. ¡°Someone is downstairs.¡± ¡°Lord Nattas and Griet,¡± Selussa replied. ¡°A sister?¡± ¡°A pupil of Faerith K¡¯Lael,¡± Selussa blurted out and then pursed her mouth frustrated. ¡°Hey, fuck her.¡± Rhys told her. ¡°She¡¯s retired anyway.¡± ¡°Why name her the Fading Light?¡± ¡°Ralnor gave her a pendant. She had caught a strange illness.¡± A decade before he was born, back when Verano was a teenager. ¡°The witch¡¯s pendant,¡± Flix said blowing smoke out of his nostrils with a pleased expression. Fucking drug is working fast, Rhys thought. He knew from experience having been drugged not so long ago. He could still feel the numbness at the back of his mouth. Rhys had also a semi-hard cock for a while now that just wouldn¡¯t calm down but this was from all the exertion. Probably. Also having Selussa¡¯s long legs in full view so early in the blasted morning. The Gish might have had a hand in it as well. Literally. Fucking confusing stuff. ¡°Which witch?¡± Selussa asked carefully. ¡°The late Edlenn,¡± Flix replied and blew more smoke out of his mouth. ¡°But you thought of another, yes?¡± ¡°No,¡± Selussa denied it but not very convincingly. ¡°What name does she go by now?¡± Flix asked casually. ¡°Moira,¡± Rhys said over Selussa¡¯s glare. He preferred to have the Gish on their side. ¡°Is Moira heading towards Wetull?¡± Flix asked and tapped his pipe on the leg of the chair to empty it. ¡°She must be for Ralnor to brave the journey. Heh-he. And I thought the wyvern will turn out to be the most exciting thing that Glen would ever have to face.¡± ¡°The Wyvern is real?¡± Rhys queried perking up. The fuck? ¡°What¡¯s a Glen?¡± Selussa asked confused and Flix chuckled. ¡°She asked the same thing. His Cofol wife.¡± Flix told her. ¡°But there¡¯s no easy answer here one can give. You should hope he turns out to be better than what the oracles decreed.¡± Two witches but one of them dead. A Wyvern. ¡°What did the oracles say about him?¡± Rhys asked briskly. ¡°You want the short version?¡± Flix taunted. ¡°I don¡¯t have time for that even. I wanted to join the festivities before I spotted you two younglings. Why are you here then? Why not travel with Ralnor to see the ruins of the Empire?¡± Rhys pursed his mouth. ¡°You want a trade? Is that it?¡± He asked the Gish and Flix nodded with a naughty smirk. ¡°I¡¯ve said enough already. Haven¡¯t talked in years and got carried away,¡± Flix said hoarsely and added in a flirting manner. ¡°We came close Rhys and I was affected.¡± Fuck¡¯s sake. I was fucking drugged! ¡°The Baron wants a man killed,¡± Rhys said wryly feeling Selussa¡¯s stare penetrating the side of his head. ¡°A bad man?¡± Flix queried. ¡°Pretty bad. But I¡¯ve met worse,¡± Rhys glanced at Selussa. ¡°The Baron is not much better.¡± ¡°Hmm. Does Oras not speak to you?¡± Flix asked. ¡°You would know. The name of the aggrieved soul and the name of the culprit are always written on the ashes.¡± ¡°We use scrolls now. Parchments mostly,¡± Rhys explained. ¡°Not much camping in the wilderness.¡± ¡°No altars?¡± Flix asked with a smile. ¡°Not really. Anyway only a name appeared on the¡­ menu. It had room left at the¡­¡± Rhys cleared his throat under Flix¡¯s scrutiny. ¡°No damage has been done to the Baron is the long and short of it. He just fears for the future.¡± ¡°Would Ralnor take a contract under such vague conditions?¡± Flix asked casually. ¡°Would Dar Nym?¡± Rhys asked aggressively. ¡°If Ralnor¡¯s Silent Servants are like those of the Circle then you know the answer,¡± Flix replied. ¡°We don¡¯t question orders but you are.¡± ¡°One could justify it,¡± Rhys murmured. ¡°One could but should he? I¡¯m in the wrong here and have led you astray perhaps. For it is for you to decide and not for past masters. This is your guild. What you¡¯ll make of it is in your hands.¡± Flix said tiredly. ¡°How did the Baron knew to call on the Servants without contacting Oras first?¡± ¡°The woman with the pendant told him,¡± Rhys replied. ¡°She was left in charge, before I took over.¡± ¡°So the rules have already changed.¡± Flix said a little surprised. ¡°Ralnor left it to your discretion?¡± ¡°More or less,¡± Rhys grunted. ¡°Then what he made is better than what Dar Nym had created, for the Circle left no wiggle room to anyone. Even in its flawed state this is... Ralnor actually veered away again out of spite but moved closer to what Oras wants. Hmm. A decent leader could serve the god steering the guild with a steady hand. For Silent Servants should listen to Oras and serve no other.¡± ¡°So¡­ what about¡­¡± Rhys started and Flix stopped him raising his hand. ¡°I gave more than I received.¡± There was a bit of hidden meaning there as well. ¡°You danced around a lot of subjects,¡± Rhys grunted angrily and it came out wrong also. ¡°Much to think about,¡± Flix replied. ¡°You should as well.¡± 21st of Quintus 194 NC ¡°That her?¡± Rhys asked staring at the Demames soldiers guarding the road. The approaches to the palace teeming with guards and cavalry on the lookout for any killers on the loose. Like them. Them specifically. Eh. ¡°I think that¡¯s the Queen Regent next to the King,¡± Selussa reported from the roof of the post office building. She had a spyglass with her, since they were across the square four blocks from Nattas¡¯ villa to the south and two blocks from the palace. The center of the Old City basically. ¡°She looks good for her age.¡± ¡°She¡¯s ain¡¯t that old from what I heard. A bit over thirty,¡± Rhys hissed spotting another patrol marching their way and shoving people away. He assumed a tired expression, resting his back on the side of the building. The climb was too ambitious for him, so he had send Selussa up there. Girl was nimble as a cat. Hence her moniker. ¡°Like the King? Damn he looks good to eat,¡± the female commented in the meantime and Rhys rolled his eyes instead of answering. A sergeant stared at him suspiciously. ¡°Officer,¡± Rhys greeted him. The sergeant stopped. ¡°You¡¯re a visitor?¡± ¡°Yeah, here for the festival,¡± Rhys replied keeping his mouth closed. ¡°What¡¯s in the bag?¡± ¡°A mandolin,¡± Rhys retorted as there were musicians gathering near the amphitheater on the west side of the square and the many stands setup there. There was one inside. He had bought it from a drunk bard yesterday along the ridiculous yellow cloak he had over his clothes. To say Rhys was boiling under the many garbs was an understatement. ¡°Never heard one played. Huh. Better head back then,¡± the Lorian sergeant grunted. Rhys had thought for a moment the officer was about to ask him to whip a tune out. ¡°They are about to start.¡± ¡°Will do,¡± Rhys replied eagerly and watched them heading away. ¡°Hey,¡± Selussa whispered popping her head out of the edge of the roof above him. ¡°Did you see her?¡± ¡°Only blond head near the Queen is the city¡¯s Mayor, Laran Alden. Plenty of grey, some black. All men.¡± Not that pompous prick, Rhys thought sourly. ¡°Anyone else with tits?¡± ¡°A brunette. She¡¯s quiet as a mouse. You think that¡¯s her?¡± ¡°How old is she?¡± Rhys asked. He hadn¡¯t seen Maja in fifteen years. ¡°Twenty something¡­ my age.¡± ¡°She¡¯s too young.¡± If Verano was sixty then Maja was fifty at the minimum now. ¡°Can I drop the rope now?¡± Selussa asked tiredly. ¡°The heat is doing my head in up here. The birds have pooped everywhere and I¡¯ve no other pair of pants!¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you climb down?¡± ¡°To the second floor. Jump on the balcony. What if they spot me?¡± Rhys puffed out and looked up and down the road. There were people coming and going. Mostly locals but also visitors. A lot of eyes. None of them appeared blind. ¡°No rope. Get to the second floor instead. Then smile a lot and pretend you¡¯re lost or ask for the latrine,¡± Rhys hissed and went across the street to have a better view of the square.
¡°The Fourth Legion has set up camp outside the city!¡± The fancy-dressed Herald had stood on the small stone podium at the middle of the square where the fountain was and read from a gigantic scroll in a big voice, playing it up for the gathered crowd. Other nearby stands selling alcohol and foodstuff, with crews of engineers still working on setting up the large roof of the central stage where the plays and music acts would be presented in less than ten days¡¯ time. The possibility of the King being in attendance, however minute, had brought a whole lot of visitors to the coastal city. Plus all the soldiers arriving every other day it seemed. ¡°The King is dining with the Queen Regent! The Duke of Demames and the Duke of Illirium are present!¡± Rhys wiped the sweat off of his forehead with a cloth, the lump still there from the previous day. He had some water from his flask keeping near one of the less busy stands and watching for any sign of the royals getting out of the Domus Di Alden. The idea was to approach the carriage if it was possible and get a better look at the Queen¡¯s entourage. Assuming she wouldn¡¯t travel with the King. ¡°The Three Sisters of the Peninsula have declared their independence from the Khanate! The Khan might have to sail back to deal with them! We say good riddance to him! Lesia mourns the loss of Sir Emerson Lennox. Duke Anker Est Ravn despairs at the untimely demise of Sir Mark Est Ravn! The Khanate claimed Issir¡¯s Eagle! Dark days are ahead for Kaltha!¡± On and on the Herald went, paused for a while and then read the news again. Some news were fresher than others but not by much and only local stuff were up to date. Dan Mori-Yaule came out of the crowd walking briskly, her gait sure despite having played at being a monkey climbing up three storeys not half an hour ago. Half a dozen years make a difference, Rhys thought pensively and smelled Redleaf again. He blinked and looked about, then recoiled seeing Flix standing in the shade a meter away from him wearing a huge straw hat on his head. The lit pipe in his hand again. ¡°Found anything, hmm?¡± ¡°Thought you didn¡¯t care,¡± Rhys retorted. ¡°I don¡¯t care but I¡¯m curious,¡± Flix explained. ¡°I¡¯m a Gish silly.¡± ¡°The place is too packed to approach.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you get in at night?¡± ¡°Yeah, but it depends on whether Maja is in a talking mood. Can¡¯t have arguments with so many armed guards around. I can¡¯t understand what¡¯s going on with her,¡± Rhys admitted. ¡°Heard she¡¯s married to that scribe,¡± Flix said casually. ¡°So?¡± ¡°The Baron said it¡¯s a cover but maybe it isn¡¯t for her?¡± Flix suggested. ¡°You never know what lays inside a person¡¯s heart or what he truly likes. Or whom. Can¡¯t the Guild¡¯s Servants have feelings?¡± ¡°They can,¡± Rhys replied eyeing the masqueraded Gish. Maybe masqueraded wasn¡¯t the right word. Flix wasn¡¯t hiding under the clothes. That¡¯s what he was really. Flix turned to look at him. He wasn¡¯t bigger than a kid, face lost under the shade of the huge hat. A new dress with small roses stitched on it, red and blue blooming flowers over the white cloth. ¡°I want to dance in the festival again,¡± Flix whispered and Rhys glanced at the looking at the palace gates Selussa. ¡°But I forgot how to approach normal people. You talk with who you know,¡± the Gish added a little sad. ¡°Or feel comfortable around. Unless you find someone that sees you and not what you¡¯ve done or who you were. Maybe she found that. Times passes before you know and faces fade away. Friends and lovers taken. Nothing lasts.¡± ¡°I heard the Gish are great scouts,¡± Rhys said. ¡°Dar Vranga probably the best of them all.¡± ¡°Is this an offer?¡± Flix asked coyly. ¡°Strictly business but I¡¯m as good an employer as the best you had,¡± Rhys retorted brusquely and Selussa snorted as she was eavesdropping. ¡°Aren¡¯t you wanted by the guards?¡± Flix asked and a crazy-eyed teenager approached them. An Issir of all things. A couple of more half-breeds in his company that had stayed behind under the musicians¡¯ large platform ten meters away, creating a small group of their own. ¡°So what? Are you scared?¡± Rhys taunted the chuckling Gish regaining his mojo and then glared at the searching about worried young man that had a blue scarf on his head. He looked eighteen. Nineteen at the most. ¡°Do you mind? We¡¯re talking!¡± Rhys barked angrily to scare him away and the young man blinked, afore grinning like the world¡¯s biggest idiot. ¡°They stole my lute,¡± he told Rhys who didn¡¯t care nor did he want to talk to him at all. They created an even bigger group of Issirs with him standing near them and some bored sergeant might think it a good idea to come check on them again. ¡°I had it in a sack and they took it. Snatched it and ran away! I have found a couple of locals that play strings eager to try some new stuff for the¡ª¡± Rhys placed a heavy hand on the young man¡¯s shoulder and cut the bard off midsentence. The assassin gazed in his eyes soberly afore speaking smartly and in a clear to understand manner. ¡°I don¡¯t give a shit kid.¡± ¡°You look like a musician,¡± the bard insisted remaining unfazed and then glanced at the Gish. Flix blew smoke on his face suggestively. This shook the bard up some but not enough to go away. ¡°Ahm¡­ I thought to ask you to come play with us? Maybe we keep a chorus going?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t sing.¡± Rhys retorted adamantly and Flix started laughing almost getting himself choked with the smoke. ¡°He doesn¡¯t,¡± Selussa assured the bard. ¡°But snores a lot.¡± ¡°Right. So you play? Strings, flute?¡± The bard asked hopefully. Rhys was listening to him but also keeping an eye on the square. A large patrol had entered now. That sergeant leading this new group of about fifty legionnaires and a couple of officers towards them. ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t¡­¡± Rhys started, Flix chuckling at his predicament and Selussa sobering up seeing the soldiers marching towards them. ¡°Hey, come on mate!¡± That stupid young bard yelled loudly and punched him lightly on the chest. ¡°Help us out here. I have a tune that¡¯s burning my innards. Blooming fresh inspiration! It wants to come out! You¡¯re feeling me?¡± A Centurion ordered a stop to the march and the sergeant turned his head at them. ¡°What do you say? We¡¯ll just run it one time, just hop on that stage with us!¡± Rhys wanted to gut him like a fish and hang him upside down the roof of the platform by his innards. He scrunched his mouth this way and that, the sergeant squinting his eyes remembering Rhys standing in the street across the square earlier. About fifty stiff legionnaires boiling under the strong sun in their metal helmets and probably coiled like vipers with pent-up anger at the world in general, but an order away from pouncing on anything or anyone. ¡°I¡¯ve a mandolin,¡± Rhys hissed and the bard clenched both his fists in triumph. ¡°In the bag. But I can¡¯t play with a broken finger.¡± ¡°Ouch,¡± the bard gasped still grinning. Nigh punch-able face Rhys had seen in years. ¡°Sorry mate¡­ ahm, can I used it? I¡¯m Jan-Bert.¡± ¡°Rhys,¡± the assassin hissed pursing his mouth. ¡°Let me get it for you,¡± he murmured thinking to stab the idiot in the kidneys, then walk him bleeding down his pants behind the stand and dumb him under it. A quick one minute job max, but there was that sergeant gawking at him as if Rhys had his prick out or something. ¡°Alright!¡± Jan-Bert yelled with enthusiasm to his group and a couple of musicians gathered under the platform. ¡°We¡¯re on lads!¡± A Centurion turned his head around to look at Jan-Bert curious. A shifty looking dude with smart eyes and a trimmed but thick black beard. Had the officer not had that fancy armour on Rhys could have pictured him easily on the helm of a pirate ship. Or smuggling pilfered jewelry from the Turtle Isles. So he gave Jan-Bert the mandolin.
The bard climbed up the stairs already tuning the strings and high-fived the young bards waiting for him up there. While the festival was days away many hopeful bards had come to play a tune or two in front of the crews and the early visiting crowd. Create a bit of a buzz around themselves or just score a couple of coins to have a decent meal. Aegium wasn¡¯t a cheap city in the spring and was criminally expensive in the nearing summer. ¡°Well, they are interested in the kid,¡± Selussa said coming to stand next to him with Flix smoking his pipe on Rhys¡¯ right side. ¡°The officer. That¡¯s a Dottore¡¯s badge on the armour.¡± ¡°Mmm.¡± Rhys grunted not happy with having the legionnaires gathering behind them under the platform to watch the young bards play. Enough of a civilian crowd had approached as a matter of fact and were now standing behind the army¡¯s lads. The latter a Maniple at least. On leave perhaps but they had come fully equipped for a scrap. Jan-Bert showed the other three bards with him the tune under the loud encouragement of some of the locals. Mostly those working the stands as they had witnessed their potential clientele multiplying in mere minutes. ¡°I¡¯ve seen him in camp,¡± the officer told the sergeant behind Rhys¡¯ back. ¡°He¡¯s good. Like really talented, but a bit raw. Unsure still.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t like strings so much Dottore,¡± the Demames sergeant replied respectfully. ¡°How is my friend the Duke?¡± ¡°Bothered with repairs back home,¡± the sergeant said. ¡°Lots of damages. It¡¯s been four years of strife. Lots of marching. Aegium is nice.¡± ¡°Six for me,¡± the Dottore replied. ¡°Lots of marching also and so far as the city goes. Well, the weather¡¯s nice and I always enjoyed Aegium, but I¡¯ll take Asturia over it. Aye,¡± he added and Jan-Bert came at the edge of the platform, the mandolin in hand. He whipped the long scarf over his left shoulder and brought both hands on the small compact string instrument. Jan Bert stared at the two half-breeds under the platform nervously and the female yelled at him with conviction raising a dark-skinned arm high. The sun that was in the crowd¡¯s eyes hid behind a wayward lonely cloud that had appeared on the clear sky, a single sunray staying on the anxious bard like a spotlight. ¡°The time is now Luff!¡± The half-breed gushed and Flix pushed the rim of his hat up using his pipe, while Jan-Bert turned his head around to give the tempo to the bard with the bass, the two lutes nodding at him and then Luff started humming as if he was in Uher¡¯s Temple choir. One¡­ two-three-four! ¡°Dreams o¡¯ spring whisper of the meek reigning this realm,¡± Jan-Bert sang gaining confidence as he went further. ¡°Humble, valiant champions taking the helm. Valens was killed afore ¡®Long¡¯ fell at Mercator¡¯s Inn¡­¡± ¡°What is this?¡± The sergeant gasped angrily behind Rhys. ¡°Tomas get up there and stop him!¡± ¡°Belay that order!¡± The Dottore snapped and a Decanus pushed against Rhys¡¯ back while the crowd started getting into the song after the initial shock. ¡°Give him a little more time sergeant.¡± ¡°Sir!¡± The sergeant protested. ¡°The King is across the square!¡± ¡°It¡¯s a song about the king sergeant,¡± the Dottore assured him. ¡°You just have to listen.¡± A tensed Rhys moved a bit to the right to get some distance between him and the army, felt Flix standing frozen near his knee and saw out of the corner of his left eye Selussa dancing to the rhythm of the song that had turned rowdy, very fast and the mandolin he¡¯d bought for half a gold Eagle leading the charge. The whole square started singing the refrain, the quiet late noon Old City District coming alive. ¡°Ligur kicked Holt¡¯s bridge,¡± Jan-Bert sang, his face drenched in sweat and that light giving him a divine glow that mesmerized the singing crowd. None other more enthusiastic than the Dottore and the soldiers that had been through most of it. ¡°But a tiger punched the lynchpin back in,¡± Jan-Bert roared the next line. ¡°Darn it, this is a win!¡± The spectators booming in a deafening manner, no doubt the sound reaching Lucius¡¯ family villa about three hundred meters away at the other end of the square. LONG LIVE THE KING ¡°Now that¡¯s a good one right there,¡± the Dottore told the enthused sergeant hoarsely. ¡°The kid is going places for sure.¡± Rhys slapped Selussa¡¯s elbow to get her moving while everyone pushed forward to reach the smiling bards, others placing coins on their feet or asking for another song. He turned to cut behind the merchant¡¯s stand, then loop around to head for a side street but realized Flix was still standing there staring at the now flooded with people stage. ¡°Hey old head,¡± he told him. ¡°We gotta go. Are you coming?¡± ¡°Did you feel it?¡± Flix asked him and Rhys grimaced not understanding what he was talking about. ¡°It¡¯s in the air.¡± ¡°What is?¡± Rhys asked nervously, Selussa tapping his back to get them going. ¡°We need to get out of the crowd Flix.¡± ¡°Eh, powerful magic Rhys. It sipped everywhere, clothes, skin. A crowd spell,¡± Flix murmured sounding a little disappointed. ¡°You didn¡¯t feel anything?¡± Rhys had barely listened to the song, his mind on the fifty plus armed dudes ganging up behind them and busy to find a way to get away. ¡°It¡¯s just music,¡± Rhys argued and guided the small creature through the opening between the two emptied food stands. ¡°I prefer old girl instead of old head,¡± Flix griped holding on to his large hat. ¡°And that was a spell, yes it was.¡± Rhys paused the moment they reached the alley next to the amphitheater and breathed out, whilst checking to see if they were followed. They weren¡¯t. ¡°So what does this mean?¡± Selussa asked fanning her flushed face. ¡°There¡¯s a witch in Aegium,¡± Flix replied. Three witches, Rhys thought keeping the count. One of them is dead. ¡°Where to now Dar Tulca?¡± Dar Mori-Yaule asked. ¡°Do we get back to Nattas¡¯ place and try again on the morrow?¡± Dar Tulca stared at the thoughtful face of old Dar Vranga and then back at the younger female assassin. Several generations of fellow killers right there, Rhys thought a little proud he¡¯d lived to see it. Then glanced at the clear sky, not a single cloud anywhere near the bright sun and shook his head thinking on Flix¡¯s words. ¡°I say Asturia,¡± he finally said and looked at the comely Cofol meaningfully. ¡°Easy to reach from the new road. A good travel in the summer, a bit of taste of home for us desert kids.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve barely seen the desert. Not my favorite,¡± Selussa retorted. ¡°That was Zestari.¡± ¡°Gish like the water,¡± Flix added a little uncomfortable. ¡°And the desert might finish me off at this point.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll just follow the Framtond. Stick to the god darn trees!¡± Rhys muttered but regained his footing in the next breath and raised his fist to steel his companions¡¯ spines. ¡°Are you scared? Is that it? Well you need to snap out of it and commit right here and now. Oras shadow! What are we, a bunch of poofters?¡± And while a strong case could be made that perhaps this was true for some of them, the guild¡¯s leader¡¯s words sort of inspired his newly found partners to action. So the night found them on the coastal road leading to Dev¡¯s Mother and the city of Demames. They would catch a ship for Cartaport there. Travel to Oras Navel and then hit the Tunnel Pass for Asturia. This was the job really. Extended periods of inaction, boredom and tediously long journeys. Followed by short bursts of lethal action, with life or death choices decided in a split second, ghastly encounters, bad deals, scumbags for clients and sometimes if Luthos took a shining on your sorry arse, you¡¯ll find a good partner or two, or have a bunch of really weird stuff happen, you get to keep for yourself. Sort of even odds whence the wind will blow and not everyone is capable of appreciating this. But if it did cut your way, then you get to talk about it over the fire and a cup of scented tea. Yep, no one has better stories to tell than the Silent Servants. Now that might even be a fucking oxymoron. 460. The Barons Horse
Lucius Alden, ¡®Bloody Tiger¡¯ Lord Lucius Aldenus the third, Praetor Maximus, Legatus ¡®Omnis Legionis¡¯ King Lucius III The Baron¡¯s Horse
Lucius had told himself to stay on the duke¡¯s throne but in order for him to deal with his nervousness the king had walked instead to one of the floor-to-ceiling windows of Domus Di Alden and looked outside. The Lorian-style massive villa was facing the Old District¡¯s main square taking up a whole side. He could see the tower from there standing beyond the well-maintained marble-tiled yard and the gates of the modest outer walls. So he immediately spotted the carriage approaching the main building. Miranda entered forty minutes later, standing tall and tanned, her face unblemished, and the Tigress¡¯ Eyes pendant adorning the opening on her brightly colored Aegium dress. An older version of her but with none of the typical Alden features diminished. The long blond hair, the large blue eyes and softer, more heart-shaped than square face. Vacia¡¯s raven hair had given her colors to two of the three Alistair¡¯s sons with Jeremy getting a darker-brown through the years, but most of the other Alden had Miranda¡¯s characteristics and posture. ¡°Queen Dowager,¡± Lucius greeted her and noticed wrinkles at the corners of her eyes under the makeup. ¡°King Lucius,¡± Miranda responded with a perfect deep bow holding the sides of her dress. ¡°Apologies. I had to change from the road.¡± ¡°I hope your old quarters were decently prepared,¡± Lucius said debating whether to approach her or not. ¡°We thank your Majesty for the consideration.¡± ¡°It is still your family home,¡± Lucius noted. ¡°All Alden share the same privilege,¡± Miranda replied. Lucius nodded. ¡°The servants prepared some hors d¡¯oeuvre to welcome you back,¡± he said pointing at the narrow table next to the windows. ¡°They have our gratitude your Majesty.¡± That was a pass, Lucius thought and tightened his mouth. ¡°Are the court¡¯s scribes here?¡± Miranda asked breaking protocol. ¡°I¡¯m not hiding anyone,¡± Lucius replied a little defensively. ¡°They are not.¡± Miranda nodded and then looked into his face forlornly. ¡°May I approach your Majesty?¡± ¡°You can,¡± Lucius said and she walked to him. Miranda placed her hands on his shoulders briefly and then took Lucius¡¯ hand with hers to hold it on her face with affection. It surprised him but Lucius quickly realized the queen dowager was mourning. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for your loss,¡± Lucius said comfortingly. Miranda shook her head lightly, remarkably maintaining her composure. ¡°Every one of my losses your Majesty shares as keenly,¡± she replied hoarsely and her words affected Lucius deeply. The king kept a hand on her face for a moment, a physical touch Lucius had avoided growing up as Miranda was younger than he was, a spirited girl and his father¡¯s wife. They never were very comfortable around each other with Lucius holding a certain animosity for the girl that had taken his late mother¡¯s place. ¡°I¡¯d like to see Jeremy,¡± she told him in a low voice and Lucius pursed his mouth to keep his emotions in check. ¡°He¡¯s not¡­ I have placed a silver cist in the crypt,¡± he told her, the matter still bothering him. ¡°It was the best I could do at the time.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll visit him,¡± Miranda insisted. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen Silvie but I¡¯ll speak to Jeremy since they are together now.¡± Lucius gulped down and nodded. ¡°Where is Silvie?¡± He asked and the former queen¡¯s face crumpled, a rugged breath escaping her lips. ¡°With Prince Kasper in Issir¡¯s Eagle gardens,¡± Miranda finally said. ¡°My circumstances never allowed me to travel there.¡± Lucius nodded in understanding and allowed her a moment of discreetness looking at the table with cold dishes prepared. ¡°I¡¯ll have a cup of wine,¡± he decided and walked there to serve himself. Miranda remained at her spot some meters away, still in the middle of the hall. ¡°You should rest. The city is filled with dignitaries and I have two Dukes that don¡¯t like each other living too close together.¡± ¡°Your Majesty can ask and I¡¯ll do my best to answer,¡± Miranda finally said. Lucius sipped at the local wine and pressed his lips thoughtfully for a moment. ¡°You didn¡¯t want to stay as Regent,¡± he finally said in a non-confrontational manner. ¡°I hadn¡¯t planned it nor expected your father to be attacked in a conference,¡± Miranda replied. ¡°All I could think of at the time was my Silvie. I wanted to find those that had taken her from me.¡± ¡°Who was responsible?¡± Lucius asked looking at his goblet. ¡°Lord Nattas believes a religious sect had caused it. They had taken advantage of a stupid protest organized by Uher¡¯s Church to apply pressure on King Antoon and matters escalated. Old Gods believers.¡± ¡°They targeted my sister?¡± Lucius asked evenly. ¡°There was no target. They fired on our tables,¡± Miranda replied with a shudder at the memory. ¡°It took me years to stop replaying the horrid scene in my head.¡± ¡°Which gods?¡± Lucius asked. ¡°We haven¡¯t¡­ it wasn¡¯t clear. Those responsible had their faces coated in white paint.¡± Lucius furrowed his brows at the detail. He placed the goblet on the table and crossed his arms on his chest. ¡°I have encountered some of them.¡± ¡°You have?¡± Miranda queried a little surprised. ¡°Up North. Followers of the Painted God.¡± He grimaced thinking about Steele and the late Bart Crull. ¡°They were working with the priests of Uher?¡± Lucius asked thoughtfully. ¡°Gordian confessed they had a hand in the riots but the attack was orchestrated by them.¡± ¡°Lord Nattas worked on this? There was an attack on the priests a couple of months later.¡± ¡°A local gang was responsible for that. They lashed out as a retaliation for Alistair closing the brothels at Gordian¡¯s behest. The priests had started a pogrom of witches and non-believers. But aye, Lord Nattas looked into both matters at your father¡¯s request,¡± Miranda paused unsure. ¡°And mine. I might have pressured him some at the time.¡± Lucius nodded. Storm was probably busy with that, he thought. Not a small matter for sure and he lost sight of a plot brewing against the King. ¡°You should have taken the throne from the start,¡± Miranda said interrupting his musings. ¡°It was all a huge mistake and Jeremy would have been still alive now.¡± ¡°Would your brother have ordered Laudus to murder Jeremy?¡± Lucius asked straightforwardly and Miranda paled at his words. ¡°Doris wouldn¡¯t have touched him. He¡¯d no reason for it.¡± ¡°Would he have done it, if he had a reason?¡± Lucius insisted patiently. ¡°My brother is a cruel man Lucius,¡± Miranda replied openly. ¡°You know that. But he isn¡¯t stupid and harming Jeremy wasn¡¯t in his interests. I think he liked him more than me.¡± Lucius nodded with a grimace of frustration. ¡°Laudus was working with Duke Ursus?¡± ¡°Laudus was your father¡¯s pick wasn¡¯t he? Sneaky little man. Laudus and Ursus never saw eye to eye. The Duke never trusted him since Laudus had caused him many problems whilst working for the Admiralty.¡± This was surprising. ¡°What was their dispute?¡± ¡°Laudus supported the status quo. So he was always critical of Novesium¡¯s facilities to the king. All boring bureaucratic stuff. I think he just wanted a payday and Ursus is stingy.¡± ¡°Or he was telling the truth. Cartaport and Illirium have the know-how. There are only so many naval yards the Kingdom can support.¡± Miranda shrugged her shoulders. ¡°Is Laudus arrested?¡± ¡°We are looking for him.¡± ¡°I wish him a painful death,¡± Miranda said evenly. She breathed out slowly and then asked in a courtly manner. ¡°Do we have your Majesty¡¯s permission to travel to Alden?¡± ¡°Absolutely but you should stay for a few days,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°Rest and enjoy staying in the palace. It is unfortunate you had to live in exile for so long but now you are not in any danger Miranda.¡± ¡°Gratitude King Lucius,¡± she replied throatily sounding overwhelmed and performed another graceful curtsy. ¡°May your reign heals all wounds and brings peace to the realm.¡± Yeah, Lucius thought. Let¡¯s hope that but at the moment I need to talk with the army heads about another campaign. 19th of Quintus 194 NC Late afternoon Consul Galio Veturius moved the tiny wooden vessels through the Krakentrap Straits one by one, with Ser De Hond standing over his shoulder. Four very-heavy, large square tables had been brought inside the elegant Aegium palace and chairs, marble statues or other decorations had been pushed aside to make room for the engineers and cartographers to put together the large scaled model map of the continents. They had started early that morning and it had taken them the whole day to finish. Durio had assured Lucius that ¡®disassembling it would be much faster and probably easier.¡¯ The king in turn wanted the model brought to Cartagen as the Palace of the Hundred Windows had the space for it. Duke Brakis had thought it a needless expense and offered the king a series of detailed maps of the Straits and the oceans that focused mainly on the waters leaving the land a vague concept at the periphery. Control the seas yes, but you¡¯ll need to take the land to win, Lucius thought, his eyes following the small vessels on their imaginary journey guided by the Consul¡¯s thick fingers. The King of Regia had a pack of scrolls in his hand with the rosters of the 3rd and 4th Legions. The latter had arrived under Legatus Sula the other day and had finished constructing a Castrum just before the first houses of the city, right on the road between Saltville and Aegium. Sula had cut down the palms shading part of the road and the recently released from captivity Baron of Saltville Vinicius Alden had protested formally to his distant kin King Lucius at the ¡®barbaric¡¯ practice. The incident almost turned violent when a group of local Saltville guards, a road patrol in reality, had approached the 4th Legion¡¯s freshly-rebuilt engineers under Reb Cable (who had recently been promoted) and attempted to arrest them. The young engineers had scattered inside the coast-hugging trees, the mounted patrol followed after them and the Northmen of Marlene Lake who were resting inside the wooded area jumped the guards. Two men were seriously injured with a sergeant having ¡®some of his brains spilt¡¯ trying ¡®to deflect a war-hammer wit his head¡¯ as Marlene reported to Tribune Pete Dumont standing in for the ailing Legatus making it sound that it was the hapless man¡¯s fault, ¡®but he¡¯ll be right as new in no time chief¡¯. The man wouldn¡¯t as a matter of fact according to one of Dottore Borealis'' medics (the Dottore of the 4th had given himself the week off) that had rushed to the scene and was to live the rest of his days as an invalid with Lucius ordering the Tribune to pay him a decent pension out of the Legion¡¯s coffers. The Baron in his turn wanted the Legion moved ¡®near the other also, to help unclog the road¡¯, which Lucius had flatly refused to even consider. ¡°Is the Legatus in a condition to join us?¡± Lucius asked the Tribune of the 4th Legion, Dumont using a cane as he¡¯d a permanent leg injury that made it difficult for him to stand for long. Dumont had teased the Consul on the matter earlier, saying that now ¡®we both have our own batons to stand on,¡¯ to which Galio had replied stiffly that he mainly used his to crack open ¡®the heads of young fools to set them straight.¡¯ ¡°He will join us tomorrow sire,¡± Dumont replied. ¡°Nonus had promised Lady Martha whilst we were on the road to show her the city first thing and she rarely forgets a promise.¡± Lucius nodded and glanced at the two Dukes discussing with their aides across the large table. ¡°I may need men that can stand on a deck Tribune.¡± He told the Legion officer. ¡°The Halfostad lads,¡± Dumont replied. ¡°A dip in the sea will help them sire.¡± ¡°Do you have many complaints?¡± Lucius asked. ¡°Pay is more important,¡± Dumont reported. ¡°But several have taken ill on their leaves.¡± ¡°See to rotate them but keep it under control Tribune. We have a lot of soldiers roaming Aegium at this time. How soon can I have the numbers available?¡± ¡°Tomorrow morning sire,¡± Dumont replied. ¡°I¡¯ll have Jacobred put to work immediately. Might even task Hugh Bolton to help soon as I locate him.¡± The Centurion was the 4th Legion¡¯s LID officer. ¡°Where is he?¡± ¡°In the city. He¡¯s meeting with Ramirus.¡± Lucius nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll have to deal with some civilian matters later, but I trust you¡¯ll have the matter handled by morrow Tribune.¡± ¡°Yes sir.¡± Dumont replied and saluted. Lucius glanced again at the model and Galio¡¯s miniature ships gathering beyond the Straits but had to stop noticing Duke Stan Brakis approach with the dark-skinned Sir Vel Sextus-Brakis at his side. ¡°Your Majesty, King Lucius!¡± Brakis boomed as if to test the hall¡¯s acoustics and stopped in front of the King. He¡¯d sweat rivulets running down his sideburns and a red face but that hadn¡¯t stopped him earlier after they had finished their dinner to attack Lord Doris¡¯ wine collection with gusto. ¡°Sir Vel leads Illirium¡¯s Marines.¡± ¡°King Lucius,¡± the fit and tall knight said with a bow of his raven-head. ¡°I see you are well Sir Vel.¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. ¡°Still waiting for a rematch my lord,¡± the wiry dark-skinned Lorian replied confidently. ¡°My touring years are in the past Sir Vel,¡± Lucius replied and stared at the approaching thirty knight a little surprised. ¡°You intent on participating this summer? I¡¯ll be sure to come and see you in support if time allows it.¡± The Knight from Illirium was always viewed with skepticism from the Lorian crowds despite his skill. Vel shook his head right and left afore smiling, his stance relaxing. ¡°I¡¯ve retired from the games as well my lord.¡± He said. ¡°Hah, there then,¡± Brakis cracked up, a hand wiping the sweat off of his face. ¡°With that out of the way, Sir Vel volunteered to take part in the festivities your Majesty,¡± the Duke added very pleased. ¡°How many marines can Illirium bring to the table?¡± ¡°One thousand eight hundred,¡± Sir Vel replied. Lucius nodded crumbling the scrolls in his hand. ¡°We¡¯ll need as many, at least a thousand more. Demames has lost theirs I understand.¡± ¡°They have some in training,¡± Brakis replied. ¡°We could crew the ships and use half of them in the actual assault. It can be done.¡± ¡°No half measurers,¡± Lucius argued with a grimace. ¡°We¡¯ll use legionnaires.¡± ¡°The sea might get rough beyond the Straits King Lucius,¡± Brakis countered. ¡°It concerns me this fact,¡± Lucius admitted. ¡°But I see no other way to gain advantage. The Khanate¡¯s ships are very big and slow. The same can be said for yours Admiral. It¡¯ll be the men aboard that decide the affair unless we manage to sink each other from afar.¡± ¡°We could attempt to bombard them my Lord,¡± Brakis offered. ¡°If we spot them early and prepare our lines.¡± ¡°Too many variables,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°I¡¯ve thought about it. We could try it if its favorable but your ships can¡¯t sail to battle empty Brakis.¡± ¡°The decision is yours to make my Lord,¡± Brakis yielded with a bow. ¡°Sir Vel will make sure we get the fleet ready.¡± ¡°How much time will you need?¡± Lucius asked and opened a missive he¡¯d received from Duke Anker¡¯s camp. Brakis stared at Sir Vel and the knight shrugged his shoulders. ¡°I can go right now,¡± Vel told his distant kin. ¡°Three months your grace if we¡¯re to have everything ready,¡± Brakis replied after a thoughtful pause. ¡°How much time has Duke Anker asked for?¡± ¡°Officially Lord Anker said they are planning to attack the Khan immediately and can¡¯t discuss any details with us.¡± Lucius said with a grimace. ¡°But the Duke of Caspo O¡¯ Bor who wrote to congratulate me on ascending the throne and promise to visit, claims that his schedule opens up ¡®after six months¡¯.¡± ¡°They got kicked in the teeth hard,¡± Brakis decided with a frown. ¡°It wasn¡¯t a clear-cut win,¡± Lucius argued. ¡°Else the Khan¡¯s navy would have moved to blockade Caspo O¡¯ Bor and strangle them. Lord Anker might be forced back to Midlanor in that case.¡± ¡°That¡¯s winter time,¡± Brakis murmured thoughtfully. ¡°Also a lot of time given to the Horselords.¡± ¡°Let me see if we have the men needed first,¡± Lucius told them and ended the meeting.
The night breeze whistled through the palace garden¡¯s trees and it eased your breathing. Lucius who had still not gotten used to the different weather walked out of his quarters towards the balcony facing east with a gesture for Sir Valgus to remain at his post by the door. ¡°My Lord, Sir Seleucid wants a portion of the royal guard to travel here,¡± Sir Valgus informed him. Lucius paused and stared at the Regia knight. ¡°They are guarding my wives are they not?¡± ¡°Queen Faye has men enough at her disposal my lord and Queen Monica never leaves the palace.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Lucius said not wanting to deal with it that night and pointed at the open doors of the large first floor balcony directly over the atrium. ¡°Anyone in there?¡± ¡°The Augusta,¡± Sir Valgus replied. ¡°By herself?¡± ¡°The other priestesses are entertaining the Queen Dowager,¡± the knight replied. ¡°She requested their presence. They are at the west garden with Lady Maja Nattas.¡± ¡°Any word from the younger Merenda?¡± ¡°Nothing from the Legatus today my Lord,¡± Sir Valgus replied. ¡°Do you want to come outside?¡± Lucius asked. ¡°I¡¯ll stand guard my lord,¡± came the knight¡¯s reply.
Flavia was standing near the marble guardrails at the edge of the balcony looking at the mostly dark city. The attractive priestess had a thin yellow chiton on and was bathed in the moonlight. Her goddess is having a hand in this probably, Lucius thought and came to stand next to the shorter than him woman. Much older also but it wasn¡¯t easy to guess her age and the priestesses adopted new names after taking up the higher positions. Augusta Flavia was a Vidrix of course, the Lorian family that had settled on Valeria and slowly gained control of the temple they had found there. Since no marriages were common for the priestesses most offspring were born out of wedlock. ¡°The coastal taverns are still open,¡± Lucius commented looking at the direction she was looking. ¡°They never really close this time of year.¡± ¡°Does King Lucius knows what lays to the southeast?¡± Flavia asked in a deliberately soft voice. ¡°Beyond the city¡¯s lights and the coast?¡± ¡°What heading on a map?¡± ¡°A forty-five degrees angle and you¡¯ll head as the crow flies.¡± Flavia replied and Lucius shook his head impressed with the level of education all priestesses had without attending an academy. Then again they were living inside an Academy after all. ¡°The Turtle Isles?¡± He finally replied. ¡°You¡¯ll miss them to your east,¡± Flavia said. ¡°But if you maintain that heading you¡¯ll come upon the Split Isles at some point.¡± ¡°Ah. The fabled lands beyond the ocean,¡± Lucius teased her before catching himself. ¡°I guess senior Framtond shared more of his tall tales with the priestesses at some point. I must have skipped that chapter.¡± ¡°We learned that from his mother,¡± Flavia explained looking at him intently. Lucius nodded not convinced. ¡°Who rules there?¡± ¡°Humans control a part.¡± ¡°What about the other part?¡± Lucius asked with a small smile. ¡°Harpies.¡± Lucius laughed trying to be polite and stared at the lights of the lower city reaching the plateau. ¡°Storm wants us to talk with this ¡®King¡¯ in Goras.¡± He told her sobering up. ¡°You grace refers to Lord Nattas?¡± The Augusta was subtly telling him she knew Lord Nattas but not that well. The rumors were saying otherwise. ¡°I do. Did you know he had daughter out of wedlock?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t, but it comes as little surprise,¡± Flavia replied softly. ¡°She¡¯s a quiet girl.¡± ¡°Mmm,¡± Lucius murmured. ¡°Never mind. What about this ruler beyond the Pale Mountains?¡± ¡°He¡¯s real.¡± ¡°Does he own a Wyvern?¡± Lucius asked her. ¡°Many believe he does. Without one, how can he rule over the Zilan?¡± Flavia wondered. ¡°One can rule over ruins,¡± Lucius countered. ¡°Yet, he helped the three Sisters enough to defeat Prince Nout,¡± Flavia insisted. ¡°With the Khan¡¯s armies away and the prince rumored sick for years,¡± Lucius argued the logical reason. ¡°Wasn¡¯t Prince Nout the greatest of the Khanate¡¯s generals? Would a sick Lucius be a weak opponent?¡± Flavia teased and Lucius grimaced. He didn¡¯t like dealing in hypotheticals. ¡°I think the Horselords minimize Lord Lennox¡¯s contribution here, or not wanting to accept defeat they concocted the story of a faraway benefactor that helped defeat the Gold Leopard.¡± Lucius pursed his mouth realizing he had just done the same as her. ¡°How could Lord Lennox win a battle he¡¯d lost most of his men and his own life?¡± Flavia asked perceptively. ¡°Perhaps I don¡¯t understand these matters so well your grace. Apologies,¡± she added seeing Lucius¡¯ deep frown. ¡°My Lord,¡± Sir Valgus interrupted them, the armoured knight¡¯s figure appearing in the open balcony garden doors. ¡°What is it good knight?¡± Lucius asked. ¡°Ramirus wants to report a disturbance in the lower city.¡± Lucius heard the bells of the city guard ring in the late Salt Coast night as if on cue. ¡°What happened?¡± He asked narrowing his eyes. 20th Quintus of 194 NC Domus Di Alden Ramirus had the eyes of a man that hadn¡¯t slept at all and there was dry blood smearing his blue tunic at the hem. The Director of LID waited for Lucius to read the casualty list Bolton had given him. The king tossed the papyrus on the desk and stared at the two intelligence officers intently. ¡°Nine people were killed?¡± He asked them in a brusque manner. ¡°And several injured,¡± Ramirus replied raspingly, his trimmed short black beard and tanned skin making his face appear dark in the well-lit lavish office but for the clear blue eyes. ¡°Two agents amongst the dead, a legionnaire on leave serving with the 4th and we have a Demames Captain that was out for a late night drink with his wife gravely injured.¡± ¡°Uher¡¯s mercy. What kind of injury?¡± Lucius asked with a grimace. ¡°A blade to the throat,¡± Ramirus clenched his fists. ¡°Two of the culprits broke out of the crowd and jumped in the sea, then swam away in the darkness. The third went out of the front doors and killed the second LID agent inside a stable. The man was found beheaded.¡± ¡°Good grief,¡± Lucius grunted. ¡°Was it random or it had something to do with your agency Ramirus?¡± ¡°According to surviving witnesses,¡± Ramirus replied. ¡°One of the agents yelled ¡®kingslayers¡¯ sire afore those three went berserk. He may have identified them as men working for Laudus just before that.¡± Lucius pursed his mouth a little surprised. ¡°Two Issirs or half-breeds with dark skin milord,¡± Bolton elucidated. ¡°A male and a female. The third culprit was also a female but a Cofol.¡± The king smacked his lips frustrated. ¡°Laudus known associates?¡± ¡°Never employed women. And they are overwhelmingly Lorian but for a known Nord,¡± Ramirus replied. ¡°What¡¯s the working theory here Ramirus?¡± Lucius asked. ¡°They are here to attempt another murder?¡± ¡°With your grace in the city, it is a concern.¡± Ramirus admitted. ¡°We are scouring all neighborhoods to locate them but Aegium is packed with visitors at this point.¡± ¡°Director,¡± Bolton intervened. Lucius glanced at him and then at Ramirus. ¡°There¡¯s another hypothesis gentlemen?¡± He queried evenly. ¡°There is a reward offered from the Bank of Trust for the head of Lear Hik. Dead or alive,¡± Ramirus said and reached inside his chest armour to get a dirty hankie out. He used it to clean his gold signet ring that Lucius noticed that it was covered in blood. ¡°A lot of manhunters are on the move my Lord.¡± ¡°The bounty hunter looking for Laudus?¡± Lucius queried. ¡°It is said he may have killed one of the Marquise¡¯s sons and the daughter of Baron D¡¯Orsi. Old Federico Mclean is probably behind the reward offered. Two thousand gold Eagles sire. That¡¯s twice what we offered for Jeremy¡¯s killers and we are searching for multiple people.¡± ¡°Hik decided to wage war against Atetalerso? These men grew up together. Which daughter?¡± ¡°Lady Eleonora sire. His late brother¡¯s daughter. Sir Laurent¡¯s that is.¡± ¡°Sir Laurent D¡¯Orsi was killed during the Warbands Rebellion,¡± Lucius murmured and pushed back on the armchair. ¡°I didn¡¯t know he had a daughter. Why would Hik kill her? He was a friend of her father.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve yet to learn a reason sire,¡± Ramirus replied. ¡°Other than that they were both in Badum.¡± ¡°Looking for Laudus,¡± Lucius added. ¡°It is the most logical explanation. An argument occurred and Hik killed them according to a witness.¡± ¡°Where is the witness?¡± ¡°He¡¯s been held in Asturia in a house next to the bank¡¯s main office there. He may be implicated in some unlawful activity himself.¡± Ramirus explained. Great. ¡°Held?¡± ¡°Lord Bernard was the first to be informed of the incident and ordered this bounty hunter to remain in the city under guard until everything is cleared. The Bank is negotiating with Lord Bernard for his release. Apparently there were more people killed around Irde. Local Issirs, criminals, bounty hunters and some Lorian sell-swords from Asturia. The local authorities asked Asturia to assist in apprehending the culprits.¡± ¡°What happened there Ramirus? Is this about the reward?¡± Lucius asked feeling responsible for the mess as he was disinclined from the beginning to involve third party help. ¡°We don¡¯t know what happened in Irde sire but perhaps these three were talking about it or were drawn here by a different reward. They were very skilled¡­ killers my Lord.¡± ¡°Professionals?¡± Lucius puffed out and gazed at the morning sun outside his office window for a long moment. ¡°Why did they come here? Take orders from the Bank?¡± ¡°We have the local office under surveillance sire. All roads are guarded for people matching their description and I secured permits from the Dukes to search their ships. Demames and Illirium authorities have been notified. I¡¯m not optimistic we will get them.¡± Lucius stared in his face in deep silence. ¡°Let me hear it Director,¡± he finally said warningly. Ramirus grimaced, lines forming around his eyes and then reached inside his chest armour to retrieve a purse he¡¯d secured with a cord. He opened it and fished out a square gold coin. Ramirus approached the desk and placed it in front of Lucius. The King stared at the thick coin with the perfectly cut sides and the carved eye of Oras at its center. He touched it with the index finger. ¡°It¡¯s a repurposed Old Imperial Coin,¡± Ramirus explained. ¡°Very rare. It is believed that it belongs to one of the culprits and it must have fallen out of their pockets in the confusion.¡± ¡°You were going another way earlier when you talked about skilled killers,¡± Lucius said hoarsely. ¡°Lindsey was a very-skilled warrior. Former ranger and excellent with a sword,¡± Ramirus explained. ¡°A woman two heads shorter than him, armed with a dagger took him out in two seconds sire. Stabbed him six-times in that time according to a waitress standing not a meter away. Then the woman leaped over two tables packed with people like an insect, whilst her accomplice stepped behind a decorative plant and disappeared into thin air. The same number of wounds we found on the slain legionnaire on the other exit of the tavern. Even the pattern was identical though the killers weren¡¯t.¡± Assassins. ¡°Why would the Bank contact the Silent Servants Guild?¡± Lucius asked tiredly. ¡°If we¡¯re to believe everything history teaches us of them and take it as fact, then you never know what they will ask you as payment. Remember the old tale? The Baron¡¯s favorite horse right? The Bank has enough men to handle this on its own without resorting to the supernatural.¡± A Baron of a faraway land had his favorite hen stolen by his neighbor. It was an energetic healthy hen that produced large often double yolk eggs and it was the second most favorite of the Baron¡¯s possessions the tale goes. The other been a stallion that produced thoroughbreds. The aggrieved Baron got blinded by hatred when he was informed that his neighbor had dined on the Baron¡¯s prized hen and out of spite he called on God Oras to send one of his Servants to right the wrong done unto him. A Servant appeared days later while the Baron was tending his garden with the heads of both his neighbor and his bountiful wife. Apparently the man had stolen the hen to please her. While the Baron stood in shock and stared at the gruesome offerings, the Silent Servant informed him dispassionately that the Guild wanted his prized stallion as payment for the contract. The Baron protested and declared that the Servant would get his hands on the beautiful horse only over his dead body. After a thoughtful pause the Servant accepted the amendment to their deal. Killed the Baron and took his horse. The story preaching that you don¡¯t call on the Guild for shallow reasons else it might backfire on you. ¡°Men fail but not the Guild, is also what the tale teaches us. Maybe they were invited by someone else and for this very reason. More interested in having the bounty hunter fully dead than dragged back to face Mclean¡¯s wrath. With more to lose than simply avenging a lost niece or a relative. The injured Captain said they were talking about Hik.¡± Ramirus explained. ¡°The Bank has offices everywhere and Mclean rarely leaves Atetalerso, yet they came here of all places for they needed to speak directly with whomever summoned them. Aegium is full of people that could have had your brother killed sire and that¡¯s as powerful a motive.¡± Those responsible are still here was his meaning.
There was an incident in one of the seaside taverns in New City. The army remained on alert for weeks and arrests were made but the culprits slipped away. Legatus Sula volunteered to personally lead the foray beyond the Krakentrap Straits given the new timeline but the King refused to allow it. He did place the Legatus in charge of the operation along with Sir Vel Sextus-Brakis and Captain Peter Brakis was tasked with leading the flotilla. Duke Paulus wanted Lord Drusus to take the lead over his more distant kin but the King turned the proposal down. Duke Brakis suggested Ser De Hond but this was also turned down as the man had little military experience. A compromise was reached with the Legatus staying on land with the 4th Legion and Prefect Valens taking the lead of the legionaries aboard the ships. Much to Lady Martha¡¯s chagrin who protested vigorously to the king for ¡®risking Nonus¡¯ life again¡¯. King Lucius reminded her that it was he in fact that had kept the Legatus from the worst and that ¡®Nonus always volunteers my Lady. You do that in the army you¡¯re going to get picked.¡¯ While it was months ahead of time and many things could change in the field in the meantime, the coded vague name for the units to know that the operation was indeed on and they were to attack was agreed upon beforehand and was distributed down the officer ranks. The phrase suggested by the King was ¡®Larum in caelo¡¯ in archaic Lorian. Seagull in the sky.
461. A pair of boots -
What is this trick? Some fiend¡¯s hairy tick? She mused in her sleep. Mistress? Good Sister? Where am I? Is this a vision? She paused behind the elegant ivory stool hearing heavy steps coming towards the door. It cracked open and a wiry human entered. Square jaw and curly black hair nicely trimmed with some grey in them. Clad in heavy segmented armour, polished metal strips gleaming as the lightstones luminance reflected on them. Metal shoulder pads flaring outwards and thick arms gesturing for several soldiers to remain outside but for another officer that followed him inside. The second human was about forty-years old and had a badly healed arm but he used it to close the door behind them. They both had crimson tunics worn underneath their fancy armour and swords strapped on their waists. The first human paused inside the large room and he¡¯d a handsome face for sure, clever eyes and a surprisingly spirited aura for a military grunt. ¡°You think they are lying?¡± The first human officer asked the second and the man shrugged his shoulders. ¡°We need those ships to get back. That¡¯s a big swim otherwise and you¡¯re getting up there in years friend.¡± ¡°Maybe they are not here but the moment I trust Horselords, I¡¯ll cut my other arm off Antonius,¡± his colleague replied curtly and the first human made a grimace. ¡°How are you going to use yer cock then? It bothers you now a lot and you¡¯ve got a spare hand sort of. Hah-hah!¡± He chuckled freely but stopped abruptly when he heard a sharp knock from the door. ¡°Yes!¡± This foul-mouthed Antonius barked and a reply came she missed. ¡°You sure? A slave from Goras? Let her in lads!¡± The door opened again and a striking slave girl entered with her face partially hidden behind a shrill mesh veil. Tall, fit and long limbed. She was dressed in a typical Eplas outfit, the lower parts of that dreamy skirt flowing over her legs as she approached the two rigid officers. ¡°You know what?¡± Antonius decided whilst watching the slave girl placing a platter with refreshments and various fruits on a nearby table. ¡°I¡¯ll check on the roster sir. See if anyone is missing,¡± the other officer replied reading his mind and saluted raising his fist. ¡°Check the taverns if they are.¡± ¡°Yes sir.¡± The first officer waited for him to exit and then turned to the silent slave girl that had parked her barely covered bottom on the table next to the platter. She returned his penetrating stare, her sandaled legs swinging back and forth hypnotically. Well, well. She thought intrigued. ¡°And the King declared so everyone present could listen -all histories reveal, my brave Marcus-Antonius never wanted for anything but always ventured forth ever proactive,¡± she hummed in perfect Common from memory. ¡°Public words that forced a jealous author¡¯s hand to write it down.¡± ¡°Where are them big ears lass?¡± Antonius asked brusquely not liking her candor. The memories not as pleasant for him. ¡°Does the palace shy away from employing Zilan servants?¡± He asked and walked near the much younger female. Much as she tried to make out her face she just couldn¡¯t. She didn¡¯t know her. Never met her. Nor him. It was interesting for certain. But why am I dreaming of this? She wondered forming rhymes in her sleep. What is this strange sense of bliss? ¡°In this realm and until the end of time, everyone is my servant,¡± the brash slave girl had replied in a pompous manner and the officer had cracked up deafeningly. ¡°That¡¯s quite a lot. In the meantime, how about you clean a couple of oranges for us lass,¡± Antonius finally retorted with a disbelieving grin. ¡°And help me with these darn boots. It¡¯s an old pair. Well-traveled but you¡¯ll take them off easily I¡¯m sure. Then lose the garbs and bring everything to the bed over there. Perhaps then you¡¯ll tell me more about Goras.¡± ¡°The latter shall give you no pleasure,¡± she had replied throatily. ¡°The former would but it might also sever your life¡¯s thread. What shall the slain tiger¡¯s favorite general choose this time?¡±
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Marcus-Antonius Merenda A pair of boots
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First Legion Abbreviated | ¡®The Legion¡¯, ¡®Odio Patiantur Dum Timent¡¯*, ¡®First¡¯, ¡®the Army¡¯, ¡®Primo de Brutis¡¯, RCEMR-I) Panthera Tigris | Reddish bronze, silver and gold standard representing the head of a soberly contemplating Blacktiger, very similar to Regia¡¯s gold non-snarling banner, the royal Aldenus family crest and the 3rd Legion¡¯s roaring Blacktiger emblem used in banners and armour. Legatus Merenda added a rectangular metal plaque containing in large gold letters the phrase Per Virtutem followed by the abbreviation RCEMR (Rex, Consul et Exercitus de Magna Regia) under the sculpted head in 194 NC, a now famed acronym in archaic Lorian that translates ¡®By virtue of the King, Consul & Army of Greater Regia¡¯ which all other Regia Legions adopted soon after. Organizational chart* During the restructuring that happened after the battles of the Lorian Plains throughout 194 NC Overall strength ~3000? -Legio general staff not included, supply train personnel not included -2600-2800 legionnaires. (Almost 2000 of them taken from the first Cohort) ~200? Other units mainly engineers and rangers. Legatus | Marcus-Antonius Merenda (One of Sir Seleucid¡¯s many legitimized bastards. The youngest Legatus ever in the history of the Legions. He was five years younger from Caesar Lucius I and seven from King Lucius III who were the other two at the time that he got promoted in 194 NC. A Quadrumvir, the ¡®most skilled but also unpredictable of the bunch¡¯ according to Sirio Veturius¡¯ description of him and the ¡®handsomest officer that ever donned the Lorica Segmentata after Tribune Trupo¡¯ according to the Tribune himself, who considered Merenda¡¯s lack of a prominent mustache a big minus.) Aide de Legatus | Prefect (of general¡¯s staff) Domus (Gold Phalera recipient. Maimed. Transferred from the 2nd Cohort of the 3rd Legion. Promoted twice in a few months by Merenda. A lowborn, his family worked the Merenda family lands historically and the Legatus childhood friend.) 1st Prefect | Memon, (Legatus Ligur¡¯s old aide du Camp. Promoted to Prefect by Ligur just before he committed suicide. Represented the old guard of the First Legion. A lowborn.) Optio | Damian ¡®milord¡¯ Holt (Asturia, Regia. His father Robart Holt, former director in the Bank of Trust¡¯s main office in Cediorum, was third cousin to the Duke of Asturia and a financial advisor to King Lucius. A political appointment.) 2nd Prefect Damascus (Sabretooth Castle, Regia. A young member of the old guard. His family associated with Baron Scylla.) 3rd Prefect (of engineers) | Servius Celsus (Cartagen. Legendary engineer. The inventor of ¡®mounted artillery¡¯. Injured in the battle for the Lorian Plains.) Quartermaster | Ninius Arminus, also Keeper of the Purse. Panthera Tigris Signifer | Centurion (Honoraris) Sextus Crassus (Aldenfort. Member of the old guard. Famously stepped forward and surrendered the trapped First Legion¡¯s defenders to King Lucius at the waning stages of the Lorian Plains battle.) Centurion Primus Pilus, ¡®Retired¡¯ Glycia (1st Cohort. Serving for a second twenty-five year term. The unit¡¯s moniker ¡®Old Mother¡¯ also attributed to him, an affectionate term as it basically birthed all other Cohorts after the 194 NC reorganization. Very influential member of the old guard in the First Legion and Ligur¡¯s favorite field officer.) Decanus, Cornelius Pilatus. (Vinterfort) Camp Sergeant, Furius Tasius ¡®the second¡¯. (Alden) Centurion ¡®Ravenous¡¯ Indus (2nd Cohort. Transferred from the 3rd Legion. He had also served under Merenda there. Several soldiers had petitioned the King to follow the Legatus in his new command but Lucius ordered Trupo to stop accepting the transfers after a while.) Legionnaires (attached) Vegetius and Cucan. (The ¡®Praetorians¡¯. Hailing from Cartagen, decorated legionnaires and members of the Legatus inner circle. Transferred from the 3rd Legion but while in the 2nd Cohort they stayed near the Legatus acting as his personal bodyguards.) - *Archaic expression attributed to Magnus Lucius I that translates -¡®let them suffer in hate, so long as they fear us.¡¯ *Archaic Lorian -¡®First of the Brutes.¡¯
- First Legion¡¯s Castrum Between the shores of Alden Gulf and the westernmost edge of Al¡¯Den Desert Seven kilometers north of Sabretooth Castle Twenty-five kilometers from the junction to Timberville and South Greenforest 2nd of Sextus, summer of 194 NC Poor Sextus Celsus has the look of a man that has had his arse-cheek grabbed whilst waiting in line outside the forum with punched ticket in hand, Merenda thought with a quick glance at the desert sun that boiled their heads inside the helmets. And now stands uncertain whether to protest at the indignity or relax and present both arse-cheeks. ¡°Fresh cack just turned to stone Celsus,¡± Merenda scolded the shocked engineer. ¡°At least give us answer so we can return in the fucking shade my good officer!¡± The Prefect of engineers stood back with a scowl and glanced at the frowned Memon. ¡°Don¡¯t look at him,¡± Merenda jested but it was a warning also. ¡°Vegetius did you give me the wrong armour to put on today? You illiterate goose. The helm is digging my skull in lad!¡± He scolded him reasonably and the sweaty legionnaire stepped forward. ¡°The Legatus has only one armour,¡± a solemn Vegetius stated to the officers present. ¡°One pair of boots, a single pair of old sandals, an army-issued tunic and as of yesterday one chiton since I had to toss the other one away due to the ungodly odor! Right Cucan?¡± Legionnaire Cucan cleared his throat and replied in a small voice. ¡°Aye sir.¡± ¡°What was that?¡± Merenda snapped angrily. ¡°Am I turning deaf? Good grief!¡± ¡°No sir,¡± Cucan assured him in a bigger voice. ¡°The chiton was discarded.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Merenda asked tapping the front of his hobnailed boot on the ground. ¡°It reeked sir!¡± The soldier bellowed. ¡°Aha! There¡¯s a good lung,¡± Merenda agreed and turned to Celsus with an animated gesture that meant ¡®told you so¡¯. ¡°Legatus you should speak to Arminus,¡± Celsus started but a flushed Antonius stopped him placing a hand on Celsus chest armour. The metal burned underneath. ¡°Now Prefect, you are correct in a sense,¡± Merenda agreed and retrieved his hand to wipe the sweat from his chin. ¡°But¡­ ah, let me repeat myself.¡± He glanced at the nearby entrance of the headquarters building at the center of the Castrum. ¡°We talked of necessities right?¡± ¡°Rebuilding the artillery¡ª¡± ¡°Tyeus spear! Give me the time to finish,¡± the Legatus cut him off abruptly and then smiled to soften it. ¡°I have to gather spit given the heat else the tongue sticks to the palate and it forces me to talk slow so as not to lisp.¡± ¡°Yes sir,¡± a miffed Celsus yielded, looking more depressed than the day he¡¯d surrendered to Merenda months back at Holt¡¯s Stables. ¡°After your proposal I offered counter didn¡¯t I?¡± ¡°The Legatus wanted a roof build over the entrance extending four meters to create shade,¡± Celsus repeated now sounding strangled. ¡°I did! Hah-hah!¡± Merenda guffawed his mood on the opposite spectrum and grinned broadly. ¡°It¡¯s not in the regulations sir.¡± ¡°And mounted artillery is?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a far better use of resources.¡± I can see now why Ligur had you operating as far from him as he could. ¡°Says who? Didn¡¯t I just explain the need for the Legatus to inspect the troops without¡­?¡± He paused unsure. ¡°What was the metaphor Vegetius?¡± ¡°Cack turned to stone sir.¡± ¡°Gruesome.¡± Antonius agreed with a grimace. ¡°Imagine a dried up turd watching the men Prefect. You¡¯re suggesting I¡¯ll speak to the Quartermaster about it?¡± Celsus pursed his mouth. ¡°A simple extension with a couple of posts supporting it?¡± He asked tiredly. ¡°Basic comforts and rudimentary architecture,¡± Merenda nodded. ¡°Not asking you to build an amphitheater Celsus.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have the men work on it on the morrow,¡± Celsus yielded. ¡°Good then. Ah, remember to place the divan near the wall, under the window.¡± ¡°The divan sir?¡± ¡°It¡¯s like an armchair but thrice the size and a bit wider,¡± Merenda explained. ¡°Usually escorted by a short rectangular table. You can sit on it but also have a foot up to stretch your legs or take a short nap with the help of a pillow.¡± ¡°Legatus,¡± Memon started but Merenda puffed out in exasperation and gestured for him to wait. ¡°I¡¯ll need an answer Celsus so we can all move on. Sweat is running down my legs like piss friend. It¡¯s an unseemly sight.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll see to it,¡± Celsus hissed through his teeth and Merenda let out a sigh of relief.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°At last. We got a bit of progress,¡± he decided and waved the engineer and officer away. ¡°Legatus how is rebuilding the headquarters useful at this point?¡± Memon asked when Celsus marched away. ¡°It improves my mood Prefect,¡± Antonius explained and grimaced feeling his head about to explode inside the helm. ¡°Order the men to wear scarfs when in the sun.¡± ¡°They can endure it sir. What does the Legatus¡¯ mood have to do with changing the building regulations?¡± ¡°Progress Prefect and morale. Do you know what the best remedy for the gloominess that permeates the camp is?¡± ¡°I stand baffled as to the association Legatus.¡± ¡°You¡¯re looking at it,¡± Merenda explained soberly. ¡°If I¡¯m in a good mood then it trickles down the ranks and everyone has a smile on their face.¡± Memon stared inquiringly at the face of Prefect Domus, the man had his left arm mangled especially at the fingers with two of them too crooked to close properly. ¡°He¡¯s serious,¡± Domus replied to the officer¡¯s silent query. ¡°The Legatus can spun a simulating story when in a good mood. Most times it births results.¡± Leaving it vague as to what those results might be. ¡°Here¡¯s a medical advice for free,¡± Merenda told them casting a sour glare at his friend. ¡°We either get back inside or ride to Sabretooth.¡± ¡°The Baron is indisposed,¡± Memon grunted. ¡°His aide is with the 2nd Cohort for exercises.¡± ¡°Thank the gods,¡± Merenda retorted. ¡°I was going to visit the shoemaker. Waiting for the Baron to receive us had my feet sprout several corns and calluses the other day. Hah. And they say you can¡¯t grow crap in the desert!¡±
Merenda rode his horse to the gates of the Castrum straight from the Praetorium followed by his aide Domus and the two legionnaires Vegetius and Cucan. He stopped at the twin tower-reinforced Porta Praetoria (the main gates were facing south) and returned the gates camp sergeant salute. ¡°Legatus sir!¡± The minor officer boomed and the soldiers standing on the two small wooden towers thumped a pair clenched fists on their chests. ¡°At ease sergeant¡­¡± ¡°Tasius Furius the second sir.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a great name sergeant,¡± Merenda applauded him. ¡°Gratitude sir. It was my grandfather¡¯s.¡± ¡°You hail from Alden?¡± Merenda asked. ¡°Aye sir. Our Decanus is from Vinterfort.¡± The Decanus on duty stepped out of the small office inside the east tower and saluted the mounted Legatus. ¡°Decanus Pilatus is it?¡± Merenda asked with a smile despite the sweat rivulets running down his neck. ¡°Yes sir,¡± the Decanus replied. ¡°Will the Legatus head for the city?¡± ¡°Well my dear Pilatus,¡± Merenda retorted in jest. ¡°The Legatus wasn¡¯t aware we had this kind of relationship.¡± Tasius had a comic expression on his face, torn between cracking up and remaining serious in front of the officers. ¡°Good gods! Does the First have no sense of humor?¡± Merenda wondered aloud. ¡°Sir, ahm¡­ I was¡­ a merchant passed by and left us eight sacks with dates,¡± the Decanus explained. ¡°How wonderful of him to make the detour,¡± Merenda commented. ¡°Arminus has a patrol stopping caravans on the road sir,¡± Decanus Pilatus elucidated on the reason with an uncomfortable grimace. ¡°Is there a purpose to our Quartermaster¡¯s practice?¡± Merenda asked civilly and swung a leg over the saddle to climb down from his mount. ¡°He makes orders and they bring supplies back on their return,¡± the Decanus replied. ¡°Do continue while I stand in the shade for a while,¡± Merenda said and untied his helm to wipe his drenched face with a cloth. ¡°I still have them, the dried Dates sir.¡± ¡°In there?¡± Merenda asked and pointed at the tiny office space under the tower. ¡°Yes sir.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s have a taste boys,¡± a grinning Merenda suggested and walked inside, mostly to avoid the sun. He sat on a stool, found a bronze bowl with water on the small table where he deposited his bulky helm and poured its contents over his head. Merenda had stooped between his legs first not to make a mess of his clothes. ¡°Ah,¡± the Legatus gasped letting the water drip from his head and then rubbed his face with both hands. ¡°Any piss in the bowl Pilatus?¡± ¡°No sir.¡± ¡°Good,¡± Merenda replied and accepted a handful of Dates from the Decanus. He munched on them some and then signaled with his eyes for the Decanus to have some as well. Pointed at the watching them from outside the door sergeant Tasius and the two Legionnaires with Domus. ¡°Go on then. Spread the wealth dear Pilatus,¡± he urged the Decanus in between chomps. They savored the merchant¡¯s Dates for a while in silence and then Merenda got up and retrieved his plumed helm. ¡°Keep a sack at the gates for the different shifts Decanus. Let Arminus take the rest.¡± ¡°Yes sir.¡± Pilatus said with a smile. Right. ¡°Boys finish up here,¡± Merenda ordered his escort and heard a horse approaching. ¡°Stand behind the walls though. We don¡¯t want someone seeing us from outside and thinking this is a Cofol bazaar.¡± He waited for them to relocate next to the wall, still standing under the shade of the gatehouse. The mounted officer reached them and stopped his horse. ¡°Optio Holt,¡± he greeted the Asturia officer. ¡°I was hoping to depart soon. Are my plans to be foiled?¡± ¡°Legatus Merenda,¡± the stiff young officer said trying to keep his nervous horse under control. ¡°I have some paperwork for you to sign.¡± He was having trouble getting the scrolls out of this satchel with one hand. ¡°Vegetius help him,¡± Merenda ordered the munching legionnaire and he walked to the officer with a grimace. ¡°Holt I¡¯ve business to attend to,¡± Merenda said a little impatiently. ¡°Just a couple of matters Legatus,¡± the Optio replied after stepping on solid ground. He glanced unsure for a moment at Vegetius, the soldier was masticating with enthusiasm whilst eyeing the Optio tauntingly and then approached the pouting Merenda. ¡°Prefect Damascus has sent a report from Timberville,¡± Damian Holt started, at eighteen he was the youngest officer in the Legion with Merenda being second as Domus was a year older than him. The Legatus was in turn six years older than the young Optio. ¡°Is it lengthy?¡± ¡°Ahm¡­¡± Holt looked at his pack of scrolls. ¡°A page and a bit more sir.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take it with me,¡± Merenda speeded him along with a curt sign for Prefect Domus to pick up the scrolls. ¡°Unless it says the Horselords have him surrounded. Then you might need to sound the alarm.¡± ¡°No sign of Horselords near Timberville sir.¡± ¡°Good. That would have been bothersome,¡± Merenda taunted. ¡°What¡¯s the next one Optio? I had dipped my head in water but I feel it evaporating at a rapid pace. It¡¯s uncomfortable and a tad itchy.¡± ¡°Legatus,¡± Holt gasped. ¡°We¡¯ve established that Optio go on,¡± Merenda urged him with a roll of his eyes. ¡°We have a lack of horses but the men to create a cavalry unit is there.¡± ¡°I¡¯m aware,¡± Merenda replied. ¡°Any solutions? The matter sort of tied up my hands as you¡¯re aware.¡± ¡°We need more horses¡¯ sir?¡± ¡°Clearly. I was hoping for something more useful. What does the other papyrus say?¡± ¡°It¡¯s an official proposal by Prefect Celsus. He wishes to enter it in the record sir.¡± Merenda grimaced. ¡°It¡¯s about the Scorpios again.¡± ¡°Yes sir. Now we could accommodate thirty at this junction given the material present at the stores¡ª¡± Merenda stopped him raising his left hand, fingers kept together. ¡°The engineers are busy rebuilding the Praetorium.¡± ¡°Yes sir but¡­¡± ¡°Can I finish? I had another reason,¡± Merenda stopped him. ¡°Of course sir.¡± ¡°What did we just establish not a minute ago?¡± The Legatus asked with a sigh and got the dirty cloth out to wipe his sweaty face again. ¡°Eh. The engineers¡ª¡± ¡°Before that. Domus?¡± Merenda asked impatiently. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure our Legatus is referring to the horses Optio,¡± Domus helped the confused Holt. ¡°The lack of them Optio,¡± Merenda picked up from where his Aide had stopped. ¡°Is a fact yes? It is. Which is why we can¡¯t have a proper cavalry at this point. We got the manpower for it, as in lads that can ride a horse and all that fuzz, but what good is a dashing horseman without a horse?¡± ¡°We have sixty six horses sir,¡± Optio Holt argued. ¡°Split between the rangers, the officers and the fast patrols,¡± Merenda explained. ¡°A mounted Scorpio needs two horses to pull at the cart. That means sixty horses at the minimum will be absorbed there. Celsus will have us all walk to Sabretooth dear Holt. In this heat not many will make it.¡± Holt grimaced and stared at his papers. ¡°Domus retrieve Celsus report,¡± Merenda ordered and his Aide stepped forward. He took the scroll from the Optio¡¯s hands. Domus then proceeded to crumble it in his fist. ¡°Right. Anything else?¡± Merenda asked when the vellum was sufficiently destroyed. ¡°I don¡¯t have anything else sir.¡± ¡°The gods are merciful,¡± Merenda exclaimed colorfully. ¡°Return to the HQ Optio and stay there to keep us informed.¡± He walked to his mount, tossed his helm at Domus and then climbed on the saddle. Merenda stooped to accept his helm from his Aide and waved his arm at the watching them from the two towers sentinels. ¡°Take breaks lads,¡± he ordered loudly. ¡°But keep vigilant!¡± ¡°Yes sir!¡± The guards boomed and the Legatus smiled. Then clicked his tongue to get his horse going and burst out of the Castrum gates with Prefect Domus and the two legionnaires scrambling to keep up with him.
Sabretooth was built near the desert coast and had docks facing both the Alden Gulf and Toe Peninsula across the sea. Its walls of pale limestone, transported from Carcass Plateau and Vinterfort the latter located to the east and deeper into the desert, stood six meters high. Behind them a small town had been erected with almost as many people living outside and near the fishing docks two kilometers away to the west. A military outpost initially it had benefited from the busy coastal road used by caravans coming from Kaltha but living so close to the desert wasn¡¯t appealing to many and despite the castle¡¯s size the population had remained small in size. People just moved further south towards the rich lands beyond Captain¡¯s Lament River and the city of Alden. Still, it was a colorful castle town with Issirs, Lorians and even Cofols finding their way there even briefly and its sole market was always busy. Merenda¡¯s small group crossed the gatehouse under the watchful eyes of Scylla¡¯s sentinels. The town had suffered great casualties relative to its population in the war of the ¡®Two Kings¡¯ and the legion colors were regarded with a hefty dose of skepticism. The fact that the First Legion had returned but many of their countrymen hadn¡¯t not palatable to the hardened locals. ¡°What¡¯s the shoemaker¡¯s name?¡± Merenda asked blinking as the sun made the stone walls of the compact narrow houses shine a brilliant white. ¡°Cucan?¡± Domus asked the legionnaire. ¡°Polio Microbius sir,¡± Cucan replied not happy being put on the spot. ¡°That sounds rather contagious,¡± Merenda commented narrowing his eyes seeing a local preparing sausages at the busy market. Plenty of dust landing on the meat from the animals going back and forth. ¡°Might have been Macrobius,¡± Cucan admitted. Merenda pulled at his left earlobe thoughtfully. ¡°Anyone remembers which alley it was? I can¡¯t think right now wearing this oven.¡± ¡°Next to the blacksmith Legatus,¡± Domus replied and pointed at the corner workshop. The market started right after the north gates and ended almost at the other end of the castle. It was faster to try the smaller alleys to move about than cutting through the town. ¡°Vegetius get the horses to the tavern¡¯s stable and stay guard there,¡± Merenda ordered and untied his helm to carry it in his arm. The leather cord securing the metal guard-cheeks had started cutting into his chin. ¡°Wait in the tavern sir,¡± Vegetius repeated for clarification. ¡°Wait outside the stables door,¡± Merenda corrected him. ¡°It¡¯s a four meter difference sir,¡± Vegetius argued smartly. ¡°You can order a beer from there then,¡± Merenda countered and signed for Domus to give the soldier some coins to pay the tavern owner. He walked towards the loud blacksmith¡¯s workshop but paused seeing a crowd gathered at a garbs-selling stand three spots from the local preparing the pork sausages. With the coals lit and sizzling in the crude bronze grill, standing near the man was a torture unless you had a deep craving for pork. Merenda didn¡¯t mind the occasional ¡®dirty¡¯ street meal but he was too hot to consider a snack at this particular instance.
¡°Silk sheets!¡± The Cofol merchant roared as if daring anyone to challenge the fact. ¡°You won¡¯t find a better material! Cool in the day and soft to sleep in! Yes sir! Madam! Have a feel! Pull at it hard. No fears! See? It won¡¯t tear.¡± Merenda approached the small crowd gathered around the foreign merchant with the fancy robes and tried to get to the front so that he could have a look for himself. Some pushing and shoving ensued with some leaving their spot to the Legatus and others not cooperating. Domus had to use his maimed arm to get people out of the way. ¡°Red!¡± The merchant boomed, a scarf over his head and slanted-eyes heavily tinted in blue paint. ¡°Yellow and a soft Green!¡± He continued opening up different rolls. Merenda reached to touch one of crimson rolls of fabric with his hand, his eyes staying on a big camel that chewed with its head dipped inside a wicker basket hanged from its long neck. The camel farted loudly which got a chuckle out from the crowd and the merchant beamed to keep the momentum going. ¡°Undergarments for the ladies,¡± he said. ¡°Outfits for your pleasure slaves!¡± ¡°No slaves here Narcho,¡± a local grunted and Narcho moved along without missing a beat. ¡°Dresses for the rich ladies and their servants!¡± He countered using an inoffensive word and pulled one of the colorful outfits out of a basket under the stand. He kept it before him to showcase its length. ¡°Look at the lines peeps!¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it too short?¡± A local woman asked a little concerned. ¡°That¡¯s the idea!¡± The merchant guffawed missing the point. Merenda thought to order a simple red chiton made, but caught sight out of the corner of his left eye of another stand right next to the Cofol¡¯s. The square stall had different-colored leather cords hanged on its sides and several belts. An assortment of weapon harnesses nicely presented and even soft-leather gloves with cutoff fingers. The man behind it having the looks of a Lorian, a very tall one, with a narrow chin and expressive green eyes. The Legatus stepped to the left and out of the line to move to his empty stall, an action that also brought Cucan and the scowling Domus out of the crowd. Merenda stood in front of the merchant and stared at his wares unsure. ¡°This might not be the market for leather comrade,¡± he jested and raised the cloth to dab the underside of his sweaty chin. He heard a weird clacking sound coming from the small cotton roof of the stall and paused unsure. ¡°It¡¯s a brief stop into a long journey,¡± the merchant replied with a weird accent in a passable Common dialect bringing him back to the present. Merenda couldn¡¯t figure out where the man hailed from. He noticed the long graceful fingers and the strangely sewn cloak the man had on. The hood over his head shading part of it. ¡°I¡¯m heading for the coast.¡± ¡°Well, you made it one would suggest,¡± Merenda informed him and reached to check on a pair of silver-colored gloves. ¡°For a ranger,¡± the man explained. Merenda felt the strange material with his fingers. ¡°Is it silk?¡± He asked. ¡°A special kind. You could paint it even like a real cloth or leather,¡± the man replied. ¡°You don¡¯t have many clients,¡± Merenda noticed and the merchant pointed at a small sign between his wares. The parchment read, ¡®trades accepted but not in coin.¡¯ The Legatus smiled. ¡°You are not going to make profit like that.¡± ¡°I will make enough to move on.¡± ¡°Right. Got any boots?¡± Merenda asked looking about. ¡°A pair. But they are different than yours. I believe these are hobnailed sandals,¡± the man replied. ¡°Military issued.¡± ¡°What military is this?¡± Merenda chuckled and glanced at the skeptical Domus standing on his shoulder. ¡°The Legion.¡± He slapped a hand on the insignia of his Lorica Segmentata armour. ¡°The First Legion. I¡¯m its Legatus as a matter of fact.¡± The man nodded thoughtfully. He stooped under the stand and got a pair of black boots out. The merchant placed them on the counter making room for them carefully. They looked like adventurer¡¯s boots reaching just above the ankle and tied at the front with black leather strings. The sole made out of hard leather and shaped wood at the short heel. The top part out of the same soft material as the gloves. ¡°It¡¯s a classic design but these boots will never tear. You should at some point repair the bottom part though.¡± Merenda looked at him and reached to pick up the boots. They weren¡¯t heavy at all. The material malleable and silky to the touch. ¡°Who made this?¡± ¡°Qerrali,¡± the man replied and made to smile but paused as if unsure. ¡°She¡¯s very skilled.¡± ¡°And where are you from exactly mister¡­?¡± Merenda asked now intrigued. ¡°Ryfon. I¡¯m a merchant from Sinya Goras Legatus.¡± Domus gasped nervously but Merenda waved for him to calm down. He stared in the face of the exotic merchant intently. ¡°You aren¡¯t human,¡± Merenda finally said. ¡°That is correct,¡± Ryfon admitted. ¡°Would the Legatus make the trade?¡± ¡°What do you want for them?¡± ¡°Food for the journey.¡± ¡°Coin will buy you food,¡± Merenda noticed. ¡°I¡¯d prefer to minimize the number of transactions,¡± Ryfon countered. ¡°Cucan, do you have any dates?¡± Merenda asked brusquely. ¡°Not much¡ª¡± ¡°Don¡¯t embarrass me lad,¡± Merenda admonished him. ¡°Bring it here.¡± A reluctant Cucan gave him his heavy legion-issued satchel managing not to voice any further objections. ¡°Is it full of dates you rascal?¡± Merenda queried with a smirk and checked to see for himself. It was. ¡°Can I have one?¡± Ryfon asked after Merenda placed the satchel on the stall. ¡°It is acceptable,¡± he said after tasting a couple of them. ¡°Are you sure?¡± Merenda queried a little surprised. ¡°This is a fine pair of boots mister Ryfon. You can talk me into giving up a whole sack for them. I¡¯ll even throw in a sack of biscuits. They¡¯ll never spoil. Ever. Just like your boots.¡± ¡°I am sure,¡± Ryfon replied still munching and Merenda heard something moving on the roof of the stall. He flinched but the merchant placed the boots in front of him with the hint of a smirk. ¡°I appreciate the trade Legatus.¡± ¡°Huh? Alright then,¡± Merenda decided and signed for Domus to grab the boots afore the merchant changed his mind. ¡°Tell me my good Ryfon, how is Goras? We hear a lot of weird stuff these days. Pros and cons. I¡¯m ambivalent on where to stand on the matter.¡± Ryfon stared at him in shock. ¡°Wetull is not everyone¡¯s cup of tea Legatus,¡± he managed to croak visibly affected by the question or something. ¡°I see,¡± Merenda retorted expecting something more. ¡°You seemed rather surprised there. Was it my query? Surely I¡¯m not the first one asking it?¡± ¡°Apologies Legatus,¡± a grimacing Ryfon replied and closed the satchel carefully afore placing it under the stall. ¡°A part of my reply was candid.¡± ¡°What about the other part?¡± Merenda grunted a little suspicious. ¡°She says it doesn¡¯t matter where you stand now,¡± the alien merchant replied still sounding shocked himself. ¡°For Wetull shall love you.¡±
462. The Squire (1/2)
¡®By the grace of Uher and the Allgods, follow me men of Midland!¡¯ A unnamed young squire ordering the mauled remnants of the Golden Spears and the injured Sir Thor Est Ravn¡¯s heavy Issir cavalry to charge through the Khan¡¯s stampeding war elephants at the waning stages of the ¡®Battle at Crimson Forest¡¯*. *Khanate name ¡®Havoc Unleashed¡¯ or the ¡®Mother of all thunders¡¯.
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Sebastian ¡®Seb Oats¡¯ The Squire Part I -The mother of all thunders-
No man¡¯s land (Name for the expansive, ever-changing disputed area between the Mid Bridge over Chinos River and the Red Bridge over Balworth River) Spring of 194 NC 21st of Tertius, nighttime. The main road hugging Crimson Forest leading from Issir¡¯s Eagle to Quarterport. The latter the last Issir controlled port inside Reinut¡¯s Gulf. Almost a kilometer from the banks of Chinos River. That was the mother of all thunders. It had disrupted the quietness, penetrated the woods and then stopped. The sky above them remaining clear and peaceful with no sign of an imminent thunderstorm descending their war. For a while nothing else happened. Then the owl was heard again and Egbert turned to look his way nervously. Sebastian signed for him to keep quiet for a bit longer. His young friend ogled his eyes, face distorted in a comical grimace. It was too dark to make out the road hostel from their position. The wide cobblestone road eerie empty and gleaming in the strong moonlight. Oras Eye seemed huge on the night sky. ¡°Do you see anyone? Anything?¡± Sebastian queried in a whisper a minute later and Egbert shook his head negatively. That darn owl¡¯s call coming right after again. Hoo Hoo Sebastian got up from the cool ground and peeked behind the massive sycamore maple tree with the rich red leaves. He didn¡¯t see anything on either side of the road. Nothing was coming from the south or the north behind them and so he decided to move towards the buildings of the hostel. The hostel was empty. Thrice raided already the previous months. Still¡­ one could always find something useful there, Sebastian thought and heard his stomach growl in protest as he hadn¡¯t eaten in days now. Three at least and it was bird eggs they had found inside the forest by accident. Not very tasteful. Thirty meters. Just get there, the youth told himself. Sebastian sprinted lightly on the hard surface, old-tattered shoes tapping on the cobblestone and the dark walls of the large hostel coming closer. Ten strides later he heard Egbert rushing after him. Another ten and he could see the crack where the perimeter wall had cracked leaving enough space for him to get inside the yard. The next moment, not a breath later, Sebastian saw through the opening a dark figure or perhaps two emerging from the abandoned building. He dived forward the last couple of meters to reach the side of the half-ruined wall and put his back on it breathing heavy. Sebastian immediately gestured wildly for Egbert to get back to the trees and his friend froze instead in the middle on the road bathed in the moonlight. Footsteps were heard coming towards the opening and a figure appeared out of it a moment later. A sword sheath clanging on the stone wall. ¡°Come,¡± the man said roughly. ¡°Kosters promised to be here.¡± Sebastian waved an arm for Egbert to move out of the blasted main road, the man waiting with his back turned to the road two meters away but looking back inside the opening and while Sebastian was hidden in the thick shade of the wall, he could also be spotted as well at any moment. ¡°The bag is heavy,¡± someone complained stiffly and Sebastian heard horses approaching. The sound bouncing off of the outer wall of the hostel and its buildings, forced next towards the open area left west of the forest. Towards the coast. ¡°Stay there,¡± the first man ordered and turned around just as the first rider appeared. The newcomer screamed a warming in the rough tongue of the Steppe and his friends stopped as well on the other side of the walled yard. A sweaty Sebastian glanced at the shocked Egbert that was slowly retreating towards the trees, fully visible by the riders. And everyone else. ¡°Uher¡¯s mercy,¡± the man rustled spotting him and the Horselord scout let out a hair-raising ululating sound, much like that Owl would have done if it just had its innards skewered. It made both Sebastian¡¯s arms start shaking violently bringing it all back. The scout raised his bow and loosed an arrow at Egbert missing him for a hair. His friend ducked spastically, which made the scout laugh aloud and then Egbert started sprinting towards the trees. The scout now making that otherworldly sound again with his mouth, kicked both legs to send his horse after him. ¡°God damnit,¡± the man cursed and the voice of the second man was heard, now also very close. ¡°Leave him.¡± ¡°Ah, he¡¯s a kid Luikens,¡± came the first man¡¯s reply and then unsheathed his sword. ¡°We¡¯re doing god¡¯s work here and you serve Uher, Sir Luppe.¡± Luikens reminded him. In the meantime the scout had reached Egbert and with a kick brought him down. The Horselord passed him by and then turned the animal around nimbly, clicking his tongue and letting out those short bursts of ululating calls. ¡°That¡¯s right. Somewhat peculiar hearing it from you,¡± the knight replied brusquely. Sebastian noticed he had priestly robes over his armour and then the man moved away from the opening towards the road. ¡°They haven¡¯t spotted us!¡± Luikens let out a whispering hiss, sounding as nervous as Sebastian. ¡°The God has,¡± Sir Luppe replied in a solemn manner and Sebastian felt a sense of awe penetrating his soul. The knight got a small pendant out and brought it to his mouth. Then he walked out of the shades, longsword in his hand and walked briskly towards the mounted scout. The latter had run over a screaming for mercy Egbert in the meantime and was about to shut him up with a swing of a spiked steel mace. ¡°Gaze at the aberrant Heathen hanged from the butcher¡¯s meak,¡± the knight chanted and the scout turned on the saddle alarmed. The horse rotating on its hooves alongside him. The Horselord let out a warning for his friends that had stopped on the other side of the hostel¡¯s walled off yard and charged at the approaching Sir Luppe. Sebastian gasped in shock and stepped away from the wall. The robed thin man spotting him out of the corner of his bespectacled eyes and recoiling. Beyond them on the dark street the scout angled away from the saddle as the horse charged to better swing his mace at the knight. ¡°Who are you?¡± A pale-faced Luikens asked clenching his mouth and Sir Luppe¡¯s longsword shattered the Horselord¡¯s clavicle bone, the blade thudding on his chest ten meters away. The mounted scout was hurled off of the saddle, went over the injured and crying Egbert and crashed on the cobblestone with the knight going after him. ¡°I¡¯m Sebastian sir,¡± Sebastian blurted out barely keeping a hold of his faculties. In the background Sir Luppe finished off the psalm upon reaching the rolling about bleeding and half-broken scout. ¡°For their foulness, no witchery shall revive.¡± The knight hummed standing over his opponent and then the longsword came down again savagely, splitting the scout¡¯s skull down the middle and spreading his brains on the cobblestone. ¡°You need to go help him,¡± Luikens said and stepped back to disappear inside the dark opening again. With a nod Sebastian rushed towards the road where the knight had grabbed the groaning Egbert¡¯s arm to hoist him upright. ¡°Help your friend to the trees,¡± Sir Luppe told him and flicked the blade to get some of the gore away. Sebastian put Egbert¡¯s arm over his shoulders and dragged him towards the treeline. He heard the scouts¡¯ cries as they rounded the outer wall of the hostel and turned his sweaty head around.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°Sir Knight!¡± Sebastian gasped. ¡°Move yer feet boy!¡± Sir Luppe grunted and climbed on the dead scout¡¯s horse. Two of the Horselords friends had spotted them and galloped their way with the others stopping at the entrance of the hostel to check inside. Sebastian pushed and heaved Egbert with shaking legs to the first of the sycamore trees of the massive forest. They called it Crimson Forest for the large trees had leaves that were a dark red in the spring and turned a richer red in the summer. Behind him Sir Luppe crashed his horse on the first scout, punched him in the face snapping his head back and then used his boot to shove the smaller man off of the saddle. ¡°My ribs hurt Seb,¡± Egbert cried and Sebastian helped him stand next to a trunk before glancing back at the street. The second scout had fired an arrow at Sir Luppe but the knight charged ahead and hacked him across the face. The Horselord went down, parts of his bow clattering on the cobblestone and Sir Luppe turned the small horse around ¨Cfor his frame- and trotted near the first scout that slowly stood up holding a shortsword. Eh, Sebastian recoiled seeing an arm flying away and then the longsword came down again with a dull thud. The man¡¯s scream ringing down the main road. ¡°Wait here,¡± Sebastian counseled Egbert, not that his friend seemed capable of moving anywhere by himself and then returned to the street. ¡°The way is open,¡± he told the knight that had worked that arrow out of his armour with a scowl. ¡°Towards the Red Bridge. You can make it with the horse.¡± Sir Luppe looked at him perturbed for a moment and then shook his head. A prominent wide beard covering the lower part of his face. ¡°Where is he? The man with me?¡± ¡°Went back into the hostel,¡± Sebastian replied. ¡°Ah,¡± Sir Luppe grunted and turned the horse around. ¡°It¡¯s dark, the building big. He¡¯ll get away.¡± Sebastian reasoned. ¡°He must get away,¡± Sir Luppe snapped over his shoulder and headed for the entrance as well. ¡°Why?¡± Sebastian yelled on his back and looking about him found the slain scout¡¯s shortsword. With a strained grimace he picked it up. There was a bit of gore on the handle and the solemn teenager swiftly wiped it on the side of his tattered pants. Then he went after the knight.
The main building stood dark and ominous beyond the yard. The shades chased away at its fa?ade by the lit torches the scouts had brought. Two of the broken or open front widows glowing from the inside like a dragon¡¯s eyes. Sir Luppe had climbed down from the horse, taking a hammer he¡¯d found inside the saddlebags with him. Hearing Sebastian running inside the yard, he turned around and looked at the young teenager a little surprised. ¡°I didn¡¯t find a longsword,¡± Sebastian explained. ¡°This is an arming sword,¡± Sir Luppe explained in a rasping voice showing Sebastian his sharpened blade. ¡°A bit shorter. What you hold there now, well it dictates you should attack from the sides.¡± ¡°Attack from the sides,¡± Sebastian repeated the vague instructions and he¡¯d have liked a bit more directions offered but the knight was already moving towards the building. He followed after him clenching his jaw determined. Not three strides later a Horselord came out of the gapping open entrance holding a saber and Sebastian yelped in panic. The Khanate¡¯s warrior cursed, Sebastian noticed he was wearing a different outfit than the scouts earlier and immediately attacked the advancing knight. Sir Luppe parried the blade aside and swung with the long-shafted hammer with his left. The claw lodged in his opponent¡¯s face snapping his head sideways and the knight yanked it out in an explosion of gore tearing the lower part of the man¡¯s jaw out. Sebastian felt his stomach turn and he stumbled forward on weakened knees but two more Horselords appeared at the door forcing him to steel himself. A third one materializing in one of the open windows and a torch he held in his hand cast strange shadows on that exotic face. ¡°Get the archer!¡± Sir Luppe bellowed hoarsely and Sebastian staggered on his feet like a drunkard, vomit in his throat, towards the man at the window. The latter had already put a boot on the protruding stool at the base to jump out. Seeing Sebastian moving against him, the archer hurled the torch he had in his left arm at the Issir teenager, then wedged the elbow of his right arm that was holding a bow on the side to find purchase and jumped fully out. Sebastian ducked under the plummeting torch, sparks exploding behind him when it hit the ground and set the grass on fire. The archer let out a snarling gasp, lips splitting when his mouth opened wide to show the white of his teeth. Sebastian attacked him with the shortsword, a clumsy forward slash the archer met by swinging his bow. The top limb of the bow caught Sebastian at the forearm and snapped his arm back almost breaking the bone. He cried out in pain, twirling on his feet from the momentum and the archer swung with the bow again almost ripping his right ear out when it connected with the side of his face. Sebastian stumbled on his feet dazed and bleeding down the side of his neck, banged on the wall of the hostel next to the window and almost went down. His knees had given up for the most part that is but he heard the archer coming at him, the man¡¯s boots hitting the ground and the sound along a dose of adrenalin snapped the teenager out of it. Thud-thud-thud. ¡°Eargh!¡± Sebastian cried out and slashed with the shortsword twisting his torso around towards the sound. The archer appeared in his field of view, not a very tall man but dressed as he was in leather armour under those loose robes, he appeared to be twice the size of the dazed teenager. The foreign warrior also had a long saber in his hand as he¡¯d discarded the bow in the meantime. Sebastian¡¯s shortsword caught the Horselord on the left side of his chest and bit at the leather. His opponent gasped and slashed upwards to take the blade out of Sebastian¡¯s hand. The blades clanged, sparks erupting like a flock of scared fireflies and Sebastian pulled his shortsword away rattled. Then the archer¡¯s blade came down and opened his arm from shoulder to elbow, cutting through the sleeve easily and the point hitting the bone. Sebastian¡¯s left arm immediately went numb and hanged down loose, blood erupting and splattering him in the eyes. The overwhelmed teenager cried out desperately and went to clasp at the wound with his weapon-wielding hand but saw the archer¡¯s big saber making half-a-circle over his turbaned head, the curved blade whooshing and in his despair hurled the shortsword instead with a snap of his arm. He was too close to miss the man¡¯s chest but even so in his panic Sebastian had send the shortsword flying too high. ¡°Guh¡­¡± the archer huffed in shock and stopped his attack abruptly. He then reached with his shaking left hand and grabbed the handle of the shortsword that had plunged into his eye to pull it out. He managed it, watery fluids and blood pouring out of the wound along a smashed eyeball. The badly maimed archer opened his mouth again to release an infuriated roar but Sir Luppe¡¯s lanky sober figure appeared behind him covered in gore and then the ¡®arming sword¡¯ slashed savagely stopping him. The archer¡¯s severed head hit the wall of the hostel with a dull thud and then tumbled down back towards them. Sebastian groaned a moment later, bleeding badly down his useless left arm and went down to his knees, an aloof Luikens¡¯ bespectacled head rising up slowly behind the other window and peeking outside at the corpses laden yard. A portion of the grass lit on fire. ¡°Hmm.¡± The weird little man droned at the gruesome sight. ¡°Let me see the arm,¡± Sir Luppe grunted and came to kneel next to the heavy breathing and moaning Sebastian. The knight tore the bloody sleeve away working fast, using a thumb to wipe away some of the gore that had painted his white beard red. ¡°Tore the muscle. I¡¯ll stitch it back. It might work.¡± ¡°It¡­ might¡­ work,¡± a shocked Sebastian repeated his teeth rattling. ¡°Bite on that,¡± Sir Luppe rustled and slotted a piece of wood in his mouth. ¡°Use the teeth.¡± He counseled and then turned his head around to bark at the frail Luikens that had come out of the hostel and now examined the slain Horselords with interest. ¡°I need light Luikens.¡± ¡°Just leave the kid. We need to move before more of them arrive. We have horses now,¡± the approaching Luikens griped. He carried a large leather haversack on his back and he set it down quickly to get a square metal cube out. It had sheer glass sizes and a solid bronze bottom. Luikens twisted a button at the top of the strange artifact, a click and then a metallic clacking sound was heard before a light appeared in the middle of that strange construct, much stronger than that of the torches. The smell coming of it putrid. ¡°You can¡¯t by yourself,¡± Sir Luppe reminded him and he¡¯d a large stitching needle in his mouth now. ¡°It¡¯s gonna hurt kid. Ye feel the urge to pass out go right ahead, don¡¯t hold out.¡± He told the blinking Sebastian. ¡°Bring that light closer Assayer.¡± ¡°What is¡­ this thing?¡± Sebastian croaked weakly. ¡°A thermolampe,¡± Luikens explained stooping closer. ¡°You need to locate that torn muscle brother Mart.¡± ¡°Did you¡­ built it?¡± The teenager asked and the thin man¡¯s lips split in an unpleasant forced smile. ¡°It¡¯s just a lamp son and no, it¡¯s much older than all of us really.¡±
¡°Hey lad. What¡¯s your name?¡± The knight asked some time later. An hour. Maybe two. Perhaps it was much less than that. ¡°Seb¡­¡± Sebastian croaked through his teeth. He¡¯d passed out and then woke back up again a couple of times while the knight and Luikens worked on his hand. They had used the sleeve and parts of his shirt to bandage it but the pain was excruciating and the bleeding hadn¡¯t stopped. ¡°You need to drive the horse,¡± Sir Luppe explained. ¡°Sit in front of brother Luikens. He¡¯s helpless on a saddle. Can you do that?¡± Sebastian had never ridden a horse in his life. ¡°Sure¡­¡± he managed to say. ¡°You¡¯re very brave. A poor liar.¡± The knight decided. ¡°You can improve the latter but the former not many have in them. You¡¯ll ride the horse and follow after mine. Right?¡± ¡°Aye sir,¡± Sebastian agreed hoarsely. ¡°Three hours for the sun to appear. Inquisitor Vellers is late,¡± Luikens commented and the knight nodded. ¡°It¡¯s a back and forth,¡± he said and gave the faltering Sebastian the reins of a Cofol horse. ¡°Kosters might have gotten them distracted. The army makes forays as well.¡± ¡°It¡¯s vital¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯ll get you back brother,¡± Sir Luppe cut him off midsentence. ¡°Uher shall provide.¡± ¡°Not everyone is such a firm believer,¡± Luikens griped while Sebastian stared at the horse unsure on where to start. ¡°Everyone but you is in the Order,¡± Sir Luppe rustled guiding Sebastian¡¯s foot on the stirrup. ¡°Don¡¯t get scared. You¡¯ll spook it lad. Got a surname?¡± ¡°Oats,¡± Sebastian croaked feeling the earth moving under the horse¡¯s hooves until he realized it was the animal moving about. ¡°What manner of name is that?¡± ¡°A¡­ moniker?¡± ¡°Why did you get it?¡± ¡°I was¡­ pilfering the market before the Khan came sir,¡± Sebastian blurted out and Sir Luppe nodded soberly, using an arm to stop his horse from twirling about. ¡°At least yer honest about it.¡± He decided and signed for Luikens to climb up behind him. ¡°I find myself in need of a squire Seb Oats. You did good back there. Reckon yer sins are forgiven. Uher says I should take you in.¡± ¡°Reject the offer,¡± a sober Luikens advised him. ¡°The previous guy is all over the place beyond Mid Bridge.¡± ¡°Do I get to join the Order?¡± Sebastian didn¡¯t know which order that was but he could guess. ¡°What about Egbert?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll leave him a horse,¡± Sir Luppe replied brusquely. ¡°As for the other part, are you an Uher believer?¡± Sebastian gulped down feeling his throat paved with gravel. He wasn¡¯t really. ¡°Here take this,¡± the knight said seeing the teenager hesitating and gave him a heavy silver pendant that depicted a sun with two tiny golden spears crossed in front of it. ¡°Can you feel the god talking to you?¡± Sebastian couldn¡¯t feel a thing other than the pain in his ringing bleeding ear and at his mangled also bleeding arm. In a sense he could feel too much. ¡°I think? Maybe¡­?¡± He mumbled unsure and the Knight nodded pleased. Luikens making a groaning sound on his back. ¡°You¡¯ll know.¡± Sir Luppe assured him. ¡°I¡¯ll take¡­ that squire¡¯s position sir,¡± Sebastian replied with difficulty and Luikens let out a nervous chuckle. ¡°Luikens hold on tight,¡± Sir Luppe said without a second thought. ¡°We come upon anyone else don¡¯t stall. You keep on riding for the Red Bridge lad.¡± The Red Bridge was a day¡¯s ride away and Sebastian didn¡¯t think he would make it. But Seb Oats did. 463. The Squire (2/2)
Sebastian ¡®Seb Oats¡¯ The Squire Part II -A foray beyond the Red Bridge-
- About six months later 28th of Octavus 194 NC Late summer Golden Spears Barracks at Quarterport Praised be the Five! The young choir of five boys chanted while every monk genuflected before the altar for the morning¡¯s libations. Each offered a quick prayer to Uher and poured scented oil over the burning coals. Then he accepted a small piece of millet-flour bread, called sacrament cake, but it was just a type of hardtack biscuit ¨Coval shaped and hard as stone- that had been left in a gold bowl of red wine to soften well before sunrise. Sometimes the monk responsible for preparing the sacraments overslept or was late and the cakes didn¡¯t have enough time to soften. Sebastian crunched at his own piece using the back molars to break it apart little by little, then swallowed the grit-like tasteless smaller pieces of cake as fast as he could. Monks with timeworn teeth had been known to soak the cake in their mouths for hours. Bathed in Uher¡¯s Light! For another morning shall arrive! The choir sang in unison. They loved to drag the starting and last words in their chants for effect, the pleasant humming increased tenfold inside the small domed temple. No erstwhile night can forestall! ¡°So say we all,¡± Sebastian said bowing his head for the priest of Uher to touch it with his scepter. ¡°Ever walk with Uher, Brother Bastian.¡± High Magister Sander te Hove responded with a smile and then ushered him along with a stare. Sebastian walked outside the small temple, blinked at the sun over his head and then headed towards the monks or knights of the Order gathered in small groups where older Brothers decided the chores or missions of the day and assigned them at each group. Near the wooden gates he spotted Sir Mart Luppe talking with Sir Albert Kosters, Lord Commander of the Order and some meters away Priest Brukel in deep conversation with the Grand Archivist and Assayer Wim Luikens. His old friend Egbert holding the reins of Luikens¡¯ horse. Sebastian paused near them to greet the thin, tired-looking Egbert who had eagerly accepted the Assayer¡¯s offer to work under him thinking that the job would be easier. The title meaning ¡®the appraiser of rare metals and elements¡¯, but it was just liturgical jargon to describe what Brother Wim Luikens really was. Luikens would say he was a scientist himself but everyone knew the bespectacled man was an Alchemist. Which bordered to the Occult but Luikens had special permission from Archmagister and High Inquisitor Kelholt to unlock the secrets of the Archive in Midlanor. The war and circumstances had forced the frail-looking man to leave his research and help the realm just like the rest of them. Sebastian hadn¡¯t seen Luikens for months. ¡°What is your problem brother?¡± Priest Brukel asked, a survivor of the battle at 3Roads himself. ¡°The delivery method is flawed,¡± Luikens explained and very few could really understand what he was talking about. ¡°It needs my personal scrutiny and this creates dangers I¡¯d rather not have to face.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with the hollowed out cords?¡± Brukel asked. ¡°Burning fuses.¡± The Assayer corrected him. ¡°Weather might not be helpful in a month or two for starters,¡± Luikens elucidated with a glance at Sebastian. ¡°And at this junction I can¡¯t get a stable enough powder mix for transportation and secure placement. It leaks. You slot the fuse inside the box and it causes enough friction for an explosion without any fire at the near due to the amount of material used. If you¡¯ve managed to put it down safely that is. I¡¯ve lost a lot of assistants this way. More tests and volunteers are needed.¡± ¡°What about the bolt capsule variant?¡± ¡°Soaked silk cloth in a glass vial. Eh, I don¡¯t have the means to produce a large enough vessel for this and all the research was lost at the Pascor debacle. I had given instructions to fire on the populace and not engage the army. The army fires back. Idiocy and incompetence.¡± ¡°My first cousin was killed there trying to recover the vials Luikens. The army sent a black toe to his sister!¡± Brukel admonished him. ¡°And many of your lofty friends were killed by the Khan. I wasn¡¯t responsible for either event,¡± Luikens snapped glancing right and then left. ¡°I¡¯m doing god¡¯s work here Brukel!¡± Brukel grimaced with a sour look on his face. ¡°Of course. Praised be Uher.¡± Luikens was looking at Sebastian now, small eyes uneasy behind the thick glasses. ¡°What do you say on the matter brother Oats?¡± He asked. Sebastian shrugged his shoulders. The squire stood much heavier now and taller than the Alchemist but still the bald man unnerved him. There was no warmth behind those enlarged brown eyes. ¡°I can¡¯t offer opinion brother Luikens.¡± ¡°Sometimes it is for the better to stay quiet. Let things fall where they may.¡± ¡°We need to convince the High Regent,¡± Brukel grimaced and run a hand over his thinning white hair. ¡°To look into this with fresh eyes.¡± ¡°Give me enough time and I could make it work but don¡¯t expect me to risk my life.¡± Luikens retorted and turned to Egbert. ¡°Help me up this darn animal.¡± He ordered and looked at Brukel after getting up on the enlarged saddle. Egbert climbed up in front of him to take the reins. ¡°Let the Archmagister deal with this.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe he truly understands what you have found,¡± Brukel grunted. ¡°Sometimes it is best to let the divine shroud a matter in layers of mystique. A sense of mystery can go a long way to pave the way for progress.¡± Luikens replied almost repeating his earlier words and tapped Egbert¡¯s shoulder to get them going. ¡°Seb,¡± Sir Luppe grunted interrupting Sebastian¡¯s contemplation. ¡°Saddle our horses¡¯ lad. We are heading to town with the Lord Commander.¡± ¡°Aye sir,¡± Sebastian replied readily and walked briskly for the stables. -
The loss of Sir Mark Est Ravn and the destruction of the 2nd Foot at 3Roads shocked the High Regent. Lord Anker slowly came out of his grief-induced slumber and with the Midlanor forces coalescing near Quarterport, several proposals were put forth to regain the advantage. Whilst Duke Rinus Van De Aesst kept asking for more time to prepare a response from the fleet, it was evident to all that such an action was further into the future. With Holsman and Verner under siege at Jaw Castle some suggested to brave a landing at the rocky shores in the hopes to resupply the defenders but it was deemed too dangerous to risk assets with no viable port there or a way to reach the castle from the sea. The army made forays across the Red Bridge but with no major settlement located in the massive parcel of land between the two rivers both opponents avoided a permanent presence there. The ¡®No Man¡¯s Land¡¯ was easier for the Khan¡¯s forces to control given their advantage in horses and they used forced labor to construct two forts or war camps there. One near Mid Bridge and Chinos River and the other twenty kilometers from the Red Bridge. The latter was raided twice by Lord Anker¡¯s men and the Horselords had to abandon the half-finished camp after losing twenty thousand prisoners/slaves in total that fled towards Red Bridge in the confusion following each engagement. While they were welcomed, the huge influx of refugees, almost a hundred thousand had crossed over already the previous months, weighed down Lord Anker¡¯s supply situation. In order to deal with this he ordered the hapless populace to relocate towards Midlanor. A grueling many hundreds of kilometers journey across Kaletha Plains. Many of the refugees turned west after Sessi Fort to settle near Trinir but enough kept going in long miserable caravans that clogged the road and made it to Uher¡¯s Bridge the northernmost bridge over mighty Comorego River almost a year later. Midlanor a very large city by itself was to approach half-a-million people in population despite egregious losses in the battles to come in a short two or three years span. The same as with Pastelor, Farvor and Greywood Castle while further to the south Trinir a small town initially would reach Caspo ¡®O Bor¡¯s size at the end of 2nd century¡¯s last decade. The Khan, despite wanting to keep Issir¡¯s Eagle working for him, welcomed the lessening of the burden and even with one fifth of the population remaining the Issir capital was a massive city. With its farms on the west side between Uxrid and Chinos rivers touching Eagle¡¯s Bridge and Eagleport, the Issir capital covered most of the area between the two rivers. Settlements were built outside the walls as far south as Granlake¡¯s forest and to its docks on the banks of Smallake beyond the King¡¯s Forests that connected the capital via the sailable Serpent¡¯s Tongue River with the large city of Riverdor further to the East. There were three ways to reach Riverdor for the Khan. Use the aforementioned merchant river route or march his army to Eagle¡¯s Nest Castle and take it. From there two more routes became the available. The obvious been to head for the bridge over Mudriver and attempt to force a crossing there against the sturdy Forestfort or traverse Granlake¡¯s Marshes toward the rises of the Knob and come out of the watery woodland in the Small Plains, forty kilometers from the city. The latter was deemed impossible for a big army and attacking the Crows at Forestfort was something few believed it was viable. But Burzin wanted the army to cut Kaltha in two and so the Khanate generals started preparing for a new campaign to the south. The task was given to Prince Radin¡¯s friend Havor Dhin-Aval of Rin An-Pur and his Reserve Army. The rest of the Khan¡¯s horde was split in two parts. The smaller force to attempt to break out Lord Putra from Boarsnout Peninsula and the other to destroy Lord Anker¡¯s gathering forces beyond the Red Bridge. The Khan ordered Admiral Osahar to bring reinforcements from Rida. The pressured Osahar, who had seen a number of his southern squadron ships (tasked with supplying Lord Putra) get taken or outright sunk by the Pirate Fleet¡¯s raid at Deadmen¡¯s Watch, ordered Binra-Kot to secure the sea route from the Duchy of Raoz. The now famed Binra-Kot who was still reorganizing his battered Attack Fleet moved in force out of Eagleport leaving six warships behind and relocated to Colle. From there a large convoy left towards Whitford, in the most direct route possible, tasked with escorting the transport fleet there and return. The warships would make the journey and four months later would come back without most of the transports as they were held back to be refitted. Rida had been in the process of creating a new fleet there but Prince Atpa who had relocated rather fast to Shao Na-Lan and then Rin An-Pur after a big period of inactiveness now delayed the supply of materials and personnel. He cited the losses due to the Rebellion and his efforts to rebuilt Que Ki-La. To combat that the Khan had timely dispatched his influential First Advisor Phanti to Rida with the convoy. Phanti would task Duke Reeves in turn with finding a solution and the latter would promptly secure timber from the Duchy elevating his position in Burzin¡¯s eyes. Even so the inevitable delay forced the Khan to stay in Issir¡¯s Eagle, get the capital running in the Khanate¡¯s model in a forceful manner and deal with the siege at Jaw Castle, now in its sixth month. This ¡®inaction¡¯ by the Horselords fueled those pressuring Lord Anker for a response. The Issirs wanted to bloody the Khan¡¯s army that had crept up closer to Red Bridge. With the summer time waning down and the rains of Fall now at the gates the opportunity was seemingly slipping away.
- On their ride to Quarterport they met soldiers marching the opposite way and their large group of armed brothers had to slow down to a crawl when they encountered long lines of refugees going the other way or camping in the open. They clogged up the narrow streets of the town but they would soon move north as well. ¡°That¡¯s the Third Division,¡± Sir Luppe explained and Sebastian nodded, his youthful face shaded under the hood of his plain hemp robes. ¡°Mostly from Midlanor.¡± ¡°How far is it sir?¡± Sebastian asked and the knight pressed his mouth thoughtfully. Sir Luppe was in his late thirties, a member of the Golden Spears Order since his youth. Himself hailing from Greywood Castle. ¡°Weeks away on a horse. Beyond the plains. You¡¯ll the see smokes rising before you see the city,¡± the knight continued. ¡°And behind the haze the white Arid Peaks.¡± ¡°What¡¯s beyond the mountains?¡± Sebastian queried. ¡°Krakenhall. The devil¡¯s spawn rules there.¡± Sir Luppe replied soberly and Sir Albert Kosters laughed at his expression riding on the other side. The Lord Commander was a much younger man, his family from Fardor a large village east of Midlanor and a longtime friend of the Est Ravn. ¡°Let him read some of it up Sir Luppe. Form his own opinion on the realm¡¯s affairs,¡± he suggested. ¡°The mind needs sharpening as well.¡± ¡°At this point sharpening his sword skills is much more crucial Albert. And the godless wench has two bastards on display in her court. They stroll about naked is the word.¡± ¡°Eh. Maybe because they are kids Mart? You hear him?¡± Sir Kosters chuckled. ¡°The older the head gets, the more difficult to give praise, yield respect or be understanding, young brother Oats. In that sense you¡¯re truly blessed Mart likes you.¡± ¡°The lad had no say in his upbringing but she did.¡± Sir Luppe argued gruffly. ¡°I appreciate the opportunity to serve Uher and the order Lord Commander,¡± Sebastian said quickly and Sir Kosters grimaced, his gaze settling at the many beggars, the dirty homeless and the refugees or escaped slaves that packed the streets of Quarterport all about them. ¡°Difficult to hear the Allfather¡¯s voice these past years,¡± the knight said raspingly. ¡°Or make much sense of things.¡± ¡°The High Regent¡¯s banner hangs at the front of the admiralty¡¯s building Lord Commander,¡± priest Brukel announced bringing his horse near them. ¡°We¡¯ll go ahead together Brukel. Sir Luppe, you¡¯ll lead the men to the stables and then follow after us orderly.¡± Kosters ordered and turned to his own squire Jordi. ¡°Come along then. We gaze who else is there already and then you¡¯ll bring our horses to the stables as well.¡±
¡°The Lord Commander seems worried.¡± Sebastian commented as they made the return trip from the navy¡¯s stables behind the large building towards the entrance. Twenty soldier monks of the Order¡¯s mounted infantry following after them. ¡°Heavy is the head that holds a lofty position,¡± Sir Luppe explained and eyed his garbs critically. ¡°I reckon ye should¡¯ve used that horse brush on yourself lad.¡± ¡°Aye sir,¡± Sebastian agreed with a blush and worked his hands on the folds of his dirty robes. ¡°I¡¯ll stand at the back.¡± Sir Luppe cracked a rare smile at that. ¡°You be standing at the back anyway squire. Lower that hood and don¡¯t gaze at your betters. Or ask uncomfortable questions. Any questions.¡± ¡°Apologies brother Luppe.¡± ¡°Hmm. Not your fault lad and you were in the right afore,¡± the knight said as they approached the guarded entrance of the gloomy building. Sebastian thought that the older man wouldn¡¯t elucidate any further but then he did. ¡°The commander is always nervous when he¡¯s to face the Grand Duke.¡± ¡°Because of Sir Shane? That wasn¡¯t the commander¡¯s fault.¡± Sebastian asked and the knight stopped before the stairs and the guards staring at them. He placed a gloved hand on Sebastian¡¯s shoulder and gazed into his eyes for a long sober moment. Then the knight cupped his cheek and gave it a light tap. ¡°Where did you hear that?¡± He finally asked, signing with a wave of his arm for the other members to wait outside the building in an orderly manner. ¡°All squires and initiates talk about him.¡± A flushed Sebastian replied. The Priest Knight of Midlanor who martyred defending the late High Queen from the heathens. ¡°Not a healthy thing yearning after a dead man or woman.¡± Sir Luppe replied soberly. ¡°Or dreaming of another man¡¯s deeds, such as you¡¯ve heard them. No tale comes close to the truth lad, unless it falls from Uher¡¯s mouth.¡± ¡°Praised be Uher,¡± a chastised Sebastian blurted out and some of the members of the Order chuckled seeing him all hot and bothered like a maiden. ¡°Come,¡± Sir Luppe told him with another light slap on his cheek. ¡°That¡¯s the High Inquisitor¡¯s banner next to the Duke¡¯s. Uher¡¯s Archmagister. Him you should be even more cautious around.¡±
The murmurs died down inside the conference hall and the large rectangular table when a side door opened wide abruptly and the sentinel banged the steel butt of the spear on the tiled floor twice. ¡°The High Regent. His eminent lordship, Duke Anker Est Ravn.¡± Sebastian who wasn¡¯t sitting at the table reserved for Lords, high members of the Church and knights but at the other side of the hall next to a wall, stood on his tips to gawk at the Lord of Midlanor walking towards the head of the table to take his seat there. ¡°He has priestly robes on,¡± he told Jordi, the taller than him squire shrugging his shoulders. More than two years older than Sebastian, Jordi was a bulky young man with the starts of a thick beard on his face. ¡°Ashen-grey with an ugly dead tree stitched on them?¡± ¡°These are the heads of the Ashen Hydra not tree branches you darn fool,¡± Jordi corrected him with a shove. Sir Luppe swung his solemn face around to glare at them warningly. Sebastian was focused on the Lords table. Sir Albert Kosters was sitting on the other corner of the table with Magister Sander te Hove, Priest Brukel and Wim Luikens occupying the other seats next to the aged Archmagister Kelholt who was seated directly across the long table from the Duke. Sir Ton Van De Aesst, Sir Thor Est Ravn were on the Duke¡¯s right side of the table but Sebastian couldn¡¯t see them clearly, with a third ancient-looking knight lodged between them. They faced Lord Rinus¡¯ adjutant Oliver Svane and the scowling Baron Dan AredRavn of Farvor. Everyone waited for the Duke to be appraised of the later developments by his Shield, Baron Sherman Grote of Greywood Castle. Lord Anker had a reserved expression on, his white beard well-trimmed but heavy-wrinkles hugged his cobalt-colored eyes and the skin there formed dark hollows. ¡°The ships?¡± Lord Anker asked without any warning still reading what Baron Grote had held in front of him. Oliver Svane got up from his seat. A young officer with a smart blue outfit and white lapels, stood out from the more conservatively dressed men at the large table. He was also wearing the less-armour by a lot. ¡°We have eight brigs available and four more warships are being repaired,¡± he started without consulting his papers. ¡°Seven more are in the naval yards and the Duke has secured funds and materials for a dozen more.¡± ¡°Timeframe?¡± ¡°Six to eight months,¡± Captain Svane replied readily. ¡°Winter of 195 and if,¡± Lord Anker grunted and despite his face remaining blank there was anger lacing his words. Everyone fearing an outburst shifted nervously in their chairs or on their feet. Sebastian felt his calves crumbing from standing on his toes for so long. ¡°King Lucius writes me he can field over a dozen heavy warships immediately,¡± he continued in the same deceptively reserved manner. ¡°How is Regia able to put more and better ships in the water than us Captain?¡± ¡°Regia hasn¡¯t faced the Khan my lord or fought a naval engagement.¡± ¡°They have against Lesia,¡± Baron Grote argued. ¡°A smaller conflict near friendly waters,¡± Captain Svane countered calmly. ¡°And we¡¯ve lost Krakenhall my Lord Regent.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve written to Zofia?¡± Lord Anker asked his Shield. ¡°I have. She¡¯s prepared to assist our cause after the winter but reminds us that Sallowhall is within her domain.¡± ¡°Access to Eleurhall isn¡¯t enough it seems,¡± Lord Anker commented. ¡°Our Duchess is thirsty for more.¡± ¡°We could allow her ships to moor your grace in exchange for larger shipments of iron.¡± Baron Grote suggested. ¡°Can one of you two fools head up there and sweep her off her feet?¡± Lord Anker asked abruptly turning his head towards the two knights sitting on his right side. ¡°I¡¯d prefer her tied to Kaltha a bit more before giving out the whole blasted dowry.¡± ¡°She has children already,¡± the unseen Sir Thor protested. ¡°Of mixed race.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you?¡± His father argued. ¡°At least hers came out the right color.¡± It was rumored Sir Thor had a son with a Cofol woman whilst serving on Eplas. The kid brought back and hidden somewhere in Midlanor. ¡°If the Duke wants me to marry the Shewolf,¡± an insulted Sir Thor replied curtly. ¡°I¡¯ll marry her.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see you surviving the ceremony son,¡± his father argued without raising his voice. ¡°You need to ally the Duchess,¡± the ancient knight suggested speaking directly to Lord Anker. ¡°You can survive a tasteless friend beyond the Nordland Pass, but can¡¯t afford another enemy.¡± Sebastian frowned and looked with interest at the timeworn warrior then at the silent Regent. ¡°That¡¯s Sir Reinir Tellman,¡± Jordi whispered. ¡°The Iron Griffin of Pastelor.¡± Wow. Sebastian thought impressed. ¡°What about King Lucius?¡± Lord Anker asked the old knight. ¡°Duke Charles writes me there¡¯s a legion roaming about near Timberville and Duke Holt has army vacationing at Aldenfort.¡± ¡°If Lucius offered to help then that¡¯s more than what Charles has done these past months,¡± the old knight responded. ¡°Tell Rinus to give a rough timeline to King Lucius. Let¡¯s see how he responds and whether he¡¯s candid,¡± Lord Anker ordered Captain Svane and he bowed his head afore returning to his seat. ¡°What of the other Duchess my lord?¡± Baron Grote asked. ¡°Lady Crull must see to her domain and look to find herself a husband. Their aggression brought me enough headaches, I could do with some good news.¡± ¡°Lord Anker if I may offer a word?¡± Sir Ton asked getting up. ¡°You¡¯re volunteering to court her?¡± Lord Anker asked a little surprised. ¡°Ahm. I¡¯m not¡­ particular to the cold your grace,¡± the young noble replied. ¡°I¡¯m sure her hall is warm enough,¡± Lord Anker insisted, seemingly favoring the idea. ¡°Or we could ship you to Krakenhall. It would be a good match. Better than¡­ what was her name Grote?¡±The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Dora of Hardwood my Lord,¡± the Baron replied stiffly. ¡°That sounds about right,¡± Lord Anker nodded sourly, his face not a blank mask anymore. ¡°She came to my door, belly swollen to the point of bursting,¡± he hissed and the knight collapsed to his seat. ¡°I sent you two to Eplas and you made a mess of it. You rascals take the task of training the Foot at Sessi amidst the blasted chanting priesthood for crying out loud and I had to travel there personally to see what the hold up was. I wanted to finally get the army moving given that the realm is on fire, in case you two missed it and instead of soldiers I found the woods filled with bastards!¡± He roared furious and banged his fist on the table. A heavy silence befell the hall with no one wanting to break it. The Archmagister did after a long moment. ¡°The Church shall take care of the offspring,¡± he announced in a peaceful manner. ¡°I gave the Church a son already. Kaltha another one. I¡¯ll keep the bastard with your blessings Kelholt,¡± Lord Anker hissed not in a merciful mood. ¡°We know where the Heathen is,¡± the unfazed Kelholt continued clasping at his staff with both wrinkled hands. ¡°They are desecrating the capital and the shrines, make slaves of its citizens and force their sinful ways on our faithful daughters.¡± He paused to stare at the men looking at him soberly. ¡°Uher shall forgive those that drive the foreign Heathen away and its light shall cleanse the land of their presence.¡± ¡°My Lord we could strike their camp,¡± Sir Ton offered getting up again. ¡°Their army remains near the capital.¡± ¡°They¡¯ll see us coming,¡± Lord Anker argued. ¡°They obviously won¡¯t attack this summer my Lord.¡± ¡°The weather is fine Sir Ton,¡± Baron Grote reminded him. ¡°They are busy with the capital and the siege,¡± Sir Ton insisted. ¡°Lord Ruud has them pinned down at Castalor.¡± ¡°If the army takes the bridge over Chinos River,¡± Kelholt added. ¡°The Church can blast their defenses open and we could retake the city.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to level the capital Kelholt,¡± Lord Anker grunted. ¡°Have you gone insane? After what happened at Colle?¡± ¡°The rebels your grace have denounced the Throne,¡± the Archmagister countered with a grimace. ¡°They commune with pirates and alien flesh-eaters, they are worse than the Khanate¡¯s heathens.¡± ¡°They are Issirs just like we are!¡± Lord Anker blasted him and got up from his seat. ¡°And we were talking about the capital priest. What good is winning the war if we are to reign over our countrymen¡¯s bones and ashes?¡± Sebastian gulped down and turned his head to stare at Jordi but instead came face to face with a sincere but pretty Issir woman clad in chainmail. The fierce woman looked at him with cerulean eyes and Sebastian grinned afore he caught sight of Sir Luppe staring at him gravely. ¡°Get outside both of you,¡± the knight ordered them gruffly and Jordi grabbed his arm to push him out of the tensed hall.
¡°Eh, that was pretty intense.¡± Jordi commented once outside and stretched his arms. ¡°What?¡± He asked seeing Sebastian looking over his shoulder. The older squire turned his head around and stared at the armed woman Sebastian was gawking at. With a roll of his eyes he reached with a hand and gave Sebastian a hard slap on the shoulder. ¡°Hey,¡± Sebastian griped and she turned to look at them again reproachfully. ¡°Lady Siske, Uher¡¯s light upon you,¡± Jordi said respectfully and bowed his head. The woman remained silent but for a slight nod of her head. ¡°Come let¡¯s give her some room,¡± Jordi told him and Sebastian followed after the other squire shuffling his feet. They stopped some meters away down the corridor and Jordi got a piece of sacrament cake out to munch on. ¡°So,¡± Sebastian asked, still interested in the impressive armed female. ¡°Who is she?¡± ¡°First of all,¡± Jordi replied in between chomps. ¡°She¡¯s much older than you.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that¡­? I¡¯m not¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re a member of the Order. No women,¡± Jordi reminded him. ¡°I wasn¡¯t¡­¡± Sebastian protested remembering to keep his voice low. He felt his cheeks burn with shame. ¡°Plus she¡¯s married ayup. To a knight no less,¡± Jordi added gulping down with difficulty. ¡°She also happens to be Sir Tellman¡¯s daughter.¡± Sebastian stood back surprised. The door swung open and that ancient knight got out. He paused briefly and the woman rushed to his side. ¡°What did they say?¡± She asked her father. Sir Tellman glanced at the two squires soberly for a brief moment and then he replied in a rasping voice. ¡°There was a development. So they¡¯ll make a foray beyond the bridge soon,¡± the knight told her. ¡°You¡¯ll get that lighter armour out. Leave the chainmail with Rupert.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll come along,¡± Siske declared looking at him intently. ¡°Rupert gets the leather then,¡± her father yielded with a tired grimace. ¡°Bring a helm. Expect arrows.¡± - 1st of Nonus (Ninth month of the year) Fall of 194 NC The lightly wooded grassland near the delta of Chinos River Fifteen kilometers west from the walled camp guarding Mid Bridge and the route to the capital - Sebastian¡¯s horse trotted past the reed-teeming banks of the river following after the other steeds moving in front of it. The dirt path used by fishermen and animals looking for better spots for food at the delta behind them. Rain had fallen the previous night but it was a short downpour that had quickly gone away. The terrain remaining unchanged for the most part. At the distance and right in front of their group a flash of light appeared in the night and then another. Soon after a great roar rang over the land and the big river. The leading rider raised his left arm high and stopped his horse. Everyone following stopped as well, one after the other. ¡°You heard that?¡± Jordi asked riding close to him and Sebastian shook his head that he had. ¡°Uher¡¯s Light,¡± Jordi added with a nervous grin. ¡°I called it the mother of all thunders,¡± Sebastian argued. ¡°It¡¯s the Assayer,¡± Jordi explained with a frown not expecting the younger squire¡¯s reply and Sir Luppe rode near them all serious. ¡°Check your saddlebags,¡± the knight ordered brusquely. ¡°Find that long-shafted axe and keep it at the near. We might have a fight in our hands.¡± ¡°How far is the¡ª?¡± Sir Luppe cut him off with an angry grunt and pointed an arm across the river. The distant banks illuminated by many small torches. The row of torches approached, blinking in the darkness beyond the black waters and then turned into a single dancing line that started going over the deep river. A miracle. ¡°What¡¯s this accursed deviltry?¡± Jordi gasped in shock and Sir Luppe reached in the stunned Sebastian¡¯s saddlebags and pulled his spear out. ¡°Snap out of it Seb!¡± He roared and turned his warhorse around. ¡°Tonight you kill the fear!¡± ¡°Snakes in my pants. The bastards made another bridge!¡± Jordi cursed and galloped near Sir Albert Kosters that yelled for the brother soldiers and brother knights of the Order to prepare to receive enemy cavalry. A tensed Sebastian followed soon after going towards Sir Luppe.
There is no clear warning for violence¡¯s approach. A weak sign might appear deceptively. A fiendish sound, a distorted horse¡¯s figure or a faceless friend. A ghoul wearing the skin of a man. Some sudden otherworldly cry or the soft clanging of metal nearby. Either way there¡¯s always a brief, death flavored pause following it right before violence touches you. Sometimes there¡¯s no warning at all.
The Horselord¡¯s horse burst out of the reeds, mud and broken stems exploding outwards, the rider¡¯s robes billowing behind him and the scimitar¡¯s blade gleaming doused in Oras Eye pale light. Sebastian rotated his own mount pulling hard at the reins, his heart thundering inside his chest like a hammer but the Horselord reached him in a short breath. The horse¡¯s chest almost crashing his right leg when it connected with the sides of the squire¡¯s mount. Sebastian cried out scared, the scimitar coming down and hacking at his hapless horse¡¯s head taking its right ear clean off. He swung wide with the axe, the shaft turning in his grip and the poll connecting with the returning scimitar. A sharp clanging sound he felt on his shoulder and the hurt horse dashed away almost dropping him from the saddle. Sebastian grunted trying to hold on but a moment later the horse toppled forward on its front legs, its heart giving out from the shock and he found himself rolling in the mud. The squire got up, fumbled with the axe in his panic and another Khanate archer appeared over him, the scimitar raised high over the rider¡¯s head. Sebastian dived instinctively for the man¡¯s waist, the scimitar coming down but missing him, the archer¡¯s elbow digging in the desperate squire¡¯s left shoulder. The teenager heaved and shoved, feeling his injured arm burning and the Horselord tumbled over the saddle, his boot smacking Sebastian on the chest. He stumbled backwards breathing heavy, all about him chaos unfolding with riders clashing in the dark and the sound of horses, men and heavy scrap flooding the squire¡¯s senses. Sebastian stooped to find his axe with ogling eyes, heard galloping and twisted on his feet, a huge horse almost trampling him under its hooves. The squire cried out, teeth clenched in a permanent snarl and frothing from the sides of the mouth. There it is the darn axe, he thought and dived on the ground for it as if it was fresh cabbage and he was back in the capital stealing food for a living. He grabbed it with both hands and swung at the returning armoured warhorse but the blade bounced off of a metal sheet covering the beast¡¯s broad chest with another clang. Sebastian let out a maniacal groan fueled by fear and adrenalin and went to swing again but got a leather boot in the face instead. The groaning squire was hurled back, lips split and a tooth lodged in his tongue. He spat down and the archer he¡¯d unhorsed came at him holding a curved long dagger. The Horselord had lost his scimitar in the tumble alike Sebastian but he¡¯d plenty of voice in him and he let out a drawn out roar afore rushing the disoriented squire. You got a plaguing axe, his dazed mind reminded him in the voice of Sir Luppe. Swing the darn axe. Sebastian swung the long-shafted weapon in front of him using both arms, in a wide right to left arc and felt the bit connect with the archer¡¯s left ribcage with a thudding crunch. The Horselord coughed up a spat of blood and folded the wrong way dropping the dagger. The squire yanked at the axe to retrieve it but his opponent took the weapon with him as he collapsed on the ground. Eh.
¡°Bite on this,¡± Sir Luppe grunted ten minutes later and tried to insert a piece of cloth in his mouth. ¡°Spit it out. What is it?¡± He ordered when a moaning Sebastian turned his head away. He showed him the broken tooth, gulping down blood. ¡°Could have been a dagger,¡± the Knight retorted slapping the bloody tooth out of his hand. ¡°Use the cloth. Find a horse and get the bags on it.¡± ¡°Whaht¡­ teht¡­¡± Sebastian mumbled, not easy to speak whilst pressing the cloth on his tongue. ¡°They use a pontoon bridge to move forces about,¡± Sir Luppe explained walking briskly towards the rest of the men. They were gathered around Sir Albert Kosters. They had lost seven brothers in the scrap but they pushed the Horselord patrol back when the Cataphract leading them went down. Sir Luppe carried his sword on his waist and that silver mask. ¡°They do it to hide who comes and goes inside the camp. Them bastards use all the tricks.¡± ¡°Sir Thor has attacked already,¡± the Lord Commander was telling the others. ¡°So we have to stick around here and keep an eye for a response to try to cross this way.¡± ¡°They could use the other bridge sir,¡± Dumont pointed out, one of the senior men-at-arms serving with the Order. ¡°Our men are watching it so they¡¯ll know. But we need to warn them about more enemies coming to flank them.¡± ¡°I reckon more could be hiding in the woods,¡± Sir Luppe rustled and Sir Albert looked at him tensed. ¡°You head for the camp to warn them. I¡¯ll stall the Horselords here or retreat if it turns ugly. Tell them to pull back brother Mart.¡± ¡°The lad needs a horse,¡± the knight rustled. ¡°Dumont?¡± The Lord Commander queried gravely. ¡°Peters is with Uher now. He got speared in the face. The horse is fine.¡± ¡°Get on that saddle Seb,¡± Sir Luppe ordered curtly. ¡°Jordi help him load the bags.¡± ¡°No time for that,¡± Sir Albert intervened. ¡°You need to get going Mart. Now.¡± -
After a summer of dealing with the fall of Issir¡¯s Eagle, the refugee crisis and minor raids back and forth, the Duchy¡¯s Heir Sir Thor Est Ravn who had a strained relation with his father due to his mishandling of personal affairs, the burden of losing two of his brothers and the public scrutiny brought by a disastrous campaign on Eplas, proposed a deep attack across No Man¡¯s land to neutralize the Khanate¡¯s fort (a walled camp) guarding Mid River. Around a thousand mounted infantry from the 3rd Foot were to be used and six hundred men-at-arms or knights along most of the Golden Spears. The attack force was split in three groups. Sir Thor commanded the main group, his friend Sir Ton Van De Aesst (Duke Rinus¡¯ second son) the weaker east group that was to use the Crimson Forest to approach and had with him the infamous Alchemist Wim Luikens. The mounted religious warriors of the Order of Golden Spears under Sir Albert Kosters were to sweep the west flank near the coast, reach the delta of Chinos River and then join Sir Thor following its banks. A scouting team of heavy cavalry under Sir Reinir Tellman crossed Red Bridge the previous day and destroyed a Khanate worker force (mainly) trying to capture and repair the ruined second camp. Then it retreated. That same night while the Horselords contemplated a way to secure the safety of their working crews Sir Thor¡¯s small mobile army crossed the Red Bridge. They advanced rapidly during the night and remained passive for the next day. Being the last day of summer most of the Horselords and their Cofol allies remained passive without a response due to their festivities in the capital. They assumed (the Issirs believed that) that no more action was coming so soon after the Iron Griffin¡¯s raid. The truth was different. The Khan had tasked the Chief of Scouts Muvelo, a veteran of 3Roads, with reforming his rangers into a larger force with the addition of late Tehenor¡¯s horse archers. This new powerful mobile unit (around three thousand men) gave Muvelo the ability to move fast across large distances in seemingly great force but lacked the cohesion, the nuances of unconventional warfare and close combat abilities of his core group of trained in all-terrains rangers. The Horse Archers excelled in larger distant engagements over open ground, long pursuits and attacking immobilized soft targets. They loathed fighting in tights spaces, over water or closing in with hardened enemies and they were still shaken from losing half their force against late Sir Mark Est Ravn months earlier. Despite that the mobile force looked great on paper and Prince Radin ordered Muvelo to move into No Man¡¯s land right after Sir Tellman¡¯s raid and keep an eye on the Issirs. Muda Zeket did the same and used the main bridge over Chinos River to march a thousand Jang Lu into the camp with Muvelo utilizing a two hundred meters long pontoon bridge some kilometers west from the walled camp to traverse the river. Several of the engineers and military scholars following the Khan had studied the late Prince Nout¡¯s unfinished writings on ¡®Mobile Warfare¡¯ that preached the earnestness of ¡®moving and be where the enemy least expects you¡¯. Muvelo had brought six hundred riders over Chinos River making the crossings in small groups but both opponents missed each other during the day in the grasslands. The Golden Spears clashed with Muvelo¡¯s men pushing some of them back. The Horse Archers were reluctant to cross the pontoon bridge to attack the waiting for them Issirs and Muvelo who was already across with his rangers found himself cut off for a second time. This time though he had remained unseen. In the meantime, Sir Thor approached the walled camp and tried to take it with a sudden attack to catch the defenders disorganized after Bacchanalia (or Valimae Lilt as they called it in Eplas.) The Horselords (mainly the working crews, slaves and civilians) were pretty mirthful but Sir Tellman¡¯s earlier raid had kept the Jang Lu on their toes. Despite that Sir Thor managed to get inside the camp and advance half a kilometer through the gates only to get face to face with a wall of sharp Halberds. Realizing he was about to be cut off inside the vast camp, with four meter tall walls surrounding his men and wooden towers every thirty meters (ten towers facing the front of the fortified camp alone) that could lob arrows inwards at the very least, Sir Thor ordered his men to retreat. They did making a failed attempt to set the place on fire. The main gates towers, some large tents and nearby buildings were put to the torch but the matter was easily managed by the defenders initially. Sir Thor quickly reorganized his heavier cavalry units and ordered his mounted infantry to advance on the alarmed ¡®fort¡¯ on foot. The Issirs attacked within thirty minutes under fire from the towers and the local commander prepared his own men for a counter attack. He also notified the two hundred Royal Cataphracts under Cephas Mirpur (brother of Horus) that were camped across Mid Bridge of the situation. The Cataphracts crossed the large stone bridge immediately and headed for the south gates of the walled camp (the backside gates facing the road to the river.) With the scrap turning into a proper battle, the Issir infantry reaching the burning gates under fire and clashing with the Jang Lu that had moved to block them and the local commander waiting by the south gates for reinforcements to arrive, nobody paid any attention to the woods five hundred meters away on the large camp¡¯s east side. Sir Ton¡¯s group that had crept close under the cover of night, the trees and the confusion ordered his men to attack the loosely defended east wall and scale it with makeshift rope ladders. Wim Luikens who was present offered an alternative. While the alchemist¡¯s role in the war has always been shrouded in mystery and horrific loss of life, the reality is thirty minutes later a large portion of the sturdy east wall of the camp disappeared. Some describe a great light coming down from the sky, others insist it was a lighting or a guided fire spell with everyone agreeing that a devastating sound was heard followed by another one. The hellish blast wave dug a hole in the earth, pulverized the timber walls, turning large four meter long thick wood pieces into thin sharp bolts that exploded inwards decimating the rear areas of the Jang Lu. The civilian and slave quarters district of the camp melted. Four hundred casualties occurring in seconds and over a hundred of them killed outright. Buildings collapsed or set alight like candle sticks. Such was the shock at the abrupt wave of destruction that both armies stopped fighting for a while. The Jang Lu recovered first somewhat and broke through the stunned rather green Issir infantry that turned around to run for their horses in panic. The also rattled Jang Lu though made little progress as they got stopped by Sir Thor¡¯s cavalry that charged them a hundred meters outside the burning gates. Chaos ensued. Sir Ton¡¯s Van De Aesst''s soldiers of the east group managed to reach the leveled and smoldering opening that had appeared in the gutted east walls of the Horselords¡¯ camp abandoning the safety of the forest but got caught in their turn by Mirpur¡¯s arriving Cataphracts and got shattered losing over fifty men. Cephas Mirpur¡¯s advance got bogged down very soon in the confusing battlefield, with both opponents mingling with maimed slaves and screaming badly burned or dismembered civilians that attempted to break out of the burning camp. Sir Ton received a grave injury at some point and all cohesion broke down. His friend Sir Thor Est Ravn who had been informed of Muvelo¡¯s rangers lurking to his rear and west flank ordered his men to disengage from the mauled Jang Lu that had been pushed back inside the camp, but not before making an attempt to break out Sir Ton¡¯s east group. They were in danger of being cut off. The opportunity to attempt a rescue given due to Sir Albert Kosters retreating Golden Spears (on the west flank of Sir Thor) managing to intercept Muvelo¡¯s force that in their turn had just ambushed the fleeing Issir infantry. In the battle that followed the fearful of having Tehenor¡¯s fate Muvelo ordered his men to disengage when he realized that the Horse Archers hadn¡¯t made the crossing after his rangers. The Golden Spears were winning the engagement as they had brought to bear five hundred well-trained mounted infantry and men-at-arms to Muvelo¡¯s about six hundred split in three groups¡¯ rangers. Almost two kilometers behind this scrap, the unquestionably brave Sir Thor had personally led a force of three hundred men that fell upon Mirpur¡¯s worn-out from their scrap and travel Cataphracts. The Horselords suffered casualties despite fighting bravely and were pushed back but Sir Thor¡¯s attacking force, not much fresher if not even more tired by now, almost melted and were saved by Mirpur ordering a withdrawal near the bridge. The skilled cavalry leader (both of Lord Mirpur¡¯s surviving sons were superb equestrians) knew that the Heavy Lancers of Sepa had been alerted by the brouhaha and would be coming to assist them sooner rather than later. In the frenzied last couple of hours of that night several men were split between what logic dictated, saving their men and lives, helping their friends or just serving a higher purpose that perhaps demanded the ultimate sacrifice.
- ¡°There lad!¡± Sir Luppe ordered, his sword hacking at a Cataphract¡¯s helm, the metal distorting and the blade lodging slantwise in the man¡¯s right shoulder. ¡°Help him out!¡± A grim-faced Sebastian reached down to grab a spear and snapped his knees to get his horse moving again. The spear ripped out of the dead Horselord¡¯s chest, yanking his right arm back as the squire moved forward. Sebastian grunted and brought the long weapon in front of him using both his arms. The horse galloped freely, the squire bobbing up and down the saddle dangerously. He freed his left arm to get a hold of the reins and the hacking furiously at the head of Egbert Cataphract heard Sebastian coming up behind him. The apprentice had tried to protect the running away Luikens. The smiling mask glanced at the approaching squire and snapped his spurred heels to get out of Sebastian¡¯s way. Egbert collapsed to his knees behind him, half of his face missing and the rest of it a gory mess. Sebastian bellowed in anger and turned his galloping fast horse to pursue the fleeing Cataphract. He was gaining fast and the Horselord kept going in a wide circle, finally twisting around on the saddle holding a light wooden crossbow. Uher¡¯s kind grace, Sebastian thought respectfully and then added in a more vulgar, semi-incoherent but loud manner when the bolt grazed the top of his head. ¡°Fuacrkh!¡± Fuck, was his meaning. The bolt frayed away a straight stripe of hair along the skin. It was like having your skull sawed in but not fully. Sebastian felt the pain numbing the joints of his jaw. With a curse the Cataphract dropped the crossbow and got a three-headed flail out of his saddlebags, his weapons arsenal seemingly inexhaustible, and then immediately attempted a sharper turn with his horse. The Horselord probably expected the young squire to disengage or break of his attack but the half-blinded, ear-ringing and head hurting Sebastian didn¡¯t. The thought didn¡¯t even cross his cloudy mind. The incensed squire just charged at the fast turning large target and crashed on the armoured Horselord with such force, the impact sent Sebastian flying over the skewered Cataphract. The spear left behind, half of it protruding out the Khanate¡¯s knight¡¯s sides. Sebastian half-turned midair before ¡®landing¡¯ on the muddy ground in an uncontrolled tumble, one of the fingers in his injured arm snapping the wrong way and his hurt mouth covered in bloody mire. ¡°Gaah!¡± The rattled squire coughed jumping to his feet, taking a step and then going back down on a knee with a pained groan. ¡°Where is he?¡± Sir Luppe grunted afore Sebastian had the time to remember how he had gotten there himself. Or how to stand. The ground turning all about him and the dark shades of the forest dressed in red hue from the flames incinerating the camp¡¯s buildings. ¡°Egbert is hurt bad,¡± he managed to croak and the tired knight grabbed his shoulder hard to help him up. Sebastian stared at his throbbing mid finger drooping right and left on his closed fist stupidly. ¡°Egbert is dead,¡± Sir Luppe informed him soberly. ¡°Where is the Assayer Seb?¡± ¡°He ran into the woods,¡± Sebastian mumbled trying to process everything that had occurred in a few short hours and the knight cursed irate. He stood up and looked at the waning scrap all about them. Everyone was looking to disengage as fast as they could. ¡°Take that scimitar and find your horse,¡± Sir Luppe grunted and marched towards the nearby trees. Yells and cries from the survivors followed after them, with the more coherent voices ordering the men to regroup for a retreat.
¡°Wrap your finger with it,¡± Sir Luppe said pausing to clean some of the blood from Sebastian¡¯s face. ¡°Stop crying. Uher is with you.¡± The knight helped him bandage the swollen finger, then secure it using two of the nearby ones. After he finished the knight checked about them. ¡°LUIKENS!¡± He bellowed walking deeper inside the trees, his voice ringing inside the dark woods. The sound of fighting had subsided and the morning wasn¡¯t but a couple of hours away at the most. You wouldn¡¯t know it under the thick canopy and but for the light of the fires behind them no other light reached the place. ¡°God damnit,¡± Sir Luppe cursed with a grimace of frustration. ¡°LUIKENS!¡± He roared again even louder and the trees whistled in response, the soft breeze scaring his horse. The knight returned near the hurting squire and checked on him. ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Sebastian assured Sir Luppe through his clenched teeth. ¡°Just a bit of pain but nothing I can¡¯t handle.¡± He added with a shuddering groan. ¡°Sir Ton was killed. Body got dragged away,¡± the knight murmured. ¡°We need to get Est Ravn going. Thor doesn¡¯t believe his friend is dead but he is. The Horselords will react in force.¡± There was a ¡®but¡¯ in there and it loomed between them for a moment. ¡°But we need to find brother Luikens,¡± Sebastian murmured, sucking on his bleeding lip. ¡°That¡¯s his doing. The dead mules also. All of it,¡± the knight explained. ¡°Uher¡¯s Light,¡± the squire added remembering Jordi¡¯s words. ¡°Maybe. But I see no god¡¯s hand in this,¡± Sir Luppe grunted and they heard Luikens¡¯ whispering voice coming from somewhere above them. ¡°Brother Luppe?¡± ¡°Wim?¡± The Knight snapped and looked about him. ¡°Where in the Allgods mercy are you?¡± ¡°I climbed the tree,¡± Luikens explained sounding stressed. ¡°But I can¡¯t come down.¡± ¡°Which tree?¡± The Knight roared, now infuriated. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you reply afore?¡± ¡°I waited to see if it was clear,¡± the Assayer explained coolly and then elucidated. ¡°I¡¯ve left my bag under it. It¡¯s easy to find.¡±
¡°What if someone stumbled upon the bag?¡± Sir Luppe hissed as they returned to where Sebastian had left their horses at the edge of the forest. ¡°What if he looked into it?¡± ¡°Then he would have found some of my vials,¡± the alchemist explained indifferently. ¡°But soon as he handled them, or poured the contents out then it would have been all over for him.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Sebastian croaked helping the thin man on the horse and giving him the heavy bag to wear over his shoulders. ¡°What if he handled them wrongly whilst still under your plaguing tree?¡± A miffed Sir Luppe asked and Luikens furrowed his thin white brows troubled. ¡°I think the why¡­ hmm¡­ is the more interesting query. Uhum.¡± A strange voice said breaking the awkward moment, adding needlessly. ¡°Yep. Ahum.¡± ¡°Who said that?¡± Sir Luppe barked and turned around alarmed, sword in hand. A robust figure had come out of a deeper part of the woods, dressed in plain clothes. An Issir that carried a sword on his back. Sebastian licked his bloody lip nervously. ¡°Who are you?¡± The knight asked signing for Sebastian to climb on the horse as well. ¡°I¡¯m Brill,¡± the man replied and his voice didn¡¯t resemble what it had sounded just a moment afore at all. He walked towards them with long heavy strides, but standing a little clumsy. Then he stopped a couple of meters away to look at them with a pair of dispassionate eyes. ¡°I¡¯m a knight,¡± he added and his black lips split into a crooked smile. There was no mirth in it though only the grimace. ¡°Sir David Brill?¡± Luppe gasped and lowered his sword. ¡°Uher¡¯s grace upon you!¡± He rumbled but then his tone changed somewhat. ¡°I heard you were dead Sir.¡± The man shrugged his shoulders as if it wasn¡¯t a big deal. ¡°I¡¯ll help you out friend.¡± He said reassuringly, the changing directions wind blowing his thick short cut hair this way and that. Sebastian let out a sigh of relief. Luthos has smiled at us, he thought and reached for the saddle¡¯s horn with his good hand, to help himself in front of Luikens. Sir Luppe¡¯s next words stopping him. ¡°I heard it from a man present. He was right there when it happened,¡± the knight insisted hoarsely and Sebastian turned around a little confused, as something in Sir Luppe¡¯s tone was strange. ¡°A friend of his and Sir Mark''s. Grew up together they had. He saw Brill laying down slain. The sight tore him up it did. His old friends getting cut down. Brukel wouldn¡¯t lie about it mister.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Brill,¡± the man repeated calmly. ¡°You know me.¡± ¡°Aye, and you know me for you all used to hunt at Greywood.¡± Sir Luppe replied brusquely, all tensed up now and suddenly everything went from peaceful to sinister.
The situation turned on its head just like that and the prospect of violence that had subsided seemingly not a moment afore, now sipped from the air and the trees. Stuck on branches and laced the soft breeze¡¯s whispers. Something in the air. You could feel it in your bones. A warning pause just before violence exploded again.
¡°Tell me then, what¡¯s my name?¡± Sir Luppe had asked him and a shiver crawled down Sebastian¡¯s spine.
464. The Squire | & the curious case of the slain knight
Sebastian ¡®Seb Oats¡¯ The Squire | & the curious case of the slain knight
¡°Ah,¡± the voice from before said fascinated. ¡°An unfortunate hiccup. Uhm. Eh.¡± Sebastian narrowed his eyes and reached for a shortsword sheathed on the saddle, fresh blood trickling down his forehead from the cut that had carved it down the middle. ¡°What deviltry is this?¡± Sir Luppe queried taking a step forward with Brill adding monotonously. ¡°A hiccup.¡± The squire heard twigs snapping twenty meters away, where two large sycamore trees almost hugged each other and leafy scrubs filled up the empty space. Sir Luppe was standing about half that distance away, almost next to the man called Brill. The outline of a hand appeared next, it just sprouted out of the foliage. It hesitated for a moment and then pushed some of the shrubbery away, still remaining relatively shaded in the semi-darkness. The nervous Sebastian made to move but the knight¡¯s restrained voice stopped him. ¡°Take Luikens away Seb.¡± A reedy tall figure had stepped out of the opening between the two sycamores. The hooded figure stood over seven feet tall and carried a long aged-wood staff wrapped in brass wire up to its top, where a sculpted metal figurine was secured with what looked like three skeletal fingers. Sebastian gasped in shock at the weirdly-shaped creature, the oval top of the newcomer¡¯s elongated skull pushed under the large hood just to offer example and Sir Luppe turned to face him as well when Brill attacked without warning. The promise of violence fulfilled. The knight moved first as if expecting this new development and flicked his sword upwards carving a red line on Brill¡¯s chest, tearing at flesh and fabric. Brill recoiled and took a backwards step but moved again towards Sir Luppe, who lowered his blade to run him through. The arming sword entering under the dip of the sixth frontal rib near the heart and bursting out of the back. Brill shuddered fatally wounded, head dropping forward. Sebastian glanced towards the tall newcomer but didn¡¯t see him standing there. The knight grunted glancing towards that spot himself and made to retrieve his sword. Brill stopped him raising his left arm and snatching at the guard. Sir Luppe swung his left fist and snapped Brill¡¯s head back but the lively man, considering he¡¯d a foot of blade buried in his chest cavity, used his right arm now to grab at the knight¡¯s collar. The squire moved to assist him, managed three quick strides that shortsword now in hand but felt a cold breeze touching his sweaty face and that impossibly tall figure blocked his path. Sebastian yelped and instinctively slashed with the blade at the lanky target. His opponent moved, loose tattered robes billowing and the short blade teared at them. Sebastian cursed through clenched teeth and attacked again but the creature snapped that long staff and caught his wrist. The shortsword clattered down, Sebastian¡¯s hand turning numb. ¡°Ah. Almost a break. Uhm. Must be more careful. Yes-yes.¡± A pair of deep red lips noticed, moving on a marble skin. Then the staff returned to stab the staggered teenager hard on the chest and send him tumbling on his back to the ground. Sir Luppe elbowed Brill twice on the head in quick succession breaking his jaw and then used his knee to shove him away, yanking the sword out of his bloody chest. The knight kicked the faltering Brill on the hip and sent him sprawling down. ¡°Get Wim out of here god¡¯s darn it!¡± Sir Luppe growled turning to attack the lanky creature, while a stunned Sebastian rolled on the ground to get on his feet and the male-looking painted freak pointed with his free arm behind the squire, a long and scarred, very dirty index finger extending. The skin on it a deep copper color. Sebastian swung his head back and saw a short, comely Cofol-looking woman sprinting towards the mounted Grand Archivist of the Order. Ten meters away Sir Luppe¡¯s advance was stopped when the still-breathing Brill grabbed at the Knight¡¯s ankle trying to trip him up. Events unfolding almost simultaneously now. The knight twisted about and hacked down with his sword severing Brill¡¯s hand off at the wrist, the newly arrived Cofol female reached Luikens who clumsily raised his right foot from the stirrups and snapped it out once. The pretty girl got a boot in the face, small nose splattering afore flattening with a sickening crunch and staggered back, with the unruffled Luikens lowering his bloody boot to snap on the horse¡¯s sides. The horse jumped forward and despite the woman¡¯s spastic efforts to get out of the way she got hurled four meters back with a scared yelp. Then the horse stopped and stooped to graze at the muddy grass. ¡°Aha,¡± the tall creature noted watching the unfolding scene. ¡°Interesting. Um. Yep.¡± With a gasp Sebastian got up and run towards the frowned alchemist who had planted the leather rucksack in front of him on the saddle to rifle at its contents. The squire reached the horse and grabbed the scimitar with his throbbing right hand, just as Luikens found what he was looking for and chuckled. ¡°Find Brukel Seb.¡± Sir Luppe grunted taking a step back with the armed with a sword now, wrist-less Brill following him. The man was bleeding from several cuts and had part of his bloody liver protruding out of the gapping chest wound. ¡°Do it,¡± the knight added and parried Brill¡¯s attack away. Brill came back like an automaton, a conflicted Sebastian cursed not knowing what to do and the knight slipped his sword past the injured opponent¡¯s attack to open a gashing would on the left side of Brill¡¯s neck. The next slash disarming the faltering man. ¡°DO IT!¡± Sir Luppe bellowed turning his head, eyes wild and Sebastian realized he wasn¡¯t talking to him. The squire recoiled and jumped on the saddle, whilst the gore-covered Brill stabbed a bone dagger in Sir Luppe¡¯s spleen and Luikens raised his right arm high over his sweaty bald head. Several things again happening in quick succession. Sebastian heard feet tip-tapping on the ground, the blood-spattered female rushing towards them, the lanky creature raising a brow at the scene afore retreating towards the two struggling opponents, walking backwards with large awkward strides like an oversized crab. Luikens bespectacled eyes following its moves that had brought it near the staggered knight and Brill, who was now also missing the right forearm. ¡°Mm. Yep. Decisions-decisions. He-he,¡± the hooded freak taunted with a broad toothy smile and Luikens hurled the oval-shaped vial towards him, the alchemist¡¯s free arm snapping down to smack the horse¡¯s rear hard. The horse neighed loudly and burst forward kicking its legs wild, Sebastian was flung back until Luikens¡¯ steady hand stopped him, the squire catching sight of the small vial tumbling in the air behind them towards the sort of bunched up trio not even ten meters away. ¡°Mother¡¯s mercy!¡± The trampled under the horse¡¯s hooves for a second time Cofol girl screamed, her accent strangely different now and the scream lost under the hard galloping of the panicked horse. Sebastian managed to grab at the reins almost cutting a finger off with the scimitar, twisted on the saddle with his heart trying to break out of his sternum and glanced back. Time ticking away slowly. One half-breath and the horse reached the edge of the forest, Sir Luppe and Brill fighting in the now darkening behind them opening. Luikens strange vial reaching the lanky creature, aimed at center mass and then going through it as the ¡®thing¡¯ blinked out of existence. A breath and their mount jumped over a fallen trunk, Sebastian losing the saddle under him and the vial crashed on the ground between the two opponents. A moment later the night turned to day and the day promptly dissolved into a strange white color. A whitening. ¡°Gaah!¡± Sebastian cried out blinded by the sudden flash of pure white light and then a terrible wind blew outwards, snapping branches and uprooting trees. It raised scrubs and grass from the ground, dug out the earth as well and the blast half-turned their horse on its next jump. The scared animal landed badly, Sebastian feeling sharp pieces of wood, rocks, earth and gluey material bombarding his body just before a roaring, deafening sound arrived that shook the ground under them.
The forest was on fire. A swollen-eyed Sebastian slapped at his smoking robes and felt the horse buckling under him. He tried to stop it, but his ears were ringing and felt sick to his stomach. The animal galloped for a little while, the waning night now lit up by the burning camp in front of them and the burning forest they had just exited. Eventually the animal stopped and Sebastian more fell from the saddle than climbed down. He staggered on shaky legs and looked back at the destruction. A portion of the forest missing, about a ten-meter wide gap now formed there. But the rest of it was relatively intact, but for the perimeter that was now on fire, especially considering how big the explosion had felt to him. ¡°Aaah,¡± the squire cried out, moving his jaw and looked at the stooped over the saddle Luikens. The alchemist¡¯s back torn and covered with wood splinters. Blood rivulets running down his tattered robes. Sebastian walked towards him but paused feeling disoriented to empty the contents of his stomach on the ground. A bit of blood mixed in the putrid mess and his ears popping one after the other as the sound returned.
Horses approaching from both directions. From the North and from the south, behind the massive Horselords camp. The road coming from the river. Sebastian noticed the ground was covered with corpses and dead horses, mostly near the burning camp but several slain Issirs and Horselords had fallen near where they were standing. ¡°We need to go,¡± Luikens hissed through his teeth. ¡°You killed Sir Luppe,¡± Sebastian snapped, feeling a wave of anger flooding his senses, followed but a deep pain. Most of it emotional. ¡°Lad, it was an order,¡± Luikens told him tiredly. ¡°Lies!¡± Sebastian growled irate and made to hit him with the scimitar but stopped at the last moment with a pained snarl. ¡°That thing wasn¡¯t a human,¡± the alchemist said with a grimace of pain and checked at his bag. He¡¯d covered the bag to protect it with his body during their mad dash out of the forest. ¡°Nor a living thing. Even if I explained, you wouldn¡¯t understand.¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Sebastian grunted and tried to climb on the horse, tears running down his dirty face. He paused seeing the first riders arrive and clenched his hurting fingers on the scimitar¡¯s handle. ¡°Is that you ¡®Oats¡¯?¡± Brother Dumont asked and jumped from the saddle upon reaching them. ¡°Tanner get the Assayer!¡± He ordered and walked briskly towards Sebastian. ¡°Sir Ravn is holding the rear a couple of kilometers away lad. The Lord Commander sent us to find him,¡± the burly man-at-arms of the Order told the solemn squire. ¡°Sir Luppe was killed,¡± a saddened Sebastian croaked and the ordained warrior made the symbol of Uher over his ringmail headpiece. ¡°Where?¡± He asked and Sebastian showed him the smoking gash opened at the woods fifty meters away. ¡°He¡¯s with Uher now. Can you ride lad? There¡¯s a lot of cavalry coming. They can¡¯t see us now but they can see the forest burning. So they¡¯ll be here soon.¡± A numb Sebastian nodded wiping his face. ¡°Tanner, how¡¯s Luikens?¡± Dumont asked tensely looking towards the lights coming from the burning camp half a kilometer away. ¡°He¡¯ll live. Wim¡¯s like a lizard sir.¡± ¡°You need to carry me on your back brother Tanner,¡± a much more weaker-sounding Luikens was heard saying. Sebastian was now convinced the sneaky little man was faking most of it. ¡°I¡¯ve lost too much blood.¡± ¡°I¡¯m getting you on the saddle,¡± Tanner retorted curtly. ¡°That¡¯s it.¡±
With an ululating cry two Horselords came at them, riding hard to cut them off ten minutes later. Dumont turned his horse around to meet with them, ordering Tanner to keep heading north and Sebastian turned after the senior member of the Order without a second thought. He was feeling empty. But also full of anger and pain. More angry than hurt, although the squire was plenty hurt in reality after a grueling night of horrors. Sebastian followed after the second scout that tried to hack at Tanner¡¯s loaded horse¡¯s legs to stop it. He came up behind him and downed the scimitar catching the Khanate¡¯s warrior on the left shoulder. The blade breaking the scapula bone after tearing a large piece of flesh and leather armour away. The Horselord recoiled with a cry of agony and twisted on the saddle but Sebastian plunged the scimitar under his jaw as he rode next to him to cut it short. The two horses collided and kept running together for a while, the scout tumbling backwards and crashing on his head on the gravel road. Sebastian turned his horse in a wide arc with a snarl, leaving the steppe animal to gallop away on its own and went after the other scout that was still exchanging blows with Brother Dumont. The Horselord heard the sound of hard galloping rushing him from the sides and twisted around, snapping his arm holding the reins to change direction. Dumont¡¯s wild hack missed him but Sebastian crashed his horse on the scout¡¯s, the two animals twirling about in a crazy pirouette, the frenzied squire swinging furiously with the scimitar at his rattled opponent. He got him with a wide slash right on the chest, punched him with the guard ripping upper lip and most of his front teeth away and then run the edge of the scimitar on the hapless scout¡¯s neck almost decapitating him. Dumont¡¯s galloping horse reached him a moment later and stopped a maddened Sebastian from swinging the bloody blade again at the target. ¡°He¡¯s gone lad. Fell from the saddle and he ain¡¯t getting back up,¡± Dumont informed him soberly, putting a hand on the squire¡¯s horse¡¯s neck to slow it down. ¡°You need to calm down now.¡±
They were intercepted by Sir Thor¡¯s Cavalry twenty minutes later. The impressive noble scion riding to meet them on his warhorse. Sebastian could see the Hydra¡¯s long necks and heads depicted on the knight¡¯s expensive cape and horse¡¯s blanket. Carved on the chest plate of his armour. ¡°Did you find Sir Ton?¡± The High Regent¡¯s heir asked them with a brief glance at Sebastian and the seemingly half-dead Wim Luikens. ¡°No sign of him milord,¡± Dumont replied. ¡°Perhaps the body you¡¯ve retrieved is him?¡± ¡°No.¡± Sir Thor grunted shaking his head. ¡°It¡¯s a mistake. We should make another effort.¡± ¡°Milord,¡± Dumont argued tiredly but Sir Thor seemed reluctant to listen to him. ¡°You can move on,¡± he told Dumont. ¡°I¡¯ll send another party.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no time¡ª¡± ¡°We¡¯ll make time!¡± The noble knight snapped cutting him off and Luikens was heard apparently in a condition to speak. ¡°The camp lays in ruins. Unusable,¡± he told the grimacing Sir Thor. ¡°Don¡¯t make a tragedy out of a difficult win my Lord.¡± ¡°What am I going to tell his father? His brothers? Sisters?¡± Sir Thor rustled, his voice hoarse and Sebastian nodded in understanding. The squire wanted to go back and look for Sir Luppe. ¡°He died a hero,¡± Luikens assured him and Sebastian glanced at the alchemist unsure. ¡°I can attest to that my Lord. I was there.¡± - A day later. 3rd of Nonus 194 NC. A kilometer from the Red Bridge Issir fortifications North banks of Balworth River 3rd Foot¡¯s walled camp A bandaged Sebastian stood outside the crude field headquarters. The square timber building resembling a large stable built on the east side of the road where the terrain was flat. A large wall extending to the edges of the rocky land dominating the west side, the cliffs leading down towards Quarterport but you couldn¡¯t reach it from there. The silent squire had half his head covered, stitches on the outside and inside of his mouth, chin and top of head. A tied up right wrist, with a broken finger and a dislocated elbow on his left. There were black spots all over his body and legs. Some from bouncing on the ground several times and others especially at the back of his neck and ears from burns suffered from the blast. Sebastian had locked the pain away and tried to keep his tired mind from repeating the fated ¡®foray beyond the Red Bridge¡¯ events again and again. Egbert had been killed. Sir Mart Luppe was gone. Duke Rinus¡¯ son, Sir Ton had fallen and several brothers killed along knights and soldiers. Everyone wanted to give him an opinion on what happened, whether they were successful or not. Sebastian didn¡¯t care. Horselords were still inside the capital and they were fighting a war he didn¡¯t understand. The world suddenly loomed larger and even more sinister, enemies lurking in its dark recesses when you least expected them. Allies not the grand paragons of virtue he believed and their role shrouded in mystery. He had the sense that the wrong people had been lost for lesser creatures to survive. ¡°You¡¯re next lad,¡± a cultured voice said. ¡°The Priesthood is gathered inside. Good luck. I wouldn¡¯t speak if I were you.¡± Sebastian raised his eyes to stare in Sir Thor Est Ravn¡¯s face. With his square jaw, dark blue eyes and trimmed goatee, the noble knight appeared larger than life. His armour dented but still gleaming well-polished, the ivory handle of his longsword covered in shaped silver scales. Sir Thor signed with his head for him to enter through the door.
Archmagister Kelholt was sitting in front of the High Regent¡¯s heavy oaken desk, with Sande Te Hove and Priest Brukel standing near the right wall of the large room with the one-armed Inquisitor Maas Vellers standing on the left. Baron Grote was showing something on a map to the High Regent. The Shield¡¯s finger way out into the Shallow Sea and nowhere near the capital. ¡°Is this the squire?¡± Lord Anker asked evenly without looking at him. The nervous squire was standing five meters away. Sebastian made to move closer but Vellers arm found his chest and stopped him roughly. Sebastian grimaced and bowed his head with a glance at the hard-faced Inquisitor. ¡°Answer the Lord¡¯s query,¡± Vellers hissed warningly. ¡°Aye my Lord Regent,¡± Sebastian said, pursing his mouth. Lord Anker raised his eyes to look at him curious. Then his stare lowered at his waist. ¡°Is this a Khanate blade squire?¡± ¡°Aye it is my lord. I¡¯ve lost mine.¡± Lord Anker nodded without changing expression. ¡°His name is Sebastian milord,¡± Sande Te Hove intervened. ¡°We call him Seb Oats.¡± ¡°Sebastos,¡± Lord Anker said glancing at the map and then returning his eyes on him. ¡°The word for your name in Imperial. Respected. It¡¯s a good name to shorten it squire. Befitting a monk I would say.¡± ¡°Yes my Lord.¡± Sebastian agreed although other people called him how they wanted and he thought it needless to correct them. He saw no point in it. ¡°Wim Luikens reported you saved his life,¡± the High Regent said. ¡°Multiple times.¡± ¡°My Lord Sir Luppe sacrificed himself for us,¡± Sebastian argued trying to be respectful. ¡°I did nothing.¡± Lord Anker stared at the thoughtful Archmagister. ¡°A knight of the Order?¡± ¡°He was knighted by the¡­ previous King Lord Anker.¡± ¡°Even so Luikens wants you to be his apprentice,¡± the High Regent of Kaltha continued.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°We shall allow young Seb to work with the Grand Archivist,¡± Kelholt informed Lord Anker. ¡°As his new apprentice.¡± ¡°What do you want?¡± Lord Anker asked Sebastian ignoring the Archmagister. ¡°You earned the right to carry that sword squire.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to serve the Order sire,¡± Sebastian croaked. ¡°But not Luikens,¡± Lord Anker deduced and rapped his fingers on the table. ¡°You¡¯ll need to find a knight then young man. Not many will take a bastard outside the Order.¡± And the Order might not look favorably to you turning down the Assayer¡¯s offer was his meaning. ¡°Yes my Lord.¡± Sebastian agreed respectfully feeling the Archmagister¡¯s intent stare on him. He gulped down nervously and noticed a thin smile on the High Regent¡¯s face. ¡°You are dismissed brother Sebastos,¡± Lord Anker said a touch of warmth in his voice. ¡°The throne appreciates your service.¡±
¡°How did it go?¡± Sir Thor asked the two priests the moment they exited with Sebastian. ¡°The kid turned Luikens¡¯ offer down,¡± Sande te Hove replied with a grimace. ¡°I¡¯ll have to convince the Lord Commander to find him a knight soon. We don¡¯t exactly have a lack of squires. It¡¯s the other way around.¡± ¡°What about Dumont?¡± Sebastian asked and the magister shook his head. ¡°He isn¡¯t knighted. It takes a bit more work than that lad. It¡¯s a chain and you can¡¯t break it or jump the hoops. Will you work for me? More chanting, less fighting, a bit of diplomacy and some backstabbing I guess,¡± Sande te Hove offered. ¡°Plus I can talk the old man down from having you skinned. You just embarrassed him in front of the High Regent and weakened Luikens in his eyes.¡± ¡°I¡¯m missing a squire,¡± Sir Thor said. ¡°I mean I have Tod but he¡¯s injured and I need another.¡± Sebastian stared at the noble knight unsure. ¡°Milord I¡­¡± ¡°Can you read your letters?¡± Sir Thor asked stopping him. ¡°Aye. And I can write some.¡± ¡°He¡¯s very clever,¡± Sande te Hove assured him. ¡°Not good with a blade though.¡± ¡°I heard otherwise,¡± Sir Thor argued and smiled. ¡°My mind is made up magister Hove.¡± The magister bowed his head. ¡°Of course my Lord.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t we need to ask for Lord Commander¡¯s permission?¡± Sebastian asked a little perturbed. ¡°Fuck him,¡± Sir Thor retorted and scratched his goatee with his fingers. ¡°He¡¯ll say yes anyway.¡± ¡°I appreciate your kindness my lord,¡± Sebastian said and bowed his head. ¡°Are you serious now? Are you going to refuse?¡± Sir Thor asked with a grimace. ¡°Ahm. No Sir. I wasn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Then cut the lord stuff. Sir Thor is fine. Unless there¡¯s a nasty maiden walking by. Then use it by all means. You¡¯re leaving us magister?¡± Thor asked turning to the smiling Sande te Hove. ¡°I need to return to his Eminence. See to smoothen things out,¡± Sande explained. ¡°You better. Nothing more lethal than a prominent man. Sage or not,¡± Sir Thor deadpanned. ¡°I¡¯ll find Lord Commander,¡± Brukel said in his turn. ¡°Priest Brukel if I could have a word?¡± Sebastian asked remembering Sir Luppe¡¯s warning. ¡°Can it wait young Seb? I¡¯ll be back in ten minutes at the most,¡± Brukel said with a tired smile. ¡°It¡¯s important to speak to the Lord Commander first lad.¡± ¡°I will wait by the stables,¡± Sebastian said not wanting to remain outside the headquarters. ¡°Good grief,¡± Sir Thor intervened. ¡°Go ahead priest, we¡¯ll be in the officer¡¯s barracks.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll have me walk across the camp Thor?¡± Brukel asked a little miffed. ¡°Yes Brukel, I would.¡± Thor replied with a stupid grin and then winked at the uncertain squire. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about him. We go way back, well afore he started sucking on Uher¡¯s cock, Brukel actually liked women.¡± ¡°Sir Thor Est Ravn!¡± Brukel admonished him with a glare. ¡°Oh just fuck off,¡± Thor retorted. ¡°I¡¯m telling the truth. Else Uher¡¯s Light will burn me right here and now.¡± Sebastian glanced at the cloudy sky a little apprehensive but nothing came down and the noble knight interrupted his gazing with a soft tap on his shoulder. A sign they had to get moving towards the barracks.
¡°Ah, hell of a week this,¡± Sir Thor said after they had entered his private quarters inside the large officer barracks building. He walked to a cupboard and uncorked a bottle of wine, poured some of it in a silver goblet and downed it in a go. Smacked his lips right after and poured another one. He glanced at the standing Sebastian and grimaced. ¡°This is for Ton.¡± He said soberly and polished off the second helping as well. ¡°Did you know him?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t¡­ only saw him during the march sir and in a meeting before that.¡± ¡°Um. Yeah¡­ he had a great sense of humor,¡± Thor reminisced. ¡°That son of a bitch could go crazy for a pair of tits. Brave as fuck. Ah. Fucking allhells,¡± he murmured and pulled a chair to sit on, moving his scabbard out of the way. ¡°We almost got killed on Eplas.¡± Thor continued now completely serious. ¡°It was a difficult task sir,¡± Sebastian said respectfully and Thor smiled bitterly. Pursed his mouth tightly and then let out a deep sigh. ¡°Difficult. We landed on Eplas and kicked the Horselords out of their port. Laid waste to Rin Yue-Tu with the fucking slant-eyed devils hurling all manner of shit on our heads. Marched down the Snake¡¯s Spine with snow up to our horses¡¯ bellies¡¯.¡± He continued reminiscing. ¡°Through Hellfort¡¯s Pass to recapture Hellfort and cross the blasted Teid River. We had no idea where we were going but we hunted them down into their own plaguing domain. We almost won near Altarin you know. It was a close affair but we had no reserves against the whole of Khan¡¯s army. You¡¯ve seen it. His army. Imagine fighting on their own turf. It wasn¡¯t difficult. It was a king¡¯s madness¡­¡± Sir Thor paused grimacing and stared at the wooden wall of his room. ¡°Your attack hurt the Khan¡¯s army yesterday sir,¡± Sebastian said to lift his spirits. ¡°Luikens takes the credit for that,¡± Sir Thor replied. ¡°Yeah. Not good enough.¡± ¡°Sir Thor,¡± Sebastian started but stopped unsure on what to say. ¡°Two brothers I had,¡± Sir Thor said tiredly. ¡°One lost a whole army and the other a High Queen,¡± he shook his head and reached for the empty goblet. He stared at it for a moment. ¡°Both are highly regarded. Ask anyone. Judged by Uher¡¯s standards. Hell, if my sister wasn¡¯t as crazy as a bag of cats then she would have better chances on taking the throne in the eyes of my father.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure Lord Anker has the best in his mind for the Duchy and that would be you Sir Thor.¡± ¡°You¡¯re good with words mister Seb,¡± Thor said and placed the goblet on the table. ¡°Clever. Is that from your mother?¡± ¡°My mother was a common woman sir. Died of the fever,¡± Sebastian replied stiffly. ¡°What about your father?¡± ¡°Some sailor or other,¡± Sebastian replied and Sir Thor nodded thoughtfully. ¡°Don¡¯t take life too seriously Seb,¡± he told him. ¡°Half of what you see is just theater. People are very much alike. Even Horselords.¡± ¡°What is a nasty maiden sir?¡± Sebastian asked as he was curious. The knight stood back looking at him with clever eyes. ¡°A woman that knows where to sheath the point and not miss the mark,¡± he finally said and Sebastian nodded now getting it. In fact, he¡¯d met one such capable woman. ¡°Like Lady Siske then.¡± Sir Thor stared at him blankly for a moment and then started laughing almost doubling over as he got totally overcome by mirthfulness. ¡°Goodness me lad,¡± he managed to say wiping the tears from his eyes. ¡°Fuck, I needed that. Thanks. Ah, I think you completely missed my point¡­ mister Oats. Aye. Like by a whole fucking lot. Wow. I¡¯ll stick to melee if I was you.¡± And Sebastian nodded agreeing.
A tired Brukel entered an hour later and then walked back outside at Thor¡¯s insistence to clean his muddy boots. Upon reentering the balding priest walked to the same cupboard and helped himself to the Knight¡¯s wine. ¡°Praised be Uher,¡± he chanted and glugged down the contents of his goblet. ¡°Ah. Let¡¯s make a libation to Tyeus eh?¡± He told Sebastian and poured himself another one. ¡°Are you going to throw a liturgy for the whole pantheon?¡± Sir Thor asked mockingly. ¡°A blasphemer shall walk on shit,¡± Brukel warned the grinning knight. ¡°I own thirty horses. I usually ride everywhere,¡± Thor reminded him without missing a beat. ¡°Five are in the camp¡¯s stable.¡± ¡°Braggarts shall find turds in their bowls and piss in their wine,¡± Brukel insisted sanctimoniously. ¡°Better stop drinking then,¡± Thor deadpanned and the priest puffed out but finished off his wine. ¡°Kosters agreed to your proposal,¡± he said with a grimace and stared at the bottle. ¡°Of course he has.¡± Brukel glanced at Sebastian sitting on the edge of the bed and pursed his mouth. ¡°What did you want to talk about lad?¡± ¡°We found something in the woods,¡± Sebastian started immediately. ¡°Luikens appraised the Duke about it.¡± ¡°What did he say?¡± Sebastian asked. ¡°You got attacked by Horselords,¡± Brukel replied. ¡°You saved the day but Sir Luppe was killed.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what happened,¡± Sebastian said and got up from the bed. ¡°Luikens missed some details?¡± Sir Thor asked from his chair. ¡°Luikens lied.¡± ¡°Lad don¡¯t push it,¡± Brukel warned him. ¡°I don¡¯t enjoy the Assayer¡¯s company but he¡¯s important to the kingdom¡¯s survival.¡± ¡°Luikens?¡± ¡°Yes young Seb. You know that. You are with us for a while now,¡± Brukel said patiently. ¡°Sir Luppe was attacked by an Issir and a¡­ tall thing,¡± Sebastian grunted in protest struggling to get the words out. ¡°A tall thing?¡± Thor asked and reached for the bottle. ¡°This sounds interesting or funny as allhells. Did you have any of my wine while I was at the latrine Seb?¡± ¡°Mart was attacked by an Issir,¡± Brukel said and stared at the squire austerely. ¡°What are you saying lad?¡± ¡°He told me to find you. Talk to you about it.¡± ¡°Why me?¡± Brukel asked and stood back. ¡°Why not the Lord Commander? Or anyone else?¡± ¡°I think you know.¡± ¡°Know what?¡± Brukel asked a little impatiently. ¡°The man¡¯s name was Brill.¡± Sebastian explained nervously trying to recall the traumatic events. ¡°A knight. David Brill.¡± ¡°Lad,¡± Sir Thor said a little sad. ¡°You¡¯ve been through a lot.¡± ¡°David Brill is dead,¡± Brukel said stiffly. ¡°Sir Luppe said the same thing. But that man was real¡­ He looked like him. Sir Luppe though believed that something was wrong. I saw him. Luikens saw him. There was a tall¡­ creature with him. It didn¡¯t look human at all.¡± Brukel walked to the table, dragged the second chair out and sat down gathering his robes. ¡°Bruk¡­¡± Thor murmured looking at him shaking. ¡°It¡¯s fine¡­¡± The priest rubbed his flushed face with both hands hard and swallowed with difficulty. ¡°David was cut down trying to save your brother,¡± he said hoarsely reminiscing. ¡°I saw the whole thing.¡± Brukel puffed out and reached for the goblet. Thor poured a generous amount inside, spilling some of it on the table. ¡°He got broken in two from the fall. A lance right through him,¡± he continued with difficulty. ¡°He died. When I rode away, I glanced back and saw Mark getting cut down as well. I will never forget it lad.¡± ¡°Sir Luppe said that he knew him very well,¡± Sebastian insisted. ¡°Brill claimed it was him but obviously he wasn¡¯t. He wouldn¡¯t die priest even after getting hacked at repeatedly.¡± ¡°Luikens saw that?¡± ¡°He hurled Uher¡¯s Light on them,¡± Sebastian grunted. ¡°But that thing turned into air and it escaped.¡± ¡°The thing with this fake Brill,¡± Brukel said scrunching his mouth this way and that. ¡°I¡¯m not lying. Uher as my witness,¡± Sebastian insisted. ¡°I saw everything.¡± ¡°Could Brill have made it?¡± Thor asked and the priest shook his head right and left. ¡°Not a chance.¡± ¡°Then what, some spell?¡± Thor asked unsure and looked at Sebastian. ¡°Why would Luikens¡­?¡± ¡°Is Tod in the barracks?¡± Brukel asked. ¡°I sent him to the kitchens.¡± ¡°He still talks with Vellers?¡± ¡°They are third cousins,¡± Thor reminded him. ¡°I know, but would Vellers talk with you?¡± ¡°What are you saying Brukel?¡± Thor asked and got up a little angry. ¡°He might have talked to Kelholt but not your father,¡± Brukel said. ¡°About what? I loved David but come on! Sir Luppe was mistaken,¡± Thor protested. ¡°It was him that insisted he was Brill,¡± Sebastian intervened. ¡°Sir Luppe just didn¡¯t believe it. Neither did Luikens.¡± ¡°What did the Assayer say?¡± Brukel asked. ¡°That Brill wasn¡¯t really alive and that the creature wasn¡¯t human,¡± Sebastian repeated. ¡°He was tall and a¡­ I don¡¯t know. Weirdly made.¡± ¡°A Zilan?¡± Thor chanced. ¡°The princess has dealings with them. The Khan also had one married to the Sahand is a favorite rumor in court. They do spells don¡¯t they?¡± ¡°Anything about him other than the height?¡± Brukel insisted. Sebastian furrowed his brows trying to remember the weird creature. ¡°He talked¡­ funny. Ah, I think his face was painted¡­ white, but the skin on his hand was more copper in color.¡± The squire added and the priest¡¯s face paled. ¡°Are you certain he wasn¡¯t a human?¡± Brukel asked slowly. ¡°Absolutely. Nothing human about him,¡± Sebastian replied with conviction. ¡°Bruk you are making me nervous mate,¡± Thor said and looked at the priest pacing the room up and down deep in thought. The priest finally stopped, scratched his balding head uncomfortable and then said in a low voice. ¡°What I¡¯ll say now, your father doesn¡¯t know fully. It must stay in this room Thor and never leave your lips can you do that?¡± ¡°How about I take my sword out and smack you upside the head with it?¡± Sir Thor grunted. ¡°I¡¯m serious old friend,¡± Brukel insisted. ¡°I¡¯m serious also priest,¡± Thor grunted. ¡°Speak.¡± ¡°A week before the young Prince died,¡± Brukel started and Sebastian stood back not expecting the story to take such a weird turn. ¡°Two men approached Magister Gordian in Alden with a ¡®better plan¡¯ in order to pressure King Alistair to put a stop to the debauchery that has consumed Regia.¡± ¡°Who were they?¡± ¡°A Lorian and a Nord,¡± Brukel replied. ¡°Members of a cult. Those obscure old gods. I got interested when they met with the Archmagister and approached them to learn more. They had part of their face, neck and chest painted white. Their god completely unknown to me and others I asked about it. It actually has no name. Until I asked around a bit more and I learned it sort of. The Painted God, the name they used.¡± Thor frowned and glanced at the listening Sebastian. ¡°No.¡± He finally said emphatically with a grimace of distaste. Brukel blinked and Sebastian looked from the one to the other. ¡°You¡¯ve been in the Archive¡­¡± Brukel started and Sir Thor stopped him angrily. ¡°Shush! For fuck¡¯s sake,¡± the knight cursed. ¡°That¡¯s a tale left behind priest. Nobody wants to know¡­ nobody wants to remember. Where the tales stop and truth starts. What was before¡­? This is a new age and realm Brukel. All peoples have nemeses. Myths and horrors. You would go there?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not the one bringing it up. Sande once told me something when we were younger,¡± Brukel insisted. ¡°That he read part of what was decoded. He told me about what they brought to Kraken¡¯s Nest from Ereraz. What they dug out of the guts of Godface¡¯s Rock and the road they discovered under the Round Sea. To stop the horrors coming out of the desert our ancestors reached Godface Rock and stared beyond the Round Sea to find Godseye Isle. Sought to make contact with the horrors enemies. Obviously it didn¡¯t end well at all.¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Sebastian asked very confused. Sir Thor looked at him intently for a moment and then replied raspingly. ¡°The priest fears you saw a real Bonemancer. An Aken Bonemancer. Which is ludicrous. If they are even real, they can¡¯t cross the sea.¡± ¡°What¡¯s an Aken?¡± Sebastian asked with his mouth dry remembering the creature walking backwards like a fiendish insect. ¡°What¡¯s a Bonemancer?¡± And Brukel told him. -
Sometimes there¡¯s no warning at all. The gruesome Abyss will stir and out of its depths antediluvian horrors shall surface. For beyond a man¡¯s petty grievances and his mortal enemy¡¯s shallow ambitions real evil exists. Unfathomable, incomprehensible and inhumane at its very core. Alien in its wants and malevolent in its schemes. Old horrors creeping closer because humans fear the memories and cast them aside. They turn the ancient key on the sturdy locks and bar solid metal doors. Change the words and encode their meanings in old texts. The king wanted them burned, the king wanted them destroyed and forgotten. For how can one stand above all else when the tale has been distorted? An exodus can be a glorious raid if those left in command are illiterate brutes that can¡¯t comprehend what happened. The reason apocryphal and the gods a mystery to the godless, only remembered when a choir¡¯s song is heard. The heathen rule the realm. Their ignorance forced upon all others until nothing remains but these locked texts of memories long forgotten. When the ancient page turns and the numbers become letters again, then all shall be revealed and all darkness shall be cast aside by Uher¡¯s Light. - Magister Sebastos, Grand Archivist of the Order (born 178 NC, Issir¡¯s Eagle) Decoding the Logs of the Great Exodus -Prologue- Circa 212 NC
-
- A day earlier Eh. That was loud. Tin thought rising slowly from behind a smoldering cracked trunk. He reached with a hand and removed a large burning splinter from his right eye. It popped and spilt out of the socket. Down his hot face and chin. Blood mixed with watery fluids the heat soon dried up. The skin turning sticky. Yep. Uhum. Ah, there. He decided and walked carefully through the set-alight devastated sycamores to where the large smoking hole had now appeared. The ground scraped clean and no sign of Brill or the human idiot remaining. Fucking persistent weirdo. Mmm. What¡¯s my name? Who the fuck gives a shit! Move on for crying out loud. Motherfucking humans forget the nigh important stuff and then turn all touchy-feely about boring minutiae. That bottle-bottoms-for-eyes trawl almost got me though. Uhm. Yep. Almost fucked me up. Tin smacked his lips, the dull pain coming from the leaking wound that had been his eye not bothering him. He was excited with the action and the knowledge gained. Learn things. Yep. Elevate yourself. Uhum. Improve. Improve. Improve. Aha. Pity about Brill. Yep. Eh¡­ maybe I could find something¡­ Um? What¡¯s this then? He checked the melted skin for any piece of bone but he could find nothing. Slotted the skin in his mouth next to work on it with the tongue just in case, but without any success. Still, be thorough now. He listened for the Horselords searching about and looking for injured or any hidden enemies. The injured Tin and Atae had taken care of. Helped them move along and escape their misery. Ah, I left the dagger back there. Mmm. I¡¯ll take it later. Unless someone steals it. Brill lost the other one. Eh. No problem. Ayup. I¡¯ll make another. Working is a noble thing. It shows strength of character. Tin wasn¡¯t bothered about any of that. He was a little cross with the fact that the naughty little human had escaped. A small fail. Eh. We¡¯ll fix it soon. Not a spell, he thought, what the sneaky cunt had used. Kaletha tech. He-he. Not all lost. Very interesting. Mmm. Very useful. Sneakily deadly. But also loud. An oxymoron! Ho-ho-ho! He grinned barely keeping the chuckle in, his forked tongue licking at the crust under his gapping eyehole absentmindedly. Tin heard feet shuffling near him and turned around. He saw a faltering Atae approaching. The right side of her body blackened, part of the head¡¯s skin blown off and the bones of her skull showing. Mmm. The woman carried her detached right arm in her left hand. The severed limb black and brittle but the bone underneath intact. Eh. Somewhat. Probably fractured. Atae¡¯s right leg snapped at the thigh, almost coming off and she dropped down a couple of meters from him with a pained pathetic groan like a rotten sack of potatoes. Skin tears like old fabric and spills everything out! Bah. Poor thing. Tin stooped over her and reached with a long arm to help her up. Atae¡¯s eyes were blurry. Eye. The other has fused into her brain. Mmm. It¡¯s fine though. Minor damage. I¡¯ll just cut it right out. Yea. ¡°I¡¯ll need to take your good eye.¡± Tin told her soothingly and found a steel scoop he had in a pocket. It will do just fine. ¡°You¡¯ll go blind for a couple of days but the view is horrid anyway. He-he. Uhum. And I need to replace mine in the quick.¡± Unless. Tin stared at the now larger opening caused by the explosion. The field was full of dead bodies ripe for the taking. Well then, Tin mused thoughtfully. Don¡¯t be lazy, he admonished himself. Just get it done. Maybe¡­ ¡°No the eye will go,¡± he decided looking at her mauled face. Tin wiped a tear with a finger from her intact cheek. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. We¡¯ll go for blue this time. Yep. Aha. Eh? Good-good. I knew you¡¯ll like it.¡± 465. Larum in caelo (1/2)
Banners march to the summer¡¯s end Sharp swords, armour and spears now penned Such powerful grip of her delicate arms Leather cords warped and made into charms Bear witness our fierce lady of the crimson snows Words unheard escape to turn into elegant prose In Regia¡¯s crimson colors we bled Legend weaved with heaven¡¯s thread Her countenance framed in a coat of red - King Lucius Alden III -Red- Originally titled (Lady of the Crimson Snows) Verses on campaign (Circa 190-195 NC)
Lucius Alden, ¡®Bloody Tiger¡¯ Lord Lucius Aldenus the third, Praetor Maximus, Legatus ¡®Omnis Legionis¡¯ King Lucius III Larum in caelo Part I -My Lady of the crimson snows-
4thLegion* (Abbreviated | IV LEGIO, Brazen Fourth, IV-LG, RCEMR-IV) Dictum: Triumphus clades Dedecus (Triumph beats Infamy) Solem Rubrum Mons | Bronze and gold sign representing a red sun emerging behind a black peak (Comparable emblem to the City of Demames, but for the coloring) Organizational chart -Summer of 194NC to 195 NC, after Lorian Plains- Overall strength ~3907? ** (Legio general staff not included) ~2800? legionnaires, ~1107? other units (400 cavalry, 250 ranger/scouts, 200 slingers, 225 engineers, 32 medics) Legatus Legionis | Nonus ¡®Solid¡¯ Sula (Demames ¨C His father was second cousin to Duke Paulus Sula of Demames. He married Lady Martha Redmond of Sovya which elevated his status. One of the four more influential officers in Lucius Army, some would argue the most influential, but not everyone agreed. Along with Marcus Antonius the strongest militarily of the Quadrumvir with Macrinus being the richer and Trupo the more politically connected. Veteran of Lucius¡¯ Northern and Southern campaigns, multiple times decorated, the second officer to receive the Corona Vallaris from King Lucius for inflicting severe casualties to Ligur. King Lucius famously said that ¡®if you want an untenable position held whatever the cost you put Nonus in charge and sleep without worry. He¡¯ll still be there the next morning if you check up on him or a month later if you forget all about it.¡¯ Sula ended the battle severely injured and gravely sick, his eventual survival almost miraculous. Some blame was placed on him for his very costly attack that almost got the Fourth destroyed at Islandport mainly from Duke Holt¡¯s circles and Queen Monica. Others praised his tenacious defense against all odds inside the forest and the city. The Fourth participated in operation Seagull which made the resolute though more cautious henceforth Sula one of the few high-ranking officers that remained in the field during the summer of 194 and beyond. Legatus Merenda being the other although the latter acted ¡®independently¡¯.) Aide de Legatus, Prefect (General Staff) | Pete Dumont (Demames. The Prefect was Nonus Sula¡¯s closest childhood friend and advisor. An excellent staff officer.) First Prefect | Harrison Jacobred (First non-Lorian senior officer, his family a cadet branch of the Redmonds¡¯ of Kadrek, founded by the Duke¡¯s younger second cousin Jacob. A political appointment. Injured during the siege of Islandport.) 2nd Prefect | Rufius ¡®Iron¡¯ Valens (Late Prefect Declan¡¯s younger brother ¨Ca gold Phalera recipient in oak leaves in gold with swords posthumously- that got promoted in his place after the latter was murdered in Maiden¡¯s Wedding. Rufius had sailed for Kadrek immediately upon receiving word from his late brother. The Baron was ¡®unaware¡¯ officially of his offspring whereabouts, the appointments revealed after Lucius entered Cartagen. The reason given ¨Cto preserve the family¡¯s honor- the distance involved and the Fourth¡¯s participation in a different theater in the war. Gold Phalera recipient for his spirited defense of the collapsed walls during the siege of Pascor. An exceptional commander young Rufius received the same honors as his late brother, plus the gold Armillae, a gold armband, for taking over the docks at Islandport. Hand-picked by King Lucius to lead the Fourth¡¯s detached force during Operation Seagull.) LID officer (Centurion rank) | Hugh Bolton. (Kadrek- Late Rolo¡¯s cousin.) LID Sergeant Rob Zerou (Yepehir) 1st Optio (of Cavalry) Ville Hunt (Halfostad) Quartermaster | Legio Master Sergeant (LMSg) Pullo Barbatus (Demames. Also Keeper of the purse) Solem Rubrum Mons Signifer | Legio Sergeant (LSg) Duc Gratian (Centurion Quintus¡¯ second cousin) First Cohort (ICH-IVLG) (Moniker the laconic ¡®Triumph¡¯. Sula¡¯s personal red and black Demames banner, embroidered in gold at the corners of the square.) Strength 850 legionnaires? (Under rebuild. ? of the unit was destroyed at Islandport. Was forced to retreat for the first time in its history after getting flanked by Scorpios whilst fighting the First Legion¡¯s, 1st Cohort outside Islandport. The event almost losing Sula the battle. Recruits drawn from several cities like Anorum, Demames etc.) First Century (ICN-ICH-IVLG) Gold Standard of a painted red sun (Monikers ¡®Them Crimson Banners¡¯, Sula¡¯s Guards) 400 Legionnaires (The vast majority of the century were awarded the golden Phalera after their heroics at Stad River, 2/5 of them posthumous. The unit doubled its size with the addition of Anorum¡¯s cohort in early summer 192NC. The Century was fully rebuild in mid-194 under the new Primus Pilus Carbo after the death of Didicus.) Centurion (Primus Pilus) Opiter ¡®Torque¡¯ Carbo (Demames. Promoted and transferred from the 2nd Cohort. Gold Phalera recipient four times. The third with oak leaves in gold and the fourth turned into a gold Torque, a type of decorative neck ring. Mentioned multiple times in the dailies. Singlehandedly held the line at Islandport for two days and counterattacked to rout Betto¡¯s force. Probably the 4th Legion¡¯s best battlefield officer.) Decanus Silo (1st Maniple) Decanus Baro (2nd Maniple) Decanus Trebius (3rd Maniple) Decanus Avienus (4rth Maniple) Second Century (IICN-ICH-IVLG) 150 Legionnaires Centurion Badi Littera (Risen through the ranks decorated officer) Third Century (IIICN-ICH-IVLG) 150 Legionnaires Centurion Sissena Draco (Whitetiger. A distant kin to Baron Draco) Decanus Varo Bellator Fourth Century (IVCN-ICH-IVLG) 150 Legionnaires Centurion Publius Surinas Decanus Vala Second Cohort (IICH-IVLG) Gold Standard, a bronze plaque with the number of the Cohort in red. (Moniker, the ¡®Solid¡¯) Strength 650? (Under rebuild. Half the Cohort was lost at Islandport. Recruits drawn from Kas¡¯ Military Academy. Class of 194.) First Century 200 legionnaires Centurion | Derio Papus (Demames. Risen through the ranks decorated officer. Gold Phalera recipient. Mentioned in the dailies three times.) Second Century 150 legionnaires Centurion | Glean Lale (Kas) Third Century Centurion | Bagas (Kas) Fourth Century Centurion | Dermot (Kas) Third Cohort (Halfostad, moniker the ¡®Cultured¡¯) (IIICH-IVLG) Strength 650? (Unit under rebuild) First Century Centurion | Alvin Botuflson (Halfostad) Second Century Centurion | Trod Kulkut (Halfostad) Third Century Centurion | Cornelius Cropp (Unknown, probably Halfostad) Fourth Century Centurion | Willie Page ¨C Late Gavin¡¯s of the 2nd Cohort twin brother (Kas). Fourth Cohort (Anorum, moniker the ¡®Instructors¡¯, highest ratio of minor officers elevated from this unit after 193NC) (IVCH-IVLG) Strength 650? (Unit under rebuild) Former training cohort of Anorum, classes of 190-192 and 193-194 NC First Century Centurion | Quintus Gratian (Anorum, the Signifer¡¯s cousin. Gold Phalera recipient for his brilliant maneuvers and capture of the bridge during the siege of Pascor. Gold Phalera recipient three times in total. The third with oak leaves in gold after the battle of Islandport. Mentioned multiple times in the dailies.) Second Century Centurion | Sextus Mellitus (Asturia. Decorated officer.) Third Century Centurion | Mael Prisca (Asturia) Fourth Century Centurion | Tarsus Zeno (Anorum) (Initially transferred from III Legio) Legion Slingers 200 Slingers ¨C 150 recruits (numbers vary due to high casualties, 100 well-trained slingers were added in Anorum. The unit was rebuilt in late 193 again due to appalling casualties sustained at the siege of Pascor. The unit was rebuilt again in mid 194 due to heavy casualties.) Centurion | Joe Fallon (Nord, Maza Burg) Decanus | Lucan Planta (Aldenfort) (Initially transferred from III Legio) Scouts Legio ~250 Ranger-type units (A mix of mounted archers and light warriors) +100 recruits Under Centurion | Gerard ¡®Half-Ear¡¯ Pike (Decorated officer. Three times recipient of the Gold Phalera after his heroics whilst trapped inside Islandport.) ~ 200 rangers (A mix of Nords, Lorians and Half-breeds) + 50 attached semi-autonomous Nord warriors nicknamed ¡®Marlene¡¯s Brutes¡¯ (lightly armoured with axes and swords) Led by ¡®Ugly¡¯ Marlene Lake (only unit led by a female. A ¡®named¡¯ warrior. Mostly remnants of Gerard¡¯s Raiders but wandering Northmen joined when the Fourth arrived in Asturia. They suffered atrocious casualties fighting next to Dirk Curd¡¯s Krakenhall troops but their numbers increased in the months after the battles ended.) Legio Cavalry Around 400 horsemen (overwhelming majority from Sovya, mainly Halfostad) -150? Medium Cavalry (recruits) under Optio (of Cavalry) | Ville Hunt (Halfostad) Decurion Dani Turk (Halfostad) +35 Heavy Cavalry & 150 mounted Karls +100 Nord recruits from Halfostad under Sir (later Baron) Norman Gatrell (Moniker ¡®Whitebark Knight¡¯. Known Gatrell family from Yepehir. An excellent cavalry officer, knight and nobleman. Was mentioned in the Dailies despite not being in the Legion¡¯s roster. A rare praise. Decorated for bravery. A veteran of the Eighteen Months offensive.) The famed Yepehir nobleman served as Lady (later Duchess) Martha Redmond¡¯s honor guard initially, afore given complete command of a large cavalry contingent in the field. Probably another political appointment. An outstanding equestrian, his valor and skill highly regarded even by those not favoring the substantial Sovya presence within the ranks of the Fourth.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. * The fourth¡¯s cavalry had suffered substantial casualties at the Lorian Plains but nowhere near those of the Third Legion¡¯s that had been completely decimated. Legio Engineers (Isaak Boston¡¯s Aprons) 25 engineers (The IV¡¯s engineer unit & supply train was completely destroyed at the battle of the Lorian Plains and had to be rebuilt from scratch with volunteers from Demames and Aegium) 200 trainees (from Demames & Aegium) Centurion (of engineers) Reb Cable (Lesia) Sergeant (of engineers) Jack Harbor (Unknown) Sergeant (of engineers) Nicetius (Demames) Legio Medics Centurion surgeon | Dottore ¡®Cleaver¡¯ Borealis (credentials disputed, out of the medical academy of Novesium? An inexplicably very rich man later in life.) Medic Dorothea + 19 other nurses and medics + 11 trainees *Around eight hundred merchants, medics, carpenters and smiths, following in the supply train. The Fourth¡¯s supply train had been all but wiped out near Framtond¡¯s bridge. Forty Scorpios ¨C thirty five under construction (the Sula family historically favored the deployment of war machines in large numbers and Sula rebuilt and replenished his war machines immediately), + ten Catapults under construction and a prototype ¡®Deliverer¡¯ that was left with the 3rd. The classified weapon probably a copy of the archaic pre-Reinut Issir design. The IV Legio had almost five hundred horses and various mounts usually, due to its larger than usual cavalry element, mostly drawn from Duke Redmond¡¯s troops. While it lost most of them, gains were made after the battle as the 4th reached the rear of Ligur¡¯s fortifications first. The IV Legio followed after the 3rd and King Lucius down the coast of Regia and briefly stopped at Aegium. With the 3rd departing after the King for Novesium, the 4th Legio turned around and returned to Aldenport. ** Numbers during the summer of 194 were greatly different. The Legion was half-strength and most of its Centuries were packed with fresh recruits. *** The fourth¡¯s officer core was decimated after the Lorian Plains. **** Valens trained for months and then took 1250 legionnaires with him, effectively two Cohorts. The 4th under Gratian and another (named the 5th as it was a mix of soldiers from both the 4th and volunteers from the 3rd Legion)
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Early morning 1st of Nonus 194 NC Seagull¡¯s Neck turn West of the Gulf of Colle
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The monotony of their journey got shattered suddenly. ¡°FLEET AHOY!¡± The boy at watch called out from atop the main mast, several similar cries coming from the warships sailing to their west, mainly Talbot and from five hundred meters to their southeast where the flotilla¡¯s flank soared behind them with Oak, Celinia and Seabear. ¡°FIVE! SEVEN!¡± The watch kept reporting. Adding them up as they came to view. ¡°TWELVE!¡± Rufius walked the soaked deck, face covered in brines and eyes smarting. Cephalus, the large Galleass rocking under his boots and waves splashing his feet to the calves. The warship¡¯s captain named Vatia ordering the drummers to prepare to give the tempo for the oar crews underneath their feet. ¡°Hoist the flag mister Saenus!¡± Valens barked for the legionnaire to communicate with Brakis. Every ship of the line relaying the orders to the next using predetermined different colored and shaped flags. ¡°DO WE TURN?¡± ¡°Master Coxswain!¡± Vatia bellowed climbing down the stairs from the aftcastle two at a time. ¡°Get your rowers ready. Boy I need a proper distance! Take a fucking guess!¡± He added irate grabbing a spyglass from a sailor to slot it in his right eye. The line of ships visible before them with more appearing as they closed in and left behind them the morning mist. ¡°Six hundred meters Captain!¡± The tensed watch replied, head and shoulders hanging upside down from his spot. ¡°A score of warships at least sir! Smoke over their masts!¡± ¡°Talbot signals to turn straight at ¡®em sir!¡± Saenus reported and Valens grabbed Vatia¡¯s elbow. ¡°Talbot turned its bow starboard sir!¡± Saenus added rushing to the other side of their ship to signal at Celinia¡¯s watch. The ship flanking them to the west asking for instructions as well. ¡°Get back to the helm Captain,¡± he roared to be heard over the sound of the sea. ¡°Order the weapons crews to prepare to fire on moving targets.¡± Valens let go of the Captain of the Cephalus with a flurry of calls ringing up and down the large warship that creaked and groaned as it started angling. ¡°STRAIGHT AT THEM BOYS!¡± ¡°A Ticu¡¯s blooming tits!¡± Rufius kept his smarting eyes on the leading ships of their formation that were four hundred meters ahead of them and nearer the unknown flotilla. There could be nothing else out here but Khanate¡¯s warships, the young officer thought and glanced at the scowled, pale face of Centurion Mellitus of the 2nd Century. The Asturia native giving him a signal with his head to stand behind the attached shields to protect himself from incoming fire. ¡°I don¡¯t believe the shields can keep an iron bolt out Mellitus!¡± Valens yelled whilst wiping his drenched face with the palm of his hand. ¡°The men don¡¯t know that fer sure sir!¡± The Centurion retorted and added raising a beefy arm west. ¡°Birds in the sky Prefect. It¡¯s Binra-Kot alright.¡± Brakis had given the order to attack. Decanus Bellus tossed him a javelin when Valens walked behind the cover of the shields that were secured at the edges of the deck as a short protective wall. Oars getting out from the port and starboard sides of the Galleass and the two large drums started giving out the tempo to the men under the deck. ¡°Four hundred meters!¡± The watch roared and the sound of drums started synchronizing covering all other sounds, the yellow-red sun trying to break through the morning haze, the thick mist dissolving slowly. ¡°Forecastle fire catapults!¡± Vatia ordered and the whole Khanate fleet line of warships did the same. The flaming projectiles appearing tiny on the clearing sky, leaving a black smoke trail behind them that ever expanded and arced towards them. ¡°INCOMING!¡± ¡°Too far,¡± Valens commented and Bellus stared at him with ogling eyes. ¡°We know how this tastes Decanus.¡± Rufius reminded him and Bellus shook his helmed head. ¡°Respectfully Prefect, we were standing behind a brick wall at Islandport,¡± the Decanus argued pursing his mouth and not five minutes later a fiery projectile smashed the shields six meters to their right. It ripped across the deck setting up small fires and killing three unlucky legionnaires and four screaming sailors that stood in its path.
- 5th of Nonus 194 NC Elysium Fort¡¯s west district (the castle grounds), Great Principality of Cartagen Westernmost edge of Carta Gulf Thirty kilometers from Mabindon¡¯s Delta Two kilometers from First Bridge ¡°My liege,¡± the architect Nipius Bonosus said, a blond man in his thirties with a fresh-shaven face and clear blue eyes and rushed to the entrance of the construction site to greet Lucius¡¯ large entourage. ¡°We have the floors finished. Just a couple of meters of tile-placing left at the east corner. You can step on it,¡± he added in his Cartagen accent and hopped on a leg to show them. Lucius nodded amidst the officers¡¯ murmurs and paused to inspect some of the work under his feet. The thick white and pink marble still unpolished but nicely cut in large square pieces with each side measuring a meter. The whole floor leveled in a giant rectangular shape to match the designs. On the west and north sides¡¯ tall Lorian columns with carved fluting filets on their long shafts had been placed already to create a ¡®barrier¡¯ of white stone trunks standing two meters apart. The morning sun creating elongated shadows that converged on the walls of the tower looming over the construction site. The rocky plateau near Elysium had some of the finest stone in all of Regia but a lot of the expensive marble was coming from Goldwall Peaks all the way from Aldenfort and its desert Marble Quarry. ¡°You¡¯ll have the central supporting columns placed every ten meters?¡± Lucius asked thoughtfully. ¡°Yes my liege,¡± Bonosus replied and followed after the King. Lucius stopped after a couple of strides and stared at the structure from the inside. He tried to picture it finished in his head based on the architectural designs they had showed him. ¡°Four rows of columns internally to help support the roof.¡± ¡°More space is needed,¡± Lucius murmured. ¡°Else all people will see would be stone protrusions Bonosus. We want them to notice the stone plaques not search for them amidst the forest of columns.¡± The architect gulped down. ¡°Protrusions my Liege?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll split the difference. Place two rows of central columns only so more space is available for people to walk on. Make them twice as thick if needed but it won¡¯t be necessary. If the weight is distributed evenly and you raise the top of the roof whilst extending its sides, the outer columns will shoulder the whole load.¡± ¡°The gods¡¯ temple call for narrow corridors my liege,¡± Bonosus argued with a grimace. ¡°This is a temple for the fallen and not the gods,¡± Lucius reminded him. ¡°People want to be able to see, sit down and socialize in the company of friends both living and departed.¡± ¡°Yes my liege. May I enquire on the number of columns in the center?¡± Bonosus queried. ¡°Twelve,¡± Lucius replied evenly and turned around to walk outside so the crews could continue working. They had stopped the moment he approached the site. ¡°Like the months.¡±
They all walked towards the old stone tower over the newly repaired stone road. Lucius stopped under its shade to stare at the nearby construction site and beyond the road separating the barracks and the west district¡¯s houses of the small town from its lively small port. The ground fertile and green as one approached the great river but it turned to wild marshes after its first leg. The terrain changing from the yellow deserts of the Salt Mounts to their south, to Mabindon¡¯s overabundance of lush green woodlands to the northeast. The Third Legion¡¯s large camp built near the last houses on the west side of the road coming from Novesium. Titus Nero the local mayor had offered the King his villa as personal quarters but Lucius had decided to stay in the small tower. He¡¯d a reason for it. The commander of the guard was the late Centurion Agricola¡¯s uncle. Aulus Agricola was well over forty now but he¡¯d participated in the fights around the capital under Lord Drusus Sula. ¡°We have a meal prepared for your Grace,¡± the local commander¡¯s daughter Lady Floria informed them. ¡°A little later my Lady,¡± Lucius replied politely. The smiling woman made a well-practiced curtsy before returning to the castle¡¯s kitchen building. ¡°Lost her husband during the siege my lord,¡± Agricola said looking at her walking away and greeting the soldiers resting outside the building. ¡°Your family will get a Centuria of extra land near Elysium¡¯s forest,¡± Lucius informed him. ¡°One for her husband, a couple for her two kids and one for your late nephew. Four in total. You shall pick the spot and mark it as Agricola¡¯s lands. The town will grow towards the hills so plan accordingly.¡± ¡°I appreciated my liege¡¯s generosity,¡± Agricola replied bowing his head. ¡°Your kin fought for me when my return was far from guaranteed,¡± Lucius said soberly. ¡°This is a site for every brave soul that followed his example. A place for their names to be heard and their deeds to be recalled by friends or relatives. We might fade away Aulus but they won¡¯t.¡± Lucius paused hearing noise coming from the gates. The castle¡¯s walls weren¡¯t anywhere near as tall as Cartagen¡¯s and the Elysium¡¯s grounds were expansive as it had housed the whole legion in the past but they were also flat so the sound carried. ¡°Was that the gate-tower¡¯s warning bells?¡± Consul Veturius asked raising his head. He was discussing with Sirio and Trupo some meters away from Lucius. Sir Valgus furrowed his brows, the knight¡¯s face well-tanned after journeying Regia¡¯s sunny coast throughout the summer. ¡°What¡¯s this? Half an alarm? Gata sprint down there to sort this out!¡± ¡°Belay that order Centurion!¡± Lucius intervened curtly and walked near them. He could hear horse¡¯s gallop coming from the gates. ¡°There are more soldiers here than civilians my good Consul.¡± About six riders were approaching the tower and the construction site using the newly-paved road. One of the horses, a fine white stallion, leading and the others following. Or hunting the first rider. ¡°As I live and breathe,¡± Trupo exclaimed pulling at the curved tip of his mustache in puzzlement. ¡°That¡¯s quite the dangerous gallop sire. Brazen lads.¡± Lucius narrowed his eyes on the fast approaching figure but not a moment later his face relaxed and a wave of euphoria overcame him. Laced with anticipation that brought him a strange nervousness. The leading rider had a polished chainmail shirt on and dark leather pants probably, but was still too far away for him to make out a face. He didn¡¯t have to. The long red curly hair that wildly billowed behind the woman¡¯s back as she bobbed up and down on the saddle had given the approaching Faye away. The Queen of Regia a much better rider now than what she was six years ago. Better in everything really in Lucius¡¯ eyes. Hey there Red, Lucius thought with a smile as Faye spotted them and turned her horse about, the mounted gate sentries that had scrabbled to follow after the northern Queen left well over fifty meters back by the time she reached the tower and Lucius¡¯ entourage.
A flushed Faye swung a leg over the horse¡¯s back and climbed down from the snorting nervous stallion. She glanced at the Third¡¯s officers intently until they bowed their heads in greeting and then walked towards the slightly smirking Lucius. Wrapped her arms on his neck and kissed him fiercely, soft lips crushing the King¡¯s and teeth clanging. ¡°Ouch,¡± Lucius murmured in her face. ¡°Love hurts,¡± Faye retorted and pressed her hot face on his, those freckles even more prominent and her usually milky skin a tad tanned. ¡°Queen Faye,¡± Lucius rustled and hugged her waist. ¡°I was coming to Cartagen.¡± ¡°You were taking too darn long,¡± Faye replied. ¡°The boys?¡± ¡°I left them back. I had to give the palace guards the slip.¡± Lucius let out a deep sigh then eyed the grinning officers and the confused local officials over the top of her head. ¡°Nice horse,¡± he commented. Most hadn¡¯t realized the Queen of Regia had just galloped inside the castle grounds. ¡°His name is Elzar the sixth. But the stable master¡¯s daughter calls him the King of Wetull. His is a famous line apparently.¡± Faye explained and the horse neighed then shook its head in agreement. ¡°Would the Queen like to see the King¡¯s quarters?¡± Lucius asked trying to be formal but quickly realized the query was pretty loaded. Trupo scrunched his mustache right and left. Galio droning in a calm manner next to him. ¡°I¡¯ll move the meeting later milord.¡± ¡°You live in a tower?¡± Faye teased and glanced at the construction site. ¡°Next to a ruin?¡± ¡°It¡¯s to be a mausoleum,¡± Lucius defended the location and walked the shorter woman towards the tower¡¯s sentries with an arm over her shoulders. ¡°This I¡¯ll never understand,¡± Faye murmured and hugged his waist, resting that wild head on Lucius¡¯ shoulder. ¡°We honor our ancestors,¡± Lucius explained as they walked through the narrow hall into a bigger one to enter the main hall. He waved for the guard to leave them and Sir Valgus who had marched after them stopped as well outside the door. ¡°Should I ask them to prepare quarters for her grace my King?¡± The royal knight asked. ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary Valgus,¡± Lucius replied squarely and walked inside closing the door with his left arm. Faye jumped on him a moment later, fit legs wrapped around his waist and her hands clasping at Lucius¡¯ nape. A moment later she was kissing him ardently and Lucius reciprocated feeling the passion igniting their blood. Augusta Flavia who was sitting on the Hall¡¯s throne got up seeing the couple enter, Lucius was effectively carrying Faye with relative ease and walked towards them. ¡°Priestess,¡± a drowsy Faye murmured seeing the older woman. ¡°Queen Faye,¡± Flavia replied and bowed her head low. ¡°King Lucius.¡± ¡°You share my king¡¯s quarters Flavia?¡± Faye asked teasingly and the priestess responded in a casual manner. ¡°Only some of his spare time and this hall¡¯s throne. I couldn¡¯t help it your Grace, walking the grounds was too much for me.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t have him. It¡¯s too late now,¡± Faye told her and Flavia bowed her head. ¡°Alas I¡¯m well aware. Queen Faye shouldn¡¯t worry.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not for I¡¯ve a sword on my horse,¡± Faye retorted mimicking the priestess'' half-teasing manner. ¡°Alright that¡¯s enough jesting ladies,¡± Lucius intervened. He¡¯d lived for long enough in the North to know that friendly banter could turn into a bloody feud pretty fast. ¡°I shall visit the site King Lucius,¡± Flavia informed him and smiled at Faye. ¡°It is good seeing the Queen again,¡± she added and walked slowly towards the door. ¡°What¡¯s she smelling of?¡± ¡°Vanilla and orange oils. The local maids went berserk to secure her bath water.¡± Lucius explained keeping his voice serious and realized he was still carrying Faye. ¡°Goodness me Red. You¡¯ve lost weight.¡± Faye stared in his eyes mirthfully and then frowned turning somber. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I love this face when it gets angry,¡± Lucius admitted hoarsely and kissed the top of her well-shaped nose. ¡°Then you¡¯re a fool Alden,¡± Faye purred and Lucius nodded in agreement whilst busy rediscovering the Queen¡¯s familiar face. Indeed he was. ¡°Love hurts?¡± A sweaty Lucius asked an intense half an hour later resting in bed with a warm Faye in his arms. ¡°A poem Monica reads,¡± Faye murmured on his chest, her fingers working with the hairs there. ¡°You are reading poems?¡± Lucius teased. ¡°I can read you know,¡± Faye replied and it was true since she had made an effort to improve her language skills. ¡°And write.¡± ¡°How is it?¡± ¡°Wielding a sword is easier,¡± she admitted. ¡°But nothing beats hunting in your forest.¡± ¡°How is that easy?¡± Lucius queried. ¡°Thirty hunters and fifty dogs hunting a deer or a boar? Pfft. Logan refused to take part in it. He proposed hunting the hunters instead to give more of a challenge.¡± ¡°How is the silent warrior?¡± Lucius asked caressing the underside of her naked heavy breast. The crude leather northern charm worn next to his gold family pendant the only pieces of jewelry Faye had on. Pregnancies had given the Northern Queen a bust that rivaled Flavia¡¯s. The summer had in turn given the priestess an excuse to match the more daring of Aegium¡¯s maidens clothing decisions. As Trupo had commented glumly on many occasions, ¡®a blind man could see sire. It is quite inevitable.¡¯ ¡°With Roderick most of the times,¡± Faye replied huskily. ¡°And Layton.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have mistaken him for a family person,¡± Lucius said with a smile. ¡°They talk of swords,¡± Faye explained. ¡°Roderick is too young for that,¡± Lucius noticed with a frown. ¡°Roderick is the tiger¡¯s son,¡± the Queen replied. ¡°He needs to learn fast.¡± Lucius sighed and got up from the messy bed. He found a towel and wiped some of the sweat from his body. ¡°How is Monica?¡± ¡°Unhappy.¡± ¡°You¡¯re projecting your mood on her,¡± Lucius counseled. ¡°She¡¯s doing what a queen should do.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m not.¡± Faye retorted and stood up on the bed as well. ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m trying to say. Traveling alone was dangerous.¡± ¡°Who would move against me?¡± Faye taunted. ¡°I¡¯d like to see them try.¡± I wouldn¡¯t. ¡°Faye¡­¡± ¡°The war is over Alden. You¡¯ve won,¡± she told him. ¡°Regia has one king again.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Lucius murmured and got up to find a tunic to put on. ¡°A fit king,¡± Faye added raising a red eyebrow and jumped from the bed herself. ¡°A beautiful queen,¡± Lucius said and she laughed freely. A red color spreading down Faye¡¯s heaving chest and flat belly feeling his eyes on her. Crimson on milky white skin for the rest of her had stayed out of the sun. Red on soft snow. ¡°I can¡¯t match your tongue,¡± she teased and wrapped her fingers around Endariel¡¯s handle. ¡°But I can match you with a blade.¡± ¡°Red. You never could,¡± Lucius teased her back whilst being serious and she pouted. ¡°The sword sings.¡± ¡°What kind of song?¡± Lucius asked and put the tunic on. ¡°A paean me thinks,¡± Faye replied thoughtfully. ¡°Is the war over Alden?¡± She asked him and it was strange Faye had gone there again. ¡°What now?¡± ¡°It is,¡± Lucius assured her a little uncomfortable because a kingdom never rests on its laurels. ¡°Come to the small balcony my lady of the crimson snows. Let me show you what I¡¯m building here.¡± -
The Talbot¡¯s bow crashed on the Khanate¡¯s galleon''s sides, masts toppling and deck boards snapping with a great clamor that rippled through you like winter¡¯s chill. The enemy warship was almost cut right down the middle and people were hurled overboard with cries of terror. In the meantime Cephalus who had angled port side as it got between another two warships, had all its Scorpios on both sides emptying their lethal load in quick succession from point blank range. Everyone with a javelin or harpoon in hand hurling it at the enemy warships decks. Lined hooks flew over the men¡¯s heads and large flat boards were used to bridge the three meters separating the Cephalus with the nearest Khanate warship. Slow to retract long oars breaking and iron bolts carving up the packed soldiers on the decks or below them. Barrels breaking and oil lamps shattering with flames starting only to be extinguished by frothy waters a moment later. Long ropes snapping and lashing right and left viciously. Rufius stepped forward when the first wave of enemy marines jumped on the deck, some of them dropping with screams in the opening between the two warships tied side by side. ¡°Close shields!¡± He bellowed and hacked at the Khanate marine with his sword. The blade cut the top part of the harpoon¡¯s shaft, the metal point clattering down. The Prefect slashed on the return and opened the man¡¯s right arm from shoulder to elbow, blood spraying out of the gashing wound. A legionnaire went down skewered through the helm and then the forces were locked in a fierce embrace. The whole Lorian line pushed back two meters towards the main masts and Captain Vatia¡¯s engineering crews that were firing their Scorpions on the other Khanate warship. The latter was still trying to turn about twenty meters away getting pummeled by projectiles. The Cephalus¡¯ weapons crews on the starboard side engulfed in the defense alongside the Fourth¡¯s legionnaires. A bolt ripped through friends and foes with a sickening sound, creating a gory corridor with some of the attackers staggering. ¡°Forward!¡± Decanus Nicetius roared and Centurion Mellitus did the same from his spot in the line near Rufius. ¡°ONE. TWO!¡± ¡°OARS OUT!¡± Captain Vatia was heard yelling from the aftcastle. ¡°Push them away!¡± Valens ducked under a spear thrust, the blade clanging on his helm and denting it, the bang bouncing off of the walls of his cranium. He faltered sideways, a harpoon piercing the armour on his shoulder and then breaking when the Centurion¡¯s gladius came down. Rufius cursed and slashed out, his blade thudding on a Marine¡¯s neck. Blood spurting out and another Khanate soldier crashing on him. The Prefect got his sword between them, the edge cutting on the snarling man¡¯s face and the deck slippery under his boots. A harpoon¡¯s blade coming over his opponent¡¯s shoulder to strike at him. Valens snapped his head away, someone screamed behind him getting skewered in the face and scalding gore splashed the Prefect¡¯s nape when the hidden marine yanked his long weapon back. Rufius grabbed at the retreating shaft with his left arm, the wood slippery and the blade cutting into his palm but managed to stop it. He got knifed in his exposed forearm, the blade piercing his vambrace in and out grazing at the bone. Valens groaned through his clenched teeth and used all his strength to shove back the marine stuck on him with his sword, the man¡¯s face split diagonally now completely distorted. With his right shoulder burning from the effort and his left arm bleeding, the snarling Prefect got freed. Rufius stumbled forward, his right boot caving the grotesquely maimed marine¡¯s face in when it came down. He slid on the greasy deck, chaos erupting everywhere he could see through blurry eyes. Ten meters away and just over the noisy Khanate warship¡¯s masts and decks six silent smoking catapult shots were plunging down from the sky. From the angle probably coming from the direction of Oak. ¡°INCOMING!¡± Both sentries up on the opposing warships lookouts yelled in unison and Valens prayed the Illirium''s crews aboard the Oak didn¡¯t miss. Even a meter could spell doom for them. He wasn¡¯t certain if the engineers¡¯ accuracy even mattered on targets so close together. But it did.
466. Larum in caelo (2/2)
¡®Post Antinor and his wife Seia. Young Tertius. Roderick and our Consul¡¯s friends, the old heads Faust Vistict and Hostus. My father¡¯s people. Most of those names won¡¯t go up on that plaque and you probably don¡¯t know. But I do. The king remembers. In the real pantheon of heroes -high up there, they now stand and mirthfully recite obscure tales of bravery against all odds. Friends and foes all grouped together, the good knights from both sides. Gallantry perceives no colors and belongs to all.¡¯ King Lucius speaking on the raising of the first plaque (or monolith) inside Elysium Fort¡¯s temple called ¡®Hall of Fallen Heroes.¡¯ 6th of Nonus, 194 NC.
Lucius Alden, ¡®Bloody Tiger¡¯ Lord Lucius Aldenus the third, Praetor Maximus, Legatus ¡®Omnis Legionis¡¯ King Lucius III Larum in caelo Part II -Heroes Pantheon-
Titus Nero performed a fancy curtsy finishing his report whilst theatrically flaying his arms about, which got a mirthful murmur out of the bystanders inside Elysium¡¯s hall. Lucius maintained his composure and nodded slightly at the local official. ¡°We appreciate your efforts Mayor.¡± ¡°My Liege,¡± Nero continued. ¡°If I can and given the opportunity invite your grace and the Queen to a banquet at my humble estate tonight?¡± ¡°I hope there are no sugary cakes or fancy dancing involved. The Queen has an exotic palate Nero and is away from her wardrobe.¡± Lucius jested with a half-smile. Faye would have been fine with a good roast of meat and a loud song as a matter of fact. Not to mention she didn¡¯t exactly have much of a wardrobe. Faye did have an armory though. ¡°If you¡¯re committed on offering strong liquor then the King shall object. It¡¯s the week of cleansing and I respect the order¡¯s rites.¡± The Order of Tyeus fasted after Bacchanalia but it was just a polite rejection since kings were allowed quite a bit of leeway on their personal affairs. ¡°It¡¯s a simple event my Lord and we could accommodate the Queen with a dress for the occasion,¡± the Mayor insisted. This got a good chuckle out of the officers present. ¡°We¡¯ll consider it,¡± Lucius replied diplomatically and Mayor Nero was ushered away. Trupo approached the simple throne and saluted clearing his throat. ¡°Don¡¯t we have Council right after?¡± Lucius asked him. ¡°It¡¯s a petition from Lord Drusus Sula sire. He wants it read in public for the record.¡± Paulus is a deeply distrustful man, Lucius thought with a grimace. ¡°I thought he¡¯d stayed in Demames,¡± Lucius replied. Duke Paulus wanted to personally oversee the repairs to his city, mainly its docks and most of the Sula family had opted to get back to their villas. ¡°He arrived yesterday.¡± ¡°Do they agree with my proposal?¡± ¡°They do not sire,¡± Trupo replied. ¡°Lord Drusus wishes to broach the matter of Novesium.¡± ¡°I shall receive him on the morrow,¡± Lucius decided not wanting to speak publicly. ¡°We have a Khanate diplomat asking for an audience. He arrived from Cartagen. A Lord Dima Shamar.¡± Lucius gazed at the lined blank face of his Consul. Galio kept staring at the Tribune in his turn without blinking. ¡°It is better to deal with foreign matters with more formality Tribune. Let¡¯s say when we¡¯re back in Cartagen?¡± The king said mindful of the scribes boxed in at a corner behind the small local crowd that had come to watch the king¡¯s court. ¡°Sirio talked with him sire.¡± ¡°The man claimed that where the king is, the court stands your majesty,¡± a grimacing Sirio croaked stepping forward. ¡°I couldn¡¯t offer proper argument.¡± Lucius pursed his mouth but smiled thinly. ¡°It doesn¡¯t have to be proper mister Veturius,¡± he said and added looking at the bystanders. ¡°At all occasions.¡± ¡°Apologies, your Majesty.¡± Sirio looked just about ready to collapse on the stone tiles. ¡°I¡¯ll receive him privately,¡± Lucius told Trupo. ¡°But not today.¡± ¡°Yes sire. There¡¯s the matter of Lord Nattas¡¯ request.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll consider replying at a later time,¡± Lucius countered. Storm had put himself forth as a candidate to assume Duke Ursus¡¯ titles given he auspiciously had land and title within the latter¡¯s domain. ¡°Robart Holt has finished the assessment sire,¡± Trupo said reading the last of his scrolls. ¡°It¡¯s a boring fiscal matter,¡± Lucius retorted. ¡°Those usually take ages to resolve and this court is late. We commend Commander Agricola for giving us use of the hall. Please,¡± he added with a gesture towards the local officer who beamed upon receiving the enthusiastic onlookers round of applause. ¡°We acknowledge Elysium for its efforts and the warmth it has received us.¡± Lucius continued. ¡°The Throne shall not forget. You may now leave our presence knowing we consider its citizens and this township fondly. You are a small community but you cast a large shadow.¡± He finished and the small local crowd that had managed to gain entry applauded the King with loud cheers, whilst sporting big smiles on their faces.
¡°The Queen?¡± Lucius asked half an hour later while one of Galio¡¯s aides and Sirio brought a series of maps inside the small hall and several legionnaires from Gata¡¯s Century carried a large table to accommodate them. Only officers of the Third had remained behind but for those that were on duty at the camp. ¡°Her Grace is with Augusta Flavia my lord,¡± Sir Valgus replied formally. ¡°The Lord Commander has dispatched a detail of knights from the Capital to safeguard her.¡± ¡°We can guard the Queen, Sir Valgus.¡± Galio retorted gruffly. ¡°And she can probably defend herself,¡± Lucius added with a smile. ¡°Still, Sir Seleucid isn¡¯t in the wrong here. The town will appreciate the sight of his knights Galio.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a little stressed milord to partake in the amount of smiling,¡± Galio replied stiffly. ¡°When in public or in court,¡± Lucius reminded him. ¡°It is expected of us.¡± ¡°Aye milord King,¡± Galio said. ¡°Does the Consul want to give the floor to the Tribune?¡± Lucius asked calmly. ¡°Scylla reports the Legion¡¯s camp is mostly empty milord,¡± Galio informed him with a glare at the grinning Trupo. Lucius sobered up and walked to the maps table. ¡°Merenda visited Sabretooth?¡± The king asked staring at the map. They had the terrain miniature model packed with the supply train. ¡°Several times during the summer,¡± Trupo intervened and the Director of LID walked inside the hall, saluted smartly, then nodded briefly to Sirio before taking a seat at the table. ¡°One would say the Legatus got the full measure of the place sire.¡± ¡°The castle is near the legion¡¯s camp and the First is starved for supplies,¡± Lucius countered with a frown. ¡°Prefect Memon replied that the Legatus is absent on patrol milord,¡± Galio elucidated. Hmm. ¡°Where?¡± Lucius queried. ¡°Timberville.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t Damascus there already?¡± ¡°He is.¡± Lucius stared at the town then at the coastal road continuing northwest towards the Knob. It split there, a leg heading west to Forestfort hugging the river and the other cutting to the northeast towards Riverdor. ¡°Has Antonius found mounts Trupo?¡± The king asked. ¡°He got his hands on mules and camels sire. About eighty of them according to Optio Holt¡¯s report that arrived the other day.¡± ¡°How did he pay for them?¡± Lucius asked a little surprised. ¡°The First doesn¡¯t work like we do sire.¡± Trupo explained. ¡°Or asks. They just take. Their modus operandi is a couple of centuries behind the norm.¡± And it appeared the Tribune wasn¡¯t exactly opposed to the practice. Lucius grimaced and then grabbed a piece of coal from the table. Worked it with his fingers thoughtfully. ¡°It doesn¡¯t solve his cavalry problem.¡± ¡°I''ll write to Memon milord,¡± Galio assured him. ¡°We¡¯ll locate the Legatus.¡± ¡°Ask him to give you a headcount of the Legion,¡± Lucius ordered. ¡°Learn how big these ¡®patrols¡¯ are Galio.¡± ¡°Right away milord,¡± the Consul granted. Lucius pursed his mouth. ¡°Not today though,¡± he added. ¡°Give him another day.¡± ¡°As the King wishes,¡± the veteran officer agreed. ¡°Any news from Sula?¡± Lucius asked Trupo. ¡°Nothing sire. It is worrisome given that Lord Anker¡¯s attack failed.¡± ¡°Is this confirmed?¡± Lucius probed still working at the piece of coal with his fingers. The small stick glassy to the touch. ¡°They had to retreat,¡± Trupo replied. ¡°A retreat could be part of their objective Tribune.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see how they achieved anything my lord, but we¡¯ll wait for more details.¡± ¡°Could the Khanate know about the fleet?¡± ¡°They are closer than us sire,¡± Trupo said. ¡°I¡¯d like another briefing on the matter before the day is over gentlemen,¡± Lucius decided and dropped the coal on the map. He had penciled a short vertical black line on the map. It extended in a ninety degree angle starting at the junction and aimed towards the Knob. The marshes beyond it. ¡°We¡¯re on pins and needles here mister Veturius so make it a priority,¡± he added evenly. ¡°Aye sir,¡± Galio nodded. ¡°Who do you have waiting outside Ramirus?¡± The king asked with a sign for the officers to get going. ¡°Mister Holt my Lord,¡± Ramirus replied evenly and Lucius nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll see him now,¡± he told the legion¡¯s intelligence department Director.
Robart Holt was a serious man in his late forties. He stood almost as tall as the King, dressed in a dark redingote with large silver buttons at the front and dark linen pants. Robart bowed his head sharply and carefully laid a stack of scrolls he carried with him on the table. ¡°May I take a seat my Lord?¡± He asked formally. ¡°By all means, please do Mister Holt,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°Apologies for dragging you with us throughout the summer.¡± ¡°I found the journey invigorating my Lord,¡± Robart replied steadily. ¡°After years of working inside a building, the country is nigh pleasant an experience.¡± ¡°You served with the Bank of Trust for over twenty years?¡± ¡°Ten of them as a Director at the main office in Cediorum,¡± Robart replied in his precise manner. ¡°What made you leave the bank Mister Holt?¡± Lucius asked and took a seat across from him. ¡°I disagreed with the use of resources my Lord,¡± Robart said without hesitation. ¡°And for patriotic reasons. I wanted to assist Asturia if I could.¡± ¡°The Duke didn¡¯t find any use for your talents?¡± ¡°Not everyone likes people poking into their finances my Lord.¡± ¡°Even if they are a distant kin?¡± ¡°Some would say even more then my Liege,¡± Robart Holt deadpanned. Lucius nodded, the hint of a smile forming on his mouth. ¡°What was the misuse of resources?¡± The former bank director hesitated this time. ¡°The matter of Eikenport sire.¡± Lucius stood back with a frown. ¡°What was their interest there?¡± ¡°Officially to protect our¡­ the bank¡¯s investment. Kaltha¡¯s war loan.¡± ¡°Is this the norm?¡± ¡°Yes my Lord.¡± ¡°What was their plan in order to do that?¡± ¡°Apprehend princess Elsanne and prevent her from challenging for the throne,¡± Robart replied without hesitation. ¡°Mclean trusts young Antoon more than the princess to pay?¡± ¡°As I stated my Lord, the real objective was to take control of the port,¡± Robart replied. ¡°Under whose authority?¡± ¡°The High Regent¡¯s,¡± Holt elucidated. ¡°But since Lord Anker couldn¡¯t possibly reach that far given the situation, Mclean would had been given the opportunity to run it as his own holding,¡± Lucius added. ¡°Was Lesia aware of the matter?¡± ¡°It an internal matter for the Bank. Mercenaries were used my Lord. The Three Hundred.¡± That was Lear Hik¡¯s old outfit. ¡°Who was leading the company?¡± ¡°D¡¯Orsi¡¯s cousin. He was killed and the unit destroyed completely. It was a risky proposal, poorly executed that caused a lot of casualties to the locals.¡± This turned the ¡®pirate-sympathizing¡¯ locals against Antoon¡¯s heir. ¡°How could Elsanne¡¯s pirates beat an experienced mercenary company Mister Holt?¡± Lucius queried with interest. He had never heard of this distant event. ¡°They had help from the local underground my Lord. A criminal named Mister Garth, along the assistance of another mercenary company working for the King beyond the Pale Mountains. Finally Sir Gust¡¯s Crows also participated in the scrap.¡± ¡°Lord Ruud fought with the bank over a port in Eplas?¡± Lucius asked a little confused at the strange alliances birthed so far away and the ties that had brought all these individuals close. ¡°Elsanne fought the bank and the Crows assisted her.¡± It was obvious the Old Crow had made up his mind on the matter. Why would you go against late Antoon¡¯s wishes? Ruud had been a staunch supporter of the throne for years. A friend of the previous king. Was it the Princess presence? Was it Gust? Would Gust ever fight against Elsanne? Lucius didn¡¯t believe the hale knight would. It was also pretty obvious what the Old Crow was trying to accomplish behind the scenes. ¡°Scaldingport controls two ports on Eplas,¡± Lucius said looking at the map that didn¡¯t have the large western continent¡¯s shores depicted as it ended at the Shallow Sea. ¡°With the pirates under Elsanne¡¯s control apparently, they have a safe sea trade route open.¡± ¡°To Wetull and the Khanate¡¯s riches sire,¡± Robart explained. ¡°It will make the Duke a fortune.¡± Lord Ruud¡¯s domain was rich enough already. ¡°Is this king able to navigate the Blasted Lands Mister Holt? This appears to be a huge undertaking and without it, the Great Desert makes it very costly to make a profit. There¡¯s a reason the Khanate merchants have trouble penetrating our markets. Their products are too expensive.¡± ¡°The Zilan can perform wonders,¡± Robart said simply. Lucius wasn¡¯t satisfied enough to yield the argument. Magic while fascinating for young minds wasn¡¯t something he¡¯d ever encountered outside of dubious on their veracity old tales. ¡°How many Zilan survived? Six years ago I had been briefed that they had gone extinct in all probability. Wetull is a harsh place to live in utter isolation.¡± ¡°The Bank estimated around twenty thousand. Fifty years ago,¡± Robart replied. ¡°But this Hardir has restored Goras.¡± The wyvern taming, magic wielding and mysterious Zilan ruler. ¡°How can he rebuild Goras? Goras is the size of Castalor and Scaldingport combined!¡± Lucius grunted. ¡°Not to mention it¡¯s probably blasted away!¡± Do we believe only half of what¡¯s in the books and only when it agrees with us? He wondered. ¡°A bit larger than that my Lord. The maps are a little misleading,¡± Robart explained. ¡°As to your query, after the ¡®Three Sisters Rebellion¡¯ Goras has gotten thousands of refugees from the Peninsula. This new Wetull also uses slave labor just like the old one or doesn¡¯t oppose it strongly. It is historically a very parsimonious method to get things done at minimum cost.¡± Lucius all but bristled learning about it. ¡°Cofols?¡± ¡°Yes sir.¡± ¡°Why? Serving a Zilan ruler sounds horrifying.¡± ¡°Hardir was married to the Sopat family,¡± Holt explained and Lucius stood back impressed remembering his history lessons. ¡°The gilded Toka and the gem-adorned Sopat,¡± he murmured. This high-society Jelin saying eloquently described the richest families inside the Khanate. The coin lords of Dinar and the gem merchants of the fabled Lai Zel-ka. The aureate equestrians of the Mirpur and the Slavemasters of Fu De-Gar standing in turn as the strongest militarily. Robart nodded in agreement and stared at his scrolls. ¡°You have an assessment of the situation?¡± The king asked evenly changing the subject. ¡°I do my Lord.¡± ¡°How would you describe it Mister Robart?¡± ¡°Grave my Liege,¡± Robart Holt replied without mincing his words.
Holt finished his detailed presentation on the kingdom¡¯s financial situation and pursed his mouth at the sober reception he¡¯d gotten from his small audience. The stressed Sirio interrupting the awkward moment as he¡¯d managed to break the tip of his quill in the attempt to write it all down and then overturned an ink pot trying to save the page.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°I¡¯ll clean it up,¡± the flushed writer said quickly still hunched over the table and sweeping at the mess with his ink-covered sleeve. ¡°Guard!¡± Trupo boomed at the sentinel. ¡°Bring a towel!¡± ¡°A towel sir?¡± The guard asked. ¡°Any rag will suffice. Make it two,¡± Trupo deadpanned scrunching his mustache right and left. ¡°And a fresh tunic for our scribe. We might need a barrel to dip him in first.¡± ¡°Yes sir!¡± The guard responded and Lucius puffed out turning his attention on the silent Robart Holt. ¡°What is your suggestion Mister Holt?¡± ¡°Disband the armies,¡± Holt replied and Galio snapped a stiff face his way. ¡°You owe a crippling sum to the soldiers my Lord.¡± The economist continued despite the palpable hostility coming from the officers and most of the nearby guards that weren¡¯t supposed to listen in to their conversation. ¡°Trupo,¡± Lucius ordered and the alert Tribune got up abruptly pushing his chair back. ¡°Everyone clear the room,¡± he barked and walked aggressively towards the guards and a couple of servants loitering near the two exits of Elysium Hall. ¡°Don¡¯t make me repeat it,¡± the Tribune added soberly. ¡°I¡¯ve an itchy palm since morning and the Consul has a metal baton.¡± ¡°My Lord,¡± Robart Holt insisted after the room was cleared from any onlookers. Trupo had taken note of those that had been privy so he could ¡®straighten them out¡¯ later about the need to keep their silence. ¡°Every year soldiers are in the field or even at camp, wages are accumulated and pensions are added to the burden.¡± ¡°Lesia has its legion,¡± Galio grunted. ¡°Lesia has one legion and the bank is paying for supplying it. It is not the same,¡± Holt countered. ¡°You have well over ten thousand soldiers in your books Consul.¡± ¡°The matter of the veterans has been resolved or will be soon enough,¡± Lucius intervened. ¡°In what manner my Lord?¡± ¡°Kas and Anorum will supply one legion. Macrinus will make sure of it and he¡¯ll keep a force in the north as a standing army. That would be from the First. It¡¯s supposed to be bigger but it won¡¯t be.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll keep the First in the North?¡± ¡°I just explained that I won¡¯t,¡± Lucius replied patiently. ¡°A part is not the whole.¡± ¡°What about the others? No lord would agree to shoulder the burden. Illirium, Demames and Asturia have their own local forces to pay for my Lord. You serve in the militia, you get to keep more of your crops for a year. The system is older than time. If you are to increase taxes then a reason must be given for keeping such a large military force in the books that will do nothing. Are we at war?¡± ¡°We are not,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°The larger Duchies would be excluded. But not all. The veterans will receive their owed sums in the form of land and some coin. Storm¡¯s Rest is a fine place and it won¡¯t burden Anorum or Asturia further.¡± ¡°Storm¡¯s Rest isn¡¯t even a village yet my Lord. Who is running it?¡± The Consul. ¡°Storm¡¯s Rest will be a city within the next ten years,¡± Lucius argued. ¡°The men will take the land and make something of it Mister Holt.¡± ¡°What about the outstanding wages? Every month is adding more to the books.¡± ¡°Aegium will pay for the Fourth,¡± Lucius continued. ¡°And the Third will remain here to keep an eye on Lesia.¡± ¡°This doesn¡¯t solve¡­¡± ¡°If the other lords can pay for their army Aegium and Novesium can pay for theirs and the army will help rebuilt what was ruined in the Civil War and balance past debts.¡± ¡°Is it wise to give minor lords control of legions my Lord?¡± Holt asked thoughtfully. Lucius didn¡¯t fully trust any lords at this point but the army that had been sworn to him. ¡°You misunderstood me,¡± Lucius retorted. ¡°The control of the Legions has already been addressed Mister Holt and it won¡¯t be relinquished nor be a subject to any lord¡¯s whim even in the King¡¯s absence. A minor or a big lord makes no difference.¡± ¡°The Legions serve the man paying their wages,¡± Holt insisted. ¡°The Legions shall serve the legitimate King of Regia and the kingdom in his absence,¡± Lucius countered austerely. ¡°The army shall safeguard the throne for without the throne there will be no army nor any privileges. They heard your proposal and they can understand that.¡± ¡°What privileges?¡± Holt asked tensely. ¡°Assurances,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°My Lord the treasury is empty,¡± Robart Holt gasped. ¡°King Jeremy drained it to support two distant fronts and I have to inform you that Duke Sula with¡­ Duke Holt haven¡¯t paid their taxes for years.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t really fault them given they have an excuse for it,¡± Lucius replied sympathetically. ¡°But I can use this as an added incentive in our talks henceforth. Obviously it would be bad manners to bring it up on its own.¡± ¡°You grace can¡¯t fund any public works¡ª¡± ¡°The Third will finish the Temple of the Fallen,¡± Lucius cut him off. ¡°The army will build the roads I have in mind to uncouple the trade routes from the coast and connect the kingdom. It¡¯s what they do and your cousin has used them in the past not to burden Asturia¡¯s coffers. There is a use for them even in peace Mister Holt. However long this peace lasts in the current climate.¡± ¡°Apologies for pressuring your grace,¡± Robart Holt said raspingly and bowed his head. ¡°I have use of a man that can hold a tight grip on expenses and know that I value those not afraid to voice a divergent opinion,¡± Lucius told him in a friendly manner. ¡°There¡¯s a spot open given that Lord Doris¡¯ has disappeared not to mention his previous behavior.¡± Robart Holt stood back with a frown. ¡°You¡¯re offering me the Lord Treasurer¡¯s position?¡± He asked evenly. ¡°I would accept of course.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a bit more than that,¡± Lucius replied with a glance at the serious Galio Veturius. ¡°I want you to serve the Quadrumvirate Mister Robart and then the small Council.¡± ¡°What is that my Liege?¡± Robart asked pursing his mouth. ¡°The State. The Lorian nation living within Regia¡¯s borders. This abstract notion we all talk about. Regia has a body now to look after her affairs Robart and you shall be a part of it. No Lord shall stand above it.¡±
Long after Robart Holt departed and the rest of the officers left as well to tend to the army¡¯s affairs Lucius was going over the latest reports with Ramirus when Sirio, now clad in a legion''s red rough hemp tunic asked treading carefully. ¡°What if the army has a different favorite in the future your majesty?¡± Lucius examined the fidgety scribe¡¯s face for a moment. ¡°The danger will always be there,¡± he finally replied to the skeptical Sirio. ¡°Votes will still be cast on the matter but an officer is far more difficult to veer off the trotted path Sirio. Ambition is there but no legitimacy. A noble Lord can see himself on the throne more easily.¡± ¡°With all the respect your majesty, it¡¯s a thin layer separating the two,¡± Sirio countered and Ramirus stood back on his chair to glare at the scribe. ¡°No system created by man is perfect or fair Sirio,¡± Lucius said with a smile. ¡°The next king might not be to your liking, would that be reason enough to remove him?¡± Sirio gulped down and stared at his papers. ¡°You can give your opinion,¡± Lucius told him in a casual manner. ¡°My Lord,¡± Sirio croaked. ¡°I was thinking on what¡¯s best for the people.¡± ¡°A ruler must ensure his successor is of sound mind and body. Without sentimentality and any sense of favoritism. If he fails and his heir isn¡¯t then it¡¯s on him yes? I would be responsible for it for it¡¯s on me to ensure this doesn¡¯t happen. I must provide Regia with a proper heir just like my father afore me. Give him the tools to protect himself and not spent half a decade in exile. It isn¡¯t easy and it wasn¡¯t always palatable Mister Sirio for I had to look past my own ethics or preferences. I asked myself what was better for Regia and not for Lucius despite what you might have heard or what the crowds chant outside.¡± ¡°I was never in doubt your majesty,¡± a flushed Sirio replied bowing his well-combed head deeply. ¡°Have no shame in voicing your opinion,¡± Lucius replied calmly. ¡°But remember that nothing in this realm comes to us exactly how we want it. We compromise for such is the manner of things. As for the other matter you tried to raise. What is the expression mister Ramirus?¡± ¡°We are not the Gish sire,¡± Ramirus droned readily and Lucius nodded. ¡°Someone must rule else we¡¯ll have chaos,¡± he elucidated looking at the uncomfortable Sirio for a moment afore he turned to the expecting Ramirus. ¡°Any news from Badum?¡± He asked changing the subject. -
Peter Brakis ordered Regia¡¯s Fleet to attack upon coming in contact with Binra-Kot¡¯s returning from Rida Khanate warships. It is difficult to give exact numbers on the vessels involved but all of Illirium¡¯s thirteen galleasses participated in the attack. Captain Brakis had at least five or six smaller ships following them out of Krakentrap Straits. They had anchored the previous day on the west side of the mouth near the foggy Lazuli Peninsula¡¯s shores and moved after sunset towards the protruding narrow landmass that is Seagull¡¯s Neck. With the sea open to the west of their flank and the east flank hugging the Neck¡¯s turn towards the Gulf of Colle, ¡®Pete¡¯ Brakis arranged his ships in an arrowhead formation, keeping seven of them in the middle with Magpie and Chameleon taking the rear to act as a reserve and the galleass Abrakas -his flagship- at the arrow¡¯s point. The outer west flank was given to Vel Sextus-Brakis and the young captain did the same for the east flank creating another group of three warships. The latter was to anchor their formation near the visible when they arrived but partially-covered in morning mist shores. Moving lights during the night seen over a large distance had alerted the Illirium naval commander to expect company on the busy sea route from Rida to Colle. Binra-Kot¡¯s ships were caught by surprise but the admiral was in the process of cleaning up his lines for the transport ships they had escorted to enter the gulf and it was easy for him to order them into a battle line. With Regia¡¯s flotilla approaching and strange massive warships popping out of the morning mist one after the other, no further incentive was needed for his sailors. Binra-Kot immediately kept most of his galleons at the center and used his captured brigs mostly to surround the attacking heavier galleasses ¨Cusing Issir tactics- from both sides. According to most accounts Binra-Kot fielded at least fifteen khanate galleons and seven brigs in the naval battle, with Admiral Osahar¡¯s at least fifteen or twenty strong transports not participating initially despite carrying a big number of troops. While having an advantage in speed and number of vessels, Brakis¡¯ flotilla was literally packed with soldiers and marines next to their larger crews. The two centers collided after a brief but violently spectacular exchange of catapult volleys with the heavy warships angling to fire their side weapon complements not always timely. Abrakas received multiple fiery projectiles and was ravaged but kept afloat by a miracle. Several warships were damaged in the first moments of the struggle, with fires erupting, decks exploding and masts toppling. Due to most of them moving with the help of oars on both sides, this didn¡¯t slow them down at all and soon both lines were engaged in close naval combat in the center. Malabar was sunk burning like a star and Chameleon took its place in the line. Binra-Kot lost two or three galleons that had to pull out with at least one sinking outright due to a broken keel. While the east flank remained at a distance and engaged in a long distance duel, Binra-Kot¡¯s fast-moving west flank charged at Vel Sextus-Brakis flotilla. A brig was broken apart from a lucky catapult shot and another got devastated getting between Hydra¡¯s Spawn and Fergus. The two galleasses (armed with ten mounted Scorpios per side) pulverizing the hapless smaller ship¡¯s sides, with some bolts even causing friendly fire casualties. Vel who had sailed wide charged ahead leaving the two galleasses to deal with the remaining smaller ships and attacked ¨Cleading a raiding party himself- Binra-Kot¡¯s anchoring the flank galleon. In the brief brutal engagement Vel¡¯s very-experienced Illirium marines (most were survivors of his daring landings at the Knuckle two years earlier) smashed the khanate¡¯s opposing force and sailors in less than twenty minutes. Peter Brakis central force had gotten bogged down against Binra-Kot¡¯s packed center with the legionnaires failing in taking over enemy ships or having difficulty assaulting them over the frothy waters but excelling in throwing off the Khanate¡¯s marines. Prefect Valens¡¯ Cephalus who¡¯d found itself holding the edge of the line against most of the Khanate¡¯s nearby ships -after Talbot went under, got mauled by enemy and friendly fire initially, then suffered repeated violent assaults from three or four Khanate galleons that kept sending boarding parties but managed to throw all of them back. An hour into the engagement it is said Cephalus¡¯ deck boards were soaked in gore that turned the frothy waters a deep red as they tried to wash it off with each large splashing wave. With Vel breaking out from the west and the determined dark-skinned Lorians aboard Divine Trident heading straight for his rear Binra-Kot ordered the reserve vessels he¡¯d kept in the center to move west to intercept the Sextus-Brakis¡¯ personal warship. The center¡¯s engagement had amassed over ten ships together, each tied on the next in a gigantic floating platform surrounded by burning wreckages, where the hard-pressed legionnaires ¡®slowly found their footing¡¯, as a Decanus commented after the battle and the Khanate¡¯s marines started losing the battle of attrition spectacularly.
-
Regia¡¯s Navy west flank, aboard the Divine Trident Scupper at Gulf of Colle, 1st of Nonus. Third hour Captain Klunder roared for the crews to turn the war-machines around, the sound of incoming bolts and burning shots exploding on the decks and towers of the warship coming in clusters or one after the other. BOOM-BOOM-BOOM TA-TA-TAH. The ship groaning like a living thing, boards breaking, ropes snapping and barrels hurled right and left. Mixed with gory body parts. Vel wrapped his forearm on the greased hemp line, glanced to his right and saw a marine getting split right down the middle, bones crackling, flesh tearing and innards turning to a splashing red goo. The culprit a plummeting bolt that had stricken the iron reinforced sides of the warship and ricocheted aloft. Through their lines. ¡°ON THREE!¡± The wild-eyed sergeant Woltman barked, the skin on the left side of his face missing and his right sleeve on fire. The galleass rising over the waves now free after the broken galleon had crashed on them. Vel seeing the waters dipping under his bloody boots and his innards twisting in knots. The Khanate crews reloading the Scorpios seven meters away, a fiery projectile blowing a part of Divine Trident¡¯s aftcastle¡¯s top floor away, splintered planks blasting outwards and taking with it a catapult and Captain Klunder¡­ whatever was left of him. The two remaining catapults firing when their ship was at its highest point, aimed downwards unwittingly and scraping ? of the galleon¡¯s bow away. ¡°GO- GO¡ª¡± Woltman bellowed barely getting the words out afore a hurled harpoon skewered his neck and Vel jumped over the lip of the deck, a boot scraping the shields, feet kicking at the air over frothy waters to gain momentum and wooden bridges dropping right and left of him as the two opposing warships went from several meters apart to almost touching. Vel screamed like a madman crossing over and hurled his axe before letting go of the rope. The blade thudded on a sailor¡¯s chest, the engineer slapped his hand on the lever and the edging upwards war-machine released its iron load. The ever rising bolt screeched under Vel¡¯s wildly kicking feet, missed everything and the knight landed the next moment, his saber in hand. A vicious hack and the blade chopped a leg off above the ankle. A snarling Vel twisted on his axis, a dagger in his other hand and a desperate Horselord hit the deck with a groan of pain, the severed blood-spraying foot tumbling next to his distorted gnarly face. A marine came at him with a spiked harpoon, but a hissing Vel managed to parry it aside, the long weapon clanging on a barrel cracking it and then savagely buried the dagger in the man¡¯s right cheek to the hilt. The sharp bloody point exploding out of the other side. The wound grotesque. The Khanate¡¯s marine went down, mayhem erupting all about Vel with men dying or getting severely maimed in mere seconds. The fighting was that brutal. Vel got skewered in the ribs, the shaft breaking and the knight¡¯s opponent losing his head a moment later. Vel bulldozed an officer over the deck¡¯s rails that blade still stuck in him and kicked a turned his way Scorpio¡¯s muzzle on a group of Khanate marines just as the machine was firing. The next man stepping in front of him missing half his face but clad in an Illirium marine¡¯s uniform. ¡°Lord Vel,¡± the disfigured marine officer Werges rustled and grabbed his elbow to stabilize the faltering knight. ¡°You¡¯re injured sire!¡± ¡°Have you seen yer fucking face?¡± A grunting and in considerable pain Vel taunted and out in the distance the Khanate¡¯s flagship got hit repeatedly across all its decks from Fergus¡¯ machines. ¡°Haha!¡± The wounded knight guffawed, dark-skinned face covered in gore, cracked skin and pieces of flesh not belonging to him. ¡°That turtle-limbed Captain Lugt finally broke through!¡±
- 6th of Nonus, 194 NC Hall of the Fallen Regia¡¯s memorial grounds ¡°Centurion Agricola,¡± Galio announced hoarsely after Lucius had finished talking and some of the local late Centurion¡¯s close relatives that were present nodded very moved. The sculptor carefully painted the engraved name in bold black color on the white marble plaque. Standing at two meters tall it was the first of several they had gotten up, even with the place still unfinished. ¡°Alana Shields,¡± the Consul continued and a shaking Faye grabbed the standing at attention Lucius¡¯ hand tightly breaking protocol. ¡°Roderick Scaro,¡± the sober Consul continued. ¡°Prefect Marc Gripa. Centurion Decimus Sabinus. Primus Pilus Simon Gata. Centurion Gnaeus Ennius. Centurion Cassius Falx. Centurion of Rangers, Kaeso. Centurion Lucas Kato. Optio Kent Long.¡± The Consul went on and on until the first forty names were heard. Everyone waited for the sculptor to finish and move away, then the Legion¡¯s Signifer Brim Solomon brought the Panthera Tigris standard forward. He stood next to the raised thick plaque and stroke the butt on the tiled floor twice. The loud clank reverberating on the standing columns surrounding the uncovered center of the unfinished temple¡¯s hall. The First Cohort that was standing outside the grounds responding to the call striking their bare blades on their Scutums. Their roar coming after the ruckus raised making the ground shake under their feet. Lucius grimaced some of the officers bowed their heads and the locals watched completely mesmerized. ¡°You are not dead,¡± Brim Solomon announced when the noise died down. ¡°Until your name is on the wall. Those that just had their names heard, should know that they are acknowledged inside this hallowed hall. Comrades in arms,¡± the stout Nord added solemnly in a big commanding voice. ¡°The Third salutes you!¡±
Half an hour later ¡°Queen Faye,¡± Mayor Nero bowed his head at the frowning Faye that had worn a lovely white shirt with red flowery details over her leather pants for the occasion and a fine purple very thin coat with gold stripes. Lucius greatly appreciated seeing his wife out of her armour even if it was a half-measure. In reality the Queen appeared to be quite discomforted mainly because she¡¯d left her swords back in the tower. Flavia was adamant that ¡®while our pretty queen can handle a blade and a rough leather harness, this fabric cannot.¡¯ ¡°We share your grief for the occasion,¡± the Mayor added misreading her expression. ¡°Thanks,¡± Faye hissed trying to be polite and Trupo that was doing the introductions per the protocol blinked but managed to maintain his neutral expression and announce in his cultured voice. ¡°High Priestess Flavia.¡± ¡°Augusta,¡± the Mayor continued following after the officer. ¡°Your blessings.¡± ¡°The Fair Lady walks with you,¡± Flavia responded skillfully. ¡°May your line blooms in abundance Mayor Nero. Much vigor to your seed.¡± Tribune Trupo pursed his mouth almost flinching at her words, a nervous tick appearing on the right side of his face, but Nero seemed quite pleased himself. Lucius glanced at Faye¡¯s flushed face and then brought her rough hand to his lips to kiss it softly. ¡°Does our warrior Queen wish to retire?¡± He asked courteously. ¡°The Queen is in suffering from standing in these shoes,¡± Faye retorted mimicking Trupo¡¯s posh Flauegran accent. Lucius knew the court¡¯s public signs of affection confused her. ¡°How is all this helping the dead?¡± ¡°It was a goodwill gesture and something for the locals to talk about. You are doing something similar albeit without all the marble and the fancy tiles,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°By the way, we can depart the grounds now. The Mayor was the last one.¡± ¡°I guess it¡¯s a good gesture what you did for her,¡± Faye admitted with a pout and followed after the King with Sir Valgus marching after them stiffly. ¡°I have this dream from time to time,¡± Lucius told her soberly with a last glance at the unfinished temple. ¡°In the dream I don¡¯t remember their names.¡± ¡°You never forget anything,¡± Faye replied. ¡°It¡¯s a stupid dream.¡± Lucius nodded. ¡°Perhaps you are right. But in reality most of those lost I don¡¯t really know. So the dream despite being stupid isn¡¯t inaccurate, I think.¡± Ramirus left back the Centurion he was talking to and hurried after the royal couple that was going for their horses. Nightsilver and Elzar the VI standing side by side but giving each other the space to graze without feeling cornered. ¡°King Lucius. Queen Faye,¡± Ramirus saluted energetically. ¡°Can it wait until we reach the tower?¡± Lucius asked although he sensed that it couldn¡¯t. His instincts telling him that it had happened. ¡°I¡¯m afraid it cannot my Lord,¡± Ramirus replied casually. ¡°Something from the capital?¡± Faye asked her mind racing to the boys. ¡°No ma¡¯am just a simple announcement given the day.¡± Ramirus said sensing the Queen wasn¡¯t briefed on the situation. Lucius was going to talk about it but he didn¡¯t want their time together consumed talking about the same topics as in his war meetings. The LID director kept his eyes on the King of Regia and Lucius gave a slight nod with his head. ¡°Larum in Caelo,¡± Ramirus informed him keeping any emotion from his voice. ¡°Auspiciously.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± a relieved Lucius replied channeling his wife from earlier. ¡°We¡¯ll head to the tower next Ramirus.¡± ¡°Yes sir,¡± Ramirus said and bowed his head. ¡°What shall I reply to Lord Shamar?¡± Lucius paused for a moment and then grimaced in the attempt to hide his true feelings on the news. ¡°Inform our guest that unfortunately in tournaments and on the high seas accidents do happen.¡± ¡°Indeed my Lord.¡± ¡°Do you need help?¡± Lucius asked Faye after Ramirus had marched away and she shook her head negatively. The red locks brushed and gathered back to leave her long neck uncovered and show off her comely freckled face. Flavia has done wonders with the time she had. Faye climbed on Elzar¡¯s saddle easily and waited for Lucius to do the same. Sir Valgus going for his mount ¨Cit was close by- after he made sure the king was fine. ¡°What does it mean? What that sneaky man said,¡± the Queen asked and Lucius smiled. ¡°Red, come on. Ramirus works for me,¡± he scolded her in a light-hearted manner. ¡°Never said he wasn¡¯t,¡± Faye retorted furrowing her brows. ¡°You¡¯re keeping secrets Alden?¡± ¡°Everything I know, you shall know,¡± Lucius replied ambiguously but Faye seemed to accept it. It made him feel bad and it spoiled some of the warmth the news had brought him. On their return to Elysium¡¯s tower, the king opted to remain silent. -
The capable Vel Sextus-Brakis broke through the west and delayed for long enough the reserve force that Binra-Kot had rushed there to block his path, in order to offer the captains of Fergus and Hydra¡¯s Spawn the chance to approach as well. The Khanate¡¯s admiral got caught out of position as he¡¯d followed after the three galleons that had moved from his center and received a freakish injury in the barrage. A catapult shot bounced off of his flagship¡¯s deck and severed his right leg below the hip. The ¡®Black Trident¡¯ had been injured as well but ordered his three ships (his own galleass had received a lot of punishment but it was still seaworthy) to angle inwards and attack the comatose Binra-Kot¡¯s center. In the center Peter Brakis¡¯ Abrakas was dying, the ship burning despite efforts to keep fires under control and half his crew engaged in a savage battle with the Khanate¡¯s marines that had stormed it. The commander of Regia¡¯s fleet received a death blow trying to steer his ship clear from the burning wreckages either by a stray arrow or a hurled harpoon that penetrated his spleen. Prefect Valens who had dealt with repeated assaults by four galleons had lost half his fighting force but the approaching Oak who had abandoned the east flank intervened at the right moment. The east flank¡¯s distant artillery duel had devastated the smaller ships the Khanate fleet had fielded there and had send their smashed wreckages to the bottom. With Seabear and Celinia closing in on the last galleon defending the east flank to push through, it was the right decision. Oak¡¯s captain had kept his mind throughout the fight on the center¡¯s struggle and his warship had drifted west to assist from early on. Several ships from Regia¡¯s supply fleet moved forward to offer assistance as the desperate calls from drowning sailors and soldiers coming from both fleets made the covered in smoke clouds, debris littered waters, a nightmarish scene to stand witness. At least four large transports from Osahar¡¯s Fleet that had rushed to safety inside Colle¡¯s Gulf turned around to do the same but got intercepted from Vel¡¯s flanking galleasses. The Illirium marines assaulted the transports but found themselves in real trouble as each was packed with almost four hundred soldiers. The weakened marines got thrown back into the sea or got butchered as they got overwhelmed but the slow transports that carried no weapons became easy prey for the watching horrified crews of the galleasses. The injured Vel Sextus-Brakis ordered the engineers and weapon crews to ¡®send those bastards to Abrakas Gullet¡¯ and the four transports promptly went down along with almost two thousand souls. The men surrounding Binra-Kot did all they could to keep the Khanate¡¯s naval hero alive and they managed it somehow while slowly rowing the burning ship away from danger. They took advantage of the transports arrival and sacrifice to escape towards the nearby shores. His departure caused the remaining Khanate galleons to disengage. A total of four hurrying after their admiral. Peter Brakis fleet had just won a stunning victory only losing two warships. Talbot and Malabar. Three, as the unlucky Seraph would also sink on the return trip and two of the ten remaining warships had to be towed back to Aldenport. Aboard the ravaged flagship Abrakas the gravely injured Peter Brakis who had lost a naval battle under similar circumstances two years prior just outside Nattas Cove against Lesia¡¯s ambushing galleasses but had managed to survive on an upturned boat and find land eventually, had now reversed his luck and had proved Regia could win a major naval engagement. When the officers gathered on the aftcastle over him to inform the ¡®young Kraken¡¯ the enemy fleet was in full retreat, Peter famously uttered with his dying breath. ¡®By the vile spirits of the deep my lads, you have to save the ship!¡¯ His loyal crew did manage to keep the mighty flagship afloat and Peter Brakis entered the sea-loving Illirium¡¯s pantheon of heroes himself. - Lord Sirio Veturius The Fall of Heroes Chapter II* (Lord Lucius Alden, -Also addressed- Legatus Omnis Legionis, Praetor Maximus, King Lucius the Third Tiger¡¯s Reign Third-Fourth Year Volume XII A Kingdom never rests on its laurels Prologue -The Heroes Pantheon & the bloody triumph at Colle¡¯s Gulf- Early Nonus, Fall of 194 NC Timely intervention, a road through the desert and the king¡¯s kind of general. Prelude to ¡®Scorned hearts are devoid of reason¡¯ and the ¡®Tiger¡¯s wrath.¡¯ Circa Fall of 194 NC to summer-fall of 195 NC *The largest in size ¡®chapter¡¯ of Sirio¡¯s story, numbering several volumes
467. The Gold Egg (1/2)
Arguen Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Lord of Morn Taras Monarch of Wetull King beyond the Pale Mountains Aniculo Rokae The Gold Egg Part I -It¡¯s alive-
King Lucius¡¯ timely intervention in the Khanate-Kaltha long war, ¡®or preemptive strike¡¯, crippled Burzin¡¯s Attack Fleet and got Binra-Kot out of action for months. Lord Anker used the opportunity and the moment he got word of the naval battle attacked across Deadman¡¯s Land. He managed to destroy the Khanate¡¯s fortified camp beyond Chinos River but his attack got repelled with heavy casualties. The loss of Lord Rinus Van De Aesst¡¯s son Sir Ton was a blow for the High Regent but also showcased the low-quality troops he could field after years of struggle and repeated setbacks. Burzin sent Lord Shamar, a Khanate diplomat familiar with Jelin¡¯s courts, to protest Regia¡¯s involvement in the dispute but King Lucius assured him it was all a misunderstanding and his fleet was there looking for pirates. While it was a weak excuse the Khan couldn¡¯t afford to attack Regia directly given the strategic situation as they feared this might drag the Lorians of Lesia into the conflict. This was the second time Lorians had interfered with the Khanate¡¯s plans and Burzin wouldn¡¯t forget it anytime soon. Having received some reinforcements from Rida the Khan decided to wait behind Chinos River and not risk a retaliating attack against Lord Anker. A race was on with the Issirs and the Horselords trying to rebuild their fleets but it dragged throughout the year. The Khanate turned its attention on the forgotten men of Lord Putra, now much more valuable given that the sea routes were unsafe again, and a plan was devised to reinforce Prince Radin¡¯s force in order to attempt to break out or reconnect the two split armies. In order to ease the Prince¡¯s effort, Havor Dhin-Aval commander of the reserve army was ordered to attack to the southeast between the lakes and knock out the small guard at Eagle¡¯s Nest Castle. Located at the start of Granlake¡¯s marshes, the fort stood isolated on relatively flat fertile terrain just after King¡¯s Forest. Havor Dhin-Aval moved at the start of summer but a bloody revolt inside Issir¡¯s Eagle delayed the Khanate¡¯s plans with the High Regent¡¯s attack beyond Chinos River forcing the Reserve Army to stick around the capital in case it was needed. Finally with the summer behind them and the first rains of Fall starting the Horselords moved again but they knew that attacking the fort needed good weather for their war machines to be more effective and they didn¡¯t want to fight in winter. Havor asked the Khan to delay the operation for sixth months -at least until spring- but he was ordered to make the attempt as the fort had a garrison of two hundred men ¡®that guard hunting grounds and tax merchant caravans.¡¯ The assessment was wrong by a lot as we know from the Quadrumvir¡¯s chapter. While all this was happening on Jelin, beyond the Pale Mountains (the name already deceptive with Wetull occupying Dia and Jadefort) Hardir O¡¯ Fardor, later known as King Garth (which created some interesting coincidences giving it matched the elusive crimelord¡¯s moniker) kept building up his power looking to be more involved in the Realm¡¯s affairs. Already the first Zilan merchants had appeared on Jelin, usually under clever disguises and keeping a low profile. Rumors circulated in Regia¡¯s court about the power this Monarch could wield or whether he could be trusted. Despite some attempts to communicate with Goras, King Garth and his Zilan remained unreachable and very few managed to get close enough to gauge their intentions. Everyone knew about them by now but few had any idea how to tackle the reemerging old empire. Elsanne had brazenly embraced her ancestor¡¯s enemies but she was desperate and isolated at the time. The consensus was that they could be a problem down the line but there was also this strange belief that the Zilan of Wetull given they were coming out of a major catastrophe (albeit well in the past by now) wouldn¡¯t really attempt anything nefarious for years. Decades. Some of it was optimism, a part disbelief of the old tales, another the false conviction that the empire had been broken and now stood a shell of its former self, drowning in irrelevance. Again as with the Khanate¡¯s advisors, nothing was further from the truth. And while the Khan¡¯s strategists couldn¡¯t account for a single officer¡¯s unsanctioned actions and stratagems, the rulers of Jelin should have been more cautious as the Wine Barons were soon to find out. For in the distant exotic Wetull the Realm¡¯s most dangerous foe lurked, busy preparing for the beast-loving evil empire¡¯s return. Lord Sirio Veturius Circa 206 NC The Fall of Heroes Chapter L Addendum -Volume IV- The Onyx Wyvern¡¯s rule
- open image for more detail - 3rd of Neter (Nonus, Ninth Month) 3400 IC (194NC) Third Era Old East City, Goras Jungle With a sinister squeal the creature burst out of the thick foliage, stems breaking and greenish -with a smudge of red- fat leaves blowing outwards. It came towards the utterly serious Glen barring its path, barrel-shaped body and short loaf-shaped head shaking. Its stubby webbed feet digging at the ground. Two ogling eyes and a blunt protruding muzzle with a proboscis-type wrinkled snout raised to show two large square teeth inside the frothy mouth. Behind it Raro leaped out of the bush as well with a snarl, the large Nimra lion sliding on its back feet in the attempt to change direction. What in the slovenly fuck? The King of Wetull wondered seeing the thick creature coming at him squealing more scared than angry and Maeriel who had gone up the old tree yelled the weirdest of warnings. ¡°Don¡¯t harm the leaf eater!¡± Glen paused unsure, a spear in hand and the jungle Catapir reached him a moment later. Glen swung the butt of the spear instinctively. He scrapped the reddish hide of the rodent-looking creature on a pig¡¯s body but it dodged and managed to slip under his legs. Glen twisted around and reached with a hand to grab it but the creature leaped with its short feet to get away. It landed two meters away. The Catapir let out a strangled cry trying to regain speed and a smirking Uvrycres, who¡¯d waited behind a giant Kapok tree¡¯s monstrous roots, came out of hiding to snatch it in his gnarly jaws. But the wyvern paused mid-move, scaly head twisting around as it had spotted out of the corner of its rubicund eye the sneaky Raro flying towards it and then swung a winged arm to loudly smack the large black lion on the chest. Raro was violently hurled back moaning like a real cat, tumbling feet over head in the air but managed to land sideways on all four paws finding another wide tree trunk six meters away. The Nimra lion stood there for a short second and then simply jumped down letting out a pained snarl. In the meantime the Catapir had rounded up the tree, after narrowly escaping the wyvern¡¯s snapping tail stinger that had exploded on the trunk digging out a good chunk of the rough bark. Maeriel yelled again from the canopy located somewhere behind a hard sprinting and grimacing Glen. The Monarch in his turn was going after the creature. Darn ugly pig wit a hairy pot belly! ¡°Hardir it¡¯s harmless!¡± Glen rounded the trunk as well, the Kapok tree had a circumference of ten meters at least, hurled the spear at the squealing boar-sized creature -the sound that of an actual pig having its gonads ripped out- but missed spectacularly. For a moment a Luthos-cursing Glen kept running hard now stooped forward dangerously, arms flaying and fingers touching the ground until he found his footing. Even so the creature appeared just about ready to lose the mad dash towards the edge of the jungle to the spry, bursting with energy Monarch but it was a mirage. Gradually the latter started breathing heavy, while the determined grimace turned to one of pain and considerable discomfort. Amber eyes gawking, the left slightly closing in the effort put forth to keep up with the animal and each stride turning shakier. And coming much slower. ¡°Fucking¡­ bull¡­ shit!¡± A hard-gasping for air, frothing at the mouth Glen cursed barely getting the words out in three languages, chest hurting and ears ringing like a ship¡¯s bells from the increased blood pressure. The fleeing Catapir turned its ugly head around sensing Glen had been left behind to let out a triumphant squeal and Soren appeared in its path, large calloused hand coming down like a sledgehammer but in slow motion. He still caught it at the back of the head fully in an open-handed heavy slap. The smack reverberated inside the jungle, the creature¡¯s front legs gave out and its head hit the ground afore bouncing off. Its run turning into an out of control tumble that ended four meters past the towering Northman. Soren was over seven feet in height now probably due to whatever magical crap Soletha is feeding him, Glen thought arriving a moment later. A flushed Glen made to speak but doubled over instead, hands clasping at his shaking knees and greedily sucked air inside his hurting lungs, sweat trickling down the chin and his whole face hurting. ¡°Goddess¡¯ judgement!¡± Maeriel hissed and jumped down between them landing with a deft roll. She snapped her bow at the Nord like a sword, the arm catching Soren on the shoulder hard but leaving him unfazed. ¡°You killed it, you Orc!¡± ¡°Almost killed me fer sure,¡± Glen agreed breathing heavy and trying to get his bearings. ¡°The leaf-eater?¡± The ranger hissed irate in disbelief and then grimaced trying to control her emotions. ¡°Hardir, it¡¯s a noble spirit. A Catapir.¡± No it¡¯s a pig with a proboscis and a giant rat¡¯s mouth. Them are some big ole teeth in there. ¡°He just tapped it once upside the head,¡± Glen assured her instead and stood upright with a groan holding his hurting back with the right hand. ¡°It¡¯s dead Glen,¡± Soren said sadly. ¡°Was probably already pretty sick,¡± Glen continued not losing a beat. ¡°On its last legs sort of speak, hair all reddish and dirty.¡± Maeriel licked her lips and stared at the still creature. ¡°The Princess will want to see it,¡± she added. ¡°The Monarch will bring her a carcass?¡± Glen wiped his mouth with a sleeve and heard the wyvern coming up behind him, branches snapping and shrubbery getting crashed. I can eat it. Get rid of the evidence, Uvrycres offered. Step aside friend. ¡°Is it eatable?¡± Glen asked staying put whilst the wyvern used its large horned head to shove him out of the way. And despite Glen¡¯s efforts, the Monarch was slowly getting pushed out of the path. ¡°Of course Hardir,¡± Maeriel replied stiffly and furrowed her brows seeing a glowering Glen grabbing at Uvrycres¡¯ snout with both arms not to allow the persistent wyvern to fully get him out of its way. ¡°You¡¯ll feed her what she wished to see alive?¡± ¡°Ain¡¯t feeding her shite but milk and biscuits,¡± a peevish Glen rustled, now raised a meter above ground but still grappling with Uvrycres¡¯ snout with both arms, the latter shaking his head right and left to dislodge the thrashing Ruler. ¡°But I¡¯m hungry as all fucks!¡±
Inis-Mir was riding on the camel, the ugly animal performing a strange dance going two steps forward and two back the little princess found hilarious. Glen and his entourage walked out of the jungle, Soren carrying the killed Catapir over his shoulder with ease despite the latter weighing about a hundred kilos. Their camping site very near Nesande¡¯s Temple across the road and amidst the ruins of the old shrines surrounding the pyramid grounds. The entrance to the Den at the center of the ancient complex with the Goddess¡¯ lands extending well to the east and reaching the shores of Narrow Gulf. Glen paused with a glance at the sky to locate the flying wyvern and then stared at the little princess enjoying Titi¡¯s antics. The girl¡¯s claret-colored hair intricately weaved in cornrows just like Maeriel¡¯s and laced with beads and real milky pearls just like her late mother¡¯s. The Monarch clenched his jaw affected by the sight and barely responded to Sir Alan Kirk¡¯s greeting. The Rokae, a knight of Goras basically, coming to stand on his right side whilst Maeriel returned to their animals. ¡°Milord,¡± Kirk said. ¡°You found the creature the princess saw?¡± ¡°It collapsed,¡± Glen grunted what they had agreed to say beforehand. ¡°The wyvern scared it to death.¡± ¡°Would have scared me too,¡± Kirk agreed with a grimace. ¡°Let¡¯s hope she forgets all about it.¡± ¡°Ayup,¡± Glen nodded and caught out of the corner of his right eye, a tall black-haired girl standing next to him. She was looking at Inis-Mir playing with her camel ¨Cunder Iskay¡¯s and Kilynia¡¯s watchful eyes- a strange smile on her exotic face. Something weird about her, in her smell and pale skin. It gave Glen sort of Gish vibes with a twist given the girl¡¯s height and bosom. She was now looking his way with large black eyes, only turning her neck and head towards him. ¡°Titi is better mount,¡± the girl said seriously in her weird accent. ¡°Go on now,¡± Kirk intervened. ¡°Don¡¯t bother the Monarch. She¡¯s Phinariel¡¯s friend sire. Jinx¡¯s also.¡± ¡°Assara,¡± the young woman said. Glen guessed she could be from fifteen to twenty easy. A well-developed teenager for sure. ¡°You work in the palace?¡± Glen asked. Assara blinked. ¡°Bad. Stay away,¡± she said and stepped back. ¡°What was that?¡± Glen snapped. ¡°Lass get your arse away,¡± Kirk warned and made to step forward but Glen stopped him extending his arm. ¡°Assara stays away,¡± she elucidated and pointed at his weapon harness. ¡°Bad.¡± Glen touched his weapons. The sword and the ancient dagger. Flix¡¯s peleg hanging from the side of his belt. ¡°You are from Phina¡¯s village?¡± He asked her thoughtfully listening to the two priests arguing near Soren. Assara turned to the south. ¡°Mussel,¡± she said shyly. Glen pursed his mouth. Then grimaced and glanced at the sober Sir Kirk. ¡°Where the fuck is that?¡± He asked unsure. ¡°I¡¯m not fully familiar with the local geography Milord.¡± I don¡¯t believe anyone is. Glen turned to ask Assara for more directions but the spot she occupied just moments afore was empty. He looked towards the princess and found the weird girl standing there, a good ten meters away. Well. Glen scratched his head perturbed, the noise coming from the two older Zilan bothering him. Feyras and Voldomir ready to start swinging their staffs in anger against one another. With another glance at his daughter the Monarch approached the two paragons of faith. ¡°It¡¯s a noble spirit,¡± Maeriel insisted a little frustrated. ¡°The gods delivered sustenance,¡± Feyras admonished her. ¡°Let this brute skin the animal so we can accept their offering.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t accept the Goddess¡¯ offered nourishment you fool!¡± Voldomir snapped angrily. ¡°You¡¯re standing inside her grounds. This meat must be delivered to her altar!¡± ¡°You mean your belly,¡± Feyras argued with a glare. ¡°And that¡¯s Eodrass Shrine over there!¡± ¡°In your dreams. That¡¯s just a ruin I use as a bench,¡± Voldomir retorted and drew a line on the ground with the butt of his staff. ¡°And its range ended about here. After this point all belongs to the temple.¡± ¡°You think I¡¯m blind?¡± Feyras grunted and used his staff to brush off Voldomir¡¯s line. He made a new one a couple of meters out. ¡°There.¡± ¡°So what? It¡¯s still within the Goddess¡¯ domain which I maintain for eleven centuries now. That¡¯s a scratch on the earth, next to an unused ruin. Just get back to your temple you old goat!¡± Voldomir rustled. ¡°Get that thing skinned,¡± he ordered Soren who was watching the exchange grinning for some reason. ¡°Monarch,¡± Maeriel turned to Glen. ¡°We should return it to the earth¡ª¡± ¡°We should share it evenly,¡± Glen cut her off and assuming a considerate tone he added. ¡°Everyone shall have a good piece and Maeriel you can bury yours under a tree or whatever.¡± The ranger sighed and Glen eyed her patiently but also with a bit of understanding. She missed Jinx terribly and probably had trouble sleeping without a good shagging. Or whatever those two were doing. It was always a big mystery this part. ¡°As Hardir wishes,¡± Maeriel replied with a bow, her eyes narrowing as if she could sense Glen¡¯s thoughts. What? It¡¯s a fucking legitimate query! Glen¡¯s glare replied and he could hear the ranger¡¯s teeth grinding in frustration.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°There then,¡± Glen said ending the staring contest and slapped his hands together. ¡°Voldomir, Feyras we have nothing more here I¡¯m sure and even if we had I¡¯ll be returning to Morn Taras since I have urgent business to attend to.¡± He hadn¡¯t but still it was better to give some sort of excuse to avoid prolonging a boring conversation. ¡°Monarch,¡± Feyras intervened annoyingly. Glen had finished but as mentioned above he didn¡¯t expect to immediately get jumped on with more questions after making his intentions clear. ¡°We need to address the matter of the wyvern.¡± Eh. Right. Glen pursed his mouth and made a sound when his lips parted. After a moment of silence he laced both hands behind his back. He had nothing. ¡°Continue,¡± Glen finally rustled to figure out where the priest was going with this. ¡°I talked with Laedan and he¡¯s of the same opinion,¡± Feyras explained but despite the priest¡¯s effort Glen was now even less certain on what the old Zilan was talking about. ¡°You mean the saddle?¡± He chanced. Feyras furrowed his thick brows. ¡°The saddle,¡± he repeated unsure and stared at Voldomir. ¡°Don¡¯t look at me,¡± Voldomir retorted and pointed at the line Feyras had carved on the ground. ¡°You want this thing running, you put in the effort.¡± Glen puffed out and stared at his boots. ¡°Feyras I¡¯ll give you another chance. I don¡¯t want to but I¡¯m being respectful.¡± ¡°We need to hatch the egg Hardir,¡± Feyras said with fervor. Glen nodded and then used an index finger to scratch at the tip of his nose. ¡°What egg?¡± He finally asked. ¡°The princess wyvern,¡± Feyras explained and stepped forward, zealous eyes gawking in Glen¡¯s face knowingly. The Monarch extended his right arm out and used it to shove the priest back ending the invasion to his personal space. ¡°Hatch the egg,¡± Glen murmured keeping his voice low. ¡°You know how it¡¯s done,¡± Feyras said eagerly. ¡°You¡¯re Hardir O¡¯ Fardor.¡± ¡°Can Laedan do it?¡± Glen asked not liking where the conversation was going. People start praising your skill at something, back-breaking tasks follow right after. On top of that he didn¡¯t really want to get another wyvern. Sure at some point it would be interesting for Inis-Mir to have one for herself but she was too young now for such an adventure. ¡°Of course but we¡¯ll need Angrein. Unless the Monarch wants to do it himself,¡± Feyras explained. Glen had no idea how a wyvern¡¯s egg hatched. He didn¡¯t even know how a chicken¡¯s egg worked. ¡°Let me think about it.¡± ¡°We need to make sure the egg is alive,¡± Feyras insisted. The egg was a heavy piece of gold. A golden ball basically that didn¡¯t look like an egg at all. ¡°You¡¯re pressuring me priest,¡± Glen warned him. ¡°Just back the fuck off and let me think here!¡± ¡°Yes Monarch,¡± Feyras said and took a step back. Voldomir laughing at his expense very pleased. Glen exhaled and saw that Soren was still standing there with the carcass on his shoulder. The Northman grinned. ¡°What¡¯s so funny big guy?¡± Glen asked him not privy on the jest or the reason Soren hadn¡¯t started skinning the Catapir. ¡°I¡¯ll need yer dagger to cut it up proper and bring it back,¡± Soren said. ¡°Using the axe ruins the meat.¡± Ah. Glen nodded, his query answered and gave Soren the dagger.
¡°Daddy look,¡± Inis-Mir giggled some time later. ¡°Titi is dancing!¡± It almost sounded like she said ¡®tities dancing¡¯. A grinning Glen grabbed her by the waist and lifted the princess off of the camel¡¯s back. ¡°That¡¯s enough dancing miss naughty,¡± he told her and Inis-Mir wrapped those small arms around Glen¡¯s neck. The Monarch gave the top of her fiercely red head a kiss and carried the princess towards the horses. ¡°I want to ride her home,¡± Inis griped. ¡°You¡¯re sitting in front on me on Outlaw. How does that sound?¡± Glen replied adamantly and she pulled at his white hair to force him to look down in her face. ¡°Please,¡± his daughter pleaded with a cute pout. Why you little¡­ ¡°It¡¯s not working,¡± Glen laughed. ¡°I¡¯m immune Inis. It¡¯s all over.¡± ¡°No it¡¯s not,¡± Inis replied and assumed a pained expression next. ¡°Now that¡¯s embarrassingly fake,¡± a smiling Glen counselled and lifted her small body on Outlaw¡¯s saddle. The aging stallion snorting and the small thinly-dressed princess rather heavy for her age. Must be heavy-boned or some shit, Glen mused. At least it doesn¡¯t show considering everything else is on display. ¡°Iskay,¡± he grunted turning to the comely former slave woman. ¡°What manner of skirt is this? Is the palace unable to afford another meter of fabric?¡± ¡°She ruins long dresses caroused sultan,¡± Iskay teased forgetting herself and Kilynia, who was standing far away but not far enough, perked her bird-like head towards them. ¡°Apologies. She¡¯s too lively Monarch,¡± Iskay added with a deep curtsy. ¡°You are dismissed,¡± Inis said from atop Outlaw. ¡°Yes princess,¡± Iskay replied. ¡°Move so I can climb up,¡± Glen told his daughter and raised his maimed foot to plug it in the stirrup. He turned to look at the staring Kilynia with a sigh. ¡°What do you want?¡± Glen grunted. ¡°The princess should ride with the carriage Monarch,¡± the tall Zilan wearing the gigantic and covered in feathers hat droned. ¡°I ain¡¯t dropping her and you just allowed her to ride a fucking camel,¡± Glen hissed and Inis-Mir giggled at the coarse word. ¡°The Monarch brought the animal as a gift,¡± the Zilan reminded him. ¡°To watch from afar,¡± Glen snapped. He got up on the loyal horse and placed an arm around his daughter to secure her. ¡°Not dance with it.¡± ¡°She asked for it Monarch.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care. Just say no,¡± Glen retorted.
¡°I want to dance with Titi tomorrow,¡± Inis repeated two hours later on the return trip to Taras and Sir Kirk found it charming. ¡°What did I just say? Hmm?¡± Glen asked the top of her head. ¡°The camels are tall and tricky animals.¡± ¡°I ride a Ticu and I¡¯m fine,¡± Inis informed him and Glen started laughing loudly, Sir Kirk following the Monarch¡¯s lead to snigger as well. The princess half-turned around and glared at her father. ¡°Ask Jinx or Phina,¡± she insisted and the mirthful Glen shook his head at the effort his daughter had put in the performance. She was pretty convincing there for a moment. Glen felt a sense of pride. Takes a crook years to put forward such a good performance. A pouting Inis pinched his right cheek with two fingers to get his attention. Glen turned his head that way abruptly and made to bite her hand ¨Cjaws snapping close and all- so the princess yanked it back with a scared yelp that turned into a giggle. Titi is a better mount, that strange girl had said back at their camp. A twist, the dagger hissed. The fierce smile on Glen¡¯s face melted away and his eyes bored holes at the back of Inis¡¯ head. His chuckling daughter stopped as well, her perception and senses rivaling those of the Zilan and then swung her comely but flushed face around. ¡°Are you freaking serious?¡± Glen roared irate and the mirthful Sir Kirk sobered up immediately as well sensing that something was amiss. ¡°Where is that darn scribe?¡± The Monarch roared as Jinx was Allgods knew where by now. The last sighting of the willowy Gish at Eikenport months back. Hours later, Morn Taras Early evening. A fuming Glen marched inside the grand Hall, as despite the lightstones beaming from their posts next to each large black column the tall ceiling absorbed most of the light. The two dwarves talking with Troy near the conference table turning to watch him approach. ¡°The dwarf says one can climb the waterfall east from here¡ª¡± ¡°Not now Troy,¡± Glen snapped and glared at Fikumin. The dwarf returning his glare with a scowl of his own, all thick brows and bristling beard. ¡°Where is the sneaky scribe?¡± ¡°Monarch,¡± Vulreon¡¯s voice was heard from a dark corner, followed by the sound of papers and inkpots moving about. ¡°I¡¯m right here.¡± ¡°Not you,¡± Glen spat frustrated. ¡°Phina.¡± ¡°Phinariel¡¯s shift ended,¡± Fikumin rustled. ¡°I gave her use of my quarters in the castle since it¡¯s late.¡± ¡°Argh,¡± Glen griped and went to climb the stairs to reach the second floor but paused to look at Fikumin¡¯s bearded face. ¡°Did you know that Jinx brought a blasted Ticu here?¡± Fikumin blinked in shock but Theron Gravelbrow started roaring after a brief pause. He also managed to land a punch on a stunned Troy¡¯s shoulder that almost send the former gladiator to the floor. ¡°He¡¯s serious,¡± Fikumin informed his short in stature but plentiful in head and hairs friend. Not to mention the big nose. Theron¡¯s was as large as a potato stuck in the middle of his face. ¡°Listen up dwarf,¡± Troy said aggressively but Glen was already running up the stairs two at a time and missed the rest. A heavy kick and the door swung open, banging hard on the wall. Phina leaped from the bed with a panicked yelp and gripped the mosquito net covering its ceiling using hands and feet, naked fit bottom fully visible, toes and fingers cramping already in her best imitation of a cat. Berthas rolled nimbly from the bed to the floor a heavy-breathing and loud-creaking moment later. The next, most of the transparent net that was the bed¡¯s canopy got torn and a screaming Phinariel landed on the crumbled sheets with an oomph. ¡°Hands before cock,¡± Glen cautioned Berthas that made to approach him with his phallus dangling and the young but white-haired ¨Clike the Monarch- Zilan ¡®sorcerer¡¯ placed both hands before his genitals with a glance at Phina that stood on the sheets to look at the Monarch apprehensively. Glen decided not to also comment on the fast-maturing scribe¡¯s nudity as it didn¡¯t really bother him that much. Or at all. ¡°Lord Fikumin gave permission,¡± Phina blurted out quickly. ¡°To fuck Berthas on his bed?¡± Glen asked a little surprised the dwarf hadn¡¯t her figured out yet. ¡°To use his quarters.¡± Phinariel explained blushing and stooped to use a sheet to cover herself up. ¡°Assara is a Ticu,¡± Glen grunted hoarsely. ¡°Uhm,¡± Phina said wrapping the green sheet around her chest like a chiton. ¡°Hardir saw her at Valimae Lilt, yes?¡± What? ¡°No I didn¡¯t,¡± Glen snapped his anger returning. ¡°And I wouldn¡¯t have known even if I had seen her darn it! She¡¯s around my daughter!¡± ¡°Jinx is very fond of her?¡± Eh? ¡°What are these lame arse excuses¡­?¡± ¡°Monarch if I may,¡± Berthas intervened and Glen cast a side glance his way. ¡°Is it relevant?¡± Glen asked through his teeth. ¡°Phinariel is a pure soul,¡± the ¡®young¡¯ sorcerer started, Lord Suraer¡¯s grandson no to mention for all intents and purposes Ebenezer-fuckin¡¯-Framtond¡¯s kid, but Glen stopped him tipping his wild head back and letting out a roaring chuckle. Then he turned serious again. ¡°She¡¯s not. Actually Phina is very naughty and tends to keep secrets from me,¡± Glen continued and turned to glare at the female Zilan that had climbed down the bed in the meantime. Phinariel¡¯s long ears got plastered on the sides of her messy head feeling Glen¡¯s stare on her. ¡°Jinx asked us to leave the explaining to her Hardir.¡± Phina murmured. ¡°Whisper Jinx is away for months now. Might be almost a blasted year,¡± Glen grunted. ¡°She talked to you first though? Left hints and the Monarch was sympathetic?¡± Phina insisted. ¡°Whisper told ye that?¡± Glen asked with a grimace and she nodded. ¡°Where is Assara now? We lost her on the return trip.¡± ¡°She¡¯ll naturally conceal herself when we are not looking,¡± Phina explained as if this was something non-alarming. ¡°Sometimes as a game, others out of caution. They shapeshift.¡± ¡°They what now?¡± ¡°It¡¯s very interesting to witness.¡± ¡°Academically?¡± Glen asked mockingly. ¡°Who would know where she is?¡± Phinariel sighed out cutely and then raised her large moist eyes to look in Glen¡¯s scowling face. ¡°Apologies for the attempt,¡± the female blurted out quickly seeing her charms hadn¡¯t worked. ¡°The princess will know. She knows everything and all work for her.¡± Ah, for crying out loud, Glen thought not believing a word and marched out of Fikumin¡¯s quarters in Morn Taras. Just so he could test Phina¡¯s theory, the Monarch opted to visit his daughter¡¯s opulent quarters next.
Inis-Mir was whispering to her gold egg, laying on a velvet red divan when he entered. The color almost matching that of her now unbraided long hair. Everything inside the bedroom had variations of red and gold. ¡°She¡¯s not here father,¡± the Princess said in her authoritative voice not looking his way. ¡°Daughter,¡± Glen rustled and approached but she snaked away. She rushed to her bed and tried to move across it but he followed after her and grabbed a small ankle before she could escape. Glen dragged her back, the little princess screaming and giggling at the same time. Inis-Mir turned around and pushed Glen away with a foot to the face. ¡°God¡¯s darnit,¡± he cursed. ¡°This is a serious matter.¡± ¡°Assara is young and a friend,¡± his daughter explained and Glen hated this grown-up part of her character. It was unnatural. ¡°Not a danger to us, but an ally for she¡¯s Nerisea¡¯s daughter.¡± ¡°Who the allhells is she?¡± Glen grunted slapping the small foot away from his face. ¡°It means ¡®from the sea¡¯, the old word is Nerissa.¡± Inis-Mir explained and jumped from the bed landing with grace on the thick carpet. ¡°The south seas Ticu Matriarch.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t possibly know that,¡± Glen protested. ¡°I do father for I asked and she told me. Do you want to know why?¡± Inis-Mir said and raised her arms for him to pick her up. Glen stooped to gather her and smelled Sen¡¯s oils on the little girl. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve dragon¡¯s blood,¡± Inis-Mir whispered conspiratorially in his face, opaque irises filled with red and orange dots that sparkled like gold. More red than gold. Rubicund. ¡°All is beneath me.¡± ¡°Who told you that?¡± Glen asked furrowing his brows and the princess pointed at her gold egg that had rolled up next to the pillows at the head of the large divan. ¡°Qodras,¡± Inis-Mir replied and smiled, a tooth missing in her mouth ruining it some but Glen loved that childish smile. The meaning in her words though ominous. ¡°The egg talks?¡± He asked and walked back to the bed to sit at the edge with the girl in his arms. ¡°Only in the dreams,¡± Inis-Mir murmured. ¡°But he can listen. He wants out. The fires lit.¡± Glen licked his dry lips and eyed the gold ball on top of the red divan four meters away, noticed the patterns carved on the gleaming surface and the triangular scales that had formed there he didn¡¯t remember before the summer. ¡°The wyvern needs more heat,¡± his daughter explained. ¡°You need to free Angrein daddy.¡± The motherfucking egg is alive, Glen thought a wave of unease flooding his senses. He stared in his daughter¡¯s face and Inis-Mir smiled and reached with her hands to touch Glen¡¯s face. Gold bracelets jingling, those soft fingers tracing the details. ¡°It¡¯s too dangerous,¡± Glen rustled. ¡°People fear you and Uvrycres. They will for as long as you¡¯re around daddy. You are my power,¡± Inis-Mir explained soothingly. ¡°But Qodras shall ensure that in this realm and until the end of time everyone is my servant.¡± ¡°Is this what you want?¡± Glen asked her. ¡°A wyvern stands above all,¡± Inis-Mir had replied nonchalantly. ¡°It¡¯s in our blood.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have to take the egg with me,¡± a solemn Glen said with a slight purse of his mouth and she nodded with a childish grin. 4th of Neter 3400 IC Morn Taras throne room ¡°Hardir O¡¯ Fardor,¡± Laedan rustled mockingly, the Denmaster limping his way, the deformed side of his face sagging and giving Laedan a crooked smirk. ¡°I see you¡¯ve spared no expenses decorating.¡± Glen was standing in front of a relief Eilven had painted on the polished black granite wall. The scene depicting Hardir O¡¯ Fardor fighting the Hydra with Uvrycres releasing a stream of fire that had boiled the lake¡¯s waters. The striking colors and details breathtaking. ¡°Can a wyvern be controlled?¡± Glen asked disregarding the old Zilan¡¯s taunt. Laedan had remained low-key antagonistic since they had met. The Denmaster had tried to kill and then eat Glen on that occasion. ¡°You would have known that had you not been a crook,¡± Laedan deadpanned. ¡°This crook can have you killed,¡± Glen reminded him coldly. ¡°The moment you stop being useful.¡± ¡°I shall strive to be a good servant.¡± Laedan replied with a curtsy. ¡°Hardir was more thick-skinned as I recall.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind your banter,¡± Glen said and pursed his mouth. ¡°In private.¡± He walked towards the hunched Denmaster and stopped in front of him. ¡°The egg is alive.¡± Glen said simply. Laedan nodded a little apprehensively. ¡°Feyras will be pleased.¡± ¡°Have you hatched one like it afore?¡± Glen asked not enthused at the experienced official¡¯s reaction. ¡°I have. Turlas, the Gold. Ninthalor¡¯s wyvern.¡± ¡°You think the one inside the egg is like him?¡± Glen asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Each wyvern is different. The gold ones are very vain. Turlas had Ninthalor made a saddle out of Mithril for him. Lord Suraer thought it outrageous given the scarcity of the material and the Monarch sent Lord Sulynor to order a set of armor for the Queen instead. Lord Sulynor bribed the craftsman and forced his way into the mine, left with a wagon of precious ingots.¡± ¡°Turlas got his fancy saddle,¡± Glen said. ¡°Lord Suraer never visited the palace again nor trusted the throne blindly,¡± Laedan replied. ¡°But you found a way around that already.¡± ¡°I just took his grandson with me and washed the shame off of his daughter¡¯s back.¡± ¡°Where I was going Hardir. You also have him living in the palace.¡± Glen didn¡¯t but Fikumin had a soft spot for Phina and she had brought her young lover along. ¡°Where is the saddle now?¡± ¡°Gone, I suppose,¡± Laedan replied and wiped the sagging part of his mouth. ¡°I¡¯ll need one made,¡± Glen said. They had talked about that matter a couple of times already. ¡°Out of Mithril?¡± ¡°Would Lord Suraer agree to that?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what he has available but it¡¯ll take more than a free bed for Berthas for that.¡± ¡°How about something cheaper but sturdy?¡± Glen countered. ¡°Surely someone remembers how to fashion the bloody things! It¡¯s very risky riding without one.¡± ¡°Have you ever fallen from the wyvern?¡± ¡°Many times,¡± Glen retorted. Laedan whistled seemingly impressed. ¡°Are ye bones made out of steel Hardir?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a matter of skill Laedan,¡± Glen grunted. ¡°You know I have plenty of that.¡± A touch of luck also. ¡°Honoring that impressive skill,¡± Laedan started with a crooked smirk. ¡°You¡¯ll have your saddle Hardir.¡± ¡°How soon?¡± ¡°Tomorrow. I have a couple inside the Den. Old but sturdy,¡± Laedan deadpanned. ¡°They¡¯ll do just fine.¡± ¡°You fucking lying ruffian!¡± Glen snapped angrily spittle flying out of his mouth. ¡°Didn¡¯t I ask you months back and you denied it?¡± ¡°You asked me to make you a new saddle and I told you I couldn¡¯t.¡± Glen puffed out, then pinched the bridge of his nose with two fingers to avoid an aneurysm. ¡°Can the¡­ procedure fail?¡± He asked looking at the wall relief changing the subject. ¡°Hardir wants to kill the wyvern?¡± Yes. ¡°Did I say that?¡± ¡°Angrein can make it happen. You have the blacksmith locked up for over a year now Hardir.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what I asked.¡± Laedan stood back and shook his head. ¡°Does the princess know?¡± ¡°The princess is not running the kingdom Laedan,¡± Glen warned him. ¡°The princess is the Monarch¡¯s daughter. She¡¯ll rule in Wetull unless she¡¯s challenged and you don¡¯t want that. Most of the sycophants that follow you don¡¯t want it also but they know they¡¯ll be around for long after you are dead Hardir.¡± ¡°What about Uvrycres?¡± ¡°Not all wyverns will bond again after they lose their Aniculo Rokae. You want to risk it?¡± He didn¡¯t want to risk a crazy flying beast living with his daughter. What if he turned out like Gimoss? He shivered at the thought of that freak. Plus she already has that fucking Ticu. Some would say Raro the friendly Nimra lion and Nefertiti were pretty dangerous companions as well for a small girl. Glen clenched his jaw tightly, teeth grinding and lips turning white in a grimace of wrath. ¡°I don¡¯t want nothing bad happening to my daughter Laedan.¡± ¡°I¡¯m on your side Hardir. Just tell me what you decide and it shall be done,¡± the Denmaster replied all serious now and bowed his dilapidated head.
468. The Gold Egg (2/2)
Arguen Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Lord of Morn Taras Monarch of Wetull King beyond the Pale Mountains Aniculo Rokae The Gold Egg Part II -Find it Hesam-
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Third Era Imperial Wetull Royal Court positions King Arguen Garth Aniculo Princess Inis-Mir Goras Court (Not everyone was always present or staying in Morn Taras. Garth¡¯s court employed large numbers of ¡®people¡¯ and it functioned in a semi-autonomous manner following standard Imperial protocols and practices unless Garth got involved personally with a project.) Fikumin Flintfoot (Monarch¡¯s Shield, Governor of Goras, priest of Luthos) Lord Onas (Master of War, King¡¯s diplomat, Ani Ta-Ne) Lord Suraer (Master of Horse, Keeper of Royal Stables, Governor of Lo-Minas) Lord Anfalon (Hoplite Leader ¨CSilver, First of the Hallowed, Lord of the Phalanx, Dia Castle) Lady Olonelis (Keeper of Nesande¡¯s Garden, Abarat) Lord Paeris (Unknown position, Goras) Lord Elwuin (Royal Architect, Archaeologist, Baltoris Port) Roran (Hoplite Leader -Bronze, 1st Othrim, 2nd of the Phalanx, Ani Ta-Ne) Priest Voldomir (High Priest of Nesande, Goras) Priest Feyras (High Priest of Eodrass, Goras) Priestess Soletha (Court¡¯s Healer, Moon¡¯s Daughter cult disciple, Mayor of Synia Goras) Voron (Lord of Public Works, Goras) Folen (Master of Silence, former bard? Former adventurer? Brothel owner? Goras) Rybel (Master of Ships, Goras) Vaelenn (King¡¯s Judicar, Governor of Abarat) Laedan (Denmaster, Master of Beasts, Goras) Viceroy Metu (King¡¯s diplomat, former Treasurer, Governor of Ani Ta-Ne) Kamat Fin (Master of Birds, Morn Taras) Rama (managing the stables¡¯ horses and pets, like camels, ostriches and the Nimra lion Raro) Rimeros (Advisor, Morn Taras Castellan) Kilynia (Royal Chamberlain, Morn Taras) Sir Delmuth (Royal Rokae Leader, Morn Taras) Sir Maderas (Royal Rokae, Lo Minas/Lord Suraer¡¯s Adjutant) Sir Qildor (Royal Rokae, Morn Taras) Sir Nyvorlas (Royal Rokae, Morn Taras) Sir Nuvian (Royal Rokae, Morn Taras) Sir Alan Kirk (Royal Rokae, King¡¯s Adjutant) Hagen (King¡¯s bodyguard) Samak & Hesam (King¡¯s bodyguards, slavers) Luvon, (Bank of Goras) Flardryn (Imperial Marines Leader, Captain of Galleons, Ani Ta-Ne) Angrein O¡¯ Mecatan (Imperial Blacksmith, Gimoss cult disciple, imprisoned) Berthas of Aelinole (Court¡¯s Sorcerer? Morn Taras) Iskay of Morn Taras (Royal Courtier, Morn Taras) Eilven (Royal Artist, Sculptor, Painter, Morn Taras) Lefyr (Marines Leader, Commander of Rain Minas) Maeriel (Imperial Rangers Leader, Princess¡¯ Guardian) Whisper Jinx (Unknown position) Soren (Unknown position) Assara of Nerisea- ¡®Nerissa¡¯ (Unknown position, a Ticu from Mussel) Vulreon (King¡¯s Scribe, Morn Taras) Phinariel (Royal Scribe, Morn Taras) Vycaris & Oelinael (Royal Tailors, Taras) Lon-Iv Sopat (Merchants Guild, Sinya Goras) Kalac, the Brave (Lord of Snakeville, unknown whereabouts) Guests Troy (Arena Champion, Former Chiliad Leader, Gladiator) Ziba-Ra (Former slave, late Sir Emerson¡¯s wife) Emerson, the young Asper (Former Chiliad Leader, Gladiator, Adventurer) Beskar (Former Chiliad Hoplite, Gladiator, Adventurer) Kelly (Former slave, Adventurer) Asmudius (Retired Slaver, Author) Doris Alden Laius Cinna Theron Gravelbrow (a northern dwarf) (Several people visiting from Eplas and Jelin were staying at Taras) Council of Twenty (Known Zilan Elderbloods) Lord Onas, ¡®Old Eye¡¯. (Ninthalor¡¯s Era) Lady Olonelis, the Astute (Lady Darunia) Lord Anfalon, the Great Lord Paeris, the Fair (Ninthalor¡¯s Era) Lord Elwuin, the ¡®Scholastic¡¯ Lady Aenymriel (Elas¡¯ line) Lord Suraer, the ¡®Mithren¡¯ (Shaelor¡¯s line, Lady Aelinole) Princess Lithoniela (Baltoris¡¯ Era, unknown whereabouts) Aelrindel (Night Moon¡¯s Daughter, Sibyl? of the Coven, unknown fate) Galadriel (the ¡®Ice Lady¡¯, 2nd Sibyl of the Coven, unknown fate) Kallister, Raza Sapthan, the Traveler (unknown fate) King¡¯s Council (Known members) Fikumin Flintfoot Lord Onas (absent) Lord Anfalon (absent) Folen Aenymriel (presumed) Kamat Fin (presumed) Voldomir (occasionally) Feyras (disputed, occasionally) Voron Rybel Viceroy Metu (disputed, absent) Vulreon (King¡¯s Scribe) Maeriel Whisper Jinx (self-proclaimed)
- Glen paused shoving the fried potatoes in his mouth and gulped down slowly, the whole procedure painful due to the crispiness of the narrow cut chips. He reached for a goblet of Goras wine called Aranel to honor the princess and washed his mouth afore swallowing. ¡°Repeat what you just said slowly,¡± he told Voron that had stopped to hear the Monarch¡¯s reaction. The Council meeting moved to the table where Glen had his breakfast since he couldn¡¯t bother walking to the central hall. He¡¯d a bad night and an early morning startle since Inis-Mir had a bit of a fever that had gone away thankfully. Soletha was convinced it was nothing but Glen knew not to fully trust any healer by now. Their work was similar to the fools running illegal races and offered you odds to wage on. You could win sure, but the chances varied depending on luck and Luthos¡¯ whims. ¡°Elwuin wants a shaded boulevard build at least to Baltoris Port to combat the heat of the summer,¡± Voron repeated and Glen sucked at his upper lip to better think. But hearing it again the proposal still sounded preposterous. ¡°When you say shaded¡­¡± he started, index finger tapping edgily at the surface of the table. ¡°Roofed. Pillars supporting it, planted on both sides of the road about three meters high or four.¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t want the wagon drivers to bump their heads on the roof right?¡± Glen commented in a mocking manner. ¡°That¡¯s the idea Hardir.¡± ¡°And you countered with?¡± Glen asked reasonably with a glance at the scowling Fikumin. ¡°Forgo the roof and just tile the road with granite.¡± ¡°Why not marble?¡± Glen queried sarcastically still tapping the finger on the table. ¡°We need to mine more, but granite we can repurpose from the ruins,¡± Voron explained oblivious to his tone. ¡°Isn¡¯t it more difficult to work with?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll just hire more crews.¡± ¡°For free?¡± Glen smacked his lips audibly. ¡°It¡¯s a big project great Monarch,¡± Voron replied hauntingly. ¡°Something everyone will see upon traveling to the capital.¡± ¡°You think someone traveling for months on laden wagons and watching mules¡¯ arses from the driver¡¯s seat would find solace at the quality of the pavement?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the idea,¡± Voron said pleased they had come to an agreement. ¡°Clearly we¡¯ll go another way,¡± Glen started puffing out since they hadn¡¯t. Obviously. ¡°I told Elwuin this couldn¡¯t be done,¡± Voron agreed very pleased but still wide of the mark. ¡°Your proposal is also rejected,¡± Glen informed him and Voron blinked in utter shock. ¡°Sire¡­¡± The Master of Public Works croaked and then he nodded afore attempting to haggle. ¡°Of course we could further talk of this¡ª¡±You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. A sober Glen stopped him raising his hand. ¡°My decision is final. You¡¯ll double the width of the road, better yet make a line to be used by those coming to Goras and another for those making the return trip. Use gravel or cobblestone for it. You mentioned ruins and debris. That sounds cheap so go ahead.¡± ¡°An Imperial road out of gravel?¡± Voron protested in disgust. ¡°Is there any of the old road left at all?¡± Glen asked patiently. ¡°Some parts.¡± ¡°Leave them. The rest you¡¯ll build how I just told you. Matter of fact, you¡¯ll head there to rein Elwuin in and stop him from delaying the project any further. What is he doing now exactly?¡± ¡°Excavations?¡± ¡°For material?¡± ¡°Artifacts, unearthing precious works.¡± ¡°Looting? Yeah, he better leave this to professionals. Stop him.¡± Glen decided with a frown. ¡°I have important works planned here,¡± a peeved Voron argued and Glen snapped his fingers to quiet him down. ¡°As soon as you finish this project, you can return to work in the capital again,¡± he told him. ¡°Great Monarch, I must protest here formally,¡± Voron insisted and Glen shrugged his shoulders and reached for another fried potato. ¡°Go ahead. I don¡¯t give a shit.¡± He turned to Fikumin whilst munching audibly. ¡°Next topic? I¡¯m pressed for time today Fikumin.¡± ¡°You are always pressed for time my Lord,¡± the dwarf grunted. ¡°It¡¯s called being busy friend,¡± Glen retorted with a toothy grin. ¡°But rest assured I¡¯ll look to find some time for you soon. Hurry up though. Today is not that day.¡± ¡°I have a petition here to free Angrein,¡± Fikumin grunted working at his long beard with his fingers. ¡°Mmm. By whom?¡± ¡°Soletha.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll get him out.¡± ¡°What changed your mind?¡± Fikumin asked. ¡°Peer pressure.¡± ¡°Seriously?¡± Fikumin asked not believing him. ¡°Anyways, Luvon of Beimaris wants to move a smelter out of Taras due to complaints for excess pollution from the residents. There were two attempts to beat him up last week alone. I suggested Hardir¡¯s Port. Nice property near the sea. He can have the whole block at his disposal there.¡± ¡°What for?¡± ¡°The smelter. Offices, the main vault,¡± Fikumin explained. ¡°I can¡¯t guard a building all day and night. They can take over security in a new space.¡± ¡°What does he do¡­?¡± Glen asked a little distracted with Kilynia talking to Iskay that had just entered the room adjoined to the main Hall. ¡°He¡¯s the director of the Bank my Lord,¡± Fikumin reminded him and seeing Glen¡¯s blank stare he added with a deep sigh. ¡°The Bank of Goras.¡± Ah. Damn this happened pretty fast. Then again I was away for a while last year. ¡°Right. Why did we agree to put him in charge in the first place?¡± Those excruciating parts of the meetings Glen usually dosed off due to extreme boredom. ¡°Worked for the Imperial Bank. A high level clerk turned board member. I¡¯ve written and sent you a multi-page report on the matter.¡± Which explained why Glen didn¡¯t recollect all the details. ¡°Any past experience?¡± He asked clearing his throat. ¡°Extensive. Fourteen centuries. Luvon served in the Signatures Board for a while. Vaelenn suggested we use him. He¡¯s a person of few words.¡± The Bank had ten board members ruling it. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with gold Dinars?¡± Glen asked going back to their previous subject. ¡°The Bank wants its own coin so it can control the export prices,¡± Fikumin said. ¡°So we need to repurpose the gold and put our coins in circulation again.¡± ¡°Our own coin,¡± Glen murmured remembering the square coins he¡¯d ¡®found¡¯ in Shroudcoast. ¡°The Kingdom¡¯s,¡± Fikumin grunted inflexibly and Glen nodded not bothered with the minutiae. ¡°I ain¡¯t giving him access to the royal vault,¡± he told the dwarf. ¡°My Lord, Soletha brings in boxes of gold every week from Sinya Goras. The Sopat are paying premium for timber. Three thousand coins per load. Two loads per month. We have guards sleeping outside the barracks to house the gold and no one knows how much of it goes missing each night. Everyone just takes what they need and spends it in town. We need Luvon to finish his building quickly else we¡¯ll have very rich citizens and tavern owners soon but a poor Goras.¡± ¡°People are stealing from the profits?¡± Glen asked ogling his eyes. ¡°That¡¯s outrageous!¡± ¡°Lately they¡¯ve been reports of the Thieves Guild moving in milord.¡± ¡°Who in all that¡¯s holy invited them?¡± Glen snapped angrily. ¡°I believe you did Garth,¡± Fikumin replied pursing his mouth. ¡°Nigel Grim is a thief by profession. You called him a friend?¡± He had. Well. Glen grimaced and then puffed his cheeks out troubled. All his life he¡¯d strived to join the Thieves Guild and always thought fondly of it. This was a little confusing. Glen felt conflicted. ¡°You think they might have pocketed my gold?¡± ¡°Again Garth,¡± Fikumin replied with a small pause. ¡°The gold belongs to the kingdom¡¯s coffers and I don¡¯t know who steals from the warehouses or the barracks. My guess is everyone with arms.¡± Good grief! ¡°Didn¡¯t I order Rybel to use all available funds to make his ships? We¡¯re having a surplus of coin?¡± ¡°Rybel finished the naval yard in Hardir¡¯s Port last month. It takes time and expertise to build ships Garth,¡± Fikumin said. ¡°You need to hire more skilled people and not employ slave crews.¡± ¡°Would Rybel work with humans?¡± ¡°Rybel has two assistants,¡± Fikumin explained. ¡°If you opt to only use Zilan for this then we¡¯ll have a fleet made in about twenty years. Might as well move the bank to Lord¡¯s Burrow or Scaldingport then. You pay half the profit for each load just to rent cargo space from pirates and the Issirs at this point. They know we can¡¯t move our products and charge us premium.¡± What manner of excessive crookedness is this? He wondered paling at the dishonesty. Fucking criminals! ¡°Can we hire people from Scaldingport?¡± ¡°They are busy now and the war absorbed the best naval engineers already. Same with the Peninsula. The Khan enticed all the skilled manpower to Rida,¡± Fikumin grimaced and stared at his papers for a moment. ¡°What are you going to do with Dia Castle? It¡¯s a drain to our resources.¡± ¡°Anfalon wants the land approaches to Pale Mountains controlled.¡± ¡°The Khan might ask for them back.¡± ¡°I have an agreement with Prince Atpa,¡± Glen reminded him. ¡°I doubt the Khan¡¯s too keen on challenging us so far from his base. He¡¯s also busy with bigger targets.¡± ¡°Atpa might not be the next Khan,¡± Fikumin said. ¡°Who says that?¡± Glen asked and got up to stretch out. ¡°Rumors from the Peninsula,¡± Fikumin murmured. ¡°And Rida.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way Atpa would relinquish the throne without a fight,¡± Glen assured him and the dwarf nodded. ¡°Tell Captain Horton I want Angrein released and find me a solution on the finances Fikumin. Metu was doing a good job keeping us appraised. I don¡¯t want the Bank controlling the treasury. Nor a Zilan.¡± ¡°You want me to find a Folk to do the job? Theron isn¡¯t skilled with numbers, but he can dig a mean mine.¡± Fikumin grunted thinking out loud. ¡°I¡¯ll have to travel to Jelin.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t,¡± Glen retorted a little anxious. ¡°I need you here my good friend. This doesn¡¯t work without you Fiku. It just doesn¡¯t. Not yet anyway.¡± The dwarf furrowed his thick brows. ¡°The Folk want their place in the realm as well Glenavon.¡± He rustled using his real name. Fikumin rarely did it. ¡°The Northern dwarves aligned with the warlord,¡± Glen said. ¡°It makes you worry this could lead to a conflict.¡± ¡°If Blunthorn dies.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know any of these people Fikumin,¡± Glen argued. ¡°What do you fear?¡± ¡°The next Jarl of the Northmen might not be a friend of the Folk or this warlord. He rules in Regia now by the way.¡± Glen nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve heard of Regia. Sort of know it. No wait, I don¡¯t really. Emerson was from Lesia, so that¡¯s close though perhaps. Right?¡± ¡°The Folk should rule and not be ruled by treaties and the whims of humans,¡± Fikumin rustled. ¡°You are upset.¡± ¡°These are my people.¡± ¡°And I¡¯m your friend,¡± Glen countered. ¡°If I can help I will. But if your people are divided, who do we side with?¡± ¡°Theron believes the new King¡¯s reign will bring prosperity,¡± Fikumin said. ¡°Uhm. What do you think?¡± Glen probed him. ¡°Humans are not to be trusted. Their reigns don¡¯t last usually.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a pessimist Fiku. I¡¯m also human yes?¡± Glen reminded him. ¡°You have a wyvern Glenavon.¡± The dwarf countered simply and Glen nodded with a frown. ¡°I do,¡± he rustled. ¡°I sure do.¡± - Two hours later Morn Taras Castle Throne room -Garth¡¯s Hall of effigies- Glen cut through the air with his sword, hearing its whistle and the jackal¡¯s cackle filling the elongated hall. The large black granite columns leaving dark spaces between them and the polished black tiles glowing where the light touched them. The gold details and glossy marble finishing of the ceiling sparkling and coming alive. It showed Glen standing before the black throne, on top of the stone platform that now appeared a bit empty since the silver and gold thrones were missing. Glen had them removed after Sen had passed. The sword slashed at the air once more angrily and Glen lowered it, the point of the blade touching the tiles. His eyes turned on the approaching fit figure of Angrein. The Blacksmith had lost some of his bulk but a lot of the muscles were still there especially at the arms. ¡°It¡¯s a good sword,¡± Glen said evenly as Angrein paused to glance at the Rokae escorting him. ¡°But it¡¯s not my sword.¡± ¡°It never was Hardir,¡± Angrein said in his rasping voice. ¡°I could keep it,¡± Glen argued. ¡°You could,¡± Angrein agreed. ¡°The Phalanx¡¯s camp was hardly a prison,¡± Glen commented. ¡°Only a former slave can understand the difference,¡± Angrein replied soberly. ¡°Between freedom and incarceration.¡± ¡°I blame you for what Sen did,¡± Glen said clenching his jaw. ¡°But most don¡¯t.¡± ¡°My only thought was to help Lady Sovereign,¡± Angrein replied. ¡°I¡¯m no sorcerer.¡± ¡°Could it have worked?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know Hardir,¡± Angrein replied. ¡°I wanted her to have the option. I didn¡¯t expect she¡¯ll give it to the princess.¡± Glen pursed his mouth and returned to the throne. He sat down, left leg resting on the armrest and the sword touching the right leg over the pants. ¡°She could see further than you,¡± he finally said. ¡°Further than I can. It¡¯s a gift what she had. Not born out of magic but skill and intelligence.¡± ¡°I¡¯m relieved the princess survived Hardir.¡± ¡°Risking her is something I couldn¡¯t do,¡± a sober Glen continued tapping the blade on his leg at an even tempo. ¡°But in Sen¡¯s wondrous strategic mind it was worth the risk. How does a person become so harsh Angrein?¡± Why would a non-wagering soul opt to wager everything that day? ¡°You don¡¯t believe that Hardir.¡± ¡°You think my wife had turned mad in her final moments?¡± Glen asked and he secretly feared that. ¡°If you place a wyvern¡¯s egg inside clean water for a few days,¡± Angrein said as if reciting from a book. ¡°The water soothes the skin and repairs its wrinkles. But leave it for a while longer and it turns into poison.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not getting your meaning,¡± Glen grunted. ¡°Moderation. There¡¯s an equilibrium in the dosage. A quantity that works usually for adults,¡± Angrein continued. ¡°That it worked for the princess is a miracle surely or the scales were already tipped one way violently and your wife¡¯s action balanced them. Restored something that was broken when it shouldn¡¯t have. Could she have known that in her heart? We¡¯ll never know. Still the dosage was very big for the princess.¡± ¡°I¡¯m struggling to make sense of your words.¡± Glen informed him. ¡°Speak clearly.¡± ¡°I was good with metal and now I¡¯m better but not by a lot,¡± Angrein replied and got a beautiful mask from a satchel he had over his shoulder. He smiled seeing Glen tense up. ¡°They searched it. I carry no weapons.¡± Angrein could hurt you with his hands of course, Glen thought and stared at the mask. It was a Rokae face-cover but made out of polished black metal with openings at the eyes. The mouth forming a slight smirk. Neither serious nor fully smiling. The face familiar and very skillfully carved. Lifelike but for its color and material. ¡°What is this?¡± Glen asked narrowing his eyes. ¡°This is Hardir O¡¯ Fardor. How people see him,¡± Angrein replied turning the mask this way and that in his hands. ¡°A Zilan stray of thirty years working at your stables made it. I had him work part-time at the workshop and when I got taken away, Zaos continued working there. Experimenting without the burden of a tutor looking over his shoulder. He¡¯s not good enough yet with a blade but his crafting skill on armour is excellent.¡± ¡°Better than yours?¡± Glen asked intrigued. ¡°In some parts yes,¡± Angrein replied. ¡°Not a drop of wyvern¡¯s blood in him. Just skill and a desire to work the metal ingots.¡± ¡°The princess is different,¡± Glen grunted and got up from the throne. He walked down the raised platform¡¯s stairs and approached the blacksmith. Angrein offered him the metal mask and he took it with his left hand. ¡°The princess is growing up.¡± ¡°It happens too fast,¡± Glen murmured and turned the mask around to examine it more closely. ¡°Like a wyvern,¡± Angrein whispered and Glen stared at him intently. ¡°Do you¡­ has this happened to you?¡± Glen finally asked him worried. ¡°I was almost twenty at the time Hardir,¡± Angrein replied. ¡°But I have dreams sometimes.¡± ¡°What was the wyvern¡­ where did the blood come from?¡± Glen queried and Angrein stared at the sword the Monarch still had in his good hand. ¡°A red one,¡± the Imperial Blacksmith said. ¡°Very rare. It needs extreme temperatures to hatch.¡± ¡°Where did you get it?¡± ¡°From Curu Nulema herself. The Black Sorceress. Dudrina O¡¯ Tinyssos.¡± There¡¯s a mouthful of a fucking name! ¡°When was that?¡± Glen fired away aggressively. ¡°Before your time,¡± Angrein replied vaguely and there was a lot of time that one could cram into his statement. ¡°Was she any good?¡± Glen grunted and Angrein nodded. ¡°I know about Onyx Wyverns what about Red ones?¡± ¡°She claimed it possesses fiery resilience. A sense of self-acceptance and importance. Like all wyverns.¡± ¡°The potion?¡± ¡°The blood.¡± ¡°Angrein I¡¯ll need a bit more than that,¡± Glen hissed through his clenched teeth. ¡°Gold can describe opulent vanity and red could turn to lustful desire,¡± the blacksmith replied evenly but remaining ambiguous. ¡°Black is chaos. What is better? It¡¯s always difficult to put into words or help our understanding of things. For Gold is also majestic and red could be the passion for all things.¡± ¡°What about black?¡± Glen asked thinking of Uvrycres. ¡°Black is chaos,¡± Angrein droned in a devout tone and seeing the snarling grimace distorting Glen¡¯s face, the Imperial Blacksmith added respectfully with a slow bow of the head. ¡°With occasional bouts of wisdom.¡±
Long after Angrein had left him Glen stood in front of his late wife¡¯s large polished bronze mirror inside the sealed bedroom. He stared at himself, the once youthful face marred with small scars. A cut above the nose, crossing the bridge. A white line on his left cheek and a scar under his lower lip touching the cleft of the chin. Another running his forehead. The left ear still missing the earlobe where Zestari¡¯s blade had touched him. The medium length curly hair still rich and very thick but mostly white with some leftover grey now. Wrinkles forming near his eyes and the tanned skin hiding the dark circles from the lack of sleep for the most part. Glen looked much older than his twenty-four or twenty-five years but not by a lot. He raised the mask of Hardir O¡¯ Fardor, the metallic sculpted face a perfect version of the one underneath, when he placed the mask over it. The amber pools gleaming through the slits, not the eyes of a young man. Glen wasn¡¯t sure who the person he saw on the mirror was. ¡°Your Grace,¡± Hesam the Cofol slaver and caravan guard said with a slight knock at the door. He was standing respectfully outside the massive white sheet-covered boudoir. ¡°There¡¯s a man requesting an audience from the King beyond the Pale Mountains. He came from afar.¡± ¡°From where?¡± Glen asked and reached to pick up the Crown of Horns helm from Sen¡¯s dressing table, the headpiece now missing its face-cover for Glen intended to secure a new one in its place. ¡°Regia great Caliph,¡± Hesam replied and Glen turned to look at him a little surprised. ¡°He¡¯s seeking asylum sire for him and his friend.¡± ¡°Do they have names?¡± Glen asked sternly. ¡°Laius Cinna and a Doris Alden, your Grace.¡± The former Sopat guard replied. He thought of Fikumin¡¯s advice on looking to hire more people and expand their talent pool. ¡°I¡¯ll see them,¡± Glen decided and Hesam bowed his head deeply. ¡°Samak still has the egg guarded?¡± ¡°He gave it to Iskay great Caliph,¡± Hesam replied a little confused. ¡°Per your instructions.¡± A numb Glen licked his lips slowly. ¡°I gave no such instructions. Why would you even listen to her?¡± ¡°There¡¯s word¡­¡± Hesam gulped down nervously. He started sweating profusely. ¡°The princess told the courtiers the other day. We assumed¡­ it was true.¡± Inis what are you doing girl? ¡°It isn¡¯t,¡± Glen lied stiffly clenching his teeth. A worried Hesam stood back and stared at the corridor extending on both sides outside the door with a deep frown marring his tanned face. ¡°Mistress Iskay,¡± he finally said addressing probably the woman that had come out of Glen¡¯s bedroom at the end of the first floor¡¯s long corridor. ¡°Hesam,¡± Iskay replied pleasantly. ¡°Is our Monarch inside?¡± Glen sighed and stepped outside of the bedroom. He closed the door behind him carefully. ¡°Did you just get up?¡± He asked her brusquely and Iskay nodded with a smart curtsy. The many bracelets she had on jingling. ¡°Did you go downstairs at all since last night?¡± An uncertain Iskay bit her nicely painted lower lip trying to think of a proper answer. ¡°Yes or no?¡± Glen helped her. ¡°Don¡¯t venture into the specifics.¡± ¡°No, oh great Monarch,¡± Iskay replied throatily. ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± Hesam murmured crooking his mouth. ¡°Samak was certain he talked with her.¡± ¡°You guys have lost the egg,¡± Glen surmised remaining remarkably calm but it was all a fa?ade. ¡°Find it Hesam. Else I¡¯ll be very displeased and probably lose my shit.¡± ¡°Yes Monarch,¡± the rattled man bowed. ¡°Inform Samak and Sir Kirk. Lock the palace up. Alert the other Rokae and get Troy involved.¡± ¡°Troy sir?¡± ¡°Yes him.¡± Glen retorted less calm now. ¡°It¡¯s a big gold fucking egg Hesam. Find Assara and you¡¯ll get it back. Find it Hesam.¡± It was relatively obvious to him the shapeshifting Ticu must have been responsible for this malarkey. Glen was seventy-percent certain it was her but only because he was making a considerable effort not to gut-react to everything. Work all probable solutions inside yer mind first, Glen counseled himself. Then do what yer gut tells you. Yep. 469. A day in Goras (1/3) Pusta Silume (Imperial) ¨C Halt at this very moment Natye Varna (Imperial) ¨C You are safe
Laius Cinna A day in Goras Part I -The Duke of Aegium-
Laius Cinna always believed a man should just be gratified with whatever the realm gave him. Unless it¡¯s a bucket full of turds or eels. Now if it isn¡¯t and you got a good thing going then there¡¯s no point to go and dig for more. Laius was having a great time growing up in Aegium. His father was a friend of the previous Duke and he have gotten to know Doris pretty well. Laius had a thing for numbers and wasn¡¯t easily bamboozled by fool¡¯s gold. Now Doris wasn¡¯t as big of a fool in his later years or as big an asshole. Not like he¡¯d been when younger. The Duke just couldn¡¯t see the future and could stick to some ideas that were clearly doomed to fail from the start. Sure excuses could be made and some were noteworthy, what with Deimos getting killed and all, or Alistair croaking because he was too proud to bend the knee. Maggie reaching from the grave and snatching her son away out of pure spite. It seemed that way to Laius. The Duke was under duress since he loved that boy more than his late mother which was understandable since even Laius enjoyed Deimos¡¯ company. The late knight was fun and prideful, a great guy to be around. Doris wanted him married to the Scaldingport girl but Alistair had other ideas. Then Deimos got killed leading from the front which made Aegium proud but was a punch in the gut for his father. Alistair soon followed, since despite what the late king believed he wasn¡¯t that invulnerable. It left Lucius stranded in the North or dead and the kingdom''s throne vacant when someone was needed on it. Jeremy had gotten Deimos¡¯ future bride and alliance. It was a good alternative since Miranda had been like a mother to him. Jeremy would have gotten Lucius¡¯ future too as the pressured Doris thought it ¡®a fifty-fifty chance it could work.¡¯ No one sane takes that bet. Of course Lucius didn¡¯t die in the North, Miranda forgot to wash her innards or just keep her darn legs close for a while and Jeremy who got shoved at the forefront just couldn¡¯t get anyone else in line. The Legion did its own thing and Ursus with Brakis got busy trying to settle the old scores of the south coast. Laius had warned Doris of all that. ¡®Keep that stupid cunt on the throne. Get the kid away somewhere or pretend it¡¯s yours. No one gives a shit about you my lord. You¡¯re a duke but also a widower from Aegium. It happens all the time.¡¯ They just couldn¡¯t fight against Lucius. Alistair¡¯s firstborn was a known knight. Someone whom tales and songs were written about. The old king had made sure of that, promoting his heir with every chance he got. Defending him when things didn¡¯t go as planned. He lost to Ralph in the Princess Tourney but hey, he was injured and it was really a forfeit! It counted for everyone else though. More people had died that winter than they had in the whole war to bring Sovya to heel but hey, the young heir¡¯s plan had ended the war! Lucius had killed his pregnant wife? Sure, but the lass was a Northern whore so he was justified. Right? On and on it went. People always flocked to see Lucius compete, visiting or even just walking by instinctively and even in defeat excuses were made. Laius thought Ralph was perhaps a little better a knight that never dodged an opponent but no one cared. Nor it was that important as Ralph seemingly lacked in everything else. Charisma, intelligence, education, even character. A man builds a legend and it has truths weaved inside along the lies but none of it matters if he can back it up. Lucius had the better package from the start, nobody was going to convince people otherwise and rightfully so. Learning of his exploits from afar had only strengthened Lucius¡¯ case even if none of it was true. Laius had bet on Lucius winning it all in the end and he did. He was supposed to anyway. It was a wager any sane person would make. The realm had given the Duke a bucket of shit to play with. It had also put Laius in a precarious position. Thankfully Doris still had enough of a brain still functioning to understand that someone was going to get blamed for the whole debacle. It wasn¡¯t going to be Alistair since Lucius would never turn on his late father or sully his legacy and it wasn¡¯t going to be his younger brother since Lucius had always forgiven that little shit and well¡­ Jeremy was dead. That was a punch in the gut also. Laius Cinna could be content with life¡¯s offerings if the items on display were of passable quality. Waiting around for the eventual downfall wasn¡¯t an option. You have to move on. Doris didn¡¯t want that. At first he tried securing Janneke and the kids, take over as their guardian which was commendable and useful, but that little cunt had different ideas. Or Lord Ruud was just faster than them. Laius had suggested that they should perhaps try to avoid explaining the unexplainable or wait for Brakis to save the day. That fat piece of excrement isn¡¯t to be trusted. Laius wasn¡¯t even sure that chunk of lard even believed in the Five. He is probably as much of a believer as that weasel Baron Nattas. Talk about a walking latrine of a human. The fact that Nattas had gotten a title out of all this mess was an insult to the gods but also a strong indicator of what was to come. So Doris had been convinced and Laius had gotten them out giving the Duke a set of his old clothes. Now Laius being practical wanted them to head to Scaldingport, find a safe space around Janneke and the kids which would have been a good deal for Laius Cinna. He could work with the Old Crow. Find the middle ground. The Duke though had gotten out of his slumber whilst onboard the sloop Cecile and decided Lord Ruud wasn¡¯t to be trusted. It was true. Doris wasn¡¯t as safe in Scaldingport as Laius. So the hapless Duke decided to be bold and innovative, turning into his teenage self again. ¡®If we¡¯re doing this Laius, then we must carve out a new chapter. What¡¯s left for us in Jelin?¡¯ Plenty of things, as far as Laius was concerned being as he was younger than the Duke and still wishing for a good life without dangers. ¡®We¡¯ll do as our ancestors did and march forth into the unknown. Gods above! We shall grab life by the gonads and shape our future anew!¡¯ Laius had thought at first the Duke wanted to risk them living near Lord Anker and his stifling priest-loving Midlanor. Laius could stomach that perhaps. Even heading north overlooking the weather but then he remembered Lucius had already blocked the North for them. In addition to that and given Zofia¡¯s or her brutes¡¯ propensity to chop heads off, a trip there was summarily dismissed. That left the Khanate and Laius could begrudgingly take a bite at tasting something more exotic in flavor forgetting the risks involved but Doris considered himself a patriot. So the Khanate was dismissed as well and the Cecile turned to head for Eikenport. They disembarked there and then jumped on a pirate-looking brigandine named ¡®Fair Anne¡¯ to bring them to Sinya Goras. ¡®Sure there are flesh-eating Zilan there, but common Folk also frequent the premises along Cofols and humans,¡¯ the Duke explained his reasoning to the disbelieving Laius Cinna. Putting the matter of Cofols also being humans aside and that neither of them had any contact with any of the Folk, be it dwarves, the Gish or other species, Laius couldn¡¯t exactly see how stepping foot in Wetull was less risky than facing Lucius. He was skeptical but the Duke had assured him that everything was going to be resolved and their boldness rewarded. ¡®We are the good guys in this Laius. We¡¯ve done nothing wrong. We¡¯ll ask this foreign ruler for asylum and he¡¯ll give it for he wants legitimacy and the company of real nobles. You must see beyond your bigotry here my old friend. Then you¡¯ll realize all creatures are alike.¡¯ Laius was unsure whether this Hardir wanted legitimacy or cared but either way Laius was way less bigoted than the Duke. In fact Laius was open minded to a degree. He also wasn¡¯t delusional and his instincts were telling him they were taking a huge risk. Laius hated that. This was a wager no sane man would make and the Duke was going to do it again.
right click to open fully for better detail Wetull smelled differently. The northern winds (coming from the Great Desert) blocked by the Pale Mountains and the thick mist after Kraken¡¯s Tooth created a sparkling moisture on the deck as they approached the Talons. The land hidden in this mist silent as they entered Wyvern¡¯s Mouth leaving behind to their east the distant light of Sentinel¡¯s Tower. The port of Sinya Goras easy to miss as it was located next to the mouth of Narrow Gulf. A busy port. The larger merchant ships moored at its entrance, the smaller tied at the docks and a colorful crowd working them. ¡°Everyone be moving now gents,¡± Captain Nell urged them chewing on a mouthful of tobacco with enthusiasm, looking relieved they¡¯ve made it there in one piece. ¡®Not a sure thing,¡¯ he¡¯d told them in Eikenport and the Duke had laughed it off. ¡°We need to empty Fair Anne so we can fill her right up again ayup!¡± ¡°Give me the smaller bag Laius,¡± Doris said and Laius obeyed shouldering the larger one. They navigated the wooden ramp down and touched land with the rest of the passengers. Mostly Cofols but many Lorians and even Issirs like Captain Nell. The Captain saluting them from the quarterdeck. ¡°Luthos guide yer future endeavors mates. Until next time,¡± Nell said and spat a mouthful of tar to add a blackened grin to his parting words. But despite his efforts there was a finality to his tone. The pirate captain wasn¡¯t expecting to see them again. ¡°My lord,¡± Laius said and Doris turned to glare at him. The Duke stood thinner inside Laius¡¯ old outfit, his greying blond hair a bit longer now and the Alden face that of his younger self. ¡°Greetings,¡± a Cofol of considerable girth said afore the Duke could speak and barred their way. Painted eyes and lips on a sweaty powdered face. ¡°We¡¯ll take yer heavy bags friends! Donko, Pamal get busy lads.¡± ¡°That¡¯s quite alright,¡± Doris replied turning around. ¡°They are not heavy.¡± ¡°Name¡¯s Rumak,¡± the Cofol explained. ¡°I work for the Tall Ostrich. Cheap room with free rum! It rhymes ha-hah.¡± ¡°Well, gratitude mister Rumak, but we¡¯re not staying,¡± Doris started. ¡°We¡¯re heading to the palace.¡± ¡°What palace is that?¡± Rumak asked and signed for his two beefy servants to get another passenger¡¯s bags. ¡°The Kings of course,¡± Doris explained and Rumak whistled then used a dirty cloth to gather some of the sweat from his forehead. He wiped some of the powder away along with it. ¡°Morn Taras is far away mister¡­¡± ¡°Doris.¡± ¡°Like the spear? I suggest you sleep on it today and think it through. Sinya Goras is a tricky place, better experienced inside a cozy room with a cup of rum in hand. Just stay away from the Spectacular Jackal.¡± ¡°It¡¯s spelled differently and means gift,¡± Doris elucidated. An ¡®I¡¯ instead of a ¡®y¡¯. ¡°Mmm.¡± A thoughtful Rumak murmured shaking his turbaned head. ¡°What was that last place you¡¯ve mentioned?¡± Laius intervened after clearing his throat. ¡°A rival tavern. Don¡¯t be impressed by the name.¡± They weren¡¯t really. ¡°Anyways, we better be moving,¡± Doris said a little sternly. ¡°If you hurry you¡¯ll find a carriage leaving in an hour,¡± Rumak advised them. ¡°What is your business?¡± ¡°We¡¯re just looking for opportunities,¡± Doris explained vaguely. ¡°Where is that carriage? Can we buy horses instead?¡± ¡°Wow. You got coin signor Doris? Better not be so open about it in these docks. Head beyond the market, west from here. Horses, camels¡­ you¡¯ll also find there. If you can handle a saddle that is. Aye.¡±
¡°Do you see it now Laius? We can navigate these lands,¡± Doris said in a good mood as they strolled amidst the colorful crowd towards the stables of the travel stop. They had stopped at a post office run by a Cofol to message the Governor of Taras. A vague request for an audience with the king. Laius had spotted a couple of tall Zilan from afar but they both tried to keep a low profile and not offend anyone. The majority of those working near the port were humans though, which was a little weird since Sinya Goras didn¡¯t have the feel of a human city. The road leading out of the docks was packed with a busy crowd and animal-drawn wagons carrying supplies, produce and other merchandise in and out. It was a very big street. Over ten meters in width and it may have been twice that. ¡°Doris,¡± Laius said when they paused to catch their breath from all the walking. ¡°We need to ask for directions.¡± The Duke proceeded to inhale deeply with a glance at the two-story stable and the several carriages parked outside of it. ¡°My friend you need to snap out of this sorry mood,¡± Doris advised. ¡°I¡¯m the one that lost the most here and yet you don¡¯t stand witness to my groveling right?¡± ¡°Do you know where Morn Taras is?¡± Laius asked patiently and they started walking towards the stables again. ¡°It¡¯s just a place like any other. There are hardly any Zilan around and frankly, I¡¯m not that impressed. Eikenport was much bigger and with fancier buildings,¡± Doris said pursing his mouth. ¡°We¡¯ll ask the driver to take us there and he will.¡± ¡°Yes my lord,¡± Laius replied. ¡°Had we been back in Jelin I would have considered investing here,¡± Doris continued. ¡°Open a trade route and buy stuff on the cheap to make quite the profit right?¡± ¡°I need to crunch the numbers,¡± Laius murmured. ¡°Ah, just guise at them miserable folk,¡± Doris replied and stopped to puff out. ¡°Accursed humidity. No wonder they barely have any clothes on. See that you get a driver for us and haggle for the prize Laius. They like that.¡± ¡°That¡¯ll be the Khanate my lord,¡± Laius countered and placed his larger bag down near the entrance to the stables. ¡°Lots of Cofols here.¡± Doris commented indifferently and he did the same. Laius rounded up a closed carriage, the two horses having their snouts inside hemp bags to feed before the trip. But there was no one there. The carriage next to it better preserved and painted a light-blue with a carved sign of the Capricorn on its small carriage door. ¡°Maybe ask inside sire?¡± Laius asked the unseen Duke and Doris grunted a little annoyed. Laius walked back around the first carriage and saw the displeased Duke¡¯s back walking inside the dark stable¡¯s interior. ¡°Ah,¡± the Duke said sounding impressed whilst Laius went to stand over their bags to guard them from any crooks that surely were lurking about. ¡°There¡¯s a weird kitty. You¡¯re ugly as a drowned dog huh? You little bugger you. Hmm.¡± The sound of a soft whiny snarl coming from inside the stable. Followed by a richer, more menacing snarl that reverberated the walls of the stable. Laius perked up worried and the next moment the Duke sprinted out of the entrance energetically, gawking eyes and a grimace of terror on his face. ¡°Get the blades out darn it!¡± Doris yelled and Laius¡¯ face contorted in shock as he hadn¡¯t seen the Duke run in decades. The reason for the sudden exertion appearing right behind the galloping noble. A massive black cat with enlarged sharp fangs sprouting down from its upper jaw, one on each side. The size of the beast that of a Blacktiger almost. A tad smaller sure but nowhere near small enough. The large black predator reached the panicked hard-sprinting Duke and leaped adroitly sideways to snatch his right flaying forearm, sinking those long monstrous incisors easily right through the flesh. Its hind legs tripped next the yelping desperately Doris and with a vicious yank at the now trapped arm, he brought the Duke down a couple of meters from the stable¡¯s entrance. Laius rushed to help reaching for his dagger but paused unsure, the large lion eyeing him warningly just before it started dragging the groaning desperately and bleeding Doris back inside the stables. Laius was too shocked to even move. He just stared at the large beast dragging the thrashing Duke by the arm with ease and moving faster by the second. ¡°Pusta Silume Orym,¡± a female voice ordered in an alien singing voice and walked past the frozen Laius. The lion paused and let go of the yelping Doris¡¯ bleeding arm to look at her. ¡°Natye Varna.¡± The lanky female Zilan added soothingly and the black lion licked its gore-covered whiskers with a long pink tongue breathing heavy. With another low-guttural snarl it turned around and sauntered inside the stable again waggling its long tail right and left. ¡°Tyeus bloody spear!¡± Doris cursed raspingly clasping at his ravaged arm to stop the bleeding. ¡°What in the name of all that¡¯s holy?¡± The blue-haired Zilan glanced at the still shocked and standing frozen Laius with a pair of glowing green eyes peppered with gold spots. ¡°A Nimra lion. She just gave birth,¡± she explained in passable Common and approached the groaning Duke to kneel next to him. ¡°I¡¯m Mylael O¡¯ Soletha. A priestess and a healer,¡± the female explained soothingly and the grimacing from the mind-numbing pain Doris nodded in understanding. Mylael placed a satchel she carried down and then ripped an even piece of cloth from the lower part of her tunic using first her teeth and then her fingers. The tear looping twice around shortening the garb and Doris¡¯ eyes lowering at the long tanned legs that came to view so near him. ¡°Relax now,¡± Mylael said working fast to examine the wound and Laius stumbled there on numb legs with a glance at the nearby dark entrance of the stable, now stained with splotches of the Duke¡¯s blood. ¡°There¡¯s no danger. Orym got scared for her litter. I¡¯ve warned the stable hands to stay away for a while and I would come to pick her up. You didn¡¯t hear it?¡± ¡°We are not¡­ working at the stables,¡± Laius croaked, pausing to clear his throat and the Zilan healer nodded. There was nothing out of proportion on her face or body other than it being a bit long everywhere. Longer legs, longer arms and fingers. Longer ears obviously. Large eyes and mouth. Mylael¡¯s skin darkening under Laius¡¯ intense scrutiny. ¡°You¡¯re visitors?¡± She asked in her strange accent. Something wild in it. Primordial. Laius watched her quickly licking the blood from her fingers and then reaching for a small vial she had placed on the cobblestone. Mylael poured some on the custom bandage she had fashioned in seconds and the rest she dripped directly onto the ghastly and torn flesh. Doris¡¯ arm looked damaged beyond repair. ¡°We¡¯re¡­ aye. From Regia.¡± Laius murmured watching her hands working fast. She pressed the gory flesh to close the wounds, draining the pooling blood and then she wrapped the bandage around the grimacing Doris¡¯ forearm. For some reason the bleeding had faded considerably. ¡°Looking for opportunities.¡± ¡°Luthos warned you to be careful. Respect another¡¯s domain and enter it with caution,¡± Mylael said finishing up bandaging the wound and offering a sip of the liquid to the mesmerized Doris. ¡°Open up,¡± she ordered and the Duke dutifully opened his mouth for her to drip some of the reddish concoction on his tongue. ¡°You might feel dizzy for a moment. Don¡¯t fight it. You are brave.¡± ¡°Gratitude sweet lass,¡± Doris croaked with a fool¡¯s smile and she touched his sweaty cheek briefly with a hand. ¡°You weren¡¯t scared of Orym,¡± she noticed. ¡°I was running for my sword,¡± Doris explained clenching his jaw. ¡°Then she did well stopping you,¡± Mylael decided and got up. She glanced at the sober Laius for a moment. The Zilan taller than both of them and her long blue hair looped around her thin waist in a loose braid. ¡°You seek passage.¡± ¡°We do. To Morn Taras,¡± Laius grunted feeling nervous around her. ¡°You want to see the Wyvern,¡± Mylael said and Laius gulped down. ¡°Be more cautious men of Regia, for the Moon¡¯s Sisters are more forgiving than the rest of their kinfolk.¡± ¡°Is that Nesande?¡± Doris asked after slowly getting up, left hand clasping at the bandaged right. How he¡¯d managed to recover from the nasty injury so soon was mind-blowing to Laius. A warning they had no idea where they were heading. ¡°I¡¯ve read about the Old Gods in my youth.¡± ¡°Nesande touches everything but she favors the Night¡¯s Moon descendants above all. Her family in the flesh,¡± Mylael replied with a smile and Laius could spot some pretty large teeth in there amidst the normal ones. The lion could have used a couple of them earlier not that the beast was lacking in that department. ¡°Someday she¡¯ll walk again with us.¡± ¡°A goddess,¡± Doris said impressed, seeming quite taken by the female considering he¡¯d almost got killed by a motherly lioness not too long ago. ¡°Taras is to the west,¡± Mylael informed them. ¡°Almost two days of travel with stops. You should make no breaks though and reach there faster.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Laius asked stiffly. ¡°It¡¯s much safer,¡± she replied. ¡°I¡¯ll take her out of the back entrance,¡± Mylael explained and walked inside the stable slowly. ¡°Allgods Laius,¡± Doris grunted the moment she was away and turned to glare at him. The Duke was still clasping at his bandaged arm. ¡°Could you be a little more accommodating?¡± ¡°She left her darn lion inside the stable sire,¡± Laius retorted. ¡°How¡¯s the arm?¡± ¡°It hurts like hells but it¡¯s better than a moment ago.¡± Doris grunted. ¡°What¡¯s the matter with you? She helped us here for free and by the gods, have you ever gazed at such a rare beauty afore?¡± ¡°My lord she looked like a comely fiend. The latter kept me on my toes. Not to mention she smelled weird and other than showing some skin, I found her rather creepy.¡± ¡°Laius¡­ you¡¯ve no idea about women. I¡¯m rather disappointed with you my friend.¡± Doris admonished him. ¡°She was exotic Laius. In everything. And what skill! I can still feel her touch¡­ ah, goodness me it¡¯s rather wondrous really.¡± The ecstatic Duke sucked air in through the nostrils audibly to calm himself down. ¡°That was a lot of leg she showed us there right?¡± ¡°I think she did it on purpose sire,¡± a miffed Laius grunted and stooped to grab his heavy bag again. ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m saying. We¡¯ve made quite the impression on her gullible primitive brain.¡± The thoughtful Duke replied pursing his mouth. ¡°By the Gods though. What striking loveliness! Who would¡¯ve thought of that?¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. - Three hours later 3rd of Nonus 194 NC The Road to Taras*
*(One of Goras¡¯ loosely connected six towns/districts at the shores of Taras Lake. Here follow the ¡®cities¡¯ stated in order of population. Taras or Central District, Sinya Goras or North Port, Morn Taras or ¡®Palace¡¯, Hardir¡¯s Port, High District or Favored Heights, Priests Estates and Mussel. Several smaller neighborhoods or estates sprouted by the main roads not belonging to any of the above.)
Laius¡¯ horse followed that of the Duke and when the latter slowed down, he found the opportunity to ride next to him. The gravel road well-maintained and larger than any boulevard in Regia. Some portions near Sinya Goras were paved with cobblestone but even the parts further west from the port were flattened, the terrain cleared and the jungle beaten back twenty meters on each side near Sinya Goras and about five where they were now. It was an impressive open road to travel on and as a Regia citizen Laius could appreciate a good road. ¡°What are these things on the posts?¡± He asked the grimacing Duke. The arm was better as they had checked on the injury already in order to change the bandage but still it hurt some. The three meter tall thick timber posts were set up on the sides of the road at twenty meter intervals but there was one every ten meters on each side in a crisscross pattern. Near the top a metal box could be seen, the side facing the road opened and a little angled downwards with a rock secured in it. ¡°I have no idea,¡± Doris replied eyeing a carriage moving past them filled with passengers that stared at the two Lorians through the open small windows. ¡°If I stand on the saddle,¡± Laius murmured very curious as it reminded him of the street oil-lamps Regia¡¯s bigger cities had but he couldn¡¯t spot a container for the oil. ¡°I think I could reach one.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be an idiot,¡± the Duke grunted with a glare. ¡°They¡¯ll think we¡¯re trying to steal their fucking rocks!¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it weird?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a bloody post along a blasted road Laius,¡± Doris snapped. ¡°Probably they want to secure torches up there and they haven¡¯t figured it out yet! This a new road.¡± ¡°There¡¯s at least three feet of gravel under the surface,¡± Laius retorted. ¡°This road must cost a fortune to build sire.¡± He added and they both heard another carriage approaching on the busy route. Making a lot of noise as it slowed down near them. The two Lorians had instinctively led their horses at the right edge of the road to leave room for the carriage to pass them by although it wasn¡¯t needed really. Several heavily-packed mules followed after the carriage. At least six camels and two laden ostriches. The occupant of the cabin popped his Cofol head out to look at them as the carriage slowed down to stop near them. A pretty slanted-eyed slave girl peeking behind the richly-dressed Cofol merchant. ¡°Good colleagues I¡¯m intrigued as to the nature of your wares. The lack of bags is tantalizing,¡± the Cofol said in fluent Common. ¡°I¡¯m Lon-Iv so you don¡¯t have to be so stressed about it. I have access to the Guild¡¯s books.¡± ¡°We¡¯re just starting,¡± Doris replied with a glance at the arriving armed escort following the carriage and the many animals. ¡°So we¡¯re not in the Merchants Guild yet.¡± ¡°Aha. Well then, you sure picked a risky market to begin your noble enterprise,¡± Lon-Iv said. ¡°Any pointers on what¡¯s more profitable?¡± Laius probed realizing who the man riding inside the carriage with the Capricorn¡¯s sigil carved on its door was. Lon-Iv blinked and then accepted a goblet of something from the scantily-dressed pretty slave. Laius couldn¡¯t spot an article of clothing on her hard as he looked. The aloof Lon-Iv sipped from it for a moment and then glanced at the expecting Laius and Lord Doris waiting on their saddles. ¡°You don¡¯t really anticipate an answer mister¡­?¡± ¡°Laius Cinna,¡± Laius replied stiffly. ¡°Mister Cinna you¡¯ve asked a very expensive question,¡± Lon-Iv continued pursing his painted orange lips. ¡°Frankly I quite loathe to answer it even in the event you produced an outrageous sum of coin to entice me. Which while I find it unlikely you have it available on you, I still must assure you that it won¡¯t,¡± he smiled thinly. ¡°Whatever that amount might be. Knowledge¡¯s prize is limitless in our line of work.¡± ¡°How far from Taras is the Palace?¡± Doris grunted very annoyed with the haughty merchant. ¡°You¡¯re not getting anywhere near the Palace,¡± Lon-Iv replied sounding equally annoyed. ¡°But if you reach Taras then you¡¯ll see its mirage over the lake. Have a safe journey gentlemen and enjoy your stay in Goras,¡± he added and tapped the outside of the door with the knuckles for his driver to get moving. ¡°I hope you have secured accommodation beforehand. This is a busy part of the year.¡± They waited for the caravan to clear the road and followed after it at a light trot. They had to slow down soon to preserve their horses. An hour later they passed by the caravan again as it had made camp by the side of the road. They left it behind and continued traveling following the easy to navigate route, the jungle creeping ever closer around the middle of their journey.
Many hours later they reached Taras having spent almost a day on the road. It was late in the night, hours before dawn. Laius wouldn¡¯t have known they had approached the foreign city and perhaps continuing in the dark wouldn¡¯t have even been possible but for the lights. The posts were street lights after all. The moment dark fell over Goras and the sun disappeared to the west, one after the other those strange stones came alive. Their milky light chasing some of the darkness away and leaving the road fully visible. The yellow-white gravel shining under their horses¡¯ hooves and the dark night staring with sinister eyes at this magic route of light splitting it. If the road was well-lit up and easy to navigate, Taras was bathed in light. Most of the city fully illuminated and shinning so bright in the night, a blind man could see it. Laius and Doris stood mesmerized on the saddles a kilometer from the first houses to gaze at the spectacle. The brilliant shine of the city spilling over the lake¡¯s waters and making them sparkle a wondrous silver color. Huge shadows were cast on the distant raised walls of a plateau, another row of lights coiled on the steep granite slopes ever climbing and heading for the flat top. Behind the riddled in shades and misty vapors of the massive lake, many kilometers away and seemingly standing over the clouds well above the top of the plateau another set of lights could be seen just barely. This eerie illumination came and went with the soft breeze that ever moved the misty clouds. Strange tall towers took shape behind the mist circling a massive citadel. It was clearer the closer one went to the lake. Laius and Doris angled towards the lake¡¯s shores following the fully lit, busy wide roads and boulevards of Taras. The city awake despite the late time and bristling with Zilan. Humans were present as well but the numbers were heavily against them here. Dwarves amidst them going about their businesses. Music playing, the locals swimming in the calm waters and most of the venues still open. Every building¡¯s fa?ade fully lit. The architecture having a touch of the rounded Cofol lines, the marble Lorian villas present but mostly riddled with walled stone estates at the periphery or blocks of trilateral absurdly tall and weirdly shaped stone buildings that connected at the very top with each other via narrow long bridges especially at the center. There was a mystical pattern in the way the city¡¯s spokes (or roads) extended outwards from the lake¡¯s shores (that side facing the plateau) and it resembled a spider¡¯s web cut right the middle with the curved side pointed to the south. Almost half of the city was still under construction or some type of rebuild. There was no cobblestone or gravel road inside Taras proper. Every square meter of road or pavement was covered with finely cut and polished granite tiles. The intricately sculpted benches near the beach -for those enjoying a swim or a stroll- made out of white marble, the nicely paved paths created leading near the edge and the many taverns facing the waters packed with lively customers. ¡°Well,¡± a frowned Doris murmured after they followed the spacious road to the central square. It was built in such way so that it faced the busy beach on its north side and it offered an uninterrupted view of the distant plateau over the lake¡¯s surface. ¡°That¡¯s a pretty nicely put together place Laius.¡± ¡°Seems that way sire,¡± Laius murmured and they stopped before a three story¡­ four-story building with massive windows and balconies filled with people enjoying their evening, whilst watching the happenings on the square or gossiping in many tongues. There was a constant buzz all about them, the strong lights making every color appear brighter. It was overwhelming to the senses. ¡°I bet the real-estate prizes around here are exorbitant.¡± ¡°Mmm,¡± Doris murmured thoughtfully and climbed down from the saddle following his example. ¡°Some empty places though still,¡± he said and stared at the large building that looked like a hostel of sorts but without a tavern. It didn¡¯t need one since there were plenty of taverns across the square. ¡°Let¡¯s see if we can find a room for the night. I¡¯m a bit famished Laius.¡±
There was a Zilan inside the spacious reception hall, reading a parchment in the semi-darkness with his legs stretched on the counter. Laius paused behind the Duke and eyed nervously the high ceiling above their heads. ¡°Can I bother¡ª¡± Doris started with the Zilan stopping him with a gesture afore he could finish and without raising its glowing eyes from the parchment. The raised arm had the hand¡¯s long index finger pointing back towards the exit. ¡°Come back in the morning. The kitchen is closed. No food left to give.¡± ¡°What¡­? We are patrons¡¯ mister!¡± The Duke¡¯s affronted protest rang inside the empty room. ¡°Then your stupid mugs can¡¯t bother me, since we are full as the sign clearly states,¡± the Zilan surmised even less friendly now. ¡°Please vacate the premises.¡± ¡°Why, you unpleasant¡­¡± Doris grunted turning red in the face and Laius rushed to stop the furious Duke grabbing him by the shoulder. ¡°Let go of me,¡± Doris warned through his teeth. ¡°Calm down sire. We can look elsewhere,¡± Laius urged slowly turning him around. ¡°Good luck with that, ho-ho-ho,¡± the Zilan hostel owner cackled from the counter, his eyes kept on the scroll he was reading. ¡°Small-eared illiterate idiots.¡±
Laius bodied the irate Duke outside the hostel, Doris clenching his jaw manically and thick veins popping on his neck. ¡°You heard that circus freak?¡± He hissed. ¡°I¡¯ve never been insulted like this in my life!¡± Laius sighed and checked the sign on the small board outside the hostel, the cryptic message written in an unknown language with white chalk and a thick line drawn under the script. ¡°Let us move a block deeper,¡± he decided and went to guide the horses down the main street heading south. They rounded the corner with Laius walking briskly ahead still murmuring under his breath and rubbing his itchy bandaged arm. Fifty meters away from the large square the buildings turned into large walled villas on the west side of the street with smaller sized two-floor villas on the east but for the corners where another hostel-looking building appeared just as they reached the end of the second row of city blocks. This building having a short columned fence, a small garden with flowerbeds and a grand entrance with two nice nymph statues decorating each side. A large marble label over it with gold engraved letters. ¡°What about¡­?¡± Doris said turning around but paused mid-query as a lithe Zilan burst out of the fancy building, then quickly rushed across the small garden moving like a fit gazelle and reached the street. Silver anklets ringing on each stride, well-oiled legs revealed in all their lengthy glory as the loose robes she had on billowed playfully behind her. The female paused, her face painted meticulously, under two naughty blue pigtails and then crossed the street fast, each stride making the jewelry she had on jingling happy once again. She reached the other side of the street where two Cofol guards where standing outside the outer entrance of a much bigger villa. ¡°What do you have under there cutie-pie?¡± One of the guards teased while Doris and Laius observed fully engrossed from across the street. ¡°You fancy?¡± The Zilan teased back and twirled around on the tips of her toes raising the robes to showcase her dancer¡¯s meagre outfit of sorts. ¡°Holly be Uher¡¯s name,¡± the Duke grunted reverently ¨Cwhich was uncharacteristic of him- taken aback at the amount of naked flesh displayed. ¡°Not much of a boob Sarya,¡± the guard commented not impressed. ¡°You serious?¡± Sarya hissed and glared at them. ¡°It¡¯s quite enough!¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know about that,¡± the guard insisted with a peevish smile. ¡°I like the skirt¡¯s color,¡± the other commented in an encouraging tone. ¡°It¡¯s sheer through material Malik. No color on it,¡± Sarya snapped and pouted in frustration. ¡°Ah, I wanted the coin darn it.¡± ¡°He¡¯ll pay either way,¡± the second guard assured her. ¡°I could put mother in the outfit. It might take a moment to squeeze her inside though. Some things might pop out.¡± ¡°Always a good sight,¡± the second guard said with a stupid grin. ¡°Eh,¡± Sarya sighed and turned around. ¡°The moment the meeting finish you give me a holler yes boys?¡± ¡°No problem Sarya,¡± the first guard assured her and she turned around to walk back across the street. ¡°What the hell is going on here?¡± Doris grunted his eyes peeled on the returning comely female. Because this Zilan is pretty, Laius thought. For sure. ¡°I think that¡¯s a brothel sire,¡± Laius informed the grimacing Duke and the Zilan stopped in front of them with a naughty smile. ¡°A pleasure house,¡± she corrected Laius. ¡°That happens to be open if you can afford it.¡± Doris scowled. ¡°We are¡­ not interested¡ª¡± Laius cutting him off afore he could finish, which the loyal chamberlain rarely did. ¡°How much?¡± Sarya stared in his face and suddenly Laius could smell her perfume, mixed with sweat and her own scent. ¡°Good information could get you everything tonight.¡± She purred mysteriously and even that strange accent now appeared enticing to him. ¡°Guards,¡± Doris said. ¡°What information?¡± Sarya stooped near his face and those large eyes got even bigger. Green irises with yellow and silver spots glowing. ¡°Laius,¡± Doris grunted irate in a warning tone. ¡°What?¡± Laius protested snapping out of his reverie. ¡°Guards,¡± the Duke hissed and a rough voice barked from not that far away. ¡°You two rascals! Stand still and keep yer hands where I can see them!¡±
Six of Taras¡¯ city guards had come out of a side alley clad in their hoplite cuirasses and bronze helms. The sergeant a rather overweight Lorian marched near the two stunned men and the grinning Zilan female. ¡°Officer¡ª¡± Doris started but they both got bodied by two guards each and dragged near the fence of the brothel. ¡°Search them good now Mitch,¡± the sergeant ordered rigidly and turning to a burly Cofol guard grunted. ¡°You check them bags Retus. Thoroughly.¡± ¡°Aye sarge,¡± Retus agreed and walked to their horses. Laius cursed at the rough manhandling of the soldier and Doris who shoved the guard back, got a smack at the side of his face with the blunt butt of a spear and went down. ¡°My lord!¡± Laius protested and got rewarded with a punch to the gut to quiet down. Got him a bit in the kidneys also, the guard obviously good at his job. ¡°What is this?¡± The sergeant roared and approached. ¡°Are they resisting arrest?¡± ¡°What arrest?¡± Laius growled. ¡°For what reason?¡± ¡°They are sir. Especially the old cunt,¡± Mitch spat and kicked the doubled over Doris taking a forward step to gather momentum. The boot hitting the Duke¡¯s injured arm and getting a howl out of the rolling about seriously hurting noble. ¡°We did nothing wrong!¡± Laius protested and got elbowed at the back of the head. His forehead almost kissing the marble finish of the lavish fence. ¡°What¡¯s yer name?¡± The sergeant barked and stooped to grab Doris by the collar and lift him upright. ¡°I¡¯m Doris Alden!¡± The Duke spat and the sergeant guffawed thunderously, let go of the collar and gave the Duke a sharp backhand right on the hurt cheek that twirled the moaning Doris around, afore he turned to stare at Laius soberly. ¡°Laius Cinna,¡± Laius croaked as fast as he could. ¡°At least ye have a bit of shame,¡± the sergeant retorted and eyed the coming about cursing Duke. ¡°What¡¯s the purpose of your visit signor Alden? ¡°You fucking criminal! We are looking to make¡­¡± ¡°Stop right there,¡± the sergeant barked cutting him off and turned to the soldier searching their bags. ¡°Anything?¡± ¡°Nothing sir!¡± ¡°You sure? Because they look super suspicious to me Retus!¡± The sergeant yapped and Mitch nodded backing the minor officer up. ¡°Ayup. They sure do sarge.¡± ¡°Well?¡± The sergeant of the city guard grunted with a nod. ¡°I can¡¯t find it sergeant,¡± Retus replied sadly. ¡°Allgods old and new!¡± The sergeant cursed and tipped his head back to stare at the night sky frustrated. ¡°That¡¯s a spit-less pack of fucks alright.¡± He cast a side-glance at the watching Sarya. ¡°You¡¯re free tonight lass?¡± ¡°I¡¯m booked for the coming day Svend,¡± she replied coquettishly. ¡°A bit of night left still,¡± Svend haggled with a leer and the fat jowls hopped on his face. ¡°I¡¯m off to sleep,¡± Sarya insisted apologetically. ¡°Eh, blast it then¡­¡± Svend turned his big neck to glare at Laius and the groaning Doris. The Duke¡¯s cheek was bleeding and was a tad swollen now. ¡°You two need to get Folen¡¯s signature on a paper to remain in the city, or that Merchants guild card. Without it you¡¯ll get fined or tossed in the brig unless you have rented a room elsewhere. Have you?¡± Laius licked his dry lips. ¡°We were looking to find one. We just arrived.¡± ¡°Mmm.¡± Sergeant Svend murmured and looked at the returning Retus. ¡°Fine them two gold Eagles each.¡± ¡°What?¡± Doris snapped. ¡°That¡¯s preposterous! For what?¡± ¡°You either rent a room or you pay the rent to the city. The Monarch¡¯s law aye,¡± Svend explained. ¡°For crying out loud even thieves do it. Just find somewhere to stay. Retus get the coin from them. We¡¯re moving on. We¡¯ll search the city in sectors. Starting from the west corner of the square and moving out.¡± ¡°Sergeant I¡¯ll file a complaint with the king! I don¡¯t believe you!¡± Doris growled rubbing his hurt arm. ¡°And you assaulted a noble!¡± ¡°What was the name Mitch?¡± Svend barked. ¡°Ehm. Boris Alden sir.¡± ¡°Doris!¡± ¡°Thought it was that ayup. Listen up, I know you¡¯re a thief,¡± Svend told the ogling, sweating and bleeding Duke. ¡°Walking about and sneakily casing the better neighborhoods. Bags ¡®with clothes¡¯ on them horses which you drag after you to faster get away. I find you here when I return you get a free room in jail. I find you here when I return without what I¡¯m looking for you get punched in the face so I can vent my frustration. You know why Signor Alden?¡± Doris stood back and grimaced, a tick marring his swollen face. ¡°You¡¯re a thug?¡± He grunted. ¡°Huh. Alistair got my old man killed in seventy four,¡± Svend revealed with a grunt and narrowed his eyes. ¡°And that cunt whose name yer using didn¡¯t pay half-a-shit to me mother. Paps had volunteered but she didn¡¯t have all the papers that lofty cunt wrote back. Aye. Wouldn¡¯t know them even she had.¡± The shaken Duke blinked but said nothing. Quite wisely.
Sarya gave them a place to stay for a couple of hours, but early the next morning a thin, heavily painted Zilan arrived, dressed in fancy robes and carrying a lute on his back. He listened to Sarya¡¯s story, Laius couldn¡¯t sleep from all the tension and eavesdropped on their conversation, then summoned them both. Folen, the King¡¯s Master of Silence apparently, informed them their audience with the king had gone through. They needed to get to Morn Taras as fast as they could. While the timing was strange, it lifted the Duke¡¯s spirits after the terrible night they had. The morning found them riding north towards the covered in mist plateau. They went past a massive camp to their west, the barracks mostly empty but the gates guarded by armoured tall Zilan Hoplites with sinister black helms and long spears. The black walls of the castle stood at over twenty meters tall, the corner towers looming a dozen meters taller than them and made out of the same black-grey granite. The citadel was located at the center, the size of the castle stupendous and sparsely covered with buildings. The outer shape of the walls reminding Laius of a star with a tower on each corner and the citadel built on the base of what appeared to be a half-pyramid. At the very top it was completely flat and the architect had proceeded to build a basic square bastion there as if he¡¯d changed his mind mid-construction. There was no fancy architecture employed in Tenebrous Castle ¨Cthis was the meaning of the Zilan name- just tall thick walls made out of hard granite and no color but in the surrounding gardens. Everything was larger than it was needed. From the outer gates of the barbican to the central entrance after one climbed the forty steps of the base of the pyramid. Laius and Doris followed a silent tall Zilan knight that had escorted them from the gates. It took them twenty minutes to reach the Citadel. Ten to reach the entrance. The Knight, a silver solemn mask covering its face told them in passable Common to proceed to the main hall. The inside doors opened and darkness replaced the light of day. At the far end of what appeared to be a very long hall a tiny sparkle of light could be seen. Either a window opened ¨Cfor there were no windows- or a torch it seemed. ¡°Good grief,¡± Doris commented when the doors closed behind them and they were left standing alone inside the darkness of the massive hall with the preternaturally high-ceiling. Thick black columns could be seen at the distance and they started walking towards the tiny light. The lights grew as they walked. And walked. Minutes later the first column appeared and it was so thick, the torch on it could barely light up its circumference. Colorful scenes were carved on the hard granite of the column and the one across from it. Laius paused and tried to measure the width despite the Duke¡¯s frustrated protests. He discovered it to be twenty meters from pillar to pillar, with another ten meters of space behind each column. A long time after they had entered the main hall and after walking in semi-darkness for an eternity it seemed, the tiny light had turned into a sun almost. It sparkled on the last of the massive engraved columns, rings of gold on them making the light of several ¡®magic torches¡¯ expand and douse in golden hue the surroundings. This time the light reached as far back as the outer walls beyond the central columns. It showed detailed colorful paintings and gilded statues adorning the seemingly empty hall. Doors unseen for the visitors and Zilan knights standing guard, staring ominously behind their silver masks. The massive altar where a tall black intricately carved metal throne stood somewhat lonely given all that wasted space and beyond it a large internal staircase hugging the west wall leading upstairs. The floor lost as the ceiling remained unseen standing too high for the light to reach. On the throne of Wetull, an armoured demon sat in sinister silence and stared at the approaching ¨Ca little tired from the long distance they had traveled and slightly intimidated Lorians- behind a black metal mask. An ugly horned crown fastened on the conned black helm and the man was clad in a muscled hoplite cuirass that gleamed, but left his wiry arms visible. The skin on them tanned. ¡°Two men from Regia,¡± a croaky Zilan said and Laius blinked a little shocked seeing him appear behind the last column holding a pack of scrolls. He climbed the stairs to reach the platform the throne was on and then walked near the Monarch. ¡°Sire, I don¡¯t think this a good idea,¡± Laius murmured in a low voice and Doris, face still a bit swollen from the previous night cast an angry glance his way. ¡°Just let me handle this Laius. We nobles know how to navigate these matters.¡± ¡°Laius Cinna,¡± the Zilan announced and whispered something in Imperial to the Monarch who nodded and stooped forward on the throne to better look at them. They were standing about ten meters away. ¡°And Doris Alden.¡± Laius gulped down nervously. ¡°Respected Monarch,¡± Doris said stepping forward and Laius heard a lot of footsteps all about them. One of the shades taking shape, solidifying and turning into a hooded tall figure not three meters to his left. ¡°I must correct your herald. I¡¯m also the Duke of Aegium.¡± The Monarch nodded and asked something to the Zilan with the stack of papers. The latter shrugged his shoulders. ¡°You have the name of the King of Regia,¡± the Zilan said slowly as if he was addressing idiots. ¡°Is it a lie?¡± ¡°No it is my true name,¡± Doris replied stiffly. ¡°I¡¯m his kin your grace.¡± ¡°Where is Aegium?¡± The Zilan asked a moment later. ¡°We are not exactly certain which town you¡¯re speaking of.¡± Laius pursed his mouth, an eye peeled on the fiendish cloaked Zilan or whatever it was that watched them carefully, the other on the silent Monarch behind the black mask. Who does that? He wondered. What manner of freak rules here? This was a mistake. We are fucking doomed. ¡°Aegium is the jewel of the coast your grace,¡± Doris replied trying hard to keep his composure. Laius admired this on him. Whatever his faults, Doris was still an Alden so he would stubbornly strive to get the job done or live to fight another day. ¡°Which coast exactly?¡± The Zilan asked carefully. ¡°The Salt Coast.¡± ¡°You trade in salt?¡± ¡°We do.¡± ¡°Is it valuable?¡± The Monarch asked in excellent Common, rasping voice coming out a little muffled but clear. ¡°It is your grace. Very¡­ profitable,¡± Doris replied perking up as he loved talking about profits. ¡°Better than oregano? I like it on some dishes.¡± ¡°Similar and it doesn¡¯t spoil your grace,¡± Doris deadpanned confidently and the Monarch nodded seemingly pleased. Doris glanced at the sweating profusely, extremely tensed Laius and whispered encouragingly out of the side of his mouth. ¡°All creatures are alike,¡± Doris Alden repeated what he¡¯d told him at the start of this adventure and Laius grimaced desperately as he wasn¡¯t at all sure about that. He also hadn¡¯t received the same vibes from the Monarch¡¯s court. ¡°Profit bridges all noble minds and we are guided by the same desires.¡± No sooner than the Duke finished his uplifting speech to Laius, a figure marched inside from a side door that opened and closed without sound. He was clad in a Zilan knight¡¯s plate armour but he clearly was a human, as despite the silver mask covering his face Laius had come to slowly tell each species apart. ¡°Sir Kirk?¡± The Zilan queried addressing the newcomer. ¡°Did you find it? Was the search successful?¡± ¡°Mmm,¡± Doris murmured and glanced at Laius as the Duke felt vindicated for what he¡¯d told Laius earlier. There was a logical reason for the guards being so belligerent last night. This wasn¡¯t madness after all. Laius let out a deep sigh missing the knight¡¯s muffled answer. The Monarch¡¯s angered response coming as a complete shock to him. ¡°You lost the fucking egg!¡± He roared hoarsely and jumped from the throne like a rattlesnake. They were looking¡­ for an egg? Laius thought his senses flooded with despair. ¡°The what?¡± Doris asked the rattled and shaking Laius, who stared at the furious Monarch clenching his fists on the raised platform as if the biggest catastrophe imaginable had just befallen his gloomy hall. ¡°We shall continue the search milord. Mayhap scour the lakes,¡± the knight replied and bowed his head. ¡°Leave the god darn lake. I¡¯ll have the Wyvern boil the waters and flush her out,¡± the King beyond the Pale Mountains hissed through the mask and stared at the shaking Laius. The angrily clenched mouth on the gleaming metal mask, relaxing into a half smirk. ¡°Do you partake in wine Duke?¡± He asked in a friendly manner. ¡°Come nearer, so I can see you both better.¡± The Direwolf said to the mountain hunter¡¯s daughters or so the tale went. We¡¯re fucked, a petrified Laius thought.
470. A day in Goras (2/3)
Arguen Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Lord of Morn Taras Monarch of Wetull King beyond the Pale Mountains Aniculo Rokae A day in Goras Part II -Blood Kin, chapter II-
Un-fuckin-believable! Glen watched the two sweaty Lorians sipping at his wine having trouble breathing under the mask. Well, one of them sipped at it really¡­ that would be the one with the smashed up face and bandaged arm. The Duke of Aegium apparently. Wherever in Luthos¡¯ low-hanging balls that is! First duke Glen had ever seen wearing old dirty clothes with plenty of manure smeared on them and the general looks of a vagrant that had recently been mugged by the side of the road. The other dude just glugged the wine down either too thirsty and in urgent need for fluids or just another raging alcoholic stumbling upon a drink after a long dry spell. Jinx was sort of like that so Glen low-key respected the habit. Truth be told he couldn¡¯t pay too much attention to them as his mind was on the missing wyvern¡¯s egg. The important stuff. Talk about stepping into a bucket of rotting worms just out of bed, the foot slipping under the bed and then slam your forehead on the tiled floor. That¡¯ll knock the sleep out of yer system! Or knock you out period. Yeah. Un-fuckin-believable. That oblivious Ticu is running about with a gold egg in her arms thinking it¡¯s hers or some shite, licking, rubbing or whatever the allhells Ticu do when they are in heat, Glen thought grinding his teeth and sweating like a drunk motherfucker since the darn mask felt tighter now than what it did when he had first put it on. ¡°It¡¯s a fine wine your grace,¡± Doris commented finally as if he knew what he was talking about. ¡°Not too sweet and with the right hint of bitter. A spicy quality in it, carnal dare I say. It¡¯ll be a hit during Bacchanalia.¡± Glen frowned not certain where the mugged fool was heading with this. The fool¡¯s partner blinked pursing his mouth. The man¡¯s yellow collar had turned darker from over-sweating. He isn¡¯t fat and it is a cool day so it must be the wine. They both had long tunics on and Lorian-type leather sandals. ¡°It has a certain character,¡± Laius added and Doris nodded in agreement. ¡°It¡¯s named after my daughter,¡± Glen grunted, this over-analyzing not his kind of plate and Doris grimaced. ¡°Oh¡­ gods. Apologies your excellency,¡± Laius blurted out. ¡°What for?¡± ¡°No reason,¡± Laius replied in a low voice. Hmm. ¡°It sells,¡± Glen continued eyeing them both unsure. ¡°So that¡¯s what matters.¡± ¡°Ah yes,¡± Doris agreed in a friendly manner. ¡°Aegium has its own wine.¡± ¡°What is it like?¡± ¡°Your wine is better my Lord,¡± Laius assured him and Glen stood back pleased. They were getting somewhere finally. Good. ¡°Why does¡­¡± Glen started pausing to stare at Rimeros who had received a report from a Zilan courtier he¡¯d brought in. ¡°The Duke of Aegium want asylum¡­ excuse me for a moment.¡± He said. ¡°Grab a chair friends and have another goblet whilst I check on some stuff.¡± ¡°It¡¯s really no¡­¡± Doris started saying with the ogling Laius pulling at his left sleeve to stop him from talking but it wasn¡¯t important as the preoccupied Glen had already left them back and had walked away towards the two Zilan.
Not long after Glen marched out of the citadel with Hagen hurrying after him. They stopped on the patio just after the entrance, the bare grounds needed some work done still and Glen looked at the sky. Uvrycres was circling over the castle grounds twirling one way and then the other. ¡°The Wyvern sire,¡± one of the Zilan Knights reported. Either Qildor¡¯s friend Sontaer or Qildor himself. Their armours had similar insignia and you couldn¡¯t tell them apart with the silver mask on. ¡°I see it Sir Sontaer.¡± ¡°It¡¯s Sir Nyvorlas Hardir.¡± Eh, there¡¯s him also. ¡°I saw the¡­ bird and thought it was him,¡± Glen admitted. ¡°Sontaer¡¯s Widowbird has three feathers on its tail Hardir.¡± Nyvorlas elucidated on the differences of their crests. You needed Zilan eyes to spot them as they were the size of an eye patch. For kids. ¡°Right. See to fix it up Nyvorlas.¡± ¡°I shall attempt it Hardir.¡± Glen glanced at the sky. ¡°How long has he been up there?¡± ¡°Half an hour Hardir.¡± ¡°Empty the yard so he could land.¡± ¡°Ehm, there¡¯s sufficient room Hardir,¡± Sir Nyvorlas argued. ¡°Make the call mate,¡± Hagen counseled him. ¡°The wyvern needs a lot of space.¡± Uvrycres just flatly refused to work on his landings seeing nothing wrong in them. ¡°What he said,¡± Glen agreed with a nod and started adjusting the harness¡¯ leather straps on his shoulders but stopped. ¡°You know what? I¡¯ll just wait for the saddle.¡± ¡°A saddle milord?¡± Hagen asked with a frown. ¡°Laedan promised to find me one.¡± Glen explained with a last peek at the ¡®dancing¡¯ wyvern. ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking lately Hagen that riding raw isn¡¯t safe for people in my age group. You take a nasty fall and break something valuable¡­ aye. Then you are fucked.¡± ¡°What age be that milord?¡± Hagen asked. He was older than Glen by three years. ¡°You know what? Forget I said that,¡± Glen sighed. ¡°It just ain¡¯t safe. I¡¯ve a kid to raise.¡± ¡°Yes milord.¡± Speaking of the princess¡­ ¡°Anyone checked on Inis this morning?¡± ¡°Maeriel is out searching,¡± Hagen replied. ¡°Lady Kilynia did though.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± Glen murmured thoughtfully and stared at the disheveled bodyguard. Hagen had fallen asleep on a bench behind the throne last night. Glen had dispatched Hesam and Samak to aid with the search, which had forced Hagen to work all the shifts until he collapsed from tiredness. He still looked dead-tired but there was no one else trustworthy enough to keep close. Hagen blinked seeing Glen¡¯s persistent silent stare behind the mask. ¡°Milord wants to use the horse,¡± the bodyguard finally said. ¡°Ayup,¡± Glen deadpanned. ¡°So you get to race to the stables and bring it here friend. Chop-chop.¡± The latter one of Flix¡¯s favorite expressions. The thought of the old Gish a little sad given that he has probably kicked the bucket by now. Flix didn¡¯t look like he had a year left in him and it was already three years later. Hagen almost went to meet the late Gish in the great beyond, tripping himself up whilst climbing down the forty over a meter-wide steps Voron had installed at the base of the pyramid. Hagen plunged over ten of them with arms thrashing but landed on his feet right at the mid-way point of the stairs and despite faltering wildly for a long moment he managed to find his footing under the gawping horrified eyes of Glen and the gates sentinels. ¡°I¡¯m fine sire!¡± A heavy breathing Hagen croaked whilst doubled over and grabbing at his shaking knees. The numb Glen nodded and then raised his arm to give him an encouraging thumbs up.
The two of them rode out of Morn Taras following the wyvern that turned around and headed to the southeast over Taras Lake. Upon reaching the town they had to slow down due to the heavy traffic of that morning. Citizens and visitors were out perusing the market or strolling towards the shores. Glen brought Outlaw to a halt the moment they reached the lake road passing by the north side of the tiled main square and waited for the wyvern to reappear in the sky. ¡°You are alright there Hagen?¡± He asked the silent bodyguard turning on the saddle. ¡°Just a bit shaken milord,¡± Hagen replied. ¡°That¡¯s Sir Kirk riding here,¡± he added pointing with his arm at a group of riders that slowly navigated the crowd to approach the Monarch. A lot of locals had halted their businesses to gawk at Glen or draw the foreign travelers¡¯ attention to him. ¡°Greetings Hardir! How is it hanging?¡± An inebriated Zilan called from one of the taverns¡¯ tables, either an early starter or a very late patron from the previous night. The latter expression the same Glen had famously used to greet the arriving Lord Suraer during the last Valimae Lilt. Since neither Glen nor Suraer were dancers of any import they then got to spend time imbibing liquor and wine on their stand and watch the foolishness unfolding in the company of Inis-Mir. -
The visiting austere Lord Suraer had been quite taken by the coquettish, very playful that evening Wetull princess even allowing gilded Inis-Mir to watch the dancers from his shoulders at some point. The imperial table¡¯s casual socializing closely monitored by the shamelessly eavesdropping many Zilan bystanders or visitors who craved to catch a glimpse of the mysterious ruler from up close. It had birthed a number of ¡®phrases¡¯ and ¡®mannerisms¡¯ heavily influenced by Arguen Garth¡¯s supposed words or actions. For as the Monarch or his daughter behaved, thus Taras behaved also but for the dancing. The latter you had to see with your own eyes to believe it.
- A frustrated Glen waved an arm to get the crowd moving out of their way and dozens of arms were raised to wave back at him mistaking his gesture. Captain Horton had to march a patrol inside the square to unblock their path and Sir Kirk found the opportunity to report on their search. ¡°There¡¯s no sign of Assara sire,¡± Alan said in his muffled voice. ¡°We have difficulty convincing people a Ticu is roaming the city.¡± ¡°Uvrycres found her,¡± Glen grunted and pointed at the wyvern circling over the distant east side of Taras Lake. He¡¯d decreed that the place was off limits for all since the ¡®thing¡¯ had tried to killed them. The order helped by one of Kilynia¡¯s suggestions who thought the spot ¡®a natural habitat for endangered local bird species.¡¯ It was a god darn impressive argument Glen had used with enthusiasm in his written diktat. That is Vulreon had, the Monarch just provided the words and the inspiration. While he could scribble a couple of sentences together and catch the general meaning of the intricate imperial script, working the quill gave Glen¡¯s fingers the cramps. Now Inis, she could create every known hieroglyph with ease and make it pretty or add color to it. Her writings turning into small pictures. ¡°Ah,¡± Hagen grunted not happy with a visit to the place. Glen wasn¡¯t happy also but they needed to get the darn egg back.
An hour later they had reached the woody area by the lake without encountering anyone for a while especially after they had left the town of Taras behind them. The wyvern had landed near the banks of the lake and was now busy whipping at the surface with its long tale very engrossed in the little game. The terrain was relatively barren here, the rocky ground flattened and gleaming in the sun near the opening with no serious vegetation growing for a couple of hundred meters. Some of Kilynia¡¯s birds were circling above their heads or attempted daring landings on the lake¡¯s surface keeping away from the large wyvern. ¡°Wait here,¡¯ Glen ordered Hagen and Sir Alan Kirk. ¡°I¡¯ll speak to the wyvern.¡± ¡°Aye milord,¡± the still sleepy Hagen murmured from the saddle. ¡°What is this place?¡± Kirk wondered whilst Glen walked towards the preoccupied with his game Uvrycres. ¡°I don¡¯t want to remember it,¡± Hagen admitted sounding haunted and Glen paused to look back at the two men. ¡°There¡¯s nothing to remember,¡± he warned the bodyguard and Hagen nodded sadly. ¡°Aye milord.¡± Glen grimaced and reached the large wyvern, carefully stepping on the mud-covered slick glassy rock. ¡°Are you whistling?¡± He asked coming to stand two meters away not to get impaled by the scaly stinger that plunged in the waters abruptly at regular intervals. ¡®It¡¯s a summoning spell.¡¯ ¡°Summoning¡­¡± Glen murmured narrowing his eyes and the sharp stinger came back splashing water over him and Uvrycres, a hefty fish ¨Cprobably a sturgeon- now nailed on it. ¡°Are you fishing?¡± Uvrycres turned his monstrous horned head around, black teeth crunching audibly at the fish and pieces of guts, flesh and bloody scales dropping. The wyvern brought the twenty kilos fish that still shuddered whilst skewered right behind its neck between them. Then the wyvern burped and Glen almost threw up in his mouth. He raised his hand and removed the metal mask to avoid drowning in his own vomit. ¡°That¡¯s disgusting,¡± he grunted. ¡®Have you seen a Zilan eat?¡¯ ¡°Of course.¡± ¡®Outside of your presence?¡¯ Glen pursed his mouth and eyed the quiet waters of the lake. ¡°Where is she?¡± ¡®She swims here regularly. Usually sleeps in the mornings but she¡¯ll come out soon for a snack. This is good food.¡¯ Glen wiped his sweaty face with the back of his hand. ¡°Is the egg around?¡± ¡®Mmm.¡¯ ¡°What does this mean? The humming?¡± Glen snapped in frustration turning to look at the grinning wyvern. ¡®I told you it never left the city. City¡­ eh, it¡¯s a convoluted mess. You should be ashamed of yourself.¡¯ ¡°It was Voron¡¯s plans mostly.¡± Glen deadpanned, promptly tossing Voron under the proverbial wagon¡¯s wheels. ¡®Why would you listen to an idiot? I can give you much better ideas.¡¯ ¡°Yeah, you can¡¯t have Taras Uvry,¡± Glen argued with frown. ¡®Why? It¡¯s a nice flat space with water at the near. Lovely view of the mountains.¡¯ ¡°There are people living in it, houses we can¡¯t demolish for no reason. You can stay in Morn Taras.¡± ¡®I don¡¯t like the roof. It¡¯s difficult to land in the dark.¡¯ Glen clenched his jaw. ¡°Uvry where is the egg?¡± ¡®Around.¡¯ Fuck¡¯s sake, Glen cursed in frustration and noticed the stinger with the thrashing sturgeon now stood empty but for the gore dripping from it. ¡®Hmm. Interesting,¡¯ the wyvern murmured. The both turned their heads back and saw Assara chomping at the dead fish with enthusiasm about five meters away. ¡°Milord,¡± Hagen was heard from further back having spotted the naked Ticu as well and Sir Kirk who had dismounted immediately unsheathed his sword to approach them. ¡°Stay back,¡± Glen ordered the knight and extended an arm to stop Uvrycres from leaping on the Ticu. With Glen standing so close to the wyvern, he was in danger of getting flattened or trampled under the large winged beast if it turned around. ¡°Dead food tastes bad,¡± the green-skinned Assara commented between huge bites, her eyes black like the fish¡¯s. Nipples a darker green and soaked scales covering parts of her arms. Most of her legs to the meaty hips as well.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Whisper, what in Luthos¡¯ hairy arsehole have you brought back girl? ¡°Listen¡­ friend,¡± Glen started and made a forward step, eyes peeled on the Ticu. Assara swallowed and took another colossal bite that split the sturgeon in two pieces. The heavy fish appearing huge in her thin arms but she kept a hold on both pieces with ease. ¡°I want the egg back.¡± Assara blinked and the wyvern slowly turned around. Standing as he was so close to the water and on glassy rocky terrain basically, Uvrycres¡¯ claws and heavy limbs made a lot of noise despite his efforts to be quiet. The leathery wings gathering around its body sounding like a ship¡¯s sails slapping at the masts. Glen took another large step forward getting between the wyvern and the aloof Ticu. ¡°The gold egg,¡± the Monarch elucidated since he didn¡¯t know if the Ticu had more gathered for whatever reason. ¡°It¡¯s not food.¡± Assara dropped the leftover pieces of fish down one after the other, her black alien eyes had no irises but there was some allure in the creature Glen had to begrudgingly admit. She was very pretty if one could set aside some of the disturbing details as an astounded Hagen pointed out from afar. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of green tit milord.¡± Glen all but rolled his eyes. ¡°Bad wyvern,¡± Assara hissed and Uvrycres growled behind Glen. ¡°Stand back!¡± Glen snapped and took another step forward coming almost face to face with the Ticu. ¡°Where is the egg Assara? It doesn¡¯t belong to you.¡± Assara blinked and reached with a bloody hand to touch his face. Glen tensed up, right hand dropping to his sword handle instinctively but his gut told him to remain still. Her fingers felt slicky to the touch. Like the skin of a fish in a sense. Cold and creepy but also curious. ¡°Not yours,¡± the Ticu sang and Glen felt a tingling running up his cheek to the ear. ¡°He knows,¡± she whispered and retracted her fingers, the strange feeling gone. Glen licked his lips slowly and the Ticu turned into a lovely girl in front of him. The scales dissolving into her skin, face mellowing up and the color turning from the sickly green to a pale white. ¡°Goddess¡¯ goodness,¡± Hagen gasped very impressed or aroused. ¡°You don¡¯t have it,¡± Glen grunted, a tick appearing on the side of his face. It replaced the strange tingling. ¡°What in the allhells is going on here?¡± He bellowed tipping his head back in righteous frustration and the Ticu clacked her teeth scared and leaped six meters away turning back into a mermaid thingy. ¡°Sire!¡± Sir Kirk shouted as he¡¯d approached while Glen was talking with Assara. ¡°Are you alright?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine!¡± Glen snapped and extended his arms outwards and away from his weapons. The left hand still holding Naos¡¯ metal mask. ¡°Who took the egg Assara? I just want to know,¡± he asked the staring at them warily Ticu. Uvrycres¡¯ scales rustled behind him, the wyvern raising on its powerful hind legs menacingly and its oppressive aura expanding out. The hairs on Glen¡¯s arms and nape raised and heavy static electricity crackling all about them. Glen clenched his jaw and hissed through snarling teeth without leaving sight of the Ticu. ¡°Stand down gods damn it!¡± Or what? The Wyvern retorted aggressively looming behind him. ¡°Assara?¡± A tensed Glen asked hoarsely and the Ticu rapidly blinked her soulless eyes twice afore replying. ¡°The youngling.¡±
A daughter thou shall have, the crazy Seer had told him many years back in Merchant¡¯s Triage. But it shall be only half yours.
Glen marched through the doors of his hall and headed for a side door that would you have allowed him to use the second staircase but Rimeros tackled the sober Monarch just before the narrower set of steps. ¡°I¡¯m in the middle of something,¡± Glen rustled pushing the startled at his response Zilan palace official out of his path. ¡°Hardir,¡± Rimeros called to his back. ¡°What about the Lorians?¡± Glen paused with a hand resting at the stone rails. ¡°What about them?¡± ¡°They are still inside the main hall.¡± Right. He¡¯d forgotten about them. ¡°Keep them there. Feed them.¡± ¡°Ehm¡­ for how long Hardir?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. However long it takes. Can¡¯t you handle it?¡± Glen grunted very frustrated. Rimeros bowed his head. ¡°I shall make certain they don¡¯t leave the room Hardir.¡± He assured the already moving up the stairs Glen.
The wild-eyed Glen marched down the west side corridor, reached the half floor that showed part of the illuminated throne room ten meters underneath it and headed for the other side of the Castle where their bedrooms were located. Kilynia stopped talking with Sir Qildor, the senior Rokae was on a break between shifts with Sir Nuvian guarding the princess¡¯ door now that Maeriel was busy searching for the gold egg. She turned to speak but Glen mumbled something incoherent through the mask and rushed past them. Sir Nuvian nodded at the Monarch but got no response at all as Glen cracked the door open and went inside Inis-Mir¡¯s lavish bedroom. It was basically two rooms connected, a boudoir leading to a big bedchamber. Her quarters connected with Sen¡¯s that were located on the northeast corner of the citadel, with Glen¡¯s also linked personal quarters built on the other corner, the southeast. His daughter was in the antechamber, standing before a large canvas with a painting brush in her small hand. Inis had a red short tunic on, her tiny feet sunk into the thick yellow carpet and those rich claret hair gathered at the top of her head. She was adding color to a pencil drawing that showed a gorgeous meadow leading to a marble-adorned water spring in its background. A woman resting on the short bench afore it in the distance, but clearly visible. At the foreground a couple walked towards the lonely woman. They had their backs turned and the second female, standing tall and with long hair reaching her tailbone, was holding the male¡¯s right arm leaning on him intimately as they strolled. A peaceful scene that meant nothing to Glen and couldn¡¯t understand what it represented. He walked near the quiet girl but stopped to remove his Horned Crown helm and place it on a short cabinet. Glen rubbed his forehead with two gloved fingers and then smacked his lips annoyed with the girl ignoring him. ¡°I¡¯m busy,¡± Inis-Mir said without turning to greet him and Glen stared at the back of her nicely-combed head irritated. ¡°What are you fashioning there?¡± The Monarch grunted scrunching his mouth this way and that. ¡°What is this?¡± ¡°Just a scene of things to be,¡± Inis-Mir explained solemnly and tapped with the thin brush at the lonely woman waiting by the water-spring. ¡°That¡¯s mum.¡± Glen grimaced, a severe tick marring the Monarch¡¯s tanned face and he let out a strained gasp not expecting her answer. ¡°This is you I think daddy and the other woman.¡± Inis-Mir added and turned to look at him with those opal irises, turning opaque but filled with red and orange reflections that sparkled in the light coming from the two massive secured with iron bars windows. More red in there than gold or Sen¡¯s white. Rubicund. Her words a punch to the gut. ¡°Stupid dreams mean nothing,¡± Glen rustled hoarsely. ¡°We talked of this afore.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a dream,¡± Inis-Mir argued. ¡°And it¡¯s not mine.¡± Glen clenched his jaw and reached with his arm over the girl¡¯s head to grab the canvas upper left corner. He ripped it off the stand and then crumbled it in his hands angrily. With a grunt he tossed it inside the fireplace. The still warm night coals started smoking, the paper unfolding and the characters in it blackening and dissolving even before a small flame erupted to consume the painting. ¡°Enough wit all the foolishness!¡± He told her and Inis-Mir¡¯s pretty face flushed red. ¡°You are not to speak about any of this with anyone. Nor spread gossip on your father girl.¡± He warned the seething princess. ¡°You¡¯re bedding mother¡¯s slave,¡± Inis-Mir hissed accusingly. ¡°It¡¯s not gossip if it¡¯s true.¡± Glen stood back shocked at her tone. ¡°You have no idea what you¡¯re talking about,¡± he rustled raspingly through his teeth. ¡°Is this why you didn¡¯t help mum?¡± She spat not backing down. ¡°You had another? How could¡ª?¡± A furious Glen¡¯s hand had grabbed the girl¡¯s tunic flared collar in a clenched fist cutting her words short but he immediately let go of the thin fabric and backed away. Inis-Mir didn¡¯t. She followed after him and leaped on her father in a manic assault. Glen grabbed her small waist but the girl repeatedly smacked him in the face with both hands whilst screaming incoherently. Glen walked towards a divan receiving blows to the face from the small hands that had a lot of strength behind them. He tossed the screaming girl on it and used both arms to secure her flaying limbs, overpowering the reeling princess. ¡°For the love of gods,¡± Glen grunted hoarsely. ¡°Please stop. I love you more than anything in the world.¡± ¡°What about mum?¡± Inis cried out in impotent frustration, tears welling in her eyes. ¡°Your mother is dead,¡± a dark-faced Glen croaked harshly and got off of her to step back a couple of feet. ¡°You don¡¯t know¡­ how much it hurts to hear this from your lips. You have no idea what we had or what it felt losing her. Ah, curse it all to hells.¡± He muttered and glanced at the thankfully closed door behind him. Glen heard Inis-Mir getting up from the divan but didn¡¯t look at her. He rubbed his flushed face, feeling some of the blows still and puffed out trying to recover his wits. ¡°Grown up people try to fill a void, not replace what¡¯s missing.¡± He finally said. ¡°You just can¡¯t do it. Don¡¯t ever attempt it.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t believe that,¡± she said sniffling. Yeah. ¡°I don¡¯t. But I¡¯m flawed Inis, you are better than me.¡± Glen replied. ¡°You take after yer mother and she was a different person.¡± ¡°I take after you!¡± Inis retorted with a stubborn pout and wiped her swollen eyes. ¡°You¡¯re the King of all Kings. What you want, you take. I¡¯ve wyvern¡¯s blood. Nothing is beyond my reach.¡± Glen pursed his mouth and walked near her. He knelt in front of the shaking princess¡¯ small frame and took her small quivering hands in his. ¡°Some things I can¡¯t do and not for lack of trying baby girl. Same goes for you or Uvry. You¡¯re too smart not to know that. What is it you want?¡± Inis-Mir furrowed her painted brows but remained silent. ¡°Where is the egg?¡± A tired Glen asked her softly. ¡°How did you pull it off darling?¡± ¡°People see what they want to see,¡± she replied with a deep sigh. Glen hugged her waist gently. He then lifted the princess up with ease and secured her in his arms. ¡°He told me which steps to take.¡± ¡°Who did?¡± Glen asked calmly. ¡°Qodras.¡± Of course he did. Glen nodded and kissed the top of her red head. ¡°It was a spell?¡± He asked looking about the room for the gold egg but couldn¡¯t locate it. ¡°A misdirection charm,¡± she replied with a sniffle. Great. ¡°Did it hurt?¡± ¡°Not really. It¡¯s pretty easy to use.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll never do it again,¡± Glen told her sternly. ¡°No magic. Ever. It¡¯s dangerous.¡± ¡°Not for me. It isn¡¯t,¡± Inis argued. ¡°I mean it girl. No magic,¡± Glen warned. ¡°Where is it now?¡± ¡°You want the egg destroyed,¡± Inis cried and added pleadingly. ¡°Please daddy. It¡¯s mine. This wouldn¡¯t have happened but you threatened it.¡± Glen remembered Uvrycres¡¯ hostile reaction earlier that day and frowned. ¡°Wyverns are not to be trusted fully Inis. I¡¯ve met wyverns that are right vicious.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what Qodras said about you.¡± She sniffled in his neck. ¡°He said you¡¯ll kill him because of me.¡± ¡°He was right,¡± Glen retorted soberly. ¡°You know why baby girl? Because I don¡¯t want the wyvern to harm you. Anyone tries I¡¯ll wipe them off the face of this realm.¡± ¡°Qodras is mine,¡± Inis countered stubbornly. ¡°If you harm the wyvern you¡¯ll hurt me father.¡± Glen puffed out exasperated. ¡°Where is the egg sweetheart? That¡¯s enough fooling around.¡± He asked again and the princess blew a hot breath in his neck mimicking Glen¡¯s reaction afore replying apprehensively. ¡°I gave it to Feyras and he brought it to Laedan. It¡¯s inside the Den.¡± - Early evening 4th of Nonus 3400 IC The Den Goras The last time Glen had wandered inside the Den Raro¡¯s mother and immediate family had tried to eat him. The incident had cost him a couple of toes in his left foot and a slight limp when he wasn¡¯t wearing Angrein¡¯s special boots. Nothing much had changed inside the dark place. Other than it wasn¡¯t as dark anymore or chilly. A tremendous heat emanated from the now reopened back entrance (the main one next to Nesande¡¯s Temple had collapsed along most of the buildings and shrines above it) and the expansive underground construction was well lit with hundreds of lightstone torches. The heat coming from a triangular lake of fire that was lit before the granite figure of Eodrass. The God crudely depicted as a resting wyvern as big as a house, the worn out stone having many cracks on its surface. The surface blackened and covered with soot. The sound of loud chanting and drums reaching Glen and his entourage as they marched towards the lightshow after crossing the vast empty halls that had been cleared out the previous years. Laedan spotted them approaching first. The drenched in sweat and dirty Denmaster rushed to speak with the sober Monarch that had stopped in his turn to watch the unfolding ceremony. Inis-Mir was standing next to him clasping at a frowned Maeriel¡¯s hand, with Sir Kirk and Hagen standing behind them. Glen could see the gold egg on its stone altar right in the middle of the triangle. The dug out sides filled with burning coal and several of Feyras acolytes navigating the three fiery routes towards the altar to pour more oil into the gap around it. The temperature making Glen¡¯s eyes hurt and the leaping flames right at the ¡®eye¡¯ making the gold egg disappear momentarily or shining so bright one could spot the darker scales on it project strangely colored shadows on the walls. ¡°Hardir,¡± a worn-out Laedan said with a grimace of pain. ¡°We¡¯ve been trying since morning.¡± Seeing Glen¡¯s expression ¨Cthe Monarch hadn¡¯t put his mask on in his haste to depart from Morn Taras- the Denmaster glanced at the wide-eyed princess briefly and then pursed his crooked mouth. ¡°What do you want to do?¡± ¡°What is the procedure?¡± Glen asked raspingly watching the prostrated Feyras get up frustrated to direct another disciple towards the center of the fiery inferno. The Zilan loaded with a heavy jug of oil rushing the twenty meters narrow path quickly as the temperature from the burning coals must have felt like he was navigating a furnace. ¡°We keep pouring oil in the center well to keep it filled and burning. At the same time we shovel coal in the pits around it to maintain the temperature and jumpstart the hatching process.¡± ¡°What about the chanting or the incessant drumming that blasts at my ears?¡± Glen asked and the Denmaster shrugged his shoulders. ¡°It helps the younglings relax.¡± ¡°Does it? Help them?¡± Glen queried. ¡°The priests think so Hardir,¡± Laedan replied with another glance at the princess. ¡°This might not work. Usually we have a crack forming afore the day is over. The day is over.¡± ¡°It isn¡¯t,¡± Inis-Mir interrupted him and the disciple returning as fast as he could from the center burning well burst into flames spontaneously afore he could clear the final two meters. The hapless and in appalling pain Zilan immediately started screaming, the priests chanting louder at Feyras¡¯ insistence and the drums thudding at a fierce crescendo as if to cover the noise. The disciple managed to make it out of the open incinerator, pieces of melting flesh falling from his burning body, fat turning to oil and igniting a fiery path behind him and then his legs snapped. The disciple collapsed on the ground but kept screaming gutturally and thrashing about whilst losing more body parts, cheeks hollowing out, eyeballs turning to liquid, until his pressured from the internal vapors skull exploded succumbing to the tremendous heat. Luthos sat on a plaguing crooked spike! What manner of disturbing bullshit is this? A shocked Glen thought at the horrific sight and went to cover Inis¡¯ eyes but Maeriel had beat him to it despite the girl¡¯s loud protests. ¡°Welp, this had gone pretty well up until now,¡± Laedan commented with a grimace, half his face responding to it. ¡°Tell them to stop,¡± a dour-looking Glen ordered. ¡°That¡¯s enough.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t stop now Hardir,¡± Laedan argued stiffly. ¡°It either hatches or the fire kills it.¡± ¡°Bring it out,¡± Inis snapped heatedly stepping forward to glare at the sweating Denmaster. Laedan looked sick and Glen wasn¡¯t feeling much better as he could barely breathe with all the fumes emanating from the pits. The loud ruckus raised from the psalms and beating drums echoed inside the cavernous structure and made Glen¡¯s ears hurt. The ringing maddening. ¡°Princess, it¡¯s probably fused to the rock by now. I¡¯ll need a pickaxe,¡± Laedan protested with a croak. ¡°Do it. Give him the tool,¡± Inis insisted and looked at the frowning Glen. The Monarch puffed out trying to think of how to tackle this situation. There are no fucking instructions on these blasted matters, Glen thought quite furious for getting shoved into another difficult situation. You¡¯d think someone would have gotten these matters figured out already, left a manual of sorts back for those coming after him so they would know what to fucking do! Then again someone probably had and it was now lost or was gathering dust and rat dung somewhere in Elas Library. ¡°Daddy?¡± Inis-Mir pleaded. Eyes opened wide and lips quivering on her sweet face. Glen groaned and pulled at his hair with both hands in despair. ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake,¡± Laedan grumbled realizing where the Monarch was leaning and sucked a lung-full of air in. ¡°Work as fast as you can,¡± Glen counseled him which was a bit of lame an advice at that moment and the Denmaster rolled his sole working eye to the white murmuring under his breath. With a last grimace of frustration he turned around and marched towards the burning pits and the gold egg. ¡°Poras!¡± He yelled to one of his pupils that was about ten meters away. ¡°Grab that pickaxe and the sledgehammer!¡± ¡°What now?¡± His disheveled very-tired pupil croaked snapping a shaven head his way, long ears raising straight up. ¡°We¡¯re getting the egg out!¡± ¡°Have you lost your fucking mind?¡± ¡°I have. Listening to him,¡± Laedan deadpanned angrily and gave a hard kick to a yelling Feyras that had rushed to stop him sending the priest sprawling on the ground. ¡°Cease the Denmaster!¡± A seething Feyras cried out to warn his chanting disciples and got up producing a long dagger from his robes. ¡°STAND DOWN FEYRAS!¡± Glen roared to be heard over the sound of the drums and the stupendous noise finally stopped. Behind him Sir Kirk and Hagen had gotten their swords out. The High Priest of Eodrass stared at the sober Monarch with disbelieving eyes. ¡°Hardir,¡± Feyras grunted, his voice cracking. ¡°The Wyvern.¡± ¡°We¡¯re trying to save it Feyras,¡± Glen informed him hoarsely and added in a grave tone. ¡°But that doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m about to spare your crazy lot.¡±
Laedan did make it out of the center of the glowing triangular inferno, the thirty meters long and ten wide ¡®beds¡¯ of burning coals releasing smoke that created a cloud inside the expansive but ultimately enclosed underground structure. The covered in soot Denmaster¡¯s leather garbs were smoking, all remaining hair burned off of his skull and part of his left arm on fire. He made it through walking spastically away from the fiery altar and stumbled to safety losing control of the smoking blanket he¡¯d covered the gold egg with. It dropped on the ground and rolled towards Glen who was watching from ten meters away, releasing vapors and reflecting the many lights in hues of gold and red. The Monarch grimaced and moved to help the injured Denmaster with a glance at Poras that had fused by the side of altar and was burning like a torch after succumbing to the flames. The pickaxe burning along with him wedged in the side of the stone altar. A groaning Laedan slapped the half-melted skin on his arm to put the fire out, crooked mouth clenched and eyes blurry. Glen gave him a healing potion and the Denmaster poured some directly on the wound afore glugging the rest of it down with closed eyes. The next moment opening them both upset. ¡°Don¡¯t touch the egg!¡± He warned raspingly. Glen turned his head around and saw that Inis-Mir had slipped away from the distracted Maeriel to approach the sweltering gold egg. ¡°Inis!¡± A scared Glen yelled and jumped up. ¡°Stay away!¡± ¡°He cries,¡± the captivated Inis droned and a collective gasp came out of the Zilan standing nearby. Hagen and Sir Kirk glanced at each other unsure but then moved in unison to grab the princess. Inis twirled away from them and reached the large egg before the two men could recover. She grabbed it with both arms to carry it with her and this time everyone present gasped in horrified astonishment witnessing the miracle. It lasted about a second and it could have been two at the most and then Maeriel kicked the egg out of the desperately screaming princess¡¯ hands. The fiercely red skin on her limbs swelling and popping as it boiled and then dropped off of her. Inis¡¯ otherworldly shrieks of mind-numbing pain reverberating inside the ancient Den. They felt like sharp dagger wounds to Glen¡¯s aching heart. -
There¡¯s an apocryphal story about Princess Lussiel Inis-Mir circulating in Taras and the rest of Goras where she¡¯d spent most of her time growing up. When the initial attempt to hatch her wyvern failed, the princess walked through the fire and retrieved that strange gold egg. She held it in her arms and brought it to safety sparing the young wyvern the fate of its kin that were then still buried under the burning coals in the Den¡¯s ditches after they¡¯d failed to hatch properly. While the palace allows the rumor spread today none of those present at the time that are still breathing have either confirmed or denied it but for Troy. The Titan of Novesium has confined to this writer that King Garth told him this was ¡®right close to what really happened.¡¯
- Four hours later they had returned to Morn Taras. A wild ride through the easier to navigate at this time quiet but not fully sleeping town. They had brought the injured princess to bed as quickly as they could. Soletha had arrived an hour later with her pupil, a Zilan female named Mylael and they worked diligently to clean the injuries Inis had sustained. The healers cut the burned skin and flesh away, applied thick salves on the princess¡¯ arms and wrapped them in boiled aloe and eucalyptus leaves soaked in potions. ¡°She¡¯ll mend. The pain shall serve as valuable lesson,¡± a restrained Soletha reported to a solemn-faced Glen that sat on the small divan watching the healers work with hawkish eyes and his naked sword resting on his legs. ¡°There¡¯s no one here that wishes her harm Hardir.¡± ¡°What about the scars?¡± Glen rustled and turned hearing the heavy footsteps of the big Nord coming down the corridor. Soren came through the door, stooping to protect his head and paused unsure at the sight of Glen and the healer talking. The two of them had a strained relationship for over a year. ¡°She¡¯ll heal for she¡¯s young. The princess has been cut before but it left her no serious mark,¡± Soletha replied and glanced at the tall Northman. She extended her left arm with a small smile and Soren took it in his protectively, thick calloused fingers swallowing the healer¡¯s hand up to the wrist. ¡°It reminds me of him.¡± ¡°Small girl is tough,¡± Soren agreed and then smiled broadly afore grabbing Glen¡¯s shoulder with the other hand. ¡°Tougher than you,¡± the massive Nord taunted and shook the scowling Monarch once afore releasing him. A flailing Glen almost went soaring backwards over the divan but the potentially lethal scare snapped him out of his gloomy stupor. ¡°Fer crying out loud!¡± Glen grunted the flood of adrenalin waking him up for good and punched the Nord¡¯s hard-leather armour. Would¡¯ve been better if he¡¯d tried to punch a stone wall. Soren looked at the impact point perturbed and then pulled the chuckling old healer into his gigantic embrace, using the free hand to feel up her bottom. ¡°You big horny truncheon you. Not here!¡± A blushing Soletha half-shrieked half-purred and Glen sighed deeply at the amount of disturbing info he¡¯d just learned about them afore glancing at the finally sleeping exhausted Inis-Mir. ¡°Our princess shall recover great Monarch,¡± Mylael assured him with a bow. ¡°I¡¯ll stay the night,¡± she paused to stare at one of the windows. ¡°And the coming days.¡± Glen stared a little surprised for a moment at the dawn¡¯s light painting the fading night red and then he remembered the two Lorians he¡¯d abandoned inside the throne room earlier that morning. About fifteen hours¡¯ worth of time. Shit. I hope someone remembered to feed them. With a last glance at his daughter the Monarch walked past the half-fighting half-snuggling weird couple and walked outside. Soren always had luck with the rarest girls, he thought. Sir Nuvian¡¯s eyes stayed on his face and Glen informed him that the worst was behind them which visibly comforted the Zilan knight. A moment after the worn-out from the demanding day king -that was almost over- had exited the sleeping princess¡¯ bedroom, leaving his friend and the healers behind, at a far corner of the massive bedchamber inside a sturdy iron box Feyras had stolen from Voldomir¡¯s temple ¨Caccording to the latter¡¯s accusation- the intricate scales on the golden egg¡¯s top side cracked and an almost diaphanous, large but thin gilded piece of shell dropped to its bottom. No one would notice it for days. 471. A day in Goras (3/3)
Laius Cinna A day in Goras Part III -Whatever the King asks¡­-
The sound of the door slamming when it closed had snapped Laius out of his fear-induced daze. The footsteps of many Zilan Rokae departing after the alien king echoing inside the massive hall. The bright lights and gilded details surrounding this now empty edge that was the adjoined throne room seeming oppressive. ¡°Darn good wine this,¡± Doris commented refilling his goblet. ¡°Fancy engravings on the bottle too. Those priestesses over at Valeria do something similar right Laius?¡± Laius pursed his mouth tightly and walked near one of the last gigantic black granite columns to glance behind it. There were more columns after the raised throne, more normal in size that were supporting an internal balcony ¨Cthe light giving it away amidst the darkness of the unseen ceiling- the balcony probably part of the second floor. He spotted a side door barely illuminated by a single lightstone-torch, large portions of the side corridors hugging the main hall beyond the columns lost in sinister darkness. ¡°We need to get out of here,¡± Laius told the silently sipping at King Garth¡¯s wine Duke. Doris had found a chair and was sitting down seemingly unbothered by the meeting. ¡°Whilst we still can.¡± The Duke pointed at a second chair near the table that was situated near one of the bigger central columns. ¡°I¡¯m serious my lord,¡± Laius hissed and walked back to the narrow but of polished ebony, finely carved table. ¡°Not with that tone we won¡¯t,¡± Doris snapped making a gesture to their surroundings. Laius gulped down and lowered himself on the high back chair. ¡°Intense fellow this friend of ours mm?¡± The Duke commented with a wink. ¡°I don¡¯t believe speaking lower helps us here my lord,¡± Laius noted with a grimace. ¡°Zilan can hear much better than people.¡± ¡°So do rabbits is the consensus but I¡¯ve walked up to one during a hunt. Almost stepped on its head. The size of the appendage might lie about the skill dear Laius.¡± Doris stood back after delivering his small lecture very pleased with himself. ¡°He doesn¡¯t seem sane at all and I base this to personal observation,¡± Laius insisted, making an effort to lower his voice to a whisper just in case the Duke was right. ¡°Look at this place. ? of the hall is without any light and mostly empty space. You have to stumble in the dark to reach the entrance to the throne room and if it wasn¡¯t for the lights they remembered to place here, we might have gotten lost. Where are the darn windows?¡± ¡°It¡¯s gloomy but they also say Lord Ruud¡¯s hall at Black Pillar is a depressing place to visit. You wanted us to go there if I recall. Some rulers go for this eerie look. It might be a matter of funds also or the lack of them. Easier to concentrate on a portion of the building and leave the rest bare.¡± Laius licked his dry lips and watched Doris finishing his goblet. ¡°This wine is of excellent quality. A stronger taste might be better for those barbarians up north but the Lorians of the coast would certainly appreciate it. It reminds me of Flauegran but with less sweetness. We gotten the sweetness right in Aegium but missed all the rest, eh.¡± The Duke murmured and glanced about them. The empty throne room carrying their words. ¡°What?¡± Laius asked puffing out and slotted a finger in his soaked collar to help his breathing. ¡°Might be on purpose.¡± Doris murmured thoughtfully. ¡°A way to scare us.¡± ¡°You think he¡¯s standing outside and chuckles at our words?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know Laius,¡± Doris replied and reached for the bottle. ¡°He told us to wait here. For now he¡¯s friendly.¡± ¡°We could try to get away,¡± Laius offered. ¡°You know since befriending a guy that searches the city for a stolen egg so aggressively shouldn¡¯t be a priority and all that my Lord.¡± ¡°It could be a test,¡± Doris countered and refilled his goblet. ¡°To get us drunk?¡± Laius mocked him very frustrated. ¡°You are in a negative mood,¡± Doris grunted with a glare. ¡°Whenever things don¡¯t go smoothly straightway, you get cold feet.¡± ¡°It¡¯s called preservation,¡± Laius retorted and got up to go check on that side door again.
A couple of hours later Laius returned to the table where the Duke was sitting. The bottle only half full now. Doris glanced at him and gave a nod with his head as Laius approached. ¡°Found anything behind the throne stand?¡± ¡°A round window at the edge of the building. I counted forty meters on a north heading. This part is the final portion of the citadel I¡¯m certain. The north side of the pyramid¡¯s base.¡± ¡°How big is the window?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve no idea. It¡¯s made out of colored glass and stands at least six meters high,¡± Laius replied and sipped some of the wine since he was getting hungry. Not that drinking could help with that but there wasn¡¯t much else on offer. ¡°Several portraits though on the walls. The spot well illuminated and there¡¯s another small sitting area back there.¡± ¡°Portraits of himself?¡± ¡°Nothing of himself. A Cofol woman. Quite beautiful.¡± Laius said swallowing the flavorful wine. ¡°Must be the Sopat lass. He¡¯s a widower right?¡± ¡°Uhm. She died at childbirth the captain said.¡± Doris grimaced. ¡°You¡¯d think all this cross-breeding might have¡­¡± ¡°Lots of women die at childbirth my Lord. And he has a daughter already.¡± ¡°True.¡± ¡°That we haven¡¯t seen,¡± Laius added as the Duke had a point. ¡°Aye. Still you shouldn¡¯t be so judgmental Laius.¡± ¡°I really wasn¡¯t my Lord,¡± Laius replied stiffly. ¡°You brought it up.¡± ¡°I¡¯m pretty certain it was you,¡± Doris argued and burped. Great. ¡°That¡¯s enough wine sire,¡± Laius advised and the Duke blinked appearing quite shocked at his insinuation. ¡°Laius I¡¯ve an excellent constitution.¡± Doris assured him. ¡°But I could do with some food.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Laius agreed and pushed back on his chair. ¡°Despite the sparsity in decorations,¡± he added in a lower voice. ¡°Whatever they have installed in here is of excellent quality sire.¡± ¡°Mmm.¡± ¡°Quite expensive,¡± Laius added. ¡°All the portraits were framed in real gold sheets and I¡¯m certain there are real gems on these goblets. This could have been a better option for Sir Deimos given that the Monarch has a daughter.¡± Doris pursed his mouth and stared at the illuminated metal and stone throne standing on the raised platform just after the last two of the massive central columns. ¡°You think Maggie knew?¡± The Duke finally asked in a raspy voice, his demeanor changing. Laius paused not expecting the dark turn to their conversation. Did I cause it with bringing up the late Sir Deimos? ¡°It was a lapse in judgement sire,¡± he said feeling uncomfortable with the topic. ¡°The gods decided on who was responsible. What happened to Lady Margaret was an accident. She drowned.¡± ¡°Like Velia.¡± The Duke noted. Lady Velia was the Duke¡¯s late father¡¯s second wife. Queen Miranda¡¯s late mother had been lost when her ship went under on its way to the Turtle Isles where she owned land. ¡°It was an accident. Both events,¡± Laius reminded him. ¡°Maggie killed herself,¡± Doris grunted bitterly and stood with his face dark. ¡°She knew.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t be certain of that sire. Your late wife didn¡¯t reach from the grave after so many years to snatch Deimos away. It was her son as well,¡± Laius argued getting up himself. ¡°And what happened with Velia wasn¡¯t your fault.¡± Doris grimaced and then rubbed his face with both hands. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have pushed for Miranda to wed Alistair. It was done for selfish reasons and nothing good¡­ came of it.¡± ¡°Miranda¡¯s choices are her own,¡± Laius insisted. ¡°She took after her mother¡ª¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough Laius,¡± Doris snapped angrily. ¡°Yes my Lord,¡± Laius replied and they both stared at the oppressive hall and the hurting their eyes unnatural light of the alien torches. ¡°The door is open?¡± The Duke asked after a long moment. ¡°It is.¡± ¡°This has gone on for some time now eh?¡± ¡°Hours my Lord.¡± Laius droned. Doris smacked his lips and exhaled audibly. ¡°Well then. Stay here is a rather vague suggestion. It could mean¡­ in the citadel. Right? The Castle? Surely we can move about like guests eh?¡± ¡°Certainly my lord.¡± Laius replied dutifully and quite relieved to at least attempt to get out of the empty for hours now hall. ¡°They don¡¯t use it a lot right?¡± Doris asked as they walked towards the side door with renewed purpose but also a little warry for anything popping out of the dark spots all about them. ¡°Maybe they conduct their business elsewhere?¡± Laius chanced. ¡°That would be weird though. Isn¡¯t the King holding court regularly?¡± ¡°Some kings don¡¯t sire,¡± Laius replied. ¡°Right.¡± Doris stared at the closed door apprehensively. ¡°When I asked you just now, whether you think we can move about freely or not, you were pretty adamant in yer response.¡± The Duke reminded him. He was. ¡°I lied my lord,¡± Laius admitted calmly and opened the side door.
You¡¯d expect that eventually and after hours of a boring interval without even a hint that someone remembered they had been abandoned inside the throne room, something might actually change. A small spark of excitement rearing its naughty head. And it did. It was all downhill after that. Laius stepped out inside a narrow extended side corridor running the length of the main hall and the throne room. It was well lit by wall-torches. The Zilan variant. It was also a cool and pleasantly painted in gold and black color corridor this with many doors on its outer side, another stone staircase at the far end. The Citadel was massive in size and constructed without any logical pattern. It was as if someone had started building a temple, switched to a citadel midway through and finished it trying to create a villa of sorts. A blond, strikingly attractive green-eyed Lorian woman had appeared not three meters away. She had been walking down the corridor holding the hand of an aloof boy with intense dark eyes and was followed by a man meandering a couple of meters behind them. She paused seeing Laius and the half-inebriated Duke of Aegium coming out of the door. A ringed hand pulling the boy back apprehensively, bejeweled arms and legs jingling, the latter bare as the small skirt she had on with the openings at the hips that Laius had seen favored by slave-girls left too much skin exposed. By even the lewder Jelin standards. ¡°Ah,¡± Doris gasped next to him upon spotting the comely blonde himself. ¡°Apologies lass¡­ Lady¡­¡± He murmured stepping forward, probably thinking they¡¯d caught the woman in her undergarments. The Duke reached with both hands and clasped the young woman¡¯s right hand. ¡°I¡¯m Ziba-Ra,¡± the Lorian woman said softly in a Cofol accent that didn¡¯t have a hint of Lorian in it. ¡°Lady Ziba-Ra,¡± Doris repeated hoarsely in his noblest impression in untold years and brought her ringed hand to his mouth, performing his famous ¨Cwhen they were both much younger in years- ¡®long knuckle peck¡¯ of a lonely maiden¡¯s hand. Maiden of sorts. Lorian Lady¡­ but that was disputed. Lonely¡­ absolutely not. An alarmed Laius turned his eyes on the shadowy man following after the woman and the kid, but missed him performing an athletic two meter leap that brought him between Ziba and Doris. The Duke was still busy kissing the flushed Ziba-Ra¡¯s covered in tiny decorative silver chains knuckles -unwilling to let go of her fingers, but he did forcefully since the man¡¯s timely punch snapped the Duke¡¯s head back. The attacker had delivered it seamlessly afore landing. Creating another welt on the battered Duke¡¯s right cheek this time. ¡°GAAGLEH!¡± Doris yelped ineligibly twirling backwards stunned by the unexpected blow and the newcomer landed on slightly bent knees afore lithely standing up. He snapped both sinewy arms forward then cracked the fingers on each fist suggestively, slotting them inside a palm. Dressed in a simple Lorian long white loincloth -square in shape as worn in the Legions- and had a piece of engraved half-plate on that left his beefy arms bare. Laius had never seen the exaggerated perfect musculature of ancient warrior marble statues in the flesh before, but the man before him seemed to embody all those qualities. Even down to the square-jawed masculine and bratty face that smiled tauntingly to Laius as if they were on a stage. Laius had drawn his dagger out and was about to rush the handsome newcomer that had assaulted the groaning Doris. ¡°Troy.¡± The woman said without any urgency. ¡°Don¡¯t.¡± While a better delivery was perhaps needed here, Laius didn¡¯t really want to fight also as the newcomer had truly crazy eyes but alas he was left with no other choice. The former chamberlain stepped forward and stabbed with the dagger to nail the taller man at the exposed midriff, but Troy half-turned then closed his fist to punch Laius at the plunging dagger-wielding wrist almost breaking it. The dagger flew sideways out of Laius¡¯ numb fingers, Troy¡¯s other arm moved to snatch the groaning Laius¡¯ left forearm and dragged him forward increasing the momentum he¡¯d gathered. A grinning Troy lowered his shoulder a moment afore Laius¡¯ face connected with it, the lip of the steel plate splitting the bone on his nose, flesh bursting open and his eyes almost popping out of their sockets. Laius yelped, blood spraying out of his battered nose and stumbled back with blurry eyes afore going down on his arse. ¡°You blasted criminal!¡± Doris growled and made to rush Troy but he raised a burly sandaled leg effortlessly and planted it on the charging Duke¡¯s chest. A mighty heave and Doris flew backwards briefly before crashing on the closed door. Hinges rattling and a large crack appearing about halfway down the sturdy wood, slowly revealed as the moaning Duke slid down on wobbly legs. Laius coughed a mouthful of blood and rolled on the floor to get away from the murderer that turned to stare at an unruffled Ziba-Ra that had hugged the small boy and used her body to prevent it from watching the violence. Even so the boy was peeking from behind his mother¡¯s right hip engrossed. ¡°Fucking old creep,¡± Troy said in a Common Lorian accent. ¡°Couldn¡¯t keep your hands to yourself.¡± ¡°What? Are you nuts?¡± Doris grunted trying to get up although Laius wished for him to stay down and play dead. Laius¡¯ head hurting, ears ringing and eyes behind a blurry curtain. He had blood on his face, dripping down the upper lip and more in his mouth.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°Mate, I¡¯ve seen you wit me own eyes,¡± Troy admonished Doris. ¡°Just embrace the hurt lest more punishment be delivered. You got off easy.¡± ¡°Why, you bucolic ignoramus thug!¡± Doris growled now even angrier and forced himself upright. ¡°You¡¯ve laid a hand on me!¡± ¡°Want to fight? Is that it?¡± Troy guffawed. ¡°Fine. No need for words I''m primed already! Got a blade? We can settle this in the next room. Plenty of space but not much of an audience for an event though!¡± Doris blinked not believing his ears. ¡°Fight¡­ you? What are you jabbering about? I¡¯m Duke Alden you fool!¡± ¡°My¡­ Lord, if I¡­ may,¡± Laius croaked and tried to stand with the help of a wall. ¡°Duke? Blasted weakling! Fool, that¡¯s a horse¡¯s moniker hah-hah!¡± Troy retorted with a stupid grin more-amused than angry now. ¡°Seriously? Couldn¡¯t you come up with anything else?¡± Then sobering up some he added in a more serious tone. ¡°I ain¡¯t feeling intimidated mate.¡± Doris touched the swollen part of his face with a hand and pursed his mouth. ¡°You¡¯ll pay for this insult,¡± he grunted a warning and the tall Zilan courtier from before opened the cracked door to step out with a brief sour glance at the damage done to the building. ¡°Mister Troy, Lady Ziba-Ra,¡± Rimeros said with a hawkish glare at the scowling Doris and the groaning bleeding Laius. ¡°What is the reason for this disturbance?¡± ¡°An assault is the fucking reason! Call the palace guards and arrest him!¡± Doris snapped and went to help Laius stand on faltering feet. ¡°This thug attacked us.¡± ¡°The old creep got caught wit Ziba¡¯s hand in his mouth is what he means!¡± Troy countered with a frown. ¡°You wish to settle the score further?¡± Rimeros asked looking at Laius¡¯ mauled nose dripping blood on the tiled floor. ¡°We¡¯re¡­ fine,¡± Laius croaked with difficulty to defuse the matter. ¡°What? You¡¯re bleeding all over the place!¡± Doris grunted whilst Rimeros turned his eyes on Troy as the Zilan¡¯s query was addressed to him and not Laius. ¡°Just toss them both out,¡± Troy replied indifferently. ¡°Beat the old creep some more to straighten him out.¡± ¡°Uh?¡± Doris growled in utter disbelief. ¡°It can¡¯t be done. The Monarch wishes to speak to them further,¡± Rimeros replied evenly. ¡°I¡¯ll bring the matter up with him though.¡± ¡°Is he plaguing serious?¡± A bewildered Doris snapped and a desperate Laius grabbed his arm to quiet him down. ¡°He is¡­ sire,¡± Laius said with a pained groan and then stumbled towards the door forcing the Duke to come along before things got even worse. Laius had to pause again two strides later to get his bearings as his legs felt rubbery. ¡°Troy I wish to visit the market,¡± a polite Ziba-Ra reminded the fit brute behind them. ¡°Hey now pretty. We might have a duel in our hands,¡± Troy protested with a knowing stare. ¡°Not worth our time,¡± a now miffed Ziba-Ra replied pursing her painted lips. ¡°Are you coming or not?¡± ¡°I¡¯m doing this for you,¡± a hurt Troy griped but the woman had already started moving slowly down the corridor dragging the looking back boy with her. With a last warning gesture at the seething Doris the beefy man went trotting after her. ¡°Can¡¯t you arrest this belligerent thug?¡± Doris griped with a backwards glance to a sober Rimeros that followed after them, whilst he helped a dizzy faltering Laius reach the side door. ¡°He¡¯s the Monarch¡¯s friend and a champion of the arena,¡± the Zilan courtier informed him with a grimace of annoyance for the mess they had left behind. ¡°Include Luthos to your prayers tonight human.¡± The Zilan walked past them energetically and went into the throne room again. He paused there to ring a bell he carried with him, the sound produced crisp and echoing inside the much larger room. Rimeros did it for a couple of times murmuring under his breath. ¡°Why, I¡¯ll be a market monkey¡¯s uncle. Can you believe what just happened?¡± Doris hissed using a hankie to staunch the bleeding on Laius¡¯ smashed nose. ¡°We better be careful henceforth my friend.¡± ¡°Yes sire we should¡­ although it was quiet evident since the very start,¡± a hurting Laius retorted with a muffled voice.
Laius let out a groan and felt a dizzy spell flooding his senses as he came about some time later. How much time impossible to state with any accuracy but he could tell they were still inside the throne room. Mylael¡¯s exotic face slowly appearing in front of him. Laius felt something tied around his head. ¡°It¡¯s a bandage to keep the bone set properly,¡± the healer explained and Laius flinched looking about for her pet Nimra lion. ¡°It was broken cleanly so you¡¯re lucky at that but the nose will always be a little different in size now.¡± Hey if the darn thing is still there I¡¯m fine with it, Laius thought. ¡°He can handle it lass,¡± Doris assured her while the disoriented Laius tried to get his bearings. He had a terrible taste in his mouth for sure. Something bitter and tasting of earth. His stomach burned also as if Laius had just swallowed a goblet of acid. Or stale piss. ¡°You¡¯ll need another hour. Don¡¯t break it again,¡± Mylael advised calmly and got up as she had knelt beside the chair. The Zilan healer stood tall and smelling way better than Laius remembered or he¡¯d just got used to their scent by now. The other option available being that his nose was damaged beyond repair. In this terrible day that still hadn¡¯t ended Laius guessed it was the least of his problems. ¡°I¡¯ll be with Soletha at the stables,¡± she explained to a thoughtful Rimeros who nodded once. ¡°Raro wants to see the younglings,¡± Mylael added touching the palace official¡¯s arm lightly. ¡°Just inform us if they are any news...¡± The rest of her words spoken in Imperial. ¡°Eat up.¡± Doris advised interrupting his eavesdropping and pointed at the plates that had appeared on the table in front of him. Several fried eggs with a dish of green salad and mashed boiled potatoes. ¡°I can¡¯t move my mouth sire,¡± Laius croaked watching the healer walking away towards the door leading to the side corridor. The darkness beyond the central part of the main hall engulfing her comely figure. ¡°Your face has changed colors a couple of times. It looks bad. I won¡¯t sugarcoat it,¡± a solemn Doris said with a grimace, himself not looking much better with yet another swelling already formed on his other cheek. ¡°Thanks sire,¡± a pained Laius deadpanned. ¡°You look like a horse¡¯s arse yourself.¡± ¡°Hah,¡± Doris chuckled and slapped a hand on his thigh. ¡°If there¡¯s nothing else,¡± Rimeros informed them. ¡°I¡¯ve real business to attend to.¡± ¡°Wait. Are we to stay here?¡± Doris asked before the Zilan could disappear. ¡°You¡¯ve an audience with the Monarch.¡± Rimeros reminded him. ¡°Can¡¯t we reschedule? We¡¯ve been here for hours.¡± Rimeros blinked unsure. ¡°What does time have to do with anything?¡± ¡°We¡¯re human? It was a jest,¡± Doris said quickly seeing Rimeros¡¯ dour expression. ¡°We¡¯re tired Rimeros.¡± ¡°You are sitting on a chair and just had a meal,¡± the Zilan official retorted stiffly. ¡°You¡¯ll survive for long enough.¡±
About two hours later Laius gulped down whatever he had in his mouth with a grimace of pain. He had started munching carefully at the cold eggs after his hurt jaw regained some mobility. There was a lot of oregano splashed on the meal the Zilans had provided for them but not much salt for a couple of lads from Aegium. Anyhow while a tad bitter and weird to the taste everything was eatable. Laius briefly thanked the gods for that as while the dizziness had slipped away due to Zilan magic or whatever, the hunger had returned in its stead increased tenfold. Laius glanced at the Duke strolling back and forth impatiently. ¡°My¡­ lord, you¡¯ll tire yourself,¡± he warned. ¡°This is getting quite ridiculous,¡± Doris protested, hands clasped behind his back. ¡°Am I right?¡± ¡°They perhaps had a breakthrough with the missing egg?¡± Laius chanced glancing at his plate. ¡°They seem to value them a lot heh? Is it sparsity you think? Maybe there¡¯s a market opportunity here my friend. Easier coin ever made if these fools are so hot on egg dishes right?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not certain we have the full picture sire.¡± The Duke pursed his mouth, face distorting and then let out a groan. He used his tongue to feel the teeth from the inside. ¡°Here¡¯s a picture for you. That son of a bitch got me pretty good back there.¡± ¡°A gladiator sire,¡± Laius commented sadly as he¡¯d gotten the worst of the ordeal. ¡°What about that huh?¡± Doris asked and came to the table. He grabbed his goblet and finished off the wine. The Duke had gone through a bottle already and was now working on a second one. ¡°You think the King is interested in bloody sports? We could perhaps get a day of games organized. Make it an event.¡± ¡°Gladiators are slaves forced to fight in the arena sire.¡± ¡°I know that. The concept is similar,¡± Doris argued. ¡°I don¡¯t believe we can stomach fights to the death back in Jelin my Lord. Could you do it here?¡± ¡°What are you talking about? People always died in the tourneys Laius,¡± Doris countered with a frown. ¡°Granted it wasn¡¯t intended but let¡¯s not pretend that it doesn¡¯t happen!¡± Laius forced himself up from the chair grumbling as he felt battered in several places. His back, right leg and arm. Nose¡­ obviously. You don¡¯t expect to engage in risky ¡®acrobatics¡¯ when on a diplomatic mission of sorts. Or getting assaulted inside a palace for kissing a maiden¡¯s hand. Doris had overdone it back there perhaps. He stumbled towards the raised throne and blinked still unaccustomed to the weird strong lights. ¡°Whatever King Garth asks,¡± Laius advised raspingly the peeved Duke turning around. ¡°You should agree Doris.¡± Laius had forgo all formalities as this was important. Doris furrowed his brows. ¡°Laius I know this might seem bad now but we¡¯ve asked for asylum¡­¡± The Duke paused unsure staring at something across the well-illuminated central part of the throne room. A curious Laius slowly turned his head around to gaze at one of the last two great columns that marked the end of the much darker elongated main hall. At the base of the east ridiculously thick support black pillar a figure had appeared. Dressed in dark leathers the lanky white-haired Zilan had the dark-skin of an Issir, but the typically long ears and gleaming eyes of the rest of Rimeros¡¯ kin. The dark-skinned Zilan frowned, hint of surprise on his wicked mouth and glanced at them staring at him from across the room. He brought an index finger on his lips in a teasing gesture of silence and then flipped that same hand around opening his palm. A puff of smoke raising over it immediately and then the mysterious Zilan blinked out of existence. ¡°Why¡­¡± Doris murmured sounding perturbed at the bizarre event with Laius blinking equally stunned, standing a couple of meters in front of the Duke and nearer to the throne. The shadow created behind the raised platform and the high back of the Monarch¡¯s seat coming alive all of a sudden. A part of it forming arms and legs. A head. It moved out of the shades, the dark dissolving like smoke and turning into garbs. A raised hood and a long cloak under it. The jingling of blades on the weapon harness and a pair of soft-leather boots stepping on the tiled floor. ¡°Good grief,¡± Doris gasped seeing the newcomer appear out of nowhere. This second Zilan of normal complexion and quite familiar. Laius had spotted him again during the meeting with the Monarch that very morning. The second Zilan grunted opening his mouth as if to speak, but no coherent sound came out in any language. He then sniffed at the air audibly with a grimace and walked away from the throne room looking disturbed and quite alarmed. ¡°Ahm,¡± Doris started and the Zilan snapped his head towards him aggressively with a glare that could only mean that the Duke should keep his mouth closed. Doris thankfully understood the silent exchange. With another grunt the hooded Zilan walked towards the column where the other one had appeared and disappeared to. He rounded the around five meters in circumference barrier and came out of the other way abruptly. With an irritated incoherent rumble the Zilan unsheathed a front-curved sword from his back, the weapon concealed initially by the cloak. He stood still examining the darkness of the main hall that extended all the way to the front gates of the citadel and then with a last glance at the two bewildered humans walked inside it. A moment later the hooded freak was gone as well. Laius licked his numb lips and the moment dragged until it was broken by the clinging of utensils behind their backs. The sound coming from their abandoned table about ten meters away. They both twisted around panicked but the table stood empty, the sound coming from a gleaming silver coin that twirled around on its surface and bouncing from a spoon to the edge of the plate without losing momentum. It was the perfect spin almost. Laius and Doris marched towards the table with the murmuring Duke rounding the smaller column to find the culprit. Laius picked up the silver coin stopping it from making the strange jingling sound. An eagle and not a Dinar or an Imperial coin this, he thought amused and unsure on what the gesture meant. It was obvious to Laius that the first, very weird in appearance Zilan had left it there somehow without anyone noticing it. How he¡¯d crossed this lit up portion of the room with three set of eyes looking about alarmed a nigh impressive feat. ¡°Huh,¡± Laius guffawed and shook his head just as the perturbed Duke returned from searching the nearby premises. ¡°By the Allgods! This palace is crammed full of wierdos or something right? What¡¯s the matter now?¡± Doris griped seeing Laius expression and pulled the chair to sit down. ¡°He paid for the blasted eggs,¡± a disbelieving Laius retorted and pointed at his now empty plate. Of everything else that had happened, this felt like the most bizarre event to him. - Many hours later Late evening of the 4th, or early morning of the 5th of month Neter 3400 IC (194NC) Third Era Morn Taras throne room The black mask wearing King of Wetull marched inside his throne room from another side door just as the first light of day lit up the single window over the far edge of the great hall they had been trapped inside. Since the previous morning really. Laius kicked the sleeping and loudly snoring Duke awake, Doris¡¯ disheveled head leaned back loosely over the top of his chair after succumbing to two bottles of Goras wine. The Duke snapped awake closing his mouth and blinked in confusion. ¡°Where are they? Ah¡­¡± The King said and walked briskly towards them, arms and armour covered in black soot for some reason. ¡°What¡­?¡± Doris murmured rubbing at his swollen eyes, looking about the place unsure. ¡°Friends¡­¡± the King started looking at Laius and then at the slow to get up on his feet Doris. He paused, the metal mask moving his mouth into a grimace of disbelief. It sent a shiver down Laius¡¯ spine. ¡°Luthos stepped on his hanging balls and squashed them,¡± King Garth said sounding astonished at the sight of them. ¡°Why, you two look even more maltreated and miserable than I recall!¡± ¡°Ehm¡­¡± Laius tried to say and Garth stood back, a hand scratching a point on his chin under the mask. ¡°Rimeros what happened to them?¡± He asked the courtier that had reappeared. Rimeros pursed his lips in a grimace of distaste. ¡°Troy caught them fooling around with Ziba-Ra Hardir.¡± ¡°What? For real? Hah-hah!¡± The King guffawed and stared at the ogle-eyed, swollen and bandaged face of the terrified Laius. ¡°Were bodily fluids exchanged Rimeros?¡± ¡°Only blood Hardir. Theirs.¡± ¡°Thank gods that would¡¯ve been awkward to explain given she¡¯s also sleeping under my roof. I¡¯ve enough problems on that front as it plaguing is! Well, not much damage that I can see on them,¡± Garth noted shaking his helmed head. ¡°You won¡¯t do it again¡­ hmm?¡± ¡°No your grace,¡± Laius replied quickly smacking the arm of Doris abruptly as the latter was about to protest at the accusation. ¡°Listen,¡± Garth told them conspiratorially but Laius didn¡¯t relax nor did he fall for the Monarch¡¯s trap. ¡°I know the girl is as fine as summer wine but we don¡¯t do that here. You want a partner because yer lonely and all miserable, know we have too much unattached tit for the demand as a matter of fact. Plenty of cock too but keep that shit out of these walls. Anyways you just have to ask first to avoid any mishaps. You don¡¯t, then ye take the risk and live wit the consequences or ye don¡¯t. Are we in agreement gents?¡± ¡°Yes Hardir,¡± Rimeros replied looking at Laius knowingly. ¡°Eh, we understand your grace.¡± ¡°Quite clear my lord,¡± Doris retorted gruffly. ¡°What do you understand exactly?¡± Garth asked sobering up and Laius that had feared that it had been perhaps a trick query from the start, exhaled bit by bit not to squeal aloud panicked. ¡°There¡¯s enough free tit around for the demand,¡± the Duke replied hauntingly in a rare bout of clarity and the King of Wetull slapped his hands before him with a chuckle. ¡°Splendid,¡± he announced. ¡°Now that¡¯s a potential big problem easily resolved Rimeros.¡± ¡°Indeed Hardir,¡± the Zilan droned, not looking like he believed the matter to be of any importance whatsoever. King Garth snorted and then gazed at the two sheepish Lorians somberly, again switching from being pleasant to being completely grim in the blink of an eye. A pair of striking amber-eyes contributing to this madness emanating from him. Nothing Zilan in these eyes though, they look almost human, Laius thought but the smell of burned flesh reaching his nostrils from the stained and soot-covered King disabused the notion out of him for a while. ¡°I don¡¯t trust you,¡± he told Doris and the Duke blinked in shock. ¡°You,¡± the King continued looking at the shaking Laius. ¡°I trust even less. You seem rather sneaky, hmm? Why are you here men of Regia?¡± He asked evenly. ¡°We seek asylum from the King beyond the Pale Mountains,¡± Doris reminded him. ¡°We talked of this earlier your grace. It¡¯s been a day since.¡± ¡°Days in Goras are long and eventful. You should have seen mine,¡± Garth replied mockingly. ¡°But that wasn¡¯t what I asked Mister Doris. For a Duke you are quite out of touch wit how things work in the realm.¡± He turned to stare at the tensed Laius. ¡°Why are you here Mister Cinna?¡± The King asked again. ¡°We¡¯re here to serve your grace,¡± Laius replied quickly stumbling through the words and preying he¡¯d deciphered the Monarch¡¯s meaning correctly. ¡°That¡¯s god darn right!¡± Garth agreed rigidly and nodded his horned head quite pleased. The metal mask had formed a smirk on his covered face. Whatever magic was involved in this it was beyond Laius¡¯ comprehension. He just wished they had risked the Old Crow¡¯s court instead or even Zofia¡¯s brutes. Better to live in the bitter cold than consort with the insane. ¡°Find them a room inside Morn Taras. Plenty of space left to fill,¡± Garth ordered the stiff Rimeros and the Zilan bowed his blue head low. ¡°You are dismissed.¡± The King added and walked towards the table to sit on the chair the Duke had slept in. ¡°Gratitude your grace,¡± Doris said relieved and tapped the devastated Laius¡¯ shoulder to snap him out of his misery. They were trapped here. We¡¯re never seeing the light of day again. Uher helps us! Rimeros signed for them to follow after him. ¡°I told you everything was going to turn out fine,¡± the Duke started as they hurried behind the fast moving Rimeros. They were heading for a different part of the building across the corridor they had visited earlier. ¡°Mister Cinna,¡± Garth was heard from afar before Laius had the time to reply to Doris¡¯ rumbling. ¡°You stay for a while.¡± Laius paused shaking and Doris continued after the Zilan with a last look of encouragement and a silent ¡®you got this old friend¡¯ which did nothing to alleviate Laius¡¯ worries. He walked back towards the table occupied by the silent King on heavy legs. Men that were about to have their heads chopped off probably had more spring in their step than Laius at that moment. Garth had found the silver eagle coin the mysterious Zilan had left behind earlier and was rolling it in his gloved fingers thoughtfully. ¡°Have a goblet with me Mister Cinna,¡± Garth said and pocketed the coin casually. ¡°Open a new bottle.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no more wine left my Lord,¡± Laius croaked in a small voice. ¡°There¡¯s more in the cupboard,¡± Garth replied calmly. ¡°Back there, where the portraits are. You know where it is?¡± ¡°Aye my lord,¡± Laius replied before he could control himself and the King chuckled seeing his scared reaction. ¡°Only fools or the na?ve don¡¯t look for a way out of a stranger¡¯s hall Mister Cinna,¡± Garth commented and signed for him to go and get them a fresh bottle. ¡°I happen to look for an experienced and smart dude to take on a serious task and you seem to fit the bill ironically. Is my gut wrong?¡± He asked on his back and Laius paused on shaking knees. He gulped down and pivoted to stare at the Monarch¡¯s real face. Garth had removed the mask and had placed it on the table. Whatever the king asks, Laius had foolishly advised the Duke of Aegium thinking it would come down to a moment like this. You shouldn¡¯t deny him. Or we¡¯re both dead. Laius cared more about his own fate than Doris¡¯ despite liking the Duke a lot, but either way it had boiled down to the same thing basically. ¡°You are not wrong sire,¡± Laius had replied clenching both fists tightly and the white-haired life-like mask now in the flesh had nodded with the face of a human. Laius hadn¡¯t seen a scarier person in his life. ¡°I thought so,¡± Garth noted simply and added with a crook¡¯s smirk. ¡°Hurry up now Lord Treasurer. We¡¯ve a meeting to attend to and I can¡¯t get through one wit a dry gullet. A new day is ahead of us. Chop-chop.¡±
472. Eight’s ‘Rules of the Trade’ (1/3)
¡°There¡¯s a secret dungeon under Abrakas¡¯ great temple in Urma Port. Deep under the ground. My old lair of sorts. Well¡­ my tutor¡¯s really. Not Tinyssos, don¡¯t be silly. He couldn¡¯t find his way around a laboratory and reading oft lulled him to stupor in a second. He-he. No, the other guy.¡± Dudrina O¡¯ Tinyssos (aka Curu Nulena, the Black Witch) Speaking to the famed ¡®Toloth Ama Erea¡¯ about a hundred years into Queen Baltoris¡¯ reign. The second decade of the latter¡¯s ¡®reforming years¡¯ or violent pogroms that started with the ¡®death¡¯ of High Priestess Edlenn O¡¯ Sintoriela (aka the Night Moon, Fair Mother) ten years earlier.
Nulanos ¡®Neil Toloth¡¯ ¡®Eight Fingers¡¯ ¡®8¡¯ Eight¡¯s ¡®Rules of the Trade¡¯ Part I -A Queen¡¯s Promise-
- 2nd Era Witchwood Gulf Cyran, Six Peaks Isles Gods Grounds Catacombs
The burly Ranger leader Telos drew his arm back, large fist clenched and then hammered it on Nulanos¡¯ face cutting the skin and splitting the cheek¡¯s flesh open to the molars. You usually roll with it. Most professionals at least preach something similar. Those of them that is who mastered ¡®the getting punched in the face skill¡¯, he thought and waited patiently for Telos to pick him up from the tiled floor along with the chair. Get him seated all nice and upright again. Difficult not to play the invalid if you¡¯re tied up as a spit over the fire. Nulanos spat a blotch of blood down and checked on the cut with his tongue from the inside. The watching Baltoris got up from the chair and removed her gloves. The Queen had her black and red plate armour on, a sword strapped on her back. Ever the fighter but some wars need generals to be fought properly, he thought with a pained grimace. Although most times a good enough beating would do just fine. Not this time though. ¡°Give him something,¡± Baltoris ordered, her square face and fierce azure eyes not complemented by her mostly short-cut hair. Some liked the look. Nulanos wanted his women looking womanly some of the times. ¡°You should let your hair grow,¡± he suggested gulping down blood. ¡°I love the braid though. It has character.¡± The Queen set her jaw and then walked near his chair. She smelled of brimstone and bath oils. The mixture needed some work done to get something out of him. But he was almost there. Baltoris saw his scrutinizing eyes and furrowed her brows. ¡°Apologies, your grace. I found myself slowly succumbing to your royal charms,¡± Nulanos teased her and grimaced when the brute shoved a soaked in ointment cloth in the hole at his cheek. With the same commitment one plugs a leak in a latrine. ¡°You, I don¡¯t like very much. I think you are a fake ranger. A soldier pretending to be one. Or an ox driver? Heh? Am I close? Touch your nose with your toes if I am. You play at an ape. Own it.¡± Dimples formed on the Queen¡¯s cheeks and there was something there that reminded him of her younger days. She then stepped forward and touched his uninjured cheek. ¡°If I had magic I could have made you talk,¡± Baltoris told him and she had a nice breath. Lovely teeth. She snapped her fingers in front of his eyes. ¡°But they can do it also with brute force.¡± No they couldn¡¯t. ¡°Or I could use the wyvern.¡± ¡°We won¡¯t understand each other,¡± Nulanos reminded her. ¡°And I¡¯m pretty certain I¡¯ll get the teeth first then the tongue.¡± Baltoris lips formed a slight smile. ¡°How does a Mori-Zilan gain respect through stealing?¡± She asked. ¡°It¡¯s a trade your grace. I always leave something back,¡± Nulanos explained. ¡°Bah, nonsense. Of equal value? I got a bird from you as I recall.¡± ¡°No bird shall approach an Aniculo Rokae on its own volition,¡± Nulanos remarked. ¡°It was a precious gift.¡± ¡°I tossed it out of a window. It left shit in my room.¡± ¡°Noble¡­ letting it go,¡± Nulanos expounded. ¡°Not the shitting part.¡± The Queen gave him a light warning slap on his good cheek. ¡°Are you any good with the long blade?¡± ¡°I¡¯m great with it in bed. Does it count?¡± Nulanos deadpanned and was awarded with a redder version of her. Telos grabbed his shoulder to better burst his head open with a punch but the flushed Queen stopped him. ¡°I¡¯ll take a lover when the time is right,¡± Baltoris finally said and pursed her lips. ¡°Discreetly. Life is more than carnal passion and petty crimes Nulanos.¡± That¡¯s a boring life. ¡°I won¡¯t argue that but I also get pretty emotional at times and rumors do exist that I delved in some pretty serious shenanigans your grace.¡± The Queen nodded once. ¡°Where is Dudrina? The palace wants to hear her version of some events.¡± ¡°Dudrina barely bothers with domestic affairs to get herself involved with the realm,¡± Nulanos replied. ¡°Where¡¯s her house?¡± ¡°Witches love nature. Most witches. The poor ones more. Better that we maintain an open mind here. Nevertheless¡­ let me answer best as I can starting with a guess. Where¡¯s her current residence your grace wonders? Hmm, in a forest? Some, remote island? Islet? The Great Desert? Some¡­ other distant land? The possibilities are endless,¡± Nulanos grimaced and shifted his jaw about feeling every painful inch of movement. ¡°I¡¯ll be willing to shoulder the responsibility of an expedition in order to locate her as soon as the morrow, but only if your grace covers the expenses. The Guild,¡± he continued with a small theatrical pause. They were letting him talk. Way better than getting punched in the face. ¡°Is all but broke your grace.¡± ¡°How about I just summon her? Ah, but I have and she didn¡¯t appear.¡± Nulanos pursed his lips but opted to keep silent. Baltoris walked a couple of strides away in deep thought. Not long after she paused and turned to stare at the tied up Thieves Guild Leader. ¡°Why steal the circlet?¡± Queen Baltoris asked slipping into strict court Imperial unwittingly. ¡°To use it, thou need to cut something off of thee. A hand? A Finger? You are a thief. A glorified burglar. Don¡¯t you need all your digits?¡± Is that a veiled threat? ¡°It wasn¡¯t me your grace.¡± ¡°Someone left a dead dog inside Elas¡¯ office.¡± Baltoris noted not falling for it. ¡°It screams of you.¡± ¡°Maybe these screams and the offering is naught but a divine warning? Maybe the gods fear Elas might work himself to death,¡± Nulanos quipped with a silly grin going another way. It almost worked. The Queen chuckled briefly and then Telos¡¯ iron-knuckled punch returned twice as heavy as afore. Nulanos lowered his head this time and got a blow that knocked him unconscious but he slipped into blissful stupor with the satisfaction of hearing the brute¡¯s painful yelps of agony birthed from all those broken fingers. Yeah.
- A ¡®very long¡¯ time later 3rd Era The month Neter of 3400 IC Taras central Market The pretty Zilan cabbage-stand salesgirl winked in warning per their agreement and Nulanos started moving the moment a fancy-dressed Cofol merchant left the nearby lime and peaches table, his slave carrying two large sacks full of fruit. Nulanos walked staying glued on them, lightly stooped and peeking over the Cofol¡¯s shoulder for the person he was following. Every step the merchant took, Eight copied in a crazy and very silly pantomime. A mule-drawn cart stopped blocking the merchant¡¯s way and Nulanos twirled around, left arm tossing a coin to the Zilan girl, the other lifting the Cofol¡¯s purse with two fingers. The girl raised both arms to catch the coin behind him but it bounced on a thumb and hit her sternum instead. The coin slipped down the female¡¯s d¨¦collet¨¦, a cheap chiton offered opportunities and many openings, despite her squealing efforts to stop it and probably ended up inside her underwear. Or not. Clink. The coin went, since the naughty provincial Zilan didn¡¯t wear one. Ah, the air-loving groins. Nulanos snickered still moving, freed hand stroking the mule¡¯s snout just before slotting a stolen peach in its mouth, the other dropping the purse inside the hat-craftsman¡¯s cart and lifting a feathered, large-brim straw hat in the lopsided trade. Need dictates each thing¡¯s true value. The master thief rolled under the cart to escape the blocked part of the market road and stood up straight now wearing the hat low to hide his face, one of the feathers plucked and slotted in his smirking mouth. A Cofol bard-storyteller started recounting a battle that had happened in Greenwhale Peninsula standing on a stand with a lute-playing Zilan accompanying the human¡¯s pompous words. The crowd blocking the edge of the market watching impressed, but then Nulanos realized the reason and shook his head in disbelief. The lute player was one of the King¡¯s officials apparently. Also a man of culture which was sometimes jargon for all the ¡®lewder venues¡¯ enthusiasts. Be it owners or clients. A bold choice by the Monarch for sure. Down a busy street away from the market and southeast to avoid the large main square. The nimble figure he was after slipped inside a side alley between two tall buildings. Two thug-looking Lorians barring his path the moment he rounded the corner after the hooded male. ¡°Hey, what¡¯s wit the fancy hat?¡± The first one asked mockingly, the other raising an ironwood club to park it on a broad shoulder. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s not you mate,¡± the club-wielding brute expounded with a crooked rot-infested grin. Nulanos kept walking briskly towards them, raising an arm in a greeting or to tip his hat to them. ¡°Oras shadow, you¡¯re a dark son of a mule,¡± the burly brute added. ¡°I prefer Neil,¡± Nulanos replied and hurled the hat on the brute¡¯s face. The fleeing figure he had been following, now eight meters further down the alley, twisted around on his axis with a loud curse upon hearing Nulanos¡¯ voice. Good ears. A lot of stuff happening at the same time. Which is the same with things happening one after the other but for half a twist. The latter needing decent reflexes and the first excellent positioning. Both needed a hefty dose of leeway and the ability to think on your feet. The club-wielding brute swung with the club to batter the flying hat away. He could have used the other hand for half the effort and make Nulanos¡¯ job that much trickier but Luthos only gets involved for the belly laughs unless you¡¯re a dick. Praised be the god of noble crooks. The short heavy club smashed the hat down given the starting point ¨Cit was resting on the man¡¯s shoulder- and Nulanos planted a boot on it on the way up. The first man went for a long dagger slotted on a tattered leather belt he had on his waist. He grabbed the handle and yanked it out and Nulanos¡¯ left hand extended even lower to grab the front on the thug¡¯s breeches ¨Ccock and balls- and did the same. Yank them out that is. The thug bellowed high enough to empty the alley of sneaky rats and stray cats, eyes gawking all but popping out of their sockets and Nulanos raised the knee on the leg that had kicked the club down. Caught its owner¡¯s reaching left hand with it. The wrist bones snapped, the hand turning the wrong way and Nulanos released the first moaning man¡¯s groin and used both hands now to grab their heads as he¡¯d arrived between them. Neil heaved hard whilst stooping his own head low -always moving, fingers lodged on each man¡¯s nape in the savage pull that brought them banging together behind him. The crunching sound reverberating down the narrow alley as Nulanos kept moving towards the snarling Mori-Zilan he had been following from the market. Sorn brought a clenched fist in front of him and burned incense to walk into a shadow. The shades extending to the end of the alley, about six meters away, since this was a nice and sunny Goras¡¯ early Fall day. Nulanos sprinted abruptly towards the exit in an explosion of adrenalin, taking a guess that Sorn wouldn¡¯t double back, always angling right and fast nimble feet tip-tapping on the ground first and then vertically on the side wall up to the middle or until he reached the three meters mid-point. Then he lunged across the other wall, clearing three meters in the sideways leap, clasped a tiled edge with his left hand and heaved himself over using the gathered momentum. The master thief landed on the tiled roof in a lithe roll that morphed into a mad dash that helped him reach the end of it, the next street a boulevard marking the start of the ¡®better neighborhoods¡¯. He planted a foot down just before the edge, tiles breaking and jumped down just as Sorn popped out of the shadows underneath him wielding a sword. A woman screamed seeing the naked blade swinging and it clipped the top of Nulanos¡¯ short-cut hair. Sorn kicked Nulanos out of the dodge he¡¯d attempted upon landing, not really expecting Sorn would use a sword in public, the boot catching his right shoulder bad and pitching him straight for the ground. Nulanos rolled on the hurt shoulder to get another meter out of Sorn¡¯s brutal kick and stopped on a knee hearing a couple of Taras¡¯ citizens calling for the guards. ¡°Tough luck,¡± Sorn spat breathing heavy and made a couple of backward steps to return inside the alley. ¡°You should have stayed dead¡­ what?¡± He croaked seeing the blood spurting out of his right wrist. ¡°It¡¯s a feather,¡± Nulanos explained walking towards him. ¡°You can use it as a quill or a needle.¡± Sorn growled irate but hesitated hearing the angry yells from a patrol that had appeared at the far end of the boulevard. When he came to a decision ¨Cto run away- Nulanos had reached him and the Mori-Zilan old member of the ¡®Imperial branch of the Thieves Guild¡¯ let¡¯s say, to give him some needless gravitas, decided to use that sword instead. Neil showed him the bloody feather in his left hand with a shrug and punched Sorn right in the throat with the right. Sorn staggered back with a strangled croak of pain and Nulanos dropped the feather to hurl a left hook at his groin. Then a right knee to the face when Sorn doubled over snapping his bloody head back up. Nulanos used his left hand to grab the right arm of the half-unconscious from the repeated blows old colleague and calmly tossed it over his own shoulders to prevent Sorn from going down. He glanced back at the approaching Taras¡¯ city guards and then used the tip of his right boot to deftly kick the dropped sword up. Neil snatched it with his free right hand and moved swiftly towards the narrow alley. A puffing out Nulanos walked fast whilst supporting the faltering and bleeding down his face Sorn until he reached the spot where the other two thugs still lay unconscious. Nulanos rapidly undressed the bigger one and placed the roomy coat open on the ground. Working fast he landed a couple of more punches on Sorn¡¯s face mainly to knock him out completely but also a tad because Nulanos did owe that prick a very old debt. It belonged to a museum this grunge but it had found sort of new legs lately. While wanting to believe that he had moved on from the past, seeing Sorn again some months back had gotten him all wound up inside. Need to keep a clear head here, Nulanos advised himself while he carried the wobbly body of Sorn some meters to drop it on the opened cloak. He then proceeded to wrap Sorn with the latter until the Mori-Zilan looked like a draped human-like bundle of old garbs. With a pair of boots on. Hmm. One of the thugs came about with a pained groan while he worked the problem in his head, so Nulanos walked there casually and landed a brutal kick right at the man¡¯s temple knocking him out again. Then he removed Sorn¡¯s boots and tossed the body over his left shoulder. It folded at the midriff, arse staring to the front and head hanging below Neil¡¯s back. Nulanos exhaled and he followed it with a deep breath afore marching down the dark alley. Back towards the way he had originally come from.
The Guild¡¯s tiny empty tavern had two tables inside it with four chairs in total and behind the small counter an unassuming door. It led into another small room with two crude beds as its only furniture. It also had a small hatch under one of the beds if you got it out of the way. Eventually the hatch led down with the help of a small ladder -about four or five meters worth of descend- and after some more walking in the pitch-dark into a much bigger cellar. This underground space was well-illuminated with nice ¨Cpilfered- lightstone torches and had more rooms across the large reception area. It had been a wine cellar before. Part of a collapsed villa¡¯s foundations. A new two-story building had been built over it that birthed four apartments and some change in total and the Guild had bought the tiny leftover space to open a tavern. The hostel owner had used it as a small warehouse initially. They hadn¡¯t seen a single customer in months since no one could figure out where the black side door led to and most patrons went straight for the much bigger and well-illuminated main entrance of the hostel. Nulanos thought that digging out a new path towards the cellar ¨Cthe hatch and ladder- had been the most difficult part and Nigel Grim agreed since he had done most of the digging. ¡°What¡­ in Luthos¡¯ cheap earrings!¡± Nigel cursed jumping out of the chair he had dossed off upon seeing Nulanos coming out of the dark corridor carrying the groaning but immobilized Sorn. ¡°You have a rope at the near?¡± The heavy-breathing and tired Nulanos queried. ¡°Ahm¡­ yeah. I found some the other day.¡± ¡°Any good?¡± ¡°Eh, it¡¯s just a line to hang clothes from,¡± Nigel explained sounding a little embarrassed whilst looking about the cellar for the rope. ¡°Want to start washing your own clothes?¡± Nulanos teased. ¡°Just give them to Ruvin. He has staff for that.¡± Nigel shook his head returning with the loop of thin rope. ¡°I just needed something quick at the time. By the way,¡± he said giving Neil the rope. Nulanos was sitting on the wrapped up Sorn, who he¡¯d placed on the ground in the meantime. ¡°I don¡¯t trust Ruvin. Don¡¯t let me start. He¡¯s a sneaky Zilan.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a sneaky Zilan,¡± a chuckling Nulanos reminded him. ¡°Well,¡± Nigel shrugged his shoulders not wanting to expound further. ¡°Is it the color of my skin?¡± ¡°I¡¯m darker than you Neil,¡± Nigel Grim grunted and pointed a finger on the ¡®groaning¡¯ and thrashing bundle under Nulanos. ¡°Do I even want to ask what¡¯s in there?¡± ¡°A thief.¡± ¡°Right.¡± ¡°He broke the rules.¡± Nigel¡¯s face remained blank. ¡°Never betray the Guild,¡± Nulanos elucidated. ¡°Aha. Because the other rules are a bit vague and don¡¯t warrant such a strong reaction.¡± ¡°He betrayed me,¡± Nulanos rustled. ¡°No I didn¡¯t!¡± A muffled voice was heard coming out of the bundle. ¡°It was all her idea! She did it!¡± ¡°Right,¡± Nigel repeated the whole situation a bit weird for him. ¡°Where is he from?¡± ¡°Mori-Osto,¡± Nulanos replied. ¡°The twin cities of Long River.¡± ¡°Never heard of them.¡± ¡°It¡¯s been a while now.¡± Nulanos said with a grimace. ¡°They were more like small towns is the truth. Not that famous overall.¡± Nigel nodded doing his best impression of a blank canvass. ¡°Still doesn¡¯t ring any bells Eight. Like¡­ nothing.¡± ¡°Sorn hails from Coal Isle. He¡¯s a Mori-Zilan like me. A member of the Guild but he enlisted untold years before you were born Nigel.¡± Nulanos explained. ¡°You¡¯ve seen him once more.¡± ¡°The old place,¡± Nigel murmured looking at the now silent ¡®package¡¯. He looked at the thoughtful face of Nulanos. ¡°It¡¯s long gone right?¡± ¡°Everybody believes it. That¡¯s what I want to find out,¡± a preoccupied Nulanos replied hearing a long-forgotten voice in his head. It was a half-truth this. The forgotten part. Eh. The female sounding tensed but it was a very old memory this, tainted by sentiment and nostalgia. Nulanos had moved on. There are not here for you, Milva had told him on that bridge. All a lie.
¡°What were you reading?¡± Nulanos asked twenty minutes later examining the scrolls on the table where Nigel Grim was sitting earlier. Nigel was busy trying to bandage the tied like a turkey Sorn as Neil had shattered his nose badly. He was forced to insert one of his thin burglar pins to get the bones relatively straight again. ¡°A couple of reports Denis brought. He went out to stock the tavern. We might have our first customers tonight but Denis will handle that.¡± Nigel replied. ¡°Ah, and a message from Ryker.¡± Took your time to go there Nigel. ¡°Where is he now?¡± Nulanos asked as he had noticed it immediately. Humans feared giving out bad news. ¡°He boarded a pirate Sloop at Far Cove. The ¡®Beast of the Bay¡¯ under Captain Ramsay ¡®Rigger¡¯ Vance. An Issir. Ryker writes he now sleeps with one eye open.¡± Nulanos nodded rolling the small scroll with his fingers. ¡°Why them?¡± He asked although he¡¯d read the missive already. ¡°They had done the trip once already. As far as Coal Isle and then Rain Minas navigating the reefs around Witch¡¯s Dagger.¡± ¡°He thinks they are telling the truth?¡± Nulanos asked raspingly. ¡°Nothing but the mountain was visible from the north, Nureria¡¯s Toes are missing. The whole peninsula. The Islands are gutted. Ryker had seen your old map Eight. Nothing appeared even remotely familiar.¡± ¡°But for the mountain.¡± Nulanos rustled without looking at his right hand man and pupil. He used to trust others to do the teaching and some like Nigel he still trusted but now Eight was more involved in the process. Trust was one part. The other was more personal. You want to pass your knowledge down the line, preserve the purity of the trade and keep it unsoiled and meaningful. As best you can. A thief is not a rogue or a killer. He can be both but this can¡¯t be your goal ever. A thief shouldn¡¯t be a thug or a raider like the pirates. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. He is a connoisseur for not all gold is treasure and not all treasure gleams in the dark. You give something in order to take something back. It may not always work. That¡¯s the trade. And every trade must have rules. ¡°Aye,¡± Nigel replied taking his time as he could understand Eight never stayed on a topic that didn¡¯t hold his interest. And because Nigel Grim knew Nulanos thirty seven of his almost forty years. The Grim brothers. One stayed with his adopted father to become the man running the Guild and the other left to be a murdering pirate just like the rest of his kin. Meeting a gruesome fate somewhere in the South Seas. When you take, you must give something back. Else the scales might swing violently to right themselves. ¡°Coal Mountain was at the center of the island. Hundreds of kilometers inland,¡± Nulanos finally said simply and dropped the crumpled piece of paper on the table. ¡°Heading for Cyran was the correct decision.¡± ¡°I thought so. But Ryker wanted you to know just the same,¡± Nigel replied a little relieved he didn¡¯t disagree. ¡°What do you want to know from this one?¡± It¡¯s much too late to look back. Time washed most of it away. Dragged good and bad into Abrakas gullet. But not everything. Nulanos rubbed his face with both hands, the strong light bothering his sensitive eyes as he didn¡¯t need it. No Zilan did. It was all a show for the visitors and because light made colors stand out more. If one was into that sort of things. Neil fancied black and white with a touch of crimson. And gold. Then he remembered that was what she liked. Eyes black alike an onyx gem, shades of green but mostly striped with tiny white lines, for she had a touch of Kobold blood in her. The Mori-Zilan of the Coal Mines were the lowest of the low. But she had been a star hidden under a mountain of black ash. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen Toloth Ama Erea in eleven hundred years, give or take a decade or two,¡± Sorn¡¯s muffled voice rustled in Imperial. ¡°I had to get out to save my head. I¡¯m glad I did. The whole place went to shit. I never looked back.¡± ¡°You could¡¯ve said that immediately,¡± Nulanos said and turned to look at Sorn¡¯s swollen bandaged face, his back resting on the table. ¡°But you didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°I was shocked god darn it!¡± Sorn growled. ¡°I thought you were dead. There is no coming back Toloth! All those centuries. They said Turlas blew the fucking ship to smithereens, boiled the cursed waters.¡± ¡°Who said that?¡± ¡°Valydra. She heard it from the Queen herself.¡± Of course. He realized Sorn was watching him intently looking for a hint on where to lead him. But is he lying about everything? What had the crazy Gnome mumbled? She led the wolves to the witch. Brought them to her door. Nulanos felt anger rising in him. ¡°Baltoris allowed the Circle to run amok. Nobody was safe but everyone looked the other way. Valydra opted to stay. She worked under Lord Calamer and Feyras¡¯ zealots. The Law of the Phalanx and the Wyverns pushed magic aside. Baltoris ruled like a general and slept inside the Hoplite barracks for safety. The warrior caste loved her. I heard she jested that if Eodrass gave her another wyvern as a sign then she would take the Plague Isles back and kick the Aken out.¡± ¡°But the winged god didn¡¯t.¡± Nulanos murmured. The fact Zilan continued to underestimate them after such a humiliating loss was shocking to Nulanos. He wasn¡¯t privileged with higher learning but Eight had been around during the war. When folks start believing their own falsehoods then they are gone. Unless there¡¯s divine intervention. ¡°She got a daughter instead. Then the Issirs came, the volcanoes erupted and the world ended.¡± Not really. The world was still alive. ¡°You knew about the guild.¡± Nulanos noted changing the subject. ¡°I heard the stories. Met a couple of enthusiasts but nothing impressive. Run by humans. Mostly a Jelin thing. Then I stopped paying attention. There are Thieves Guilds all over the place,¡± Sorn rustled hoarsely. Again, not really. It was always the one with many pretenders seeing the error of their ways. ¡°Where did you run to?¡± ¡°Neil Dan, with Edlenn¡¯s people. Lord Sulynor, Faelar and the Moon¡¯s Daughter.¡± ¡°They still breathe?¡± Nulanos asked. ¡°Faelar is with Oras and I heard the witch got cooked proper in Rida. Like her mother and sister. You could say it runs in the family. Ha-ha!¡± Nulanos licked his lips and glanced at the listening Nigel. The Thief grimaced seeing his stare. Nigel never believed he needed to study Imperial and the tongue still gave him fits. He was also unlucky as Nulanos wasn¡¯t exactly a ¡®grammar¡¯ person to point him the right away. Nigel cracked a smirk and Eight turned his attention on Sorn again. ¡°What was she doing in Rida?¡± ¡°The witch? I wasn¡¯t really invited to their meetings, but the story is she was sucking a Horselord¡¯s cock. The Prince Heir. They went out together I suppose.¡± Sorn replied and groaned in pain. ¡°You still hit like a horse Toloth. Good punch.¡± ¡°It was a knee.¡± Nulanos retorted stiffly. ¡°The Khanate has dealings with the exiles?¡± ¡°She did. Dan is like a relic from the past.¡± Sorn informed. ¡°I had to get out. They don¡¯t exactly like us.¡± ¡°It must be you,¡± Nulanos said. ¡°You¡¯re unlikable Sorn. Why did you abandon Valydra?¡± ¡°Listen¡­ damn it I¡¯m a thief. She turned political and other stuff,¡± Sorn grunted. ¡°You¡¯re not much of a thief. You were helping a gang of rogues Sorn,¡± Nulanos snapped and then grimaced. ¡°Political?¡± Sorn shrugged his shoulders as if it wasn¡¯t important. He had probably slipped up there and it probably was. Then again it was eons ago. ¡°You heard anything about her since you returned here?¡± Nulanos asked casually. ¡°Nothing. There are no¡­ Unor ¡®Moriva¡¯ is still with the Young Othrim. Other than him I haven¡¯t really seen a Mori-Zilan afore you popped back from the fucking dead Toloth!¡± ¡°What do you want to do?¡± Nigel asked him after an awkward moment of silence. ¡°Keep him here.¡± Nulanos replied and pushed away from the table. ¡°Sorn, if you try to get away I¡¯ll break your legs.¡± Sorn blinked. ¡°If you hurt anyone doing it, I¡¯ll hurt you twofold.¡± Eight continued without changing his tone. ¡°Now, anyone knows what¡¯s gotten into the city guards today? They have gone berserk in their response times. Was there a change in command? More drilling?¡± He asked them both. ¡°The Monarch lost something,¡± the still sullen Sorn grumbled from his chair. He¡¯ll be out of there in twenty minutes tops. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Something valuable?¡± Sorn chanced. Nulanos stared at the frowned Nigel Grim. ¡°I just took enough to cover the expenses and the lease,¡± the Issir replied. ¡°The Monarch shook my hand Eight. We are part of the administration basically.¡± Eh, I don¡¯t believe we are. ¡°There¡¯s a gang getting loaded carts out every night. They are renting a walled warehouse at Hardir¡¯s Port to house the loot.¡± ¡°They guard it?¡± Nulanos asked vaguely intrigued. ¡°Eh. So and so. I went by last night. Got two sacks of coin over the wall.¡± Nigel explained. ¡°How did you climb the wall so loaded?¡± ¡°Used the line to tie the sacks. Lifted them up one by one when I reached the top of the wall. Easy.¡± Nulanos nodded and glanced at the listening in Sorn. ¡°You owe the woman a line of rope,¡± he said to Nigel Grim and Sorn rolled his eyes exasperated Eight was still preaching the same stuff. ¡°Aye,¡± Nigel agreed. ¡°A couple of strays¡­ Zilan ship builders. I was going to visit them later today.¡± ¡°You head there now. Give them one of the sacks,¡± Nulanos told him and started towards the dark corridor to reach the ladder and then the hatch. ¡°Their rope did half of the work.¡±
Nulanos spent some time watching the hostel and the Guild¡¯s tavern. He saw Nigel departing soon after him carrying a round leather bag over his shoulder. Thirty minutes later Sorn cracked the door open, looked right and then left down the street and then hobbled as quickly as he could away. Greedy fool probably has his pockets full with as much gold as he can carry, Nulanos thought with a deep sigh. He thought about following after Sorn but didn¡¯t see the point. Maybe he is holding something back. But he had done this dance with Sorn once already and Nulanos was bored to repeat it so soon. Maybe tomorrow, he told himself.
The sun dipped to the west behind the familiar mass of the Black Peak, the massive volcano now missing a great part at the top and half of its south side but still dominating what had been the old city¡¯s center, the palace grounds and the main district. The waters of Goras Gulf circling the volcano and not just its diminished north side now. The central district of Goras had disappeared under the sea. Half a million Zilan turned to dust in thirty minutes. Other survivors had said it was just under six hours. Elauthin had suffered a similar fate a day prior. The tremors waking up the demon inside the Black Peak. Nulanos visited the lake¡¯s shores and listened to nature singing the day away and welcoming the darkness. Taras¡¯ center lit up and despite many of its neighborhoods still empty or lacking illumination, the sight must have been something to the visitors but also to the younger Zilan that hadn¡¯t seen it. It was bad for business¡­ too much light. The night though eventful. Nulanos chuckled seeing the two loudly protesting Lorians getting roughed up by the patrol just after midnight and thought of visiting the pleasure house sometime later whilst casing a rich villa across the street from it, but caught sight of a backlit by the moons single smoking chimney briefly casting dual shadows on the illuminated street. It could have been the smoke, if the smoke had limbs. Nulanos backpedaled into the darkest part of the corner he had been watching the fancy villa from and glanced at the rooftop of the pleasure house which apparently had a lit fireplace just because it could. There was no one there. Hmm. He lowered his eyes and saw a cloaked figure walking out of an adjoining alley. Too soon to climb down the wall or use the stairs. Too high to just jump from up there inside the pitch black alley. Crazy risky. Unless you walked the shades. Boss move. But¡­ nah, nope. The shadowy figure paused to let a very late returning couple walk past him and in front of the pleasure house that had still had all its lights on. Then the cloaked person crossed the large street and came towards Eight¡¯s corner. Went past Nulanos and straight down the paved side of the junction leading north to the main square and into a nearby park. Eight went after him. Him, because he caught sight of a male¡¯s jaw. Nulanos had excellent night vision naturally as all the Mori-Zilan. After him, because Nulanos had spotted the concealed under the cloak and sheathed over his back, sword handle. It wasn¡¯t strange for someone to carry a blade with him when visiting a brothel late at night but it was weird to forget to retrieve his horse from the brothel¡¯s stable. Or call a carriage. A drunken man might opt to walk some of it off afore returning home but a tired man wouldn¡¯t walk after putting in the work to satisfy Folen¡¯s girls. There are skilled enough Human and Gish prostitutes to show you a great time afore sending you home, Nulanos thought heading after the fast walking under the park¡¯s trees cloaked male. And then there are Zilan harlots. The latter will drain you to the bone and leave you comatose to sleep it off. Unless you didn¡¯t visit the brothel in the traditional sense. Unless you did bring a horse not to walk back like a homeless vagrant but opted not to leave it in the stable. Hid it between the park¡¯s trees instead. Who does that? The cloaked figure raised his head just as Nulanos ducked behind a tree trunk, a hand on the horse¡¯s reins and the other now unseen. He heard him snort and then the horse mimicked its owner. Then he jumped on the saddle and led the animal back out of the park, this time heading for the main west entrance which was directly across from them. Nulanos followed after him and burned incense to leap ahead of the rider using the elongated dark park¡¯s many shadows. He sprinted across the street beyond the columned west entrance, the lights of the barracks and the massive camp of the Phalanx about half a kilometer away. The nicely paved boulevard following a northern coastal route with Taras Lake on the east and the Phalanx¡¯s many camp buildings to the west. Towards the heights of the plateau and Morn Taras. The stranger¡¯s horse¡¯s hooves were heard clopping behind him and Nulanos ducked by the side of the road to watch the cloaked figure trotting past him again. It was obvious the stranger was heading back to Morn Taras. Who are you? Nulanos wondered and eyed the distant city¡¯s public stables ¨Cnow closed- located next to the westernmost lake¡¯s shores. Well, it is a good twenty minute walk to reach there but after that we can use the free transportation, a thoughtful Eight decided. It turned out Lord Fikumin charged four silver per day for the use of a public horse plus a silver to rent a saddle and this only during the day. Three for a mule ¨Cfive if you wanted to overload it. You paid upfront the whole sum. According to what the sign said at least. Seeing as Nulanos wanted a horse immediately and it was still nighttime, he decided to take one for a test drive and return it in the morning. Since there was no mention of a fee for those choosing this particular tourist activity, Eight opted not to pay this greedy Lord Fikumin anything. He did leave him one of the two remaining hat feathers as a tip though.
Never climb a wall in the night without checking it first during the day. Never climb a wall made by some dude named Voron that chisels his name every tenth boulder. In all caps. You blink your eyes and you see something else from afar. By the time you get to the fourth carved signature, each boulder a meter in height, half your remaining years would be lost due to extreme stress. All of them if you slip proper and plunge straight for the granite bottom. Talking of granite, half a mountain of stone had been poured into the monstrosity. The final result gigantic in girth, titanic in height and sturdy as a mountain. Come to think of it, it would probably have been way easier to just chop half a mountain off and move it here instead. Just plant it over the plateau and then carve out whatever shape you want out of it. It¡¯s not as if this Voron chap managed to get anything done properly. He went for a star-shaped outer walls design but used only three triangles. He started building a pyramid at this strange shape¡¯s center but changed his mind and left it to act as a colossal platform for the square citadel. Up to the mid-point that is. The top was a flat roof with parapets and under it many windows sprouted on the final two floors. Three. Three floors. Plus a big one acting as the first. Double floor. Nulanos wasn¡¯t going to climb that after the ordeal he¡¯d gone through already. The moment the two Lorians from earlier in the night arrived, he used the commotion to slip inside ¡®walking the shades¡¯ in the blind. Made a mess of it misjudging the length of the citadel and ended up inside a side corridor¡¯s armoire. A halberd¡¯s blade on his throat. Bloody Luthos rolling on the floors somewhere chortling his larynx out hysterically. Nulanos cracked the double doors open after working at the padlock from inside. He looped the wire twice to get it in the hole, after slipping it through a crack. Just by feel and ear alone. Darn right impressive burglar-man-ship. Almost three millennia of skill put to the test. Under an hour to get out. Almost died from lack of oxygen. He saw no one walking the dark corridor and breathed out. Then got a foot out. Half an arsecheek. Wiggling his waist and shoulder to free an arm without dislodging every weapon crammed inside. Solid ground at last. Ground. It¡¯s a floor. Nulanos stretched both arms out, cracked his back and performed a couple of energetic squats to jump start circulation. Satisfied he started down the dark corridor and tried the first door he came upon. Eight peeked through the keyhole but saw nothing but black. He peeked again perturbed and realized he stared at a black wall. Voron went for an all-black look. Probably was so over budget by the time he started decorating the interior that when this chap went fishing for coins in his threadbare pocket, he actually grabbed his socks. The next door was a dud. The one after it got him inside the servant quarters. Nulanos walked through the nice but bare rooms, found some that were fully furnished. Two of them occupied. He reached a stair and thought of going up but spotted a side door on his left hand. Unsure on where he was, Nulanos opened the door and entered a massive room. About fifty meters away and to his front the darkness ended. Behind the massive columns he could just barely see another very-wide platform with stairs at the front. Another Voron specialty obviously. A metal throne on it but one could park half a dozen more there, garishly decorated but with some finer touches and golden details. Everything beyond the small columns starting behind the raised throne, the hall continued for a while, illuminated to the umpteenth. The granite polished, covered in golden engravings and quite impressive, especially to one that had suffered the gloomy blackness for so long. The two Lorians were talking at the end of the opposite row of massive First Era imperial-style columns. Nulanos approached walking carefully in the unfamiliar place. This is the Monarch¡¯s hall. Why not built in the city? Why retreat to the heights and hide inside this¡­ lair? Nigel had said that there were two Hardir. The one in Eikenport and this one. After his wife had died. Nulanos could understand grief. Could sympathize with a broken heart. He¡¯d a rule for it of sorts. Not a rule. A caution. Then again all the rules were like that. Things not to do to stay alive. He could add a thousand more but after a while people stopped paying attention. Paying attention¡­ The black columns behind the throne polished so much their surface was like a mirror. But all one could see if he stared at this black mirror was the back of the Monarch¡¯s raised throne. A solitary figure standing with his back on the wall of the platform that housed the throne, arms crossed over his chest, cloaked body bathed in the light of the torches but unseen from the two talking Lorians that looked way worse from up closer. The soldiers really did a number on them poor chaps, he thought and then realized the guy hiding behind the throne was the same from the park. Nulanos moved closer, darting from column to column and more details started emerging from the distorted mirrored image of the eavesdropping hooded male. Eight grimaced in visible pain and lost his footing. The solid raised walls built to help an ancient heart and mind survive and continue living cracked abruptly. They splintered in a thousand pieces and long repressed memories spurted out. Century after century of pain and regret for past mistakes, broken promises, dreams unfulfilled, pure agony and ancient horrors. A river of lost things and the most bitter betrayal. -
¡®Come on royal collaborator¡¯, Dar Nym taunted behind her faceless mask and everything came screaming right back from the darkest depths of Eight¡¯s ancient mind. ¡®You¡¯ll get to live in exile,¡¯ his pupil had said standing beyond that bridge between the two cities at Mori-Osto, blood trickling down her neck. ¡®A Queen¡¯s promise.¡¯ Not a pupil anymore because Eight had broken his own rules. Cracked the door open. Black eyes gleaming with stripes of white opened wide. A touch of Kobold in her. The star of the Coal Mines born in a pile of black ashes. Under the mountain. ¡®I won¡¯t talk,¡¯ Eight had told Nym¡¯s assassins circling him at the bridge. ¡®I won¡¯t let you cover this up.¡¯ Dar Minuet Mol, the lipless herald of the Circle, grinning whilst keeping a metal crossbow aimed at him from behind one of the stone bridge¡¯s supports. Dar Vranga smoking his pipe in a bright orange dress, sitting down with legs crossed always near the First Servant. The youngest of them Dar Eherdir missing from the party, but Dar Draug was present, the hairy beast¡¯s irregular but rapid heavy-breathing unnerving Eight as it stood right behind him. Dar Fenog, who was hiding behind the Monarch¡¯s throne in the present, had knelt in front of Nulanos and let out a guttural grunt of satisfaction. It was the best he could manage probably since Fenog famously had no tongue. ¡®We don¡¯t need you to talk,¡¯ Dar Fenog hissed in a whispery voice proving part of that assumption wrong. ¡®Nor do we need the black witch. That¡¯s for our young Queen to have her peace of mind. We only need to close the door. We had, but then a derelict bothersome thief went ahead and opened it. You made her so angry. She¡¯ll never forgive you.¡¯ Time moved forward but not by much. The docks of south Mori-Osto in the middle of the night and a pair of gleaming indigo eyes watching him inside the chained and barred metal cage. The sound of many small feet tip-tapping on the metal above his head. ¡®Nothing is amiss, toss him in the abyss,¡¯ a squealing voice hissed and Nym nodded her faceless head. ¡®He doesn¡¯t know, but give it time and it will grow.¡¯ ¡®Did you do it? I don¡¯t need to ask Sigel O¡¯ Nyel,¡¯ Eight asked raspingly and the lithe assassin came to stand an inch from the steel bars. ¡®What¡¯s this? What vile fiend keeps you company?¡¯ ¡®To learn a story¡¯s end you need to start from the beginning Neil Toloth,¡¯ Nym replied softly. ¡®Because by the time that end arrives, a lot of things have been changed by the culprits working in the shadows. I have been given a task by the Queen. Me. I shall find out what happened. Cut it out, if I have to. But I¡¯ll know the answer to the riddle. Nothing escapes the Circle. It may run, it may hide, but it won¡¯t survive.¡¯ ¡®You¡¯re insane,¡¯ Nulanos gasped in horror and recoiled his back hitting the metal cage. ¡®The rumors are true.¡¯ Nym reached with a gloved hand and touched his face just like the Queen had done. ¡®Work for us,¡¯ Nym purred in a child¡¯s voice and then Nulanos realized this wasn¡¯t her voice. It was the creature above his head that talked now. ¡®We need to know.¡¯ ¡®Know what?¡¯ A disturbed Eight gasped. ¡®The Sigel O¡¯ Nyel revealed that the slain King had two killers. This is what it told our Queen. One that died but is still around. One that lives but is already dead.¡¯ ¡®What king? What in Oras shades are you talking about?¡¯ The creature squealing manically excited over him in a crescendo. ¡®In metal it whispers an ever-weaving thread. If left its influence shall spread and come for his daughter¡¯s head.¡¯
- The heavily-bandaged face of the Lorian was staring at him with his mouth hanging open. Shit. Now both of them look this way. Nulanos snapped out of his reverie and danced away from the alarmed Dar Fenog. Fine, he also made two stops. One to get something in his stomach since the exertions of the day had drained him and the other up the stairs. While rattled from the encounter Nulanos wasn¡¯t going to leave the palace without visiting the little Princess.
Nulanos paused at the edge of the lavish bed and watched the little princess sleeping. Her breath rugged as if she had a fever. Young cheeks rosy and a sheen of sweat on them. He reached with an index finger and caressed the wet skin. This isn¡¯t a fever¡¯s sheen, he thought. She¡¯s crying in her sleep. The thief pulled away without making any noise. Not that he could with the amount of thick carpet under his soft leather boots. He took a deep breath in looking about the child¡¯s bedroom. The Rokae outside returning to his position after looking about the large corridor for the source of the noise. A large canvas with a half-finished painting on it near a table with brushes and vials with colors. An armoire that probably had no weapons in it and a large metal box at the other corner of the room. Then his eyes returned on the little sleeping princess. A human, he thought and then glanced at the painting with a frown. Of sorts. In the end Hardir O¡¯ Fardor wasn¡¯t a Zilan or a Folk. And his child isn¡¯t a human exactly. He approached the stunningly detailed painting. It reminded him of Eilven and he could see the master artist¡¯s heavy influence on the young princess. The skill though behind the brush of her young hand astonishing. What a talent you possess little one? Have you a good heart in your chest? Will you rule wiser than your father? It¡¯s always a thorny question this and a heavy burden for all heirs. Crashing at times. His keen trained eyes absorbing the details and it was as if the picture slowly came to life. A skill so great, it was laced in magic. Not a witch¡¯s magic. The Cofol woman stood up from the sculpted bench seeing the merry couple approach her. She brought both hands on her mouth in shock and Nulanos could recognize the raw emotion flooding out of the canvas. He could taste it in his mouth. The man let go of his partner and walked towards the shaking Cofol female. He paused midway there and turned around to glance at the other woman but she waved him forward with her arm. She turned her blue head around when he did move forward again and Nulanos¡¯ eyes opened wide in yet another shock. Because this dazzling Zilan the ancient thief immediately recognized. What the princess had drawn couldn¡¯t be and it affected Nulanos deeply for he saw it for what it was. This wasn¡¯t the present. It couldn¡¯t be the past and what it showed couldn¡¯t unfortunately represent the future. This was a divination. No Sibyl had ever dared put one on paper. For whatever the outcome of that scene was to be, it had now changed forever and the little princess didn¡¯t know it yet. He moved away from the now completely still painting and paused near her bed. ¡°Another princess like you drove herself mad trying to fix what couldn¡¯t be fixed,¡± Nulanos whispered hoarsely. ¡°She was haunted by cryptic words and old mysteries. You have a killer under your roof and this is the present. Find a way to solve your problems without resorting to violence if it¡¯s possible. Don¡¯t listen to their advice. Or mine, I suppose. Aye. Learn to forgive but also be wary of those that want to serve you blindly. Be patient with them for they¡¯ll make a lot of mistakes in your name. Always stay vigilant. Guard your heart¡­ for once you give it away, you could be deathly hurt.¡± - A week later Hardir¡¯s Port Goras Midnight ¡°Anything?¡± Nulanos asked and Nigel popped his head over the edge of the warehouse¡¯s roof and glared at him. ¡°They barred the hatch,¡± Nigel hissed in his whispery business voice. ¡°From the inside.¡± Nulanos nodded, not that poor Nigel could see him but he¡¯d swore himself out of any sort of climbing for at least a week after all that he¡¯d been through at Morn Taras. He didn¡¯t need another injury in his age. Not with Dar Fenog and who knows how many more of Nym¡¯s pupils still around. So Nigel had climbed the three-story high warehouse, or loot-house as he¡¯d joked earlier that evening but the local thieves had put a wrinkle to his plans. Obviously the front door facing away from the harbor was now heavily guarded. ¡°Can you use a saw?¡± Eight whispered with a light smirk as this part of the job he always enjoyed since a little kid back in Coal Isle. Sneaking into Tinyssos estate and peeking at Dudrina¡¯s tits among other things. Ah, the good old days. Every one of the people he knew were already dead. Most. Like ninety-eight out of a hundred. ¡°I didn¡¯t bring one,¡± Nigel griped and it turned into a whispery protest. ¡°I¡¯m not a god darn carpenter?¡± ¡°How about a hammer?¡± Eight jested but Nigel missed his tone. ¡°Are you serious? How about I just set it on fire? I¡¯ve a firestone with me! Who¡¯s gonna know right?¡± ¡°Gods you¡¯re tensed. Use a long dagger at the edges,¡± Nulanos advised him calmly. ¡°If it¡¯s a newly installed hinge and they nailed it in a hurry then you could pop the whole thing out if you find it.¡± ¡°Umm,¡± Nigel murmured and disappeared from sight. Nulanos stared at the docks, completely hidden in the heavy shadow of the building. A ship had moored in the busy port. Not a big one and not a Zilan ship. Small lights making it more difficult to see instead of helping. The ship¡¯s deck about two hundred meters away. But the docks were mostly quiet so late in the night and empty, well¡­ except the bad thieves guarding the warehouse with their stolen loot and the good thieves looking to steal it back from them. Ha-ha. Uhm. The nightshift of course but they were mostly sitting at the big tavern on the other side of the port that hugged the civilian buildings. A ramp dropped from the small ship and Nulanos realized that it was in fact a lowly Sloop. He narrowed his eyes unsure on the timing and a lithe figure rolled down the ramp followed by a hat-wearing pirate. Nulanos blinked trying to focus his eyes better. The sound of the hatch cracking and then coming apart heard from somewhere high over his head, followed by the appallingly desperate cry of Nigel Grim -now just background noise for his tutor. The yelp sounding like it was coming from an ever-deepening well afore it stopped abruptly with a crashing bang. No way, the heavily distracted Nulanos murmured realizing the two Issirs that had come down from the ship were in fact an Issir pirate and a very dark-skinned Zilan. ¡°Huh,¡± the master thief gasped quite astonished at being proven wrong. Happy in fact. A smile forming on his mouth and then he saw ¡®Phantom¡¯ Ryker himself rolling down the ramp and carrying a heavy bag over his shoulder. Right behind him a one-eyed but smiling Mori-Zilan female sauntered down the Sloop¡¯s ramp under the gawking Eight¡¯s perplexed scrutiny. That smile on his mouth had turned into an angry snarl in an instant. All that had happened the previous week coming back to rile him up. ¡°Betty¡¯s hairy thighs!¡± A rough voice growled a curse startling him and it left ambiguous whether Betty was of the human or any other of the talking species. ¡°You son of a plaguing dog. This is private property!¡± Fuck. That was Nigel taking a plunge earlier. Damn motherfuckers didn¡¯t put a new lock on, they just changed the way it opened. A grimacing Eight thought, mentally slapping himself out of the gut-blow of seeing Valydra in the flesh after so many years. Centuries. Millennia and some change. Oras fiends in the blasted night! Nulanos realized he¡¯d no plan prepared for this. Nothing.
473. Eight’s ‘Rules of the Trade’ (2/3)
Valydra* Toloth Ama Erea** Eight¡¯s ¡®Rules of the Trade¡¯ Part II -Eight plus One-
* Full ¡®trade name¡¯ Valydra O¡¯ Nulanos ¨C in the Old Ways pre-Imperial tradition the pupil always assumed the name of its teacher irregardless of status or legitimacy of the profession. High born Zilan and pre-modernists as well as Imperials refrained from the practice opting to highlight their lineage instead. It created a rigid caste system not based on meritocracy but pureness of blood although additions due to extraordinary feats were permitted, which birthed the ¡®Favored¡¯. ** Ancient Imperial (Cydonia Cazan Mori-Zilan jargon). Translated ¡®Eight plus One.¡¯
Six Peak Isles (Cydonia Cazan) Pre-Fall (here 2nd Era circa 2100 IC)
-
2nd Era Mori Osto (The twin cities at Long River) Coal Isle
¡°Lord Calamer is here,¡± Sorn told her sounding quite tensed whilst trimming his nails with the thin straight blade, dark face half-lost in the pyramid temple¡¯s shades. ¡°Brought lots of army brats with him. Also a gaggle of Imperial rangers.¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t decided yet,¡± Valydra hissed and stole the wings of an Oldfly with a snap of her fingers, then snatched the buzzing whilst dropping insect out of the air and felt it moving all mad inside her loose fist. It¡¯ll have new wings afore the day is over. That¡¯s how nature works, the Mori-Zilan female thought. You¡¯re caught in a trap and you could survive to fly again. Or you won¡¯t and your journey comes to an end. ¡°Our people at Bird¡¯s Watch reported they saw Nenderu flying towards Aiwenor,¡± Sorn continued seeing her still thinking it over. ¡°This means the Queen follows with Ovinet and she might come straight here afore heading for Urma Port. She just executes people right and left. You¡¯ll kill us all Valydra.¡± ¡°Argh¡­¡± Valydra snarled throwing her arms up. ¡°I can¡¯t do it Sorn.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a done deal. If the Queen lands here this place will be flooded with Assassins. They might be here already. Calamer is probably on his way as well. We¡¯re not fighters¡¯ mistress,¡± Sorn insisted. ¡°What does it matter?¡± Valydra walked at the corner of the last house before the last bridge and stared beyond the river¡¯s surface at the opposite banks. ¡°They don¡¯t want you,¡± Sorn insisted hoarsely. Valydra licked her dry lips staring at the setting sun. ¡°You talked with someone already. Who was it Sorn?¡± ¡°Minuet Mol,¡± Sorn replied and she recoiled away from the corner. Valydra twisted around to glare at his tensed face. ¡°They want Nulanos to get to Dudrina. The Mori-Zilan will revolt if they touch her without a valid reason.¡± ¡°She¡¯s not political. Never was,¡± Valydra hissed a hand clasping at her throat as she couldn¡¯t breathe. ¡°He¡¯ll never turn on her. They go way back. Why are they doing this?¡± ¡°The Queen doesn¡¯t trust the Coven after what happened with Edlenn.¡± ¡°Does Nulanos know?¡± ¡°Minuet said he stole Sigel O¡¯ Nyel, Kallister¡¯s precious necklace ring from Elas Study. You know the story behind it. A single fact revealed to balance one loss. He might even do it. Then spill the beans to Edlenn¡¯s people. You know how he is. The Queen decreed the Guild works henceforth for the throne or is no more. They won¡¯t lose their time searching the city for our people, it¡¯s easier to just kill everyone.¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°They spilled blood in Nesande¡¯s Garden mistress. Who¡¯s is going to care about a gang of Mori-Zilan?¡± ¡°They¡¯ll never catch him, even with the Wyverns,¡± she whispered shaking. ¡°Elas told Calamer to use you.¡± ¡°Who told Elas?¡± Valydra snarled and reached for her dagger. Sorn stood back pursing his mouth, feet standing slightly apart and that thin knife still in hand. More a rogue than a thief. Not great in either but still a better killer than her. There¡¯s no honor among thieves. A warning. Not a dictum. ¡°We help them get Neil Toloth and then we¡¯ll just work under the Queen. Food, horses and steady pay. Suraer¡¯s your uncle. In twenty years, a hundred, no one will even remember what happened. The Guild will survive. Eight will give back what he took or rat the crazy sorceress out. Who cares? Then he¡¯ll get to stroll away into the annals of history. Forever praised as the greatest thief of all time. But we need you mistress. You are the only pupil he has ever taken.¡± I¡¯m not just his pupil, Valydra¡¯s striped black eyes told him and Sorn nodded since he knew that. Every tidbit of knowledge was valuable. ¡®Sometime down the line, you might need to use it Milva¡¯, Nulanos used to say. ¡®In order to balance the scales and make things right.¡¯ ¡®Kill your love to stay alive.¡¯ No. ¡°A life in exile,¡± Valydra murmured and it was a query. A hope. ¡°The Queen¡¯s guarantee. He loves traveling. Meet new peoples,¡± Sorn droned with a forced smile. ¡°Don¡¯t you?¡± Valydra saw Nulanos crossing the bridge coming from the south city just after midnight and she stepped on the north edge of the stone structure to be visible. He spotted her familiar figure immediately but paused mid-stride seeing the squad of Imperial Rangers standing twenty meters behind her. Nulanos pushed the hood on his head back to reveal his face and looked in hers from about a dozen feet away. Dark black hair peppered with white. My old head matches your eyes, he used to tease her. He was still on the stone bridge. Eight glanced at the dark sky over their heads and probably caught sight of the lurking wyvern flying high as it passed in front of the two moons. ¡°Milva. You brought high company,¡± Nulanos said calmly, a hint of razz in his voice, using a moniker that joined the words lover and the first syllable of her name. A very private moniker. Valydra shuddered almost losing it, nails digging at her palms and lips splitting in a distorted smile. ¡°They are not here for you,¡± she croaked with her heart hurting and the burly squad leader stepped forward barking a loud order ruining that particular lie. ¡°They want the witch.¡± Valydra said quickly. ¡°Buridor, Serdel and Maeriel aim your bows!¡± ¡°You all shall miss,¡± Nulanos informed them with a solemn smile in his usual manner and took two quick backwards steps towards the middle point of the stone bridge. But then he paused there despite Valydra¡¯s eyes urging him to get away. Valydra felt the night air shifting all around her, getting heavier, the confusing sound of many small feet or just a single pair, tip-tapping on the cobblestone and mixing with the sound of the Rangers¡¯ bowstrings getting drawn. ¡°Halt,¡± the squad leader ordered and a cold blade touched Valydra¡¯s neck. She smelled the assassin more than she felt the sinister presence. Sandalwood. A featureless mask and a pair of indigo cold eyes glancing her way as the lithe dark figure took a taunting -now silent- large step forward to come next to her shoulder, keeping the sword¡¯s blade under Valydra¡¯s chin. ¡°The Sigel O¡¯ Nyel returned,¡± the assassin said and it was like many people were speaking all at once. Old and young. Male or female. Children. ¡°And the Black Sorceress¡¯ whereabouts.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll just kill her anyway. Then me. Death is your only trade Nym,¡± Nulanos retorted. ¡°And while she and I may deserve it, the Witch has done nothing wrong.¡± ¡°The Queen shall let you live,¡± Nym countered dispassionately. ¡°Both. This is not a death sentence.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have the necklace ring,¡± Nulanos said and Valydra felt blood running down her chin where the blade had nicked the skin. She flinched back but Nym¡¯s sword followed Valydra¡¯s reaction, even without the standing next to her assassin looking that way. ¡°Half a deal then,¡± Nym chuckled. ¡°You give us the witch for the black bitch. Only hurry, for the latter might bleed out.¡± ¡°What happens to me?¡± Nulanos asked pursing his mouth and Nym turned to Valydra. ¡°Come on royal collaborator, tell him what your Queen decreed,¡± she taunted Valydra sounding mirthful. ¡°You get to live in exile. A Queen¡¯s promise,¡± Valydra croaked desperately, feeling the blood trickling down between her heaving breasts. Nulanos nodded. ¡°It¡¯s too good a deal to turn down I suppose,¡± he said mockingly and extended both arms away from his body. ¡°We¡¯ll always have the lake¡¯s songs Milva,¡± Eight added and dropped to his knees on the bridge. Two of the support pillars shadows coming to life not even two horse bodies away and leaping on the bridge to land a meter away from the kneeling Thief¡¯s Guild leader, the sinister dark figures hiding him from the ogling Valydra¡¯s eyes. One of them more beast than a person. ¡°Ah,¡± Nym purred overcome with excitement. ¡°I just love a good romance story,¡± she added keeping the sword on Valydra¡¯s throat. ¡°With a tragic ending. Mmm, am I close? Look at you about to cry. He¡¯s not worth it Mori-sister. Eight has many lovers. You did the right thing.¡± ¡°May you rot in Abrakas deepest hells,¡± Valydra spat and made to raise a hand to remove the sword but Nym slapped it away with the flat of the blade. ¡°Been there, done that and got a tattoo. You have to guess where it is.¡± The assassin retorted and then asked with a child¡¯s naughty chuckle. ¡°Which lake?¡± ¡°Eh, I don¡¯t know what he meant. He¡¯s just angry with me.¡± Valydra lied using all her emotion to sell it better. A day later¡­ Moisture had gathered over the great lake. The calm waters splashing over colorful sheets of water-lilies that covered its surface near every crook and cranny of the shallow banks. Insects buzzed like crazy in the calm night enjoying the humidity and water-snakes moved fast through the lukewarm light waves splashing on moss-covered giant roots of dark trees that were attached to the lake¡¯s bottom. Valydra got off her horse, feeling her thighs numb from riding hard for hours. She looped the reins on a dry branch, broke a couple of rotten ones using hands and feet to move through the natural barrier that hugged the narrow path leading to the banks of the lake. The ancient willow trees sweeping branches blocking sight to this denser part of the forest that thrived in this very fertile terrain. Dudrina had a battered giant straw hat on her head and nothing else. The naked but covered in black sludge, rotten leaves, broken stems and soggy grime Mori-Zilan sorceress was busy working on her potions behind the crude table, a red viper with black spots wrapped around her left forearm, the snake¡¯s head clasped between thumb and index finger with its jaws hanging open. Fangs dripping poison inside a glass vial. ¡°Oi,¡± Dudrina murmured and sniffed at the concoction. ¡°This might be deadly.¡± She added and downed it all at once with a grimace and a pained groan. ¡°Goddess¡¯ tits! Wow!¡± She started coughing, eyes glowing in the dark and noticed Valydra watching her standing under the willow trees that surrounded her ¡®field office¡¯. ¡°What you looking at kid?¡± Dudrina asked in semi-coherent Imperial with a croaky voice and knowing her the ancient witch was probably heavily drugged already. ¡°Why the hat old girl? You ditched everything else,¡± Valydra teased and approached with her eyes scanning the terrain for any more lurking venomous serpents. Dudrina grimaced a little agitated, an eye firmly closed and the other ogling like a plate. Could have been the aftereffect of the potion also. The witch burped loudly next and then chucked the viper her way with an alert Valydra ducking under the flying serpent that hissed angrily over her head. But beat a hasty retreat upon landing in the bushes instead of attacking the female thief. ¡°Darn it!¡± Valydra cursed just the same and Dudrina flashed her a lecherous crooked smile. There was something moving behind the witch¡¯s teeth and it better be her black tongue, Valydra thought. ¡°The sun was in my eyes all day,¡± Dudrina explained and removed the hat from her disheveled head. The big hat just came apart in her hands as it was beset by rot and old age. ¡°It¡¯s well after midnight,¡± Valydra noticed and pointed at the general darkness surrounding the lake¡¯s misty banks. ¡°It is,¡± Dudrina decided and puffed out staring down at her own naked chest for a while quite perturbed. ¡°I think this latest batch made my tits smaller?¡± Eh. ¡°Wanna have a feel?¡± Dudrina offered with a wink, a hand palming her right tit. ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± she cut her off immediately and changed the subject. ¡°When was the last time you had something to eat?¡± Valydra asked looking at the ¡®mostly¡¯ animal cadavers tossed haphazardly around the witch¡¯s field workshop. The hut she lived in, almost visible five meters behind the big crude table. ¡°That you know¡­ didn¡¯t try to kill you first?¡± ¡°Hah. You brought me food then?¡± The witch asked and tossed a tattered robe over her thin shoulders covering her filled with intricate tattoos body. While outrageously filthy and probably older than the toxic dirt she had on her, Dudrina was easily the prettiest Mori-Zilan alive not that the witch cared about that. ¡®I need test subjects more than lovers,¡¯ she always told Valydra when the latter was younger. ¡®Both, is the ideal mix. Ayup, but my kind of science tends to kill romance. Literally.¡¯ ¡°The Queen arrested Nulanos yesterday,¡± Valydra blurted out anxiously. ¡°They have him aboard Larea Macar the war galleon. It departs in the morning.¡± ¡°Uhm,¡± Dudrina hummed distractedly whilst searching at her robe¡¯s opening for something stuck on her chest and upon finding it she brought the bloody leech before her face for a closer examination. ¡°I heard the wyvern earlier. Both of them.¡± ¡°Mori-Osto is packed with soldiers and assassins,¡± Valydra hissed and the witch tossed the quivering leech into her mouth without replying. ¡°They are coming after the Guild and you.¡± ¡°Baltoris wants my head?¡± Dudrina asked gulping down the probably still living leech. ¡°Are you listening to me?¡± Valydra snapped angrily. ¡°They are going to use¡­ what¡¯s so blasted funny Drina?¡± ¡°The war is over and she came upon the throne early,¡± Dudrina replied and walked to the edge of the lake to splash some water on her mud-covered legs and groin. ¡°I was never part of the main circle dear. Tinyssos they liked because he had a phallus and was enthralled with the Elderbloods. Now them white-skinned witches can take a pounding! He-he! The army likes me more than the other witches ever did or the palace. We¡¯re Mori-Zilan, we know how the realm works and have no delusions of grandeur.¡± ¡°Edlenn was murdered,¡± Valydra hissed. ¡°They are hunting the witches off of the mainland and now the Queen came here for you. As long as old Dudrina breathes the old ways will never go away.¡± She droned the local saying. ¡°Don¡¯t you fucking understand that?¡± ¡°Edlenn probably set herself on fire. She lost a daughter. What is it a hundred years? Pfft. Uhm. It don¡¯t take much to kill yourself you know. I almost did it a couple of weeks back by accident.¡± ¡°They say the garden was burning for half a month. It was no fucking accident. Edlenn would never risk harming a single flower!¡± ¡°What nonsense! People really believe that? Edlenn harmed way more than that just to make her other daughter giggle.¡± ¡°You are not listening to me!¡± Valydra roared in exasperation. He voice bouncing on the trees and dancing over the nearby lake¡¯s surface. Dudrina smacked her lips and used a wet index finger to scratch something out of her teeth. ¡°Where is Galadriel? The Queen will go for her first, since she was part of the first coven that gave her father the throne. Assuming you are correct.¡± ¡°Galadriel is gone and so are most of Edlenn¡¯s acolytes or they are already dead,¡± Valydra snapped furious and she wanted to slap some urgency into Dudrina¡¯s head but feared the witch might turn her into a frog. Then eat her. ¡°Why is the Thief¡¯s Guild involved in this? Nulanos has nothing on me night¡¯s child,¡± Dudrina noted. ¡°What does he have on the Queen? Better yet why are you here and not in the port helping him?¡± Valydra gulped down and looked away at the moonlit lake¡¯s surface that could be glimpsed behind the foliage. ¡°Mmm.¡± Dudrina murmured and Valydra glanced her way. The witch walked to the door of her hut and pushed to open it. She failed as several living roots had nested there laying a trap and keeping the door blocked. Dudrina sighed, whispered a spell that caused a giant Willow tree to die and crack right the middle with an otherworldly ruckus. The hut, the stuck door and the cluster of living roots that had now looped around the witch¡¯s body turned to pure white ice. A cold breeze smacked the stunned Valydra in the face and hurled her back over five meters. Almost into the disturbed lake. She groaned in pain and stood up, the giant tree snapping in two and collapsing into the lake a moment later, sending an angry wave to splash on the faltering to safety thief¡¯s back. ¡°Fucking hells!¡± Valydra cursed, stumbling in the mud, almost stepping on the shuddering, utterly confused red viper that had been brought back ashore. ¡°There,¡± a frost-covered Dudrina announced, kicking the broken hut¡¯s door away to step out. She had something in her arms bathed in the moonlight that could now freely shine over the opening the sorceress¡¯ careless magic spells had created. ¡°I knew he was up to something. That naughty boy was always in trouble.¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Is that?¡± Valydra asked with a shocked gasp and the witch nodded. ¡°How did you know?¡± ¡°That you lied and set him up?¡± Dudrina queried with a smirk. ¡°He told me the other day. Eight feared they¡¯ll try to get to him through you.¡± ¡°You crazy fool! I had no other choice! You think I enjoy this?¡± A hurt Valydra protested, her voice breaking. ¡°Because Baltoris might burn Mori Osto? The Thieves capital,¡± Dudrina mocked her and raised the platinum-made circlet near her mouth. It could be worn around the neck as it was two pieces connected with clasps in reality. She gave it a bite and then a good lick, immediately spitting down disgusted. ¡°Soft metals make my teeth tingle,¡± she explained. ¡°Drina!¡± Valydra snarled irate. ¡°You think this is a one way trip for our suave burglar,¡± Dudrina said without losing her composure and a very short creature popped its wild head from the now gapping opening of the hut behind her. Is this a god darn Gnome? A bewildered Valydra wondered and the tiny chubby creature raised his right arm in some sort of greeting, clenched fist leaving only the stumpy very dirty middle finger extended. What the¡­? ¡°Here,¡± the dripping, slowly thawing witch said and tossed her the Sigel O¡¯ Nyel. ¡°To get something worthy out of it you must lose something valuable to your profession. Kallister never made anything for free. He called it balance but the truth is that vile son of a bitch was just a well-spoken sadist. May white worms eat the flesh off of his bones, spit the chewed material out and then slurp it all back in¡­ for a hundred years. Two hundred. Hmm.¡± ¡°What about Eight? What about you?¡± Valydra croaked snatching the valuable magic item out of the air. ¡°Worry about yourself kid,¡± Dudrina replied indifferently and cracked away the frosty mustache of ice from her upper lip with a finger. ¡°A thief that walks the palace grounds has a short life ahead of him. As for me, you coming here sealed my fate I reckon. The night wolves are coming after your scent Valydra O¡¯ Nulanos and to be frank, I don¡¯t much care. None of these fools are a danger to the realm. The most vicious monsters are already dead.¡± ¡°How do you know?¡± Valydra asked her and Dudrina, who had already started to head towards her lowly hut paused and turned to look at the old member of the Thieves Guild. ¡°There¡¯s a dungeon¡­¡± Dudrina started reminiscing of the distant past and the preoccupied Valydra thought it a waste of precious time at first but she was to change her mind upon learning of Larea Macar¡¯s eventual fate sixteen years later.
- A millennia and over three centuries later Ruined Great Port City of Cyran Witchwood Gulf Cyran Isle in Cydonia Cazan The half-sunken Six Peaks Isles complex Old Imperial Wetull The tired Valydra sucked a rugged breath in and then send a quick prayer to the Trickster God, her eyes set on the great docks visible from the ruined rooftop of the old Terfas Emporium building beyond the ruined port¡¯s morning mist. She wrapped her fingers in the thin leather straps carefully and checked all her gear were properly secured on the harness before putting a foot on the edge. A pebble rolling down the half-destroyed and half-sunken stairs before hitting the still water¡¯s surface stopping her short of attempting the leap across the flooded street. She turned around and waited for the soaked head of Kumra O¡¯ Valydra to appear out of the moldy opening that was once upon a time hidden under the roof tiles. Her young pupil now in his fourth century, peeked over the lip of the opening carefully which brought a smile on her face. ¡°We¡¯re alone Kumra,¡± Valydra said and used index and thumb to fix the soft-leather eye patch over her empty socket, the fingers lowering to push the sparkling circlet under her worn-out leather collar. A jewelry she would have never dared to wear on the job back in the day, but it had been centuries with no one missing their stolen valuables or coming after her since then. Eventually the old rules were slowly pushed back like the necklace ring under layers of old cloth, ancient dust or tons of rust. ¡°Val,¡± Kumra replied and jumped on the old rooftop. He landed with a thud that made both of them flinch and then chuckle in relief. ¡°Don¡¯t do that again,¡± Valydra warned him and then probed. ¡°I told to you wait for me to cross the street.¡± ¡°Were you gonna swim?¡± ¡°Jump,¡± Valydra retorted. ¡°Did you swim across?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± an embarrassed and very wet Kumra admitted rubbing at the back of his head. ¡°Why?¡± Valydra asked him. ¡°Heard a ship in the old port,¡± Kumra said sounding haunted. ¡°The wind carried the sound.¡± ¡°You heard the wind and ghosts of eons past,¡± Valydra corrected him. Coming to the shores was always traumatic for the young Mori-Zilan. Not that it wasn¡¯t for her. But she had been forced not to show it for the others back in Coal Isle. That was almost five years back but they hadn¡¯t made it too far from the shores on foot. Or they had but it was difficult to tell as nothing was the same but here at the mostly sunken ruins of Cyran. This mission might have been a mistake. Cyran had been a coastal, very flat island. All its cities and settlements along the capital build near the water. Not much had survived the rapidly raising seas and the Old Sharks or sea monsters just as back home. But they had the mountain and the mines. Mori-Zilan are a hardened kind of folk. ¡°I know what I heard. Voices and chains dropped. They found our boat,¡± Kumra insisted and Valydra puffed out a thoughtful expression on her moist dark face. ¡°A big ship?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t tell in the mist. Don¡¯t think so.¡± ¡°Humans?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Valydra had feared that. They had spotted sails from afar stubbornly attempting to cross the reefs in the blind before. A ship each year. Two. Three at times. She didn¡¯t know if they had succeeded but they probably hadn¡¯t. Knowing the Sinya Nore, if they had managed it then they would have returned in armed greed-induced force again. ¡°Stay close.¡± Valydra cautioned him and cracked the old sword, she¡¯d found eighty years back inside a floating barrel, a little out of its sheath. Then puffed her cheeks out and pushed the blade back in. Raised the hood over her head to cover the ears, braided black curls spilling out of the hood as she used her fingers to brush them out. ¡°We don¡¯t fight them. If it comes to that, you run and I¡¯ll hold them back.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not leaving you¡­¡± Kumra protested, blushing fiercely when she grabbed his right hand tight enough so it would hurt. ¡°I can¡¯t be your tutor when your mind goes there all the time,¡± she reminded him and felt her stomach turning at the hypocrisy in the simple words. Kumra was old enough to venture on his own and what she cautioned him against now, Valydra had done aplenty in her youth and a bit after that. ¡°Yes mistress.¡± ¡°Let me do the talking if they spot us.¡± ¡°You think they are pirates?¡± All humans are pirates.
There were no docks left. The harbor¡¯s brines had incorporated all the old city initially with the waters gradually retreating but not by much. Most of the streets had turned into treacherous canals, the buildings crumbling down although an astounding number of them still stood tall and silent. Birds had returned, flesh-eating fish and carnivore animals. That now hunted one another. They had killed everything else. But a few of the old imperial inhabitants were still around. Those that had survived had fought a losing battle against the elements on the north side of the island where only hunters could survive without any infrastructure. Valydra had decided that braving a meeting with those semi-wild Zilan of the interior was just too much of a risk. They had two large bags of loot hidden in the ¡®second floor¡¯ of a building near their moored custom-made crude boat. In the blasted open! So getting to them now was out of the question. Valydra reached and unclasped the Sigel O¡¯ Nyel from her neck and hid it under her leather shirt. With a grimace she buttoned it up again to avoid Kumra¡¯s scrutiny or not to give him the temptation. There were females in the old Kobold Mines of course, way younger than her and nearer to Kumra¡¯s years. Way more eager. Despite that the allure of the one-eyed, old Mori-Zilan, his Guild¡¯s leader no less was too much for him to overcome. Unfortunately for him Valydra was too old to try and play around the rules for a second time. Not the way the first time around had gone. She had never recovered from that. Been there, done that. She thought bitterly, the old pun slipping through the cracks of her buried memories and making her lose a step. The many-a-times repaired old boot lodging between two loose stone bricks and forcing one of them to move out of its position on the wall. The ancient stone crackled, an exhaling Valydra stooped, folding at the waist and put a hand on the cut stone to prevent it from toppling down the pile of debris. She felt sweat rivulets running down her neck, the humidity of ancient Cyran otherworldly and the scalding winds bringing even more heat ashore. The mist moved revealing a large building¡¯s corner and behind it a long expanse of shallow brines that reached as far out as the original deep port waters. A boat¡¯s small lights reaching the foot deep part of the ¡®docks¡¯ and the sound of heavy rowing. Voices heard speaking in Common. A ton of different accents and for a moment she couldn¡¯t understand what they were saying at all. Valydra licked her salty lips slowly, still folded in two to prevent the loosened brick from tumbling down and waiting for the perfect opportunity to release it. You move immediately. Fast as the wind. Light as a bird. All will come back the moment you commit. It¡¯s like firing a bow. You never forget that. Or fucking. Though you can turn rusty to that and put enthusiasm in to mask it, she completed the diatribe to herself and Kumra whistled from further back to warn her of the approaching boat, making a bird sound. A mountain bird living at the heights of Coal Mountain but these were humans so it wasn¡¯t that much of a problem. Hopefully. Luthos you¡¯ve been idle on me for decades and still you have poor Milva holding a brick with the toes of a foot, another with a hand on top of the remnants of a half collapsed wall. Be gentle. The boat¡¯s keel scratched the shallow part of the ancient city and an anchor was thrown out immediately. The heavy iron anchor splashed inside the water and a moment later it stroke the tiled pavement with a cracking boom. Go. Valydra let go of the four-kilo heavy stone brick and leaped like a leopard just as she was standing upright, arms and legs beating at the air and the hood blasting back making the sound of a taut sail snapping violently. The brick tumbled down with a ruckus right when the men jumped out of the boat themselves and the silence of the dead city got interrupted violently. The next moment Valydra reached the wall, clearing what had been an old living room that missed its roof, two walls and a corner. This wall quite taller than the previous one, so she immediately started ¡®walking¡¯ vertically on the crumbling old surface to traverse the final two meters to the top. In theory. Yeah. Valydra hadn¡¯t tried to play a skilled acrobat in thirty-six years and it had been a demonstration for smaller kids to learn the ropes of ¡®entering a structure with a wall¡¯ with a hemp net underneath it. Anyways, safety net absent she gave it her all, nails scrapping at the crumbling surface and toes trying to find purchase where there was none. Note to self. This long a jump is better to be attempted with a bit of ¡®spell assistance.¡¯ But she had nothing available. With a drawn out feline hiss that turned into a pained yelp the haplessly out of form thief, slid all the way to the bottom of the wall, leaving dignity, some skin and valuable pieces of clothing behind. The burning on her arms and fingers maddening. Valydra rolled on the dirty floor, a fist lodged in her mouth to keep the screams in and her only eye flooded with enough tears for the both of them. Eh. They were humans on the other side of the wall. Valydra bit on her hand, until her fangs pierced the skin. ¡°I told Rigger Vance dis,¡± a man griped gravely, pausing to spit whatever had lodged in his throat. ¡°I¡¯m right here Tack,¡± another replied sounding miffed. ¡°I don¡¯t appreciate dis passive-aggressive third person tone.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a bunch of Cofol ''soul healing'' bullshit,¡± Tack retorted. ¡°Get wit the times Vance.¡± ¡°What times be that?¡± Vance probed and the grimacing in pain Valydra would love to know that as well. ¡°Horace Burton swore on his mother¡¯s grave¡ª¡± ¡°Are ye seriously bringing him in the plaguing parley?¡± A third man interrupted Tack afore he could finish. ¡°They call him Trickster for a reason Tack!¡± ¡°Ayup,¡± Vance agreed. ¡°Damned Safford is in the right in dis. Burton can¡¯t be trusted.¡± ¡°Can you two let me finish me point here?¡± Tack protested. ¡°Just saying¡­ ye need to keep these things in the open.¡± Safford argued. ¡°Didn¡¯t I do that?¡± Tack snapped. ¡°I mentioned my sources.¡± ¡°Horace ain¡¯t much of a source Tack. That Gish he sleeps with claimed the darn dog is fifty years old at least!¡± Vance protested. ¡°Now don¡¯t be going around spreading such slander,¡± Tack admonished him. ¡°About whom?¡± Vance asked sounding perturbed. ¡°The dog? What are ye, a dog maven or some shite?¡± Tack let out a loud sigh. ¡°The Gish.¡± Valydra crawled to the edge of the wall and stole a glimpse of the colorful group of humans arguing loudly. Shit. They were all armed to their teeth. She got up and ran stooped the length of the wall ¨Cabout ten meters- reaching the other edge. Valydra popped her head out in the direction of the group but she couldn¡¯t see them from there. She breathed out relaxed and then pressed her hurting back on the edge of the wall, grimacing when the pain from her knees and arms also made its ugly return. ¡°Oras fiends in the night,¡± Valydra cursed and a man that had approached from the other side of the building, from where she¡¯d leaped from, responded in a teasing voice. ¡°Aye.¡± Auburn hair, small-stature and smart brown eyes. Wearing a longish dark coat and leather pants. A heavy bag over his shoulder. Valydra¡¯s big bag of loot. ¡°This place is pretty shit all things considered,¡± the man said casually as if continuing a conversation they had and dropped the bag between them. Valydra stared at the man and then at the bag. Back and forth energetically. ¡°This yours?¡± The human asked pretending to be friendly. Valydra shrugged her shoulders indifferently and remembered that her long ears were popping out of the sides of her uncovered head. She flinched and the man stepped back raising his hands non-threateningly. Both thumbs folded behind the palms with only the thin digits extended. All eight of them. ¡°You are a Zilan,¡± the man said speaking slowly to make certain she could understand him. ¡°But you¡¯re special aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Mori-Zilan,¡± Valydra replied in Common trying not to make any mistake or say the wrong word. ¡°From Coal Isle.¡± The man nodded and tended a hand but she didn¡¯t take it. ¡°Name is Ryker Phantom,¡± the human said and gave her bag a light kick. ¡°What manner of smart girl picks up plates, utensils, tools and puts them in a bag but just leaves her jewelry behind?¡± He asked and showed the platinum circlet with his left hand. Valydra gasped and checked her shirt and of course half the buttons were gone with the lower part of the shirt missing as well. ¡°I want that back,¡± she hissed showing him her teeth in a threatening snarl. Valydra had lost too much for that fucking thing to give it away. ¡°Here¡¯s your problem,¡± Ryker told her calmly. ¡°If I yell or one of them boys turns that corner, then this dynamic we have here will change in an instance. I¡¯m curious. You seem smart. Roughed up¡­¡± He glanced at the missing eye. ¡°Smart people always have a plan,¡± Ryker added staring in her face intently. Four. Valydra licked her lips unsure. ¡°Don¡¯t get caught with the loot,¡± she translated in Common. Three. Ryker¡¯s mouth split in a crooked smile. He twirled the expensive jewelry in his fingers and caught it sharply. ¡°There¡¯s no honor among thieves.¡± No way. Rule six. Valydra stumbled back not expecting it and trying to keep her heart from bursting out of her chest. A human. In the Guild. How? ¡°If you think you haven¡¯t fucked up,¡± she croaked. ¡°Then ye already have.¡± ¡°Seven,¡± Ryker said and wore the circlet on his left wrist to repeat his previous mysterious greeting. ¡°Do you want to hear number eight?¡± Be ready to split in a breath, when you sense peril¡¯s shade coming from around the corner. Good gods! A gasp escaped the Mori-Zilan¡¯s lips and felt the ground moving under her feet. ¡°How did you get in?¡± She asked raspingly. Ryker nodded quite pleased but also very surprised himself. ¡°The real query here is,¡± he countered curious. ¡°How did you get in sister of the trade? I¡¯m the first man the guild sent here.¡± Valydra found the edge of the wall and pressed her back on it. She could barely stand up. ¡°The Guild,¡± she whispered. ¡°Sent you here?¡± ¡°The Reefs.¡± Ryker explained. ¡°The Blasted Lands and the lost isles. The Monarch will open a trade route to Greenwhale Peninsula, all the way to Goras and beyond. He¡¯s a friend of the Guild.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a monarch in Goras¡­¡± Valydra murmured trying to put everything together and failing. ¡°What be that now Ryker?¡± Vance asked coming around the corner and stopping seeing the lanky dark-skinned Zilan female. ¡°This good sister of the trade is¡­¡± Ryker started and paused looking at her. Jitters. Valydra cleared her throat. Just get it out girl! ¡°I¡¯m Valydra O¡¯ Nulanos,¡± she told the pirate and Ryker whistled impressed. ¡°I love your species naming schemes Valydra,¡± he told her and returned the circlet to her. ¡°Do you have a moniker?¡± ¡°Toloth Ama Erea,¡± Valydra replied taken aback from the whole encounter. The mystery of the Thieves Guild spreading beyond Wetull whilst maintaining its little characteristics or building up on them quite astounding to her. ¡°Huh,¡± Ryker said while Vance sprinted back to his friends to inform they had found someone local on the island. Eh. Valydra wasn¡¯t exactly local and she was there for much the same reason as them. ¡°What does it mean?¡± ¡°Eight plus One. It¡¯s a very old jest really,¡± Valydra explained and stooped to pick up her heavy bag waving an arm to Kumra that she was alright. ¡°I figured as much since Toloth means eight.¡± Ryker grinned. ¡°That adds to a nine right? Do you know what old Toloth has at number nine in the Rules of the Trade? It¡¯s a bit of an esoteric supplementary rule, ha-ha. Aye, despite him preaching to use eight ¡®fingers¡¯ to leave yourself some wiggle room and all that.¡± Valydra¡¯s brain took a while to translate the words from Common. And then all those jitters came right back. The worst pain because it was masked as unlikely hope. Do you know what old Toloth has at number nine¡­? -
¡°Stay,¡± the Queen said austerely and Valydra bowed her head. She returned to the high back and covered in golden sheets chair. ¡°Calamer we have a development?¡± ¡°We do Great Monarch,¡± the rigid Elderblood reported briefly and Lord Onas who was sitting across from her at the table turned his sole eye on him. ¡°We found the witch. Unfortunately we were there too late,¡± Calamer reported and one of the minor scribes named Vulreon blinked in shock afore he could catch himself. ¡°Alas, it is as we feared and many had guessed when she went missing. Predators got to her first but auspiciously she had expired aforehand.¡± Valydra bit her lip and clenched a fist she had placed on the massive conference table. Both her eyes ogling trying to keep the tears in. The Queen¡¯s voice coming from the gilded wyvern¡¯s throne sounding sympathetic. ¡°Always careless our Mori-Zilan witch,¡± Baltoris said and a pale Valydra stared at the grim face of Lord Onas. She hadn¡¯t seen the old general emotional before. ¡°Once you throw caution to the wind, you turn prey to all manner of beasts.¡± ¡°Absolutely. Great Monarch,¡± Calamer bowed and turned around to walk away. ¡°We share your anguish for your friend,¡± Baltoris told Valydra who nodded. ¡°Who here knows what she was working on? Maybe we should have Elas search her¡­ is anyone aware on where she had her laboratory?¡± ¡°I believe she worked a lot in the field,¡± Lord Onas grunted keeping his eye on Valydra. ¡°Mmm,¡± the Queen murmured. ¡°You haven¡¯t touched your wine Valydra.¡± She noticed. ¡°Queen Baltoris,¡± Valydra gulped down nervously. ¡°Dudrina wouldn¡¯t have succumbed to the elements. She was immune to everything.¡± ¡°No one really is.¡± The Queen said sadly and pulled at the single braid in her short cut blue hair. She played with it with her fingers. The effort to suppress her rage at the blatant tasteless theater almost killed Valydra on the spot. ¡°Both witches¡­ Edlenn was eaten by animals also,¡± Valydra croaked and Lord Onas intervened slapping his hand on the table. ¡°Enough! The High Priestess was burned lass,¡± he grunted angrily. ¡°It¡¯s quite alright Lord Onas. She¡¯s from Coal Isle. They are a distrustful bunch,¡± Baltoris assured him. ¡°Maybe she holds a grunge here, years after the fact? Eh? Speak up dear Valydra. The scribes don¡¯t write anything without my permission.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t¡­¡± Valydra paused. ¡°¡­your grace.¡± ¡°It was also an accident,¡± Baltoris explained patiently. ¡°These things happen. Now I know an accident from an assassination since that¡¯s how I lost my parents. Is that clear?¡± ¡°Yes my Queen,¡± Valydra croaked. ¡°What accident?¡± Baltoris sighed and glanced towards the scribes gathered at a small table about forty meters away. She raised her arm and Vulreon sprinted the distance, the distant rumbling of the clouds almost tripping the scribe up. ¡°You,¡± Baltoris ordered. ¡°Answer her.¡± ¡°The topic Great Monarch?¡± The judicious young scribe asked politely. ¡°Tell her of Nulanos¡¯ fate,¡± the Queen of Queens said and the startled Valydra snapped her head back. Striped with touches of white black eyes opened wide.
- The grieving Gold Wyvern caught the ship returning to Goras, the scribe had reported with a clinical dispassionate voice recounting from memory. There were no survivors and the vessel was written off your majesty. ¡°Don¡¯t fall in love on the job or outside of it,¡± Ryker continued shaking his head and missing the paling Zilan that collapsed to her knees under the weight of the bag seemingly. The circlet leaving her numb fingers and clattering down the cracked old granite tiles, the happy jingling sound the expensive ornament made laced with touches of the macabre and reverberating down the empty streets of the dead city. ¡°For it shall get you killed,¡± the Thieves Guild member had told her and it was like Nulanos himself was once again speaking to Valydra from beyond the grave.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 474. Eight’s ‘Rules of the Trade’ (3/3)
Nulanos ¡®Neil Toloth¡¯ ¡®Eight Fingers¡¯ ¡®8¡¯ Eight¡¯s ¡®Rules of the Trade¡¯ Part III -Milva-
Volume I -
First Era Summer of 1790 IC 18 centuries into King Ninthalor¡¯s reign Twenty years after the Aken Elder of Galith and local faction leader Zargatoh famously stood up and asked the Zilan-dominated (seventeen out of twenty members at the time, the others two Aken and a Cofol) Isles Council in Sibara¡¯s public forum, for a vote of ¡®self-governance¡¯ and a ¡®regime that would embrace all Folk, peoples and races¡¯, which the Aken stunningly won by one vote. Three years before the start of the Plague Isles campaign (1793-2005? IC)* Kobold Mines settlement at the base of Coal Mountain Coal Isle *The ¡®intervention¡¯ or ¡®armed expedition¡¯ by Ninthalor eventually would lead to the Aken-Zilan war (1798? IC) that ended two years before the King¡¯s assassination in the winter of 2006 or 2007 IC. Young Baltoris took over that same night and opted under heavy pressure not to challenge High Priestess Edlenn¡¯s at first rejected** treaties (2008 IC) that gave the local Aken and Zilan their independence. It created a rift between the young Queen and the Sibyl¡¯s Coven of Cydonia Cazan with Baltoris accusing the witches decades later that they had ¡®tricked her into agreeing to abandon Imperial citizens and sully Ninthalor¡¯s memory after having him killed.¡¯ With the popular Edlenn¡¯s violent death (or murder) in 2090 IC most magic practitioners or sympathizers were slowly expelled from mainland Wetull and Goras (Baltoris had moved her palace there from Elauthin) first to Cydonia Cazan and then they were driven out from there as well. ** Presumed lost voluminous ¡®Elas Chronicles of the Empire¡¯ is the only official source of the events and the meeting between the King and the High Priestess as he had been Ninthalor¡¯s trusted transcriber before and after the war years. Elas¡¯ assistant Kataer (who took over from him under Baltoris) the only other official present. That makes it impossible to authenticate the veracity of Elas¡¯ written account on the reason for the king¡¯s steadfast refusal to end the war. Petty scriber¡¯s Vulreon¡¯s account (Arguen Garth¡¯s official transcriber) who had heard the story from Kataer the only living ¡®witness¡¯ to the event. - Nulanos whistled like a mating canary to get Unor¡¯s attention. It may sound a certain way this but there was nothing untoward to it. Unor was a bird lover since he¡¯d been a scrawny bug-eyed kid. Again, this may sound a bit weird but there was nothing lewd to it. The muscular Hoplite leader perked up and then turned to glare at the hidden thief. Thief Leader, Nulanos decided to prop himself up. He was running a guild after all. ¡°Nulanos,¡± Unor grunted and wiped his face with a towel he¡¯d left next to the water barrel. ¡°I¡¯m missing a box of tools.¡± ¡°Only a small hammer,¡± Nulanos corrected him and carried the box to place it near the bare-chested Hoplite. ¡°Which I¡¯ll return by morrow.¡± Unor kicked the lid of the box open to look at its contents. ¡°Why would you¡­ I¡¯d have loaned you the tool Nulanos had you asked. You know I sleep in the barracks.¡± ¡°Two reasons.¡± He replied and looked at the entrance of the tunnels. Coal Mountain had the best black granite stone in the whole empire. Some coal too but that wasn¡¯t the reason it got its name. It was just a matter of the stone¡¯s color. Probably. Or because mostly Mori-Zilan worked in the tunnels to cut it out since ¡®they weren¡¯t affected by darkness or enclosed spaces.¡¯ Now, had someone bothered to ¡®genuinely¡¯ ask a Mori-Zilan about it, the answer wouldn¡¯t be as straightforward. Not because of the dark. Digging. Nulanos hated it. But Dwarves weren¡¯t easily bamboozled to work for ¡®free¡¯ or for pittance. ¡°I¡¯m listening,¡± Unor said patiently. Now Unor had gotten a break and was lucky to have followed his calling. Others got enough after working for centuries to open a small business in the island¡¯s coastal cities but few really thrived in the loftier classes of citizens. At least Tinyssos had gotten his chance with the Coven, which had also helped Dudrina. Although the latter would have done her thing anyway since she had something of Nulanos in her despite being an older lass. ¡°I¡¯m supposed to be looking for recruits,¡± Unor reminded him with a scowl. ¡°You won¡¯t find anyone worthy of the Phalanx. Mori-Zilan aren¡¯t about that life Unor,¡± Nulanos teased. ¡°Just give me the plaguing reasons.¡± Unor grunted with a scowl. ¡°I can¡¯t be seen in the camp for a while,¡± Nulanos explained. ¡°That dagger does seem vaguely familiar up close,¡± Unor agreed. ¡°Leave it on the table.¡± ¡°See?¡± Nulanos chuckled and removed the dagger. He tossed it on the table and it span around four times afore it came to a stop. ¡°I was right.¡± ¡°The other reason?¡± ¡°The blacksmith Reliol thinks I switched his good shirt with another. As if we¡¯re kids again and I would do such a silly thing,¡± Nulanos explained, a hand closing the front of his cloak casually. ¡°Did you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m back after years of¡­ ah, centuries of traveling around the Empire¡¯s lands,¡± Nulanos explained his reasoning. ¡°I needed to look good, you know¡­ for the local ladies?¡± Unor pursed his mouth. ¡°Our kind isn¡¯t exactly chaste Nulanos or difficult to entice. Especially around here.¡± ¡°Yeah but my standards are a bit higher than yours¡­¡± Unor narrowed his eyes and Nulanos pivoted the conversation away swiftly. ¡°¡­so given our temporarily tensed relations with Reliol I found myself in grave need of a good hammer fast.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Unor asked and walked to the table to pick up his cuirass. Nulanos scratched his head with another glance at the entrance to the tunnels. ¡°Want to fix something.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have a house.¡± The guild has. Just not in the provinces. ¡°I¡¯ll have you know I¡¯m staying at Larenos¡¯ hostel.¡± ¡°Uhm. Does he know it?¡± Unor retorted cracking a smile. ¡°Of course,¡± Nulanos retorted a little affronted. ¡°Paid upfront for four nights. By the way the ¡®bath and bed¡¯ slogan thingy he has nailed outside is bogus. Bath is not included in the price.¡± Larenos had insisted. All his old childhood buddies turning on him and remaining reluctant to provide free food or shelter even after all that Nulanos had done for them. Back in the day. But still. ¡°Haven¡¯t heard the reason yet and I¡¯m worried you¡¯re set on doing something stupid my friend,¡± Unor noted tying the sides of his armour. ¡°Nah,¡± Nulanos assured him and watched Unor transform into a Hoplite for a while. A couple of younger Zilan had stopped to watch his old friend as well with awe in their eyes. ¡°Heard about Tavril closing that tunnel the other day?¡± ¡°It¡¯s been a week,¡± Unor replied absentmindedly whilst using the towel to polish the muscled cuirass. ¡°Sent word to Lord Isildor and he¡¯s on a ship heading here. But Lady Nuala arrived first since word somehow reached Lord Suraer¡¯s ears. I don¡¯t have the men to secure the site or the inclination so Tavril improvised.¡± The King¡¯s Treasurer and the Elderblood Ranger/wife of Lord Suraer. ¡°What¡¯s all the bother about? Diamonds?¡± Nulanos asked casually. ¡°Surely they didn¡¯t find more stone?¡± Unor pursed his mouth and eyed the thief suspiciously. ¡°No one is to enter until Lord Isildor has a chance to examine¡­ the finding. Is why the tunnels are closed, why there are guards posted outside and why I¡¯m here doing the legwork far as recruitment goes, which should have been the unit¡¯s priority.¡± ¡°Are you going to let Nuala have a peek?¡± Nulanos asked going another way. ¡°Is that why you¡¯re polishing the armour?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to dissuade her by offering a tour of the camp instead, get the lads out for a parade and mayhap show her the local flora later.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to burst your bubble friend but no one really finds the barracks or tents that interesting,¡± Nulanos teased using some verbal lube to push the proverbial locked chest out of the small window. ¡°But switch the sightseeing with a hunt and you might succeed in wooing her. If Nuala has Rokae escorting her, I strongly advise you to keep your hands in your pockets.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be an idiot¡­¡± Unor puffed out. ¡°There¡¯s a grey-eagle site under the north peaks,¡± he murmured thinking about it. ¡°Are they rare? She might take a pot shot at them.¡± ¡°Surely not¡­¡± Unor gasped in horror. ¡°Suggest spears,¡± Nulanos offered with a toothy smile and wrapped his arm around the troubled Unor¡¯s shoulders to guide him towards the Phalanx camp. Camp¡­ the tents. He used the other hand to retrieve the army dagger from the table. - The Zilan had cut a wide road into the rocky slopes that led deep inside the mountain. It was nicely illuminated and turned into a semi-natural central cave about two kilometers in packed with large stone buildings. From there several tunnels had been opened and headed deep inside the earth in all directions. East, south, west and north. Many loaded carts bringing material out using rails and depositing it in the bigger central area¡¯s many warehouses. From there another trip followed for the cut slabs of black granite with the animal-drawn laden wagons heading for Urma Port where ships would transfer them around the large island of Nureria and through the canal to Elauthin¡¯s naturally protected by the elements massive harbor or to one of Goras¡¯ three ports. Unor¡¯s Young Othrim¡¯s squads of Hoplites had gotten everyone out, workers and slaves, effectively stopping all work inside the mines. Master Tavril¡¯s office was also closed but Nulanos wasn¡¯t interested in it. He did stop there for a looksee and found several keys that may turn useful or a needless burden. Tavril had also taken most of the lightstones with him leaving the gargantuan cave-like opening oppressively dark even for a Mori-Zilan. Given that Nulanos was a well-travelled and cultured member of the local population it took him a while to get used to the cave. The tunnels were even darker, the ceiling standing lower and with enough side shafts right and left to make even Lord Anfalon nervous. Things popped out of darkness from time to time. The eerie absolute silence so dominant and oppressive that each small sound -be it moisture trickling down a wall or a pebble kicked away in the dark- increased tenfold due to the enclosed area¡¯s acoustics. Everything was engulfed by the mountain in essence. It took Nulanos three hours to find the correct side tunnel and by then he¡¯d turn into a nervous sweating wreck that heard weird movement all about him. Tavril had placed two large slabs down and had nailed boards to the final part of the entrance. Removing the wooden boards could create an opening (and you¡¯d need a hammer for that) but the heavy slabs of granite ensured you couldn¡¯t bring one of the animal-drawn carts from the bigger cave to easily get more stuff out. Not that any animals had been left behind. What stuff? Removing the animals had also ensured no one could remove the slabs. One could break them apart, chiseling at the surface slowly but he¡¯d need a sledgehammer for that and Unor¡¯s biceps. Nulanos stared at his small hammer very annoyed. If he started now then by the time Lord Isildor or Lady Nuala arrived he could have broken away just enough of the two meter tall and ¨Ceach- equally wide chunks of granite to make a hole as big as Nulanos¡¯ head. You could theoretically work on the boards just above the barrier if you could stand up there somehow, over the vertical ¡®wall¡¯ to reach them. He was tall but not that tall. He could climb a wall but not park on it for long enough to swing a hammer once. Eh. Maybe if I back away and run on it, I could swing the hammer once at the boards. Smash my face on the granite to end the leap, drop down and then do it all over again. And again. The thief blinked, the pitch black barrier appearing a lit up grey but for a small corner to the upper left where the thick blocking boards remained a solid black. Right where they touched the granite slabs. Hmm. Nulanos put a hand on the hard surface and then raised it as high as he could to reach this darker spot. Then he jumped up but it was still out of reach. So Nulanos jumped higher, chest smacking the granite and hurting his elbow but he lodged two fingers right at the edge of the left open area. He hang there for a moment, glued on the granite slabs and then lifted himself upwards until he felt the breeze coming from the left open hole at the corner of the boards. Nulanos reached with his left arm but didn¡¯t found the end of the thick granite slab. Since the boards didn¡¯t extend that far in, he lodged the right armpit on the sawed off wood, heaved and pulled until he managed to squeeze inside the small opening. Nulanos stood on top of the granite slabs breathing heavy and checked on the cut off part of the boards that continued vertically another four meters. This was the opening to a cave and not a tunnel. Someone had cut Tavril¡¯s boards enough to squeeze through. This lazy scatterbrained amateur could have worked a bit more to give himself more inches all around, secure a bigger exit point, the sweaty Nulanos thought sourly. In order to get something other than himself back out. He reached in his satchel for the hammer and then started working on getting rid of the boards from the inside. - Nulanos got rid of enough of the boards to secure an easy exit and then found the back end of the granite slabs to jump down. He walked slowly to regain feeling in his hurting arm whilst examining the natural cave Tavril had discovered. A strange smell bothering him. He paused to touch one of the rough walls. The brittle material left a stain on his fingers. Nulanos stared on the soft ground clearing his throat. He had trouble breathing and the ground while covered with shingles and black nuggets it also felt sandy. The small rocks crashing under his boots. The thief started coughing and used a cotton hankie to cover his mouth. Hard coal, he thought. They found a very big seam. Nulanos could see a partial collapse directly up ahead. The brittle wall had come down to create a pile of black rocky debris and had left a massive hole behind. Half of the collapsed material was powder-like though and not solid. More cracks visible at the edges of the chasm and at its base this fine black powder spilled out. Ash. Nulanos approached the chasm and peeked inside. He almost got blinded as the dramatic difference in color inside the opening created a flash, like a strong torch and hurt his adjusted for pure-darkness sensitive eyes. With a groan the thief stumbled back causing even more disturbance to the soft ash under his feet, the freshly raised cloud making it difficult to breathe. Fuck. His eyes were burning. Nulanos tried to calm himself down and then peeked inside the opening again to see what had caused the strange flash. It was the walls. Veins of pure gleaming silver cut through the hard coal but the heavier metal had slowly crashed the anthracite and at some point in the past had caused a massive internal fire. It had leaked into the coal, Nulanos thought and reached to touch the silver-like strange material with a finger. Penetrated deep enough and slowly ate away at it until the fire destroyed the coal weakening the whole cave. These are hollow walls. How did the metal survive? His finger felt the metal yielding to his tough. Soft and almost elastic. Nulanos frowned. Shit. Oras fiends in the night. This wasn¡¯t silver. He had to come up with a new plan fast at this point. That¡¯s why Nuala is here, a stunned Nulanos thought and got his dagger out to dig out some of the material. This is something that would interest Lord Suraer a lot. A soft moan stopping him. He blinked, tears running down his soot-covered face and turned around alarmed. Nulanos got up tensed and walked outside the chasm, leaving behind him the ¡®room¡¯ of raw Mithril. There was no way to calculate how big the vein was or the value of it. Which is why Lord Isildor is rushing here already. He paused outside the chasm and stared thoughtfully at the pile of ash and crashed coal that had poured out of the collapsed wall. Nulanos heard that whining moan again. Some of the debris moved about and the ashes shifted. He clenched his fingers on the stolen dagger¡¯s handle. You never know what might pop out of the tunnels. In the absolute dark of the larger cave a pair of glowing eyes appeared. They blinked and then someone coughed pathetically. ¡°Shit.¡± The small voice adding with a surprised croak. ¡°Oras heart you scared me¡­ who are you?¡± There was a young girl half-buried in the pile of crashed coal and ashes. A huge chunk of gleaming raw Mithril in her arms. Raw Mithril weighs way more than lead, three times more than gold before a qualified blacksmith refines it in a special forge. The girl had dragged it out of the chasm, made it to the pile outside and attempted to walk over it. Then the weight had dragged her down and buried her under the debris. The fact that she had managed to survive and then dig herself out whilst dragging the Mithril along, was darn right impressive. And incredibly stupid. But one had to respect the greed behind it. ¡°I¡¯m Neil kid,¡± a coughing Nulanos had replied and tended a hand to the trapped girl. ¡°Want some help with that?¡±
- Volume II - Third Era 13th of Neter 3400 IC Five years into the times of Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Four years into the reign of Arguen Garth Hardir¡¯s Port in Goras A private warehouse in the industrial south district He had to come up with a new plan fast at this point. ¡°I work for the port master,¡± Nulanos said with an authoritative voice looking about him for something to work with. ¡°This is a surprise inspection.¡± The brigand furrowed his brows and stood back to better look at him. ¡°We¡¯ve paid the fee already,¡± he started. ¡°We¡¯re as legitimate as they come, mister¡­?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Neil,¡± Nulanos replied readily spotting a brick at the foot of the warehouse¡¯s wall. ¡°We have reports of unsavory activities in the area.¡± ¡°Huh? Who¡­ well, we just had a break in,¡± the Lorian thug grunted. ¡°Ayup. A fool dropped from the roof and caused some damage to our crates. Which contain¡­ legitimate products¡­ from the area.¡± ¡°Is he alive?¡± Nulanos asked a little worried, an eye on the brick and the other on Valydra talking animated with the pirates near the ship. ¡°I need to question him.¡± Eh. You slip up under heavy pressure. Or trying to do too many things all at once. The brigand narrowed his eyes and asked in a distrustful manner, missing Eight¡¯s left foot dragging the brick closer. ¡°How do you know it''s a ''him''? There are plenty of female crooks around these parts. Allegedly.¡± Yeah. The brigand got a surprisingly honest answer in response. ¡°I¡¯m the lookout.¡± ¡°What?¡± The brigand gasped and the brick levitated between them, Nulanos¡¯ performing a roundabout kick that caught it midair and hurled it on the man¡¯s head. A loud thud as the brick bounced off of the thug¡¯s forehead and Nulanos started moving without hesitation. He snatched the brick with his right hand, went over the collapsing brigand and walked briskly towards the front of the building. He found the gates open and walked inside hefting the brick in his hand, heading directly for the four humans gathered around the smashed boxes and crates in the middle of the warehouse.
Nigel groaned in blinding pain coming about and then twisted on the ground grabbing at his leg. He managed to stand with a punch at his hurt right shoulder and then went down again landing on top of an unconscious thief. The one with the shaved head. The shaved head with the bleeding cracked cranium. ¡°What¡­ in the¡­?¡± Nigel groaned and tried to get away from the unresponsive thug. Thief¡­ eh, Nulanos wouldn¡¯t give them that. ¡°Eight? God darn it man. Argh, think I¡¯ve broken my ankle. Couple of ribs¡­ shit. Hatch opened wrong¡­¡± They didn¡¯t have time for that. ¡°Nigel,¡± Nulanos said and went to help him stand. ¡°Listen up. We¡¯ll change up the plan a bit.¡± A lot. Like abandon everything else. ¡°Ouch¡­ fuck.¡± Nigel smacked his lips still distracted. ¡°Damn. Think I was a goner for a moment there¡­ Is that?¡± ¡°It is. I gave you a healing potion. It¡¯ll take time to heal the bone and you need to stand still and not walk on it. Having said that we need to get out of here fast and head back to base.¡± ¡°Wait¡­ what about the loot? You¡¯ve taken them all out and there¡¯s gold in here chief,¡± Nigel said with a grimace and groaned as Nulanos started half-dragging him towards the exit. ¡°Oras fiends, what are we doing Eight?¡± Nulanos stopped to look at his sweaty, slightly bleeding face. ¡°You¡¯re Eight.¡± Nigel blinked in numb confusion. ¡°I fell from the roof,¡± the thief told him hoarsely in an attempt to put two and two together. ¡°Must have hit my head pretty bad. But I¡¯m dead certain I¡¯m Nigel.¡± ¡°You are. But you¡¯re also Eight now. Ryker and Denis will play along.¡± ¡°What are you talking¡­? Ryker has seen you¡­ Why?¡± Nigel asked now even more confused. Nulanos sighed knowing they didn¡¯t have a lot of time. ¡°They¡¯ll head back to the tavern. We need to be there first with a solid plan.¡± Solid¡­ eh. Plan¡­ I wish. Just a diversion. Nigel looked at him with a pained expression of pure bewilderment. ¡°Remember that time in eighty-one when you wanted to take that pretty girl in?¡± Nulanos asked knowingly. ¡°Lisa-Marie?¡± Nigel asked and grimaced. ¡°What is¡­ what does she have to do¡ª?¡± ¡°Now I was against it firmly, right?¡± Nulanos asked him with a tensed grin. ¡°Sure. You can be a dick. But¡­ she turned out fine. Then married that smith in Caspo O¡¯ Bor.¡± ¡°Nice for her. Now the reason I brought it up is that I didn¡¯t want you getting involved with a pupil¡ª¡± ¡°I would never!¡± Nigel grunted stopping him. ¡°She¡¯s like my little sister anyways. Watched her growing up and all. Anyway, she¡¯s out of the life now and we have rules about that right? Your rules.¡± Yeah. Nulanos pursed his mouth and stared at his boots. ¡°Forget about it. Ryker brought Valydra here.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t say. Who¡¯s she again?¡± ¡°A girl¡­ a Zilan from the old place.¡± ¡°Wait¡­ did you just say Ryker is here? When did this happen?¡± Nigel asked and tried to step on his leg with another groan. ¡°It hasn¡¯t happened yet¡­ yes, he¡¯s here. Anyways, he¡¯ll bring them to the guild and she can¡¯t know I¡¯m alive.¡± ¡°Eh, but you are.¡± ¡°I need time to figure out what her plan is.¡± Nigel licked his lips unsure. ¡°Ryker would have told her you still breathe Eight. Is she dangerous?¡± ¡°She¡¯s a great thief. A member of the Guild. If we had a seniority thing going and not my brand of favoritism then she¡¯d be the oldest member by a lot with Sorn at number two.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Nigel murmured with a nod. ¡°So¡­?¡± ¡°You¡¯re Eight. Got the rank from the horses¡¯ mouth,¡± Nulanos repeated. ¡°Ryker will play along.¡± He better. ¡°Right,¡± Nigel grimaced. ¡°I¡¯m uncomfortable with this. What if she asks a trick question?¡± ¡°She¡¯ll know you are not me Nigel. So you¡¯ll give her a reason for the charade, something tearful and heroic. She¡¯s a mark, work your magic on her. Find something.¡± Nigel nodded in agreement. ¡°Aha. Like what?¡± He asked crooking his mouth. ¡°Tell her I died in Rida with the witch.¡± Nigel blinked, then thought about it some. A moment later he scratched his head, cleared his throat and asked. ¡°So I just welcome her in?¡± She¡¯ll get in even if you tell her no. Milva is very stubborn. ¡°Learn what you can and I¡¯ll be around. The moment we know more I¡¯ll see to fix this,¡± Nulanos assured him although this part of the plan Nulanos hadn''t worked out yet. The plan sucked but he couldn¡¯t come up with anything better, what with less than an hour of time available and if that. ¡°What did she do?¡± Nigel asked. ¡°You asked Sorn about her.¡± ¡°She tried to have me killed which is very disappointing, but also had an old friend killed which I can¡¯t forgive.¡± A tensed Nulanos replied. - Four hours later Black Door tavern (Taras venue) Early morning of the 14th of Neter Nigel Grim was heard puffing out and Nulanos pressed his back on a wall, squeezed in the small space behind a tall cupboard in a corner of the cellar. Denis sounded very disappointed. ¡°I had the table reserved Nigel,¡± griped the low-ranking thief running the tavern venue in Taras. There was one in almost every big city and sometimes two or three. Few of them brought any income in but they operated like hideouts, warehouses and safe spots to keep goods until they were put back in circulation via the black market. ¡°Hired the hostel¡¯s chef to prepare a dinner and all.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry Denis. I know how much it means to you man,¡± Nigel replied. ¡°But we have a high ranking member of the Guild visiting and we need to have the place locked down tight.¡± ¡°Eight?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Eight now.¡± ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t like that Nigel,¡± Denis murmured. ¡°It¡¯s his idea. You play along now,¡± Nigel elucidated. ¡°Uhm. Eh, will these visitors use the tavern? If they are to stay in the cellar then we could make this work.¡± ¡°A Cofol group you say,¡± Nigel said. ¡°A merchant and his wives. He has three. Plus a couple of slaves. It¡¯s a group,¡± Denis expounded. ¡°Mmm. You need to have Ryker slip our visitors by them fast.¡± ¡°I can do that. When did Ryker arrive?¡± ¡°Earlier tonight.¡± ¡°How do you know?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve seen him but we raced here before them.¡± ¡°Do I need a blade?¡± Denis asked after a thoughtful moment. ¡°No. But you keep one under the counter just in case,¡± Nigel deadpanned.
Twenty minutes later Nulanos could hear their visitors talk with ease but could only spot the outline of the two Zilan. ¡°Have a seat friends,¡± Ryker was saying, the thief sounding in great spirits. ¡°Valydra, Kumra you can relax in here. Lose the hoods. I¡¯ve tolerated the caution in the city but this is ridiculous. We are friends of the Monarch.¡± For crying out loud the man was probably just being polite! Nulanos thought frustrated with everyone believing they had a carte blanche in Goras now.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Let¡¯s not overstate the local state of affairs Ryker.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t. We talked with the guards in the port. Pirates and thieves bringing loot ashore. No one even batted an eyelash!¡± ¡°They might if they catch you on the act!¡± Nigel grunted. ¡°Who are you?¡± Valydra interrupted their back and forth. It was strange hearing her speaking in Common. It was even stranger hearing her voice after so long. ¡°Where is Eight?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Eight,¡± Nigel replied. ¡°Welcome to Taras Valydra.¡± ¡°Hello mister Eight,¡± Kumra said respectfully. ¡°Uh?¡± Ryker gasped. ¡°You are not him,¡± Valydra retorted. ¡°What is this folly Ryker?¡± ¡°Ahm,¡± Ryker stalled and Nigel remembered to step in. ¡°I¡¯m Eight now Valydra. I run the Guild,¡± Nigel Grim expounded. ¡°Is this who you were talking about?¡± A livid Valydra asked Ryker. ¡°Well, as mister Grim said it¡¯s a moniker¡­ really. We do that. My surname isn¡¯t Phantom ha-ha. Eh,¡± he paused and Nulanos tried to see what was going on. ¡°You¡¯re very angry.¡± Ryker noticed lamely. ¡°I¡¯m deeply disappointed.¡± Valydra hissed. ¡°I feel cheated mister Ryker. Like I¡¯ve been worked on thoroughly and left with an empty purse!¡± ¡°You are among professional thieves,¡± Nigel deadpanned finding his almost legendary wit at the most crucial point in the game. ¡°I¡¯ll say it was to be expected my lass.¡± A moment of tense silence ensued. Come on Milva this was a good retort. ¡°You hit the nail on the head mister Grim,¡± Valydra finally yielded, a light tease in her voice and Nulanos frowned. ¡°For humans you have a great setup here.¡± ¡°We aim to please,¡± Nigel replied. ¡°You can call me Nigel.¡± Okay that¡¯s enough sugar mate, Nulanos thought and peeked at them from his hiding place but he could only see their backs. Damn it, I forgot how fit Mori-Zilan can be. ¡°Nulanos¡­ Eight,¡± Valydra asked sometime later. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t retire.¡± ¡°And he didn¡¯t. We lost him¡­ in Rida. It¡¯s been a number of years since,¡± Nigel replied sadly probably stabbing his hurt foot down to dig out even more emotion. ¡°Ryker I haven¡¯t told you that but he was with the witch that night.¡± ¡°He was? Yeah¡­ that makes sense,¡± Ryker mumbled doing a decent job in playing along. ¡°Apologies Valydra.¡± ¡°If you didn¡¯t know, then there¡¯s nothing to be sorry for,¡± she said tiredly. ¡°So Nulanos was sleeping with the sorceress?¡± ¡°Is this a trick question?¡± Nigel teased. ¡°It makes a certain sense,¡± Valydra murmured. It does? ¡°It does? I never¡­ He was a private man¡­ Zilan.¡± Nigel replied equally confused. ¡°You haven¡¯t seen Aelrindel,¡± Valydra explained. ¡°She could get a stir out of a rock.¡± And you have? When was that? Nulanos wondered and then added afore he could control his thoughts. You can a stir a rock as well dear.
¡°They are gone,¡± Nigel said an hour later, near noon. ¡°Ryker went with them. They¡¯ll stroll around Taras a bit, see the sights and be back.¡± ¡°You told him about Dar Fenog lurking about?¡± ¡°An assassin.¡± ¡°A nasty piece of work.¡± ¡°I did. Don¡¯t they need a contract to go after someone?¡± Nigel asked him worried. ¡°That¡¯s the Silent Servants Guild. Theoretically yes, but we don¡¯t know who is running them.¡± ¡°Who was top dog afore?¡± ¡°Dar Nym.¡± If we¡¯re lucky she has kicked the bucket already. ¡°Is that the name he goes by?¡± Nigel asked. ¡°No. And it¡¯s a she. Elas little sister. The Elderblood Aenymriel. Dar Fenog¡¯s name is Din.¡± Nulanos murmured and run his fingers on the expensive silver fork Valydra had used, noticing a spoon was missing. A half-smile formed on his mouth but it quickly went away. ¡°But there were more of them. The old Gish and Minuet-Mol. Dar Draug¡­ you don¡¯t want to run onto him ever. Dar Eherdir of course. Don¡¯t let my words fool you. These are very old Zilan Nigel and extremely dangerous. We don¡¯t know how many of them are alive.¡± ¡°Ryker said the isles were devastated for the most part.¡± ¡°And Valydra said that a whole settlement survived inside the mountain. Came out after the catastrophe. Every island has survivors.¡± ¡°She seemed to care only for the Mori-Zilan,¡± Nigel noticed. ¡°It makes sense.¡± ¡°Anymore witches hidden in there?¡± Nigel asked. ¡°It¡¯s possible. I don¡¯t know what happened after I escaped,¡± Nulanos admitted. ¡°When was that?¡± ¡°A long time ago.¡± ¡°Should I tell her about Sorn still roaming about?¡± Nigel probed casually. ¡°No. Let¡¯s see what she¡¯ll tell us first.¡± ¡°She might spot you chief. Or that Kumra dude.¡± ¡°He¡¯s a youngster. And I¡¯ll be careful,¡± Nulanos retorted and got up frustrated with himself for being so nervous. ¡°She moves like a cat. Her eye notices everything,¡± Nigel commented. ¡°What do you think happened to the other one?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Nulanos replied and stared at his old pupil. ¡°Valydra is an old lady now Nigel.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t look old to me chief. Reckon we¡¯re both adults.¡± ¡°Just keep it professional. She is not stupid,¡± Nulanos snapped and Nigel furrowed his brows. ¡°You sound jealous chief,¡± his old pupil noted. ¡°Don¡¯t be an idiot,¡± Nulanos hissed and marched straight for the hatch to get some air.
Valydra had gotten a new pair of soft leather boots from Vycaris & Oelinael''s workshop, the tailors gifting her a leather bustier ¡®for Goras has buried the hatchet with Valydra¡¯s people¡¯ and a new outfit for Kumra. A visibly pale Ryker footed the exorbitant bill since Vycaris and Goras while now charitable remained as conceitedly expensive as ever. So he charged them an arm and a leg in the end to make up for the gift. Nulanos followed after them, keeping a safe distance and crunching on a pilfered apple until they stopped with much of the market¡¯s crowd to watch the Onyx Wyvern flying over Taras. The Wyvern dived for the lake¡¯s surface making a great splash that stunned the bystanders and then flew towards the distant castle with a series of smug trumpeting shrieks. ¡°The Monarch has a black Wyvern?¡± Valydra asked a local merchant and the Cofol grinned toothily. ¡°Indeed. He¡¯s very friendly. Frequently flies over the market to excite those visiting it. The more you come, the more you shall see it lass.¡± ¡°Mmm. You sell beads?¡± ¡°Semi-valuable,¡± the merchant replied. ¡°I have an eyepatch fashioned of colored glass and it sparkles in the light.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure it¡¯s useful in the field,¡± the female thief murmured absentmindedly. ¡°What field be that lass?¡± ¡°Night hunting¡­ for rare Griffin feathers?¡± Valydra quickly elucidated in a hushed tone. The merchant showcased extreme professionalism to her words, maintaining an attentive expression on his face the whole time. The comely thief cleared her throat and added. ¡°The young ones get irritated by flashy things. Sometimes?¡± The man probably had no idea what she was talking about. ¡°What¡¯s a few empty trips, if you get to look pretty?¡± The Cofol haggled with a fierce grin, followed by a conspiratorial wink. ¡°Just have a look at it. Here. The craftsmanship, soft cloth under the leather. It¡¯s only two gold dinars for you. Special prize for a lovely lass.¡± ¡°Thank you master merchant, but this lass shall pass,¡± Valydra replied not taking the bait. She walked away from the stand and deeper into the market with Kumra and Ryker shuffling their feet behind her. ¡°Fucking thrifty, black-skinned Issir,¡± the Cofol cursed under his breath a moment later but paused seeing the tall Nulanos that had parked in front of his stand. ¡°She¡¯s a Mori-Zilan. Seldom do they expend on frills for they are nurtured with none,¡± lest they steal it, he told him and the merchant nodded unsure but seeing Neil¡¯s expensive leathers and fancy shirt, the Cofol quickly found his footing. ¡°How can I be of service sheikh?¡± ¡°Neil.¡± ¡°Anything caught your fancy Sheikh Neil?¡± ¡°Just Neil shall suffice,¡± Nulanos retorted stiffly and pointed an index finger to a bowl filled with white and black colored beads. ¡°Give me a hundred of those.¡± ¡°Only about fifty in the bowl,¡± the merchant informed him. ¡°Four silver dinars per bowl. I have another one in the box. They are for braids. Good on a female, smart on a male,¡± he added with a shit-eating grin. ¡°I¡¯ll take them both,¡± Nulanos replied and a gold coin appeared between the extended mid and index finger. ¡°Keep the change.¡± ¡°Right away,¡± the Cofol replied eagerly and stooped to rifle inside his large box under the stand. ¡°Here it is,¡± he said a moment later and stood up. ¡°Let me wrap them inside a cloth for you.¡± Nulanos thanked him in a friendly manner and then followed after the leisurely walking trio. He slotted the wrapped up ceramic bowls of colored beads inside his satchel en route, right beside the intricately sawn leather eyepatch.
Valydra visited as much of Taras as she could and finally called it a day. They returned to the Black Door tavern with Ryker complaining about his tired legs. The two Zilan completely unaffected by the distance they had covered challenged him to join them in a dash ¡®over the sturdy rooftops¡¯ which the miffed Ryker politely declined. He left them at the entrance of the tavern since ¡®there was some work to be done for the Guild¡¯ and they went inside with Nulanos approaching after about twenty minutes keeping to the shades. After another ten minutes of watching the hostel¡¯s entrance and the nearby streets for any lurking trouble, the master thief entered the closed dark tavern as well using his own key. Nulanos paused in the pitch dark and listened to Denis snoring from the armchair he¡¯d installed behind the counter. He eyed the table with the empty plates and glasses. Two tables adjoined together. Walking carefully he reached the hatch and opened it. Nulanos climbed down the ladder and ducked inside a shadow hearing voices coming from the semi-lit hall. Taking a deep breath to calm himself down, he listened for a while to the voices, Valydra and Nigel were talking in the latter¡¯s office. The door left open. One of the small bedrooms on the east wall of the cellar occupied by a sleeping Kumra. Another silent burst across the hall and he stopped behind a stone support pillar that offered a good view of the inside of Nigel¡¯s office through the open door. It wasn¡¯t more than five meters away. ¡°He never said anything,¡± the sitting down Nigel said rubbing at his hurt leg, he rested on a small stool. ¡°But he taught you.¡± ¡°It was a process,¡± Nigel replied. ¡°Spanning many years¡­ not always pleasant. Frequently painful.¡± ¡°You miss him?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t say I¡¯m not.¡± Be vigilant Nigel, Nulanos thought. ¡°Who told you Dar Fenog is around?¡± Valydra asked changing the subject. Had Nulanos really been dead, the previous topic would have rattled his last pupil enough to slip up here. Nigel didn¡¯t. ¡°I know it for years,¡± Nigel replied casually. ¡°Through Eight. The real one.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve seen him?¡± ¡°Not really. He¡¯s lurking around the palace and the throne¡¯s lands. But he is not unwanted there.¡± ¡°Which are those throne¡¯s lands?¡± ¡°Morn Taras, the Garden of Statues, Sen¡¯s Lake and the Den. You need special permission to visit,¡± Nigel replied. ¡°Don¡¯t know why you would. Although I reckon the palace is a nice place.¡± ¡°Has Eight ever mentioned anyone else?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t remember lass.¡± ¡°Do you have incense with you?¡± Nigel stood back. ¡°You can buy some, but yes. Surely you are not looking for work? You don¡¯t have to. The Guild shall provide.¡± ¡°Will the Guild return to Cydonia?¡± ¡°Eventually. Ryker said we have to be more prepared to venture further inland.¡± ¡°You¡¯re talking of plunder, I was thinking of having a ship reach Coal Isle and inform those still living there they are welcomed here. We are welcomed here Mister Nigel, yes?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°The Monarch is the Guild¡¯s friend,¡± Valydra pressed on. ¡°We have¡­ an understanding.¡± ¡°What do you do for him?¡± Valydra asked. ¡°Helped him out a few times.¡± Nigel replied a little warily as he couldn¡¯t figure out her angle. Nulanos could. Valydra wanted to ensure the king¡¯s route would stop at Coal Isle and not jump to the next port. ¡°Any of Edlenn¡¯s people around?¡± Valydra asked next. Or not exactly, Nulanos thought a little surprised at where the conversation had gone. She turned political in the end, Sorn had told him and it was a slip up this. A truth amidst the lies. But how many lies were there? It all had made perfect sense at first. She¡¯s influencing your mind unwittingly you fool, he admonished himself. ¡°Who is she?¡± Nigel asked with a frown. ¡°The¡­ witch¡¯s mother. You don¡¯t know who¡­¡± Valydra sighed deeply troubled. ¡°You alright there lass?¡± A concerned Nigel asked since he could see Valydra¡¯s face and she took a long time to answer. ¡°They called her the Moon¡¯s Daughter. She wasn¡¯t important back then, just too young to make a difference. Her mother though was, her line that of Sintoriela who was the First Sibyl. She had foretold the age of Hardir O¡¯ Fardor and you¡¯re living in it Mister Grim. Cydonia never let go of the Old Ways and many perished to keep her words alive. To hear your obliviousness of our past and struggles hurts my soul. This realm I don¡¯t recognize and I won¡¯t submit to another wyvern.¡± ¡°The Monarch doesn¡¯t oppose magic. Gish and dwarves live in Taras. A Mori-Zilan could also if she wanted.¡± ¡°If vanity breaks the gilded throne, the wyvern¡¯s scales shall turn an onyx black,¡± Valydra droned Sintoriela¡¯s revelation. ¡°Atone¡­ or thee shall be judged by the Tamer of Monsters. Your monarch is not benevolent Nigel. He¡¯s not here to heal or make friends. He¡¯s here to purge the lands. You have been fooled.¡± ¡°Listen lass,¡± Nigel said and got up with a grimace. ¡°I get you want revenge and you¡¯re frustrated upon learning that your old enemies are still around when old friends are long gone. But maybe you need to let go? Garth is a normal guy that had his share of misfortune.¡± ¡°A normal guy tied to an onyx wyvern, consorting with the Queen¡¯s lackeys? Do you know what they did?¡± ¡°They are bad guys everywhere. All Monarchs use them from time to time. Good, bad. It means nothing. Take a few days, you¡¯re overwhelmed right now.¡± ¡°They tried to kill him!¡± Valydra hissed and Nulanos frowned. ¡°In a sense they did. I bet the fire in Rida was another attempt.¡± ¡°It was an accident and for certain not aimed at him. I know about Turlas by the way.¡± No Nigel, keep Sorn out of it. ¡°What? That was a fucking lie!¡± Valydra snapped at him and paced animatedly to the edge of the door. ¡°Turlas was nowhere near Cazan at the time. Eh, I¡¯ll take that incense now.¡± Huh? ¡°What are you going to do?¡± Nigel asked opening a drawer. ¡°Can the Guild fund a mission to Coal Isle?¡± ¡°Sure. But the Guild needs to make profit from the trip. We can¡¯t return there so soon for no reason.¡± ¡°Who else would?¡± Valydra asked stubbornly and Nigel pursed his mouth. ¡°Fine. The port was full of pirates last I checked.¡± ¡°Valydra,¡± Nigel grunted but she stormed out of the office. She blasted past Nulanos and headed for the corridor leading upstairs. A moment later Nigel came to stand at the door. ¡°You there chief?¡± He asked casually and Nulanos glanced to see if Kumra had woken up. It didn¡¯t appear so, but he kept his voice low just the same. ¡°She¡¯ll calm down eventually.¡± ¡°You sure? Because I think she¡¯s nuts. Pretty crazy. And you can read that both ways.¡± ¡°Mmm,¡± Nulanos murmured looking at the other Mori-Zilan sleeping. ¡°Didn¡¯t seem to back Sorn¡¯s tale,¡± Nigel noticed. ¡°No,¡± Nulanos agreed. ¡°It¡¯s what bothers me the most.¡± -
The warship groaned like a wounded beast, timbers crackling or splintering as fires burst through the upper deck to the lower compartments. Burning figures hurled right and left. Bodies smashed against the ship¡¯s innards that smoked and then were set alight. The flames leaping for his steel cage that toppled backwards towards the stern, one of the chains breaking and the other creaking. The sound increased tenfold with securing bolts exploding inwards and ripping through the oarsmen that had jumped up and flocked towards to narrow stairs to escape. You break the thumb, the trapped Nulanos reasoned trying to turn his head enough to see what he was doing. Pull hard next. Repeat with the other hand. Then try to open the lock with broken fingers. Fuck. ¡°Hey Gnome!¡± He barked and the disheveled, disproportionately large kid¡¯s head appeared over his cage. The thin beard on its face looking ridiculous. ¡°Abrakas-Gullet,¡± the Gnome said in his incoherent dialect, the words too difficult for his big head to handle as it was completely empty of a brain. The Gnome grinned in agreement. Crooked teeth ghastly to look at. People screaming and dying in the background not helping. ¡°Drown-soon-you. Maybe-burn?¡± ¡°Got any ideas?¡± A desperate yanking at his right arm Nulanos asked clenching his teeth manically, the skin torn there and a piece of it hanging bloody over the chains. ¡°Guards-have-key?¡± the Gnome mumbled. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Guards-have-key!¡± The Gnome yelled and showed him a large bundle of iron keys he held in a small hand. I have the guards¡¯ key, a delirious Nulanos had translated and even remembering the horrific events untold years later, he couldn¡¯t help but smile at the unlikely scene. A witch¡¯s hand reaching from afar to pluck him out of death¡¯s cold embrace as a last act of defiance. ¡®Each soul has a skill,¡¯ a drowsy Dudrina used to say after they had smoked her special batch of Redleaf and fooled around for a while ¡®since it clears my head and you know how to work that cock boy.¡¯ Ah. Silly old girl, a moved Eight reminisced. ¡®I can¡¯t be bothered to dig for answers but you¡¯ll do it. You¡¯ll swim under the waters, risk your life and drag the buried secrets to the surface. Mayhap you¡¯ll die for it. Don¡¯t die for it. Or for her.¡¯
- Nulanos closed his eyes and when he opened them again a cloak wearing Valydra got out of a tavern near Taras¡¯ black market. She paused to talk to an inebriated crook or pirate a couple of meters from the door. ¡°There¡¯s a word doing the rounds, ye be looking for a ship lass,¡± the man said in Common. ¡°Word travels fast around these parts?¡± Valydra asked. ¡°Maybe it does.¡± ¡°Does it have an answer?¡± ¡°You can rent a ship.¡± ¡°A place on a ship.¡± ¡°A ship. A Schooner. Celeste. Aye.¡± Valydra stood back unsure. ¡°How much?¡± ¡°The price can be arranged,¡± the crook told her. ¡°Aha. With whom?¡± Valydra queried sensing a trap. ¡°Folmon. He¡¯s legit.¡± ¡°He owns the ship?¡± ¡°Nah. Big guy does. It makes the trip on the regular, but they can make a detour for ye.¡± ¡°The trip to where?¡± Valydra asked. ¡°Got no idea. They moor on the south beach at the base of First Finger, just outside the ruins of the Old East City.¡± The shifty crook explained. ¡°Why not Hardir¡¯s Port?¡± Valydra asked and the man shrugged his shoulders. ¡°How do I meet with the big guy?¡± ¡°You be there on the morrow. Pay the captain and you¡¯ll be traveling by the next morning.¡± ¡°What do I tell him?¡± Valydra asked now intrigued. ¡°Tell him, Hulanor send ye and he¡¯ll know.¡± Hmm. - Volume III Early dawn the next day. 14th of Neter ¡°So what¡¯s the plan?¡± Ryker asked crooking his mouth. ¡°I have that thing¡­ with the priest... about, you know what.¡± ¡°Why weapons?¡± Nulanos asked looking at the apartment behind the underworld ¡®rat races¡¯ arena. ¡°Protection.¡± Ryker replied and glanced at him. ¡°What do you want with Hulanor?¡± ¡°What does he do exactly?¡± Nulanos asked combing his white hair with the help of his fingers. ¡°Gambling, races, fights, a lot of smuggling. He¡¯s connected to Lord Folen. So he spies for the Throne probably.¡± ¡°Right. Your typical well-connected, semi-legitimate Goras criminal.¡± ¡°One would say we¡¯re better connected than him chief,¡± Ryker commented with a smirk and Nulanos rolled his eyes in despair. ¡°Ryker a thief that walks the palace grounds lives a short life.¡± ¡°Another dictum chief?¡± Ryker asked. ¡°Something an old friend used to say,¡± Nulanos replied tiredly and started up the few stairs to reach the door of the apartment. No easier fall guy or girl than a crook dining at your table for those in power.
Hulanor was a plump Zilan. Which meant he really didn¡¯t like exertions or fasting. He looked into Eight¡¯s dark face unsure and then stepped away from the door to allow him entry. Nulanos walked inside the office, another door to his right leading to the rest of the floor-sized apartment. ¡°I¡¯m not sure we¡¯ve been introduced.¡± ¡°Neil,¡± Nulanos replied and stared in his face. There was something there. ¡°Hulanor of¡­¡± ¡°Alenia,¡± Hulanor replied. ¡°To the heavens above our greetings. May I ask for yours?¡± ¡°Tylva,¡± Nulanos said not really in the mood for niceties. ¡°She worked the Kobold Mines.¡± But never made it out. ¡°Coal Isle,¡± Hulanor nodded and walked to his office. ¡°There¡¯s a rumor, a Mori-Zilan is making waves in Taras. I thought it a fascinating but unlikely tale. But I also heard it was a female.¡± ¡°You hail from Cydonia Cazan,¡± Nulanos said evenly. Alenia was an old name. ¡°Aeson had a daughter if I recall correctly,¡± Nulanos continued and Hulanor blinked in shock, his face paling. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°I lost her in the Fall,¡± Hulanor replied hoarsely and fished a bottle of liquor out of a drawer. He quickly filled a small glass with it and raised it to his mouth. ¡°My grandfather died during the war with the Aken.¡± ¡°Funny that I recall him living for some time after the war ended,¡± Nulanos corrected him. ¡°Smuggled citizens out of Goras for a time. Worked in Sibara for a moon. Funny guy this Aeson. He never got mixed up with the dirty work himself. An elusive figure, lost in the annals of criminal history.¡± ¡°Who are you?¡± A frowned Hulanor asked and refilled his glass. His plump hands were shaking. ¡°I¡¯m with the Guild,¡± Nulanos replied and stooped over Hulanor¡¯s office, dipped his finger in the glass of liquor and wrote the number 8 on his desk. He then slotted the wet finger in his mouth and tasted the fruity liquor. Rose extract and cognac with a touch of smoke. ¡°Does Lord Folen know who you really are?¡± Nulanos asked him and Hulanor pushed back on his comfy armchair that fleshy face hardening. ¡°Maybe he doesn¡¯t care?¡± Hulanor offered with a sly smirk. ¡°What about the Monarch?¡± ¡°Maybe he cares even less?¡± ¡°Someone up and down that chain though does,¡± Nulanos continued. ¡°It only takes one to hear the name and wonder, could it be him?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve no beef with the Thieves Guild,¡± Hulanor grunted. ¡°I work for the Monarch.¡± Here it was again. This strange belief. The carte blanche. ¡°Does he even know you?¡± Nulanos asked. ¡°Lord Folen is in the King¡¯s Council.¡± Hulanor hissed. ¡°You talk of semantics Mister Neil.¡± ¡°Here¡¯s your problem. I¡¯m a persistent old goat that will keep looking into the matter,¡± Nulanos started stiffly. ¡°Dig here and then dig over there. Ask around. Annoy people. Checking on your words. Maybe I¡¯ll start by going to that dwarf. Now they have this strange tendency to take matters seriously Hulanor. And they are stubborn. Isn¡¯t he above your Lord Folen? You think, Folen will risk his position for you?¡± ¡°What the fuck do you want?¡± Hulanor, who could have been Aeson in another life and under another king, growled and clenched the small glass so hard it shattered in his hand. ¡°Celeste.¡± Nulanos replied evenly. Hulanor pursed his mouth irate but managed to control his emotions and stared at his bleeding hand staining the table¡¯s surface. ¡°It¡¯s a small ship I run. What about it?¡± ¡°You use it to make trips out of Goras to the Cydonia Cazan.¡± ¡°Say that I do. What is it to you Neil? Last I checked the Thieves Guild wasn¡¯t involved in Customs.¡± ¡°Which Isle?¡± ¡°Isildor.¡± The biggest island but also the least populated. Then again his info was severely outdated. ¡°You¡¯ll rent it to a colleague of mine,¡± Nulanos said. ¡°I would?¡± Hulanor asked unsure. ¡°Who told you that?¡± ¡°Folmon has arranged a meeting tonight in the Old East City.¡± ¡°Folmon works for me. He¡¯s a fighter. I pay him to get beaten up in the arena,¡± Hulanor explained. ¡°He¡¯s a good friend.¡± Nulanos furrowed his brows. ¡°And?¡± ¡°I think you are trying to pull a prank on me,¡± Hulanor rustled and found a cloth to bandage his hand. ¡°A man that looked like you let¡¯s say,¡± the underworld boss continued. ¡°Approached Folmon to ask a favor from Lord Folen yesterday. He wanted to use the ship for a trip to the old isles.¡± ¡°Where?¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t say. And I thought, fuck it. Let him have his trip and he¡¯ll owe me one. Maybe it¡¯s palace business. Looting. Archaeology. A chance to have a crazy orgy away from preying eyes. Eat some meat, you know the spicy kind. The fuck I care? I do, that is. Care. I just can¡¯t say no to them. Unlike you Neil, I have responsibilities, mouths to feed and businesses that need constant protection.¡± ¡°A male not a female.¡± ¡°Listen Neil. I don¡¯t know what folk do in their fucking spare time nor do I judge. Male, female. It was a Mori-Zilan. Fuck¡¯s sake. The moment you people show up things start going to shit again!¡±
¡°Well?¡± Ryker asked the scowling Nulanos the moment he stepped out of Hulanor¡¯s apartment. ¡°Does Lord Folen have ears in all taverns?¡± ¡°Brothels, the market. Sure... was my meaning.¡± Ryker replied. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Does he care about a Mori-Zilan wanting to visit the isles?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t see how that¡¯s even remotely interesting to the palace.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Nulanos agreed and licked his lips. Then checked at the sun above their heads. ¡°How far is Old East City you think?¡± ¡°Eh, I¡¯ve no idea? Half a day?¡± Ryker admitted and scratched his head. ¡°You¡¯re the local one Eight.¡± ¡°I¡¯m really not local,¡± Nulanos grunted and looked about them for a stable with a cheap owner. They usually hired less people. ¡°And I¡¯ve been away for quite a while Ryker.¡± ¡°You want company?¡± ¡°It¡¯s probably nothing.¡± Nulanos replied. ¡°But since you¡¯ll stay here, see if you can find out where that sneaky Sorn is. Ask Nigel and he¡¯ll tell you all about him. Be careful. He¡¯s dangerous.¡± ¡°I have this thing¡ª¡± Ryker protested but Eight cut him off with a rare glare. ¡°Aye chief. I¡¯ll see to it,¡± Ryker agreed sheepishly. - Night of the 14th of Neter The sloped ruins near the south beach where the First Finger Peninsula connected with Goras port. When the Black Peak volcano erupted whatever escaped melting after getting bombarded by chunks of red-hot rocks and lava got stricken by a massive tsunami that pulled most of the old port, along the buildings and the earth inside the frothing waters. Nature claimed what had been left behind, but the petrified remains withstood the attacks of the local flora. Walls still stood and stairs leading to nowhere or inside mountains of calcified debris. The landscape now bathed in the two moons brilliant light appeared peaceful, the ground turned to white and solid cement-like rock that made walking silently difficult. The ruins of the city extended to the south and to the north but most of the west portion of it was missing. The port, the naval yards and the lavish estates at the now flat slopes. Nulanos narrowed his eyes to make out Vermilion Peak, Goras center had been built in the valley between the two gargantuan mountains, now turned to barren islands in the darkness of the gulf. The level of destruction impossible to describe with words. As much land was missing from Goras Peninsula as it was there it seemed. The explosion so vast that it left no building unaffected as far as Serpent¡¯s Canal to the far west and Goddess Wall to the far north. What humans now called the Pale Mountains. The wall of granite that had safeguarded the empire¡¯s land borders, ended up protecting the rest of Eplas although Nulanos had heard that the Torn Earth Canal was now much larger in size than what it used to be. Valydra waited by an old arched wall, turning her eye to the west and the visible beach where no ship had appeared yet, but also checking regularly for anyone sneaking up on her. Nulanos checked the sky and then walked on another half-collapsed ruin to approach the lonely female. Sparse trees had sprouted through the cracks on the calcified ground but the terrain must appear desolate during the day, he thought. The soft breeze of the sea cool on his face one moment, warm the other. In the distance the tiny outline of the Black Peak still smoked from time to time and had a strange reddish glow some clear nights. But it could be just an illusion. An assortment of scents reaching him. Lemon and sweet orange, a touch of cinnamon from Goras jungle and frankincense. Which was strange since the latter was a resin produced from olibanum trees that were frequent at the warmer Lower Talon but couldn¡¯t survive so far up the coast. Unless someone carried some to burn in case he¡¯d run out of Sandalwood incense. Nulanos stood up on the top of the ruined wall and stared at Valydra that had moved as well. She was about twenty meters away and at least four meters lower than him across a petrified ancient street. Valydra was standing near the last ruin before the beach. A hooded figure had strolled down the road from the north part of the city holding a lit oil lamp. He stopped and moved it about before setting it down. In the dark waters expanding directly ahead of Nulanos to the west, deep into the gulf, a light appeared out of nowhere. The distant ship signaling back. ¡°You¡¯re Folmon?¡± Valydra asked, Nulanos sniffing at the air trying to locate the direction of the scent he¡¯d caught earlier. ¡°He couldn¡¯t make it,¡± a familiar voice replied and Nulanos snapped his head to the approaching figure that had left the oil lamp behind. ¡°Do I know you?¡± Valydra asked switching to Imperial and Nulanos gulped down nervously. ¡°At first I thought you didn¡¯t,¡± Dar Fenog replied and Nulanos eyes raced from his face to Valydra¡¯s. ¡°A weird rumor passed up the chain of command. Somebody looking for a smuggling ship to risk a journey to Cydonia Cazan. Nobody gave it a second look. The palace is busy these days. But I did. Something gave me a tingling. Then again you know how it all works Valydra.¡± ¡°Are you alone Din?¡± Valydra asked, an ogling Nulanos clenching his jaw whilst feeling the blood boil in his veins and sweat rivulets running down his face. ¡°We are all alone in this realm,¡± Dar Fenog, named Din the old word for ¡®Silence¡¯ by Nym, one of the ageless Servants of her twisted Circle, rustled forlornly in his strange otherworldly voice. ¡°Are you alone too Valydra?¡± ¡°Why?¡± She asked and Nulanos realized the conversation wasn¡¯t friendly at all. Din grimaced and unclasped the bindings on his cloak slowly. It parted at the front to reveal an assortment of weapons. ¡°Where is he?¡± Nulanos flinched almost falling from the narrow petrified partition and reached for Sorn¡¯s sword he carried with him for days. A simple straight blade with a twin edge. Imperial steel but nothing else was remarkable about it. ¡°Where is who?¡± Valydra asked a little tensed. ¡°Nulanos.¡± A severe tick appeared on Eight¡¯s face as slowly the confusing sequence of events that had led to this point started revealing itself. ¡°He¡¯s dead,¡± Valydra croaked sounding taken aback from the unexpected question. Then asked, her tone changing as that mind started working again. ¡°Why do you think he¡¯s not?¡± ¡°Eh,¡± Din grunted. ¡°Someone is lying here. It isn¡¯t me.¡± Valydra had unsheathed a sword. The blade gleaming in the moonlight. What in Oras hells are you doing? Nulanos thought horrified. Put that thing away! ¡°The Queen burned Larea Macar,¡± Valydra hissed and took a step forward. What? Din pursed his thin lips together in a displeased scowl. ¡°What else do you know?¡± ¡°You murdered Dudrina!¡± Valydra snapped irate her voice cracking. Dar Fenog shook his head disappointed. ¡°You damn bitch actually used the Sigel O¡¯ Nyel to learn this?¡± ¡°This I learned from Calamer,¡± Valydra snarled furious. ¡°Afore I slit his throat,¡± she added and charged the sober assassin. No, Nulanos gasped already sprinting on the narrow wall¡¯s edge just as Valydra dropped into a shadow under her legs and disappeared.
You don¡¯t antagonize the Servants of the Circle in their element, a walking the shades Nulanos thought. The blackness absolute all about him, the in-between realms, his eyes set forward and never straying from the predetermined path. The point where he¡¯d exit already set in his mind firmly, the shades at the base of Valydra¡¯s ruin across the street. If you get confused, lost or otherwise distracted then bad things might happen to you. You¡¯ll feel things walking in the shades. Hear whispers and smell stuff that might or might not be there. Oras Servants were more risky in their ¡®journeys¡¯ but even they were cautious and used the spells sparingly. They also had experience on how to fight with them and an inclination no thief possessed. They were all cold-blooded killers. For them the shades were another weapon, to Nulanos¡¯ colleagues a way to escape. It was always better to have a solid plan set out from the beginning and not resort to risky maneuvers. Nulanos rolled out of the shades, his legs hitting the wall and bringing him to a stop. He glanced ahead and saw Valydra coming out of a snaking shade on the pebbles brought to the petrified now coastal road by the waves of winter. She hacked at Din but he jumped away, a Kopis twirling in his left hand. Nulanos clenched his jaw and jumped to his feet, Valydra ¡®quickstepping¡¯ for a sneak attack ten meters away. Dar Fenog parried her blade with his, then raised his right forearm to block Valydra¡¯s stabbing dagger. The blade penetrating the vambrace right through. Din twisted his sword to cut her across the face, but Valydra dodged pivoting on a leg and lost her dagger that stayed stuck in the assassin¡¯s vambrace. ¡°Hmm,¡± Din murmured and removed the dagger stepping back. Valydra attacked again with a vicious slash and the assassin blocked it. Bright sparks flying out of the sharp steel blades as they locked and grinded against each other. Nulanos was five meters away from Dar Fenog, who had his back turned to him. The shadows of the wall¡¯s corner ended not a foot from the assassin. He reached inside his satchel and dipped his fingers in the brittle incense. Felt it ignite and burn.
Eight stepped out of the fading wall¡¯s shades just as a groaning Valydra dropped to her knees, a long hook lodged under her ribcage¡¯s bones. Din slapped the female thief¡¯s sword away with his and yanked his hook-wielding right arm hard to break a couple of her ribs in an attempt to disembowel his victim. Nulanos¡¯ boot kicked Din¡¯s right arm away, a torrent of blood spraying over both of them and the assassin pirouetted away using the momentum, whilst sending two short throwing knives towards the dancing away to dodge them Eight. Nulanos glanced at the badly injured female shuddering not a meter away, Dar Fenog¡¯s mouth opening and closing in a voiceless chuckle. The assassin¡¯s tongue clearly missing. Oras Fiends roam the night, Eight cursed and walked towards the reaching for a steel peleg smirking Din. ¡°Tick,¡± Dar Fenog taunted finding enough juice to use his voice and sidestepped to circle around the approaching Nulanos. ¡°Tack.¡± Time is up. Din attacked with the sword, switching stance halfway through, but Eight kicked his leading leg away and counter-attacked the faltering assassin. Dar Fenog blocked with the steel peleg (shaft and axe¡¯s blade one solid piece), turning the handle to block Eight¡¯s sliding upwards blade with the bit. The weapons locking up. Din grunted and used the angled Kopis to stab Nulanos in the gut from up close, but Eight¡¯s left hand snatched the assassin¡¯s wrist in a steely grip afore the latter could finish the move. They both roared like animals duking it out for a piece of turf, Din flipping the Kopis with his fingers to saw through Eight¡¯s hand and Nulanos nailing the assassin with a forehead between the eyes. It sent Dar Fenog flying backwards with a cracked cranium and a pulverized nose. His face a bleeding mask. A grimacing Din stumbled to a stop coughing and spitting gore, both eyes bloodshot and stabbed the sword down to reach for a healing potion. Nulanos was already over the feinting Valydra. He pressed a hand on the spurting blood messy wound, the other removing the nasty hook turning it this way and that. Din downing a healing potion five meters away and watching him intently. Come on girl, Nulanos pleaded and picked up Valydra best he could to move her towards the wall. ¡°I knew¡­¡± Dar Fenog grunted, pressing two fingers on his smashed nose to staunch the bleeding. ¡°¡­you were around.¡± Nulanos uncorked a healing potion as well and poured half of it over the wound, after closing the flesh over the cracked bones. The rest he forced inside the unresponsive Valydra¡¯s mouth. That¡¯s a lot of blood lost, but you¡¯ll make more, he told the wounded female and reached inside his satchel. I need a long one, he thought. Back across the street, the half collapsed roof I came from. Fifty meters. Do it. Din had dropped his sword and had unclasped a metal crossbow from his belt. Nulanos hugged Valydra with both arms to take her with him and walked backwards into another shade. He could feel his molars hurting, the heart beating erratically in his chest and the spell¡¯s venomous aftereffects burning his flesh away. Crossing over carrying Valydra was a matter of will and pure adrenalin.
Nulanos landed on the petrified roof at the back end of the building, about two square meters of space there and heard a livid Dar Fenog roaring in the dark night. The spell-assisted voice unaffected by his facial injuries. Eight didn¡¯t think Din could have gotten a word out even with a tongue without the Circle¡¯s magic. ¡°Stupid derelict piece of shit. A lowly burglar!¡± Din roared furious as if he was a spry chicken himself or better looking. ¡°Fucking idiot! You had your chance and you blew it! You should have stayed dead Eight. You hear that? Nym will know all about it motherfucker!¡± Nulanos worked fast to bandage Valydra¡¯s torso and midriff ripping his shirt out in pieces and using it whilst keeping an eye at the pacing back and forth livid assassin about fifty meters away. ¡°You are a dead man walking!¡± Dar Fenog kept growling like a mad dog in the night. ¡°Ha-hah-ha! How stupid can you be? Coming back to Goras! Chicken-brained and love blinded. I was keeping her alive on purpose you dumb fuck!¡± ¡°Ugh¡­¡± Valydra gasped coming about with a shuddering cough, a sole teary eye opening. Black iris striped with white and shades of green in it. A survivor for she had a touch of kobold blood in her. Born in the mines. A star in a pile of black ash. Gleaming in the dark. ¡°Hey Milva.¡± ¡°Oras heart¡­¡± Valydra gasped seeing Nulanos¡¯ sweaty face through the haze, a hand clasping at her leaking wound. ¡°Who¡­how?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Neil,¡± Eight reminded her with a fierce grin, Dar Fenog¡¯s loud insane laugher unnerving him but not enough to rob him of their moment. Fuck it. ¡°Want some help with that?¡± He asked teasinly and then he realized something was coming up the ancient wall. A long very beefy and hairy arm appeared over the edge, long nails carving at the stone. The unseen beast snorting loudly following the scent of the wounded thief¡¯s blood.
475. Eight’s Second Rule (1/2)
Nulanos ¡®Neil Toloth¡¯ ¡®Eight Fingers¡¯ ¡®8¡¯ Eight¡¯s Second Rule Part I -Wolves on our trail-
A strange, loud and wolf-like, distant howling was heard over the mangled but still standing ruins of the old Zilan capital. Another answering it from the southernmost part of the city, a third much more animalistic, deeper and irregular coming from the nearby shores about fifty meters away. The tiny Gnome¡¯s apocryphal and unintelligible words aboard the sinking Larea Macar now holding a whole different meaning. Granted Nulanos was busy trying to save himself at that time to delve deeper into his unlikely companion¡¯s mumblings. The talking Gnome had spent most of its time whilst Eight fought with the angry waves for several days, parked on his shoulder, pissing down his neck and pointing at sea birds. Telling Eight a story about tiny lights blinking in a moon-less night. Anyhow. Wolf-made-escort-to-pack-witch, the Gnome had told him back in the ship¡¯s bowels. It wasn¡¯t Valydra bringing a ¡®wolf escort¡¯ to ''bag'' the witch. But that the Wolfpack had followed Valydra and had found Dudrina. Wolves in plural. Nulanos jumped to his feet, right hand snatching Sorn¡¯s sword from the cracked roof and Valydra¡¯s eye opening and closing still in shock. The Werewolf¡¯s hairy raised ears appeared first, a strong neck supporting a beastly head, yellow eyes glowing and large fangs sprouting under black, saliva-dripping lips. ¡°Varg!¡± Nulanos roared to snap the injured female out of her dazed state and closed the distance with the ever rising over the edge of the wall hairy monster. Eight leaped from his left leg, both hands raised over the head and clutching at the handle of the sword, right boot connecting with the beast¡¯s muzzle with a sharp thud when he landed. The werewolf¡¯s head was snapped to the right from the hook kick and Eight¡¯s blade came down on a leather-encased very-wide left shoulder, sliced down and stopped at the clavicle bone. A splash of gore spurting out of the ghastly wound. Half-a-second later Nulanos¡¯ raised left boot lodged on the faltering beast¡¯s muscular chest and heaved it back over the edge, yanking the stuck sword out of the wound whilst sawing at the flesh and bone. The seven-foot tall Varg toppled backwards, an ogling Eight snapped his head hard to the left wanting to check on the shuddering in the attempt to get on her feet Valydra and a clawed hand grabbed at his foot. The falling werewolf had managed to drag him off of the edge on his way down. The grunting Nulanos¡¯ nape hit the lip of the half-collapsed roof almost breaking his neck and then plummeted for the ground after the beast.
A dazed Nulanos rolled on a shoulder afore hitting the ground with a rugged gasp just after the Nauro-Varg crashed a foot from him with a pained growl. Eight¡¯s roll ended three meters away and he jumped on his feet at the end it, every part of his body hurting. The bleeding werewolf pushed his right hand down and got up with a drawn-out growl that shook the ancient wall to its foundations. Eight faltered backwards across the road to draw it away from Valydra, the injured beast turning to come after him. While wearing a crude hardened-leather half-piece of armour and a belt of sorts, this wasn¡¯t Dar Draug. For starters the werewolf was about a head shorter and more muscular. The beast paused, nostrils expanding to snort loudly and made to turn its monstrous wolf¡¯s head around. When they had locked in on a scent during a hunt it was very difficult to make them disengage. Supposedly. No one really had firsthand experience with fighting against them because the Varg came from across the Unknown Ocean and liked the wilderness. There is a murky shallow lake dominating the narrow valleys carving the high elongated desolate peaks that ended at the upper jaw of Nasto Cas Gulf in the uppermost north of Mistland, the saying went according to Dudrina. Into those valleys and the arboreal ravines, up the rocky slopes and the rich over a hundred-meter tall trees the Nauro-Varg roam free. An ancient kingdom of humanoids that had been afflicted by a terrible curse by their mortal enemies. Thousands of years later they still guarded those distant northern shores of Mistland from the horrors of the interior. It is said, the Black Witch had added, that if one cuts straight through the middle of Nasto Cas Gulf, scales over the summits and swims across the Round Sea he¡¯ll reach the isolated island of Galith where the Aken live. But veer too much to the east or the west and you¡¯ll miss it, come upon the Great South Desert and the decadent demesnes of the Alafern instead.
¡°Hey!¡± Nulanos rustled to get its attention and stepped forward flipping the sword in his hand. The werewolf turned its monstrous head to glare at the approaching thief leader and then leaped from a standing position without any warning to barrel onto him. Eight twisted away from a swinging claw, the beast smelling of wet fur, blood and earth, his blade cutting through the pelt right at the Varg¡¯s ribs. Nulanos sidestepped away from a vicious backhand, but it came back and caught him a hand-breadth under the left armpit. The sharp claw-like fingers ripping part of the leather shirt away and carving four deep gouges on Eight¡¯s sides. A grimacing Nulanos scrambled to get away, boots slipping on the petrified street afore he dropped on a knee and saw the following after him werewolf¡¯s ghastly mouth opening above his head. But then it snapped shut with a pained guttural growl. The beast took a backwards step and reached with his good arm to extract a spoon of all cursed things buried deep in the right side of its neck. Valydra rolling on its other side, a short-sword in her hand she used to sneak-attack the beast again, this time aiming for the Varg¡¯s thigh. The werewolf groaned, now bleeding from several places and jumped away dropping to all fours. ¡°Ouch. Oi,¡± Valydra gasped a hoarse groan, keeping a hand on her wound, comely face ravaged by a grimace of agony. ¡°You were supposed to stay on the blasted roof¡ª!¡± A scowling Nulanos grunted at the still staring in his manic face bewildered female and heard a series of angry rapid snarls coming up from behind him. The sound of paws thudding on the ground and branches snapping. Eight grabbed Valydra¡¯s elbow, shoved her away like a ragdoll and turned around, just as the massive Direwolf burst out of the brushwood that had blocked the alley next to the ruins. And galloped towards him. The giant mutated predator standing at almost two-meters tall and three long, enraged at her injured brood¡¯s pained growls. The pack¡¯s female. Fuck.
A desperate Nulanos whipped a hand down and into his satchel looking for a dark place to skedaddle away, the other switching the grip on the handle to have the rising blade point down ¨Cin a shield of sorts for his arm- and half-turned his torso. He had even less time than he¡¯d initially thought. The Direwolf¡¯s monstrous jaws snapped shut on his forearm ¨Cnear the wrist- despite the angled steel blade in its way. Eight had tried to swing it but it had lodged sideways into its closing mouth instead. The sharp fangs ravaged flesh and bones and then the massive body of the furry predator barreled on a yelping Eight and brought the Zilan down. The growling and bleeding Direwolf yanked Eight¡¯s arm first right then left savagely, dragging the flaying under it Zilan along for the ride. Flesh ripped away from the bone or got mauled, but each powerful bite hurt the Direwolf as the blade cut at both sides of its mouth. A few agonizing moments later ¨Cbut it felt much longer than that to the squealing Zilan- the beast let go of Eight¡¯s ravaged forearm to spit the bloody sword out and they both jumped away -to lick at their wounds sort of speak. A shortsword rattling on the ground next to the soaked in sweat, blood and groaning Nulanos that could see with gawking eyes the gore spurting out of his mauled forearm. Anytime you spot your own broken bones fully exposed under the missing flesh, you know it¡¯s going to be a long day of hurt ahead of you. A week more like. Quite a bit more or worse if you don¡¯t have a healing potion at the near. Not that the latter will spare you the agony. Nulanos reached for the shortsword with clenched teeth, ears ringing and head spinning, the adrenalin boiling in his veins and eyed the ogling Valydra that had tossed it watching him encouragingly from ten meters away. The Mori-Zilan female pointed with a finger at the growling Direwolf nearing Eight whilst he was distracted. The Direwolf leaped on Nulanos again, a black mountain of furry flesh and a bloody cavernous mouth snapping an inch from his ear as the thief sidestepped out of the beast¡¯s way. The Direwolf stumbled on its four legs for a couple of meters, Valydra¡¯s shortsword buried deep below its left hairy ear and then let out a whiny groan. With a protracted guttural growl the Direwolf sat down and stared at the faltering to his feet Nulanos, its breath coming out fast and rugged. ¡°You¡¯re hurt,¡± Valydra gasped and rushed near him but the grimacing Eight shushed her trying to listen beyond the beast¡¯s heavy breathing and whining. ¡°They are coming here,¡± Nulanos grunted looping a piece of his ravaged outer shirt over the wound. While he¡¯d arrived fully dressed into this remote part of Goras, Eight had only his leather pants on now and part of the shirt¡¯s shoulder along the left sleeve. Valydra had his red inner cotton shirt wrapped around her bleeding torso. How about you worry about your blasted ruined wardrobe later? You¡¯re not on a fucking date shits for brains! ¡°Get to the horses,¡± he hissed through clenched teeth. ¡°What are you going to do?¡± She asked with a grimace and tried to touch him as if she didn¡¯t believe he was really there. ¡°I must distract Dar Draug,¡± Nulanos grunted and grabbed his satchel from the ground with a groan. The leather strap had snapped in the struggle. He could barely walk. Nulanos stared at the shades extending as far back as the start of the coastal road they had left behind them and he could now barely see from the ground. ¡°How far you think until that oil lamp?¡± ¡°What?¡± A bewildered Valydra asked and Eight spotted something speedily approaching from the southwestern parts of the ruined city. The black figure stopped near the arched wall where he¡¯d fought with Din and the assassin appeared again about twenty meters from their position. Din was heading towards them. He stopped upon hearing Dar Draug¡¯s menacing growl and turned around to wave his arm to the ancient werewolf. ¡°Go now,¡± Nulanos hissed and ignited the incense he¡¯d gotten out of the satchel¡¯s sheath. This is going to hurt a lot. Petrified coastal street. Find the oil lamp left on the ground, with the beach a hundred meters away. A sixty meters trip into the dark. You got this.
Blackness. Everywhere around him. A pure black this, thick as grease. The narrow path lit up barely in front of him with a soft ashen glow. Brittle pebbles underfoot as he walked briskly to preserve his strength. The in-between realms calling him. Out of the corners of his eyes the strained Nulanos could see figures approaching and slowly gathering on both sides of the barely visible narrow path. Most keeping a good five meters away but even so some of them reaching with long limbs for the hurrying thief ¡®walking the shades¡¯. The curious fiends querying in strange tongues. In the distance a series of tiny lights could be seen on the dark sky. Eight realized this was a flat featureless terrain he was traversing. A black desert of sorts. He blinked trying to keep following the ever-dimming path and the tiny lights multiplied all about him distractedly. More details emerging. Each tiny light connected with a very-thin white thread, all threads coalescing to a point in the sky. ¡®Tiny-lights-souls-tied-with-can¡¯t-Eatoth-escape. One-hidden-lingers-ever-is not-unless!¡¯ Souls tied with tiny lights can¡¯t escape Eatoth, the Gnome¡¯s story went. Unless one is not and ever lingers hidden. Tied that is. Fuck¡¯s sake Dudrina you could¡¯ve given him a thesaurus or something. Nulanos heard something running on the narrow path right next to him shoulder to shoulder. A moment later he noticed the murky figure that had sneaked up on him for some reason already grasping at his naked shoulder with weightless ghostly fingers. The distorted smoke-like semi-corporeal fiend had a glowing eye of sorts where its head would have been, but no thin thread attached to it leading to the skies. The fleshless fingers on Eight¡¯s shoulder solidifying as the creature attempted to latch on to the now running as fast as he could thief. Health be damned. The fingers shadowy flesh tearing, the joints snapping as Nulanos burst out of the shades and the fiend¡¯s scream forming semi-coherent words in Imperial. Laebae¡­ Aniculo sangane. Find wyvern¡¯s tongue.
Oras fiends in the dark! A freaked out Nulanos thought and tumbled out of the shade cast by an old calcified beam still lodged on the top of an ancient wall. The wrong edge of it, five meters above the ground. Eight¡¯s feet slid to the narrow stone-like beam¡¯s edge and stopped on the tips of his boots. The sound of crackling reaching him as the other edge of the beam that was still attached suddenly moved back and forth. It then ripped itself out of the weakened wall. The thief jumped away and plummeted down for the second time inside five minutes, hitting the ground with an oomph and then tumbling sideways to avoid the falling debris that crashed all about him. A cursing Eight faltered to his feet amidst the raised dust cloud, made two uncertain steps and then stooped between his shaking legs to puke. A torrent of phlegm and stomach fluids exploding out of his mouth and a wave of dizziness flooding his overwhelmed senses. His badly injured right forearm had turned into a black piece of coal, the aftereffects of the spell reaching as far up as his shoulder. Damn it. I pushed myself too far. No more fancy magic for you tonight mate, Nulanos thought trying to forget what had almost happened back there and stood up trying to locate the oil lamp. Out of the corner of his right eye he saw Dar Fenog pausing for a second time about forty meters away and behind him the werewolf twisting around alarmed, ears turned to the ruckus that the collapsed part of the wall had created. Nulanos moved fast, which wasn¡¯t fast at all as he almost went down immediately, his legs locking up and not listening to commands. He got extra motivation hearing the werewolf coming towards him. Dar Draug had a long cloak on and wore pieces of armour under it which could probably hide him inside a crowd of blind people. He now stood well-over seven feet tall, a lean but chiseled hairy body underneath the cloak, with long arms and powerful legs complimenting it. Some grey sprinkled on the once shiny black fur. Move you darn fool! A groaning Eight stumbled towards the still lit and glowing in the middle of the street oil lamp which Dar Fenog had used earlier to signal the approaching ship. He could see Celeste¡¯s lights coming nearer inside the natural port carved out of the remnants of the old one. Nulanos swung his head back and spotted the hobbling Dar Fenog now twenty meters away, blood still covering his gaunt face but he couldn¡¯t see any sign of the Varg Nym had saved and nurtured from a young age instead of slitting its throat. A cultured Varg, a pleased Nym had told him on the bridge allowing the werewolf to drool all over her neck whilst rubbing at his huge hairy head with both hands. Most of her other pupils and Eight visibly disturbed at the spectacle. Oh, for crying out loud, a sweaty, hurt and grimacing Nulanos cursed and dived for the oil lamp just as Dar Draug leaped out of the shades Neil had used earlier but without any of Eight¡¯s problems. The leaping werewolf had also covered the distance to the middle of the road much faster than Nulanos. Without hesitation Dar Draug hacked with a large custom sword he carried on his back, just as Eight landed not a meter away from him. Nulanos twisted away from the long blade, swung the sword with his left but Draug parried it away and then retaliated with a vicious swipe of the clawed fingers trying to tear Nulanos¡¯ face away. Eight jerked spastically backwards, the claws missed but did carve then ripped flesh and skin away from his left pec to the shoulder. The force of the blow shoving Neil violently to the ground. ¡°Killed her¡­ hrr¡­ you did¡­hrr¡­ sneaky thief,¡± Dar Draug rustled gutturally, eons later still has trouble getting the words out, but unlike the brainless Gnome the werewolf had some smarts. Nulanos hurled the sword at him to gauge the beast¡¯s reaction and Draug slapped it away with his, snapping the monstrous jaws shut angrily at the crawling back with the use of his legs snarling Nulanos. ¡°But I caught¡­ hrr¡­ your bitch¡¯s scent¡­ hrr¡­¡± Draug growled and licked those gory long clawed fingers with a rough tongue, eyes glowing in the dark. ¡°The pack will have her¡­ hrr¡­ make more¡­ hrr¡­ make strong.¡± ¡°Hirsute primordial brute,¡± Neil grunted hoarsely and hurled the oil lamp on the hideously smirking werewolf assassin. ¡°Catch this.¡± Dar Draug frowned seeing the glowing flying canister and closing his fist punched it aside. The bronze and ceramic bowl came apart unable to withstand the blow and the glass chimney shattered in many pieces as the lamp exploded before it ever reached the werewolf¡¯s face. The burning oil did though and the next moment Draug¡¯s torso and face were set alight.
Dar Draug let out a howling roar and stumbled back, flaying his arms to douse the flames out, before dropping to all fours. Din, who had reached about ten meters away from the rolling away from the exploding flames Nulanos, stopped as well with ogling eyes and then ducked for the ground. Which was bizarre to witness the thief thought, for a brief moment quite perturbed with the injured second assassin¡¯s reaction. The next a trumpeting shriek was heard coming from the skies -ever closing in and before Neil could realize what was going on, the Onyx Wyvern landed narrowly missing them with its talons and the swipe of its stinger that followed soon after. It then crashed on the ground infuriated at the fail, demolishing the weakened wall Eight had plummeted from earlier and continued using its hind legs and extended winged forelimbs to break its momentum. Behind Eight Dar Draug raced towards the ocean on all fours burning like a torch and wailing as much as the annoyed Wyvern shrieked, the two werewolves that had approached from the site where the female Direwolf had expired earlier, stopping to reevaluate things. The Onyx Wyvern turned its horned head, it stood over three meters tall on all fours, radiant rubicund eyes examining the grimacing Nulanos and the injured retreating assassin. RRRRREEEEE The Wyvern trumpeted gutturally, the raised stinger dancing ominously behind it, its elongated neck turning to eye the two werewolves, one of them badly injured from Nulanos, as if unsure on what was easier to catch. Good grief, the wyvern is loose, Nulanos thought with a shiver, desperately trying to get his frozen and turned into a dead piece of coal right arm going. It feeds on its own and doesn¡¯t sleep locked in the Den. With a loud snort the wyvern moved east -awkwardly but quite fast- towards the half collapsed building Eight had leaped back and forth twice that night where it finally stopped over the dead Direwolf¡¯s corpse. The Wyvern reached low and took a good crunching bite out of the carcass, eyes set on the two growling werewolves that watched the wyvern eat their mother tauntingly. One after the other the two Varg retreated and galloped away, their howls reverberating inside the desolate ruins of Old East City.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. When Nulanos checked to see where Dar Fenog was he realized the assassin had disappeared as well not wanting to risk staying near the feasting wyvern. Neil decided that Din¡¯s idea was the best of the wild night and with a groan of pain followed after the assassin¡¯s example going for his borrowed horse.
Valydra waited by her horse under the shade of a ruined villa that had a distant view of the wyvern and what now was the seaside neighborhood of the old city. The injured Nulanos, his right arm had been ravaged by the Direwolf and the spell sickness had turned it useless, with several other parts of his body feeling mauled because they were, paused for a moment to watch her work on the wound she had sustained with string and needle. ¡°It¡¯s going to leave a mark,¡± he noted when Valydra raised her head to look at him after hearing the horse. She pursed her mouth and got up all tensed. ¡°But Draug might literally need to always wear a hood from now on. And buy salve for severe burns in bulk.¡± ¡°He got away?¡± She asked with a frown looking at him hobbling near her. Come on Milva, give me a grin dear. ¡°No one back there believed the wyvern was about to talk it out,¡± Nulanos tried again with a pained smile. ¡°Where did he find a Direwolf?¡± ¡°It has been quite a lot of time Neil,¡± Valydra replied guardedly and there was a bit of depth in her reply. ¡°It has and yet you still find yourself in trouble,¡± Nulanos teased and Valydra sobered up. ¡°That spoon trick was neat back there. Where did you find it?¡± He added and this time she chuckled, although it was ruined by a jolt of pain. ¡°Silver makes them sick,¡± Valydra rustled through a grimace of pain. ¡°But I really liked the design on it.¡± Nulanos nodded. ¡°The Monarch¡¯s silverware. Eilven has been given the green light. A bit of an artistic vein in the princess too.¡± ¡°You dine with the Monarch now?¡± Valydra asked a little impressed whilst raising a thin black brow. ¡°Nah, don¡¯t believe the nasty rumors,¡± Eight teased. ¡°I¡¯m still single.¡± And in superb condition considering the mileage with plenty left in the tank. Excellent¡­ eh. Plenty¡­ well, the will is there for sure. Valydra nodded not fully in the mood still and showed him a healing potion she had gotten out of her satchel. Homegrown brew, all ingredients hand-picked from the old place. Custom wooden cork, stained old glass vial and everything. The girl is not half bad either. ¡°I just had one. It looks worse than it really is.¡± He politely declined. Valydra closed the satchel and returned it to the saddle. Eight¡¯s intense scrutiny of her face was making it uncomfortable for the female Mori-Zilan. Yes, they were both still alive. Yes, she hadn¡¯t betrayed him and he still had her back, but Neil wanted to know what had happened to her other eye. All the other things. Like why would a thief pick up a sword? ¡°He trusts his wyvern a lot,¡± she noted hoarsely pressing a cloth on her leaking wound. ¡°I don¡¯t believe he gives a damn. If Ninthalor was in the middle and Baltoris the one edge, then Garth is the complete other.¡± ¡°What edge be that?¡± ¡°Do whatever you darn like just stay out of his¡­ or the wyvern¡¯s way.¡± Nulanos replied and pointed at her horse. ¡°Want help with that?¡± Toloth Ama Erea said nothing. She climbed on the saddle easily and turned it to give him a strange look. He just couldn¡¯t help but think she looked the same but also very different. ¡°Is the arm okay?¡± Valydra murmured, her tone a bit defensive the rest worried. The arm is pretty fucked up dear. But we¡¯ll be alright. ¡°I¡¯ll sleep it off,¡± Nulanos assured her with a shit-eating grin and he had to clench his jaw tightly to pull it off. -
First Era Spring of 1992 IC 20 centuries into King Ninthalor¡¯s reign 194 years into the war with the Aken 199 since the start of the Plague Isles campaign During ¡®Raid of Bariesha Lake¡¯ event, Nureria Island Elas Study tower Midnight
Nulanos peeked behind the corner and saw the corridor was clear. Elas was heard talking from his hall/office. He glanced back over his shoulder and saw Valydra waving at him to get going already. The scowl on her face comical. He raised two fingers to ask for two minutes. The Marines were engaged with the Aken fifty kilometers away and he¡¯d expected everyone in the tower to have followed its guard detail when they left the previous morning. Give it another day and then move in for a looksee. For some reason Elas had stayed behind. Valydra hissed in frustration and turned around to secure their rope a bit better. Scaling the wall had been pretty exciting initially but she had almost tumbled down due to a slip and while he had tried to make light of it, she didn¡¯t see it that way at all. ¡°I¡¯ll find an escort for you in the morning,¡± Elas said opening the door. ¡°But I have to check for news from Lord Sulynor. The King will be here by morrow and everything will be resolved.¡± Right. Let¡¯s have a long meeting to discuss how the Aken got their hands on ships and what does it mean going forward. Blame the human greed or just blame gold. This war might never end. The clad in long dark-blue robes Elderblood walked past the glued on the wall sneering Nulanos and went down the stairs hurriedly. Eight waited a minute and then tip-toed to the closed door of the hall. He turned the knob with the outmost care not to make noise and cracked it open. ¡°Hey,¡± Valydra hissed a whisper behind him. ¡°We need to go. Your plan sucked and Dudrina might want her ¡®burning water¡¯ back. She¡¯ll put those buzzing bugs in my hair again Neil.¡± Hah-ha. ¡°Worry not. She¡¯ll just make more and I didn¡¯t know the locks were reinforced dear. This was but a minor setback,¡± Nulanos said and waved her back to the other room. ¡°Keep an eye for the alchemist might return.¡± ¡°He¡¯s Lord Transcriber now,¡± Valydra jested and turned around to head back to her spot with attitude, giving him a good view of those hips. Better hurry it up was her meaning. ¡°Yeah right. Everyone is a lord of something,¡± Eight retorted and opened the door to step inside the hall-sized office. A wall covered with tomes, the large desk and Elas laboratory right behind it. Cupboards and armoires on the other wall, several tables packed with vials in between and open manuscripts. Nulanos walked inside looking for another door out of the tower¡¯s corner room but didn¡¯t spot it immediately. Hmm. Wasn¡¯t that fool talking with someone? Is he chaperoning a kid or something? A lover? You old dog. Eight checked a couple of the scribbled pages, lifted a vial to examine its contents and then put it back. He smacked his lips and then walked towards a large window with heavy curtains. Nulanos drew the right side curtains back and a cat jumped down with a meow. A black cat airing itself near an open window, he thought. What a fucking waste. Was Elas an animal lover? Doubtful. Eight glanced outside the open window and he could see the crystal clear lake and beyond it in the distance the mist of Elas Port. The lake named after his sister, since Elderbloods liked that sort of thing. Aenymriel¡¯s Bath. Had no one knew of the lass he¡¯d be fooled to think of the place enticing. But it wasn¡¯t. Aenymriel was a very weird lass. Nulanos sighed and turned to check the contents of the lockers. Check the god darn desk first! Yeah. You¡¯re a nervous wreck, he scolded himself. Why? There was something about this unassuming room that unnerved him. He walked there and cracked the first drawer open. Closed it with a hiss and checked the other one. Only this had no visible knob or keyhole. Eight run his fingers on the smooth surface for any hidden buttons but found nothing. Checked the edges of the drawer next and stooped under it. A little frustrated he stood up and recoiled seeing the black cat standing on the corner of the desk judiciously watching his actions. Meow. Nulanos scratched his nose and the cat raised a paw to lick it. Used the same paw to comb its brows carefully and then grinned¡­ like a cat. Fuck¡¯s sake. Grinding his teeth Eight eyed the cat warningly and then turned around to walk away but paused to stare at the window again. He¡¯d pulled one of the curtains to the side to reveal it but something was off. There were three curtains there. Two on one side. The right. The thief lowered his eyes and caught a glimpse of something under the hem of the outer of two heavy curtains. Meow? He reached for a lightstone lamp left on the desk and directed its light on the curtain. Up and down. ¡°Aww,¡± the curtain said in a female voice a little annoyed. ¡°My toe-rings sparkled.¡± Eight made to bolt it for the door but the curtain added. ¡°Stay, a while longer.¡± Fuck. An immobilizing spell casually tossed around. Eight couldn¡¯t move. He needed to knock himself out somehow to break it. Topple sideways. Crack your head on the side of the desk. This might be deadly though. Eh. The curtain moved changing color from golden velvet to a yellowish satin. It also shrunk and morphed into a short tunic. The tunic ended a meter above the floor where a pair of well-shaped legs started. Knees, calves and ankles perfectly constructed, high silver-thread sandals barely covering a pair of small feet with painted white toes. Each toe adorned with a different diamond ring. They sparkled but not like the young female¡¯s eyes did. Liquid silver with touches of blue, ever changing hues on purpose. Her long blue curls combing themselves back to leave a long graceful neck and a pair of soft creamy ears exposed. ¡°A Mori-Zilan. You are not supposed to be here,¡± the female Zilan hummed with a melodic voice and in perfectly enunciated though a bit exaggerated court Imperial accent. A wildness underneath barely hidden. Nulanos could feel the witch¡¯s aura pressing on him, small invisible tendrils touching his skin. She took one small step forward, then another. When the witch moved, all of her body was in motion as well and not only her legs. The hands, head and all visible or hidden curves on her figure. You¡¯re not so young, the sweaty and immobilized Nulanos thought watching her approach. But you smell of peaches. And sweet cream. The witch stopped in front of him and he was a good head taller than her. Until he wasn¡¯t. She chuckled at his reaction, lips splitting to reveal perfect pointy fangs and a pink tongue. A healthy laughter full of promises. ¡°You should call the guards,¡± the cat said and waved a paw tauntingly at the ogling Nulanos. ¡°Tough luck buddy. Fuck off to the dungeons now.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mind Melon,¡± the witch said with a cute pout. ¡°I shall let you go if you tell me why you are really here.¡± ¡°He¡¯s a thief you darn cunt¡ª¡± the male cat screamed the rest of it as he went flying out of the open window. ¡°He¡¯s an uncouth cat,¡± the witch explained at the worried Nulanos. ¡°He can¡¯t fly but he does have nine lives.¡± She paused thoughtfully for a moment, the sound of Melon splattering in the yard barely reaching their sensitive ears, afore she added. ¡°Eight.¡± Then she snapped her fingers and Nulanos almost dropped to his knees not expecting it. But he could move again. ¡°That¡¯s my name sweet lass,¡± Neil said recovering and grinned fiercely. ¡°I came here to see you.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± She hummed with a smile. ¡°You are lying. But it¡¯s a charming lie. My visit was kept a secret.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a crime your stay was interrupted,¡± Nulanos teased. ¡°Only the war has touched my family already and I was already pretty bored in Lord Elas¡¯ company. This was a less pleasurable attempt Eight.¡± ¡°Does this charming Lady have a name?¡± ¡°The most charming of all ladies does. Do all thieves have numbers as names I wonder? Or is it just you?¡± The comely witch dodged. Oh my. You don¡¯t hold back awed in your own splendor honey. ¡®Magic mirror hanged on your lavish wall, who is the prettiest of them all?¡¯ must be your favorite tale. ¡°Just me.¡± He replied confidently working his charm on her. ¡°But we have rigid rules in my guild.¡± For the most part. Some more than others. ¡°Only noble lords can set rules others follow.¡± ¡°How about noble pretty witches?¡± The attractive Elderborn stood back and stared in his face for a long moment. ¡°Elas keeps the keys to the vault in that drawer but if you take them I¡¯ll stop you and then inform Lord Elas. You¡¯ll live knowing where your prize is but be unable to touch it.¡± You don¡¯t say. How¡­ childishly cruel dear and foolish. Nulanos glanced at the desk. ¡°Why would you¡­?¡± ¡°My rules are egocentric justly. They must be for Night Moon¡¯s daughter,¡± she told him emotively. ¡°I¡¯m also curious if you¡¯ll try it anyway.¡± Hah, well then. You¡¯ll be prettier than your mother, I¡¯ll give you that. But you have still a lot to learn about people, Nulanos decided and bowed his head. Especially crooks in general. ¡°Then I must assure the fair Lady that I won¡¯t get into the vault. It¡¯ll be our secret,¡± he had told the young sorceress in Elas office. Tonight was his meaning. After they reached the north base of the tower, the task much easier for half the way down with the use of the rope, they both headed for their horses through the rich garden of Vaelerthiel ¡®of the woods¡¯. Elas and Aenymriel¡¯s mother. Eight felt Valydra¡¯s glare piercing the back of his head the whole journey. ¡°Milva of the mines,¡± he told her in one of the stops with the first light touching the side of the road leading to the port. A scowling squad of Imperial Hoplites tasked with reinforcing Lord Sulynor at Lake Bariesha marching on the tiled path going the opposite way. ¡°I just teased the little witch a bit. Learned how to get into Elas Vault without burning my fingers off. We play the mark dear to get what we want.¡± Valydra had turned her back now and worked on the straps of her horse in silence. Eight walked near the smaller female and hugged her waist. His nose teasing the beaded braids tail. Thin and intricately fashioned she had gathered them at the top of the head and caught them there with a leather strap. ¡°Neil gets what he wants,¡± Valydra murmured and half-turned to look him with those special eyes. ¡°At this point¡­ I can only think of you,¡± Nulanos flirted. It was a wrongly worded admission. ¡°At any blasted point,¡± he added with a knowing stare ¨Cnot well received- and Valydra put a hand on his chest to push him away. The other in one of the saddlebags. ¡°What do you have in there?¡± ¡°An old hammer. I need to fix a loose horseshoe,¡± Valydra retorted and it could be interpreted a number of ways this last part. ¡°Whose hammer is it?¡± Nulanos probed and she showed him the old military hammer Eight still owed to Unor. Old Unor playing the hero in the Plague Isles now and he had been there for years but still it was a lame excuse for keeping the tool. Eight just liked it. It was useful. ¡°You¡¯re my sweet partner in crime,¡± he told the hammer-wielding frowned Mori-Zilan hoarsely. ¡°Not a tool, another mark or a trinket. But a piece of gleaming Mithril rising from the ashes. No alluring little witch can top that.¡± He had gone in for a kiss then feeling very moved in the moment, but Valydra had stopped him placing the steel hammer under his chin. ¡°Alluring?¡± Ugh. ¡°Aelrindel used a spell and she¡¯s probably covered with enchanting words and stones under all that glitter,¡± Neil rustled and pressed against the tool until she finally yielded and lowered it to give him access. ¡°I was fucking coerced.¡±
- Third Era The 14th of Neter 3400 IC Denis was snoring loudly behind the counter when they entered the Black Door tavern. Hearing the door close, the alarmed thief let out a gasp and dived out of sight forgetting where he was. They heard him roll on the ground for a couple of meters and then a disheveled Denis peeked from the other edge of the counter. ¡°Chief?¡± He croaked. ¡°Another liar,¡± Valydra commented sourly and limped to a chair with Nulanos heading straight for the bar with a deep sigh. Denis got up and rubbed his face with both hands. ¡°Ryker got them all riled up and they left armed Eight,¡± he explained. Sorn. ¡°Get some water on your face. You need to go and find them,¡± Nulanos ordered and unwrapped the bandage on his right arm to check on the damage. The blackened skin still hard but it had started returning to life slowly. The jolts of pain also returning to the awakened necrotic flesh. ¡°Bring me that medic¡¯s kit I keep around first.¡± ¡°What do I tell them?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll deal with it,¡± Eight replied. ¡°Soon.¡± Denis nodded and left to head down to the ¡®cellar¡¯. ¡°What¡¯s the problem?¡± Valydra asked on his back tiredly. ¡°Not many know I¡¯m around. Not many that Dar Fenog would have trusted enough to go on a night excursion.¡± Then again Din might have nothing better to do these days. ¡°Are we doing this again? I didn¡¯t sell you out,¡± Valydra hissed. ¡°I made a fucking deal. To save everyone!¡± ¡°Sorn talked with the Circle. Why?¡± ¡°Sorn lives?¡± Valydra gasped. ¡°Whoa. That¡¯s¡­ news to me. I haven¡¯t spoken to him in centuries.¡± Nulanos turned around to stare at the worn out and injured female thief intently. ¡°You piece of shit,¡± she hissed irate and got up with a grimace. ¡°What did I ever do to deserve this?¡± ¡°You walked away,¡± Nulanos replied stiffly. ¡°You disappeared for fifty years!¡± Valydra snapped angrily in Imperial. ¡°Wait. You did it again not soon after that!¡± ¡°I had a job left unfinished on Jelin. Soon as I finished it, I came back.¡± ¡°With a half-breed thing!¡± ¡°Humans are ridiculously easy to propagate,¡± Eight said with a scowl and walked slowly to her table with a bottle of black whiskey Nigel had brought the other day. ¡°His name was Anval and he wasn¡¯t a thing. He just didn¡¯t have Zilan ears or much of a skill.¡± The word being Nata in Imperial and it had stuck with Anval. ¡°That¡¯s your excuse?¡± ¡°I¡¯m an old soul,¡± Neil admitted and poured himself a bronze cup of whiskey. ¡°Long before we found each other in those tunnels. Set in my ways. That don¡¯t mean I ever stopped caring for you.¡± Valydra pressed her mouth tightly and reached to grab the cup from him. She glugged down the strong drink until her sole eye watered and she had to wipe a tear away. ¡°What happened to the boy?¡± Nulanos asked stiffly. ¡°We got him out. I think he finally settled near the Lesia Lords lands. That was eleven centuries ago Neil.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a Kingdom now. Quite far from here,¡± Nulanos replied and brought the bottle to his lips to have another mouthful. ¡°I made a lot of mistakes. All Elderbloods are like that but won¡¯t admit it out of pride. But you were never one of them.¡± A silent Valydra signed for him to refill her cup and a sober Nulanos did. ¡°Sorn had talked with the Servants before. He was preternaturally scared of Nym. Always freaked him out.¡± ¡°She was pretty scary to all normal people. Why risk nearing Din again?¡± ¡°You know better. What happened? Did you threaten him?¡± Not enough apparently or¡­ Sorn had no other choice. He was in too deep. ¡°Did he sell me out back then as well?¡± Knowing they¡¯ll probably have old Eight killed? ¡°He talked with Minuet Mol and Nym,¡± Valydra explained. ¡°No sane person would talk with Din when that Varg is still around. Then again the Thieves Guild is on good terms with the Monarch again. Sorn had nothing to gain here. Did he?¡± Eh. Hmm¡­ Sorn actually believed that? That the Guild was working for the throne? ¡°What is it?¡± Valydra asked scrunching her small nose. ¡°If I¡¯m in the palace then what the Monarch knows, I know theoretically.¡± Nulanos said. ¡°The Circle reports to him or so it was back then. Din said that Nym will know all about it. About me. Why would the throne bother with me? Or maybe the throne isn¡¯t aware or even remotely interested. Nym works for the Monarch sure but perhaps they don¡¯t have the same rapport as she had with late Baltoris.¡± Or the Circle¡¯s leader is still looking to decipher that old riddle. The ghosts of eons past are still lurking in the shadows. An ageless crazy killer still following a long dead and vengeful Queen¡¯s orders.
¡®In metal it whispers an ever-weaving thread,¡¯ the unseen creature escorting Dar Nym had divined all those centuries ago. ¡®If left, its influence shall spread and come for his daughter¡¯s head. If left, it shall birth cursed dead flesh, Feed in lover¡¯s envy or bereft. If left, then the realm shall bled, For it ever wants its shackles shed.¡¯
¡°We¡¯ll rest in another place for a couple of days. Everyone will move out,¡± a solemn Nulanos told the worried Valydra. ¡°This place is burned and there are wolves on our trail led by a traitor¡¯s words. I¡¯m not really that sad about the bloody tavern. It was a money-sink really.¡± 476. Eight’s Second Rule (2/2)
Nulanos ¡®Neil Toloth¡¯ ¡®Eight Fingers¡¯ ¡®8¡¯ Eight¡¯s Second Rule Part II -Never betray the Guild-
First Era Spring of 1992 IC Elas Port *Kallister¡¯s Canal
*One of the two canals ¨Cthe other being Old Port¡¯s Canal- separating the fertile Nureria Isle from its sister island of Elauthin. The semi-natural canals outlined the west part of Elauthin Isle that was dominated by the five kilometers tall Oludril and its lesser peaks, the biggest active volcano of the two realms then with a kilometer wide crater at its misty summit. The famed city of Elauthin was built on the Isle¡¯s flatter rich north and east sides split in two districts. The Island District and the newer Palace Grounds. The latter constructed across from it on the nearby mainland Wetull shores and connected with the expansive old Zilan capital with the atoll-hopping monumental Cloud Bridge built by Ninthalor over Old Port¡¯s Canal. Ninthalor started building the ¡®thousand arches bridge¡¯ thirty years before assuming the throne and finished it around 875 IC, nine centuries later, with work continuing into the first millennia by the more moderate in his designs Lord Elwuin. As Lord Transcriber Elas noted in his Chronicles of the Empire ¡®we find it auspicious the Monarch is too busy with the affairs of the state to personally dive headlong into another of his discussed undertakings and the majority of the Council agrees. Another should take over. The Monarch shouldn¡¯t be involved for he finds it challenging to deny himself. Upon learning of the decision the usually stoic Lord Isildor was moved to tears which is quite telling on the heavy burden this non-commercial shaded causeway has been to the Imperial Treasury.¡¯
Nureria, 2nd Era -around 2000 IC -
¡°Just grab a box,¡± Nulanos told the hooded Valydra. ¡°We¡¯ll help them load up and they¡¯ll take us across. Then we¡¯ll disembark on the Diamond Sands, take a dip in the salty soup and pretend we¡¯re exotic rich tourists visiting. The locals are too bigoted to comment openly with so many of the progressive mainlanders around for Valimae Lilt.¡± ¡°What do we do?¡± Valydra asked not very convinced the local guard won¡¯t kick them out of Elauthin¡¯s richest coastal district and Nulanos raised a brow teasingly. ¡°We are famous dancers of the Peninsula that made quite a fortune in Lai Zel-Ka and the provinces.¡± ¡°That sounds a bit lecherous,¡± Valydra noted with a frown. ¡°And I¡¯m more an acrobat than a dancer.¡± Few can tell the difference dear. ¡°Correct on both points. They won¡¯t be able to resist us. And they¡¯ll assume we did a bit of whoring anyway. Most city Zilan are decadent Milva.¡± ¡°You¡¯re decadent,¡± she pointed out, the frown turning into a scowl and Nulanos stepped into the female thief¡¯s personal space to land a peck on her small nose. ¡°By the time it¡¯s over,¡± he told her hoarsely. ¡°I¡¯ll have you covered in their jewelry and this will change your mind. Do the splits for me now so we can sell it to the ogling captain.¡± ¡°Are you nuts? I¡¯m not hitting the ground in my good pants!¡± Valydra hissed with a glare. ¡°It¡¯s filthy.¡± ¡°We¡¯re a couple of filthy thieves doing dirty things and have more vulgar ideas in mind for tonight,¡± Nulanos whispered compellingly hugging the flushed Valydra¡¯s waist and caught sight out of the corner of his right eye of a thin, pale-faced Zilan watching them from a side alley. Something weird about the stranger¡¯s stare. ¡°Hold that thought,¡± he told his partner and turned around to walk towards the docks market stands. Nulanos circled around to reach the other side of the building, cutting through the few merchants with mostly local produce for sale, walked down a parallel alley and came out of the building¡¯s corner at its town-facing side. He quickly reached the side alley leading back to the docks and paused at its entrance unsure. The narrow alley stood empty. A Zilan working at the warehouse, the building was housing goods, opened a side window and poured a bucket of leftovers on the street. The street rats hurrying after them quite fattened. The Zilan looked outside the window and spotted Nulanos standing at the end of the small alley. ¡°I feed them so they don¡¯t make a mess inside,¡± he explained. ¡°We have a deal.¡± ¡°Does it work?¡± Nulanos asked in a friendly manner wondering if there was anything valuable inside the warehouse. ¡°Sometimes, but the lady rat is pregnant again and it¡¯ll be difficult to support them all. She might have to make a sacrifice. Lose something, to not lose all,¡± the Zilan said sadly and returned inside closing the window. The stone wall vertical and difficult to climb to the top. The roof standing eight meters above street level. A ceramic drain running down from above where the other corner was ¨Cthe one facing the docks-. The sun lighting up only half of the alley. Hmm. Nulanos sniffed at the air. Rotted fruits and rat droppings. A cat had pissed where a dog had sprayed earlier. The smell of the sea and expensive incense. Too expensive for that curious dilapidated reedy Zilan. Eight walked into the small alley, with the about a dozen feasting rats eyeing him approach with nervous beady eyes, initially reaching inside his satchel until he decided against it. Neil dashed forward for five meters instead, angled whilst still running towards the lit up wall for the last stride, then walked vertically over it and jumped across. A mere three meters leap. Nulanos made four quick vertical steps on the warehouse¡¯s dark wall and used the drain to heave himself over the final couple of meters. He stepped on the empty roof and blinked at the strong sunlight whilst taking a deep breath. The sweat smarting at the hem of his soaked collar. Valydra¡¯s small lithe figure easily visible near the moored merchant ship talking with its captain. Ah. A chill run down his spine and forced Eight to twist around in alarm. The reedy Zilan wearing that tattered leather cloak, stitched pants and old boots was standing three meters from him. The cloak split at the front revealing a worn-out weapon harness carrying a dozen different custom made blades. Several knives of different sizes and a scimitar of sorts with a crude wooden hand-carved handle. Hollow ashen-grey eyes with tiny black spots in them and a narrow scowling face with badly deformed ears. A sign of mixed-lineage. Probably a woods Zilan mating with a Mori-Zilan and it didn¡¯t go very well. ¡°No need for that,¡± Nulanos warned the half-breed stranger. A stray not belonging in Nureria. Or anywhere else. ¡°It shall give you no advantage.¡± The stranger extended his left hand and opened it to show him the underside of the crooked fingernails. Skin on the index and mid-finger painted red. Nulanos raised his arm and touched the side of his neck right at the moist collar. The scratch there still bleeding. Not deformed ears then. Cut off. ¡°You quick-stepped from a shade into another shade.¡± Eight told the young-looking sober half-breed. ¡°The same shade. Back and forth.¡± The strange creature corrected him in a rasping voice. A hint of the Old Witch Tongue lacing the words. Where did you hear it? ¡°How do you keep track of the fading light?¡± Nulanos asked a little impressed. ¡°It¡¯s not difficult.¡± ¡°A fiend might step in your way. Or lurk to catch you on the return.¡± ¡°To do it they must turn solid,¡± the freaky half-breed explained. ¡°So I hurt them a lot. After a couple of times they leave you alone.¡± Are you serious? He is. Nulanos licked his lips, the tips of his bloody fingers working at the drying blood, but his eyes never left the half-breed¡¯s face. ¡°You know who I am.¡± ¡°The Elderblood Thief out of Coal Isle,¡± the stranger replied respectfully in that whispery raspy voice and Eight nodded. ¡°Who told you that?¡± ¡°Nym.¡± Yeah. ¡°Do you know who Nym is?¡± Nulanos asked, the half-breed less mysterious now, but equally dangerous. ¡°Not fully. Do you?¡± ¡°Nothing is free in life¡­ what do they call you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Ralnor.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not a name Nym would have given you.¡± ¡°Never said it was.¡± ¡°Tir Ral-Nor,¡± Nulanos noted raising a querying brow. ¡°It¡¯s an old saying or a title given to the Coven¡¯s servants. Domain¡¯s enduring sentinel. Whose domain?¡± ¡°Nothing is free in life,¡± Ralnor retorted stiffly. ¡°You learn fast,¡± Eight yielded. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°I liked the other expression more,¡± Ralnor replied and covered his shaven head with a hood. ¡°Stay away thief. This is your last warning.¡± He walked backwards to reach the edge of the roof and then jumped down but Nulanos never heard him land on the shaded part of the street. You brazen young prick, he thought and used a hankie to wipe the blood from the small cut. How the fuck do you know the witch¡¯s daughter? Ralnor had followed them from Elas Tower. Five minutes later a pleased Valydra showed him the cheap beads the captain had given her. ¡°What do you think?¡± She had asked a frowned Eight beaming with excitement. ¡°Will they look good?¡±
- Third Era 16th of Neter 3400 IC Taras District (Town) Principality of Goras ¡°Well?¡± The much older now female Mori-Zilan asked parking a hip at the edge of the bed not to soak the mattress. Water dripping down her naked body. Dark skin gleaming in the light coming from the open window of the Guild¡¯s hostel. A two story building with three bedrooms that had only another cheap Lorian wine merchant as patron at the time. ¡°I found them in my dresser.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the hostel¡¯s dresser. Somebody left them,¡± Nulanos reminded her rubbing at his bandaged hurt right arm, his chest wrapped in bandages as well but thankfully still wearing his pants. It was nice to know that despite the damage he¡¯d received on the upper body everything still worked under the waist. The stitches on Valydra¡¯s ribcage the only blemish on her fit body. ¡°So what? To leave so many back¡­ it means they didn¡¯t need them. Maybe they left something in yours?¡± Valydra asked carefully braiding her long hair and inserting the colorful beads in the knots one by one. They did. ¡°I didn¡¯t check,¡± Eight lied hoarsely. Valydra glanced at him and Eight could see the dead milky eye next to the healthy familiar one. She turned away still working on her hair. Nulanos pursed his mouth and then opened and closed his blackened fingers to test them. ¡°What happened there?¡± She asked after a moment. ¡°I overdone it.¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t really shadow-walked in years. No need for it back home,¡± Valydra said, eager to change the conversation. ¡°Any of the old gang still around?¡± Eight asked in a gruff tone and reached for the cup to keep healing himself with Nigel¡¯s stolen whiskey. ¡°Not really. Tavril had been in charge sort of. Larenos thinks it¡¯s time for a change. So they¡¯ll be holding elections.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Nulanos grunted heavily distracted by her parting thighs. ¡°They¡¯ll vote for a mayor.¡± ¡°Ah. Hmm,¡± Eight frowned and stared at the open window. Taras¡¯ noise reaching their ears. ¡°You used Sigel O¡¯ Nyel,¡± he finally said and Valydra got up, pushing her braids back. She¡¯d finished the right side of her head. The milky eye staring straight at his tensed face. ¡°I did. You left it for me.¡± ¡°To safeguard it, until I came back.¡± ¡°Which you never did.¡± ¡°They tried to kill me Milva.¡± And I thought you¡¯d helped them. Not much left to come back to. Valydra let out an angry hiss as she could sense his thoughts and walked in front of the bed. It took superhuman effort for Nulanos to keep his mind on business. ¡°I get it. Didn¡¯t know the whole story for quite a while.¡± Now you do? ¡°From the necklace?¡± ¡°Lord Calamer¡¯s notes.¡± ¡°Why kill Lord Calamer?¡± ¡°He caught me sneaking around.¡± ¡°Valydra,¡± Nulanos grunted warningly. ¡°They had Dudrina killed. Edlenn.¡± ¡°I knew that!¡± Nulanos snapped and got up from the chair. ¡°You didn¡¯t have to lose your¡­¡± he sighed seeing her expression. ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± It wasn¡¯t. ¡°Milva¡­ I don¡¯t care about it.¡± ¡°Stop it,¡± she hissed hoarsely. ¡°You don¡¯t get to pretend everything is fine. I¡¯m not stupid! As if nothing happened! I had enough of your constant lies. Just stop. I grew up and yes, I¡¯m not whole. I made my peace with it long ago. I made my peace with you being dead also. The world changed while you were away Neil. Look around gods darn it!¡± Nulanos grimaced feeling her emotions spilling out and washing over him. Valydra stumbled back on the edge of the bed, found her footing and then wiped her face with the back of her hand. ¡°You should have let Din kill me,¡± she sniffled croakily and Eight¡¯s face hardened. ¡°I can¡¯t go through all this again.¡± ¡°I rather kill him instead,¡± Nulanos told her soberly. ¡°It¡¯s not even close.¡± She puffed out exasperated. ¡°Eh. How about not risking your life for a moment? You are not helping.¡± ¡°It¡¯s my life to risk.¡± ¡°Gods, just¡­ we are not safe. Nym will have them searching everywhere.¡± ¡°Aenymriel is not here. I would have seen her in the palace.¡± Eh. This wasn¡¯t exactly true. Valydra walked to the left side of the bed and sat down next to the dresser. ¡°Why would the Monarch restore her place in the Council?¡± She asked. ¡°Baltoris didn¡¯t openly.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll know soon enough,¡± Nulanos replied sheepishly. ¡°That¡¯s just fucking great. What were you doing all this time?¡± Other stuff? Nulanos had a healthy and busy schedule. ¡°Do you even know who is still around from the old court?¡± ¡°New people. A dwarf is Garth¡¯s Shield. Humans. Folen. Voldomir. Feyras. I don¡¯t know about the army.¡± ¡°The priests are fine with so many humans in the court?¡± Valydra queried unsure. ¡°Garth is a weird person. And he is also a human. I don¡¯t believe he gives a rusty copper about the priests¡¯ opinions.¡± ¡°What about the other factions?¡± ¡°Or any of the others,¡± Nulanos added. Valydra picked her bag from the floor and looked inside. She furrowed her brows after rifling through the contents. Then she got up, searched about and even looked under the bed. Nulanos pursed his mouth at the unobstructed sight of her chiseled bottom. Valydra turned her head to glare at him. Sole eye gleaming angry. ¡°I really missed this view,¡± Eight admitted gravely. ¡°Nothing comes close Milva.¡± ¡°Where is my eyepatch Neil?¡± She snarled and got up holding her pants. Valydra worked herself inside, pulling and stretching at the tight material under his shameless scrutiny. Ah. Had she wanted me not to gawk, she would have dressed in the bathroom. ¡°It¡¯s an old building. A rat took it.¡± ¡°Seriously?¡± Valydra grunted. ¡°You don¡¯t need it.¡± ¡°Neil, I¡¯m not in the mood for your games. I¡¯ll count to three,¡± she hissed through her teeth, covering her jingling breasts with both arms. But she didn¡¯t. ¡°Check the dresser,¡± Nulanos finally said after a tense moment and walked towards the open window to give her a bit of privacy. He peeked at the street outside and marveled at the colorful blend of Sinya Nore and Zilan walking about. ¡°What¡­ wait,¡± Valydra was heard saying. ¡°I¡¯ve seen this before¡­ The beads as well. What are you doing Neil?¡± She asked throatily and Eight turned to regard her blushing face. Trying to say I¡¯m sorry. Make it right. ¡°You deserve more,¡± he said unpretentiously. ¡°Did a terrible fucking job of showing it in the past, but my Milva I¡¯ve never really forgotten. I tell you what, how about you try this new thing out, see how it feels?¡± Eight added meaningfully and there were a number of different ways one could read his words. But only one that really mattered and a moved Valydra sensed it immediately.
¡°How¡¯s the leg?¡± A content Nulanos asked Nigel Grim the next morning. His old pupil scratching an unshaven cheek with a finger afore answering. ¡°Getting worse running up and down the city looking for Sorn.¡± Nigel deadpanned wryly. ¡°Any luck?¡± ¡°Ryker got something from a local gang. There is need for cutthroats to guard a ¡®warehouse¡¯ in Mussel. Good pay. High risk.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the caveat?¡± ¡°Ticu infested port. Typical outer Goras¡¯ wilderness hazards. Lethal fauna and flora included,¡± Nigel replied casually. ¡°There is a marine detachment guarding a couple of buildings there but the rest of the docks are pretty unnerving to use at night.¡± ¡°Honest people are in need of muscle?¡± ¡°Sure. One could say that.¡± ¡°Sorn is running it?¡± ¡°Humans prefer to stay away from Mussel,¡± Nigel explained. ¡°So it¡¯s a Zilan run port mostly. It¡¯s possible he has set up a business there.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the best port to use if you want to reach the Sinking Isles,¡± Nulanos noted glancing at Valydra that got out of their bedroom. The sparkly eyepatch giving her an even more exotic look. She had her old one ¡®to use on the job¡¯ but it was nice seeing her smile at his warm gaze.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Yeah, nobody is doing it for a long while.¡± ¡°There are tons of gems there,¡± Nulanos argued as Valydra took a seat between them. ¡°I¡¯m hungry,¡± she stated. ¡°Is Denis in the kitchen?¡± ¡°Gone to the market,¡± Nigel replied. ¡°There are some eggs. Look in my coat¡¯s side pockets.¡± ¡°Know that I¡¯ll steal a couple then. Don¡¯t tell on me,¡± Valydra teased and got up to head to the back of the hostel. The two thieves watched in silence as the barefooted female walked away whilst raising her arms to yawn. Then Nigel turned to stare at his old tutor. ¡°She¡¯s fine,¡± Nulanos assured him. ¡°She is,¡± Nigel agreed with a hint of razz. ¡°What about all the other stuff?¡± ¡°Sorn was working for the Circle all along.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a fuck lot of years of employment.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t exactly get out or break a contract with them,¡± Nulanos explained. ¡°Sorn is not in our guild Eight.¡± ¡°Sorn was in my guild Nigel,¡± Nulanos reminded him. ¡°There is only one.¡± ¡°He¡¯ll be waiting for us.¡± ¡°Nah. He thinks I¡¯m a goner. Sorn knew that those two would check to see if he was right first. Having that brute Draug present ensured I wouldn¡¯t have the time to talk my way out.¡±
¡®The Queen wanted Edlenn forcibly arrested but Dar Draug mauled three of the witch¡¯s servants inside the atrium,¡¯ Valydra had told him in bed after they had lost themselves in each other¡¯s arms and minds for hours. An unhurried lovemaking that walked through their long history and discovered it anew. ¡®Edlenn treasured her strays especially after she¡¯d lost Rinariel and went berserk seeing the carnage. Half the Circle¡¯s servants got wiped out in seconds but Din managed a fatal blow mid-casting that forced her to retreat and levelled the atrium. Anyways when she jumped away to heal herself somewhere inside the garden the Varg managed to find her again hours later. Draug and Mol cut out parts of her body to take with them. Of twelve assassins only six walked away. Mol, Draug, Din and the Gish. Plus one female and the Mori-Zilan with the snake skin.¡¯ Dar Lingos. ¡®Six. Was Nym there? Wasn¡¯t Dar Eherdir present?¡¯ ¡®No, it was a different girl. Pretty young. Who was he?¡¯ ¡®A maimed half-breed. Also very young then. Skilled motherfucker. Skin like pale ash.¡¯ ¡®He wasn¡¯t¡¯ there. This Sigel O¡¯ Nyel revealed to me. The rest I learned myself. Calamer had switched the Abarat guards with his own and had sent Nym after Galadriel who was tending after the comatose Ena at the time, but the Ice Sorceress got wind of it and escaped.¡¯ ¡®Who was she supposed to meet?¡¯ ¡®Lord Onas but he couldn¡¯t make it because the commander of Abarat Rothomir filed a complaint while Onas was present, enquiring on the reason they had pulled his guards from Nesande¡¯s Garden.¡¯ ¡®What was Onas doing in Abarat?¡¯ ¡®Visiting Lady Olonelis. She was in labor at the time.¡¯ ¡®You don¡¯t think?¡¯ Nulanos had queried as Olonelis¡¯ was already married to a warship¡¯s captain and a grinning Valydra had replied huskily. ¡®Oh, I did but wasn¡¯t looking for gossip at the time.¡¯
¡°There¡¯s still time for them to finish the job,¡± Nigel noted bringing Eight back to the present. ¡°Draug has a lot of boiled skin to lick and heal for a while,¡± Nulanos replied with a grimace of pain as he¡¯d a number of injuries too, especially his right arm that looked better of sorts considering the amount of skin and flesh missing. The color being the last of his worries. ¡°Din needs to think things through and will talk with Nym first,¡± Nulanos continued. ¡°But they historically tend to interpret ¡®vague¡¯ orders how it best suits them and I have this feeling they might operate completely independent under this new regime.¡± ¡°Talking of the regime they cracked down on those pilfering the city¡¯s profits,¡± a sad Nigel informed him. ¡°There is a strict new Treasurer in charge and he brings everything to Morn Taras each night under an armed escort. There has been some talk of attacking the caravan but the Phalanx camp is pretty near and the Wyvern is rumored to roam the skies after sun falls. You don¡¯t want to be caught acting suspiciously by the flying beast. By the time you get to explain yourself to the authorities you¡¯ll probably be dead and mostly eaten. No one is allowed to use the palace road after nightfall by the way.¡± ¡°That¡¯s another vague order.¡± ¡°It helps with accidents and compensations.¡± ¡°What if an innocent gets eaten? Does the Wyvern recognize friend from foe?¡± Nulanos queried. ¡°It¡¯s how it works. The east side of the lake is off limits, same for the west road leading to the palace after dark,¡± Nigel explained. ¡°The Monarch treats people as his guests which is gracious of him but a misbehaving guest holds few rights.¡± ¡°Yet everyone comes here to stay.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the wyvern, a view of the castle, all the mystique and of course coin.¡± Nigel elucidated further. ¡°The Zilan can navigate these rules as they are well-accustomed to craziness but I¡¯m not sure people would. The Cofols eh¡­ maybe. They are enamored with the Imperial lifestyle.¡± ¡°Jelin citizens would freak out.¡± ¡°Once the novelty wears off¡­ yeah. Nobody is safe and while Garth is a decent dude, this sort of underworld is like living back in Eikenport in the seventies and eighties before the pirates took over and straightened the place out. Which speaks volumes of the controlled chaos in Taras.¡± ¡°A cautious but ambitious crook¡¯s paradise,¡± Nulanos murmured and Nigel shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Only the most skilled and nigh cultured criminals shall survive.¡± Welcome to the times of Hardir O¡¯ Fardor. - 20th of Neter 3400 IC The semi-ruined Port of Mussel Gish Lament province, Lower Talon Peninsula The Docks facing Oyster Anchorage gulf There were some clouds on the night sky, the two moons partially hidden behind a cluster of them, the glowing light blue of Nesande¡¯s Moon giving some color on the dilapidated buildings of the old port. The part that King Garth had started restoring ¨Caround the docks mainly- easily visible but it was mostly done through cannibalizing nearby ruins to repair some of them. Those were four warehouses and a couple of two-story buildings Mussel¡¯s guards had taken over, with the partially repaired watchtower also operational. All the repaired structures showing a strange patchwork of material on their bodies ranging from pink marble, bricks, to dull grey stone used at the warehouses. There was no Zilan architecture utilized here. Just structures erected as fast as it was possible to reopen the port. Well, while they had succeeded under the Monarch¡¯s pressure in doing it, the port itself was mostly empty with just small transports unloading during the day. Mussel itself resembling a growing village with no permanent population, built inside the gutted outline of a much bigger city. The majority of the neighborhoods surrounding the port as empty and ruined as Old East City. ¡°Where are the Gish?¡± Nigel asked watching the few workers finishing up work and returning to the only lit up part of the mostly dead old port. ¡°You¡¯d think one or two might be here, what with the name being what it is.¡± ¡°There was a large pen to the southeast, just outside the port,¡± Nulanos explained watching the first of night marine patrols starting their rounds of the docks and the nearby streets. ¡°A slave market near it. Most Gish though always escaped their bonds so the pen was built.¡± ¡°Where did they go? Those that escaped?¡± Nigel asked and Nulanos looked to find Valydra and Kumra with his eyes but couldn¡¯t. ¡°Not far. There are Gish bones under each meter of grass or earth around Mussel. Only the prettiest or most skilled survived if they played along or their owners had an older Gish working for them to give them advice.¡± ¡°What happened to the rest?¡± Nulanos grimaced and stared at the now quiet docks. ¡°It¡¯s an old story Nigel. The Old Ways were brutal for all.¡± ¡°Something tells me the Gish got it worst,¡± Nigel retorted. ¡°What was their primary use?¡± ¡°They made for excellent prey for rangers and their pets in the jungle,¡± Nulanos said soberly. ¡°Reckon you can also say, Goras¡¯ jungles are filled with their bones as well.¡± ¡°What changed it?¡± A sullen Nigel asked. He¡¯d a thing for the Folk since he¡¯d been young. ¡°Baltoris had a Gish slave named Nyx when she was growing up that she was unhealthily infatuated with. Feyras warned the king the Gish¡¯s potency might manifest a premature half-breed heir into the princess¡¯ belly and Ninthalor had him castrated. He still caught them fooling around. So he tossed him into a flesh-eating plant¡¯s hole they had growing inside the palace gardens for its flowers and to dispose of carcasses. It took a couple of days for the screams to stop. You might hear a different version of the story from the Gish that were around at the time.¡± Nigel frowned and rubbed his face with a gloved hand. ¡°You know what man? I shouldn¡¯t have asked.¡± ¡°Sometimes it is better not to,¡± Nulanos agreed and started walking away from the lit part of the docks with a sign for Nigel to get ready. He headed for the east edge where a large ruin stood taking an oblique path to reach it. Both hands working fast to button up his new red shirt over the gleaming old piece of armoured vest he had underneath. He was heading for the old bank building. Ryker and Denis were already there talking with a couple of Zilan, with several armed thugs resting under a wooden shade attached to the old wall. Nulanos followed the shades at the periphery, jumping into one and getting out next to other edge of the ruined wall. He paused staying in the shaded part when one of the Zilan turned its head his way and moved across the illuminated part when he looked away. Ducked behind a stack of crates and saw a plump Ticu sitting at the top of it. The Ticu blinked its huge fish eyes and then grinned conspiratorially. Nulanos knew that the moment he averted his stare the Ticu would leap away but didn¡¯t bother with it further. At the still standing rooftop corner of the collapsed building he¡¯d spotted a hooded figure watching the exchange. The alley between the bank¡¯s south wall and the better preserved old customs building across from it engulfed in darkness. ¡°What is this now eh?¡± One of the thugs asked Denis seeing a cloaked Nigel Grim approach them, doing the dramatic slow walk under a solemn expression he usually sported, although Nigel was in a pretty bad mood for real this time. ¡°We agreed to talk business.¡± ¡°You brought a lot of associates,¡± Ryker argued tensely. ¡°Don¡¯t see why you¡¯re getting scared mate.¡± ¡°It might make the guards nervous. They are tensed as fuck,¡± one of the Zilan explained brusquely. ¡°Reckon we have another ten minutes for that. Anyone spots them give a call and we¡¯ll start singing of sea adventures and big-titted Ticu. I was really hoping to see a bit of the latter if I¡¯m honest.¡± ¡°Oh, they are around,¡± the Zilan assured him in rough Common. ¡°They are just shy.¡± No they are not. Nulanos thought. They are just careful. With a glance at the now empty top of the stack of crates, Eight moved while the good and bad outlaws debated the matter further intending to reach the corner then use the rich darkness there to cross the street and approach them from the other side. Find the lurking figure, who he suspected was his old associate.
He made it to the corner of the building unseen and dived into the large vertical to the docks dark street, walking lightly on the old cracked tiles under foot. Nulanos paused to have his eyes shift to night-vision, the street coming to view under a light grey filter. The line of old buildings extending to the east and the slopes where the pen grounds were. The darker slits being doors and windows on the fa?ade of hollowed out ruins and the sea breeze whistling through them heading upwards towards the distant slopes. Nulanos raised his head to check on the corner of the bank building for the cloaked figure, saw it still standing there and dashed across the width of the street. Street, eh¡­ it was an Imperial alley. Eight meters of it. But this was the new epoch where the Zilan got to widen or shorten their horizons. All the realm¡¯s creatures living in relative harmony in old Wetull. Harmony¡­ was too strong a word. A distracted Ticu yelped seeing him enter the ruined hall and made two huge leaps to get away. One sideways and the other to go straight out of a gapping window and out to the street. A long-limbed Ticu this, with an enticing female figure. Nulanos heard its whispering song and shook his head to break the spell. His boots finding a piece of tile that had fallen from the half-collapsed tall roof. The piece of marble rolling on the debris littered floor and stopping near the cracked central stairway that led upstairs. The sound echoing inside the gutted villa. A sweaty Nulanos froze and turned around slowly, he was standing a meter inside the entrance, to look outside. The figure had landed on the street and was now coming towards the building. Sorn had a sword in his hand. Eight took a backwards step and unsheathed his. His. Eh¡­ it was Sorn¡¯s blade. Sorn¡¯s¡­ he probably had it stolen from somewhere. Easy come¡­ easy go mate. Sorn stopped just outside the large door and stared in the darkness. A heavier darkness inside the hall Nulanos stood that needed a bit more getting used to. A couple of extra seconds for the eyes to adjust that made daring an entry a pretty risky business for his old colleague. All thieves are wary of added risks. Look to have a plan prepared aforehand just to avoid getting shafted in the arse or worse. Nulanos licked his dry lips and reached for his dagger, while Sorn kept staring at the dark entrance in nervous silence. ¡°Are you in there, old chief?¡± Sorn asked hoarsely. ¡°I thought you were not going to show up. Got bored waiting up there. Val made it? It¡¯d be a shame if she didn¡¯t.¡± Nulanos felt the hairs at his nape raising, old instincts screaming for imminent danger approaching and he calmly slotted the dagger in his belt. Dipped his fingers in his satchel instead, looking out of the left corner of his eye at the elongated shades cast by the central staircase on the cracked floor. Almost touching his own shadow. For there are shades in the dark. Thicker. Shades upon shades, inside shadows. The night was built by many layers of darkness. Thieves profited in darkness murky recesses but Oras¡¯ disciples feasted in them. ¡°Din believes you run away but see now, I know how you old fucks think. When I heard Val might be really hurt or killed, I knew you weren¡¯t going to leave it like that. You¡¯re like a stubborn old-cockroach. Just refuse to kick the bucket and leave the rest of us alone.¡± Heard from whom? Nulanos thought and sidestepped away from his spot. It was doubtful Sorn stayed around for the news and even more improbable the secretive and distrustful Dar Fenog would ever give him a thoughtful after-action report of the Circle¡¯s activities. Or Nym. Draug was out of the question also. This left very few candidates to be Sorn¡¯s original connection. He talked with Mol, Valydra had told him and she knew it from Sorn this obviously. But would the righteous and preachy murderer Minue Mol ever parlay with a Mori-Zilan thief? Or the parochial Sorn ever approach the decadent crossdressing Gish? ¡®Of twelve assassins only six walked away.¡¯ Valydra had revealed after their lengthy passionate exchange. She¡¯d given her precious eye to learn something the more practical Nulanos had already guessed. But Sigel O¡¯ Nyel was like that. It gave you plenty of difficult to track down details by letting you see in your head the events unfolding as if you were a witness. Kallister never made stuff that half-worked. In the end the battle-tested warrior-sorceress had all but snuffed out Nym¡¯s gang of killers. But some of the nastier ones had survived. One would argue the worst of the bunch. But not by much. If Sorn was looking for vile cockroaches that refused to go away, he didn¡¯t have to look that far from those he willingly did business with. The latter Eight couldn¡¯t forgive. ¡®The badly burned Mol, Draug, Din and the Gish. One unknown female. The Mori-Zilan with the snake skin.¡¯ The female must have been Dar Laebae. Mol¡¯s pupil Ylir. Minue-Mol¡¯s control on her was suffocating. And she shared her tutor¡¯s mindset while being the most stuck-up of all them. Yeah, the solemn-faced Nulanos thought and rolled inside a shadow just as Dar Lingos sneak-attacked coming out of another. Us lowly Mori-Zilan tend to stick together in the end. Eight came out of the base of the staircase but the afflicted with the scale-disease Dar Lingos leaped into another, just as Sorn rushed inside the hall as well. Nulanos ducked under Sorn¡¯s slash, pirouetted on a heel stooped low with his sword extended and cut the traitorous thief above the right knee. Sorn growled and jumped away and Nulanos made to go after him but got stopped by the materializing Dar Lingos¡¯ blade that lodged in his ribs. A rib breaking by the vicious stab but the tip of the plunging blade that went through his leather jacket and shirt, stopping short of penetrating the skin. On Nulanos¡¯ antique piece of Mithril ring-armour. A torso covering vest really. Very sparkly if one wanted to sneak inside a place to conduct his business uninterrupted. But they had two made with the material a young Valydra had gotten out of the tunnel. Nulanos had lost his playing a game of cards with a counting-hands sneaky dwarf from Eth Dehur around 3191 in Miloville, which was part of the Kingdom of Lesia. The other vest Valydra had kept because she was careful like that and had forced Eight to wear it earlier. ¡°Hmm,¡± Dar Lingos¡¯ disgusting boils covered mouth muttered and jumped away from the groaning Nulanos but didn¡¯t burn incense to ¡®walk the shades¡¯ this time. ¡°Get him!¡± The injured Sorn yelled, grasping at his bleeding knee. ¡°What the fuck are you doing? He¡¯s right there!¡± Eight kept moving obliquely watching both of them, but it was the assassin that worried him the most. Too much darkness all about them and Dar Lingos could go for a head or vein the next moment. ¡°What is it?¡± The assassin hissed incoherently as the disease -painfully slow- afflicted the inside as much as the outside. ¡°Take a fucking guess,¡± the grimacing Eight snapped and Dar Lingos took a forward step and disappeared in a pool of darkness. Nulanos blinked but dived immediately for the ground, landed on a shoulder, the cracked rib moving about and heard an increasingly angrier Dar Lingos stepping out where he stood earlier. Eight leaped from a knee and run for the large staircase. Cleared three steps with a stride and a grunt, another two with the next but Dar Lingos popped out of the shades at the intermediate landing space. The assassin hacked down with a custom scimitar aiming to split his head in two and Nulanos had to parry with his sword desperately since Lingos had the high ground. His opponent tried again stepping nimbly to the left and Eight barely blocked it but received a cut across the right side of his face almost losing the eye in the follow through. A furious Nulanos leaped forward, getting his dagger out again to force the assassin to retreat. A wide slash Lingos parried away with a backwards step. Nulanos sword stopping a lunge, the two steel blades igniting in the dark with blinding sparks that hurt their sensitive now dark-attuned eyes. A half-blinded Lingos grunted as the similarly afflicted Nulanos attacked through the tears and the blood dripping down his cut brow, blades clanging inside the empty dark hall. The assassin taking another backwards step on the stairs, his back hitting the turning right and rising handrail but again stopped Nulanos double attack managing a brutal slash that pushed aside his defenses afore landing on Eight¡¯s sternum with a thud. Nulanos stumbled back with a groan and the sweaty Dar Lingos took another backwards step reaching for a steel peleg sheathed on his harness. A better weapon to break through his dagger defense. ¡°I¡¯ll have that Mithril shirt,¡± Dar Lingos informed him raspingly, having figured out what Nulanos had on. Twack-twack-twack. A hidden dagger went. The sound of punctured flesh following each unseen vicious stab. Dar Lingos¡¯ glowing eyes blinked in complete shock. He made to twist around but the peleg clattered down the two stairs he had on Nulanos and landed near the frowning thief¡¯s legs. The sword soon following, the clanging sound reverberating inside the tall walls of the ruined hall. Nulanos stepped forward and run the severely injured half-turned assassin through, almost hurting his tired damaged arm in the process. He yanked the sword out and moved out of the way, as Lingos collapsed on the landing space the large marble staircase featured. The deformed assassin gurgled raucously, spat frothy blood out of his mouth and died unceremoniously with a violent hoarse cough, an expression of preternatural astonishment marring his scaly-face. And pure undiluted dread. A hurting Nulanos stared at the dark empty staircase in bewilderment. The darker shades of the thick side rails casting long lines that extended all the way to the center of the ruined hall. A draft whistling through the rotted away door and windows. Another twenty steps up, to the very top of the staircase, where they ended and the half-collapsed second floor started, a lean and small-bodied hood-wearing figure stood. He pointed an arm towards the open door downstairs. ¡°He run out,¡± the human kid informed the grimacing bemused Nulanos in the worst Imperial accent he¡¯d ever had the misfortune to listen. No he didn¡¯t kid. Milva is following after me. With a groan he stooped to pick up Lingos¡¯ imperial steel sword but the young creepy human stopped him with one of Eight¡¯s own expressions. ¡°Nothing in life is free.¡± No, without a doubt it is not. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°His weapons,¡± the youngster replied, adding with a small hesitation. ¡°And¡­ a silver Eagle?¡± A groaning Eight reached for his purse amused. ¡°I¡¯ll give you a gold Dinar if you tell me how the allhells you pulled this off without burning incense.¡± ¡°That wasn¡¯t me,¡± the youngster had replied truthfully leaving it at that and then tended his small hand to receive the coin with a disconcerting wide grin. Eight tossed it over the stairs and he caught it with ease. He brought it to his mouth and gave it a good bite with his front teeth afore dropping it inside a heavy leather purse. The latter hanging from a belt the youngster had looped around his waist twice. Alright, now I¡¯ve seen it all, the still puzzled Nulanos thought and climbed down the stairs to go after Sorn.
A tensed Valydra watched him coming out of the ruined villa, her sword still in hand. That sole eye gleaming in the dark, the other hidden under an old black-leather eyepatch. He was grateful fate had allowed him to again witness the one at least. ¡°Sorn?¡± Nulanos asked and hugged her tight when she rushed to his side. Her warm body relaxing in his embrace. The darn broken rib ruining the moment. ¡°Kumra nailed him with an arrow. He got it out but he¡¯s not going anywhere fast.¡± ¡°The thugs?¡± ¡°They didn¡¯t seem eager for a fight. The marines returned to the docks. Ah, there are about fifty Ticu roaming the beach watching us from afar,¡± Valydra murmured wiping the leaking blood from his brow carefully. ¡°It¡¯s a cloudy night.¡± She added to explain the increased mermaid activity. Yeah, Nulanos agreed and kissed her sweaty forehead. ¡°What happened in there?¡± ¡°Dar Lingos was Sorn¡¯s connection. He¡¯s dead.¡± ¡°He was a hell of a swordsman. Nym always fought with him to hone her skills,¡± Valydra whispered sounding impressed. ¡°Well, he went down rather lamely,¡± Nulanos muttered and walked towards the corner where Kumra waited standing over the injured Sorn. Kumra O¡¯ Valydra keeping a half-drawn bow aimed at the bleeding out traitor of the guild. ¡°But I had little to do with it.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yep. He just run into a better assassin.¡± ¡°Who?¡± Valydra asked and Nulanos paused to stare up and down the dark ancient side street. Then turned his eyes on the villa he¡¯d exited from curious. ¡°That ship¡­ in the port. Where did it come from?¡± He asked thoughtfully. ¡°Ryker asked about it. It brought cargo and a couple of passengers from Eikenport,¡± Valydra replied a little confused. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I get the cargo part,¡± Nulanos said with another look at the seemingly empty street. ¡°But who takes a ship for Wetull and disembarks in the arse end of nowhere that is Mussel instead of Sinya Goras?¡± ¡°Someone not fancying the crowed sights? Or hating the lights of Taras? A hermit?¡± Valydra guessed nervously and Nulanos nodded. ¡°You think your mysterious friend came aboard it?¡± Eh. Nulanos thought friend was reaching a bit. He smacked his lips and stared at the groaning Sorn. The thief¡¯s eyes ogling pleadingly. ¡°You would¡¯ve done¡­ the same thing¡­¡± Sorn grunted, breathing in sharp rasping gasps. ¡°I couldn¡¯t risk¡­ you finding out.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t,¡± a now scowling Nulanos told him stiffly. ¡°The Guild doesn¡¯t have the Monarch¡¯s ear and I¡¯ll never make friends with Nym you dumb traitorous fuck. We might be thieves but we¡¯re not soulless murderers!¡± ¡°Eight¡­¡± a desperate Sorn croaked. ¡°That¡¯s rule number two you¡¯re looking for,¡± Nulanos snapped in a hoarse voice. He turned to the sober Valydra watching their exchange. ¡°Milva, you don¡¯t happen to still have that old hammer around?¡± She did, bless her beautiful thrifty Mori-Zilan soul and a grave-faced Nulanos got to use it to break every bone on the traitor¡¯s legs. He took no joy in it but Sorn died screaming in horrible pain just the same. Eight had warned their old colleague although he didn¡¯t have to. Sorn knew the rules. Never betray the guild.
The kid had disappeared by the time Nulanos returned to the villa. Dar Lingos weapons and several articles of clothing missing as well. Eight and the rest of the Thieves¡¯ Guild¡¯s members, old and new, gathered at Mussel¡¯s docks the next morning to watch the small transport ship loading crates slowly. ¡°What¡¯s in the crates?¡± Nulanos asked the unshaven Ryker who had spent the night greasing the authorities to sweep the night disturbance under the rag. The Ticu had taken care of the bodies during the night. ¡°Lightstones. Firestones, supplies. A big order from the Adventurers Guild in Asturia,¡± Ryker explained. ¡°Why not use Sinya Goras?¡± ¡°Two reasons. There¡¯s a ban on exporting lightstones and the heavy tariffs in Sinya Goras. Mussel has none to boost its trade traffic,¡± Ryker replied with a shrug. ¡°I¡¯m guessing since the marine sergeant is watching without intervening this is smuggling but with an asterisk?¡± ¡°Ayup, they have the Monarch¡¯s blessings. Verbal orders, no paper trail.¡± ¡°The Monarch is shorting his own treasurer?¡± Nulanos asked not believing what he was hearing. ¡°Well, yes and no. It¡¯s also a good way to corner the market and the Monarch is fond of adventurers.¡± Nulanos nodded and turned to watch Valydra sauntering towards them. She had been talking with the ship¡¯s captain. ¡°What are you doing Milva?¡± He teased her with a smile turned into a grimace as his rib was still shifting awkwardly. He was the only one battered from their little operation. It was bit annoying but Eight was fine with the trade. He hadn¡¯t felt this gratified in a very long time. Having said that Luthos was probably fixing to toss him in a ditch. ¡°Asked if another ship is to come here over the following weeks?¡± Valydra replied innocently. Always a red flag. ¡°Who is running the ships?¡± ¡°Eh, it¡¯s a shifty small company out of Novesium.¡± Valydra replied. ¡°Run by a mister Sudi. Probably an alias.¡± ¡°Why do you need a ship?¡± Nulanos asked his partner patiently and the Mori-Zilan female pouted tauntingly. ¡°Milva¡­¡± Eight grunted warningly this time and she stepped near, neck slightly raised to gaze into his worried face. ¡°Didn¡¯t you speak of Nym¡¯s riddle the other night?¡± She purred conspiratorially and it was difficult for a person of culture to resist such well-presented and enticingly packaged argument. He had to stop being so talkative after a good fuck. ¡°I did,¡± Neil murmured a little intrigued but also worried as he¡¯d a bit of vacationing on Jelin in mind until all this blew over. The energy is about to shift, he thought. ¡°Dudrina might have an answer to this,¡± Valydra explained batting her eyelashes. What does the dead witch have to do with anything? Eight furrowed his brows and glanced at the eavesdropping whilst pretending he wasn¡¯t Ryker ¡®Phantom¡¯. ¡°I seem to vaguely recall the name thrown about chief,¡± the experienced thief offered casually and Nulanos rolled his eyes at the plans hatched behind his back. ¡°Go on dear,¡± Eight urged his smirking pretty partner. ¡°There¡¯s a secret dungeon under Abrakas Temple in the sunken Urma Port¡­¡± A whispering Valydra started and Nulanos knew right then and there she was about to get him into big trouble.
477. The Long Recon (1/2)
King Lucius Aldenus III offspring & Regia¡¯s closest heirs to the throne (austere* cognatic primogeniture) Roderick Alden (born in the month Octavus, summer of 190 NC in Kas. Lucius firstborn with Queen ¡®Red¡¯ Faye ¡®Numbers¡¯ Alden) Alistair III Alden (Born 193 NC in Cartagen -with Queen Monica ¡®Holt¡¯ Alden) Ralph III Alden (Born winter of 194 in Cartagen -with ¡®Red¡¯ Faye) Alistair II Alden (Born 191 NC in the city of Alden. King Jeremy¡¯s firstborn with Queen Janneke ¡®De Weer¡¯ Alden, also third in line to the great Duchy of Scaldingport. At least four different ¡®out of wedlock¡¯ claimants rumored to exist for the latter.) *Vacia Alden (Born 193 NC in Cartagen -with Monica. Vacia was born twenty minutes after her brother.) *Patience De Weer Alden (Born 191 NC in Alden. Alistair¡¯s II twin sister was born first according to some sources.)
Marcus-Antonius Merenda The Long Recon Part I -Belief is half the solution-
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Nonus of 194 NC Queen Vacia¡¯s Garden Palace of a Hundred Windows grounds Cartagen Kingdom of Greater Regia A royal picnic Young Roderick tried to stab his leading leg but failed as Lucius moved it out of the way with a smile. He shoved his attacking son away next with the left arm, the King¡¯s smile turning into a grimace when the sweaty noble heir span around and hurled a handful of earth on his chest. A wolfishly gawking Logan grunting for the kid to attack again which Roderick did. Lucius interrupted his son¡¯s slash attacking first from the inside and pushing the wooden sword away. The king¡¯s training sword arching back to smack Roderick¡¯s grip with the flat of the wooden blade and disarm him. ¡°Ouch! Argh!¡± Roderick cried out frustrated and in pain. Lucius immediately rushed to check on his small hand. ¡°Let me see that,¡± he told him worried with the oblivious Baron Curtius Vendor clapping with enthusiasm. ¡°A great ¡®taking of steel¡¯ sire,¡± the Baron of Two Rivers Castle yelled whilst Lucius was checking on Roderick¡¯s swollen thumb. Faye gave baby Ralph to the sitting Monica to hold and approached the puffing out Lucius. Young Alistair and little Vacia watching horrified their bigger sibling as he replied with grinded teeth to their father. ¡°I¡¯m just fine!¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Lucius asked as Faye arrived to have a look at Roderick¡¯s finger. She glared at the scowling Logan that had picked up the heir¡¯s training sword to give it back to him. ¡°That¡¯s enough Logan,¡± the Queen said and the Northern warrior snorted slapping the wooden blade on his left arm to show Faye her son could continue the fight. ¡°Not with a missing finger Logan,¡± Lucius admonished him. ¡°He¡¯ll¡­ have¡­ to,¡± the Northman rustled in a rasping barely audible voice. ¡°One day,¡± Lucius retorted. ¡°But it won¡¯t be today.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s get it under some cold water,¡± Faye said to her flushed son. ¡°We let a taller man attack first,¡± she cautioned him with a kiss at the top of his head. ¡°Well that was mildly exciting in a horrifying way,¡± Monica commented from the bench. She had the two twins watching the ¡®duel¡¯ at her feet. Lucius sighed and walked towards her after giving the sword to an adjutant. He picked up his small raven-haired daughter from the ground and used a finger to wipe the tears from her eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t be scared,¡± Lucius told her soothingly. ¡°Roderick is fine, you heard him.¡± ¡°Her stomach aches. She barely had any rest all night,¡± a tired-looking Monica explained whilst trying to lull Ralph back to sleep again. The drooling baby kept waking up but he was as quick to fall asleep. ¡°I changed the milkmaid,¡± the young Queen added. ¡°She¡¯s too pale. Maybe have the sun see her more?¡± Lucius argued looking at the frail little girl in his arms. Vacia touched his mouth with a small hand. ¡°It¡¯s too early,¡± Monica replied and reached to get Alistair¡¯s hand out of his mouth. ¡°This is Cartagen and not the lake. The sea air is healthy and we don¡¯t have all those bugs,¡± Lucius murmured playing with his daughter. ¡°She¡¯s a little girl Lucius,¡± Monica countered and little Alistair agreed with a chuckle. ¡°Grill!¡± ¡°That was a word right?¡± Lucius queried with a smile and Monica shook her head, baby Ralph waking up again startled. Then he started crying loudly which caused Alistair to join in and soon after little Vacia. ¡°Quite the lively bunch my liege,¡± Baron Vendor commented when Lucius returned to the marble outdoor table to sit with the other officials. Robart Holt patiently waiting on one side. ¡°They are,¡± Lucius agreed and had some cool sweetened tea. ¡°Are these fresh dates Cyrus?¡± He asked Cyrus Falx the second, his old chamberlain¡¯s son was named after his father. ¡°Yes my Lord. From Novesium.¡± Cyrus replied. ¡°Is Cartaport working again then?¡± ¡°Only for smaller merchant ships and the military,¡± Cyrus said and offered him the plate but Lucius denied it with a calm gesture. ¡°Duke Brakis is here,¡± Tribune Trupo reported breaking the brief moment of peaceful contemplation Lucius had. ¡°A big funeral in Illirium.¡± Lucius glanced at the silent Sirio that was scribbling down notes or decoding missives. ¡°Ramirus?¡± He asked the LID scribe and Sirio paused to check on his papers. ¡°He is in Alden King Lucius,¡± Sirio replied dutifully. ¡°Will he travel to Sabretooth next?¡± ¡°My King I believe he¡¯s pretty convinced most of the First Legion is missing,¡± Sirio replied. ¡°Baron Scylla is right.¡± ¡°Ramirus wrote that?¡± ¡°He did my Lord.¡± ¡°Typically a Legatus could move the unit Maximus,¡± Trupo said, first combing his moustache carefully and then tasting the lukewarm tea himself. ¡°You ordered him to rebuild and retrain it with new recruits.¡± ¡°I did.¡± Lucius agreed and watched as the servants were preparing the carriage to return them to the Palace. ¡°What else is Ramirus reporting from Alden?¡± ¡°Severus had men searching the road to Forestfort at the Riverdor junction,¡± Sirio replied. ¡°Some legion scouts had been sighted there months back but nothing recently.¡± ¡°Galio is about to declare Merenda absent without leave sire,¡± Trupo informed him. ¡°Optio Holt is either lying or was left out of the loop by the old heads.¡± Well, the old heads of the First are one thing. Sure, they probably treat the young Optio as a pariah but Merenda¡¯s own officers were in on it as well. And he has brought a lot of them along with him to control the old guard. Nah, this is all Marcus-Antonius doing. Robart Holt had frowned hearing the Tribune mentioning his son. ¡°He¡¯s new at the job,¡± Lucius remarked evenly. ¡°We won¡¯t hold it against him. Merenda is probably trying to get the job done at a minimum cost to the army.¡± ¡°Eh,¡± Trupo muttered unsure where Lucius was going with this. ¡°If the King has a moment to spare,¡± the Lord Treasurer intervened and added with a grimace. ¡°I know it¡¯s time to depart my Lord.¡± ¡°We have a bit of time Robart. Getting the kids inside the carriage is not a small affair,¡± Lucius said with a warning stare to Trupo to keep the matter for a closed session. There were about a hundred people around them or near enough to eavesdrop, from certified merchants, cooks, palace officials and servants, to military personnel. Nothing was small in Cartagen. ¡°Governor Macrinus withheld half the tithe for a second year in a row,¡± Robart Holt started. ¡°You¡¯ve talked to the Consul about it?¡± Lucius dodged. ¡°I have and I have his reasoning my liege,¡± Robart replied stiffly, looking at the numbers in his scrolls. ¡°He¡¯s using them to raise troops for his ¡®northern guards¡¯. Same with a portion of the iron and steel coming from Krakenfort. The leather from Kas.¡± ¡°I get the picture mister Holt,¡± Lucius replied evenly. ¡°Well, I¡¯m not sire¡­ you have instructed the First Legion to move to Sabretooth and most of the Fourth is in Aldenport. Now I learn the Third¡¯s engineers will return to Storm¡¯s Rest?¡± ¡°To help build the city,¡± Lucius explained. ¡°Why not move the Third to Anorum?¡± ¡°I need it here. Nonus Sula will take care of the coast once we are certain where the northwestern borders would settle.¡± Robart stood back with a frown. ¡°Macrinus doesn¡¯t need¡­ these are exorbitant expenses for one or two thousand soldiers.¡± ¡°A portion of those men have been replenishing the legions,¡± Lucius noted. ¡°Yes, my lord but now the Legions are replenished and most of the men serving, still have at least fifteen or more years left to serve, enough have twenty and¡­¡± he glanced at his numbers. ¡°Two fifths of them have just started their twenty five years contracts.¡± An aloof Trupo run the knuckle of an index finger over his nicely trimmed mustache ¨Cbut for the curved tips- the other arm casually snatching Sirio¡¯s writing wrist and lifting it away from the paper. ¡°Macrinus is a Legion officer and former military instructor. He is still on the Third¡¯s reserve roster and receives a yearly wage,¡± Lucius said calmly. ¡°That aside he won¡¯t half-train or half-build a military unit.¡± Robart Holt pursed his mouth. ¡°What does this mean your highness? Because we could use the funds to help your kin Lord Reynard Alden tunnel through Goldwall Peaks. I haven¡¯t finished reading his proposal yet.¡± It wasn¡¯t Reynard¡¯s proposal.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°Duke Holt shall fund the desert road. The Baron of Aldenfort is under his wing now.¡± Lucius informed him. ¡°When did this become a desert road?¡± ¡°Baron Vendor?¡± Lucius asked, instructing the stout man to answer this part. ¡°We could connect Two Rivers Castle with Aldenfort and the Canlita Sea,¡± Lord Vendor started. ¡°The capital in its turn. Even Demames.¡± ¡°Through the Alden Sands?¡± Robart Holt grimaced. ¡°Even so, this doesn¡¯t answer my question Lord Vendor.¡± ¡°The Duke was given control of the Barony and now rules over the south side of the Canlita Sea,¡± Lucius replied. "The first Asturia Duke to manage it. He¡¯ll work on connecting the two parts of the kingdom through the desert.¡± In exchange Asturia would withdraw its claim on the sources of Framtond River and the disputed from Lesia Stonemaze Peaks. Duke Holt was to bequeath the wilderness there to Storm¡¯s Rest. ¡°My Lord, Duke Brakis expects a meeting,¡± Trupo intervened stopping Robart Holt from asking more questions at this point. ¡°Speak to the Consul again,¡± Lucius told the Lord Treasurer and turned to Trupo. ¡°Arrange it.¡± He made to stand up but paused seeing that Faye had come to their table, the crowd distracted by the sight of Layton coming out of the cinnamon trees, huge club resting on his broad shoulder. ¡°Did you find our Marcus-Antonius?¡± The Northern Queen asked and had a sip from Lucius¡¯ cup. She puckered her lips unsure. ¡°Cyrus what is this flavorful shit?¡± ¡°It¡¯s mint and honey tea your grace with crushed sugarcane,¡± Cyrus replied. ¡°Good for a cold morning like this. Queen Monica ordered it as it¡¯s famously soothing to the throat.¡± The flushed and probably quite hot Faye frowned and glanced at the sun over their heads. ¡°I don¡¯t know about that or if you¡¯re jesting with the ¡®cold morning¡¯ talk, but next time she asks for weird stuff just switch it to a proper drink like beer or ale. And cut back on the grain seeds and fruit. I¡¯ve two boys to raise. Get me some more meat else I¡¯ll go get it myself.¡± On the menu was Faye¡¯s meaning. Trupo blinked at the risqu¨¦ wording with Baron Vendor pursing his mouth but opting to abstain from making a comment until the King offered his own opinion on the matter of the queen¡¯s search for more meat. ¡°Yes ma¡¯am,¡± a blank faced Cyrus finally replied making a mental note of her instructions. ¡°Keep everything available Cyrus,¡± a smiling Lucius intervened. ¡°The Legatus is on a field trip Faye,¡± he added mostly for the rest of them to listen. If he¡¯d guessed right, Merenda hadn¡¯t turned west to Forestfort or east towards Riverdor nor did he disappear into thin air. The Legatus was marching through the woodland hugging the marshes towards the Knob, straight between the two rivers.
- Early Fall of 194 NC A hundred and twenty kilometers west of the Knob Seventy kilometers from Eagle¡¯s Nest Castle West Granlake Marshes Forest Kingdom of Kaltha The border between the Great Principality of Issir¡¯s Eagle & the Duchy of Scaldingport Seven hundred meters from the bridge over Mudriver North side The sharp smack scared his horse, its head attempting to flinch away but kept back by the reins legionnaire Cucan held in a tight grip. ¡°Hard cack the rains softened sir,¡± Vegetius commented while a soaked Marcus-Antonius wiped the bug juices on his red cape and then stared at his palm, cheek still stinging from the self-afflicted blow. Vegetius gave him a dirty towel to clean his face and helm. The Legatus removed the latter pulling at the leather cords and run the towel over his moist face a couple of times. Uhm. ¡°Towel also smells of feet and fresher shite Vegetius,¡± he commented sourly. A sudden downpour had come out of nowhere and had soaked men and animals to the bone. ¡°Why do you think is that? Leave the weather out.¡± ¡°The Legatus notion is incorrect,¡± Vegetius retorted smartly. ¡°Respectfully I¡¯ve only cleaned my hands with it sir!¡± Antonius eyed him under furrowed brows. ¡°Did you clean your boots with yer arse then? Because the alternative speaks sadly of your hygiene soldier.¡± ¡°Ha-ha,¡± his aide Domus chuckled with Prefect Damascus grimacing unsure on the jest. ¡°I used me hands sir!¡± Vegetius roared and Antonius tossed him the towel in the face to stop him. ¡°Whilst on campaign clean footwear are a priority!¡± Vegetius added grabbing at the towel. ¡°What does that¡­?¡± The Legatus of the First started, himself enjoying his new boots but even so covered in mud to the knees, when he heard horses approaching from the bridge and paused. He quickly took a moment to compose himself, hands slapping at the dried up mud to get it off of him and the approaching Vegetius eagerly cleaning Antonius¡¯ armour with the towel until the Legatus hard-cuffed the suddenly accommodating legionnaire¡¯s helm to put a stop to it. ¡°Damascus you¡¯ve met the man briefly afore, what do we have to work with here?¡± Marcus-Antonius asked after all the silliness had died down. ¡°He¡¯s sharp as a blade Legatus,¡± the Prefect replied stiffly. Damascus was three years older than Marcus-Antonius but he looked older than twenty seven. ¡°And one-eyed.¡± ¡°Vegetius stand by his blind side so he doesn¡¯t see you¡¯re full of shit,¡± Marcus-Antonius ordered pensively and a smirking Domus shook his head, signing with his maimed arm for Cucan to stand back with their horses as well. ¡°You too Domus, we don¡¯t want to scare the man.¡± His aide made to reply but a large group of Scaldingport¡¯s grey-cloaks came trotting down the road and stopped him, most of the arriving men-at-arms plate over chainmail armours having the sigil of Forestfort carved on their chests and shields. A fort¡¯s walls with crows flying over the parapets. Their leader was clad in a tight-fitting dark-grey plate cuirass complemented by several pieces of a knight¡¯s armour over black leather. All pieces but for the helm, Merenda reckoned. The latter the rider had secured on his horse¡¯s saddlebags. ¡°You are on the wrong side of the river legionnaires,¡± the wiry Issir knight wearing the leather eyepatch rustled stopping his horse. ¡°A long way from the border as a matter of fact.¡± ¡°The Lord of Forestfort, Sir Rik De Weer,¡± Damascus whispered in Merenda¡¯s ear timely while the rest of the mounted Crows settled down behind their leader. ¡°It¡¯s an auspicious event for us to meet Sir Rik in the wilderness,¡± Marcus-Antonius started in a friendly mirthful manner. ¡°Much as it is for the Lord of Forestfort to meet the Legatus of the First Legion.¡± The standing high on the saddle of his warhorse Rik stared at the dirty Lorian officers one by one before returning his sole eye on the half-smirking Legatus who remembered to introduce himself properly this time. ¡°Marcus-Antonius Merenda.¡± ¡°The First Legion?¡± Rik queried crooking his mouth. ¡°You are under Lucius now.¡± ¡°The King of Regia!¡± Marcus-Antonius boomed with a fierce leer. The Issir noble stood back, a gloved hand patting the rich mane of his warhorse to calm it down. ¡°I see legionnaires but no legion,¡± he finally said. ¡°The First is heading to Eagle¡¯s Nest,¡± Marcus-Antonius elucidated. ¡°There is a legion marching towards Eagle¡¯s Nest?¡± The knight asked sounding bewildered. ¡°Close to it. Some units are under restructuring. I won¡¯t bore you with the details.¡± ¡°Lucius is invading Kaltha?¡± Sir Rik De Weer asked evenly not partial to the Legatus¡¯ wit. ¡°Far from it,¡± Marcus-Antonius replied. ¡°We are on a long recon, but got lost in the marshes.¡± ¡°And ended up near Eagle¡¯s Nest.¡± ¡°Auspiciously.¡± Rik pursed his mouth, finely trimmed white goatee giving him a refined look. ¡°You¡¯ll give me a reason Legatus?¡± He finally asked. ¡°Two reasons,¡± Merenda replied. ¡°I need timber and this is a rich forested area.¡± ¡°The king¡¯s lands.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. Which king? Or is it a Queen? You are backing the latter I think,¡± Marcus-Antonius retorted and continued before Sir Rik could get a reply out. ¡°The other reason is the Horselord threat which you are currently fighting against.¡± ¡°The Khan is a long way from Regia¡¯s borders. Lucius decided to help?¡± ¡°He already did.¡± ¡°Lord Anker¡¯s effort.¡± ¡°This is perhaps where you are mistaken,¡± Merenda explained. ¡°Lucius offered helping hand to Kaltha to give you time to find your footing. This is just a friendly legion in training that got lost as it habitually happens and ended up in a hopefully welcoming territory.¡± ¡°These are your orders?¡± ¡°I just told you. We¡¯ll head to Eagle¡¯s Nest and back again.¡± ¡°The Khan is poised to strike at Boar¡¯s Horn River,¡± a skeptical Rik noted and swung a leg over the saddle to dismount under his men¡¯s amused stares. The knight gave the reins to a burly man-at-arms that had approached and then walked near the Lorian officers. ¡°Or the Red Bridge. But I personally think he¡¯ll try to break his army out first.¡± ¡°He might do that,¡± Marcus-Antonius agreed. ¡°But he might also try to find a third way out of the stalemate as much as this might inconvenience your own effort good Sir. Your father is busy fighting Lord Putra and guard Boar Horn River, so you can¡¯t deal with a third front. Now Duke Charles is the most likely to move here but he¡¯s fence-riding since that will probably displease Scaldingport and he would rather not leave Riverdor¡¯s walls.¡± ¡°The guard at Eagle¡¯s Nest Castle is small,¡± Rik said. ¡°It¡¯s not a good spot to fight Horselords.¡± ¡°If the Khan breaks through to the junction and the Small Plains,¡± the Legatus argued. ¡°Fighting him there might be even more difficult. Have you ever fought Horselords in the desert Sir Rik?¡± ¡°My brother has.¡± ¡°What does he think of the experience?¡± ¡°Gust wants to crash Lord Putra as soon as possible,¡± Rik replied thoughtfully and blinked his sole eye seeing Prefect Damascus listening in to their conversation. ¡°What are Lucius¡¯ plans here? There are several matters still unresolved.¡± ¡°The King has yet to be apprised of our whereabouts given the circumstances,¡± Merenda said evenly and Sir Rik gave a slight nod with his head. ¡°Why risk it in this current political climate Legatus?¡± He asked. ¡°Sounds like career suicide.¡± ¡°By the time the political climate is ripe for action,¡± Merenda expounded. ¡°I¡¯m afraid it might be too late. This is the sixth year of this conflict and the Khan is already on Jelin. Where might the Horselord be a year down the line? It is anyone¡¯s guess Sir Rik. I¡¯m not a politician. However I¡¯m here to serve Regia¡¯s interests and I can¡¯t watch the avalanche coming without using the tools in hand.¡± ¡°I disobeyed an order to save my sister so I see your reasoning. I¡¯ve a practical father and you just might have an intelligent king Legatus. Still a father can be forgiving and few will challenge a De Weer. Will the same apply to a Merenda?¡± Rik asked after listening to his explanation. ¡°Whatever the case may be for your future, you are not in my lands technically. Having said that I might not be able to offer help beyond the river much as I find value in your reasoning.¡± ¡°I might be wrong,¡± Merenda offered and Sir Rik shook his head in agreement. ¡°May Luthos guide you out of future plights in case you are not,¡± the Scaldingport knight said soberly. ¡°Captain Emil Nak commands the guards at Eagle¡¯s Nest. An old officer of the Second Foot counting days to retire,¡± he added pursing his mouth. ¡°Petty Baron Govert Eman will take his word on everything, so I¡¯ll talk to Captain Nak first in yer shoes.¡± ¡°I appreciate you are leaving past grievances aside to keep an open mind on the potential peril Sir Rik,¡± the relieved Legatus of the First Legion said. ¡°Legatus,¡± Rik had replied his face hardening. ¡°I¡¯m more committed in fighting the Khan¡¯s horde than Lord Anker or your King at this point. For practical and deeply personal reasons. You can label this any way you prefer.¡±
¡°Well, that went surprisingly smoothly,¡± Domus commented when they turned around to catch up with Prefect Servius Celsus engineers and the supply train. Not much of the latter really. ¡°Considering your track record.¡± ¡°Domus,¡± Marcus-Antonius said with a grimace of surprise. ¡°I¡¯ve an excellent rapport with people of all standings and professions.¡± Twice that with ladies. ¡°Ahm, I don¡¯t believe you have sir, other than Praetor Maximus that is. And you sort of lucked out in that due to that divan Red Faye needed.¡± ¡°What are you talking about? The men love me!¡± Marcus-Antonius protested. ¡°They used to afore the marshes sir,¡± Domus replied sadly. ¡°Not so much lately. But I¡¯m optimistic you¡¯ll turn it around.¡± Huh? ¡°Damascus?¡± The Legatus asked turning on the saddle to stare at the discomforted to be put on the spot Prefect. ¡°Legatus¡­ ugh, there are several¡­ sides¡­ ehem, one can approach your query.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the army Damascus,¡± Marcus-Antonius rustled. ¡°Hardships are to be expected.¡± ¡°Perhaps the reasons weren¡¯t sufficiently put forth¡ª?¡± ¡°What reasons? The orders you mean.¡± ¡°I do sir. I stand corrected. May I query on the nature of the orders?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t I just give my reasoning to the good knight?¡± Marcus-Antonius probed with a bit of razz. ¡°Celsus¡¯ timber¡­¡± Damascus started unsure. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t¡­ the matter was not raised in the pre-marching briefing?¡± ¡°Forget about that,¡± an eager Marcus-Antonius urged him on. ¡°What else?¡± ¡°The Khan¡¯s army.¡± The Legatus gave him a pleased nod. ¡°We are not at war with the Khan.¡± Damascus noted in a hesitant manner. ¡°Did that stop the King from giving them the business?¡± Marcus-Antonius asked meaningfully. ¡°Sir the King has not issued¡ª¡± ¡°Yet.¡± Merenda cut him off. Domus sighed deeply seeing the Prefect¡¯s concerned expression. ¡°The Legatus has a certain kind of logic Prefect. Some have called it madness. It fucked up Ligur¡¯s plan and it just might do the same to the Khan¡¯s. Having said that it might fuck us up too,¡± his aide added. ¡°Just think positively.¡± ¡°Think¡­ positively,¡± Damascus murmured and glanced at the beefy ¡®Praetorians¡¯ Vegetius and Cucan that shook their helmed heads with enthusiasm. ¡°Our Legatus knows what he¡¯s doing,¡± Vegetius assured him with a comical toothy leer. Marcus-Antonius hadn¡¯t fully formulated a plan yet as he¡¯d no idea what the situation was at Eagle¡¯s Nest but that hadn¡¯t stopped him afore. ¡°Cucan take the lead,¡± he ordered. ¡°Ah, sir¡­ I¡¯m not familiar with the terrain.¡± Cucan muttered in a small voice. ¡°Come again?¡± The Legatus snapped irate not believing his ears. ¡°I¡¯ll take the lead sir!¡± Cucan corrected himself loudly and clicked his tongue to get the army-issued horse going. ¡°Just follow the darn tracks we left on the plaguing road. Goodness me, it¡¯s not that difficult soldier!¡± Marcus-Antonius admonished the flushed legionnaire and Domus turned to stare at the concerned Damascus riding next to him. His aide gave Damascus a knowing wink to alleviate the officer¡¯s worries. ¡°Belief in himself is half of the solution for our Legatus,¡± Domus told Damascus pointing at the miffed Marcus-Antonius riding after Cucan to show him the way. ¡°The other half is foresight.¡± Leaving vague whether their Legatus possessed any of the latter or not. ¡°I hope there¡¯s a method to this madness,¡± Damascus commented simply. 478. The Long Recon (2/2) ¡®Gods made the ground we stand on and gave us feet and good boots to traverse it.¡¯ Legatus Marcus-Antonius Merenda Fall of 194 NC From Plautus¡¯ famed ¡®Par Ocreis¡¯
Marcus-Antonius Merenda The Long Recon Part II -A method to the madness-
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Khan¡¯s Reserve Army* -Remained at Colle initially. Under Havor Dhin-Awal (Rin An-Pur) one of Prince Radin¡¯s longtime friends along with his older brother Hajot that had been killed back in 188 NC near Jade Lake by a rebel Horselord named Kalac. Total number (of fighting force) around 6500 Added with Prince Radin in the last months of 193. Moved out of Colle in winter of 194. Participated in the siege of Jaw Castle. Redeployed at the end of summer of 194 NC at the easternmost edge of King¡¯s Forest initially. There it prepared for a thrust between the two lakes to open a viable route towards the southeastern portion of Kaltha**. 1000 Medium Horse (Lancers) with some Cataphracts (most of the men were given to the Prince by his brother Atpa to deal with Sir Gust and keep him on Eplas. Prince Atpa was furious upon learning that Radin had brought them to their father after the latter ordered Prince Radin to join him on campaign. Half of the initial two thousand followed Prince Radin in the summer of 194 to assist him attacking Boar Horn Bridge.) 2000 Horse Archers under Kontar. (Received 500 as reinforcements from Rida.) Around 3500 mercenaries (mounted infantry) under Birka (Dia Castle) and Pourem (Ri Yue-Tu). Received about 500 mercenaries (Horselords, Lorians) as reinforcements from Altarin. 280 wagons and 3-4 thousand horses. Unknown number of slavers (probably 200+) under Hamadi. Around four thousand slave workforce. *A portion of the force had been deployed at Granlake village at Granlake to cut off Eagle¡¯s Nest supply from Visserhaven, another to the King¡¯s Docks at Smallake (Small-Lake) to cut off Eagle¡¯s Nest supply from Meertje village. Which didn¡¯t really affect Eagle¡¯s Nest or the large village of Moeras (the castle grounds and the three villages comprising a Petty Barony which was part of Issir¡¯s Eagle principality under Baron Govert Eman) with its flat fertile pastures and fields that was one of the major foodstuff providers for the capital and an important trading hub. Eagle¡¯s Nest connected the capital with the Duchies of east and south Kaltha -especially Riverdor, but also Forestfort- utilizing a main road and two lake and river routes. ** Dhin-Awal was given several attack options after completing the first leg (which was the capture or destruction of Eagle¡¯s Nest). Take control of the remaining ports at the easternmost banks of the two lakes and then either attack Forestfort over Mudriver to distract Scaldingport or continue towards Riverdor to sever Lord Anker from Riverdor, Badum and the Lakelords. Prince Radin and the majority of the Horselord generals opposed the viability of the task but Burzin insisted that reaching Small Plains and the desert bordering Regia would nullify Duke Charles¡¯ disputed advantage in numbers due to favorable terrain. The reason for the dispute was that the estimations (from the poorly informed or disagreeing on east/center Jelin geography and population Khanate¡¯s advisors) ranged from roughly equal, to a three to one advantage -at least- given the sizes of the cities involved local levies, the castle guards and the rumored presence of the First Foot. Especially if the Lakelords assisted the procrastinating new Duke of Riverdor. The latter was fully controlling Badum at the time and had successfully rooted-out the infiltrating Khanate¡¯s agents by enforcing martial-law, refusing to accept refugees, monitoring the roads towards Canlita Sea and limiting trade with west Kaltha. The Khanate learned more about Kaltha¡¯s faraway territories from Regia¡¯s and Lesia¡¯s ports.
- Four days later Elongated parch of ¡®land between the lakes¡¯ south edge (touching the doab) just before Central Marshes Eagle¡¯s Nest ¡®flat uplands¡¯ east facing side The road coming from Forestfort hugging the woodlands on the northern banks of Granlake Small township of Eagle¡¯s Nest Four kilometers from Moeras Lake (the unsung smallest lake of the great lakes area) and its village Eighty-five kilometers from the capital First Legion¡¯s field Headquarters Early morning briefing I need more officers, the Legatus thought. The Signifer, Centurion Sextus Crassus was standing next to the Primus Pilus Glycia, with Prefect Memon a foot to his right listening to Prefect Damascus¡¯ report. His aide Prefect Domus standing to Marcus-Antonius¡¯ right and the engineer officer Servius Celsus standing to his left. ¡°Sir!¡± Memon grunted, but paused for Decanus Pilatus to bring a cup of hot brew to the Legatus. ¡°We need¡ª¡± Marcus-Antonius stopped him raising a palm, the fingers extended. He brought the warm creamy beverage to his mouth and had a sip. I need more officers of supporting disposition, or with a sense of humor, Marcus-Antonius expounded on his previous thought. The mixture was pretty good. Gives a good jolt to the system. ¡°Morn¡­cheui?¡± He asked the accommodating Decanus. ¡°Roasted beans from a desert Cofol shrub sir. The Qahiya plant. Or Coffea depending on the region. This one is from Yin Xi-Yan. The Horselords brought tons of it with their fleet and some has filtered into the local market.¡± ¡°Smuggled is your meaning?¡± ¡°Over the lakes sir.¡± It was a pretty thorough explanation. Still¡­ ¡°What¡¯s the creamy stuff?¡± ¡°Cow milk Legatus. Traditionally Morncheui is also served with crushed sugarcane.¡± Well then. That¡¯s a fucking mouthful to order. ¡°Let¡¯s call it Kofi and leave it straight the next time,¡± Marcus-Antonius ordered. ¡°Sir!¡± Memon grunted turning an unhealthy red in the face, ¡°We had to talk with commander Nak without your presence¡­¡± ¡°Was he upset?¡± Marcus-Antonius jested and gave his cup to Domus in order for him to try it. The Prefect glugged it all down without hesitation and it left a line on his upper lip, Domus wiped with the back of his hand. ¡°Of course¡­ He asked on our intentions!¡± Memon was obviously upset himself. Eyes ogling and looking like a man that hasn¡¯t slept in a comfortable bed in months. Which was the truth for all of them. ¡°Legatus,¡± the Prefect added through his teeth. ¡°Was he pressing or scared?¡± Marcus-Antonius asked calmly. ¡°What manner of query¡­ Sir, this is serious.¡± ¡°For him.¡± Marcus-Antonius replied. ¡°It is serious having the capital under the Khan¡¯s horseshoe and a Legion on his back. The man feels cornered understandably. Mayhap he¡¯s even worried. Dare I say scared?¡± Memon pursed his mouth tightly. ¡°The impression was given.¡± ¡°We outnumber his guards by a lot,¡± Glycia noted and Marcus-Antonius nodded. ¡°We have the upper hand here, far as the local commander is concerned.¡± The Legatus explained and waited for the officers to acknowledge it. ¡°Yes?¡± He pressed. ¡°The Legatus won¡¯t move forward unless an answer is given,¡± Domus informed the rest of them. ¡°Captain Nak is worried,¡± Memon yielded. ¡°Baron Eman is equally annoying. He¡¯s asked for a meeting twice in three days.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll speak to the Captain first.¡± Marcus-Antonius informed them. ¡°Give him sufficient explanation on why we are here.¡± ¡°Would the Legatus be so kind as to give similar account to us at some point?¡± Memon grunted. Ah. The boring part, Marcus-Antonius thought and found a stool to sit down. The legs sinking in the soft ground some. He stared beyond the tent¡¯s shade, the Legion Castrum waking up under the sound of conical trumpets. The ¡®Tuba¡¯. ¡°How many recruits do we have in training dear Memon?¡± Marcus-Antonius asked. ¡°Over a thousand and three hundred. Two Cohorts. The Third and Fourth. Based on your reforms.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the King¡¯s reforms,¡± Marcus-Antonius replied. ¡°A unit is a unit Prefect. It¡¯s how you use it that gives it added value or lessens it. This legion is in training. Marching is part of that historically.¡± ¡°Two hundred kilometers through the bogs sir,¡± Memon reminded him. ¡°We have almost fifty men that are still very sick and no supply train. We left it at Sabretooth.¡± ¡°No we didn¡¯t. We left wagons there that is true and some surplus materiel. But we had nothing really to work with,¡± Marcus-Antonius replied. ¡°Minimum funds to buy from the local market. A difficult place to get timber, right Celsus? A scorching desert at the near for exercises.¡± ¡°Yes sir,¡± the Prefect of Engineers replied. ¡°Captain Nak will hear the same reason I gave you for the most part.¡± Marcus-Antonius continued. ¡°We are training and attempted a long recon that was partially successful.¡± ¡°Partially?¡± Memon probed. ¡°Now we know or we will soon, what the maps don¡¯t show,¡± Marcus-Antonius replied. ¡°This part, Emil Nak will learn later. But before I venture there, Celsus will have his machines build.¡± Celsus looked at him. ¡°I¡¯ll need to cut down more trees. The Baron complained about it already.¡± ¡°How much?¡± ¡°A hundred big trees.¡± ¡°Make it three hundred. We¡¯ll need Scorpios, catapults and trebuchets.¡± ¡°Yes sir.¡± ¡°Wait a minute,¡± Memon cut in with a grimace. ¡°How are we going to drag everything back to Sabretooth?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll use the road this time,¡± Marcus-Antonius replied. ¡°We don¡¯t have the animals or wagons sir.¡± ¡°Celsus will make sure we do with the extra timber.¡± ¡°Yes sir,¡± Celsus agreed and Memon glared at him. ¡°This place is a farmland,¡± Marcus-Antonius explained. ¡°They have animals.¡± ¡°Legatus,¡± Prefect Damascus intervened. ¡°This place is also the high king¡¯s lands.¡± ¡°Eh, it¡¯s chaos out there Prefect,¡± Marcus-Antonius replied and got up from the stool as he was the only one sitting. ¡°The man with the bigger cock rules.¡± ¡°The bigger cock sir?¡± Memon grunted with a grimace of disbelief. ¡°A metaphor,¡± Domus elucidated and Marcus-Antonius chuckled. ¡°Domus is an autodidact. I¡¯m stunned at his progress over the years,¡± he explained to the other officers. ¡°Gentlemen, don¡¯t look so surprised. I¡¯m quite serious here. He reads a lot every night. What are you reading about now Prefect?¡± Domus pursed his mouth. ¡°Modius Lucanus sir. Annals de Aldenus of the Bronze Age.¡± Lucan. ¡°Heavy reading. Lots of gore and backstabbing. Tits and phalluses, naughty gods and well-spoken goat-herders.¡± Marcus-Antonius teased. ¡°Not easy to find outside a library. Why, do we have a true Philomath in camp Domus?¡±This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. ¡°Caius-Metilus Plautus gave me the manuscript sir,¡± Domus replied stiffly. ¡°Fits the profile.¡± ¡°You think Arminius needs a scribe? He does. I can¡¯t read his writing at all. We could use him.¡± ¡°Plautus fancies himself a biographer so he¡¯ll be a reluctant scribe,¡± Domus retorted, adding with a grimace. ¡°But has a good collection of books with him.¡± ¡°Well, he¡¯ll be a scribe for the First whether he likes it or not. I¡¯ll need a LID officer also. ¡°Decanus Pilatus and that camp sergeant Furius Tasius.¡± ¡°The second?¡± Domus asked playing along. ¡°That fella,¡± Marcus-Antonius agreed. ¡°Brief them dear Domus.¡± ¡°Legatus,¡± Memon intervened again. ¡°This is a friendly castle yes? What do we need a trebuchet for?¡± Marcus-Antonius stared at the light slopes that led to the castle, only to turn into a nice fertile flatland towards Moeras and the King¡¯s Forest. ¡°Defense,¡± he finally said to end the morning briefing over the explosion of queries from the officers present.
Plautus was a short in stature Lorian from Asturia. While a man of letters, he¡¯d a muscular body and strong arms as he enjoyed the ¡®smell of work¡¯ as he put it. He also immediately refused to take a position in the Legatus¡¯ general staff. ¡°I¡¯m a civilian Legatus,¡± Plautus explained. ¡°Yet, you¡¯ve followed the legion when most of the civilians stayed behind with Optio Holt.¡± Marcus-Antonius noted and rapped his fingers on the table. ¡°No man is the same,¡± Plautus replied. ¡°Similar yes but there are nuances. Sometimes quite prominent.¡± ¡°Arminius does most of the work. There¡¯s no point in changing the system, but still another scribe is useful.¡± ¡°You want a favorable report,¡± Plautus said without mincing his words. ¡°I¡¯d rather keep my head,¡± Marcus-Antonius jested. ¡°If I can help it.¡± ¡°Turn the legion around. March down the road to Forestfort and then the junction. You¡¯ll be back in Sabretooth in a month,¡± Plautus retorted pushing back on his chair. Marcus-Antonius had given the custom-made wooden stools to Pilatus. He was to place them in his small office inside the headquarters¡¯ building. The soon to be LID officer (though Pilatus didn¡¯t know it yet) had no table to write on but he can contemplate on the matter whilst sitting at least, Antonius thought. ¡°The Khan will strike here. Either as a diversion for another action or for real it makes no difference. He¡¯ll brush away the guards and overrun the villages. Take control of the lakes. And then he¡¯ll have another road open.¡± ¡°Have you been to Forestfort?¡± Plautus asked pursing his mouth. ¡°I have. Not recently. I doubt time has harmed the boulders on its walls.¡± Plautus shrugged his broad shoulders. ¡°No road available.¡± ¡°We just crossed the bogs dear Plautus,¡± Marcus-Antonius countered. ¡°It was bothersome, we had to leave heavy equipment behind which was not a problem since we had none available, but still enough men made it. What makes you think the Khan can¡¯t do the same? Even more with his resources he could navigate Serpent River, bring the heavy equipment along by another way.¡± ¡°To Riverdor.¡± ¡°To Regia¡¯s border.¡± Marcus-Antonius retorted stiffly, but then sighed. ¡°You are not a fool dear Plautus. If you can read a book, then you can read a map. Kaltha is all but split in two. It makes no difference anyway since they are divided over the succession already. They can¡¯t win, because most lords are thinking of the future and look to preserve their strength. They can¡¯t win because it is challenging to attack over the Red Bridge and head for the capital whilst being exposed for days in the open.¡± ¡°Lord Anker could put Elsanne on the throne and solve his problem.¡± Plautus paused with a little smirk. ¡°Ah, this was improper. You know our King¡¯s wishes.¡± ¡°Lucius can¡¯t commit to another war right now. He might lose the people. That doesn¡¯t mean this is the right action. But kings must think of many things.¡± ¡°You might lose your head Legatus if you fail. It would be the easiest solution. Not to mention dooming a lot of men. Why?¡± Marcus-Antonius smacked his lips and eyed the solemn Domus. ¡°The best way to forge an army is to throw the unit into action. The fear of a common foe unites. Beyond training or long marches. The alternative is to stay idle and watch the Khan break out of the lakes, cut off Riverdor and open another front against Scaldingport. Perpetual defeats or costly victories don¡¯t birth success. It¡¯s like that for years. I don¡¯t see it as a winning formula and you need a smaller than you opponent to even have a chance. Win by attrition. I don¡¯t believe it¡¯s viable. The Khanate is much bigger than what the High King believed.¡± ¡°The Khanate might have lost Greenwhale Peninsula,¡± Plautus noted. ¡°They have their own internal problems.¡± ¡°As long as the Khan lives this doesn¡¯t matter as no one is brave enough to stand against him. Not many Cofols serve with the Khan anyway in key positions. As mercenaries I guess they are around and I¡¯ll give you that. It¡¯s a matter of numbers and I don¡¯t believe Kaltha can put a capable army in the field for a while. By the time they can, it might be too late. I don¡¯t want to see Khanate banners outside Lorian cities. It doesn¡¯t sit right with me.¡± ¡°Numbers might be your problem very soon Legatus,¡± Plautus said with a smile. ¡°We¡¯ll know, when we¡¯ll know.¡± Plautus thought about it for a moment. ¡°Legatus, your father is commander of the Royal Knights. You know you¡¯ve reached the furthest up the ladder you can right? In the grand scheme of things what does a Legatus of a respected but middling family and of¡­ ehem, risqu¨¦ personal origins do after that? Is it glory you seek?¡± I can be offended sure, but whilst I like my luxuries, I¡¯ve a thick skin Plautus. ¡°Call me Antony,¡± Marcus-Antonius said in a charming manner. ¡°Dear Caius.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t fall for it,¡± Domus warned the scribe. ¡°A ladder is a tool.¡± Marcus-Antonius continued with an angry tick he managed to get under control. ¡°You talk of schemes and lofty positions, but life is right here right now and while particular in its tastes, stands also blind. The future ever uncertain. You either act and win something not expected or stand idle wallowing in misery thinking of past long gone glories whilst remaining within your tight confines. I can¡¯t do that. Better live with enthusiasm I say and milk thy chances to the fullest like a maiden¡¯s tit. I¡¯ll repair the ladder, care for it and use it to scale a wall. Take a castle or burn an enemy¡¯s camp. Use a fresh horse to charge on an opponent¡¯s flank. A turn of fate gives you a pair of foreign boots below yer legion¡¯s greaves. Well, use them to take you further and tempt the Fates themselves. The contents of a half-empty purse to chase a pile of gold on a table. And a host of displeased men to win an unwinnable war. What does this worth in the grand scheme of things?¡± ¡°The tale of Tyranus the Mad.¡± Plautus said with a half-grin. ¡°Hide for a summer in the flatlands edges only to perish in winter¡¯s cold,¡± Marcus-Antonius recited. ¡°Ever retreat until you run out of ground to gain another summer or two. Or strike over good terrain and break the giant¡¯s legs whilst your arms are still strong. Win the fertile vale for yerself and feed your family for years.¡± ¡°Tyranus got killed as a reward,¡± Plautus reminded him and Marcus-Antonius noted. ¡°Yet his name we recite and nobody talks about those that did it. In the tale¡¯s end his Lorians inherited the lands forever.¡± Marcus-Antonius countered opening his arms expressively. ¡°They¡¯ll remember Tyranus and Laran. Magnus Lucius and our good Praetor Maximus. They¡¯ll remember Antony as well for you can¡¯t fake your way into the annals of history.¡± Plautus bit the inside of his cheek to prevent a smile from forming on his lips. ¡°Ah, you poor fool,¡± Domus rustled shaking his head and showed the scribe his maimed arm. Only two of the fingers still working. ¡°This is what he doesn¡¯t tell you.¡± ¡°He¡¯s jesting,¡± Marcus-Antonius argued with a glare at his old friend. ¡°What would the great Antony do after this? When there are no more wars to fight?¡± A now interested Plautus asked disregarding Domus¡¯ warning. ¡°That is if the tool somehow doesn¡¯t break this time?¡± He was talking about the Legion. Marcus-Antonius stood back on his chair, a half-crafty half-leering expression on his handsome face. ¡°Then we¡¯ll use it again dear Caius. Find us another conflict. Gods made the ground we stand on and gave us feet and good boots to traverse it.¡± - An hour later The township of Eagle¡¯s Nest Main road bordering the Fish Market And the castle¡¯s South Gates ¡°First Cohort halt!¡± The Primus Pilus Glycia boomed. The Old Mother¡¯s Centuries¡¯ officers translating the orders down the ranks as every Century came to a stop behind the mounted Marcus-Antonius and Prefect Domus. The Legatus dismounted and stepped on the flagstone road where he worked a finger in his collar to get everything in place again after the short ride. Sergeant Tasius with Decanus Pilatus approached with a sharp order from Domus as they had followed the Cohort under the fearful eyes of the local merchants and market tenants. The appearance of the Cohort had silenced and ceased operations inside the Fish Market. ¡°Goodness me,¡± Marcus-Antonius commented turning to look at the two minor officers. ¡°The stench is terrible. Snaps you out of yer stupor. Um. Is that a heap of trout Decanus?¡± ¡°Legatus!¡± Tasius roared stepping forward and saluting sharply, thudding a fist on his chest. ¡°The Decanus hails from Alden sir!¡± ¡°Right,¡± Marcus-Antonius muttered a little amused since the sergeant was from Vinterfort which was parked in the middle of the desert. Kilometers from any substantial body of water. ¡°Sergeant Tasius, good seeing you again. You¡¯re a learned man yes?¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t go that far sir!¡± Eh. ¡°But you know your fish.¡± ¡°Yes sir! My mother hails from Tenor sire. That right there is a giant lake trout!¡± Apparently. Marcus-Antonius ears had started ringing. He waved the sergeant back and Tasius retreated two steps. ¡°Decanus Pilatus, I was going to inquire on your letters afore the good sergeant intervened rather lively. I stand a little confused at this point.¡± ¡°Apologies sir!¡± Tasius boomed even livelier. The Legatus grimaced and glared at the mirthful Domus, then at the shocked Issirs gathered at the market¡¯s stands. He could see other types of produce were on display further inside. ¡°I can write a report sir,¡± Pilatus replied in a civilized manner. ¡°You¡¯ll be promoted to Centurion of LID effective immediately,¡± Marcus-Antonius continued and heard murmurs coming from the old castle gates. The stone walls standing at five meters tall and covered in black moss. ¡°You¡¯ll have Tasius as your second in command.¡± ¡°Yes sir,¡± Pilatus saluted. ¡°Is Captain Nak coming up behind me?¡± Marcus-Antonius asked with a half-smirk. ¡°That¡¯s him sir.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll talk more a bit later Centurion Pilatus,¡± the Legatus assured him pleasantly, eyed warningly a grimacing Tasius so the latter would keep his mouth shut and turned around to speak with Eagle¡¯s Nest local guards aging commander. Emil Nak was over fifty, with thinning white hair at the conned top of his head and a narrow shaved face. The Issir officer had a mail shirt on over a gambeson, a sword strapped at his waist and hemp pants. He looks discomforted in them Antonius thought. ¡°Legatus Merenda,¡± Nak started nervously, as they were just under a thousand veteran legionnaires behind the smiling Marcus-Antonius staring right back at him. ¡°I attempted to speak with you in person but I was informed you were on a mission?¡± ¡°I discoursed briefly with the Lord of Forestfort,¡± Marcus-Antonius explained leaving it at that. ¡°Given the opportunity Captain Nak, I must also offer apologies for occupying part of your road.¡± ¡°Well, we don¡¯t have a lot visitors coming from Mudriver lately Legatus,¡± Nak replied and paused momentarily to glance at his two Issir aides. ¡°You cleared much of the forest south of the road.¡± ¡°We might have to clear a bit more,¡± Antonius retorted, then shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Open up the view to the lake captain. Air some of the fish odor away.¡± Nak grimaced, then licked his lips slowly. ¡°Is the Legion to stay then?¡± ¡°Until we recover and finish our scheduled training,¡± Antonius replied with a leer. ¡°It is not¡­ it¡¯s uncommon for Regia to train men in the King¡¯s lands Legatus.¡± Nak noted in a non-confrontational manner. ¡°May I enquire on the real reason for your¡­ visit?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no hidden agenda here. Part of the training requires a long recon by the whole outfit,¡± Marcus-Antonius said with a clear voice, the locals listening in to his explanation. ¡°We have misjudged the marshes I¡¯m afraid. It is embarrassing but also a good lesson. The lads got to use their legs captain.¡± ¡°That¡¯s quite the mistake Legatus.¡± ¡°You err in order to learn dear Captain.¡± ¡°What¡­ eh, is there something we can do to speed up your return?¡± ¡°A few things.¡± Nak stood back with a grimace of discomfort. ¡°What would they be¡­ those things?¡± ¡°We need timber.¡± ¡°These are the king¡¯s woods.¡± ¡°The King¡¯s woods are beyond the plateau, to the west. This is part of Baron Eman¡¯s domain.¡± ¡°The Baron is under the King,¡± Nak countered. ¡°But trees will grow again I suppose. What else?¡± This a seasoned officer. ¡°Supplies. You have grain stored? Salted pork, beef? Winter is nigh.¡± ¡°We have plenty of grain. It¡¯s rotting in the warehouses,¡± Nak replied treading carefully. ¡°Livestock is healthy and plentiful also. How will the Legion compensate us? You have a big host of men to feed here Legatus.¡± ¡°Thousands. One would call it another village, but we¡¯ll say it¡¯s an army for expediency.¡± Marcus-Antonius agreed. ¡°We¡¯ll need mounts or live animals as well. To draw the wagons.¡± Nak rubbed his nape tiredly. ¡°This sounds a lot like a raid Legatus.¡± ¡°No raider will ask as politely or in a similar manner,¡± Marcus-Antonius argued. ¡°Nor will he offer his services in return.¡± ¡°Services?¡± Nak queried a little surprised. ¡°Where the Legion camps, the land is safe and its citizens protected,¡± Marcus-Antonius announced the well-used army dictum. Adding just to get it out of the way. ¡°No shenanigans are allowed.¡± ¡°Legatus, you are aware that Kaltha is at war with the Khanate?¡± Nak retorted over the murmurs of the crowd. ¡°There are Horselords in the capital.¡± ¡°Can you hold them off if they come here?¡± Marcus-Antonius asked calmly. ¡°This a huge front to defend. I could hold the castle for a while,¡± Nak finally replied, grimacing as it wasn¡¯t well-received by the citizens listening to their exchange. ¡°There are fields and mostly flatland west from here Legatus.¡± ¡°Let me see a detailed map of the area,¡± Marcus-Antonius said and tied his hands behind the back. ¡°And I¡¯ll show you a way to do it.¡± ¡°Are you¡­?¡± Nak looked equally worried and surprised. ¡°¡­is Regia to assist Lord Anker?¡± ¡°You are getting political for a trivial reason, missing the moment. I¡¯m the random touch of Luthos¡¯ hand suddenly appearing to offer assistance.¡± Marcus-Antonius replied and now even the legionnaires were heard gasping in shock hearing his words. ¡°Let Lucius and Anker work it out later captain Nak. For as long as we are here, the First Legion shall protect you if you wish it. You have Marcus-Antonius¡¯ word.¡± Merenda finished in a deep passionate voice and then half-turned to look at Prefect Domus meaningfully, the vast majority of the merchants and locals present also beholding the Legatus¡¯ frowning aide with awe. ¡°A Merenda¡¯s word is like a divine bond,¡± the Prefect droned what they¡¯d used in their not so distant youth whilst playing games of dice or fooling around with naughty maidens, when they were short in coin but epically eager. ¡°It can be stretched but never broken.¡± Eh, come on Domus! Anyways. All in all it is a rather nice moment, Marcus-Antonius thought. Or as Lucan had famously recited mythical Tyranus¡¯ retort to the giant Ecomenicus. ¡®Alea jacta est. Dii, reliquos decernant.¡¯ The die is cast. Let the gods decide the rest. -
Most frivolous historians shall write in detail and at length about fabled sea battles and Praetor Maximus¡¯ divine foresight. Don¡¯t perceive my words in envy¡¯s light. Far from it. Praise be to the hallowed ¡®Liger Hominis Divinus¡¯ for he is ever in our thoughts. Still they¡¯ll sing their praises of Crimson Forest¡¯s miracle, the Raven¡¯s bloody revenge and the fiery rage of Onyx Wyvern. They won¡¯t be wrong but they would also not be entirely truthful. Small unsung moments and actions dictate the overall picture and pave the road to greatness. Because despite all else and if we¡¯re even remotely honest in our account of past events, then that fall of 194 NC the Khan was about to win the war, standing inconvenienced with the events back in Eplas but nowhere near as afflicted as the divided Jelin¡¯s opposition gathering against him. So the vigilant and attentive military scholar -standing unafraid of correctness and recency bias- must admit that it was Marcus-Antonius¡¯ risky personal gambit that changed history. Most people¡¯s actions are determined by small in scope but deeply subjective and usually separate specific motives. Thirst of fame, greed of coin, a sense of adventure, true patriotism and even an alluring maiden¡¯s favor. The Legatus of the First Legion engulfed all of the above and carved out his own legend grandiosely, venturing beyond sanity¡¯s diktats, diplomacy¡¯s red lines or later Imperial etiquette, as if he was already a famous actor on a theater¡¯s stage replaying the life of our mythology¡¯s greatest heroes long after his tale was written.
Caius-Metilus Plautus Par Ocreis* Life and deeds of the prodigious Marcus-Antonius Merenda.** -A memoire- (Circa 233?) *Archaic Lorian for ¡®A pair of boots¡¯ **The Legatus posthumous biography was first published in Rida, then in Kaltha and finally Regia. It was translated and republished around 235 NC in Wetull under the title ¡®Nya Vanya Maethor¡¯ which is court Imperial for ¡®My handsome soldier.¡¯
479. Scrap at Visserhaven
Marcus-Antonius Merenda Scrap at Visserhaven
First Legion Abbreviated | ¡®The Legion¡¯, ¡®First¡¯, ¡®the Army¡¯, ¡®Primo de Brutis¡¯, RCEMR-I Dictum | ¡®Odio Patiantur Dum Timent¡¯*. ¡®Semper Deinceps¡¯ (archaic Lorian for ¡®Ever onwards¡¯, an expression attributed to Marcus-Antonius Merenda.) Panthera Tigris | Reddish bronze, silver and gold standard representing the head of a soberly contemplating Blacktiger, very similar to Regia¡¯s gold non-snarling banner, the royal Aldenus family crest and the 3rd Legion¡¯s roaring Blacktiger emblem used in banners and armour. Legatus Merenda added a rectangular metal plaque containing in large gold letters the phrase Per Virtutem followed by the abbreviation RCEMR (Rex, Consul et Exercitus de Magna Regia) under the sculpted head in 194 NC, a now famed acronym in archaic Lorian that translates ¡®By virtue of the King, Consul & Army of Greater Regia¡¯ which all other Regia Legions adopted soon after. Organizational chart* During the series of battles fought between the great lakes (fall of 194 NC ¨C Spring 195 NC) Overall strength ~3450? ** -Legio general staff not included, supply train personnel not included. -2800 legionnaires. (Almost 2000 of them taken from the first Cohort. The First had a mixture of a good number of veterans in their second twenty-five year term ¨Cmainly in the 1st and 2nd Cohorts, another big portion of experienced soldiers trained by Ligur in their fourth or fifth year ¨C with the 3rd Cohort and two fifths of fresh recruits ranging from a year to a couple of months serving with the 4th or the auxiliaries.) ~200 engineers and apprentices (mostly local Issirs) + 500 or 1000 workers temporarily attached. 48 Scorpios, 40 mounted. 15 catapults. 3 heavy trebuchets. 8 Scorpios and the 3 trebuchets were permanently installed inside or near Eagle¡¯s Nest as part of the fortifications. ~ 250 heavy Rangers. (The unit was formed in Eagle¡¯s Nest.) ~ 30 medium Cavalry led by the Legatus (At least forty mounted Scorpios ¨Cten per Cohort- absorbed the majority of the usable local horses) ~ 20 medics under Dottore Galerius Bulla (Cartagen) ~ 150 animal-drawn wagons (Merenda confiscated over 400 horses but they were of poor quality or unsuitable for warfare) Legatus | Marcus-Antonius Merenda (One of Sir Seleucid¡¯s many legitimized bastards. Received classical education in Cartagen. The youngest Legatus ever in the history of the Legions. He was five years younger from Caesar Lucius I and seven from King Lucius III who were the other two at the time that he got promoted in 194 NC. A Quadrumvir, the ¡®most skilled but also unpredictable of the bunch¡¯ according to Sirio Veturius¡¯ description of him and the ¡®handsomest officer that ever donned the Lorica Segmentata after Tribune Trupo¡¯ according to Tribune¡¯s Trupo¡¯s autobiography, who considered Merenda¡¯s lack of a prominent mustache a big minus.) Aide de Legatus | Prefect (of general¡¯s staff) ¡®the Legatus half-arm¡¯ Domus (Gold Phalera recipient. Maimed and disfigured left arm. Transferred from the 2nd Cohort of the 3rd Legion. Promoted twice in a few months by Merenda. A self-educated lowborn, his family worked the Merenda household lands historically and the Legatus childhood friend.) 1st Prefect | ¡®the Brute¡¯ Memon, (Legatus Ligur¡¯s old aide du Camp. Promoted to Prefect by Ligur just before he ¡®committed¡¯ suicide. Represented the old guard of the First Legion. A lowborn.) Optio | Damian ¡®milord¡¯ Holt (Asturia, Regia. His father Robart Holt, former director in the Bank of Trust¡¯s main office in Cediorum, was third cousin to the Duke of Asturia and a financial advisor to King Lucius. A political appointment.) 2nd Prefect Damascus (Sabretooth Castle, Regia. A young member of the old guard. His family associated with Baron Scylla.) 3rd Prefect (of engineers) | Servius Celsus (Cartagen. Legendary engineer. Wealthy family of builders. Started studying architecture in Cartagen¡¯s Academy of Arts before switching to Anorum¡¯s Military School. The inventor of ¡®mounted artillery¡¯. Injured in the battle for the Lorian Plains but recovered. Rebuilt First Legion¡¯s artillery in record time during the fall of 194 and laid down the plans for roads, fortifications and utility buildings ¨Cfinishing a number of them himself- of what was later to become Celsus Industrial District of Eagle¡¯s Nest.) Optio (of engineers) | William ¡®Niger¡¯ Nak (Originally Issir¡¯s Eagle. An Issir of a good family. Captain of the Guards Emil Nak¡¯s son that served under his father. Skilled engineer and deeply religious having studied in Midlanor¡¯s Military Academy. The first Issir with a high officer¡¯s position in the Legions.) Quartermaster | Ninius Arminus. Legion¡¯s Recruiter, scribe and Keeper of the Purse. Scribe de Legionis | Caius-Metilus Plautus (Studied under Di Cresta in Cartagen. A military historian, polymath and biographer. Famously Marcus-Antonius admitted that ¡®our good Plautus is over-qualified for the job which is as rare as a pretty maiden walking through the Castrum¡¯s gates on the morrow. Take note now mirthful gentlemen that I¡¯ve used both pretty and maiden in my words.¡¯) Centurion of LID | Cornelius Pilatus (Alden) Decanus of LID | Furius Tasius, ¡®the second¡¯. Also ¡®Furious, the Tenor¡¯ (Vinterfort) Panthera Tigris Signifer | Centurion (Honoraris) Sextus Crassus (Aldenfort. Member of the old guard. Famously stepped forward and surrendered the trapped First Legion¡¯s defenders to King Lucius at the waning stages of the Lorian Plains battle.) Centurion Primus Pilus, ¡®Retired¡¯ Glycia (1st Cohort. Serving for 2nd twenty-five year term. The unit¡¯s moniker ¡®Old Mother¡¯ also attributed to him, an affectionate term as it basically birthed all other Cohorts after the 194 NC reorganization. Very influential member of the old guard in the First Legion and Ligur¡¯s favorite field officer.) Centurion ¡®Ravenous¡¯ Indus (2nd Cohort. Transferred from the 3rd Legion. He had also served under Merenda there. Several soldiers had petitioned the King to follow the Legatus in his new command but Lucius ordered Trupo to stop accepting the transfers after a while.) Legionnaires (attached) Vegetius and Cucan. (The ¡®Praetorians¡¯. Hailing from Cartagen, decorated legionnaires and members of the Legatus inner circle. Transferred from the 3rd Legion but while in the 2nd Cohort they stayed near the Legatus acting as his personal bodyguards.) Centurion Reganus (3rd Cohort. Sabretooth. Promoted in fall 194 NC.) Centurion Andronicus (4th Cohort. Anorum. Took over as trainer of recruits in the summer of 194 NC. Promoted to first centurion of 4th Cohort in fall of 194 NC.) Centurion of Rangers Aulus Cita (Vinterfort. Unit formed from scratch in Eagle¡¯s Nest using locals and volunteers or Cohort dropouts for various misconducts that had been stuck with the main group.) Decanus Noud Kost. (Legion Rangers. Badum, had retired in Moeras. An Issir hunter/tracker and former First Foot ranger. The First Legion¡¯s rangers were a mixture of Lorian and Issir volunteers from Moeras and Eagle¡¯s Nest. The only unit in the legions that was armed with the Castalor-type crossbow.) *Archaic expression attributed to Magnus Lucius I that translates -¡®let them suffer in hate, so long as they fear us.¡¯ *Archaic Lorian -¡®First of the Brutes.¡¯ ** At least six hundred young Issir volunteers in two spear infantry formations serving as auxiliaries. (The first Legion deploying spears at such numbers although they had been used in the past). About three hundred of Nak¡¯s and Baron Eman¡¯s guards forming an independent allied formation. Over five hundred civilians (sources give a number as high as one thousand) stayed back and worked under Celsus in various projects during the months preceding the start of hostilities.
- Eleventh Month of 194 NC Early Morning Artillery drills Optio Nak raised his right arm to signal he was in position. He was standing next to the range-finding flags deep inside the hemp fields about three hundred meters away from the slopped ledge where the three trebuchets had been erected overlooking the flats. The massive counterweight, approximating a ton according to Celsus had been lifted and locked in position by the thirty man crew. Mostly locals that had stayed after the Baron had reluctantly issued the evacuation order for women, children and those too old or scared to assist in the effort. Over five thousand people had taken the long road turning into refugees the previous months. But enough had opted to stay clinging to hope that the Horselords wouldn¡¯t come their way. ¡°Release on three!¡± An excited Celsus yelled and waved a flag for ¡®Niger¡¯ Nak to get out of the way. ¡°Isn¡¯t he far enough?¡± Marcus-Antonius asked looking through the spyglass. ¡°We have a twenty meters gradual elevation,¡± Plautus commented. He was busy drawing an eloquent scene, with the muddy fields extending under them as a backdrop. ¡°Given the bigger counterweight deployed this time, I expect the boulder to shoot over the Optio and reach four hundred meters. It¡¯s why the Prefect of engineers is so alarmed.¡± ¡°What?¡± Marcus-Antonius grunted snapping his head to glare at the scribe, a hysterical Celsus jumping up down at the edge of the short precipice whilst waving his small flag right and left. His words now holding a much deeper meaning. ¡°Right damn it. Head right! Or left!¡± The engineer yelled at the nodding oblivious Willie Nak who turned around and sprinted straight back to the west towards the edge of the fields as fast as he could. ¡°Three!¡± A fanatically eager Issir apprentice boomed and released the hefty counterweight¡¯s lever plunging in panic for the ground. The torsion swung, the arm rotating violently with a screech and the massive sling snapped with a crackling sound to hurl the heavy boulder away. Everyone watching and there were a lot of them, the Optio¡¯s father Captain Nak and Baron Govert Eman amongst the crowd turning silent as the large projectile traveled in the air towards the Hemp Fields. The Optio sprinting hard in the distance, the boulder closing in over him, as it first started dipping and then plunged down. It smashed the ground with an explosion of mud and uprooted shrubberies twenty meters in front of the recoiling young Optio that found himself bombarded with pulverized material. ¡°Ah,¡± Domus observed calmly. ¡°That veered left a bit Celsus. But overall a much better effort.¡± The rattled officer of engineers managed to get up, Celsus had tripped over his feet trying to warn Nak earlier and slapped some of the dirt off of his pants with the small broken flag. ¡°Anyone got the range at that?¡± He asked his apprentices after checking to make sure the shocked Optio had gotten up as well. ¡°Three sixty or eighty,¡± a young eagle-eyed Issir reported. ¡°It landed in between.¡± ¡°Run down there and measure the flags again,¡± a heavy-breathing Celsus ordered and turned to look at the blank-faced Legatus. ¡°We have the other two loaded sir. We could reload the first in half an hour and fire a full volley.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s keep it a single shot every time,¡± Marcus-Antonius retorted and gave Domus the spyglass. ¡°Give Nak a bit of a chance to make it out of there alive Prefect,¡± he added and smiled reassuringly at the worried locals. Mostly the lad¡¯s father. ¡°I¡¯ll need a facsimile for scale Legatus and more volunteers,¡± Celsus argued. ¡°You don¡¯t need them. But I do. Just hit the general area and you¡¯ll be fine. There¡¯s no way anyone or anything survives a hundred and fifty kilo rock Celsus. It¡¯s a matter of weight and density right Plautus?¡± ¡°Coupled with velocity Antonius.¡± Plautus retorted mockingly. ¡°You could at the very least pretend to be in the army,¡± Marcus-Antonius admonished him. ¡°When in public. People will think we suck each other cocks in between ruining their fields or trying to murder their commander¡¯s son.¡± ¡°I shall strive to be more discreet Legatus,¡± Plautus countered with a smirk and started gathering his brushes. ¡°Though the first I believe they could forgive much easier.¡± ¡°Hah-hah,¡± Domus chuckled and then paused to glare at Vegetius and Cucan that rolled about elated. ¡°Get the horses,¡± he ordered the mirthful duo. ¡°Yes sir.¡± Vegetius replied sobering up. ¡°We were discussing the Optio¡¯s dodging skills¡ª¡± Domus raised his clenched fist threateningly at him. ¡°The fuck I care? Wait, I now see your ears are clogged with shit Vegetius. Maybe I should knock your head about to get them working again? How about it?¡± ¡°It won¡¯t be necessary Prefect!¡± A sober Marcus-Antonius turned to look at Vegetius. ¡°Find me Glycia.¡± He ordered austerely. ¡°Right away sir!¡± Vegetius replied snapping to attention for a smart salute. ¡°It¡¯ll be twenty-five minutes. The lads are working fast,¡± Celsus insisted hopefully and the Legatus grimaced. ¡°I¡¯ll have your report later Celsus. By Tyeus, let¡¯s hope it contains no casualties,¡± he rustled and then signed for Domus to follow after him.
The Baron, a short overweight Issir of about forty years paced back and forth agitated inside Eagle¡¯s Nest stone citadel¡¯s small hall. His teenage daughter, Lady Oline Eman entered with a servant carrying a tray of tea and dark nicely round whole grain wafers. She brought a cup of tea to Marcus-Antonius¡¯ table and placed it carefully near him. The Legatus watching the clad in a high-neck dress comely Issir female with teasing eyes. ¡°Would the Legatus favor a homemade wafer?¡± Oline asked in a hushed manner. ¡°They are soaked in dark caramel syrup but left to dry.¡± ¡°I find that dark is my favorite color lately.¡± Marcus-Antonius replied with a pleasant grin. ¡°Maybe you could enlighten me in the procedure milady? It sounds absolutely fascinating.¡± Oline raised her eyes to stare in his face shocked. Antonius was equally shocked as he didn¡¯t know Issir girls blushed or that it could be so visible. He reached for a wafer, brought it to his mouth and chomped at the flavorful crunchy biscuit with enthusiasm. ¡°Oline that¡¯s enough hospitality. The Legatus has eaten breakfast in the camp already, I¡¯m certain.¡± Her father intervened abruptly. Antonius had, but was also feeling the starts of a craving returning. ¡°Leave us now girl, we have important matters to discuss you wouldn¡¯t understand.¡± ¡°Yes father,¡± Oline replied and stepped to perform a curtsy that amused the legion officers present. ¡°Legatus. Officers of the First.¡± She added before leaving them, followed by the servant. ¡°Thus our morning turns ever duller,¡± Marcus-Antonius recited sadly. ¡°And we now stand engulfed in the sounds of ominous distant thunders.¡± ¡°Legatus I can¡¯t tolerate this manner of talk,¡± a miffed Baron Eman grunted to the surprised-looking Marcus-Antonius who sat back on his chair and glanced at the busy Plautus across from him on the table. The latter was preparing blank scrolls in order to scribble down notes for the meeting. ¡°Cyprian of the Aldenus, writing under the pseudonym Tacitus.¡± Plautus elucidated without raising his head, as he was cleaning an ivory quill¡¯s tip. But then he did to add. ¡°Or his young lover who he kept locked away.¡± ¡°Ugh?¡± The Issir Baron grunted and glared at the scribe. ¡°The Legatus was reciting the ancients. Long before Reinut, people could be equally naughty or deprived.¡± ¡°Hah-ha!¡± Domus chortled, always eager to get a good laugh out and the Baron blinked at the scribe¡¯s rudeness. ¡°They are big and smaller scandals in all peoples histories,¡± Marcus-Antonius interposed and left it at that. ¡°Legatus your engineers are demolishing buildings in Moeras,¡± the grimacing Baron said after a seething moment. ¡°People would expect to find their residences intact on their return.¡± ¡°Buildings can be restored,¡± Marcus-Antonius replied sobering up as well. ¡°People¡¯s lives cannot. They¡¯ll find refuge with Lord Rik in Forestfort.¡± ¡°The De Weers are supporting the usurper. They are quite open about it,¡± the Baron hissed. ¡°I¡¯ll trust the De Weer I¡¯ve spoken with personally to do what¡¯s decent Baron,¡± Marcus-Antonius replied calmly. Eman made to argue but he stopped the local nobleman with a dismissive gesture. ¡°You ask query, it is only polite to give time for response.¡± He told him, the Lorian use of Common giving the trying to follow his words Baron fits. ¡°We are creating a corridor between the forest and Moeras. We¡¯ll control the trees and the village. Celsus came up with the plan.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll trust this man? I just watched him try to murder the commander¡¯s son!¡± The Baron exploded. ¡°I¡¯ve been on the receiving end of Celsus¡¯ schemes,¡± Marcus-Antonius elucidated. ¡°He knows how to hurt an opponent given time and the means to do it.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll lose both villages this way. Meertje for sure.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll defend the flanks. You have heard the plan five times already.¡± The Legatus grimaced. ¡°The castle will anchor our frontline. It stands at slight elevation, facing wide open fields that are quite the quagmire this time of year.¡± Baron Eman rubbed at his nape tiredly. ¡°You¡¯ve taken our grain, livestock and what few horses we had Legatus. Emptied the Castle from weapons and appropriated very expensive crossbows we had purchased to use on the walls.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve put eight Scorpios on your walls. Three lines of artillery before them at the ledge overlooking the fields. Two Cohorts will defend the slopes leading to them along Nak¡¯s guards. If this doesn¡¯t stop the Horselords, a couple of hundred crossbows held by shaking hands wouldn¡¯t also.¡± ¡°You are openly recruiting Issirs,¡± the Baron grunted hoarsely. ¡°I¡¯ve seen no papers and no agreement signed Legatus.¡± ¡°The Legion makes its own contracts with each soldier and honors them,¡± Marcus-Antonius retorted and stood up to eye the shorter Baron austerely. ¡°It will repair the streets, erect warehouses, and workshops. Build new roads carving out the landscape to help people and material move faster. Construct a second fishing port to replace the one abandoned and help the town depending on it not to starve the following summer. When we leave this place, Eagle¡¯s Nest would be capable of handling twice the produce and export three times that. Hopefully you¡¯ll have Scaldingport¡¯s or Riverdor¡¯s market open by then. I will put a good word to Regia¡¯s merchants.¡± He paused to stare at his officers and then his face relaxed. ¡°Think not of the future in dark colors for it helps you not. But it would surely ruin your present. King Lucius¡¯ own words. If we succeed here Baron, your people shall return and rebuild what was ruined on sturdy foundations. The alternative is bending the knee to the Khan and then watch your daughter whisked away to be sold as commodity in Eplas¡¯ slave markets until the novelty wears off.¡±Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! An hour later Glycia marched towards them followed by the three Centurions of the First Cohort and the sullen Centurion of the Second, the familiar emaciated figure of Indus. ¡°Legatus the First is ready to depart for Visserhaven.¡± Glycia reported loudly. ¡°The mounted Scorpios?¡± ¡°Already on the move sir. They were at Merenda¡¯s Docks last night.¡± ¡°Couldn¡¯t you lads have given my name to a more prominent place?¡± Marcus-Antonius griped. ¡°It¡¯s a plaguing fishing spot. Is the beach there nice at least?¡± ¡°Not really sir,¡± Glycia admitted rigidly. ¡°The lake floods anything bordering it after a heavy rain.¡± Marcus-Antonius stared at the angry dark sky. It was about to pour down buckets on their heads again. ¡°Maybe the weather will improve en route,¡± he told the inflexible veteran Primus Pilus. Glycia was well into his forties. ¡°I don¡¯t believe it shall sir. But I¡¯ll wager it¡¯ll worsen.¡± You ain¡¯t getting a laugh out of this one, Antonius decided. ¡°I guess we¡¯ll taste the local splendors soaked after all,¡± Marcus-Antonius jested much to Domus¡¯ mirth, no one laughing harder than Vegetius until the sobering up Domus¡¯ landed a loud slap on Cucan¡¯s helm that rattled the legionnaire and forced his friend to stop. ¡°Prefect¡­ I wasn¡¯t the one¡ª!¡± A stunned Cucan protested whilst trying to get his helm to sit right again. Domus cut him off abruptly afore Cucan had the chance to finish. ¡°You were standing closer.¡± Morning, 30th day of the Eleventh month of 194 NC Visserhaven, large village lake Port North banks of Granlake Marcus-Antonius stepped out on the roof of the two-story building at the center of Visserhaven. The sole main street, wide enough for four carriages to travel side by side and leading to the arched gatehouse. The latter along with some remnants of outer walls in the periphery part of the old city that had disappeared under the lake and buried in mud. Standing at two meters tall these parts of the ancient wall had been incorporated into the village¡¯s houses. A thunder crackled on the sky, but no more rain came. The downpour had lasted through the night and the morning had found the deserted village port under a foot of water. The main street turning into a shallow canal that one could easily traverse but not without soaking his boots and pants thoroughly. ¡°Just once,¡± Domus griped unable to find something to lift his spirits, not after taking a monumental tumble after stepping inside a shallow hidden crevice by the side of the street. The Prefect had found a small fish swimming inside his helm when he finally ploughed it out of the mire. He was still dripping water and had found no solace in Marcus-Antonius¡¯ tease about the weather being fine considering what it had been like in their previous campaigns. ¡°I¡¯d like to visit a well-made city with coin in purse, walk on a wide dry and tiled street, then sleep in a fancy palace,¡± he continued scrubbing at the mire on his neck with a dirty towel using his good hand. ¡°We went to that place in Asturia,¡± Marcus-Antonius reminded him. ¡°That was Naossis¡¯ temple. People lit a candle, offered prayers for surviving the war.¡± ¡°Well, I found it rather comfy to sleep in.¡± ¡°Not everyone takes the Goddess¡¯ liturgies literally Legatus.¡± ¡°Domus,¡± Marcus-Antonius said looking at him meaningfully. ¡°You are wrong my friend and quite close-minded in your bucolic thinking.¡± Glycia cleared his throat interrupting them. ¡°If he low-key insults you, then he likes you,¡± Domus explained to the serious Primus Pilus. ¡°Our Legatus is childish like that.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll keep it in mind,¡± Glycia rustled and pointed at the Scorpio installed at the edge of the roof aimed down the flooded central street. ¡°We have four inside the village, another six overlooking the road from the copse. Eighty meters, so within range.¡± ¡°You have a Century guarding the machines?¡± Marcus-Antonius asked. ¡°The 3rd.¡± The Legatus nodded and glanced at the growling skies above them. ¡°You think the waters will rise more?¡± ¡°The north shores to King¡¯s Forest edge turn to bogs in winter,¡± Glycia replied inflexibly. ¡°Can we hold the village?¡± ¡°They¡¯ll need to come inside and take it sir. We¡¯ll make it very painful. Most tend to give up after enough hurting is administered.¡± Welp, I got nothing else Glycia. You got everything covered it seems. Hmm. Marcus-Antonius shook his head and walked next to the covered with a sheet machine. Its crew saluting and stepping away. He stared across the street at the opposite roof, also occupied by legionnaires and then turned to Glycia. ¡°They¡¯ll come down the Capital¡¯s road if they appear at some point,¡± he told him. ¡°Turn west and approach Visserhaven gates and the outer walls. There are twelve houses at the periphery incorporated into the old wall we have demolished. That¡¯s your barrier. A pile of rubble. Then they will be in the village.¡± ¡°No room to deploy fancy tactics sir. The main street is the best path but we have it covered and we¡¯ll bottle them up.¡± ¡°You might get cut off.¡± ¡°Indus is in a more precarious position. That forest goes through his line and splits the front between Meertje and Moeras.¡± Yeah it does. ¡°Indus has the rangers with him and Damascus is covering his rear and the back road,¡± Marcus-Antonius replied. ¡°If Meertje falls Damascus might be busy protecting the flank.¡± ¡°Mm. But can they support an attack there through the thick forest?¡± Marcus-Antonius wondered and pursed his mouth thoughtfully. ¡°Is that tower sturdy? Never seen an uglier structure.¡± ¡°Celsus called it a raised weapons platform that looks like a tower,¡± Glycia replied. ¡°Difficult to attack up a slope with machines firing on you, a stone barrier at the top.¡± ¡°I just hope Celsus is right and that they¡¯ll eventually come through the center,¡± the Legatus said and watched the legionnaires bringing down walls to create ramparts that blocked the side alleys. Everyone splashing about in the semi-flooded streets of Visserhaven. ¡°The locals were pretty eager to abandon the place.¡± ¡°The best ground leads to the slopes through the center. Nice road, open fields and flat terrain. Celsus has an arithmetic view of any problems as in that at the end of day everything is finite in number. So he looks to bring that number down with brutal methods. You give him the opportunity to work uninterrupted and he¡¯ll kill a lot men.¡± Glycia replied. ¡°But you¡¯ll need to make sure the new Cohorts hold in the center sir.¡± ¡°All scouts say the forest camp is too small,¡± Marcus-Antonius noted after a small pause. ¡°Maybe a blocking force?¡± ¡°A small camp inside a very big forest. A long road cutting through it.¡± Glycia reminded him ominously. ¡°There¡¯s that of course. We¡¯ve only glimpsed at a small portion of it Glycia.¡± ¡°I expect lots of horses¡¯ sir, which is what we lack the most.¡± Glycia retorted gruffly. ¡°But horses don¡¯t like mud or watery holes and the main road from the capital has more caltrops than pebbles sprinkled on it. So it might not be important in the end. If I¡¯m them, I¡¯d wait for summer. Attack over hard ground from all sides.¡± Yeah. And you could be right. But this a window of opportunity and time is ticking away. ¡°They¡¯ll go for the flanks first. Indus or here.¡± Marcus-Antonius decided and Glycia nodded as if it was to be expected. ¡°Then attack the center hoping to overwhelm us and reach the castle¡¯s walls.¡± ¡°Celsus¡¯ cone might not be easy to traverse,¡± the unflappable Glycia rustled in an even tone.
The Legatus walked downstairs and then out in the street where Vegetius and Cucan were waiting. Vegetius using a spear to fish in the shallow murky waters, splashing about energetically. Marcus-Antonius paused, his new boots covered in mud and water reaching over his ankles. He stared at the slowly getting ¡®fortified¡¯ village and then turned to a frowned Domus. ¡°There goes our morning field trip. We¡¯ll head back to Eagle¡¯s Nest from the back road and then visit Indus at Moeras. Have ourselves another one¡­¡± he started feeling water trickling under his collar. ¡°What?¡± Marcus-Antonius asked seeing Domus not paying attention to him. ¡°That¡¯s a weird-looking horse,¡± the Prefect said in awe and the alarmed Legatus twisted around to gawk at the small gates. A rider had appeared under the arched gateway, three legionnaires carrying a large log over their shoulders missing him completely. Two more that were pushing a cart laden with pilums inside a broken street-facing house wall failing to notice the stranger as well, although the Decanus watching them did pause in alarm to gaze at the frozen rider. Another rider had come up behind the first. He stopped abruptly upon seeing the seemingly abandoned village teeming with soldiers and turned his horse around still inside the gateway¡¯s tunnel. ¡°SCOUTS!¡± The Decanus boomed and dropped his arm to his gladius already running towards the first Horselord with the bones-covered exotic saddle. The Khanate¡¯s scout turned his horse around using his knees, torso always facing the approaching Decanus and grabbed at a curved bow while everyone at the near, including the Legatus, scrabbled to action. An arrow stopped the Decanus. It got wedged on his sternum armour with a dull thump and shoved him back, another breaking apart on his right shoulder¡¯s plate. Marcus-Antonius sprinted towards the hurt officer, boots hitting the water, while the two running legionnaires cut in front him armed with pilums. The last arriving scout was already out of the gates, his friend now inside the narrow tunnel. ¡°AIM FOR THE PLAGUING GATE!¡± Marcus-Antonius roared at the two legionnaires and they finally loosed their javelin-type weapons one after the other. The Scout just couldn¡¯t maneuver inside the narrow tunnel and got nailed by a pilum low in the back, near the kidneys. The second skewered him through the back of the neck and pushed him violently off of the saddle. It sent the hapless scout to crash on the side walls of the small tunnel like a broken ragdoll. ¡°Find the range! Gods darn it!¡± A sergeant of engineers bellowed from the rooftops overlooking the road. ¡°Fire over the gates!¡± ¡°Bellay that order!¡± A heavy breathing and soaked to the undergarments Marcus-Antonius growled whilst directing the two legionnaires to go and help the hopefully not fatally injured Decanus. ¡°DO NOT FIRE THAT WEAPON SERGEANT!¡± ¡°Sir?¡± ¡°Let him go,¡± Marcus-Antonius grunted hoarsely and walked to the arched gateway to find the fallen Khanate scout. He stooped over the bleeding corpse, noticed that some of the man¡¯s blood had splattered on the stone wall and grimaced. ¡°Antonius damn it,¡± an animated Domus grunted coming up behind him, boots thudding on the cobblestone pathway. ¡°Now what?¡± ¡°This poor chap was a scout,¡± Marcus-Antonius informed him and stood up to glance at the dead Horselord¡¯s horse that had stopped at the edge of the tunnel about four meters away. ¡°Small quiver, a saber, a lot of supplies in those bags. Not a Horse Archer.¡± ¡°You think there are more in those woods?¡± Come on my friend. Hope must follow the facts. ¡°Is the ground wet after the rain?¡± Merenda retorted and smacked his lips annoyed as he could feel water dripping down his back and legs. ¡°Does the Legatus have any more insight on their numbers?¡± Domus taunted and offered Marcus-Antonius a cloth to wipe some of the mud he¡¯d covered himself with. The Legatus waved it off as it was pointless with the weather worsening every day. Not with another ride coming right after for them. ¡°If that was just the scouts camp then we are about to use all those wooden bolts Celsus has been making I¡¯m afraid,¡± he replied soberly and glanced at the aloof Vegetius and Cucan approaching them. The former having a still thrashing fish nailed at the tip of his spear. ¡°And then some.¡± ¡°When you make sense sir,¡± Domus noted crooking his mouth, Vegetius tossing the fish back in a pool of water before entering the gateway tunnel while the Prefect had his back turned on them. ¡°I¡¯m less worried but not by a lot.¡± ¡°Why¡­ when didn¡¯t I make sense dear Prefect?¡± ¡°Most of the other times dear Legatus.¡± ¡°Eh. You¡¯re atypically moody today. It¡¯s the weather. Do want to hear something uplifting?¡± Antonius asked him with a manic grin. ¡°Sirs, Legatus,¡± the coy Vegetius saluted and poked the dead scout once with his spear to be thorough and professional. ¡°We came as fast as we could.¡± ¡°I knew I¡¯ve spoken too soon,¡± Domus griped and Marcus-Antonius grabbed his shoulder to gaze in the Prefect¡¯s tensed face meaningfully. ¡°They are about to attack inside a giant semi-circle,¡± Antonius started with Domus immediately launching a protest before he could finish. ¡°Just stop. I don¡¯t need to be fed turds. Our north flank is so thinly covered, might as well be open!¡± ¡°They don¡¯t know that. The unknown is a barrier unto its own,¡± the Legatus reminded him and the two legionnaires nodded to show their full support to their commanding officer despite missing most of the previous conversation. Bloody rascals. ¡°We are going to win this Domus. Remember the words I¡¯ve told you the last time we¡¯ve fought side by side?¡± ¡°The last time we stood in the field together sir I got trampled by a dead horse to an inch of life and spent the next six months in a hospital pissing soup,¡± Domus argued stiffly and showed Antonius his ruined arm. ¡°And yet here you are now a proud high-ranking officer, milking this old story for all that it worth¡¯s,¡± the Legatus countered smartly and turned to glare at the shifty-looking Cucan and Vegetius. ¡°You two grab the corpse and take his horse. We lack in mounts,¡± he ordered the odd couple and walked out of the tunnel to march towards his own horse. -
On the last month of the year 194 NC, after a series of skirmishes the previous week or weeks, Dhin-Awal who had been informed from his lead scout¡¯s (Mereb of Que Ki-La) forays into enemy territory about the presence of enemy infantry in Visserhaven, ordered the Horse Archers leader Kontar (Visserhaven Group) to secure the lake port. Given Visserhaven¡¯s proximity to the petite plateau that Eagle¡¯s Nest had been built on ¨Cin order to avoid constant flooding- and the presence of the rich undergrowth along the trees touching the lake-facing slopes on that side, Dhin-Awal wanted to bring his war machines safely near the town and bombard it from the flank. The second objective of the immediately departing Kontar was to push forward following the lake¡¯s shoreline, bypass the richer forest hugging the plateau and find an exit to the defender¡¯s rear areas thus cutting them off from the road to Forestfort and any potential reinforcements. While the Horse Archers (Birka had set aside half a division to bolster Kontar¡¯s flanking attack) moved en masse towards Visserhaven, on the other side of the front, Mereb¡¯s scouts had managed to penetrate the frontline unseen and after following the thick woods found themselves between Centurion Indus¡¯ Second Cohort ¨Cstationed inside Moeras- and Aulus Cita¡¯s Rangers ¨Cstationed in Meertje and the strip of forest splitting the frontline there- for long enough to deliver an accurate report to Dhin-Awal before they were discovered. The culprit Decanus Noud Kost, a veteran Issir tracker that had enlisted in the Legion¡¯s Rangers. Dhin-Awal immediately ordered Pourem¡¯s infantry (North Group) to attack Moeras, overrun the village and reach as far as the back road running between the third lake and the grain windmills, which would have cut off Meertje port (located in Smallake) and its defenders. With the flanks secure, the Khanate general would then have ordered the pouring out of the forest infantry and horsemen to attack Eagle¡¯s Nest or besiege it to submission. The scout¡¯s warning ¡®of non-Issirs in Visserhaven¡¯ taken with a grain of salt since the Reserve Army hadn¡¯t come face to face with central Jelin Issir soldiers before and the difference in armour reported by the lowborn illiterate Horselord scout was perceived as just one ¡®of the young Riverdor Duke¡¯s many peculiarities¡¯. Dhin-Awal was certain that Duke Charles had reinforced Eagle¡¯s Nest though and remained cautious. On the other side of the battlefield, Legatus Merenda after managing to get himself lost during a simple recon mission and ending up more than three hundred kilometers away allegedly, was now standing in the way of Khanate¡¯s third pincer. He finally reported to the Consul of the ¡®training mishap¡¯ and assured Galio Veturius that the ¡®legion is in the process of getting back quite aggrieved by the mistake¡¯. Whether aggrieved or not the Legion wasn¡¯t. It didn¡¯t move at all. Despite repeated calls for King Lucius to recall and reprimand the stalling Legatus that had crossed into another Kingdom¡¯s domain while endangering the whole outfit, Lucius kept delaying a definitive response whilst urging his general staff to contact Marcus-Antonius again. Which was far from easy. The King focused his energy instead to his family, overseeing the plans to repair Cartagen and Cartaport, restore the domed temple that had killed Di Cresta and brute-force the beginning of work for the Desert Road that was to connect Canlita Sea with South Regia. On the first month of Fall, a moved Duke Brakis was honored inside a packed court for his efforts by the King himself, who then offered his condolences for the younger Brakis¡¯ loss to the Admiral in a lovely private ceremony. When a pressured by his mostly ¡®green¡¯ soldiers poor performance in the ending year Lord Anker wrote in mid-Fall to ask ¡®whether any wandering Regia troops were perchance stationed between the lakes¡¯ Lucius had replied ¡®not to our knowledge but we could be mistaken Lord Regent¡¯ which could of course be interpreted a number of different ways. Baron Eman who was asked in turn of the same matter had replied to Lord Anker with the rather laconic and rather uncharacteristic -even abrupt for a minor Issir noble- half-cryptic ¡®Negative sire.¡¯ Merenda had gone so far off the rails, no side believed ¨Cor knew for certain- that a whole Legion was present between the lakes even after the battles had started. Kontar¡¯s Horse Archers moved against Visserhaven but were warned by scouts that the enemy had taken up positions inside the semi-flooded port village. Kontar made an initial assault, but quickly realized he couldn¡¯t advance following the central part of the shoreline (before Visserhaven) as it had turned into a bog. So his men dismounted and approached on foot from the road. They then fired a series of volleys over the short ramparts and fortifications, waited for a response and when they got none stormed the quiet village. It was a bloodbath. A stunned at the brutality Kontar pulled his men back after suffering over a hundred casualties for no gains and messaged Dhin-Awal for reinforcements, arms and armour or ¡®Satemi¡¯. The latter along with Umi, two lead Khanate engineers Rumen-Kot -the injured admiral¡¯s brother- had dispatched along the bulk of the Khan¡¯s machines to help reduce the fort. Rumen-Kot had remained with the Khan being as he was one of his advisors. Due to bad weather, the machines had been slow to get out of King¡¯s Forest and Dhin-Awal was told that moving them to the flank ¡®inside the bogs¡¯ was unwise by both engineers. So Kontar was instructed to ¡®regroup, find his spine and try again¡¯. Pourem who was advancing on Moeras with two-sevenths ¨Caround a thousand men- of Birka¡¯s 3500 mercenaries along with archers and scouts paused his assault on the larger village. He attempted another flanking attack through the bordering strip of woods but got bogged down under heavy rain and stiff resistance ¨CIndus and Cita were rotating men in and out of the woods- so the Horselord gained very little ground. In the meantime the roaming Mereb¡¯s advanced scouts informed Dhin-Awal that the road straight ahead was ¡®bad and booby-trapped while the plowed fields are clogged up and difficult to navigate.¡¯ The Khanate general called for a stop in military operations under the heavy rains of winter. Under pressure to move forward, he reinforced Kontar with five hundred of Birka¡¯s infantry and asked for more engineers to ¡®break through the northeastern woods and the center.¡¯ Rumen-Kot who read the report back in Issir¡¯s Eagle dispatched three hundred immediately but since they wouldn¡¯t arrive for at least ten days, he asked the Khan if they could utilize some of their idling forces to assist Kontar. Lord Bedas of Sidhyr, the Khan¡¯s Master of Slaves that had lost face during a slaves bloody uprising the previous months and had now over six hundred slaver guards at his disposal inside the capital, offered some of them ¡®that had served in the galleys¡¯ to be used as a makeshift ¡®marine force.¡¯ The idea was to sail across the flooded Smallake and reach Serpent''s Tongue River¡¯s Delta Marches near Meertje. They had already started amassing boats to attempt to sail down the large river after the winter and reach Riverdor but the naval defeat and losses at Colle had delayed their plans. Once on land, they could assault Meertje and take it over, then link up with Kontar¡¯s trapped in the woods troops. Khan agreed to Rumen-Kot¡¯s plan and less than two weeks later during a hailstorm, Bedas slaver-guards landed near Meertje opening another front to Indus¡¯ northeastern flank. Indus ordered Cita who attempted to defend the village to retreat in the woods and the rangers managed to escape the sudden flanking assault while defending against Pourem¡¯s force. Pourem¡¯s infantry attacked Moeras trying to cut them off inside the narrow strip of woods but despite entering some of the ruined buildings they were pushed back. A hundred meters of ground separating Moeras from the thin line of trees turned into no man¡¯s land with war machines from both sides aimed at the narrow gap in the frontline. A month later no one had moved or made any further gains. While the situation was far from pleasant for the defenders, Marcus-Antonius had managed to surprise and eventually stop Dhin-Awal. One must credit the young Legatus ¨Cafter criticizing his reckless actions- for remaining optimistic and quick-thinking against a vastly superior force whilst inspiring the locals to assist him. Whether Marcus-Antonius was aware of what was against him or not has never been answered clearly till this day and people tend to overblow past feats blinded by the results. For what¡¯s worth King Lucius later summed up Merenda¡¯s ¡®one man campaign against the Horselords¡¯ with a noteworthy annotation. ¡®In war, he who has foresight outperforms an otherwise stronger foe for he steps into the battlefield better prepared. It is an instinct but it can be honed and sharpened. Couple this with vision and bravery, then you¡¯ll have more often than not a winner. I believe that deep down all of us standing here would have wished to be in our brave Marcus-Antonius¡¯ boots.¡¯ Far be it from this author to question Praetor Maximus¡¯ words but if I was to offer my humble opinion here, the King was already missing being on campaign not a year after Regia¡¯s Civil War had finished and saw Merenda¡¯s risky actions as a projection of his innermost ambitions. Most of the people knowing him could sense it, despite the busy Lucius not revealing his inner thoughts in public and performing his duties to the fullest. Perhaps we were all safer whilst on the harsh campaign¡¯s trail and sharing common discomforts with dignity. ¡®War is bad, messy and very ugly no question about it -for all. It isn¡¯t as lethal for the few ¡®just people¡¯ amongst us though and undoubtedly far less dangerous than politics or court intrigue¡¯ as another great mind -history cruelly tossed aside- had once told this author.
Lord Sirio Veturius The Fall of Heroes Chapter XXII Legatus Marcus-Antonius Merenda, -Also addressed- ¡®King & Queen¡¯s favored¡¯, the ¡®volatile Quadrumvir¡¯ ¡®I Loran-Nore¡¯** or ¡®Nya Vanya Maethor¡¯ when on Eplas* Volume II Merenda¡¯s Gambit Chapter III The forgotten front A series of brutal battles fought between the Great Lakes, Also known as the ¡®good Legatus war¡¯ in Issir literature Circa eleventh month of 194 NC to late Spring of 195 NC Followed by ¡®A feeling worthy of being court-martialed¡¯
* To distinguish him from the ¡®Solid Quadrumvir¡¯ Legatus Nonus Sula, the ¡®Savvy Quadrumvir¡¯ Tribune Trupo and the ¡®Resolute Quadrumvir¡¯ Propraetor Macrinus. It is worthy of note that despite the differences in rank the four generals all had a legion at their disposal. Sula the Fourth, Marcus-Antonius the First, Trupo the Third (through Consul Veturius) and of course Macrinus the Fifth or Nordic. ** From the Imperial translation of the ancient name Laran/Loran-Lorian + the term Nore/Nori meaning ¡®the Lorian¡¯. The second very warm moniker for the usually reserved in their affections in public Wetull natives was only heard once in front of an audience.
480. A lot of moving parts
Storm Nattas A lot of moving parts
¡°He managed to secure most of the landowners support somehow.¡± Sudi reported. Ursus got to them. Storm Nattas was seated on the marble bench inside the garden and stared at the rooftops of the artisan buildings over his garden¡¯s south wall. The White District spreading out over the opposite north corner, with its taller villas and much nicer atmosphere. Fucking rich noble cunts, leaving no room for the good ladder-climbing folk that are trying to get a foot in. Cheaply that is. ¡°But he dropped out of sight,¡± Sudi continued with a brief glance at Moore and Grin camping on the wet lawn not that far from the loggia but further inside the flower garden. They showed little Silvio how to re-tie his muddy sandals. ¡°Which elevated our Reganus of Moon¡¯s Haven as a favorite given he has your support.¡± ¡°What if the man resurfaces?¡± Storm asked absentmindedly, his attention on Silvio that had trouble getting the simple job done. The bouts of stupidity in the boy troubling. ¡°He¡¯s just too deep to make it,¡± Sudi replied ambiguously. Novesium¡¯s ambitious new Mayor candidate is sleeping with the fishes was the loyal lackey¡¯s meaning. ¡°Reganus is going to win the race and while he¡¯s an idiot, he is also controllable.¡± Sudi added and turned upon hearing Moore opening the villa¡¯s garden loggia door to come outside. The Lesia reformed thug carrying a square wine box made out of white plank. Moore brought it to their table, the morning¡¯s downpour making everything soggy inside Natta¡¯s villa, but the chill in the air was manageable. Cartagen¡¯s winters were always mild though not as warm as those of Regia¡¯s south coast. ¡°Chief. The ship arrived in Cartaport,¡± Moore reported and Storm grimaced unsure. He was still thinking of the Novesium conundrum. ¡°Did the convoy make it?¡± Sudi asked him. ¡°Two ships came back. One had to stop at Scaldingport for repairs. We lost a sloop to weather or pirates.¡± Welp, there goes a good pile of coin. ¡°Parkor has the diaries?¡± Sudi asked. ¡°He does. But he¡¯s still going through the captain¡¯s ledger.¡± Moore opened the lid of the box and started getting bottles out. ¡°Leave that for a moment,¡± Nattas intervened. ¡°We need to get to Ursus Sudi. Else his son will control events from afar. He might put another man forth.¡± ¡°The King will deal with Ursus boss,¡± Sudi assured him. ¡°He ain¡¯t seeing the light of day again.¡± ¡°Here¡¯s the thing though, I¡¯m not as comfortable with this development,¡± Nattas argued. ¡°Because there¡¯s always a chance Lucius might pardon him.¡± ¡°You think he would?¡± ¡°He just congratulated Lord Brakis,¡± Nattas hissed. ¡°I stood there in shock listening to this sentimental bullshit. You want to speak of loss? How about me losing a seat in the Council? Or getting tossed in jail? Exiled, not to mention all the attempts on my life!¡± ¡°You had to step down chief,¡± Sudi reminded him and used one of the Baron¡¯s old canes to tap at the half-empty box. ¡°What else is there inside?¡± ¡°Things they wanted sent to Asturia,¡± Moore replied and Nattas grimaced a little frustrated. ¡°Who is they?¡± He snapped. ¡°Hardir¡¯s people,¡± Moore explained. ¡°Half the cargo brought back was theirs. But we took a peek inside.¡± He added and gave Storm two different colored, smooth rocks. The surface almost glassy. One milky and the other a dark orange. Nattas signed for him to deposit them on the table in front of him. ¡°What am I looking at?¡± ¡°The white one makes light, if touched in the dark,¡± Moore replied as if he knew what he was talking about. ¡°Like a slap or a tit rub?¡± Nattas chanced. ¡°How much touching are we talking about?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t tested it chief.¡± ¡°Yet you are certain they haven¡¯t bamboozled you? Looks small enough to insert in yer arse. I¡¯ve seen some priestesses plugged this way. They even had jewels attached that sparkled if you got them arse-cheeks spread apart enough. All am saying, might this be something kinkier in nature?¡± Sudi cracked a smile but then stared at Moore for an answer. ¡°The captain saw them work in Mussel. They turn night to day,¡± Moore insisted. ¡°Don¡¯t know nothing about no kinky stuff chief.¡± ¡°Magic,¡± Storm retorted mockingly. ¡°These were an awful lot of negatives there Moore. I now stand wary of you son. Is there something you want to share?¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s more a chemical matter,¡± Sudi intervened. ¡°They need to be left outside during the day to properly work in the night.¡± ¡°Thus we descend into the shady alleyways of Alchemy and the mystic arts,¡± Storm mused sarcastically and shook his head afore sobering up. ¡°Put it to the test.¡± ¡°Yes chief. You want to try it now?¡± Gods forbid! It might explode in our faces! ¡°Didn¡¯t you say it doesn¡¯t work in the daylight?¡± Moore puffed his cheeks out undecided. ¡°I did.¡± He finally said forlornly. Storm sighed. ¡°What does the other do?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a firestone,¡± Moore replied recovering somewhat. ¡°A gift from the Monarch to the Adventurers Guild.¡± ¡°As in Framtond¡¯s fabled firestones?¡± Moore stared at him blankly. Seriously? ¡°He¡¯s¡­ never mind. Can we get more of them?¡± Storm asked. ¡°They are not in the market.¡± Ouch. ¡°Which is how much?¡± ¡°We might need to do another favor for the Monarch.¡± ¡°Alright. I see preliminary talks have begun.¡± Nattas said acerbically. ¡°What does he want?¡± ¡°Access to Lesia¡¯s wine market.¡± Sudi deadpanned. ¡°He wants us to break the embargo for him. Sneak the product inside the cities and deliver it to venues.¡± ¡°Welp, I stand mildly bewildered he didn¡¯t outright ask to bed my daughter on top of that,¡± Storm sneered. ¡°Or maybe he did and you foolishly told him she¡¯s married? Because I¡¯m willing to consider it for a brave discount.¡± ¡°We didn¡¯t really¡­ the captain didn¡¯t speak with the Monarch.¡± Of course he didn¡¯t. I bet he runs a tight ship. ¡°What¡¯s the tithe right now?¡± Storm asked stooping forward, both hands resting on the cane he¡¯d between his legs. ¡°Equal to the price of a bottle, on top.¡± Sudi replied. ¡°Else Flauegran just stops deliveries. Lucius has ordered the merchant unions to respect Lesia¡¯s rights in the wine market.¡± ¡°But it¡¯s the threat that counts more.¡± Storm expounded. ¡°You want to have all the Flauegran good labels in your lofty venue.¡± ¡°Ayup,¡± Sudi said and offered him a cup. ¡°I have tasted it already. That Aranel. Pretty good.¡± ¡°Taste them one after the other.¡± Sudi insisted and Nattas did. ¡°For comparison.¡± He blinked and then reached for his glass of blue-label Flauegran. The Baron worked the wine in his mouth for a moment and then swallowed. ¡°Um. This one is more similar I think.¡± ¡°Spring wine. You favor summer¡¯s vintages but Aranel is much closer to Spring¡¯s grapes which Flauegran is famous for.¡± ¡°The same recipe. Nourished in different ground which is logical given the distance involved.¡± Nattas decided a little surprised. ¡°Do we have any of Goras¡¯ version of summer wine?¡± ¡°It¡¯s reserved for the Monarch,¡± Sudi explained with a smirk. ¡°But variations of it are sold in Goras. I think both recipes are the same. The Monarch has gotten his hand inside the Wine Barons cookie-jar. They call it ¡®Taria ¡®O Mir¡¯ by the way.¡± ¡°Which means?¡± Storm asked bringing the metal goblet near his nose to sniff at the flowery aroma. ¡°The Queen of gems.¡± The Zilan are punching the Barons naming schemes repeatedly in the face for sure, he thought. Flauegran wine moguls named their different wines based on the color of the labels glued on the bottles. Blue. Red. White. Storm stared at the light reddish wine dancing inside the bronze interior of the goblet and crooked his mouth in deep contemplation. ¡°What do our friends in Faro report of the Baron¡¯s plans?¡± Nattas asked casually placing the goblet on the table and taking the milky stone in his hand. ¡°Baron Riveras met with Simon Mclean last month,¡± Sudi said and poured himself a large mug of Goras¡¯ wine using one of the cheaper ceramic mugs with a side-handle intended for water or beer. Seeing Storm eyeing him curious for not going for the open Flauegran bottle, Sudi shrugged his shoulders and sipped at the wine carefully as if it was medicine. ¡°I like it better. Leaves no burning in the stomach.¡± ¡°For fuck¡¯s sake. The Zilan are also using their dirty feet to crush the grapes Sudi,¡± Storm hissed. ¡°There¡¯s no fucking magic involved in the blasted wine!¡± Sudi used a thumb to show Nattas his scarred face. ¡°This needs all the help it can get chief,¡± he insisted and Nattas rolled his eyes to the white in exasperation. ¡°Why meet with Simon and not Manuela?¡± Nattas growled but his face relaxed hearing Silvio¡¯s happy chuckle. He turned his head and saw that Sirio with Maja had arrived much to the boy¡¯s delight. Miranda was staying in the palace and inviting her for a visit and a quick roll in the hay was out of the question obviously. But still very annoying. ¡°Manuela has left Atetalerso. So Simon took over,¡± Sudi replied. ¡°What do you think they are cooking?¡± Nattas queried watching the couple playing with his son. ¡°Four transports and four brigs plus that galleass,¡± Sudi expounded. ¡°Are being loaded in Cediorum. The 333 mercenary company has arrived there also. At least two smaller companies.¡± ¡°How many is that?¡± ¡°Close to two thousand soldiers.¡± Storm stood back with a grunt. ¡°Has Armium issued any orders?¡± ¡°The 2nd Legion is building new barracks at Alesian Fort. Hasn¡¯t moved in months. No orders were issued. This is a cleared by the Bank Operation.¡± ¡°Yet, Lady Manuela isn¡¯t involved,¡± Storm mused. ¡°Is she¡­?¡± He stooped near Sudi. ¡°Any word of our friends?¡± ¡°They have probably arrived in Asturia by now,¡± Sudi replied with a glance at Maja that pushed Silvio¡¯s curls behind his small slightly pointy ears, combing them with the watching Sirio Veturius¡¯ ivory hair comb. The assassin paused sensing Sudi¡¯s stare and turned her raven-colored head to return it tauntingly. Nattas pursed his mouth, turned to his right himself in order to reach for the goblet and recoiled almost losing control of his cane seeing the Issir Griet sitting in the spare chair next to a rubbing at the firestone distracted Moore. Abrakas cold tentacles grabs you by the fucking armpits! ¡°Fucking hells!¡± Nattas croaked with a strangled gasp and then snapped at the lackey angrily. ¡°Put that shit down you blasted orangutan!¡± ¡°Can I have the white stone?¡± Griet asked syrupy. ¡°You can¡¯t. But you can suck my cock under the table. Use only the lips.¡± ¡°Sure. But maybe I tell the Queen about it?¡± Griet taunted. ¡°Girl, if I start talking too you¡¯ll find yourself wishing you¡¯d fallen on this table instead. Cheeks spread and well-oiled to better receive hard cock up the arse,¡± Nattas retorted soberly. ¡°Now get the fuck off my table.¡± Griet got up with a scowl, thought about it some searching for the watching Maja and then gave a shrug with her shoulders. Nattas watched her walking back inside his villa until Sudi interrupted him. ¡°They are going to strike chief.¡± Uh? Storm grimaced and glared his way. ¡°Don¡¯t be an idiot.¡± ¡°They are going in. Not much of an army in Goras.¡± ¡°According to whom? A couple of drunkards at the port?¡± ¡°Mussel is deserted almost.¡± ¡°Mussel is a fucking smuggling spot dabbling as a ruin!¡± ¡°Sinya Goras is half the size of Colle in local population.¡± Sudi insisted. ¡°Taras is not a military outpost and most of the Zilan army is missing.¡± ¡°Are you sure? Are they on vacation or something? How about the wyvern?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t believe¡­¡± ¡°I doubt there¡¯s magic in the fucking wine,¡± Storm hissed in frustration. ¡°Or the bloody stones! There is either a wyvern on the loose out there or there isn¡¯t. That¡¯s a big fucking risk to take! Not to mention fighting against Zilan.¡± ¡°They¡¯ll call it a raid. The cities are too far apart. They¡¯ll torch the port and destroy the vines by the time a proper response is raised. You know they¡¯ve done it before. In Sovya, Eikenport. They¡¯ll leave no witnesses.¡± ¡°What are you saying Sudi?¡± Nattas asked through his teeth. ¡°They are gonna test this Monarch. Lots of wild stories out there. Is this just a clever pirate that took control of the remnants of Wetull? If there is no power behind the tale then the Bank could take control of the ports, venture into the interior and Flauegran would secure its dominance over all markets for the next two hundred years.¡± ¡°Nobody knows what¡¯s beyond Goras or the Reefs Sudi. What? Ruins? Broken swords or used old furniture? How about a couple of more Zilan cities. Hey, maybe the army is vacationing there! Then what?¡± Nattas grunted. ¡°Why take the risk? What is the Bank really looking for?¡± ¡°They say that if you reach the Talons, then to your east you¡¯ll find the Sinking Isles within days of travel.¡± Sudi explained. ¡°Whomever controls those southernmost Wetull¡¯s ports would then stand at striking distance from the Isles. Jewels for pebbles and gems under the rocks. A lake¡¯s bottom made of diamonds. Even if there¡¯s nothing left of any worth in Wetull, it¡¯ll be worth it.¡± Ah, the tales of faraway lands of fortune all the port harlots recite to customers because some drunkard sailor told them. A vicious cycle. Then again¡­ Nattas looked at him in silence. ¡°They want to penetrate the Khanate¡¯s market. While also pushing the gem merchants out of Jelin¡¯s cities, now that they are cut off from the Bank of Dinar¡¯s funding and the Khan¡¯s army. But you need the raw materials for that. Gems are not wood to grow near water. The Stonemaze Peaks have precious stones in their guts but they are disputed. Sovya, Regia, Lesia, not to mention the dwarves living there and were the first to arrive. Then there are the deserts of Diamant in the far south but those lands are controlled by the Davenports of Levacum. You can¡¯t profit out of Kings or their kin for long because in the end they can just keep what they want without asking. Or paying.¡±Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°You can though squash the immediate competition.¡± Sudi said with a smirk. ¡°That¡¯s too ambitious for old Federico. He¡¯s too practical. This is a younger mans¡¯ gambit,¡± Nattas decided and smacked his lips. ¡°A port could secure a direct trade route to Eplas.¡± Sudi offered with a shrug. ¡°Is that realistic enough for the old cunt? It will make the package better.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way the Cofols of the Peninsula would ever allow Mclean to interfere in their business. Even if they have broken with the Toka of Dinar. Neither would the latter. Of course the Toka are busy with the Khan¡¯s stupid war at this point.¡± Storm sighed deeply and stood up pushing on his cane for leverage. ¡°Everyone is looking at Kaltha now. But what else could have triggered a response from the Bank? Leave the Wine Barons out, they are the excuse.¡± ¡°Maybe the Cofols have their own plans hatched and this is a reaction?¡± Sudi offered with Nattas adding after a small thoughtful pause. ¡°The Sopat have access to Eplas already. Then again they do have to travel through the hostile Khanate¡¯s lands now¡­ hmm,¡± the Baron of Moon¡¯s Haven said. ¡°I have the strange suspicion Sudi that there might a way through the Reefs after all. Forget about the Sinking Isles, although it¡¯s pretty exciting as an idea, nothing beats the value of a short and direct trade route.¡± Especially if there is a stop in between that could offer ports and infrastructure for the merchant fleets. Of course the latter made the Wine Barons raid even more difficult to pull off. Ports and infrastructure isn¡¯t what bandit leaders or pirate kings are famous for, but they are the mark of a developed and organized kingdom. Of Zilan. Ah. This won¡¯t go well at all. - Afternoon 13th of Ultimus 194 NC King¡¯s Baths Cartagen Kingdom of Greater Regia ¡°Dear Salonius,¡± Nattas said hurrying up after the wealthy merchant. Which wasn¡¯t an easy thing to do, legs and shoes still relatively soaked as Storm had gotten out of the pool haphazardly. The tiled corridor hugging the baths plenty wet as well. Slippery as all fucks. Claud Salonius turned around, his head a mess as he¡¯d a towel on earlier and looked at the hobbling his way Storm. The tap of the cane followed by the shuffle of feet and people standing to the side to let the cripple through. Not out of respect but more not to catch whatever Nattas had as if it was contagious. ¡°Baron Nattas,¡± Salonius said and he had to work hard to appear even remotely polite. ¡°I heard a voice but couldn¡¯t recognize it.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve spent time with the army and caught a bit of a northern accent,¡± Nattas retorted mockingly. ¡°Now since I have the better ears between the two of us, I happened to hear the merchant¡¯s guild will have a meeting. Has Mayor Messor given out the invites yet?¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid this was yesterday,¡± Salonius said in a sad tone, not looking sad at all. ¡°The clerks weren¡¯t¡¯ aware you were in the city.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve met at court a week ago. I was standing across from you and Messor.¡± ¡°Ah, my eyes are also pretty poor these days. It¡¯s the winter and all,¡± Salonius replied and sighed looking at the exit. ¡°I have a carriage waiting and one more meeting afore nightfall Baron.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll walk with you outside. I¡¯ve a carriage waiting as well,¡± Storm rustled through his teeth. ¡°I can afford it thankfully.¡± ¡°Eh. It is surprising that you can,¡± Salonius replied and started walking slowly to allow Nattas to keep up with him. ¡°I heard your crop yield was decent but the product wasn¡¯t well-received?¡± ¡°It found audience in the cheaper venues,¡± Nattas hissed defending his wine. ¡°There¡¯s a market for it. Quite large actually.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know it. Do you even make profit? What you have now two ships?¡± Salonius probed. Fourteen. In two different companies. ¡°I¡¯m doing well enough.¡± ¡°Why not bring your office to Cartagen or Cartaport?¡± I pay no taxes in Turtle Isles. And the authorities ask no questions. I¡¯m the authorities. ¡°Looking for a place as a matter of fact.¡± Storm lied. ¡°Messor could help out a fellow member of the guild.¡± Messor can go fuck himself in his stables. Plenty of girthy cock to be found there. ¡°You have¡­ ehm, a warehouse in Asturia yes?¡± Nattas asked instead as they got outside of the baths gardens. The large boulevard heading west to east ¨Cfrom the Silos to Artisan Shops, also the border with the large city center. ¡°In the port, but I have also a large building near the south walls.¡± ¡°The Slums?¡± Salonius pursed his mouth annoyed. ¡°Well before that. Inside the walls. Why?¡± ¡°The Holts don¡¯t really like Flauegran dominating the market over their local wines,¡± Nattas explained. ¡°Don¡¯t they have a special tithe imposed ¡®in imported products¡¯?¡± ¡°A known fact.¡± Salonius retorted impatiently. ¡°But for the temple needing it for their liturgies, the Duke would have banned it in favor of his own.¡± ¡°What if the priestesses were convinced to endorse another vintage? Would the Duke be lenient on that?¡± ¡°Lenient as in not taxing it?¡± Salonius queried furrowing his brows. ¡°For a share of the profit,¡± Nattas replied. ¡°Baron your wine¡­ I tasted it. Listen¡­ it is still early days. Give it another ten years and it¡¯ll be mature enough¡ª¡± ¡°It¡¯s not my wine. I may be able to bring a lot from Goras,¡± Nattas hissed and glared at two carriages that came to stop near them. The sky responding with a crackling roar, the wind picking up and rain droplets coming down on his head. The starts of pneumonia creeping ever closer. ¡°There is no official agreement signed by the palace. The Duke can outright refuse to let you sell it,¡± Salonius pointed out. ¡°Why Asturia?¡± ¡°People fall for trends. It¡¯s a big fucking city. If Asturia¡¯s venues start selling it then the returning tourists will want to see it here as well.¡± ¡°The King has endorsed the wine barons Nattas. A trade agreement with the Zilan is premature and you getting involved with them will be frowned upon.¡± ¡°It¡¯s business Salonius. Aren¡¯t you sick of selling goat cheese?¡± ¡°I control the garments market historically. And people respect tradition. The novelty of this alien brew will wear off,¡± Salonius cautioned him. ¡°No one will shake hands with an unknown entity and risk relations with Lesia. Over what? Flauegran has cornered the market and they have the best product.¡± ¡°Historically.¡± ¡°One could go that far sure,¡± Salonius taunted. ¡°They don¡¯t. Goras works the same recipes and has the better ground I believe.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know that¡­ And same how? Did they steal them? You are not allowed to do it.¡± ¡°Maybe the Barons stole the darn recipes first?¡± Salonius looked at him with pity. ¡°That¡¯s quite a reach and a shady scheme Baron. Semi-legitimate I might add. Reeks of desperation.¡± You miserable cuck. I¡¯ll ram a steel phallus in your mouth until you run out of teeth. ¡°I would watch out if I were you. A case here and there might be fine. The product sold under the counter. In small quantities. But more? Like getting ship-loads of the stuff across the border and into port? Nah. You¡¯ll get yourself in trouble or mix up with the underworld to pull it off. And if you employ unsavory characters to help you, whatever little reputation you¡¯ve procured all these years will be tossed in the gutter. Stay out of it.¡± With that he climbed inside his carriage and closed the small door. A scowling Nattas stood by the side of the road in deep contemplation, the chilly breeze on his nape. Until he realized the second carriage had stopped in front of him, the small door open. The driver gestured with the long whip. A sign for him to get inside. Nattas raised his head, rain droplets wetting his forehead. ¡°I have my own vehicle parked across the street.¡± ¡°Baron,¡± a deep voice said from inside the carriage. ¡°Hop inside afore you catch your death.¡± Hop inside, the fat whale Duke Brakis had said. Climb up the slippery steps to reach the cabin, naught but a slip of the foot away from smashing your skull on the flagstone street and if you get spared of that sad ending then you get to squeeze yourself to reach the couch across from the Duke that had ? of the cabin occupied by himself. ¡°You are quite wet Baron.¡± Brakis noticed. ¡°It¡¯s raining your grace.¡± ¡°The baths busy?¡± ¡°They were plenty wet as well,¡± Storm retorted keeping up with the polite charade. Then he mellowed up somewhat. ¡°My condolences for your son. We haven¡¯t talked during the ceremony. A brave young man.¡± Duke Brakis gave a nod with his fleshy face, half-hidden in the carriage cabin¡¯s darkness. ¡°You had him imprisoned.¡± He finally said in his baritone voice. ¡°Saved him first, then let him go.¡± ¡°For control of the Turtle Isles.¡± ¡°And opening the door for you to make nice with the King,¡± Storm reminded him, reciting part of Lucius¡¯ words during the palace ceremony. ¡°The children of Regia shall stay united and offer sacrifice when the land commands it. Rather touching I¡¯d say.¡± Brakis turned silent again, the sound of rain rapping at the carriage¡¯s roof loud. Storm wiped his face with a sleeve and gathered the long tunic over his cold legs as the moment dragged. What the fuck do you want? ¡°Theodor¡¯s son is first in line for the Duchy,¡± Brakis finally said. ¡°Elvira¡¯s kid would have been a good choice but word is you had them killed during your raid in Novesium.¡± Nattas sat straighter on the couch. The carriage hadn¡¯t moved yet and there were guards outside despite the falling rain. ¡°Ursus is a bitter loser,¡± Storm said thinking the Duke wouldn¡¯t risk something violent so publicly. ¡°I never touched them.¡± ¡°Nine out of ten words you say are lies Nattas,¡± Brakis commented and pulled the small curtain aside to stare out of the window. The small door was still open but offered a worse view a nervous Storm guessed. ¡°Everybody lies. But in this¡­ I¡¯m not,¡± Nattas lied looking at the Duke of Illirium¡¯s profile. Why do you linger in the capital? He wondered trying to fit together all the different fragments. Ever-moving little details and shifting seemingly unrelated parts. ¡°A girl could rule,¡± Storm added since that was what the Duke¡¯s household had in abundance. ¡°I love my wife,¡± Brakis said hoarsely. ¡°But I need an heir else the Sextus-Brakis might rule Illirium.¡± ¡°Sir Vel is that close in line?¡± ¡°Sir Vel is a hero and we are blinded to color,¡± Stan Brakis explained. ¡°Eh, we are not really,¡± Storm teased and the Duke turned to stare at him soberly. ¡°You have a strange face Nattas. Long, weird,¡± he told him. Wow. You are a fat piece of lard Stan. Did I make a big thing out of it? ¡°Hair too-black turning almost blue in the sun, when you were in your youth. Skin barely white and you¡¯re from Lesia.¡± ¡°Historically,¡± Storm jested but he was being serious. ¡°You are not that Lorian-looking yourself Admiral and by Abrakas, since we are talking genetics here, the Alden had plenty of dark-haired kings. It happens.¡± ¡°It¡¯s in the facial structure and in the bones,¡± Brakis rustled expounding. ¡°You try to beat it out getting cleaner blood in, but it remains in the brain they say. A madness.¡± Storm nodded without saying anything. ¡°Sextus-Brakis have Ticu blood in them,¡± Brakis continued. ¡°Abrakas creatures,¡± Storm commented wryly. ¡°Either cunning¡­¡± ¡°Or war-like. Illirium doesn¡¯t need the latter.¡± ¡°Sometimes it works.¡± ¡°I want a different heir from my part of the family. More brains than brawn,¡± Brakis explained. ¡°Brawn had Peter killed. But you¡­ you are clever enough.¡± Nattas stood back. ¡°How old are the twins now?¡± He asked the Duke. ¡°You aren¡¯t bedding my daughters Nattas.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t¡­ although, it¡¯s part of the procedure,¡± Storm cleared his throat and stared at his fingers that were laced on the cane. Ah. ¡°Maja is married Duke.¡± ¡°I want a kid not a wife. The girls will understand,¡± Brakis explained. ¡°Name your price.¡± ¡°Thing is¡­¡± Nattas puffed out thinking whether Maja would do it. Then again¡­ ¡°I need a place to unload wine.¡± ¡°You¡¯re too cheap to rent a warehouse?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a bit more sensitive than that at this current political climate. This is wine hailing from Goras,¡± Storm expounded. ¡°Blue feet crushed, all exotic and shite.¡± ¡°Ask something else,¡± Brakis rustled. ¡°This is a dead end, whatever scheme you are running.¡± Alright. ¡°How do you know?¡± ¡°You can have your smuggler fleet moored in Illirium, but no unloading in the docks. Shares in the Bronze Mines and you¡¯ll get property and land in Rosebush,¡± Brakis dodged with a counter-offer. ¡°But I¡¯ll need to control Turtle Port in exchange. Need to keep the trade route open. I¡¯ll get a son out of the deal also. If no son is produced the deal is off but I¡¯ll compensate you for raising another bastard. That¡¯ll be¡­ your third?¡± Nattas licked his lips thoughtfully. ¡°You want to¡­ ehm. Is there a timeframe?¡± Storm asked, after pondering on the minutiae. ¡°I¡¯ll see her tonight or the morrow.¡± Brakis replied stiffly. ¡°Make it discreet Nattas.¡± ¡°Fuck your property in Rosebush,¡± Nattas countered and stood back. ¡°I want Novesium.¡± ¡°You want a Duchy?¡± Brakis retorted and chuckled. ¡°Who is going to support you? You¡¯ve no claim. How about you marry into the Alden? That¡¯s more likely. The Queen is dead Nattas. All that good-will expended. Just be grateful the worst hasn¡¯t come out, but it might.¡± He added meaningfully. Ah yes. The threat of the rogue bounty hunter. That¡¯s twice you¡¯ve reminded me of him. Either you really fancy Maja, you sad piece of lard or you¡¯ve skin in the game. ¡°I can defend myself from Ursus lies,¡± Storm grunted. ¡°Don¡¯t play innocent with me. Ursus isn¡¯t your problem. Someone always gets away and it might give you a nasty surprise,¡± Brakis warned and Nattas laughed sarcastically tipping his head back. ¡°What does Laudus know?¡± Storm asked sobering up. ¡°I¡¯ve barely spoken to him once. Have you?¡± The Duke returned his stare in silence. ¡°Do the smart thing. You¡¯ve barely any legitimate allies in the court and you know it. I don¡¯t want the husband involved. See to deal with him.¡± ¡°The husband is a good ally in the court Duke,¡± Nattas retorted. ¡°I can always find another candidate,¡± Brakis finished and pushed back on the couch. ¡°If you don¡¯t answer by the midnight, this talk never happened.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll see to inform you.¡± Storm stood and turned to navigate the dangerous small ladder at the outer side of the carriage. The rain still pouring down heavy. ¡°Nattas,¡± Brakis was heard from inside the cabin as he¡¯d reached the flagstone covered street. ¡°Don¡¯t count on the King to always give you the benefit of doubt. All men have a tipping point and sometimes the gods interfere to tip them scales.¡± ¡°Sage advice your grace,¡± Nattas said whilst standing in the rain, stooped on his cane. ¡°In the spirit of cooperation and neighborly wish-exchange, I¡¯ll return it to you.¡±
Grin stopped the carriage ten minutes later and looked at the soaked Storm Nattas standing by the side of the road. ¡°Chief? I passed by earlier and didn¡¯t see you.¡± He yelled to be heard. ¡°Thought you legged it when the rain started!¡± ¡°Yeah, I hobbled three kilometers on a foot to get the fucking cardio up,¡± the chilled Nattas rustled and slowly heaved himself inside the cabin. Sudi was waiting inside and tended an arm to help Storm find the couch across from him. ¡°I was inside Duke Brakis¡¯ carriage,¡± a frustrated Nattas replied to the silent query. ¡°He wants a male heir and fancies Maja a good candidate.¡± ¡°Any particular reason other than that he likes homicidal cunts?¡± ¡°She¡¯s of fair enough complexion and thinks I¡¯m too compromised to refuse him.¡± ¡°Or immoral?¡± Sudi guessed with a half-leer. ¡°That too.¡± ¡°Any underlying subtext to the conversation?¡± Sudi perceptively asked whilst Nattas stood back trying to get the soaked garbs off of him in the tight space. ¡°Um. The Laudus case. Plenty of subtle blackmail and innuendos.¡± ¡°Aha. Why do you think he cares? Laudus probably points a finger at Ursus.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve no idea but there is something there.¡± Nattas glared at him as the vehicle started moving in the half-flooded streets of the capital. ¡°Where is Maja?¡± ¡°The fuck I care? In the villa? You don¡¯t want to go through with this boss,¡± Sudi cautioned him after a pause. ¡°She¡¯s crazy.¡± Nattas rubbed his wet forehead with two fingers and grimaced. ¡°I need to secure something now Sudi. Turn this wealth into something legitimate, more lasting. The wars will end at some point. Eventually there will be a resolution. Things might change and it could be for the worse for our business.¡± ¡°The Duke spooked you?¡± ¡°The Khan might win and Antonius gambit is a good enough excuse to drag Regia into another free-for-all. There¡¯s a guy in Wetull nobody takes serious but he¡¯s creeping ever closer. Gifts magic stones to adventurers and sells a fucking great wine. Great enough to make the Barons react like idiots. Did I mention there might be a wyvern chilling under a porch somewhere there? Is the Khan the worst Jelin could face I wonder? What if the stories are true?¡± ¡°Come on chief.¡± ¡°Zilan bend the knee to this Hardir,¡± Storm replied hoarsely. ¡°You can¡¯t drink their wine, sell their relics and recite their lore without acknowledging they are a real race of people. Creatures. Whatever. They are part of this realm. Well, those that survived their ordeal apparently find enough acclaim in this King beyond the Pale Mountains to install him on the vacant throne of the Empire. There was only one empire Sudi. Big proud motherfuckers for a reason. Now this rascal might be really that bloody convincing,¡± Nattas added with a deep frown. ¡°Or he just might possess a real fucking wyvern.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t poke the bear in the cage,¡± Sudi recited with a solemn nod. ¡°Afore ye make sure the cage is locked.¡± Yeah.
¡°There,¡± Maja told the small boy and gave him the small leather cord back. The two edges tied with a nautical knot to create a bracelet. Silvio took it in his small hands and stared at the small stake Maja had nailed on one of the wooden poles of the logia. ¡°Just lob it like I showed you.¡± Silvio stood up and then looked at the target that was a good three meters away and two above his head. ¡°Just take your time. Aim first.¡± Maja added supportingly, a smiling Sirio hugging her waist and Nattas paused at the internal door behind the couple to watch his son. Silvio snorted once and then tossed the leather ¡®ring¡¯ without hesitation. It flew briefly in the air and found the peg squarely. It remained hanging there and the boy turned around to stare at the couple with a gratified grin. ¡°A bowl of peaches,¡± Silvio said tauntingly and Maja chuckled seeing his expression with the historian kissing the back of her neck softly. ¡°With milk and cookies.¡± ¡°I think he played you dear,¡± Sirio said and she nodded before replying to the smugly grinning boy. ¡°You had enough for today. Maybe tomorrow.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± Silvio hummed and stared at Nattas watching them from the door. ¡°Fine. You can go now. The old man is here.¡± Maja turned around, her hand clasping that of the smiling historian. This fool really loves her. ¡°You need a change of clothes.¡± She noticed. Nattas nodded and then walked past them slowly to pick up the small boy with one arm. ¡°You wanted something?¡± She asked hoarsely on his back as he carefully stood up to carry Silvio to the marble couch overlooking the large dark garden. The rain still rapping at the roof of the illuminated and columned logia. One of the lit torches shining a bright white light as it had that strange stone slotted in the container. The blood carried a piece of you alive. Preserved your legacy. One after the other the fabled old tales were coming true. Fuck Brakis. Fuck Riveras and the Barons. ¡°Have the night off. You can stay here Sirio,¡± Nattas rustled and carefully sat on the couch to watch the night and the few lights of the sleeping city. ¡°I¡¯ll watch the boy.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t let him stay up for too long,¡± Maja warned walking away with Sirio and Nattas nodded whilst looking at his son¡¯s face. Those angles and the graceful ears. Plenty of Alden in him, he thought with a sense of pride. A bit of good-ole Nattas as well. Silvio winked at his father comically. ¡°What is it you little rascal?¡± He asked and Silvio replied in a whispery conspiratorial voice. Every day proving he¡¯d a sharp mind but sometimes playing the fool well-enough to worry his father. ¡°I know where she keeps the cookies.¡± The boy had told him all serious. ¡°But you need to get the milk out of the kitchen. She locks all the doors at night.¡± I bet she does. ¡°But you know I¡¯ve my own set of keys,¡± Storm mused meaningfully and tapped his small nose with a finger. There¡¯s a smart lad.
481. ‘Best killers coin can buy’ (1/3)
Lear ¡®Razor¡¯ Hik ¡®Captain¡¯ ¡®Butcher of Drek River¡¯ ¡®Man from Atetalerso¡¯ ¡®Best killers coin can buy¡¯ Part I -Headhunters on our trail-
Captain Twan Moore of the Argus, an Issir from Pascor, sucked at his teeth thinking about it. Edge who had caught ¡®a ton of nasty things¡¯ crossing Bogbeast Marshes snorted loudly, two fingers closing a nostril, in an attempt to get ¡®all the bad snot out¡¯ for a third time since their talk had started by the docks. What the veteran called ¡®remedy against all allergies¡¯ was just him getting everything out of his system as fast as it was possible. The garish practice interrupted the Issir¡¯s thought process. ¡°Is he alright?¡± Captain Moore asked a little concerned. ¡°He¡¯s fine.¡± Lear rustled impatiently. ¡°Another stop near Asturia,¡± Captain Moore said turning to Lear. ¡°We¡¯ve excellent relations with our neighbors across the lake. What¡¯s wrong with using their port facilities to disembark safely?¡± A lot of hyperbole in the Issir¡¯s words. Some because of lies, the rest because Moore wasn¡¯t privy in all the minutiae. Lear remained silent and the Issir scratched a point under the left ear with a finger. ¡°Well, for a bit of coin I could get you out at Islandport.¡± ¡°How is it better?¡± ¡°Or thereabouts.¡± Captain Moore expounded vaguely. ¡°That¡¯s quite the detour.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll lose a day,¡± the Captain of the Argus replied. ¡°But it¡¯s discreet.¡± ¡°Islandport is an even smaller place,¡± Edge commented after clearing his throat. ¡°Thereabouts,¡± Moore repeated with a leer. ¡°Smugglers Beach. It¡¯s like¡­ a tourist spot of sorts that tourists don¡¯t visit on the regular. Secret spot.¡± ¡°How can it be a tourist¡­ isn¡¯t this contradictory?¡± Mark asked. Captain Moore stared at the young man for a moment. ¡°I disagree,¡± he finally said willing to die on that hill. ¡°It might work,¡± Lear decided thinking out loud and Edge snorted again, this time out of derision. - A week later There were three platforms built near the edge of the Mandarin Forest. The beach cleared out near the makeshift docks and another two small ships moored there. A series of shaded small stands packed with people, mostly Issirs that were waiting for the sudden downpour to stop. Lear stepped on the muddy beach and walked slowly towards the custom dirt road that had turned into a narrow brook ¨Ca foot deep- which delivered debris, rotten twigs, leaves and watery mire from the guts of the forest. He paused at the edge of it and wiped his soaked face, mostly to get the lake¡¯s brine off of his skin. The water trickling down his grizzled medium-length beard and neck, directly to the sodden collar. The Issir with the horses came out of the erected shade for the animals and waved an arm as he approached them. Edge and Mark had arrived behind Lear Hik one after the other. ¡°Argus?¡± The man asked, a lecherous face that seemed to be quite common in Pascor¡¯s port and a crooked mouth with a couple of gold teeth on its upper left side. ¡°Captain Moore¡¯s load?¡± ¡°Um.¡± Lear grunted eyeing the animals gathered under the wooden overhang over the man¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Where are the mules?¡± ¡°With Elco Ramp.¡± The Issir replied and tended an arm which Lear didn¡¯t shake. So the man retrieved it with a grimace. ¡°Them horses look older than me,¡± Edge commented. ¡°And I need to stop every mile to piss.¡± ¡°They¡¯ll get you a hundred kilometers at least.¡± The Issir argued. ¡°Twice that with good rests. Maybe more. How far were you guys hoping to travel for the prize?¡± ¡°Where¡¯s Ramp?¡± Lear asked hoarsely, checking on some of the other ¡®tourists¡¯ watching them talk. ¡°Islandport. He comes from Asturia once a month¡­ to check on business. These are his ships over there. The product will head to Islandport on the morrow.¡± ¡°What business be that?¡± Edge asked needlessly curious. Lear glanced at his old partner. No, Edge was being sarcastic. ¡°Logistics,¡± the Issir replied and signed for them to get under the overhang and out of the rain. With a last glance at Argus and the other small ships inside the natural harbor Lear did. ¡°Are you going to wait for the rain to stop?¡± The Issir asked them while they saddled the well-worked horses with equally old leather saddles. ¡°We¡¯ll move while it¡¯s still light,¡± Lear replied. There wasn¡¯t really, much of a light that is. Still moving out of the beach and into the forest seemed the least of two evils.
Two hours later they were at the much wider road, the town of Islandport a couple of kilometers away to their east and behind them the road leading to Tenor. ¡°Twenty kilometers for Dazzling Opossum,¡± Edge rustled looking down as if thinking whether to dismount on sturdier ground or not. The rain had stopped while they were inside the forest path. ¡°Do you want to risk another journey on empty stomach and no supplies?¡± Lear asked and stared at Mark who had lost five kilos of flesh in a few short months. The young man¡¯s face looking gaunt and much older now. The road ages you. Especially on foot. ¡°We go to Islandport?¡± ¡°I go there to speak with Elco Ramp,¡± Lear decided. ¡°You find a good place out of the road to make camp. Don¡¯t light a fire. I¡¯ll be back with the mules. Hopefully before the night is over.¡± ¡°It¡¯s still early noon,¡± Edge noticed. ¡°It might take a minute,¡± Lear replied stiffly. ¡°A minute I can wait but you are talking hours here,¡± Edge retorted. ¡°We might start chewing on horse meat soon.¡± ¡°We had dinner with the captain,¡± Lear grunted. ¡°What I got down, I puked back out again,¡± Edge countered. ¡°The boy too.¡± Lear grimaced and stared at the first buildings of the town in the distance. ¡°Fine, get a fire going. Boil some tea.¡± ¡°Better hurry up captain,¡± Edge rustled acerbically. ¡°Else we might fatten ourselves glugging it all down and these mounts look too weak to take the extra fucking load.¡± Edge was always griping extra when tired. But keep him hungry and tired for long enough and the veteran would let you hear it. ¡®The captain is responsible for the supplies part.¡¯ Always.
A man wearing a Legion¡¯s cuirass under a coat told him Elco Ramp was always at his office near the Islandport¡¯s docks. Now the town had taken a beating, with several houses crumbling into piles of debris, some streets completely blocked, but a year later work was being done to repair the damages from the war. Ramp¡¯s office was a large two-story high warehouse. A square sturdy building with several holes on its walls from the scraps fought inside or near the port. The holes had been boarded up at some point but now a working crew was busy fully repairing the larger ones with red bricks when he arrived. Lear dismounted and tied the reins of his decrepit horse outside the warehouse. Lowered the navy hat to cover his face some and walked inside the open large double doors. Elco Ramp had a redingote on, a washed out blue fabric with a bit of lace at the sleeves, a yellow shirt underneath and a pair of loose pants. He was weighing sacks of grain, placing them on large iron scales. ¡°Yes?¡± The Issir merchant from Pascor asked and glanced at the muddy figure of Lear. ¡°If you want to make an order, you¡¯ll have to wait for Ned to arrive. We had a bit of a delay at the docks yesterday due to bad weather.¡± ¡°You owe me three mules and ten sacks of supplies. Meat, hardtack, tea, salt and oats.¡± Lear rustled and Ramp blinked unsure at first. It was a very poor act all and all. ¡°Mister Lear,¡± Ramp said. ¡°I was busy. Didn¡¯t Ned find you?¡± ¡°He did,¡± Lear replied stiffly. ¡°But you still owe me the supplies.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have the mules available at this point. They are at the docks to help out my crews,¡± Ramp explained and walked away from the scales to approach the rigid bounty hunter. ¡°But come morrow I¡¯ll have them here with your supplies.¡± Lear pursed his mouth. ¡°I can arrange for you to stay someplace,¡± Ramp offered. ¡°Won¡¯t be much but it is dirt cheap. The army has messed up the city. Disrupted business.¡± ¡°You import and export stuff from Asturia,¡± Lear noticed raspingly. ¡°I do.¡± Ramp agreed. ¡°The last couple of years the market opened up. I¡¯m one of the first Pascor businessmen that expanded his affairs across the lake.¡± ¡°You had a leg up the market,¡± Lear commented wryly. ¡°Knew your way around this side of the pond.¡± Ramp nodded and walked to a table touching the wall of the warehouse. The place rather dark despite the light coming from the doors and the several cracks on the walls. ¡°Asturia taxes imported goods,¡± Ramp explained. ¡°So theirs are always cheaper. So we get them in another way, unload here and then deliver them in Asturia as ¡®local¡¯ products.¡± ¡°What products?¡± ¡°Hemp, clay bricks, pottery and northern hides mostly,¡± Ramp explained. ¡°So this is a front for smugglers? A way to move ¡®clean¡¯ products?¡± Lear asked and Ramp smiled. ¡°I run a legitimate business,¡± he told Lear. ¡°Papers signed by the Duke and everything. The city of Pascor shares in my profits.¡± Elco Ramp added. ¡°I¡¯m sure they do.¡± Lear retorted crooking his mouth. ¡°Early morning,¡± he said after a moment of thought. ¡°After noon,¡± Ramp countered. ¡°I need time to gather the supplies.¡± ¡°I thought you had them, only missing the mules.¡± Lear argued. ¡°It¡¯s half a day. What difference does it make?¡± Ramp insisted. ¡°You¡¯ll be heading to Mercator¡¯s Inn after that. Plenty of time to reach it before nightfall.¡± Lear nodded looking at the sacks of grain and the rather empty warehouse. ¡°You said your ships are delayed at the docks? Here in Islandport?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± These are his ships, Ned had said. The product will be heading to town on the morrow. Not the smuggler ships. Obviously. An innocent omission, Lear thought looking at the merchant/smuggler¡¯s Issir face. Perhaps. ¡°We¡¯ll come straight here and leave for Mercator¡¯s Inn as fast as we get the mules,¡± Lear informed Ramp and walked out of the warehouse.
Lear was back on the road outside Islandport well before nightfall. Half a kilometer from their campsite and the town he passed by a large military camp run by legionnaires. The majority of them sporting various old injuries. Mark greeted him stepping on the cobblestone road and away from the small fire under the woods. ¡°Edge?¡± ¡°He has bladder problems,¡± Mark explained. ¡°Looked like diarrhea.¡± ¡°He¡¯ll clean up inside eventually. Did he have too much tea?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Um. You have to boil the water first. Re-boil the whole thing afterwards just to be certain,¡± Lear grunted and sighed. ¡°How about we change course?¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Mark said unsure. ¡°We can have the mules and supplies by morrow noon or we can head straight for Asturia, see to get better mounts and supplies from there.¡± ¡°The road to Mercator¡¯s Inn heads south.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t we heading for Holt¡¯s Stables and the Tunnel Pass?¡± Mark asked. ¡°That¡¯s a pretty straightforward road,¡± Lear agreed. ¡°The fastest road mister Hik.¡± ¡°Yeah. To reach Cartagen.¡± ¡°Which is where we are heading?¡± Mark probed uncertain on where the conversation was going. ¡°The thing with the fastest roads is,¡± Lear explained raspingly. ¡°Anyone can point them out on a map.¡± A pale, sweaty Edge appeared out of some nearby bushes. He buttoned up his breeches whilst walking towards them. ¡°What¡¯s the hold up?¡± He asked looking for the mules, his mouth pursing tightly a moment later. ¡°Mister Hik thinks we better head to Asturia.¡± Mark said. ¡°Aha,¡± Edge grunted and scrunched up his face even more. ¡°I smell shit and the odor ain¡¯t coming from my arse. Though I¡¯ve plenty of shit smeared back there this is a different smell.¡± Mark furrowed his brows and sniffed discreetly at the air. ¡°I think Ramp might have gotten wind of a bounty.¡± Lear elucidated Edge¡¯s voiceless query. ¡°He does business in Asturia.¡± ¡°Got a message out you think?¡± Edge asked and went to wipe the sweat from his face but paused to stare at his palm. Then lowered the hand back down. ¡°Possibly. He¡¯s looking to keep us around for a day,¡± Lear replied. ¡°Lots of army around here,¡± Edge noticed. ¡°Not so much after Mercator¡¯s Inn or in the plains,¡± Lear agreed. ¡°They could spot us coming up the road from miles away.¡± Edge nodded. ¡°Asturia might have our faces all over the place.¡± ¡°Who knows our faces? It¡¯s a big city. We could get supplies and leave towards Croton. They won¡¯t expect it. It¡¯s a big detour.¡± ¡°Use the stone bridge and head towards Storm¡¯s Rest.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Oras Navel is plenty big.¡± ¡°Bigger than the Tunnel Pass and you¡¯ll end up days away from Cartagen,¡± Lear expounded. ¡°Lots of good ambush spots across the Framtond or even in Asturia,¡± Edge argued. ¡°Plenty of wilderness.¡± ¡°It goes both ways old bones. And we¡¯ll get some current info on what happened in the meantime. Pascor wasn¡¯t exactly cosmopolitan in that regard. A longer path is still a path. No difference.¡± ¡°There is for my arse,¡± Edge griped and stared at the silent staring at him Mark. ¡°You want to add something?¡± ¡°There¡¯s some shit on your right boot Mister Edge,¡± Mark said in a low voice. ¡°It¡¯ll wash out by itself,¡± Edge grunted with a scowl. ¡°Else I¡¯ll just get a dip in the river.¡± ¡°Better that you don¡¯t,¡± Lear cut him off. ¡°Framtond is as deep as the Canlita Sea at certain spots and you can¡¯t swim that well.¡± ¡°Wow,¡± Mark gasped very impressed and Edge snorted while walking funnily towards his mount. He did drag the stained boot on the grass to clean it up some. ¡°He¡¯s exaggerating kid,¡± Edge told Mark. ¡°And the latter part wasn¡¯t for me.¡± - 28th of Decimus 194 NC River Gates (Twin-towered barbican) Asturia¡¯s West Entrance The gates sergeant eyed the thin turbaned Cofol riding the grey horse before them with suspicion. ¡°Favor you say,¡± the Lorian sergeant repeated pursing his mouth. ¡°What manner of business is this?¡± ¡°Simple,¡± the Cofol replied. ¡°All things in life are.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t say. What¡¯s under the cloak?¡± ¡°A man carries weapons in another¡¯s eyes, bur mere tools in the eyes of the one standing beside him,¡± the stranger replied. ¡°They are sheathed. Thus they shall remain.¡± ¡°They better. Drawing steel for no reason carries a fine and a week of imprisonment,¡± the sergeant reminded him. ¡°Go on. Next.¡± Lear clicked his tongue and he had to give the horse a good squeeze to get it going. Those hundred kilometers Ned had promised as elusive or fake as Ramp¡¯s supplies and mules. The sergeant burped and then had some water from a flask to clear his mouth. He stared at Lear Hik, then at the pained Edge and the aloof Mark in turn. ¡°Names?¡± ¡°Mark, Roland and Icarus.¡± A fat Lesia ¡®I¡¯ like an ¡®H¡¯. People had shorten it to Hik. ¡°You lads a trio? Bards?¡± The sergeant asked and Lear showed him the pommel of his sword. ¡°Right. Are you with the Guild? At least you look normal.¡± ¡°Not many Cofols around?¡± Lear asked while the sergeant wrote down their names and descriptions. ¡°It¡¯s been a bit hectic lately,¡± the sergeant replied looking at Edge unsure. ¡°Do I know you?¡± He asked the bounty hunter. ¡°You¡¯re a bit younger than me sergeant, but also too old.¡± Edge rustled. ¡°I ain¡¯t yer father.¡± ¡°He¡¯s under the weather,¡± Lear intervened and the sergeant glanced at him unsure. ¡°Eh. Anyways, you seem old enough to know the rules.¡± The sergeant decided. ¡°Is Nis O¡¯ Toren still about?¡± Lear asked interrupting his flow. ¡°The adventurer? Eh. No idea. Sibren Maats is dead. Don¡¯t know about O¡¯ Toren¡¯s crew. A bit before my time.¡± ¡°Who is running the Adventurer¡¯s Guild now?¡± Lear Hik asked. ¡°Lars Spartacus,¡± the sergeant replied. ¡°Move along now. The line is growing. Next!¡± If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.
¡°Fucking birds. They just let loose on yer head,¡± Edge cursed interrupting their slow stroll across the smaller market adjoining the Central Square and almost hidden inside Naossis¡¯ Temple¡¯s gardens. ¡°Nice glassware though.¡± He added cleaning some of the white discharge from his saddle. ¡°Don¡¯t see how they helps us.¡± ¡°We are heading for the Adventurers Guild,¡± Lear explained. ¡°But you two will stay behind while I check up on the old grounds.¡± ¡°Somebody might see you,¡± Edge told him. ¡°It¡¯s about to rain again, no one is going to stare in faces under hats and hoods. I¡¯ll go south around the woods, skirt the edges of the Adventures Hood and stay away from our Guild,¡± Lear explained. ¡°Just want to check on the boards.¡± ¡°How about we send the kid?¡± ¡°He might get spotted and then followed.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you just say -no one will stare in faces and all that baloney?¡± ¡°Just stay in the market, don¡¯t buy anything,¡± Lear hissed. ¡°I¡¯m easily convinced and hadn¡¯t seen a proper woman in a while,¡± Edge griped. ¡°Now that don¡¯t mean I¡¯ll do something but I may be enticed to make a donation.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t. We¡¯ll need the coin,¡± Lear grunted and glared at Mark. ¡°Keep him safe.¡± ¡°Eh¡­ right. Yes sir,¡± Mark replied. ¡°Don¡¯t call me sir.¡± ¡°You heard the captain,¡± Edge chuckled. ¡°Gods damn it,¡± Lear growled. ¡°Just keep your heads down.¡± - Half an hour later Ebenezer Framtond¡¯s Hall HQ of Adventurers Guild Asturia The plaque read in gold letters.
Resolve separates men from mice. Instead of fearing yer untimely demise, Chance another throw of the dice. Sibren Maats Circa 185 NC
Lars Spartacus raised his head seeing Lear Hik walk inside. Now a big wiry man, armed to the teeth isn¡¯t too-exciting a sight inside the opulent Guild building Valwarin had helped create, but Lear Hik had an aura about him that made people take notice. Also Lars knew him. ¡°Felix Hald is two streets away,¡± Lars said and waved at a young adventurer that had gotten up from the table to sit back down. No one else was inside the big reception hall at this time. ¡°My son,¡± he explained to Lear. ¡°There¡¯s a bit of talk about you,¡± Lars finally said turning to look at the approaching his large desk Lear Hik. ¡°How much?¡± Lear asked after sitting on the chair in front of the desk. Is the bounty was his meaning. ¡°A lot,¡± Lars Spartacus said and sipped from a goblet. He was about forty years old now. But his hair were all but gone. A few blond strands still remaining at the very top. ¡°Too much. But the guild is not hunting heads my friend.¡± ¡°Officially,¡± Lear helped him and Lars shrugged his shoulders. ¡°That¡¯s more your business,¡± the adventurer added. ¡°The reason?¡± ¡°What did they write on the board?¡± Lear Hik asked. ¡°Murder basically. Some nasty stuff,¡± Lars crooked his mouth. ¡°Any of it real?¡± ¡°Most of it probably,¡± Lear replied. ¡°Have you heard of Nis at all?¡± ¡°He¡¯s roaming at the square,¡± Lars Spartacus sighed. ¡°Listen. We never had a friendship but I know you almost twenty years now Lear.¡± He paused to think about it. ¡°You need to get out of the city. Hit the road and head for the mountains. Lay low for a couple of years.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t do that,¡± Lear replied rigidly. ¡°I¡¯ve a contract to close. The final part.¡± ¡°Can it wait?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± Lear said and stared at a painting of a creepily grinning Ebenezer hanged behind the guild¡¯s leader. ¡°Any news from the Capital?¡± ¡°Well, the Duke isn¡¯t there. Our Duke. He¡¯s at Aldenfort arguing with Baron Reynard Alden about the budget.¡± ¡°What for?¡± ¡°They want to build a road across the desert, through the mountains and towards Two Rivers. Kind of like our Tunnel Pass. Big plans, big expenses.¡± Lear nodded. ¡°Anything else?¡± ¡°The King is in Cartagen, hopefully not making more kids but I can see why he might try again and again.¡± Lars replied and smiled thinly. ¡°Brakis attacked the Khanate Fleet by mistake, lost his son in the process but won so there is that? The King was pleased is the word, so all in all that¡¯s good for the Kingdom unless the Khan takes offense. I would,¡± he added. ¡°Anyone here trustworthy?¡± Lear asked. ¡°Depends¡­ to whom.¡± The leader of the guild replied in a careful manner. ¡°Lucius.¡± ¡°Lord Bernard runs the city,¡± Lars replied. ¡°So his people are making the decisions. You try to meet with Bernard, the word might get out. Then leaving the city could turn out to be very difficult.¡± ¡°Who is captain of the city guards?¡± ¡°Carius Libo, but he answers to Titus Rebus who is Lord Bernard¡¯s man.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know them.¡± ¡°Younger generation I guess,¡± Lars Spartacus commented and glanced towards the door. ¡°People might start coming for meal and rest.¡± ¡°Anything new over at Felix¡¯s place?¡± Felix Hald had control of the Bounty Hunters Guild but it was a much smaller building and a loosely run guild. Any new faces was his meaning. ¡°Teo and Saladino were spotted about a month back,¡± Lars replied. Teo Rullus and Saladino Dittus. Bounty hunters out of Lesia. They worked for the Bank but rarely left Lesia¡¯s borders. ¡°That¡¯s a big journey.¡± Lear commented. ¡°Strange they moved out. I thought they had retired.¡± ¡°Maybe they had. Ah, Sita came by to say high a week back also,¡± Lars continued. ¡°Got the feeling he was eager to check what I¡¯ve heard.¡± Lucky Sita. ¡®Tib¡¯ Vero. Opiter and Vonk. Another group of headhunters. They worked all cases. ¡°Any word on ¡®Tracer¡¯ Jack?¡± Lear asked casually. ¡°Maybe.¡± ¡°You¡¯re going to haggle now?¡± ¡°Not really. Listen, you need to get out of the city Hik.¡± Lars tried again. ¡°Someone might recognize you. Sure you look like shit now and appear old as dirt but I knew that mean mug the moment it stepped through the doors.¡± Lear narrowed his eyes. ¡°For fuck¡¯s sake. Jack is under house arrest or something.¡± ¡°Which house?¡± ¡°Rebus. You can¡¯t go near there Hik. Rebus is handling Bernard¡¯s internal affairs that¡¯s a line that goes straight to the Duke, even the Queen.¡± ¡°Good,¡± Lear replied and got up. ¡°That¡¯s close.¡± He paused after taking a step and turned around to glare at the grimacing Lars Spartacus. ¡°Which Queen?¡± The leader of the Adventurers Guild furrowed his brows confused. ¡°Ours?¡± He finally answered and Lear nodded pursing his mouth. Not close enough. Eh.
Lear Hik walked out of the impressive stone and marble columned building, went to his horse without hesitation and climbed up. He led the horse around the building and into the south edge of the temple¡¯s garden. Then took the longer road again moving on the periphery of the square to get back. Lear stopped under the first trees at the banks of one of the small lakes and watched for a while the citizens going about their business in the Adventurers Hood behind him. After making certain no one had followed he continued through the forest, went by the back side of Naossis¡¯ Temple and reached its smaller -run by the Priestesses¡¯- market near the Central Square. Edge and Mark were still there talking with a heavy-set priestess with red hair, a round freckled fleshy face and sparkling green eyes. A massive bosom that had a very-distracted Mark trying not to look at it while the veteran bounty hunter was talking with the priestess standing behind the stand. ¡°Mark,¡± Lear grunted after he dismounted near them to snap him out of his reverie. ¡°Ah, there he is,¡± Edge said turning around, a piece of fur hanging from his neck with a simple silver chain. ¡°This is sister Saena and her friend¡­¡± Edge pointed at another equally bountiful priestess with blond hair and an equal amount of freckles. She was a bit older in age, not that it mattered if you are willing to look past all the lard and the more sober expression. Lear was willing at some point in his life. Not this point. He¡¯d been there, done that. ¡°Sister Hermione,¡± Saena helped up in a deep throaty voice. Lear stared at her intently and the priestess¡¯ face blushed a deep red despite the chill of the woods-located market and late fall day. ¡°We need to get moving,¡± Lear grunted crooking his mouth. ¡°Yeah,¡± Edge agreed and tipped his hat to the priestess. ¡°Pleasure doing business with you. Praised be the Goddess.¡± ¡°All times of day and night,¡± Saena replied with a bow of her head. Those fleshy mounds moving under the rather thin fabric. For the season. Right. ¡°We''ll cut through the market,¡± Lear rustled and walked past the stands leading his horse with the reins. ¡°It¡¯s a lucky charm,¡± Edge explained some minutes later and showed him the pendant. ¡°Ah,¡± Lear grunted looking about them. The small marketplace giving way to the bigger one, the Central Square Market before Tyeus Tower and Framtond¡¯s massive statue. ¡°A rabbit¡¯s left hind foot, captured inside a cemetery at night,¡± Edge explained. ¡°It ward¡¯s off magic.¡± ¡°No sorcerers are dabbling in headhunting far as I know,¡± Lear hissed and stopped to take in the large busy expanse and get used to the big crowd inside the impressive bazaar. ¡°Well,¡± Edge said with a grimace and stared at Mark for help. The youngest member of the team puffing out afore adding. ¡°It fortifies the seed as well.¡± Lear licked his lips slowly. ¡°In case you didn¡¯t get it the first time, there are headhunters on our trail,¡± he informed them. ¡°So we come to the square to gaze at Ebenezer¡¯s stupid face?¡± Edge griped and slotted the pendant inside his collar. ¡°We are looking for Nis O¡¯ Toren,¡± Lear grunted. ¡°Who is he?¡± Mark asked looking at a food stand desperately. ¡°A Nord adventurer that came to Asturia. Mixed up in a lot of things. Sibren Maats worked with him afore Sibren formed his own team,¡± Edge explained. ¡°Nis is well over sixty by now Lear and he¡¯d that bad knee since seventy two.¡± ¡°An arrow?¡± Mark asked curious. ¡°A spiked mace,¡± Edge retorted. ¡°Nis is loitering somewhere around here,¡± Lear explained. ¡°I¡¯ll move in deeper to look for him. You two will do the same.¡± ¡°Might be time to move out of the city,¡± Edge noted and Lear grunted then cast a look at the food stands. ¡°Not without proper supplies. Else we¡¯ll need to hunt our way through the winter,¡± he finally said.
Lear Hik got mixed up with the crowd going about their business in the Asturia¡¯s main square, either visiting the market, gazing at the massive statue, Tyeus Tower, Naossis Temple and the Library. The Adventurers Guild headquarters building he¡¯d just visited visible beyond the statue¡¯s feet. The bounty hunter rounded the stone platform supporting the statue and reached after navigating the busy crowd the steps of the Library on the other side. The market extending that far, this portion of it selling ink phials, quills and parchments. A herald standing on the stairs giving an account of the past month. ¡°Legatus Merenda is fighting the Khanate between the lakes! What a conundrum!¡± The herald announced pompously to the few that had stopped to listen to him. To their defense, one could listen to the herald from any point of the large square almost. The man had quite the pair of lungs. ¡°Things are looking grim indeed but fools and luck go together! Lord Bernard vowed to crack down on illicit goods and apprehend the perps the other day. Look across the pond I say! Duke Dolf might take offense to that!¡± Lear scanned the faces of those near him and then the customers loitering around the market¡¯s stands. His eyes turning back to the Library¡¯s stairs, where some had stopped to rest. A lanky figure sitting halfway up and listening to the herald speaking of the King beyond the Pale Mountains. The grey-haired, clad in leather and furs old man was smoking a pipe, a large custom made thick cane between his legs. Iron reinforced and almost the length of a staff or a medium pole of about two meters. Not a magic staff, just a sturdy bludgeoning tool. ¡°The matter has been brought to the merchant¡¯s guild but they can¡¯t offer solution!¡± The herald continued while Lear started navigating the crowd to reach the sixty-steps of the Library dragging his horse along. People protested briefly afore deciding to move out of his way. ¡°There are old papers they say but in a tongue no one can read but the big-eared King himself! Hah-hah! Who can argue with that! The Wine Barons protested formally to Regia is the word! If I¡¯m King Lucius, I would have given them the finger!¡± Lear tied his horse in a pole at the base of the Library and started up the stairs, his knees protesting a bit. The old Nord watched him coming up puffing and huffing, pale wrinkled face sporting a couple of nasty scars and his right eye leaking down with a severe case of the cataract. Nis looks sick, Lear thought at first but then he realized the retired adventurer was just old. ¡°Swear to the Allfather not that he gives a damn,¡± Nis grumbled blinking both eyes. ¡°You look familiar young man.¡± He told the arriving Lear Hik. ¡°You look like a sack of old shit Nis,¡± Lear retorted. ¡°How¡¯s the knee?¡± ¡°Worse than the other year.¡± ¡°What year be that?¡± Lear teased playing the little game, for a moment feeling as if no time had passed. But thirty years had gone by. Sibren was in the mud, along with Grin, Rita and all the others. ¡°Who cares?¡± Nis retorted with a vexed grunt. ¡°I sure don¡¯t.¡± Lear nodded and looked towards the square from the elevated vantage point. ¡°It¡¯s a good spot.¡± ¡°It is,¡± Nis agreed and stared at him. ¡°Seen anything funny?¡± Lear asked. ¡°Some clowns moving about the square dragging their horses behind and annoying people. The Duke has parking spots all about for that very reason.¡± Nis replied raspingly, the northern accent all but gone now after so many years in Asturia. ¡°Look suspicious as all-hells but what do I know?¡± ¡°We may be in a bit of trouble Nis.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the word,¡± Nis agreed and used the back of his calloused hand to wipe his tearing eye. ¡°That mumbling idiot Roland still around?¡± ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s with the other guy down there. Rita died. It¡¯s been a while.¡± ¡°Um. I know. One of her cousins told me,¡± Nis replied and pursed his mouth. ¡°How is the Jarl?¡± ¡°Getting older. He has some winters still left in him,¡± Nis said raspingly. ¡°But no more than that.¡± Lear nodded. ¡°The wolf takes over after him?¡± The old Nord gathered saliva in his mouth and spat down moving the staff aside. ¡°You need brains to rule and he has none but he¡¯s strong enough I suppose.¡± ¡°What good is that?¡± Lear asked. ¡°He¡¯ll be difficult to kill?¡± Nis shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Why kill the girl Lear?¡± He asked without looking at him. ¡°I gave her the opportunity to walk away,¡± Lear grunted and Nis snorted. ¡°You got angry but you killed her for another reason,¡± the old Nord finally said. ¡°In your eyes she was better off dead.¡± Lear grimaced not wanting to think of Eleonora. The girl¡¯s head was in the bag Mark carried. Along the other heads. This was the job. ¡°I learned a bunch of stuff she wanted to keep hidden. She just wouldn¡¯t back down and intended to murder a lot of people to make it happen.¡± Lear said after a moment of silent contemplation. ¡°I¡¯ll need supplies to get off the cities and travel the wilderness. Is Atronius Sigilis still in charge of the warehouse?¡± This was what the black market in the slums was called. Sigilis was a member of the Thieves Guild. ¡°He¡¯s around. Doesn¡¯t walk as much,¡± Nis replied. ¡°Which is pretty damning considering our friend¡¯s profession.¡± ¡°Can you get to him?¡± ¡°Sigilis has a bird he visits,¡± Nis said with a grimace of pain. ¡°You have coin?¡± ¡°Yeah. Courtesy of the Bank.¡± ¡°Know that a lot of people came in Asturia these past months,¡± Nis said and let out a grunt in the effort to get up using his staff. He stood a bit taller than Lear but not as tall as the bounty hunter remembered him. ¡°Men of your ilk and some worse than that even, I suspect.¡± ¡°Silent Servants?¡± Lear asked. ¡°Eleonora was mixed up with them.¡± ¡°I find it difficult to believe she was. The Bank had been using another group for that. But you might be right that they could be around also,¡± Nis replied raspingly. ¡°But remember that the Bank has a lot of reach son,¡± he added. ¡°Lots of Guilds of killers out there, not as famous but equally deadly.¡± ¡°Which group?¡± ¡°Who knows? I heard it many years ago.¡± Nis replied. ¡°The League of Lone Slayers. An Eplas brotherhood.¡± Lear thought of the Cofol at the River Gates and nodded. He gave Nis a scroll. ¡°Get in touch with Sigilis and have him move fast.¡± ¡°That¡¯ll be difficult in his age but I¡¯ll see what I can do,¡± Nis said and pocketed the scroll without reading it. ¡°I¡¯ll owe you one,¡± Lear added and the old Nord started laughing until a cough overcame him. ¡°Fuck off you brat,¡± Nis grunted hoarsely. ¡°Given yer plaguing record by the time we see each other again I¡¯ll be in the mud. Tell that sentimental fool Roland to find himself another girl. He¡¯s still young.¡± ¡°Eh, not sure if that¡¯s true.¡± Lear teased with a crook of his mouth. ¡°Trust me son, when you¡¯re really old,¡± Nis had rejoined sourly. ¡°You¡¯ll fucking know it fer sure.¡± - 2 days later Eleventh month of the year 194 NC Midnight ¡°You want to get ¡®Tracer¡¯ Jack out?¡± Edge griped staring at the lit up villa across the street. The corner of the Duke¡¯s Vines and the Inner Northeast District under the walls of the city. The road leading to the Northeast Gates down his left side and the Goddess¡¯ Walkway down the right. ¡°We need to surprise them somehow,¡± Lear explained. ¡°How about we take the blasted mules and get the fuck out of the city?¡± Edge grunted. ¡°Lord Bernard is keeping Jack,¡± Lear explained. ¡°In Rebus¡¯ villa. This means he is not partial to the Bank¡¯s plans.¡± ¡°Or it¡¯s a trap and you¡¯re about to walk into it.¡± ¡°Not much of a guard outside.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a big fucking building!¡± Edge snapped and puffed out. ¡°You¡¯ll head for the Northeast Gates. Skirt around the city walls and reach the Slums. Nis will be there with the supplies. Don¡¯t let him come along if he offers. He¡¯s too fucking old. You¡¯ll hide in the forest near the road to Croton and I¡¯ll join you there. I¡¯ll cut through the South Gates to make up some time,¡± Lear breathed in and looked at the nervous Mark. ¡°We made it this far lad. This is the final stretch but we need to know who is standing with whom.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t untangle all the fucking plot threads and learn all about the court¡¯s myriad coalitions in a couple of days Captain!¡± Edge protested. ¡°There are no coalitions set in stone. People just do what¡¯s good for them depending on their character and ethos if they have any,¡± Lear grunted. ¡°A better offer comes along or a person they like more and they might be persuaded. Self, family and friends. Profit. Ambition. It boils down to pretty basic stuff Edge.¡± ¡°You son of a bitch,¡± Edge grunted. ¡°Who are you trying to impress here? A man needs just a single reason to kill you and sometimes not even that!¡± ¡°Yet Jack is still alive,¡± a sober Lear replied pursing his mouth. ¡°Which means there¡¯s plenty of leverage here. All these threads pulling and lugging, the whole bloody thing too sensitive to take another blow for whatever reason. Or for many reasons. I¡¯ll give it a kick and see what falls down.¡± Edge sighed miserably and Mark put a comforting hand on his shoulders. The adventurer took offense at that and slapped the young man¡¯s hand away angrily. By the time he turned around to speak to Lear the latter had moved towards Titus Rebus opulent villa. Too opulent for a minister of a city. In fact, Lear thought as he approached the two guards at the entrance. This appears more like a place a much richer person would keep ¡®on the side¡¯ to conduct his business. A good ways from the palace but basically close enough. The barracks at the near and a clear route to the Goddess Pathway or the Slums for some unsavory dealings. ¡°The hour is late,¡± the guard told Lear under the rim of his helm. ¡°Come back in the morning.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to speak with Rebus,¡± Lear said looking at the guard straight up. ¡°Is it important?¡± ¡°It is. He¡¯ll want to hear it.¡± ¡°Your name?¡± ¡°Lear Hik.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t ring a bell. Should it?¡± ¡°Is Rebus here?¡± Lear asked patiently. The guard turned to his colleague. He shook his head negatively. ¡°You¡¯ve a man in there named Jack,¡± Lear said and the guards turned to stare at him curious. ¡°If I know that and I know Rebus, maybe you should let me through.¡± The guard grimaced and glanced at the building¡¯s far south corner. The alley there leading to the outer walls occupied by a carriage Lear couldn¡¯t fully see. When he returned his eyes on the guard, his friend had marched inside the building. ¡°Rebus isn¡¯t here,¡± the first guard told him. ¡°When will he be around?¡± Lear asked with a grimace of frustration getting a shrug of the shoulders as an answer. It was unlikely Lear could safely return on the morrow. Maybe it¡¯s time to kick the door in, he thought and reached for his razor. This is going to close a lot of doors mate, his mind warned. Lear scrunched his jaw this way and that anxiously, the guard watching him oblivious to his plight. The second guard returned while the moment dragged. He stepped next to his colleague and whispered in his ear. ¡°Are you certain?¡± ¡°The Lord¡¯s order Ton,¡± the second guard replied with a shrug of his own. Ton stared at Lear unsure and then puffed out in exasperation. ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake. Follow after me,¡± he told the bounty hunter and marched in turn inside the villa¡¯s entrance. The entrance leading to a small atrium and then another large door. The sky roared and opened up outside, the rain rapping at the thin glass ceiling of the atrium behind Lear as he walked down the corridor, following after the murmuring guard. It was a large corridor this. The building even bigger than what it looked. Statues adorning the carpeted corridor in regular intervals. Mostly of nude men and women. Paintings of similar vulgarity on the walls. The guard paused before a cracked open door at the far edge of the building and knocked once. ¡°Let him in,¡± a young cultured voice replied. ¡°Stand at the door Ton and leave it open.¡± Lear grimaced and walked inside the large office and library. Plenty of naked statues in there as well. The desk a polished black with red details. Stacked papers on it and inkpots. A well-dressed Lorian behind the desk, sitting in a relaxed manner. Slick black, well-combed hair and handsome face. A strange engraved bottle of wine open in front of him. Two long-necked gem-adorned chalices filled with it. The strange aroma filling the large office, smelling of wet earth, mature flowers and spiced grapes. The back of a red-haired woman sitting in the chair before the young noble man answering Lear¡¯s query on who the second glass belonged to. ¡°The infamous Lear Hik,¡± the young man said and the woman turned around in her chair to look at the discomforted bounty hunter. Blue and green spotted eyes, an oval mixed-race face, perfectly made up. Her stare cutting like a sharpened dagger. ¡°Quite the surprise,¡± the Duke¡¯s son continued. ¡°And I don¡¯t know what to make of it. You know Lady Manuela Mclean I believe?¡± Yeah. ¡°I¡¯ve been looking for you Lear,¡± Manuela said in her posh cultured accent. A play for the younger man. She was nearing her forties now, but was still as pretty as any woman Lear had met. On the outside. Old Federico¡¯s dangerous offspring had come herself, which explained why Rullus and Saladino had bothered moving out of Lesia. The boss was on the move. ¡°You have something that belongs to me,¡± Manuela continued. ¡°Are you going to play nice in front of Lord Bernard?¡± Lord Bernard blinked and made a gesture to Lear. ¡°Take a seat mister Hik.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll stand,¡± Lear rustled. ¡°I¡¯m unarmed Lear,¡± Manuela reminded him pursing her painted lips. ¡°Not yet, you aren¡¯t,¡± Lear retorted. ¡°Mister Hik,¡± Lord Bernard hissed losing some of his cool. ¡°You are a guest. Have some wine, a touch of bread. Let¡¯s talk like civilized people. I can¡¯t have you threaten a lady in my presence for the love of the Goddess!¡± ¡°Devil¡¯s spawn,¡± Lear grunted trying to figure out what the best move here was. Fight or talk his way out of trouble. The problem with fighting was that once you started killing bad folk, the other folk tended to get confused on who was in the right. Even tried to stop it which could turn very ugly. Eh. Decisions, decisions. ¡°Good grief. Mister Hik!¡± Lord Bernard admonished him. ¡°You are not helping your case sir!¡± ¡°Whatever she told you was a lie,¡± Lear hissed. ¡°You need to inform the king immediately.¡± ¡°The King?¡± Lord Bernard asked with a gasp. ¡°Let¡¯s call a truce Lear,¡± Manuela said syrupy. ¡°Talk it through.¡± ¡°Sir?¡± Ton asked from the door. ¡°Just¡­ stay out there damn it!¡± Lord Bernard cursed in frustration. Hmm. So Bernard doesn¡¯t know all. Neither do you. ¡°I¡¯m prepared to listen,¡± Lear replied. Bernard blinked not believing his ears. ¡°How noble of you. Are you serious?¡± ¡°But Jack comes with me.¡± ¡°For what reason?¡± Bernard asked and Manuela furrowed her trimmed brows unsure. ¡°He owes me,¡± Lear sort of lied. ¡°I can¡¯t condone this,¡± Bernard argued and puffed out. ¡°You¡¯ll need to promise you won¡¯t harm the man.¡± ¡°I promise,¡± Lear replied. Manuela wasn¡¯t certain what his angle was. ¡°Jack doesn¡¯t know anything Lear. Do you?¡± I bet he does. Lear grabbed at the chair and pulled it away at an angle to watch the door before sitting down. His worn-out from months of traveling the wilderness knees were hurting too much to keep standing there looking ominously at Federico¡¯s daughter. ¡°Let¡¯s talk then,¡± Lear told her instead and his face contorted in a half-a-grin half-a-grimace of pain. Fight it out later.
482. ‘Best killers coin can buy’ (2/3)
Lear ¡®Razor¡¯ Hik ¡®Captain¡¯ ¡®Butcher of Drek River¡¯ ¡®Man from Atetalerso¡¯ ¡®Best killers coin can buy¡¯ Part II -''They''ll come this way as well''-
Your predator''s instincts urge you to do one thing, Lear thought coiled as a spring about to snap into action. Skills honed through repetition, fueled by relentless resolve to help you get out of fights to the death. A wounded wolf or the trapped beast is always twice more dangerous. Your mind works different than normal folk, because you are not normal. Not in this line of work. You can¡¯t be. Not after what you¡¯ve done. That¡¯s another layer of survivability. Deserved or not it¡¯s there. So your mind tells you to let the cards reveal themselves instead. Leave the killing as a last resort. Lord Bernard is a skilled scion they say, sharp in mind and on the track to inherit one the richest most powerful duchies in Regia. Some say Asturia is a small kingdom unto itself. You have to take its ruler into account. Lucius first action upon returning to Regia was to tie the old Duke to his fortunes. Lord Holt had always been an ally but Asturia is a big motherfucking city and Bernard a different man with no connections but one. Do you love your sister boy? Lear¡¯s cold eyes asked the young scion that sipped from his wine trying to collect himself behind the desk. Manuela didn¡¯t need any of that. She remained unruffled by his appearance, because that carriage waiting by the alley was big and she hadn¡¯t come to visit Bernard alone. More fucking killers in the house. You kill me, her eyes were saying. You¡¯re dead as well. Then I¡¯ll kill your friends and win the game from the grave. The mad bitch was hateful enough to do it. The Bank is our home, Eleonora had declared. There was fanaticism there because Federico had brainwashed his children and close kin first. This was important to the Bank. Not because of Eleonora¡¯s death or Laudus¡¯ secrets. It was important because they believed it might derail their plans. They couldn¡¯t leave it to chance. ¡°I was informed there is a bounty on your head Mister Hik,¡± Lord Bernard started calmly, trying to navigate the problem diplomatically. Lear Hik was from Lesia. A relatively known general of the previous generation. Fought under the Lord¡¯s father. He¡¯d worked in Regia bringing nasty people to justice. Mostly their heads. He¡¯d worked in Kaltha doing the same. A man with a considerable reputation, bad or not, you wanted to tread carefully with. ¡°I had heard some rumors earlier. But when it¡¯s about something like that. You want to have the details. Now I have them.¡± Lord Bernard puffed out and stared at the two of them. Both his visitors were a lot older than him. Holt¡¯s second son was in his early twenties. ¡°I¡¯m a little shocked of what I heard. Murdering a noble woman¡­ and Lady Manuela¡¯s brother,¡± Lord Bernard continued with a grimace. ¡°Is this true? I must ask.¡± ¡°My job requires killing,¡± Lear replied raspingly. ¡°This specific contract had a lot of that. Reckon with more yet to come.¡± ¡°There,¡± Manuela said and crossed her legs tying her hands at the knee for support. ¡°Nothing more to say Bernard.¡± ¡°Lady Manuela,¡± Bernard said pushing back on his chair. ¡°I¡¯d like to hear the words clearly. I serve in the Duchy¡¯s judicial council.¡± ¡°Did you murder Fausto Lear?¡± Manuela asked Lear acerbically. ¡°He tried to stop me from getting to Laudus,¡± Lear replied coolly. ¡°I disabused him out of the notion but he didn¡¯t survive the lesson. Same for Eleonora. According to the rules of the guild, a person trying to prevent a bounty hunter from completing a capital-punishment contract suffers the fate of the accused.¡± ¡°Laudus has been charged with assassinating King Jeremy,¡± Lord Bernard said. ¡°You were after him.¡± ¡°Per the written order of the Legion¡¯s Intelligence Department head Director Ramirus,¡± Lear replied coldly. ¡°I had accepted the contract and was given the green light to uproot the conspirators, bring back Laudus and all his associates. Dead or alive. For the former I need to provide proof of death. I shall provide proof of death.¡± ¡°Eargh,¡± Manuela hissed narrowing her eyes and Bernard blinked nervously. ¡°You accuse Fausto Mclean of being part of the conspiracy?¡± Lord Bernard asked. ¡°There¡¯s no accusation. We¡¯re past that. He tried to have me killed to prevent the truth from coming out. He was guilty and I administered proper punishment. End of story.¡± ¡°What more do you want?¡± Manuela asked Bernard and he grimaced. ¡°Murdering the King¡¯s brother. A former king himself,¡± Bernard retorted trying to keep his composure. ¡°This is a serious matter my Lady.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t actually believe him? The man¡¯s a murderer!¡± ¡°What does Jack say?¡± Lear asked. Bernard pursed his mouth. ¡°Mister Hik, Jack has given a partial corroboration to Lady Manuela¡¯s words. You¡¯ve put the matter in a different context though.¡± ¡°There¡¯s only one context,¡± Lear expounded. ¡°Laudus was ordered to murder King Jeremy. I believe we all know who did it and why. We also know who knew and attempted to cover it up.¡± ¡°Say this is true,¡± Bernard started palming at his lower face as if his jaw hurt. ¡°It is. You¡¯ll surrender Jack to me,¡± Lear said. ¡°And I¡¯ll bring him to King Lucius.¡± ¡°There is a war going on that might affect the Kingdom,¡± Bernard argued and Lear realized the noble scion had figured out much of the plot. ¡°While you make strong case for informing the King, other matters must be taken into account.¡± ¡°Let the King decide that.¡± Lear countered soberly. ¡°The Bank had nothing to do with that,¡± Manuela intervened coldly. ¡°I reject the implication and maintain the ¡®Butcher of Kadrek¡¯ is lying.¡± ¡°I did the butchering in yer father¡¯s orders and to stop a war,¡± Lear retorted hoarsely. ¡°I won¡¯t shy away from the nastiness of my actions but he who gives the order can¡¯t stand above blame. Accuse the blade all you want but the hand that wields it is the culprit. Let¡¯s ask Jack if the Bank is innocent in this.¡± ¡°Lady Manuela,¡± Bernard said visibly concerned. ¡°You requested to have ¡®Tracer¡¯ Jack released into your custody. Now I¡¯m feeling your intentions weren¡¯t perhaps benevolent.¡± Manuela eyed the young Lord frostily. ¡°Blaming the Bank is not in Asturia¡¯s interests Lord Bernard.¡± ¡°Is that a threat my lady?¡± Bernard gasped and stood back. ¡°I believe I was clear,¡± Manuela replied stiffly. ¡°Lesia can survive because we are proactive in our thinking.¡± She pointed at the strange bottle of wine. ¡°This is just the beginning of the infiltration. The moment it becomes a reality, people will flock to the real thing. They¡¯ll crave for it. For every other fabled trinket or hallowed delight. Everything will be affected. All businesses. When the next Bacchanalia come around, your city shall stand empty of tourists and devoid of coin.¡± What? Lear thought confused. What is she talking about? ¡°The King will put the Kingdom above all else,¡± Bernard muttered pursing his mouth. ¡°Would you risk it? He¡¯s human,¡± Manuela countered. Bernard stared at Lear Hik. ¡°Say the Mclean drop their bounty, will you consider keeping the matter contained far as their involvement goes?¡± ¡°They won¡¯t. You¡¯re either na?ve or shortsighted,¡± Lear retorted raspingly still unsure on what they feared would happen anyway. ¡°The matter should be placed in the hands of the King. Let him decide what to do with it. It¡¯s his family. His call.¡± ¡°You are hinting at a bigger involvement.¡± ¡°Two kings have been murdered.¡± Lear grunted. ¡°Theodor endorsing the violence points a clear finger to the culprit.¡± ¡°The man died during the attack,¡± Bernard argued. ¡°Cut down whilst helping the assassins according to Laudus.¡± ¡°Laudus can confirm it? It¡¯s your word.¡± ¡°Jack can if it comes to that. People not wanting word of it getting out, also paint a clear picture that this is the truth,¡± Lear countered. ¡°Speak to Jack.¡± ¡°Bernard you¡ª¡± Manuela hissed and Lear got up from the chair with a grimace of pain. She stopped to stare at him sourly. Move. There might a pre-agreed attack time. ¡°My lord,¡± Lear said hoarsely and got his large folded razor out. ¡°Whatever Jack said initially made you uncomfortable I suspect. Enough to keep him in here for months. Else Jack would have been released to the Mclean by now and she wouldn¡¯t have to make the journey.¡± Bernard scrunched his face, looking at Lear¡¯s razor unsure on what it was and seemingly troubled with the conundrum he had found himself into. ¡°You¡¯ll trust Jack to back you up now?¡± He asked Lear. ¡°He said you killed his closest friends.¡± That¡¯s a strong word. Jack¡¯s best friend is Jack. ¡°The moment Jack sees her, he¡¯ll know what¡¯s up.¡± Lear retorted and Manuela pursed her lips. Bernard shook his head and then sighed. ¡°Ton¡­¡± he started and Lear flipped the razor in his fingers opening it up. He stepped forward and pointed it in Manuela¡¯s blank face. ¡°What in the Goddess¡¯ name?¡± Lord Bernard gasped seeing the flat thin blade shining in the light of the several lit oil lamps inside the office. ¡°She won¡¯t let you do it,¡± Lear explained raspingly. ¡°But she¡¯ll give word to her killers to storm the villa first chance she has. I reckon they¡¯ll kill us all and torch the place.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°He¡¯s a mad dog,¡± Manuela hissed looking at the blade in front of her face. ¡°A deranged murderer Bernard.¡± Lear raised a brow impressed at her poise. ¡°That¡¯s an insane accusation Mister Hik,¡± Bernard croaked and stood up as well. Ton was heard entering the office behind Lear. The young Lord had a sword at his waist and dropped his hand on the pommel. ¡°Put that thing away.¡± ¡°Enough talking,¡± Lear replied and unsheathed his sword with the other hand angling to keep Ton in his peripheral vision. ¡°You¡¯ll learn a lesson today my lord or you won¡¯t. Bring Jack here.¡± Manuela opened her mouth to threaten Bernard but let out a pained curse instead as Lear¡¯s snapping razor had cut her below the collar before she jolted away. The dress she had on painted red just above her left breast. It was a small cut. ¡°Mister Hik!¡± Bernard snapped and Lear turned the longsword on him above the desk. The young lord backed away failing to draw his blade. ¡°Get Jack here now. Hurry whilst you still can,¡± Lear repeated and turned to eye the shocked Ton who had his sword out as well. ¡°Sheathe that thing afore you hurt yourself son.¡± ¡°Bernard the man is psychotic,¡± Manuela hissed. ¡°Just let him have the bounty hunter.¡± Ah, she has a lot of people in Asturia. ¡°You¡¯ll never leave the city,¡± Bernard croaked unsure whether to draw his sword or not. Lear lowered his. ¡°I¡¯ll have you arrested for this.¡± ¡°You¡¯re missing the point,¡± Lear told him. ¡°Speak to your father and think it through. Ton go get Jack. I hear the alarm raised and we are going to have a problem.¡± ¡°Sir?¡± Ton asked unsure. Bernard nodded and stared at Manuela while the guard walked out. ¡°Are you well my Lady?¡± ¡°She¡¯s fine,¡± Lear replied rigidly and looked at the large office. A window at the far edge facing a back street. ¡°Anyone has the key to the office¡¯s door?¡± ¡°I do,¡± Bernard replied and narrowed his eyes. ¡°You¡¯re not serious¡­ Mister Hik, you are behaving erratically.¡± ¡°By the time you put two and two together it may be too late for me and Jack,¡± Lear explained and signed for the noble scion to drop the keys on the desk. He did and Lear used the tip of the blade to pick them up. Then he retreated towards the door, closing the razor and inserting it on his waistband. ¡°For all that¡¯s holly,¡± Bernard protested and got around the desk to check on Manuela¡¯s wound. ¡°Let me handle this Mister Hik,¡± he added giving the redhead a hankie to press on the bleeding cut. ¡°What if you are wrong? The realm just came out of a war!¡± ¡°Plenty of people killed already,¡± Lear replied raspingly and inserted the key on the outside of the door to close and lock it shut. ¡°Reckon plenty more will die afore it¡¯s over.¡± He pointed at the window. ¡°Stay away from the window. I¡¯ve a man waiting outside.¡±
Lear walked the narrow corridor looking for Ton and spotted the guard shoving a disheveled and protesting Jack out of a bedroom. The bounty hunter spotted Lear coming down the corridor and his face distorted in a grimace of horror. ¡°Get his keys,¡± Lear said looking at Jack who blinked, then ogled both eyes to stare at the grimacing Ton. ¡°Where¡¯s Lord Bernard?¡± The guard asked and went to draw his sword but Lear grabbed his wrist, turned it left and then right, bones crackling until Ton gave up on the handle. He then shoved him back inside the bedroom and turned to Jack who was holding a set of iron keys. ¡°Lock him in.¡± ¡°Lear,¡± Jack croaked but proceeded to lock the bedroom door. ¡°I want you to know I forgive you for what you did¡ª¡± ¡°Manuela is here,¡± Lear cut him off stiffly and Jack clenched his teeth manically in a strained grin. ¡°Is there a back door?¡± ¡°We make a left down the corridor. It leads to the garden,¡± Jack replied and cursed as Lear heaved him forward grabbing at his shoulder. ¡°Dead dog¡¯s arsehole,¡± Jack protested stumbling forward. ¡°What the fuck do you want from me?¡± ¡°Laudus said Theodor got them in the King¡¯s quarters,¡± Lear grunted looking behind him for anyone following. The guard at the door might just decide to come looking at some point or if they start calling for help. Maybe a couple of more sleeping inside. Half a dozen if they have shifts and then there is this Rebus dude that also lives here since the villa is in his name. ¡°Alright,¡± Jack agreed, as Lear kept shoving him forward. ¡°What do you want from me?¡± ¡°I¡¯m saving your arse,¡± Lear grunted. ¡°You owe me big you piece of shite.¡± ¡°Huh? You killed my friends Lear,¡± Jack said soberly and Lear gave him a kick that sent the smaller bounty hunter crashing on the door leading to the garden. ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake. You philistine!¡± ¡°Open the door,¡± Lear grunted. ¡°It¡¯s locked.¡± ¡°Use yer darn keys,¡± Lear urged him and Jack started working them inside the keyhole one by one. ¡°Fucking all hells,¡± Jack kept saying. ¡°Is she dead?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°You spared her? Why? She¡¯s going to hunt us down!¡± ¡°Better her than the old man,¡± Lear retorted. ¡°You need to come to terms with the dangers of the job Jack,¡± he added watching him trying the keys. ¡°You can¡¯t hope they¡¯ll stop coming or forget about it. You need to make it impractical for them. Too fucking expensive. Make the danger outweigh the reward. The Bank has no soul, but a father has. So you look to avoid upping the danger where you can.¡± ¡°You killed Fausto,¡± Jack hissed and finally unlocked the door. ¡°Yeah but there was no way around it and Federico loves his daughter more,¡± Lear replied and walked outside after him. ¡°I never said the danger goes away completely.¡± Jack looked about them at the dark backside of the villa to orientate himself. ¡°Where?¡± Lear asked him as Jack always had an escape route planned ahead. ¡°We climb a sycamore tree near the wall and jump over it.¡± Jack replied thoughtfully. ¡°I got out here every day to catch a bit of sun but haven¡¯t for a while due to the weather. We follow the outer wall of the city towards the northeastern gates¡ª¡± ¡°We¡¯ll head for the copse, follow Goddess¡¯ Walkway and use the south gates instead,¡± Lear cut him off. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I have Edge waiting out of the city,¡± Lear explained and eyed the grimacing bounty hunter. ¡°You help me to climb the wall and I pull you up.¡± ¡°You are heavier than a fat mule old man!¡± Jack protested, himself naught but five years younger than Lear. ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Lear agreed with a leer. ¡°I don¡¯t trust you to pull me up afterwards.¡±This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
Lear Hik trailed after ¡®Tracer¡¯ Jack inside the stretched out well-maintained woodland that reached as far as the warehouses of the now-closed South Market following Asturia¡¯s outer walls. The Slums beyond them. ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll make it old bones,¡± Jack yelled looking back at the scowling heavy-breathing Lear and then he stopped himself to catch his breath. With a booming sound coming from the sky, it started raining again. ¡°Damn, this will take us a moment.¡± ¡°Look for horses,¡± Lear rustled reaching the bounty hunter. ¡°Edge has left a couple for us.¡± ¡°You had this planned?¡± Jack asked and went near a shed to check a small public stable adjoined to it. ¡°The route yes,¡± Lear replied and walked under a tree¡¯s branches to avoid the weather. ¡°Didn¡¯t expect Bernard or Manuela to be there. How did you end up in Asturia?¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to trust Lord Dolf with my life,¡± Jack said and was heard yelping a moment later. ¡°Hah. Edge¡­ delivers! Well, this horse looks like shit.¡± ¡°Just get them out,¡± Lear grunted and Jack appeared dragging two horses after him. ¡°We should split up here,¡± Jack suggested. ¡°Get on the horse,¡± Lear rustled warningly. ¡°We¡¯re going to Cartagen.¡± ¡°God¡¯s darnit Lear,¡± Jack protested. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be safe there!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be a spineless cunt,¡± Lear grunted and heaved himself on the saddle with a grimace of pain. ¡°You need to relax a bit and think of the future,¡± Jack replied following after Lear on the second horse. ¡°Manuela was going to have you killed. Your plan sucked,¡± Lear said raspingly and pressed with his knees to get the horse going faster. ¡°Fucking Laudus started talking and then Mist told Fausto all them details,¡± Jack griped. ¡°That dandy shit had gotten her drunk. Fucking on the job. Greedy motherfucker with a wife like Eleonora you¡¯d think he would have been a bit more faithful?¡± ¡°That was his wife¡¯s idea probably,¡± Lear retorted. ¡°She was the kinkier of the two.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t actually think?¡± Jack gasped pondering about it as he came to ride next to Lear. ¡°Jack you¡¯re from Croton,¡± Lear rustled cutting off his reverie. ¡°I am?¡± ¡°We sold our wares and return to the town,¡± Lear continued. ¡°The guards won¡¯t be that interested with this downpour over their heads.¡± ¡°Right-right.¡± Jack agreed now getting it. ¡°Still, I can¡¯t imagine Eleonora sharing her husband with Mist and I liked Mist and all.¡± ¡°Eleonora was Manuela¡¯s lover,¡± Lear explained. ¡°I know you can¡¯t wrap your mind around it but the Mclean have their own rules in everything. Why did Theodor Brakis got involved in the King¡¯s murder?¡± He asked changing the subject. ¡°Alistair?¡± Jack asked and grimaced. ¡°There was talk about doing something about him. The King was fixated with the North while the realm changed. Eleonora had said that. Word seeped down and that dumb Ursus fourth cousin decided to act. But it was ¡®at the worst possible moment¡¯ as Laudus told us.¡± ¡°The King¡¯s murder was a fluke?¡± Lear asked with a grunt. ¡°Not exactly when you talk about the deed for months prior but yeah, far as timing went,¡± Jack replied. ¡°Laudus was Alistair¡¯s inspector of ports and public works,¡± Lear noted. ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°He discovered what they were doing and kept it a secret,¡± Lear continued reciting what Laudus had told him. ¡°He was compensated for it but also got involved. Now he had skin in the game.¡± ¡°As it goes.¡± ¡°So Alistair goes down at an inopportune time,¡± Lear continued, blinking to clear his eyes from the falling rain. The trees providing some protection from it but not a lot. ¡°Kaltha goes to war with the Khan and the throne is vacant which makes the kingdom vulnerable. Jeremy was put on the throne but not because anyone wanted him there.¡± ¡°Lord Doris was the one who wanted Jeremy on the throne. He didn¡¯t trust his sister,¡± Jack explained. ¡°But the young King caused them problems and then Sula just wouldn¡¯t roll over ¡®n breathe his last, while Cartagen proved a tough nut to crack,¡± the bounty hunter paused to think about it. ¡°King Davenport started having doubts about the viability of the military operation and the Bank just wanted the ports to move on Eplas from the beginning. One thing led to another.¡± ¡°Jeremy wanted to win the war.¡± ¡°If Lucius were to lose one battle the whole thing could have collapsed,¡± Jack replied. ¡°So Brakis pulled back and the Bank convinced Davenport to agree to a ceasefire. This freed Lucius hands and tossed Ligur under the chariot¡¯s wheels.¡± ¡°Ligur was about to maul the Duke¡¯s army. He may even have forced them to talk terms. Split the Kingdom in two.¡± ¡°Lucius could have broken out of Cartagen.¡± ¡°Not with Ligur on his back and Lesia on his flank. Something had to give. This could have taken years to resolve.¡± ¡°So Jeremy had to go.¡± Lear said. ¡°That¡¯s the long and short of it.¡± ¡°What else?¡± ¡°That¡¯s most of what I heard them talk about and Mist told me,¡± Jack replied. ¡°Alistair dying made them lose three or four years and it might be too late already. I guess they need to use a scapegoat to test this theory.¡± ¡°Too late for what?¡± Lear asked his mind on the road ahead. ¡°Going to Eplas?¡± ¡°Some clever thug or an alien creepy creature got his hands on Wetull¡¯s riches,¡± Jack said. ¡°That¡¯s what they said. If allowed to grow this could turn into a tsunami and cut us off from the lands beyond. Zilan are a problem. They are too clever and move too fast.¡± ¡°Have you even seen one?¡± Lear asked harshly. ¡°No,¡± Jack replied. ¡°But the Bank has dealings with them already. They have their own bank now and use their own coin. Square gold doubloons hey big,¡± Lear glanced his way soberly. ¡°Not Dinars or Eagles. Mclean doesn¡¯t like that.¡± ¡°Um,¡± Lear murmured thoughtfully, his mind briefly reminding him of the elusive thief from Shroudcoast. A weird case that. Left open. Seeing the turn towards the south market and the city gates he lowered the hat over his eyes. ¡°Be convincing,¡± Lear cautioned Jack. - A day later 17th of Penultimate 194 NC The road to Croton Asturia Forest East side of Framtond River Lear saw the laden mules and horses first, then the figure of Edge standing by the road looking their way. Mark wrapped in a cloak to withstand the chill after a day of heavy rain and Nis O¡¯ Toren smoking his pipe a couple of meters from the young man. Allgods damn it, Lear cursed as he rode near his friends. ¡°We heard the alarm,¡± Edge commented, his eyes on Tracer Jack. ¡°We were through by the time they got the word out,¡± Lear explained stopping the horse. Nis had brought them new ones, so he was going to leave it behind. ¡°You had to bring him along?¡± Edge asked watching Jack that jumped from the saddle with a fierce upper lip grin. A sole golden tooth splitting the smile down the middle. ¡°Good ole Edge,¡± Jack said warmly and tended a hand to greet the scowling bounty hunter. ¡°Nice to see you again. Know that I¡¯ve forgiven you¡ª¡± Edge had closed his fist while Jack was talking, pulled it back some and then swung a good hook that caught Jack right in the mouth cutting his words off. Jack¡¯s head was hurled violently to the side, feet stumbling in the watery mud and then the bounty hunter went down on his arms and knees. ¡°Fuck¡­ouch¡­ you stupedth¡­ brute¡­¡± Jack gasped bleeding down his chin, a gap where that tooth once stood. Mark run to help him up but Jack slapped the young man¡¯s boots away from the ground around him. ¡°The toolth¡­ find the fuck-ling tooth!¡± He implored hoarsely. ¡°Huh?¡± Mark grunted and looked in the muddy terrain. ¡°Where?¡± ¡°Use¡­ yer bloodly¡­ fingers. Feel¡­ for it!¡± Jack mumbled. ¡°Don¡¯t just¡­ stand there like an idiot!¡± ¡°It¡¯s just a tooth!¡± Mark protested. ¡°Gold¡­toolth!¡± Lear eyed the old adventurer under furrowed brows and then turned to Edge that was rubbing at his hurt knuckles. ¡°Didn¡¯t I say not to let him come along?¡± ¡°I forgot about it and when I remembered it seemed wrong to reject him. He taught me how to hold a blade Captain,¡± Edge admitted and then puffed out tensely. ¡°This is a dangerous contract Nis,¡± Lear grunted and Nis let out a noisy burp afore replying, smoke covering his head. ¡°You are not me mother young blood,¡± Nis told him soberly and emptied his pipe on the ground. ¡°Would be nigh awkward if you were.¡± ¡°I need to reach Cartagen fast Nis. You¡¯re going to slow us down,¡± Lear griped while Jack and Mark were searching the mud for the former¡¯s missing gold tooth. ¡°You won¡¯t in this weather. Reach it soon that is and I brought an extra horse. Not in the mood for walking.¡± Nis replied calmly. ¡°Also I like this time of year and this might be the last chance I¡¯ll have to see the capital. Maybe we¡¯ll make it, maybe we don¡¯t. Still a good enough reason to make the journey. A contract for a King. A good enough reason to go out with a purpose.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s just great...¡± Edge griped sourly. ¡°¡­fucking uplifting words you relic. Can¡¯t believe I defended your wrinkled arse!¡± He grimaced in frustration and then they all watched for a while in silence the bleeding Jack and the determined Mark shifting the mud about to search¡­ for gold. Literally. ¡°Want to check on your new horse?¡± Edge casually asked interrupting their contemplation. ¡°Um,¡± Lear replied over the yelps of enthusiasm Mark let out when he finally discovered Jack¡¯s broken tooth. - Three weeks later Ultimus of 194 NC Thirty kilometers from Hammer Mounts Quarries & Kato¡¯s Bridge Forest road on the east side of Framtond River Ninety kilometers from Croton A hundred kilometers from Storm¡¯s Rest Twitchy snorted, the name given to his horse by Mark, the thin snow that had fallen the previous day already turned to mud but the chill coming from the mountains felt in Lear¡¯s bones through the coat he had on. He waved for Edge to put the fire out since darkness had come and it would be visible from afar. The humidity adding to the waterlogged forest by the sides of the widened road. The Legion engineers had increased the smaller route at least to twice its former width. Several caravans had passed them by and as many merchants they had caught early enough to avoid. The reasoning plain. It was difficult to discern friend from foe on the road unless he had a uniform on. Mark was pulling the mules away from the road. Four of them. Six horses that could handle the road but still they were moving slow. Heavy rainfall had flooded the road, the river turning impassable and several brooks spurting out of the forest hissing like snakes in the grass. Lear stared back at the road leading to Croton, wild grey beard covering his wrinkled face. The breeze whistling though the trees and into the empty opening. The light of the moons trying to break through the clouds. ¡°They¡¯ll come,¡± Nis rustled coming to stand next to him, thick staff stabbed in the mire-covered gravel. ¡°They¡¯ll wait by the narrows and outside Storm¡¯s Rest. In the Navel. But they¡¯ll come this way as well. Nothing cuts like gold. Or attracts killers as strongly. The more coin thrown about, the more wild dogs shall gather drawn by the smell of blood.¡± Best killers coin can buy, Lear thought pursing his mouth. ¡°I reckon,¡± Lear murmured and glanced at the frustrated Edge kicking at the fire to put it out. Nothing pissed the old guy out more than sleeping in the cold. ¡°Naught to reckon,¡± Nis retorted sucking at a lined cheek covered in red and white hairs. ¡°That ain¡¯t no thunder¡¯s rumble young blood.¡± The noise could be heard approaching, still unseen. On and on without interruptions. Until it was almost there it seemed. And then it stopped. ¡°Get the plaguing animals out of the way Roland. Everyone else get your weapons ready,¡± Lear rustled and turned to stare at Nis. The timeworn adventurer snorted and grabbed at the thick long staff with both hands. Turned it once this way, twisted it the other and the part stabbed in the gravel cracked open a foot above the end. The hidden blade now unsheathed and the small wooden lid staying nailed in the ground. ¡°I¡¯ll need a better sword Razor,¡± Jack griped reasonably. ¡°This is too heavy.¡± ¡°Use it as a club. You¡¯re a lousy swordfighter Jack,¡± Lear retorted walking briskly towards the nervous dragging at his horse Mark. Lear slapped the ranger¡¯s shoulder hard, grabbed his elbow to keep him near and used the time to retrieve the crossbow from the saddlebag and shove it in Mark¡¯s arms. ¡°Find a good spot. Don¡¯t shoot a friendly in the back,¡± Lear ordered the tensed ranger and then went to stand in the middle of the road.
The two riders trotted silently near the curve of the road, sound drowned by the distant rumbling of the pregnant river and by the cloth they used to cover their horse¡¯s hooves with. They had to stop for a bit to do it since riding on them for long tended to wear the fabric out and make it useless. When you were on gravel. In the desert it was a different thing altogether. Bigger flats, nice sandy expanse. No trees to sneak near. Here you¡¯ll use the forest side, since closer to the river the ground turned to quagmire. Sludge up to yer knees. Lear cracked his neck right and then left, mouth pursed tightly. A keen eyed fuck spots a glint of fire in the sunset¡¯s dying breath above the treeline and most folk tend to think nothing of it. Unless yer a son of a wild dog out looking for flesh to sink yer teeth into. The Issir Vonk pulled hard at the reins to stop the horse. More out of nerves and not because it was needed. A Lorian scout stopping right next to him. A new face. Not as nervous. Young bloods as Nis would say, think all is words and tall tales. Most things are, but in this business and in this life one better be a hundred percent certain. Fuck ups are lethal. ¡°Ah,¡± Vonk grunted seeing the still figure of Lear standing in the middle of the empty country road. ¡°I¡¯ll be damned. That¡¯s ¡®Razor¡¯ Hik.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± His friend asked. Lear raised his left arm high and Vonk twitched nervously trying to turn his horse around. ¡°How do ye Vonk?¡± Lear rustled and then downed his arm signaling for Mark to fire. The headhunter ducked on the saddle, the bolt lodging in the reacting horse¡¯s eye and exploding out of the back of its cranium. With a pained neigh it collapsed on its hind legs and Lear started moving forward. ¡°Get Sita!¡± Vonk grunted after taking a tumble in the muddy gravel and managed to draw his sword. ¡°MOVE!¡± He roared at his colleague and the young scout kicked his legs to bolt it back the way he¡¯d come from. Nis moving four meters to the right of Lear, custom spear in hand resting on his shoulder. Nis took his time while the panicked scout turned the horse around, hooves digging in the gravel. Then the Nord pulled his arm back, paused for another moment to gauge the trajectory and heaved it with a hoarse oomph at the riding away scout. Nailed him right between the shoulder blades and sent him flying over the horse¡¯s head and right into its path. The horse jumped to avoid the hapless man but failed, broke both its front legs and crashed down on the scout almost snapping him in two parts. Man and horse tumbling for a while after they turned into a pile a bloody flesh and splintered bones afore they finally stopped right in the middle of the road.
¡°Fucking Lucky,¡± Vonk cursed stepping back to get his bearings as Lear came up against him sword in hand and Nis hurried to retrieve his spear from the bloody mess. ¡°Luck has nothing to do with it,¡± Lear replied making tiny circles with the tip of his extended blade testing Vonk¡¯s eyesight in the semi darkness. Vonk slashed to send his sword away and Lear whipped the sword in a sharp arc, almost took the pulling away Issir¡¯s wrist off. ¡°Argh!¡± Vonk cried out and switched hands, having lost the index finger above the knuckle. Lear stepped forward and hacked diagonally to see whether Vonk had practiced wielding a blade with the left or not. The Issir managed to make a block at the last moment, swords clanging and the sound reverberating in the fast coming darkness. Lear swung again going low and rising, then the opposite. Once. Twice. The longsword striking Vonk¡¯s blade with loud clangs, sparks erupting and arm hurting from elbow to shoulder joint. But not as much as his opponent¡¯s. Vonk cursed, half a grunt of pain and half a cry of despair and then Lear¡¯s hack broke through, pushed the defending blade aside and lodged in the Issir¡¯s shoulder alike a cleaver. It cut the leather after splitting the rings of the mail-shirt Vonk had on, butchered the flesh and broke the clavicle. The Issir dropped to a knee with a groan, Lear yanked the sword out and reached with his left hand to grab him by the ear. Kept him steady for long enough to ram the sword just under the Issir¡¯s sternum. Heaved it once for the tip of the blade to break out of Vonk¡¯s back between the ribs and then the Issir¡¯s words fully registered. Fucking¡­ ¡®Lucky¡¯. Shite. Lear twisted his head around, caught sight of Nis returning slowly whilst carrying the custom spear and bellowed a hoarse warning, his boot planting in the dying Vonk¡¯s chest next to the sword for purchase. ¡°SITA LOOPED AROUND!¡± Then Lear yanked the sword out goring the Issir that fouled himself before expiring. They both arrived back to their half-hidden camp with the vicious scrap still undecided sort of. Jack was getting hunted by Opiter around a tree, bleeding from a cut on his face. Mark was rolling in the mud missing the left arm below the elbow and losing a lot of blood and the tenacious Edge was fighting ¡®Lucky¡¯ Sita and Tiberius ¡®Tibs¡¯ Vero. Roland had to use both his blades as if was back in his twenties again. Since he really wasn¡¯t this was almost over. The spear-wielding Vero had already scored a hit in the strained Edge¡¯s sides and blood had painted the latter pants at the waist. Of course Edge could always be faking that he¡¯s exhausted, Lear mused. ¡°LEAVE JACK!¡± Sita ordered Opiter and the burly Lorian turned around to block their advance. ¡°Go ahead,¡± Nis told Lear hoarsely, both men breathing heavy from sprinting the thirty meters to make it back in time. ¡°I got this.¡± Lear ducked under a swing, spine protesting and boots slipping in the sludge, left hand getting the razor out and the right changing the grip on the sword. Almost dropped the bloody thing and he scolded himself for indulging in fancy footwork. Sita did a bit of fancy footwork of his own sidestepping and then reached at his waistband to get a long dagger out. A moment later he started dancing away from Vero to give his partner time to finish off the now less-pressured and shit-grinning Edge. Lear started manically laughing as well. It birthed unwittingly from the tension whilst following the freshly shorn but also greying Sita, the headhunter closer to fifty than forty by now. ¡°Done fucked up,¡± a sweaty Sita grunted through his teeth. ¡°You crazy bastard.¡± ¡°Reckon Tibs is fucked more,¡± Lear retorted his blood boiling and attacked while he was still running on adrenalin. Running about like a young fool whilst fighting can drain you pretty fast or you just pull a fucking muscle someplace and then ye get sodomized proper wit a blade as a reward. Liber ¡®Lucky¡¯ Sita, a lithely built and pretty dangerous fighter that had garnered a reputation through surprise attacks with superior numbers after excellent scouting, knew he had to get rid of Lear fast to have a chance. What had spoiled their plans was his boss, Manuela herself. She assumed Jack would be dead or useless in a fight, Edge the only surviving member of Lear¡¯s group when they had Mark and Nis with them. And Jack¡­ well, a man with a shitty sword still needs to be taken into account. Sita attacked high and Lear parried the blade away using the sturdy razor to direct the secondary dagger attack sideways. His opponent hacked diagonally to confuse him, but Lear blocked it and pushed forward to close the distance briefly locking the swords together. Sita went for the always useful stab in them guts with the dagger, Lear kicked the inside of his ankle breaking it which is always handy and then exchanged a stab over his leather belt for a slash under Sita¡¯s right ear. Never take a razor slash to the face. Or the vicinity of the head. The right side of Lucky¡¯s face peeled off to the molars and flapped open whilst spraying blood all over them. Sita stumbled back on a bad wheel, raising the dagger-wielding hand to keep his face together and barely saw out of the corner of his left eye Lear swinging the longsword high in a semi-circle. Sita should have ducked but he had too many injuries to think it through clearly and didn¡¯t. The heavy blade clanged on the headhunter¡¯s desperately raised sword and pushed it aside afore jamming on the left ¨Cand good side- of his neck over the collar. Lear run a third of the blade¡¯s edge length over the unprotected skin and soft flesh opening a ghastly wound, then stepped aside to deliver a vicious hack at the faltering ¨Cmostly a gory mess now- Sita. In theory. In practice, Lear botched the whole darn thing spectacularly. The barking bounty hunter made two awkward backwards steps after missing the swing and went down on his back, hitting the ground like a sack of bricks. With a hoarse cough and a curse, Lear rolled to the side, mud mixed with gore and rotting twigs all about him and stood on a knee to look for his opponent. ¡°He¡¯s bleeding out,¡± Nis expounded coming to stand next to Lear. ¡°Opiter is unconscious¡­.¡± He glanced back over his shoulder. ¡°Nah. He¡¯s dead. Yep.¡± Lear breathed out and glanced towards Edge, but Roland had already finished off Vero and had rushed near the wounded Mark to help him. ¡°Took ye a good minute lad,¡± Nis informed him critically. Lear tossed a glare towards the old Nord adventurer¡¯s way and then grabbed a helping hand Nis had tended to stand up. ¡°Light the fire you bloody weasel,¡± he ordered the returning out of the woods Jack. Motherfucker had kept running for a while. ¡°We need to stop the bleeding.¡± ¡°The¡­ arm¡­¡± the traumatized Mark croaked with his teeth rattling, when Lear approached to see the damage from up close. Eh. The arm is gone son. ¡°You¡¯ll get better,¡± Lear assured the young ranger over the tensed Edge¡¯s scolding stare. Once we burn it thoroughly. ¡°More on the way?¡± Nis queried raspingly seeing Lear¡¯s angry expression. ¡°Manuela is behind us still but someone might be waiting over Framtond is my guess.¡± ¡°Storm¡¯s Rest?¡± Lear run his tongue over cracked lips and gazed at the lights in the night sky. The clouds had dispersed. ¡°We need to get him to a Dottore,¡± he finally said. ¡°Jack see to find Sita¡¯s horses in the woods. They must be near. Leave the fire to Roland. We might need the coin for fresh supplies.¡± 483. ‘Best killers coin can buy’ (3/3)
¡°Thin but strong, thrice worked and boiled wool,¡± a professionally-smiling Percy explained under Salonius¡¯ intense scrutiny. Sir Gregor was standing outside the private showroom at the back of the large shop. The knight was eyeing a young customer wearing the academy¡¯s robes talking with Verania at the front hall. Licinia, young Cyrus assistant watching over Vacia and Alistair. Two four-horse drawn carriages and ten solitary horses blocking the road outside Salonius Emporium. The extra riders part of Faye¡¯s boisterous entourage or posse of Northerners already causing chaos in the high-end Artisans District. ¡°The fabric seamless and warm if worn over cotton undergarments, especially for this time of year your grace.¡± ¡°What if we don¡¯t favor them Mister Percy?¡± Monica half-teased inoffensively just as the second woman clerk bringing the dresses in the showroom stepped inside from a side door leading to the workshop. I wasn¡¯t mistaken earlier, Monica thought hiding the nervousness under a blank expression. Why are you here? Is this what you do now? ¡°Answer the Queen,¡± Salonius ordered croakily and his business manager blinked unsure. ¡°Apologies¡­ any fabric will suffice your grace,¡± Percy expounded. ¡°Um,¡± Monica agreed looking at Vita. ¡°Or nothing at all,¡± the former priestess added and Salonius ogled his eyes wide, half in the mind to backhand his female clerk but Monica intervened. ¡°We¡¯ll wear those low-heeled country shoes Mister Salonius,¡± she said and gathered her dress to sit in the comfortable armchair. Percy brought the soft leather low-ankle boots from the counter and went to kneel in front of the sitting Queen but Licinia gasped in shock behind Monica¡¯s back and stopped him. The talks inside the showroom dying down and now only Faye¡¯s men were heard from the street. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Salonius was heard hissing horrified. ¡°Eh,¡± Percy muttered caught unawares and glanced at Monica, then at his comically grimacing boss and finally Sir Gregor who had stepped inside the showroom probably after a discreet sign from Cyrus who was watching as well from the door. ¡°I¡¯ll¡­ Vita you take¡­ see to help the Queen,¡± Percy finally managed to say and stood up, only to immediately bow his head low. ¡°Your grace,¡± he said stiffly receiving no response from Monica. Salonius grabbed the ill at ease shop manager by the elbow and shoved him out of the door where Cyrus stood next to the Sir Gregor and to the front of the shop. Cyrus ushering the rich merchant out as well. ¡°The Queen¡¯s ankles,¡± the chamberlain elucidated and Salonius gulped down afore pursing his mouth almost offended at the near slipup. ¡°Of course,¡± he groused and walked out. Monica sighed and pulled her dress up to her knees staring at Vita¡¯s blond, well-combed head. The scene almost surreal inside Salonius¡¯ lavish showroom but while the location was unfamiliar, all other things weren¡¯t. Vita¡¯s fingers touched the leather strings and then pulled them one by one to untie the knot on Queen¡¯s ¡®old¡¯ footwear. Nothing malicious in what she was doing or offending to a watcher¡¯s eye but it felt that way to the young queen. Monica¡¯s nails dug in the velvet armrests, the sides of her mouth twitching nervously and the talks of the boisterous Nords turning indecipherable. The fingers moving and the leather loosening up. Words¡­ oh, so distant. Yet so close. Goddess is a caring servant. Goddess washes the sins away. Goddess is a forgiving mother. Yearns of a touch hidden in a pray Spurns it like a piece of skin ye flay ¡°Goddess prays for those led astray,¡± Vita whispered and Monica heard the thudding of boots in the adjoining hall and the clinging of blades on armour. Cleanses the soul n¡¯ drags the sleigh¡­ ¡­out o¡¯ sorrow¡¯s way. Goddess is a patient lover. ¡°That¡¯s enough needless shopping. By the spirits this is excruciating,¡± a miffed Faye announced walking inside the showroom. ¡°The lads are about to riot and there¡¯s enough crowd gathered for this to turn bloody.¡± It was impossible to make sense of what Faye was talking about most of the times. Monica pushed her dress down stopping the former priestess¡¯ ministrations. Vita stared her way in hurt disbelief. ¡°We are finished here,¡± Monica said and stood up feeling lightheaded. ¡°Have Salonius deliver the shoes to the palace.¡± She ordered Cyrus. ¡°You¡¯ll handle it.¡± ¡°Aye, your grace.¡± Cyrus replied with a rigid curtsy. Monica walked towards the frowned Faye without looking back. Torn between crying and screaming in anger. She would do neither for a while.
Lear ¡®Razor¡¯ Hik ¡®Captain¡¯ ¡®Butcher of Drek River¡¯ ¡®Man from Atetalerso¡¯ ¡®Best killers coin can buy¡¯ Part III -A long way to Cartagen-
Two weeks later Storm¡¯s Rest Winter of 195 NC The large road coming from the bridges cutting parallel between the town¡¯s northern gates, the outer walls and the Third Legion¡¯s summer camp. ¡°You pass by the Main Square, then turn left at the base of the statue, west that is,¡± the aged Lorian merchant explained from his muddy wagon. ¡°What statue be that?¡± Edge asked pursing his mouth. ¡°It¡¯ll be a giant horse when it¡¯s finished. You can¡¯t miss it either way. The Praetor¡¯s famed thoroughbred Stormbolt. It made the journey to Jelin¡¯s Edge and back. Aye, it did,¡± the merchant elucidated with a zealous voice. ¡°Right,¡± Edge yielded and gave a nod with his head to thank the merchant. ¡°Much appreciate the help mister Bluto.¡± ¡°Fittingly a storm is coming,¡± Bluto replied returning the nod with a last look at their rugged from the road group. ¡°See that you lads find proper cover.¡± ¡°A good rock to put yer back on and a tree¡¯s shade is all that¡¯s needed feeble southerner,¡± Nis rustled returning the stare, thick white brows with some red hairs popping wild here and there. ¡°Ugh, we¡¯ll take yer words into account Master Bluto,¡± Lear intervened and the former legionnaire Bluto led his wagon through the gates a moment later. Lear walked to the sullen Mark, the young ranger had almost died a couple of weeks back but had managed to pull through, now standing on the saddle a weakened, dispirited wreck of his former self. ¡°There are a couple of good army Dottori in the town,¡± Lear said patting the horse¡¯s neck. The humidity of the nearby River Groin between East and West Tributaries penetrating their bones. The chill of winter noticeable and coming from the not so distant mountains. ¡°They¡¯ll look to fix you something so you can use the arm. I¡¯ve seen it done afore.¡± ¡°Never heard of a one-armed marksman mister Lear,¡± Mark murmured sadly. ¡°I have but it won¡¯t be easy to do,¡± Lear replied. ¡°If you expect me to sugarcoat it then know that I won¡¯t. More likely than not you¡¯ll be useless and incapable to defend yourself, live like a pariah and die a hungry beggar by some dirty square never reaching old age.¡± Mark gulped down and took in Lear¡¯s serious expression, a twitch marring the young man¡¯s pale face. ¡°If you let it,¡± Lear continued and got the crossbow out of the saddlebag. Folded his left arm at the elbow and placed it under the barrel enough to keep it steady. ¡°It¡¯ll be a pity if you would,¡± the bounty hunter said raspingly and returned the weapon in its place. ¡°You could still help us out and you could help yourself. A man can walk with a cane. Learn to handle a blade and fire a shot a different way. I¡¯ll take that stubborn person, trust him to have my back if he¡¯s brave enough to overcome this, over a four-limbed coward like Jack.¡± ¡°Oh, come on Hik!¡± Jack protested, raised lapels half-hiding the lower part of his face both to keep the cold out and obscure his identity from the authorities. Lear frowned not bothering to answer and kept his eyes on Mark. ¡°It hurts to move it,¡± the young man croaked. ¡°Pain can keep you on edge. Focused,¡± Lear retorted. ¡°A good thing that eventually will go away.¡± ¡°It will?¡± Nah. It was a lie kid. ¡°We got things to do lad and we need yer help, what will you say?¡± Lear asked instead meaningfully. ¡°Are you going to be defined by the piece that¡¯s missing or the rest of you that¡¯s still here?¡± Mark stood back with a grimace of pain. ¡°I want to help.¡± ¡°Then you shall,¡± Lear retorted and patted the horse¡¯s neck once more afore turning around to meet Edge¡¯s inquiring eyes. ¡°You¡¯ll take him in the city. Take Jack along. Enter in two groups. They expect me and Jack but it¡¯s confusing who is who at this moment and this a military run town mostly. This was a Direwolf attack that turned bad and we had to amputate and burn the flesh. Take him to a carpenter next.¡± ¡°This is a cold day ahead,¡± Edge noticed and Lear nodded narrowing his eyes. ¡°Plenty of woods across the road to the west and near the mountain path¡¯s mouth. We¡¯ll stay there. Without me present you¡¯ll go unnoticed. In a week¡¯s time we¡¯ll meet again before the slopes following Durio¡¯s Road.¡± ¡°What if snow falls?¡± ¡°It changes naught,¡± Lear replied and glanced at the bearded Nis. ¡°Got an extra woolen blanket old bones?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t need it young blood but ye might,¡± Nis rejoined and Edge rolled his eyes to the white at the brawny exchange. Two days later The woods near the slopes and the ruined Legion fort Three kilometers from Durio¡¯s Watch, the fort guarding the mountain road towards Oras Navel. Lear cracked the dry branch away from the dead tree with both arms. The snow melting away but still a thin layer of white remaining on the ground. The forest silent but for the occasional sound of birds of prey squealing and the distant groans of forest bears. Most of the sounds blocked by the leafless trees. The terrain a mixture of three colors. Black, white and something in between. He stared at the burning fire on his return to their campsite. The roasting forest rabbit melting away over the hot coals. Nis drying the skin out to make soles for his boots sitting right next to it. Several big boulders that had tumbled down from the slopes and had crashed into the forest at some point in the past, creating enough of a cushion from the cold wind. It blew through the trees bending the smaller ones. It came and went alike a beast¡¯s rugged breath. Started and then stopped without warning. Lear could see the large road between the bare trees and crooked branches, not even half a kilometer away. Less at some spots. Smaller paths crisscrossing the forest. Made by animals and men. Hunters probably used them the most leaving no other signs behind, while Army lumberjacks and carpenters who had followed these same paths had left large squares open inside the guts of the forest that nature is now trying to reclaim again. Theirs was one of these relatively open spaces, located by a cluster of rocks. ¡°Where¡¯s the rest of the rabbit?¡± Lear asked hoarsely breaking pieces out of the rotten wood to drop on the coals. ¡°He who gets the kill eats first.¡± Nis retorted and wiped the grease from his beard. ¡°What about the one who cuts the wood and builds the camp?¡± Lear griped and used his dagger to cut a piece out of the half-cooked meat. He brought to his mouth and chewed on the gummy rabbit flesh for a while, Nis opting not to answer him. ¡°We got lucky,¡± Nis said after Lear had tasted enough of the badly-cooked meat to opt for a bit of wine and water instead. ¡°It¡¯s a shitty weather Nis,¡± Lear noticed with a grimace. ¡°No, it isn¡¯t. And I wasn¡¯t talking about that,¡± the veteran adventurer replied. I know. ¡°Eventually the stubborn wolf will kill off his own pack,¡± Nick continued gloomily. ¡°Left to hunt on his own. It¡¯s a lonely road you are on Lear.¡± Lear scrunched his face this way and that, then he stood up with a grunt. ¡°You are talking about yourself,¡± he finally said raspingly. ¡°Time comes for all.¡± ¡°In part and it does,¡± Nis agreed crooking his mouth where he¡¯d a couple of teeth missing. ¡°The difference is you care because their company keeps you sane. Keeps you human. You¡¯ve done all else and nothing tasted the same. You are not special lad. The lone wolves don¡¯t retreat to die in a cave when our time comes or in a city¡¯s square, more so some Library¡¯s stairs,¡± Nis continued using the staff to shuffle the coals about. ¡°They opt to die on the path still hunting, roaming in them woods and out in the wild surrounded by our enemies and the ghosts of past¡¯s kills. Not all kills but those we could have avoided.¡± ¡°You are a barrel of laughs old bones,¡± Lear grunted sourly. ¡°We owe this realm the blood we opted to spill succumbing to our urges. Remember that when your own time comes,¡± Nis said soberly and got up himself with the help of the old staff. ¡°Do as I have done and leave yer friends behind. Spare them your fate and some part of the pack shall survive.¡± The veteran adventurer and former headhunter added with a glance at the cloudy later noon sky. The clouds a dark mauve but holding steady. ¡°I can¡¯t stop now Nis,¡± Lear rustled. ¡°Aye. Thou can¡¯t,¡± Nis agreed narrowing his eyes. His gaze searching the surrounding soggy tree trunks. The wind resting for those last couple of moments and the silence deceptive as it was filled with a myriad little sounds. Water trickling down, snow melting, the fire crackling, with nearby branches creaking and small twigs swishing. The distant fauna responding from time to time. But not this time. Lear felt the hairs on his nappe raising, the primordial predator¡¯s instincts sending warning jolts down his spine and he twisted around to search for the hidden danger that had alarmed Nis. Another predator had approached their camp. ¡°He¡¯s in them woods,¡± Nis rustled and raised his staff to crack open the bladed part when an arrow whistled across the opening. Lear barely saw it but felt it going through his left bicep as he¡¯d jerked aside instinctively. The tip pressing at his coat¡¯s sleeve from the inside. Nis glanced to see if he¡¯d been hit badly but Lear grunted sidestepping casually and reached to break the protruding shaft. He then found the metal tip and ripped the sleeve open to get it. Pulled it out and smelled blood in the air. Heard feet tip-tapping in the trees, a pause and another arrow whistled out. This time it almost took his left eye away. Lear had moved out of the way at the last possible moment, a deep bleeding cut starting above the cheekbone and ending at his left ear. He stumbled a couple of meters and unsheathed his sword trying to locate their attackers or attacker. The sound of light feet again coming from his left side and Lear turned that way, the fire between him and Nis who also turned towards the noise. A dark clothed, lithe individual had burst out of the woods and was rapidly approaching the adventurer. The glint of a blade dull but it caught Lear¡¯s eye. Nis stepped forward and swung with the staff in a sharp arc but the figure with the hooded cowl that left only the slanted eyes visible, rolled under the custom spear. He then attacked using what looked like an ice-axe from very close. Nis stepped back with a grunt just as Lear moved to get into the fight and saw the adventurer partially block the blow with the butt of his staff. A groaning Nis stumbled back, a splash of blood painting the ground and downed the staff to crash his opponent¡¯s head. The Cofol jerked aside and stabbed the bigger Nord with a shortsword under the sternum, the blade breaking partially going through bone and mail. The Nord swung again parallel to the ground, the Cofol jumped in the air gathering both legs to avoid the custom-made spear and caught Nis again going down with the climbing axe at the left side of the neck. Bone cracking and flesh ripping when the nasty weapon was pulled out in a great spurt of gore. Lear hacked with the sword to catch the distracted assailant but he nimbly cartwheeled away like an acrobat, boots covered with black cloth and tied to the loose black pants that were part of a bodysuit in reality. Nis went down on a knee bleeding profoundly from several gruesome wounds and a scowling Lear went after the feline-like masked attacker, himself sporting a couple of injuries as well. The Cofol went from moving away to attacking from one foot again, unsheathing a scimitar mid-air so Lear had to pause to parry the blade away first and then downing it like an angling pendulum. The idea been to both block the steel ice-axe the Cofol had used for a secondary attack and cut the smaller man across the chest. The block was partially successful which meant that the steel tip dug in his ribs, breaking one and mauling the flesh so that was that while Lear¡¯s own attack found empty air. The man had managed to jump from one leg, twirl around a meter from the ground avoiding the blade and land on the other. Lear took a half-step back and the Cofol came after him again, ducked a left punch making it seem easy but lost the ice-axe to Lear¡¯s sword who had adjusted to this fancy fighting and impressive footwork. If there was a hidden reason Lear hated the circus and it eluded him all those years now he had his bloody answer. Acrobats creeped him the fuck out. The Cofol grunted not expecting to lose the axe and angled the scimitar to run Lear through the gut but the bounty hunter grabbed his forearm and stopped him. ¡°Ah,¡± the Cofol grunted and went for a head-butt. Lear jerked his head right, made to raise his sword but got blocked by his opponent¡¯s free arm just as the Cofol¡¯s forehead smashed at the base of his neck with a thud right above the clavicle bone and bounced off probably bleeding since Lear had a bit of metal above the shoulder stuffing of his leather jacket. Mail shirt underneath it. The two of them fighting inches apart now and the vicious scrap losing whatever grace it may have previously held. The Cofol switched his grip on the strange sword, Lear had thought it a scimitar at first but upon closer inspection it wasn¡¯t, in an attempt to stab down and get at the bounty hunter¡¯s legs but Lear snapped his own head forward forcing the attacker to defend himself. And the motherfucker actually managed it by jerking his neck back enough to absorb the head-butt. So a seriously pissed-off Lear, who knew he was bleeding out fast, went for whatever was close enough instead. The bounty hunter opened his mouth wide like a real wolf and lunged for the Cofol¡¯s masked face, teeth closing around the tip of the nose over the fabric. He bit down maniacally, skin tearing and flesh ripping until he found the thin bone. And then Lear gnawed through that too. With a horrible guttural cry of pain the Cofol jumped away from the bloody-toothed bounty hunter, the mask torn off of his mauled gore-covered face and retreated a couple of steps trying to stop the blood spurting out of his half-eaten nose. The scowling Lear spat the piece of flesh down. The Cofol¡¯s blood bitter to the taste and spicy of sorts, he thought whilst reaching with a hand to touch the bleeding ribs and check on the damage. Not ideal but he had gotten hit plenty of times harder. Pain gives focus and the injuries provide much-needed incentive.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°Come on then son,¡± he taunted his opponent with a wolfish leer. ¡°You might pull through still. Ye got to make another try.¡± The Cofol unfurled the cowl from his head, revealing a gaunt pale face covered with tattoos. Strange tiny glyphs written on his cheeks and shaven skull in vertical lines. He took a step back and then another, the cowl kept on his wound to staunch the bleeding. His eyes going from Lear to the ground where his ice-axe had fallen. You¡¯ve lost that, Lear¡¯s eyes told him. With a grimace of pain, he started retreating again towards the woods. Lear moved sideways as well, the adrenalin keeping him upright, towards the wounded and still knelt Nis. The Nord¡¯s breaths coming out rugged and fast. A pool of blood under him creating vapors due to the chill. ¡°Finish him off you lazy fuck,¡± Nis grunted before Lear had time to get a word out. ¡°Else he¡¯ll come again.¡± Eh, Lear thought looking at his sweaty, wrinkled face not knowing what to say and knowing that standing there like an undecided fool wasn¡¯t going to solve anything, he turned around with a grunt to go after the Cofol that had almost reached the woods in the meantime.
Lear used the razor to cut bandages out of his clothing and staunch the worst of the bleeding. The cold gnawing at him inside the damp woods but he could keep his back on a trunk at least and follow the Cofol¡¯s trail. Because you can¡¯t walk on mud or melted snow without leaving tracks behind. Droplets of blood here and there. Your stench of sweat in the air. ¡°I remember ye cunt face from Asturia,¡± Lear rustled, his hoarse voice reverberating inside the trees. ¡°You done fucked up taking the contract lad. Came all the way here to get yourself killed for gold. I¡¯ve got your taste now and I ain¡¯t letting go.¡± Lear followed the footsteps slowly, going from cover to cover and avoiding the openings or the forest paths. The tracks left behind far apart and partially concealed. Half of them done by stepping on dropped wood or rocks, but Lear was an excellent tracker. It wasn¡¯t a difficult skill and he did have the Cofol¡¯s scent in his nostrils. It was there. Different from the forest¡¯s other smells. ¡°League of Lone Slayers my arse,¡± Lear continued his taunting. ¡°Ain¡¯t difficult to lay an ambush. You¡¯ll know yer measure when the opponent fights back. When you get hurt and start bleeding. The cold air cooling yer skin and chilling yer bones. Hands start shaking and your legs turn heavy when you are hunted.¡± Deeper they went into the woods but then the Cofol turned and started heading for the road again. A semi-circle. Trying to hit the same paths again and blend old footprints with new, muddy the trail. Lear went faster for a while before slowing down again, already tiring and in considerable pain himself but far from giving up. As a matter of fact, the bounty hunter would probably die rather than stopping. Ten meters from the open, cleared out terrain hugging Durio¡¯s Road, Lear paused next to a thick tree trunk and stared at the now sparse woodland outlined by another hunter¡¯s path. A foreign horse now visible some meters away. The grey spotted desert horse, based on its exotically decorated saddle, tied on a branch and chewing on twigs. The saddlebags open and the tracks leading to it. Lear got his razor out and moved his injured arm up and down to test its mobility. It was the broken rib that bothered him the most and the torn flesh there. Eh. ¡°The Butcher of Drek River,¡± the Cofol said stepping out into the open, the cowl turned into a bandage on his face almost resembling the mask he had on earlier. His Common fluent but the bizarre singsong accent was there despite the voice coming out muffled from the injury. Alien and mysterious. Not a Horselord. This a pure-blooded Cofol. Whatever the fuck that means. ¡°Is critical of other killers? Does one slayer differ from another? Abatis thinks you are being a hypocrite Lear Hik. You have been marked for death. Serapis gave the order. You should rejoice at the privilege. Dying at the hands of the League of Forsaken Slayers, cleanses the soul of its sins.¡± ¡°You changed the name?¡± Lear taunted taking a forward step and looking to find good ground. ¡°The word Soteras translated has different meanings, bug-eyed people fail to discern,¡± Abatis explained. Ah. ¡°Well, if you fail and I kill you,¡± Lear retorted. ¡°Dogs and crows shall eat your corpse and your soul shall rot where you drop uncleansed and pissed on thoroughly. I¡¯ll make sure of that. Plenty of urine in me bladder.¡± Abatis, the Cofol Assassin of the League, nodded as if accepting the risk and reached for that strange sword again. He got it out of the sheath above his shoulder with measured moves, using the right arm. The left dropping to a utility belt he had around the waist and then snapping forward. A flash of light caught the hurled object for a moment and then it whipped past the moving to sturdier ground Lear¡¯s ear. Another snap of the arm and there it was again, crossing the distance between them in a breath. Lear twisting away raising the arm wielding the razor to protect his head and something clanging on the vambrace he wore under the sleeves of his jacket. Lear raised the arm to his eyes and saw the star-shaped disk lodged in his forearm, through the metal. Aha, he thought a little amused at the bizarre throwing weapon and caught Abatis coming at him leaping nimbly right and left like an insect. Those flashes leading before the Assassin. Once. Twice. Thrice. Damnation! Thud. Thud. Thud. Lear stumbled back rattled, two disks lodged in his chest breaking through leather and mail. The last one right below the right shoulder. He swung with the longsword wide to cut off Abatis'' advance but the younger man was faster and circled around the faltering bounty hunter. He came in for a side attack, but Lear lashed out with the razor, as he wasn¡¯t that rattled and of the old school of thought that preached to trust the armour to minimize the damage done whilst leaving the worrying on the severity of yer injuries for after the scrap¡¯s end. It would help you naught to know you¡¯re dying out but it will fer sure cause you to get killed sooner. So the injured Lear kept fighting. Abatis changed his attack mid-move going for Lear¡¯s face but the bounty hunter angled the blade to deflect the blow away whilst sidestepping out of trouble. The assassin came at him again, realized halfway through that he was bleeding from a deep cut on his other arm as the razor can carve the flesh painlessly sometimes when you¡¯re pumped full of adrenalin. The Cofol growled and lashed out with his blade but Lear blocked high afore going for a savage hack to test the assassin¡¯s blade quality. The swords clanged sharply and Abatis pulled away a bit rattled but managing to maintain control of his undamaged blade. With a grimace of pain, Abatis changed his stance again and reached for a three-talon like tool he had on his belt, a metallic claw of sorts, with a thin black rope attached to it. Lear whipped his longsword out and stopped the assassin from utilizing whatever that thing was but Abatis sidestepped out of his backwards jump to attack again cutting the slowing down Lear across the chest. Opening the jacket, partially severing the mail underneath and dislodging one of the disks away. ¡°Uh,¡± Abatis gasped rising his left hand to his face as if to check on the mask-like bandage there. Only he kept searching towards the back of the head, fingers digging out something out of there. A heavy-breathing Lear watching intently whilst taking a step back intending to attack low this time and slow-down or cripple his faster opponent. Abatis left hand returned to the front, covered in gore to the wrist and holding a dripping blood small metal bolt in his fingers. The slightly slanted eyes ogling as if unable to fathom how the bolt had gotten there. Lear had no idea as well but was way less saddened than his opponent truth be told and by the time he broke out of the shock at this new bizarre development, Abatis made a gurgling sound spraying blood out of his mouth and died unceremoniously on his feet. The next moment the crafty assassin planted his shocked face on the ground in front of the equally stunned Lear. Another two bolts nailed on his back, so close together Lear had mistaken them for a single fat one at first. ¡°Eergh,¡± Lear grunted ineligibly and collapsed on his knees, half-dead himself. Being as he was very stubborn the injured bounty hunter willed his tired body to get moving again. He had to fight a sense of drowsiness overcoming him from severe blood-loss. Blinked once in fact and saw a small-bodied kid hopping about towards him. Always alarming seeing visions of hopping kids when injured. Or rabbits. So he blinked twice more and the kid turned into an old girl, with a strange face and the body of a tall nicely-proportioned dwarf. Which was a little disturbing also. Nevertheless since no dwarves were like that and Lear had seen a gnome already to now know to tell them apart, this creature was a fucking Gish? For crying out loud. ¡°Drink this you should. Chop-chop,¡± the female Gish said with a croaky voice she attempted to mask and make it sound lighter that it was. It was a vial with a sparkly red liquid. Ah. ¡°My friend needs¡­ it. More,¡± Lear grunted looking into the Gish¡¯s round and wide painted eyes. ¡°No he doesn¡¯t. He-he. Dead your friend is already.¡± Lear grabbed at the vial and stared at it for a long moment. When he raised his head again, the Gish had walked almost twenty meters away, now standing next to the shade of a large cider tree. ¡°The League was formed by a strange merchant in Tull Cautara-Magor before the First Era officially,¡± the Gish told him and pulled a bright yellow hood over her washed out pink hair. She stooped to carefully clean some of the mud from her boots next and grimaced as if the exertion had hurt her back. ¡°But its origins probably hail from Mistland¡¯s deserts and the lands of the Alafern.¡± Then the Gish stepped behind the tree and disappeared. When Lear reached the spot five minutes later still dizzy from the aftershock of the healing potion he found no sign of footsteps leading or leaving the surrounding area. Being stubborn as he was, Lear searched out in a twenty meter arc and found nothing. His small-bodied savior had vanished into thin air.
Lear returned to their camp half an hour later. Nis had crawled near the base of the boulder and put his back on it. The old adventurer had died with his eyes open staring at the forest¡¯s canopy and the moved Lear decided to leave him there. ¡®A good rock to put yer back on and a tree¡¯s shade is all that¡¯s needed¡¯ Nis always preached and Lear agreed with a respectful nod. ¡°I reckon it¡¯s as close a place as any old bones,¡± Lear murmured hoarsely. He then slowly carried rocks from the nearby opening and covered the Nord¡¯s body, building a small wall around him. Filled the top with branches and poured mud over the rocks. It wouldn¡¯t hold perhaps after the winter but Lear did it anyway. Leaving the area he took Nis¡¯ custom-made spear with him and the Nord¡¯s horse. Abatis strange sword and the grappling hook went into the bags as well along several of the strange disk or star-shaped throwing weapons. A purse full of the bank¡¯s gold.
A week later while waiting by the road, a carriage appeared at the turn just before the slopes. The driver a familiar figure. Teo Rullus was a heavy-set man in his youth and an even heavier man in his fifties. Strong as a bull and with a decade in the Legion honing his skills. Rullus saw Lear and the horses and pulled at the reins stopping the carriage five meters away. He had a heavy fur coat on and a chopper on the seat next to him. A trimmed beard with grey hairs covering the lowered part of his square face. ¡°Razor Hik,¡± Rullus rustled loud enough for the passengers to hear him. ¡°You look rough.¡± ¡°Saladino back there?¡± Lear asked sitting atop his horse. He¡¯d lost a couple of kilos living in the wilderness and his beard reached well under his collar. ¡°You know Dittus,¡± Rullus commented and the side door opened for the wiry, lanky figure of Saladino to appear. The narrow-faced former ranger, now looking much older and in a fancier outfit. His long black hair, completely white but still full and caught at the nape. Dittus¡¯ thick mustache was coal black though. It looked painted over but Lear chose not to taunt the prickly headhunter about it given the current climate. He went straight for the bluff instead. ¡°Should we end it here Rullus?¡± Rullus frowned and stared about him at the nearby forest and the open road. ¡°How many do you have?¡± He asked knowing that climbed on the driver¡¯s seat as he was, he presented a huge target. ¡°More than Manuela thought,¡± Lear replied evenly. ¡°Is she in there?¡± ¡°What¡¯s the deal?¡± ¡°You speak for her?¡± Lear asked. ¡°If he wanted to attack he would have by now,¡± Saladino hissed and stepped away from the carriage looking at the treeline. He¡¯d a crossbow in his hands pointed down. ¡°Word is Bolt bought a farm. The size of a grave.¡± ¡°Found a younger lad. Much better eyes. Very skilled. These motherfuckers are cheap as fuck also,¡± Lear replied and raised his left arm high. Saladino grimaced and Manuela was heard from inside the carriage. ¡°I¡¯ll hear him out.¡± Her red head appeared at the door of the carriage, a female assistant glancing at Hik terrified from the interior. Manuela, now wearing a burgundy-colored leather travel outfit and tall rider¡¯s boots, climbed down the small ladder and jumped on the ground. She opened her arms wide. Lear lowered his. ¡°Call your dogs off,¡± he told her sternly. ¡°You don¡¯t want to die for this. There is always another road. It may even be cheaper. Your father taught me that.¡± Manuela pursed her mouth, left fist clenched tightly and the right pressing at her chest. ¡°You don¡¯t know economics Lear,¡± she finally said. ¡°A treasury can empty out, no matter how big it is if its streams of revenue dry out.¡± ¡°Who would dry the bank¡¯s coffers?¡± ¡°A crazy man beyond the Pale Mountains.¡± ¡°Does he know trade? How to manipulate the markets?¡± Lear asked calmly, his eyes on the two headhunters but mostly Saladino and his crossbow. ¡°When to buy, when to sell. Where to loan and when to make a deal?¡± ¡°His allies do. He¡¯s a king that thinks differently. Gets his hands dirty. Wields enormous power and behaves like a thug or a crime lord.¡± ¡°Sounds as if you are describing old Federico.¡± Lear teased and Manuela narrowed her eyes. ¡°Finally found someone not falling for your bullshit. Difficult to manipulate and slippery in his dealings. Take it as a challenge. Maybe share?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a last resort,¡± Manuela hissed. ¡°We¡¯ll call his bluff first.¡± ¡°What if he calls yours?¡± Lear asked. ¡°You are not a kingdom.¡± ¡°Kaltha might fall into the pirate Queen¡¯s hands. Lesia is too righteous to fight an unfair war. The Toka support the Khanate. We need Lucius on our side. We finally have that. Don¡¯t disrupt what many worked so hard to accomplish. The biggest army in the continent.¡± Lear frowned and stared in her face soberly. ¡°You can¡¯t built a house over a cemetery. The corpses will come out with the first flood and fill your cellars,¡± he finally said. ¡°This your plan C. What¡¯s next, if this fails? Because you fear it shall. All this bravado in front of Lord Bernard. Do you know the future milady?¡± ¡°The future can change without warning and for an obscure reason,¡± Manuela replied crossing both arms over her chest. ¡°A king¡¯s mind driven to rage and away from reason.¡± ¡°Difficult to see reason in murder,¡± Lear noted. ¡°You are the biggest murderer I know,¡± Manuela hissed. ¡°You leave the bank out at least.¡± ¡°So you have another plan,¡± Lear taunted. ¡°Usually when you¡¯re scrapping the bottom of the barrel for solutions turds come up the surface.¡± ¡°Let us worry about that,¡± Manuela hissed. ¡°Call back yer dogs.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll need something more,¡± she said after a moment of thought. Oh, for fuck¡¯s sake. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Bring Fausto back,¡± Manuela finally said. ¡°So Federico told you to negotiate if killing me didn¡¯t work?¡± ¡°Nobody cares if you live or die Lear. You¡¯re a relic.¡± ¡°Right. Fine. But it¡¯ll be on my terms.¡± ¡°I want something more,¡± Manuela asked hoarsely and Saladino turned to stare at her unsure. ¡°You realize I only have the heads right?¡± Lear reminded her a little uncomfortable. ¡°I¡¯d like to see her again,¡± Manuela insisted pursing her mouth. Lear was looking at the frowned Saladino. Hmm. ¡°I do that and you clear the road?¡± Lear asked after a moment¡¯s thought. ¡°You do that,¡± Manuela repeated not really answering. Lear stared at Dittus since he¡¯d caught a strange vibe from him earlier. Could it be, Federico didn¡¯t know? ¡°You can still ride a horse yes?¡± He asked her instead. ¡°Where to?¡± ¡°Storm¡¯s Rest.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t trust him,¡± Dittus said and Tullus puffed his cheeks out unsure. ¡°He can just kill us all right here,¡± Manuela stopped him. ¡°Wait here with Salvia. It¡¯s half an hour to ride to town. I¡¯ll have your word Lear?¡± Lear nodded and eyed the two headhunters. ¡°Park half a kilometer away from here. Stay near the carriage.¡± Manuela put a pair of gloves on and walked near his horse. Lear pointed at Nis¡¯ mount. ¡°I could be tempted.¡± Lear said while she climbed easily on the saddle. ¡°You could have taken or killed me at Lord Bernard¡¯s villa of orgies.¡± Manuela retorted and took the reins nervously. ¡°Orgies?¡± ¡°Did that shock you?¡± Lear shook his head negatively. Storm¡¯s Rest Fishing District The two Bridges at the Groin Edge froze at the door of the hostel. It was run by one of two Dottori living in Storm¡¯s Rest. They had visited Vicar first, but he stayed in the army barracks so Lear guessed that Edge had come straight here and he was right. Edge stared at the mounted Manuela all tensed up. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say¡­?¡± He started and Lear stopped him with a sign to keep quiet. ¡°Long time no see Roland,¡± Manuela said from her horse. ¡°Milady,¡± Edge grunted a little confused. ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t overdo it,¡± Lear cut him off again. ¡°Get the mule with the things.¡± Edge grimaced. ¡°As in¡­ the bag?¡± ¡°Um,¡± Lear replied. ¡°Eh¡­¡± Edge cleared his throat. ¡°Get on it,¡± Lear said and climbed down from his mount. ¡°I have the others waiting with Tullus and Saladino.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Edge said and clenched his jaw nervously. ¡°The lad is alright?¡± ¡°Better, got a new¡­ arm,¡± Edge replied and turned to walk towards the stables. Lear returned near Manuela. He pursed his mouth trying to find a way to prepare her for the ghastly spectacle but came up empty. ¡°It¡¯s been a while,¡± Lear warned her opting to keep it simple of sorts.
Edge brought a short table out and stood in front of it to block the sight from the passersby. Mainly from the bridge that led to the River Groin. Crews and artisans heading back and forth as this was a town actively being built from the ground up. The roads were finished, the neighborhoods laid out and most of the official buildings were working already. But the majority of the houses were still under construction. One could imagine or see how the town would look though when finished, the army architecture prevalent but at certain areas it reminded Lear of Cartagen. Especially the columned Main Square and the Forum next to the central market. Fausto had turned a nasty black color. The skin dried out from the salts and the cheeks sunken so much it was difficult to stare at him. Manuela did for long and then nodded at Edge who was standing across from her at the table with Lear at one end of it. Edge picked up the severed head and placed it in a new leather bag carefully. Then poured more salt over it. He took his time to get Eleonora¡¯s head out. The mouth gaping and teeth turned black from rot and old blood, one eye cracked open and milky. Hideous to look at. But no corpse is supposed to be pretty. Manuela started sobbing and stepped forward to take Eleonora¡¯s severed head in her hands. She brushed the dirty and dried up gore covered blond hair back. Pressed her lips on the emaciated forehead shaking like she had a fever. Lear pursed his mouth tightly and glanced out of the corner of his right eye at the sniffling Edge. He had to kick him under the table to force the moved bounty hunter to snap out of it. Edge was always sensitive like that. Lear couldn¡¯t afford to be, but still he¡¯d a bitter taste in his mouth watching Federico¡¯s daughter rocking her lover¡¯s mummified head in her arms and a severe burning in his stomach. The citizens of Storm¡¯s Rest walking by them oblivious to the cause of the woman¡¯s grief outburst as they couldn¡¯t see what she had in her arms. Or imagine it really was what it looked like. Lear smacked his lips, Edge murmuring a quick prayer to Oras next to him, fat tears running down his eyes and the mood too heavy to withstand it for much longer. ¡°Milady,¡± Lear grunted raspingly and when that didn¡¯t work he put a hand on Manuela¡¯s shaking shoulder. ¡°It is better to put it in the bag again.¡± Her. Eh. Manuela closed her teary eyes and then wiped her face with the back of her now dirty hand. ¡°You truly are a cursed man Lear,¡± she told him hoarsely. ¡°Aye,¡± Lear agreed soberly. ¡°Many a times milady.¡± ¡°I want her in a separate bag,¡± Manuela ordered Edge. ¡°A¡­ aye ma¡¯am. I¡¯ll get one emptied.¡± ¡°Gratitude mister Roland,¡± Manuela whispered and Edge¡¯s face distorted heavily conflicted. ¡°We have a deal?¡± Lear asked to help him out. ¡°The Bank is kept out,¡± Manuela said. ¡°I won¡¯t lie. Pray the King keeps a clear head. He¡¯s known to be reasonable. I want the road cleared.¡± She breathed out her eyes set on the bags Edge had placed on the table. The bigger one, discolored and worn out. The smell coming from them pretty bad even in this chilly weather. ¡°Many interested parties have made their own arrangements,¡± Manuela finally said in a business-like manner recovering some of her wits. That was all of her soul they were allowed to see and that window had now been closed again. ¡°The Duke?¡± ¡°The Baron,¡± Manuela replied evenly. ¡°Via the Duke.¡± Lear narrowed his eyes. ¡°Are they worse than the Bank¡¯s?¡± Manuela licked her dry lips and grimaced at the bitter taste. Her mind unable to make the connection but it would eventually. When she retired for this night or some other, all this would come back in a horrific nightmare. It was the same for all. ¡°The Baron is the most dangerous man of them all Lear,¡± Manuela had replied. ¡°The Bank has dealings with many skilled killers and affiliate groups, even trains its personnel occasionally. But there is word in the streets that he has close ties with the real thing.¡± ¡°The League?¡± Lear asked curious thinking of Abatis. ¡°The League works for the Bank of Dinar historically and we loan them from time to time,¡± Manuela elucidated. ¡°Nattas straight up employs Silent Servants is the word along his own army of thugs. Smugglers, whores, money-laundering. Nobody knows how much dirty coin ends up in his stained hands. He is the underworld. Murders someone every other day and nobody learns anything about it.¡± ¡°Did he have Alistair or Jeremy killed?¡± Lear asked her point blank. ¡°You didn¡¯t have her head,¡± Manuela said all serious. ¡°So you gave me only Fausto.¡± All that coin and you failed to be happy, Lear thought. You couldn¡¯t get out in time as well. ¡°I didn¡¯t.¡± Lear agreed with a grimace of sorrow. ¡°I¡¯ll see to keep her close,¡± Manuela explained in a low voice. ¡°My father would have wanted to tell you Nattas was behind everything. He should have been right? He is such a thorn in our sides,¡± she sighed deeply, her face hardening. ¡°But he wasn¡¯t. Not in those two murders.¡± ¡°Why did he get involved then?¡± A frowned Lear asked. Manuela shrugged her shoulders and then walked slowly towards Nis¡¯ horse. It was loaded with the two bags they had given her. She paused near it and turned to stare at Lear and the uncomfortable Edge. ¡°Maybe there¡¯s something more there disturbing enough in the grand scheme of things or equally dangerous he doesn¡¯t want getting out. We all have our secrets Lear.¡± Edge watched her galloping away for a moment and then turned to the glowering Lear. ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it. We¡¯re in enough trouble as it is.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not.¡± ¡°Sure. Where¡¯s Nis?¡± Edge asked him accusingly. ¡°He didn¡¯t make it,¡± Lear replied pursing his mouth. ¡°Get Mark ready. She might change her mind when grief slaps her in the face.¡± ¡°Why give her the heads?¡± ¡°To buy us time and keep our options open,¡± Lear replied frostily. ¡°It¡¯s such a long way to Cartagen Roland and we are running out of friends.¡± Staying by himself in the woods wasn¡¯t something Lear had enjoyed at all. The old adventurer had been right.
484. Lar O’ Talas Dagnir
Rhys Vardran Dar Tulca Lar O¡¯ Talas Dagnir* *(archaic: League of Forsaken Slayers)
¡®Corona Vallaris¡¯ road inn at Oras Navel valley Half a kilometer from the military warehouses at the exit of Tunnel Pass Eleven kilometers from the south turn to the Goat Plains Durio¡¯s Road About a hundred kilometers from Storm¡¯s Rest ¡°Here it is then ma¡¯am,¡± the Lorian inn keeper said placing the plate in front of Flix. ¡°Broccoli and goat hip fillet roasted in lard. Half-done.¡± Rhys raised his eyes to stare at him amused, the tea cup clattering on the table as the man pushed it near his hands. Tossed a smaller plate of cake right next to it. ¡°Tea and cake for the mister.¡± ¡°Any fruit in it?¡± He asked reaching to taste the hardened piece of cake. In looks and feel. ¡°Grain seeds,¡± the inn keeper replied visibly annoyed. ¡°Very healthy. For the price.¡± Rhys crunched the cake using his gold teeth into smaller brittle pieces without commenting while Flix used a dagger to cut the meat into thin slices. He used a fork to wrap them around the oiled broccoli and guide them in his painted mouth. Each bite an art. ¡°Um,¡± the inn keeper grunted watching the Gish eat slowly for a moment then cast a critical glance at Rhys before walking away. ¡°This is an old goat,¡± Flix said after a while. ¡°Not very tasty.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure he is,¡± Rhys rustled and turned around to watch the door of the inn¡¯s hall. ¡°She¡¯ll be here soon,¡± the Gish assured him. ¡°Do I seem worried?¡± Rhys grunted aggressively. ¡°In this line of work we make few friends,¡± Flix replied. ¡°Fewer souls come close.¡± ¡°That¡¯s your answer?¡± Rhys spat abruptly. Flix gulped down and then wiped his lips with a small towel. ¡°Aye,¡± he replied and Selussa walked through the door. She paused to locate them and then came to their table a couple of patrons casting curious glances, to put it politely, towards her.
¡°Adventurers?¡± Rhys asked a moment later. Selussa had tried to taste his cake but dropped it with a grimace and went for the tea instead. Almost cracked the small plate in half. ¡°Of sorts,¡± she replied with a shiver a generous sip later. Rhys was staring at her throat moving and almost missed her reply. ¡°The wind is crazy out there.¡± ¡°Bounty hunters?¡± Rhys insisted coming about. ¡°Cutthroats in general. Patrolling the exit of the Tunnel.¡± ¡°How many?¡± ¡°At least four different groups,¡± Selussa replied. ¡°Mostly Lorians from Regia but a lot of Lesia creeps.¡± ¡°Oras hells,¡± Rhys cursed. ¡°Think they know he¡¯ll come through there?¡± ¡°They guess he will,¡± Flix replied. ¡°It¡¯s easier than searching.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the alternative?¡± ¡°Loop around and go to Storm¡¯s Rest as you suggested,¡± Selussa said with a small smile. ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Rhys grunted and stooped over the table. Flix offered him a broccoli lathered slice of goat stabbed with his fork but Rhys waved the fork away. ¡°He goes in the city¡­ eh, whatever the fuck this place is, and sends a bird to Cartagen.¡± ¡°What will that gain him?¡± Selussa asked. ¡°The King will want to hear it in person. His brother was murdered.¡± ¡°A message could be intercepted if the culprits are high enough in the administration or the army officers crooked,¡± Flix added. ¡°There is that of course,¡± Rhys agreed and pushed back on the chair a little deflated. ¡°The Baron seems to fit this description.¡± ¡°He denied involvement,¡± Selussa noted afore adding after a brief pause. ¡°I don¡¯t believe him.¡± ¡°Um,¡± Rhys murmured thinking it through. ¡°If he make it here, then Cartagen isn¡¯t that far away,¡± Selussa added. ¡°He might stall some more to tire them out,¡± Rhys continued. ¡°It¡¯s a business. I don¡¯t know though, the army is pretty loyal to Lucius. Especially around these parts. Storm¡¯s Rest is a military city right? Or something close to it. Lots of veterans there, but could they get it done? Would Hik risk it? Assuming he has learned what happened in between murdering maidens and noble scions.¡± ¡°Only one way to find out for certain,¡± Selussa teased. ¡°You don¡¯t like the country is that it? Long for the warmth of a real town?¡± Rhys asked her gruffly and then smiled seeing her frown. ¡°I was kidding.¡± ¡°Maybe work some on your blasted delivery?¡± Selussa retorted with a hiss. ¡°He-he,¡± Flix chuckled and put his fork down. ¡°The fabled dwarf lands.¡± ¡°What was that?¡± Rhys snapped but the Gish had disappeared without bothering to answer him. ¡°What the fuck?¡± That is Flix had jumped down from his chair and got lost for a moment behind the table, until his small hand appeared over the edge. The Gish moved it about some, feeling at the surface with painted red nails in order to locate the fork and when Flix found the inn¡¯s iron utensil, he swiftly ¡®reclaimed¡¯ it. - 8th of Primus 195 NC Hostel at the corner of Central & 3rd Legion Street Across the Library building Legion Veterans District Storm¡¯s Rest ¡°Officer,¡± Rhys greeted the young Centurion leading a patrol that stopped at the entrance of the hostel spotting the heavily armed assassin. ¡°It¡¯s a cold morning.¡± ¡°No colder than Kas mister¡­¡± ¡°Rhys. I¡¯ve given my name to the gate sergeant.¡± ¡°Manius Tutor,¡± the officer replied and glanced at the corner of the hostel for Selussa and Flix that were returning from the venue¡¯s stable. ¡°You¡¯re an adventurer?¡± ¡°Dabbled in a lot of things,¡± Rhys replied without expounding. ¡°Mostly in Eplas though.¡± ¡°Thought I caught a bit of an accent.¡± ¡°People have told me that afore,¡± Rhys agreed clenching his jaw. ¡°You keep strange company,¡± Officer Tutor noticed. ¡°Gish are common on Eplas.¡± ¡°Was talking of the Cofol lass.¡± Ah, you¡¯re a smartass. Probably you have a relative in the army already? High up the hierarchy. Um. ¡°She wanted to see Asturia. The weather forced us to stop here,¡± Rhys replied vaguely and the officer nodded with another glance at Selussa. ¡°A wise decision. Stay out of trouble Mister Rhys,¡± he finally said eloquently and marched his patrol across the wide street to the Library building that was still under construction.
Looking for an unknown needle in a busy and chaotic haystack, Rhys thought a little peeved, cleaning his muddy boots at the steps of the hostel. The town a giant construction site. Parts of it fully finished and functional, other portions still in the planning phase. Everything neatly arranged though and most of its streets finished, already paved with stone tiles, marble or gravel. Selussa resting her back on the corner wall of the hostel, lapels of her leather coat raised to combat the cold, arms crossed and a leg folded at the knee. She was talking with Flix that had a warm dress on and a scarf covering his head under a large hat. The Gish was smoking his pipe. ¡°You should try it,¡± Flix said puffing smoke rings out. ¡°Is this a Gish thing?¡± Selussa asked keeping her voice low. ¡°Match-making?¡± ¡°Sex is fun and all Gish enjoy it.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve work to do for the Guild.¡± ¡°Ralnor sent you here to open your wings and see the realm,¡± Flix argued and Rhys frowned keeping his distance to better eavesdrop. ¡°Forget about loss and peel off life¡¯s layers.¡± Bullshit he did. ¡°I don¡¯t see him like that,¡± Selussa retorted defensively. ¡°Flix thinks you do. We pick from our basket in the end. Or mess up a job.¡± ¡°He¡¯s obnoxious.¡± ¡°He has a good cock to balance it out and a soft spot for you,¡± Flix countered and Rhys narrowed his eyes. Both the Gish and Selussa catching him standing there under the porch looking all weird. ¡°I¡¯ve rent us a room,¡± Rhys snapped gruffly. ¡°It was the only fucking room available, so I want no lip or smart comments about it. Two beds so we¡¯ll sleep in turn to make it work. We¡¯re here to locate the bounty hunter so we can¡¯t stay inside fooling around all warm and fuzzy!¡± ¡°I need a bath and a meal,¡± Selussa replied casually and pushed herself off the wall. ¡°I need a chamomile,¡± Flix added fixing his hair with a hand and walked after her without paying attention to the seething Rhys. ¡°My throat is sore.¡± ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll start first,¡± Rhys grunted as they both sauntered past him full of sass to enter the hostel. ¡°Head to Praetor¡¯s Square to check on faces and sniff them out.¡± The skies roared over his head and a distant thunder was heard. A moment later rain started coming down and a scowling Rhys remained under the porch looking at the hostel¡¯s entrance. He waited for the weather to improve before venturing out, but it didn¡¯t so he had to get wet yet again.
Two hours later a thoroughly waterlogged and tired Rhys returned. He climbed the stairs to the first floor, paused at the corridor to remember which room was theirs and then cracked the door open. He found Selussa brushing her curling hair on the edge of the bed. The bath barrel at a corner having a pool of water splashed at its base and soaking the floorboards. ¡°The Gish?¡± Rhys rustled marching inside his eyes on the woman¡¯s slightly rocking back and forth crossed leg. The skin slippery taut and spotless. A nice tattoo of a leaping black cat on her ankle for her Guild name. Dar Mori-Yaule. Dar Eherdir¡¯s girls had grown up. Though granted one of them was dead. ¡°Went to look for the bounty hunter,¡± Selussa replied with a side-glance at his dirty clothes. She had a wet cotton towel on. The Cofol female had wrapped it tightly around her fit body but the stretched fabric provided nowhere near enough cover for the flesh available. ¡°Rhys¡­ where are you?¡± Right here. Fully committed. ¡°Mm,¡± Rhys grunted semi-snapping out of it. ¡°The tattoo is more noticeable today.¡± Selussa raised an eyebrow. ¡°I¡¯ve shaved my legs with your good dagger.¡± She raised an arm to show him her clean armpit. Rhys pursed his mouth. ¡°Got the stink off of me.¡± Selussa added evocatively with a cute grimace. You did. Everything looked cute on her all of sudden and he couldn¡¯t blame the plaguing weather or the venue. Rhys run a tongue over his lips trying to think of something else other than diving in bed with her. It was a powerful rush this and he blinked once hard trying to get ahold of his faculties. ¡°Rhys?¡± Selussa queried invitingly and he could have been mistaken about the latter. ¡°Remember when I said that it was a mistake kissing you?¡± Rhys grunted and walked towards the bed, all muscles coiled like a spring ready to strike. ¡°Ahm¡­ was it?¡± Selussa asked huskily and it could have been a trick to lull him into a trap but when Rhys pounced on the female assassin, she made no effort to resist him. They rolled feverishly on the bed all tangled up, a leg around his waist, moist curl of hair in his mouth, a hand massing a firm tit and Selussa¡¯s ivory brush almost poking out his left eye, until they reached the side edge of the bed and crashed on the floor. ¡°Don¡¯t stop,¡± a flushed Selussa hissed in Rhys¡¯ sweaty face, her teeth biting at his lower lip and fingers pressing down at the half-breed¡¯s carotid in a half-passionate half-lethal hold. Veins popping out and heart beating like a drum in his chest. Her body rocking on top of his, but Rhys was a fit guy and could take her weight with ease. Still he would have preferred a bit more control, not that he was about to complain and Rhys could still use both his hands now parked on her meaty hips, to guide most of the action in between rugged breaths. The latter a bit of a problem. ¡°Oi¡­ aye¡­ ah, stay there!¡± Selussa screamed passionately and Rhys croaked something ineligible practically pinned on the messy bed. Ogling eyes staring at the round bouncing naughty breasts over his face until his stare strayed in the midst of their lovemaking upon hearing a splashing sound coming from somewhere inside the room. An out of place sound. Other than the squelching noise of his engorged cock getting abused by the determined Selussa that is. Flix was cleaning his feet in the used bathtub, plopping them inside one after the other. The Gish gave him a meaningful wink seeing his stare. Oras shadows! Then Flix jumped down lithely and used a towel to dry them up before slotting them in his small winter boots carefully. He then reached for his pipe, red-rimmed eyes returning to watch them fucking their brains out on the hostel¡¯s creaking bed. ¡°Come on¡­ just a little¡­¡± Selussa squealed a hoarse complaint and cracked an eye open feeling him unresponsive inside her. ¡°Rhys¡­ what¡­?¡± ¡°Ergh,¡± Rhys croaked still getting strangled in her steely grip. ¡°Are you¡­ fucking serious? The hells are ye looking at? I¡¯m over here!¡± ¡°The Gish¡­¡± ¡°Ugh?¡± Selussa gasped. ¡°Flix¡­¡± ¡°Fuck her!¡± It¡¯s a he dear. Of sorts. ¡°He-he,¡± Flix chuckled. ¡°I missed live shows so much.¡± ¡°Eeuh¡­¡± Selussa gasped relaxing her grip. Face sweaty and eyes unfocused but slowly working their way back to the present. ¡°He¡¯s here,¡± a still very much aroused Rhys explained and the female leaped off of his cock with a yelp, into a backwards somersault that flashed all her anatomy to the gawking assassin leader. Off the edge of the bed to land on the floor with a curse, leaving Rhys still laying there at full mast. ¡°Sister is nimble as a cat indeed,¡± Flix commented appreciatively blowing smoke out of his nostrils. The room smelling of soap, sex and drugs. Life in the plaguing country comes with weird benefits and unexpected customs, Rhys thought sourly and raised his head from the pillow to glare at the mirthful Gish. ¡°Couldn¡¯t you wait a couple of more hours?¡± He grunted and Flix shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Hours? Aww. You want help relieving that?¡± The Gish teased pointing the lit pipe at his still hard phallus. ¡°Ye feel light-headed now don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Flix!¡± Selussa hissed angrily. ¡°I¡¯m good,¡± Rhys replied confidently and swung his legs over the side of the bed. Just to make it less awkward he grabbed the pillow and covered his private parts pressing down on his cock. The latter leaving the Cofol woman the only fully exposed person inside the room. Rhys had no qualms at all about the latter though. None. ¡°Have you ever seen a lovelier Cofol?¡± Flix asked casually and this was a tricky question for sure so Rhys decided not to answer it while Selussa cursed the Gish¡¯s lineage and homeland. She then walked to the barrel and jumped inside frustrated with another yelping curse as the water was now cold as fuck. A miffed Selussa glared his way from inside the barrel and Rhys turned the smirk into a thoughtful expression. ¡°Answer the query Rhys.¡± She snarled warningly and Rhys decided it wasn¡¯t worth the risk to chance it with the full truth. ¡°I haven¡¯t,¡± Rhys replied in a sober manner. ¡°Not that I remember.¡±
¡°I found an assassin,¡± Flix told them casually some minutes later, Rhys now wearing his pants and a shirt. Selussa shivering in a fresh towel, had just returned from closing and baring their window. ¡°Our guy?¡± ¡°No. A member of the League,¡± Flix replied and Rhys furrowed his brows. ¡°Bullshit,¡± Selussa griped still pissed with the Gish. ¡°How would you know?¡± Rhys asked. ¡°I spent years in Eplas and didn¡¯t encounter anyone.¡± ¡°Bathing by the river he was. Covered in glyphs.¡± Flix explained with a stupid leer. ¡°I caught him by complete accident?¡± ¡°You¡¯re doing a lot of that,¡± Rhys commented sourly. ¡°You should check it out.¡± ¡°It¡¯s called being lucky. Pretty people are favored by Luthos.¡± Flix replied with fake modesty. Right. ¡°Any sign of Hik?¡± ¡°No, but it is strange seeing a Slayer so far from Eplas.¡± ¡°What¡¯s strange about it?¡± Selussa asked and walked around the hostel¡¯s bedroom to pick up her garbs. Every time she stooped at the waist to pick a garment from the floor the alluring sight gave Rhys pause. ¡°They are sort of a cult and not a guild,¡± Rhys explained taking over from the puffing out smoke Flix. ¡°Flix is in a cult,¡± Selussa retorted and lost the towel in the attempt to squeeze into her leather pants. ¡°Nym read about them when she was young,¡± Flix said in his half-drugged state. ¡°They are run by an Alafern. Or more.¡± Selussa paused buttoning her shirt and looked at them. ¡°Seriously? Rhys?¡± ¡°Ahm,¡± Rhys stalled not fully paying attention to the conversation. ¡°An Alafern?¡± Selussa repeated with a taunting grin. ¡°Ehem¡­¡± What the fuck was¡­ ah, of course. ¡°Yeah that¡¯s a bullshit tale Flix. Magic, mythic creatures of the dark¡ª¡± ¡°We use spells,¡± Selussa cut him off. ¡°What the allhells are you talking about?¡±Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°We do,¡± Rhys agreed a little perturbed. ¡°You¡¯ve met the witch.¡± ¡°I did,¡± Rhys agreed again. ¡°So, what¡¯s your argument?¡± Flix asked seriously. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to argue!¡± Rhys blasted them and got up frustrated. ¡°Got carried away in this talk for no plaguing reason! Gods damnit! Enough! What does a vampire-loving cult member being here has to do with our guy Flix?¡± He asked full of righteous indignation. ¡°He heard about the contract?¡± Flix replied with a casual query. ¡°Of course he did!¡± Rhys roared and Selussa opened her eyes unsure where he was going with this. Rhys was going nowhere. ¡°So¡­¡± He paused to scratch his head. ¡°How does it help us?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll follow him and see whether he knows more than we do,¡± Flix explained and put out his pipe. ¡°Good.¡± Rhys smacked his lips suddenly feeling very thirsty. ¡°We¡¯ll work the town ourselves.¡± He added and puffed out.
¡°I hate the cold Rhys,¡± Selussa hissed the next morning as they were loitering at the edge of the market. Her new fur coat making her appear twice as big as before. That¡¯s a cow¡¯s worth of leather sugarcane. ¡°Are you cold now?¡± ¡°No. But I¡¯m heavy?¡± Rhys glanced her way appreciatively. ¡°Heavy looks good on you.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡± Selussa snapped. ¡°It was a compliment dear.¡± Rhys stared at the still under construction Governor¡¯s palace in the distance thoughtfully. ¡°The Baron will cough up a fine parch of land for this business,¡± Rhys explained. ¡°I don¡¯t feel like doing the Baron¡¯s bidding,¡± Selussa griped. ¡°He cheated his way into the guild.¡± ¡°Yeah, but still¡­ I can see you enjoying retirement amidst the palm trees, warm breeze on your skin and near a city like Novesium,¡± Rhys insisted. ¡°You and I could live cozily there.¡± ¡°Who told you I want to live with you?¡± Selussa queried. ¡°Are you backing down?¡± Rhys barked gruffly. ¡°Ye squeezed so hard back there my cock still hurts! Almost strangled me out of breath. Hah!¡± ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake, can you keep your voice down?¡± Selussa protested looking about them. ¡°You want this too much and I¡¯m here to tell you it¡¯s not in vain¡­ you won¡¯t stand alone dear,¡± Rhys told her meaningfully. ¡°Wow. Where do you get all this confidence?¡± Selussa shook her head amazed. ¡°Think of the warm sun over our heads, sandy beaches, thick shade and cold fruit juices,¡± Rhys continued raising a thick brow teasingly. ¡°Fine, this part I like,¡± she admitted with a deep sigh. ¡°Nattas is a shitty neighbor though. I can¡¯t be owned by him Rhys.¡± ¡°You won¡¯t be. Fuck Nattas. Just tell me you¡¯re in it with me.¡± ¡°Can I think about it?¡± ¡°What for?¡± Rhys cut her off and started heading for the Guardhouse. ¡°You¡¯re going to say yes.¡± ¡°Not all women like this kind of obnoxiousness wrapped in curt manners,¡± Selussa murmured behind his back and Rhys paused to wait for her to catch up with him. ¡°You are not like other women and you do,¡± Rhys told her. ¡°Wanna know why dear?¡± The Cofol woman rolled her eyes exasperated. ¡°Why dear?¡± ¡°You want a man that plaguing means what he says,¡± Rhys retorted brusquely.
The Lorian sergeant of the guard stared in Rhys¡¯ face amused. ¡°What was the name again?¡± ¡°Rhys Vardran. I gave it at the gates.¡± ¡°Hmm. Well the governor is¡­ you meant the Consul yes?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Rhys agreed to speed him along. ¡°Well... he¡¯s not here.¡± ¡°Can I talk with someone else?¡± Rhys asked with a grimace and Centurion Tutor entered the small office by a side door. He grabbed a chair and sat down next to the desk. ¡°Officer Tutor,¡± Rhys greeted him. ¡°Mister Rhys. Why do you want to see the Consul?¡± ¡°I understand he¡¯s not here¡­ it¡¯s for a personal matter.¡± ¡°Prefect Durio is. Be more specific,¡± Tutor replied. ¡°I heard a friend of mine... a Lear Hik, might be around these parts,¡± Rhys grunted a little frustrated. Tutor pushed back on his chair to gaze at the flushed, heavily dressed Selussa. ¡°These parts as in¡­¡± ¡°Storm¡¯s Rest.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have to check but the name doesn¡¯t ring a bell,¡± Tutor replied with a smirk. Motherfucker. ¡°Can you check now?¡± ¡°No. I finished for the day.¡± ¡°Can I speak with Prefect Durio?¡± ¡°He¡¯s inspecting the road to the quarries. Come back tomorrow after noon,¡± Tutor offered tauntingly. ¡°I¡¯ll see to do that,¡± Rhys rustled with a scowl. The young officer slapped his hands at the top of his thighs quite pleased. ¡°Anything else Mister Rhys?¡± Rhys shook his head negatively.
A furious Rhys marched out of the small guardhouse clenching his fists. He stood at the start of the massive Praetor¡¯s Square and stared at the market stands and the first floor of the Museum that was still under construction across from them. The gigantic granite horse statue at the far edge of the square standing above everything else. ¡°You¡¯re being too aggressive with them,¡± Selussa noticed. ¡°I was getting arse-fucked in there,¡± he retorted and noticed a man wearing a legion¡¯s outfit and cuirass, over a blue tunic approaching them walking briskly. ¡°Shit. Play the innocent.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°Mister Rhys,¡± the unknown officer greeted when he reached them. ¡°I¡¯m Cominius Paetus. I serve with LID.¡± ¡°Aha,¡± Rhys replied guardedly. ¡°You talked about Lear Hik back there.¡± ¡°I did?¡± ¡°I heard you quite clearly.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t remember you even been in the office.¡± ¡°I was in the next room,¡± Paetus explained with a strained leer. ¡°The door was open.¡± ¡°I now see why I missed you.¡± ¡°Hik is a person of interest to the Department,¡± Paetus continued disregarding Rhys¡¯ mocking tone. ¡°You are aware there is a bounty offered by certain circles against him.¡± ¡°Heard about it.¡± ¡°You claim he¡¯s your friend.¡± ¡°We worked a couple of jobs together on Eplas. It¡¯s been years now,¡± Rhys said and Paetus pressed his mouth, casting a glance at the silent heavily-dressed Selussa. ¡°I¡¯m here to help him if I can officer Paetus.¡± Rhys added. ¡°Lear Hik isn¡¯t here,¡± Paetus informed them. ¡°We¡¯d appreciate any news about his whereabouts mister Rhys. Discreetly.¡± Rhys nodded. ¡°Rest assured officer Paetus, I¡¯ll report to you anything I find out.¡± ¡°Good.¡± Paetus pulled at his left earlobe thoughtfully. ¡°You guys didn¡¯t happen to be in Aegium in the summer?¡± ¡°Never been there,¡± Rhys retorted brusquely. ¡°She doesn¡¯t speak Jelin Common.¡± ¡°Uhm.¡± Paetus murmured, gave them a curt nod, and then turned around to return to the guardhouse before the Governor¡¯s Palace. Rhys¡¯ gaze followed the officer but caught out of the right corner of his eye a reedy tall figure wrapped in a long coat looking their way from the market. ¡°Walk towards the museum and wait there for Flix to appear. It¡¯s almost early noon,¡± Rhys told Selussa. ¡°I need to visit the market.¡± Rhys reached the alley between the wooden stands, circled around it and then cut through the middle of the market but couldn¡¯t find their stalker despite the relatively few patrons walking about. A bit of snow had fallen during the night and the weather was chilly. He reached the edge, where the square opened up again towards the two meters tall platform that the stone horse was standing on and gave up. Rhys crossed the tiled boulevard that split the square in two minutes later and headed towards the Museum¡¯s entrance empty-handed. The building wasn¡¯t officially open yet and wouldn¡¯t be for a while as it was missing at least another two floors according to the locals. The working crews finishing up for the day and Selussa standing at its north corner next to the mounted Gish. ¡°What was it?¡± Selussa asked him when he approached them. ¡°Someone curious but slippery,¡± Rhys replied and eyed the tired-looking old Gish. ¡°You disappeared again.¡± ¡°Followed the assassin you mean,¡± Flix replied in that annoying manner, half his face hidden under a large hat. ¡°Found Lear Hik I did.¡± ¡°Right. Where?¡± ¡°In the woods. A dozen kilometers from the town.¡± ¡°And?¡± Rhys asked impatiently. ¡°I helped him kill the assassin,¡± Flix replied and stared at the market¡¯s stands longingly. ¡°Hey,¡± Rhys grunted to get his attention. ¡°Why in Oras black heart did you do that?¡± Flix frowned comically. ¡°Standard Imperial mandate.¡± ¡°We are not working for Wetull Flix.¡± ¡°Speak for yourself Rhys.¡± Flix retorted. ¡°Wetull is run by a crazy motherfucker now,¡± Rhys fired back. ¡°You got all mixed up in the head old fool. We are after Hik for crying out loud!¡± Flix stood back on the large ¨Cfor him- saddle. ¡°Your bounty hunter stays in the woods. The assassin managed to locate him, killed his friend and I intervened.¡± ¡°Great. How are we going to find him again?¡± ¡°Hik has friends here I believe. More animals,¡± Flix replied. ¡°I checked the horses. Few supplies for such a big journey and no proof.¡± ¡°Proof of what?¡± Selussa asked curious. ¡°Proof of death,¡± Flix replied with Rhys elucidating to help her out. ¡°A thumb with a ring on it, a head or piece of a large skin with a tattoo¡ª¡± ¡°I get the picture Rhys,¡± Selussa hissed cutting him off. Eh, I shouldn¡¯t have mentioned the skin part. ¡°He wouldn¡¯t return to Cartagen without something.¡± Flix continued. ¡°What Rhys said and maybe even a witness.¡± ¡°Like his friend that died?¡± Rhys grunted. ¡°Back to our horses¡¯ lass. We¡¯ll all walk there as a matter of fact.¡± He decided and reached to grab the reins from Flix¡¯s horse. ¡°We¡¯ll then head out¡­ uh.¡± Rhys stopped as Flix had shoved a boot on his chest and pushed him back. ¡°Lear Hik,¡± the Gish said and pointed with a small arm at two riders heading down Lucius¡¯ Boulevard. ¡°Where? Are you sure?¡± Rhys grunted twisting about but by the time he did spot the riders backs himself Flix had already gone after them. ¡°The horses are in the market¡¯s stable,¡± Selussa reminded the frustrated assassin that stared at the galloping away Gish, bopping up and down on his much larger horse, a small hand holding that hat from blowing off of his head. ¡°I¡¯m right behind you dear,¡± Rhys rustled through his clenched teeth and hurried after the fur-covered Cofol female assassin. - Two hours later Storm¡¯s Rest River District This is a much cheaper hostel in this ever expanding boring town, another district built beyond the two bridges over Framtond¡¯s tributary connecting it with the Groin. The wooden one erected by Lesia¡¯s engineers no less during the battles fought here the previous years and the locals frequently called it with the country¡¯s name. Each bridge around these parts having its own private name steeped with history. Lesia¡¯s Bridge. Cato¡¯s Bridge. Kaeso¡¯s crossing for the stone one. A skinny, rat-faced man exited the front entrance of the hostel just as Rhys approached it. Selussa and Flix taking the back way, with the woman leaving her newly bought fur-jacket with their horses. The hooded Rhys kept walking towards the door and the shifty man resting on the porch keeping a neutral expression while scanning the street. The man¡¯s eyes stopped on his face for a moment, went away and then they returned as if alarmed, nervous grin sporting a gap where a tooth was missing. What the actual fuck? Rhys thought sensing the man was about to act for no reason and the next moment he did by turning around to get inside the hostel again. Rhys had moved instinctively, cleared the four steps of the porch with a leap and pressed a hand on the man¡¯s back between the shoulder blades. He guided him away from the door in an angled course and heaved hard sending the man to crash on the wall with a bang. Rhys grabbed the rebounding patron by the nape and smashed his head on the wall a second time, then used both arms to half-walk half-drag him inside the hostel. They entered the poorly-lit hall that served as a restaurant for the patrons and Rhys found a chair by the doors to deposit the unresponsive man down. The room empty but for a light coming from a door behind the counter. Rhys pushed his soaked hood back and then headed there unhurriedly, his intention to wait on a tall barstool for whomever worked the counter. He reached for a knife just in case, but heard creaking from the internal stairs and a heavy-boned dude came from the second floor, scarred and wrinkled face visible where a wild grey beard didn¡¯t cover. A longsword strapped on his waist, another over his broad back. Badly stitched leather coat and muddy boots. Several other weapons hanging from a well-used harness. Another Lorian. The second, much-older guy paused briefly upon spotting Rhys by the counter and then his cunning eyes turned to the unresponsive man collapsed on the chair. With a creaking sound the first man slid down and then hit the floor with a dull thud. Eh. Rhys got up to better face the newcomer that had gotten a monstrous folded razor out of a sheath and held it with his left hand. At least a foot of blade on that darn thing. ¡°Who was the woman?¡± Rhys asked listening for any sounds of fighting coming from the upper floor. ¡°A half-breed like you,¡± the man rustled and took a big step forward narrowing his eyes. ¡°Reckon you don¡¯t work for the bank.¡± ¡°Never had really,¡± Rhys replied casually and showed the bounty hunter his straight-bladed knife. ¡°Whose head is in the bag?¡± ¡°Laudus. Reckon you didn¡¯t know him also.¡± Rhys nodded. ¡°I know you think you have an advantage here but you really don¡¯t,¡± he told the belligerent-looking Hik. ¡°Just to get it out of the way. You are Lear Hik right?¡± ¡°You are a Silent Servant?¡± Lear asked, his right hand touching the pommel of his sword. ¡°It¡¯s a name,¡± Rhys admitted pursing his mouth. ¡°You killed a couple of people mister Hik. Probably more than a couple. Something got to give.¡± ¡°Laudus murdered the King¡¯s brother,¡± Lear grunted. ¡°I was tasked with finding him and bring the truth to the King. You work for some pretty nasty scum son.¡± ¡°Um. No argument there. Was the Baron involved?¡± Rhys asked with a frown. ¡°Not really. Maybe you should walk away.¡± Rhys cracked a smile. ¡°You darn fool. I¡¯m trying to throw you a bone,¡± he rustled and heard commotion from upstairs. Lear heard it as well but kept his eyes on Rhys. A moment later Flix slid down the stairs guard rail, leaped over at the end of the wild ride, did a double somersault mid-air and landed on two feet with a short groan of pain. Rhys glared at the grimacing Gish that got his pipe out and slotted it in his painted mouth with shaking hands. ¡°You,¡± Lear grunted half-turning to look at the flicking a firestone over the pipe¡¯s bowl Flix. A fat spark dropping and igniting the ball of Redleaf. ¡°Much better you look now,¡± Flix replied croakily, face hidden behind a cloud of smoke. ¡°Your friends are well too.¡± Lear clenched his jaw angrily and then glanced at the still peeved with the Gish¡¯s shenanigans Rhys. ¡°He works for you?¡± Flix snorted a little insulted. ¡°He¡¯s with another outfit,¡± Rhys admitted and glared at the smoking Gish. ¡°You¡¯ve left her alone.¡± ¡°She¡¯s a great shot and already scared the pants off of the boy,¡± Flix retorted ambiguously and turned to gaze at the conflicted bounty hunter. ¡°You owe me a life mister Hik.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t owe you shite Gish.¡± Lear grunted. ¡°You spared me to lead you to my group.¡± ¡°I did. But still I did save you. So how about it? Hmm?¡± Flix argued in a teasing manner with plenty of flirting mixed in and sucked at the pipe smugly. The drug helping alleviate some of the pain caused by his stupid earlier acrobatics. Lear crooked his mouth. ¡°I¡¯m listening,¡± he rustled looking at the Gish. ¡°Speak with him,¡± Flix said and pointed the pipe at Rhys. ¡°He¡¯s reasonable.¡± ¡°I am?¡± Rhys snapped taken unawares. ¡°In what way?¡± Flix puffed smoke out of his tiny nostrils. ¡°The girl¡¯s heart is not in the job. Of same blood but not the same. Assisting others is her first priority. Can¡¯t fake that. First a Queen to be and then a King that is. The wrong sister you bedded, I think.¡± Rhys grimaced trying to make sense of the Gish¡¯s innate rumblings and when he did, the assassin took a step back, a tick distorting the left side of his face. Then he stared at Hik¡¯s timeworn scowling face and groaned in frustration. ¡°You¡¯re technically a murderer.¡± He told Lear. ¡°Only for the girl,¡± Lear admitted brusquely. ¡°But I couldn¡¯t let her live. She was too far gone. But if its justification you¡¯re seeking then know I have killed plenty more I reckon I could have spared just by not following orders.¡± ¡°The Baron signed off on a fantastic piece of land,¡± Rhys murmured. ¡°The idea was birthed because of the girl and not the other way around silly man. The land itself is worthless to you if it¡¯s empty. What makes one place better than the other to a lone soul?¡± Flix replied sadly. ¡°You¡¯ll just keep moving. Better land is always beyond the horizon, like illusions in the desert.¡± Oras shadows. Darn drugs went into the Gish¡¯s brain and he turned philosophical! ¡°You¡¯ll leave the Baron alone,¡± Rhys told the watching them a little perturbed Lear. ¡°Did he use the assassins at the wedding? You just corroborated his deep involvement with your Guild¡ª¡± How thick is this fucking dude? ¡°Are you fucking serious?¡± Rhys snapped stopping him. ¡°He wasn¡¯t involved in no wedding nor does he have any meaningful connection to the Guild. Not anymore. He knows a couple of members that¡¯s it.¡± Lear set his jaw stubbornly. ¡°Hey!¡± Rhys grunted. ¡°Snap out of it! Stick to the fucking script and get yourself to Cartagen. Leave the Baron and the Guild out of yer thoughts. Good grief! Don¡¯t you think you¡¯re in enough trouble as it is?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll step aside,¡± Lear finally said after contemplating it for a while. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Nothing strange about it. It¡¯s always a possibility,¡± Rhys replied gruffly not fully certain it was the correct approach. ¡°If the reasoning is convoluted it may backfire in your face. In this case, I don¡¯t believe the Baron should have gotten involved and as for the king¡¯s killers¡­ well frankly, I don¡¯t give a damn about them.¡± ¡°The League will though. They value their members,¡± Flix commented semi-mysteriously and then sauntered to the tall barstool to climb on it. Seeing as it was much taller than him, Flix jumped on the counter first lithely and then sort of walked on the stool that way. When he found a good spot to park, the Gish crossed his legs, pulling at the dress to show some skin and stooping over the counter rang the bell to call the innkeeper. Once. Twice. Many more times. ¡°The League¡­¡± Lear rustled after they both watched Flix¡¯s silly actions for a while. ¡°Lar O¡¯ Talas Dagnir,¡± Rhys said in Imperial and whistled for Selussa to bring the bounty hunter¡¯s friends down. ¡°The League of Forsaken Slayers. It¡¯s a cult to some far gone mythical creatures from another realm.¡± ¡°Their assassin is dead,¡± Lear noted watching a miffed Edge coming down the stairs, followed by a pant-less sheepish Mark and a crossbow-carrying Selussa. ¡°Kid opened the door thinking the Cofol was an exotic harlot served wit the room. Hah! As if this is Asturia!¡± Edge griped very annoyed. He did pause though to glance at the frowned Selussa apologetically. ¡°Sorry slanted-eyed lass. Nothing whorish about yer sweet arse.¡± ¡°Ahm. Thanks¡­ I guess?¡± Selussa retorted unsure. ¡°Was it still light when you faced him?¡± Rhys asked with a sign for her to lower the weapon. You stumble on the steps, nervous finger clenches on the trigger and you¡¯ve just put a bolt in the one-armed lad¡¯s skull. Kill him dead as a crippled dog by the sides of the road put out of its misery. Which probably is seen differently by his friends and then all this lengthy talk might as well been for fucking naught, he thought sourly. ¡°Mostly,¡± Lear retorted eyeing him with distrust. ¡°An apprentice. They are good,¡± Rhys said with a grimace thinking of the mummified figure at the market. ¡°But far from the real thing according to my tutor.¡± ¡°Is he any god darn better?¡± Lear asked slotting the razor in its sheath again. Rhys beheld the querying expression on the approaching Selussa¡¯s face for a moment and then gave her a reassuring nod that made her smile relieved. There goes the rich plaguing golden meadow down the drain. All them palm trees and the turquoise warm south waters, the assassin thought sadly and then gave Lear his answer. ¡°Yeah, but this doesn¡¯t make him any less of a monster.¡± And by the way, she¡¯s the right blasted sister Gish! -
Nine months earlier ¡®And the fair Princess Abisare who was always close with the well-respected Prince Lidagulis ¡®The Eyeless¡¯ convinced the gloomy Prince Dirsamis to support them against the vile Prince Atraharsis when the stars changed their position on the sky. The Doyens of the Alafern cast Atraharsis and his rotten minions away. When he returned twice as determined, they tossed his broken body on the burning sands and watched the unforgiving sun eating his flesh away. Scattered the ashes over running water and mixed the crashed bones with cement, but a rumor persisted in the streets of ancient Nigbau ever since. The bones hadn¡¯t been correctly numbered or accounted for.¡¯ Here lies the key¡­ The blood whispered in his ears. Serapis raised his eyes to stare at the fearful Cofol apprentice reading from the heavily-biased old scrolls. Long fingernail scratching deep gouges at the surface of the mahogany table inside the cold but well-lit crypt. ¡°A lowly pirate,¡± he crackled raspingly and the apprentice started shaking. Abatis blinking once from his spot and closing the book he was reading. ¡°With a dog.¡± ¡°The dog¡­ came back with him,¡± the Cofol said in a pleading voice. ¡°Bekare wrote it here. A note to¡­ eh, for the next archivist. It¡¯s been thirty years master.¡± ¡°Where is Bekare?¡± Serapis asked Abatis and the still human assassin apprentice grimaced. ¡°She traveled across the plains,¡± Abatis finally replied getting up. ¡°Must have reached Jelin by now.¡± The thread glows in the dark¡­ The blood whispered hopefully. ¡°What¡¯s in Jelin?¡± Serapis asked with his coffin deep voice and let go of the shrunken, crashed girl that collapsed in a pile at his feet. ¡°More Aken?¡± Abatis shrugged his shoulders. ¡°A lot of humans.¡± You are still one boy. ¡°You shall travel there,¡± Serapis decided. ¡°See what she has discovered and I shall look into this¡­ pirate¡¯s dog myself.¡± - Last month of 194 NC Scalding Sea Ticu songs¡­ the Blood whispered as Serapis woke up from his slumber. He reached with an emaciated hand and pushed the heavy metal lid open. The oval sarcophagus the only cargo inside the dark hold of the old brig. He slowly got out and immediately turned into a shadow, rushed through a crack at the locked hatch and materialized behind an inebriated sailor at the top of the stairs that led to the soaked deck. Serapis ripped the man¡¯s neck open with claw-like fingers, chewed through flesh and broke the veins with his teeth, slurping at the blood greedily. It got in his nose, splashed on his wrinkled skin and dripped down his chin. Filled his lungs and stomach so much he couldn¡¯t handle it. Serapis retched some of it back out, now black instead of red and then scooped it up with his fingers to smear it on his face. The blood healing the wrinkled skin and repairing a couple of holes at his sunken cheeks. He took a big breath of the clear air to unclog his lungs and then went back to feasting again. Hours later the lights of the port had increased in volume as the ship had approached its destination and the sailor¡¯s drained body had become a tasty treat for the singing Ticu that accompanied the brig. Lipases had made certain the remaining crew had finished disembarking his sarcophagus from the cargo hold before dismissing them. They placed it inside a private warehouse belonging to a local smuggler easily persuaded to look the other way. The Cofol apprentice waited for him to wear a clean outfit and then they both headed for the closed carriage waiting for them. Serapis entered the carriage with Lipases climbing next to the Lorian driver. He found the unoccupied side of the leather couch and tended his unwrinkled, ring adorned hand to the female seating across from him. With her delicate lines, slanted Cofol eyes, cherubic face and shiny long black hair, Bekare didn¡¯t look a day over twenty years. A picture frozen for an eternity, just like the last time she¡¯d breathed like a human. What the other Princes shunned, Atraharsis permitted for his disciples. The female¡¯s cold lips kissed his hand reverently, pulled back and closed the door shut at their carriage. ¡°How far is Alden?¡± Serapis asked, the glow of his eyes casting shadows on Bekare¡¯s face. ¡°An hour. The streets are empty,¡± she replied. ¡°Any word from Abatis?¡± ¡°He took a contract from the Mclean. 2000 gold Eagles.¡± Ah. ¡°Why allow it?¡± Serapis rustled. ¡°I thought you did,¡± Bekare said calmly. Great risk he takes¡­ The blood whispered. For this is also the Servants contract. ¡°Hmm. Foolish. He was close to earning the blood,¡± Serapis said. ¡°He just wrote me,¡± Bekare noted her expression unchanged, for the Alafern kept everything inside. ¡°Gold attracts folk of notoriety and fame. Attracts all manner of killers.¡± He grimaced. ¡°Some of them quite unnatural and perverted in their ways.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Bekare replied and stood back. She reached with a dainty hand to draw the small curtain and peek outside the window. ¡°Any word on the prince?¡± ¡°Many tales in the pirate ports,¡± Serapis replied. ¡°Of a one-eyed immortal dog and gilded bones hidden in a cave. Treasure, murder and the touch of Others on the walls. Ancient halls filled with corpses. The trail turned cold near Wetull.¡± ¡°You think he¡¯ll have visited the land of the Zilan?¡± Bekare asked evenly. ¡°Why take the chance? Has his torn soul turned insane?¡± ¡°Perhaps, but in his forsaken madness he sought out a touch of magic. Any kind,¡± Serapis said and pressed the back of his head on the soft leather. He closed his glowing eyes to work with his thoughts. Half an hour later he added to the expecting, silent and unmoving Bekare. ¡°You might need to investigate this rich contract. Leave the Aken for now. Find out what the humans are up to in Jelin.¡±
485. An Ostrich for a kiss ¡®In elen Amatulya. In cemen ar Eryn alarya atar-in Zilan Legolnir¡¯* - *Formal Zilan welcoming of an Elderborn youngling. 2nd Era court tongue. Here it translates: ¡®The stars (bid warm) welcome. The earth and trees rejoice for the Zilan Legolnir.¡¯
Whisper Jinx ¡®Pretty Nose¡¯ An Ostrich for a kiss
Mountain-facing jungle Mid sources of Dragontoe River Seven kilometers from the Phalanx¡¯s bridge over 3rd Claw (tributary) Eight hundred meters from the base of the mountains The ¡®Gates to Wetull¡¯ (entrance to Quiceran¡¯s underground road system) End of summer 194 NC Buzz¡­ buzzy bugs sounds for days. Germs¡­ toe-eating plants, dissonant singing birds and cackling flying monkeys in the nights. Jinx poured water on her sweaty tanned face, got some in her eyes and cursed like a sailor whilst twirling around in the attempt to get it all out. Fat nipple in me ear! Ever tickling. ¡°Is everything alright Lady Jinx?¡± Sam Mathews asked looking back over his shoulder. ¡°Saw a blue snake moving about,¡± an anxious Marlo griped from his horse. ¡°And it had another snake half-way down its throat¡­ quite the unsettling shite mate.¡± ¡°I¡¯m¡­ fine!¡± Jinx croaked raising an arm and waving it. ¡°Something with your horse?¡± Sam asked with a glare at the intently pointing to the ground Clinton Marlo. ¡°We need to make a stop at the new road¡¯s turn. The guide said everything else is the same,¡± Jinx explained and eyed Lith moving ahead with Caruso following after her, the cat going after the snake and Moira missing in action. ¡°When we find the buildings we¡¯ll know.¡± Sam agreed sort of. ¡°Which¡­ we haven¡¯t. The jungle changed the scenery a bit.¡± Jinx pointed at Lith following the flattened gravel-covered terrain. ¡°That¡¯s it and she knows it. The slopes are very near. This is the spot Glen fell into the old Coina-Olvar mouth. Dug himself out with a dagger.¡± ¡°Is that?¡± Marlo asked furrowing his brows. ¡°The living plant affair? It has many names.¡± Jinx elucidated. ¡°Remember it differently. And in pieces but for the big ole hole. Never bought the story.¡± ¡°Pfft yer memory is shot. You never came near it silly. Not until we burned everything. They¡¯re fully carnivores remember?¡± The Gish argued. ¡°Sons of dogs! Did the right god darn thing,¡± Marlo cursed and looked about him alarmed. ¡°You boys catch up with Lith and Caruso,¡± Jinx said blinking once to clear her vision. ¡°And I¡¯ll see where Moira went.¡±
A brook followed a twisted path between the bushes and the thick tree trunks. Branches and lianas reaching across binding the great tropical trees with each other. Natural bridges that allowed another level of fauna to move over her head. Moira was sitting down in a lotus pose by the water and shook a small vial with her hand. Paused to stare at its contents, then scooped some green-looking paste from a tiny wooden bowl with a finger and added it to the mix. Then started shaking it again. Some rays of the half-hidden from the canopy sun touching the side of her face and creating different shadows at the nearby yellow trunk where her horse was waiting. Black and grey colors reflected on the pale bark with a surprise blue hue in it. The contents of the glass vial murky. ¡°We didn¡¯t call a stop,¡± Jinx said and approached the comely Cofol. ¡°You shall,¡± Moira replied and examined the vial again. ¡°This is clean water.¡± In the small stream was her meaning. ¡°Uhm.¡± Jinx murmured and knelt next to her mud-covered legs. ¡°You¡¯re a dirty girl. Maybe you need to take a plunge in it.¡± ¡°I have,¡± Moira replied and gave her the vial. ¡°But I got all dirty again.¡± ¡°What is this?¡± ¡°It helps with the rashes and combats the living roots paralytic poison. In very small doses. It might cause some other¡­ meaningless symptoms.¡± Jinx sniffed at the dubious concoction. ¡°It smells like poison.¡± ¡°Um, well it¡¯s toxic in a sense?¡± Moira puffed out and gathered her bowls and small bottles to place them in her heavy bag. ¡°Like seriously¡­ that¡¯s a really vile smell. What¡¯s in it?¡± ¡°Polluted water from Jade Lake and new orange curved leaves from the thin vines. Fine lime powder and a drip of fresh urine.¡± ¡°More like a splash. Where did you find the fresh urine?¡± Jinx asked her and Moira pouted unsure staring at a black oval-shaped bottle. ¡°Ah. I saw you pissing in it and thought at first it was an Eplas kinky thing. Well then¡­ this makes the whole affair equally disgusting and oddly arousing. Not exactly easy to pull that off at the same time.¡± She returned the vial carefully not to spill any on her hands. ¡°I¡¯ll pass.¡± ¡°Eh,¡± Moira scoffed a little offended, looked about and then grabbed Jinx¡¯s shoulder to get up. The Gish got a bit of a boob-slap in the process. ¡°Apologies.¡± That was too much tit for the space available. ¡°I can handle much worse,¡± Jinx retorted throatily and a smiling Moira found it amusing. Her laughter was incredibly erotic especially with Jinx being all tensed up the past months. Being in her ¡®mating seasons¡¯ not helping at all. ¡°Can you handle my bag? I¡¯d like to walk.¡± ¡°Put it on the horse,¡± Jinx hissed snapping out of the ¡®special¡¯ mood. ¡°Can you do it while I clean some of the mud off? It¡¯s a matter of hygiene,¡± Moira pleaded and turned to walk into the stream bare-footed. Jinx pursed her mouth a little frustrated, but then Moira started ¨Cseemingly absentmindedly- lifting her dress as high as the round pant-less hips for better reach and to splash with the clean water more areas of concern and she decided to help the poor Cofol girl out. Damn.
¡°Damn,¡± Caruso channeled Jinx twenty minutes later seeing the giant Nord Hoplite Hobor pushing a merchant wagon with a broken axle out of the way. The rest of the squad watching from a safe distance. Tents were built near the customs building, the latter erected next to the tiled road leading to the underground boulevard. The entrance had been expanded and reinforced with added side stairs. The tunnel and caves beyond it well illuminated. The whole of the cleared out opening paved and turned into a small bazaar. While the borders had moved to Jadefort¡¯s bridge, this was where Wetull started. The Imperial Hoplites camp the last addition to the scenery. Lyceron without his helm on was talking with Diryel the female Hoplite, but it was Eldar that spotted them approach. Lyceron stopped and turned to gaze at their colorful group. ¡°Lyceron, me thinks you¡¯ve put more muscles on,¡± Jinx teased the much taller and admittedly good-looking Zilan that was always in a flirting mood. ¡°Ha-hah, marching burns excess lard fast lady Jinx,¡± Lyceron replied, giving a nod to the adventurers. ¡°Mathews, Marlo.¡± ¡°Is the Phalanx moving?¡± Sam asked after greeting the smiling Diryel that had removed her helm as well. Sam Mathews was well-liked by everyone. The fact he didn¡¯t take full advantage of it probably one of the reasons. ¡°The Hallowed and the 3rd Othrim are returning. We left the second Othrim at Dia Castle.¡± Lyceron replied confidently stealing glances at the silent Lithoniela and the lightly stooped behind the two adventurers Moira. That girl behaved strangely half the time, either stupid or annoying the other half. ¡°Anfalon is here then?¡± Jinx asked. ¡°Aye. He has to¡­ unfortunately for us,¡± Lyceron stopped after Diryel gave him a smack on the shoulder. ¡°Lord Anfalon?¡± Lith queried in turn and the Hoplite looked at her curious. ¡°The First Hoplite.¡± He finally said, a side on his mouth curving upwards. ¡°I¡¯d like to get to know you better foreign lass,¡± Lyceron added with Diryel rolling her eyes to the white in exasperation. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t,¡± Lith replied stiffly. ¡°But I¡¯d like to see Lord Anfalon.¡± ¡°Diryel can call on him. That¡¯s his tent over there,¡± Lyceron replied pursing his mouth. ¡°Lith is short for¡­?¡± ¡°Lithoniela of Baltoris,¡± the haughty Zilan retorted. ¡°Right,¡± Lyceron replied with a toothy smile and gave her a wink. ¡°In my squad I have two good mates that claim Lord Onas bedded their mothers in them woods.¡± Lith stared at him in shock. ¡°That¡¯s Caruso,¡± Jinx intervened pointing a finger at the frowning warrior. ¡°The aloof big-titted girl is Moira.¡± Moira made a deep curtsy and then stared daggers at the unbothered Jinx. ¡°And the talking cat sleeping on the saddle is Melon.¡± ¡°The what?¡± Lyceron asked and behind him Diryel returned bringing the imposing Anfalon with Lymsiel. The comely healer, still a bit overweight, had a tiny baby Zilan in her arms, nicely wrapped in dark-blue garbs. ¡°There¡¯s no such thing.¡± ¡°How the fuck would you know?¡± Melon snapped opening an angry eye. ¡°Dick for brains.¡± ¡°Eh,¡± Lyceron gasped and stood back. ¡°It¡¯s a rare breed,¡± Moira elucidated and Lyceron glanced her way. His face mellowing. ¡°You are a rare breed lass,¡± Lyceron offered lamely raising a thick cobalt brow. ¡°I know,¡± Moira replied modestly with a deep sigh. Oh, fer crying out loud. ¡°Lady Jinx,¡± the arriving Anfalon greeted brusquely. ¡°I have two letters inquiring on your whereabouts. The Monarch is concerned.¡± ¡°I¡¯m heading to Taras,¡± Jinx replied. ¡°You better,¡± Anfalon retorted gruffly and then pursed his mouth. He glanced at the beaming Lymsiel and the small baby for a moment afore adding in a less aggressive manner. ¡°This is Legolnir of Anfalon,¡± and the wrapped up baby Zilan sniffled. ¡°He was impatient to arrive, so we named him nimble warrior.¡± Aww. ¡°In elen Amatulya,¡± Lith said warmly with Moira grinning at the baby and Sam stopping the frowning Marlo from intervening. ¡°In cemen ar Eryn alarya atar-in Zilan Legolnir.¡± What she said, Jinx thought genuinely happy for the old Zilan. Anfalon didn¡¯t appear to share their group¡¯s mood though. He kept his eyes on Lith for a long moment, the proud Lymsiel breaking the awkward silence that had followed. ¡°Twenty months,¡± she gushed her eyes beaming. ¡°But strong as pure steel.¡± ¡°Well,¡± Marlo said still unsure on the Zilan reproductive cycles. ¡°Better late than ever I guess.¡± ¡°Gods damnit Clinton,¡± Sam cursed glaring at him. ¡°Got to leave them blue babies in the oven,¡± the cat commented licking at his paw.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Jinx,¡± Anfalon rustled staring at Lith. ¡°She is an Elderborn.¡± Ah. Yeah. ¡°Lithoniela of Baltoris,¡± Lyceron jested mirthfully. Anfalon pressed his mouth tight for a second and then greeted Lith formally in Imperial. His stern face a mask not revealing any more emotions. ¡°Wetull is open to Lithoniela.¡± ¡°Gratitude Lord Anfalon.¡± Lith replied. ¡°I appreciate being welcomed back.¡± ¡°That¡¯s for the Monarch to decide,¡± Anfalon retorted gruffly. ¡°I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll behave appropriately.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Lith yielded with a side stare towards Jinx. ¡°We shan¡¯t doubt the Monarch¡¯s wisdom.¡± The Gish had to bid her lip not to burst out laughing at the latter but no one seemed to get Lith¡¯s hidden jab. Perhaps for the better. - First week of Imperial Decimus (Tenth month) of 3400 IC Quiceran Road Pale mountains tunnels Two kilometers from the exit to Merodras River The lights inside the echoing cleared-out tunnels were blinding. The lightstones used with abundance and constantly replaced by patrols making the rounds when their light dimmed. Not many merchants taking this route as it was much longer but at least one caravan was traveling some kilometers before them for the whole way. A much different experience this time than most of them remembered. Jinx kept her eyes open for an Arachne to pop out of one of the many chasms still visible at the distant walls, but the rest seemed to take the word of the Hoplite squad escorting them as gospel. ¡°They fixed this place up,¡± Jinx told Lith bringing her horse near hers. ¡°Uhm.¡± ¡°Not in the mood again?¡± Jinx asked and glanced at Moira veering away from the group towards the walls of the tunnel. The ¡®road¡¯ they were following forty meters wide and sixty in height (with variations) according to the Zilan engineers they had talked to at the entrance camp. ¡°It¡¯s a big deal for me seeing so many of my people breathing,¡± Lith replied stiffly. ¡°Overwhelming. I¡¯m appreciative.¡± ¡°It wears off after a while,¡± Jinx teased. ¡°Nine out of ten Zilan I¡¯ve met are insane idiots.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t expect you to understand.¡± ¡°Yeah because I don¡¯t miss my home and family,¡± Jinx hissed before she could control herself. ¡°You wish to argue?¡± ¡°Hard not to since yer being a cunt,¡± Jinx retorted and puffed out. ¡°What¡¯s going on wit Caruso?¡± ¡°None of your business Gish,¡± Lith snapped and turned her horse to get away. ¡°Nice talk! Kind of stepping on nails friendly,¡± Jinx murmured at her back and seeing Sam ordering a brief stop to water the animals turned around to find Moira. It came as no surprise that the woman had approached the edge of the road beyond the light posts and was now looking inside one of the bigger cracks on the walls. While the caves had been cleared and the road network repaired, they were still inside the guts of the mountains. ¡°Well you sure are a bit nuts,¡± Jinx said and Moira signed for her to keep quiet. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Hear it?¡± ¡°The wind coming from the hole? Creepy¡­ but aye.¡± ¡°No, the¡­ eh, you¡¯re just a Gish.¡± Moira sighed in disappointment. ¡°Why, glad you¡¯ve noticed lowly-human,¡± Jinx hissed and set her ears to catch any other sounds coming from the gaping hole. ¡°Arachne,¡± Moira whispered in her ear and Jinx recoiled so hard, she fell on her arse initially and then made a half-tumble backwards to stand on her head, boots pointed at the air. Kept the pose for three seconds. ¡°You¡¯re insane,¡± Jinx grunted and rolled lithely on her feet again. She gave Moira a shoulder shove. ¡°Don¡¯t stick yer head in there.¡± ¡°They won¡¯t come out,¡± a groaning Moira retorted. ¡°They are scared of the light.¡± ¡°Good,¡± Jinx hissed. ¡°They have as much right to use this tunnel as we have,¡± Moira countered and pulled away. ¡°I don¡¯t really care,¡± Jinx replied channeling her inner Glen. ¡°They can go find another tunnel.¡± ¡°Eh,¡± Moira grimaced cutely and walked slowly to her horse, which was a spectacle to witness from behind. ¡°You practice all that arse sashaying or it¡¯s natural? Mayhap a condition?¡± She teased the Cofol girl. ¡°You do it all the fucking time Jinx,¡± Moira replied looking in her bags. ¡°Does it excite you? It¡¯s moist inducing. It¡¯s okay to admit it,¡± Jinx said reasonably. ¡°I find Gish funny,¡± Moira said but then paused to eye the grinning Jinx thoughtfully. ¡°You need to mate soon else you might lose it.¡± ¡°Are you offering?¡± Jinx taunted. ¡°Sam is the better pick,¡± Moira replied in a serious manner. ¡°Then Lyceron but he might break you, so then Caruso and Marlo are also decent.¡± ¡°Sounds like you¡¯ve made yer research.¡± ¡°Gish need to make babies.¡± ¡°Maybe true, but I prefer a female¡¯s touch and Caruso is with Lith.¡± Moira nodded and then paused briefly. ¡°Ah.¡± ¡°No ah¡¯s and but¡¯s. I¡¯m not jealous. Plus Lith isn¡¯t as flexible in these matters.¡± ¡°He-he. Oh my, I think you are mistaken,¡± Moira replied with a grin and dug two pieces of cloth out of the bags. She glanced over the saddle ¨Cthe horse was hiding her from their group that had stopped to rest- and then undressed quickly. ¡°The fuck are you doing?¡± Jinx asked as the naked Moira quickly stepped inside the new outfit. Unfortunately. A tight cotton top and a skirt she had bought in Eikenport before they departed. Then she wrapped a silk red shawl over her shoulders. ¡°It¡¯s a female servant¡¯s garb,¡± Moira explained after she had finished dressing. ¡°Looks expensive but it isn¡¯t. Still it would help out.¡± ¡°Wetull isn¡¯t the peninsula you dork,¡± Jinx argued. ¡°Goras has no slaves?¡± ¡°Not what¡­ sure. I suppose. Glen is working to put a stop to that.¡± ¡°Glen-avon?¡± ¡°Him.¡± ¡°What does working on it means? A Monarch orders. It¡¯s not that complex.¡± Moira asked a little confused. Ah, you haven¡¯t seen nothing yet honey. ¡°I¡¯ll let Glen explain that one himself,¡± a grimacing Jinx replied and walked away from the gaping hole with a shiver as she had heard something moving in there. Creepy crawlers. ¡°Hey, what¡¯s wrong with Lith?¡± ¡°Lithoniela is quite alright,¡± Moira replied and gave Jinx the reins of the horse to bring it back. Jinx groaned and grabbed them while Moira came on her other side to walk unencumbered. They started walking towards their group that was preparing to leave again. ¡°I don¡¯t think she is. Part of that arrogance is there but with cracks. Why would she mix up with Caruso? Lith would never do that.¡± Moira stopped to look at her carefully. ¡°Sometimes we seek to heal our heart, by setting aside the rules. It isn¡¯t a difficult to grasp notion.¡± ¡°Heal from what?¡± ¡°We all have traumas we keep inside.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll pinch yer fat nipple. Real hard. You¡¯ll scream a lot,¡± Jinx warned her all serious. ¡°I see why a skilled huntress picked you,¡± Moira murmured and taking Jinx''s hand placed it on her left breast. Jinx felt the hard nub a second before her palm connected with the thin fabric. Which was weird. Like her breasts occupied more room than what it was visible. ¡°Lithoniela suffered a big loss. We best not talk about it,¡± she paused to gather herself and then pushed Jinx¡¯s hand away. ¡°No good will come of reminiscing the past.¡± Right.
The next morning Sam Mathews and Jinx exited the tunnel ahead of the others and rode out to check on the road to the bridge over Merodras River. The repaired bridge and road nicely cleaned from the clutches of the jungle. The sun and nature welcoming after the gloominess and dullness of the tunnels. On their return a Zilan merchant caught up with them as he moved pretty fast. The Zilan was riding a tall ostrich, at least a dozen of the large birds following after him laden with goods. Mainly footwear, belts and various trinkets. ¡°I¡¯m Samblar,¡± the shifty Zilan with the fancy pink and yellow robes explained from atop his ostrich. ¡°Samblar and Ryfon. Leather amenities out of Abarat. Since 2950 IC. Half a millennia of quality.¡± ¡°Where are you heading mister Samblar?¡± Sam asked whilst Jinx eyed his wares to see if she could pinch anything sticking out from the heavy bags. ¡°Eikenport and then across the seas to Aegium,¡± Samblar explained. ¡°My partner is heading there right now. Big market opening up.¡± ¡°Why not take a ship?¡± ¡°Too expensive. This way I can fund the journey,¡± Samblar explained. ¡°I see you like leather, friendly Gish,¡± he added looking at the distracted Jinx knowingly. ¡°I¡¯m not exactly sleeping in it,¡± Jinx defended herself. ¡°Huh, know that leather panties do exist, at shocking cuts and for all body types. Very tight fitting,¡± Samblar insisted with a lecherous grin. ¡°I like your pink hair.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± Jinx replied shaking her ponytail right and left like a dog before snapping out of it. ¡°I like yer pink and lemon-like robes?¡± This dude is weird as fuck. ¡°How about these fine pointy boots then?¡± Samblar offered raising his leg from the stirrup. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of boot for me tiny feet.¡± ¡°How much for a simple belt?¡± Sam asked waving for their friends to allow the merchant and his exotic animals through. ¡°This is a nicely crafted dagger,¡± Samblar replied with a smirk. ¡°It¡¯s a gift from Angrein. Not for trade,¡± Sam retorted and the merchant shrugged his shoulders. He stared at their group when they approached as if evaluating each person individually. ¡°Ladies, sirs.¡± He greeted them with nods and stopped his ostrich near the fancy dressed Moira. Samblar glanced at Sam and then Marlo. The sober Lyceron after that and his squad of Hoplites before settling on Lith¡¯s neutral face. ¡°Milady,¡± the Zilan merchant said subserviently. ¡°It¡¯s a lonely journey ahead of me while you¡¯ve reached your destination.¡± Lith narrowed her eyes. ¡°State your reason merchant.¡± ¡°How much for the slave girl?¡± Samblar asked. ¡°She looks well-trained.¡± Huh? ¡°I¡¯ve freed her,¡± Lith replied evenly. ¡°You should ask her.¡± ¡°Pity,¡± Samblar replied and eyed Moira that had walked near his mount to touch it. ¡°What will it cost me pretty girl of the peninsula?¡± He asked the Cofol female. ¡°Hmm,¡± Moira murmured as if she was considering it. The merchant reached into a side bag and got out an intricately carved gold and ivory comb with very long teeth. Twelve of them like the months. The shaft very thick and flat. ¡°What is this?¡± Moira asked hoarsely sounding intrigued. ¡°A comb for yer black curls and a mirror to gaze at yer lovely face,¡± Samblar teased and cracked open the shaft of the comb revealing the hidden small mirror. Moira¡¯s eyes grew large with interest. She appeared almost aroused. Are you serious shit for brains? Jinx wondered not expecting it. ¡°This,¡± Samblar haggled with a confident grin. ¡°A cut of my profits and an ostrich for two years of willing servitude. I can see you favor them both.¡± ¡°I want your Ostrich,¡± Moira hushed in a singing voice looking at him and Jinx felt the hairs on her forearm raising. Samblar blinked slowly and licked his lips. ¡°The comb with the mirror to gaze at my divine face.¡± ¡°Aha,¡± Samblar went along with the small correction still grinning. ¡°Approach,¡± Moira purred and Jinx felt a trickle of sweat running down her armpit, the sides of her face burning. Samblar stooped over the right side of the mounted ostrich and Moira reached to cup his cheek with a hand before landing a kiss on his half-parted lips. Eh? ¡°What the all-hells?¡± Marlo grunted caught unawares. Moira stepped back, her left hand extended and palm open. Samblar dropped the comb and she caught it. Moira immediately secured it at the strained opening of her top and waited for Samblar to climb down from the tall bird. The merchant handed her the reins and then walked with a pleased smile on his face to the second animal in the line. He climbed on the saddle, stared at the comely Cofol one more time longingly and then kicked his legs to get his mounts going. Five silent minutes later he was lost in the direction of the tunnels. ¡°Snake-eyed and winking goblin bitches,¡± Marlo exclaimed colorfully breaking the collective spell for a second time. Moira had climbed on the ostrich in the meantime appearing quite content with how everything had turned out. ¡°What the fuck just happened?¡± The veteran adventurer asked the frowned Sam Mathews who glanced at the equally stunned Jinx. ¡°Did she just traded a kiss for a goods-laden ostrich and a fucking gilded comb?¡± Jinx asked Mathews who approached her. Melon had appeared under the Ostrich¡¯s long legs and leaped on the saddle as well, in front of the seated Moira. The Cofol girl reached to find a leather belt and then tossed it with a wink at the adventurer who caught it with an uncertain smile. ¡°Gratitude lass,¡± Sam said, answering to Jinx¡¯s query a moment later. ¡°Aye, she did.¡± ¡°Well then,¡± the Gish muttered scratching the space between her nostrils that tingled something fierce. She then stared at the marching past them Hoplites with Lyceron and followed after them. ¡°She¡¯s sneakily convincing,¡± Jinx told the imposingly tall warrior who let out a deep chuckle. ¡°What so funny about it?¡± Jinx asked him and the Zilan slowed down so she could catch up with his longer strides. ¡°Nothing sneaky about it milady,¡± Lyceron replied in his manly voice and Jinx realized she was seriously wet between the legs. Like when you drink a lot of fluids and forget to use the back room or the barrel, only to fall asleep drooling on the pillow and wake up the next morning with yer bladder empty on a soaked mattress. That kind. ¡°This was a hell of a charming spell your Cofol slapped poor Samblar with. Probably a bit of tainted lipstick as well.¡± ¡°Tainted?¡± Jinx asked numbly as Lyceron made way more sense than she expected. ¡°Priestesses do it all the time. But also girls and guys. Potion merchants sell them and you can mix it with paint, grease or oils,¡± Lyceron explained. ¡°Especially during Valimae Lilt. You lather yer lips with the concoction and you let it dry. Tastes like piss when fresh.¡± It might cause some other¡­ meaningless symptoms, Moira had revealed downplaying it earlier. You sneaky little cunt. ¡°Right,¡± a thoughtful Jinx murmured staring at the slowly leading their group Moira from atop her Ostrich. Melon now mounted on the bird¡¯s long neck, tapping repeatedly with a paw at the hairy top of the ostrich¡¯s head until the giant bird abruptly twisted that long neck around to glare at the cat with huge mean eyes. It then let out a menacing screeching sound that catapulted a meowing and deathly scared Melon over Moira¡¯s shocked head afore crashing hard on the ground. ¡°BLASTED DEAD-EYED FEATHERED CONVICT!¡± The covered in mud cat roared, hopping about energetically. ¡°DUMB BALDING UGLY CRETIN TRIED TO GIVE ME A HEART ATTACK! INHOSPITABLE FUCK! Almost cost me a precious life back there! Hey!¡± The cat continued roaring following after the horses now. ¡°Make some room for me up there you miserable four-legged cunts!¡± ¡°Which priestesses?¡± Jinx asked the beefy Hoplite and Lyceron turned his helmed head around, looming over the smaller Gish like a giant. ¡°Nesande¡¯s daughter Naossis was a famous seductress and a very compassionate healer. Her schemes and feats revered by her loyal disciples in all realms. She¡¯s obviously worshiped throughout Wetull since the dawn of time just like her mother. But they are not the only ones,¡± Lyceron explained. ¡°These days if you spent some time with our Soletha and you should, you¡¯ll come to realize that when your famed mother is named after the great Goddess of Magic herself and her Moon that lights our nights in blue hue, then her semi-immortal offspring carries as much weight in their liturgies as the real thing. Some days when the priestesses are talking of them it is very difficult to tell the two daughters apart.¡± ¡°Naossis,¡± Jinx murmured. ¡°And the Moon¡¯s Daughter,¡± Lyceron replied. ¡°They are a cult birthed from the same temple.¡± Ah. ¡°Never thought old Soletha had a side to her like that,¡± Jinx said and Lyceron chuckled. ¡°You should ask big Soren about it. The old girl must be doing something right.¡± I can¡¯t believe Glen was right about the old priestess. ¡°I reckon she is,¡± Jinx mumbled and saw the bridge coming to view again over the pregnant river. The green expanse of Wetull spreading out to all directions as they left the mountains behind them. ¡°Wanna ride on my shoulders?¡± Lyceron asked a bit later seeing her staying behind. Jinx realized she wanted to but she was also too wet to take a chance, her mind foggy and unfocused. So she politely refused the invitation and hurried after her empty horse instead. Lith that was holding the reins to drag it along after her, stopped the horse for the small Gish to climb up and returned the reins with a purse of the lips. ¡°Caruso is a gentle, patient soul that asks for nothing,¡± Lith told her after a moment of riding in tensed silence. ¡°Which is all I¡¯m able to give at this point. It¡¯s what I need in the present and is enough for him. This might change or it might not for either of us.¡± ¡°Best not to talk about it,¡± Jinx offered remembering Moira¡¯s words and Lith furrowed her brows but then her expression relaxed. ¡°Jinx,¡± Lith said. ¡°We¡¯re good,¡± Jinx assured her in a friendly tone and Lith nodded patiently. ¡°That is nice, but you need to wash yourself so the rest of us can concentrate,¡± the Zilan counseled crumpling her nose regally. ¡°I suggest using the river.¡± Pfft. Jinx was always going to use the river anyway since Gish love water but swallowed the insult to keep on Lith¡¯s good sides in the hopes to dig out more at a later time. She couldn¡¯t help herself. Gish are very curious. Um. Shite, Jinx thought sniffing at the immediate air. That¡¯s some robust aroma yer spreading about girl. 486. Cracked (1/3)
Arguen Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Lord of Morn Taras Monarch of Wetull King beyond the Pale Mountains Aniculo Rokae Cracked Part I -The missive-
The chilly morning breeze wafted at the half-drawn drapes and lowered the temperature inside the large royal bedroom. With the long inner curtains parting some light came through and the dark ceiling the Monarch was staring at came to view gradually. The mural Eilven had painted depicting Arguen Garth¡¯s celebration almost two years earlier and it had taken at least as many months to finish. The elongated throne room¡¯s grand platform having the three thrones still there with their rightful occupants watching the proceedings bathed in a golden hue seemingly frozen in time and the hall filled with a colorfully dressed crowd. A burning city under siege to the north and the ruins of Goras to the south. Rida and Taras. Eh, fuck it. You ain¡¯t getting no more rest. Iskay sighed in her sleep and Glen pushed himself upright blinking a couple of times to clear his blurry eyes. The comely palace official sleeping in her birthday suit with her face pressed on a pillow and those copper locks spilled over her shoulders. Glen swung his legs over the side of the bed and sat there for a moment with the rich brown carpet hiding his maimed foot. The lanky hat-wearing figure of Kilynia watching then with her glowing eyes from the open bedroom door. Switch her with an ogle-eyed ostrich and no one could tell the difference with any certainty, Glen thought sourly after the initial startle wore off. ¡°Hardir,¡± Kilynia whispered from afar. ¡°Are you awake?¡± ¡°Unfortunately. You killed any new birds lately Kilynia?¡± Glen rustled before remembering to lower his voice. The Zilan palace official, her duties not those of Iskay¡¯s obviously, approached briskly the king-sized bed. She quickly searched the large open wardrobe, after nimbly picking up discarded articles of clothing from the floor on the way. It was good that Glen had flung them out in the open for her to easily find. ¡°Hardir can praise my feathered hat if it pleases him,¡± Kilynia replied eyeing Glen¡¯s semi-flaccid cock hanging between his parted thighs. She then dropped a pair of pants to cover it up. ¡°It doesn¡¯t,¡± Glen replied curtly and watched her rounding the bed with an acerbic grimace to reach the soundly asleep Iskay¡¯s side. She quickly covered the naked former slave with a crumbled sheet and puffed out, her eyes on the distant door leading to the princess¡¯ bedchamber. ¡°See you wake Iskay up afore Inis bursts in here,¡± Glen ordered wearing his soft-leather pants and shoving all the hanging parts inside. ¡°Tell Maeriel to keep her busy for a while.¡± ¡°Maeriel has gone hunting,¡± Kilynia replied. ¡°It¡¯s her leave days.¡± Glen didn¡¯t know they had those. ¡°A Monarch should have the most days off,¡± he murmured wearing the heavy special boots that helped him walk without a slight limp. Kilynia wrinkled her hawkish nose but said nothing. ¡°You don¡¯t agree?¡± Glen putting a shirt on and then a thick gambeson vest. Where¡¯s the darn mask? Ah, yeah. ¡°Hardir can do as he pleases and so does the Monarch.¡± ¡°Ah, the passive-aggressive disapproval,¡± Glen remarked and clipped the mask on his face before removing it with a grimace. ¡°I need to eat.¡± ¡°Rimeros is here with the day¡¯s agenda,¡± Kilynia informed him. ¡°Stall him to buy me some time,¡± Glen ordered, with a dignified voice coming from the open door before he could finish. ¡°Your grace¡­¡± it was Rimeros. ¡°¡­If I may¡ª¡± ¡°You may not. Anyone else out there peeking at my bed?¡± Glen grunted a little annoyed. ¡°Nay sire, but the Council is gathering downstairs.¡± Rimeros replied stiffly. ¡°Let them wait,¡± Glen rustled more annoyed now and grabbed his weapon harness. Pointed at his cuirass with an arm. ¡°Bring it along. Not you Kilynia. You wait here in case Inis sneaks inside the room.¡± A young woman entered the bedroom, a mixed-race Cofol with some Lorian in it. Dark-blond hair, honey-colored eyes painted with black pencil and tanned skin. She bowed low and then proceeded to clean up until she found the hoplite cuirass and she picked it up. ¡°I¡¯ll take the Monarch¡¯s armour Memphes,¡± Rimeros said from the door. ¡°You help Lady Iskay be presentable. Lady Kilynia has duties to attend to Hardir.¡± Glen pursed his mouth. ¡°Fine.¡± He walked to the door, recoiled when the armoured Rokae guarding the corridor saluted thunderously and then glared at the nicely-dressed Rimeros. ¡°My daughter is sleeping. Just keep it quiet around here.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll see to issue an order Hardir,¡± Rimeros assured him. ¡°Good.¡± Glen walked towards the stairs, stretching himself and moving his neck right and left to get everything going. ¡°Where did we find the new girl?¡± ¡°Lady Iskay asked for a slave to help her in her duties, also assist Atju I suppose, so Kamat-Fin brought Memphes from Lon-Iv¡¯s villa three days ago. She¡¯s well-trained for a human.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t informed,¡± Glen said to justify his query. ¡°Folen could provide an appropriate companion Hardir,¡± Rimeros offered and Glen paused mid-stride and turned around to face the tall Zilan official. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°A Zilan. He has¡­ trained personnel,¡± it was obvious Rimeros didn¡¯t approve of Folen¡¯s extracurricular businesses. ¡°It won¡¯t be necessary,¡± a grimacing Glen informed him. ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like yer tone friend,¡± Glen rustled. ¡°Apologies Hardir.¡± Glen pursed his mouth and stared over the guardrails at the throne room below them. The single black throne looking small from above. ¡°What¡¯s in the agenda?¡± ¡°Lord Fikumin has several matters brought up¡­¡± ¡°What else?¡± Glen interrupted him. ¡°Lord Treasurer¡ª¡± ¡°Anything suitable for a cold morning?¡± Glen snapped. Rimeros reached for a bag he carried with an arm, the other held Glen¡¯s cuirass. ¡°I have the scrolls in here your Grace.¡± ¡°You need a whole bag to carry them?¡± Glen hissed. ¡°Good grief. Let¡¯s get downstairs to grab a fucking bite!¡± ¡°What about the Council?¡± Rimeros asked running after him as Glen had started down the stairs energetically. ¡°Have they eaten yet?¡± Glen yelled over his shoulder. ¡°It is hours after sunrise Hardir.¡± ¡°Huh? No! Are you sure?¡± ¡°The day is cloudy,¡± the hurrying after him Rimeros elucidated. Damn it, the heavy-breathing Monarch thought as they both run down the long stairs before Glen decided to slow down remembering this was a very dangerous practice. There was a large wyvern statue near the base of the stairs Voron had brought and it was made out of a solid block of granite. You run into that and it¡¯s over. Ayup.
¡°Exulted Monarch,¡± Atju said mockingly pulling the chair for him, still bitter Glen had freed Iskay but kept him under a slave contract as if this was Glen¡¯s fault. Iskay had suggested it and Glen had no interest in getting mixed up with petty palace intricacies to such a degree. ¡°Cold chicken wings lathered with mustard, red berries and an assortment of vegetables. Wine, tea or Kofi with honey sire?¡± ¡°Ah, just leave everything.¡± Glen murmured and reached for a fried wing. He crunched it with his teeth hearing noise from the door leading to the adjoined throne room. ¡°Rimeros buy me some time here for crying out loud!¡± ¡°Eh, they saw us getting down Hardir.¡± ¡°Um¡­ well¡­¡± Glen swallowed everything and reached for a cup of the desert beverage. ¡°Ah¡­ fuck, this is still bitter¡­ Atju.¡± ¡°It might move the bowels Monarch if we sweeten it more,¡± the Cofol slave said perceptively. Glen got a couple of berries in his mouth and stared at the vegetables. ¡°I¡¯m not pleased with the menu today. Just stick to what works Atju. Eggs, a normal salad with a couple of tomatoes and always have potatoes available. Cheese as well, just toss it in the pan along with the eggs, it¡¯s not that difficult!¡± ¡°Yes sire,¡± Atju said with a bow of the head. ¡°Hardir, we could move the plates to the council table.¡± Rimeros tried again. ¡°Just the chicken and the wine. Ah, the berries too,¡± Glen yielded getting up. ¡°Rimeros I might start thinking of having a place all of my own, where I can pause for a moment to think and concentrate on other stuff. A man can¡¯t go about living like this for long.¡± ¡°Eh, what place would that be sire?¡± ¡°Is Folen outside?¡± ¡°Folen, Lord Cinna, Duke Alden, Lord Fikumin, Captain Horton, Feyras is expecting an audience, Mylael¡ª¡± ¡°Did I ask for anyone else?¡± Glen interrupted him. ¡°The alert Monarch did not,¡± an unhappy to be chastised Rimeros replied. ¡°Leave the cuirass on the chair,¡± Glen said after a moment of silently staring at the Zilan. ¡°You might drop the plates trying to be cute and balance everything on the fingers. What else? Ah¡­ Atju, wake up Hagen.¡± ¡°He¡¯s already awake, oh thee exulted Monarch,¡± came the royal servant¡¯s reply. Glen mumbled under his breath -now extremely annoyed, then puffed his cheeks out, turned around and promptly marched for the throne room without further remarks.
Everyone at the elongated conference table watched as Glen nailed the greased chicken wing with a fork, dipped it in the yellow creamy dressing and then brought it to his mouth. The Monarch started chewing down vigorously, pausing only to sip from a goblet of unnamed white wine. His eyes going from the impressed ¨Cnow almost healed from his injuries- Doris Alden, the guarded Laius Cinna and the scowling dwarves Fikumin and Theron Gravelbrow, the latter more focused on the Monarch¡¯s plates than his royal person. Glen cleared his throat after swallowing and having another sip of the initially sour wine that did leave in the end a pleasant hint of sweetness in his mouth. ¡°Proceed,¡± he finally said to the frowning Fikumin. Other than the prominent nose, the dwarf¡¯s face and head was a forest of bristling hairs. ¡°We haven¡¯t started yet Garth.¡± ¡°Here¡¯s yer plaguing chance,¡± Glen retorted, not missing a beat and sat back on his chair at the top of the table. Fikumin grimaced and snatched the first parchment from the big stack placed in front of him. ¡°There is increased criminal activity outside Taras and the rest of the peninsula Captain¡¯s Horton¡¯s guards can¡¯t detain.¡± ¡°What kind?¡± Glen asked looking at the rigid Captain of the guards. ¡°Mostly smugglers your grace,¡± Horton replied. ¡°Illegal routes are forming left and right, mostly in Hardir¡¯s Port and Mussel. The roads are poorly patrolled due to lack of personnel and the criminals use remote beaches to load and unload goods. Several murders have been committed and there is word of turf wars.¡± ¡°Have you investigated?¡± Glen asked with a glance at Folen that was tuning his lute at the other edge of the table. ¡°The bodies have been disposed of in most cases. We are dealing with organized crime sire.¡± Horton replied stiffly. ¡°Folen?¡± Glen queried and signed for Sir Delmuth to take the lute from the Master of Silence¡¯s hands. The Zilan royal knight moved swiftly to disarm the protesting council member. ¡°Great Hardir,¡± Folen started with a grimace. ¡°We have the usual organized gangs as all big cities but nothing untoward.¡± ¡°Taras isn¡¯t a big city,¡± Glen noticed. ¡°All of Goras is a city,¡± Folen countered. ¡°You say nothing untoward but Horton is telling me folk have been cut down,¡± Glen insisted not to appear disinterested in the matter. ¡°Unsavory characters,¡± Folen replied dismissively. ¡°Cutthroats.¡± ¡°Any suspects?¡± Glen asked in a mocking manner. ¡°The Thieves Guild, the myth of the elusive Aeson and probably assassins,¡± Folen said with a shrug. Glen examined the darker spots of his hall for a moment to locate Nym¡¯s man but he didn¡¯t have any success. Din was missing lately. ¡°The elusive Aeson,¡± he murmured in a taunting manner. ¡°The criminal underworld has its own heroes Hardir, but it¡¯s just tales nothing more.¡± Folen elucidated. ¡°The situation will normalize soon.¡± ¡°Smuggling is hurting our exports,¡± Fikumin growled clenching his fist over the table. ¡°We have goods detained in ports on Jelin and we face difficulties to sell our wares in many cities there. Taxes, outright bans. This is a coordinated attack to price us out of the markets!¡± ¡°Do they smuggle wine?¡± Glen asked. ¡°Because this is what we face the most problems with.¡± ¡°What does it matter?¡± Fikumin retorted.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. I¡¯m cornering the market in the smuggling wine business? ¡°I believe most smugglers are looting the isles Hardir,¡± Folen noted. ¡°This is mostly an internal problem for the most part.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know that,¡± Fikumin grunted. ¡°We are relying on pirates for information. The navy is spread out too thin and split between two distant fronts.¡± ¡°We are working on fixing that Fikumin,¡± Glen said and placed both hands on the table to stoop forward. ¡°We need time to increase the numbers so we can have enough of a presence east and west while securing the Reefs. When this is done we¡¯ll see to search the ruins ourselves.¡± ¡°This could take years Garth¡­ with all respect, we must act now.¡± Fikumin grunted. ¡°Horton how many guards do you have available?¡± ¡°About six hundred, but a third are still in training your grace,¡± Horton replied. ¡°Mostly humans, Cofols being the majority,¡± Fikumin elucidated. ¡°The Zilan are not liking the noble job of a city guard?¡± Glen asked. ¡°The Zilan are interested in following their true skills, those wanting to serve as warriors first chance the Phalanx and then Flardryn¡¯s marines. He¡¯s taking everything.¡± ¡°We need to secure our shores,¡± Glen noted. ¡°Can we control Mussel and Hardir¡¯s Port better?¡± ¡°Hardir¡¯s Port is easier to patrol but Mussel is too far away,¡± Horton replied. ¡°The roads after the Temple an adventure in the wilderness.¡± ¡°Is Flardryn still in Ani Ta-Ne?¡± Glen queried scratching the side of his neck with a finger. ¡°The commander is busy and in a critical distant port Hardir,¡± Rimeros informed him. ¡°He also had a difficult year.¡± Of course. A beast killed and then half-ate his daughter. I hope Lefyr left that last part out! Glen grimaced and then puffed out. ¡°See to increase your numbers Horton. Folen get in touch with those ¡®gangs¡¯ and inform them that there are no freebies here. Unless I get a cut they are playing with fire.¡± ¡°Are you serious?¡± Fikumin blasted him turning an unhealthy red in the face. Glen pursed his mouth and waited a moment afore replying calmly. ¡°We can¡¯t stop them and dealing with this will use all our resources for meagre results. We are not here to eradicate crime. I prefer them as partners at this moment. Try it my way Folen and see from there.¡± ¡°Hardir,¡± Folen bowed his head. ¡°Anything else?¡± Glen asked looking at them and Rimeros gave him a scroll. Glen returned it with a glare. ¡°What does it say?¡± ¡°Commander Lefyr has arrested Voron for assaulting Lord Elwuin,¡± Rimeros reported. ¡°Good grief! Did that moron kill him?¡± ¡°Blows were exchanged but no fatalities have been reported. Voron is kept in a cell to ¡®cool off¡¯ according to Lefyr.¡¯¡± Rimeros replied. ¡°The reason for this madness?¡± ¡°Voron wanted to move towards Baltoris¡¯ Port after the crews repairing the road, but Elwuin wasn¡¯t impressed by the work done and ordered them back to start anew.¡± What? Oh, for crying out loud. Voron should have finished that old fool off! Glen sighed and glugged down the rest of the wine afore replying. ¡°Order Lefyr to free Voron. Then lock Lord Elwuin up,¡± he ordered somberly. ¡°Lord Elwuin?¡± Rimeros grimaced in shock. ¡°Just keep him somewhere to heal up or something until we finish the god darn road!¡± Glen snapped and then grimaced in the attempt to calm himself down. ¡°What¡¯s the next topic?¡± He asked hoarsely and after a brief moment of silence Rimeros replied. ¡°Lord Cinna wants to discuss some interesting finds Hardir.¡± Laius stood up pale as a sick ghost. ¡°I won¡¯t use the Monarch¡¯s time,¡± he offered in a strangled voice. Good. Doris Alden stood up the moment the Treasurer collapsed on his chair. Glen eyed the smiling Duke suspiciously. ¡°I believe the topic must be discussed your grace.¡± Doris insisted. ¡°Let¡¯s do it after the meeting,¡± Glen replied frostily. ¡°Fikumin, do we have anything else?¡± ¡°Anfalon is returning with a portion of the Phalanx,¡± the Monarch¡¯s Shield reported gruffly. ¡°He also had a son in a more auspicious non-official matter.¡± ¡°Nice. Some good news at last. Now since usually shite come afterwards, any other problems?¡± Glen asked perceptively. ¡°I wrote a memo Garth,¡± Fikumin grunted and Rimeros gave Glen a furled small scroll. ¡°I suggest you read it in your personal time.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have much of the latter,¡± Glen retorted mockingly and the dwarf snorted in anger. ¡°I¡¯ve barely have time to eat,¡± Glen continued and pocketed the scroll, then realized Doris Alden was still standing expectantly. ¡°I have something¡­¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t I say we¡¯ll talk afterwards friend?¡± Glen cut him off midsentence. ¡°I thought your grace wanted to speak with Cinna,¡± Doris explained. ¡°You were mistaken,¡± Glen rejoined with a grimace and pushed back on the chair. ¡°Atju¡­¡± He turned around hearing footsteps. It was Hagen. ¡°Ah, Hagen¡­ good. Find a bottle of Taria O¡¯ Mir and bring it here.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not even noon Garth,¡± the standing Fikumin noticed. ¡°Given the blasted topics I¡¯m dealing with, it might as well be late evening,¡± Glen deadpanned deathly serious.
Glen waited for Atju to clear the plates away while Fikumin left with Folen and most of the others leaving the two Lorians behind. He stared at his worried Treasurer that hadn¡¯t touched his cup. Doris on the other hand was enjoying Glen¡¯s wine and was already in his second. ¡°Mister Cinna I understand the gold is arriving safely to the treasury,¡± Glen said. ¡°Your grace is correct.¡± ¡°And?¡± Laius Cinna wiped his forehead with the back of his hand and then stared at his notes. ¡°Sire you mentioned earlier the worker crews working the Rain Minas to Baltoris Port road connection.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a repair as much as an expansion of the old road network. Twenty crews with ten engineers under Lord Elwuin¡­ now under Voron that is,¡± Glen replied. ¡°The Sopat have taken the contract.¡± Laius started. ¡°There is¡­ the compensation isn¡¯t apparent in the books.¡± ¡°They¡¯ll get to use it for free afterwards. As in, no taxes for their caravans,¡± Glen said. ¡°It¡¯s an agreement.¡± ¡°Do we have a time-frame on the duration of this agreement your grace?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll sign a contract for you and talk to Phon-Iv about it. Fifty years lets say,¡± Glen grimaced at the minutiae. ¡°Taras has employed four firms from Lai Zel-ka to complete work on the town¡¯s center,¡± Laius continued. ¡°The main square and the lake¡¯s shores. Paving the Morn Taras roads. We paid them around five thousand gold doubloons.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have enough Zilan for the demand,¡± Glen replied stiffly. ¡°That¡¯s a worrying amount Cinna.¡± ¡°The work took them sixteen months sire. It¡¯s actually cheap.¡± ¡°Not from where I¡¯m sitting,¡± Glen retorted. ¡°Your grace, the materials were included in the price,¡± Laius insisted. ¡°Over half the sum was returned to the throne¡¯s coffers which means the four Cofol firms paid their skilled workers¡­ around a hundred of them, from whatever they had left. I understand individual merchant families shouldered the expense in exchange for market spots in the city per Lord Fikumin.¡± ¡°They can do as they please,¡± Glen said unsure where Cinna was going with this. ¡°It¡¯s their problem.¡± ¡°Sire, with a rate of thirty silver per month for each worker, each gold doubloon being twelve silver¡­ that¡¯s two point half gold or forty gold doubloons for each worker for the task. Four thousand gold in total. They came up short. They basically took a huge loss.¡± Glen blinked, teeth clenched and head hurting. ¡°Why do we care?¡± He finally asked and Doris stood up a little annoyed with his hesitant friend. ¡°For Uher¡¯s sake just tell him Laius.¡± Doris urged evocatively. ¡°My Lord, this is a slave economy!¡± The Duke of Aegium declared to a stunned Glen. ¡°This is Eplas but you and I sire are noble Lorians.¡± Glen grimaced and worked on the underside of his nicely trimmed beard with his fingers. ¡°I¡¯m an islander actually,¡± he finally said. ¡°The Cofols have their style and it¡¯s not on me to change it Mister Doris.¡± Doris ogled his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m the Duke of Aegium my Lord.¡± ¡°Exiled in Goras, where distant titles mean little,¡± Glen continued warningly. ¡°Your grace, a slave economy can¡¯t be sustained without the influx of new slaves at a steady rate,¡± Laius said treading carefully. ¡°It creates an imbalance as another firm can¡¯t compete with them and might charge¡­ in this case twice the sum you paid. As a matter of fact and after going through the books, your grace has built a town for a third of what was expected and a¡­ very large castle, for no cost at all?¡± ¡°Zilan took care of that. Morn Taras paid them in land. We allowed the exiles and former strays to live here and in exchange they work at the throne¡¯s projects. All citizens are required to contribute to the throne, the army, the navy or other projects. You speak of Eplas. This is Wetull.¡± ¡°So the slaves are slaves and the citizens are slaves with benefits?¡± Doris asked and Glen stared at him soberly. ¡°Taras has Lorians living in it. From Raoz, Regia and Lesia. It has Issirs and it has pirates. It has Cofols from Greenwhale and even Horselords. Each culture has something different or exotic going for it, but living here comes with a set of rules. I didn¡¯t make the rules¡­ not all of them but I have no interest in stopping something that works to build something that might not. You do what you are comfortable with as long as you don¡¯t interfere with my business. That was the contract. Those wanting more¡­ like full citizenship must abide by the rules. Doesn¡¯t Regia charge a tithe each season?¡± ¡°Ten percent.¡± A flushed Doris replied. ¡°Is that so? What if there is a war? Don¡¯t citizens get drafted?¡± ¡°They are compensated for it your grace.¡± ¡°By not paying the tithe for a year or two. That¡¯s a scam dear Duke what criminals call a clever racket,¡± Glen replied. ¡°Wetull runs on coin but also on outright trades between people. You produce something and trade it for something you value. It¡¯s an old system.¡± Laius stared at his notes. ¡°Your grace, this creates a complicated system the other kingdoms will find very difficult to accept. A Cofol product is always cheaper in such a market and a Zilan can take less for a superior product if it¡¯s in the mood. There is no uniformity and the market hates imbalance.¡± ¡°The human market.¡± Glen said. ¡°What about the Black Market?¡± ¡°Criminals are not part of the economy.¡± Doris pointed out. ¡°Criminals were always part of the economy,¡± Glen countered. ¡°No law will ever stop them from trying to make a living.¡± ¡°My Lord, if Horton increases his guards¡­ say to twice their number to give example, then Taras¡¯ finances will take a hit. The majority are getting paid in coin. A number of Zilan are charging for services as well. Anyway, this means that the throne must at some point step in and foot the wages bill. Will the throne do it for Abarat? Lo Minas? Dia? Rain Minas? Are they all run by Zilan?¡± ¡°Not all,¡± Glen said looking at him annoyed. ¡°Gold might stop arriving to the throne¡¯s coffers very fast my liege,¡± Laius warned. ¡°The more humans you employ.¡± Glen stood back and let out a deep breath. ¡°We are working on a plan to secure revenue. One way or another.¡± ¡°Brute forcing exports on Jelin while there are decrees signed against our products might be frowned upon,¡± Laius argued. ¡°It might lead to a violent response. You opened the door to Cofol merchants and they bend over backwards to please you but they are also going to hit Jelin¡¯s markets with everything they have utilizing your network and ports. Something to consider here is that some of our products are toxic for human economies. Sire we don¡¯t burn oil to illuminate this hall, the castle¡¯s yard or this city. There¡¯s a whole market in danger of extinction to give you one example.¡± Glen rapped his fingers on the table, scrunching his jaw this way and that thinking on Cinna¡¯s words. Several tensed moments later he gave a nod with his head. ¡°I¡¯ll see to regulate what needs to remain within our borders Laius. Make me a list.¡± ¡°Yes sire,¡± Laius croaked in relief and bowed. He gathered his papers to depart but Doris remained behind, a thoughtful expression on his now healed and better-colored face. ¡°Duke Doris?¡± Glen probed. ¡°Something the matter?¡± ¡°My Lord,¡± Doris started with a strange uncomfortable grimace. ¡°If I can enquire on the etiquette of cross-species intimate affairs?¡± A tick appeared on Glen¡¯s left eyebrow. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I understand yer meaning,¡± he told the sheepish Doris. ¡°I find myself in awe of several Zilan maidens¡ª¡± ¡°It¡¯s a charming spell,¡± Glen cut him off. ¡°They are adept to it and you¡¯ll be hard-pressed to find any maidens in their ranks.¡± ¡°Be that as it may,¡± Doris continued a determined look on his face. ¡°Are you opposed to it? I¡¯ve seen couples around.¡± ¡°Are we only talking about Zilan?¡± Glen asked in a mocking tone. ¡°I found the Gish disturbing and very short.¡± Doris admitted. ¡°I have never seen a dwarf lass but a Zilan¡­ well, they stand out in¡­ their exotic weirdness.¡± ¡°What about Ticu? They are pretty¡­ exotic.¡± ¡°A Ticu? Ha-ha¡­ I see what you did there milord.¡± Glen was serious and found the Duke¡¯s loud outburst and annoying chuckle confusing. ¡°The Duke fancies this part of the meeting,¡± Laius explained to the bemused Glen. ¡°A chance for noble persons to talk freely on baser matters.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Glen pursed his mouth. ¡°I¡¯m not against them.¡± He started with Doris nodding him along. ¡°But, I must warn you dear Doris that Zilan are extremely treacherous to associate with.¡± He stared at Rimeros and then Vulreon ¨Cthey were both sitting at the scribe¡¯s separate table some meters away- the latter had stopped scribbling down on his papers shocked. ¡°You are surrounded by Zilan,¡± Doris noticed. ¡°My Lord.¡± ¡°Bring your papers here,¡± Glen ordered Vulreon. ¡°Put that quill down, the meeting is over. You can leave us Rimeros.¡± ¡°Yes Monarch,¡± Vulreon replied and hurried to gather everything. A somber Glen waited for the Zilan to depart patiently, his eyes on a statue of himself wearing the Crown of Horns. He remembered Fikumin¡¯s missive ¨Coriginally from Anfalon- and grimaced feeling a sense of unease, then glanced at the two Lorians. Laius wanted to be anywhere but inside the Monarch¡¯s Hall that much was obvious. As for Doris, he was probably semi-drunk from the strong Goras wine he had glugged down carelessly. Glen sighed and clasped his hands together. ¡°A young-looking Zilan might be twice yer age Duke,¡± he finally started. ¡°Five times that. Ten even. They eat all meat without sentimentality. Flesh included, for they are predators at their core.¡± He stared at his left hand for a moment. ¡°They have access to at least simple charms or magic and will bend the rules when dealing with humans. I will caution against getting into an intimate relationship with one if you can avoid it.¡± ¡°What if you can¡¯t?¡± Doris asked curious. ¡°Then you must remain guarded at all times,¡± Glen replied raspingly. ¡°But not everyone can do that. As a matter of fact Laius, one should remain guarded around them especially in trades or any other dealings. Never underestimate their ability to outthink you. There are good folk and souls amongst them sure but the bad ones are beyond evil.¡± ¡°Your grace. There are many humans that are beyond evil as well,¡± Laius noticed in a low voice and Glen nodded. ¡°Aye, there are.¡± He agreed after a thoughtful moment. ¡°But humans I can read more easily.¡± Glen stared at Lord Doris next. ¡°Visit Folen¡¯s venue,¡± he suggested somberly and pushed back on his chair afore adding. ¡°Fuck his ¡®mother¡¯ and get it out of yer system.¡± An ogle-eyed Doris Alden stared at him in deep befuddlement. ¡°Doris,¡± a pale Laius said snapping the Duke out of his stupor. ¡°The Monarch has ended the meeting.¡± Of the two, Glen thought with a slight smirk. He is the sharper one.
That evening Glen finished training in the yard with Hagen and Sir Alan Kirk and returned to his quarters. Sir Nuvian was standing guard out of Inis-Mir¡¯s bedchamber. He saluted seeing the Monarch returning. ¡°Is she sleeping?¡± Glen asked. ¡°Memphes was there earlier and Lady Kilynia,¡± Sir Nuvian replied. ¡°I believe she is Hardir.¡± ¡°Iskay?¡± ¡°In her quarters with Memphes.¡± Glen nodded then opened the door to enter the princess¡¯ room. The lights were covered and it took a moment for him to adjust. He walked near one of the torches and exposed the lightstone. Glen found the scroll and opened it with a glance at the bed where his daughter was silently sleeping under her sheets. The older Princess is coming to Goras, Anfalon reported in Imperial as Fikumin hadn¡¯t bothered translating the text. Jinx and the adventurers are with her. No other Zilan. Lyceron is escorting them. They¡¯ll stop at Oldport and Jungle Fort if the Monarch wishes their journey interrupted. Lith¡¯s search has been unsuccessful it appears, Glen thought numbly and loosened the collar of his shirt before finding an armchair to sit down. His armour making a lot of noise. Damn it. Trust Whisper to bring me trouble. He tried to remember Lith from before that summer of 188 NC, but Glen was a completely different person back then and too much time had gone by. When the time comes Glenavon, Lith had offered a much younger very-na?ve Glen. We will make new agreement. I will help you get your heart¡¯s desire and you¡¯ll help me in turn, bring back hope for my people. Your people are fine. Glen had restored Wetull to a degree but he had done it for himself and wasn¡¯t partial to make any new deal with Lith. You reach a certain point and sacrifice enough shit, he thought with a scowl forming on his face. No trade seems fair. Because no trade is. Here come the vile usurpers and their guileful ruffians to greedily slurp at your rightfully gained power, the dagger hissed waking up after months of silence. Suck the marrow out of your bones and steal the crown from your daughter¡¯s head. Shut the fuck up, Glen snapped and got up frustrated with everything to still his eyes on the large barred window. The light footsteps on the thick carpet approaching. Smelling of jasmine oils and citrus. Inis-Mir touched his hand and pried the crumbled scroll away. She unfurled it under Glen¡¯s thoughtful stare and tended her other arm his way, the small still bandaged fist closed, while she read the script. Glen grabbed her tiny silk-dressed fist and Inis-Mir opened it depositing a piece of gold-colored porcelain in his palm. The Monarch furrowed his white brows beholding the broken piece and Inis-Mir queried in a clear melodic voice. ¡°Who is this old Princess?¡± ¡°The previous Queen¡¯s daughter,¡± Glen replied hoarsely impressed at Inis-Mir¡¯s ability to read Imperial script with ease so early. ¡°We traveled together for a while.¡± ¡°Before you were a noble Monarch?¡± His daughter asked casually. ¡°I was more of a semi-noble back then,¡± Glen jested. Inis-Mir crumbled the scroll in his her small hands. ¡°Does she know about the Wyvern?¡± ¡°Uvrycres?¡± Glen asked a little surprised her young mind had gone there. ¡°I reckon she does.¡± Ah. Glen stared at the broken golden eggshell piece inside his palm. When? ¡°Don¡¯t tell her about Qodras,¡± Inis-Mir advised. ¡°Is the wyvern out?¡± Glen asked instead worried. ¡°Soon,¡± Inis-Mir replied vaguely gazing towards the now empty canvass¡¯s stand and then she assumed an uncertain expression that was almost comical despite the seriousness of the query. ¡°Daddy¡­ I know the missive says differently but are you certain she comes alone?¡±
487. Cracked (2/3)
RRREEEEE? EARRRRAU HAERRRRRE!! The Wyverns shrieks trumpeted loudly whilst competing for the available space outside the tiny island mausoleum. It¡¯s been a while sweetheart, a tired Glen thought pulling the old dusty sheet away to unveil the tainted glassy surface of the sarcophagus with his working arm. Might have made a mess of a couple of things and some disturbing shit happened but it kind of worked out in the end. Not an easy task and profusely pricey. Hey, at the very least she¡¯s alright. Aye. We made something special there and it was all you. He listened to Lussiel barking orders at the protesting wyverns through the gapping doors and grimaced but forced himself to stand up from the square marble stool next to the meter-high wall of the massive sculpted sarcophagus. The base covered in moss and smeared in mud where the flood had reached it. Got some things to do still, no one will know and she might not like. Hopefully you¡¯ll understand that I was never going to bow out without clearing the deck of all them cretins. It may not be polite and you may still be mad for the other thing but it is what it is. I¡¯m a greedy and lustful rogue deep down I guess. Also a selfish angry man and a bit of a cunt that doesn¡¯t give a shit about anything but those I love. Because I have a heart. Hey, maybe you knew it all along. ¡°Father,¡± a tensed Lussiel Inis-Mir whispered standing at the doors hesitantly not wanting to enter and Glen lightly tapped at the glass once in a gesture of farewell before walking towards her. Standing just a hair taller than her late mother already, the princess was a splendid sight that brought tears to his eyes. ¡°You¡¯ll return to Morn Taras,¡± Glen said raspingly trying to keep his voice steady. ¡°Let me come with you please,¡± she pleaded and clasped his arm tightly. Glen couldn¡¯t feel a thing there but the Monarch pretended that he did. He stared into her familiar eyes intently and then grinned at Lussiel¡¯s sober expression. Glen raised his right hand and caught the side of her head. Kissed her lips and warm forehead softly. ¡°Where I go only Uvrycres can reach blind and young girls should never chance a trek,¡± he lied without remorse since Glen was well beyond that. ¡°But when it¡¯s all over I¡¯ll draw a map for you so you¡¯ll know. Not near as good as your drawings for I don¡¯t have yer talents baby, but good enough.¡± ¡°You promise?¡± Glen had only kept one promise in his life to the people he loved. Keeping his daughter safe. It was a no-brainer. So he lied about that too. ¡°Aye.¡± - The horrifically scarred Uvrycres, who had won the brief scrap for room against the other wyverns, turned its wagon-sized horned head towards the hobbling Monarch. Those rubicund eyes gazing into his soul with understanding. Black Eirkor buzzed in Glen¡¯s ornate scabbard in protest for the upcoming delay and massive detour but the large Onyx Wyvern lowered its long neck to give him access to Laedan¡¯s saddle. RRRRR Glen nodded. ¡°Head north first. Way up there.¡± He ordered in a hoarse voice and glanced at Lussiel watching them from afar standing next to the majestic gold wyvern, the much smaller white Nigna snapping at Qodras heels in a surprise attack, slyly jumping out of the water. She had been exiled to the muddy beach and beyond from the other two. The larger beast trying to skewer the female wyvern with its stinger repeatedly after her attack failed. The Monarch grimaced and the man inside wept afore adding in a lower voice. ¡°See if anyone there knows what happened to Vera Felusa*.¡± And my kid. Uvrycres raised his head when Glen climbed on the saddle and grabbed the reins, to let out a thunderous and roaring spell-enhanced shriek that blew the weak branches off of the nearby tropical trees, uprooted the grass and caused the ground to shake violently before silencing his mischievous kin. RRREEEEE-REE It went on and on while Uvrycres slowly extended his wings and then ended abruptly. A moment later the Onyx Wyvern leaped high towards the skies, its large distant shadow covering the small islet momentarily and Duath Erin I Menel** flew away¡­
- * Esoteric Archaic Imperial (extinct Cydonia Cazan Witch Tongue), here it translates -Vera (personal, my own) Felusa (endearing term for Sorceress) ** Dwarfish Tongue (Common Imperial jargon), here it translates ¨C Shadow in the sky.
Arguen Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Lord of Morn Taras Monarch of Wetull King beyond the Pale Mountains Aniculo Rokae Duath Erin I Menel Cracked Part II -Opposing counsels-
Glen placed the old dagger on the table next to the bed and span it once on the polished surface. The princess bedchamber seemed too silent and empty without Inis-Mir¡¯s presence. The princess was visiting sick Nefertiti ¨Cthe camel- in the stables and this event had completely emptied the royal quarters in a sense. Or emptied the floor enough for him to smuggle Laedan in her bedroom. His amber eyes stayed on the slowly coming to a stop exotic dagger afore they returned on the silent half-paralyzed and skeptical face of Laedan. The Denmaster carrying several more injuries on his ascetic body. ¡°Umm¡­ I see,¡± Laedan murmured examining the cracked gold egg. He brought his ear near the scaled outer shell and listened for long. Another half-face grimace and a full grunt later Laedan pulled back and stared at the broken piece of eggshell in his palm unsure. ¡°How long?¡± Glen asked impatiently. You want to be on top of these plaguing things. ¡°Two weeks,¡± Laedan replied. ¡°That¡¯s in a controlled environment and kept in relative heat throughout. You know the procedure.¡± ¡°I sort of hatched it on the road. Granted I was in the middle of the desert at the time.¡± ¡°Aha,¡± Laedan said soaking an index finger in his mouth then rubbing at the inner side of the broken piece hard only to lick at the finger again with a scowl. Once again he listened to the large gold egg placing his right ear on the scaled surface. ¡°Eh. It¡¯s like this then.¡± ¡°That¡¯s your expert opinion?¡± Glen grunted mockingly. ¡°Three out of ten wyvern eggs hatch,¡± Laedan informed him rolling the broken piece of eggshell in his fingers. ¡°The rest we bury under the ashes and sand around the Den¡¯s altar. Of the three that make it through the fire, a couple the witches tended to euthanize young, keeping only the best of the bunch.¡± ¡°Which were?¡± ¡°The smaller ones. The more docile.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Glen asked looking at the glowing in the torches¡¯ light wyvern¡¯s egg. ¡°You know each beast is different.¡± Laedan retorted. ¡°Oh, I forgot you lucked into the position.¡± Glen knew Laedan always tossed an insult his way in private so he let it slide. Glen had already crippled the man and any more punishment would be counterproductive at this junction. ¡°Turlas was a gold one allegedly.¡± ¡°The King wanted him. They are rare.¡± ¡°Will it hatch?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t hear it moving. It might mean the egg is damaged or that it¡¯s hiding,¡± Laedan replied. ¡°You say we might have overcooked the wyvern? Gods damn it man! I thought you knew what you were doing!¡± Laedan shrugged his shoulders and then patted at his belt. ¡°I could give it a couple of blows with pick and hammer right at the crack. See if I can prop it open.¡± ¡°My daughter might think we killed it if she founds it smashed. What then? Can we¡­ sort of glue the pieces back together?¡± ¡°No. And she wouldn¡¯t be wrong in a sense Hardir,¡± Laedan replied shaking his head and Glen puffed out a little bit more frustrated. Take a step back. Give it time afore reacting. ¡°You were close with Baltoris,¡± he finally said changing the subject. ¡°On the periphery of the court but I¡¯ve spoken to her in the Den on many occasions.¡± Laedan replied. ¡°We weren¡¯t close. The Queen was a stern lady.¡± ¡°What about the Rokae?¡± Glen asked. Sir Delmuth was standing guard at the door leading to the corridor. ¡°She had her own guard,¡± Laedan replied. ¡°Wanted nothing to do with them.¡± ¡°Sir Delmuth?¡± Glen asked the silently watching them masked knight. ¡°Queen Baltoris dismissed her father¡¯s guards,¡± the Zilan replied rigidly. ¡°She blamed them partially for the assassination.¡± Glen would have blamed them way more than that. ¡°You served under King Ninthalor?¡± ¡°Lord Sulynor of Rain-Minas,¡± Delmuth replied. ¡°Him she blamed even more. She gave control of the Rokae to Lord Suraer of Lo-Minas and formed the Queen¡¯s Guard under Velanoris.¡± Glen narrowed his eyes, the name vaguely familiar but the memory buried too far into the past. ¡°The Aniculo Rokae basically,¡± Laedan elucidated. ¡°Balaer was always at her side.¡± Glen grimaced angrily and glared at the smirking Laedan. ¡°Balaer was Nenderu¡¯s rider, took over after fair Elenaris perished in the war.¡± Sir Delmuth added a further clarification. ¡°He carried Endariel the last time I saw him.¡± ¡°And Velanoris carried Nether-scourge famously. The Queen¡¯s gifts.¡± ¡°You are talking of named swords.¡± Glen noted. ¡°Hardir is correct,¡± Sir Delmuth replied. ¡°Three swords Isil O¡¯ Mecatan made for the Sibyls Coven. Nether-scourge, Endariel and Eirkor. Sintoriela helped him through the process.¡± ¡°Any of the swords around?¡± Glen asked hopefully. ¡°Not that I know Hardir,¡± Delmuth replied. ¡°I assume they are either lost or looted.¡± Double Ayup. ¡°Was Balaer or Velanoris the princess father?¡± Glen asked out of the blue. ¡°With Baltoris ¡®sleeping in the barracks¡¯ or whatever the fuck that nonsense means and the unlikelihood a lowly Hoplite could have made it through the Aniculo Rokae in order to bed the Queen, it¡¯s a legitimate fucking query gents!¡± ¡°Could be,¡± Laedan finally said. ¡°Balaer was elevated from a priest right Delmuth?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t engage in lewd gossip Laedan,¡± the knight replied stiffly. ¡°I may have my grievances with the late Queen, but she¡¯s still a Queen and I¡¯m not.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mistake you for a Queen Delmuth,¡± Laedan chuckled at the clearly discomforted knight. Ha-ha. It was a good one. Delmuth had stepped into a pile of shit with that last part. ¡°Where is Lord Sulynor now?¡± Glen asked. ¡°Is he dead?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe anyone knows. He was part of the exiles. Escaped pretty early in the purge. This is a very old story Hardir.¡± Sir Delmuth replied. ¡°Its official start is at 2090 IC but really it begun earlier in 2007 IC when the king and Queen were murdered.¡± ¡°The second date is?¡± Glen probed thoughtfully. ¡°Priestess Edlenn¡¯s accident,¡± Sir Delmuth replied and Laedan snorted loudly. ¡°The investigation produced no definitive clues of foul play Laedan.¡± ¡°Sure, when the killer does the investigating he rarely points a finger to himself. It was definitely a murder. Don¡¯t be a stone plinth Delmuth,¡± Laedan retorted. ¡°Lord Suraer was thorough,¡± Delmuth growled through the silver mask, while Glen tried to remember the shawl-covered witch (the murdered Edlenn¡¯s daughter) but failing for the most part. That bitch was an old fucking turd with a great pair of legs. He took a deep breath as the memory of the Prince¡¯s consort riding her horse returned in full force. Like that strange jolt to his system. Then Glen added in his mind. And toes¡­ for the mileage. ¡°Suraer searched from Lo-Minas and had no idea of what was going on in the palace,¡± Laedan argued in the meantime wiping a tear from his half-closed eye. ¡°The rumors in Goras were different.¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough Laedan. We¡¯ll leave it at that,¡± Glen intervened seeing as the Denmaster while brave he couldn¡¯t take any more punishment and Delmuth could deliver quite a lot of that. The Denmaster pursed his mouth. ¡°You need to keep the egg if this doesn¡¯t work,¡± Laedan said after a tense moment returning him the broken gold piece. ¡°The reason for it?¡± ¡°This shit makes great potions.¡± Laedan replied pointing at the eggshell. ¡°The whole of the wyvern really. Which is why the witches kept them to make stuff, like your dagger.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve seen it before?¡± Glen asked him. ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± Laedan replied. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°No reason,¡± Glen retorted. ¡°Lock the box afore you leave and I expect you here every day to check on the egg.¡± ¡°Can I have a closed carriage to use to go back and forth to the city? The weather is terrible and it rains every day,¡± Laedan asked and added in the usual Zilan condescending manner. ¡°Oh, feted Hardir?¡± ¡°Wake up very early in the morning,¡± Glen countered with his usual smug or more like shit-eating leer. ¡°So you can ride here with the returning Rokae night patrol. They keep a horse or two in reserve.¡±
Half an hour later Glen exited the Citadel¡¯s gates with Hagen and Rimeros following after him. He wanted to walk across the yard and reach the stables but found Fikumin¡¯s entourage waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs. The dwarf moving fast to cut the Monarch¡¯s path. ¡°Rimeros,¡± Glen grunted. ¡°Does Lord Shield have an appointment?¡± ¡°He has requested one Hardir.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t I say to move it later?¡± ¡°I believe you thought he¡¯d left and just nodded your grace thinking he won¡¯t arrive until the afternoon. But the Lord Shield has slept here.¡± Glen made a grimace that was between a teeth-clench and a voiceless snarl, the mask he had on remaining blank unable to translate it into a viable expression. ¡°Fiku,¡± Glen started but the dwarf grabbed his arm to pull him aside from his men. ¡°Keep this private,¡± Fikumin rustled. ¡°We¡¯re basically in the blasted yard,¡± Glen hissed and freed his arm. ¡°Assaulting a noble person are we?¡± ¡°Garth, this is serious.¡± Fikumin stopped him austerely.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Well, people have been executed for less my foolish friend. ¡°Fine. I¡¯m still working on a plan.¡± Glen replied with a sigh. ¡°Lithoniela is a Princess. The previous Queen¡¯s daughter,¡± the dwarf rustled. ¡°You can¡¯t expect to sweep it under the rag. You believe people won¡¯t notice?¡± ¡°Most have had no interaction with her,¡± Glen said annoyed. ¡°I¡¯m interviewing the court.¡± ¡°Whatever they thought of her or her mother, a Princess of Wetull needs to be acknowledged at the minimum.¡± ¡°That¡¯s as high as I can go. Minimum. I fucking built this shit Fiku. Stone atop stone and still work on it,¡± Glen argued. ¡°Not to mention I¡¯ve lost too much already. Lith made her choice when she went away with that murdering scumbag.¡± ¡°You¡¯re alive because she sent me to find you and lured the assassin away,¡± Fikumin countered hoarsely. ¡°Disrespecting her would rub people the wrong way. Don¡¯t do your usual crap.¡± ¡°Inis-Mir is a Princess of Wetull,¡± Glen retorted his face hardening. ¡°If you think I¡¯ll bow down to Lith¡¯s condescending nonsense you¡¯re a bigger fool than I thought.¡± ¡°You liked her a lot back then.¡± ¡°A kid fresh out of a village led around by a spell-casting Zilan Elderborn,¡± Glen reminded him. ¡°Emerson showed me what true allies do Fiku and how far one goes to protect those he likes.¡± ¡°Emerson is dead,¡± Fikumin grunted narrowing his eyes. ¡°His child and widow locked in your castle. Is this what the knight wanted?¡± Glen stood back and stared at the others present. Phinariel and Berthas were there as well. The scribe looking prettier with each passing season. No acrimonious stuff on her face just tasty sweetness. Phina blushed into a smile and bowed her head. It¡¯s the fucking charms at work, he reminded himself and shook his head to return to the conversation. ¡°His son is safe.¡± He finally said to the scowling dwarf. ¡°Troy agrees.¡± ¡°Troy is driven by different reasons,¡± Fikumin retorted. ¡°The Taras guards arrested him yesterday for public drunkenness, indecent exposure and assaulting a foreign dignitary. Six people were injured.¡± Glen stared at Rimeros for more details. ¡°It was in yesterday¡¯s agenda but Hardir ended the meeting early. The merchant¡¯s wife wanted to see the ¡®Titan¡¯s mighty rod¡¯ and he obliged her. Apparently she had to comment and it rubbed people the wrong way. They were all drunk sir, it was a feast in the Cofol neighborhood.¡± ¡°Release the Gladiator. He probably slept it off by now,¡± Glen ordered. ¡°Stop veering off subject Fiku.¡± ¡°That was you Garth. You talk of Emerson, brought up Troy, but what does Ziba-Ra want though?¡± The dwarf grunted with a grimace. ¡°Whose opinion should be your concern?¡± ¡°We were talking about Lith.¡± Glen reminded him. ¡°A Princess is a Princess,¡± Fikumin said and clasped his hands behind his bulky back. ¡°Optics matter. Deal with it clumsily and you¡¯ll create a problem the wyvern won¡¯t be able to solve.¡± ¡°I have the Council¡¯s and the people¡¯s favor.¡± ¡°You need the Zilan more than you need the people,¡± Fikumin replied stiffly. ¡°Such is the society you inherited and did very little to change it.¡± ¡°Was that a bad thing?¡± Glen asked sarcastically. Fikumin snorted. ¡°Perhaps not but these are the problems you¡¯ll need to face now. A noble ruler can¡¯t be petty or uncultured.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll never put Lith over Inis-Mir Fiku. Not in a million fucking years, not with a blade on my neck,¡± Glen warned angrily but breathed out to calm himself down and added. ¡°But she can stay in Morn Taras if she behaves.¡± ¡°You expect to enforce your rules on an Elderborn? The Queen¡¯s daughter?¡± ¡°The late Queen¡¯s daughter this, the late Sibyl¡¯s kin that and old Onas¡¯ many living bastards. This might never end. I don¡¯t give a fuck! I enforce rules on them every plaguing day because I¡¯m the god darn Monarch. I made this work. I made the ruins livable again!¡± Glen grunted raspingly getting all worked up. ¡°She¡¯ll just have to swallow it for the good of her people and play along without too much pouting or else. Much older Zilan than her have spoken on the matter. It is over. I didn¡¯t lose my wife to gift the kingdom to Lith dwarf and take it from our own blasted child!¡± ¡°Garth,¡± A surprised at his outburst Fikumin said hoarsely but in a calmer manner. ¡°What are you talking about? I never suggested you give up the throne. I spoke of offering respect to the previous royal line.¡± Glen pursed his mouth, a severe tick forcing his right to close completely but it was covered by the stoic mask. ¡°I¡¯ll consider yer suggestions,¡± he managed to say in a kingly voice.
¡°Monarch,¡± Berthas said when they returned to the others. ¡°The Monarch is busy,¡± Rimeros interrupted him. ¡°Eh. What is it Berthas?¡± Glen grunted staring at Fikumin talking with Phina some meters away. ¡°I was thinking we should look into expanding the kingdom¡¯s pool of magic Monarch,¡± the young mage blurted out. ¡°Speak clearly,¡± the distracted with the previous talk Glen retorted. ¡°Where is this pool located?¡± ¡°I was¡­ a metaphor sire. If I¡¯m allowed to take more than one pupil then perhaps a school can be created¡ª¡± ¡°A magic school wit a pool,¡± Glen corrected him patiently. This was a ludicrous idea but Berthas had been helpful in the past and a Lord¡¯s ¨Calso an ally¡¯s- kin. ¡°No pool but a training ground for those with skill that have nowhere to turn to,¡± a desperate Berthas continued trying to get the words out. ¡°No room for a training ground in Taras.¡± ¡°I was thinking of Nesande¡¯s Garden.¡± ¡°That¡¯s in Abarat and we can¡¯t exactly start cutting down sacred trees friend.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t being clear enough. A small place to house the classes was my meaning.¡± Aha. ¡°You need to work on yer presentation Berthas. A small building in Taras is still one building too many. People are dying to pay big sums for every inch of space there.¡± ¡°It¡¯s why I suggested¡­ perhaps the Monarch could fund¡ª?¡± ¡°Stop it right there,¡± Glen cut him off midsentence. ¡°How about Hardir¡¯s Port? Huh?¡± Berthas stood back confused. ¡°Eh. What¡¯s there?¡± Pretty much nothing. ¡°A bank soon. The naval yards. Big warehouses. Space.¡± Glen replied meaningfully. ¡°And a school of magic. Um. A small one next to the Bank¡¯s building. Right Rimeros?¡± ¡°It¡¯s an excellent use of empty real estate Hardir,¡± Rimeros agreed. ¡°Your grace,¡± Berthas tried to intervene but Glen could see it clearly in his mind now and waved his protests off. ¡°This could help us justify the added security. Drive away some of the crime in the ruined city that is nearby. Give us points with Soletha¡¯s crowd.¡± He continued. ¡°But can you teach those gifted kids Berthas?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t we consider the Garden? It¡¯s a natural and rich environment?¡± ¡°An excursion once a year for those that are very skilled,¡± Glen haggled. ¡°Stay in Abarat or the woods if ye feel adventurous. Ayup. Why would you want to relocate to Abarat anyway? Phina is right here.¡± ¡°We¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be a fool.¡± Glen warned him preemptively. ¡°Monarch this is a private matter,¡± Berthas croaked a little embarrassed. ¡°Wait, is it the fabled ¡®must have an offspring to be the real thing¡¯ bullshit? That¡¯s an antiquated custom nobody sane buys into shit for brains. I don¡¯t. Soletha doesn¡¯t seem to mind also ha-ha,¡± Glen elucidated with a grin and a wink. ¡°The priestess had one already.¡± Berthas responded rigidly. She would have bedded Soren even if she hadn¡¯t! Maeriel, Folen¡¯s girls¡­ too many examples to count! Glen rolled his eyes. ¡°Just keep trying¡­¡± he paused to stare in Berthas flushed face suspiciously. ¡°You said you have a pupil.¡± ¡°She¡¯s very talented,¡± Berthas assured him. ¡°Monarch.¡± ¡°Does she have big tits?¡± Glen asked going full Whisper Jinx on him and it was obvious the conversation have gone way off course for the young mage. Fikumin and Phina had stopped chatting now. It was always a big risk talking with Glen. Still probably safer than talking with Whisper. ¡°I haven¡¯t noticed,¡± a cornered Berthas said defensively. ¡°Forget fool. You are a stone-cold idiot,¡± Glen retorted not believing him and puffed out a little disappointed. Maybe it¡¯s his mother. Reinforcing the blood or whatever¡­ oh well. ¡°Rimeros see you assist Berthas with his faculty of magic cunts.¡± ¡°I apologize for giving the wrong¡ª¡± Berthas tried to say but Glen stopped him raising his hand. ¡°Go away,¡± he told the young mage solemnly and watched him returning to the troubled Fikumin and worrying Phinariel stooped like an old man. At least the fool looks the part, Glen thought. Which could also be said about Glen of course. Eh. ¡°Milord,¡± Hagen said pointing at the yard. ¡°I believe the princess¡¯ entourage is returning. Do you still wish to visit the stables?¡± Glen stared at the cloudy sky over their heads with a frown. ¡°Have Maeriel bring her to the throne room afore they head upstairs,¡± he decided and turned around to climb up the stairs leading to the Citadel¡¯s entrance. If it was one thing Voron had nailed building the castle was making darn sure everyone living in it enjoyed a good cardio every-single-fucking day just to move about. - Later that evening 22nd day of Imperial Minge (eleventh month) of 3400 IC 3rd Era Morn Taras central hall (Long Hall) Support column number six on the east wing Part of the Throne Room ¡°Ah,¡± Troy said stretching his chiseled arms back looking at the intricately carved and then gold-painted details on the massive column¡¯s black surface. ¡°That¡¯s a real person?¡± ¡°A murderous Zilan witch,¡± Glen said soberly from his chair working a half-finished goblet of wine in his hands. ¡°Elevating?¡± ¡°Artistic license. Not that far from the truth,¡± Glen replied and stared at the large map still left open on the table. ¡°Your mood is shot. Put the mask back on, yer looking like a sad horse,¡± Troy noticed returning to refill his. ¡°Right Hagen?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t drink on duty nor partake in jests on milord¡¯s expense,¡± Hagen replied sadly all serious and the gladiator blinked afore letting out a roaring laughter that reverberated inside the mostly dark hall¡¯s cold walls. ¡°Duty? What do you do? Guard him? Why? Ha-ha-ha! Ergh¡­¡± He croaked, started coughing turning all red in the face and then spat down some of the wine while snorting to get the rest out of his nose. Not all of it wine. ¡°¡­mother of oiled arses! That¡¯s a proper cavity cleansing!¡± ¡°Alright, no more alcohol for him,¡± Glen ordered the smirking Hagen who nodded in agreement. ¡°Bah, I¡¯m fine. Tried to talk and swallow at the same moment like an Ani Ta-Ne harlot. Get it? Ha-ha!¡± He stared at the thoughtful clean shaven Glen curious. ¡°What were you looking at there?¡± ¡°This is Regia,¡± Glen replied tracing a finger on the commissioned map¡¯s surface. ¡°The west coast bordering Scaldingport after Krakentrap Straits and then the south part, all the way across to Lesia. Here,¡± he glanced at the frowning chiton-wearing gladiator. ¡°Rybel can have four ships finished before the summer. You heard Luvon.¡± ¡°That the Bank guy? Penny-pinching motherfucker,¡± Troy commented and glugged down the rest of his wine but when he went to get the bottle to refill it Hagen took it away from him. ¡°Give it back mate. Or we¡¯ll have a problem.¡± ¡°Stop with the buffoonery. And you¡¯re correct. That¡¯s him,¡± Glen answered and signed for Hagen to keep the bottle away from Troy. ¡°Concentrate Troy.¡± ¡°I think your man wants to fight me,¡± Troy noted with a grimace. ¡°Better to get it out of his system right now.¡± What? ¡°You just got out of prison damn it,¡± Glen grunted and slammed his fist on the table. ¡°What prison? That was a villa. Large windows and good food. Are you kidding me? Try living in a hole under the Pits. Then we can talk.¡± ¡°You think Goras is lacking deep dark places to toss yer arse in?¡± Glen retorted angrily. Troy rubbed his face. ¡°What¡¯s gotten into you?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve a kingdom to run.¡± ¡°Mate, just fuck them all. This thing runs itself anyway.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not how it goes Troy,¡± Glen replied with a tired sigh. ¡°Someone must hold the reins.¡± ¡°Ziba-Ra thinks you¡¯ll never let her go,¡± Troy said after a long moment. ¡°That your realm is a pretty prison. She wants to get Ballard¡¯s boy back home.¡± ¡°Let her go to Lesia. Why? Are Lorians there safer to live with?¡± ¡°Ballard¡¯s words got into her head.¡± ¡°The man¡¯s name was Emerson. Ballard is just a plaguing place!¡± Glen snapped and planted his finger on a point at the map. ¡°Right there. A world away. She¡¯ll take the risk? Across a war-torn continent?¡± ¡°Word is, the war is over in Regia,¡± Troy noticed sobering up. ¡°Regia is a place full of regulations and laws. Lesia is worse. I¡¯ve lived in the isles so I know Kaltha¡¯s justice as well. All three kingdoms are bigoted to their core. Emerson was the outlier and they had kicked him out.¡± ¡°No they hadn¡¯t,¡± Troy cut him off and Glen grimaced that nervous tick returning. ¡°I was trying to preserve the old man¡¯s memory,¡± he told Troy hoarsely. ¡°Emerson cut down his sister¡¯s lover. Right or wrong he did break her heart and then tried to make amends. He was a melancholic, very harsh but just man haunted by the past and his austere dead father¡¯s ghost. His world was as cruel as Wetull or the Peninsula make no mistake about it. The last two Regia kings have been murdered for even less of a reason. The second one whilst fighting his own brother.¡± ¡°There are no slaves on Jelin,¡± Troy noted evenly. ¡°Seeing them around is what scares Ziba-Ra the most.¡± ¡°Eah,¡± Glen grunted and crossed both arms on his chest. ¡°She hasn¡¯t seen the really scary things yet. I thought you liked it here.¡± ¡°I do. But I like her the most.¡± Troy admitted hoarsely. ¡°And she knows it. She wants me to get them out.¡± ¡°Say you do.¡± Glen said. ¡°Will she stay with you afterwards?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think she will. We both know it. Ziba gripes that keeping her here works in my favor.¡± ¡°Life is full of compromises and disappointment. You¡¯ll never know the future and you¡¯re a fool if you believe you do,¡± Glen replied raspingly. ¡°She isn¡¯t going anywhere for her own good. Lesia is located to the arse-end of nowhere. I doubt it¡¯s this ¡®cozy¡¯ place she imagines it to be. Does she believe Emerson¡¯s sister would be sweet on her? There¡¯s no friendly place for a former slave and a kid that might be an heir to a lofty title. I know that part well. And I won¡¯t risk it.¡± No one said anything for a while. ¡°What are you going to do with four ships?¡± Troy asked pushing his thick blond hair back. ¡°Escort a small flotilla of cargo ships to Regia,¡± Glen replied looking at the map. ¡°Unload them while everyone stares at the warships to a friendly lord¡¯s waiting fleet near one of the big ports. Get paid and make the return trip.¡± ¡°Why not Scaldingport?¡± ¡°Borders are a problem to cross with our kind of product. We need to unload it directly to a like-minded distributor. Get it off our hands. Plus Kaltha might not survive the Khan.¡± ¡°He¡¯s stuck right now.¡± ¡°He¡¯ll crush them one after the other eventually unless a miracle happens. A series of miracles. Kalac always said you can¡¯t beat the Horselords without killing them all for they won¡¯t stop fighting. Unless you deploy a wyvern I suppose. Which will do it. Aye, anyway it¡¯s a matter of will. I¡¯ve seen that crazy fuck fight a Hydra wit one arm. A prince charge Uvrycres in his chariot. Do the Khan¡¯s enemies have his resolve?¡± ¡°Do you trust this Lord?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t trust anyone but he¡¯ll pay a ton of coin in advance. He can make as much profit as he wants afterwards,¡± Glen replied thoughtfully. ¡°All I care is for our wine to reach their tables. Then the people shall demand more.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a good wine mate.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just wine,¡± Glen retorted. ¡°But the mystique surrounding the blue-haired folk is impossible for humans to resist. As you well know.¡± Troy shook his head. ¡°Lord Wyvern, I¡¯m not a good example. I¡¯ll fuck anything. Gish, humans, dwarfs, Zilan and your Ticu. Might have done a dude in Fu De-Gar once. But he was pretty as a maiden and dressed as one. My drive is insatiable.¡± ¡°Keep yer rotten cock hidden while in the palace,¡± Glen grunted with a grimace of disgust. ¡°Maybe that¡¯s what made Ziba pick the old man and not you. What good is the Titan of Novesium if you have to share him with half the known realm like the cheapest of harlots? Have you ever thought of that?¡± Troy stood back a little troubled. ¡°You¡¯ll preach restraint? You bed yer wife¡¯s slave. Can she even deny you?¡± ¡°She¡¯s free, you stupid son of a bitch and I never touched her while my wife lived,¡± Glen replied pursing his mouth. ¡°And unlike you, I can do whatever the hell I want now. I¡¯m a widower and I don¡¯t have to walk on eggshells to gain a woman¡¯s affection. I just don¡¯t care either way.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe you mate. You are a greedy motherfucker in all things. What about the little princess?¡± Glen smacked his lips and then rubbed at his nape tiredly. ¡°You sure are always ready for a fight Troy. Fuck¡¯s sake. It¡¯s late.¡± Troy raised his brow mockingly. ¡°Aye, I don¡¯t want to displease Inis-Mir that¡¯s true. Are you satisfied? Or do we have to roll about on them tiles like a couple of drunken idiots until I beat some sense into yer thick skull?¡± Troy grinned a beefy idiot¡¯s smile proving his point. ¡°You fucking read my mind! Wow. We¡¯re alike mate. See?¡± Luthos turned around and closed the door hard on his face. ¡°No. Dude you¡¯re a¡­¡± ¡­bloated buffoon. Glen groaned in exasperation. ¡°Fine. Yes. Like two peas in a blasted pod,¡± he yielded to get the beaming gladiator off of his back and Troy friendly-punched him abruptly on the chest pleased they had finally come to an agreement. By Luthos will it was good Glen still had his cuirass on.
Hagen snored loudly, now collapsed on the armchair and Glen pressed his tired eyes closed. The lightstones had this strong white light that made your eyes hurt after a while and of course due to Voron¡¯s aversion to windows one had to climb a lot of stairs to see the sun during the day. Or step outside the Citadel. Glen pushed back on his own chair, the creaking concealed by Hagen¡¯s snoring and the sound of wood burning in the fireplace behind his throne. The raised stage-like square hiding the fireplace in its turn. The Monarch turned his head around and stared across the long table at the seemingly endless row of black columns ¨Conly the first pair seen clearly from where he was, the rest, only partially due to the small lights and separated in turn by large blotches of darkness- and the extended dark Hall leading to the entrance. Due to most of the personnel retiring by now, scribes and most servants included, the Morn Taras Central Hall was deserted but for the knights at the entrance. Despite its opulence at the illuminated spots and around the throne or Glen¡¯s conference table, the hall felt like a tomb. Chilly, dark and mostly silent. Everything standing still and the long shadows that were cast by the disappearing towards the distant ceiling -twenty meters in circumference- columns thick and motionless. But for one. Glen narrowed his eyes and the elusive shade spilled from one column to another, dissolved and reappeared over the illuminated areas ever approaching. Thirty meters. Then twenty. Fifteen and it stopped behind the last of the great columns leading to the throne stage that was behind Glen¡¯s back. A lithe black-clad figure got out of the darkness. A dark metallic mask with no features visible but for the eye-slits that allowed the pair of indigo-colored eyes to glow as she approached. Nym in her tight leather ¡®field-outfit¡¯ looked like a black panther, a little twitchier perhaps and more heavily armed. All scabbards and sheaths encased in soft black cloth or silk not to make any noise. And she was completely silent for a while, until she stopped two meters away from the watching Monarch and the sound of something moving rapidly was heard inside the echoing hall. Like many thin sticks tapping at the tiles. Or the ceiling. Glen¡¯s nervous tick reappeared twice as violent and he had to grab the armrest not to flinch at the disturbingly familiar sound that had raised every hair on his nape. And even a few he didn¡¯t know they were there. ¡°Echoes are so annoying,¡± Nym commented as an ogle-eyed Glen listened to locate the direction of the weird phenomenon. ¡°But are just that. In the end.¡± Girl you just can¡¯t do the reassuring part at all. ¡°The fuck that¡¯s supposed to mean?¡± Glen croaked and stood up almost jumping out of the chair to look behind him. ¡°Where¡¯s that sneaky mute motherfucker?¡± ¡°Where he¡¯s needed. Which leaves me fixing his mess,¡± Nym replied mysteriously and took a step forward only for Glen to stop her with a curt gesture. ¡°We had a surprise visit. A shocking twist. He-he. Do you like surprises Hardir?¡± A grimacing Glen opened and closed his fist glaring her way. ¡°It depends.¡± Nym nodded and for a moment she watched the snoring Hagen sleeping on the armchair with a cat¡¯s interest. ¡°Would Hardir seek to alleviate the stress of having to deal with this new development?¡± She finally asked in a soft child¡¯s voice. If you wish their journey interrupted, Anfalon had written and now his meaning became clearer to Glen. Because Zilan were always capable of thinking way ahead and frequently did. This was Anfalon letting Glen know there was another option available or within the Monarch¡¯s power. Glen gulped down and stared at the masked female assassin. ¡°You would do that?¡± He croaked, feeling sick in his stomach. ¡°You served her mother.¡± ¡°I always serve the Monarch,¡± Nym replied mirthfully. ¡°But the Monarch is the one making the decisions. To help us gain valuable time and polish Hardir¡¯s directives, I¡¯ve preemptively dispatched Din to Jungle Fort.¡± A disturbed Glen took a step back. ¡°You¡¯re serious.¡± ¡°You are as well. You welcomed Nym as a friend. I can be your loyal, secret servant if you wish. Always ready to please and solve your problems. Out of sight. Out of mind. Away and in silence.¡± Nym purred knowingly and there was plenty of hidden meaning in there as well. ¡°A protective Circle of Light to cast all shadows and perils out of the Monarch¡¯s way.¡± 488. Cracked (3/3)
Arguen Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Lord of Morn Taras Monarch of Wetull King beyond the Pale Mountains Aniculo Rokae Duath Erin I Menel Cracked Part III -Qodras-
The Monarch¡¯s way, a numb Glen thought staring at the blank metal mask Nym had on. Is everyone really working for me? Or is this just a delusion? Do I really know what I¡¯m doing here? It¡¯s a gift. Take the gift now and dispose of the gift-bearer later, the Wyvern¡¯s Tongue whispered. Its words swinging Glen the other way. ¡°What about Whisper Jinx?¡± Glen asked hoarsely and Nym tilted her head lightly, unable to conceal her surprise. ¡°Jinx¡­¡± ¡°The Gish is traveling with the Princess. Some other friends too. Neither her nor Sam would ever allow someone murdered before their eyes.¡± Nym took a moment to reply. ¡°The Gish¡­ Hardir, you can have as many Gish as you desire. The wyvern can reach the isles in a day.¡± She finally pointed out and the tension following her words was palpable inside the mostly empty throne room. Glen had clenched his right fist so hard the knuckles turned white. The veins in his neck bulging and half his face split in a barely controllable grimace of rage. ¡°THE GISH IS MY FRIEND!¡± He roared maniacally, lips pulled back to show the teeth ¨Cthe gold one included- and spittle flying out of his snarling mouth. ¡°A much better ally than you and more trustworthy!¡± Eh, that isn¡¯t exactly true but the sentiment is all fucking there. Nym breathed out slowly, her chest constricted in the tight armoured leather half-corset she wore over her black coveralls and under the double weapons harness. ¡°This isn¡¯t about the Gish,¡± she finally said through the mask returning his glare with a taunting look. ¡°You wish the Princess spared.¡± ¡°It is about the Gish and I do want Lith left alone,¡± Glen retorted angrily. "Two things can be true at the same time." ¡°You know the princess,¡± Nym pointed out. ¡°How?¡± ¡°It a big story,¡± Glen replied. ¡°Devious old Gish with a whore¡¯s treacherous heart,¡± Nym hummed. ¡°What other lies has he told me of you?¡± She is talking about Flix. The Gish long dead from old age by now, and he probably took most of his secrets with him. No doubt he tossed a couple of lies my way as well. His expression had hardened. ¡°You think yourself smart,¡± Glen hissed. ¡°But live long enough and you¡¯ll come up against someone smarter than you. A right mean motherfucker. Flix knew nothing of importance because none of you does girl.¡± He took a step forward but Nym held her ground. ¡°You¡¯ll question my wishes?¡± ¡°I merely strive to interpret them Hardir,¡± Nym rejoined with a taunt and a barely concealed chuckle. ¡°Is there another plan in the works? Know that a ruler with a soft heart for his enemies shall not rule for long.¡± Glen narrowed his eyes. ¡°Suck a bag of dicks. You truly are not as bright as the tales sing and it makes sense. Know that a careless, outright murderous ruler shall find himself nailed on a long ¡®n pointy iron stake even sooner than that. Folk fear of the potential actions over the actions themselves. Then you¡¯ll probably get an instinctual reaction. You need balance and foresight else everyone will turn against you.¡± He paused finding his own words deeply profound. Glen wished he could pat himself on the back repeatedly. God damnit. I¡¯m proud of you dude. ¡°What need has the Monarch of balance when his might can¡¯t be questioned?¡± ¡°Only that questioned it has been -in the past,¡± Glen retorted now on fire. ¡°Foresight,¡± Nym murmured thoughtfully sounding equally shocked. Ayup, you corner me and I become even more powerful than you can possibly imagine. ¡°When you have only two offered options to pick from, know that the truth is somewhere in the middle,¡± Glen replied and breathed out. ¡°Assume both advising you are lying for their own reasons. The realm is full of ruffians.¡± Fine it''s three, if one counts the dagger. ¡°Who is the other advisor?¡± Nym queried curious. You don¡¯t give a rumored insane assassin her rivals¡¯ names. They might tend to follow their nature and clear the plaguing deck. ¡°Lith hasn¡¯t made her intentions clear yet. Let¡¯s give her the chance to prove she can be reasoned with. This way no one could point any fingers and our conscience will be clear.¡± ¡°Hardir has a conscience?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve given you the reasons and my wishes,¡± Glen retorted warningly. ¡°Message Din to get his skinny arse back here.¡± ¡°Hardir,¡± Nym argued. ¡°The Princess might not be a danger now but she might be a danger down the line.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll deal with it.¡± ¡°I meant thirty-forty years in the future,¡± Nym elucidated and Glen just snickered harshly staring in her masked face. ¡°Open yer big Zilan ears Aenymriel,¡± he told her hoarsely. ¡°For I¡¯ll tell it only once. I¡¯ll know what Lith would do the moment I see her.¡± ¡°The Monarch is clairvoyant?¡± Nym gasped more aroused than surprised and Glen tipped his head back and roared from the belly. His laughter reverberating inside the high-ceiling hall. ¡°The Monarch has plaguing good instincts,¡± he finally retorted raspingly eyeing her with suspicion. ¡°Who killed the old King?¡± Glen added and Nym blinked her glowing indigo eyes once in alarm. ¡°The killers have yet to reveal themselves,¡± she said after a thoughtful pause. ¡°It¡¯s a¡­ challenging mystery. Not even seers have managed to untangle.¡± ¡°Bullshit,¡± Glen replied mockingly. ¡°Seers can¡¯t untangle their thighs from their legs trying to be vague and mysterious when the truth of any crime boils down to means and opportunity. Ah, and motive of course.¡± ¡°I shall revisit the details,¡± Nym assured him, not that Glen cared but it was useful to learn that she still did. Scratch her off that murder. ¡°I¡¯ll use the palace birds to message Din of the Monarch¡¯s intentions.¡± She added and bowed her head. Glen nodded and watched her walk away but called at her back before the assassin disappeared into the shades cast by the massive columns. ¡°You¡¯ve been missing for a year Nym,¡± he noted hoarsely and Nym paused mid-stride. She turned around slowly to gaze at his somber face. A moment ticked away and then another. Every sound inside the hall intensified tenfold by its insane acoustics but the creature that had come inside with Nym remaining well-concealed. Was it an illusion? A repressed memory of horrors past? It could be. But it also could not, Glen thought and Nym answered in a youthful emotional voice. ¡°I went home.¡± ¡°Where is home?¡± Glen queried calmly. ¡°Nureria.¡± Ah. ¡°What¡¯s left of Nureria then?¡± Glen asked although he¡¯d seen the island from above with Sen almost two years back. ¡°More ashes than ruins,¡± Nym replied sadly. ¡°But the echoes of past memories are still there.¡± ¡°What else?¡± Glen probed sternly. ¡°Trinkets thought lost.¡± ¡°Would the Monarch find use in them trinkets?¡± Nym chuckled slowly understanding Glen¡¯s self-serving logic. ¡°It appears a Zilan in spirit stands on the throne after all,¡± she murmured slightly impressed. ¡°And the Monarch just might.¡± Find use of them was her meaning. - 2nd of Imperial month Enna* 3401 (*Primus, One, First) Taras, Goras Peninsula, Kingdom of Wetull ¡°Prodigious Caliph,¡± Samak, the Cofol former Slaver said upon returning near them atop his horse. Hesam, Hagen and Sir Alan Kirk waiting next to Glen¡¯s mounted group. ¡°Captain Horton¡¯s men are at the main square. People have gathered.¡± The masked Glen nodded, his garbs and armour soaked in the falling rain. He signed for them to follow after the turning his horse around Samak. They moved fast over the large paved road running west of Taras Lake and went past the gates of the camp housing the Phalanx when the latter was in the city. Despite the downpour citizens and visitors immediately noticed the fancy armour almost all in Glen¡¯s entourage had on. None fancier than the Monarch himself, what with the engraved in gold details, black sculpted Hoplite cuirass and the custom horned helm with the full mask, the latter sporting an ¡®annoyed¡¯ expression. People cheered a bit but mostly stared as it wasn¡¯t common for Glen to ride through town. Several looking for the wyvern in the sky. But this changed the more they penetrated the town¡¯s center, or central District as the Zilan called it unwilling to consider Goras a collection of cities even after Glen had declared it a ¡®principality¡¯. The term taken (or stolen) from a Sam Mathews¡¯ suggestion. At any rate, people turned more animated and Glen waved a couple of times to great success ¨Cgranted, one time it was to get a fool with a cart out of his blasted way- but nevertheless it made their arrival at the tiled large square a bit of an event. Captain Horton¡¯s newly recruited batch of guards standing at attention and thoroughly soaked to the bone as they were already waiting there for a couple of hours. Horton saluted raising his arm in the Imperial manner and the guards roared behind him which finally started the numb crowd cheering properly. ¡°Well then,¡± Glen decided climbing down from Outlaw¡¯s saddle to take his place on the raised small shaded platform before the soldiers where Fikumin already waited. ¡°We brought a crowd out Alan.¡± ¡°Indeed milord,¡± Sir Kirk replied, his face also hidden behind the silver Rokae mask, the latter having that permanent solemn expression sculpted on. Glen nodded, waved at the warmer crowd but he was getting pummeled by rain there so he cut it short and rushed the few steps at the side of the platform. He took his kept seat with another nod at the scowling Fikumin and accepted a cup of warm chamomile from Rimeros. Sir Alan and the rest standing next to the platform under the heavy rain due to the lack of space. This was a five by five large stand. The one used in the same spot for the Valimae Lilt five times that. The township and its small of stature but heavy of bone Mayor obviously much more frugal in these matters than the throne itself. The resplendent in a bronze hoplite cuirass and gold epaulets Horton stepped forward and saluted again vigorously. Fer crying out loud, Glen thought. While not getting any wetter he was heavily dripping down the chair and could feel the chill. ¡°Monarch,¡± Horton announced in a raspy voice, holding his helm under an armpit and red in the face. ¡°Taras proudly announces two hundred more guards have joined the city¡¯s army ranks.¡± An adjutant coming out of the packed lines of soldiers and booming in an even larger voice. ¡°The Guard salutes incomparable Arguen Garth!¡± ¡°AEU!¡± The young guards roared clearly mimicking the Phalanx but it got them a reaction out of the slowly gathering from the nearby markets crowd. ¡°Legendary Hardir O¡¯ Fardor! The Aniculo Rokae.¡± The Adjutant rejoined gutturally. ¡°UUU!¡± The soldiers cried out under the now more interested and of mixed races crowd¡¯s cheers of enthusiasm. ¡°The Great Lord of Morn Taras, the indisputable Monarch of all Wetull, the provinces and the fabled King beyond the Pale Mountains!¡± ¡°AEU! U! U!¡± Glen stood up grinning and impressed at the praise thrown his way given the bad weather and the timing (it was still early in the morning, for him at least). It gave Horton the opportunity to approach to about four meters away and salute again. ¡°My liege, Principality of Goras¡¯ recruiting class of 194,¡± Horton announced proudly and Glen went to acknowledge him and get it over with but Rimeros jumped down from the raised platform with a snort of derision. The Zilan official quickly rushed to the Lorian officer and whispered something in his ear which a troubled Glen watched intently from his custom throne. ¡°Eh, what year is that?¡± Horton queried, while the Monarch tried to hear the exchange. ¡°This one,¡± Rimeros explained. ¡°Just do it again.¡± He added and turned to gesture reassuringly towards the grimacing behind the mask Glen. ¡°This is the class of ¡¯94,¡± Horton insisted but Rimeros would have none of it. The Zilan stabbed his finger a couple of times on the Captain¡¯s armoured chest and then returned to the platform where he crossed both arms over his chest. Horton cleared his throat, face dripping water, everything on him really. The man was so soaked under the heavy rain falling, Glen feared he might drown himself whilst standing upright. ¡°My Liege, Central District¡¯s class of the imperial year 3401.¡± The Captain and Commander of the Taras guard said amending his previous words. Glen all but groaned in frustration and the now also drenched Rimeros turned his dripping broad-brimmed hat to look at the angry Monarch. ¡°We count the year they start serving their commission and not the year they spent in school Hardir,¡± the Zilan explained patiently. "The Imperial year." We got it my dude. ¡°I salute the Taras guard,¡± Glen replied in a toneless even voice whilst eyeing Rimeros warningly for pushing their idiotic, larger than life cities agenda when they couldn¡¯t really field a big town yet. He had no problem with the year. The official repeated his words in a much larger, almost booming voice faking at ignorance. ¡°The Monarch salutes the Taras Guard!¡± Rimeros roared to a big round of applause from the soldiers and the battered by the elements large crowd. Great, a miffed Glen decided slapping at the armrests of his chair to get up. Now let¡¯s go back to dry our garbs and finish a plaguing warm plate of food!
You know the day ahead might turn up funny, tricky, mysterious or completely fucked up when instead of riding hard back under a solid roof to take advantage of the weather turning for the better unexpectedly, someone offers to head on an excursion in the country. Captain Horton blinked in shock, lips pursed tight and jaw clenched. ¡°The Monarch uses expletives frequently as a term of endearment,¡± Rimeros elucidated and the irritated Glen snorted. ¡°Think naught of it.¡± ¡°We are all buffoons in someone¡¯s eyes,¡± Glen retorted mockingly. ¡°It would mean a lot if the King was to come with the men. At least for a while sire,¡± Horton finally said still taken aback by Glen¡¯s earlier outburst. ¡°To Nesande¡¯s Temple?¡± Glen queried using a small towel Hagen had given him to gather the moisture under his chin and mask. ¡°A day¡¯s march with a stop.¡± Horton elucidated. ¡°Get the fuck outta here!¡± Glen grunted shook at the lengthy detour and immediately raised a hand, palm open reassuringly. ¡°Don¡¯t take it the wrong way, but what the actual fuck Captain? Let the men rest!¡± ¡°It¡¯s a tradition sire and we can make it greater today,¡± Horton insisted eloquently and Glen eyed the nearby bystanders listening in for his reaction. Never had the main square been so discreet than at this very moment it seemed. Glen was dead certain that there shall come a point when the square would stand even more silent, but that day was not today. A whistling Luthos slithered and fell back down due to yesterday¡¯s cast-off soap bar. The god howled in a high-pitched girly tone for he¡¯d gotten a foot of burned logwood up the arse. ¡°Tradition eh, baht¡­ sheesh,¡± a cornered Glen muttered illegibly unable to form more than a single coherent word. ¡°Right.¡± Two words.
The famous exchange written down for all posterity slightly changed in a granite plaque secured on the stone platform that became a permanent addition to the square a year later. As First Scribe Vulreon recalled despite not being present himself at the event. ¡®And the Monarch replied soberly sensing the gravity of the coming situation.¡¯ ¡®This transition we ought to unleash. Right now.¡¯ Or something to that effect.
- Two hours later Towers region (Goras Peninsula Ancient Gates) The main road to the junction leading to Nesande¡¯s Temple complex, the port of Sinya Goras, the still developing Hardir¡¯s Port and the old Favored Heights This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°That¡¯s Hardir O¡¯ Fardor! Damn!¡± A young Zilan called from a window of the ruined massive tower, stooping perilously over the forty meter drop. Glen slowed down Outlaw to wave his arm to the teenager and his vocal friends that almost shoved the reckless youth to his death in order to get a better look at the marching guards and Glen¡¯s entourage. ¡°Where¡¯s the lonely king?¡± A blue haired young Zilan girl with an angelic face asked curious. Ah. You¡¯re pretty though so it¡¯s alright if you¡¯re not too smart honey, a grinning Glen thought, always fair with others at least according to him and pointed at the crown on his head. The sound of hard galloping coming from the front of the procession drawing his attention away from the screaming and waving back at him teenagers. ¡°Why,¡± Sir Alan Kirk noted shaking his helmed head. ¡°That¡¯s quite a dangerous undertaking sire. The whole wall might come down.¡± It survived worse. ¡°They are born with the ability to scale heights like monkeys,¡± Glen replied a little distracted with the onrushing rider and the yells of the soldiers for him to slow down. The human Rokae Knight cleared his throat at the offensive metaphor Glen had casually used and one of the Zilan youths lost his balance with a scream of panic as if on cue. He slipped down a whole floor in the blink of an eye but caught the edge of another ruined window with a desperately flaying arm and miraculously managed to stop his fatal drop under the encouraging cheers of his watching friends. Fuck¡¯s sake, a shocked Glen thought. ¡°I can now see the likeness sire,¡± Sir Kirk croaked. The rider reaching the front of the soldiers -they had blocked the road effectively- but just as Glen was about to head there himself, he heard another rider approaching from their rear and the direction of Taras. A shiver of worry run up Glen¡¯s spine and he stopped Outlaw abruptly. Hagen had ridden ahead to cut off the second rider and the arriving Cofol bowed anxiously at the watching the scene Glen. The King was drawn in two directions at the same time. ¡°Are you sure?¡± Captain Horton was heard saying to the first rider and Glen made to turn that way but Hagen brought the second rider close, so he couldn¡¯t. Luthos orangutan drunk his sour milk, Glen recited the known fable of his youth and pursed his mouth nervously. ¡°Illustrious Caliph, may you live forever. May your lordship have twelve wives like the months and ten kids. Five sons and five daughters for the gods of the small pantheon,¡± the Cofol official, one of Kamat-Fin¡¯s men, said respectfully. ¡°Good grief,¡± Kirk commented from Glen¡¯s side sounding impressed. ¡°That¡¯s quite a lot of work to pull through I reckon and upsettingly detailed.¡± ¡°Tell him the news ye slant-eyed cretin,¡± Hagen grunted, slowly absorbing more and more of the King¡¯s mannerisms and not always for the better. ¡°Hagen don¡¯t be a bigot in public. You scared the man for no reason. Your late friend Musa was a Cofol remember?¡± Glen scolded him. ¡°A half-breed milord. Half of him was Lorian?¡± ¡°Close enough and you didn¡¯t get my meaning,¡± Glen spat and eyed the messenger annoyed, the commotion at the front of the marching column increasing and the Zilan kids pulling their friend up with loud yells using an old rope -not helping at all. The moment dragging unnecessarily. ¡°Speak for the love of god, ye stupid fuck!¡± Glen exploded angrily glaring at the confused Cofol who snapped out of it to respond immediately. ¡°The wyvern,¡± the messenger declared with a croaking voice, his hands shaking. ¡°Is gone merciful Caliph.¡± Glen blinked, the sound of horses approaching from the other side increasing and then gulped down slowly, a tick appearing on the left side of his face. ¡°I saw the wyvern flying over the lake not an hour back,¡± Sir Alan Kirk corrected the messenger. True. Glen had seen Uvrycres as well earlier. ¡°The other wyvern my lord,¡± the Cofol expounded. Ah. Shit. Luthos male orangutan drunk his sour milk, got sick and grew himself a big pair of hairy tits. He climbed on top of the cackling god and slapped him with them repeatedly. ¡°There¡¯s no other wyvern,¡± the knight argued and Glen wanted to agree with him but flinched on the saddle instead, getting a neigh of protest from the startled Outlaw. ¡°Who told you that?¡± He grunted, just as Captain Horton arrived with what appeared to be a mounted Zilan soldier in Marine leather armour. ¡°Laedan messaged Kamat-Fin and Lord Kamat-Fin ordered me to find you Caliph.¡± ¡°The wyvern is gone,¡± Glen repeated, now everything revealed under a new context. ¡°The egg hatched then?¡± Are you fucking kidding me? ¡°It was a brief message my lord. I know nothing else,¡± the messenger replied. ¡°Kamat-Fin just commented that they lost it?¡± ¡°They lost the wyvern,¡± Glen murmured and stared at the anxious face of Captain Valentine Horton. ¡°Yes?¡± He asked politely despite seething inside. ¡°Apologies for the interruption my lord, but according to this lad,¡± Horton started. ¡°There has been an attack on Mussel. The event is ongoing.¡± Glen licked his lips, the weight of the helm hurting his skull. He turned to the mud-covered Zilan. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°Ships came out of the mist and unloaded troops ashore with boats, near the port.¡± The Zilan Marine replied. ¡°They got attacked by Ticu at the beaches but they threw them back and then assaulted the town. This was two days ago.¡± ¡°The Ticu started it?¡± Glen asked, thinking on where a small wyvern could have gone. How did it get out of the locked box? He wondered. ¡°Negative Hardir. They attacked our people. We had to retreat and fight them in the woods due to their numbers.¡± ¡°A big raid? Pirates?¡± ¡°Not pirates. Human soldiers,¡± the Zilan replied. ¡°We need to send reinforcements.¡± ¡°Right.¡± A still processing the info Glen said and looked at Captain Horton. ¡°Captain?¡± ¡°My men can march there in a week sire,¡± Horton replied. ¡°Hardir this is a big force. We have casualties and they have control of the port and most of the city.¡± ¡°The city is mostly a ruin,¡± Glen grunted and pursed his mouth. ¡°Alan ride back to Taras now. Inform Kamat-Fin and Fikumin. I¡¯ll be right behind you. Horton you¡¯ll follow the Marine here back to Mussel. Give him a fresh horse. Do not engage but block the road and hold it. The local force there has already collapsed, but it¡¯s unlikely they¡¯ll move out of the port or stay more than a week for that matter. I¡¯ll see to find you more support soon.¡± ¡°Yes sir,¡± Horton replied and saluted. ¡°Samak,¡± a concerned Glen said next. ¡°You shall ride with them and keep me posted for any developments. Take Hesam with you.¡± ¡°Lord Garth,¡± Samak nodded and clicked his tongue loudly to get his horse moving. ¡°Where to milord?¡± Hagen asked Glen a long moment later. They had stayed behind while the army continued fast marching away. ¡°We need to find the god darn wyvern,¡± Glen retorted with a grimace, feeling the starts of a migraine coming at full force. Too much disturbing shit is happening at the same time, he thought sourly. If this was a job, I would have aborted the whole fucking thing and come back another day. - 3rd of Imperial month Enna 3401 Morn Taras (Tenebrous Castle) Late night ¡°Where¡¯s is he?¡± Glen barked at Sir Qildor and Sir Nyvorlas as he entered the main hall. ¡°Laedan. Him,¡± he added seeing as the Rokae were slow to react to his query. ¡°The Denmaster retired to the stables Hardir.¡± Sir Nyvorlas answered. ¡°What is he¡­?¡± Glen stopped too frustrated to speak. ¡°Why is he staying at the stables?¡± ¡°Sir Delmuth wouldn¡¯t grant him stay in the palace,¡± Sir Qildor explained. Glen stared at the well-illuminated and busy ¨Cfor the late hour- hall. ¡°Laedan is staying here now?¡± Why? ¡°To avoid going back and forth Hardir,¡± Sir Nyvorlas replied. ¡°But Sir Delmuth had never liked the Denmaster enough to allow him to stay under the same roof.¡± Fantastic. This shite again! ¡°He¡¯s allowed to stay here. Just find him a room. It doesn¡¯t have to be furnished for crying out loud!¡± Glen grunted trying to keep everything in perspective and not lash out. ¡°The Denmaster is allowed to stay,¡± Sir Nyvorlas repeated. ¡°I shall inform the commander posthaste.¡± ¡°He fucking knows it! What you¡¯ll do instead is go and get Laedan immediately and then bring him here,¡± Glen hissed angrily. ¡°Is the wyvern found?¡± He asked Sir Qildor as Sir Nyvorlas walked out of the hall to fetch Laedan. ¡°The search for the unknown small gold wyvern was fruitless Hardir,¡± Sir Qildor replied dotting his I¡¯s and crossing the T¡¯s. ¡°But still ongoing. With persistence even the desert fields bloom.¡± What? ¡°Aha. I thought you¡¯ll go for the ¡®needle in a haystack¡¯ proverb there for a moment.¡± Glen retorted mockingly. ¡°True. It¡¯s not easy to locate it. This is a big castle.¡± Sir Qildor agreed casually not sensing Glen¡¯s tone. ¡°Sure. But let¡¯s just discuss it a bit more in a cultured manner heh? Are you serious? This is a fucking wyvern, they tend to rush on folk and bite their noses off!¡± Glen argued in a roaring voice snapping his jaw. ¡°Not all wyverns according to Laedan,¡± Sir Qildor countered maintaining his composure and added respectfully. ¡°Hardir.¡± An edgy Glen puffed his cheeks out, jaw crackling, teeth hurting to the molars and then removed the mask from his face to breathe more easily. The mask was covered in mud and dirt from the road but Glen was likewise drenched in mire anyway from boots to collar. So it came as no surprise at all. ¡°Did you check with the princess?¡± He asked somberly. ¡°The princess is removed from her quarters and staying at yours Hardir,¡± Sir Qildor replied. ¡°How is the princess to know of the wyvern¡¯s whereabouts?¡± How do you think? ¡°The egg was locked inside a metal box,¡± Glen retorted. ¡°A wyvern can get out of all places.¡± If the Zilan Rokae tossed another deep-meaning bullshit at him, Glen was prepared to kick the tall Zilan in the nuts. Full force and with the muddy boot pointing. ¡°Not unless it knows a crap ton about lock-picking,¡± Glen grunted. ¡°Somebody got it out.¡± My precious did. ¡°The Princess¡­ it makes no sense,¡± Sir Qildor gasped unable to fathom why Glen would go there. The Monarch sighed. ¡°My quarters?¡± ¡°Yes Hardir.¡± Glen nodded. ¡°Keep Laedan around. Hagen, you come with me,¡± he added and marched towards the stairs.
Iskay saw him come through the door and waved the half-breed Memphes away, golden bracelets jingling and his bedroom smelling of cinnamon and bergamot orange oils with a touch of lavender. ¡°Lord Garth has returned early,¡± Iskay said and bowed her red head, the dark-blond Memphes doing the same. We¡¯re talking skillful deep genuflections here, bending at the waist, forehead touching the carpet and tits popping in and out of their low cut tops. Good grief! They were dressed in similar outfits, with Memphes taking the white variant to Iskay¡¯s preferred green and purple. ¡°Girls,¡± Glen said hoarsely a little self-conscious for being the dirtiest person in the room both allegorically and literally. ¡°Is Inis-Mir sleeping?¡± ¡°Aye she is. Very peacefully. Oh, auspicious ¡®n handsome Caliph O¡¯ Wetull,¡± Memphes gushed in her thick Cofol slave accent. Best usage of the Caliph moniker today by a fucking mile, Glen thought eyeing the slave-girl intently. ¡°She¡¯s faking it,¡± he said hoarsely and Memphes nodded as if in agreement. ¡°I¡¯ll need a change of clothes,¡± Glen added contemplating whether he should take a moment afore visiting his daughter to get to know the new slave girl better. Can¡¯t have a bunch of unknowns wandering about in the plaguing premises, pocketing stuff and eavesdropping on our business! ¡°I¡¯ll have them ready and fix the large couch also,¡± Iskay intervened with a coy smile. ¡°Just use the narrow brown carpet to reach her Garth.¡± ¡°Mm,¡± Glen raised a thick grey brow tauntingly at the slipup. ¡°Our Lord Garth,¡± Iskay rectified her mistake huskily and bowed deeply at the waist again. Fleshy goodness shan¡¯t be contained by flimsy garbs. ¡°Right,¡± a slightly-aroused Glen murmured. He then started towards the large completely covered under thick mosquito nets bed that was located ten meters away at the other side of the bedroom. Two strides later he paused to gaze at the flushed Iskay¡¯s painted face. ¡°It¡¯s a large couch. One would go as far as to call it a roomy divan.¡± He told her simply and she nodded. ¡°Large enough for a willing Memphes as well my Lord Garth?¡± A perceptive Iskay asked in a low voice. Glen grimaced and replied whilst maintaining his haughty professionalism, much as Caliphs, Monarchs and comparable noble folk do this world over when presented with similar dilemmas. Always keeping his words short and precise to avoid any misunderstandings. ¡°Absolutely.¡±
Glen pulled the curtains back bringing light into the concealed four meter wide oaken bed. Inis-Mir didn¡¯t stir at all, fully covered under two red sheets. ¡°Sweetheart,¡± Glen teased her. ¡°Are they gone?¡± Inis-Mir asked from under the sheets. ¡°Not yet,¡± Glen replied with a smile of relief. ¡°You¡¯re thinking of sneaking out of the room?¡± ¡°Maeriel is still searching the gardens and I got stuck with them,¡± Inis-Mir whispered and peeked at the tall Monarch standing over her. ¡°They talk of funny stuff.¡± She added clandestinely and Glen frowned. ¡°Like¡­ eh, hmm¡­ tickling them toes?¡± What are you talking about you imbecile? He admonished himself very frustrated. ¡°Cave mushrooms and wine does that?¡± Inis-Mir asked curious and got her disheveled head out of the sheets. ¡°Depends on the mushrooms,¡± Glen replied afore he could control himself. Fuck. ¡°Ehem, having said that¡­ where is Qodras daughter?¡± ¡°Hiding.¡± ¡°Aha. Where?¡± Glen asked a little surprised she answered him so directly. Half-proud and half-disappointed to be exact. ¡°I¡¯ll never lie to you,¡± Inis-Mir said perceptively and Glen stooped to pinch her cute nose lightly with two fingers. ¡°Each day the cute liar¡¯s nose grows,¡± he warned her with a smile. ¡°Why not come forward immediately?¡± ¡°Nobody was intelligent enough to ask?¡± Inis-Mir pouted and then covered her head with the sheet again. ¡°I¡¯m so tired! I¡¯d like to sleep now daddy.¡± You little minx¡­ Glen thought and let out a deep sigh.
The princess¡¯ bedchamber stood empty and guarded by Sir Nuvian, who was talking with a rugged Laedan. The half-paralyzed face of the Denmaster now matching his healthy part. ¡°Hardir,¡± Laedan said seeing him strolling confidently towards the closed door. ¡°They are clever things. Always plotting something or other. They¡¯ll only appear when they are sure of themselves.¡± ¡°The wyvern never left the room,¡± Glen said casually. Laedan smacked his lips. ¡°Is this¡­ your professional opinion?¡± He asked tauntingly. Laedan just couldn¡¯t help himself. ¡°Who told you the box was empty?¡± ¡°The¡­ slave? The one with the painted blond hair.¡± Ah. Thus the mystery is solved. But one won¡¯t begrudge himself searching between them legs to be absolutely certain of this fact. ¡°Who told her?¡± ¡°The Princess?¡± Laedan blinked once troubled. ¡°I checked the box myself and the room.¡± ¡°She hid him somewhere easy to get out of later,¡± Glen explained. ¡°The Princess wants to ensure her wyvern survives yer brutal methods.¡± ¡°My methods¡­ Hardir, oh for Naossis hefty buttocks!¡± Laedan cursed and slapped his numb face once, twice. ¡°Give me a spear,¡± he ordered Sir Nuvian who let out a grunt but remained still. ¡°Seriously? You conceited son of a Catapir! Small-dick and proboscis for nose hidden under the mask¡ª¡± The smack delivered by the Rokae with the staff of his spear caught Laedan on the side of the neck and sent him to crash on the wall, right past the amused Glen. ¡°Get him to his room,¡± Glen ordered calmly and stepped over the trying to get up Denmaster to enter the Princess bedchamber. ¡°Argh¡­ fucking masked cretin caught me unawares¡­ wait, I have a room in the palace?¡± The groaning Laedan protested behind him and Glen shook his head not really surprised Laedan didn¡¯t know. The Rokae had forgotten mentioning the detail to the annoying Zilan again.
Leave, a dooming voice said ominously. Glen stopped just inside the large girly bedroom, hands resting on his waist and stared about him in silence. Several stools and carpets were moved or upturned. A number of fragrance bottles, oils and soaps, plus other stuff the princess used, even toys -were hurled about haphazardly. The usually orderly place now quite the mess. This is your last warning, the voice said in a slow, drawn out baritone and authoritative tone. Glen got the dagger out and flipped it in his hand expertly. ¡°Last time I faced a wyvern yer size,¡± Glen started tiredly. ¡°I hurled him out of an abandoned customs building in Lebesos. Went over a crossdressing Gish and landed on a possessed zombie or a cutthroat. This part I sort of forgot. True story though. Ayup.¡± He heard the creature moving under the furniture quickly. Small feet tip-tapping on the soft carpet to relocate and deliver another warning message. ¡°Uvrycres attacked me first chance he got,¡± Glen continued with a smile and rubbed his face with the free hand. ¡°Kept trying for a while.¡± EARU Qodras grunted, a nice silk cloth covering a small table by the east wall slowly moving dragging glasses and paint vials towards the edge. Glen moved lithely and grabbed the cover to prevent a catastrophe. He pulled it back and got blinded momentarily by a blast of brilliant gold light. Qodras using the opportunity to run away on its tiny hind legs like a chicken with a small tail. Every part of the wyvern shielded with minute gold scales but for the undersides of its front limbs and diaphanous wings that had a light blue-green hue. The twin horns on its forehead showcasing that it was a male of its species and the rubicund eyes glowing more gold than red as it looked back at Glen whilst running away as fast as it could. One. Two. Three. Four. Glen counted in his head and then extended his left arm, index finger pointing at the approaching door leading to the next room. Sen¡¯s locked bedchamber. The comically sprinting looking behind his back Qodras gave Glen a snarly, smug grin seeing as he had opened up the distance between them and then got plastered on the sturdy bronze-reinforced ironwood door with a loud bone-breaking bang. The small wyvern got knocked out cold at the snap of one¡¯s fingers. Splash. ¡°Hah.¡± Glen blurted out a chuckle trying to hold it in but failing. ¡°Ha-hah-ha! Haha! He-he-huh-hah-ha!¡± Almost doubling over when the dam finally broke and the chuckle turned into a roaring monkey¡¯s-resembling laughter. All the mounted tension of the day released. Glen kept chuckling to himself after he got out of the room and locked the door behind him carefully. The mirthful Monarch returned Sir Nuvian¡¯s salute and strolled back to his bedchamber this time taking care not to make any noise. He stood near the distant large couch, as already mentioned a spacious divan-type monstrosity that occupied a corner of the room and got rid of his clothes making a neat pile on the soft carpet. Dropped the weapons on the pile. He then found a good spot on the west corner of the divan to rest his back on, raising first one leg and then the other. Glen let out a deep sigh, the fifteen meters away Inis-Mir probably soundly asleep by now and tied his hands at the nape. His eyes closed, mind wandering on how to help his daughter bond and train the wyvern safely in the years to come. The bad weather outside giving way to a chilly but sans the downpour Goras night. The divan creaked and moved next to him, a soft breath reaching his sensitive ears. Glen cracked his amber eyes open when fingers touched the Monarch¡¯s hairy sternum nosily, long nails teasing the skin following his chiseled abs down to the awakening phallus. The at least three gold and silver bracelets-wearing Memphes smiled invitingly afore her painted-blue fingers closed around the King¡¯s ever-hardening fleshy rod. ¡°Permission to go second indomitable Caliph?¡± The slave girl asked huskily, her eyes sparkling with a strange hardness in them. ¡°Why¡­?¡± Second, Glen wanted to ask but then Iskay¡¯s familiar naked body filled his vision as she stepped forward out of the semi-darkness. The freedwoman mounted the seated Monarch without hesitation, well-oiled thighs parked on each side within easy-access of his daring hands. And then her swollen sex engulfed Glen¡¯s engorged cock in a fiery but wet grip that turned into a velvet but very tight and intimate embrace. The over-stimulated Glen attempted to let out a moan but Iskay¡¯s nimble ring-adorned hand snapped forward and sealed his half-opened mouth, pushing the startled Monarch back on the divan as if she was riding a real horse. When Iskay¡¯s hand retreated Memphes¡¯ flower-tasting mouth took its place. So Glen was kept silent throughout the whole affair. For the most part.
¡°Daddy?¡± Limitless, slovenly fucks! Glen gasped in horrified shock and recoiled in panic afore remembering that this was not the morning after, but some mornings after that. Eh. ¡°Eh,¡± the Monarch croaked and tried to find his bearings. There¡¯s the divan, now empty. The pillow, kick that away, and the sheet covering the private parts. Thank God for no morning wood tenting the fabric. Awkward. Inis-Mir had jumped on the divan next to him and stretched her shorter legs like Glen had on the adjusted footrest¡ªwithout reaching it¡ªtoes painted white, calves and ring-adorned toenails wiggling as they strained to make the distance. ¡°I¡¯m so short. I may be a Gish. Oh, the horror!¡± She complained melodramatically, and Glen breathed out, still feeling a bit rattled. Inis had woken him in the midst of a good dream. The kind where you replay the best parts without sound or much explanation. ¡°You¡¯re tall for yer years,¡± Glen assured her and noticed Rimeros was standing all the way across the room at the open doorway stoically. ¡°Am I pretty though?¡± Inis-Mir asked pouting. ¡°The prettiest,¡± Glen murmured his eyes on the Zilan official. ¡°You wanted something,¡± he told his troubled daughter and she sighed deeply before hugging his chest. ¡°Stupid merchants.¡± Inis-Mir let out a muffled hiss, and Glen stood up to glare at Rimeros. ¡°What is she talking about?¡± He grunted, clenching his jaw. A mere fucking day of respite in lewdness and freedom. One! Then ye get immediately pummeled in the face repeatedly wit a plaguing oar! Naah¡­ Damnit all to Oras Hells! He protested even more histrionically than Inis-Mir. ¡°Horton¡¯s force got attacked the second day, just before he made camp. About seven kilometers from Mussel Hardir,¡± a rigid Rimeros reported, interrupting Glen¡¯s internal turmoil. He paused to make sure the gawking in utter bafflement Glen didn¡¯t have a stroke and added after the Monarch blinked in stunned silence ensuring he was still functioning. ¡°By an overwhelming force.¡± Well, fuck you too. ¡°Where in all the squealing goblins have they come from?¡± A numb Glen croaked getting up. He immediately tossed the sheet covering his private parts over the screaming Inis-Mir thus preventing her from staring at his naked arse. Glen wasn¡¯t a prudish character but this was his god-darn daughter. He could be the most narrow-minded person in the whole realm as far as she was concerned. ¡°Some ships have marks on them. A number sire.¡± Rimeros replied whilst Glen got into a pair of pants quickly. ¡°Three hundred and thirty three.¡± 333. And at first, the number meant absolutely nothing to the scowling Monarch. 489. The Wine Wars | Expedition (1/2)
¡®Um. Someone pissed off Glen something fierce. You don¡¯t want to do that. A pissed off Glen is someone no one can control which is pretty bad, since he¡¯s very uncontrollable to begin with.¡¯ Morn Taras, the Hall of Words. Saying credited to the Monarch¡¯s Ranger* Lussiel Olca Valto** around 3401 IC (195 NC). - *Lifelong position. Established by verbal decree of Hardir O¡¯ Fardor like the vast majority of his laws and paradigms. Based on ancient tradition the deified Monarch¡¯s words were absolute. Entered into the Royal Edicts by 1st Scribe Vulreon. **Uncommon (3rd Era jargon) Court Imperial transliteration (also attributed to Arguen Garth) of a Common Tongue name loosely meaning ¡®Silent Wicked Blessings¡¯. Original name Whisper Jinx.
Primo D¡¯Orsi The Wine Wars| Expedition Part I -What resides beyond the mist?-
Goras Peninsula, part of Cydonia Cazan and Sinking Isles showing - Jacomo D¡¯Orsi caught the sour look on Primo¡¯s face and signed for him to wipe it off, which his son did. High Baron Enzo Riveras of Faro had just entered the room with his entourage, followed by Baron Dominique Trupo and Baron Arturo Napoli. Simon Mclean, the Director of Special Projects representing the Marquise, Claus Viceroy -the Bank of Trust¡¯s president of the board, his wife Lady Diana Merck and son Benito Merck-Viceroy along his tutor Uranio Briglia, both men naval engineers, were already sitting at the table. The King represented by the gloomy-faced, somehow greying and balding at the same time, Lord Cornelius Mortymer, the Petty Baron of Stingray and Lesia¡¯s Master of Silence. Primo glanced at his friend Adriano Monte, the man mostly responsible for rebuilding the mercenary company, who stood just behind him near the door of the conference room and the aging Armium-educated military trainer and former legionary officer, shrugged his broad shoulders indifferently. ¡°Goodness me High Baron,¡± Lord Mortymer complained, a grimace marring his face as if he was experiencing a case of severe stomach ulcer. ¡°I have court business to attend to and barely the time to wait around for your fucking grand entrance.¡± ¡°Lord Mortymer,¡± Enzo Riveras replied sourly. ¡°We don¡¯t need you at this point.¡± ¡°Wish this was true so I would be spared the plaguing bother but it ain¡¯t,¡± a miffed Mortymer argued. ¡°Seeing as the King has enough problems in his hands to deal with this bullshit.¡± Simon Mclean got up from his chair. ¡°My Lord the King has been apprised of the situation. The subtleties of the endeavor explained at length,¡± the Marquise¡¯s scion said, much to Lord Mortymer¡¯s annoyance. ¡°The throne listened to Federico¡¯s mumblings but didn¡¯t agree. Old age, costly past blunders and fresh problems popping left and right is slowly waning his influence,¡± Mortymer retorted. ¡°Again the bank goes ahead changing the agenda young Mclean. You did it with the Regia affair, suddenly pressing the Council for a ceasefire on Lucius¡¯ terms and you¡¯re doing it now. Why should the King ever agree to this? You¡¯re causing us enough problems already. Your deals are pricey and bitter to the palate. The throne would prefer to get Regia on board first afore committing to any action on another continent. Good grief! The distance is mindboggling!¡± ¡°We are working with King Lucius. A series of tariffs have been suggested already,¡± Simon elucidated. ¡°Apologies for being cynical but this new scheme makes it seem like you don¡¯t believe taxing that rabbit-eared cretin would work,¡± Mortymer grunted. ¡°Just lower your fucking prices! Opting to feast on yer wine feels like a punch on the dick for crying out loud! Even if I turned into a masochist, which I¡¯m pretty close, I still wouldn¡¯t afford it. Trust me, I¡¯m doing everything I can to get myself a bit of coin in this market like every other folk and buying yer wine is making sure I never will!¡± ¡°Bring it here,¡± Baron Riveras told one of his adjutants gruffly and the young man stepped forward, a wooden case of bottles in his hands. He placed it on the large conference. ¡°Not the Aranel, the Taria O¡¯ Mir,¡± Riveras ordered and the adjutant broke the wax to uncork the sculpted bottle. Mortymer pushed back on his chair. ¡°It¡¯s too early for that Baron.¡± ¡°Have a sip. This is summer wine. Goras Nectar in the underground jargon.¡± Riveras explained with a grimace. Mortymer glugged down the half-filled bronze goblet and then cracked his jaw right and left. The Lord of Secrets used his tongue to lick his lips. ¡°It¡¯s nice. Expensive stuff I¡¯m sure,¡± he said and Riveras scoffed angrily. Mortymer checked on the bottle for a moment while Baron Trupo replied in Riveras¡¯ stead. ¡°We found it in Cediorum.¡± He explained. ¡°Sold under the table in Cartagen, Aegium and Novesium. Asturia. The prizes vary as high as to the absurd but it is highly sought after. As addictive as Redleaf without the baggage.¡± ¡°Which is?¡± Mortymer asked mockingly. ¡°Since we might soon be looking for alternative streams of revenue here.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a plaguing mind-altering drug, used in the slave training,¡± Baron Trupo snapped not partial to the minister¡¯s humor. ¡°Must be working if the Cofols are using it,¡± Mortymer commented and turned to Riveras. ¡°This still tastes like your wine Baron.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the same recipe.¡± ¡°My friend,¡± Lord Mortymer replied. ¡°We both know that it¡¯s the vines that make the difference.¡± ¡°Not only,¡± Riveras argued. ¡°Right.¡± Mortymer murmured not wanting to continue pressuring the High Baron. ¡°Saul Ferrero is our culinary expert,¡± Riveras said and a young blond-haired man with a freckled face nodded behind the Baron. ¡°Explain the intricacies mister Ferrero.¡± ¡°Wine aficionados are drawn to mystique and history. Also taste but this can vary,¡± the young Lorian explained. ¡°Looks and package come after. The rest of the crowd follows word of mouth without really understanding the difference. They¡¯ll stay away of rare stuff unless they become readily available.¡± ¡°They¡¯ll also follow their purse,¡± Mortymer argued. ¡°This doesn¡¯t seem like a cheap bottle. Is this Valeria glass?¡± ¡°It is Wetull glass,¡± Riveras grunted. ¡°Same price range?¡± Mortymer taunted. ¡°I got two goblets back home. Never use them for fear of breaking one but they look nice on the shelf.¡± ¡°Lord Mortymer,¡± Primo¡¯s father Jacomo intervened. ¡°You appear to be quite negative.¡± ¡°We have troubles enough to dive headlong into a fresh pool filled with turds. What is the goal here dear barons?¡± Mortymer asked after a brief pause. ¡°Control Mussel, then we should march inland to remove Garth.¡± Riveras replied. ¡°Install a puppet ruler in his place or better yet one of our own. We agreed on one of Baron Arturo¡¯s Napoli¡¯s sons given that Sava suffered the most during the King¡¯s operation.¡± Mortymer sighed and pushed himself up. He walked to one of the maps set up on the stands and stared at it in silence. ¡°Inlands you will encounter more Zilan Baron.¡± He finally noted. ¡°Maybe an army.¡± ¡°No army has been reported and the Zilan numbers are very low,¡± Riveras argued. ¡°Fifty thousand seems the high number, maybe half than that,¡± Simon Mclean elucidated. ¡°This king rules over more humans than Zilan.¡± ¡°You could still be overwhelmed. What makes yer humans better than his? Not to mention Zilan are pretty well described in the legends far as fighting is concerned. Then you need to worry about their other skills also.¡± ¡°Meaning what? Fairy magic?¡± Riveras scoffed at him. ¡°There¡¯s talk of a wyvern,¡± Mortymer said. ¡°I tried to kick a young tiger once. It grabbed my foot. I now regret the decision but it auspiciously left me no permanent injuries. Imagine doing that to a beast the size of a house. More teeth, bigger mouth. I¡¯d be hobbling about like Nattas if I¡¯m lucky!¡± ¡°We don¡¯t believe the stories,¡± Riveras argued. ¡°We suspect this Garth to be a crook or helped by criminals.¡± ¡°Garth has intervened in Greenwhale Peninsula and has agreement with Elsanne¡¯s pirates,¡± Mortymer insisted. ¡°If he can field a division, you¡¯ll be in trouble.¡± ¡°Field where? West? East? Look at the distances involved,¡± Riveras grunted warningly. ¡°Taras is a primarily human city, same for Sinya Goras. Mussel is a ruin. Garth¡¯s power is an illusion we will break.¡± ¡°Historically the Zilan armies were destroyed in Oakenfalls.¡± Jacomo D¡¯Orsi added for context. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of time to raise a new force Baron. Plenty of years for numbers to grow or old statistics to be wrong. Someone is making this wine and trinkets. It ain¡¯t humans for sure else you wouldn¡¯t worry they¡¯ll kick your product out,¡± Mortymer grimaced. ¡°Your company is ready?¡± ¡°It is. We¡¯ll have Vardar¡¯s and Sardone¡¯s men also. A lot of artillery.¡± Nico Vardar (or Vardarus) and Erminio Sardone were mercenary captains leading about a thousand men between them. ¡°Why does the Bank invest in this Simon?¡± Mortymer asked after contemplating his father¡¯s words. ¡°We need to control the port,¡± Simon replied readily. ¡°Mussel?¡± ¡°It might need an investment first to produce any results,¡± Lady Diana Merck said. ¡°In what capacity?¡± Mortymer insisted. ¡°Reaching Eplas and the Sinking Isles,¡± her husband Claus Viceroy replied. A ¡®veteran¡¯ of Regia¡¯s Civil War and the later conflict with King Lucius. Primo didn¡¯t believe Claus had been anywhere near the frontlines during his time following Baron Hermon¡¯s Iron Fists. ¡°We need a port that¡¯s not near the pirate raiding lanes.¡± ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Mortymer asked pointing at the map. ¡°Wetull¡¯s Reefs,¡± Riveras replied. ¡°Any isles there or just rocks?¡± ¡°Mist comes out of the sea but no one has seen any locals. Probably underwater volcanos? I¡¯m not a plaguing academic!¡± ¡°That¡¯s not an answer Baron,¡± Mortymer argued. Primo moved forward, planting both elbows on the table. ¡°It¡¯s possible that more land is there.¡± He was interested in finding out if this was true. Every young Lorian had read the stories and dreamed of exploring the lands of myth. ¡°Ah, adventure beckons.¡± Mortymer taunted and grimaced. ¡°The King will sign a decree prohibiting citizens or lords recruiting men without his permission over a certain number.¡± ¡°What?¡± Simon snapped with a glare of disbelief. ¡°Why would he do that?¡± ¡°Duke Luke Andal didn¡¯t accept the King¡¯s reasoning. We might find ourselves in need of bodies for the throne.¡± Mortymer replied without hesitation. ¡°The Andals and the Borginas had already started marching south down the coast when news reached them that King Davenport had negotiated an end to the hostilities with King Lucius. They are still camped near Dokamna. They feel cheated. Let¡¯s not forget the Duke¡¯s son Sir Hector perished in the campaign at the battle of Half-Bridge.¡± ¡°He wants to fight Regia?¡± Riveras grunted. ¡°Not our fault if he¡¯s in the arse-end of the country and it took him this long to get moving! We had enemy legionnaires at the gates of Sava!¡± ¡°It was auspicious you got out of the struggle with Lucius unscathed then. Duke Luke was reluctant to commit to our plan,¡± Mortymer reminded him. ¡°We offered some concessions then in order for them to help out and now having already given our word that they¡¯ll be partial to the spoils we find ourselves lacking any spoils to offer. Again and according to the Andal parochial logic this is irrelevant and King Davenport must still honor his word. Or offer something different but of equal value. So the King initially promised him a Davenport husband for Lady Leonia.¡±Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. ¡°Well then,¡± Baron Trupo said with a shrug. ¡°What¡¯s the holdup?¡± ¡°The Duke of Andatelia presumed the husband to be Sir William, which Lady Leonia is obsessed with apparently. Visited the capital last summer, caught sight of the heir competing in all his manly glory and got her untouched groin all wet. Can¡¯t begrudge her that since far more cultured maidens that are not of the provinces are known to behave randy around him. Lewd gossip aside that would have put the Andal girl on the throne given he¡¯s¡­ well, the heir. Yeah.¡± ¡°Ha-hah,¡± Enzo Riveras chuckled nervously. ¡°Sir William shall wed Lady Bibby, the Burgundy Bouquet or her sister Lady Vivina, the Lady of Vines,¡± he added with a hint of pride, talking about his pretty daughters. ¡°Given Sir William¡¯s reluctance and the fact Sir Darius is married already,¡± Mortymer continued somberly. ¡°Their sister Lady Saskia Davenport, was offered to Sir Oscar Andal the Duke¡¯s firstborn but our Queen Saskia the older, refused to even consider it given she isn¡¯t partial to the King¡¯s ideas lately. Our Queen feels wronged and given she is a Lennox, angering her more is the last thing the King wants. On the scales Duke Andal weights less. So he retracted the proposal which made the Duke even more livid.¡± Saskia the young probably didn¡¯t want to wed the ¡®Lone Eye¡¯ knight also, Primo thought. Given that she shares her mother¡¯s character. ¡°So Colin the IV was put forth or Sir Heracles Davenport of Levacum,¡± Mortymer continued. ¡°Colin is too young still and a singer which the Andals find unmanly and Sir Heracles while a good candidate was deemed a low offer given what was initially expected.¡± ¡°Damn.¡± Baron Trupo grunted now appearing troubled. ¡°I can¡¯t fault him.¡± ¡°Dominique for the love of Uher!¡± Riveras snapped at the fellow Wine Baron. ¡°It makes sense is all I¡¯m saying Enzo,¡± Trupo insisted setting his jaw. ¡°Anyhow,¡± Mortymer said cutting in. ¡°Duke Luke ended the talks and declared himself mortally aggrieved, which according to the old ways means King Davenport must approach him in repentance ¨Cfrom at least twenty meters- for the insult to be forgiven or wash away the sin with blood.¡± Mortymer grimaced and stared at the map of Eplas thoughtfully. ¡°The King asked the Second Legion to move to Armium instead.¡± Primo moved on his seat nervously and glanced at his solemn father. ¡°Lord Godfrey Caxaton is dead,¡± Riveras grunted. ¡°But Legatus Pintor is his man. Married to his daughter. Where¡¯s the Lord¡¯s son? Where¡¯s Vicus Caxaton now?¡± ¡°With Duke Luke Andal outside Dokamna.¡± Mortymer replied pursing his mouth. ¡°The King ordered the Baron of Alesian Fort Marc Lennox to take over command of the Legion but Pintor refused to accept a change of leadership without the Council¡¯s concession. The Legion Book gives him the leeway to do it and Pintor won¡¯t easily relinquish command or accept a chaperone that isn¡¯t friendly with the Andal patriarch. Caxaton are a cadet branch of the family after all. Even if he would it isn¡¯t that easy now. Usually this was pretty straightforward and the King¡¯s orders readily confirmed by the Council but the Lords beyond Andalus River won¡¯t consent this time. So there¡¯s a real possibility the Second might turn rogue or outright sit out the dispute. Arresting its Legatus is just not possible at this point given our manpower. It also keeps the Lennox¡¯s men away from the capital and Dokamna.¡± ¡°Can Duke Frye push off the Andal forces?¡± His father asked. ¡°Dokamna has suffered big casualties fighting Lucius.¡± Mortymer reminded him. ¡°The King must reconsider,¡± Trupo said with a grimace and Riveras glared his way. ¡°All I¡¯m saying here, is that perhaps Sir William could forget marrying one of your daughters Enzo.¡± Riveras turned red in the face and stood there unable to speak for a while. ¡°The Bank is against such a development,¡± Simon Mclean noted. ¡°We need Duke Andal¡¯s mines. Maybe I should speak with my father. Lady Diana?¡± ¡°Davenport should get out of the mess he created,¡± she replied. ¡°He shouldn¡¯t have pressured the Andal Lords to join us. They are difficult to work with and won¡¯t change the terms of an agreement. The Bank never does with them and we aren¡¯t about to risk our relations with them.¡± ¡°It is good that you¡¯re so candid my Lady. So I¡¯ll be as well as a fucking courtesy. You won¡¯t dictate Lesia¡¯s policy,¡± Mortymer warned her frostily. ¡°You¡¯ll do as the king commands or you¡¯ll lose all what you¡¯ve been allowed to have by his mercy.¡± Lady Diana Merck licked her lips and stared at her husband that appeared troubled but not troubled enough to challenge the King¡¯s spokesman. Veteran hero of the campaign my arse, Primo thought disgusted. ¡°The expedition shall depart as scheduled,¡± Riveras grunted seeing the potential danger to lose their opportunity because of politics. ¡°Most of the materiel is already on their way.¡± ¡°Take the loss. You¡¯re a rich man,¡± Mortymer retorted narrowing his eyes. ¡°Or postpone it for later.¡± Eh, there is a time factor and it might work against us in this endeavor as well, Primo thought. Garth might be vulnerable today but he might not be on the morrow. ¡°The King owes the Wine Barons as much respect as Duke Luke Andal commands,¡± Riveras hissed. ¡°The expedition shall depart as scheduled,¡± he repeated rigidly. ¡°The provincial Duke is bluffing.¡± ¡°What if he isn¡¯t?¡± Mortymer queried not appearing reassured at all. ¡°Then we¡¯ll have a mess in our hands and you¡¯ll once again be unable to give help to the throne.¡± ¡°My family will stand by the King and give assistance if it comes to that.¡± Riveras hissed very affronted but Primo wasn¡¯t certain if this was possible. Unless they were successful and this turned out to be a short campaign. -
Those that love history¡¯s tales favor the shrewd operators of past times, buttress brave characters or risk-takers of the era and sing the praises of larger than life individuals, for whom plays are written about. Rarely all those qualities are packed inside the same body, covered in mythical armour and allowed to ride a giant wyvern. There should be no prodigies, no infallible creatures in this life. So it came as a huge surprise to the noble Lords of Flauegran¡¯s fabled vine fields that the person in possession of the best seeds, the best vines and best soil in the known realms was also all that I mentioned earlier. Also according to himself and I apologize for the usage of foul language for I¡¯ll just quote the renowned Monarch directly here ¡®history might write I sort of was a fair cunt but truth is I¡¯m vindictive as all fucks.¡¯ - Head Chef Saul Ferrero Complete History of the Realm¡¯s Cuisine & Culinary delights -through the centuries (with recipes) Alongside a brief synopsis of the politics of the time Annotated by Lord Sirio Veturius 3rd Edition Year Three (195) Chapter VI -Primo D¡¯Orsi¡¯s calamitous Expedition, the Ghosts in the Reefs & the terrors birthed in Goras Peninsula- Garth vs Riveras - The Wine Wars of 192-201 Published circa 212 NC
- Two months later Month Primus of 195 NC The turn at Gish Lament Oyster Anchorage Gulf approach Aboard the Galleass Crying Valkyrie Primo couldn¡¯t see ten meters beyond the bow of the mighty warship. The mist thick and a pale grey, with huge boulders sprouting out of the frothy waters and the sun¡¯s rays barely piercing the clouds above their heads. ¡°Nico Vardar¡¯s ship turned inland,¡± Adriano Monte informed him and waved the two officers of the company away. Captain Gravina and Captain Binda. Both men Monte had trained fresh out of the military school at Armium. ¡°The Bank¡¯s men are getting itchy.¡± ¡°Simon is awake?¡± Primo asked with a grimace and wiped the brines from his face. The light beard hard to the touch. ¡°That sneaky bastard Arone is.¡± ¡°The wind whistles strangely from the south,¡± Primo said hoarsely, his eyes locked at the weird shapes hidden behind the mist. ¡°You hear it?¡± ¡°I hear plenty of disturbing things milord,¡± Adriano said, pursing his wrinkled mouth. ¡°Mussel is the other way.¡± ¡°Imagine if there¡¯s more land behind the reefs,¡± Primo murmured grasping at the rails. ¡°Big enough to moor a big ship.¡± ¡°Your father was tasked with helping the Wine Barons milord,¡± Adriano said. ¡°Sight-seeing ain¡¯t in the contract. You lead the company now.¡± ¡°The company died at Eikenport along with my cousin Tussio,¡± Primo replied and heard the ship¡¯s bells ringing they were nearing rocks again. ¡°This is another unit. You built it from scratch.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve put as much work in it and Tussio¡¯s men I still mourn,¡± Adriano reminded him. ¡°But Tussio was a lying piece of murdering scum.¡± ¡°We are about to kill people we know nothing about Adriano,¡± Primo retorted. ¡°Aye that¡¯s true. Can¡¯t be a mercenary or a soldier without doing a bit of murdering milord, but Tussio was still a sadistic scum and I reckon we are not.¡± The veteran trainer made to say something more but caught himself. ¡°Erminio Sardone will follow Nico,¡± he finally said hoarsely. ¡°They¡¯ll hit the port afore we arrive.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a fucking ruin,¡± Primo grunted and scrunched his nose smelling sulfur and black tar in the air. Or something close to it. ¡°There it is again,¡± he told Adriano. ¡°Signal Nico and Erminio,¡± Primo ordered. ¡°Tell them to hold whilst we turn south. We might lose a day but we¡¯ll know.¡± ¡°Know what milord?¡± Adriano queried and waved for Gravina to approach. The mercenary Captain walking gingerly over the soaked deck. ¡°What resides in the fucking mist south of Wetull,¡± Primo grunted passionately. That strange feeling of awe and dread mixed in engulfing the Lesia noble since they had arrived to these exotic waters, his eyes trying to pierce the misty veil and make sense of the shapes dancing beyond it. -
In the winter of 195 NC the Flauegran Council of Wine Barons disgusted by the lawlessness displayed by the criminals smuggling products from Wetull into Regia and Lesia, mainly wine in large quantities, decided to strike at the ¡®King beyond the Pale Mountains¡¯ lair. The large expeditionary force was funded by the Bank of Trust, due to its close ties with the Wine Barons, with Simon Mclean himself present alongside Timus Arone, accompanied by the veteran of Lesia¡¯s war against King Lucius Claus Viceroy and the now known historian Saul Ferrero then employed by the Riveras family. Three mercenary companies got involved led by Erminio Sardone and Nico Vardar hired by the Barons. The reformed 333 company (the Bank¡¯s most potent striking instrument and the brainchild of Jacomo D¡¯Orsi who was determined to rebuilt it on the ashes of the old but famed 300 mercenary company that had been lost at Eikenport years earlier) led by Primo D¡¯Orsi. Over two thousand trained soldiers had been loaded on the flotilla. It was a tumultuous last couple of years for the young noble and his father as they had lost his cousin Tussio at Eikenport first and then his half-sister Lady Eleonora along her husband Fausto Mclean in events we discussed at length in a previous chapter. While the incident grew way out of proportion much later, this deceptively large conflict (several historians disagree on the scale) impacted the Wine Barons ability to provide assistance to King Davenport during the events of the ¡®cursed middle and later years¡¯ of the winding down last decade of the century. The final years of the New Calendar¡¯s second century still impacting the politics on Jelin today. There were three major consequences birthed of the Wine Barons lawful strike against the then presumed criminal empire of King Garth and his Zilan minions. First, it brought the matter of a sinister but resourceful character existing beyond the seas to the attention ¨Cof the then very distracted with Khan¡¯s invasion of Kaltha- Lorian Lords fully. Unfortunately no unified front was created due to King Davenport¡¯s disastrous handling of the ¡®Andal affront¡¯ that preoccupied King Lucius¡¯ attention as well. Second, it forced the Lorian Lords to deal with the growing smuggling problem exported by the growing in power and wealth Wetull, their Cofol allies and the conglomeration of Eikenport pirates, Lorian smugglers and of various races powerful criminal underworld bosses that struck a ¡®blood oath¡¯ to protect the ¡®coin route¡¯. With Eikenport, Sinya Goras and Mussel receiving streams of produce and materiel from the greedy Eplas dominions, several ports or southern coast territories on Jelin were flooded with organized gangs of outlaws that soon almost tripled the profits of the black markets everywhere. The deleterious effect spreading like a decease with pirates ¡®changing¡¯ profession, wealthy criminals purchasing land and gaining influence in local politics especially in Aegium, Cediorum, Novesium, Asturia, Armium and Cartaport. Regia and Lesia banned the import of products from Wetull, imposed heavy tariffs on the alarmingly growing numbers of quick-witted Cofol merchants that braved an inhospitable desert or dangerous sea journey with their colorful turbans, slaves and camels bringing their vile customs on Jelin cities. King Lucius moved to forbid the presence of slaves inside cities with Lesia soon following but it led to whole parts of local existing slum areas been bought out by the determined Cofols that poured coin in building inside and outside the old city borders. The situation turned so bad, especially in Aegium where the previous non-existent slums between the city and Saltville ballooned to a small independent town of ten thousand with its own markets and a small but exotic Zilan district that Legatus Sula was ordered to cordon the whole area. The Legatus brought Nipius Bonosus the architect that had worked at Elysium Fort, constructed a wall around the town ¨Cnow named Sing Ope-Le or walled Salt Town- with gates and enforced an entry fee for those wanting to visit while limiting the amount of items one could buy whilst there. In 198 NC at the first Valimae Lilt (or Bacchanalia) Sing Ope-Le hosted for the local foreign populace the number of Lorian visitors preferring to dance with the exotic Zilan and the Cofol slaves dwarfed those spending their coin in the nearby Aegium which was a blow to the prestige of the monitoring the situation Nonus Sula and caused him much grief. Some argue it gave him his now famed moniker, but the Legatus was always a salty man to those that know him the longest. Third, it forced the taken by surprise by the Wine Barons actions King Garth to invest in a better navy, he then used to protect his lawful and unlawful flotillas making the long journey through increasingly inhospitable waters. This protective Fleet -run by the infamous South Eplas Trading Company- would repeatedly clash in the open seas with the Lorian fleets trying to intercept the smuggling/merchant convoys approaching their shores and sink them away from sensitive eyes. The initial setbacks slowly reversing with more success following soon after as if the Ruler of Goras had limitless resources. The steadily increasing fleet of warships at the southernmost edge of Eplas would come in handy sometime later as it gave Garth the tantalizing option to bring across the seas much more than goods. He could transport an army and just like the Barons get his hands on a port either by force or through a deal. While he could have done it another way (travel across the seas that is), one can¡¯t control a distant land from the air. Sometime later King Lucius -who had slowly come to realize the existential threat the resurging empire was to the now blinded by internal strife and divided Jelin kingdoms, had famously commented in a weird private audience with JB-Luff and his band of misfits ¡®sooner or later there¡¯ll be an escalation. I don¡¯t trust divinations but this is a thought I could have made myself.¡¯ Despite the good praetor¡¯s cryptic words, his divination came unfortunately true with the first warning coming with Primo¡¯s expedition and the second much later with the naval battle at tiny Hand Atoll, the South Eplas Trading Company¡¯s most famous feat that stopped the Lorian invasion of the Sinking Isles. - Lord Sirio Veturius Circa 206 NC The Fall of Heroes Chapter L Addendum -Volume IV- The Onyx Wyvern¡¯s rule Fifth Year (195 NC) -Insurmountable odds- Based on Saul Ferrero¡¯s notes, recollections from our discussions and his upcoming manuscript of the era. Prelude to the rise of the mighty South Eplas Trading Company & the bloody ¡®Coin Route¡¯
490. The Wine Wars | Expedition (2/2)
D¡¯Orsi¡¯s Expedition (Late winter of 195 NC) Military forces composition & command structure 2330 land troops (soldiers/scouts/Peltasts/engineers etc) in three distinct mercenary companies under the overall military command of Primo D¡¯Orsi. Second in command Erminio Sardone. Third in command Nico Vardar. Also attached to the General Staff in advisory roles: Simon Mclean Claus Viceroy Phidias Arone Saul Ferrero Land units The 333 (three hundred & thirty three) Mercenary Army Unit (company) Previously (the 300) 800 soldiers (2x 400) 100 Rangers 100 Archers 60 Engineers (1060 total) Organizational chart (circa early 195 NC) Commandant Primo D¡¯Orsi (Atetalerso, circa 194 to?) Adjutant, Trainer, lead advisor of general staff ¨C Adriano Monte (Atetalerso) Captain Gravina (Faro, first group, 1st Captain) Captain Binda (Sava, second group) Master Sergeant Sivero Cerra (Rangers) Sergeant Fulvous Cactus (Archers) Sergeant (of engineers) Scaevola (Engineers) Sergeant (of engineers) Turbot The Owls Mercenary Band (Parmaport) 2nd Commandant Erminio Sardone Adjutant Mark Keitel Captain Freddy Sardone Bo Saxer 450 soldiers (Freddy Sardone) 100 scouts in ten groups (of 10 men) under the Issir Saxer (Edgefort, Duchy of Tollor) (550 total) Band of Silver Mercenary Company (Levacum) 3rd Commandant Nico Vardar (-us) - Levacum Captain Lancelot Grimani, Adjutant (Conium Castle) Captain Ed Leotta (Levacum) Captain Soldano (Armium) Sergeant Larosa Master Sergeant (of Peltasts) Trevisan (Andatelia) Sergeant Calla, rearguard (Andatelia) 500 soldiers (2x 250) Leotta/Soldano 100 Rangers (Larosa) 120 Peltasts -2x60- (Trevisan) (Multiple javelins, half-shield and shortsword type flanking unit. Bronze Age remnant mostly used beyond Andalus River) (720 total) -Total military force combined 2330 The Flotilla The Galleass Crying Valkyrie (Captain Col Fark) The heavy Barque Decibel (Captain Ked Laguna) The Brigs (4) Sundew Orion Boreas Bullfrog Six heavy transports -Carrack type ships. 8 land Scorpios 2 Catapults 120 horses 80 mules 40 wagons Over 700 crew and rear areas personnel for a total of over three thousand souls
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Primo D¡¯Orsi The Wine Wars | Expedition Part II -You don¡¯t stand a chance-
Hours later Two Isles Straits ¡°Rudder starboard five!¡± The captain¡¯s voice rang covering all other small sounds and echoing in what was a deceptively shallow canal hidden in the thick mist. The large warship creaked, brines splashing at its sides and everyone on its decks, but for the crew busy manning their posts, glued on the black basalt slants sprouting out of the waters on either side. ¡°Opens up again!¡± The lookout warned and orders came soon after. Primo D¡¯Orsi standing next to Adriano Monte watching the ship¡¯s port side hull nearing the rocky reefs lurking before the slants as the weather cleared out. The mist dissolving, chased away by a gush of wind coming from the bow. ¡°Midships! Steady!¡± The captain ordered the helmsman at the aftcastle, himself all the way across on the forecastle, the massive galleass having two towers as its designer Uranio Briglia had kept informing them back in Cediorum. Everyone else not sharing his enthusiasm for the warship given its prohibitive cost. Even the bank had brought down the number they could finance and build to under ten. Lord Mortymer declaring he¡¯d rather cut off his own cock with a butter knife than bring the proposal to the pressured King Davenport at this time. ¡®If you¡¯re about to get fucked,¡¯ he had finished gloomily. ¡®Better to go all the way in and embrace the blasted lifestyle.¡¯ ¡°Deep waters up ahead!¡± The lookout informed them and simultaneously the sailors with the ¡®lead & sounding lines¡¯ signaled with piercing whistles and agitated bells the changing depth. Primo used a cloth to wipe his soaked bearded face, a tensed grimace crooking his mouth. ¡°BEACH AHOY!¡± ¡°Milord,¡± a Lorian sailor asked moving near them. ¡°We can drop anchor here or move out of the canal following either shore west or east.¡± Primo stared at the glowing sun coming through the dispersing vapors and then at the approaching Simon Mclean who was followed by Federico¡¯s right hand man Phidias Arone. The half-breed almost twenty years older than the rich noble scion but moving with the grace of a seasoned seadog. ¡°What do your maps say Simon?¡± Primo asked. ¡°We don¡¯t have time for this D¡¯Orsi,¡± Simon protested and pursed his mouth. ¡°The men might mess it up at Mussel.¡± ¡°If we need all our force to take the port, then we might as well abandon this expedition Mclean,¡± Primo retorted. ¡°Suddenly you don¡¯t trust your estimates? You were pretty certain back home.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that D¡¯Orsi. Never assume anything is done until it is. No deal is done until the ink paints the page,¡± Simon hissed, a little pale in the face as the long journey had been an ordeal for him. Half of the time Simon had spent it being seasick and puking over the deck rails. ¡°Yer father¡¯s old maps show two islets here,¡± Arone said rubbing a palm over the top of his freshly shaven skull to gather the moisture. ¡°Ilithar to the west and Lyari to the east.¡± ¡°What do the names mean?¡± Primo asked and the bank¡¯s man shrugged his shoulders unsure. ¡°Some thing or other,¡± Arone finally replied. Great. ¡°We disembark.¡± Primo decided. ¡°Have to check this. Make certain the maps are accurate.¡± ¡°They better be,¡± Arone commented. ¡°The old man keeps them in a vault.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll use a boat?¡± Monte queried and he nodded. ¡°Tell the captain,¡± Monte ordered the sailor who sprinted back towards the bow. ¡°I really don¡¯t want to leave the ship,¡± Simon murmured with a grimace. ¡°Then again, if I stay on the darn thing, I¡¯ll probably won¡¯t survive another month.¡± Yeah. ¡°Lyari it is,¡± Arone murmured and used a thin chalk piece to make a note on the copied map he carried around. ¡°Where does the canal lead?¡± Primo asked him just as the captain ordered the crew to prepare the boats for a landing. ¡°If the old saying is true,¡± Arone replied cryptically with Simon rolling his eyes to the white. ¡°If you travel forty nautical miles in a straight line you¡¯ll find a wall of rocks coming out of the sea, but make a ninety degrees turn to the west for less than five miles and you¡¯ll avoid them completely. Then bring your rudder full to the south again and in another sixty or seventy miles you¡¯ll see Lord Calamer¡¯s tower standing above the port and piercing the clouds over his island. Rejoice for you have reached Cydonia Cazan.¡± ¡°Right. That a saying or a vacation pitch? It was a plaguing mouthful.¡± Monte grunted eyeing Arone sideways. ¡°Eh. Probably directions taken from a captain¡¯s diary.¡± Arone admitted. ¡°Some creatures are lyrical even in their everyday expressions.¡± ¡°Is that so? What captain or creature be that?¡± Monte asked suspiciously. ¡°An Imperial one,¡± Simon replied intervening. ¡°My great grandfather found the warship wreck on the atolls outside Head at Turtle Isles. Back in fifty-eight. Had to pay off a lot of people in gold to keep it quiet.¡± I bet some of them the Mclean patriarch had used cold steel on. ¡°Running from the catastrophe?¡± Monte asked curious. ¡°Nah,¡± Simon replied and spat down to clear his mouth. ¡°The ship had fossilized almost, the wood parts gone but for anything inside containers or sealed boxes. The wreck was a couple of thousand years old I¡¯m told.¡± Interesting. ¡°DROP BOATS!¡± The captain barked snapping the contemplating Primo D¡¯Orsi¡¯ out of it.
Captain Gravina and his men moved forward after disembarking from the boats and Primo D¡¯Orsi followed after them with Adriano Monte. Mostly rangers had come from the warship, as they expected wild animals on the small island but no Zilan. The wilderness expanding after the whitish gravel beach signaling that no civilization was present at the near. Primo paused to stare at the rising tree-covered slopes leading to the central peak dominating the center of the island that was still half-hidden behind the Reefs mist. ¡°Want to look for that tar?¡± Monte queried wearing his gloves, now clad in leather and mail armour. ¡°Let¡¯s find water first. It must be on the other side of the island,¡± Primo replied. ¡°Mclean said we have until the evening. We need to get back after that,¡± Monte reminded him. ¡°We could use the island as a hidden base,¡± Primo argued. ¡°Venture to the southwest.¡± ¡°Not if we lose Mussel. Or the Barons fuck it up.¡± Monte sucked at his lips audibly. ¡°The Bank wants to reach the Gish. The Barons thing is just a sideshow for them.¡± ¡°Gems.¡± Primo grunted and stared walking again after the spread out rangers. ¡°And gold. Simon says there must huge deposits there but the Gish are incapable of getting it out of the ground. Civilization demands the resources to be put to good use, the usual bullshit he sprouts.¡± ¡°Maybe they don¡¯t need to?¡± Primo crooked his mouth, waving a huge bug away from his face. ¡°I don¡¯t believe Mclean cares about that.¡± ¡°If they don¡¯t need gold how is Simon expecting to buy the Gish off?¡± Primo sighed just as he¡¯d uttered the query and glanced at the frowned face of the veteran mercenary trainer and former legionnaire. ¡°Yeah,¡± Monte replied to the silent exchange. ¡°You might like exploring, but I don¡¯t see us heading to Cazan anytime soon. Having said that, know that I told your father this is my last tour. I ain¡¯t crossing the Scalding Sea to butcher small pink-haired people. A man got to draw a line somewhere.¡± ¡°The Gish are not people Adriano.¡± ¡°Wait till you meet one milord,¡± Monte replied stubbornly, pointing for him to watch his step. ¡°All creatures that speak, socialize and have a soul are people. They are just not human enough, whatever that means. Matter of fact those I¡¯ve met, I liked better than some humans. Want to know why?¡± ¡°They can crack a mean jest?¡± Primo droned as they had talked about this a number of times. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Monte replied and relaxed his jaw. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.
An hour later a ranger sergeant going by the name of Sivero Cerra, approached them with a leather flask of water. ¡°The rivulet?¡± Primo asked and accepted the flask. They had found it spilling out of the trees and followed it through the forest. ¡°It comes from the mountain,¡± Cerra informed him. ¡°A cave lake or an underground fresh water spring.¡± ¡°Aha. We¡¯ll never make it to the mountain in time.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe we can at this point sir,¡± Sergeant Sivero replied and Primo nodded. ¡°You don¡¯t think Vardar¡¯s and Sardone¡¯s companies will make a mess?¡± Primo asked. ¡°They have been ordered to land on a remote beach and lay low.¡± Cerra glanced at the somber face of Adriano Monte. ¡°Go on son,¡± Monte urged him. ¡°You¡¯re not in training anymore.¡± ¡°The Barons men are too eager sir,¡± Cerra finally said. ¡°If the port is as lightly defended as our sources say, then they might not be able to resist the temptation.¡± ¡°Ayup,¡± Monte agreed and Primo stood back with a grimace of frustration. He thought about it some, the itch still there to look around but Primo knew it was time to give up. ¡°Tell Gravina we¡¯re heading back to the boats.¡± Primo said hoarsely. ¡°That¡¯s it sergeant.¡± ¡°Yes sir,¡± Cerra replied and saluted. ¡°You¡¯ve set this up,¡± Primo grunted when the ranger left to relay his orders. ¡°I don¡¯t know what the young milord is talking about,¡± Monte retorted unconvincingly pursing his mouth initially but then he also narrowed his eyes. The veteran mercenary trainer¡¯s expression changing to bewilderment. ¡°Featherless fat chicks and what not.¡± Primo lowered the flask from his mouth curious. ¡°Featherless¡­¡± he repeated in a half-murmur and Monte nodded. ¡°And what not,¡± Monte added and pointed at a naked, blue-green skinned creature watching them half-submerged into the shallow stream. The human-looking but also covered in fish-scales at the knees and elbows wiry youth blinked its huge black eyes once. It stood up, teeth clacking and head snapping towards the rangers that were approaching following the stream not that far behind from Primo. ¡°What in hairy rum-lover¡¯s son,¡± Monte hissed. ¡°Is that a Zilan?¡± Primo asked still stunned at the appearance of the creepy-looking creature. He glanced back and saw Cerra with bow in hand reaching for an arrow already. ¡°Don¡¯t sergeant.¡± Primo ordered just as the young creature started humming, a strange tingling affecting his ears. ¡°This must be a blasted Ticu.¡± Monte decided, also armed with a sword he had unsheathed in the meantime. ¡°What you got in that hand?¡± He grunted a query at the nervous native of the island that stopped making that strange noise and raised his right arm. ¡°I can understand the cock. But where are the tits?¡± Cerra asked sounding equally shocked and intrigued. ¡°I thought all mermaids have like big ole¡ª¡± The Ticu had tossed what he carried with him at their legs. It bounced on the muddy, grass-covered terrain and rolled for a while before it stopped. The human skull, darkened and filthy had no flesh attached to it. ¡°Motherfucker,¡± Monte grunted and made to attack the creature that lithely jumped out of the stream on the opposite bank, not even four meters away. ¡°Leave him Adriano,¡± Primo ordered and the Ticu stared at him with those soulless eyes. Primo stooped to pick up the skull. ¡°This is an old cranium.¡± ¡°You think he just found it?¡± Monte grunted still unconvinced. ¡°Black woman with a big hat,¡± Ticu sang in a metallic voice, scaly tongue visible. They were a lot of small sharp teeth in that inhuman mouth. ¡°Big knife and big black ship with a black flag.¡± Primo narrowed his eyes and returned the Ticu¡¯s intent stare. ¡°Is that her?¡± He asked raspingly and raised the muddy skull. ¡°That¡¯s her kill.¡± The Ticu replied. ¡°She killed many, but only ate parts of my mother.¡± Good fucking grief. ¡°Where did you learn Common?¡± A numb and still processing the words Primo asked. ¡°Ships come. Humans talk and I listen. Learn.¡± ¡°Yeah, this got plenty creepy fast.¡± Monte decided. ¡°I know I made a case earlier for the Gish but this ain¡¯t it lad.¡± ¡°Where do the ships go?¡± Primo asked. The Ticu pointed his arm to the south. Yeah. ¡°No proper woman¡­ human, would do this,¡± Primo told him. ¡°That sounds like pirate business. Pretty foul even for their standards. Humans don¡¯t eat flesh like that.¡± ¡°Why not? Eat what you kill no?¡± Primo licked his dry lips. ¡°It¡¯s not right. It¡¯s foul, evil.¡± The Ticu blinked. ¡°Where do evil pirates live?¡± Primo thought of Tussio and the men of the 300. ¡°All over the place but I guess you can start at Eikenport,¡± Primo replied and gave the weirded out Cerra the skull. ¡°Milord what are you doing?¡± Monte hissed and Primo turned to look at him a little surprised. ¡°He¡¯s not dangerous Adriano,¡± he told the nervous veteran trainer but when Primo returned his gaze to the male Ticu, he realized the naked creature had disappeared into the foliage amidst the trees. ¡°Anyone saw where it went? You cunts. What are ye looking at me for? Fucking idiots!¡± Monte growled at the gathering rangers. Primo walked into the stream in the meantime and crossed to the other bank. He stooped on the muddy ground and heard Monte coming across the small stream as well. ¡°We better get going,¡± Monte grunted. ¡°Nine out of ten stories about Ticu are horror tales.¡± ¡°I know,¡± Primo murmured digging in the mire with fingers for something. ¡°But I never heard a story about a male Ticu before. You think the old sailors are lying? Makes you wonder what else we don¡¯t know?¡± ¡°What are you doing lad?¡± Monte asked increasingly nervous. His eyes peeled at the silent brushwood nearby as if he expected the Ticu to jump out and gnaw at his foot. ¡°I found a gold coin,¡± Primo said and got up to show him the find after cleaning it up some with his fingers. ¡°One of those big ancient pieces?¡± ¡°No.¡± Primo replied thoughtfully and stared at the bushes the Ticu had disappeared into. ¡°It¡¯s a Gold Eagle. Newly minted.¡± ¡°You think the Ticu dropped it?¡± Monte queried not really sounding convinced himself. ¡°Who else? Also, how did the coin get here?¡± Monte snorted and pointed at the dirty skull the uncomfortable Sergeant Cerra still had in his hands. Hmm. - Fourteen hours later Mussel Oyster Anchorage elevated east and west legs that ended up being jungle-infested plateaus at the top turned in to a natural very-gradual incline at its center where the ancient port of Mussel had been built. The east peninsula plateau or Gish Lament had been a military settlement before the catastrophe but the main port itself still had some of the mystical architecture of the Empire surviving and visible in its ruins. Also apparent were efforts to rebuild its docks and adjacent buildings. They lacked the vision or even artistry of the old construction, these newer buildings being plainer even outright ugly. Primo noticed immediately that their transport fleet and warships were already inside the port, mercenaries guarding a merchant sloop moored near them. Simon Mclean lowered the spyglass and puffed out exasperated, he was standing next to Primo and the captain of the Crying Valkyrie atop the forecastle, before grunting what was now obvious to all. ¡°Sardone moved into the city.¡± Primo nodded trying to find any locals amidst the groups of armed mercenaries patrolling the docks but failing. Then he spotted a team of sailors discussing with a sergeant. Another crew of workers resting under a shade near a warehouse and grimaced. But no sign of a Zilan anywhere that he could spot. ¡°What the all-hells happened?¡± Primo cursed. ¡°We took the port,¡± Arone informed them both climbing the stairs of the forecastle nimbly. ¡°Moor the Valkyrie captain Fark, we need to disembark the men.¡± ¡°Gravina will do that,¡± Monte snapped glaring at him. ¡°And the officers of the company.¡± Arone smirked and pointed at the transports that hadn¡¯t followed them into the canal. ¡°Half the company is already ashore Monte. You might want to check on their whereabouts.¡±
Erminio Sardone was a medium height, heavy build man of forty years, clad in thick leather armour, reinforced with pieces of plate at the shoulders and chest. He had a prominent black beard, squarely trimmed that made his head appear three times its size and height. ¡°We have casualties,¡± he told Primo D¡¯Orsi matter-of-factly. ¡°And enemies hiding in the jungle north of the town. About three kilometers from the wall.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a wall?¡± Simon asked with interest. ¡°An old one. Nothing left to stand behind,¡± Sardone replied sucking at the left part of his mouth, working at a gap there between two gold teeth. ¡°But you can tell what it was.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Simon Mclean murmured unsure. ¡°How many casualties?¡± Primo queried as Adriano Monte took the scroll from Sardone¡¯s adjutant Mark Keitel. ¡°Your Captain Binda lost eight. That is six dead from the 333. I lost a squad. Ten scouts. Wiped out. All fatalities. Nico Vardar fought the Zilan and is still after them but I¡¯ve counted twenty five cold bodies left behind and six injured. We need more Dottore and the artillery unloaded.¡± ¡°The Zilan,¡± Monte grunted raising his eyes from the casualties list. ¡°You didn¡¯t fight the Zilan then?¡± Sardone grimaced and then made a sound with his mouth. ¡°Vardar looped around to cut the north road, we followed the plan and stayed near the coast west of the city but we were attacked by fucking mermaids out of the blue. Jumped out of the water like frogs on a mission. It turned ugly and it was downhill after that.¡± ¡°Ticu?¡± Primo gasped and Monte turned his head to look at him angrily. ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°Have their heads over there. In that wagon. You might find more body parts in the mix.¡± Sardone replied raspingly. ¡°Insane, bloodthirsty monsters.¡± ¡°Some of considerable allure,¡± Mark Keitel noticed with a nasty smirk. ¡°Not everyone is of the same opinion,¡± Sardone grunted casting a glare at his subordinate until Keitel was forced to comply. ¡°Yes sir,¡± Keitel saluted half-heartedly. ¡°How many Zilan? What kind of troops?¡± Primo hissed increasing the volume of his voice as behind them the more critical units of the mercenary company started disembarking from the massive warship. Supplies and frontline personnel but also rear units, rangers and war-machines. ¡°Medium or light infantry. Harpoon and spear units,¡± Sardone replied. ¡°Some archers. About thirty of them.¡± ¡°You¡­ only thirty?¡± Primo croaked. ¡°And they retreated?¡± ¡°To the jungle. Vardar wants to clear the trees out,¡± Sardone explained. ¡°Order him to stop and turn back. He¡¯ll guard the port instead. Barricade and repair some of the wall if it¡¯s possible. I want Mussel ready to receive a counter attack.¡± Primo ordered. ¡°Leave just enough men near the woods to keep an eye on the remaining Zilan. I assume you killed some of them?¡± ¡°We did. Seven we managed to cut off at the docks. They are under the sheet by the wall. I¡¯m afraid the men took everything not attached to their bodies and a few things that were,¡± Sardone replied unapologetically. ¡°No one surrendered?¡± Primo asked a little troubled. ¡°I don¡¯t speak their language Commander D¡¯Orsi,¡± Sardone replied with a timely dodge. ¡°Now that all you fine ¡®n learned folk are here, I¡¯m optimistic we¡¯ll find out more.¡±
Primo tossed the bloody sheet over the Zilan corpse again to cover it and stood up with sour look on his bearded face. He set his eyes on the locals detained by the soldiers that waited to speak with him and then turned to Adriano Monte who was still shook from their inspections of the dead Ticu and the men that had fallen victim to their savagery. The mercenaries barely keeping it together after taking control of the port with only three civilians getting cut down as ¡®reprisals¡¯. Sardone has done a good job controlling his men here, he thought. ¡°Anyone has one of their weapons?¡± He asked after Monte appeared unwilling to comment on the developments. The Issir Sergeant Saxer offered him a Kopis-type long front-curved blade. Primo took it to examine it carefully. ¡°Is that Imperial steel?¡± Primo asked and Monte gave him a short dagger to test it. The Zilan weapon easily biting into the steel dagger like it was made out of wood. ¡°Aye sir,¡± Saxer replied. ¡°Not every weapon is that good a quality, but all their blades are superior.¡± ¡°Ancient loot?¡± Primo wondered aloud. ¡°That wooden handle is plenty new,¡± Saxer argued. ¡°Per the contract the boys get to keep the loot sir.¡± Primo nodded as it was pointless to argue with the mercenaries on these matters. Profit came first in their minds and it was the main reason they risked their lives. Fewer doing it for the thrill of adventure. ¡°What happened here?¡± He asked finally. ¡°They withdrew in the alley between the two bigger buildings but ambushed the men that followed them there. It was through sheer numbers we managed to push them out sir. They retreated orderly after that, but pretty fast. Right out of the port.¡± ¡°You. Come here,¡± Primo ordered one of the Cofols watching them. He stood next to a couple of unsavory Lorians. ¡°I¡¯m Commandant Primo D¡¯Orsi. You will not be harmed. This operation isn¡¯t directed against you. Are you a local citizen?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a merchant out of Taras Commandant,¡± the Cofol replied and paused as if to evaluate the situation. ¡°The name is Oba-Sif. You killed one of my slaves.¡± ¡°An accident. Our men were attacked by Ticu.¡± ¡°And then they attacked the Monarch¡¯s people?¡± Oba-Sif queried before adding with a careful bow of the head. ¡°Supreme Commandant.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll be compensated for your loss,¡± Primo assured him and turned to the approaching Simon Mclean. ¡°We have a small insurance budget for things like this.¡± ¡°What things?¡± Simon asked less polite than he originally intended. ¡°The loss of a slave. He had at least forty years of work ahead of him,¡± Oba-Sif explained sadly. ¡°I have purchased him for ten gold pieces and spent at least a hundred to teach him the skills required.¡± Primo pursed his mouth trying not to backhand the Cofol and remain diplomatic given the circumstances. ¡°You don¡¯t expect the Bank to pay for this cretin¡¯s slave?¡± Simon snapped losing his cool and Primo turned around to glare at him. ¡°It¡¯s an order Simon.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t order me around D¡¯Orsi,¡± Simon grunted very annoyed and more centered now that he stood on stable ground. ¡°At this point I am.¡± Primo warned him. Simon narrowed his eyes and glowered at the slightly smirking Cofol. ¡°Milords,¡± Oba-Sif said and bowed in response to the Mclean scion¡¯s glare. ¡°How much?¡± The latter hissed and signed for Arone to approach them. ¡°Given the loss and the trauma I sustained seeing your unlawful attack on the Monarch¡¯s port, I believe three hundred,¡± he paused to read the carved insignia on Primo¡¯s armour. ¡°And thirty three gold Dinars.¡± Simon started coughing violently, his eyes gawking and tearing up almost drowning in his own spit in the attempt to speak. ¡°That¡¯s outrageous and we only have Gold Eagles,¡± Arone grunted at the startled Cofol that faked interest in the coughing Simon¡¯s condition. ¡°Three hundred,¡± Oba-Sif said sobering up. ¡°Fifty,¡± Arone grunted warningly. Oba-Sif shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Two seventy five.¡± ¡°What?¡± Simon croaked coming about. ¡°Are you fucking serious? You slanted-eyed sleazy crook¡ª!¡± Primo put his hand on Simon¡¯s chest to stop his outburst. ¡°A hundred gold.¡± Oba-Sif looked at him for a moment with understanding. But it was a ruse. ¡°Two fifty.¡± He finally said his face sobering up. ¡°Mister Oba.¡± Primo warned him. ¡°A hundred and fifty Gold Eagles,¡± Arone spat disgusted. ¡°Two hundred,¡± Oba-Sif haggled shamelessly. ¡°There¡¯s no way you¡¯ll get that kind of coin out of me!¡± Simon hissed as livid as Primo had ever seen him. ¡°I¡¯m a member of the Merchant¡¯s Guild,¡± Oba-Sif replied without losing a beat. ¡°A representative of Phon-Iv Sopat and his local interests, whom I¡¯ve already informed of the events here. Does the Mclean refuse to offer proper compensation? Whatever happens to me¡­ your man in the Guild we¡¯ll be notified to pay the fee make no mistake about it. I imagine it will be greatly increased by then as the Guild¡¯s Board won¡¯t be happy to hear of your conduct here.¡± ¡°He could be lying. We could just cut him down,¡± Arone offered and it wasn¡¯t a jest. ¡°Eh,¡± Simon puffed out and stared at Primo. ¡°Mister Oba,¡± Primo said. ¡°How big a force does the Monarch have in Taras?¡± Oba-Sif raised a painted a dark red brow mockingly. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± he finally said. ¡°Indulge us.¡± ¡°Most of the Phalanx is stationed at Dia Castle and some parts are at Ani Ta-Ne with the Fleet.¡± ¡°Wait¡­¡± Monte argued not expecting the existence of enemy ships. ¡°The¡­ Phalanx,¡± Primo murmured well-versed in the fabled Imperial unit. ¡°Oh, for the love of Uher that weasel is lying!¡± Simon hissed. ¡°So not much of a force is there,¡± Oba-Sif added with a lecherous smirk. ¡°But it doesn¡¯t matter,¡± he added annoyingly. ¡°How many Zilan soldiers can they field at this moment? Is Taras unprotected?¡± Primo insisted anxiously. ¡°I told you. The army is not there. Most other Zilan are spread about. Lo-Minas, Abarat.¡± ¡°What are these?¡± Simon asked suddenly interested. ¡°Cities,¡± Oba-Sif replied. ¡°Never heard of the names. Does no one trade with them?¡± Simon grunted not believing him. ¡°No. They are out of the trade routes and won¡¯t deal with non-civilians but you could see them if you join a caravan. Travel the roads, see the realm and sell stuff for much-deserved profit!¡± Oba-Sif replied vivaciously without getting rid of that smirk. ¡°Maybe you¡¯ll come along one time Mclean. See how real coin is gained.¡± ¡°Pay him,¡± Primo ordered Arone who stared at the scowling Simon. ¡°How much Oba-Sif?¡± ¡°Two hundred Gold Eagles,¡± the Cofol merchant replied sternly. Simon groaned physically hurting and Arone pursed his mouth in solemn contemplation. ¡°Simon I need to talk with the officers,¡± Primo said raspingly. ¡°Get this done.¡± ¡°Go ahead,¡± a seething Simon told Arone. ¡°What do you mean it doesn¡¯t matter?¡± Primo asked the pleased Oba-Sif and the Cofol furrowed his painted brows seemingly unsure of Primo¡¯s meaning. ¡°You said it not five minutes ago.¡± Primo grunted at the poor attempt at theatre. ¡°Ah,¡± Oba-Sif said standing back. ¡°I was talking of the wyvern mister D¡¯Orsi.¡± You have excellent ears I see, Primo thought before the Cofol¡¯s words fully registered. ¡°The wyvern?¡± Monte queried beating him to the punch with Arone¡¯s reaction coming a close second. A simple gasp followed by the scribe¡¯s Saul Ferrero¡¯s query as he happened to stand really close. ¡°Did he just say¡­?¡± ¡°Umm. Yes.¡± Oba-Sif agreed with a demure half-apologetic smile and reached to retrieve the two heavy leather purses from the stunned Phidias Arone¡¯s hands. ¡°As I said to all your acclaimed lordships already. You don¡¯t stand a chance against Hardir O¡¯ Fardor.¡± Nonsense. ¡°We¡¯ll have to see about that mister Oba,¡± Primo grunted animatedly. -
It is unclear whether Primo D¡¯Orsi changed his plan because of the Cofol merchant¡¯s words or not. Perhaps he had already decided to march inland towards Taras and the Monarch¡¯s seat in Tenebrous Castle. We¡¯ll never know. He ordered Erminio Sardone¡¯s ¡®Owls¡¯ to keep the still hiding inside the jungle Zilan Marines under control and marched the ¡®333¡¯ alongside Vardar¡¯s ¡®Band of Silver¡¯ north following the fine Imperial road. Three days later Trevisan¡¯s Peltasts that were leading the army at the time fell on a force of Taras¡¯ city guards rolling down to intercept us. Trevisan retreated towards the main body of the army to inform Primo D¡¯Orsi. The Commandant fearing the imperials were part of a bigger force ordered Captain Binda¡¯s 2nd Group to block the road and deployed his full force for battle. The imperials attacked Binda¡¯s shield-bearing soldiers, but made little headway. They took heavy casualties instead and had to retreat. D¡¯Orsi ordered Vardar to advance his own infantry and sent Cactus¡¯ archers to lob arrows in the lines of Taras¡¯ guards. Vardar attacked the shieldwall but started losing men as the local enemy soldiers were performing better with each passing minute. This was Captain Horton¡¯s newly recruited guards as we learned later. D¡¯Orsi fearing an intervention or the potential appearance of reinforcements ordered Trevisan forward again and his Peltasts flanked the massively outnumbered Goras soldiers¡¯ lines. Their javelins caused considerable casualties and the human soldiers lost cohesion rapidly. The battle finished before D¡¯Orsi had the time to issue any more orders. ¡®Devil¡¯s spawn,¡¯ Adriano Monte had commented when Vardar informed the expedition¡¯s leadership that the local force had effectively been wiped out. ¡®That merchant was right. There are no forces guarding Taras!¡¯ While there were local troops available to the Monarch, Oba-Sif of Lai Zel-Ka was truthful in his report and accurate in his prediction. D¡¯Orsi paused after the successful battle on the road to Taras for our supply train to catch up with us and three or four days later we marched again but at a slower pace.
- The mounted Primo D¡¯Orsi scratched the side of his bearded face, the blond hairs darkening somewhat after days on the road and looked at Sergeant Cerra¡¯s returning squad of Rangers that had been replaced by one of Larosa¡¯s, both squads tasked with keeping the road ahead well-scouted. ¡°Much of the same. Granite tiled sidewalks and cobblestone-paved main body,¡± Cerra explained. He was talking of the wide and very impressive boulevard they were following. Trees could be seen on every side and several flying monkeys had annoyed the men leaping across the breadth of the road cackling maniacally whilst throwing rotten fruits on their heads. ¡°But no traffic at all?¡± Monte asked and a horn sounded from the front of their column. Primo raised his head and spotted one of Larosa¡¯s rangers returning. The man was sprinting fast. ¡°Commandant, I believe the local caravans are held back,¡± Cerra replied and turned to watch the ranger approach the officers as well. ¡°A force is blocking the road sir, about three kilometers up ahead,¡± the ranger reported breathing heavy from the exertion. ¡°How large?¡± Primo asked pursing his mouth. ¡°About twice the size of that we fought earlier but they could be receiving reinforcements,¡± the ranger replied. ¡°Stop the column,¡± Monte grunted at Gravina that had approached to see what the holdup was. Primo nodded his agreement and turned on the saddle to glance back at the rows of soldiers coming after them. ¡°This is a sloped part of the road,¡± he grunted turning his head back to stare at the route cutting through the jungle. ¡°The ground is raising constantly. We need to pull back a little Monte.¡± ¡°Have them attack instead?¡± Monte queried. They have to. ¡°Aye. But on flatter ground. This is a spot they picked, better not to indulge them,¡± Primo decided. ¡°Issue the orders Captain Gravina.¡± He added in a clear voice and heard a loud awed murmur ringing up and down the columns of mercenaries. Primo raised his gaze to the sky a little disoriented when the poor light of winter dimmed momentarily and managed to catch a glimpse of the large black wyvern flying fast south following the road. The beast¡¯s long swaying tail and extended semi-diaphanous bat-like wings what made the strange image click in his numb brain. ¡°Well, that sight sucked the piss out of my cock,¡± a bewildered Gravina blurted out and Monte that stood to Primo¡¯s right side pursed his mouth tight, a strange expression creeping up on the veteran¡¯s lined face the young aristocrat hadn¡¯t seen before. Mother of all gods. ¡°Eh,¡± Primo grunted snapping out of his reverie. ¡°Gravina I¡¯ve given you an order!¡± He barked at the stunned officer. ¡°You get our men moving back to better positions now. Sergeant Cerra inform Commandant Vardar that the ¡®Band of Silver¡¯ is tasked with defending against the enemy infantry. Retreat five kilometers back to where we fought with their first group. Do not allow them to advance. The moment they commit we¡¯ll flank them and repeat what we¡¯ve done earlier. We have the numbers still. We remove this new threat and then march to Taras. Move your feet soldier!¡± ¡°Lad,¡± Monte said hoarsely and Primo turned to glare at him. ¡°There is no reason to move forward.¡± ¡°We can still reach the city Adriano. Roaming Wyvern or not,¡± Primo hissed not liking his fatalistic tone. ¡°The trapped Garth will offer to negotiate the moment we enter Taras. You heard my decision!¡± ¡°Milord,¡± a depressed-looking Monte insisted in a more reasonable tone. ¡°There was a man riding on the back of that beast and I wager what time I¡¯ve left he¡¯s heading to Mussel. I fear we are the ones trapped.¡± ¡°Damn you old head. Snap out of it, the men are looking up to you! You¡¯ll have us defeated by fear afore our blades even touch?¡± Primo cursed angry and pulled at the reins of his nervous horse. ¡°We won¡¯t just lay down and die here without a fight!¡±
491. The Wine Wars | Coup de main (1/2)
¡®The Hallowed shall bring the Princess home as fast as it is possible on foot.¡¯ ¡®And what of Lymsiel and young Legolnir?¡¯ ¡®Don¡¯t concern yourself with Anfalon¡¯s affairs but focus instead on your own task Hoplite, else you¡¯ll wallow in never-ending dishonor. What is that task?¡¯ ¡®Bring the 3rd to Mussel.¡¯ ¡®Then that is what shall happen.¡¯ Nibaen O¡¯ Unor, the ¡®Young Moriva¡¯ Phalanx¡¯s Scribe, Hoplite. A Mori-Zilan. Circa 3440 IC From his ¡®Conversations with my father¡¯ Here the First of the Hallowed and Lord of the Phalanx, the Silver Hoplite Leader Anfalon (the Great) talks with Bronze Hoplite Leader Lyceron near the Ruins of King Ninthalor¡¯s Bridge sixty kilometers from Morn Taras in early winter of 3401 IC. The short dialogue is also carved in stone at the entrance of the 3rd Othrim¡¯s permanent barracks without mentioning any of those involved. The building located inside the Imperial Phalanx¡¯s massive headquarters complex across Taras Lake.
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Arguen Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Lord of Morn Taras Monarch of Wetull King beyond the Pale Mountains Aniculo Rokae Duath Erin I Menel The Wine Wars | Coup de main* Part I -A case of hypocrisy-
*A surprise, direct attack. An unexpected development. It usually has ominous connotations. - Four hours later 7th of Imperial Enna** (Primus) 3401 Mayor of district (city) of Taras villa Lord Shield¡¯s Fikumin Flintfoot residence Situation briefing ** From Imperial number Enna (one, first). - ¡°Monarch,¡± Vulreon said getting up from his table to offer Glen the transcript of what had been discussed already by the council. Phinariel bowed her braided head his way looking even better that morning, but Glen had a serious case of ire at that point to further indulge with the pretty scribe. None angrier than the Lord Shield himself, with his right hand man¡­ ehem¡­ dwarf, Theron Gravelbrow being a close second. Even Folen appeared relatively somber-faced and in dark spirits other than a couple of large gleaming golden loops he had on as earrings. Kamat-Fin the maimed Cofol Master of Birds was also present along with the usual suspects Sir Delmuth, Sir Kirk, Rimeros of course and some unexpected like Lord Paeris clad in a fine peach-colored light chiton ¨Cfor the time of year-, Lon-Iv Sopat and an even lighter-dressed Troy. The muscular former champion sweaty in a square training-loincloth and apparently very thirsty. Troy raised his goblet to Glen with a broad grin. Glen returned the unread notes to Vulreon that bowed and run back to his small table. ¡°Finally some action Lord wyvern,¡± a mirthful Troy said, no one in the conference table appreciating his words or enthusiasm. ¡°Captain Esau Fane has been dispatched earlier this morning,¡± Fikumin intervened with a pissed off glare at the gladiator that grimaced and then proceeded to drain his goblet audibly. ¡°He has orders to block the road to Taras but not engage the invading force.¡± ¡°There is an invading force?¡± Glen asked and rubbed at his forehead. ¡°Why wasn¡¯t I notified?¡± ¡°You were Garth.¡± Fikumin grunted. ¡°Ordered Horton to march ahead towards Mussel. Then you got busy looking for a baby wyvern. This was days ago. Horton got intercepted on the road in the meantime, was forced to give battle, probably got surrounded and we fear he has suffered grave losses or worse.¡± Fantastic. ¡°So Captain Fane can do better?¡± Glen probed and then pursed his mouth as it kind of sounded like Fikumin was pointing the finger at his person. Glen that is. ¡°He has the Taras guard with him. Not the freshmen Horton had,¡± Fikumin rustled. ¡°You are assuming the men were badly trained,¡± Glen retorted. ¡°I hear it¡¯s a matter of numbers.¡± Fikumin let out an angry growl and sat down on his chair that had a special stool secured on it so people wouldn¡¯t have to watch the top of his head when Lord Shield was not standing. ¡°I¡¯ll finish this and then ride after Captain Fane,¡± Troy assured him after burping and wiping his mouth. ¡°We¡¯ll strike back. The bigger the stakes, the bigger the glory ha-ha!¡± ¡°We are not supposed to strike back!¡± Fikumin growled standing up again frustrated. ¡°This is a superior force. We are to hold them until reinforcements arrive or risk losing the city! Just get out of the meeting! Why are you even here human?¡± He added even more infuriated and stared at the gladiator under heavy brows. ¡°I was running the Morn Taras, main square distance,¡± Troy replied with a frown. ¡°Saw people coming to your villa and followed them dwarf.¡± That¡¯s over sixty kilometers! Good grief man, are ye insane? ¡°Master Troy, you shall address Lord Shield by his tittles or asked to vacate the premises,¡± Rimeros intervened austerely and Theron started laughing whilst banging his fist on the table. ¡°Lord Fikumin doesn¡¯t care for human titles tall fool! But keep at it and you¡¯ll get hammered in the mouth. Might set yer brains proper!¡± He yelled between riotous chuckles. Fikumin used his wooden mallet to get the table quiet again. Hit the surface so hard that the tool broke apart at the third strike and parts of it flew over Lon-Iv¡¯s head that let out a yelp that caused his male slave to run to his assistance. Glen sighed and pushed back on his chair. ¡°Let¡¯s talk about the matter at hand,¡± he rustled diplomatically. ¡°Where is the Phalanx now?¡± ¡°Lord Anfalon left Jungle Fort a week ago,¡± Kamat-Fin replied getting up. ¡°Exulted Caliph.¡± ¡°We notified the travel stops Hardir,¡± Rimeros added. ¡°But it is unclear which units are where or how long it will be before they arrive. If Anfalon receives our missive he¡¯ll use mounts to rush here.¡± ¡°Where will he find the mounts?¡± Glen asked. ¡°Commandeer them from anyone using the roads. The Phalanx has priority in all equipment or manpower.¡± ¡°Aha.¡± Glen pursed his mouth. ¡°Folen any idea on what we¡¯re up against here?¡± ¡°Hardir the enemy unit¡¯s moniker suggests they are a mercenary company. Probably a rebirth of the one that attacked Eikenport under the name 300.¡± ¡°I remember them. They came with a bounty hunter for another reason but stayed to arrest Princess Elsanne.¡± Glen said and Lon-Iv got up to speak as well. ¡°The 300 were a private army raised by the Bank of Trust,¡± Lon-Iv Sopat said while his slave worked to refill his goblet and clean the table from the earlier accident. ¡°They were deployed then to support the fulfillment of a contract with the throne of Kaltha. Under that premise they tried to resolve the matter of succession there.¡± Glen nodded but Fikumin grimaced and repeated with a grunt of frustration glaring at Glen. ¡°Under that premise.¡± Glen blinked unsure on the hostility directed at him. He started to get pissed off with the dwarf. ¡°The Bank of Trust might have had another reason for the events at Eikenport our agents suggest. Taking control of Eikenport for Lord Anker and using it for their business.¡± Lon-Iv elucidated. ¡°This is their modus operandi. Their way of acting whilst covering their tracks or legitimize their actions.¡± Lots of fancy words here. ¡°What is their reason for attacking Mussel?¡± Glen snarled through his teeth. ¡°I can only guess Lord Garth.¡± ¡°Guess away.¡± ¡°There is a shift,¡± Lon-Iv started with Glen interrupting him immediately. ¡°In the wind?¡± ¡°The streams of profit,¡± Lon-Iv expounded. ¡°Go on,¡± Glen murmured. ¡°The merchants always used the Bank of Dinar since they had to cross the Khanate to reach the east coast of Eplas, mainly the Duchy of Raoz. With the war and the Monarch¡¯s success in opening up Wetull, a new trade route has been established and Director Luvon of the Bank of Goras gave our merchants an alternative credit line. Soon a third even faster route shall be available.¡± Glen stared at the rest of the table but everyone appeared pretty interested in Lon-Iv¡¯s extremely tedious diatribe so he didn¡¯t make any comment at that point. ¡°The Bank of Trust or Mclean & Merck always respected the Toka and the Bank of Dinar but now, given there is a third player, they move to get a bigger slash of the pie. The market appears up for grabs since the Khan controls Issir¡¯s Eagle, Rida and parts of Kaltha. What the Bank of Trust lost it looks to gain back from the weakest opponent.¡± Glen blinked and then licked his lips in silence. ¡°They are here under a pretext I¡¯m sure, goods or perhaps your wine Lord Garth.¡± Lon-Iv added and returned to his seat. ¡°The wine?¡± Glen hissed stooping forward. ¡°You¡¯ve produced twenty thousand liters of wine two years ago. Or bottles. Each year you double the production so this season I believe you¡¯ll reach forty thousand easy or more.¡± ¡°Right.¡± ¡°Half of it is exported to the Peninsula and thirty percent to Jelin. Around six thousand bottles. Well over ten thousand for the year that just ended. At this rate you¡¯ll support one city fully or three partially given the cost of the product. Half of Goras has the potential to be turned into a giant vine field given the rich volcanic soil. And then there¡¯s Abarat. It produces more than Goras right now but is keeping it for internal consumption.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t export these numbers officially,¡± Fikumin intervened. ¡°Half the cities have placed restrictions to our merchants. Folk actually move about under disguise to avoid harassment.¡± Well. About that¡­ you are technically correct. ¡°Our merchants see the product in the local markets. We don¡¯t know the how it gets there but it¡¯s not difficult to suspect.¡± Lon-Iv replied. ¡°The Sopat have purchased parcels of land near Aegium but the wine was already being sold there when we arrived.¡± ¡°Folen that¡¯s an outrageous amount of smuggling going on,¡± Fikumin grunted and a concerned Folen made to rise but Glen gestured for him to sit back down. ¡°He¡¯ll look into it and report to me his findings,¡± Glen said austerely. ¡°Absolutely omnipotent Monarch,¡± Folen croaked and then had some wine to clear his throat. ¡°Continue Master Sopat,¡± Fikumin grunted eyeing Glen with heavy suspicion. ¡°The real reason for the Bank¡¯s actions is still unclear. This is an aggressive move that smells of expansion. Lord Phon-Iv presumes it¡¯s against your grace but there could be potentially other reasons still hidden.¡± ¡°Phon-Iv knows?¡± ¡°He has been informed.¡±Stolen novel; please report. ¡°Quicker to get word from Lai Zel-Ka than Morn Taras these days,¡± Fikumin grunted. ¡°With that jest by our Shield you gentlemen are dismissed.¡± Glen said with an angry grimace. ¡°Troy you can join Captain Fane if you wish.¡± ¡°No worries mate,¡± Troy replied and snapped both arms forward after getting up, taut muscles rippling. ¡°I¡¯ll catch up with them in no time.¡± He sucked air deeply and returned Phina¡¯s stare with a wink. ¡°Looking great there little scribe. Keep doing what you¡¯re doing.¡± ¡°I appreciate¡ª¡± Phina tried to say but a livid Fikumin stopped her with a growl. ¡°Just get going already gladiator!¡± ¡°Know that I¡¯ll remember this aggressive tone little hairy dude and the challenge behind it,¡± a half-grinning Troy warned a red in the face Glen¡¯s Shield. ¡°When you find a couple of more of yer kind we¡¯ll revisit this. A proper fight must be challenging.¡± ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough malarkey for today,¡± Glen snapped to prevent a brawl as the other dwarf Theron seemed up for it. ¡°Garth I¡¯d like a word,¡± Fikumin grunted whilst most of the others departed after the strolling away with his chest pushed out like a peacock gladiator. ¡°We just¡­¡± Glen sighed seeing his expression. ¡°Sure¡­ you want this here?¡± ¡°In my office my Lord,¡± Fikumin said grinding his teeth. Whoa. The dwarf is at the end of his tether, Glen thought. I need to do something to alleviate some of the pressure all these crazy folk are causing him. Friends are there to make things easier.
¡°I¡¯ll see to fix this Fiku,¡± Glen assured him the moment Fikumin closed the door behind them. ¡°Fix? There is nothing to fix Allgods damn it! Salvage more like!¡± Fikumin growled and walked past Glen fuming. ¡°You ordered Horton to Mussel! The man might be dead. All his men alongside him! I¡¯ve known and worked with Horton for years. From Rida. By the gods he fought for you at Serpent¡¯s Canal!¡± ¡°You buried him already,¡± Glen retorted. ¡°And I didn¡¯t know what he was up against. How is this my fault Fiku?¡± ¡°Whose fault is it? You are in charge!¡± Fikumin blasted him. ¡°Your words followed to the letter which is troubling since most of the time you half-issue orders without much thought.¡± ¡°I said I¡¯ll fix this situation,¡± Glen said with a grimace at the blame thrown his way. ¡°I understand your frustration¡ª¡± ¡°What are you talking about? The man got married last year. Freed a Cofol slave girl and just had a son he named Dennis! What am I supposed to tell his wife? We didn¡¯t know? We couldn¡¯t find the King because he was out looking for a baby wyvern? What did you need it for? How is it even possible you could be unreachable inside Morn Taras? Wait, let me tell you how. You¡¯ve told your Zilan and Cofols you are busy! Am I close?¡± ¡°That¡¯s my daughter¡¯s wyvern,¡± Glen hissed a vein throbbing at the left temple. ¡°And I won¡¯t ask permission from you on how to spent my time or with whom friend.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t give a damn who you bed,¡± Fikumin snapped furious. ¡°But you have no time for yourself. Where did you get that idea? You think I have time for myself? You are running a blasted kingdom and we are under invasion! Seriously Glenavon, I¡¯m very disappointed.¡± Glen stood back and rubbed his forehead using three fingers. ¡°The wyvern I had to locate.¡± He started and Fikumin interrupted him immediately. ¡°What for? You have Uvrycres. What will a baby wyvern do? Eat a fucking chicken?¡± A horse. ¡°I need to control them. We can¡¯t have a wyvern loose in Goras,¡± Glen retorted. ¡°I lost track of time after that¡­ let me finish,¡± he stopped Fikumin from shouting again. ¡°I misjudged the situation and staying near Inis-Mir can be time consuming.¡± ¡°Glenavon, these are real people with families of their own. Life doesn¡¯t stop when you do, even if you have a legitimate reason. Is the princess alright?¡± ¡°She¡¯s fine.¡± Glen puffed his cheeks out. ¡°It¡¯s been difficult lately for me Fiku. I need to keep my mind occupied.¡± Fikumin blinked. ¡°Did you even stay with your daughter?¡± He grunted getting frustrated again. ¡°Good gods. Who is the next one that caught yer eye? I¡¯m going to forbid Lon-Iv from bringing anymore slaves to you. Why are you not freeing them? But for Cofols and the Zilan we all do. You need to put a stop to this Garth.¡± ¡°I am. Slowly. I freed Iskay.¡± ¡°Who you happen to sleep with.¡± Fikumin grunted. ¡°It¡¯s a slave economy Fiku. Partially.¡± Laius had warned him about this. ¡°What? You can end this tomorrow!¡± ¡°You want me to impose my will to other cultures?¡± Glen asked him tiredly. ¡°They won¡¯t do it without a fight and it¡¯ll create problems. This decree you favor. What about another one?¡± Eh. Not a strong argument this, he scolded himself. You are pretty cornered here. Fikumin caught me unawares. He also sort of felt a bit guilty for failing Horton¡¯s men and the captain. ¡°Emerson died to free enslaved people and managed to unshackle thousands,¡± Fikumin retorted. ¡°What will your legacy be Garth?¡± ¡°How about we start by defeating the invaders first?¡± Glen snapped and the dwarf stood back in shock. ¡°You don¡¯t want to do it. You are enjoying this. The comforts and lascivious lifestyle. All our losses and personal sacrifices¡­ for this? You blasted hypocrite!¡± He snarled livid and turned around to walk out of the office. When dwarfs got angry, all past hurts came flooding out of them live lava from a stone. They were incapable to forget. ¡°Hey! I never pretended to be a saint! That¡¯s yer fucking idea friend!¡± Glen yelled curtly, immediately cursed for another mediocre retort and then went after him, the short member of the Folk walking extremely fast, his quick strides landing heavy on the tiles as if belonging to a much bigger person. ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake Fiku come on mate. Slow the fuck down,¡± Glen cursed getting out of the office himself. Fikumin marched past a shocked Phinariel and went out to the balcony of his villa. Glen went to go after him with a glance at the stone-faced Rimeros but the comely Zilan scribe stopped him with a query. ¡°Hardir can I have a moment?¡± ¡°Phina¡­ I¡¯m a bit¡­ yes?¡± A distracted Glen asked pausing to listen to her. ¡°I want to grasp at this opportunity to express my gratitude for your concern the other day. It was heartening that Hardir O¡¯ Fardor defended me,¡± Phina started quickly. ¡°Eh. Well, I didn¡¯t like that he fed you this bullshit reason for breaking up,¡± Glen replied with an uncomfortable grimace. Phina¡¯s rosy forehead gleaming, her long blue hair pulled back and turned into four thick braids. Zilan love working on their curls and personal hygiene. No wonder Sen feared them, he thought and his eyes drifted down the comely scribe¡¯s long neck and blossoming breasts. Much of the latter nicely visible due to Phina¡¯s typical cavernous-front Zilan chiton. Well then. ¡°Phinariel,¡± Rimeros hissed warningly. ¡°Apologies.¡± The young scribe blurted out to the palace official and reached to take Glen¡¯s hand with hers. ¡°We¡¯re Zilan. This is how it¡¯s supposed to be,¡± she added timidly, the life of Taras had almost beat the wild out of the young stray of the jungle and then the recent break up forced her curious teenage soul into submission. ¡°There is no romantic pairing without an offspring, such lustful couples thin in substance and shallow in their carnal relations. Usually birthed during Valimae Lilt and breaking up soon after.¡± She added in a low singing voice rather poetically. Speaking a bunch of narrow-minded bullshit. Glen retrieved his trapped hand from hers having recovered some of his wits and used it to lift her round chin up. Almost lost his train of thought in her liquid green-blue pools, the scribe¡¯s eyes huge and gleaming on her flushed face. ¡°That¡¯s Bertha¡¯s austere family¡¯s failed traditions he takes advantage of,¡± Glen counseled her hoarsely. ¡°And a parochial aristocracy¡¯s justification to jump from one bed to another without being called a strumpet.¡± Phina blinked unsure. ¡°It means a slutty harlot,¡± Glen elucidated. ¡°Anyway don¡¯t live yer life according to Bertha¡¯s ideas even if he truly believes them and don¡¯t forgive him that easy. You want to be a Zilan but you were doing fine as a stray afore that and you¡¯ll always be Phina. Which is pretty close to fine in my book. You can bend but remain unbroken. Just look to find an honest mate that¡¯ll appreciate Phina without any expectation other than you being you and trust Glen¡­ you¡¯ll find that certain someone very close.¡± Phina made a tentative step forward over an indignant Rimeros¡¯ loud objection but paused feeling Glen¡¯s stretched arm stopping her, the Monarch¡¯s large hand fully palming the comely scribe¡¯s perk right breast. Not by design, a tensed and half-aroused Glen thought hearing the Zilan female gasp. But certainly not completely by accident. About sixty forty in favor of the latter. ¡°This¡­ Glen deity,¡± Phinariel murmured raspingly but also confused. ¡°Can be a bit more specific?¡± ¡°The god can¡¯t but this Monarch believes you know very well,¡± Glen retorted cursing himself for fumbling with his words at that crucial moment. ¡°Goddess¡¯ patience! That is quite enough scribe,¡± Rimeros grunted and Glen snapped at him angrily baring his teeth in a snarly grimace. ¡°No it fuckin¡¯ isn¡¯t! Back away Rimeros.¡± ¡°Hardir,¡± the Zilan official yielded and bowed his head, a little pale in the face. Phina had left Glen¡¯s personal space, now looking truly troubled. ¡°You suggest¡­¡± she glanced at the gloomy face of Rimeros and then at Glen. ¡°What if¡­ strange offspring come from the affair?¡± Eh. Glen thought looking at her unblemished hairless skin. Maybe hairier but not strange. And you¡¯ll find no sturdier partner in the whole of Goras and beyond. The fact she wasn¡¯t totally against the idea vindicating Glen¡¯s longtime-brewing hypothesis that deep down the Zilan were just taller, prettier Gish with blue hair that lived much longer or almost forever. With more brains sure, a touch of flesh-eating, wyverns. Fine¡­ and a bit of magic. Alright, a lot more stuff. None of the above mattered here though. ¡°Then they¡¯ll come and it¡¯ll be alright for no Halfling will ever be shunned here and Berthas knows that firsthand. His mother begged me not that far ago to elevate him and I did. I won¡¯t treat you any different. None of that nonsense shall exist under my reign!¡± Gods damnit! He cursed all fired up afore pausing still breathing heavy. A rosy-cheeked Phinariel bowed her head. ¡°May I leave the Monarch¡¯s presence?¡± The girl is absorbing languages, manners and knowledge like a sponge. A kindred spirit almost, since this Monarch has been known to be close to a polymath himself. Not known perhaps but Glen was making an effort to softly shove the idea down people¡¯s throats using his lackeys. ¡°Of course,¡± Glen replied a little sad to see her go and watched her hurrying to the balcony where a fuming Fikumin stood and stared at the busy Taras¡¯ center. ¡°Great Hardir,¡± Rimeros said coming to stand next to the distracted with the lithe scribe Glen. ¡°Since you are not against crossbreeding as we all firmly believed -with some even suggesting severe bigotry but not myself¡ª¡± ¡°Buah ha-ha,¡± Glen guffawed cutting him off but then sobered up seeing the look on Rimeros¡¯ face. ¡°Are you plaguin¡¯ serious? Where are you going with this?¡± ¡°Apologies Hardir. But if I can ask, why not keep the willing scribe for yourself? I¡¯m not suggesting she¡¯s the best candidate but being free of a partner at this moment, it would have been improbable for her to refuse the Monarch.¡± Eh. Fikumin likes her a lot. I have very few friends. You wouldn¡¯t understand. ¡°What I said to her doesn¡¯t apply to my person Rimeros.¡± Glen glanced his way. ¡°It was advice given in private and not a decree.¡± ¡°All Hardir¡¯s words are decrees,¡± Rimeros droned the old mantra. ¡°His wishes and tendencies laws.¡± ¡°Not in private. Not in this topic. And you¡¯re reading the prophecy completely wrong.¡± ¡°So¡­ the Monarch will look for a different Zilan prospect?¡± Rimeros asked and he had the appearance of a man that had a list of candidates ready. Glen eyed him for a long moment blankly and then replied in an even tone that left little wiggle room to scheme for the palace official. ¡°Absolutely not. I don¡¯t trust yer arses like that.¡± Glen cleared his throat and then added casually. ¡°I¡¯ll go find Laedan and my wyvern now.¡± Out of the corner of his eye Glen saw Phina reaching Fikumin and standing to his right side in silence. The strange couple doused by the winter sun¡¯s rays in an atypical but at the same time somewhat comforting ¨Ceven regal- manner. ¡°Yes Hardir.¡± Rimeros bowed his head. Yeah, Glen thought. ¡°So. Just out of curiosity. Can I have the first name from your list?¡± Glen asked a moment later while they walked towards the exit where Sir Alan Kirk and Hagen were waiting. Little wiggle room did not an absolute denial make. ¡°The list my Lord Garth?¡± Rimeros asked a little confused. ¡°Don¡¯t play the fool,¡± Glen grunted austerely. ¡°Spill the fucking beans!¡± ¡°You grace¡­ given you have an heir I was¡­ well, how about Lady Aelinole?¡± Rimeros croaked not expecting Glen to pressure him for an answer. ¡°How about no? What the actual fuck?¡± Glen retorted angrily. ¡°She may even be older than Soletha!¡± ¡°Which many consider a good thing?¡± Rimeros chanced unsure. ¡°She¡¯s also of considerably better lineage?¡± ¡°I used to like much older women when I was young but not anymore and not by that much,¡± Glen lied since the reason he wanted nothing to do with Aelinole was that Lord Suraer¡¯s talented daughter had a lot more crazy in her than the Zilan average and a long history of failed relationships. Also had Lord Suraer for a father. There is only so much righteousness a man can handle near him. ¡°But hey, another oldish decent lady pops into your brain that doesn¡¯t look like an angry bird go ahead and inform me. I can keep an open mind. Just leave the worst of the crazies out.¡± You don¡¯t mix yourself with the crazier of the bunch if you want to taste the waters and expand yer horizons. Glen could see why Fikumin had perhaps a case of hypocrisy against the Monarch. Against him. Eh. But it is a fucking weak case, Glen decided.
Luthos who had half-dozed off for this part, dirty hairy legs resting on a small table, almost drown himself in his own spit chuckling and ended up crashing on the ground like a boulder.
A sober Glen reached the flat top of the citadel weighed down by the heavy bag with supplies he carried. Standing at the edge of that ¡®roof¡¯ one could clearly the three distinct levels underneath and the philosophy the whole structure had been constructed under. The square pyramid base, the fortified citadel-like middle and the narrower flat top. A Ziggurat from before the First Era, a proud Voron had told him back then and in the present the resting Uvrycres turned his scaled, wedge-shaped angular and horned head towards the approaching Monarch of Wetull. Two dragon eyes opening, many diaphanous eyelids retracting and their rubicund color glowing from the inside like a lit fire pit. The Onyx Wyvern¡¯s large body moving, sharp talons scratching at the granite tiles and the six meter long scorpion-like tail stinger rising like a desert cobra ominously. What do you bring for me there? ¡°Not just for you. Biscuits and water. We my old friend, are going on a mission,¡± Glen replied raspingly and secured the bag on Laedan¡¯s Seat. Grabbed the rounded steel horn as the wyvern lowered its neck for him and climbed on the intricately carved saddle. Hardir O¡¯ Fardor¡¯s armour clanking and blades clinging. His face hidden behind the now sober mask, its polished dark metal reflecting Glen¡¯s inner thoughts through Angrein O¡¯ Mecatan¡¯s magic.
Segun Abadaim, mostly known as Lord Chubin Amin which was his Khanate name tossed a handful of rock salt turned to powder into the small fire and it flashed a bright yellow for a moment as if the flames had increased. But they hadn¡¯t. It was all an illusion. Beautiful but meaningless. ¡®There is no magic here,¡¯ the dead Cofol from Tull Cautara-Magor explained to a thoughtful Glen that was sitting next to him on the desert sands. ¡®Or substance. The salt remains untouched, unchanged and unformed. A myriad tiny crushed pieces still scattered and like selfish former actions blown away by the wind.¡¯ ¡®A vessel needs to carry a soul to truly function or it shall stand empty in the end like an old leather sack. Fill the void existing in your soul and leave it not empty. Not with hatred. Not with trinkets or just pleasure. Not with words. Words can be as beautiful as flowers or even as important but some flowers are poisonous Segun Atrusim says. More times than not, crucial actions dictate one¡¯s character or the simplest of gestures along with the willingness to change his entrenched position. Be like the water. Malleable but with every part of you always remaining linked. Dictate how you move and how you live. For even death can be a choice.¡¯
Are you certain, oh unwise ruler? Uvrycres jested and opened his massive black and red leathery wings. Because last time you said we needed to be more careful? Hah-hah. Hah-hah-ha! There¡¯s yer father bumbling to the surface, Glen thought with a grimace at the memory of the insane and un-killable zombie wyvern. What was that thread? Where does it lead? The wyvern asked suspiciously. ¡°Nowhere.¡± As in¡­ no answer? Are you certain? ¡°Yeah.¡± Glen replied and fixed his gloves afore reaching for the reins, there to protect him and not steer the wyvern. ¡°Anyways, we fix this mess first, see if we can smooth over the other stuff later.¡± Fuck them all! The wyvern trumpeted with enthusiasm and let out an ear-splitting roar. ¡°Eh. Not exactly my meaning buddy.¡± Glen grimaced and then puffed out. ¡°But we may need to do a bit of that too.¡±
492. Fikumins 3rd Gem
Known Dwarf settlements, underground cities And their rulers +Prominent dwarf members Northern Dwarfs -In order of size- Rodos Gondobar (Far North) Thoreas Warview (Ruler) Dubrot Snowguard (Murdered in Eth Bennoth) Glorfalc (Near Nor Maze Heights) Bodmulir Blunthorn (Ruler) Sharruk Redshoulder Theron Gravelbrow Fikumin Flintfoot Fenford Burg (Greater Kas sphere of influence) Kas Gold, Bronze and Silver mines (Large community living in both places) Thersin Bonearm Dorad Onyxminer Southern Dwarfs -In order of size- Eth Dehur (Gidina Peak- Four Sisters Mounts in Lesia) Nekud Dimhood (Ruler) Eth Bennoth (near Goat Plains) Yakil Platefeet (Ruler) Western Dwarfs (Eplas) Brightos (west side of Northwall Heights across Hellfort) Lostrir Koboldmane (Ruler) Ostruki Graycloak (Former Ruler. Died suddenly.) Lorfouna Koboldtoe (KIA by Aken near Refuge Moon) Norec Trollfall (KIA by mercenaries in Eikenport)
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Fikumin Flintfoot Lord Governor of all Goras Acting Mayor of Taras Monarch¡¯s Shield First Seat in the King¡¯s Permanent Council Fikumin¡¯s Third Gem
Mark my words youngling, Bodmulir had cautioned.
Fikumin Flintfoot, the dwarf female Lorfouna Koboldtoe had said raspingly many years back extending him a clear invitation, near the rocky passage leading to Refuge Moon where she was to meet her ghastly demise. Fikumin closed his eyes to keep the memory out. Not of the long dead female Folk herself but of the knowledge of what was to follow. Times like these he wondered if taking up that quest for Ostruki was the right idea. But you couldn¡¯t pick and choose what to keep away. So you scrapped everything. Or pretended that you did and kept on going. ¡®We haven¡¯t had a dwarf from that part of Jelin visit us in a hundred and thirty years,¡¯ Ostruki Graycloak had told them reminiscing, the dwarf leader and almost everyone that had gone with Fikumin on that quest also long gone now. Norec, Marcus and Stiles. ''Not since Dubrot Snowguard visited us with that fool Ebenezer.'' Need to hear the tale first, Fikumin decided deep in his thoughts. Follow the past¡¯s legends to their origins next and then seek to make a legend of yer own.
¡®Mark my words now youngling. Stay in your tunnels. Keep doing what you¡¯re doing and fill your bags with gems. Praised be Luthos the soft-hearted for he always looks to balance the scales. But don¡¯t seek treasure above ground or where the Spirits of the Forest once roamed. Everything is dead now, and even if something remains, a northern dwarf will never reach the lands of Eodrass alive. It would be riotous if he did though ugh?¡¯
That was Lord Bodmulir Blunthorn, another old head guessing wrong. Sort of. For Fikumin did reach Wetull and found worthy enough stuff above the earth. Even found gems in a sense. ¡°Our Lord Shield has a moment?¡± A cultured lenient voice said and Fikumin turned his head back towards the pleasant sound. The tall Zilan scribe stood demurely a meter away, large eyes under a crown of light blue. The weak sun made Phinariel¡¯s face glow and her soft long ears appeared almost diaphanous at their rosy pointy tops. Ah. ¡°I might have to follow the army. Lead Lon-Iv¡¯s guards as a small reserve. You¡¯ll stay behind,¡± he started, tying both hands behind his back but had to pause when he noticed her expression. ¡°What is the matter lass? Something happened?¡± Then he remembered. Of course. Ugh. Fikumin glanced at the ever-sidetracked Glenavon preaching grandiose-sounding bullshit whilst walking away with Rimeros and then turned to listen to Phinariel¡¯s response. The blossoming into a beautiful flower scribe going another way. ¡°Why would the humans of Lesia attack us?¡± The realm is a much crueler place than the jungle sweet lass. But he decided to give her a much more honest explanation since Phinariel always sought to gather more knowledge about the world. Her progress in tongues and histories remarkable. ¡°They don¡¯t really. Not how you describe it. They just follow orders and their masters¡¯ will, just as all other creatures.¡± Fikumin replied. ¡°People rarely know the reasons behind a conflict. The full picture is usually hidden to the many.¡± Phinariel sighed. She had worn a newly sewn outfit today, spending all her unused coin in Vycaris and Oelinael¡¯s shop. Phinariel was extremely thrifty with her money usually, despite Fikumin paying her a wage that almost equaled Captain Horton¡¯s. The memory of the Taras officer, his fate still undecided weighing on the Lord Shield¡¯s soul. ¡°I¡¯ll reach out to Berthas,¡± Fikumin rustled with a grimace to ease her worry. ¡°Berthas is in the right,¡± Phinariel stopped him in a cautious but firm manner. ¡°Even if the Monarch sees it differently. He¡¯s human and we are Zilan.¡± ¡°They were Zilan and Folk before the empire and after it. Some living with one set of rules and others with a different or no rules at all like you did,¡± Fikumin told her. ¡°Berthas strives hard to fit into one variation of those guidelines now. But they are still different even if he doesn¡¯t see it. Doing Garth¡¯s bidding on one hand, risking his life and then trying to please his family on the other. He was an outcast for quite a while and it is doubtful the previous monarchs would have allowed him to remain in this court. I don¡¯t fault him and you shouldn¡¯t. The allure of the empire is strong still and goes beyond Wetull¡¯s borders. It touches people but also Folk equally. It is the power and the mystique. The Wyverns and magic. The elusive sense of perfection. But most of all those old souls that were living in it still around who keep fueling the younger generation¡¯s imagination with their tales. Yours is a fascinating species lass but you are not infallible or shielded from exaggeration.¡±The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°My Lord you favor the empire more than Berthas,¡± Phinariel noted with a blush. ¡°And is it wrong to worry about not having an offspring?¡± ¡°I do,¡± Fikumin admitted. ¡°And it isn¡¯t. Folk value their younglings as well, but the Zilan attach more to it per their character. Making it more complicated than it needs to be. It is self-indulgent but also important I guess for their psyche.¡± Phinariel took a step forward and stood towering over Fikumin. Then she lowered herself to her knees in front of him. ¡°How are the Folk doing it?¡± She asked and it reminded Fikumin of her early curious days.
What is writing? The young Phinariel had asked him back then. Why is it important? It keeps your voice alive, Fikumin had told her. Your thoughts and feelings, long after you are gone from this realm. Isn¡¯t that what tutors do? She had queried. Maeriel keeps the knowledge and passes it down the line. Zilan can do that easily, until they couldn¡¯t in the past. Folk also but to a lesser extent. Fikumin had cautioned her. But knowledge stored, tales written down and secured, shall never be forgotten. People will have a chance to learn about them and keep that knowledge alive. Like a memory spell. She noted perceptively in her poetic way. Left to linger. Yeah, Fikumin thought looking into her large gleaming eyes. Like a spell.
¡°Dwarfs are fiercely protective of their younglings for they are rare,¡± he finally replied hoarsely. ¡°But we value the bonds forged in time with our significant others equally and won¡¯t break them even if a child never comes of it. You endure. It¡¯s the journey Phinariel, what you discover along the way and not the destination. Dwarfs dig the earth and burrow into rock in search for valuables. We can be equally persistent above ground and do the same with the people in our lives even if it doesn¡¯t seem so. You just have to respect others truly and trust they¡¯ll return that respect onto you. It doesn¡¯t always happen nor is it a perfect system.¡± Seeing her frown unsure Fikumin cleared his throat and added to clarify some of the differences. ¡°You just speak your partner¡¯s name in truth when the time comes. If they respond in kind then you have their permission to engage with them in a more personal manner. Forge a common bond if you can through mutual respect. Turn two souls into one, like metals uniting in a forge. It¡¯s not very romantic to Zilan or human ears. Nothing glamorous to it. Unless you¡¯re a Gish I guess and are used to seek no permission at all, then even that is too much. But you don¡¯t break that new bond, children or not. Wealth or rot. The tunnel you dig with your pickaxe is yours to burrow into,¡± he finished a little apprehensive since dwarf society norms seemed too weird to other races usually. ¡°Hmm. So what has Lord Shield discovered in his journeys?¡± She asked looking at him intently, probably too shocked and looking to change the subject. Horrors living next to wondrous things but no rivers running with gold yet. Treasures amidst all the foulness. ¡°A gem or two do exist above the ground if you search for them or Luthos offers guiding hand,¡± Fikumin replied pursing his mouth and turning to look away at the busy Taras under his balcony. ¡°More perhaps.¡± A third one for sure. Praised be the God of Luck. ¡°What were those jewels?¡± ¡°A Wetull Princess you¡¯ll hopefully soon meet,¡± Fikumin said and raised his hand to brush nervously at the long beard with his fingers. ¡°And a lass of the Folk you never will,¡± the Priest of Luthos among other things added raspingly with his voice breaking and felt Phinariel¡¯s hand touching his stopping it. The still knelt ¨Cso they would be on equal standing and not for decorum- pretty scribe¡¯s head had come really close now. Well into his personal space. The gaze of those large azure and olive green eyes penetrating his soul. ¡°Our Lord, Fikumin Flintfoot,¡± Phinariel gushed slowly shedding all youthful pretense, pausing on each syllable and for a moment Fikumin couldn¡¯t understand what she was doing or why the young Zilan had opted to come outside when Fikumin had dismissed her for the day earlier. And then he could. ¡°Phinariel,¡± Fikumin grumbled feeling her sweet breath touching his face. Tiny curious and invisible tendrils working their way under his clothes. ¡°I¡¯m well over sixty years old and fully committed for my time here to end at some point in the future. I won¡¯t stay in Wetull forever. I made a promise to help my people if I¡¯m needed.¡± He added candidly. ¡°A Folk doesn¡¯t break his vows. When we speak the Gods listen.¡± Welp, save for Glenavon killing us all first that is. ¡°A bond of two souls forged becomes one thing. Unbreakable. Wealth or rot,¡± Phinariel whispered simply, showing him she was listening all along. ¡°So the two parts can share the same goals and be equally committed to each other¡¯s future.¡± The comely scribe paused with a small pout as if unsure whether she had gotten everything right or not before adding just in case. ¡°Or if a cute Halfling pops out.¡± Fikumin blinked a little perturbed at the mental leap but then he realized all attuned Zilan could discern rather quickly what a future union will bring forth because they were naturally gifted like that. Not everything was vanity, stubbornness and parochial reasoning. Some of that occasionally plagued the dwarves as well. None of it mattered for the moved but always centered Fikumin at that point in time. And Allgods willing, it wouldn¡¯t matter at all many years into their future. ¡°Of course,¡± he grunted ardently and Phinariel¡¯s warm lips had sealed his just as the last word came out. -
Many years into the future ¡°They cut Bodmulir Blunthorn down in Kas,¡± Yakil Platefeet the ruler of Eth Bennoth declared loudly and Nekud Dimhood who ruled over the other large south city Eth Dehur slammed his fist on the table in agreement. But not in a pensive manner. ¡°He rolled into a half-frozen hole missing his face and sunk to the plaguing bottom!¡± He bellowed in general uproar by the dwarves present. The delegation from Glorfalc present as well. Sharruk Redshoulder, Fikumin¡¯s and Theron¡¯s old friend leading them. ¡°ALIKE A PLINTH!¡± Someone yelled with a south dwarf female adding equally excited. ¡°Never to get out again!¡± ¡°Aye,¡± Yakil Platefeet agreed shaking his head. ¡°He stood for the deal with the Northern lords, now shaken after the Jarl¡¯s demise but not broken for the honest folk of the North. The humans see it differently. Let us see who comes on top they say. Stay the trade until we know fer sure. Curse their logic and slyness! Now Bodmulir is dead by Macrinus¡¯ thugs to scare our brethren into submission!¡± ¡°Thersin Bonearm with Dorad Onyxminer after sucking on Regia¡¯s fat tit for so long, want now to capitalize on Glorfalc¡¯s citizens¡¯ anger to cease control of the city¡¯s warriors and then seek new agreement with the Governor forcing him to the negotiating table! Talking out of both sides of their mouths!¡± Sharruk Redshoulder yelled under thick brown eyebrows stepping forward. ¡°They have Thoreas Warview of Rodos Gondobar there gathering support!¡± ¡°Thersin believes the Governor will fear a joint assault by the two cities? How did he respond to the ultimatum then?¡± Nekud Dimhood queried. ¡°He had the Fifth storm Fenford Burg and installed a puppet mayor there.¡± Sharruk replied. ¡°Now Thoreas Warview wants to lead a force against him up the Mountain Pass and Thersin Bonearm plans to do the same out of the Iron Valley. That¡¯s their plan. He has support from the Nords of Blonden Port. There was a lot of army there that headed for Rifjordal.¡± ¡°The Nords won¡¯t fight the Governor, it¡¯s a ruse. Not right now. The heads of the Steele clan are scheming something else.¡± Theron intervened and the southern dwarves murmured loudly, talking amongst themselves. ¡°Why sent Thoreas away from Rodos Gondobar? Thersin should have gone to Glorfalc himself and gather support. Now both are leading foreign troops.¡± Yakil Platefeet queried. ¡°You talk of human deception but are ye sure about those working hand in hand with the Governor for so many years? Maybe an agreement is already signed? Hmm?¡± ¡°Glorfalc won¡¯t march with Thoreas unified anyway. Half the city is against such an action until a dwarf of great standing takes Bodmulir Blunthorn¡¯s seat!¡± Sharruk Redshoulder snapped angrily. ¡°Thoreas wouldn¡¯t agree to a compromise. He¡¯s all fired up but for Thersin Bonearm and Dorad Onyxminer I can¡¯t vouch for. They lived more years with the humans than with our own.¡± ¡°The south dwarves understand yer predicament,¡± Yakil Platefeet rustled. ¡°But won¡¯t march under a muddied banner or following a two-faced Folk¡¯s words.¡± ¡°What dwarf of standing be that? You are not thinking of nominating yerself Sharruk Redshoulder?¡± The fellow prominent dwarf ruler asked. Nekud Dimhood smirked and then frowned when Sharruk pursed his mouth ready to reply. Fikumin glanced at the scowling Theron unsure. This journey had been eventful and not in a good way. ¡°The elders of Glorfalc and many of its citizens named one of their own most prominent compatriots, the respected former Lord Governor of all Goras, Fikumin Flintfoot as his successor. Formerly the Monarch¡¯s Shield and member of Wetull¡¯s Permanent Council. It was Blunthorn¡¯s final wish and written in his will which I¡¯ve brought with me!¡± ¡°How auspicious he¡¯s present eh?¡± Jakil commented with a scowl of distrust at the sudden development. It was not planned. This is Luthos kicking the milk bucket hard to see what will spill out. It would be riotous if he did though ugh? Bodmulir had said with a toothy smirk, secretly hoping Fikumin would make it back one day. You hairy old dog. Had one more trick to play after you snuffed it. Well, good that you breathed yer last at the right fucking time. Hopefully. The underground hall had turned silent after Jakil¡¯s words until heavy footsteps were heard. A sturdy red-haired Eplas dwarf with a familiar face walked near the stunned Fikumin carrying an intricately carved Warhammer. The Imperial steel on the blade gleaming in the light of the torches and its shaft extra-long for a dwarf to carry. The fabled Snowguard was a heavy weapon to wield. But then again Dubrot was rumored to be the biggest dwarf that ever lived. Myth and the present mixing up into a blur afore Fikumin¡¯s eyes. ¡°Brightos recognizes Glorfalc¡¯s new ruler.¡± Lostrir Koboldmane said officially. ¡°And now returns Snowguard to the hands of a worthy Northern Dwarf again.¡± Fikumin put his hand on the ancient weapon and took it from Lorfouna¡¯s distant kin with a questioning glare for their now distant deception since Fikumin had inquired for it the only time he¡¯d visited the large underground Eplas city many years in the past. But here it was now. The adventure the young priest had started early in his youth coming full circle thanks to the naughty God that always found a way to move things forward and had always favored his loyal priest fiercely throughout most of Fikumin¡¯s life. With some notable and painful exceptions. ¡°You¡¯ll also bring the Wyvern Queen to our assistance Lord Fikumin?¡± Yakil asked mockingly crossing both arms over his barrel chest. ¡°Do we bend the knee now or we can talk about it?¡± ¡°This a dwarf matter concerning all as it might open the door for reprisals for all of us,¡± Fikumin retorted loudly easily navigating away from the query and walked to the center of the hall so he could see everyone. And everyone could see him. After years of holding public offices and positions of power it was all second nature to the skilled former Shield. The right words coming easily after living near Glenavon for so long. ¡°A dwarf matter. To be dealt by dwarfs. Else people will always see us as inferior and weak or unserious like the Gish. All dwarfs, for a single dwarf settlement won¡¯t bother one of Regia¡¯s Quadrumvirs at all. For this to succeed all cities in the north must unite under it. For this to succeed all cities in the south must do the same. Under one rule and a unified plan of action. I accept the heavy mantle of responsibility without hesitation or concern for my own person as I¡¯ve always done in all my life. Heed these words though fellow Folk. We all have things to lose and little to gain from this conflict. It won¡¯t stop me and it shan¡¯t stop you from doing the noble thing. This is a call for all Folk working the earth and the stone. As such, all Folk shall answer it today!¡± His stirring words creating a great commotion inside the underground hall with some of those present looking from one to another trying to gauge their thoughts but most eyes slowly settling on the tall couple present amongst them. Both silently standing well over the tallest dwarf in the room for they were a different race. Completely different races. Even so they both were part of the Folk and Fikumin¡¯s family. The proudly smiling exotic female¡¯s luscious blue hair cascading down her graceful shoulders, a long arm resting on her swollen belly, the other over the shoulders of the thin square-faced, fiercely bearded young Halfling that had thankfully most of her looks but also auspiciously his father¡¯s hair. Yakil¡¯s earlier perceptive query ¨Cleft unanswered- now holding a deeper meaning for those present.
493. The Wine Wars | Coup de main (2/2)
Arguen Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Lord of Morn Taras Monarch of Wetull King beyond the Pale Mountains Aniculo Rokae Duath Erin I Menel The Wine Wars | Coup de main* Part II -Unfortunately-
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8th of Enna (Primus) 3401 IC Old Imperial port of Mussel
¡°Allgods damnit!¡± Erminio Sardone cursed jumping out of his quarters on one foot, cursing again twice as mad for landing into a pool of muddy water whilst trying to get his other boot on. ¡°What is this ungodly ruckus?¡± He barked at his adjutant Mark Keitel who rushed near him. The bells ringing on the ships moored in the port and the north side gates watch responding with rousing trumpets to get the resting company up from their cots. Several local civilians also getting out of their houses ¨Cthose the Owls hadn¡¯t commandeered to use as their own quarters- and they weren¡¯t that many to begin with. ¡°Captain Laguna¡¯s spotters at the crow¡¯s nest got spooked and raised the alarm sir for some thing or other,¡± Keitel informed him and gave Sardone a hand to help him get his boot on. Muddy foot squelching in but there was nothing to be done about it, Sardone thought sourly. ¡°Got everyone up. Your son went to speak with Captain Ked.¡± ¡°What was it? This or the other?¡± Sardone grunted squinting his eyes to see better up and down the road leading to the docks. The weather cloudy but it had stopped raining at least sometime during the night. That¡¯s enough water for today, he thought. The humidity had started bothering him, especially in the joints. Knees and elbows. ¡°Eh¡­ I don¡¯t know. Didn¡¯t see anything myself,¡± Keitel replied and followed after Sardone as the latter started heading towards the docks. The nearest ship, a brig named the Sundew, clearly visible about a hundred meters away. ¡°Everyone is jumpy as fuck with them accursed Ticu singing all night. Two men went to take a leak by themselves and never came back. That¡¯s seven missing in three days. I told everyone wanting to go out, he needs to find a partner to hold his god darn dick sir!¡± ¡°Is that Scaevola¡¯s man?¡± Sardone cut him off and pointed at the commotion near the brig. ¡°The fuck is going on?¡± The engineer got an earful from the Captain of the Sundew, who kept pointing at the larger Barque, the Decibel was anchored further inside the port as all other bigger ships with the transports moored at the docks. The Barque had unfurled her sails as if she was about to depart. At least that was what Sardone got out as he hurried to reach them. Not ideal to sprint out of your bed first thing and keep running about without knowing why, he thought breathing heavy and rubbing at his swollen irritated eyes. The salty wind that blew from the port not helping at all. Mark Keitel went ahead to talk with the animated engineer when Erminio paused to catch his breath. The Commandant of the Owls kept his attention on their conversation giving periodic glances to their surroundings as the eerie clamor hadn¡¯t settled down at all. ¡°Keep the mounted Scorpios?¡± Keitel queried. ¡°Didn¡¯t D¡¯Orsi order to strip down the ships and send everything after the main army?¡± ¡°Aye, he did but Captain Fark got notified by Captain Laguna and ordered the fleet to move out of port.¡± ¡°Fark cancelled the order?¡± ¡°Yes lieutenant he did. Simon Mclean intervened,¡± the engineer replied a little miffed at getting grilled for something that wasn¡¯t his fault. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°The boys saw a thing of sorts moving above the clouds. Got a bit nervy obviously. Won¡¯t read much into it, given all the craziness around this fucking place. Aye. Disturbing shit,¡± the engineer replied with a shrug and looked at Sardone. ¡°You might need to give the boys a bonus sir. Coin more often raises one¡¯s spirits than not.¡± ¡°Ugh? Forget about yer pay now! What thing? You left it vague?¡± Keitel cut him off. ¡°You wanted a drawing sir?¡± ¡°You plaguing smartarse. Just run up that ramp and tell Laguna to fall in line darn it!¡± Keitel barked turning red in the face. Sardone raised his eyes on the clouded sky again and examined its vastness with a grimace of worry. ¡°Lieutenant,¡± Sardone grunted narrowing his hurting eyes as they were caught by sunrays finding a gap in the white canopy. The strong breeze moving the clouds and creating more openings as time ticked away slowly. An ominous feeling creeping up the Commandant¡¯s spine. He forgot about his discomforted joints. ¡°Sir?¡± Keitel queried turning around just as something casted a large moving shadow on the thinning clouds passing between the sun and the sky¡¯s ceiling. Dan Ding. Dan Ding. Ding-Ding-Ding. The bells went. The strong light flickering and a black stain blocking part of the glowing disk that had emerged over their heads. Ever growing. A smaller fiercely glowing ball descending upon the port. Like a falling star, what the academics called¡­ a meteorite, whatever the all-fucks that meant. A burning ball. Also ever-growing. Like the stain that now had doubled its size and had grown a pair of large wings on its sides. Its shape incomprehensible for common folk or those of Lesia¡¯s citizens that haven¡¯t spent a minute inside a library. Sardone had the funds to have a small library inside his villa, then had studied two years in Armium¡¯s academy that had a bigger one and there were at least three paintings on its walls depicting a wyvern in the sky that he¡¯d gazed upon with fondness in his youth. That thing was a wyvern. Nothing pleasant about it. ¡°FIND COVER!¡± Sardone bellowed tipping his head back to release a mighty roar, yell half-covered by the crackling sound of the screaming fireball zipping past their heads and exploding next to the Sundew. The boiling waters rising twenty meters high and ten wide and creating a huge wave that pushed the creaking brig away from the docks while bunching up closer two of the unloading transports. WHOOSH. KA-BOOM. Erminio twirled around pushed by the shockwave, dropped on a knee tearing his pants and tumbled uncontrollably before landing on the ground soaked in brines. WHOOSH. WHOOSH. The sound of more incoming fireballs following, as the stunned Commandant desperately tried to recover his balance amidst the sudden and merciless shelling. Sardone¡¯s ogling eyes following the fireballs erratic trajectory impotently after they left the diving wyvern. Mostly aimed at the ships but at least one flying past them and striking one of the docks warehouses. The ensuing massive colorful explosion, liquefied several nearby civilians and soldiers watching the scary spectacle frozen like statues. It also sent a ton of burning debris, bricks, pieces of cement, stone and cracked beams to bombard the headquarters ¨Cwhere Sardone had slept- along another nearby warehouse. The latter lost a wall that collapsed and instantly caught fire. In less than five minutes since Erminio Sardone had so violently woken up everything had changed and the Owls Company commandant, his men and the Barons Fleet had found themselves transported into one of Oras¡¯ Hells.
- These are not our guys? Uvrycres asked pretending to care. ¡°Just fly lower so I can have a good look at them! Fucking dropped the blasted spyglass wit yer senseless maneuvering!¡± Glen growled looking at the fast moving terrain under them. ¡°AND GO SLOWER!¡± I need to burn magic nectar to do that. Mystic juice. Energy? Else we¡¯ll drop like a boulder in the middle of the road. Hah-ha! We also use speed and air resistance to fly on the cheap you dumbbell! ¡°Ah?¡± Glen grunted in total confusion. ¡°Did you just make that up? Fuck off!¡± He slipped a little on the saddle but grabbed a strategically-placed lever to stabilize himself. ¡°He-he! There ye go! Blasted progress right fucking there! Now we¡¯re talking!¡± Progress? It¡¯s an ancient saddle Glen. I believe it can still be shed with a bit of try¡ª ¡°DON¡¯T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT! You tried it twice already and nobody finds it funny but you!¡± Glen screamed irate. ¡°Head for Mussel! We¡¯ll start there. Get a firm grasp of what we¡¯re dealing with!¡± You don¡¯t have to, Uvrycres said looking down and then back using his long neck. He watched the columns of mercenaries moving towards Taras with a nasty smirk. Glen punched a meaty bug into a pulp in the meantime and slapped a squealing bird dead in a devastating combo. The bird covered in blue-yellow plumage bouncing off of the wyvern¡¯s scaled nape and then over the ducking Glen¡¯s head. ¡°Fucking hells! I got plaguing bug juices and bird brains all over my face!¡± Glen roared afore stopping abruptly to stare at the wyvern¡¯s smirking snout. Uvrycres loved flying whilst looking at Glen. You do that shit on the road you¡¯ll crack yer head open and people might die. People shall die either way. Theirs is a stupid plan. ¡°Explain.¡± He ordered the wyvern. Just keep them here long enough, Uvrycres replied. They¡¯ll grow weaker as you get stronger with time. I safely predict that eventually we¡¯ll kill them all and eat them. ¡°We¡¯re not eating people for fuck¡¯s sake!¡± A disgusted Glen blasted him irate. Fine, have your weakling diet. More for me I reckon! The wyvern roared and rotated once fully, the up turning down and the down becoming the yelping Glen¡¯s ceiling. Son of a doe-eyed cow! Argh! Glen blinked shook, his ears popping in quick succession. A gloved hand wiping the mess off of his stained mask, the other straining to keep him attached to the wyvern. ¡°Just tell me yer bloody thought,¡± he finally rustled through gritted teeth. Uvrycres chuckled and then shot up towards the clouded sky afore he did.
There was no way Glen could tell which ship was theirs or neutral from that distance. Mussel appearing like a scaled fake model of itself with tiny buildings, the ruined portion visible to the east and the clearly defined port filled with vessels. ¡°We might hit one of ours! Or a neutral!¡± He bellowed, cheeks ballooning and pressed against the mask that made it difficult for him to breathe. Glen could feel tear rivulets trickling backwards from his ogling eyes. Our friends are gone Glen. Uvrycres noted with fake sadness. Butchered, flesh stripped from their bones, probably eaten already. It¡¯s too late but we can get our revenge! ¡°What? The hells are you blubbing about ye cretin? Just aim for the warships!¡± Hey, don¡¯t be a freeloader smarty mouth! Point them the fuck out! STOP BEING SO FUCKING CHILDISH! Uvrycres snapped and dived with his neck extended, a determined scowl on his beastly face. The wind blasting Glen so hard he felt himself slowly ungluing from the saddle despite using his legs and stirrups to keep steady. He needed one arm to point and Glen wasn¡¯t certain he could spare it. ¡°The warships! Hit the warships!¡± Hit? How about kicking them? WHAT AM I? A BLASTED HORSE? I¡¯m about to launch a motherfucking fireball! Uvrycres growled turning to glare at his rider and then used his long wings to abruptly break momentum for a brief second to aim. Luthos pissed his pants whilst doing the tumble, sprayed urine all over his face and mouth! ¡°THERE!¡± Glen yelled hoarsely, order half-lost as he was hurled forward on the scaly neck. He felt the hairs on his arms tingling, the air drying up all around them and a burning sensation on both his legs. What in the slovenly fuck? Glen cursed as he was tossed backwards again since Uvrycres had continued his mad dive behind the glowing fireball. The smoke and heatwave blinding the thrashing this way and that Monarch. Bumpiest ride ever! He groaned inwardly. ¡°What¡­ the all-hells¡­ are ye plaguin¡¯ doin¡¯?¡± A strangled Glen managed to get out, almost dislocating his shoulder and then noticed his pants were smoking. I aimed for the warship! Uvrycres roared enthusiastically and then glanced back at the flaying Glen. Better gather yer legs when I hurl them balls. Eh? ¡°How am I supposed to stay on the¡­?¡± Glen wondered angrily watching said fireball striking the water with a huge explosion of steam and frothing brines. ¡°Did ye just miss? Are you plaguing serious?¡± Fucking ruffian moved. We were too far! Uvrycres cursed irate and halted mid-air to launch a volley of fireballs out of pure spite. One after the other. Heavy static erupted over the wyvern¡¯s scaly back, run through the yelling maniacally Glen and puffs of ignited air smacked the Monarch in the chest and mask. His pants were on fire. Shite. THOOMP THOOMP Uvrycres had gotten the hang of it and was firing one spell after the other en route. Or whilst diving. The top part of his horned head and upper scales smoking while turning smoldering hot. The buildings and the docks getting bigger and more detailed as they lost altitude fast. Scenes of utter chaos and destruction unfolding inside the port, the docks facilities and everywhere Glen turned to look. Huge smoke clouds rising to meet their mad descent, flames leaping out of buildings and ships. One warship exploding and coming apart when it was hit dead center, another losing a third of its hull and rolling over. HOLD ON TIGHT! The Wyvern warned as he banged hard left to make another pass over the burning chaos. ¡°Wait¡­ what? AARGH!¡± A scared Glen yelped. He was thrusted sideways holding on for dear life, the wyvern angling, angry waters and smoke blasting him in the face just before they encountered the first debris from the continuous explosions ravaging the port. Parts of ships. Pieces of burning sails, ropes and tools. Broken timber and planks. Splinters, nails and body parts. Half a screaming and burning sailor looping over them, still spraying gore from his disemboweled body. Everything under the hapless man¡¯s sternum missing. The shrieking Uvrycres got out of the clouds after its tight turn, a large warship with open sails racing towards them. Glen could see it clearly as they now flew at twenty meters above water and the wyvern had stabilized its flight path. The distance not even a hundred meters away and closing. Scores of sailors rushing and frantically pointing at the smoking wyvern flying low towards them. ¡°BREAK AWAY!¡± A worried Glen yelled spotting two war machines mounted at the bow aimed at them. ¡°Lift up you idiot!¡± He cursed clenching his jaw tightly and felt the wyvern¡¯s neck expanding outwards. The black scales separating and a fierce red glowing appearing at the fissures. ¡°FOR FUCK¡¯S SAKE!¡± Glen roared as Uvrycres unleashed a torrent of fire from his open jaws two meters wide and expanding as it lurched forward. The tang of the Scorpios firing almost lost just before the firestorm rained across the ship¡¯s decks sweeping men, masts and materiel away. SHIT! Uvrycres growled a moment later as they blasted out of the thick smoke leaving the burning ship behind them. The wyvern lost ten meters of elevation and touched the waves underneath them. Water splashed at Glen¡¯s legs and thighs before Uvrycres started rising again but a bit staggered. His flight pattern that of a drunk bird. ¡°Fuck is wrong wit you?¡± A worn out Glen snapped looking back to see if the ship would survive. It was burning like a summer festival¡¯s bonfire so it seemed unlikely. Something teared at my left wing, Uvrycres explained and groaned irate. THERE¡¯S A BLOODY HOLE GLEN! The Monarch sighed. ¡°Bolts can do that to you pal. Can you still fly?¡± Hmm. ¡°Is that a yes? It¡¯s a serious query mate.¡± Why? I¡¯m a little shook right now. ¡°There¡¯s a fucking huge ship leaving the port,¡± Glen explained. He glanced at the flames covering the docks and moored transports behind them. ¡°Can you get it?¡± - Five minutes later The north entrance to the Two Straits ¡°I CAN¡¯T SEE SHITE!¡± A chilled Glen griped. He was soaked to the bone due the heavy humidity of the waterlogged clouds and the thick mist surrounding the isles Ilithar and Lyari. I spotted their sails! Uvrycres informed him. The wyvern was flying erratically with a portion of his leathery left wing torn badly and flapping in the wind. They are heading inside the canal! ¡°Hah!¡± Glen guffawed nervously. ¡°We got them now buddy! A blind man can¡¯t miss that!¡± What blind man? ¡°IT¡¯S A FUCKING EXPRESSION!¡± Glen bellowed now grinning fiercely and the Wyvern dived low following his words. ¡°What are ye doing?¡± Attacking them? Glen ogled his eyes, stooping perilously to the left of the wyvern¡¯s scaly neck to gaze at the large warship. Too large and with a familiar shape of sorts. What in the most slovenly of all fucks? ¡°Are they slowing down?¡± Good for us! Hmm. Where the allhells are ye going? He asked the ship¡¯s captain tensing up again. Glen clenched his jaw so hard in fact, eyes almost popped out of their sockets from the tension in the act and he felt some of the back molars shift about. His ears popping from the increase in speed adding to his turmoil. ¡°Wait¡­!¡± He grunted seeing the details of the packed with crew warship clearer as the wyvern leveled out coming out of the clouds right behind it and now into the narrow straits. You cunning motherfuckers! Ruffians of the deep! ¡°Pull out¡­ got damn it, pull away! IT¡¯S A FUCKING TRAP!¡± Didn¡¯t you say a blind man¡ª?If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°THEY KNOW IT TOO! FUCK!¡± Glen growled and Uvrycres started rising again abruptly, Glen¡¯s ears buzzing again and the sound of the massive Galleass¡¯ bells ringing ominously in the misty straits between the two small isles coming and going. Its design now clear and almost identical with Rybel¡¯s proposal, the Zilan Master of Ships a Naval engineer himself that had brain-washed Glen about their firepower for months. ¡°They have towers bow and aft!¡± The wyvern turned right hard as they were heading straight for the basalt slopes, losing altitude afore gaining it back and several incoming bolts whooshed under them. Uvrycres barely cleared the west vertical slants of the straits, killing a family of four panicked seagulls that tried to get out of their way. ¡°How did they know about the canal?¡± Glen grunted irate as they circled at an ever increasing distance from the entrance. Surprise them on the other side? ¡°They¡¯ll just train everything they have forward. They only have to hit us once even if they lose the fight,¡± Glen hissed in frustration. ¡°We need to find another way. Can you fire from a distance? Wait¡­ why in Luthos¡¯ shit-covered balls did you dive so low?¡± Run out of juice, Uvrycres admitted. Yeah. Need to replenish a bit. ¡°Now you plaguing mention this fucking vital detail?¡± Glen roared irate. ¡°Argh! And so¡­ your answer to that was to jump on them?¡± I don¡¯t hear any bright ideas coming from you! The wyvern blasted him and turned its head around for a warning glare. NO IDEAS AT ALL BUT PLENTY O¡¯ CRITISISM! ¡°Abort this shit. We are going back to Mussel.¡± Glen decided after releasing the deepest of sighs. They¡¯ll escape! ¡°Not heading that way. Fuck them for now,¡± Glen cursed. ¡°Let¡¯s make sure we got the other ships.¡± -
The heavy mist had cleared at Mussel as the morning had progressed but the burning fires from several buildings and wrecked ships inside the port itself had created huge black smoke clouds that made visibility almost impossible from afar. ¡°How does Lesia have our secret design?¡± Glen queried still miffed they had almost fallen into the Galleass¡¯ trap earlier. ¡°Rybel couldn¡¯t have stolen it. So they must have someone spying on us? What the all-hells?¡± It¡¯s probably an ancient design. Rybel didn¡¯t invent the wheel for you. The pirates have an almost identical ship? Ah. Yeah. Well¡­ that¡¯s¡­ ¡°Still I was told it was an Imperial design! Now we need to pour more coin in these blasted things to work on improving¡ª¡± The fucking Barque is still afloat. Uvrycres informed the frustrated Monarch cutting into his tirade. There¡¯s a sneaky brig helping it douse the fires. A scowling Glen eyed the two ships that stood about four hundred meters away from the burning docks and smoking half-sunk transports. The Barque¡¯s upper decks were almost destroyed and still smoldering. Both masts missing. ¡°They can¡¯t save it.¡± He decided with a groan of pain. ¡°Head for the shore.¡± I want them gone Glen. Uvrycres snapped angrily and started diving again abruptly. ¡°FUCK¡¯S SAKE!¡± Glen roared in panic. He almost got hurled backwards and into the void as he¡¯d taken that brief respite to let go of the long reins in order to stretch his arms out and offer relief to his hurting spine. He took the strain right to his thighs that clenched on the saddle. ¡°STOP YE CRETIN!¡± I¡¯m going to sweep ¡®em clean! Uvrycres snarled and trumpeted an ear-splitting shriek as he plunged for the two alarmed warships. No quarters! ¡°WHAT¡­ MANNER¡­. OF BULLSHIT¡­.!¡± A seriously worried Glen yelped, eyes gawking to spot any eager idiot with a big-ole bolt-thrower looking their way. He saw none trained on them but plenty armed marines and sailors had been alerted to their reappearance, especially on the unharmed brig. Ding-Ding-Ding. The bells of the ships went mixing with the fast descending angry wyvern¡¯s war shriek. RRRRRREEEE! And Glen¡¯s¡­ screams. ¡°AAARRGGH! SHIIITE!¡± Uvrycres did open his wings at the last moment to cut the momentum abruptly, just before they landed on the Barque¡¯s quarterdeck. It was a poor attempt and an even worse landing. The wyvern crashed through the last floor of the aftcastle, wood splintering and exploding away whilst pulverizing two sailors manning the ship¡¯s rudder. A yapping Glen only saw some of that as he¡¯d leaped off of the saddle at the last moment, his somersault catapulting him over one of the collapsed masts and its burning crumpled sails. He landed on the smoking deck, stopping in a large barrel that came apart and doused him with dirty water. Heart lodged in his throat and half-blind from the sudden adrenaline surge. All those near-death earlier crash-landings coming handy for this part of the ordeal. It was also auspicious everyone and their mother were looking at the thrashing large wyvern. Armed men yelling and cursing, sailors running away or jumping in the sea panicked and the brig¡¯s captain directing a group of crossbow carrying marines about eight meters away to fire on the now attacking everything within reach Uvrycres. ¡°There! Aim and loose! Go for the beast¡¯s eyes!¡± The naval officer ordered his men while Glen unsheathed Emerson¡¯s blade and Flix¡¯s steel peleg one after the other. The Jackal¡¯s cackle ringing up and down the damaged Barque¡¯s messy deck. God dammit Uvry, Glen thought and a sailor came at him with an axe jumping over a burning piece of broken timber. Glen moved out of the way with a grimace and hacked at the man¡¯s back when he blew past him. A severed arm bounced off of the soaked floorboards as Glen moved to help out the wyvern that had now crawled down from the destroyed quarterdeck on all fours to attack those brave enough to approach it. Actually, it was an arm torn out of its joint. Eh. A fancy-dressed officer rushed him from the sides in the pandemonium but Glen caught his approach and turned at the last minute to block the man¡¯s blade. The Lorian cursed, jerked back to avoid getting cleaved in the face and another marine came to his assistance from Glen¡¯s other side holding a proper cleaver. Son of an arse-fucked bitch! Glen cursed recoiling away whilst flicking the blade to hack away the officer¡¯s nose and left eye. The marine stepped forward determined, a mean-looking dude but Glen kicked his shin with Angrein¡¯s boot and sent it back messing the man¡¯s advance. The Lorian stooped forward from the momentum and Glen lowered his helmed head to nail him right between the eyes. A Troy special. Welp, fancy move but pretty idiotic! You beefed up imbecile! Glen had split the skin on his own forehead close to where he¡¯d stitched it a year back and howled like a crazy person while the Lorian was thrust backwards with a pulverized bloody nose. Glen parried the wounded officer¡¯s returning blade aside irate and slashed him again across the face doing a lot of damage. The officer went down with a groan of pain and the Brig¡¯s officer/captain finally spotted Glen as the latter stepped over his deathly injured compatriot. ¡°IT¡¯S HIM!¡± He bellowed at his men pointing an accusing finger at the scowling and snarling behind the blood-covered mask Glen. While they were standing on the brig¡¯s port side, the two ships were anchored very close together and the distance was less than five meters. ¡°THE DRAGONRIDER! SHOOT HIM FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!¡± What? Glen thought irate as several of the crossbows turned to be aimed his way. He danced one way then the other to find cover and mess with the shooters aim, the Brig¡¯s captain raising a ruckus of epic proportions to direct his men on getting him. Several of the Lorians now involved in the little drama. Little considering there was a huge wyvern wrecking the Barque¡¯s crew no more than ten meters away from the energetically dodging about Glen. Once again the former thief had landed in familiar but not pleasant territory. ¡°RELOAD!¡± ¡°MOTHERFUCKER MOVED SIR!¡± ¡°FIRE AGAIN! NAIL THAT SUCKER!¡± ¡°PIECE OF SLIPPERY SHIT!¡± ¡°HOW FAST IS THAT FOOL?¡± ¡°HEY!¡± That was a miffed Glen that slid to a stop with bolts whistling all over the place, then twirled around changing direction. ¡°Shoot at the wyvern you stupid fucks!¡± ¡°No! Shoot him!¡± The captain grunted with a snarl. ¡°DO IT!¡± Argh! Glen groaned inwardly and realizing he was wasting valuable energy, turned again to rush the distance and attack them instead. His intention to leap over the gap between the ships and turn this into a close combat situation. Now had he been in a calmer state of mind or not so blinded by adrenalin Glen would have probably not even considered it. At that point in time this buffoonery seemed to be the best course of action. A matter of pride also played some part as he hadn¡¯t been assaulted for a long time directly and felt deeply offended. Which was probably the stupidest of all reasons in retrospect. Glen made three quick strides afore realizing that going head on at the aiming crossbowmen was making their job easier and jerked left spastically just as their next volley came. Five of them had actually aimed their weapons at Wetull¡¯s Monarch. Four missed spectacularly, probably rattled by the wyvern¡¯s mayhem occurring nearby and Glen¡¯s exotic armour and sinister mask. The fifth scored a perfect hit at the right side of Glen¡¯s custom helm, the bolt clanking hard, penetrating the steel partially but causing no damage other than almost breaking the Monarch¡¯s neck. ¡°HAH!¡± The captain yelled thinking Glen was down when the latter stumbled back stunned at the near catastrophe and with his brains rattled. Glen shook his now sporting a protruding bolt helmet, his blurred vision clearing slowly and glared at Lesia¡¯s marines behind his angry-grimacing mask. All but a shocked marine reloading fast their crossbows. Glen raised his sword and pointed at them, sneakily hurling the peleg he had in his other arm towards the snarling captain. The next moment Glen burst forward after the twirling axe-type weapon. He reached at the deck rails and put a boot on them to launch himself over the gap, the peleg missing the ducking captain but smacking a marine standing next to him on the head with the shaft. The man went down losing his conned helm and messing up with his flaying arms one of his nearby friends¡¯ aim that fired a wild shot over the leaping Glen¡¯s head. Glen cleared the small two meter gap between the two ships and rolled once on the soaked deck afore stopping briefly. The next moment he charged the captain with a savage slash trying to shove him in front of the now turning crossbows. The captain blocked the slash and retaliated with one of his own but Glen switched the grip on his sword to meet the attack halfway through. The blades clanged loudly and the captain¡¯s shattered in four thin pieces, one hitting Glen¡¯s chest armour and bouncing off, the other going the other way and skewering the captain¡¯s neck under the chin. Blood spurted out as Glen moved forward through the red mist, grabbing the gurgling officer¡¯s shoulder to shove him aside. The captain went crashing down and Glen¡¯s blade lashed out from up close hacking an arm and part of a crossbow away. He kicked the next recoiling marine between the legs next, got nailed with another bolt from point blank range under the left breast and violently stumbled back two steps with a pained grunt. The tip of the stuck bolt grazing the skin there. It had gone through the hoplite armour again but lost most of its momentum on the leather gambeson Glen wore underneath. ¡°SHOOT HIM AGAIN!¡± Another officer growled rushing towards them from another part of the ship. ¡°USE THE OLD ISSUED TIPS!¡± What the fuck? Glen thought stunned and whipped out with the sword cutting down another marine. The last one retreating next to the advancing officer. A marine sergeant based on his insignia. ¡°We kill this alien freak Larry,¡± the sergeant growled to his reloading friend. ¡°And this whole nightmare is over. We¡¯ll end this expedition in a day!¡± Glen cursed and parried the lunging sergeant¡¯s harpoon away from his face, the long weapon¡¯s blade clanging on the undamaged side of his helm when it retreated. The Lorian tried again but Glen sidestepped this time and opened a ghastly wound on the man¡¯s chest ruining his armour and lungs. Larry¡¯s incoming bolt almost killed Glen but for the latter¡¯s instincts. It had whistled partially hidden past the collapsing sergeant¡¯s right ear and a hissing Glen had to twirl away, the bolt glancing the left side of his plate armour, almost finding the seams and snapping one of the clasps. The staggered Glen lost his footing as he was standing too close to the deck rails of the now moving brig. The last two things he saw afore going over and into the frothy waters were the riddled with bolts Uvrycres leaping over from one ship to another not to let the unanchored brig get away and a Ticu perched on Larry¡¯s shoulders cracking the top of his skull open with its sharp claws. Then scooping handfuls of the screaming Lorian¡¯s bloody brains and shoving them into its wide open gnarly mouth.
Biggest motherfucking pair of green-skinned tits I¡¯ve ever seen this close afore! A coughing up foul sea water Glen thought trying to follow the moving flesh that danced before his face. Damn! ¡°Get it all out,¡± the mature female voice breathed near his ear in what appeared to be an ambiguous only thinly veiled vulgar suggestion that is until Glen noticed there were weird fish-type scales on her arms up to the elbows, strange small frothing openings under her long neck. The woman¡¯s long hair was black as coal and straight. Eyes very large and round without any pupils. SHITE! ¡°GAAH!¡± Glen groaned still half-drown with mouthfuls of seawater and coughing it out as he twisted about to get away from the naked Ticu that was laying on top of him. He shoved her away and rolled on the gravel-covered terrain of the beach¡­ the beach what the fuck? He thought trying to get his bearings and find his blade. Any weapon! Glen found the dagger still in its sheath and got it out nervously, one tearing eye still blurry and his armour heavy with dripping water. He tried to stand up but he¡¯d burned a ton of energy trying to survive Uvrycres¡¯ rage for getting injured and his legs wouldn¡¯t support him fully. Glen dropped to a knee, crawled on it and then stood up slowly still shaking to glare at the silently watching his struggles female Ticu. She clicked her tongue, sharp teeth clacking in a secret signal and Glen realized that about a dozen more were standing around them looking his way with soulless fish eyes. ¡°Easy now lasses. Ye need to think dis shit long ¡®n hard,¡± Glen warned them breathing heavy and unable to spit the brines out of his mouth due to the mask returning most of the material back. ¡°You need to stop the wyvern,¡± the first Ticu said in Imperial. ¡°Hardir O¡¯ Fardor.¡± The wyvern, Glen thought calculating his chances with the dagger against their lot. Then his eyes wandered beyond the remote beach inside the gulf and about two hundred meters away he spotted the still sailing Brig approaching. The ship was under assault by the wyvern, but no humans were on it. Instead Uvrycres was defending the ship seemingly from a horde of swimming and leaping on its deck Ticu. Some the wyvern formerly called Biscuit hurled back into the sea with his claws, others Uvrycres hunted with his stinger using it like a harpoon to nail them whilst they were still swimming in the water. Like trout. Ugh. Good grief! It went clean through! Ah. Hmm. Right then. Glen had nothing to offer. ¡°The wyvern is too far away,¡± he finally reasoned. ¡°Tell your¡­ friends to stop attacking him? Maybe that¡¯ll work.¡± ¡°They have to feed Hardir. The wyvern doesn¡¯t let them because he is undisciplined. He can¡¯t have every corpse since some belong to us. You keep what you kill and the sea keeps its share. Ask your wyvern to step away.¡± The Ticu insisted in her austere motherly tone. Now that Glen could see better some of the lines on her face, she reminded him of another. An uneasy Glen pursed his mouth and then reached to remove the mask from his face after sheathing his dagger. He secured it on a hook at the left side of his weapon harness. ¡°I know another Ticu named Assara,¡± he started and the older Matriarch gasped human-like, the skin shifting over the bones on her face and long inhuman limbs changing visibly to that of a mature but shapely woman. Um. ¡°Called her mother Nerisea and Mussel her home.¡± ¡°My little one lives? I feared the worst after what happened to her sister,¡± Nerisea asked raspingly. ¡°She does. Befriended my daughter,¡± Glen replied and breathed out, now feeling the tension seeping out of him in waves. Living him feeling worn out from all the ridiculous earlier exertions and hurting from bruised muscles, battered bones and small cuts. He¡¯d that bolt still stuck firmly on his helm and a tiny smarting hole as memento at his temple. ¡°What happened to her sister?¡± ¡°Humans killed her at Lyari,¡± she replied and Glen narrowed his eyes not aware that humans lived there. He thought of that Galleass¡¯ captain that had the presence of mind to retreat towards the straits and wait for them there in ambush. Hmm. ¡°Will you call on your wyvern?¡± Nerisea insisted. ¡°He won¡¯t hear me from so far away,¡± Glen explained. The ship (a brig) kept coming towards the shores out of control but it was still way out inside the port. The beach Nerisea had dragged his half-drowned body located near the abandoned east outskirts of Mussel. ¡°He will. I¡¯ll help,¡± Nerisea assured him and Glen put her boast to the test immediately afore Uvrycres killed anymore of the Ticu circling the ship. ¡°Uvrycres!¡± He bellowed and his voice came out significantly more vibrant, crackling at the skies like a thunder and shaking the pebble-covered beach. Glen lowered his eyes and saw Nerisea had covered the distance between them the moment he had looked away and the Ticu Matriarch¡¯s right hand was now grasping his left forearm. RRRRRRE The confused wyvern responded from the side of the ship turning about this way and that. RRREE? Glen raised his right arm that now held the Wyvern¡¯s Tongue and gestured for Nerisea to calm down. ¡°It¡¯s a witch¡¯s dagger,¡± he assured the older Ticu. ¡°Give me another boost¡­ or whatever the all mighty sloppy fucks ye did just now.¡± He grinned fiercely at the end of that, showing great a many white teeth ¨Cand a gold one- to which Nerisea blinked with those huge black eyes. ¡°The all mighty sloppy fucks?¡± The Matriarch repeated unsure and Glen nodded now all serious. ¡°Ayup. Here it goes,¡± he replied and roared once more with that ¡®magically boosted¡¯ new voice of his. ¡°Uvry you dumb blind fuck! I¡¯m right here! LOOK! GODS DARNIT!¡± Glen? The wyvern retorted and Glen saw him turning towards them from more than a hundred and fifty meters away. You live? What are ye doing over there? ¡°Thought of catching a tan under them thick smoke clouds,¡± a peeved Glen retorted mockingly. ¡°Stop killing the bloody Ticu and get yer arse here for pity¡¯s sake!¡± He cast a sideways stare at the bewildered Nerisea watching their exchange. ¡°Partially injure. It looks worse than it really is aye,¡± he added soothingly wearing a diplomat¡¯s expression and lying with a seasoned politician¡¯s ease. ¡°Most of the dead ones -them Lesia cunts had unfortunately already killed.¡± Uvrycres reached them a moment later managing a stupendously long over-a-hundred meters leap with the help of his now extended wings and landed ten meters away scattering the gathered Ticu. The shrieking wyvern tried to murder a couple of them pouncing with his tail stinger or lashing out with his claws but mercifully he failed else Glen would have been nigh inconvenienced to explain that to their Matriarch. Darn fertile in them meaty loins she must be if that¡¯s more than a ceremonial moniker! She¡¯s a darn Ticu mate, the wyvern warned turning its glowing rubicund eyes on the tensed Nerisea that still clasped at Glen¡¯s forearm tightly. Glen could feel her long fingers testing the steel vambrace¡¯s endurance. ¡°She got me out of the water. Let¡¯s call it half-a-save,¡± a discomforted Glen explained and the wyvern snorted coming closer with its awkward movement that utilized all four of his extremities (the winged bat-like forearms included.) I can see how she would float with ease under all conditions! The wyvern retorted meaningfully. Glen rolled his eyes to the white at the semi-lewd immature jest but did pause to give another good look at Nerisea¡¯s bare heavy bosom under the Ticu Matriarch¡¯s amused gaze. Hah! Thus I¡¯m speedily vindicated! Uvrycres announced triumphantly with a loud protracted shriek that rattled the slowly re-gathering around them in a bigger circle mermaids. ¡°The Ticu are historically known to seduce their prey,¡± Glen informed the smirking wyvern that sported at least seven bolts in various places of its body. None lethal or close to. ¡°This Ticu never even thought of it Hardir,¡± Nerisea responded to set the record straight. ¡°Given the timing and all that was at stake.¡± Which wasn¡¯t what Glen wanted though. Glen nodded as if thinking about her words. ¡°I don¡¯t believe you,¡± he finally stated in a pleasant but firm manner. ¡°But I¡¯ll see to keep it between us if you will.¡± With that he strolled away from the left speechless Matriarch, paused briefly to retrieve Emerson¡¯s blade from a young Ticu¡¯s arms, gave the Ticu a soft pat on the top of the head as the cheapest of thank-you¡¯s and then deftly caught the steel peleg an older one tossed him by its shaft. ¡°Thank you naked brother¡­ sister,¡± Glen said to the intently staring, also unclothed Ticu, and then realized every one of them was actually female. Not a single phallus in sight. Well then that¡¯s interesting. He thought of making a comment about that but decided against it. ¡°Mussel is our nest and our ancestral lands Hardir O¡¯ Fardor,¡± Nerisea told the climbing up the wyvern¡¯s saddle Glen. The Monarch brought the now sculpted in a sober expression mask at his similarly sober face and secured it on his helm with the metallic clasps. ¡°When those invaders leave we shall want back what was violently taken from our kinfolk.¡± Blah. Blah. Blah. ¡°They rape and violently take. I¡¯m here to deliver a crippling blow to their plans,¡± Glen replied harshly and showed her the burning wrecks inside the port to their west. ¡°Garth joins in friendly partnership as the bigger partner that allows others to continue on with their lives¡­ if they stay out of my business and avoid hurting what is mine.¡± ¡°What¡¯s yours then?¡± Nerisea asked the thoughtfully staring at the smokes coming from Mussel Monarch. You won¡¯t manacle my desires woman¡­ Ticu. Whatever. ¡°Um.¡± A scowling Glen murmured instead and ordered Uvrycres to fly them over the city, without fully answering the waiting Ticu Matriarch¡¯s query. The last thing Nerisea heard from him that day was the now flying over their heads Monarch yelling at the top of his lungs in righteous indignation. ¡°How can you lose the plaguing biscuits? Come clean! Did you eat the supplies bag?¡± -
Primo D¡¯Orsi ordered Nico Vardar to hold the road and retreated towards Mussel to help out Sardone¡¯s Owls that had stayed back with our fleet. They marched through the night and come dawn they saw the smoke rising over the ancient port. D¡¯Orsi ordered everyone to find cover in the nearby woods and sent a rider to learn what had occurred in Mussel. While this was happening Nico Vardar¡¯s Band of Silver made contact with a larger force of Taras¡¯ city guards and fought a messy scrap, the second battle on the road to Goras capital as we then believed. Goras had only the one city according to the native Zilan made out of several town-sized districts that incorporated Taras, Tenebrous Castle, Favored Heights, the Temples and three ports. Sinya Goras, Hardir¡¯s Port and apparently Mussel. Its monstrous size that of Scaldingport¡¯s peninsula plus Castalor¡¯s lands combined. If it had been similarly populated it could have housed easily more than half a million souls. The complicated mess bizarre to Jelin natives but perfectly normal for the Zilan and humans living there. Vardar¡¯s mercenaries won the bloody struggle in a mighty impressive feat but got mauled hard and suffered heavy-casualties (about three hundred, with almost two hundred killed). The battered as well Captain Fane had to retreat losing over two hundred soldiers himself. Of all the engagements at the narrow front only the east flank of the mercenaries came under serious threat that day with the Taras¡¯ soldiers there almost breaking through before the night came. A single warrior fighting for the Goras natives credited with thirty seven kills by himself. An impossible to fathom number that rounded up to forty for some but never dropped lower than thirty by all accounts. The former gladiator¡¯s name, a freed slave in the arena, was the now famous Troy and hailed from Novesium. Vardar contemplated pressuring the retreating Captain Fane but decided to wait the night out and messaged D¡¯Orsi about the happenings asking for instructions. D¡¯Orsi had learned of the fleet¡¯s fate early the next morning from Sardone¡¯s adjutant Keitel, as the commandant had been severely injured and burned beyond recognition to an inch of life. His son killed during the firestorm. Apparently within a mere ten minutes the Monarch¡¯s wyvern had descended from the misty skies destroyed all moored transports at the docks, sunk three of the four brigs and ruined beyond salvaging the Barque Decibel and the Sundew. Killing ninety percent of the crew with the rest eaten alive by the rampaging on land or lurking in the waters Ticu that had attacked grasping at the opportunity. Mussel had been struck hard as well, the port warehouses destroyed and the fires stopping at the ruined portions of the city. More than five hundred rear personnel, a hundred and forty Owls plus twenty-six locals were also killed that first hellish minutes. The only ship unaccounted for and rumored to have escaped the mayhem, the Galleass Crying Valkyrie that had been anchored near the exit of the port due to her size. Her captain succeeding in getting the warship to safety away from the burning wreckages left behind by the wyvern¡¯s wrath. D¡¯Orsi spotted the wyvern returning from Mussel that afternoon but the Monarch didn¡¯t engage as he probably wanted to reach his own men or for some other undisclosed reason. The Commandant kept the loss of the fleet from his men but rumors spread like wildfire and Claus Viceroy who hadn¡¯t been aboard the ships that morning reached him with promises of double pay for staying the course. But there was no easy road ahead really despite D¡¯Orsi developing a new plan to utilize the expedition¡¯s seemingly great advantage in better land units and the Monarch¡¯s judicious (though devastating) usage of his wyvern. Garth had dealt them what a pensive Adriano Monte had described as ¡®a blasted coup de main.¡¯ A crippling blow that they couldn¡¯t recover from. Soon the mercenaries¡¯ fortune in land battles will end as well as unbeknownst to them the day of the road scrap a part of the vaunted and very much operational Imperial Phalanx arrived in Taras. They had ridden hard without stops and bringing no supplies with them. The 3rd Othrim (the unit involved) would change horses before nightfall and travel all night towards the returning soldiers of Captain Fane. Fane ordered his men to stop seven kilometers from the Temples district, regroup and turn around, with some heading immediately after the moving fast Othrim. The overwhelmingly Zilan manned unit (five hundred heavy Imperial Hoplites) kept cutting the distance from Vardar¡¯s recuperating by the road men. Vardar waited for D¡¯Orsi¡¯s larger 333 force to arrive so they could attempt a final massive push towards Taras to decapitate Wetull¡¯s leadership before their morale plummeted, but Lyceron¡¯s Hoplites reached the Band of Silver¡¯s soldiers first, early the afternoon of the second day. - Head Chef Saul Ferrero Former scribe of the 333, member of D¡¯Orsi¡¯s Expedition Complete History of the Realm¡¯s Cuisine & Culinary delights -through the centuries (with recipes) Alongside a brief synopsis of the politics and major events of the time Annotated by Lord Sirio Veturius 3rd Edition Year Three (195) Chapter VII Coup de main -Prelude to a terrible meat grinder, a matter for all Jelin & the man-eaters of Calamer- Garth vs Riveras - The Wine Wars of 192-201 Published circa 212 NC
494. The Wine Wars | Meat grinder (1/2)
The Wine Wars | Meat grinder Part I -Ompae*-
*Old Imperial military jargon. Translated ¡®Forward¡¯ (an Imperial Phalanx formation command) -
¡®Third Era¡¯ Phalanx (After 3398 IC) Command Structure & Sub units Lord Commander, Anfalon of Orloriel, 1st Hoplite of Phalanx (Elauthin, mainland Wetull) Second Leader (of Phalanx), Roran of Saeveril 2nd Hoplite (Abarat, mainland Wetull) 3rd Leader (Phalanx), Ulovir of Lo-Minas, 3rd Hoplite (Lo-Minas, mainland Wetull) Rest of the ranks given based on merit, skill and seniority. No promotions unless a spot was vacated due to death, severe injury or retirement*, sometimes it would take over a century for this to occur. -Lord Onas of Abarat (lost rank due to retirement), former Leader of the Young Othrim, Plague Isles campaign veteran (ranked 4th at the time) 4th Hoplite (Phalanx) Tetrarch Eraevas (Hallowed 2nd, Abarat) 5th Hoplite (Phalanx) Tetrarch Saevelos (3rd Othrim, second in command, Rain Minas) 6th Hoplite (Phalanx) Tetrarch Folmaeras (with the 2nd Othrim, second in command) 7th Hoplite (Phalanx) Leader Unor ¡®Moriva¡¯ (Commander of the Young Othrim, Coal Isle) 8th Hoplite (Phalanx) Tetrarch Orym (Main Othrim, First File) 9th Hoplite (Phalanx) Tetrarch Malon of Fergen (Main Othrim, Second File) 10th Hoplite (Phalanx) Tetrarch Aquilan of Cyran (Main Othrim, 4th File, Cryptae Leader) 11th Hoplite (Phalanx) Tetrarch Ayas of Goras (Main Othrim, 3rd File) And so forth for every soldier in the unit. The majority of the older high-ranking Hoplites came from Roran¡¯s ancient 2nd Othrim stationed in Abarat and some Phalanx veterans (on the injury list) that had survived the Fall of Wetull and rejoined the ranks when Anfalon opened the recruitment. Ninety percent of the Hallowed (but for the officers) were part of Anfalon¡¯s first class of pupils, with several of them poured into the 3rd and 4th Othrim. Sub units The Hallowed (Anfalon) Main Othrim (Roran) 2nd Othrim (Ulovir) 3rd Othrim (Lyceron) 4th Othrim (Tasar) Young Othrim (Unor) All Othrim had 500 Hoplites but for the Hallowed that had 150. 3rd Othrim 500 Hoplites One main File & 4 numbered Files (100 Hoplites led by a Tetrarch) Each File split in 4 Lochos (25 Hoplites, 20 older plus 5 less experienced led by the unit¡¯s veteran) Organization chart (Around 3401 IC for Dia Castle & Mussel campaigns) Hoplite Leader Lyceron of Goras (17th of the Phalanx, Anfalon¡¯s Pupil**, Main File) Tetrarch Saevelos of Erdryn* (5th Phalanx, second in command, Rain Minas.) Tetrarch Hobor (19th Phalanx, Far North/Fetya? 2nd File, a half-giant probably, the only one serving) Tetrarch Diryel (122nd Phalanx, Anfalon¡¯s Pupil, 3rd File, a rare female, triad dancer*) Tetrarch Eldar of Goras (146th, Anfalon¡¯s Pupil, 4th File) Auxiliary units & supply train Five pack animals per File (25) 10 scouts/rangers in two groups (Viessa) 5 engineers (Ruvaen) 5 Medics (Solanae) 5 Cryptae (Phalanx Special Operations unit was brought back by Anfalon in 3399IC and was still in its infancy during Garth¡¯s first years) Historically the Imperial Phalanx also fielded cavalry (Rokae), a unit of scythed-chariots and had a File¡¯s worth of Peltasts. Cryptae Hoplite Hagas of Cyran (2nd in command, Aquilan¡¯s Pupil) Scout Leader Viessa of Goras (4th Scout, a female. Rangers Leader Maeriel o¡¯ Faelar¡¯s*** (Goras) pupil. Maeriel was the last of the known Faelar¡¯s pupils in Wetull, and the Imperial Princess¡¯ Guardian) Healer Solanae of Lo-Minas (2nd Medic in Phalanx, Female, First Medic¡¯s Aimon¡¯s Pupil) Engineer Ruvaen of Abarat (3rd Engineer, Lord of Ships Rybel¡¯s Pupil) Overall strength for Mussel campaign & reinforcements 500 Hoplites 300 Taras Guards under Captain Fane (strategic reserve about a day way) 150 Caravan Guards under Ran-Sahor of Lai Zel-Ka (Arrived the night of the 10th. Veteran mercenaries paid by the Lon-Iv Sopat. Part of the Sopat army that had followed Sen-Iv to Wetull. Had fought in Serpent¡¯s Canal campaign.) Around 30 adventurers living in Taras at the time following Fane¡¯s guards (amongst them former gladiators) The Sorcerer Berthas & his pupil Keya (Caught up and travelled with Fane¡¯s group) King Garth & Uvrycres (Garth had attacked Mussel and the Barons Flotilla half a day earlier and arrived after the 3rd battle finished) The ¡®Hallowed¡¯ under Anfalon and the 2nd Othrim under Ulovir. 650 Hoplites. About 250 civilians and rear personnel, including engineers, healers, rangers and Cryptae. Part of the Phalanx¡¯s supply train and war machines had remained in Dia Castle with the 4th Othrim under Tasar. (Four days behind. Arrived in Taras on the 13th)
*Passed over for command due to injury suffered in Dia Castle, but probably due to ¡®political¡¯ interference from Lord Onas since his father Erdryn (a Rokae) was a known friend of Lord Sulynor of Rain Minas and had followed the Moon¡¯s Daughter in exile during Queen Baltoris¡¯ purges in the distant (not for Lord Onas) 2090 IC. ** Pupils of famed trainers were considered above others but still had to demonstrate their skill in practice or in the field. Pupils of legendary figures or Elderbloods (Anfalon, Faelar, Aimon, Onas, Rybel, Aquilan etc.) stood above all else and sometimes assumed their tutors name instead of their parents or city if they were of a lesser lineage. The latter usually happened if the parent was without any significant legend or worthy deeds in whatever field or expertise. This older Era abandoned practice was brought back during King Garth¡¯s reign. *** During Valimae Lilt the best three performers of the festivities were chosen to dance for the Monarch at front stage. The Triad¡¯s Dancers were honored with gifts and food from the city for the following year while remaining well-respected afterwards. The skilled Hoplite Diryel had danced with the Gish Whisper Jinx and Lady Sovereign Sen-Iv Sopat Aniculo the night of the Monarch¡¯s Celebration.
- -
3rd Battle of Goras¡¯ Temples Road 10th of Enna 3401 IC Early afternoon 4th hour Nico Vardar orders Scaevola¡¯s machines forward under the cover of Larosa¡¯s Rangers and Trevisan¡¯s Peltasts 3rd Othrim¡¯s reserve 2nd File (Hobor) is ordered to protect the flanks
The spears had leveled. After the order was given the Phalanx¡¯s first three lines had started creeping steadily forward. One meter. Two meters. Three. Relentlessly. The sound of weapons meeting the shields enough to make a hearer flinch. A soft breeze carrying that valiant paean clear up and down the valley. It was followed by the profane ruckus of close-quarter battle. Soldiers shoved bodily forward or backwards, those at the rear pressing theirs on the soldiers ahead of them. Spear blades darting out, plunging forward like vipers from the Hoplite shields crescent attack-gaps and striking armour, plate or flesh. Breaking bones or gouging out eyes. Skewering careless limbs and exposed necks or just punching through helmets. Anything left in the open was to be pierced or get torn asunder at some point. The mercenaries¡¯ ranks reeled back from the brutal punishment, the fresh men that had rotated in not faring that much better than their compatriots in arms had earlier. Most of them already bleeding out under their sandals. For every Hoplite taking a blow or getting cut down three or four Lesia soldiers paid the prize. The ratio worsening for the mercenaries with every hour of fighting that passed. For while the Hoplites had started out tired from the week-long grueling march they could withstand it and now the humans had started getting tired as well. Tired humans fight much worse than the Zilan, Lyceron decided and stepped out of the battle line, another Hoplite rotating in his place. He staggered a couple of steps to the rear unsure at first, the otherworldly clamor still making his ears ring and the flesh tightening over his bones. Every limb on his body burning and hurting. Lyceron raised his Aspis to cover his head from errant arrows and moved to speak with Tetrarch Saevelos, the senior Hoplite in the Othrim, ranked 5th in skill for the entire Phalanx. The Rain-Minas native some years older than Roran and of considerately better though somewhat ¡®tainted¡¯ lineage. Not the oldest by any stretch of the imagination, what with Anfalon still around and Lord Onas visiting a couple of times during their training. The one-eyed retired officer calling everyone kid or lad which was very weird for a couple of the guys standing at over eleven centuries old but not for the mirthful Elderblood. Not that Onas was a mirthful or a particularly mellow person despite his outward fa?ade. Neither was Saevelos whose ¡®tainted¡¯ lineage included a very famous father Sir Erdryn of Rain Minas who had famously charged a Z¡¯Gruk or Zugruk ¨Ca four-armed Ogre construct of the Aken- that had broken through to the King during the Plague Isles campaign and brought it down. The same Erdryn sometime later had refused flatly the King¡¯s daughter order to arrest Lord Sulynor. He had removed his mask and armour in silent protest afore walking out of the palace which endeared him to the other Rokae but soured the young Queen who couldn¡¯t arrest him given she owed him a favor. Lord Onas was still holding a grunge about that incident so Saevelos who was qualified to be a Tetrarch in the Hallowed or outright lead an Othrim had ended up serving under Lyceron and the ¡®lads¡¯ of the 3rd. Anfalon wanted Diryel to be Lyceron¡¯s second in Command (given she was of ¡®a sounder mind¡¯ with Hobor not much of a strategist) but Lyceron had stood his ground and placed Saevelos as the 1st Tetrarch of the 3rd Othrim. Some days the young Hoplite wished he hadn¡¯t. But this wasn¡¯t one of those days. Lyceron needed all the assistance he could find to succeed in the task. ¡°Thou fight well for someone who just got out of training,¡± Saevelos yelled seeing him approach the staging area behind the extended battle line. He was referring to Anfalon¡¯s speech when the latter had announced the officer positions and gave Lyceron command of the newly-minted 3rd Othrim some years back. ¡®Absent a better choice the grinning-fool Lyceron of Goras,¡¯ a scowling Anfalon had declared in his typical no-nonsense manner to the hoplites assembly, ¡®who is of decent-enough skill shall lead the 3rd.¡¯ That was it really. Apparently the Lord Commander had never given a better grade to a pupil, not that Anfalon dealt with training that much in the past. Now with such a long past, the prehistoric Anfalon (literally since he was born before the First Era) had in fact trained a whole lot of Hoplites so that sounded worse that it really was. Or better. Lyceron hadn¡¯t received a single word of praise from the Commander in all the years he knew him other than in that brief announcement. ¡°Are they moving?¡± Lyceron grunted, his mouth dry despite the chill in the air. ¡°It is their intention. They brought up Scorpios from their rear,¡± Saevelos replied, jaw clenched under his hoplite helm. His accent guttural and harsh to the rear, unrefined old Imperial jargon. Or proper ¡®Imperial¡¯ depending who you asked. ¡°We had the archers to annoy us since morning and now lowly Peltasts are making sneaky runs to come within javelin reach. Haven¡¯t seen those cretins in the field in a while nor do I expected them to still be around.¡± The Phalanx needed a Peltasts unit too but Zilan weren¡¯t that willing to enlist there given it was considered a ¡®Jelin¡¯ formation by the old heads that influenced all new recruits ¨Cdeployed to counter the Phalanx in antiquity- and the humans understandably preferred a guard¡¯s sturdier armor. ¡°How bad is it in the flanks? You can speak freely.¡± ¡°Young Viessa does all she can but needs to remain in the woods to our west for protection. The girl shall learn more if the girl survives.¡± Saevelos explained indifferently. ¡°Lily-livered Hagas is looking for a way to strike their rear with his group of killers, but he needs the dark and more men to make a difference. Hagas liked that boastful Troy guy a lot, other than the fact that the human idiot can¡¯t be silent for a moment to save his life. Personally I believe the human a cinaedus and in any case Cryptae are supposed to be silent even upon receiving cock in arse.¡± You never wanted Saevelos to expound on others. His view of other people harsh and acerbic, drawn out of his own experience and disenchantments. ¡°They expect reinforcements,¡± Lyceron decided trying to stay on topic. ¡°That¡¯s why they don¡¯t retreat given their casualties. We need to deal with the machines.¡±If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°We could positions spotters, move aside when they fire. We¡¯ll take some casualties,¡± Saevelos offered and it was a toss whether it was a jest, a test or he was being serious. ¡°Thou need to send Hobor in, fight without a reserve Lyceron like the heroes of old. Now is not the time to succumb to fear.¡± Lyceron grimaced but kept his composure at the dig. ¡°Hobor will take casualties to close with the Peltasts.¡± ¡°No Peltast shall ever stand to face a Hoplite,¡± Saevelos declared in old Imperial jargon, his tone absolute. ¡°They will if they are ordered to protect their machines,¡± Lyceron retorted raspingly. ¡°Then they shall perish.¡± Lyceron stared at the Nord half-giant dressing up his File. Hobor claimed he was from Fetya but Anfalon had flat out told him ¡®you have a giant¡¯s blood in you. One of your parents hailed from White Yalca.¡¯ Wherever that was. He really enjoyed the easily-offended tall Hoplite¡¯s company. They had some pretty crazy adventures together. Sure, most considered Soren the funnier of the two but still Hobor was his guy as far as Lyceron was concerned. ¡°Send Hobor.¡± Lyceron decided with a grunt. ¡°Order them to break through and smash the machines.¡± ¡°The Cofol cavalry could be here within the day, could help you cover the flank,¡± Saevelos reminded him with a thin smile. ¡°Maybe thou should wait?¡± ¡°So could the mercenaries¡¯ reinforcements,¡± Lyceron countered gruffly. ¡°And the Phalanx does not wait.¡± To which Saevelos¡¯ silvery-green eyes gleamed and he stood straighter on old muscles and sinews, an arrow glancing off of his dark-grey metal helm and missing the open slits on his face for a hair. ¡°Indeed,¡± the old Hoplite leader rustled sounding pleased and completely unbothered by the near fatal miss.
- Hours later Late afternoon of the 10th ¡°I could eat my fucking arm. Start with the fingers and work my way up. Gods!¡± Glen griped hearing his stomach growl in protest, face hidden behind the scowling mask. ¡°Can¡¯t believe you¡¯ve consumed everything and then chewed through the plaguing bag also!¡± The Ticu took the bag, Uvrycres growled. I told you already! Them are a tricky lot! ¡°You don¡¯t have to yell,¡± Glen retorted. I¡¯M HUNGRY TOO! Uvrycres roared even more in response. His angry shrieks trumpeting down the road they followed. So much good food left to rot! For what? ¡°So how long this replenish thingy lasts?¡± Glen asked changing the subject, half-stooped over the wyvern¡¯s left shoulder to watch the jungle road dash past them. As long as it takes. If I feed properly, much sooner. The wyvern added knowingly. ¡°Um.¡± Same as with you. ¡°Yeah, I can¡¯t do spells.¡± Not what I recall. ¡°That was the dagger or something. Berthas explained that in order to proper cast a spell you need to create all the ¡®connections¡¯ in your mind and body. Each thread having its purpose and all together working for a common goal. I almost had a seizure trying to translate his enthusiastic rumblings!¡± You didn¡¯t know that? Glen frowned. ¡°Ahm. Nope?¡± Hah-hah-ha! How are you even alive? The wyvern guffawed and turned its long neck around to look at the miffed Monarch. Seriously? Randomly casting spells, assuming you know them, can kill casual people left and right or suck the life-force out of your own marrow! Kill you outright if you opt for a big one! ¡°Yeah. Fucked up my arm a couple of times,¡± Glen yielded with a shiver. ¡°Probably contributed to turning my hair white. That or it was grief. But the arm comes back always. Still waiting on the hair. Iskay suggested painting them but then it¡¯s let¡¯s do the face too, paint the mouth and so forth. The next thing you know is that ye turned into a Cofol harlot!¡± Eh. I reckon you know better about Cofol harlots. The wyvern replied mockingly. But what you lose in a spell, you don¡¯t take back. So better not to do it again Glen. Glen pursed his mouth frustrated. ¡°I guess that¡¯s why people don¡¯t use magic.¡± Who says that? The Zilan witches? The wyvern retorted mockingly. Of course they do! Magic was there afore the Zilan learned about it. They are attuned sure but wyverns are attuned even more. ¡°You just said it sucks the marrow¡ª¡± I used different equivalent. And it harms Zilan also. They just live longer than you. Have you seen a careless witch for real? They look like hags. They constantly work on their bodies to preserve their health though I reckon some don¡¯t¡­ Uvrycres paused thinking about it. Yep, a human can do that. Maybe he dies sooner or turns into a vegetable. Eh, nothing that ever stopped yer kind afore! ¡°The army,¡± Glen grunted stopping the conversation and pointed with his arm. ¡°See which one it is and rise a bit higher just to be safe. I have a fucking hole in my helm! A finger goes through it and there¡¯s a smaller hole on my blasted head at the other end! Not to mention dis brand new armour needs repair! Argh!¡± Not my fault. Uvrycres retorted cooly. And the battle is over. ¡°Huh?¡± Glen snapped trying to see for himself the tiny figures moving under them. ¡°Did we win?¡± I don¡¯t know, the wyvern replied indifferently. But there is another army coming up the road and heading here. We just past over them while you were complaining about the stolen bag. Well that¡¯s fantastic, Glen thought sourly. Not. -
An hour into the battle, the 3rd engagement fought on the nicely-paved Temples Road inside a week, everyone in our camp realized we were in trouble. The front of the Phalanx, specifically the Main and 1st Files of the 3rd Othrim, wouldn¡¯t give an inch to the Band of Silver¡¯s soldiers. Nico Vardar realizing our center was nearing collapse ordered Scaevola¡¯s engineering crews and their machines that had started pulling back towards Mussel to stop and attack 3rd Othrim¡¯s west flank. Larosa¡¯s rangers were providing support from there but were getting pestered by Zilan rangers and warriors hidden in the woods. Attempts to dislodge them had failed but Larosa had managed to keep his position up until then. Scaevola advanced five Scorpios through the tall grass by the side of the wide road and the Peltasts of Trevisan were ordered in turn to redeploy from the other less busy flank to assist them. The Peltasts screened the approaching machines, Scaevola had opted to search for a better angle to the locked up frontline and avoid friendly fire, by looping around at the outside of both west flanks, and managed to push into the woods the few rangers under Viessa. Lyceron, the leader of the 3rd Othrim, was notified of the flanking maneuver and ordered the 2nd File that had been kept out of the rotation for a later central push, to advance and eliminate this new threat. The 2nd File was led by a massive in bulk and height Hoplite that stood well over seven feet tall named Hobor. Not a Zilan as I later discovered. The gigantic warrior marched over the pale grass with a hundred Hoplites in a loose formation. Scaevola who was still pushing the machines forward paused in worry and Trevisan and Larosa¡¯s men turned their attention there while the battle continued at the center. Under a hail of arrows and javelins Hobor advanced closing to the Scorpios which forced the initially retreating Peltasts to stand their ground to prevent them from reaching Scaevola. The latter panicked and turned the Scorpios towards the counter-flanking Zilan force. Hobor¡¯s File took appalling casualties with the half-giant injured himself given he stood a massive target for everyone in the field but kept advancing peppered with hundreds of arrows, plenty of javelins and a dozen steel bolts. Hobor was hit by two steel bolts before everything was over, a glancing blow that severed his left arm, a second that went through his torso and several javelins, three of which Hobor carried on his shield before he lost it. At least thirty Hoplites were killed or severely injured in the maneuver but the rest of them reached close enough to Scaevola that Trevisan¡¯s men were forced to get their swords out and stand behind their shields. It was a brutal engagement that deeply affected those that witnessed it. While Vardar¡¯s soldiers at the center had taken atrocious casualties by then, the cohesiveness of the battle-line and closeness of friendly shields had helped keep the numbers low in retrospect. Trevisan¡¯s Peltasts were brutalized and massacred in disturbingly efficient fashion. Such was the carnage that blood sprayed five-ten meters back through Scaevola¡¯s Scorpios crews that mostly broke and run away. Such was the carnage that the taken aback sergeant Calla, a legion veteran of the warbands rebellion, standing with us at the rear decried the lack of foresight of Jelin¡¯s nobility and the stupidity of the Khanate for allowing such a threat to grow unchecked in Wetull. A badly maimed and bleeding from head to toe Hobor cut through the stubborn defense of the Lesia Peltasts and attacked the machines like a force of nature. In the chaos that followed Scaevola was grotesquely injured losing half his face, Trevisan a childhood friend and distant kin to High Baron Percival Borginas of Lastport was killed instantly after getting hit with a large piece of a broken apart Scorpio on the head and his second in command, Lancelot Grimani took over the smashed remnants of the Peltasts with a small portion splitting up under sergeant Calla of Andatelia who was in charge of the company¡¯s rear. Grimani immediately ordered a general retreat towards the rear and the woods nearby under the cover of the now badly harassed archers of Larosa. Grimani, his family also having close ties with the Borginas of Lastport as his younger brother Prospero Grimani had married Lady Bianca Borginas and was good friends with Lord Daniel Borginas, petty Baron of Conium Castle who was Lord Percival¡¯s cousin in turn. Larosa who had controlled the breadth of the terrain facing the west woods up until this point with his archers got skewered through the mouth from a long arrow shot fired high from the treeline and was promptly killed as well throwing his spread out men in disarray. Hobor collapsed after neutralizing the machines but the now turned into a solid block of metal and protruding spearheads 2nd File kept advancing first overrunning the mercenary company¡¯s rear areas afore pivoting to assault the center. Vardar witnessing the catastrophe ordered Captain Ed Leotta of Levacum to plug the gap keeping Captain Soldano¡¯s pressured men in the center. Leotta marched towards the advancing 2nd File but at the same time, Lyceron who had kept a close eye on the engagement ordered the 3rd File under Diryel, a female Zilan Hoplite, to loop around the west edge of the shield-wall and assist Hobor¡¯s men. Diryel moved at a slight trot, an impressive feat that showcased the excellent physical condition of the Zilan Hoplite -if not vastly superior- and their ability to move very fast under a full load, and managed to catch Leotta¡¯s redeploying soldiers. Leotta pivoted to defend against the attacking in loose formation Hoplites but got hit from both the west and the north side -since Hobor¡¯s men had reached him as well opening their stride to relocate equally fast on the flat terrain. Leotta was thoroughly mauled losing seventy-five out of a hundred men in less than twenty minutes. He was trapped and then squashed between the two Hoplite formations like butter under a hammer¡¯s blow. In the center Lyceron had ordered the Phalanx forward, using the Zilan word ¡®Ompae¡¯ that was repeated en masse from the Hoplites. They immediately started pushing Vardar¡¯s center one step at the time. The back rows throwing their bodies on their compatriots to push them in unison. The Phalanx roared in one voice. A huge battle cry for every steady step taken. The lines reeling up and down, long leaf-bladed spears punching over shields or through the crescent gaps and Soldano started losing men at such an alarming rate that by the time he got a runner sent to a pressured Vardar to ask for a withdrawal it was already ten minutes too late. When the Phalanx starts advancing it means the battle is over. This was just the mopping up phase of the engagement. At least half the men killed ¨Cthe Zilan didn¡¯t strike a death blow twice or delivered a coup de grace since that first blow was usually lethal enough- died during those moments. The Band of Silver suffered a catastrophic total defeat that was closer to annihilation without the need of atrocities after the fact as the Hoplites stopped advancing when the mercenaries dropped their weapons and run for their lives or surrendered. Some after-action killing did occur, with Viessa¡¯s rangers nailing targets well out of visible range and the elusive Hagas¡¯ Cryptae group that had managed to penetrate the rear after Hobor¡¯s File had broken through butchered several humans afore an order reached them to stop the vile practice. The worst of it was that the blood soaked battlefield hadn¡¯t seen the last action of the day. For those surviving it real horrors loomed large ahead of them but also great wonders since that afternoon I saw a wyvern in the flesh for the first time. The moment it appeared silently descending from the sky, a majestic otherworldly amalgamation of breathtaking grace and pure dread, it burned into one¡¯s memories and still to this day makes this author glance in trepidation towards the skies.
- Oi-Oi-Oi, Glen thought jumping over the mutilated corpses, boots squelching in the blood-soaked mire and Uvrycres shrieking behind him at the nearest Hoplites that raised their spears in salutation to the arriving Monarch. The road sides and the road itself littered with hundreds of butchered soldiers, broken shields, machines, helmets and weapons. Body parts. From arms, hands, heads and legs to smaller less easy to define gory pieces of flesh, some having bite marks on them. The occasional half-chewed bone also present. Glen breathed out and cracked his neck right and left watching the ranking Zilan hurrying towards him and several prisoners standing shell-shocked under the Hoplites¡¯ watchful eyes. They had landed a hundred meters from the main battle line but it appeared the scrap had spread out as far as the west jungle several hundred meters away. The flat clear terrain ¨Cfor the most part- ideal for a fight and an excellent choice for the mercenary commandant. Unfortunately for him the same bonuses applied to the Zilan. Find a wall when yer absent of considerable advantage, Glen thought. Stand behind it and keep a rear route open to leg it if the going gets tough. But I guess sometimes you can¡¯t. ¡°Monarch!¡± A tall muscular Hoplite Leader yelled and saluted sharply. The covered in gore armoured Zilan escorted by an equally blood-spattered and muscular Hoplite with fancier but also more worn-out armour. ¡°The battle has been won!¡± The Zilan reported enthusiastically before catching himself in his presence. ¡°We¡¯re gathering the human¡­ the enemy soldiers Hardir.¡± He added under the unnerving sounds of the Wyvern tearing flesh from the corpses behind them or just crunching at the bones outright. ¡°Right. Are they¡­ Is that¡­eh,¡± Glen grimaced after a couple of false starts, noticing the mercenaries looking at the wyvern in stunned horror and turned his head around to bark irate at the blissfully feasting Uvrycres. ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake, stop eating the dead!¡± Not everyone I eat is fully dead? Uvrycres argued in between chomps. ¡°Not the plaguing point!¡± Glen roared in Imperial and a younger-looking human standing next to an also youngish chubby guy fainted abruptly overcome by fear. He plunged for the ground headfirst but a keen-eyed nearby Hoplite used his spear to stop him and then an arm to lower the unresponsive human in a pile to the ground. ¡°Don¡¯t do it in front of them fer pity¡¯s shake!¡± Why? ¡°I¡¯m trying to negotiate a plaguing surrender?¡± They can¡¯t surrender more than this you fool! Uvrycres insisted afore swallowing what he had turned into a pulp into his gnarly mouth. Then grinned a black-toothed, bloody smile trying to appear friendly and non-threatening. That never works, Glen thought sourly. ¡°Oras be praised for the end is nigh,¡± a mercenary prayed. ¡°Death¡¯s shadow grows and beasts walk among us.¡± A groaning in frustration Glen turned around to eye him austerely, then he glared at the Hoplite leader that appeared to be vaguely familiar. ¡°Hoplite,¡± he said in an official voice in Common after clearing his throat. ¡°Where are our own prisoners? Captain Horton¡¯s men and the man himself?¡± ¡°Hardir I¡¯m afraid few of them survived and if,¡± the Hoplite reported. ¡°The Captain has been slain.¡± Eh. Why¡­ Gods damn it! ¡°What about Fane? Troy?¡± Glen asked pensively. ¡°Fane had to retreat but he has taken heavy losses. Troy is with him. He¡¯ll march back here in a day though. We expect Ran-Sahor¡¯s riders anytime now.¡± ¡°How heavy? Our losses?¡± A numb Glen asked looking at the silent prisoners, about sixty of them bunched up in a large group with several sitting down exhausted. ¡°Three hundred at least, two hundred killed is the report he gave us,¡± the Hoplite replied. ¡°They were outnumbered heavily. I¡¯m waiting for the count on the Othrim. I expect around fifty casualties.¡± Glen nodded, his blank metal mask morphing into a scowl and murmurs of preternatural fear erupting from the watching their exchange prisoners. ¡°Hoplite¡­¡± He started still unsure about the hidden behind the imposing helm Hoplite leader. ¡°It¡¯s Lyceron my Lord,¡± the Zilan replied. ¡°I¡¯ve played with the princess and the Lady Sovereign in Taras?¡± Glen narrowed his eyes suspiciously. ¡°I¡¯m not sure on yer meaning¡­¡± he hissed angrily. ¡°I was at the festival?¡± Lyceron reminded him. ¡°Spent some time at your table before the dance started?¡± ¡°Ah.¡± Glen said remembering him. ¡°Why are you in charge of the unit?¡± ¡°Lord Anfalon decreed that I should Hardir,¡± Lyceron replied proudly. Glen stared at the seemingly older Hoplite. ¡°Lord Commander¡¯s instructions were clear Monarch.¡± The Zilan rustled in Imperial. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± Glen probed unwilling to accept that the idiotic cock-dangling younger Zilan of the festival was to command a unit. ¡°My lineage has been tainted Monarch.¡± ¡°Saevelos of Erdryn is a great warrior,¡± Lyceron informed Glen magnanimously. ¡°Erdryn still around?¡± Glen asked with a grimace. ¡°Erdryn stands the source of the taint Monarch,¡± Saevelos replied in his rough jargon. ¡°Right. Well,¡± Glen paused unsure and then he remembered the disaster that had befallen to Taras¡¯ guards. He turned his attention on the first row of prisoners and walked forward to stand before them. ¡°You,¡± he said after looking about and pointed at the better dressed of the bunch. The middle aged man in the blue redingote appearing out of place even more than the now coming about youth and the chubby fella wearing a moderate green hemp tunic. ¡°Come forward.¡± ¡°My Lord,¡± the man said taking a forward step. ¡°I¡¯m Claus Viceroy, Director of the Board for the Bank of Trust. You¡¯ve won the field sir.¡± ¡°I know that,¡± Glen retorted curtly. ¡°I also know the fight isn¡¯t over yet with more of you greedy hyenas marching here.¡± ¡°My Lord, the bank and myself have no active role in this struggle,¡± Viceroy replied. ¡°We¡¯re here in an advisory role per our contract with the Barons.¡± Ugh? You think I¡¯m the village idiot? ¡°I don¡¯t give half-a-fuck,¡± Glen grunted and the man blinked in shock at the sewer language. ¡°You cock-sucking rascals came here to take what¡¯s mine and killed a plaguing lot of good people for it! Ye patronizing motherfucker!¡± He growled next disgusted, his voice coming out muffled but still strong enough to rattle Viceroy even more. ¡°Sir, I¡¯m merely a bank employee!¡± He protested. ¡°Your complaint should be directed to the Barons! I¡¯m a citizen of Lesia!¡± ¡°You presume to dictate what I¡¯ll do?¡± Glen retorted icily in an attempt to control his boiling anger. ¡°Ye stand here brazenly and throw diktats in my face as if you¡¯re important,¡± the Monarch continued clenching his jaw, all his previous contentment for sinking the Flotilla now evaporated as Glen came face to face with the losses in real people. He remembered Fikumin¡¯s words and it made him slowly lose control. Because people he just couldn¡¯t replace. The dead were gone forever. ¡°You¡¯re not. You¡¯re naught but a fleece-riddled rabid dog that came into my yard and caused me great mischief! I don¡¯t care where you¡¯re from. You stand on Imperial ground now without my blasted permission and you came here with ill intentions! I¡¯ve had enough of you cretins! When will you stop bothering me?¡± He barked and Viceroy shuddered as if not believing his ears. ¡°My lord I understand you¡¯re frustrated but let us not resort¡ª¡± The otherworldly Jackal¡¯s cackle had turned into a low guttural snarl as the stricken Viceroy stumbled back, blood pouring down his chin and neck from the cut that run diagonally from forehead to mouth. Viceroy gurgled, spitting blood and holding his ruined face and then dropped to his knees before the sword-wielding Glen. A stunned silence followed the Monarch¡¯s violent action from the crowd that had witnessed it. Half of it at the uncanny speed with which Glen had unsheathed the blade he carried on his back and the other half at the brutality of the strike against a surrendered opponent. None of this mattered to Glen. He turned to the silently watching Lyceron. ¡°Finish him off,¡± he ordered with a gesture at the groaning two meters away Viceroy. ¡°Hardir¡­¡± Lyceron hesitated. ¡°The man is unarmed¡ª¡± Before he could finish his words Saevelos had covered the distance, flipped the spear in his right arm expertly and then snapped it forward. Saevelos brutally buried the steel tip into Viceroy¡¯s right eye through the latter¡¯s palm and it exploded out of the back of his skull cracking it in a shocking explosion of gore, torn scalp, bone and brain matter. Shite. ¡°The Othrim¡¯s leader shouldn¡¯t be bothered with an execution Monarch,¡± Saevelos said using a heavy sandal placed firmly on the chest to extract the spear from the killed Viceroy. ¡°Let a lower ranking member suffer the indignity.¡± ¡°Indignity?¡± Glen hissed glaring at him irate. ¡°What was the punishment for such an attack back in the day? Mutilation of genitals? Cut up in fillets and eaten? Enslavement? Is that better?¡± ¡°Swift execution,¡± Saevelos replied coolly. ¡°Queen Baltoris had altered the old law and only allowed slaves to be acquired with coin in the markets or in an official hunt Hardir. Usually to the Isles. As for the Monarch request. He can suffer no indignity for punishing a non-citizen scum. In most cases even citizens,¡± he added to clarify his earlier comment. ¡°The Phalanx is run by a different set of rules.¡± Glen puffed out, a thick dark-colored vein on his left temple still throbbing from the earlier explosion of adrenalin and the subsequent brutal killing. He beheld the chubby-looking Lorian next for a brief moment and raised his muscular arm to point at him harshly. ¡°You. Approach,¡± the Monarch ordered and the cultured man let out a horrified gasp of deep distress. He immediately prostrated himself on the muddy and gore drenched ground to crawl in front of the bemused Glen. Uvrycres seemingly unintelligible beastly shriek to the silent bystanders reached Glen¡¯s ears in a long-winded query, since the wyvern had been patiently waiting for an opportunity. Hey, you silly friendly fuck. Since yer ornate ¡®mannerly dialogs¡¯ failed spectacularly and ye started slaying ¡®em prisoners yourself, can I go back to chomping on some nice carcasses I¡¯ve pulled aside while no one was looking? It¡¯s a hot winter¡¯s day and them stiffs shall start to bloat up alike pregnant bullfrogs soon! You take a bite at a bloater it might pop cadaver juice in yer face. Yep. 495. The Wine Wars | Meat grinder (2/2)
Arguen Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Lord of Morn Taras Monarch of Wetull King beyond the Pale Mountains Aniculo Rokae Duath Erin I Menel The Wine Wars | Meat grinder Part II -Unfortunately II-
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Early evening of the 10th of Primus (Imperial Enna) 195 NC Mussel-Taras road D¡¯Orsi is informed of Vardar¡¯s and the Band of Silver¡¯s fate Adriano Monte looked sick but Primo D¡¯Orsi wasn¡¯t worried about him. Monte can take a hit or a couple and remain loyal. He stared at the tired sergeant Calla who¡¯d brought some of Scaevola¡¯s engineers back and then at Turbot, late Scaevola¡¯s unit''s second in command. ¡°What about Vardar? Grimani?¡± He asked hoarsely. ¡°Vardar was cut down by Zilan in the chaos that followed the army center¡¯s collapse commandant,¡± the survivor of the Band of Silver replied. ¡°Grimani might still be alive somewhere in the jungle.¡± ¡°Vardar was at the frontline?¡± ¡°Zilan had infiltrated our rear,¡± Calla explained. ¡°There is a wyvern sir.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve seen it,¡± D¡¯Orsi replied. ¡°And its handiwork.¡± ¡°The wyvern wasn¡¯t involved in the battle at all milord,¡± Turbot informed him. ¡°But these Zilan hoplites were?¡± ¡°The Phalanx sir,¡± Calla said. D¡¯Orsi glanced at Monte. ¡°If we¡¯re lucky milord, half of the pre-battle intel might pan out,¡± the experienced mercenary officer and trainer replied crooking his mouth. ¡°You think they are a small force?¡± D¡¯Orsi probed and Monte shrugged his shoulders. ¡°If we¡¯re lucky,¡± he said simply. ¡°Could it be the wyvern is injured or I don¡¯t know¡­?¡± D¡¯Orsi stared at the engineer. ¡°Spent sire?¡± The man offered. ¡°As in out of ammo?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not familiar with its intimate mechanisms Turbot,¡± D¡¯Orsi retorted. ¡°You think it carries fire in a bag?¡± ¡°Whatever the case may be milord,¡± Monte intervened. ¡°We need to act now with the night ahead of us.¡± ¡°The unit shall retreat towards Mussel,¡± D¡¯Orsi ordered his captains Gravina and Binda. ¡°Cerra, Cactus and Saxer¡¯s Issir rangers will create a rearguard and follow the main body for the time being.¡± ¡°Milord,¡± Bo Saxer, the Owl company¡¯s sergeant had caught up with them during the march, interrupted respectfully. ¡°Sardone is incapacitated or dead and Keitel can barely field over a hundred men. We have as many injured. The Fleet is gone sire.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t have this spreading sergeant!¡± D¡¯Orsi snapped at the Issir who grimaced in frustration. ¡°We all respect milord the word is out,¡± he replied raspingly. ¡°The port is still burning.¡± D¡¯Orsi got up from his field chair and went to stand at the entrance to his tent. He peeked outside thinking of the developments and trying to keep a clear mind not to miss a potential solution. If there was one. ¡°You talked to that sailor sergeant,¡± he finally started without looking at the table. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°I did milord,¡± Saxer replied. ¡°A couple of days ago.¡± ¡°But he was aboard the brig Sundew?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what he said.¡± ¡°You doubt his words?¡± D¡¯Orsi asked and turned around. ¡°Sir, the man claims he saw the wyvern attack the Barque Decibel. Made fire out of its mouth,¡± Saxer elucidated. ¡°Got hit by two bolts and part of its wing almost came off.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t believe it?¡± ¡°I saw it fly around as have you commandant,¡± Saxer replied tensely. ¡°It¡¯s difficult to miss in the sky.¡± ¡°But you didn¡¯t see it attack again,¡± D¡¯Orsi insisted and pursed his mouth. ¡°We¡¯ll retreat to Mussel. Barricade the port but setup in the surrounding wilderness as well.¡± ¡°You reach the port,¡± Monte noted. ¡°The men will want to hop on the ships and go. If it becomes apparent that this ain¡¯t an option we might have trouble in our hands milord.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll hold for the Fleet to return and offer us assistance,¡± D¡¯Orsi repeated hoarsely but in a commanding tone. ¡°This is the way gentlemen,¡± he added trying to motivate them and lift their spirits. ¡°Else we¡¯ll be at the mercy of the Wyvern lord.¡± ¡°Milord the fleet¡­¡± Saxer tried to protest but D¡¯Orsi cut him off with a curt gesture. ¡°The Valkyrie left the port for sure sergeant! I have talked with other survivors!¡± D¡¯Orsi breathed out and lowered his voice. ¡°Other ships might have done the same. They will come back to assist us. But we need to keep the port until they do.¡± ¡°You expect the men to stand and fight a flying beast that breathes fire out of its mouth?¡± Saxer argued still unconvinced with the whole plan. ¡°The beast might not be able to do it again,¡± D¡¯Orsi snapped at him angrily. ¡°I expect the men to fight, neutralize threats and yes, deal with exotic things also Saxer. Be it wyverns or witches.¡± ¡°I rather face witches sire,¡± Saxer retorted with a grimace of disgust. ¡°You¡¯re dismissed sergeant,¡± D¡¯Orsi ordered stiffly. ¡°Everyone get back to your posts. We are moving back.¡± He watched them depart for moment and then turned to the frowned Monte. ¡°What? I have to keep them focused Adriano.¡± ¡°My lad I get that,¡± Monte replied calmly. ¡°Why did you have to bring up witches though? We are in enough trouble as it is.¡± ¡°How are witches any worse than a plaguing wyvern mister Monte?¡± Primo grunted at his old friend and Monte shook his head right and left afore replying. ¡°I¡¯d rather not to find that out D¡¯Orsi.¡±
- Morning of the 11th, the month Enna of the imperial year 3401. The 3rd Othrim waited for reinforcements to arrive during the night. During that time it finished setting up a camp near the site of the battle to keep the prisoners and house the injured. There it was again in his deepest stupor. Her feverish dream spilling into his. The dagger acting as medium because it was ordered to do so by its interloper ancient resident. But what was it that she had said in that now more-familiar tongue? Her voice still somewhat indecipherable, the hushed words muffled behind the mummer¡¯s chuckle. More a warning than the suggestion he¡¯d originally believed. The first word still inaudible. ¡­wake the wyvern. The dream fading once again and turning into fragments. RRRRRREEEEE ¡°Gaah! Gargle¡­grr,¡± Glen gasped and growled coming about abruptly. He immediately slipped from the wyvern¡¯s scaly back but managed to land on his shaky legs still half-awake. The Cofol warrior prostrated on the ground twenty meters away under Uvrycres¡¯ menacing glare. The wyvern turned its long neck sensing Glen moving and winked at him conspiratorially. ¡°Triumphant Monarch!¡± The Cofol cried out from his uncomfortable position. ¡°Just¡­ stand upright damn it,¡± Glen grunted hoarsely looking for a flask of water and blinked hard to get his eyes working properly. ¡°I rather remain respectful Exulted Monarch!¡± ¡°Stand the fuck up!¡± Glen growled and the warrior sprang to his feet with a worried glance at the smirking smugly wyvern hovering over the Monarch. The latter glugging down water to wash his throat and mouth. ¡°Reveled Monarch, Ran-Sahor invites you to a morning banquet!¡± The Cofol informed him. ¡°What¡¯s wrong wit a breakfast?¡± Glen murmured thinking about it. ¡°Sire?¡± The warrior asked unsure on the difference. ¡°When did you arrive?¡± Glen asked and then yawned whilst stretching his arms out. ¡°Early last evening Monarch,¡± the man replied quickly. ¡°Anyone else came with you?¡± ¡°Only hours after. Fane arrived just now, the adventurers and the sorcerers,¡± the Cofol caravan guard replied. ¡°What sorcerers?¡± Glen queried with a grimace. ¡°Eh¡­ I don¡¯t know the name¡­ Betas?¡± ¡°Close enough. It¡¯s Berthas,¡± Glen corrected him with a smirk that matched Uvrycres¡¯. The standing behind the Monarch wyvern burped gutturally and it reeked of something rotten. Fuck¡¯s sake! ¡°He¡¯s half-a-wizard,¡± Glen murmured and stared at the approaching at a steady trot Lyceron. He was followed by Saevelos. ¡°Hardir is awake at last,¡± Lyceron said upon arriving then cursed himself and grinned fiercely to save it. ¡°You can¡¯t,¡± Glen grunted. ¡°Apologies Hardir,¡± Lyceron deadpanned. ¡°I have report to give.¡± ¡°Who called Berthas?¡± Glen snapped. ¡°Lord Fikumin? He¡¯s a sorcerer running a school of magic with pupils of his own,¡± Lyceron explained. ¡°How better to test his skill than in the field Hardir?¡± Alright something happened back in Taras but it is of no importance now, Glen decided with a grimace. ¡°Report.¡± ¡°The enemy retreated during the night Hardir,¡± Lyceron said and Glen glanced at Saevelos. He trusted the by the book officer more. ¡°They are heading for Mussel Monarch,¡± Saevelos added. ¡°Make a stand there ye think?¡± Glen asked and walked in a small circle to think about it. ¡°What¡¯s to gain? Stall for time? Hmm,¡± he stopped and pursed his mouth. Sleeping in the field involves little actual rest, severe back pain and no morning lewdness. Glen breathed out then rubbed at his stomach. ¡°Lyceron you¡¯ll march after them. We all shall. Let¡¯s do the dance. Ah and friend,¡± he added looking at the still waiting Cofol rider. ¡°Walk me to your leader. I¡¯ll have a desert banquet and then we will all head after the Othrim. Ah, and someone get me Captain Fane and Berthas. I want to talk with them.¡±
¡°Dried up sweet plum. Prunes is a general term great Caliph,¡± Ran-Sahor, a wiry and tanned Cofol of about forty years told him and Glen dug some out of the ceramic bowl to taste them. ¡°Dates in syrup and Kofi or black tea.¡± ¡°Lon-Iv has any news from our friend Phon?¡± Glen asked in between chomps. ¡°Um. You should get some of dis nice shit to the wyvern.¡± ¡°Of course Caliph,¡± Ran-Sahor replied without batting a painted eyelash and gestured for one of the slaves to approach. ¡°How much¡­ is appropriate?¡± ¡°A large sack of the stuff, just keep the mule¡­ or the slave away not to confuse Uvry they are part of the offering,¡± Glen replied indifferently and washed his mouth with some tea. ¡°Phon?¡± ¡°Lord Phon-Iv is recovering,¡± Ran-Sahor informed him. ¡°He¡¯s considering sending Don-Iv to Rain-Minas.¡± ¡°No.¡± Glen said. ¡°He can concentrate on helping out Metu in Ani Ta-Ne though. Can we use your men against the mercenaries? They might dig in, the ground there is a bit rough.¡± ¡°A man can fire an arrow without riding Caliph, if the target is near enough.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Glen murmured and turned to watch the white-haired Berthas approach followed by a simply dressed in green-robes Zilan female with blue hair cut short. Keya is cute with a touch of nasty in her. What that nasty translated to, Glen didn¡¯t know. Mayhap it¡¯s a witch thing. ¡°My lord Monarch,¡± Berthas greeted them and stopped near their picnic sheet. ¡°Master Sahor. This is my pupil Keya of Taras.¡± Another stray from the woods looking to clutch her way up the social ladder, Glen decided looking at the young hopeful witch. ¡°How is the school going Berthas?¡± He asked. ¡°Eh, the school isn¡¯t finished yet Hardir. I have seven pupils picked but we sleep outside, at the ruins behind the bank¡¯s building. It¡¯s near the forest,¡± Berthas informed him. ¡°Hah, the rarely mentioned allure of resting under the stars. I do that as well despite owning a palace. I have to. But it does help you get attuned wit nature. Create a commune or Coven I believe the term is?¡± Glen retorted half-jesting half-serious. ¡°It¡¯s more difficult in winter,¡± Berthas argued respectfully. ¡°In a year you¡¯ll have a roof over yer heads and the winter is almost over,¡± Glen assured them and then grimaced. ¡°Berthas¡­ why are you here?¡± ¡°I¡¯m here to assist the war effort Hardir.¡± ¡°Is she¡­ here to assist as well?¡± Glen probed. ¡°Keya has excellent instincts.¡± ¡°One can take this quite a number of ways mage,¡± Glen grunted and glared at them. ¡°Some of a randier nature.¡± ¡°Great Hardir,¡± Keya said in passable Taras jargon, a mixture of the Human Common Tongue and Imperial, ¡°All instincts are useful and seduction has its own skill-tree.¡± Her voice was annoying to him. Had he been her teacher on the matter she¡¯d have gotten the boot out of his class. ¡°Thank you Keya,¡± Glen retorted staring at her gleaming eyes frostily. ¡°Now have some prunes and close yer fucking mouth.¡± ¡°Hardir,¡± Berthas protested but swallowed nervously when Glen returned his amber-colored eyes on him. ¡°I offer my apologies for her bluntness my Lord.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care about the bluntness,¡± Glen replied. ¡°But when I need my words embellished I¡¯ll simply ask for it. To color my words without permission is just rude Berthas. Teach yer student some manners for pity¡¯s sake. I know slaves more polished than her!¡± ¡°Absolutely my Lord,¡± Berthas agreed eagerly. ¡°I shall be very firm on her.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be hard as ironwood,¡± Glen replied mockingly. He lately held a bit of animosity for the young mage who Glen happened to like in general, because he¡¯d played with Phina¡¯s heart. Or the Zilan equivalent of plowing the field then ditching. Phina he liked more than Berthas. ¡°We might need a spell or two. The wyvern is worn out from all the heavy-lifting we had to do.¡± ¡°I heard about the casualties.¡± Not where Glen was going with this and it soured him to the sorcerer even more. ¡°Despite our better efforts¡­¡± Glen paused to clear his throat. ¡°Can you cast a fireball?¡± He asked to steer the conversation away from the sour topic. ¡°Of course Hardir.¡± Glen blinked in shock not expecting it. ¡°You can? Well¡­ Ehem. How in Luthos¡¯ hairy balls¡­ pardon my Imperial. Didn¡¯t ye almost die trying to check on my wife a couple of years back?¡± ¡°Hardir¡­ eh, the Lady Sovereign was suffering from an intricate high-level spell that was tied to a material medium or trinket.¡± Berthas replied a little offended. ¡°A fire spell is the first thing¡­ or amongst the first a mage asks to learn.¡± ¡°And does he? Learn them?¡± Glen asked curious. ¡°To a degree. I haven¡¯t mastered greater spells yet.¡± ¡°Hmm. What do you need to perform?¡± ¡°A small demonstration Hardir?¡± Berthas asked. ¡°Keya can channel and help me with that.¡± Glen eyed him like one stares a drunken rat that had just interrupted his breakfast wandering inside his hall. ¡°I need no demonstration inside the camp. I want you to bombard D¡¯Orsi¡¯s defenses. Can you do that my friend?¡± He asked icily after a brief explanation. Berthas stood back a determined look in his aged but youthful face, a touch of panic in his eyes. ¡°Absolutely your highness,¡± the young mage assured the glowering Monarch. Right then. Glen thought his mind on a phrase Berthas had used. ¡°What could this medium be?¡± ¡°Anything of personal nature, owned or in some way connected to the target of the spell. It binds with the spell or creates a phylactery if you¡¯re looking to attempt something more elaborate than casting a high-level curse. Any object can play that role,¡± Berthas replied readily. ¡°Like a pendant?¡± Glen asked narrowing his eyes thinking of Sen¡¯s. He still carried it on him.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Aye Hardir. But also it could be something simpler. Even a utensil or a dagger,¡± Berthas replied with a small bow of his head. -
Little is known of the battle of Mussel. It happened in early winter of 195, mostly in the month Primus of the New Calendar. The Jelin mercenary forces under the control of Commandant D¡¯Orsi consisted of the relatively intact 333 company, the retreating few survivors of the Band of Silver (mainly under sergeant Calla) and the half-strength Owls (under Keitel and the Issir Saxer). A potent force that barricaded itself near or around Mussel and probably fought doggedly for its survival. According to witnesses and the second hand memoirs of Captain Col Fark (of the galleass Crying Valkyrie that attempted to evacuate survivors) D¡¯Orsi utilized whatever he had available to outmaneuver the Zilan forces that slowly coalesced at the tip of the peninsula but of the actual strategies involved we only have the abridged Imperial version and Ferrero¡¯s writings. The 3rd Othrim, the brief report available for the public reads, marched through the pyroclastic clouds and entered the Port. Make of that what you wish.
- 21st of Primus 195 NC Mussel ¡°Monarch!¡± The runner from Captain Fane¡¯s front yelled saluting sharply. ¡°We have pushed them back into the forest sir!¡± ¡°Eh,¡± Glen murmured and walked out the shaded portion of his field tent to stand under the heavy rain. He glanced at the dark sky for a moment knowing the rain wouldn¡¯t last for long and then returned to his tent not wanting to get wet again. ¡°The map is all wrong! The letters messed up!¡± Troy griped and Sir Kirk reached to get it off his hands. Then he turned it upside down. Or the right way up. ¡°God damn it mate,¡± Troy gasped standing back to eye the knight impressed. ¡°You figured it out! Now fix them letters will you?¡± Fuck¡¯s sake. ¡°Fane needs to concentrate on reaching the plateau from the east and not chase around those pesky rangers,¡± Glen murmured and stared at the Cofol officer waiting to speak. ¡°Yes¡­ Batum?¡± ¡°It is Batau great Caliph,¡± Batau corrected him in a respectful manner speaking with a heavy Cofol accent. ¡°It¡¯s close in meaning though? Yes?¡± ¡°It is erudite leader,¡± Batau agreed although it probably wasn¡¯t. ¡°Master Ran-Sahor has also pushed the dark-skinned heathen on the west flank back into the woods.¡± ¡°This could take forever to resolve,¡± Glen griped. ¡°Lyceron wants to attack the barricades again. Climb over them.¡± ¡°They could do it,¡± Kirk suggested. ¡°I could do it better! Big fucking deal!¡± Troy bellowed still stooped over the correct map with interest. What the gladiator was looking for a mystery. ¡°They¡¯ll take casualties,¡± Glen grunted with a grimace of anger, pulling his lips back to bare his teeth. ¡°They have concealed Scorpios on the roofs but they move them at night, so it¡¯s a new story each fucking morning!¡± Glen had scouted the enemy from above with Uvrycres but despite the wyvern¡¯s inclination to dive into the occupied half-ruined town, Glen had decided to keep them safe and avoid another crazy scene like the one on the Barque. He¡¯d almost drown there but for the Matriarch¡¯s help, not to mention getting shot in the plaguing head! ¡°Lyceron could advance and draw their fire,¡± Kirk insisted and Glen thought of Hobor¡¯s File and the half-giant, the scenes of deep mourning that had followed had affected the Monarch deeply. ¡°I¡¯m not in a hurry,¡± Glen snapped cutting him off. He was in a sense as another fleet could appear but this was a hypothetical scenario. Glen dealt with the present. ¡°You saw the ship lurking outside the port,¡± Troy said finishing whatever he was doing. ¡°Ayup, it¡¯s the one that escaped,¡± Glen grunted. ¡°There¡¯s nothing they can do.¡± While tempting, he didn¡¯t want to risk another close call with them also. He puffed out hearing the rain stopping over the thick leather roof of the tent. ¡°Send Berthas.¡± ¡°Milord?¡± Kirk gasped. ¡°What will the lad do?¡± ¡°I want a distraction,¡± Glen replied thoughtfully bringing in his mind the poorly constructed barricades that had ¡®repaired¡¯ part of the ruined ancient outer walls and blocked the main road leading to the docks or towards the east heights. ¡°Sahor and Fane should keep the cretins D¡¯Orsi left in our flanks checked and Lyceron will use the distraction to advance. I¡¯ll take care of the rest,¡± he added resigned to the fact that it was unavoidable. Glen knew how to break the mercenaries. He just needed to minimize the risk. D¡¯Orsi wanted to draw him into the town. His defenses more in depth and not near the frontline or the walls. ¡°Slay the cretin heathen! Let us gorge ourselves on their blood and tears!¡± The Cofol mercenary bellowed with fanatical fervor and some eloquence going as far as to raise a fist as if mimicking the Horselords of the steppe. Even so, no one supported his enthusiasm given that Kirk had relatives in Lesia and Troy was of course a Lorian from Novesium. ¡°How about ye suck on me heathen phallus Batau? Here,¡± the gladiator taunted the caravan guard and part-time slaver grabbing at his cock with a hand over a short tunic he had on. Glen left them to solve it amongst themselves, his mind trying to decipher their opponent¡¯s plan. It is as if they want to lure the wyvern in, provoke it, have it use its magic from up close to dig out the defenders and kill us both in the ensuing confusion with shots coming from unexpected concealed positions. D¡¯Orsi was either being vindictive here or his primary orders were all along to take Glen out. Which made the whole affair taste and feel even more personal for the irate Monarch who had managed to work himself into a frenzy just thinking about it. So ye bastards want to entrap me? Made a fool alike the village idiot? Ye sneaky rotten cocksucker! A furious Glen thought with a scowl of annoyance. I¡¯m going to fuck you all up. You¡¯ll never step foot in Wetull again! -
Primo D¡¯Orsi was about to climb down the small roof when he felt the humid -after the rainfall- winter air drying up. A fiery breeze blowing suitable for the heart of summer. The temperature rising abruptly and static crackling under the dispersing clouds, but no thunder coming. ¡°Damnation,¡± Monte cursed behind his back, stopping himself when D¡¯Orsi did the same to turn around and return to his previous spot. Monte offered the spyglass and Primo took it again just as the first strange muffled popping sound was heard beyond their fortifications. PFOOM! Primo caught sight of the explosion and the flames engulfing part of the center wall, the gaps filled with rubble and cut wood. Another explosion following three hundred meters away from that spot. ¡°The Wyvern?¡± Monte asked as D¡¯Orsi scanned beyond Captain Gravina¡¯s group¡¯s lines at the unseen enemy. He could hear Sergeant Fulvous Cactus ordering his posted behind fortifications archers to get ready. ¡°Report!¡± D¡¯Orsi barked instead of replying to Monte looking at the sergeant operating the Scorpio at the fortified rooftop across the road from their scouting post. Another explosion rattled the defenders forward lines, this time blowing up part of the barricades they had setup the previous week. ¡°Everything seems aimed at the frontline sir!¡± The sergeant bellowed, two of his men looking at the sky for any sign of the wyvern. ¡°Message Cerra and Saxer on the flanks,¡± D¡¯Orsi ordered Adriano Monte. ¡°I want word whether the wyvern has joined the Phalanx¡¯s center!¡± ¡°Might be difficult to approach sire,¡± Monte said rigidly. ¡°We have to know if Garth is using the wyvern again mister Monte,¡± D¡¯Orsi grunted trying to spot the next fire attack coming from the enemy lines or the large beast itself elevating over them. The next attack that arrived had followed a straight line parallel to the ground and at a height of about four meters, a zig-zagging lighting that struck a shield-protected wooden tower splitting it down the middle and set it on fire. ¡°What in Uher¡¯s name¡­?¡± Monte grunted behind D¡¯Orsi¡¯s back and then a grouping of smaller fireballs ¨Cabout two meters apart from each other in a parallel line- bombarded Gravina¡¯s entrenched positions blocking the main road behind the ruined gates. It must be the wyvern, D¡¯Orsi thought anxiously trying to see the beast behind the billowing enemy banners. The black, gold encased, flags depicting a horned wyvern¡¯s head in red carried by Taras¡¯ guards as the Phalanx had no banners but for the markings each Hoplite had carved on the exotic black shields. Variations of wyvern¡¯s claws, dragon heads, ancient trees, staring eyes or whole faces and of course the three major well-known old gods. Nesande, the mother of magic arts. Her large blue moon watching over the smaller Oras¡¯ Moon on the night sky. The Kraken that ruled the ocean depths. And the Wyvern god that protected Wetull. ¡°Find it!¡± Monte yelled an order to the improvised firing positions set up on the tallest still standing buildings. The order relayed from the nearest Scorpio crew to the next. Mussel would have succumbed for a second time in a month to a firestorm of epic proportions but for the time of year and the rain that had inundated its streets and alleys. The rainwater had soaked the buildings and the cracked walls. Still the fires burned bright at many spots and thick black clouds of smoke had engulfed the majority of the front facing the enemy making it difficult to stay for long. Gravina started rotating the men out and Binda who acted as a reserve directed fresh troops to man their positions or help douse the fires. An hour into the bombardment the fireballs and rarer electrical discharges ¨Clike guided lightings- stopped and an eerie silence fell upon the blinded by smoke defenders. D¡¯Orsi was being briefed across the street, right under the rooftop Scorpio post by runners or missives sent by Saxer and Cerra. The ailing Sardone¡¯s adjutant Keitel of Owls present, as was sergeant Calla of the Band of Silver, D¡¯Orsi¡¯s own adjutant Adriano Monte and the 333¡¯s second in rank engineer Turbot. Scaevola had been killed. The number of dead officers and men staggering. ¡°Saxer run into Cofols,¡± Keitel informed them. ¡°Bow-carrying riders. Turbaned and armoured fucks. It¡¯s a shootout inside the woods milord.¡± ¡°Um. What about Cerra?¡± ¡°They managed to get out of the jungle when the guards retreated to reinforce Garth¡¯s center but got ambushed by fighters and Zilan rangers. Cerra also reported heavy cavalry roaming the flats.¡± ¡°How many?¡± ¡°A score perhaps. Heavily armoured, multi-weapon specialists. Masked freaks like the Cataphracts.¡± ¡°Is the Khan assisting Garth? Is that it?¡± Monte probed with a grimace of disgust. ¡°Didn¡¯t they fight like last year? Is any of the info accurate gods damn it!¡± ¡°You said they are reinforcing the center,¡± D¡¯Orsi intervened changing the subject. ¡°Are they going to attack?¡± ¡°It seems that way with the bombardment slowing down.¡± Keitel replied. ¡°You think the wyvern got tired? Is there a¡­ limit to its use of magic?¡± D¡¯Orsi queried. ¡°I¡¯ve seen it happen afore,¡± Keitel replied. ¡°But it came up close after that. Equally nasty to deal with.¡± ¡°We want that mister Keitel!¡± D¡¯Orsi scolded him seeing that his words had negatively affected the others listening in. ¡°We want to see our enemy and shoot him in the plaguing face!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll get word to the crews,¡± Turbot assured him. ¡°They are not to fire against the Phalanx.¡± ¡°Maybe it¡¯s what they want,¡± Monte growled as he wasn¡¯t onboard with D¡¯Orsi¡¯s idea from the beginning. The veteran trainer and officer didn¡¯t believe they had enough information to definitely reach a conclusion on the beast¡¯s capabilities. ¡°Everything we learn today,¡± an emotional D¡¯Orsi said raising his voice. ¡°Shall be used by us or someone else on the morrow. Make no mistake gents, the word shall reach Lesia and our brethren shall make use of our sacrifices. Never has a group of mercenaries fought for a noblest cause! We came here to right the wrongs done unto the Wine Barons but today we fight for every Lorian back home, every citizen on Jelin that deserves to be spared facing these abominations! Their goods and wine were the lure and what we face here today is what was to follow had we not taken action!¡± ¡°The Phalanx is advancing!¡± A scout yelled from atop an elevated position on the walls. The words carried from mouth to mouth across their lines and deep into the rear where D¡¯Orsi was holding council. ¡°Want to reconsider that?¡± Monte grunted eyeing Turbot that was looking at D¡¯Orsi nervously. ¡°Now is the time to fire sir! Their lines are packed and we have the range marked down!¡± D¡¯Orsi gulped down staring at the thick smokes billowing over the fortifications and beyond them at the clad in steel panoplies mass Hoplite formations that had started approaching. Ah. A couple of young runners came at them from different directions. One from the rock-infected, Ticu-roaming west gates and the other from the docks that were three kilometers away behind them and to the south. ¡°Milord D¡¯Orsi. Sir!¡± The teenage messenger stationed with the rear area personnel at the docks reported with a sharp salute. ¡°Get it out of yer chest son,¡± Monte grunted impatiently. ¡°Sirs, Captain Fark entered the port and is asking for a plan of action. Lord Mclean is with him sir!¡± ¡°The Valkyrie grew a pair?¡± Keitel commented sourly. ¡°Can they evacuate the injured?¡± D¡¯Orsi asked. ¡°What for? Where?¡± Monte grunted. ¡°We could get some of the company out Adriano,¡± D¡¯Orsi snapped. ¡°If we¡¯re to save the company we need to push them back here and we can¡¯t get more than a quarter of the men aboard the Valkyrie anyway. Assuming the wyvern misses it again. Order the machines to fire on the Phalanx milord. Do it whilst there¡¯s still time.¡± D¡¯Orsi licked his dry lips, found the taste bitter and tasting of burned wood. ¡°Tell Fark to moor at the west beach. Where we made our initial landings,¡± D¡¯Orsi decided to buy himself some time. ¡°Avoid the port facilities to not be a target.¡± ¡°The wyvern has stopped firing sire,¡± Keitel reminded him and Monte glared his way irate. ¡°Maybe we can lure it inside the town again.¡± ¡°Not if it means we lose the ship mister Keitel,¡± D¡¯Orsi replied tensely. ¡°Has Fark mentioned anything else?¡± ¡°They found land beyond the reefs milord,¡± the messenger replied. ¡°THE PHALANX IS IN RANGE! TWO HUNDRED METERS FROM THE WALLS!¡± A spotter for the engineering crews roared from his post. D¡¯Orsi glanced at the frowned Turbot, the engineer¡¯s face ravaged by strain not that anyone present was faring any better. ¡°ONE NINETY FIVE!¡± ¡°Milord D¡¯Orsi,¡± Turbot pleaded nervously as the veteran sergeant in charge of the weapon had stooped over the edge of his barricaded roof to look for instructions from his commanders. Loud calls for action ringing up and down the streets and buildings adjoined to the outer walls. ¡°GRAVINA ASKS FOR ALTILERY SUPPORT!¡± ¡°ONE EIGHTY!¡± A knot had formed in D¡¯Orsi¡¯s stomach and he walked anxiously a couple of meters away from the building, stopped in the open street and raised the spyglass to look through a burning gap in the barricades ¨Cabout fifty meters away- at the approaching enemy formations. ¡°ONE SIXTY!¡± ¡°For pity¡¯s sake Turbot fire at your targets!¡± Monte growled behind him and D¡¯Orsi grimaced, the left side of his bearded face contorting violently as tension overcame him. ¡°Cactus started lobbing arrows,¡± Keitel informed them and walked briskly to enter the building in order to reach the elevated position next to the weapon¡¯s crew. ¡°Fire once mister Garrote!¡± Turbot ordered and D¡¯Orsi turned angrily to stop him. The twang of the machine firing covering his voice. ¡°Belay that order sergeant else I¡¯ll have you whipped!¡± He growled at the reloading nearby crew but the sound of several more Scorpios releasing their heavy steel bolts was heard over the rumbling sound of boots marching towards their front. ¡°ONE FORTY!¡± D¡¯Orsi raised the spyglass again as Turbot issued orders of cease fire to all his crews. The sun coming out of the dispersing clouds warming up his skin as he brought the edge of the instrument near his right eye, the sinister Hoplite helms now clearly visible, arrows dropping amidst their packed lines and then D¡¯Orsi realized his clothes were actually on fire. In that split second everything becoming clearer. But not clear enough. You cunning son of a bitch, a deeply befuddled Primo thought. How did you do that? The damage caused by the huge fireball was devastating. It hit the Scorpio-mounted rooftop and blew it up along the first floor of the building. Then it went through it still relatively intact, traveled across the street screaming over the ducking in panic D¡¯Orsi¡¯s head and leveled the three-story building they had used earlier in order to survey the battlefield. The massive explosion discharging beams, rocks, bricks, nails and debris of all kinds that teared through the commandant¡¯s body. D¡¯Orsi was hurled back towards the burning, half-destroyed Scorpio post and crashed like a ragdoll on the still standing wall.
- ¡°Berthas has fainted chief,¡± Hagen informed the seated on Uvrycres¡¯ back Glen. The Monarch glanced at the hastily built small wooden tower that could barely support one grown man. They had erected it during the night just behind the last of the Hoplite formations. ¡°What about the girl? She had some nice¡­ ehem, skills.¡± ¡°Unresponsive¡­ the word comatose has been thrown about as well from the medics,¡± Hagen said and jumped away from the smirking wyvern¡¯s swinging stinger that tried to skewer him. ¡°Cut it out,¡± Glen growled. It was a jest ha-hah! Uvrycres guffawed. Look at him turning white as a wall! Isn¡¯t it funny as all fucks? Fer crying out loud! ¡°Not for him,¡± Glen retorted and pursed his mouth behind the mask. ¡°Someone needs to remember to climb up there and get that fool Berthas down,¡± he advised and reached for the reins. How about a reflex test? The wyvern probed. Your man is turning fat. He can barely close the guards of the helm around his cheeks! ¡°No.¡± Glen replied sternly and eyed critically the flabby cheeks of Hagen spilling out of his helm. ¡°Eh¡­ the wizard tumbled over chief. Hit the ground like a sack of rocks,¡± Hagen said with a tensed grimace taking a couple of more steps back from the sneakily approaching him stinger. ¡°He¡¯s pretty unresponsive as well. Might need to fix an arm or a leg¡­ at least.¡± ¡°Bah, nonsense. He¡¯ll be fine! The medics have healing potions and he¡¯s strong as a bull,¡± Glen grunted. ¡°By the way you might want to move a bit more to the side Hagen.¡± He advised his bodyguard. ¡°Right away milord chief,¡± Hagen replied and eagerly retreated to leave room for the wyvern to take off. On to Mussel? The bored to death from waiting for the events to play out Uvrycres asked. ¡°Discreetly.¡± Glen cautioned. Fuck does that mean? Sounds sneakily ambiguous. Yes? ¡°Naught is ambiguous about it! You don¡¯t approach unless the place is leveled and our guys are inside!¡± Glen barked gruffly for having to repeat himself again. What are we cowards? Uvrycres roared deeply affronted and then started running in the open field to gather momentum whilst turning its horned head left and right energetically to glare at the watching soldiers. A smug smile on his face. Uvrycres could also jump and use magic to make it quicker to take off but the wyvern liked to run fast since it was young and Glen had just drilled into its head the need to economize energy to use it for spells. He guessed they had about half an hour afore the wyvern started doing its own thing again. Unfortunately for their enemies Glen now knew that he only needed less than twenty minutes to blast through whatever defenses D¡¯Orsi had installed. Maybe less than that. -
Crying Valkyrie Captain¡¯s log (Supplemental) 21st of month Primus, year of the New Calendar 195. Expedition day 109. The ship moored in Oyster Anchorage¡¯s west leg under the slopes late in the afternoon. The crew watched the town burning for a second time. Sullen mood all around. Several officers stepped forward to give rousing speeches. It didn''t work. There were over three thousand people missing or dead and we all knew it. Early evening. Survivors boarded the ship. The watch officer counted a hundred and eighty five souls. Thirty lightly injured included. Four seriously hurt we had to leave ashore. Since Ticu were watching us I suggested someone deliver the coup de grace and mister Arone took it upon himself to perform the nasty deed. Disagreement whether to put senior Commandant D¡¯Orsi and officer Sardone out of their misery. They are both badly injured. Saxer who managed to get out of the jungle with a group of ten Issir rangers suggested we bring the company¡¯s leadership along. The number of survivors rises to one ninety seven. Late evening. The Ship departs from Oyster Anchorage. We are heading straight south for the straits between the isles Ilithar and Lyari. A man died from internal blood loss. His lungs flooded and he drown in his stupor. Number of survivors dropped to 196. Of the ship¡¯s original complement eighty sailors are still breathing plus Lord Mclean and Phidias Arone. 22nd of month Primus. Expedition day 110. Late afternoon. The ship sailed through the straits with no problems. Two of the injured succumbed to high fever. Number of survivors dropped to 194. A crew member went drunk on watch and probably fell overboard. We didn¡¯t find him. Crew strength 79. 23rd of month Primus. Expedition day 111. We approach the reef infested shallows of Calamer. Massive tower visible through the morning mist. The island is twice the size of Ilithar and Lyari combined at least. Birds fly over the ship¡¯s mast. We follow the dangerous route just as the previous time. Measuring depth constantly. 24th of month Primus. Expedition day 112. First boats reach ashore to our old camp. We find no signs of the six man crew we had left behind. Two search parties are created. Debate over what happened is held in the captain¡¯s quarters. Good rapport. Morale seems to improve despite the catastrophe. Birds have been sent to Cediorum but we don¡¯t expect reply yet. A man walked out in the middle of the night and disappeared. He wasn¡¯t injured. Number of survivors dropped to 193. Crew strength 79 plus the six that are still missing. 29th of Month Primus. Expedition day 116. Captain Sardone made small progress. He¡¯s blinded in the right eye and most of his skin has fallen off or burned to some degree. D¡¯Orsi has missed a lot of blood and we had to amputate his right arm due to a case of early rot. He has multiple fractures at the shoulder joint and elbow. Four fingers were de-fleshed. He¡¯s missing the right ear but it is the least of his concerns. The two search parties returned with no sign of the lost crew. Morale drops and arguments erupt over their report of structures hidden in the wilderness. Bo Saxer suggested to form a new party with his rangers to venture deeper in the woods and try to find a fresh-water lake called Aebron in the old map. Mclean insisted on us securing the tower or nearby structures first. Almost sixty-percent of Calamer, one of the two bigger Islands of what was called Six Peaks island chain is under varying foots of water. The depth keeps rising but still most of the cities are unreachable. 5th of Month Secundus. Expedition day 122. D¡¯Orsi¡¯s fever dropped last night and later this morning the commandant came about and learned of the fate of his friends. Bo Saxer informed us that they had found a native living near an ancient village. The semi-wild Zilan had attacked them killing one of them and the Issirs had killed her brutally as retaliation after hours of heavy torture. While not much could be gleamed from the demon¡¯s rumblings, Saxer was convinced that more natives might lurking about and asked another party to be formed in order to reinforce him and bring up supplies from the ship. His report of a Lorian Barque moored near the river¡¯s delta is questionable. Mclean hadn¡¯t returned with his group from their trip to the tower so the decision fell on the two ailing officers, Sardone and D¡¯Orsi. With the ship moored and still under repair I agreed to lead the thirty man strong group following the route Saxer¡¯s rangers have taken to bring back a more accurate account to the two still-recovering officers. I calculate this to be a week-long return trip. No more than ten days.
Unaltered parts (along the final entry) of Captain Col Fark¡¯s official diaries from his time on the Crying Valkyrie that give a different account on the fate of the survivors of D¡¯Orsi¡¯s expedition. While not absolving the Throne of Wetull, it does provide some more context at the atrocious casualties and somewhat strengthens the Imperial apologists¡¯ arguments. It is provided here to preserve this text¡¯s integrity in the spirit of fairness. Preserved and gathered in a tome along several other diaries of officers, then published by 2nd lieutenant Flavio Dynan around 202 in Cediorum under the general name ¡®Expedition¡¯. The around a hundred original copies were ceased with an official decree from Lesia¡¯s throne but for some copies that found their way into private collectors hands initially. Some of them rumored to be quite prominent if not outright impressive in stature. The Bank of Trust had one and so did the Throne of Regia. A copy had reached the hands of Prince Atpa in Rin An-Pur and another the dwarf stronghold of Glorfalc. The first was stolen from the Bank¡¯s vault and found its way into the hands of Wetull¡¯s Treasurer Caius Cinna or according to another report that of his old boss the exiled Doris Alden. I had the privilege to read parts of the one secured in a private wing of Cartagen¡¯s Di Cresta new Library. It should be noted here that Flavio Dynan, who served on the Valkyrie was among the nine people found alive aboard the fallen in disrepair warship four years later when the first of the Lorian warships arrived at the island completely by chance during the war for the Sinking Isles.* - Lord Sirio Veturius Circa 206 NC The Fall of Heroes Chapter L Addendum -Volume IV- The Onyx Wyvern¡¯s rule Fifth Year (195 NC) -D¡¯Orsi¡¯s ill-fated Expedition- Based on Saul Ferrero¡¯s notes, recollections from our discussions and his upcoming manuscript of the era and his seven years as a slave-prisoner in Wetull (195-202). Based on a copy of Flavio Dynan¡¯s ¡®Expedition¡¯ I recounted from notes and memory.
496. The Wine Wars | Wyvern’s mercy
In the sacred lands of Wetull Eodrass rules above all other gods. This shall never change and no Wetull king shall ever sit the throne without the wyvern god¡¯s approval or without one of the God¡¯s offspring by their side. - (Words written on an alabaster wall-sized tablet inside the ruins of Nesande¡¯s massive temple complex in Elauthin, known as Crimson Palace. The specific room called ¡®The Hall of Dictums¡¯.)
Arguen Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Lord of Morn Taras Monarch of Wetull King beyond the Pale Mountains Aniculo Rokae Duath Erin I Menel Malantur O¡¯ Furu* The Wine Wars | Wyvern¡¯s mercy
*Archaic Imperial language variant (here the Cydonia Cazan jargon) -Lord (master) of Lies - Beyond the thick black smoke and the burning fires, rather easily visible through the collapsed parts of the ancient north-side walls and the destroyed barricades, one could still see the guts of the ravaged old Port. Mussel stood now mostly leveled from the walls to its docks with only parts of buildings still standing and piles of debris half-blocking its streets. Corpses were burning or could be seen blackened, fused into walls or broken up in smaller pieces next to armour and ruined weapons. The roar of battle has subsided or turned distant as resistance waned and more Hoplites poured inside the town. The road to the port was now open as the defenders had been split into two unequal portions that were trapped west and east of Mussel at its gentle flat heights. Lyceron was fighting there attacking from the captured center and Captain Fane was doing the same attacking from the north. The noose around the mercenaries¡¯ necks had tightened, their only hope of escape the darkness that was still hours away. As usual that hope was naught but an illusion. An illusion, a husky voice whispered in his ears escaping the Monarch¡¯s fragmented dreams. Come¡­ visit my secret garden. A scowling Glen jumped from the saddle, slid down Uvrycres¡¯ scaly body and landed with a grunt on the ground just outside the destroyed barricades at the gates. He stared at the well-ordered Hoplite Files splitting up into their smaller subunit, the twenty-five soldiers Lohos, to enter the town and head after Lyceron¡¯s men either west or east towards the larger cut off part of the town. RRRRRREEEE Glen glanced back at the complaining wyvern and crooked his mouth into a half smile. The mask covering his face mimicking the Monarch¡¯s expression, the strange hard metal moving like liquid. ¡®A simple illusion spell,¡¯ Angrein had told him a year back. ¡®A large part of magic is illusion but few master it. You need it though as a medium for the essence trapped inside the weapons to be able to express itself.¡¯ ¡®What is trapped inside your mask?¡¯ Glen had queried accepting the gift and burying the hatchet with the Imperial Blacksmith hybrid. ¡®Blood Kin¡¯ Angrein called his people although Glen knew only one other like him despite the Blacksmith¡¯s assurances that more of them existed. Inis Mir. ¡®Nothing. The mask is empty but for this simple trickery,¡¯ had been Angrein¡¯s reply. ¡®What of the dagger?¡¯ ¡®Other than fragments of a wyvern¡¯s soul and a witch¡¯s magic,¡¯ Angrein had replied looking at the exotic weapon. ¡®There should be nothing else there Hardir.¡¯ ¡®Hmm.¡¯ Glen had retorted not fully accepting the Blacksmith¡¯s explanation. Expert or not, the dagger wasn¡¯t his work nor was he that familiar with witch artifacts as Angrein preferred to work with metal. Glen¡¯s expression had turned into a scowl, the wyvern licking at the tear on its left wing that was still mending. Glen had used a healing potion on it the other night, lathering the sheer red skin around the wound and stitching parts of it. Uvrycres would eventually fully heal himself but the bigger the damage, the longer it would take. ¡°Monarch,¡± a rough voice said interrupting his sullen ruminations as the sound of galloping horses approached from the north. Glen turned around to stare at the imposing Hoplite leader. The square-jawed Zilan warrior¡¯s face hidden under the black helm with only its gleaming bluish eyes visible through the sinister vertical slits. ¡°Tetrarch Folmaeras sire, 2nd Othrim. Reporting for duty,¡± Folmaeras saluted touching three fingers on his armour. Index, middle and ring finger, with the pinky touching the thumb behind the palm in the old Imperial salutation. An old Zilan this, Glen thought and eyed the imposing warrior dressed in the intricately sculpted ancient armour. ¡°Ulovir is here,¡± he finally said. ¡°He¡¯s leading the 2nd inside Mussel Hardir. Resistance shall be crashed,¡± Folmaeras replied stiffly reminding Glen of Saevelos. ¡°What is your rank in the Phalanx?¡± Glen asked curious. ¡°I¡¯m the sixth Hoplite sire.¡± ¡°Why stay under Ulovir? Taras and Lyceron are lower in the ranks.¡± Taras was 12th but an ¡®old vicious dog¡¯ according to his tutor Lord Onas and the talented Lyceron 17th. The tenacious young Hoplite had challenged through the years a lot of veterans to a test of skill to rise up the ranks but he reluctantly realized that cracking the top fifteen was nigh impossible. Lyceron had gained a cracked jaw, a smashed face and a broken arm from the experience though. So there¡¯s that, Glen thought with a small grin the mask kept from showing. ¡°I¡¯ve served with the 2nd since I took the oath sire,¡± Folmaeras replied in the same gruff manner but with a touch of added passion. ¡°Couldn¡¯t bring myself to leave it or leave Ulovir on his own. He¡¯s my friend.¡± Glen nodded. His friend had decided to avoid speaking to the Monarch. Eh, maybe it was nothing. ¡°Is the fight over?¡± He asked returning his attention to the burning buildings. The fire had started in the middle of the town and had spread outwards, cutting off the defenders from retreating and splitting their forces. ¡°The docks are freed,¡± Folmaeras replied. ¡°Not much to find there. The hindmost areas were cut off and thoroughly engulfed in the firestorm Hardir. No survivors.¡± ¡°Were they engineers?¡± ¡°Injured and medics mostly. Some civilians. Most of the engineers were killed on the towers by the wyvern.¡± Glen grimaced. ¡°Proceed.¡± ¡°There¡¯s resistance at the heights but they have nowhere to go.¡± Folmaeras continued with his report just as Sir Alan Kirk and the Zilan Rokae arrived bringing a cloud of dust along that was added to the smokes coming from the burning town. ¡°My Lord Garth!¡± Kirk saluted sharply. ¡°The flats are cleared sire. The enemy tries to flee through the jungle.¡± ¡°Will they?¡± Glen queried gruffly. ¡°Those in the west might make it some way but we¡¯ve notified the guard at Sentinel¡¯s Tower and those heading there are in for a nasty surprise if they make it.¡± Glen nodded. ¡°Not a good jungle this,¡± he murmured looking at the woods outside Mussel east and west. ¡°Right?¡± ¡°The Ticu nest at the Fingers Hardir. Historically,¡± Folmaeras agreed. ¡°Best not to disturb them.¡± ¡°I have an agreement with their Matriarch,¡± Glen replied evenly. ¡°And her¡­ daughter living in my palace.¡± Folmaeras stood back impressed. ¡°The Monarch can of course have his choice of partners however exotic¡ª¡± ¡°As a guest,¡± Glen interrupted him dryly but the stout Hoplite added indifferently having regained his footing. ¡°¡­or exotic guests.¡± ¡°Right then,¡± Glen grunted and puffed out audibly. ¡°I¡¯ll need a horse Alan. Saddled preferably.¡± ¡°Take mine my Lord,¡± the knight replied but before he could get off the saddle one of the Rokae, Sir Nuvian (Sen¡¯s old royal guard) brought forward an unmounted horse for Glen. ¡°I¡¯ll enter the city myself,¡± Glen informed them with a glance at Uvrycres to stay put. He climbed on the saddle with a grimace as his maimed leg had been worn-out trying to keep himself on the wyvern and turned his cunning amber eyes on the stoic Folmaeras. ¡°Why didn¡¯t Anfalon send the 2nd Othrim immediately?¡± ¡°The Lord Commander decreed the 3rd needed its feet wet Hardir,¡± the Hoplite replied evenly. ¡°Why risk it?¡± ¡°The 3rd would have perished but not failed Monarch,¡± Folmaeras replied in the same absolute tone with a small pause afore adding. ¡°Whilst giving enough time for the 2nd to arrive. No other option was there for Lyceron. This is the Phalanx. The lad knows this and Saevelos would have made certain to remind him even if he didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°What do you think of Saevelos?¡± ¡°He¡¯s the fifth Hoplite,¡± Folmaeras replied dispassionately. Glen smacked his lips a little annoyed by the dearth of info or gossip and gave the Hoplite a curt nod. ¡°Sir Alan with me.¡± He ordered. ¡°Where is Hagen?¡± ¡°He¡¯s with the mage my lord.¡± ¡°Has he recovered at all?¡± ¡°Well the lad¡¯s awake and so is the young witch. I reckon Berthas will have to stay off of his feet for a while longer though sire,¡± Sir Kirk replied haughtily and gestured for the rest of the Rokae to return to the field and assist their flanks. ¡°I¡¯ll stay with the Monarch.¡± Glen clicked his tongue and the large warhorse started galloping away missing the rest of the knight¡¯s words. He wanted to finish the deal in Mussel and return to Morn Taras near his daughter. War was never a pleasurable activity to him or a priority. The men bringing this ugly conflict into his back yard naught but highway thugs and unworthy of his mercy. -
On the 22th of the month Primus, the year of the Imperial Calendar 3401, the Monarch liberated Mussel.
- Glen returned Captain Fane¡¯s salute and walked towards the rows of prisoners that had slowly gathered at their camp, six kilometers outside Mussel, after marching after the 3rd Othrim to avoid the still smoking city. Ulovir had stayed in Mussel to secure the port and root out any survivors. Cryptae Hagan had also stayed back and would join them later. Ran-Sahor¡¯s riders were still roaming the edges of the jungle to pick up anyone trying to escape the Zilan rangers that had been tasked with clearing the west flank going as far south as the slopes and the 3rd Finger. Glen had enough reports read or brought to his attention to last him a year or have him graduate one of Jelin¡¯s academies of war and logistics. He nodded at Lyceron and Saevelos standing outside the ranks of the Hoplites, offering a small smile to the Tetrarch Diryel who he remembered fondly. For her friend, the Hoplite Tetrarch Eldar Glen didn¡¯t much care about. Diryel had mourned the loss of Hobor very vocally and her lament had affected Glen who had come to understand more the heightened Zilan range of emotions. Their hate, their joy, their love and their sorrow. He¡¯d first witnessed it with Priestess Soletha¡¯s heart-breaking cries for the tragic loss of her daughter. Lithoniela afore her. Back then he couldn¡¯t understand it fully. Now he could. A long-living species is also susceptible to grief for a sudden loss. The fear of continuing on their journey without their loved ones equally sharp as in humans or perhaps even more pronounced given the length of the journey in front of them. Once you experience true loss, then everything becomes clearer. Glen decided and eyed the rows of dejected prisoners. Both old and fresh. ¡°A count?¡± He asked Sir Alan Kirk and the tired knight checked his scrolls afore replying. They had both been up all night visiting different parts of the city as fighting winded down. ¡°Three hundred forty five my lord.¡± ¡°Officers?¡± ¡°A Grimani and Calla from the Band of Silver. Sixty survivors overall.¡± ¡°Uhm.¡± ¡°We got nothing for the Owls sire. Four survivors only.¡± ¡°What¡¯s their story?¡± Glen asked speaking to Kirk in Imperial but keeping his eyes on the prisoners. ¡°Part of the command escaped west under Bo Saxon. An Issir ranger,¡± Kirk replied. ¡°They might have had help from the warship. Once the fleet is here we¡¯ll go out looking for them.¡± Lord Rybel¡¯s first batch of four warships had sailed out of Hardir¡¯s Port with the naval architect and engineer onboard. Glen grimaced but said nothing. ¡°279 prisoners from the 333 my lord. Some rangers under Cerra. He surrendered after we asked Captain Gravina to write an order for them. The Captain had asked for terms earlier.¡± ¡°Is he in charge?¡± ¡°Yes sir. Along with Cerra, a Turbot and that Ferrero character.¡± The scribe. Glen stared at the separate group of officers. Grimani being the better dressed but in most rough condition. Gravina coming a close second. The captain¡¯s armour was covered in soot and dried up gore. Saul Ferrero had a forlorn expression on his face. Matched by sergeant Calla¡¯s. Turbot appeared nervous as all hells, his eyes on the wyvern that stood about twenty meters behind Glen¡¯s entourage. ¡°What¡¯s the deal with Turbot?¡± ¡°He¡¯s an engineer from Cediorum sire,¡± Kirk replied looking at his quickly scribbled notes with the names, ranks and positions. Son of a sneaky goat, Glen thought narrowing his eyes. RRRRR ¡°You,¡± he grunted pointing an accusing finger at the ogling engineer. ¡°Step forward.¡± ¡°The man is a low-ranking engineer my lord,¡± Gravina intervened. ¡°I speak for the 333.¡± Glen eyed the officer solemnly. ¡°I don¡¯t give a fuck,¡± he grunted in Common and Gravina¡¯s jaw clenched tightly not expecting the rebuke. ¡°Are ye deaf mister cunt?¡± He growled at the nervous Turbot that gulped down, his face turning pale. ¡°It¡¯s Master Leonard Turbot milord,¡± he croaked visibly scared for his life. ¡°I¡¯ve a wife and a daughter back home.¡± Glen nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve a daughter too. She lost her mother,¡± he told him harshly. ¡°Now she is all alone back in Morn Taras because her father is trying to deal with you cocksuckers!¡± ¡°Apologies¡ª¡± ¡°Enough!¡± Glen cut him off abruptly. ¡°What¡¯s this? You didn¡¯t step on me fuckin¡¯ foot during some feast or other. Miserable plaguing donkeys came ¡®n stabbed me between them ribs with a foot long blade! A bolt yay big! Tried to kill my wyvern! Argh!¡± Glen let out a roaring tirade tipping his head back and getting all-worked up. He felt his blood boiling, the veins taut as wires and his fingers clenched tightly into a fist. Had Turbot dared to approach another meter Glen would have punched him in the mouth. The man didn¡¯t but Gravina made another attempt.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°Lord Garth I¡¯ll take responsibility for the men¡ª¡± Glen stopped him with an angry gesture. ¡°Did you plan it? This atrocity?¡± Gravina blinked. ¡°I¡¯m a simple officer milord. The decision was made from far more important men than myself. Allow me to remind you that yer rash actions caused this response. Smuggling goods into foreign markets, disregarding Jelin laws and selling wine when you¡¯re not allowed to.¡± ¡°So you¡¯ll not take responsibility for your men then?¡± Glen mocked him. ¡°You started strong then lost yourself in legalities and gobbledygook all of a sudden.¡± ¡°What? I don¡¯t believe your lordship understands¡ª¡± Glen stopped him with a loud snicker. ¡°Oh, this lordship understands plenty.¡± He told the discomforted officer of the 333 company. ¡°You talk of your men but you¡¯re just mercenaries. Fight for this side today, the other on the morrow. With no regard for any laws if your pocket is filled with coin. You talk of Jelin laws but here you stand in Wetull over eight hundred kilometers from Eplas which is that way,¡± Glen pointed an arm to the north. ¡°And three thousand kilometers from Jelin? More from Lesia I¡¯m sure. You look to appear civilized yet here you are attacking foreign citizen unprovoked and slaughtering natives with abandon!¡± ¡°Lord Garth! Sir!¡± Gravina protested with several of the other officers murmuring as well. ¡°You are out of line! We committed no atrocities¡ª¡± ¡°You butchered Ticu,¡± Glen cut him off midsentence. ¡°For no reason.¡± ¡°Ticu¡­¡± Gravina croaked not believing his ears. ¡°You killed Goras citizens,¡± Glen continued harshly. ¡°Destroyed Mussel and caused my person great harm. I have no regard for your laws, I don¡¯t care about Jelin and I¡¯ll sell whatever I want, anyplace I desire. Even so, I killed no one mister Gravina to make it happen. Trade shouldn¡¯t turn into a war but stay free and decided by the local markets. Your lot decided to make it a war just the same. Having said that don¡¯t believe you have me fooled even for a minute. The 333 is not here to deliver justice, you are not here to right wrongs or enforce laws. You cunts are here to take me out and install a puppet cunt in my place. Take what¡¯s mine and enjoy it yourselves, sell it for coin, drink it and fuck it for pleasure. All Jelin laws or sensibilities be damned!¡± Captain Gravina stood back with a look of worry at the other Captain Lancelot Grimani. The Lorian had pursed his mouth tightly listening to the Monarch¡¯s words. ¡°Lord Garth,¡± Gravina tried again. ¡°I surrendered my command in the spirit of noble warfare¡ª¡± ¡°You¡¯re not an army mister Gravina,¡± Glen just wouldn¡¯t let him finish a single sentence. ¡°We¡¯ve established that. Even if you were, this attack is unprovoked. A bloody raid. Senseless and grotesque. It caused great damage, ruined a city. LOOK AT IT!¡± Glen growled pointing at the distant but still smoking Mussel. Well, the town port was a ruin to begin with but still it wasn¡¯t as damaged afore and it wasn¡¯t burned for sure. ¡°Your wyvern¡ª¡± RRRRREEEEE Uvrycres had approached behind Glen shoving Zilan and Taras¡¯ guards aside, narrowly trampling Hagen under its legs. The out of shape bodyguard jumping away with a panicked yelp and making another sprightly roll on the ground just to be safe. ¡°Let me tell you about Wetull law,¡± Glen said raspingly, breaking the awkward silence from the wyvern¡¯s angry intervention. ¡°Actions have consequences. You take something from the scales¡­ you need to put something back to balance them again. There is no middle ground.¡± ¡°The men have surrendered! Only savages talk this way!¡± Gravina protested looking very tense with the way the conversation was going. ¡°Captain,¡± a grim faced Grimani said from his spot. ¡°The victor dictates the manner of compensation. Those that drop their shields hold no bargaining chip.¡± ¡°We¡¯re not in blasted Andatelia Grimani fer crying out loud!¡± Gravina blasted his fellow officer irate turning red in the face. They are from different companies but still. Glen stared at the roughed up but nicely-dressed officer. A younger man of around thirty years with a stocky built, a square face and short blond hair. ¡°I voted to fight to the last alike Trevisan¡¯s Peltasts.¡± Grimani continued. ¡°You parochial son of a bitch,¡± Gravina cursed him. ¡°Yer brother just married into the Borginas! Your family shall survive! What about the men?¡± ¡°To go into battle is to cast the die of fate and challenge the gods,¡± Grimani replied in a fatalistic manner. ¡°We fought on ancient land, we shall be judged from ancient law in defeat. My legend is secure in the eyes of the gods Gravina for I have stood against a wyvern and the Phalanx without fear. I lost, aye. There¡¯s no shame in that.¡± ¡°Where are you from?¡± Glen asked the sober officer. ¡°Conium Castle Lord Garth,¡± Grimani replied raspingly. ¡°Where in Luthos cock is that?¡± ¡°Well over three thousand miles away but it makes no difference right here and now. Our fate is in your hands,¡± Grimani had made a play there with Glen¡¯s earlier words. The man is paying attention, Glen thought pursing his mouth. ¡°The 3rd Othrim is aggrieved,¡± Glen announced to a loud murmur from the younger Hoplites of the unit watching the exchange. ¡°Who speaks for the 3rd?¡± Lyceron took a step forward. There was commotion in the ranks with several Hoplites wanting Diryel to speak for the unit. Saevelos turned around and barked for the soldiers to behave. Glen was uncertain on the reason why, although he suspected it. Hobor, you big dog you. ¡°The 3rd avenged its losses Hardir,¡± Lyceron declared loudly. ¡°We have won the field.¡± ¡°Mmm,¡± Glen stared at the scowling female Hoplite leader. ¡°The ancient law offers the victor compensation. Mussel needs rebuilding¡­¡± Glen paused seeing several younger Hoplites stirring in anger and urging Diryel to step forward. ¡°Lyceron, what is the matter?¡± ¡°Hardir, the 3rd has spoken,¡± a frustrated Lyceron replied exchanging a look with the stone-faced Saevelos. ¡°The Phalanx fights under Imperial creed Hardir,¡± Sir Nuvian said in Glen¡¯s ear. ¡°Any of its members can demand compensation as they are valued citizens that have given up personal ambitions to serve the empire. Hobor was Diryel¡¯s partner. It¡¯s a personal loss.¡± Glen nodded as he¡¯d that figured out given the female¡¯s reaction during the funeral. Diryel had Hobor buried under a big tree like a Zilan and had cut her blue hair short in grief. The old heads of the unit ¨Cthere weren¡¯t many of them mainly the stoic Saevelos and a couple of others- stayed quiet. Lyceron followed their example but the majority appeared to be rather agitated. ¡°I won¡¯t challenge Lyceron,¡± Diryel declared raspingly whilst looking at Glen with pleading eyes. ¡°Or Hardir¡¯s decision.¡± Eh. Gods damn it. ¡°Hobor was a noble leader,¡± Glen said with a weary sigh now forced to address the issue. ¡°He fell fighting alongside his men as is the way and now rests under the tree of life in perpetuity. His deeds shall be remembered fondly for he never hesitated in the face of danger. However¡­¡± He paused with a grimace, his mind racing back to Soletha¡¯s rage against Pelleas and his zealots¡¯ years back. ¡°If someone believes the scales to be at an imbalance then I¡¯ll allow this to be remedied.¡± Captain Fane took a step forward. ¡°King Garth,¡± the human officer said. He was now leading Taras¡¯ guards. ¡°We grieve for Captain Horton as well but the matter is resolved.¡± Well, Horton¡¯s wife and child might disagree. Glen stared at Lyceron and then at the pensive Grimani. ¡°Lord Anfalon has given command of the unit to me,¡± Lyceron said tensely. ¡°I have spoken. But I will accept any challenge to my decision.¡± ¡°The decision lies with the Monarch,¡± Saevelos retorted in a matter-of-fact tone. ¡°Even in the Lord Commander¡¯s presence. The Phalanx serves the throne.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll challenge me Saevelos?¡± Lyceron grunted. ¡°I passed on that for different reasons,¡± Saevelos replied evenly. ¡°No challenge required when the Monarch has spoken. To dwell on it is to sow dissent Lyceron. To act decidedly is to restore order.¡± Lyceron grimaced, jaw clenching under his helm. Saevelos stared at Glen instead as the murmurs quieted down. A crowd of over a thousand humans and Zilan stood in eerie anticipation. Glen didn¡¯t want Grimani executed. His straightforwardness reminded him of Emerson. That old world dignity present in some of his countrymen but not everyone. Remnants of a much harsher era but in a bizarre sense, also much fairer. Where would a Monarch stand on this matter though? Saevelos gave a slight nod at the drawn out silent response from the conflicted Glen and moved away from the formation of Hoplites. One of the veterans tossed him a spear which the ancient Hoplite snatched with ease, his long strides quickening with a sudden burst of energy. One. Two. Then he hurled the spear snapping his arm. The long weapon screamed through the air, travelled the ten meters separating him from the prisoners and skewered Captain Gravina right through the chest. The leafed tip bursting out of the officer¡¯s back with a sharp thudding and tearing sound under the gasps of horror from the onlookers. Gravina gurgled in total shock and dropped to his knees, blood spurting out of the wound and down his chin from his gasping mouth. Saevelos marched the rest of the distance, stooped lightly to yank the spear out in a demonstration of extreme strength and after raising it high punched it into the dying Gravina¡¯s skull killing him instantly. ¡°The scales,¡± Saevelos announced turning to look at Diryel but also speaking to the rest of the Hoplites. ¡°Have been balanced.¡± I want the engineer, Uvrycres announced with a shriek just as Glen was about to declare the matter over since Saevelos had guessed the Monarch¡¯s wishes correctly. ¡°The 3rd is satisfied,¡± Glen agreed while the Hoplite returned near his ranks under the furious glare of Lyceron. ¡°Mussel shall use your services,¡± he continued looking at the mercenary prisoners. ¡°In order to rebuild itself. Other related projects might need yer attention,¡± Glen added vaguely. ¡°For how long?¡± Someone yelled but the protests calmed down immediately as the unwilling to stand down wyvern moved past Glen to approach the prisoners letting our sharp growls. A pale-faced Saul Ferrero blinked wanting to speak. Glen decided to give him the opportunity and the scribe finally got the words out. ¡°Forced labor is always tied to a specific place your highness,¡± the man croaked through nervously clenched teeth, his eyes on the towering wyvern. ¡°Mussel is a big place,¡± Glen replied. Part of an even bigger city since technically it wasn¡¯t a town in Zilan law. Why, the whole of Goras was naught but a single city. ¡°But when work is finished, you shall go free mister Ferrero and write all about it.¡± ¡°Gratitude Monarch,¡± Saul replied with a bow of his head and returned to his spot making a gesture of relief to the others watching them. ¡°What about the rest of us?¡± Grimani asked Glen perceptively. ¡°The matter is decided,¡± Glen replied. ¡°But for one minor detail. The wyvern feels aggrieved as well.¡± INJURED! Uvrycres trumpeted angrily. GIVE ME THE RUFFIAN! No. ¡°There will be no more killing,¡± Glen continued over the Wyvern¡¯s angry shrieks. Uvrycres made a twirl on its four limbs to glare at the Monarch. Rubicund eyes glowing in frustration. I¡¯m not in agreement, the wyvern warned. They don¡¯t get to walk away! Glen noticed the plural there. ¡°But something must be given of equal value.¡± He added getting frustrated himself. Uh? This motherfucker has no wings! Uvrycres roared and turned around to stare at the shaking Turbot. ¡°Hagen go grab the engineer,¡± Glen ordered stiffly. ¡°Milord?¡± Hagen gasped a little disturbed. ¡°Sir Nuvian,¡± Glen growled. ¡°Cease that man!¡± ¡°Hardir,¡± Nuvian grunted sounding strangled through his metal mask. ¡°A Rokae is not an executioner. Give him a weapon and I shall fight him to the death!¡± Oh, swallow Luthos¡¯ swollen shit-covered prick! Glen thought irritated and eyed the paused Saevelos. The Hoplite turned around and marched towards the prisoners again, sidestepping to avoid Uvrycres¡¯ angry stinger that had started lashing out forcing the agitated crowd to retreat. Saevelos grabbed Turbot and forced him to his knees with ease. Using his right hand he snatched the engineer¡¯s right arm and pulled it away from his body. Hey, it was the other arm! Uvrycres growled with a smirk in the spirit of fairness. ¡°Saevelos,¡± Glen intervened stopping the Hoplite. ¡°The left¡­ ehem, if you please my good man.¡± Gasps of horror erupted from the prisoners and several humans tried to assault the Zilan that had his back turned to them but Uvrycres burst forward abruptly to scatter the crowd. A Lorian caught by a swing of the long tail was thrashed to the ground with a yelp of pain, blood covering his face and torn sternum. RRRRRRREEE! RREEE RRRRRRR Uvrycres roared and snapped his jaws audibly. ¡°Stop this madness!¡± Someone yelled desperately as the wyvern turned to approach the flaying Turbot. Saevelos steely grip was holding his left arm now, holding it extended above the elbow, despite the man trying to escape the taller Zilan. Saevelos wrapped his other arm around Turbot¡¯s neck and pressed until the man¡¯s responses weakened. ¡°King Garth, I plead for mercy to the surrendered sire! In the spirit of the Five!¡± Fane intervened to help out the miserable prisoner. He took a couple of courageous steps forward but got almost trampled under the hooves of the arriving Ran-Sahor¡¯s desert mount. The Cofol leader assessed the situation and then forced the Taras Captain back riding his horse against him. ¡°There will be no disputing the great Caliph¡¯s commands!¡± Sahor roared as more of his men rode next to him. Uvrycres had stooped over the sobbing Turbot, his mouth opening like a large deep well and slowly closing around the extended arm. The gleaming black scales covered wyvern had managed to maintain a sinister smirk, mauve lips pulled back to reveal dagger sized, black-glass like sharp teeth. More of the arm disappeared inside the cavernous mouth until it reached close to the shoulder joint. ¡°The Five don¡¯t rule in Goras! They never will!¡± A seriously peeved Glen declared in a loud voice to silence the dissent that was about to erupt from all sides. He reached deep in Imperial lore for this. ¡°Only one kind of mercy these sacred lands provide, only one rule they shall ever recognize! Those that aspire to dispute this set-in-stone dictum,¡± Glen growled feeling the wyvern¡¯s ravenous thoughts overwhelming his senses in blistering waves. ¡°Shan¡¯t have the privilege to savor any rewards whatsoever but they shall face the wyvern¡¯s judgement.¡± A hair-raising guttural growl and Uvrycres¡¯ jaws snapped shut abruptly. A simple yank of its massive scaly head and it separated the screaming Turbot¡¯s arm from his body. Blood gushed out of the wound and the crowd watched in dismay as the still smirking wyvern briefly chomped at the bones and flesh with enthusiasm afore it swallowed everything down. ¡°Dear Saevelos,¡± Glen grunted hoarsely and the stone-faced Hoplite raised his helmed head. ¡°The Monarch absolves you of yer father¡¯s sins. You shall serve the throne directly henceforth.¡± Saevelos stood up releasing the bleeding out unresponsive Turbot. Medics from both camps rushed to provide assistance to the injured engineer and the veteran Hoplite stepped out of their way. He stilled his cold eyes on Glen¡¯s face and gave a simple sharp nod of agreement with his head. - A day after some of the prisoners departed for Taras, with the majority remaining in the camp to help clear and rebuild the facilities at Mussel, Glen who had remained behind with his entourage watched as the first of Lord Rybel¡¯s ¨CWetull¡¯s master of ships- massive galleasses entered the ruined and still smoking in several places port. With all its long oars out the warship approached aiming to moor moving gracefully over the gentle waves. Its large decks painted red and black, the exotic triangular now gathered sails a dark crimson -like the color of the palace back in Elauthin. The Imperial sigil, the horned wyvern¡¯s head sculpted at its bow. The menacing jaws open and a lightstone torch secured inside the polished bronze interior of the mouth to show the way at night. A rarely excited Rybel waved triumphantly at the Monarch when he spotted him ¨CGlen was watching from the destroyed but cleared out docks. The naval engineer was excited he¡¯d managed to complete the ship¡¯s maiden journey successfully. ¡°A Royal bird brought a message from Tenebrous Castle sire,¡± Sir Alan Kirk informed Glen in his unruffled manner, after coming to stand next to the helmetless Monarch. Alan could deliver the best or worst news without ever changing his tone. It was a plaguing skill. ¡°My daughter?¡± Glen asked feeling a tang of worry. ¡°Nay my Lord,¡± the loyal human knight replied. ¡°It is from Lord Fikumin. I¡¯m uncertain whether it¡¯s important or not but it¡¯s sealed with royal wax and for the King¡¯s eyes only. So I reckon it is.¡± Important was his meaning. Glen licked his lips thoughtfully and sensed the warm breeze coming from the open seas changing its motion subtly. But you could tell. It came alive and danced around the silently contemplating Monarch touching him like a soft caress. Tiny tendrils shaping into long graceful fingers, whispers spoken in forgotten archaic Imperial reciting a young boy¡¯s dream and sometime in the past, behind a long sheer white fishnet veil, two striking azure-colored eyes with glowing silver spots turned their majestic gaze on the poorly-dressed young knight perturbed. As if the scene was a deep surprise to her as well. As if she had expected someone else. The latest addition to the dream sequence disturbing and unexpected. ¡°Anfalon is in Taras then?¡± Glen asked hoarsely feeling nervous all of a sudden and a little uneasy with the persistent memory of that old affair inside Oakenfalls pyramid. Or its connection to the siege of Rida and the late Prince Sahand¡¯s long dead consort. ¡°Aye, he arrived yesterday my lord,¡± Sir Kirk replied and Glen kept his eyes on the emotionless Saevelos that stood tall a meter from him next to the shorter and less muscular, still nervous since yesterday¡¯s events Hagen. ¡°Lithoniela O¡¯ Baltoris,¡± Glen said raspingly and Saevelos¡¯ eyes showed a flicker of emotion. ¡°Has arrived in Taras.¡± The Monarch added soberly. ¡°I reckon we need to get this party moving gentlemen. I¡¯ll have to speak briefly to Rybel first and unfortunately you¡¯ll have to suffer the return trip without Uvry and myself as this can¡¯t be delayed.¡± -
At the end of the grieving King¡¯s Solitude, a period that he¡¯d made few appearances in court and lived a rather secluded life despite the gossip, the Mussel crisis erupted. Humans came to Goras planning to violently break the Wyvern¡¯s rule over Wetull and cease full command of its peoples. Much as they have always done to these days those ruling over the human kingdoms are beset by life¡¯s baser needs. Greed and envy of another¡¯s fortunes. The noble King was forced to deal with the invaders personally and foil their plans. Human stubbornness persisted, their pride making them unwilling to admit they were beaten for many years. It forced the King¡¯s hand. Hardened his heart as more and more attempts were made against him and his loyal allies. To cry foul on what it is done unto the worst representatives of your own species when you yourself don¡¯t perceive whole groups of Folk and peoples as more than animals, is hypocrisy¡¯s highest pinnacle. The Realm didn¡¯t want another Wetull King that¡¯s the bottom line. Never did. Didn¡¯t want to share. They preferred us all dead and a tragic old tale to tell their children. They didn¡¯t want to find common ground with Arguen Garth nor leave us any space to breathe, grow or a seat at their table. As all young kingdoms, the humans were brass and prideful. Duplicitous and cunning. I stand today shocked at the violence that stubbornness birthed and although my life along my purpose has changed through the years, I can¡¯t look back to those that offered a generous hand to a stray and find fault in their actions. Not when I see the level of human treachery rear its ugly head again and again decades after. Where is the word of praise for what Wetull had to sacrifice? Kings rule today because Garth existed. Ask the Aken. Where is the hymns to those not with us anymore? If Garth was a harsh king with an evil monster for a pet and another monster for a daughter then perhaps that¡¯s what was needed of them to face the struggles and raise a sturdy wall where the Realm¡¯s enemies were crashed against. While the humans wallowed into their infighting or looking for ways to enjoy the empire¡¯s or the realm¡¯s riches without paying any price, Garth and those loyal to him were willing to do what was needed to save us all. Never such towering figures will grace the realm with their magnificent presence again. To not have them anymore leaves a gap no amount of words can fill. The Third Eras¡¯ heroes are burned into my memories and I shall speak of them for as long as I have voice. With the invaders defeated and the danger subverted, Arguen Garth returned to Morn Taras with Uvrycres ahead of the 3rd Othrim and the army. Although we didn¡¯t know it yet and some even today celebrate the event at a different later date, on the 2nd month of 3401 IC during a mild winter, in the third year of the noble Monarch¡¯s rule and the fifth year into the legendary times of Hardir O¡¯ Fardor, the Princess of Wetull¡¯s 2nd Era, then third in line for the throne, Lithoniela O¡¯ Baltoris returned to Goras. With her as I already mentioned came another and much more important figure that was to unite the empire¡¯s fragments once more. Shrewdness needed its times of passion. Realism needed its share of feverish dreams. Vagueness needed its moments of clarity. Thriftiness needed its touch of flourish. It made us whole. Ushering a new Era of unparalleled glory, valor and I guess as my dear spouse frequently gripes in exaggeration ¡®utterly debauched monkeyshines ¡®n a heavy dose of utter madness.¡¯ - Events recorded in the first months of winter, the year of the Imperial Calendar 3401 of the Third Era, three years into Arguen Garth¡¯s reign by Phinariel O¡¯ Glorfalc, ¡®The Boorish Poet¡¯ Jarlinde of all the Folk, Mistress of Glorfalc, Warden of Rodos Gondobar & the Nor Maze Peaks of the Far North. Former Royal Scribe, Advisor & permanent member of the Queen¡¯s Council, in Monarch¡¯s Solitude* (Final paragraph) Entered into the royal library with a royal decree in 210 NC, Circa 3416 IC (3rd Era)
*Lady Phinariel¡¯s lengthy manuscripts and poems were gathered in five hefty tomes named -King¡¯s Anabasis, A Monarch¡¯s Solitude, the Moon¡¯s return, Desolation and Apotheosis (the latter known as the King¡¯s Heritors) also contained several songs and a long lament inspired by the Song of Dawn, an earlier psalm the shrewd poet favored immensely.
497. Scorned Hearts (1/5)
Lucius Alden, ¡®Bloody Tiger¡¯ Lord Lucius Aldenus the third, Praetor Maximus, Legatus ¡®Omnis Legionis¡¯ King Lucius III Scorned Hearts Part I -Eyes that cast a distant gaze-
The Bloody Tiger¡¯s court Kingdom of Greater Regia (after the addition of Kas, the northern territories & Storm¡¯s Rest) Established circa 193 NC (in most cities after Lucius entered Cartagen) or 192 NC (in Asturia after the King¡¯s marriage to Lady Monica Holt) per Sirio Veturius & the Holts with a few divisive scholars giving 194 NC (the end of the two King¡¯s era) as the starting date. Circa 195 NC (during the ¡®Battles between the Great Lakes of Kaltha¡¯ & D¡¯Orsi¡¯s Expedition) - ¡®The Throne of Regia¡¯ King Lucius Aldenus, the third. Queen ¡®Red¡¯ Faye ¡®Numbers¡¯ Alden Queen Monica ¡®Holt¡¯ Alden Prince Roderick ¡®Lord Tigon¡¯ (b.190 NC in Kas) Prince Alistair III (b.193 NC in Cartagen) Prince Ralph III (b.194 NC in Cartagen) Alistair II ¡®De Weer¡¯ Alden ¨C ¡®Blond Crow¡¯ (b.191 NC in Alden ¨CJeremy/Janneke) Princess Vacia (b.193 NC in Cartagen) Princess Patience ¡®De Weer¡¯ Alden (b.191 NC in the city of Alden -Jeremy/Janneke) Aegium branch Baron Vinicius Alden (Lord of Saltville ¨CAlden of Aegium) Aurelius Alden (b.192 NC in Saltville ¨CAlden of Aegium /Magdalena Riveras) Lady Sandra ¡®Rhodium Rose¡¯ Alden (b.184 NC in Aegium ¨CAlden of Aegium /Magdalena Riveras) Aldenfort branch Baron Reynard Alden (Aldenfort ¨CAlden of Canlita Sea/Aldenfort) Brutus Alden (b.177 NC in Aldenfort ¨CAlden of Canlita Sea/Aldenfort) Not in line of succession Doris Alden (in exile, former Duke of Aegium, disinherited with royal decree. Wetull¡¯s advisor, Director of South Eplas Trading Company) - The Quadrumvirate A closed military council directly below the King under oath & tasked with running the military & ¡®matters of outmost importance for the realm in the King¡¯s absence¡¯ per Lucius¡¯ order ¡®Quintus decem¡¯ or ¡®Royal decree number fifteen¡¯. The deliberately vague wording of the king¡¯s decree placed enormous power in the hands of the Quadrumvirate. Under Consul Galio ¡®Old Oak¡¯ Veturius (Governor of Storm¡¯s Rest, King¡¯s Advisor) Propraetor Macrinus (Lord Governor of Greater Kas, Warden of Northern territories, Commander of Fifth Legion ¡®Nordic¡¯) Tribune Varus ¡®the Book¡¯ Trupo (active Commander of the Third Legion, Secretary of War Cabinet, King¡¯s Advisor, military historian. A Lesia noble from Sartor. Guardian of the Capital & the East Border.) Legatus Nonus ¡®Solid¡¯ Sula (Commander of the Fourth Legion, ¡®temporary¡¯ Governor of Aegium. Distant kin to Duke Sula of Demames. Guardian of the South Coast.) Legatus Marcus-Antonius Merenda (Commander of the First Legion. Youngest legitimized bastard of Sir Seleucid Merenda the Lord Commander of Cartagen¡¯s Royal Guard. Guardian of West Border.) - The Council Consul Galio Veturius as the leader of the Quadrumvir. Grand Duke Hunter Holt of Asturia (former Commander of First Legion. Former Shield of the King. He was usually represented by an adjutant or Sir Flavius Nasica.) Duke Paulus Sula of Demames (usually represented by his cousin Baron Drusus Sula.) Duke Sissena Brakis of Illirium (Regia¡¯s Admiral, Master of Ships) Lord Robart Holt (Regia¡¯s Treasurer, Master of Coin.) High Baron Montague Valens (Cartaport. The King¡¯s Shield. Royal Governor in absentia.) Baron Curtius Vendor (Two Rivers Castle. Master of Justice.) Director of LID Vibius Ramirus (The Third Legion¡¯s intelligence officer and Lucius¡¯ close advisor had taken over the duties of the Master of Silence after Lucius abolished the office. Director Ramirus build permanent LID offices in Regia and allowed his agents to work independently from their various Legion postings. A controversial decision.) Grand Disciple Aulus Ventor (High Priest of Tyeus standing in for the ¡®Five¡¯.) High Priestess Augusta Flavia (High Priestess of Naossis from Valeria. Naossis¡¯ Temple had blessed Lucius as King in Asturia after his wedding to Lady Monica and insisted strongly to be part of the Council when Ventor was asked by Duke Sula to participate to represent the ¡®Five¡¯ gods.) Baron Jacob II Jacobred standing in for Duke Redmond of Kadrek (representing the semi-independent Duchy of Sovya. When absent Sir Norman Gatrell of Yepehir stood in for Jacob.) Duchy of Novesium (?) The position remained empty for a time with its former Duke Ursus remaining imprisoned in Cartagen¡¯s dungeons and his titles left vacant. New Mayor Reganus of Moon¡¯s Haven (a former Mayor there as well) who had surprisingly won the local landowners vote of confidence in a very tense and bloody race that had come down to a couple of yays was to fill that role. Reganus had petitioned the King using brow-raising flowery language to allow ¡®the much experienced & beyond reproach¡¯ Baron Storm Nattas to take over his (Reganus¡¯) duties in the Council until the matter of a new Mayor for Moon¡¯s Haven was to be decided. The position had been vacated by Reganus to enter the race for the nearby much bigger city. Lucius dismissed Reganus¡¯ suggestion, ordered him to ¡®concentrate in his new loftier position with the dedication he¡¯d promised during his campaign and forget all about the nearby barony¡¯s business¡¯. Lucius did later allow Nattas to work outside the Council¡¯s meetings to assist in the affairs of the rebuilding city after Mayor Reganus revealed himself unable to manage the workload and of limited intelligence. ¡®Never has a stupider & philistine politician of shady peasant stock and no perceptible skills or charisma, elevated himself in so narrow a timeframe in this kingdom¡¯s history¡¯ the King famously commented in a close cabinet meeting after Reganus failed to repair Novesium¡¯s sewer system in time for the rains of winter. The failure becoming even more glaring since Robart¡¯s Holt¡¯s treasury released the funds to him. It caused the coastal tourist city¡¯s streets to flood with rivers of human and animal manure that birthed insane amounts of lice and other infectious parasites come spring. It was to kill three hundred and seventy seven civilians with the typhus fever inside two months in the ¡®Spring of Malady¡¯ of 195 NC. - The Tiger¡¯s Entourage Lucius bodyguards, palace & household personnel Consul Galio ¡®Old Oak¡¯ Veturius (Advisor) Director Vibius ¡®Vulture¡¯ Ramirus (Advisor) Tribune Varus ¡®The Book¡¯ Trupo (Advisor) Centurion Mamercus Sorex (when in Capital) Legatus Marcus-Antonius Merenda (when in Capital) Nipius Bonosus, Architect. Sculptor. (Master of Public Works) Prefect (3rd Legion Engineers) Potis Durio. Engineer, Architect. Sirio Veturius. Royal Scribe, Historian. Former LID agent with the 3rd. (Allowed to stay in the Capital after 194 NC to be near his wife. The Consul¡¯s nephew.) Sir Seleucid Merenda (Lord Commander of Royal Guard) Sir Aesop Sabinus, Royal Knight (The King¡¯s Bodyguard) Sir Roman Valgus, Royal Knight (The King¡¯s Bodyguard) Centurion ¡®Mangled¡¯ Mede, 2nd Century/1st Cohort. (Alongside Lucius the only other Legion officer considered a ¡®named¡¯ warrior by the Northerners. The 3rd Legion unit and its one-eyed half-mask wearing Centurion remained near the Palace grounds and the King per the Consul¡¯s orders to protect the Praetor Maximus. It created some tension with the Royal Guard especially with the presence of so many of Ramirus¡¯ agents that roamed the city & Palace grounds as well.) Percival Gaeta. Royal Adjutant, General of Cartagen Guards (Baron Valens¡¯ old adjutant) Cyrus Falx ¡®the elder¡¯ ¨C Royal Chamberlain Cyrus Falx, the second -Royal Attendant. Son of Cyrus the Elder. Licinia Diana, Royal Courtier Dottore Marcus Epolonius (Royal Doctor, Academic) Dottore Silvio Marianus (3rd Legion) Sir Flavian Gregor, Royal Knight (to Queen Monica) Sir Antigonus Calvus, Royal Knight (to Queen Monica) Sir Flavius Nasica, Croton (Knighted ¡®for staying on the saddle to serve far-above pay and duty whilst gravely injured¡¯ by Duke Holt after the Lorian Plains Battle. One of the finest equestrians of his era and leader of men-at-arms. Lord Bernard Holt¡¯s childhood friend. Frequented the palace grounds.) Logan ¡®Gray¡¯ Barret. Fabled ¡®named¡¯ Northern warrior & multiple wars veteran. Considered a mute. Rumored to be ¡®Unkillable¡¯, a rare moniker he shared with another infamous ¡®named¡¯ warrior Dirk Curd. Member of the ¡®over-a-hundred slain¡¯ club. An excellent swordsman with both arms & a superb ranger. Acting leader of the Numbers Warband. Prince Roderick¡¯s Guardian. (The Warband was oath-sworn to Faye and lived inside the Palace Gardens woods.) ¡®Hulking¡¯ Layton (A half-giant of unknown origins that Lucius had befriended. Famously always wore a cumbersome ice-bear pelt over his already very-heavy armour. Mentioned in the dailies multiple times despite not being an official member of the 3rd Legion. Sort of joined the Numbers Warband for a while after 193 NC.) ¡®Uncouth¡¯ Torcal McKee, Adam ¡®Jaws¡¯ Hough, Ned O¡¯ Farrell. (Named warriors, warband leaders & war veterans hailing from the distant Numre Burg -Numbers in Nordic. A Blonden province near the Iron Mountain in the Far North. They were also at times part of Queen Faye¡¯s entourage.)
- Early morning 3rd of Secundus, 195 NC The King¡¯s Bridge Little Cartagen West side of Mabindon River The road to Cartagen¡¯s West Gates. ¡°Make way for the King!¡± Sir Seleucid barked leading his horse against the carts blocking one of the large stone bridge¡¯s lanes. ¡°God damn lethargic loggerheads.¡± ¡°Sir Seleucid,¡± Lucius intervened from atop Nightsilver. ¡°It is much easier for men on horses to maneuver than it is for animal-drawn carts.¡± The Lord Commander stopped his warhorse just shy from shoving the panicked merchant over the bridge¡¯s rails and raised the cover of his helm perturbed. ¡°My liege, this is the King¡¯s Bridge.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t argue on the name,¡± Lucius replied with a reassuring smile for the hurrying to get out of the large entourage¡¯s way merchant. ¡°But it is still a bridge for all Sir Merenda.¡± He stared at the bowing merchant a little more austerely now. ¡°Which means the King gets to use it same as all others.¡± ¡°King Lucius my deepest apologies,¡± the merchant agreed moving his laden cart past them. ¡°Have an auspicious morning your grace. Luthos favor upon you and your household!¡± Lucius nodded once in appreciation. ¡°They look to avoid the taxes at the South Gates sire,¡± Percival Gaeta informed Lucius as they continued across the wide bridge and past the rows of wagons going the other direction. ¡°So they come to Little Cartagen first, loop around the back roads to reach Godswood and then cross Mabindon¡¯s First Leg there.¡± ¡°Where? Are they not using the First Bridge to reach Elysium Fort?¡± Lucius enquired, now interested in the topic. ¡°They have cut a road through the forest and they keep setting up small docks or crossings some kilometers to the west in order to avoid the second custom¡¯s checkpoint.¡± ¡°So they have a fine road available but they won¡¯t use it to avoid paying for its maintenance?¡± Lucius asked with a slight purse of his lips. ¡°What¡¯s the other reason?¡± ¡°Smuggling. The use the trick to enter the city and the practice just spread to the legitimate merchants as well. The South Gates is a nightmare to go through without proper papers.¡± ¡°How do they get past the guards at the West Gates?¡± Lucius probed watching the civilians, some strangers mixed in with them. Issirs, a couple of Cofols and several Northmen. ¡°Is it that difficult to check on a wagon¡¯s contents these days?¡± ¡°We check everything sire. But they enter secretly through the Slums. They dig tunnels under the walls, their entrances inside the dwellings.¡± Gaeta explained. Lucius turned to glare at the Commander of the Guards. Gaeta cleared his throat and then added. ¡°We are actively hunting them down sire.¡± ¡°Have you located these ¡®secret¡¯ tunnels? Praised be Gods Lord Lennox didn¡¯t think of that!¡± ¡°Not all your majesty.¡± Lucius stopped his horse, they had reached the flooded Grain Fields outside of Cartagen and he could see looking to the North all the hearth smoke rising from the Slums. The latter started some kilometers away beyond the muddy fields hugging both sides of the main road. ¡°The King stops!¡± Sir Seleucid barked and turned his horse around to bring their procession to a halt. ¡°Keep your mounts to the sides of the road! Sir Sabinus, you better clean that dirty cloak son!¡± ¡°Lesia asked for a meeting about something similar,¡± Lucius said thoughtfully. His mind was on the expensive desert road ¨Che had under construction- lately and of course on Marcus-Antonius dangerous undertaking. The Legatus had been stuck between the Great Lakes with no close allies near him. Lucius had considered whether ordering Legatus Sula to march up the coast towards the Kaltha border might be the way to solve a potential bad turn of events there. Could Marcus-Antonius lose the First Legion? He wondered each night. At what point the strategic benefits of stalling the Khan¡¯s advance and bogging him down would outweigh the loss in personnel? Lucius wanted the Khan to lash out in anger and attack him. It would free Lucius¡¯ hands both in the eyes of the weary public and the other Kingdoms that waited to see whether the ¡®tiger¡¯ will stay put in its nest or march on campaign again. Lucius had a plan half-ready in his head on how to tackle the Khanate¡¯s armies. That is several plans depending on who sided with him or not. He didn¡¯t really need Kaltha¡¯s assistance to implement it but he couldn¡¯t justify moving the rest of the Legions over another kingdom¡¯s borders after his many speeches on ¡®the need to end wars on Jelin and work to help the civilians prosper.¡¯ The cultured politician in Lucius urged for caution which the fiery general in him didn¡¯t want to listen. ¡®Publica Regia cautiones nititur et ludis insanis indulget¡¯, Tacitus had written many years in the past. Cyprian of the Aldenus. Regia¡¯s public strives in assurances and indulges in crazy games. Pleasant distractions and soft cuddling, Lucius thought. Grandiose plans and the return of ancient territories not really as exciting to the commoner¡¯s ear whilst pregnant with dangers and uncertainty.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Where¡¯s Trupo?¡± Lucius asked and looked to locate the Tribune. The mustached officer approached on a fine warhorse, resplendent in his shiny armour. ¡°You heard me Tribune?¡± ¡°Lord Bernard queried on instructions on the same matter sire,¡± Trupo replied using a soft cloth to clean some of the splotches of mud that had landed on his outfit from all the horses moving about. ¡°Apparently the Flauegran wines don¡¯t outshine the competition unless it is in the coin needed to savor them.¡± ¡°Your family produces a third of that wine Tribune,¡± Lucius noted raising a brow. ¡°Sartor wine really worth¡¯s every penny sire,¡± Trupo assured Lucius defending his estranged family¡¯s business. ¡°But when ill-repute venues offer similar vintages in half the price even the most savant of drinkers are bound to take notice or indulge in a sip or two.¡± ¡°Ill-repute?¡± ¡°Initially. Then the owner of a better establishment is enticed to make a deal himself to get his hands on the novel product.¡± ¡°I signed a decree. Every bottle from Goras is to be taxed heavily until their leaders reach out for a general agreement on imported goods.¡± ¡°The idea of borders limiting their access to the markets is nigh offensive Maximus.¡± Trupo noted. ¡°Such hubris! Do they still think themselves the old ¡®merchants of the Imperium¡¯? Eh. There will be no open borders without a deal with an official entity. Not with a war going on. No carte blanche. A deal Trupo involves assurances, military cooperation and a common agreement on the sea routes.¡± ¡°The Cofols want the freedom to buy land and open warehouses in the corresponding ports¡­ or cities.¡± ¡°The land belongs to Regia. We shan¡¯t sell what has taken blood and soil to win. What¡¯s wrong with our own warehouses?¡± ¡°The rent is expensive sire. People spot a fancy Cofol merchant and go for the kill. Metaphorically speaking. Either way we¡¯ll never agree on a long-term price with the Cofols. They love to renegotiate deals.¡± ¡°What does Robart think?¡± Lucius asked after he climbed down from the warhorse to stretch his legs. ¡°The treasurer is pressured from the Bank of Trust to keep the prices up. If I can be bold sire, you are also considering a loan to speed up public works. This fact weighs in Robart¡¯s negotiations with his former colleagues in the Bank,¡± Trupo replied. ¡°Because Lesia would rather not to have a worthy competitor in their market,¡± Lucius noted. ¡°How is Regia profiting by helping their neighbors apply pressure on Goras?¡± ¡°You are trying to mend relations my lord.¡± ¡°I do,¡± Lucius agreed. ¡°These are my mother¡¯s people.¡± ¡°And my country men sir. By the way Goras has asked for the right to moor in Aldenport, Illirium and Aegium.¡± ¡°It is a package deal,¡± Lucius grunted as he¡¯d discussed the matter earlier that year. ¡°Indeed sire. They want us to back Elsanne¡¯s bid for the throne of Kaltha. It will secure their east border from a nasty surprise.¡± ¡°Because Goras has an agreement with the princess and her pirates. They don¡¯t want to sour their relationship with Scaldingport which is the best port they have access to at this point.¡± Lucius wanted to negotiate with Lord Ruud but not in a package deal with Elsanne. Same with Goras. Each one of them presented different challenges. With Ruud it was the matter of Jeremy¡¯s kids. He couldn¡¯t have a claimant for the throne living in Scaldingport. The matter of Elsanne had far-reaching implications. Lord Anker had the legitimate heir¡¯s back and unless someone could produce evidence to the contrary, Lucius would never side with a pretender after all that had happened to him. Goras¡­ was a different beast and the Cofols were hiding behind the man ruling in Wetull. You don¡¯t use a fake shield to protect yourself or side with against the Khan which was what Lesia (or the Wine Barons at least) seemed erroneously to believe. No, you find yourself the best shield possible. ¡°We could wait for them to blink your grace,¡± Trupo suggested interrupting his thoughts. ¡°Only they don¡¯t wait Tribune,¡± Lucius said noticing the groups of civilians skirting around the royal entourage stopped by the side of the road. ¡°The ships still arrive in the dark of night. Wine is unloaded and travels up the continent. A sought after commodity reeks of profit and illicit profits birth criminality.¡± ¡°D¡¯Orsi might solve the problem for all of us sire. He¡¯s committed,¡± Trupo blurted afore grimacing in discomfort for the slip up given they were in a public place. ¡°Any news?¡± ¡°Silence from Lesia,¡± a blushed Trupo replied and brushed his mustache with two fingers. ¡°I would have had the Barons arrested,¡± Lucius said pursing his mouth. ¡°To act without consent from the King was borderline treasonous Tribune. I can¡¯t believe your family has a hand in it.¡± ¡°I can see the need for action and it¡¯s a semi-legitimate reason sire.¡± ¡°No it isn¡¯t,¡± Lucius replied abruptly, his eyes on the civilians that looked to avoid staring towards the King too openly. ¡°This is the last resort and still¡­ violence can¡¯t be the first or second option in business disputes Tribune. Even if Garth personally ordered the smugglers to come to Jelin ¨Cwhich sounds preposterous- this isn¡¯t a real invasion with soldiers and horses. Not a strong enough reason to risk war.¡± ¡°The consensus in Lesia is that Goras is a fiefdom run by surviving half-crazy Zilan, old-gods fanatics, vicious cannibals and cheating scoundrels my lord.¡± Lucius rolled his eyes at the absurd generalization. If a bunch of scoundrels in Goras could rebuild a kingdom, the pirates of the Scalding Seas would have had a naval superpower by now given they had a head start to them of a couple of hundred years at least. ¡°There is a unifying element that allowed all those scattered, thought extinct mind you, remnants of a species to start rebuilding again. You need a genuine cause or a well-dressed story, the sense of hope for your future and a convincing enough force to succeed in that,¡± Lucius breathed out and felt the sun touch his face as the sky cleared somewhat from the clouds. ¡°Who is gathering information about D¡¯Orsi in Armium?¡± ¡°One of Ramirus¡¯ agents. Speaking of stories¡­ there¡¯s a lewd story circulating sire.¡± ¡°Best to keep the details to yourself Tribune,¡± Lucius admonished him. ¡°We need someone in Cediorum. It is where the news shall arrive first.¡± ¡°We have a whole ring of people there my Lord.¡± ¡°Um.¡± Lucius nodded, his eyes wandering on the other side of the large road. Some of the merchants had set up small stands there to unload some of their wares to those leaving the capital. Mostly trinkets were on offer and fishing supplies. The strangest group amongst them a trio of merchants, consisting of a lanky hooded man and a couple of half-breeds with darkish skin and whitish hair. Neither Issirs nor Lorians. Only they weren¡¯t really a group the king noticed as his interest peaked. The tall merchant was selling leather articles of clothing and accessories. Belts and straps. Gloves, bags and even shoes. The couple was just standing there idle and the female was looking at the king¡¯s entourage with interest. All their deeds. Past and future. Old and new, the woman had told Lucius over a year back at Islandport. The sword remembers all souls King Lucius. The half-breed flashed him a bright smile and Lucius stepped on the concrete road to cross it unwittingly. ¡°Sire?¡± Trupo queried seeing Lucius walking across through the traffic with Sir Seleucid barking with a booming voice. ¡°THE KING IS ON THE MOVE!¡± The resting knights scrambled to their feet to follow after the solemn Lucius. ¡°MAKE WAY! Allgods damn it!¡± Sir Seleucid kept growling irate behind Lucius as the latter reached the tall merchant with the strangely symmetric but elongated face standing next to the female. The Lorian-looking man seemingly unperturbed by his approach despite the commotion Lucius¡¯ approach had stirred to the people walking the other side of the road and the rest of the merchants located there. ¡°King Lucius. Blessed be thee my Lord,¡± a local Lorian merchant of fish-supplies said bowing his head respectfully and Lucius returned the greeting with a nod. He glanced at the shifty-looking kid next to the grinning female and then at his brazen partner. A sister perhaps given the similarities, although she stood much taller than the younger male who was of a stockier built. Almost as tall as the indifferent to his presence merchant who had Lucius¡¯ height and the King was a man of considerable stature. ¡°He¡¯s a foreigner your grace,¡± the female explained with a curtsy as if to prevent Lucius from lashing out. ¡°Please don¡¯t have us arrested.¡± ¡°I¡¯m strongly inclined for your young friend has a crook¡¯s face,¡± Lucius retorted and the young thug went to smile at that afore the female slapped him once upside the head to stop him. ¡°He lived a troubled life your grace.¡± ¡°Of petty crime?¡± Lucius taunted. ¡°Aye, it was a fine line Nard walked,¡± the half-breed acknowledged and the merchant reached inside his robes in that instant, brought out a very large piece of fresh vanilla cake and slotted it in his mouth turning away momentarily. He started chewing on it audibly, giving Lucius very weird vibes. ¡°How did you know about the sword?¡± Lucius asked her, now his attention drawn towards the mysterious merchant. ¡°I can read a situation and use my intuition since I was very young,¡± she replied and made to reach and touch Lucius¡¯ chest with her hand but the arriving knights following an irate Sir Seleucid got between them and the king. ¡°Back away!¡± Seleucid grunted warningly. ¡°You little shit get your hands out of your pockets. Show me the hands! Sir Valgus grab him!¡± Trupo arrived as well and went to check on the merchant¡¯s wares, a pair of gloves catching his eye. The swallowing his cake merchant reached to get them for him. ¡°Leave them Sir Seleucid,¡± Lucius ordered and the knights allowed the tackled Nard to get up from the ground they had tossed him violently. ¡°I haven¡¯t reached a decision yet.¡± ¡°A decision on what exactly my lord?¡± Trupo queried in a Flauegran posh accent looking at the pair of leather gloves with interest. ¡°These are positively a darling,¡± he told the taller merchant. ¡°I see there is a label here. A known brand? S & R?¡± ¡°Samblar & Ryfon,¡± the merchant replied proudly in an accent even more exotic than the Lesia noble officer and Lucius caught the half-breed female rolling her eyes to the white in exasperation at the merchant¡¯s words. ¡°I stand bewildered for not recognizing the name given the quality I witness,¡± Trupo admitted nervously, his prominent mustache dancing. ¡°As I consider myself a fashion savant, though admittedly I¡¯m just now catching up with the new trends after a period of cold he-he. Is this a new talent?¡± ¡°It most certainly isn¡¯t,¡± the man snapped a little offended. ¡°Which of the two are you?¡± Lucius asked gesturing for Sir Valgus to let go of Nard¡¯s snatched ear afore it detached from the kid¡¯s head and the burly Knight reluctantly obeyed. ¡°I¡¯m Ryfon. The funny one.¡± ¡°What? Sabinus grab that fool¡ª¡± a disbelieving his ears Sir Seleucid Merenda barked but Lucius stopped him midsentence placing a hand on his shoulder. ¡°Do you know you¡¯re speaking to the King?¡± Lucius asked Ryfon calmly and a nervous tick-tacking sound was heard under the small table. ¡°There is only one king,¡± Ryfon started pompously looking just about ready to go on a tirade. Lucius narrowed his eyes in suspicion but the woman intervened to add in a teasing voice and defuse the situation. ¡°And the rumor is he needs no propping up but an honest salutation,¡± she sang eyeing the numb Ryfon who nodded once and turned to speak to Lucius again. ¡°Salutations,¡± Ryfon said steadily this time. ¡°Would the king consider a trade?¡± Lucius pursed his mouth thoughtfully. ¡°This king wouldn¡¯t,¡± he replied meaningfully and turned to stare in the half-breed female¡¯s face. ¡°I¡¯m Leirda,¡± she introduced herself warmly. ¡°In my dreams your grace was less interesting.¡± There it is again, Lucius thought. A peasant soothsayer. What are you doing? He asked himself and then stared at Ryfon. ¡°Where are you from mister Ryfon?¡± ¡°Eplas, oh ye King of the Lorians,¡± Ryfon replied, a touch a razz in his voice. ¡°Just Regia,¡± Lucius retorted with a grimace of irritation. ¡°Well, Regia must be a demanding mistress then,¡± Ryfon deadpanned perceptively, still a little too brazen but also with an uncanny sense of humor Lucius didn¡¯t expect. ¡°Indeed she is,¡± Lucius agreed with a surprised half-smile and lowered his eyes to see what Ryfon had offered him. It was the fine pair of leather gloves Trupo was examining earlier. ¡°A gift to the Ruler of these lands,¡± Ryfon said in a sober tone. ¡°For allowing passage.¡± ¡°That still sounds like a trade mister Ryfon,¡± Lucius noted and reached to take the soft pair of gloves. ¡°The King would be correct,¡± Ryfon agreed and bowed his head with respect. Hmm. ¡°Find a horse for the girl Sir Valgus. You¡¯ll take the boy,¡± he ordered with a last glance at the interesting foreign merchant. ¡°Sir Seleucid will guide the horse,¡± Lucius added turning to the giddy Leirda. ¡°I can ride your grace,¡± she assured him. ¡°Where did you learn?¡± Lucius queried unsure. ¡°You owned a horse without land?¡± ¡°Pretty poorly from watching others,¡± Leirda corrected herself with a blush. ¡°Aw. I shouldn¡¯t have said that.¡± ¡°Perhaps you shouldn¡¯t have. We¡¯ll put yer boast to the test. Also when a king asks a query you ought to answer him,¡± Lucius told her austerely. ¡°I can take a horse from the guards at the Gates sire,¡± Sir Seleucid informed Lucius and he nodded. ¡°Find Ramirus mister Trupo and remember to check with the birds,¡± Lucius ordered turning around to head for Nightsilver. ¡°I want to know of any new developments with the other thing and of course learn how Marcus-Antonius is doing. I¡¯m concerned about the latter.¡± - Two hours later ¡°Word among the palace servants is you brought a peasant girl with you,¡± Monica commented watching him play with little Alistair. The boy was fascinated with the gloves Lucius had brought back. ¡°A new lover? Should I inform the redhead we are being cucked?¡± ¡°A soothsayer. She thinks at least.¡± Lucius replied not minding her jab. Monica had a sharp tongue but knew when to speak freely. He glanced at his young wife. ¡°What do you think?¡± Monica asked teasingly and in a much better mood lately. ¡°I brought a gift for you,¡± Lucius dodged and her eyes opened in surprise. ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s for me?¡± ¡°They are too soft for Faye.¡± ¡°Maybe buy her a pair of gauntlets?¡± Monica teased and took one of the gloves from the cooing boy. ¡°Are they my size? Oh,¡± she gasped trying it on her left hand. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ a perfect fit.¡± Well then, that¡¯s bizarre. ¡°I tried them on.¡± ¡°Um. Too small?¡± ¡°No. One size fits all Ryfon bragged,¡± Lucius murmured. ¡°Who is this Ryfon?¡± ¡°A merchant I met on the road back from Little Cartagen.¡± Lucius replied thoughtfully. ¡°The slums have such quality venues? Why, in Asturia I stayed away foolishly,¡± Monica commented with a chuckle. ¡°What manner of name is Ryfon?¡± ¡°The man hailed from Eplas?¡± ¡°Not with that name. Reminds me of Gryphon,¡± Monica said with a cute frown. ¡°The temple has an almanac of mysterious creatures,¡± she explained and Lucius raised a questioning brow. ¡°It is how you would have pronounced it in Imperial.¡± ¡°My queen speaks Imperial?¡± Lucius teased her and got up from his chair, lifting the cackling Alistair high with both arms. ¡°Your queen would like a personal visit,¡± Monica replied huskily. ¡°Maybe she¡¯ll even wear the gloves.¡± Lucius returned her stare while rocking Alistair in his arms. ¡°I have the afternoon booked,¡± he finally said. ¡°What if Faye had asked?¡± ¡°I¡¯d say the same thing,¡± Lucius replied with a frown. ¡°But I¡¯ll make time later. For both my spouses,¡± he added a little sheepishly. ¡°We can do late too¡­ us legendary night creatures,¡± Monica giggled and waved at Licinia to bring little Vacia closer. ¡°If the king wishes to visit our lair and is willing to take the risk.¡± Of Faye¡¯s wrath was her meaning. ¡°The king wishes,¡± Lucius went along with a genuine smile. ¡°He¡¯s willing to take the risk. What brave knight skirts at the opportunity to conquer a wild beast¡¯s lair?¡± ¡°The beast won¡¯t put up much of a fight but it can be wild.¡± ¡°The challenge is accepted then.¡± ¡°Hah. I¡¯m expecting a pair of new shoes. The order got delayed for quite a while due to a mistake. It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± a smiling Monica explained. ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll put them on too. A leather winter outfit of sorts.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s the rest of this vaunted leather outfit?¡± Lucius queried and gave Alistair to Licinia to carefully take his tiny daughter in his arms. ¡°That¡¯s the extent of it your grace,¡± the young queen replied batting her eyelashes. ¡°I guess we¡¯ll have to make do with what¡¯s available.¡± - Early afternoon The Palace of a hundred windows King¡¯s intelligence briefing ¡°Here it is your grace,¡± Ramirus said and offered him the pile of scrolls. ¡°This is Durio¡¯s office?¡± Lucius asked reading through the short messages between the various agents and the reports attached. ¡°The local commander of the guards contacted the Prefect¡¯s adjutant with the details and Durio mentioned the incident in his monthly correspondence.¡± ¡°So Lord Bernard was on to something.¡± ¡°Maybe he knows more and said just enough to be safe,¡± Ramirus said. ¡°Are they certain they saw Lear Hik?¡± Lucius asked. ¡°Why didn¡¯t he return with the army? There are soldiers going back and forth all the time. What¡¯s the meaning for this ruse?¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t give them a chance to work on a solution,¡± Ramirus explained. ¡°The man marched away that same day. Comenius Paetus, my agent there, reported the presence of potential assassins or similar thugs visiting the city those days.¡± ¡°Are we certain he met with Lady Mclean?¡± Ramirus shrugged his shoulders. ¡°I would have said no two months back but Lord Bernard did mention she was in Asturia in his letter. For another reason but it fits this problem too.¡± ¡°Why would the Mclean agree to a meeting with Lear? They are aggrieved from his actions. Said so publicly.¡± Lucius grimaced and rapped his fingers on the table¡¯s surface. ¡°Couldn¡¯t you pick a better man for this Ramirus? This is a bloody affair.¡± ¡°My lord I didn¡¯t pick Lear Hik because he¡¯s a saint but because the business we tasked him to complete was bloody to begin with.¡± Ramirus scratched his forehead with two fingers tiredly. ¡°Long night?¡± ¡°Haven¡¯t slept in two days your grace,¡± Ramirus admitted. ¡°What is the army reporting from Eagle¡¯s Nest?¡± ¡°Marcus-Antonius is fighting the Khan¡¯s Reserve army. That¡¯s a whole lot of men with swords.¡± ¡°What about the forces that moved towards Colle?¡± ¡°They didn¡¯t stay there but headed south,¡± Lucius replied and got up to stare at a detailed map of Kaltha. ¡°I believe everything in Colle did the same. The Khan needs to free Lord Putra¡¯s South Group. They got pushed back towards Hunter Trap¡¯s Forest and Ruud¡¯s army followed them. This would have been a great moment to surprise the Crows with a full out attack to their north flank but the First Legion foiled that plan.¡± ¡°Lord Anker leaked that a good chunk of the Khan¡¯s Main Army left the capital for Colle.¡± Ramirus replied. ¡°He knows we¡¯ll inform Lord Ruud about it. Why did Lord Anker do it? Prince Radin crushing the rebels works to his favor.¡± ¡°Priorities and character. The Archduke is a known patriot,¡± Lucius replied simply. ¡°Plus it absolves him of any fault if Lord Ruud opts not to believe us. Did he?¡± ¡°Well, his first words to our herald were to come after the snows melt,¡± Ramirus sighed. ¡°Is it snowing in Scaldingport?¡± ¡°Not to my knowledge,¡± Ramirus replied with a sigh. ¡°We talked with Lord Sigurd Bach though and he took it upon himself to warn the Duke of the danger.¡± ¡°If they fail to guard Boar¡¯s Horn Bridge the Prince might break through and strike between the cities,¡± Lucius noted pointing at the map. ¡°The Duke needs to move sufficient forces north, leave Putra to wither away through the winter and block the bridge road.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way Putra can break out sire.¡± ¡°In war, timing is everything. You apply sudden pressure to a point from both sides and it will crack no matter how hardened or determined the resistance.¡± ¡°Could the Horselords mount a joint operation? Half their force needs to be abandoned if they even make it out of the Peninsula.¡± Lucius nodded deeply focused on reading the map. ¡°You don¡¯t make a rescue attempt to save everyone Vibius,¡± he told the listening Director of LID. ¡°That¡¯s just the propaganda part of it. You just want to get some of the men out or even sacrifice them to gain a small window of opportunity to win a strategic battle elsewhere.¡± ¡°Sire?¡± ¡°The Khan needs to break out to the interior. This must be his number one objective, all others just gravy. Dwin-Awal wants to do it through the First Legion, let us hope he fails and Prince Radin might try the same at Boar¡¯s Horn. Use the rescue mission as a cover to placate the Khanate¡¯s public opinion. I don¡¯t believe he¡¯ll head for Castalor. Nah. He won¡¯t for it is meaningless and it might trap himself as well.¡± ¡°Radin would never win against the Princess¡¯ forces. Scaldingport is impossible to take in a swift attack however brazen.¡± ¡°He has to take neither Scaldingport nor Castalor. Kaltha is a split country due to the succession,¡± Lucius replied pursing his mouth. ¡°That was Putra¡¯s mistake. What he needs to do is to force a big bloody battle or capture Rusted where the rebel army¡¯s supply and command center lays and then offer enticing terms. Maybe kill the Old Crow in the process to talk with a more reasonable opponent. Or the Princess for that matter. Everyone is staying there. What¡¯s the name of the unit guarding Ruud¡¯s rear?¡± ¡°The Gallant Dogs sire,¡± Ramirus said and seeing Lucius¡¯ amused stare he added in a dispassionate voice. ¡°A mercenary outfit out of Eikenport.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know Eikenport could support armies.¡± ¡°The King beyond the Pale Mountains can. They were working for him primarily,¡± Ramirus informed him. ¡°Does Lesia know of this?¡± ¡°It factored into their decision sire.¡± ¡°Because Goras was stripped of men supposedly?¡± Lucius offered. ¡°If I had to guess on the pitch offered during the pre-campaign meeting then yes sire.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t Garth support the Three Sisters of the Peninsula in their revolt?¡± ¡°All reports seem to agree to this my Lord, along the fact that Prince Atpa was forced to grant them their independence.¡± ¡°How could the mercenaries transport themselves from Greenwhale Peninsula to Scaldingport in such a short amount of time?¡± Lucius queried deep in thought. ¡°That¡¯s a huge journey across an endless continent, followed by a sail over an ocean. The logistics alone is a nightmare to pull through.¡± ¡°Mayhap that was a completely different army sire?¡± Ramirus guessed and Lucius nodded once in agreement. If you can spare an army to the west, another to the east then what prevents you from keeping an army to guard your center? Lucius wondered. Naught but people¡¯s false perception that you are a small fish in a big lake with no brains to spare. But hopes and dreams aren¡¯t actual intelligence, Lucius decided. Expect more from your opponent to be pleasantly surprised. Underestimate him and you¡¯ll come to regret it. He suddenly had this strange feeling D¡¯Orsi was about to get a very nasty surprise. It was a strange feeling of discomfort this that stayed with the King and wouldn¡¯t let go despite Lucius not having more than a brief memory of the Lesia nobleman or any real fondness. Lucius had attributed the dark cloud descending over his thoughts to this problem or the many big and smaller crisis¡¯ buzzing around the throne those days. Eyes that cast a distant gaze fail to discern the presence of the lowly serpent at their feet, Tacitus wrote. And after you strike at the serpent that bits you in righteous anger, you quickly cast the memory aside and declare the problem solved. Alas a truly great intellect can¡¯t fathom or bear the shame of making the simple mistakes all mortals do like standing above a whole nest of vipers until it is much too late. 498. Scorned Hearts (2/5)
Lucius Alden, ¡®Bloody Tiger¡¯ Lord Lucius Aldenus the third, Praetor Maximus, Legatus ¡®Omnis Legionis¡¯ King Lucius III Scorned Hearts Part II -Typhus-
¡°This beauty is Placus milord and ¡®blind¡¯ Goff,¡± the horribly maimed Dosser said, the Ranger¡¯s face stitched back together after he¡¯d gotten a spiked flail scrap everything below the nose away. Not that the silent Goff stood much better with most of his hair missing and the misshapen cranium sporting a bronze plate under the sewn skin. Lucius reached to shake both veteran men¡¯s hands. ¡°Regia shall remember your sacrifice gentlemen,¡± he told them soberly. ¡°Know that I want you all to stay onboard as trainers.¡± ¡°Maybe until the summer milord,¡± Dosser replied. ¡°Until the new recruits are fully trained. Centurion Slag is doing a good job.¡± The Centurion was missing an arm ¨Cwearing a prosthetic in its place- and the other arm was barely working after the Dottore had it reattached. Lucius nodded not wanting to argue with the heroic survivors of late Kaeso¡¯s unit. He glanced at Centurion Sorex and the former ranger ¨Cturned leader of the 3rd Legion¡¯s slingers- shrugged his broad shoulders. ¡°Goff is a much better shot after that blow to the head,¡± Mamercus commented and Goff looked at him blankly but said nothing. Lucius wondered if the man had serious brain damage giving that some ¡®bits & pieces of his brain¡¯ were missing according to Dottore Marianus. ¡°You didn¡¯t accept land in Cartagen,¡± Lucius noted and Mamercus grimaced. ¡°I¡¯ll take the coin to buy more land in Croton sir,¡± he replied. ¡°By the time I¡¯ll retire the south coast would be too much for me likes.¡± ¡°Why Croton and not Asturia?¡± ¡°Better game, nice virgin forest and near enough to Storm Rest¡¯s to visit the boys,¡± Mamercus explained. ¡°Not much family left other than the unit.¡± Lucius pursed his mouth knowing he still owed Sorex to at least find out what had happened to his brother. ¡°Stay in the palace. I¡¯ll have the guestrooms prepared,¡± he finally told them. ¡°Mamercus I understand Marianus is on leave as well?¡± ¡°Yes sir the Dottore came along with us. If I can speak for the lads here, we¡¯d rather stay in the city or with Mede¡¯s grunts.¡± Sorex added sheepishly. ¡°Mede¡¯s grunts?¡± Lucius asked and caught the young Cyrus Falx approaching. ¡°Only as a last resort milord,¡± Sorex elucidated. ¡°We rather see the city.¡± Lucius eyed the legionnaires sternly for a moment but it was mostly a friendly tease. ¡°I take it you¡¯ll stay out of trouble and venues of ill-repute then,¡± he told them and Dosser nodded a little too fast giving the game away. ¡°Your majesty,¡± the arriving Cyrus the second said. ¡°Gaeta asked for an audience.¡± ¡°I just finished my meetings for the day,¡± Lucius replied. ¡°I wanted to spent time with the family Cyrus. What is it about?¡± He asked seeing the expression on the Royal attendant¡¯s face. ¡°Novesium, your majesty.¡± Cyrus replied. ¡°The Consul is on his way,¡± he added. ¡°Eh,¡± Mamercus commented unenthusiastically. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to see ¡®Old Oak¡¯. Better we leg it Dosser whilst we still can.¡± ¡°Stay with Mede in the 2nd Century¡¯s camp,¡± Lucius ordered them just in case and followed after Cyrus through the palace gardens. - 3rd of Secundus (Alter) 195 NC Late afternoon Palace of a hundred windows Maps Hall east of the Throne Room Lucius glanced at the arriving Sirio Veturius. The scribe quickly found a nearby small table to deposit his scrolls and paraphernalia before taking a seat himself. His uncle had brought him along as the news had reached the Consul whilst on a visit to the Nattas villa where his nephew stayed with his wife. ¡°Gaeta was with Epolonius earlier,¡± Galio Veturius explained raspingly. ¡°He¡¯ll explain it further.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try my Lord,¡± the Cartagen officer replied with a grimace of discomfort and pointed the latest correspondence to the seating at the top of the larger conference table Lucius. ¡°This is from Reganus¡¯ office your grace. A report from Moon¡¯s Haven and the Captain of Novesium¡¯s guards is included. The larger second scroll is a preliminary assessment from Master Epolonius and the third, an order for Mayor Messor of Cartagen to take action waiting for your signature.¡± ¡°Who suggested this?¡± Lucius asked and stared at Galio. ¡°It is standard procedure sir,¡± the Consul replied. ¡°The moment the lads in my office read Epolonius¡¯ letter¡ª¡± ¡°The Dottore is guessing here,¡± Lucius interrupted him still reading the reports. ¡°Reganus doesn¡¯t seem that alarmed about the incidents.¡± ¡°Your grace,¡± Gaeta intervened. ¡°This is four families in the same neighborhood and sixteen cases in the refugees camp adjoined to their buildings.¡± He opened a map of the coastal city. ¡°This west part had to be demolished and is near the docks. The original groups of diseased had been found near the east docks and the fields of Emerald River a week back. Most citizens had tried to seek water from the river until the repairs to the aqueduct were finished but as you can see everything points to a disease spreading from the low lands of the coast to the northern parts of the city.¡± ¡°The rains washed everything from the streets into the nearby fields and then the rivers,¡± Lucius murmured. ¡°The water is undrinkable. Reganus should have gathered rainwater in the public cisterns. He had six months to do it!¡± ¡°Repairs haven¡¯t finished yet. The richer neighborhoods to the west are self-sufficient but even they have been affected it appears.¡± ¡°How? They are not drinking foul water,¡± Lucius grunted and reached to read the Dottore¡¯s assessment. ¡°It is not just a case of water poisoning sire.¡± Gaeta rustled. ¡°Though it played its role.¡± High fever and headaches, Epolonius had written in his tiny script underlining the crucial factors, discoloration of skin with black and rose colored spots even under the soles of the feet. Photophobia. Signs of encephalitis at later stages. Delirium. ¡°God damn lice,¡± Galio grunted from his spot and Sirio stopped writing to stare at the King¡¯s table. ¡°Broom n¡¯ brush. Ye need to shave everything and leave dirty clothes outside. Avoid foul water.¡± Lucius frowned. ¡°Where is Epolonius?¡± ¡°He is leaving tonight for Novesium,¡± Gaeta explained. ¡°Asked for medics to escort him and an army detachment. Baron Nattas has already volunteered the ¡®Reformed¡¯ out of Moon¡¯s Haven.¡± ¡°What in Tyeus¡¯ spear are they?¡± ¡°Some sort of regulars sire?¡± Gaeta replied. ¡°Former cutthroats or the likes?¡± ¡°What?¡± Lucius snapped with a glare. ¡°The Baron has an open invitation to get workers and manpower in Moon¡¯s Haven. Eighty percent of those applying are usually on the run from other cities or the authorities in general.¡± Lucius sighed in frustration not having the time to dwell on Storm¡¯s shenanigans. The Baron always tip-toed the lines of the law to benefit himself but usually worked for the good of the realm. ¡°The Dottore is sixty years old, can he tackle this problem Gaeta?¡± ¡°Mede should go with him,¡± Galio suggested. ¡°They can reach Novesium within a week. Or we could use a ship to transport them there faster sir. Reganus promised to have the port up and running soon. You¡¯ll need to issue an order for that and warn the crew. Gaeta will need all his guards to help Elysium Fort stop the refugees from reaching the Capital.¡± Lucius licked his lips. ¡°I take it Sula is notified?¡± ¡°We talked with Drusus.¡± Galio replied. ¡°Paulus Sula won¡¯t allow anyone to approach Demames.¡± Gods. ¡°Are people already trying to leave the city?¡± ¡°Nattas says they are. It is a matter of days afore the news spread out of control sir.¡± Galio sat back on his chair solemnly. ¡°Milord the city must be quarantined in places and as a whole afore it is too late.¡± ¡°The northern parts near the palace?¡± Lucius queried looking at the city map. ¡°Yes sir. Until the fever runs its course or expends itself.¡± Kills everyone was the Consul¡¯s meaning. Lucius read the Dottore¡¯s scroll again. ¡°Clear signs of typhus.¡± He rustled looking at the sober faces at the table. ¡°This is a Lorian city. The first thing we learn in school is to maintain high-levels of hygiene, secure clean water and keep excrement from our streets. How did Reganus mishandle this so much?¡± ¡°We are waiting on details but some things must happen immediately your Grace,¡± Gaeta intervened. ¡°If Epolonius is wrong then we can adjust accordingly but we can¡¯t risk to lose another week until then.¡± ¡°Marianus is with Centurion Sorex,¡± Lucius murmured and then rubbed at his forehead. ¡°He knows as much as his tutor. Send him along.¡± ¡°You should keep a physician in the palace,¡± Galio said. ¡°Familiar with your household.¡± ¡°The academy has a lot of qualified Dottori Consul.¡± ¡°Epolonius will take most of them with him,¡± Galio explained. ¡°Fine. Cyrus, find Ramirus.¡± Lucius ordered the waiting near the door palace official. ¡°Gaeta¡­ eh, I¡¯ll need you to stick around.¡± ¡°Milord, I¡¯ll get the 2nd Century moving,¡± Galio said getting up. ¡°Also speak with Epolonius afore he departs.¡± - An hour later The Director of LID Vibius Ramirus looked even more tired than he did in the morning. Lucius paused reading a lengthy essay by Pliny, Epolonius¡¯ famed tutor and physician, on the dangers of the typhoid fever and returned the manuscript to Sirio. He was sitting at the scribe¡¯s table. ¡°One moment sire,¡± Ramirus said taking a seat at the bigger table. ¡°I¡¯ll have to go through some missives that just arrived.¡± ¡°Novesium?¡± Lucius asked pushing against his chair. ¡°Sabretooth Castle,¡± Ramirus replied. ¡°Optio Damian Holt. The Horselords attacked.¡± ¡°How bad?¡± Lucius queried wearily and gestured for Sirio ¨Cwho had reached for his quill- to leave penning the report for later. ¡°Indus is cut off in Moeras. Meertje docks at Smallake are controlled by the Khanate. They might swing north of the lake to hit Merenda¡¯s rear.¡± Lucius jumped to his feet and walked to the larger table. ¡°Show me on the map.¡± ¡°Here,¡± Ramirus pointed at the spot. ¡°That¡¯s Damascus¡¯ area. What men does he have with him?¡± ¡°Auxiliaries. An Issir spear unit.¡± ¡°Marcus-Antonius keeps two cohorts in the center,¡± Lucius said and looked around to find a piece of coal to draw arrows. "What does Memon have in reserve?¡± ¡°Another group of Issirs sire.¡± ¡°Can Indus hold? If he does, the Khanate risks a march deep behind the lines. Unless it is to force Merenda to draw a cohort from the center,¡± Lucius murmured thinking it through. ¡°Would Dhin-Awal brave an attack through the center? How is the terrain?¡± ¡°It rained obviously, lots of mud that probably hardened by now,¡± Ramirus replied and breathed out tiredly to work at his growing black beard with his fingers. ¡°You think it messed up with Marcus-Antonius traps and defenses?¡± ¡°Difficult to maintain holes in the ground when it¡¯s pouring sire. The Lakes soil is soft in the summer.¡± ¡°The terrain still favors the First Legion. He stands on higher ground,¡± Lucius argued. ¡°It¡¯s a matter of whether they use the numbers to their advantage against Celsus¡¯ machines effectiveness. Because that¡¯s a lot of empty ground to march on while getting shot at from elevated positions.¡± ¡°They should know that though and are probably intent to fire back at Celsus a lot,¡± Ramirus noted. ¡°Nothing we can do about that sire. In a week it might all be over.¡± ¡°Merenda loathes fighting on the back foot. He¡¯ll counterpunch Dhin-Awal for certain,¡± Lucius insisted. ¡°How did Indus lose control of the woods? He had rangers covering him.¡± ¡°This new crossbow unit had to get out of there as they are slow to return fire. The Khanate brought the bulk of their machines to the north flank and fired half a mountain of rocks. Leveled the copse there. The Granlake marshes protected Glycia from a similar treatment I guess. Celsus has a fine position but he¡¯s fixed in place sire. He can¡¯t intervene in the flanks.¡± ¡°Uhm. Can he break out of Visserhaven? Glycia?¡± Lucius asked seeing the army units¡¯ move in his mind, taking positions or maneuvering. The enemy advancing in First¡¯s right flank and threatening the center. ¡°Damascus must hold to the last man,¡± he finally said raising his eyes and Ramirus¡¯ returned the King¡¯s stare unsure. Lucius rarely speak in absolutes. ¡°So Glycia can move forward.¡± The King elucidated.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Sometimes you just have to sacrifice men. Not a decision any commander should ever make willy-nilly but make it he should just the same. Roderick had stayed back at the bridges for Faye and Lucius to escape. Merenda had heard the story from a glumly ruminating Lucius at least a dozen times. ¡°Sire, Damascus¡¯ unit are young Issir recruits. The Khanate will probably rout them off of the field if they have cavalry available.¡± Eh. Maybe but they¡¯ll have to charge between unsecured flanks themselves. Even if they did¡­ ¡°They serve in the Legion now Vibius.¡± Lucius retorted gruffly. ¡°I believe they¡¯ll stay put.¡±
The ¡®senior¡¯ Cyrus Falx placed the goblets carefully on the table, then went to the large open window facing the east gardens to close the heavy curtains and keep the lit fireplace¡¯s heat inside. Lucius always left a window open as extra ventilation and to combat some of the chandeliers and torch-stands smoke. The ancient palace official turned around and paused with a constipated-look on his wrinkled face. Lucius raised his eyes from the reports he was poring over, messages from merchants visiting or returning from Novesium, ship captains and other Regia officials, even a couple of intercepted missives towards Lesia and Kaltha. ¡°Yes, dear Cyrus?¡± ¡°Your majesty, Petty Baron Nattas is here. He arrived just afore dinner,¡± Cyrus announced stiffly. ¡°You¡¯ve kept him waiting?¡± ¡°He deserved it sire.¡± Lucius nodded with a small smile. ¡°Bring him in.¡± ¡°The Consul talked with Nattas already,¡± Ramirus informed him from his side of the table. ¡°The Baron always keeps the better parts to use himself,¡± Lucius countered and watched the hobbling on his expensive cane Storm Nattas enter the small hall with a forced polite expression on his aged familiar face. Storm was over forty now and some grey hairs had appeared on his well-combed thick dark hair. He thanked the guards and knights at the door, warmly greeted ¡®his old good friend¡¯, the chamberlain¡¯s reaction to the praise icy at best and then limped towards the large table where Lucius had just had his dinner. ¡°Earnest salutations King Lucius,¡± the nicely dressed in a velvet blue and green redingote Nattas bowed deeply, using his cane to prevent himself from plunging headfirst for the marble tiles. ¡°Good health and fortunes to you my liege, especially given these trying times. May all this unfortunate ¡®n foul epidemic migrate to your enemies¡¯ halls and wipe them out afore the month is over.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s leave the curses out of it Baron,¡± Lucius grunted austerely. ¡°Apologies your grace,¡± Nattas replied quickly. ¡°I got overly excited in your magnificent presence after the long tortuous wait. Old Falx¡¯s tricks worked their magic, so let¡¯s lay the blame to his feet as well. He-he. Director Ramirus I¡¯m hearing great things about your work. Congrats to thee sir.¡± Storm couldn¡¯t help himself with the praise even after all these years. In a sense though the Baron was half-right. You can¡¯t be too mad to a man that grovels in your presence or supports you vocally even if it¡¯s not a hundred percent genuine all the time. ¡°No grievances reached your attuned ears Baron?¡± Ramirus queried tauntingly. Another man present not exactly enamored with our good Nattas. Lucius was probably Storm¡¯s best friend in the palace alongside Sirio. ¡°Some. It is expected Director,¡± Nattas replied with a shrug. ¡°Mayhap use less men in uniform?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take it under consideration Baron,¡± Ramirus retorted stiffly. ¡°Storm what is Reganus doing?¡± Lucius intervened. ¡°The man should have prioritized the city¡¯s hygiene given the recent catastrophe. Instead he allowed it to spread and now we might lose control of the situation completely.¡± ¡°The workload overwhelmed him,¡± Nattas replied and found a chair to sit across from Lucius and Ramirus. ¡°He had around four thousand homeless civilians after the fire my Lord. They had stayed in the city to protect their ruined homes and properties. Bigger city, badly managed by Ursus already and overpopulated to begin with. The rains came early and caught him by surprise.¡± ¡°I¡¯m hearing excuses,¡± Lucius grunted. ¡°He was there during the campaign for the position of Mayor and knew what was needed.¡± ¡°Your grace, you are correct. I¡¯m not defending him. The fault lies with Reganus. I was just stating the facts.¡± ¡°How did he get the landowners to vote for him?¡± ¡°It was a close race,¡± Nattas replied evenly. ¡°Luck was involved.¡± ¡°The local favorite, a rich oil-producer Paulus Tidus vanished. His family is still looking for him,¡± Ramirus added and Nattas nodded. ¡°Ursus old friend, he had endorsed him through his son. Mayhap it rubbed some people the wrong way?¡± Lucius stared at Nattas. ¡°What people?¡± ¡°Patriots. Friends of the rightful King of Regia,¡± the Baron retorted with a politician¡¯s smile. ¡°Is the man dead?¡± Lucius asked in a rigid manner. ¡°Was there foul play involved?¡± ¡°My guess is the man got drunk and fell in the river. One of the rivers,¡± Nattas replied indifferently. ¡°Reganus had done a decent job in Moon¡¯s Haven and got convinced he could do a better one in Novesium. Got overcome with a lust for power I suppose. I told him that bigger jobs come with bigger responsibilities.¡± ¡°Robart Holt had forwarded him the coin to finish up the drainage network. He had the reports and was aware of the damage. This isn¡¯t a simple matter of a bigger than expected job, but gross incompetence Nattas!¡± Lucius paused to calm himself down. ¡°People are dying with nasty boils and in complete delirium. The markings on their skin black and foul-smelling. Epolonius wrote a diatribe that this is a clear case of the typhoid fever. Typhus! All gods, never has a stupider & philistine politician of shady peasant stock and no perceptible skills or charisma, elevated himself in so narrow a timeframe in this kingdom¡¯s history!¡± He grunted angrily and then breathed out. Lucius reached for his goblet staring at the Baron frustrated. ¡°Your grace, I couldn¡¯t prevent him from running. I¡¯m busy trying to find someone to cover his position in Moon¡¯s Haven.¡± ¡°Have you got a candidate?¡± Lucius asked hoarsely. ¡°Grin.¡± Nattas made an apologetic gesture seeing Lucius¡¯ unamused expression. ¡°It¡¯s a surname. The man works for me your grace.¡± ¡°Like Reganus did?¡± ¡°Reganus was a native captain turned politician after I was granted the title. He never worked for me,¡± Nattas replied calmly. ¡°I don¡¯t know him that well.¡± Lucius found this very hard to believe. ¡°Who does?¡± ¡°Moore and Sudi worked with him. They are business partners in a couple of meaningless local projects,¡± Nattas replied with a grimace. ¡°How is the wine business?¡± Lucius queried with a glance at Ramirus who penned the names down on a scroll. ¡°Very minor associates I should clarify,¡± Storm added noticing Ramirus¡¯ actions afore replying to Lucius¡¯ query. ¡°I¡¯m not having the best of seasons your grace but I always remain optimistic.¡± ¡°I gather the competition is stiff?¡± Lucius asked. ¡°The talk could turn lewd if I attempted to describe it but your grace is right,¡± Nattas replied. ¡°Do you have smugglers mooring at Moon¡¯s Haven?¡± Ramirus asked directly. ¡°Of course not! I keep a tight leash on the port activities there. It¡¯s a small port. But let¡¯s be real here dear Director, I¡¯m usually away for much of the time and even loyal people can be bought out or succumb to corruption. Still you need to penetrate much larger ports in order to move the quantities that flooded the markets.¡± ¡°You know about that?¡± Lucius asked a little curious. ¡°I drink the stuff. Reluctantly at first.¡± Nattas smiled. ¡°But I can¡¯t find fault at the quality.¡± Lucius nodded and pushed back on the chair thoughtfully. ¡°We¡¯ll need your help in Novesium Storm,¡± he told him finally. ¡°Your grace I¡¯ve instructed my people to construct a camp east of the city,¡± Nattas replied readily. ¡°They screen the people leaving Novesium, keep them quarantined for some days and if no symptoms appear they release them. Many have found safe refuge in Moon¡¯s Haven. I¡¯m footing the expenses of course.¡± ¡°Epolonius shall be there shortly,¡± Lucius said with an appreciative nod. ¡°See to assist him in any way possible.¡± ¡°I have a Dottore at the site already but he¡¯s welcomed.¡± Nattas replied with the thinnest of smiles. ¡°Numerius Baro. A pupil of his. Talented bugger. Got me out of trouble once already.¡± ¡°What trouble?¡± ¡°Someone had tried to kill me some years back. Again,¡± Nattas said and glanced at the interested Ramirus. ¡°They failed.¡± ¡°Did you find out who was responsible?¡± ¡°Not yet,¡± the Baron replied evenly. ¡°But I¡¯m watching my diet these past years.¡± ¡°We might have an answer on who murdered Jeremy soon,¡± Lucius said taking the opportunity. ¡°Didn¡¯t Laudus do it your grace?¡± ¡°It appears so but mister Hik will tell us who gave the order Storm,¡± Lucius replied and had some more of his wine. ¡°My guess is either the bastard that¡¯s exiled or the ruffian in your dungeons my Lord,¡± Nattas offered clasping at the cane between his legs with both hands. ¡°We¡¯ll see whether that¡¯s the case,¡± Lucius commented. He didn¡¯t believe Doris Alden was involved after talking with Miranda. Ursus didn¡¯t have a clean opportunity as he was already imprisoned by then. It was still possible to have made the call but unlikely. Of course the Baron knew that -so it made little sense for him to direct Lucius¡¯ attention to the two known conspirators. ¡°Lear Hik might try to gain your favor,¡± Nattas added seeing Lucius¡¯ skeptical look. ¡°He¡¯s on the outs with the Mclean and hunted by bounty hunters.¡± ¡°Not anymore,¡± Lucius said evenly and Nattas stood back a little surprised. ¡°The Mclean withdrew the reward.¡± ¡°In exchange for what?¡± Nattas retorted a little tensed. ¡°Your Grace,¡± he added with a grimace of discomfort. ¡°We don¡¯t know yet,¡± Ramirus replied from his spot. ¡°Hik isn¡¯t exactly forthcoming. He likes to operate outside official channels. Risky, but it also keeps leaks from springing.¡± ¡°Sometimes the careful man runs out of luck Ramirus,¡± Nattas said in a friendly tone. ¡°And takes his secrets to his grave.¡± Yeah, Lucius thought. ¡°A truly careful man,¡± Ramirus replied borrowing the Baron¡¯s friendly tone as well. ¡°Accounts for such an event my Lord.¡± -
¡°Bring out thy dead!¡± The masked medic yelled whilst ringing his bell ominously. An also covered assistant knocking on doors and checking in side alleys, large stick in hand. ¡°Fucking hell,¡± the Mayor cursed wiping his face under the long mask. A crude hood with holes at the eyes basically. ¡°Where¡¯s everyone Mister Moore?¡± Are ye plaguing kidding me Reganus? ¡°Maybe they boarded the ships?¡± Moore grunted mockingly looking about them all tensed. You don¡¯t want a boil-covered sick civilian bursting out of a corner and grabbing you. It was why Moore had his blade out and had instructed the lads of the ¡®Reformed¡¯ following them to have theirs out. No sticks and fancy bullshit like that pansy Baro instructed. Just cut the motherfuckers down. Kill them dead afore they infect you. ¡°The ships left the first week,¡± Reganus replied and groaned in frustration. ¡°We just need to clear this neighborhood out. Then we will have most of the docks operational again.¡± ¡°How are you going to do that?¡± Moore asked a little perturbed. He glanced at the two big piles of bodies tossed before the customs warehouse. ¡°Those that stayed at the docks are dead. Might want to start the corpse burning earlier today. While the weather is holding.¡± ¡°Not before we get any potential survivors out,¡± Reganus insisted. ¡°We can¡¯t have people seeing us burning corpses Moore.¡± ¡°Mate¡­ listen, people that could still walk on their own two feet have already left the premises. Did them little good. We picked them up where they dropped and few reached the palace,¡± Moore explained. ¡°Those that stayed with their sick families¡­ also have long departed this cruel realm in a sense. Ayup. Else someone would have appeared by now.¡± ¡°BRING OUT THY DEAD!¡± The medic roared sounding a little desperate now, while Moore stared in Mayor Reganus sunken eyes. ¡°I needed more coin in order to finish in time Moore. You bastards forced my hand,¡± Reganus grunted in protest sounding strangled. ¡°This isn¡¯t on me!¡± ¡°I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about,¡± Moore replied callously and touched the tip of his blade on the Mayor¡¯s belly. ¡°You fucked up Reganus. Now is the time to assume full responsibility and you shall find friends to plead your case. Save you even. This is the Chief¡¯s message to you. Refuse and you shall burn with those poor fuckers, cursed for yer crimes by all.¡± ¡°What about the true numbers?¡± Reganus croaked pulling away from the sharp weapon. ¡°Just write down the known names. Leave young kids out. Keep those with property. Fuck the refugees and the unknown tourists. You tour the country in winter, prepare to take the plaguing shaft between them buttocks,¡± Moore replied with a grimace of disgust seeing a dead woman looking at him from an open window. Black splotches on her decaying bloated skin and white maggots in her eyes. ¡°The Baron said to keep the number under half a thousand come hell or high water. We¡¯ll make sure the new Dottore agrees.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t hide the bodies¡ª¡± ¡°You can, if you burn them thoroughly and dispose of their remains. Don¡¯t play the virgin you son of a bitch! We are fucking professionals. It¡¯s what we do!¡± Moore snapped cutting him off midsentence. ¡°We have less than a week so you need to work hard Reganus, else you¡¯ll have Tidus¡¯ fate.¡± He turned to one of his men and whistled loudly to get his attention. ¡°Hey Mick! Grab a couple of lads ¡®n get that ugly dead broad out of the god darn window!¡± Fuck¡¯s sake! Moore thought with a shiver. The woman was giving him the creeps.
- ¡°Whoa, you seem pretty tired,¡± Faye noted and came to sit at the edge of the table before him. She reached to taste the wine in Lucius goblet. ¡°Nice. Pretty warm weather outside, don''t ye think? Hey, I¡¯m talking to you Alden.¡± ¡°Um,¡± Lucius murmured thinking on his earlier discussion with Nattas and Ramirus. ¡°How is Logan?¡± ¡°Torcal McKee left for Kas right after Mede marched out,¡± Faye replied and run her fingers through his hair. ¡°So he dealt with that. Mounts, supplies. Heard about Novesium by the way.¡± ¡°Where?¡± ¡°Visited Cartaport in the morning.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the word?¡± ¡°People dying. Thousands,¡± Faye stared in his face. ¡°How bad is it?¡± ¡°Not as bad as rumored thank the gods,¡± Lucius assured her. ¡°We caught it early. About a couple of hundred have succumbed to the disease though. Efforts are underfoot to cordon the infected areas and evacuate the survivors. A terrible number still. Eh, I¡¯m still waiting for Gaeta to return with an update.¡± ¡°Was that Nattas¡¯ carriage? He¡¯s was talking with Sirio in the yard,¡± Faye said softly. ¡°Hey, come to my quarters. I¡¯ll put Roderick to sleep and Ralph is dropping unconscious early.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve promised Monica to visit her.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you already whilst I was missing hmm? I have agents in yer court husband.¡± ¡°Who do you have?¡± ¡°A maid?¡± Faye replied with a toothy grin. ¡°Just went by to see the twins. She wants me to stay the night,¡± Lucius explained and then grimaced as he¡¯d completely forgotten about his young wife. ¡°Damn it.¡± ¡°She has visitors and I find her sudden change in desires annoying,¡± Faye griped. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say she likes women or some akin rubbish? I knew ye were lying Alden. What a bunch of bullshit!¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t. People really do have such inclinations Red,¡± Lucius explained tiredly. ¡°There¡¯s no end to what someone will like or enjoy. Men, women, Folk, children, animals even.¡± ¡°What?¡± Faye slapped his shoulder. ¡°Stop twisting me tits, hah-hah! That¡¯s pretty sick actually.¡± Damn it Red. ¡°It¡¯s not funny and it is a sickness according to many scholars. Curable supposedly. Anyways some can find pleasure with a combination of the above or all.¡± ¡°The last lass from my village that went after a big bear, people say the bear ate her.¡± Faye replied narrowing her eyes. ¡°Yer words are leading me towards a new meaning here Alden.¡± Lucius let out a deep sigh. ¡°Don¡¯t let the big bear eat you.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t.¡± Faye retorted and jumped down. ¡°What¡¯s the deal with the half-breeds?¡± Lucius stared at her unsure. ¡°How do you know¡­ the west wing is locked?¡± ¡°I saw them in the kitchens,¡± Faye replied with a cute frown. ¡°So I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡± She stooped near his face with a grin. ¡°Forget about the skinny bitch, let¡¯s roll about on the table. Me blood is boiling.¡± Lucius chuckled at her serious and flushed expression, his deep-blue eyes drifting over the redhead¡¯s shoulder to spot the figure of Cyrus Falx the elder emerging from the shadows. Some of the torches had gone out. Two other figures were standing behind the old chamberlain and slowly came into view as they approached their table. Sir Sabinus who stood guard at the other door ¨Cleading to the throne room- snapped to attention alerted, his plated elbow banging at the wall behind him. Boom. I saw them in the kitchens, Faye had said and Leirda bowed her washed-out brown mane once, her eyes glowing in the gloomy candlelight. Liquid silver turning a shade of gold and then painted all green, afore turning a frozen dull gray. ¡°Your majesty,¡± Falx droned in his clear Cartagen accent. ¡°This woman claims to have information vital to the throne.¡± Lucius narrowed his eyes just as Faye turned around to look at their visitors and Sir Sabinus marched towards them from the distant door, boots thudding on the marble tiles. ¡°I took a nap and it made my heart snap,¡¯ Leirda explained in a singsong voice. ¡®For I had a vision I should have fully allowed to play out perhaps. If I speak you¡¯ll lose the children and if I don¡¯t you¡¯ll lose a wife. Seeing you two together, I now fear you wouldn¡¯t mind the latter.¡± What manner of unsettling nonsense is this? Lucius pursed his mouth irate, teeth clenched tightly and furious with the peasant girl for attempting again her blasphemous and idiotic game. ¡°How did you get out? Sabinus call the shift sergeant here!¡± ¡°You need to act mighty general,¡± Leirda retorted instead. ¡°Raise the alarm.¡± ¡°Your grace!¡± A heavy breathing Sir Sabinus grunted reaching them. ¡°Arrest those two rascals,¡± Lucius ordered harshly. ¡°Use chains this time.¡± ¡°Lucius wait,¡± Faye intervened placing a hand on his chest. ¡°I can sense she¡¯s a clairvoyant.¡± No she isn¡¯t. She¡¯s just brazenly trying to position herself near the throne for personal profit. It¡¯s the oldest scheme in the book. Lucius turned to look at his northern wife frustrated at her bucolic understanding of the world at times but a sudden ruckus prevented him from saying anything. First the east corner bells were heard clearly from the open window and then one after the other, the other watch towers of the palace complex followed suit. The bells signaling monotonously and in the same pattern. Not in the joyous pattern that was to announce the festival¡¯s start but in alarm. And distress.
499. Scorned Hearts (3/5)
Two days earlier Near Moeras Lake Northeast of Sugarcanes Woods Legion widened road First Legion¡¯s Auxiliary Cohort, 2nd Auxiliary Century Battle of the Canes ¡°STAND STILL!¡± Decanus Dorm roared as the volley of arrows landed between the Issirs packed lines with a strange buzzing sound turned into a hair-raising rattling as if they had all been transported inside a cargo hold brimming with angry rattlesnakes. The steel tips striking armour, shafts breaking on helms and raised Scutums. Sticking on shoulder pads or plunging in the grunting men¡¯s faces. Soldiers went down, screams erupting from the lines and a determined Damascus rushed to the front, where Centurion Damian Dall, an older Issir native that had served with the 2nd Foot, stumbled back clasping at his forearm. An arrow had gone through the vambrace there and exited near his right elbow. ¡°Cut it out!¡± Damascus ordered a young Lorian medic that followed after him. ¡°Stop the bleeding.¡± He turned to Dorm who was watching the strange Khanate soldiers, a mixture of infantry and cavalry stirring three hundred meters up the road. Slave Guards, an injured prisoner had told command a month back. They are out for blood after what happened in the Capital. Damascus had no idea what had happened in the Issir capital and didn¡¯t much care. ¡°They¡¯ll charge the flanks!¡± He roared a warning for Dorm to hear and caught Centurion Dall sprinting near them, now sporting a haphazardly bandaged arm. ¡°SHIELDS FRONT! SPEARS OUT!¡± Dorm bellowed hoarsely and the first rows of legionnaires lowered their spears just as the opposite packed lines of the Khanate¡¯s soldiers opened up and galloping horses poured out. ¡°INCOMING ARROWS!¡± Another officer yelled a warning but it is too plaguing late to think about self-preservation now, Damascus thought and roared in turn to prevent their inexperienced lines from breaking apart whilst stepping himself in the gap existing after the first three rows of auxiliaries. ¡°EYES FRONT!¡± ¡®In war¡¯, Merenda had said to him after he dismissed Damascus¡¯ concerns. ¡®A man goes from a mere rookie to a veteran in a single battle. He only needs to survive the initial baptism of blood. Withstand the first blow my dear Damascus and you¡¯ll have yourself a proper unit.¡¯ To see such confidence in a cultured officer and man -a year younger than him no less- was inspiring for the Prefect who had been ¡®the learned kid from Sabretooth¡¯ amidst Ligur¡¯s aging risen-through-the-ranks veterans for years. The arrows rattled as they landed and Damascus slapped one out of his face with the flat of his long-bladed gladius, missing the next that stuck on his chest. The steel tip penetrating the segmented armour¡¯s plates first and then piercing his skin below the left breast. Damascus stumbled back onto a shield and the soldier holding it pushed the high-ranking officer forward again. Officers and soldiers under the same set of rules when in the battle line. You kept your position at all cost. The ruckus of the approaching charging wings of cavalry thunderous and soul-crashing to the younger men in their ranks. All men. ¡°Uher¡¯s light shield us from evil,¡± someone cried out in a strangled voice and then the Khanate¡¯s riders crashed on the century¡¯s flanks. Screaming men were hurled every which way, broken loose helms bounced off of the ground, gore erupted from grotesque wounds like a warm mist and hapless animals neighed in agony¡¯s throes as some of the chargers penetrated two rows deep before stopping abruptly. Most of them skewered by many spears or missing body parts themselves. ¡°HERE COMES THE INFANTRY!¡± The wounded Centurion Dall boomed ten meters away from the struggling to get out of the lines Damascus. Dead legionnaires and Khanate soldiers at his feet, alongside broken up animals. The blood turning the soft ground into a deep brown mud that stuck to his legion boots like glue as the Prefect pushed his way out of the compacted rows. ¡°Reform the frontline. Get the Decanus over there Centurion!¡± Damascus ordered Damian Dall and the Centurion cursed once afore marching himself to the center of their extended across the road lines. Dorm had been killed. Part of the Decanus¡¯ crushed bloody body half-visible under a gutted horse and its dead rider. Damascus¡¯ face distorted in a grimace of sorrow and glanced at the partially cloudy sky over their heads ¨Cit was a lovely winter day all things considered- before setting his eyes on the marching lines of slavers. Then he raised his right arm high, the tip of the gladius making a circle in the air. Once clockwise. Then going counterclockwise. And finally clockwise again on the third ring. Giving Celsus¡¯ detachment of Issir engineers concealed in the fortifications beyond their right flank the order to open fire at the Khanate¡¯s packed lines with their six horse-drawn Scorpios. The machines had arrived the previous night. ¡®Never swing a punch early or out of anger,¡¯ a freshly-shaven Merenda had urged his senior officers ending the last war meeting three weeks back with a confident grin. ¡®No matter the punishment you may receive or what your pride tells you. Swing at the right time gentlemen. Make it count. It¡¯s a numbers game and we will win it. So go for maximum damage always and I¡¯ll see you all here when this is over.¡¯
-
Storm Nattas ¡®Abominable Cripple¡¯ ¡®Principal of Secrets¡¯. Lord of Moon¡¯s Haven, Ruler of Turtle Isles Keeper of the Golden Forest Scorned Hearts Part III -The day that refused to end-
- First Legion at the Great Lakes of Kaltha. Here Marcus-Antonius'' center, 3rd Cohort, 1st Century under Centurion Reganus (The Mayor''s distant kin) -
¡®Go forth,¡¯ the former Queen Regent had urged huskily, fully engulfed in the throes of passion. ¡®My Lord of Moon¡¯s Haven.¡¯ Long legs wrapped around Storm¡¯s waist and pressing at his abused spine. The sweaty Baron thrusting his hairy hips forward with dogged determination and equal passion to plunge deeper into the royal womb. Flesh slapping flesh. Half the pleasure, he thought between wild grunts in his dream, is in the fucking mind and not the act in itself. You can find similar pleasure self-servicing your cock with an oiled fucking-fist, folded in two alike some of the lithe circus girls¡¯ -past shady dealings had brought to his bed or of course between the legs of a freshly-minted harlot. But you won¡¯t commit with the same enthusiasm if the mind isn¡¯t a willing participant and ready to devote the time and blasted back-breaking effort. Yeah. ¡®Don¡¯t stop!¡¯ Miranda commanded but despite the aforementioned willingness and enthusiasm the groaning Storm had the wherewithal to pull out over the former queen¡¯s protests. Make one mistake and you might get away with it. But do it twice in a row and you might as well look to find a nicely sharpened dagger. Then use it to slit open your own fucking throat. Milky seed pooling on the tanned Alden noblewoman¡¯s navel. Some of it spilling down her sweat-covered ribs and braving its way towards the short-cut blond pubic hairs of her groin. Plug your leaks Lord Nattas, the ancient assassin had told him many years back. Else a small hole will sink your boat. ¡®Sink your boat,¡¯ Storm repeated with a whisper and the blurry-eyed Miranda stared in his flushed face in a querying manner.
The squelchy slapping sound came to a stop just as the dream ended and it was replaced by a persistent knock on his small cabin door. When the latter cracked open the schooner¡¯s captain informed the waking up with a grunt of protest wild-eyed Baron that they had reached Cartaport. The familiar figure of Sudi waited for him at the busy docks. The thin but wiry half-breed stooped over one of Storm¡¯s own canes despite not really needing it. Lotus Sudi had been with the Baron for over twenty years and seeing as Sudi was five years older than Storm, the loyal lackey was now nearing fifty. ¡°You missed Yanus,¡± Sudi reported as Nattas climbed the steps of his closed carriage and followed after him. He found a spot on the narrow leather couch across Storm and placed the cane between his legs. ¡°His ship left last night.¡± ¡°Not the worst thing. I hate the sight of a hairy arsehole after a day at sea,¡± Storm commented wryly and burped. ¡°My stomach is messed up. The fucking captain had me drink water from a barrel!¡± ¡°It¡¯s always a risk,¡± Sudi agreed mockingly. ¡°Libanius has secured a large shipment but he asked for time to bring it to Mussel given the latest developments. Yanus left just the same since the journey is pretty long.¡± Libanius was the leader of a smuggling ring out of the city of Alden that had brought his talents to the exotic Wetull. The old criminal associate of the Baron named Yanus ¨Chis name rhyming with anus- was working with Libanius and local contacts through the ship company Sudi operated. Libanius and Yanus also knew each other for years. As far as the company was concerned, Storm¡¯s nephew Parkor had a share in it as well and another unrelated trade company loosely connected to Nattas ¨Cthis one out of the distant Turtle Isles- was also a participant. ¡°D¡¯Orsi controls the port?¡± ¡°Took the port but then the wyvern burned it,¡± Sudi explained. ¡°Libanius writes the beast might have killed more civilians than the mercenaries.¡± ¡°Libanius¡¯ partners count as civilians?¡± ¡°In a sense,¡± Sudi replied and poured some cognac in a small glass. ¡°You want some to set yer stomach proper?¡± ¡°It¡¯s my own fucking bottle!¡± Storm grunted irate and grabbed the glass from him spilling some on his sleeve. ¡°Abrakas cock rots in a fucking jar!¡± ¡°You¡¯re a generous soul Chief,¡± Sudi teased and looked to find another small glass for himself. ¡°Our queen arrived in Sandbay Manor?¡± He asked casually. Storm glared at him and then downed the strong drink in a go. The liquid burning his throat. ¡°She has. You realize this creepy obsession of yours is unhealthy? She¡¯s the plaguing mother of my child who I still fuck at any opportunity!¡± ¡°You are a romantic also,¡± Sudi taunted with a smirk. ¡°It rubbed off on me chief and I don¡¯t mind sharing her. What¡¯s mine is yours and so forth.¡± ¡°We are not sharing¡­ you cunning bastard. Get it out of yer mind and stop being so annoying else I smash in what few teeth you still have,¡± Storm warned him to little effect as Sudi just shrugged both shoulders afore finishing his own drink off as if to make a point. ¡°The Consul is visiting by the way,¡± he informed Nattas as the carriage moved out of Cartaport and took the road towards Cartagen. ¡°The Consul now visits when I¡¯m away?¡± Storm grunted. ¡°Doesn¡¯t he have a city to fucking run?¡± ¡°He came to see his nephew and Silvio,¡± Sudi explained. ¡°Their ¡®child¡¯ right? He¡¯s a great-uncle in a sense.¡± ¡°Can the driver go slower?¡± Nattas hissed. ¡°I can¡¯t deal with the old prick today.¡± ¡°Sirio asked him to stay the night. Do you want to rent a room in the city?¡± ¡°That little phallus-sucker thinks he runs the blasted place?¡± Nattas snapped not believing his ears. ¡°Well, he married that evil cunt who you pass as your daughter? I won¡¯t comment whether she uses a strapped cock on him or not but it can turn intense when they are alone.¡± Just shove two fingers down my throat to vomit the image out! Storm stooped over the space separating them. ¡°Sudi I was backed into a corner. Once the king learned about her I had no other option. A king declares you my dog, then you are my dog whether you like it or not.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t give a fuck about Maya,¡± Sudi retorted rigidly and then plastered a wide grin on his mouth to soften it. ¡°But you asked and I answered chief.¡± ¡°Eh,¡± Storm grunted and pushed back on the leather couch. ¡°A wyvern you say? Flying turd that spews fire and all?¡± ¡°Ayup,¡± Sudi replied with a grimace. ¡°Once the disbelief wears off this won¡¯t end well for the wine barons.¡± ¡°What disbelief?¡± ¡°Libanius reported that the locals, Zilan and Humans, were stunned D¡¯Orsi dared to attack Garth. Apparently he¡¯s a nasty motherfucker to cross and vengeful as fuck. Those that have are in the mud or part of the wyvern¡¯s diet.¡± ¡°I still haven¡¯t fully accepted there¡¯s a wyvern on the loose in Goras,¡± Nattas hissed with a scowl of discomfort. ¡°Now it might take a minute for the feeling to subside but I¡¯ll endure it relishing at the thought of Riveras getting his bowels rearranged by Garth¡¯s fucking cock!¡± ¡°It might happen sooner than we think,¡± Sudi added. ¡°Stop with the tongue foreplay and get to real business. I¡¯m not a blasted virgin!¡± Nattas snapped angry. ¡°There¡¯s talk Garth might use his own warships to protect the product and the ships. Ours included of course.¡± ¡°The plot thickens. I now see why you used so much saliva to loosen me up,¡± Storm retorted mockingly. ¡°Who is building him the ships?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a big naval yard constructed at the other port near Taras but it¡¯s not easy to get close. They guard it tightly. Only military, authorized crew, bank employees and¡­ sorcerers can approach.¡± ¡°I like how we¡¯re now casually throw in magic practitioners,¡± Storm commented wryly. ¡°More like hopeful sorcerers at this point according to Libanius. Garth opened a witch academy,¡± Sudi elucidated. ¡°The thought of a young witch studying to take her exams just made my cock turn hard as stone. I¡¯ll need a moment to get it back down,¡± Storm grunted closing his eyes and resting his neck on the couch.Stolen novel; please report. ¡°We¡¯re talking about Zilan witches here chief. Big ears and all,¡± Sudi commented sheepishly. ¡°Don¡¯t be a bucolic bigot. All young cunts are alike,¡± Storm murmured still relaxing. ¡°What did good Libanius say on this spicy topic?¡± ¡°The blue chicks are as hot as red lava,¡± a chastised Sudi disclosed. ¡°There you go,¡± the resting with his eyes closed Baron agreed casually. - An hour later 3rd of Secundus 195 NC Nattas Villa Cartagen The timeworn face of Galio Veturius was a map for a long life of service in the armed forces and equally long hard marches over all terrain. And weather. ¡°He¡¯s a smart kid,¡± Regia¡¯s Consul commented after Silvio went inside to play with the young couple leaving the two older men on the patio. ¡°Strange ears and with your darker complexion Baron. Those almost Alden blue eyes will capture many a hearts.¡± ¡°Mm,¡± Storm murmured looking at his smiling son through the open doors. ¡°It is good to have a kid around,¡± he added not really wanting to make small talk with the Consul although one could argue they were sort of family now and have a good point. ¡°It was brave you accepted Sirio Lord Nattas. I know you opened doors for him,¡± Galio said. ¡°Your daughter is a quiet young lady.¡± She¡¯s not that young and for sure she ain¡¯t no lady, Nattas thought but said something else instead. ¡°Maja turned out better than I had hopes for.¡± ¡°Seems knowledgeable,¡± the Consul added. ¡°One could put it this way. She has a diverse set of skills,¡± Nattas croaked and then forced himself to change the subject. ¡°The years have been kind to you dear Consul. What a social climb this must have been! You have been working the gates at Alden six years back?¡± ¡°Volunteered. I had retired,¡± Galio replied. ¡°The years have been kind to you also dear Baron. How did you get the land? Your father worked the stables I¡¯m told.¡± ¡°I bought it. I¡¯m a frugal person and economized a lot,¡± Nattas retorted stiffly. ¡°The Queen Regent was kind enough to consider me for the barony. So that helped also.¡± ¡°Where is our old queen? The King asked for her whereabouts.¡± Don¡¯t throw old at Miranda¡¯s presence dear Consul. You won¡¯t like it at all. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know. Wasn¡¯t she in Alden to visit Jeremy¡¯s grave?¡± ¡°She was. But then she disappeared a couple of weeks back,¡± Galio replied and narrowed his eyes spotting his adjutant talking with a messenger near the villa¡¯s outer gates. ¡°Boarded a small ship and left. She hasn¡¯t arrived in Cartaport yet. We fear the worst.¡± ¡°Why is that?¡± Nattas asked and watched the adjutant walking briskly towards the patio crossing his villa¡¯s garden. ¡°Considering what happened to her mother,¡± the Consul elucidated. Ah. ¡°Hadn¡¯t the Duke¡¯s wife drown in an accident?¡± Miranda¡¯s mother was the previous Duke of Aegium second wife. That would be Doris Alden¡¯s father. Storm supposed both were former Dukes of Aegium now. Heh-he. ¡°It is why we fear for her safety Baron,¡± Galio replied. ¡°What is it lad?¡± He asked turning to the young Legion officer. ¡°Several missives about Novesium sire,¡± the officer replied. ¡°From the city?¡± ¡°Both from the city and Dottore Epolonius,¡± came the young man¡¯s reply. Nattas narrowed his eyes suspiciously. ¡°Read them for me,¡± Galio ordered. ¡°My eyes are tired.¡± The adjutant proceeded to give the Consul a whispery overview of the reports about Novesium. Apparently the problem had ballooned instead of going away. ¡°You were there Baron,¡± Galio said turning to look at Storm who pretended not to listen but hadn¡¯t missed a single word. ¡°I was in Moon¡¯s Haven Consul,¡± Storm replied stiffly. When Moore had told him they have found corpses near the river border with the bigger city Nattas had assumed initially that Tidus¡¯ body had surfaced. It was a shock as the late olive oil aristocrat should have been swimming in the Scalding Sea by then. How the corpse had travelled against the river¡¯s flow a mystery. ¡°What¡¯s your opinion?¡± Galio asked interrupting his rumination of the recent events. ¡°About the corpses found?¡± ¡°The sick corpses found.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t all corpses looking sick in a sense?¡± Nattas jested but the sober expression on Consul Veturius¡¯ face killed that jest fast. ¡°Right. Well I got my men to look into it,¡± he continued. ¡°Contacted Mayor Reganus to offer my help to straighten this mystery out.¡± ¡°Epolonius fears it¡¯s an epidemic,¡± Galio noted seriously. ¡°I had my personal Dottore look into it and he wasn¡¯t too concerned¡­¡± ¡°Of Typhus,¡± the Consul elucidated interrupting Storm¡¯s flow. ¡°¡­initially,¡± Nattas continued without batting an eyelash. ¡°It became clear very soon though what had really happened.¡± In truth Nattas had no idea. ¡°Reganus did a half-arse job,¡± Galio Veturius expounded with Nattas nodding him along, a constipated look on his face. ¡°The drainage system failed and the city streets flooded. Debris from the burned parts, human and animal excrement swamped the lower lands. Polluted whatever water was available. Disease is spreading.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what we thought,¡± Storm croaked. ¡°You knew about this?¡± ¡°Not with all the odorous details, but I have prepared a¡­ verbal report for the King,¡± Nattas lied. ¡°Along with a summary of the efforts I¡¯ve put forth to tackle the problem.¡± ¡°Reganus¡¯ problem.¡± ¡°Of course. The blame weighs heavy on his neck,¡± Storm agreed readily. ¡°Still it¡¯s too early to have all the facts and uncover what really happened.¡± ¡°He had the funds to work on repairs. I understand he fixed the road and the destroyed bridge leading to Moon¡¯s Haven?¡± The blasted idiot actually put that in the record? ¡°Among other things yes. I was firmly against it,¡± Nattas lied with a strangled grunt. ¡°Obviously Reganus should have prioritized Novesium¡¯s safety first and forget about his old position. He¡¯s a completionist and a trade-first oriented guy.¡± ¡°People are dying Baron.¡± ¡°I¡¯m as shocked as you dear Consul,¡± Nattas assured him. ¡°I told you that I immediately put my men on it. We must all give it our all to tackle this catastrophe.¡± ¡°I need to speak to the King.¡± The Consul got up with a frown. ¡°It¡¯s imperative to nip this in the bud Baron. We had this problem last year in Islandport. Almost lost Legatus Sula.¡± ¡°How did he manage to pull through?¡± Nattas asked with fake interest. ¡°It was a miracle,¡± Galio replied rigidly and gestured for the officer to get going. ¡°I must bid you farewell Lord Nattas.¡± He told the standing up Baron tending his hand. ¡°I consider you family and that goes for yer lovely daughter as well.¡± Eh. Nattas cleared his throat, still numb from the shocking turn of events and shook the Consul¡¯s calloused hand. ¡°Likewise Consul Veturius. It goes without saying but I¡¯ll say it just the same. You can count on me to offer help. In fact I¡¯ll mobilize the ¡®Reformed¡¯ immediately out of my own pocket.¡±
¡°I did that already Chief,¡± Sudi told him ten minutes later after the Consul had departed the villa. ¡°Got Moore and Grin on it. They contacted Reganus and are working to solve the problem.¡± ¡°People are getting sick,¡± Storm grunted raising his cane threateningly. ¡°Fucking croaking all over the place! Pretty soon questions might be asked on those responsible if this gets out of hand.¡± ¡°It¡¯s already out of hand.¡± ¡°Not it fucking isn¡¯t!¡± Storm snapped and swung with the cane but Sudi managed to block it raising his. ¡°We must keep the body count as low as possible.¡± ¡°Numerius Baro has setup a camp to help the sick¡ª¡± ¡°Forget about that!¡± Storm cut him off. ¡°Assume a quarter of the city kicks the bucket. Thousands. Where I was going afore you interrupted me was that we need to massage the actual numbers like in the illegal games. You know what all normal folk do, gods damn it!¡± ¡°I told Moore that Chief. It is standard procedure in our business,¡± Sudi explained and stepped out of Nattas¡¯ range. ¡°He¡¯ll search for any survivors and make sure they keep the story to themselves. Then pile the dead up and burn the lot of them until they turn to ash. For every ten piles he¡¯ll count one. All you need to do is navigate the crisis and make sure Reganus keeps his mouth shut. Much better to appear an idiot than a truth seeker.¡± ¡°Much safer,¡± Storm corrected him. ¡°Ayup. Moore will straighten him out.¡± ¡°He was supposed to pave the way for me,¡± Nattas hissed. ¡°Not fuck it up so I have to distance myself from the plaguing city. Like literally!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± Sudi said with a grimace. ¡°Embrace it. Be a beacon of common sense and decisive action.¡± Nattas narrowed his eyes suspiciously. ¡°Are you trying to have me killed so you can sleep with the Queen Regent? Because even if I croak it won¡¯t happen. I¡¯m sorry my friend but on top of being too low-born, you look like shit.¡± Storm would have said a cripple but decided it wasn¡¯t as strong an argument. ¡°I ain¡¯t thinking about that. Few people are as corrupted as you chief or as self-centered.¡± ¡°You are!¡± ¡°I won¡¯t deny it. Still I never reached your heights.¡± ¡°You son of a bitch,¡± Nattas grunted irate. ¡°After all I¡¯ve done for you! You¡¯ll stab me in the back?¡± ¡°Are you finished with the tantrum?¡± Sudi retorted impatiently. ¡°I¡¯m not jesting. Use the opportunity to play the good guy and repair your reputation. We can deal with Reganus and you have the Consul¡¯s ear through Sirio.¡± ¡°Sirio is useless!¡± ¡°No he isn¡¯t. He¡¯s a wide-eyed idealist that the old goat loves like a son and is willing to excuse all his faults. And you as a proxy unless you fuck it up being too greedy. Don¡¯t ask for the duchy in exchange. Do it for free like you told the Consul.¡± Nattas glared at his lackey. ¡°Are you utterly insane? Have you slipped and banged yer fucking head on a plinth? I was lying you numbskull! Doing that motherfucker Garth¡¯s bidding has bled us dry of plaguing coin! Maintaining the fleet, warehouses and losing ships! The expenses are through the blasted roof! What roof? The roof is gone!¡± ¡°I expect us to make crazy profit by the end of the year,¡± Sudi said calmly. ¡°It¡¯s a risky business and we might not,¡± a flustered Nattas hissed and stared at his lackey. ¡°Are you sure we can keep the numbers low?¡± ¡°What¡¯s low?¡± Sudi asked mockingly. ¡°A couple of thousand?¡± ¡°Good grief! How about a couple of hundred instead?¡± Nattas haggled shamelessly. Sudi set his jaw stubbornly. ¡°That¡¯s too low chief. Nobody will believe it.¡± ¡°How about using the homeless?¡± Nattas suggested thinking on his feet. ¡°We raise the numbers here, leave it vague there and write down only the most known names. If a whole neighborhood is wiped out then nobody is left to remember those that lived there. Right? So we take those out of the count.¡± ¡°We can chuck a couple of thousand to Drusus Sula. He did attack the city,¡± Sudi countered. ¡°He did. Violent motherfuckers killed women and children!¡± Nattas agreed with renewed enthusiasm. ¡°Actually that was us chief,¡± Sudi argued and Storm stood back horrified and stunned at his words. Not the truth in them but the fact Sudi had spoken them aloud. ¡°What are you talking about? We did no such thing!¡± ¡°Sure, but it might come up if we overinflate Sula¡¯s numbers too much and then there¡¯s Ursus who knows what really happened.¡± ¡°Ursus is a treacherous lying murderer!¡± Nattas growled with righteous indignation, eyes ogling and spittle flying out of his mouth. Then it dawned on him they weren¡¯t that much better. A case could be made they were actually much worse than the former Duke of Novesium. After an awkward moment of tensed silence and retrospection Sudi scratched his right cheek with a finger and said in an even voice. ¡°You might want to be on top of that. In the room. Steer the conversation the right way chief to avoid the reefs.¡± ¡°Uhm,¡± the sweaty Nattas agreed and smacked his lips audibly. ¡°I might have lost it earlier and I can¡¯t afford that, you are right Lotus. Know that I always valued your judgement. Now upon having finished this blasted love letter, don¡¯t go and fucking take this as a carte blanche to screw me over because I¡¯ll crack your skull right open.¡± ¡°I love you too chief,¡± Sudi assured him with a smirk. ¡°Just stay positive and we¡¯ll get through this like always.¡± Storm eyed him frostily. ¡°Find the driver. I¡¯ll go visit the King.¡±
That snake-eyed son of a dog is here again, Storm Nattas thought after greeting the guards and the relic servant Cyrus Falx that had reached a new level of pettiness to get back at him for having no influence with late queen Vacia decades in the past. Fucking old vampire just won¡¯t breathe his plaguing last for crying out loud! ¡°Earnest salutations King Lucius,¡± Nattas started going hard in the curtsy despite his spine¡¯s warnings that it was perhaps high-time the petty Baron looked for another leap up the proverbial class ladder. (...) - Three hours later The Palace of a hundred windows front yard Right after the meeting with Lucius ¡°Whoa, what happened?¡± The standing next to the parked carriage¡¯s open door Sudi asked. ¡°Something in the served food?¡± Sudi believed all royal visits came with a lavish dinner, wine in fancy goblets and a visit to the Palace gardens for small talk and aperitifs. Nothing was further from the truth and Storm had spent the past half hour staring at Ramirus¡¯ long face, after gazing at a wall and King Titus¡¯ ¡®the Dull¡¯ portrait for over two hours afore that. ¡°I smoothed things over,¡± Storm grunted hobbling briskly to reach the carriage and pausing for a moment there to catch his breath. ¡°But it is getting ever riskier trying it.¡± ¡°Did you play it safe?¡± Sudi asked and Nattas nodded spotting a small-bodied female figure rushing to cross the yard and reach the gates. She had come from another wing of the large Palace. ¡°We might have to take the matters into our own hands unfortunately. Remove obstacles starting low and moving higher up the ladder,¡± Nattas said in a measured low voice, his eyes on the approaching female. Her face vaguely familiar. Now what brothel have I seen ye before? Nattas wondered ogling at the blond young woman¡¯s shapely body, hidden under the long cloak. A trained eye¡¯s penetrative gaze and a ripe dirty mind would never be deterred by any amount of clothing. ¡°Who are ye talking about?¡± Sudi asked following the Baron¡¯s stare unsure. ¡°The Laudus matter might take a turn for the worse,¡± Nattas replied a little distracted and still trying to remember where he¡¯d met the lone palace¡¯s visitor. Some clerk¡¯s family member? A local lass sucking a royal Knight¡¯s cock in between shifts? The latter not excluding the former of course. ¡°Might be better for Hik to swallow his tongue.¡± ¡°You have people on him chief,¡± Sudi argued. ¡°I haven¡¯t gotten an update in months,¡± Storm hissed and gestured for him to stay quiet as the woman was about to walk past them. I¡¯m priestess Saena, the bountiful priestess had told him back in Islandport, inside the Fourth Legion¡¯s controlled territory. Her fleshy warm hand massaging Nattas¡¯ engorged phallus whilst talking with him in public. This is sister Vita. Though she is with the temple no more. Bullshit. ¡°Sister Vita,¡± an aroused Nattas blurted out hoarsely and the young woman recoiled probably not expecting him to speak to her much more knowing her name. Tensed as a young mare afore a horny stallion, Storm thought leering reassuringly at the startled former priestess. Mayhap the lass moved on to a better paying profession? He thought and added in a friendly manner. ¡°I¡¯m Baron Storm Nattas. We¡¯ve met thirteen months ago.¡± ¡°Salutations Baron,¡± the flushed Vita said quickly and bowed her blond head. ¡°Apologies, I didn¡¯t recognize you. It¡¯s a little dark.¡± It was. The hour growing late for a social visit. ¡°I mostly¡­ talked with sister Saena that day,¡± Nattas replied. ¡°Visiting a relative in the Palace grounds?¡± He asked with a glance at the irritated Sudi that gestured for Storm to get this over with. ¡°I work at Salonius Emporium,¡± Vita explained seeming eager to end their talk. ¡°Had to make a¡­ delivery and see an old friend.¡± ¡°How noble¡­ ehem, you want a ride out of the palace grounds?¡± Nattas asked already succumbing to the young woman¡¯s charms after the difficult and stressful meeting with the King. ¡°A place to sleep the night? I¡¯m a known philanthropist.¡± Sudi almost choked on his own spit, even making a strange sound but managed to control himself. ¡°Ugh? No, I¡¯m heading for the South Gates Baron,¡± Vita replied a little defensively. ¡°We are not. But we could leave you near the Main Street and Salonius Emporium as we are heading that way.¡± ¡°It¡¯s late, maybe I should stay at Solon District tonight?¡± Vita said, mostly talking with herself. The address was near the Hippodrome and Uher¡¯s Dome. Right between them almost. The Temple had bought a building there recently and turned it into a ¡®Goddess Hostel¡¯, probably as a way to increase revenue to cover Flavia¡¯s expensive prolonged stay in the capital. Come to see the horses and bet on the races, the leering Nattas thought reciting the ads hanging outside the Hippodrome. Rest afterwards and unwind in the nearby Naossis¡¯ hostel¡¯s embrace or visit a proper brothel next door! This was the standard practice of the cultured folk living in the Capital. With variations. Don¡¯t forget to visit Uher¡¯s Dome on the way out to cleanse your fucking soul! Ha-hah. ¡°You¡¯ll need to find a carriage to take you there sweet Vita else you¡¯ll be walking half the night all by your lonesome,¡± Nattas said syrupy and sighed deeply as if troubled at the thought. ¡°My own driver will take you there right after he drops us off at my villa.¡± Vita smiled but it was a forced one. Nattas didn¡¯t mind that at all. A clenched cunt can take a cock same as a looser one. You just spit on it some more. ¡°Step inside the carriage afore the guards get suspicious,¡± he told her, now sounding business like. ¡°You can¡­ thank me on the return trip. I¡¯m certain you¡¯ll do a good job.¡±
No sooner the driver had left to take Vita away, with Storm still in the process of fastening his breeches afore the gates to his villa¡¯s gardens, a lithe shadow detached herself from the wall and walked towards them. Sudi paused in alarm half-way through opening one of the large metal doors but then relaxed recognizing the female half-breed Griet. It¡¯s the feline gait, Storm decided eyeing the female assassin and Maja¡¯s old pupil approach. ¡°I was just about to head for my bed,¡± Nattas told her abruptly. ¡°This was a fucking long arse day. It just refuses to end which is never a good omen. Well, at least we¡¯re into the night now.¡± If Abrakas keeps a moment dragging be wary. ¡°Rhys sent word,¡± Griet whispered and reached to run a hand over the front of the still aroused Baron¡¯s pants. ¡°He found Mister Hik. Hmm. Do I smell spilled seed?¡± She added knowingly her nostrils expanding. It was disturbing. And alas a touch exciting. ¡°Congrats,¡± Nattas retorted mockingly and pushed her hand away not wanting to travel down that rabbit hole. ¡°In the spirit of full disclosure, you smell like smoked fish. Sardine is my guess given the odor.¡± ¡°I had a job in Cartaport¡¯s docks,¡± Griet explained leaving it vague. ¡°How did it go?¡± Storm asked to keep the light talk cultured. ¡°It had a moist finale.¡± One could draw a number of different conclusions from that statement. ¡°Great,¡± Nattas grunted. ¡°With that out of the fucking way, is that old cocksucker dead?¡± ¡°Um. Well¡­ wait,¡± Griet murmured afore pausing and pulling away from the Baron unsure. She had invaded his personal space like a bitch in heat, which was not the safest thing given her true profession and skillset. Live with assassins for long enough and you¡¯ll forget they are dangerous, Storm thought a little annoyed for relaxing around her so much. ¡°What¡¯s that horrid sound?¡± A thoughtful Griet asked and turned her head to the northwest. The Baron could now hear the Palace¡¯s bells himself as they weren¡¯t that far away, especially given the size of Regia¡¯s capital. ¡°That¡¯s a strange tempo they are keeping,¡± Sudi commented in a guarded manner whilst staring at Storm suspiciously. Are you fucking serious? ¡°What does it mean?¡± Griet asked curious and the worried Nattas, who had also turned around now to stare away from the villa¡¯s gates and towards the distant Palace grounds, mirrored Sudi¡¯s cautious tone in his reply. ¡°Distress in the royal quarters.¡± The last time the bells had rung that way was the night Jeremy was born and Queen Vacia, Alistair¡¯s first wife and Lucius¡¯ mother, had died. 500. Scorned Hearts (4/5)
In the feast¡¯s silence ¡®Claret¡¯ gaits softly Fakes at sorrow then builds up a sigh In dance¡¯s steps her scent catches yer eye Whispers o¡¯ morrow, her laughter¡­ oh so courtly Hoary eclogues may well whisper epiphany When Aurora¡¯s squally frigid tints shroud a bilk, Smelling o¡¯ wild yarrow & Goddess¡¯ milk Shall drip over her Daughter¡¯s gathered honey (¡­) Thy breath alike a delicate gale Hides in dawn¡¯s breeze ¡®n twilight¡¯s quail For yer like no other Sheer bodice ¡®n wicked touch of Oras dwale Blatantly concealed tease behind a veil Thy Goddess has a lover No other (Goddess has a lover) Sir Dominique Valwarin, The Carmine Bard. Born 45 NC in Jelin, the Crabs (Duchy of Tollor) ¨C Died 109 NC in Eplas, Altarinport (Duchy of Raoz) (Here the famed song in full including its 2nd less celebrated stanza)
-Yarrow. Somewhat medicinal plant carried by Iliad¡¯s hero Achilles to treat soldiers¡¯ wounds. -Dwale. Dangerous concoction. Usually containing white poppy seeds, henbane, mandrake when used as a controversial anesthetic or with the addition of ¡®deadly Nightshade¡¯ (Belladona) as highly effective poison for livestock and humans. In Lorian Mythology it is hinted Naossis brought a vial of it with her (or something similar) in order to poison her father Abrakas in the event she failed to seduce him. In the Imperial version (from Abrakas priests) of the same incident the concoction is to be used benignly to lower Abrakas¡¯ inhibitions. The Temple¡¯s assassins (Naossis) are rumored to have used it since antiquity to get rid of their enemies. -Bilk. Cheat, deceive, evade or defraud. -Eclogue. Artistically coarse verses, a bucolic poem or song. Made famous by the Roman poet Publius Vergilius Maro (commonly known by the moniker Virgil)
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Lucius Alden, ¡®Bloody Tiger¡¯ Lord Lucius Aldenus the third, Praetor Maximus, Legatus ¡®Omnis Legionis¡¯ King Lucius III Scorned Hearts Part IV -Milk & Honey-
Young Alistair chuckled ¨Ca warmth-inducing sound- upon hearing his sister Vacia cry and the little girl stopped as if shamed to silence to look at her brother. Aw, she looks at you sweetie, Monica thought and smiled at her daughter. She signed for Licinia to take them at the small corner table. The large desk near the two large windows of her quarters occupied by Percy¡¯s nicely wrapped up wooden boxes and the closed wicker basket. ¡°Your grace,¡± Percy said with another bow of the head after he finished setting up the mannequin stands. ¡°I have prepared everything to your specifications. If I may open the boxes?¡± ¡°Go ahead Mister Percy,¡± Monica kept her attention on Vita. She didn¡¯t expect to see her again so soon. ¡°Show us your work.¡± ¡°I have here the four spring dresses. Each dedicated to one of the main colors while embracing the whole spectrum,¡± Percy started carefully getting everything out. ¡°Vita help me out here if you please dear.¡± ¡°They are lovely your highness,¡± Licinia commented from the small table taking her eyes from the twins and Monica nodded with a glance at the stiffly watching from the door Sir Flavian Gregor. ¡°What does Sir Gregor think?¡± Monica teased and the knight grimaced not expecting the query. ¡°The colors are vibrant Ma¡¯am,¡± he replied after clearing his throat. ¡°The colors are vibrant for spring is the blooming season,¡± a smiling Monica elucidated with a shake of her head. ¡°But I have a black pair of gloves I want to wear. Mister Percy show us the summer dresses.¡± ¡°I stitched a longer hem to the sheer silk you liked your grace,¡± Percy replied opening another large box with the help of Vita. ¡°Which color?¡± Monica asked checking the quality of the first four dresses, now hanging on the stands, one after the other. ¡°Red, cream, black and white. I brought everything,¡± Percy said and turned to his assistant. ¡°Here it is. Umm, No it¡¯s too delicate, let me take it out.¡± ¡°Is it sufficiently long?¡± Monica teased. ¡°We don¡¯t want the royal ankles on full display right Sir Gregor?¡± ¡°No Ma¡¯am,¡± the knight replied. Monica raised the tip of her left shoe and placed it on a small leg rest stool. ¡°There¡¯s a pair of shoes we¡¯d like to check on though alongside that red dress and we dread stepping behind the folding screen.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll step outside your grace,¡± Sir Gregor informed her. ¡°We¡¯ll appreciate your sacrifice Sir Gregor.¡± ¡°Your grace if I may,¡± Percy started but Monica cut him off with a brisk gesture. ¡°Just turn around Mister Percy. Stare at my portrait for a while and make chaste thoughts,¡± she ordered and then stared at Vita¡¯s face. ¡°The girls can sufficiently help us.¡± ¡°Your highness. I humbly beg for your forgiveness,¡± Percy tried again after some time sounding terribly discomforted. ¡°If it is possible to be excused I would greatly appreciate it. Alas I have a late night appointment forced upon me and Vita assured Master Salonius she can finish up. Of course if my physical presence is required here, I shall dutifully remain without further troubling you grace.¡± Oh Goddess. You¡¯ve troubled us already! ¡°Who is it for?¡± Monica asked letting her breath out for Licinia to pull at the strings of her corset. ¡°Mayor Messor¡¯s daughter is getting married this summer,¡± Percy elucidated. ¡°Why the secrecy?¡± The Queen asked with a sigh. ¡°Is she pregnant?¡± It was common knowledge in the palace that the Mayor¡¯s young daughter was sleeping around. ¡°I couldn¡¯t in good consciousness answer your Grace.¡± ¡°What if we ordered you? Would that offer some relief?¡± ¡°Then I would be inclined to agree with your grace¡¯s assessment.¡± Monica shook her head and then stared at herself in the mirror draped in the silk red dress. Hmm. That¡¯s too tight on the boobies. Guess I could always scissor the front for ventilation? ¡°You are dismissed Mister Percy,¡± she finally murmured and waited for the manager of ¡®Salonius Emporium¡¯ to depart. She had spotted Vita examining her gloves behind her back through the mirror. ¡°That¡¯s tight enough. We can barely breathe,¡± Monica told Licinia. ¡°Return to the twins.¡± ¡°I have my eyes on them your highness,¡± Licinia assured her. ¡°That was quiet evident. While commendable you almost broke our poor ribs Licinia,¡± Monica retorted and turned to Vita. ¡°They are from Wetull.¡± ¡°What type of leather ma¡¯am? They look like adventurer¡¯s gloves,¡± Vita asked making fun of Sir Gregor¡¯s accent. Monica narrowed her eyes. ¡°It¡¯s the King¡¯s gift,¡± she informed her former lover and Vita blinked seemingly surprised. ¡°The dry spell is over?¡± Vita asked forgoing decorum and tossed the gloves on a sculpted vanity table to step closer. A whiff of vanilla, peppermint and sandalwood teased the Queen¡¯s nostrils. Monica licked her lightly painted lips nervously keeping sight of Licinia out of the corner of her eye. She tasted bitter cherry on her tongue. ¡°Show me those heeled sandals again,¡± Monica ordered the smiling Vita hoarsely and grabbed her arm above the elbow. Monica guided the former priestess near the last of the boxes before she released her. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to make you mad. We¡¯re soulmates,¡± Vita whispered opening the expensive and decorated box. ¡°Your absence is eating me¡ª¡± Stop it. ¡°Cherish the memories,¡± Monica hissed suddenly very conscious of their surroundings. ¡°I¡¯m no longer that teenager Vita.¡± ¡°You¡¯re lying,¡± she argued and reached for her hand. ¡°I can sense it in your stare. You are living a nightmare. This isn¡¯t what you dreamed.¡± Monica caught Vita¡¯s hand first and dug lacquered nails in the soft inside of the priestess¡¯ wrist just over the veins. ¡°My children are princes¡¯ and dreams never weighted more than duty to a Holt.¡± Vita stepped back with a gasp of pain holding her cut wrist. ¡°You¡¯ll throw your father¡¯s words at me? This is your husband¡¯s indoctrination, don¡¯t you see? His gift has another¡¯s woman¡¯s name written on it,¡± she hissed sounding hurt and angry. ¡°He¡¯ll never love you like I do, treasure and worship you for hours. Give ye the touch your soul craves. You¡¯re naught but a small cog in a man¡¯s political covenant¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯m the Queen of Regia,¡± an angry Monica stopped her midsentence barely managing to control her voice. Some of the things Vita had said were hurtful, even mean but also true in a sense. ¡°You¡¯ll show us proper respect.¡± ¡°I brought a gift for your birthday,¡± Vita murmured raspingly and pursed her lips as if in considerable turmoil. Have I hurt her so much? Monica wondered. Vita pointed at the wicker basket. ¡°Goddess¡¯ milk and the daughter¡¯s honey.¡± Monica took a deep breath to calm her nerves. The new silk dress constricting despite it been more suitable for summer. Well, you couldn¡¯t tell it is, as she could feel the heat rising in her belly and the flush spreading on her cheeks. ¡°Is it fresh from a young cow?¡± She rustled looking at Vita getting the glass bottle out and then reaching for the smaller glass vase with the amber-colored honey. ¡°Straight from the dairy market and golden thyme honey from the island I had kept for a special occasion,¡± Vita said and cracked open the glass lid breaking the freshly applied wax seal. ¡°You should taste it,¡± she added huskily with a side glance. It was tempting. The twins chuckled behind her and Licinia¡¯s voice followed breaking the moment. ¡°It¡¯s getting rather late,¡± Monica said instead and took a step back. ¡°You should go before it gets too dark to see your way.¡± ¡°Our Goddess shall guide me in silence,¡± Vita replied tensely and placed the lid down next to the opened vase with shaking hands. ¡°To her garden¡¯s crystal clear waters.¡± Monica sighed seeing her obvious pain and discomfort. ¡°I¡¯ll talk to the Augusta or Drusilla if I can¡¯t reach her. She¡¯ll take you back again if I insist. Flavia is like a mother to Drusilla. You two were like real sisters. No? You won¡¯t be left alone.¡± ¡°Then I bid my farewell to our Queen,¡± Vita said a little too formally and bowed her blond head deeply. ¡°Have a serene evening Vita,¡± Monica replied and watched her for a while until she walked out of the Queen¡¯s quarters. The door left open from Sir Gregor. ¡°He¡¯s restless,¡± a flushed Licinia griped approaching with Alistair that pulled at her curls with both hands. The Cartagen maiden had a comely freckled face and light-blue eyes. Monica pursed her mouth and averted her gaze. Have you lost your mind? She cursed herself and reached to pick up Alistair with both arms. ¡°Look at you,¡± she told her excited son that went to grab at her more elaborate hairdo. Licinia smiled and went to bring Vacia as well. ¡°Have you ever tasted authentic Valeria honey Ali?¡± Monica asked the cooing boy and then dipped her index finger in the vase. The gluey liquid cool to the touch. She brought it to her lips and tasted it with closed eyes. ¡°Mm. You can¡¯t fake this.¡± A sober Alistair was staring at his mother licking her lips. His dark blue eyes all serious and demanding, it reminded Monica of her father. ¡°Goddess,¡± Monica chuckled and carefully sat sideways on the table with the opened boxes. ¡°Let me get my new shoes out of the way and I¡¯ll give you some as well.¡±
- Lucius moved fast after Sir Aesop Sabinus, out in the corridor leading to the throne room, a disheveled but in armour Sir Roman Valgus getting out of the guard¡¯s bedroom joining them and the bells continuous ringing reverberating inside the larger -with more windows open- hall upon entering it.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. ¡°What in Tyeus¡¯ spear?¡± The helmetless Sir Valgus cursed trying to fix his hair with a hand as he followed after the king¡¯s entourage, with the breathing heavy Cyrus Falx trying to keep up with the faster moving half-breeds everyone else had forgotten about. ¡°The first floor,¡± Lucius grunted and all but kicked the double side doors open in order to reach the second set of stairs. The much narrower servant stairs leading to the middle of the royal quarters, right at the border between the east and west wings. The King reached the top just after the now standing undecided at the extending on both directions long semi-dark corridors Sir Sabinus. ¡°Head east by the Allgods!¡± Lucius grunted and pushed the confused knight towards the right direction just as a desperate cry reached them from the end of the elongated corridor. ¡°A DOTTORE!¡± A hoarse man¡¯s voice decried whilst approaching fast. ¡°The Queen is terribly sick!¡± Lucius saw a crazed Cyrus the young running towards them and glanced back at the flushed Faye that had just arrived at the top of the stairs after the glowering Sir Valgus who had drawn his longsword for some reason. Cyrus next words beating the King¡¯s query. It was like taking a heavy mace to the gut. ¡°The twins, gods help us!¡± Cyrus croaked in despair. What¡­ how? Lucius mind went to the Typhus epidemic. ¡°Logan is with the boys,¡± Faye snapped in reply to his voiceless query. ¡°Move yer feet Alden.¡± Lucius grunted and went after the hurrying Sir Sabinus and Sir Valgus immediately noticing another royal knight -Sir Antigonus Calvus- standing guard outside Monica¡¯s quarters that were next to Faye¡¯s with the King¡¯s located at the far end of the spacious floor. ¡°We need a dottore sire!¡± The devastated Cyrus cried upon reaching them and all but collapsed to his knees. ¡°Sir Valgus,¡± Lucius ordered and grabbed the knight¡¯s shoulder to stop him. ¡°Run back down and have the yard¡¯s guards locate Marianus. He¡¯s staying in the Legion camp inside the gardens. Hurry up! You¡¯ll find him with Centurion Sorex. The barrack nearest to the kitchens!¡± ¡°Stand up! Pull yourself together! What is this?¡± He commanded Cyrus the young losing his temper. ¡°Don¡¯t shame yourself in front of yer father and the King!¡± Luci my noble firstborn. His late mother said lovingly in his mind stopping Lucius outburst. Promise me. Thou shall face our future sorrows with the dignity befitting thy station and won¡¯t lose thyself in blind vengeance¡¯s black depths. The righteous soul must only seek justice fer wrongs done unto him. And justice the gods shall deliver. It is what it is. A solemn-faced Lucius marched towards Sir Calvus next, the knight also missing parts of his attire. Calvus saluted the king sharply. ¡°The Queen?¡± Lucius rustled trying to maintain his composure for the good of the realm, despite his mind being mostly on the health of the kids. ¡°Inside my liege,¡± Sir Calvus replied rigidly. ¡°Sir Gregor is with her. Everyone is sick. Even the maid. You better wait for a doctor.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t do that Sir Calvus.¡± Allgods mercy. She was fine in the morning! What happened? ¡°I understand sire,¡± the knight replied and stepped aside. Lucius gulped down anxiously, glanced at Faye who had run some meters away in order to signal at the distant lit-up figure of Logan Barret that had come out of her own quarters hearing the commotion and spotted out of the corner of his eye the half-breed Leirda standing further back but it was no more than five meters. The half-breed had moved fast. She stared his way in her usual brazen half-querying but also semi-indecipherable manner, while her brother helped the doubled over his knees pale Cyrus Falx -who had probably moved too fast up the stairs for his age- to catch his breath. Leirda¡¯s earlier prophetic words swirled in Lucius brain like an angry beehive, a numbness spreading from the base of his nape to his spine. Lucius gave the half-breed a curt nod and then entered Monica¡¯s fully illuminated spacious quarters. Monica was laid on her bed, clad in a silk red dress. A summer dress with a tight fit. Licinia had collapsed on an armchair with her chin touching her sternum and Sir Gregor had removed his gauntlets in his frantic attempts to revive the twins. They were both next to their mother on the large bed. Lucius stopped almost tripping over his feet, trying to negotiate the lavish boudoir¡¯s illuminated interior with the desperate hellish scene he now faced. Lucius blinked unable to move further into the room. Faye ¨Cwho was right behind him- bumped on his right shoulder and pushed the emotionless king out of the way in her rush to reach inside. Lucius watched as if in a blurry dream with incoherent scenes the redhead run to the bed and stooping over the pale Monica. A furious Sir Sabinus dragging Cyrus the young by the nape and shoving him towards Licinia Diana with a string of loud curses. His eyes roamed the large room and paused first at the mannequin stands with the many colorful dresses displayed. Then the small vanity table and the gloves he¡¯d gifted Monica on one side, the elongated dinner table on the other littered with many open boxes, fancy wrappings, several pairs of shoes and a wicker basket at its corner. Looking out of place. A shattered bottle of milk had stained the legs of the table. It had created a white pool and on the pool¡¯s surface thick splotches of golden honey dripped from an upturned small glass vase still on the table. Splish and splash. ¡°Blood in her mouth,¡± Faye hissed and Lucius grunted coming about. ¡°She is drenched in sweat.¡± ¡°Sire,¡± Sir Sabinus had brought little Alistair¡¯s unresponsive body to him. Lucius grabbed his son with both hands, the right moving fast to hold his little head that wobbled freely almost and tried to feel for his breath. ¡°This isn¡¯t¡­ eh, her neck is stained¡­ black,¡± a desperate Faye was heard from the bed, the sounds of the palace coming alive outside the queen¡¯s quarters increasing as officials and servants rushed out of their rooms. And beyond the open windows the alarm could be heard from the guards barracks located north of the main complex. ¡°Look for dark spots!¡± His northern wife yelled and Lucius saw a discoloration under Alistair¡¯s chin. His brain had stopped working. ¡°Is it an outbreak?¡± Lucius asked Sabinus. ¡°Has she visited the market lately?¡± ¡°Percy was here sir. He brought everything. The Queen hasn¡¯t left the palace in weeks,¡± a tensed Sir Gregor informed him. ¡°Who the hell is this Percy?¡± Lucius growled unable to understand what was going on. ¡°What are these marks Faye?¡± He asked his wife and shook the boy once to wake it up but stopped realizing this was futile. Sabinus reached to take Alistair from him. ¡°She¡¯s not just sick damn it!¡± Faye cursed and gave Monica a hard slap much to Lucius¡¯ shock. ¡°This darn fool looks paralyzed and unable to breathe!¡± Lucius made to step nearer but felt a strong grip move him aside a moment before Leirda¡¯s hand touched his shoulder and then the half-breed walked past him. ¡°You¡­¡± Lucius rustled angrily but then his tone changed. The desperate man seeks miracles in the end whether he¡¯s a cultured logic-grounded noble or an uncouth peasant. ¡°¡­can you help them?¡± Leirda sniffed at the air audibly, smacked her lips whilst examining the room and then blew her nostrils out to clean them one by one using a finger. ¡°Your grace,¡± Sir Sabinus protested at the unseemly sight of the gypsy Fish-folk girl but Leirda intervened afore Lucius could agree with the royal knight. ¡°Boy,¡± Leirda ordered the laying-low Nard in that indecipherable accent, a hint of Issir Common was noticeable to Lucius¡¯ ear. ¡°These are real flowers. Bring them to the bed.¡± ¡°Help my boy first,¡± Lucius grunted and waved for Sabinus who carried Alistair to clear a spot of the table. ¡°The boy is dead.¡± Leirda replied without hesitation and stared at the shocked, still trying to process the information Lucius knowingly. If I speak you¡¯ll lose the children and if I don¡¯t you¡¯ll lose the wife. The half-breed was speaking of the karmic scale and the cost of foreknowledge. The black arts. Let me be silent for every word has a price. Lucius was fighting with himself. ¡°Sir!¡± Sabinus growled trying to control his temper and failing. ¡°Go ahead,¡± Lucius rustled with a strangled voice and Leirda moved fast towards Sir Gregor¡¯s spot on the large bed to get near the unresponsive Vacia. The knight moved away from the princess and the half-breed opened the girl¡¯s nightdress to place a hand on her chest. ¡°Lucius,¡± Faye whispered unsure but Lucius turned to the younger Cyrus Falx and asked hoarsely. ¡°What happened here?¡± ¡°The Queen was ready to retire but the twins stopped breathing and she went hysterical according to Licinia,¡± Cyrus croaked. ¡°Soon after I arrived the Queen started feeling bad as well afore collapsing and then Licinia followed suit your grace. Allgods as my witness I don¡¯t know what happened!¡± ¡°Sir Gregor,¡± Lucius grunted. ¡°Who else was here?¡± ¡°A female clerk sir? These are Salonius employees. You don¡¯t think Salonius¡ª¡± ¡°The girl breathes,¡± Leirda announced interrupting him and got up from the bed. ¡°She¡¯ll be¡­ fine, for the most part.¡± A relieved Lucius went to check on his coughing daughter while Leirda rounded the large bed to go to Monica. It was at that moment Dottore Marianus arrived. He had heard the bells and had ridden from the gardens immediately to offer assistance. ¡°Marianus you need to save little Alistair,¡± Lucius said to the sober military physician with a cracking voice and Marianus headed for the boy without hesitation. Sabinus was still rubbing at his small legs and arms trying to revive him. ¡°What did they have to eat?¡± Marianus asked half a minute later, working a finger inside the boy¡¯s mouth and cursing in frustration for the absence of response. He started massaging Alistair¡¯s chest and cast an angry glance at the silent knights. ¡°Are you lads fucking deaf? The boy has been poisoned!¡± The Dottore roared. ¡°Find what it plaguing was now!¡± ¡°Daughter¡¯s Dwale,¡± Leirda said from Monica¡¯s side without looking at the furious Dottore. ¡°Nightshade in the mix, along henbane, mandrake, crushed white poppy seeds and a jiff of snake poison.¡± What? Lucius snapped his head towards the half-breed shocked. ¡°What snake?¡± Marianus asked soberly. ¡°Blue striped coral,¡± Leirda replied readily. ¡°I need to bleed her. Give me your dagger.¡± She told Sir Gregor but the knight hesitated. ¡°Are you also a medic?¡± Faye asked giving her a dagger before Lucius could intervene. ¡°Sometimes. I guess that¡¯s a lot of times for you. Hmm,¡± Leirda gave the redhead a critical onceover. ¡°I¡¯m prickly around women with your complexion and hair color. Please move back.¡± ¡°Well, fuck you too bitch.¡± Faye retorted but gave her the space to work on Monica. ¡°There is no mention of such a snake on Jelin. Neither in Cartagen Academy¡¯s fauna catalogue nor in Pliny¡¯s ¡®Animalia¡¯ and he traveled the continent extensively,¡± Marianus murmured sounding defeated and rubbed at his sweaty forehead. ¡°Why? That¡¯s overkill.¡± ¡°It¡¯s native on¡­ Eplas,¡± Leirda replied with a small hesitation. ¡°Its poison and toxins lock up the muscles among other things. As for why¡­ well, this is an assassin¡¯s poison medicine¡­ man. There¡¯s no antidote.¡± ¡°Sir Gregor,¡± Lucius grunted feeling his throat hurting and his mouth numb. ¡°Notify the city guard to close the gates. Send a runner immediately and then find Gaeta.¡± ¡°Praetor,¡± Marianus said soberly and stood up. ¡°My sincere condolences sire. Alas, the little prince is gone.¡± Leirda hasn¡¯t been wrong once curse her. ¡°Allgods,¡± Faye gasped and went to hug Lucius but the King didn¡¯t return his wife¡¯s embrace. Somebody have gotten inside the palace and then poisoned half his family. To mourn them whilst their killers were roaming the city free was to do them a disservice. He¡¯d enough family murdered to allow one more death to go unpunished. Not out of blind vengeance although Lucius could barely control his rage but out of a sense of justice. He couldn¡¯t leave it again to others or patiently wait for a resolution. I¡¯m sorry mother. ¡°What is this?¡± Marianus asked and Lucius felt the crying Faye shivering, her arms wrapped around his waist and turned to look at the Dottore that had approached Leirda. ¡°Keep her mouth closed. Don¡¯t let her speak,¡± she told him and got up. ¡°I¡¯ll see to the girl.¡± ¡°What did you give her?¡± Marianus asked curious but also sounding worried. ¡°You said there is no cure. How did you know?¡± Monica coughed violently and jerked awake at that point forcing the Dottore to turn his attention on the gasping for air young Queen. Lucius took a deep breath and let it out slowly whilst Faye ran with a scream of relief towards the revived noblewoman. Then the King¡¯s eyes followed the half-breed who approached the seemingly dead Licinia Diana, cracked her mouth open and poured the contents of a vial deep in the female courtier¡¯s larynx. ¡°Tsk-tsk general,¡± Leirda commented without looking at him. ¡°Either you trust me or you don¡¯t.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t trust deceivers.¡± Lucius grunted, ¡°My son is dead and you¡¯re playing games woman?¡± He added clenching his right fist tight and Leirda pointed an arm towards the bed where the coming about Monica struggled to get free from Dottore Marianus and Faye. ¡°Unhand me!¡± The young Queen screamed in protest her voice breaking midsentence. ¡°Let me see my babies!¡± She cried trying to get out of Marianus¡¯ steely grip. ¡°She killed them! GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF ME! Goddess!¡± Lucius narrowed his eyes. ¡°Death births more death. It is very difficult to balance,¡± Leirda whispered and got up letting go of the white as a sheet Licinia¡¯s chin. ¡°If you go in search for vengeance better to prepare two graves general.¡± Ah, yes. How does a gypsy soothsayer, a half-breed no less, can turn into a philosopher? ¡°I¡¯m a father first. Forget about all else,¡± Lucius retorted raspingly, fighting back tears. It had taken superhuman effort up to that point not to succumb to the grief welling up inside him. ¡°My son was just murdered. He was but a baby. What would you do in my stead woman?¡± The half-breed pursed her mouth tightly at first but then her whole face relaxed. Some of her facial characteristics mellowing up somehow. The bridge of her nose thinning, her dark eyes clearing up and the brown curly hair unfurling even losing their color. Endariel started humming a lullaby and Lucius smelled burned incense in the air for a brief moment. Then the moment was gone and the noise returned. What was this? Lucius wondered. ¡°Rare is to find an honest soul, a pure essence so powerful. It deserves an honest answer.¡± Leirda yielded and Lucius realized the lowly half-breed was much more than he¡¯d originally believed. ¡°I would have done the same.¡± Because all other strangeness aside, especially in such a dark day, he now realized what had bothered him from the beginning. What he couldn¡¯t identify since that first encounter. In this moment of immense sorrow and boiling fury, Lucius had a moment of clarity. For such a young woman and despite all her other real or not talents, Leirda spoke with the astuteness of a very old soul most of the times. All other mysteries could be explained some way or another but as old Roderick use to say ¡®can¡¯t really fake experience lad. Time flows over us like blasted water. It shall leave its darn mark even on a rock.¡¯ ¡®Either yer old as shit,¡¯ Roderick voice droned for one more time. ¡®Or you¡¯re an old plaguing turd. Take yer pick.¡¯ ¡°Sir Valgus,¡± Lucius rustled solemnly. ¡°Saddle the horses. We need to find that girl.¡± ¡°Aye sire,¡± the Knight replied and headed towards the door briskly. The hall outside packed with a curious crowd of servants and officials that quickly dispersed when he marched outside. Lucius stared at Monica that had collapsed after she¡¯d used all her strength to fight off the much larger Dottore and the silent Faye that was holding her right hand comfortingly. He just couldn¡¯t get himself to look at the lifeless body of Alistair. He just couldn¡¯t. ¡°Where is she?¡± Lucius asked the half-breed evenly without looking her way, hoping for a straight answer but not expecting it. ¡°The Kraken knows,¡± Leirda replied opting to remain vague as usual. -
The private room sized bathing pool of the Augusta was silent but for the water slowly dripping from the many slim faucets. It was almost lukewarm now. Just enough to be bearable for a while. Splish and splash, Flavia murmured a little surprised at the silly thought, feeling Brigitte¡¯s fingers massaging the upper part of her shoulders. The rest of the First Idole¡¯s body was submerged under the scented water. ¡°Sister Hermione sent Brother Bear Crug to Issir¡¯s Eagle,¡± the Issir Priestess Brigitte whispered to her left ear, tracing the edge of the soft flesh with a tongue. ¡°Sister Tricia believes she saw an ¡®Aken¡¯ exiting the Khan¡¯s camp.¡± ¡°What is Tricia doing in the Khan¡¯s camp?¡± Flavia asked with her eyes closed. ¡°The Prince¡¯s wife invited her to perform. He¡¯s missing on campaign and left her alone with his son. To take a male lover is a death sentence.¡± Goddess. The barbarism. ¡°The witch may be right after all,¡± Flavia said. ¡°Who was the merchant she met with the other day?¡± ¡°Drusilla has Laila and Acqer Crug on this mystery but the witch has disappeared,¡± Brigitte replied huskily and reached around with both hands to cup Flavia¡¯s submerged breasts. ¡°Let me pleasure the mother.¡± But Flavia was too relaxed and worn out from trying to navigate the capital¡¯s politics for a rise so late in the day. Evening. Mmm. ¡°Messor doesn¡¯t want me to perform the wedding,¡± she told Brigitte and swum away from her hands to the edge of the pool-sized bath dominating the center of the room. Most of the room. ¡°He¡¯ll put a Disciple in charge. They barely talk in ceremonies!¡± ¡°They also don¡¯t mind a full oven,¡± Brigitte retorted a little disappointed she had gotten away from her. ¡°Better optics?¡± ¡°Absurdness. The kid is the groom¡¯s,¡± Flavia hissed annoyed and turned her head hearing commotion from the corridor leading to the front door. ¡°What time is it?¡± She asked standing up and a young sister entered the Augusta¡¯s private bath room ¨CFlavia had spent a fortune to build it and it was still relatively small for her likes- immediately prostrating herself before the immerging naked from the waters High Priestess. The scene depicted on the painted walls behind the Augusta. ¡°Drusilla asks for an audience,¡± the Lorian girl reported, the use of the Second Idole¡¯s name dictating this was a personal matter. ¡°Send her in and go away,¡± Flavia ordered and hearing the squelching footsteps of Brigitte approach behind her she added. ¡°You too daughter.¡± Brigitte helped her wear a simple long tunic and left without a word. The striking blond-haired Priestess entered a moment later. ¡°Goddess mercy Augusta,¡± she whispered after bowing her head low. ¡°You ask for forgiveness afore revealing the sin? Is it that big a transgression or just too insignificant?¡± Flavia asked with a tired smile. ¡°Sister Vita wanted to stay the night,¡± Drusilla informed her. ¡°I allowed her entry in my quarters.¡± ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have with the First Idole under this roof,¡± Flavia scolded the younger Priestess, still Drusilla was over twenty five though. Not a baby anymore and a member of the Temple for years. ¡°The First Idole is my loving mother as much as my treasured High Priestess,¡± Drusilla reasoned cutely and Flavia sighed deeply, too tired to argue with her or administer a belated punishment. Sleep was what Flavia craved the most at that moment and her soft pillows. Having said that. ¡°You will be punished on the morrow daughter. Twice for the latter. You of all should know better. So bring to me a leather pad to use on your buttocks when I wake,¡± but some of Drusilla¡¯s words were also true. While the temple had many young girls growing on the Island the Augusta allowed under her wing only a few select of them to raise unless she had a real offspring of her own. To nurture and to teach. To love and help grow. Usually to the temple¡¯s highest positions. Drusilla and now Brigitte. Flavia angled her head to the left and looked behind the flushed Drusilla¡¯s shoulder. Vita looked like she had been crying, her usually clear cerulean eyes now dark and hollowed out. ¡°Little Vita, as I recall you do have a place to stay, paid by dear Salonius,¡± Flavia started didactically and gasped in surprise afore stopping when Vita prostrated herself on her still drenched naked feet letting out a cry of despair. Eh. What is that then? Flavia thought a little puzzled and softly touched the top of the sobbing girl¡¯s head, the High Priestess eyes staying on the second Idole¡¯s face in a quizzing manner. The large internal bath¡¯s fresco painted walls suddenly silent again but for the sound of the dripping faucets. Splish and splash.
501. Scorned Hearts (5/5)
Lucius Alden, ¡®Bloody Tiger¡¯ Lord Lucius Aldenus the third, Praetor Maximus, Legatus ¡®Omnis Legionis¡¯ King Lucius III Scorned Hearts Part V -A taste of justice-
Storm walked out to the opulent, open-spaced and column-adorned balcony that dabbled as the rooftop of his villa¡¯s front garden patio and yawned gazing at the now silent city. Some hours after the bells had caused a great disturbance everything seemed to have calmed down. Although it hadn¡¯t. You don¡¯t get the bell-ringers to blast at the bloody things for no fucking reason or an order from the King! The princes could do it sure. Ralph had in fact on one occasion to get a good laugh and impress that comely cock-loving maiden, whose name Storm couldn¡¯t remember at that very moment other than the shape of her plump mouth which so happened to be her moniker, but Ralph was long dead now and little Roderick, the next royal culprit in line for such a stupid prank, is just too plaguing short for the task or going after the palace¡¯s maidens. Although you never know. A frowned Nattas watched the groups of torch-carrying riders moving outside the villa¡¯s walls with increased curiosity. The Baron hadn¡¯t changed clothes or go to his bed despite the very-late hour because his instincts were telling him that something had happened at the palace. He couldn¡¯t fathom what that thing could be. Nattas could guess obviously. His mind poring over uncomfortable secrets exposed or the bounty hunter making it inside the city. Storm wanted to finish his conversation with Griet but she had stayed in the yard to keep a close eye on anyone approaching the villa. Life is naught but days and nights of grueling tests on one¡¯s will and vigilance with the occasional breaks of ephemeral moments of pleasure. Nattas thought it was better this way. Because to lull yourself into a false sense of security or cover with the soft moist folds of ¡®Zoie de vivre¡¯ could only end up costing you dearly. When the times of reckoning approach. Storm saw the lights of the procession round the corner about two whole blocks away from the direction of the King¡¯s Baths, enter Main Street and then crossing over to Salonius Emporium. Only this time they didn¡¯t stop there but continued following the side street that led to Merchant District and Nattas¡¯ villa ¨Cbuilt at the border afore that. Nattas heard Sudi moving under the veranda and then saw his lackey appear as well. The man kept his attention on the villa¡¯s entrance where Griet was hidden. The sound of many horses approaching grew and the semi-dark street lit up from the many torches the riders carried with them. ¡°They might pass us by chief,¡± Sudi said and Nattas stooped over the marble rails anxiously. ¡°They are coming here,¡± Storm grunted. ¡°Something happened.¡± ¡°It might have nothing to do with us,¡± Sudi argued as the horses approached and Griet got up at the top of the wall, covered with the woody aromatic climber plant the late Titus Balbus had bought from one of his sailor buddies and Nattas hadn¡¯t been able to get rid of for years, and signaled with her hand at the lit up front of the villa they might have visitors. Eight riders, Griet signaled with her fingers, then making a small correction not that it made too much of a difference. Seven. The villa was pretty light in security personnel due to budget constrains and the matter of Novesium. You¡¯d think with two killers¡­ three counting Sudi, living under the same roof this wouldn¡¯t be a problem. You don¡¯t expect a blasted charge by the royal cavalry. That¡¯s just fucking great, the Baron thought clenching his jaw angrily. Stupid dead-eyed bitch, this is your fault for not warning me with more enthusiasm not to trust that lying piece of shit Rhys. And your stupid tutor¡¯s that has her ravenous cunt stuffed by that oily cocksucker¡¯s prick instead of being down here to help solve the plaguing problem! ¡°Had I known that for certain,¡± Storm Nattas replied wryly to Sudi¡¯s assertion. ¡°I would have had you stall them at the front gates whilst I beat a hasty fucking exit out of the back. Since we know fuck all of what bloody happened such a panicked reaction might have given the whole blasted game away. Burst the sewer¡¯s lid wide open sort of speak and doused us from disheveled head to puckered arsehole with wagon-loads of soft watery turds.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll see what they want chief,¡± Sudi retorted calmly to his eloquent diatribe. ¡°You better hurry the fuck up,¡± Nattas commented dryly upon seeing the armoured Knight almost riding on the closed gates of his villa and stopping at the last moment. ¡°The barbarians are about to storm the blasted walls.¡±
- ¡°Sir Gregor, Sir Calvus.¡± Lucius ordered, hearing commotion again outside the royal chambers. Vacia started crying, seemingly triggered or startled by the noise. The sudden sound pierced the tense atmosphere and made Lucius¡¯ heart sink. ¡°Stay with them. Cyrus, get everyone to their quarters! This isn¡¯t a darn spectacle! Not a word of it comes out, or there will be a reckoning!¡± He signaled for Sabinus to follow him and walked towards the door, now barred by the menacing figure of Logan Barret, with little Roderick standing next to the northern warrior¡¯s left leg. A deep frown twisted the young boy¡¯s face. ¡°Logan,¡± Lucius grunted and walked fast to reach them. ¡°Get the boy out of here.¡± ¡°Nay,¡± Logan grumbled with a scowl. ¡°Dad,¡± Roderick asked with a troubled voice. ¡°Why is Cia crying? What happened to Ali?¡± ¡°Logan gods darn it,¡± Lucius growled, choosing to ignore the boy¡¯s query, and reached to grab Roderick¡¯s shoulder. The king wanted to push his firstborn out of the room. Logan stepped forward, a half step really but it made clear that he intended to challenge the King¡¯s decision. Eh. Are you bloody serious now? ¡°Lucius,¡± Faye intervened as the two men eyed each other tensely. ¡°Move aside,¡± Lucius warned the glowering Northman. Logan carried so many wrinkles and scars he had a very limited range of expressions on his face. Mostly variations of his patented nasty scowl with the occasional mean glare thrown in. ¡°Father,¡± Roderick protested. ¡°Be quiet boy!¡± Lucius snapped almost losing his temper. ¡°Must¡­ see,¡± Logan whispered hoarsely. ¡°Hark back to¡­ this moment to fuel his revenge.¡± What in the Allgods grace? ¡°Roderick let¡¯s take Vacia to your room,¡± Faye said getting between them. She carried the small girl with her left arm and used the right to take the tensed boy¡¯s hand. At that moment Sir Flavius Nasica arrived and paused seeing everyone crammed at the entrance of Monica¡¯s quarters. ¡°Your grace,¡± Nasica rustled glancing beyond Lucius to the interior of the bedchamber. ¡°Sir Gregor shall tell you what happened,¡± Lucius deflected. The last thing he wanted in that state of mind was to speak to the knight with a direct line of communication with Duke Holt. Lucius pushed forward, finally causing Logan to step aside. Damnation! The upset king grimaced in annoyance but didn¡¯t have the time to deal with the Philistine warrior.
The King reached the yard twenty minutes later just as Sir Valgus arrived with their horses. Lucius was in his court armour, a variation of the red-plated Legion¡¯s general cuirass and the Royal Knight¡¯s armour but he¡¯d no gloves on just his sword. The wine-red colored cuirass had the typical head of a gold Blacktiger sculpted on Lucius¡¯ chest and the same pattern ¨Cthough much larger- on the pauldrons that flared out at the shoulders, the steel shaped in intricate details and the breastplate ending with a fauld of four interconnected lames that were in turn secured with the tassets the King didn¡¯t have on. Despite the absence of gloves his arms were protected with a vambrace and then a rerebrace. The tubular piece of armor locked under the prominent sculpted pauldrons at the shoulders worn by the other knights as well. The king mounted Nightsilver and immediately spotted Mamercus loitering ten meters from the entrance near several palace guards. Lucius clicked his tongue to get the horse moving and rode near the group of men. Dosser, Placus and Goff were also present near the Centurion of Slingers. ¡°My lord,¡± Mamercus saluted. ¡°We heard the ruckus and followed Marianus. What happened?¡± Lucius stared at the guards and then at the legion veterans. ¡°I¡¯m looking for a bad woman,¡± he told Mamercus and the Centurion nodded. ¡°We borrowed some of Mede¡¯s horses¡¯ sir,¡± Mamercus said. ¡°Follow me and the knights,¡± Lucius replied with a grimace. ¡°Mister Dosser I understand you are still on medical leave. You can sit this one out if you wish.¡± ¡°The Dottore counseled¡­ exercise and clean air milord.¡± Dosser rustled through his stitched mouth and chin. ¡°We sort of slacked today.¡± ¡°Get to your horses then,¡± a deeply moved Lucius yielded and turned on the saddle to face his knights. ¡°Sir Valgus you are with me. Sir Sabinus you¡¯ll take the rest of the knights and see to check all the gates. North, South and West. Sir Musa and Sir Tadius you¡¯ll go with him as well.¡± Lucius paused seeing Logan getting out of the palace¡¯s main entrance and strolling towards them. By the grace of the Allgods! ¡°Red asked¡­¡± Logan whirred with difficulty afore his voice gave out, the sound coming out drowned and hoarse, barely audible over the noise of the men and the nervous clopping of the horses. Yeah, the King thought pursing his mouth. I love you Faye but your stubbornness can be maddening at times. With his face contorting in a grimace of frustration Lucius cursed under his breath and then turned to the grim-faced Sir Valgus. ¡°Find a horse for Mister Logan my good knight. He¡¯s coming with us also.¡± ¡°Where to your majesty?¡± Sir Musa asked. ¡°Salonius Emporium,¡± Lucius replied trying to keep his mind focused on the task at hand and nothing else. Start there and see where the search will lead us.
The king¡¯s procession reached Salonius Emporium. Several other groups of armed guards also patrolled the dark streets mainly those alerted by Percival Gaeta to close the capital¡¯s many gates, while notably near the junction formed by the Merchant¡¯s Guild, the King¡¯s Baths and the Artisan District -what the people called ¡®Salonius Corner¡¯- a group of armed disciples had coalesced at the boulevard¡¯s east side slate-tiled pavement. The ¡®Pilgrims of the South Coast¡¯, a militant religious order dedicated to god Tyeus founded by Fabio Crassus ¨Ca Lesia citizen- but differing from the knightly Order of Tyeus which the King was a member of. While the latter order was favored by prominent Lorians, Issirs and of course noble scions that were interested to further their training as knights both spiritually and in weapons, the majority of the ¡®Pilgrims¡¯ were mostly lower-class citizens that looked to gain access to arms in general and often called Tyeus¡¯ ¡®foot soldiers¡¯. Apparently a good number of the Pilgrims of the South Coast ¨Cusually camping in nature outside of the cities- were there to guard Grand Disciple Ventor, the High Priest of Tyeus, who had been invited to marry Cartagen¡¯s rich Mayor¡¯s -Paulus Messor- youngest daughter Anastasia, sister of Sir Mauro Messor ¨Cthe Mayor¡¯s third son- who had ridden with Sir Sabinus¡¯ group of knights towards the city¡¯s West Gates. Famously the Messor family had married a prominent Lesia maiden, a Napoli from Sava, around a hundred years ago and some of their names had that Flauegran flavor. Lucius ordered Mamercus to ask the members of the ¡®Pilgrims¡¯ to stay away from Salonius Emporium, one of the three large buildings the rich Salonius family owned on top of their villa that started behind the Emporium in that same corner of the Artisan District, and also ask a Disciple he spotted amongst them to coordinate with Gaeta¡¯s guards that were out in full force. Despite all the commotion in the semi-dark streets the large city had slowly gone back to sleep, with some of its border districts not even aware of the unfolding drama. By the time the King returned to his now split up in smaller groups entourage, Sir Valgus had ridden to the Emporium¡¯s door and back. The knight informed him that the place was locked up for the night and appeared empty. Lucius headed for the shop¡¯s manager adjoined residence next, followed by Sir Valgus, Sir Acilius Musa (who had stayed with them), the returning Centurion (of Slingers) Mamercus Sorex, the armed with a sword burly Disciple (a priest) of Tyeus Nicetius and four Pilgrims, plus the scowling Logan ¡®Gray¡¯ Barret, the maimed Centurion (of Rangers) Dosser, ¡®Blind¡¯ Goff and the also scarred Placus. The latter had ¡®deflected a blade wit his face¡¯ according to Dosser ¡®a lack of judgement in retrospect sir born out of confusion¡¯ after the sword had hacked through Placus¡¯ borrowed shield. ¡°King Lucius,¡± the clad in grey robes over a long chainmail shirt Nicetius greeted Lucius in a deep voice whilst the King waited for Sir Valgus to rouse Percy. The knight was banging on Percy¡¯s apartment complex external doors with the pommel of his drawn longsword. ¡°My father had served under yours in the war-bands rebellion. Heard quite a number of stories in my youth about the late king and yourself my Lord,¡± Nicetius said in a friendly tone. Lucius had kept the details of the recent mayhem to a minimum even among his own people. ¡°Is he still around?¡± ¡°He passed away last month.¡± The brawny Disciple replied sadly. ¡°He was strong as a bull but started coughing one day and it did him in.¡± The tensed Lucius stared at the bearded priest¡¯s face. The man was still in his late twenties. ¡°Nicetius. Yeah I remember the name. He was Centurion under Prefect Germanicus but over our Arminus in the First Legion¡¯s supply train.¡± ¡°Aye my Lord,¡± Nicetius agreed. ¡°I hear young Arminus still serves?¡± ¡°Whilst younger than your late father, Arminus is not that young anymore. He still serves though. He signed for a second term under late Legatus Ligur. He¡¯s now the First Legion¡¯s Quartermaster and Keeper of the Purse under Legatus Merenda.¡± Lucius elucidated and glanced at the perturbed Sir Valgus examining a small axe Placus had offered him to use on the sturdy closed doors. He opened his mouth to scold the legionnaire but the left sheet of the door opened at that point and a young half-naked man appeared at the entrance covered in a loosely tied female-type chiton. ¡°What¡­?¡± The about twenty years old man, made to protest but immediately froze seeing the towering helmed Sir Valgus standing outside the door with a drawn sword in one hand and wielding an axe with the other. The stitched diagonally across the face Placus grinned unnervingly just behind the knight¡¯s left shoulder in a failed attempt to calm the young man down. When that failed he let out a panicked scream and went to close the door but Sir Valgus kicked it in stopping him. The heavy oaken door smacked the young man in the forehead with a bang and tossed him backwards inside the entrance of the three story building. The roofed entrance led to an internal garden, which each apartment had access to. ¡°Good grief! Antius are you alright dear?¡± Someone cried sounding worried and an older man also wearing a blue chiton ¨Cthough in the classic Lorian male cut- appeared to help the dazed Antius from the stone-tiled floor. Then he saw Sir Valgus stepping inside and recoiled before standing up with a frown. ¡°This is private property sir!¡± ¡°We are looking for Percy,¡± Sir Valgus rustled and Placus who had come through the door right after him got a large dagger out to apparently scratch at the side of his neck with a leer. ¡°He¡¯s the manager of Salonius Emporium.¡± ¡°That¡¯s me,¡± Percy snapped but then grimaced in distress seeing Dosser also enter and coming to stand next to Placus. ¡°What is this about? Good sirs the hour is shockingly late,¡± he added in a more accommodating manner. ¡°We¡¯re looking for a girl that works at the store,¡± Sir Valgus started and paused as they didn¡¯t really know much more about her at that point. ¡°Several do. Two at the front. Verania and Vita,¡± Percy replied finding some of his footing and even spared a glance at the shaken Antius as if to reassure him he¡¯ll handle this. ¡°We are searching for a girl my Lord?¡± Nicetius queried. He was standing next to the mounted Lucius about four meters outside the door. They could listen to the animated conversation relatively easy though. Lucius nodded once with his head leaving it vague and Nicetius walked past him to enter Percy¡¯s apartment complex as well. Several of the other tenants had heard the ruckus at the entrance and had gotten out of their apartments to watch from the internal balconies. Everyone here is working for Salonius, Lucius thought. ¡°Vita?¡± Sir Valgus queried after Percy finished. ¡°Where is she now?¡± ¡°She has a place here,¡± Percy explained and glanced at the sober burly, fully robed Disciple walking slowly, hands locked behind his back, whilst examining the garden and the people watching from their balconies. ¡°Ehem¡­ I don¡¯t think she returned.¡± ¡°She didn¡¯t,¡± a pretty blond woman called from the first floor. ¡°Verania lives next door to her,¡± Percy elucidated. ¡°Why are you looking for her? Something happened at the palace? Vita is good friends with the Queen.¡± Lucius frowned at the detail and tried to remember where he¡¯d heard the name before. ¡°I doubt that,¡± Sir Valgus commented and then smacked his lips frustrated. ¡°You wish to speak to him further my Lord?¡± He asked turning towards the watching from outside the open doors and still on his horse Lucius. ¡°Is that¡­?¡± Percy mumbled losing his words and stepped forward to better see the mounted King. ¡°Goodness me¡­ King Lucius! Allgods¡­ your Majesty,¡± he squawked with a deep bow of the head. He knows nothing, Lucius decided. ¡°We need to find Vita Mister Percy,¡± Lucius informed him solemnly just as Nicetius asked out of the blue the still rubbing at his forehead Antius. His tone disinterested and half-casual, his dark-green eyes on the man¡¯s hairless legs and naked thighs. This would be a very short tunic even for a port harlot, Lucius thought a little disturbed listening to the Disciple¡¯s query. ¡°Do you live here lad or are you visiting?¡± ¡°Eh. No, I came to see Master Percy. I¡¯m a client,¡± the discomforted Antius replied and stepped back from the imposing Disciple. Nicetius took another forward step to narrow the gap between again. ¡°And decided to stay the night? For what reason?¡± He asked in that same half-casual tone. It was evident that the priest was faking at politeness. Antius made to take another backwards step but Nicetius reached to grab him by the shoulder with a large hand. ¡°Come clean lad. You¡¯re not here just to try on dresses,¡± he urged the panicking Antius. ¡°Mind you that¡¯s nauseating also.¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough Nicetius,¡± Lucius ordered and the Disciple turned to look at the King a little surprised. ¡°We¡¯re moving on.¡± ¡°My Lord,¡± Nicetius protested a little confused. ¡°I know we¡¯re looking for a wayward girl but this man is clearly a crossdressing cinaedus. Why, he smells of lavender! That¡¯s a male whore sire. A deadly sin!¡± A chorus of gasps and murmurs came from the crowed balconies overlooking the unfolding scene. Percy looked like he¡¯d just swallowed a carafe of undiluted laudanum and Antius let out a small cry of fear almost collapsing to his knees but for Nicetius steely grip on his shoulder. ¡°Not deadly. Ten lashes if caught by a priest of Tyeus or a year of penance if confessed to a priest of Uher,¡± Lucius corrected him. ¡°Brother Buck can finish him off with just eight lashes my Lord. He got a good arm on him,¡± Nicetius haggled and the stout Pilgrim named Buck grinned proudly. ¡°No lashing,¡± a solemn Lucius ordered and stared at the ogle-eyed devastated Percy austerely. ¡°Seek penance Mister Percy,¡± he warned. ¡°And stay away from the palace,¡± Lucius turned to glare at the pale and sniffling Antius. ¡°Find shame at the time of the acts and not when your transgressions are exposed. Get out of my sight.¡± ¡°What now sir?¡± Mamercus asked whilst a dazed Antius managed to leg it out of the building after receiving a hard cuff on the back of the head from Nicetius that brought him to his knees initially. ¡°Sir Musa,¡± Lucius said turning to look at the young knight. ¡°You were visiting your mother and came in late. Did you notice this Vita exiting?¡± ¡°Only Baron Nattas¡¯ carriage passed through the gates after dark my liege,¡± Sir Musa replied. ¡°The guards there told us he had a driver and a¡­ Issir-looking aide with him.¡± ¡°Half-breed,¡± Sir Valgus expounded upon returning to his horse. Why would Storm¡­ Lucius pursed his mouth thoughtfully. He could wait for the men looking around the city to locate the girl but Cartagen was a big city, with more exits and even more places or towns to hide nearby. If she managed to slip away from them then Vita could well turn into another Laudus. ¡°Did they search the carriage?¡± Lucius grunted. ¡°My Lord, the Baron is well-known. Visits regularly still. More so during your father¡¯s, your brother¡¯s and the Queen Regent¡¯s reign. He even lived here for a while serving as Shield,¡± Sir Valgus reminded Lucius. That¡¯s a no then, Lucius thought and stared at the east street that continued past the Artisan District into the Merchant¡¯s much larger rich neighborhood. Nattas¡¯ lavish villa was the first building one encountered right at the border of the city¡¯s heart. Where the White District, the Artisan District and Merchant District converged. ¡°Sir Valgus we¡¯re riding to the Baron¡¯s villa. Nicetius stay here and keep company to Mister Percy just in case we need him. We¡¯ll return if we learn something useful.¡± Ten minutes later Nattas Villa Cartagen, 4th of Secundus 195 NC An hour after midnight The dark-skinned half-breed opened one of the outer gates and pushed it open. He then walked some distance away from the tall iron gates, planted the heel of a fancy cane on the flat-stone tiles leading to the villa¡¯s entrance and watched the knights enter. First Sir Valgus with Sir Musa pausing to push the other door open as well with his horse. Lucius followed at a slow trot but stopped the neighing Nightsilver when Sir Valgus halted to speak with the strangely disfigured half-breed. A side of his face semi-paralyzed or not fully healed seemingly from an old stroke. ¡°Where is Lord Nattas?¡± Sir Valgus queried brusquely while Mamercus brought his horse next to the King¡¯s and asked with an awed voice looking at the nicely lit-up with a row of strange torches path through the garden, the well-maintained plants and the even more lavish dark pink and white marble fa?ade of the two-story large villa about fifty meters away. ¡°Our Baron has a plaguing impressive place here sir.¡± Lucius nodded. ¡°It¡¯s not the White District but that¡¯s a right expensive marble to use. The pink too dark to be from Goldwall Peaks, almost red. Maybe it¡¯s the lighting but it almost matches the descriptions about the Khan¡¯s Seregon Palace in Rin An-Pur. The bloodstone marble of Eplas. It would make importing it insanely costly.¡± ¡°Aha. What¡¯s wrong with the torches?¡± Mamercus asked but Lucius signaled for him to be quiet so he could follow the conversation. ¡°He¡¯s waiting?¡± Sir Valgus grunted. ¡°I¡¯ll head there Sir Valgus,¡± the man replied. ¡°You¡¯ll arrive first of course.¡±If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Lucius asked hoarsely as he¡¯d seen him before, not as aged or disfigured. It was over six years back now. The man had delivered Lucius the news that his brother Ralph had been killed in the tourney¡¯s final in 188 NC. More like had been sent by Nattas to make certain a much younger Lucius didn¡¯t lash out in anger against the late king Antoon or the vile Prince Radin. A day the desolate Lucius didn¡¯t want to recall at that moment or ever. ¡°Answer the King,¡± Sir Musa snapped from atop his horse. ¡°I¡¯m Lotus Sudi. The Baron¡¯s chief associate,¡± the man replied with a grimace and looked at Lucius. ¡°My King, we have met afore.¡± ¡°We have Mister Sudi,¡± Lucius agreed. ¡°It¡¯s been a while.¡± ¡°Indeed sire.¡± ¡°Lead the way Mister Sudi,¡± Lucius said evenly and gave the reins to Mamercus. ¡°We¡¯ll follow you on foot.¡±
Storm was standing at the top of a flight of stairs before the entrance of the villa but climbed down the few steps with the help of an even fancier engraved metallic cane, which got a comment out of Mamercus who walked next to the King just behind the two leading knights. Dosser had stayed at the entrance with Placus and Goff to guard their horses. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of wealthy cripples livin¡¯ in this place. The Consul¡¯s kid married well.¡± ¡°My good knights, to what¡ª¡± Nattas started, clad in a nice green and gold long tunic with a pair of dark pants underneath. Not a sleeping attire. ¡°The king is here chief,¡± Sudi cut him off rudely and Nattas clenched his teeth into a strained smile until he located Lucius when the two knights stepped aside opening the way. ¡°King Lucius,¡± the Baron gasped raspingly, his voice breaking, but quickly managed to find his footing. ¡°I¡¯m moved to tears of joy at the sight of your glorious stature your majesty. Let me wake the servants and prepare a feast for you.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have time for that,¡± Lucius grunted. ¡°No feast your grace. Banish the thought of my words,¡± Nattas retorted a touch of nervousness in his voice. ¡°Who else is here Storm?¡± Lucius asked and looked at the shorter Baron that had stopped with his body leaning left to rest his weight on the cane. ¡°My daughter, her husband and my grandson. They are resting but we can wake them up if you wish to see them your grace. Some sleeping servants also. I give them half the day off to save on wages,¡± Nattas replied sucking at his teeth. ¡°I¡¯m working on the Novesium problem and sleep eluded me.¡± Lucius glanced at the staring at the strange torches from up close Mamercus. Then returned his eyes on the alarmed Baron. ¡°We lost little Alistair,¡± the king said and Mamercus snapped his head towards him, whilst a tick appeared on Nattas¡¯ right eye briefly. ¡°My deepest condolences¡­ my Lord,¡± the Baron said carefully sounding saddened but also unsure. ¡°I heard the bells earlier¡­¡± he paused and pursed his mouth. ¡°A woman poisoned him,¡± Lucius explained hoarsely. ¡°The Queen and his sister. They survived but my son didn¡¯t.¡± Nattas usually tanned skin had turned pale, appearing sick at the news. He cast a side glance at the grim-looking Sudi that kept moving his jaw as if to prevent it from locking up. ¡°You are looking for a woman,¡± the Baron said slowly as if the notion was too hard to believe and a sullen Mamercus was heard from the king¡¯s right side. ¡°I¡¯m very sorry sire.¡± ¡°Let the Baron speak Mamercus,¡± Lucius rustled tiredly, staring at Nattas who seemed to have trouble getting the words out. Sudi¡¯s eyes had almost popped out of their sockets and looked even more devastated than the discomforted Baron. ¡°She was at the palace. Left about the time you did,¡± Lucius continued and despite the night chill, sweat rivulets appeared on Nattas¡¯ forehead he quickly wiped with the open palm of his hand, the large silver pin on the left side of the Baron¡¯s chest gleaming in the light of the torches. The Nattas family crest was a squid, very close to the Vanzon black iron crest but in silver, and the Baron only lately had started displaying it more prominently given his rise in status. ¡°I gave a ride to a priestess,¡± Nattas finally said in a solemn voice. ¡°She was leaving the palace grounds on foot. I had no idea¡­¡± He stared at the grim-faced Lucius. ¡°Her name is Vita. A former priestess of Naossis.¡± Lucius stood back at the detail. The knights gasped in surprise. Sudi cursed Luthos under his breath. ¡°What?¡± Mamercus grunted half-confused half-accusingly. ¡°You got her out of the palace?¡± Nattas glared at him. ¡°I offered to return her home. She works for Salonius now. Her words.¡± Lucius opened his mouth to admonish the Baron but the alert Storm quickly added. ¡°I know where she is.¡± ¡°You do?¡± Lucius grunted. ¡°She asked my driver to drop her off at Solon¡¯s District. Behind the Hippodrome almost,¡± Nattas elucidated tensely. ¡°The Temple has a large building there but she¡¯s probably in an adjoined villa bought by the Vidrix family. She¡¯s with Juliana Vidrix your grace.¡± The Vidrix were a family of Lorians that lived mostly in Valeria for centuries. ¡°Flavia,¡± Lucius murmured trying to piece together what had happened but failing to see the reason behind such a senseless act. Nattas grimaced and then shook his head looking miserable. ¡°My king I had no idea what she was up to,¡± he confessed. ¡°I¡¯ve met her in Islandport. She was helping the wounded at Sula¡¯s camp. This is shocking news to me.¡± ¡°Is there a way for her to leave the city tonight?¡± A solemn Lucius asked. ¡°Only through the west walls tunnels,¡± Storm replied readily. The smugglers secret route is apparently common knowledge, Lucius thought sourly. ¡°Heading north or to Cartaport is also an option but she wouldn¡¯t risk it with the gates watched. Your grace I don¡¯t believe she¡¯s capable of an elaborate escape without help.¡± ¡°She¡¯s capable enough.¡± Lucius grunted. Especially if Flavia is behind this. He could feel a wave of rage coming. It was fueled by Lucius¡¯ failure to understand the priestess¡¯ motive. Why do this? Lucius gave a nod to the frowned Nattas and Storm returned it. Determined not to let the killer escape, the king turned around without another word to march to the gates where they had left their horses, leaving the stunned Sudi and the silent Nattas back. He realized halfway there that Nattas¡¯ family crest did resemble a Kraken in retrospect. The Kraken knows, Leirda had said and Lucius had thought the strange girl was speaking of Abrakas. How could she have foreseen this? Does she know the Baron? Who are you then Leirda? ¡°She was right¡­ again,¡± the King murmured upon reaching his horse and taking the reins from Dosser but he didn¡¯t have the time to dwell on that mystery also. -
Goddess is a forgiving mother. Yearns of a touch hidden in a pray Spurns it like a piece of skin ye flay Goddess prays for those led astray Cleanses the soul n¡¯ drags the sleigh¡­ ¡­out of sorrow¡¯s way. ¡°You went to see Monica,¡± Flavia said and lifted the sobbing Vita¡¯s chin to gaze into her eyes. ¡°Had I not decreed why thou shouldn¡¯t?¡± ¡°It was a mistake Augusta,¡± Vita sniffled. ¡°Please forgive me.¡± ¡°Did she welcome you back?¡± ¡°Alas, her heart has turned to bitter black earth,¡± Vita hissed. ¡°The tiger corrupted her away from the goddess¡ª¡± She stopped short of finishing with a cry of pain as Flavia had released her chin and delivered a hard slap with an open palm on the right side of Vita¡¯s face. ¡°The King is allied with the temple. A Goddess anointed their union. Our Goddess,¡± Flavia reminded her calmly, whilst waiting for Vita to assume her prostrated position before her feet and then raise her flushed face to look at the High Priestess with swollen eyes. ¡°Now a naughty banished priestess decided to meddle with divine plans? Is that it?¡± ¡°Augusta,¡± Drusilla intervened. ¡°We can¡¯t fault her heart¡¯s desire. She truly loves her.¡± ¡°Our hearts belong to the Goddess,¡± Flavia retorted austerely. ¡°Did you think I send her away for another reason? We perform but we do not belong to either man or woman. Favoring the latter Drusilla doesn¡¯t make it more valuable or worthy of an exception.¡± Flavia paused and touched the burning cheek of Vita. ¡°Augusta Leda was a rare beauty. Everyone desired her. A fabled High Priestess. Men, women and beasts sought to conquer her fully. Leda might had given her body to all but she fought hard to keep her heart out of it. She worked for this temple for as long as she could. The moment her heart faltered she stepped down. She could have pretended otherwise, make exception for herself but she didn¡¯t. People and the Sisters would have forgiven her but the Goddess watches us and she knows our heart¡¯s desires.¡± ¡°It was Monica who seduced her,¡± Drusilla argued. ¡°Away from you? Daughter you believe I¡¯m stupid? It¡¯s why I¡¯ve taken Vita away from you initially. Why I don¡¯t allow you to serve women. We don¡¯t do as we prefer but as the Temple commands! We are priestesses of Naossis not a coven of failed harlots seeking pleasure instead of coin in Asturia!¡± ¡°I wish to go to Eplas,¡± Vita whispered sounding defeated. Flavia pursed her lips and retracted her numb hand from the young woman¡¯s burning and moist cheek. ¡°What else happened?¡± Flavia asked looking at the 2nd Idole¡¯s face. ¡°Did you have a fight?¡± ¡°Monica has too much to lose to pursue this publicly,¡± Drusilla argued. ¡°Please just send her to Sister Tricia.¡± ¡°What was this bit that I can¡¯t know about?¡± Flavia queried raising her voice. ¡°She called her hypocrisy out,¡± Drusilla replied with downcast eyes. ¡°Is that all that happened?¡± Flavia asked the knelt woman as she understood that Drusilla just repeated what Vita had told her. Vita nodded. ¡°You are lying,¡± Flavia decided knowing both girls too well. ¡°How big is the lie I wonder?¡± She added looking at Drusilla¡¯s face. ¡°She can leave within a day with one of the Cofol merchants. Hidden amidst his slaves as one of them. No one searches slaves here. They fear them.¡± Drusilla suggested. Whoa. You girls have a plan laid out already. ¡°You¡¯ll serve as a slave?¡± Flavia asked Vita. ¡°Polish a man¡¯s cock every day and every night. Used as a pet to be shared with his friends? Um? How angry was the Queen dear Vita?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± Vita whispered. ¡°If I¡¯m to blame then she is as well.¡± No one blames a Queen but a King stupid child. ¡°Augusta,¡± Drusilla pleaded but Flavia waved them away. ¡°I need to think about it,¡± she told her. ¡°Have Laila and Acqer brought here,¡± Flavia ordered and then called for Brigitte to warm up her pool again. She was supposed to sleep and wake up early to oversee the construction in the adjoining temple but Flavia reluctantly opted not to make any decision before talking to the Queen in person. - Two hours later the High Priestess had all but fallen asleep in an armchair, her arms still stretched on the small vanity table to wait for her painted nails to dry and her nape hurting from the uncomfortable position. It was the middle of the night. Closer to morning than not. Her villa was supposed to be extra silent being as it was near the outer walls of the large city and away from Cartagen¡¯s busiest parts during the night. During the day and when the Hippodrome housed races nothing was further from the truth. ¡°Lady Domina,¡± Brigitte whispered softly standing inside her quarters. ¡°Are you awake?¡± Flavia stared herself in the mirror afore answering. The face looking back that of a stunning older woman that slowly left her prime behind. The time to retire is near but it isn¡¯t here yet, Flavia decided. ¡°What is this noise?¡± She asked Brigitte and the mostly Issir female bowed her white head. ¡°We have visitors.¡± ¡°The Temple isn¡¯t open yet,¡± Flavia argued and stood up with a pained groan as her legs had gone numb and the flesh was tingling. ¡°Goddess.¡± ¡°They are in the villa,¡± Brigitte elucidated and the Augusta frowned. She quickly tied back her messy blond hair and closed the front of her loose yellow chiton with a four-finger wide blue silk sash. Eagerness is to be commended I suppose? Goodness me, Flavia griped with a quick prayer. Praised be the will of the Goddess. ¡°Who is it?¡± Flavia asked following after Brigitte inside the villa¡¯s roofed internal pool area. The wiry Acqer Crug entered from the doors leading to the entrance just as her pupil/daughter answered. ¡°The King¡¯s people.¡± It took a brief moment for Flavia to register Brigitte¡¯s words fully and by that time a heavily armed Northern brute had followed after the temple¡¯s assassin, then what appeared to be a Disciple of Tyeus of all cursed things and right after them, a grim-faced Lucius Alden himself. The King of Regia looked older than a week ago and those now hollowed-out famous eyes revealed that something a bit more serious had happened. The aroused wife had a talk with the King about introducing more varied partners. The other wife perhaps? Um. The Augusta supposed only half-jesting as it had happened afore with other less prominent couples, with mixed results. I reckon it didn¡¯t go well? And of course it was way worse than she could possibly imagine.
- Three hours after midnight Villa Vidrix Solon District (Hippodrome) Cartagen ¡°King Lucius,¡± the fine-looking even in her disheveled state Flavia greeted him warmly, placing a hand over her mouth in surprise. The Augusta stood barefooted on the moist polished black marble ¨Crather slippery- tiles near the three-by-four meters lavish Lorian bath. ¡°The fair Goddess¡¯ guided your path to our humble abode?¡± ¡°Vita did,¡± Lucius rustled trying to keep his anger under control desperately. ¡°Where is the vile murderer? I have no patience left for decorum Augusta!¡± Flavia¡¯s face paled at his aggressive tone and her posture deflated unable to combat the shock. A small gasp escaped her lips and signaled for the coiled Acqer to stand down. ¡°Who did Vita murder Lucius?¡± She asked soberly under the heavy-breathing of a panicked dark-skinned priestess with white hair. ¡°My son,¡± Lucius grunted hoarsely. ¡°Little Alistair. I left his cold body in the palace to hunt the vile witch down!¡± ¡°Dear gods,¡± Flavia whispered looking haunted and she stumbled on her feet greatly affected. ¡°Where is she? We know she came here,¡± Lucius asked raising his voice. The stunned Augusta grasped at the base of her neck as if she had difficulty breathing or speaking. But she did answer with a ghostly voice. ¡°Vita is here.¡± ¡°Search the villa,¡± Lucius ordered his men but Flavia stopped them stepping in from of the knights and the veteran rangers. Nicetius¡¯ Pilgrims had also entered and the large empty ¨Cbut for the lavish pool-sized bath- hall now appeared crowded. ¡°Acqer bring Vita here,¡± Flavia ordered the silent man of northern origins. ¡°Augusta.¡± Acqer argued with a worried glance at the many armed men standing near them. ¡°We¡¯ll be fine.¡± Flavia assured him and turned to the scowling Lucius. ¡°Is the King certain it was her doing?¡± ¡°Queen Monica was poisoned alongside my baby daughter and a lady in waiting,¡± Lucius snapped. ¡°You¡¯ll look for excuses? Did you know of this?¡± ¡°I mourn for your unfair loss,¡± Flavia retorted sounding hurt. ¡°Why would I ever turn against you Lucius?¡± ¡°You serve a whore, incest-loving Goddess, a temptress and daughter of a witch,¡± Nicetius accused her harshly and Flavia¡¯s face distorted in anger. ¡°I serve a Goddess none-the-less. Your god who shares that same witch mother, bathes in the blood of our realm¡¯s youth, relishes the carnage of war and walks fields littered with rotting corpses whistling paeans with a sick smile on his face!¡± ¡°Hah, close thy harlot¡¯s lying mouth for yer breath reeks of cock,¡± Nicetius clapped back dismissively. ¡°Praised be the fucking Five,¡± Mamercus commented wryly and both priests glared at him. The Centurion made a face and shrugged his shoulders indifferently. ¡°That¡¯s enough!¡± Lucius snapped at the petty bickering and hearing footsteps approach, followed by loud cries and curses, he turned towards a side exit. Acqer returned dragging a screaming blond girl by the arm, another very-pretty blond priestess following after them dousing the solemn-faced man with insulting epithets. A third older woman also appeared, wearing leather armour under her dark-cream temple¡¯s robes and stood by the side exit¡¯s door. She crossed her arms and stared at Lucius entourage. ¡°Drusilla stand back damn you,¡± Flavia ordered, her voice strained and lacking her usual sensual undertone. Lucius dark blue eyes were piercing the crying young girl¡¯s skull. The king¡¯s fists clenching and unclenching with barely-controlled fury. ¡°Vita the King brought some horrifying accusations¡ª¡± Flavia started but never got the chance to finish. ¡°WHY?¡± Lucius roared furious. He walked past Sir Valgus and Nicetius towards the two women. Acqer had dropped Vita to Flavia¡¯s feet. The wiry man made to lower his right arm to his sword belt upon seeing the angry King approach threateningly but Logan, who had somehow covered the distance between the two groups without anyone noticing him, whacked the hand away with the flat of his drawn bastard-sword blade. The loud smack cut Vita¡¯s cries and Drusilla¡¯s protests short. ¡°Um.¡± The scowling Logan half-growled half-murmured incoherently. A clear threat that Acqer was about to lose the whole arm next, the also surly Acqer received and took a step back. ¡°SPEAK!¡± Lucius barked and grabbed the deflated Vita¡¯s elbow to lift her up. ¡°Goddess mercy Augusta!¡± Drusilla cried seeing Lucius manhandle the young woman. ¡°That savage will kill her!¡± ¡°Lucius,¡± Flavia pleaded hoarsely. ¡°Your grace, were there witnesses to the act?¡± Lucius shook Vita like a ragdoll a couple of times to make her talk and then turned to glare at the tensed Flavia. ¡°You think I¡¯m lying over this? Are you insane? My innocent boy is dead! Monica named her!¡± Nattas and Percy did but it was the same thing. She was the last to leave the room. ¡°What if she lied?¡± The distressed Flavia argued but Vita¡¯s voice replied before Lucius backhanded the insolent high-priestess. ¡°It was me,¡± Vita croaked and gargled desperately when the maddened Lucius¡¯ left arm released her elbow to immediately snatch her by the throat. He started pressing at the soft flesh, teeth grinding maniacally and feverish eyes filled with lust for retribution.
¡°Oh, I know who you are,¡± a young Zofia of Ludr said getting up, her face suddenly serious. ¡°Sir Lucius Alden, heir to the Kingdom of Regia. Lord Cardinal of Alden. Famous ¡®bloody tiger of the South¡¯ and slayer of pregnant women.¡±
It was never real. Just a cruel political maneuver by my father put forth to save my pride. The whole thing a tragic mistake built on a lie. Lucius had never killed a man or woman who hadn¡¯t tried to kill him first. Vita hadn¡¯t tried to kill him but she had attacked his family and murdered his two-year old son. The thought of Alistair ravaged his heart but the King released his grip on Vita. The young woman collapsed to her knees white as a sheet and coughing violently. A grim silence had fallen upon the open-spaced hall despite the small crowd of people gathered around him. ¡°Why?¡± Lucius asked again tiredly and realized his right hand was gripping the pommel of Endariel as if ready to unsheathe the ancient Imperial sword. ¡°You don¡¯t even remember me. A conqueror¡¯s stare never sees those crashed under his feet or by his actions,¡± Vita muttered and tried to stand on rubbery legs without success. ¡°I loved Monica long before you ever appeared. For years. I never wanted to hurt her babies. Didn¡¯t even intent to hurt her¡­ but then she turned away from me because of you!¡± ¡°Ah!¡± Nicetius bristled in righteous disgust. ¡°There! The vileness spills out alike vomit!¡± Lucius licked his dry lips, the anger returning twofold. ¡°You are sleeping with my wife?¡± He asked hoarsely. ¡°This is a priestess house,¡± Flavia reminded him. ¡°Anointed by the Temple King Lucius. The Goddess forbids violence.¡± ¡°Yet violence Naossis has permitted,¡± Lucius bitterly retorted with a side-glance. ¡°Upon my wife and children. Murder. Among other vile acts of debauchery.¡± ¡°Sir,¡± a tensed Sir Valgus cried out. ¡°The Queen is innocent. Sir Gregor shall vouch for this or fall on his sword!¡± ¡°There is nothing to plaguing discuss,¡± Nicetius argued sounding very frustrated. ¡°The vile wench is a murderess with filthy habits whether imaginary or not. A murderer caught in the act deserves swift punishment my lord!¡± ¡°Augusta,¡± Drusilla begged the frowned Flavia and made to run near her but Acqer moved to block her path with his body. ¡°You promised her protection!¡± ¡°I need an answer woman,¡± Lucius pressured the shaking Vita that had managed to stand on her two feet, her skin the color of sheer alabaster. ¡°We didn¡¯t sleep together since before your wedding,¡± Vita confessed in a low voice. ¡°I ask for the benevolent king¡¯s forgiveness. My love for her blinded me,¡± she added with a trembling voice as if sensing the tables had turned on her. ¡°Mother, for Goddess¡¯ love!¡± Drusilla cried desperately fighting with Acqer to free herself without success. ¡°You plead for mercy but my son drowned in his own blood. Never given the same courtesy. The love you profess brought deadly poison into my home,¡± Lucius argued in a serene voice, too worn-out and sad to continue the charade for much longer. ¡°Had I been a simple man, I¡¯d ask the Gods and human courts for retribution. Such vile act¡­ I can¡¯t even begin to fathom what you would have done, if you despised her instead.¡± He added tiredly shaking his head. ¡°It was a mistake!¡± Drusilla screamed. ¡°Show mercy King Lucius! Please, oh gods no!¡± ¡°Control yourself!¡± A furious Flavia snapped at the younger priestess. ¡°Or rid us of your presence!¡± ¡°But I¡¯m the King of Regia,¡± Lucius continued now in a sober voice. ¡°My home, the nation¡¯s palace. Lucius might be generous even to his enemies if they deserve it. Forgiving, because he¡¯ll never spill more blood needlessly but Regia isn¡¯t. Can¡¯t be. You spilled royal blood Vita in a heinous manner. Nicetius what is the punishment for poisoners?¡± ¡°Fed poison then have their mouths stitched afore buried alive my Lord,¡± Nicetius droned. Flavia grimaced at his words. ¡°What about for those murdering children?¡± A saddened and finally feeling the full weight of the horrible loss he¡¯d just suffered Lucius asked raspingly. ¡°Hanged my Lord. Cut down to size?¡± Nicetius offered a little unsure. ¡°A member of the royal family?¡± ¡°Hanged, drawn and quartered, then left to the elements,¡± Nicetius recited from memory and glanced at the burly Buck who seemed equally knowledgeable on the matter as well, since he nodded once in glumly agreement. ¡°Make it fast your grace,¡± Flavia pleaded and knelt near the shaking Vita to hug her tight with both arms. ¡°Your man carries a big blade,¡± the Augusta added over the inconsolable Drussila¡¯s moans of despondency and the young Issir priestess loud cries for mercy. She pointed at the still wearing the same scowl Logan who had the drawn sword still in his hand. ¡°I beg of you. I¡¯ve watched her grow up,¡± Flavia¡¯s voice cracked overcome with emotion and tears welled in her eyes then run down her face. Mamercus looked away and some of the Pilgrims scrunched their faces unsure, while the rest of those present remained rather disinterested at the raw emotion the usually controlled and proud Flavia had just displayed. Lucius knew this side of the High Priestess and he believed she truly cared for Vita. But in his mind King Alistair¡¯s cold gaze came to rest on Lucius from atop Regia¡¯s stone throne, his father¡¯s wrinkled mouth crooked on one side as he waited in judging silence for his son¡¯s decision. There was never doubt about the outcome. A murderer kills himself upon committing the act, Regia¡¯s law declared. The sentence only overturned by the king¡¯s grace on rare occasions. This wasn¡¯t one of those occasions. Not by a long shot. ¡°Young Alistair drowned in his own blood. I watched him in stunned disbelief fade away, slowly losing the fight. My sweet little boy, his unblemished skin riddled with black spots. A father should never have to face this kind of torture. A young boy shouldn¡¯t also but poor Alistair did,¡± he rustled gravely and Drusilla collapsed in Acqer¡¯s arms while Flavia stood up with her head hanged to walk away from the delirious with fear Vita. ¡°And thou shall as well.¡± He turned to the tensed Sir Valgus but the Disciple of Tyeus stepped forward. ¡°My Lord,¡± Nicetius said solemnly. ¡°Let us deliver the King¡¯s justice.¡± ¡°Return the favor,¡± Lucius ordered coldly, not really feeling anything for the shaking Vita other than contempt. ¡°And drown her in the pool until she breathes no more.¡± -
And so young Vita finally got to find in a sense her peace in the fair Goddess¡¯ waters. A senseless act of violence brought a gruesome end to her short miserable life. Alistair Alden, second of his name, the only son of King Lucius with Queen Monica, was murdered inside Cartagen¡¯s Palace in the second month of winter, the year of the New Calendar 195. He just had his second name day, three weeks prior and was entombed inside the ¡®Palace of a hundred windows¡¯ next to Lucius¡¯ mother Queen Vacia. The beautiful selected plot of land, part of the west garden¡¯s orchard, the late Queen had built during her lifetime. Young Alistair¡¯s murder destroyed the young Queen and it would take years to find herself again, which purportedly caused great harm to her fragile surviving daughter Princess Vacia at a time when she needed Queen Monica the most. Having met the young princess in many occasions I sense no weakness in her at all or fragility, so I dismiss the rumors as tasteless gossip. A rattled and grieving Lucius had to navigate the sudden calamity, restore the people¡¯s spirits and keep the true details of the murder a tight-lipped secret for years to protect the rest of his family. While some rumors did come out immediately, few were aware of what really happened or who was involved. Events occurring at the same time forced the grieving King¡¯s attention first to the northwest where the brazen Legatus Merenda¡¯s hard-pressed First Legion ¡®died twice in a week in order to survive the war¡¯ as Marcus Antonius in his famous prose wrote later in an unofficial correspondence with an Issir noblewoman -rumored former mistress- adding ¡®forging close bonds between two foreign peoples that shall last forever¡¯. Second the resolution of another even more serious but much older murder. It was revealed years later what the full implication of Vita¡¯s senseless act and the justified King¡¯s reaction would be for the realm. As Consul Veturius commented in a private conversation, ¡®sometimes a taste of justice can act as a warning to drive the sickness away, others it just won¡¯t and then you are forced to just root out the whole rotten field.¡¯
- Days later. A despondent Lucius stood inside the silent, dimly lit throne room, observing the line of mourners slowly departing the palace. He¡¯d spent some time near Alistair¡¯s wrapped-up small body the previous evening but couldn¡¯t bring himself to participate in the ceremonies. The King¡¯s absence was excused by Monica¡¯s illness caused by grief. It had forced Faye to take over the solemn duties of navigating the funeral and taking care of all the surviving children, especially little Vacia. The girl missed her late brother terribly as they hadn¡¯t really separated at all since birth and her inability to express her feelings left Vacia a crying mess that refused to eat unless forced. Lucius couldn¡¯t offer any assistance to her and spending time near Monica was torture as she had lost her senses. The Queen blamed herself for killing Alistair and much as everyone had tried to convince her otherwise they weren¡¯t successful. Lucius grimaced and returned to the large conference table. Despite pressing matters, he had cancelled all meetings for the two days that had followed Vita¡¯s final moments. The woman had found her strength upon being submerged in the deep pool¡¯s waters but she couldn¡¯t overcome Buck¡¯s brutal hold. The Pilgrim had kept the thrashing woman¡¯s head under the water until she stopped moving. It took a while and it was brutal to watch and sickening to those present. It offered Lucius no relief at all. He knew it wouldn¡¯t. Vengeance never did. His mother was right in that. You can¡¯t bring the dead back by balancing the scales. It was a matter of principle. Laws were a deterrent and also a way to remove the sick elements out of society. Vita had planned not to take a no for an answer. A part of Lucius blamed Monica for her weakness. He knew she had lived a baser lifestyle but never really believed it would return to haunt them. His marriage with Faye had altered Lucius earlier pessimistic view of relationships. Alas, it turned out each person was different. His late first wife was too prideful for her own good, and Monica had her own demons to fight with. ¡°Father,¡± Roderick¡¯s voice was heard a little subdued, and Lucius let go of a cavalry figurine he held. It dropped back on the open map of Kaltha. The King turned to watch his older son approach, clad in a fancy red redingote with golden details that matched his strange reddish-black hair. ¡°Will Ali wake up on the morrow?¡± Lucius¡¯ face distorted and reached to find a chair to sit on. What do you say? What¡¯s the proper way to raise a child in this world? He thought playing with his Order¡¯s ring. The Priests will preach one way, depending on which deity they support. Faye would trust Logan¡¯s brutal Northern logic fearing that the allure of Regia would rob her kids of any trace of the North. His father King Alistair, could only think of Regia in contrast. The good of the realm and he¡¯d raised Lucius that way. All his children. Some hadn¡¯t taken to the late King¡¯s lessons well. A candid man shan¡¯t fear the future, he decided. ¡°Your brother is forever gone from us,¡± Lucius told the silent Roderick and reached to fix his inner shirt¡¯s collar. ¡°He now lives with your grandparents and your uncles beyond our reach.¡± ¡°Why did he leave?¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t his own doing,¡± Lucius replied hoarsely. ¡°One day you¡¯ll be old enough to understand what happened.¡± ¡°I want to know now.¡± ¡°Hmm. A man knows when to listen, Roderick. When to act. A future king is obligated to pay attention and discard all of his personal wants.¡± Lucius pursed his mouth. ¡°Little Alistair is gone but you are here,¡± he added seeing the sullen look on the boy¡¯s face. ¡°You are responsible for your siblings. It¡¯s on you to take care and ensure nothing untoward happens to them henceforth. People say I did well for the country but the sad truth is that I have failed in many a things. I lost a sister and two brothers. Aye. A son in the womb and a son in the cradle. You¡¯ll be better than me. You¡¯ll protect Regia and you¡¯ll protect Vacia and Ralph. Especially your little sister. The burden passes on to you and you must be ready to shoulder it, son.¡± ¡°Yes sir,¡± Roderick muttered, trying to appear brave. ¡°I¡¯ll make certain. You can trust me.¡± Lucius stared proudly into the boy¡¯s innocent blue, streaked with bright green, resembling a blend of a regal tiger¡¯s with that of a fierce lioness¡¯ eyes. A Tigon. ¡°I believe you, little Tigon,¡± he told him warmly. ¡°What¡¯s that, father?¡± Roderick queried, curious. Lucius allowed himself a small smile, got up, and placed an arm over the boy¡¯s shoulders to direct him down the corridor leading to the Hall of Kings, located just before the Throne Room. ¡°A Tigon is a rare, special beast,¡± Lucius started, recalling his lessons, as they strolled together the empty palace¡¯s hall to visit the statues of Regia¡¯s past kings. ¡°An ancestor of yours that lived before Caesar Lucius, by the name Remus ¡®the Brute¡¯, kept a tiger and a lioness¡­.¡± 502. Ye pull yerself up... (1/2)
Storm Nattas ¡®Abominable Cripple¡¯ ¡®Principal of Secrets¡¯. Lord of Moon¡¯s Haven, Ruler of Turtle Isles Keeper of the Golden Forest Ye pull yourself up¡­ Part I -Not funny at all-
Storm Nattas, the respected Lord of Moon¡¯s Haven sort of ¨Calthough some would argue against him even being qualified for that- had remained silent for a drawn-out moment after the King¡¯s entourage departed his villa. A weird kind of numbness this, not brought on by a blow to the skull or drunkenness. Half-stooped on his cane, the Baron stood empty of thought and energy, but his resilient nature pulled him out of his stupor. The sight of Griet returning from the villa¡¯s gates sparked his own return to action. ¡°Well, we completely missed that,¡± he murmured with an acerbic grimace. ¡°Yeah,¡± Sudi agreed tonelessly. ¡°Big fucking fail.¡± Storm remarked. ¡°Ayup.¡± ¡°Have we become arrogant Sudi?¡± Storm asked his trusted lackey. Trusted¡­ well, up to a point. He cast a side glance at the thoughtful Sudi. ¡°You¡¯re not sure?¡± Storm queried wryly. ¡°Need I speak in simpler terms?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a novel idea chief. I¡¯m still working it in my head,¡± Sudi admitted. ¡°Whoa,¡± a flushed Griet puffed reaching them. ¡°That was the good King himself! What a motherfucking hung!¡± Oh, for the love of Abrakas¡¯ busty spawns! Storm thought with a grimace of despair. ¡°I mean that was quite the fucking sight, hah¡­ right? Almost broke my neck to get a better glimpse of him!¡± A grinning Griet continued shaking her head. ¡°Cat got yer tongues ladies?¡± ¡°A priestess just murdered little Prince Alistair,¡± Storm grunted and Griet stood back losing the grin. ¡°It wasn¡¯t me. I don¡¯t kill children. I was just thinking to add to the royal batch fer crying out loud!¡± The young assassin protested as if insulted. Eh. While this was too much detail¡­ ¡°Cut the bullshit. You were with Maja at the ¡®Virgins Wedding¡¯!¡± Nattas snapped. ¡°I was sixteen at the time,¡± Griet retorted narrowing her eyes. ¡°Never climbed up the tower. I was watching the entrance.¡± ¡°As the teacher goes, so does the pupil,¡± the Baron countered with a glare. ¡°Maja told me the story.¡± ¡°Then you know the plan was to fire towards the wedding pavilion. A warning shot. Maja wasn¡¯t handling the Scorpio. Rivers was. He claimed to be an expert marksman.¡± ¡°Potato, potato. And that was far from a bad shot. I fucking saw the whole thing!¡± Nattas retorted mockingly, then looked to get more out of her. ¡°A priest you say.¡± ¡°Pfft. The other two were ¡®priests¡¯. Bishop ¡®Rivers¡¯ Kamden, is a Nord enforcer with a funny name. Robart Barlow¡¯s man,¡± Griet replied dismissively. ¡°Out of Blonden Burg allegedly.¡± The man that came back from the blasted dead. Fucking cock-slurping Priests of the Nameless god and the Silent Servants shady and zombie-of-sorts mediator. The shit keeps piling up and I¡¯m running out of a good turn of phrase to describe this whole mess. ¡°Where is he now?¡± Nattas asked through his teeth. ¡°With Dean Kutas? The man running Golden Bird in Altarin? Probably. Who knows?¡± Griet replied and scratched at the side of her head. The white hair cut short there. ¡°Maja decided that this is Rhys¡¯ problem now.¡± ¡°Fantastic. He¡¯ll make a mess of that too! That is if he comes around to it at some point in the next three years! What happened with the bounty hunter?¡± Nattas growled irate. ¡°Selussa wrote us¡­ahm, the contract had glaring faults?¡± Glaring faults my arse! ¡°What? The fuck does¡­ why in Abrakas ogling eye would I care about her opinion?¡± Griet stared at him soberly. ¡°You better tone down the critique Baron. When she speaks you better listen. Selussa is Larn¡¯s little girl.¡± ¡°I find that very hard to believe. The man is not human,¡± Nattas retorted. ¡°Looks more like to me that Rhys scored a piece of that fine arse and is too much of a cunt now to go against her. Fucking all hells! That¡­ is nigh unprofessional,¡± he added clenching his jaw. ¡°File a complaint with management?¡± Griet replied wryly. ¡°Go grab a fit horse from the stable. Pick a mare not to get any ideas because this can¡¯t wait,¡± a scowling Nattas ordered her. ¡°You¡¯ll follow the King¡¯s entourage and then report any new developments.¡± ¡°Like what?¡± ¡°Fuck I know? Another murder? We might lose the Augusta tonight although I won¡¯t bet against the sweet old girl.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t work for you,¡± Griet retorted brazenly. ¡°You eat and sleep for fucking free under this roof. This whole fucking guild is a gang of freeloaders!¡± The Baron grunted a response. ¡°But you¡¯ll get a chance to contribute.¡± Griet groaned and brushed against him to head towards the villa. Nattas waited until she got inside and then looked intently at the still thoughtful Sudi. ¡°Angering Lucius at this junction is a terrible idea chief. The King can fuck everything up,¡± Sudi finally said. ¡°What idiotic amateur thought it wise to murder his boy? No serious player¡­ everyone is laying low until things calm down. Do you think it¡¯s an attempt to steer the narrative away from the bounty hunter¡¯s report?¡± We don¡¯t know this was some grand plan in the first plaguing place! ¡°We have control of two things now Sudi. Jack and shit,¡± Nattas grunted pursing his mouth. ¡°And Jack just left town.¡± Sudi nodded in agreement. A concern unto itself. ¡°Moore must keep Reganus and Epolonius in check chief,¡± his right hand man added and a tired Nattas had to agree absent other alternatives. You are in the shit if Sudi has no time for a smart retort. Still¡­ ¡°We need to do better than that,¡± Storm said sucking at his teeth. ¡°We need to find a way to pull ourselves back up by the bootstraps.¡± -
Moore started coughing violently, his lungs burning, as the putrid smell of rotting sick flesh mixed with that of burned corpses and bones, all this potent toxic odor brought on them by the strong breeze blowing through the desolate streets of Novesium. Old Dottore Epolonius didn¡¯t seem that affected but then again he wore that austere expression on his wrinkled face which didn¡¯t allow for much interpretation. Dottore Numerius Baro had the look of a man that had his humanity die in him and now stood an empty vessel. Hollowed out. Mayor Reganus didn¡¯t look as bad but he had lost five kilos of body fat in two weeks becoming a leaner version of himself. Far from healthier though, Moore thought. He feared they could get sick as well despite taking precautions and turned to the frowned mask-wearing Grin that had just come out of the last ¡®abandoned¡¯ house in the neighborhood. ¡°Empty,¡± Grin reported hoarsely. Of course it is. ¡°Ayup,¡± Moore agreed quickly to get out of the hellish landscape. It had rained the day prior, more a drizzle really, but it was enough to collapse the mounds of petrified ashes and charred corpses, bones and the like¡­ then cover the streets with a layer of stinky mire that now had dried up under the strong sun and turned brittle under foot. The toxic material creating clouds that hid parts of the coastal neighborhoods. ¡°There must be more bodies here,¡± Epolonius argued. ¡°Nah, them five¡­ well,¡± Moore squinted his eyes unable to locate the dissolved pile of burned flesh and ashes. ¡°Guess they are spread about some¡­ anyways, most had abandoned the city afore typhus struck.¡± ¡°Mister Moore why would someone abandon this house? Or the one next to it?¡± Epolonius countered. ¡°The roof is sturdy, the fire stopped two streets south of here and the door looks smashed in with a hammer and not burned at all!¡± Grin recoiled, guilt written all over his face but managed to remain silent. Moore stood back pretending at shock as well with a bit of outrage mixed in. ¡°Don¡¯t know where you head with this Doc, but I¡¯m not an expert in city-wide fires or structural ability¡ª¡± ¡°Stability,¡± Grin corrected him sheepishly. He had started reading books to improve himself and avoid Lord Nattas¡¯ constant insults. ¡°There¡­¡± Moore continued pointing at his masked colleague. ¡°Mister Grin is obviously well qualified to give us his expert opinion. He knows all about doors and windows or stable roofs.¡± Grin had a solid ten year experience as a former burglar. Moore was more of an armed robber himself by trade in his youth, with the occasional knifing of fools in alleys job thrown in. ¡°They had to clear the fuck out¡­aye, because you see¡­ the first thing needed is to avoid the smoke for health reasons. It is as dangerous as the fire,¡± Grin explained to the disbelieving Epolonius. ¡°Or the typhus shit¡­¡± Grin added to round up his answer. ¡°I had just this morning a Legion engineer inspect it and then swear you can house a family in there on the morrow Mister Grin!¡± ¡°Hey!¡± Moore intervened. ¡°Experts disagree all the time Doc and we can discuss it until we turn blue in the face, but the point is people left the city and that¡¯s a good thing¡­ because they escaped the worst.¡± There. That covers everything. Now¡­ oh, he¡¯s going to keep busting my balls, Moore thought sourly. ¡°Sula gave us a number of around two thousand refugees,¡± Epolonius said with a grimace. ¡°Half that is between Moon¡¯s Haven and Elysium Fort. We are missing a couple of thousand people Moore! At least given the amount of empty houses.¡± ¡°You assume the houses had families living inside.¡± Epolonius glared at him. ¡°You don¡¯t?¡± ¡°Tourists,¡± Moore argued. ¡°People come and go all the time in Novesium Dottore. Depending on the season. This is not the season to visit.¡± ¡°Mayor?¡± Epolonius asked. ¡°Can we move out?¡± Moore intervened afore Reganus could reply. ¡°The streets need to be cleared and washed,¡± Epolonius advised the grimacing Mayor Reganus. ¡°The houses aired out and cleaned as well. Those that have damage demolished and the debris cleared. All the dead bodies or leftover material burned and people should avoid drinking water from the river. Any of the rivers.¡± ¡°What about the port?¡± Reganus asked. ¡°I want a safe corridor created first, plus another inspection of the docks or any buildings there, before I give permission for ships or sailors to moor Reganus,¡± Epolonius replied and shook his head. ¡°You are missing half your city Mayor,¡± he told Reganus. ¡°You¡¯ll have to do a hell of a job to convince people to return but they will.¡± Moore wasn¡¯t of the same opinion about the whole citizens returning thing. They just couldn¡¯t. ¡°Let¡¯s hope we survive this calamity Dottore,¡± Reganus croaked. ¡°And people come back.¡± ¡°They will. No one abandons their property,¡± Epolonius assured him with a last glance at the empty houses. ¡°Unless they are dead.¡± Yeah, Moore thought with a nod of agreement afore catching himself. God damn it.
- Days later 16th of Secundus 195 NC Open to the public court session ¡°We appreciate the review Consul Veturius,¡± Lucius said from the throne. ¡°Your nephew asked for an audience?¡± ¡°He has news about the situation in Novesium my lord,¡± Galio Veturius replied. ¡°From Baron Nattas¡¯ people.¡± ¡°I can see the Baron right there,¡± Lucius noticed. A very potent observation by the king as Storm was standing at the far end of the room even beyond the petitioners¡¯ chairs, just a couple of meters afore the doors leading outside. ¡°You wish to speak to us directly dear Nattas?¡± Lucius asked. No, I woke up at first light to stand in the fucking line for four hours, on a bad blasted leg, with none of the stupid ruffians present even offering to give up their plaguing seat, as if I¡¯m just another lowly beggar in the background or a nameless character in a bloated novella!Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. ¡°Haven¡¯t prepared anything your grace,¡± Storm replied in a clear voice hobbling fast through the narrow corridor left by the occupied chairs, brought in for this open session of the court. Far from an easy thing to do with one hand busy with the cane, the other holding the hefty pack of scrolls under an armpit. ¡°Mercifully, I have a couple of notes with me, in case your Excellency wishes to dive into the numbers.¡± (¡­) An hour later The Market at the Hippodrome Across the Adventurers Guild Corner Storm got his head out of the carriage¡¯s window to check on the busy street. ¡°Are you certain this is the place?¡± ¡°The Greasy Lake tavern boss,¡± Jove, the driver, replied turning on his seat to look towards Nattas. ¡°Which dirty lake be that? That sounds titillating.¡± ¡°Not really chief. It¡¯s just a random name. An Issir runs it.¡± ¡°Right. Well, we don¡¯t feel sufficiently illuminated Jove,¡± Nattas scolded him and then climbed down the few side steps to reach the street. ¡°Maybe Sudi went to bet on the races or he meant across the street at the Adventures building?¡± ¡°This is the spot he told me,¡± the driver insisted. ¡°I have to move. I¡¯m blocking the road for the merchants¡¯ wagons.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t give a pair of used testicles,¡± Storm cursed whilst greeting a fellow merchant passing by with a smile. ¡°How¡¯s the lovely wife? Looking younger with each season ma¡¯am,¡± he teased in a friendly manner but the merchant glared at him afore moving his wagon away as fast as he could. ¡°A mistress then¡­¡± Nattas rustled wryly. ¡°¡­I misspoke. Nice pair of tits on that lass. Aye.¡± ¡°Could¡¯ve been his daughter chief?¡± ¡°Not with her hand on his cock,¡± Nattas retorted thoughtfully. Although, some girls do start grabbing stuff early. Next, he eyed the busy entrance to the tavern suspiciously. ¡°Park in that corner alley Jove and be alert for a signal. If you need to take a piss, do it under the carriage. We likely get jumped in there and I want you ready.¡± Nattas ordered the driver and checked the blade on his cane before marching towards the open doors. ¡°What signal boss?¡± Jove asked from the carriage and Nattas replied without turning his head. ¡°An uncouth shriek.¡±
¡°Move your arse aside,¡± Storm grunted and the thug moved a chair away in the crowded round table of the tavern. ¡°How was court chief?¡± Sudi asked while Nattas examined the three men sitting with them. ¡°Smuggled wine is more expensive now unless it¡¯s local,¡± Nattas replied icily. ¡°Hah. That¡¯s good,¡± a thin, dark-haired thug commented. Who said crooks can¡¯t be patriots? Storm smacked his lips. ¡°You are?¡± He asked with a grimace of distaste. The burlier of the thugs stooped over the table. ¡°That¡¯s Spider Norton boss and the quiet guy is Barclay Bullseye. We¡¯re¡­ adventurers. Tristan Danger¡¯s¡­ group. I¡¯m Tristan,¡± Tristan explained and sat back on the creaking chair. The Baron scratched the base of his nape with a finger. He worked for a while under the collar to get at the spot. ¡°It¡¯s the best group available,¡± Sudi elucidated with a shrug. ¡°Wars have strangled the trade to an inch of life and this is how adjectives die,¡± Nattas noted wryly looking at the thugs. ¡°Mister Tristan, the guy we need¡­ to apprehend is also very dangerous. Skilled and experienced on top of that.¡± ¡°Surprise,¡± Tristan interrupted him smartly, making a meaningless gesture. ¡°Nullifies skill.¡± Sadly for you, nine times out of ten it doesn¡¯t. ¡°What if the person is skilled in sniffing out these surprises?¡± Nattas asked with a thin smile. ¡°Hah,¡± Tristan shook his dead. ¡°Good one boss.¡± ¡°I¡¯m serious,¡± Nattas grunted. ¡°When I¡¯m jesting people laugh eventually. If Hik spots you ahead of time you¡¯ll get cut down. I don¡¯t believe you¡¯ll survive the encounter.¡± ¡°Let me worry about that,¡± Tristan assured him. ¡°It¡¯s not 185 anymore boss. That¡¯s a decade ago.¡± ¡°Right. Now that we are all sufficiently informed on the blasted date,¡± Nattas grunted glaring at the frowned Sudi. ¡°How are you lads going to take him out?¡± ¡°Watch the North Gates. We have a guard working there that feeds us info,¡± Tristan explained smugly. ¡°Ridding the Capital of visitors is a lucrative business?¡± Nattas taunted. ¡°You¡¯ll be surprised.¡± I despise surprises you darn imbecile! ¡°Any difficult targets or are you lot just beat up unsuspecting elderly folk?¡± ¡°Plenty of everything. Wagons, couples, mercenaries. Neat stuff. No witnesses left.¡± ¡°Bulbous? Is that you?¡± Nattas asked stopping Tristan from continuing. ¡°Tristan Bulbous. The highwayman?¡± Tristan frowned and glanced at his discomforted colleagues. ¡°We opened a new leaf boss. It¡¯s been a couple of years.¡± ¡°You murdering bugger,¡± Nattas chuckled and brushed at his goatee with his left hand. ¡°Wasn¡¯t there a bounty on your head?¡± ¡°Not for Tristan Danger. I go by a different name now,¡± Tristan argued pursing his mouth. ¡°You won¡¯t find a judge stupid or corrupt enough to buy that, in the whole of fucking Regia,¡± Nattas retorted mockingly and let out a deep sigh of frustration. ¡°You¡¯ll pay them after they get the job done.¡± ¡°Half up front,¡± Spider Norton hissed and Nattas stared at him like a bug. ¡°Half after.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± he agreed. ¡°But I was thinking of throwing a bonus in. A third upfront, two thirds after the job is done plus the bonus.¡± ¡°How much?¡± Tristan asked. Storm stared at Sudi who handled the mundane finances. ¡°Five golds pieces per head,¡± Sudi suggested. ¡°Deal,¡± Tristan agreed eagerly, spat in his palm and then tended the dirty slightly moist hand over the table. ¡°People are watching us. This is a secret deal,¡± Storm noted sourly clasping at his cane with both hands. He had the custom weapon/tool between his legs but was far enough from the edge of the table to use it if push came to shove. ¡°Right.¡± Tristan agreed and retrieved his hand. ¡°Have it yer way boss.¡± These illiterate fucks are gonna get killed fast, Storm decided. I need a better plan. - Ninety minutes later Villa Nattas Late afternoon ¡°Grab her,¡± Storm ordered, straight blade in hand pointing at the bed. Sudi put the sleeping Maja in a headlock, more a crude clutch that involved lodging his fingers around her throat and squeeze everything. The other arm wrapped around her waist. Maja gasped coming about and twirled to escape with Sudi holding on tight. They rolled to the other edge of the bed and the long tunic she had worn to sleep folded upwards. The woman flashed the following after them Baron with a good view of the trimmed blond hairs covering her cunt and fit round buttocks. Nice exercise with a touch of lewd spectacle, Nattas noted hobbling fast after them. Maja gasped for air in the meantime and managed to smack Sudi at the left ear with her freed left hand, but failed to escape as she got stopped by Nattas. The Baron had managed to round the bed just in time to press the tip of his blade on her unprotected navel. ¡°Let¡¯s talk,¡± Nattas said smoothly and gestured for her to calm down. ¡°I¡­ can¡¯t breathe,¡± the flushed Maja hissed. ¡°Nonsense. You can¡¯t talk without air,¡± Nattas dismissed her protest. ¡°What¡­ the fuck do you want?¡± Maja asked raspingly and stood up, her left arm delivering another blind blow between Sudi¡¯s legs this time. The loyal lackey twisted to save himself from the worst but got nailed pretty hard and groaned in agony. ¡°Eh,¡± Maja gasped trying to free herself and Sudi¡¯s forehead banged the back of her head so hard Nattas blinked in shock and then stood back as the female assassin collapsed on the floor tiles in front of him unconscious. ¡°Fucking hells,¡± Sudi growled touching the cut on his forehead with one hand while massaging his hurting jewels with the other. ¡°The bitch could have done permanent damage there chief!¡± Who would have thought Lotus¡¯ head was so durable? The Baron wondered and stared at the woman sprawled at his feet. If she¡¯s dead that would be even more hilarious. Maja stirred her right arm before the Baron managed to finish his thought and then let out a soft moan. It made Sudi immediately unsheathe a dagger from his waist. Nattas sighed and hanged his head in despair. ¡°For pity¡¯s sake. Just tie her on the darn chair.¡± ¡°What if Sirio arrives?¡± Now you think of him? You were about to knife her in the cunt not a moment ago! ¡°She¡¯s my daughter.¡± Storm snapped irate. ¡°I get to punish her however I want!¡± Abrakas curse her! ¡°Fuck her up if I have to!¡± Sudi blinked, his face distorting and then snorted audibly instead of replying. The bedroom remained silent for an awkward moment. ¡°I¡¯m gonna get a rope from the stable,¡± Sudi finally said with another grimace of pain and walked funnily out of the room.
¡°Eh. I think it¡¯s cracked,¡± Maja hissed half an hour later, now tied on a high back chair and Sudi slapped her hard with an open palm. He snapped the woman¡¯s head violently to the side. ¡°Argh! You ugly prick!¡± Maja groaned and glared at him. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Storm asked Sudi curious. ¡°I haven¡¯t gotten around to ask her anything yet.¡± ¡°Preliminary torture chief,¡± Sudi explained and pursed his mouth stubbornly. ¡°What do you want Nattas?¡± Maja hissed irate staring daggers at the scowling Sudi. ¡°After all I¡¯ve done to help you¡ª¡± ¡°You poisoned me first,¡± Sudi grunted. ¡°Messed up my face!¡± ¡°Your face was a mess to begin with!¡± ¡°Alright that¡¯s enough reminiscing of past angsts,¡± Nattas intervened and stepped forward to block Sudi from hitting her again. ¡°Nattas I swear to gods you are insane,¡± Maja hissed and glared at him. ¡°We have worked together for years you perverted fuck!¡± ¡°We have,¡± Nattas agreed and drew a deep breath to put his thoughts in order. ¡°But Rhys has decided to amend the contract and I¡¯m running out of options to fix this mess.¡± ¡°It can happen! The Servant must agree but also check the scales in order to proceed. Something didn¡¯t add up. We are not thugs!¡± Maja snapped. ¡°What is that have to do with me? I can¡¯t believe you old sacks of shit attacked me in my sleep!¡± ¡°Why were you napping so early in the day?¡± Nattas asked her curious. ¡°I stayed up all night caring for your son!¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°His stomach hurt. He¡¯s fine now,¡± Maja hissed. ¡°Untie me.¡± ¡°Not yet.¡± ¡°What the fuck Nattas?¡± Maja snapped. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°We need to make sure Hik and Rhys don¡¯t say anything stupid to the King,¡± Storm explained. ¡°Why would they?¡± ¡°To blackmail me, out of spite¡­ pick a reason,¡± Storm grunted. Maja sighed and moved her head right and left with a grimace of pain. ¡°You are losing it Baron. Rhys has his plate full to waste time getting rid of you and if he decided not to fulfill the contract then that just means your whole reasoning was off or wrong to begin with.¡± ¡°You finished the contract for the priests. Where was that same consideration then?¡± Nattas argued hoarsely. ¡°Come on now. You don¡¯t expect me to believe this?¡± ¡°The kings were not innocent. Had I known they wanted to hurt the kids I wouldn¡¯t have agreed.¡± ¡°You¡¯re lying.¡± ¡°As you recall, unless your brain turned to mush from all the gonorrhea you scraped off all those harlots, I immediately came to find you instead of leaving the city. Told you that something was off and tried to steer you the right way,¡± Maja countered. ¡°You think I liked you back then Baron? Not even close. But I knew that shit was wrong!¡± ¡°You like me now?¡± Nattas grumbled. ¡°At this moment? Fuck you and fuck that creep that you have there! He spies at Miranda when she bathes!¡± Maja snarled and Nattas glanced at the silent Sudi who avoided his eyes guiltily. Maja made a grimace of pain and then shook her head tiredly. ¡°I like Silvio. Your boy is the smartest kid. Truly and in many ways.¡± ¡°Of course he is.¡± Nattas retorted proudly and then pursed his mouth deep in thought for a moment. ¡°Still, we need to get rid of Rhys,¡± he continued. ¡°Have a talk with Larn to get you back in charge of the guild.¡± ¡°Are you completely insane? Have a talk¡­ with Larn? What gave you the idea¡­? You actually think he¡¯s the type that gets convinced or talks things through? He¡¯s an ancient monster you crippled idiot! He cares about a couple of things and that¡¯s it. Oras shades. Everyone else is food or prey for him! And get rid of Rhys? Wow. Rhys has Selussa with him! If we move against Rhys and she gets involved or gets hurt we¡¯re fucked! We need to change continents. Ralnor will never forget or let go afore delivering a death blow! You think you can survive a blade damaging a couple of major organs? Because I don¡¯t know anyone that has done it recently! Oh, wait. Never!¡± Nattas scratched at the tip of his nose irritated for a silent moment. ¡°Do I give her a good punch now?¡± Sudi asked in a reasonable tone and Storm snapped his head to stare at him incredulous. ¡°What?¡± Sudi retorted. ¡°Will you calm the fuck down?¡± ¡°Ahm, why? The bitch is uncooperative?¡± ¡°The bitch made some pretty good points!¡± Nattas grunted. ¡°Fucking chauvinistic pricks!¡± Maja hissed irate. ¡°What good are these ¡®good¡¯ points if Lear Hik decides to implicate you in the king¡¯s murder?¡± Sudi asked disregarding her outburst. ¡°Baron untie me. Sirio might be here at any moment.¡± Maja pleaded. Storm narrowed his eyes. ¡°Why do you care about him?¡± ¡°He¡¯s a gentle soul,¡± Maja replied. ¡°And he likes me.¡± ¡°I might have to get rid of him,¡± Nattas said testing the waters. Maja¡¯s expression changed. Hmm. Who would¡¯ve thought? ¡°I don¡¯t understand the appeal,¡± he admitted walking to the edge of the bed to sit down. Maja¡¯s cold eyes following him intently. ¡°The truth is that strangely I do like the young cocksucker.¡± ¡°He thinks the world of you. The most important man under Lucius Sirio always says,¡± Maja said evenly. ¡°Politics are a dirty unholy business that someone must take care of. Someone that can see the right move ahead of time irregardless of morals or if it¡¯s right.¡± ¡°Indeed.¡± Nattas agreed. ¡°But to survive you need all the ammunition you can have. Because at times you¡¯ll be left to fight alone against everyone else. You need power that no king will willingly give. The bad kings want the power for themselves and the good ones fear what you¡¯ll do with it.¡± ¡°Just to be clear. I don¡¯t agree with Sirio on this.¡± Maja noted. ¡°Nattas cares for himself first and foremost.¡± ¡°You are wrong but not by a lot,¡± Nattas yielded and pushed himself up with the help of the cane. He¡¯d sheathed the blade again in its hidden scabbard. ¡°Regia needs Nattas and Nattas needs Regia.¡± ¡°Oh, please just kill me now,¡± Maja pleaded mockingly. ¡°I¡¯m not so na?ve as to actually fall for that Baron!¡± ¡°I was speaking candidly,¡± Nattas said and stared at Sudi. ¡°Tristan is at the North Gates?¡± ¡°Thereabouts,¡± Sudi replied vaguely and Maja narrowed her eyes. ¡°You actually moved on Rhys?¡± She asked. ¡°I moved on Lear Hik,¡± Nattas grunted. ¡°Is Rhys his bodyguard now?¡± Maja groaned in frustration or pain. Perhaps both. ¡°There¡¯s a Circle assassin with Rhys,¡± she finally revealed. ¡°What the fuck is that?¡± Nattas snapped. ¡°An Imperial assassin. Larn was one in the past. Could be a Zilan, but it could be something else. Anything.¡± ¡°Like what?¡± ¡°Pfft. I don¡¯t know. A Gish? A Ticu? A werewolf? A bit of everything? Larn has scared the skin off my bones with their tales.¡± Eh. Things are looking pretty dire for Mister Bulbous. Oh, well. ¡°I thought your guild was the ¡®mystic¡¯ guild of the bunch.¡± ¡°Not really and even so it is not the only one. Your friend Flavia has her own. Although Imperial Assassins probably predate all other guilds but for the League of Forsaken Slayers. Lar O¡¯ Talas Dagnir, Larn had called them.¡± ¡°And thus we learned the fascinating lore of all the erudite murderers roaming the realms,¡± Nattas said mockingly. ¡°What about this Circle dude?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know him or her.¡± Maja replied defensively. ¡°Better stay well clear Baron.¡± ¡°You convinced me.¡± Nattas decided. ¡°Sort of. I¡¯m having trouble trusting you.¡± ¡°Seriously? You¡¯ve assaulted me in my sleep and tied me up!¡± Maja protested with a shriek. ¡°Get me out of those bonds Baron, my head fucking hurts!¡± ¡°Sudi,¡± Nattas said intending to order him to free Maja. Before Storm could utter another word, Sudi stepped forward and punched the tied up female in the face breaking her nose. The hefty punch toppled Maja backwards along with the chair. The woman and the breaking-apart furniture met the tiled floor with a clattering ruckus so great, it appeared to shake the foundations of the villa. ¡°You blistering idiot!¡± Nattas roared and hurled the cane at Sudi, who ducked and narrowly avoided the flying weapon. The cane hit the wall behind the nimble fake cripple and clattered down raising another uproar. ¡°Why did you do that for?¡± ¡°I thought you had enough of her bullshit!¡± Sudi defended his actions, moving away from the irate Baron. ¡°Yelp. Some help¡­ ouch! Flaccid-cocked¡­ piece of shit!¡± Maja was heard protesting from the floor in between moans of agony. ¡°Broke¡­ my nose! Curse you¡­ to seven hells!¡± ¡°Fix your mess,¡± Nattas grunted stooping to pick up his cane from the floor. ¡°See to her you cretin!¡± He snapped and they all heard the patio door open with a loud creaking sound. Sirio¡¯s voice rang inside the villa. ¡°Where is my gifted girl?¡± The tired-sounding Sirio asked, his voice holding nonetheless a mischievous tone. ¡°Guess what I brought you from the market? A bottle of coconut oil!¡± Abrakas you ridiculous deity! This ain¡¯t funny at all! ¡°Quickly. Grab her by the legs and drag her out of the room.¡± Nattas ordered the grimacing Sudi and turned to the blood-covered thrashing on the floor Maja. ¡°You! Not a word else I¡¯ll kick you in the tits! I¡¯ll stall the historian. Move you idiot and clean some of the blood from the tiles!¡± ¡°Where is my little Maja with the big phallus? I need you to lift my spirits milady,¡± Sirio sang as he approached and the shivering at the disturbing images birthed from Sirio¡¯s words Baron, hobbled fast towards the door of the couple¡¯s bedroom to prevent the younger Veturius from entering. 503. Ye pull yerself up... (2/2) ¡®Verity is the utmost arbiter The last candid appraiser And it cuts through lies like a razor¡¯* - Lear ¡®Razor¡¯ ¡®Hik¡¯ (possibly from surname Icarus) Also the ¡®Butcher of Drek River¡¯ ¡®Man from Atetalerso¡¯ -Mercenary general (with the ¡®300¡¯), Bank of Trust¡¯s re-acquisitions agent, member of the Bounty Hunters Guild, honorable member of the Adventurers Guild, member of the Mercenaries Guild, freelance bounty hunter, headhunter, also rumored murderer, war criminal (lifelong bounty in Sovya), decorated war hero (in Lesia and Regia. Only non-noble honorably mentioned in the Kadrek end-of-war treaties for his vital contributions to the war effort.) Born in Lesia (unknown, possibly Trieste, High Barony of Parmaport) 144 or 146 NC
*Words presumably engraved on his tombstone(?) at an undisclosed location. - -
Storm Nattas ¡®Abominable Cripple¡¯ ¡®Principal of Secrets¡¯. Lord of Moon¡¯s Haven, Ruler of Turtle Isles Keeper of the Golden Forest Ye pull yourself up¡­ Part II -Settle for good enough-
¡°Ah¡­ Lord Nattas?¡± A startled Sirio managed to ask after letting out a yelp upon seeing Storm come out of the bedroom. ¡°What are you doing in there?¡± Nattas puffed out raspingly to buy Sudi some time and then used a hand to wipe some of the sweat forming on his forehead. ¡°Silvio is sleeping,¡± he finally said avoiding his query, while eyeing Sirio austerely. ¡°Keep your fucking voice down.¡± Sirio grimaced a little embarrassed. ¡°Apologies. You heard me? I thought the house was empty.¡± ¡°Alas it isn¡¯t. I heard more than a father ever should. This is a house of pious people lad.¡± Nothing was further from the truth. ¡°Can I explain?¡± An uncomfortable Sirio pleaded. Nattas stopped him raising a hand, palm open and fingers extended. ¡°I would rather not have to relive the sordid experience.¡± The Baron grunted with a smack of his lips. ¡°Maja had an accident. Nothing serious. Don¡¯t overreact,¡± he warned the paling historian. ¡°Place the oil on the small credenza first,¡± Storm added calmly. ¡°Then take a deep fucking breath.¡± ¡°What happened?¡± Sirio croaked and tried to move past the Baron who stopped him stabbing the cane on the wall. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ alright honey,¡± Maja said with a muffled voice behind Storm¡¯s back. The Baron clenched his jaw and turned his head to see the woman. She had a bloody cloth pressed on her face to staunch the hemorrhage. Maja¡¯s whole face was flushed and a bit bloated. ¡°Sudi?¡± Nattas asked a little worried while keeping Sirio at bay with his left arm. The historian had tried to duck under Nattas¡¯ cane to reach Maja. ¡°I¡¯m alive chief,¡± Sudi¡¯s voice was heard from inside the room and Sirio blinked unsure on his meaning. ¡°Hah-hah,¡± Nattas laughed and he had to force it so much, the sound came out like a grunt. ¡°That guy. Eh¡­ always looking to jest.¡±
¡°Keep your head back,¡± Sirio advised his wife, who pretended to be weak from blood loss all of a sudden. ¡°You slipped in the bathhouse you say?¡± ¡°Uhm, I was sleepy,¡± Maja explained laying on a divan at the patio to get some air. ¡°Poor thing,¡± Sirio murmured brushing her hair back. ¡°Your face is all swollen, eyes bloodshot. You did a number on your head.¡± Nattas stared at Sudi and then at his fingers wrapped on the cane¡¯s engraved pommel. ¡°That¡¯s it,¡± the Baron decided. ¡°Back to fucking business.¡± ¡°What business?¡± Sirio asked from the divan he occupied with Maja. ¡°There is a rumor Abrakas arrived to Cartaport.¡± Well that¡¯s fucking ominous. No one wants to be that close to a god! Nattas thought sourly. ¡°It moored next to the Divine Trident, Lord Sextus-Brakis¡¯ flagship,¡± Sirio continued. Ah. ¡°Duke Stan Brakis was staying aboard the latter.¡± Sirio added. ¡°What does he need a second ship for?¡± Nattas asked with a glare at the scholar. ¡°Brought mementos to the families of those killed aboard or went under with the Seraph, the Talbot and the Malabar.¡± Sirio explained. ¡°Several sailors had ties with Cartagen.¡± ¡°That¡¯s bullshit.¡± Nattas commented harshly. His reaction took Sirio unawares. ¡°Actually it¡¯s¡­ quite sensitive a gesture?¡± A frowning Sirio argued. ¡°What a bunch of baloney! But hey, I¡¯ll give you sensitive.¡± Nattas insisted with a grunt and eyed Sudi who shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Assist with the influx of refugees?¡± His lackey offered, a little uncertain on Nattas¡¯ strong reaction. ¡°My Lord, I heard his herald in court clearly,¡± Sirio tried again and Maja tapped his knee once to stay quiet. ¡°It brought the injured Sir Vel from Illirium.¡± ¡°Sir Vel Sextus-Brakis is here to be honored by the King. He just recovered from his injuries,¡± Nattas murmured thinking out loud to help Sudi understand. ¡°His father Lord Proclus Sextus-Brakis is in Cartaport as well, staying aboard the Divine Trident with Duke Sissena Brakis. The Duke had borrowed the ship since the Abrakas was under much-needed repairs after the sea battle.¡± He glanced at Maja resting in the arms of Sirio Veturius and grimaced. ¡°The Duke had made an interesting proposition some months back daughter.¡± Maja raised a quizzing brow. ¡°He wanted you to make him a boy.¡± ¡°What?¡± Sirio gasped in shock. ¡°Mmm.¡± Maja hummed through the bloody cloth she held on her face. ¡°I wasn¡¯t aware of the Duke¡¯s admiration¡ª¡± ¡°There was none. Your small appeal rests on the fact you carry my name,¡± Nattas cut her off rudely. ¡°The next in line for the duchy is late Theodor¡¯s young son Ethan or¡­ one of the Sextus-Brakis mostly due to the amount of maidens Duke Stan Brakis has produced and the young kraken¡¯s untimely demise.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to agree¡­¡± Maja hissed at the interruption with a comforting glance at the hurt Sirio. ¡°Were you¡­ father?¡± ¡°Of course not,¡± Nattas retorted adamantly although he¡¯d considered it. ¡°What else is going on in court Sirio?¡± ¡°Everyone is worried about Legatus Merenda,¡± Sirio replied. ¡°Ah, the king might decide on Novesium soon. He¡¯s displeased with Mayor Reganus and it¡¯s doubtful he¡¯ll allow him to continue to run things unsupervised for much longer or at all.¡± ¡°Lucius will grant the duchy to someone else?¡± Nattas asked perking up. ¡°Not the title. A governorship like with Aegium,¡± Sirio explained. ¡°He¡¯ll give Sula even more power?¡± Nattas grunted irate. ¡°Legatus Sula is faithful to Regia and the King,¡± Sirio argued and Nattas glared at him like a fat bug in need of squashing under a heavy boot. ¡°Baron,¡± Maja warned hoarsely sounding much better than what she pretended. ¡°The king might be gone on the morrow!¡± Nattas growled and stood up wanting to lash out at something. ¡°Then blood relations or kinship will take presentence. It¡¯s the blasted natural order!¡± ¡°Not in the army. Plus Nonus Sula owes his status to the king and the rest of his allegiances weigh more in favor of the Redmond of Sovya than the Sula of Demames,¡± Sirio argued sounding brain-washed. Ah, the gullible cocksucker has succumbed like an aroused maiden to Lucius¡¯ charms and is now clamoring for a chance to slurp at the tiger¡¯s phallus. ¡°Lucius needed to give the Sula something big without really increasing their power,¡± Sirio elucidated on Lucius reasoning and the grimacing Nattas stared at him thoughtfully. ¡°Who¡¯s the front-runner for Novesium?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± It won¡¯t be the Holt, they have too much already. Nattas thought. Surely not a Sula again. Could a Brakis grab something here? Technically the south coast is split between the two families with Ursus out of the way. Hmm. Nah. Sure the king appeared friendly to the Duke of Illirium after all the help Stan Brakis had provided late in the Civil War and with the Khan¡¯s navy¡­ ¡°Where in Abrakas¡¯ arsehole did Stan find those warships?¡± Nattas asked Sudi. ¡°Built them?¡± Sudi retorted mockingly. ¡°Hah. Petty humor¡­ I was being serious!¡± Nattas growled. ¡°Provided the funds out of the duchy¡¯s coffers to change the initial order I believe,¡± Sirio suggested. ¡°There¡¯s no way Alistair would have allowed¡­ actually the matter was pretty contentious back then with all the blasted delays.¡± Nattas explained to his small audience. ¡°Of course now those delays appear less mysterious¡­ there were no merchant transports or the like being built in the first fucking place! Makes you wonder how Duke Brakis managed to conceal those monstrosities from King Alistair and how he secured funding without a royal seal. The Bank would never¡­¡± Storm thought of Lear Hik and the strange turn his quest had taken. Instead of hunting Laudus now the bounty hunter was the one being hunted. The king¡¯s bounty on the former Master of Silence was still active but everyone else seemed eager to hunt down Lear Hik the Baron included. Why? For Eleonora and Faustus? Get out of here! Other than that relic Federico and an argument could be made against that even, no one actually gives half-a-hemorrhoid about those fools! Nattas feared the bounty hunter might implicate him in the young king¡¯s murder and given Nattas¡¯ complicated affair with the Queen Regent, likewise to all the other shenanigans happening in Regia around that time. The Bank wanted ¡®vengeance¡¯ for Fausto Mclean¡¯s and Eleonora D¡¯Orsi¡¯s murders supposedly. Duke Brakis feared what the Baron feared apparently, which was a huge overreaction, given the Duke¡¯s distance from the events, his good-standing, status and record compared to someone like Nattas. Or Ursus obviously. Even Doris Alden. There was literally nothing connecting the Duke of Illirium to Laudus or any type of legitimate motive¡­ Nothing but Laudus had been one of the court¡¯s royal inspectors of public works for years. A faceless administrative clerk that had found the ladder free and climbed it. A stroke of luck if one believed in coincidences. Oh, my fucking god. Storm gasped stumbling backwards from the shock, as realization hit him squarely in the face. That son of a decrepit port harlot! ¡°They killed Alistair,¡± the Baron croaked and searching with a hand backwards found the armrest to guide his arse on it. ¡°Jeremy you mean,¡± Sudi corrected him and Nattas gestured at his man to keep quiet. ¡°My Lord,¡± Sirio said worried. ¡°What do you mean?¡± That lying fat piece of lard almost tossed me under the chariot¡¯s wheels, Storm thought grinding his teeth with hatred. No being is worse than an Abrakas follower. The Kraken is a solitary, callous creature by its very nature. ¡°You need to get to Tristan,¡± he ordered the frowned Sudi. ¡°Abort the fucking mission. It¡¯s a setup!¡± Sudi blinked not expecting the order and pursed his mouth tightly. Nattas turned his feverish eyes on the watching in silence Maja. ¡°Message Rhys. There are people waiting for them in the city.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t. They left Old-Fort two days ago,¡± Maja replied and tried to get out of Sirio¡¯s arms. ¡°I could sent a message from the ¡®Lonely Termite¡¯ but it won¡¯t reach him.¡± ¡°What Termite?¡± Nattas grunted. ¡°Who is Rhys darling?¡± Sirio asked curious. ¡°The¡­ guild¡¯s place in Cartagen. It¡¯s a tavern in the market just behind the ¡®Greasy Lake¡¯.¡± Maja explained with a discomforted glance at her husband. ¡°No tavern there but a small warehouse,¡± Nattas growled. ¡°And a stable.¡± ¡°What guild?¡± Sirio asked her. ¡°We don¡¯t have many customers,¡± a flushed Maja explained sounding muffled. ¡°Go to the North Gates,¡± Nattas ordered Sudi. ¡°Find what Tristan is up to and put a stop to it.¡± ¡°They might strongly disagree. Enough to cut me down,¡± Sudi argued. ¡°By now they¡¯ll have local hands hired¡ª¡± ¡°Pay those idiots in full!¡± Nattas roared and stood up abruptly, feeling the blood rush to his head. ¡°We¡¯ll get rid of them later.¡± ¡°What is going on?¡± Sirio asked as a heavy silence fell inside the villa¡¯s lavish patio. Storm stared at the historian and scholar intently. Another deep wrinkle had formed on the Baron¡¯s forehead as the moment dragged. ¡°Make a contract,¡± Nattas hissed to Maja solemnly, still looking in Sirio¡¯s pale face. ¡°Against who?¡± Maja asked and pushed the historian¡¯s arms away to get up. She tossed the bloody cloth on the divan. Her nose looked remarkably in place but for the strong swelling and the smeared blood. ¡°Me,¡± Storm said and cast a side-glance at the ¡®former¡¯ assassin that casually produced a small piece of paper from the folds of her tunic. ¡°I swear to Allgods if I get cut down without offered the same ¡®consideration¡¯ you claim the guild offers, I shall rise from the dead to fuck you up with fist or cock. Seriously.¡± ¡°Lord Nattas!¡± Sirio exploded and stood up as well, appearing deeply confused but also legitimately angry. ¡°This is improper language.¡± ¡°I told you many years ago that entering a pact with my family comes with responsibilities Sirio. To be a Nattas is to struggle each and every day to survive without any respite,¡± Nattas grunted without looking at him. A pleading Maja shook her head to stop the Baron from continuing. ¡°You¡¯ll enjoy the free coin, have your depravities satisfied and revel in the nice-living of the undeserved. You shall also inherit a ton of dangerous enemies for life, whilst being party to certain shady but necessary deeds, some sensitive folk might consider¡­ unsettling. Guilt by association tightly holds pleasure¡¯s hand in Nattas¡¯ household son.¡± Nattas pursed his mouth and stared at the crestfallen but still confused historian. ¡°Tell him about the guild,¡± he ordered the devastated Maja harshly. ¡°Leave nothing out.¡±
¡°Bring the carriage here Jove,¡± the tensed Baron ordered half an hour later standing in front of east stable¡¯s double doors. Hearing the neigh of a horse approaching from the villa, Nattas turned around to gaze at the mounted Sudi¡¯s approach. ¡°Are you sure about this chief?¡± Sudi asked pulling at the reins to stop the animal near the Baron. ¡°I believe I am,¡± Nattas replied raspingly. ¡°As you recall, Alistair considered challenging the High King back then, so he needed to move about supplies and the Legion. Sooner or later the matter of the missing transports or these ships that replaced them had to come up.¡± ¡°Ah, it¡¯s not a strong enough reason,¡± Sudi replied with a grimace of disbelief. ¡°Don¡¯t expect one. No perfect reason exists in such matters. Does it make sense? It does. A small motive sometimes is enough or I may be missing something else,¡± Nattas grunted and moved out of the arriving carriage¡¯s way. He then glanced at the dark sky sourly. ¡°Perhaps they didn¡¯t want a war with Antoon.¡± ¡°The attack must have been random. Every witness has said so. The King opted to depart early from the conference.¡± Sudi insisted. ¡°Ursus¡¯ cousin wouldn¡¯t have known in advance. Ursus would have talked to save himself by now.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll lose yourself in the details and go nowhere,¡± Nattas retorted and went to climb the steps of his carriage. ¡°This is the chance to turn this whole fucking mess on its head Lotus. Snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. I speak to Lucius first, then Lear Hik confirms my words and Nattas once again stands at the highest peak pissing down on his enemies¡¯ fucking heads!¡± ¡°If you¡¯re wrong or fail, we¡¯ll never see the inside of the palace again. We might even have to go in hiding, not to mention avoid the coast altogether. Any coast. The Admiral¡¯s arms are long now and even the darn Turtle Isles aren¡¯t far enough chief. That leaves the North or Eplas and with Doris Alden there this may be tricky. I¡¯m not sure we have friends anywhere else.¡± ¡°Plan for tonight, leave the morrow for we don¡¯t know where the chips may fall. Everything could be different.¡± Nattas retorted and spotted Sirio hurrying towards the stable behind the mounted Sudi. ¡°Find Tristan,¡± the Baron ordered Sudi climbing down with a weary sigh. ¡°If I fail to see the King I¡¯ll leave missive with the guards and come to help you out.¡± ¡°Eh,¡± Sudi grunted and turned the horse to depart. ¡°Lord Nattas,¡± a flushed Sirio said hoarsely coming to stand a meter away. ¡°I need some clarification¡ª¡± The Baron had no time to waste on an intellectual debate with the historian, be it on morals or whatever else Sirio was discomforted with. ¡°You¡¯ll never find another woman like her. Not with any meaningful standing to support your lifestyle,¡± he cut Sirio off rudely. ¡°Willing to see past your vices, feminine timidity and accept you for who you are. Don¡¯t look at her sinful past but gaze into your common future. She¡¯ll never need your protection while you¡¯ll need hers to survive. Even so, she desperately needs your emotional support and affection, for Maja won¡¯t find it anywhere else in her circles or mine.¡± Sirio gulped down and gave Nattas a comical glare. ¡°Maja is my problem to handle. You had knowledge of the murders since the start¡ª¡± This time Nattas used a backhand to stop him from talking. A stunned Sirio stumbled back from the blow to the face, not really a particularly hard one and then raised a hand to touch his cheek. ¡°I had some useless knowledge for the Realm,¡± Nattas reminded him with a hiss. ¡°But you don¡¯t go about spilling out everything you fucking know because more harm could birth of it! I still don¡¯t know all the details but I know enough to help myself and the Kingdom!¡± ¡°How is sleeping¡ª argh?¡± Natta¡¯s heavy slap rattled Sirio, this time delivered with more force. ¡°You fucking little bitch! Running yer mouth and pretending you¡¯re some kind of pillar of honor. Passing judgement? To me? Or even her? You moronic well-spoken weasel!¡± Storm grunted angry. ¡°Guess what, you are in it to the blasted hilt as well, blooming oiled fist so far up your loose arsehole, your god darn anal sphincter is tightly hugging a blasted elbow!¡± He closed his fist at first to deliver another blow but decided against it and relaxed his fingers. ¡°We always struggled to help Lucius. There is no other truth available for public consumption. None! Learn to repeat it by heart! We don¡¯t deserve to be bunched up with those jackals! It doesn¡¯t matter the how or the why. All other details are plaguing irrelevant! You gave him the sword and I went to prison for daring to stand up and offer assistance to his cause! You¡¯ll shame me for loving a Queen? Show me a hot-blooded man that could have resisted the fucking temptation!¡± Nattas took a deep breath afore continuing his tirade. ¡°You¡¯ll be a blind weakling and accomplish nothing in your life or you¡¯ll help anyway you can. Help your wife, help yourself, help your family by blood or otherwise and help Nattas¡­ aye, for without him you¡¯d still be a fucking nameless librarian¡¯s aide and if that, breathing dust, sweeping rat droppings and munching on moldy rotten paper in Alden!¡±Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Sirio seemed just about ready to cry but thankfully managed to get ahold of his faculties. He has to withstand more than a couple of bitch-slaps afore breaking, Nattas thought sourly. ¡°Why get¡­ involved?¡± Sirio finally croaked in a low voice. Nattas let out a weary sigh. ¡°In a few hours a couple of stress-plagued people or at least one of them, shall attempt to silence Lear Hik permanently. If they fail they might strike against the palace. Having said that even with Mede¡¯s legionnaires gone and Gaeta¡¯s guards guarding the road to Elysium Fort to the southwest, the chances of them succeeding are miniscule. But it¡¯s still high enough for me.¡± ¡°You¡­ are not doing it for¡­ free,¡± Sirio whispered accusingly and the Baron blinked in shock. ¡°Well duh? Do I look like a total halfwit? Why would I do it for free when I can get something of value back? Valuable for me, for Silvio, Maja and of course¡­ You! Is that the type of weak hogwash you write in your god darn scrolls? Fucking hells and cheap heavens. You need to step it up and dive into the dirty details, else nobody will believe a word in it you fucking lamebrain poofter!¡± The historian pursed his mouth, but made no attempt to fix his oiled hair that Nattas¡¯ slaps had messed up. ¡°So there is a bigger picture, just not clean enough,¡± Sirio finally said sounding defeated. ¡°Aye,¡± the Baron agreed hoarsely. ¡°Once you realize life is never just and can¡¯t be perfect, you¡¯ll settle for good enough lad. You can do the right thing time after time, be a paragon of justice and sound governance, but live long enough and you¡¯ll be a villain in someone¡¯s eyes.¡± ¡°We need to get moving boss. It¡¯s getting late,¡± the carriage¡¯s driver, reminded him and a perspiring Nattas puffed out resignedly. He then brushed the sweaty mess of hair from his forehead and climbed the steps to reach the cabin again.
¡°Is that you Baron Nattas?¡± Sergeant Zander Corpus asked at the gates of the Palace and glanced inside the carriage through the open door. ¡°Can¡¯t let you through my lord.¡± ¡°I have to see the King,¡± Nattas insisted patiently. ¡°This is a matter of national security.¡± ¡°Yeah, Director Ramirus came through earlier and ordered a total lockdown,¡± Corpus agreed missing the Baron¡¯s point. ¡°No, dear sergeant,¡± Storm argued. ¡°I have news the King must hear.¡± ¡°The King retired for the night. The family is pretty worn out with everything that happened my lord,¡± Corpus sighed. ¡°I can¡¯t help you Baron. My orders are to not allow anyone through after dark. It is after dark.¡± ¡°We are aware,¡± Storm grunted. ¡°I have information the King needs to learn afore morrow¡¯s Council meeting.¡± ¡°Aha.¡± Corpus nodded. ¡°Well, I can¡¯t let you through my lord. I could write you first in the book though for morrow,¡± he repeated tonelessly. ¡°Please turn the carriage around and leave the premises.¡± Nattas sucked at his teeth, grasping at the pommel of his cane tensely. ¡°Can you ask for a Knight to deliver a message?¡± He finally asked. ¡°We can do that,¡± Corpus assured him. ¡°Deliver the message.¡± ¡°No, dear sergeant. I want you to send for a knight to come here. I can wait. Do you have anywhere else to go?¡± Sergeant Corpus stood back with a frown. ¡°I don¡¯t. My shift just started sir.¡± ¡°I know we have all night ahead of us sergeant and I don¡¯t mind keeping you and your men company, but could you send for someone closer to the King in the meantime?¡± Nattas repeated in a friendly voice. ¡°Portis check the big boys¡¯ schedule. Who has drawn the short end of the stick tonight?¡± ¡°Sir Valgus?¡± Portis was heard from the guard¡¯s shed after a moment of scratching about and in the light of an oil lamp. ¡°Couldn¡¯t happen to a better person,¡± Corpus retorted and then eyed the guard knowingly. ¡°Danos has taken the horse to the kitchen sir. With the supplies mule?¡± Portis protested civilly after a short moment of a silent staring contest. ¡°Something wrong wit your legs soldier?¡± ¡°No sir.¡± ¡°Get on it then. Nice short sprint through the garden will get your blood all warmed up!¡± ¡°Yes sir.¡± Portis agreed dejectedly. It was more than a kilometer to the palace¡¯s entrance. Nattas nodded politely at the glance of assurance the sergeant gave him and pressed his back on the couch to wait for Portis to return in blissful silence. It didn¡¯t last but a couple of seconds. ¡°I heard you offer property at good prices in Moon¡¯s Haven milord,¡± Corpus probed sounding interested and Storm groaned inwardly before answering. ¡°No taxes for five years sergeant.¡± ¡°Folk say the place there is picturesque. A little paradise.¡± ¡°Well, we take pride in our location and in the warmth of our small community,¡± Nattas agreed with a grimace of discomfort. Of former cutthroats. ¡°That Typhus business must have put a dent to the whole thing though eh?¡± Nattas licked his lips and eyed the sergeant austerely. ¡°The truth is we are not affected at all and the small epidemic is under control.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t know about that sire. Lots of folk are pretty worried and want to look for their people,¡± Corpus argued with a snort of derision, then caught himself and added in a more respectful tone. ¡°But I¡¯m sure you are in the right, my Lord.¡± -
Earlier that evening Naossis¡¯ swollen milkers, Tristan Danger thought peeved. Born Tristan Bulbous in Asturia, one of seven children of the rich baker Ulysses Bulbous. Six sons his father had sprouted out and Tristan had come last. By the time they decided to split the family estate and fortune no shares were left for him. Makes a person rather hostile to the world in general. ¡°Pontus and Axios,¡± Spider Norton said getting out of the fancy North District tavern. Not as fancy as the taverns in the White District but not by much. ¡°Varus Gryllus will send a patrol out after midnight and make the change sooner, so we¡¯ll have a window there.¡± ¡°How long?¡± Tristan grunted looking about them at the well-dressed Cartagen¡¯s citizens making their early evening strolls. ¡°Thirty minutes. But if they don¡¯t enter tonight then we¡¯ll have a problem.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s shadowing them?¡± ¡°Lemos. A¡­ hunter of sorts. I reckon he¡¯s still near them.¡± Norton replied. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of people to control chief.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve handled more.¡± ¡°Vendor¡¯s Villa is pretty close,¡± Barclay said evenly, cleaning his front teeth with an arrow. He used the steel tip. ¡°We¡¯re not hitting a plaguing villa ¡®Bullseye¡¯!¡± Tristan snapped and casted a warning glare at his colleague. ¡°Easy coin,¡± Barclay insisted setting his jaw. ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake,¡± Tristan cursed and stared at the small-bodied female standing next to the doors of the tavern they had just exited. She had an exotic bead-net outfit on, the beads a shiny black over a long sleeved, high-waistband and tight plain dress that reached her ankles. It was made out of thin black cotton and it matched the color of her long straight hair, she had parted right down the middle. The woman had a reedy ivory headband on to keep them from hiding her comely Cofol face. ¡°Ugh.¡± Tristan grunted and blinked a little distracted by the strikingly white face skin. Anemic slant-eyed bitch, he cursed a little tensed given all the tavern talk about epidemic diseases spreading at the coast and realized the strangely dressed woman was now standing at arm¡¯s length. Pretty as a life-like doll fer sure, but a fucking doll that has glugged down a bottle of laudanum and croaked a fortnight ago, Tristan decided with a shiver as for a moment he thought the woman¡¯s skin turned translucent and showed the bones underneath. And then it didn¡¯t. The woman turning into a ¡®normal¡¯ far Eplas hailing wench. ¡°The contract is null,¡± she said with an exotic accent, the voice coming out melodic but also insensitive. ¡°What¡­ sheesh,¡± Barclay recoiled from the startle and then pursed his mouth taking in the female¡¯s nice figure. ¡°Who the fuck...?¡± Norton started but Tristan stopped him with a gesture. ¡°Why hunt the hunter?¡± The female continued and Tristan could see the street and tavern¡¯s lights reflected on her dark eyes strangely. ¡°What do you know about that?¡± Tristan asked in an intimidating manner and took a half-step to tower over her, only to realize she wasn¡¯t that much shorter than him. She smells of vanilla oils though, which is a nice touch amidst all the creepiness. ¡°You¡¯ve spoken inside,¡± the woman replied not looking intimidated at all. Tristan looked behind her and then right and left for any other exotic-looking escorts. He spotted a couple of drunkards and a kid buying narcotics from an alley seller but no weirdly-dressed Cofols. ¡°I talked in a hushed manner at a secure corner,¡± Tristan finally said with a nasty smirk and reached with his left hand to feel her hair. They were oily to the touch and smelled nice. ¡°Amongst friends and colleagues.¡± ¡°If you cease all other sounds,¡± the woman elucidated and reached to touch his face with a finger. ¡°Then a whisper sounds like a roar,¡± she added and smiled showing two rows of pearly symmetrical teeth. ¡°Right,¡± Norton grunted with a nod. ¡°Hey, do ye suck cock perchance wench? Yer accent sprung me a mean boner.¡± He explained in a friendly manner. ¡°We can do it over there. I¡¯ve coin.¡± ¡°Why hunt the hunter still?¡± She repeated calmly in that cultured but soulless manner, wholly unflustered by the Northman¡¯s lewd proposal. ¡°What is it to you?¡± Tristan grunted now suspicious of the whole affair and the woman raised a thin, long-nailed, finger to her mouth, the tip painted red. She licked it clean looking at Tristan with those large glowing eyes. The former highwayman felt blood trickling down his cheek where she had nicked him. ¡°Why hunt the hunter?¡± She asked again in that monotonous voice, small tongue wetting her lower lip. ¡°The dude tasked with finishing the job,¡± Tristan found himself replying unwittingly. ¡°Fucked it up. We¡¯re the replacement squad.¡± ¡°Without compensation?¡± The woman asked. ¡°Someone else picked up the tab.¡± What are you doing? Tristan asked himself weirded out. ¡°Oras hells Tristan,¡± Barclay cursed and the grimacing in the attempt to break out of the strange hold she had on him bandit leader felt the bones at his jaw hurting. Then slowly cracking open to add against his will. ¡°The Baron wants him dead.¡± ¡°No.¡± The woman said serenely. ¡°Tell me about the Servant.¡± ¡°I know nothing about a servant.¡± ¡°Hey. That¡¯s enough talking,¡± Norton grunted and stepped between them. That is he took two steps forward and then turned to continue walking past them towards the tavern like an automaton. Tristan saw out of the corner of his ogling eye Barclay reach for his bow. ¡°Step away from him slowly,¡± the bandit ranger warned the woman. ¡°Else I¡¯ll shoot an arrow through yer pretty neck.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care about any of you.¡± The woman retorted without even looking at the ranger. Behind her Norton run himself straight onto the tavern wall and let out a pained groan. ¡°I¡¯m looking for Abatis. He¡¯s either here or in Asturia.¡± ¡°Where was he last?¡± Barclay asked with a glance at the cursing Northman that slowly got up holding his head. ¡°Storm¡¯s Rest.¡± She replied. ¡°Maybe he¡¯s there still, sleeping under the fucking mud,¡± Barclay grunted and aimed his bow from two meters away. ¡°Take a step back lass. I won¡¯t say it again.¡± ¡°If the Servant is with him you¡¯ll need all your arrows and the ¡®Others¡¯ help,¡± she instructed casually. ¡°Gratitude for your cooperation Lorians. For that I shall spare you.¡± With that odd -almost comical- pompous announcement the foreign female turned around and sauntered away. She did it a little rigidly, with her head held high and her back kept a bit too straight but her strides were effortless. Moments later Tristan flinched coming about and then let out a groan of pain, feeling his knees weak all of a sudden. ¡°Where did that crazy bitch come from? Man, I don¡¯t like them loonies in the capital at all,¡± Barclay grunted and hang his bow over his shoulder again as it wasn¡¯t smart to point a weapon inside the city. ¡°Ah, and the hells is wrong wit you Tristan? What¡¯s the play here? You didn¡¯t have to tell her everything!¡± Tristan stared in deep bewilderment at the blood on his fingertips and answered truthfully after a moment of silent consideration. ¡°There was no play darn it. I have no plaguing idea what the all-hells just happened!¡±
- Hours later Early morning 17th of Secundus Immediately after making the east turn at Mayor¡¯s Vines, Jove stopped the carriage with a sharp holler. Storm cracked the door open and peeked at the City Guard buildings, then at the two towers near the walls. The smaller square tower at the North Gates and across from it at the northeastern-most corner of the City, the twice as large and tall round-shaped North Tower. Cartagen¡¯s famed gates to the Flower Bridge standing between them. A row of soldiers were blocking the road towards the gates. ¡°Milord,¡± Jove warned in a tensed voice from his driver¡¯s seat atop the carriage. ¡°I can¡¯t discern their armour.¡± Eh. Nattas crooked his mouth and pushed the door open. With difficulty he got out of the cabin and out into the cold winter night. This part of the capital much colder than its coast. A blessing in the summer but annoying during winter¡¯s months. The Baron walked awkwardly putting the good foot forward and dragging the damaged one a bit. The cane hitting the stone tiles in between. He was awake for the second night in a row and had only slept seven or eight times in the last forty days. An officer of the ten man strong group that was alerted to the Baron¡¯s carriage ¨Cnow parked in the middle of the street- stepped forward after issuing a brisk order to his men to keep their eyes open. Nattas kept his own eyes on the man¡¯s armoured chest as he approached, the darkness keeping the details away. Some clouds on the sky partially concealed the two moons as well making it a pretty dark evening. Early morning. No sign of Sudi since before I went to the palace. Of all the days that fool could croak on me, this is the night he picked! Worked leather entwined with thin chainmail, a triangular plate at the chest, engraved with a boat skewered by a trident like a trout. A ship¡¯s crest this or a family¡¯s, pointing to a specific city that loves its fucking three-pronged spears and other types of fishing gear. ¡°The road is closed,¡± the officer warned Nattas, a hand resting on the pommel of his saber. Dark-skinned alike an Issir but with long copper hair braided and caught at the nape. Smart eyes and well-trimmed goatee, his face marred by stitches that started at the left side of his mouth and ended at the left ear. The injury almost catastrophic. ¡°By order of rear-admiral Ser De Hond,¡± he added with a concerned frown seeing Nattas not slowing down at all. Not that Storm was breaking any speed records right there. ¡°That is a token rank,¡± the Baron grunted finally coming to a stop six feet from the frowned marine officer. He could now see the rest of his insignia well enough. The two silver tridents engraved on the young man¡¯s left metal-reinforced shoulder pads showcasing he was a captain. Another oddity given the man is a half-breed¡­ Nattas stared beyond the Illirium Captain¡¯s right shoulder in the grim-faces of the marines. Not grim per se. Dark skinned. With an assortment of hair and beards. Black, red, blond and grey. Ah. There it is. You lads are a special kind of half-breed. Yeah. ¡°Just go back to your carriage mister¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯m Baron Storm Nattas,¡± Storm cut him off pursing his mouth and a few of the marines perked up at the mention of his name. Having served nonstop in a public office for two decades, Nattas¡¯ name was well-known in Regia. So the Baron continued in a more reasonable manner. ¡°I have a right to be here Captain¡­¡± ¡°De Hong sire,¡± the man introduced himself taking the opening. ¡°Gustav De Hong. I¡¯m stationed aboard the Divine Trident.¡± Ah, another war hero. Nattas considered himself one as well given he¡¯d travelled with the Legions briefly. With the supply train, but still it was quite the ordeal and a soul-cleansing experience. Everything else was soaked in mire. Abrakas foreskin floats in the whiskey jar. Well then. Us patriots, must stick together. ¡°The rear-admiral¡¯s son,¡± Nattas said. Well technically his father was an Issir Naval engineer and immigrant. That made Gustav half-Issir and half something else, which Storm guessed it must probably be a Sextus-Brakis relative and not a full-blooded Lorian. ¡°Why are marines posted here Captain De Hong?¡± ¡°We were ordered to be stationed in the empty City Guard barracks sire,¡± Gustav replied. ¡°And later guard the main street.¡± Nattas eyed the officer somberly. ¡°Who gave the order?¡± ¡°Lord Proclus via rear-admiral De Hong and it was signed by the Duke himself,¡± Gustav replied stiffly. Ah, an official order. Keep the capital safe and so forth, at a time when the local manpower is stretched thin due to recent events, Storm thought, weighing in his mind how spread out could the conspiracy realistically be. You don¡¯t inform everyone down the chain of command, else the leakage might turn into a blasted deluge of epic proportions. Valgus must have informed Lucius in the meantime. The King would be intrigued by the info but categorize it as gossip, until Duke Brakis had the chance to address the matter personally. Nattas had no proof other than circumstantial evidence and sound logic. So proof was needed and Lear hopefully had a lick of that. Storm wanted to be the first amongst those concerned enough to speak out and reap the benefits of not having to explain himself down the line. You don¡¯t interrogate the man who stepped forward with the truth. Even if that truth is a convoluted mess. ¡°Sir Vel Sextus-Brakis came with the Abrakas yes?¡± The Baron asked casually trying to figure out what the play was. ¡°I was elated to hear he¡¯s better now.¡± ¡°He¡¯s in charge of the operation,¡± Captain De Hong replied and grimaced as he¡¯d probably said too much. Nattas was an easy man to spill your guts to, either seduced by the Baron¡¯s charms and potent sycophancy or simply terrified by the abominable cripple¡¯s cruelty under torture. ¡°Can I speak with him?¡± ¡°Eh,¡± Gustav stood back unsure. ¡°The King isn¡¯t informed yet Baron. It is a serious matter given what has happened.¡± ¡°I can inform the king right now,¡± Storm offered, then lied as effortlessly as one roll¡¯s off a log. ¡°Even river toads are aware that I¡¯ve a direct line of communication to the palace.¡± Captain De Hong appeared to seriously consider his suggestion. Probably the whole clandestine ¡®operation¡¯ had him spooked. ¡°Let me to talk to Sir Vel,¡± Nattas insisted in the sensible manner of an elder statesman with small touches of friendliness in his voice. ¡°This is my turf Captain. I can navigate it with ease and without hiccups.¡±
¡°Stop here.¡± Nattas ordered Jove and opened the door before the carriage came to a stop a hundred meters from the gates¡¯ round tower and about twice that from the larger tower attached to the walls east corner. At least two hundred of Illirium¡¯s marines had formed up there facing the North Gates. Due to the late time and the winter season, the usually busy road was relatively empty, but even so small caravans or sole merchants came through the imposing arched gates and the barbican every twenty minutes. ¡°Chief, we better get out of here,¡± Jove warned as he secured the horses to a side post. ¡°Stay with the coach,¡± Storm ordered, desperately trying to locate Sudi amidst the lined up groups of marines and passing citizens but failing. ¡°Get that axe ready just in case this goes tits up.¡± Lord Proclus Sextus-Brakis famed firstborn, stood close to six feet tall and was still imposing to come up against even heavily bandaged or with an arm in a sling. Sir Vel, Illirium¡¯s most talented knight in decades, had carved out considerable fame in his youth following a difficult path before shining as a marine general and naval strategist during the civil war. Fierce in character and from the lesser part of the Brakis extended family, notably the dark-skinned Lorians of the misty Trident Peninsula with their mysterious origins, Vel had to fight hard to be permitted in the more prestigious games, often overlooked for knights with half his skill. By the time Vel fought in one of the major tourneys he was almost twenty years old but with about fifty duels under his belt in the provinces. He had fought eight intense rounds that year in Riverdor like a first-timer and reached the finals where he lost to the undefeated for three straight years Lucius in a very tense closely-fought epic duel. A disfigured marine standing next to Sir Vel tapped him once on the shoulder when he spotted the resolute Storm Nattas hobble towards them. Vel turned around to eye the approaching Baron, responding with a nod at another marine officer¡¯s remarks. The third marine of their group, a handsome pure-blooded Lorian with clever eyes and short blond hair. ¡°I bid warm salutations to the victor at the Gulf of Colle!¡± Nattas started with a small curtsy. Vel puckered his brows. ¡°The late Peter Brakis hatched the attack plan. He deserves most of the praise,¡± the thirty-year old knight noted tautly. ¡°Is that a kraken carved on your carriage¡¯s door?¡± ¡°Some also believe it¡¯s a one-eyed squid,¡± Nattas replied with a crook of his mouth. ¡°Fittingly as it¡¯s my house¡¯s sigil. I¡¯m Baron Nattas, Sir Vel.¡± ¡°Which of the two?¡± Vel queried with a hint of razz. ¡°The squid or the Kraken?¡± ¡°I¡¯d like a private word,¡± Nattas dodged changing the topic. ¡°Not easy to find privacy at this moment. It¡¯s an open space Baron.¡± Vel retorted and moved the fingers on his bandaged arm. ¡°This is sergeant Werges and the handsome fellow is Claus Dedum. I trust them with my life.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a braver man than me. I don¡¯t trust my shadow,¡± Nattas jested and swallowed nervously. ¡°Not a common name Dedum for a Lorian.¡± ¡°His great-great grandfather was Basten Dedum,¡± Vel explained. ¡°The Dedum are as old as Illirium.¡± ¡°A certain part of the Sextus-Brakis is much older in some obscure histories,¡± the Baron noted smartly and Vel narrowed his eyes at the abstruse praise. ¡°Where is the scholarly Baron going at this late hour?¡± He rustled ambiguously. ¡°The Baron doesn¡¯t have to answer that but I shall,¡± Nattas retorted. ¡°I came to see you Sir Vel.¡± ¡°Ugh,¡± Werges snorted and spat down. ¡°For what reason?¡± Vel probed sounding unimpressed. Storm glanced at the armed marines standing before the tower and then at the not so distant gates and the city guards conversing with the night-traveling traders and city visitors. They were lit torches on posts illuminating the space between the two towers, the barbican at the gates and the city¡¯s walls that created a massive fortified corner there. The latter ending near the vertical slopes of the Flower Heights. But for several merchant stands ¨Cnow empty, the rest of the buildings had some official capacity or other. The Customs office, warehouses, barracks and stables amongst them. You have got to take the risk mate, Storm told himself. Trust that the known knight won¡¯t blatantly murder you in close proximity of the guards and civilians. Push comes to shove, I can always make a run for it. And that¡¯s a fucking funny joke given what¡¯s at stake. ¡°Lear Hik must reach the palace,¡± Storm rustled and turned the pommel on his fancy cane slightly to unlock the hidden blade. Stab him in the fucking eye if he moves for that sword. He¡¯ll drop like a bucket of bricks. Sir Vel raised his thick blondish brows surprised. Werges whistled, this time impressed. ¡°Well, that¡¯s sort of awkward,¡± Lieutenant Claus Dedum stated with a grimace. ¡°I have a standing order implicating a Lear Hik in the plot to assassinate the King and his family.¡± Vel grunted eyeing the Baron with deep suspicion. ¡°It¡¯s a lie.¡± ¡°Prince Alistair was murdered not a month back!¡± Vel growled pursing his mouth. ¡°Irrelevant but convenient. Which of course makes the lie even bigger,¡± Nattas insisted. ¡°My father wrote that order Baron!¡± Vel snapped irate, his face turning a shade darker. ¡°You¡¯ll retract this vile accusation my lord, or pick a good blade to defend yourself.¡± I have a blade and I won¡¯t. A better one would offer me little advantage anyway. ¡°Lear Hik¡­¡± the Baron started and spotted out of the corner of his left eye a mounted newcomer that had just crossed the shaded corridor of the gates, unsheathe a longsword out of the fucking blue and flat-out behead a citizen that had attempted to bar his way. Bucket of sperm in the toothless harlot¡¯s mouth! Nattas blinked in shock, his mouth going dry. Then the newcomer went down abruptly, when his horse¡¯s right eye popped in an explosion of gore after being pierced by an arrow, forcing the animal to collapse on its front legs with a desperate neigh. All of Abrakas¡¯ thick tentacles up the virgin¡¯s shithole! ¡°Milord Vel?¡± A befuddled Werges queried with a hoarse grunt, upon witnessing half of the loitering near the gates of the barbican ¡®merchants¡¯ and late-night ¡®travelers¡¯, draw blades or weapons of any kind and move against the wildly kicking to get away from his dead horse murderous newcomer. Then Nattas noticed some familiar faces mixed up in the suddenly extensive bloody brawl that had erupted out of nowhere and everything became clear. Familiar, like the gnarling maniacally Sudi defending himself against the savage slashes of Tristan that had a dagger stuck in his back, the cocky bastard Rhys coming out of the tower¡¯s shadow behind everyone -which was mightily impressive- only to get tackled unceremoniously by a¡­ wench of sorts and finally what looked like a small scarf-wearing chuckling girl ¨Ca what? - rolling under a stunned ruffian¡¯s open legs, only to stop right behind him and shoot a small crossbow bolt at the back end of his unprotected scrotum. For pity¡¯s sake. Nasty thing came out of his navel! Shite. 504. The Outmost Arbiter (1/2) (Hear this, afore the chief comes back! Hey, no cackling prithee¡­ we good?) So he reached amid the tiny harlot¡¯s parted legs, Now that was a stunt! Grabbed a fistful of bloomin¡¯ cock ¡®n balls instead o¡¯ a ripe fuckin¡¯ cunt! Then n¡¯ there she¡­ oops he, offered a randy slightly kinked, peach-colored smile, Why darling, the sweet lad said, learn to be more versatile! A wench¡¯s pink fa?ade do the garments make As to the heaven¡¯s all sisters bellow alleluia! Now ye darn fool, don¡¯t you stop to gawk! Just drop the foul thing alike a rock! (Aye, a rock¡­ Oh, Ebe¡¯s in shock, O¡¯ goddess¡¯ feathers¡­ come ¡®n make a lock.) And from this abode of godless decadence Ever far and ever away¡­ shall you walk! - Far & Away (Ode to the tiny harlot) Sir Dominique Valwarin, The Carmine Bard. Born 45 NC in Jelin, the Crabs (Duchy of Tollor) ¨C Died 109 NC in Eplas, Altarinport (Duchy of Raoz)
*here the live version -
Lear ¡®Razor¡¯ Hik ¡®Captain¡¯ ¡®Butcher of Drek River¡¯ ¡®Man from Atetalerso¡¯ The outmost arbiter Part I -Faster than any bird-
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3rd Legion (Abbreviated | III LEGIO, Bloody Third, Old Sister, Lucius Legion, ¡®Scarlet Legion¡¯, Double L. Also LL, III-LG) Panthera Tigris | Reddish bronze and gold standard representing the head of a snarling Blacktiger, very similar to Regia¡¯s gold non-snarling banner, the royal Aldenus family crest and the First Legion¡¯s emblem used in banners and armour. After 193 the banners and armours changed to use the more easy to mass-produce IIILG logo, leaving only the officers and the First Cohort still using the more difficult to maintain tiger embroidery and engravings (mainly on the shoulder guards). It remained present on the crimson shields though throughout the campaign and is being used also on liturgical symbols today. Organizational chart* After the end of Lucius southern campaigns that dealt with Regia¡¯s Civil War. Third¡¯s last increase in roster strength and later the unit¡¯s standard disposition (Overall strength ~4018?* -Legio general staff not included, supply train personnel not included) -2800 legionnaires, ~1298? other units (350? mixed cavalry, ~300 heavy Slingers, 290? Scouts and Rangers, 300 Engineers, 58 medics) Legatus Augustus* omnis Legionis | Lucius ¡®Bloody Tiger¡¯ Aldenus ¨Calso Praetor Maximus after 191 NC, King Lucius after 193. *To differ from the Governor ¡®Legatus Proparetore¡¯ rank Macrinus of Greater Kas had started using. Lucius didn¡¯t personally lead the Legion after late 194 with Consul Veturius taking that role and Tribune Trupo acting as the day-to-day commander, until the unit was split up to serve in various missions. Aide de Legatus Legionis | Late Marc Gripa¡¯s position remained vacant for a while. Acting as Aide de Legatus Legionis in the field, was Director Ramirus. Consul, also (Legatus Honoraris) | Galio ¡®Old Oak¡¯ Veturius. Never officially received his ranks during the campaign but it is assumed the promotion ¨Cto Legatus initially- came from an anecdotal King Lucius¡¯ direct quote in public. He was paid as a Tribune for years and later a full Legatus salary, which is as accurate as the official roster & ranks list. Again promoted unofficially for a while to his final rank of ¡®Consul¡¯ of the Quadrumvirate/Tetrarchy or its respected Mediator. Acting Governor of Storm¡¯s Rest. The Consul¡¯s original armour was so heavy with all the decorations he had received from Lucius, Galio had it secured on a stand in his office as a prop. The Legion¡¯s quartermaster officially proposed in a letter ¨Cstill disputed whether it was a jest or not- that a soldier should be tasked with following the Consul and carrying around the heavily laden armour in a permanent posting, but Galio turned down the suggestion as ¡®ludicrous¡¯ and fined his good friend Ramsey Kolt a week¡¯s pay for ¡®poor judgement¡¯ and an additional three weeks for cluttering the army¡¯s ¡®official channels with nitwitted gags and buffoonery.¡¯ Thus the Consul had rounded up the fine to help the unamused quartermaster ¨CRamsey Colt- easily calculate the total sum Ramsey had to charge to his own person. Galio Veturius remained the most respected high-ranking officer in the III Legio and the soul of the army until the end of his life. He served a full term of twenty-five years in the First Legion initially and retired with honors plus a Centurion¡¯s pension. Notably had volunteered as a lowly-guard in the city of Alden, from where Lucius picked him up before leaving for the North. He officially came out of retirement to start a new full term with the Third Legion from which he famously never retired, as he refused to read his discharge papers at the end of his second term. Reached the rank of centurion twice in the Legions and was named first a Tribune -without being a noble. (He was from a prominent family though. A privilege he¡¯d lost due to his ancestor¡¯s actions and he regained it through his service later in life), later a Legatus and finally Regia¡¯s first Consul in two centuries. Quadrumvirate¡¯s Mediator. Without a doubt the closest high-ranking officer to Lucius (with the addition of Marcus-Antonius later) and an immovable part of his inner circle. Tribune | Varus ¡®The Book¡¯ Trupo (Lesia. Baron Trupo¡¯s of Flauegran, disinherited second son. One of the three powerful Wine Barons.) Also Scribe de legionis and its military historian. A member of Lucius inner circle. Later a Quadrumvir alongside Sula, Macrinus and Merenda. 2nd Prefect | Julius Draco (Whitetiger, Regia. Son of Baron Vibius, the Duke¡¯s Shield. A strict training officer that excelled in the 2nd part of the 18 months campaign.) 3rd Prefect (of engineers) | Potis Durio (Lastport, Lesia. the fourth Durio of distant Lastport to reach the rank of Prefect in a Legion and the second to do it whilst serving with the Legion¡¯s Engineers after his great-grand uncle Tito Durio. Decorated officer. The road connecting Anorum with Cartagen bears his name. Served in the Legions (First & Third) from 186 until 210. After his retirement in 210 aged forty-five he moved to Armium and served as a minister of Public Works for the throne of Lesia.) Optio (of Cavalry) Jago Davy. (A Nord from Maza Burg. Gold Phalera recipient.) Centurion (of Medics) | Dottore Silvio Marianus (Decorated for bravery in the field. Later Regia¡¯s Royal Dottore.) LID officer | Director Vibius ¡®Vulture¡¯ Ramirus, (Legion Intelligence Department). A Centurion equivalent rank in the registry. A member of Lucius inner circle. Ramirus stopped traveling with the Legion after establishing offices for the agency in most cities. Aide de LID officer | Severus Sirio Veturius. Former LID agent. Royal Scribe. (Accepted a government position in the Capital to be near his wife). Very old family of historians and officers. The III Legio Tribune¡¯s nephew. Infamous Lord Nattas¡¯ son in law through marriage. A later prominent historian who wrote extensively about the turbulent period mainly from Regia¡¯s and the Praetor¡¯s perspective. It soured his relationship with many prominent lords. A known Luciophile, his writings are not widely accepted as accurate especially beyond the Shallow Sea (mostly in the Khanate) and parts of Jelin, but he¡¯s considered a superb source for the period from most academics regardless of that. Curiously Sirio is rumored to be Queen Lussiel¡¯s (an alleged towering academic herself) favorite historian for his acerbic prose despite being critical of Wetull¡¯s policies in his writings. Quartermaster | Ramsey Kolt, also Keeper of the Purse. Served in Lucius¡¯ administration after his retirement as a Master of Coin. Panthera Tigris Signifer | Brim ¡®Stout¡¯ Solomon (Lesia). Emblematic military standard officer. ¡®Wherever the Third has traveled¡¯ was the well-used quote ¡®Stout Brim has as well.¡¯ 1st Cohort -Gold Standard, a square red banner shaped like a spear with an oak tree in gold depicted on it, for its first commander Galio Veturius. Monikers- Red, ¡®Old¡¯, Gold Oak¡¯s, ¡®Gata¡¯ Strength 850 1st ¡®Agricola¡¯ Century Centurion, Primus Pilus| ¡®Sturdy¡¯ or ¡®Baldie¡¯ Brevis. A decorated, risen through the ranks officer. Gold Armillae (arm-band) with oak leaves and swords recipient for saving a unit from destruction twice. Mentioned in the dailies. -400 legionnaires (in four 100-strong Maniples) 1st Decanus| Surus (first ¡®Kato¡¯ Maniple) 2nd Decanus| Santiago ¡®Jacob¡¯ Scaro. A Cartagen academy educated recruit. The late Roderick Scaro¡¯s kin. A loyal and landed Lorian family. Roderick had been King Alistair¡¯s squire for decades, the late King¡¯s aide and Lucius¡¯ weapons teacher. (Second Maniple) 3rd Decanus | Gurus (Third Maniple.) 2nd Century Centurion| Venius ¡®Caligula¡¯ Gata. The late Primus Pilus¡¯ Gata first cousin. -150 legionnaires (in three 50-strong Maniples) 3rd Century Centurion| Artur Mangas (Nord. A decorated officer) 4rth Century Centurion| Surus (Gold Phalera recipient. Maimed at Oldfort. Promoted to Centurion to take over for the KIA Servius Capito.) 2nd Cohort -Gold Standard (Monikers Blue, ¡®Sula¡¯) Strength 650 1st Century (previously 2nd of the First Cohort -moniker Mark-Antony¡¯s lads-) Centurion| Mede, Nord. Famous one-eyed legionnaire risen through the ranks. A gold Phalera recipient thrice. Cited for misconducts multiple times. Mentioned in the Legion¡¯s Report multiple times. Late Centurion Kato¡¯s friend. Decanus Tertius (transferred with Mede from the 1st Cohort) Decanus Titus Afer (2nd Maniple) Decanus Lar Polus (3rd Maniple) 2nd Century Centurion| Josi Vala ¨C 150 legionnaires (in three 50-strong Maniples) 3rd Century Centurion| Ardi Damian 4rth Century Centurion| Spurius Dio 3rd Cohort (Moniker Purple, ¡®Lucky¡¯) Strength 650 1st Century Centurion| Placus Lepidus (Highly decorated officer and trainer. Thrice recipient of the Golden Phalera. One of the Third¡¯s most respected and skilled officers. A masterful attacker. Had been with the 3rd Cohort since its inception. He¡¯d formed for years a very-successful duo with late Centurion Falx leading the 3rd Cohort, until the latter was killed fighting Regulus at Ligur¡¯s east flank in the battle of Mercator¡¯s Inn.) -200 legionnaires (in four 50-strong Maniples) 2nd Century Centurion| Donlon (Decorated, risen through the ranks, officer. Promoted and transferred from the 1st Cohort.) 3rd Century Centurion| Julius Sepofa 4rth Century Centurion| Jorgen Osmond 4rth Cohort (Monikers Kas, ¡®the young¡¯, Macrinus Lads) Strength 650 1st Century Centurion| Sextus Silvius - 200 legionnaires (in four 50-strong Maniples) 2nd Century Centurion| Keegan Dixon (Kas) - 150 legionnaires (in three 50-strong Maniples) 3rd Century Centurion| Jason Gordon (Kas) 4rth Century Centurion| Kaleb White (Kas) Legio Scouts Centurion| ¡®No arms¡¯ Slag. (A highly decorated officer and trainer.) Decanus | Phil Owens. (A Nord.) Not with the unit always but acting as trainers. Centurion Kiri Dosser Decanus Placus Decanus Goff Legio Cavalry Also ¡®Long sabers¡¯ a wordplay for their famed commander and the ¡®four-legged legionnaires.¡¯ Optio | Jago Davy. Decorated Nord officer. Served under the legendary Tribune (posthumous rank) Kent ¡®Thin Knees¡¯ Long and was one of the few survivors of the latter¡¯s unit. Decurion | Marc O¡¯Halloran. Sir Flavius Nasica (Croton, on loan from Bernard Holt and Duke Holt after spring of 193. Not with the Third after 195 NC as he stayed in the Capital near Queen Monica.) Legio Slingers Centurion| Mamercus ¡®Unhurried¡¯ Sorex (A decorated officer. Part of the Praetor¡¯s inner circle and friend for years.) Decanus | Bill Wallace (Nord) Legio Engineers Prefect (of engineers) | Potis Durio Centurion (of engineers) | Toni Drano (Lesia, recently promoted. Cited for misconduct.) Legio Medics Centurion (of medics) | Dottore Silvio Marianus 2nd Dottore | Riminus Detailed: Legion Scouts & Rangers¡¯ (Also ¡®the barbarians¡¯, Kaeso¡¯s gang) Overall strength ~290+ warriors and rangers ~200 from Lady Faye Alden¡¯s warband (40-60 joined after Oras Navel under Ned O¡¯ Farrell) -various mixed units of fighters, Mainly heavy axemen, but also swordsmen- under the overall command of famed Logan ¡®Gray¡¯ Barret and the half-giant ¡®Hulking¡¯ Layton. (Mentioned eight times in the dailies, the Legion¡¯s detailed reports when in campaign. Cited ¡®verbally¡¯ for several misconducts multiple times after that, mainly excessive hunting of the King¡¯s deer, public drunkenness, quarrels and ¡®mild¡¯ looting of the capital¡¯s markets, which the throne usually stepped in to reimburse with a royal decree. Some killings were exempt and were dealt with internally.) When the majority of the unruly unit (warband) was called upon to receive their medals for their major contributions in Lucius¡¯ campaigns and loyalty, most of them asked for more gold instead, with Logan refusing outright but settling for a load of ¡®good blades¡¯ and the gullible Layton asking for a herd of milk cows since ¡®metal hurt his teeth¡¯, which the army quartermaster readily provided, much to the amusement of the prominent Lorians attending the event. Featured several ¡®named¡¯ Northmen warriors like ¡®uncouth¡¯ Torcal MacCee, Adam ¡®Jaws¡¯ Hough, Ned O¡¯ Farrell and briefly the brothers O¡¯ Dolan, Cole and Aiden from the distant Rifjordal. The latter were both killed at Oldfort within a day. It must be noted here that the unit was oath-sworn to Red Faye and kept receiving skilled new fighters every season from Fetya, mainly the distant Blonden province, more specifically the remote Iron Mountain¡¯s Numre Burg (meaning Numbers in old Nordic) from where her warband hailed from. Moved to the Capital and famously set up a camp inside the Palace¡¯s extensive gardens. Their red banner resembled a square Legion standard and had the old Lorian numeral ¡®L¡¯ on it under a gold diadem, for number fifty and in honor of the Northern Queen. Around 100 Rangers (Some Nords, but mostly Anorum, Cartagen recruits. The unit was still rebuilding at the Battle of the Lorian Plains. The unit was destroyed completely and then rebuilt from scratch after the end of the campaign.) Under Centurion | ¡®No arms¡¯ Slag. (A Nord. Had joined as a teenager. Recipient of the Corona Vallaris and two gold Phalerae for extreme bravery. Honorably received his full retirement sum and yearly pension early, plus land in Storm¡¯s Rest, but opted to remain with the Third Legion. One of four rangers to survive the battle. Famously trampled under a warhorse¡¯s hooves twice during the engagement as he stood up after the first pass. Crippled in both arms ¨Clost the left and had screws bolted in to his right- after the penultimate engagement at the Lorian Plains, but stayed after he recovered as trainer and strategist.) Decurion | Phil Owens (acting commander) Other officers and trainers included the other three survivors, namely Centurion (retired) Kiri Dosser and officers ¡®Ugly¡¯ Placus and ¡®Blind¡¯ Goff, serving as trainers after they recovered from their injuries. Dosser and his group were released from the Legion after receiving full pension. The trio worked as bounty hunters on Jelin after that traveling the whole continent. Legion Cavalry Strength 250 (-350?) mixed riders. The unit returned to Storm¡¯s Rest after a brief stay in the capital and then used in the cleaning up operations from Oras Navel to Anorum. (Nords mainly but also 150 recruits from Anorum after 194 NC and from then on.) Included thirty men & women of Praetor Maximus¡¯ entourage usually though those they stayed in the capital with Lucius. (The attached around a 100 men-at-arms under Sir Flavius Nasica of Croton were transferred to the Palace¡¯s guards since the winter of 195 NC. Sir Nasica had kept receiving reinforcements from Asturia for years, mainly skilled riders wanting to follow the action initially and later serve in a prestigious ¨Cand lucrative- posting near the Asturia Queen to support their families.) Queen Faye Alden (Nord) ¨Cnot active after Krakenfort and she spent most of her time in the rear or with her warband after 192 NC. She was pregnant to Ralph Alden the third, during the final battles of the campaign. She remained in Cartagen after that-This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Optio | Jago Davy (Nord) Legion Slingers (Attached short range unit ¨C Semi-autonomous, usually deployed by the Legatus. Only unit employing women and men under sixteen) (Strength fluctuating during the campaign due to casualties, usually ~300 men and women.) Centurion | Mamercus Sorex Decanus Jeb Lynch (Maza Burg) Legion Engineers (Leather aprons, ¡®Bestia¡¯) Stationed in Storm¡¯s Rest since the winter of 195 NC 200 Legio Engineers (about thirty percent of them from Lesia) + 100 apprentices (engineers, blacksmiths and carpenters included) Legio Medics 10 Dottore and surgeons ~50 nurses Around two thousand five hundred civilians (some soldier families), merchants and technicians (Civilian blacksmiths, carpenters, laborers, Armorers, hunters, trappers, whores, musicians etc.) following in the supply train. At least three hundred and fifty (350) various-sized carriages and wagons carrying mostly foodstuff, cots, leather tents, precut wood, tools and weapons ¨C at least thirty two (32) pre-built war machines, including twenty-four Scorpios, seven Catapults of mixed munition, a long range Trebuchet and an unspecified variety of siege engines - among other things. ** The 1st Century of the 2nd Cohort under Mede stayed in Cartagen and in the Palace¡¯s grounds with Lucius. Redeployed in Novesium in the first month of 195 NC to assist with the typhus epidemic as part of Dottore Epolonius¡¯s relief effort. The famed medical scholar and King Alistair¡¯s personal Dottore was to lose his own life trying to save as many people as he could. Epolonius did a remarkable job in stopping the disease from spreading. He also kept the official casualties to a stunningly low number, even if the latter feat along other parts of the incident, are heavily disputed today by the victims¡¯ families. Hundreds of Lorians lost relatives living in Novesium or visiting the city, with no explanation on what really happened to them. *** The Third Legion was stationed in Storm¡¯s Rest during 195 NC to help in the various constructions there under Prefect Potis Durio. Most of its leadership (Consul Veturius, Tribune Trupo, Director Ramirus etc. stayed with Lucius as his advisors.) **** Various units were used to keep control of Oras Navel or escort caravans. Also to control the wilderness towards Anorum or around the rapidly growing Storm¡¯s Rest, especially after Novesium¡¯s refugees were redirected there from the capital during the ¡®Spring of Malady¡¯.
- Clouded night ahead of us, Lear thought, silently observing the camp fire¡¯s dying embers, the mounted legionnaires that escorted them had constructed earlier. The 2nd Maniple of Third Legion¡¯s, powerful 1st Cohort¡¯s, 1st Century under young Decanus Santiago Scaro. A hundred men strong unit. The men had created four more campfires for themselves right before the Flower Bridge and the road to the northern gates of the Capital. They had also cut down nearby trees and leveled the terrain for their horses with complete disregard for the passing patrol¡¯s complaints. The Cartagen guards patrolling the road between the bridges had left to continue their rounds casting sour looks at the legionnaires. An internally circulated letter from Storm¡¯s Rest and Comenius Paetus, the LID agent stationed there, had alerted all nearby military units to provide assistance for Lear¡¯s group ¡®whether they wish for it or not. All amenities needed for the successful completion of this vital task are at an officer¡¯s disposal, the moment the latter undertakes it by order of Director Vibius Ramirus.¡¯ When you get stopped by a hundred armed soldiers vowing to come along with you or else, Rhys had declared in his forceful manner. You shut yer mouth and do as you¡¯re told! Edge had thought it nice to ¡®have better company for a change,¡¯ Mark was pretty drugged-out most of the time to offer anything of worth and ¡®Tracer¡¯ Jack was just happy ¡®people came to appreciate the value of our lives.¡¯ It was doubtful any of the soldiers had any orders regarding Jack or his safety¨Cdespite his value- but there it was just the same. The trio of assassins that had helped them, not a solid group or even from the same guild apparently, despite their amicable company ¨Cfor the most part- were fine with it. Rhys was older, around forty years old. Selussa was half his age and the Gish¡¯s face, a male of sorts dressed in women¡¯s garbs, looked pretty ancient at times or when the paint wore off. Didn¡¯t move like an older person all the time, which made Lear believe the whole thing a charade. There was a dynamic in their group with Rhys being the vocal leader but Selussa having most of her suggestions accepted in the end and the little Gish playing off of the two of them to get his or hers. Silent Servants and the Circle¡¯s assassins with a touch of the League of Forsaken Slayers. According to the Gish. Rhys refused to accept another party of killers was involved and Lear couldn¡¯t really agree or disagree with him, as they had faced plenty of killers already. Of all kinds. One more group was both one too many and also not much of a surprise at the same time. ¡°Sergeant Bulla,¡± Decanus Scaro said sitting next to the thoughtful Lear, ¡°that¡¯s Leroy over there, spoke with Varus Gryllus. We can enter the city without problems tonight. Minimum travelers, cold night and empty streets. We¡¯ll ride the whole way. We can reach the palace in a couple of hours.¡± ¡°Uhm.¡± Lear grunted and pursed his mouth. He could see the young officer shifting his weight from one foot to the other. Scaro¡¯s uniform and armour looked pristine and polished. With the carved tiger heads at the shoulder pads and the nicely engraved laminar armour gleaming in the light of the flames. ¡°What did Leroy Bulla say to the Guard¡¯s officer?¡± ¡°Nothing. He asked for our mission details but it¡¯s an army matter mister Hik.¡± ¡°Did he look nervous?¡± Lear probed and stood up with a grimace of pain. He rubbed at his right knee some, to alleviate some of the discomfort. ¡°Not really.¡± Scaro blinked unsure. ¡°You expect trouble Mister Hik?¡± Lear stared at the lithe, comely Cofol female, serving tea to her friends and pursed his mouth. The mind goes where it wants to go. When you¡¯re on the clock and on edge, not all instincts are noble or pure in nature. A problem for younger heads this though. Lear had been there and done that, wasn¡¯t that much keen on bothering with it again. Skilled women were trouble, be it in bed or trade. Eleonora was like that, Manuela obviously. Selussa seemed nicer in comparison until you remembered what she was and who her friends were. The Gish chuckled throatily and gazed forlornly towards the sleepy by the fire Mark, the latter sitting next to the whistling Roland Edge across from Lear. ¡°Trouble is out there. Always,¡± Lear rustled raspingly. ¡°You¡¯ll either surprise it first, or it shall. Better to make the first move in a scrap lad.¡± Decanus Scaro nodded. He¡¯d short cut hair, blondish in color and light-green eyes. A Lorian face and jaw over a stocky, muscled frame. ¡°A quote from Tacitus?¡± He chanced with the air of an academic and Lear gathered spit in his mouth afore answering. ¡°Nay. Lear Icarus.¡± The bounty hunter rustled and spat a fat blob of phlegm on the sizzling embers. Lots of foul fluids had accumulated in the lungs after months on the road. ¡°Just calm down Captain,¡± Edge counseled from his spot. ¡°It¡¯s the final stretch.¡± Edge instantly grimaced in horror not liking how he¡¯d just jinxed himself for no reason and cursed loud in annoyance. ¡°God damn it kid!¡± ¡°What?¡± The startled Mark gasped waking up from his stupor. ¡°Are we there yet Mister Roland?¡± ¡°Difficult to do that when we¡¯re not moving,¡± Edge retorted sourly and glared at the paused Lear. ¡°You think they¡¯ll try something inside the city?¡± ¡°I would.¡± Lear murmured. ¡°Plus I don¡¯t like announcing my arrival.¡± ¡°Sometimes it is better if the authorities are notified.¡± Edge argued. ¡°Yeah. Lots of authorities though in the capital. People might get confused on who to listen to,¡± Lear retorted and walked near the separate smaller fire of the Servants and Co. ¡°Feeling better?¡± Flix, the murderous Gish, asked coyly. ¡°Eh,¡± Lear grunted and found a rock to sit on. Selussa got up and prepared a bronze cup of tea for him. She brought it near the scowling Lear carefully. ¡°I¡¯m full.¡± Lear rustled scowling some more. The last thing he wanted was having to fight with Rhys for his woman. ¡°You got all tensed up there! Better watch out!¡± Rhys snapped and then grinned a golden smile. Selussa rolled her eyes at the attempt at humor ¨Cand veiled threat- but the assassin grinned some more on purpose. The incisors much larger and belonging to a predator making his ridiculous look turn sinister. ¡°She won¡¯t bite, hah-hah. Much,¡± the Servant added and slurped at his tea eagerly. ¡°It is strong black tea with crushed mint leaves,¡± Selussa explained. ¡°Good for the lungs. Cleansing.¡± Lear eyed the concoction and then took the cup from her hands. He sipped some with a grimace at the bitter, stiff taste. ¡°No sugar around,¡± Selussa purred teasingly and walked away like well-scratched cat, in order to return to her spot right next to the smoking Gish. The pipe¡¯s smoke aromatic but also making Lear¡¯s head dizzy. ¡°Can¡¯t you cut back on the drugs?¡± He grunted at the Gish. ¡°It¡¯s for medicinal reasons,¡± Flix explained coquettishly. ¡°And to keep me company.¡± The latter ambiguous statement directed to the watching their discussion Mark. ¡°Ah, gods damn it!¡± Rhys barked. ¡°Cut it out!¡± ¡°No,¡± Flix retorted stubbornly and snapping his arm emptied the contents of his pipe towards the glaring assassin. Rhys started coughing and cursing, while the Gish sauntered near Edge and Mark. ¡°Motherfucker¡­ ugh. Fuck,¡± Rhys groaned opening and closing his tearing eyes. ¡°Got burning ashes in them blasted eyeballs!¡± ¡°I understand you intervened on my behalf,¡± Lear rustled looking at the smiling Selussa. ¡°A Servant serves Oras¡¯ wishes first and foremost.¡± Selussa replied and then gazed at him with those exotic eyes. ¡°Balancing the scales or minding not to disturb them too much, is the most important factor with verity its outmost arbiter.¡± Lear was of the same philosophy. ¡°Truth can be cleansing, but how does a killer¡¯s soul find a way to wash the sins away?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t,¡± Selussa replied. ¡°Only you can do that. A killer¡­ a soldier¡­ a hunter¡­ they know what they did and why. Nothing can help change our actions in the future. No excuse or need. Which is why a Servant needs to be certain on the reasons.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe there¡¯s a code assassins follow.¡± ¡°Not all do,¡± Selussa replied. ¡°Not all are the same¡­ or perhaps I¡¯m in the wrong profession.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve chosen your path. Eleonora did the same and she could have walked away perhaps but she didn¡¯t. Aye.¡± ¡°I was born into it with blade and blood,¡± Selussa replied nervously and tied her fingers on her slightly raised knee. ¡°I can never walk away. Like my sister.¡± She swallowed at that and turned silent. Lear glanced at the watching with bloodshot eyes Rhys. ¡°Aren¡¯t you the leader?¡± The bounty hunter asked. ¡°It¡¯s a bit more complicated than that,¡± Rhys grunted all tensed up. ¡°You¡¯re a couple. No point denying it, I never sleep.¡± Lear argued. ¡°Heard you plenty of times. Anyways, you don¡¯t have to work the same job or at all.¡± ¡°That¡¯s also complicated. The couple thing,¡± Rhys retorted with a grimace and the starts of a shiver. ¡°But I¡¯m working to secure our future. Need to take care of a couple of things first. Sparing you, set me back a bit. A lot frankly. Eh, I¡¯m still on the fence about it.¡± ¡°I appreciate yer candor.¡± Lear said wryly. Selussa laughed bitterly to his words. ¡°Rhys is still adjusting to the role,¡± she said. ¡°But none of us really rule the guild Lear.¡± It was nice hearing his name on her lips. Lear grimaced. A man gets tired on the road, desires to unwind and starts searching about for anything pleasing to the palate. An illusion, as in the end all things taste alike. Hint of steel, blood and earth. ¡°Ralnor mustn¡¯t know,¡± Lear repeated the words he¡¯d overheard her speak in a terrified whisper the other night. ¡°A strict father I reckoned initially, but now it seems much more is at stake here.¡± ¡°Smashed the nail on the head there!¡± A tensed Rhys grunted. Selussa stared at Rhys intently and the assassin grimaced before looking away. ¡°Where¡¯s the sister?¡± Lear asked to change the subject. ¡°A bad man took her.¡± Selussa replied with a frown. ¡°What happened to him?¡± Lear probed not minding her discomfort as he wanted to know where everyone stood afore trouble came a knocking at their door. ¡°Father took care of it,¡± Selussa replied and Lear caught a strange expression on Rhys¡¯ face. Was it guilt? Maybe fear? A bit of both with a touch of shame. What the assassin knew perhaps different from whatever his lover believed. A thorny conundrum, when truth can bring sorrow to someone you care about. But without truth, there can be no real cleansing. ¡°I¡¯ll head inside the city first. The rest of you will follow after me and put this Gryllus¡¯ promises to the test,¡± Lear told them and stood up, the cup of tea still in his hand. ¡°If anything happens, you¡¯ll make sure everyone reaches the palace and the king hears Jack¡¯s words. Reads the papers and sees the bag.¡± ¡°What in the¡­¡± Rhys paused his words and grimaced. He patted a side pocket on his leather jacket first and then digging inside pulled a small pack of scrolls out. ¡°The fuck¡­?¡± Rhys snatched a piece of paper out of the stack and read it furrowing his brows. A silent Lear watched the assassin carefully but heard a slurping sound coming from somewhere near him and recoiled. He glanced about and then lowered his eyes to spot the Gish standing next to his left leg. Flix sipped at a large cup of tea audibly. The Gish pointed a small hand at the puffing out Rhys. ¡°Trouble,¡± he said with a chuckle. ¡°Oops.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Selussa asked and got up herself. Rhys rubbed his face hard with a gloved hand and then smacked his lips, the gold teeth clacking. ¡°Maja opened a god¡¯s darn contract,¡± Rhys finally told Selussa. ¡°Against Baron Nattas!¡± ¡°For what reason?¡± Selussa asked calmly. ¡°Seriously? That¡¯s bullshit!¡± Rhys snapped. ¡°They treat the guild like their office! Next she¡¯ll want to off her husband to grab the whole estate!¡± ¡°Rhys calm down,¡± Selussa advised him serenely. ¡°What does she give as reason?¡± ¡°Some nonsense. These people¡­ I swear to Oras, they should get a knife in the lung just to learn their lesson!¡± ¡°Why ask for a killer to come at Nattas?¡± Flix asked wiping his nostrils with the back of his hand. ¡°When a killer lives under the Baron¡¯s roof? Hmm?¡± Lear glanced at the Gish with a frown and Flix winked at him in a silly manner. ¡°He broke the contract,¡± Rhys replied to Selussa¡¯s silent query. ¡°That¡¯s it, you can¡¯t exactly write an essay. Oras is a god of few words. The rest is on his Servants to find out.¡± ¡°If the Baron broke the contract, then what¡¯s the problem? It has nothing to do with her at all,¡± Selussa asked a little confused. ¡°That¡¯s what you were going to propose anyway.¡± ¡°Mayhap alternative problem¡­¡± Flix said and walked to his things to get a scarf out. He removed his pink wig revealing washed out short hair underneath. Thinning hair. Then wore the red scarf on his head covering everything to the ears and dropped the edges over his shoulders. Flix stopped realizing everyone was looking at him and blushed fiercely. Then as if remembering he¡¯d paused midsentence, the weird Gish added sheepishly. ¡°Appeared? Um?¡± ¡°You¡¯re not making a lick of sense Gish!¡± Rhys snapped furious at the lackluster reply. ¡°Oras words sense might not make,¡± Flix replied a little hurt at his outburst. ¡°But faster than any birds they are.¡± Hmm. Lear thought pursing his lips and watched Rhys¡¯ face undergoing several stages of transformation. From bewilderment, then intrigued and finally, eyes ogling and mouth gapping wide to show the molars, realization. ¡°Get the fuck outta here!¡± Rhys growled very impressed at the ingenious use of Oras sacred gift and then crumbled the paper in a small ball to toss it in his mouth. He started chewing on the crunchy small papyrus with a grimace of disgust but immediately noticed the looks of shock the other two assassins¡¯ directed his way and elucidated with an angry grunt. ¡°We need to destroy the blasted evidence! How are you guys doing it?¡± A numb Selussa pointed an index finger at the dying fire while Flix started cackling hysterically with the pained expression on Rhys¡¯ face. ¡°The plan stays the same,¡± Lear intervened raspingly. ¡°Rhys, Jack and the bag are the important things to preserve. Don¡¯t forget that.¡± ¡°Ayup, that¡¯s a strong nay Captain,¡± the approaching Edge snapped. ¡°Push comes to shove, I¡¯m using Jack as a meat shield.¡± ¡°What? Take a bloody hike Edge!¡± An astounded Jack griped, Flix¡¯s uncontrollable cackle turned into a violent cough and Lear thought for a moment the Gish was about to kick the bucket before their eyes. - Early morning 17th of Secundus Road coming from the Flower Bridge and Mabindon River Cartagen¡¯s North Gates ¡°Why did the Baron get involved?¡± Lear asked Rhys just as the lit up gates of the capital came to full view. ¡°He got spooked you¡¯ll accuse him of murdering Jeremy or Alistair I suppose,¡± Rhys replied checking his scimitar¡¯s edge with a finger. They rode side by side with the others following and Scaro¡¯s 2nd Maniple completely blocking the road about twenty meters behind them. ¡°So this Maja is?¡± ¡°Maja Nattas. His daughter, legally that is. I¡¯m not fully appraised on the matter or how she pulled that off. I guess the Baron fucked around a lot?¡± Rhys said and got his satchel out to inspect its contents. ¡°Married to the Consul¡¯s nephew. Well, I didn¡¯t see that coming also, hah!¡± Lear glanced at the assassin unsure. ¡°How do you know her? Could she really turn against him?¡± ¡°Hey. You got nervous is that it?¡± Rhys asked him aggressively. ¡°What¡¯s with the hundred queries?¡± He crooked his mouth and added. ¡°The Gish thinks it¡¯s a warning.¡± Lear nodded not minding Rhys¡¯ tone. The bounty hunter had gotten used to Rhys¡¯ character after weeks on the road. The half-breed with the gold teeth was always abrupt in his manners even when asking for a cup tea. Most of the times. Not always. Yeah. When he wanted to dodge something that made him uncomfortable. ¡°Who¡¯s Ralnor?¡± ¡°Got damn it Hik!¡± Rhys snapped and glared at him. ¡°Cut this shit out. What are we, cunts? Enough with the gossip!¡± ¡°You look rather spooked Rhys,¡± Lear noticed wryly. ¡°That¡¯s the second time in a row.¡± ¡°I ain¡¯t spooked¡­ fuck it. Alright¡­ you would be as well, if you knew what I know. I¡¯ve witnessed some pretty creepy shite in this realm Hik.¡± Rhys grimaced and then sucked at his front teeth. ¡°Why enter first?¡± ¡°They might abort if they see us amidst the legionnaires,¡± Lear replied evenly. ¡°I don¡¯t want them backing off. I want them to come out of their holes, make my case easier to prove. Easier to find.¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing to find you stubborn fuck. The job ends here. The King will deal with the rest.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± ¡°You do realize that they can save their case and arse by killing you right?¡± Lear shook his head. ¡°My case lays with Jack and the bag. Scaro will make sure they reach the palace safe. But I rather settle this the right away.¡± Rhys narrowed his eyes. ¡°The right¡­ Good grief. You¡¯re a sick motherfucker Hik. Do you enjoy this?¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t go that far,¡± Lear replied vaguely seeing the guards at the half-empty gates standing before the massive barbican¡¯s gates tunnel. ¡°But it ain¡¯t as far as my enemies think.¡± He added and unsheathed his sword but kept the blade near the body of the horse as he rode towards them.
¡°Look at those armed to the teeth beauties. Who might you be?¡± The guard¡¯s officer asked eyeing the two well-armed men when they paused in the middle of the torch-lit passageway. The door leading inside the barbican guarded by a soldier resting on a spear. ¡°I expected sergeant Bulla.¡± The officer added walking towards them, holding a cloth in his hands. He used it to clean them thoroughly. Apparently they had interrupted the officer¡¯s evening meal. ¡°He¡¯s with Decanus Scaro. Not that far behind us,¡± Rhys informed him. ¡°Are you Gryllus?¡± He then asked him, way more aggressively than needed and the assassin realizing his mistake, had to crack a half-smile to soften it. The gold teeth shimmering unnervingly. ¡°Aye. Who are you?¡± Gryllus asked pursing his mouth. ¡°We¡¯re the scout party,¡± Rhys lied in a professional manner. ¡°1st Century, 2nd Maniple.¡± He glanced at the sober Lear Hik. ¡°Third Legion,¡± the bounty hunter rustled and watched Gryllus visibly deflating before their eyes. ¡°That idiot Bulla didn¡¯t¡­ eh, you go ahead now lads,¡± the rattled Gryllus finally said with a grimace, but he recovered rather quickly. The officer shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Welcome to the capital. Watch your heads on the way in.¡± The corridor had a lower ceiling in a couple of spots. But one could take this statement a number of different ways. None of them pleasant. ¡°Thanks.¡± Rhys replied trying to be diplomatic. ¡°We¡¯ve been here before.¡± The Servant¡¯s reply also a little ambiguous. Lear missed the rest of the exchange as he¡¯d clicked his tongue and gotten his horse going already. He rode through the tunnel at a steady trot and reached the other end of it. The internal gates were also open and he could see some of the buildings of the city beyond them, another tower at the distance, all nicely lit up. But not illuminated enough due to the late hour. A couple of guards were conversing with a group of merchants. Another couple of men talking near a group of horses, right next to a watering trough. More of the square behind the gates and the tall walls came to view as he reached the gates, then passed through them without anyone attempting to stop him. Until someone did. - Two minutes later Bogdan had worked supplies with the First Legion and the 300 back in the day. An older man now than Lear remembered him, close to sixty and surely retired. Then again, if you pick Cartagen of all places to spend your sunset years, you¡¯ll quickly realize shit here is plaguing expensive. Bread and milk cost triple than what they do in the country, women charge you to cop-a-feel as much as they do for the full rodeo elsewhere and whatever coin you¡¯ve gathered working your arse to the bone for years¡­ is just not enough. ¡°Hey Captain,¡± Bogdan greeted him leaving the group he was talking to earlier and walked in front of Lear¡¯s now slowly clip-clopping horse. ¡°Recognized the darn long coat. Heh-he.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a new coat Bogdan. Bone buttons instead of strings, lots of folk wear it these days,¡± Lear rustled wryly, an eye on the paused to watch the exchange group of well-dressed cutthroats. ¡°So it¡¯s surprising that ye did so readily.¡± ¡°Hah. Always quick-thinking our Cap. Kind of forgot that,¡± the now grey-haired Bogdan sniggered and clenched his teeth nervously. ¡°What is it now¡­ about twenty years? Details get all foggy.¡± I bet you don¡¯t remember what you had for breakfast too. ¡°Aye,¡± Lear agreed raspingly and snapped his knees to send the horse bolting forward towards the former mercenary. Bogdan recoiled thinking Lear was going to run him over, but the bounty hunter pulled at the reins with his left hand to turn the horse one way, open the other to swing his sword with the right. Bogdan managed half-a-gasp seeing the blade screaming at him and sort of twitched his left shoulder. Then Lear¡¯s heavy blade caught the side of his neck, four fingers under the earlobe, cut through soft flesh and the cervical bone on Bogdan¡¯s spine, kept going through the rest of the neck and exploded out of the other side. Gore sprayed everywhere and the severed head went one way, the headless blood spurting body the other. Lear pulled hard at the reins to steer the irritated horse straight ahead, fierce eyes scanning the square that came alive just as Bogdan hit the stone tiles in two parts. A heavy thud and a smaller one for the head. Some of the details around him -Lear had missed, others he expected. Bogdan¡¯s crew came at him immediately for starters. Another group also moved towards the violent scene, consisting of five people. A dark-skinned ugly motherfucker, two warriors and a couple of bow carrying hunters/scouts. The second of the two hunters Lear had surprised on the road about a week back. Lemos had claimed to be a hunter, but Lear had thought him a highwayman watching the road hidden in the bushes. The Gish that liked strolling the woods ¡®for herbs¡¯ had spotted Lemos and told Lear about him. Lear had let Lemos go his merry way as he wasn¡¯t working for the city guards and they were on a mission, despite being half-convinced that Lemos had a bounty on his arse someplace. Any other time Lemos¡¯ head would have been in the saddlebag soaked in salt. So Lemos decided to thank the bounty hunter for sparing his life firing an arrow into Lear¡¯s horse. The animal dropped on its front legs and then toppled to the side catching the kicking away Lear¡¯s right leg underneath it. As for the things he¡¯d missed upon entering the square, well¡­ first off, there were two large blocks of soldiers parked before the second tower. A lot of soldiers and they didn¡¯t look like the soldiers Gryllus had working for him. One could guess that perhaps they were there to assist, like Scaro¡¯s legionnaires, but Lear didn¡¯t rush into conclusions easily. Nor did he ponder on the still distant soldiers for long. The reason being rather simple. Lear was trying to survive for another minute at least. Heavy boots hitting the square¡¯s stone tiles, people yelling in alarm and animals neighing scared. His horse bleeding out and shuddering in its final death throes. Lear grunted and pushed with his free leg to get the heavy body off of him. He pulled and thrashed this way and that seemingly for ages but it was only a couple of seconds. Lear jerked his head towards the Lemos and Bogdan¡¯s groups, saw Flix already involved in the scrap, Edge and Selussa burst out of the tunnel riding hard¡­ and Rhys rolling about with a strange woman in the background. Either at the start of a good fuck or preparing to dance. Eh. Lear cursed and an arrow struck the tiles half a meter away from him, then ricocheted over his head. A moment later another hit the saddle and broke apart. He growled hoarsely, veins showing taut on his neck and heaved with all his strength to free his trapped leg. Almost lost his boot but he did it. A grunting Lear found his sword, then twirled around once. He managed to land on a hurting knee, his breath coming out rugged and fast. Get up. Lear stood up with a groan of pain-induced rage and slashed vertically at an arriving brigand armed with a shortsword. Stupid fuck. He cut him across the chest, the blade turning to sink in the man¡¯s stomach due to his forward momentum. Lear sidestepped out of the spilled innards, yanking the blade out. He swung it wide first and then brought it down on the next ruffian, breaking an axe¡¯s shaft along the way and cutting a Northman across the face. The man jerked his head aside at the last moment, barely surviving the savage blow, but Lear kicked him between the legs with his hurt foot doubling him over. The Northman, sporting a two finger-wide slash across the face and missing an eye, got a knee in the teeth and as his head jolted upwards, Lear nailed him brutally with the guard of his longsword almost ripping the cracking jaw off of his face. The man went down like a sack laden with rocks, missing most of his teeth and badly mauled only to be stepped on by Lear, who opened his stride to get into the action unfolding in the square. More and more people were getting involved. Every thug and their mother in need of coin came to collect, Lear thought sourly whipping the blade right and left to get rid of the gore. -
Reached between the tiny harlot¡¯s parted legs, now that was a fucking stunt, a tensed Nattas thought, moving briskly to assist Sudi. Grabbed a fistful of blooming cock instead of a ripe fucking cunt! ¡°Baron Nattas!¡± Vel growled. ¡°Get out of the way! My men will take care of this!¡± ¡°You better hurry up!¡± Nattas snapped and got his blade out, still using the sheath as a cane. He checked on Rhys and flinched seeing the assassin getting a slap from the woman that hurled him backwards three meters. Huh. Selussa leaped from her horse onto a man¡¯s back and stabbed him from both sides of the neck bringing him down. An older warrior stopped his horse and went to climb down slowly but a man reached him first, so he had to defend himself with colorful curses drawing a sword from his back, then dropping it, whilst trying to stay on the saddle. Pure comedy. Sudi managed to cut Tristan once more but got punched in the face, losing probably some of his few remaining teeth ¨Ca blow for sure- and had to retreat a couple of steps with a pained grunt. From the gates city guards appeared just about ready to intervene but taking a lot of time to do it. Gryllus is riding the fence so hard, his arse-cheeks are on fire from all the blasted grinding! ¡°Arggh!¡± A brigand yelled and charged at the arriving Baron, who grimaced in surprise and moved out of the way. The wildly running brigand stopped with a curse and turned to slash at Nattas, but he missed again since the hobbling Baron had moved again ¨Cwisely. The brigand cursed again and got a small hammer out of his belt to use along with his shortsword. You uncouth mule! Nattas thought irate and poked him with the blade in the left eye. Hit the nose instead and carved a slanted line on the man¡¯s forehead. ¡°Gah!¡± The ruffian cried out and swung the hammer to break Storm¡¯s cane-wielding arm. Nattas pulled it away but lost his footing and stumbled to the side alike a drunken sailor stepping ashore. His opponent slashed to get him, but a teeth-grinding Storm parried with his blade while half-moving half-toppling sideways. Shit. Then and there he offered a randy, slightly kinked, peach-colored smile, the faltering awkwardly in the effort to get his footing while defending himself Nattas thought -now all stressed up, but continuing the lewd brothel song. Why darling, the sweet lad said, you got to be more versatile! The burly thug came at him again committed to use both his ¡®weapons¡¯, underestimating the hobbling but much more skilled with a blade Baron. Nattas was far from a bad swordsman in his youth. As all of late Roderick¡¯s pupils he was good with both arms. ¡®Comes a point,¡¯ Roderick used to say when Storm messed up a stance. ¡®Yer good arm is busy or gone.¡¯ Ah, the pleasant memories. The fucking warmth. He put his weight on the good leg for better support and used the hollow but longer body of his cane ¨Cthat hid his blade- to smack at the hand wielding the hammer. When the brigand pulled it away, Nattas smacked him again at the fingers while keeping the man¡¯s sword busy with his own blade. The man cursed irate but got nailed by the cane right below the ear and his head snapped to the side. ¡°A wench¡¯s pink fa?ade the garments make, as to the heaven¡¯s all sisters bellow alleluia!¡± Nattas sang in a growl now enthused and with his blood boiling, whilst smacking repeatedly with the steel cane his opponent on the head, the neck and the face. About seven meters away, the small girl stopped fighting and turned to watch the furiously singing Baron with a look of profound astonishment. ¡°Drop the foul thing like a rock and from this house of godless debauchery ever far¡­¡± he continued with righteous fervor one of late Valwarin¡¯s lewder songs. ¡°¡­ever away shall you walk!¡± The stumbling back man tried to use his sword to keep the murderous cane away from his head and Nattas took the opportunity to stab him with his thinner blade. The Baron aimed for the other eye this time and he didn¡¯t miss. Hah. Sucks to be you! Nattas thought elated at the success and stabbed the collapsing brigand a couple of more times with his sword. Once in the ribs and one more in the buttocks. Then a heavy hand grabbed him by the shoulder and a pair of cold eyes stared at him when Storm turned around with a curse. ¡°Who in the Allhells are you with?¡± The wrinkled face asked raspingly wearing a murderous scowl. This was the man that had started the bloody scrap. Still living. Oh, well¡­ we can¡¯t have everything. ¡°I¡¯m Baron Nattas who else?¡± A heavy-breathing Storm replied with a grunt of disdain, pushing the man¡¯s hand away. ¡°Gods damn it man. I¡¯m desperately trying to help!¡± Myself. But Lear Hik didn¡¯t need to know that.
505. The Outmost Arbiter (2/2)
Rhys Vardran ¡®Dar Tulca¡¯ The Outmost Arbiter Part II -A man that likes doing only one thing-
The bounty hunter had kept Rhys on his toes for weeks. While everything pointed to the quest approaching its conclusion, Lear appeared unwilling to let his guard down. The latter was a good thing, and Rhys was all for keeping alert, be it on the road or on a job, but Lear Hik¡¯s intense presence made everyone uncomfortable at all times. Or at least it felt that way to the guild leader, who also tried to navigate the presence of Dar Vranga ¨Caka Flix- and Rhys¡¯ personal relationship with Selussa while travelling with a group of strangers basically. And a hundred legionnaires. The bigger group Rhys had ever travelled with prior to that was Ralnor¡¯s. Out in the open no less. He felt a bit overwhelmed and distracted. Well, not distracted enough to miss the bounty hunter galloping ahead on his own. Rhys slotted thumb and mid-finger in his mouth over the tongue and let out a sharp whistle to alert the wincing Selussa. He then went after Lear, with the affronted woman cursing Rhys behind his back for treating her like a dog. It wasn¡¯t Rhys¡¯ intention to insult Selussa, just his baser instincts that had been honed to snap into action cutting through the bullshit, after working alone for decades. While the assassin leader understood Lear¡¯s need to draw all his enemies to the forefront, he couldn¡¯t agree with Lear¡¯s complete disregard for getting himself or other people hurt. More like his tunnel vision on the task, Rhys thought leaping from the saddle of his galloping horse, while still half-inside half-outside the exit of the tunnel, the moment he saw Lear brutally behead the first man that approached him alike a chicken. Oras hells! A snarling Rhys burned incense to walk into a shadow cast by the barbican and walked out of it forty meters away, near a tiny thicket at the east corner of the walls, not that far from the corner tower. Which was a cause for alarm. While the spell had worked and Rhys now flanked most of the men after Lear ¨CRhys had popped out behind them as they all turned to attack the bounty hunter- but for a small group loitering west of the gates¡­ the spell had over-performed. By a fucking lot. Walking the Shades was an intricate thing that required concentration, strong will, good geometry, aye¡­ along the ability to discern distances and shapes correctly. Else you are fucked. Rhys had rushed the screaming darkness wearing a deep scowl on his face, boots hitting the soft sands energetically, mind cleared of all distractions and with his eyes locked in on the target. The glowing chasm had stirred as it did usually, then turned into a door as the sprinting assassin approached. White and grey layers had pulled back like thin curtains to reveal the reality beyond the in-between realms. The road back to Cartagen¡¯s square. The light from the torches more yellow in color and the sky still cloudy. Only this wasn¡¯t the spot Rhys had picked to emerge from in his head. The assassin¡¯s scowl turned into a comical grimace of bewilderment mid-stride, as he came with a leap out of the shades fully and found himself back in the real world. You don¡¯t just take a wrong turn whilst in the process of following a blasted floodlit¡­ solitary fucking-path¡­the latter, while narrow and flat enough to navigate, also the only path visible¡­ scratch that, the only path available to you -in the pitch-fucking black!
Ralnor¡¯s skilled fingers stopped working on the piece of flesh he had turned into a gory cube and a pair of icy-silver eyes turned to focus on the young boy. Oras hells be whispering, a disturbed Rhys repeated caught unawares by the sudden flashback, as present time seemingly stopped by divine intervention with him travelling mid-air. ¡®There¡¯s another world lurking in the shades. One of many,¡¯ his ancient tutor and father figure for a time rustled, in that characteristic hushed and gravelly voice that made your skin crawl. ¡®Many secret paths next to the one you¡¯ll someday venture upon. It shall be the one Oras has illuminated for you with the help of the Fading Light. The majority usually hurries to ¡®walk the shades¡¯ as fast as they can and it¡¯s probably safer.¡¯ ¡®I thought only you did that?¡¯ A very young Rhys had asked curiously, whilst trying to keep out of his ears the gruesome sounds produced by the wild raccoon that was busy gobbling up the leftover pieces of the now quartered corpse¡¯s body. ¡®Mmm,¡¯ Dar Eherdir, Fae O'' Elum hummed thoughtfully. He then shoved the gory cube in his mouth and worked at the flesh with the molars for another drawn-out moment. ¡®If you conquer your fear of the dark,¡¯ the father of the guild finally said in that same tone. ¡®You could venture down those paths, find creatures living there that are naturally attuned to the shades and even come to appreciate the antediluvian blackness¡¯¡­ more-sinister spirits, for they revel in their solitude¡¯s stupor¡­¡¯ ¡®They rest in the shades?¡¯ Rhys gasped in horror interrupting him. Ralnor pursed his thin lips unamused. There was nothing he hated more than getting dragged in endless conversations or answering needless questions. ¡®Apologies.¡¯ Rhys croaked. ¡®Because natural light is their mortal enemy.¡¯ His tutor added with a warning glare and reached for another strip of flesh to work on it.
Rhys had no idea why that memory had surfaced out of the blue and coming back to the present ¨Cflying out of the shades at the end of his ¡®walk¡¯- he didn¡¯t have any time to ponder on it or search for any hidden meaning. He spotted a cursing Lear caught under his horse and then somebody crashed on him from the sides and they both went down. A seriously piqued Rhys rolled on the stone tiles, his left elbow under a pointy chin, a strong hand grabbing at his right armpit and long fingers digging in the soft flesh there. Fingernails hard as iron spikes. A growling gasp and he caught a mouthful of nice-smelling hair, bit down and pull at the trapped lock until it gave, used the gained space to shove the head back and then Rhys was free from his assailant. He stood up dazed and spat the teared out hair down ¨Cskull skin attached and all, his eyes on the lithe somber female rising a meter away from where he had ended up. Slant-eyed Cofol face of sorts, black hair and eyes, and sporting a bead-net outfit, the old queens of Wetull favored and he¡¯d seen in rich folk house-paintings or worn by opulent girls back on Eplas when they wanted to be kinky. Only she had another long piece of garb on, right underneath, making it appear completely conservative now. She smiled using only the left portion of her mouth initially, face almost splitting in two parts, before the rest of it joined in the grimace. Rhys licked his lips and took a step back, a hand reaching for his grip-less throwing knives. ¡°The spot might stay bald for a while,¡± he taunted in a rustle to distract her and hurled a blade at the seemingly unruffled female. He aimed for her face but she jerked it aside violently, almost breaking her neck. Which was right impressive without a doubt, but Rhys attacked afore it completely registered, thinking she was one of Flix¡¯s friends of the Circle. Zilan, Gish or some other fabled monster. He¡¯d gotten his scimitar out in that first stride, again moving forward, thinking she wasn¡¯t that muscular or hairy-enough to be a female Varg/werewolf, assuming she-wolves are a thing? Nonetheless, a sage development. Aye. Anyways, she was too tall to be a Gish and now that Rhys had closed with her again, nowhere near long-eared enough to be a Zilan. She was pretty, in her black, white and dark-blue way. For Rhys could spot the tiny blue veins under the skin of her unmoving eyes. Something grim lurking in there, so inhumanly aloof it felt completely alien. Bye-bye doll, Rhys thought and savagely hacked with his scimitar to split her down the middle. The blade plunged down and the woman¡¯s body exploded in a myriad tiny shiny pieces like firefly larvae that buzzed away from her garbs. The scimitar¡¯s tip ¨Cnow wrapped in the female¡¯s outfit- clanked on the stone tiles, Rhys went through the strange tingling cloud due to momentum, scattered it and got out on the other side with a curse. The assassin twirled around, greatly spooked and properly alarmed now, switching the grip on his sword, caught the last stage of the buzzing shingles turning into a solid body again, pale limbs, round tits and comely head all accounted for¡­ Rhys chanced a quick glance lower, just to be certain he was fighting a woman ¨CGoddess¡¯ hairless mercy- and when he raised his eyes again, the woman caught him with a slap, so powerful Rhys lost the ground under his feet. He was hurled backwards, briefly flying semi-unconscious but snapping out of it mid-air and turning to land into a roll on the stone tiles. He¡¯d two teeth loose deep in his mouth. A large swelling under the left eye, he could do nothing about and those were some very expensive teeth to just spit out. A grimacing in pain and deeply embarrassed Rhys stood up. ¡°Sister of the Circle?¡± He chanced managing a flashy grin, using a tongue to check on the teeth and make an attempt to shove them back in place. He failed the latter and used the brief respite to work on his numb shoulder with his free hand as it had taken the brunt of the fall. ¡°You words are false,¡± the woman snorted with contempt and walked to her clothes to dig an exotic sword out. A smaller version of the curved Katacim, favored by the Sesei Segun of Cautara and Magor. Rhys knew the design since he¡¯d stayed with the parochial and austere Cofol of that faraway northwestern side of Eplas for years after he had left Ralnor and the girls behind. Much of his rather abrupt manners Rhys had gotten from Atrusim and his people, along finishing his weapon training. He immediately got his second, almost identical blade out. The noise of the scrap raging around them blocked out of his mind. The armed woman turned around and Rhys pursed his mouth tightly at the sight of the unblemished pale skin, touched by the light of the square¡¯s torches. ¡°Just walk away skinny lass,¡± he grunted brusquely. ¡°I forgive you!¡± ¡°I can¡¯t,¡± she replied and jumped towards him. The naked female swung the blade before landing on the assassin but missed everything as Rhys had already dived to the side. He landed already twisting around on the balls of his feet. The female attacked again covering the distance rapidly and Rhys moved to block her blade with the scimitar, strike with the other, only to notice that she didn¡¯t hold a sword anymore but what looked like a shade of it. Oras hells! The gleam of her sword coming a couple of feet to his right, now held by the female¡¯s shadow. ¡°Eargh,¡± Rhys growled and sidestepped to the left in order to place her body between them. He stabbed with the sword as well but the female folded her waist backwards, brutalizing her spine and returned afore the stooped Rhys could detach himself. Rhys had seen such an acrobatic feat in the circus but he¡¯d no time to stand back and admire his opponent¡¯s godly flexibility. The assassin saw the female¡¯s pale face approach in a haze, well-formed mouth opened wide, and curved fangs extending outwards grotesquely. They pierced the fleshy part of his cheek right above the cheekbone. Rhys felt sharp canine fangs hit the bone. The pain blinding and his blood splashing out of the wound. A groaning Rhys run his sword over her exposed ribs in retaliation, switching grip to take advantage of the tight space. He cut her deep and then yanked his head back to get rid of the woman. The crazy bitch just wouldn¡¯t let go of his face. She kept biting down instead, cold lips sealing the wound air-tight and deep sucking sounds erupting as the female slurped at the freaked-out Rhys¡¯ spurting blood. Rhys growled moving his feet to dodge another attack from the woman¡¯s armed shadow, nothing in the plaguing manual on how to deal with this kind of conundrum, and saw the edge of his sword another time over the open wound he¡¯d created, this time breaking a rib. The woman let go of his mauled face to grab at his wrist with the left hand, her moving shadow dissolving and that exotic short sword reappearing in her right. She made to attack him, but Rhys moved forward instead of dodging and sunk his gold incisors in the low of her neck, under the thyroid bone. A brutal yank right and then left, tearing at the skin and flesh until she had to jump away from him with a guttural hiss. Her dark blood bitter and cold, burned on his tongue. God damn it! A groaning Rhys spat down disgusted and glared at the badly injured woman that had trouble speaking, a hand clasping at her torn throat. ¡°What are you?¡± He snapped with a hoarse grunt and a blade exploded out of the woman¡¯s guts, black gore splashing down. The sword retreated and then disappeared back inside her butchered belly before she could reply. Rhys didn¡¯t need a reply by then. He had figured out what this fresh freak of nature was. Oras Hells in our sweet witch¡¯s visions. The severely injured woman faltered a couple of steps to the side and a sweaty, fiercely red Edge appeared in her stead, looking a little confused. With a shrug the old warrior stepped forward and run the trying to speak woman through for a second time. The heavy blade getting in from the left side of her ribcage destroying flesh, organs and bones afore breaking out the other. Damnation! Edge put left hand and left boot on the doubled over naked female¡¯s neck for purchase and then yanked his stuck sword out brutally. She collapsed lifelessly at his feet. ¡°Lad, ye look like yesterday¡¯s shit, and it might be the day afore that,¡± Edge commented with a glance at the still stunned Rhys, who gulped down nervously some of the gore and stared at the grimacing warrior. ¡°It¡¯s naught but a scratch!¡± The heavily-bleeding down his face, foul gore-covered Rhys woofed aggressively, not to appear like a weakling or a cunt. ¡°Look who¡¯s talking! Are you injured?¡± ¡°Ayup,¡± Edge admitted with a pained drawn-out grunt, sounding on the verge of a heart attack. ¡°But not in this scrap lad. What¡¯s her story?¡± He asked pointing at the butchered female. ¡°She¡¯s a fucking Alafern!¡± Rhys blasted him for no reason, half the words a growl of pain as he¡¯d checked on his chewed-up face in the meantime. Edge snorted and stared towards Lear that had just killed a bowman, splitting his skull in half like a watermelon and then swiftly proceeded to chop off both arms out of another. The bounty hunter had an arrow stuck on his chest but didn¡¯t seem to care about that fact so much. Rhys looked to find Selussa next, but spotted the Gish following Baron Nattas around? Wait a god darn minute, why is he here? He wondered, almost missing Edge¡¯s next query. ¡°That so?¡± The veteran bounty hunter had asked. ¡°What does it mean?¡± ¡°She was a fabled vampir, a lord of the undead from the lands beyond,¡± Rhys elucidated in an overconfident manner leaving it vague in the end, because he didn¡¯t know the last part and touched his torn cheek tenderly with the tip of a finger to staunch the bleeding. ¡°You don¡¯t say,¡± Edge rustled a bit intrigued now and turned to look at the grimacing Rhys. ¡°Didn¡¯t Valwarin say in that song, they can only get killed by wood or fire?¡± The veteran asked somewhat perturbed. ¡°Ye think that fool meant ¡®wood¡¯ as in cock? Kind of feel a certain way now.¡± Rhys pressed his lips tightly, all the while narrowing his eyes deeply troubled. Then both men turned their heads backwards to check on the deceased unnamed female Alafern. As it oft happens in these types of confusing scraps, the woman¡¯s body was missing and not a drop of her blood remained on the stone tiles. Oft¡­ eh. Whatever. Rhys blinked, his tongue working on his bloody gums. Well¡­ shite. ¡°Right then,¡± Roland Edge murmured sounding impressed and sucked audibly at his worn-out teeth. Rhys had two of those still clattering inside his mouth, so he couldn¡¯t exactly look down on the veteran at that point. ¡°Must confess, I didn¡¯t expect this development.¡± ¡°Yeah. Me too,¡± a thoughtful Rhys agreed with a shiver, his head hurting and rubbed the back of his neck to alleviate some of the stress. A moment later Edge asked in a more casual manner. ¡°So, do they always fight in the buff? Don¡¯t take it the wrong way, but I couldn¡¯t help but notice.¡± Rhys grimaced, looking right and left for the missing Alafern. ¡°She had a¡­ah, some sort of¡­ugh, and she ditched it somehow,¡± he was too tensed and distracted to get the words out. ¡°¡­ Some kind of weird shit she had on?¡± ¡°Ayup, I can see why she¡¯ll desperately want to get rid of that,¡± Edge retorted sadly with a meaningful shake of his greying head. ¡°You don¡¯t want to carry weird shit around.¡± -
¡°Help¡­¡± an injured thug croaked trying to get up on an elbow, the other hand pushing his own entrails inside his torn and opened up stomach. The Baron¡¯s straight thin blade skewered the thug¡¯s throat once as Nattas reached him, taking care to avoid stepping in the pool of gore around the man¡¯s body. ¡°Baron!¡± Selussa hissed accusingly, stepping in front of the startled Storm, just as the latter had pivoted to walk away. Fucking hell! ¡°He was long gone afore I reached him,¡± Nattas rejoined hastily in a gruff manner, adding a barely pulled-off grimace of semi-sadness. ¡°Now, if you excuse me dear. I have to get to Sudi. We¡¯ll talk later.¡± Selussa stared in his face somberly. Now had the situation had been different, the pretty Cofol¡¯s stare would have given the Baron the fiercest of erections. He still got the starts of solid movement between the legs. Ah¡­ that¡¯s a partial swelling. Mmm. ¡°Baron, I have a contract¡ª¡± ¡°Allgods darn it. Snap out of it lass,¡± an aroused Storm cut her off, mostly an admonishment to himself. ¡°It was a ploy to warn you. A wink in writing for crying out loud!¡± ¡°In half-truths the half-breed speaks, but truths nonetheless,¡± a teasing voice said and Nattas swung around to see who that bugger was, and caught sight of the small girl standing behind him. Right. ¡°Hello. I liked how you delivered the verses,¡± the creature said shyly raising a small arm to wave. ¡°I¡¯m Flix?¡± What in Abrakas¡¯ teary eye is that circus freak going on about? Storm furrowed his brows, taking a moment to examine the Gish¡¯s face. Either that or this petite leper has everyone in a twenty meters radius infected. Then he remembered the creature in action just moments ago. The circle¡¯s assassin? Abrakas rotten tooth! Storm sheathed his custom sword and stuck his hand out. Down¡­ eh. ¡°Pleased to make your acquaintance miss Flix,¡± Nattas said amiably like your next door politician. There, poor thing is not that bad-looking per se and it¡¯s not her fault she stands next to Selussa¡¯s stimulatingly lissome figure. ¡°Know that I¡¯ve always worked hard for your people.¡± Perhaps the most blatant untruth spoken out loud, in a day and night that had plenty of big ones already delivered. Day¡­ more like biggest of the year. ¡°Aww,¡± a blushing Flix gushed with a pleased grin. ¡°Seems your reputation isn¡¯t kind to you Baron.¡± ¡°Forget reputation,¡± Nattas retorted readily. ¡°Most stories are often fabricated by one¡¯s enemies, better to trust your own eyes lass.¡± Storm retrieved his hand that Flix was still holding a little uncomfortable. ¡°I¡¯ll have to check on my friend there.¡± ¡°Mmm,¡± Flix hummed and Nattas caught Selussa groaning in exasperation as he turned around. The Baron hobbled to where an injured Sudi stood, the lackey working a finger inside his bloody mouth, either to check on his teeth or to get more of the gore out. ¡°Tristan?¡± Nattas grunted and Sudi spat a bloody blotch between his own legs annoyed. ¡°I¡¯ll live, thanks chief,¡± Sudi griped sourly. ¡°I know,¡± Nattas retorted in a rigid manner. ¡°Did he get away?¡± ¡°Aye,¡± Sudi replied and looked about them. Men could be heard approaching from north and south. ¡°Barclay is dead. Norton doesn¡¯t look that well also.¡± Nattas turned to see what Lear Hik was doing. Young Scaro had arrived with his legionnaires in the meantime. It was a bit shocking for Storm to see the kid in legion uniform. The last time the Baron had seen late Roderick¡¯s cousin -once removed- Santiago had been a toddler. Hearing more commotion disturbing the uncomfortable silence that had followed the ambushers getting their teeth kicked in or worse, Storm Nattas twisted about and gulped down nervously upon witnessing Sir Vel Sextus Brakis¡¯ marines also approach marching in step. ¡°You brought¡­¡± Sudi started and a peeved Nattas had to quickly cut him off midsentence. ¡°I didn¡¯t.¡± - ¡°Mister Hik,¡± Scaro insisted. ¡°Please step behind the shields.¡± ¡°God darn it Lear,¡± a voice was heard behind the rows of legionnaires. ¡°Just do what you¡¯re told mate!¡± ¡°Shut up Jack,¡± Lear grunted. ¡°Could have helped a bit, you cowardly miserable scum!¡± ¡°What? Ye didn¡¯t need my help!¡± The unseen Jack protested evocatively. ¡°I should have helped the poor fuckers instead!¡± The guards under Varus Gryllus, about twenty in number, had appeared behind the legionnaires and Nattas signaled with his head for the officer to stand down. Gryllus recognizing the scowling Baron made a comical grimace and then ordered the guards to a full stop. Just stay on your bloody fence for a while longer, Nattas thought and turned his attention to Lear¡¯s conversation with the Decanus. Lear wanted some of the thugs interrogated. It was a good thing Storm had finished off most of them during the bedlam of the scrap. ¡°He¡¯s still breathing,¡± Lear rustled pointing at the butchered Norton. An anxious Nattas ogled his eyes to discern whether the man had any life left in him or not, just as Lieutenant Claus Dedum¡¯s voice put a stop to the bounty hunter¡¯s exchange. ¡°Legionnaires. I¡¯m Lieutenant Claus Dedum. 1st Illirium Marinus Milites corps,¡± Dedum said in a reasonable manner, using the archaic term, instead of ¡®naval soldiers¡¯. ¡°We are here to assist.¡± ¡°We appreciate it Lieutenant Dedum,¡± Decanus Scaro replied in the same tone. ¡°But we won¡¯t require your assistance. Mister Bulla, secure the package. Get the men moving.¡± ¡°Decanus,¡± Dedum insisted and Nattas quickly made a head count of the two opposing forces that now stood about ten meters away from each other. Scaro was outnumbered at least two to one. ¡°We have orders from the Admiralty to apprehend a Lear Hik upon first sight. He¡¯s implicated in several acts of sabotage against the throne of Regia, Lesia and the provinces. A participant and the ring leader in an active conspiracy to harm the royal family.¡± Storm clenched his teeth, the tensed baron¡¯s face now so distorted, parts of it hurt. ¡°My orders are to deliver Mister Hik to the palace grounds sir,¡± Scaro replied standing his ground. ¡°Safe and sound.¡± ¡°Who gave the order?¡± Sir Vel intervened stepping forward as well. ¡°You are?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Sir Vel Sextus-Brakis,¡± Vel retorted gruffly. ¡°Director Ramirus gave the order Sir Vel.¡± ¡°Decanus,¡± Sir Vel scolded him. ¡°I have the Duke Admiral¡¯s signature right here!¡±Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°The First Cohort has its orders my Lord,¡± Scaro replied tensely, several of the men present murmuring at the impasse. ¡°Tell your men to depart the square.¡± ¡°Ah, you¡¯re being foolish lad,¡± Sir Vel grunted and pressed his mouth tightly. Nattas hobbled forward and Vel saw him approach out of the corner of his eye. ¡°Baron get him to see reason.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t in good conscience Sir Vel,¡± Nattas replied and planted his cane in front of him intending to rest on it his weary from all the exertion body. ¡°You stand in the wrong side of this argument my friend.¡± Sir Vel eyed the Baron intently not liking the endearment. ¡°Lord Nattas I¡¯ve already explained to you what¡¯s happening here.¡± ¡°You did.¡± Nattas agreed. ¡°But you¡¯re in the wrong. Lear Hik has vital information pertaining to the identity of the culprit¡­ I¡¯m speaking of the man responsible for the former Kings assassination. It was given to mister Hik by late Laudus. The information shall make clear also, who is actually trying to sabotage the throne.¡± Vel glared at the sweating Baron in tensed silence. ¡°Once again you are trying to smear my father¡¯s name Baron,¡± he finally said in a hoarse voice. ¡°You are prepared to confront legionnaires inside the King¡¯s city. That is after waiting after dark by the gates to grab a man and toss him in a ship¡¯s brig, when the king expects him,¡± Nattas retorted austerely, suddenly standing taller and on firmer ground. He also felt a sense of relief being able to speak at last without having to embellish his words or make up excuses. A rarity in his whole career in politics. ¡°In your heart of hearts, you know these orders taste unlawful. A seasoned soldier knows when something is fishy or not as it should be. Allow me to clarify why you feel this way, Sir Vel. The orders are indeed unlawful. The information is false and misleading. Lear Hik was tasked by the King to find the culprits, and he did. You are actively working against the king¡¯s orders and defying his authority, my good knight. You are siding with the conspirators and the mutineers who seek to overthrow his majesty.¡± The Illirium knight and officer blinked. Lieutenant Dedum made to move against the tensed Nattas but Sir Vel abruptly extended his good arm to stop him. ¡°My father never conspired against King Jeremy and certainly had nothing to do with his death. My kin, Theodor Brakis was cut down during the assault Baron!¡± Nattas wasn¡¯t sure if Proclus was involved or where late Theodor¡¯s involvement ended. Lear Hik who was standing next to the Decanus was heard then. ¡°Theodor was part of the conspiracy. Cut down by Jeremy himself according to Laudus. They had to finish him off themselves later as they were running out of time.¡± ¡°How so?¡± Sir Vel grunted eyeing the bounty hunter. ¡°Sir Rik De Weer¡¯s Crows were closing in on the location,¡± Lear replied. ¡°It was a close run thing in the end.¡± ¡°Theodor¡¯s involvement points a finger to the Brakis,¡± Storm intervened and Sir Vel glared at him. ¡°And your family.¡± The Baron added. ¡°My Lord, this is outrageous!¡± Dedum protested at the perceived insult and a grim-faced Sir Vel let out a grunt of anger. ¡°My father didn¡¯t have anything to do with King Jeremy¡¯s murder Baron,¡± Sir Vel insisted raspingly trying to control himself. ¡°Perhaps. But I never said this involved only Jeremy¡¯s murder. I said instead Kings¡­ for a reason Sir Vel. The same people or person if you prefer, are responsible for Alistair¡¯s death. Theodor¡¯s involvement implicates the Duke whether you like it or not and Laudus himself, confessed that he worked for the Admiralty for years in an unofficial capacity. Cooking the books and turning a blind eye for a modest fee as some crooks might say,¡± Nattas replied evenly. Sir Vel licked his lips and glanced at the soberly staring back Lear Hik. The bounty hunter had an arrow still stuck on his overcoat, now with its fletching cut off. ¡°You have proof of this fantastical tale of yours?¡± Welp, he better have some proof, else I¡¯m fucked and all this nice warm feelings, would have been for fucking naught, a scowling Nattas thought sourly. ¡°Aye,¡± the completely unruffled in comparison Lear Hik had replied in an inflexible manner, as if he¡¯d bargained with similar or higher stakes afore and the whole predicament had come as no surprise to him. Which in retrospect and given the man¡¯s history was probably the truth. ¡°A man that enjoys doing only one thing,¡± a rather baritone voice said from somewhere near him. It almost gave the recoiling Nattas a heart attack then and there, before he became aware that the little Gish had approached him yet again. Are you serious? This rascal is packing? The Baron thought squinting his eyes hard in order to penetrate Flix¡¯s heavy makeup, only to realize that despite his age and lack of a nose, the small-bodied Gish was rather cute either way. Flix giggled at Storm¡¯s scrutiny and elucidated on his previous point, this time in a much softer, arousing tone. ¡°Eventually¡­ becomes pretty good at it.¡± Gods damn it. She¡¯s fucking right! He. It doesn¡¯t fucking matter! ¡°Thus I gaze bewildered at this square¡¯s nigh farcical-looking, unpardonably cock-carrying wench, deliver the day¡¯s most profound fucking epilogue!¡± With that piece of oratory delivered loud enough for all to hear, Nattas signaled for Sudi to knife Norton in the spleen whilst no one was looking and Flix who was, winked lewdly with a painted eye at the still mildly stupefied at the developments Baron. ¡°Decanus Scaro,¡± Vel stated after a solicitous moment. ¡°We¡¯ll follow your men to the palace and sort this out once and for all.¡±
- ¡°They are moving,¡± Selussa said approaching them. ¡°Lear and Jack are heading there. Flix and the¡­ Baron follow them as well.¡± Rhys nodded, the assassin was still concerned with the disappearance of the strange female that had attacked him. ¡°Are you hurt?¡± She asked, her voice laced with concern and wiped some of the dried up blood from his chin. ¡°I lost you there. What happened?¡± ¡°Ah,¡± Rhys murmured and went to pick up his horse that had drifted near the gates and Gryllus¡¯ sheepishly standing out of the whole affair men. Selussa came after him. ¡°Rhys,¡± she said in a sterner tone. ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Rhys replied and climbed on the horse. He tended an arm for her to join him on the saddle. ¡°An Alafern tackled me the moment I entered the square.¡± ¡°Mm. Are you sure?¡± Her capacity to absorb the most disturbing news serenely, made Rhys love her so much more with each day. ¡°Yeah. Edge cut her down, but she disappeared right after.¡± Rhys turned the horse to follow after the departing rows of legionnaires. The Marines were ready to do the same. ¡°I think she followed me through the shades.¡± ¡°You took her along, is your meaning?¡± Selussa queried hugging his waist and pressing her warm body on his back. ¡°No. The bitch found me in there and messed up my ¡®walk¡¯.¡± Rhys replied and glanced around them at the buildings surrounding the square as they slowly left the gates behind. ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t get out where I had planned and no human can travel as far as I¡¯ve made it,¡± Rhys elucidated. ¡°Or survive a long blade through the gut. Twice.¡± ¡°Is that true Roland?¡± Selussa asked the bounty hunter that had remained near their group and was now riding with a constipated expression on his face. ¡°Ayup, tits pale as snow,¡± Edge rejoined and sucked at his teeth, new wrinkles forming around his aged mouth. ¡°Tits?¡± Selussa asked deliberately in his ear, her whole demeanor changing. But she could also get hanged on the tiniest of details which could be nigh infuriating. ¡°She did a thing¡­ unclothed herself somehow,¡± Rhys grunted. ¡°You¡¯re jealous of an undead cunt?¡± He snapped aggressively. ¡°Nah, nothing dead about her, I reckon,¡± Edge intervened. ¡°We just needed to shove some more wood in her.¡± For crying out loud! Stop the blasted chatter you old goose! ¡°We¡¯ll discuss of this later!¡± Rhys resounded to shut him up and groaned getting a mild slap on the cheek by Selussa¡¯s open palm. ¡°God damn it woman!¡± ¡°What?¡± Selussa hissed aggressively in his ear. ¡°That was naught but a lover¡¯s tap.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve two missing molars right there from a similar fucking thing!¡± Rhys growled. ¡°What do you mean?¡± The female assassin probed deceptively calm, which called for an immediate dodge. ¡°Nothing!¡± Rhys snapped irate with himself. ¡°I misspoke!¡± - Two hours later Early morning 17th of Secundus Palace of a hundred windows The corridor leading to the King¡¯s Hall (throne room) ¡°Everyone is inside,¡± the Baron explained nervously. ¡°I¡¯ll go in a moment and Sudi¡­ Rhys as well¡­ ah, not the Gish. Flix. Apologies dear. Remain here with Selussa. Rhys shall come inside with myself and Sudi as I said. Stay quiet in there. I¡¯ll do the talking.¡± ¡°I want to see the King,¡± Selussa whispered to Rhys before he departed after the Knight escorting them and the Baron. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen one,¡± she added and Rhys thought of the man that had killed her sister now ruling in Wetull and pursed his still hurting mouth. Ah, sweet Dar Mori-Yaule. ¡°You¡¯re not missing out kitten. Kings are just another bunch of killers wearing fancy garbs,¡± Rhys said hoarsely in an uncharacteristic gentle moment that surprised the female assassin. He then hurried after the hobbling Baron and his associate Lotus Sudi who pretended to limp as well like his boss. They walked down the long corridor under the watchful eyes of Regia¡¯s former rulers, their large marble statues standing guard outside the King¡¯s seat in their full armour and with hands resting on the pommel of a sword. Finally they paused briefly outside the guarded entrance of the throne room, before another guard there signaled for them to enter.
Rhys spotted Regia¡¯s famed king sitting on the throne, the presence of many royal knights near him and some familiar faces. Decanus Santiago Scaro, another high-ranking Legion officer much older than him, several other officers occupying one wing of the hall and Sir Vel Sextus-Brakis with two of his officers, Dedum and Werges the other. Near the dark-skinned knight stood an older man that looked a lot like him, both in the face and skin tone, along with a bulky Lorian with grey hair and fleshy cheeks. The Baron stopped in the gap between the two wings undecided, there were chairs available but nobody was seating down, forcing Sudi and Rhys to stop as well right behind him. ¡°Spare us the fanfare Storm,¡± Lucius said from the throne in an even voice. ¡°I shall strive to control myself your grace,¡± Nattas replied but it was obvious, the mood was too tensed for his attempt at humor. Lucius¡¯ eyes stayed on Rhys after a brief acknowledging stare at Sudi. ¡°Mister Rhys Vardran is another associate of mine your grace,¡± the Baron elucidated. The king nodded trying to read Rhys¡¯ face. You¡¯re thinking, why would our good Baron employ so many half-breeds, Rhys thought but kept his mouth shut. ¡°King Lucius,¡± the large man started with an intense look at the frowned Sir Vel and his officers. ¡°I understand some accusations have been leveled against my person today.¡± The Duke had a deep baritone voice, very stirring to the ear but Rhys could sense the big-bodied man was nervous. Rhys would be as well, in the Duke¡¯s shoes. ¡°For a while now Stan,¡± Lucius replied turning his attention on the standing lord. The palace¡¯s throne room was a large hall, large enough to be a temple both in size and height. The many windows illuminated the spacious interior, but still some shadows were cast by the supporting Lorian-type columns. Especially those that blocked partially the light coming from the windows. Three columns from the opening before the marble throne, on the east wall of the hall ¨CRhys¡¯ right- and quite removed from the bunched up crowd watching the exchange between the King and Duke Brakis in front of him, Rhys spotted the small figure of Flix watching as well half-hidden in the shade. About four meters away. ¡°The king, Flix wished to see as well,¡± the Gish explained in a whisper using that broken Common of his and grinned. Gods damn it, Rhys cursed with a warning glare and clenched his jaw. ¡°Who was the accuser?¡± The Duke asked and cast a sour glance at the Baron, who shrugged his shoulders. ¡°King Lucius, Baron Nattas is a man of poor reputation and of questionable character to put it mildly. His word is worth nothing and if someone is guilty of any crime¡­ hah, by the gods, any crime at all, then it¡¯s him! He had the biggest motive of all.¡± ¡°What was this great motive?¡± Lucius asked calmly, but Rhys noticed the tension in the King¡¯s eyes and the lines forming on his forehead. ¡°I¡¯ve spoken with you about the rumors already,¡± the Duke replied and Rhys heard Nattas curse the Duke¡¯s mother not very discreetly. Lucius cast an austere glare at the seething Baron. ¡°There, the man has a thug¡¯s tongue and a ruffian¡¯s mind.¡± ¡°Says the fat ruffian that had accused me first. The irony is palpable,¡± Nattas commented wryly. Rhys could only see the Baron¡¯s back. ¡°Duke Brakis,¡± Lucius said not amused with the exchange between them, ¡°I expected to hear a strong denial, yet I stand here and listen you point the finger towards the Baron. While you are both guilty to each other¡¯s eyes in a way, no credible proof has ever surfaced for the Baron¡¯s transgressions, but only what amounts to vile gossip. For you though Brakis,¡± Lucius continued pursing his mouth. ¡°Much more has come forth lately and not from Lord Nattas¡¯ mouth.¡± ¡°My King,¡± the Duke protested. ¡°You¡¯ll weigh my sacrifices and service to the throne¡­ the recent assistance I provided at great personal cost against someone¡¯s word?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t want to,¡± Lucius admitted with a grimace. ¡°Because you have been helpful and I mourn for the loss of your son. Those that fall under Regia¡¯s colors must be honored,¡± the king continued. ¡°But I stand before all of you a son as well and someone¡¯s brother. Sometimes we hear words, we don¡¯t want to hear. Alas this fact doesn¡¯t make them any less true.¡± Brakis clenched his fists seemingly insulted. ¡°King Lucius, I understand this is a thorny subject for your grace, but this man Lear Hik is wanted for crimes against Lesia nobles and women. Murder that is. He has a well-documented propensity for hideous acts against innocents and children. The man is a violent serial murderer. You are being led your grace.¡± Lucius shook his head as if not disagreeing with everything the Duke had said, then turned to one of the officers near him. ¡°Bring Lear Hik inside. Who is the other guy?¡± ¡°A certain Tracer Jack my Lord,¡± the officer in the blue uniform said. This serious dude must be the Director of LID, Rhys thought remembering the style as it resembled the Legion outfit Comenius Paetus had on at Storm¡¯s Rest weeks back. ¡°This is for you as well,¡± the officer added giving the King a large scroll and depositing a worn-out bag at the leg of the throne. Lucius glanced at the large bag with pursed lips. ¡°What¡¯s in the bag?¡± He asked the LID Director. ¡°Laudus sire,¡± the officer replied stiffly. ¡°I checked.¡± ¡°Let me see,¡± Lucius said hoarsely and the officer stooped to open the bag under the loud murmurs of those present. Mostly officials and palace personnel watching from the sideways, but for the group of the main participants gathered at a small distance from the throne. ¡°Well then,¡± Nattas commented sarcastically with a backwards glance at Sudi and Rhys. ¡°At least now we know for fucking certain what happened to him.¡± Rhys watched the sober Lear Hik enter from a side door, followed by a nervous, deathly-pale Tracer Jack that looked just about ready to collapse on his feet upon spotting the small crowd waiting for them. ¡°Who the fuck is he?¡± Sudi asked Rhys and the assassin shrugged his shoulders. ¡°An eye-witness?¡± ¡°He wasn¡¯t in Laudus¡¯ crew,¡± Sudi hissed and brushed his thinning hair back. ¡°Maybe more crews were in the know?¡± Rhys replied indifferently and added a little curious in his rather abrupt manner. ¡°Early balding?¡± ¡°Maja¡¯s poison,¡± a discomforted Sudi grunted, pressing his vacant of teeth for the most part mouth tightly closed. Ah. ¡°Here,¡± he told the scowling lackey after digging in his satchel, and gave him a vial of Ael¡¯s ¡®rejuvenating¡¯ potions.
¡®A more potent version of the healing potion¡¯ the gorgeous sorceress had explained. ¡®For girls that want to improve on certain mishaps or combat time¡¯s attrition.¡¯ ¡®What girls be that?¡¯ Rhys had asked looking at the tiny vials and Selussa had expounded in a mirthful seemingly well-meaning manner. ¡®Old.¡¯ And while Human, Gish and Zilan had found the female assassin¡¯s jest pretty smart, with the sorceress herself joining in and tittering with them coquettishly, Rhys was the only one who got her precious vials afterwards.
¡°It won¡¯t grow them teeth back,¡± Rhys explained while Lear Hik started telling the small audience what he had learned from Laudus. ¡°But some of the damage to the face and the nerve endings it will heal. I had some arthritis in my right hand fingers and I fixed it.¡± He raised the aforementioned hand to show Sudi the fingers. Moved them about some until some nosy old as dirt official turned to stare at them austerely. Fuck off grandpa. ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­¡± Sudi started unsure. ¡°I had one already.¡± ¡°You had something humans make and sell to certain societies,¡± Rhys explained and pressed the vial in Sudi¡¯s hand. ¡°This was handmade by a Zilan demi-goddess. A real witch. A sip each morning can make wonders.¡± ¡°A sip?¡± ¡°Aye.¡± Sudi gawked at the vial, then bit the cork off and poured its contents in his mouth greedily. With a deep sigh Rhys reached with his right arm to grasp Sudi¡¯s shoulders, smart eyes checking about, and when Sudi fainted, the assassin kept him upright and steady of sorts on his rubbery feet. People really have serious trouble following instructions. Rhys thought, feeling that strange headache¡¯s return, now even more amplified and that buzzing almost forming words. -
¡°Who was Laudus taking instructions from?¡± Lucius asked gravely. Lear has told him already, Nattas thought. God damn it son, the North returned us a finished fucking product to rule Regia. ¡°He kept feeding my father misleading information about the naval projects and construction progress for years.¡± ¡°Theodor Brakis,¡± Lear replied. ¡°Was the one who made the payments and the bank released his accounts to us, but it was all done this way in order to protect the Duke. Lord Sissena was behind the whole scheme, as one can read also in the papers Manuela¡¯s people have provided and what I found in Laudus¡¯ possession. The Bank¡¯s trade company had a ten year agreement to use Illirium¡¯s facilities and markets in exchange for funding up to seventy percent of the whole project. Nine of the thirteen warships.¡± ¡°Lesia built us a fleet,¡± Lucius commented bitterly and stared at the seething Duke Brakis and his distant kin Lord Proclus. ¡°All it took was my father¡¯s life.¡± ¡°My lord,¡± Proclus Sextus-Brakis protested. ¡°No one here has ever considered harming King Alistair! There were suggestions¡­ to pursue a more aggressive stance but not to that extent! I reject the accusation outright your grace, a disagreement in naval policy doesn¡¯t make one a murderer or traitor!¡± Proclus stared at his gloomy son embarrassed. ¡°I was never a part of any conspiracy against the king. You have to believe me Vel.¡± ¡°Lying to your king is a conspiracy unto itself,¡± Lucius said and grasped at the armrests tightly with both hands. ¡°One could forgive it if it stayed thus or if it was just a financial mishap, but it didn¡¯t and it wasn¡¯t.¡± Nattas furrowed his brows. You got to be more lenient than that lad. Folk lie all the fucking time! ¡°My liege! I swear on my wife¡¯s grave!¡± Proclus grunted hoarsely and turned to the sullen Duke. ¡°Stan for the love of god. Say something!¡± ¡°Ursus man went ahead with it,¡± Duke Brakis rustled. ¡°Greedy fool wanted some of what Laudus had, and a bigger role in the army.¡± ¡°Then Ursus is to blame!¡± Proclus growled at the Duke. Nattas glanced at Lucius and then at the fearful Tracer Jack. The Duke was staring at the bounty hunter¡¯s companion as well. ¡°All Laudus¡¯ orders came from the Duke,¡± Lear declared neutrally. ¡°Laudus refused to act without assurances for his future.¡± ¡°What?¡± Proclus snapped under the loud gasps of those present, the shocked participants slowly turning unruly. ¡°It is standard policy for the Bank of Trust,¡± Lear continued in his unbiased manner. ¡°Where I worked for almost twenty years, to actively protect its contracts, safeguard its deals and their participants with a ¡®protective net¡¯,¡± he glanced at the sweating Jack. ¡°The bank¡¯s assets were present in force near Laudus and they knew where he was all along. They were there to protect Duke Brakis and not the already imprisoned Duke Ursus. Because the Bank knows where all roads lead. Jack can attest to that. Eleonora D¡¯Orsi could also but she¡¯s not around anymore. What she told me was the same thing Laudus confessed and Jack knows. Later, when it became obvious that Queen Janneke had great influence not only to Jeremy, but her brother Sir Rik De Weer and through the kids to the Old Crow himself, at a great surprise for all I must add, the fear of an outside intervention became too grave to ignore.¡± ¡°Why turn against Jeremy?¡± Lucius asked raspingly, his face distorted in the attempt to safeguard the dignity of the throne. Proclus stood back as if unable to comprehend the King¡¯s query. Duke Brakis smacked his lips and glanced at the men Sir Vel had brought with him, then at the king¡¯s knights. ¡°They never supported him. Perhaps Doris was for the young prince and Miranda, but no one else,¡± Nattas intervened to prevent the Duke from turning this into a mayhem. ¡°They didn¡¯t want the civil war to drag on for another year or two. Other plans were afoot.¡± Duke Brakis glared at Storm and then glanced at the grim-faced ¡®Black Trident¡¯ sourly. ¡°I¡¯m disappointed in you lad,¡± the Admiral scolded Proclus¡¯ son. ¡°You¡¯re not ruler material.¡± ¡°Neither are you Stan,¡± Lucius grunted from the throne. ¡°I¡¯ll give Sir Vel a pass since he didn¡¯t have any authority in all this, but your actions are inexcusable. You betrayed my father and then you betrayed my brother. Greedy for more, you stood back to allow them to get murdered or outright gave the order to cut them down yourself!¡± Lucius pushed himself up and then raised his clenched fist briefly, before lowering it. The king had crumbled the scrolls he was reading earlier. ¡°For what?¡± He lowered his eyes at the stack of reports the Bank had sent him, Mclean & Merck ever negotiating for more favorable terms and looking for the next partner or profitable deal. ¡°Control of a sea trade route?¡± Nattas narrowed his eyes alarmed. ¡°Jelin is devastated by constant wars,¡± Brakis replied in his rousing voice for all to hear. ¡°Poverty and diseases are spreading. At some point you won¡¯t be able to recruit or support more soldiers in the army Lucius. Unrest will follow as the citizens will have to seek other employment. A big Navy can provide that but it needs funds to operate. Be aware that the riches of the west continent will eventually buy us out even if the Khan loses the war. They are moving faster than us and that impostor in Goras is pulling the strings. If the Lords of Eplas cease control of the Scalding Sea, then the Lorian Kingdoms shall turn gradually even poorer. Kaltha can¡¯t survive and we likely can¡¯t either. Inaction shall bring Imperial banners to our shores!¡± ¡°Stop with the fear-mongering! Regia can sustain itself and this is a big continent,¡± Lucius replied tensely. ¡°No one can control the vastness of the South Seas and ten warships are not enough to protect the trade routes Stan. There are pirate lairs at every reef in between and no friendly ports at the other end of it. D¡¯Orsi tried and I understand he failed. His whole command presumed lost or dead.¡± ¡°The imperials could at some point and now they have a new Monarch. Rather friendly with Elsanne who controls the pirate fleets already your grace,¡± Brakis argued. ¡°We talked of this matter earlier this month and you promised me you¡¯ll consider it.¡± ¡°I said I¡¯ll look into the matter. You have imagined the rest Stan. Your suggestion calls for conquering lands from distant peoples without provocation. Are we adhering to civilized rules only when our adversaries are weak? And what shall we do with these hapless creatures afterwards? Don¡¯t they have a soul? Are they not human-like and non-threatening? Do their perceived grave deficiencies, even if they are real, not call for us to show our preeminence and superiority with nobler actions? Do we behave as Imperials and adopt their bigoted logic? How about we do as the Khanate does eh? What then? Have them work the fields and dig in the mines? Praised be the Five, we are blasted Lorians! We fight our wars ourselves and work the land with our own hands! You are obsessed Stan. A King rules these lands,¡± Lucius spat angrily, a tick making the right side of his mouth raise. ¡°He¡¯s the one who¡¯ll decide on policy Admiral and he¡¯s not to be cut down if his decisions are not to your liking!¡± A frowned Brakis stood back, his fleshy cheeks quivering with rage. ¡°Ursus was greedy for more,¡± Lucius continued hoarsely looking at the small crowd listening to his words in silence. ¡°But Duke Brakis disguised his cruelty and ruthlessness with a veneer of fake righteousness, hidden under a grandiose plan for all. He behaved like an evil monarch, but a monarch he¡¯s not. A king you are not. What you are is a cold-blooded murderer, a kingslayer twice. You are so corrupted Stan you were about to do it again, weren¡¯t you?¡± Lucius eyed the sober-faced girthy Duke coldly. ¡°All you needed was another chance. Another fall guy. I shan¡¯t offer you another opportunity to harm my family Duke Brakis. Your scheming ends today. Take him away. To the dungeons where he belongs. You are a Duke no more,¡± Lucius paused and pursed his mouth. ¡°I shall think about your fate after I clear out this mess.¡± The grimacing Duke Brakis was immediately surrounded by royal Knights and Sir Vel¡¯s officers didn¡¯t even attempt to intervene. Lucius waited for the obese Lord to be walked out of the hall and then turned to Lord Proclus. ¡°My Lord I surrender my sword to your grace¡¯s mercy,¡± Proclus said solemnly. ¡°You won¡¯t take over for Stan, Lord Proclus,¡± Lucius declared evenly. ¡°I understand that your grace,¡± Proclus replied a little relieved for not getting a heavier punishment. ¡°Neither will your son,¡± Lucius continued and Nattas glanced at the Illirium knight still standing in silence with his officers. ¡°Young Ethan shall be the next Duke of Illirium for I¡¯m certain he¡¯s completely innocent in all this.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like the opportunity to clear my name,¡± Sir Vel rustled and Lucius stared at the affronted knight. ¡°In the field your grace. Let the gods decide if your words hold merit!¡± Oh, for Abrakas phallus-shaped tentacle! ¡°Your request is denied. To fight a king is an honor I shan¡¯t grant you!¡± Lucius retorted much to a snarling Vel¡¯s vehemence. ¡°Sir Vel wasn¡¯t part of the conspiracy King Lucius,¡± Nattas said and cleared his throat, seeing everyone now had turned to look at him. ¡°He conducted himself with honor, despite being tethered with dubious orders. He could have prevented Mister Hik from reaching the palace but opted to do the right thing.¡± Lucius raised his brows unsure. ¡°You¡¯ll defend them Storm?¡± ¡°My Lord,¡± Nattas replied assuming the humblest of expressions, now seeing the door cracking open and the ladder to new heights, peeking from the crack like a blushing but aroused maiden in her wedding night. ¡°It is not in my best interests, as I¡¯m evidently not well-liked in Illirium, but everyone knows that Lord Nattas always strived to do the right thing, even when it was nigh inconvenient for his person.¡± The King of Regia walked back to his throne and sat down. ¡°You¡¯ll vouch for Sir Vel?¡± ¡°I will your grace. The man¡¯s a hero. Regia needs its heroes,¡± Nattas replied readily. ¡®Don¡¯t go overboard,¡¯ Sudi whispered behind his back. ¡®That¡¯s enough.¡¯ ¡°Very well then,¡± Lucius agreed and nodded at the numb Vel Sextus-Brakis. ¡°The Knight is cleared of any wrongdoing. But you still won¡¯t get a rematch Sir Vel,¡± he added with a weary-smile to break some of the tension, the light-hearted meaning behind the king¡¯s words almost lost for many of the throne room¡¯s bystanders. Several of them clapped and cheered at the just ruling and gradually more joined to show their appreciation and love for the king in such a trying day. ¡°Valiant King Lucius, if I can steal some of your time,¡± Nattas started after some of the loud cheers subsided and Lucius turned to face Storm, as if he had expected the Baron¡¯s query. The king speaking afore Nattas had the time to continue. ¡°I want the vile epidemic stopped before it spreads up and down the coast and the matter of Novesium solved decisively Storm,¡± Lucius said without mincing his words. ¡°Can you do it?¡± ¡®No¡¯, an unnerved Sudi whispered behind Nattas unwilling to take the risk. ¡°Absolutely your grace,¡± Storm Nattas immediately replied in a resounding manner. ¡°Auspiciously, I¡¯ve worked tirelessly these past weeks to have a plan ready.¡± ¡°Good,¡± Lucius replied, sounding satisfied by the Baron¡¯s answer and seemingly earnest fervor. ¡°Then Novesium has a new Governor.¡±
-
Inside the tensed throne room Lord Storm Nattas had gasped audibly, eyes gawking unsure at first and when the King¡¯s words registered, the good Baron¡­ ah wait, let us just halt right here to add more proper context¡­ the Governor of Novesium, genuflected dramatically before the throne, his cane clattering on the stone tiles. The sudden action shocked those present and forced the amused Lucius to stand shaking his royal mane, walk near the overwhelmed ¨Crumored to be half-sobbing- Governor and help him to his weakened feet. For a brief moment in time inside that throne room, Lord Storm Nattas¡¯ dubious past was forgotten and the deeply-moved former Baron, now stood respected and beloved by all, in the king¡¯s warm embrace.
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Lord Sirio Veturius Circa 206 NC The Fall of Heroes Chapter IV** Lord Storm Nattas, Governor of Novesium, Lord of Moon¡¯s Haven & the Turtle Isles. Former Queen¡¯s Shield, former Regia¡¯s Master of Silence -The price of desire-
*(Unreleased, Sirio¡¯s original text) **Only present in the original manuscript and one specially-ordered copy now kept inside Tenebrous Castle in Goras
506. Wood or Fire
Tiki ti blom¡­ tiki ti blom... Warm was that summer night, alluring the whispers in the old Shire Bloody chin ¡®n luscious mane over that mesh, reeked o¡¯ falsehood Cold skin and eh¡­ that porcelain flesh, wrapped in plaguing barbwire! Two shards of glass fer eyes beneath that raised hood The slain bride¡¯s lips humming a couplet, to the night¡¯s squire Break the Vampir¡¯s hold wit wood or fire - Wood or Fire (A summer¡¯s night) Sir Dominique Valwarin, The Carmine Bard. Born 45 NC in Jelin, the Crabs (Duchy of Tollor) ¨C Died 109 NC in Eplas, Altarinport (Duchy of Raoz)
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Rhys Vardran Dar Tulca Wood or Fire
- Mistland (known territories) larger image if opened in new page -
Doriath O¡¯ Poldorea Nore* The forested area at the convergence of West Barrier Peaks, Lake Elivorn** and Iser Angren*** The continents of Mistland A hundred and sixty years before Emperor Ninthalor¡¯s ascension, around 3560 years ago.
*The strangely-shaped, gargantuan in size peninsulas and land masses hugging the island-continent of Galith beyond the Round Sea. Translated loosely from the Hieratic Aken tongue ¡®The cave-lands of the Strong People¡¯. The latter another moniker for the wild Varg race. **Lake-Black ***Iron River ¡°Whatever lays beyond the peaks?¡± The solemn Zilan visitor asked the young Aken Zargatoh that stood near him at the edge of the woods. The Aken kept looking at the gently moving tree tops anxiously, the four crude constructs standing twenty meters away and inside the path cut through the woods to secure the perimeter. And their way back to the large exotic boat. ¡°The Barren Desert stands beyond the West Barrier Peaks,¡± Zargatoh replied and Bekare realized they were standing too far into the sun-bathed opening to reach them. The Zilan a difficult to tackle opponent. Unpredictable. Alien. His skills unknown and potentially dangerous for a young Alafern scout. ¡°Empty lands but for the desert spirits and the roaming beasts,¡± Zargatoh continued, the stitched vertical cuts on his arms leaking fluids and white paint. ¡°But walk a thousand of kilometers times three to the East and you¡¯ll come upon Annas-Kelon, the Long River, and beyond it the demesnes of the Alafern.¡± ¡°Ever been there?¡± The Zilan asked, interest in his voice. ¡°Dehmaz, Kerbe, Gecataten and Nigbau, o¡¯ Caras-Alafern. The cities of the Undead,¡± Zargatoh elucidated. ¡°These are not places one visits willingly.¡± ¡°Mmm. The fabled portals to the in-between realms are not enough of an incentive for the self-professed most-adept Bonemancer?¡± Bekare moved a young branch out of the way to discern his face better, wincing in terrible pain when the strong sun touched her skin. Bubbles forming as it swelled and blackened. She was forced to pull her hurting arm back. Her garbs were fifty meters away, ditched when she leaped to the canopy to avoid detection. Even young or braindead Alafern knew to stay away from the light unless they were shielded sufficiently. ¡°You can taste and touch them in a vision,¡± Zargatoh argued with a pained grimace of his own, probably still in agony from the recent demonstration. The fire had alerted Bekare of their presence, as she had been there for a different reason and on a different mission. ¡°To enter fully you must perish first. Lose touch with the realm of the living, who would want to do that? You are as old as the Aken Patriarch but appear healthy enough still. The Bone Magic, you seek to become familiar with, takes care of the rest and provides a decent living without such foolish thoughts.¡± What foolish thoughts? Bekare wondered. Decent living? Your vile automatons are barely aware of themselves! ¡°A finite resource spells eventual doom for the unevolved practitioner,¡± the Zilan countered dismissively. ¡°Long-lasting isn¡¯t eternal. Gods reserve that right Zargatoh,¡± he continued. ¡°The vast majority of creation eventually will end up in Eatoth¡¯s purgatory, unless they know of a way out, or decided to struggle through a sinless unexciting life in order to find their way, into the perceived ¡®God of the heavens¡¯ gardens. Trust when I say to you that in my long time here, I¡¯ve delved in many¡­ abnormal practices.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t¡­ all things end.¡± ¡°Where an entry exists, an exit stands also.¡± The Aken stood back shaken. ¡°You can¡¯t fool the gods. Maybe a wyvern once. That¡¯s it. Many have tried. You¡¯ll face the nameless wrath?¡± The Zilan shook his head frustrated. ¡°Stop being blinded by backwards superstition and innate spinelessness. I just named your god. I can do it again. Ah, I also spat on your idols paintings and defecated on your monuments yesterday. I did that. Aye. Magic has a system one can learn, if you cut through the added padding. There¡¯s a system in place here also. Each race has a number on it I¡¯m certain, written in its flesh, its cells or bones if you prefer and the soul-threads are easy to count. How many Aken die every year? How many died in a month? How many in a day?¡± Bekare furrowed her slim brows. ¡°We are a resilient species.¡± ¡°What a bunch of gibberish. You cheat with magic and so are we. You skirt around death whilst we keep it at arm¡¯s length for as long as we can,¡± the Zilan admonished him. ¡°What if there was a spike in the number of threads the god must track down? An influx so great it turns into a flood? Something sudden and unnatural?¡± ¡°A war? We fight the Alafern all the time, we hunt the Varg and we¡¯ll eventually absorb the humans of Kaletha.¡± ¡°A war to make all those rare and easy to count soul-threads difficult to discern from one another,¡± the Zilan replied and raised his head, his hair cut very-short, as if alarmed. Bekare forced her heart to stop beating completely and felt her cool skin turn even colder. Rubbery and hard to the touch. Then a mighty and drawn-out beastly howling rang over the treeline, reverberated on the mountain sides and made every creature inside the woods flee in panic. ¡°Curse the Others. A Varg,¡± Zargatoh rustled ogling his yellow snake-eyes that forked hideous tongue moving nervously across mauve lips. ¡°We need to get back to your boat afore they cut us off!¡± The tall Zilan, even while standing next to the imposing long-limbed Aken, turned his head towards the unseen behind the branches Bekare and stared her way for a long moment. More Varg answered the pack scout¡¯s call in the meantime and their howls rattled the woods, coming ever closer. Bekare needed to move. Her discarded garbs be damned. I¡¯ll travel during nighttime anyway. She glanced right and then left for a good distant shadow, a long sharp nail opening her taut skin like a razor to let some of the gooey blood leak out. The blood¡¯s color dark and smelling of rusted iron. When Bekare looked towards the thirty meters away Zilan again, Zargatoh¡¯s visitor had a disturbing smirk on his long and handsome cultured face. His words while tranquil, even counseling in their tone, laced with a deviant sadist¡¯s hidden delight and clearly heard as for a single moment all other sounds died around the scared Bekare. ¡°Noro, Vinya Losse. Noro!¡± Run, young dead flower. Run. - Four months later, Atraharsis Hall had turned silent as well, after she had finished recounting her tale. The four Doyen waiting for the reaction of the sitting Prince of Dehmaz, who had come to sort out Kerbe¡¯s affairs. Lidagulis¡¯ empty eye-sockets boring holes on the prostrated Bekare¡¯s head. The blood heard whispering inside the silent dark hall, carrying each lord¡¯s questions without the need for them to speak, but for when they needed to debate the answers among themselves. ¡°But you escaped?¡± Lidagulis finally queried in his dry voice. ¡°A Varg helped,¡± Bekare replied and the relative silence was interrupted by loud murmurs of surprise. ¡°Else the sorcerer would have gotten me.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Prince Lidagulis¡¯ rasping, tomb-like voice asked. ¡°He hurt the forest, killed it in order to open a path to reach me,¡± Bekare replied reminiscing of the harrowing chase. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen magic used so destructively. The Varg fell on the Zilan instead.¡± ¡°What happened to him?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know but the Varg told me his brothers were killed. The firestorm stopped at the lake¡¯s shores.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± Lidagulis murmured and stooped his emaciated body forward. ¡°So are all fabled Zilan thusly inclined or as powerful?¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know. I only sort of met the one,¡± Bekare admitted. ¡°I¡¯ve never ventured beyond the desert¡¯s edges nor have any of them ever reached Galith before to the best of my knowledge.¡± ¡°A mere happenstance?¡± The Doyen of Kerbe Serapis queried. ¡°The matter doesn¡¯t affect us Prince Lidagulis. Let the Aken deal with him. Young Bekare shouldn¡¯t have approached them so close without backup but proved her skill surviving the ordeal. Her blood is strong.¡± The ¡®Eyeless¡¯ noble Alafern beheld the industrious Lord. ¡°Your admonishment is ambiguous Serapis. Perhaps you wish to delve into the matter more? Or mayhap some other reason is steering your words? More nefarious?¡± ¡°The dispute is over. Your side won,¡± Serapis replied stiffly with a glance at the prostrated Bekare. ¡°So I should spare this foolish youngling?¡± Lidagulis asked. ¡°What if she led that ¡®sorcerer¡¯ near our lands? How do I know she didn¡¯t do it on purpose or out of spite? Such a threat, needs punishment. Else we will have another Atraharsis. I won¡¯t allow it to happen again. A noble committee rules these lands, no perceived king and no royal bloodline is more worthy than the others.¡± ¡°Atraharsis is gone great Prince. The dispute is over.¡± ¡°What if he isn¡¯t? How can we have trust in each other again Serapis?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a follower. As for your query there was no living thing to possess at the near. Kilometers upon kilometers of barren desert and rocks, where no birds fly or lizards crawl. Princess Abisare said it herself. What was of him is no more, bones missing or not. The blood has grown silent.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± Lidagulis sat back on the throne that belonged to the rebel Prince Atraharsis thoughtfully. Our Prince, Bekare thought sadly, immediately banishing the thought. ¡°I¡¯m of the opinion the bones were moved by a collaborator¡¯s hand. A Familiar or a reformed traitor.¡± ¡°Familiars are brittle and die quickly. A traitor would have revealed himself by now. Even if he made it out of the continent let¡¯s say, neither the humans nor these Zilan would have ever helped him. Why would they? The living would never help the undead and a deer would never stop to assist a lion.¡± ¡°One traveler does not ¡®all the Zilan¡¯ make. Nor all humans are like our humans. We need to know more perhaps. Your proposal surprisingly gained some traction with the committee,¡± Lidagulis noted addressing the small audience of Alafern. ¡°As for the youngling, she failed as a scout. She was tainted to begin with. You asked for lenience Serapis, so you¡¯ll be responsible for her. You¡¯ll watch over Bekare away from here though. Far away. All of you. You request is granted but the great council wishes all of Prince Atraharsis¡¯ supporters to follow you as well. For their own good.¡± Bekare raised her head to look at the throne shivering from the shock. ¡°As this Hall will empty when I depart,¡± Lidagulis continued in his timeworn voice. ¡°So will Kerbe. The prince¡¯s city shall have his fate and shall be returned to the sands of time. Thus the Lords of the Alafern have decreed.¡±
- Present day 20th of Secundus The year of the new Calendar 195 NC (Imperial year 3401) Cartaport Greater Regia The continent of Jelin ¡°The good King Lucius, much praised be his grace, has decreed Baron Sissena Brakis is to be stripped of all his titles and lands,¡± the enthusiastic, rather resembling the former Duke in girth, herald bellowed to the market¡¯s audience. ¡°Thank you for your service, King Lucius told old Stan, but we don¡¯t appreciate rebel scum in this court. Aye. To the dungeons with you! Ha-hah,¡± the herald eyed the civilians listening to his words, some of them for a second time, and added with a shrug of his shoulders, sweaty face red alike the innards of a watermelon. ¡°Rumor is they had to bring a large cart in to haul Stan out of the King¡¯s hall. Yep. In other news, people are dropping dead or go missing in Novesium, but not in alarming numbers, the city¡¯s new Governor declared the other day. I suppose, Lord Nattas knows a thing or two about missing people¡­¡± the herald eyed his laughing audience all serious. ¡°Rumor is and let me preface it with disclosing before all of you that Titus Bacillus isn¡¯t suicidal. No sirs. No man carrying as much lard as I am is! Anyways, these filthy tongues whisper that they are still looking for those missing from Aegium or Alden¡­ Asturia, Cartagen¡­ but hey, wait a god darn minute¡­ folk get lost in Cartagen all the bloody time! The mayor¡¯s city plan sucks. Right?¡± ¡°An octopus?¡± Selussa asked the tavern wench curious, whilst Rhys shook his head and turned his attention to their table. ¡°How do you prepare it?¡± ¡°With white wine over hot coals miss. In a big plate,¡± the wench replied sounding terribly bored. ¡°With added oiled broccoli and a coat of fresh lemon.¡± ¡°Olive oil?¡± Selussa asked. ¡°Sure,¡± the wench replied with a glance at Flix¡¯s orange and blue scarf. ¡°We do small portions as well.¡± ¡°We wish to see the whole octopus,¡± Flix told her with a grin. ¡°Offering tentacles has long been considered a sexual proposition in certain circles.¡± ¡°Is that so honey? Where are those circles? Might be interested in joining.¡± The wench asked more interested than Rhys had seen her since they have entered the tavern. The assassin¡¯s head was still hurting and having two of his molars, who he¡¯d made into a bracelet as a gift for Selussa, returned to him by the difficult to please at times fellow assassin, hadn¡¯t helped him at all. ¡°Nureria,¡± Flix replied with a wink. ¡°It even sounds nice,¡± the wench replied and returned the wink to him. ¡°Anything for you handsome?¡± She asked the scowling Rhys that just had another flare up of the migraine he carried for the last days. Rhys stared at her not in the mood for conversation. ¡°I¡¯ll have some water.¡± ¡°Are you on a diet?¡± What? ¡°I am, so he¡¯ll have some of my portion,¡± Selussa intervened seeing Rhys¡¯ stare turning into a mean glare. ¡°Two special large octopuses, plus oiled broccoli, with a touch of lemon! A fruit salad and a bottle of white Flauegran!¡± The wench yelled at the cook and sauntered off to the next table. ¡°You ordered wine?¡± Rhys grunted and grimaced turning this way and that on the chair to find a comfortable position. ¡°Why not? The Baron paid us nicely.¡± Selussa replied with a grin. ¡°Oops, the Governor. He¡¯s indebted to us, we¡¯re fine.¡± ¡°Now you trust him?¡± ¡°He¡¯s polite and remorseful? He did cancel the contract to do the right thing.¡± For fuck¡¯s sake, Nattas probably run out of all other options first! ¡°I want to see his signature on the property papers before I even consider turning my back on that ruffian,¡± Rhys hissed and blinked seeing Flix walking to one of the couches, taking a large pillow and carrying it to his chair. He placed it there carefully, climbed up and then crossed his legs, pulling at his short tunic some to show a lot of skin ¨Cup to the hips- to those sitting at the other tables of this seashore tavern. Several perverts eyeballing the masqueraded Gish with barely concealed interest. Two of them were out with their spouses. Gods damn it! Rhys thought furious, his headache flaring up even more and clenched his fist tightly. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± Selussa asked calmly. ¡°You are all wound up for days now.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t sleep that well,¡± Rhys retorted and stared in her comely face. ¡°Not because of you.¡± ¡°Wow, thanks so much dear,¡± Selussa snapped bitterly and kicked him under the table, right at the left ankle. ¡°Fucking hells!¡± ¡°Keep your voice down,¡± she warned him narrowing her eyes. ¡°Else I¡¯ll stab you in the knee.¡± ¡°Argh, shut up. You¡¯re too fond of me to do it. Aren¡¯t you?¡± Selussa rolled her eyes. ¡°Dear gods, the arrogance. You won¡¯t make me do¡ª¡± ¡°It¡¯s too late now!¡± Rhys snapped and Flix almost pissed down his legs chuckling. ¡°Just get it out of yer system!¡± ¡°I¡¯m very fond of Rhys,¡± the female assassin whispered blushing fiercely. ¡°Fucking prick.¡± ¡°Me too.¡± Rhys grunted and puffed out, his head just about to explode. ¡°I¡¯m too stressed out.¡± He added in a murmur. ¡°By what?¡± Selussa griped and Flix turned his red-rimmed, painted green eyes on him. The Gish loves all colors, Rhys¡¯ thought. ¡°The Alafern,¡± Flix said and chuckled. ¡°Rare to see one. You¡¯re very lucky mister Rhys. A female no less.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t feel blessed,¡± Rhys growled eyeing the Gish warningly and pursed his mouth. Despite carefully taking one of Ael¡¯s potions, the two red marks were still visible on his cheek. Rhys could accept having a scar or two given his profession, but grown men strolling about with holes on their face look ridiculous for pity¡¯s sake! Or red crayon. Flix winked at him lewdly. Rhys frowned, the Gish chortled looking slightly off center and when the perturbed assassin turned around, chair creaking ominously, he caught sight of a well-dressed haughty-looking native sitting at the table behind them, flirting shamelessly with their naughty companion. ¡°Apologies,¡± the dandy Lorian of about thirty years said at the scowling Rhys. ¡°I couldn¡¯t help but notice you are a fellow man of culture and exceptionally diverse tastes.¡± ¡°Aha. So you¡¯re angling for a shot at both then?¡± Rhys grunted irate despite the effort not to lash out in a public place. There was a reason Rhys had worked solo for decades. He never had to worry about anyone else but himself. He apparently was an easily-concerned person about his companions. ¡°If the ladies are available aye, for certain,¡± the Lorian replied in the meantime with a confident smile. ¡°We must all do everything at least once is the motto of our little society.¡± He stooped near their table with a knowing expression. ¡°It¡¯s a gentlemen¡¯s club.¡± ¡°Everything.¡± ¡°At least once my friend.¡± Mule-fucker. ¡°How about dying? Have ye got it on the fucking list?¡± Rhys retorted aggressively and watched the man¡¯s stupid grin fade on his lips. ¡°Ah,¡± he started unsure how to handle the wiry assassin¡¯s hostility. Come tonight, a voice said and Rhys blinked, his head snapping right and then left abruptly. Eyes gawking maniacally afore returning on the annoying customer. ¡°What did you say?¡± Rhys asked half-getting up from his chair. ¡°I didn¡¯t say¡­ it was an exclamation of real shock,¡± the customer protested civilly but clearly worried he¡¯d stepped into a beehive. After the wedding. ¡°Shut yer mouth!¡± Rhys growled hearing another whisper he missed and got up pushing the chair back to examine the nearby tables for the culprit with hostility. ¡°Rhys,¡± Selussa was heard. ¡°Just sit down.¡± What the fuck is going on? Rhys thought with a deep scowl, tongue lodged in the fresh gap between his teeth. I loved the teeth, the voice said and it was a female voice this unmistakably. ¡°Fuck.¡± ¡°Rhys?¡± Selussa asked now worried. ¡°The dead chick is talking,¡± Rhys grunted and grimaced in annoyance realizing he was making a scene. ¡°Seriously?¡± Selussa protested. She glared at Flix. ¡°Is this a curse or something? Did it happen to you?¡± ¡°The other one wasn¡¯t an Alafern,¡± Flix replied sadly and turned serious. ¡°Came along in your walk you said?¡± ¡°No,¡± Rhys replied. ¡°I think she was lurking in there.¡± ¡°Very few have encountered Alafern,¡± Flix said. ¡°You need to talk either with Elas or Nym about them. Not easy at this point.¡± ¡°Will she talk? Or the other dude?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Why is that?¡± Rhys grunted antagonistically. ¡°We can at least make an effort!¡± ¡°One is dead, the other in Wetull?¡± The Gish grinned and added. ¡°You are Ralnor¡¯s pupil?¡± Shit. ¡°You find it funny?¡± Rhys snapped at the small mirthful creature. ¡°I want her out of my head!¡± ¡°Did she say something useful?¡± Selussa probed patiently with a glance at the tavern patrons looking at them curiously. ¡°In your head?¡± ¡°Something about a wedding?¡± Rhys glared at the flushed Lorian that was listening in to their conversation. ¡°What¡¯s your problem? Do you want your ears cut off?¡± ¡°Eh, there¡¯s a big wedding today. The whole city is invited technically,¡± the man explained with a grimace of distress. ¡°You¡¯re too tense mister. I was the same a couple of years back but I found a remedy as I said. All you need is a change of scenery.¡± ¡°Ugh? What are you, a blooming dottore or a fucking shaman out proselytizing?¡± ¡°Here are your octopuses. You guys are a lively bunch. The chef has made the tentacles extra crunchy he-he,¡± the wench said at that point, holding a large platter with their order. She had sneaked up on the distracted Rhys. ¡°Give them to the fake professor over there,¡± Rhys snapped and signaled for his partners to get up. ¡°He can fuck his face with them blasted things! Mayhap discover a new sensation!¡± Flix found his suggestion hilarious and was still half-chuckling half-snorting when Rhys marched out of the tavern, then went straight for the stable to get his horse. Selussa had stayed behind to pay for their meal. ¡°Cut back on the giggles Flix.¡± ¡°No,¡± Flix replied stubbornly and giggled some more. ¡°The Mayor is marrying his daughter,¡± Rhys explained with a sigh of despair. ¡°I also heard it from the herald earlier.¡± ¡°Just leave it be.¡±Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. ¡°Don¡¯t you want to get rid of the god darn vampire? She attacked us!¡± ¡°She attacked you. Maybe she had legitimate reason?¡± ¡°Because of that motherfucker you killed!¡± Rhys blasted the Gish and Selussa entered the stable munching on a tentacle wrapped in a piece of flatbread she guided with oiled fingers. ¡°What? I¡¯m famished dear and we paid for the whole darn thing!¡± The female assassin protested, her chin covered in grease. She wiped it with the back of her hand. ¡°Anyone wants to take a bite of that?¡± Selussa asked next with a teasing smile and the Gish volunteered with a happy yelp. -
Messor family estate (Also referred to as the ¡®Mayor¡¯s Palace¡¯ from the locals, since the Messor family had lost only one election in two centuries. The single loss was to Nestor Salonius in the distant 67 NC) Lady Anastasia Messor¡¯s wedding ceremony to Manius Ovidus, the honorable judge Nullius Ovidus¡¯ son. The rigid Grand Disciple of Tyeus Aulus Ventor, blinked either disturbed by the prominent belly of the young bride or because he¡¯d imbibed one too many glasses of the smiling Mayor¡¯s wine. The Mayor ¨CPaulus Messor- himself flanked by the also honorable Master of Justice, Baron of Two Rivers Castle Curtius Vendor and the King¡¯s Shield High Baron Montague Valens, the latter having the Mayor¡¯s son Sir Mauro Messor right behind him, with Lord Treasurer Robart Holt standing next to the young knight. Sir Mauro was of course Anastasia¡¯s brother. ¡°It¡¯s a lovely dress,¡± Selussa commented from the far end of the reception hall ¨Cthe plebs ''stands'' since all the front seats were reserved in advance- talking with the Gish, the latter having trouble seeing the details. ¡°Roomy given what she carries,¡± Rhys murmured. ¡°That must be one big ole kid in there, or a couple of smaller ones!¡± ¡°Just stop griping for a moment,¡± Selussa admonished him. Eh. Rhys puffed out, feeling too crowded inside the packed hall and glanced at the hooded priestess pressed against his right shoulder. Her profession was an easy guess for Rhys as he could see the goddess¡¯ pendant hanging from the woman¡¯s graceful neck, right down the cavernous front opening of her red tunic. That¡¯s a lot of blooming soft flesh on display! ¡°In the presence of the Five, the mighty Tyeus¡¯ gaze and the prominent lords and ladies inside this hall, we recognize the union of the chaste maiden Anastasia and the gallant Manius. Join hands and stand now as husband and wife.¡± Chaste? Are you blind or drunk? The darn standards are pretty low in the blasted capital! Some of the guests standing further away from the newlyweds murmured similar gossip at the priest¡¯s words ¨Cwho had kept it very short at the very least- and Rhys found himself staring in the priestess¡¯ moist eyes. ¡°I needed something to cheer me up,¡± the woman explained with a sniffle, eager to make small talk with the discomforted for a different reason assassin. ¡°Ah, I don¡¯t know about that ma¡¯am. I feel way worse now than how I did afore I arrived,¡± Rhys grunted trying to move about but failed and an unseen woman fanning herself smacked him a couple of times on the back. ¡°You are a merchant guard?¡± The bountiful priestess asked with a side-glance at Rhy¡¯s light leather armour vest under his long coat and parts of his weapons harness that were visible. ¡°For a moon,¡± Rhys grunted snapping his arm back blindly to snatch the fan out of the annoying woman¡¯s hands. Success. ¡°That¡¯s an Eplas accent,¡± the fast-recovered priestess pointed out with a smile. A pleasant one, the kind you wanted to greet you after a hard day at work. Unless your work had a lot of night hours and few respites in between, then all you want is to drop like a rock on a soft mattress. ¡°That¡¯s not a Lorian accent,¡± Rhys retorted. ¡°It is. Just a tad older,¡± she replied a hint of flirting in her voice. ¡°I grew up in Valeria.¡± Even a tired man would have found that worth of note. ¡°We have a nice meal prepared in the adjoining hall,¡± Mayor Messor announced from the head of the aisle. ¡°Fear not friends and fellow civilians! We¡¯ll accept wishes and gifts there as well!¡± ¡°Friend of the groom?¡± The mature but very pleasant to the eye priestess asked as they turned to head outside. Rhys hadn¡¯t brought a gift for the Mayor. Because fuck him. That darn bastard lives in a blasted palace! ¡°Eh, I¡¯m here on business.¡± ¡°Uhm, it¡¯s not a bad venue to spread your wings, I suppose.¡± Rhys nodded and stopped upon reaching the corridor to wait for the others. The priestess bid him farewell with a small curtsy and sauntered away drawing a lot of stares from the guests. ¡°You know Augusta Flavia?¡± Selussa asked coming to stand next to him, followed by the Gish. They were holding hands which Rhys thought that it was plenty weird. ¡°Ugh?¡± ¡°You were talking with her?¡± ¡°Woman, I had no say in that!¡± Rhys grunted. ¡°I was sardined next to her!¡± He glared at Flix that had tapped his left knee once. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°Can I have the fan?¡± The Gish asked with a pleading grin. Rhys pursed his mouth and realized he was still holding the woman¡¯s cooling tool. ¡°Just take the darn thing!¡± Rhys hissed and stared up and down the corridor confused. ¡°Anyone has any blasted idea where she might be? Afore anyone asks any damn queries, I¡¯m talking about the vampire wench!¡± ¡°Can you lower your voice? Gods. And I don¡¯t know. Anyone looking suspicious?¡± Selussa asked. ¡°How about you tell me?¡± Rhys retorted all fired up. ¡°I was watching the ceremony?¡± Selussa protested and Rhys snarled a curse that headache returning tenfold. ¡°Great! You better focus¡ª¡± ¡°The groom looked disinterested. Very strange vibes,¡± Flix cut in before Rhys could finish his sentence. The Gish was fanning himself energetically. ¡°There¡¯s no way you could have seen the groom from where you were standing Gish! You¡¯re just over four feet in fucking heels for pity¡¯s sake!¡± Rhys all but growled irate and the affronted Flix pointed angrily his wooden fan towards a fancy dressed young man walking away from them. Rhys narrowed his eyes frustrated. ¡°Alright. Who¡¯s that?¡± ¡°The groom,¡± Selussa chuckled. ¡°Where is he going? The dinner party is the other way.¡± ¡°Whatever,¡± Rhys hissed and rubbed at his face tiredly. ¡°So you never once looked at him?¡± Selussa asked thoughtfully. ¡°Were your eyes too preoccupied to even bother Rhys?¡± The assassin stared at his partner and lover numbly. It was only for a brief moment, as he immediately unleashed on her. ¡°Are you serious with that weak bullshit? I was standing next to a blasted priestess! Your words! An inch closer and it would¡¯ve been a massage involving a lot of plaguing tit and not a social occasion! Gods damn it. Argh! Stop fanning your face!¡± He snapped at the giggling Gish. ¡°We¡¯ll go after the groom.¡± ¡°Why?¡± An also angry Selussa asked behind him and Rhys pointed a thumb back towards the hopping about the corridor, teal-colored dress wearing, Flix. ¡°Ask him. It¡¯s his blasted theory!¡± ¡°I wish to be addressed as a she, Mister Rhys,¡± Flix protested civilly, stopping to look at him in silent judgement. ¡°Keep hopping you little bitch,¡± Rhys barked a retort, having run completely out of patience and marched down the corridor fuming.
The groom, Manius Ovidus, crossed the yard walking fast and headed towards the large square buildings that were part of the estate¡¯s stables and were situated to the east at the start of Messor or Mayor¡¯s Vines, a massive plot of fertile land that reached as far as Cartagen¡¯s North Walls. Rhys hurried after him, the nicely sunny winter day illuminating the large two-story buildings that stood adjoined to each other. Manius entered the first stable from the open double doors and Rhys signaled for Flix and Selussa to guard the entrance, whilst he followed the dressed in a light-blue redingote young man inside. The assassin didn¡¯t have a plan, still fighting with that strange disorientation and fog in his head, but had a strong feeling that the Alafern was near. Either he was right, or he was about to make a fool of himself, not to mention surprising the newly wedded Manius who had probably rushed here for a quick roll in the hay with the help. Or the stable hand. ¡°I don¡¯t wish to continue this charade,¡± Manius said to someone inside the stable¡¯s aisle, half of it lit up from the sun that came from the open doors, the rest of it concealed in darkness. ¡°I can only think of you.¡± Well, the stable hand is the odds favorite at this point with the hint of a last minute surprise looming. If this turns out to be a dud, I¡¯ll call Flix in here to deal with this shite, Rhys decided, pausing five meters behind the judge¡¯s son, almost missing the whispery voice¡¯s words. ¡°You had my blood,¡± the Alafern said. ¡°Aye, willingly.¡± Came Manius reply just as Rhys thought sourly, mistakenly believing the voice had addressed him inside his head. It was a fucking accident. I wanted to spit but swallowed. Eh. Wait¡­ ¡°You can hear her too?¡± A surprised Rhys asked the groom, who yelped in panic, pirouetted on his feet and almost went down covering that fine garb he had on in horse dung. The stable was cleaned up, but no stable is ever that clean. ¡°Who¡­ are you? This is private property!¡± Manius croaked, trying to recover from the shock. ¡°Congrats on yer wedding,¡± Rhys replied, searching about the darkness behind the groom. Two small ladders were leading on the upper half-floor that was used to store fodder and tools, but Rhys couldn¡¯t make out anything else. ¡°I was there. Lovely ceremony. Brief¡ª¡± ¡°I have no idea who you are!¡± Manius cut him off aggressively. ¡°Just get out of here.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not here for you,¡± Rhys explained and unbuttoned his long coat, it was the best article of clothing he possessed, but for his used light leather armour and pants. Manius frowned seeing the number of weapons revealed when the coat parted. ¡°Start walking towards the doors and don¡¯t stop until you reach your wife.¡± Then he noticed the look on Manius face. The young man took a step forward clenching his fists. ¡°Bekare is mine.¡± Rhys smacked his lips, a vein throbbing in the middle of his forehead, his mouth dry and the gums in his mouth hurting. ¡°Don¡¯t do it,¡± he warned the unfaithful groom, but Manius took another two quick steps forward and swung a fist at Rhys¡¯ face. Well, quick steps was what Manius thought, but he wasn¡¯t that fast really, the punch telegraphed and amateurish. Rhys pulled the scimitar he kept sheathed on his left side upside down, allowed it to travel in his loose fingers and snatched the blade to use like a club to smack Manius fingers with the pommel. He broke two and ruined his fist, afore moving it aside. Then Rhys reached abruptly forward with his right arm and backhanded the yelping groom in the face with an open hand. Once, twice. Rhys caught the stunned man from the right shoulder, when the latter almost went down and then slapped him a couple of more times, not as hard. ¡°Gah, stop!¡± Manius pleaded and Rhys let him go, flipping the scimitar and resting the blade on his shoulder. ¡°Where is she?¡± He asked patiently. ¡°I won¡¯t tell you.¡± A wincing, sweaty Manius retorted stubbornly, whilst clasping his broken fingers with his good hand. ¡°You are an idiot,¡± Rhys grunted and caught movement on the south half-floor. Something climbing rapidly down the ladder. He made to shove Manius out of the way but in an instant, Bekare¡¯s lithe arms and legs had wrapped around the startled young man from behind. The Alafern¡¯s pale-white face appeared over Manius¡¯ left shoulder. Despite the attractive looks, the girl carried huge amounts of creepiness in her. ¡°No,¡± Rhys roared hoarsely but Bekare grabbed the paralyzed man from the chin, turned his head to the side exposing the neck and opening her jaws sunk those long fangs in Manius¡¯ neck. Bekare was staring at the tensed Rhys tauntingly. The sound of blood getting sucked out of the leaking wound disturbing the animals inside the stalls. You can join me, her voice whispered inside Rhys¡¯ cranium. I¡¯ll give more of my blood. Make your mind stronger. Let us walk together in the nameless Desolate Vales. ¡°You think that¡¯s tempting?¡± Rhys snapped heatedly, clenching his jaw. ¡°Are you cracked in the head?¡± The need will only grow. Come closer. Into the dark. ¡°How about you let him go first?¡± Rhys countered with a grunt and realized the Alafern was standing just beyond the light coming from the open doors. I need to heal first. Then she added accusingly. You hurt me so much. ¡°You deserved it!¡± Rhys snapped looking about him for a way to draw Bekare away from the unresponsive Manius. With a slurping sound Bekare let go of the groom and walked backwards into the darker part of the stable. Her bead-net dress was dirty, torn up and covered in gore at the ribs but she had no visible injuries anymore. ¡°Rhys?¡± Selussa asked from the doors. ¡°Stay back there!¡± A tensed Rhys yelled at her. Come to me Rhys. Bekare purred seductively. Be forever. You all want it. I¡¯ll show you the world beyond darkness¡¯ dark veil. ¡°What about him?¡± Rhys asked locating a protruding pickaxe in a barrel with other tools by the north side ladder. ¡°If he dies, the whole city will hunt you down like a dog.¡± You¡¯re much more intriguing. Where did you learn to fight like that? With no fear but great skill? ¡°I had a proper monster for a tutor. Son of a bitch, runs a zero fails policy,¡± Rhys taunted with a snort and stepped forward to reach the barrel. The moment he did Bekare moved as well, closing the distance between them. The assassin coolly stepped back into the sunlit portion of the stable. It was growing on one side as the light moved to the west. ¡°You don¡¯t give a damn about Abatis.¡± Not my pupil. Not the mission. But you are so skilled. The blood is fascinated. ¡°What¡¯s the mission?¡± I can wait Rhys. Soon the light will go away. ¡°Not soon enough, it¡¯ll be a hard wait if ye can¡¯t move out of here,¡± Rhys retorted and licked his lips. He felt that buzz in his head growing and his eyes lowered to the unresponsive Manius. The blood trickling from his torn neck had completely dried up but whatever was left there was mesmerizing. ¡°The fuck did you do to him?¡± All I wanted was the blood. Let animals have the rest. The moment you injured me, his fate was sealed. You just happened to arrive at the same time. Luthos likes to play games. ¡°How did you reach so far?¡± Rhys kept talking to her in order find a way to make a surprise attack, even walking the shades, but that first blow should be devastating mate. ¡°It is kilometers away from the city¡¯s gates.¡± The realms, Bekare replied ominously, are full of shortcuts. ¡°Flix is at the back entrance,¡± Selussa needlessly said from the open doors, but Rhys didn¡¯t dare take his eyes from the stirring from one leg to another Alafern, waiting his decision about four meters away. Break the Vampir¡¯s hold wit wood or fire my arse, Rhys thought angrily. That boisterous fool of a bard left some important stuff out! The moment he felt the witch¡¯s quality dry incense ¨Cshaped into balls- igniting around his fingers now dipped inside the satchel¡¯s sheath, Rhys leaped in the south walls¡¯ shadows cast by the half-floor. The assassin felt the air changing on his skin, the stable¡¯s foul odors gone instantly and replaced by the acrid smell of burned ash and brimstone. He followed the lit up in some unseen moon¡¯s light path with the desert rousing right and left of him. Far beyond the slowly cracking open bright door leading to his predetermined exit point, what looked like a barrier of black peaks stood ominously over the flat empty terrain and under the dark red barely discernible sky. Rhys hurried the few meters, boots shuffling in soft powder like sand and the misleadingly, obviously not empty, desert expanding on both sides of him, came alive. First with whispers in many tongues. Then shrieks begging for help and distant laments of despair. Finally shapes started forming just beyond the illuminated narrow path the assassin was following. Some looked like regular people, others were grotesquely misshapen or had more limbs than a centipede attached to their elongated torsos. Fiends. MOVE! He urged himself, seeing the distance to the bright opening not decreasing at all. The yells and shrieks turning to incoherent words, as the spirits imprisoned inside the in-between realms started running alongside Rhys, constantly reaching out to grab hold of him. The assassin weaved and dodged, the whole ordeal lasting way longer than he had anticipated, given the pitiful distance Rhys had intended to travel initially. The whole ordeal a sneaky misdirection and not a blasted stroll in the Desolate Vales or whatever the all-hells this was! Five plaguing meters left. In order to reach the other side of the barn and grab the pickaxe. As many as they were half a minute ago. Fuck.
¡°What did the Elderblood thief out of Coal Isle asked?¡± A young Rhys probed and Ralnor paused his work on the shortsword¡¯s handle. The old imperial steel now encased in a cruder custom grip. It was for the girls, Ralnor had already finished working on Rhys¡¯ blade. ¡°A fiend might step in your way. Or lurk to catch you on the return.¡± Dar Eherdir reminisced what had happened when he was young but still much older than Rhys. ¡°What was your reply?¡± ¡°I said that in order to do it they must turn solid,¡± Ralnor sucked at his teeth. Some blood still on his chin from earlier. ¡°So I hurt them a lot. After a couple of times they leave you alone.¡± ¡°A boast?¡± Young Rhys queried and Dar Eherdir furrowed his now-grown back washed out blue eyebrows. His tutor would probably shave everything away before retiring for the night. ¡°To boast is to taunt the gods to put yer words to the test,¡± Ralnor rustled and started working the wood with the rasp again, as the conversation was over. Rhys missed having that fine blade. Losing it had hurt him and while he relished in Selussa¡¯s company, the assassin didn¡¯t really yearn his time with Ralnor at all. Eh.
The darn path was leading him nowhere. With a furious curse Rhys sidestepped to the left, crossing over the blindly lit portion of the terrain and into the darkness beyond its edges. He snapped his head right and then left, whilst on the move, then again back and to the front, in order to locate another lit up path. The real one. Stumbling on soft sand and small pebbles, dust clouds rising to his waist, a grunting Rhys spotted a second smaller bright trail ¨Cveiled earlier from the bigger path¡¯s sheen- some distance away. Another open door at the end of it popping out of the blackness. The assassin headed there cutting across the terrain and leaving the path he had been following behind him. Looking back as he moved fast towards the ¨Cperceived- correct path, Rhys noticed that the old brightly illuminated road had been leading him towards the distant base of the mountain range. Hundreds of kilometers away. Curse your trickery! Rhys groaned irate at being duped again by some kind of weird spell and stubbornly turned his snarling face forward. A long stride and the bed of sand rose up to meet him, the dark ash-like powder falling to reveal a massive tubular body. Then a piercing, nigh unnerving and prolonged hissing shriek came at him from above. The assassin dived into a roll, picking a side in the blind, went under a random tentacle of sorts that came out of nowhere and heard the earth shake with a mighty roar, where the Hydra-shaped fiend¡¯s gigantic head had crashed missing him. He landed in a clear space and jumped to his feet alike a coil, ducked under a four-armed Orc¡¯s double backhand and buried his scimitar into the face of a¡­ faceless abomination. The blade hit something that felt like an egg¡¯s shell and cracked it, a foul smell erupting as Rhys danced left and then right to get out of the sizzling acid¡¯s way. A rugged breath, lost in the cacophony of many creatures screaming all about him and he saw an otherworldly, gargantuan shape standing over the distant mountain range. In the god-like titan¡¯s extended fist, a rod of glowing gold and silver shown like the rising sun. It wasn¡¯t a rod in reality, Rhys gathered, but myriads of bunched up tiny glowing filaments that cascaded down the mountain range, the titan was standing behind. They then spread out like the spokes from a wheel¡¯s center or a bizarre net, and reached everywhere. Even right where Rhys twirled maniacally in his struggle to cut through the gathered spirits and fiends. Each strand seemingly connected to one of the stirring forms or figures. Fiends and Spirits. Not every thread was solid or had the same glow to it. Rhys wasn¡¯t sure whether he had something similar dangling from him or that every single creature had one. Not everything was hostile, but enough of them were especially the nastier ones. So Rhys just stabbed, cut, slashed, kicked and even punched anything appearing in front of him even if it just asked for help. Or water. Ugh? The pandemonium increased with each passing second. Rhys lost the scimitar inside a gelatinous blob that decided to turn solid ¨Cmercifully the assassin had the presence of mind to yank his arm back- and then decapitated a zombie-like kid trying to dig itself out of the sands with a brutal kick. Rhys caught it mid-stride and he ripped the small head out of the decaying flesh along part of the spine, then went through a curtain of foul gore, remembering to keep his mouth shut for once. ¡°Mortal,¡± a tall, sinewy figure¡¯s voice said wearing a werewolf¡¯s rotting body, split open down the front ¨Cthe pelt, skin and bones still there- just as Rhys reached the path. ¡°Next time bring the Wyvern¡¯s Tongue with you.¡± A bewildered Rhys snapped his head towards the camouflaged freak, the latter¡¯s face partially visible at the open beast¡¯s gory neck, and bellowed with a snarl. ¡°Come again?¡± ¡°The dagger,¡± the unhinged creature elucidated and the assassin tossed him a small grip-less blade just as his boot hit the illuminated pathway again. It wasn¡¯t charity, Rhys had aimed for the human-looking creature¡¯s forehead but buried that throwing blade in the still moving werewolf¡¯s snout instead. The beast had been sliced open alive and then worn as a coat but was still conscious. Gored out while dead but still aware? The whole affair incredibly confusing. What manner of disturbing crap is this?
Bekare was waiting for Rhys before the glowing portal. She smiled as he faltered, still rattled by the last encounter and certain his knife had finished off the horrifically tortured werewolf. ¡°You went out on your own,¡± the Alafern scolded him in a motherly voice. Rhys wiped some of the grime off of his face, a large piece of skin also detaching from his left cheek, the one with the holes but he wasn¡¯t that worried about them anymore, and eyed the female somberly. ¡°I¡¯m going out but yer welcomed to stay,¡± he rustled and reached for the scimitar kept over his right shoulder. Rhys had lost a good number of fine weaponry in the debacle. Some of them he had for years, but going back to pick them up or dig them out of dead fiends wasn¡¯t exactly a priority at this point. Or ever. ¡°I¡¯ll come along. You¡¯ll need me to offer guidance.¡± Rhys nodded. ¡°Sure lass. Now step aside. I¡¯m pretty certain there¡¯s an angry dead Hydra coming this way.¡± Bekare furrowed her brows and then moved out of Rhys¡¯ way, keeping out of reach of his sword.
Rhys came out of the shades inside the stables, took note of the sun now almost completely out of the aisle and dived for the barrel. He grabbed the pickaxe, slotted the metallic head at the ladder¡¯s steps to use as lever and then broke it, leaving a foot long piece of the shaft behind. The assassin turned hearing the Alafern emerging from the shades as well and as Bekare came at him still wearing that cold smile, he savagely run her through the chest with the shaft. Black blood splashed his forearm, lukewarm and watery to the touch and Bekare gasped hoarsely with an open mouth, her whole body shuddering. She then lowered her eyes on the protruding from her chest gore-covered broken shaft still in Rhys¡¯ hand, with a grimace of pain and mild annoyance. ¡°Ouch.¡± The Alafern griped unhappy and her glassy eyes returned on the sneering Rhys. The smug sneer quickly vanishing from the assassin¡¯s face. Ahm¡­ well then. He¡¯d expected a bit more oomph than that. Fucking crooked troglodyte of a bard! Rhys shoulder twitched as he changed plans and went for his scimitar, but Bekare raised her right arm first, pressed an open palm on his chest and then shoved him violently away with an angry hiss. The assassin lost the handle on his sword, the broken piece of shaft slipping from his fingers as well and he travelled briefly backwards, arms and legs flaying at the air. He landed awkwardly on his back seven meters away, coughed out a lung, rolled in yesterday¡¯s horse manure and stopped on a bent knee. It felt like a mule had just kicked him. ¡°Argh,¡± Rhys groaned, a number of his ribs shifting under the skin weirdly and watched Bekare extracting the wood from her chest. She tossed it away and glared at the grimacing and trying to get up assassin. The double doors about a meter away to his left and back, but by the time he was lucid enough to make a run for the exit, the Alafern had covered the distance rapidly, moving like a blur and cut off his retreat. ¡°You¡¯re not leaving me Rhys. Never have I been so offended by a lesser creature,¡± an insulted Bekare hissed, some of her anger spilling out, ruining that veneer of lifeless composure she had managed to maintain up to this point. ¡°A miserable human should be begging for my attentions. Why aren¡¯t you?¡± Rhys stood up with his face contorting and a wobbly right knee. ¡°I¡¯m an odd solitary soul that lucked out lately,¡± he admitted with a rustle and a groan. ¡°Rather not dabble wit another whiny snatch right now lass.¡± Bekare blinked trying to decipher his rustic reply and Rhys took the opportunity to put his weigh on that bad knee, raised the other sharply and delivered a solid kick on the Alafern¡¯s torso. It wasn¡¯t brutal enough to damage Bekare but it had enough momentum behind it to plunge the weighting considerably less female backwards. The vampir was hurled out of the open doors, twirling like a mad grasshopper, stopped with a startled gasp and then started towards the hobbling about holding his knee Rhys. She managed one stride in a blur bathed in the afternoon¡¯s strong winter sun, but then the smoke covering her movement dissolved and evaporated. Bekare faltered towards the stable doors, her hair combusting, large blisters forming on her exposed arms and distorting her comely face. A limping Rhys moved out to prevent her from reaching safety, but Bekare just dropped to a knee a meter from him and two from the open doors. She let out a desperate, prolonged cry of pain, and Rhys spotted two bolts buried in her already that weren¡¯t there a moment afore. One in the right thigh and another in her ravaged sternum. The lurking Gish landed next to the numb Rhys, probably from the stable¡¯s roof and calmly reloaded his small metallic crossbow. ¡°You¡­ little...¡± The Alafern croaked hoarsely, pieces of melting flesh falling off of the stretched out to reach him hands, leaving the strangely white finger bones exposed. ¡°Shush,¡± Flix ordered callously and shot another bolt from almost point blank range. It punctured Bekare¡¯s smoking forehead and plunged in her brain. The Alafern shuddered one final time and collapsed on her back, the exposed parts slowly burning away. ¡°Whiny snatch?¡± Selussa griped irate, hobbling towards them from the east side of the barn, Ralnor¡¯s custom shortsword in her hand. ¡°I almost broke my legs to reach your stupid arse! Where have you been?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a fucking endearment!¡± Rhys blasted her, grabbing at his hurt dislocated knee that was now swelling with alarming speed. ¡°Cut her out of the garbs to burn fully,¡± Flix ordered the two limping assassins that were staring daggers at each other. ¡°Chop-chop. We need to bury the bones.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Rhys grunted staring at the blackened and charred face of Bekare. ¡°Wench looks deader than last month¡¯s roadkill!¡± ¡°She was dead to begin with in a sense,¡± the Gish elucidated. ¡°You were missing for two hours by the way.¡± ¡°Ah,¡± Rhys gasped and cast another glance at the corpse of Bekare. ¡°Wood doesn¡¯t work and by fire that idiot meant the sun.¡± ¡°Dominique wasn¡¯t an idiot,¡± Flix said stooped over the Alafern with a small cutting knife. ¡°Fire does harm them immensely in a pitch and a wood to the heart drops them. You just missed.¡± ¡°Kills them?¡± A sweaty, dirty and generally disheveled Rhys asked and found the frame of the stable¡¯s door to rest his protesting back and take the weight off of his ballooned right knee. ¡°No.¡± Flix replied calmly, then flashed the scowling assassin a toothy grin. ¡°But it gives time to work on a more permanent solution.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like where you¡¯re going with this Gish,¡± Rhys rustled pursing his mouth and Selussa gave him a soft punch of frustration on the shoulder to make him move so she can rest also. ¡°We need to bury the bones. Hide them. I¡¯ll do it so you don¡¯t know where they are,¡± Flix replied and got up holding parts of Bekare¡¯s bead-net dress. ¡°Burn first. Bury later.¡± ¡°Why would I bother with her bones?¡± Rhys snapped aggressively and paused with a violent shudder, feeling a strange numbness spreading on his nape. The soft breeze of the approaching night reaching them from the Scalding Sea. Rhys? Bekare whispered in his ear. Don¡¯t let him hide the bones. ¡°Are you alright?¡± Selussa asked worried and Rhys sucked a deep breath in afore letting it all out in a reassuring reply. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about a thing kitty.¡± Rhys forced a half-smile half-snarl on his sweaty, pale face. His gold incisors gleaming in the dying light. ¡°I¡¯ll just sip some of Ael¡¯s wonder medicine and be back on my feet in a couple of day¡¯s tops!¡± Rhys? Bekare griped sadly. Just keep yer mouth shut gods damn it! - Days later, the road to Novesium. I could tell you things. Things that happened many years before the first Zilan King came to be, Bekare insisted, constantly not giving him a moment of respite but for when Rhys was sharing a bed with Selussa. Most of the times that is. Do I look like a guy that takes history classes? You¡¯re selling yourself short. Nah, I¡¯m just telling it like it is. Rhys¡¯ furrowed his brows. Who was that freak wearing a bloody werewolf like a coat? Eh, I didn¡¯t see that. What good are ye then? Rhys sucked at his cheeks, the gap where the molars had been bothering him immensely. He was standing right there! Do you wish to know whose plan the rebel Aken followed? Bekare tried again after some time of blissfully quiet riding. Take a guess. Or maybe my mission? Rhys smacked a gold fly away with his gloved hand and then glanced at the half-asleep on the saddle Selussa. Flix was smoking blissfully on his other side, but you couldn¡¯t see the Gish¡¯s face as he had that ridiculously large hat on again. I don¡¯t give a copper Dinar about the Aken or your mission, came Rhys¡¯s retort after a short moment of contemplation and the Alafern¡¯s ancient quest came to an abrupt pause. For a while. -
Before the stable¡¯s front doors only a large dark, blackened patch of land remained as an elusive hint of a more sinister event. When the alarmed Mayor¡¯s people found the judge son¡¯s¡¯ completely emaciated corpse inside the stable, nobody could figure out what had happened. An accident seemed the obvious reason as the groom¡¯s neck had been broken probably from a fall while attempting to climb on a horse. Why would he visit the stables though with a young bride expecting him inside the estate? The tragic event spun strange rumors immediately with some tales speaking of other shady people allegedly present at the empty ¨Cduring the festivities- stables, or the wrinkled, deflated state the body of Manius Ovidus was discovered. The judge¡¯s son was missing almost all of his blood. Lady Anastasia would eventually give birth to a son she named Manius a year later and would remarry two years after that to a better prospect. A prominent knight no less and friend of her brother¡¯s. The case of the judge¡¯s murdered son remained in the years that followed a strange event without an easy answer. In some esoteric circles or in one of the many gentlemen¡¯s clubs where such rumors are discussed ad nauseam, there is a rumor circulating that one of the first responders inside the haunted building discovered a number of semi-precious, but strangely-shaped sunstone beads on one of the half-floors. They were half-buried in old dried up gore and animal excrement. The man took them, the exotic blood-colored translucent beads then found their way into a merchant¡¯s stand in Storm¡¯s Rest after some years and a foreign-looking gentleman bought them for an exorbitant price. Especially considering that the merchant had obtained them for free almost. While this story is not really worthy of a retelling, the reason why the man decided to get rid of the beads in the first place and not make a pendant for his wife for example or get some more coin out of the deal, is a bit more disturbing. The man was plagued by dreams and strange voices constantly after that. These bizarre voices weren¡¯t incoherent or without meaning, far from it. They instead urged the hapless man to find Bekare¡¯s bones. The gentlemen upon learning of the unnamed man¡¯s plight thus developed a novel and more sinister theory about the late Manius Ovidus¡¯ final moments. They spoke of a troubled young man forced into a marriage by his family, while his heart wasn¡¯t in it because it belonged to another more exotic woman. Unable to have him, this mysterious Bekare killed herself¡­ the current working theory is, and our Manius discovered her fate ¨Cprobably upon receiving the strange beads- and threw himself in his despair over the stable¡¯s ledge to his death. He landed on a barrel filled with tools out of all places, broke his neck first, then got pierced through the same neck by a pickaxe¡¯s sharpened blade, and eventually bled out. His blood somehow faded away like the veracity of this story. Given the just over two meters height in question, this author must add a note here that Manius probably had to attempt the complicated feat a couple of times at least in order to succeed, or he was exceptionally unlucky and nailed it on the first try. Governor Storm Nattas who happened to hear of this tale about a year after the events gave a rather sarcastic but conceivably more insightful reply in his always eloquent manner. ¡®Far from me to comment on the absurdities coming out of the capital these days, but if those perfumed cock-loving rich buffoons stretch the truth out a bit more, then they might come the full blasted circle and decide it was a plaguing vampire cunt all along! Everything else points to that for pity¡¯s sake!¡± - Lord Sirio Veturius Circa 206 NC The Fall of Heroes Chapter XLI (41) The Tiger¡¯s Rule Addendum Lady Anastasia Messor¡¯s brief first wedding & the curious tale of Bekare¡¯s beads
Part of Sirio Veturius series of chapters cataloguing anecdotal stories, events and random peculiarities, usually involving less prominent lords or personalities. Chronologically this chapter stands just before Marcus-Antonius Merenda¡¯s ¡®Die twice in a week¡¯ chapter, despite Sirio¡¯s being the less detailed or favorable entry of all historians that wrote about it (with the first-hand witness Caius-Metilus Plautus¡¯ in his fabled Par Ocreis giving by far the best depiction of what happened) & Prince Radin¡¯s equally infamous plunge beyond Boar¡¯s Horn River.
507. Die twice in a week (1/2)
¡®A ladder is a tool. You talk of schemes and lofty positions, but life is right here right now and while particular in its tastes, stands also blind. The future ever uncertain. You either act and win something not expected or stand idle wallowing in misery thinking of past long gone glories whilst remaining within your tight confines. I can¡¯t do that. Better live with enthusiasm I say and milk thy chances to the fullest like a maiden¡¯s tit. I¡¯ll repair the ladder, care for it and use it to scale a wall. Take a castle or burn an enemy¡¯s camp. Use a fresh horse to charge on an opponent¡¯s flank. A turn of fate gives you a pair of foreign boots below yer legion¡¯s greaves. Well, use them to take you further and tempt the Fates themselves. The contents of a half-empty purse to chase a pile of gold on a table. And a host of displeased men to win an unwinnable war. What does this worth in the grand scheme of things?¡¯ Marcus-Antonius Merenda Winter of 195 NC during the battles fought around Kaltha¡¯s Great Lakes Responding to Caius-Mellitus Plautus now well-known remark that the Legatus had ¡®climbed as far up the proverbial social ladder as he could realistically expect.¡¯ From Plautus¡¯ famed ¡®Par Ocreis¡¯
Marcus-Antonius Merenda Die twice in a week Part I -The optimism of younger men-
First Legion Abbreviated | ¡®The Legion¡¯, ¡®First¡¯, ¡®the Army¡¯, ¡®Primo de Brutis¡¯, RCEMR-I Dictum | ¡®Odio Patiantur Dum Timent¡¯*. ¡®Semper Deinceps¡¯ (archaic Lorian for ¡®Ever onwards¡¯, an expression attributed to Marcus-Antonius Merenda.) Panthera Tigris | Reddish bronze, silver and gold standard representing the head of a soberly contemplating Blacktiger, very similar to Regia¡¯s gold non-snarling banner, the royal Aldenus family crest and the 3rd Legion¡¯s roaring Blacktiger emblem used in banners and armour. Legatus Merenda added a rectangular metal plaque containing in large gold letters the phrase Per Virtutem followed by the abbreviation RCEMR (Rex, Consul et Exercitus de Magna Regia) under the sculpted head in 194 NC, a now famed acronym in archaic Lorian that translates ¡®By virtue of the King, Consul & Army of Greater Regia¡¯ which all other Regia Legions adopted soon after. Organizational chart* During the series of battles fought between the lakes (fall of 194 NC ¨C Spring 195 NC) Overall strength ~3450? ** -Legio general staff not included, supply train personnel not included. -2800 legionnaires. (Almost 2000 of them taken from the first Cohort. The First had a mixture of a good number of veterans in their second twenty-five year term ¨Cmainly in 1st and 2nd Cohorts, another big portion of experienced soldiers trained by Ligur in their four or fifth year ¨C with the 3rd Cohort and two fifths of fresh recruits ranging from a year to a couple of months serving with the 4th or the auxiliaries.) ~200 engineers and apprentices (mostly local Issirs) + 500 or 1000 workers temporarily attached. 48 Scorpios, 40 mounted. 15 catapults. 3 heavy trebuchets. 8 Scorpios and the 3 trebuchets were permanently installed inside or near Eagle¡¯s Nest as part of the fortifications. ~ 250 heavy Rangers. (The unit was formed in Eagle¡¯s Nest.) ~ 30 medium Cavalry led by the Legatus (At least forty mounted Scorpios ¨Cten per Cohort- absorbed the majority of the usable local horses) ~ 20 medics under Dottore Galerius Bulla (Cartagen) ~ 150 animal-drawn wagons (Merenda confiscated over 400 horses but they were of poor quality or unsuitable for warfare) Legatus | Marcus-Antonius Merenda (One of Sir Seleucid¡¯s many legitimized bastards. Received classical education in Cartagen. The youngest Legatus ever in the history of the Legions. He was five years younger from Caesar Lucius I and seven from King Lucius III who were the other two at the time that he got promoted in 194 NC. A Quadrumvir, the ¡®most skilled but also unpredictable of the bunch¡¯ according to Sirio Veturius¡¯ description of him and the ¡®handsomest officer that ever donned the Lorica Segmentata after Tribune Trupo¡¯ according to Tribune¡¯s Trupo¡¯s autobiography, who considered Merenda¡¯s lack of a prominent mustache a big minus.) Aide de Legatus | Prefect (of general¡¯s staff) ¡®the Legatus half-arm¡¯ Domus (Gold Phalera recipient. Maimed and disfigured left arm. Transferred from the 2nd Cohort of the 3rd Legion. Promoted twice in a few months by Merenda. A self-educated lowborn, his family worked the Merenda household lands historically and the Legatus childhood friend.) 1st Prefect | ¡®the Brute¡¯ Memon, (Legatus Ligur¡¯s old aide du Camp. Promoted to Prefect by Ligur just before he ¡®committed¡¯ suicide. Represented the old guard of the First Legion. A lowborn.) Optio | Damian ¡®milord¡¯ Holt (Asturia, Regia. His father Robart Holt, former director in the Bank of Trust¡¯s main office in Cediorum, was third cousin to the Duke of Asturia and a financial advisor to King Lucius. A political appointment. Optio Holt wasn¡¯t present in Eagle¡¯s Nest but had stayed in Sabretooth Castle with most of First Legion¡¯s supply train.) 2nd Prefect Damascus (Sabretooth Castle, Regia. A young member of the old guard. His family associated with Baron Scylla. In command of 1st spear Auxilia in the field.) 3rd Prefect (of engineers) | Servius Celsus (Cartagen. Legendary engineer. Wealthy family of builders. Started studying architecture in Cartagen¡¯s Academy of Arts before switching to Anorum¡¯s Military School. The inventor of ¡®mounted artillery¡¯. Injured in the battle for the Lorian Plains but recovered. Rebuilt First Legion¡¯s artillery in record time during the fall of 194 and laid down the plans for roads, fortifications and utility buildings ¨Cfinishing a number of them himself- of what was later to become Celsus Industrial District of Eagle¡¯s Nest.) Optio (of engineers) | William ¡®Niger¡¯ Nak (Originally Issir¡¯s Eagle. An Issir of a good family. Captain of the Guards Emil Nak¡¯s son that served under his father. Skilled engineer and deeply religious having studied in Midlanor¡¯s Military Academy. The first Issir with a high officer¡¯s position in the Legions.) Optio (of engineers) | Decius Polybius Quartermaster | Ninius Arminus. Legion¡¯s Recruiter, scribe and Keeper of the Purse. Scribe de Legionis | Caius-Metilus Plautus (Studied under Di Cresta in Cartagen. A military historian, polymath and biographer. Famously Marcus-Antonius admitted that ¡®our good Plautus is over-qualified for the job which is as rare as a pretty maiden walking through the Castrum¡¯s gates on the morrow. Take note now mirthful gentlemen that I¡¯ve used both pretty and maiden in my words.¡¯) Centurion of LID | Cornelius Pilatus (Alden) Decanus of LID | Furius Tasius, ¡®the second¡¯. Also ¡®Furious, the Tenor¡¯ (Vinterfort) Panthera Tigris Signifer | Centurion (Honoraris) Sextus Crassus (Aldenfort. Member of the old guard. Famously stepped forward and surrendered the trapped First Legion¡¯s defenders to King Lucius at the waning stages of the Lorian Plains battle.) Centurion Primus Pilus, ¡®Retired¡¯ Glycia (1st Cohort. Serving for 2nd twenty-five year term. The unit¡¯s moniker ¡®Old Mother¡¯ also attributed to him, an affectionate term as it basically birthed all other Cohorts after the 194 NC reorganization. Very influential member of the old guard in the First Legion and Ligur¡¯s favorite field officer.) Centurion ¡®Ravenous¡¯ Indus (2nd Cohort. Transferred from the 3rd Legion. He had also served under Merenda there. Several soldiers had petitioned the King to follow the Legatus in his new command but Lucius ordered Trupo to stop accepting the transfers after a while.) Legionnaires (attached) Vegetius and Cucan. (The ¡®Praetorians¡¯. Hailing from Cartagen, decorated legionnaires and members of the Legatus inner circle. Transferred from the 3rd Legion but while in the 2nd Cohort they stayed near the Legatus acting as his personal bodyguards.) Centurion Reganus (3rd Cohort. Sabretooth. Promoted in fall 194 NC.) Centurion Andronicus (4th Cohort. Anorum. Took over as trainer of recruits in the summer of 194 NC. Promoted to first centurion of 4th Cohort in fall of 194 NC.) Centurion of Rangers Aulus Cita (Vinterfort. Unit formed from scratch in Eagle¡¯s Nest using locals and volunteers or Cohort dropouts for various misconducts that had been stuck with the main group.) Decanus Noud Kost. (Legion Rangers. Badum, had retired in Moeras. An Issir hunter/tracker and former First Foot ranger. The First Legion¡¯s rangers were a mixture of Lorian and Issir volunteers from Moeras and Eagle¡¯s Nest. The only unit in the legions that was armed with the Castalor-type crossbow.) Dottore, Centurion of Medics, Galerius Bulla (Cartagen) Dottore, Optio of Medics, Ninius Campanus (Cartagen) Dottore, Optio of Medics, Brucius Megellus (Aegium) 1st Auxilia (spears) Centurion Dall. Tesserarius (1st Sergeant) Jan Volker Decanus Dorm (KIA, near Sugarcanes Grove, Moeras, 2nd month of 195 NC) 2nd Auxilia (spears) Centurion Lambert Centurion Pier Estes Decanus Lentulus (Memon¡¯s aide) 3rd Auxilia -temporarily attached (Eagle¡¯s Nest Guards) Captain Emil Nak.
*Archaic expression attributed to Magnus Lucius I that translates -¡®let them suffer in hate, so long as they fear us.¡¯ *Archaic Lorian -¡®First of the Brutes.¡¯ ** At least six hundred young Issir volunteers in two spear infantry formations serving as auxiliaries. (The first Legion using spears at such numbers although they had been used in the past). The first and second spear Auxilia cohorts were usually led by Prefects Memon (the 2nd) and Damascus (the 1st) and were first deployed at the battle of the Canes (Eagle¡¯s Nest campaign). Other units consisted of about three hundred of Nak¡¯s and Baron Eman¡¯s guards that formed an independent allied formation (or 3rd Auxilia Cohort). Over five hundred civilians (sources give a number as high as one thousand) stayed back and worked under Celsus in various projects during the months preceding the start of hostilities. It must be noted here that by the time the long campaign at Eagle¡¯s Nest ended the First Legion¡¯s two supply trains (one in the field and one back at Sabretooth Castle) numbered over four thousand civilian artisans, crafters etc. bringing the overall roster of the First, when on the move, to almost the size of the bloated 2nd Issir Foot (around eight thousand people). Thus it had attained yet again the unofficial honor of being the largest in size Legion of Magna Regia albeit only in auxiliary/civilian personnel. Sometime later Legatus Merenda commented in jest, when the matter was brought up at a dinner, ¡®we are a social bunch us legionnaires. Um, we are indeed. The good people of Jelin just can¡¯t bear the thought of parting ways with us, so they follow along. I find it rather heartening, my fellow late night confidants. This way, even when we make camp in the realm¡¯s most distant, barren deserts, we get to dine in a small friendly city.¡¯
The ¡®Master of Slaves¡¯, leader of slavers Bedas joined the landing party that had been delayed for two weeks in the lake port of Meertje at the end of Primus 195 NC. Hamadi, his subordinate and member of Dhin-Awal¡¯s Reserve Army, had asked for Bedas¡¯ presence to galvanize the mercenary troops. Bedas arrived just as Pourem, who had in turn been stonewalled by Centurion Indus¡¯ 2nd Cohort that was all but cut off inside Moeras, took advantage of Umi¡¯s arriving catapults to oust Aulus Cita¡¯s and Noud Cost¡¯s heavy rangers out of the woods ¨Csituated to the northwest between Meertje and Moeras. Pourem positioned a unit of archers in the flattened copse and with the help of Umi¡¯s machines they started shelling Indus from that flank as well. Cita was ordered to retreat towards the smaller lake near Moeras and guard Indus¡¯ rear but the now freed up Slavers at the docks under Bedas and Hamadi moved out first. They marched up the north flanking road (running parallel to one of Serpent Tongue¡¯s tributaries) leading to the Sugarcanes Grove where they fell upon the young recruits of the 1st Issir Auxilia under Prefect Damascus. The latter had fortified parts of the road and a nearby sugar farmstead¡¯s warehouses and in a brutal engagement pushed the slavers back. He had help from elements of horse-drawn artillery dispatched by Celsus, the officer of engineers had been given carte blanche from Legatus Merenda on how to use his machines, and this forced Bedas¡¯ troops to fall back almost a kilometer. Celsus had constructed a narrow but over fifteen meters tall watchtower near the Fish Market at a spot that had a natural elevation and it had given him a commanding view of the rear roads up to the small lake. On one flank, Birka and Kontar were busy trying to cut off Glycia¡¯s 1st Cohort defending Visserhaven near Granlake¡¯s shores. The siege had raged for almost a month and they had made small progress through flooded or mostly muddy, inhospitable terrain. On the other, Pourem had surrounded Moeras with Umi¡¯s help and Bedas¡¯ slavers (with Hamadi) had taken Meertje, but their advance had been stopped at the Canes battle. Dhin-Awal, who had waited patiently for the weather to clear at Satemi¡¯s instruction (the chief engineer wanted time either way to bring larger machines to the front in order to nullify Celsus¡¯ terrain advantage in the center) decided to commit Masud-Rum¡¯s unit of Cataphracts, Cephas Mirpur¡¯s second in command had been dispatched to reinforce Prince Radin¡¯s army marching towards Boar¡¯s Horn but had paused to visit Dhin-Awal as they shared an ancestor, to a second attack at the Canes junction. Dhin-Awal wanted to thin-out Merenda¡¯s entrenched in higher terrain center and managed it partially. Prefect Memon, ordered to break out Indus or reestablish a supply corridor with Moeras, marched his 2nd Auxilia (held as reserve) towards Damascus upon receiving report of the new developments. The latter¡¯s unit had suffered a devastating attack by Masud-Rum¡¯s redeployed Cataphracts that had caught them on the move, as they had pushed out as well to close with the Slavers. Damascus miraculously managed to withstand the charges and retreated with heavy casualties towards safety and the cover of his machines stationed at the fortifications, but the relieved Bedas could now move after him again. And he did later that same day, as Dhin-Awal was hell-bent on threatening Merenda¡¯s rear and opening the road for a frontal advance on the flats towards Eagle¡¯s Nest proper. The third week of month Secundus, the year of the New Calendar 195, found the two sides engaged in a savage struggle, as despite the Legatus¡¯ wishes the bad, mostly raining, weather cleared out and the machines started firing from both sides with everything they had available. And alas after months of building up, they had plenty.
- 22nd Secundus 195 NC Eagle¡¯s Nest The gentle hill overlooking the hemp fields First Legion¡¯s fortifications The boulder crashed through the rooftop of a house, blew its side walls outwards and exploded out of the back, eventually stopping at an adjoined barn¡¯s brick wall that collapsed with a tremendous roaring sound. Two more bounced off of the rocky ground and were stopped by the two meter stone rampart, one of several spread about between houses or setup to block the road leading to the fort. Marcus-Antonius watched through a spyglass their own projectiles landing in the fields below, propelling earth and stones in a series of uneven eruptions that left visible holes behind. The morning haze dissipating somewhat but still keeping most details hidden. ¡°INCREASE RANGE!¡± The engineers working the trebuchets yelled to their crews. ¡°CHANGE COUNTERWEIGHTS!¡± ¡°Incoming,¡± Plautus warned and he retreated a couple of steps as another volley of large rocks were hurled their way by the persistent Horselords. ¡°Better we find cover Legatus,¡± the scribe added. ¡°Just stay behind the small rampart,¡± Merenda counseled trying to discern the number of machines Satemi was using against them. ¡°The projectiles shall strike the wall and fall into the earth ditch bellow it!¡± No sooner had he said that, one such boulder hit the center of a five meter long rampart, blustered through it and pulverized the three men Issir crew that waited on the other side. Plautus who had started running stooped that way, pivoted sharply and sprinted near the frowned Legatus again. ¡°The commander¡¯s suggestion was thoroughly discredited sir,¡± the academic commented sarcastically and Merenda pursed his mouth afore offering Plautus the spyglass. ¡°MEDIC!¡± An engineer yelled trying to dig through the rubble for any survivors.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. ¡°Their machines are a bit bigger than ours,¡± he noted stiffly as more rocks landed on the plateau. Marcus-Antonius turned around and marched towards the lead engineer that was giving orders to the crews whilst urging them to reload the machines faster. ¡°Add some more long nails Ronald,¡± Optio William Nak said. ¡°Just hammer them into the rock.¡± ¡°It might crack it sir!¡± ¡°Uher shines his light upon us,¡± Nak assured him. ¡°It shall not.¡± I rather that he didn¡¯t, Merenda thought sourly. I would have preferred a rainstorm. ¡°Optio Nak¡­ oh my,¡± Merenda started and then ducked abruptly along with everyone else when another rock flew over their heads. They watched it land four meters away narrowly missing a medic that performed an impressive somersault in his panic and then Merenda turned to face Captain Emil Nak¡¯s son and Celsus¡¯ prot¨¦g¨¦. ¡°That came pretty close William,¡± he told the young Issir engineer austerely. The man nodded in agreement. ¡°Our next volley is aimed at it Legatus,¡± Nak added. ¡°You¡¯ll hit it you think?¡± ¡°I just need to scrape it sir,¡± Nak replied. ¡°Their crews are bunched up.¡± ¡°Good then.¡± Merenda paused to watch their volley land near the Khanate machines. ¡°They are creeping ever closer¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s as far as they can risk it,¡± Nak assured him. ¡°Prefect Celsus?¡± Merenda asked spotting the LID officers Cornelius Pilatus and Furius Tasius sprinting towards them from the fort¡¯s gates. He signaled Plautus to take their report while Nak answered his query. ¡°He¡¯s with Captain Nak at the Watchtower sir.¡± The younger Nak replied. ¡°Keep up the good work,¡± a grinning Merenda said tapping the Issir officer¡¯s shoulder. A member of the crew cried out to get Nak¡¯s attention at that moment. ¡°Optio Niger sir!¡± ¡°Yes?¡± Nak snapped turning to face the local engineer. ¡°They have lit the braziers¡¯ sir!¡± Merenda, who had turned around to receive Pilatus¡¯ report, paused in alarm. ¡°It¡¯s too wet to make a difference,¡± Nak replied with the tone of someone who knew what he was doing and pushed the man back towards the trebuchet. ¡°Get back to work!¡± ¡°Right then,¡± Merenda said and used his opened arms to guide the small group some meters towards the rear. ¡°Plautus you look terrible my friend,¡± he commented and took the scroll from the scribe¡¯s hands to read it. ¡°Legatus, this is from Prefect Memon,¡± Centurion of LID, Pilatus explained. ¡°He¡¯s moving to support Damascus.¡± Merenda nodded and waved his arm for the men to follow him towards their horses. The loud sound of bombardment, exploding earth and rocks, coming right behind them made the earth shake under their boots. Despite the ungodly ruckus the Legatus had to whistle twice for Vegetius and Cucan to snap out of their ¡®standing¡¯ stupor. The ¡®praetorians¡¯ had the uncanny ability to catch a quick nap even standing upright and were jolted awake throwing comical expletives at one another. ¡°How bad was Damascus hit?¡± Merenda asked shaking his head at the two hurriedly running after him legionnaires, whilst trying to read the missive he held en route to the horses. ¡°We don¡¯t know yet sir, but he still controls the road,¡± Pilatus replied. ¡°The tower has the best vantage point and is where the birds from Memon will arrive.¡± ¡°Good,¡± Merenda replied and turned his horse to the north. ¡°I was heading there myself.¡±
Twenty minutes later Servius Celsus came down the ladder of the narrow tower to meet with Merenda¡¯s entourage. He immediately directed the dismounted officers towards a table set in the tower¡¯s shade, where Baron Eman was sitting. ¡°Nak is marching towards Moeras,¡± Celsus informed Marcus-Antonius and used a flat brick to secure a map on the table. ¡°Or close to it. There¡¯s a corn field there.¡± ¡°Mm. What about Memon?¡± ¡°Damascus was hit by heavy cavalry,¡± Celsus explained. ¡°They have casualties.¡± ¡°Terrible news,¡± the Baron commented sourly. ¡°You think Dhin-Awal brought them from the center?¡± Merenda asked not minding the Baron. ¡°Via Meertje,¡± Celsus replied. ¡°Else we¡¯d have seen them moving down there. Indus is in a horrible position Legatus. It¡¯s one thing to expect him to hold for a while, another to survive trapped and bombarded for weeks.¡± ¡°I¡¯m aware Mister Celsus,¡± Merenda grimaced. He tried to understand the Khanate general¡¯s plan looking at the map and picturing the various units in the field. ¡°Memon will add three hundred spears to Damascus¡¯ force. There¡¯s no way Dhin-Awal has the horses to punch through that. Nor expect to face such numbers.¡± ¡°We used all the reserves we had sir,¡± Celsus pointed out. ¡°It¡¯s why we had them Servius. Satemi is moving the big boys near the slopes.¡± Celsus shook his head. ¡°He¡¯ll gain nothing but random hits. Those machines will be destroyed or turn inoperable from the strain.¡± ¡°Random hits affect morale,¡± Merenda noted. ¡°It works both ways Legatus.¡± ¡°I need Cita¡¯s crossbows to move near the road,¡± Merenda decided. ¡°Assist Memon and Damascus. Nullify the Khanate¡¯s sneaky effort to flank us, even push them back towards Meertje.¡± ¡°What about Indus? You wish for Captain Nak to attempt an attack at Moeras?¡± Celsus probed and drew dotted lines of movement on the map with a thin stick of graphite. ¡°No. I just want him to secure that front,¡± Merenda replied. ¡°He doesn¡¯t have the strength to push against Pourem. We¡¯ll need to coordinate this better or wait for Memon to clear out the Canes road.¡± ¡°If the weather holds for forty eight hours, the ground will be solid enough for an advance through the hemp fields,¡± Celsus noted. ¡°The timing isn¡¯t auspicious.¡± ¡°They shall move because of the weather. We shall see who the timing favors eventually,¡± Merenda replied. ¡°These things are connected I won¡¯t argue, but if they jam our center then they¡¯ll be locked up as well. We¡¯ll win the flanks, then deal with the center. ¡± ¡°Not if Indus retreats from Moeras.¡± ¡°Indus won¡¯t retreat without orders.¡± ¡°Sir,¡± Pilatus said. ¡°Glycia reported scouts in the Granlake¡¯s woods, they followed the gorge to keep out of sight.¡± ¡°Domus is heading there to push the extra Scorpios forward,¡± Merenda said. ¡°Message him to fire into the woods and expel the scouts. Then bring the machines inside Visserhaven to reinforce what Glycia has there, the rest is up to him. If the Primus Pilus wants to push, then he might find a window of opportunity south of the main road. Not near the marshes though, let the Horselords get themselves stuck in there.¡± -
Near Moeras Lake Northeast of Sugarcanes Woods Legion widened road First Legion¡¯s 2nd Auxiliary Cohort, Night of 22nd to 23rd of Secundus These fortifications need to be expanded, Memon thought and gestured for Decanus Lentulus to call the closest officer of engineers to approach them. The engineers had found lodging inside the plantation¡¯s warehouses near the north side of the road about a hundred meters from their eight pieces of light artillery. ¡°Lambert notify Estes as well,¡± Memon barked gruffly at the Centurion bringing up the Auxilia. The men had parked in the middle of the road just before the illuminated in moonlight barricades. ¡°I want this bullshit repaired out to the sides and the ground worked on!¡± ¡°Prefect sir!¡± Lambert saluted and went to relay his orders, while Decanus Lentulus returned with a familiar face, the Optio of Engineers Decius Polybius, Servius Celsus pupil. Decius, now close to his thirties, looked tired and had bandaged his left hand. ¡°Prefect Memon,¡± Polybius nodded. ¡°Good to see you here.¡± ¡°Caught your fingers in the torsions?¡± ¡°Lost half the ring finger Prefect. At the knuckle.¡± ¡°Good thing yer not married,¡± Memon noted with a grimace. ¡°I¡¯ve an Issir lass in the city.¡± Polybius retorted icily. ¡°She¡¯ll understand. They are a gods-fearing bunch. Where¡¯s Damascus?¡± The unwilling to waste more time in small talk Memon asked and took the Optio by the shoulder. They moved some meters away to speak in private. ¡°He¡¯s fine.¡± Polybius reassured him. ¡°They got hit hard on the road to Meertje. Lots of casualties.¡± ¡°How many?¡± ¡°Over a hundred. Close to one thirty. Forty injured. We¡¯re still cleaning them up and sort out the dead at the warehouse,¡± Polybius explained. Memon furrowed his greying brows. ¡°Damascus made two trips to bring those left behind back.¡± ¡°Why take the risk?¡± ¡°The Cataphracts lost some of their own and retreated,¡± Polybius explained. ¡°Ah, there¡¯s Volker. Jan, come here lad. He was there.¡± ¡°I want the barricades expanded and the road littered with caltrops Polybius,¡± Memon ordered the engineer while Volker marched near them. ¡°It¡¯s a vital communication artery,¡± the engineer argued. ¡°We might need it.¡± ¡°I rather keep it and not use it,¡± Memon grunted and narrowed his eyes spotting Volker¡¯s rank. ¡°Tesserarius?¡± ¡°1st Sergeant Jan Volker sir,¡± the Issir saluted. ¡°You¡¯re in the Legion now Volker!¡± Memon blasted him. ¡°Why are you in charge of the Auxilia?¡± ¡°We lost a lot of officers¡¯ sir and Centurion Dall is injured,¡± Volker replied stiffly. ¡°The Prefect will be here shortly with those that survived.¡± Memon pursed his mouth. He glanced at Lentulus and then grimaced some more. ¡°How bad was it?¡± ¡°Pretty bad sir, but we managed to form a solid line of spears and stopped them,¡± Volker replied. ¡°They didn¡¯t have the numbers and were forced to retreat.¡± ¡°How many?¡± ¡°About a hundred. Less than a hundred,¡± Volker replied. ¡°Other Cavalry?¡± ¡°Some lancers the day before this,¡± Volker reported. ¡°Actually a good number of them but we were setup well and they lost about sixty in the attempt.¡± ¡°How large is the Slavers force?¡± Memon probed. ¡°Around four hundred men according to the Prefect,¡± Volker replied. ¡°Give or take some. Minus their losses. They were eager to retreat sir.¡± ¡°Mmm,¡± Memon nodded thoughtfully. ¡°I¡¯ll talk with Damascus the moment he gets back." - Two hours later Memon was inspecting the nearby woods to the northeast and the thick sugarcane grove to the northwest, when Prefect Damascus finally arrived. The grove extended all the way to the small lake near Moeras. ¡°Memon,¡± Damascus saluted instinctively and Memon grabbed his forearm in greeting. ¡°Good to see you lad,¡± he told the officer. ¡°Thank you sir.¡± Damascus replied tiredly. He was covered in dirt from marching up and down the road. ¡°What¡¯s the situation here Damascus?¡± ¡°They brought Cataphracts to stop us from advancing to Meertje,¡± Damascus reported. ¡°I spotted them early but they went through our screen. They just won¡¯t fall from the saddle Memon.¡± ¡°Kill their horses,¡± Memon grunted. ¡°We are not here to win decency awards Prefect.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a lot of armour on the animals as well,¡± Damascus countered. ¡°You think they¡¯ll stay around?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, they retreated pretty easily but Bedas might regroup and come again. He thinks he has the numbers now.¡± ¡°Bedas?¡± ¡°The Khan¡¯s Master of Slaves,¡± Damascus replied. ¡°We caught some prisoners. He came from Issir¡¯s Eagle to help Hamadi.¡± ¡°What did they say exactly?¡± ¡°They have more lancers gathering in Meertje,¡± Damascus informed him. ¡°Indus lost control of the woods around Moeras.¡± ¡°Indus is cut off,¡± Memon replied. ¡°There are enemy archers and infantry beyond the lake towards Eagle¡¯s Nest. Where the hell is Cita?¡± ¡°Tries to keep one side of the lake open to resupply Indus,¡± Damascus said with a grimace. ¡°With boats? That¡¯s a waste of recourses. Who is his man here?¡± Memon grunted rigidly. ¡°Decanus Noud Kost. An Issir from Badum. Older fellow.¡± ¡°Let me talk to him,¡± Memon ordered and rubbed at his tired eyes. The burning torches produced a lot of smoke but not much light. ¡°The sky is clear Damascus,¡± he said after the Prefect ordered a soldier to find the Ranger¡¯s officer. ¡°If it holds they¡¯ll attack towards the fort and try to take control of the high ground.¡± ¡°Celsus stopped the Third, he¡¯ll stop the Khan¡¯s lackeys,¡± Damascus replied and Memon stared in his young face soberly. ¡°Dhin-Awal will try to break through here first,¡± Memon said. ¡°Force the Legatus to invest more manpower. The thing is, we have no more men to spare.¡± ¡°He won¡¯t succeed.¡± ¡°Why march towards Meertje?¡± ¡°I wanted to take the port from them, destabilize their frontline. It was an opportunity,¡± Damascus replied. ¡°We can win sir.¡± Memon sighed and then worked his tongue over his teeth in silence. ¡°Merenda is a bad influence Damascus. This is a long shot and not a good one. We can¡¯t push them back. There are thousands of them waiting in Issir¡¯s Eagle. We need to grind it out here.¡± ¡°It¡¯s better to maneuver Memon, just try to be more forward-thinking,¡± Damascus teased with a tired smile. Memon shook his head and then turned to speak with a gaunt Issir of about forty years that had approached and was speaking with Lentulus. ¡°Decanus Kost?¡± Memon asked and the dressed in mismatched leather Issir nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± ¡°Kost, I want Cita¡¯s rangers parked in them sugarcanes when Bedas and Hamadi arrive to try this dance all over again. Put all those fancy crossbows to good use.¡± Noud Kost furrowed his white brows. ¡°What about the 2nd Cohort?¡± ¡°Trying to save Indus will lose us the battle,¡± Memon explained. ¡°It was an order Decanus. Are we clear?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll need that in writing sir,¡± Kost retorted pursing his mouth. ¡°Decanus we need to win one battle at a time,¡± Memon rustled but then paused and tried in a soother manner. ¡°You¡¯re a veteran Kost. Indus can hold the village but we can¡¯t afford to lose the road. Our rear will be in danger.¡± ¡°If the weather holds,¡± Kost warned raspingly. ¡°By morrow afternoon the Khan¡¯s engineers will fire incendiaries and Moeras will burn. Is the Legatus aware?¡± ¡°The Legatus has decided to keep the other three Cohorts out of it,¡± Memon replied without mincing his words. ¡°Glycia is jammed up in Visserhaven for months, but I don¡¯t worry about that old junkyard dog. The other two Cohorts are waiting fresh but they won¡¯t move also, do you want to know why?¡± Kost adjusted the strap of his harness with a grimace. ¡°Merenda wants to counter attack.¡± Memon stared at the grinning Damascus, then at the nearby officers and suddenly felt really old amidst them. ¡°The Legatus wants to kick Dhin-Awal back into the sea.¡± ¡°Granlake?¡± Kost probed a little perturbed. ¡°No Decanus,¡± Memon replied pensively. ¡°The Shallow Sea.¡± Merenda wanted to win the war outright, but the Prefect knew that even if everything went in their favor, this was outright impossible. The most difficult lesson to teach a young man is that some things are just beyond his reach. Some men would figure that lesson out eventually. Others wouldn¡¯t. Of course there were always the rare exceptions that went on to realize their massive ambitions and thirst for vainglory, or convince other people that they could do it through sheer limitless optimism. The latter bundle of talents, pretty significant to have. Kost¡¯s weathered face nodded, his reply coming a little hoarse. ¡°I can stand behind that Prefect,¡± the veteran ranger had replied with a rare smirk. Yeah, Memon thought. It is also contagious. And can get a lot of men killed fast.
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With the bombardment causing damage to the crews of both armies, the second day of that week went by without any changes. On the 23rd Umi¡¯s machines started firing incendiaries against Indus¡¯ trapped legionnaires of the 2nd Cohort and soon Satemi¡¯s artillery did the same in the center. While Celsus responded to the bombardment vehemently, Indus didn¡¯t have anything to counter the approaching catapults and Moeras was engulfed in flames soon. With the large village slowly getting demolished and burning, the center of the battlefield didn¡¯t fare that better. Fires started in Eagle¡¯s Nest but the remaining civilians managed to keep them under control throughout the day. In Visserhaven, the forgotten south flank, a similar bombardment took place but Satemi didn¡¯t have as many machines there. Kontar had a lot of archers though and had managed to all but surround the large lake port. Despite the small success Birka wouldn¡¯t commit to an assault, fearing a fight in the narrow streets and with his force bogged down in the west marshes outside Visserhaven Birka couldn¡¯t move fast enough to surprise Glycia. During the night -23rd to 24th- Prefect Domus brought six Scorpios and fired inside the woods between Visserhaven and the heights of Eagle¡¯s Nest driving the scouts and archers away. He then proceeded to reinforce Glycia, who found himself with enough artillery (ten Scorpios and a catapult) to balance out Birka¡¯s and Kontar¡¯s. Having the advantage of fortified positions, Glycia amassed his machines on the west side of Visserhaven facing the marshes. That same night, with Moeras burning ominously for hours, Bedas with Hamadi marched down the road towards Memon¡¯s and Damascus¡¯ positions. The two officers had almost five hundred spear infantry there and despite Bedas getting reinforcements (around five hundred Lancers), Dhin-Awal had to pull the remaining Cataphracts back (around eighty) as Masud-Rum had orders to join Prince Radin and they couldn¡¯t justify wasting them completely in a flanking maneuver that could be done by less valuable troops. Even so Bedas had now most of Dhin-Awal¡¯s cavalry with him, a conscious decision as the Khanate general didn¡¯t want to risk his horses traversing the booby-trapped hemp-fields under artillery shelling. Bedas and Hamadi attacked on the morning of the 24th but faced stiff resistance from Damascus¡¯ and Memon¡¯s mostly Issir soldiers. Bedas found success around noon, ordering two huge charges with the lancers but despite scattering 2nd Auxilia¡¯s fresher troops, the horses and their riders found themselves trotting over a treacherous terrain in their attempt to hit the flanks of the defenders. Animals got maimed and the cavalry leaders ordered their men to pull back. Aulus Cita¡¯s heavy rangers that had arrived during the night at the edges of the sugarcanes grove, fired two devastating volleys that decimated men and horses. Hamadi led a large group of slavers inside the grove to drive the rangers back and Bedas briefly contemplated a retreat to regroup again but given the casualties he had suffered already, the slaver had no other option but to stay the course and make another attempt. Pourem attacked Moeras from all sides that same day and managed to enter the bombarded large village. He engaged in close quarters battle with Indus 2nd Cohort fought in smoke-covered, debris littered streets and inside collapsed houses. Mereb who was leading the scouts and archers on the west side of the lake couldn¡¯t assist Pourem, as Captain Nak¡¯s guards¡¯ presence (they had advanced from Eagle¡¯s Nest) had forced him into a defensive stance. This gave the trapped Indus a little breathing room and he managed to hold on to the part of Moeras facing the lake (and the Sugarcanes Grove) with night coming, but the battered 2nd Cohort was in critical danger of getting wiped out. On the 25th of Secundus, after a full two days of warm (for the time of year) weather and friendly sunshine, following three days of heavy shelling and with Merenda theoretically stretched thin in many fronts, Dhin-Awal ordered his rested infantry to advance through the hemp-fields and down the main road, climb the gentle slopes and reach Eagle¡¯s Nest proper. The idea was to engage with Merenda¡¯s center and even if they couldn¡¯t push them back inside the fort¡¯s walls, lock them in a desperate fight and give time for Pourem (who was expected to finish off the 2nd Cohort that day) and either Bedas (engaged at the Sugarcanes Grove) or Birka (busy sieging Visserhaven) to advance and strike the First legion¡¯s flanks. The two attacking prongs had the same destination almost, but they were about three hundred meters apart. What Dhin-Awal couldn¡¯t fathom was the number of concealed smaller machines Celsus (and the people of Eagle¡¯s Nest) had constructed in what later was to be known (and named after the famed military engineer) Industrial District. Thirty eight fast-firing Scorpios (eight permanently installed in small towers around the walls), fifteen shrapnel-loaded catapults and three trebuchets. As Celsus himself commented during the fierce, hours-long brutal slog, ¡®there is no army heavy attrition can¡¯t eventually reduce to rubble, given enough shells and bolts. Courage is fine to have and makes for a better story, but I¡¯ll place my bets any time on that mountain of finely-cut rocks and iron bolts back there.¡¯
508. Die twice in a week (2/2) ''In war, one loses more than he gains and one can gain a lot. Because the fickle allure of future splendors can never equal the parts of one¡¯s psyche now forever gone nor heal the deep wounds he¡¯ll receive in the bargain. For alas in war, one can die twice in the same week.'' Caius-Metilus Plautus In the prologue of Par Ocreis Life and deeds of the prodigious Marcus-Antonius Merenda. -A memoire- (Circa 233?)
Marcus-Antonius Merenda Die twice in a week Part II -Leave the rest to the Gods above-
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Part I South Flank (Visserhaven) 1st Cohort (Primus Pilus, Centurion Glycia) 1st Century (Glycia) 1st Maniple (Decanus Aratus) 2nd Maniple (Decanus Loris Gala) Tesserarius Gordius Regulus Legionnaire Proclus Tranio Legionnaire Amus Fronto 3rd Maniple (Decanus Sidonius) 2nd Century (Centurion Alytus Memon, the Prefect¡¯s third cousin) 3rd Century (Centurion Calytus) 4th Century (Centurion Martinus) Engineering detachment Aide de Legatus, Prefect Domus Engineer Sextus Triferus - Legionnaire Proclus Tranio Night of 24th of Secundus 195 NC Visserhaven west fortifications 2nd Maniple area ¡°RUNNER!¡± Decanus Gala bawled from the rooftop alike a cow getting nailed with a steel poker. Eat my tunic! Proclus Tranio cursed and let go of the broken straps keeping his helm (or Cassis) secured. The leather had rotted right through. He grabbed his gladius from the ground and turned the corner at a full sprint, almost crashing on the Khanate archer that had sneaked up on them in the dark. Probably an accident on the archer¡¯s part. At any rate, the man turned one way, Tranio the other, light boots and legionary sandals (or Caligae) slipping in the mud. They both attacked instinctively as they went past each other with hoarse gasps of surprise. Tranio swung with the gladius and the archer with a long dagger. The legionnaire¡¯s blade severing the archer¡¯s arm at the wrist. The dagger, still in the man¡¯s closed fist, hit the street and the archer pulled away with a yelp of pain. Tranio moved forward emboldened by the success of that first blind blow and got smacked at the right side of the face by the archer¡¯s swinging bow. The grunting Proclus Tranio¡¯s head was snapped to the left, his ears ringing and loose helm flying across the street to bang on a collapsed wall. Then into the blasted mud. ¡°You shit!¡± Tranio blasted his bleeding opponent and made to attack him again but the maimed man turned to run away. Amus Fronto got him with a pilum right in the kidneys and the Archer faltered into a wall, rolled to the corner and reached the rampart still carrying the pilum. ¡°Fuck off and die in a fire! I want that back you little thief!¡± Fronto cursed and reached for a military-issued dagger (or Pugio). He fumbled with it, as a volley of arrows landed all over them and the archer found the time to reach the half-wall. The maimed enemy tried to climb over it but you can¡¯t climb shit with one arm leaking like a faucet and missing all parts below the wrist, Tranio decided ducking behind a cracked barrel. So it came as no surprise when the archer¡¯s boot slipped on a loose rock, banged his face on the wall, cracked his forehead open and then toppled backwards. His bloody brains painting half the street and the spillage stopping a meter shy from the watching with ogling eyes Tranio. ¡°What a doofus!¡± Decanus Gala bellowed appearing a moment later, while Fronto crawled near the dead archer to get his pilum back. Somehow the officer had climbed down from the rooftop in seconds. ¡°Did you get him Fronto?¡± ¡°Eh, sure Decanus. Twas mostly me I reckon,¡± Fronto said and glanced at Tranio warningly. The latter had gone to pick up his covered in watery grime helm from the street. ¡°Who clobbered him in the head? Gods damn it!¡± Gala asked sourly, quickly examining the fresh corpse. ¡°Fucking mess! Tranio what are you doing? Get that Cassis back on that stupid head of yours lad!¡± Tranio hated this part of the job. He hated a lot of parts and liked few others but in life one must be a pragmatist and see to get on by, one day at a time. No reason looking ahead much further as ye just don¡¯t know what comes around the corner, the legionnaire griped and wore his muddy helm with a scowl. ¡°Triferus!¡± Gala barked at the unseen engineer at the rooftop across the street from the defensive wall. ¡°Are they moving in? Because I was about to take a plaguing nap!¡± ¡°Just a score of them firing in the blind Decanus!¡± The hidden engineer retorted, just a voice ringing in the night. ¡°Want me to fire at them?¡± ¡°No firing in the blind,¡± Gala snapped gruffly and snatched an arrow stuck on the ground to sniff it. ¡°That¡¯s putrid,¡± he commented with a grimace. ¡°They dip them in shite. Better be wary of scratches lads. They look to spread disease in our ranks.¡± He tossed the arrow away and walked to the corpse to search it. ¡°Fronto find a torch.¡± ¡°Want to burn it Decanus?¡± ¡°You¡¯re talking like a moron,¡± Gala grunted with a glare. ¡°Are you a moron? I want to see whether he has anything on him!¡± ¡°No lights Decanus,¡± the unseen Triferus warned. ¡°They might still be lurking.¡± ¡°Well, fuck them.¡± Gala cursed patting down the corpse. ¡°There¡¯s a purse. Hmm. Fronto cut that finger off and get me the ring.¡± ¡°Can I keep the ring?¡± Fronto haggled and the Decanus eyed him austerely. ¡°Want to do another shift legionnaire?¡± ¡°Depends Sir. Is it a gold ring?¡± ¡°Get on with it Fronto,¡± Tranio barked and stepped on the wall carefully to peek at their enemies. He couldn¡¯t see anything but the shades and vegetation of the marshes extending almost two kilometers from the massive lake. Some hint of light in the distance but Tranio wasn¡¯t certain whether that was just the stars reflecting on the soaked terrain or not. ¡°Let¡¯s get something to eat,¡± Fronto decided with a sigh, when Tranio returned near them. - The field kitchen served brown lentils soup with hardtack biscuit that night. It was the same meal as the night afore it and they had boiled beans the other day. So there was some slight variation in the menu to keep it interesting. Unless you were a beef jerky person. Tranio was one. So he dipped a couple of slices kept in his haversack in the thick brown paste, as the soup was cold by the time they reached the rear areas near Visserhaven¡¯s center. Worked the mixture around with his bronze spoon and got a mouthful. You had to attack the rock-like biscuit with the molars, grind it down afore swallowing to avoid hurting your esophagus with a sharp piece. The soup itself tasted pretty bad and needed more salt obviously, but nothing in the army had enough salt ever. Salt created unnecessary thirst in the troops and then they wanted more water or fluids in general so the book sort of discouraged it. Eh, Tranio thought, his cheeks full of the brown paste and the taste of over boiled lentils much as he remembered it. ¡°That¡¯s some fantastic stuff,¡± Fronto commented with his mouth full, working that spoon fast to shove more food in. Tranio grimaced and watched the tired legionnaires trying to eat and rest in between shifts in the soaked streets of the half-flooded port. Visserhaven had been mostly abandoned as with a siege looming the civilians had left and no work had been done to clean the canals. The rains had made it worse and while the weather had improved the last couple of days, there was a lot of water still around. ¡°The Khan¡¯s army must hate every moment of this,¡± Tranio commented and spotted the Primus Pilus Glycia talking with Prefect Domus and Sextus Triferus the engineer in charge of the machines. They had arrived the previous night with orders but most troops didn¡¯t know what was going on to the rest of the front. ¡°The marshes must be hell ayup,¡± Fronto agreed. ¡°I¡¯ll go and eavesdrop on Glycia,¡± Tranio said and stood up. - Glycia was born in Aldenport in 144 NC to a poor family of sailors but his father had left him just enough coin to make it to Anorum around 162 NC where he studied for a year. While Glycia had taken the simple (and without need for a fee) legionnaire course which was mostly about the army Book of Regulations, he was serious about it. The young man had finally earned a commission in the army finishing top of his class and joined as a sergeant (Tesserarius) excelling immediately as a recruit. Part of the class of 163 (which was the one Ligur and Memon had attended as well) he worked himself to a Decanus within a year hunting bandits around Anorum. He was already a Centurion during the Warbands Rebellion campaign where Glycia excelled and ended the war as the Primus Pilus of the 1st Cohort under then Prefect Ligur. While Memon¡¯s friendship with the late Legatus had elevated the equally lowborn Memon to an aide du Camp and Prefect eventually, the old-fashioned Ligur didn¡¯t want to propose to the higher-ups the same for Glycia despite favoring the officer a lot (the late Legatus had elevated a large number of officers already during the Civil War). Everyone believed and this included the Legatus it would have been well-deserved. Nonetheless, Glycia who had remained as the first centurion of the First Legion until the end of his term initially continued on in his post. In early 188 NC the decorated officer had finished his twenty five years with honors (and with a monetary gift received at the tenth year marking the war¡¯s end by the Lesia Queen herself. It was received by most veteran officers of the First Legion). After that Glycia opted to reenlist for a second term but to remain in the field instead of accepting the offered trainer¡¯s post. Thus Glycia was later present in the Battle of the Turncoats and for the whole of the Regia¡¯s Civil War during the era of the two Kings, participating with the 1st Cohort until the final battle near Mercator¡¯s Inn. The Primus Pilus had a black pearls beads necklace (a long prayer necklace) dressed with gold thread in his hands and worked at it while listening to the maimed Prefect Domus. Merenda¡¯s man. Tranio didn¡¯t have a problem with the other newcomers. Domus, Centurion Indus and the praetorians. The Holt boy, Pilatus, Tasius and that Plautus the scribe. He just wanted to finish his term and receive his pension. Tranio was thirty seven years old. As all of his class (174-75) they had been shipped to the front immediately as fresh recruits to replenish lost troops and barely made it out of Sovya alive. Twenty years later and having participated in every conflict, marched up and down Jelin eight times on foot and once sardined inside a Barque, Tranio just wanted to get through the next five years, receive a patch of land somewhere nice and settle down. No more traveling. No more being on the receiving end of arrows, bolts, rocks or spears. Which was where the new Legatus had chimed in putting a dent to Tranio¡¯s plan of running out the clock. Merenda just didn¡¯t appear to be the settling down type. ¡°I checked the woods,¡± young Centurion Alytus Memon reported. The twenty eight year old officer leaving a trainer¡¯s cozy posting in Anorum to join his kin as a Decanus in the 2nd Century. Now ¡®Brute¡¯ Memon was not one for doing favors and had put Alytus through hell not to be accused of favoritism. Still, when Merenda decided on the new officers, Memon¡¯s cousin checked all the boxes easily. ¡°They are clean, the Prefect is correct sir.¡± ¡°Well, now that I¡¯ve gotten the young Centurion¡¯s endorsement,¡± Domus retorted wryly. ¡°Can we get back to fucking business? The situation is critical and here I am babysitting the legion¡¯s veterans!¡± ¡°You made your point Prefect,¡± Glycia rustled crooking his mouth. ¡°Now, how certain are you about an attack coming early on the morrow?¡± ¡°They have to attack on all flanks in order for their push to succeed,¡± Domus explained and stared at the desolate, bombarded square. ¡°If Birka commits infantry here they¡¯ll never make it past the walls,¡± Glycia noted. ¡°Those few that scale them Tranio¡¯s boys will cut down.¡± He added staring at the eavesdropping legionnaire. ¡°Yes sir,¡± Tranio replied confidently. ¡°There was a breech,¡± Glycia said raspingly. ¡°Dealt with sir.¡± Domus smacked his lips frustrated. ¡°The Legatus wants you to deal with the situation as you deem fit Glycia.¡± ¡°What does this mean?¡± Glycia asked counting the beads with his thumb slowly. ¡°The Legatus orders are vague.¡± ¡°It¡¯s his style,¡± Domus retorted pursing his mouth. ¡°The story of my fucking life.¡± ¡°Kontar is the more energetic of the two,¡± Glycia noted. ¡°Birka just shuffles his catapults back and forth in the mud. But we have their measure now. When they come forward again we will hit them hard.¡± ¡°Will it force him to advance?¡± Domus asked. ¡°Perhaps.¡± Glycia signaled for Triferus to open his map again in the light of a torch. ¡°I want to use the 1st Century as a ram. Birka holds the main road but the bulk of his infantry is stuck in the marshes to attack this half-sunken part of the walls. If they attack the walls to reach our machines, then we could march at their left flank,¡± he dragged his finger north of Birka¡¯s positions outside Visserhaven. ¡°Follow the road and cut him off at Granlake¡¯s shores. For that we need the 3rd and 4th Cohorts to hold in the center and keep Dhin-Awal¡¯s main infantry force busy. His horses most of all.¡± ¡°We suspect his cavalry is all the way over there,¡± Domus pointed out on the map. ¡°They operate out of a Meertje, behind the smaller lake near Serpent¡¯s Tongue.¡± ¡°Damascus is at the Sugarcanes Grove?¡± Glycia asked. ¡°Yep. With Prefect Memon.¡± Domus glanced at the young Centurion. ¡°So that leaves the Legatus without much of reserve in the center. Captain Nak is committed near Moeras.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± Glycia slotted the bead necklace in a pocket of his tunic and then rubbed at his shaven face. ¡°Anyone has the numbers?¡± He asked the other officers. ¡°Birka must have around a thousand men with him, plus Kontar¡¯s unmounted archers operating as scouts as well.¡± Domus replied. ¡°Pourem has at least as many around Moeras, plus Mereb¡¯s archers and scouts. We suspect most of Hamadi¡¯s force of Slavers came in boats across the other lake so that leaves Dhin-Awal with around one thousand five hundred infranty in the center. Two thousand if those arrivals last month were all infantry. That last bunch are Lorian mercenaries by the way, from Altarin and Rida.¡± ¡°Will they fight up the slopes?¡± Glycia probed and Domus puffed his cheeks out. ¡°I don¡¯t know, but the Khan¡¯s troops are not cowards,¡± the Prefect replied. ¡°Pourem¡¯s force is too big a variant. Experienced officer, fought in Rida is the word,¡± Triferus said what everyone was thinking probably. Not Tranio, but the rest of the officers. Tranio didn¡¯t really know most of the names mentioned here. ¡°True perhaps and he cornered Indus badly. Still, he¡¯s pretty much out of the fight as far as we are concerned and he¡¯ll need to finish off with Moeras first afore turning to assist Dhin-Awal in the center or Bedas in the nearby flank. Why is Dhin-Awal committing to an attack?¡± ¡°Celsus is responding with decreased volume of fire to lure them in. Get them in the cone, he says and everyone is pretty impressed at the meetings,¡± Domus replied wryly. ¡°Don¡¯t know if it¡¯ll work or what the Khanate¡¯s generals might believe but the Legatus suggested there¡¯s talk from the prisoners of a large offensive brewing down at Castalor. Dhin-Awal might have to move before the summer.¡± ¡°A lot of troops trapped there,¡± Glycia noted. ¡°Surely the Issirs expect them?¡± ¡°That¡¯s two Issir armies not really coordinating or sharing info with each other. What Duke Anker knows, the Old Crow might not know and vice versa. The Khan might just use this to his advantage.¡± ¡°Does the army command speak with Scaldingport?¡± Glycia asked. Domus shrugged his shoulders. ¡°That¡¯s way above my paygrade Glycia. Politics involved also, so I don¡¯t know what to tell you. Cartagen is half a realm away.¡± ¡°I guess we will find out,¡± Glycia said raspingly. ¡°If they attack across all fronts on the morrow.¡± - 25th of Secundus noon Four hours into Birka¡¯s attack on the west walls The Optio of Medics, Brucius Megellus gave the saw to his assistant and kicked the severed arm away near the bloody pile. He paused to watch the wound getting dressed up and then barked for the next injured soldier to be brought inside. ¡°Fucking hell,¡± Fronto commented with a grimace. ¡°Yeah. I got a bad feeling about this,¡± Tranio agreed and snapped to attention seeing Gordius Regulus, the Tesserarius approaching their waiting near the north gates unit. ¡°Sergeant,¡± Fronto greeted the low-ranking officer and Regulus nodded. A famous surname, his father the younger brother of famed Centurion Regulus, who had disappeared with the 1st Century of the old 2nd Cohort after the battle at Mercator¡¯s Inn. ¡°Any news?¡± ¡°They made it near the wall,¡± Regulus replied keeping his voice low. ¡°But they got pushed back. Bloody scrap.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Fronto agreed channeling Tranio from earlier. ¡°So, Gala knows whether we will move out?¡± Tranio probed working his jaw to better fit the repaired straps of his battered helm. ¡°The Decanus will be here shortly,¡± Regulus hissed and glared at him. Tranio nodded. They listened at the distant sounds of battle for a while coming both from the north and further to their west. ¡°Any idea what¡¯s going on at Eagle¡¯s Nest?¡± Tranio probed casually and Regulus stared at him seriously pissed off. ¡°Gods damn it Tranio!¡± He cursed hoarsely. ¡°You want to learn more, look to gain a rank you miserable troglodyte!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want yer job sergeant,¡± Tranio replied wryly. ¡°Ah,¡± Regulus grunted and stopped seeing Decanus Gala sprinting towards their formation after Decanus Aratus who commanded the 1st Maniple stationed about twenty meters to their right. ¡°Alright lads,¡± Gala announced with a tense grin. ¡°We are going to stretch our legs now. Glycia wants us to march towards the main road. He¡¯ll be here shortly.¡± ¡°The Primus Pilus will be here?¡± Tranio queried afore he could stop himself. Gala looked at him sourly. Regulus stepped close and slapped Tranio once upside the helm, the clang reverberating up and down their lines. ¡°Domus assumed command of the defense inside the port,¡± Gala finally replied with a grimace. ¡°While the Primus Pilus will get the 1st Century on a lovely probing trip of the nearby scenery.¡±This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Shite. - There were smoke clouds to their right, the north where Eagle¡¯s Nest was, more fighting to their left and even more smoke and great clamor at the distance. Tranio marched at the corner of their formation, in front of Fronto and with Regulus to his left. Right behind Decanus Gala and the also marching with them sturdy figure of the Primus Pilus. The cobblestone road relative dry but dirty. The slates hard under their sandals. You could hear the sound of catapults and Scorpions firing clearer outside the port¡¯s walls. Out in the plains the sound carried. The loud clamor of battle increasing when it came but just as fast turning muffled depending on which way the wind blew. Glycia turned to march left and outside of formation. Gala followed after him. In the distance and right in front of them the road was blocked by the Khanate¡¯s colorful infantry. Their officers riding up and down to dress the ranks. Messengers dispatched to notify Birka, who was half a kilometer away near Visserhaven, of the force attempting to flank him. ¡°SHIELDS OUT!¡± Regulus barked and paused for Glycia to decide on a formation with the enemy lines now within a spear¡¯s throw. Tranio had his pilum in hand already, having done this too many times to expect some surprise at the last minute. ¡°READY PILUMS!¡± Regulus predictably ordered. ¡°Second row?¡± Fronto asked from behind him and Tranio shook his head in a nod, too busy to give a proper answer. It didn¡¯t really matter where the javelin landed as long as it hit a warm body or shield. Fuck it. ¡°LOB PILUMS!¡± Regulus bellowed and Tranio made two quick steps forward, along with everyone around him. He snapped his arm next, the jolt numbing his shoulder and hurled the Pilum as hard as he could. ¡°SECOND! TEN ROWS DEEP! FORM SQUARE!¡± Regulus roared, as the 1st and 3rd Maniple increased their breadth in the center to double that, with the 4th Maniple forming up like they had. Glycia was going in for the kill. ¡°TWENTY METERS!¡± Tranio raised his shield, gladius held tight in hand and protruding from the marching wall. Their task was to punch through from the enemies left and right flanks, turn inwards and continue stabbing at them until they saw the red of a friendly Scutum. At which point it was strongly advised that all stabbing should stop. Pretty standard stuff in other words. ¡°HALT STRIDE! INCOMING!¡± Regulus barked and Tranio ducked under his shield, arrows and javelins landing all about him. Soldiers screamed or groaned in pain but he didn¡¯t pause to look right or left. Tranio was marching again a breath later. Hobnailed boots thudding on the cobblestone and the mass of armour moving relentlessly to engage from up close. Keeping up its own monotonous and familiar rhythm. One-two. Three. One-two. Three. ¡°FIVE METERS!¡± One-two. Three. Tranio kept counting as he marched forward until his shield hit a solid object. Then he started working with his right arm. Thrust the sword forward. Retract. Again. The blade hitting on wood and metal. Weapons clanging on shields and helms. Flesh tearing and people dying. A fucking lot of them. This was the more challenging part of the plaguing job. Yeah.
-
Great Lakes of Kaltha afternoon of 25th Part II Marcus-Antonius Merenda Eagle¡¯s Nest First Legion¡¯s Center 3rd Cohort¡¯s staging area Celsus¡¯ second ring of barricades before the flats The inclines to the top of the Plateau Battle of the Hemp Fields Noon of the 25th of Secundus ¡°Centurion Reganus wants to rotate the 2nd Century Legatus,¡± Pilatus reported to Marcus-Antonius riding up near him. ¡°Not now,¡± Merenda replied tensely and waved for Nak to give him an update as with all the white smoke Dhin-Awal had produced to help his troops advance, he didn¡¯t have a full picture of what was happening in the field. ¡°He needs to hold them in place!¡± The Legatus turned his horse around and rode near the firing Scorpios. The long line of machines extending almost across the whole front, with the heavier Catapults about thirty meters behind them on the plateau¡¯s edge. The sound of the panicked horses and the heavy thudding of the torsions working, made it difficult to communicate. ¡°Legatus,¡± Plautus said riding close to Merenda¡¯s horse. ¡°Celsus reports heavy fighting inside Moeras. It is Captain Nak¡¯s report really.¡± ¡°Can he assist?¡± Merenda asked looking at Nak¡¯s messenger sprinting towards them. In the distance and with the smoke clearing some, most of the Khanate¡¯s machines could be seen standing idle and out of range. Several were burning but behind him parts of Eagle¡¯s Nest were alight also. Parts of Visserhaven were smoking as well and there was probably a crater where Moeras once stood given the amount of shells it had received for two straight days. ¡°He tried but was repelled. Too many archers guarding the corn field,¡± Plautus reported and Merenda grimaced in frustration thinking of Indus. Hang on in there mate, he thought and turned to listen as the heavy-breathing messenger started talking immediately. ¡°The third wave collapsed,¡± the young Issir reported. ¡°Optio Nak says the enemy has received atrocious casualties¡¯ sir! We killed at least three with each bolt! They were forced to spread their ranks out!¡± ¡°I want a report from Centurion Andronicus and the 4th!¡± Merenda barked to be heard. ¡°You get there and run right back! What¡¯s your name lad?¡± ¡°Dan Mayer sir!¡± The messenger replied and saluted before running down the incline towards the 4th¡¯s positions. ¡°Pilatus, is Tasius with Celsus?¡± Merenda asked turning to the Centurion of LID. ¡°Yes sir he is.¡± ¡°I need an account on the casualty numbers,¡± Merenda explained. ¡°We must know whether they have another wave in them or not!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll know in twenty minutes sir,¡± Pilatus said and turned his horse around to ride towards the watchtower. Celsus was more worried about Damascus¡¯ situation than what was happening in the center. Merenda was worried about that also but he had to split his attention to a lot of fronts and not lose sight of the flow of battle. ¡°We¡¯ll need to attack when they have expended themselves,¡± the Legatus explained to the nervous Plautus. ¡°It¡¯ll be more obvious when we know what Glycia and Domus are doing on the Visserhaven flank.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a lot of critical points put to the test,¡± Plautus commented with a grimace of discomfort, looking twice as worn out as the Legatus. ¡°If one fails¡­ we might find ourselves as tragic heroes in a sad story used as a cautionary tale sir.¡± ¡°What type of cautionary tale?¡± Merenda asked and raised the spyglass to observe the Khanate¡¯s offensive getting mowed down trying to cross the flats and reach their barricades. Half of the soldiers marching against them never making it and those that did met with brutality by the legionnaires the moment they jumped over the first wall. Hours in Dhin-Awal had pushed the Cohorts back to their second ring of fortifications but it was a controlled and planned retreat, with Merenda keeping his force rested as much as it was possible. While he had no reserve left, Marcus-Antonius knew he had enough to stop Dhin-Awal in the center with almost a thousand men to the Khanate¡¯s two thousand but with advantage in short-range artillery that was still being used. Satemi had to stop his bigger machines with the two forces now in contact but Celsus had kept firing over them to Dhin-Awal¡¯s staging areas. The hemp fields were littered with dead bodies and more were piling up around the barricades. ¡°I don¡¯t want to jinx it sir.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t believe in jinxes Plautus!¡± Merenda retorted hoarsely with a tensed grin. ¡°At this junction it¡¯ll be nigh foolish to test whether I¡¯m right Merenda,¡± the academic replied wryly. Merenda turned on the saddle to glance at the two praetorians. ¡°You don¡¯t want to jinx sir. Best to leave Luthos out of it,¡± Vegetius agreed soberly and Cucan nodded taking his que from his friend. ¡°Aye,¡± Cucan said and pursed his mouth. At least everyone is in plaguing agreement! ¡°Lots of superstition today,¡± Merenda commented and puffed out to relieve some of amassed tension. ¡°Cucan ride to Celsus and get me that god darn report,¡± he finally ordered. ¡°I need to know what¡¯s happening with Memon and Damascus before I commit.¡± - Part III Prefect Damascus 1st and 2nd Auxilia Noon Scrap at Sugarcanes Grove The rider came charging wildly towards the barricade, the horse¡¯s mouth covered in bloody froth and the protruding -at least half a body ahead of man and horse- lance lowered. Damascus raised his shield instinctively, when he should have dived out of the way, but auspiciously the rider was struck by a bolt right at the neck and veered madly to the left. The headless rider blasted past two meters away from him and the Prefect faltered on his legs afore he was bumped from the sides by another horse. Damascus swung his spatha blindly and hit his opponent on the shoulder breaking the long bone called humerus just below the upper joint. The Prefect made to pull away from the kicking horse¡¯s chest but realized he¡¯d a lance¡¯s shaft protruding out of his right leg. ¡°Argh!¡± Damascus growled with his heart thundering inside his chest and turned the sword inwards to chop at the shaft in order to free himself. The rider, bleeding down the right shoulder and with his arm dangling almost detached, tried to reach for a short axe but was skewered in turn by a hurled javelin that went in through his left ear and exploded out of his right temple. Brain matter, gore and both of the Horselord¡¯s eyes bursting out. Praised be Tyeus! Damascus hacked at the shaft and got himself away from the maddened horse, five meters away another bolt killing two slavers fighting back to back and another jumping from the lip of the barricade onto a young Issir dagger in hand. They both went down, the chaos unfolding around the Prefect making it impossible to tell who had the upper hand. The last attack had turned into a free-for-all with soldiers and slavers engaging even in hand to hand combat. The Prefect stumbled forward, part of the lance still lodged in his right thigh and was immediately attacked by a burly slaver carrying a large scimitar. The slaver, wearing heavy makeup and large gold earrings hacked at Damascus¡¯ Scutum vehemently with wild cries of intimidation. Damascus parried with his spatha, blades clanging and mouth distorted in a maniacal snarl. His shield came apart, the vambrace stopping the blade but it still sliced at his forearm as the slaver dragged it back and forth, despite Damascus scoring a deep gash on his sternum through the torn mail. The slaver slashed again stepping back and it almost took the Prefect¡¯s head clean off, but just as the injured Damascus lost his footing, the sober face of Memon appeared through the raised dust and sun-induced haze, right behind the burly snarling slaver. The older officer grabbed the slaver by the chin with his free hand and opened a wide laceration just under it with the other that was wielding a military dagger. The blood gushing out of the slaver¡¯s slit throat like wine out of a barrel. ¡°Gratitude,¡± Damascus rumbled trying to stand and Memon stooped to help him. He then wiped the bloody dagger on his tunic while Damascus slowly stood on his feet. Memon proceeded to unsheathe a legion spatha with a fancy handle the struggling Damascus recognized. ¡°The Legatus sword?¡± Ligur¡¯s was his meaning. The covered in gore Memon grunted with a grimace and examined the winding down scrap all about them. The road and barricades ¨Cthose not outright destroyed or burning- littered with killed, maimed or both, men and animals. Cries and neighs all mixed up into a strange otherworldly cacophony. ¡°They are running,¡± Memon rustled and looked about him for the bandaged Lentulus that was resting with his back on a half-collapsed barricade. ¡°Hamadi lost the scuffle in the woods. Um. Cita came through lad.¡± Damascus groaned and limped towards the corpse of Centurion Pier Estes. The man had been killed right next to the young officer taking an arrow to the face. He stopped unable to continue and bleeding down his leg. Damascus had to use his sword as a cane to remain standing. ¡°Volker,¡± Memon barked hoarsely at the sergeant that had appeared with a group of five soldiers out of the dust clouds that were slowly settling down. ¡°Come help the Prefect!¡± ¡°Medic!¡± Volker yelled immediately and one of Ninius Campanus¡¯ pupils hurried near them. Ninius was one of the three Dottore that were part of the First¡¯s medical staff. Bulla, Campanus and Megellus. The first two from Cartagen, the latter from Aegium. ¡°Ah,¡± Damascus let out a groan of pain, still rattled from the fierce struggle that had come too close for comfort. For a moment, the Prefect believed they were all dead. ¡°Fucking leg hurts,¡± he grunted, through gritted teeth with a shudder. ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± Memon said, then walked near a moaning Slaver that had a ripped open stomach and stabbed him through the chest with the heavy sword to finish him off. ¡°Had it severed the artery you wouldn¡¯t feel a thing and be dead inside a minute.¡± ¡°Fuck,¡± Damascus groaned and shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t feel any better.¡± ¡°You won lad,¡± Memon noted raspingly and approached him. He started loosening the straps on his plumed legion helm to remove it. The parts of his face exposed covered in dark grime but the rest of it clean underneath. ¡°But you lost a god darn ton of men.¡± ¡°The road is secure,¡± Damascus hissed and flinched when the medic attempted to touch the bloody broken lance still buried in his leg. ¡°Aye.¡± Memon agreed and spat down to clean his mouth. ¡°There are two kinds of generals,¡± he finally said hoarsely. ¡°Ligur was one type. He told me to cut him down.¡± The grimacing in pain, heavily sweating Damascus stared his way with narrowed eyes. ¡°What?¡± He croaked in surprise. ¡°The Legion wouldn¡¯t have surrendered with him still breathing. They wouldn¡¯t do it to the old man. They couldn¡¯t let him down like that and Ligur knew it. We would have fought a lost battle to the bitter end. But not with him gone. It relieved them of the shame taking it upon himself. Um. The caring general speaks through actions and not words.¡± Damascus shook his head trying not to scream as the medic pushed to get the shaft out of his bleeding flesh. ¡°You killed the Legatus?¡± He croaked still in shock. Why would Memon tell me this? Memon nodded, his wrinkled and dirty face full of sadness at the memories. ¡°I killed my friend.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡± Damascus murmured through clenched teeth. ¡°Someday you will.¡± ¡°What now?¡± Damascus asked a moment later to get his mind away from the gruesome job the grimacing medic was doing on him and the older Prefect¡¯s confession. ¡°Kost is coming here,¡± Memon replied and sheathed the late Legatus sword. ¡°I reckon we¡¯ll know.¡±
¡°Hamadi retreated from the woods. I¡¯m pretty sure I nailed him once,¡± the Issir ranger Noud Kost told them half an hour later. ¡°We lost some young lads but my unit has plenty of hunters that know these woods and can use it to their advantage.¡± The pale and hurting Damascus grimaced. ¡°Would Bedas attack again?¡± ¡°We hit their rear during their final assault,¡± Kost explained. ¡°Young men and a few older heads got carried away, killed many of the injured, a bunch of slaves and anyone looking foreign enough or collaborating,¡± he smacked his lips and traced a bleeding scar under his ear with a dirty finger. ¡°Put the fear of Uher in the rest of them.¡± ¡°Lentulus?¡± Memon grunted. ¡°What¡¯s the tally?¡± ¡°Eh, Prefect¡­ I don¡¯t have a complete casualties number at this point,¡± Lentulus replied with a grimace of distress either from the query or his wound. He¡¯d been injured above the elbow and had his right arm bandaged. ¡°Estes was killed. Lambert is gathering those that can still fight just in case we have to.¡± ¡°How many?¡± Memon yelled at the galvanizing the troops Centurion who was about ten meters away from their custom field headquarters. Just a stool really for Damascus set in the middle of the looking bombarded road. Lambert was an Issir, also a veteran and pretty long in the tooth but he¡¯d been given a high rank to lead and train the Auxilia. ¡°A hundred and eighty Prefect,¡± Lambert replied loud enough to be heard. Good grief, Damascus thought distraught. ¡°There it is then,¡± Memon said soberly to Decanus Lentulus. ¡°Your number. By the way, the 1st will need a new Centurion. I recommend you Lentulus. I have to, given the lack of officers left standing, so don¡¯t let this get into yer head.¡± ¡°Yes sir. Gratitude,¡± the discomforted Lentulus croaked with a grimace of pain in the attempt to raise the bandaged arm in salute. ¡°Do we head towards Moeras?¡± Damascus asked still numb with the news and feeling weakened from blood loss. The medic Julianus had recommended laudanum but the Prefect had refused. ¡°Moeras is leveled,¡± Memon rustled. ¡°There¡¯s nothing left alive in there. Tell him,¡± he ordered the ranger. ¡°Cita will move near the lake again, see if he can help.¡± Kost responded vaguely. Damascus pursed his mouth. ¡°If you want to win,¡± Memon noted looking at the pale-faced young Prefect intently. ¡°You need to threaten Meertje. Today. Tell him the rest Decanus Kost.¡± ¡°Cita says the Legatus moved the army forward,¡± Kost replied. ¡°He spotted the banners marching down the slopes. He¡¯s counter attacking.¡± Merenda was actually attempting to win in spite of the odds. ¡°If Indus failed and the Legatus wasn¡¯t sure about us then that means¡­¡± Damascus murmured trying to process all the new information. Good and bad. He almost lost his will to continue for a moment, a wave of weakness washing over him. ¡°Glycia kicked Birka in the gonads,¡± Memon finished the thought for the silent Damascus. ¡°I sort of expected it, which is why I didn¡¯t want us to move from here. Now though,¡± the veteran Prefect added thoughtfully, a hint of finality in his gravelly voice. ¡°We¡¯ve got to march after Bedas and Hamadi. You don¡¯t expect everything to fall yer way, but you can be appreciative and not drag your heels when something does.¡± ¡°I can barely stand,¡± Damascus croaked unsure and Memon nodded in agreement afore adding in his usual very serious manner. ¡°That¡¯s why you¡¯ll ride. It was your idea lad and now you¡¯ll get to own it.¡± -
Glycia led the 1st Century in a flanking maneuver some hours into Dhin-Awal¡¯s general attack. The Primus Pilus managed to surprise the busy attacking him for hours by then Birka and Kontar. The Khanate infantry general had committed to an assault at Visserhaven¡¯s half-ruined west walls as he¡¯d lost the artillery duel early that morning. With his machines moving inside the marshes, it was difficult to approach and impossible to disengage when the defenders volume of fire increased with the addition of Prefect Domus¡¯ Scorpios. So Birka attacked and reached the walls but faced stiff resistance against a more rested opponent. With Glycia moving in a wide maneuver to his left ¨Cthe north- on the main road, the men guarding Birka¡¯s flank and connecting him with Dhin-Awal¡¯s also engaged center were overrun by the strong 1st Century. Perhaps Merenda¡¯s most veteran unit of long-serving professional soldiers. With his guards smashed and control of the road now disputed, Birka tried to disengage from the walls. Some units managed to turn and counter-attacked towards the road but Glycia expected them on sturdier ground. The Khanate soldiers came piecemeal and with low morale after the unexpected reverse. They were shattered and pushed back into the marshes. Kontar who had been at the rear to address some supply concerns saw the danger and ordered his archers to screen Birka¡¯s retreat. Glycia ordered the Century into testudo formation and slowly started to advance down the road towards Kontar¡¯s position under a barrage of arrows. At the same time, Birka¡¯s men tried to escape retracing their steps through the marshes but it was a grueling slow affair and the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Centuries of the 1st Cohort came after them out of the now freed Visserhaven under Prefect Domus. Birka was injured or killed at this point and all cohesion broke down. While a fighting retreat was viable, the Khanate¡¯s soldiers panicked, with men diving in Granlake¡¯s waters or running deeper into the marshes trying to reach safety. Weapons, machines and supplies were abandoned. While Domus entered Birka¡¯s camp breaking through Kontar¡¯s desperate defenses with a surprise flanking attack, Glycia to his north had turned and was now marching on the road moving parallel to the Hemp Fields, which was threatening Dhin-Awal¡¯s center. On the other flank kilometers away, Pourem had managed to clear out the burning Moeras despite the heroic resistance of the 2nd Cohort who were tragically wiped out to the last man. The Khanate general regrouped near noon and knowing Dhin-Awal was attacking Merenda¡¯s center under heavy shelling, stalled to contemplate his next move. The reason for the small delay was that Mereb who had been tasked with holding against Captain Nak¡¯s guards to the southeast of the village near a corn field, was now under shelling also as Celsus had sent a number of machines there. Pourem ordered Umi to move his machines forward, the engineer was on the other side of the village at the end of King¡¯s Forest, and assist the panicking Mereb, as Pourem intended to strike there when his men had regrouped. Then he was informed by Dhin-Awal that they were getting flanked from the Visserhaven front ¨Cthat apparently had collapsed- and changed his mind. The alarmed Pourem gave orders to his infantry to prepare for a redeployment behind their army¡¯s center in order to counter Glycia¡¯s flanking advance and then reclaim control of the road, but not ten minutes later everything changed for the worse. Dhin-Awal¡¯s center, a two thousand strong attacking force, had gone in three large waves but after the last one had been launched and failed to scale the heights, red legion banners appeared right behind the retreating under heavy shelling men. At the top of the plateau the clad in his Legatus armour Marcus-Antonius had ridden forward flanked by about thirty riders that was the bulk of his cavalry and waving his sword emphatically had urged the 3rd and 4th Cohorts forward. Over the edge and towards the flats after the retreating Horselords. The Reserve Army¡¯s leader realizing the Legion was about to attack them ordered his men to regroup and prepare to fight them on the same terms. Despite losing about half his force, sources claim almost two thirds by that point but this appears excessive, Dhin-Awal had enough to stand against the two Cohorts. What he didn¡¯t have was the legs and morale. Pourem who was still in Moeras, was now anxiously receiving updates every ten minutes about the changing situation. The next missive was from one of Hamadi¡¯s aides informing him that the Slavers general had been gravely injured inside the grove. Before Pourem could absorb this piece of terrible news, Bedas informed him that they had been crashed by superior numbers at the Battle of the Canes (the third fought there) and was retreating towards Meertje under pursue by enemy forces. The Khanate¡¯s general faced a huge dilemma at that point. With around eight hundred men still available plus Mereb¡¯s around three hundred archers/scouts, he had one the larger forces still capable of turning the battle. The problem was that from one hand Glycia was moving completely unbothered to attack the engaged Dhin-Awal¡¯s center from the flank, with Birka KIA and Kontar¡¯s force scattered. On the other hand, Lord Bedas¡¯ missive had left him with a sense of doom about the Master of Slaves will to continue fighting and Pourem feared that Meertje was in grave danger of falling into enemy hands. The port was now vital as Glycia had cut off the army¡¯s road of retreat ¨Cor was about to- through the King¡¯s Road and the Forest. Pourem knew that if the men realized they had been cut off in enemy territory, morale would plummet and he could lose control of the situation completely. So with a heavy heart Pourem ordered his men to move towards Meertje and secure the lake port, while messaging the pressed Dhin-Awal that they needed to retreat immediately. ¡®My Lord,¡¯ Pourem had written. ¡®The battle is lost, but we don¡¯t have to lose the whole army here. You have to do the right thing.¡¯
- Part IV Marcus-Antonius Merenda First Legion¡¯s Center The Hemp Fields Late noon ¡°Coming through!¡± The engineer driving the horse-drawn Scorpio yelled and blasted past the Legatus¡¯ horse with its small wheels bouncing up and down the ground. Merenda pulled at the reins to keep the scared animal at bay, as more and more fast-moving machines came down the slopes to create a new line nearer to the moving front. The battle raging across the whole battlefield with all units fully engaged. Centurion Andronicus messenger arrived at the same time a rider came from the Fort they had left behind. ¡°Legatus, the enemy is disengaging!¡± The legionnaire reported saluting sharply. ¡°Towards Glycia?¡± Merenda asked trying to keep the horse from turning this way and that. ¡°God damn it!¡± He cursed and then forced a strained smile on his face. ¡°Do go on lad.¡± ¡°They are moving towards Moeras sir,¡± the soldier replied. ¡°Vegetius,¡± Merenda asked turning to find the mounted legionnaire. ¡°What did Memon¡¯s missive say?¡± ¡°Ahm, they are marching to Meertje?¡± Vegetius replied with a frown. ¡°Order them not to engage,¡± Merenda decided and then glared at Vegetius who turned to stare at Cucan. ¡°Now. Move for pity¡¯s sake. Get the word to the headquarters!¡± ¡°Right sir,¡± Vegetius replied and casually turned his horse around to head towards Eagle¡¯s Nest. ¡°You better move livelier than that legionnaire,¡± Merenda snapped to get him going and grimaced seeing another rider approach their group. ¡°You too. Better speak fast son,¡± he told the first rider. ¡°Celsus reports that Captain Nak is advancing through the corn field sir,¡± the Issir reported. One of Baron Eman¡¯s aides. ¡°They are retreating for real,¡± Merenda murmured trying to gather his thoughts amidst the ruckus of the ongoing fight happening about fifty meters away. He had ridden near the road to be near Glycia¡¯s Cohort but the Primus Pilus had advanced too deep and was now about half a kilometer up the road heading to the King¡¯s Forest. ¡°Pilatus,¡± the Legatus finally said. ¡°Any news from Moeras?¡± ¡°Nothing sir,¡± the LID officer replied soberly and Merenda nodded trying to keep the worry from his face. ¡°Order the Cohorts to pursue the enemy,¡± he told the messengers, just as the second rider arrived near them raising a dust cloud that covered their horses. ¡°I want Moeras retaken,¡± Merenda added gravely. He stared at the sullen messenger a little perturbed. The Issir had an engineer¡¯s uniform on with an apron worn over his tunic. ¡°Yes?¡± Merenda grunted tensely. ¡°Sir, Optio Nak informs command Prefect Celsus has perished in the line of duty,¡± the devastated engineer recruit reported. ¡°What manner of bullshit is this? I just had a message from him!¡± Merenda blasted the young Issir. ¡°Legatus, the Prefect was killed attempting to inspect a trebuchet. It was an accident sir,¡± the Issir reported holding back tears. ¡°The counterweight came loose.¡± ¡°Ah,¡± Merenda gasped shaken at the news, and stood back on the saddle. ¡°Just¡­ fuck it. Get back to your unit,¡± he ordered the sullen messenger. ¡°Inform Optio Nak he has overall command of the machines.¡± Merenda watched the rider heading back up the gentle slopes and let out a breath he had been holding. After a moment of silence, he turned on the saddle to face his sober entourage, both veterans of the First Legion and men he had brought with him. With a glance at the rubbing at his forehead visibly saddened at the news Caius-Mellitus Plautus, the skilled engineer¡¯s closest friend, the Legatus¡¯ spoke in a steady voice. ¡°To lose a dear friend is to die yourself a little on the inside. Each loss equally felt,¡± Marcus-Antonius paused, suddenly bothered by a lump in his throat and worked at the straps under his chin using three fingers to combat the discomfort, pretending he was trying to better secure his plumed helm afore continuing. ¡°Let us win the day as Lorians comrades, mourn for those lost on the morrow in the same way and leave the rest to the Gods above.¡± 509. Die twice in a week | Aftermath
The Centurion of the 2nd Fluvius Marsyas waved for him to get back behind the half wall. The bearded officer¡¯s dirty tunic tattered in places and the rest of it covered in grime. Mucius nodded before retreating there almost in the blind but despite the heavy smoke and darkness, he immediately spotted the young Issir watching his actions. ¡°What do you want boy?¡± The legionnaire asked hoarsely, stopping to wipe his blade with a piece of torn tunic. Not his tunic. ¡°I was with Cita,¡± the Issir replied and showed Mucius a small blunted dagger he held. ¡°In the woods.¡± ¡°Where is he now?¡± ¡°I lost them.¡± ¡°Not much of a scout then, are ye now?¡± Mucius probed scratching at his jaw. The growth there getting thicker with every passing day. Not much of an inclination to shave yer face wit people shooting at you. ¡°A hunter mostly,¡± the teenager replied and smiled. White teeth on a black Issir face, dark-skinned and dark-eyed, with curly and wild white hair that reached his ears. ¡°But on this side of the Moeras¡¯ lake and not the other.¡± ¡°Can you find yer way back there? The lake?¡± Mucius asked turning the corner with the teenager walking after him. The part of the large village¡¯s main street still under their control covered in debris, bricks, rocks, collapsed parts of walls and half-burned wooden beams. A lot of rotting bodies. And large fucking rats with swollen bellies. It was the hospital area. Mucius kicked a nasty one and the suddenly flying rodent squealed briefly whilst rolling on its axis before smashing on the half-standing wall across the street with a squelching sound, head crashed and fully dead. ¡°Fucking hells! That¡¯s a bleeder!¡± Naevius cursed as some of the sprayed gore had reached him and glared at the legionnaire. ¡°That you Mucius? Thinking of eating that?¡± ¡°Aye.¡± ¡°You fucker. How are you still breathing?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t know about the latter sergeant,¡± Mucius retorted with a scowl. ¡°Not with all the darn smoke.¡± ¡°Smoke is nice. That thing will make ye sick.¡± Nah. ¡°Aha. How¡¯s the Centurion?¡± ¡°Better.¡± Naevius replied. ¡°Looking to add some men in the shieldwall.¡± ¡°From the injured?¡± ¡°Everyone has something,¡± Tesserarius Naevius retorted and eyed him approaching. Mucius didn¡¯t have anything but what the Legion had issued. A silver coin he kept in a pouch and a skinning knife in his boot. Good boots, not like the Legatus¡¯ fancy ones but still¡­ aye. Bought them in Alden he had and the leather soles had lasted pretty well but for a couple of holes. So they needed a bit of mending. ¡°Mmm.¡± He grunted and stared at the figures slowly moving about in the street where the few officers were issuing shields and swords to those missing theirs. ¡°Any news of the 3rd and 4th?¡± ¡°Not since yesterday. The south west part still burns. All them thatch roofs went up in flames,¡± Naevius replied and grimaced. ¡°There¡¯s the Centurion.¡± Mucius watched the limping Indus approach. The Centurion of the 1st was an undernourished, pensive-looking man the men had come to respect. It took them a while to trust the officer and Mucius still hadn¡¯t fully. Then again Mucius didn¡¯t trust anyone. He glanced at the shivering young Issir that had followed after him. ¡°Get the rat.¡± He told the teenager. ¡°Use this to clean the skin but don¡¯t dig deep. Leave the fat on.¡± He had tossed him the skinning knife. ¡°I¡¯ll want that back lad.¡± ¡°Are you from the 2nd?¡± Indus asked coming to stand next to them. ¡°How¡¯s Marsyas?¡± ¡°Down to a score of men sir,¡± Mucius replied and watched the Centurion reach in his satchel to get a large piece of pork sausage out. ¡°They¡¯ll come here first,¡± Indus said not looking at them. He could have been talking to Naevius or Mucius, or just as easy to himself. It was doubtful he gave a shit about the young Issir ranger that was busy skinning the fat rat. ¡°Use the machines to bury Marsyas. They are not even fifty meters away. All they need is to flatten a couple of buildings to gain a direct line of sight.¡± ¡°Maybe attempt a break out afore that?¡± Mucius offered. ¡°We need to hold until noon,¡± Indus replied. ¡°Else Pourem will have time to turn against Merenda.¡± Fuck Merenda. Let him deal with all this. He¡¯ll never call me his friend. The Centurion was looking at Mucius all serious. ¡°All the Legatus needs is for us to do our part. Give him the time. Ennius did at Oras Navel and Flax at Holt¡¯s Stables. He¡¯ll get the job done legionnaire.¡± ¡°What happened to them sir?¡± Mucius asked not familiar with the officers named, but guessing their fate. Indus gaunt face contorted, lips pursed on a lightly bearded chin. ¡°Marcus-Antonius didn¡¯t have to join the Legion. He¡¯d the coin and the name to live comfortably in the Capital. None of those following him had that same privilege. His ambition got our families out of the slums. Secured us land and a pension to fall back on. Wasn¡¯t easy having to fight Lorians or even Nords to do it,¡± Indus continued. ¡°But frankly, I don¡¯t care about the Khan¡¯s lackeys. They don¡¯t belong here right lad?¡± ¡°Yes sir,¡± the young Issir replied holding the butchered bloody rat in his hands. A couple of centuries in the past another Lorian Centurion might have said the same thing about his own migrating ancestors, Mucius thought looking at the teenager with pity in his eyes. Poor dumb cretin. ¡°Here,¡± Indus said hoarsely and offered the sausage to him. ¡°Don¡¯t light a fire.¡± He added and limped away in the dark. ¡°Well then,¡± Naevius commented sounding worried. ¡°That was strange.¡± But Mucius never got to learn what the sergeant meant by that until days later. - Six hours later The bolt had missed him. It had ripped through Marsyas, goring the officer and a legionnaire standing behind him, ricocheted off of a wall and clanged on Mucius¡¯ shoulder-guard afore disappearing in thick smoke. In that same smoke cloud Mucius had retreated into about half an hour ago. He could hear the Khan¡¯s infantry that had come charging from all sides in the chaos that followed the main street getting overrun. They had blasted through the buildings creating a flanking corridor and it must have been over pretty quickly after that. Turned on the 2nd Century next that was tasked with guarding the rear of sorts. The trumpets sounded but they weren¡¯t their trumpets. Mucius climbed over a tall pile of debris, rolled in the mud down a collapsed building¡¯s guts and then headed away from the waning ruckus. The battle was over and the cleanup operations were underway. Every man for himself. Every surviving man for himself that is. A lousy phrase. You get close with people in the service, make friends even. Then you lose them. Start anew or you don¡¯t. Whatever friends Mucius have had, war had claimed inside two years. He¡¯d reached Moeras as the last of their class of 171. Technically his term would be over in the next twelve months. A year could be spent on the road in the Legion. Marching. Building a road or warehouses. But it wasn¡¯t a sure thing. A Horselord¡¯s back appeared through the white smoke. The man yelling for his friends to move in that strange Khanate accent. Some words completely foreign. But for the banner part which Mucius understood. Two of Khanate¡¯s soldiers, an archer and a scimitar wielding mercenary dashed after someone in the distance. Mucius had reached the edge of Moeras and muddy fields could be seen through the haze. Yells, cries and boots drumming in the mire. The Khan¡¯s officer turned around, a red sash over his mail and Mucius¡¯ skinning knife stuck in his thigh. Blood dripping down his knee. There you are, Mucius thought seeing the trusted blade. The Khan¡¯s lackey made a face seeing the snarling legionnaire appear out of the vapors, but Mucius buried the gladius in his chest to the hilt afore the Horselord could get a warning out. The slant-eyed man coughed blood in Mucius¡¯ eyes and dropped to his knees. It took Mucius a minute to get the sword out and retrieve his knife. With a grunt, he glanced towards the corn fields unsure and then towards the starts of the woods where the other two of Khanate¡¯s soldiers had run to. For a tense moment he couldn¡¯t see them, but then Mucius spotted the 2nd Cohort¡¯s banner, sticking out of the tall sugarcanes and went after it with a curse. Killed the archer with the skinning knife and used the gladius on the mercenary. Wiping the blood from his blade Mucius approached the wounded Issir carrying the Legion¡¯s banner and knelt beside him. The sounds of fighting dying down in Moeras not even four hundred meters away. ¡°Did you steal that?¡± He asked the teenager examining the wound. The arrow had pierced a lung probably, but some people had survived it in the past. ¡°The Centurion¡­ wanted the colors saved,¡± the young Issir replied coughing up more out of his mouth, teeth bloody. Almost black. Other people hadn¡¯t. Over a pork sausage, Mucius thought and grabbed the Issir¡¯s elbow to help him stand. ¡°Can you make it deeper in the woods?¡± He asked looking about him for any sneaking enemies. ¡°I¡­ can¡¯t,¡± the teenager replied and gave him the staff. The square red banner flapping in the soft breeze and giving away their position every time the fog receded. ¡°But¡­ I know the way.¡± He pointed weakly at the thick grove. ¡°Hmm.¡± Mucius grunted and loosened the straps on his dented helm, a part of his armour hanging at the shoulder half-torn away. ¡°What¡¯s your name lad?¡± ¡°Dillon,¡± the Issir croaked and tried to push the arrow out but Mucius slapped his hand away. ¡°Should have just run away.¡± ¡°The Legion didn¡¯t¡­ how could I? These are our lands. We are in this together.¡± Ah. No they aren¡¯t. The land belongs to no man or woman. But he could get what the lad was saying. It hit him right in the feels the young bastard. Eh. A grimacing Mucius reached to grab the staff. The legionnaire ripped the banner out of its edge and folded it. Placed it inside his haversack and checked on the staff¡¯s steel point. ¡°Use it as a spear,¡± he told Dillon raspingly. ¡°And to walk with.¡± ¡°Walk¡­¡± ¡°Ayup,¡± Mucius retorted and looked back at the burning Moeras. ¡°Your people won¡¯t learn shite about all this, if we don¡¯t make it.¡±
-
Marcus-Antonius Merenda Die twice in a week | Aftermath
Early evening of 25th of Secundus 3rd Cohort¡¯s rear First Legion Center Half a kilometer outside of the Hemp Fields Marcus-Antonius stopped his horse and turned to examine the road heading for Moeras that the 4th Cohort was advancing on. Centurion Reganus¡¯ messenger waited for an answer and Plautus who was standing next to the young soldier scrunched his face unsure. ¡°Vegetius give me that tally again,¡± Merenda ordered puffing out. ¡°Glycia is blocking the road and the majority of the retreating infantry has turned towards him sir,¡± Vegetius replied. ¡°The King¡¯s Road. So what Reganus sees here, is what Dhin-Awal has left.¡± About three hundred men. But it could take them well into the night to finish them off. ¡°Where¡¯s Pourem?¡± Merenda grunted knowing no unit could remaining in the field for two straight days without some serious mishap occurring or a sudden change in fortunes and Reganus¡¯ messenger shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Heading for Meertje port, Legatus,¡± Pilatus said from atop his own horse. ¡°Is my guess. Andronicus can leave Moeras to Captain Nak. He¡¯s advancing from the corn fields with the 3rd Auxilia.¡± ¡°Ah. I want Moeras secured first. The Lorian mercenaries stand between Andronicus and the village. So we anchor our center and then move to finish off the retreating enemies. Reganus will keep harassing Dhin-Awal¡¯s rearguard. Glycia with Domus can deal with the King¡¯s Road stragglers or Kontar¡¯s marshes foot-draggers. But I want a plan ready on how to tackle an assault on Meertje if the need arises.¡± Reganus messenger had company by the time Marcus-Antonius finished his small speech. ¡°Delius, 3rd Maniple, 3rd Century,¡± the messenger reported stiffly. With Merenda¡¯s entourage very near the slow-moving frontline it was easy for the runners to reach him. In the center at least. ¡°The Centurion informs the Legatus Lord Dhin-Awal wants to parley with Lord Merenda.¡± Finally. Good grief. Praised be the Allgods! ¡°We¡¯ve got no real nobles in my family,¡± a relieved Merenda retorted assuming a haughty tone, his jest making the sober mood change for a moment. ¡°Unless he means lord commanders, then we have two pretty prestigious ones between myself and my father. Ah, and a couple of royal knights. Can¡¯t hold court without a bit of Merenda. Right Pilatus?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right sir,¡± Pilatus replied readily to the wordplay amidst a spreading euphoria at the news. It wasn¡¯t going to last, but the Legatus knew how to work a crowd. - Half an hour later Centurion Reganus¡¯ (3rd Cohort) front The Khanate¡¯s military envoy looked at the Legion officers and Merenda with brightly painted turquoise eyes. A Cofol tradition, the Horselord nobility had adopted for the most part. Not everyone was partaking with the same gusto as the envoy though. Dhin-Awal, the Khanate general standing next to a Cataphract, had no such fancy decoration on his face in contrast. ¡°Lord Dhin-Awal wishes his close entourage to be allowed to leave the field.¡± The Envoy continued. ¡°For that he challenges Lord Merenda to a duel of skill to decide the outcome of this battle.¡± ¡°You are?¡± Merenda asked and the envoy blinked. ¡°I¡¯m Lord Satemi.¡± ¡°You¡¯re an engineer?¡± Merenda asked a little surprised at the fancy clothing and relatively clean look. ¡°I¡¯m a Chief Engineer.¡± Satemi retorted stiffly. ¡°Yeah, we don¡¯t do duels mate,¡± Merenda said and patted his horse between the ears. ¡°It¡¯s against regulations and I believe we have won the battle. Your men are running.¡± ¡°You wish to drag this further?¡± ¡°Well, we are at it for months already,¡± Merenda retorted. ¡°What¡¯s another night?¡± ¡°Will you not consider Dhin-Awal¡¯s proposal?¡± ¡°I thought I was clear,¡± Marcus-Antonius said with a frown. ¡°No duel. Surrender and this will be over.¡± Satemi glanced at the sullen Dhin-Awal. ¡°What will it take to alter your decision? Enslaving nobles is perceived in bad taste even in the Peninsula unless there¡¯s a personal blood feud involved or a significant monetary dispute between families. I don¡¯t believe there is and yours is an unknown family my Lord.¡± He finally said a little concerned when the Khanate general returned his stare soberly. Merenda pursed his mouth unsure on how to take this. He cast a side-peek at Plautus but the scholar was busy scribbling notes on a large papyrus and then at Centurion Reganus. The Legion¡¯s officer raised his upper lip to show his teeth in either a failed grin or a half-hearted snarl. ¡°We don¡¯t¡­ we won¡¯t enslave your people,¡± Merenda started after a small pause. ¡°But the Lord General must do the right thing.¡± And surrender was his meaning. ¡°You are the second man today, offering me the same advice Lord Merenda,¡± Dhin-Awal said in passable Common and moved his horse forward to approach.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ¡°Right.¡± Marcus-Antonius replied unsure and stood back on the saddle to better reach his sword in case the Horselord wanted to charge him, flag of truce be damned. ¡°I¡¯ll have your word the men and women under my banner shall be allowed to depart?¡± Dhin-Awal asked calmly. ¡°What about the rest of the men?¡± Merenda probed furrowing his brows. ¡°I won¡¯t begrudge you the small profit,¡± Dhin-Awal replied magnanimously. ¡°Your word?¡± ¡°The Legion dailies are written after the day¡¯s actions are over,¡± Merenda said vaguely and Dhin-Awal nodded. He signed for the Cataphract to approach and the rider moved near them, armoured horse snorting as it did. The smiling Cataphract, he had his mask on, raised his right arm. Reganus cursed seeing the small crossbow, Merenda pulled his lips back tensed and Dhin-Awal gestured for them to calm down. ¡°Treat them well,¡± Dhin-Awal told Merenda and gave a nod to the approaching Cataphract. The Khanate knight raised his other arm to secure the crossbow, now pointed at the Horselord general and then fired from less than two meters. The bolt penetrated Dhin-Awal¡¯s skull from the right side of his temple and broke out of the right spraying blood on the mounted Satemi¡¯s boots. Tyeus spear! Dhin-Awal slipped from the saddle and dropped awkwardly next to his horse amidst the gasps and loud murmuring of the Legion officers present. ¡°A Horselord can¡¯t surrender,¡± the Cataphract announced in a muffled voice that silenced the small crowd for a while. The moment breaking from the unruffled Satemi. ¡°Will that suffice Lord Merenda?¡± The Chief Engineer probed in a somewhat conceited manner. - Two hours later Andronicus 4th Cohort front (on the road to Moeras) Evening of the 25th to 26th of Secundus ¡°That¡¯s Leopold Fulker,¡± Centurion Andronicus briefed the arriving Legatus. Merenda jumped from his horse with a grimace of discomfort and removed his plumed helm. He gave it to Vegetius and marched at the Centurion¡¯s side towards the Lorian delegation. The mercenary captains discussing with the other Centurions of the 4th Appius Tacitus, Paulus Crito and Julius Seneca. The latter a distant kin to the Baron of Vinterfort. ¡°The man next to him, is named Donald Turner.¡± Captain Fulker saluted the Legatus and Merenda returned it. ¡°Good to see Lorians,¡± Fulker commented. ¡°It wasn¡¯t for us,¡± Merenda retorted and the mercenary captain nodded. ¡°Touch¨¦ my Lord.¡± ¡°Rida?¡± ¡°Altarin sir,¡± Captain Turner replied. A fit man around Merenda¡¯s age. ¡°Under Duke Victor Reeves.¡± ¡°Fighting for the Khanate,¡± Merenda noted. ¡°The Duchy is part of it,¡± Turner argued and shrugged his shoulders. ¡°You¡¯ll surrender?¡± ¡°The men would like to see Regia or Lesia. Preferably not as slaves.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t do slaves mister Turner!¡± Merenda blasted him still rattled with what had happened with Dhin-Awal earlier. ¡°Raoz didn¡¯t as well,¡± Fulker intervened. ¡°My men will surrender to the Legion sir. We don¡¯t wish to fight.¡± ¡°It may be out of your hands Captain,¡± Merenda retorted angrily but then puffed out to regain control of his emotions. ¡°Andronicus make sure they behave and keep them away from the Issirs for now.¡± ¡°Yes sir,¡± Andronicus replied. Merenda watched the captains return to the mercenaries lines, about three or four hundred of them were blocking the road to Moeras, forced there after Dhin-Awal¡¯s center had collapsed. ¡°What do you need them for¡­?¡± Plautus asked near his ear and Merenda stopped him with a wave of his hand. ¡°We¡¯ll talk of this later,¡± he hissed and glared at Vegetius who had stayed behind. The legionnaire rushed near them carrying Merenda¡¯s helm. At the struggle¡¯s end, the Legatus thought nervously. Dare to gaze to the morrow. -
Pourem beat Damascus¡¯ advancing 1st and 2nd Auxilia to Meertje but Glycia managed to secure the King¡¯s Road to Dhin-Awal¡¯s rear cutting off the Khanate general¡¯s retreat. With Domus taking one camp after the other with the 2nd and 3rd Centuries, leaving the 4th to hunt down Kontar¡¯s men inside the marshes, Dhin-Awal¡¯s center was splintered and destroyed. The Lorians under then Captain Fulker of Altarin tried to reach Moeras but Captain Nak¡¯s 3rd Auxilia took control of the destroyed village late that afternoon and stalled them. Centurion Andronicus pivoting north 4th Cohort caught up with the mercenaries and they opted to surrender after some brief negotiations. While Dhin-Awal committed suicide or was killed by one of his bodyguards, the engineer Satemi agreed to Merenda¡¯s terms and surrendered the remnants of Reserve Army¡¯s center to the Legatus. Merenda marched the 4th Cohort towards Meertje immediately, reaching the port at dawn. Damascus and Memon had been ordered not to engage with Pourem¡¯s entrenched troops so they spent the night regaining control of the road and Moeras Lake with the help of Cita¡¯s returning rangers. The next morning Glycia won another skirmish against the remnants of Dhin-Awal¡¯s center that attempted to break out but had to take defensive positions himself near Kontar¡¯s massive Horse-Archers camp as reports reached him of Khanate army movement out of the Capital. The army turned out to be a supply caravan that turned around without challenging the legion¡¯s positions and Glycia assumed command of the First Cohort again from Prefect Domus who returned near the Legatus. Merenda considered an assault to dislodge Pourem from the port but it was quickly decided that it would be too costly. Pourem had Umi with him (Satemi¡¯s second in command) and had received a lot of reinforcements from fleeing troops, Mereb who made it out of the woods, on top of Bedas Slavers that were already there. He also had trouble feeding all those men and despite messaging the Khan of the catastrophe, Pourem¡¯s position remained precarious. No one could believe the First Legion had won the siege. Such was the incredulity of the unlikely outcome that the Khan blamed Dhin-Awal of cowardice and high treason. Pourem kept his mouth shut but was forced given the deleterious atmosphere to swear to fight to the last and keep control of the port. Rumen-Kot who had a better grasp of what had occurred from Satemi and Umi, urged the Khan to consider an evacuation over Smallake using boats. The news reached Cartagen, where a huge scandal had exploded at about the same time along a horrendous typhus epidemic in Novesium, just as a Khanate¡¯s representative asked for an audience with King Lucius. Lucius assured the Khanate diplomat that Regia¡¯s army wasn¡¯t operating inside Kaltha under official orders and the news of Merenda¡¯s stunning victory were kept a secret for about forty-eight hours. Unable to reach Merenda, Lucius ordered Legatus Sula (the military governor of Aegium) to dispatch two Cohorts (the 2nd and 4th under Papus and Gratian with the overall command given to Prefect Rufius ¡®Iron¡¯ Valens) up the coastal road towards Sabretooth to secure that Merenda¡¯s retreat route remained open. Troubling events unfolding elsewhere made that strategic redeployment necessary. The Khan was forced to send Cavalry leader Sepa and about 800 hundred Lancers to block the road leading to the Capital, but agreed not to challenge Merenda beyond the King¡¯s Forest until Prince Radin had the time to attempt his own maneuver at Boar¡¯s Horn. The Khanate¡¯s logistics had been strained to a breaking point and that probably saved the defenders at Jaw Castle from another assault. The miserable but heroic Holsman and Verner were still holding on there, completely cut off more than a year later. The diligent Merenda quickly moved to set up a loose siege around Meertje and tried to deal with the losses he¡¯d suffered during the month¡¯s long struggle. The First Legion had come out of the battle minus a whole Cohort (Indus¡¯ 2nd) which was a personal blow to the Legatus since the Centurion was part of his inner circle but had also lost Prefect Celsus, the father of horse-drawn artillery, and one of Regia¡¯s finest military engineers of his generation. The Issirs had also suffered atrocious damages, mostly in material but also in personnel despite an attempt to evacuate people in time from Moeras that had been levelled completely from Umi¡¯s machines. On the 27th of Secundus (or the 29th according to some sources), Legatus Merenda stood in front of a restless crowd of weary Legion legionnaires, Issir defenders and civilians, very near the battle¡¯s site, to declare the siege of Eagle¡¯s Nest over in an early semantic prelude that showcased his unparalleled oratory skills. ¡®It¡¯s a victory but it tastes bitter,¡¯ the Legatus had said in a now made famous speech according to his biographer Plautus.
- 28th of Secundus Eagle¡¯s Nest watch tower Marcus-Antonius pushed the inkpot away and stared at the papyrus for a long moment. The shade cast by the tower had moved following the sun and more light doused the small table. Under the papyrus containing his official report, drawings and maps were opened. Casualty reports and lists with promotions or names put forth for commendation. They would be bound together all these pages, each numbered and dated, to be part of the 1st Legion¡¯s dailies. A thorough, though brief, account of the campaign the scribes would insert in the army¡¯s books. Caius-Mellitus Plautus who was reading some of Celsus¡¯ ideas from the late engineer¡¯s notebook, raised his eyes on the discomforted Legatus. The sound of men and animals moving about, as the Legion slowly started regulating supply distribution to the new positions and units in the field. ¡°The Baron wants you to address the locals,¡± Plautus said placing the notebook on the table¡¯s edge. He was sitting across from Marcus-Antonius. ¡°I can¡¯t give them the war¡¯s end,¡± Merenda protested tiredly and rubbed his face, feeling some of the growth returning to his cheeks. ¡°Nor bring men and properties back.¡± ¡°They don¡¯t expect you to do it,¡± Plautus argued evenly and stared at the civilian caravan returning to Eagle¡¯s Nest not three days after the siege¡¯s end. Of course they had another siege brewing. ¡°Pourem is digging in like crazy.¡± Merenda noted. ¡°It won¡¯t hold. It¡¯s a ruse,¡± the scribe said. ¡°Almost two thousand men are sardined in there. They¡¯ll evacuate them or hunger will do them in.¡± ¡°Mmm.¡± Marcus-Antonius murmured thoughtfully and tried to wipe some of the ink from his fingers with a piece of cloth. ¡°What do you want to do?¡± Plautus asked genuinely curious. ¡°If the army was here,¡± Antonius started with a sigh. ¡°We could take Issir¡¯s Eagle.¡± ¡°But it isn¡¯t,¡± Plautus noted. ¡°Aye. Lucius would want us to hold, solve Duke Charles question first. Regia¡¯s borders are secure for now.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t control Canlita without Riverdor,¡± Plautus recited some of ¡®Tacitus¡¯ old wisdom. ¡°Else the tiger shall die at Tigerfall trying to take Badum.¡± ¡°There will never be another opportunity like this,¡± Merenda agreed. ¡°With Scaldingport busy and indifferent. The King knows it. I know it. But how can you justify such an action whilst wearing a hero¡¯s tunic? Then you¡¯re not a unifier but just another conqueror.¡± ¡°Lucius will stay put,¡± Plautus continued his thought and Merenda nodded despondently. ¡°This was as much as he could justify,¡± the Legatus expounded feeling a burning in his stomach. ¡°He tried with Sula but everything is controlled by Badum and Badum won¡¯t budge as long as Riverdor controls Serpent Tongue.¡± ¡°The Khan might come down the King¡¯s Road again,¡± Plautus noted evenly. ¡°If Radin succeeds, he¡¯ll have to. But now he has three fronts to deal with and no army ever pulled that off. We almost didn¡¯t. We didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°You couldn¡¯t pull Indus out, Damascus would have been overrun, the whole frontline destabilized. It was a sound call.¡± ¡°Thus with fancy words we look to justify mounts of corpses and ease our guilt and shame for those we failed,¡± Merenda said gloomily and tossed the dirty cloth on the table. ¡°What do I give the men if order comes for us to retreat?¡± ¡°Antonius,¡± Plautus said soothingly. ¡°I just had seven hundred dead legionnaires burned in them fields,¡± Merenda snapped but quickly reined himself in with a grimace of frustration. ¡°I struggle at this moment.¡± ¡°Here¡¯s something to lift your spirits. Baron Eman wants to name the district after the late Celsus,¡± Plautus said. ¡°This tower rebuilt and made sturdier. Taller. I suggested a statue built at the top next to the crow¡¯s nest. Overlooking the flats.¡± Merenda stared at the scholar intently. ¡°You¡¯ve won yourself a people¡¯s gratitude Antonius,¡± Plautus continued and the Legatus stood back on the field chair deeply moved. ¡°A rare thing for a presumed conqueror to achieve. We are the good Lorians. Here, under Reinut¡¯s fort.¡± ¡°What about the army?¡± Merenda asked hoarsely. ¡°How will they see it?¡± ¡°The 2nd¡¯s men were part of the old guard but Indus was one of yours,¡± Plautus replied. ¡°You told me you¡¯ll forge the First Legion and make it whole again through adversity. You¡¯ve got your strife and your adversity Antonius. I believe you have already thought of a solution but you¡¯re seeking for my blessings.¡± ¡°I value your opinion, you¡¯re a learned man,¡± Merenda retorted mockingly. He was considering forcing Fulker¡¯s prisoners into military service. They were trained in warfare already and owed them something back. About twenty five years¡¯ worth of it. But he didn¡¯t want a former mercenary leading the 2nd. ¡°Don¡¯t be bitter. It makes for poor reading.¡± Plautus teased him. ¡°You¡¯ll write about me?¡± ¡°I¡¯m seriously considering it,¡± Plautus replied with a hand wave. ¡°Eh. I¡¯m doing it already.¡± ¡°This will be a rough first chapter and an ungratified ending for sure,¡± Merenda noted sourly but smiled at the end of it and shook his head. ¡°The first chapter is that weird merchant at Sabretooth,¡± Plautus admitted. ¡°An aloof Zilan merchant allegedly. Dealer of exotic relics and trinkets giving us a glimpse of the future.¡± ¡°It was just a nice pair of boots for pity¡¯s sake. Not really the titillating stuff of legends,¡± Merenda retorted and turned to see Vegetius approach followed by Cucan almost missing Plautus reply in archaic Lorian. ¡°Par Ocreis,¡± the scholar had said deep in his thought, as if something utterly profound had just dawned on him. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s it.¡± ¡°Legatus,¡± Vegetius started pausing to examine the table carefully. ¡°Food was served earlier,¡± Merenda informed him. ¡°You missed it.¡± Vegetius grimaced looking troubled. ¡°Centurion Pilatus wants the Legatus¡¯ ear.¡± ¡°Can I keep it and visit him instead?¡± Merenda jested finding his footing again. ¡°I suppose it¡¯ll suffice sir,¡± Vegetius replied smartly and Cucan nodded sadly probably still thinking of their missing meal. ¡°Lead the fucking way legionnaire,¡± Merenda grunted and got up.
¡°What¡¯s the name?¡± Merenda asked Pilatus and the dirty legionnaire stepped forward under the Issir Decanus Kost¡¯s scrutiny. ¡°Legionnaire Mucius sir, 1st Maniple, 2nd Century, 2nd Cohort,¡± the soldier said hoarsely. He¡¯d gore mixed with mud on his boots, more of the same on his armour and clothes. A clearly dead and rotting Issir was tied on a mule behind him, the animal¡¯s reins held by the Decanus of Rangers. ¡°That¡¯s Dillon,¡± Kost said rigidly. ¡°One of me own lads.¡± Right. ¡°Mucius¡­ eh, you were with Indus inside Moeras?¡± Merenda asked the surly legionnaire. ¡°Until the end sir.¡± Merenda sucked a deep breath in and pursed his mouth afore asking hoarsely. ¡°You made it out?¡± ¡°I did.¡± Mucius reached inside his haversack and got a folded piece of red cloth out. ¡°Escorting this,¡± he paused unsure for a moment while Vegetius took the cloth from him and unfolded it. ¡°Ah,¡± Vegetius said and squinted his eyes. ¡°And him.¡± Mucius added after a thoughtful pause. ¡°You brought the banner out,¡± an emotional Merenda said and reached to grab his forearm. ¡°Good job Mucius.¡± ¡°Dillon did sir,¡± Mucius replied with a grimace of discomfort. ¡°He thought it important and it was the Centurion¡¯s last order.¡± Merenda stared at the legionnaire and then at the dead Issir teenager. ¡°He didn¡¯t make it,¡± Mucius rustled. ¡°But I didn¡¯t want to leave him in the woods. He was one of us I guess, same as all them lads left in the village.¡± Kost nodded, his hardened face relaxing touched by the sentiment and went to lower the young Issir from the mule. ¡°Get Dillon¡¯s name marked for a medal Pilatus,¡± Merenda ordered the Centurion of LID and stared at the weary legionnaire. ¡°Your sacrifice wasn¡¯t in vain Mucius. The Khan¡¯s army shall advance no further.¡± He paused examining the over forty years old soldier. ¡°You¡¯re not a young recruit.¡± ¡°Year twenty fourth sir.¡± ¡°I have a need of you still soldier. You¡¯re not out of the woods yet Mucius.¡± ¡°I reckon I¡¯m not sir.¡± ¡°Indus was my friend. He was an ever-hungry man but I loved him just the same. I lost a friend aye, but I reckon I just gained another. Is that so Mucius?¡± Merenda asked. Mucius stood back a little surprised but then nodded. ¡°What about the 2nd Cohort sir?¡± ¡°All it needed was its hallowed banner back Centurion Mucius,¡± Merenda assured him meaningfully, catapulting him to an officer on the spot. ¡°And you brought it to us. By the Allgods, for that we are in your debt.¡± - 29th of Secundus The Pyre Mounts ¨C Hemp Fields ¡°For the 1st Cohort,¡± the Panthera Tigris Signifer Sextus Crassus bellowed, hand clenching the tall staff with the gold Blacktiger at its top. The square red banners of the Cohorts behind him, flapping in the soft breeze of Kaltha¡¯s looming Spring. ¡°Tesserarius Gordius Regulus!¡± It¡¯s still chilly, Marcus-Antonius thought returning Lady Oline Eman¡¯s warm gaze. A crowd of about a thousand, mostly soldiers on medical leave or off duty with some civilians, though more of the latter were rolling down the slopes and the four large ¨Cabout three meters high- bone and ash piles. The next thought a well-meaning wish. But it¡¯ll only get better henceforth. ¡°For the 4th Cohort!¡± Crassus finished up and then paused for dramatic effect. There was a sense of the theatrics in all officers. The talented ones. So Merenda could appreciate that nodding at the sergeant of the 4th bringing up its banner to stand next to the others. He glanced at the scowling Prefect Domus and the ever abstemious Prefect Memon before settling his eyes on the crowd again. ¡°And for the 2nd Cohort,¡± Crassus announced just as loud. ¡°Centurion Mucius!¡± Merenda saluted the repaired, re-stitched and recolored, banner under the thunderous applause and delight of the participants. ¡°Semper Deinceps!¡± Crassus roared and raised the gold tiger¡¯s head higher. Still brandishing it, he stepped aside for the Legatus to climb on the four by four wooden stand. ¡°Let us salute the hallowed banners,¡± Marcus-Antonius urged Lorians and Issirs alike. Lorians from Regia, Lesia and Raoz beyond the Shallow Sea. Issirs of all classes, mostly locals but with more and more refugees or freed former slaves swelling up their ranks. Over a thousand Domus had discovered in Kontar¡¯s camp alone. ¡°Under their shade we march. Next to friends and comrades. Under the Panthera Tigris¡¯ golden light we march. From South to the North and from the distant East to these lakes Westernmost than any legion afore us. Ever onwards. We marched in good company and we stand humbled here today, in the presence of an even better one!¡± He paused to fix the tight leather straps under his chin, in an attempt to regain some of his courage and the crowd of soldiers sensing his discomfort reacted with a growing murmur. ¡°Stand with Antony!¡± The ¡®Tenor¡¯, officer of LID Furius Tasius bellowed from the ranks cutting through the noise and raised his right fist high in Lorian salute. ¡°We promised to keep Eagle¡¯s Nest free and we delivered.¡± An emotional Merenda continued hoarsely. ¡°We pledged to keep these lands out of the Khan¡¯s hands and we did our outmost. It¡¯s a victory but it tastes bitter,¡± he grimaced but found solace in Lady Oline¡¯s warmth-filled teary gaze along with the strength to go on in a stronger voice. ¡°To the funeral pyres we thus sadly deposit close friends and brave foes, dear comrades and loving family alike. And ask for their names to be heard and be remembered with our heads raised high, without fear of death or punishment. I stand with you under the same banners and share the same fate. Let the gods above judge us gently for surviving while others didn¡¯t and reward those not with us in the flesh with the highest of honors as I said. Aye, a place in the heroes¡¯ pantheon ¨Cwell deserved- for they were the better of humanity. Honor them today and every day, not as the better Lorians or Issirs, but as noble humans of equal standing, each one as cultured in their souls as the other and the true free-spirited people of Jelin!¡± ¡°WITH ANTONY!¡± The majority of the soldiers erupted thunderously raising their fists and the Issirs joined in with the same enthusiasm. The still bearing the marks of heavy-fighting Hemp Fields quivering under stomping boots and flooding with loud cries of elation. It went on for almost a full minute under the silent Merenda¡¯s eyes. Then the Legatus¡¯ fist touched his armoured chest returning the salute respectfully and with a sharp bow of the head at the flapping banners, he climbed down the three steps to join his entourage. ¡°Excellent,¡± Baron Eman said wiping the tears from his eyes and shook his forearm eagerly. ¡°We have tables setup for an officer¡¯s dinner at the castle.¡± ¡°See to feed the troops as well Baron,¡± a sweating from the stress and still tensed from the speech Merenda replied. Stepping forward he bowed his head again, lips touching Oline¡¯s offered elegant knuckles, next to a modest silver ring. ¡°Milady,¡± Marcus-Antonius admitted raspingly. ¡°Thy tempting figure and calming presence allayed my fears earlier and urged me forward.¡± ¡°I have a chair readied inside the hall dear Legatus, to also offer much-deserved rest after all this exertion,¡± a blushing Oline replied smartly whilst offering a modest smile, her moist dark lips turning upwards at the edges of her well-shaped Issir mouth. Why, that¡¯s really¡­ very lovely, Marcus-Antonius thought impressed, fully recovered now. ¡°This way,¡± Baron Eman intervened austerely but with noticeably less eagerness than what he used to a couple of months back. Marcus-Antonius followed after him, turning to Prefect Domus when he found the chance. ¡°Check the chair just in case.¡± ¡°Oh, for crying out loud,¡± Domus protested through his teeth, keeping his voice low. ¡°Better yet, have Optio Nak built me an armchair now that he has time in his hands,¡± a serious Merenda continued, pausing briefly here and there to point at soldiers or return their salutations with big smiles. ¡°And a better bed. I¡¯ll settle for a plaguing divan. I haven¡¯t slept well in months Domus and it started slowing me down. Aye.¡± -
The soon to be ¡®comforted¡¯ Merenda was forced to slow down that Spring of 195 NC. With the grieving the loss of a son and politically busy Lucius waiting for the war to throw a wrench to either the Issirs or the Khanate¡¯s ambitions and also other events moving in unexpected ways, the Legatus¡¯ stunning victory at Kaltha¡¯s Lakes almost got lost in the annals of history. Most contemporary ¡®famous¡¯ historians delved with those events instead at great length and this isn¡¯t another account of the Great War per se. It¡¯s not easy to attract attention going up against this realm¡¯s most famous of knights¡¯ exploits, legendary duels and a fabled Pirate Queen¡¯s much more interesting and scandalous life story. This was a victory won in a slow hard manner through attrition and good planning. It came with sound strategy, touches of heroism and level-headed decisions. Nothing too fancy about it. ¡®Charging war elephants, Uher¡¯s Light dropping from the heavens and famous throne-claimants pitted against each other,¡¯ as Marcus-Antonius put it himself that summer while inspecting the new fortifications and the repairs at Eagle¡¯s Nest. Amongst them a nice life-size stone statue of an inspecting the flats Celsus built atop his now twice as big watch tower, one can still see and visit today. ¡®A high Duke¡¯s betrayal and the tales of a Wyvern King making deals while Imperial Zilan banners are sailing the South Seas.¡¯ The contemplating Legatus had continued that day. ¡®Why, dear Domus, we¡¯d be lucky if we get a footnote.¡¯ The facts on the ground were that the First Legion¡¯s success weakened Prince Radin¡¯s own critical counter-offensive and drew even more attention from the Khan¡¯s main army that still stood victorious in the field beyond the Red Bridge, but now with noticeable deep cracks appearing in its once polished armour. The myth of the ¡®undefeated¡¯ Horselords had been dealt a brutal blow. In a campaign that had seen less than five hundred dead in months, almost four thousand Khanate soldiers were killed in a single day. Two thirds were literally pulverized trying to break through Celsus machines or attempting to escape through the marshes. General Pourem was praised for saving a third of the command and stopping the rogue Legion¡¯s ¡®advance¡¯ from Khanate¡¯s historians. Nobody wanted to praise Marcus-Antonius directly and even the supporting his actions in secret King had to play down the tenacious Legatus¡¯ achievements to keep the balance within the ranks of an enlarged and now restless army. What Marcus-Antonius had that others didn¡¯t was the love of the common people that found the young general to be the most relatable of Lucius¡¯ Quadrumvirs perhaps because he never took himself too serious in all his bluster. His faults and well-documented vices endeared him to the simple people that couldn¡¯t aspire to reach higher standards but they could dream through him. But obviously his record, for in a harsh and brutal profession measured by accomplishing impossible feats or perish unceremoniously, the Legatus would keep on delivering in the years and struggles to come again and again. As many victories as bastards. Back in Jelin and here years later, on the burning desert fields of Raoz. - Caius-Metilus Plautus Par Ocreis Chapter III 194-195 NC Kaltha¡¯s Great Lakes campaign (Also known as Merenda¡¯s Gambit) Part VIII -A decent ending-
510. The Insidious Bloodfang | Part one
The Great Khan Burzin Radpour was blessed with four sons and twelve daughters, from the oldest girls Sidah and Mirin to the youngest Rashida. Of his sons, Prince Sahand served as Heir the longest and is mentioned still for subjugating the Forya-Rochir north of Torbal for the most part. He was followed by Prince Nout who stayed as Heir for a few years. The Gold Leopard is fondly remembered today mainly by his cadre of supporters, for his towering intellect without doubt and through some of the various works he left behind. Also, not only for the many campaigns he participated but even more so for the campaign he came close to winning. Prince Radin, the Bloodfang, was not considered a great general although he always fared decently on campaign and excelled in personal combat much more than any of his brothers. While not as famous as Sahand or as accepted collectively by friends and foes as Nout, for the younger Horselords Radin is their favorite Prince and a true Horselord of old. Having known the man, I most certainly disagree with that silly notion. Radin wasn¡¯t a monolithic brute or a tower of bravery. The Prince was a well-travelled restless soul, as much a Horselord as he was a Lorian or an Issir. And then there is Prince Atpa, or ¡®the Desert Asp¡¯, a figure best left for others to discuss. Chief Advisor, Lord Sam Phanti Wind of the Steppe Khan Burzin Radpour¡¯s biography Circa 208 NC
Prince Radin Radpour The Insidious Bloodfang | Part one -Incentives-
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¡®South Leg¡¯ Forest (The pine grove between the towering Marble Peak & the Sleeping Drake mountain range named after Dread Beck River¡¯s south branch) Rin An-Pur Plains Eplas, the Great Khanate Summer of 176 NC During ¡®The Princes Hunt¡¯ Nar Masud-Rum had a constipated look on his face when he returned, his horse lame. Hajot and Havor, Jorah Dhin-Awal¡¯s sons were quick to shame the young Horselord with loud calls. ¡°Found a hole in the plains didn¡¯t you?¡± Havor grinned, young face tanned to a golden-brown and jumped from his horse to approach the sour-looking teenager. They were all about the same age, with Hajot being a year older than them and the Prince. Radin was born in 165 NC, the third in a series of sons delivered in quick succession by the Khan¡¯s second and third wives. Atpa in 164 NC and of course Nout in 163. Sahand the oldest of the bunch had come four years earlier in 159, followed by a couple of sisters. Sidah and Mirin, who Radin had met once as they lived in the Rin An-Pur¡¯s East Tower, at the Wives Palace, a massive building adjoined to the Khan¡¯s Harem and the gardens. Burzin didn¡¯t want to walk too far on foot to visit his three wives and about forty consorts. Using a horse on the limestone-tiled yards of the complex left a mess behind and Chief Advisor Sam Phanti was always in the Khan¡¯s ear to present a more polished look for the visiting Cofol Lords of the Peninsula. ¡°Atpa has booby-trapped the leopard¡¯s trails. A guide is dead,¡± Nar Masud-Rum griped and jumped from his horse as well, to check on its leg with Havor. ¡°We should warn the others,¡± Havor said. ¡°No,¡± Radin intervened. ¡°He¡¯s scared to face the beast?¡± Hajot queried curling his lip alike his austere father. They were from Dia Castle. Petty nobles from the provinces, but stayed close to Radin since, unless he croaked from a fever, blade or during the hunt, the prince was to rule as Lord of Jade Lake in a year¡¯s time. A prospect Radin didn¡¯t find too enticing, despite liking their company well-enough otherwise. The Prince wanted more. He yearned to travel beyond the plains without doubt, but further than the desolate southeastern shores of Eplas. Nothing much to do there but stare at the Pale Mountains that barred the way to Ancient Wetull and its legends of otherworldly violent beings. The line of Burzin had served under their savage yoke for centuries until Radpour decided he had enough and broke free to carve an empire of his own. ¡°The traps were meant for us,¡± Radin elucidated. ¡°Sahand¡¯s party mostly.¡± The older prince, Sahand was near eighteen years old already, had brought several Cataphracts with him. It would have made cornering and defeating a leopard easier for him against his younger brothers. The prince who succeeded to catch one first and then bring it to the Khan¡¯s camp at the edge of the woods, would be declared the winner and earn the prestigious moniker ¡®prince leopard¡¯. The Heir was the favorite of course. ¡°The trails led to the depression, the mud-hollows.¡± Nar Masud-Rum said and pointed east over the tall grass. ¡°It cuts narrow paths in concentric circles but they all converge there. We could smoke it out, along with the cunning ¡®masked¡¯ prince. With all the respect we should burn his arse my Lord.¡± A guide or two you can excuse away. A dead Prince would need more than coin or threats to pull off. ¡°And perish ourselves in the firestorm,¡± Radin retorted mockingly and returned to his own mount. He patted its long black snout with a hand, felt the hot air coming out of the moist nostrils and murmured peacefully to ease the horse¡¯s heart. ¡°The grass is too dry to risk it.¡± ¡°Has anyone seen Nout since last night? I lost sight of him during the slaves dance,¡± Hajot asked and signed for his brother to hurry up with bandaging the horse¡¯s leg or leave it for Nar. ¡°It¡¯s one of father¡¯s horses,¡± Havor Dhin-Awal protested, both of Lord Jorah¡¯s sons mindful of their animals and property. ¡°Masud-Rum can walk it back to the camp,¡± Radin decided and climbed on the decorated saddle lithely. ¡°We¡¯ll find the trails, skirt around Atpa¡¯s traps and reach the leopard¡¯s lair.¡± He could hear a lot of horses approaching and a dust cloud raising over the tall grass in the distance. ¡°Sahand has decided to move.¡±This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. And Nout is probably already ahead of all of us, Radin thought pursing his mouth. ¡®Even the prepared hunter sometimes fails spectacularly,¡¯ his bright brother had philosophized last night. ¡®But much less than the unprepared or the lazy predator, and it¡¯s usually due to circumstances beyond his control.¡¯ ¡®Usually, because sometimes the shrewd hunter, even if he¡¯s experienced, can fuck things up due to a momentary lack of judgement,¡¯ Nout had continued with a glance at Radin who was busy gawking at the naked bejeweled navels of the exotic dancers leaping at the wild sound of the kettle drums. ¡®Brought upon him by the wrong kind of greed, or too big a dose of vanity.¡¯
- 29th of Secundus 195 NC East Greenforest Two kilometers from Boar¡¯s Horn River stone bridge Jelin, Kingdom of Kaltha Prince Radin¡¯s field tent Nar Masud-Rum¡¯s horse carried as much mud as its fit, now much older rider. The Cataphract leader climbed down tossing the reins to Tobro that had rushed out of the open flaps of the tent to assist him. The old Horselord Jorah Dhin-Awal raised his head from the maps to eye the approaching knight censoriously and Nar almost lost his footing, not expecting the reserved welcome. Something always happens, Radin thought and he sensed Masud-Rum didn¡¯t know. ¡°My Prince,¡± Nar started but Radin stopped him with a wave of his hand, using his legs to turn on the stool to face his old companion. ¡°Havor was killed,¡± Radin told him, the missive from Issir¡¯s Eagle and Rumen-Kot still open under a map of the local terrain, Dhin-Awal¡¯s father was reading earlier. ¡°That¡¯s impossible,¡± Masud-Rum croaked and stopped dead in his tracks, losing some of the color on his bearded cheeks. He¡¯d left his helm with the horse. ¡°I was just with him not five days ago. We had all but opened the north flank with Bedas.¡± ¡°The Legion¡¯s flank held but Havor¡¯s center didn¡¯t,¡± Radin replied and paused seeing Jorah¡¯s expression. ¡°The Khan blames him but I think the Lorians sold him out,¡± Radin continued and Lord Jorah grunted angrily, his wrinkled eyes hollowed and black. The skin sickly looking. ¡°Those pagans are god-fearing in name only. Duke Victor is not to be trusted.¡± ¡°Those darn machines.¡± Masud-Rum croaked. ¡°Havor feared them.¡± ¡°He was supposed to have machines aplenty as well,¡± Jorah grunted. ¡°Went against plenty of crossbow units I¡¯m told. The likes that stopped Putra,¡± Radin pointed out. ¡°This is shocking to me,¡± Masud-Rum grimaced deeply saddened and made an attempt to speak with Jorah Dhin-Awal but the old Horselord stopped him with a mean glare. ¡°My lord I offered to stay but orders arrived to join the Prince¡­¡± ¡°Ugh,¡± Jorah grunted and reached for his whip to thrash him in the face. Radin got up and stepped between them. ¡°Lord Jorah, I won¡¯t let this pass without answer. Trust me.¡± ¡°You allowed Kalac to escape. Hajot fought for you. Died so you won¡¯t be dishonored,¡± the Horselord reminded him. Ah, you¡¯ll blame me for that? Radin thought and pursed his mouth. ¡°I¡¯ll take Dia back.¡± He told Jorah. ¡°For you and Midah.¡± He was Jorah¡¯s youngest boy, with Sabila being the sole girl amongst them. ¡°You¡¯ll take nothing Bloodfang,¡± Jorah retorted hoarsely. ¡°As long as you¡¯re not the Prince Heir or even then. Burzin¡¯s mind is set on destroying Kaltha. A Khan¡¯s legacy can¡¯t be bothered with a small castle when there are whole cities of infidels within his grasp. And how are you going to do it when against these same men you¡¯ve failed at Tyeusfort? A bunch of low-life mercenaries!¡± Radin took a step back and stared outside the tent to their camp. Around a thousand Medium Horse, a thousand Horse Archers and the same number for the Jang-Lu detachment under Amir-Zeket, the infantry first general¡¯s uncle. Plus a hundred and eighty Cataphracts with those that Nar Masud-Rum had brought with him. ¡°We need to fight when it¡¯s favorable to us and inconvenient for our opponent,¡± Radin finally said. ¡°Nout always preached that and would create elaborate plans that sometimes worked in his favor.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t ride on your brother¡¯s saddle,¡± Jorah snapped. ¡°Without him there would be no campaign!¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to,¡± Radin replied returning his stare warningly. ¡°I¡¯ve a saddle of my own. I carve the names of fallen enemies on its polished wood. You praise Nout but my brother played his hand and lost. Left a daughter behind and his name will soon be forgotten. He¡¯s out of the picture.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t erase those that fell for a noble cause. Trying to stop the rebels from reaching the capital. Protect his lands!¡± Jorah grunted grinding his teeth. ¡°I rather perish on the burning sands than lose face!¡± Sure. How did that work for your sons? ¡°Lands can be retaken,¡± Radin retorted crooking his mouth. ¡°You take your enemy out and then the war is over.¡± ¡°Eah,¡± Jorah made a gesture with his hand. ¡°See to save that miserable Lord Putra first. Else Burzin¡¯s favor would be short-lived and that snake Atpa might outlive us all!¡± Atpa was never going to truly cooperate with anyone else on the throne but himself. Radin knew it for years. Their father knew it as well and it wasn¡¯t going to change. To trust a snake is to open yourself up to be bitten. ¡°Nout should have burned Fu De-Gar Jorah, after he finished Ani Ta-Ne,¡± Radin noted, trying to be patient because he needed the old Horselord on his side. Never cared much about him even though the Prince had a long friendship with his now perished older sons. Jorah was an ally assigned at birth. ¡°Mista Savar was the tool, the Cofol Lords those wielding it. Without them there¡¯s no rebellion. Even with Mista Savar gone, most of the Peninsula has still moved away from the Khanate.¡± ¡°Mmm. Or maybe you¡¯re wrong and without him there would have been no rebellion. And where did the wayward Three Sisters go? Right into the embrace of those that control Dia,¡± Jorah noted sourly. ¡°Your own whoring wife included. Wouldn¡¯t open her legs for you but did it plenty for everyone else is the word.¡± Radin didn¡¯t take the bait. Jorah was mourning in his own way. Moreover, revealing his hand too early was not in his intentions. Strike suddenly and go for the jugular afore your opponent realizes what is happening. The Great Leveler cared little about skill or station. ¡°I have the son I want and a faithful wife,¡± Radin finally said thinking of Nidar. ¡°Your stables had bad horses in the past. It¡¯s not always the stable master¡¯s fault, but it is on him to bring it to heel. Prince Radin hasn¡¯t spoken his final word on the matter or in this campaign.¡± Masud-Rum nodded and Jorah smacked his lips before using the hard butt knot of the whip to scratch at his grey beard thoughtfully. ¡°Those that stood against Bloodfang have perished or failed,¡± his old friend said in a solemn boast. Everyone believed that Nar wouldn¡¯t make it past thirty given his low intelligence. Yet here he was, the last member of their little gang still standing. Dirty as a sick coyote but very much alive. He was tenacious though and a decent fighter. Somehow he¡¯d managed to make it work where Dhin-Awal¡¯s more skilled sons had failed. ¡°With no exceptions. The Prince is a man of his word.¡± But for that hunt, Radin thought, but Nar who had been there didn¡¯t bring it up finding diplomacy in his later years or just plainly just forgotten all about it. ¡®I just wanted to get one of those stupid pompous fuckers out of the way. Not you young brother. You¡¯re not in my way yet ha-hah,¡¯ the now wearing a silver mask instead of a wooden one Atpa had revealed to Radin many years later making a tasteless jest, well-received by his murderous entourage. ¡®It was supposed to thin out the ranks and blame it on evil Luthos afterwards. A foolish plan of a young prince that now knows better and stands mature in his ambitions. The patient man can see the future Radin. We¡¯re much alike. Eh, not in all I suppose. You¡¯re too prideful at times. What¡¯s in the past, is in the past anyways. Of course I shall assist you. Have your revenge, gorge yourself in their blood and stay healthy. We do share a mother after all.¡¯ Radin stared at the silent Issir female that had entered the tent with a carafe. She was visibly pregnant. ¡°Leave it on the table Loes. I shall come for you later,¡± he told her and signed for Nar to follow him to the table where Lord Jorah had the maps open. They showed Boarsnout Peninsula and the prominent Boar¡¯s Horn River. From its bridge all the way to its sources kilometers away, where it narrowed down considerably under the shade of Boar Mountain. Every man has an incentive. Something to urge him forward. A Princess¡¯ thoughts of him in his mind or a sense of duty to his people that forces him to stay back, he thought while Jorah briefed Nar Masud-Rum and showed him Putra¡¯s missives. Putra would rather wait for the campaign to be over afore moving, but Mirpur¡¯s son has a young kid of his own to care about and a new wife. He¡¯ll want to get them out and save them from the wrath of the locals. And he¡¯ll drag Lord Putra¡¯s carcass, if push comes to shove, along with him. 511. The Insidious Bloodfang | Part two
South Group (Deadmen¡¯s Watch landing detachment) Group Leader -Lord Putra (Lukela) Total number of fighting force (3rd month of 195 NC)¨Caround 3330(?) out of 4600 initially. 60 (180 men) out of 100 (300) Heavy Chariots under Maluph Erul-Sol (Que Ki-La) 210 Royal Cataphracts (Khan¡¯s Own) out of 300 under Horus Mirpur (Rin An-Pur), +Kera-Raad (KIA at Even Fork 194 NC), Api-Nofre. 90 Medium Horse (Heavy Lancers) out of 200 under Perku 2200 Jang-Lu (Halberd heavy infantry) out of 3000 under Xener 400 Horse Archers out of 500 under Larmir +150 mounted Scouts/Rangers out of 200 under Dumar (+Nabil, Umar, Madaki) 300 (450) wagons, 350 (1500) mules, at least 100 (2000) extra horses. 250 (300) Engineers under Tibia-Han (and Ressif) (At least 20? Catapults, 4? Trebuchets, unknown number of heavy Ballistae) 600 (1000) slaves with the supply train. 80 (100) slavers (guards) under slave-master Cardus of Wotcheki Castle (The Master of Slaves Bedas was with the Khan)
Almost two thousand casualties (amongst them unknown number of civilians, 1270 military personnel, 400 slaves and 20 slavers), half of them from disease and malnutrition. Almost three thousand animals had to be killed for food during the heavy (for the Horselords) winter.
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Horus Mirpur Ermin Suru* *Gale of the Steppe The Insidious Bloodfang | Part Two -If I lose you-
1st of month Tertius (Lucius) Spring of 195 NC Thirteen months after the landings Hunter¡¯s Trap Forest (Boarsnout Peninsula) Petty Duchy of Castalor Lord Putra¡¯s main camp Resan respectfully bowed his head in greeting. The young servant had stepped in to fill Neku¡¯s shoes and help out Gero, after the former¡¯s untimely demise almost a year back. The day Kera-Raad had been killed. Horus swung his leg over the saddle to dismount from the fiery Togo and tossed Resan the reins. ¡°Don¡¯t stand behind him,¡± he warned the youth and removed his face mask to feel the chilly morning breeze on his bearded face. The soaked trees near the camp kept the warmth away during the day and added cold during the night. He took a moment to admire the resilience of nature painting this rural backdrop. One could get used to it, Horus thought returning the scout Nabil¡¯s wave. But it might take a bit of time. Unfortunately, time is an unpredictable force that no man can tame. The shades between the thick, cold woods sinister and difficult to traverse on a horse despite the pale sun shining over their heads, amidst clusters of milky clouds. He stared at his large field tent ¨Cabout three meters away- and noticed Mirah waiting by the opening wrapped in a woolen cloak. ¡°Aswad?¡± Horus asked and the slave girl made a face. ¡°Still black as coal noble Sheik,¡± Mirah replied sounding tired and not in a good mood. ¡°No fever today. Strange that a native couldn¡¯t withstand the elements better, maybe it¡¯s the desert blood on the inside?¡± ¡°Babies shouldn¡¯t live in camps,¡± Horus grunted not liking her tone. ¡°Your father would disagree,¡± Mirah retorted looking for a spanking or a roll in the hay. Horus didn¡¯t have time for either. But he could of course delegate. Horus stared at the returning Resan soberly. ¡°Give her five lashes over the buttocks,¡± he ordered the young slave, who ogled his eyes in shock not expecting the task. ¡°Go on now. Use my whip.¡± ¡°Thank you master,¡± Mirah said with a bow of her head. ¡°I shall remove the cloak.¡± ¡°Eh, stay your tongue Mirah!¡± Horus barked, not looking her way as he¡¯d spotted Api-Nofre marching towards the large tent. ¡°Apologies. Shall I call on Marleen? She asked about you,¡± Mirah said with a warning glare at the much younger Resan. ¡°Inform my wife that I returned,¡± Horus replied and turned to speak with his friend. ¡°And get Jarena to unload the mule if you can¡¯t. I brought some supplies from Deadmen¡¯s Watch.¡± ¡°Bloodfang wants us to attack the Issir camp,¡± Api-Nofre said without fanfare. ¡°Putra asked for three months.¡± ¡°For the summer?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°They¡¯ll expect us by then,¡± Horus noted. ¡°Well, it doesn¡¯t matter. The Prince wants us to move now. So Putra can only stall for so long.¡± He shouldn¡¯t stall at all, Horus thought and glanced at the busy camp. Less busy than it was six months ago. Very few spare animals available and most of them in poor health due to the lack of food in the winter. ¡°You have the plan?¡± ¡°I do great Horus,¡± Api-Nofre replied in a teasing mood. ¡°You might want to talk with Putra also.¡± ¡°It was my intention,¡± Horus assured him rigidly.
General Xener of the Jang-Lu greeted Horus with a nod of the head when he entered Lord Putra¡¯s pavilion. Maluph Erul-Sol the Chariots Leader, Perku the Lancers Leader, the engineer Tibia-Han, big Cardus the slave master and Larmir the leader of the Horse Archers. The other engineer Ressif was missing and so was Dumar, the scouts Leader. The latter still in the field as all deep patrols occurred during the night. Lord Putra stood over the maps, a thinner healthier version of himself but also considerably aged these past months than what he¡¯d been at the start of their campaign. It had been a rough year for all. Once you boys climb on that saddle, Lord Zuti Mirpur had told his sons afore they had departed Eplas, the palaces of Rin An-Pur shall fade from your memory. He was right but it hadn¡¯t happened overnight. ¡°Sir Walter has brought his crossbows forward,¡± Lord Putra informed him. Walter Van Oord was Marleen¡¯s brother. ¡°But retreated when we took the field. It was a test.¡± Horus pursed his mouth and found an empty chair to sit. While the wooden pavilion was spacious, it felt crowded with the amount of officers and slaves present. ¡°You should empty the room, my Lord,¡± Horus suggested. ¡°Keep only the officers for this next part.¡± ¡°What part Mirpur?¡± Lord Putra queried raising his head to look at him. ¡°I heard you were on a supply run. Any news of Deadmen¡¯s Watch?¡± ¡°They have two transports bringing in foodstuff but unless someone repairs what we destroyed and brings people to work the fields proper, we¡¯ll die after starving.¡± ¡°We¡¯re starving already.¡± You¡¯re not there yet. ¡°Empty the room Lord Putra.¡± Horus repeated and Xener stood up with a frown on his lined face. ¡°Mhysa get everyone out,¡± he ordered his adjutant. ¡°Stand at the door.¡± ¡°Are we supposed to serve ourselves?¡± Maluph wondered with a half-smile. Horus stared at the Chariot Leader and Maluph shrugged his shoulders. ¡°You used to have a sense of humor Horus.¡± ¡°I still do,¡± Horus replied while the slaves left them. I also have family to worry about. ¡°We talked of the Prince¡¯s proposal,¡± Lord Putra started sensing where Horus was going with this. Horus wanted them to attack Sir Walter¡¯s men as more reinforcements arrived each month from Scaldingport. They were in a precarious position. ¡°We¡¯ll talk again. Vice Admiral Faber¡¯s ships were spotted amidst the pirate fleet,¡± he added looking at the officers soberly. ¡°The local guard fears they might attempt a landing at Deadmen¡¯s Watch when the seas allow for it.¡± ¡°How many transports?¡± Lord Putra asked with a frown. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. We can¡¯t defend both fronts. The Navy might intervene if it¡¯s possible, and I gave a missive to one of the captains to pass up the chain of command, but they have Caspo O¡¯ Bor to worry about so don¡¯t expect miracles.¡± ¡°How soon?¡± Maluph asked. ¡°Locals say in the next month we might have two good days. Then a week. The Castalor crews would know afore we do obviously,¡± Horus replied. ¡°We are not here to fight naval battles Lord Putra,¡± he continued turning his attention on the South Group¡¯s leader. ¡°The army should attempt to break out.¡± ¡°The Prince wants us to attack towards Even Fork,¡± Lord Putra informed him. ¡°Bypass Castalor and head north towards the bridge. It¡¯s a suicide mission Mirpur.¡± ¡°Will Radin challenge the defenders for the bridge?¡± Horus asked. ¡°He will but it doesn¡¯t change the fact we have quite the distance to cover,¡± Lord Putra argued. ¡°We won¡¯t make it. Maybe you should return the woman. Walter asked us about her.¡± Horus grimaced at his words. He took a moment not wanting to quarrel over matters of his household publicly. ¡°It won¡¯t work Lord Putra,¡± Maluph Erul-Sol said breaking the tension. ¡°What about the boy? That¡¯s Lord Zuti¡¯s grandson.¡±Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°Mmm,¡± Putra murmured and rubbed at his pale face with a gloved hand. ¡°What does Scaldingport have at Even Fork?¡± Horus finally asked icily. ¡°Those mercenaries. Infantry. The bridge is guarded by more crossbows and we¡¯ve heard of horses as well. Scaldingport has a lot of men between us and the bridge Mirpur,¡± Lord Putra replied tiredly. ¡°Radin needs to make it across under fire and push them aside, then head for Even Fork to attack the soldiers there. Distract them for long enough for us to smash through the defenders in front of us, march away from Castalor and assist him. It might take us three days or four to get everyone there.¡± ¡°What if we leave the slaves behind?¡± Horus proposed. ¡°Only the army should move. No wagons or supplies. Machines and all else can be left, we can rebuild what we abandon, if the men are saved.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t expect infantry to move with the horses my Lord,¡± Xener argued raspingly. They can¡¯t, Horus agreed staring at the general. And I don¡¯t. ¡°You¡¯ll leave your family behind as well?¡± Putra asked Horus. The Cataphract leader set his eyes on him austerely. ¡°That¡¯s twice you¡¯ve meddled in my personal affairs my Lord,¡± he warned Putra. ¡°That¡¯s enough,¡± Maluph intervened. ¡°We¡¯ve ample trouble in our hands as it is. The biggest is the Prince Lord Putra. Let¡¯s be real here. You can¡¯t refuse a direct order. Radin might be the next Khan and Bloodfang has a long memory.¡± ¡°Radin is not officially named the Heir, Maluph,¡± Putra retorted. ¡°You think Atpa is better? I heard he wants Sartak imprisoned for plenty of offences. It doesn¡¯t sound your family is at his good graces Putra,¡± Maluph fired back. ¡°Another treasonous act here won¡¯t help his case for sure. You expect us to go along with it?¡± The distant Khanate¡¯s problems are clouding their judgement, Horus thought. ¡°We are in Jelin now,¡± Horus intervened raspingly. ¡°Trapped in this blasted peninsula. For everything else to matter gentlemen, we need to get out of his place first!¡± He breathed in deeply once and thought of Marleen. ¡°That means we need to act now, whilst we still have horses to use!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll hear Ermin Suru,¡± Lord Putra yielded with a glance at the other officers and warrior lords. ¡°We have parts of the forest cut down already, am I right Tibia-Han?¡± Horus started, pausing briefly for the engineer¡¯s answer. ¡°Partially, and near to the shores,¡± Tibia-Han replied with a nod. ¡°But I need more slaves and time for a proper path.¡± Soon we¡¯ll have no more slaves and time has just run out. ¡°Can a Chariot pass? Horses?¡± Horus asked him instead. ¡°No chariot can clear Castalor, but a horse can move further inside the forest if its rider is skilled,¡± Tibia-Han replied. ¡°That means no wagons, machines or anything bigger as well Lord Mirpur.¡± ¡°That¡¯s my father¡¯s title and it will be passed on to my brother,¡± Horus corrected him. ¡°Right here, right now, we are all warriors and we need to act like it. Show bravery and determination. My Cataphracts will traverse the woods, come out beyond Even Fork.¡± Maluph stood up with a determined look on his face. ¡°The war chariots will take the road east of Castalor if Xener and Larmir keep Sir Walter inside the walls.¡± The Jang-Lu general pursed his mouth. ¡°When they try to approach us tomorrow, my men will march against the fortifications. Larmir?¡± ¡°We shall screen the Jang-Lu,¡± Larmir announced and the pensive atmosphere inside the pavilion changed dramatically. ¡°We will follow Horus,¡± Perku noted. ¡°Better to die on the saddle.¡± ¡°You shouldn¡¯t challenge Walter on the walls,¡± Horus told Xener. ¡°I¡¯ll scare them with a sudden charge but I¡¯ll venture into the woods soon after. They¡¯ll assume we are going to loop back to our camps but we won¡¯t. But they will observe your men and might come out of the city to challenge or cut you off.¡± ¡°So be it.¡± Xener replied hoarsely. ¡°We¡¯ll march for the main road and Maluph.¡± Lord Putra sighed and walked to his armour, hanging on a stand. He reached to touch the engraved pommel of a scimitar frowned. ¡°Maluph might find the road east of Castalor blocked.¡± ¡°And I shall open it.¡± Maluph replied with a glance at the tensed Horus. ¡°Will you be able to dislodge the enemy from Even Fork for the army?¡± Horus nodded. ¡°What about our families?¡± Tibia-Han asked but Horus knew he was more worried about himself. ¡°Cardus would lead you with some of Dumar¡¯s scouts through the woods after my Cataphracts.¡± Horus rustled. ¡°If the Prince takes the bridge, the road would be clear.¡±
Maluph caught up with Horus on the latter¡¯s return to his tent. ¡°You¡¯ll trust Cardus with your son?¡± Maluph Erul-Sol asked him with a tensed smile. He had taken a liking to Marleen and the boy in the time he got to know them. Maluph had lost most if not all of his extended family during the Three Sisters rebellion. His lands and palaces burned down when Que Ki-La was sacked, parents and siblings killed or worse by escaped slaves and gladiators. Horus had a letter from Lord Mirpur describing the cruel fate Maluph¡¯s sisters and mother had suffered but had kept it from him. ¡°I¡¯ll write to my brother,¡± Horus replied hoarsely and grabbed the Chariot Leader¡¯s shoulder with his right hand warmly. ¡°Cardus will know not to fail my friend.¡± ¡°Eh,¡± Maluph said pursing his mouth not entirely convinced. ¡°I¡¯ll make it there,¡± he assured Horus. ¡°Push comes to shove, I¡¯ll get them beyond that bridge. You as well.¡± Horus released his shoulder with a nod. ¡°I¡¯ll return the favor. Know that I¡¯ll support you back home. For me and for my family, you are the Lord of Que Ki-La.¡± ¡°Lord Zuti hated my father and wasn¡¯t favorable of the Issirs also, now we are talking about it,¡± Maluph reminded him and Horus cracked a half-smile. ¡°He does and he did,¡± he told the Erul-Sol scion. ¡°Zuti also likes to preach for as long as I remember that each man should face his own burdens bravely and be judged by his sins alone. Not those of his father or family. He also loves to talk about strong family bonds and never once mentioned the color of one¡¯s skin as a prerequisite. If he erred in his judgement or forgot to raise the topic not believing it was needed, then it¡¯s on him. His sin to bear. Rest assured, I shall remind my father of these matters, next time I see him.¡±
Aswad''s skin had the color of coal. The little boy fast asleep wrapped in white and gold cloth. His tired mother kept her eyes on Horus while the latter gazed at his son in silence. ¡°Api-Nofre wants Gero and Neku to ready the horses for morrow,¡± Marleen said working on her long white curls with a brush. Horus preferred her hair loose over her naked shoulders, but Marleen would gather them in a tight bun for expedience most times. For a moment he stood amazed at the exotic visage across from him. She was worried and Horus could see it plainly. ¡°Mirah should work on your hair,¡± he told her hoarsely. ¡°I don¡¯t like her styles.¡± ¡°Mirah knows the Rin An-Pur trends by heart. Use her expertise.¡± ¡°For what purpose? We are living in a tent,¡± Marleen teased him. ¡°And I still don¡¯t like her ideas.¡± Horus nodded. ¡°Will your brother risk a fight to the end outside the walls?¡± ¡°You know he won¡¯t. Walter is very conservative but he won¡¯t allow us to leave also.¡± Marleen replied. ¡°I should talk with my father.¡± ¡°The moment I ask for my wife¡¯s help, I shall be cursed to walk instead of riding until my last days,¡± Horus retorted angrily, already under great pressure from the upcoming battle. ¡°That¡¯s not wisdom but a hymn to vanity,¡± Marleen said and stood to approach him. ¡°Horselords are wise I¡¯m told. I think you¡¯ll be just fine.¡± But she wasn¡¯t as certain as she would have preferred and Horus sensed it. ¡°Apologies. But it¡¯s on me to secure my family¡¯s safety. Not a matter of vanity but simple reason. A man who can¡¯t do this simple thing¡­ is he a man at all?¡± ¡°Oh, Horus,¡± Marleen whispered and touched his face softly. ¡°It is not a simple thing.¡± Horus knew it wasn¡¯t. He didn¡¯t have another option though. ¡°People have seen a big bird in the skies,¡± Marleen said and hugged his waist tightly. ¡°The Crows bring their birds with them,¡± Horus replied and used both hands to cup her comely face. He kissed her warm lips for a long moment, tasted milk on her breath. ¡°You think your former fianc¨¦ is here? I don¡¯t fear this challenge.¡± Marleen shivered and pulled away some to watch his tensed smile. ¡°I worry about Rik of course but I wasn¡¯t talking about him. The big bird¡¯s sighting means his brother might also be here as well, dear Horus. No other man is as dangerous as the Raven of Dawn. Between him and Lord Ruud, I fear you won¡¯t be able to win.¡± ¡°Do you want me to?¡± Horus retorted hoarsely a little insulted and she stepped away with a grimace of pain. ¡°I have no pride left. I gave that away along with my birthright, but I do have a family now,¡± Marleen said hoarsely after a tense moment with Horus cursing himself for upsetting her. ¡°If I lose you or Aswad, I would have nothing.¡± ¡°You won¡¯t,¡± a moved Horus avowed and took her in his arms just as the baby boy woke up with a wail of panic from a nightmare. - 2nd-4th of Tertius 195 NC -
Thirty six hours later Even Fork Gallant Dogs winter camp ¡°What was that?¡± Commandant Rollon Martel said snapping out of his reverie. First chance to catch a bit of sun in months and he¡¯d almost squandered it. The old Northman Crafton gave him a stack of scrolls. ¡°What is this? I see numbers and a lot of minus symbols?¡± He queried squinting his hurting eyes. ¡°Expenses Martel,¡± Crafton explained. ¡°Can¡¯t you read all of sudden?¡± ¡°I was plaguing napping! My eyes are all blurry, fuck¡¯s sake!¡± Martel blasted him and glared at sergeant Lu Douc-Re who was munching on a piece of sausage in the shade of the tent. ¡°Get me Liko!¡± He yelled at the sergeant who almost got drowned swallowing and started coughing doubling over whilst turning an unhealthy red in the face. ¡°I¡¯ll be a dog¡¯s mother!¡± The commandant roared and got up to help. ¡°The man is dying, good fucking grief! Get a Dottore or we¡¯ll lose him!¡± ¡°Find Dalai-Tue,¡± Crafton ordered a young Grunt and came to help Douc-Re to his feet while a determined Martel kept smacking him on the back with an open palm. ¡°Stop! Ouch!¡± Lu croaked struggling to breathe from the repeated blows. ¡°Oh! I¡¯m fine!¡± ¡°Hah,¡± Martel guffawed very pleased and breathed out, now fully awake from all the exertion. ¡°You were saying Crafton?¡± ¡°We run out of coin Martel.¡± Ah. Fuck. ¡°Uhm. I¡¯ll write to the Queen,¡± Martel assured him. ¡°She is up and about I¡¯m told.¡± ¡°That¡¯s nice for Anne and all, but Lord Ruud is the one that stopped the payments,¡± Crafton explained. ¡°Right.¡± ¡°Because we are not fighting?¡± Crafton elucidated. ¡°And¡­ excessively consume supplies, foodstuff and coin at Rusted.¡± ¡°What¡¯s his problem with Rusted?¡± ¡°The coin doesn¡¯t return to his coffers?¡± ¡°The Duke takes a cut from Scaldingport¡¯s brothels?¡± Martel queried unsure and Crafton rolled his eyes. ¡°New month, new payment,¡± Crafton reminded him not wanting to comment on the Duchy¡¯s internal affairs. ¡°Wait, isn¡¯t Sir Rik using the Old Dogs?¡± Martel paused mid-nod to ask. ¡°And?¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s sort of work right?¡± ¡°You¡¯re asking me commandant?¡± Crafton taunted. ¡°No and yes. I¡¯m using you as a consigliere, bouncing ideas off of you,¡± Martel explained patiently. ¡°Then I¡¯ll write a letter to Lord Ruud, which I¡¯ll send to the Queen first.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll have the Queen deliver your mail to the Duke?¡± Crafton asked just to be sure. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ a rather bold and borderline insulting act sir.¡± Martel stared at him soberly for a long moment. ¡°This here, is the reason I¡¯m in charge Crafton,¡± he finally told the Company¡¯s Purse Officer. ¡°The top dog needs to be quick on its feet in case of grave emergencies.¡± ¡°It¡¯s hardly an emergency much less grave. You make it sound worse than it is.¡± ¡°Today it¡¯s coin, tomorrow something else.¡± ¡°Like what? This is the longest vacation we¡¯ve enjoyed. There¡¯s so much army around, why¡­we might not have to fight at all sir.¡± You don¡¯t know that ye troglodyte! And you just jinxed the fuck out of all of us. You fucking old cunt! ¡°Just leave it to me. You¡¯ve done enough damage god damn it!¡± ¡°I just brought you a darn report. You made a big deal out of it Martel.¡± Crafton puffed out exasperated. ¡°So what to tell the boys? Most have run out of coin again,¡± Crafton asked after a moment of silent contemplation by both of them. The commandant scratched his head with a gloved hand and spotted what looked like a Cofol scout pop out of the woods a hundred meters across from them. The rider twirled his horse around seeing the Gallant Dogs camp and disappeared inside the woods again. ¡°Wait¡­¡± Martel gasped and Crafton glanced at him. ¡°About a month is yer meaning? I can sell them that,¡± Crafton agreed with a casual shrug. ¡°I think I just saw a blasted Horselord,¡± Martel grunted and glared at the stunned Crafton. The Northman scrunched his wrinkled mouth this way and that a couple of times and then seeing Martel¡¯s tensed face he started laughing out loud. ¡°Liko tried that same shit on me this morning,¡± Crafton explained in between chortles and some spit that landed on the captain¡¯s face. ¡°But I give it to ye Martel. You sell the jest much better ha-hah.¡± ¡°Lu,¡± Martel hissed out of the corner of his mouth, using a hand to wipe his face. ¡°Sound the alarm.¡± ¡°Ayup, just give me a moment Captain.¡± The sergeant replied, sounding distracted. ¡°What?¡± Oh, for goodness¡¯ sake, the commandant thought infuriated. ¡°Sound the fucking alarm!¡± Martel bellowed tipping his head back and almost toppling on the ground as he lost his footing. A nasty kind of ground this, with a couple of big rocks half-buried in the drying mud and the short poles of the tent sticking out dangerously. The rest of the day¡¯s activities turned out to be equally precarious.
512. The Insidious Bloodfang | Part three
Queen Elsanne¡¯s Forces & Allies Late 194 NC through 195 NC About 10570 (engineers excluded, Queen¡¯s entourage excluded. Ruud¡¯s entourage excluded. Militia and foreign Mercenaries included.) 4450 infantry (around 1000 fresh recruits included) 700 marines (Castalor/Scaldingport) Over 4000 crossbows 930 Men-at-arms (or mounted infantry) 490 Cavalry (trained Lancers, Knights) Castalor¡¯s Army (Basten Van Oord) The Castalor Guards, about 350 soldiers and around 2000 of Castalor¡¯s Winch Crossbows (1st and 2nd Divisions) plus 50 horse under Sir Walter Van Oord (west of Castalor and inside the city). Also over 2000 of Winch Crossbows (the 3rd and 4th divisions) under Desmond Boss stationed near Boar¡¯s Horn River 200 Marines (with the ready to depart landing force) under Del Schalk, the late Deadmen¡¯s Watch governor¡¯s Albert Schalk first cousin that had insisted to take the job. Scaldingport (Ruud De Weer) The Duchy¡¯s main army (East of Castalor, near Even Fork & on the road to Rusted) Under the command of ¡®Viscount¡¯ Ard De Moss of Rusted Scaldingport¡¯s 1500 Old Spears under Captain Giel Kugel 450 Rangers under Mitch De Jaeger (Fort Tongue) 450 Men-at-arms (Old Crows) under Sir Stefan De Braal (Duke¡¯s Shield) 500 Marines under Del Schalk (in Castalor, boarding the landing transports) Gust¡¯s Desert Crows (Sir Gust De Weer) (Near Boar¡¯s Horn) 680 Gray Cloaks (380 trained mounted infantry + 300 Old Spears) under Gel De Moss 120 Rangers (archers) under Lode De Jagger 90 Medium (Lancers) & Heavy Cavalry (Knights) under Sir Jan Reuten (Sir Wim Cramer, Axel ¡®Mudriver¡¯, Solt) 150 veteran Winch Crossbows (part of Struder¡¯s Mercenary Company) under Captain Mads Struder (a nephew to the rich weapon¡¯s merchant Wilhelm Struder, of Boss & Struder Industries. Both Desmond and Wilhelm run their own mercenary companies.) Forestfort¡¯s Young Crows (Rik De Weer) (East of Castalor) 250 heavy Cavalry (Men-at-arms, lancers, Knights) under Sir Rik and Sir Adrian Hakker Gallant Dogs On a paid loan to Queen Elsanne Eikenaar Stationed at Even Fork Under Commandant Rollon Martel (With Crafton as 2nd and Wyncall as 3rd) 350 Old Dogs, medium infantry (Flavius Super, Lu Douc-Re) 250 Gold Contract, heavy infantry (Captain Nathaniel Wyncall, Bardo Masin) 400 Grunts medium infantry (Liko) 100 Engineers (plus war machines) under Ricard White, Rick Willian Badum¡¯s old First Foot (Also ¡®Eplas Foot¡¯, Robert¡¯s Own) Camped on the road to Rusted, near Even Fork 750 heavy spear infantry under Captains Madsen and Elhorst 100 Cavalry (Medium Lancers, Knights) Sir Leonel Koel, Baron Leonard¡¯s (Tigerfall) son. Also joined by Sir Evert Pek (wed to Lady Siske, Sir Reinir Tellman¡¯s daughter) 50 Engineers, under Damian Curt 550 fresh recruits (From Badum and Riverdor that rushed to join upon learning of Robert¡¯s arrival)
*Also around 400 Blood Raiders (Eikenport, Lord¡¯s Burrow) with the Queen and 50 bodyguards under Sergeant-at-arms Fliers with the Duke, stationed at the Pavilion, near Hunter¡¯s Cot and the Supply Camps. **This a spread out and fractured force still in the process of redeploying to tackle with the objectives of the coming summer. ***With the Queen giving birth during the winter, most offensive operations had stalled and the cities involved had trouble supplying the armies in the field despite Castalor now operating without problems. ****Lord Ruud was worried by Legatus Merenda¡¯s activities at Eagle¡¯s Nest and had traveled to Forestfort to make sure ¡®an invading force doesn¡¯t slip through the cracks masquerading as refugees and fuck us in our sleep!¡¯ which was surprisingly astute considering what was to happen soon.
Prince Radin Radpour The Insidious Bloodfang | Part Three
Act I -What if you had to?- Summer of 181 NC The massive Sonzan Bridge¡¯s mouth support pillars East banks of Son-Zan River Delta Ten kilometers from the port of Sidhyr (across the capital) Coastal road leading to the Khan¡¯s Boulevard junction that heads south to the Sidhyr city proper or northeast towards the city of Dinar. During the Heir¡¯s return Radin stared back at the stopped carriages of the caravan blocking the road. He counted three carriages and ten covered wagons. Not a single camel amongst them, only mules and those hairy big-bodied, clumsy drawn-horses found in the north. But there were some exotic stallions in the mix as well, equally big, but those the Prince hadn¡¯t seen before. It was the latter animals that had caught his attention. ¡°There¡¯s that fool Kontar,¡± Nar Masud-Rum informed them riding near the prince¡¯s horse and it brought a grin on Havor¡¯s tanned face for he considered Nar the biggest fool of all. Radin twisted on the saddle and caught sight of the wiry skinny teenager returning, escorted by Havor¡¯s handsome brother, Hajot Dhin-Awal. ¡°Found tracks leading to the water.¡± Kontar reported bowing his head. ¡°The river?¡± Radin queried sitting back on the saddle curious. ¡°The gravel beach right at the border my Lord. The bamboo groves,¡± Kontar replied, the desert teenager¡¯s clothes covered in dirt, but we are all suffering from the same affliction, Radin thought. ¡°No one can approach there,¡± Hajot retorted angrily. ¡°God damn liar! Speak the truth to the Prince, else we will leave you here!¡± ¡°I am milords,¡± Kontar protested turning pale in the face, as the only thing he owed where those dirty garbs. ¡°Great Hornets nest there in the summer,¡± Radin told Kontar patiently. ¡°Millions of them. What you say isn¡¯t possible.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the truth. I saw her my Prince,¡± Kontar insisted risking it all. Hmm. ¡°Bah,¡± Hajot grunted. ¡°She dodged a meeting with the Khan to brave the canes? It makes no sense!¡± It made no sense for Sahand to bring back a wife from Dan, whatever that place was, Radin decided. Not the fierce daughter of a warlord to pour fresh Forya-Rochir blood into the royal bloodline and strengthen it, but a total stranger. What so special about you then? ¡°Where in the grove?¡± Radin asked pressing his knees to force his horse forward. He was supposed to travel across the desert as he couldn¡¯t postpone it anymore. The prince knew he would find more freedom east of Eplas. ¡°Prince Radin,¡± Nar Masud-Rum intervened. ¡°There¡¯s no reason to risk it!¡± Radin stared at him with pity. ¡°Avoid risk and you might never lose something,¡± he retorted. ¡°But don¡¯t expect to win anything worth of note also. Else Atpa would have won the hunt but he didn¡¯t. Nout did and now people call him the ''Gold Leopard''. Sahand could have stayed in the capital, but he didn¡¯t. Won a war and another wife instead.¡± An hour later North Sidhyr Bamboo Grove edges A remote beach facing the Khanate Gulf Radin stopped his horse and climbed down from the saddle. He gave Nar the reins and signaled for him to stay with the animals. He could see the two young girls playing near the waters. Their tanned skin, rich black hair and softly-slanted eyes marking them as Cofols. The Prince examined the muddy stems infesting the beach for anyone else and made to approach them, but paused with a frown and turned around. You never know. Nar had gotten his warspear out. He tossed it to the Prince who caught it and span it around his back once, getting a grin out of his friend. Radin walked confidently on the tiny pebbles, keeping his eyes on the two giggling girls. One of them had a horrific scar that covered her whole back as if she had been half-skinned at some point. What manner of cruel owner would do this? He wondered in disgust and faltered when the other girl turned her head noticing him. Radin heard rustling coming from the grove and saw out of the corner of his eye movement amidst the dancing bamboos. ¡°It¡¯s not safe,¡± the prince told the staring girl that didn¡¯t bother to cover up her nudity. The girls were obviously sisters. One of them more hostile than the other that was more guarded. They looked around twelve years old and from up close he could see markings and bruises on their young fit bodies. ¡°Are you with the caravan?¡± ¡°Are you a bandit?¡± The hostile girl asked in rusty Common. ¡°Soon, you will die.¡± What? ¡°I¡¯m a Prince of Rin An-Pur! You brazen wench!¡± Radin snapped, the insult cutting him deep. He was dirty from the road but that was no excuse. He heard more rustling coming from the Grove and voices, at least two more people walking towards the beach. ¡°Who¡¯s there? Show yourself!¡± ¡°How many princes are there?¡± The second girl asked curious, standing behind her sister. Eh? ¡°You don¡¯t know¡­?¡± Radin retorted and then two more females came out of the bamboos. Taller, Cofol-looking, much older and both stunningly beautiful. Damn. The Prince blinked not expecting the newcomers. ¡°Zestari, Selussa,¡± the prettier of the two women said in a motherly voice. ¡°Put some garbs on.¡± She almost chanted the second part and then turned to look at him. ¡°The young prince,¡± the woman said perceptively, her voice changing to a low-purring seductive tone. She sucked all the aggression out of him in an instant. Also, it wasn¡¯t a query. Radin licked his dry lips unsure. He¡¯d seen his share of comely females now in his sixteenth year, both in the palace and in the pleasure houses of Rin An-Pur. But there was something about her that it made his skin tingle and his heart race erratically. Radin could feel, smell and taste the woman despite her standing about six meters away. ¡°This is Lana,¡± the woman said introducing her other friend. ¡°I¡¯m Lenar.¡± ¡°Call me Zil,¡± Lana offered with a sweet smile and Radin found himself getting drawn to her as well strangely. ¡°Stand back,¡± he grunted in a shaky voice, trying to find his wits and feeling his knees weakening. ¡°Who are you people?¡±This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Lenar raised a thin black brow in a quizzing manner. Radin realized there was no breeze all of sudden, no buzzing of any insects flying about, despite seeing a meter tall nest covered with giant hornets hanging from a thick bamboo not three meters away. ¡°We are from Neil-Dan,¡± Lana explained and Zestari snorted mockingly to her words. Ah. Radin thought realizing he¡¯d found Prince Sahand¡¯s spouse. What manner of wayward female travels unescorted? He wondered still in a state shock and feeling a strange chill raising the hairs on his nape glanced right and then left about them, afore recoiling in alarm. A tall, gaunt and dark-skinned male, clad in leather, had sprouted out of the gravel seemingly not a meter from him. A somber long face, sporting maimed ears, under a shaven skull and ashen-colored, brow-less cold eyes. A freak with a murderer¡¯s face. ¡°What the fuck!¡± A bewildered Nar was heard reacting from the distance and Radin instinctively took a half-step back, turned his torso and swung with his warspear to decapitate the intruder. ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± Lenar warned, but she wasn¡¯t talking to Radin. The newcomer ducked under the warspear lithely, Radin span the long weapon, changed his grip on the shaft, simultaneously placing his other hand on it as well and then swung again to cut the looking-affronted creature across the face. The intruder caught the shaft mid-move instead and stopped it, despite the force behind the blow. ¡°Ralnor,¡± Lenar hissed and the freak grimaced, seeming even more annoyed. Then he closed his fist and Radin heard the hardened wood snap and break, the top part of the spear dropping between them. It hit the gravel with a clanging sound and Ralnor let go of the shaft, with Radin holding on to what was left of it faltering backwards, in order to unsheathe what looked like an ancient-looking type of weapon, Radin had only observed in the arenas. A Hoplite Kopis front-curving sword. ¡°I don¡¯t wish to fight,¡± the rattled Radin told the now armed newcomer and took another step back. ¡°Say that you had to,¡± Ralnor crackled in a gravelly voice that held not an ounce of sympathy. ¡°What would you do boy?¡± ¡°Find another weapon?¡± Radin croaked unsure and the freak retorted without missing a beat. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with the one you got there?¡± - Act II -The others he must fight for- Riverdor, summer of 188 NC The Princess Tournament Tobro went to check on his horse inside the stable while a thoughtful Radin watched from the doors. He could see the knights gathering at the tourney grounds, the city¡¯s markets full of visitors. As many Lorians as Issirs inside the large walled city. This isn¡¯t going to work for me, he thought pensively, having that growing feeling that things were kept moving in the wrong direction despite his efforts. ¡°What did the High King decide? Any word? It¡¯s been weeks,¡± Hajot asked coming out of the tavern, followed by Masud-Rum and two more low-born Cataphracts. Malik of Torbal and Garai of Yin Xi-Yan. Amu, Karu and Paari their servants heading inside the stable to get the horses. Radin heard them speak with Tobro through the open doors. ¡°Remember that they almost laughed in my face,¡± Radin replied returning the austere stare of an Issir woman that seemed to find offence in their painted faces as well. ¡°But they did it politely, I suppose. They think we¡¯re depraved savages Hajot.¡± ¡°Curse them,¡± Hajot grunted and Nar grimaced a little worried. ¡°Now what my Prince?¡± He asked Radin. ¡°How long do we wait here?¡± I¡¯m not leaving empty handed. ¡°They were never going to take our word on such a serious matter,¡± Radin replied with a taunting smile at the Uher-fearing woman who hissed, made a circle over her head and moved away. ¡°They¡¯ll wait to hear from the Duke of Raoz.¡± ¡°Will they?¡± Hajot asked watching the groups of men around the nobles that had come to train at the arena grounds. ¡°She put the girls on the task,¡± Radin murmured thoughtfully trying to hear the herald¡¯s words. The colorfully dressed man had just arrived from the market and seeing people gathered, immediately started reading the news from a gigantic scroll. All part of the act probably. ¡°You think they¡¯ll do the job Sahand¡¯s traitor warned us to take care?¡± Hajot asked in mild disbelief with a glance at Nar Masud-Rum who was the only one that had met Sahand¡¯s fabled consort¡¯s whole group of followers other than Radin of course. ¡°These girls?¡± ¡°They will. Reeves is a dead man walking. He¡¯ll never see Jelin again,¡± Radin replied, trying to hear what the herald was saying. ¡°I pity him.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Hajot argued furrowing his brows. ¡°You would, had you known the girls tutor,¡± Radin said absentmindedly. ¡°As well as I do.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve seen him walk into a tree¡¯s shadow,¡± Nar added ominously. ¡°And disappear. He¡¯s no man but an evil djinn.¡± Yeah. That¡¯s close enough. ¡°Where does that leave us? Will they give an answer?¡± Hajot asked pursing his mouth. ¡°Not unless they are cornered.¡± Radin replied and waved for him to stay his tongue so he could listen to the herald¡¯s words. ¡°Never have greater knights assembled in a city. So many champions!¡± The herald boomed under the taunts of some of the nobles and the mirthful crowd watching. Mostly in agreement though, Radin noticed. ¡°The De Weers, both Alden champions, the Holt and the Van Oord. The Crull and the Van Durren. A Davenport and a Riveras! Bloody Tiger is here out of fucking retirement! The other undefeated tiger, brave Sir Ralph Alden! The tenacious Crow Sir Rik and there¡¯s still hope the Raven of Dawn himself shall arrive! Sir Graceful, Paris Riveras and Sir Heracles Davenport, the ¡®Tall knight of the Desert¡¯. Sir Rupert Holt, the ¡®Stout¡¯. Sir Antony Valens. Sir Maas Hoff, the ¡®Knight of Crabs¡¯ and Sir Thor Est Ravn. Sir Reggy and Sir Hein Crull¡­¡± ¡°Ugh,¡± Hajot grunted seeing the prince listening to the herald¡¯s words. ¡°What do they know of duels my Lord? A duel is fought to the death.¡± ¡°Not always,¡± Radin replied and eyed the faces of the unknown nobles listening to the herald with smiles. ¡°But it often does.¡± ¡°Who can blame them?¡± The herald jested with a shrug. ¡°No fairer lady than her exists surely. Lady ¡®Jade Eyes¡¯ herself. The late King¡¯s jewels, hah-ha! Hear me out! No greater prize to fight over in a noble manner! Some will fight for the honors. Others driven from romance! I won¡¯t begrudge either for sure! By the Allgods, if I could still pick up a spear, I would have participated as well and tell my wife later!¡± ¡°You are not a knight Leroy!¡± Someone yelled from the crowd amidst riotous laughter. ¡°I came close once,¡± Leroy argued with a miffed smile, squinting his eyes to see who had intervened before he¡¯d a chance to finish. ¡°In your dreams!¡± ¡°A carnival. Bah,¡± Hajot retorted. Radin nodded thoughtfully. ¡°One wife a prince is offered as tribute,¡± he told Hajot. ¡°You got a nice one in Vynia,¡± Nar agreed with a stupid grin. ¡°The others a Horselord must fight for,¡± Radin continued with a glance at Masud-Rum¡¯s face. ¡°Else he¡¯ll end up like Atpa and fuck his slaves, whilst romancing whores.¡± ¡°Hah-ha,¡± Hajot guffawed at the mention of the cautious Prince. ¡°Nout hasn¡¯t gotten another wife as well,¡± Nar argued, himself unmarried but eagerly open to offers, preferably from maidens with a large dowry to sustain his career. ¡°Nout has no need for another wife,¡± Radin replied. His brother had married one of the richest girls in the Khanate and he¡¯d the gilded Lord Toka as his father in law. Whatever elaborate plans Prince Nout hatched in his fruitful mind, the Toka family could finance with ease. ¡°The Lord of Jade Lake does. Dia is just a big village.¡± Hajot turned to look at him surprised and a little hurt. ¡°Don¡¯t take offence. They send us here to fail and receive the humiliation intended for the Prince Heir. For my Father.¡± Radin explained. ¡°They¡¯ll use this offence that will forever stain my honor to fuel their plans and bring glory to their names. None of that glory shall be bestowed upon us friends.¡± Upon me. ¡°Prince Radin,¡± Hajot Dhin-Awal rustled. ¡°What are you saying?¡± ¡°We need to¡­ force ourselves into their plans somehow.¡± The prince paused when the Horse-Archer Kontar followed by a sullen Issir official appeared on their horses. The man Radin remembered from the meeting with King Antoon a couple of weeks back. The Baron of Colle, Lord Bach. A Priest of Oras. The King¡¯s Master of Silence. ¡°The Duke¡¯s messenger didn¡¯t make it,¡± Radin said quickly and cracked his neck right and then left. ¡°Let¡¯s see what this dark snake wants.¡± Radin was going to surprise Antoon¡¯s palace creature. Turn their world upside down and force them in a direction they hadn¡¯t considered venturing previously. Will they fight, if they had to? - Act III -One and the same- Nidar, his name meaning the ¡®Daring¡¯ in the old Steppe Tongue, was playing with his sculpted in ivory toy horses. A good sign, I suppose. Radin thought watching the small prince rolling on the thick carpet inside the Eikenaar Tower. ¡°If Prince Atpa fails to produce a legitimate heir,¡± Vynia repeated from her spot with a glance at the pregnant Loes. ¡°Nidar is first in line for the throne. Nout¡¯s girl has no chance.¡± ¡°Not without me as Khan,¡± Radin told her casually. ¡°Atpa won¡¯t play by the rules wife. This game I know very well. All princes know it since their youths. No Horselord ever took the throne without a challenge to his claim. It is not the way. We are brothers, but we are also Princes of Rin An-Pur. We are expected to fight to survive.¡± He looked at Vynia¡¯s gloomy face. The loss of her family was a hard blow to the young woman and she had seen Nidar¡¯s arrival as a sign from the gods. ¡°You are a traitor¡¯s kin wife. It stains Nidar¡¯s blood but fear not, for I intend to wash it all away.¡± ¡°Atpa controls the capital.¡± ¡°If the Khan wins, then I¡¯ll have the bigger army and the inclination to act.¡± Radin explained. ¡°Lands and riches. Fresh manpower, even allies.¡± ¡°Elsanne hates you.¡± Vynia reminded him. ¡°Never accepted your authority.¡± ¡°The little Issir bird has you fooled.¡± Radin replied with a grimace of annoyance. ¡°Women of Jelin worth even less than slaves. What did she know that you didn¡¯t? She was given away. They are using her as a prop, none of this is her own idea. Jasi got into her head and someone helped her for other reasons.¡± ¡°What reasons?¡± Radin stared at Loes. ¡°There was always another rival in Burzin¡¯s court working towards their own plan. They freed Elsanne to help themselves.¡± ¡°That Aken serves Burzin for decades now. The witch is dead. Why would she ever turn on you?¡± Vynia hissed but there was a lot of fear in her voice. ¡°Selussa assisted Elsanne. She couldn¡¯t have gotten away otherwise,¡± Radin said hoarsely. ¡°There is a King beyond the Pale Mountains. A Zilan Monarch. The Witch¡¯s interests shifted closer to her black heart¡¯s desires, which I guess were always to be with her own people.¡± ¡°Sahand¡¯s spouse was a Zilan?¡± Vynia croaked sounding terrified. ¡°I thought she was just evil.¡± ¡°One and the same,¡± Radin retorted staring at a portrait of Reinut the Great. The king¡¯s eyes painted amber under the wild white hair framing his dark-skinned and covered with scars sinister face. The artist had painted a nasty smirk on the long dead thug¡¯s crooked mouth.
A songbird had woken the Prince, interrupting his dreams. He heard its chirping and the fluttering of small wings. The brief splash on the river¡¯s surface escaping the ruckus of the many nearby falls somehow. Thoroughly soaked, moss-covered trunks and ground all about him, even the large rocks hidden under that soft green blanket and drown in the strong humidity. Radin shifted his legs and stood up. Tobro who was tending to the prince''s horse with Amu noticed him and approached. A much older Tobro and Amu, who was still Masud-Rum¡¯s servant many years later. Paari was still serving Garai of Yin Xi-Yan, but Karu had been killed alongside Malik of Torbal during Kobus Bakema¡¯s and the Crimson Band¡¯s ambush right after the tourney. Hajot had fallen to the Horselord Kalac on the return trip and Havor, his brother, no more than ten days earlier somewhere near Kaltha¡¯s Great Lakes. Nar Masud-Rum and Kontar were still around somehow, especially the latter. Kontar had found his way back to the prince¡¯s army, preferring to take his chances with Radin than facing the Khan¡¯s wrath. The predictable opponent gets defeated sooner or later, Ralnor used to preach with each cruel blow or cut. Lenar¡¯s right hand creature had never landed a restrained blow or one that wouldn¡¯t have potentially outright killed him. He would let Lenar patch up or revive Radin with her potions afterwards, but Radin always returned for another try. The prince¡¯s pride not allowing him to admit defeat against that sadist. The witch¡¯s singsong words swirling in his head during their agonizing recuperating sessions after each attempt. ¡®To defeat Dar Eherdir, thou mustn¡¯t fear death, for he doesn¡¯t. You could trick him briefly but such an opponent will always come back after shoving death away.¡¯ ¡°Kontar looked like shit,¡± the hardened Cataphract Garai of Yin Xi-Yan rustled coming to stand on a moss-covered rock next to the pondering Prince that slowly put his armour on with the help of the servants. Garai was a ¡®lance for hire¡¯. He had fought with Prince Sahand against the Forya Rochi in the North, stayed near his brother for the invasion of Raoz and had returned to help Radin against Robert Van Durren at Tirifort. ¡°He said Havor Dhin-Awal was forced to give battle against his wishes. Jorah didn¡¯t take it very well.¡± ¡°You think the old Lord might challenge Burzin?¡± Radin asked wearing his long gloves. ¡°He might challenge you. You both took a son from him,¡± Garai retorted with a grimace and spat down. ¡°Will the horses make it across?¡± He asked changing the subject. ¡°A horse can travel all terrains if guided carefully,¡± Radin droned and the Cataphract grunted unhappy. ¡°What about Amir-Zeket and the others?¡± The silent Radin went to check on the saddle but paused there holding the leather straps to look at Garai. ¡°A ruse works if something bigger occupies the mind.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a lot of ruses,¡± Garai commented wryly. ¡°Nar Masud-Rum seems confused and Tobro smells nice¡­ Huh? Heard you suck cock lad. Is that true? I¡¯m talking to you slave.¡± Tobro glared at the smirking Horselord. ¡°Torment your own slaves Garai,¡± Radin warned. ¡°Lord Putra attacked and Mirpur will head for that bridge. Everyone will turn their attention there. Amir-Zeket might succeed or he might have to do it the hard way. Lord Jorah Dhin-Awal will back him up.¡± Radin climbed on the saddle and took the reins from Tobro. ¡°What about us?¡± ¡°This is not a ruse,¡± Radin replied calmly, despite feeling the tension of the coming attempt. A win here would bring the throne to him. Never such a feat had been accomplished. People shall speak of Radin¡¯s triumphs for a thousand years. ¡°It¡¯s reading the terrain and maneuver to where you¡¯re least expected.¡± ¡°Mirpur will expect assistance,¡± Garai noted. ¡°Um. The Desert¡¯s Spirits shall provide whatever they can,¡± Radin said repeating a known saying of the Great Steppe, his manner nebulous. ¡°But Mirpur might have to do the rest.¡± -
Early morning of the 3rd of Tertius Encamped Castalor¡¯s Army 3rd and 4th Winch Crossbows Divisions Boar¡¯s Horn River ¡°Gods darn bugs!¡± Desmond Boss cursed snapping his arm to swat a large brown bull cricket away that had almost driven him mad with its incessant chirping. ¡°First couple of days of good weather and this happens!¡± ¡°Father you should make an announcement,¡± his son Mathieu repeated, already fully wake and energized much as younger folk tend to be. Desmond had another son Adrian, but the lad was more inclined in running the factory back in Castalor than running around with the company. Well, these were Duke Basten Van Oord¡¯s men, but Desmond paid them enough coin for training and weapons, not to mention taxes to the city, so he got to lead them. His partner Wilhelm Struder, a much more frugal man, kept a small private company instead and had his nephew Mads Struder taking the odd jobs to get his coin back. Of course Mads had followed the Raven in Eplas, brought the Queen back and that had given old Wilhelm an undeserving boost in popularity. ¡°I¡¯m working on it Mathieu,¡± he told his son and stepped outside his tent to get a taste of the morning sun. ¡°The Queen had her heir, it¡¯s a joyous occasion but happy troops eat more and are restless.¡± ¡°You sound like Wilhelm,¡± Mathieu said stepping outside the tent as well. The large camp extending on both sides of the road to Boar Horn River. The latter and its bridge visible at the distance. They had to move the camp away from the river¡¯s banks during the winter as humidity had killed more men than the Horselords in a few short months. Sick men also cost a lot of coin since they want to get better obviously. ¡°This war will either bankrupt us or make us a fortune,¡± Desmond mused squinting his eyes to watch an exchange between a sergeant and an approaching rider about a hundred meters away. ¡°Depending on who is left standing in the end.¡± ¡°The Queen of course,¡± Mathieu replied with a smile. Yeah. ¡°What is it Mikel?¡± Desmond asked one of his aides that approached to report on the exchange. ¡°The 2nd Foot,¡± Lieutenant Mikel reported. ¡°Captain Voges and the 4th Division.¡± Desmond furrowed his brows. ¡°They are here?¡± ¡°About to cross the bridge. They made it out apparently.¡± ¡°The man perished with Sir Mark Est Ravn!¡± Desmond snapped in deep disbelief. ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°Everyone said that. But that¡¯s him apparently. The sergeant recognized¡­ he is certain.¡± Mikel pursed his mouth as if there was something more. ¡°The Khan lost control of Colle?¡± Mathieu queried curious and came to stand next to his father. More and more soldiers were coming out of their tents to watch the men gathering across the river. ¡°The banners?¡± Desmond asked a soldier holding a spyglass. ¡°They are correct mister Boss,¡± the man replied. ¡°You think the Legion pushed them back?¡± Mathieu asked as they had rumors of a great defeat suffered by the Khan¡¯s army at Eagle¡¯s Nest. ¡°Where was a whole division hiding?¡± Desmond grunted and glanced at lieutenant Mikel. ¡°Speak up son. You seem troubled,¡± he urged him just as the first rows of soldiers dressed in Issir armour and colors started marching over the bridge. More waiting to cross. Many more. That¡¯s more than a division Desmond thought just as Mikel replied sounding uneasy. ¡°Sergeant Hooftman owed him money. Voges had paid for a custom winch crossbow, ten gold pieces ayup, but the sergeant kept it for himself given the call to arms,¡± Mikel explained and glanced at his commander. ¡°They are both from Deadmen¡¯s Watch.¡± ¡°Right. Out with it! So what?¡± Desmond grunted and grabbed the spyglass from the soldier to better observe the mass of soldiers crossing the bridge. ¡°He never returned the coin sir and Captain Voges didn¡¯t remember it,¡± Mikel elucidated. ¡°He was probably confused,¡± Mathieu offered and Desmond smacked his lips as something was wrong with the 4th Division¡¯s troops. They were missing a lot of equipment for starters or carried different weapons but he could forgive them that. God darn varmints! He cursed barely hearing Mikel¡¯s reply. ¡°That¡¯s what Voges said and then asked Hooftman for either the coin or the horse back sir,¡± Mikel replied and Desmond lowered the spyglass with a stunned expression on his face. There were barely any Issirs amidst the supposed 2nd Foot¡¯s 4th Division¡¯s marching troops. As a matter of fact, most of the men looked like Khanate¡¯s soldiers. ¡°TO ARMS!¡± A sergeant of the 3rd Division called spotting the same thing and Desmond heard the sound of cavalry horns from across the river.
513. The paeans of spring I
Sir Rik De Weer The paeans of spring Part I -The time for vengeance-
3rd of Tertius Trade road heading from Castalor to the Even Fork junction Forestfort¡¯s ¡®Young Crows¡¯, ¡®Grey Cloaks¡¯ and Order of Tyeus road camps Rik stared at ¡®Curious¡¯ head, the young stallion tasked with carrying him around excited with the opportunity, as his old horse Moonmane had a splinter bothering his front right leg and had stayed with the spares. The horse snorted, flapping its black lips and showing him the large teeth in protest. ¡°No more dry apples,¡± Rik retorted standing firm and pulled at his right glove to better adjust it around the fingers. He walked to the small table next to the small night fire by the road and returned the greetings of the small group of knights there. ¡°Get the fire extinguished,¡± he ordered after the niceties were over. ¡°I want that report from Castalor Adrian,¡± Rik told Sir Hakker and the Forestfort knight signaled for their squires to approach. Mickie ¡®Rots¡¯ and Terry were standing by the spare horses. ¡°Anything from Sir Walter?¡± Adrian asked while Rik accepted a cup of warm tea from Sir Duncan Buld. ¡°The Gray Cloaks were reciting psalms all night,¡± Duncan rustled crooking his mouth. ¡°Sir Mart Nootveld arrived with his priests and Bolte¡¯s nephew Daan. They got all stirred up.¡± ¡°I heard them,¡± Rik replied and sipped at the lukewarm tea. ¡°Well?¡± He turned to Mickie and the young man grimaced. ¡°The Duke sent a missive during the night,¡± Mickie showed him the scroll. ¡°The bird left it in my satchel.¡± ¡°Hah-ha,¡± Adrian guffawed and slapped at Mickie¡¯s back. ¡°Had anything of value in there Rots?¡± ¡°Xener went for the walls?¡± Rik asked, blinking his eye at the sunrays coming through the foliage. There was forest on both sides of the wide dirt road but for the cart lane that is. Still the latter was under half-a-foot of mud and rotten leaves from the winter rains at spots. ¡°They thought so initially, but the Duke reported that they have marched to the north gates and beyond. He came out to challenge them.¡± ¡°What are they doing?¡± Rik wondered and gave the scroll back to Mickie. He reached to adjust the leather patch over the scar marring the left side of his face. Worked the finger under and around the stitched skin where the eyeball was missing. It always itched there every morning and it was pulling at the flesh. ¡°Sir Walter will come around them and Schalk can send the Marines to the walls, this makes no sense,¡± Adrian agreed. ¡°Where are their horses?¡± Duncan wondered. A tall, bulky knight with a small head for his large frame and heavy armour. ¡°Walter will have scouts reach their camp soon, see if they left or if they are trying to retreat towards Deadmen¡¯s Watch. Though I can¡¯t understand why they would sacrifice their infantry to do it.¡± Rik grimaced and spilled the rest of the tea into the fire. ¡°Maybe they got tipped off about Schalk¡¯s invading force?¡± Adrian probed. ¡°Hmm,¡± Rik murmured and turned to walk towards the grey-cloaked men across the road, Gust had loaned him. Sir Adrian followed after the De Weer scion eager for gossip. ¡°They say the Queen all but admitted the boy is Gust¡¯s,¡± the knight commented. ¡°Not now Adrian,¡± Rik paused to stare in his bearded face. ¡°Although, I guess it¡¯s not much of a secret.¡± ¡°Gust is easy to read,¡± Adrian grinned and then sobered up seeing Rik¡¯s expression. ¡°As far as the Queen is concerned.¡± Rik sucked at his teeth thoughtfully but he didn¡¯t have time to reply as a great ruckus was heard coming from all around them. The earth-shaking sound ripped through the branches, rattled the moss-covered trunks and bounced off of the trees on both sides of the forest road. A lot of wheels moving fast on hard uneven terrain. Both stone and packed earth. The Grey Cloaks were already on the move a moment later, grabbing shields and swords to block the road. The roar of the approaching wheels increasing, a strange sound with a lot of metallic creaking echoes mixed in, Rik hadn¡¯t heard before. ¡°What in the all-hells?¡± Adrian wondered and signaled for Terry to fetch his helm. Rik was already moving towards Curious and his squire that rushed to get the saddlebags loaded. ¡°Leave the bags!¡± Rik yelled as he sprinted near him. ¡°Grab my shield lad!¡± He jumped on the saddle just as the huge cloud consisting of pulverized earth and dust appeared coming towards them from the direction of Castalor. Rik didn¡¯t have time to wonder how the enemy had leaped beyond the Duke¡¯s men blocking the road. Whatever had happened under the cover of darkness had moved the Horselords kilometers forward and brought them to their camp. ¡°CHARIOTS!¡± A sergeant bellowed hoarsely at the top of his lungs, his voice barely registering in the midst of the earth-shaking uproar the war-vehicles had raised. Two hundred meters away the first of Maluph¡¯s scythed chariots blasted out of the raised dust clouds, their horses now racing on this much better part of the road. Bolts and arrows plunged on the scrambling Scaldingport men less than a breath later. They ripped through flesh, stuck on the road or animals, bounced off of tree trunks and splintered on plate or raised shields. - Five minutes later Curious leaped over the crashed chariot, now a large pile of broken metal, fallen branches, crooked wheels, and gory body parts. The horse landed with a protracted neigh, its hind legs fighting to keep purchase on the grass, its rear swerving hard right and Rik who managed to stay on the saddle with a curse, saw two more chariots cut through men and animals ten meters from him in an explosion of gore and savage violence. ¡°Move boy,¡± Rik hissed and kicked his legs to snap Curious out of the shock. The horse jumped forward on the hard gravel, the left part of the road, the leading chariot bouncing off of the same material with sparks flying out of the metal-reinforced wheels and the extended rotating blades spraying gore at least five meters out on each side. ¡°Sneaky motherfuckers,¡± a tensed Rik cursed at the bloody, smiling masks approaching him and raised his right arm holding the spear while the neighing wildly Curious closed the distance rapidly. The trying to keep himself on the deck charioteer fired a crossbow bolt from five meters away, Rik hurled the spear at the horse galloping on the outside of the row -a sharp moment later, and growled like a madman feeling the steel bolt-head breaking the top of his shield afore penetrating his left shoulder. A second later the warspear skewered the chariot horse through the neck, the animal yanked away and to its left (Rik¡¯s right) in horrified agony, shoved the other horses that way and the chariot veered wildly in that direction also, in a shrieking otherworldly twisted sound, the snapping on the ground blades hacking away both of Rik¡¯s horse¡¯s front legs from under it. The groaning knight found himself heading for the ground just as more war-vehicles came roaring towards him, the second one a gilded chariot. -
On the late morning of the 2nd ¨Ca very misty day in the forest- Xener¡¯s Jang-Lu marched against the lightly fortified Castalor lines west of the city. They carried several gigantic wooden shields that could for a while, at least until the defenders set them on fire, protect the Khanate¡¯s infantry from the hail of bolts released against them. Sir Walter Van Oord, ordered his infantry and more groups of crossbows to flank the approaching mass of armoured enemies but he got flanked himself by Horus Mirpur¡¯s Cataphracts that attacked with ferocity and scattered his infantry. Walter ordered his men to retreat towards the walls of the city, and the many more crossbows firing from there, but while Xener¡¯s men followed slowly after them still holding the burning shields, Horus Mirpur led his riders back into the nearby forest and was never seen near Castalor again. Unbeknownst to the Van Oord scion, the whole of Lord Putra¡¯s army was on the move abandoning their rear camps. Walter messaged his father Duke Basten Van Oord, who was at Castalor¡¯s east port with Lord Erland at the time overseeing Del Schalk¡¯s Marines (a seven hundred strong force) boarding the transports for an assault at Deadmen¡¯s Watch, and the alarmed Duke left the matter to his kin to rush to the walls of the city. Xener marched parallel to the walls, drawing a lot of attention from the worried city, but stayed away from short weapons range for the most part. He suffered casualties from Scorpios and the tower catapults firing on his men, but kept marching around the extended walls with determination. The Duke ordered the captain of the East Gates guards to get his men out of the city and challenge the moving Horselords, while simultaneously, messaging Lord Erland to stop Schalk¡¯s Marines from departing the ports. Erland dispatched three hundred of Scaldingport¡¯s loaned Marines, the men were still loitering at the docks waiting their turn to be loaded on the transports, over to the East Gates as well and this force got out to challenge Xener¡¯s Jang-Lu. Xener stopped the march and prepared to give battle instead of retreating. It was a delaying tactic, as the Horselords weren¡¯t approaching the north walls and the Duke looked to find more men to fight them. Sir Walter dispatched four hundred crossbows to Xener¡¯s back out of the west gates, at great risk as there was theoretically Horselord cavalry still roaming about, and this action forced at last Xener to attack Duke Basten¡¯s gathered army near the afternoon. The fight dragged on but Xener¡¯s veteran infantry pushed the defenders back slowly. Castalor¡¯s soldiers were more inclined to return to the safety of their walls ¨Cand the cover of their ranged weapons- than facing the hardened Jang-Lu heavy halberd infantry. The Duke ordered the men to retreat towards the east gates, hoping to drag the Khanate¡¯s infantry away from their camps and give Walter the opportunity to reinforce his own flanking force with more troops. The battle lasted until the sun set beyond the horizon not soon after Castalor retreated, as it was still early spring, and the defenders lit up the walls and fields before them to keep the resting Jang-Lu well in their sights for the coming night. During the night Sir Walter¡¯s scouts journeyed deep into Lord Putra¡¯s winter positions to discover what was going on and returned with news hours later that the Horselords massive constructed camps and animal ranches stood empty. On the morning of the 3rd, almost a hundred kilometers away at Boar¡¯s Horn River¡¯s bridge, Desmond Boss¡¯ 3rd and 4th Castalor divisions tasked with keeping an eye on the strategic passage, were surprised by another force of Jang-Lu infantry under Amir-Zeket who approached their lines under the colors of the destroyed the previous year 2nd Issir Foot. Amir-Zeket managed to take over half of Boss¡¯ west camp but got bogged down as he had to fight a close quarters -very messy- scrap for it, which neither side favored. Kontar, the same officer that had fought against Legatus Merenda¡¯s First Legion less than a month earlier, assisted by the former Lord of Dia Castle Jorah Dhin-Awal¡¯s cavalry, the latter was the late general¡¯s father and a family close to Prince Radin since his birth, attacked crossing the bridge, pushed Desmond¡¯s men back and caused heavy casualties. Due to the unorganized, elongated battlefield and the strong opposition, Lord Jorah was unable to capitalize on his success. Kontar who was sent to cut Boss¡¯ men off from the road met one of Lode De Jagger¡¯s scout patrols, not to be confused with Mitch De Jaeger that led Ruud¡¯s Rangers. Despite both being members of the same family originally, the Jagger¡¯s and Jaegers had split up with each branch now holding lands at Tail and Tongue peninsulas respectively. Lode De Jagger was scouting the road for Gust¡¯s Desert Crows that had camped about fifteen kilometers behind Desmond Boss in full force (but for their veteran mounted infantry group, called the Gray Cloaks that were with Sir Rik De Weer east of Castalor) and immediately sounded the alarm.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Captain Gel De Moss, who stood in command for the returning from visiting the Queen in the ¡®County¡¯ of Rusted Gust, ordered Lode¡¯s over a hundred Rangers and the other part of the Gray Cloaks, the three hundred strong Old Spears (perhaps the most-hardened spear unit in the field) to block the road for Kontar¡¯s amassing to attack group of riders. The determined to restore his name ¨Cand save his head- Kontar attacked ferociously but despite causing many casualties, got slowed down eventually against a wall of spears, got injured twice ¨Cwas cut badly in the face- and was forced to retreat towards Lord Jorah. The latter had managed to take over the west camp from Desmond¡¯s men, but the hit very hard Castalor crossbows had by now barricaded themselves in the east camp across the road and for hours cut down Amir-Zeket¡¯s Jang-Lu frontal attacks with great determination. While all this was happening, Sir Rik De Weer¡¯s Young Crows and Gray Cloaks, the latter basically men-at-arms in all but name, especially after campaigning on the saddle for years with his brother Gust, got attacked by Maluph Erul-Sol¡¯s scythed war Chariots that had managed to leapfrog Castalor¡¯s defenders through the woods covered by Xener¡¯s infantry and had emerged about seven kilometers east of the city. Maluph¡¯s machines hit the better road galloping hard and raced for Even Fork to assist Horus Mirpur. The Cataphract leader was traveling through the woods since the previous day¡¯s action ¨Cfor a while escorting the attempting to escape Lady Marleen Van Oord and his baby boy, who were with Tibia-Han¡¯s rear personnel closer to the gulf¡¯s shores. Maluph bludgeoned the waking up Gray Cloaks, killing or maiming about forty in less than three minutes, but Sir Rik and his nearby cavalry intervened preventing a rout, as they could withstand ¨Csomewhat- the bolts and arrows hurled against them due to their heavier armour. The rotating blades and javelins they could do nothing about and first their horses, followed by the Knights themselves started falling. In a normal engagement fought at the start of the campaign Maluph would have turned around and mayhap won in a rout, but this wasn¡¯t one. He barely had sixty war chariots to begin with against well over six hundred, mostly on horseback after the first few minutes, opponents. After the initial shock of the attack subsided, the scattered Gray Cloaks found their nearby horses, urged by thunderous chanting and sharp curses by Sir Mart Nootveld, Priest and Commander of the knightly Order of Tyeus, Jelin¡¯s most austere and prestigious of Orders, and the nearly perishing in those first moments of the scrap Sir Rik De Weer, who had his horse killed under him. Both leaders galvanized the men by example and the hard-pressed Maluph, who always wanted to keep on moving, found himself getting hunted by the furious ¡®one-eyed crow¡¯ that steadfastly refused to allow him to disengage, in what is locally known today as the ¡®Bloody Sprint¡¯. A heroic action as the war chariot historically holds great advantage when on the move, both in attack or in ¡®retreat¡¯. According to the military scholars at least.
- ¡°Milord!¡± A wild-eyed Mickie ¡®Rots¡¯ cried out running near the faltering Sir Rik that was still trying to find his footing after the spectacular near-death tumble. ¡°Good gods, look what they did to poor ¡®Curious¡¯!¡± Mickie bemoaned sadly, whilst trying to help the knight to his feet. Rik was unable to speak and he had to smack hard at his dented helm to clear the visor from the gathered dirt and rotten leaves. He unsheathed his sword the next moment, shoving Mickie away, in order to attack the surviving Horselord, but paused a stride in with a grunt of pain, as he¡¯d part of a broken bolt still lodged in his shoulder. The shoulder plate had stopped it from reaching the bone, but the wound was bleeding down his armpit. The Charioteer saw him hesitate and charged him with a wild swing of his scimitar, after jumping over one of his mutilated comrades ¨Cthe driver was buried under the crashed chariot. Rik parried the curved blade away, twisted to avoid a dagger and then caught sight at the tail end of his peripheral vision of the galloping hard Sir Duncan¡¯s lance skewering a charioteer that had aimed a crossbow on the busy unmounted knight. The onrushing chariot¡¯s driver veered hard left to avoid the knight¡¯s charge, but he was too late. The ranged charioteer hit the ground with a crooning yelp, half-lost in the thunderous roar of wheels and nearby clash of arms, and the one facing Rik attacked again raising his scimitar high, only to be pierced through the chest by the stepping back knight¡¯s longsword. Rik yanked the blade back and savagely cut the Khanate¡¯s soldier across the face, splitting the metal mask in two parts that clattered down between them. ¡°Horse¡­¡± He croaked raspingly at the arriving Mickie and his squire nodded wildly, turned around and sprinted back to their campsite. Rik¡¯s attention turned to Sir Duncan who had found himself in trouble from another chariot, as most of them had cleared through the Gray Cloaks lines by now. The desperately turning his horse around knight had a bolt break on the side of his helm, which was lucky, but got cut above the knee from a reaching well-out of the chariot rotating blade that gored his horse, which wasn¡¯t. Rik cursed seeing Sir Duncan drop from the saddle but he had to dive out of the gilded chariot¡¯s way himself. It was a close call again, the horse¡¯s hooves digging at the ground, rotating blades screeching like crazed fiends over his head and the second charioteer hurling a javelin in an attempt to nail the rolling on the ground knight that missed Rik for a hair. ¡°Argh!¡± Rik growled seeing the bouncing about chariot blasting past him and the fancy dressed Horselord twisted around to watch in disbelief the cursing De Weer scion getting up and faltering stubbornly towards the mounted Mickie that had brought Moonmane to him. ¡°Milord yer bleeding!¡± ¡®Rots¡¯ yelled hoarsely but Rik dismissed his protests with a curt wave, clenched his jaw doggedly and climbed on his old stallion¡¯s back. This is not a time of mourning, Rik thought. Neither for horse or man. ¡°Spear!¡± Rik roared and Mickie pulled back his pale lips revealing two rows of crooked teeth. Just behind them Sir Adrian Hakker approached on his own horse after ordering his squire Terry to see to the groaning irate Sir Duncan¡¯s wound. ¡°Sir Rik,¡± Adrian said watching a grimacing Rik extracting the bolt from his shoulder with bloody fingers. ¡°There¡¯s word that Jang-Lu are coming toward us. They broke through Castalor¡¯s defenders. We must hold the road.¡± Bullshit. These chariots are racing away with no thought of clearing the road. This is a bloody feint! Trust your instinct this plaguing time. Rik closed his tearing eye to combat the mind-numbing pain and tried to keep his rage from spilling out. He¡¯d made considerable efforts after Riverdor to approach matters differently and with much more patience. He cultivated a more sinister, thoughtful personality that had served him well in the years that followed. Ruud¡¯s way. But after having suffered a humiliating defeat once already before high lords and gods at the hands of these slant-eyed bastards, then losing his sister¡¯s husband to a Lorian ruffian and of course poor Marleen who was an innocent in all this, the enraged Rik found himself unable to follow down the same level-headed path. Not the time to consider past failures, personal losses and doomed romance¡¯s what ifs. ¡°Gather the Crows Adrian,¡± he rustled gravely to his long-time friend, brushing aside all other thoughts to focus on the present. ¡°Leave Sir Nootveld to deal with the Jang-Lu. Sir Walter can¡¯t be that far behind them,¡± Rik elucidated through clenched teeth. ¡°We¡¯re going after the blasted chariots.¡± This is the time for vengeance. -
¡°I had a marriage offer or two,¡± a slightly inebriated Robert said with a silly grin to a scowling Gust that stood next to him. ¡°A couple of toothy donkeys in the mix, no argument there. Anyways, Albert Struder¡¯s daughter Cristiana seems like the better prospect at this junction. I¡¯m pretty desperate for coin right now. Ever heard the story of the unfortunate knight that reached into a pocket and grabbed his ankle? That¡¯s me! Eh, between us Struder has a pretty frugal reputation, so I don¡¯t know,¡± the Badum noble confessed and frowned at the frosty reception to his troubles. ¡°For Uher¡¯s sake Gust, at the very least lighten up a bit will you? And I know common people problems bore you, but surely you can, to a certain degree, pretend to care a smidgen for a person of some importance! Right?¡± Gust crooked his mouth and glanced at the sky above their heads for any signs of Bugs. The Raven was missing since the other night, but it had come in Gust¡¯s dreams to warn him of trouble brewing ahead of them. The reports from Castalor saying as much. He stared at Axel ¡®Mudriver¡¯ next but his squire, Axel was about Gust¡¯s age so he wasn¡¯t a young man, had a smile on his face as well listening to Robert¡¯s stories. While Robert wasn¡¯t a High Baron per se, what with Duke Charles pretending Badum¡¯s heir was dead and the rumors of his arrival a tall tale, common people were impressed with Robert¡¯s charming personality and manners. Years later despite the Badum scion holding a lesser ¨Cand if that- title from Gust, everyone seemed to like him better. Even Elsanne had told him that she considered Robert a better prospect than Charles for example though she was quick to add, upon seeing Gust¡¯s furious glare ¡®in the occasion we were unattached, which we are not. All gods, I¡¯m just teasing you! Really! Tell him Jasi. It¡¯s Eplas humor! Didn¡¯t we call for him in our hour of need desperately?¡¯ ¡®I believe that was a scream your grace,¡¯ the eunuch had replied stiffly, visibly unwilling to get involved while enjoying a piece of fruit cake. ¡®During labor.¡¯ Elsanne nodded with a cute frown. ¡®And where were you?¡¯ She asked turning to stare at the startled Gust accusingly, who found himself on the defensive all of a sudden. ¡®Standing outside!¡¯ Gust grunted. ¡®The Dottore was adamant!¡¯ ¡®Since when do you allow another to dictate your actions? The Gust I know would have punched the Dottore in the face!¡¯ Elsanne retorted barely concealing a grin. She was trying to cover her earlier gaffe. Gust had backhanded Rowan as a matter of fact upon seeing all the blood on the baby, but people had intervened to stop him. It had caused quite the stir inside the Viscount¡¯s estate, although Ruud had found the whole situation hilarious and suggested Rowan should fight Gust to clear his name, which the injured Dottore promptly refused outright, accepting he was in the wrong for not doing a better job. ¡®I know what you¡¯re doing,¡¯ Gust hissed warningly and Robert¡¯s groan snapped him back to the present. ¡°Oh, for crying out loud,¡± Robert protested. ¡°It¡¯s like I¡¯m talking to a sullen wall! It behooves me to think that with a son in hand and a comely Queen¡¯s affections, your view of life would have changed my friend.¡± ¡°Life is as it always was,¡± Gust rustled, perking up seeing one of Foot¡¯s sergeants marching towards the commander¡¯s headquarters. Sir Leonel Koel intercepted the low-ranking officer and took the missive he carried from him. ¡°Nothing changes because of a kid.¡± Although it had changed a lot. Now Gust was responsible for the boy¡¯s life as well as the Queen¡¯s. Instead of more relaxed, Gust felt twice as tensed and wary of people. ¡®I would have named him Gust. Truly,¡¯ Elsanne had told Gust in bed before he left them to return to the frontlines. ¡®But it¡¯s not a nice name¡­ shush, learn to take a jest from your Queen,¡¯ she teased running a finger on the wrinkles covering his forehead. ¡®He has your nose.¡¯ Gust didn¡¯t think so but found it pointless to argue with her. It wasn¡¯t important for him but it was for her. The name. So Gust indulged her fantasies as making her happy was very pleasurable an activity to him. ¡°De Moss is under attack,¡± Koel reported tensely, killing the mood Robert had tried hard to cultivate earlier. ¡°Desmond Boss¡¯ lines have been overrun. Horselords are pouring through the bridge.¡± Lord Putra is trying to break out, Gust thought turning around to find Robert¡¯s maps, while the knights and officers present reacted with disbelief at the news. He signaled for Axel to approach while Robert ordered the men to prepare for a march towards Even Fork. ¡°Message my father to be on the lookout,¡± Gust told Axel studying the detailed map of Boarsnout with furrowed white brows. ¡°The Duke might not be at Rusted yet,¡± Axel argued. Yeah, but Elsanne is and no one can control her but the old Crow. Sometimes. Gust wanted the Queen out of there and back behind Scaldingport¡¯s thick walls. ¡°Ruud moves fast, don¡¯t let his age fool you,¡± Gust retorted gruffly and Axel nodded pursing his mouth. The knight planted a thick finger on the map and followed the road from Castalor up to the bridge. ¡°That¡¯s too big a distance for infantry to travel. They¡¯ll never make it. What is this? An elaborate feint?¡± ¡°You told me Horselords rely on their horses, all else is gravy,¡± Axel grunted. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of trained horse they might want to evacuate.¡± Tossing all those men to the pyre? What cruel sadist would have devised such a plan? Then again, the Khanate¡¯s values differed from theirs. ¡°Um. That¡¯s true.¡± Gust shook his head. ¡°They attack the bridge and concurrently push from Castalor. Could they use the trees to skirt around our forces and evacuate more valuable personnel?¡± ¡°It¡¯s possible.¡± ¡°The distance remains, even if they clear out De Moss, they need Even Fork to link up and block our reinforcements. They need to move fast through difficult terrain. Else we¡¯ll keep sending soldiers and wait for Castalor to move up behind them.¡± ¡°They might have the numbers,¡± Axel noted but Gust dismissed his thought with a gesture. ¡°You can¡¯t magic soldiers out of thin air. They have army at Eagle¡¯s Nest, more against Lord Anker. Lord Putra¡¯s we know about. This is it Axel. We have the upper hand here.¡± ¡°A good thing?¡± Axel probed unsure as Gust¡¯s expression had sobered up even more. ¡°Rumors say Prince Radin moved out of the capital,¡± Gust said thoughtfully. ¡°Each time someone faced him, us included, that cunning bastard managed to surprise us to a degree. He did it on Eplas with even fewer men than what he has available now. We can¡¯t trust what we see before us to be the whole picture.¡± ¡°You are overestimating his skill Gust. This is just Khanate propaganda,¡± Axel said in his direct manner and Gust stared in his face soberly for a moment. ¡°Rik let his guard down and it cost him. The Alden lad payed for it with his life and so did Sir Mark Est Ravn. These were some pretty good knights. Not a fool amongst them. Don¡¯t take Ruud¡¯s comments seriously. At some point Axel, you need to accept a man¡¯s skill even if you don¡¯t like him. Whether it is pure skill or a cretin¡¯s guile, it matters not in the end,¡± Gust rustled and turned around to find his horse. ¡°Find Sir Reuten and Solt. We are moving out,¡± he told the numb Axel without turning his head.
514. The paeans of spring II
The paeans of spring Part II -A proper struggle-
Act I -The Dogs- (Liko) Liko wiped the sweat off of his brow with a finger and looked beyond the warehouse at the knee of the junction and the returning local sheep herdsman clogging it. Sergeant Lindell¡¯s of the Grunts colorful attempt to half-urge half-help him get the bleating lambs to the sides, had slowly turned to high comedy. ¡°You need to get a feel of what¡¯s going on,¡± Bert Ottis, late Captain Ottis¡¯ nephew told him. Bert had grew up with the Dogs as well in a sense, just like Liko. First at Hellfort, Altarin and Rida, the fabled Eikenport and then following the mercenary outfit around as it hopped kingdoms, pirate islands and then continents. Looking back, Liko felt like he had lived two lifetimes in twenty short years. While Bert had a silver badge like all the ¡®Dogs¡¯, he carried the brave late officer¡¯s golden one with him at all times. Liko who was a still a kid when Captain Ottis had received it, but old enough to remember it all, had his own ¨Coriginal Gallant Dog golden badge delivered by the First Captain herself- under the tunic and his leather armour. Liko, now in his twenties and probably around twenty-one according to Crafton, squinted his eyes upon seeing Lindell taking a nasty tumble in the attempt to grab a small screaming lamb and then curse ¡®all-sheep under the sun¡¯. ¡°Martel said they¡¯ll force them out of the woods. No worries,¡± he replied to the younger Ottis with a grin. ¡°Martel is easily flabbergasted, and equally prone to exaggeration or bouts of false bravado. What did the old Nord say?¡± Bert insisted not minding Lindell¡¯s antics. While Liko was of higher rank in the outfit, he had always respected Bert, since Ottis¡¯ nephew knew his letters and could turn a phrase alike Dante Blackwood. The outfit¡¯s legendary first commander. According to Miss Jinx that is. ¡°Haven¡¯t talked with Crafton today,¡± Liko said. ¡°Crafton is not a warrior.¡± Well, for the last twenty years at least. ¡°No? What did he do before the Dogs?¡± Good question mate. Liko¡¯s mind drifted back to Whitford. The fish market and the artisan tables near the small docks of Shroudcoast. Sleeping under a nameless bridge and dreaming of a plate of cold beans. The mighty Glen, a naked Gish inside a barrel and a little wyvern called Biscuit. The biggest city he¡¯d ever seen burning and the Queen of bloody Kaltha laughing at his jokes. A lowly thief beating the odds. Aye. ¡°Odd jobs. This and that,¡± he murmured, and then forced himself to the present. He considered whether they should reinforce Wyncall and Martel that had moved up from the junction towards the woods less than a kilometer away. ¡°That¡¯s White¡¯s and Willian¡¯s machines,¡± Ottis remarked hearing the rumbling sound that was followed by a series of distant explosions. A smoke cloud had risen to the northwest and behind them Lindell had managed to get the sheep out of the road. Ricard White had taken a wagon laden with incendiaries with him that morning. Ricard is going to test those bad boys come hell or high water and Willian is unlikely to stop him. The contrary was more likely. ¡°Send a runner to Martel¡¯s field headquarters,¡± Liko ordered Bert Ottis and the latter nodded with a smart grin afore rushing to find a soldier to do the task. Yeah. Just to be sure. ¡°First Sergeant, do we move the obstacles?¡± Lindell queried waving his arm from the road and Liko turned to reply, only to notice another large white cloud that had risen to the southwest, on the road coming from Castalor. The sound of many vehicles concealed up until then behind the ruckus White¡¯s and Willian¡¯s machines had started. ¡°Get the men up!¡± Liko snapped and sprinted towards the tents himself to get the laggards going. ¡°Out, gods darn it!¡± He yelled, kicked and shoved. The Grunts gathered slowly in their four squares, a hundred men per, about five minutes later. -
Less than that. The first blooming chariots arrived at the flats of the junction at about that time, although with all those camp tents, wooden warehouses and merchant huts sprinkled here and there, the confluence of roads had the appearance of a haphazardly constructed village. Sergeant Lindell¡¯s group ¨Ca Rida native who had family running the bakery by the bridge- that was standing at the far right of their hastily setup frontline, was the first to make contact with the war-vehicles that appeared to slow down momentarily, afore committing to an attack on our amassing lads.
- The white color of the raised dust and the dark brown of the disturbed earth had turned into a sparkling deep red mist. Liko¡¯s face, the young officer had watched the whole scene unfold, had been distorted in a manic grimace when the scythed-chariots cut through Lindell¡¯s lines without slowing down, and after turning his men into a strange mincemeat pulp within seconds or just ripping limbs away in a series of gory explosions. ¡°HURL SPEARS!¡± Ottis bellowed at his men and Liko twirled around seeing four chariots burst out of the dissolving lines Lindell had prepared and gallop towards them. ¡°Let them through!¡± He yelled to his own soldiers. ¡°OUT OF THE FUCKING WAY!¡± ¡°OPEN LINES!¡± A panicked soldier growled and Liko raised his shield to stop a bolt with a curse. He felt the impact on his turning shoulder and saw the steel tip burst out near his ogled left eye. Whisper¡¯s tits! Hearing the creaking and screeching wheels approach he rushed to get out of the way of the rotating blades. The chariot bounced on the gravel, landed on a patch of land veering hard to catch the eagerly diving out of its way Grunts and the faltering Liko could now see the open carriage itself. A charioteer twisted around on his axis with a raised javelin in hand, eyes following his maneuvers behind a smiling mask. Liko sprinted after the open carriage¡¯s rear, ducked spastically under the hurled javelin losing his conned helm and then jumped on the crowded deck amidst the three Khanate soldiers. Liko caught a punch right at the right ear, the heavy blow sending him to crash on the archer, who lost his footing in turn and then went over the side board with a desperate yelp. The Khanate soldier landed on the left wheel and then the blades caught his flaying body. The man turned into a gory mess and three large bloody pieces, but Liko was busy trying to keep himself on the speeding chariot. He put his shield on the side board¡¯s rails for purchase initially, but got knifed in the back by the charioteer so he had to abandon this plan pretty fast. Liko managed to turn sideways feeling the blade going through armour, then flesh and saved a lung. The roaring inarticulately young man slashed in the blind with his sword, the edge thudding on something solid in the mayhem and then hacked the other way as best as he could in the narrow space, this time catching the distracted driver right at the back of the neck. A still growling Liko turned in the attempt to find his footing, but slipped on the gore-covered deck and lost a ring finger on his shield-wielding arm, as the charioteer¡¯s large dagger managed to slip the faltering young man¡¯s defenses. Liko¡¯s severed bloody finger tumbled down, the whole fucking thing, after bouncing off of the insides of his round shield, and his own wildly swinging sword missed the timely jumping away charioteer. The Khanate¡¯s soldier landed on the side board with his back and reached for another javelin from one of the cylindrical weapon containers on the sides of the cabin, keeping his painted eyes on the groaning Liko, who had to use his maimed hand to grab on the wildly bobbing up and down carriage after discarding the shield. There is no one driving this shit, a panicked Liko thought and saw a black sculpted helm appearing behind the mask-wearing charioteer in a flash. ¡°No vermin allowed on my chariot,¡± the Khanate¡¯s soldier growled in heavily-accented Common and afore Liko had the time to bid the officer to go fuck himself with a certain cedar-wood phallus, the charioteer¡¯s left leg was hacked away below the knee by a longsword. With a gut-wrenching animal¡¯s muffled growl, the Charioteer toppled sideways abruptly, banged his skull on the metal-reinforced edge of the deck with a brutal clang and then disappeared out of the cabin. ¡°Jump kid,¡± the Scaldingport Knight galloping hard behind the moving chariot ordered, in a raspy hiss and with his face hidden under the engraved face-cover. The whole helm was shaped like the head of a crow with one side dented and missing a wing. ¡°Ye run out of open ground!¡± The angry crow snapped seeing Liko¡¯s numb expression. Ah. Shit. A panicky and blood-spattered Liko thought leaping to action upon seeing the large warehouse building¡¯s walls approach rapidly. The horrified horses tried to veer away but failed, and the extended outwards and still rotating blades hit the wall a moment later. The chariot¡¯s open carriage, wheels and all, catapulted upwards violently, lifted a horse¡¯s rear clean off the ground and send the other two to crash on the wall with freaked out neighs, itself following right after to land on the hapless animals. The riotously yapping, maimed Liko, dislocated a shoulder in the spectacular tumble that put Lindell¡¯s earlier gaffe to shame and by the time he managed to get up on shaking legs, the knight was gone and the battle raged on.
It was a proper struggle.
-
About two hours after Kontar¡¯s unsuccessful attack, the bandaged officer met with Jorah Dhin-Awal and it was decided that they should make another attempt to punch through Captain Del Moss¡¯ Old Spears using all their Cavalry and a part of Amir-Zeket¡¯s Jang-Lu, leaving a portion behind along their archers to besiege Desmond Boss¡¯ east river camp. This new attack brushed aside Lode De Jagger¡¯s rangers and despite the heroic defense by the Crows, Jorah managed to partially break through near late afternoon. His riders got hit hard by Struder¡¯s crossbow company that had taken positions in the woods east of the road and couldn¡¯t advance more than a couple of kilometers. Kilometers away, Maluph Erul-Sol, who had tasked his second in command Sermes and ten chariots, to slow down Sir Rik De Weer¡¯s hunting force, arrived at the Gallant Dog¡¯s rear area near Even Fork. He attempted to just cross the camp initially but he was challenged by the Grunts, the mercenary company¡¯s younger soldiers, and had to reluctantly fight for every meter. The chariots smashed the men of sergeant Lindell, the Grunts second in command, and injured Liko. Despite his injury the young mercenary counter-attacked not allowing the scrambling in the chaotic village-sized camp chariots to regroup. Sir Rik¡¯s knights, who had doggedly chased, caught and finally destroyed Sermes¡¯ guarding force, suffering atrocious casualties themselves ¨Caround forty riders were lost during the pursuit- were less than five minutes behind Maluph¡¯s remaining chariots. Maluph ordered a series of volleys on the mauled Grunts before making another attempt to clear this part of Even Fork, both for Xener and Horus Mirpur, but soon after giving the order more knights arrived and perhaps Sir Rik himself (at least two separate sources claim the Scaldingport knight had reached Even Fork a bit earlier), hindering his efforts. Xener with Lord Putra had attacked earlier that morning to break through Basten Van Oord¡¯s guards, succeeded initially but the slow-moving Jang-Lu bringing up the rear were caught by Sir Walter¡¯s ¨Calso redeploying during the night- crossbows and soldiers. Fighting on two fronts or even three fronts, with the city¡¯s defenders using the long-ranged machines to hit their lines from the walls, Xener split his army in two divisions, left the first to fight Sir Walter and attacked again to break out towards the east gates with the second. This force was met by Sir Nootveld¡¯s returning to the city Gray Cloaks and priests of the Order of Tyeus. Despite savage fighting and some initial success, Xener¡¯s advancing division also slowed down near mid-day. With more defenders pouring out of the east gates to reinforce the Gray Cloaks, plus a good number of Marines that had also arrived from the docks, the situation turned grave rapidly. General Xener, who had lost a leg from a catapult boulder shot earlier, reported to a hard-pressed Lord Putra that the army had to disengage, and then retreat towards the woods to make a stand there. A very gloomy suggestion. Horus Mirpur cavalry (and part of the same army) had reached the woods west of Even Fork almost leaping ahead of it, but had to stall there as the harsh terrain near the shores had forced the large group of followers with Tibia-Han to attempt to get out coming towards the resting Cataphracts (several men had families or personal slaves in the large group numbering over a thousand souls). A worried Horus, the famed scion didn¡¯t know the exact position of the Gallant Dogs or the forces against him, ordered Dumar to scout ahead towards the road. The scouts were detected by the Gallant Dogs sentries posted near the treeline in all likelihood (or Commandant Martel himself, but I wouldn¡¯t trust anything coming from mercenaries) and Martel who had advanced the ¡®Old Dogs¡¯ and Wyncall¡¯s ¡®Gold Contract¡¯ companies to assist De Moss, ordered the west woods cleared. Wyncall refused to attack an unknown force, citing an obscure Guild¡¯s article about ¡®risking unnecessary danger when better options are available¡¯ and Martel, who didn¡¯t have anything else available but couldn¡¯t outright dismiss the experienced Captain¡¯s objection, afore pretending that he¡¯d at least looked into the matter, found himself facing a near mutiny. While not common in other (royal or city) outfits, such disagreements were pretty normal amidst the mercenaries and didn¡¯t worry the also experienced Martel too much. A meeting was called straightway, which Wyncall attended and during the exchange of ideas, Sergeant of engineers Ricard White proposed to ¡®shave the wooded terrain a bit, so as to avoid any nasty surprises to the higher-paid sirs¡¯. Given that no one wanted any nasty surprises or could offer something remotely close to a solution to circumnavigate Wyncall¡¯s objections ¡®to try all else first¡¯, White was ordered to setup his machines and he did, with the help of the eager and fully supportive Sergeant Willian. An hour or two after that first careless scout was initially spotted, Ricard White¡¯s ¡®Dogs¡¯ artillery (a hundred engineers/crews with ten Scorpios and at least four catapults ¨Cseven according to some sources) started bombarding the edge of the woods. The secretly wanting to ¡®test several newish stuff¡¯ White used his ¡®shrapnel bags¡¯ (a mix of lead balls, iron spikes and rocks), acid ampules or flasks (unknown corrosive mixture), ¡®flame buckets¡¯ (oil, hay, resin and sawdust set on fire), flaming bolts and plain cut square or round rocks with disturbing enthusiasm. While failing to set the forest on fire (not for lack of trying), he did set alight some of the drier trees. Athough the woods were too-soaked from the seasonal rains to burn extensively, the mercenary engineer¡¯s bombardment caused chaos inside the woods. Huge old trees collapsed, long branches were shattered or broken off and sinister wood splinters rained on the Cataphracts and the slowly amassing around them followers of the supply train. The Khanate engineer Tibia-Han was injured (had badly broken both of his legs, with bones and flesh turning to a pulp) and his colleague Ressif killed outright, when a hurled thirty-kilo rock abruptly collapsed a forty-meter tall tree on them. At least sixty or seventy people (both fighters and civilians or slaves) were killed or injured during the hour long barrage until Horus Mirpur, who initially intended to wait for either Lord Jorah, or Maluph to reach near him first, had to order his lance cavalry under Perku ¨Cnow under severe bombardment- to attack Martel¡¯s Dogs and clear the road.
- (Rollon Martel) ¡°FIRE!¡± White bellowed hoarsely jumping up and down whilst sprinting across the line of machines to check on the crews. ¡°FASTER GOD¡¯S DARNIT!¡± A grimacing Martel wiped his face with a dirty cloth, the burning pits black smoke had clogged his lungs something fierce and had started coughing up phlegm ¨Cnot to mention the damage to his tearing eyes, and waved for Flavius Super to approach. The sergeant had placed the men in their squares nicely and was now watching the flames sparkling inside the woods. Huge gaps had been opened to the wall of trees facing the mercenaries that were comfortably staying a hundred meters back near the flats and the road. ¡°I have a missive from sergeant Ottis,¡± Crafton said before Sergeant Super could get a word out. ¡°What about?¡± Martel queried slotting the cloth in his armour¡¯s collar. ¡°They are under attack,¡± Crafton reported sounding worried. ¡°Well,¡± Martel stalled trying to understand what the officer was saying. ¡°Can he deal with it?¡± ¡°We might lose the camp and the junction.¡± ¡°What are you talking about? There are thousands of men between us and Lord Putra!¡± Martel blasted Crafton, not ready to deal with another problem. This day is turning to shite fast, he thought sourly. Crafton pointed at the bombarded woods. ¡°These are Putra¡¯s men I believe.¡± ¡°Why? Did you ask them? Goodness me,¡± Martel protested civilly, since he¡¯d the same suspicion but couldn¡¯t back it up with any facts yet. ¡°Don¡¯t jump into blasted conclusions Crafton!¡± ¡°It¡¯s my nature,¡± Crafton insisted. ¡°I worry. You need to help the lad.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t,¡± Martel griped and spotted a group of riders coming out of the smoking trees. Then another. A third popping out from another spot and heading towards them immediately. ¡°Commandant,¡± Super started casually, his nervous eyes on the moving about riders. ¡°I believe we are about to be attacked.¡± Fuck¡¯s sake, Martel groaned inwardly and it came out as a muffled grunt as well. ¡°Get back to your plaguing outfit!¡± He barked at the sergeant who turned around and galloped towards the Old Dogs lines. Five minutes later The split up groups of lancers careered up and down their frontlines looking for gaps, with the companies angling to face them. They had to dodge bolts and hurled rocks from the machines, now aimed or turning towards them, but it was a knife that cut both ways and Martel had to order the engineers to stop attempting their risky shots after a stray bolt killed two of Wyncall¡¯s soldiers. The moment the machines stopped, the different lancer groups charged the mercenaries lines. Some came from the front, only to turn around before the raised shields and others attempted to flank the soldiers from the sides. ¡°Lu get a group to angle north!¡± Martel yelled from atop his horse pointing with his sword and headed there himself. Douc-Re¡¯s soldiers marched there to take positions but another group of lancers, lost in the chaos, skirted behind Wyncall¡¯s lines and headed for White¡¯s machines. The alarmed Martel galloped there instead followed by Douc-Re and at the same time Wyncall ordered a rear unit to deal with the problem. The riders reached the machines first, cleared out two Scorpios but had to disengage due to the approaching infantry. The commandant rode there moments later, glanced at the killed engineers and then realized the Khanate¡¯s cavalry was attacking them across the whole frontline. That¡¯s a lot of bloody horses, a furious Martel thought seeing the enemy pouring out of the smoking trees. A moment later Flavius Super got a foot of lance through the face and the commandant found himself dancing on the saddle against two Horselords.
-
Despite what his boastful character might suggest, Rollon was a terrible dancer on foot and a mediocre rider, but he¡¯d at the very least gotten his earlier prediction about the day turning to shite correctly. So there¡¯s that.
- If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Act II -Mirpur- (Horus) ¡°Get them out of here!¡± Horus growled at Madaki and the scout recoiled, barely avoiding a broken branch that hit the sides of his horse. The animal neighed in panic and jumped away with the scout trying to keep it under control. Gero had to rush there on top of his own horse to help him out. Ah. Horus glanced at Marleen¡¯s tired face and then at Jarena who carried Aswad in her arms. The few wagons they had taken with them parked behind the lines of Cataphracts busy trying to avoid the edge of the woods. ¡°Perku is attacking the mercenaries Horus,¡± Api-Nofre reported riding near him. It made Togo nervous and the warhorse snorted angrily in warning. ¡°We must either head for the bridge to help Dhin-Awal now, or we commit here to keep the road open for Maluph!¡± Horus grimaced, his eyes on Marleen that looked at the chaos unsure. ¡°Will they make it?¡± Horus asked the Cataphract and he could sense Api-Nofre¡¯s hesitation behind the smiling metal mask. All these people, was his meaning. My family. He spotted Resan approaching with Cardus, the slaver-master and his men. ¡°Tibia-Han is hurt badly,¡± Cardus told them crooking his painted mouth. ¡°Ressif is gone. We tried to get the poor bastard out from under that tree but his arms just came off.¡± Damn it. The engineer was Horus¡¯ friend. ¡°Perku will stop the machines,¡± Horus assured him, but sensed the men weren¡¯t listening. Part of it the chaos and the smoke, the collapsing trees and all the injured about them. Mostly though the oppressing forest itself. No Horselord feels safe inside the woods. ¡°See if you can find out more,¡± he ordered Api-Nofre. ¡°Locate Dumar, or one of his men. Either Nabil or Umar.¡± ¡°Umar was killed,¡± Madaki informed Horus gravely. ¡°He was with Tibia-Han and Ressif. The engineers wanted to observe the mercenaries¡¯ machines. A wood splinter yay big, stabbed him in the throat,¡± Madaki added, showing him his forearm. Curse the spirits! ¡°Api do what I said,¡± Horus grunted. ¡°Get the men ready. Lighten up the horses. Only carry extra weapons. If we move, it won¡¯t be to travel.¡± He led Togo near Marleen and his son. Mirah rushed to kiss his hand, but Horus brushed her off as gently as he could. He touched the crying boy¡¯s head with a hand and Jarena¡¯s flushed, fleshy cheek afore turning to face the Issir noblewoman. ¡°The road is contested still,¡± Horus explained and Marleen nodded, remarkably restrained given their predicament. ¡°Lord Jorah or the Prince might still appear, but you can¡¯t stay here.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t continue up the shores also,¡± Marleen said evenly and wiped a tear rolling down her dark skin. ¡°Maluph will make it,¡± Horus told her, raising the mask over his helm so she could see his face. ¡°We can push the mercenaries aside. A window of opportunity will open and you need to move fast then. You¡¯ll use a horse and ride hard with Aswad. Reach the bridge and Dhin-Awal¡¯s banners.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t leave without you. I can stop the Crows. I know these men well,¡± Marleen said sternly and a moved Horus reached to cup her cheek after removing his glove. ¡°These are not your Crows sweet Marleen and they, if they still exist, might not want to listen to a Horselord¡¯s wife,¡± Horus explained hoarsely, the sound of loud yelps, pained groans and burning or falling timber making the moment feel drenched in glum and doom. The arrival of a murder of loudly croaking crows over the contested battlefield beckoned in a corresponding manner. The black birds agreed. Glum and doom was waiting for them beyond the trees. Twenty minutes later Late afternoon of the 3rd Battle of Even Fork¡¯s east branch Local name, ¡®Defiant Mongrels & the Raven¡¯ Khanate name, ''Ermin Suru¡¯s Panegyric'' Horus jogged at Togo¡¯s discretion leading his group of Cataphracts with Gero riding on his left side. Resan had stayed with Marleen, Aswad and the slave girls. Madaki had followed after them to scout ahead of the heavier cavalry with his faster Steppe horse. Horus spotted him coming in and out of the smoke and dust that covered the extended battlefield, now covering about a kilometer of the road. Perku¡¯s attacks had split the mercenaries in two large distinct blocks of soldiers initially, with a third one forming around the half-overrun machines that still occasionally fired at a clean target. The distant and standing on the stirrups Madaki waved his arm right and left to get his attention on the group of enemy soldiers guarding the road south. Perku had focused his attention on the heavier units of the north side guarding group, their banner a pile of coins and the number 300 under it. No sign of the Prince yet, Horus thought and raised his arm to signal he wanted a charge on the Dogs square, now reforming to face a small group of lancers. It was five rows deep, but armed with javelins and not pure spears. One could read this both ways. ¡°Lance,¡± he instructed Gero and he accepted the long weapon from his servant, every Cataphract around him doing the same and the moving group slowing down in order to gradually get into a flying wedge formation. ¡°Check my bags.¡± The charge always started slow and kept at a steady comfortable pace for most of the way, but for the final twenty-thirty meters. Sometimes less depending on whether the enemy had throwing weapons, like javelins or not. You presume the man holding a weapon knows how to use it well and leave the matter of facing an unskilled opponent to come as a pleasant, though rare, surprise. Yeah. ¡°We might need to move fast boy,¡± Horus informed his stallion, caressing its neck over the chainmail and Togo snorted, eager to get going. ¡°Look to avoid sharp, pointy things.¡± A snorting Togo shook his head in disdain and started trotting first, afore changing to a lively canter at the top of their formation. Horus let the shaft rest on the horn of his saddle and gestured for the Cataphracts following after him that were going to shadow the next charge Perku¡¯s mixed cavalry would attempt. May our ancestors¡¯ noble spirits roaming the great steppe, grant us a good contest. Let us not depart this realm to join their ranks after soiling their name and wearing a coward¡¯s shameful garb, Horus prayed under his breath just before Togo started charging, following after the last of Larmir¡¯s lightly armoured Horse Archers. -
Excerpt from Rollon Martel¡¯s The wandering blades -An old dog¡¯s memoir- Circa 201 NC Fighting Horselords in the open is a right nightmare. I faced them standing behind walls and doing the besieging, so I can spot the plaguing difference. A small force is nothing to scoff at. One may argue that all cavalry is like that, sort of nasty to come up against for us ¡®marching¡¯ dogs. Nah, I have to object here. Aye. See now, you can figure out what a hundred horses might do against a line of shields. I use the term line here, since normal foot soldiers don¡¯t turn themselves into a house like legionnaires in like a minute. You try that shit maneuver with ¡®normal¡¯ soldiers in the heat of battle, you¡¯ll end up with a cluster of head-knocking fools, banging shields repeatedly against each other. I¡¯m not hurling manure to the Legion, just stating the facts. Normal infantry knows three, maybe four commands and you need ideal conditions to get a couple out of them in a bind. Them legion boys, are a different beast to come up against no question, but they do share some key characteristics with the lads of the steppe, which I will present here. Constant training and great conditioning. Yeah. They have that. Now Legionnaires are finely tuned to perform their many maneuvers, like for example¡­ setting up a defense quickly, then change formation and move to attack according to their orders, which all infantry does sure, but they do better and with greater variation. Horselords know their darn horses. How to use them, when, how to stay on the saddle, conserve energy and read the terrain. Anticipate the defender¡¯s mistakes and think a move ahead. Think fast. Each battle is a dance and a hunt for trophies. A competition against each other. To dodge or skirt the danger a sin. Sure there is some wiggle room there for some of the higher ups but not much and not for the core or their better units. Cowards rarely don the mask. It means that they smile in the face of danger and not mock their opponents, though a bit of that I¡¯ve seen occur. More than a bit. Hells, had I pranced about on a fancy horse, wearing a fancy mask wit all the bells and whistles, I¡¯d be cocky too. Knights are like that. Not all Knights, but most of them. You see a knight park his horse before a tavern and walking in, jingling spurs, shining cuirass and all, you¡¯ll get a stir out of them wenches. Had I done the same maneuver and I¡¯ve been quite the handsomer lad in my younger years, I might have gotten a couple of glances, two hellos¡¯- need somethings, a crooked grin and a dozen middle fingers when I turned my back. Life lessons aside, it¡¯s not easy to spot mistakes while racing fast across a battlefield. It¡¯s a great skill to have though and those bastards have it. A soldier fucks up something or other every two minutes and rarely thinks more than a moment ahead of time, unless it is to calculate the days to his next payment. Or meal. Ah, mayhap organize a brothel run with the lads, or write a letter to the mistress. In battle though, they just react most of the times. A good officer can fix that, minimize the damage or danger, but then training rears its ugly head, or its lack thereof, because no outfit is ever ¡®fully¡¯ trained. Especially mercenaries. I mean, we know our stuff and look to take few risks, but that¡¯s it. Of course, don¡¯t expect a mercenary to roll over and die. As a matter of fact, a soldier of the purse is the most dangerous opponent when cornered, for he fights neither for country, flag or Queen. A mercenary fights for himself first and foremost. His purse next. Retirement. A noble thing and pretty important. So if you come looking to cause us serious bodily harm, then we¡¯ll have a problem. The Horselords were a problem on the open ground. They kept moving about, hit you here or kick you there. You need a whole lot of training to keep your formation against them and nobody is going to sign up for the job if you lead wit that. Or be fully transparent on a situation. That¡¯ll kill morale faster than a bolt in them gonads. Yeah. According to the great Dante Blackwood, all-gods rest his soul, yeah, that¡¯s him over there¡­ it¡¯s the third most important skill a commandant needs to possess in abundance, if he wants to keep a company running and the coin flowing into its coffers. No, I meant lying of course. Bullshiting the fuck out of people. A lot and as frequent as you can.
- (Horus) Horus¡¯ lance punched through the shield, clanged on the soldier¡¯s helm, snapping it back and then dragged his arm sideways as Togo bulldozed though the faltering lines. The shaft bending until it could bend no more and Horus had to let it go afore it snapped. The Cataphract twisted on the saddle, simultaneously pulling at the reins hard to turn his horse and reached for his scimitar with the free hand. Togo jumped forward losing some of the momentum but retained enough to push aside two more mercenaries and trample a third under its hooves. The right hind leg crushing an arm at the elbow. Horus hacked down, chipped a piece of shield off, found a shoulder guard and then twisted around, his horse turning with him afore leaping again out of the scattered formation. All about him Cataphracts punched through the Dogs lines, the dead hurled away like ragdolls and the maimed rolling on the thick grass trying to get away. Togo turned this way and that to keep the blades away, as soldiers came at them when they slowed down. Horus kicked his legs to get the horse going again, a sword grazing its chest, and another connecting with the back of the saddle. The galloping Cataphract twisted around, sheathing his blade and reached for his crossbow. Horus had his eyes on the Scorpio¡¯s crew that had turned their machine around. Neither chainmail, nor plate could stop this. No armour, be it thick rings or sturdy scales. ¡°SPREAD OUT!¡± He yelled to be heard and fired whilst on the move, aiming for the guy operating the lever. He missed and the recoiling Lorian slapped his hand down to release the much bigger bolt. The two-meter long bolt screamed over his shoulder and the galloping Togo jerked right in panic almost tossing Horus. The Cataphract went with the flow angling left hard on the saddle, rode the momentum for five meters and stood upright using his thighs, just as the warhorse jumped over the Scorpio¡¯s crews having run out of room. The neighing Togo landed on two legs, used a third to keep them off the ground, cantered for the next ten and then started galloping again behind the mercenaries lines. Horus raised his sword and made a circle with it to gather the surviving Cataphracts around him whilst searching the fast passing them by surroundings for any looming danger. The battle was raging as far as the eye could see, with smaller groups of mercenaries trying to regroup after the repeated charges from the lancers and the heavier Cataphract units. Chaos everywhere. Good. They are about to break, a tensed Horus thought and switched weapons to use his flail on a soldier that had hurled a javelin at him from about ten meters away. Togo dodged the spear and Horus reached the diving away man a breath later. He caught him on the back of the head with two of the steel heads, the helm bending inwards and crushing the skull. Horus changed weapon again, going back to his sword, still galloping in a semi-circle, keeping an eye on the overrun machines for any brave engineer and the other on the Horselords that slowly coalesced around him. Amongst them, the hard-riding Gero that had brought him a spare lance. ¡°Api-Nofre split with half the men,¡± a blood-spattered Pi-Hor reported hoarsely, his metal mask cracked down the middle, yelling to be heard over the sounds of battle and the many horses roaming about. ¡°Where to?¡± Horus asked clenching his jaw. ¡°One of Perku¡¯s riders claimed he talked with Lord Jorah¡¯s men!¡± Pi-Hor replied stiffly. ¡°They broke out of the bridge but there are too many enemies to keep control of the road!¡± ¡°How many?¡± ¡°Three hundred spears at least,¡± Pi-Hor grunted but it came out muffled. ¡°Issirs.¡± ¡°The Prince has thrice that number in cavalry alone!¡± Horus snapped angrily with a glare at the Cataphract riding next to him. ¡°Radin isn¡¯t here my lord,¡± Pi-Hor replied gravely. Horus cursed under his breath and steered the galloping Togo in another arching maneuver. ¡°We¡¯ll hit the officers next,¡± he told the men riding with him, turning this way and that on the saddle to signal with his arms that they needed to reform. ¡°If they break, we¡¯ll rest the horses and try to hit that stubborn heavy infantry next with the help of Perku!¡± ¡°Fucking carrion birds,¡± Pi-Hor was heard saying as they rode near the east woods before turning around to charge at the mercenaries again. Horus glanced at the trees in passing and saw dozens of crows landing on branches to watch the unfolding battle with their black beady eyes. More and more dived from the sky, each finding its own spot in a silent agreement, their croaks lost under the sound of the Horselords hooves. They are not here to watch the living, Horus thought with a shiver. They are here to feast on the corpses. -
Larmir¡¯s around four hundred horse-archers (they were issued lances as well) followed Perku¡¯s ninety medium cavalry out of the west forest about a kilometer north of Even Fork. They harassed the Gallant Dogs (350 Old Dogs, 250 Gold Contract, 100+ engineers/crews) waiting for the machines to finish them off initially without success, but then split into several fifty-strong groups and started attacking the mercenaries from all sides across the extended battlefield. Perku and Larmir wanted to disable Ricard White¡¯s artillery as it had pummeled the civilians following after Horus Mirpur that couldn¡¯t continue deeper into the woods and had to gather near the Cataphracts. Horus wanted the civilians evacuated towards Boar Horn (Lady Marleen was with them, as the Horselord had taken Van Oord¡¯s daughter as a wife forcefully), but was uncertain if the Prince had claimed the bridge yet. Perku scored a couple of good charges in the mounting confusion, but lost a lot of riders as the mercenaries (especially Wyncall¡¯s heavier and better trained Gold Contract infantry grouped up to counter them) fought back and didn¡¯t panic. A pressured to act and open a safe way for the non-combat units Horus Mirpur ordered his two-hundred strong Cataphracts to assist Perku and led them personally out of the woods as well. The famed Horselord Knight, timed his attacks better than Perku and managed to score a devastating charge on Commandant Martel¡¯s Old Dogs splitting them in two large groups and killing over thirty soldiers and twenty engineers in the first charge. Mirpur split his force into two large groups (the second under Api-Nofre) and continued probing the scrambling to regroup mercenaries that had been caught ¡®in too open a terrain for their liking¡¯ according to Rollon Martel¡¯s own memoirs. Horus attacked again shattering Martel¡¯s main group of soldiers into many smaller clusters of soldiers and despite Wyncall fending off attacks from Larmir, Perku and Api-Nofre the battle appeared to be turning to the Horselords favor. But it didn¡¯t and we will provide the reasons for it. Ten minutes later nothing had changed. Horus Mirpur had attacked once more destroying another large group of mercenaries and Wyncall¡¯s formation had taken casualties (the Armium educated Captain had created a very large pseudo-testudo with three inner lines of soldiers, an outer ring of shields, with swords in the mid and ordering the inner row men to keep their javelins to use as spears -later to be known as the anti-cavalry Square or ¡®Wyncall Square¡¯), but despite them had prevented the Horselords from scattering his men. Wyncall lost his second in command Basin at about that time and was wounded himself with a bolt through the neck that failed miraculously to kill him, but lost the Lesia officer his voice. Martel had fared even worse. He got wounded with a broken piece of lance in the chest and slashed at the jaw, but while the injuries weren¡¯t fatal, he¡¯d lost Sergeant Super and Rik Willian, one of the two engineer officers along over two hundred men. The rest had bunched up into smaller groups but miraculously didn¡¯t break. The reasons have been debated ad nauseam in the years that followed the battle, but in my humble opinion -after studying and reading the survivors memoirs and accounts- the mercenaries didn¡¯t remain in the field due to bravery, duty or courage, despite having for sure a big portion of the former. The Gallant Dogs soldiers knew they would be wiped out if they stopped fighting or turned to run away. The latter was out of the question given that they were mostly on foot. I give the men and officers huge credit for managing to keep this detail into the men¡¯s heads after suffering repeated charges from heavy cavalry. The fear of death kept the Dogs alive and probably turned the battle. Horus Mirpur messaged Dumar to come out of the woods as well to assist him in hunting down or harassing the smaller groups of soldiers peppered in the field and sent word to Cardus to slowly get the civilians (slaves mostly, but also officers or engineers like Tibia-Han) out in the open. He had been informed that Lord Jorah Dhin-Awal had managed to skirt around the Old Spears and survive Struder¡¯s company to open for a brief amount of time a contested corridor to the bridge and general Amir-Zeket, who was still besieging Desmond Boss¡¯ east camp. The Castalor officer and mogul had suffered horrendous casualties (well over a thousand men) but his men now fared much better behind fortifications and in the nearby woods. The winch crossbow could bring down a heavily-armoured Jang-Lu or a Cataphract with a single shot and it did, making Amir-Zeket¡¯s attempts to dislodge him from the camp¡¯s main stone buildings very costly. The latter an extravagance, but Boss had bought the rural land near the bridge since he wanted to build a farmstead there that could also dabble as a hostel after the war. So he had commissioned a building firm out of Scaldingport to erect the first couple of buildings during the summer. Late in the afternoon an eagle-eyed Horselord archer noticed the fancy-dressed Desmond Boss visiting the besieged buildings and fired an arrow from a distance of beyond two hundred meters, balancing on top of his saddle like a circus funambulist, through an open second-story window that missed the mogul by pure chance, but caught his son Mathieu square in the face and killed him on the spot. With fires burning on both sides of the forest, mainly the west, the grounds on both sides of the road littered with corpses, dead animals, broken machines, smoking debris and discarded weapons, losing the light in about an hour¡¯s time could spell the end of Horus¡¯ efforts and the Horselord knew it. Horus also knew he couldn¡¯t continue at the same tempo, as the Cataphracts horses had started wearing down due to carrying a much heavier load. The latter a byproduct of their full-body chainmail armour that was used to keep the animals alive in the field. The mercenaries had attacked the horses ferociously from the start, but while that worked against Perku and Larmir¡¯s groups, you needed a lot of hacking to seriously wound a Cataphract¡¯s horse. While it was possible and frequently done in such a large-scale battle, ¡®the man riding said horse tends to react bellicosely after you stab his animal a couple of times¡¯ as Martel writes. While Horus Mirpur regrouped briefly and Dumar¡¯s scouts continued to harass the fraught mercenaries, two events happened as the 3rd of Tertius was winding down near Even Fork. Maluph Erul-Sol¡¯s battered chariots finally cleared most of the Grunts guarding the north branch of the junction and broke through. Well, that¡¯s not exactly accurate. Yes, the chariots mauled Liko¡¯s mercenaries near the Gallant Dogs camp, but they were also hit hard themselves. Also while this was happening, Sir Rik¡¯s men-at-arms arrived, first in smaller groups and then in numbers. They had wiped out Maluph¡¯s rear vehicles and immediately engaged the chariots roaming the flats inside and outside the settlement/camp. Rik¡¯s riders were tired as well but had enough in them ¨Cespecially with the Grunts assistance- to slowly destroy Maluph¡¯s ten-chariot formations one after the other. The chariot general arrived near Horus¡¯ positions with only nine war-chariots, having lost close to fifty during the day (he¡¯d suffered attrition from the terrain as well) and ninety for the campaign. Be that as it may, his pleasant for Horus arrival dragged Sir Rik¡¯s close entourage of armoured cavalry behind and was to be the last of the trapped Lord Putra¡¯s army units that succeeded in escaping Boarsnout Peninsula. It must be noted here that the stubborn De Weer scion, who¡¯d lost an eye during the Princess¡¯ Tourney semi-final to a Horselord back in 188 NC, had been after Maluph Erul-Sol since that morning -almost ten hours earlier by then and was unwilling to allow him to get away. Alongside Maluph, or briefly after his arrival, Sir Evert Pek and half of 1st Foot¡¯s reformed Cavalry division (around fifty riders) came out of the East Woods signaling the arrival of reinforcements. Robert had ordered Sir Pek to leap ahead of the main body and to the north of Even Fork, as he expected the biggest problems coming from that direction and the distant Pastelor lowborn but experienced knight obliged him coming out near Wyncall¡¯s embattled positions. Sir Reuten¡¯s veteran Desert Crows Cavalry (90 riders) who escorted Sir Gust De Weer, Rik¡¯s bigger brother, themselves in turn followed closely by Sir Leonel Koel¡¯s men-at-arms (fifty riders), had gone straight for Even Fork initially as they knew that it was the weaker of the two positions. Sir Gust decided to veer northwards when he approached, upon witnessing the smoke clouds over the forest. About half an hour behind them followed Robert Van Durren and the first advance units of Badum¡¯s old First Foot¡¯s, 1st Division, numbering eight hundred heavy spear Issir infantry or very close to it (the 2nd Division followed with the newer recruits who were at the time numbering around six hundred). For reasons still left obscure, Lord Ruud had placed the very expensive Gallant Dogs company (a unit best deployed against fixed targets) in the open right at the junction, either callously wanting to get them wiped out and slyly rid himself of their ruinous wages ¨Cthis has been brought up from several survivors- or because he erroneously believed the mercenaries would fare better than Gust¡¯s Crows or Sir Rik¡¯s. It was very obvious to all those that have studied the battle that Martel was going to be tested if any attempt was made to breakout Lord Putra¡¯s army, either from the bridge or Castalor. You couldn¡¯t leave or enter the peninsula without going through Even Fork. Well, you could, if you followed the narrow forest trails out of Boar¡¯s Horn sources that led to a tiny settlement called Hunter¡¯s Path. From there you could potentially head east for the large village of Hunter¡¯s Cot, or head south to find the main road coming from Rusted. To navigate these local and rather obscure paths one needed some serious local assistance and the glaringly absent from the battlefield Prince Radin, had that apparently. ¡®It is perilous fighting a foreign invader whilst a Civil War is raging on and the people are divided¡¯, as per Lord Ruud¡¯s apt remarks that were delivered during the frantic struggle, ¡®you toss a rock into a crowd and you are bound to hit some ruffian¡¯s head, five times out of ten. I¡¯d given you bigger odds than these Viscount, but this fucked up realm is full of numbskulls and harlots. So ye got to fucking account for that as well!¡¯
515. The paeans of spring III
The paeans of spring Part III A murder of Crows Act I -The panegyric of the damned-
(Radin Radpour)
¡®Voges will do what¡¯s best uhm, yes,¡¯ the vile Aken Suharto had said ¨Cor whoever the allhells he was, because Radin had seen at least two versions of that fiend in the past- and licked his dark-gold lips with a disgustingly long, forked and mauve-colored tongue, that bizarre face distorted from many different nervy ticks, a spasm making his right, slightly-enlarged snake¡¯s eye flutter uneasily. ¡®We need him to buy us time,¡¯ Amir-Zeket noted just to clarify the thorny matter. The general would have preferred more soldiers than a sudden visit from the Khan¡¯s strange alien shaman. ¡®Um? What¡¯s best¡­ yep, uhm.¡¯ Suharto agreed vaguely. ¡®Time¡­ is unimportant.¡¯ He hiccupped but it was a disconcerting chortle. ¡®Heh¡­ hehe. Aha. Yep.¡¯ Jorah Dhin-Awal glanced at the skeptical Prince. ¡®Time is paramount,¡¯ the old Horselord grunted in frustration. ¡®What in the Desert¡¯s Spirits, is this freak talking about?¡¯
Things change, Radin thought and used a square-cut leather fabric to clean his blades. The forest¡¯s humidity had already started eroding their armour. Especially on the animals. They were losing time to clean them as they turned heavy once mud got between the links. Plans or ideas become obsolete. Time starts anew with every ticking second. And the forgotten or those cast aside tend to rise to prominence or become important. Tobro¡¯s painted face stared at the Prince with fearful eyes. ¡°What are you worried about?¡± Radin asked him lightly and got up from the placed on the ground saddle holding his sword. ¡°The man could be lying, oh great prince of princes,¡± Tobro replied taking the sword from him to leave it on the container with the other weapons. ¡°The man is here and we just passed by his home. He can¡¯t afford to lie. That¡¯s him with Garai,¡± Radin pointed out with a half-smirk. ¡°Stef Valk. The King¡¯s own master hunter.¡± ¡°The previous king¡¯s noble sheik,¡± Tobro noted lowering his voice, as Garai had brought the aged local Issir closer. ¡°Indeed,¡± Radin replied and stood up straighter removing the Cataphract¡¯s helm from his head. ¡®Cruel¡¯ King Theun loved hunting animals and people, but King Antoon did not. The new king just ordered his enemies to be swiftly executed and favored spectating games of valor instead, the story went. So Theun¡¯s promise to take care of Valk¡¯s kin after years of loyal service both in hunts and wars, had bothered Antoon who held a certain animosity towards his now deceased father mainly for what he¡¯d done to his late mother. When the old scout reminded the young king of that promise in court and in front of all the lords, hours or days after his coronation, young Antoon had almost lost his temper. Duke De Weer, one of Theun¡¯s oldest friends and hunt buddies, offered the old scout lands in his famous for their rich game forests, very near where the King used to journey to enjoy himself. It could have defused the tense atmosphere but it did not, ¡®for Ruud tends to drink a lot when he visits the palace and wine loosens the Old Crow¡¯s tongue, which is never a good thing.¡¯ The ancient Scaldingport Duke, proceeded to scold the young king for his actions publicly, using a rather well-known in nobility¡¯s circles, but otherwise esoteric remark. ¡®An impetuous man will act hastily on his first day on the job, and then proceed to swiftly fuck his way to an early conclusion¡¯. Antoon had cursed at the old Duke and ordered him thrown out of the palace, but the other Lords present intervened to calm the young king down -probably because Ruud and his Crows had come fully-armed for that joyous dinner and pleaded through Duke Anker Est Ravn that in ¡®a feast¡¯s evening table, seemingly strong words might be exchanged afore Uher, the coming morning won¡¯t remember, or heed any second thought to and the forgiving God shall cast aside.¡¯ Antoon wisely had taken the opening to dissolve the situation and then proceeded in a hollow, fake magnanimous gesture, to exchange Valk¡¯s second promise from Theun that he¡¯d knight his son and Theun¡¯s squire Rinus Valk, with a place for the man¡¯s young daughter near his sister Princess Elsanne instead. ¡°Be warned that you are in the presence of the bravest of Princes, the glorious Radin Radpour,¡± Tobro reminded the aged Issir that donned old leather armour and carried a bow over his shoulder with a full quiver of arrows. ¡°The Bloodfang of the Steppe,¡± his slave added meaningfully. ¡°Is my granddaughter still breathing?¡± Stef Valk asked raspingly crooking his mouth at Tobro¡¯s introduction. ¡°Loes is well and with child,¡± Radin retorted with a gesture for Garai to sheathe his half-drawn scimitar. ¡°She belongs to the house Radpour now.¡± Valk grimaced and then stared at the groups of Horselords resting between the trees on both sides of the forest route. ¡°The girl has word for me?¡± Valk finally queried. ¡°Loes asked for her father,¡± Radin said with a soothing voice. ¡°Rinus is beyond the Red Bridge. Lord High Regent Anker, knighted him a couple of years back, but he wasn¡¯t going to support this queen anyway.¡± ¡°How about you?¡± Radin asked with a smile, as he knew all that from Loes already. A maiden can learn a lot of details in court or living near a princess. ¡°I owe the Duke.¡± Valk replied tensely. ¡°Do you really?¡± Radin probed. ¡°Ruud has one foot in the grave, mayhap both and is just holding on with crooked fingers from the edge to avoid plunging into his coffin. His sons support the queen I¡¯m told.¡± Valk sucked on his teeth nervously. ¡°It¡¯s a bit more than that I¡¯d say.¡± ¡°How so?¡± Radin asked calmly and the man¡¯s eyes flickered but didn¡¯t answer. Hmm. ¡°We seek the way to the main road,¡± the prince continued wondering what else was there and spotted Nar Masud-Rum approach with his servant Amu. Nar had freed Amu after years of service but the now in his forties Cofol had stayed to squire for him anyway. Some Cataphracts openly teased Amu that he had done it because nobody had a need for an old former-slave, but Radin believed the reason was much simpler. Amu considered Nar his only family and a friend. ¡°Robert Van Durren is here. Cast his lot with the Princess,¡± Valk informed him and Garai grimaced, with Masud-Rum gasping at the news. ¡°How many men?¡± Radin queried cursing under his breath the inability of the Khan¡¯s court to value the gathering of intelligence or to give the job to more competent people willing to get their hands dirty and their ear to the ground, in order to listen for the distant sound of approaching hooves. ¡°About two-thirds of the Foot or thereabouts. People flocked to his banner after that greedy Charles¡¯ treating Badum as his own village. One shouldn¡¯t mess with the order of things, or covet another man¡¯s birthright.¡± Ah, but one should, the Prince thought, for if one didn¡¯t, nothing would ever change old man. Radin nodded agreeably instead. ¡°The queen is in Scaldingport then?¡± ¡°The princess couldn¡¯t even make it to Rusted,¡± Valk retorted. ¡°Her pirates stayed at the Pavilion. It is a large merchant stop of sorts, thirty kilometers west of Rusted, where the roads coming from Tail and Tongue join the main route. Many hostels and shops scattered by the road.¡± ¡°Like Merchant¡¯s Triage?¡± Garai probed and the man shrugged his shoulders. ¡°I don¡¯t know what that is,¡± Valk replied honestly. ¡°But if you keep heading south that way, you¡¯ll get out about a kilometer west of it just where her pirates camp is.¡± ¡°If the Foot heads for Even Fork,¡± Nar started and Radin signaled for him to stop as he was busy thinking of this new development. Masud-Rum grimaced, stayed silent for about half a minute and then tried again. ¡°My lord, Putra will need help to clear Even Fork. Lord Jorah might arrive too late if at all,¡± the Cataphract insisted. ¡°Putra has Horus and Maluph,¡± Radin argued. ¡°He¡¯ll make it beyond Even Fork for sure.¡± Garai raised his penciled brows at the prince¡¯s words but chose to remain silent. ¡°We need to go after Sir Robert,¡± Masud-Rum countered tensely and with his voice cracking. ¡°Seek revenge for Tirifort my Prince, plus repay your debt to Lord Jorah.¡± Radin recoiled at his words and clenched his fist not to land a blow on the brazen Cataphract. ¡°I owe no debt to Lord Jorah,¡± the Prince hissed turning red in the face, furious he had to address the matter with everything else he had on his mind. ¡°Havor¡¯s attack on the lakes wasn¡¯t my idea in the first god darn place!¡± Dhin-Awal¡¯s sons were never your fucking friends! Masud-Rum run his fingers through his uncombed, sweaty hair. Wearing a helm through the forest was a torture so he hadn¡¯t his on as well. ¡°I was speaking of Hajot, my Lord,¡± Nar the fool insisted and Radin crooked his mouth glaring at him. ¡°He died to Kalac, so you can keep your name unsullied.¡± ¡°A Prince of Rin An-Pur owes naught to no man!¡± An affronted Radin growled through his teeth, remaining mindful that several Cataphracts had approached to eavesdrop on their conversation. ¡°You are balancing on a tight rope Nar. Do not take advantage of my good will dear friend. I know you for many years but I won¡¯t allow you to insult me thusly!¡± ¡°Truth can¡¯t be insulting,¡± Nar said, his voice hardening. ¡°And a Horselord¡¯s character and legend is defined by his actions when faced with true adversity, or he¡¯s stripped of privilege and his whole bloodline is sullied. Hajot did what he was supposed to do without a second thought my Lord. A true Horselord. A Prince may stand above mere men, but with all respect prince Radin, only a true Horselord can be seated on the Khan¡¯s throne.¡± You truly are an ignorant fool! Even so, several Cataphracts nodded in uncomfortable silence around the high-ranking group, a few still wearing their smiling masks despite the discomfort, themselves dirtied from the road but their horses cleaned up, rested and ready to move on. The alert Radin noticed their reactions and pursed his lips tightly to control his anger. ¡°I shall avenge Dhin-Awal¡¯s sons and destroy their enemies,¡± he retorted hoarsely and grimaced in the attempt to smile reassuringly for the men listening to his words. ¡°Let us reach the main road first. See where the trail leads us next.¡± ¡°The Prince has spoken,¡± Garai declared under the enthusiastic roar of the around two hundred steppe knights and five hundred Horselords slowly gathering around them. The old Issir scout Stef Valk furrowed his white brows, the only man not elated by Radin¡¯s words. -
Maluph Erul-Sol met briefly with Horus Mirpur while the battle was raging all about them, now entering its third hour, and Horus asked him to clear out the arriving from the south men-at-arms of Sir Rik De Weer. The latter were followed by less than a hundred Grunts under the injured Liko and Bert Ottis now on mounts. Over a hundred wounded had been left behind at the Gallant Dogs camps with some of them critically injured or horrifically maimed. Half the Grunts had been killed in less than thirty minutes and Sir Rik¡¯s horses were worn out for the most part, but the Scaldingport scion regrouped his tired force that now threatened the rear areas of the Horselords attacking Martel and the remaining engineers. They were also dangerously close, less than fifty meters away, from the scrambling to escape civilians. Horus ordered Cardus to escort the civilians out of the woods and rush them towards the contested road (about two hundred meters away to their northwest) leading to Desmond Boss¡¯ east camp first and then the bridge. Cardus slavers were given strict orders to fight to the last if it came to be. Tibia-Han and several other injured men and women too injured to move were left behind in the bombarded woods, while Dumar harassed Rik¡¯s Crows to give Mirpur time to strike against him. Maluph added seven of his chariots to assist but kept the last two back near the pouring out of the forest civilians and slaves. Over a kilometer away to their east, Perku with Larmir (Api-Nofre had returned near Horus upon spotting the Crows) prepared another assault against the injured Captain Wyncall¡¯s mercenaries. The mostly Lesia outfit¡¯s low-ranking officers debated a retreat towards the forest east of their positions but they didn¡¯t want to abandon the many injured amidst their ranks. The ¡®Gold Contract¡¯ Dogs had been recruited in Atetalerso fifteen years prior in another mercenary company the ¡®300¡¯ and some of them had been with the outfit for even longer. The originally created by Jacomo D¡¯Orsi unit had already survived their previous company¡¯s destruction in the distant Eikenport. They were not pushovers and a very tightly-knit professional group. The mercenaries decided to wait for the dark before retreating and Perku¡¯s lancers (mostly Horse-Archers) with Larmir attacked them not five minutes later. Larmir¡¯s charge hit the mercenaries north flank in three spots, his best for the day, but he got counter charged trying to disengage by Sir Pek¡¯s arriving men-at-arms (part of Robert¡¯s cavalry) and got mauled to smithereens. Sir Pek had recognized the Horselords easily in the chaotic battlefield and his fresh heavier units brutalized the lighter-armoured Khanate riders. Larmir was killed almost immediately but Perku, realizing they were being counter-attacked, managed to angle, then change the direction of his own incoming charge (in a brilliant demonstration of fine horsemanship) away from the rattled mercenaries and strike the Issirs head on instead. Perku¡¯s lancers killed friends and foes in what was a messy crowd of men and animals. Sir Evert Pek got lanced through the torso and went down ending a very long campaign for him which had started over six years earlier in 188 NC, when the First Foot had first arrived in Rida with Robert and his father to secure Raoz, at least on Issir soil and amongst his comrades in arms, but alas without ever laying his eyes again on his wife Lady Siske Tellman. In a cruel twist of fate, the two of them were in different camps now, with Sir Reinir¡¯s Tellman¡¯s daughter fighting under Lord Anker¡¯s banner. Perku¡¯s charge rattled the Issir men-at-arms but the nearby mercenaries got involved and the Horselords got surrounded by hostiles in moments. An injured Perku managed to disengage with a score of riders and was saved by the arrival of Lord Jorah Dhin-Awal¡¯s scouts, who had send a group of them under Kontar to assist Cardus¡¯ mass exodus. Kontar, himself badly injured and probably not in a condition to make sound decisions, was distracted by the large fight and headed east instead of west upon arriving. The mercenaries halted seeing the fresh group of Horselords and slowly retreated to regroup while the Issir cavalry with them, sent word to Robert they had found the enemy. Maluph¡¯s battered chariots moved against Sir Rik¡¯s riders to the southwest in the meantime, followed by Dumar and Horus Mirpur himself. Under arrow fire Sir Rik ordered Liko¡¯s men to dismount and use their issued lances to form a shieldwall in front of the horses, while his Crows flanked the arriving chariots and Horselords. The arriving Chariots veered away from Liko¡¯s mercenaries as it was a feint and Mirpur¡¯s Cataphracts shattered the haphazardly formed shieldwall, punching through Sir Rik¡¯s counter charges in the most brutal cavalry on cavalry clash of that bloody afternoon. Sir Leonel Koel¡¯s also nearing cavalry that was less than a kilometer away by now, chanced upon one of late Sir Pek¡¯s mounted messengers and decided to rush to their assistance, but Sir Gust who rode ahead of him had spotted his brother¡¯s black banners in the field, or the many crows flying over the visceral engagement and galloped that way instead under the dissonant croaks of hundreds of birds.
- (Horus Mirpur) Togo stopped a lance with his chest plate, the blade bending and slicing at the chainmail above his right leg, but Horus¡¯ lance punched through the Crow¡¯s shield and hurled him off of the saddle. The Cataphract yanked the reins hard to the left to disengage reaching for his flail and the warhorse shoved the Crow¡¯s mount aside to leap over a broken corpse. Another Crow cut him off, but Horus ducked under a sword slash and found the Issir knight¡¯s kneepad with the flail. The metal buckled, destroying the bone and the Issir growled behind the helm¡¯s visor, his hack clanging on the jerking away Horus¡¯ chest without much force. The Cataphract grunted, trying to stay on the saddle while Togo moved them sideways dancing on his hooves between the arriving men and horses. At the charge¡¯s end, always disengage was the dictum, but they were too many bodies around to do it safely. Swords and spears were thrust at him from right and left, shields taking blows, helms denting and chainmail ruined by blades or maces. Arrows and bolts were peppering the men fighting it out as cohesion broke down and everyone tried to get himself out of trouble. Or went looking for it. Horus moved between Issirs and Horselords, switching his flail for a sword and intervened where he could to assist. He led Togo out of a cluster of fighting men, some of them on foot and hacked at a Lorian stumbling to get away. The soldier went down spraying blood all over the ground and Togo moved past him with an irritated neigh. Api-Nofre rode next to him in the mayhem and his men forced the Crows back momentarily. Horus glanced at the chariots moving at a slow pace just outside the engagement and barked at them at the top of his lungs. ¡°Get in it damn you!¡± ¡°They can¡¯t help here!¡± Api-Nofre argued and slapped his shoulder to show him the regrouping enemy Knights. Horus charge had hurt them badly but several amongst them appeared unwilling to retreat to safety and urged their comrades to fight on with spirited calls. ¡°Their horses are shot. Bleeding at the mouth!¡± Api-Nofre growled showing him the red froth on their worn out enemies horses. ¡°Make them move Ermin Suru,¡± his friend pleaded hoarsely. ¡°And they¡¯ll fall from the saddle.¡± The tired Horus nodded and patted the snorting Togo¡¯s mail-encased mane with a gloved hand. Then he pressed his thighs tightly to make the warhorse move at a slow trot again. The Cataphracts still able to follow after him did and they started galloping in a semi-circle, while the also regrouping Issirs, who had noticed their maneuver sprang to action. Those were mostly men still on the saddle that had managed to get out of the fierce melee still raging on.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Horus intended to force the Crows to come after his men initially trying to close with them and after narrowing the angle fast, his Cataphracts would turn around and hit their ¡®pursuers¡¯ on the move. Break them here, a tensed Horus thought galloping atop of the also tired Togo, though the warhorse had stopped complaining well-aware of the stakes, then help Perku. The road is almost clear. The Crow Knights coming after them moved very slowly with some of their horses refusing to increase the tempo beyond a light trot and the Cataphracts turned around much easier than he anticipated. While the smoke coming from the burning woods and the dust was a problem, losing the light was a bigger one. In the dark, they wouldn¡¯t be able to use the horses and if enemy infantry was around they would hold advantage unless Amir-Zeket or the Prince arrived finally. Ape-Nofre raised his arm to signal that they were to gallop hard the moment the angle was favorable and most of the men secured fresh lances from their surviving servants that followed after them. Gero brought Horus another lance with a gesture that it was the last one available and the cantering Cataphract noticed that several of the Crow Knights had split from their group and were riding towards the woods. A knight with his hard riding squire barking and gesturing in an animated manner at the exiting the trees civilians. Horus glanced that way and Togo sensing he was distracted got out of the formation, now compacting to form an attack wedge and slowly stayed behind the charging Cataphracts. Noble Spirits, Horus hissed under his breath noticing Marleen standing near Maluph¡¯s chariot to watch the nearby engagement unfold and kicked his legs to head that way, whilst to his south the Cataphracts clashed with the Crows head on. The Crow Knight clad in dark engraved plate and a sinister, winged closed-visor helm was heading straight towards the motionless war-vehicles. It was as if he had noticed the noblewoman himself and seeing his wife¡¯s drained of blood face, Horus realized Marleen had recognized the onrushing Knight as well. Maluph saw the Issirs coming towards him and barked at Hortif who led the other chariot to cut them off. Hortif¡¯s chariot started moving immediately creaking and clanging, rotating blades springing to action but the Issirs didn¡¯t turn around or slowed down. The greatly concerned Horus, still about forty meters away, galloped hard towards them, but failed to notice the swarms of black birds landing on the trees and the corpse-littered ground, with others flying low over the men still fighting in a big cluster on foot southwest of him and about fifty meters away just beyond Maluph¡¯s slow-moving firing chariots, or to the southeast, where the Cataphracts clashed with the Issir Knights in another brutal cavalry duel. The hundreds of birds perked up, black beady all-knowledgeable eyes blinking and then started croak and cackle with an increasing intensity as if they wanted to cover the sounds of battle. Or the sound of many hooves from the arriving large mass of warhorses. CAW KRAA CAW-CAW Hortif downed a knight with a timely bolt shot that banged on his visor, but got skewered through the neck by the leading knight¡¯s lance, his still hidden behind the smiling-mask head detaching from the charioteer¡¯s shoulders in a thick torrent of blood. The Scaldingport knight¡¯s horse cleared the rotating blades in a magnificent leap but his squire didn¡¯t and was thrown from his gutted animal, with bloody pieces of flesh hurled right and left in a red mist that covered everyone nearby. The other Issir knight killed the chariot¡¯s archer and yanked hard right to hack at the driver, who let go of the reins and jumped down to attack him with a scimitar. Horus avoided the empty racing chariot narrowly and closed with the Issir knight lowering his lance, as the frothing Togo charged the last couple of meters. To his right the Crow leader stopped a javelin hurled by Chuma, Maluph¡¯s 2nd with his shield but got rushed by three arriving mounted scouts, Dumar, Nabil and Madaki, who forced him to use his longsword to fight them off. A moment later Horus¡¯ lance hit the other knight¡¯s turning horse and buried itself into the hapless animal¡¯s chest. Horus discarded the lance, turning Togo right and then left, while reaching for his sword. In the meantime, the Issir had cleared his collapsed animal and killed the charioteer with a savage hack to the chest that splintered the armour and revealed the groaning man¡¯s gory lungs. Horus rushed him but the Issir slashed at Togo, the blade cutting the warhorse above the knee through the chainmail. Togo neighed and shoved the Issir back, Horus hacking at the faltering knight brutally at the same time, but got his blade deflected. Togo leaped forward angrily and Horus managed to cut the Issir across the right arm dropping his sword. The knight picked it up with the left but was knifed in the back of the neck by Dumar, who had approached to assist Horus. The groaning Issir went down, spilling blood through the holes of his visor and the knight leader fighting with Madaki and Nabil let out an incensed growl upon witnessing his friend collapse bereft of life. ¡°Adrian! Curse you!¡± Dumar turned his steppe horse around, but then shuddered receiving a heavy blow to his left side just above the hip. It was delivered by a long-shafted axe from the knight leader¡¯s squire ¨Cstill breathing after his spectacular tumble- that had managed to sneak up on the scout leader in the chaos of the scrap. ¡°You little¡­¡± Dumar growled twisting around to hack at the manically clenching his bloody teeth teenager, but he failed and the squire¡¯s heavy weapon landed on his left shin shattering the bone. Dumar¡¯s lower leg detached in an explosion of gore and the severely wounded scout slipped from the saddle, probably losing consciousness from the traumatic shock and broke his neck when he landed badly between the disturbed horse¡¯s legs. Horus rushed the surviving knight, but Togo¡¯s hurt leg bothered the skilled warhorse and messed with the Cataphract¡¯s final angle of attack. The angry Crow hacked Nabil¡¯s arm off at the elbow and half-turned his horse spotting Horus¡¯ short charge out of the corner of his eye, despite the crow-shaped visor limiting him. Togo slammed the knight¡¯s horse forcefully with his chest and tossed the Issir from the saddle, just as Nabil toppled due to severe blood loss from his. ¡°My Lord!¡± A tensed Madaki grunted in warning and Horus recoiled to avoid the axe that thudded on Togo¡¯s left side, mauling the flesh and breaking the ribs there. The warhorse neighed in pain and kicked the teenager with its hind legs, a heavy hoof catching the yelping squire¡¯s shoulder savagely. It hurled the teenager four meters away but then the horse¡¯s legs buckled and Horus had to jump from the saddle to protect it. ¡°Marleen!¡± The stubbornly standing up Crow growled at the watching in shock Issir female. ¡°Get your arse here woman!¡± Horus glared at the Knight, while Gero jumped from his own horse, a young stallion Tiro, to tend to the injured Togo. ¡°Api-Nofre won,¡± the mud-covered Maluph Erul-Sol barked from atop his chariot ten meters away. He had his arm around Marleen¡¯s shoulders. ¡°Cardus has Aswad and the girls.¡± The Chariot leader added pointing at the slavers directing the civilians away on foot not five meters behind him. ¡°I can take them away faster Horus.¡± ¡°Marleen!¡± The irate Crow growled, he had gone to check on his squire and was now returning near the Horselords unafraid. In a weird expression of Luthos¡¯ favor, the moaning teenager, now with an arm dangling freely down his sides was miraculously still breathing. ¡°Have you lost control of your senses?¡± The Scaldingport Knight roared arming his left arm with a long dagger. ¡°I came here for you!¡± ¡°You came here to salvage your pride! The De Weer name!¡± An emotional Marleen retorted clenching her jaw. ¡°I don¡¯t want it! It brought me nothing but lonely years and shameful pain! You came here to unload even more suffering upon me Rik. Just let us go!¡± ¡°You¡¯ll side with these savages? Over your own god darn people?¡± Rik grunted sounding strangled from the affront and Horus walked up to him with Madaki clicking his tongue to circle the furious knight and get a better shot from the bow he had armed himself with. CAW The birds cried in unison, just as Horus attacked. Rik parried the scimitar away and stabbed with his dagger wounding Horus above the forearm. Horus moved away and deflected the longsword¡¯s slash, recoiling instinctively as he¡¯d moved near the dagger, for a blow that never came. Rik had reacted slowly from that side and when an arrow broke apart on the left side of his chest the knight stumbled back. ¡°He¡¯s blind from the left side!¡± Marleen informed Horus and Rik cursed irate. ¡°I don¡¯t want you to win Rik!¡± She screamed at the seething scion. ¡°He¡¯s my boy¡¯s father!¡± ¡°Get her out of here!¡± Horus roared at the undecided Maluph, while the trotting on his horse Madaki fired another arrow at Rik who swatted it away angrily with his dagger. Api-Nofre¡¯s Cataphracts were heard returning behind him and Horus glanced that way to watch the Horselords getting intercepted by a large host of men-at-arms wearing Gray Cloaks and Issir armour. Noble Spirits! Horus thought dismayed upon witnessing these fresh Crows crash on the weary column of Cataphracts that was caught unawares in the confusion. Api-Nofre¡¯s men were scattered and Maluph¡¯s remaining six chariots ¨Changing at the periphery of the other scrap still raging just over thirty meters away- moved to assist sounding a horn of alarm. ¡°LEAVE!¡± Horus growled at Marleen and Maluph while fending off Rik that attacked again, closing the distance. ¡°I can¡¯t!¡± The noblewoman snapped and shrieked in warning, her voice filled with preternatural terror, but even so she was drown out under the croaks and the thundering of many hooves digging at the ground. CAW-CAW Horus slashed Rik across the chest, but the Crow¡¯s blade thudded on his left shoulder and bit at the flesh there shattering the clavicle bone, afore dropping him to a knee. Horus groaned in horrible pain and Rik stepped forward raising his sword to cut his head off. Marleen screamed at the top of her lungs, Madaki¡¯s timely arrow splintered on the knight¡¯s helm, snapping it back and Horus managed to roll out of the downing longsword¡¯s way. Horus faltered trying to get on his feet but the exertion, heavy armour and his bleeding injury worked against him. Still the Cataphract slowly got up to his feet grinding his teeth, helped by the heroic Gero that bought him the time by diving in front of Rik¡¯s blade. Rick¡¯s sword gutted the slave, getting in from the right side and emptying the gurgling Gero¡¯s innards upon exiting from the left. ¡°UHER PLEASE!¡± Marleen screamed besides herself and Horus tried to locate Rik through blurry eyes with the ground shaking under his feet. Madaki who had rounded the Scaldingport knight firing arrow after arrow on him, twisted on the saddle alarmed with his bow half-drawn, as one of the arriving cloaked Knights had veered off from the bigger scrap happening not that far away to their south and charged at full speed against them. The especially heavy-set Knight, clad in heavy dark plate armour that resembled Rik¡¯s, but with a long grey cloak billowing freely behind him, was riding a nibble steppe¡¯s horse, too small for his large frame and carried no lance or spear. The man had a longsword on his extended right arm and went straight for the bewildered Madaki. The scout fired an arrow in panic and then the charging knight swung his beefy arm and decapitated Madaki¡¯s hapless horse, his angled parallel to the ground savage blade catching the recoiling in terror scout right above the hips and chopped him off in two as well alike a piece of firewood succumbing to an axe¡¯s blade. Once you climb on the saddle to ride in search of war, the palaces of Rin An-Pur shall fade from your memory. Aye. For you¡¯ll be a true Horselord once again and trouble shall find you, his father Lord Mirpur had told him and his brother Cephas, upon their departure from Eplas years back now. War and its creatures shall seek you out. Horus stood up staring feverishly at the knight that had blasted through the butchered Madaki and charged pressing brutally with his knees to force the scared, gore-covered horse to keep its course towards the wounded Cataphract. Horus timed his slash and scored a deep gush on the charging animal¡¯s head whilst moving out of the way. The horse recoiled but the Scaldingport knight stayed on the saddle despite its reaction and managed to stop it yanking at the reins so hard the horse fainted or died outright and then collapsed on its weakened legs. ¡°Eh,¡± the over six-feet tall, bulky knight grunted hoarsely and jumped from the saddle sounding quite pissed off. Rik went to cut off the approaching Horus but Api-Nofre¡¯s horse shoved him out of the way, with the arriving blood-covered Cataphract yelling at Horus through his mask. ¡°Leave my lord! I''ve got this,¡± Api-Nofre implored turning to defend against Rik¡¯s attacks. No you don¡¯t, Horus thought pensively, in response to his old friend¡¯s words. You can¡¯t beat them both on your own Api. Horus glanced at the shuddering Marleen, violently pushed on the chariot by a sullen Maluph, who stared in turn at the Mirpur scion with querying eyes. ¡°Gust!¡± Rik growled. ¡°It¡¯s Marleen!¡± ¡°Um,¡± Gust grunted and eyed Chuma as if measuring him up. The charioteer had moved against the thickset knight holding a halberd at Maluph¡¯s silent orders, instead of returning on the ready to depart chariot. ¡°Please!¡± Marleen pleaded, fighting to free herself from Maluph¡¯s arms. ¡°Gust I have a baby!¡± Chuma swung the long weapon confidently at the thoughtful, standing still knight, but Gust raised his left arm and grabbed it under the blade as it came down, while moving aside deceptively fast for his bulky size. Chuma grunted at the near miss, made to retrieve his weapon with both hands from Gust¡¯s steely grip, but failed and the knight yanked the startled Horselord forward towards him, placing his sword in the yelping charioteer¡¯s way. The blade penetrated Chuma¡¯s chest and exploded out of the back with a torrent of blood, turning this way and that for maximum damage. Gust discarded the dead Chuma, grabbing him by the collar and tossing him away like a sack of rocks. Then he took a large step forward towards the carriage, after a brief glance at Rik who was duking it out with the still mounted Api-Nofre. These are the De Weer scions, Horus thought and moved to bar Gust¡¯s way determined to stop him. Behind him Maluph nodded in understanding, though Horus missed it focused on the mountainous Crow. Don¡¯t sully your ancestors¡¯ name. Be a Horselord and only take that which you¡¯ve honestly gained after a bloody struggle. KRAA Horus slashed at Gust, but the knight parried and retaliated with a vicious hack that Horus¡¯ blade barely intercepted with fat sparks erupting from their swords when they connected briefly. Gust¡¯s sword came back again without pause and Horus turned his torso with a pained grunt, to get his legs under him. He managed to place his long scimitar in the sword¡¯s way, angled to get a deflection, but realized a sharp moment later that Gust¡¯s sword had been buried under his armpit instead. It had gone through his own blade, the plate-reinforced chainmail, and then the flesh, whilst ruining his internal organs and collapsing the chest cavity. Horus¡¯ mouth flooded with blood, with more splashing down his legs when Gust retrieved his blade. The latter giving a strange shine in the setting sun¡¯s dwindling light. Ah. What do you know, a numb, catastrophically injured, Horus thought impressed and a little curious, whilst in the background Maluph¡¯s chariot raised a great ruckus as it started to move away, over Marleen¡¯s heart-breaking shrieks. ¡°Imperial steel. You did well lad,¡± a somber Gust informed the fainting behind his bloody smiling mask Horus and then chopped the brave Cataphract¡¯s head clean off of his shoulders. 2nd Battle of Even Fork, early evening of the 3rd of Tertius -
earlier that morning
KRAA God darn arthritis, Ruud thought sourly, veined eyes ogling at the maid¡¯s hindquarters as she cleaned his field bed. It was a hostel¡¯s bed but still, it sort of counted according to the old Duke. KRAA The large raven protested, its beak striking at the glass of the closed window. ¡°Fuck off!¡± Ruud cursed, coughing up a splotch of phlegm that was about the size of a cupcake on the floor. Good. I got the worst part out! The maid stared at the Duke shocked and Ruud, showed her his worn-out yellow teeth in a sly grin. ¡°Got yer attention, didn¡¯t?¡± He told her and the local girl gulped down nervously. ¡°It did, milord Duke. It¡¯s so big,¡± she croaked, through flushed dark cheeks and heaving a young provincial bosom. Ah, plenty of milk ye had from yer sharp-eyed mother. ¡°You like big things yes?¡± Ruud asked teasingly. ¡°I¡¯ve got something¡ª¡± ¡°OLD TURD!¡± The large raven protested from outside the window interrupting Ruud¡¯s lewd musings and the Duke groaned in deep frustration, then in similar pain as he attempted to stand up from the chair. ¡°You need help milord Duke?¡± The maid asked eagerly and Ruud looked at her genuinely intrigued at the prospect. I¡¯ve got plenty left in the tank. ¡°SHIT FOR BRAINS!¡± Bugs bellowed hoarsely, striking and scratching at the glass furious. Ruud cursed, his wrinkled face distorting and went to open the window to allow the large bird to get inside his quarters. Quarters, it was a hostel really, but he¡¯d ¡®rented¡¯ the whole building. ¡°What do you want?¡± Ruud grunted when the large, well over a meter in height, equally frustrated raven leaped inside. ¡°WATERMELON!¡± An angry Bugs declared tipping his head back, and then proceeded to look about him energetically for a while. It ended with the vicious bird assaulting the screaming, scared out of her wits, young maid with its large beak to get her out of the room. Ruud stared at the bird¡¯s black beady eyes sourly. ¡°What brought you back to my old arse?¡± He asked and went to pick up his timeworn sword. Ruud had the blade for seventy years or thereabouts. Well, the handle he¡¯d replaced a couple of times and the blade had been reforged once¡­ eh, twice? Anyways, it was a good fucking weapon. Talking of old parts, not every part of him had been awaken fully, and some parts would take a while or even the whole day depending on the plaguing weather, but Ruud had learned to navigate old age by not giving a fuck about it. Come to think of it, the last part was his standard attitude since his youth. ¡°Timus Toes,¡± the raven croaked switching to his normal speech. Bugs would speak to you, if you had a piece of brain that worked. Else he would appear in your dreams, try his luck there. Ruud had put a stop to the raven¡¯s annoying intricacies early on in his reign. If the Others wanted a talk, they should get an appointment like everyone else! ¡°Toes is dead for centuries.¡± Ruud grunted hoarsely, trying to get his hurting fingers to work on the belt¡¯s fastener and failing. ¡°Fucking hells!¡± ¡°This is our land. Duke Henk swore an oath!¡± Bugs snapped, clacking his beak angrily and dragging his wings on the floor. ¡°The Duke should move.¡± Duke Henk had been dead for about the same years as the ancient warlord of Scaldingport¡¯s past. Ruud let go of the fastener hearing a knock on the door, the maid had closed on her way out. ¡°The Duke is too old to take a plaguing crap without falling backwards into the blasted latrine!¡± He grunted, then barked. ¡°YES!¡± Afore adding just to keep any strange thoughts off the bird¡¯s skull. ¡°Having said that, I¡¯m still young enough.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not!¡± Bugs argued with a snort. ¡°Look who¡¯s fucking talking! Anyways, I¡¯ve no one to take over,¡± Ruud snapped back just as Don Fliers entered. The sergeant-at-arms wasn¡¯t a spring chicken exactly and furrowed his brows comically seeing the bird depositing a black round turd on the floor. ¡°You have plenty,¡± Bugs croaked ¨Ceither heirs or turds- and watched at Fliers intently with one eye closed. ¡°He knows you talk, fucking turd-releasing numbskull,¡± Ruud grunted and glared at the Scaldingport officer austerely. ¡°You pick this up now Don. There¡¯s a good lad,¡± he told the officer. ¡°I¡¯m fixing to make a good impression upon Kaiser¡¯s daughter. Can¡¯t have her think I¡¯m crapping on the floor eh?¡± Fliers blinked in shock. ¡°Riet is not sixteen yet milord,¡± he croaked. ¡°I¡¯m almost eighty five myself,¡± Ruud retorted pursing his wrinkled mouth. ¡°So I¡¯ve got plenty of years for the both of us.¡± ¡°The Queen,¡± Fliers proceeded and Ruud stopped him with an angry gesture. ¡°The Queen will understand,¡± the Duke warned his subject. ¡°It¡¯s not like she¡¯s not sleeping around herself. Did I make a big deal about it? Hmm? Nope. Well then,¡± Ruud cleared his throat and spat another something that had lodged there, not as big as the previous one. ¡°Your grandson,¡± Fliers insisted and Ruud stopped him again. ¡°What¡¯s the matter with you? I¡¯ve plenty of grandsons. Be more fucking specific!¡± ¡°The Heir sir.¡± Ruud pursed his mouth. ¡°The kid croaked?¡± ¡°No milord,¡± Fliers replied, seemingly horrified at the thought. ¡°The Queen left him with the Eunuch.¡± ¡°So? I¡¯m about to head there myself. It¡¯s a half-hour ride,¡± Ruud dismissed the still trying to speak officer¡¯s report and walked gingerly around the sullen raven to reach the door. ¡°See to use a cloth to gather the turd. You don¡¯t want¡­¡± the Duke paused and turned to glare at the demoralized Fliers sternly. ¡°When you say the Queen left Reinut with the cock-tamer, you mean¡­ she went for a walk?¡± ¡°No milord duke,¡± a discomforted Fliers responded looking at Bugs droppings, with the raven returning the officer¡¯s stare with a good-measure of reserved suspicion. ¡°A hunt? It¡¯s early. Didn¡¯t think she had it in her, what with all the cock riding,¡± Ruud chanced speaking freely and Bugs blinked opening its black beak to talk as well. A splinter in the gonads. Fucking raven, Ruud cursed inwardly just as Fliers and Bugs replied talking at the same time, but in different tones, meaning and fashion. ¡°The worried Queen is headed for the frontline milord,¡± Fliers said respectfully playing it down, which was always a bad thing. ¡°TITS FOR BRAINS!¡± Bugs bellowed unable to keep it in, using a variation of his earlier yell to fit the subject and ended it with a sharp but vague order. ¡°MOVE THE TURD!¡± Or move old turd, as Fliers seemed to remember the scene playing out differently than the Duke.
516. The paeans of spring IV
Sir Gust De Weer Raven of Dawn The paeans of spring Part IV -A murder of crows-
ACT II -Raven- Gust switched hands on Sir Mael¡¯s old longsword, an eye firmly set on the moving away war-chariot and the masked officer staring back his way whilst holding on to a crying Lady Marleen, who had collapsed on her knees for some bizarre reason, and the other on Rik¡¯s fight with the mounted Cataphract. The Raven of Dawn took a forward step over the beheaded Horselord and then reached to grab the heavy halberd the charioteer had dropped earlier. The Scaldingport knight hoisted the long-reaching weapon over the shoulder, raising his right arm like he wielded a weird, monstrous javelin, pulled said arm back some -still moving and then hurled it as hard as he could towards the moving away chariot. Gust lost his helm stooping forward from the momentum, the long halberd screamed in the air, flew the thirty meters of ever-increasing distance in a brief second and brutally nailed the war-chariot¡¯s driver right between the shoulder blades. The unwary man toppled forward, right over the front rail and his body disappeared under the open cabin, only to appear as a grotesquely mangled and gory mess under the racing chariot¡¯s scythed wheels. The shocking outcome forced the officer to dive forward as well, letting go of Marleen to grab at the reins, with the unresponsive woman banging her head on the chariot¡¯s sides as she collapsed on her knees. And yet the girl remained on the deck of the escaping vehicle. Eh. A heavy-breathing Gust grimaced in frustration and turned around to find a fresh mount with a brief glance at the Cofol horse that had brought him there. Rik got shoved back by the stubborn Cataphract in the meantime, but upon seeing the helmless Gust approach with weighty strides his brother went in the attack and jumped forward again to distract the mounted Horselord. Gust reached them a moment later, just as several horses were heard approaching from all sides. Sir Reuten, the knight was escorted by Solt and Axel ¡®Mudriver¡¯, led some of the Crows that had lost sight of Sir Gust during the charge and were part of the first and larger group, while the smaller group appeared to be the Horselord¡¯s squire that dragged a couple of horses behind him, one of them ridden by a slave girl. With a grunt, Gust grabbed the defending against Rik¡¯s attack Cataphract left foot, heaved hard and tossed the cursing enemy knight from the saddle. The Cataphract landed badly, but managed to roll on the ground to get away from Rik, who stopped to take a breather with a glare at his older brother. ¡°Couldn¡¯t you use a sword?¡± Rik snapped angrily. ¡°I need to use his horse,¡± Gust explained hoarsely. ¡°This blade cuts too deep.¡± ¡°Uhm. Or maybe it¡¯s just you. And what the all-Hells happened to yours?¡± Your horse, was his meaning. Gust stared briefly at the armoured warhorse that had tried to move near its standing up owner but gave up a moment later as the tall, brawny knight was standing in its way unwilling to move. The knight looked at his brother after smacking his lips. ¡°Didn¡¯t make it. The one I got from that scout, fared even worse,¡± Rik¡¯s battered helm nodded, not really surprised at his words. ¡°I need one to go after the chariot,¡± Gust continued, noticing that the slave girl had rushed near the headless corpse of the Cataphract with loud laments of horror when she almost stepped on the severed bloody head. ¡°No you don¡¯t. I won¡¯t further her suffering,¡± Rik retorted hoarsely, moving his left arm up and down slowly. Gust realized his brother had been injured again. God darn fool. ¡°Let her go Gust.¡± Rik added with finality. He meant Marleen, but wasn¡¯t ready to speak her name yet. ¡°Are you certain?¡± Gust grunted to give him the opportunity to reconsider. While not a betting man, Gust was convinced Marleen wasn¡¯t heading for Castalor. ¡°I got the driver out of the way.¡± ¡°You heard her. She has a kid,¡± Rik snapped not liking that Gust had forced him to explain himself and glared at the now surrounded Cataphract, as at least a dozen men-at-arms had arrived with Sir Reuten. ¡°I wasn¡¯t really listening. Too busy saving your skinny arse,¡± Gust rustled a little annoyed and grabbed Rik¡¯s shoulder to stop him from moving against the nervous Horselord that urged the still mounted on the second horse teenager, to leave with the slave girl. Gust glanced at the girl, now holding the fallen Cataphract¡¯s gore-covered helm and several of his personal artifacts, she had looted apparently. Why you thieving wench¡­ ¡°That¡¯s Ermin Suru¡¯s slave,¡± the Cataphract told the scowling Gust. ¡°Um.¡± Gust grunted unsure why he should care about it. ¡°The helm belongs to Marleen¡¯s son,¡± the Horselord explained hoarsely, jerking back to avoid Solt¡¯s sneaky attempt to stab him with a lance. The determined squire cursed and moved his horse closer to try again. ¡°Let him talk,¡± Rik snapped at Solt and the Cofol squire furrowed his brows, then glanced at Sir Reuten. ¡°Step aside boy. You¡¯ll earn no gravitas for this,¡± an amused Sir Reuten scolded his squire. ¡°The girl and the arms belong to house Mirpur,¡± the Cataphract expounded tensely, keeping his distance from the disappointed Solt. ¡°So you¡¯ll give up?¡± Gust asked, not really comfortable with all the courtly talk, while people were still fighting about them and the darkness was creeping close. ¡°Api-Nofre would fight one, or all of you to the death,¡± the Cataphract retorted raspingly. ¡°Protect his legacy.¡± Fine. Gust moved to get it over with, but Rik thrusted his arm sideways to stop him. ¡°Would Api-Nofre protect Marleen instead?¡± His brother asked with a voice strangled by emotion, which was a surprise to Gust, as Rik usually avoided showing any weakness in front of anyone. When you grow up with a tough brother like Gust and with Ruud as your father, you are sort of forced to toughen up fast. Still¡­ ¡°Get your darn hand off¡­¡± Gust growled angrily, pushing Rik¡¯s arm away. ¡°I serve the house Mirpur,¡± Api-Nofre replied unsure. ¡°You¡¯ll serve Marleen henceforth and you¡¯ll walk out of here unscathed, both in body and honor,¡± Rik countered. ¡°A noble request,¡± Api-Nofre murmured thoughtfully, face hidden behind the smiling metal mask. ¡°An even trade,¡± Rik agreed raspingly. ¡°A life for a life.¡± Api-Nofre nodded. ¡°The spirits agree. You have my word Crow. But I need to give up something more for it to be fair. You see, I would have helped Aswad anyway. We are not Cofols and this isn¡¯t a coin trade.¡± A bemused Gust blinked and then glanced at the armoured warhorse. The horse looked at him with large curious eyes and snorted. ¡°I¡¯ll have the horse,¡± he grunted and Api-Nofre stood back tensed momentarily, but then nodded in agreement. ¡°Hisan is a young stallion,¡± Api-Nofre warned him. ¡°Difficult to ride, but it¡¯s yours Crow.¡± ¡°Good,¡± Gust agreed not really interested on everything else. ¡°Let them go,¡± Rik ordered the men-at-arms circling about them. ¡°Use the dark to ride away.¡± He advised Api-Nofre. ¡°Beyond this field, you¡¯re on your own.¡± ¡°I know where they are going,¡± Api-Nofre replied and with a last glance at the scowled Gust, he climbed on the saddle of another warhorse and took the reins from his squire/slave. ¡°Mirah,¡± he ordered the sniveling slave girl that had gathered everything she had taken from the slain Horselord in a small bag. ¡°You¡¯re ride with Resan.¡±
Gust watched them riding away for a moment as the dark started falling all about his men, until Rik¡¯s voice brought him back. ¡°How did you end up with a new horse in this deal?¡± A tired-sounding Rik griped. ¡°It¡¯s just a horse,¡± Gust retorted. ¡°Well, at least this one has a name,¡± his brother jested with a pained grunt and removed his helm, to show a blood-spattered, sweaty face. Rik looked just about ready to drop from exhaustion. ¡°Robert is near?¡± His brother asked tiredly. ¡°Yeah,¡± Gust replied and stared at the armoured horse unsure. Hisan snorted and shook his head, large lips flapping under the metal Chamfron. ¡°Horse,¡± Gust warned it before attempting to climb on the saddle. ¡°His name is Hisan Gust,¡± a worn-out Rik protested and Gust grunted getting on the saddle with ease. He glanced at Axel ¡®Mudriver¡¯ that had brought him the mud-covered helm, afore replying curtly to his brother. ¡°It means horse,¡± he rustled and added with a scowl that slowly turned into a taunting smirk at an unamused Rik. ¡°I think the Horselord gave up his spare.¡± God darn fool. Sir Reuten got a hearty, as much as surprised, loud laugh out of this rare Gust jest, Axel ¡®Mudriver¡¯ nodded in a reserved manner, and Rik just shrugged with a grimace of pain. He would have done the trade just the same that much was obvious to everyone present. Gust thought his stance was admirable. The one-eyed young Crow had grown up to be a proper knight and while still a fool, he¡¯d made Gust proud. An hour later One could still see the deep red glow, or even bright flames at some spots inside the forest, lighting it up at the distance. Hundreds of torches shed their light near the emergency field ¡®hospital¡¯. The mercenaries had sort of fashioned the latter with the use of saddle rags, shields, horse blankets and even plain cloth tossed over small branches to create custom cots. Bigger fires had been lit to warm up the injured and help prepare food for the weary soldiers that had been fighting for hours. Gust heard the sound of a war-chariot¡¯s scythed wheels approaching and looked over his shoulder. He spotted two young mercenary officers driving it proudly, although they did receive plenty of curses from the cavalrymen that feared for their horses and from their comrades in the infantry that had seen enough of the dangerous machines to last them a while. ¡°Liko, Ottis,¡± Sergeant Lu Douc-Re roared getting out of the muddy tent. ¡°Park that god darn thing!¡± ¡°It has a built in break Lu, don¡¯t worry about it!¡± Bert Ottis assured him with a fierce grin, pulling at the long reins to stop the vehicle. ¡°I¡¯ll just pull the lever and it locks the wheels!¡± ¡°Do it now, else my fist will lock on your face Ottis!¡± Lu barked and set his eyes on limping Liko. ¡°How many did you lose kid?¡± ¡°The Grunts fought like hell Lu!¡± Liko growled, then grimaced in pain. ¡°Where is he?¡± ¡°I had a carriage take him near the spring, by the boulders,¡± Lu Douc-Re retorted with a glance at Axel that was examining Gust¡¯s old sword. ¡°East of the road, just behind the camp.¡± ¡°Martel?¡± Gust intervened raspingly as he¡¯d no use of the Gallant Dogs purse officer. ¡°Wyncall?¡± ¡°They are both pretty bad,¡± Lu told him while Liko limped away followed by a now sober Ottis, leaving the chariot behind. ¡°Wyncall¡¯s tongue was severed at the base. The Dottore dug in there to fix what was fixable. The captain spat it out in the chaos and we can¡¯t find it.¡± ¡°Can the Dottore stitch it back up?¡± Axel asked curious. ¡°Dalai-Tue said he¡¯ll survive without it if the fever drops. Said the same thing to a man wit no legs and to Martin, who died soon after,¡± Lu retorted sourly. ¡°I can try to wake Martel up Sir Gust.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t. I¡¯ll speak with Sir Robert. See how my brother is,¡± Gust grunted and turned around to head for his horse. Hisan had been freed from all the heavy armour at Gust¡¯s orders, since he wanted to move around faster.
They arrived at the First Foot¡¯s staging areas ten minutes later. The infantry had secured the battlefield and while it had prepared its own hospital for the wounded at the rear, Robert Van Durren held a war-meeting to discuss the situation out in the open and under torchlight. ¡°Lord Jorah is pulling back towards Captain Gel De Moss,¡± his adjutant informed them. ¡°There is infantry a kilometer from the bridge near Desmond Boss¡¯ camps.¡± ¡°Numbers?¡± Robert asked. ¡°At least a thousand heavy infantry my lord,¡± the officer, a man from Badum named Flip Velde, replied. His father had squired for Robert¡¯s father in his youth and had gotten a piece of land near Canlita Sea as reward, which opened the way for his son to earn an officer¡¯s spot in the Foot. ¡°We outnumber them.¡± ¡°Yeah, but we have a lot of recruits in the 2nd Division,¡± Robert pursed his mouth. ¡°What about cavalry?¡± ¡°Four, five hundred or thereabouts. About a hundred horse with arrows,¡± Flip reported what he¡¯d learned after speaking with the mercenaries or other surviving officers. ¡°Cataphracts?¡± ¡°Few and far between,¡± Flip stared at the scowling Gust. ¡°The Crows destroyed those that came from Castalor.¡± ¡°These were Putra¡¯s men,¡± Sir Reuten noticed. ¡°Lord Jorah must have Cataphracts with him. More cavalry in general. Plus we have reports that more have left the capital or were pulled from Dhin-Awal¡¯s command at the Great Lakes.¡± ¡°There,¡± Robert agreed with a forced smile. ¡°Jan is right. Care to give us an insight Sir Koel?¡± He asked his long-time right hand man. Sir Leonel Koel, Baron Leonard Koel¡¯s of Tigerfall son, shook his short-cut white haired head. ¡°I find the Prince¡¯s absence concerning my lord.¡± Robert snorted. ¡°You know it¡¯s bad, when Sir Leonel, who actually has a darn castle to fall back to, starts calling my arse fancy names in public.¡± Robert looked at Gust and shivered. ¡°Goodness me Gust, something the matter? I heard Rik is fine. That lad is Unkillable, might even outlive the Old Crow for crying out loud!¡± ¡°No one is,¡± Gust grunted and Robert sighed. ¡°And Ruud won¡¯t depart afore Scaldingport is in safe hands.¡± ¡°Right.¡± Robert said, his eyes telling Gust he disagreed. ¡°What does your instinct say? Or the bird. Haven¡¯t seen it since last night.¡± Bugs had flown away to do his own thing. ¡°No instinct. Simple reason.¡± Gust grimaced. ¡°The Prince isn¡¯t here. Lord Jorah has enough cavalry to cause us trouble. I¡¯ll order Captain De Moss to retreat to our positions.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll doom Desmond,¡± an uncomfortable Robert argued. ¡°I¡¯m leaning towards espousing his business partner¡¯s lovely daughter and leaving poor Desmond to get eaten by the wolves might be frowned upon in Castalor¡¯s high-society¡¯s circles.¡± It¡¯ll be an even worse look if we fumbled the campaign at this point Rob. ¡°Desmond hanged on for two days,¡± Gust replied raspingly. ¡°He¡¯ll manage another.¡± ¡°Post patrols with a cavalry escort,¡± Robert ordered Velde and Koel. ¡°And can someone run to the supply wagons to dig out that bottle of cognac from yesterday? Haven¡¯t gotten the measure of Jelin¡¯s spring¡¯s evenings yet without proper assistance.¡± Gust grimaced and turned around to head towards his men. He spotted Solt talk with a mid-aged Issir officer, wearing the Foot¡¯s insignia and eating a piece of hardtack softened in a cup of water. ¡°Who¡¯s he?¡± Gust asked Sir Reuten who followed after him with Axel ¡®Mudriver¡¯ and the knight from Colle sucked at his teeth afore replying. ¡°Captain Voges, a survivor of the 2nd Foot,¡± he replied. ¡°He¡¯s looking to purchase a horse.¡± ¡°We may be fighting on the morrow,¡± Gust grunted with a glare at the officer. ¡°Where do you want to go?¡± ¡°Hunter¡¯s Cot,¡± Voges answered. ¡°Heard the Prince might be heading that way.¡± Gust stood back with a deep frown. ¡°Where did you hear that?¡± ¡°From a dying Horselord,¡± Voges replied, showing him two rows of fine symmetrical teeth. Gust hadn¡¯t seen such perfect teeth on a soldier afore. Not at Voges¡¯ age. ¡°Radin is in Hunter¡¯s Cot.¡± Gust repeated hoarsely. ¡°Or thereabouts,¡± Voges elucidated. ¡°Looking for Valk.¡± ¡°What is he talking about?¡± Axel ¡®Mudriver¡¯ rustled pursing his mouth and Gust turned to eye Sir Jan Reuten intently. The knight seemed very troubled as well. ¡°The Valk have property near Hunter¡¯s Path. It is part of the disputed lands with Colle, the Old Crow bequeathed years back to cause problems to the King and Baron Bach,¡± Sir Jan told Gust, who thought of Loes Valk Elsanne¡¯s former courtier. The Queen had left her behind at Dia Castle after she had escaped to Eikenport. ¡°You don¡¯t think?¡± Jan queried, himself thinking of the same thing. ¡°Find the Captain a horse,¡± Gust ordered Solt with a grunt. ¡°Gather our Crows Jan.¡± ¡°What about Rik?¡± Reuten asked with a grimace. ¡°Rik will stay this one out. He¡¯s done enough.¡± The last thing Rik needed at this point was coming up against Radin with a troubled head. ¡°Robert might need help.¡± Jan argued. ¡°The Horselords couldn¡¯t kill Robert on Eplas,¡± Gust retorted raspingly and started marching towards Hisan. ¡°Gods know they tried plenty of times. They won¡¯t succeed here.¡± -
Horus Mirpur¡¯s Cataphracts managed to win another cavalry scrap against Sir Rik De Weer¡¯s Crows causing many fatalities, his third or fourth win of that day remarkably, but got caught near the end of the engagement by the ninety men-at-arms led by Sir Gust De Weer and Sir Jan Reuten that had just arrived in the battlefield. Sir Gust hadn¡¯t followed after Sir Koel¡¯s riders (they headed north towards the late Sir Pek¡¯s men to assist) but headed straight for his brother¡¯s banners. It¡¯s impossible to gauge now how many riders Horus had by that point, but it must have been anything between twenty Cataphracts or as high as fifty, depending on other sources and at least seven chariots led by Hortif, one of Maluph Erul-Sol¡¯s lieutenants. (Sermes had been killed earlier in the day) Whatever the numbers available may have been they just weren¡¯t enough, and Sir Gust won decidedly wiping out Lord Putra¡¯s mobile force that had haunted the Peninsula for months. Horus Mirpur, the legendary Ermin Suru, was killed by the Raven of Dawn after a great struggle¡­ one would be led to believe reading the Khanate¡¯s account of the battle.* The truth is, this final battle lasted less than five minutes in all likelihood by my estimates. While Sir Gust himself never gave any personal account on what transpired, ever the tight-lipped solemn figure of the war, his brother Sir Rik confirmed that Gust was the one who killed Horus ¡®but we arrived too late to save poor Marleen¡¯. For the latter fail, the rather unlucky, though unquestionably capable knight, assumed full responsibility speaking to her father Duke Basten days later.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡®My lord, I have failed you again,¡¯ the one-eyed Sir Rik had allegedly declared in court and the relieved -for the ending of the ordeal his Duchy had faced- father, had forgivingly replied that ¡®in my humble opinion, you saved Castalor my good knight. Praised be the Five, my poor girl is probably dead already.¡¯ But the girl wasn¡¯t dead. The destitute ¨Chaving lost all his chariots, after already losing his family and riches back in Eplas- Maluph Erul-Sol escaped on his war-chariot with Lady Marleen Van Oord according to all Khanate sources, driving the vehicle himself through hostile terrain and in the pitch dark. Auspiciously for him, Lord Jorah Dhin-Awal had opened a corridor towards the bridge and during the night hours (3rd to 4th of Tertius) many civilians, engineers and slaves escaped led by the Slaver Cardus. Not everyone made it out. Tibia-Han was discovered still-breathing but with a paralyzed right leg inside the woods. Several other injured were lost (as many as two hundred), from high fever, or bad wounds, but mostly eaten by the local predators like the large brown, forest bears that had awakened from their winter slumber mainly due to Ricard White¡¯s fire-bombing and then went about looking for nutrition in a bad mood, which was nigh unfortunate. Lord Jorah upon learning of the inconceivable catastrophe considered attacking Robert Van Durren¡¯s First Foot to exact retribution for the loss of Lord Mirpur¡¯s son Horus, but also Mirpur¡¯s other son Vijay, who had been killed on Eplas years prior and of course Kuntur Ki-Tsuparin. It was a huge opportunity to amass favor with some pretty powerful lords for him. ¡®Settle the old score with this landless dog once and for all¡¯, Lord Jorah had declared, himself also sort of lacking in lands at the time, since Wetull had taken Dia Castle and Jade Fort from his family. When an envoi was sent from Merchant¡¯s Triage to question the local Zilan official about the matter, the Zilan Hoplite leader (in roughly translated Common) had given the diplomat two hours to get his ¡®offensive hindquarters off of Imperial land posthaste, else I¡¯ll have you killed, seasoned for a day and then served for dinner.¡¯ No more diplomatic attempts were made by Lord Jorah after that. Robert had arrived in the battlefield after first dark and had quickly secured Even Fork, while preparing his men for a march to the Bridge to break out Desmond Boss. The Horselords attack was to be launched as early as the next morning. Lord Jorah ordered Amir-Zeket¡¯s Jang-Lu to disengage, leaving Desmond Boss¡¯ camp to be guarded by lighter troops, but several of the surviving generals (Kontar, Amir-Zeket, and Maluph Erul-Sol) demanded to hear from Prince Radin first. ¡®If the Prince is to strike at Robert¡¯s rear,¡¯ Maluph had suggested bravely, what they all must have been thinking, ¡®then we should wait for him to act first and then make our move as well.¡¯ Lord Jorah faced a difficult dilemma, as Lord Putra¡¯s fate was also in question, not to mention the success of their operation as a whole. There was strong belief they could perhaps win against Robert in battle and still clear the road that wasn¡¯t controlled by either party during the tense evening. Back at Castalor, Lord Putra was surrounded inside the woods east of the city, without supplies and with Xener on his death throes. The Jang-Lu informed the Lukela noble that they were prepared to march in battle the next morning and die in the field. The cornered Putra agreed with his subordinates and donned a metal mask himself to lead the Jang-Lu personally. It was so obvious the Horselord infantry was going to attempt to break out that Sir Walter pulled his to the rear and brought every crossbow and machine available inside the wary city out. He set them up under torchlight just outside the woods, with many civilians helping and didn¡¯t sleep at all. Early that night or just after sunset, Sir Gust visited Wyncall and Martel¡¯s mercenaries (the latter had almost lost his whole command, suffering catastrophic losses and most of his officers, three quarters of his engineers and master sergeants Super and Willian, including one of the ¡®gold pendant¡¯ councilmen of the unit, a Northman named Crafton), as well as late Sir Evert Pek¡¯s men, who he had known well from their days on Eplas. News of the huge battles fought from Castalor to Even Fork, as far as the bridge at Boar Horn reached the ¡®Queen of Veer¡¯s Gulf¡¯, the rebellious princess Elsanne Eikenaar that had just delivered a young boy at a small merchant stop named Pavilion, very near the city of Rusted. The boy had been named Reinut the Second, a scandalous decision, as no noble had dared to take the first High King¡¯s name afore him. Rumors on the father ended, when the Queen announced brazenly that Reinut was Sir Gust¡¯s son, solidifying Duke De Weer¡¯s support at the expense of common decency. The Pirate Queen fearing for the outcome of the battle ordered her Blood Raiders, an unruly group of thugs and pirates she¡¯d brought from Eplas, to march after Robert and Sir Gust at first light. Just before the morning of the 4th, Captain De Moss managed to reestablish contact with the First Foot taking advantage of Lord Jorah¡¯s forces redeployment. His messengers informed the Issir command of the enemy¡¯s disposition and rough numbers. De Moss also confirmed what was slowly becoming apparent inside Robert¡¯s war council. This well-expected for months -and despite that turned very-thorny- attack by Prince Radin they were dealing with currently, was underway for sure, but no one had even glimpsed the elusive Prince¡¯s banner anywhere in the field. Radin wasn¡¯t in Castalor, he wasn¡¯t at Even Fork and he hadn¡¯t graced them with an appearance at Boar¡¯s Horn. So where was he?
- Ruud de Weer ¡®Old Crow¡¯ Vulture of Blackcrow¡¯s Pilar Ruud smacked his wrinkled mouth a couple of times, moving the warmed up honeyed whiskey in his mouth to numb the hurting gums. The taste was awful but the concoction livened the blood in the winter. Or early spring. Supposedly. He stared out of the window of his large carriage. The elderly chamberlain Hubert Boss, offered Sigurd Bach a cup as well while stooped in front of the built-in cupboard. ¡°It¡¯s too early for such a strong drink,¡± Bach commented taking the cup. ¡°Oh, cut the crap Baron,¡± Ruud grunted, placing his own cup on the small side table. ¡°Hubert was being polite. We know you¡¯re an alcoholic.¡± ¡°I¡¯m an ordained priest,¡± Sigurd snapped unable to control himself. ¡°So what? Half the priests I know are drunkards,¡± Ruud fired back. ¡°Or perverts. Don¡¯t stand there and pretend you didn¡¯t give a good rub to yer phallus at the thought of our Queen! In all them years? Get the fuck out of here!¡± Sigurd looked like he¡¯d just swallowed a bottle of laudanum and Ruud wondered whether he¡¯d actually hit a nerve there running his mouth. He stared at the bald Baron with suspicious eyes. ¡°I was being polite your grace,¡± the old chamberlain yielded to defuse the situation and returned to his seat next to the Baron. ¡°He¡¯s worried about his nephew you see,¡± Ruud explained moving on. ¡°Got himself in trouble Desmond has, aye.¡± ¡°We should use the opportunity to strike at the Khan beyond the bridge,¡± Sigurd offered after taking a moment to find his wits, with Hubert shaking his head as the Duke had gotten the relations wrong again. ¡°Third cousin?¡± Ruud chanced with a smirk not paying attention to the Baron¡¯s words. ¡°Are ye gonna get a cut of the family fortune if Desmond swallows a spear?¡± He asked Hubert. ¡°The kids are ahead of me sire,¡± Hubert Boss retorted stiffly. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t turn on me you old cunt,¡± Ruud griped and blew his nose in a handkerchief. He stared at the disgusting secretion and then folded it. ¡°Damn. Soon as the flowers start blooming, the whole system gets messed up!¡± ¡°Duke Ruud,¡± Sigurd insisted, but Ruud stopped him with a curt gesture. ¡°You ride another man¡¯s carriage Baron, you respect his habits or continue the trip on the saddle with the palace guards,¡± he told him. ¡°You left the Queen alone to come to me and now she decided to move the wrong god darn way! Never trust a woman to point you down the right path!¡± Sigurd stood back on his leather couch frustrated. ¡°I¡­ can¡¯t control the Queen your grace,¡± he replied and grimaced when a rider tapped at the door of the moving carriage. The driver brought it to a stop much to Ruud¡¯s ire. ¡°Hey,¡± the Duke grunted looking out of the window at the mounted guard. ¡°We are not there yet!¡± ¡°Milord, sergeant Fliers ordered the stop!¡± The guard reported. ¡°What¡¯s the matter? A case of diarrhea?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know milord.¡± Ruud cursed and stared at the discomforted Hubert Boss across from him. ¡°Hubert climb down and see what manner of fresh fuckup we have here!¡± ¡°I suggest we wait it out your grace,¡± the chamberlain retorted, unwilling to make the effort. Ruud stared at Sigurd. ¡°Baron? You¡¯re a young man. Trot to the front of the procession will you? There¡¯s a good lad,¡± the Duke added when a grimacing Sigurd Bach stood to get out of the carriage. ¡°You know what?¡± Ruud decided with a groan and a small fart that followed a blinking glance at the sky. ¡°I¡¯ll get down there and catch me a bit of sun as well. Hubert keep the door closed in case the raven decides to come in and use the darn carriage as its personal latrine!¡±
Ruud didn¡¯t know the young local man. The guy was in his twenties and dressed in a brown tunic, but wore a leather weapon harness over it. ¡°He claims he¡¯s one Demeter Valk,¡± Fliers told the approaching Duke. The men and carriages had stopped by the side of the road, but Ruud could spot the Pavilion¡¯s buildings not that far away, right before the junction. All local roads converged there, one leading to Hunter¡¯s Cot to the north and another coming from Tail to the south, while the main road led west towards the distant Even Fork. Ruud stared at the young Issir local thinking that Duke Henk had made his camp there a couple of centuries back and the local warlord Timus Toes had come down from Toefort to attack him. He thought of the raven¡¯s words and almost missed the young man¡¯s reply to Sigurd¡¯s query. ¡°Stefan Valk is my father sire,¡± Demeter had explained respectfully. ¡°How¡¯s the old hunter?¡± Ruud asked, remembering his old hunting partner. ¡°I heard he got himself a third wife a while back. That yer mother?¡± Ruud couldn¡¯t believe twenty years had gone by like that. ¡°Aye milords,¡± Demeter replied. ¡°My father wants word sent to the Duke that Horselords have taken Hunter¡¯s Path.¡± ¡°He¡¯s the Duke damn it,¡± Fliers snapped in frustration and Bugs was heard cackling above them. ¡°Fliers let him speak,¡± Ruud grunted. ¡°He speaks nonsense your grace¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be the bloody judge of that!¡± Ruud growled angrily raising his voice and all talk stopped about them, the racket of horses and men dying down. The Duke had a mighty voice in him since his youth, but had rarely used it these past decades. ¡°Speak,¡± Ruud ordered the young Valk scion hoarsely and the pale Demeter, who didn¡¯t anticipate to run upon the Old Crow in the middle of the road told them everything.
KRAA! CAW! CAW! The crows were disturbed by Bugs¡¯ presence near their boxes. The latter didn¡¯t have doors as the birds were coming and going as they pleased, even without carrying messages. Fliers who had gone to order the men to be on high alert returned breathing heavy near the thoughtful Duke, who stood alone on the cobblestone road to watch the light chimney smoke visible over the Pavilion¡¯s hostels and merchant buildings. ¡°I sent word to Sir Braal at Hunter¡¯s Cot,¡± Fliers reported. ¡°Talked with Mitch De Jaeger to bring his rangers forward and Mitch told me Hendrik De Jagger is coming down from Tail with about a hundred of his.¡± The Jaggers of Tail and Jaegers of Tongue were essentially the same family. ¡°Best to keep them separate,¡± Ruud murmured working a crooked index finger in his collar to better fit it under the heavy leather, mail-reinforced armour. ¡°We can¡¯t fight Horselords on the road. We need the streets and the alleys, all them big stone and brick buildings.¡± ¡°My lord, we should retreat towards Rusted!¡± Fliers protested. ¡°The Viscount has been notified as well. He¡¯ll come straight here!¡± ¡°Fuck De Moss. As much pride as idiocy runs in their family,¡± Ruud hissed, a tick appearing on his drooping right eyelid. ¡°Radin might turn west and go after the Queen, hit my boys from the rear,¡± the Duke glared at the Scaldingport officer austerely. ¡°Or head east and take the Pavilion. My grandson is in those buildings Fliers. I love me younglings.¡± ¡°Aye milord,¡± Fliers grimaced. ¡°I can go ahead with the guard and defend the settlement.¡± I don¡¯t trust you not to fuck this up lad. ¡°It is not enticing enough for the cock-sucking prince,¡± Ruud said instead, after a small moment of silent consideration. ¡°Elsanne will turn around the moment word reaches her ears that Reinut is in danger. The Gods are ever conspiring to give that slant-eyed cunt unfair advantage for some reason or other. Again and again it has happened, be it in tourneys or in war. You should pay attention to life¡¯s tendencies Fliers. Radin shan¡¯t have any advantage this time. In this part of the realm the Others rule and they¡¯ll do their darn best not to piss old Ruud off!¡± Else I¡¯ll turn the Duchy over to Regia, or Anker. Force the Five down their throat! ¡°My lord, there are hundreds of Horselords just about to come out of the woods!¡± Fliers protested and a snarling Ruud slapped him across the face snapping his head back. The Old Crow¡¯s voice came calm and collected though, with none of the tremor that had plagued his later years. ¡°Rip the fear out of yer belly and don¡¯t spread it to the men,¡± Ruud warned the stunned officer. ¡°A horse is useless against a stone wall and you can stop a cavalry charge blocking a street with that wagon. Flatten a helm with a dropped flagstone in them narrows. Fancy armour and tall tales mean naught inside a settlement without lowly infantry and Radin has none available. You heard the lad. He couldn¡¯t bring any, so as to move fast. Each fight is a new chapter to a man¡¯s legend, not yet written. Get Mitch here and we¡¯ll write this Horselord a new one, where he least expects it. I reckon, it¡¯ll be an epilogue.¡± Twenty minutes later Morning, 4th of Tertius ¡°My Lord Duke,¡± the eunuch Jasi proclaimed with a dramatic genuflection, all perfumed brightly-colored robes and flickering painted eyelashes. ¡°I saw the commotion, but we weren¡¯t expecting your eminence¡ª¡± ¡°Get the blasted cock-tamer out of my way! What manner of bullshit is this?¡± Ruud grunted, pushing past the scrambling not to get trampled over Eunuch to reach young Reinut¡¯s crib. He stared at the young milk-maid¡¯s enlarged nipples ¨Cthe eunuch was playing with just a second ago- with an appraising eye and then smiled at the sight of the little wrapped up baby in his purple-dressed crib. ¡°Get the boy and the horny milk-cow out the back,¡± he ordered his men rigidly. ¡°I want them in my carriage and heading east in ten minutes. Keep the Cofol double-dipping cinaedus out of the cabin and the liquor compartment.¡± ¡°Duke Ruud the queen¡ª¡± the flushed Jasi protested, when Fliers bodied him out of the room, but Ruud cut him off with a curt wave of his hand. ¡°Radin is half a kilometer away,¡± he told Jasi and the Cofol former-slave blinked in shock. ¡°The Prince,¡± Jasi croaked paling despite all that makeup. ¡°Is¡­ here?¡± No, I just came up with it for the chuckles. ¡°This perfumed motherfucker almost had an orgasm! That¡¯s right, he is. We¡¯ll have reinforcements arriving shortly,¡± Ruud explained with a grimace of discomfort as he¡¯d ridden hard to enter the settlement and some of his body parts had started protesting early. ¡°Until then, those with balls still attached to their scrotums, will need to make a stand here. It might take a minute, or it might be a while and it will be intense. Do you want to stay and help dear Sazi?¡± Jasi blinked, his face dropping. ¡°It¡¯s Jasi, your sagacious lordship, and I¡¯m historically much more useful operating from the rear.¡± ¡°I bet you are!¡± Ruud guffawed. ¡°Ehm, I should be with the Heir,¡± Sigurd volunteered and Ruud eyed him like a half-rotting bug, the others bugs avoided. ¡°Katers we¡¯ll stay in my stead.¡± Sigurd added gulping down nervously. ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to dismiss your lad Baron, but we need yer expertise also,¡± he told him frostily. ¡°I¡¯m not that good with a blade¡ª¡± the uncomfortable Sigurd protested, but Ruud cut him off again in a gruff manner. ¡°Now, don¡¯t sell yourself short like this. You are staying. Although, I suggest ye look for a sword.¡± Ruud retorted, dismissing the argument. ¡°Plus, we might find need for a priest of Oras. Um,¡± the Duke added with the slyest of smirks, none of those present found amusing at all. The moment dragged, deeply soaked in uncomfortable silence, until one of the lookouts sergeant Fliers had posted on a terrace bellowed from outside Madan¡¯s ¡®Grand Hostel¡¯s¡¯ open front door. ¡°HORSES!¡± ¡°Oras shadow,¡± Sigurd cursed or prayed pursing his lips and Ruud reached with a shaky gloved hand, grabbed the hilt of his longsword and unsheathed it in a wide arc, almost decapitating the diving for the floor panicked Jasi, wearing a broad thoroughly-decayed smile on his wrinkled mouth. Here they come, Ruud thought and marched out of the hostel¡¯s hall. Them sons of bitches.
¡°SONS OF BITCHES!¡± Bugs roared flying over the arriving Horselords, a group of eight that rode straight through the main street of the settlement, eyeing the local merchants that run to hide in their stores or behind their stands. Upon seeing the two wagons blocking the main road, one of them raised his arm and brought the small group to a stop. He turned to order his men to push the large supply wagons out of the way and two of them rode near, bringing ropes with them, to investigate whether it was possible or not. Fliers stepped out of the corner of a warehouse, clad in his guard armour and wearing a conned helm that appeared too large for his head, but it wasn¡¯t. Fliers had just tied the straps too tight which made it difficult for him to speak clearly, while at the same time lowering the rim of the helm to his thick eyebrows. ¡°Open the road!¡± One of the Horselords grunted in rough Common at the grimacing sergeant-at-arms. ¡°This land belongs to the Khan!¡± ¡°I won¡¯t,¡± Fliers replied. ¡°And it doesn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Dusted?¡± The Horselord leader of the small group grunted unsure and looked at his men for a better translation. ¡°It doesn¡¯t!¡± Fliers repeated sounding strangled, getting a bit red in the face. ¡°Neither the road, nor the wagons.¡± ¡°You claim ownership?¡± The Horselord queried mirthfully. ¡°The Duke does,¡± Fliers retorted gruffly and got his sword out of its scabbard without making a fool of himself, under Ruud¡¯s watchful eyes. The Horselord, no fancy mask on him just a helm and a linen headcover under it, pursed his mouth tightly and then raised his arm to signal at the two nearest riders watching the exchange, to attack the lonely sergeant-at-arms. A javelin hurled from a rooftop to his left, plunged the short distance and smacked the top of his left shoulder, penetrating at least a foot afore coming to a stop. The stunned Horselord toppled from the saddle and De Jaeger¡¯s rangers stood up from their elevated spots, drawn bows and ready javelins in their hands. The hidden men unleashed everything they had on the cornered group and their horses. Four went down immediately, Fliers stepped forward, after navigating the gap between the parked wagons, to hack a fifth down and the rest turned around to get away. Two more fell moments later and the diving raven unhorsed the last one with a warlike craw. The screaming Horselord hit the cobblestone hard, stood up as fast as he could sporting a broken arm, but got skewered by a javelin that got him under the right shoulder blade and went back down again. His horse continued to gallop without its rider and Ruud stepped out of the corner as well to watch it get away with thoughtful eyes, under the cries of fear from the locals. They had been caught unawares and now rushed to escape the sudden violence as well, leaving the Duke¡¯s guards and rangers behind. ¡°De Braal¡¯s bird said he¡¯ll move with the Old Crows out of Hunter Cot,¡± a young guard informed Ruud, who nodded and then glanced at the young Valk scion. ¡°How did Radin knew how to avoid Braal¡¯s patrols and find the way?¡± Ruud asked hoarsely, his sword¡¯s tip touching the cobblestone. ¡°This northern part of the forest was a royal hunting ground.¡± ¡°His man claimed they have aunt Loes,¡± Demeter replied fearfully. ¡°Sir Rinus daughter. Father was forced to show them the path.¡± ¡°Seems old Stef betrayed you milord,¡± a blood-covered Fliers grunted walking near them, while some of his men finished off the Horselords, leaving their corpses in the street. Ruud pursed his wrinkled mouth and then raised his sword before the sweating Demeter¡¯s face. The sword¡¯s point all but touching the young man¡¯s nose. ¡°Lad?¡± The old Duke asked raspingly the shuddering Valk scion and Demeter blurted out in a croaking voice barely standing on his two feet. ¡°No man or beast betrays the Old Crow,¡± the young hunter droned the familiar mantra. ¡°Lest the vultures shall feast on their families rotted carcasses.¡± CRAW! Bugs agreed jarringly, opening and closing its large black beak in a threatening manner and then plunged it like a dagger on a dead Horselord¡¯s face. -
Blackcrow¡¯s Pilar Summer of 129 NC ¡°Midlanor preaches a different story now,¡± Duke Rik the second, told a seventeen year old Ruud, also the second of his name, in a raspy voice. ¡°Ikete was the biggest city of Kaletha Triarchy, despite what these religious Sessi cunts preach. We had to be flexible to get this land, adapt and be ruthless when it mattered.¡± Ruud stared in silence at the large raven watching them from the table, with its glassy eyes reflecting the light of the torches. ¡°Patient and thick-skinned,¡± his father continued, a side of his face not moving when he talked, still paralyzed from the recent stroke. ¡°Your uncle will be Duke.¡± Ruud nodded, the violent tick marring his face not a sign of a stroke but of deep anger. ¡°Gust must rule, but it won¡¯t be for long and he has no male heir,¡± the Duke paused to glance at the Raven as well. ¡°He¡¯ll try to get around it. Um. But he¡¯ll have a daughter. He¡¯s a bitter man, who wants to rule now, but fighting him will weaken us and you don¡¯t want that. The Duchy must stand strong.¡± ¡°Trust the Raven¡¯s musings,¡± Ruud grunted, trying to keep his anger in check. ¡°So I get to rule for less time, for the good of the fucking realm?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll rule for as long as you have to. In whatever manner you fancy,¡± Duke Rik, the second, said. ¡°For you will have the Others blessings and you¡¯ll leave the Duchy to the one the Others declare capable. When it¡¯s time, you¡¯ll know.¡± Ruud stared at the Raven¡¯s black beady eyes and the large bird clacked its beak sharply in warning. ¡°What if I don¡¯t?¡± He asked and the bird shook its black head right and left. ¡°The one the Raven speaks, the Raven picks to sit the throne and he¡¯ll strive to protect these lands against all enemies, foreign and domestic. All other gods. This was the covenant son and we¡¯ll have to honor it.¡± ¡°Fuck Henk¡¯s deal,¡± Ruud snapped and stood up. ¡°Henk is long dead and your brother might have me killed on the morrow. I ain¡¯t waiting around to get butchered.¡± ¡°Sit down!¡± The Raven roared angrily, and flapped its wings while walking awkwardly on the table. ¡°Shit for brains!¡± ¡°What¡¯s the name?¡± Ruud grunted not backing down. ¡°Alistair,¡± the pissed off Raven retorted. ¡°Hah. I ain¡¯t giving any kid I might have a Lorian name!¡± Ruud blasted the somber-looking bird. ¡°Are you serious? Forget about it!¡± ¡°Ruud,¡± the Duke intervened. ¡°It must be this way.¡± ¡°Nah, it doesn¡¯t.¡± Ruud groaned in frustration and returned the Raven¡¯s glare. ¡°I want more.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll get the Duchy.¡± The sick Duke grunted trying not to lose his patience. ¡°I slit uncle Gust¡¯s throat tonight and I¡¯ll be the next Duke by morrow,¡± Ruud snapped pursing his mouth. ¡°We don¡¯t harm our own!¡± ¡°Oh, get off your high horse!¡± Ruud growled and his father made to stand up furious at the insult. ¡°We have this talk for that very possibility!¡± ¡°Lord Gust¡¯s reign will be short,¡± the Duke insisted through his teeth. ¡°No deal.¡± ¡°An heir on the Wyvern¡¯s Throne,¡± the Raven said and Ruud sucked at his teeth thoughtfully. ¡°You¡¯re making this up bird,¡± he finally said. ¡°A boy follows his father¡¯s lead. No kid raised in Issir¡¯s Eagle would ever call himself a Crow. And what king leaves a boy to be raised by its mother?¡± ¡°A king wouldn¡¯t,¡± the bird agreed blinking its eyes. ¡°Right.¡± ¡°A path exists,¡± the Raven insisted. ¡°But it needs some working and a bit of good fortune.¡± ¡°How about commitment?¡± Ruud countered. ¡°You do that for me and I¡¯ll consider whether to honor Henk¡¯s deal.¡± ¡°You are not that important,¡± the Raven snapped and jumped from the table to land near the lanky man. ¡°Right now, I¡¯m the best chance you have, or good fucking luck grooming one of uncle Gust¡¯s girls,¡± Ruud deadpanned with a sly toothy grin.
- A much older Ruud approached the feasting on the ravaged Horselord¡¯s face bird and stood next to it. He placed the sword upside down and rested both his hands on the engraved pommel. For a while he listened to the bird chewing on the gory flesh, his eyes on the guards preparing the buildings for the Horselords response. Beyond the main street and just outside the last of the buildings where the Queen¡¯s men had camped, Ruud could see the Khan¡¯s riders amassing. Different groups heading back and forth atop their horses. ¡°Were there Horselords in your visions?¡± He asked Bugs and the large Raven stopped chewing, part of a human nose with skin attached to it, dropping on the gore-covered cobblestone. The bird blinked once and then gulped down audibly. ¡°No Horselords eh?¡± Ruud probed crooking his mouth. ¡°Motherfucker, did you make all that shit up?¡± ¡°You still rule,¡± Bugs retorted and jumped about to find another less-eaten corpse, scaring away some noisy crows that had the same idea as him. ¡°That¡¯s not an answer you oversized, feathered cunt!¡± Ruud grunted irate, a veiny eye half-closed as the sun reflected on shields and weapons blindingly. ¡°This is a standoff,¡± Bugs said with a vexed croak. ¡°To glimpse at the outcome, is to change it.¡± ¡°If you think I¡¯m going to just accept defeat you¡¯re out of your god darn mind!¡± Ruud fired back and straightened his back with a loud groan, when several bones snapped in place. ¡°I¡¯m gonna fuck everyone up afore I croak, mark my fucking words!¡± He warned the scowling bird and turned around to order the men to board all the windows facing the main street. 517. The paeans of spring V
Radin Radpour The paeans of spring Part V -A murder of crows-
ACT III -Bloodfang- Chapter one -The Rule of Three Things- -
Prince Radin Radpour¡¯s eastern flanking force Early spring 195 NC Around 450 Horse archers Around five hundred Medium Cavalry 180 Cataphracts
Leaders and prominent Cataphracts Radin Radpour, ¡®Bloodfang¡¯ (companion/squire, the slave Tobro) Masud-Rum, ¡®Sarto¡¯*, the ¡®Beggar Cataphract¡¯ (the freedman Amu) Garai, ¡®Vorea Olga¡¯** (the ex-gladiator Bata) Khafra, ¡®Forya-Rochir¡¯*** (the Cofol slave Sago) Ramses, ¡®Tuksa Lar¡¯**** (the horse-archer leader) Also Sibast and Jurka (Tirifort) and the brothers (from different mother) Senet and Hespu out of Yin Xi-Yan. - *from the archaic Cofol Imperial word for ¡®steadfast follower¡¯ **for ¡®Enduring Malady¡¯ ***a blood member of the northern Horselords tribe beyond Torbal ****for ¡®a hundred leagues¡¯, the distance a young Ramses had travelled to escape the desert
- Morning 4th of Tertius, Merchant''s Pavilion Sultan, the Prince¡¯s commanding, strikingly-black old warhorse, snorted near his ear to get his attention. Radin reached back over the shoulder to rub its long snout with his left hand and ease the stallion¡¯s nervousness. Most warhorses didn¡¯t appreciate being parked where the grass was scarce, or near other males. ¡°Easy now,¡± Radin murmured, his eyes watching the teams of scout Cavalry Khafra had deployed around the settlement coming and going. Tobro approached with a hard leather flask of water, but Radin didn¡¯t want any. ¡°More black birds over the city great Pharaoh,¡± Tobro noted tensely and had some of the water himself, careful not to touch the bronze tip with his lips. ¡°We use birds too,¡± Radin replied and turned around to receive the approaching on his horse Garai that was followed by Khafra of Torbal, the late Malik¡¯s brother and half a Forya Rochir, since their mother had been a Peninsula Cofol slave. A Northern Horselord. Everyone called the people of Eplas Cofols in general, but many different tribes and races existed in reality, just as they did on Jelin. Khafra had none of his mother¡¯s looks but all her agility, as the other Cataphracts frequently jested. ¡°Many tracks lead west, following the road,¡± Garai said and climbed down from the saddle, giving the reins to Bata, his hardened slave had been a gladiator trainee in his youth and had cost Garai a fortune to buy, with Khafra doing the same, leaving his warhorse to Sago, a skinny Cofol with dark eyes. ¡°Foot trails and wagons.¡± ¡°A local said the Queen¡¯s army left,¡± Khafra added and coughed once to clear his lungs from the dust raised by many animals digging at the drying terrain. The spring had come with consecutive days of good weather and while it was a nice upgrade from the horrible winter they had to endure at the capital, the dry ground made cavalry visible again from afar, unlike the soft mud. ¡°After the Foot probably.¡± ¡°The Foot is a day away,¡± Radin replied narrowing his eyes. ¡°Elsanne has brought this rabble of thugs from Eplas and even her supporters don¡¯t want them into their cities.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not a city,¡± Garai rustled with a grimace. ¡°It¡¯s barely a village, maybe that¡¯s why they couldn¡¯t accommodate them.¡± Radin eyed the experienced Cataphract sternly. ¡°The Prince is correct in all likelihood,¡± Garai added with an unnerving smirk. ¡°Masud-Rum wants us to move after them Lord Radin,¡± Khafra intervened and Radin pursed his mouth annoyed. ¡°Masud-Rum is just the Prince¡¯s friend, not the Prince,¡± Radin retorted and then shook his head forcing a smile on his lips as well. ¡°A local thug and footprints are poor advisors for our next move.¡± ¡°Which is?¡± Garai queried with a crooked smile. ¡°Help Dhin-Awal and Putra,¡± Khafra suggested and Garai raised a dark brow looking at the Prince. ¡°Win the campaign,¡± Radin agreed vaguely, clenching his jaw at the taunt. Everyone was in a certain mood after they had learned about the extra forces the Issirs had in the field, but now wasn¡¯t the time to start fighting amongst themselves.
The lonely horse trotted near a group of Horselord scouts creating quite the stir, an alarmed Radin watched unfold from Sultan¡¯s saddle and soon after a scout galloped anxiously near them. ¡°Tuksa Lar¡¯s men fell upon soldiers inside the settlement,¡± the Horselord reported. He was referring to Ramses the Horse-Archer leader that had the overall command of the scouts as well. ¡°An ambush?¡± Garai grunted and the muscular Bata¡¯s face was split by a mean snarl. Radin stared at the old Issir Stef Valk intently. ¡°It¡¯s a busy road,¡± the former royal hunter retorted gruffly and shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Too great a host of men, not to be spotted.¡± Radin licked his lips thoughtfully. ¡°How far is Hunter¡¯s Cot?¡± He asked Valk. ¡°Thirty kilometers, a bit less than that.¡± ¡°Are there guards stationed at Hunter¡¯s Cot?¡± ¡°De Braal¡¯s Old Crows. It¡¯s the Shield¡¯s lands.¡± Great. ¡°How many?¡± ¡°About a hundred. Retired men-at-arms mostly that bought property there to hunt where the king used to.¡± Radin grimaced. ¡°Masud-Rum should head to Hunter¡¯s Cot, look to secure the road or warn us of trouble.¡± ¡°Who would inform them so soon?¡± Garai asked hoarsely. ¡°We barely popped our heads out of the trees!¡± Yeah, but that¡¯s a lot of heads! ¡°Where does the road coming from the south lead to?¡± Radin asked Valk, not wanting to delve on the reasons but find a solution. ¡°Tail, it¡¯s a small fort and village. De Jagger¡¯s land.¡± Radin had no idea who that was. ¡°Could this be him?¡± ¡°The road coming from Tongue also stops at the Pavilion. That¡¯s a bigger fort, same family sort of,¡± Valk replied. ¡°Also Rusted. Thirty thousand souls in the city. So this might be the Viscount¡¯s men.¡± For fuck¡¯s sake! ¡°Weren¡¯t they with the main army?¡± Radin probed crooking his mouth. ¡°It¡¯s a town militia. The size varies. But people tend to enlist more, if they sense a win around the corner,¡± Valk retorted with a hint of razz and the Horselords murmured in annoyance hearing him. ¡°Tell Ramses to cut the road east from the Pavilion,¡± Radin ordered the scout. ¡°Or see that we know well in advance, if more Issirs are coming. Garai,¡± he turned to the experienced Cataphract. ¡°You¡¯ll take half the lancers and find out whether the Queen is heading for Even Fork or not.¡± ¡°We should all be heading there my prince,¡± Garai argued with fake politeness. ¡°Elsanne is not a warrior,¡± Radin retorted with a grimace of anger. ¡°If she¡¯s here, then we could end this just by capturing her. Worst case, we use her as leverage to allow Putra to escape.¡± ¡°Why not win outright?¡± Khafra protested. Because we might not be able you fucking donkey! Radin thought furious. ¡°We need to control this bloody settlement either way, disrupt their supplies and reinforcements,¡± Radin grunted. ¡°Attacking the Foot blindly is not a matter of courage but pure stupidity! What if we can¡¯t break through? We don¡¯t have supplies, but I can see those warehouses from here. I bet you they are filled with food and fodder!¡± ¡°Secure the Pavilion,¡± Khafra said and stared at the settlement unsure. ¡°As fast as possible,¡± Radin agreed and sighed to get his thoughts in order. ¡°Find Masud-Rum. He can use two hundred lancers for the job. Get moving people. The rest I want ready in half an hour,¡± he continued. ¡°Send another party to scout those first buildings. Keep your eyes open and don¡¯t approach in the bloody open. Use the darn bows!¡± ¡°It¡¯s better to approach on foot my prince,¡± Tobro suggested and Radin nodded with a glance at the morning sun. A night foray would have been ideal, but he didn¡¯t have time to wait for nightfall. Then again, a horse-archer on foot isn¡¯t exactly a Dimachaerus in the blasted arena! ¡°Issue swords and shields to all,¡± he ordered gruffly and stared at their horses quite miffed. ¡°Um, and search the ¡®Blood Raiders¡¯ old camp for anything flammable.¡± -
Blackcrow¡¯s Pilar¡¯s elderly chamberlain Hubert Boss, who was kin to the then besieged for days at Boar¡¯s Horn weapons mogul Desmond Boss from Castalor, talked after the war with vice admiral Faber (the latter in the process of compiling his hyperbolic memoirs) about the mysterious clash at Merchant¡¯s Pavilion, the road market and merchant stop settlement near Rusted. This significant battle has fallen under the imposing shade cast by the larger, much more famous, battles fought near or around Even Fork at about the same time, or lumped with them as if it was part of the same battle for political or self-serving reasons. But it wasn¡¯t. The insidious Prince Radin Radpour had managed to circumnavigate the river undetected ¨Ccutting a page out of his famed brother¡¯s book, then followed the forest paths avoiding the Duke¡¯s patrols with the help of collaborators ¨Cin the true spirit of his other brother Atpa, and skirted around Hunter¡¯s Cot escorted by a highly mobile force, to appear half a kilometer from the Pavilion -right where Elsanne¡¯s ¡®Blood Raiders¡¯ had been the day before. Paying homage to his namesake. Radin arrived soon after the Queen had departed and proceeded to attack Duke Ruud De Weer¡¯s bodyguards, the ancient Duke was returning from a refugee inspection at Forestfort ¨Cresolved as soon as he departed with Legatus Merenda¡¯s stunning triumph at the battle of Kaltha¡¯s Great Lakes- after a brief stay at Scaldingport. Ruud had gotten word about the betrayal from ¡®Valk¡¯s kid¡¯ according to Hubert Boss and immediately prepared for a defense of the ¡®indefensible against a proper army¡¯ tiny settlement, sending word to the nearest Lords to ask for assistance. The Duke had been loosely followed by Mitch De Jaeger¡¯s rangers out of Tongue, but was to be reinforced by men under Hendrik De Jagger out of Tail, while he had heavy cavalry arriving from Hunter¡¯s Cot as well ¨Cabout twenty kilometers away- under his long-serving Shield Sir Stefan De Braal and later that day from the mobilized Viscount Ard De Moss of Rusted. All these local Issir nobles had returned to their castles during the winter months to see to their affairs and recruit more men. While Radin didn¡¯t have infantry or artillery with him, he did possess overwhelming advantage in numbers locally, which made Duke Ruud¡¯s decision to stand fast at the settlement bizarre at first glance. The old Duke was forced to act since Elsanne¡¯s newborn boy was present and in danger of falling into Radin¡¯s hands according to Hubert, while leaving Radin alone could have allowed the Prince to hunt down the slowly-marching towards Even Fork rebel Queen and eventually bring a very mobile force to Robert¡¯s rear. Radin, not knowing any of this, guessed right and dispatched the experienced ¡®Vorea Olga¡¯, the well-known desert Cataphract Garai of Yin Xi-Yan (and his ex-gladiator servant Bata of Fu De-Gar) with two hundred and fifty of his lancers after Elsanne, who was less than seven kilometers away at the time. Garai moved fast while scouting up ahead, located the ¡®Blood Raiders¡¯ columns and attacked within an hour that very morning. Garai¡¯s brutal charge pulverized the shocked unsuspecting mob causing extreme casualties, but due to the elongated columns marching up the wide road, his attack lost steam and the Horselord had to pull back and regroup. Garai probably sent word to the Prince, by then busy attacking the settlement, but no report on the exchange survived. The ¡®Blood Raiders¡¯ regrouped in turn, as Garai had killed about half of them so fast, there wasn¡¯t enough time for panic to reach the mid and front of the long procession, and coalesced around the Queen. Back at the Pavilion, Radin¡¯s second split up group of riders -two hundred lancers under Masud-Rum, praised as ¡®loyal follower¡¯ (sic. Sarto) in the ritualistic Imperial tongue of the desert knights for serving under both the Prince himself and Cephas Mirpur for years, or tauntingly the ¡®Beggar¡¯ for he possessed neither land nor slaves and was followed by a freedman named Amu- moved on the narrow northeastern forest road towards Hunter¡¯s Cot. The two forces, under Masud-Rum and Sir De Braal respectively, clashed in the forest but while De Braal was pushed back initially ¨Cnot expecting an attack so close to his lands- he quickly raised the alarm and every man over fourteen ¡®who could pick up a spear or a bow¡¯ came to his aide out of Hunter¡¯s Cot. Masud-Rum was forced to give ground facing spears, lances and pitchforks, not to mention his cornered men receiving arrows, rocks and javelins, from locals hidden behind every tree inside the narrow forest road. Radin didn¡¯t initially fare better in his efforts to take over the settlement, but he kept trying using every trick and strategy he could come up with. The Horselords managed to slowly push their way inside, having to fight hand-to-hand combat for every building or warehouse. Attempts to burn buildings down brought limited success or return as the large stone and brick structures (mostly hostels, stables and warehouses) while built near a forest, they used stone from Tongue¡¯s and Tail¡¯s quarries instead ¡®due to the forested lands being preserved for royal hunts in the country¡¯, but for some of the stables rooftops. The Horselords reached the center of the settlement, but the imposing three-story tall hostel owned by Florentine ¡®Flo¡¯ Madan, a rich businessman out of Rusted (called ¡®Grand Hostel¡¯), stood in their way blocking safe entry into the small square and anchored the Duke¡¯s defense. With twelve large windows facing the square, balconies and thick walls made out of grey cut stone, the defenders could spot the Horselords from afar and direct their actions accordingly. The building called for a frontal attack, but the nearby alleys and rooftops were packed with obstacles and determined Issirs ready to flank an attacker that stepped out into the open. Radin got frustrated at their slow progress, unable to fathom initially why the Issirs defended this lowly settlement so forcefully. Upon learning that the Duke of Scaldingport was present, Radin must have been very surprised, but it is disputed whether the Prince stood ¡®mirthful at the opportunity¡¯, according to some witnesses or ¡®worried upon realizing the fiercely-defending Issirs were never going to surrender¡¯ as he had initially thought, according to others.
- (Ruud) ¡°Cut his darn balls off!¡± Ruud grunted, a glee in his eyes and the guard speared the injured Horselord in the face killing him. The Duke crossed the alley next, arrows whistling overhead and thick black smoke from the burning oil barrels inside the warehouse engulfing the men with him. He peeked inside the inferno and stepped back with a grimace of frustration. ¡°Yep, best to write it off Madan,¡± he told the merchant. ¡°What was it? Old blankets? Sure smell like dirty feet!¡± ¡°Freshly dyed, woolen rolls of cloth your grace. Ten wagons,¡± a distraught Madan grunted rushing after the moving fast across the alley old Duke. Ruud paused to eye a group of archers rushing Fliers men in the narrows, but the Issirs fought back and cut them down. Another group of Horselords armed with swords and round shields, charged the men, just as one of the street-facing windows of the warehouse exploded outwards sending flaming debris and scorching oil from the broken barrels to bombard both groups that had to retreat to save themselves. ¡°Any more olive oil left around for them to plaguing use on us?¡± Ruud growled, whilst smacking a half-burning half-smoking soldier on the back to douse the fire out. ¡°Fucking hells. Anyone with piss left in the tank, spray this fool!¡± The Duke snapped with a grunt and pointed at the nearby warehouse¡¯s rooftop, the one not burning. ¡°Keep them off the top there you dumb cunts! Mitch, ye crooked wily rascal! What¡¯s happening in the south?¡± ¡°Sire,¡± the dignified to Scaldingport court¡¯s circles Mitch Jaeger rustled with a grimace, his bow in hand. ¡°The men spotted Jagger¡¯s ruffians rolling in. They are clashing with the Khanate¡¯s mad dogs at the supply camp!¡± Ah, there it is. Nobody bloody likes anyone! What times we live in! ¡°I don¡¯t want another camp getting overrun,¡± Ruud warned Mitch Jaeger. ¡°See to help if you can.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t. Hendrik is on his own sire,¡± Mitch argued stiffly, as he¡¯d rather eat his own bow than assisting his estranged kin. Ruud coughed violently in the attempt to chastise the minor noble, placing a hand on the hostel¡¯s wall to stabilize himself and then spat a nasty splotch of phlegm down. ¡°Them sons of cut-rate harlots are trying to envenom us!¡± The Duke cursed, ogling about with his swollen, vein-filled, red eyes. ¡°Let¡¯s step inside Madan,¡± he grunted using the flat of his blade to snap the sniffling merchant out of his grief-induced stupor with a smack on the back. Ruud returned inside the Hostel¡¯s hall and walked briskly to reach the front of the large building facing the small square. The sounds of savage fighting, men screaming and cursing, followed by the ruckus of collapsing rooftops and walls. ¡°They are gathering to rush the front doors again sire,¡± one of sergeant Fliers officers reported when Ruud came to the double doors to look outside. ¡°How many crossbows do you have?¡± Ruud asked upon seeing a heavily armoured Cataphract on foot, getting peppered with arrows but continuing to advance across the open area about forty meters away. ¡°Ten sire.¡± ¡°Why not twenty or more for pity¡¯s sake? You¡¯ve a roster of a hundred ye cretin! Are ye fixing the wage lists on me boy?¡± ¡°Your lordship deemed them too-expensive sire,¡± the officer replied rigidly and signaled for one of those crossbow-wielding guards to step out of the large window and fire on the Horselord. The guard fired a bolt but missed. He tried again and hit the archer walking next to the armoured enemy below the navel doubling him over. ¡°Right in them gonads! Ain¡¯t no more visits to the brothels for him! Muah-Haha!¡± Ruud guffawed with enthusiasm briefly, only to then abruptly eye austerely the cracking under the intense scrutiny reloading soldier. ¡°Lad,¡± the Duke started seriously. ¡°What¡¯s the matter wit you? You¡¯re a nervous wreck!¡± ¡°Mason, take the god darn shot!¡± The officer grunted trying to help and Ruud rolled his eyes at the fools surrounding him. ¡°You plug him in the head Mason and our good mister Madan here, shall bequeath that hemp field next to the meat market to yer family,¡± the Duke offered and Madan blinked in stunned disbelief, but decided not to protest given the gravity of the situation and Rudd¡¯s known tendency to follow a bad proposal with an even worse one in the haggle. The first deal offered was always the best with Ruud. The Cataphract stopped in the meantime, raised his own ¨Csmaller- crossbow and fired a bolt through the open window that hit the wall next to a recoiling Sigurd Bach, after flying over their heads. The Baron was covered in chainmail from head to toe and could barely walk, so managing to duck the bolt was pretty impressive, an amused Ruud thought. ¡°That motherfucker is a lousy aim,¡± Ruud decided, but the archers escorting the Horselord fired in turn and dropped a ranger from the nearby rooftop. ¡°Oh, fuck off ye short-limbed Gnome!¡± The Duke cursed the naughty god of Luck irate just as the determined to get his hands on that hemp field Mason tried again. - (Radin) Things always change, or sometimes are not as they appear, Radin thought keeping any emotion from his face, upon seeing the Cataphract collapsing to his knees, the loud clang from the bolt penetrating his helm reverberating across the square. ¡°My lord Prince,¡± Tobro warned trying to shield the watching the new attack unfolding Radin. ¡°This is dangerous!¡± Yeah. ¡°Where is Ramses?¡± Radin asked turning his horse around, Sultan shoving Tobro¡¯s smaller horse out of the way angrily. ¡°He went to check on the men attacking the road to Rusted your grace,¡± a horse-archer reported and followed the prince inside the alley. The side street they had managed to clear out was leading south to connect with the road coming from Tongue. The local villages, towns and settlements much bigger and numerous than they had anticipated. Jelin while smaller in size, according to the scholars that hadn¡¯t gotten one thing right yet, wasn¡¯t as thinly populated as Eplas. Every stream, every copse, mountain or flat area had people living near willing to fight for their land. ¡°What for?¡± Radin snapped, seeing the Khanate¡¯s soldiers retreat again, as only the Cataphracts were properly armoured to withstand the barrage of arrows, bolts, rocks and javelins hurled at them from every nearby building. And he didn¡¯t have enough of those, not to mention the Horselords hated fighting on foot inside the narrow streets. ¡°The men caught a caravan trying to escape,¡± the horse archer explained and Ramses himself rode inside the alley, navigating the turn masterfully. ¡°We took prisoners, but the men are getting attacked from the nearby woods. Rangers. A bunch of kids armed with butcher hatchets came out of the meat market sire.¡± ¡°There are trees everywhere and this is a cursed spot to give battle,¡± Radin cursed and jumped from the saddle to speak with the experienced Horselord, who did the same. ¡°What prisoners?¡± ¡°One of the carriages had the Duke¡¯s personal insignia. A vulture of sorts,¡± Ramses replied hoarsely and took a flask of water from Tobro to quench his thirst. ¡°We found a baby, a half-breed eunuch and an Issir girl inside.¡± ¡°The Queen?¡± Radin gasped, opening his eyes surprised. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know. The men don¡¯t think so. But one of the injured called the baby little prince, so I got suspicious and ordered them to find out more.¡± Elsanne has a child? ¡°It must be her!¡± Radin snapped and clenched his jaw. ¡°Ask for a parley with the cursed Duke!¡± He ordered his men. ¡°Ramses, you find a way to bring the kid here.¡± ¡°My prince,¡± Ramses protested. ¡°My men rode through hostiles to cut the road off. We don¡¯t control the area. There are roads heading north and east, more heading south! We have no visibility or knowledge of what¡¯s behind the next forested corner! The next caravan might be a blasted military column! This might be a tiny settlement but it¡¯s a huge trade hub!¡± ¡°Calm yourself down!¡± Radin snapped angrily. ¡°We are smarter than these filthy brutes!¡± The Prince walked some meters away tensed and then came back determined. ¡°Contact these accursed defenders. Tell them we are willing to talk, but also prepare an attack on the neighboring rooftop while they think about it,¡± he ordered. ¡°They¡¯ll either talk or we shall work around this conundrum another way.¡± - Early noon, 4th of Tertius Merchant¡¯s Pavilion The attack on Madan¡¯s ¡®Grand Hostel¡¯s¡¯ stables Let¡¯s fix this blasted mess, Radin thought and removed his metal mask, along with his heavy Cataphract armour. The prince wore a white cuirass out of hardened leather, reinforced with chainmail. He carried this second lightweight armour in his saddlebags and it was made for use in the arena by gladiators. Carrying his favorite warspear, Radin followed Ramses and his men, himself escorted by four Cataphracts. Sibast and Jurka from Tirifort, plus the two brothers of the Desert, the distant city of Yin Xi-Yan, Senet and Hespu. They entered the narrow, smoke-covered, alley and approached the half-burned warehouse where several archers were exchanging arrows with the Issirs that had the high ground. Two of those archers carried ladders, they had found in the leather market and upon seeing the Prince approach they let out a loud ululating cry that was repeated by the nearby Khanate soldiers. ¡°Crossbow,¡± Radin told the working with the lever Sibast, passing his own spear to Tobro and the Cataphract gave the prince his now loaded crossbow. ¡°Aim!¡± The Prince ordered the rest of his squad under the increasingly louder, protracted triumphant howls of the watching Horselords. He then get out of cover and into the open street, aiming the crossbow at the Issir rangers lurking at the rooftop. An Issir stood up, bowstring drawn taut and arrow loaded, spotted Radin walking briskly out of the smokes and loosed that arrow on him. The Prince ducked away of it in a twirl using the tips of his toes, and then stood up to fire a bolt right into the Issir¡¯s left eye. The steel-tipped bolt blasted out the back of the ranger¡¯s head ripping out a gory piece of skull-bone along the hair. ¡°Ladders!¡± a tensed Radin roared and proceeded to sprint across the street, just as the dead man hit the cobblestone with a squashing sound, followed by two more killed sentries. The remaining Issirs on the rooftop of the two-story building sounded the alarm, but the prince scaled vigorously the -set up against the wall- ladder, reached the overhang narrow balcony of sorts half-a-breath later, and stood on the rails athletically two seconds after that. Radin opened his arms wide to find his balance, tip-toed on the narrow stone rail and leaped high to catch the lip of the terrace. He heaved himself upwards, and by the time the grunting and gawking Tobro reached the balcony two meters underneath him, Radin had already managed to stand up on the edge of the large rooftop. Two rangers that had rushed to that side, after witnessing their friends drop dead from Radin¡¯s men earlier volley, cursed his sweet mother¡¯s origins and attacked him -each opting to do it in a different way. The first one had stopped abruptly to release an arrow from four meters away, but missed spectacularly. Radin had jerked aside with a sharp taunt and the grimacing Tobro that had climbed the edge of the rooftop a moment later, yelled a warning afore lobbing the spear towards him. Radin caught it behind his back without looking, span it around alike a windmill¡¯s blade, whilst moving away sharply from the Issir ranger¡¯s savage hack. The prince pivoted, the blade striking the plastered roof and then tripped up the stooping forward man. He used the long shaft with one arm to do it, and gave the faltering Issir a light shove on the shoulder with the other, to send him flying over the edge. The screaming man plunged to his death head first behind the Prince¡¯s back and Radin jumped forward towards the second ranger, now gripping the warspear with both hands. The Prince snapped his arms forward immediately ¨Cdropping the theatrics and the spear¡¯s blade skewered the Issir through the mouth, shattering the teeth and distorting the lower part of his face. Radin yanked the spear back, spraying gore in a wide arc over his head, then lithely leaped sideways, landing on a leg alike a dancer and charged the group of Issirs guarding the other edge of the rooftop that had rushed in turn to attack him.
¡°Oras¡¯ cold embrace awaits,¡± Sibast declared hoarsely, ¡°those touched by Bloodfang¡¯s shadow,¡± and downed his scimitar to cut off the gored Issir¡¯s head, finishing him off. The heavy-breathing Radin stood near the other edge of the cleared out building to examine Grand Hostel, its taller sides separated by a three meter narrow alley, but had to step away as a ranger fired an arrow that struck the lime plaster rim and stuck in the brittle material. ¡°Bring the ladder!¡± He yelled to his men, pausing at the sight of Hespu bleeding-out from a nasty cut near the collar in the arms of his half-brother Senet. The Cataphract was trying to speak, but spat blood instead of any meaningful words. ¡°Great Prince stand back!¡± Tobro pleaded as more arrows screamed across the gap aimed at them. Radin picked a discarded shield up to cover himself, and signaled heatedly for Ramses men to get moving with the long ladder. Not long enough to reach the Hostel¡¯s rooftop though. ¡°Aim it at that second-story window!¡± He bellowed pointing with the spear, an arrow whistling angry over his head and another coming apart on his shield¡¯s bronze boss. The next shot was a bolt that punched through the shield and Radin had to twist away from it, moving away from the edge and into the smoke coming from the fires bellow. ¡°Prince Radin,¡± Ramses bellowed to be heard from ten meters away, while four Horselords carried a long ladder across the targeted from bolts and arrows rooftop. Two made it at the edge and heaved the ladder across the alley like a drawbridge. ¡°My men have taken the stables! This is madness!¡± The moving about not to give an easy target Radin grimaced and glared at the Issirs that had brought more of their heavy crossbows on the Hostel¡¯s rooftop. The latter stood higher and gave their opponents a great vantage point to shoot at the scrambling for cover Horselords. Desert Spirits, Radin cursed furious. Why would you defend this all-gods forsaken place with such vigor? Elsanne must be here.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Try another way. ¡°Get me that kid Ramses!¡± An incensed Radin growled and then moved away to safety. Behind him a brave Horselord trying to navigate the ladder to reach the open window of the nearby building, got shot in the face by two arrows from a couple of snarling Issirs rangers that had appeared there. The last horse-archer sprinted to make it across in great panic, but the accursed Issirs heaved the ladder left and then right dislodging it. Screaming man and silent ladder plunged down together, but the Horselord hit the pavement half a second faster. - Half an hour later Madan¡¯s Hostel grounds The small square before the main entrance, facing the contested by Fliers and Ramses Pavilion¡¯s main street, two hundred meters from the Meat Market to the North and the chestnut stands before the warehouses of the fruit market to the south. ¡°The Duke will parley. That¡¯s what the prisoner thinks,¡± Sibast informed Radin. The Cataphract was bleeding down his right arm and he¡¯d a piece of a bolt still buried in the flesh there. ¡°Ah,¡± a tired Radin grunted and wiped some of the grime from his face with a silk cloth. ¡°Can we burn the building down in the meantime?¡± ¡°We are trying,¡± Sibast replied with a grimace of pain. ¡°It would¡¯ve been better if we had a couple of machines to collapse a wall your grace.¡± ¡°We could bring the horses and charge them against the doors,¡± Jurka suggested raspingly. ¡°It worked at the stables.¡± ¡°The Hostel has stairs at the fa?ade,¡± Radin retorted and had some water to wash his mouth. He spat it down with a curse. ¡°We can¡¯t risk losing the animals nor tire them needlessly. Speak,¡± Radin snapped spotting a messenger approach. ¡°Bata says,¡± the slave started and Radin remembered him. Darno was the ex-gladiator¡¯s manservant. ¡°Garai found the Queen¡¯s scum, but he might need help to clear the road.¡± ¡°He can¡¯t best a blasted rabble?¡± Radin retorted with a glare. ¡°Some famed Horselord he is,¡± he pursed his mouth seeing the looks on the men¡¯s faces. Somebody needs to usher in a new ethos, he thought sourly. We need to rid ourselves from these heavy shackles. These stupid parochial values of a bygone era and do as the Issirs or the Lorians. Be fucking flexible and diplomatic. ¡°Master Garai will clear the road great sheik,¡± Darno assured him. ¡°But the scum have the numbers. It will take time. He asks the Prince to come soon. Valuable time is lost, Garai warns.¡± Fuck him. Who does he think he is? ¡°Is the Queen with them?¡± Radin hissed. ¡°It is uncertain. The pirates fight under several unknown leaders and a pants-wearing woman named Anne Burton.¡± Fuck her. Cunt-loving ugly harlot! ¡°These are truce colors,¡± Tobro notified Radin and pointed at the visible front of the Hostel where an Issir had appeared carrying a staff with a cloth tied at its top. Radin stood up and walked near the rear of Ramses¡¯ men, busy repairing arrows. They were running low on war supplies. They had found fodder for the animals and raided the markets for foodstuff, but they were critically low on everything else. The prince¡¯s force wasn¡¯t built to lay siege or fight inside a settlement. ¡°Are they surrendering?¡± Sibast grunted and Radin sucked at his teeth, seeing another rider reaching them from the direction of the Leather Market. ¡°What is it?¡± Radin snapped at the Horselord, who bowed his head respectfully. ¡°Masud-Rum informs the Prince that enemies are pushing down the forest road. Out of Hunter¡¯s Cot, your grace.¡± Great. ¡°How many?¡± ¡°About a thousand. Not many cavalry or heavy infantry, but a lot of spears and bows. Hunting and farming tools aplenty,¡± the Horselord messenger expounded. ¡°Unfavorable terrain. He can¡¯t defend the road my prince. Masud-Rum is retreating towards us.¡± ¡°He must hold,¡± Radin grunted, his eyes on the Issir envoi discussing with Ramses. ¡°Masud-Rum urges the prince to regroup the army and strike west towards Even Fork,¡± the Horselord insisted. ¡°What are we looking for here? These were brave Sarto¡¯s words your grace.¡± God damn it. ¡°We are looking for an end to this campaign,¡± Radin retorted hoarsely, still watching Ramses. The Horse-Archer leader finished up with the Issir envoi and dispatched a runner back towards the watching prince. ¡°The task we were given is unfeasible. Something to buy the Khan time for a summer offensive and replenish the fleet. The plan for more failed, when Havor Dhin-Awal died without breaking through the Great Lakes.¡± ¡°Honor dictates we assist Lord Jorah and Lord Putra,¡± Sibast reminded the snarling Radin who glared at him. ¡°Winning shall favor the brave.¡± ¡°Winning shall come to the smart,¡± Radin grunted irate. ¡°We can cut off the head of the snake right here!¡± ¡°Great future Vizier,¡± the arriving young Horselord messenger ¨Csent by Ramses- saluted and bowed his head. ¡°Ramses informs the prince that the Duke wants to speak.¡± ¡°Surrender?¡± Radin asked hopefully. ¡°Just speak, your grace.¡± Everyone is nigh difficult today, a sour Radin thought.
The Cataphract Jurka stepped forward to do the talking, since he was better learned and the son of a camel merchant. Ramses, who outranked him but wasn¡¯t as educated in courtly manners, stood next to him, with Radin following some meters behind with Tobro. The three Issirs approaching the open area, were a heavy-set mid-aged sergeant-at-arms, probably Fliers, a well-dressed in a dark blue redingote with silver buttons austere old man and an even older, relic of a warrior that could barely walk, dressed in sturdy chainmail that incorporated a square, engraved chestplate depicting something between a crow and a vulture in dark silver, with hard-leather pants worn underneath. The skinny warrior had thinning, very dirty white hair, murky ogling eyes, a gaunt face with blemished dark skin -as wrinkled as a monkey¡¯s arsehole and had a nasty foul-toothed smirk on his crooked mouth. Fuck¡¯s sake, they didn¡¯t have any older dudes to send out? Radin wondered as the Issir trio¡¯s youngest member was the officer and he looked in his fifties at least. The other two were over seventy in a conservative estimate and looked much worse than the sick Khan who was almost eighty. ¡°You are in the presence of Prince Radin of the house Radpour,¡± Jurka started in the rich Rin An-Pur accent, his words coming out muffled as he¡¯d put his metal mask back on for the occasion. ¡°Lord of Jade Lake and the east coast, champion of the arena both in Eplas and Jelin. The famed Bloodfang. You have lost this battle. Surrender now and you shall live a good life as subjects of the Great Khan Burzin Radpour.¡± The well-dressed Issir, presumably the elder lord of Scaldingport, stepped forward. His old adjutant, knight or Shield ¨CRadin wasn¡¯t certain- snorted at the nervous Jurka¡¯s opening statement, but it turned into a hoarse cough. The uncouth knight cleaned his nose pressing a finger on each nostril in turn and then his throat, spitting down several times under the amused stares of the two opposing camps watching the meeting. ¡°The fight is undecided,¡± the Issir said with a peeved side-glance at his subordinate. ¡°You don¡¯t control the settlement and you are pressed from all directions Prince Radin. The Duke graciously offers you to surrender whilst you still can and spend the remainder of your days at Scaldingport¡¯s dungeons. Many have opted to take the deal in the past for fear of the alternative.¡± KRAA! Is he serious? Radin wondered, under the murmurs of the Horselords behind them and glanced at a large raven that had landed on the square about twenty meters away to feast on a corpse. Good grief, Radin thought shocked at the size of the bird that stood twice that of a grown peacock, if not bigger and with none of the grace. ¡°Did you just refer to yourself in the third person?¡± The Prince snapped angrily, returning his attention on the rigid Issir. ¡°You look to insult us Duke Ruud? Maybe the battle isn¡¯t going as well as your tales suggest?¡± He queried with a confident grin that got the bewildered Horselords out of their stunned stupor. Half of it at the appearance of the huge raven and the rest because of the Duke¡¯s insane, and insulting, counter-proposal. ¡°Your grace,¡± the well-dressed Issir replied stiffly, after clearing his throat in a more civilized manner than his knight. The man seemed to drift-away for a moment, the silence dragging in the small square, but then he came back with a jolt and continued. ¡°I¡¯m Lord Hubert Boss, Blackcrow¡¯s Pilar Chamberlain and Castellan,¡± the revived Hubert pointed a shaky finger at the scowling knight scratching at the unshaved, coarse skin of his left cheek. ¡°The Duke is present in person unfortunately for your lordship.¡± Radin stared at the other smirking relic frustrated. ¡°Had I known you speak decent Common, or be here yourself,¡± the real Duke Ruud said in a raspy, unpleasant voice. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have let our good Hubert do the talking. He¡¯s as dull as an old and sleepy giraffe.¡± Hubert perked up at the Duke¡¯s words, but then assumed his rigid pose again without a comment. Radin pursed his mouth. ¡°Your situation is untenable,¡± he finally said recovering his wits. ¡°I hold all the cards Duke Ruud. You are¡­ an experienced man. See reason.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve reason aplenty,¡± Ruud replied and crooked his head to the side, one eye marred by a violent tick. ¡°Matter of fact, I hate the plaguing sun over my head. This meeting is over. I ain¡¯t getting me brains boiled to converse with fools in the fucking open!¡± Come again? ¡°You either lay down your arms within thirty minutes,¡± Radin snarled narrowing his eyes. ¡°Or I¡¯ll have the Queen dragged out here and make you do it! My men have captured her and the child trying to escape. How about it you darn relic?¡± Ruud pressed his wrinkled mouth down tightly at first and then his lips split to show two rows of worn-out teeth that were surprisingly all there, but for a couple of gold ones thrown in the ghastly mix. Is that ischemic-stroke survivor, barely-functioning bag of rot grinning? ¡°There then huh¡­ Come the clumsy lies to prove how desperate you are,¡± Ruud rustled jarringly. ¡°Had ye gotten the queen all-shackled up boy, you¡¯d be hightailing it out of here to save Putra and not look for old Ruud to give up the ghost.¡± Radin furrowed his brows, teeth grinding and seriously considering to spear the obnoxious timeworn nobleman through the face, colors of truce be damned. ¡°How do you know?¡± He grunted hoarsely, a hesitant Jurka glancing at the angry prince nervously as they could hear horses and noise coming from the Leather Market. ¡°That I don¡¯t have her for sure? If the queen is with you Duke, then the boy must be hers and I have the boy.¡± Ruud smacked his lips audibly, but said nothing. ¡°I¡¯ll cut it up and let it bleed like a piglet, here in this very square,¡± Radin warned him with a hoarse hiss and felt the men standing around him tense up at his words. The Duke shrugged his shoulders indifferently. ¡°She¡¯ll have another brat unlike you. Ye actually thought I¡¯d just roll over you royal cunt? I rather fuck yer shitty face with me forearm! De Braal is thirty minutes away. Your men retreated from the woods.¡± Radin snarled, a tick marring his face and the Duke started snickering annoyingly, tears running down his drooping, blurry, and red-rimmed eyes. He stared at Ramses and the Horselord grimaced, his painted eyes darting to Jurka. The Cataphract¡¯s smiling metal mask left only the man¡¯s tensed eyes showing. ¡°Where is the kid?¡± Radin growled. ¡°My lord¡­¡± Ramses croaked and Radin blasted him irate. ¡°You¡¯ll answer your prince!¡± ¡°My men are bringing it here,¡± Ramses replied through clenched teeth. A rider had arrived near the injured Sibast and the grieving for Hespu helmless Senet, thirty meters behind them. The prince grimaced and turned around to hear the exchange, but spotted Amu and right behind him Masud-Rum. The Cataphract jumped from his warhorse and walked briskly towards Radin. ¡°Bloodfang, the Issirs are heading here,¡± Masud-Rum reported. ¡°I left the men at the Leather Market to keep control of the main road, but they are too many to risk a battle. We need to gather the men and head west¡ª¡± ¡°Where¡¯s the kid and the eunuch?¡± Radin cut him off curtly. Masud-Rum stood back not expecting the query. ¡°We found some of Ramses¡¯ men. They talked about a eunuch and a scrap near the Meat Market east of here.¡± ¡°Find out what¡¯s going on,¡± Radin ordered Ramses hoarsely and turned to glare at the mirthful Duke. Hubert seemed barely conscious, but Fliers appeared rather nervous, which led Radin to believe that matters weren¡¯t as the obnoxious ruler of Scaldingport presented. ¡°Does Elsanne agree with your decisions Ruud?¡± Radin asked tauntingly and walked up to the Issir delegation. ¡°How about we put them to the test? I¡¯ll tie the boy behind a horse and ride it around the square for a while. Eh? Did I strike a chord? Imagine the small guy bouncing off the stone-tiles like a bloody ball of hay. He might survive it, or he might not. I¡¯m a betting man, I¡¯ll take the first option. You should let her watch, but inform my wayward wife it was all your fault.¡± KRAA! A scowling Ruud pursed his wrinkled mouth and then wiggled a half-crooked nose around. A strange stillness had fallen on the square, with Horselords and Issirs watching from their covered positions at the edges or the Hostel¡¯s windows. ¡°Stew on it,¡± Radin suggested mockingly and turned around to return to his men leaving the Issir delegation behind. He passed by the silent Jurka and the tensed Masud-Rum. The Prince had reached with an arm to usher the Cataphract along, when Duke Ruud¡¯s rasping voice broke the stillness. ¡°The rule of three things,¡± Ruud grunted and Radin paused with a frown to twist around. ¡°The Queen, the boy and this scrap decided the old way.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not familiar with the custom,¡± Radin retorted unsure. ¡°What one wants must earn it in the field,¡± Ruud elucidated. ¡°Times three, since you are a greedy cunt.¡± Radin licked his lips thoughtfully. What¡¯s your angle here old shit? Are you desperate? Why not wait to see if I have the boy for sure? Is Elsanne watching? Radin examined the large fa?ade windows of the Grand Hostel, teeming with armed Issirs. He raised his eyes to the second and then the third floor but didn¡¯t spot Elsanne anywhere. Hmm. ¡°No man fights three duels in a row,¡± the thoughtful Prince argued. Does the Duke think I¡¯m stupid? ¡°Three challengers, for three prizes. You are good at that I hear,¡± Ruud said and stood back with a grimace of pain, his right arm shaking. ¡°I reckon to put myself forth,¡± the elderly Duke continued and those Issirs and Horselords that heard him gasped audibly. ¡°If you are, Prince Radin.¡± - Chapter two -Sometimes things are not as they appear- -
Garai regrouped after dispatching a rider to the Prince to ask for reinforcements, or the army moving out of the Pavilion as he could sense the Blood Raiders wouldn¡¯t withstand another attack. He kept Bata to the south flank and prepared a frontal assault in three waves to rout the pirates amassing in front of him. Before the attack was launched a large group of Issir cavalry arrived from the west under the banner of Sir Gust De Weer. The Crows should have galvanized the unruly crowd, but several groups and wagons appeared to retreating down the west road towards Even Fork instead. Garai, who had considered postponing the attack charged his whole force against the disorganized mob. Sir Gust De Weer, who had his eye on the Horselords all the time, counter-charged with Sir Jan Reuten at the speartip of the formation and angled a second group of riders south to cut off Bata¡¯s flanking attack. The two forces smashed together, the lancers holding advantage for the first minutes of the brutal engagement dropping several knights and killing Sir Reuten¡¯s horse from under him. Some of the lancers penetrated as deep as the fleeing wagons, but the Blood Raiders, now reformed and split in several attack teams, surrounded the Horselords and cut them down, killing men and animals alike. Sir Gust stayed on the saddle remarkably and stopped Bata¡¯s riders advance. He got bogged down next in savage fighting from very close quarters, registering twelve kills in ten minutes and mauling Bata with a boot to the face that splintered the unhorsed ex-gladiator¡¯s skull. In the violent scrap that erupted all about the blood-drenched road Axel Mudriver scored the next most kills and was praised for reaching the surrounded Sir Reuten to break him out. The very-experienced Garai ordered his men to pull back upon seeing the danger and the Horselords nearest him turned around managing to disengage. All twenty seven of them. Sir Stefan De Braal tried to catch Masud-Rum¡¯s force inside the denser north woods near Hunter¡¯s Cot, attacking from the flanks through the trees but he lacked horses and the Cataphract disengaged timely towards the Pavilion. Masud-Rum rode inside the Leather Market ¨Cto the northwest of the deceptively called ¡®tiny¡¯ due to its small permanent population, sprawling on both sides of the road trade settlement- and witnessed Ramses¡¯ Horse-Archers retreating from the east, where the animal and meat markets stood. Near noon, Viscount De Moss¡¯ spear militia arrived at the Pavilion force-marching from Rusted (about three hundred soldiers pressed into service earlier that month for the campaign at Castalor) and attacked Ramses Horselords that were already pressed hard from Hendrik Jagger and his rangers from the south. Jagger had reached the warehouses south of the Pavilion, and immediately attempted to cut both exits to the settlement. His men got pushed back by Khafra¡¯s riders near the west supply camps, but fared better against Ramses¡¯ men. A peculiar incident happened during that time or a bit earlier, which might have influenced the Issirs and Horselords¡¯ fierce contest over this part of the east road, beyond the simple need to block reinforcements coming from Rusted. A small convoy of carriages carrying prince Reinut out of the settlement was ambushed by Ramses men. The little baby changed hands several times, with Issirs and Horselords fighting fiercely over it, but somehow survived the horrid ordeal with a nasty injury to his left leg. A stray arrow had killed his milk-maid and lodged in the baby¡¯s calf poisoning the wound. The Queen¡¯s eunuch managed to get baby Reinut away in the confusion, whilst hunted down inside the animals market by Ramses¡¯ men and Jagger¡¯s advanced parties of rangers, who mistaken him for a Cofol due to his strange appearance (the brave eunuch named Jasi, was actually of Lorian origins) almost killing him. The arrow hit Jasi on the shoulder, breaking the bone and ruining his arm for life, but due to his efforts little Reinut made it near a Tail animal Dottore following Jagger¡¯s men. The little prince was saved, but had trouble walking henceforth. The other Prince present, was hard-pressed by his subordinates to end the siege and regroup on open ground out of the settlement, but Radin, who had managed to corner Duke Ruud and his entourage inside Madan¡¯s Hostel, after taking over most of the surrounding buildings (two burning warehouses and Madan¡¯s stables), perceptively realized he could save the whole campaign by getting his hands on the old Duke or the young Reinut. The first would have rattled Scaldingport (a duchy that hadn¡¯t sniffed at a succession since the winter of 138 NC almost fifty-seven years in the past, but was notoriously difficult to rule having endured both short and long but bloodily disputed reigns in its past. Ruud II had taken over from his robust uncle Gust I, after having him murdered at the ¡®Muddy Oaks affair¡¯ ¨Ca moniker for the forested northern approach to Patience Plateau- in a famous bloody ambush that left eighty slain from both parties rotting in the mud. The unwilling to give up the throne Gust I, had succeeded the incensed Ruud¡¯s ailing father Rik the second, after forcing the latter to abdicate by parking three hundred men-at-arms from Forestfort under ¡®Blackcrow¡¯s Pilar¡¯ shade, seven years earlier) and perhaps coerce this major Issir duchy out of the campaign. The second would have brought the rebel Queen to terms theoretically, or used as a bargaining chip to get Lord Putra out of Boarsnout Peninsula. Fifteen years later, no one has any idea what exactly transpired inside Merchant Pavilion¡¯s small square. The Khanate survivors avoid to speak about the matter for their own reasons and the controversial Pirate Queen of Kaletha¡¯s two Shrines, and the South Seas -from Burrows Reefs and port, to the great Veer¡¯s Gulf and sinister Krakentrap Straits, all the way to the fabled Sinking Isles, has her own problems to open another can of worms.
- Afternoon Radin lodged the tip of his tongue under his palate, trying to block out the noise raised by the reacting Horselords and Issirs present. Things always change, success and failure a clumsy acrobat attempting to balance on a tight rope, twenty meters above the circus¡¯ gravel floor and the undulating packed auditorium¡¯s hall. What¡¯s the catch old man? Is your pride urging you to get out in a blaze of glory? KRAA!
We¡¯re in this together, a still injured Radin had told the teenage princess mere weeks before Hajot had crossed over to join the spirits of the Great Steppe, forever riding his favorite horse free of life¡¯s constraints, and singing the desert¡¯s heroes songs of valor. Where are you princess? Will you not watch this time?
¡°Hah,¡± Radin smiled shaking his head at the Duke¡¯s attempt. ¡°You expect me to fight against the corpse of a man? You are out of your mind Duke Ruud.¡± ¡°You, and two of your subjects,¡± Ruud retorted, blinking his irritated cloudy eyes that were tearing up continuously. This half-blind idiot is plagued by cataracts, Radin thought amused. ¡°Reckon I have a good enough chance to pull it off and I¡¯m pretty motivated. Ayup.¡± ¡°Uhm,¡± Radin said smacking his lips. ¡°Not in this realm. This challenge is beneath me. You¡¯ll come groveling to parley when I get my hands on the kid,¡± he added and waved the Duke off turning around. ¡°I¡¯m already here,¡± Ruud grunted raising his voice and Radin stared at Masud-Rum¡¯s and Jurka¡¯s identical smiling masks that reflected the prince¡¯s own face back at him. ¡°Sword in hand and sound of mind to mandate vengeance Prince of the Emerald Lakes. You blinded my son and he now runs about an unwed cripple! Reckon you also have your own lofty reasons, else why lose all those men fighting over chestnut sacks, produce stands and provincial stables eh? Here then, I voiced my reasons afore the all-gods and the Others. Now, if I left something out, I¡¯m too old to give a crap!¡± Hubert made to correct the Duke on the correct number and name of Lakes, but decided not to with a spasm that distorted his aged face. ¡°He¡¯s no challenge,¡± Radin explained to the Horselords that eyed him judgmentally behind the metal masks. ¡°The reasoning is sound my lord prince,¡± Jurka argued. ¡°The old father¡¯s challenge though poor, can¡¯t be turned down.¡± Damnation. ¡°Fliers will be my second,¡± Ruud added with a nod at the sturdy officer. ¡°He¡¯s the best blade this side of Veer¡¯s Gulf, right Fliers?¡± ¡°Well,¡± Fliers started unsure, but the Duke stopped him with another curt gesture and a shake of his dilapidated head. Radin murmured under his breath and turned around again to glare at the annoying nobleman. ¡°I win this challenge of the three, and you¡¯ll surrender the place and the Queen to me?¡± ¡°Um,¡± Ruud deadpanned with a grunt, a nervous flick in his eyes and Radin realized the Queen was not there after all. Son of a bitch, he thought. ¡°I¡¯ll take Jurka and Masud-Rum,¡± Radin announced, deciding to finish off the old Duke and his guards leader, collapsing all resistance inside the settlement, afore the Duke¡¯s reinforcements arrived. Then he would deal with De Braal and turning around, head west to hit Robert at the rear or force him to terms holding a knife under the boy¡¯s chin. Radin wasn¡¯t going to harm the boy. ¡°My prince,¡± Masud-Rum protested and Radin turned his head to glare at his old friend. ¡°That¡¯s overkill.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take the Raven,¡± Ruud added before Radin could chastise the Cataphract. CRAW? The large raven croaked raising its bloody beak from the corpse¡¯s cut open chest. ¡°The bird?¡± The confused Prince queried staring at the Duke¡¯s wrinkled face. ¡°You said subjects and will the bird even fight for you?¡± ¡°The Raven is my subject. A bad rash in the groin I can¡¯t rid myself of,¡± Ruud replied over the huge bird¡¯s loud protests. ¡°Whether it fights or not, it¡¯s my problem. And the bird¡¯s I suppose,¡± he added with a sly smirk. Is he terminally ill? This is suicide. Then again, there might be something here, I haven¡¯t figured out yet. These people train these birds and one of that size might provide distraction. Hmm. Radin stared at the black beady eyes of the Raven intently. ¡°Masud-Rum is right,¡± the prince said loudly. ¡°We don¡¯t need three Cataphracts to best a couple of old men and a blooming bird.¡± The prince searched the faces of those around him and spotted the old Issir hunter Valk, keeping his distance behind the Horselords. ¡°So I¡¯ll take an old Issir as well. Valk, come here. Valk would be the third Duke Ruud. He¡¯s my subject now as he helped me come here safely,¡± he added to burn Valk¡¯s bridges with the vile Duke. ¡°Did he then?¡± Ruud queried. ¡°Demeter told me all about it,¡± the Duke added and the old royal-hunter¡¯s dark skin paled. ¡°Live long enough and everyone shall eventually betray you, the young missus and a gaggle of old friends stab you in the fucking back. Then turn around and fuck their brains out alike rabbits to celebrate all about it! Right Hubert?¡± ¡°I reject the accusation my liege,¡± Hubert Boss argued civilly and added in a cautious manner. ¡°You should perhaps reconsider.¡± ¡°Nay,¡± Ruud said simply and gestured for Hubert to get back to the entrance of the Hostel. Fine, Radin decided and signaled in turn for Tobro to bring his warspear. ¡°Bring me the good dagger as well,¡± the Prince added and stared at the uneasy Valk. ¡°Just shoot the bird and it¡¯ll fly away,¡± he told the ranger. ¡°Or kill it, if you have to.¡± ¡°My Prince, this is unnecessary,¡± Jurka argued. ¡°The old man is obviously not well.¡± ¡°Well or not, we bring down the vile Duke and this charade is over,¡± Radin retorted. ¡°You raised your brows earlier to shame me, don¡¯t back away now. Ah, get your crossbow also,¡± the prince advised and seeing the Cataphract¡¯s eyes flare up angrily Radin added. ¡°The hunter might be a lousy shot.¡±
KRAA! The Raven croaked warningly when Valk aimed his bow at it. The old hunter hesitated and the impatient to get it over with Radin bellowed at the top of his lungs. ¡°TAKE THE SHOT VALK!¡± Then rushed the scowling Duke, leaving Fliers to Jurka who had opted for a shield and a scimitar to match the sturdy sergeant¡¯s weapons. Radin went in with his warspear, because he¡¯d enough of Duke Ruud to give him more of a chance. Radin danced on his feet in his lighter cuirass, spinning the spear around and tested the old Duke that waited for the attack, stooped over his sword as if it was a cane. The spear surged forward and the Old Crow reacted giving a light kick to his upturned blade that rose sideways to parry the heavy warspear away with a loud clang. Eh, Radin cursed and leaped left into a dive. He used the butt of the spear mid-air as a vault pole to summersault three meters away, and landed on his two feet with a forced smile. He didn¡¯t expect Ruud to manage even a single defense. He span the spear over his right shoulder with ease, lowering his head to allow it to freely travel on his back and switched arms grabbing the shaft with the left. ¡°Duck, old bones,¡± Radin forewarned the Duke and attacked again, jumping left and right before delivering a brutal wide arching slash at chest level. The Raven snorted and then blinked its shining black, beady eyes. Ruud dropped his sword vertically and Radin¡¯s switching trajectory mid-air slash banged on the Duke¡¯s lowered blade, the force of the blow shoving Ruud back on faltering knees. Radin sidestepped with a long deft stride and snapped his arm forward again nailing a glancing blow on Ruud¡¯s plate that dented as the Duke was pushed back again with a snarling grunt. Radin attacked again, closing the distance. An aimed high thrust that went sideways on the retreat to open a bleeding cut on Ruud¡¯s forehead, when the old warrior managed to jerk away at the last possible moment. Ruud stumbled on his feet, the momentum dragging him forward but didn¡¯t fall on his weakening knees somehow, showing great resilience. Radin walked around him confidently, keeping an eye on Jurka¡¯s much more equal sword-fight with Fliers, each man keeping safe behind his shield and attacking with careful thrusts. ¡°You are a good fighter Ruud. I¡¯ll give you that. You just met me a couple of decades too late. Might even be three or four.¡± ¡°Still¡­ too soon for you,¡± an out of breath Ruud grunted hoarsely, his throat clogged with phlegm and half his face covered in blood. ¡°Mmm,¡± Radin murmured and thrusted the spear to cripple the old man¡¯s right leg. He missed somehow and the Duke¡¯s rising blade almost took his nose right off. The blade zipping past his face like an angry bug. Fuck. Radin jumped away alarmed and glared at the bleeding, heavy-breathing, but nastily smirking Ruud. ¡°What in the Spirits? That¡¯s twice you dodged¡­¡± Radin cursed and glanced about him for the culprit. Someone was helping the Duke, but not in the regular manner you¡¯d expect. The Prince¡¯s eyes scanned the tense faces of those watching nearby and then at the windows of the Hostel for any duplicitous magic user. He¡¯d been around sorcerers to know they could manipulate events. But nothing stood out. KRAA! The Raven croaked snapping Radin out of his stupor and spotted the grimacing with each stride Ruud, sneakily attacking him. The Prince parried the blade away, made two backwards steps and one sharp to the right, then launched forward from that leg, to thrust at the faltering Ruud from the sides. The spear leveled and then lunged headlong at the turning to parry Ruud. Too fucking slow for the mighty Bloodfang. You wretched bag of rot! Radin bellowed inwardly, the momentum driving him forward, but the impact of the spear¡¯s blade on the Duke¡¯s ribcage never materialized. The spear found nothing but air instead and the arched Prince stumbled forward trying to find his footing, leather boots drumming on the stone tiles. Boom. Boom. Crack. For the first two strides that is, as then the sound changed when Radin stepped on softer ground and the noon sun bathing the square turned into a moonlit evening inside an old forest. Soaked black moss covered the huge tree trunks and falling drizzle touched his face from the outstretched thick branches. A bewildered Radin cursed tripping on his feet in the half-dark, almost went down when his boot found a protruding from the earth old root, but just barely kept his balance using the spear to stop his momentum. The prince stared at the empty dark forest, feeling a shiver running up his spine and then spotted a raven resting on a low branch, next to a snoring monkey and a hissing snake. The bird stared directly at the gasping Prince, who despite the bird¡¯s normal size recognized its mean expression. ¡°You,¡± Radin grunted clenching his teeth. ¡°What the fuck is this place?¡± The monkey jolted awake at the sound of his voice, opened its eyes and stared at the raven annoyed. ¡°Bugs, don¡¯t do that mate. Big guy turns livid, when you stick your darn beak in his business.¡± ¡°Uh?¡± Radin gasped, equally shocked at the talking monkey and confused about the exchange. The Raven¡¯s eyes blinked once and Radin heard its throaty voice delivering a cryptic response, just as the world changed around him and the prince found himself inside the busy square again. ¡°The Others Realm, beyond the big guy¡¯s Desert of Souls,¡± the raven told the stupefied Radin.
Radin faltered on his legs, twisted around in panic feeling a blade grazing his ribs and just barely jerked away from it. Had Ruud been faster, he would have gutted the distracted Radin right there. The Prince swung the spear wildly to keep the cursing Ruud away and then retreated to gather his wits from the otherworldly encounter. Not a moment later, the prince turned his eyes on the procrastinating Valk and roared irate. ¡°KILL THE FUCKING RAVEN!¡± ¡°I missed¡ª¡± Valk retorted but Radin would have none of it. ¡°DO IT! SHOOT THE BIRD!¡± The prince growled manically, spittle flying out of his mouth, still having the shivers from the creepy encounter. ¡°KILL IT. FOR FUCK¡¯S SAKE!¡± Jurka glanced at the yelling prince and then at the bird. He hacked at Fliers¡¯ shield to create separation and stepping back dropped his own shield to unclasp the crossbow he carried on his back. Radin cursed and swung at the limping Ruud that had approached again, a pained scowl distorting the Duke¡¯s grotesquely smeared face. Jurka loaded the crossbow, using one of the spare bolts he¡¯d inserted in his dagger¡¯s sheath and made to take a shot at the large Raven that watched his moves diligently with gawking eyes. Fliers rushed the distracted Cataphract, just as the bird opened its wings and flew away. Jurka was forced to retreat, lowered the crossbow to reach for his sheathed sword, but Fliers stabbed the Cataphract with his longsword in the gut and dropped him. Radin growled at this unexpected turn of events and sprinted near the rolling on the ground injured Jurka. Fliers hacked down savagely and got the flaying Horselord below the right ankle, severing foot and boot away, a torrent of blood thick as a drainage tube splashing two meters out. Jurka growled badly maimed and injured, Fliers raised the sword to hack at him again but Radin¡¯s spear stopped the sturdy sergeant punching through his back in an upwards trajectory and exploding out, creating a ghastly crater bellow his chin. Fliers dropped to his knees, gurgling and spraying blood, his sword clanging down. Radin yanked the spear back with a grunt, and the raven¡¯s claws teared at the upper side of his head as it suddenly dived against him. Radin felt a piece of his skin detaching along with the hair and slashed at the flying low large bird, but missed it. ¡°Valk, you piece of shit!¡± The hurt Radin growled, blood trickling down his forehead and a part of his hairline missing, leaving a bloody strip of exposed flesh behind. He felt more than saw Ruud near him and rolled to the side under the Duke¡¯s slash, kicking a leg out to catch the faltering Ruud at the left hip. Ruud went into a comical twirl, his blade swinging wildly the other way and Radin had to step away to avoid losing any valuable body parts, just as the large flying Raven, swung around and leveled to attack him again from about ten meters away. Radin opened his mouth to release a frenzied growl of anger and some meters to his right Jurka, who was half-dead from blood loss, stood on an elbow to aim his crossbow at the incoming flying monster. The Raven angled to avoid Radin¡¯s raised spear, ogled a black left eye spotting Jurka¡¯s bolt screaming its way and banked hard right in order to avoid it. He didn¡¯t. The bolt ripped through the raven¡¯s left wing, blowing black feathers and dark blood away and the large bird plummeted on the stone-tiles with loud pained craws of pure disdain. It rolled like a black ball on the stone tiles and came to a stop about ten meters behind the recoiling Radin. Recoiling because the persistent, looking as healthy as Jurka Lord Ruud ¨Cand the Cataphract had just fainted into a death stupor- had attacked again while Radin was distracted. This time opening a deep gush on the Prince¡¯s left shoulder, cutting through the cuirass¡¯ outer leather and inner padding. Had the blade gone a bit lower, Radin would have lost the arm, as the armour he had on left his forearms a little exposed for better speed. ¡°The Prince!¡± Tobro yelled and made to hurl a spear at the faltering Ruud ¨Cthe latter had received a backhand from Radin- but was stopped by Masud-Rum. The Cataphract shoved the slave away. ¡°Only those named beforehand fight!¡± Masud-Rum barked at the snarling Tobro and Amu stepped between them to prevent the furious slave from using his spear on Masud-Rum. Tobro did it anyway and skewered the shocked Amu through the torso. Radin had attacked the visibly worn-out from the intense scrap Ruud, but had blood in his eyes and a hurting left arm so he wasn¡¯t as effective. Still the Prince¡¯s spear slipped the Duke¡¯s weakened defenses and stabbed him on the chest once -breaking a rib, but not penetrating deep enough. Ruud faltered and hacked at the leaping forward like a viper Radin. The still very nimble Prince jerked aside, twisting his torso to avoid the plunging blade and keeping the tired Duke¡¯s sword arm away with the spear-shaft, moved in to stab Ruud above the fourth rib with his curved dagger, barely missing the heart -but ruining a lung. The injured Duke cursed, spitting out a lot of blood mixed with yellow phlegm, and Radin stepped back to find the room to use his spear properly, which he managed flawlessly, a smile forming on his bloody but handsome face.
Ralnor¡¯s other hand landed on a younger Radin¡¯s nose breaking it, and turned the prince¡¯s grin into a muffled groan of pain. The Zilan kicked the spear away and retrieved his own sword from the ground. ¡®A good move ends with a kill,¡¯ Ralnor explained, sounding bored out of his mind. ¡®Ending it with a bratty chuckle is a tactic better used, when you respond to a jest. This was a duel.¡¯
The next moment the Prince had doubled over with a groan of mind-numbing pain, as an arrow had penetrated so deep into his left thigh, the steel head had punched out the other way after grazing the bone. Radin faltered, almost going down and managed to stay upright with the use of his spear. He glared manically at the reloading tensed Stef Valk, the old hunter¡¯s eyes hollowed out from fear. ¡°Fucking ruffian!¡± Radin growled trying to extract the arrow unsuccessfully. With a curse he started limping towards Valk. The Issir hunter loosed another arrow, but the irate prince swatted it away spinning his spear around alike a windmill. ¡°You¡¯ll shoot me!¡± Radin roared, frothing at the mouth and Valk stumbled back to retreat. ¡°Lad,¡± a tired Ruud was heard, getting the words out with difficulty. ¡°Ain¡¯t no way¡­ out of this. Ye go get him now. Think of yer family, all them young lads and lasses,¡± Ruud continued hoarsely, still trying to gain on Radin, who despite limping on a bad leg, was still moving faster than the old Duke. ¡°There¡¯s a good lad,¡± Ruud said, when a pale-faced Stef Valk unsheathed a shortsword to assault the injured Prince that was advancing on him. Radin cursed, quickly realized he couldn¡¯t allow the fresh Valk to approach -given his injuries, so the prince flung the spear upwards like the Hoplites of old, caught it deftly with his good arm and chucked it with a mighty roar against the charging Issir. Bloodfang wins, motherfucker! Caught him squarely on the chest from five meters away and impaled the man¡¯s torso like a fish nailed on a harpoon. Radin saw none of that as Ruud¡¯s sword had pierced his kidneys in the meantime, the sharp blade cutting through the hardened leather easily. Ruud kicked the groaning Prince on the back to get the blade out and almost went down himself, stumbling about on shaky knees. The badly injured Radin, groaned desperately as he rolled away on the stone-tiles, trying to get away from the slowly approaching grimacing Duke. This time though, the injured, badly limping and generally slow-moving Ruud, was faster than the Prince. Damnation, a badly injured Radin thought, frantically trying to stand using his good arm, but failing repeatedly slipping on his own blood. He dropped back on the hard tiles with his back, his wound sending jolts of pain to his brain. ¡°You cheated!¡± Radin groaned through his teeth, at the blinking to clear the blood from his eyes Ruud. ¡°Where¡¯s your honor?¡± ¡°Lost it to yer mother.¡± ¡°You vile snake!¡± ¡°Listen, I picked¡­ the raven,¡± Ruud replied hoarsely and spat a mouthful of blood and phlegm that had clogged his injured lung between his legs. It came out like gory vomit. ¡°You picked¡­ Valk.¡± ¡°The Raven¡­ used magic, you fucking bastard!¡± The ravaged by extreme pain Radin growled furious, ogling his swollen eyes at the towering over him Old Crow. ¡°You dumb dead fool,¡± Ruud croaked, clenching his jaw tightly. ¡°This is my sixth decade on the darn throne. You think that blasted bird¡­ is all that kept me there?¡± Radin opened his mouth to blast the insufferable relic of a ruler, but Ruud¡¯s naked blade snapped abruptly and half the prince¡¯s face turned into a gory mess. ¡°No more words for you,¡± Ruud rustled raspingly, then added with an amused stare at the shuddering in his death throes Radin¡¯s ravaged face. ¡°Shit. I was going for the ear, or the eye. Arm is all shaky from the plaguing exertion. Oh, well¡­ was about to torture you anyways. Folk habitually die after the first session, so you didn¡¯t miss much,¡± he turned around with a groan and eyed the frozen Horselords watching him with utter shock, those that didn¡¯t have a smiling mask on that is, for a long moment. He had to take a moment. Ruud was out of breath since the start of the duel. -
¡®Well then, there¡¯s that matter dealt with. Uhm. Now, any of you fancy cunts has me grandson¡­¡¯ the barely standing, injured, Lord Ruud had allegedly said all serious, after killing Bloodfang, the infamous Prince Radin of all people, in a bloody duel of the three. ¡®Best you return him unharmed, afore I finish cutting this one up some more. I got to feed the bloody bird for lending a hand you see. Ayup.¡¯ The surviving Horselords took the first deal and retreated from the Pavilion either from shock at the prince¡¯s unexpected and brutal demise, or because they remembered Hubert Boss¡¯ words from earlier. And feared the timeworn ruler¡¯s counter-offer.
518. Leftovers
¡°Ah,¡± Liko sighed and stared at the emotional Bert Ottis. The two young mercenaries had located the old Northman, just where the departing soldiers had told them he was. ¡°We¡¯re too late.¡± The covered with a blanket Crafton had been cut open from armpit to hip and despite the medics¡¯ efforts to patch him up, he couldn¡¯t be saved. Maybe if a sorcerer was around, Liko thought sniffling and grimacing as he¡¯d been hurt as well. His left knee was swollen and he could barely see from his half-closed right eye after the Charioteer¡¯s blow. ¡°That you¡­ kid?¡± Crafton murmured without opening his eyes. Liko gasped and went to hug the pale Northman, who groaned in pain and cursed him. ¡°Apologies¡­¡± Liko croaked. ¡°Bert is here¡ª¡± ¡°I don¡¯t¡­ care,¡± Crafton spat and half-coughed half-moaned in a protracted manner as if he was dying right then and there. Then again, Liko thought. He is¡­ damn. ¡°Fuck¡­¡± Crafton cracked a foggy blue eye open to look at the sad teenagers. ¡°Got any¡­¡± Crafton started coughing unable to finish his words. ¡°Liquor?¡± Liko chanced. ¡°Potion¡­¡± ¡°What?¡± Ottis queried unsure. ¡°Glen¡­ has some.¡± Crafton explained and grimaced pleadingly. ¡°There¡¯s¡­ still time.¡± Liko pursed his mouth down trying to keep the tears in but failed. He hated the Northman growing up, but also loved him because Liko had no one else to take care of him. ¡°Glen isn¡¯t here mister Crafton,¡± Ottis reminded the injured former thief sadly. ¡°Look¡­ again. Thought¡­ you came here with a cure. Left with the dumb fucks¡­ shit,¡± Crafton coughed and looked about him confused. ¡°This is¡­ a good spot. Eh¡­ reminds me of home.¡± ¡°It¡¯s really nice,¡± Liko agreed sniffling and fixed the blanket that had dropped revealing a lot of bloody bandages. ¡°It¡¯s a great a spot.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Ottis agreed and Crafton stared at both of them for a moment intently. ¡°Last thing¡­ I wanted,¡± he croaked with difficulty. ¡°Was spending¡­ me last moments¡­¡± ¡°In the fields?¡± Ottis asked curious and Crafton grimaced in the attempt to smile. Then he closed his eyes again to reply sounding pretty unhappy. ¡°Nay¡­¡± the former thief said hoarsely. ¡°Wit you two idiots. I liked Glen the most. The kid has brains.¡± ¡°Hah,¡± Liko laughed in between sniffles. ¡°He don¡¯t mean it,¡± Liko assured his friend and Crafton opened his eyes again with a pained gasp. He glared at them pretty pissed for a long moment and finally grumbled, barely managing to get the words out. ¡°I fuckin¡¯ do.¡± And then he died.
Sir Gust De Weer Raven of Dawn Lord ¡®Veer¡¯* Leftovers
*from the archaic pronunciation of the Ikete Issir noble name ¡®De Weer¡¯, a title all of late Duke Henk De Weer¡¯s kin shared or were addressed by the common people, along with the later more- frequently used ¡®Lord Crow¡¯. Early evening, 5th of Tertius of 195NC Gust stopped the nervous Khanate Steppe stallion Hisan lugging at the reins, all the Desert Crows riders doing the same behind him and waited for the murky figure coming from the opposite direction to approach them. For a while only the clopping of hooves could be heard and then the rider came out of the thick mist of the chilly forest road. Just like Gust and Hisan, his warhorse and the man himself were covered in dark-brown mud. The man had the glaring Osprey of Forestfort sitting on a thick branch, engraved on his chestplate in grime-smeared silver. ¡°Sir Beren Kuik,¡± Gust rustled when the mid-aged knight came to a stop two meters away from him, Beren¡¯s horse shooting vapors from its nostrils, illuminated in the yellow light from the burning torches Gust¡¯s men carried. ¡°Bit late in the evening for a stroll,¡± he added following Robert¡¯s advice to be more-friendly with people, but it came out like a threat due to his baritone voice and gruff manner. ¡°Milord Veer,¡± the mid-aged Beren greeted him equally rigidly in turn, tired bearded face visible as he¡¯d raised the face cover. A former man-at-arms, knighted from the Duke fifteen years ago ¡®for services rendered¡¯. ¡°We be looking to clear out the road from Horselords.¡± Gust nodded and sucked at his teeth. ¡°The Blood Raiders camp is empty. We just passed it by,¡± he informed the semi-retired knight that had property at Hunter¡¯s Cot. Beren was Stefan De Braal¡¯s right hand man, one of his squires in his youth. As with all the Duke¡¯s loyal people, Beren was up there in years and approaching sixty now, but some of the Old Crows -themselves older than Beren, and Gust could see the half-concealed in fog men-at-arms standing silent on their horses behind the sturdy knight in order to watch the exchange- were still calling Sir Beren ¡®the young Osprey¡¯. ¡°Reckoned they¡¯ll head north, up the forest path,¡± Beren replied, managing an even hoarser rustle than Gust. ¡°I have men guarding the turn.¡± The ¡®turn¡¯ was a narrow hunter trail through the thick forest a little ahead of them, to the east. They couldn¡¯t be talking for the same Horselords though, Gust thought with frown. ¡°Who helped them find the roads?¡± Gust asked, although he could guess how Radin had pulled that off. Elsanne didn¡¯t think Loes would ever betray her, but Loes Valk had probably thought Elsanne would never leave her behind at Dia Castle as well. More than one person could be right at the same time, or have their own legitimate reasons for reacting as they did, which was why Gust didn¡¯t enjoy discussing matters too much. Dig deep enough and all manner of confusing stuff might be unearthed. ¡°Turncoat scum,¡± Beren rustled a curt reply, pursing his mouth. ¡°But we be looking to clear the woods from them as well.¡± Um. So Gust didn¡¯t dwell on the old knight¡¯s reasoning. More often than not people just follow orders. - An hour later Evening Merchant¡¯s Pavilion, the widened part of the main road called the ¡®square¡¯ before Florentine Madan¡¯s Grand Hostel. Half of the Pavilion¡¯s buildings had been damaged. A couple of warehouses still burning, the Leather Market¡¯s huts and stands thoroughly raided, smashed up and smoking. They had left the market behind and rode down the lightly populated road, mainly from returning merchants or locals, trying to salvage their properties, goods and spoiled produce. The fight for the Pavilion had spilt to the North and South districts, but mainly in the center, around Madan¡¯s tall building. Gust could see the dying flames and thick smoke polluting the square, coming from the collapsed stables east of the Hostel and the half-destroyed warehouse standing next to it. The alleys filled with debris, dead horses and people. Both dead and living. The dead were laid to rest -in the middle of the lit up with torches secured on tall poles square, one next to each other, right on its gore-covered, debris littered, stone tiles. Horselords and Issirs alike were feasted upon from the crows that had either arrived from Rusted, or Gust¡¯s own men had brought with them. Benches and blankets had been brought out of the damaged, but intact Hostel and many injured soldiers were trying to find some rest in close proximity to the corpses. Militia men from Rusted, some of Mitch Jaeger¡¯s Rangers still guarding the large building¡¯s approaches with weary eyes, with a group of Scaldingport¡¯s heavy infantry guards gathered loosely around the Hostel¡¯s entrance. The arriving on Hisan, De Weer scion spotted Sigurd Bach and Katers talking with Flo Madan nearby and recognized Sir Stefan De Braal¡¯s familiar all-black, engraved armour that had the same crest as Sir Beren Kuik¡¯s at the front ¨Cbut with the added grey crow landing next to it, carrying a small shield with its claws- who had his back turned to Gust. On the hide-covered bench in front of Sir Braal, right next to the large doors Gust immediately recognized his sitting father. The scrawny Ruud¡¯s torso was wrapped up with bloody bandages and the Duke had a dark-blue robe thrown over his crooked shoulders, his sword resting upturned on his right knee. The Duke¡¯s left hand was covered in blood and was talking to a nervous crow that walked about at his feet. De Braal heard the guards¡¯ murmurs dying around him and turned to eye Gust soberly. ¡°The Queen?¡± Scaldingport¡¯s ancient shield asked. ¡°Safe.¡± Gust retorted and glanced behind the armoured knight at his injured father. ¡°She¡¯s coming here.¡± ¡°Is the road clear?¡± Ruud asked tiredly from the bench without looking at them. ¡°I found Sir Beren Kuik,¡± Gust replied and stared at the illuminated open doors of the Hostel. ¡°Why not rest inside? It¡¯s cold out here,¡± he asked his father frustrated. ¡°Bugs wants a bit of privacy,¡± Ruud replied with a grimace of discomfort. ¡°It¡¯s better to endure a fever awake.¡± Gust shook his head unsure if that was advisable. He then stared at the frowned De Braal intently for a brief moment. The Shield took a step back with a scowl, so Gust could approach the busy feeding the crow Duke. Ruud appeared frail and Gust could see he¡¯d a cut on his forehead, a deep bloody gush added to the other wrinkles there. He gulped down nervously and then turned his head to take in the surrounding area. He noticed three of the torch poles were occupied and stale pools of blood had soaked the ground under them. The bodies roughly tied on the poles clearly deceased. The rather crowed for the time familiar road and square, still had a gloomy and tense atmosphere about it, reinforced by the signs of recent struggle. ¡°What happened?¡± Gust asked raspingly. ¡°The prince came here,¡± Ruud replied pursing his mouth. For a moment, Gust thought he was about to attempt a smirk, but the Duke just groaned with a glare to the nearby men watching them in silence. Gust spotted Sigurd Bach clad in chainmail under his robes, too big for him as it reached below the Baron¡¯s knees. ¡°We had to fight for our lives,¡± Sigurd informed Gust. ¡°Fight my arse!¡± Ruud snapped hoarsely not of the same opinion. ¡°Right Bob?¡± CAW! The crow agreed, its head skirting right and left agitated. ¡°Where¡¯s the boy?¡± Gust asked and Katers replied tensely. ¡°The heir is with Hendrik Jagger¡¯s men,¡± the Baron¡¯s man said. Hendrik was Lode De Jagger¡¯s uncle. ¡°Where¡¯s Hendrik?¡± ¡°Camped on the road to Tongue, south of the Animal Market milord,¡± Katers expounded. Gust breathed out to relieve some of the stress. Elsanne¡¯s panic-stricken reaction to the news that Radin might be behind them had all but worn out the hale knight, more than the three straight days of constant riding and fighting. ¡°Radin wanted the boy,¡± Ruud said and tossed what looked like a cut-off gory middle finger to the crow that picked it up with its beak from the dirty tiles. Gust licked his lips and glanced at the torch poles illuminating the corpses piled at the center of the square. He briefly examined the distant bloody torsos tied on the three poles nearest to the Hostel. ¡°Where¡¯s is he?¡± Gust queried raspingly. ¡°Bugs had the best parts,¡± Ruud explained and eyed with a blurry eye the guilty-looking crow. ¡°This cretin some others,¡± the weary Duke continued. ¡°The rest of him is up there. You guessed right son.¡± ¡°It was a proper duel of old,¡± Sigurd added. ¡°Nigh impressive thing I¡¯ve ever witnessed. Poor Fliers was cut down Sir Gust.¡± ¡°You killed the prince?¡± Gust asked in disbelief. His father hadn¡¯t fought in years. Not himself. He didn¡¯t have to. A mirthful Ruud used to say to his teenage sons, whilst teaching them how to use a weapon that ¡®all the good-fighting happened years back. Ayup. You kill yer enemies at a steady rhythm, eventually they run out. Don¡¯t fret about it boys. Now, ye run out of good cunt, then life can turn right miserable!¡¯ ¡°Who are the others?¡± Gust grunted, crooking his mouth at the memories. ¡°Some Cataphract,¡± Ruud retorted a little annoyed and pushed back on the bench, clenching his fists to combat the pain. ¡°Almost killed the Raven. Might have been a good thing even.¡± What? ¡°Have you lost your mind?¡± Gust rustled and De Braal was heard shifting about nervously, the scabbard clanging on the thigh plate. Gust turned around, dropping a hand on the pommel of his sword and tossed a glare at the old knight. ¡°Go find out about my son,¡± he ordered gruffly and the Duke¡¯s Shield grimaced at his tone, but Gust was years removed from being intimidated by the mean pale-brown eyes anymore. ¡°See to find more about the kid Stefan,¡± Ruud urged tiredly and De Braal nodded his balding wrinkled head once. He turned around and marched down the square with a curt sign for a couple of loitering about guards to follow him to the horses. The Shield¡¯s steel spurs clearly heard ringing on the stone-tiles with each stride taken. ¡°Bugs!¡± Gust barked at the open doors of the Hostel. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t trust the raven,¡± Ruud said and tossed another finger to the crow. He¡¯d a bloody open bag under the bench next to his right leg, where his sword rested, and dug inside with a hand to get another piece of flesh out. ¡°Elsanne can¡¯t see this,¡± Gust grunted, grinding his teeth. ¡°Get them off those poles Ruud!¡± ¡°Best to squash a girl¡¯s fantasies early,¡± Ruud retorted barely getting the words out and wiped the side of his face with the back of a hand. ¡°Katers get the bodies removed from there!¡± Gust barked turning around. ¡°And order the men to burn the corpses! Drive the god darn birds away!¡± Katers nodded and called for the nearby guards to help him with the gruesome task. ¡°You can¡¯t¡­ drive the crows away son,¡± a tired Ruud said and stared at the chewing energetically crow intently. The crow raised its neck to swallow and then blinked its beady eyes at the scowling Duke. ¡°Oaks,¡± the crow said in a raspy croak, with another rapid blink and then shook its black head, looking from Ruud to Gust afore its black gawking eyes settled on the bloody bag. ¡°Bob is older than me,¡± Ruud continued hoarsely. ¡°So he knows. Right Bob?¡± CAW! Bob the crow croaked. ¡°Ruud,¡± Gust growled. ¡°You¡¯re injured and feverish.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll get better,¡± Ruud snapped stubbornly, but a violent cough ruined it for him. The Duke spat a mouthful of blood down, stooped between his open legs and then stayed in that strange position with everyone freezing for a moment, thinking he had died. ¡°Give¡­ me a hand¡­ up,¡± a discomforted Ruud was heard after a while and Gust helped him to stand upright on the bench again. The Duke closed his eyes looking completely exhausted, but then abruptly opened them again, veiny sclera almost red and foggy, to cast a mean glare at the men watching him.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Motherfuckers,¡± Ruud cursed raucously. ¡°I ain¡¯t dead yet! Fucking vultures!¡± ¡°God damn it Ruud,¡± Gust groaned in frustration. ¡°Just get some rest.¡± ¡°All birds have a name,¡± Ruud grunted, pressing a hand on his bandaged wound. ¡°They won¡¯t say it, so you can¡¯t call them all the time. They are like people. Bugs is not. He shouldn¡¯t be here. Not all of him is. It¡¯s a two way door, no one should ever use.¡± ¡°I know the raven is special,¡± Gust said and stooped over his father to check on the leaking wound. ¡°How bad is it?¡± ¡°Half the chest is fucked,¡± Ruud explained. ¡°But it¡¯s the rib that gives me the most pain.¡± ¡°You shouldn¡¯t move at all.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do whatever¡­ the fuck I want.¡± Ruud coughed, some blood dripping down his chin. The Duke wiped it with his hand. ¡°I earned¡­ the fucking right boy!¡± ¡°Suit yourself.¡± A chastised Gust grunted and stood up. ¡°Ain¡¯t nobody going to give you anything son,¡± Ruud said hoarsely staring at Katers untying the butchered torsos and depositing them inside open blankets. ¡°I know,¡± Gust retorted, too old to seek any advice from him and stared at the troubled Axel Mudriver, standing with the rest of his men about twenty meters away. Gust feared Elsanne might arrive sooner and he didn¡¯t want her to have to face this. Not the mayhem, his father¡¯s actions. ¡°Nobody is going to give her anything,¡± Ruud continued in his weakened voice. ¡°They¡¯ll slit her throat or chop her head off first. Kill yer boy too. Stab ye in the back, when yer celebrating.¡± ¡°Mael has told me all about that. He had to, with you missing all the time,¡± Gust grunted irate. ¡°Visiting your whores!¡± Ruud crooked his bloodied mouth and then tossed another piece of flesh to Bob. An ear with part of cheek still attached to it. ¡°All men lie. Mael was a sinner too, so he turned to priesthood,¡± Ruud murmured thoughtfully. ¡°Gods most of all. They don¡¯t like staying in their realm you see. It¡¯s boring after a while. So they venture here wearing a costume fashioned out of flesh, but some rules they can¡¯t break. Gods and people. Um.¡± Gust grimaced not understanding where the Duke was going with this and stared at Baron Bach in a quizzing manner. ¡°The Dottore said the Duke just needs to survive the night,¡± the Baron explained. ¡°Might be the fever.¡± Ruud will make sure the Duke makes it to sunrise, Gust thought and sighed tiredly. ¡°Old ¡®Stout¡¯ Gust had a son with a mistress nobody knew about,¡± Ruud said and Bob stopped nibbling at the bloody piece of flesh to stare at the old Duke warningly. ¡°Your great-uncle. The Raven had lied or was mistaken. I think he lied. Opted to shove me down a nasty path because it suited him.¡± Gust clenched his jaw. ¡°These are good people. Loyal. Keep their mouth shut and follow orders,¡± Ruud explained. ¡°Beren and Stefan, Fliers and his pops. Old Hubert, ayup. Some of them lost afore you grew up proper. Old Valk over there. What¡¯s left of him¡­ he-he¡­ difficult to know who is who, all chopped up in them dirty blankets.¡± For crying out loud! ¡°Why mutilate the old hunter? You¡¯ve known Valk for decades for pity¡¯s sake!¡± Gust queried in frustration and Ruud pursed his wrinkled mouth. ¡°I had to. A man does something he shouldn¡¯t and then asks for clemency with words or actions,¡± Ruud started, pausing to draw a rugged breath in, he then let out slowly pressing at one side of his chest. ¡°But the reason for the betrayal is still there. Still breathing. Unreachable,¡± the Duke continued evenly. ¡°So the man would do it again if put in the same position, his close kin as well¡­ um, unless proper example is given¡­ or worse. Better to root everything out proper.¡± ¡°Elsanne doesn¡¯t have to know that,¡± Gust grunted, but Ruud waved his protests off and continued. ¡°In them dirty blankets. Under the big Oaks shade,¡± Ruud said gawking at the soldiers piling up the corpses and dousing everything with olive oil to set them on fire. ¡°Buried amidst them rotting roots¡­ ayup.¡± Ruud paused to grimace in pain and then crooked his mouth stubbornly. CAW! Bob snapped clacking his beak and jumping about very agitated. ¡°Leftovers. Skin and flesh covered in gore, you can¡¯t make out.¡± Ruud said and coughed a couple of times to clear his throat. ¡°Lies mixed in with the truth, shoveled under the mud. Aye. We had to do it. Needs some working, the vile bird had said. Some good fortune. Uhm. Never trust it fully. The Queen must know that, for the boy to know as well growing up. No dreams of fancy tourney tales, or glorious adventures of lying scum, pretending to be heroes. I told Rik all about it whilst you were away. He knows what to do and he¡¯ll make sure Janneke¡¯s kids know as well, but this is on you. The naked secrets of the realm, are always ugly son. Because the crows will never leave.¡± ¡°You have uncle Gust¡¯s bones in the blasted Catacombs!¡± Gust growled and Ruud gave him a weary nod of agreement. ¡°Gust we brought back,¡± Ruud had replied and pressed his back on the wall of the Hostel to rest it properly. Ruud slept as he always had, one murky, tearing eye, half-open, and both hands clasping at the pommel of his sword. -
The Duke of Scaldingport survived the duel with Radin. Clinging stubbornly to life, despite suffering serious injuries in his advanced age, Lord Ruud recovered and relished in the rebel Queen¡¯s affections and gratitude for the rest of spring. Elsanne thanked the Duke publicly for saving her son, perhaps a political move on her part, but also because she had somehow warmed up to him. In one such occasion, while publicly embracing the recovering Duke, when he first came down from his quarters on his own two legs in order to meet a band of bards that had arrived to play for the Queen, all the way from the distant Lord¡¯s Burrow, Ruud got emotional. The public moment dragged, and the dressed in an ¡®Eplas fashioned gown of sorts¡¯ Queen became increasingly worried. So she queried the buried in her partially exposed, royal bosom Ruud, ¡®whether he was feeling uncomfortable standing and wished to sit down.¡¯ To which the tearing Duke famously had replied, ¡®if our good Queen is willing, I¡¯d rather prolong the embrace for a bit longer. This is the liverier I¡¯ve felt in months!¡¯ The defeated Garai managed to slip away into the woods with his small force while most of Masud-Rum¡¯s command followed after the Cataphract, while hunted by the Duke¡¯s soldiers. While Garai made it near Lord Jorah with about twenty riders a week later, the bulk of late Radin¡¯s force, close to four hundred men, perhaps more, didn¡¯t for months. The Horselords lost their way inside the woods and wandered in the wilderness east of Boar Mountain during the summer. At some point, the worn-out Horselords, now missing most of their animals, came upon Granlake¡¯s rocky west shores. Disoriented from months inside the thick forest, without knowing whether they had reached a sea, or a lake, half the Horselords headed south following the difficult terrain under Sibast never to be seen again, and the rest under Masud-Rum, Ramses and Senet traveled to the northwest also following the lake and trusting Ramses to ¡®get them out of the forest, same as a teenage Tuksa Lar had gotten himself out of the Great Desert two decades in the past.¡¯ And the experienced Horse-Archer leader did. Robert Van Durren prepared to give battle with Lord Jorah, but the Horselord leader learned of Lord Putra¡¯s fate from a bird sent to him afore the Lord general¡¯s final action in the campaign and decided under heavy pressure to abort the operation. With no sign of the Prince, Lord Jorah couldn¡¯t do much else and Robert had received reinforcements by the 5th from Castalor. Sir Walter Van Oord, had to beg twice with runners the Jang-Lu officers to surrender, but they refused his offers flatly. The Khanate¡¯s elite infantry had been mauled trying to reach the road from the determined Castalor defenders and their machines. In a stunning, but needless display of tremendous bravery, Putra and the remaining Jang-Lu (Xener had died from his injuries a day earlier) fought to the last man. A shocked, but very impressed at the foreign men¡¯s obvious prowess Sir Walter toured the gory field of battered corpses in search for Lord Putra, but couldn¡¯t recognize him as the Khanate nobleman had perished wearing a common metal mask. Almost two thousand bloody, battered and cracked masks were retrieved from the gory battlefield and the woods from the looting locals. It was said that at the time Lord Putra marched out of the trees cover, close to three thousand crossbows, four hundred bows, fifteen Scorpios and eight catapults fired upon his men, in a barrage that lasted well over an hour. ¡®Most of those present weren¡¯t well trained,¡¯ Sir Walter admitted after the war. ¡®Just regular folk that took up arms to defend their homes, aye. Mainly Struder¡¯s workers that got the chance to fire an expensive crossbow they had just made in the workshops. The best-trained men of Castalor Desmond Boss had with him and he lost most of them along with his son.¡¯ The traumatized from the events Castalor nobleman (an old friend of Elsanne and Lady Marleen¡¯s brother) had added. ¡®It may sound strange to the ear and I may be mistaken, but I truly believe the best out of both camps didn¡¯t survive the ordeal. Aye.¡¯ On the 7th of Tertius, vice Admiral Faber¡¯s ¡®genius plan to surprise the enemy¡¯ according to himself, was realized although there wasn¡¯t much need for it. The vice admiral was ordered in fact to turn the Castalor flotilla around ¨Che was en route- as the army could reach the port at Krakentrap Straits in a week, but he claimed the bird never reached him and didn¡¯t. So three hundred determined Issir Marines (from Castalor and Scaldingport) under Del Schalk that had been sardined inside the transports for five days, landed at Deadmen¡¯s Watch at dawn, cleared out a small guard left behind, seized two small Khanate transports moored in the small port and recaptured the destroyed city. To Sergeant Schalk¡¯s utter shock, almost six thousand people had disappeared, which was the majority of the small town-port¡¯s surviving population and the port was unusable for a year. The Castalor army units under Lord Erland Van Oord marching towards the edge of the peninsula through Hunter¡¯s Trap Forest road, discovered ¨Cpassing by Putra¡¯s abandoned camps- that most of those hapless civilians and many Cofols had died during the winter months mainly from disease and hunger. The half-blind Burzin learned about Radin¡¯s fate a week later and was deeply aggrieved according to witnesses, but accepted Lord Jorah¡¯s version of events ¡®as a brave attempt that stood no chance to be successful, as Putra had made an unfixable mess of it.¡¯ Garai¡¯s version that is. Maluph-Sol and the survivors of Putra¡¯s force were insulted, but they couldn¡¯t dispute the reality of the colossal blunder. Cephas Mirpur did argue with the Khan about the vague report that smeared ¡®heroes and longtime allies killed in battle whilst following the Khan¡¯s orders, only to save the reputation of one man¡¯ but he was dismissed after a tensed meeting, which caused a serious divide in the Khan¡¯s Cataphract force. Cephas departed the Horselords main horse camp and created his own some kilometers away as a protest. About three hundred of the five hundred remaining Khanate very-heavy cavalry were men paid by the Mirpur family and followed him. It is said that at the time the sullen Mirpur scion was secluded in his tent, Maluph Erul-Sol arrived with Lady Marleen, her son Aswad, Horus¡¯ slave girls and a Cataphract named Api-Nofre. Hearing their story, Cephas grieved with them for a night with the company of many Cataphracts that had come to listen how Ermin Suru had died and then asked Maluph Erul-Sol to return young Aswad to Eplas like he¡¯d promised his late brother. It was also what their customs dictated and logic demanded. The women and the boy belonged to Lord Mirpur, but they were also a problem with rumors of traitors circulating inside the court. ¡®This is a decision for the head of our house to make and my father shall make it,¡¯ Cephas explained to the distraught Marleen. ¡®My duty is to try and salvage our station with the Khan, or defend the family name. Staying here you could turn into a weapon used against me.¡¯ The destitute Maluph agreed to make the long return journey with the help of the slaver Cardus who could arrange for semi-safe transportation without raising suspicion. It was a big risk for Maluph, who was giving up his only chance to regain some of the riches and station he¡¯d lost since the start of the campaign. By leaving the campaign and the Khan¡¯s presence, the Chariot Leader couldn¡¯t defend himself. Maluph and Marleen would eventually reach Rin An-Pur in the summer of 196 NC. Politics aside, according to the official records the Prince had attacked towards the Pavilion, but was killed by Issir forces that were expecting him. It is difficult to know for certain whether the prince was betrayed or not. Whether the duel with the Duke of Scaldingport was a real story and not a fabrication. And finally, whether the Prince had to attack towards the Pavilion or not. Masud-Rum¡¯s group who was closer to the events wouldn¡¯t resurface for months and their version never reached the public. In the meantime, Vynia Letakin brought young prince Nidar (sic. the Daring) to the solemn Khan and asked Burzin to accept ¡®a son, for the son he lost.¡¯ While an obvious attempt at manipulating the aging Khan, it worked. Burzin was moved and asked for the young boy to be put on his best stallion¡¯s saddle. Nidar was placed on the saddle, managed not to fall off and break his small neck when the horse was ordered to move and the invigorated Burzin declared him ¡®Prince of Princes¡¯ and the Khanate¡¯s heir. Whether it was Nidar¡¯s skill (at two years old) or Vynia¡¯s charms (it was rumored she slept in the Khan¡¯s quarters, though this could have been propaganda spread from Eplas), the news infuriated Prince Atpa. The ¡®Lurking Asp¡¯, had been twice passed over for the throne by his father, despite resolving the war with the Three Sisters and the King beyond the Pale Mountains. An incensed Atpa considered raiding Rin An-Pur¡¯s East Tower, the ¡®wives palace¡¯, and rape one of his unmarried half-sisters Mirin out of spite, but his close advisor Lemus-On of Wotcheki Castle managed to calm him down. Lemus-On suggested that the Prince should marry his late brother¡¯s very young daughter Princess Sitamun -the ¡®Golden Nimra Lioness¡¯, who was living at the time at Yin Xi-Yan with her mother and Prince Nout¡¯s widow Tamun-Toka -the ¡®Daughter of Dinar¡¯, under the protection of Lord Har Khemet and her brother, the famed general Ramen Toka. Two of Gold Leopard¡¯s closest friends and supporters. Atpa sent an envoi to the desert city to ask for the girl, a demand that infuriated Tamun-Toka that wanted the man ¡®killed, skinned and fashioned into a saddle she could ride on¡¯. Ramen intervened to appease his still grieving sister and then turned the proposal down himself, telling Atpa¡¯s messenger that they stood ¡®wary of serpents¡¯ in the desert, which were almost verbatim Nout¡¯s last words to him personally. Prince Atpa ¨Cnow doubly insulted- ordered his close friend Aquila-Dor of Shao Na-Lan to march with his riders against Yin Xi-Yan and take the girl by force, but Aquila-Dor didn¡¯t have the manpower to attack the large desert-lake city, since the remnants of Nout¡¯s veterans had coalesced around the late Prince¡¯s close family and its ruler was Nout¡¯s ally. Aquila-Dor was probably aware -from leaked messages out of Lord Admiral Ohahar¡¯s Palace in Shao Na-Lan- that a new heir had been named in the east and was hesitant to attack another Lord¡¯s city. Distant Khanate intrigues aside, on Jelin Burzin reinforced Lord Jorah¡¯s force -now heading towards Colle- with more infantry, while posting a blocking army between Kaltha¡¯s Lakes fearing the Legion¡¯s advance. Burzin had more than halved the force he¡¯d landed on Jelin with already, after suffering two very costly setbacks in quick succession. The worst of it was that the news of Khan¡¯s defeats (and Elsanne¡¯s triumphs) had reached the ears of Lord Anker beyond the Red Bridge and the High Regent felt obligated to answer. So Lord Anker ordered his generals to prepare for an attack that summer with the intention of retaking the capital before Elsanne made her move. A series of fortunate events gave the High Regent the opportunity to attempt it, although some might paint them in a more negative hue.
- Sir Beren Kuik 2nd week of Month Sextus Summer of 195 NC West Great Greenforest Duchy of Scaldingport and Barony of Colle ¡®disputed¡¯ royal lands Valk¡¯s Lands near the settlement of Hunter¡¯s Path ¡°Easy now,¡± Beren grunted hoarsely, keeping the reins taut to keep old Earl on the forest path. A squirrel had run in front of his warhorse and made it jerk to the side scared. ¡°It¡¯s alright boy,¡± the knight added in a soothing voice, rubbing at the animal¡¯s rich black mane with a gloved hand. Janus Boult came to stop next to him, the seventy year old man-at-arms stooped on the saddle with a permanent scowl on his wrinkled Issir face. Boult had a rotten tooth pulled out the other day and kept his mouth close, biting on a piece of cloth to stop the bleeding. He hadn¡¯t been able to sleep from the pain and was in a bad mood for the second straight day. ¡°Just beyond the turn. Them dead trees.¡± ¡°Umm,¡± Janus murmured and looked at the rest of the men. ¡°I¡¯ll ride ahead,¡± Beren continued the one-sided conversation. ¡°See if I can spot anyone. It¡¯s still early.¡± ¡°Umm.¡± Beren shook his head and pressed his thighs to get Earl going. The warhorse trotted forward and seconds later they had cleared the trees and entered a flattened, deforested part of the woods. A couple of farm houses could be seen at the distance, the sun had just appeared on the horizon, despite the heavy mist. The cool air inside the thick woods had turned warmer inside the large clearing. The land nicely cultivated and Beren spotted smoke coming from the farmhouses, as their occupants had started waking up. Had this been another time, Beren could hope to be welcomed with a cup of tea, even have a decent bucolic breakfast. But it wasn¡¯t. Earl brought them near the fence of the first farmhouse and it stopped there to graze at the rich grass growing around the wooden fence. Beren pushed back on the saddle to stretch his hurting spine. Had this been twenty years earlier, ten even, he wouldn¡¯t have even thought of the long ride. Any ride. But it wasn¡¯t. ¡°Uher¡¯s Light upon you sir.¡± The local Issir girl had surprised him. Beren hadn¡¯t heard her coming out of the farmhouse and approach him. He turned her way annoyed, not with her really¡­ eh, it was the bones in his back bothering him with the change of seasons. Beren could feel the same discomfort in his other bones as well that¡¯s how he could tell. Knees, elbows. It was as if he was coming apart with each passing year. Beren would have given up riding altogether, but running errands for the Old Crow on foot was even more bothersome. ¡°We have a big cow in the sycamore trees,¡± the girl explained shyly. ¡°I have to milk her early, because the stable is the other way. We keep her separate from the sheep, because their calls sour her milk.¡± Uhm. ¡°You¡¯re Stef Valk¡¯s daughter?¡± ¡°His niece.¡± ¡°Um,¡± Beren murmured and heard the other Old Crows slowly coming out of the woods following the narrow path. ¡°Yer cousin around?¡± Beren asked crooking his mouth, and eyed the door of the farmhouse that slowly opened. A mid-aged Issir farmer appeared there holding a wood axe. ¡°Demeter went to the Pavilion after my uncle,¡± she explained. ¡°We haven¡¯t seen either of them in months.¡± Aye. Reckon no one has. ¡°Get inside Dorothy,¡± the nervous man ordered from the door. ¡°These are the Duke¡¯s men.¡± ¡°The land belongs to the Duke,¡± Beren rustled, trying to think of something to say, to justify what was about to happen, but he couldn¡¯t find any good line. With a sigh he reached for the pommel of his sword, deciding that it didn¡¯t really matter. They were about to clear out the farmhouses anyway, return the land back to nature. Best to get it over with, he decided. ¡°Look,¡± Dorothy said startled and turned to point with an arm, the other trying to hold on to the carafe of milk she carried. ¡°A crow.¡± Beren stared at the crow that had landed on the wooden fence near the young girl. ¡°Dorothy come inside!¡± The man growled from the door sounding really scared. You know they are desperate when they don¡¯t even think to plead for their lives. It¡¯s pretty pointless either way, since you can¡¯t kill the father without cutting down the girl, and then move on to their neighbor, not to leave any witnesses. You shovel the earth next to dig a big enough hole for all the bodies, toss them inside wrapped in a blanket and that¡¯s it basically. CAW! ¡°It has a scroll,¡± an aged man-at-arms told him, taking his time to climb down from the saddle. ¡°Ah, can¡¯t read these scribblings in this light sire. Best to read it later.¡± NAY! The crow croaked angrily. ¡°Bah,¡± Janus grunted, barely getting the words out with the cloth in his mouth. ¡°Gimme¡­ the darn thin¡­ ye blind¡­ sack of shit.¡± Beren sighed and unsheathed his longsword, keeping his eyes on the man with the axe. Somewhere at the near a bow was surely aimed at them, but to get a man from thirty meters away you need great aim, and if he has good plate on, opt for a headshot. Most hunters didn¡¯t go for the head and it ain¡¯t easy to change habits under pressure. ¡°Eah¡­ Oras hells. That¡¯s¡­ Stefan¡¯s writing,¡± Janus cursed ineligibly and Beren had to turn on the saddle ¨Cnot an easy thing to do or absent a certain discomfort- to glare at him irate. ¡°See¡­ at.¡± The devastated Janus croaked and it made Beren really worried, seeing his old comrade like this. ¡°Ugh? You don¡¯t make a lick of sense damn it! Is it the tooth?¡± Beren cursed, feeling stupid and unprofessional discussing such private matters in the open, with his sword drawn and Valk¡¯s relatives looking at them with gawking eyes. ¡°Sheathe that blade young Osprey,¡± the looking like a corpse and much older than him Janus grunted hoarsely and then spat his bloody cloth down to get the next part out. He sounded just like he did when that tooth had been pulled out. ¡°The old vulture¡­¡± the ancient man-at-arms had told Sir Beren. ¡°¡­is gone.¡± Such was Sir Beren¡¯s shock at the news, his longsword hit the ground without the knight realizing it.
read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms Scribblehub https://www.scribblehub.com/series/542002/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms/ & https://www.scribblehub.com/series/547709/the-old-realms/ 519. All of you (1/2)
Aelrindel, of Edlenn ¡®Nesande¡¯s Moon Daughter¡¯ ¡®Hallowed Splendor¡¯ Moira All of you Part I -The ruler of Morn Taras-
A large male monkey let out a roaring cackle of excitement and raised one wiry arm in a comical greeting, the other between its crooked hairy legs, long ring-adorned wrinkled fingers playing with its meaty hairless balls. Ael perked up on the Ostrich¡¯s saddle, half-asleep and lost in her weaved dream-world to stare at the monkey that slowly levitated over the thick branch afore disappearing inside the rich foliage. Not a mischievous flying monkey then, the sorceress decided. Neither a true monkey also. Naughty Mojo-Lojo is out and about. A minor deity of the Others pantheon. This means one of their bigger gods is active and no one watches the madhouse. The sound of a loud gong coming from not that far away startled the frowning cutely witch anew and she let out a singing moan of alarm ¨Cin the witch¡¯s tongue- that snapped the dosing off, but magic-attuned Melon wide awake and was felt like a strange jolt to most of those standing nearby. The cat, hiding inside Lith¡¯s bosom got his head out and stared about him curious. It was an accident! Aelrindel told him. I got you big tits, Melon assured her. ¡°Someone farted?¡± The cat asked accusingly all those affected which brought a mirthful surge of laughter and diffused the awkward situation. He turned to wink at the witch, but Ael¡¯s eyes were on the massive black-granite tower that had sprouted over the thick Yew Forest¡¯s tall canopy. The flat top of the monstrous construction, familiar as it resembled the Eodrass-dedicated pyramids of the Early Imperial Era, although this was more of a half-finished gigantic Mastaba with an ugly square castle standing at its completed base. The Castle had the tall tower bulging at its center and they could see it for a while, because they followed the sloped, cleared terrain of the open fields, before they started ascending again to reach the walls at the start of the plateau. The great battlements appeared in all their detail when the topography changed abruptly. The twenty meters in width well-maintained boulevard they had been following -after making the turn at Old Port a couple of weeks earlier to enter Goras Peninsula proper- continued now on this, much more open, flat terrain. The sturdy parapet and crenel dressed granite walls extended across the elevated part of Taras¡¯ plateau and effectively blocked access to it completely. The plateau led in its turn to the beautiful ¡®Eternal Springs¡¯ and their ¡®Falls¡¯. The clear waters pouring inside the large once picturesque ¡®Taras Lake¡¯. Once, because someone had violently invaded this natural landscape. They had callously cut down all the trees, scrubbed all vegetation, then dug deep to the bedrock shoveling all the earth away, basically striping the famously green and flat plateau clean, in order to erect this monstrosity. These savages had done the same to the edge of Yew Forest that was pushed back half a kilometer. The forested area had turned into eye-hurting grain fields, sheep, and chicken farms. The sun rays bounced off of the flat rock and worked on fields, hugged the smooth ¨Cfinely polished- granite walls of the gigantic ¨Cnow not fully visible from up close- castle and then were reflected back to the visitors blinding them, until they reached safety under the thick, tall walls oppressive shade. ¡°What the fuck?¡± The cat guffawed in astonishment as they approached the five-meter towering main gates. Human guards barked at the merchant wagons blocking their way to move aside. The road was cleared and Anfalon¡¯s Hoplites entered Morn Taras¡¯ outer fortifications. Tenebrous Castle, Ael thought feeling her skin tingling with anticipation. Anfalon paused just after the gates to converse with an officer about army matters. Apparently they had a situation unfolding at the distant Mussel, a port between Third Finger and Lower Talon, at the base of Gish Lament Peninsula. The old names coming back to her so fast, the sight of the black polished granite of her childhood visions laced with the special aroma of her motherland so suffocating, and finally the sun baking her exposed skin so strong, it became too-much for her to handle. Aelrindel¡¯s senses got overwhelmed and she lashed-out instinctively, the road tiles cracking under the nervous Ostrich¡¯s legs, an icy cold wind blowing out of the blue, branches bending, trees shaking and the Imperial banners on the walls flapping wildly. The flamboyant crowd murmured taken by surprise at the sudden change in the weather and Anfalon¡¯s hidden under the sinister Hoplite¡¯s helm head, snapped back to inspect the rows of the Hallowed and their colorful guests for the culprit. Nothing to see here, Aelrindel soothed carefully the ancient Zilan¡¯s mind and when that failed, she tickled Legolnir''s tiny feet getting the baby to roar a loud a cry of surprise. Anyways, just as fast as it had come, the wind died down, but the white clouds now covered the sun and its light had lessened. The bright early summer-like morning now turned a shade darker. Anfalon, who had gone to check on his son, returned to his conversation with the officer, after casting a perturbed final glance at their group. Lithoniela that stood near Lymsiel in order to play with little Legolnir she had taken a great liking to, had kept her eyes on the flushed despite the sudden chill sorceress, still in her Moira disguise. Not an illusion. The semi-permanent spell had collapsed losing its strength, when Aelrindel had unwittingly casted a variation of the ¡®northern wind¡¯ and then had tried in great panic to cover her tracks. The sorceress had prepared for such an ¡®accident¡¯ applying good ole, common hair dye and makeup beforehand, and the former-slave girl Moira returned Lithoniela¡¯s worried stare with a prickly grin of assurance. Small crisis averted. Nicely handled girl, she congratulated herself. ¡°Ogle-eyed gnomes be cackling!¡± Clinton Marlo cursed, shifting all nervous on the saddle and with his arms rattled by a shiver. ¡°Darn sudden chill knifed me in ¡®em kidneys!¡±
¡°You are to wait in the empty south tower,¡± Anfalon informed them. ¡°A message has been sent to the Monarch. Given that he¡¯s dealing with a siege at Mussel, I wouldn¡¯t expect him for a week.¡± The Hoplite paused in deep thought for a moment and then added gruffly. ¡°But things could change. Volatile stands the Monarch¡¯s mind.¡± Uhm. Noted. ¡°The morning¡¯s light ever shine over your path Legolnir,¡± Lithoniela bid farewell to the waving little male as Lymsiel walked behind the marching away Anfalon and the rest of the Hallowed. In his stead a very tall, plumage-hat wearing female stood, next to a haughty Cofol. He was sharply dressed in leather, some important official of sorts probably. ¡°I¡¯m Kilynia. The Royal Chamberlain,¡± the female Zilan explained. ¡°You can have use of the South Tower and its stables. The fourth floor window provides a lovely view of Taras.¡± ¡°The lake?¡± Lithoniela chanced, while Aelrindel looked about them at the expansive Morn Taras internal yard. Efforts had been made to liven up the interior, but only some barely visible gardens to the east ¨Cbehind- the castle added some color variation. Black rock, graphite stone and grey dominated most structures irregardless of their use. They had to cross another set of gates to reach the main building, but they were directed south of the castle and the palace itself, to what looked like a gloomy prison-tower. Not yet used by real folk hopefully. ¡°Can we visit the castle?¡± Lithoniela asked with everyone else remaining silent. ¡°This is part of the castle your grace,¡± Kilynia replied politely and the Cofol next to her nodded. ¡°This is Rama by the way. You can leave the animals with him. He¡¯s managing the stables.¡± A slave? ¡°The Grand Visier¡¯s stables,¡± Rama elucidated with a deep bow. Aha. A bit of Cofol culture of servitude. Semi-important. Right. Hopefully Glen-Avon is an animal lover? ¡°The princess doesn¡¯t care. Go away Rama.¡± Kilynia ordered with an angry grimace, then cleared her throat and turned it into a polite smile. Forget about Lithoniela. It¡¯s important to learn these things in advance. Insist, Aelrindel urged Rama wanting to learn more. The man stood up straighter. ¡°I wanted to enquire about the Ostrich? We have a male¡ª¡± What? ¡°Later.¡± Kilynia hissed through her teeth and the Cofol stood back gloomily. ¡°I wish to see the palace,¡± Lithoniela asserted pursing her mouth. ¡°This is part of the palace your grace,¡± Kilynia dodged politely, whilst maintaining her composure. ¡°I see,¡± Lithoniela said. ¡°I appreciate the quarters Lady Kilynia.¡± Well, I¡¯m not really, Aelrindel disagreed, but nodded demurely, smiling at the now penetrating gaze of Rama, who was looking her way very-interested. Useless creep. Go pleasure your male ostrich yourself! ¡°Of course we can,¡± Jinx intervened distractedly, after she finished scribbling down a note, pink tongue peeking out of the corner of her mouth in deep concentration, not to make too many mistakes. A pleased with the final product Jinx gave the small note -a total of five words written on it- to a Cofol servant that was hidden behind the tall Zilan palace official all this time. Whoa there. ¡°It¡¯s for Fiku. Um? The Lord Shield? We live in the same street.¡± Jinx expounded and then regarded their group teasingly with red-rimmed Gish eyes. ¡°I¡¯ll just head in there to see the princess and be right back with you girls.¡± Har-har-har. How about we come as well you darn Gish? The grinning Gish twisted around on her heels and started sashaying towards the distant Castle¡¯s stairs ¨Cat the base of the Mastaba. She walked normally after a while, as the castle stood two hundred meters away, climbed the stairs to reach the double front doors, where she was stopped by the guards that lowered their spears in a threatening manner. After a brief conversation that included plenty of swearing, equal amount of lewd gestures and a failed attempt to push through the two bulky guards that sounded the alarm, a slightly miffed Jinx marched right back to them across the yard, assumed a fake cool expression mid-way through and upon reaching them again, she puffed a loose pink curl out of her face to declare indifferently. ¡°She¡¯s sleeping. I¡¯ll come back later.¡±
Well, the Monarch hadn¡¯t returned six hours later. In the meantime Aelrindel had fetched a couple of servants and stable hands to bring a bed to their empty, but for some chairs, first floor quarters. They carried the heavy wooden bed up the narrow staircase to the fourth floor, along with most of the chairs and a small table, and placed it there. Next, the sorceress opened the tower¡¯s window to gaze beyond the south edge of the plateau at the distant east gates and walls of Goras. She saw nothing of that, but for the two massive towers. ¡°That¡¯s Taras,¡± Sam Mathews explained standing next to her. ¡°From the lake¡¯s shores to the Old Walls. The Favored Heights beyond them to the south, with Hardir¡¯s Port to the west and Sinya Goras Port to the east. Different towns, but Zilan consider them districts of the same city.¡± ¡°This is Goras. How can you build a different city in the same place?¡± Moira queried unsure. Sam smiled at the perceived jest. ¡°You sure have a bit of a sense of humor lass,¡± he told her and Aelrindel furrowed her brows troubled as she was of the opinion, she had a great sense of humor. ¡°Anyways,¡± the handsome adventurer continued. ¡°We¡¯ll hit the road again with Marlo. Head down to Taras and fix ourselves with a couple of beds at the adventurer¡¯s guild building. Check the boards for easy work.¡± ¡°Why not stay in the palace?¡± ¡°We are not servants¡¯ lass,¡± Sam replied. ¡°The contract is over. Jinx is back safe and if Garth wants our help, he¡¯ll just ask for it.¡± The adventurer paused for a moment unsure and then sighed. ¡°Best you find a place with Jinx. She has space aplenty. Remaining in the premises you are bound to catch the Monarch¡¯s eye.¡± I better, Moira thought, but there was something in the man¡¯s words she didn¡¯t much like. A blind man can notice me, if I wanted to. ¡°Is that a bad thing?¡± She asked innocently. ¡°Not really,¡± Sam replied. ¡°If that¡¯s what you¡¯re looking for.¡± Um. ¡°What should I be looking for Sam?¡± Moira teased. Sam stared at her a little surprised. ¡°You are a freed woman now lest you¡¯ve forgotten it. You can do whatever you want Moira.¡± Moira could Sam Mathews. But I¡¯m much more than that.
¡°Sure,¡± Jinx said, the Gish was about to depart with the adventurers. She paused to glance at Caruso that snored raucously on the bed Moira had brought up and then gave her a wink. ¡°I have plenty of space for you¡­ but know that I¡¯m sort of in a relationship.¡± ¡°Is she jealous?¡± ¡°Few wouldn¡¯t be of you. But we¡¯re open-minded folk that always experiment,¡± Jinx deadpanned and then blinked. ¡°Anyways, I¡¯ve plenty of other folk living there but it¡¯s a big place ayup. Phina and Assara obviously. Nothing naughty going on with them by the way.¡± ¡°Jinx, we are not interested in your love life,¡± Lithoniela hissed with a glare. ¡°Moira can¡¯t travel to Taras yet.¡±This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°What are you talking about? She¡¯s not yer slave!¡± Jinx snapped ready for a fight. Moira cleared her throat to intervene. ¡°Who is Assara? This is an Old Tongue name.¡± No silly. Moira can¡¯t notice that! Hmm. Better pop a button on the chiton. Oops! ¡°She¡¯s a Ticu,¡± Jinx replied absentmindedly, gazing at the parting d¨¦collet¨¦, the sorceress took her sweet time to fix. ¡°A very-friendly Ticu.¡± ¡°Are you serious?¡± Lithoniela snarled with glare at the acting surprised for the ¡®mishap¡¯ Aelrindel and then turned to Jinx. ¡°You sleep with a Ticu under your roof?¡± ¡°My goodness Lith,¡± Jinx retorted, raising a pink brow. ¡°Ye sound jealous girl.¡±
No sooner had the Gish departed with the adventurers, Lithoniela pulled her away from Caruso and Melon ¨Cthe cat had eventually snuggled near the snoring man¡¯s head, after tapping his mouth with a paw a couple of times to stop him from doing it- to the other corner of the bedchamber. ¡°We must see Glenavon,¡± Lithoniela started. ¡°Didn¡¯t we agree you¡¯ll lay low?¡± ¡°I am!¡± The sorceress protested adding knowingly. ¡°They build a town around the lake?¡± ¡°So what?¡± ¡°I want to see it?¡± ¡°What does this have to do with what I¡¯m talking about? Wait. It does sort of, but in the completely opposite manner!¡± Aelrindel puffed out in exasperation. ¡°Goddess! The pressure is too much. I¡¯m feeling terribly confined princess.¡± ¡°We just got here!¡± Lithoniela snapped. ¡°Look at those lifeless gloomy walls! This is a prison.¡± ¡°Come again?¡± Lithoniela asked standing back and the sorceress stooped near her to whisper. ¡°I don¡¯t like the vibes. What if he locks us in here forever?¡± She asked meaningfully. ¡°Did you see that?¡± ¡°No. I don¡¯t know¡­ eh,¡± Aelrindel replied thinking it through. ¡°Some things are not as they should.¡± ¡°Which means?¡± ¡°The kid. Where did it come from?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t I explain what Jinx told me? You want more details?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you find it strange?¡± Lithoniela narrowed her eyes. ¡°No, I don¡¯t. It¡¯s been years.¡± ¡°There are two men there.¡± ¡°Where?¡± ¡°The dream?¡± Lithoniela sighed and hang her head. ¡°Didn¡¯t you just say¡­ did you cast a divination?¡± ¡°Of course not. Well, yeah¡­ I did that years¡­ a long time ago,¡± the witch protested. ¡°I saw some things, then I learned you shouldn¡¯t glimpse at the future for it changes, but still¡­ the vision was pretty vivid. I shall meet this Monarch.¡± Up close. ¡°You¡¯ve met him already!¡± Closer. ¡°I wasn¡¯t paying attention then.¡± Aelrindel argued with a pout. ¡°In the dream he¡¯s one man, then he¡¯s another? So it¡¯s confusing. I met a boy.¡± ¡°So what?¡± Lithoniela snapped in exasperation. ¡°A girl could mistake another for this difficult and conflicting person? Get taken advantage of?¡± The witch explained vaguely. ¡°So how can I know for sure? Hmm?¡± ¡°A girl should move on and be more careful next time. It¡¯s not that you caused anybody else harm other than yourself.¡± Well. That has bits of truth in it, but they are tiny bits and the rest of it is false? ¡°The Monarch could turn out to be evil. Doesn¡¯t it scare you?¡± ¡°Ael, this is Glenavon. You¡¯ll recognize him from a mile away. Wild hair, goofy face and smart ogling eyes.¡± ¡°Aye, that¡¯s the kid you¡¯re describing.¡± ¡°I really don¡¯t understand what the hell you¡¯re talking about?¡± Lithoniela retorted mockingly. Oh boy. ¡°He¡¯s not pleasant all the times. This is one of those times. Look where he shoved us in,¡± Aelrindel elucidated and left it at that. She didn¡¯t want to dwell on the matter anymore. The witch feared another vision would be triggered if they continued poking at it. ¡°Where is Ralnor?¡± Lithoniela asked after a moment. ¡°You think he made it to Mussel? We might see Aenymriel at some point, you should be careful. Assuming his warnings hold any weight.¡± ¡°Ralnor made it,¡± Aelrindel assured her. ¡°He might be here already. Because Dar Nym is very much a real danger and not imaginary, we better speak about it as vague as possible, or at all.¡± Which we are not doing. Eh. ¡°I could inform Glenavon to cast her away.¡± ¡°You shan¡¯t interfere,¡± the sorceress warned. ¡°We don¡¯t know their relationship.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t fear a court official,¡± Lithoniela hissed angrily and Moira who had approached the window again to gaze at the beautiful town built near Taras Lake¡¯s south shores replied in her singing voice. ¡°This isn¡¯t your mother¡¯s court.¡± -
While the army was busy clearing out Mussel and helping the injured, the Monarch flew back to Morn Taras. He arrived a day before the marching back under Lyceron 3rd Othrim, leaving Ulovir¡¯s 2nd Othrim to deal with the aftermath. Lord Garth met with Lord Shield Fikumin and was briefed on the happenings in the capital. He setup a meeting with Lithoniela of Baltoris next, pondering for long whether to ¡®give it a day¡¯, or just ¡®get it over with¡¯ and decided to split the problem down the middle and meet the old princess that evening. Lithoniela and her small entourage had stayed at Morn Taras¡¯ South Tower, which was unfinished and empty as most of the castle grounds. The reason for it quite simple. The Monarch wanted to avoid the news spreading, as they had been contained until then from the tight-lipped Anfalon¡¯s troops. Mussel knew about the Princess¡¯ return afore Taras found out. The news of the army¡¯s win against the mercenaries in contrast reached Taras proper soon after the Monarch returned and the locals rejoiced at the threat¡¯s swift elimination. The almost certainly tired after the battle Garth, he¡¯d returned to Taras hours after it ended, originally suggested they use the East Tower to house the princess instead ¡®since it¡¯s furnished¡¯, until Lord Fikumin reminded him that the East Tower was Morn Taras¡¯ prison and dungeons. ¡®That¡¯s a good catch friend,¡¯ Garth immediately admitted. ¡®We shouldn¡¯t do that.¡¯ To which the Lord Shield had replied. ¡®Nay my Lord, we better not.¡¯
- The ancient trees were singing inside Nesande¡¯s Garden. Some of it just segments of hymns and some naught but simple calls to one another, the wind picked up to carry across Marionel River, Edlenn¡¯s rich Orchard and the melted ruins of the Greenhouse. Over the Desert Watch peak, across Serpent¡¯s Canal and the misty Sandalwood Forest, all the way to Goras Peninsula. Leave child. You are in danger, her mother whispered standing in front of the large open window and Aerindel blinked her sleepy eyes inside the dark room. She spotted Lithoniela dosing off next to Caruso at the bed, with the cat sleeping amongst them. The witch¡¯s eyes searched the dark silent room, but she couldn¡¯t see anything but the shades cast by the moonlight coming from the window. The light passing through her mother¡¯s ethereal apparition. Slowly her eyes grew accustomed to the darkness that retreated giving ground to a murky grey filter, she could now see more detail through. One of the elongated shades cast by the right edge of the window detached, the hidden figure¡¯s feet not making any noise on the granite tiles. The cloaked figure paused to examine the bed¡¯s occupants for a moment, then shook its head hearing calls from the yard four floors down. The figure turned around to walk towards the window, missing her mother¡¯s dissolving apparition for half-a-second, but hesitated before stepping out. The unwelcomed visitor turned its head slowly to regard the watching it through half-closed eyelids Aelrindel, who had slumped on the armchair pretending to be asleep and holding her breath. The moment dragged on, until the witch heard the creepy clacking of small feet walking outside the window and the still figure regarding her decided to move again with a barely audible sigh. ¡°Just a Cofol slave,¡± the voice whispered to the unseen accomplice outside the window and stepped out of it as well. Aelrindel reached for her leather bag, but decided not to engage as she was too-rattled. She waited a bit more to hear whether their uninvited night visitor would crash to a well-deserved death on the yard below the fourth floor window and when that didn¡¯t happen, the miffed witch got up and rushed to the window. She dangerously peeked out of it and the large drop underneath, but saw no sign of the figure. Probably walked the shades silly, Aelrindel scolded herself. ¡°What in Goddess¡¯ name are you doing?¡± A bemused Lithoniela asked from the bed, but before she could answer, someone knocked on their door and a loud wyvern¡¯s cry was heard reverberating inside Morn Taras¡¯ yard. The startled witch recoiled violently and almost tumbled ironically out of the open window to her death.
RRRREEEEE ¡°Alright, there¡¯s no point to delay this any further,¡± Lithoniela explained after she finished talking with the Cofol herald, while the pale Aelrindel was still collapsed on the armchair trying to recover from the scare. She had to empty her bladder in the bucket twice, which had prompted Melon to do the same in the room¡¯s corner for a different reason. ¡°The cat stays obviously.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Melon argued aggressively. ¡°You are not spraying piss in the palace. Hear the wyvern?¡± Lithoniela explained. RRRRRREEEE! Melon licked his hairless paw. ¡°Good point! I¡¯ll stay this one out perky tits!¡± Caruso rolled his eyes at the disfigured cat. ¡°Maybe I should as well,¡± the witch said. Lithoniela looked at her annoyed. ¡°Nobody would even look at you.¡± What? ¡°Firstly that¡¯s never gonna happen,¡± Aelrindel snapped at the affront, getting some of her spark back. ¡°Secondly it¡¯s insulting. Thirdly¡ª¡± ¡°It¡¯s what we want Moira,¡± Lithoniela cut her off in a rude manner. ¡°Not to get noticed?¡± The witch pursed her opulent lips tightly, then jolted again hearing the wyvern welcoming the evening with another ear-piercing trumpet. ¡°Surely the wyvern isn¡¯t staying here?¡± She croaked. ¡°Do you wish to stay?¡± Lithoniela hissed. ¡°You¡¯re a grown female. You¡¯ve been around wyverns before!¡± ¡°What that¡¯s supposed to mean?¡± The witch snarled angry. ¡°I¡¯m the¡­ second youngest in the Council probably!¡± ¡°The Elderblood Council,¡± Lithoniela argued. ¡°Uhm. So?¡± ¡°I¡¯m walking across the yard. They are waiting for us. Glenavon could fall asleep, or forget all about it if we are late.¡± ¡°Reckon it¡¯ll be for the better not to insult the ruler,¡± Caruso added diplomatically. ¡°Fine,¡± Aelrindel snapped. ¡°But I¡¯m staying behind you,¡± she told the adventurer. ¡°Moira,¡± Lithoniela said softly. ¡°Nobody knows you¡¯re here. Trust me, Glenavon won¡¯t even bother with you, or Caruso.¡± Hmm. RRRRRREEEEEH? Shut up you!
Rimeros, an even more obnoxious Zilan official ¨Calthough Kylinia was by far the worst- stepped aside for the well-dressed stout dwarf to approach them. They had been traveling inside Morn Taras¡¯ halls for twenty minutes at least. Down dark, high-ceiling corridors and guarded doors to reach this massive, also pretty dark, columned throne room. They had stopped still quite afar from the elevated granite throne ¨Cno surprise there- just after the last two finely engraved, polished black gigantic columns. Quiceran, if the architect had survived, had nothing to do with this monstrosity. This screamed of a semi-cultured, but more restrained and agenda-driven Elwuin in its size. It wasn¡¯t made to exude greatness though which had always been Elwuin¡¯s intention, but awe and fear. This was built by a different architect. The room extended for a bit more beyond the excessively-large throne altar, a large staircase to the west heading for the unseen tall ceiling above their heads and what looked like an internal balcony could be seen hanging lit, six or seven meters above it at least, well behind the also illuminated empty stone throne. Oh, great. Walk faster, the princess had said. We need to be punctual and not to appear unserious, she had declared. What nonsense! Aelrindel thought frustrated, trying to remain in character. ¡°Princess, to the heavens above our greetings. Your presence brings a ray of light into this Hall,¡± Lord Fikumin greeted Lithoniela, who stepped forward to take his arm. I bet it does! ¡°Our thoughts and prayers,¡± she replied warmly. ¡°Have you found your jewels Fikumin?¡± Lithoniela asked and Moira noticed a very-young female Zilan standing behind the dwarf, a big shy smile on her face. ¡°Some,¡± the impressively bearded dwarf admitted in a gruff manner, as no dwarf was ever comfortable nor happy to divulge his personal affairs. ¡°But not everything one finds is real gold.¡± ¡°It never is,¡± Lithoniela agreed. ¡°So we must treasure that which is.¡± Oh, please. This could take forever! Some commotion was heard from the direction of the throne, about twenty meters away, a door opening and closing, followed by the clanging of armour. A helmed, fully armoured, Hoplite appeared, and then a masked Royal Rokae, a Zilan Knight. The Rokae walked across the throne and took position on the east side, with the Hoplite marching to stand on the west. Seriously? The witch grimaced and raised her eyes towards the now occupied balcony. Just behind the polished stone rails, a sober Zilan female stood, wearing a Ranger¡¯s outfit. The ranger had a girl lifted in her arms to allow it to watch the events below from that good vantage point. The girl had dark rubicund hair and wore a silk, golden tunic. Something sparkled in the girl¡¯s hands and at first Aelrindel thought it was some kind of strange doll fashioned out of glittering jewelry and gold, but then the golden-scaled tiny wyvern moved and the startled witch felt her blood freeze. ¡°How is Glenavon?¡± Lithoniela probed oblivious to Aelrindel''s plight. There¡¯s another wyvern! Look! ¡°Late,¡± Fikumin replied inflexibly with a glance behind his shoulder at the stiff Rimeros that took two forward steps to announce the Monarch. ¡°The Impervious prophesied Hardir O¡¯ Fardor,¡± Rimeros started, raising his voice a bit more with each word. ¡°An Aniculo Rokae returned, the Lord of Morn Taras and Sinya Goras, Protector of Abarat and Lo-Minas. Keeper of Nesande¡¯s Temple, the Warden of the Temple of Eodrass. The King beyond the Pale Mountains, from Merodras River to Gish Lament, from Goras to Rain-Minas and from Nesande¡¯s Garden to the port of Baltoris and the city of Elauthin. Ruler of Jade Lake¡¯s territories and Ani Ta-Ne. Duath Erin I Menel and the Monarch of Wetull. Palan-Hinnen Arguen Garth, O¡¯ Nielek Aniculo!¡± Whoa. A silence befell inside the largely empty hall, obeyed by their small group, but also the officials and the guards present. Then a wiry man, clad in the custom black muscled cuirass of a Hoplite covered in gold details, all the way to the helm that had a full-face metal mask on and the Crown of Horns incorporated into it, marched past the bowing respectfully Rimeros to climb lithely the stairs to the throne. Several figures appeared right and left from the raised throne, the most notable an official carrying a lute on his back, the Elderblood Priests Voldomir and Feyras, the Gish Jinx and a huge Northman. The man is a giant half-breed for sure, Aelrindel thought impressed. What in Goddess¡¯ toes is this? The last ones to appear walking slowly to sit on the throne¡¯s stairs, another Elderblood Aenymriel and some meters behind her, half-hidden behind the throne a hooded figure. Not the one that had visited them earlier. Dar Nym had a plain tunic on, but the witch was now certain it had been her. She could smell her scent. ¡°Hey Lith,¡± the Nord giant said raising a trunk like arm in greeting. ¡°Hey Soren,¡± Lithoniela returned the greeting. ¡°I heard about Zola. I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°We all were,¡± the Monarch cut in with a hoarse voice that sent a chill down the witch¡¯s spine. ¡°The Imperial Princess Lithoniela of Baltoris,¡± a discomforted Rimeros announced, sounding miffed that the whole carefully-prepared protocol had been tossed aside. ¡°The Throne welcomes your highness back into the Imperial fold,¡± the Castellan continued and Aelrindel noticed the rigid Hoplite turn his helmed head to gaze at the princess as the news spread inside the hall by the many more unseen bystanders. The place needs lights, the nervous Aelrindel thought just as Lithoniela addressed the masked Monarch, the man looking a lot like the one in her dreams but also not quite. The armour is a bit different hmm. The expressionless mask had a smile on it for starters¡­ ¡°Are these the Monarch¡¯s wishes?¡± Lithoniela had asked and the mask changed expression, as if it was a real face with skin made out of metal. Lord Garth smirked and Aelrindel gasped audibly and grabbed at the startled Caruso¡¯s arm to support herself. When she managed to recover her wits sufficiently and stand upright on weakened knees, half the court was looking at her unsure. Half, because Moira was standing several meters behind the princess and Fikumin, and was almost hidden by the robust adventurer. ¡°It¡¯s been a long journey,¡± Lithoniela said breaking the awkward moment. ¡°Then you should rest,¡± Lord Garth said, in a friendlier tone. ¡°As Rimeros said, you are welcomed here Lithoniela.¡± The Monarch¡¯s penetrating amber gaze went from the princess, to Caruso and finally stopped at the peeking tensed, heavy-breathing Moira, afore adding in that unmistakable rustle that had haunted the witch¡¯s dreams since she had been a little girl. ¡°All of you.¡± 520. All of you (2/2)
Aelrindel, of Edlenn ¡®Nesande¡¯s Moon Daughter¡¯* ¡®Hallowed Splendor¡¯ Moira All of you Part II -The scoundrel of Wetull-
He knows, Moira thought panicked. It¡¯s him. ¡°I¡¯d like to speak with the Monarch in private,¡± Lithoniela countered seemingly unaffected by Lord Garth¡¯s words. ¡°Hardir just returned from the front,¡± Rimeros intervened. ¡°He¡¯s too tired to prolong this evening your grace.¡± ¡°We can talk briefly,¡± Garth decided. ¡°Some folk wish to speak with the princess as well. ¡°Feyras, and Voldomir for starters.¡± ¡°Your Highness,¡± Feyras said taking the opportunity. ¡°The Temple rejoices at your survival.¡± ¡°Gratitude Priest Feyras,¡± Lithoniela replied. ¡°Will the princess dictate policy?¡± Voldomir asked without fanfare and Lord Garth stopped Lithoniela from answering with a wave. ¡°This is not the time,¡± Lord Garth said, his mask changing into a sober scowl. Spell-forged metal, the witch thought. Someone ¡®engraved¡¯ a whole mimic incantation in that mask. ¡°You can stay here this evening. We¡¯ll find better accommodation on the morrow. Your friends can return to the tower for now.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to stay with Lithoniela,¡± Caruso said. ¡°Milord.¡± The excited murmurs ceased inside the throne hall, and the Monarch¡¯s amber eyes stared at the adventurer frostily. Oops. ¡°Apologies, but it¡¯s too late to find something more convenient,¡± Fikumin intervened gruffly. ¡°I shall escort you there myself.¡± ¡°Folen shall do it. He¡¯s about to leave us anyways. Belay that. Better yet, if it¡¯s Sir Qildor.¡± Garth ordered and the lute-carrying Zilan blinked a little startled at first, then hanged his head disappointed. ¡°You can rest in the palace Lord Shield. It has been a long day.¡± That¡¯s the kid? Moira thought impressed. Not wanting to risk an enchanting spell with the small wyvern so close and the bigger wyvern not far enough, she bowed quickly and rushed in front of the departing Caruso. Two knights escorted them out of the Throne Room, leaving Lithoniela behind. Moira expected the guards to toss them in one of the many doors they walked past and lock it shut, but they didn¡¯t. They traveled out of the semi-lit Throne Room, went past the dark long hall after it and then reached the final gloomy stretch in the pitch black that led to the gates leading to the yard. Most of Morn Taras was a dark place to spend your nights. It¡¯s not him, Moira decided with a deep sigh spotting the illuminated guarded doors of the citadel at the end of the long corridor. He doesn¡¯t know. It¡¯s really sad to be wrong. Twenty meters from the double doors, a small hidden side door cracked open and a young female stepped out. A young woman of mixed-race. Cofol with some Lorian in it. Dark-blond hair, honey-colored eyes painted with black pencil and a lot of tanned skin showing when her silk green robes parted, to show the flimsy slave-girl outfit underneath. She smelled of vanilla scented oils. The Rokae escorting them stopped seeing her approach. ¡°Memphes of Morn Taras,¡± the Zilan knight said. ¡°Sir Qildor,¡± the young woman greeted him with a bow. ¡°Hardir wants a word with the girl.¡± The witch furrowed her brows half-intrigued half-worried. Then the courtier of sorts, giving that her name tied Memphes to the estate, smiled in a friendly manner. ¡°What is going on?¡± Caruso asked hoarsely. ¡°The tower has only one bed,¡± Memphes explained. ¡°We have spare inside the palace.¡± But not the manpower to carry one across the yard? Hmm. ¡°I¡¯ll talk with him,¡± Moira said touching the tensed adventurer¡¯s arm. ¡°Just head to the tower Caruso.¡± ¡°You sure?¡± Caruso probed not liking this development. ¡°I could hang around.¡± ¡°Better that you didn¡¯t,¡± Memphes deadpanned smiling sweetly. Oh, you little whore, Aelrindel cursed pursing her mouth. What is this nonsense! He¡¯s supposed to be a grieving, secluded widower!
Memphes walked in front of Moira, leading her through the side door inside another corridor running parallel to the main one, this one finely lit from many lightstones. The corridor leading in its turn to a long narrow staircase attached to the west wall, and past many doors used by courtiers or palace personnel. ¡°You served in Erul-Sol¡¯s palace?¡± Memphes asked without looking back. ¡°This is a Que Ki-La style.¡± She was talking of Moira¡¯s hair. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ aye, grew up there,¡± Moira lied checking on the pins holding her hairdo tightly fixed in place to hide her long Zilan ears. Very graceful long ears. ¡°How¡¯s Lord Erul Sol?¡± ¡°Dead. Butchered like a pig.¡± Memphes replied stiffly. ¡°The whole family got wiped out in the Sisters rebellion.¡± ¡°Apologies.¡± Memphes paused and turned around to look in her face unsure. ¡°I mean¡­ they got what they deserved?¡± The witch chanced, too-focused on her meeting with Lord Garth to bother with this bed-warmer. ¡°Lord Garth shall free me,¡± Memphes told her. ¡°I¡¯m a free girl Memphes.¡± I don¡¯t care about your problems. ¡°Oh. Sure you are,¡± Memphes smiled frostily. ¡°This is not Que Ki-La. We don¡¯t smart-mouth the Monarch.¡± ¡°Not much mouth left available for small talk?¡± Moira retorted, batting her eyelashes. ¡°I shall let Mistress Iskay explain,¡± Memphes said with a scowl. ¡°You should wash by the way. You smell of wet fur.¡± ¡°I spend a lot of time with a Gish and a cat. Pick your poison.¡± ¡°We heard,¡± Memphes replied tautly and turned around to climb up the stairs with Moira following after the slave girl mimicking in a mocking manner Memphes¡¯ words behind her back. She thought of tripping Memphes on the stairs and let the annoying slave-girl tumble to her death, but this wasn¡¯t the time to clean house, nor was it even remotely advisable. Speaking of houses. This is a house of ruffians for certain, the witch thought.
The stairs led them on the internal balcony with intricately sculpted balustrades Moira had witnessed from the throne room. A large semi-floor in reality, it had several doors leading to the royal quarters and the floor was paved with white marble tiles, polished and adorned with gold details. A young Nord-looking, red-haired woman, waited for them at the top of the stairs. The woman¡¯s eyes, Moira decided she had a little Cofol blood in her, stayed on the witch while she addressed Memphes who had made the introductions. Moira disliked the newcomer instinctively. ¡°Iskay of Morn Taras,¡± Memphes said with a curtsy. Eh, no¡­ I¡¯m not bowing my head to you! ¡°Is this the slave girl?¡± Iskay probed switching to Common, in a calm and well-trained voice. ¡°She claims, she¡¯s a freedwoman.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Iskay wondered examining Moira closely. ¡°The Zilan freed her?¡± Why do you care? Go sit on a thick oiled stick. ¡°Yeah. After she bought her arse in Que Ki-La.¡± ¡°Uhm.¡± Iskay raised a painted brow. ¡°You are a pretty one at least,¡± she told Moira, who bit her tongue not to blurt-out a loud caustic reply. ¡°You should use better hair dye next time.¡± Iskay added austerely. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure to borrow some of yours,¡± Moira retorted, as it was clear Iskay¡¯s hair were not a natural red. The witch¡¯s grin was cut short when Iskay¡¯s ring adorned hand landed on her left cheek, right above the ear. The shock of the sudden blow, it didn¡¯t have much power in it, almost sent Moira to her knees and half-twirled the stunned witch around afore she managed to regain her footing. You fruit-stinking little cunt! ¡°Be truthful to the Monarch. Wait here, both of you,¡± Iskay told them soberly and walked towards one of the doors guarded by Rokae. The seething Moira clenched both fists so tight, her sharp nails dug in her palms. ¡°For a girl that served under Lord Sol,¡± Memphes noticed calmly. ¡°You have a very loose tongue. Learn to keep your anger to yourself.¡± Drink my sweet piss you! Aelrindel thought irate, but added hoarsely in a much more diplomatic manner. ¡°I¡¯ve been freed for a while now.¡± ¡°Uhm. I hope your Zilan owner remembered that,¡± Memphes deadpanned, as it was apparent that the witch had found herself surrounded by a flock of tryhards and strivers, attached to the Monarch with birch glue, cunt-juices and saliva.
Let me see you. The man in her visions had said. Show yourself Vera Felusa. But the mask was different again, the engraved armour altered and not as heavy. The Monarch was resting in an armchair, under a curtained open window, half-hidden in darkness. The only source of illumination inside the large royal quarters -a small metallic desk lamp with three legs, fashioned out of many intertwined bronze wires, placed on the narrow table under the window¡¯s edge and turned to light up a pile of reports and partially the seated man himself. ¡°The girl,¡± Iskay informed him with a deep bow, followed by an austere glance tossed their way. The seething Moira followed Memphes example this time. The chair creaked as Garth turned to look at the tensed Moira. She had forgotten about boiling Iskay alive ¨Ca bit- and was now caught in the moment. ¡°She has been freed,¡± Iskay added. Shut up you! ¡°The plot thickens,¡± Garth murmured raspingly. Moira furrowed her brows unsure and with her heart beating so loud in her chest, it started to hurt. You know me, say it. The witch demanded from the thoughtful Monarch. She had started sweating, which was the last thing a girl wearing heavy maquillage wanted. Any girl really. Having said that, but for the two girls standing so near her, the witch would have casted a domination spell and worked her way from there. ¡°Have a seat,¡± Garth offered. ¡°I rather stand your grace.¡± To leg it if things turn eerie? ¡°I won¡¯t. Haven¡¯t slept in three days,¡± Garth retorted. ¡°Apologies?¡± The jest had poor timing obviously. Damnit! ¡°Where did you¡­¡± Garth started shaking his head, with the anxious Moira ogling her eyes in the attempt to urge him down the right path. Follow the darn script! ¡°¡­meet Lith?¡± Huh? Garth waited for an answer, with Iskay turning her pretty head to stare as well, a smirk on her painted mouth. ¡°Rida? Rida¡­¡± Moira croaked and clasped both arms over her belly. Breathe in, breathe out. ¡°Didn¡¯t you girls tell me, she hailed from Que Ki-La?¡± Garth asked a little bemused. ¡°That¡¯s what she told me, great sultan,¡± Memphes said quickly. ¡°I was sold,¡± Moira intervened, still rattled by the turn the conversation had taken. Where¡¯s the starry-eyed closeness? Send these two harlots away! This feels like an interrogation! She roared internally. ¡°Across the desert,¡± Garth noted evenly, his fingers rapping at the table. ¡°Why would they ever get rid of you? You¡¯re far from ugly.¡± What? ¡°No one would ever¡ª¡± ¡°Yet they did.¡± Garth cut her off matter-of-factly. Moira blinked. ¡°So you ended up in Rida,¡± Garth continued, snapping the witch out of her limpness. ¡°Yes my Lord. Served at the palace there.¡± ¡°Where Lith, what is it¡­ bought you again?¡± Moira nodded. ¡°Where did she find the coin? I once paid a fortune to buy a drooling camel from these troglodytes,¡± Garth asked curious and stooped forward to better see her. Get a blasted light in here! Is this a man-cave? The witch snapped angrily at being questioned. It took a huge effort to reply in a calm manner. ¡°I escaped. Lithoniela found me,¡± she explained wetting her lips. ¡°That¡¯s not what Lith said. It¡¯s quite the difference actually,¡± Garth replied a hint of razz in his voice. Damn it princess. ¡°What did she say?¡± Garth stood back on the armchair. Moira glanced at the table and saw the old dagger there, placed over several open scrolls. Great. ¡°It¡¯s just a dagger,¡± Garth said noticing her eyes straying. Moira sighed to calm her tensed nerves. You can do this. ¡°Lithoniela found me in Rida. Then the princess released me. She probably just wanted to impress Lord Garth.¡± ¡°Uhm. That¡¯s better constructed fer sure. Why?¡± Moira blinked at the use of Lesia jargon and the follow up query. ¡°Ehm. Why¡­ I don¡¯t know why. She¡¯s young?¡± ¡°Much older than you. Why did she free you?¡± Garth expounded sternly. Ah. ¡°I was useful,¡± Moira replied quickly under the Monarch¡¯s silent scrutiny.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. ¡°In what manner?¡± Stop with the questions! ¡°I¡¯m a healer.¡± Moira blurted out. Garth glanced at Iskay who shrugged her shoulders. Then he pushed himself up from the armchair. Moira puffed out unwittingly. A wayward sweat rivulet run down the inside of her thigh and it tickled the nervous witch maddeningly for a while. Enough probing. Get back on track damn you! She cursed the thoughtful Garth. ¡°Why would Lith attempt to hide a healer?¡± Garth asked his small audience. Mostly Moira that is. ¡°Why keep you around after she freed you? What really happened?¡± The boy on that horse was a smart-thinking idiot, but this is a very perceptive man, Moira thought worried. Right now, Garth¡¯s mind was set on scrutinizing his earlier meeting with Lithoniela, looking for cracks and small lies. Not on her. This isn¡¯t my vision at all, she thought in shocked disbelief. It¡¯s not you. Who are you? ¡°I can¡¯t answer that,¡± Moira replied hoarsely. Garth took a step forward, well into her personal space and now the witch could see her reflection on the polished mask and in the Monarch¡¯s amber eyes. ¡°What will it take?¡± Garth rustled behind the smirking mask and Moira went to back away, but was stopped by the man¡¯s hand that had clasped her shoulder. ¡°That¡¯s between the princess and myself,¡± Moira whispered. ¡°Um. She doesn¡¯t have to know,¡± Garth countered in a serene voice, whilst examining the witch¡¯s painted face closely. ¡°That would be¡­ a bit awful?¡± An anxious Moira croaked. ¡°Healers have a code.¡± ¡°Are you a real healer though?¡± What? ¡°Of course I am,¡± Moira swooshed breathlessly. ¡°I could use a skilled Cofol healer in the palace,¡± Garth said dropping his arm. ¡°You won¡¯t find a better offer. You can serve the throne in a wholesome way.¡± ¡°Surely Taras has plenty of Zilan healers,¡± Moira argued gulping down, as she felt uncomfortable by the offer. ¡°Can¡¯t one of them serve the throne?¡± ¡°That¡¯s true and they could, but the Monarch prefers Moira of Que Ki-La, for she surely possesses a greater range of skills,¡± Garth replied meaningfully. Aha. Moira thought and realized the Monarch had sneakily reached to touch her face this time. The witch recoiled, making two quick backward steps and was stopped by an open palm that wedged between her shoulder blades. A gasping Moira turned around and came woman to woman with a pair of indigo eyes and Aenymriel¡¯s pale face. ¡°You scared the poor girl,¡± Aenymriel told Garth. ¡°Is it the mask?¡± He asked curious, as Moira backed away from the assassin in panic, feeling suddenly trapped inside this large dark bedchamber. ¡°I can remove it. For safety reasons I need to wear it in public meetings.¡± What safety reasons? You¡¯re lying! Moira hissed internally, ogling the nonplussed assassin that hadn¡¯t moved from her spot. Garth had though and was standing close to her again. ¡°You don¡¯t have to return to the tower,¡± he told the flustered witch reasonably. ¡°You¡¯re safe here and among friends. Tonight we shall unwind in a fine warm bed and when morrow comes, all this will be forgotten, afore the time for a rich breakfast arrives.¡± This was nowhere close to what the witch had secretly fantasized and hoped. Don¡¯t go there, her mother had warned months back. No way. Everything is wrong! Help. ¡°I wish to leave my lord,¡± a heavy-breathing Moira croaked and looked at the door behind the unemotional Aenymriel, still clad in her simple tunic. ¡°Maybe she could have a glass of wine first?¡± Iskay offered. Screw you, fake northern cunt! ¡°Please,¡± Moira pleaded and Garth shook his head amused afore returning to the armchair. He sat down and glanced at the dagger before speaking again in a much sober tone. ¡°I won¡¯t make the offer again dear. You¡¯ll eventually crawl back up here to beg for my favor, mayhap as soon as you realize where the princess brought you.¡± He said and added in a warning. ¡°But you¡¯ll find the gates of this castle firmly closed.¡± I rather munch on pig¡¯s turds for a month than return here! The affronted witch thought, her arms and body shaking whilst staring at the Monarch with hurt eyes. ¡°Call Folen,¡± Garth ordered harshly. ¡°Escort this foolish girl out of Morn Taras.¡± A devastated Moira went to walk past Aenymriel, but the assassin blocked her path wearing a guarded expression and reached for the witch¡¯s disheveled head this time. Moira twisted away with a gasp of fear and Garth¡¯s voice stopped Nym from trying again. ¡°Let her go.¡±
Folen, the weird official with the lute, found a sniffling Moira sitting cross-legged on the cold floor tiles of the dark corridor, about sixty meters from the unseen now staircase leading up to the royal quarters. The Zilan walked to the distraught masqueraded female and came to a halt right over her. ¡°The corridor loops around after the fifth door lass,¡± he explained. ¡°Let me help you on your feet. I have a couple of horses waiting.¡± ¡°What about my Ostrich?¡± Moira asked wiping her swollen eyes a little embarrassed at been caught bawling. ¡°Where is it?¡± ¡°The stables? Rama took it. Her.¡± ¡°Garth¡¯s stables,¡± Folen elucidated. ¡°Yeah, he was looking for a female for a while now.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡± Moira croaked but the Zilan official waved her worries off with a gesture. ¡°Not important. Come, we need to make a pretty tricky journey to reach Taras.¡± ¡°How so?¡± ¡°Night has come,¡± Folen explained guiding her the other way. ¡°And things roam about.¡± ¡°Things? Eh¡ª!¡± RRRRREEEEE ¡°You¡¯re alright?¡± Folen asked, helping the groaning witch back on her feet as the scared Moira had jolted back so sharply at the wyvern¡¯s shriek, she had landed on the floor on her hurting buttocks. ¡°No I¡¯m not!¡± She snapped angrily in Folen¡¯s face with a grimace of pain.
¡°Do you have anyone in Taras?¡± Folen asked on the way to the horses. Parked at the gates as they were, it took them a good time to walk the distance across the empty yard. ¡°I need to speak to my cat,¡± Moira replied distractedly, looking back at the direction of the South Tower. ¡°Eh, cats always find their owners,¡± Folen dismissed her worries and sucked at his teeth. ¡°Not easy to find a job in this economy.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a healer. Surely someone has a need of one!¡± She protested still hurting from the catastrophic meeting. What¡¯s wrong with him? I was right there! He was supposed to reach out with warmth and blasted understanding! ¡°Uhm. Sure,¡± Folen agreed and waved an arm at the guards before the west gates. ¡°Still, you¡¯re not exactly known and people tend to prefer¡­ more, eh¡­ the local therapists.¡± ¡°The Monarch doesn¡¯t.¡± Moira retorted sourly. ¡°Hardir has a pretty sophisticated palate for his own reasons,¡± Folen explained. ¡°He historically finds the taste of certain Zilan maidens ungainly.¡± Aelrindel¡¯s whole world had just come crashing down without any warning. ¡°You can¡¯t be bloody serious!¡± She snarled barely holding on not to lash out and bring the whole dastardly construction down. Truth of it was, the witch wanted to do a lot of damage at that point, preferably burn some of Garth¡¯s ugly palace and possessions down. Which would have been suicidal of course, what with an unseen large wyvern parked somewhere inside the castle? Folen paused unsure about her outburst, the guard bringing up their horses stopping abruptly in alarm. Moira cleared her hoarse throat and started breathing in and out to bring her core temperature down. ¡°The ruler¡­¡± Moira started, puffing her cheeks out under the scrutiny of the two nosy males. ¡°¡­of the Zilan Kingdom, dislikes Zilan females?¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t clear,¡± Folen tried again. ¡°I meant he¡¯s wary of witches mainly.¡± ¡°He¡¯s against magic? He rides a wyvern!¡± Moira hissed, doubly insulted. ¡°Witches. He¡¯s fine with mages as a matter of fact,¡± Folen expounded patiently on his earlier point. ¡°Why do you care?¡± He asked seeing Moira snarling like a cat that had her paw stepped on by a heavy boot. She almost cracked her jaw bones in the attempt to sound indifferent. ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± Moira croaked deeply alike a husky sailor that has burned through a kilo of good hashish. ¡°Right.¡± Folen said pursing his mouth. ¡°You know I run a business.¡± ¡°A tavern?¡± Moira murmured still having difficulty to speak. A horse snorted and then shook its head in greeting but she ignored it. The horse neighed in protest. ¡°I thought you worked in the Council.¡± ¡°I do, as the Master of Secrets, but a person can dabble in many different things. Anyways, I upgraded from a tavern due to a¡­ rare accident,¡± Folen replied and climbed on the saddle, while the guard held the reins for her to do the same on the other still protesting horse. ¡°It¡¯s a similar venue in spirit at least. We provide much-needed services with no discrimination whatsoever and many opportunities for the employees to meet new people of all creeds and races. A fine-looking girl like you, could make a lot of coin fast, just putting that out as food for thought,¡± the Zilan added with a toothy grin. Moira narrowed her eyes. ¡°For a moment there mister Folen and the moment is still dragging, I thought you were trying to whore me out?¡± ¡°Did it tickle your fancy just a bit?¡± Folen probed in a reasonable manner, adding with a conspiratorial wink. ¡°I can keep a secret, he-he.¡± Is this fucking rehearsed? ¡°No it didn¡¯t.¡± Moira replied quite unamused with the Zilan¡¯s humor. ¡°No worries,¡± Folen yielded with a shrug. ¡°Something else will come up I¡¯m sure. Mayhap it¡¯ll make you reconsider.¡± ¡°Can you take me to Jinx¡¯s place?¡± She asked frostily. ¡°I¡¯m to escort you to Taras¡¯ center,¡± Folen replied in a business-like manner. ¡°You¡¯re on your own after that lass.¡± Fine!
A very-sour Aelrindel stayed at Jinx¡¯s rather empty estate that night. She made a poor attempt to sleep, as she couldn¡¯t keep her eyes closed for more than five minutes. She twisted and turned, half-angry half-sad, mostly angry now that she that managed to get out of the initial shock. The Gish left early the next morning and despite her efforts to search the house for anything to eat, she found nothing of use. It was like the place hadn¡¯t been lived in for months, which made sense with Jinx missing, but also didn¡¯t make sense since Jinx had told Moira she had a couple of roommates of sorts. A sullen Moira borrowed some clothes that looked like they belonged to another much taller than Jinx female, waited for the Gish or Lithoniela to return for several hours and finally hungry, bored out of her wits and incredibly frustrated, went out to see Taras in the light of day.
Moira headed north towards the lake, cutting through the center of a busy Taras. Despite the strong sun of the afternoon, it was early in the season and there was a nice coolness in the air. She walked in front of the Cofol neighborhood where several estates had sprouted resembling the great cities of Greenwhale Peninsula, to the mostly Zilan architecture of the houses nearer to the lake¡¯s shores and the many noisy taverns occupied by a colorful very diverse crowd. Issir Pirates and Lorian adventurers, Cofol merchants and even Horselords. Many Zilan of all castes, some Gish and the occasional very-loud dwarf. The very-impressed by the lively market crowd Aelrindel soon forgot herself, skirted the endless rectangular square ¨Cobviously outfitted for festivals- with some stands still erected at its sides and the gargantuan mosaic depicting Hardir O¡¯ Fardor and Uvrycres, his Onyx Wyvern defeating the mighty Hydra, and thus liberating Goras from the clutches of the Veils of Nether, a Cult that had settled there after the Fall. The mosaic had close to three million different pieces and was created by the artist Eilven according to a tourist board, who Aelrindel fairly remembered as an aloof, difficult to get the words out kid that hated being around people. Moira¡¯s protesting stomach brought her to the market, on the west side of Hardir¡¯s Triumph¡¯s Square and she paused there to haggle for a strawberry pie. Being discreet the witch got what she wanted using a bit of charm, but it could also be that the merchant pitied her wretched appearance. Then she considered continuing west and returning to the taverns, where even better food was served, but the neat local stand of a Zilan apothecary caught her interest. ¡°This,¡± the Zilan female told her pointing at a vial. ¡°You are tired sweetie.¡± Moira took the small vial in her hands and raised it to allow the sun to pass through the glass. ¡°Dry Thyme, young yarrow seeds and lemon oil,¡± she guessed after shaking the vial once to make the mixture move inside. Moira smelled at the cork next to make sure she hasn¡¯t missed anything. ¡°Basil?¡± ¡°For the mood,¡± the Zilan agreed with a smile. ¡°Are you a healer then and not only a pretty face?¡± ¡°My sister,¡± Moira replied sensing the female¡¯s flirtatious mood. ¡°I just picked up some things along the way.¡± Like everything there ever was, plus some I invented myself, she thought, not wanting to brag openly. ¡°Praised be the Moon¡¯s Daughter for all healers are precious such as Herself,¡± the Zilan smiled at her shocked expression and showed her a thinner, much smaller vial. Tiny almost. ¡°Could she make this, your sister?¡± ¡°She could,¡± the witch replied hoarsely and felt a wave of emotion overwhelming her senses. The secured inside a metal box vials tingled responding to the sorcerer¡¯s essence that spilled out and the Zilan merchant stood back unsure. ¡°The Goddess¡¯ grace shines over you sweetie. I felt it from afar. She shines over the living and guides the pure souls of those that have departed. Ever be well,¡± Vela prayed and Moira nodded greatly moved. ¡°Do you want to work the stand for a while? You seem to know your way around potions,¡± she smiled. ¡°I won¡¯t ask how.¡± ¡°How much do you sell them for?¡± Moira asked looking around her for anyone watching but she didn¡¯t spot anything suspicious. ¡°These ones? Ten gold pieces,¡± Vela replied without hesitation. ¡°Isn¡¯t that a lot?¡± The price was absurd. ¡°High demand drives the prices up. This is a premium product for those risking their lives,¡± Vela explained. ¡°Plus we are lacking the Amrita flowerbeds of the past. You can find some near the ruins of the Old City, but don¡¯t venture there after dark.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Folk have gone missing in the wilderness.¡± I see. ¡°Use a golden apple¡¯s flower instead,¡± Moira blurted out before she could control herself. Vela chuckled and reached to touch her hand over the stand. ¡°We need a witch¡¯s magic for that, plus someone to travel to Nesande¡¯s Garden and back again at a specific time of the year, yes? These trees don¡¯t grow without soil soaked in magic.¡± True. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know,¡± Moira said with a smile of her own. ¡°I heard it somewhere in the Peninsula.¡± ¡°Uhm. You Cofols are pretty and tidy creatures, yes? I¡¯ll be back in two hours,¡± Vela replied in a friendly manner. ¡°Can you do this for me?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you worry I might steal your potions?¡± Moira asked and Vela pointed at a half-asleep Zilan resting under a kiosk. ¡°Aha. Can¡¯t he sell them himself?¡± ¡°Probably, but he can¡¯t offer any advice in case of an emergency.¡± Vela explained. ¡°You could I¡¯m certain and I¡¯ll pay you two silvers for it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s generous.¡± ¡°I make a lot of coin,¡± Vela admitted and signaled for her to step behind the counter. After quickly explaining where the most sought after potions where, she left Moira to carry out her errant.
¡°So¡­¡± the Lorian said working a finger on his left bearded cheek that failed to hide the dark blemishes underneath, ¡°¡­I have this nasty rash since the other day and it bothers me something fierce.¡± ¡°Where?¡± Moira asked without looking at him, carefully squeezing the cloth to extract all the liquid from it. She had opened a healing potion earlier -not liking its color and had discovered that it was spoiled. So the witch had searched under the stand for a clean bronze bowl, poured the contents of the tiny vial inside, cast a quick restoration spell, whilst no one was looking and then returned the sparkling potion into the vial, using the thin cloth to keep the spoiled parts out. ¡°The nether regions or thereabouts,¡± the man explained a little uncomfortable. Moira pushed a small square bronze container his way. ¡°Wash the afflicted area first, then lather it slowly and leave the skin to air,¡± she told the grimacing customer. She had like thirty in a couple of hours and most of Vela¡¯s potions had been sold. ¡°Can I do it inside a hostel room?¡± Moira raised her eyes to look at him unsure. ¡°Em¡­ where else silly? In the woods?¡± The man stared at her smiling face numbly. It¡¯s a darn jest you imbecile! Laugh! The Lorian cracked a yellow-toothed smile. ¡°Right. So¡­ what time you be off lass?¡± Eh. Not again. ¡°She¡¯s taken,¡± a man¡¯s voice said and the Lorian turned around to eye the newcomer. Seeing as the dark-haired ¨Cbut with a bit of grey in it, clad in fresh leather-armour man was much taller, pretty muscular and wearing a fine weapon harness with a lot of blades, the first customer decided not to push the issue. He paid Moira and then walked away funnily, leaving his spot for the roguish newcomer. Despite the little grey on his hair and the scars on his handsome, unshaven face, the stranger didn¡¯t look over thirty. A square cleft chin, paired with a devilishly naughty smirk and thick brows over two amber-colored eyes. Moira¡¯s heart skipped a beat. ¡°Hello there,¡± the handsome customer greeted the still holding the soaked cloth witch. ¡°Thought to lend ye a hand me lass,¡± he explained in a heavy Lesia accent and reached to take the vial with the healing potion, she had just corked. ¡°Name¡¯s Rhu Fareno. How much is this?¡± Rhu asked teasingly. His blatant attempt at flirting working ten times better than Vela¡¯s. It hit the already overcharged emotionally sorceress right between the eyes. Goddess. ¡°It¡¯s spoiled,¡± Aelrindel blurted, adding in a high-pitched croak. ¡°Not anymore that is!¡± Get a grip of yourself silly! ¡°Ehem¡­ It¡¯s ten gold pieces.¡± Moira added pursing her mouth to show him she would accept no haggling and Rhu Farino nodded not impressed with the price seemingly, got his hand inside the hardened-leather vest he had on, found a heavy purse and opened it. He fished a bunch of freshly-minted Imperial gold coins out, counted twelve and pushed them over the counter. ¡°Keep the rest to buy yerself somethin¡¯ nice,¡± Rhu offered with a toothy smile and a lewd wink. He then turned around to walk away, towards a large warhorse waiting for him. No way. ¡°It means sinful outlaw in Imperial, your name,¡± the witch said and Rhu paused to give her a pleased glance. From Rhugar, that meant wicked and Farino that meant¡­ well, outlaw. ¡°You¡¯re a learned lass alright,¡± he told her whilst pocketing the vial and Moira blushed at the praise, from her curling toes to the roots of her painted dark hair, as if she was fourteen again. Which was almost a millennia and five centuries in the past. ¡°Do ye have a name yourself then, or should I just call you beautiful? Be warned that it works for me just fine.¡± Aww. The witch beamed unwittingly at the well-used quip ¨Cexpertly delivered, despite every warning siren in her head screaming that this was yet another scoundrel with fancy eyes and a passing likeness to the devil in her visions. ¡°Moira,¡± she replied half-shy half-aroused. More aroused than shy. ¡°Aha. And what does Moira mean?¡± Rhu queried still sporting that wicked grin that made her weak at the knees. Stop it you. ¡°Fate,¡± Aelrindel had replied and watched him walk to his horse, a clean stallion with a new saddle and jump on it lithely. Rhu raised index and mid-finger to his left temple in a teasing salute, then clicking his tongue galloped out of the market, not bothered by the people that rushed to get out of his way panicked with screams, gestures and loud curses. ¡°Taras is full of adventurers¡¯ lass. Don¡¯t get too impressed,¡± Morthil said coming to stand next to her. You know nothing Morthil, the witch thought. ¡°Vela is late. You should head back home whilst there¡¯s still light. See to eat something.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Moira agreed and looked around her at the slowly emptying market. ¡°I better go.¡±
The sorceress bought a piece of slightly roasted chicken from a shady tavern, which she wolfed down en route, greasy flesh, skin, bones and all, making a bit of a mess. She paused on her way to Jinx¡¯s house to clean her hands, face and neck, using copious amounts of cold clear water from an artesian well, right at the edge of Taras¡¯s public gardens. The latter positioned between the lake¡¯s shores -still busy despite the falling fast darkness- district and the already quiet rich neighborhoods of its center, where Jinx¡¯s estate was located. Where is everyone? Aelrindel thought, her mind still on the handsome stranger that had made her forget about the uncouth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor. Well, that plan went bad faster than the rest, she decided still bitter about the whole ordeal, her eyes following a similarly dressed couple ¨Cboth had long cloaks on- coming out of an alley and ducking inside a shadow. At first she thought they were Issirs due to their darker than normal skin, but as they approached walking briskly and half-unseen to the untrained eye, the witch realized the male was somewhat familiar firstly. Secondly, they both had the strangely vibrant eyes of the Zilan of Coal Isle. Sneaky Mori-Zilan. Whoa. Welp, that¡¯s a day full of surprises, the witch thought with a deep sigh, whilst wiping her moist neck with the edge of her borrowed tunic and the male¡¯s vibrant eyes stayed on her briefly, before reaching with a deft hand to gently hide the sorceress¡¯ wayward, protruding left ear, back under her long hair that had come undone with all the slouching and washing under the water pipe. Shit. ¡°Take care of yourself sister,¡± the Mori-Zilan warned with a svelte pirouette to catch his hurrying female partner and of course Moira didn¡¯t listen. It was his fault really, as that was probably the most generic warning one could muster! Like¡­ seriously? ¡°What does a pretty little thing like you be doing out at this ungodly hour?¡± A gruff voice asked the moment Moira reached the dark alley the two Zilan had come out of.
END OF WINGS O¡¯ FATE | PART III 3rd Era Court read it at Royalroad : https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46739/touch-o-luck-the-old-realms & https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47919/lure-o-war-the-old-realms
Imperial Court of Wetull New Goras Era The Third Era factions
right click to open in new page for more details Royal lines* Arguen Garth Aniculo (Hardir O¡¯ Fardor) Inis-Mir Aniculo (Princess Heiress) Lithoniela of Baltoris (The Elderblood Princess was 3rd in line of succession) Loyalists & associates (for Hardir O¡¯ Fardor¡¯s line with ¡®official¡¯ positions.) Lord Fikumin Flintfoot of Glorfalc, King¡¯s Shield, Governor of New Goras, Priest of Luthos. Lord Suraer ¨CGovernor of Lo-Minas, Keeper of Imperial Stables (Lady Aelinole, Berthas) Lord Onas ¨CMaster of War, King¡¯s Diplomat, shadow Governor of Ani Ta-Ne, general. Lord Anfalon ¨CLord of the Phalanx, First of the Hallowed, general. Lady Olonelis ¨CKeeper of Nesande¡¯s Garden, Abarat. (The mother of Darunia). Lady Aenymriel ¨CImperial Surveyor. Surviving younger sibling of the fabled Elas and ancient era¡¯s Vaelerthiel ¡®of the woods¡¯ offspring. Considered unstable. Lord Elwuin ¨CImperial Architect, Baltoris Port. Quiceran¡¯s pupil. Lady Vaelenn ¨CKing¡¯s Judicar, Governor of Abarat. Master Rybel ¨CMaster of Ships, Naval Engineer, Hardir¡¯s Port. Master Laius Cinna ¨CImperial Treasurer, Advisor. Master Doris Alden ¨CSETC board of directors, Advisor and part shareholder. Master Luvon ¨CBank of Goras, SETC board of directors and part shareholder. Viceroy Metu ¨CGovernor of Ani Ta-Ne, Diplomat, ex-treasurer, SETC part shareholder. Priest Voldomir -High Priest of Nesande¡¯s Temple, Priests Estates district of Taras. Priest Feyras -High Priest of Eodrass Temple, Chimera¡¯s Mouth Gulf, Old Goras city center. Master Voron -Lord of Public Works, Seat¡¯s Chief Architect. Master Folen -Master of Silence, also businessman? Former bard? Ex-criminal? Master Laedan ¨CDenmaster, Master of Beasts. Un-repented flesh eater. Master Kamat-Fin ¨CMaster of Birds. Former employee of the Sopat family. Lady Kilynia ¨CRoyal Chamberlain at Morn Taras. Former 2nd Era court official. Rimeros ¨CMorn Taras Castellan, Advisor. Former 2nd Era official. Master Eilven ¨CRoyal Artist, Sculptor, Painter. Late Quiceran¡¯s prodigy. Flardryn ¨CIM Leader, Captain of Galleons, Serpent¡¯s Canal Docks. SETC Admiral. Maeriel ¨CImperial Rangers Leader, trainer, Princess¡¯ Guardian. Faelar¡¯s last known pupil. Roran ¨C2nd of the Phalanx, with the First Othrim at Ani Ta-Ne. Lefyr ¨CCommander of Rain-Minas, Imperial Marines officer. Vulreon O¡¯ Kataer ¨CKing¡¯s Scribe, former 1st Era intern, former 2nd Era junior scribe.* Phinariel ¨CRoyal Scribe, working under Fikumin. His spouse after 195 NC. Theron Gravelbrow ¨CAdvisor, working under Fikumin. Captain Esau Fane ¨CTaras Guard commander, under Fikumin. Lon-Iv Sopat ¨CAdvisor, Merchant¡¯s Guild and SETC part shareholder.*** Ran-Sahor ¨CMercenary commander, under Lon-Iv Sopat. Kalac, the Brave ¨CLord of Snakesville, warband leader. Recruiting Horselords on Eplas. Vycaris & Oelinael ¨CRoyal Tailors. Angrein O¡¯ Mecatan ¨CImperial Blacksmith. Zaos O¡¯ Mecatan ¨CImperial Blacksmith. (Angrein¡¯s pupil.) Sir Alan Kirk ¨CRoyal Rokae, King¡¯s Adjutant. Hagen ¨CKing¡¯s bodyguard.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Samak & Hesam ¨CKing¡¯s bodyguards, former slavers for the Sopat family. Iskay O¡¯ Morn Taras ¨CRoyal courtier, a former slave. Atju O¡¯ Morn Taras ¨CHead Royal Servant. Memphes O¡¯ Morn Taras ¨CRoyal Servant. Berthas O¡¯ Aelinole ¨CCourt¡¯s Sorcerer, Instructor of Magic. Keya O¡¯ Berthas ¨Ca young Sorceress at Berthas Academy. Sir Delmuth ¨CRoyal Rokae Leader. Sir Maderas ¨CLord Suraer¡¯s Adjutant, Royal Rokae Sir Qildor ¨CRoyal Rokae, Princess¡¯ Own. Sir Nuvian ¨CRoyal Rokae. Sir Nyvorlas ¨CRoyal Rokae. Friends (sic.) ¨CKnown Loyalists without positions. Whisper Jinx ¨CFounding member of the Gallant Dogs mercenary company, ranger. Soren, the Mighty ¨Csimilar background as Jinx, adventurer. Troy, the Titan of Novesium. ¨Can ex-champion of the Pits, Chiliad general, adventurer. Sam Mathews ¨Cknown adventurer. Clinton Marlo ¨Cknown adventurer. Asper ¨CEx-Chiliad leader, a gladiator that formed his own band (with Beskar and Kelly). Wetull Underworld Nigel ¡®Nightingale¡¯ Grim ¨Cknown Thieves Guild member and representative. Ryker Phantom ¨Cless known Thieves Guild member. Hulanor O¡¯ Alenia? ¨Crumored greater Goras Crime Boss, through Folen. Earned gravitas due to his presumed relation to the notorious ¡®Aeson the Elusive¡¯, a 1st Era felonious arms smuggler during the Aken-Zilan war, wanted traitor and mass-murderer. Rumored supporters also include the mysterious ¡®Eight¡¯ and ¡®Toloth Ama Erea¡¯, the leaders of the old Imperial and the post-Imperial branches of the Thieves Guild. 1st and 2nd Era Imperials and other unaligned. Lithoniela of Baltoris, the late Queen¡¯s only daughter. Caruso ¨CAn adventurer, former man-hunter and outlaw from Raoz. Moira ¨CA freedwoman healer following the Princess. Lord Paeris, the attractive. A famed Elderblood bard, 1st Era court ¡®advisor¡¯. Unaligned. Soletha ¨CHealer, Priestess and Moon¡¯s Daughter Cult disciple, Mayor of Sinya Goras. Mylael O¡¯ Soletha ¨CHealer, Moon¡¯s Daughter Cult disciple. Lord Sulynor ¨Cexiled former Lord of Rain-Minas. Former Rokae Leader. Governor of distant Neil Dan. Known staunch supporter of late High Priestess Edlenn, the Sibyl ¡®Night Moon¡¯. Aeleniel O¡¯ Faelar ¨CExiled Imperial Ranger leader, late legendary Zilan ranger Faelar¡¯s favorite pupil, with Maeriel of Goras being his last surviving. Faelar had been a known Edlenn loyalist, close friend and the presumed lost Aelrindel¡¯s sworn former guardian. Tanulia O¡¯ Aeleniel and her pupil Azrael O¡¯ Tanulia, Zilan Rangers out of Dan. Last seen in Lai Zel-Ka. Ralnor, also Larn. A shadowy Mori-Zilan/Zilan half-breed rumored to be a former member of the infamous ¡®Nym¡¯s Circle of Servants¡¯. An Imperial Guild of Assassins. One of many of Edlenn¡¯s Strays, who were outcast young Zilan the late High Priestess had saved and attempted to tutor after giving them access to Nesande¡¯s Garden in the waning years of the Aken-Zilan war. While they originally settled near Rain Minas, the majority of them are still living now -still exiled- in the distant northern Eplas Zilan colony of Dan. Unknown whereabouts. Rhys Vardran? ¨CA rumored member and leader of the ¡®Silent Servants¡¯ Guild on friendly terms with Lithoniela. While not a citizen of Regia, or any of Jelin¡¯s kingdoms, Rhys¡¯ name strangely appears in Greater Regia¡¯s court transcripts of King Lucius¡¯ private sessions and is found in other official documents as the owner of pricey parcels of highly-coveted coastal land around Novesium. Last seen at Cartagen¡¯s West Gates.
Notes: *Lord Elas¡¯ skilled assistant Kataer, had taken over from him after Queen Baltoris ascended the throne as first scribe and advisor in court policy. Kataer, while heeding the experienced Elas¡¯ advice got overwhelmed with the amount of work that fell on him due to the Queen¡¯s frequent absences and unofficially elevated his own pupil Vulreon (with the blessings of Elas who liked the younger Zilan and had used Vulreon in the past to transcribe older texts) as another royal scribe. This gave the dutiful Vulreon the opportunity to witness some of the closed door meetings of all three Eras and under three different rulers. **The Sopat family, through Sen-Iv¡¯s marriage to Arguen Garth and their daughter Inis-Mir, had blood relations with Wetull¡¯s 3rd Eras¡¯ royal line that Hardir O¡¯ Fardor started. ***The abbreviated SETC, or South Eplas Trading Company, board of directors had several members including King Garth, who was the majority owner of the shares. Some of them were responsible for recognizing opportunities across the South Seas and directing the production of goods so as to be more-profitable. Others, mainly Flardryn who was in charge of the initial flotilla, carved the safer routes towards the friendlier ports and then followed the merchant transports with his warships. Heavy taxation and tariffs imposed on Wetull goods transported via the land route through Scaldingport after 195 NC and the unstable situation due to the war especially after the 2nd battle at 3Roads, forced the leadership of SETC to seek more distant and direct routes. This strategy targeted the city port of Novesium, who struggled to replenish its population and its wealth after the ¡®Spring of Malady¡¯ that had followed Regia¡¯s Civil War and was ruled by an approachable governor. The famous ¡®Coin Route¡¯ avoided most of Regia¡¯s coast in a straight shot through the open seas, but needed a closer base of operations. So Master Rybel, Doris Alden and Flardryn came up with the idea to ¡®angle even more to the south first afore turning north¡¯. Two months after the meeting an Imperial Galleass navigated the reefs and treacherous channels of Sinking Isles and moored at the easternmost of them, the sparsely-populated Worm Isle in the summer of 195 NC. With clean water from the Sparrow Lake, the Zilan moved fast to secure the islet from the few Gish that swam as fast as they could to their mainland and then worked with some local collaborators to improve the small natural port. Mussel that had turned back into a ruin after D¡¯Orsi¡¯s Expedition was swiftly rebuilt using prisoners, slaves and workers with funds generated by the strained SETC¡¯s coffers. Several prominent rich merchants volunteered to assist and Lord Garth ordered the Bank of Goras to allow foreign funds to pour in the company¡¯s purse. SETC soon started to build its own ships, train sailors and soldiers without consulting with Laius Cinna, the latter busy trying to balance the books of the rapidly-expanding and rebuilding kingdom. At the start of that year, a secret meeting of the heads of the Bank of Goras, the Bank of Dinar and the Bank of Trust had been held at Scaldingport. The different banks represented the Khanate, Wetull & its Allies and Lesia¡¯s trading partners on Jelin. They decided that given the dispute on who controlled the ¨Cstill undecided and uncharted- Coin Route, which parties products/goods had priority and mostly the price of said products, the ancient ¡®rule of three¡¯ fitted the situation perfectly. The Bankers from all sides signed the ¡®accord¡¯ that was to normalize warfare from all parties involved for control of the trade routes. ¡®Whatever happens at sea, any action by a trading vessel,¡¯ Lord Kosey Toka told his daughter Tamun-Toka when he returned, ¡®stays a trading matter. That¡¯s what was decided. Which means this horrid ordeal is about to spill-out to land and involve a lot of unsuspecting people. A license for bloodshed and violence. A pirate¡¯s biggest wish. But if we don¡¯t get involved, then by the time the Khan¡¯s war ends, the Khanate will only move goods during a few short summer months from the ¡®Northern Route¡¯ and have only Rida¡¯s port facing Jelin, provided we do keep control of the Shallow Sea.¡¯ *4 The similarly-named gargantuan in size city was destroyed by a series of volcanic explosions and earthquakes, three or four years before the start of the New Calendar now used by the Khanate on Eplas and the three human kingdoms on Jelin. In its place the Zilan erected Throne¡¯s Seat at Morn Taras ¨CTenebrous Castle, the industrial Hardir¡¯s Port, the cosmopolitan Taras ¨Cwith its many districts, the trade hub of Sinya Goras Port, and the distant military outpost of Mussel Port. These several towns and ports for the humans, what the Zilan now call New Goras. 521. Malantur O’ Furu (1/2)
The veiled rhymes of midnight Oh, that strange gloomy delight Witch¡¯s ghost, a perfumed mist over Vermilion¡¯s caldera Hey drunken troubadour, Have another cup, And sing us the tales of the Third Era Need a meek soul to help etch these couplets on tough skin Make it last, old Imperial flag raised on a ship¡¯s mast Hallowed be thine names! Goddess¡¯ own divine caste ¡®n onyx Wyvern¡¯s kin What a bloomin¡¯ sin! A simple spirit to assist with this daunting task How a Moon bled in order to wed ¡®n bred Sea o¡¯ constructs consumed in all-hells flames! Hardir¡¯s plight & Lord o¡¯ Lies lost Zaos'' casque Was naught but a simple brass mask! The unscaled Morn Taras¡¯ fright Oh, but for that single dreadful night Dead''s Coast, a vile cyst hides a Chimera Hey silly troubadour, Heed the Queen¡¯s words, And sing us the tales of the Third Era - Veiled verses of Midnight (alt title ¨CTales of the Third Era) Performed live rare ''Imperial'' version Roy & the Purser Gang Circa 208?
Based on a short lyric text by Naram-Sin Nagar (178-212 NC) found in his notes for the fabled manuscript ¡®Age of the Onyx Wyvern¡¯. Roy & the Purser Gang were given the vellum with the poem-like text around 201 NC in Ani Ta-Ne and wrote their now famous epic song, when they returned to Jelin four years later. A rare Wetull-centric song composed by a human, it was first played in Morn Taras around 208 NC, during the celebration for Lussiel Inis-Mir¡¯s eighteenth named year.
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THE OLD REALMS ~ACT VI~ The Wings of Fate -Volume IV- Solitude''s End
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Arguen Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Lord of Morn Taras Monarch of Wetull King beyond the Pale Mountains Aniculo Rokae Duath Erin I Menel Malantur O¡¯ Furu Rhu Fareno Malantur O¡¯ Furu Act I ¨CMister Rhu Fareno- Part I -The man that was-
- RRRRRREEEE! ¡°WHAT?¡± I¡¯M STIL HURT GLEN! Uvrycres whined whilst stomping at the ground upon witnessing him head for the tower¡¯s flat top¡¯s stairs, the thick stone pylon protruding about thirty meters over the square citadel alike a strange ship¡¯s mast, or the crude depiction of a phallus. ¡°I¡¯m sending someone up to help!¡± Glen retorted over his shoulder and galloped down the narrow stairs, sort of meeting one of Laedan¡¯s assistants who was on his way up. SEND FOOD INSTEAD! BE A FRIEND! The startled young Zilan plastered himself to the wall so the Monarch could pass him by and Glen managed to slow-down using friction, his right forearm and the other wall a couple of steps later. Eh. ¡°Hardir,¡± the Zilan said croakily, face half-hidden in the windowless, dark space. No one else had permission to climb ¡®Uvrycres¡¯ Nest¡¯ after sundown. I mean people could, and the Den¡¯s employees frequently did but they had the experience and character to face the ¡®usually¡¯ resting wyvern. Also the presence of mind, not to leap from the sharp edge ¨Cthat lacked any guardrails or protective barrier- to the granite rooftop of the Citadel just below. Now theoretically, a good athlete good clear the rooftop¡¯s parapets, even the Mastaba¡¯s base ¨Cthe citadel had been built upon- and crash straight on the stone-tiles of Morn Taras¡¯ inner yard, to gain another twenty meters of pure drop, though what that feat would accomplish, Glen had no idea. ¡°Laedan¡­ is on¡­ his way?¡± Glen asked raspingly, making the failed attempt to breathe and speak at the same time, as he was still winded from running down the stairs. ¡°Aye, Hardir.¡± ¡°Good, carry on then,¡± Glen urged the Zilan and headed down the stairs again at a more sane speed.
Glen reached the empty third floor of the Citadel, then continued down to the second and the royal quarters. He dodged a palace guard and scared the flip-flops out of Atju¡¯s feet coming out of the relatively darker side corridor leading to the top. The latter was bringing a huge platter with a light-meal and an assortment of foodstuff from the Kitchens for Inis-Mir, which he heroically managed to save with the calmer Monarch¡¯s assistance. ¡°Anything unusual?¡± Glen asked the Head Servant, holding on to the platter for him and munching at the dried up figs given the opportunity. ¡°These¡­ are pretty nice, um¡­¡± he added while a pale Atju tried to recover from the startle and put the scattered slippers back on his feet. ¡°Nothing of note master, other than that we lost a rabbit,¡± Atju replied and took the platter from Glen, who grabbed the glass of milk to wash everything down. ¡°Hopped away?¡± Glen chanced afore glugging down at the vanilla flavored milk. ¡°It had been skinned and then hanged from a meat hook master,¡± Atju replied. ¡°I don¡¯t believe it could move at all.¡± Ah. Who stole the rabbit then? Hmm. ¡°I¡¯ll refill it for the princess,¡± Atju added taking the empty cup from Glen.¡°But I have to run back to the kitchens for that.¡± To which the Monarch burped in agreement, secured the helm under an armpit and headed for his daughter¡¯s quarters. Glen greeted Sir Qildor, who was standing guard at the princess bedchamber¡¯s opened door. ¡°Maeriel?¡± ¡°She took the night off Hardir, and morrow.¡± Qildor replied stiffly through his Rokae mask. The mask¡¯s sober expression probably contributing to the Zilan knight sounding like that. ¡°Whisper is here,¡± Glen said with a nod. ¡°It makes sense.¡± ¡°She tried to enter earlier, but the citadel is locked down due to the war.¡± ¡°No war, a nasty raid we won.¡± Glen pursed his mouth. ¡°Send for Rimeros, or Kilynia. Is Lithoniela still in the south tower?¡± ¡°They would know Hardir,¡± the Zilan knight replied. ¡°I¡¯ll find Rimeros.¡±
¡°Look daddy!¡± Inis-Mir¡¯s very excited yell pierced Glen¡¯s ears, the moment he entered the adjoining room that was her bedroom. ¡°These just arrived for you!¡± She pointed the smiling Glen towards her bed, grabbing his hand when he paused to check on the gold wyvern¡¯s empty cage. The latter had replaced the metal box. ¡°I asked Vycaris & Oelinael to fashion a new shirt for you!¡± ¡°Aha,¡± Glen said, his eyes searching the lavish room for the small wyvern. Qodras was nowhere to be seen, or was hiding sneakily under the furniture. Stumbling forward Glen reached the princess¡¯ large bed and stared at the leather outfit she had put on display there. A pair of leather pants in the mix, a leather shirt and a light-armoured vest. ¡°I have better armour Inis,¡± he told his insisting to put them on daughter. ¡°No! This will make you look good!¡± Inis yelled. Insisting a little too much. ¡°Alright, where is he?¡± Glen asked grabbing the yelping princess by the waist to lift her off of the carpeted floor. ¡°Stop moving about damnit!¡± Inis-Mir¡¯s expression changed dramatically and Glen had to sit down on the bed as she wasn¡¯t that light anymore. The serious Inis-Mir settled on his lap. ¡°There, this is better. I¡¯m a bit worn-out, but we neutralized this threat honey.¡± ¡°Did you kill them all?¡± Glen rolled his eyes. ¡°We took prisoners. Who puts these thoughts¡­? Eh. Qodras!¡± The King bellowed tipping his head back. ¡°Get out of hiding ye little cretin! Don¡¯t make me come search for you boy!¡± For a while they both listened for sounds but nothing was moving about and Glen eyed Inis-Mir¡¯s guilty face again. ¡°Someone took a rabbit from the Kitchens.¡± ¡°No way!¡± The princess said, faking at shock. ¡°But we have more, so there is no need to dwell on this matter further father.¡± Glen pursed his mouth. ¡°Qodras is a wyvern. He¡¯s dangerous.¡± ¡°Not to me, he isn¡¯t,¡± Inis replied and stared in his face. ¡°Do you want to have your hair painted so they could match mine?¡± She asked changing the subject. ¡°No, I don¡¯t.¡± Glen retorted and seeing Inis¡¯ eyes well-up with tears, he sighed and looked to soften the rejection a bit. ¡°I will look ridiculous honey. Red is more your color yes?¡± ¡°You like Iskay¡¯s hair. Does she look ridiculous?¡± ¡°Alright, we are not going there,¡± Glen cut her off. ¡°You are too young to have this kind of talk with your father.¡± ¡°About hair?¡± ¡°Inis,¡± Glen warned and looked about the richly-decorated room again. ¡°Qodras, if anything happens to my daughter, know that I¡¯ll wear your skin as a bracelet,¡± he threatened the hidden wyvern. ¡°Stop it!¡± Inis-Mir snapped and slapped his chest. ¡°Don¡¯t say things like that!¡± Glen moved her down so he could stand. ¡°I¡¯ll do whatever I want. Anyways, I don¡¯t have time for him, Lithoniela is here.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t need another princess,¡± his daughter said with a pout. ¡°You shall always be the first princess Inis. Lith won¡¯t challenge that.¡± ¡°How do you know?¡± ¡°I know her well. She doesn¡¯t like conflict,¡± Glen replied. ¡°You talk of Jinx but not of her though.¡± ¡°We met when I was younger,¡± Glen said, staring at his tired face in the princess¡¯ large mirror. Sen had mirrors placed in all the bedrooms, but this was a memory Glen didn¡¯t want to revisit at that moment. ¡°And parted under weird circumstances.¡± The King¡¯s eyes searched about the well-lit room again for any suspicious shadows. ¡°How weird?¡± Inis-Mir asked perceptively. ¡°That¡¯s another topic you¡¯re too young to discuss with me,¡± Glen replied and puffed his cheeks out. Rimeros could be heard talking with Qildor outside the adjoined chamber¡¯s open door. ¡°Not all friendships last.¡± ¡°Hmm. Jinx would never have brought her here,¡± Inis decided sounding like an older person, which at times she did. It was darn weird to witness. ¡°If you trust the crazy Gish,¡± his young daughter added. ¡°Then the princess isn¡¯t here to challenge us.¡± Perhaps you¡¯re right honey, Glen thought, as he was less confident than what he¡¯d tried to appear earlier. But things have a tendency to veer off course in life. The Monarch stooped to grab the crowned masked-helm he¡¯d dropped next to a cupboard and a coin escaped from his closed leather purse secured on the weapon¡¯s harness he still had on. The square coin, rolled on the soft grey carpet somehow, cleared it to reach the cream-colored marble tiles and raced for the door to the adjoining room. Glen went after it, the coin rattling up ahead until it came to a stop under Inis-Mir¡¯s elegant and out of dark-rosewood painter stand. Glen retrieved the wayward coin with a grimace, his eyes pausing for a moment on his daughter¡¯s painting. The one he¡¯d destroyed was gone, but Inis-Mir had attempted to recreate it and for whatever reason had stopped after she¡¯d finished painting the lovely, but secluded and sunlit meadow. Clink. The sound reached his ears, well after he¡¯d picked up the coin, as it was part of a different memory and time.
¡°The Lord Shield is here, Arguen Garth,¡± Rimeros informed him immediately and they both started walking briskly the corridor running in front of the royal quarters. The King¡¯s door opened and Iskay rushed out to follow after Glen, who paused to listen to what Rimeros had to say. ¡°We expect the Imperial Princess any moment now. They stayed at the South Tower.¡± ¡°They?¡± Glen queried whilst Iskay used a moist cloth to clean up the harness and the cuirass he still wore underneath. He gave her the helm to work on as well and then pointed to his muddy boots. ¡°Jinx was here, along with Mathews and Marlo, but they departed hours ago. The princess is in the company of a human named Caruso and a slave girl. Ah, a talking cat as well.¡± A numb Glen stared in the dignified Zilan official¡¯s long face. ¡°Is that common with Wetull¡¯s pets? I assume they didn¡¯t buy the cat in an Eplas bazaar?¡± Now that¡¯s a gift for Inis. It could have saved me the trouble of bringing Nefertiti here! ¡°Not that I¡¯m aware your grace,¡± Rimeros replied stiffly. ¡°As for the other¡­ that¡¯s more a Cydonia thing. I meant¡­ the witches of Tir and Cyran were rumored to have had talking pets. Personally I haven¡¯t encountered one and given what I¡¯ve seen from this one, not much was missed. It¡¯s a vile animal your grace.¡± Right. ¡°You think they breed them still?¡±Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Eh¡­ I wouldn¡¯t know. The islands are gone. My current hypothesis is that the cat escaped.¡± Glen nodded slowly. ¡°Then that¡¯s an old arse cat fer sure.¡± He noted. ¡°Unless it passed its talents to its offspring.¡± Glen cleared his throat. ¡°What about the man?¡± ¡°An adventurer from Raoz. Maybe an escort. The girl we don¡¯t know its purpose.¡± ¡°She¡¯s a Que Ki-La palace slave girl. They tend to weave their hair with long pins in that manner. Lord Erul-Sol used those pins to prick their nether regions if they spoke out of turn, or ever.¡± Iskay replied working to polish Glen¡¯s metal mask with the cloth. Zaos¡¯ artifact had assumed a scowling expression at the woman¡¯s persistent efforts. ¡°What use does Lith have of a slave girl or an armed escort?¡± Glen wondered and started walking again towards the fancy round staircase that led to the throne room below. ¡°Are you sure the man isn¡¯t that Zilan assassin in disguise?¡± ¡°He¡¯s not Ralnor,¡± Aenymriel assured him. She was climbing up the stairs and Glen gestured for her to turn around which the nimble Zilan female did. She led the way to the bottom of the stairs and they paused there, as the throne was already too-crowded for Glen¡¯s likes. ¡°I checked myself.¡± ¡°Anything else I should know beforehand?¡± ¡°They rode on an Ostrich?¡± Rimeros chanced unsure. Ugh? ¡°I meant downstairs! What is that cracked bastard Feyras doing here?¡± Glen grunted and put the now smugly-grinning masked-helm back on. ¡°The priests wanted to talk with her highness.¡± Rimeros replied. ¡°What about?¡± ¡°Baltoris had relatively good relations with Feyras to the extent that this is even possible, but Voldomir, while not an outright fanatic, he wasn¡¯t exactly a loyalist also, since he¡¯d basically been under High Priestess Edlenn at Nesande¡¯s Temple. He stayed out of the court¡¯s affairs and tended his gardens.¡± Glen had figured that out himself. ¡°The Priests presume you¡¯ll give Lithoniela some religious, or ceremonial role in the administration.¡± Aenymriel expounded. Yeah sure, seeing as I have more Elderbloods available than plaguing positions! ¡°I won¡¯t,¡± Glen retorted and set his eyes on the thin but wiry Zilan. Lith had matured into a harder version of herself since he¡¯d last seen her, but some of the regal splendor was still there. The haughtiness also, although that too had been refined as he came to found out soon. ¡°Don¡¯t hold back on the praise lathered on my person. Get it all out there,¡± he told Rimeros.
¡°We all were,¡± Glen retorted curtly, minutes later. We could have used your help back then, save Emerson from getting captured, Dante from getting killed like a dog, and all those people we had to leave behind. Ah, then there¡¯s the matter of me almost dying as well, but for a stroke of pure luck and mountain Dwarf hospitality, you knew nothing about! ¡°Are these the Monarch¡¯s wishes?¡± Lithoniela asked after Rimeros finished and a loud gasp interrupted the silently watching the exchange hall. Glen¡¯s eyes located the culprit, a Cofol woman with a striking figure and equally appealing face, even in her worn-out garments. The comely female ducked behind the muscular adventurer with the large head and unshaven face. A Lorian. ¡°It¡¯s been a long journey,¡± Lithoniela added to get Glen¡¯s attention, which was curious. The slave¡¯s head peeked carefully behind Caruso¡¯s back at the throne. Which was silly. ¡°Then you should rest,¡± Glen started a little amused at the woman¡¯s shenanigans.
Glen waited for Lithoniela to finish her talk with the Priests, his eyes on the departing Fikumin and Caruso. Well, they stayed on Caruso for a few moments but then he caught a glimpse of the clumsy Cofol¡¯s round bottom moving away from him. Clumsy manners, or not, the well-endowed woman knew how to walk using all parts of her body properly. Damn. Sen could do it moving at a snail¡¯s pace, which was remarkable, old Soletha as well, but the briskly hurrying away for some plaguing reason Cofol female, had it mastered on all speeds seemingly. A rare professional sashaying master. Marlo swore on his kids, the priestesses of distant Valeria had perfected the act. While the wily, veteran adventurer was prone to bouts of hyperbole, he was pretty convincing in his lewder tales. Glen signaled for Iskay to approach under Aenymriel¡¯s scrutiny. ¡°What?¡± Glen asked in a very low voice. ¡°I have brought a gift for Wetull¡¯s Monarch,¡± Aenymriel replied. ¡°Is it edible?¡± Glen queried, as he¡¯d only had Inis¡¯ figs and that glass of milk. ¡°It¡¯s a weapon.¡± I should have guessed. ¡°We¡¯ll talk later,¡± Glen decided and turned to Iskay. ¡°I want to speak to the girl.¡± He told her. Iskay blinked. ¡°Sol¡¯s slaves are dead inside. You don¡¯t need her,¡± she whispered. For slovenly fuck¡¯s sake. ¡°She can still talk. Just grab her afore she leaves. And Iskay,¡± Glen warned, a little pissed she had forced him to talk about it in public. ¡°I¡¯ll be the god darn judge of that!¡± With that he got up from the throne to walk near Vulreon¡¯s scribe¡¯s table.
Lithoniela glanced at Aenymriel, who bowed her boyish head to her. ¡°Lady Aenymriel, much I¡¯ve heard lately about you.¡± ¡°Whom from your grace?¡± Aenymriel replied teasingly. ¡°One of your old pupils,¡± Lithoniela retorted sternly. ¡°Ah. I¡¯ve no pupils, just lonely souls that had walked the same paths as myself,¡± Aenymriel said, maintaining that light-heartened manner. ¡°But for one, caught in a seductress web.¡± ¡°You served my mother,¡± Lithoniela noted frostily. ¡°Dutifully and for long. She was very pleased.¡± ¡°We have a ¡®no fight¡¯ policy in this hall,¡± Glen intervened. ¡°Loosely upheld now that Troy is around, but still¡­ it¡¯s good that you survived Lith.¡± Lith stared in Glen¡¯s masked face, then eyed the silent Vulreon, they were standing over his table, until the scribe gathered his ink-bottles, quills and scrolls to vacate his seat. ¡°Send her away,¡± she told Glen authoritatively, who blinked caught in the stern tone of her voice as if they were standing inside the temple of Oakenfalls again. ¡°I¡¯ll leave you alone,¡± Aenymriel offered afore the miffed Glen could reply and walked away. She reached the throne, turned left to round the large podium the latter was standing on and disappeared behind it -never making it out of the other side. ¡°Do you know what she is?¡± Lith asked and Glen puffed out, thought about removing the helm, but decided against it. He didn¡¯t trust Lith not to read his face. ¡°A female of your species,¡± he finally replied playfully harking back to her own reply and Lith pursed her lips unsure, lines forming on her unblemished forehead as she mulled over his words for a long moment. ¡°Is this a jest Glenavon?¡± There she is, our dry as an old plinth-wall companion. ¡°Yes, Lith. It was, until you ruined it,¡± Glen retorted with a grimace. ¡°You¡¯ve found a stone throne,¡± Lith noted. ¡°But came to Goras instead of heading to Kaltha to get the gold one.¡± Yeah, I didn¡¯t do what you suggested. ¡°A gold throne exists, but it wasn¡¯t made for me,¡± Glen replied, trying to get control of the conversation and failing. He was a bit apprehensive around Lith still. It was similar with Jinx because they both knew him from before all the fanfare, but with the Gish it was annoying more and they could always spin a good jest. Not so much with the serious Imperial Princess. ¡°I wish to see the wyvern,¡± Lith said. ¡°He¡¯s injured. Another time would be safer.¡± ¡°I had a wyvern¡¯s egg in my cradle,¡± Lith countered frostily. ¡°Traveled on Ovinet¡¯s back to escape Goras¡¯ destruction. I know more about them than you.¡± ¡°I doubt that and this is my wyvern,¡± Glen retorted firmly. ¡°The dagger did recognize Hardir O¡¯ Fardor then,¡± Lith noted. ¡°Who would¡¯ve thought?¡± ¡°Not really. But it does talk shit from time to time.¡± ¡°Not its own words. The dagger translates the wyvern¡¯s verses,¡± Lith explained thinking Glen was still the provincial idiot he¡¯d been back then. ¡°It does that sure, but also speaks its own mind.¡± Pretty much everyone uses it, he thought of Gimoss, but the memory was disturbing and he ditched it quickly. Lith stood back with a frown. ¡°No, it doesn¡¯t. I know it¡¯s confusing¡ª¡± Glen cut her off raising his hand, index finger extended and waggling right and left. ¡°You are wrong again,¡± he told her. ¡°Where is Larn?¡± ¡°Ralnor.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t give a shit,¡± Glen retorted. ¡°Is the ghoulish cretin around?¡± ¡°Ralnor had a contract. The whole incident was an unfortunate misunderstanding,¡± Lith elucidated calmly. ¡°We don¡¯t wish you harm Glenavon and he won¡¯t be a problem.¡± You don¡¯t wish me¡­ why, you arrogant stick! ¡°I almost kicked the bucket. People died!¡± Glen grunted, starting to get angry with her conceited attitude. ¡°I did as well, fully and for a while, it was darn close. Where is he?¡± ¡°He¡¯s not here,¡± Lith replied sternly. ¡°I can tell you¡¯re lying,¡± Glen hissed, although he couldn¡¯t. ¡°You cannot and wearing the Crown of Thorns shows me that you¡¯re deceptive.¡± Lith retorted stiffly. Uh? ¡°What does the crown do?¡± Glen asked. ¡°You know very well,¡± Lith replied. Glen had no idea, but he wasn¡¯t about to admit it. ¡°Of course I do. It was a test.¡± ¡°If you are quite over with the childish games, then there are matters¡ª¡± Lith started but Glen cut her off midsentence. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you when it¡¯s over!¡± He growled and had to press his jaw closed to avoid going in a furious tirade. Lith blinked slowly losing the color from her tanned cheeks, as if her confidence cracked when she sensed Glen¡¯s anger. It was quite surprising really, seeing as Glen had never seen her rattled afore. What happened to you? ¡°Who is the girl?¡± Glen asked, changing the subject. ¡°Some slave I picked up at Raoz,¡± Lith replied absentmindedly. ¡°She¡¯s totally unimportant.¡± Aha. Then she¡¯s important, else why oversell it? Hmm? ¡°What about the cat?¡± He asked to throw her off-balance. Plus he was genuinely curious about the pet. Lith grimaced in surprise. ¡°The cat¡­ what does this¡­ Glenavon, I must talk to you about something important.¡± ¡°Hardir O¡¯ Fardor has a mandate to restore the Empire,¡± Glen told her, using Anfalon¡¯s favorite quote he never really liked. ¡°Of course. Shocking as it is,¡± Lith replied. ¡°You were much more than what you appeared at first. I won¡¯t challenge your rule. You earned it and your efforts to restore Wetull are clear.¡± ¡°What then? You want a liturgical position? Fikumin could use some help. I offered Whisper the same job, but she declined. She¡¯s fully-committed in doing nothing, but for gambling and fooling about I suppose, but I can¡¯t begrudge her that.¡± ¡°You need to deal with the Aken,¡± Lith said and a sober Glen nodded in understanding at first, until her words registered and he recoiled in bewilderment. ¡°What Aken?¡± He grunted not expecting the proposal. ¡°I fought one in Raoz,¡± Lith expounded and now she sounded very strained. Anxious even. ¡°They are all over the place.¡± ¡°I killed a construct in here, about thirty meters from where you stand,¡± Glen retorted dismissively, afore adding. ¡°Another in Eikenport. The first didn¡¯t even fight back, the other was a bit nastier, but that¡¯s just about it.¡± ¡°You killed a construct. I faced an Aken Bonemancer! On Eplas. They are here,¡± Lith hissed losing her cool completely and Glen stood back furrowing his brows confused. Fiku did as well, with Marcus and ¡®Nine Lives¡¯. So what? ¡°I can see you¡¯re stressed about it.¡± ¡°In a moment of weakness and grief, it caught me,¡± Lith snapped through her teeth. ¡°Grief over what?¡± ¡°Zil. Eh, I don¡¯t want to dwell on this!¡± Whoa, Lith is coming apart fast here, Glen thought curious, but remarkably the old princess managed to pull herself together and breathed out bit by bit to soothe her taut nerves. ¡°We had an agreement,¡± Lithoniela finally said tiredly. ¡°My mother was talked into signing it. They get to stay in the Plague Isles and never venture further. They are already here and the Khan has allowed them to travel within the Khanate. This is a grave danger to all. You, Hardir O¡¯ Fardor, the Monarch of Wetull, should enforce it. If they don¡¯t comply, then you should make certain they are punished and rooted out.¡± Glen licked his lips under the mask and glanced at Vulreon, who was busy scribbling down notes. The scribe had found a spot near the base of the large column, about four meters away. Vulreon raised his eyes and stared at the silent Monarch. ¡°Most of the old 1st Era library was destroyed with Elauthin. Elas might have kept some of his personal notes on Nureria. So they are probably gone as well,¡± the Royal Scribe replied to Glen¡¯s silent query. Fantastic! Not. ¡°What about the new one?¡± Library was his meaning. ¡°Gone with the rest of the palace Hardir,¡± Vulreon expounded. ¡°And most of Goras.¡± Ah. ¡°Do you know what the gist of it was?¡± The agreement was his meaning. ¡°From memory your grace. I may not recall all details,¡± Vulreon said pursing his mouth. ¡°The manuscript was about three hundred pages. Big pages,¡± he added looking at his normal-sized scrolls he had placed on the floor-tiles in front of him. ¡°Get back to yer desk,¡± Glen retorted gruffly. ¡°See that ye write down what you remember.¡± ¡°The Monarch will move against the Aken?¡± Lith asked rigidly and Glen snapped his head towards her annoyed and not liking her demanding tone. ¡°The Monarch shall look into the matter and then¡­ reach a decision,¡± he grunted and smacked his lips ending the meeting.
Half-an-hour later, just after finishing his face-to-face with the alluring former slave Moira, Glen sat miffed at his personal desk inside his expansive personal quarters, fingers rapping at the table¡¯s surface and the trio of females in his presence -the Zilan Aenymriel and Iskay with Memphes- watching him in uncomfortable silence. He had already dispatched Folen ¨Cthe Zilan had volunteered- to mend the situation with Moira, which was a fifty-fifty shot at best. ¡°What the fuck just happened?¡± Glen finally growled, greatly unsatisfied with how his day had gone, after returning triumphant from the battlefield. ¡°Sol¡¯s slaves,¡± Iskay started and then yelped scared when Glen jumped up abruptly. The Monarch removed the helm and placed it on the table in deceptive calmness. ¡°Continue,¡± he urged the redhead in a reasonable manner that terrified her and robbed the pale Iskay of her voice. ¡°She¡¯s not interested,¡± Aenymriel offered indifferently. ¡°Former slaves are apprehensive to move into a new relationship with an authoritative figure of great power, for fear they would slip again into a life of servitude,¡± the latter she had said eyeing the two shell-shocked human females. ¡°I don¡¯t believe you,¡± Glen said evenly. ¡°There is something else afoot here.¡± ¡°Feet, legs¡­ she has the whole package,¡± Aenymriel teased and Glen ogled his eyes at the Zilan warningly. ¡°Although there is something else there¡­ I¡¯m not sure.¡± ¡°Um,¡± Glen agreed shaking his head. ¡°Memphes? Gives us yer input girl, did you swallow yer tongue?¡± ¡°Great Monarch, the girl is insolent and a liar,¡± Memphes blurted out and dived for the floor in a dramatic genuflection that brought a chuckle out of Aenymriel that immediately stepped forward to place her heel on Memphes neck. What the¡­? Glen thought in shock. For a tensed moment the Zilan kept her foot there, as if considering pressing down even more and breaking the slave¡¯s neck, but eventually she retreated to her previous spot and crossed both arms before her chest. ¡°I need to rest,¡± Glen said after the awkward moment was over and Iskay went to help Memphes to her shaking legs. ¡°Everyone get your arses out of me room,¡± the Monarch added harshly, remembering to temper it a little at the end. ¡°If you be so kind.¡±
The Monarch pondered on Nym¡¯s words sitting in thoughtful solitude for a while, until he heard the adjoining door that led to Inis-Mir¡¯s bedchamber cracking open. The princess¡¯ quarters were located between the King¡¯s and the Queen¡¯s. Some light poured in from the ajar door but no one entered. Glen watched the semi-dark spot for any movement, but heard only a faint tip-tap followed by the sound of a small stool pushed on the marble-tiles. Glen found the stool under a wall-adjoining table, two meters east of the door and then something sparkled at the furniture¡¯s furthest edge. The golden hue lost some of its strength, Glen narrowed his eyes and then two small gold horns, over a pair of gold-rimmed small eyes replaced it, as the tiny wyvern peeked over the edge of table. It had used the stool to stand on. Clever bugger. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Glen queried hoarsely and Qodras recoiled with a sharp hiss, turned into a shriek of panic. Something rolled on the stool¡¯s surface under the table, scratching at the wood¡¯s polished surface and then a thud was heard. Qodras let out a pained whimper. Idiot. ¡°Daddy, is Qodras here?¡± Inis-Mir asked from the door, clad in her short red chiton. The princess had a matching pair of reddish, made out of fox¡¯s hide slippers on. ¡°Aye. But he might be unconscious, give it a minute,¡± Glen teased her, afore sobering up. ¡°Why are you awake? It is late.¡± ¡°No it¡¯s not,¡± Inis-Mir said and walked to where the small wyvern was last seen, stooped and picked Qodras up. Holding the golden wyvern, the young princess approached her father next. ¡°It is if I say so,¡± Glen reminded her, helping the girl climb his knee. Inis twisted around to give him a kiss, then she added stubbornly. ¡°No it isn¡¯t.¡± This could go on forever, a grinning Glen thought, while Qodras scratched at his chestplate with his tiny claws as he¡¯d managed to climb on his daughter¡¯s right shoulder. Inis retrieved the flaying baby wyvern and then pushed her small back against Glen¡¯s chest. ¡°You seem more troubled now,¡± the princess said without looking at him. ¡°Just tired. I guess also thinking on stuff,¡± Glen murmured resting his forehead on Inis¡¯ luscious red locks that reached well-bellow her shoulders. If she failed to brush, or braid them ¨Cthe elaborate styles she used, some of her late mother¡¯s, but also a mixture of Cofol and Zilan hairdos- the princess¡¯ thick mane behaved just like her father¡¯s, but the curls were now hanging loose, thoroughly brushed before bedtime and without any beads weaved in them. ¡°How did it go with the bad princess?¡± Eh. ¡°Better than I thought it would,¡± Glen replied. ¡°But it got derailed at the end. I¡¯m fine.¡± ¡°Something else is bothering you?¡± ¡°Stop it.¡± Glen warned, but then added. ¡°I might have lost the opportunity to make a friend of sorts.¡± ¡°What need have we of more friends of any sort?¡± Inis-Mir asked and Qodras burped as she was rubbing his gold-scales covered belly with her fingers. Not that kind of friend. ¡°I meant a lady friend,¡± Glen replied. ¡°And we do. Anyways, something Aenymriel said rings true.¡± ¡°Hmm. She¡¯s a weird one. What did she say?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± Glen said and kissed the back of her head. ¡°It is time for bed princess.¡± ¡°I want to know,¡± Inis-Mir insisted and turned to look at her father with pleading eyes. Glen pursed his mouth initially, but then his face relaxed. ¡°Got too-used in bossing people around. Thought all Cofols girls are the same, but they aren¡¯t,¡± he finally said teasingly waggling his eyebrows. ¡°And I don¡¯t really need intimidation. No woman or girl can resist my legendary charm.¡± ¡°They can!¡± Inis-Mir chuckled. ¡°And you¡¯re not intimidating. You¡¯re funny daddy!¡± ¡°That¡¯s what makes me so dangerous little one,¡± Glen warned her with a wide grin. ¡°I can charm the slippers out of yer feet with minimum effort.¡± ¡°No! Why didn¡¯t you then? It was the poorly-dressed girl yes?¡± Inis-Mir asked giggling and Qodras joined letting out sharp shrieks and snorts, whilst desperately trying to free himself from her grip. ¡°Hey, not all people can afford new clothes and it was much too late to switch tactics.¡± ¡°Maybe your charms just aren¡¯t strong enough? You could use a potion, spike her drink,¡± Inis-Mir suggested all-serious. ¡°That¡¯s disturbing to hear from you,¡± Glen warned and pinched her cute nose as a warning. ¡°I¡¯ll have you know your father¡¯s mighty charm worked famously on yer mother.¡± ¡°Bravery did,¡± Inis-Mir argued with a pout. ¡°Being too-handsome a scoundrel to resist did, mother had told me many times. And also that tenacious unwillingness to take no for an answer in order to get his. You¡¯ve lost that vitality father. Would the old you have given up? Where is that young man?¡± A moved Glen stood back surprised Sen-Iv had talked to her about these matters while Inis was so young and their daughter still remembered every detail years after. ¡°It can¡¯t work now. The Monarch can¡¯t lose face on these matters. It¡¯s over and I¡¯ll just move on.¡± Inis-Mir stared in his face for a long moment and then turned around to climb down from his knees. Qodras squeaked comically, almost managing a near-escape, but the young princess¡¯ grip tightened smothering him on her chest until the wyvern gave up with a pissed oomph. Glen watched the small figure walk slowly towards the open door leading to her room, a forlorn expression slowly forming on his face, until the princess paused and turned to give him a familiar stare with a different pair of eyes. Equally precious. ¡°Did you have that stupid mask Zaos made on?¡± Inis-Mir asked calmly and Glen caught out of the corner of his left eye the metal mask¡¯s frozen expression slowly morphing into an annoyed scowl. ¡°Yeah, it helps make newcomers nervous,¡± Glen rustled and then cleared his throat. ¡°That too, sure.¡± Inis agreed sagaciously. Ah. Well then¡­ Father and daughter stared at each other in meaningful silence, until the little wyvern that wanted to be part of the moment tried to wink at Glen and failed spectacularly. So Qodras let out a small angry snarl instead and croaked in a doom-soaked fake voice. ¡°But also¡­ so much more¡­¡± dragging each syllable to create the desirable effect. Glen grimaced and pushed with both arms to rise from the armchair. ¡°I¡¯ll need a new outfit to pull this off,¡± he murmured and Inis-Mir¡¯s nicely-shaped red eyebrow shot up tauntingly. Why, you little shrewd devil. Look at ye planning way-ahead like yer old man, the smirking Glen thought proudly, although truth be told, his own plans never ventured that far into the future. ¡°Red dye?¡± Inis-Mir probed hopefully beaming from ear to ear. Glen puffed his cheeks out and then sighed shaking his head right and left. Then he replied much as he had earlier. ¡°No.¡±
Hours later, when Folen appeared on the ascending to Morn Taras¡¯ plateau road -well-lit up with ten kilometers of torchlight posts, Glen was waiting for the Master of Silence outside the gates and violently tackled him afore he could enter inside for ¡®a emergency strategy session¡¯. Tackled, because it was more of an ambush, as the Monarch had slipped out of Morn Taras and was in an adventurous mood. Violently, because the half-asleep on the saddle Folen resisted initially ¡®spooked by the lateness of the evening¡¯ and Glen had to shove the yelping for the guards Zilan officer off of the saddle to calm him down. 522. Malantur O’ Furu (2/2)
Glen Arguen Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Lord of Morn Taras Monarch of Wetull King beyond the Pale Mountains Aniculo Rokae Duath Erin I Menel Malantur O¡¯ Furu Rhu Fareno Malantur O¡¯ Furu Act I ¨CRhu Fareno- Part II -The man behind the mask-
¡°A¡¯ right. That¡¯s ¡®Klepto¡¯ Leon and Silent Doyle,¡± a grimacing Folen explained early the next morning, afore the still closed Lake Taras¡¯ west shores tourist pavilions, Glen had made a key for. ¡°Best I could do in such short notice, to avoid using my standard guys. I pay medic fees to them, your grace.¡± Oh boy. Glen eyed the two low-level crooks intently. ¡°They worked in Rida and Eikenport,¡± Folen explained. ¡°What made you move?¡± Glen asked the thinner of the two, the one named Doyle, a sad-looking Lorian with drooping eyelids that wore a vest with many pockets over his rugged tunic. ¡°War milord. We¡¯re Reeve¡¯s loyalists.¡± Glen glared at Folen. ¡°Do they know who I am?¡± ¡°We haven¡¯t talked about that sire, but no,¡± Folen admitted and added calmingly. ¡°The man is just nervous.¡± ¡°We trust mister Folen,¡± Klepto Leon assured Glen. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t,¡± Glen retorted and the two men smirked at the perceived jest. ¡°Do you know what to do?¡± ¡°Aye, unknown milord.¡± Doyle replied. ¡°Mister Folen will point the girl to us.¡± ¡°Ayup,¡± Klepto agreed, a taller Lorian with a serious case of early baldness and pale-blue eyes. ¡°We grab her inside the alley.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want her harmed in any way is this clear?¡± Glen probed. ¡°Rest assured milord,¡± Klepto replied confidently. ¡°We¡¯ve done this shit several times.¡± ¡°Jumped on lonely women inside dark alleys?¡± Glen asked raising an eyebrow. ¡°It sounds bad, now that milord said it out loud,¡± Klepto said defending his lifestyle. ¡°But it really isn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Aye,¡± Klepto agreed shaking his head sadly. ¡°What kind of girl walks the streets after dark? Not a follower of Uher for sure. Right?¡± Doyle poised a hypothetical query. ¡°Ayup,¡± Klepto added with a nod. ¡°What person lurks in ambush for such a foolish girl?¡± Glen argued. ¡°Yeah,¡± Klepto sadly agreed with his counter and then grimaced thinking it through. ¡°Right,¡± Glen grunted with an eye-roll, already feeling dumber from the exchange and glared at Folen, who pursed his mouth frustrated with the way the talk had gone. ¡°You make your move, but I show up and break it up. Who can take a punch and sell it?¡± Glen asked the nervous duo and Klepto pointed at Doyle, who blinked in shock. ¡°Doyle can handle it. He was in a play once.¡± ¡°Yeah? What did he do?¡± ¡°Played a horse?¡± Klepto replied with a grimace at the attempt to remember more ¡®useful¡¯ details. ¡°He was stronger back then.¡± Slovenly fuck¡¯s sake! ¡°I can handle half-a-punch,¡± Doyle assured Glen. ¡°Or two full slaps. Then I¡¯ll take a dive.¡± Glen pressed the tip of his tongue behind his lower lip unsure. ¡°Easy,¡± Doyle added confidently. ¡°Milord.¡± And that settled it.
Glen spend an hour watching a much-different Moira working at Vela¡¯s stand in the market, after Folen¡¯s man Almas ¨Che worked as ¡®muscle¡¯ at the pleasure house- informed him of her whereabouts. ¡°Six furrows a slave¡¯s heart has. All hearts,¡± The former slave Ziba-Ra had told him some time back. ¡°But you can¡¯t see them if you stand firm on your feet and look straight ahead. You need to rise above your comfort zone and watch them forming on the ground alike arching folds. Each furrow has pleasure running through and filling it. Or discontent. One can savor it, but not all are the same. One can see a glimpse of another¡¯s true self, but one needs to stand back first.¡± Naossis¡¯ words to Augusta Lena allegedly, spoken from a well-learned slave girl that had caught Sir Emerson¡¯s attention and saved for all eternity by a loyal bard¡¯s quill that wanted to offer this mundane world a taste of a legendary adventurer¡¯s life. ¡°Unfold each veil carefully one by one for some flowers have thorns and you¡¯ll reach the truth.¡± This version of Moira was carefree and full of confidence, with none of the tension, or distrust, she had demonstrated around him. She worked the different labeled potions effortlessly, rearranging the small vials on the stand and checking each one for any spillage. Occasionally Moira would smile hearteningly at the many male, or female customers that had started circling the pretty Cofol healer¡¯s table caught in her charming web. This included several silver-feathered miniature ducks that had populated the Lake the previous summer and now had landed near her table to nest under it. Occasionally, because most of the times the healer didn¡¯t even notice the effect she had on people. A warm aura, alike a glow that affected those walking past and forced them to stop unwittingly to watch Moira work. Her mere presence spreading bliss to those nearby, invisible pleasure threads that slowly expanded outwards, alike warmth from a well-stocked with burning logs fireplace during winter. You are something special, aren¡¯t you? Glen thought impressed. Where did you really come from lass? One could immediately feel the female¡¯s attention turn his way, Glen decided after he moved to intervene, out of fear the healer might take the customer up on his offer. Moira¡¯s slightly-slanted painted eyes grew, becoming large pools of warm brown that cracked to let a bit of silver shine through. Her face losing that Cofol oval-shape and turning more angular, longer seemingly. For a moment the woman appeared standing taller, almost to Glen¡¯s height, but then the moment faded and the Monarch felt himself being engulfed into an earnest radiance that danced around him. The feeling retreated when the flushed healer tried to haggle with the largest purse this side of the Pale Mountains and perhaps beyond. Glen would have paid a case of cold to get that vial. He didn¡¯t need another healing potion, but suddenly felt an overwhelming need to please the comely healer. Thoroughly and for long. Whatever the dedicated Inis-Mir¡¯s had done worked its magic for sure and the mesmerized Glen, now caught unawares by Moira¡¯s unexpected allure, left the healer¡¯s stand convinced he¡¯d done a good enough job. Even if he¡¯d blundered into juvenile banalities after a while, in his attempt to impress her. This wasn¡¯t the right way to sell a character, but Glen counted on the former-slave¡¯s ignorance of the murkier parts of life to pull through. But the juvenile shenanigans were just about to turn absurd.
Less than an hour later Goras¡¯ darkness had descended upon Taras. The city¡¯s main streets and rich estate neighborhoods lit up in greeting and chased it away, but not every spot in Taras was well-illuminated and the moons were still not fully out. In fact, most side alleys and the still sparsely-populated neighborhoods hugging the center, or the lake¡¯s shores, up to the massive ruins of the old city walls and beyond, were immersed in the pitch black. Folen gave him a thumbs up from across the street and the impatient ¨Cvery bored waiting- Glen walked briskly across the lit up main street as well. It cut Taras in two even portions, starting at the road coming from Tenebrous Castle and ending up at the ever-growing Sopat estate corner, meeting up with the vertical streets coming from the lake¡¯s taverns along the way and passing behind the warehouses surrounding the market. As well, because Moira had used the straight shortcut to reach Jinx¡¯s and Glen¡¯s old neighborhood that morning, avoiding the busy larger streets and had just done the same. She was coming back again after finishing her work and Glen had caught a glimpse of the healer seconds ago coming down the park, two building blocks away. She then walked across the main street, but made the side turn to head straight for Jinx¡¯s place without following the bigger well-illuminated road, which was always the better option. Just follow the longer and safer route next time. We¡¯ve placed these pricey light-posts here for a plaguing reason! An amused Glen thought, sprinting to make it to the other end of the alley before the slow-walking Moira. The buildings hugging the fancy neighborhood Jinx now lived, still the abandoned half-ruins of old Goras Glen had encountered when he had first arrived, especially the furthest from the main street one ventured. Those that were repaired, still mostly unused by Taras arriving civilians, as everyone sought to find a place near the city¡¯s main arteries to live, or to setup a business. Glen reached the edge of the dark alley, spotting a hooded couple watching him from the pavement across the street, five meters away from the oblivious Folen and Almas that had their attention on the masqueraded Monarch. The latter a misnomer as other than a bit of dark hair dye to cover the grey hairs on his head and some makeup, Glen had just dressed as his older persona. Younger that is. Nevertheless, this ¡®Glen¡¯ had more coin, fancier custom-tailored garbs, a new horse and a different name Inis-Mir had suggested to honor his trusty old stallion. The man said something to his female partner, who shook her head in disbelief. Hmm. Glen thought they looked extra-shady in a city populated by shady people, but he¡¯d arrived at the alley¡¯s dark entrance in the meantime and decided it wasn¡¯t important enough to deal with at that very moment.
The still without a fully-fleshed backstory ¡®Rhu Fareno¡¯ paused for his eyes to adjust to the semi-darkness and then walked fast inside the three meter in breadth cobblestone alley, already hearing voices up ahead, carried by the nearby tall walls. The building to his left a warehouse and the one to his right the outer wall of a freshly rebuild two-story hostel that hadn¡¯t opened for customers yet, its entrance on the larger street behind him. Glen spotted a man half-hidden in the shades, with his back resting on the right wall just after the entrance ¨Cor exit- to the alley, and hesitated noticing that the startled at Glen¡¯s appearance man had reacted nervously. Apparently not taking a nap, but guarding the entrance. Glen had an eye looking up ahead to the other end of this unassuming backstreet, the other on the man he¡¯d just passed by. A sturdy dude¡¯s back blocked his view, but parts of a conversation reached Rhu Fareno¡¯s trained ears. ¡°I was heading home,¡± Moira¡¯s voice said, sounding amused. Clearly not-fully grasping the gravity of the situation. ¡°Well, you say that bosomy mademoiselle,¡± a man¡¯s gruff voice said in cultured thuggish jargon. ¡°But all this tumult made me fretful as a free-given fuck, seeing as this here thoroughfare is closed tonight and all me other good girls be working elsewhere.¡± That¡¯s not that doofus Doyle, an alarmed Glen thought and came to a stop, the guy guarding the alley¡¯s south end, shaking his head and stepping out of the shades to come after him. ¡°Hey, I worked in the market and I¡¯m pretty tired boys,¡± Moira explained rationally, but used a bit of tongue-in-cheek at the end that was surprising and dangerous with street cretins. They take it as encouragement. Nothing better than a semi-eager bird as the saying went. Glen caught a glimpse of another figure standing on the bulky ruffian¡¯s right side and a taller thug smirking behind the pouting Moira. Fuck Folen and his cut-rate, useless cretins! ¡°Hah. I bet you were,¡± the bigger thug that blocked Glen¡¯s view guffawed, afore turning serious. ¡°Bet you made a bit of pretty coin too. I¡¯ll wager some more, it matches the issued standard fine for disturbing our business lass.¡± ¡°Yeah. Got to pay up lassie,¡± the man standing on his right shoulder agreed with a toothless grin. ¡°Hey. Street is closed mister,¡± the guy standing behind the tensely watching Glen grunted and the Monarch raised his hand in a non-threatening acknowledgement, before turning around to face the scarred thug.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°By whose orders?¡± Glen asked calmly with a slight nod of the head, as if it made perfect sense and the thug frowned. ¡°Aeson runs this here corner,¡± the thug replied a little defensively. ¡°Right. Is he around? We go way back,¡± Glen deadpanned without missing a beat and when the startled thug went to answer him, Glen¡¯s heavy, metal-reinforced right boot, caught the shocked ruffian between the legs doubling him over. Glen planted his maimed leg down and raised the other, meeting the thug¡¯s plunging chin with a devastating knee that drove the lower part of his jaw into the upper, but not afore it smashed most of the teeth, severed the tongue and popped one of the ruffian¡¯s eyes out of its socket. The unconscious man toppled backwards, spraying blood from his mauled face and a scowling Glen turned around reaching over his right shoulder for his sword¡¯s handle. He started walking determined towards the larger group of thugs and Moira. They had missed the brief, but vicious confrontation and continued with their phony negotiation. It was pretty clear the gang had decided to grab the lonely woman, the moment they had spotted her. The fact that Glen had planned roughly something of a similar nature not escaping him. ¡°You wish to take my coin?¡± Moira asked evenly and the larger thug glanced at his friends amused before returning the healer¡¯s taunting stare. ¡°Aye, but ye changed me mind, see? So I¡¯ll give ye a good arse-prodding instead,¡± he told her nastily and raised his hand to gesture for the toothless man standing to his right, to go help their other taller friend grab her. The briskly walking Glen was four meters away and opened his next stride to eat the distance between them faster, already planning how to tackle the three additional low-skilled opponents. It must be noted here that there¡¯s nothing worse than chancing an estimate of a crowd¡¯s true size in the semi-darkness, while under stress. That said, several things happened in quick succession just as Glen took that first step and the thug moved to get his hands on Moira. The ground jumped underneath Glen¡¯s feet once, as if the earth had hiccupped after hit by a brief quake, the violent tremor traveling to the walls right and left of the alley, forcing them to shake back and forth. Deep cracks opened up on the brick and mortar surfaces and fractures disturbed the cobblestone under foot. A scowling Glen halted, flaying his arms to keep his balance, the men in front of him doing the same and the majority of the latter releasing loud curses, after short loud gasps of surprise. With plenty of variety. ¡°ROTTED GONADS!¡± ¡°HOSER DEVILS!¡± ¡°SHIT HIT THE PAN!¡± ¡°DA BLOODY SHAG!¡± ¡°Soaring blue fucks!¡± A heavy-breathing Glen cursed as well ¨Cnot missing that a fourth voice had joined the swearing concert- then came to an abrupt stop next to the bulky thug-leader, just as the toothless man blinked to combat his shock from the sudden earth jolt, afore moving again to grab the unseen healer. A three-kilo angular, Zilan stone-brick, detached from the hostel¡¯s wall and smacked the thug at the right temple stopping him dead. The man with the now-misshapen skull was tossed a meter to the side and then collapsed, an abrupt headfirst dive for the cobblestone, under Glen¡¯s and the bulky cretin¡¯s disbelieving eyes. The already dead thug¡¯s cranium exploded on the cobblestone, a bucket of brains turned to bloody mush splattered Glen¡¯s boots and the bulky leader raised his gawking eyes to perceive the also numb Glen standing next to him. What the actual¡­? Glen started thinking, instinctively snapping back to fight mode, but hesitated spotting the now fully-visible Moira looking his way with her mouth open alike a confused chicken. Another man standing between them, a short in height, weasel-faced Cofol ¨CGlen had missed in his count- and the tall dude that had recovered and was now right behind the stunned healer. Girl... Move! A snarling Glen thought and then ducked down adroitly to avoid the thug-leader¡¯s heavy punch, his disheveled head diving for the boot of the short crafty Cofol that took a quick step forward and attempted a mighty kick aimed at Glen¡¯s unprotected head, with enough power to send it alike a ball to orbit. Attempted, because the Cofol kept turning in the kick, torso twisting and leg following, until the boot zipped past the spastically recoiling the other way Glen¡¯s right ear and connected with the cracked wall full-force. Boot and foot inside it had turned sideways with a disturbing crunching sound. The Cofol started screaming in pure-undiluted agony, and the relieved at the near miss Glen sported a taunting grin standing up, just afore the thug leader¡¯s return punch landed on the left side of his head. Glen rolled with the punch to avoid the worst, but it scrapped him good at his maimed ear, splitting the skin and rang his brains something fierce. ¡°Motherfucker!¡± Glen cursed stumbling back to put his back on the wall, whilst swinging his sword in a vertical arc ¨Cstarting low and rising- in order to cut open the dumbfounded bulky leader from left hip to left tit. The man grunted in horrible pain and stunned horror feeling his innards emptying on the street, as he¡¯d missed that Glen was armed, which was in retrospect as huge a blunder as Glen missing the short Cofol earlier. The latter, was still hobbling about holding his foot and crying miserably about the life¡¯s injustices. The still dazed Glen turned to help Moira, pushing aside the bulky thug leader that had slowly sunk to his knees in a disgusting pool of blood, guts and parts of a gory spleen. Might have been the kidneys also. The bleeding down his ear Glen paused in alarm, boots slipping on the bloody ground, upon seeing the tall dude coming at him with large uncertain strides and eyes looking straight ahead, well over Glen¡¯s head. Luthos cock jammed in the plaugin¡¯ jar! Emerson¡¯s blade cackled with a jackal¡¯s delight, the unnerving sound reverberating inside the bombarded alley¡¯s dark walls, accompanied by a melodic humming Glen barely heard with his ears ringing. Glen glanced back, raising the sword to put it between himself and the carelessly advancing man, saw nothing but the dark empty street, so he snapped his gaze forward again, just as the tall thug impaled himself on Glen¡¯s protruding blade. Just kept going until he couldn¡¯t and Glen was pushed back a meter afore planting both feet firmly on the ground. The thug was bleeding from the mouth, his ogling eyes staring in Glen¡¯s equally surprised, sweaty face, in utter bewilderment. ¡°Ah,¡± Glen said and yanked the sword this way and that to widen the wound, until the tall thug¡¯s legs gave up completely and he plummeted lifeless to his knees.
¡°Rhu?¡± Moira¡¯s husky voice asked, snapping Glen out of his numbness, mostly at the way the whole fight had unfolded. He stared at her unsure. ¡°What are you doing here, mister Fareno?¡± The grinning healer asked. Who the all-fuck¡­? Ah. Damn it. ¡°Came to help you,¡± Glen replied, remembering he was running a well-meaning scam, but still very confused on what the all-hells had just transpired. ¡°Are you well?¡± He asked struggling to get the cocky voice right. Son of a horny bitch! ¡°Are you?¡± Moira teased cutely. Had she used that flirty act inside Morn Taras, Glen would have showed her all the mysteries of the realm inside a minute. Ten. Let¡¯s give it an hour, that¡¯s a lot of woman. ¡°Eh, we better get out of here.¡± Glen said instead, all-business and pure professionalism. Moira walked towards him, circled around the pool of gore holding up her long tunic not to stain it, or blemish her now visible fancy sandals and making it near Glen ¨Cwho had appreciated the brief sight of her shapely legs very much- pointed a long finger at the still hopping about short thug that had reached the alley¡¯s other end, in his panicked attempt to escape. ¡°Leave him,¡± Glen said and reached to grab her hand. ¡°There might be more nearby.¡± ¡°What about the dead bodies?¡± Moira asked rushing after him with a chuckle, as Glen all but dragged her out of the alley and back into the well-illuminated boulevard. Folen waved an arm at him from across the road, which the Zilan abruptly lowered, upon spotting Moira and turned around to pretend he was discussing dog-races with the amused Almas. ¡°There¡¯s¡­ the city has a special service for that,¡± Glen explained with a grimace of pain and stopped to touch his bleeding ear, but Moira¡¯s hand beat him to the punch. Her fingers traced the wound and the pain turned to a tingling numbness. ¡°Apologies,¡± the comely healer gushed near his face, her warm breath smelling of chicken meat, olive oil and oregano, with a touch of fresh orange. Not a good blend, but it made little difference. A severe tick appeared on Glen¡¯s left eye and the ringing in his ears died down. ¡°It¡¯s just a cut,¡± he grunted hoarsely, a tad light-headed. ¡°Must be an old one,¡± Moira noticed with a coy smile and stood back. ¡°It¡¯s all gone now.¡± Glen frowned, an eye on Folen that discreetly walked away towards the park where they had left their horses, and the other on Moira¡¯s flushed Cofol face. ¡°Are you hurt?¡± He asked her and Moira opened her eyes surprised. ¡°Of course not,¡± she started and then smiled, which was a wonderful thing to witness up close. ¡°You stopped them. Did you not?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Glen agreed, although he wasn¡¯t sure how much of it was him. Luthos had played a huge part back there. Now, the reason that had made the capricious god decide to give Glen a helping-hand after all this time, quite the mystery. ¡°I happened to have business around here, spotted them inside the alley and decided to check on what was going on.¡± Lame. Horrible delivery. The whole semi-decent plan scuffed. ¡°Fate,¡± Moira said dreamily and grinned. Glen blinked unsure, but then nodded. ¡°Sure¡­ yeah,¡± he agreed and gestured for her to follow him across the large street. ¡°Somehow unseen, unrotten paths and mysterious futures,¡± Moira murmured and rushed to walk next to him. What? Glen glanced at her comely profile, his eyes straying to her bouncy breasts underneath the modest, but pretty thin old tunic and caught sight of her fancy sandals again. A pricey pair fer sure. ¡°I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about,¡± he told her and touched his ear to find the cut that had stopped bleeding in the meantime. Whoa, whatever it had been, it¡¯s gone now. Hah. Fucking great dodge there mate! ¡°It takes a brave man to face a group of lowly thugs,¡± Moira said in a semi-praising manner escorted by a deep blush. ¡°To yer untrained eyes aye. But they were pretty skilled,¡± Glen argued, wanting a bit more praise than that, even if it was undeserved. Because, fuck them cunts. Last man standing motherfuckers!
Huro-Tal, which meant Storm-feet, Lord Suraer¡¯s gift to the Monarch from his private stables, snorted seeing them approach and shook its luscious, beads-covered mane. The black stallion¡¯s powerful legs were covered with silver-colored hairs that reached his hooves. ¡°He¡¯s beautiful,¡± Moira gushed running her fingers on the horse¡¯s back. She knows about horses, Glen decided, with a glance to check whether the stallion¡¯s almost half-a-meter long girthy phallus was showing. ¡°Hooves in the blizzard,¡± Moira murmured hugging the rather difficult horse¡¯s neck tight and Storm-feet neighed shaking his large head excited at her friendly presence. Or aroused. ¡°You were pretty close. Name¡¯s Storm-feet.¡± ¡°Uhm.¡± Glen furrowed his thick brows, glanced to the right and then to the left down the park¡¯s edges, caught sight of the hidden Folen peeking at them behind a sycamore tree and waved for the Zilan official to stay out of sight. Then he cleared his throat and asked in Rhu Fareno¡¯s deep voice. ¡°Can you ride with a partner?¡± Used a lot of double-meaning words in the query. She¡¯s a well-traveled woman, despite her youthful appearance. She gets it. Moira stopped petting the aroused horse and stared at the sly-smirking Glen, through her fluttering long eyelashes. Mother of big-titted maidens! ¡°Sometimes. Can I hold on to you perhaps?¡± Definitely. Having said that this wasn¡¯t the position Glen had in mind. Oh, well. ¡°Great,¡± he said through his teeth. ¡°It¡¯s a large saddle. Let me get up there and I¡¯ll take you home.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know where I sleep, silly.¡± Moira noticed and Glen sighed afore climbing on Storm-feet¡¯s back. He turned to offer her a helping hand. ¡°True, but you are going to show me much more than that, yes?¡± He probed in a mischievous manner, deciding to stop beating around the bush. Moira bit her lip, reached to grab his hand and climb on the saddle, leaving her guilty silence speak volumes on her future intentions. A spectacular triumph! Glen all but declared loudly, afore reining himself in, not to appear an easily stirred fool.
Glen pretended he didn¡¯t know the road, or the neighborhood, heavily distracted by Moira¡¯s breathing in his ear and sporting a serious erection for the duration of the ride. A very painful ordeal for an equestrian to attempt. Upon reaching Jinx¡¯s villa, right across the street from Fikumin¡¯s -the latter Glen¡¯s first home in Taras, it was well after midnight. The streets truly empty now, but for the occasional patrol, especially in this central and very rich neighborhood. ¡°It¡¯s not my place,¡± Moira explained jumping down. ¡°But I can use it,¡± she added knowingly, whilst Glen dismounted as well and walked Storm-feet out of the street, leaving the horse to chomp down on the vegetation that sprouted at the base of Jinx¡¯s yard wall. Might have been some flowers in the mix. Glen walked to the small yard¡¯s entrance, where the excited Moira waited for him. ¡°I don¡¯t know anything about you,¡± she said huskily, as Glen closed the distance. ¡°I could learn if you allow me.¡± Hah. Sure baby. In yer dreams. ¡°How about we leave the boring personal stuff for the morrow?¡± Glen offered waggling his eyebrows, and used the distraction to snake his left arm around the small of Moira¡¯s back to draw her closer. She offered almost no resistance. ¡°Goddess, Rhu is the opposite of boring,¡± she purred in his face and now Moira was too close to escape him. Glen used his right hand to cup her nape, all that previous arousal returning tenfold and chasing his tiredness away. ¡°You¡¯re god darn right,¡± Glen rustled hoarsely and dived for her plump, half-open mouth intending to start his assault in the street and then work his way inside the empty Jinx¡¯s apartment. ¡°Oi! LOOK!¡± Oh, fer crying out loud, an exasperated Monarch thought, hearing the Gish¡¯s high-pitched voice ringing down the well-lit street. ¡°That¡¯s Moira! HEY!¡± Fuck¡¯s sake, Glen cursed and tried to extricate himself from the healer that resisted clasping at him, one of Moira¡¯s legs raising to lock behind his back. ¡°Come meet Maeriel!¡± Jinx¡¯s voice continued, now sounding even closer and Glen was sure the Gish was hurrying towards them already. ¡°Shit, I better go,¡± he hastily told the misty-eyed Moira. ¡°Yer friends are here.¡± ¡°Ugh? So what? The villa has many rooms,¡± the confused healer murmured. I fucking know that! ¡°Remembered that I have to see a man about a dog for real,¡± the anxious Glen insisted, altering his approach. ¡°In the middle of the night?¡± ¡°Aye. It¡¯s a rare, racing breed this. Is why, I was out. A last minute thing.¡± Moira pouted seductively. ¡°Rhu wouldn¡¯t take advantage of a poor healer, no?¡± ¡°Read my lips. Never. This is as real as it gets honey,¡± Rhu lied confidently, despite being on pins and needles to get the hell out of there. Rhu is just another mask. A more polished, old act, to fool a stubborn mark. The man under the mask, few ever meet. ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± Jinx asked curious, ever drawing closer. ¡°Oi! Stop right there you!¡± Fuck off Whisper! Gods and Fiends! Glen had managed to push the hurt-looking Moira away and pull back, just as the Gish started sprinting down the street towards them. She was still thirty meters away, but Jinx was a fast little tart, so Glen twisted around to head for Storm-feet with a last glance at the baffled, ruggedly-breathing and red-faced healer. ¡°Keep those lewd thoughts babe,¡± Glen teased her and walked to his horse, hearing Whisper¡¯s feet hitting the stone tiles as she approached rapidly. Gods damn it Whisper! Glen roared inwardly wanting to punch something, but running out of time. This whole thing could blow up in his face, after putting so much effort to salvage it. The fearing he¡¯ll be exposed Monarch, jumped on the large warhorse lithely, turned it around and away from the running hard Gish with a yank of the reins, whilst keeping his chin plastered low to his chest, not to show his face. The moment the well-trained horse finished spinning on its hooves, Glen clicked his tongue to get the excited Storm-feet going. The large horse took the message and bolted away, galloping wild south, down the large boulevard towards the junction that led to the two old towers and Glen heard the cursing like a drunken sailor, small Gish, arrive at the gates of the villa just a short moment later. Eh. 523. SETC | Safe Sojourn (1/2)
South Eplas Trading Company Assets & roster Founded in the winter of 194 NC. Circa 195 NC (3401 IC) Axiom Cir Tenya (translated -the ships shall arrive) or the more colloquial & slightly threatening ¡®nothing stops the freights¡¯ and the humorous ''Fer King & Coin'' - Ruling Board of Directors* Doris Alden (acting from 195 NC) Master Luvon (First Signature) Arguen Garth (Majority shareholder) Flardryn (1st Marine, Admiral of SETC, Military Director, Galleass Arassil/Flagship) Lanthdor (Captain, Galleass Lassel*)
*Plus the Galleasses Delgarandis and Peniril on loan from the Imperial Navy. Also, Four large transports (+ six brigs under Archibald ¡®Birdseye¡¯ Tidus). Shamil Al-Bagi was serving under Tidus as lookout. The Luzi Hokar native had joined the crew in Fu De-Gar, after working the desert route assisting a caravan hand for a year, in order to pay the entry fee imposed by the Company''s recruiting center at Ani Ta-Ne (per Metu''s decree), initially believing he¡¯d joined the Imperial Navy. 2 units of Imperial Marines (the 9th and 13th) of around a hundred soldiers each. Leader Mirthral (for the 13th) Leader Gonodir (for the 9th) (The 7th was in Rain Minas with Lefyr and the 11th with the 12th in Ani Tan-Ne to assist Roran¡¯s 1st Othrim. Flardryn¡¯s training efforts would double the strength of the Imperial Navy¡¯s fighting personnel before 197 NC) Around four hundred sailors initially (mostly humans) Four more Galleasses were added until 197 NC (after the construction of the catamaran-type Galleass for the navy, a two parallel twin-hull monstrosity) and an additional four transports. SETC would balloon in size during the turbulent period of the Wine Wars and around 200 NC (3406 IC) it would operate one of the largest fleets in the Scalding Sea, with over twenty thousand employees. With a naval yard under its control (Mussel) and many big or smaller controlled ports SETC will keep swallowing ¡®uncontested¡¯ territory during the Great War, whenever opportunity arose until the 2nd Banking Act of 209 NC. The latter imposed the rule of ¡®Six kilometers¡¯ that placed a limit to the inland penetration of SETC¡¯s ¡®safe trade havens¡¯. An esoteric moniker for its sprouting ports in honor of the company¡¯s base of operations the ¡®Safe Sojourn¡¯. The first fully operating port on the Sinking Isles, centuries after the migrating Issirs had vacated the now ruined Issir Star, the massive natural harbor inside Armada¡¯s Gulf. **Several more director-level executives are rumored to exist
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Glen Arguen Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Lord of Morn Taras Monarch of Wetull King beyond the Pale Mountains Aniculo Rokae Duath Erin I Menel Malantur O¡¯ Furu Rhu Fareno SETC | Safe Sojourn Part I -The Banking Act of 194-195*
*colloquially known as the ¡®Rule of Three¡¯. ** For South Eplas Trading Company.
South Seas Trade Routes (Old Eplas Route, the three legs of the Coin Route & SETC''s initial explorations Storm-feet galloped fast down the empty street until they reached the two massive old kingdom towers. Glen decided to turn them west there and into the ¡®inner¡¯ district of Taras. They skirted the walls in the absolute darkness and then turned north again to follow one of the vertical roads that led eventually near the Phalanx Camp. Afterwards the Monarch reached the main road that headed towards the Morn Taras plateau, where he finally allowed Storm-feet to take over for the rest of the journey at a gentler trot. Early the next morning he was back inside Morn Taras¡¯ walls, after a brief talk with the dumbfounded west gates guards, who had just been alerted that the Monarch was missing for the whole day. Hagen was the first man from his close circle to greet him inside the yard and soon after Sir Kirk arrived as well. Samak and Hesam were resting and Troy was still in Mussel with the 2nd Othrim. ¡°Alan,¡± a tired Glen said. Glen was on his last legs, as he had been without any real sleep for five days and had burned whatever he¡¯d left in reserve fighting thugs in side-alleys hours prior. ¡°I need to catch a bit of shuteye friend.¡± ¡°It¡¯s still early sire,¡± Alan Kirk agreed. ¡°I¡¯ll see to push the appointments for later.¡± ¡°Good. At least a couple of hours,¡± Glen urged him and then gave the reins of his horse to Rama. ¡°Illustrious Caliph,¡± Rama started, while Glen yawned almost dislocating his jaws. ¡°We can now mate the Ostriches.¡± Uhm. ¡°Eh, why do we want that?¡± ¡°The celebrated Inis-Mir wishes them living in the late Lady Sovereign¡¯s gardens.¡± ¡°Put a lid on that,¡± Glen groaned in the attempt to stretch his hurting back. ¡°Just keep those mean birds in the stables for now.¡± ¡°What about¡ª?¡± Glen cut him off with a curt gesture. ¡°I can¡¯t devote any more time to this Rama. Go feed Raro, I can hear the lion growling.¡± ¡°Of course great Arguen Garth.¡± Rama replied with a deep bow of the head. Glen nodded and climbed up the stairs to reach the citadel¡¯s entrance, with a glance at the south tower where Lithoniela had stayed the previous nights.
The Monarch found a half-divan in the room just behind the Throne Hall, and collapsed there with Hagen resting in an armchair a couple of meters away. Glen slept like a rock and was forced awake by Hagen sometime later, now in the company of the long-faced Rimeros. ¡°Fuck. You¡¯re not a sight for sore eyes fer sure,¡± Glen croaked feeling more-tired than before. ¡°How much time has passed ye cretins?¡± ¡°Two hours milord.¡± Glen glared at the getting pretty round in the face Hagen. ¡°Couldn¡¯t you arseholes give me a couple of minutes more?¡± ¡°Ahm. Hardir, you¡¯ve lost a lot of meetings yesterday and you have more setup for today,¡± Rimeros explained. ¡°There is also some speculation as to where you¡¯ve been, given that the wyvern remained at Morn Taras.¡± ¡°None of yer business,¡± Glen retorted and then stretched both arms groaning loudly. ¡°I need a good breakfast. Find Atju.¡± ¡°He¡¯s in the kitchens. Some type of food is probably on its way,¡± Rimeros explained, maintaining his expression. ¡°The Monarch should tackle these meetings today.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Some of them are time sensitive your grace.¡± Glen sighed and gestured for Rimeros to go and get everything ready. ¡°Hagen, if someone ever offers you a throne, know that its one of the most demanding jobs available. Steer clear,¡± Glen told his bodyguard. ¡°I don¡¯t believe too-many folk can have the opportunity milord,¡± Hagen mildly-disagreed, but Glen wasn¡¯t listening to him. ¡°That¡¯s why,¡± he replied with a nod. Glen was thinking of his ¡®plan¡¯ to woo the alluring healer. He could now see that it was a poorly thought-out endeavor, given that Glen was a public figure. Now folk didn¡¯t exactly knew how Glen looked, nor spot him right-away in a crowd, or outside of the palace, but many could figure it out given that the palace personnel knew Glen very well and was always around. The biggest problem of course being that Moira was friends with Lith and Jinx. Now they could recognize Glen even with a beard on. Well¡­ maybe not immediately, but still this couldn¡¯t last. I could maybe get Folen to buy property in Taras, put her there for now... damn it, the east tower was the better option all along! Good and secure, out of the way place, with thick doors and sturdy iron locks. Uhm. Pretty safe also¡­ ¡°Yes?¡± Glen asked seeing Rimeros return troubled. ¡°We have a request from Master Luvon for a closed session of the Monarch¡¯s Council,¡± Rimeros informed him. ¡°Master Cinna, Master Alden were also read in, with the addition of Mirthral, the imperial marines¡¯ officer.¡± ¡°Is that Flandryn¡¯s adjutant?¡± ¡°Second in the Marines,¡± Rimeros elucidated. ¡°Whatever,¡± Glen retorted. ¡°What about? Most of the Council is away at this time.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t need the rest of the Council. The Company is ready to propose a plan of action Hardir. It is a trade matter, but the Monarch must be aware of their actions.¡± Ah. ¡°Today?¡± ¡°Right away. We need to take advantage of the approaching summer,¡± Rimeros replied stiffly leaving little room to maneuver out of it. Glen gave Hagen a knowing look. ¡°I¡¯ll be right there.¡±
Luvon was a Zilan with somber purple eyes, very-pale skin, and a long face. A head shorter than Glen, he was a reedy well-dressed individual, clad in a dark-red Issir-type redingote and austere black velvet pants. He had his blue hair cut short at the sides, and well-combed with palm oil. Glen greeted him with a nod and briefly addressed everyone at the conference table located twenty meters from the elevated stone throne and ten meters from the last row of columns on the east side of the great Hall. The sound of Vulreon¡¯s quill scratching at the page accompanying his words. ¡°I haven¡¯t had much sleep gents,¡± the Monarch said gruffly. ¡°A matter of the outmost importance needed my personal touch yesterday,¡± Glen paused which gave Luvon the chance to comment. ¡°Will it affect the markets sire?¡± Glen stared numbly at the director of Goras¡¯ bank. ¡°I don¡¯t believe it will. It was more¡­ of a personal discomfort.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great my Lord. I hope it goes away.¡± ¡°It has,¡± Glen agreed in a courtly manner, a little unsure whether the Zilan was mocking him. ¡°You called for the meeting Master Luvon. You have the floor.¡± ¡°As the Monarch is aware,¡± Luvon started immediately, while Sir Alan Kirk had Hesam and Samak erect three large map-stands near their table, where they unfurled three large pieces of the same map basically. At almost seven meters in width and five in height it was one of the bigger vellum maps Glen had even seen. Samak just folded the upper parts of the map over the top edge of the stands standing on a high ladder. ¡°I¡¯ve met with the representatives of the two human banks,¡± Luvon continued. ¡°To discuss the matter of product prices, product market primacy and mercantile routes ownership.¡± ¡°Was there an agreement?¡± Glen had always trouble following those bureaucrats and their ideas. The more they liked something, the more tedious it usually was. ¡°Yes and no Lord Garth. We have agreed that given the distance involved, no regulatory agency can be trusted to have the means, or willingness, to enforce a just flow of profit for each party involved.¡± Glen blinked almost nauseous in the attempt to follow the Zilan¡¯s word salad, delivered in brutal Common accent for the humans in attendance. Glen clenched his jaw to combat the splitting headache and endure the verbal torture for as long as he could. ¡°With at least three grievances from multiple parties, in this case price, priority and route being in question, the Banks agree that the rule of three things can be applied, seeing as it is a historical well-recognized manner of solving disputes between arguing parties.¡± ¡°What if there were four things?¡± Glen asked with an indignant grunt. ¡°Then this would have been the rule of four things Lord Garth,¡± Luvon replied inflexibly. ¡°Obviously,¡± Glen agreed mockingly and stared at Doris Alden, the former Duke watching their exchange with great interest. ¡°So we get to¡­ proceed?¡± ¡°As long as we can protect our goods Arguen Garth.¡± ¡°Right then. With that cleared,¡± Glen said and clapped his hands once, despite not fully grasping what the bankers had agreed. ¡°This gives our syndicate the chance to carry on as we¡¯ve agreed, yes?¡± Doris Alden cleared his throat and stood up from his chair. ¡°The Trade Company of South Eplas,¡± the former Duke started. Doris was put in the board of Directors by Glen, to give him something to do and because everyone agreed Doris knew the human kingdoms better than anyone else. That said, Glen quickly interrupted the adopting the palace Zilan dress-code Lorian.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. ¡°Is this a correction mister Alden, or a presentation?¡± Glen asked in a lordly manner. ¡°It is both your grace,¡± Doris deadpanned, a braver man than what his face would have you believe with a snobbish-type of humor. ¡°Proceed,¡± Glen hissed. ¡°The Trade Company¡ª¡± Doris started, but he was again interrupted by Luvon. ¡°For sponsoring reasons we have coined the term South Eplas Trading Company fellow director. Abbreviated SETC,¡± Luvon explained and slid a square lapel pin over the table towards Glen. The Monarch read the gold engraved initials amused. ¡°SETC,¡± Doris tried again, with a tensed smile forming. ¡°Needs three things also to operate properly your grace. Superior local goods, which we possess with our Goras wine and the peninsula¡­¡± He paused as Luvon had stooped forward to speak again. ¡°Monarch I have a formal petition from Sinya Goras¡¯ district to rename¡ª¡± Glen cut the banker off with an impatient gesture. ¡°Just let him speak for crying out loud!¡± ¡°I was merely getting the facts in order,¡± Luvon argued calmly. Glen grinded his teeth and eyed the still standing Doris. ¡°The second is means of transportation which we currently have partially solved, with four ships capable of making the journey and two galleass¡¯ attached to the SETC fleet. Rybel has four more under construction, but we have agreed that an additional ten¡ª¡± This time it was Laius Cinna that interrupted his former boss. ¡°Your grace, we can¡¯t possibly finance, or dedicate the naval yards full capacity for the company¡¯s needs. The additional warships must come from Mussel and I¡¯ve talked to Master Rybel about it already.¡± ¡°No agreement was reached Laius,¡± Doris argued. ¡°Mussel needs at least a year to be even remotely capable to produce a brig, let alone a galleass.¡± ¡°One third of the yards annual ship tonnage, with the bank shouldering the financial burden,¡± Cinna countered, with Glen opting to let them fight it out for the time being. ¡°The Bank needs the trade route to ensure it has coin to reinvest in the company,¡± Luvon said adamantly. ¡°You sold shares to the Sopat at a premium,¡± Cinna argued. ¡°Got to use the prisoners for free at Mussel and have received the bulk of your fleet as gift from the Monarch.¡± Glen furrowed his brows and looked at the blank-faced Luvon. ¡°The Monarch¡¯s gift is represented in his number of shares in the Company,¡± Luvon countered with a reassuring glance at the concerned Glen. ¡°But with less than half of our products unable to make profit, or written off, we¡¯re operating currently at a loss for the second straight year.¡± ¡°The year is not over yet,¡± Cinna hissed with a glare at the banker. ¡°The projections are dire,¡± Luvon countered. ¡°I¡¯ve run the numbers Master Cinna.¡± ¡°Why are we at such a loss?¡± Glen asked and Doris got his opportunity to finish. ¡°The third need of SETC,¡± Doris said maintaining his professionalism under pressure, while Luvon with Cinna exchanged various scrolls packed with scribbled numbers. ¡°Is the trade routes themselves. We currently load our products in Sinya Goras, travel to Eikenport to pick up the Desert Route Cofol goods that haven¡¯t opted to head for Rida¡¯s port, and then follow the coast east. Across the Krakentrap Straits, or with a stop at Lord¡¯s Burrow, to Castalor and Scaldingport. Castalor wasn¡¯t open until very recently.¡± ¡°Go on,¡± Glen urged him. ¡°From the moment our goods are unloaded in port, they have to travel over land towards Regia and Lesia, then the North and at some point to the rest of Kaltha.¡± Glen glanced at the large unfurled map, with lots of blue in it, and Alan Kirk used a straight pointer to show the route to everyone present. ¡°These caravans, big and small, are subject to heavy taxation, tariffs and outright blackmail from local authorities and common noble thugs. By the time our goods reach their final destination, the price is forbidding and most of our profits lost. In order to combat that, we need to shorten ¡®this hostile part¡¯ of the journey, effectively delivering the product closer to the bigger markets at the heart of both Kingdoms. For the Northern markets we can do nothing but endure it for the moment.¡± ¡°We have discussed this already.¡± ¡°Aye that¡¯s true, your grace,¡± Doris grimaced. ¡°Admiral Flardryn had a solution proposed. Mirthral, if you be so kind,¡± the former Duke said and a wiry Zilan in Imperial Marine leather armour approached their table. He walked to Alan Kirk and took the pointer from him. The Zilan used it to ¡®carve¡¯ a line from Mussel to the Sinking Isles, across the deep dark blue to a tiny spot on the map and then finally all the way ¨Cover another stretch of pure blue- to another small island chain that faced the Lorian Coast. ¡°This is the ancient ¡®Dark Tapestry Trail¡¯,¡± Mirthral started in Imperial, which made Doris and Cinna to squint their eyes. Perhaps they had trouble seeing also, given that Glen could barely discern the details from three meters away. The Monarch stood up from his chair to approach the maps. ¡°We can use it to reach Jelin undetected and deliver the goods closer to the bigger markets of Cartagen, Cediorum and Armium.¡± ¡°Why Dark?¡± Glen asked standing next to Alan Kirk, hands clasped behind his back. ¡°We¡¯ll cross Abrakas Gullet Hardir,¡± the officer explained and Glen nodded, trying to read the map and failing given the tiny scribblings in Imperial. ¡°Let¡¯s give it another less ominous name,¡± Glen ordered to buy himself some time and when he failed again to read the tiny script, he asked in frustration. ¡°What is this thing then?¡± ¡°The Sinking Isles,¡± Mirthral replied and pointed his stick at the map. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of isles fer sure,¡± Glen noted with a grimace. ¡°Is that what is left?¡± ¡°They are named thus due to their high tides Hardir.¡± Ah. ¡°Obviously,¡± Glen grunted. ¡°This is Lady Jinx¡¯s home,¡± Alan Kirk said and showed him one of the bigger ones. ¡°Ducuril.¡± ¡°How do you know that?¡± Glen asked. ¡°I asked her milord?¡± The Monarch hadn¡¯t in all the years he knew the Gish. Glen sucked air in through the nose audibly, a little embarrassed, but unwilling to take any of the blame. Had Whisper wanted him to know this, she would have offered it. This is a matter of respecting her wishes. Aye. ¡°Yeah, I knew that Alan,¡± Glen said instead, since no one would have believed the former. ¡°Now, we want to avoid the reefs and currents surrounding the main isles per Nevarth,¡¯ Mirthral continued, but Glen had to stop him again. ¡°Who¡¯s he?¡± ¡°The famous explorer?¡± ¡°Not to me,¡± Glen noted stiffly and Cinna with Doris nodded as well. ¡°Apologies. Captain Nevarth also mapped the edges of the unknown ocean around 2175. While his earlier journals were lost, the navy has kept many of his more recent findings as part of basic officer training.¡± Recent in this context had to be stretched a lot, Glen thought sourly. ¡°The bloke is still around¡­?¡± ¡°Unfortunately not. He was stationed at the naval yards in Elauthin,¡± Mirthral replied. Which was a polite way to say that Nevarth was still there. Deep in the sunken harbor. ¡°Of course,¡± Glen yielded. ¡°Our Lanthdor served under him,¡± Mirthral elucidated. ¡°He¡¯s commanding the 9th Marine aboard the Lassel.¡± They didn¡¯t have so many marine units of course. But the surviving soldiers had kept the old unit names. 9th, 7th and 11th to 13th, for a total of five under Flardryn, with about a hundred men per unit. ¡°The she-leaf?¡± Glen translated. ¡°It¡¯s a warship Hardir.¡± ¡°Obviously,¡± Glen hissed through his teeth. ¡°Go on friend.¡± ¡°The best case for that is this outer islands ring facing to the northeast. Tits Island, Worm Isle, or the Harpy Watch. They are larger and could be used as a launching base, or a replenishing stop. It would be a four to six months journey to Jelin Hardir.¡± ¡°Would the local Gish not bother with us landing there?¡± Glen asked. ¡°How many could they be? Hah.¡± Doris Alden grinned. ¡°Tens of thousands. Much more than that if the tides were favorable in the centuries since the wyverns last visited,¡± Mirthral replied. ¡°In the hundreds even. The isles are pretty big, this map isn¡¯t to scale Master Alden.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be damned,¡± a stunned Doris exclaimed. ¡°Who would¡¯ve thought?¡± ¡°Why not use their docks?¡± Glen probed, not bothered with the fascinated former Duke. ¡°They are Gish?¡± The Zilan officer furrowed his brows. ¡°They don¡¯t really bother with infrastructure Hardir.¡± ¡°How do they leave their fucking islands then?¡± ¡°They don¡¯t? Unless they make it randomly,¡± Mirthral elucidated. ¡°Or they are brought over.¡± It made sense. ¡°Say, we find a place to setup something to repair and restock the fleet, what¡¯s next?¡± Glen grunted. ¡°We shot for Hissing Corals Cay,¡± Mirthral explained and drew the stick across the blue expanse of water at a tiny spot on the map.¡± Glen hadn¡¯t been able to read up until then. ¡°Aha. And these are again not in scale?¡± ¡°Not really. These are tiny atolls, coral reefs. We could make a stop there, but it will be brief unless we throw recourses to make something of the old base.¡± ¡°When you say old?¡± ¡°Abandoned for centuries. Don¡¯t expect to find much there Hardir. The biggest atoll is three kilometers in width reportedly.¡± Yep. ¡°Assume we succeed in that¡­ why are they called hissing cays?¡± Glen asked approaching the map to better see their shape. ¡°Nevarth found a Harpy there,¡± Mirthral replied sheepishly. ¡°It¡¯s a funny old tale Hardir.¡± ¡°What¡¯s a Harpy?¡± Glen asked. ¡°A winged woman,¡± Doris replied instead. ¡°Lorian mythology has them in the semi-divine creatures birthed from the Others. The latter is a prehistoric pantheon of gods your grace.¡± He added in response to Glen¡¯s critical stare. Glen smacked his lips and set his eyes on Turtle Isles. Another unknown place. ¡°What about this one? It has some markings and names on it.¡± ¡°These are the Turtle Isles,¡± Doris explained. ¡°A pirate haven of sorts on their southern shores, semi-independent, semi-disputed, under the control of Regia¡¯s south coast cities until recently, when Baron Nattas was given control of them for services to the throne.¡± ¡°What type of services?¡± Glen asked and Doris grimaced seemingly uncomfortable with the topic. ¡°He may¡­ probably bed the Queen Regent,¡± Doris grunted through his teeth. ¡°Doris, you don¡¯t have to go into so much detail,¡± Cinna intervened. ¡°Better to get everything out Laius. Excise the rot whilst there¡¯s still time,¡± the former Duke retorted stiffly. ¡°Right. Do we not have an agreement with him for years?¡± Glen asked, not really bothered with the distant salacious gossip. ¡°Mister Nattas and his associates can make sure our goods are delivered, falsify the absence of taxation and redistribute them to the markets under assumed names using existing infrastructure¡ª¡± ¡°Why¡­ Nattas, you son of a bitch!¡± A wild-eyed Doris exploded irate. ¡°That lying dog was guilty all along!¡± ¡°Doris just calm down,¡± Laius said, and grabbed the frothing at the mouth human in order to drag him away from the table. ¡°You¡¯re making a scene.¡± Glen puffed out, scrunching his nose a little perturbed and then stared at the half-amused Luvon. ¡°Go on friend,¡± he told the mirthful banker.
Two hours after the meeting was over and he authorized Lanthdor¡¯s pathfinding mission, Glen had a brief early meal and then retired to the hall of paintings behind the throne room, in order to rest uninterrupted. He¡¯d a headache from talking logistics and financial plans with Luvon and Cinna, while his mind was also on his adventures with the comely healer that had come to an unsatisfying conclusion. With Whisper around, this route is dead and unprofitable, Glen thought sadly and sipped from his wine. The Monarch¡¯s eyes strayed to his armour, left for him at a table nearby. He¡¯d discarded it to wear the outfit Inis-Mir had ordered made for him, along with some of his weapons and the Wyvern¡¯s Tongue that Moira had noticed in their previous meeting. It would have given Glen away as it was a very exotic weapon to carry around. Hearing commotion, Glen turned his head to watch Sir Alan Kirk enter from the half-hidden door and approach the resting in the leather-dressed armchair Monarch. ¡°Lithoniela wanted another meeting,¡± the knight informed him. ¡°Uhm,¡± Glen murmured. ¡°Cinna brought up the matter of wages again,¡± Alan continued and removed his helm to place it on the table across from Glen. ¡°Luvon complains that if we force Metu to use paid laborers we¡¯ll bankrupt the kingdom, afore we rebuild half of Ani Ta-Ne.¡± ¡°Mussel is an expensive endeavor as well,¡± Alan noted. ¡°The prisoners will work until it¡¯s fully completed,¡± Glen told him. ¡°Luvon wanted to talk to you about the commemorative coins as well, but the meeting dragged long and didn¡¯t have the chance. It was on yesterday¡¯s agenda.¡± ¡°I had matters to attend to yesterday Alan,¡± Glen replied. ¡°Of course my lord.¡± ¡°What has Luvon planned?¡± ¡°A series of coins depicting the Monarch, or the princess¡¯ face,¡± Alan said and sat back on the chair to stretch. ¡°We can¡¯t have my face used,¡± Glen retorted thinking of his scheme. ¡°For security reasons.¡± ¡°Ahm. Alright, we could use the mask as a symbol, although the princess doesn¡¯t have one,¡± Alan suggested. ¡°I¡¯m not comfortable with plastering my daughter¡¯s face on coins Alan. There are a lot of perverts out there!¡± Glen grunted. ¡°Just her name then? It would raise their value without using more carats milord,¡± Alan countered with a frown. ¡°Luvon said that? How many coins does he intend to mint?¡± ¡°About a million.¡± Glen blinked. ¡°We have so much gold in reserve?¡± ¡°About four times that,¡± Alan replied without batting an eyelash. ¡°How much will it cost to rebuild Ani Ta-Ne, or finish the rest of our projects?¡± An astounded Glen probed. ¡°More than that,¡± the knight replied. ¡°According to Luvon. Twice that if Elwuin¡¯s improvements to the road system are implemented and you have Rybel¡¯s navy projects to consider. Humans won¡¯t work for free milord and the slave market can¡¯t be our first priority in order to replenish the workforce. You can tolerate it, but accepting it shall make us a pariah and no better than the Horselords.¡± Or your late wife¡¯s Cofols, Glen added what the knight had avoided to mention. ¡°The Zilan are already compensated twice as much as the human crews by the way. Your grace needs to balance that.¡± Sure, I¡¯ll just add a Zilan riot to my problems, Glen thought. Good luck explaining to these vain cretins they are to be treated like humans. I may lose body parts to make the trade work. ¡°I can now see how the Sopat got so filthy wealthy!¡± Glen groaned in frustration. ¡°The trade company is a great alternative source of income. Jelin has a population of millions. But it¡¯s expensive to implement and fraught with peril.¡± ¡°Good grief! We¡¯re so rich and yet so poor darn it!¡± Glen snapped angrily. ¡°How do the rest of the Kingdoms do it?¡± ¡°My lord, Rida won¡¯t be finished for years. And no king has ever attempted to rebuild a country this massive ever before.¡± ¡°You think, I should focus on helping Raoz?¡± Glen asked. ¡°You have family there Alan?¡± ¡°In Altarin, under your uncle. At least a Reeves is still in command.¡± ¡°Um. Victor betrayed the Duke of Raoz, and tried to kill me,¡± Glen murmured. ¡°He¡¯s a scumbag Alan.¡± ¡°Perhaps the Monarch should focus on righting the wrongs milord?¡± Glen smiled tiredly. ¡°I can¡¯t open a front we just closed my friend,¡± he replied. ¡°To remove Victor we need to deal with the Khanate properly.¡± ¡°Perhaps we should do that Milord? Queen Elsanne would need our assistance,¡± the knight suggested and Glen shook his head disappointed with people always advocating for conflict. ¡°You are a Reeves sire.¡± Sir Kirk pointed out. No more than you are, Glen thought, his mind on the rotting corpse the sea had washed ashore that night. ¡°We are helping Elsanne already,¡± Glen reminded the serious knight. ¡°At some point we might need to assist her more, but only if it¡¯s in Wetull¡¯s best interests Alan. Let us solve one problem afore we create a new one. One problem at a time. War isn¡¯t always the answer.¡± ¡°Lord Reeves knows best,¡± a smiling Alan yielded with a nod. Glen wasn¡¯t as certain about that, but he agreed with the knight¡¯s words. ¡°Hey,¡± the Monarch asked the standing up to give him some privacy Sir Kirk. ¡°Was there a brief earthquake yesterday?¡± Sir Kirk furrowed his brows. ¡°Not that I noticed sire.¡± ¡°Could you have missed it?¡± Glen insisted. ¡°It happened in the center of Taras almost.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe I would have sire,¡± the knight replied adamantly. ¡°No one reported an earthquake. Brief, or otherwise. You can¡¯t really miss that your grace.¡± ¡°Obviously,¡± Glen grunted and rubbed his face troubled. What in the slovenly fuck was that then? He wondered. Surely I didn¡¯t dream about it. A man had his cranium cracked open with a plaguing brick fer crying out loud!
Glen¡¯s tired eyes settled on one of Sen-Iv¡¯s portraits hanged from the walls for a while after Sir Alan¡¯s departure. The emotional moment dragged until a familiar whisper murdered it. The dagger¡¯s voice tomblike and very distant. Who else was around? The Wyvern¡¯s Tongue queried. Ugh? Glen glared at the dagger. So much for Lith¡¯s teachings about when that thing talks, he thought. Fucking bullshit. Nobody knows shit all about how truly things work! They just pretend they do. ¡°Some local thugs,¡± Glen grunted through his teeth. ¡°Why?¡± Who else? The voice insisted. ¡°A Cofol healer,¡± Glen snapped angrily. ¡°Why do you care?¡± You should learn more, the dagger offered sounding annoyed. ¡°How about you suck a bag of dicks?¡± Glen countered equally annoyed, not liking being told what to do. ¡°Who the fuck are you? A Djinn? A blasted Lich?¡± Interesting. The dagger hissed mockingly. The buffoon is evolving into a crafty monkey. ¡°Mate,¡± a scowling Glen growled standing up. ¡°Yer getting tossed in a hole.¡± Empty threats. You¡¯ll never rid yourself of me, the dagger hissed. Thou love talking to the wyvern whenever you fancy. Without me you¡¯ll lose that small comfort. You don¡¯t have a lot of friends King Garth. Sitting here in miserable solitude, without anyone to open up. An ocean of lies is swallowing you alive. Will your beastly friend even talk to you without my help I wonder? Glen grimaced and seethed in silence, his eyes turned into narrow slits. A Lich needs a phylactery, it¡¯s what Gimoss used, the dagger said after a while. Seek little thief and you shall find yer lost trinkets. Here¡¯s another one for you. Burned birch and vile smirch, your corpse sleeping in a ditch. But seek some more and maybe a road shall open, only walked in shadows. ¡°Where does the road lead?¡± Glen asked unsure as to where the dagger was going with this creepy cryptic nonsense. It¡¯s unimportant, the Wyvern¡¯s Tongue replied. But you should bring me along when the time comes. Glen licked his teeth thoughtfully for a moment. Then he turned around to walk away, but paused briefly to give a head nod towards the exotic weapon. ¡°Good that ye told me that,¡± he replied with a smirk. ¡°Now I know what not to do, you stupid motherfucker.¡± 524. SETC | Safe Sojourn (2/2)
Lassel¡¯s Voyage Circa 195 summer- early 196 NC SETC Ships Lassel (Imperial war Galleass) Captain Lanthdor Crew 150 (Zilan and Humans) Marine complement (at least 100, the 9th Imperial Marine Unit) Gonodir (Leader) Pathon (1st Squad) Feredir (2nd Squad) Tirior Glavon Acharon (Engineer) Peldir (Medic) Fat Libby (Heavy Barque) Captain Archibald ¡®Birdseye¡¯ Tidus Crew around 200 (mostly humans) Devon (First Mate) Manfred (Helmsman) Chino (Carpenter) Nery Shamil Taranir (passenger) Support vessels Petulant (SETC Schooner 1) Captain Pheles (Lai Zel-Ka) Crew around 50 (mostly Cofols) Express (SETC Schooner 2) Crew around 50 (Mixed. Cofols and humans) Captain Zuberi ¡®Lame¡¯ Zaine Ab
*An initial cargo of twenty tons of barreled wine included, plus supplies, various other goods and weapons. The Lassel carried twelve Scorpios (six per side) and four mounted catapults alone, with another four Scorpios packaged in its cargo hull.
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Shamil Al-Bagi SETC | Safe Sojourn Part II -Fer king n¡¯ coin kid-
¡°I¡¯m here Riston,¡± Luvon informed his loyal assistant that had just entered his dark office. Luvon hadn¡¯t used the lightstones on the desk lamp, opting to spend the time with his thoughts in absolute darkness. The large three-story bank building quiet now, after the working crews had left for the night. Only the first floor was finished and despite their efforts most of the offices and the main hall remained under-furnished. The working day though never stopped. While presently it is nighttime in Goras, the sun is up somewhere else, Director Helven used to say at the start of the evening meetings. The Imperial Bank¡¯s people were very dedicated. While it had lost some of its privileges under Queen Baltoris, the reformer Queen couldn¡¯t stop the Imperial Bank¡¯s activities that had branched out on Jelin and Eplas already through intermediaries and investment firms. After the Fall some of its human associates had taken the opportunity to fill the void and eventually replace the physical institution Helven had built, with their own versions of it. The principles remained the same though. A gold coin has no father, but it always has many suitors, Luvon thought harking back to the young Mclean scion¡¯s sincere greeting words and rolling the square gold coin in his fingers. The engravings worn out a bit, but still visible just as the date on it. M3190-EQB, the shiny coin read on its visible side and Luvon¡¯s eyes could discern it in the dark. Minted in the Imperial year 3190 at the Bank¡¯s main workshops in Elauthin, during the reign of late Queen Baltoris. Absent other decorations. ¡°Master Luvon,¡± Riston said standing in front of his office respectfully. ¡°You¡¯re finally back sir. How did the meeting go in Morn Taras?¡± Luvon slid the square coin his way over the table and Riston caught it before it went over the polished surface¡¯s edge. ¡°All courts seem the same, but they are not,¡± Luvon replied thoughtfully. ¡°I see.¡± Riston replied examining the old coin. ¡°This is one of ours? People still unearth them under the ruins.¡± ¡°Mclean¡¯s scion gave it to me as a gift at Scaldingport,¡± Luvon replied. ¡°It comes from their vaults in Atetalerso. It was a warning hidden in a gesture of courtesy. He means to fight us for every single piece, other than this one.¡± ¡°The Mcleans still run the office?¡± ¡°The younger brother does with Merck, but he¡¯s withdrawn somewhat to placate human sensitivities.¡± ¡°Hah. How did Federico pulled that off?¡± ¡°My working theory is Saereg, secrecy and lots of ingenuity.¡± ¡°That half-breed Nord was always shifty. Where did he found the initial capital? All ships returned when the Issirs invaded.¡± ¡°Found the old base and looted a half-sunk transport at Hissing Cays.¡± ¡°Why was a transport still loitering in the middle of nowhere?¡± Riston queried a little surprised. ¡°Hidden rebels trying to escape to Jelin in the confusion, but the tremors finished them off. Instead of an assassin¡¯s knife they fell to the brines, or something of a much more sinister nature.¡± ¡°Those were violent times sire. Who was going to help them on Jelin? No Zilan made its base there and the humans in the know butchered anyone that had migrated as fast as they could spot them,¡± Riston noted in his unruffled manner. ¡°Mclean had nothing but tales to offer and his assurances he committed no crimes. If you believe that then I have a bridge over Serpent¡¯s Canal to sell you. It¡¯s almost working. Anyways, they are still looking, but now it¡¯s not as important to them,¡± Luvon replied. ¡°They had fashioned a plan that assumed the Bank was history, buried under mud and piles of relics. The Mclean assumed they had all the time in the world to bring it to fruition. Looking to usurp and build upon older plans they were privy off. Loot and pillage uncontested. Now they have to reconsider and regroup. But we shan¡¯t give them the time. Next man is up Riston and this person is me. The old Board is gone, but we¡¯re back in business after this brief respite. Much work to do and lots of adversaries to consider this time around.¡± ¡°So the Lesia humans have a collection of old coins?¡± Riston asked a little amused after a moment of silent contemplation, whilst examining the gold coin¡¯s sides. ¡°These are the later ones. Yes?¡± ¡°Uhm. Baltoris didn¡¯t want the fanfare also,¡± Luvon agreed. ¡°Nor favored the fact I guess that we used the other side to showcase the bank¡¯s leadership and accomplishments.¡± ¡°Such wonderful pieces of art sir, the old coins,¡± Riston expounded reminiscing and Luvon nodded quite moved himself. ¡°The wyvern King won¡¯t agree to have his noble visage carved on the new ones,¡± Luvon said sarcastically and watched Riston igniting a small spotlight to illuminate the east walls and parts of the large austere office. ¡°But while self-absorbed and surprisingly rude, he¡¯s a practical man that doesn¡¯t dwell much on the minutiae. We can work with that. Lanthdor departed?¡± ¡°They did,¡± Riston replied. ¡°But Captain Tidus will leave in the morning and meet with them south of Vermilion¡¯s Peak to avoid witnesses.¡± Humans. We have to work with what¡¯s available. ¡°How many vessels?¡± Luvon asked. ¡°Three,¡± Riston replied. ¡°The transport is full of supplies and materials. I had to pay Rybel a year in advance to get a hold on some of his crews too.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll place them in Mussel amidst the other crews. Fill the books with orders for Mussel, but this practice won¡¯t go on forever. We need to distance ourselves from the court¡¯s sphere of influence Riston.¡± ¡°Of course Master Luvon,¡± Riston agreed. ¡°What about the Gish?¡± ¡°Few Gish reside in the outer ring of isles Riston. Hopefully the waves finished them off.¡± ¡°I doubt the Gish are gone sir. They might cause trouble,¡± Riston insisted. ¡°Then there are the gems to consider. The heart of gold.¡± Luvon grimaced and rapped his fingers on the table while Riston continued. ¡°In the great earthquake that shaped the lands,¡± Riston recited, a well-learned high-level associate of the Imperial Bank himself that knew when to speak and what to say at the correct time most of the times. ¡°The great ocean peak cracked in three, birthing a strange lake with brine poisonous waters and a burning bottom of liquid gold that was the mountain¡¯s heart. Ilvilix that first dived in the deep cracks was flushed ashore with boils and horrible wounds, some parts of his body turned to gold.¡± ¡°That¡¯s ancient history.¡± ¡°Which means the gold should have cooled off by now,¡± Riston retorted with the hint of a smirk. ¡°Most wyverns look for food and sport, but certain people perceive the land with different, much greedier eyes sire.¡± ¡°The Bank¡¯s employees will stay the course and follow our tight schedule.¡± Luvon insisted, not amused. ¡°They are not there to loot, not there to go hunt for trophies, or treasure, but to prove that the journey is feasible. We need the route opened.¡± ¡°The journey is feasible sir,¡± Riston said. ¡°But the company is still very young and with untrained, not yet fully-committed personnel. They might lose their priorities so far from home for different reasons. Human and Zilan alike.¡± ¡°The Company is the Bank¡¯s only child. I worked on this for a year damn it!¡± ¡°Young children misbehave sire,¡± Riston insisted and Luvon eyed him tensely. ¡°Stray off the path.¡± ¡°Send for Master Naug,¡± he finally decided and reached to open a drawer at his heavy mahogany desk to search inside. ¡°What he wants, he¡¯ll have, as long as the expedition is successful.¡± He found the gold lapel pin, similar to the one he¡¯d given the King earlier and took it out. ¡°Master Luvon,¡± Riston protested, when the Director slid the ornament towards him. ¡°That¡¯s too much power. I was thinking of shouldering the task myself. The Collector is Helven¡¯s relic and he had to cast him aside.¡± ¡°Next man up mentality Riston. You¡¯re a bureaucrat and I need you here. We can¡¯t exactly look for new talent at this junction. Get him to the docks in time,¡± Luvon ordered, his face hardening.
- About a month later 20th day of the 1st summer month (Sextus) The narrow gap (Canal) at the Tits Isles chain South mouth, Scalding Sea¡¯s southeastern wind streams Ancient ¡®Dark Tapestry Trail¡¯ aka Coin Route¡¯s 1st leg Early Morning Aboard SETC¡¯s heavy Barque ¡®Fat Libby¡¯ The soaring frothing waves rose over the guardrails of the upper deck, splashed over the deck-boards, moving loose barrels this way and that, whilst thoroughly drenching the blinded and puking through his mouth and nose Shamil, from his threadbare sandals to the dirty thin shirt. Washing the worst of the vomit away. ¡°GAAH!¡± Shamil grumbled ineligibly, coughing up seawater and the remnants of his meal. ¡°Argl¡­ gargrl¡­¡± he slid and dropped to a numb thigh, as ¡®Fat Libby¡¯ started descending, bowsprit pointed towards the base of the large wave, now resembling a slowly-opening gigantic beast¡¯s black mouth as he moved that way, his fingers slipping their grip on the soaked rails. The heavily laden ship groaned alike a living thing, joints creaking and pregnant sails flapping, Nery the lookout, who had taken over from Shamil at the turn of the hour, screaming at the top of his phlegm-filled lungs. His hoarse voice coming and going, lost behind the savage weather and the sound of the waves crashing on the transport. ¡°LAND AHOY!¡± ¡°Again?¡± Captain Tidus cursed, leaving the helm to the wild-eyed Manfred, in order to slide down the quarterdeck ladder lithely. The helmsman behind their captain using both arms to keep the wheel from turning, his veins bulging at the neck and bleeding at the mouth where the stubbornly resisting wheel had smacked him earlier. ¡°Give me a bloody reckoning Nery!¡± Tidus bellowed managing to stop his forward momentum abruptly by grabbing a line near the main mast, about a meter from the slowly-gliding upturned like a clumsy turtle, towards the bow of the ship screaming Shamil. The Captain stopped the young Cofol planting a boot on his chest, almost breaking the protesting Shamil¡¯s ribs. ¡°Heading Southeast!¡± Nery yelled and Tidus grunted afore giving the yelping Shamil a kick to send him towards the side rails again. Shamil traveled on the soaked with brines deck-boards, seeing brief flashes of the ship¡¯s crew desperately trying to stay on their feet, coiled ropes, upturned barrels and the approaching guardrails. The angry sea behind them and beyond that coming out of the frothing waters, the giant black and gold dragonhead-shaped bow of the Lassel. He extended a pair of strained arms and legs to grab on to something, but found nothing and screamed his way towards the large gap where one rail was missing. Oh, desert fiends be singing alleluia! A panicked Shamil thought and clenched his teeth manically, for the inevitable dive into the cold seas and certain death. You¡¯d think one choosing to make his living in the sea would know a thing or two about swimming, but you¡¯d be sadly mistaken. Nobody had told Shamil it was needed for starters and even if he wanted to learn how to do it, the teenager had grew up in a desert. Rocks and sands they had aplenty, but the sea facing the Shark Isles everyone had warned the young teenager to stay clear off, since¡­ well, it had more sharks than fish in it. Yeah. Shamil thought of his poor mother, who had cried overcome with earnest sorrow, when her son had told her he was leaving with the next caravan and Umar Al-Bagi, his older brother, was to work the family herd by himself. ¡®I¡¯ll never see you again just like your father,¡¯ his mother had said in between sniffles, when Shamil had asked why she was mourning for him. His father had been killed by the desert and Shamil had tried to explain to her for long that she was wrong, but fast-forward a year and some change into the future, he realized that perhaps his mother had been right all along. Close your mouth, Shamil advised himself and then yelped forgetting all about it, just as he was about to be launched out of the ship¡¯s port side, feeling a rough hand grabbing him by the nape and pulling him back. Someone put a savage knee on his shoulder, the edges of a drenched longcoat, smelling of grease and smoke, slapping him in the face and the Zilan¡¯s glowing silvery-red eyes found his. ¡°We are out of the mouth,¡± the Zilan told him in a raspy voice and pretty passable Common. ¡°Not long afore we land ashore.¡± Shamil had brines in his mouth, nose and tearing eyes, and got even more all over his body, as another wave splashed over the rocking Barque''s decks that had leveled again in the meantime. ¡°How do you know?¡± He croaked trying to see who the Zilan was and his savior pointer a long, thin finger at a small bird that had landed on a swinging back and forth over their heads loose piece of mast. Its small head looked right and left curious, and then with its small beady eyes blinking rapidly, it let out a high-pitched chirp in greeting, afore flying away. ¡°That¡¯s a pink-feathered sparrow,¡± the Zilan replied and easily lifted the miserable Shamil upright. ¡°Its feathers were brown?¡± Shamil groaned with a cough, whilst desperately grabbing a line with a shaking hand. ¡°Uhm.¡± The Zilan replied cryptically, either in agreement, or not.
¡°Ye done puking kid?¡± Devon asked him with a crooked grin, slapping his chest an hour later. ¡°Wanna go up there and help Nery?¡± ¡°Leave that little prick to get some more air. Caught him in my liquor box again yesterday,¡± Tidus ordered, coming near them, wild beard covered in brines and bushy eyebrows furrowed. He¡¯d a bad eye their Captain, the pupil on it tiny alike a black dot and blinded by fever, or something. ¡°I need the kid to handle the sounding line. Move now and give me a depth every minute.¡± ¡°Aye Captain,¡± Shamil croaked and saluted much to Tidus¡¯ amusement. The Captain wasn¡¯t amused enough not to land a blow with a wet open palm just below the ear that sent Shamil reeling. ¡°Quit wit them funny gestures kid, lest ye need another one coming¡¯,¡± Tidus warned and pointed a thumb over his shoulder. ¡°You want to play at a soldier, jump out and swim for the Lassel. You gesture a man aboard Fat Libby the wrong way, or gods forbid he takes it differently, yer getting a fist in the face best case, or a cock up the arse, if yer unlucky. Ye seem the unlucky type to me.¡± Shamil nodded with clenched teeth and run to find the sounding line, while their ship slowly sailed out of the weather towards the misty shores ahead of them.
¡°You like this little anchorage Devon?¡± Tidus asked gruffly, standing next to Manfred, the latter now with a bandage wrapped around the lower part of his face like a mask. ¡°Can¡¯t say I do Birdseye,¡± Devon retorted, torso stooped over the edge, on the starboard side of Fat Libby. ¡°Tough luck then,¡± Tidus grunted and slotting mid-finger and thumb in his mouth whistled loudly. ¡°This is it, our safe sojourn. Toss the anchor Chino!¡± ¡°NEED A MINUTE!¡± Chino yelled from the bow. ¡°Ye fucking rascal,¡± Tidus cursed and rushed down the ladder to head towards him. ¡°Making me cross the plaguing ship, I swear to Allgods¡­¡± ¡°I said a minute not an hour!¡± Chino protested irate. ¡°I don¡¯t have an hour! Kid?¡± Tidus asked pausing next to Shamil, who had the line in his hands. ¡°Depth?¡± ¡°Eh,¡± Shamil hesitated caught unawares. ¡°Six meters,¡± the Zilan said under the brim of his leather hat. ¡°He just told you.¡± ¡°I forgot,¡± Tidus snapped eyeing their passenger. ¡°So did he,¡± the Zilan replied evenly and everyone moved back and forth as the dropped anchor caught the bottom. Fat Libby creaked as it angled starboard side and Devon yelped going overboard. A moment later hitting the waters with a huge splash. Tidus sighed and hang his messy head in desperation. ¡°Drop the sounding line kid and toss him that rope. If he doesn¡¯t grab it within a minute, you¡¯ll jump in there to get him out. That motherfucker knows shit all about swimming.¡± ¡°Aye Captain!¡± Shamil yelled and went to help the desperately thrashing about Devon out. Whilst returning with the coil of rope, it dawned on him, he knew fuck all about swimming too. But Shamil chose not to make a big deal about it.
Lanthdor was a sober tall Zilan captain, and Gonodir the leader of the 9th Imperial Marine unit a more muscular version of him. The massive Galleass Lassel moored further back behind the Fat Libby and lowered eight large boats that started unloading the rest of the Marines ashore. Acharon, the Zilan engineer came with them, along with another Zilan named Peldir, the healer. Tidus got every passenger out of the Fat Libby as well, using six boats that made several trips to unload supplies. Most of the crew following with the last of them ashore. ¡°A¡¯right,¡± the now drier Devon said, he¡¯d successfully caught the line Shamil had thrown him earlier and made it safely back on the ship. ¡°At least we have good weather. Sun is up, it¡¯s warm. Very warm. Fuck¡­ hey captain, where is that water source? I found something dead in the barrel.¡± ¡°Was still breathing!¡± Chino elucidated, carrying a heavy bucket away from the splashing waves. ¡°But might have been a fart.¡± Tidus furrowed his brows and set his sole good eye on Devon. ¡°Do I look like a plaguing seer? That¡¯s as far as I know of this fucking place!¡± ¡°The beach?¡± Devon probed. ¡°Aye.¡± ¡°So you know nothing?¡± ¡°Seeing as it¡¯s my first visit? Ayup,¡± Tidus retorted. Shamil left them behind and approached the Zilan military officers gathered in a separate group. Lanthdor was speaking to them reading from a note book. ¡°I want groups of five setup immediately. You spread out and secure the perimeter. Get in the woods and flash out any nose-less prick lurking about. Keep traveling west until you find drinkable water. If you find nothing that goes down and doesn¡¯t immediately come out¡­ report back. This might be a short god darn trip! Here, I laid it out sweetly for you! What do you need Acharon?¡± ¡°We have precut wood for the workshop, but I want more timber. Start cutting trees down and clear out the ground at least a hundred meters inwards. This is a good spot to build docks, but I want a warehouse erected at a safe distance from the water before sundown. Look for a marker left behind, if you can. Else we¡¯ll have to figure out the tides ourselves.¡±Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. ¡°Get the humans to dig, they work for the Company.¡± ¡°So are you Lanthdor and I trust our own to do this properly,¡± Acharon retorted and slapped the silver badge the Captain sported. The lower-ranking officers and employees carried a bronze one. It was a type of a square lapel pin, alike a coin but bigger that you could secure on your coat. If you had one. Shamil still hadn¡¯t gotten one, since he was ¡®a work in progress¡¯, but mostly because Tidus was looking to give the younger recruits half-pay for as long as he could get away with it. ¡°Flardryn¡¯s orders. You work for the Company now.¡± ¡°The Bank you mean.¡± ¡°No. The company. Build me that warehouse Captain, or step aside and Gonodir will do it.¡± Lanthdor pursed his mouth and stared at the Marine leader. Gonodir shrugged his shoulders. ¡°I can split the lads. One day of hard labor earns you a trip in the jungle.¡± ¡°Are there Gish around Gonodir?¡± One Marine asked in a mirthful manner. ¡°I see you¡¯re still an idiot Pathon,¡± Gonodir retorted gruffly and eyed the Zilan soldier. ¡°You know the drill. First cunt that opens his mouth gets the axe.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not the fucking saying sir!¡± Pathon protested. ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Gonodir agreed and then added with an evil smirk. ¡°Start cutting trees down now.¡± ¡°Hey, you!¡± Lanthdor grunted catching Shamil watching them with a big smile on his face. ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing?¡± ¡°I signed up for the Imperial Army in Ta-Ne,¡± Shamil explained raising his fist and the Zilan stared at him numbly. ¡°Hail King Garth! Long may he reign!¡± ¡°That¡¯s all well and good but this is the Marines kid,¡± Lanthdor replied gruffly. ¡°The Navy. You heard the man, we are working for the company now.¡± ¡°King and coin kid,¡± Acharon said with a polite smile. ¡°Take solace that you were half right.¡± ¡°Bullshit he is,¡± Lanthdor grunted. ¡°Pathon you got yerself a helper. The rest grab any human loitering about and put them to work.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take the kid to the woods,¡± the Zilan from before said and approached, a long-shafted axe resting on his shoulder. ¡°He¡¯ll help me out.¡± ¡°You are looking to chop wood down Taranir?¡± Lanthdor queried tensely. ¡°I¡¯ll start with that,¡± Taranir replied and stared at the silently watching him Zilan. ¡°Don¡¯t let me keep you lads.¡± He added and turned to Shamil. ¡°You have an axe lad?¡± ¡°It¡¯s Shamil, but people call me Sam,¡± Shamil explained. ¡°You have an axe Sam?¡± Taranir asked in the same tone. ¡°No?¡± The Zilan gave him the one he carried. ¡°Keep it away from your face. I just had it sharpened.¡±
¡°Uh!¡± Shamil grunted swinging the axe with both hands. The blade thudded at the thick tree trunk and chopped pieces of it away. ¡°Uah!¡± He kept alternating the growls in his swings and many swings later the second blue-colored needle-like in its leaves spruce dropped next to the one Taranir had fell earlier. The Zilan approached the cut stump and used a small dagger to gather the dripping resin inside a small bronze canister. He¡¯d done the same with the previous spruce. Shamil asked him about it. ¡°Good for glue. It was a Fir by the way, the previous one. Easy to mix up, but look at how the needless are attached to the stem with suction-like cups? You don¡¯t have that in a spruce,¡± Taranir explained. ¡°How come this part is full of them?¡± Shamil asked. ¡°Elevation,¡± the Zilan explained. ¡°We¡¯ve been climbing for a while now. Beyond this forested ridge there is a steep incline that leads to the Sparrow Lake.¡± ¡°Whoa,¡± Shamil gasped and sat at the edge of the cut stump in order to rest. His arms were burning from the effort. ¡°You¡¯re a botanist, or something?¡± ¡°I tend to a large strawberry garden and a couple of fields near the Narrow Gulf. Some vines, little bit of grain, a touch of barley. Enough to make my own liquor and sell it.¡± Taranir reached inside his coat and got an angular piece of yellow cheese out. He tossed it to Shamil that caught it on his chest with both hands. ¡°A couple of sheep and a goat,¡± Taranir added with the thinnest of smiles. Shamil sniffed at the hard cheese and then took a bite. ¡°Next time chew on some of that and the sea-sickness will go away,¡± the Zilan said. ¡°I know of goat cheese,¡± Shamil said wolfing everything down. ¡°Luzi Hokar spawn. Desert herdsman,¡± Taranir murmured looking at the thick trees surrounding them. ¡°Only it burns and it¡¯s very salty?¡± Shamil coughed trying to swallow. ¡°Um. I spiced it up a bit. I¡¯ve a pretty tough to appease palate,¡± Taranir explained and got another large piece of cheese in his own mouth. Occasionally he¡¯d sip some whiskey from a small silver flask in between measured chomps and several swings later, now seemingly quite satisfied, the Zilan returned everything in a bag he carried and slotted a small cigar in his mouth. ¡°Just tobacco,¡± Taranir told the watching his every move Shamil. They could hear the workers chopping down trees at the edges of the forest and the groups of marines passing nearby searching the thicker parts. ¡°Never cared to dull my senses.¡± ¡°You know of Luzi Hokar then?¡± ¡°Ten plinth houses and plenty of goats is the Luzi Hokar I know,¡± Taranir murmured and lit up his cigar. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s a port now. We¡¯ve ships coming in every couple of months,¡± Shamil praised his birthplace. ¡°We still have a lot of goats though.¡± ¡°Um.¡± ¡°I joined the Navy to serve the wyvern king,¡± Shamil said after a while. ¡°He kicked the Horselords out of the Peninsula.¡± ¡°I thought they are still there.¡± ¡°For the most part.¡± ¡°Ah. How you ended up working for the Company then?¡± Taranir asked evenly. ¡°Well, we still work for the King,¡± Shamil argued, still a little miffed about that. ¡°After I get my reps in, Tidus will give me a bronze badge. Do you have one? It writes SETC on it and has a scale with a compass on one side and the Crown of Horns on the other. Anyway after we return I¡¯ll get one and Nery will as well.¡± ¡°It¡¯d be a while afore this journey ends Sam.¡± ¡°We found the port,¡± Shamil argued. ¡°No Gish in sight.¡± ¡°When you stand at the ridge,¡± Taranir said, blowing smoke out of his nostrils. ¡°Beyond the lake, you¡¯ll see land in the mist and a mountain. That¡¯s Grilix Isle and Sirondil Peak.¡± ¡°Is that where the Gish live?¡± ¡°The Gish live mostly behind Sirondil, this main island chain was once a big single island. But to answer your query, the Gish live everywhere on the Isles. Wouldn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I guess.¡± Shamil replied and voices of alarm interrupted their respite.
The arriving Lanthdor grimaced and then paused to evaluate the situation. Shamil could see the clear waters of the lake at the bottom of this forested basin and beyond it, now that the sun was fully up and the atmosphere had cleared, the mass of the nearby Grilix Isle. The path the soldiers had discovered poorly-maintained by local folk and wild animals. One of them, dragged near the Zilan Captain by Pathon. His wiry body twisting and turning and that mess of pink hair hiding the bizarre face. ¡°Friendly!¡± The little Gish squeaked in strange half-Imperial half-Common whilst trying to free himself from Pathon¡¯s grip at his nape. The Zilan¡¯s long fingers wrapped around the Gish¡¯s neck. ¡°I love Corsairs! Ask Bafix!¡± ¡°Can we widen the road? We need to bring a couple of boats to this lake,¡± Lanthdor asked Peldir the medic and the sweaty Zilan puffed out in exasperation. ¡°I¡¯m not an engineer Lanthdor, but I imagine we can. Why am I here?¡± ¡°Someone sounded the alarm. It¡¯s standard procedure to bring a healer along,¡± Lanthdor retorted. ¡°I want the road reaching the anchorage before the week is over,¡± he ordered the marines present. ¡°The road is fine,¡± Pathon argued and slapped the Gish¡¯s hand away from his dagger. ¡°Gonodir needs to be informed.¡± ¡°I outrank Gonodir Marine!¡± Lanthdor barked. ¡°Not whilst on land, you¡¯re not. We need to secure the isle first captain,¡± Pathon countered. ¡°Against that thing?¡± Lanthdor growled and stepped forward. ¡°Are there more here?¡± He asked the ogling scared at the imposing Zilan male Gish. ¡°You¡¯re not hu-mans. Eh. You¡¯ve got big ears mate. Just a non-threatening observation.¡± Lanthdor glanced at the rest of the Zilan present. ¡°What the fuck is this? Is he retarded?¡± ¡°Answer the Captain Gish.¡± ¡°Name¡¯s Rabix,¡± the young Gish with the shifty face explained and set his eyes on the curiously watching the exchange Shamil. ¡°I¡¯ll speak with the Corsair brother.¡± ¡°What?¡± Lanthdor grunted and twisted around to stare at the stunned teenager. ¡°Is this true?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Shamil Al-Bagi,¡± Shamil explained. ¡°My family runs goats in Luzi Hokar, but I worked to gain entry¡ª¡± ¡°You¡¯ve told us that already you imbecile!¡± The Zilan roared irate. ¡°Do you know the Gish?¡± ¡°Eh. I never met a Gish in my life,¡± Shamil blurted out defensively. ¡°Sammy boy,¡± Rabix chuckled nervously and winked at him with red-rimmed pinkish eyes. ¡°Come on, I¡¯m a friend of the Corsair of Ducuril! You don¡¯t remember me?¡± Lanthdor pursed his mouth, suspicion written all over his long face. ¡°I don¡¯t know him, or you,¡± Shamil insisted nervously. ¡°No, he¡¯s lying!¡± Rabix cried out. ¡°I¡¯ve seen him afore, on me word long-eared dudes!¡± ¡°Pathon, cut his thumbs off,¡± Lanthdor grunted and Rabix recoiled in horror. ¡°Not the thumbs!¡± ¡°Fine, pluck an eye out,¡± the Captain retorted. ¡°PLEASE. SAM! Don¡¯t do this man! I¡­ don¡¯t¡­ feel¡­¡± Rabix protested hoarsely and then fainted abruptly. Pathon let him drop on the ground with a shake of his head, the rest of the Zilan bursting out laughing at the scene. Shamil blinked, still horrified at the disturbing turn of events and when he opened his eyes again, Rabix was legging it for the trees. ¡°Fuck!¡± Pathon cursed, a bit stunned at the rapidly running away small Gish. ¡°Damn it! After him for fuck¡¯s sake!¡± Lanthdor cursed. ¡°He¡¯s about to warn the others!¡± ¡°What others?¡± A Marine asked while several made an effort to run after the Gish that had disappeared in the wilderness surrounding the path and the lake. ¡°Where there¡¯s one, there are more!¡± Lanthdor growled. ¡°Gods damn it! Pathon send word to Gonodir to post patrols along the whole coast! Find that short bastard!¡± ¡­
Well, that small Gish disappeared near the lake and despite their efforts the Marines couldn¡¯t find him. After exploring the shores of the large freshwater lake, Shamil returned to their main camp with the unperturbed about the events Taranir, although the Zilan gardener of sorts, did remain silent for the remainder of their trip. Acharon had finished his wooden warehouse by sundown and the mixed crowd of humans and Zilan worked to bring the cut timber near the shores, in order to start construction of the rudimentary docks the next day. The Company men slept near big fires in the cleared-out area at the edge of the forest and a meeting was held to discuss their next plans.
Fat Libby¡¯s Captain¡¯s logs Supplemental 22nd of Sextus 195 NC (3401 IC) Safe Sojourn anchorage, Worm Isle Expedition ¡®Dark Tapestry Trail¡¯ Day 19 Master Acharon setup a field hospital and a kitchen. Most men were glad with the latter, but the small infirmary also made ¡®Doc¡¯ Peldir happy. Lanthdor wants to take the Lassel around Worm Isle towards Grilix Isle. The Zilan believe there be iron deposits there and good stone, which Worm isle lacks. It has clay though near the north sides of the lake and some of the men constructed a kiln today so we can produce bricks. 25th of Sextus Almost a week on Worm Isle. A week at Safe Sojourn. Plenty of banana trees on the west side, some mango, wild peppers and what looks like sour mandarin. Good ground to grow grain and two fields were cleared near the camp. Not much of local fauna but for a type of water pig that tastes like mud without plenty of seasoning. Fortunately we have a lot of that. Gonodir declared the Isle ¡®clear of danger presently, but difficult to maintain that status without widening the perimeter.¡¯ Some of the Zilan are pretty interested in going to Grilix Isle that¡¯s less than fifty kilometers away and you can see its mountain from the top of the ridge. Some of the lads too, but I have the notion it¡¯s for a different reason. Devon who talks with them, believes some of our blue-haired colleagues ¡®are pretty old in the tooth.¡¯ The way Devon said it, gave me the fucking chills. 26th of Sextus Lanthdor wanted to take the Lassel around the Isle but agreed to wait for after the rest of the ships arrive. The ¡®Petulant¡¯ and the ¡®Express¡¯ are lengthened Schooners, pretty fast, but they¡¯ve left Mussel three days after we cleared the Reefs and they are late. The trade Schooners did arrive early in the afternoon. They are part ¡®of the Sopat buy in payment¡¯ per their marching orders. I know Captain Pheles of the Petulant from Lai Zel-Ka, and Captain Zuberi of the Express is a serious Cofol with a mixed crew. Apparently they had to recruit fast to be ready for the journey. So they have some fellow Lorians, and a number of shady Issirs, in their predominantly Cofol crews. ¡®The Trade Company is the great gathering of all peoples¡¯ as Pheles declared impressed at what we have constructed in short notice. It¡¯s all great, but I¡¯m worried to have a military head in charge. Lanthdor is a good ¡®silver badge¡¯ but this is an exploratory mission. 27th of Sextus Captain Zuberi of the Express will take Gonodir and a group of Marines to Grilix Isle on a resources scouting mission. Peldir would follow along but Lanthdor won¡¯t join them, which was weird to me. Nevertheless, due to the need for additional crew I¡¯ve ordered the kids Sam and Nery to help out. Some of the crew on the Express is downright weird and shifty-looking, especially that Zaine character, his petite aide and their old dog. On another peculiar note, Zuberi told me they caught sight of a ship staying behind them through the reefs when they approached. ¡®Hull white as snow,¡¯ Zuberi recalled, ¡®but we lost it during the night, afore the Tits canal turn.¡¯ The Zilan almost laughed the Cofol captain out of the newly constructed conference-room. ¡®The day the Gish build anything larger than a bathtub, is the day I¡¯ll call it quits and wed a princess. I¡¯m not jesting darn it!¡¯ An animated Lanthdor told Zuberi and while we were all interested to learn which princess the naval officer meant -given the bold statement, he sagely left it at that.
¡­ 28th of Sextus Grilix Isle rocky approaches, Sinking Isles main island chain east side, ¡®Land between the lake¡¯s legs¡¯, Ilvilix River Lake south delta, north side Expedition Day 25 Aboard the SETC Schooner number 2, called the ¡®Express¡¯ ¡°REEFS PORTSIDE!¡± Nery yelled, the Cofol tied with a rope on the main mast and swinging back and forth dangerously. ¡°TURN RUDDER LEEWARD!¡± ¡°Rudder starboard bow!¡± Captain Zuberi yelled, and Shamil grabbed a line to stabilize himself on the narrow deck. Waves splashed at his soaked feet, the boards turning slippery and Taranir helped him clasping at his elbow tightly. ¡°Nine meters!¡± The Cofol sailor taking the depth roared. ¡°Keep it steady!¡± ¡°SEVEN!¡± ¡°Ready anchors!¡± ¡°That¡¯s a big bloody mountain!¡± Shamil yelled, with a mouth full of brines the moment their ship stopped shaking right and then left, with any unsecured stuff tumbling about and people yelling with enthusiasm for still breathing. The dog barked once in reply and the short sailor standing over it gave a nod with his hat-wearing head. Short was an understatement perhaps as Shamil was already taller than Ab and Nery had another head over him, despite the man''s claims that he was nearing thirty winters. ¡°The mountain was always the same height,¡± Taranir explained, his eyes searching the abandoned pebble-covered beach that they could now see. ¡°We are just closer.¡± ¡°Time to get wet!¡± Gonodir barked casting a glare at his squad. ¡°I want four-limbed fish in the fucking water and then on that beach in twenty minutes! Pathon, you volunteered?¡± ¡°No sir,¡± Pathon grunted. ¡°Great, that¡¯s one then,¡± Gonodir rustled and eyed the rest of the ten man group. ¡°Who is next? Glavon, Tirior and Feredir. I see yer eager to taste the soup,¡± he picked them out afore they could reply. ¡°Secure your gear and dive in lads! Come on now, my balls are freezing! MOVE!¡± - 2 hours later ¡°Fucking rocks be burning thru our soles soon,¡± a sailor cursed carrying a crate with some supplies out of their boat. Shamil had made it ashore with the help of Taranir as the boat couldn¡¯t fit everyone inside. ¡°Hey, sir Captain, is the sun closer, or something?¡± ¡°The spot is plenty shaded in the afternoon,¡± Captain Zuberi replied and stooped to pick up something from the beach. ¡°Hmm.¡± ¡°Was that a nail?¡± Taranir asked and got another short thin cigar out. The outer tobacco leaves black and dipped in paste made out the rare outside of the Peninsula chocolate tree fruit¡¯s seeds, in order to darken them up. Of course the Zilan had told Shamil that all fruits and trees thrived inside Nesande¡¯s Garden, so ¡®stuff ain¡¯t that difficult to find, or grow¡¯. ¡°Yeah, a good nail this. For a shoehorn. Mule I gather, or donkey.¡± Zuberi replied. ¡°Any sign of that Gish Gonodir?¡± The marine officer paused drawing at his map and stared at the captain. ¡°You don¡¯t believe the Gish made it across the straits? That¡¯s a big swim even for a Marine.¡± Kilometers of seawater surely worth a bigger moniker that just ¡®a big swim¡¯, Shamil thought, but stayed out of the officers¡¯ discussion. ¡°You tell me,¡± Zuberi argued. ¡°You saw it. How did it make it across in the first place?¡± The Zilan smacked his lips and noticed a scarfed ruffian-looking Issir sailor reading the map he was drawing, while standing over his shoulder. The Issir showed him two-rows of dull yellow-teeth with plenty of gold ones mixed in. It was a grin. ¡°Back away,¡± Gonodir warned and the Issir bowed, maintaining his smile and friendly demeanor. ¡°I¡¯m an artist meself,¡± he explained. ¡°It¡¯s a map. No art involved,¡± Gonodir grunted. ¡°Go do some work Issir. It better involve a lot of heavy-lifting and no art at all.¡± ¡°Apologies. I be leavin signor,¡¯¡± the Issir replied and limped away with difficulty on the pebbled beach. ¡°Who hired an invalid in the company?¡± Gonodir asked Captain Zuberi and the Cofol shrugged his shoulders. ¡°They came in a group back in Mussel. I guess the local office was in a hurry to get rid of them, given how busy they are. He does know a bit of night steering. Worked the night shift without problems.¡± ¡°Does he have a name?¡± Gonodir asked watching the Issir return near his short friend that tried to setup a shade for their supplies, working slower than a pregnant woman. ¡°Zaine. ¡®Lame¡¯ Zaine,¡± Zuberi replied still examining that nail. ¡°This is forged steel by the way. It came out with barely any damage.¡± ¡°Do Gish work with steel?¡± Shamil asked and Zuberi shrugged his shoulders. ¡°I don¡¯t know about Gish, but this is an Issir nail-type. See the square head? I¡¯ve seen the type made in Rida.¡±
The Marine patrols returned an hour later. The two, five-soldiers per, groups found no sign of Gish, but they did discover a trail leading to the plateau and a copse that showed signs of civilization given it had been worked on to have only a type of tree growing. An indigenous type of large oak. ¡°You think the Gish are nearby?¡± Gonodir asked the tired Pathon. ¡°A Gish can hide pretty well,¡± Pathon replied. ¡°Not many of them that I¡¯ve seen lately,¡± Gonodir admitted. ¡°Glavon? You visited Folen¡¯s brothel didn¡¯t ye? There¡¯s word in the ranks you¡¯ve bedded a male Gish.¡± ¡°It was a group thing sir,¡± Glavon spat with a glare at his colleagues. ¡°I hooked up with a couple of fine Zilan lasses mainly.¡± ¡°An orgy you said?¡± Gonodir barked. ¡°Both girls and the tiny cinaedus?¡± ¡°A trio. You need four to have an orgy usually.¡± ¡°Ah. I¡¯m sure their mothers will be proud.¡± ¡°The mother was present sir.¡± ¡°Aha. There¡¯s something to chew upon gentlemen. Now, how did the Gish make it to Wetull soldier?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t think to ask,¡± Glavon admitted sheepishly. ¡°I want more groups created,¡± Gonodir decided with a sigh. ¡°We¡¯ll try again in the morning. We¡¯ll venture inland, search the plateau and the nearby copse again. Follow the mountain side until midday, then return here to regroup. Those that stay to guard the camp will gather stone. We¡¯ll bring samples back.¡± ¡°Should we make a fire sir?¡± a soldier asked. ¡°It¡¯s a hot day Feredir and the night is fixing to be pleasant,¡± Gonodir replied. ¡°We¡¯ll manage without it.¡±
The night was cool near the water and the tired Shamil, sat near the smoking Taranir at the edge of the beach. Drones of insects arrived at sunset from the nearby delta, mosquitos and crickets mainly, and most of the sailors returned to the ship when the rising tides covered most of the beach, with the marines opting to hang near the rocky inclines leading to the plateau. The first sentries for the night were Feredir and Tirior. ¡°Got any smoke to spare?¡± Zaine asked coming to sit near them. He found a crate and used one corner, cunning eyes skirting right and left to watch the shadows that had crept up on the flooded beach. The whole place had turned into a marsh, at least half a meter deep on average, but with some treacherous deep spots here and there. ¡°Nasty place this, haunted.¡± ¡°You favor tobacco mister Zaine?¡± Taranir asked and offered him a cigar. ¡°Anything is better than nothing. You don¡¯t seem the military type. Are you in the roster?¡± ¡°Are you?¡± Taranir retorted calmly. ¡°Eh, a man does what he can to make a livin¡¯ right?¡± ¡°Um.¡± ¡°What is it you do yerself?¡± ¡°I craft gardens.¡± Taranir replied and Zaine lit his cigar with a lightstone after sucking on it a couple of times. ¡°Grounds, other things. Trim the stems and gather what¡¯s gone missing.¡± ¡°Mmm.¡± Zaine nodded. ¡°Little bit of everything. I¡¯m like that too. I call it treasure-hunting haha. That¡¯s a fine cigar signor. Weird shitty flavor, but not unpleasant.¡± ¡°Most don¡¯t recognize it immediately,¡± Taranir retorted mockingly. ¡°Without prior turd knowledge.¡± ¡°Yeah. True that.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Taranir agreed and set his eyes on the short sailor talking with Nery. The one-eyed dog standing on its arse and staring in turn directly south with a forlorn expression. ¡°Your friend is a Gish.¡± ¡°What? Haha,¡± Zaine gasped and Shamil glanced at the Zilan perturbed. ¡°What made you think of that?¡± ¡°The eyes?¡± Taranir replied calmly. ¡°The lack of a nose.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a condition. The eye-thing. The nose is there, just flattened in a work accident¡­ ayup. Not easy working the seas. Nope. Slippery decks, things put in the wrong place, not tied up. Yep. It¡¯s a fucking mess really.¡± Shamil made to probe the Issir further, but Taranir stopped him. He brought an index finger to his lips and pointed at the top of the plateau now lost in mountain Sindoril¡¯s shade. Shamil narrowed his eyes but he couldn¡¯t see anything. Taranir used the finger to touch his left ear annoyed with Shamil. ¡°What is it signor?¡± Zaine whispered and extinguished the cigar at the heel of his boot. ¡°Listen,¡± Taranir ordered in the same manner. ¡°That¡¯s a donkey. Been hearing it for a while. The sentries have already reacted to it, though they failed to raise the alarm.¡±
It took them ten minutes to reach the top and by that time several other Zilan had coalesced there, amongst them the medic Peldir and Gonodir himself. The first thing Shamil spotted was the donkey drawing a small boat and the injured Feredir getting looked after by Peldir. Tirior was there as well, but needed no help at all, given that his head was squashed horrifically and the Marine was sprawled dead in a pool of dark blood and mashed brains. ¡°What in Abrakas tentacles is this malarkey Feredir?¡± Gonodir growled checking on the donkey furious. ¡°The fuck happened here?¡± ¡°The Gish,¡± Feredir grunted, his right arm broken and face swollen. ¡°He¡¯d two kids with him and that darn donkey.¡± ¡°Two little Gish pulverized poor Tirior¡¯s head?¡± Gonodir snapped irate. ¡°Did you have yours checked out? Peldir examine his thick skull for any cracks!¡± ¡°A tool did it,¡± Peldir hissed glaring at the officer. ¡°A heavy sledgehammer I¡¯d wager,¡± the medic added and Feredir nodded with a groan. ¡°The little Gish, or that short cunt we lost days ago, swung a blasted sledgehammer at Tirior?¡± Gonodir grunted unable to fathom what had happened. Shamil followed after Taranir who had stooped to check on the donkey¡¯s horseshoes initially and was now examining the saddle, along with the harness dragging the small boat behind. ¡°That was no little¡­ Black skin and red-black hair, thick arms like a gorilla. They were in the boat and we didn¡¯t see them. Fucking little bitch distracted us,¡± Feredir groaned in pain as Peldir set the forearm back. ¡°Damn it doc! The darn thing is still attached!¡± ¡°Shut up,¡± the male healer retorted and got a wooden a stick out of his bag to use on the broken arm. ¡°How tall?¡± A perturbed Gonodir asked. ¡°Was it a beast?¡± ¡°No beast. A tad taller than the kid,¡± Feredir replied through his teeth. ¡°There were two of them.¡± Gonodir stared at Shamil. ¡°That¡¯s not very tall. Could it have been a Gish you reckon?¡± ¡°That was no¡­ plaguing Gish!¡± Feredir grunted irate and in terrible pain. ¡°That¡¯s an Issir-type saddle and this boat,¡± Taranir told the distracted Shamil snapping him back to the present. ¡°Is just part of a bigger one, put back together rather skillfully I might add. Even has the name of the ship it belonged to on the sides. The Aconite. Aye.¡± ¡°What does it mean?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a blue flower. Wolvesbane. Darn right poisonous, but it¡¯s good for the shivers in small doses,¡± Zaine replied sucking at his teeth thoughtfully. ¡°You seem troubled mister Zaine,¡± Taranir noticed. ¡°Eh. There¡¯s a tale circulating certain circles about a lost convoy. The name rang a bell,¡± Zaine replied. ¡°What ship was it?¡± Taranir asked. ¡°A brig.¡± ¡°What type of convoy?¡± Shamil queried rubbing at the nervous donkey¡¯s mane. ¡°A coin fleet,¡± Zaine replied reluctantly. ¡°Pathon,¡± Gonodir grunted several meters to their right. ¡°Get the boys ready. This atrocity needs to be addressed decisively. We lost one of our own.¡± ¡°Aye sir,¡± Pathon saluted and then whistled loudly to gather the rest of the arriving Marines. Now nine of them. ¡°Find me that murderous Gish Pathon.¡± Gonodir ordered gruffly and Taranir stepped forward shoving the startled Zaine aside. ¡°Belay that order Gonodir,¡± Taranir said evenly and the Marine officer glanced his way in shock. Most of the soldiers did in fact. ¡°Who the allhells¡ª?¡± Gonodir exploded and recoiled when Taranir snapped his arm forward abruptly, the leather sleeve rustling as it moved, only to fold again and open the first button of his coat to get a small badge out. Taranir turned it this way and that to find the fa?ade, afore he secured the large lapel pin over the right side of his longcoat. Shamil felt Zaine¡¯s eyes on him but when he turned towards the shifty Issir, Zaine was staring straight up ahead faking at indifference. ¡°You¡¯re in the board of directors?¡± Gonodir grunted in bewilderment. ¡°Are you fucking serious?¡± ¡°You¡¯re putting too much stock on labels lad. Worked with Mirthral for the precursor of this¡­ enterprise on another position. You can say I¡¯m freshly out of retirement,¡± Taranir explained coolly. ¡°If it¡¯s any consolation Lanthdor learned about it very recently and was equally sad.¡± Gonodir blinked and then pursed his mouth. ¡°This is a military matter mister Taranir,¡± he hissed clenching his jaw. ¡°Call me Master Naug,¡± Taranir cut him off and eyed the rest of the sober soldiers austerely. ¡°This is a Company matter first and foremost. Fer King and Coin. But we can¡¯t begin having any of the latter unless we keep on the move. We¡¯ll deal with the Gish at a later time. Now we have a tight schedule to keep.¡± ¡°What about the fact they just murdered one of our own?¡± Gonodir protested with a scowl. ¡°Ask Feredir to recall the events better. The Gish will only attack in self-defense, and I¡¯ve yet to meet a Zilan, or a human that can claim the same restraint. Especially when they perceive the opportunity too-enticing to pass,¡± Taranir replied his voice hardening. ¡°Do it, else I¡¯ll do it for you.¡± ¡°So,¡± Zaine asked the impressed Shamil treading carefully. ¡°Who¡¯s the big-eared dude again?¡± Shamil cleared his throat and then replied just as Taranir lit another of his small cigars, while the sullen Marines prepared to carry the injured Feredir, the corpse of Tirior and the donkey, back to their camp. ¡°He¡¯s a gardener. You heard him,¡± Shamil replied and added after a small thoughtful pause. ¡°Mostly.¡± ¡°Bugger me arse wit a hot poker and call me honey,¡± Zaine retorted nigh impressed and the dog barked once in agreement. 525. SETC | Mutiny Moons (1/2)
Shamil Al-Bagi SETC | Mutiny Moons Part I -Likes ye well enough-
Something made a clopping sound with its mouth, either a shy anteater, or a curious monkey and woke Shamil up. He turned on his left side, feeling the ¡®bed of pebbles¡¯ scraping at his elbow and grimaced. Shamil turned to his right next and saw Taranir towering over him. The Zilan, SETC Director apparently, gestured for Shamil to keep quiet. Not even two hours have gone by, Shamil thought. Why is he up? And the Zilan answered as if he could read its thoughts. ¡°Let¡¯s go for a walk.¡± Ugh? ¡°Can I come along signor?¡± Zaine asked, his rustle making Shamil recoil startled. ¡°It will be your decision Mister Zaine,¡± Taranir replied. ¡°Larsa has his own crew, under Captain Zuberi,¡± Zaine explained, ¡°Hartford and Mau-Mau.¡± ¡°Why not use a single Mau?¡± Shamil asked genuinely perturbed. ¡°Kept saying it over and over, when Larsa found him delirious. It means food,¡± Zaine explained and looked about them nervously for any onlookers. ¡°Anything the matter mister Zaine?¡± Taranir queried mockingly. Zaine shook his head negatively. ¡°Nothing. Just don¡¯t want to wake anyone else up at this late hour.¡± ¡°Um.¡± Taranir agreed, then added. ¡°Pack light. We are about to walk fast.¡±
The night made Grilix Isle appear more sinister than it did during the day. Sirondil¡¯s black mass cast its heavy shade over their small anchorage and camp. They walked to the plateau and then west of the copse, where the paths followed the south sides of the mountain around it. They heard two patrols guarding the approaches to their camp, but soon Shamil and his companions left them behind. Shamil followed the fast-moving Taranir more than led them in reality. The Zilan kept a steady rhythm -despite Zaine¡¯s protests after the first hour- as if Taranir knew where he was going. ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± Taranir explained to Shamil. ¡°You follow the path to where it leads Sam. It always does even if it¡¯s a dead end.¡± The path narrowed and then widened again, the incline becoming steeper, as it left the mountain sides behind and headed towards the elongated lake¡¯s shores. About three hundred meters from the reeds-covered banks the first structures appeared. First a square stable, attached to a warehouse and behind it a two story stone and brick building with a wooden roof with a large chimney. Another chimney over the warehouse as well, Shamil noticed as they approached, with several torches lit at the perimeters and the fa?ade of the large farmhouse. Another two smaller houses half-hidden behind it. The small settlement well-maintained, with cobblestone paths between each building and most of the nearby woods cleared-out, the trunks logged neatly, and then placed in stacks. ¡°Stay,¡± Taranir told them after watching the settlement for a while in silence. He stood up and walked towards the entrance, walking past the warehouse, or workshop. The latter probably, now that Shamil had a better look at it. The Zilan paused just after the double-door workshop of sorts and reached into his longcoat to find a cigar. He lit it calmly, the light shining over his face as Taranir took that first draw and again in a reddish hue that illuminated the parts shaded by his large hat, when he lightly blew at the foot to spread the burn evenly. ¡°What is he doing?¡± Shamil asked in a whisper, hearing some of the animals inside the stables reacting to the Zilan¡¯s presence inside the settlement¡¯s piazza and the strong smell of aromatic tobacco. ¡°Shows them he wants to parley,¡± Zaine explained nervously, and at that moment the main door of the building opened. A thick, heavily muscled figure stepped out and onto the shaded patio. Short in stature, about Shamil¡¯s height, but wide at the shoulders and with long trunk like arms. ¡°I expected more armed men,¡± the local said in Common with a heavy accent. ¡°Are you an imperial then?¡± Taranir puffed smoke away from his eyes and then smacked his lips in response. ¡°We were all imperial at some point,¡± the Zilan finally said. ¡°I wasn¡¯t,¡± the man replied gruffly. By his voice Shamil made him to be around fifty or sixty years old, but he could also see the thinning dark hairs on his head as the man took a step forward, which marked him as not one of the Gish at first glance. ¡°Nobody here is, for centuries.¡± ¡°As I said,¡± Taranir replied evenly. ¡°At some point.¡± ¡°You did,¡± the man agreed. ¡°I¡¯m Rudix Knupp. The local blacksmith.¡± ¡°To the heavens above our greetings mister Knupp,¡± Taranir said and put out his cigar on the sole of his boot. ¡°You can call me Director Taranir. Bank of Goras¡¯ newly-opened office of re-acquisitions. BGOR for short. Re-opened perhaps being the more correct word.¡± ¡°The lad wasn¡¯t lying,¡± Rudix noted guardedly. ¡°Imperials have landed on our shores again.¡± ¡°The lad killed a soldier earlier,¡± Taranir replied. ¡°Bashed his skull in with a sledgehammer. Forced me to intervene ahead of schedule. I don¡¯t like people creating obstacles mister Knupp. Or delays.¡± ¡°Your soldiers wanted to take Virtix,¡± Rudix said. ¡°Her brother wouldn¡¯t agree and my son had to intervene as well. I don¡¯t like people harming youngsters¡¯ mister Taranir, even if they behave like fools. I also don¡¯t trust Imperials around Gish. Male or female.¡± ¡°You are not a Gish.¡± ¡°My father wasn¡¯t, but Rudix is a Gish for two hundred years and counting. He lived as one and he¡¯ll die a Gish.¡± Taranir nodded. ¡°A Halfling. Um. Your father left with the Armada.¡± ¡°Rudd Knupp is buried with the rest of those left behind at Issir Star,¡± Rudix replied gruffly. ¡°He never followed the ships, or Reinut. This was as good a land, as anywhere else, he always said.¡± ¡°What¡¯s your boy¡¯s name?¡± Taranir asked glancing at the dark interior of the workshop. ¡°Tonix and Mertix,¡± Rudix replied. ¡°I¡¯ve two o¡¯ them.¡± ¡°Are they going to shoot? I can dodge an arrow,¡± Taranir retorted, still glaring at the open doors of the workshop. ¡°How about a bolt?¡± Rudix taunted but smiled at the end of it. ¡°You¡¯re safe for now Zilan.¡± ¡°You are not,¡± Taranir countered. ¡°In a couple of months, or more, soldiers will come here to get their pound of flesh. You better move further inland mister Knupp.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t leave my home,¡± Rudix replied stiffly. ¡°I¡¯ve built this here homestead with my father.¡± Taranir nodded and then took a deep breath to ponder on the Halfling¡¯s words. ¡°The mountain has iron deposits,¡± the Zilan finally said. ¡°How rich?¡± ¡°All the Isles are made out of metal and crystals,¡± Rudix replied. ¡°The Gish never cared until the ships arrived.¡± ¡°Why befriend the Issirs?¡± ¡°What is an Issir? They were the people of Kaletha Triarchy. My father hailed from Ikete. Issir Star was just a city they built when my ancestors arrived here. A moniker does not make a nation.¡± ¡°They call it Kaltha now, your nation.¡± Taranir replied. ¡°You didn¡¯t answer my query.¡± ¡°The Gish were strange and very lewd in their ways but not mean-spirited,¡± Rudix elucidated. ¡°We found common ground hearing of their plight against the Zilan Empire.¡± ¡°Which you attacked without provocation,¡± Taranir pointed out and Shamil turned to look at the absorbed with the conversation Zaine.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°That was Reinut. He preached of riches in the lands of plenty. An evil pirate¡¯s heart couldn¡¯t live in peaceful isolation. The Gish had nothing to take, but the Imperials did. I guess, he failed.¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t fail,¡± Taranir retorted. ¡°The Gods helped him bring ruin. He killed innocents, the kingdom fell, but then Hardir O¡¯ Fardor came to bring back the age of wyverns.¡± ¡°Woe to us.¡± ¡°Hardir doesn¡¯t want the isles, but the company can¡¯t deliver without new ports. The Coin Route starts here.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m not hearing a different tune Taranir. I ain¡¯t gonna defend Reinut¡¯s crimes, but maybe the Gods punished the Zilan as well back then? The old Gish have tales to say about them doing untold harm on the Isles for centuries.¡± Rudix countered and looked towards Shamil. Then his eyes settled on Zaine. ¡°Are you one of Reinut¡¯s kin?¡± He asked the suddenly discomforted sailor. ¡°I¡¯m not an educated man signor,¡± Zaine replied tensely. ¡°Can¡¯t really follow what you¡¯re saying, but know that I understand the spirit of it.¡± Shamil frowned at the skillful dodge by the sailor of this simple query. ¡°We might need a good blacksmith at Safe Sojourn. A good paying job. Good profit for you and yours.¡± Taranir offered. ¡°Someone local that can keep the Gish at bay. Out of harm¡¯s way.¡± ¡°Ah, the profit. Do I need it though on the isles? Bafix, or Silix talk for the Gish anyhow, but know that you can¡¯t keep them away.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve watched them run aplenty,¡± Taranir retorted. ¡°Not this generation,¡± Rudix said and listened for a moment at the night, the sounds of the nearby lake reaching them. ¡°Rabix spoke to the Corsair twins and they got a donkey to carry a bigger boat ashore. Others have heard about it by now. They don¡¯t fear your soldiers, or the humans. Neither are my sons now.¡± ¡°A single annoyance, we can overlook. A persistent problem though, would get everyone¡¯s attention and you don¡¯t want that kind of heat son of Knupp. You know how this will end, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Do they know?¡± Rudix countered, his hand pointed at Shamil and Zaine. ¡°What you really are?¡± Taranir sighed and then stared at the other figure that had appeared at the entrance of the workshop armed with a crossbow. ¡°Let me see that thing,¡± the Zilan said finally. ¡°You¡¯ll think on my words mister Knupp because you¡¯re a sensible old man. Human, Gish, or a Halfling, it matters not to me. Not why I¡¯m here. You¡¯re old enough to be their elder, and yes I know how the Gish work. You can convince them not to be too-stupid at least, while I figure something out with the higher ups.¡±
¡°How did you get to know him?¡± Zaine asked Shamil on their way back. The walking ahead of them Zilan had taken the crossbow as compensation from Tonix and his father. ¡°He helped me on the ship,¡± Shamil replied. ¡°I don¡¯t really know him. He is a gardener in his spare time I guess.¡± Zaine turned to look at him with curious eyes. ¡°What?¡± Shamil probed and the sailor grimaced. ¡°You seem like a good kid,¡± he finally said lowering his voice. ¡°But he wasn¡¯t supposed to be here. Another was to lead the expedition.¡± ¡°So? I¡¯m not exactly familiar with the company¡¯s hierarchy. No one is really.¡± ¡°Yep. Always a problem this uncertainty.¡± Zaine agreed thoughtfully. ¡°People start gathering in lines to get a good-paying job. Tales start spreading of expeditions to exotic lands and barrels filled with coin. It garners attention from lads of a different predilection, if ye get my meaning.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t?¡± Shamil replied. Zaine pursed his mouth and then worked a finger into his collar, before calling at the walking ahead of them Zilan. ¡°Hey mate? How about a stop to have a breather?¡± Taranir didn¡¯t even reply. ¡°Yep. It figures,¡± Zaine said and grimaced. ¡°I¡¯ve a bad leg son,¡± he explained. ¡°There are a couple of good stories associated with how it happened.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± ¡°Sure. But the thing is, it doesn¡¯t really matter the how,¡± Zaine explained. ¡°It¡¯s a cautionary tale about how quickly things can turn to shit, if you listen to bad advice.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Shamil said not really understanding where the sailor was going with this. ¡°Comes a time is what I¡¯m saying,¡± Zaine continued, ¡°when you have to take a side and it¡¯s never a sure thing. Aye. Never a sure thing. The dog might be right, but I still stand uncomfortable to fully trust it you understand?¡± ¡°Not really. Why?¡± ¡°Because of the foot,¡± Zaine said surprised. ¡°I thought yer following me words. The dog could lead a man astray. It¡¯s an evil dog, because it ain¡¯t a dog per se.¡± Shamil narrowed his eyes. He made to answer the troubled sailor, but they had reached the lights of their camp already, and Taranir asked them to hurry up. So he didn¡¯t.
They found no patrol coming down from the plateau and Taranir opened his stride to reach the small anchorage faster. Shamil spotted two groups of Marines gathered around Gonodir, the injured Feredir and Glavon. A large group of sailors standing nearby and yelling at them angrily. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Shamil asked and Taranir gestured for him to keep his mouth shut. Shamil halted near an extinguished campfire and glanced at the one-eyed dog unsure. The short sailor with the darkened skin jumped up seeing Zaine return and made to speak, but the dog barked angrily stopping him. ¡°This is clearly an escalation Gonodir,¡± Glavon was saying, while the voices of the riled up sailors of the Express could be heard more clearly now. ¡°Murdered the Captain in his sleep they did!¡± One of them roared, flaying his arms in theatrical fury. ¡°Slit his throat!¡± Another barked, a big smile on his face showing no grief at all, despite the anger in his voice. ¡°Larsa is in the right!¡± ¡°Saw it with me own eyes,¡± a baritone Cofol, with a thin, and long beard agreed. ¡°One of them Gish. Ogling eyes and claws for hands, speaking in strange tongues!¡± ¡°Eh,¡± Ab grunted and clenched his jaw, but Zaine grabbed his shoulder to stop him. ¡°They come in the night and kills us in our sleep,¡± Larsa continued. A tall and wiry, very-tanned Lorian with strikingly blue eyes and arms full of tattoos with the same theme. Many sailors¡¯ favorite. A big-titted siren. ¡°Zuberi is dead?¡± Taranir asked coming to a stand between the two groups. ¡°Dead as a rock,¡± Larsa replied eyeing him. ¡°Couldn¡¯t be deader even if he wanted to!¡± ¡°Someone killed him on the ship?¡± ¡°Yeah. They can swim like the fish them pink local cunts,¡± Larsa retorted aggressively. ¡°It¡¯s an escalation.¡± ¡°He¡¯s right,¡± Glavon backed him up and Taranir snapped his head to glare at the Zilan soldier. ¡°An army matter Taranir.¡± ¡°I want to see the body,¡± Taranir replied. ¡°You know what I think?¡± Larsa intervened. ¡°I think you¡¯re not who you say you are mister. Maybe you¡¯re working a dastardly scheme here, taking trips in the dark and always siding with the locals and all.¡± Shamil glanced at the soldiers worried. Taranir had in fact tried to talk with the Gish during the night. ¡°Sir,¡± Glavon insisted turning to the frowned Gonodir. ¡°This is weird behavior. You should take over here.¡± ¡°He shouldn¡¯t,¡± Taranir intervened, glancing at the moored ship that had its silhouette visible due to the lamps secured at the mast and then at Zaine. ¡°Lanthdor is the second in command. You could take his opinion on the matter if you insist Glavon.¡± ¡°Why do we need his opinion?¡± Larsa intervened. ¡°The soldiers can hunt down the killers. This island isn¡¯t much bigger than the Worm Isle. Some of the sailors can help.¡± ¡°Gonodir?¡± Taranir asked the officer. The Zilan grimaced, thinking about it. ¡°We can report back to Safe Sojourn. Speak with Lanthdor,¡± Gonodir finally said looking at Taranir unsure. ¡°Sir!¡± Glavon grunted. ¡°Calm down,¡± Gonodir snapped angrily. ¡°I won¡¯t allow those Gish to get away with it soldier! But we need to be smart about it.¡± ¡°Can you navigate the ship?¡± Taranir asked the grimacing Larsa and his vocal friends. ¡°Sure,¡± Larsa finally grunted through his teeth. ¡°I can do it,¡± Zaine said. ¡°Was with Zuberi on the rudder for much of the journey.¡± The dog barked once and Larsa eyed the half-breed sailor unsure. ¡°You can take over after the turn brother.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± he yielded. ¡°You¡¯ll take the rudder Zaine, bring us where we discussed yesterday.¡± Shamil narrowed his eyes at the wording, but other than the thoughtful Taranir everyone else missed it. Ab, the short sailor standing next to the masticating dog, cast a gloomy glance at the teenager. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it kid,¡± Ab told him. ¡°Zaine likes ye well enough.¡± Hugh? ¡°Mister Taranir,¡± Larsa offered. ¡°You should take the late captain¡¯s cabin.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll stay on the deck,¡± Taranir retorted. ¡°Gaze at the moons, until I can¡¯t.¡±
The bluish Nesande¡¯s Moon and the pale-white Oras Eye, had both appeared in the night sky. Larger than ever before, they shed their cool light over the small anchorage and the moored schooner. The moment they entered one of the two boats to return to the ship, Taranir who had sat next to him, amidst the Marines ¨Cwith the sailors taking the other boat- said without sentiment. ¡°How many are onboard?¡± ¡°Sailors?¡± Gonodir asked and furrowed his bows. ¡°About fifty.¡± ¡°I doubt they are still that number. We need to wait for an opportunity. They¡¯ll give us one, further in the sea, but the night is almost over and it might force them to wait, or rush it. Either way we are getting killed on that ship lads.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Glavon grunted. ¡°What are you sprouting there Taranir?¡± ¡°Who did you expect to appear in my place and run the show? Obviously Lanthdor is only here to have his name on the books.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about, you old fuck!¡± Glavon grunted irate and Taranir shook his head, with a glance at the other boat that now approached the noisy Express. ¡°While you were thinking how to get me out of the picture, or whatever other scheme you have running marine, the Express got captured by pirates under your noses. You are all the dumbest cunts. Fucking idiots. They would have left you stranded here with the Gish without a blasted ship, by the time you figured it out!¡± Taranir hissed much to Glavon¡¯s shock and Gonodir¡¯s bewilderment. The Zilan turned to look at the nervous at this wicked development Shamil and put a hand on his shoulder reassuringly. ¡°I¡¯m guessing two different crews boarded at Ta-Ne. Lads, we¡¯ve a mutiny in our hands.¡± 526. SETC | Mutiny Moons (2/2)
-Updated- Imperial Bank¡¯s and Goras Bank¡¯s board ¨Cmentioned or serving in both reiterations. First Director Helven, (>first Era Elderblood. From 302 ¨Cuntil moon Lassel-lanta* 3196) Director Luvon, (b. 1700 Altariel ¨CGaladriel¡¯s Watch, IB 1797-3196 and GB 3399-?) Secretary of Trade and Commerce Riston (b. 1816 Elauthin, IB 1922-3196 and GB 3399-?) Naug (Collector) Taranir (b. 1806 Myrdiel River-Rain Minas, IBOR** 1899-2389, 2456-2461, 3194-3196 and BGOR 3401-?)
*Dying-Leaf fall moon (voiced munth, or month), similar to the Galleass Lassel and the capitalized Fall, used to mark the date, as first month of fall 3196. ** Terms at IBOR (Imperial Bank¡¯s Office of Reacquisitions from where he was forcibly removed with royal decree, in order to be imprisoned for sixty seven years, before been brought back in 2456 IC, again retired, and then asked to return in several different occasions.) ***The 9th Marine hadn¡¯t served with the Imperial Trade Company (ITC) as it was stationed at Serpent Canal, but Mirthral¡¯s 13th Marine had for centuries, as well as the 3rd and the ¡®mighty¡¯ 6th which had stormed the beaches at Plague Isles in 1801 during the Aken-Zilan war (1798-2006), but the latter had been both destroyed during the Fall.
17th of the Imperial moon (or month) Cainen (Decimus), the Imperial year 2007 IBHC (Imperial Bank¡¯s Holding Company) central building on the elongated Peninsula of Elauthin City of Elauthin The Diamond Sands District facing Kallister¡¯s Canal and Hector¡¯s Peak volcano Helven¡¯s long face said it all. The news kept getting worse by the hour. Luvon and Riston stood at one corner of the ten-meter long conference table with the map of all the realms carved on it. An artist¡¯s rendition of the map, since no one really knew how the realm was truly shaped. Some of it was known through ¡®ship and wing¡¯ as the expression went, but the rest of it was words and tales from visitors, or exiles. Anything in between. Some of the names and places depicted on the map exotic and mysterious even to the most knowledgeable. The latter, largely secluded souls like Taranir that favored reading of distant cultures and exotic, sometimes viewed with a certain amount of aversion, flavors. Reading about the rich, absurdly distant, Slave Bay cities of Nedale, Phaenos and Foracan and the west shores of Tull Cautara Major Island facing the Quivering Deeps. East of them the ruins of the Temples of Light on the same island chain. The rubicund people of Anduril south of them. The expansive Annas-Kelon Spine River on infamous Mistland and the fabled Caras O¡¯ Alafern. The silent domains of the Alafern in the common tongue. Gecataten, Dehmaz, Kerbe and the baleful Nigbau deep in the desert. The wyvern lands to the southernmost side of them, where the world ended. The stench of Godseye Isle on the monstrosities-filled Galith to their west and the mighty mercantile cities of the Kaletha Triarchy at the continent¡¯s shores. The Sinking Isles of the crafty, freedom-loving Gish in the Scalding Sea, lonesome Hissing Coral Cay and beyond Abrakas Gullet -far in the southeast, the horrors of the Split Isles, where the curious, savage Harpies flew uncontested. ¡°The Queen died as well,¡± a sleep-deprived Helven finally said looking at the stack of scrolls in front of him and Taranir turned his eyes on the Foremost Director of the Imperial Bank. ¡°They¡¯ll swore Baltoris in within hours, if they haven¡¯t done it already. Anfalon¡¯s Hallowed are killing anyone approaching the palace without papers.¡± ¡°The Elderblood haven¡¯t agreed to a primogeniture succession, agnatic or cognatic,¡± Luvon pointed out. A quick-thinking bureaucrat, much younger than the rest of the bank¡¯s hierarchy, but older than Taranir by a hundred years at least. Luvon was born around 1700, with Taranir arriving at 1806. ¡°An Elderblood, Sintoriela had decreed and they had all agreed on.¡± ¡°That was Kallister¡¯s idea.¡± Helven replied with a sigh. ¡°Continuity. How does one train to be a Monarch? It¡¯s antithetical to our beliefs.¡± ¡°After two thousand years, those beliefs are just in your mind Helven,¡± Taranir said and the Elderblood set his eyes on him frustrated. ¡°The common folk love their Monarch, good luck explaining to them that his daughter shouldn¡¯t take over.¡± ¡°Baltoris is poisoned with Goras¡¯ ideas. All those bragging Lorians. Reforms, philosophy of struggle bullshit!¡± Helven grunted, pursing his mouth. ¡°She might even look to put a stop to the slave trade. The Peninsula would revolt! Not to mention she¡¯s rumored to be a Gish lover and an army brat. We don¡¯t want a kingdom ruled by an Onas with tits, or the conservative priesthood of Feyras and his nutty squad. The day we think like wyverns, this world will burn.¡± ¡°Can you stop it?¡± Taranir queried. ¡°Can I stop you from being a flesh-eating enthusiast?¡± Helven retorted. ¡°You fed a leg to the wolves and the neighbors made a complaint about it. You know these beasts can hunt for themselves right? The woods at Geese Feet are public lands. City folk make trips there lad. Excursions.¡± ¡°If they can¡¯t defend themselves in the wilderness, they should stay in Elauthin and watch a play. You eat what you kill,¡± Taranir replied and Luvon blinked shifting nervously on his seat. ¡°Raw. That¡¯s our nature Helven. You can polish us for a while and you might get a Baltoris, or something worse. Someone that pretends to understand, but loathes this nation¡¯s soul inwardly.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll quote ancient scripture to me lad?¡± Helven snapped. ¡°I can¡¯t use you like this. I smell a shift in policy coming soon. Can¡¯t you take something else on? Look to alleviate your cravings? Poetry. Drawing, hunt deer for crying out loud, but bring back the bank¡¯s bounties, and I mean the bodies¡­ so we can fucking display them!¡± Live long enough within four walls and you¡¯ll forget all about your ancestors¡¯ habits. Oh, well¡­ fine. ¡°I might have to test some different things. Less sensitive,¡± Taranir admitted and scratched some of the plaster away from the table. ¡°Will it affect trade?¡± The change in leadership was his meaning. The rest of the Zilan present grimaced, each opting for a different mannerism. Luvon pressed an index finger at the corner of his forehead, with Riston scowling at the reports he was reading and Helven just stood back on his high-back chair furrowing his thick white brows. ¡°How do you change someone¡¯s opinion, or prejudices?¡± Helven asked. A man of numbers and well thought-out plans, he was always fascinated with the weird mystiques of nature and its supernatural, or more gifted creatures. ¡°What¡¯s the saying Riston?¡± Taranir asked, as he¡¯d an axe to grind with the influential secretary of commerce. Never trust a dude that holds two posts, one supposedly appraising the other to keep it honest. ¡°Pleasures of the stomach, or songs of the heart. If a purse of coin fails.¡± Riston replied with a smirk. ¡°Food and love,¡± Helven murmured and then blinked in surprise at the way their conversation had gone. ¡°We need to clean up our act gentlemen. The war is over and some activities can¡¯t be brushed under the rag anymore. The Company needs to flush all potentially uncomfortable dealings out of its merchant fleet.¡± ¡°We have banned the Cofol slavers from using the ships,¡± Luvon started and then paused to read some of the reports. ¡°But the four Sisters ports have more cargo delivered each season, since pirates probably picked up the slack. The Lorian ¡®cultured¡¯ warlords are still getting low-quality steel weapons in large quantities, although it¡¯s banned for centuries and they have started using them, replacing bronze. Sooner, or later, they¡¯ll learn to work it themselves.¡± ¡°Taranir, I¡¯ve given you strict orders to root out these rascals. We had an imperial mandate on the matter already, but surely my orders mean something to you?¡± ¡°We have a leak,¡± Taranir replied evenly. ¡°A wicked ratline built during the war with the Aken and taken over by talented criminals. It fattened and enriched itself because of our inaction for centuries. Spread alike cancer to ports and cities everywhere. It poisoned officials, common people and sank its cadaverous fangs into the company¡¯s and the empire¡¯s profits. Undermined the King¡¯s rule and our position in the Cosmos. A pallid web of unlawful activities bordering the grotesque. Every time we attempt a search, all illicit goods are flushed to the bottom of the sea, or hidden away.¡± ¡°The crooks employ a Seer?¡± Luvon jested nervously and Taranir stared him with sober eyes. ¡°What else is going to come out of your mouth I wonder? Helven, your mislaid goods Collector is in way over his head, I reckon.¡± Luvon added with a grimace. ¡°I think Aeson¡¯s criminals are still fully operating under everyone¡¯s nose, ours included,¡± Taranir said pursing his mouth. ¡°The arms trade and anything deriving from it never ceased, it just switched markets and continents, and this is my working theory.¡± ¡°Oh, by Abrakas tentacles!¡± Luvon exploded. ¡°That murderous knave was executed by his own people in Far Cove. Riston saw his head at Marble Gardens twenty years ago! Delivered it to Alenia his daughter and all.¡± ¡°How did you know how Aeson looked?¡± Taranir asked Riston. ¡°You are a decade younger than me and I was in my mother¡¯s womb the last time Aeson was seen in Cyran, back in 1799.¡± ¡°His daughter recognized an earring and the face.¡± Riston replied. ¡°I would to, in her stead,¡± Taranir retorted mockingly. ¡°The late King agreed it was him,¡± Luvon snapped. ¡°How about leaving the boogie-man stories and deal with the matter at hand?¡± ¡°You got this all wrong,¡± Taranir retorted warningly and Riston¡¯s face paled at his next words. ¡°I¡¯m the boogie-man they all fear. The sharp blade of lawful procedures. I¡¯ll find out what¡¯s going on and what is true, or not. Then I¡¯ll deal with the matter at hand the way I know best.¡± ¡°Enough! You¡¯ll do what I tell you to do Taranir,¡± a red-faced Helven intervened. ¡°Have your guys clean up the fleets. We can¡¯t have the new Queen interfere with our business. It could affect everything.¡± ¡°I hear the Queen hates flesh-eaters,¡± Riston said, having recovered his wits somewhat. ¡°Maybe she¡¯ll start her purge with you Taranir lest you clean up your own act. That would be a mirthful twist right?¡± ¡°Nobody is going to get the bank¡¯s employees in danger, or expose them to outsiders! We deal with our own problems and don¡¯t taint the company¡¯s reputation through gossip!¡± Helven blasted him and Riston gulped down nervously. ¡°You¡¯ll tread carefully henceforth, but keep at it Taranir and look to find out what¡¯s going on. I¡¯ll know more about the new politics in the coming weeks. Worst case scenario, it¡¯ll sort itself out.¡± But it didn¡¯t.
Shamil Al-Bagi SETC | Mutiny Moons Part II -The White Deceit-
1394 years later 29th of month Sextus, the Imperial year 3401 The shallow waters between the Tits and Worm Isles ¡°Hey,¡± Shamil asked the thoughtful Taranir back on the sailing Express¡¯ bridge. ¡°What are you thinking mister?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± Taranir replied coming about and glanced at the sailors working the sails and those that didn¡¯t. Two big groups of them gathered around Hartford and Mau-Mau, then at Larsa who was arguing with Zaine about the direction he¡¯d taken the ship. ¡°Can you use an axe Sam?¡± ¡°I¡¯m good with a skinning knife,¡± Shamil replied. ¡°Um. You got one on you?¡± He did. ¡°Keep it for an emergency. Go stand next to that barrel with tools and see that you locate that axe,¡± Taranir replied and removed his hat. He folded it and placed it inside his satchel. He unbuttoned his coat next to reveal a weapons and utilities harness from where the Zilan got a large gardening clipper out. It had good leather strips laced at the wooden grips. The blade on it over a foot long and the size of a shortsword. ¡°The fuck is this thing?¡± Gonodir asked with a grimace. ¡°A gardening tool,¡± Taranir expounded calmly. ¡°But it can help straighten out all kinds of shit.¡± ¡°God darn stubborn fuck,¡± Larsa cursed climbing down the stairs to reach the main deck. He marched past the marines and walked towards his friends frustrated. ¡°We might have weather he says and then sails straight for the straits.¡± ¡°Come,¡± Taranir said with a glare at Gonodir that clenched his jaw and went to grab one of the harpoons they had stored in the barrels. They climbed up the stairs to reach the open bridge where Zaine was handling the wheel, his face ravaged with nervous ticks. ¡°Give me a bit of time,¡± Zaine told Taranir, an eye on the rest of the crew that talked amongst themselves some twenty meters away, on the deck bellow. ¡°Can the Gish fight?¡± Taranir asked and Ab, who was hiding behind a large coil of rope raised his head, ogling red-rimmed eyes filled with righteous indignation. ¡°I¡¯m a navigator!¡± ¡°Are ye any good with the wheel Gish?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t admitted that I¡¯m a Gish yet. Please don¡¯t spread it around,¡± Ab protested and stared at Zaine. ¡°He¡¯s¡­ better.¡± ¡°Are you sure? It¡¯ll be safer if you stayed at the rudder.¡± ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s a fighter,¡± Zaine assured Taranir. ¡°He doesn¡¯t appear comfortable at all,¡± Taranir noticed. ¡°If you¡¯re coerced, you better speak now mister Ab. What is it? The real name. Abix? Abarix?¡± ¡°Abrix,¡± the Gish croaked visibly shaking, as if beset by inner turmoil. ¡°Don¡¯t trust the Trickster, mister Taranir¡ª!¡± He finally cried out, before getting abruptly assaulted by the snarling dog that grabbed at his foot with its jaws and violently dragged the screaming masqueraded Gish over the soaked deck boards. ¡°Shut yer bitchy mouth! Ye little shit!¡± Zaine snapped raucously. ¡°That¡¯s it dog! Finish him off. Eat his fucking tongue!¡± He added and blinked in shock when Taranir took a large step forward and kicked the snarling dog at the sides. He send it flying over the rails of the quarterdeck. ¡°Fuck! You violent idiot! You doomed us all!¡± Zaine cried out with a snarl. ¡°You¡¯ll get us back to the Lassel,¡± Taranir warned him. ¡°It¡¯s moored in deeper waters and could react faster.¡± ¡°In this darkness? Ye think they¡¯ll just allow me to bring yer arses back?¡± Zaine grunted irate and then recoiled backwards when Taranir placed the sharp tip of the closed clippers under his chin to lift the snarling sailor¡¯s head up. ¡°Stay the course mister Zaine,¡± Taranir cautioned evenly. ¡°No matter what may happen.¡± Shit. ¡°Ship ahoy!¡± The lookout bellowed. Shamil turned his head right and then back to port, until he managed to discern the flickering lights dancing in the murky darkness of the ocean. ¡°Turn to the North darn you!¡± Larsa barked at the grimacing Zaine, who squinted his eyes tensed, but kept both hands steady on the wheel. ¡°Another one! Two ships!¡± ¡°Lame Zaine, ye rotten turtle turd!¡± Larsa cursed and pointed his finger at the nervous and conflicted sailor. ¡°Hold steady now for the Worm Isle turn, mister Zaine,¡± Taranir countered and stooped to grab Rudix¡¯s crossbow with his free hand, before proceeding to hang his oversized clippers from a hook at his harness. ¡°Milord Taranir, leave steering advices to the professionals.¡± Larsa admonished half-threateningly half-tauntingly, whilst looking a little perturbed at the unruffled Zilan that expertly used the weapon¡¯s stirrup and crank, to arm the crossbow¡¯s string. ¡°What do you think yer doing?¡± ¡°Um,¡± Taranir murmured, passing the strap of the wooden quiver over his head, and then found a bolt to insert in the flight groove, hint of smile on his lips. ¡°This is an interesting idea. The mechanism simple but effective. Might do the job.¡± ¡°What job?¡± Larsa grunted crooking his mouth and then ogled his eyes at the two ships silhouettes heading towards them. The waves had increased, the nimble Express dipping and rising in the frothy waters well-illuminated itself with several oil-lamps hanging from its masts and secured on the deck.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Too many, Shamil thought, while the Zilan raised the crossbow and replied with a strange verdict delivered coolly. ¡°Shed more light to this affair.¡± Making no sense at all. ¡°Honest folk might perceive yer actions as threatening Taranir!¡± Larsa barked and one of the sailor groups led by Hartford started approaching the much smaller group of marines with Shamil and Taranir. As if in silent agreement, no one attempted to hide their weapons anymore. Swords and knives, harpoons and axes were at display. ¡°It¡¯s signaling us! Hither be their flags unfurling! Skull ¡®n Bones mister Larsa!¡± The unseen lookout screamed from the top of the mast, afore Taranir had the chance to reply. Not his friend Nery, Shamil hadn¡¯t seen the teenager anywhere, which was worrisome. ¡°Raccoon, or Prohibition?¡± Larsa snapped with a smirk, an eye on the visibly preparing for a scrap marines of Gonodir and the other on Taranir, who was still testing the sights and weight of Rudix Knupp¡¯s ¨Cnow loaded- crossbow. ¡°The Raccoon! No sign of Prohibition!¡± The initially excited lookout retorted hoarsely, sounding a little spooked now. ¡°Can¡¯t see the other ship well, ¡®Crocked¡¯ Larsa!¡± ¡°Eh, finger in the mincer,¡± Larsa was heard cursing, a permanent crook in his mouth, the Express rocking on the waves, Hartford approaching from the starboard passageway with his armed group of twenty, the latter exchanging warning looks with the scowling armed marines and behind them ¨Cup on the quarterdeck- Zaine jumped to action. He started turning the rudder-wheel towards the pirate ships with strong heaves. ¡°Stay the course Zaine!¡± Taranir warned him and Zaine groaned loudly when Abrix rushed to take the wheel from his hands. ¡°Keep turning!¡± Larsa barked at the wrestling duo. ¡°White sails, white hull and white masts!¡± The lookout cried out over all the noise and Taranir¡¯s finger snaked around the trigger of the still aimed crossbow. ¡°Harlot¡¯s tits! That¡¯s the White Deceit!¡± Eh? ¡°Motherfucker,¡± Larsa cursed and moved to hide behind the mast with a curt gesture for Hartford to charge at the much-fewer marines, but Taranir raised the muzzle of the weapon and then fired a bolt at the central bronze and glass lamp hanging from the mast. The bolt punctured the container and the impact smashed the square glass-case on the hardwood. Flames erupted, splashing oil ignited above the pirates heads and a huge ball of flame engulfed the mainsail. Taranir shoved Shamil¡¯s right shoulder with his free hand to push him backwards, dropped the crossbow and then unhooked the clippers with the other. The Zilan immediately swung at the first arriving pirate, splitting his face in two from forehead to chin. Blood erupted, the flames setting flesh and wood alight in front of the stumbling back Shamil and the marines closed with Hartford¡¯s group as the scrap begun in earnest.
A marine savagely harpooned a pirate through the gut, used the weapon as lever to swerve the groaning human hard left and onto another. Both pirates were hurled over the side rails and into the frothing waters. Shamil grunted, hefted the axe¡¯s shaft with both hands, and then went to hack at Hartford who attacked the distracted Feredir. He slipped on the soaked deck boards, lost the grip on the shaft and the axe flew between a group of fighting pirates and marines. ¡°Jinn¡¯s curse,¡± Shamil groaned and grabbed Hartford¡¯s arm to stop the pirate from stabbing Feredir. Hartford swung a fist at the teenager, knocked a tooth out of Shamil¡¯s mouth and split his lower lip. Shamil stumbled back dazed, his ears ringing and gulping down blood. He tried to find purchase, failed the first time, his legs not working properly and the ruckus of the savage scrap disorienting. Black smoke had covered the burning Express and half the pirates onboard rushed to douse the leaping flames out. They fought it on the decks, but Hartford¡¯s group was repulsed by Gonodir¡¯s hard-hitting marines and Larsa stood forward amidst the smoke and waived his cutlass for Mau-Mau to send more men into the bloody scrap. ¡°Don¡¯t let them reach the bridge!¡± Taranir bellowed, when a marine went down with a cracked skull. The pirate extracted the heavy mace from the dead Zilan¡¯s brains and swung it at the advancing Taranir, who ducked under it, flipped the closed clippers in his hand and stabbed the tip right through the pirate¡¯s boot. The steel blade hit the hardwood, but Taranir yanked it out, whilst the pirate doubled over to grab at his maimed foot. He side-stepped out of a spear¡¯s thrust, gave the injured pirate a brutal shove that send him crashing on a barrel head first, then flipped the monstrous garden scissors the right way, released the safety lock and opened the blades whist twisting around to face the pirate wielding the spear. Taranir parked the opened clippers over the lump on the pirate¡¯s throat and dragging it sideways slit it open. The pirate raised an arm to grab at the wound, but the Zilan caught it between the blades and chopped it off above the wrist. A kick and the mutilated, bleeding pirate was hurled back towards his cursing friends, but the injured Feredir got stabbed in the kidneys in the meantime and was pushed back. The single file marine frontline cracking. Shamil rushed there to stop the pirates from advancing, arrived just as Gonodir decapitated a charging Lorian with the harpoon and speared the one next to him on the return through the mouth. Gonodir received a cut himself in the process. People screamed in several tongues, from the fancy Imperial and the Cofol Old Tongue, to the gruff Lorian Common and the colorful pirate jargon. Shamil found a harpoon to use, but lost it. Got his hands frantically on a cutlass next and scored a blind hit on Hartford¡¯s thigh, but almost lost his own head for it. He did lose the cutlass too though. Shamil dived after the weapon, landed between several legs, a boot missing his head for a hair when it landed and the teenager cursing the Cofol that had tried to squash his skull indignant. ¡°Damn you Mau-Mau!¡± ¡°Name¡¯s Terku you little imbecile!¡± The Cofol growled and tried to hack at the snaking away on all fours teenager. The blade landed next to the rolling away Shamil¡¯s shoulder, the next hack hitting the drenched floor decks. A gasp and he was engulfed in heavy smoke, banged on the burning main mast and by Luthos touch found his lost axe. A snarling, covered in blood and mire, Shamil rose up now armed, sucking air through the gap in his teeth and stared at the unfolding chaos with blurry eyes. Terku, also known as Mau-Mau, glanced over the ship¡¯s port side at the approaching brig, the White Deceit and the smaller brigantine, the Raccoon. Both ships were locked and engaged in a fearsome fight. ¡°Pirates fighting each other?¡± Shamil asked hoarsely, spitting a mouthfull of blood down and Terku¡¯s slanted eyes turned on him again. ¡°What are you fighting for goat-herder?¡± He asked Shamil amused. ¡°King and coin?¡± Shamil retorted smartly, wiping the blood from his chin with the back of his hand. ¡°You¡¯re a fucking idiot,¡± the Cofol pirate cursed and attacked him. Shamil swung the axe in a diagonal arc, but Mau-Mau dodged jerking his torso aside. Shamil got carried by the heavy axe¡¯s momentum, the pirate tried to set his feet to stab the reeling teenager, just barely managed as the ship rocked back and forth, but when he tried to move his arm, Terku realized he couldn¡¯t. The soaked one-eyed dog had closed its jaws on his forearm and let out a prolonged growling sound that raised the hairs at the back of Shalim¡¯s neck. GRRR. ¡°What freakish fuck¡­?¡± The bewildered Cofol pirate cursed and tried to free his arm, but failed. Shamil¡¯s face distorted in shock upon hearing the dog¡¯s teeth breaking the bones, after mauling the flesh in retaliation, whilst the Cofol¡¯s curses turned into a pained scream of agony. Ah. The dog growled gutturally again, sole eye a dark-red almost and a slurping sound was heard in between Terku¡¯s desperate groans of pain. The flaying pirate tried to reach for a dagger sheathed on his waist, after another attempt to extricate his arm failed that is, but Shamil stepped forward this time and kicked the dagger out of the pirate¡¯s hand, breaking two of his fingers in the process. ¡°Argh! Ignorant piece of shit!¡± Terku snarled irate. ¡°Little ruffian!¡± The screaming, fully burning, lookout¡¯s body crashed on the deck boards three meters away, afore Shamil could reply. The haplessly broken, half-melted and charred human rolled once and then laid on his back, his mouth still opening and closing even after the cries had stopped. ¡°Sam!¡± Taranir bellowed to snap Shamil out of his shock-induced stupor and the teenager turned around, the blade aimed at his back missing and penetrating Shamil¡¯s right bicep instead. ¡°Eh, ye treacherous knave,¡± Hartford grunted and pulled the sword back tearing at the flesh. The axe Shamil held clanged down, released from his useless fingers. Nothing can prepare you for the pain of sharpened steel cutting through your own flesh. It numbed his whole arm. Hartford grabbed the injured Shamil by the neck with his left hand and pulled the right back, to stab the immobilized teenager in the gut. Shamil dropped his left arm to his belt, got the small curved dagger out and stabbed the pirate in the face first. The skinning knife sinking to the hilt into the stunned Hartford¡¯s right eye. The pirate leader shuddered and toppled backwards taking Shamil¡¯s father¡¯s knife with him, and a moment later his body hit the deck with a loud thud. Damn. ¡°Ouch¡­ oh¡­ gods¡­¡± Shamil cried clasping at his bleeding right arm, the blood leaking between his clenched fingers. He faltered forward, the ship shaking violently and his ears ringing and popping in quick succession. Shamil took another drunken step forward and heard the main mast creaking something fierce. Several parts of burning sails dislodged and crashed all about them. Amidst the smokes Shamil spotted Taranir plunging the monstrous open clippers in a pirate¡¯s groin and slapping it close, savagely spilling the man¡¯s innards on the floorboards. Less than two hundred meters away the White Deceit detached itself from the Raccoon, with its crew using lines to return, not always successfully. Gonodir had been cornered by four pirates and Larsa, but was still blocking their access to the bridge. Glavon had a bleeding cut on his face a couple of meters to his right with Feredir missing the better part of an arm, but still fighting with the other, along with two marines Shamil didn¡¯t know. The Express¡¯ deck was littered with dead bodies. Each time the ship moved back and forth fighting the waves, more rolled into the frothing waters and the gore was washed away. Shamil looked for another weapon to use, half-conscious and barely standing upright, and he almost plunged headfirst for the hardwood boards, when he attempted to pick up a discarded cutlass that rolled by his feet. Taranir reached the faltering teenager just in time. He dragged him along towards the starboard side of the rocking ship where one of the two boats was tied. ¡°Gonodir!¡± Taranir bellowed to get the Zilan officer¡¯s attention. The marine leader had managed to cut down three of the four pirates facing him and Larsa had to retreat a couple of steps looking for reinforcements. Unfortunately for them, many of the pirates that had tried to save the ship earlier were now gathering near the quarterdeck, offering Larsa exactly what he looked for. ¡°The Lassel spotted us!¡± Taranir barked and used the gardening tool to cut the ropes securing the boat one after the other. Uh? Shamil turned his blurry eyes to the south and saw the large warship sailing towards them, its black lines highlighted by the red-mauve horizon, as the sun¡¯s barely visible disk had started rising. ¡°Jump down and into the boat Sam,¡± Taranir grunted, holding tight the last taut rope and the large boat fighting the waves two meters from the Express¡¯s hull. ¡°I can¡¯t swim,¡± Shamil croaked and looked at the still fighting marines. The alert, badly injured Glavon had moved to reach their position and above them at the quarterdeck, Zaine watched with ogling eyes Taranir lowering the lifeboat. The shifty sailor then glanced at the approaching White Deceit, with the crew of the Raccoon scrabbling to do the same and crooked his mouth in a nervous grimace. ¡°We all start someplace kid,¡± Taranir agreed in a reasonable manner and then shoved a yelping Shamil over the guard rails.
Shamil gulped down a mouthful of brines, burning eyes seeing the keel of the Express knifing at the waters above him. He kicked arms and legs maniacally to get out of the way, half-swimming half-drowning in the blind and banged his head on the lifeboat that suddenly appeared in front of him. Gurgling and coughing through mouth and nose, getting more water in than what he expelled while lost in preternatural panic, the struggling teenager started sinking under the frothing waves despite his frantic efforts to stay afloat. The sinister darkness engulfing him absolute. The silence tomblike. Seconds that felt like hours later, something swam nearby and grabbed his flaying arm. With a yank it started pulling him to the surface swimming fast in front of the drowning Shamil. They reached it a long moment later, no more than two meters from the rocking boat with the Express now at least twenty meters away. Abrix¡¯s disheveled head popped out of the waves, makeup running down his face and his short-cut painted dark hair, slowly turning a striking shade of pink over his weird face. ¡°To the boat mister Sam. Big sharks in these waters,¡± the Gish told him and dragged the panicking Shamil after him with surprising ease. Shit. Shamil barely remembered how they climbed on the boat. He did remember Taranir being already there, the Zilan¡¯s clothes wet but not soaked and waving both arms over his head whilst standing in the middle of the boat with the bloody Glavon sprawled near the bow. Waving at the Lassel that had started angling hard to present its broadside to the Express and the ships behind it. What is this? A confused Shamil thought vomiting seawater mixed in with blood, mainly from his mouth, but also from another darn cut that had appeared on his forehead and couldn¡¯t for the life of him remember how he¡¯d gotten it. ¡°You¡­ son of a bitch,¡± Glavon cursed the signaling Taranir. ¡°We¡­ have people on that ship!¡± No, Shamil thought struggling to get on his feet on the even more unstable boat. ¡°They might get away,¡± Taranir replied gruffly and put a boot on Glavon¡¯s neck to pin him down, as the disfigured Zilan had tried to stand up to stop him. ¡°Friends and foes alike.¡± Good grief, Shamil recoiled and then dived down in shock hearing the incoming volley from the Galleass that had started firing with every piece of artillery that she had on board. Iron bolts whistled over their heads, several bouncing off of the waves alike flat rocks on a pond¡¯s surface and huge flaming boulders exploded on and around the smoking Express. The ship had turned to join the other two, the Raccoon already well ahead of the White Deceit that had started angling as well ¨Cthough going on a different direction- in order to avoid a collision with the slow to react, injured, Schooner. Bolts ripped through the deck, cutting down the trying to get away pirates and the catapult shots sunk deep into the bowels of the Express, pulverizing anything in their way. The ship cracked open, mainly on its port side that blew outwards revealing its cargo hull afore the wounded ship started capsizing with a mighty groan. Pieces of burning masts rained near their lifeboat, barrels, ropes and chunks of broken wood zipped every which way and the horrified Shamil saw a lithe figure sprinting on the angling quarterdeck to escape the destruction and then leap away from the wrecked, burning Schooner, arms and legs flaying as he flew through the exploding debris. ¡°We must row away,¡± Abrix whispered to the stunned at the destruction Shamil, but quickly changed his tune when they both spotted the soaked dog standing at the stern of the boat and waggling its tail breathing heavy. Its sole eye looking deep into the Gish¡¯s soul. ¡°Help me get him out of the water!¡± Abrix screeched eagerly and stooped to offer a hand to the hard swimming Zaine. ¡°You killed¡­ my mates,¡± Glavon hissed trying to get himself out from under Taranir¡¯s boot, while a frustrated and drenched to the bone Zaine managed to get out of the water and collapsed inside the boat. ¡°Um,¡± Taranir murmured staring at the approaching White Deceit that had raised a white flag to avoid another volley from the still some ways away warship. The god barked once but stopped when Taranir turned to look its way austerely. ¡°Traitor,¡± Zaine cursed spitting out water and then immediately started searching his tattered coat¡¯s pockets. He found a metal flask and got it out, then proceeded to glug down its contents after uncorking it with his teeth. ¡°Fuck. Saltiest brine I¡¯ve ever tasted,¡± he commented and recoiled upon hearing a voice coming from the approaching large brig. The brightly painted white vessel was more a pale grey from up close, Shamil noticed. ¡°Is that ye Trickster?¡± A man wearing a large-brimmed hat with a white feather on it asked stooping over the brig¡¯s quarterdeck¡¯s rails. ¡°Hey, Zaine,¡± Abrix greeted the ship¡¯s captain. ¡°We¡¯re friendlies remember?¡± ¡°Another Zaine?¡± Shamil asked with a groan of pain. ¡°Who¡¯s the smashed up kid?¡± the newcomer Zaine asked with a nervous smirk, an eye on the warship that approached slowly in the distance. ¡°Only one Zaine in this quadrant of the map. Sneaky Zaine at yer service,¡± the pirate added and touched his hat. ¡°Right trickster?¡± ¡°That¡¯s me own hat you illiterate piece of sloth!¡± The other Zaine cursed with a grimace. ¡°Yer late as fuck.¡± ¡°Ye take something of mine, I take somethin¡¯ of yours captain,¡± Sneaky Zaine replied. ¡°And I had to deal with two ships, which came as a nasty surprise. Thank Abrakas for foul weather.¡± ¡°What were they?¡± Taranir asked looking at the older Zaine suspiciously. ¡°What¡¯s his name?¡± ¡°Pirates working a contract,¡± Sneaky Zaine replied pursing his mouth. ¡°That¡¯s Horace,¡± he added. ¡°But the brothers call him trickster.¡± ¡°And you are not? Pirates?¡± Taranir asked. ¡°We are concerned citizens,¡± Horace said getting on his feet with ease, despite the unstable boat and eyed Zaine intently, until the newcomer ¨Canother Issir- relented and tossed the hat he had on down. It landed in the water some meters away from the boat, which brought a grimace of annoyance on Horace¡¯s face. ¡°Citizens?¡± Taranir asked his voice laced with deep disbelief. ¡°Ayup. I¡¯ve an understanding wit the Monarch.¡± ¡°You¡­ have an understanding¡­ with Hardir O¡¯ Fardor?¡± ¡°We go way back. Now, Abrix dear, dive in the soup and get me hat,¡± he ordered the miserable Gish, who sighed and then dutifully jumped in the water to retrieve it. ¡°I see,¡± the Zilan said and paused as the gutted Express went under the waves with a loud roar. ¡°Any survivors?¡± Taranir asked Zaine, who had a better vantage position. ¡°Not that we saw,¡± the real Zaine apparently replied. ¡°Is why we approached, to help out?¡± ¡°Um,¡± Taranir replied visibly not convinced. ¡°Prepare to be boarded mister Zaine,¡± he added and turned his attention on the trapped under his boot injured Glavon. ¡°Still have that knife Sam?¡± ¡°Eh,¡± Shamil blinked and searched his soaked garbs. ¡°I¡¯ve lost it.¡± He let out a pained moan after that and feeling dizzy sat down on the wet deck of the boat. ¡°See to his wound mister Horace,¡± Taranir said without looking at the scowling ¡®man of the king¡¯ supposedly. ¡°Now, Glavon¡­ eh,¡± he continued pursing his mouth. ¡°Who was in on it?¡± ¡°I¡­ have no idea¡­ what you¡¯re talking about,¡± Glavon hissed, a deep gush marring the side of his face. ¡°If you think¡­ I worked with the pirate scum¡­ you are out of your mind.¡± ¡°Lanthdor said he expected a high-ranking member of the company to participate in the mission.¡± ¡°Sure. That was you¡­ argh!¡± Glavon cried out as Taranir had caught part of his cheek that drooped and tore it off widening the wound that started bleeding anew. ¡°Curse your lineage!¡± The marine yelled and tried to shove Taranir¡¯s foot away but stopped again when the Zilan got a thin long stiletto out. Not a gardening tool for sure. ¡°Not me. Someone else,¡± Taranir continued calmly and then much to everyone¡¯s horror brought the small bloody piece of skin and flesh near his mouth. He sniffed at it once and then shoved it inside with a finger, which he licked clean. ¡°Lice covered black chimpanzee be hangin¡¯ from a cannabis tree,¡± a spooked Horace murmured bent over to examine Shamil¡¯s wound, just as a soaked Abrix returned with his hat. ¡°What?¡± Shamil croaked and the shifty half-breed Issir¡¯s face was distorted with a nasty grimace. ¡°Nutmegs black as tea be danglin¡¯ beneath a black schlong facing a banshee,¡± Taranir sang from his spot, slowly chewing at the piece of flesh, adding after gulping down. ¡°A wicked man, in his wicked ways, be doing wicked things. Right mister Horace?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Horace agreed nervously. ¡°What did Larsa want from the ship?¡± Taranir asked keeping the stiletto near Glavon¡¯s ogling right eye. Horace pursed his mouth. ¡°Fucking dog,¡± he murmured, staring in the confused Shamil¡¯s face knowingly. ¡°Its cargo,¡± a resigned Horace finally told Taranir through his teeth. ¡°The company¡¯s cargo is loaded on the Fat Libby mainly. They sent two ships to capture common supplies and a Schooner in the arse end of the world?¡± ¡°Eh,¡± Horace grunted, a tick appearing on his face hearing Lassel¡¯s bells ringing. The warship had reached them almost, now less than fifty meters away from the White Deceit. Lassel¡¯s decks were flooded with marines that stared their way. ¡°Slaves,¡± Abrix said and tossed the hat on Horace¡¯s chest angrily. Horace blinked seemingly shocked at his words. ¡°Captured Gish. But you stopped them mister Taranir.¡± ¡°First time I¡¯m hearing about it,¡± Horace declared much to Abrix¡¯s fury. ¡°Liar! You were going to help them out!¡± ¡°SHUT YER MOUTH!¡± Horace blasted the Gish and tried to kick Abrix''s head, but missed, let out a yelp and then fell backwards in the boat almost capsizing it. Taranir stumbled back losing his footing and the alert Glavon snapped into action. Or tried to. With a groan the marine dropped to his knees, the stiletto buried to the hilt in his eye-socket and blood mixed with white fluid leaking down his scarred face. ¡°Ah,¡± a disappointed Taranir said and went to retrieve the sharp blade from the dead Zilan¡¯s face. Glavon was still standing upright, but collapsed on his face when Taranir got the bloody blade out. ¡°I wanted to learn who they expected to be here damn it,¡± Taranir hissed and used Glavon¡¯s body as a chair to sit on. ¡°I knew nothing about no slaves,¡± the frustrated Horace grunted standing up and then wore his soaked drooping hat on his head. ¡°That¡¯s ¡®Crocked¡¯ Larsa¡¯s doing. The Raccoon was his ship. Guess Larsa didn¡¯t make it. I¡¯d laugh on the happenstance, but I¡¯m not in the plaguing mood!¡± ¡°Where from?¡± Taranir asked, whilst cleaning his weapon on the dead marine¡¯s clothes. ¡°Far Cove. But the Prohibition was a company ship,¡± Horace replied and Taranir raised a mocking eyebrow. ¡°Supposedly. A large Sloop.¡± ¡°What does that mean?¡± Taranir asked patiently. ¡°It had papers. Larsa said that.¡± ¡°Uhm. What was the ship¡¯s real name?¡± Shamil frowned trying to figure out what they were talking about, which wasn¡¯t easy in his dizzy and weakened state. ¡°The Celeste,¡± Horace replied crooking his mouth and uncorked his flask to pour some on Shamil¡¯s wound. It burned something fierce and the teenager howled loudly. ¡°Under Rigger Vance. A nasty crew. Tack and ¡®Damned¡¯ Safford know these waters like the back of their hand, but they are all retired now.¡± ¡°Retired?¡± ¡°Ayup.¡± ¡°So they found a more profitable employment?¡± Taranir translated and used the stiletto to cut an ear out of the corpse¡¯s head, he then tossed at the watching him dog. ¡°Holly fuck, me dude¡­ yeah, they did,¡± Horace said with a shiver. ¡°They work for Hulanor now, back in Taras.¡± 527. SETC | the Harpy of Hissing Corrals Cay (1/2)
Lassel¡¯s 1st Expedition (Supplemented) SETC ships involved Lassel (Imperial war Galleass) Captain Lanthdor Crew 150 (Zilan and Humans) Marine complement (at least 90, the 9th Imperial Marine Unit) Gonodir (Leader. KIA in 3401 near Worm Isle) Pathon (1st Squad leader. Acting leader of the 9th) Henion (1st Squad leader) Feredir (2nd Squad. KIA in 3401 near Worm Isle) Tirior (KIA in 3401 on Grilix Isle) Glavon (KIA? In 3401 north of Worm Isle) Salamir (Acting leader for the 2nd) Acharon (Engineer, left at Safe Sojourn to oversee construction of the port) Peldir (Medic. KIA 3401 near Grilix Isle) Fat Libby (Lesia heavy Barque. Captured from Queen Elsanne and ¡®gifted¡¯ to King Garth.) Captain Archibald ¡®Birdseye¡¯ Tidus Crew around 200 (mostly humans) Devon (First Mate) Manfred (Helmsman) Chino (Carpenter) Nery (KIA 3401 near Grilix Isle) Shamil Al-Bagi Taranir (Director of BGOR) - Support vessels and other ships involved Petulant (SETC Schooner 1) Captain Pheles (Lai Zel-Ka) Crew around 50 (mostly Cofols) Express (SETC Schooner 2) (Sunk with all hands near Worm Isle in 3401) Crew around 50 (Mixed. Cofols and humans. All lost with the ship?) Captain Zuberi (KIA 3401 near Grilix Isle) ¡®Lame¡¯ Zaine (Infamous Pirate. Real name ¡®Trickster¡¯ Horace Burton) Ab (Pirate. Real name Abrix) Raccoon (A Brigantine. Pirate ship out of Far Cove ¨CShark Isles.) ¡®Crocked¡¯ Larsa Der Linde (Pirate Captain. Presumably died on the Express) ¡®Pike¡¯ Hartford (Pirate. 1st Mate of the brigantine Raccoon. KIA 3401?) Terku ¡®Mau-Mau¡¯ (Pirate. Raccoon. KIA 3401?) White Deceit (Brig usually operating in the South Seas) ¡®Sneaky¡¯ Zaine Wit (Pirate. Captain of White Deceit ¨C Horace Burton¡¯s old ship) Prohibition (SETC renovated Brig out of Ani Ta-Ne, or the large Sloop Celeste under a fake name.) Rigger Vance. (Infamous pirate Captain. Rumored that he moved from Eplas to Jelin) ¡®Nasty¡¯ Tack (Pirate.) ¡®Damned¡¯ Safford (Pirate.)
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Taranir o¡¯ Aurelien Master Naug ¡®Bloke from Central¡¯ SETC | the Harpy of Hissing Corrals Cay Part I -The wreck of Mori Korka-
30th of month Sextus (1st month of summer), 3401 IC Coin Route 2nd Leg, approaching Abrakas Gullet Expedition Day 27 Aboard the SETC Galleass Lassel ¡°Peldir?¡± Lanthdor asked after almost everyone had found a chair to sit on. Lassel was a big ship with crammed quarters and even the captain¡¯s own weren¡¯t that impressive. She did though provide Lanthdor with a modest office to hold a meeting. Pathon, Captain Tidus, Captain Pheles and the heavily bandaged Shamil were present, with the teenager the only one not sitting at the conference table. The open window providing some much-needed air in the quarterdeck¡¯s tower. ¡°Zuberi, Peldir and several others were killed on the eve of the 28th,¡± Taranir replied puffing smoke out of his mouth. ¡°Nery?¡± Tidus asked with a scowl. ¡°Very probable.¡± ¡°Gods damn it,¡± Tidus cursed. ¡°Who were they?¡± ¡°At least two pirate crews were involved, perhaps three,¡± Taranir replied working the cigar¡¯s cap and head in his mouth. ¡°The Raccoon and the Prohibition, maybe even the White Deceit.¡± ¡°Which you have us escorting,¡± Lanthdor grunted. ¡°Um.¡± ¡°No survivors?¡± Pathon asked. The marine had been elevated to leader of the 9th unit, as he was about to find out. ¡°Gonodir?¡± Pathon inquired. ¡°Went down with the Express,¡± Taranir elucidated. ¡°All of them.¡± ¡°You cleared us to fire on the ship Taranir!¡± Lanthdor growled narrowing his eyes. ¡°Good grief, we killed our own!¡± ¡°The Express was lost.¡± ¡°Why are we not pursuing them?¡± Pathon asked in turn. ¡°Cir Tenya mister Pathon,¡± Taranir replied sternly and the marine stood back with a grimace. ¡°Right,¡± Pathon grunted hoarsely and crossed his arms over the chest. ¡°We¡¯ve a schedule to maintain,¡± Taranir expounded. ¡°Next stop is the Hissing Corrals Cay. We must be there in about two weeks, if we do your jobs well sailors. You¡¯ll do your jobs well,¡± he added and drew a large mouthful of smoke from his half-burned cigar. ¡°What about the guy we have locked up?¡± Lanthdor queried waving a hand before his face to clear some of the smoke away. ¡°Zaine was an alias. His name is Horace, goes by the moniker ¡®Trickster¡¯ and he is also a pirate. So is the real Zaine and I guess the majority of White Deceit¡¯s crew? Yeah. Mister Tidus? You wish to add something?¡± Taranir probed seeing the expression on the human captain¡¯s face. ¡°Trickster Burton is a well-known name.¡± Tidus said and glanced at Captain Pheles of the Petulant. ¡°He¡¯s¡­ wanted in Fu De-Gar and Shao Na-Lan, is he not?¡± ¡°Yep,¡± the Cofol captain Pheles agreed. ¡°Khan had pardoned a number of pirates, but he wasn¡¯t on that list due to the high volume of criminality and rumored character officially. Unofficially there¡¯s talk in the taverns of Far Cove that ¡®Trickster¡¯s name made the list but was removed by a Horselord official, who happened to recognize it. Horace Burton had sold his daughter into slavery and the man had to buy her back from the Sopat slightly used.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t Burton Queen Elsanne¡¯s moniker?¡± Taranir noted. ¡°It is. Anne Burton. But that¡¯s ¡®Bald¡¯ Burton, Horace¡¯s brother from another mother. He¡¯s pretty close to Kaltha¡¯s Queen, the brother. Late Chevalier Burton¡¯s bastards,¡± Tidus informed them. ¡°A pirate family?¡± ¡°A pirate clan,¡± Pheles grunted. ¡°I see. Horace claimed Hardir O¡¯ Fardor is aware of White Deceit. They apparently helped some of his Cofol friends make it out of Greenwhale Peninsula.¡± Taranir said and extinguished his cigar in the large bronze ashtray. ¡°When was that?¡± Lanthdor asked. ¡°During the Three Sisters rebellion,¡± Taranir replied. ¡°Horace is a criminal,¡± Tidus insisted and Pheles agreed with a nod. ¡°Keep him locked up mister Pathon, until further notice,¡± Taranir said indifferently. ¡°The Gish as well.¡± ¡°Well, we better get back to our ships Pheles,¡± Tidus decided after a couple of more reports were exchanged, Taranir didn¡¯t participate. ¡°Come along lad,¡± Tidus told the half-asleep on his feet Shamil. ¡°Sam stays,¡± Taranir intervened. ¡°Why?¡± Tidus asked narrowing his eyes. ¡°He¡¯s working for me now. Office of Reacquisitions. Lost and found. Regulatory matters. I need a new assistant to handle the mundane.¡± ¡°Like spying,¡± Lanthdor said in a mocking manner. ¡°Sam can¡¯t do that,¡± Taranir retorted all serious. Yet. ¡°What happened to the previous one?¡± Tidus asked. ¡°They didn¡¯t make it.¡± ¡°The lad is illiterate and can¡¯t handle paperwork.¡± Tidus grunted. ¡°I reckon a bit slow in the head to get involved in the scrap in the first fucking place. Look at him!¡± ¡°Sam got injured fighting the pirates,¡± Taranir replied frostily. ¡°What he lacks in education, he¡¯ll learn from me, but you can¡¯t teach bravery, guts and spirit, mister Tidus.¡± The Captain of the Fat Libby stood back with a grimace. ¡°You¡¯ll have him killed.¡± ¡°Perhaps you¡¯re right,¡± Taranir agreed ending the conversation and with a frustrated look at the numb Shamil, Tidus grabbed Pheles¡¯ shoulder and they both walked outside the office.
Everyone at the table listened to the sounds of the big ship for a while. The sailors and crew opening the mainsails, the calls of the open ocean. Lanthdor smacked his lips after the moment dragged and stood up with Pathon doing the same soon after. Hmm. ¡°The Prohibition had company papers,¡± Taranir said evenly and both Zilan paused to stare his way. ¡°There¡¯s a brig being restored to SETC specs in Ani Ta-Ne. We outsourced the contract to Viceroy Metu¡¯s people,¡± Lanthdor finally replied. ¡°What¡¯s going on Taranir? Why are you back with the company?¡± ¡°I was there in 3194 IC again,¡± Taranir replied. ¡°Never officially left that time. You just missed me Lanthdor.¡± ¡°Right.¡± ¡°This Prohibition is a Sloop under a fake, but legitimate name. Nice touch,¡± Taranir continued. ¡°Uhm. It makes sense, but then it doesn¡¯t,¡± Lanthdor noted. ¡°Some soldiers of the 2nd Marine squad were involved,¡± Taranir revealed. ¡°Information from within headquarters allowed the pirates to flood the Express with their own crew and this explains why the Captains only spotted the White Deceit following them from Goras. The other two ships came straight for the Sinking Isles via another route.¡± ¡°Information from within¡­ headquarters?¡± Lanthdor repeated sounding incredulous. ¡°You¡¯ll accuse¡­¡± Pathon added pursing his mouth. ¡°Soldiers that fought and died against the pirates as traitors?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t say that,¡± Taranir replied to the Marine Leader and then stared at Lanthdor. ¡°They were expecting someone else other than me. I have no idea what the plan was, but the pirates were after the Express and its cargo. The latter probably Gish prisoners and loot secured after a raid. They would have used the Prohibition to sneak by authorities and then unload the cargo directly to buyers, or other persons of interest in exotic species." ¡°What manner of interest?¡± Pathon grunted. ¡°Sexual and culinary.¡± ¡°Good grief,¡± Lanthdor crooked his mouth. ¡°Who was involved?¡± ¡°Glavon for certain.¡± Taranir replied. ¡°Mayhap Tirior, or Feredir even. This was coordinated but also clumsy, so I¡¯m not sure what happened. The pirates attempted to stir the marines against the Gish, a favorite practice within the fleet in the old days. It could have started as a raid, or plunder for gold and gems, but then Tirior met the young twins. Got too greedy, too fast and the situation turned. Without that incident to put us on alert and off the ship, no one would have survived and the pirates would have disappeared by the time you reacted to us missing.¡± ¡°Would they return and attack Safe Sojourn?¡± Lanthdor asked in alarm. ¡°They lost at least forty with the Express and I don¡¯t believe they are interested in fighting with the company.¡± Taranir replied. ¡°Not when they can work around, or with it to enrich themselves. This is the old ratline attempting to open up business again.¡± ¡°With the help of headquarters?¡± Lanthdor grunted angry. ¡°This is yet to be determined. The Monarch¡¯s stance on slavery and plundering distant peoples for their flesh and loot is undetermined.¡± ¡°He doesn¡¯t appear against it,¡± Pathon argued and Taranir stared his way soberly. ¡°There¡¯s talk in the ranks, he isn¡¯t another Baltoris. He pardoned a lot of exiles.¡± The marine expounded. ¡°Could it be he¡¯s just undecided?¡± Taranir probed and the Marine shrugged his shoulders. ¡°The Celeste, the real name of the fake Prohibition is a vessel owned, or working for a Zilan named Hulanor. Who is he?¡± ¡°Never heard of him,¡± Lanthdor admitted. ¡°Glavon mentioned that a couple of the girls working the pleasure house belonged to a Hulanor. Invited him to some semi-legitimate games,¡± Pathon replied. ¡°Apparently he runs rat races under one of his hostels.¡± ¡°Semi-legitimate?¡± ¡°The Monarch¡¯s stance on games of wager is undecided,¡± Pathon retorted smartly. ¡°His favorite Gish enjoys the games very much is the rumor.¡± ¡°How could Hulanor know what¡¯s going on?¡± Lanthdor asked. ¡°The brothel belongs to Folen.¡± Pathon replied. ¡°They might have business together.¡± ¡°Folen isn¡¯t privy to the Bank¡¯s affairs,¡± Taranir noted. ¡°I can¡¯t recall the name. What did he do afore the Fall?¡± ¡°Heard he was a bard. Adventurer? Lord Suraer wanted him imprisoned some way back,¡± Pathon expounded. ¡°He was close with a couple of human looters that visited Wetull after the empire collapsed. A hundred and something years ago.¡± ¡°What did he do?¡± Taranir asked a little amused. ¡°Seduced his daughter? Might have stolen Mithril from him?¡± ¡°The Master of Silence is a crook?¡± Taranir asked turning serious. ¡°The Monarch¡¯s stance on crooks is undecided,¡± Pathon retorted mockingly. Taranir nodded. ¡°See to your crew Lanthdor. Keep the White Deceit in view and leave the marines aboard to alleviate any thoughts of foul play.¡± He ordered and then dismissed them both.
¡°I don¡¯t want to work for you mister Taranir,¡± Sam said, when they were left alone in Lanthdor¡¯s office.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Ah. Now, you be kind with the kid Taranir. He has potential and you¡¯re choosing from a limited pool. Most are set in their ways by the time they join the navy¡¯s ranks. You have to remember that. Sam isn¡¯t. Just like a blank canvass needs to be shaped properly, with loving care and without selfishness by its artist, so does a young mind. ¡°No more washing the floors for you,¡± Taranir replied and signed for the injured teenager to approach. ¡°Much better pay.¡± ¡°I saw¡­ you didn¡¯t tell them the truth,¡± Sam said walking to an empty chair to sit down. ¡°Be accurate. I told them the truth, but didn¡¯t give all the details for a reason,¡± Taranir advised and got his thin cigars leather packet out. Untied the cord to open the cover and got a fresh one out. If he wanted to indulge in his habit for the duration of the journey, Taranir knew he had to pace himself, lest he would run out of tobacco. Build new habits, to set aside the old ones. Hmm. ¡°You didn¡¯t have to kill Glavon,¡± Sam argued. ¡°He wouldn¡¯t talk to me, but Glavon could warn his collaborators in the fleet,¡± Taranir started slotting the cigar at the corner of his mouth. ¡°Had I allowed him to make it out of that boat, we wouldn¡¯t have survived the night.¡± ¡°You think there are more?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Taranir replied. ¡°Probably from the same squad, but you can¡¯t know for sure,¡± he added and got up from the chair. He walked to a stand and replaced the old isles map on it with an empty canvass. Looking about the stand, he found a box with coal sticks and took one out using thumb and index finger. ¡°What was their plan?¡± Sam asked. ¡°A test run,¡± Taranir murmured thoughtfully. ¡°Luvon worked fast to reopen the bank. Reached to old colleagues and friends to do the job. Habits are difficult to break. Um. Word got out probably almost immediately. About a year and half that is. Barely enough time to setup a network, or revive an old one.¡± He made an egg-shaped shape on the map, then cracked it in three pieces. Placed one after the other different shapes around it to create a crude depiction of the Sinking Isles. ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± Sam was heard behind him. ¡°Not enough time,¡± Taranir rustled. ¡°Unless you already have the pieces in place. A tunnel, the rats move through already.¡± ¡°What are you doing?¡± The teenage asked curious. Taranir had left a space west of the Isles and had started drawing the old empire¡¯s lands anew. The crooked Crabs Talons and the two little isles across Oyster Anchorage. Ilithar and Lyari, the two lovers of mythology. The Fingers after the Talons, always heading west. His stained hand working the piece of coal expertly, creating the nooks and crannies of the terrain from memory. The depression at Chimera¡¯s Mouth and Chimera¡¯s Leg, where South Watch was. Barmont Isle crowning Lorsan Gulf and the exit of Serpent¡¯s Canal. Wetull¡¯s South Coast as seen from atop Nuala¡¯s Quiver Peak, the latter on Lyrael ¨Cher sister¡¯s- island. Lord Suraer¡¯s fabled wives. The Blasted Lands that was Elauthin and then Nureria, just before the turn at Kallister¡¯s Tower. ¡°This is old Wetull,¡± Taranir said raspingly standing half-a-step back. ¡°Part of it.¡± Cydonia Cazan was missing. The Six Peaks Isles. ¡°You made a map out of memory? Whoa.¡± ¡°You just have to remember shapes, North Goras looks like a wyvern¡¯s head ending at the Pale Mountains and here, you see that? Shaped like a knife on one side and crooked like a goat¡¯s leg at the other. The first part is Witch¡¯s Dagger, the other¡­¡± ¡°Goat¡¯s Leg,¡± Sam murmured. ¡°Aye.¡± ¡°That¡¯s amazing. I wish I could draw like that.¡± ¡°You can learn. It helped that the other map was there,¡± Taranir said with the hint of a smile. He stooped next to draw a thin dotted line around the Talons and all the way to the Sinking Isles. The skillful Zilan did the same, thus creating another line, starting at Hardir¡¯s Port and following the course they had taken with the fleet. ¡°What is that?¡± ¡°Direction lines. Had this been to scale, we could use a measuring tool and simple math to tell the distance in nautical miles,¡± Taranir replied but calculated the distance just the same using his fingers and the coal stick. ¡°This is us. How we moved. These are the pirate ships.¡± ¡°The Deceit?¡± ¡°No. The White Deceit was following the two support ships. Larsa¡¯s buddies,¡± Taranir replied looking at the crude map he¡¯d drawn and adding details here and there. ¡°They had to travel longer to reach the Sinking Isles. Not by much, but Sinya Goras¡¯ port is further away and they couldn¡¯t have used Mussel with all the company assets present there, or Hardir¡¯s Port. I spent an hour in the port looking about afore we departed.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t¡­ why is this important?¡± ¡°You need half a day to inform their captains that we have departed, supposing they were stationed in Sinya Goras¡¯ port. The ships must be moored in order to communicate with whomever is working with them at headquarters. If someone is. If this was a leak through a lesser party, then the time increases,¡± Taranir explained. ¡°They couldn¡¯t have reached the Isles before us, or Zaine¡¯s ship. Arriving late they wouldn¡¯t have noticed the Express making the small journey to Grilix Isle. So they didn¡¯t. They came straight for the Isles but even then, they had to wait prior to leaving to make certain the Fleet would depart on schedule. Delays happen all the time and there was one this time. But the two pirate ships, assuming Zaine is telling the truth and Larsa sort of confirmed it before the scrap, were very close already to make it in time. If not from Sinya Goras, where did they depart from?¡± ¡°Somewhere closer than our fleet?¡± Sam chanced. There you go lad. ¡°Yes,¡± Taranir agreed and started drawing Calamer¡¯s Isle, named after the austere Elderblood palace official and Baltoris¡¯ justicar. ¡°They could have made it faster then. Um. Waited west of the Tits for us to pop out of the straits. Yes,¡± Taranir pursed his mouth and stood back, noticed Shamil¡¯s confused expression and smiled broadly. ¡°What do you think Sam?¡± Shamil grimaced and rubbed at his bandaged arm in silence. ¡°I have a special remedy for that. It will make it better,¡± Taranir told him. ¡°I¡¯m not eating flesh mister Taranir. That was disturbing. Poor Abrix got sick and is now sleeping under the bed. Even Horace seemed pretty freaked out from what you did.¡± Taranir smacked his lips annoyed for having to deal with this trifle matter. ¡°I was talking about a healing potion,¡± he told the teenager gruffly. ¡°Know though that flesh is no worse than meat. Taste-wise is better and more easily absorbed, while it strengthens magic and fortifies the body from illness, or injuries,¡± seeing Shamil turning green in the face, he paused with a disappointed grimace. ¡°Many Zilan practice the habit lad.¡± ¡°Cannibalism?¡± ¡°Words. Your King has a big wyvern that eats folk right and left. They just call it punishment. And that¡¯s the cases we know about.¡± ¡°The wyvern is a beast.¡± ¡°And so are people. Moderation is vital, but it is also healthy for one to break a habit and adapt to the times. I have done that. Found different tastes to replace old cravings. For example, raw beef with orange sauce and honey is close enough in flavor.¡± ¡°I rather not find out mister Taranir,¡± Sam grunted. ¡°I¡¯ve a weak stomach.¡± ¡°Hmm. Anyways, Glavon was no saint, what with him being an old fuck that had served with the company afore and the people I¡¯m looking for are even worse than that. The important thing to remember is that we follow the rules. These people follow no rule, other whatever suits their needs.¡± ¡°What am I supposed to do for you?¡± ¡°Be my eyes and ears in the fleet.¡± Taranir explained. ¡°Isn¡¯t that like spying? You denied it earlier.¡± ¡°Sure. And I did,¡± Taranir agreed leaving it at that. ¡°Now head to my satchel and find the vials box. The reddish liquid is the healing potion. Take it out and bring it here,¡± he ordered the frowning teenager. ¡°I didn¡¯t agree to work for you mister Taranir,¡± Shamil protested and Taranir nodded in agreement. ¡°Do you want to be like the Gish and hide under your bed Sam? Or do you wish to see the realm and hunt down evil motherfuckers, whilst making coin?¡± ¡°Serve the King.¡± Sam added with a grin and stood taller. ¡°That too,¡± Taranir again yielded and pointed at his satchel. ¡°Get that vial lad.¡± - 2nd month of summer 3401 IC Otsea Asta (Seventh Moon/Month in Imperial Zilan language) or Cermie Asta (seventh moon in Cydonia Cazan¡¯s dialect) 7th of Septimus 195 NC Approaching Hissing Corrals Cay Abrakas Gullet Expedition day 35 ¡°How¡¯s the arm?¡± Taranir asked the puking over the rails Shamil. The retching teenager had nothing to expel after several attempts, but took a moment afore he could reply to the Zilan. ¡°It hurts still!¡± Shamil yelled to be heard over the sound of the waves breaking on the bow of the Lassel. The heavy warship sailing towards the rising sun. The red disk appearing huge in the horizon, over the flat expanse of the water. Nothing but the latter on every direction, the wind blowing over the Lassel rather cool due to the humidity and the vastness of the terrain. Very different as these southeastern waters were the border between the Scalding Sea and the East Unknown Ocean. ¡°You¡¯ve vomited most of the potion,¡± Taranir reminded him and gave Shamil a linen handkerchief to wipe his mouth. ¡°It tasted foul?¡± Eh. It was way past its expiration date, but Taranir never threw them away, as they could help still despite diminishing returns. ¡°A palate needs training in order to learn to savor certain things Sam.¡± ¡°Would training have made it taste any better?¡± ¡°Not really,¡± Taranir admitted and narrowed his eyes seeing the red hue create a familiar shape beyond Lassel¡¯s bow and the color of the water changing as the depth decreased rapidly. ¡°LAND AHOY!¡± The lookout warned the bridge and Captain Lanthdor ordered the bells to ring, while sailors rushed to climb up the masts. They needed to work on the sails and cut speed soon, or risk running aground. ¡°There are unseen reefs under the waters,¡± Taranir explained over the commotion all about them. ¡°Unseen, but lethal.¡± ¡°How big are the atolls?¡± Shamil asked trying to discern the approaching land. ¡°Not big at all,¡± Taranir replied and turned to look beyond the aft tower of the galleass at the following them Fat Libby. The Barque had all its sails open as it crashed through the waves. Further to its right, the nimble White Deceit navigated the sea with grace, as it approached the slowing Lassel under the watchful eyes of the engineers and the artillery crews aboard. Everyone relaxing when they spotted the armed marines still on its deck. Captain Zaine waved an arm at the Lassel and Lanthdor ordered to use the flags to communicate with the other ships. ¡°Where does all this water go?¡± Shamil asked, still pale in the face and looking sick. ¡°Some say the realm is a bowl, or a very big lake,¡± Taranir replied keeping his eyes on the flat atolls that started appearing and the rocky reefs surrounding them. ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡°I think we need to get back to our work,¡± Taranir said. ¡°See to catch any rumors now and practice your Imperial,¡± he added. ¡°The Zilan don¡¯t trust me,¡± Shamil griped. ¡°Lay low and they¡¯ll forget about you,¡± Taranir murmured, thinking on the elusive thread keeping the smugglers connected. Maybe there isn¡¯t one, he thought. After all this time it¡¯s just pride that makes me see patterns and suspect something greater than what¡¯s really here. A wicked man, in his wicked ways, be doing wicked things. ¡°We could have brought Acharon along,¡± Pathon said coming to stand next to him at the Lassel¡¯s port side. ¡°Safe Sojourn needs a lot of work,¡± Taranir noted. ¡°Using Gish might have solved the problem,¡± Pathon argued. ¡°Now we have to bring more working crews in.¡± ¡°The Gish won¡¯t work for free, or work at all,¡± Taranir replied. ¡°The other way isn¡¯t sanctioned soldier. What isn¡¯t sanctioned I consider illegal and shall be punished, until a different set of orders arrive.¡± ¡°Wetull doesn¡¯t have the manpower to do this. The Empire¡ª¡± ¡°This is Garth¡¯s rule,¡± Taranir cut him off. ¡°But you are not wrong. Who else is thinking along those lines?¡± Pathon cast a side glance at the unemotional face of Taranir. ¡°You expect me to rat out my men?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Taranir replied calmly. ¡°You¡¯ll get to lead the 9th Marine. It is a good trade, all other sensitivities aside.¡± ¡°Flardryn would want to put someone closer to him in charge,¡± Pathon noted sourly. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± ¡°I called his daughter an idiot?¡± Pathon cracked a tensed smile. ¡°She was very young then.¡± ¡°The girl was killed yes?¡± Taranir asked. Pathon nodded and crooked his mouth. ¡°That¡¯s what we heard. Under Lefyr¡¯s watch no less. The Monarch made him military governor of Rain Minas.¡± ¡°Lefyr is a pretty experienced officer and mayhap the Monarch had personal knowledge on the culprit and it had nothing to do with Lefyr at all? Was the killer caught?¡± ¡°A Varg, the rumor is,¡± Pathon murmured looking about him. ¡°You can¡¯t catch them.¡± Hmm. ¡°It has happened in the past.¡± Pathon stared at him unsure. ¡°That¡¯s bullshit sir, with all respect.¡± ¡°Hey. You may be right,¡± Taranir agreed although he didn¡¯t think so. ¡°Tell Lanthdor to head for the middle island in the chain, straight north. It¡¯s the biggest atoll.¡± ¡°Any local fauna on it?¡± Pathon asked. ¡°Birds and palms.¡± Taranir replied evenly. ¡°Wild chicken brought by the company, but mayhap they are gone now.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Pathon said and turned around to head for the stairs leading to the quarterdeck and the aft tower. ¡°Marine,¡± Taranir said to his back. ¡°Was Salamir, Gonodir¡¯s pick for the 2nd squad?¡± ¡°That would be late Feredir, then Henion from my squad.¡± Pathon replied, halting and turning around, easily swaying back and forth with the large ship, despite the slippery deck. ¡°Seniority comes from the whole unit, but follows skill, Taranir.¡± ¡°What about Glavon?¡± ¡°Third. Then Tirior. Feredir was first marine after Gonodir. Then it¡¯s me. Since I run the whole unit now, Henion stepped in for me and leads the 1st squad now. Salamir is old enough to know what he¡¯s doing and nobody objected to him.¡± ¡°Was he friends with Glavon?¡± ¡°Him and Tirior were pretty close, Cyran Isle boys,¡± Pathon replied with a grin. ¡°I see,¡± Taranir said. ¡°Is the 2nd with the White Deceit?¡± ¡°No, these are soldiers of the First¡¯s with Henion, sir.¡± ¡°How many?¡± ¡°Twenty?¡± Pathon frowned. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Precaution. Inform Lanthdor to change course Pathon. The middle atoll,¡± Taranir said thoughtfully. ¡°And look to draw shifts from both squads on the Lassel.¡±
The ring-shaped middle coral islet suffered from a lack of elevation, which allowed even the slightest of breezes to sweep over its flat surface, but still the local copse of palm trees created enough of a barrier around the tiny lagoon at its center for some bird species to find shelter from the elements. Seagulls, Gannets and Cormorants those with the greatest numbers. The noisy, bad-tempered inhabitants of the atoll raising a ruckus at the first Zilan and humans stepping on the sandy beach surrounding the tiny natural harbor, cut in the coral reefs. Some of the docks constructed by the Company centuries ago still visible, but everything else appeared swept away at first glance. ¡°Get that fat chicken marine!¡± Henion barked, jaw clenched and eyes burning with passion, giving the signal for a great chase to erupt over the sands. The company men threw themselves at the activity with such fanaticism, it was almost comical. ¡°Hah,¡± Pathon chuckled, wiping the wet sand from his drenched face. ¡°There¡¯s a dive for sure sir!¡± He added pointing an arm at one marine plunging for the ground, but narrowly failing to snatch the nimble local chicken. The chicken zig-zagged, half-hopping half-running with its wings spread out and squawking loudly with ogling eyes. Its indignant cries carried by the wind across the atoll. Bawk! Bawk! ¡°Get some soldiers to the lagoon,¡± Taranir replied stiffly and looked to find his assistant. He spotted Shamil heading the group of soldiers hunting the chickens towards the treeline. Another three had appeared, or failed to fly away like the dozens of seabirds when the first soldiers had approached. Never mind. ¡°Watery shit is dropping from above! Piss in the bloomin¡¯ soup!¡± Tidus bellowed when his boat moored a couple of minutes later. ¡°Where¡¯s that base mister Taranir?¡± He asked trying to wipe with a wet towel the worst of the discharge raining on them from the angry circling birds. ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake, this is getting ridiculous.¡± ¡°They don¡¯t like new visitors¡¯ mister Tidus,¡± Taranir replied following the faded road leaving the remnants of the old docks towards the overrun by vegetation warehouse buildings. ¡°Fancy a walk?¡± ¡°I rather stay near the sea and the boat,¡± Tidus replied. ¡°Never liked the jungles.¡± ¡°It¡¯s less than a kilometer of undergrowth and the palms seem heavy with fruit. That¡¯s more a garden than a jungle,¡± Taranir argued. He¡¯d reached the first of the buildings and stopped before it upon realizing that the Captain hadn¡¯t followed him. ¡°I¡¯ll stand by me position,¡± Tidus retorted adamantly and that was that.
Taranir cleared out some of the brushwood, a nest of seagulls ¨Ckeeping the eggs- around the largest building. The roof had collapsed at some point, followed by most of the walls and the outline remained now, with the east corner still standing as high as three meters. Taranir riffled through the debris looking for anything useful, found nothing of the sort, but for an old army boot, and then moved on to the next visible structure of the naval base, right behind the first one. This building had been assaulted by the trees, with a couple of big palms sprouting out of the tiles, but surprisingly had remained intact but for parts of the roof that had suffered the same fate as the previous one. A closed door crumbled to his touch, rotted completely and the Zilan entered a large office belonging to the commander stationed there centuries ago. Taranir pursed his mouth, a breeze blasting dust through a cracked window that missed its glass but had still the shutters closed. The light playing with the destroyed furniture and the rotting, spider net covered, and ancient lockers. No sign left behind from the last moments of those serving the company there before the catastrophe. Tidal waves had ravaged the shores of Regia but Taranir wasn¡¯t certain whether they had reached Hissing Corals Cay, or not. If he had to guess then the waves had hit the atolls pretty hard. ¡°Mister Taranir?¡± Shamil said entering the semi-dark ancient office. ¡°What did they find?¡± Taranir asked working the brittle binding on a leather envelope he¡¯d discovered inside a cupboard in order to open it. ¡°Have they reached the lagoon?¡± ¡°They have sir. There was nothing there,¡± Sam replied and coughed to clear his throat from the raised dust. ¡°But Henion¡¯s men discovered a shipwreck on the west shores of the atoll. It¡¯s pretty close really. Less than three kilometers away. This is the smallest island I¡¯ve ever seen.¡± ¡°The atoll north from here¡­¡± Taranir said getting up and taking the leather envelope with him. ¡°¡­is half the size of this one Sam.¡± ¡°Yes sir.¡± ¡°How¡¯s the arm?¡± ¡°Better. Now that I¡¯m on dry land,¡± Sam replied. Taranir nodded. ¡°Good. You need to learn to keep your food down when onboard a ship though lad. Else you¡¯ll never get any weight on,¡± he added in jest, but Sam frowned not really getting it, so the Zilan sighed and walked outside, intent on seeing with his own eyes what the Imperial Marines had discovered. 7th of Septimus 195 NC Late afternoon Middle Atoll The imperial galleon ¨Ca very heavy transport- had been dragged ashore by the waves at some point. Winds and water had pushed her hard over the white pebbles, smashing palm trees and carving the beach for almost a hundred meters in land, penetrating the woods. Half the ship wasn¡¯t visible and the parts that were showed signs of disrepair. The masts had snapped and collapsed, the sails gone and trees had started growing through the large ship¡¯s carcass. Part of its hull ¨Cthe starboard side- had been cracked open¡­ ¡°That¡¯s cut with a tool,¡± Taranir noticed standing in front of the cavernous dark opening that led inside the guts of the galleon. The latter had come to rest on her port side. ¡°We found cranes and ladders discarded amidst the bushes,¡± Pathon reported and Henion nodded sitting on a half-destroyed container ¨Cone of many littering the terrain around the galleon- and drinking water from a flask. Salamir appeared on the slippery deck of the ancient ship and looked down on them. ¡°Everything is stripped clean above,¡± the officer reported. ¡°Tree roots and branches have broken out of the deckboards, kept the ship from moving sir.¡± ¡°Any bodies?¡± Taranir asked. ¡°We found bones amidst the trees and in the sands, but nothing whole, or a skull¡­ yet,¡± Salamir replied and spat down. ¡°It stinks of rot up here Taranir.¡± ¡°Strong odors are expected,¡± Taranir replied and examined the cuts on the blackened timber. The whole ship was painted black, although some parts of it had eroded away to a dull brown with time. ¡°Can you reach the bow, or the tower there?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll need a good axe and at least four more pairs of arms.¡± Salamir retorted. ¡°What do you want to find out?¡± ¡°The ship¡¯s name.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the Mori Korka,¡± Salamir replied. ¡°The name is written on pieces of broken barrels.¡± The night crow. ¡°See to reach the bow just the same,¡± Taranir ordered Pathon and the marine crooked his mouth but nodded in agreement. ¡°Sam, I heard you like exploring stuff on land, and visiting old ships,¡± Taranir told the frowned teenager, glancing over his shoulder. ¡°Eh, I didn¡¯t say that exactly sir. Matter of fact, I said nothing of the kind,¡± Shamil Al-Bagi replied in mild protest and Taranir nodded in agreement. Then he signed for the teenager to approach and follow after him. ¡°Mister Taranir,¡± the discomforted Shamil grunted, ¡°I know next to nothing about exploring, or old Zilan ships.¡± ¡°Um, great,¡± Taranir told the grimacing young Cofol BGOR recruit that shuffled his feet stalling as much as he could. ¡°This is then, as good an opportunity to train on the matter, as any Sam. You caught a break lad.¡± -
3rd Era* 21st of Imperial Minge moon 3412 (The 11th month of 206 NC) Bank of Goras HQ building in Hardir¡¯s Port (New Goras District) 2nd floor, the Director¡¯s private quarters *Arguen Garth¡¯s ascension to the throne, while it disrupted Ninthalor¡¯s royal Zilan line, was on track with traditional ¨Cancient- Zilan practices, well before the Imperial system had been agreed upon. The change in bloodline, forced a change in Eras with Arguen Garth¡¯s heritors taking precedence if they could maintain their ¡®Aniculo Rokae¡¯ status. Without a wyvern, or a Dragorider, no one could rule Wetull¡¯s lands. With one at their disposal, several Aniculo Rokae had risen in the distant past, giving their names to their Eras, or prominent landmarks. So the 3rd Imperial Era would also be referred to by the older Zilan as ¡®the times of Hardir O¡¯ Fardor¡¯, both in writing and in conversation. It is helpful to note here that according to the strict Imperial Zilan and Elderblood ethos and decorum, an Imperial era couldn¡¯t change by the heritors, until its founder was deceased for certain. A new Aniculo Rokae though could ascend. ¡°Unknown pirates attacked the Express, the Schooner captained by the Cofol Zuberi,¡± Riston read from the manuscript, bringing the pages near the desk¡¯s light. His eyes haven¡¯t recovered from an infection the previous year and centuries of abuse over similar reports. The incident almost forgotten after all those years. ¡°They killed the Captain, while 9th Imperial Marines leader Gonodir, Dottore Peldir and several Marines and crew went down, when the ship sunk due to weather?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± the young Cofol company man replied stiffly. ¡°The Queen asked for a detailed summary of South Eplas Trading Company¡¯s dealings and history,¡± Riston noted clearing his throat a couple of times. ¡°We keep much more detailed logs for every operation, do we not?¡± ¡°We do sir,¡± the man replied. ¡°This is a summary of Captain Tidus¡¯ ship¡¯s logs.¡± Riston sucked at his teeth, assuming a skeptical expression. ¡°I tend to recall some more stuff left out dear colleague. You do realize I¡¯m here for much longer than you right? And where¡¯s Taranir?¡± ¡°Master Naug has taken some time off. Personal matters. He was due for a leave of absence sir.¡± ¡°Am I supposed to give these two pages to her majesty?¡± Riston grunted very annoyed. ¡°Pretend nothing happened?¡± ¡°It¡¯s paramount for the Company to safeguard its own people and holdings during times of change,¡± the young man preached setting his jaw. ¡°Then the Bank itself, if it¡¯s possible.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll quote Helven to me? Brazen little brat! The bank is the company!¡± Riston growled irate and tossed the papers on the large desk in front of him. ¡°I can have you fired right this moment.¡± ¡°We both know you won¡¯t sir. I¡¯m acting director of reacquisitions in the books, holding signature power in both the bank and the South Eplas Trading Company. You¡¯ll have to call for a shareholders vote for that and the Queen will be informed since she has the most shares. Given how curious she is in her nature, she might take a bigger interest on your true motivations and ask for my take. I would then be forced to give up someone of sufficiently high position, in order to preserve the Institution¡¯s integrity as is the practice historically. I believe that would be you Director.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll dare blackmail me,¡± a red-faced Riston hissed through his teeth, not believing the gargantuan audacity of this self-taught human. ¡°In my own fucking office?¡± ¡°Yes sir. I would.¡± Riston blinked, the start of a migraine assaulting the top of his skull and spreading downwards, numbing his mouth. Fucking Taranir¡¯s acolytes! Uncompromising, rules-loving monkeys! ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll see to embellish it where I can,¡± he relented hoarsely breathing out. ¡°I appreciate your loyal hard work all those years and for keeping the convoys working mister Al-Bagi,¡± Riston added diplomatically. ¡°Cir Tenya sir,¡± the man replied all serious. ¡°Cir Tenya,¡± Riston agreed repeating S.E.T.C¡¯s dictum ¡®the ships shall arrive¡¯. He watched in silence as the wiry human reached the door of his office and then reached for the doorknob to crack it open. Eh, fuck it. ¡°Was there a Harpy on Hissing Corrals Cay? Near the wreck? I might have read something in the same vein,¡± Riston asked, as he¡¯d in fact read a supposed accurate ''copy'' of Captain Tidus¡¯ and Taranir¡¯s reports from the company¡¯s first expedition. BGOR had classified everything, which was standard practice under Taranir. ¡°I can¡¯t answer sir,¡± Sam replied evenly. ¡°Those in the know would have put it in the report you claim to have read, only if it was needed, and this is just a brief summary for the Queen¡¯s eyes.¡±
528. SETC | the Harpy of Hissing Corrals Cay (2/2)
Taranir o¡¯ Aurelien Master Naug ¡®Bloke from Central¡¯ SETC | the Harpy of Hissing Corrals Cay Part II -Carcass of stone-
2nd Era Winter of 2456 IC, City of Goras, inside the Haunted Keep, Imperial Dungeons
¡®Your mother is a special girl,¡± Nevarth had said. ¡®Not easy to find in these troubled times. Not with her lofty blood and her father¡¯s high position.¡¯ Taranir examined the explorer¡¯s face with stern eyes and Nevarth was forced to elaborate. ¡®She abandoned Goras to come to Myrdiel River and live in the country, but she¡¯s a Cydonia lass at heart, as all folk around Rain Minas are still. Creatures of certain exotic proclivities must stick together, but there are also vulnerable because of them.¡¯ Taranir said nothing but kept staring at the tanned Zilan that sported a well-groomed goatee and a golden loop on his ear. Nevarth sat confidently across from him at the dungeon cell¡¯s small table. ¡®Calamer had sent her to study in the Garden and I just happened to stand ashore when she happened to visit Rain Minas to sell her herbs. Everyone did back in the day. I would have hanged around, if I¡¯d known about you. It was around eight years into the war around 1805, or 1806. Most folk were excited about that, or were eager to avoid it, but the open sea beckons, whispers in your ear.¡¯ ¡®You came here to tell me this?¡¯ Taranir hissed. ¡®After over six centuries?¡¯ ¡®Lord Calamer is a powerful man now, eager to protect his secrets and not to appear weak, or playing favoritism in the eyes of the Queen,¡¯ Nevarth expounded. ¡®Is why you¡¯re still alive, am I wrong?¡¯ ¡®Go on,¡¯ Taranir grunted. ¡®A father would shield his daughter from the worst fate a mother can endure, but another father could help his son as well in a more straightforward manner,¡¯ Nevarth continued with a smirk. ¡®I never liked you,¡¯ Taranir retorted angrily. ¡®You¡¯re a crook that made a fortune selling tall tales to gullible aristocrats.¡¯ ¡®I¡¯m an explorer of lowly origins that leaped ahead of competition,¡¯ Nevarth corrected him. ¡®A savant detective of the past at heart and the uncanny mysteries of the unknown waters out there. Where I go, many wish to follow but they can¡¯t because of fear. The Bank owes me and it once again needs my expertise, as much as I desire their coin.¡¯ Taranir licked his lips and pushed back on the creaking chair, the chains tying his feet clinging as they dragged over the stained stone tiles. ¡®You¡¯re your mother¡¯s blood, pure and all, but you¡¯re my blood as well, so you¡¯re a survivor and skilled in your own way,¡¯ Nevarth added and placed a large iron key on the table¡¯s surface. ¡®You¡¯ll know what to say and how to navigate the rest. Epochs come and go, people switch professions, even habits all the time. Or just learn to better hide them.¡¯ ¡®I¡¯m free to go?¡¯ Taranir asked his surprisingly visiting father and Nevarth nodded. ¡®Director Helven has talked to the Queen.¡¯ Ah. Not Lord Calamer, or Aurelien, Taranir¡¯s mother. A different institution. Taranir had reached for the key but paused to cast a glare in the explorer¡¯s face. ¡®What does the bank want?¡¯ ¡®The harpy¡¯s location, or her remains,¡¯ Nevarth replied. ¡®I squeezed them out a bit hah-ha. Your old man has one thing, or two, to use as leverage. I told them I¡¯m not interested, but you would be for sure.¡¯ ¡®I¡¯m not really.¡¯ ¡®But you do want to see Aurelien again? This way we can both profit.¡¯ Fucking bastard. ¡®Is she still around?¡¯ Taranir asked, well-aware of Nevarth¡¯s tales from more than a century ago. ¡®Stones never move and you¡¯ll know from the smell. A burned egg odor most foul.¡¯ Nevarth had replied, but Taranir couldn¡¯t locate the creature that summer and had spent five fruitless years searching the isles for it, before giving up and taking on his mother¡¯s profession in a sense.
- 3rd Era Summer of 3401 IC, Hissing Corrals Cay, Central (or Mid) Atoll Palm forest between the lagoon and the atoll¡¯s west coast, Lassel¡¯s first Expedition Coin Route, 2nd leg ¡°Bring the lightstone closer,¡¯ Taranir told Shamil, but kept walking stooped inside the cargo hull of the Mori Korka with the help of his night vision. The floor crackling, rotten in places and concealed under dirt, debris, a carpet of moss and liverworts. Plants and spider nets hanging from the timber walls, engulfed in darkness. The smell damp and heavy, weighted by silence. ¡°Watch your feet for holes.¡± ¡°The place is creepy mister Taranir!¡± Sam protested following after him. ¡°Um. You¡¯re right Sam.¡± ¡°So?¡± The Cofol asked after a while, still behind his back. ¡°That¡¯s it. Keep moving.¡± Taranir stopped at regular intervals, navigating the ship¡¯s skeleton to check in broken barrels and chests. He moved aside some of them, or scrapped some of the sticky plants underfoot in order to examine the condition of the wooden floor. ¡°Where¡¯s the cargo?¡± Shamil probed fifteen minutes later, sounding spooked and sticking close to the Zilan. ¡°Someone took everything,¡± Taranir replied and signed for Shamil to follow after him, as he moved deeper into the ship heading for its stern. ¡°Who did?¡± Taranir paused again to test the stairs heading up to the second floor of the cargo hull. The gaping hole, where the hatch once had been, telling him the looters had already gone up there. ¡°Climb up the ladder and check to see whether there¡¯s something of interest upstairs,¡± he ordered Shamil. ¡°It might not take my weight.¡± ¡°Eh. Probably more rotten boxes and debris mister Taranir.¡± ¡°Make certain Sam,¡± Taranir replied patiently. ¡°You¡¯ll be alright on your own?¡± Taranir raised his head. ¡°Yes, Sam. I¡¯ll stay right here.¡± The Zilan didn¡¯t, moving about while the teenager was searching the upper floor. The structural integrity of the large ship had taken a beating, but somehow withstood it, Taranir decided. For the most part. Hearing Shamil return hastily, he grimaced looking away from the light, whilst turned to face the young Cofol. ¡°Brrr. It¡¯s hot as hell up there, but my bones are shivering,¡± Shamil griped. ¡°No cargo left back, but a solid upturned foodstuff barrel and the floor has potatoes growing at a corner. Must have been the supply room.¡± ¡°We need to head towards the aft tower,¡± Taranir said. ¡°The ship is a wreck. Everyone left. We can yell loud to be sure, if you prefer.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think they made it far,¡± Taranir grimaced and gestured for the teenager to stop stalling. ¡°They are still digging bones out of the beach. More corpses are probably buried under the returning trees.¡± ¡°Returning?¡± ¡°The ship had scraped the earth and opened a wide road through the palms from the shores to the lagoon,¡± Taranir replied and pushed ahead. He ducked under a partially collapsed part of the ceiling, after climbing the debris barring their way and moved deeper inside the Mori Korka¡¯s guts. ¡°What manner of waves can do that?¡± ¡°It was one very big wave Sam.¡± ¡°How big?¡± Taranir paused having reached a solid wall of worked timber, barring their way. The cargo hull ended there. ¡°Thrice the height of the ship at least. A volcanic explosion caused it, back in Goras.¡± ¡°Whoa. How do you know?¡± ¡°I heard it and you¡¯ve seen the hole it left behind. It¡¯s the gulf facing Hardir¡¯s port,¡± Taranir replied. ¡°Where Goras center once was.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s the volcano now?¡± ¡°Right there. Under them waters.¡± ¡°Shit. Now what?¡± Sam cursed and gave the wooden wall a tap. ¡°Do we head back?¡± Taranir pointed at another set of stairs to their left. The starboard side of the ship. ¡°We need to reach the other side of the wall,¡± he told Shamil. ¡°If I¡¯m right we¡¯ll come out under the aft tower. The quarterdeck is above us.¡± ¡°How do you know?¡± Sam asked his favorite question. ¡°This is an old Imperial galleon. They were built similarly.¡± ¡°I wish I knew all those things,¡± Sam said, when he helped him through the open hatch. The air in this more enclosed space thicker and unpleasant to the lungs. ¡°You will in time,¡± Taranir murmured looking to find the way in the pitch dark. The strong light killed it but it also made his sensitive eyes hurt. Taranir closed them and then opened them again slowly with a grimace. The light had given everything about them a washed out grey and brown hue. ¡°In a couple of centuries you¡¯ll know as much as I know given your character.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think humans have that much mister Taranir.¡± Taranir pursed his mouth thoughtfully. ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± He looked at the frowned Shamil. ¡°You¡¯ll just have to try twice as hard Sam. I trust that you will.¡± ¡°Thanks mister Taranir,¡± the teenager retorted sarcastically, but the Zilan was already moving towards the broken door leading to the guts of the aft tower, he¡¯d located in the meantime and didn¡¯t answer.
It took them half an hour to break into the captain¡¯s cabin after navigating a couple of narrow corridors. The door had been broken open at some point, but part of the ceiling had collapsed and one side of the quarterdeck had been destroyed by wild vegetation and penetrating tree branches. Taranir managed to reach the broken desk and move it aside to clear a path. He searched one of the lockers next, but the looters had taken even the liquor. Everything not nailed down basically and some stuff that were. The iron safe¡¯s door stood open but emptied. ¡°Um.¡± Taranir murmured standing up. ¡°You remember that corpse with the tree growing through it? It was outside the officer quarters.¡± ¡°I try not to,¡± Sam griped and snorted loudly. ¡°What is this horrid smell?¡± ¡°Rotting wood, humidity and decayed flesh,¡± Taranir replied and started looking at the floorboards, moving his feet carefully. ¡°Are we finished? This looks even more looted than the cargo hull and it¡¯s getting late,¡± Sam asked watching the Zilan stooping to check on the dirty, moss-covered floor with his bare hands at first. Taranir proceeded to clean some of the material using a dagger to help his fingers. He then used the sturdier clippers to strike at the exposed crackling and blackened wood. The blades sinking deep with a dull sound until they went clean through. ¡°No.¡± Taranir replied and found a safe spot to stand on in order to use his boot. Underneath them, about two meters from the stern-facing wall of the large office ¨Cwhere the destroyed desk and the safe were-, the captain¡¯s hidden storeroom was located. When the Zilan downed his boot, the trapdoor detached and collapsed into the void with a deafening sound. ¡°Should I go outside and spy on the soldiers some more?¡± Shamil asked all-serious standing over the gaping hole. A side of the cellar-like room was illuminated by faint sunlight. ¡°This is another part of the job,¡± Taranir replied and after locating the broken trapdoor underneath him, swung both legs over the edge without any hesitation. He then jumped down and managed to land next to it. The Zilan stood up slowly in the semi-dark room, the ceiling low enough to have him stoop to avoid scrapping it, and after a quick glance about him, he beheld at the flushed face of Shamil that peeked over the edge of the trapdoor tensed. The teenager was pouring light inside the vault. ¡°They didn¡¯t find it,¡± he told Shamil. ¡°The darkness and the smell, drove them away.¡±
The captain¡¯s vault was four meters wide and six in length. A series of sturdy square containers setup against the walls, with a small narrow table at the opposite edge of the rectangular room and several rows of shelves above the chests on both sides. On the table¡¯s surface four smaller boxes caught his attention. The last of the single row smashed open and its contents spilled down its right side. Taranir took a step forward, an eye on the cracked port side wall of the hull and the tree branches sprouting from there bathed in the weakening sunlight, and the other on the corroded metal coinage pile next to the broken box. ¡°Ancestor Spirits,¡± Shamil grimed sounding strangled. ¡°The smell is putrid!¡± The foul air made Taranir¡¯s lungs hurt, so the teenager wasn¡¯t exaggerating at all. The odor a mixture of rotten leaves, ancient dirt, rust and burned eggs. He pursed his mouth and looked about the previously enclosed area whilst checking at the pile with his fingers. ¡°Are these coins?¡± Sam asked a little surprised and pointed the lightstone on the table. ¡°Pieces of twelve,¡± Taranir replied hoarsely and stepped back for the young human to have a look for himself. ¡°The humidity eroded them somewhat. See if you can pry them from the wood.¡± Taranir got a dagger out while Shamil worked on the spilled blackened coins that had leaked rust on the table¡¯s surface and the floor, and then went to break open the padlock on one of the others himself. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say the looters missed the cellar?¡± Shamil asked and then cursed. ¡°I can¡¯t¡­ it smells way worse in here damn it!¡± ¡°Um.¡± Taranir replied and slowly opened the intact box, the glint of gold reflecting on his eyes. He stepped back, sheathed the dagger and glanced at the cracked wall from where a bit of light was still coming in. ¡°Is that gold? Whoa! It is!¡± Shamil guffawed and then started coughing violently overcome by the toxic atmosphere. ¡°I¡¯m gonna puke!¡± ¡°Breathe less,¡± Taranir advised and searched the covered in ancient dirt floorboards with keen eyes. ¡°What¡¯s the number written on the gold coins?¡± ¡°1996? What¡¯s in the other boxes?¡± Shamil asked examining the gold coins that were in much better condition carefully. ¡°First Era coinage,¡± Taranir said and knelt to clear some of the dirt and moss from the floor with his fingers. Something foul had spilled there creating a crusty puddle and had sprouted rotting liverwort that crumbled when he touched it. ¡°The boxes have colors. White for silver, yellow for gold, glass for diamonds and red for rubies.¡± ¡°Damn. What manner of looters left this kind of treasure behind?¡± Shamil asked very impressed and then dry retched almost doubling over. ¡°Good grief¡­ think the smell drove them away?¡± ¡°Not from the treasure,¡± Taranir replied and extracted a very long black and white feather that was sticking out from the crusty floor surface. Well over a foot long, and with a pink stem. The foul smell emanating from it made Taranir¡¯s eyes water and his stomach protest, but the Zilan clamped down its mouth until the feeling of discomfort went away. Still, he remained uneasy as he examined the exotic feather in silence. ¡°The corpse we left in the corridor reeked far better than this shit,¡± Shamil croaked at his back. ¡°Do we count and report the treasure mister Taranir?¡± ¡°Get as much as you can in your bag Sam,¡± Taranir replied and stood up with a grimace. ¡°The gold will go the office¡¯s coffers.¡± ¡°We steal it?¡± Shamil asked raspingly. ¡°We must fund our activities,¡± Taranir explained. ¡°Increase the roster. Recruiting comes with a cost.¡± He checked on the shelves next, several open small boxes with vials arranged there and bolted in place with nails. Right underneath the shelves and in the bigger -not locked- larger chests, Taranir found packed leather bags with incense, ancient herbs, crumbling flower roots and a whole lot of dried up seeds. ¡°Won¡¯t the company pay for their salaries?¡± Shamil asked emptying the gold coins inside his satchel. ¡°They¡¯ll work for the company too, but the Office runs its own operations Sam. We don¡¯t make it easy for folk to know who we are. The higher ups might know about us, but we don¡¯t go around revealing it like fools.¡± ¡°You did.¡± ¡°I had to. But even then remember that I said as little as possible. We never offer more than what¡¯s needed. The Office¡¯s director has as much power as anyone else on the board.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Shamil said and spat down. ¡°What¡¯s with the darn feather?¡± Taranir gave him the feather and then turned around to get one long-necked glass vial out of one of the nailed in place boxes. The liquid in it, greenish in color and the cork eroded from time. The wax seal cracked in places. He smelled the cork loudly and grimaced, Shamil grunting behind him. ¡°Abrakas tentacles! This thing stinks to the six heavens!¡± The teenager protested and tossed the feather away. ¡°Get it back,¡± Taranir ordered him turning around. ¡°Why? Where is it from? A plaguing white-eagle?¡± ¡°Unlikely. They prefer very tall mountains,¡± Taranir replied stiffly and returned the vial to its place. ¡°This wasn¡¯t a company transport.¡± ¡°No? Why?¡± ¡°These are potions and supplies to make more. Very common in Wetull,¡± Taranir replied and gave another look around the now much-darker cramped room. It would have been darker but for Shamil¡¯s light that was though partially blocked by the teenager¡¯s body. ¡°Coins and gems. Hmm. It¡¯s almost like a payment, or a gift.¡± ¡°Payment for what?¡± Shamil asked turning around, now holding the stinky feather. Passage. Shelter. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Taranir replied with a grimace. ¡°But I¡¯ve a strong feeling the Mori Korka wasn¡¯t working for the company. But it was on a mission those last months of the empire.¡± ¡°Who were the looters?¡± ¡°Humans would be my guess,¡± Taranir said and smacked his lips. ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here.¡± ¡°You still want the feather?¡± It¡¯s a clue. Could it be though? Where are you now? Stones don¡¯t move, Nevarth had said. And you¡¯ll know from the smell. ¡°Um.¡± ¡°That a yes? Are you sure?¡± Shamil griped with a grimace of distaste. ¡°How big was this vulture?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t think it was a vulture Sam,¡± Taranir replied and gestured for Shamil to climb the narrow ladder leading to the captain¡¯s office above them. ¡°It came in from that hole either before they arrived, or afterwards.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a big fucking tree blocking the gap,¡± Shamil grunted pausing on the ladder. ¡°The tree wasn¡¯t there always,¡± Taranir said calmly. ¡°But you¡¯re right. It came before the looters.¡± ¡°What was it? Why leave the treasure behind? That¡¯s a fortune mister Taranir, we should report!¡± ¡°Eh. Just calm down and it wasn¡¯t looking for treasure is my guess. She didn¡¯t like silver at all.¡± Taranir replied and heaved the heavy bag up for Shamil to pick it up. ¡°She?¡± Sam asked curious when he leaped out of the hatch himself to join him inside the office. ¡°Take it with a grain of salt,¡± Taranir replied raspingly and ushered Shamil towards the dark corridor. ¡°The guy that gave me the info was a known liar and a gutless crook that only thought of himself.¡± ¡°Ah. Who was he?¡± ¡°My father,¡± Taranir grunted with an angry clench of his jaw and Shamil frowned deciding not to ask him anything else for a while.
They reached the quarterdeck outside and then climbed down from the engulfed by the jungle part of the ancient galleon. They used a rope Taranir had with him. Darkness had come at some point, but the moonlight was strong and it was easy for the keen-eyed Taranir to spot the humans afore they spotted them. A pair of wiry figures, one of them wearing leather armour and the other a leather coat. They paused hearing Shamil¡¯s gasp released when Taranir¡¯s arm stopped the carrying the heavy bag teenager from walking up to them. Lorians, Taranir thought and reached for a weapon. The two men had stopped behind a thick palm tree¡¯s trunk, not three meters away. ¡°Heard that?¡± One of them asked the other. ¡°It¡¯s the wind,¡± the other replied. ¡°I can see the wreck.¡± ¡°That was no wind.¡± ¡°First you see lights, now this? Damn it Haggart,¡± the second man griped. ¡°You¡¯re too fucking spooked man.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve read the fucking reports Bonavita. Your brother knows about this from the old man,¡± Haggart grunted very annoyed. ¡°Freaky shit happened here I tell you.¡± ¡°Just shut up and do your fucking job ranger. Get me inside. I can¡¯t believe we lost the light damn it,¡± Bonavita hissed, whilst Taranir¡¯s hand sealed Shamil¡¯s mouth to drown his words out. Taranir moved to engage them unlocking the clippers blades at their joint to turn the gardening tool into a pair of identical large shortswords. Haggart¡¯s voice ringing inside the silent copse just as he came out from behind the tree. ¡°Miles, Dutch. Get up there and find us a way in¡ª¡± Shit. ¡°Who the fuck are¡­?¡± Haggart cursed seeing Taranir appear out of nowhere seemingly and reached for a sword. Taranir chucked the heavy blade at the ranger and stopped him from finishing his words. The steel smacked the slow to react human below the nose, caved his teeth in and buried itself in his mouth to the hilt. Taranir cursed himself for using too-much power in the throw, the bleeding mess of Haggart went down to his knees and Bonavita ducked behind two burly armed men following right after the first pair of Lorians. Taranir pivoted on his left foot, then ducked under a sword that whistled over his head. He slashed at the man¡¯s thigh, either Miles, or Dutch, opening the leather pants and the flesh underneath. The Lorian grunted in pain, Taranir got the flat face of an axe right under the left armpit which was lucky, but felt at least two upper ribs snap from the impact, which wasn¡¯t. But if you misjudge the number of opponents in a scrap by fifty fucking percent, then you can¡¯t really complain about anything. He coughed, the pain blinding, stumbled on shaky legs for a couple of strides and then turned around to face the charging ranger with the axe. His friend was limping trying to circle around the groaning Zilan, whilst Bonavita was legging it away as fast as he could. ¡°The hells are you?¡± The Lorian asked hoarsely hefting the axe right and left, eyeing Taranir. ¡°That¡¯s a fucking Zilan Miles! Look at the fucking ears!¡± Dutch growled, trying to stop the bleeding with a hand over the wound. ¡°He just killed Haggart!¡± ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have done that,¡± Miles admonished the unimpressed Taranir and heaved the axe to split him in half. Taranir moved out of the blade¡¯s way lithely, but with a jolt of pain ravaging his chest and hacked the twisting with the axe ranger right on the top of his head. The steel burrowed deep splitting the bone and Taranir left it there shoving the shuddering Miles out of the way. ¡°Fuck!¡± Dutch cursed seeing his friend hitting the ground with the heavy blade still wedged in his brains. He slashed wide with the sword to keep Taranir away and then jerked twisting on his own axis, a loud moan escaping his mouth. The wounded Dutch tried to reach for the dagger Shamil had jammed in his back, but failed and with a growl tried to reach the jumping away teenager. ¡°Fucking¡­ who¡­ argh!¡± Dutch groaned when Taranir grabbed his arm and stopped him from using the sword. ¡°Give up,¡± Taranir advised through clenched teeth and Dutch spat in his face irate. ¡°Plaguing fiends!¡± He cursed and then yelped when Taranir¡¯s nails dug in his bicep numbing his grip on the weapon. Dutch swung a fist twisting on his torso, showing great fighting spirit, but Taranir head-butted him afore the ranger could finish his attack and sent him sprawling down to the ground. ¡°Who are they?¡± A heavy-breathing Shamil asked. ¡°Get after the other one!¡± Taranir grunted walking to the bleeding corpse of Haggart to get the ranger¡¯s sword. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Move, you fool!¡± Taranir growled and Shamil stood back pale-faced. ¡°Sam. There might be more.¡± Taranir added with a sigh in a soother tone and stooping stabbed the moaning Dutch through the neck with his friend¡¯s sword. ¡°Eh,¡± the Zilan grunted upon seeing the shocked teenager hesitate and then went to retrieve his own weapons from the slain Lorians. ¡°Forget about it. Go find Pathon. They are at the bow of the ship.¡± Taranir ordered deciding that sending Shamil after the human was a risk. ¡°Are you alright?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll use a healing potion,¡± Taranir hissed and sat on top of Miles with a grimace. ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°Yes Sam. I¡¯ll be alright.¡± Taranir replied and reached for his satchel.
¡°The Pirates are here?¡± Pathon asked sounding bemused at the prospect. ¡°Are they stupid?¡± ¡°No Pathon, these were not pirates,¡± Taranir grunted still suffering from the aftereffects of the old potion. He¡¯d grabbed a couple of vials from the ship¡¯s stash, but used one of his own since they didn¡¯t look fresher. Instead of wine, I should have replenished the darn medicine cabinet, Taranir thought sourly, remembering his mother¡¯s words. Aurelien always carried all manner of supplies with her, even for stuff one would come against very rarely. Healing potions were a must have, the fresher they were, the better. Taranir sighed sadly at the memory. His noble mother loved her plants. ¡°Are you sure?¡± Salamir asked examining the corpse of Dutch. ¡°What happened to the eyes?¡± Taranir used his tongue to clean some of the leftovers from his fangs, but refrained from answering. The awkward thing with nasty habits like alcohol, drugs, or flesh-eating, is that one can easily relapse even after a prolonged abstinence. As a matter of fact most scholars agree that the cravings might return tenfold after a period of asceticism. ¡°He headed to the northwest. My guess is the northern shores,¡± he grunted with a grimace, still dizzy from the expired potion and with his ribs nowhere near mended. ¡°Gather your men Pathon. We are heading there.¡± ¡°Why would they moor north of the atoll?¡± Pathon asked whilst Henion went to alert the marines they had a problem. ¡°They weren¡¯t coming from Wetull,¡± Taranir said trying to remain patient. ¡°These aren¡¯t pirates. They came from Jelin. Jelin is to the north.¡± ¡°This one has a patch stitched on his uniform,¡± Salamir added still knelt near the slain Dutch. ¡°It reads L.I.T.C.¡± Hmm. - An hour later Morning of the 8th of Septimus 195 NC 8th Otsea Asta 3401 IC Mid Atoll¡¯s North facing forest rocky edges, ¡°They have some type of infrastructure built right under the cut of the rocks,¡± Pathon reported. ¡°I can have the men deployed in twenty minutes.¡± ¡°How did you miss it?¡± Taranir asked tiredly. ¡°The forest covered the white boulders and now reaches almost to the beach,¡± Pathon replied tensely. ¡°It¡¯s just a couple of buildings Taranir covered in vegetation and out of direct sight, if you approach from the lagoon. Long abandoned.¡± ¡°Apparently it¡¯s not,¡± Taranir grunted. ¡°You think they know our route?¡± ¡°They didn¡¯t know we¡¯re here,¡± Taranir replied. ¡°Then why return now?¡± Everyone is making moves. ¡°Luvon might have gotten cocky and let something slip through, or they are smart enough to cover their rear,¡± Taranir said and waved for him to return to his men. Almost sixty marines had answered the call, the rest remaining with their ships on the south side of the atoll to keep an eye on the ¡®friendly¡¯ pirates. ¡°Who are they mister Taranir?¡± Shamil asked scrunching his nose, when Taranir approached. A foul odor emanated from the Zilan, who still carried the feather inside his satchel. He felt a little silly doing it, but it was the first clue he¡¯d discovered that might give a little credence to Nevarth¡¯s wild tales. A bird with tits can only fly so far. Swim even less. It was an enticing opportunity for ridiculous profit, if the old myths were wrong and the far eastern Split Isles didn¡¯t stand as distant as they were depicted. It was also something a different society favored. A different kingdom. Using people saturated with the habits of the previous administrations. Less than a kilometer from the small natural harbor¡¯s shores, right in the middle of the blackened sea waters lights appeared. They created a faint incoherent shape at first, igniting one after the other but slowly a familiar silhouette emerged. From the raised aft tower, down the main decks and across their length to the armoured bow and its own raised tower. The elongated war galleass slowly appeared standing still inside the atoll¡¯s peaceful waters, anchored about three hundred meters inside the cove. More lights detached from the large ship and then slowly made their way for the beach, near which the South Eplas Trading Company¡¯s employees lay in wait, lost in the darkness surrounding the silent shores.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. ¡°Is that an Imperial ship?¡± Salamir asked Tylor in a whisper Taranir¡¯s sensitive ears caught. ¡°Looks like it,¡± Tylor replied a little tensed. ¡°Things have gone to shit,¡± Salamir commented sounding angry and noticing Taranir watching them, gave the BGOR director a nod with his head. ¡°Taranir,¡± Pathon said running near the moving his arm up and down Zilan. Taranir was trying to test the broken ribs, still waiting for any improvement from the healing potion. All the foulness, none of the pleasure, he thought bitterly listening to Pathon¡¯s report. ¡°Lanthdor, wanted to move the fleet in assistance.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not risking the fleet,¡± Taranir grunted. ¡°That¡¯s a blasted galleass over there!¡± ¡°Not pirates eh?¡± Pathon jested tensely. ¡°I thought you were in the wrong. Bet some coin on it also.¡± Well, technically the pirates did possess a galleass. ¡°You like waging Pathon?¡± Taranir asked changing his tone into a serene one. The marine leader frowned in alarm. ¡°Not really.¡± ¡°Want to earn something extra along the position you have now?¡± Taranir probed calmly. ¡°Flardryn¡ª¡± ¡°Let me worry about him,¡± Taranir cut him off. ¡°Shamil here serves the King. This new beginning, free from the past¡¯s constraints and uncomfortable vices. Right lad?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Sam replied a little unsure. ¡°I really hoped to do something easier than marine work at some point Taranir,¡± Pathon griped. ¡°Had Gonodir survived I would have taken a post in Ani Ta-Ne.¡± ¡°Doing what?¡± ¡°Easy stuff?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m offering.¡± ¡°Boats approaching,¡± a scout informed them and Pathon ushered the Zilan away. ¡°I¡¯ll decline,¡± Pathon told Taranir, who shrugged his shoulders indifferently and watched him walking away, an eye on the group around Salamir. ¡°Pathon was a good candidate,¡± Shamil whispered in a conspiratorial manner. ¡°Damn. Oh, well. On to the next one mister Taranir.¡± ¡°This was pure theater Sam,¡± Taranir explained in an even lower voice. ¡°Don¡¯t look so surprised. Grin stupidly. That¡¯s it. Maintain the expression while you head back to get me another healing potion. Read the label first.¡± ¡°Another? Sure.¡± The grinning Sam asked over-selling the stupid grin. ¡°Isn¡¯t that very dangerous? It might knock a man out cold.¡± Taranir sighed at the teenager¡¯s lame attempt to create subterfuge where none was needed. ¡°It can get you in a deadly coma. And I really need that vial Sam. For real.¡±
Twelve large boats had come ashore. Almost a hundred men disembarking silently. Which wasn¡¯t really true of course, as so many armed men can¡¯t be silent even if their lives depend on it. Taranir spotted the familiar figure of Bonavita, now carrying a sword and a shield, standing next to a fancy-dressed officer wearing chainmail and a conned helm. The rest of the soldiers carried spears and harpoons, and were clad in medium leather armour and pants. An army unit, probably marines. Lorians. ¡°Ignite the lightstones,¡± Taranir ordered Pathon and stepped forward on the pebbled beach. The large host of men had marched from their boats towards the two concealed buildings near the rocky formation at the back end of the beach, where the forest started. The boulders stood between the two forces, with the sea to their north and the forest to their south. The humans stopped advancing, and those that had coalesced near the buildings turned around the moment the marines lit up their side of the beach. It wasn¡¯t needed but Taranir wanted to talk with the humans. The moonlight was enough for the Zilan. ¡°It appears you were right Dino,¡± the officer said. ¡°Comes as a surprise given how hysterical you were.¡± ¡°Order the men to attack Captain Gemeli!¡± Dino Bonavita hissed and raised his shield to cover himself. ¡°Do it!¡± ¡°You are on Imperial land,¡± Taranir announced in a clear voice in Common, minding to keep his words short and diplomatic. ¡°Evacuate the premises, or perish.¡± There. ¡°Oh,¡± Gemeli said, a wiry Lorian sporting a blond mustache that reached under his chin. ¡°That¡¯s¡¯ an unexpected development Dino.¡± ¡°There are no Imperial Lands around here. The empire is dead!¡± Bonavita grunted. ¡°This fiend killed Haggart and the others!¡± He growled getting a loud murmur from the amassing humans. They had the numbers for sure, Taranir thought with a grimace of pain. ¡°They were also trespassing near Imperial property. The ship wreck.¡± Taranir elucidated. ¡°What property? The wreck is ours!¡± Bonavita snapped angrily. ¡°We¡¯re what¡¯s left from Imperial rule god¡¯s darn it! You lot are imposters! Gemeli order the men to attack! We have carte blanche to wipe them out!¡± ¡°Who are you?¡± Taranir queried frostily. ¡°We are the Lorian branch of the Imperial Trading Company,¡± Bonavita snapped. ¡°Acquired legally by the Mclean & Merck bank in 24, more than a hundred and fifty years ago! It was an open call to past investors to step forward but no one did!¡± ¡°Recently we have re-opened our intercontinental business,¡± Captain Gemeli added just to keep everything nicely tight. ¡°In that same vein we¡¯re almost related,¡± Taranir replied. ¡°These men serve the South Eplas Trading Company, also a branch of the old Imperial Trading Company, mister Bonavita. The Bank funding us is different and so is the country it appears.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s your ship?¡± Bonavita asked, a tick marring his face. ¡°We have a fleet,¡± Taranir replied and Bonavita pursed his mouth not expecting the answer. ¡°You¡¯re a lying fiend,¡± he grunted. ¡°Dino, you don¡¯t have to be so insulting,¡± Gemeli admonished him. ¡°These people are colleagues.¡± ¡°What about Haggart? He was a colleague of mine!¡± A sergeant asked from the ranks and Gemeli grimaced, his eyes on the rows of Zilan marines behind Taranir. ¡°He was insured from harm,¡± the Captain hissed sounding uncomfortable. ¡°Isn¡¯t he dead?¡± Another human asked curious. ¡°What good does that do him?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± a third agreed distrustfully. ¡°What good is a pension to a dead man?¡± ¡°God damn it Captain!¡± Bonavita growled irate. ¡°They have claimed the bank¡¯s property! Order the men to kick those fiends aside!¡± ¡°There are a lot of them Dino,¡± Gemeli snapped. ¡°You have more men curse you!¡± Bonavita roared in his face. ¡°Pathon,¡± Taranir said to get the Marine leader¡¯s attention. ¡°Attack them.¡± ¡°Very well,¡± Gemeli yielded with a sigh and raised his arm just as the first row of Marines moved forward on the beach to charge at the human lines. -
In the 2nd month of summer, praised be the Five, the year 195 of the New Calendar, Vice-admiral Cornelius Bonavita, Lesia''s 2nd in command of the navy after Sir Patrick Lennox, tasked from the Bank of Trust with managing the nautical assets of the Lorian branch of the defunct Imperial Trading Company (L.I.T.C.) was ordered to dispatch in a ¡®pathfinding mission¡¯ one of the larger warships available in Cediorum¡¯s naval yards the galleass Judge¡¯s Song. After the loss of Ocean¡¯s Harpy during the forty tons of gold affair, and the disappearance of the Crying Valkyrie after D¡¯Orsi¡¯s failed expedition, the Judge¡¯s Song was the only available warship of this type owned by the Company, although six more were under construction in Cediorum. Three of them though were going to Lesia¡¯s navy, who had funded the program and constructed the expensive facilities. Cornelius had worked the previous three years to revive the old trading company ¨Cturned into a private ship-building firm in the meantime- but faced difficulties to secure funding because of the Lesia-Regia conflict (during the period of the two Kings). The reason for this had been the Bank¡¯s hierarchy and shareholders belief that a Lesia naval dominance was at hand. The company¡¯s assets were used to assist the army¡¯s and navy¡¯s efforts during the siege of Cartagen, but after King Davenport agreed to a treaty with King Lucius, Federico Mclean asked for a different approach to ensure control of the trading routes and the distant west markets. D¡¯Orsi¡¯s expedition was one of the two ideas discussed, but when he failed to bring any results in a catastrophic blunder that had cost them dearly in manpower and gold, the Mclean patriarch turned to the persistent Cornelius Bonavita with a more favorable eye. Cornelius proposed what would later become the basis of the 1st Banking Act of 195, the ¡®decoupling of trading disputes from the thrones, or the countries involved¡¯. This offered the ability to solve matters quickly and move on, or change strategy in a failure, without ¡®been afflicted by the paralyzing effects of years-long drawn out kingdom conflicts¡¯. With the Kaltha-Khanate struggle entering its seventh year the whole west shoreline of Jelin, eleven duchies and baronies, twenty seven settlements/cities, numerous ports and millions of people had been affected tremendously. Trade deals had plummeted, caravans barely made it across and poverty had strangled smaller merchants. The Scalding Sea, once a risky, but quite possible alternate route to reach Eplas, was now surrendered to Elsanne¡¯s pirates and King Garth¡¯s Zilan. The worst of all was the Bank of Trust¡¯s difficulty to make fresh profit without access to those west markets that were now fully controlled by Wetull. Dealing in war is profitable, if your guy is winning. The conflict had turned into a free-for-all with pirates, rebels, and even foreign Monarchs joining the two warrying kingdoms. Nothing was safe, or sacred. Cornelius tasked his brother Dino Bonavita and Captain Flavio Gemeli to prepare the newly-built warship for a voyage that would attempt to unlock ¡®alternate markets¡¯, or find a way around King Garth¡¯s presumed meagre navy. ¡®The way I see it Cornelius,¡¯ Federico had advised the vice-admiral in a rare personal appearance at a board of directors meeting, ¡®you need to avoid Wetull¡¯s shores and the cursed wyvern. You manage to do that, then we can do our business afore the Toka negotiate a deal with the Duchess of Krakenhall. For crying out loud, our southern route must surely be faster than theirs!¡¯ Cornelius believed the Zilan wouldn¡¯t have agreed without having ¡®some assets¡¯ available to them however unlikely and managed to secure enough manpower and gold for the expedition. Just as his brother was about to depart, Federico ordered them to head first deep into the ocean, to a place called Hissing Corrals Cay, before traveling towards Wetull to find a way through the Reefs. The mission was simple, land on the remote atolls, investigate the remnants of previous excursions there and ensure the Zilan wouldn¡¯t attempt ¡®a flanking maneuver¡¯. In the month since Cornelius had gotten his first orders, King Lucius had agreed to join in the effort to patrol the Lorian Coast ¡®for any smuggler ships and impose tariffs on their exporting goods.¡¯ The latter had inconvenienced the small Zilan transport fleet that had used Scaldingport as its unloading base for months, or their human agents¡¯ vessels that made the runs to the Lorian ports further east. For the whole winter shipments had almost stopped, but Federico feared that the Zilan where going to try something else, or just take the bait and attempt to force their way into Jelin using their fleet. For this, or some other apocryphal reason, Cornelius was told to head towards Hissing Corrals Cay and he did. Not a month later, the Lesia mercenaries aboard Judge¡¯s Song clashed with a force of Zilan marines on one of the many atolls in a brutal short scrap that left behind many dead, but no real winner and forced Vice-admiral Cornelius to famously report in a missive that ¡®the southern route is hotly contested sire. We¡¯re going to need a bigger fleet.¡¯ It would lead to a flood of gold coins into his company¡¯s coffers, which realized the admiral¡¯s dream of a private fleet and made L.I.T.C. a force to be reckoned with, but also fueled the rapid development of their direct opponent to counter him. Historically, no one had ever built bigger things than the Zilan and this fact was about to rear its ugly head again in this instance. In this stubborn battle of wits, fabled bravery and big spending -with some noteworthy plundering, the man with the biggest purse and more flexible ethos was to rise above all else. With him, the mighty South Eplas Trading Company (henceforth to be referred to as S.E.T.C.) ascended as well, far beyond what anyone could have ever predicted.
- An hour later Morning of the 8th of Septimus 195 NC 8th Otsea Asta 3401 IC Mid Atoll¡¯s North facing forest rocky edges, Battle of the Hissing Corrals north beach Judge¡¯s Song bombards Pathon¡¯s Marines with shrapnel-shot and flaming balls in order to save Gemeli¡¯s command. Taranir¡¯s ears were bleeding. The ringing in his head unbearable, it came and went at regular intervals. One of the warship¡¯s catapult flaming shots had destroyed one of the warehouses, collapsing its roof and setting the very-dry timber walls on fire. Another had ignited part of the palms forest and had caused burning coconuts to explode one after the other. Pathon who had broken right through the humans earlier, splitting their force in the process, had to pull back as the warship¡¯s volleys spared neither friend, nor foe. Taranir stumbled backwards in the chaos with a lot of humans and other Zilan, who had attempted to find cover near the trees, or the rocky boulders behind the buildings, to protect themselves abandoning the fight momentarily, to pick it up at a safer distance. While the battle was raging on, it was obvious Gemeli¡¯s soldiers had been punched too hard by Pathon¡¯s initial charge and were unable to recover. This doesn¡¯t mean you can¡¯t get killed tonight, the still sporting at least two broken ribs Taranir thought, stopping to eye a Lorian that had stopped not that far from his spot. The human nodded and retreated into the thick smoke coming from the burning warehouse. Sharp screams and loud curses in different dialects, echoed on the plant-covered large rocks, while the sounds of bolts and catapults shot hitting the beach, or bringing down trees inside the forest was constant. The rocky formation was part of a bigger basalt hill that had eroded and shattered in many smaller pieces that allowed in turn bushes and trees to grow between the gaps. The palms had engulfed the about thirty-forty meter in diameter initial single piece of rock, from both its sides. Taranir paused there to get a sense of what was going on, wary of any human soldier venturing his way in the confusion. He had attempted to reach Bonavita at first, but had been forced to retreat, as the marines nearest to Taranir hadn¡¯t followed after the SETC official. Soon after Taranir had been forced to abandon the futile attempt completely, after he briefly spotted the warship approach the shores probably alerted by the lights and the loud noise raised. I should have let the humans walk away from the beach some more and then ambush them, Taranir thought sourly, but he didn¡¯t have enough information initially to make that call. Some centuries back Taranir wouldn¡¯t have hesitated, but this was a still confusing period on what was truly allowed, or not, so early into Garth¡¯s rule. A burning human faltered out of the smoke, the latter mixing with the light mist that hovered over the copse, and then dropped to his knees trying to keep the well-boiled and melting faceskin attached with both his hands. Taranir walked towards him intending to put the man out of his misery, but a beefy Marine walked out of the smokes next, reached the human before Taranir could and speared him through the neck from behind. Some of the spraying blood hissing when it touched the flames, the rest of it splashing all over Taranir¡¯s boots. ¡°Ah,¡± Tylor grunted extracting the spear from the gaping wound and stared at Taranir bemused. ¡°Guess, I just won a bit of coin Calamer¡¯s spawn.¡± Whoa, that¡¯s an old world rebel insult right there, Taranir thought pursing his mouth. ¡°What for?¡± Taranir asked hoarsely and raised his hurting arm to wipe some of the grime from his face. ¡°Some suggested your aristocratic arse might have perished right at the start. Rid the realm from your stench,¡± Tylor replied and Eltaor, his fuck-buddy, came to stand on his left shoulder, a scowl marring his bland face. ¡°But I knew you hadn¡¯t.¡± Oh, gods damn it, Taranir cursed and took a backwards step, as both Marines were armed with spears. A spear and a harpoon to be precise. You sneaky cunts had to act now of all fucking times, just when we are in the middle of another scrap? Then again, what better time than this you fool? He admonished himself. Taranir lodged his tongue behind his front teeth, trying to rid himself from the painful ringing in his ears. The chaos and the pandemonium continued no more than a dozen meters away, right in front of the burning carcass of the warehouse. Lots of fleshier carcasses littering the grounds surrounding it. For such a remote piece of land, right in the middle of nowhere, the atolls have claimed their fair share of souls since they had been discovered. ¡°You think about your next action very carefully now,¡± Taranir warned Tylor who started chuckling, the sound carried towards the trees and the rocks, over the bigger boulders sprouting from the ground behind them, slowly turning into a shrieking cackle that quickly got lost in the general ruckus. Tylor frowned at the strange phenomenon, but recovered immediately upon witnessing Taranir pass the second blade to his free hand. ¡°You don¡¯t move that well Taranir,¡± Eltaor noticed walking sideways and away from Tylor to increase the front Taranir had to cover. ¡°You hide better though don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yeah? In what manner?¡± Taranir taunted, a sweat rivulet dripping down his forehead and stopping at his right eyebrow. Eltaor shrugged his shoulders, made to answer with a smirk and Tylor took his cue to rush Taranir with the bloody spear. Taranir parried the spear thrust away with his shortsword ¨Cone part of his modified clippers- then hacked at the Zilan with the other, but Tylor snapped his torso away with a hiss. Taranir had to retreat as well a couple of steps, in order to keep Eltaor in front of him, grimacing from the still hurting ribs, while a pissed-off Tylor recovered his footing two meters away. ¡°Son a dead bitch,¡± Tylor cursed and Eltaor grinned at that to infuriate Taranir even more. It sort of worked, despite it being obvious, but not because Taranir had opted to charge at them blinded by fury. Taranir hadn¡¯t. He had kept his wits about him, in spite of feeling properly angry at both of them, but failed to realize the full-extend of the ambush before it was too late. Taranir felt the blade tearing at his light leather vest from behind, penetrating under the ribcage and narrowly missing the kidneys mainly because Taranir had somewhat twisted away from it. The tip of the spear did burst out of his right side though in an explosion of blood ¨Cso it was a joke of a blasted dodge in reality- and despite Taranir¡¯s attempt to grab it with the left hand ¨Cdropping his shortsword- it went right out widening the wound. Taranir jumped sideways, leaking like a cracked faucet and landed on a leg in what was a last minute pirouette. He immediately came face to face with the unimpressed Eltaor, who swung the harpoon with a grunt to take his head off, but missed the jerking away Taranir. He faltered backwards, defending against both Marines thrusts, but got sneakily speared through the leg from the coming and going into the smokes third opponent, right below the knee and went down again. Taranir cursed and jerked away from Tylor¡¯s plunging spear that hit the ground he¡¯d occupied just a second before. The sporting multiple injuries Zilan Company official rolled on the dirty ground, long leaves and small pebbles sticking on his sweaty skin and was finally stopped when he attempted to jump to his feet with a vicious kick to the chest. Taranir hit the ground with his back, a fresh splash of blood erupting from his wound, but kept fighting. You can¡¯t just roll up in a ball and die. Taranir slashed low at the approaching Salamir with his shortsword. The recently-promoted officer leaped over the blade to save his ankles and came down hefting the spear with both arms to nail Taranir¡¯s right arm on the ground. The spear¡¯s blade went through Taranir¡¯s forearm cracking the bone with such force it penetrated at least a foot into the soft soil underneath the groaning in pain Zilan. ¡°Give me your spear,¡± Salamir ordered Tylor, but the marine had to defend himself against Shamil¡¯s yelling assault, narrowly saving his leg from the teenager¡¯s swinging axe. ¡°For fuck¡¯s sake, just get rid of the kid!¡± Salamir cursed irate and gave Taranir another kick in the face that bloodied his nose and banged the back of his head on the ground. The skin there opening up as there were plenty of rocks spattered about. Ears ringing, head hurting, blood hissing out of multiple places and the cacophony of the nearby battle mixing with a myriad other sharp sounds ¨Cyelps, screams, groans and even incessant cackling- to create a strange buzz, or clamor. When it rains, it fucking pours and Luthos rolls about chuckling like a mad hare. ¡°Run Sam!¡± Taranir roared hoarsely and Salamir kicked him in the chest again to force the thrashing to get up Zilan official back down. Salamir paused to watch Tylor defend himself against the outmatched teenager, the former hitting Shamil on the head with the shaft after each failed swing and toying with him. ¡°It¡¯s in our nature to hunt intelligent beings,¡± Salamir said hoarsely standing over Taranir and cast his silvery-purple eyes on him. ¡°To suppress it, is unnatural. We will cower to authority for self-preservation, but won¡¯t bow down. You know this, but you¡¯re a hypocrite Taranir. What happened to Glavon? He was on the boat with you.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t make it,¡± Taranir grunted, gulping down blood from his leaking nose. ¡°Lies. The half-breed told us a different story.¡± Salamir dismissed his words, just as Shamil went down with another knock over the head by Tylor. Eltaor approached as well, tossing his harpoon to Salamir, who caught it deftly with one hand and then span it around to use it as a staff. ¡°Let the kid go. He¡¯s no threat,¡± Taranir grunted through bloody teeth. ¡°Eh. The kid is dead,¡± Salamir replied with a grimace while Tylor, three meters behind him, pushed the half-senseless Shamil to his knees. ¡°But I¡¯ll learn what he knows first.¡± ¡°I should have killed you right away like Glavon,¡± Taranir grunted raspingly. ¡°Glavon enjoyed fucking Gish and the exotic human species,¡± Salamir cut him off, pointing the harpoon to Taranir¡¯s gore-covered chest. ¡°As everyone in the unit, he was forced to work like a lowly slave for two centuries, living inside an ancient and leaking ship, without leaves of absence, or even the opportunity to visit a pleasure house, as in a crumbling world all around us, we had the misfortune to survive alongside the navy¡¯s commander.¡± ¡°Fuck you and your cock-sucking buddies?¡± Taranir taunted him, as he¡¯d found a rock with his left hand fingers and was fixing to use it. Salamir stood back with a grimace. ¡°Glavon only wanted to have some fun. You killed him for nothing.¡± ¡°Does that make you sad?¡± Salamir furrowed his thick washed-out blue brows. ¡°Hah. You were always a difficult man for your enemies to corner, but Aurelien wasn¡¯t. She never made it by the way, but she did reach the city after the Fall to help with the sick and injured.¡± The marine told the seething Taranir. ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s sad. She never left with the last of the exiles as Lord Calamer, or yourself, would have hoped, I¡¯m sure. If it¡¯s any consolation, they did toss her body deep in the caves under Rain Minas with the other corpses to keep them company, which was poetic justice in a sense, after all the nasty things the Lord Justice had done for the mad Queen. Good riddance to them both.¡± ¡°Ratline vermin!¡± The frantic Taranir cursed maniacally hefting the rock, but had no good angle to use it and Salamir was about to use the harpoon to finish him off. ¡°Aeson sends his regards,¡± Salamir rustled and grabbed the shaft with both hands to plunge it in the immobilized Taranir¡¯s body. Eltaor grinned right behind him, Shamil stopped rocking back and forth on his knees coming about and Tylor who was standing with a smirk over the dizzy and bleeding teenager disappeared from sight. It was as if the marine had leaped towards the sky and disappeared yelping deathly scared into the smoke cloud hovering over their heads. The sound of wings was heard fleetingly and then a shrieking, bone-chilling cackle reverberated down the misty boulders and the palms, just before Tylor¡¯s screaming body crashed five meters away, breaking apart on as sharp boulder. The marine¡¯s internal organs and blood bursting out of his teared and shattered flesh like the innards of a thrashed egg. ¡°All hells minions!¡± Salamir cursed twisting about and Eltaor stumbled back flabbergasted, eyes ogled at the gruesome sight of his friend¡¯s destroyed body. Taranir kicked Salamir¡¯s shin and then forced himself to roll away, while the marine faltered back a couple of steps. The sound of wings flapping was heard again and Taranir hurled the rock towards Salamir but the marine leader snapped back into action and used the harpoon to swat it away. ¡°Devil¡¯s spawn!¡± Salamir cursed and Eltaor reached with an arm over his shoulder to unsheathe a Kopis he had there, but howled in agony and twirled around grabbing at his now shorter arm. The wound spraying blood violently and starting above the wrist. Everything after it missing. ¡°What is this horror?¡± Eltaor groaned, trying to stop the bleeding and looking about him with gawking eyes. ¡°Mister Taranir?¡± Shamil croaked trying to reach him and the injured Taranir, turned his tensed, bloody face on the teenager and roared like a wounded beast, whilst shoving with both arms the stunned Shamil away. ¡°Get the hell out of here Sam!¡± Shamil was hurled backwards and Salamir¡¯s harpoon missed going wide. Taranir grabbed the staff with slippery hands and they started wrestling for the weapon. ¡°Leave Sam! Get the others!¡± Taranir growled and released the grip on the shaft to use his right hand to stop Salamir from stabbing him with a dagger. The arm was slow to move and mostly useless under the elbow, so Taranir adjusted strategies mid-move realizing he couldn¡¯t block. He heaved the harpoon¡¯s shaft back messing with the growling Salamir¡¯s balance. The dagger found his padded right shoulder, angled sideways to slice him across the face, but Taranir jerked his head away and only lost the lower part of his ear. Rotten luck! Taranir¡¯s fist caught Salamir on the chin and snapped his head back, forcing the marine to let go of the harpoon and retreat several steps. Salamir coughed a bloody tooth out with a grimace and then recoiled much as Taranir did across from him, when Eltaor¡¯s headless body landed between them. Gore, mangled internal organs, torn flesh and bones, along bloody fluids splashing over both shook opponents. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Salamir asked trying to locate the deadly foe hovering over them seemingly. The flapping of wings coming and going, sharp hoarse gasps and that otherworldly very loud shrieking cackle ripping through the normal sounds about them. While the building was still burning, the warship had stopped firing and the sounds of battle had subsided down at the beach, which made the sounds coming from the unseen threat all the more pronounced. Fuck it. The scowled Taranir spat a mouthful of blood down, hoisted the harpoon up and then charged Salamir with it. The marine leader saw the limping Taranir charging from a mile away and pivoted keeping his dagger low with the right hand, whilst reaching for a steel-shafted peleg*, a throwing axe hanging down his left thigh. Taranir angled the tip of his harpoon away from the dagger, but Salamir blocked it with the peleg and pushed it away from his chest. Taranir tried to turn the long weapon inwards with his left arm but he was too-weakened and slow to manage it. Salamir slashed with the dagger almost severing Taranir¡¯s thumb off, forcing the groaning SETC official to let go of the harpoon and jump back with the last of his strength. Taranir landed on buckling legs, the right sporting a leaking hole from a previous injury under the calf and collapsed to his knees with a curse. ¡°Ah,¡± Salamir rustled, eyes zipping right and left to spot the cackling crazed unseen predator. ¡°What¡¯s the deal Taranir?¡± The marine squad leader asked afore he sheathed the dagger and stooped forward to retrieve the harpoon Taranir had dropped. ¡°Is this a nonsensical Griffin nesting about, lost in the fucking lowlands?¡± ¡°Nah,¡± a grimacing Taranir grunted hoarsely, too-injured to think of something clever at this junction. So he just told Salamir the truth. ¡°Just a plaguing Harpy.¡± The standing up holding the harpoon Salamir frowned in deep disbelief, completely missing two monstrous in size, very grotesque and eagle-shaped bird legs lowering over both of his shoulders. The dagger-sized, curved black talons penetrated through the marine¡¯s shoulder armour as they closed in a steely grip, paralyzing both of the screaming Salamir¡¯s arms. Taranir pushed himself upright, gulping down blood and spotted a bewildered Shamil watching the female Harpy lowering herself over the desperately screaming and thrashing his legs Salamir ¨Cthe legs were already a couple of feet from the ground. The still half-hidden in the thick smoke creature used its moving up and down long black and white wings ¨Cattached on her back and shoulders- to hover as she reached with claw-like fingers down to grab Salamir¡¯s head. She then abruptly twisted it around breaking the Zilan¡¯s neck, which silenced him, afore dropping the lifeless body to the ground like a sack of rocks. ¡°You need to get away lad,¡± Taranir said hoarsely to the retreating in panic teenager, the sound of wings flapping slowly heard again as the tall half-avian half-woman touched the ground on two muscular feathered legs that ended in twin monstrous talons. The Harpy turned her head to behold the injured Taranir barely standing three meters away and then the stumbling away towards the beach yelping Shamil. But for her large non-spherical and inflexible black eyes, the Harpy¡¯s round face rivaled that of the most handsome human, or Zilan. If one left aside the wire-like, wild and very dirty hair that is. Her rich black mane cascaded down her shoulders and perky breasts giving a rather favorable illusion of femaleness. Again one had to brush aside the absurdly muscular torso, arms and thighs. Claw-like, deformed legs be damned. She was a head taller than Taranir, who considered a hasty retreat for a brief moment, afore deciding that the creature could beat him in a foot race for sure given his condition and even absent that the winged lass could always use her darn wings. So Taranir dropped to a hurting knee to grab a discarded Kopis covered in pieces of flesh and unidentified gore, the moment the Harpy tipped her head back and let out a shrieking cackle that could get your piss flowing even after a week in the desert without any water. Taranir grabbed the Kopis¡¯ by the hilt with the left hand, but lost it immediately as the fast reacting Harpy half-flew half-dashed towards him in an instant, grabbed the Zilan¡¯s neck and carried him ten meters back in the blink of an eye. Taranir groaned when his abused and injured back hit rough-cut basalt, legs dangling underneath and almost puked feeling the Harpy¡¯s foul breath and stench engulfing him completely. The creature¡¯s horrifying angelic face approached his, lips parting to show large fangs and teeth, a large red, very long tongue unfurling to lick some of the blood dripping from Taranir¡¯s nose. Before his stunned brain could process what was happening, the Harpy¡¯s tongue lapped at his cheeks and bleeding maimed ear making sharp and disconcerting purring sounds. Like notes. She had a nervousness about her, an animalistic aura, but it was the strong smell of carcass and burned eggs that overwhelmed everything else and almost paralyzed the injured Zilan. The Harpy paused sniffing strongly at his neck and face, afore she dropped him. ¡°Nusta o Lyvane,¡± the Harpy said standing above him, the powerful talon-equipped leg hovering over his heaving in the effort to breathe chest threateningly. Imperial. For ¡®you reek of Lyvane.¡¯ As absurd a phrase as one could expect to hear from such an odorous creature. ¡°Who is she?¡± Taranir croaked and the Harpy cackled in a hair-raising tone as if amused, or pleased. Moving awkwardly at first, she then leaped moving her large wings and flew away, only to land near the corpse of Salamir a brief moment later. Using her claws, the Harpy detached the head from the body and extracted a large piece of the bloody spine, under the disturbed, but remarkably under control given the circumstance Taranir¡¯s eyes. The reason for it simple. Of all the things Nevarth had lied in his long life, it turned out this wasn¡¯t one of them. Centuries after Taranir had failed to find the creature described in his father¡¯s tale ¨Cthat had made Nevarth a very famous, very rich Zilan, Taranir was now witnessing this mythical entity with his own eyes. Foul-smelling, sure. A bit more than that probably. Beautiful and grotesque like the bards fantasized. Yep. Full of otherworldly grace and immense power. No question about it. Speaking in a bizarre, but understandable tongue. Now that was a surprise. Sucking the marrow and fluids out of Salamir¡¯s spine. Eh. Forget about that, the dude was a prick. Taranir almost half-yelped half-groaned when the Harpy landed next to him mid-evaluation. She turned her head to look about the sprawled and helpless Zilan energetically, Taranir was losing a lot of blood fast, but she appeared to be looking for something else. She moved spastically searching his things next. The Harpy had to turn her head this way and that constantly, because her eyes were bird-like and almost completely immobile. Finding what she had been looking for, still sniffing at the air, the Harpy ripped Taranir¡¯s leather satchel with her claws trying to open it, paused to look at him awkwardly for a second and then proceeded to ransack the spilled contents, until she discovered the old feather. Ah. ¡°Lyvane,¡± the Harpy said and placed the feather in her gracefully folding forward wing with amazing care. It should have fallen off but it didn''t, which was pretty impressive. Almost as impressive as the color of her naked nipples that were in full display over Taranir¡¯s gawking eyes. A very dark red. Like the richest wine. She made an angry noise to get his attention and then showed him the still leaking bloody spine. Lyvane. I¡¯ll be damned. Had the silver coins hurt her? Pushed her away? Poison her? ¡°Ahm,¡± he murmured unsure and she moved the dripping spine over his chest, the bones rattling at the still attached joints as if in an offering. ¡°You know,¡± Lyvane insisted with a shrieking whirr. She wanted to trade him the leftovers of her meal for the lost feather. In her defense, the marrow is a much-sought after culinary delight and magic ingredient with known healing properties. Taranir did have a healing potion somewhere in the discarded pile, but he could appreciate the gesture. ¡°Sure,¡± Taranir rustled hoarsely in his most sincere voice, almost as scared as aroused, and feeling very vulnerable for the first time since forever. Lyvane let out a singing cackle and stood up with ease. The next moment she flew away towards the mist-covered boulders starting behind them.
- Three hours later Morning of 8th of Septimus 195 NC Pathon stared at the heavily-bandaged, slightly poisoned and feeling sick Taranir with curious eyes. Taranir said nothing to him, but grabbed a shield to sit on with a groan. ¡°This was a fucked up scrap. We have twenty slain marines,¡± Pathon reported gruffly to the grimacing and still nowhere near recovered Taranir. ¡°Salamir, Eltaor and Tylor are missing in action¡ª¡± ¡°They are dead,¡± Taranir grunted hoarsely and signed for the deathly-pale Shamil to approach. ¡°They were working for Aeson. Looking to reestablish his access to the fleet¡¯s crews and convoys. Murder me, given the opportunity.¡± ¡°Aeson?¡± Pathon murmured with a grimace of disbelief. ¡°Are you serious? Did you kill them?¡± ¡°I tried,¡± Taranir retorted, touching his maimed ear with a finger. He couldn¡¯t move his right arm, the leg was a mess and he¡¯d a leaking hole near his stomach. ¡°You¡­ what happened?¡± ¡°The island took them,¡± Taranir rustled and stared at the ogling Shamil until the teenager nodded in agreement. ¡°Yeah, it did.¡± Shamil croaked in a low voice. ¡°It¡¯s true mister Pathon.¡± Pathon rolled his eyes. ¡°Where are they?¡± He asked Taranir. ¡°Gone,¡± Taranir replied. ¡°Food for the local fauna.¡± ¡°The chicken, or the fucking birds? For gods sake Taranir!¡± Pathon snapped angrily, but managed to control himself and whisper. ¡°This isn¡¯t what I signed up for.¡± ¡°Yes you did,¡± Taranir replied soberly and pushed himself upright. ¡°Lanthdor let them go?¡± ¡°He wasn¡¯t expecting a fucking angry galleass parked in the gulf. Half the crew was missing!¡± Pathon retorted in frustration. ¡°At least he got them to stop bombarding us.¡± ¡°How many did they lose?¡± ¡°Over sixty. We lost eleven from the blasted catapults!¡± ¡°We move ahead early on the morrow, but the next convoy needs to be prepared to face even stronger opposition. Two warships per and the company needs to start training its own soldiers,¡± Taranir said and stared at the now free from the smoke and mist distant standing boulders. The peaks visible amidst the tall palm trees. ¡°They are going to wait for us at Turtle Isles!¡± Pathon grunted. ¡°Oh, for fuck¡¯s sake, this is turning even worse than I have imagined!¡± ¡°The Turtle Isles are a pirate haven and controlled by a partner. They won¡¯t risk a fight near hostile waters. They don¡¯t have the strength yet.¡± ¡°How do you know?¡± ¡°If they had more ships they would have sent them,¡± Taranir retorted with a grimace of pain. His stomach was burning. He turned around to walk away with a signal for Shamil to follow him, but Pathon¡¯s query stopped him. ¡°Many people reported strange songs and cries during the scrap Taranir,¡± the 9th Marine unit leader said measuring his words. ¡°Some claimed to have seen a flying woman. Either a Valkyrie, or a plaguing Harpy!¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t they the same thing in some old tales?¡± ¡°I¡¯m serious Taranir!¡± Pathon grunted and then added in a lower voice. ¡°The men are asking questions. Rumors are spreading.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t actually believe that?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve read Nevarth¡¯s stories. Heard him tell it with my own ears!¡± Pathon argued crooking his mouth. ¡°Nevarth was a notorious liar and a crook,¡± Taranir said angrily, the burning in his stomach fierce and his soul hurting. The thought of Aurelien¡¯s fate shoved aside, but threatening to surface and make him lose all control. ¡°Instead of being there to protect his own family, he went about enriching himself and behaving like a cretin.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t this what we do?¡± Pathon asked him. ¡°We don¡¯t even do it for ourselves but follow someone else¡¯s biding, century after century with nothing to show for.¡± ¡°Um,¡± Taranir grunted and limped away towards the stones.
Taranir reached the flat top of the first row of standing rocks, each boulder separated from the next with large, or smaller chasms. You could cross, or leap over them. Some too small for a finger to go through. Others much bigger and cavernous, with narrow passages allowing someone to navigate them to the top. The peaks weren¡¯t all the same height, or size, but the bigger ones stood like crude thick columns, resembling half-cut marble left inside a quarry. He stood at this natural stone carved porch, about twenty meters above the surface and just over some but not all the tall palms extending underneath them. In the distance Taranir could see the waters of the small gulf where Bonavita¡¯s warship had moored and behind him, through a vertical split in the rock, the light blue waters of the lagoon, where the atoll¡¯s copse ended. Taranir stared at the strange shapes the crumbling rocks had taken all about him. Some still attached to the bigger boulders, others sporting clear cracks, but still remaining upright, in groups, or by themselves. Whatever had moved and cracked the rocks eons back, wasn¡¯t there anymore. Another earthquake might change their shape again perhaps. The rocks won¡¯t move, Nevarth had told him, centuries back inside the Imperial dungeons. But the smell shall guide you, if you know what to search for. Taranir sniffed at the clear air. He did it again closing his eyes to concentrate and immediately discerned the faint smell of burned wood from the warehouse. The Lake¡¯s aroma and the rising stench of the many corpses that had started bloating at the beach. Underneath it all the putrid odor of burned eggs. Taranir opened his eyes and followed the smell, limping to the edge of the natural porch, where the second row of boulders started. At first he wasn¡¯t sure what he was looking at, but then Taranir¡¯s eyes started making out the carved figure that had attached itself at the protruding lip of a narrow crevice, about two meters away from the edge of the porch and directly over the sharp drop underneath. A crude effigy somehow balanced, created by weathering and erosion to resemble a cocooned figure. The smell stronger here, despite the morning breeze blasting at the east face of the rock formation. ¡°Mister Taranir,¡± Shamil said worried. ¡°You¡¯re standing too close to the edge.¡± ¡°And yet there are creatures standing even closer,¡± Taranir murmured and stepped back, afore turning to look at the sullen Shamil. ¡°Noble blood doesn¡¯t secure you a good life Shamil. Your deeds will. Station might appear to make it easier to your eyes, but a poor soul can carve its own path, as successful as any of them. He just needs to keep on trying stubbornly and never let go of the big picture. Yeah. A noble bloodline can be as much trouble as it is a blessing.¡± ¡°We need to tell Pathon about what happened,¡± Shamil said crooking his mouth and looking nervously above his head for the Harpy. She was right there, in front of him and yet he couldn¡¯t see her. The realm is full of mysteries. ¡°I don¡¯t trust him fully yet,¡± Taranir replied. ¡°We have a dilemma here Shamil. Luvon asked me to ¡®have a look in the fleet for any irregularities¡¯, knowing full well that I would find something.¡± ¡°He set you up?¡± ¡°Perhaps. Then again, I could have stayed quiet. Allow them to reveal themselves.¡± Maybe Luvon wanted me to find out. This is a new administration. Nobody wants nasty surprises and Hardir is a very volatile ruler. It could be self-preservation. It could also mean that Luvon knew about Aeson all those years back and lied to Helven. Or did he? ¡°Why didn¡¯t you?¡± Taranir grimaced. ¡°I couldn¡¯t let them go through with it. I knew how it would end. Everyone is looking for something, is guilty of one thing, or another. The weak have no one to speak for them and are eaten up. Intelligent creatures know right from wrong and can cultivate their nature, but they are also prone to lying if they can get something out of it.¡± ¡°Are there more of them?¡± ¡°Everyone is potentially involved, but the real bad apples are not as many. Crime needs trust and this takes time to build up. The Cofols,¡± Taranir sighed and stared at the petrified figure trying to find Lyvane¡¯s face in the rock but failing. It was as if her wings had folded over her head and body, turning the Harpy into real stone. ¡°And some Zilan¡­ like having slaves. For different reasons. Economic, vanity, the need to be worshipped when your station, or deeds aren¡¯t so noteworthy.¡± ¡°I grew up in this culture mister Taranir,¡± Shamil said. ¡°Sam of the Desert tribes,¡± Taranir murmured and rubbed his face. ¡°Stay noble as much as you can lad. Sometimes you have to fight your own blood for it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not difficult to see right from wrong¡­ most of the times,¡± Shamil said thoughtfully. ¡°Is this ratline dealing with slaves only?¡± ¡°It deals in everything. Slaves, man hunting, a discreet provider for flesh, or weapons. Even magic potions. Where there¡¯s a need, even if the laws forbid it, there¡¯ll be a market. It is a big business Sam, because everyone is looking for something.¡± ¡°What are you looking for?¡± Shamil asked all serious. ¡°I have my grandfather¡¯s blood in me. A man of law and justice that killed a lot of people following the orders of Monarchs, or stripped them from their station. My mother¡¯s, who loved gathering herbs and watch plants grow. Spent her life cultivating, making potions and helping people. I like to pretend I¡¯m a bit of both.¡± ¡°My father was a goat herder. One day the herd came back without him,¡± Shamil said nodding sadly. ¡°But my mother grows stuff in the garden too. You can take the best from each one I guess and be the better version.¡± Taranir frowned not expecting so solid an advice from the human and stared at the teenager confused. ¡°I take after my father alas.¡± ¡°What kind of a man was he?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve no idea, rarely met the scoundrel growing up, but always believed everything he said was a darn lie.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°He lied to my mother aplenty,¡± Taranir replied with a nervous grimace. ¡°But not all his stories were false. I guess not all monsters are truly evil, all the time.¡± ¡°Um. What are we doing here mister Taranir? It¡¯ll be for the better if we returned to the ships, I think,¡± Shamil offered with a coy smile. Taranir glanced a last time at the frozen in time figure of the petrified Harpy. He¡¯d no idea how their bodies worked, if this was a hibernation of sorts disturbed by the bombardment, whether she would wake up again, or in how many years later. Centuries. Maybe the atoll trapped her here to keep company to all the other corpses just like my mother. A carcass of stone to watch over the others. Or maybe they just have cycles like all other beasts back on Eplas. He cracked a bitter smile at that rather common Zilan belief. If she¡¯s a bloodthirsty beast, then what are we? ¡°I smelled of Lyvane,¡± Taranir said hoarsely and gave a nod to the strange creature that had saved his life, even if it was an accident. They all want to see the distant unknown and the realms exotic, ancient sown mysteries, Nevarth¡¯s voice explained in his head. But their deep-rooted fear of what life made different won¡¯t let them. It holds them back and makes them bitter. They¡¯ll pay for an entertaining story, laugh at its heroes and hate its villains. Sing, talk, or criticize the creatures of the lands beyond, but they¡¯ll never step in their shoes, or ever truly love them. ¡°And now I know.¡± 529. Oras Own & the Circle’s lost children | Prelude (1/3)
Larn Tir Ral-Nor* ¡®Dar¡¯ Eherdir O¡¯ Lome** Fae O¡¯ Elum*** Fifth Servant of the Circle Oras Own & the Circle¡¯s lost children | Prelude (1/3) -Jinx¡¯s Place-
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*Archaic term in the Witch Tongue of Cydonia Cazan for an Elderblood¡¯s loyal lifelong household guardian, or a ¡®Domain¡¯s Enduring Servant¡¯ commonly called ¡®a Ralnor¡¯ in Imperial Common. The latter also used as a name on very rare occasions for pets, or people. **Dar (lingering Lord, the first in a group) usually prefix for a moniker in the assassins guilds. E-herdir (the master, herdsman in Common) Lome (shadows, shades). Here ¡®the Lord Master of Shades¡¯. ***Fae (Spirit, fairy-like also fey). Elum (twilight, dimlight, alternative newer spelling of L-Ome, or half-light). Here it translates ¡®the Spirit of Twilight¡¯. - Toutatis had attacked those dropped mature mango''s with a crazed desperation, shoving fruit, leaves and dirt in his mouth. Dogs had better eating manners than him, but then again Toutatis had lived as many days inside a home as a common street dog. Exactly none. Dar, the old stallion, despite being of nobler origins having been raised inside prince Radin¡¯s stables, had done the same for the grass growing next to the raised sides of the granite-tiled road leading towards East Goras. Well, what had been East Goras once upon a time, but was no more. Both the cultured horse and the uncouth teenager would have bowel problems afore going to sleep. Whether there was a lesson to be learned here, deeper in meaning, Ralnor didn¡¯t know and didn¡¯t particularly care to find out. Uhm. Ralnor pressed a dried-up cube of flesh inside his mouth and worked it with his tongue to allow saliva to liven the taste. His eyes watching Zilan and Human of all ethnicities using the repaired Imperial road coming from the ruins of Mussel. The shade cool on his skin despite the burning sun over their heads. Some of the clouds that were there in the morning had retreated and the news coming about the fight that had erupted after they had left Mussel, auspicious for the locals. Either that or they are in early carnival mood. On heavy drugs, the second best possible guess. One didn¡¯t preclude the other obviously. He worked the raised hood lower to shade his already shaded face even more and whistled sharply for Dar to stop eating near the poisonous bracken fern. The whistle made a keen-eared Zilan driving a cart drawn by an Ostrich on the road, turn his stupid head to look at the almost invisible pair of travelers. Curious mother-fucking phallus pleaser. Ralnor had kept a loaded crossbow hanging from the side hook of his harness ¨Ca bloody dangerous thing to carry on you- and thought of dropping the curious Zilan with a bolt in the face. An easy shot to make with less than twenty meters of distance between them. The thought very-temping given his almost empty of flesh-cubes bag. The absence of coin after getting robbed blind by the Eikenport merchant smuggler for a spot in his ship making the prospect of turning vegan alike a farting cow, a very big and disturbing possibility. Got to drag him by a foot behind them trees and then cut him up fast. Yeah. Ten minute job. Earn that cart and ostrich in the bargain also. Hmm. Then he spotted another group of mouth-breathers rolling down the large road from the direction of Goras ¨Cthey didn¡¯t look like the religious type to come from the Temple district- and reluctantly decided to spare the curious cretin. While he¡¯d done a bit of killing since they had stepped foot on Wetull, Ralnor was warry of the strict laws that had kicked a lot of folk out of the empire initially and the skill of the Zilan authorities to punish those misbehaving. Assuming that cretin Garth hasn¡¯t reversed Baltoris¡¯ policies. That would be a riot for sure. The loud group of humans and their animals kept talking with themselves, missing the half-hidden under the trees thick shade glowering Ralnor completely. The veteran assassin turned to admonish Toutatis, but saw the teenager standing with his mouth open, fruit pieces dropping on his dirty cloak and sole eye as large as a saucer, looking at the heavens above them. Ralnor twisted around tensed, the noise of the travelers using the large road stopping abruptly and the wyvern¡¯s cry blasting across the sky. RRRREEEE! Followed by the large shadow that flew over the paused to watch the beast colorful crowd, arms pointing and gasping with awe. Each offering their own breakdown on the wyvern¡¯s speed and size, but everyone agreeing that was the Monarch returning to Taras. What these apes now called Goras apparently. ¡°Was that the wyvern?¡± Toutatis asked, whilst trying to clean some of the mess from the front of his cloak and tunic. ¡°What else could it be? A very fat vulture?¡± Ralnor grunted and went to drag Dar away from the dangerous local grass. ¡°Aren¡¯t you curious?¡± He guided the horse away using the hanging reins without answering the awed Toutatis. The teenager seeing him serious, sobered up himself as he habitually did and assumed a suspicious expression. ¡°You think he knows?¡± Toutatis asked and Ralnor grabbed his shoulder to guide him as well towards the road. They needed to resume their journey. You can never be certain with him, Ralnor thought sourly. But the answer here is a resounding¡­ no blasted way. Unless some punk deity, or other, got involved again some-fucking-how. ¡°Lithoniela is aware that she needs to keep her mouth shut,¡± Ralnor replied although he hated small-talk out in the open. Well, no one really bothered to look their way. A guy with a boy and an old horse wasn¡¯t much of a spectacle for the Zilan and the humans were easily distracted, or equally indifferent given they had just seen a wyvern fly over their heads. ¡°Ael is experienced enough to avoid trouble, if she doesn¡¯t get too distracted.¡± Which is almost a guarantee, but one can hope for a miracle. ¡°No one can see through her disguise,¡± Toutatis assured him and Ralnor crooked the corner of his mouth in a grimace of despair after that strong show of support. You get your plan endorsed by a kid that grazed grass a moment ago, you are in trouble. Or thoroughly fucked. Though with the waywardness of their group with the addition of that Gish, the latter was a sure thing, much to Ralnor¡¯s chagrin. Without an answer he kept walking whilst chewing at the salty meat, keeping a suspicious eye out for anyone too-curious passing them by on the busy road, but soon realized no one was. Nothing more dangerous than believing you¡¯re in the clear, especially at this junction, Ralnor thought and glared at the stumbling about distracted Toutatis. The teenager had been in a perpetual state of awe since they had arrived in Wetull. Every piece of old stone, flora, or fauna was interesting to him. The Zilan were walking miracles worthy of long gazes and the same went for every ruined temple, or piece of ancient architecture they had encountered. The fact that Dar had been too-weakened by the long trip to take their weight, had made them travel very slowly on foot. The horse was getting too-old for the job. Ralnor knew that Wetull¡¯s wilderness would be the last ground Dar would traverse with him and that the horse would never leave the restored kingdom. Eh. Not easy finding a good horse and after so many years it is like saying goodbye to a family member. The conflict had messed up his plans to move fast. You can¡¯t move at all with army blocking the roads. Humans and blasted Imperial Hoplites of all darn things! Not to mention that grotesquely-afflicted bastard Dar Lingos, popping out of Luthos¡¯ arse in front of us. Oras Hells! The latter a solid reminder of how precarious their position really was. A lot of old faces are roaming about the old country, Ralnor mused, his mind on the notorious Thieves Guild leader that was still breathing, and we are following the young princess¡¯ plan, as of course Aelrindel had to go along with it. Leaving aside Tout¡¯s endorsement that added nothing and the unknown ability of the former princess to hatch a good plan ¨Ccouldn¡¯t be great given how they had handled Gimoss and the Aken with Zil-, the witch herself was a renowned walking-gaffe that kept on failing upwards into higher stakes. Of the very many of Aelrindel¡¯s grand schemes ¨Cin their silliness- through the centuries Ralnor was privy of, none had worked in the least. The reason for it simple. None of her mother¡¯s many friends wanted to break the new orphan¡¯s heart initially, or later had the wherewithal to face the talented, but completely self-absorbed sorceress¡¯ well-documented and frequent outbursts of wrath. We need to hire a learned priest to bribe one of the big gods, or two of the lesser ones and bring them to our side. But that¡¯s probably a horrible idea that won¡¯t work. Even if it was feasible. ¡°Who is Hardir O¡¯ Fardor? The women called him thus once,¡± Toutatis asked stooping to catch a grasshopper that leaped away from his hand. ¡°Damn it.¡± ¡°The name was mentioned in one of Sintoriela¡¯s written prophetic verses.¡± Ralnor replied. ¡°Since no respected Clairvoyant would ever risk to reveal a real name for fear of making a fool of themselves, it means someone with the fancy moniker had appeared in many futures and visions. Aye, like a very bad rash, or a recurring typhus pandemic. Don¡¯t ask me to explain it further, because that is what I was told and don¡¯t really understand it, or give it any credence.¡± Had I taken the egg from him, or killed that scoundrel someone else could be on the throne. Not me. I ain¡¯t risking climbing on top of a wyvern. Then again, the fact he managed it shows balls and that¡¯s not easy to find. ¡°Who is she? The Seer?¡± Eh? Oh, he wants to talk some more. Good grief. ¡°Ael¡¯s grandmother,¡± Ralnor replied stiffly. ¡°She was ancient history afore I popped out into this world. Never met her. Member of the pre-imperial coven of witches. Alongside names such as Eroshin ¡®The Green Mage¡¯ and Nororis ¡®The Blue¡¯ the previous iteration of Gimoss killed in the Plague Isles, if the stories are to be believed.¡± ¡°Are all sorcerers in a Coven?¡± What¡¯s this malarkey? Is he preparing to give a history exam? ¡°Not everyone is. Kallister and Dudrina weren¡¯t,¡± Ralnor replied gruffly. He then crooked his mouth stubbornly and decided to talk no more until nightfall.
Two days later they reached the Temple District, went past Nesande¡¯s Pyramid complex and the slowly rebuilding ruins of the Den. The crews working there under several young Zilan disciples, some wearing the nature-colored robes of the Goddess, which was a pleasant surprise, but most clad in the dark crimson robes of Eodrass, which wasn¡¯t. These fresh fanatics almost as crazy-eyed as the ones they had replaced. All we need now is to see Feyras popping out of the woodwork, foaming at the mouth and swinging his staff about, Ralnor thought sourly and paused to watch an enthusiastic acolyte yelling whilst hoisting with both hands a large round, dirt and rust covered heavy-looking rock over his head, near some of the excavated ruins. ¡°Behold the Winged God¡¯s sign on the Moon of the Monarch¡¯s triumph!¡± The Zilan roared and several of the robed bystanders genuflected before the petrified massive egg apparently. More dark-green in color than black, or brown. ¡°Stand humbled before his might, or turn to ash and melt in eternal damnation alike the Sinya Nore at Mussel!¡± ¡°Kneel afore the Eodrass offspring returned from the earth!¡± Another cried out with veins popping on his neck, addressing several humans using the road before the Den that had paused to watch the acolytes¡¯ shenanigans.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Most bowed their head to the piece of round rock the disciple wielded and those that didn¡¯t were threatened with sticks to comply. Most did but the acolyte walking up to Ralnor was tripped up from the sneaky Toutatis, stumbled forward with a yelp onto the scowled assassin, who slapped the stick out of the young Zilan¡¯s hand casually. Ralnor caught the stick with his left hand and tapped the Zilan on the forehead with it once, afore returning it, whilst Toutatis helped the faltering acolyte to his feet. ¡°Eodrass watches all, remembers all,¡± the Zilan croaked, blinking dazed. ¡°And Hardir O¡¯ Fardor¡­ is the instrument of his vengeance!¡± He yelped recovering from the near fall. ¡°All hail King Garth, the Aniculo Rokae of tales past,¡± Ralnor retorted mockingly and the Zilan nodded a little confused at what had just happened. ¡°Ah¡­ you look strange. Are you a half-breed?¡± The disciple asked, because being very rude and condescending was considered stylish by the Zilan living in the cities, even those Zilan that had just moved in from the nearby jungles. ¡°Your skin color is funny traveler.¡± No shit. Ralnor¡¯s real skin tone was more an ashen grey than black, but he¡¯d enough dirt and dried up mud currently on him, mainly from traveling for several weeks, to easily pass for an Issir by this point. Nothing a good downpour couldn¡¯t fix. ¡°A quarter of me is Mori-Zilan, the rest a blend of better blood,¡± Ralnor retorted. ¡°You have some in you as well, but alas it ain¡¯t the good stuff.¡± The Zilan furrowed his dark-blue brows at the comeback, under Ralnor¡¯s unfazed stare. ¡°I¡¯m a citizen of Taras,¡± he started after clearing his throat, but never got the chance to finish. ¡°Can you spare some food, or a gold coin?¡± The one-eyed Toutatis rudely interrupted the grimacing disciple pulling at his robes with one hand and searching his pockets with the other. The Eodrass disciple shook his head negatively, slapped the kid¡¯s hand away and then stood undecided for a moment. When the moment was over the Zilan decided to slowly retreat away from the hooded unlikely pair, but casted a last look at both them before he rejoined his friends. ¡°Anything?¡± Ralnor asked the teenager standing next to him. Toutatis had worked a dirty finger under his eye-patch to scratch at the covered part of his ruined eye-socket. ¡°Some keys,¡± Toutatis replied with a tight puckering of his lips. ¡°No purse.¡± ¡°We need to look for anything edible on the road,¡± Ralnor said sporting a similar mannerism as the mostly copying him teenager. ¡°They might be some good game nearer to Taras.¡± ¡°Is it allowed though?¡± Toutatis queried with a shit-eating grin at the possibility of a good meal and moved the stolen keys he¡¯d gotten from the Zilan disciple into his patched-up large haversack. The kid was as talented a thief, as he was an assassin. Unfortunately for him Ralnor only knew of one trade. ¡°We are not going to ask,¡± Ralnor retorted and watched the small sober procession of disciples marching with the egg towards a repaired old building they used as warehouse. Less than four hundred meters to their south, Nesande¡¯s Temple disciples worked their little fields and neat ever-expanding gardens humming pleasant hymns. The visitors stopping there voluntarily and with much more enthusiasm than what they had earlier. Eodrass had a much bigger temple across the gulf to the west and behind Vermilion¡¯s Peak, but Ralnor decided the visitors seeking a visit to Nesande did it for the temple¡¯s always much sought-after wine, hospitality, as well as the better preserved massive pyramid readily available ¨Cat least in comparison to the ruins surrounding the Den Eodrass offered here. Nevertheless, sometimes a big smile can also bring more customers in. Religion is much-like any other business if one stripped any spirituality out of it. Of course, the fear of beastly retribution had worked as well for Eodrass¡¯ acolytes and they saw no need to change their ways. - Late night 30th of Lunden Lotea* 3401 IC (Moon or ¡®Month of full blossom¡¯, Lorian month Quintus, 5th month of the year) Last day of spring and a day before the first Valimae Lilt of 195 Taras ¡°Look at the sun,¡± Toutatis said standing in the middle of the dark road and looking to the north. ¡°Rising over the towers.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not the sun,¡± Ralnor replied and patted Dar¡¯s hindquarters once to get him going. ¡°These are lights from the city as seen from afar.¡± ¡°Ugh? Didn¡¯t you say these ruins were the city?¡± Tout retorted and glanced back. ¡°For some reason they built outside the walls.¡± ¡°Maybe because there are no walls left?¡± Ralnor grabbed the teenager by the nape and forced him to start walking again. ¡°We need to enter before the night is over.¡± ¡°You think they might guard the place?¡± ¡°I have no idea. Stop talking.¡± Toutatis sighed and then twisted to escape Ralnor¡¯s grip with a chuckle. ¡°It¡¯s a wondrous spectacle. Have you seen anything like this before?¡± ¡°I have,¡± Ralnor grunted, his ears alert to any sound coming from the jungle west of the road, or from the well-preserved estates built on the incline of Favored Heights directly to their east. He paused before a new stone sign filled with capital letters near the junction.
SINYA GORAS PORT -TO THE EAST. (Follow Black arrow) in black letters. TARAS DISTRICT AND MORN TARAS CASTLE¨CTO THE NORTH. (Follow Red Arrow) in red letters.
The drawn arrows next to the words for the illiterate and a note scribbled under the Taras instructions in bold underlined letters. Visitors are strongly advised to seek official permit for passage through, or find accommodation within twenty-four hours. Unregistered persons, or non-citizens, shall be fined for prolonged stay inside the city proper. And below it, stuck on a nail, a large papyrus with fresher instructions, but written in smaller letters. During the festival there are no rooms available. Careless visitors are advised to camp outside the city and use their own supplies. Do not hunt, or camp, in the Monarch¡¯s forest, or near the palace and the army¡¯s headquarters. Do not hunt, or camp, near the Temple grounds, or near the old City Ruins. The east shores of Lake Taras are off limits to everyone. Do not hunt, fish, or approach Sen¡¯s Lake without permission from the Palace. Do not hunt down Taras citizens, or otherwise harm them, for any reason. This includes capturing them in order to sell for coin, use as pets, or for personal nourishment even when religiously allowed, without the Monarch¡¯s, or Lord Shield¡¯s express permission. If those wishing to celebrate Valimae Lilt, haven¡¯t arranged for lodgings in advance, they shall be fined heavily, or arrested by a local magister upon inspection. Staying in Taras¡¯ jails is not free of charge and repeat offenders might be forced eventually to work for the Monarch until the debt is paid, or different arrangements are agreed upon. And with much smaller, tiny almost letters even eagle-eyed Zilan needed glasses to read. Walking at night outside the city¡¯s lights is dangerous, as it is also the king¡¯s Wyvern favorite feeding period and free personal time. Proceeding with extra caution is advised and this announcement absolves the Throne of any reparations, or blame, for any likely unpleasantness. You¡¯ve been warned. ¡°What does it say?¡± Toutatis asked and Ralnor¡¯s face contorted from a nervous tick, he managed to get under control. ¡°Hey.¡± Ralnor pursed his mouth and stared at the gap between the two towers and the repaired, but smaller in size gatehouse there. ¡°Someone is lacking manpower.¡± ¡°How do you know?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve read similar hogwash in the past,¡± Ralnor retorted. ¡°But nothing even comes close to this. If you resolve to threats, then you just don¡¯t have the men needed to control the crowds.¡± ¡°Maybe the crowds are too big?¡± Ralnor grimaced not believing it, but hours later they had to stop just after the checkpoint, as despite the late hour, Taras¡¯ lit up streets and taverns were packed with people, even as far as the more silent Inner Side Neighborhood near the old wall ruins. A patrol appeared every half an hour or so, and much more frequent the deeper they walked inside the buzzing newly built city. Taras had been constructed near the summer lake estates of the rich Zilan of Goras, even incorporating the majority of them into its center. It hugged the Lake¡¯s south and west shores and had expanded mostly south towards the Old Walls and the two towers, with military barracks apparently taking over the west side, while the unseen Tenebrous Castle had taken over the once lush green plateau west of the Eternal Springs. Four times they had been stopped for papers and allowed to go on mostly because Ralnor told them they had served as scouts with the Monarch in Greenwhale Peninsula and were just now returning to Wetull after years in exile, hearing of the general amnesty. The haphazardly concocted lie had surprisingly found accommodating ears with a Zilan city guard officer, who then suggested to them to use the Phalanx¡¯s barracks for free as they were mostly empty and frequently helped out visiting army veterans. Yeah sure. Ralnor thanked them, although he wasn¡¯t going to willingly visit the Phalanx¡¯s camp anytime soon, mainly because he wasn¡¯t an idiot to fall into such an obvious trap. ¡°Maybe he was sincere,¡± Toutatis noted as they were both standing outside a jam-packed tavern that had been fined twice already for ¡®loud noise¡¯ by a Zilan neighbor living across the street and visible on his veranda. The guards had come all serious forcing the musicians to stop playing, talked with the owner briefly, fined the venue, or got heavily-bribed and then left. ¡°Why are you doing that for Hagwin?¡± A Zilan standing right under smoking a pipe, asked the one on the veranda. ¡°You like music.¡± ¡°True,¡± Hagwin replied smugly and flipped an hourglass he¡¯d on a short table next to him in order to start over. Probably had it to call on the guards once more, when the sand inside the vial eventually runs out again. ¡°But I like busting Lothirior¡¯s balls even more, for bedding Deulara behind my back in 92.¡± ¡°Was it back in 3092? Time flies for sure ha-ha. Here they go again them drunken rascals,¡± the other Zilan guffawed slapping a palm on his thigh, when the music started playing again. One after the other the three taverns in close proximity that hadn¡¯t been bothered by the authorities, but were forced to stop playing just the same, started liven it up as well. ¡°2092,¡± Hagwin spat and made a lewd gesture at a peeved Lothirior that stood outside the doors of his tavern to glare at his vengeful neighbor. ¡°But the wound is still fresh.¡± ¡°Wasn¡¯t she his mate though? Poor thing.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care,¡± Hagwin retorted. ¡°I saw her first.¡± Ralnor turned around to walk across and enter the market, but had to pause to grab Toutatis, who stood and stared open-mouthed at a long-legged semi-nude, painted and very sweaty, Zilan female exit the tavern to catch her breath. Even Ralnor had to steal a glance, as he hadn¡¯t seen so many of his species gathered in one place since he¡¯d departed Neil Dan decades ago and Dan was a very cold place for everyone to walk about naked, but for the hot-blooded witches. ¡°When I grow up,¡± Toutatis declared all-serious and a chubby Mori-Zilan of all things walking past them, followed by a wiry armed Zilan goon, paused to hear his words. ¡°I¡¯ll marry a Zilan lass.¡± ¡°Ha-ha,¡± the well-dressed Zilan guffawed and flicked a gold coin to the stunned Toutatis, but not stunned enough not to snatch the coin out of the air like a striking viper. ¡°You¡¯re a brave little kid, bless your soul. There, go take a bite at her on me. Make it count.¡± ¡°Skill is more important than bravery and I rather keep yer coin to get food,¡± Toutatis retorted making Ralnor proud and brought the gold coin to his mouth. He gave it a bite with his front teeth to check on it, under the stranger¡¯s amused scrutiny and satisfied got his leather purse out ¨Cnow empty- to toss it inside. The stranger shook his head impressed and then walked away towards the tavern owner. He stopped to listen to the respectful Zilan¡¯s complaints with attentive ears, while gesturing for the Zilan lass to come near. Ralnor watched the scene unfold, his maimed ears too far away to catch any parts of the hushed conversation that followed between the two and his eyes veering towards the abandoned market stands, where another unlikely couple of Mori-Zilan had materialized behind an empty watermelon stand to spy on the taverns discreetly. The taller male, Ralnor immediately recognized. Eight. ¡°Hmm,¡± he murmured and led Toutatis inside a dark alley, where they had parked Dar. ¡°Two hours of rest on the saddle,¡± he told the teenager. ¡°I¡¯ll watch for any guards approaching.¡± ¡°Where is the Gish¡¯s home?¡± Toutatis asked with a nod. ¡°This sounds just absolutely ridiculous,¡± Ralnor hissed shaking his hooded shaven head. ¡°Then again, given what we¡¯ve been witnessing lately, it might not be as far-fetched as it sounds.¡± ¡°You could¡¯ve just said that you don¡¯t know Larn,¡± the now atop the large horse Toutatis retorted sarcastically and then closed his eye to sleep upright. -
Dum-dum Ba da bum! Fiends screams in the night! A startled Ralnor thought snapping out of his stupor at the dissonant sound of the drunken female voice and lost the handle on his drawn shortsword that bounced on his chest afore it dropped towards the paved cobblestone of the dark alley. ¡°Rocks, floods. Loud ¡®n uncouth illicit gains,¡± the girl continued singing from the exit of the alley, whilst Ralnor¡¯s right arm snapped downwards to catch the shortsword a hair before it clanged on the ground. ¡°What?¡± The strangely familiar ¨Cvery annoying voice- queried drunkenly in a festive mood. ¡°For she came down the muddy aisles. Oh, ye sweet lass¡­¡± ¡°Goddess you¡¯re so loud,¡± another female protested in between muffled sounds of dubious origin. Ralnor crept out of the shades into the lit up portion of the alley ¨Cthe sun had come up while he was sleeping- and spotted Toutatis standing behind the horse two meters in front of him. ¡°That so? Ye think yer not? What if I pinch yer pissing button?¡± Oras Hells! ¡°Drool, damn it!¡± The female squeaked and Ralnor came to stand next to the absorbed teenager watching the scene unfold at the edge of the alley, meters from the open square before the market, where the taverns were. ¡°Oh¡­ oii!¡± ¡°It¡¯s in. I wiggle it up, curve the tip, then move the finger sideways¡ª¡± ¡°Stop please! Eeeh!¡± ¡°Do that sound again,¡± the familiar voice ordered her friend. ¡°The Gish has a Zilan girlfriend,¡± Toutatis told Ralnor without looking away from the entangled on one wall of the alley pair, with Jinx having a good part of her arm inside the pants of a tall Zilan female, wearing a ranger¡¯s armour. ¡°They are doing some weird shit.¡± Ralnor licked his lips numbly, whilst the taller female begged the Gish to continue her ministrations. ¡°Go get the horse out of the alley the other way,¡± he ordered Tout who frowned heavily. ¡°We found them no?¡± The teenager argued. ¡°YES!¡± The Zilan gasped hoarsely in orgasmic bliss, or pissing down Jinx¡¯s arm and a Cofol strolling by on the other side of the alley paused abruptly to watch them with gawking eyes. The next moment the hapless bystander plunged for the square¡¯s stone tiles headfirst, when a Zilan reading a festival program crashed on him with a loud curse. ¡°Move your feet,¡± Ralnor grunted and Toutatis started moving at last, but walking a little funny. As for the two lovers they had stopped to stare at the two cursing gods and demons citizens ¨Cthe Zilan and the Cofol- slowly standing up from the ground. The Cofol sported a red welt on his forehead and looked worse for wear. ¡°Race ye to the place. The loser sucks the other¡¯s big toe and cooks breakfast!¡± Jinx taunted the flushed, still buttoning the loose front of her pants fit Zilan and then sprinted out of the alley without waiting for her partner. She stumbled still under the influence, arms and legs flaying every which way and went straight for the pair helping each other up. The two males screamed in terror seeing the pink wrecking ball heading straight for them, but Jinx found her footing just in time to leap over them, flip twice in the air alike a circus acrobat and land on her bottom -completely misjudging the last part of her impressive somersault. The bone-crashing thud was followed by a loud screeching roar of blinding pain that made even the stoic Ralnor flinch. ¡°FUCK ME TITS! RIGHT ON THE BLOOMIN¡¯ TAIL!¡± The Zilan reached her a moment later to help the grimacing Gish up and then they both run fast hunted by the two stunned citizens for a while. It turned out that neither the hurt Cofol, nor the limping Zilan, could keep up with the inebriated, indecent, but very agile and fast females. Ralnor though could. 530. Oras Own & the Circle’s lost children | Prelude (2/3)
Larn Tir Ral-Nor ¡®Dar¡¯ Eherdir O¡¯ Lome Fae O¡¯ Elum Fifth Servant of the Circle Oras Own & the Circle¡¯s lost children | Prelude (2/3) -A glittering reflection-
¡°Let the old ugly priest in,¡± Inis-Mir ordered the expecting Sir Qildor, the hidden behind the armchair small golden wyvern burped toppling backwards in the attempt to swallow the bloody foot of the rabbit and the gaunt Feyras entered her quarters. The ancient High Priest of Eodrass planted his staff down and bowed his head to the much shorter princess that made two small strides on the soft carpet to approach him, before she stopped amused. ¡°You reek Feyras,¡± she told him scrunching her nose. ¡°And your robes are dirty.¡± ¡°Alas the God¡¯s disciples live in the streets your grace,¡± Feyras replied. ¡°Striving to gather support and extract funds to rebuild the God¡¯s temple.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t the Den almost finished?¡± Inis-Mir asked in a more light-hearted manner. ¡°Priest Voldomir controls the grounds your grace, but left the small temples to the other gods wither away and crumble into ruins. I was talking about the grand temple to Eodrass in Chimera¡¯s Mouth gulf though.¡± You think I do not know that? EARRUR! Feyras paused upon hearing Qodras¡¯ whirr and furrowed his wild eyebrows. His eyes searched the princess¡¯ lavish bedchamber for the source and then returned to the young girl¡¯s face. ¡°You went to see the old Princess,¡± Inis-Mir said now in a much harsher tone and Feyras blinked not expecting the abrupt change in her demeanor. ¡°What did she say?¡± ¡°I visited the Princess¡¯ Tower per protocol,¡± Feyras started before stopping again as he spotted Qodras¡¯ little silhouette faltering out of his hiding place. The wyvern had trouble walking on the soft carpet. ¡°God is great and his kin are multiplying,¡± the wild-eyed priest cried and dropped to his bony knees afore the approaching baby wyvern, his staff clattering on the ground. ¡°There is no protocol for her in our palace,¡± Inis-Mir hissed and placed her small foot on the genuflected priest¡¯s head in order to press his forehead on the carpet. ¡°For she stays there with our tolerance and in the company of disfigured cats.¡± ¡°The egg hatched!¡± Feyras was heard saying in a muffled voice filled with reverence. ¡°Praised be the Winged God!¡± ¡°There is no temple to the god, lest it¡¯s dedicated to our bloodline,¡± Inis-Mir continued pressing her foot intending to cut the excited priest¡¯s words short. ¡°And our wyverns Feyras. Say it, and the temple shall be rebuild.¡± ¡°Your grace. None stands above the wyvern god,¡± Feyras grunted struggling to breathe, but not forcing the little princess off for fear of the guards waiting outside. Inis though wanted him to fear her alone. ¡°But we can indubitably dedicate a hall to you personally.¡± Hah. ¡°Not good enough,¡± Inis hissed and retracted her foot to allow the priest to raise his disheveled head. Feyras¡¯ sweaty face turned to look at the scowling princess and Qodras, who had approached the priest¡¯s outstretched on the carpet arms, opened a small mouth and bit down on an index finger with sharp gold teeth. ¡°ARGH!¡± Feyras groaned and tried to pull the arm away, lifting the wyvern off of the ground in the process. Inis-Mir stepped forward and gave the priest a hard kick in the face knocking him down. ¡°Let him take the finger,¡± Inis-Mir ordered and snapped her mostly crimson eyes on the imposing figure of Sir Qildor that had rushed inside her quarters hearing the priest¡¯s groans. The silver-faced Rokae knight locked eyes with the much shorter in height princess and then bowed his head. Walking backwards Sir Qildor exited the room. ¡°Gah!¡± Feyras growled holding on to his maimed hand and bleeding all over her carpet. ¡°The princess is right and I accept the punishment! I ask for the wyvern¡¯s forgiveness!¡± ¡°Are you truthful?¡± Inis asked in a softer manner and offered him a silken hankie to use as bandage for his now shorter left finger. ¡°I swear an oath to your cruelest of graces,¡± Feyras spat through his clenched teeth, a mad glean in his eyes. ¡°Your highness is the true wyvern¡¯s spawn!¡± ¡°Good,¡± Inis-Mir replied and stooped to pick up the cleaning his snout on the carpet Qodras. The little golden wyvern hissed in protest, then tipped its head back to behold the princess¡¯ smiling face looming over its body and let out a triumphant shriek. EARRAU!!!
- 30th of Lunden Lotea (The month of full blossom) Taras¡¯ center Kingdom of Wetull Ralnor stepped into a shade cast by an estate¡¯s corner, tip-toed rapidly across the dark ashen roads of the screaming desert with a warning glare at a two-headed fiend that had crawled towards him using its four arms as legs, reached the bright incorporeal door and stepped out two blocks away back in Taras. Right into a large main street. The couple had just entered a nice villa and with a quick glance at a soldier standing guard outside a much bigger villa across from that one, Ralnor rushed after them. He rounded the stone fence to avoid detection from the street, entered a side corner with a hand touching the rails and then leaped over it. Ralnor landed inside a garden, navigated the flowers and the insect-covered vegetables, reached the back of the villa and looked for another way inside. He checked the door first just in case and found it unlocked. With a grunt of anger at the lapse in security, Ralnor cracked the door open, sprinted silently across a kitchen, found a corridor next and at the end of it he plastered himself to a wall next to a staircase as he¡¯d heard noise. The voices of the two females coming from a big living room at the front of the villa. Ralnor breathed out, used a finger to gather some of the sweat trickling down his collar and listened to Jinx¡¯s complaints. ¡°The sweet wine is gone! Twas right there!¡± The Gish protested. ¡°She took it! I can smell her scent sipping from the fucking walls!¡± ¡°Where is she?¡± The Zilan female queried hoarsely. ¡°Sleeping after a night of debauchery and plenty of shagging?¡± ¡°That was you. You could¡¯ve gotten me in trouble Drool,¡± the ranger-armour wearing Zilan reminded her in mild-protest. ¡°Eh, nobody was sober enough to recognize you,¡± Jinx retorted under the sound of chairs moving about and furniture creaking. ¡°I bet she has it under the bed, them Cofol girls are heavy drinkers.¡± ¡°No they are not. That¡¯s you again honey. Have you looked in the kitchen?¡± ¡°Hmm. Bottles don¡¯t have legs honey.¡± ¡°Enough. You¡¯ve had four bottles already Jinx.¡± ¡°I was saving it for later. Tis a new day?¡± The Zilan sighed and tried to change the topic. ¡°You said she works at the market?¡± Ralnor peeked from around the corner to locate them, but they had found a divan near the south wall and the angle wasn¡¯t great. ¡°Helps out Morthil and Vela for a bit of coin,¡± Jinx replied tiredly. ¡°But no coin is entering this house. She spends it all afore coming back.¡± ¡°Why let her stay? The princess has a tower to herself.¡± Ralnor narrowed his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s a big villa,¡± Jinx replied. ¡°Phina has used it and Assara still comes and goes. I don¡¯t mind, as long they don¡¯t mess with my stuff.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have stuff,¡± the Zilan teased. ¡°I have bags of stuff. Plenty of loot to retire on the morrow.¡± ¡°Two purses of coins also.¡± ¡°Sure. Was that a sly way to get a look at my tits?¡± Ralnor grimaced. ¡°Your hands are wandering already,¡± the Zilan murmured. ¡°Maybe check on your other girlfriend first?¡± ¡°I see what yer doing,¡± Jinx purred. ¡°You want a taste of Moira.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t even know her and you¡¯re the one with the dirty mind Drool!¡± ¡°HEY!¡± Jinx bellowed and Ralnor recoiled almost giving himself away at the loud yell. ¡°Are ye sleeping up there?¡± ¡°Not anymore!¡± Aelrindel¡¯s annoyed voice snapped from the top of the stairs. ¡°Is that resentment I¡¯m hearing?¡± Jinx queried annoyingly. ¡°The boyfriend didn¡¯t show up again? I¡¯ve a wooden phallus locked in the window drawer.¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing there Gish!¡± Aelrindel snapped. ¡°Hah! Because I¡¯ve hidden it from yer greedy drenched fingers!¡± ¡°Jinx come on,¡± the Zilan ranger whispered at her exasperated. ¡°Don¡¯t be rude.¡± ¡°How am I rude? Her wayward arse is the one sneaking guys in me place?¡± Ralnor¡¯s lip curled upwards in a grimace of anger. ¡°I didn¡¯t sneak up¡­¡± Aelrindel voice protested sounding closer, probably the top of the staircase. She paused then added. ¡°You have visitors.¡± ¡°Better put something on. I don¡¯t mind, but Maeriel likes Cofol girls it appears,¡± Jinx retorted getting up from the divan. ¡°I¡¯m not¡­ Jinx damn it!¡± Maeriel apparently protested and gave the Gish a shove. A familiar name. As a matter of fact Ralnor had heard about a talented ranger named Maeriel mentioned several times from his friend, the late Master Faelar. It was too much of a coincidence for her to be someone else. ¡°What? Didn¡¯t you just say you want her in our bed?¡± Jinx retorted finding her footing after a full twirl on her toes. ¡°Shame on you. That¡¯s a silly game you¡¯re playing,¡± Maeriel told her. ¡°Not if it¡¯s working,¡± Jinx replied meaningfully. ¡°I won¡¯t get involved into your affair,¡± Aelrindel said coming down the stairs in her Moira disguise. ¡°Heavenly greetings Maeriel. Heard a lot about you,¡± she told the ranger walking towards them in a short robe that left a lot of leg showing. Ralnor found the opportunity to rush towards staircase whilst they were distracted, reached the top and ducked behind a cupboard, just as the ranger¡¯s eyes flickered back towards him. Shit. ¡°Is that so?¡± Maeriel replied sounding guarded. ¡°May I enquire from whom?¡± Yeah doll, where did you? ¡°Jinx of course.¡± Nice dodge, Ralnor thought. ¡°Eh, I didn¡¯t say that much,¡± Jinx said sheepishly. ¡°Not that I remember.¡± ¡°You did silly,¡± Aelrindel insisted in Moira¡¯s voice. ¡°Isn¡¯t she charming?¡± Jinx asked Maeriel with a broad grin. ¡°Look at those concealed melons, damn it her legs are taller than me fer crying out loud!¡± ¡°Stop it Jinx,¡± Maeriel admonished the aroused Gish, while Ralnor let out a breath he was holding out. ¡°Is there someone else in here?¡± The perceptive Zilan asked and Ralnor scowled. It was the stairs, he thought. Too much noise. ¡°Assara was, but she went to hunt in the lake,¡± Aelrindel replied. ¡°Glen won¡¯t like that,¡± Jinx noted. Ralnor frowned. ¡°She¡¯ll be fine.¡± Aelrindel assured her. ¡°Wasn¡¯t worrying about her,¡± Jinx retorted. ¡°Having said that, where¡¯s that mysterious boyfriend yours?¡± ¡°Rhu is obviously still busy,¡± Aelrindel retorted sounding discomforted with the subject. ¡°And he¡¯s not my boyfriend.¡± Rhu? Who the fuck is him? What in Oras Hells is going on here? ¡°Sure looked like it the other day! Hah! Never seen someone leg it away as fast as he did in a while,¡± Jinx guffawed mocking her words. ¡°Reminded of me and Alix escaping the pirates back in Eikenport. Aye. That was one hell of a drop out of that window. Poor thing landed on that dog.¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t survive?¡± The sorceress asked perceptively catching the Gish¡¯s sad undertone. ¡°Your friend.¡± Why only him doll? What about the dog? Ralnor thought mockingly at the dragging conversation. ¡°That day he made it, but he didn¡¯t survive Wetull,¡± Jinx replied hoarsely. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Drool,¡± Maeriel said and Aelrindel thankfully found the opportunity to excuse herself. ¡°I¡¯ll leave you two alone,¡± the sorceress said and turned around to walk up the stairs. ¡°Where is my wine Moira?¡± Jinx asked and the sorceress paused with a sigh. ¡°I came home tired and had some of it,¡± she told the Gish. ¡°It was less than a goblet Jinx.¡± ¡°I bet it looked like that to you,¡± Jinx retorted provocatively. ¡°Not easy to quench that thirst Moira.¡± Fucking hell! That Gish is difficult to live with, Ralnor thought shaking his head.
Ralnor entered the bedroom with the open door at the end of the corridor facing the back of the house, where a much bigger garden was located. The bedroom had two large open windows, wholly bathing it in sunlight. The assassin upon hearing the slow-walking Aelrindel approach outside the corridor, tried to find a semblance of shade at first, or a nice furniture corner, found nothing that didn¡¯t face the door, or was fully doused in brilliant morning light, and so he was forced to duck behind the opened door itself. The sorceress entered the bedroom a moment later, sashaying barefoot on the pink marble tiles. Walking past him she sat on the disheveled bed to clean her feet with a wet towel and then put a pair of fancy bead-covered sandals on. A man hasn¡¯t seen what allure looks like, until he stands witness to the comely witch putting a pair of leather-string sandals on. Aelrindel sighed deeply and walked to one of the windows, the sunlight coming through illustrating her enticing body under the sheer robes she had tossed on to talk with Jinx and Maeriel earlier, just as the illusion magic faded away and the sorceress true glorious form returned. But for the color of her hair. ¡°Gentle Goddess, am I to live like this?¡± Aelrindel griped with a raspy murmur, grasping the window¡¯s stool with both hands and then her body started shaking. A wave of frustration overcame Ralnor¡¯s senses not soon after projected from the emotional female and upon hearing the witch¡¯s sniffles, he stepped out from behind the door sheet with a scowl. Aelrindel froze immediately detecting his presence with her aura that had sipped to the floors of the room, and immediately twisted around with gawking eyes. She went from saddened not a moment ago to being very startled and before Ralnor could utter a single word, the sorceress crossed the distance between them and hugged his gaunt, wiry frame with both arms. Aelrindel¡¯s soft body pressed on his, long hair and warm lips breathing near his maimed ear. ¡°You made it Larn,¡± she whispered. ¡°Thank the Allgods. I missed your annoyed face!¡± Then the sorceress added a little apprehensive. ¡°Where¡¯s little Toutatis?¡± ¡°Close enough,¡± Ralnor retorted hoarsely moving his hands up and down her back over the sheer fabric. He sniffed at her sweet-smelling long neck. ¡°Orange oils?¡± ¡°Goras¡¯ citrus orange and you need a bath silly,¡± Aelrindel chuckled and stood back a little, as Ralnor¡¯s right arm wouldn¡¯t let her move further away. ¡°Larn, I¡¯m stirred enough to make a mistake here after years of celibacy,¡± the sorceress added with a coy smile. ¡°We¡¯ll both regret.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t,¡± Ralnor retorted pursing his mouth and released her reluctantly.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. The painted in Cofol colors witch sighed. She didn¡¯t need much done as her skin had taken a darker tone after months on the road, instead of her natural alabaster. ¡°You¡¯re my oldest friend by a lot,¡± Aelrindel reminded him. ¡°Are you not?¡± ¡°A man can be more than one thing,¡± Ralnor murmured and the sorceress pressed two fingers on his mouth, he trapped with his lips and teeth. ¡°Mmm,¡± Aelrindel whispered thoughtfully. ¡°Mother always told me, never to allow you in my bed.¡± Ralnor blinked in shock, not expecting the late Edlenn ¨Cwho he viewed as a mother figure as well- would ever take such a position. He felt anger rising in him, a feeling of profound betrayal, but battled against it with a grimace and a clench of his jaw. Aelrindel made a face and the assassin realized he was about to bite her fingers off with his teeth. ¡°I don¡¯t put up barriers, nor do I always listen to another¡¯s advice, even if she was my mother,¡± she soothed him, retrieving her moist fingers away from his gnarly mouth. That¡¯s a lie doll. You are trying to distract me. ¡°Why work in the market?¡± Ralnor grunted with a frown and tried to clear his head from the sorcerer¡¯s threads that started swirling around his body. Each unseen loop tying him up even more to the half-smiling sorceress. ¡°Stop it.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t want me to,¡± Aelrindel whispered and tried to touch his face again, but Ralnor jerked away with a grunt. ¡°Maybe I should take a peek inside your head¡ª¡± ¡°Doll, that¡¯s enough!¡± Ralnor growled. ¡°Hush. Jinx is downstairs.¡± ¡°Answer the query.¡± ¡°I forgot it,¡± the witch retorted, raising a painted black eyebrow. ¡°Why work in the market?¡± Ralnor hissed through his teeth, battling with himself and a powerful erection. He¡¯d a small blade stuck in his pants and it didn¡¯t leave that much room for his awakened cock to move about. ¡°I met some local healers, and needed the coin to buy better clothes,¡± Aelrindel replied dismissively. ¡°It helps learning things about the city. I couldn¡¯t exactly stay in Morn Taras¡­ without an invitation. Lithoniela has an excuse for that.¡± She had stumbled there for a moment. Ralnor narrowed his eyes suspiciously and the sorceress¡¯ warm hand found his left cheek again to distract him. ¡°I¡¯m not in danger, it is just a job.¡± Ralnor grabbed her hand and moved it away. ¡°Lithoniela went there alone and hasn¡¯t returned. How do you know whether she¡¯s staying there on her own volition, or not?¡± ¡°Calm down. I was present for that part. Briefly.¡± ¡°What part? What do you mean¡­ you were there?¡± Other than the obvious that is. ¡°Eh, we just happened upon the Hallowed on the trip here and they brought us to Morn Taras directly,¡± Aelrindel explained in a light-hearted manner. Seeing Ralnor¡¯s face getting severely distorted from his deepening scowl, she added quickly. ¡°We were greeted and then I left, but she stayed in a beautiful tower.¡± ¡°Greeted by whom? King Garth? That Reeves cretin?¡± ¡°Uhm. But we split up.¡± Bullshit. ¡°What happened to Morn Taras Doll?¡± Ralnor asked soberly and Aelrindel smiled sweetly seeing his face marred with angry ticks. ¡°My fuming Ralnor, ever worrying about nothing,¡± she purred stepping near him again to cup his face with both hands. Long fingers working their way to his earlobes. She gently massaged both to soothe his anger, under the assassin¡¯s furious stare. ¡°Speak, else I¡¯ll tie you to that bed and work it out of you with a pair of pliers,¡± Ralnor grunted irate and grabbed both her wrists with his hand. ¡°I spoke with Glenavon briefly,¡± Aelrindel blurted out and tried to get away instinctively. ¡°Let go of me Larn!¡± ¡°In his hall?¡± Ralnor spat and she nodded. Ralnor released his grip on her. ¡°Who else was there?¡± ¡°No one important¡­ well, Aenymriel I guess,¡± Aelrindel started and seeing Ralnor bristle at the mention of the Circle¡¯s custodian name, she quickly added reassuringly. ¡°Slipped right past her and him without problem. The crazy cunt doesn¡¯t know who I am, or how I look.¡± ¡°You stood next to Nym?¡± Ralnor growled not believing his ears and her monumental luck. ¡°And the darn King¡­ inside that bloody hall? Is that much-fabled place as small as this room? ¡°No silly,¡± the witch replied trying to diffuse the rising tension. ¡°We were in his quarters, ha-ha. Which are pretty big also.¡± Ralnor gulped down numbly. ¡°You went to the King¡¯s quarters?¡± He asked calmly, but the witch caught the undertone and probably realized she had let much more slip out than what was needed. As always. ¡°I think I hear Toutatis downstairs. That kid might bring the girls here,¡± Aelrindel said with a nervous smile and puffed out. ¡°Now that we¡¯ve said all there was to say¡ª¡± ¡°The fuck were you doing in there?¡± Ralnor exploded afore he could control himself. He clenched his fists at the sorceress¡¯ stunned and a bit hurt expression, as if Ralnor was being unfair to her for no reason. ¡°The plan was to stay away from him Doll. Lay low, which you aren¡¯t doing. Obviously. Damn it, for sure you had to stay away from Morn Taras, if it was possible. Goes without saying that this included taking a tour of the plaguing venue! How did you end up inside his bloody bedroom of all fucking places?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like your tone,¡± the sorceress hissed with an acerbic pout. ¡°Are you serious?¡± Ralnor snapped and grabbed at his face in despair. Run the fingers over his sweaty, shaven skull pushing the hood away. ¡°He invited me,¡± Aelrindel elucidated seeing his frustration. ¡°I had no choice. But it went nowhere.¡± Ralnor blinked at her words. ¡°Where was it supposed to go damn it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s an expression without a deeper meaning. Don¡¯t get too hung up on the details!¡± Ah. Now you¡¯ve said a whole lot of nothing in response, which makes your previous words hold a much deeper meaning. More disturbing stuff. Great. ¡°Why in Oras Hells was Nym present?¡± ¡°They are close? He has a weird taste in women,¡± the witch added conspiratorially. I bet he does! ¡°Didn¡¯t he invite you as well?¡± ¡°I denied him firmly,¡± Aelrindel replied in a stern voice, puckering her mouth in a warning for Ralnor to drop the matter. This blunder is getting worse by the second. ¡°That¡¯s just fucking great,¡± Ralnor grunted unable to go along and grinded his teeth. ¡°Shit. Dar Lingos was roaming Mussel.¡± ¡°What? Did he know you were going to disembark there?¡± Aelrindel asked walking to the door past him in order to lock it. She found no key and Ralnor grabbed a chair, turned its back to the front and then lodged it under the door knob to prevent the door from opening by anyone curious. None stood more curious than a Gish.
¡°Lingos?¡± Aelrindel asked the moment he returned. Ralnor grunted in response and walked to the windows in order to check the garden outside for any intruders. ¡°Dead,¡± he replied with a frown at the Zilan living in the villa across the garden¡¯s fence. She stood on her balcony and looked at their window with a pair of binoculars. ¡°Who the fuck is that creep across the street?¡± ¡°She likes watching other folk from afar,¡± Aelrindel explained hoarsely and touched the side of her heart at the news that one of her mother¡¯s rumored assassins had been sent to Oras Hells. ¡°The villa was empty for years afore the Gish purchased it. Goddess what a year this has been. Gratitude Larn.¡± ¡°Um. We don¡¯t know who was there for certain. How come the Gish has that kind of coin?¡± ¡°Garth provides for his friends?¡± ¡°Is she fucking him?¡± Ralnor grunted. ¡°Eh. Not that I know,¡± Aelrindel murmured still distracted with the news. ¡°What was Lingos doing there?¡± ¡°Following your prince of thieves,¡± Ralnor hissed. ¡°Eight is still alive?¡± Aelrindel asked with a cute frown. ¡°I thought he was eaten by a wyvern eons ago?¡± ¡°Drowned in a ship wreckage.¡± Ralnor grunted. ¡°It was him.¡± ¡°How do you know how he looks silly? You know all about him from me,¡± Aelrindel grinned breaking some of the tension. So Ralnor brought it all back. ¡°No Doll, I do not. I¡¯ve met Neil personally. Matter of fact, I know a lot more people than you.¡± ¡°Pfft, boasting won¡¯t impress me.¡± ¡°It is the truth, not easily discerned by those that had fallen for every single tale they had been fed to,¡± Ralnor deadpanned. ¡°I don¡¯t even know what you¡¯re talking about. As for that creep, he did come back to steal Elas¡¯ office back when I was little,¡± Aelrindel griped reminiscing. ¡°After he¡¯d promised me that he wouldn¡¯t. So I wasn''t fooled by him. He just lied.¡± So you know what I¡¯m talking about and you miss the point again. Not to mention lying¡­ is part of making a fool out of someone. ¡°He¡¯s a thief Aelrindel,¡± Ralnor said stretching his patience to its limits. ¡°Famously.¡± ¡°A promise is a promise,¡± the witch argued stubbornly. ¡°You think Nym has more assassins around?¡± She asked hugging her chest. ¡°I didn¡¯t like her vibes at all.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Ralnor replied simply. If I¡¯ve made a guild out of nothing, then Nym for certain has repaired what was already there. Mayhap even added to it. Ralnor paused contemplating, as Aelrindel had gone to a small table attached to a wall, with a square mirror on its side and sat down. She started working her long hair into braids with a silver pin. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Ralnor asked very confused. ¡°I¡¯m going out. I have to be at the market stand in an hour,¡± Aelrindel explained. ¡°We are making salves for sunburn today. Plus I might have another obligation later. It¡¯s first Valimae Lilt on the morrow and these days are considered a holiday. In honor of the Monarch¡¯s late wife.¡± The assassin licked his lips. ¡°You are going on a dance?¡± ¡°Ha-ha. Didn¡¯t think that far, but I met someone interesting,¡± the witch replied mirthfully and paused to stare intently at the scowling Ralnor using her mirror. ¡°A successful adventurer.¡± ¡°That Rhu dude,¡± Ralnor hissed through his teeth. ¡°Yes. He¡¯s pretty busy, but a stand up guy.¡± ¡°Taras¡¯ message boards are bursting with quests these days?¡± Ralnor asked mockingly. ¡°He saved my life¡­ in a sense Larn,¡± the witch said austerely. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you came upon no danger?¡± ¡°Some thugs. They wanted to steal my coin,¡± Aelrindel explained. ¡°Rhu stepped in to help.¡± ¡°When was that?¡± ¡°A couple of days back, inside an alley near the market.¡± ¡°This Rhu dude, just happened to be there?¡± Ralnor asked calmly. ¡°Why is everyone so nosy? Some men have a knight¡¯s gallant soul and act on instinct,¡± the witch replied distractedly and Ralnor felt bile rising to his throat. The starts of a severe migraine attacking the membranes of his cranium. ¡°Where is he from?¡± He grunted. ¡°Lesia?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a kingdom. Many cities in it.¡± ¡°So? You¡¯re starting to sound like the Gish Larn.¡± Yes doll, I am. Forced to endure your fuckups can turn anyone into a fool. ¡°What if he works for Nym?¡± ¡°He¡¯s a Lorian,¡± Aelrindel turned the chair to stare at him frustrated. ¡°You could be more supportive you know. This hasn¡¯t been a good year for me and the King was a huge disappointment. It is very sad how it turned out.¡± ¡°As opposed to¡­?¡± Ralnor asked curling his mouth. The witch showed him her back. ¡°Doll you tried to have him killed.¡± ¡°An accident and it was only the one time, he knows nothing about. I changed my mind. Jinx is fine with it. The second time was all you.¡± ¡°Jinx doesn¡¯t know who you are. What if she remembers?¡± ¡°Lithoniela talked with her. We don¡¯t need assistance on the matter. Focus on dealing with Nym afore she gets any ideas.¡± ¡°If Nym wants to move against you, we might not see her coming. This is her turf Doll.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t fear her.¡± Neither did your mother and look at what happened. ¡°The princess is not right, you¡¯ve told me as much yourself,¡± Ralnor hissed and then sighed, pursed his mouth and added diplomatically. ¡°You don¡¯t know Taras. Give me that adventurer¡¯s name. I¡¯ll check on his backstory at the guild.¡± The witch rolled her eyes at his ¡®perceived¡¯ jealousness, which happened to be the smallest part of his concerns, and then told him the adventurer¡¯s full name. - 30th of Lunden Lotea Early noon Taras ¨CInner City District 3rd street (towards the West Tower entrance) Goras Adventurer¡¯s Guild building Reception desk The blond Lorian girl chewing a eucalyptus oil soaked type of gum, called the Mastiche, raised her pale blue eyes to examine the unlikely hooded pair that had stepped in front of the Guild¡¯s reception desk. She scrunched her nose at them, pink tongue wetting her lower lip unsure and deft left hand fingers working to loosen her light leather-armour¡¯s collar. ¡°Are you members of the Guild?¡± She asked and tapped a wooden name tag set in front of her. ¡°I¡¯m Isabela Colonna.¡± ¡°Can I have a gold¡ª?¡± Tout never finished his query, as Ralnor¡¯s hand had blocked his mouth abruptly. Isabela made a grimace and then stared at the disconcerting smirk that had split the assassin¡¯s lips. Her right arm dropped under the desk for some concealed weapon. Best case it''s a club. Worst, a loaded crossbow. A bolt to the face might go right through a skull at this distance. ¡°There¡¯s no need for that,¡± Ralnor started his usual mantra that he had borrowed from Eight many centuries ago, but he didn¡¯t have the chance to finish also, although it was for a different reason. A mid-aged muscular man, sporting a rich beard got out from a door behind Isabela and came to stand next to her. ¡°Mister Mulligan,¡± Isabela said mockingly. ¡°I can handle new members.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure they are new dove,¡± Mulligan replied and gave her a wink. ¡°This ain¡¯t Diamant Bela.¡± ¡°I know that Evan,¡± Isabela protested, her Common coming with a heavy Lesia accent. The city mentioned giving Ralnor the rest of her backstory sort of. The High Barony of Levacum was at the southernmost edge of the Lesia Desert and Diamant was a town famous for its mines. ¡°There are a lot miles on these boots,¡± Evan Mulligan insisted in a semi-fatherly tone. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll head to the Common Room to speak to the boys. Marlo Clinton is here and he brought Sam Mathews along this time,¡± Isabela yielded and turned around to walk away from the desk and into the corridor leading to the doors of the Common Room of the Guild. ¡°Stay away from Clinton. Heard he got an itchy finger,¡± Evan guffawed and stared at the young female adventurer walking away in her pair of tight leather pants. The comment about this Clinton almost esoteric. ¡°Knew her from when she was nine,¡± Evan told the silently waiting Ralnor with an apologetic grin. ¡°You just can¡¯t tell how they¡¯ll turn up, but I promised her father to keep an eye on her just the same. That your kid?¡± Ralnor stared at Toutatis and the young teenager looked at him. The assassin pursed his mouth with Toutatis doing the same and then they both turned their gaze on the amused adventurer. ¡°It¡¯s plaguing obvious, I guess,¡± Evan said with a shrug of his shoulders. ¡°What can I do you for lads? You are not here to sign up? Due to the holidays, I haven¡¯t had the time to update the prices. The fee has gone up.¡± ¡°How much?¡± Toutatis asked afore Ralnor could stop him. ¡°Twenty percent of yer profit,¡± Evan replied readily and Tout bared his teeth like an angry dog. ¡°Whoa, yer a bit on the wild side aren¡¯t ye?¡± ¡°I¡¯m looking for a man that calls himself Rhu Fareno,¡± Ralnor intervened raspingly and Evan glanced at his cloak and half-visible weapons¡¯ harness. ¡°What for?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a friend of his sister¡¯s,¡± Ralnor replied. ¡°Rhu doesn¡¯t have a sister that I¡¯m aware of,¡± Evan countered. ¡°I meant mine,¡± Ralnor corrected himself and Evan frowned, but then sighed. ¡°What did he do?¡± He asked scratching the side of his thick greying beard with a nail. ¡°Got her pregnant, or something?¡± ¡°Nothing that permanent yet,¡± Ralnor retorted. ¡°Right. Look, if its coin you seek, I¡¯ll pay for the lad and I¡¯ll sort it out with him,¡± Evan offered. ¡°I¡¯m the leader of the local Guild.¡± ¡°Is Rhu, new here?¡± ¡°Sure, but I know his sponsor.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s he from? The sponsor?¡± Evan Mulligan returned the Zilan¡¯s stare frostily. ¡°I thought you wanted to learn about Fareno. Now you know, and the free info session of the day ends here mister¡­?¡± ¡°You can call me Larn.¡± ¡°The day too cold for you Larn? Ye might feel out of place on the morrow.¡± Ralnor smacked his lips annoyed, his eyes examining the adventurer¡¯s sturdier gear and the well-made ring-reinforced leather armour. Hearing voices coming from the end of the corridor, his eyes flickered, but then forced himself to reply. ¡°I¡¯ve an old injury and a rather offensive skin color, to the pure-blooded Zilan,¡± Ralnor hissed, seeing Isabela return with a couple of heavily-armed male adventurers. Both of them over thirty. ¡°I knew you weren¡¯t human. Hey, don¡¯t worry about it. Just get with the times Larn,¡± Mulligan replied visibly relaxing now that he had regained the numbers. ¡°This is Taras. The bigoted past is old history and Arguen Garth sits the wyvern throne.¡± ¡°Friend of the guild?¡± Ralnor asked with an eye at the group of adventurers coming towards them. Toutatis had half-unsheathed his shortsword next to him and he¡¯d a hand ready to reach for Dar Lingos¡¯ much larger blade, now secured on his back. ¡°The Monarch? You can say he built it. Sam Mathews here, is one of his good friends. Right Sam?¡± I see. ¡°Don¡¯t get me involved in your bullshit Mulligan,¡± Sam warned him with a glance at the pale-skinned Ralnor. ¡°I won¡¯t take much more of your time,¡± Ralnor said and stepped back from the desk, his right hand grabbing the snarling Toutatis by the nape to drag him away. ¡°Have a good Lady Sovereign¡¯s day mister Larn,¡± Evan called on his back and then they were outside the Adventurer¡¯s Guild estate-sized building. ¡°Let¡¯s get back inside,¡± Tout urged the scowling at the semi-failed attempt Ralnor. ¡°We call kill them and get the girl. Show her the way.¡± Ralnor blinked and glared at the grinning one-eyed teenager. ¡°What in Oras Hells are you blubbering about?¡± Toutatis blushed fiercely and then puffed out. ¡°I liked her?¡± ¡°So you¡¯ll kidnap her?¡± ¡°How is that worse than eating her soft parts?¡± Toutatis argued and Ralnor hissed irate, snapped his head right and then left for any onlookers, afore he shoved the yelping teenager towards the corner of the building.
The light of the street and the front of the Guild¡¯s estate dimming inside the dark alley, the right side occupied by the outer wall of the Guild¡¯s estate and the left by two adjoined two story houses. One of them recently rebuilt ¨Cthe one facing the 3rd street- but the other still a half-ruin, missing most of its top floor. The instinctively alerted Ralnor paused to have his eyes adjust to the difference, heard tip-tapping of many legs over his head and snapped his head towards the sound, afore realizing that the narrow alley had carried it from somewhere much further inside. What sadistic malarkey is this? A groan and a heavy thud was heard, probably a body hitting the cracked cobblestone. Then a familiar yet very distant hissing voice followed, chilling the alarmed Ralnor¡¯s blood inside his veins.
Remember acolyte, The sharpened blade is thy only crew Lithe feet sunk in sands, where all souls nest Shrieking Dark¡¯s entry leap, afore flesh melts to glue For long, Light¡¯s servants shall never seek to rest
No way. ¡®For in the unspoiled black of pure darkness,¡¯ Ralnor finished the words. ¡®There stands a glittering reflection.¡¯ And you¡¯ll know that you are inside the Circle. A strange bright light flashed at the far edge of the alley, just as Ralnor dashed forward leaving the cursing Toutatis back. A breath and he¡¯d halved the distance from the bizarre phenomenon that started dissipating already. Half of that time later and his hurting eyes spotted a large, well-dressed body resting in a glistering pool of blood, smelled aromatic incense burning ¨Ca lot of it- and caught a glimpse of a slim female body, wearing a bodysuit, disappear inside a lingering dark crack in the left wall. Ralnor quickstepped the rest of the distance in the blink of an eye, the shades returning inside the alley and followed after the female. Just as he crossed through to the in-between realms, Ralnor caught out of the corner of his eye, a bizarrely-formed shadow rapidly climbing the six meter tall wall of the estate and disappear from sight. Accursed Dar Nalta slipping away. Then who in Oras¡¯ rotten nails was he going after? A peeved Ralnor wondered. All the time roaring incensed internally. Oras Hells in the airheaded witch¡¯s visions! He hadn¡¯t picked up a sure spot to exit in his haste, but even so Dar Eherdir maintained his legendary outward composure under immense pressure and didn¡¯t make a single sound. Not a peep. You allow a yelp to escape, or too loud a fart, whilst walking the shadows and all manner of freaky things might pop out of the blasted darkness to say hello, Ralnor thought, just as he crashed inside the deserted terrain and then immediately rolled in the pitch black onto a distracted ogre-sized fiend¡¯s back. 531. Oras Own & the Circle’s lost children | Prelude (3/3)
Larn Tir Ral-Nor ¡®Dar¡¯ Eherdir O¡¯ Lome Fae O¡¯ Elum Fifth Servant of the Circle Oras Own & the Circle¡¯s lost children | Prelude (3/3) -The Acolyte-
NYAERU! The four-armed Fiend growled afore turning around. The two extra arms were taking the place of its legs and bent outwards under its thick torso. It had no observable head, but a meter-long swaying stinger where the neck should have been, a bucket-sized single eye on its scaly trunk-like chest, and a large shark-mouth right under it that connected directly to its stomach. Dar Eherdir didn¡¯t just have academic knowledge on the shade-kingdom¡¯s species and inhabitants, as he had faced them before. He had naught a single pleasant memory from the many encounters. A scowling Ralnor jerked his head to the left and out of the snapping stinger¡¯s way. At the same time, his drawn sword came down and severed the dark-green scorpion-like stinger, a handbreadth from its base. Foul-smelling acid and yellow liquid erupted from the wound, but Ralnor had already moved to escape the spillage. He ducked under a swinging arm, then leaped over a kicking arm again, an eye on the galloping figure using the ashen road ahead of him, the other on the fiend¡¯s partner that had taken an interest in the dancing assassin. Ralnor sidestepped away from the plunging stinger of the second fiend, kicked the retracting appendage to heave the point towards its owner and heard the pop of the fiend¡¯s large eye when the stinger sunk into it. NYAUUHU! The unseen herd of many-armed fiends hollered in unison ¨Csounding very disturbed and the grimacing Ralnor dived into a spastic roll, snatched out of the air using his left hand a baby sand-worm that had exploded out of the ground and then bit its gnarly mouth-head clean off. He spat the poisonous, gummy flesh away ¨Cthe membranes of his mouth and larynx burning something fierce, as that little worm had managed to spit a bit of froth inside, and then hit the ashen road on a protesting shoulder. The peeved assassin jumped energetically to his feet to sprint ¨Cwhilst coughing the poison down- after the figure. Fucking hells. He saw her again twenty meters away, faltering from the blow of a long-necked curious Cockatrice that had attempted to dart across the materializing desert road. The gigantic bill of the feathered dragon-kin swung angrily towards the cartwheeling away figure as it slowed down on its bird legs and then let out a shrieking, gurgling sound aimed at her. VREILRRH! KRAEIL! The figure tripped from the vibrating sound-spell and went down with a yelp, just as the burning incense to quick-step the distance Ralnor arrived at the scene. The assassin hacked at the feathered neck of the Cockatrice, but the three-meter tall dragon-bird reacted sensing the danger, and got a savage slash across the face from the also-readjusting mid-move blade instead. The hardened bill deflected the blow, but its fleshy fiery red Comb didn¡¯t and detached from its skull in an explosion of gore. The blinded by its own blood Cockatrice scythed its opened beak forward to chop Ralnor in two, but got stopped by a corkscrew uppercut blow delivered by the assassin¡¯s steel peleg right in the wattles. The blade broke the lower mandible and forced the beast to spray a fresh torrent of dark blood out of its opened beak. Ralnor danced out of the wounded Cockatrice¡¯s way, but not before he yanked the bloody peleg out and immediately moved towards the faltering to her knees figure. Sword, Ralnor warned himself and parried down the materializing out of the darkness female¡¯s blade with his Kopis. The swords loud clang reverberated on the dark open plains of the desert that extended on both sides of the road and bright sparks erupted illuminating his opponent¡¯s face. A young Zilan. Eh, Ralnor grunted furious with himself for going after the wrong target and swung with the peleg at the returning sword, much faster than his opponent. The small axe caught the female¡¯s wrist and chopped it clean off, disarming her. Literately. ¡°ARGGH!¡± The hooded girl screamed and stepped back, the spraying blood severed limb blinding Ralnor momentarily. Taking advantage of the tiny respite, his opponent pivoted lithely on her retreating foot only to lunge forward again. Her drawn dagger got blocked by the flipped peleg and then Ralnor¡¯s own sword tapped her under the chin in warning, the cut skin trickling a small amount of blood on the Kopis¡¯ curved blade. ¡°Where¡¯s the exit?¡± Ralnor asked hoarsely as he hadn¡¯t spared the little bitch out of the goodness of his soul and the shocked female blinked her olive-green, or darkish blue eyes in disbelief upon hearing him speak, before attempting to swing her dagger again. Curse all stubborn cunts! The grimacing Ralnor thought furious and almost bit his own tongue off when his sweaty forehead connected with the young Zilan¡¯s in a devastating head-butt. No cunt was more stubborn than him. The female went down with a broken nose and her face covered in blood, while Ralnor stumbled over his own feet dazed and barely missed a four-armed Construct Adept -one of Suharto¡¯s war creations- that had stepped on the lightly illuminated ashen road two meters away. This further mutated humanoid, based on Mardoth¡¯s variation of the cave Ogre and the plains-roaming Orcs of Mistland per the war-diaries, promptly spotted the two Zilan fighting in the middle of the road. Ralnor heard the thudding of very-heavy feet that barreled towards him, and instantly twisted around in alarm, whilst putting the sword between his body and the arriving giant. The extended blade of the Kopis sunk to the midpoint inside the Adept¡¯s broad sternum, while almost at the same time the swinging angled peleg wedged under the Construct¡¯s crooked right ear, splitting the bone for maximum damage. To a normal living creature, which the Construct of course wasn¡¯t, never had been, even when it roamed ¡®free¡¯ amongst the realms of the living, if that made any sense. Which it sort of did for the snarling Ralnor. And also didn¡¯t. Oh shit. Anyways the double blows he¡¯d delivered did fuck all to stop the moving freight of flesh and muscle from crashing on the unable to move out of the way Ralnor. The peeved assassin was hurled backwards, ¨Cwith the Construct following after him due to momentum and mass- to crash-land on the surprisingly-hard sand road. Having no time to protest to Luthos, the battered assassin growled his way out of the Orc¡¯s large foot instead, as it came down with force to flatten his head. The giant war Construct¡¯s foot exploded on the compacted sand, lifted a dust cloud between them and created a hole on the ground. With another curse the standing up Ralnor used his now free right arm to unsheathe a straight-bladed dagger, whilst swallowing his own vomit. Constructs aren¡¯t supposed to live here, based on the ¡®knowledgeable¡¯ veterans of the war tales at least. For they have no soul. Well, this bit of knowledge I¡¯d rather have learned from a blasted manuscript, Ralnor decided sourly just as the still-carrying his Kopis Construct attacked him again with a mighty roar that reached as far as the distant dark mountains at the edge of the horizon. Waking up all manner of beasts and fiends from their stupor. Which was the most concerning fact of the day to a person traversing the dark wilderness without a predetermined exit strategy. He needed to find the blasted door. Since he hadn¡¯t picked a spot beforehand, the assassin needed to use the girl¡¯s. After he survived the giant¡¯s wrath that is.
Ralnor jerked his head aside to dodge a massive right side punch, blocked a second coming from the left with a raised knee, but got mauled by another one on the right side mid-leap, lost the ground under his feet, and just as he started flying sideways from the heavy blow, the Construct yanked the assassin by his left arm right back down. Ralnor snarled maniacally hitting the ground again and the Construct pulled savagely at his trapped arm, dislocating the assassin¡¯s shoulder to lift him up. And do the same thing again, using Ralnor¡¯s body as a hammer to beat at the ground. The grunting assassin kicked with his legs to gain even more momentum and reaching stabbed the Construct¡¯s gnarly, brute¡¯s face repeatedly with the dagger. He gauged one bulbous eye out, opened a gash on the Orc¡¯s left cheek, the blade breaking teeth and severing part of the tongue, afore he buried the length of the blade in one of the monstrous humanoid¡¯s nostrils. Then the Orc slammed the cursing Ralnor on the ground again with savage abandon, still holding his forearm in a steely grip. Ralnor growled in terrible pain, barely saved his leg from getting shattered by the stumbling forward, heavily injured Construct Adept¡¯s foot, but got trapped under it when it caught his hip. Ralnor jerked away from the heavy weight to save the hip bone, whilst his right hand plunged upwards with three long nails sprouting out of the clenched knuckles. The nails penetrated deep inside the Orc¡¯s scrotum and the Construct shuddered, but remained towering over Ralnor. The giant creature used two of his hands ¨Che¡¯d four blasted working arms along with the normal two legs- to get the long nails out of his bloody groin and still had one more free hand to better grab at Ralnor¡¯s trapped arm at the elbow. The Construct pulled and twisted at the forearm, tearing at the leather sleeve, the flesh underneath and breaking the ligaments at the joint. The pain blinding. Just as it tried to completely rip Ralnor¡¯s arm off at the elbow, the growling assassin stabbed his shortsword right through its upper right arm bulging bicep ruining its grip. The Construct released the flaying, mauled left assassin¡¯s arm and tried to grab at the still moving blade with the other, but failed. So Ralnor buried the shortsword he¡¯d unsheathed in its diaphragm, just under the Kopis. Oras Hells! Ralnor cursed yanking his useless arm away as the bleeding Orc dropped to its knees, but the dislocated at the shoulder and elbow, flaying forearm flew too close to the Construct¡¯s gaping mouth and the horse-sized pointy teeth severed two of his fingers, when they snapped shut. Fucking gnome! Are you plaguing serious with this shite? ¡°ARRGLH!¡± Ralnor groaned in mind-numbing agony, feeling ring and little finger disappear inside the Construct¡¯s mouth, leaving two bloody stubs behind and then dropped to his knees as well in front of the massive humanoid.
Fuck. Get the darn fingers, the injured Ralnor urged himself, and used his working arm to get the stuck dagger out of the Construct¡¯s butchered bloody face. With a groan and a kick he forced the dead Orc on its back. It landed with a loud thud and an ogle-eyed Ralnor stooped over the large head with a blade in hand to dig his severed fingers out of the closed Orc¡¯s bloody mouth. He couldn¡¯t feel part of the arm, and the part he could feel was screaming in pain, but he¡¯d one of Ael¡¯s healing potions in his weapon harnesses sheathes. Ralnor knew he could mend the arm with that and a cast given time. The fingers though¡­ those he needed to stitch right back up sooner rather than later, if they weren¡¯t too destroyed already. Delay it too much and might as well use them as snack. Did you have time to chew on them a bit afore you croaked you hairy cunt? A grimacing Ralnor asked the dead Construct, his blurry eyes scanning the terrain for another one popping out and hearing the in-between realms inhabitants slowly gathering up near both sides of the illuminated path. Two-headed monstrosities and the shapes of grotesque, gigantic sand-worms tunneling out of the ground. Many thousands simple humanoid figures, as many misshapen fiends and other horrors silently walking towards him. ¡°Who are you?¡± The pale-faced female asked hoarsely from where she¡¯d dropped, still holding at her wound to staunch the bleeding. Ralnor used the blade as lever to crack open the Orc¡¯s sealed jaws in the meantime and then widened the mouth cavity cutting down both of the cheeks. His mouth watered seeing the bloody flesh on display and his stomach joined with a growl, which was nigh awkward a timing. ¡°Where¡¯s the door?¡± Ralnor rustled finding his fingers one after the other. The little digit had lodged in the Construct¡¯s throat and he had to really dig inside the butchered, gaping lower part of its face to get it out. He took part of the tongue as a souvenir getting up with a scowl. ¡°You picked a spot to exit. Think. Snap out of it!¡± Is this amateur hour? ¡°I did,¡± the Zilan female hissed in her muffled tone, blood trickling down her swollen nose. A pretty nose once. Probably repairable, but equally flavorsome when carefully prepared by a savant cannibal, the suddenly very-hungry Ralnor thought and dropped his retrieved chopped off fingers inside a pocket. He used a cloth to wrap the wound and stop the worse of the bleeding next, while absentmindedly slotting the Orc¡¯s severed tongue in his mouth to chew on. The female gasped in horror at the spectacle and Ralnor raised his glowing ashen eyes to stare at her soberly. ¡°Point the way, so I can discern it. Hurry up, I¡¯m injured.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t and you¡¯ve cut my hand off!¡± She screeched hoarsely. The slowly regaining control of his faculties despite his injuries Ralnor, chewed down on the apparently rotten flesh briefly and then coughed it out with a grimace of revulsion. ¡°Nasty stuff. Eh. Uneatable. So it¡¯s a problem camping here. Yep. We don¡¯t have much time lass. They stopped coming at us because of fear, but it won¡¯t last.¡± A strange clacking sound could be heard and a distant trumpeting shriek. Ralnor approached the injured female, almost planting his face on the ground as he¡¯d apparently a pretty hurt and dragging back right leg, to pair with a badly mauled ribcage. Great. He spat a blotch of foul blood down, the pain coming from his mauled arm devastating, but also pleasant as it kept the injured assassin alert to the surroundings. ¡°That¡¯s a Hydra. They are twice as inhospitable when dead,¡± he elucidated and stilled his eyes on a group of silent humanoids that tested the illuminated path. Some coyote-like shadows wrestling about very near them and at the edges of the path. One of the humanoids had already stepped on it in the meantime and was examining the pair of intruders. A tall creature wearing a werewolf¡¯s hide as a cloak. Or a camouflage. A howling was added to the raising ruckus birthed from the blackness. It reminded Ralnor that a pack could be roaming about as well. A pack of anything. ¡°The door.¡± ¡°There,¡± the Zilan hissed through clenched teeth and stood up holding her hand over the wound. ¡°I need to find my hand also.¡± Ralnor glanced at the fighting for the piece of flesh coyotes, about five meters to the female¡¯s right side. ¡°Forget about it,¡± Ralnor retorted and moved past her trying to locate the lit up exit amidst the darkness. He did and the path they were on that led somewhere far in the distance, turned towards the now visible to him twinkling oval portal, about thirty meters away. ¡°Where the fuck did you pick to exit?¡± The assassin asked the hurrying after him female and she glanced his way with terrified eyes. The experience harrowing to her psyche probably. A neophyte. Or an acolyte taking her first baptism. Her first taste of the Trade. ¡°Across the street,¡± she replied, blood spraying from her bloodstained mouth. ¡°An abandoned ruin had the most shade.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need a lot,¡± Ralnor grunted shaking his head and seeing her disbelief, he added. ¡°You learn that with time.¡±
The Zilan female stumbled through the opening with Ralnor following right after her. They exited next to the petrified wall of a ruin, about thirty meters from where they had entered, the dark alley visible across this parallel to the 3rd Street road. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Ralnor asked her and she turned around to answer. ¡°Labriel,¡± the pale Zilan rustled barely standing up. ¡°Sit on that pile of bricks,¡± Ralnor ordered, himself not in a better condition and whistled loudly to get Dar¡¯s attention. The horse was parked behind the adventurer¡¯s guild across the street. Dar would notify Toutatis. ¡°I have to report¡ª¡± ¡°You¡¯re dead.¡± Labriel blinked, a short blue curl plastered on her bloody forehead, drenched in gore and sweat. The hood of her tight coveralls, a bodysuit almost white from the dust and grime gathered from the in-between realms. Her eyes were a gleaming cobalt color and she¡¯d a refined accent to her Imperial, very pompous and ancient, but Ralnor could see that Labriel was very-young in years. Perhaps starting her third century at most. She was going for a weapon. ¡°There¡¯s no need for that,¡± the hurting in too-many places to count Ralnor cautioned her, but the female jerked back, letting go of her mutilated arm to reach for a steel peleg, similar to the one Ralnor had used earlier. I left a lot of good weapons behind, Ralnor thought sourly and waited for Toutatis to climb down the collapsed wall that shaded them inside the old ruined house. Labriel hefted the small axe clenching her jaw, but then let out a deep moan and almost dropped it, as her muscles had started clamping down from severe blood loss and adrenaline can only carry you so far. ¡°Ah,¡± Labriel gasped and stumbled back even further, deciding to retreat from the injured, but stoically watching her actions Ralnor. Right onto the sneaky Toutatis¡¯ drawn steel blade. ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± Ralnor ordered the teenager and the scowling Tout poked the Zilan on her left buttock instead using the point of Lingos sword. Labriel recoiled with a yelp, faltered away from the steel blade, then performed a clumsy twirl on her feet to see her assailant, she never quite finished. Ralnor had made two quick steps forward to grab her nape with his maimed hand, using the other to secure the peleg. Despite missing two fingers, his grip was so vicious it paralyzed the crying Labriel. ¡°Sit down,¡± Ralnor ordered again, taking the peleg from her and securing it on the hook of his harness. That¡¯s one weapon replaced, he thought and then glared at the gawking rudely at the sniffling female Toutatis. ¡°Got the bag?¡± ¡°Uhm. Not easy dragging the load across the street¡ª¡± ¡°Bring the needles and a healing potion,¡± Ralnor grunted cutting him off and guided Labriel by the nape towards the pile of bricks again. This place was about to be repaired by a working crew that had stopped for the holidays, he decided, letting go of the weakened Labriel. ¡°Have this,¡± he told her, and offered a tiny vial to the Zilan female. ¡°What¡­ is it?¡± ¡°Just drink it,¡± Ralnor snapped, as using his maimed hand had opened up the wounds again. Good. I need the blood to flow for this next part. It would help reconnect the nerve endings. ¡°I¡¯m not¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s a god darn healing potion in a different bottle!¡± ¡°That¡¯s too small¡­ this is a poison vial! It has a label even,¡± Labriel protested, but uncorked the glass vial to sniff at the mixture. ¡°Hmm.¡± ¡°I reuse the small vials, don¡¯t bother with the labels. Wash them first obviously,¡± Ralnor elucidated, very annoyed he had to explain himself. Aelrindel¡¯s high-necked, larger vials, were very pretty to the eye, but nigh-uncomfortable and unsafe to carry with you in a scrap. Having to stop a fight to dig glass shards out of your arse can be very inconvenient. ¡°Ah. How do you tell them apart?¡± Labriel queried distrustfully. ¡°The fasting oil is very similar in color¡ª¡± ¡°I don¡¯t do diets and when I want to take a shit, I take a shit,¡± Ralnor rustled through his teeth. ¡°Drink the blasted potion, or give it back!¡± Labriel pursed her mouth, then breathed out, raised the vial and downed its contents. She blinked, the potency unexpected and gasped in surprise, eyes rolling to the white, before spilling down the pile of bricks. ¡°Tastes of strawberries?¡± Labriel mattered just as she lost consciousness. Yeah. ¡°You have the fingers?¡± Toutatis asked with a curious glance at the sprawled and unconscious female. ¡°In the cloak¡¯s internal right pocket,¡± Ralnor grunted and dug them out himself. ¡°I¡¯ll do the stitching. You¡¯ll wash them after with a bit of potion.¡± ¡°What about her?¡± ¡°She¡¯s an Acolyte of the Circle.¡± Toutatis nodded numbly. Ralnor glanced at him with a clenched jaw. ¡°A pupil.¡± ¡°Ah. I got that,¡± Tout replied indifferently. ¡°Do they carry coin purses?¡± ¡°Just bandage her arm.¡± The sweating Ralnor grunted fixing the thread on the stitching needle. ¡°Where¡¯s the other part?¡± ¡°The Fiends got it.¡± ¡°What happened in there Larn?¡± ¡°Argh!¡± Ralnor growled in pain, working the needle through his flesh to attach the ring finger again. ¡°I¡¯m busy here Tout!¡± ¡°Can I help?¡± Toutatis asked and dragged the saddlebag near him to sit on it. ¡°Hold the finger in place. It needs to touch the bone,¡± Ralnor hissed in terrible pain and wiped the sweat from his forehead. ¡°Oras Hells. You need to go back to the alley at some point,¡± he explained to the silent Tout. ¡°Search the body, but be on the lookout for Dar Nalta.¡± ¡°An assassin?¡± ¡°Nym¡¯s mentor in a sense,¡± Ralnor grunted and took a deep breath in, not to faint on the job. ¡°Never figured that part out fully. I think it lives inside the Circle.¡± ¡°Right.¡± Toutatis said and glanced at the moaning, and slowly coming about pale Labriel. ¡°What about her?¡± ¡°We need to learn what we can.¡± ¡°Then what?¡± Fuck¡¯s sake. Stop talking. ¡°Give me some bloody potion,¡± Ralnor grunted irate, but the next moment he forced himself to calm down. Tout needed to know. ¡°And I¡¯ll tell you all about it, after we deal with her.¡± Toutatis returned his stare in silence, but then nodded and got one of the larger healing potions out of the saddlebag. It even had a label on it. Summer of 3400, the witch¡¯s beautiful calligraphy read. If you could read it, as she frequently used too much fluff in her letters. Flowers, roots and vines. Witch letters. From afar Aelrindel¡¯s script reminded him of a lavish garden.
Half an hour later the fingers had been stitched back and encased in bandage. They had also swollen to twice their size and the left hand was useless. The pain, as it¡¯s habitual in these type of cases had not lessened at all. It had increased instead. ¡°My hand hurts,¡± Labriel sniffled sadly, holding her bandaged stub. ¡°It¡¯ll never stop,¡± Ralnor assured her with a grunt. ¡°It¡¯ll hurt in the winter, and when it rains. The flesh is gone, but the memory of it remains.¡± ¡°Fuck you.¡± ¡°Hah,¡± Tout guffawed and reached to touch the recoiling Zilan¡¯s face. ¡°She¡¯s a lively one. Pretty enough. Torture material?¡± ¡°She¡¯ll talk.¡± Ralnor snapped. ¡°Can I have her after? I need a girlfriend.¡± ¡°Ugh?¡± Labriel gasped in bewilderment. ¡°Who was the victim?¡± The grimacing in frustration Ralnor asked hoarsely and gave a kick to the severed head Toutatis had brought back from the alley. It rolled near the teenager and he kicked it right back towards the scowling assassin with a stupid grin. Idiot. The head was familiar in a sense. The fat half-breed that had given Tout a gold coin yesterday outside the tavern. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Labriel hissed. ¡°The call came and I asked to do it.¡± ¡°Was it Dar Nalta¡¯s idea?¡± Ralnor asked hoarsely. ¡°How¡­ I¡¯m not telling you anything!¡± Labriel snapped and Toutatis stepped forward to deliver a hard slap on her left cheek, putting his small body behind it that almost sent her headfirst on the bricks. ¡°You little creep!¡± She cursed angrily, trying to stabilize herself on the collapsing pile. ¡°One-eyed goblin¡­argh!¡± Labriel words turned to a miserable cry of pain in an instant. The reason for it was Toutatis, who had jumped on her hurt arm with both feet. The kid was vindictive, no question about that. ¡°Please!¡± Labriel begged with a loud scream and tried to protect her arm from the mean-looking teenager that was now holding a brick in his hands, as if ready to pummel her with it. Ralnor used his working index finger to scratch below his right ear in uncomfortable silence. Toutatis raised the brick threateningly. ¡°Fine!¡± Labriel cried out and curled up in a ball shaking. Tout stared at Ralnor. The assassin was listening for anyone approaching the house from the street alerted from the noise, but the still standing wall blocked the view ¨Cperhaps some of the sound also- and his ears didn¡¯t catch anything suspicious. ¡°Leave the brick.¡± ¡°What?¡± Tout protested. ¡°She can walk the shades and you¡¯re injured. How am I to catch her then? Maybe ye need to tell me how fast.¡± He added with a sly grin. ¡°She can¡¯t walk that well and you¡¯re not ready, so forget about it,¡± Ralnor retorted with a glare. ¡°Give him a gold coin to leave you alone,¡± he told the sniffling Labriel. ¡°What?¡± The female gasped channeling the teenager in between sniffles. ¡°I don¡¯t have any coins! Especially for his likes!¡± ¡°Pfft.¡± Toutatis snorted and tossed the brick back in the pile. ¡°Thrifty chick with small tits,¡± he added staring at the shocked Labriel with judging eyes. ¡°Cheap cunt.¡± Ralnor¡¯s face got distorted by an angry tick that started at his jaw and ended at his left eye. ¡°Dar Nalta,¡± he repeated soberly at the end of it and put a stop at this sudden outburst of malarkey. For a while.
¡°Dar Nalta suggested I use the shades to escape,¡± Labriel said still shaking either from the potion¡¯s effects, the injury, or both. ¡°A test to make grandma proud. Aerien didn¡¯t believe I was ready and she had objected. So grandma told me only to take care of the mark this time. Dar Nalta wanted me to surprise them both.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s Aerien?¡± Ralnor grunted concentrating on the names he didn¡¯t know. ¡°Who¡¯s grandma?¡± Labriel pursed her mouth at the eating an orange fruit pie Toutatis. He paused to eye her warningly in turn. ¡°Aerien is my mother.¡± ¡°Is she prettier than ye?¡± Tout asked with a sly smirk. ¡°You are naught but a street vermin¡ª¡± Labriel hissed angrily, but Ralnor snapped at her cutting the irate Zilan¡¯s outburst short. ¡°Enough! If I have to ask again, then you¡¯ll beg for Tout¡¯s touch.¡± ¡°I rather cut my other arm off.¡± ¡°Good.¡± Tout said meaningfully. ¡°I don¡¯t need yer arms wench.¡± ¡°Go stand on top of the wall and watch the street,¡± Ralnor ordered the smirking teenager. ¡°Are you going to eat her? You have that look.¡± ¡°Oras curse you!¡± Labriel rustled hoarsely. ¡°Demons!¡± Ralnor breathed in and out to combat the rising headache that accompanied his throbbing fingers. ¡°Aerien is a member of the Circle?¡± Ralnor asked after the sullen Toutatis shuffled his feet away, kicking at rocks and ancient plaster pieces in protest. ¡°Who is the father?¡± ¡°Dinmeathor. A priest of Oras. Unfortunately we lost him in the Fall,¡± Labriel replied tensely. ¡°He was a quiet, good man. Poor papa.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure,¡± Ralnor retorted in a mocking manner. ¡°What about your mother?¡± ¡°I¡¯m an Elderblood, born from an Elderborn,¡± Labriel told him clenching her jaw stubbornly. ¡°My bloodline goes back to Vaelerthiel ¡®of the woods¡¯.¡± Oras¡¯ biggest Temple had been on Nureria. Ralnor gulped down nervously. He stood up feeling all his senses waking up and listened to Taras preparing to celebrate Valimae Lilt. The three days prior a preparation, as much a celebration of King Garth¡¯s late Cofol spouse. The new princess¡¯ mother. Bloodlines. Ancestral ties. A half-breed taken from the streets, or abandoned to die in the woods didn¡¯t have to bother himself with that, he thought bitterly. ¡°You said grandma earlier,¡± the grave-faced Ralnor said hoarsely and Labriel watched him curious. ¡°You are a child of the Circle,¡± she said after a moment and her eyes opened wide at the realization. ¡°What were you doing lost inside the Silent Desert?¡±The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Fuck¡¯s sake. ¡°I followed you,¡± Ralnor replied a little insulted and grimaced. ¡°What did I say earlier?¡± ¡°I meant great aunt, but it¡¯s what I call her,¡± Labriel replied with a grimace. ¡°Aerien left the Circle well before I was born.¡± ¡°When was that?¡± ¡°Eighty years before the Issirs came.¡± She was almost Lithoniela¡¯s age. ¡°Aerien is Lord Elas¡¯ daughter,¡± Ralnor said and Labriel nodded. ¡°Aenymriel is your aunt. Why would Aerien follow after her?¡± ¡°She had the skill, but Lord Elas forced her to abandon the trade when he found out. Returned her to the priesthood again, but sent her to Abarat. The latter saved her life.¡± Toutatis whistled from the wall and Ralnor glanced towards the sitting on the lip of the collapsed second floor and looking over the edge teenager. Someone has entered the alley across the street, signaled Toutatis lowering himself. They are about to discover the body. Expect an alarm. Hmm. ¡°Why did she leave the temple in the first place? Nobody had to know,¡± Ralnor asked and tried to move his stitched, swollen and leaking fingers unsuccessfully. ¡°My grandfather found out about the other thing. Priests of Oras can¡¯t have intimate relations,¡± Labriel said defensively. ¡°That¡¯s an old rule, nobody adheres to anymore. Even Uher¡¯s priests sleep around.¡± ¡°My grandfather was a very old head,¡± Labriel retorted. ¡°Aerien was his daughter.¡± Priest Dinmeathor was of a lower caste. Oh, the hypocrisy of the privileged. Oras rules be damned, Lord Elas was upset with the wayward priest more. Distance didn¡¯t break up the relationship of course. ¡°You said I was dead afore,¡± Labriel said carefully and Ralnor glanced her way, keeping an eye on Toutatis. The teenager raised two fingers. Another one had joined the first person entering the alley. Where is the alarm? There¡¯s a headless, butchered dude in there, Ralnor thought increasingly more worried. ¡°You can¡¯t walk the shades after your first kill. You were too panicked, too agitated. It¡¯s a recipe for disaster,¡± Ralnor murmured. ¡°You need to do it well afore that with an escort. Learn the ropes and take control of your emotions. Dar Nalta wanted to get rid of you.¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°On Nym¡¯s orders.¡± ¡°Are you insane?¡± Labriel hissed and pushed herself up with a grimace of pain. She put a hand on her swollen, but looking better nose. ¡°She¡¯s a vindictive, calculative person. Aerien might take Elas spot in the Council now, which Aenymriel possesses finally. You are a liability to her plans at this stage.¡± ¡°Aenymriel would never go against my mother!¡± Labriel snapped furious. I bet she has a plan for that, no one has figured out yet. Weaved patiently over years, each added angle and each concentric circle, invisible to the naked eye, but serving a purpose. Like a spider¡¯s net. ¡°Who ordered this dude killed?¡± ¡°You know I can¡¯t tell you that,¡± Labriel griped. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°Turn around,¡± Ralnor ordered and she pursed her lips. ¡°I need to tie your hands.¡± ¡°What if I tell you? Will you let me go then?¡± You think this is a game with rules pure-blooded lass? ¡°Sure,¡± Ralnor lied. ¡°The man worked for the bank,¡± Labriel said with a pained hiss. ¡°There. Now you know.¡± Not really. ¡°Which bank?¡± ¡°The Imperial Bank¡­ ehm, the Bank of Goras they call it now I suppose,¡± Labriel replied. Interesting. ¡°Look at Toutatis,¡± he told Labriel pointing behind her back and when she turned, Ralnor landed a savage blow below the Zilan female¡¯s long right ear that knocked her out cold. ¡°Tie her up. Watch her arm. Then bring the horse here,¡± he ordered the moving to climb down teenager. Kill her, his cynical mind told him. She¡¯ll tell them everything and they¡¯ll piece together the rest. Eh, she¡¯s an Elderblood, Ralnor fought with himself remembering Edlenn¡¯s teachings. He didn¡¯t have any other guidance. So is Nym. Gods darn it. ¡°Where are you going?¡± Tout asked with a glance at the unconscious female. ¡°She might have a concussion after the beating she took.¡± ¡°She¡¯ll be fine, other than the hand,¡± Ralnor retorted, not really believing it. ¡°I have to see why those two didn¡¯t raise the alarm.¡± ¡°So we keep the girl?¡± ¡°For now,¡± Ralnor grunted at the annoying teenager and then sighed. ¡°You said you liked her.¡± Toutatis raised his brows. ¡°She¡¯s too old Larn. She won¡¯t learn new tricks.¡± ¡°You were too old and learned plenty of new tricks.¡± ¡°I want to walk the shades.¡± ¡°Other than that.¡± With a groan of frustration Tout insisted. ¡°Her aunt doesn¡¯t like us very much. She has a family already.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure she does,¡± Ralnor retorted gruffly and waved Tout towards Labriel. ¡°Head for the ruined part of the old city walls. Use the woods and avoid the guards. Find a spot to hide. I¡¯ll find you there.¡±
When Ralnor reached the alley again the corpse was gone. The pool of blood was there and the ghastly mess Toutatis had left behind cutting the head. Did they use the other end? He wondered walking about. He couldn¡¯t find any spillage on the cobblestone, despite looking carefully in the near vicinity of the gory pool and the walls. Ralnor could hear the people coming and going inside the adventurer¡¯s guild and the main street at the other end of the alley. You wouldn¡¯t drag a body to a much bigger street to hide it. Why would you hide an unknown body? Ralnor smacked his lips seeing the threads connecting. One dead body, left in an alley. Two killers sent to do the job, but only one of them returned, the other lost in the Shadow Realms. Two of Labriel¡¯s still breathing kin possessing that knowledge returned? Eah, threads connecting my arse! He breathed out and hearing a very distant, very strange, strangled howling from the other end of the alley, Ralnor plastered himself on the wall¡¯s shade. His right hand found Labriel¡¯s peleg and carefully unhooked it, then decided against it. Ralnor hooked the peleg again with a scowl, feeling sweat rivulets trickling down his forehead and with his eyes following the hooded figure that walked towards him on light feet. He got a throwing knife out and kept it between mid and ring finger, as the figure examining the ground reached him, then went past the concealed Ralnor. Oras Hells in witch¡¯s visions. Dar Fenog was preoccupied searching about for something, or someone, but had missed Ralnor, and the startled at his appearance Ralnor had lost an opportunity to sneak attack him. For several reasons. Two. Two kin left behind. Another two of them had perished in the Fall. Minus one. He was a good, quiet soul. Dinmeathor was, Labriel had told him earlier. Poor papa. Aenymriel¡¯s murderous servant had bedded her niece, after probably seducing her inside the sacred Oras Temple. Lord Elas insane sister ever plotting behind everyone¡¯s back and moving her pieces on the power board. What¡¯s your next move I wonder? Ralnor queried going after the walking towards the main street sullen Dar Fenog. Silent Dhin, wasn¡¯t a quiet man, priest¡­ whatever. He just couldn¡¯t speak, unless he used a lot of magic. Dar Nalta had taken his tongue to show him the way. Out of the Circle. There was no point for him to go look for the missing body. Dhin had tossed it in the Shadow Realms as offering to buy himself some more time. To search for his missing daughter.
Ralnor followed Dhin down the main street of Taras, hidden behind the crowd of tourists and citizens out in force. A good number of them already inebriated, especially the humans, after tasting the sweet local wines. They passed by Jinx¡¯s villa, reached the center and made a left turn there to head towards Market Street and the lake¡¯s taverns. Ralnor expected Dhin to head back to the taverns, but he stayed on the east side of the busy street and then entered the market instead. The crowd around the stands suffocating, the noise piercing his sensitive ears and the goods on offer reminding him of the bazaars of the Peninsula, or the flea markets of Jelin. Meat and pies. Hides and leather products. Drinks and house amenities. Salves, potions and medicine goods for all known afflictions and some Ralnor had never heard afore. Dhin had found his partner near the healer merchandise tables. The tall, regal, but austerely dressed in old-style black robes female greeted him with a nod. Ralnor followed a fleshy Cofol tourist, enough lard on him to make the perfect roast, ducked behind a stand run by a grinning Zilan merchant wearing a loincloth and used the shaded counter to cut the line of sight of the animated couple. ¡°Have a feel,¡± the Zilan offered pointing at his crotch and Ralnor blinked, a tick ravaging his face. ¡°Or check a different material yourself,¡± the Zilan added seeing his reaction and showed him the goods displayed on the bench. Neatly packed loincloths, scandalous panties and other female underwear covered the whole table. ¡°The softest materials are used, much care and soothing spells also, for the better result and maximum comfort.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll need a minute to think about it,¡± Ralnor croaked hoarsely to buy some time. ¡°It¡¯s a personal matter for some,¡± the Zilan agreed. ¡°Others¡¯ like to share, or experiment beyond society¡¯s norms.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t much use them,¡± Ralnor retorted awkwardly, trying to catch bits of the conversation Dhin was having with the unknown female. Not an easy thing, as they both whispered. ¡°Or revel in the freedom of naked skin, risking it all,¡± the Zilan added warningly, but in a negotiating manner. ¡°If that¡¯s what you prefer.¡± Ralnor wanted to slit his throat and put a stop to their bonding, but they were surrounded by people and besides this wasn¡¯t the best vantage point to see what the half-lost in the crowd Dhin was doing. His eyes darted to the surrounding buildings, picked the tallest one and turned around. ¡°You¡¯ll remember me, come the cold winter,¡± the Zilan mused forlornly behind his back. Ralnor walked fast through the noisy crowd, despite the late afternoon hour, reached the side wall of the building and paused to check for anyone looking his way. When no one did, Ralnor stepped backwards into a shade, burning incense, stepped inside the Silent Desert again and dashed down the short illuminated path towards the lit up portal. He got out the shades without a hitch this time, right in the terrace located on the ceiling of the building facing the market. A cheap hostel of sorts. Ralnor rushed to the edge and stooped behind a huge ceramic pot used for roses. The flowers had blossomed. Red and pink-leafed, they covered almost the whole pot and spilled out of the edges touching the tiled terrace. Ralnor looked down at the busy market and after a while spotted the couple now standing near a showing plenty of skin healer¡¯s table -or part-time model for the loincloth merchant, but still in deep conversation with each other. The assassin breathed out and listened for the many voices coming from below trying to discern Dhin¡¯s characteristic hollow voice and isolate it, as he didn¡¯t know how the female accompanying him sounded. After a tensed slow minute, he finally heard it. ¡°I hear you make dead gardens sing,¡± Dhin told the girl selling potions. ¡°But do you know how to work with rare local incense as well?¡± What in Oras rotten bones? ¡°What¡¯s your favorite?¡± Moira asked and Ralnor blinked in panic, realizing she was the half-dressed comely Cofol. Shite! ¡°Sandalwood coals, frankincense drops, or raw olibanum, Agarwood powder,¡± Dhin replied and Ralnor looked around them for any danger, but saw nothing popping out. Moira¡¯s stand had a line forming already behind Dhin. The most customers of all the other healers as a matter of fact. ¡°How fortunate that I have some prepared!¡± Moira replied mirthfully. ¡°You¡¯ll take a potion too? Something to give you strength for the festival?¡± ¡°Just a bag of incense,¡± Dhin insisted seemingly oblivious to whom he was talking to. Ralnor breathed out, while Aelrindel turned around to search the boxes for the order. ¡°I can prepare some,¡± the female Zilan told her partner sounding jealous. ¡°You should search again.¡± Or worried. ¡°I can¡¯t do anything. I already checked,¡± Dhin hissed not wanting to discuss it in the open. ¡°It¡¯s out of our hands.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll go and find our girl,¡± the female ordered frostily. ¡°Atone for your many sins.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll blame me?¡± ¡°Yes. I would,¡± she retorted regally and asked the approaching the counter Moira in an abrupt sober tone. ¡°You started early healer.¡± ¡°Hah, I haven¡¯t really decided whether to celebrate, or not yet,¡± Moira lied with an earnest smile, not getting the mocking tone dripping from the Zilan¡¯s words. ¡°Everyone seems to want me to though. I wonder why?¡± You start semi-naked whilst still sober? Ralnor offered. Most prowling cretins are looking for easy targets. ¡°You should Moira!¡± An apparently regular customer yelled from the back of the line. ¡°Yeah babe,¡± said another with a meaningful wink. ¡°Show them how it¡¯s done.¡± There. ¡°Gratitude sweet Malik,¡± Moira gushed waving at the beefy Cofol. Fuck¡¯s sake! Ralnor thought increasingly worried. Just send them on their blasted way! Now, before you say something stupider! ¡°You¡¯ll feel right at home, I¡¯m certain,¡± the female Zilan noted wryly and Moira furrowed her brows troubled. ¡°With so many slaves around.¡± Ralnor reached the left side of his weapon harness with his right arm looking for his hanged there crossbow. He got it out, placed it on the parapet in front of him and got a bolt out of his boot. ¡°Mayhap thou should try it as well,¡± the insulted Moira told the stiff female Zilan in Imperial, ¡°but I reckon Oras¡¯ priests possess two left feet, and thou wouldn¡¯t want to make a fool of thyself.¡± ¡°Perceptive and well-trained pet,¡± the female said frostily. ¡°What¡¯s behind all that paint girl?¡± ¡°What paint?¡± Dhin asked his partner and the Zilan, probably Aerien, made a dismissive gesture towards the grouching Aelrindel. ¡°Your healer is masqueraded. From the color of her hair, to her skin and eyes,¡± she told her grimacing full of growing suspicion assassin partner, ¡°Why, she might not even be a Cofol at all!¡± Aelrindel narrowed her eyes and a breeze came from the lake, just as Ralnor ¨Cwho had guessed the witch was about to strike down Labriel¡¯s mother- took aim with the crossbow, after scanning the nearby area for a target and fired before the witch acted. Ralnor¡¯s bolt zipped down from his elevated position, the sound of the crossbow drown in the ruckus coming from the market, traversed thirty meters in a breath and nailed a preaching bard¡¯s raised hand. Going right through. ¡°ARRRGH! GODS! THE PAIN!¡± The bard started yelling at the top of his lungs over-reacting to the injury, whilst clasping at his bleeding palm. ¡°MURDERED IN BROAD DAYLIGHT!¡± The voices stopped inside the market abruptly and then people rushed near the rolling on the ground bard to help him, others yelped twice as loud without reason, or ducked for cover. Some run away, jumping over the stands creating a mini stampede, while a few continued bantering unperturbed after a brief stop and a couple of shady-looking figures found the opportunity to steal whatever they could in the chaos. Dhin had left Aerien behind to approach the injured bard, paused a couple meters from the gathered group of helpers discussing the man¡¯s injury and looking about him located Ralnor¡¯s blood dripping bolt stuck on a stand¡¯s support some meters away. The assassin touched the nailed in a downwards trajectory bolt with a gloved finger and then turned his head towards the buildings overlooking the market. Ralnor was already retreating from his hiding spot, still concealed behind the roses, but noticed Dhin staring directly towards him and frowned. He paused unsure, hurt hand slowly reaching for another bolt, this he¡¯d hidden inside his right sleeve, when a voice coming from the other corner of the terrace was heard. The voice and its owner concealed behind another large ceramic flowerpot full of blooming roses. ¡°I think Dhin might have spotted me, hehe,¡± Dar Nym giggled. ¡°Now, where did that naughty sound come from?¡± She asked rhetorically stepping away from the edge of the terrace. The hidden eight meters away Ralnor had pressed the bolt inside the crossbow and was in the process of carefully pulling at the string to reload it, when a whispering, singing voice replied. The apparently not rhetorical query. ¡°Strange creaking came from very near,¡± Dar Nalta replied making rhymes and Ralnor heard unseen feet, tip-tapping towards his position, ¡°Hidden killer, hunting for deer.¡± Ralnor retreated towards the terrace corner¡¯s edge, an eye on the door three meters away leading downstairs, the other on the now moving stems and roses, where he was standing afore. ¡°Guard the door and all shall become clear!¡± Dar Nalta hummed bristling with excitement, whilst frantically searching the large flowerpot. Hells and flaming buckets! The cornered Ralnor cursed, upon seeing Dhin below him moving towards their building¡¯s entrance as well and without a second thought he jumped lithely on the parapet, just as a flash of light erupted half a meter from him turning everything a blinding white and six small blades screamed out of it cutting through the air. Three of them hit the already leaping with his back to the void Ralnor, after he shot a bolt on the emerging out of the teleportation spell albino arachnid, the others striking the parapet he had been standing on a moment before. Ralnor plummeted towards the granite tiles waiting fifteen meters under him, but had the presence of mind to glance towards a dark window fifty meters away, at the other corner of the square housing the market. Without a second thought he used some of the blood filling his lungs and throat. The blood hissed igniting and burned, blackening the dropping like a rock Zilan¡¯s esophagus and gums, but Dar Eherdir whispered raspingly, ¡°Ez Nigrein,¡± in the Old Witch Tongue and performed the Greater Gift of Stealth mid-drop. This wasn¡¯t how the masters of eons past had envisioned this particular spell to be used. Fuck ¡®em all to Oras Hells! A meter from the grey tiles of the market and the likely pulverizing finale, Ralnor blinked out of existence.
He crashed on the ashen road for the third time in hours, a feat already too taxing in a normal day, and went into a roll to minimize the damage. A bruised Ralnor jumped on his feet at the end of it, faltered trying to get the darn knife out of his neck, drowning in fresh blood that replaced the burned one and almost went down in the attempt to reach the blinking oval portal ten meters away. Grunting like a gutted beast and running on pure spite and dogged determination, he extracted another knife ¨Ca grip less steel blade the size of his palm- from his shoulder and a third stuck in his left hip. Ralnor stumbled towards the illuminated opening, his ears ringing and feeling the numbness of lithe coming, as his body had exhausted itself. Motherfuckers, he thought stubbornly dragging himself to the finish line, not caring about the circling him fiends and beasts of the Shadow Realms, the latter reluctant to approach the familiarly smelling, and clearly struggling foe that had haunted their domain for centuries. Those that had, Dar Eherdir had cut down mercilessly, killing them forever. In another time and at another place of the endless realms, a brave fiend might have made the attempt, but not in this spot and not this day. With an animalistic growl Dar Eherdir emerged inside the villa¡¯s window and collapsed on the carpeted floor leaving the Shadow Realms behind. Feeling his eyes close, the battered Ralnor jerked awake with a pained grunt, crawled to the table on all fours and grabbed at the covering. With a heave he pulled it down creating a great ruckus, several plates and goblets clattering on the tiled floor. ¡°Ugrh,¡± Ralnor growled and teared at the linen covering to make bandages and plug the wounds leaking blood on the floor. His recently stitched, unhealed fingers not working properly ¨Cor at all- and making a simple action difficult. ¡°Argh,¡± he groaned and spat blood down to clear his throat, slotting a piece of cloth in the deep gush. Using the needle and whatever thread was left there from the previous job, not that long ago, he mended the wound some, after getting the now blood-soaked cloth out. With the cut sufficiently closed, but not fully sealed, he wrapped a fresh piece of cloth around his neck to keep everything together. Without losing time Ralnor tied his arm next, right at the shoulder and then worked on the left thigh, cutting his leather pants first to check on the wound. Gulping down blood, feeling his burned esophagus hurt so much he couldn¡¯t taste its flavor, Ralnor sat down on the floor staring at the door leading downstairs and searched his satchel for the leftover potion he¡¯d used earlier. He found the fancy vial unbroken, which was a miracle unto itself, sucked a deep breath in, bit the cork off and then let the breath out ruggedly. Some of the air hissed out of his stitched neck. Do it you slimy cunt! With that bit of verbal self-encouragement he poured the mixture down his throat and swallowed it along with copious amounts of blood. The potion hit him like a sledgehammer between the eyes, because he was too weakened to withstand its poison and he¡¯d already had another hours prior. ¡°Eh,¡± Ralnor grunted and then blacked out.
¡°There he is officer,¡± a human voice said as he came about some time later. ¡°I didn¡¯t move him. Someone stabbed him and left him in here.¡± ¡°Was there a break in?¡± Another voice asked. ¡°No. I was downstairs, but I heard quite the ruckus.¡± ¡°What where you doing downstairs?¡± The officer asked suspiciously. ¡°We had an incident an hour prior in the market. A bard was wounded. A light injury.¡± Ralnor cracked his eyes open and reached for one of the bloody knives he¡¯d extracted out of him. The guard had his back to him and the owner of the house looked very worried at the question. ¡°I was inside all the time. I may have watched the market¡¯s happenings from the window?¡± ¡°What happenings? Be more specific.¡± Ralnor got up with a hissing growl and the owner gawked his eyes seeing him rise. ¡°He¡¯s alive!¡± ¡°That¡¯s optimistic, the man lost a lot of blood¡ª¡± the officer stopped, grabbed at his nape and then went down without another sound. The gawking owner stared at the gory figure of Ralnor standing over the lifeless body shocked. ¡°I need raw meat to stand on my feet,¡± Ralnor growled hoarsely and the human gulped down in panic. ¡°But you¡¯ll tell all about it afterwards.¡± ¡°No,¡± the owner protested whilst retreating out of the room. ¡°I won¡¯t. Go ahead friend,¡± he started running towards the stairs afore finishing his words. Ralnor grunted, dropped the knife and unhooked the throwing axe from his harness, hefted it once over his shoulder with a grimace of pain and then hurled it at the running for his life human, who was already six meters away. The peleg whipped across the empty corridor and caught the owner at the right side of the head, just as he¡¯d started leaping down the staircase. The blade split the cranium and shoved the unlucky human on the opposite wall with a bang. Then he tumbled lifeless down the rest of the steps and stopped a meter from the end of the stairs. ¡°Eh,¡± Ralnor grunted and stooping picked up the knife again. With a scowl he limped towards the staircase to retrieve his axe. Use it on the owner next. Yeah. He seemed well-fed and the better choice on the menu. No time for fancy roasts, he decided rolling down the blood-covered stairs. Just get the best parts and we¡¯ll season them properly later. - 1st of Sextus 195 (First Bacchanalia of the year) 1st Norui (Sixth Moon of the year) 3401 IC Early summer Valimae Lilt Late night ¡°Close the door,¡± a sitting in the dark Ralnor told the sorceress, who had entered still soaked from her late-evening bath. ¡°Use the chair. The Gish pops her pink head in, I cut it with the axe and it¡¯ll be your fault.¡± ¡°Oh, for Goddess¡¯ sake,¡± an exasperated Aelrindel protested and then turned around to place the chair under the knob. ¡°I almost pissed myself.¡± She told him returning, her wet feet making squelching sounds on the tiled floor. Aelrindel sat across from him and crossed her legs, holding the towel over her breasts. ¡°I need to sleep a little. The market might be closed today, but I want to see Taras.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t go out again today. Or any day,¡± Ralnor rustled, having trouble raising his voice after the damage he¡¯d caused hours prior. ¡°Hah. Very funny. I have a date,¡± the sorceress stared at him intently. ¡°Taras is teeming with assassins.¡± ¡°We know that,¡± Aelrindel replied indifferently. ¡°Still, I had a visit while I was closing for the day and I get to see the taverns during the festival with company.¡± Ralnor licked his lips and moved his left arm on the table slowly. ¡°I need you to fix this,¡± he rustled. ¡°I can¡¯t move the fingers.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the problem? Broke them?¡± The sorceress asked and reached for his hand. ¡°Oi,¡± she recoiled. ¡°What did you do? Are these stitches?¡± ¡°What else? I ain¡¯t into piercing, and I didn¡¯t do shit. Lost two fingers trying to follow Elas¡¯ granddaughter¡¯s virgin foray inside the Shadow Realms.¡± ¡°Elas?¡± Aelrindel asked. ¡°As in Lord Elas?¡± ¡°Yes doll. Him. He had a daughter Aerien. Did you hear the rest I just said?¡± ¡°Never heard of her.¡± Apparently not. ¡°You were talking with her inside the darn market!¡± Ralnor growled, feeling jolts of agony coming from several spots. ¡°No, I didn¡¯t,¡± Aelrindel protested indignant. ¡°How do you know, who I¡¯m¡ª?¡± Ralnor stopped her grabbing at her hand over the table. ¡°I didn¡¯t finish,¡± he rustled. ¡°Fine. Let me get a potion first¡ª¡± ¡°I had two already!¡± Ralnor growled and the sorceress breathed out and then pulled her hand out of his. ¡°What¡¯s gotten into you? Taking too much might kill you!¡± ¡°Are you listening? People are trying to kill me since I stepped foot in Goras! Gods damnit!¡± Ralnor snapped losing control and struggling to get it back. Fuck! ¡°Aerien was at the blasted market. They stopped at your stand to buy incense with Dhin.¡± ¡°Wait¡­¡± ¡°There¡¯s more!¡± Ralnor grunted stopping her and Aelrindel puckered her mouth annoyed. ¡°Nym was watching the exchange with Dar Nalta. I had to¡­ improvise to keep your cover.¡± ¡°Ugh? They obviously missed me.¡± ¡°You almost gave it all away!¡± ¡°Stop this angry attacking tone¡ª¡± Ralnor had cut her words short punching Dar Nalta¡¯s knife in the table between them. ¡°Six knives that cunt hurled at me. Didn¡¯t see it coming and you won¡¯t. We are horribly exposed here Doll. See reason!¡± ¡°I came here for Lithoniela.¡± ¡°No you didn¡¯t. Not only for her. Stop lying,¡± Ralnor grunted and pushed himself back on the chair with a groan. ¡°You came to see the king also. It¡¯s the same story always. Although you¡¯ve seen this kid afore and of course the boy turned out worse than you thought. Right?¡± ¡°I guess.¡± ¡°Wrong. The boy is Hardir O¡¯ Fardor. You dreamed of a flirting king.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t he a king?¡± ¡°You tell me. Do you want me to start again? This is Hardir O¡¯ Fardor, dabbling as the king of Wetull. The previous guy started as a pirate lord. Though he may have been just a prison inmate on death row originally. Out on a technicality because the world ended. I¡¯m not confident you¡¯ve seen the same person both times doll.¡± The witch sighed. ¡°You think I was wrong to be curious?¡± She asked silently. ¡°I had to know.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t know for sure. A person can change in an instant and for many reasons. To know you need to see his dreams and even this isn¡¯t a guarantee. A person can change still, or smoke a lot of drugs. Leave that aside and look to the current situation. If Nym is following Baltoris¡¯ decrees, you are not safe. Matter of fact, as long as she breathes, no one is safe.¡± ¡°Nym is doing the Monarch¡¯s bidding,¡± Aelrindel retorted. A man came from the bank, Labriel had told him. Ralnor smacked his lips. ¡°Would that cretin know what she¡¯s up to?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. Why would she ever risk her status with him? Why isn¡¯t Aerien in the Council?¡± ¡°She had an affair with a priest of Oras. The death god¡¯s priests rolling in the hay inside his tomb-temple. Dinmeathor. Dhin. Lord Elas opted to lock her up is my hypothesis. In his tower. It was standard practice for him I heard. Solved his problems by making the realm forget about them. Did it with Aenymriel and with Aerien, I¡¯m certain.¡± ¡°He almost did it with me. I barely got out of there.¡± ¡°Possibly.¡± ¡°Dhin was a priest of Oras?¡± She asked next. ¡°Even killers have a life. Well, except for Dar Draug I suppose, but you never know.¡± ¡°They are together still?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what they are after all this time, but at some point, Elas let Aerien out, as he had done with his sister,¡± Ralnor explained. ¡°Now the girl wasn¡¯t sufficiently reformed ¨Cno surprise there- and went back to her murderous lover. They had Labriel and by then Elas was more accommodating in his later years, I suppose, or they hid it better.¡± ¡°What would Aerien take in exchange for her seat in the Council and silence about her transgression?¡± How to gauge another¡¯s real values? ¡°What does a priest without a temple want?¡± Ralnor asked and Aelrindel nodded in agreement. She stooped over the table, forgetting about her towel that dropped leaving her heaving breasts exposed. ¡°Where is the¡­ Oh, do you mind?¡± The sorceress asked with a coy smile. ¡°Not at all,¡± Ralnor replied evenly. ¡°Go on dear.¡± ¡°Where is this Labriel now?¡± ¡°With Tout.¡± ¡°You left an assassin with Toutatis?¡± The sorceress admonished him. ¡°She¡¯s not that great an assassin and the kid is crafty,¡± Ralnor retorted. I didn¡¯t have much of a choice at that point anyway. ¡°Rhu wants to take me to a tavern,¡± the sorceress said changing the subject. ¡°Tell the cheap bastard you¡¯ll fuck him without the expense,¡± Ralnor grunted. ¡°He¡¯ll pay. It¡¯s a sign of commitment. How normal folk live.¡± ¡°No doll, it¡¯s a sign he¡¯s looking to get laid with a pretty Cofol healer,¡± Ralnor retorted tiredly and pushed himself up from the table despite the naked flesh on display. ¡°And normal folk don¡¯t go about using an illusion spell and makeup to mask their appearance. We are not normal folk. Ah, your adventurer might be connected to the palace by the way.¡± ¡°Eh? How?¡± ¡°The Guild is covering for him. Why would they?¡± ¡°He¡¯s very famous?¡± ¡°Yeah, another Ebenezer Framtond. My goodness, what a colossal crook that skulk turned out to be right?¡± Aelrindel puckered her mouth and reaching under the table grabbed her towel. She wore it over her chest and walked to the bed. ¡°Why sent an acolyte to do a job for the Circle?¡± The witch asked. She was sitting at the edge of the bed now and had gathered her long legs under the towel. ¡°Was it a meaningless job?¡± Centuries later, Ralnor was still surprised about how intelligent she could be. ¡°Mmm. Nym might have wanted to get rid of the girl.¡± ¡°Sure. But why risk it? Why risk a royal contract to do it?¡± It wasn¡¯t a royal contract? ¡°What are you saying?¡± ¡°Nym might genuinely be insane Larn,¡± the witch said with a cute yawn. ¡°There could be no logical reason for her actions, or if there is, it is something no sane person would ever pursue.¡± ¡°Like finding an imaginary ruler that lives in a millennia old dream?¡± ¡°My mother knew about the dream also,¡± the half-asleep witch murmured. She had collapsed backwards on a pillow. Ralnor walked to the bed and stretched the misplaced towel to cover her up. Then went to the window and closed it shut using the lock. This isn¡¯t a house, it¡¯s an open hostel, Oras curse them! ¡°What did Edlenn say?¡± He asked not expecting an answer and headed for the door. ¡°That I should go back to Neil Dan. She thinks I¡¯ll die here.¡± Yet you took the risk. One could never accuse the witch for a lack of courage in the face of danger. Behind all the silliness, Aelrindel was a trooper and she would fight for what she wanted. ¡°When was this?¡± ¡°I saw her spirit in Sadofort, on our way here. Ah, I¡¯d like to visit her grave,¡± Aelrindel replied sadly and opened her gleaming eyes. ¡°You haven¡¯t changed Larn, in all this time that I know you. Why?¡± Ralnor paused with the chair in his hands. He placed it down and reached for the knob with a grimace. ¡°I always knew exactly what I wanted,¡± he told her hoarsely. ¡°Since I was a kid. Neither Nym, nor Edlenn could ever change that, but I have changed too doll. Now I need far more things than what I did back then.¡± - Hours later Dawn The cries of drunken joy of the wildly celebrating city could be heard in the distance as Ralnor led his ¡®borrowed¡¯ horse west following the old city¡¯s ruined walls. Some still stood as silent witnesses of a bygone era, huge sharp pieces of petrified basalt alike a dragon¡¯s teeth, pointing to the skies. For the most part only the base of the massive walls remained, a long white line of stone and rocks heading west towards Goras¡¯ gulf and Hardir¡¯s Port. The farmers had leveled the furthest parts to build their farmhouses and repair the road, but here behind the inner city¡¯s half-repaired houses, the chasms at the still standing foundations whistled with the summer breeze, carrying songs of the past and words of the present. ¡°I¡¯m sad,¡± the unseen Labriel told Toutatis. Her words distorted coming out of a chasm in the massive rock walls, the pair had camped into. Ralnor stopped the horse and dismounted, glad to leave the madness of Taras¡¯ streets behind. Almost fell apart hitting the ground, every part of his body hurting, from toes to eyebrows. ¡°I¡¯ve lost my hand forever.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve lost my eye forever and I didn¡¯t have the chance to use it for as long as you did. I¡¯m pretty pissed about that,¡± Tout replied from inside the cave like opening. With the vegetation growing near the walls, they were almost perfectly hidden. Dar had snorted sensing another horse near and gave away their position. Even if he hadn¡¯t, their voices would have made Larn stop. ¡°How did you lose it?¡± ¡°A cunt of the Circle took it. I got her good though. She¡¯s a goner.¡± ¡°Whoa, you have issues kid. Your friend is part of the Circle by the way. One of its lost children. Far as I know, no one ever really gets out,¡± Labriel argued and Ralnor paused with a scowl at the entrance. Don¡¯t give her nothing lad. ¡°There are lost children outside the Circle in this realm and he can do whatever the fuck he wants. You¡¯ve no idea who he is,¡± Tout replied soberly. ¡°Even if you knew, you wouldn¡¯t know still and stand blind while he¡¯s next to you. There¡¯s a whole other realm out there and all who follow the dark trade, know his name and heed to his words. No assassin would ever stand in front of him, or offer challenge. It would be obscene and illogical, for without him there would be no guild and no rules, just a bunch of crazed killers running around alike strays. There¡¯s a lot of that by the way.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a story in the old Kingdom, about a powerful assassin like that,¡± Labriel teased switching to perfect Imperial for the next part. ¡°Dar¡¯ Eherdir O¡¯ Lome, the Lord Master of Shades,¡± she said lowering her voice. ¡°But simple folk called him Fae O¡¯ Elum, the spirit of twilight. I can believe all humans would fear your friend, if that¡¯s him. I feel rather lucky to have survived the ordeal.¡± ¡°As I said,¡± Tout argued. ¡°You might know a lot of things, but you don¡¯t know him at all. Fear is just one side of the coin, the other is respect and even love, for without his efforts when we needed him the most, all of us in the guild and many others would be already dead.¡± That¡¯s enough, Ralnor thought curling his lip upwards to show a sharp incisor. It was more an escaped to the land of the living Shadow Realms ghoul''s proud smile than a human''s, but it was a smile nonetheless. ¡°Hah, you¡¯re smarter than you look Toutatis,¡± Labriel sniggered, but stopped immediately alarmed, as the sober Ralnor¡¯s thick and elongated, dancing shadow, blocked the crimson dawn¡¯s dim light that crept inside their little hiding place, the moment the father of all assassins walked inside. 532. I hear you make gardens sing (1/2)
Glen Arguen Garth Hardir O¡¯ Fardor Lord of Morn Taras Monarch of Wetull King beyond the Pale Mountains Aniculo Rokae Duath Erin I Menel Malantur O¡¯ Furu Rhu Fareno I hear you make gardens sing Part I -Good Man-
1st Norui (Sixth Moon of the year) 3401 IC Early morning, brief King¡¯s Council meeting Early summer (first Valimae of the year colloquially) Valimae Lilt festival Morn Taras Throne Room East side¡¯s Sixth internal Column conference tables
The Monarch came down from his quarters to partake in the morning meeting, before the festivities started at noon. Lord Fikumin was present with Lady Phinariel and Theron Gravelbrow. SETC Admiral Flardryn, Lady Aenymriel, Master Rybel, Master Laius Cinna, Master Luvon, Master Folen, Castellan Rimeros and yours truly Vulreon O¡¯ Kataer, the King¡¯s Scribe. Nothing of import was discussed in the open to the public session, but the Monarch was briefed on Lassel¡¯s progress and the situation unfolding in Scaldingport.
Rimeros was adamant. ¡°It is the dwarf¡¯s turn.¡± Luvon puffed out his chest in exasperation and stared at the scowled Fikumin. The dwarf had climbed on the chair to better see those sitting at the big table, much like Theron. ¡°I was speaking of mister Theron,¡± Rimeros said after a prickly, brief exchange of stares between the banker and the Monarch¡¯s Shield. ¡°I yield my time to Master Fikumin,¡± Theron rasped, slamming his fist hard on the table, rattling cutlery, overturning glasses and spilling wine on papers, much as dwarves habitually do. ¡°The other dwarf,¡± Glen elucidated, lifting his eyes from the reports gathered by their Cofol spies. The latter mostly merchants working for the Sopat. Fikumin snorted at his intervention, but immediately began to speak, after a quick glance at the panicked Phinariel, who had rushed to save the scrolls from the spill. ¡°We have two hundred visitors in custody,¡± Fikumin said. ¡°For failing to find accommodation during the festival days. We have no rooms available. The city is packed! Either open Morn Taras¡¯ dungeon for the city¡¯s prisoners, or build a proper prison in Taras.¡± ¡°A prison in Taras?¡± Rimeros asked to clarify the point, adding in a reasonable manner. ¡°That¡¯s just terrible optics Lord Shield.¡± ¡°We have them sardined inside a warehouse,¡± Fikumin retorted. ¡°They currently enjoy no optics at all, Lord Castellan.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t they camp outside the city?¡± Glen asked not very interested in the matter. ¡°The ruins and jungle are dangerous, the forest and the east side of Taras Lake closed for the public for some reason. But the biggest obstacle to your suggestion is that even the former places are also forbidden to visitors, since last year¡¯s debacle.¡± ¡°Who gave the order?¡± Glen snapped. ¡°You did,¡± Fikumin fired back in his booming voice. Good grief, the darn boulder-headed dwarf is right! Damn it. ¡°Royal sheep had been slain! And Hardir¡¯s decision is very profitable,¡± Folen defended what was his suggestion originally. ¡°Hence why all the hostels are packed Lord Shield.¡± The culprit had been Uvrycres probably. ¡°Nobody travels here to risk jail time Folen!¡± Fikumin blasted him. ¡°Just try to calm down Fiku,¡± Glen scolded the fiercely fired up dwarf. ¡°It¡¯s an open space this and the sound travels. My daughter is sleeping upstairs.¡± Hopefully. ¡°I¡¯m very calm Garth. These prisoners have families too.¡± I return your blasted argument ye cretin. Can¡¯t guilt-trip me! I raise my child alone! With help from a few friends. Servants. Employees. Umm. Where were we? Ah, yes. ¡°Is there a way to dump the problem on someone else? Priest Voldomir has room to spare right?¡± Glen offered and clasped his hands together over the pile of scrolls in front of him. The more you learn to read, the more papers people shove in front of your face and not everything written down is interesting most of the times. This wasn¡¯t one of those times. ¡°The Goddess¡¯ Temple is housing a lot of visitors already you grace,¡± Rimeros informed him. ¡°Can we find them rooms inside the city?¡± ¡°Hardir¡¯s Port has the marines barracks finished,¡± Flardryn suggested. ¡°We don¡¯t want people near the naval yards Hardir,¡± Rybel warned. ¡°But if Mirthral can use the 13th Marine unit to assist in keeping them in check, I have no problem.¡± ¡°The Bank can house some of them, if Hardir¡¯s Port is picked to take up the burden,¡± Luvon offered and Glen nodded. ¡°Have it fixed afore noon Fiku,¡± Glen said semi-pleased and noticed Hagen standing near the furthermost of the empty conference tables ¨Cthere were three of them in a row, but only the closest to the throne was used- next to Samak and Hesam, the two desert Cofol bodyguards. Hagen made a gesture to Glen that everything had been taken care off. ¡°On the matter of our goods held up at Sabretooth Castle,¡± Rimeros started and Glen turned his attention on him. ¡°We have been asked to send an envoi to Baron Scylla to take care of the fines first.¡± ¡°What fines?¡± Glen asked. ¡°We are not allowed to sell goods in bulk inside cities, or use Regia¡¯s road system your grace,¡± Rimeros explained. ¡°Because Regia doesn¡¯t recognize your rule.¡± ¡°Fuck them,¡± Glen retorted and Phina blinked reading what she had written down. The more experienced Vulreon had navigated the Monarch¡¯s hoarse tongue already in contrast and was looking at Glen now, his quill ready. ¡°Still, the problem persists Hardir.¡± Rimeros insisted maintaining his professionalism. ¡°Mmm. When will South Eplas Trading Company give us a fresh update on the alternate route?¡± ¡°There have been some complications,¡± Luvon informed him. ¡°Handled.¡± Right. ¡°Flardryn can you kick this Scylla out of Sabretooth?¡± Glen asked the Marine Leader. ¡°I don¡¯t know this city, but if it¡¯s a port the marines can take it. I¡¯m certain it can be done, Hardir.¡± ¡°Sabretooth is a border town, a part of Regia,¡± Fikumin informed them and the deathly-pale Laius Cinna nodded. ¡°You do that and you¡¯ll have to fight every Lorian in Jelin. Not just part of Lesia. Nobody has ever succeeded to unify the Lorians Garth, don¡¯t be the first to do it.¡± Glen breathed out and then pursed his mouth tightly. ¡°Over this Scylla?¡± ¡°He¡¯s a Baron,¡± Cinna intervened. ¡°A very old, much respected family. Sabretooth houses a legion.¡± ¡°Which is not there currently,¡± Glen retorted. ¡°True, but the 4th has moved up the shore your grace,¡± Cinna said. ¡°How many legions does Regia have?¡± ¡°Four.¡± ¡°Five,¡± Fikumin corrected Cinna after an angry gesture by Theron. ¡°How the fuck does this Lucius can afford so many men?¡± Glen asked. ¡°That¡¯s almost the size of the Khan¡¯s army and all-together probably nearing fifty thousand personnel involved. Are we not richer than him?¡± ¡°We are Hardir, but we don¡¯t have nowhere near the manpower, nor the structure to support such numbers,¡± Cinna elucidated. ¡°Greater Regia alone controls a population of millions consisting of Lorians, Issirs, dwarves and Northmen through satellite states, vassal duchies and treaties.¡± ¡°I have a wyvern,¡± Glen reminded him. ¡°They say that well over a hundred artillery pieces were fielded during the battle for the Lorian Plains alone, your grace,¡± Laius Cinna insisted. ¡°Most of them Scorpios.¡± That¡¯s a fuck ton of iron bolts, Glen thought concerned. He glanced at Hagen and the bodyguard gave him a thumbs up. Mmm. Glen rubbed his face with a hand and nodded. ¡°Fine. We¡¯ll wait for your people Luvon. Is Doris dealing with the matter? I didn¡¯t see him at all.¡± ¡°Aye, but he took the day off. He¡¯s looking to be presentable for the festival my liege,¡± Cinna informed him. ¡°Given that he is a widower.¡± ¡°Fuck that has to do with anything?¡± Glen snapped. ¡°I¡¯m a widower. Did I make a big deal out of it? No. Neither am I going to participate in the festivities,¡± he continued given the opportunity to clear out his schedule. ¡°But remain instead in Morn Taras to work on the Kingdom¡¯s problems!¡± ¡°Apologies,¡± Cinna said and sat down. ¡°I¡¯ll pass your words to Doris.¡± ¡°Eh, never mind. Give the former Duke a bit of a time off,¡± Glen said reasonably and noticed Luvon had received a missive from of one the bank¡¯s employees that had come with him. A Zilan named Riston. ¡°Anything important Luvon?¡± ¡°We just had a bit of house cleaning done Hardir,¡± Luvon replied and nodded to Riston, seemingly relieved with the news. ¡°The news are auspicious.¡± ¡°A wedding?¡± Glen probed. ¡°A funeral,¡± Luvon deadpanned and another assistant entered to deliver a missive to Folen, who read it fast and frowned. ¡°Someone I know?¡± Glen asked rapping his fingers on the table. ¡°An associate was just murdered Hardir. Outside the adventurer¡¯s guild,¡± Folen replied with a suspicious glare at the now sober, unreadable face of the two bankers. ¡°They found his head in a nearby ruin.¡± ¡°A criminal?¡± ¡°Let us not speak ill of the dead Hardir,¡± a sad Folen dodged respectfully. Aha. ¡°Well then,¡± Glen said with that piece of news out and stood up. ¡°I have something equally important to deal with friends,¡± he told them and stretched his back. ¡°After that I¡¯ll be unavailable for the day.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be good for the people to see the King, Garth,¡± Fikumin suggested. ¡°My pensive mood will spoil the festivities Fiku. I¡¯ve been mourning yesterday,¡± Glen replied readily which was half the truth. ¡°Perhaps next year.¡± Eh, a third of it. Plus I can¡¯t be in two places at once.
Glen retreated in the quasi-hall behind the throne, leaving Rimeros to round up the meeting. He expected Hagen to show up with the details of his ¡®mission¡¯, but Aenymriel walked after him instead and paused near the serving himself a piece of orange cake from the plate Monarch. ¡°I¡¯m famished,¡± Glen explained after gulping it down. ¡°Early meetings leave little time for a proper breakfast.¡± ¡°You could move them later,¡± Aenymriel said, staring at the pouring himself a glass of white, fruity wine, Glen with her large indigo eyes. She had freshly shorn her blue hair again and it made her Zilan ears pop out more alike a bunny¡¯s. ¡°I¡¯m busy later,¡± Glen replied leaving it vague. ¡°You were silent in there.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard nothing of interest to me.¡± ¡°Kingdom matters are boring to you?¡± ¡°I can solve your Scylla problem without all the red tape,¡± Aenymriel replied with a coy smile and reached to take Glen¡¯s goblet to sniff at its contents. ¡°Have at it,¡± Glen replied when she went to return it. ¡°I had enough.¡± ¡°Scylla won¡¯t be easily corrupted. It¡¯s what they are proposing.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°They believe you were unserious.¡± Glen nodded and glanced behind her back at the nervous Hagen. ¡°How would removing him solve our problem? The next Baron might be stricter, or as big a fanatic.¡± ¡°We get rid of him as well,¡± Aenymriel said with a shrug. ¡°Scylla fought against Lucius in the Civil War, but the general-king spared him. He¡¯ll do what Lucius decides, so you need to convince Lucius to open the borders for us.¡± ¡°Or we sneak our products in,¡± Glen argued. ¡°They¡¯ll never like you Hardir. The Lorian kings are not like Elsanne, a princess desperate to get her hands on a throne. Would she have asked for your help otherwise? Would her Issirs follow her lead when they come to power? She uses your mercenaries, but words from her are fewer already, the closer she gets to her goal.¡± ¡°Let me think about it,¡± Glen replied with a grimace. ¡°I have your gift.¡± ¡°The weapon?¡± Aenymriel nodded. ¡°I can help,¡± she whispered and glanced back at Hagen. ¡°Ask about Feyras,¡± Aenymriel added and stooped to leave the untouched goblet on the small table, before turning around and walking away. Hagen followed the plainly-dressed Zilan with his eyes and then turned to the thoughtful Glen. ¡°Weird lass,¡± Hagen commented. ¡°Mysterious in a good way was my meaning milord.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know about that,¡± Glen murmured. ¡°Samak?¡± ¡°He went to sneak the horse out of the stables milord,¡± Hagen replied. ¡°Good. You gave her the missive?¡± Glen queried and Hagen nodded that he had.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°Did she say anything?¡± ¡°There was a lot of drama in the market milord. We talked very little. She looks much better in natural light.¡± She looks fine under the moonlight also. ¡°What drama?¡± Glen asked and sat in the armchair next to the table. ¡°Someone shot a bard¡¯s hand off.¡± ¡°Did he owe people money?¡± ¡°Not really. Hulanor did probably,¡± Hagen replied with a frown. ¡°What about him?¡± Glen asked curious. ¡°He¡¯s dead. That was his head they found in them ruins,¡± Hagen explained. ¡°Folen was pretty shocked about it.¡± ¡°Hmm. Tell Folen I want to talk with him,¡± Glen said smacking his lips. ¡°What was that about Feyras?¡± ¡°He raised a ruckus yesterday to get people to travel to Chimera¡¯s, but I don¡¯t know anything else milord.¡± ¡°Rimeros would know, he never misses a report,¡± Glen decided. ¡°Get him over here. Right, after I finish with him, we need to move smartly out of the castle.¡± ¡°Aye, milord. Samak suggested a cheaper solution.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Glen retorted. ¡°Don¡¯t turn shy on me Hagen.¡± ¡°Samak said they could go grab the girl for some reason, or another. He¡¯s done that for a living with Hesam. Slap her a collar on and it¡¯s a done deal. Nobody would bat an eyelash milord.¡± ¡°Hagen, we don¡¯t do that my friend, plus I¡¯ve got this covered,¡± Glen argued with a soft smile. ¡°Not to mention everyone would know I¡¯ve had the girl enslaved, when they spot those two dragging her back to Morn Taras in chains. If I wanted a slave I could just buy one in the market, or ask Lon-Iv for a special delivery. But I¡¯m not. Why?¡± ¡°You have too many slave girls already?¡± Hagen asked a little confused. ¡°No,¡± a mildly peeved Glen corrected him. ¡°I¡¯m just too enticing for a simple wench to escape. It¡¯s a talent I have, since I was very young actually.¡± ¡°Of course milord,¡± Hagen agreed. ¡°The Zilan seemed pretty interested also. She¡¯s no slouch in the looks department.¡± ¡°Eh. What is this obsession with her? Just stay away from¡­ am I missing something here?¡± Glen paused to think about it. Nah, Nym appeared too boyish up close. Not to mention all the other baggage. The wench is an assassin for pity¡¯s sake! ¡°Of all the Zilan in this palace she¡¯s the most dangerous anyways, trust me Hagen. Stay clear of her. Plus she has a thing for Clinton.¡± ¡°Marlo? No way,¡± Hagen gasped not believing it. ¡°He¡¯s as old as last year¡¯s shit milord. Are ye certain?¡± Well, Nym is a very old turd also. ¡°Ayup,¡± Glen insisted and ushered the bodyguard away with a lordly hand wave.
Rimeros found Glen in front of the hallway¡¯s mirror checking on his gold tooth, lip curled upwards and left eye gawking at his image. ¡°Your grace,¡± the Zilan official said with a constipated expression, ¡°the thick-headed manservant claimed you wanted to see me?¡± ¡°I know Hagen has taken some fat on his face Rimeros, but you¡¯re overreacting here,¡± Glen scolded him. ¡°Not to mention the man is my bodyguard.¡± ¡°I agree he¡¯s gotten bigger your grace, but the thickness was there all along and a bodyguard can be a manservant,¡± Rimeros argued stiffly. ¡°Ha-ha,¡± Glen guffawed with the palace official¡¯s expression, afore sobering up abruptly. ¡°What¡¯s going on with Feyras?¡± Rimeros blinked and checked at the pack of scrolls he had in his hands. ¡°Eh, nothing today Arguen Garth. He has a pending petition standing for a private meeting with the Monarch.¡± Fuck him. ¡°What about yesterday?¡± ¡°Ahm, he sustained a small injury. I believe it was either right after the meeting with the princess, or during?¡± ¡°He met with Lithoniela?¡± Glen asked tightening his lips and reached to grab the scroll from Rimeros¡¯ lap. He glanced at the thickly scripted text detailing the event in Imperial and then returned it immediately. Good grief, I ain¡¯t reading that! ¡°Both princesses. The mutilation happened after he met with princess Inis-Mir Aniculo.¡± Glen furrowed his thick brows. ¡°My daughter is alright?¡± ¡°Yes, great Monarch.¡± ¡°Small injury, or mutilation?¡± Glen probed a little confused. ¡°What the hell happened?¡± ¡°Small mutilation,¡± Rimeros elucidated calmly. ¡°The priest refused to disclose more details Arguen Garth, but it is rumored the princess might have assaulted him.¡± Glen shook his head in disbelief. ¡°Put a stop to these baseless rumors Rimeros,¡± he ordered the official. ¡°I want no bullshit o¡¯ this kind spreading out of the blasted palace gods damn it!¡± ¡°Aye, Arguen Garth,¡± Rimeros agreed with a curt bow. ¡°Wait,¡± Glen said afore the Zilan could take his leave. ¡°What does Feyras want with the princesses?¡± ¡°Per his petition Lord Garth, the priest looks to extract funds from the throne in order to rebuild Eodrass Temple,¡± Rimeros paused to find the specific scroll referring to the subject they were discussing, read did it briefly and then cleared his throat, afore continuing. ¡°In order, and I¡¯m quoting Feyras now, to have the next festival to the Lady Sovereign held at the temple¡¯s grounds, seeing that Valimae Lilt is now held in Taras, near Nesande¡¯s Temple.¡± Glen interrupted his report raising an open palm. ¡°Let me stop ye right there. Isn¡¯t Naossis, the old broad¡¯s daughter supposedly? People visit her temple given the opportunity, which sounds normal to my ears Rimeros.¡± ¡°Traditionally Nesande¡¯s Temple hosted some of the activities great Garth. Naossis has a place in her mother¡¯s temple.¡± ¡°She does?¡± Glen queried curious and Rimeros answered with an unamused nod of his well-combed head. ¡°Right. Eodrass¡¯ shrine is a bit of a ruin anyway and too small to take on Sen¡¯s days of remembrance, not to mention Sen wasn¡¯t fond of the creepy wyvern god at all. I¡¯ve seen him in a dream trust me.¡± ¡°Feyras counts on the Monarch¡¯s favor and support in this claim, given that you are an Aniculo Rokae returned.¡± ¡°Oh, for fuck¡¯s sake, just put a small crew on it, give it a fresh coat of paint and get him off my back Rimeros!¡± ¡°Laius Cinna fell sick upon hearing the true cost of the rebuild Garth,¡± Rimeros informed a grimacing Glen. ¡°We had to call a healer to revive him.¡± Glen tried to remember Eodrass shrine outside the Den¡¯s grounds. ¡°Laius is a frugal man doing his job. Tell him it is fine.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll stop construction of Rybel¡¯s ships?¡± Rimeros queried, looking for a fresh scroll and a quill to write his order down. An alarmed Glen reached and took the quill out of the official¡¯s hand. ¡°What does this have to do, with Rybel¡¯s ships?¡± ¡°The available working crews must travel to Chimera¡¯s Mouth your grace,¡± Rimeros explained and walked to a map of Wetull freshly painted on the nearby wall, removed one of Sen¡¯s portraits to reveal more of it -under Glen¡¯s intense scrutiny, placed everything on the table, and then pointed at a spot across Goras¡¯ old city ruins. Over the gulf¡¯s waters. ¡°It is part of Chimera¡¯s Leg Peninsula.¡± Glen blinked and took a step forward to better see the unreadable scribblings. ¡°The fuck does it say that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s hieroglyphic script. Cydonia used this type of script as decoration, but it is readable. Eilven is a Cydonia Cazan native Garth.¡± ¡°Can you read it?¡± Glen asked trying to discern the turned into drawings Imperial words, with flowers and roots sprouting from them, birds nesting at the tops and waters pooling under some letters. ¡°Not really. I know where Eodrass Temple is though,¡± Rimeros elucidated and pointed at the map. ¡°It starts here, but the old docks are destroyed now. Around the mouth¡ª¡± Ugh? ¡°What the fuck is this gigantic shite!¡± Glen exploded not believing his goggled eyes. ¡°Is he plaguing serious?¡± He bellowed, spittle flying in Rimeros¡¯ stoic face. ¡°Eh, it is almost the biggest temple in Wetull Garth, and was lovely before the catastrophe,¡± the Zilan replied, whilst wiping the side of his face with a sleeve. ¡°Almost?¡± a disbelieving Glen growled clenching his jaw maniacally. ¡°That thing looks as big as Taras!¡± ¡°Abrakas¡¯ Temple grounds on Barmont Isle are bigger. The whole isle basically,¡± Rimeros elucidated maintaining his composure, despite the red-faced Glen¡¯s outburst. ¡°I ain¡¯t building Feyras a new fucking city! FUCK!¡± Glen roared at the top of his lungs, tipping his head back. He sucked in a deep breath and then stooped to grab Sen¡¯s portrait from the table to place it over that part of the wall-map. ¡°The little princess assured him that you will, I believe. Feyras left quite pleased for a person missing a finger and bleeding all over the floor tiles,¡± Rimeros informed the busy trying to hang the portrait in its place Monarch. Our daughter is a handful sweetheart. Sen¡¯s expertly depicted opal eyes stared at him in a cautionary manner, as if this was all his fault. Glen smacked his lips, reached with a hand to rub at the base of his neck to alleviate some of the pressure building up there, and then grunted, a nervous tick marring the right side of his face. ¡°Is Iskay upstairs?¡± He asked in a rasping voice a long moment later. ¡°Memphes?¡± ¡°They are with the princess,¡± Rimeros replied and knelt to pick the quill from the floor. ¡°Your grace knows how hectic this day can be.¡± ¡°What does this have to do with my daughter?¡± Glen growled getting all fired up again and the Zilan stepped back alarmed. ¡°A princess must look her best...¡± Rimeros started and then paused upon witnessing Glen¡¯s murderous expression. ¡°Lady Kilynia has the final say¡ª¡± ¡°Move aside,¡± a furious Glen cut him off abruptly and moved past the grimacing official, to head for the stairs leading to the royal quarters. Hagen came after the walking fast Glen but missed the Monarch¡¯s abrupt right turn to run up the stairs and the bodyguard continued for a bit heading straight towards the side door leading outside, afore he recovered with a loud curse. A flushed Hagen then rushed after the climbing the stairs two-at-a-time Monarch.
The huffing and puffing Glen waltzed briskly down the corridor, pointed a warning finger at the snapping to attention Sir Qildor and Sir Nuvian, the two Zilan Rokae stood guard outside the princess¡¯ quarters, then heard giggling from the lavish bedchamber and kicked the half-opened door in to burst inside. A yelping Iskay toppled backwards from the startle -right behind a short divan, feet over head and leather flip-flops hitting the ceiling, to land on her back. Memphes screamed in panic, lost control of the scared small wyvern she had nested on her half-bare bosom and the clad in a dancer¡¯s sparkling gold-chain attire Inis-Mir gasped audibly at the intrusion, bringing both her ring-adorned hands over her painted mouth. The sun bathed the princess¡¯ scandalously dressed form and forced her garlanded with a large ruby navel sparkle an angry bright red. What is this malarkey! The little princess stood a head taller than usual with the help of a pair of fancy red heeled sandals and stumbled back seeing her angry father march on her. Glen grabbed her arm and pulled the yelping princess towards him, then loaded her small body with a heave on his shoulder. He turned around to snarl at the standing up behind the divan disheveled Iskay and grunted warningly towards Memphes that had rushed to help the princess. Glen reached the bed and ripped a satin cover off with his free hand, twirled the yelping Inis-Mir around to remove the sandals and then covered her with the sheet from braided head to painted toenails. ¡°Garth please,¡± Iskay pleaded with him and Glen turned to look at her, but caught out of the corner of his eye Qodras leaping towards him and swung a punch to intercept the small wyvern. Qodras flew the other way knocked out cold by the heavy blow and Inis-Mir started crying murder at the top of her lungs. Luthos¡¯ scorned side-piece told the gnome to smile while he still had teeth, Then broke the gifted urn on his beaming face, messing up the flower wreath! Glen whipped his head towards the door and the two Rokae that had rushed inside halted, assessing the situation with concerned eyes behind their silver masks. ¡°Turn around and walk out of the room,¡± Glen ordered them hoarsely and snapping his head backwards pointed a warning finger at the sniffling Inis-Mir. ¡°Not another word.¡± ¡°Great Garth,¡± Iskay tried again in a soothing manner. ¡°This is the princess¡¯ first Valimae Lilt.¡± ¡°No it isn¡¯t,¡± Glen growled. ¡°That¡¯s not your darn call to make! I¡¯ll say when it is woman!¡± A couple of decades down the line at least! ¡°She has danced diligently for months,¡± Iskay insisted. ¡°Let her show¡ª¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care!¡± Glen blasted her furious. ¡°That¡¯s the end of it! Argh! Enough with this shite!¡± He breathed in to calm himself down, whilst Inis-Mir sobbed hugging at her knees, the pale-faced Iskay kept her head bowed low and Memphes remained on the floor in an even more subservient posture. Glen grunted, clenched his jaw in a grimace of discomfort, bones crackling from the tension and then eyed the unconscious golden wyvern perturbed. ¡°First wyvern I know about that doesn¡¯t learn a lesson the first time,¡± Glen noted hoarsely after an uncomfortable long moment. ¡°While stubbornness can be a good thing, it can also be darn right stupid.¡± The last thing he leveled at his crying daughter. ¡°You are too young to participate in a grown-ups festival. Especially this one. This isn¡¯t your uncle¡¯s slave training stables. This is the royal palace of god darn Wetull and you¡¯re the realm¡¯s princess!¡± ¡°Lithoniela wants to be present,¡± Inis sniffled. ¡°Lith is a couple of centuries old at least and I doubt she¡¯ll dance in the square,¡± Glen retorted and sighed. ¡°This isn¡¯t a competition sweetheart. You are the princess.¡± ¡°A princess unseen and unmentioned,¡± Inis griped sadly and Glen grimaced before approaching her. He knelt next to the curled up girl and hugged her shaking shoulders. ¡°Everyone knows who you are,¡± Glen reassured her. ¡°You¡¯ll never be challenged. In a few years the whole realm will talk of Wetull¡¯s princess. Her pretty face and fiery temperament. Her skills and intellect.¡± ¡°I can dance too,¡± Inis said in a small voice. ¡°I¡¯m sure you can. There¡¯s nothing you¡¯re not good at sweetheart,¡± Glen rubbed her warm back over the satin sheet and eyed the two former slave girls soberly. ¡°Inis can wear whatever she wants inside her quarters. But when inside the palace¡¯s public halls, or outside of it, she¡¯ll dress like a proper lady.¡± ¡°What is proper Garth?¡± Iskay queried evenly. ¡°These are her late mother¡¯s ceremonial clothes, re-fashioned so she can put them on. Yesterday we gathered to sing Mistress Sen-Iv¡¯s praises without you, but today the King returns and we can¡¯t? Ziba-Ra scorned our newly-found free status openly and claimed no one is truly free inside Morn Taras, but just slaves given another title. Was she correct?¡± Oh, fer crying out loud. ¡°When I want to speak to Sen, I do it in private,¡± Glen hissed at the dig. ¡°Apologies. I wasn¡¯t trying to insult Arguen Garth.¡± Glen pursed his mouth not liking the conversation¡¯s turn. ¡°Ziba-Ra isn¡¯t your king. She¡¯s a guest with her own issues. And Inis-Mir shall do as her father commands. Sen grew up as a Cofol woman, same as you and Memphes did. Inis won¡¯t. This isn¡¯t a scorn against her mother, nor me favoring my own upbringing as I had none. This is reality. Inis would be all of the above and carve her own path, but she¡¯ll forever be a Princess and future Queen of Wetull. The Zilan culture and peoples are part of her world and she needs to win them over. It won¡¯t be easy at all. Making a fool of herself behaving alike a slave girl in front of a Zilan audience, just won¡¯t cut it, nor can she afford too many mistakes. Don¡¯t mistake the Zilan working for the palace with what roams out there. She¡¯s not ready to face the public, much less the Elderblood Council.¡± ¡°Will Garth attend?¡± Iskay asked. ¡°Garth will do whatever the fuck he wants,¡± Glen retorted. ¡°You will stay with the princess. Is the job too difficult for you to handle? I could ask Kilynia to take over and I much rather that I didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°I shall stay with the princess,¡± Iskay said keeping her head bowed low. ¡°I swore an oath to the Mistress.¡± Damn it Sen. Inis can¡¯t be you. She¡¯s too brass a character not to make mistakes and she doesn¡¯t have your patience. ¡°Feyras can¡¯t have his temple at this time,¡± Glen told Inis-Mir getting up. ¡°Don¡¯t promise things to people, especially influential Zilan. Your words carry weight in their culture, but you¡¯ll be judged if you fail to deliver. Your actions shall dictate future policy. It isn¡¯t easy for me to navigate their habits and it won¡¯t be easy for you.¡± ¡°They¡¯ll obey, or face the wyvern¡¯s wrath,¡± Inis said with a pout. ¡°Another tried it. Her daughter sleeps in your south tower,¡± Glen reminded her. ¡°There¡¯s no single solution to all problems. You want them on your side, not working against you sweetheart. A touch of honey with the vinegar, can get you further and in that beautiful head of yours, you know it.¡±
Hagen jumped to his feet the moment Glen exited the princess¡¯ quarters and followed after him. Glen was in a sober mood and considered staying back with Inis-Mir, but he didn¡¯t want to oppress the little girl more. He wished Inis was older sort off, so they can explore the kingdom together, but exposing her to danger scared the crap out of him also. ¡°We lost a bit of time,¡± Hagen explained walking fast to keep up with the silent Glen across the castle¡¯s yard. ¡°Where is she waiting for me?¡± Glen asked as they approached the stables. Samak and Hesam were standing outside with a pair of horses and Huro-Tal, the young stallion. Storm-feet was restless as noise came out of the stables, but using the older, much calmer Outlaw wasn¡¯t an option given that the king¡¯s horse was well-known. ¡°The villa?¡± Hagen replied unsure. Glen stopped near the horses and glanced at the open doors from where the ruckus was coming from. Samak got up from the base of the wall he rested upon and Hesam stopped feeding the horses to return the Monarch¡¯s glance with a bow of his turbaned head. ¡°What villa¡­ wait,¡± the distracted Glen said. The squeals coming from the stable disturbing. ¡°I can¡¯t take her from Jinx¡¯s place. Whisper won¡¯t be fooled by a bit of paint Hagen. She¡¯ll sniff me out like a hunting dog.¡± ¡°Eh. Maybe she won¡¯t be there?¡± ¡°Maeriel has taken the week off, she¡¯ll be there for sure,¡± Glen replied and furrowed his brows. ¡°What¡¯s going on Samak?¡± ¡°We were waiting for the Caliph,¡± the Cofol explained and then glanced back at the stables. ¡°Rama is at it since the morning.¡± The lanky figure of Kilynia exited the stables at that point, blinked her eyes seeing Glen standing outside, assumed a stiff posture and approached them walking like an awkward two legged bird. ¡°Hardir O¡¯ Fardor, heavenly greetings,¡± the Zilan palace official said, ignoring the humans present. ¡°What¡¯s going on in there?¡± Glen asked. ¡°It sounds like a brawl.¡± ¡°The Ostriches are mating,¡± Kilynia explained with an austere glare at the two chuckling former slavers. ¡°It is very exciting.¡± ¡°Exciting?¡± Glen asked scrunching his nose. ¡°Informative, but I was asked to wait outside rudely,¡± Kilynia corrected her previous answer sounding uncomfortable. ¡°You like birds Hardir?¡± ¡°Sure, but not the kind of birds you favor,¡± Glen deadpanned regaining his form and grinned, but you couldn¡¯t maintain a grin under Kilynia¡¯s acerbic stare, or a bird erection for that matter apparently, so the Monarch cleared his throat and turned to his men having already hatched a new plan of action. ¡°A ¡®right, listen up. Samak and Hesam are going to take the royal carriage to Taras. Pick up Lith first from her tower to make it look official and then drive it to Whisper¡¯s. I decided to make Whisper a Lady of Morn Taras, so proper transportation for the festivities will be afforded.¡± ¡°The Gish might not be cooperative great Caliph,¡± Samak warned. ¡°Might even get suspicious.¡± ¡°Who is this Whisper?¡± Kilynia asked as she had stayed instead of returning inside the stables. Rama had probably threatened the Zilan Chamberlain. ¡°Jinx,¡± Hagen told her. ¡°Ah. Lady Whisper should be honored and not question the Monarch¡¯s decrees.¡± ¡°Right. Samak give our Gish ten gold coins to go along with the plan. She¡¯s more greedy than smart,¡± Glen said. ¡°Tell her the title is ceremonial, but has monetary value attached to it.¡± ¡°Lady Whisper has a funny ring to it milord,¡± Hagen noted and Glen grimaced in annoyance as valuable time was wasted in small talk. ¡°Just do what I tell you. Samak you¡¯ll take the girls to the Taras¡¯ center and unload them there. Lith, this Caruso dude, Whisper and Maeriel for sure, maybe Assara. I have no idea what kind of crowd she has gathered there.¡± ¡°What about Moira?¡± Hesam probed and Glen glared at him for mentioning the healer in front of Kilynia. ¡°This is a royal carriage friend. The former slave isn¡¯t invited,¡± Glen told his lackey meaningfully with a glance at the thoughtful Kilynia. ¡°Isn¡¯t Assara a Ticu?¡± Hagen argued not grasping the Monarch¡¯s tone and Glen whipped his head sideways to glare at the overweight bodyguard. ¡°What I meant milord¡­¡± ¡°Just drop it,¡± Glen snapped and Kilynia croaked in Imperial startling everyone. ¡°Lady Lussiel,¡± the Zilan female said and then added upon witnessing the humans stare at her perplexed. ¡°She should have a Zilan name as the Gish of old. It means a soft whisper.¡± Ah. That¡¯s a good idea, bird woman. The Ostriches loud excited squeals coming from the open doors of the stables making the exact opposite sound, which was funny in a sense. ¡°So I take the carriage to Lady Jinx,¡± Samak recapped to iron out the details. ¡°Then stay with them?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Glen started but stopped abruptly as a disheveled Ostrich soared out of the stables. It hit the ground with a screeching angry squeal and then sprinted across the castle¡¯s yard as fast as a two-legged gazelle, or a very tall, ugly and bald chicken, working its long awkward legs hard. Not a moment after that a bloody, scowling Rama burst out of the open doors as well. The Morn Taras stables master faltered on his feet for a couple of strides, but found his balance soon after and bringing thumb and mid-finger to his mouth, whistled loudly towards the adjoined building. Basically another stable. With a protracted snarl, Raro ¨Cthe Nimra lion Glen had orphaned, but also saved inside the Den- leaped out of the stables in all its feline glory, stared at the small crowd watching the scene in deep bewilderment and then following Rama¡¯s sharp command galloped after the heading away Ostrich. ¡°She killed the male with a kick to the groin. Fucking foot punched right in his gut. Mating is a risky business for certain exotic species,¡± the bloody, heavy breathing Rama explained to the Monarch¡¯s entourage and then smiled reassuringly at their nods of concern. ¡°I¡¯ve purchased two more males from the bazaar. We¡¯ll nail her, oh great Sheik.¡± Glen curled his upper in an awkward stiff grimace, one eye half-closed, the other gawking wide open, then replied modestly, per his well-documented habit. ¡°Good man.¡±